st_ratagem: (:-D)
st_ratagem ([personal profile] st_ratagem) wrote in [community profile] strangetrip2018-10-15 07:54 am

[GP/EP] THE FLOOR IS LAVA

It was arrival day, and therefore it was possible that there would be new inmates arriving at any time. Someone else might have delayed this until some other day, but for Loki the prospect of new people was simply a bonus. New arrivals tended to be confused and upset already, any consideration from him was unlikely to change that, so he didn't plan on displaying any. He'd already raided empty rooms and moved much of their furniture into the hallways, that was enough general consideration for one day.

Instead, he took a seat on the front desk (ignoring Darryl, who also ignored him) and wove a spell that would let him be heard by everyone in the Inn. "Good morning, fellow residents. It's been a quiet few weeks, hasn't it?" All the weeks, barring undead invasion, tended to be quiet here. It wasn't exactly maddening, but Loki had spent two months being quiet and exceptionally well-behaved, for him.

"To break the monotony, I give to all of you a rousing game of The Floor Is Lava. For those of you who may not know it, it's a descriptive name. When I call time, the floor will become lava. If you touch it, you will die. Metaphorically, at least, so take this seriously." Those who sincerely wished not to play would have no difficulty; the lava was an illusion, and any 'reality' to it depended on belief or buy-in. For those who sincerely didn't want to play, the floor would simply look odd. This was fun mischief, not viciousness. "Also, because I know some people need encouragement in order to engage with fun, the spell creating the lava has been broken and invested into several individual runes and hidden around the Inn, discoverable only by those playing the game. The lava ends when all of those runes are disrupted - you win - or when no one is left alive to disrupt them and I win." That was only sensible. There was no reason to continue playing a game when no one else was playing it.

"Furniture only, staircase railings are fine. No books, no bags, no cloth, the dead can't speak but if they wish to continue playing they may come back as a lava monster under my dominion." Even in games, there were fates worse than death. "Lava monsters may do as they please, including trying to pull the 'living' into the lava. Should there be a clear non-me winner somehow, I'll owe that person a favor of their choice, at some point in the future."

Did that cover everything? It seemed like it, but he could always make another announcement if he had to. "The floor becomes lava in ten... nine... eight... seven... six... five... four... three... two...." He spaced out the countdown enough to make sure that everyone who wanted to scramble for furniture high ground was easily able to do so.

"...One." Loki released the spell and the floors everywhere in the Inn (for those who believed it or at least bought in to the game) turned to churning hot lava.
st_arkintern: (Thinking while worried.)

Re: Ty | Peter

[personal profile] st_arkintern 2018-11-13 02:46 am (UTC)(link)
"Yeah," Peter says, running a hand through his hair. Suddenly, he's feeling a little self-conscious. "I mean, most of them are getting old now. They don't have families of their own. I'm sure some of them want to, too, but maybe they don't think Earth would be safe without them."

Peter's not really sure.
st_eepedindarkness: (Default)

Re: Ty | Peter

[personal profile] st_eepedindarkness 2018-11-13 03:43 am (UTC)(link)

"I think being a superhero is sort of like being a police officer, firefighter, and airplane pilot all at once." Tyrone said. "It's dangerous and it means sometimes you're gone for long periods, you know?"

He shrugged.

"I mean, I wouldn't sit around if sometimes was happening and I could help, I guess," He continued. "But I only just got my powers like, a month ago. I don't think I'd be much help to anyone right now."

st_arkintern: (Peter and Stark.)

Re: Ty | Peter

[personal profile] st_arkintern 2018-11-13 03:49 am (UTC)(link)
"That's what I thought when I first started," Peter says. "But I was still able to make a difference, even though it was really small."
st_eepedindarkness: (Default)

Re: Ty | Peter

[personal profile] st_eepedindarkness 2018-11-13 03:59 am (UTC)(link)

"I guess I just got to work my way up the ranks then, huh?" He said, smiling somewhat.

Tyrone wasn't convinced he'd be good at being a superhero. He was too angry right now at the world, but he didn't want to disappoint Spider-Man. Tandy would have probably flat out laughed at the idea...

st_arkintern: (Secretly pleased.)

Re: Ty | Peter

[personal profile] st_arkintern 2018-11-13 04:14 am (UTC)(link)
Peter nods. "Yeah, it just takes time. If you call me when you get back, maybe we can help each other out."

From afar, of course. Peter didn't really have the money to go far from home.