longestnight | Let's do this One Last Time [video]

Let's do this One Last Time [video]

All right, people. I’m going through the archives of this place to convert all the parchment confetti into indexable data sheets.

You can thank me later for saving you all the headache.

[ The vibe of this is an 8 AM Stand-Up Meeting rather than a gathering of guardians. The video's pov is from his lab, which in addition to the completed gigacomputer, was beginning to have half-finished little magitech doohickeys scattered in sparse nooks of free space. The amount of spiderbots seems to have been left at one (1) so far.]

First item: Mission debriefs. If you've fought any dark forces recently and have extra concerning details to share, we should write it down instead of keeping it in our heads.

Second: Current Projects. Anyone who's a friend to reindeer - you ought to talk to Phil and do him a solid for all the holiday prep. For the science nerds lurking around, I’d like to borrow your brains over here.

[ He'd normally have Lyla take care of this, but he's stuck with non-sentient computers. He hates it! ]

Last: Introductions for the new kids. And universe number, if your world has one of those - the chalkboard maps are getting digitized. I'll start.

My name is Miguel O'Hara, Spider-Man of Nueva York. No, they aren't vampire fangs. [ tired hand wave, as if recapping for the millionth time. ] I‘ve been mopping up messes in my neck of the multiverse until getting picked for fairy-tale duty with the rest of you.

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[ dragging his hand down his face. ]

A mission report the usual way would lose about half of the roster on here.

No. It’s being truncated.

That's the most correct thing you've said today, but hey, for all I knew, you'd try and get me and Peter, specifically, to do it the old way.

[ Beat. ]

You're not actually thinking of trying to get people to follow any actual format, are you? There's no way.

...And what was the old way? Inquiring minds want to know.

[She wants to know.]

Set the standard early and it wont be such an adjustment.

[ Yes Gwen, he is actually attempting to get people to follow a format. ]

The old way required scan data from gadgets you'd get from base, which we don't have here, obviously. And the usual: dates, events, individuals involved, what have you.

Oh, no, you are not getting off that easy.

[ She raises her fingers to count off on them: ]

Date of mission by Nueva York time, and the time in the destination universe. Universe numbers for the anomaly, the destination of the anomaly, and every Spider involved in catching the anomaly. Names for all involved individuals, code and real where possible. Equipment used or deployed. Play-by-play of the mission. Notes of all damage, ideally separated into normal damage and glitch-distortion. Likelihood of canon disruption. Quantum. Stability. Of the dimensions involved. Do I need to go on?

[ She's playing up the struggle a little bit, but still. There you go ~~Elle~~ inquiring minds. ]

If you actually successfully manage to get everyone to follow even a truncated format, I will eat my own mask.

Edited 2023-12-14 04:10 (UTC)

Most of the Spiders have PhDs, including Peter. There's no excuse for them to get sloppy on their reports.

[ he is RELENTLESS. ]

Okay, there are definitely people who'll be able to work with that.

Realistically, most of us can manage maybe half. Maybe. And that's not even considering the anti-authority disposition of a good portion of the group.

[She won't say whether she's one of them. That's for her to know and Miguel to find out.]

There are ways to, functionally, get that information from everyone but this ain't it.

No, probably not.

[ resigned sigh. he's lowered his standards so much, but this wasn't his house to order people around in, anyway. Miguel gets that. ]

...I was hoping to find a half-way point.

Everyone else's half-way point is gonna be your three-quarters.

[Is this metaphor even working?]

Imposing your system on the whole group isn't fair, and could make you look like a dick.

[Not saying he's currently acting like a dick ~~but he's kind of acting like a dick~~.]

Yes, exactly, thank you.

[ Elle you are her new favourite person right now. ]

I don't even disagree we need to keep track of stuff, but c'mon. You gotta let people get the necessary info down their own way or it's just not gonna happen.

If you need help compiling it all into a format that works for your database, I'm sure other people would be willing to help.

I'd offer but, again, you don't want me on typing duty.

[ Miguel can't believe he's being ganged up on by teenagers. But Elle did prove herself a little earlier with Sam 2020 over there, so... begrudgingly ]

I can be... flexible [ HHHRHRGNH ] but we need a baseline, or we're going to end up wasting time with missing and irrelevant junk information.

[ see: all the annoying little memes the Spiders liked to write in the page margins >:( ]

It's a report, not a personal journal.

Okay, I'm just going to be 100% honest here. There are people who are going to reject this on principle. It's not a bad idea, it's just a lofty one. Set whatever baseline you want, let people opt-in to what degree they're comfortable with, and then we can figure out how to handle the outliers.

[She's not saying the group is made up of contrarian bastards (affectionate), but if the shoe fits...

(Maybe he won't notice the "we" she snuck in there. She is now on the project team, Miguel doesn't get a choice in the matter.)]

Edited 2023-12-14 20:44 (UTC)

What principles? Hating doing your homework?

[ the thought of getting pushback on the most basic attempt at cooperation sounds completely absurd to him. ]

Nevermind. Just, whatever works to get things coordinated. We're on the same team, there should be a way to meet where all the members are at.

[ Gwen's face and the way she makes claws in the air says you see what I had to deal with? loud and clear. ]

I am not even going to get into how insane it was to end up doing that much 'homework' when I was no longer even in school—

[ —hope everyone's enjoying the edges of whatever story happened here that have been forming, because she's not going to fill them in any time soon— ]

—Miguel, two words. Just... two words:

Hobie. Brown.

[ She spent enough time hanging around with her favourite punk anarchist who cooperated entirely on his own terms to catch onto some of the possible implications of principles in this case. ]

Proving my point.

[ Hobie never did his reports and hated following perfectly reasonable rules!! And pilfered his lab stuff!!!!! ]

Being diligent is a good quality to have, Gwen. That was a positive note on your dossier, by the way - before 1610.

Okay, look, I had reasons for being a teacher's pet, for one, and for two, I am literally still willing to write reports! I did not suddenly become bad at my job just because you didn't like a call I made!

[ She's kicking herself a lot over how she behaved from 1610 onwards, but it's not for all the same reasons as Miguel. ]

But my point is that you shouldn't be surprised that Hobie isn't the only person in the multiverse who might not vibe with this kind of organisation! And he at least chose to be involved in the Society, when no one here asked to get pulled into all of this.

Edited (accidentally a word) 2023-12-15 00:51 (UTC)

I'm aware of that.

[ very tired nose pinch. it's the worst when the teens have a point goddamnitall- ]

...I'm already managing my expectations.

Edited 2023-12-15 01:04 (UTC)

Great, cool, that's literally all we're saying. Just manage them enough you don't get all— [ she makes some very non-helpful hand gestures ] —you know. Snippy.

[ She is a little satisfied with the fact he has to deal with the fact she's not wrong. Maybe more than a little. ]

Anything else to add, Elle? You definitely know more people here better than I do.

[Elle has been a silent observer for the whole exchange. She's almost disappointed when she gets called on to speak.]

Start small. Make a simple form for the absolutely necessary information and provide space for people to add as much detail as they'd like. That'll work for most people.

Everyone else... well, I hope you're willing to ask for help. Lucky for you, I'm a people person.

[She opens her mouth and flashes sharp canines at the camera. It could be a grin, or it could be a threat display. Dealer's choice.]

O-kay.

[ He gets... a signal, but is unsure how to interpret. ]

What is that? Does that mean you're volunteering?

[ Miguel bares fangs when someone is about to get a venom delivery ( and/or the irate feelings preceding it ). It doesn't get quite so sophisticated as Cat language. ]

It means you get to ask for help from someone who'll be able to.

[Emphasis on the asking. She'd prefer it to be nicely, but she's not asking for miracles here.]

[ there is something of a Bombastic Side Eye at that. What, is he supposed to beg and say 'Please' every time he wants an update? This is stupid. ]

I'll give you a copy of the simplified form when I've drafted it, in case it still looks too obstructive.

[ Conceding, sort of. by miguel standards, he is being outstandingly conciliatory. ]

(no subject)

millenyal_pink - 2023-12-15 22:57 (UTC) - Expand

Hey, don't drag me into this.

Also, most of us got that far and then chose vigilanteism over academia. I'm not sure why you think that equals "willing to do paperwork".

Collecting detailed notes is part of the fieldwork - we're dealing with the fate of the multiverse, here.

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