1 [@dodger//video]
Getting pretty crowded on floor 4... damn.
[This is the first time a lot of people have seen Dodger - he tends to stick to audio-only responses, and doesn't spend too much time on the network in the first place. But he is a man dictated mostly by impulse, and impulse says that he may as well do a video. Maybe people will be more open with a face to put to his name. Even if it's as scarred-up and creepy as his.
Dodger's room is currently lit only by the desk lamp he's sitting next to, and jars full of fireflies hung by strings and tacks from the walls ( much like fairy lights). They're segregated by color, and one would guess they've been there a while from how they wander complacently along the glass. If one squints, they may be able to see all the beer bottles on his floor - he's generally tidy, but apparently not when it comes to his drinking habit.]
Figure I should get to know a few more people, since this dorm place is filling up and the damn crying festival is winding down. Name's Dodger, I'm a mechanic, I collect bugs. Not in general, just got a liking for these little freaks - I'll pay a dollar per bug if anyone feels like finding me a few more. Anyone who wants to step up and tell me what kinda job and hobbies you got, start some sorta friendly exchange... I could use the company.
And get your 'dodger' jokes out of the way before you reply. Artful, jammy, baseball, all that shit - don't wanna hear it.
[This is the first time a lot of people have seen Dodger - he tends to stick to audio-only responses, and doesn't spend too much time on the network in the first place. But he is a man dictated mostly by impulse, and impulse says that he may as well do a video. Maybe people will be more open with a face to put to his name. Even if it's as scarred-up and creepy as his.
Dodger's room is currently lit only by the desk lamp he's sitting next to, and jars full of fireflies hung by strings and tacks from the walls ( much like fairy lights). They're segregated by color, and one would guess they've been there a while from how they wander complacently along the glass. If one squints, they may be able to see all the beer bottles on his floor - he's generally tidy, but apparently not when it comes to his drinking habit.]
Figure I should get to know a few more people, since this dorm place is filling up and the damn crying festival is winding down. Name's Dodger, I'm a mechanic, I collect bugs. Not in general, just got a liking for these little freaks - I'll pay a dollar per bug if anyone feels like finding me a few more. Anyone who wants to step up and tell me what kinda job and hobbies you got, start some sorta friendly exchange... I could use the company.
And get your 'dodger' jokes out of the way before you reply. Artful, jammy, baseball, all that shit - don't wanna hear it.

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--> video
[He switches to a video feed, and gives her a loose smirk.]
You're not gonna go shy on me, are you?
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In person.
[ maybe she doesn't want everyone on the network knowing about her cool (albeit currently busted) assassin gadgets?? ]
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[He shrugs. All the same to him.]
I'm over at Floor 4, Room 1. If you wanna stay private about it.
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Well then. You look uh... professional.
[Like someone Reaper could use, if he isn't aware already. But he's definitely sure this woman is new. He knocks back the beer in his hand as he waves her inside, placing the bottle on the floor - his room's not messy by any means, but it's obvious he's been drinking a lot today. Lucky for him it rarely shows exactly how sauced he is. (Because spoilers, he's always some level of drunk.)]
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She steps in as she's invited, stepping delicately in already delicately pointed heels ]
You look ... comfortable. [ She's never exactly nice, but seeing as she may be about to do business with this man, she can at least go for the least insulting approach. She eyes him somewhat warily. ] Have you been in this place for some time?
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Been here a little over a month - seems like the portal opens up properly once a month or so. [There's a certain sort of rhythm to everything, which is nice. Predictable. He likes predictable things.] You came in this month, yeah?
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But since she certainly didn't come here for pleasantries, she moves right into unhooking a small device from her belt, and sets it down on the nearest clear, flat surface. It settles itself on six spindly little legs, its main central chamber visibly empty through the clear glass container. ]
This is a mine. [ She flicks a quick glance toward him, to see if he either recognizes its like or reacts poorly to a weapon being the topic at hand. ] A venom mine. It should trigger with nearby motion -- and this is the problem.
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Dodger cautiously picks the mine up off of his coffee table, turning it over and really hoping she doesn't find a reason to use these against him.
But on the other hand... he could really use something like this, and she could probably use some of his venom stores.]
You've got a whole spider thing going on, huh. [He tips his head, sitting on the table to try and figure out how to disassemble the thing with minimal damage to it. Or himself.] Lucky for you I've got some experience with weapons like this - ran with a few different criminal organizations when I was growing up. You got a target in mind, or just being proactive?
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She helps herself to a seat on the couch, legs crossing as she settles herself down. There might be the barest hint of a smile in this: ]
I have only just arrived, no? Do you think I might make enemies so quickly?
[ Because she totally would. But that isn't the point. ]
A spider should be ready, or what is the point of her web?
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[Which he absolutely deserved, and he's not going to pretend otherwise.]
Speaking of which, I got some rookie advice - be careful if you run across a Viking kid in a wheelchair. You look like you could handle yourself but believe me, so can he. [A pause.] Are these disposable or reusable?
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Reuseable. [ Her gaze drops again to the mine in question. ] Still, I have several, if you need a working example.
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listen all he did was call the kid Speed Racer and make fun of his legs.]Made to dish out venom gas, yeah? [He's retrieved a screwdriver set from his desk while she spoken, and gotten the mine mostly dissected, but the pieces he's taken off are neatly ordered on the table beside him.] Some of the springs look loose near the plunger, could be jamming it - so it gets set off, but can't do anything after. [He continues to tinker with it.] What sort of gas are these usually filled with? Trying to get a grasp on the strategy side of them.
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[ Despite their venomous name, yes, don't worry about it. But it's only a gentle murmur of a correction; this guy seems to know what he's doing. Her eyes watch him work before shifting to watch him steadily instead. She doesn't mind answering questions, but this one skirts a little close to covert Talon operation logistics. She's content to stand alongside him now, but all the right person would have to do is ask her to pull the trigger on him. ]
That is brave of you, to ask a huntress to explain her hunt.
[ Which is the kinder way of saying stupid, of course. ]
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Just a colleague offering to swap notes. [He shrugs.] Might be able to offer some variety for filling these up, if you're interested - different gasses for different effects. I got a theory... details aren't important, but I might be able to turn this into a berserker mine or something. Fun way of getting some controlled chaos going, yeah?
[He won't mind if she's not interested - he doesn't even know if it would work, seeing as he has almost no actual science knowledge. But it never hurts to gage interest.]
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Perhaps in time, mon loulou. [ She's only just showed up, after all, and it seems they here have plenty of time to get to know one another, and gauge how much reliance should be placed upon each other. ] For now, I think only the mechanisms.
[ And, really, she doesn't need much. Even just Reaper's approval would be enough to have her handing them over for whatever tests he can dream up. ]
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[He presses something in, and the mine suddenly goes off in his hands. It startles him, and he drops it to the floor with a loud 'FUCK'. At least the plunger went down, and there's nothing in it to endanger them, but he'd managed to pinch one of his fingers on it and he mutters a few more swears under his breath as he holds his finger in his mouth and leans down to check it for damage.]
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Careful, now. [ A small smile curves into place. ] They bite.
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[He sets back to checking it over, and glances up after a second.] So. You got a name, Spider Queen? [Is that offensive? He doesn't mean it as such, but he's come to accept people rarely like his sarcastic nicknames.]
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Widowmaker.
[ Yep, there it is. Possibly even worse than his suggestion. She folds herself gracefully back down into her seat, one leg folded over the other, head propped against splayed fingertips. ]
It is no Dodger, but it serves me well.
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[It's got a dangerous vibe that he's definitely digging. In fact, everything about her is simultaneously dangerous and attractive... and she'll have to forgive him looking her over from head to toe again as he nods.]
Does the name Reaper mean anything to you? [It's just a hunch, but he doesn't know too many people who use codenames here. And she and Reaper... have a similar attitude about them.]
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The grim sort, do you mean? A black cloak, a scythe? [ There might be a flicker of amusement here, but it keeps to her eyes and goes nowhere near her lips. ] But I know him most often to use shotguns.
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[He doesn't expect her to give out any useful information, but reactions tell as much as words. He'll consider it a win if he learns more about where she's at as a person.]
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Information as payment for your assistance, then. We are colleagues. [ And she rises to her feet again, gesturing elegant and open-handed down to the mine. ] It seems to be in working order. It is ready?
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