[plot] Invasion: Day 3.2

[theearth]

Who: EVERYONE + Returnees
What: Day 3.2 of the Invasion!
Where: UP INTO THE SKY AND BEYOND
When: ICLy: The 1st of May! OOCly: May 16th to May 21st!
Warnings: Please warn in your subject line if anything that deserves a warning occurs; this includes R-rated things as well as things worthy of a content warning/trigger warning.

The Central info post



Description: People will get to space either with a spaceship flown by one of the characters who were clued in by Badri (though they can of course pass their knowledge on further) OR by their own means - magical girls who are space compatible, someone's own starship, mechas, etc.

They will get to a place where they will encounter more enemies, so combat types must come along - but they are not the ones who will define how this turns out. Those who will define how this turns out are others. A number of other abilities need to be combined, and a number of people that may have combat powers but don't have to must combine their forces here:
- Any characters dare to talk to the Enemy peacefully and alone, though children, animals (or people with animal companions) or grandparent types have a bonus. Important is that these characters are not initially aggressive or condescending towards the Enemy.
- The Cures with their purification powers, and any character with similar powers.
- People who belong to one of the following groups and will tell of their "field": Gardeners or people who otherwise have a strong connection to earth and nature/environmentalists; artists (especially musicians); religious persons with an inclusive approach; people who feel a strong, healthy and friendly love for another person, be it romantic or otherwise.

What this day is for: Invading the aliens' home base. Everything else that happens on Day 3 should take place in the Day 3.1 post.


How this works:
- Day 3.2 continues what happened in Day 3.1 and the days before and includes the counterinvasion. If you have any questions, please as them here!
- There will be toplevels on this post for encounters with The Boy and for general alien territory exploration. Please start your own threads freely in reply to those toplevels or to the post, if your thread doesn't fit any toplevel! Please format the subject line like this: "Location(s)/Network | ota/closed/etc". Please keep in mind that each character may change location twice per day (= a maximum of three different locations) and that day 3.1 and 3.2 are the same day.
- Fighters whose muns aren't interested in the fight/explore option can go straight after the boy, too, if they can ICly justify their character doing that! But there are also chances for Boy encounters in the fight/explore option.
- This post can be used for both network and action threads.
- Keep in mind that returnee characters must have checked in and must request their echoes if they get any.
- Please direct all questions to this thread on the General Invasion Guide
- For the returnee registration, please go here.

Comments

[boychild]

There indeed are a few parrots - one or two of them look a lot like Torin, to the point where they make very weird parrots - and they perch on his arm. Their chatter is absolute gibberish though, even to one who speaks bird.

Meanwhile, the boy chews on his lower lip. "...How does that work?" There being babies in eggs, he can imagine somewhat. It makes sense. Just little birds inside shells. but "mammals bear live young" just comes up with no proper imaginary in his head. How is he even supposed to think of that happening?

[radiantchicken]

Torin passed through a stage at which he had arms and his current state's plumage and looked like a very weird parrot, so while it's weird to see the ones that look like him, it is oddly reassuring at the same time.

"Well...when a male and a female decide they wish to produce offspring, they do a very special hug and exchange genetic material. Then the female uses the genetic material to make a baby inside her, and she carries the baby until it is ready to be born." Torin is pleased with himself for making this so age appropriate. Very special hug. Nailed it.

[boychild]

He nods slowly. So the mother is like an egg just not really.

"If the female makes the baby, does she love it more than the male? Because she put a lot more work into it."

[radiantchicken]

"That depends on the species." Yes, let's talk about things that people ask zookeepers. Torin's got this. "In some species, the female is the only one who stays with the young, who raises them. In other species, both parents love the young just as much, and they'll work together to keep them safe."

[boychild]

Ans at this point something occurs to him that seems to not have been there before. "There are a lot of parents that live with Earth but aren't her?"

[radiantchicken]

"Yes, that's right." Torin nods. "There are billions of parents on Earth, and they are not the planet."

[boychild]

"Do you have parents or children?"

Even though Torin probably lays eggs? Because that is what birds do.

[radiantchicken]

"I have parents." Not that he'd ever known them. "Everyone has parents of some form or another. But I do not have children." Someone had struck out repeatedly in the zoo's breeding program..."I have other parrots that I have adopted, and I suppose they are like my children."

[boychild]

"How can someone be 'like' your child? They aren't related to you then." He looks at the birds that sit on Torin. "...Could they be 'like' your children? Because they look like you."

[radiantchicken]

"It's called adoption." Which also makes sense to Torin. "That's when those who cannot have their own children take in the children of others who may not be able to care for them, and then they raise these children as their own. Since I am caring for them as though they are my own, they might as well be mine." It's not a perfect way to describe the relationship he has with those parrots, because he doesn't think he feels particularly paternal towards them, but in this case, perhaps it is the description he ought to use.

[boychild]

"...so I could be a parent?"

That is a grand concept. "If I just found someone whom I didn't invent and they didn't have anyone to take care of them?"

[radiantchicken]

Torin is just going to resist to make the "when you're older" comment that is threatening to come out, for he's long since realized that this is no ordinary boy. "You could. If they needed care and weren't yours, you could take them in. Take care of them. Make sure they're happy.

"That's what I do with my parrots. Making sure they're happy is very important."

[boychild]

The boy makes an affirmative sound showing that he heard it and nods, but just falls quiet for a long time after this.

"...But I couldn't adopt you because you wouldn't need me."

[radiantchicken]

"There are other reasons to adopt," Torin points out. He's not really sure where he's going with this, save that making friends with this boy seems like a really good idea. "Like companionship. Just because I can fend for myself out in the world does not mean I don't need family."

[boychild]

"...so I could adopt adults, too?" He seems really taken by the idea of adopting now.

[radiantchicken]

"If the other party wished it, you could." Adopting is infinitely preferable to destroying. Torin can work with this.

[boychild]

"...how do I find someone who is good for adopting?" That's kind of an important question right there.

[radiantchicken]

"There are several ways, I think." Torin thoughtfully strokes his mustache. "When I adopted my parrots, I spoke with an adoption agency. They had parrots under their care who needed homes. Communication is key."

[boychild]

"I want to adopt animals that aren't mine, but also people, so that I can talk to them." He speaks slowly, thinking as he does so.

[radiantchicken]

"That's a good plan!" Torin sounds encouraging. "There are many people out there who have no one to talk to or take care of them." He pauses. "In fact, I know one such person you could adopt." If there were ever a way to--pardon the expression--kill two birds with one stone..."I have a double on Earth. He looks just like me, but he's very poorly behaved. I think getting adopted and getting shown friendship might be good for him."

[boychild]

"What is a double?" He gets that it is probably some kind of ...double oneself, like if there were two of him, but Torin seems to imply more here.

[radiantchicken]

"Well, he looks just like me, only he's the opposite of me." Torin's still a little troubled by the double's existence. Any moment, surely the double will reveal himself to be the Mad Torin doppleganger from one of those memories. "But he acts oppositely of how I would behave, and I'm afraid he'll hurt someone because of it."

[boychild]

"...is this a trap? Do you want him to hurt me?" Yeah, that sounds like a bad idea, and as the boy's tone grows hostile, so does the air around them - a faint change only, but the weather seems a bit worse, the air a bit more humid and warm and uncomfortable.

[radiantchicken]

"No, it's not." Torin firmly shakes his head, a gesture he's picked up from the humans. He's trying not to let on that the change in air is bothering him. "I want you to take care of him--he doesn't know any better, but it's possible the right person could teach him how to behave himself. How not to hurt people. I think you're strong enough to do that. He respects strength."

[boychild]

"...oh." The surroundings suddenly calm down, the environment back to a pleasant, normal atmosphere. "And by the end of that he would become my friend?"

[ooc: Due to Animals and parts of Animals (which the doppels are) not being able to leave Earth, this will not work out, but the Boy might well try to take Torin's doppel to space. He'll just be unable to remove him from Earth.]