Third Floor Common Room, Friday Evening

[dollpocalypse]

So for the second year in forever, Topher... was not making it to Comic-Con. Which was traumatizing. Seriously, what was the point of being from L.A. if he didn't get to do his annual four-day trek to San Diego with a tent for camping out for panels, a backpack of inappropriate starches, and absolutely zero qualms about annoying people in front of

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[yinandyango]

Things seemed particularly quiet around the dorms lately, which had Fawn wanting to test the waters of exploration, if only a little bit. She figured she could easily shrink and hide if need be, but she found herself on another floor, peeking into the common room, taking in a quick assessment.

So far, just a nerd, a computer, and the pervasive aroma of pizza. Which seemed harmless enough...

[dollpocalypse]

Ah, yes. Pizza: always harmless. And so was Topher! Really.

Also, there was a bridge for sale. It could get you riiiiight over the Causeway...

"Some people just shouldn't be allowed at the mic," Topher was muttering at the screen as yet another person wasted the miraculous opportunity that was a chance to ask a question of a panel. "Seriously."

When Ace-the-puppy nudged him, he took his eyes off the screen for a moment, glanced around the room, and observed, "Oh. A human." Quick pause to inhale a bite of pizza, then: "Hey."

[yinandyango]

Fawn, who was likely to actually stand at the doorway until someone noticed her anyway, blinked at the boy and the computer and the pizza and the puppy for a moment before she said, "Hey. A...presumed fellow human. What are you doing?"

He looked...fairly settled in.

[dollpocalypse]

"Comic-Con," Topher said simply, which... was really not very simple at all, in terms of describing one's activities when one was clearly not, in fact, at Comic-Con, but rather sitting on his ass at boarding school in Maryland. However, he felt that that summed it up adequately.

...

"Want pizza?"

[ultron_junior]

Victor had mixed feelings about being social, but he'd already texted Nico just to make absolutely sure everything was still okay without him that she'd told him to turn off his phone. So he supposed talking to other people won out over hiding in his room for the night.

Also, there was pizza downstairs.

"Hey, Topher," he said, and snagged a slice. "Did I miss anything good?"

[dollpocalypse]

"Well," Topher said, taking a breath -- and then he proceeded to recite a full account of the day's events at San Diego Comic-Con, including, among other things, extensive focus on the happenings at the Lightning Bug panel, no small amount of stories on what had gone on over at Space Battles, and perhaps a surprising amount of detail on the events of the panel representing Adolescent Frankenstein.

Don't you judge.

"Oh," he added, "and a bunch of videos of people getting lost and crying in the hallways."

You could tell he enjoyed those maybe a lot.

[ultron_junior]

Victor blinked at him for a long, long moment before he put it together.

"Oh," he said. "Comic-Con. That's now."

He knew what it was, he loved the concept, he stalked it on the Internet when he could, but he hadn't exactly been paying close attention this week.

"Wait, people tape people getting lost and post it instead of helping them? And you watch them?"

You could tell he wasn't fond of that idea.

[dollpocalypse]

And silly Topher, absorbed as he was in his fake Comic-Con experience, hadn't realized that someone might be looking for updates on the outside world. As far as he was concerned, there was no news besides SDCC this week.

...It was possible that he had a problem.

"I might've... maybe glanced at one or two," he said, shifting his gaze slightly to the side. "They're mostly of the freaking out part, not the actual getting lost. I assume after they're done tantruming someone eventually helps them."

Possibly. Maybe. Topher wouldn't, but maybe there was a good samaritan or two somewhere at the con.

[selfhelphero]

The smell of pizza drew Billy into the common room, but the sight of Topher was what made him stay. "I don't know if there's enough pizza here for everyone," he said, nudging a box.

[dollpocalypse]

"I can start a rationing system," Topher suggested, brightening a little at the sight of Billy. "Like, people I like get first pick. So you're up, obviously."

[selfhelphero]

"I like this plan already," Billy said, snagging a slice and sitting down next to Topher. "What are you watching--oooh Comic-Con feeds! I cannot wait until I'm an adult and can go."

[dollpocalypse]

"Or you could go next year, with me," Topher offered before he could think about it. "'Cause, you know, two years in a row of not going is totally enough for me. Next year, I'm gonna skip class for a week and just go."