.....

My name is Doctor Otto Octavius... or as those irritating newshounds at the Bugle called me, Doctor Octopus. I would prefer you do not use that moniker when addressing me. In any case, now that you're here, what do you plan on doing? For your sake, I hope it's not to turn me in to the police. The actuators - tentacles, for the uninformed - still hold a, ah... let's say a bit of a grudge against most police types. I maintain control most of the time, but it's best not to tempt fate. Besides, I gave up the "villain career" almost ten years ago. New York City thinks I am dead. It should stay that way. (An independent ask/roleplay blog for Spider-Man 2 Otto Octavius... and his actuators.)

[gapsincollections-deactivated20]

dococtavius:

 “Do you think I wear them for my health?” He gives the other a flat stare behind his sunglasses; the actuators hiss. “They are fused to me.”

That was not exactly a comforting hiss. 

“I don’t mean to come across as rude, I just don’t think I’ve seen anything quite like those. Not in person, at least.”

[dococtavius]

Otto snorts a little. “I highly doubt you would have. The actuators are my own personal creations, and I’m not about to let anyone else get their hands on the designs and make the same mistakes I have.”

[gapsincollections-deactivated20]

@dococtavius​ 

      “So are those, forgive the wording, but things–actually attached to you?” 

[dococtavius]

“Do you think I wear them for my health?” He gives the other a flat stare behind his sunglasses; the actuators hiss. “They are fused to me.”

[cinderboxed-blog]

                            “I MEAN, I find it hard to believe you don’t know how to steal a car.” She was half-kidding, her tone flippant, hoping to meet his humor in turn —— but even SHE knew how, he shouldn’t have been far behind.

              Elizabeth was at a loss; she couldn’t exactly APPREHEND him for trying to LIVE. But if he really wasn’t telling the truth —— if he remained a threat to her city —— then it was ON HER if she let him be.

              She gave a curt nod to the actuator. “Do you control those things?”

[dococtavius]

He drew himself up and directed a sharp look at the girl, brows furrowing over his sunglasses in a scowl. “I don’t do that anymore,” he said stiffly, distinctly nettled. The actuators echoed his irritation, hissing softly.

nowhere to go even if we did steal think, girl, think

There was a quiet moment, the air between them heavy and awkward. When she asked him about the arms, he arched an eyebrow. “Control?” One claw snapped peevishly, grumbling in the back of his mind. Though they didn’t have much opportunity for human interaction and had no real way to express themselves except through Otto’s ‘translation’, it still chafed to be thought of as things, as objects. “Not in the way you’re thinking, I’m certain. They’re sentient; it’s a symbiosis of sorts.”

[cinderboxed-blog]

                            “Oh.” She shrugged lamely, a tenuous gesture to match a tenuous reply. Her hands somehow found their way to the pockets of her leather jacket, easy to hide away when they came out from behind the shiny vibranium armor.

“No. I don’t know. I mean———               most people think you left the city months ago. A wanted man after all the shit that happened and all that. I can’t see why you’d stick around” Not like anyone was actively hunting him down this late in the game. But so much as someone that looked suspiciously enough like him to raise eyebrows was enough to land him back on the Avenger’s radar, even now.

              “People in the neighborhood are starting to get suspicious.” This ALL STARTED as a short routine check after someone presumably saw more than they were supposed to around the warehouse and word ultimately got back to Clint —— because it was always him in the thick of whatever local shit was going down —— and he sent HER to check it out on what was supposed to have been her off day. This wasn’t supposed to BE anything. If she were being frank, she didn’t exactly know where to GO from here.

[dococtavius]

Otto rubbed a gloved hand wearily over his face, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I know. I know, I’ve just-” He broke off with a heavy sigh. One actuator drew closer, gently nudging his shoulder and chrring quietly; he waved it down.

“After the... after what happened, I’ve been laying low, letting people think I died, hoping no one would find me so that I can at least try to live a quiet life. It’s not easy for someone like me to leave town. I can’t exactly call a taxi,” he said, falling back on his dry sense of humour.

[cinderboxed-blog]

                            She wasn’t about to let down her guard completely just because HE SAID SO —— but if he said he wasn’t looking for a fight, then she wasn’t going to be picking one, at least.

              Her eyes narrowed, and after a few beats of consideration, she relented. With just the right gesture of her wrist, her gauntlets deactivated & collapsed into cuffs. She wouldn’t DISARM entirely, not yet, still on guard and still another flick of the wrist and three seconds away from being completely COMBAT READY. “Then what are you doing here?” It sounded far more accusatory than she had meant it to —— not as though she was about to apologize for it. “If you aren’t looking for a fight.”

[dococtavius]

“Would you believe me if I told you I lived here? Close to here,” he amended. Given that they were in a seedy alleyway close to the waterfront, it was unlikely he’d eke out his living there, but he was telling the truth: the warehouse he had been living in for the past few months was not far away. “I was going to buy food.” It sounded so pedestrian when he said it like that, though he supposed that’s what he was nowadays- pedestrian, a washed-up has been of a scientist.

The actuators clicked and shifted around him, skittish and mistrustful.

girl is dangerous too hot could fight her should flee

He let his hands drop to his sides, the fingers of one brushing lightly over an arm’s claw in a silent reminder to wait. If this - whatever this was - could be resolved peaceably, that would be ideal. If not, well... the actuators were faster than they looked.

[cinderboxed-blog]

dococtavius liked for a starter.

                              “NO—— before you say anything,               is it GOOD or BAD? Because let me tell you, I have had a DAY.”

[dococtavius]

Although Otto’s eyes were hidden behind his ever present sunglasses, his brows lifted in what was clearly a mild expression. “Neither, I suppose.”

He had his hands raised in front of him in the most non-confrontational way he could muster- his organic hands, anyway. The actuators slid out from the back of his coat and curled close around him, claws only open enough for them to see out of. There wasn’t much they could do to look tame and peaceful - they were metal arms as thick as a man’s arm for God’s sake - but at least they tried.

Tried being the key word.

He knew the actuators’ submissive posture would disappear in an instant if this woman started anything even the slightest bit hostile. Self-preservation was a strong instinct; he really hoped this wouldn’t escalate. “I'm not looking to fight, if that’s what you’re asking.”

[flskhu-deactivated20210313]

AXOLOTL MY TIME HAS COME TO BURN I INVOKE THE ANCIENT POWER THAT I MAY RETURN

• ask • rules •

[somehobgoblincallme]

Puck bit back a squeal of excitement at the sight. The man who smelled of metal had extended four metal tentacles from under his coat and climbed up the side of the wall. 

Oh she knew who he was. Who didn’t? Doctor Octopus was famous- or rather, infamous.

And wouldn’t David like to have this man on payroll? He was supposed to be brilliant. More than a little arrogant, sure, but brilliant. 

Once he’d gotten himself settled on the rooftop, she zipped across the intervening alley to hover behind him, judging herself to be just out of reach of the tentacles.

“Well now,” she said cheerfully, setting her hands on her hips. “Lookee what I found. Aren’t you supposed to be dead, sir?”

[dococtavius]

Otto startled, whipping his head around sharply, the actuators echoing the movement with a squeal. How in the world had this slip of a woman snuck up on him- and the actuators, for that matter, with their thermal scans? 

wasn’t there a second ago something’s fishy 

He eyed the woman warily. “Not as dead as I’m supposed to be, no,” he said, the actuators slowly lowering him down to stand on the rooftop. “I don’t suppose I could convince you to forget that you saw me.”

[dococtavius]

[i got distracted by slow mo guys]

[somehobgoblincallme]

The man’s scent led Puck to a little grocery shop. Now, groceries were a particularly legitimate reason to be out and about, though Owen never went on such excursions himself unless he was looking for some specialty tea or something. Still, she was intrigued by the scent and his furtive demeanor. 

At last the man emerged from the shop, laden with bags. She purred softly to herself and flitted after him, not even bothering with a glamour to keep herself invisible. Humans never looked up, after all.

“Where are you going, little metal man,” she murmured under her breath. Though since he had about a foot on her in height and was probably about three times her weight, ‘little’ was only an ironic description.

[dococtavius]

Otto had miscalculated somewhat on just how many things he needed before he went out. It had, admittedly, been a while since his last supply run, but could that much extra time really make that much of a difference? Apparently so, considering the weight of the bags was seeming to get heavier by the second as he walked.

let us help we can lift we can get us home much faster

As much as it needled him, Otto had to admit that the actuators were right. He wouldn’t be able to carry this load all the way back to the warehouse by his own power. Reluctantly, he detoured into a seedier part of town - somewhere he could slip into an alley and no one would blink an eye - and let the actuators start clambering up the wall. One actuator had a couple of the heavier bags looped over it, but they all moved slower and more carefully- it was daylight, and people would be more likely to notice oddly cracked patterns in a wall or heavy thuds booming through the building.

[somehobgoblincallme]

The man’s posture hinted that he knew he was being followed. Owen let himself fall back and slip into a narrow entryway out of sight. 

Time for the real expert to do the following. 

Oh hush.

There was a faint flicker of light, and a tiny, androgynously slender woman with white hair and long pointed ears stood there instead of the tall blond man with the crisp navy suit and spectacles. Puck grinned impishly and flitted up to the rooftops, darting through the air with all the lazy ease of a dragonfly to follow the strange man who smelled of metal and lightning.

[dococtavius]

The sense of being watched faded, the hair on the back of his neck settling. That was too close for comfort, but he couldn’t go back to the warehouse, not yet. The entire purpose of this venture outside - during daylight, no less - was to restock his all too quickly dwindling food supply.

could go later

We could, but then this would be a trip wasted. The actuators digested that for a split second, then agreed with him- economical to a fault, as always. Otto ducked into a small grocer, one he was familiar with. It didn’t take long to gather the items he needed. He paid the cashier with a quiet ‘thank you’ and emerged back on to the street, encumbered with several grocery bags.

[dococtavius]

[i was going to do a reply thing but then i got distracted and now it’s time to go to dnd so i’ll be back later byyyyyye]

[somehobgoblincallme]

“I don’t normally make a habit of it,” he replied.

His eyes fell on the flash of metal, and his brow furrowed a little. He couldn’t possibly have seen-

Owen, Puck hissed in his thoughts. I smell metal. And his coat hangs funny.

Well, it happens sometimes. Bad backs are a thing that happen.

She snorted a little. Let’s follow him. Those papers can wait.

Puck, that’s rude.

So? I’m bored. Let’s follow him.

He sighed to himself, one of the rare reactions he permitted to actually show on his face. Sometimes there was just no arguing with the Puck.

He felt her grin.

That usually meant mischief afoot.

[dococtavius]

Otto trudged heavily down the street, head dipped to better let his hat hide his face from most passersby, leaning forward as he walked to compensate for the weight of the actuators. He’d made it about a block before the usual low murmur in his mind coalesced abruptly-

being followed

Then for God’s sake don’t watch them, he told the actuators sternly. It was probably just someone going the same direction as him for the time being, but paranoia - with a quadruple dose of extra “help” - made him err on the side of caution. If someone was looking closely, it was very possible they could see the tips of the claws from under his coat, and that was without them actively trying to peek out and run scans.

He stopped at a corner, looking back and forth slowly, as if unsure where to go- then turned right. It didn’t much matter which street he went on, really, but if he was being followed, he knew there was a convenient alley off this street for him to duck into to try and shake them.

[firefcx-archive-blog]

dococtavius.

Otto stumbled back slightly when someone ran into him. “Watch where you’re going,” he growled, a low hissing emanating from somewhere nearby.

       “Listen, asshole——” He was still in the way — Liz still reeling from the collision, she tried hurrying around him, flustered and clumsy and nowhere near quick enough to keep from losing the man she was pursuing. The setup to finally catch him had taken hours, all squandered by one guy. She didn’t bother finishing her thought. “Fuck.”

[dococtavius]

He grit his teeth, forcing himself to turn away, to keep making his way down the street like he had been trying to do before this girl had slammed into him. The actuators hissed under his coat, clicking an echo of his irritation and chafing at having to stay hidden. Sometimes-

most times

-New Yorkers really got on his nerves.

[dococtavius]

[what the fuck is up my pal wanna pester otto]

[firefcx-archive-blog]

u bet ur anus i do

[dococtavius]

[an ask meme would be fine or you can check out the two opens that i’ve made- destroying shit and grumpy shit

otto’s a hermit tho so bear that in mind w/ any ask meme you find]

[dococtavius]

Otto stumbled back slightly when someone ran into him. “Watch where you’re going,” he growled, a low hissing emanating from somewhere nearby.

[somehobgoblincallme]

Owen didn’t quite bounce off of the man in the long trench coat, because bouncing was undignified and Owen was never not dignified, but he did take a step back and push his glasses up his nose. In his mind, the Puck frowned as she tried to puzzle out where the hissing sound was coming from. 

“My apologies,” Owen said stiffly.

[dococtavius]

Otto just grunted, glaring at the man from under his hat. The actuators hissed again, but dutifully stayed under his coat.

for now

“Don’t make a habit of walking into people,” he told the man shortly before turning to walk away, the hem of his coat swishing around him. A flash of metal winked in the sunlight, the fabric having shifted to expose something for the barest fraction of a second.

[firefcx-archive-blog]

back at it again at the krispy kreme

[dococtavius]

[what the fuck is up my pal wanna pester otto]