16686/Fuzzy Logic

Fuzzy Logic
Date of Scene:	17 January 2024
Location:	Metropolis Convention Center
Synopsis:	Terry O'neil finds out that Gar is a dirty sneakerdoodle. Vorpal is also a dog. It all makes sense, I promise!
Cast of Characters:	Gar Logan, Terry O'Neil

---

Gar Logan has posed:
It was bound to happen eventually. As popular as the Cheshire Cat is in the whole Alice in Wonderland story (or is he? Maybe amongst some), there had to come a time for him to be honored by a group of, well, furries.

Only Vorpal doesn't know it. Why? Because it's a big secret. It's also all set up by Beast Boy himself.

The convention itself is a typical one held in Metropolis, focused on not just people who like furries, but also gamers, manga/anime fans, and more. Sort of a catch-all thing.

"You know, I kind of always wondered what it'd be like going to one of these," Gar said as the two of them finished getting suited up in the parking garage, off toward one corner where it's less busy. He'd commissioned a really good-looking tiger, all the right coloring, oversized, cartoonish features and paws and everything. "What do you think? I think I look grrrreat!" He's not quite to the point of fixing the head in place.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"You're not fooling me, Garfield Logan," Terry said with a smirk as he zipped his suit up, "You're a celebrity. You're telling me you've never been to one of these conventions? Not even to sign autographs or promo a movie? You're lucky Donna's nothere, because i am suspecting a lie."

The red head disappears as it is covered by another head. This one is that of a golden retriever. It is a very good make, to be frank- these suits are very expensive most of the time, according to his research, and now that he's earning a very generous salary, he can afford to splurge. Even if he himself is not attached to the quality of it, he knows that many of the fans who usually wear such suits place a lot of stock in high production quality, so the little Golden Retriever character he's wearing is a top-notch job. It has a sweet, if rather goofy, expression on its face, with carootnishly large spectacles. The suit is clad in a white polo shirt and blue jeans and has all of the markings of 'office working in a cartoon series.'

He pivots to have TiGar in his field of vision (it's hard to see in these heads, how the hell do they manage?) and he puts his hands on his hips.

"You look okay. For a /cat/," he says, trying to get into character, his voice coming out a little muffled through the head.

Gar Logan has posed:
"Maybe," is Gar's non-committal answer as he hoists the tiger head up and over his own, making sure it rests properly before he finishes up the zipper on his own suit. It needs to blend in properly. The only thing green about him now is the eyes, made so he can see out but nobody can see in. "Remember how mascots do things. Exaggerated poses and everything. We're not supposed to be talking in these, but we can whisper if we have to say something under our breaths."

At which point he nudges 'Lassie' in the side with a fuzzy elbow, orange and white with the black striping. "Well, dog breath for you now." Turning heel on padded shoes made to look like paws, the tail of the suit flounces past the golden retriever as he heads en route for the elevator to the main floor. They're gonna have to keep these for sure. That's how good they are.

Upon reaching the elevator, he has to press at the buttons on the wall about half a dozen times before it registers, at which point a small, "Damn it!" is heard from within.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"HEY!" the muffled cry follows Gar, "The only dog breath here is yours! I swear that every morning I have to roll a check against poison when you give me a good morning kiss." He was exaggerating, of course- but didn't Gar tell him to exaggerate?

Right, just the mannerisms. He reached over and playfully tugged at the tiger tail before reaching the elevator, "Ah Ah Ah, know your place! Man's best friend goes first, right?" A bit of a role reversal if you may. His suit also has a little satchel- not unlike the messenger bag that he carries his stuff with on the regular- that contains the important stuff: water bottles, cash (his cards are in his clothes under the suit), and things of that sort. He's done his research. "So where exactly are we going? Registration or did you pre-register us?"

Gar Logan has posed:
Garfield Logan speaks back, having to turn to do it, "Very funny. Have you ever heard of 'dragon breath?' I can show you sometime."

He's also got a fanny pack, but he turns away from the attempt to tug at the tail, whatever good it'll do in the first place, and he adds, "Oh, right." Slipping a hand out of a paw, he opens the pack to withdraw a couple of badges on lanyards, complete with caricatures of both suit's heads on the badges.

"I had someone do these. These are supposed to be our 'fursonas.' I'm already Garfield and that's kind of taken by a certain fat cat, so I went with 'Stripes.' You're 'Comet.'" He hands that one over before clipping his around his neck to center over his creamy white chest. "Already registered. All we have to do is start walking around and seeing how it goes."

This time, he presses the right button without having to fumble around with the paw as part of it.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry stares at the lanyard. Just stares. "Comet? Really?" the friendly expression of the golden retriever head does not convey the tone in which this was said. At all. "It is not enough that that show spawned two of the most annoying child actresses in the history of Hollywood... but now I also have to suffer the taint of association with it? You couldn't have given me a better name, like, I don't know, Buttscratch?" He reaches for his lanyard and holds it up to the eyes, where the hidden eye holes are. "... okay, at least the drawing is cute. But Logan, you little jerk. I'll get you for this," he chuckles.

Gar Logan has posed:
"Oh, cut it out," Gar answers, adding in the gesture that was used in the show itself, hard as it is to do right now. "It's not too late to change the name on the registration, if you really want to be called Buttscratch," the 'tiger' says with a wave of the paw. Yes, the artwork is good. Cutesy, cartoony, cheerful. The sort of thing a mascot might look like.

Gar adds, "We should mingle. They have lots of artists there, and things we can buy, panels we can sit in on, and stuff like that. There's a dance later on, too."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"A dance? In /this/? How do you even? I mean, this is bound to get hot as hell, no? Like, you know what I'm like in summer- it's why I gotta wear the shorter outfit!"

Glancing around, the Cheshire-in-the-doggo asks, "So... what are these panels about? Where to get good flea collars? If so, we might stop by and see if we can get you one- it's either that or getting you to bathe regularly." He'd be sticking out his tongue, but Gar wouldn't be able to see it. "... what do the artists sell? I mean, what kind of stuff?"

Gar Logan has posed:
Garfield Logan retorts with a light push at the chest of the golden retriever. "Yes, they dance. And act out skits. Sure, it probably gets warm. Are you saying you can't handle it?" he taunts, the expression of the tiger staying that one particular way: too happy and excited.

"They've got a few listed. Suit construction, mascot performance, this and that. And what kind of stuff do the artists sell? You can just let your imagination fill in the blanks." By now they're getting toward the main floor, and numerous other people in their own suit costumes mill about. Some wear regular clothing like shirts and shorts, if modified for their suits. Others look 'natural,' so to speak. "And if anyone has fleas, it'd be you."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Hush. I bathe regularly. Unlike you, mister Full Moon Bath." That's not true, but it's part of their schtick- every couple has a schtick. "Huh. I wonder if I can commission a picture of you as the Cheshire cat. That'd be pretty neat. You really did look dapper with that little vest and all..."

He glances at the other costumes and is impressed by the detail and the quality. "So... how do we find out where the events are and all? And are we really not supposed to talk in these suits? How do we communicate?"

Gar Logan has posed:
"I'm sure some of them cheat, but just watch a few," Gar says, still quietly as he keeps close, handling the question of communication first. Some of them play up gestures and antics, pointing here and there, miming certain generally understood actions such as eating or drinking, or even..well, there's a little dance in place before one heads to the restroom. Also, lots of hugs, scritches, and signs of affection.

The tiger adds, "You liked that look, huh? Well, I haven't figured out how to do it again ever since things calmed down. I don't think it wants to jump back over at this point." Speaking of pointing, he indicates a sign that shows a list of some panels along with their times and locations. One in about an hour just has a question mark by it.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Mystery panelk, eh?" The Cheshire hmms, leaning in to see if he can get any clue as to what might be the actual subject of it. This is all alien to him, and he's playing Captain Kirk.

Except he doesn't need any green girls, he's got himself a green boy all of his own. "Wanna go to the mystery one? We've got an hour to kill... I'm not sure what we'll fill it with. You're the advance scout, Mister Tork. What do you suggest we do in this strange new world?"

Gar Logan has posed:
Garfield Logan handwaves, or rather paw-waves. "It's in an hour. We've got time to mingle. You wanted to see what it's like, right?" It's impossible to make out whatever his expression is behind the tiger head, but as they move further in they do draw some attention. Excited waves, a few jumping in place, playing up friendly sorts of greetings. The tiger gets into it by returning some of those waves, even shifting his hips so the tail sways back and forth.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Oh no. "There's no way I'm waving my tail like a dog!" Vorpal chuckles under his head. Character studies were fine, but there were some lengthts to which felines would simply not go. He returns the waves, though, enthusiastically, though it feels a little weird being so enthusiastic when nobody knows who is who under the suits.

Then again, he muses, most of these people probably know each other already and recognize their characters? It still left the question of why they were so enthusiastic towards them- but he figures that's merely part of the excitement of being at a convention with like minded people? Perhaps. Purrhaps.

Gar Logan has posed:
It could be any number of reasons, none of which Gar is getting into as Stripes leads the way with a paw motion for Comet to follow. Someone who isn't in a suit, likely a handler for somebody whose vision is limited, coos at the tag the golden retriever has on. "Oh, I loved that show! Great idea! Michelle was awesome!"

Not even Gar can hide the snorting laugh that cuts through for a moment, then he's further along toward Artist Alley. Best not to say anything to /that/ interaction, knowing Vorpal's reaction earlier.

Here, there's a lot of art to see. Commissions being done, prints of famous characters in entertainment done up as furry avatars. Somewhere, there might even be some of Gar himself.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"... you are so dead when we get home, Logan," Vorpal smirks under his mask at the interaction. "If we ever do this again, I am registering you under 'Poochie.'"

The art den is pretty impressive, though. He is always in awe of people with artistic ability, believing himself to have nothing in that category. His illusions don't really count, since it's just him putting things from his mind out into the world through magic. Drawing? Inking? Coloring? That requires actual skill. Fine muscle control. All those things.

And then, something catches his eye. It'sa picture of Gar, alright- it has to be. Green fur. But canine features and his red-and-white uniform. But to it has been added the Kryptonian symbol for the house of El, or the 'S' as some call it, and the cape.

"Oh dear god Gar-Krypto," he says to himself, laughing. Digging into the satchel, he starts inquiring about the price of that print. That one is going homewith them.

Gar Logan has posed:
"Just try it," Stripes says under his breath, masked by brushing hip to hip with Comet.

He's not so much one for artsy things himself, but he does have a small yet growing collection. He spots what Comet does, and as the dog begins to enter into whatever agreement needs to be made to purchase it, Stripes feigns not being able to watch by clapping his paws over his big tiger head eyes, shaking back and forth.

That is, until he spots someone nearby who's got a Wonderland-based scene with anthropomorphized versions of some of the main characters. Well, more than they've been seen in some media. It includes a very Vorpal-like Cheshire Cat. Naturally. He gravitates toward that so he can make his own purchase, pointing to it with a nod before getting into the cash stash.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Having secured his print, he follows 'Stripes' and nods approvingly at what he finds. Wonderland art is a touchy subject for him because, well, precedent. There are some versions of his appearance that cause him to cringe visibly. He examines the illustration with a critical eye and then he slowly nods in appoval.

"Much better likeness than fricking Disney..." Yes, he is still sore about that.

Yes, he has tried to dig into misuse of likeness- until he was dissuaded from it by the appeal that he'd be ruining the childhood of many a kid.

Gar Logan has posed:
That alone would probably ruin Vorpal's marketability, if he went after the Mouse. Most people don't win that battle.

Stripes reaches out to cover Comet's eyes at a few pieces, and if there's any objection to it Vorpal will see why. Not everything here is PG, after all. There /is/ also that side to things, even if the area for it is sectioned off to an extent.

They do get the chance to pick up a few more odds and ends before cat nudges dog and motions to the room in question for whatever that mystery panel was.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"... I still don't see why you covered my eyes,"the dog grumbles, clutching his baggy full of goodies and artstuff, "How bad could it possibly b-"

Let's think about this for a minute, here. Terry knows how to do research. Terry has, at times, come across *some* pieces ofat of his Vorpal alter-ego on social media.

Terry knows certain special interest groups exist, from doing that research.

Therefore, the answer can only be:

"-nevermind. Anyways, let's go see this mystery thing, shall we? I only hope it's not a mystery a la Scooby Doo or something, because the ones wearing the masks... well, let's just say I'm not ready to play the evil guy role."

Gar Logan has posed:
"You really started to ask that," says the 'tiger,' who makes a show of skipping along toward the mystery room. "How naive."

Upon reaching said mystery room, there's no villain of the day to defeat, but the 'dog' isn't too far off with the Scooby Doo reference. He just doesn't know it yet.

There's just a single table set up on a small stage at the front, but even the screen behind it is blank - except for a stylish question mark in the color purple.

A smattering of people are dressed in shades of purple to go with their usual attire, and there's a mix of reds, whites, greens, more or less a rainbow of color, really. This, in addition to many in their own fursuit costumes. "Hmm, now where should we sit..." 'Stripes' wonders, quietly enough for 'Comet' to hear. "Looks pretty full."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Yeah..." the dog looks at the room, taking a long appraising look at the seating possibilies, factoring the hassle that would be maneuvering through the chair spaces in a costume that suddenly makes his footprint much larger than it should be. It would be, in a word: maddening. And felines have a natural aversion to those things unless they are the ones visiting such things upon others.

"We could just stand at the back. That should work, right?"

Gar Logan has posed:
Someone up front looks toward the back and waves. The tiger waves back.

"Yeah, that's cool. Man, this place is packed!" Gar says from within that overly cheerful costume head.

Then the lights dim, and a film starts to play. "Oh, check it out." Disney's 'Alice in Wonderland' is recognizable. "They're doing a viewing party. Sweet," 'Stripes' purrs, giving 'Comet' another hip-bump.

"You /have/ watched this before, right?" he wonders.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
A groan escapes from inside the dog head. His shoulders slump just a little. This movie. He can never escape it. It haunts him wherever he goes.

"I will see this movie the day I die," he says in a sad monotone, "I will forever be compared to the feline animated equivalent of Orson Welles."

Then the head slowly turns to look at Gar at that question- and doesn't answer.

Gar Logan has posed:
"What, Agatha never showed it to you?" Gar's grin inside matches the one permanently set in the face of the tiger costume. "It's one of the classics! I was trying to see how much of it was accurate when we were there, but..you know, we kind of had bigger things to deal with at the time. And you're not dying today."

One way or another, Gar keeps his canine companion next to him. However, just before Alice is to meet the Cheshire Cat, the film stops. The lights stay off for a few seconds as a murmur goes up in the crowd. "What happened?" a couple people call out.

When the lights go back up, Stripes is grabbing Comet by the paw to head up front. "Let's see if we can help," he says under his breath.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Stripes has some nerve, doesn't he? Comet resists being pulled for a second before he is being led to the front.

"H-Hey, what's the big deal? I was just watching the movie!" he tells his fiance, lying through his teeth. he usually tries not to watch it by thinking about some terrible things, like macroeconomics.

"W-what are you doing?" he hisses under his breath.

Gar Logan has posed:
There is a projector set up to play the movie on the screen, but it appears to be on the fritz.

SPOILER ALERT: the guy who waved to the tiger earlier nudged the plug out of place, secretly hidden behind the projector's case, set up in a strategic location.

Stripes gestures to the guy in an exaggerated way, placing both paws to his head and acting distraught, leaning over to shake his whole upper body back and forth before straightening to tap-tap-tap against his chin as if in deep thought. He then holds up a paw to mime having a bright idea. There's even a 'ding' sound.

SPOILER ALERT: the guy who waved to the tiger earlier just hit a triangle like you'd see in a band or to summon people for dinner.

Now, Stripes leans over again to fiddle with the projector...and his head falls off.

In unison, the crowd gasps as one. Multiple 'Beast Boy!' realizations are shared and he looks at them sheepishly.

"Oh, hey there," he says with a grin. "Uh, I guess this isn't gonna work for us, so we can't watch the rest of the movie."

A collective 'awwwww' rises.

"This was supposed to be a celebration of Alice in Wonderland, but I've got something better than that. You know what that is?"

"What?" is asked in unison, as if the whole thing was scripted.

SPOILER ALERT: it is.

"How about the real, actual, one and only...Cheshire Cat, Vorpal himself!"

That's when Gar lifts Comet's head off, revealing the one within.

Cheers erupt.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry blinks very, very slowly, like the tiger who was just grabbed by the tail and is absolutely astonished at the sheer temerity and foolishness of his captor. That is entirely whas is going on here, right now. It cannot possibly be hat Terry is completely surprised and off guard. It isn't the fact that Gar has played his role to perfection without letting on a single spoiler.

Because that would mean admitting he was just caught with his figurative pants down.

"... I am so going to get you for this..." he says very quietly to Gar as the cheers erupt. But now he is in public relations mode and the Cheshire Cat gives a wide grin, the kind that he is famous for, and gives a wave to the audience.

He's totally getting Gar for this.

Gar Logan has posed:
Garfield Logan nudges Vorpal in the side with an elbow. "Can I act, or can I act?"

A banner unfurls over the screen, reading 'Vorpal Appreciation Day.'

He'd snap his fingers, except for the fact they're covered by oversized, cartoonish paws with his normal head poking out from the suit. Instead, he just gestures toward his cohort at the projector, someone Vorpal's never seen before, who's donned a pair of purple cat ears and is producing a legitimate /stack/ of promo-style photos of Vorpal in costume.

"You're gonna need to take those off," he says of the dog paws. "Everybody here is gonna need an autograph and a picture. Welcome to what it's like to be a celebrity."

He's enjoying the expression shift in the Cheshire Cat, in his fellow member of the Titans, in the guy he's come to love, and he gives a smile in return that might be rivaled by when he had that chaotic entity as part of him. "Get me back? Oh, I'm sure of it. But for now, this is for you. Now get out of that and get your butt and the rest of you over there." He points to the table as he also goes about removing the rest of his own costume.

Along the way, he leans in to whisper, "Don't mess with a Jedi Master."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"But I'm not a celeb-"

That sound you just heard was, hypothetically, the sheer power of Donna Troy's Gaze Of Truth cutting a swath through space and time and the majority of Metropolis in order to settle on him from an impossible distance, fixing him under its glare and laying him bare as a liar liar pants on fire cat. Like it or not, welcome it or not, being a part of the Titans means that he is a kind of celebrity. Being engaged to a movie star and Titan only multiplies that.

Oh, and the alien bird second fiance ups the weird celebrity index by an incalculable factor.

So he has obligations, which means that he does get out of the dog suit and he does, in fact, park his butt at the table in order to sign pictures of himself from three costumes ago, if only because of the speed with which he usually changes designs.

He gives Garfield a glance. It looks disapproving on the surface, but by now the green titan is familiar with the true disapproval glances, versus the ones he adopts when he wants to hide the fact that he's too embarrased or touched in public. They have a large undercurrent of fondness.

"Well, yes-" he begins to say as he signs and gets his first question, "I've met /an/ Alice, but Alice-Alice has been dead for ninety years. But there's another Alice, you know? We went to Wonderland together, to save it, and this Alice can grow big or small without needing to eat anything. Isn't that fascinating?"

And in his heart of hearts, he starts planning evil plans, but ones he knows will never see the light of day because there is only one universal constant:

You can't embarrass Garfield Logan, for he has no shame.

"Vorpal!" one of the fans asks him as another poster gets signed, "Tell us," the young man asks with a grin, "Do you have any pet names for Beast Boy?"

And then that smile just spreads wide. "Actually-" he begins...

Check that-

"Sometimes I call him 'gumdrop.' You know, like the lime ones in those candy boxes and can last for days?" his eyes twinkle with mischief.

-Maybe you can after all?
5r"Anyways, I'll tell you how he got that nickname. We were at the beach and-"

The line is a long one. Gar had better hope that the other con-goers don't get the idea of asking for embarrassing stories...