4059/Universally Universal

Universally Universal
Date of Scene:	07 November 2020
Location:	Alley Pond Park
Synopsis:	Puzzles are a universal thing.
Cast of Characters:	Marigold Lockes, Edward Nygma, Sally Houki

---

Marigold Lockes has posed:
Alley Pond Park tends to be a popular park for recreation, especially for those who enjoy sports after a long day of work. People are out, active, and some are even on the Adventure Course--a ropes course with a climbing wall. People seem to be getting in some practice while there's still some sunlight. While Marigold isn't particularly interested in the course itself, she's nearby. Seated on the ground in /front/ of a bench, she's sorting through a mess of scattered papers, moving them into piles with some rocks as paperweights.

Edward Nygma has posed:
"I tend the hair of Gaia, with scissors as long as daggers. When people ask for my help, I say 'I'll trim anything but kelp'. Who am I?" Edward walks past Marigold from behind, wearing a long green trenchcoat over his fine green suit and derby hat. There's no question marks or mask today, though he does have his iconic gold cane, simply haveing a stroll through the park. "Someone is clearly tending this garden, though I don't see the tell-tale signs of parks and recreation."

Sally Houki has posed:
"ALways so unkelpful, Eddy!"

Sally is here, of course, having joined Edward where he appears behind Marigold, appearing behind him in turn. She's dressed with her hair done up in tails and in a bright pink dressed with red and purple eyeballs all over it. Because of *course* she is. She rocks herself back on her heels, eyes going towards Marigold and finding her briefly distracting -- more distracting than the actual person she knows, what, with her seeming to know Mr. Nygma well enough.

Marigold Lockes has posed:
"I don't know why anyone would want to trim kelp," Marigold comments, barely looking up from her papers. All handwritten scraps of paper and things, it's an ecclectic mess of notes. "But any gardener worth their salt would know what needs trimmed and what doesn't." Shifting one paper to a pile and placing a rock atop it, she gives a nod in the direction of the path down towards the tree. "Parks and rec mostly leave that area be. They don't always have quite the loving hand necessary to keep that area the way it ought to be."

She does look up when she hears there's more than one person there, offering the two of them a wide grin. She gestures towards the bench nearby. "Don't let me hog everything here, if you two are here to meet. I just needed a good patch of ground to sort this on." She does scoot a bit, just as if to emphasize the bench is up for grabs.

Edward Nygma has posed:
"She figured out the riddle." Edward says to Sally with a bit of giddiness, then takes a seat on the bench, spreading both arms out as he quickly makes himself at home. His cane hangs lazily from his arm behind the bench now. The thing kind of skillfully gets swung around as-needed.

"We're here to meet, but it isn't much of a private meeting. Well, you're no one who could be a threat to the information." He nods to the space next to him, for Sally. "Uncanny Sally! My favorite Sally. I have an easy job for you."

Sally Houki has posed:
"Shh," says Sally, putting a finger over her lips. "There's nothing uncanny about me, sir. I'm just a normal Japanese girl, really."

... she says, wearing all of ... that.

Then again, she wouldn't be all that unusual out of some parts of Japan, now would she? She turns her gaze towards Marigold, again, hgowever, studying her intently. She brushes past Edward briefly and leans in to inspect her work.

Marigold Lockes has posed:
"Normal's a relative term," Marigold replies, not quite removing herself from the conversation, though it doesn't seem to bother her too much--so long as they don't seem bothered either. The papers in front of her are scraps of things--notes, newspaper clippings, sketches... she's sorting them into some kind of order, the rocks serving to keep any of it from blowing away should a breeze pick up.

Edward Nygma has posed:
Edward can't help but peer down at her various papers, leaning over to stare and analyze. "Looks like you have a puzzle on your hands. Need help solving it? Or perhaps you're creating it."

Then, turning to look up at Sally, he smiles and just immediately proposes his offer, "I need people to show up at press conferences, walk near Carmine Falcon's house to see if he has any intention of trying to murder me, and I need you to be on call in case Harleen-- Harley Quinn decides she doesn't like my present and gets a little murdery."

Marigold Lockes has posed:
"It's even more of a puzzle when it's the universe giving it to you. No better a quest-giver, I'd say," Marigold says over her shoulder, picking up a scrap of paper. It's a sketch of a sun-dial with the shading showing a particular time. "Ah ha, there we go. That one's done." Carefully, the paper is folded and tucked away from the rest to be discarded. "I don't think this is a puzzle to solve, it's a puzzle to perpetually experience. A puzzle lifestyle. The universe at its very finest."

Sally Houki has posed:
Sally, gently, clears her throat. Seems Eddy is being a little too open about her business for her liking, though it doesn't seem to be something she minds *overly* much in context.

She tilts her head at Marigold, though, seeming entirely interested in ... something. It's almost like she's looking past her, actually, or right through her. "Mmhmm mmnn.. Yeah," she replies, "Sure thing. I can probably help you a little there." Of course she does. Protecting high value tawrgets in dangerous situations is sort of her job description in a lot of ways. But she's definitely only giving him a thimble of attention at the moment, even if she's acknowledging.

Edward Nygma has posed:
"Are you giving //me// a riddle?" Edward asks, taken aback as he sits up, hand over his chest as if he has the vapors. He looks to Sally and asks, "Is she giving //me// a riddle?"

Then, once Sally's acknowledged his offer, he looks back to Marigold and asks, "Do you know who I am?"

He pauses, then says, "I have many angles, and I'm always obtuse. Who am I?" Then he raises his cane up, waving it around. "A hint."

Marigold Lockes has posed:
"What? No, if anything the universe is the one giving riddles. I'm a mere adventurer following along to lend a hand and see where it's leading. Aren't we all?" Marigold's attention is drawn back to Edward for a long moment. "Mystery Man," she says with amusement. "Far as I'm concerned, you're a seeker for the universe's mysteries."

She gives a slow look towards Sally. "You seeing something I'm not?"

Sally Houki has posed:
"Probably. Probably not. I don't know. I'm not in the 'noticing things' business. At least that's what Heidi tells me and she'd know. She notices things *way* better than I do."

Sally taps her fingers against each other as she clasps them at her front. "Me, I forget which branch I'm in on a daily basis, and then I'm never *really* sure I get back to the same one. Did I wake up in the same plane, you know? Like .. whbere does the time go, anyway, when there's no arrows to point the way?"

She looks up a moment, apparently lost in thought.

Sally being weird again.

Edward Nygma has posed:
"Mystery Man. I'm sure one of my generic copycats are using that name by now. Though it's better than the Cluemaster. Screw the Cluemaster." Edward grumbles, he is not a fan of his 'fan'.

"Wow." he says as he just sits back, crossing his arms, and taking a deep breath. "I think this is the first time I've been the least confusing person in the room."

Marigold Lockes has posed:
"Cluemaster sounds something like a video game, not a person," Marigold's attention, however, goes back towards Sally. Maybe Sally's being weird... but is she really the /least/ confusing person in the room, or does she actually have someone that gets what she's saying.

"Branches?" She pauses, then laughs. "That's certainly a way of looking at it. The irony certainly isn't lost on me. Branches." She glances back towards the papers on the ground, then picks up a scrap of paper. "These are the arrows. This is how the universe is telling you where to go. I just don't think people know how to look for them."

Sally Houki has posed:
"...Well if it helps any," assures Sally of Edward, "... I'm very confused like *most* of the time?" She puts a hand atop her head and offers him a winning smile, though, she swings back around towards Maritold with a curious expression, "One way to look at what?" she asks, having lost track of whatever it is she was talking aboiut.

Edward Nygma has posed:
"What does //that// mean?" Edward asks, at the explanation of the papers, and arrows, and the universe. He looks to Sally as if she'll offer more clarity.

When she doesn't offer any, he realizes it's time to grab the reigns, and holds his hands out, his cane dangling on his thumb. "Alright, branches, messages from the universe, arrows." He says these things outloud, his brain at work.

A riddle that isn't a riddle. "A riddle that the Earth gives you."

He finally stops, spinning his cane before grasping it in his hand, and holds up a finger. "You're a druid, and Sally is Sally."

Marigold Lockes has posed:
"Mm, the Earth is the one giving the clues, but I think some greater universal power is the riddle-giver," Marigold seems amused. "My connection to the earth is simply more help for me to have noticed the world around me. Wouldn't say I'm a druid, but I certainly care about living things around me and pay attention to them."

She looks to Sally, still holding the paper. "Right, you said there's a branch. The universe is letting me know where these branches are. You find these clues, you find a branch, you figure out how to help. Opportunities. They could happen or they might not. I've never found it to be a prophecy, but always an opportunity. I can't always figure things out, though." She glances Edward's way, looking amused. "The universe is full of angles and always obtuse."

Sally Houki has posed:
"The universe is telling me something right *now*," muses Sally, a pensive look on her face.

"...and that it's I want ice cream. Do you want ice cream?" she asks Marigold. Then to the Riddler, "Do *you* want ice cream?" she asks, curiously, eyes big and focused in on him. "Everything comes up branched eventually, anyway," she adds.

Edward Nygma has posed:
"People do sometimes say I have a god complex. Mostly my therapists, the police, Batman, and sometimes his children." Edward says in response to her repeating his riddle back at him. "So this is an esoteric form of reading the tea leaves to figure out how to... be a superhero?"

"Hmm, I'll have ice cream, yes." He considers what kind he wants, rubbing his chin, then says, "Some say I'm a nut, though I easily come to pieces. And with proper care, sometimes I'm even quite sweet. I have a good friend, though they're a bit cold. And, if you put us together? Well, just give it a swirl."

Marigold Lockes has posed:
Marigold's face scrunches up a bit. "I certainly don't consider it a 'superhero' activity, and usually people reading tea leaves don't have any idea what leaves are telling them in the first place. But maybe." She starts to stack the papers in a particular order, setting the rocks aside as she gathers things. "Ice cream could be good," she agrees.

As she stands up, Edward's given a glance. "Rocky Road? Or Pralines and Cream, possibly. Good choices." She offers both him and Sally a grin. "But really, following the universe to opportunities to help people is what I do sometimes. Always keeping an eye out."

Sally Houki has posed:
Sally now wanders off.

She's off to fetch the ice cream, of course, and in the end it's strawberry swirl all around. Not becasue anyone wanted some, it's just waht came to mind when she got over there. Edward has probably known her long enough to not be even slightly surprised by this turn of events. She passes out the cones with a cheerful smile on her f ace.

"Anyway, I'm Sally. It's nice to meet you, Ms. Gardener!" She points at Marigold, having no idea what her name is except that she is now Ms. Gardener so far as she's concerned.

Edward Nygma has posed:
Edward stares at the ice cream, then licks it. "You were close. The answer was peanut butter swirl, but I think your answer is the valid popular answer, if this were a game show." The Riddler is a benevolent game show host, when he isn't committing a crime or being kind of a dick.

"You know, I've taken to telling most people I'm a reformed Batman villain up front, mostly because I've become fascinated by the different responses. But also because I don't have much shame about it." He stares at the ice cream though, and has to wonder, looking over at Sally. "Is this ice cream real?"

Marigold Lockes has posed:
"Marigold Lockes. Call me Marigold or Goldie, if you prefer. Some people enjoy that joke quite a bit," Marigold replies, a bit of a twinkle in her eye. She takes the ice cream without too much thought. "Thank you very much, Sally. That's awfully kind of you."

Her eyes shift to Edward. "Villain's an awfully intense word, I'd say. What do you think made you a villain and how're you reformed for it?"

Sally Houki has posed:
"Oh right, you used to do that thing more often," says Sally to Edward, thoughtfully, "Maybe later." Later what? The rest of his words leave her looking confused, "... huh. Okay." She tells him. Clearly, she lost track of what he was doing earlier. Then to Goldie: "It's nice to meet you! I'm Sally," she already said that. "Wait, I already said that. Anyway, I think this must be a more important moment." She nods.

Edward Nygma has posed:
"I'm mostly reformed because it pays more to be a genius private investigator. And I'm a villain because of all the elaborate death trap puzzles and puzzle robots, lasers, villainous lairs." Edward considers that a little longer, and then nods when he figures out the best answer. "Once you trap someone's fingers in a deadly Chinese finger trap, you're a villain. But all of my puzzles and traps were perfectly solvable."

"I'm not the //Joker//, you know?" he has to go on this rant again, of course. "The Joker is all about wanton violence and chaos, there's no finesse, there's no //flavor//. Oh, look, people are laughing to death, because I'm the Joker and I only do one thing. Harleen is the only clown in Gotham worth a damn, I'm glad they broke up, she deserves better."

He squints at Sally, suspiciously. A few things come to mind, with her confusion. But he can never quite tell... "Do you..." But he reconsiders his question to Sally, shutting up.

Marigold Lockes has posed:
Marigold gives Edward a skeptical look. "Well, I can't exactly say I'm too keen on the idea of puzzles where people could get hurt, but you said /reformed/." Which, of course, will imply that his days of hurting people must be long behind him. "If you ever feel like helping someone, I've got more clues from the universe than I can ever solve. It's a good hobby. Can't say it pays, so don't quit your day job."

She glances back to Sally, a note of amusement crossing her face. "I like you. Thinking on a different level. You'd be good at this stuff."

Sally Houki has posed:
"Oh right! My fee!" blurts Sally, turning back towards Edward and adding, cheerfully, "The usual retainer, if you would, same currency as last time, no price change!"

She gives the Riddler the double finger guns -- clearly tempting fate -- as she adds, "And I'm guessing you just didn't like what ... you .... SAW."

She presses a button her phone, she took it out somewhere along the line, and it begins to plaqy the SAW franchise theme. Because they're about killer death traps, of course. This, she could not help doing.

Then back to Marigold with a wide smile. "I like you too! You seem very nice."

Edward Nygma has posed:
"It's easier to pay you when you don't do that." Edward says to Sally's rather extended reference. "My puzzles were never about hurting people, even though that was a natural consequence. They were about elevating people on an intellectual level, giving them the extra //push// to evolve. But it was also about having a challenge, a worthy opponent. Batman is probably the ultimate worthy opponent... But after a while you get tired of being beaten senseless by a psychotic martial arts master who is frequently touted as the world's greatest detective. Personally, I think I'm better."

"You know, you have a real 'make a guy want to reform harder' vibe, Goldie." He tips his hat to her. "My puzzles might not be elaborate death traps anymore, but I'll always be at least a little bit of a bad guy. I'm one of Gotham's rogues, after all."

Marigold Lockes has posed:
Marigold offers a bit of a grin. "Nothing wrong with getting stronger and learning to better yourself, I just prefer it in the nobody-gets-hurt way. Everyone's got something to learn, but sometimes you've got to fail to learn it." She focuses momentarily on her ice cream before she looks back at the two of them.

"'Bad guy' is also a loaded term. Anyone can be labeled as bad if they don't fit what's expected of them. I've been called a rabblerouser and a troublemaker more than once in my life, but you can't expect to please /everyone/."

Sally Houki has posed:
Sally Houki takes a nom of her ice cream.

"Yeah, I know," says Sally to the Riddler, "but all things being equal, I couldnm't help but troll you at least a little." Another ice cream nom follows.

"Everyone is the best and worst versions of themselves ... somewhere. I think." She muses.

Edward Nygma has posed:
"You can make a lot of trouble without hurting anyone, though some people could use a good hurting." Edward stands, then leans over to reach behind Marigold's ear, pulling out a green card.

The Riddler
Private Investigator, Prince of Puzzlers, CEO of Riddlr.
His name is at the bottom.

"If you need an investigator, or a problem solved, that's my number." He then turns around and reaches out to pat Sally's shoulder. "I'll see you around, Sally. Have fun with your branches."

Sally Houki has posed:
"...oh yeah! You too, Mr. Nygma! You have a LOT of them." Sally gives her head a quick shake.