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The Man in Grey (925th Universe): Difference between revisions
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}}'''The Man in Grey''' was a mysterious figure, active in at least [[925th Universe|one universe]]. He was behind the “[[Multidimensional Finders Service]]”, having tracked down [[Jenny Over-There]] to put her powers to good use as part of the Service. | }}'''The Man in Grey''' was a mysterious figure, active in at least [[925th Universe|one universe]]. He was behind the “[[Multidimensional Finders Service]]”, having tracked down [[Jenny Over-There (925th Universe)|Jenny Over-There]] to put her powers to good use as part of the Service. | ||
==Description== | ==Description== | ||
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=== Personality === | === Personality === | ||
The Man in Grey freely referred to himself as “evil”. [[Jenny Over-There]] thought of him as rude, and he was easily frustrated. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Open Sourcing (short story)|Open Sourcing]]'') Over-There once cited “working for the Man in Grey for extended periods of time” as something which “tend[ed] to shift one’s perspective a little on the relative badness of kidnapping situations”. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Family Business (short story)|Family Business]]'') He combined an outsized confidence in his own mental faculties with a yearning for approval from his betters that left him crushed when he failed to get it. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[A Series of Queer Events (short story)|A Series of Queer Events]]'') | The Man in Grey freely referred to himself as “evil”. [[Jenny Over-There (925th Universe)|Jenny Over-There]] thought of him as rude, and he was easily frustrated. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Open Sourcing (short story)|Open Sourcing]]'') Over-There once cited “working for the Man in Grey for extended periods of time” as something which “tend[ed] to shift one’s perspective a little on the relative badness of kidnapping situations”. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Family Business (short story)|Family Business]]'') He combined an outsized confidence in his own mental faculties with a yearning for approval from his betters that left him crushed when he failed to get it. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[A Series of Queer Events (short story)|A Series of Queer Events]]'') | ||
His liking for the colour grey extended beyond his wardrobe, with him entire painting the [[M.F.S. office]] in this same shade. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Open Sourcing (short story)|Open Sourcing]]'') He also fell under the label of grey-asexual, but claimed this was a complete coincidence. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[A Series of Queer Events (short story)|A Series of Queer Events]]'') | His liking for the colour grey extended beyond his wardrobe, with him entire painting the [[M.F.S. office]] in this same shade. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Open Sourcing (short story)|Open Sourcing]]'') He also fell under the label of grey-asexual, but claimed this was a complete coincidence. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[A Series of Queer Events (short story)|A Series of Queer Events]]'') | ||
=== Powers & abilities === | === Powers & abilities === | ||
The Man in Grey had an aura of grayness which extended beyond his physical wardrobe choice. [[Jenny Over-There]] found [[Jenny Nowhere (38167th Universe)|Jenny Nowhere]]'s comparable aura of wrongness eerily familiar. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Family Business (short story)|Family Business]]'') | The Man in Grey had an aura of grayness which extended beyond his physical wardrobe choice. [[Jenny Over-There (925th Universe)|Jenny Over-There]] found [[Jenny Nowhere (38167th Universe)|Jenny Nowhere]]'s comparable aura of wrongness eerily familiar. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Family Business (short story)|Family Business]]'') | ||
==Biography== | ==Biography== | ||
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=== Setting up the M.F.S. === | === Setting up the M.F.S. === | ||
After discovering that [[Jenny Over-There|a young woman]] had gained the ability to sense the location of anything and anyone across [[the Multiverse]], the Man in Grey tracked her down and offered her a job as the sole employee of a “[[Multidimensional Finders Service]]”, answering phone-calls on the [[Red Interdimensional Telephone]] from across the Multiverse, helping people who needed help finding something or someone. He offered her a salary of £5000, leading to her accepting. In addition to the “R.I.T.”, he also bought [[M.F.S. office|an office]] for her to use. With his funds running short by this point, he was only able to afford a fairly cheap [[toaster]] for the office. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Tribulations of Jenny Over-There (short story)|The Tribulations of Jenny Over-There]]'') He stayed at the M.F.S. office at night, apparently having no other home. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Workplace Reunion (short story)|Workplace Reunion]]'') | After discovering that [[Jenny Over-There (925th Universe)|a young woman]] had gained the ability to sense the location of anything and anyone across [[the Multiverse]], the Man in Grey tracked her down and offered her a job as the sole employee of a “[[Multidimensional Finders Service]]”, answering phone-calls on the [[Red Interdimensional Telephone]] from across the Multiverse, helping people who needed help finding something or someone. He offered her a salary of £5000, leading to her accepting. In addition to the “R.I.T.”, he also bought [[M.F.S. office|an office]] for her to use. With his funds running short by this point, he was only able to afford a fairly cheap [[toaster]] for the office. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Tribulations of Jenny Over-There (short story)|The Tribulations of Jenny Over-There]]'') He stayed at the M.F.S. office at night, apparently having no other home. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Workplace Reunion (short story)|Workplace Reunion]]'') | ||
=== New hires === | === New hires === | ||
One day, the Man in Grey was informed by the [[Great Higher-Up]]s that they wanted him to set up a second branch of the M.F.S. in [[Scotland]] to add to the office in [[Wales]] where [[Jenny Over-There]] worked. Furthermore, they wanted all applicants to be free of “[[Copyright|a certain legal tether]]”. The Man in Grey worked into the night getting a list of possible candidates together, eventually taking shortcuts and ended up with a final list full of heroes obviously unqualified for the job of finding things, as well a few villains and a distressing number of literal [[Nazi]]s. He interviewed the lot of them, in succession, on the next day with Jenny, having temporarily closed up the Welsh office for business, disconnecting the [[Red Interdimensional Telephone]], for the purpose. | One day, the Man in Grey was informed by the [[Great Higher-Up]]s that they wanted him to set up a second branch of the M.F.S. in [[Scotland]] to add to the office in [[Wales]] where [[Jenny Over-There (925th Universe)|Jenny Over-There]] worked. Furthermore, they wanted all applicants to be free of “[[Copyright|a certain legal tether]]”. The Man in Grey worked into the night getting a list of possible candidates together, eventually taking shortcuts and ended up with a final list full of heroes obviously unqualified for the job of finding things, as well a few villains and a distressing number of literal [[Nazi]]s. He interviewed the lot of them, in succession, on the next day with Jenny, having temporarily closed up the Welsh office for business, disconnecting the [[Red Interdimensional Telephone]], for the purpose. | ||
The interview process ended early when [[Dynamite Thor]] activated a real grenade inside the office, although no one was injured, with the Man in Grey (for his part) making out the window in time. He eventually settled on the roster of [[Talbot Molossus]], [[the Hydrant]], [[0000-8888888]] and [[Doctor Know-It-All]]. Additionally, however, being frustrated by the difficulty of finding the coffee machine, he suggested to Jenny that they hire an intern for the Welsh office. Jenny, feeling sorry for the hapless Thor, suggested him for the part. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Open Sourcing (short story)|Open Sourcing]]'') | The interview process ended early when [[Dynamite Thor]] activated a real grenade inside the office, although no one was injured, with the Man in Grey (for his part) making out the window in time. He eventually settled on the roster of [[Talbot Molossus]], [[the Hydrant]], [[0000-8888888]] and [[Doctor Know-It-All]]. Additionally, however, being frustrated by the difficulty of finding the coffee machine, he suggested to Jenny that they hire an intern for the Welsh office. Jenny, feeling sorry for the hapless Thor, suggested him for the part. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Open Sourcing (short story)|Open Sourcing]]'') | ||
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After bumping into [[Professor Wogglebug]] at the entrance, he set down his suitcase containing the sponsorship deals and letter from Dorian Gray and entered the Councilchamber. Unbeknownst to him, it was found by [[Oscar Diggs]], who mistook it for his own suitcase and carried it away. Meanwhile, the meeting was a complete failure due to his poor choice of sponsors; bad blood between Dorian Gray and [[Atlas the Traveller]] rendered his letter of recommendation actively unhelpful, and as for the sponsorship deals, Dionysus boycotted the Council when he learned that [[Stardust the Super-Wizard]] had been invited as the Super Besties' representative only for Stardust himself not to bother to show up, and the remaining members of the Council reacted violently to the identities of the representatives of DollarGraveClub — [[Dracula#At DollarGraveClub|Dracula]], [[Carmilla#At DollarGraveClub|Carmilla]], [[Ruthven#At DollarGraveClub|Lord Ruthven]] and [[Varney#At DollarGraveClub|Mr Varney]]. Before they could try to salvage the situation, the Man in Grey and Wogglebug were confronted by an irate [[Ozma]], who banished the Man in Grey from Oz for corrupting the spirit of Pride. | After bumping into [[Professor Wogglebug]] at the entrance, he set down his suitcase containing the sponsorship deals and letter from Dorian Gray and entered the Councilchamber. Unbeknownst to him, it was found by [[Oscar Diggs]], who mistook it for his own suitcase and carried it away. Meanwhile, the meeting was a complete failure due to his poor choice of sponsors; bad blood between Dorian Gray and [[Atlas the Traveller]] rendered his letter of recommendation actively unhelpful, and as for the sponsorship deals, Dionysus boycotted the Council when he learned that [[Stardust the Super-Wizard]] had been invited as the Super Besties' representative only for Stardust himself not to bother to show up, and the remaining members of the Council reacted violently to the identities of the representatives of DollarGraveClub — [[Dracula#At DollarGraveClub|Dracula]], [[Carmilla#At DollarGraveClub|Carmilla]], [[Ruthven#At DollarGraveClub|Lord Ruthven]] and [[Varney#At DollarGraveClub|Mr Varney]]. Before they could try to salvage the situation, the Man in Grey and Wogglebug were confronted by an irate [[Ozma]], who banished the Man in Grey from Oz for corrupting the spirit of Pride. | ||
The Man in Grey returned to the M.F.S. office to tell Thor and [[Jenny Over-There]] to cancel all Pride theming and shred the flyers he'd printed, before heading off to sulk. A week or so later, he found himself in “the most heterosexual bar” he could find, having headed there to wallow. He ended up bumping into Wogglebug, who informed him that Jenny and Thor had set up a Pride party of their own at [[Professor Helvetius's Convenient Pride Decorations Shop]] using the decorations they'd bought to decorate the M.F.S. office prior to his counter-order. He managed to convince him to attend. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[A Series of Queer Events (short story)|A Series of Queer Events]]'') | The Man in Grey returned to the M.F.S. office to tell Thor and [[Jenny Over-There (925th Universe)|Jenny Over-There]] to cancel all Pride theming and shred the flyers he'd printed, before heading off to sulk. A week or so later, he found himself in “the most heterosexual bar” he could find, having headed there to wallow. He ended up bumping into Wogglebug, who informed him that Jenny and Thor had set up a Pride party of their own at [[Professor Helvetius's Convenient Pride Decorations Shop]] using the decorations they'd bought to decorate the M.F.S. office prior to his counter-order. He managed to convince him to attend. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[A Series of Queer Events (short story)|A Series of Queer Events]]'') | ||
=== Later events === | === Later events === | ||
The Man in Grey was irate when [[Jenny Over-There]] disappeared for twelve hours, from 2 p.m. on June 17th, 2022 to 2 a.m. the following day, even after learning that this was because she had been kidnapped by [[Jenny Nowhere (38167th Universe)|Jenny Nowhere]]. However, he sent her home instead of insisting she catch up on the work, as he had just been told by the [[Great Higher-Up]]s that, in response to his bungling of the Pride Month P.R., they were sending in [[the Repairer of Reputations]] the next day to fix up the Service's image. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Workplace Reunion (short story)|Workplace Reunion]]'') | The Man in Grey was irate when [[Jenny Over-There (925th Universe)|Jenny Over-There]] disappeared for twelve hours, from 2 p.m. on June 17th, 2022 to 2 a.m. the following day, even after learning that this was because she had been kidnapped by [[Jenny Nowhere (38167th Universe)|Jenny Nowhere]]. However, he sent her home instead of insisting she catch up on the work, as he had just been told by the [[Great Higher-Up]]s that, in response to his bungling of the Pride Month P.R., they were sending in [[the Repairer of Reputations]] the next day to fix up the Service's image. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Workplace Reunion (short story)|Workplace Reunion]]'') | ||
==Behind the scenes== | ==Behind the scenes== | ||
===Genesis=== | ===Genesis=== | ||
The Man in Grey was introduced in 2022 in ''[[The Tribulations of Jenny Over-There (short story)|The Tribulations of Jenny Over-There]]'', an [[April Fools' Day (real world)|April Fools' Day]] story by [[Callum Phillpott]] which also introduced [[Jenny Over-There]]. Phillpott's rendition of “[[the Paragraph]]” released Jenny Over-There as an open-source character in her own right under similar conditions to Jenny Everywhere and other recurring characters, and also said of the Man in Grey:<ref>https://archiveofourown.org/works/38095315</ref> | The Man in Grey was introduced in 2022 in ''[[The Tribulations of Jenny Over-There (short story)|The Tribulations of Jenny Over-There]]'', an [[April Fools' Day (real world)|April Fools' Day]] story by [[Callum Phillpott]] which also introduced [[Jenny Over-There (925th Universe)|Jenny Over-There]]. Phillpott's rendition of “[[the Paragraph]]” released Jenny Over-There as an open-source character in her own right under similar conditions to Jenny Everywhere and other recurring characters, and also said of the Man in Grey:<ref>https://archiveofourown.org/works/38095315</ref> | ||
{{quotebox|You can also just use the Man in Grey if you want, I won't get on your case about that, he's public domain now.|Callum Phillpott}} | {{quotebox|You can also just use the Man in Grey if you want, I won't get on your case about that, he's public domain now.|Callum Phillpott}} | ||
