exsiliumlogs | [closed] So here's to drinks in the dark at the end of my road

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[closed] So here's to drinks in the dark at the end of my road

Date & Time: forward dated: Friday 22nd – Sunday 24th March
Location: a fair way into the Outlands
Characters:
Asami Sato

chittybang, Cedric Diggory

theboywhodied, Collette

whatsupcroc, Ellie Linton

reconnaissance, Fi Maxwell

burnsinvisibly, Katniss Everdeen

accidentalrebellion, Mitsuki Ishikawa

drowns, Peter Parker

arachnoid, Steph Brown

controlledvariable
Summary: Nine teenagers with varying degrees of trauma decide to go camping.
(Actually, eight teenagers get bullied into going camping by Ellie.)
Warnings: Not sure yet; I'll add them as they come up. At the very least some language, and fallout from PTSD.

Ellie had found the place once before on her wandering into the Outlands; a dilapidated old barn, with stone walls and a roof that was, by some miracle, completely intact despite all the evidence of nature clambering up its walls and trying to reclaim it for the land. There's a hill leading down to it, and if you follow that hill down, you meet the woods, a big lake. It's beautiful, she thinks. Nowhere near so wild as Hell, but that was better.

Finding that place had been how it started, before thinking about getting some of the others together had kicked in. A way to unwind, after the body swap. At the very least a chance to get some decent people all together in the same place (and maybe a way to apologise to Asami for pointing a gun at her that one time).

OOC: Party style, adventures everyone.Just go wild, if you want it to be set at a particular time, maybe specify in the subject line? I'm doing some starters just... in case that helps but do whatever you like tbh. YEAH. There's also the ooc plotting post so chuck folks in there and scheme and let the madness and CR unfold.

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Insect free, too?

( She grins, impressed that so far no one's made a flea joke at her own expense. )

If you don't mind, that'd be great! My hair's still drying, but if I catch it now it might not be a total frazzled mess. Only partial!

Edited 2013-03-19 06:21 (UTC)

Of course.

[She briefly presses a hand to her chest, mock offended, before standing up to make her way over to Collette, sitting down near her and offering the brush.]

I figure frazzled hair is a necessary part of camping. [Especially if there's swimming involved.] If you put it into a braid it might dry into waves instead of frizz, though.

It does the waves thing all on it's own. But you're right! They fall nicer if you braid when my hair's still damp.

( She accepts the brush, rolling the handle between her hands. She looks sideways at Steph... then slowly grins. )

Are you offering?

It took me way too long to realize how much simpler life was if I braided it bfore going to bed.

[In her defense, it wasn't until she started doing things like staying up until 5am and having to get up at 7am for school, that wasting time on things like drying and styling her hair became an issue.]

If you want me too. [a grin] I know some people don't like anyone touching their hair.

[Like... herself, though it only extends to strangers.]

Please, touch away! I don't get anyone playing with my hair anymore.

( She pulls her expression into a mock pout, laughing and ducking her head down right after. )

Yeah, braiding saves on all kinds of trouble. So would cutting it all off, I guess, but I've never really wanted to!

[Steph takes the brush back, and nudges the log she'd been using as a seat a bit, so that she's sitting behind Collette, rather than next to her. She starts brushing Collette's hair in small sections, making sure to gently get any knots out.]

My friend's and I used to do each other's hair all the time, we couldn't afford fancy clothes or lots of make up, but we could do our hair up nice if we were going out.

[Not that they... didn't have some nice clothes and make up anyway, because shoplifting is a thing, but Steph tended to avoid that.]

I reckon you'd look nice with short hair, but yeah, it takes getting used to, and growing it back is hell.

[She cut hers into a bob once, out of sheer frustration from dealing with her long hair and her mask.]

Do you? I always figured it's get so frizzy that short I'd end up looking like a puffball for a head.

( She holds up her hands, indicating the apparent degree of fritz she was expecting. )

Plus then it gets in my eyes, and I hate having it any shorter than what I can tie back! Having bangs the last time was bad enough. My ahir was always getting into my eyes, or my mouth! I'd have to go seriosly short to avoid all of that.

( Which isn't entirely a bad idea... hmm. Collette is relaxing under Steph's minstrations, tension slowly bleeding out of her body. She's not at her best, not worn out as she usually is on these camping trips where morphing is her means of moving around. Not that she mentions it to anyone, but the equivalence in morphing as often as she needs to comes out like she was running endurance marathons all day, day after day. She's just glad she's been adapting to it since she showed up nine months ago. )

It takes a little more effort, I tended to do a leave-in conditioner once a week just to make sure it stayed smooth.

[Of course, Steph was also mistreating her hair a little by shoving it under a mask and getting kind of sweaty every night, but that's neither here nor there.]

I totally get it about it being in you eyes. You could always go for a pixie cut or something similar, it'd look cute.

[Once the knots are out, she spends a couple minutes just brushing Collette's hair; she's noticed that Collette seems a little tired at the end of the day, more than anyone else, so it's nice to see her relax.]

I think that's officially more effort than I'd be bothered to put in. I shower after swimming and at night, that's the extent of me doing anything for my hair!

( She snorts, eyes half closing as Steph continues brushing. It's nice, between the fire and the attention, to not worry or feel like she needs to be on alert for any particular reason. )

It's still have to grow back after, unless I keep it real short.

( Though she pauses, considering, and turns her head just enough to catch sight of Steph out of the corner of one eye. )

You really think it'd look cute?

I used to do a lot more. [Back when she had thigns like free time.] But I can totally understand just washing it in the shower.

[Sometimes she straightens her hair, when she has time before class. Or when her mom offers to do it while Steph is reading her textbooks.

When Collette turns to face her, Steph gives her a considering look, properly thinking it over]

I do. Kinda-- hm, I wish we had the internet, I remember Audrey Tatou had short hair for a while that I reckon would suit you.

[Kara likes French films.]

Who?

( Collette twists her head around further, confusion and curiosity prompting her into looking more alert in general. She quirks an eyebrow up, not finding the name brings anything or anyone clearly to mind. )

Does she do anything exciting?

She's a French actress, one of my friends is pretty into her.

[Steph takes a moment to reconsiders timelines.]

I think she might be after your time, though. One day I'll get the hang of this multiverse stuff.

[It's hard not having pop culture references be understood.]

Edited 2013-03-25 07:03 (UTC)

After my time? Hey, at least I can't have forgotten about her then! More of this stuff that hasn't even happened, if it ever will.

( She turns her attention back to the fire, watching the flames in their haphazard consumption of the wood they'd all helped drag in to camp, one way or another. She doesn't sound so bothered, having run into enough examples of conflicts of timeline interest to figure it all exists with about equal probability.

She's just happy to be here. In the middle of nowhere, in a future on a planet that was like hers, but so different at the same time. )

Though I wonder how it really works. With the multiverse, and everything, if the United Earth is doing what the Initaitive says.

It's funny, you don't really think of actresses as being one of those things that messing around with the multiverse could change.

[She goes quiet for a moment, considering it all, as she parts Collette's hair down the centre, then divides the right side into three sections, starting a braid.]

Maybe, but... I keep thinking about the people that watch over my universe, and I can't imagine the United Earth going unnoticed, if the Initiative are telling the truth.

[Superman, Oracle, the GL Corp, just to name a few.]

There's way more out in all the worlds than we think is possible. Maybe they aren't, not in the worlds with whole teams of superheroes watching out for them, but that leaves places like my home, and all these others, like Caesar's? Wide open. I mean... so there's magic, and magic is amazing, but I'm trying to imagine magic stopping the levels of technology we've seen the United Earth use.

( Her shoulders are tensing again. )

You think fast and smart and creative enough, you get around that stuff, but unless they've got some amazing healers on hand and all over, if it came down to direct confrontation, people would be getting wiped out. And why would the UE care? If they're strip mining whole continents, or... or if they're moving off world? If they can stabilize things, don't you think they'd try?

[She pauses, holding the half-done braid still, as she rests her hand on Collette's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze to try to get her to relax. She can understan the tension, of course, but it also seems like Collette could use a break.]

I don't know, Collette. [She sounds sad about it, like she wishes she could find some answers to reassure her.] Maybe this is why everyone wants to believe the Initiative, because, well, at least then we can feel like we're doing something.

We are doing something.

( She tries to lose some of that tension, succeeding to a degree. It's about reassurance -- see? She's fine. She glances back at Steph and flashes her a smile, assured of what she's saying. )

Some of us are just planning to do more than a little something. You know? Check up on facts, get stories straight. The Initiative... I'm not smart enough to say I trust them or I don't trust them and have good reasons why. I don't feel they lie to us, but I also don't feel they know as much as they want us to think they do. And what's important to us isn't so much to them.

( She bti down on her lower lip, considering what she'd been talking about with Caesar for months by now. )

[Steph mulls that over in silence for a moment, finishing up the first braid and pinning it into place. There's more to what Collette's saying than simple digging for information, and it's got Bagirl's attention.

Eventually:] What are you planning? [She sounds interested, curious, a little eager, rather than judgemental or interrogative.]

( It's not entirely the tone she expects; it does remind her of the stories Steph had shared the first time they texted on the network. The memory makes her smile, eyes closing halfway with a certain mischievous air.

it's at odds with what she says. )

Scoping out the UE coast and roadways into the cities. Then tracking down information on where in all the habitable world they're running their transport pads out of. First hand accounts, that's what we're planning on getting down the line.

( She smiles, sounding matter of fact. Caesar has pointed out time and again how improbable it was, right before he'd been discussing logistics and what they'd need to get over to the far coast and surviving once they did. He did the intelligent thinking part, right down to asking how it was she'd gotten him to start doing that in the first place.

He's left her to do the people gathering. So gather she will. )

It's what we will know, once we have the intel. For better or worse!

[She hums, thoughtful, but there's more silence for a while, her hands busy with the second braid as she goes over it all in her head, the offer that must be inherent in Collette mention it. She doubts she'd bring it up with someone, if the option wasn't there for them to go I'm coming, and that's where Steph is - a little stuck.

Stephanie Brown is apparently trust worthy enough to be told about this plan, but Batgirl is who would be really useful.]

That's not gonna be an easy trip.

[It's not a criticism. After talking with Collette on the rooftop, she knows better than to underestimate her, to think she won't know how dangerous doing this would be.]

How are you planning to get across the channel?

( Collette falls back into the silence along with Stephanie, curious if there will be any answer, or if she'd change topics and leave it as an oddity brought up under companionable circumstances. Perhaps a flight of fancy by the girl who could literally sprout wings and soar off into the sunset.

The work on her hair is lulling her while she waits, even while her attention remains on Stephanie. She mmms at what Steph first says.

It's the question that makes Collette's eyes open again. )

Boat. I can think of a dozen different ways to go on my own, but that's not what this is about. Next to relying on magic, our best bet is a boat. I'm not sure where Caesar wants us to go to land yet, that's all.

( She has a feeling that will tell her what sort of boat will be most necessary. )

Makes sense, and a boat is more reliable than magic. [She's done a little digging about the United Earth, but there's not nearly as much information as she'd like, and even taking a boat across will be risky, with so many unknowns.

She wonders what would happen if they die, outside of Exsilium, and outside of a mission. Do they still get their resurrection? It's something to consider, as is thinking about what they might do if they get captured by the United Earth. She'll need to start a list of questions and hit the library and the Hold, see what she dig up from the Initiative folk. The Exiles, too, might be helpful.

But there is another question that she can ask right now.]

Why are you telling me?

[Because she's fairly certain it's an invitation, but... She just wants to hear what Collette has to say about it.]

'Cause I think you'd be interesting to have along.

( She shrugs, looking off beyond the fire. )

Caesar left the recruiting to me, and I mostly go on gut instinct. Mine tells me you'd be a good choice.

( Glancing back at her, the best she can, Collette smiles. She does do many things on impulse, but a lot of the faith she puts in people is rewarded in some way or another in the end. When it's not, it's not. Collette doesn't believe in failing to try out of fear of negative consequences. )

Is my gut anywhere close to on mark?

[There's a decision to be made, here, and Steph isn't quite sure which direction to go in.]

I hope "interesting" isn't a polite way to say "canon fodder".

[Lightly, joking, as she finishes off the second braid and pins it into place. It's just a way to buy time for a moment, as she decides how much she wants to reveal to Collette. If she says 'yes', it's going to be difficult to keep her identity a secret, especially when she'll be taking along her Batgirl suit.

But first:] Ellie?

[Has she told her, is she coming along? Because Steph won't go without her.]

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[closed] So here's to drinks in the dark at the end of my road

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