Cometh the Big Crying Wheel

[initiates]

Date & Time: Sept 15th
Location: A refurbished castle on the outskirts of Exsilium.
Characters: Anyone at the party!
Summary: Vanadi hosts a party that goes very poorly.
Warnings: Violence, probably! Let a mod know if we should update this.


It’s a lovely night for a party!

The venue at the outskirts of town is, unfortunately, a bit drafty — and actually rather sparsely furnished, as well. In fact, party goers are encouraged to mingle, drink, and enjoy themselves in the courtyard, as the castle itself wasn’t able to be renovated in time, and has proven to be a little bit architecturally unsound. Any explorative guests might find a small hail of dust and pebbles on their heads if they venture too far in — and who knows what else, if they continue on.

But the drinks and snacks both are plentiful and delicious, and the large canvas set up from castle wall to castle wall keeps off the sprinkling rain. The weather could even be described as warmish and pleasant, if one were feeling generous. A group of Exiles plays classic instruments in one corner of the courtyard, having been paid enough to even smile at any Transports that wander near.

All in all, it’s shaping up to be a good night. Until about 10 PM, that is. Come 10 PM, the Misery rolls into town, tearing down the canvas, nullifying powers, and crying corrosive blood everywhere. That’s the cue for all hell to break loose, as the final wave of mind-controlled characters snag their victims and make for the hills — or at least for the UE. The mind-controlled characters will also have the backup of a squadron of 20 of the Masked, the UE's special ops force. The Masked's main goal is to grab those on their list and get away, but they're certainly not above shooting to kill at anyone that gets in their way. They're also highly trained in hand-to-hand combat and physically enhanced by their suits, so they're a good bunch to try to avoid.

But do have a wonderful time until then, won’t you?

Comments

[quackery]

I don't have to be your parent to not want you to break your neck.

[She sighs as well, and pauses.]

What are you doing there, anyways?

[controlledvariable]

[It's funny because her dad tried to kill her.]

I wasn't gonna break my neck, this is kinda what I do.

[Does she mean gymnastics? Does she mean stupid and unnecessarily dangerous things? Who knows.]

Just wanted some fresh air.

[So she climbed up a wall. Seems legit.]

[quackery]

But there's a ton of fresh air everywhere. There's fresh air down here!

[Another pause, though.]

What do you mean it's what you do?

[controlledvariable]

It's fresher up here.

[Stop being so obnoxious, Steph.]

I'm a gymnast, sort of.

[Which isn't strictly what she meant, but it's still a bit weird to announce the whole vigilante thing in casual conversation.]

[quackery]

[Normally she would follow up on the first topic, but gymnast.]

You are? That's so cool! Can you show me? I-I mean, later, not while you're up there.

[controlledvariable]

[Later feels like some intangible thing she can't quite hold on to.]

I can totally show you now.

[By which she means she's going to jump off that wall, flip through the air, and land neatly on the balls of her feet.

The landing isn't technically perfect, but she doesn't want to break her shoes.]

[quackery]

[She's torn between being awed and being horrified, but in the end, awe wins out.]

That was so cool! I mean, and dangerous, so you shouldn't do it again! But - wow.

[controlledvariable]

[Steph bows, adding a dramatic sweep of her arm just to play it up a little.]

Dangerous would be if I was wearing stilettos. That was easy.

[She would never wear stilettos.]

[quackery]

It doesn't seem that easy to me...

[Steph makes it look easy, sure, but that doesn't take away from the awareness that if she tried the same thing, she'd be lucky to end up with just a few broken bones.]

How long have you been practicing?

[controlledvariable]

I started when I was thirten, which is pretty late for most gymnasts, and I'm way too tall to ever be a professional.

[Seriously, she's a good five inches too tall.]

Mostly I use it to run around on rooftops.

[There: easing into the vigilante thing. Well done.]

[quackery]

...You don't need to be a gymnast to run around, do you?

[And there's Ahiru, completely missing the point.]

[controlledvariable]

You ever heard of parkour?

[Explanation time!]

[quackery]

No, I haven't. What's that?

[controlledvariable]

[How to best explain?]

It's learning to move around your environment in non-traditional ways, working with obstacles instead of going around them. It's sort of a discipline, like karate or muay thai, but it's not fighting.

There's a lot of jumping off buildings and running up walls, things like that. It's fun.

[And it's something she uses a lot as Batgirl.]

[quackery]

[There's a sense of awe and wonder, as well as respect, in her voice.]

You can run up walls? Wow. What's your name?

[controlledvariable]

If I get a good run up and the right angle.

[And as long as they're not super high, but she can propell herself up pretty fair.]

Stephanie. You're Ahiru, right?

[Look she. pays attention, okay.]

[quackery]

[She pauses a moment, trying to work out why that name sounds familiar, before - oh.]

Stephanie like Steph? Are you Ellie's girlfriend?

[Okay that's kind of disconcerting though.]

...How do you know my name?

[controlledvariable]

That'd be me. Don't believe anything she's told you.

[Let's see if she can make it through this conversation about Ellie without bursting into tears.]

Ellie's mentioned you, and I've seen you around on the network a bit.

[Bats.]

[quackery]

[She blinks.]

She did? Don't believe anything she said, then, either!

[With a laugh, clearly joking.]

[controlledvariable]

But she told me you were funny and smart and a great dancer!

[Okay so. probably not, because Ellie does't talk about people like that, and the last compliment is just because Steph noticed Ahiru dancing earlier.

But whatever, man.]

[quackery]

[She laughs, shaking her head.]

She's never even seen me dance. I guess I can live with the first two, though.

[controlledvariable]

Two out of three isn't too bad. [She grins, almost conspiratorial] But I've seen you dance, and I would defnitely say you're great.

[quackery]

[She makes a small noise of surprise before she looks down, embarrassed. It sounds even more unbelievable coming from this girl, who just proved she was capable to doing gymnastics in high heels.]

I'm really not that great, but thank you for saying so!

[controlledvariable]

I never just say so.

[It's said very seriously, over the top, before she smiles.]

C'mon, if you're gonna go exploring the castle, let me at least keep you company. That way you can carry me back if I trip and break an ankle.

[Steph pls.]

[quackery]

You might be on your own if something like that happens! I could get help, at least.