Surprise! It's Spring

[wearingthestars]

WHO: Everyone?
WHERE: Sudden-Magic-Cherry Blossom Grove/Carnival
WHAT: Spring Merriment
WHEN: End of April
WARNINGS: TBD

[Video]

[There's a video message to greet everyone when they awake. A somewhat tired looking Billy offers a smile and a small wave. He seems to be inside of the caves at the moment, his powers are amplified there.]

Hey, I uh...I kind of arranged something for you guys. If anyone wants to, obviously, um...but I always did this kind of stuff with my parents around this time of year, and I thought it would be fun? I dunno. Check it out. If I missed anything let me know.



It's a bit of a vague message, but there's helpful signage to point any one looking for what he might be talking about, and once they come across it, it's rather hard to miss.



A large clearing has been transformed to a beautiful cherry blossom grove, all in full bloom, petals floating through the air. Feel free to take a stroll, or maybe have yourself a picnic? Billy's helpfully provided a little picnic station near the front with baskets and all sorts of prepared sandwiches, snacks and juice boxes; pack yourself a basket and grab a provided blanket and make an afternoon of it.



Or maybe, if you venture a little further, you'll hear music luring you away to a small carnival not too far from the blossoms. There's booths with games, and prizes including the usual stuffed animals, but also a good deal of Avengers themed toys, like Cap shield frisbees, and inflatable Thor's hammers.

While there's no attendants working anything, it all seems to run itself through magic. There's a teacup ride, a merry go round, and even a small ferris wheel, that's quite the sight all lit up as evening falls. There's a small selection of typical food available, cotton candy, various fried foods and the like, and once it's dark enough, there's even a small fireworks show.

Enjoy yourselves.

[OOC: The carnival and most of the trees will disappear the following day, but any prizes won will remain.]

Comments

[in_extremis]

The only thing worse than not having a date to the carnival, was not finding a date at the carnival. And the selection was slim on a good day in Temba, but Tony was sure he would be watching the options narrow further as this day went on. The engagement had clearly made Billy a romantic, or that was just a side of him Tony had never had the pleasure of seeing, with the high level of chaos that always seemed to come through the door with the kid back on Earth. It was a commendable effort, wherever the urge had come from--Tony wasn't sure he believed the story about the parents. The fluttering petals of the cherry blossoms were undeniably the atmosphere of amour, that was a particularly crafted detail of this fantasy. That couldn't only be Tony's take, right? And it was a fantasy, it couldn't be avoided. Tony wasn't sure how much he trusted a magical ferris wheel to keep his bones on the inside, as much as he appreciated the imagery.

He had been fashionably late, hoping this party would be in full swing by the time he arrived so he could avoid the host more easily, but looking out over these festival grounds really drove home how sparse this population of what should have been a lively city really was. Running into Billy or any of his friends would have been inevitable and awkward, so Tony kept uncomfortably disengaged, circling the carnival grounds where he could watch a few games without intruding, trying to decide if just being around enough counted as putting in an appearance. As long as someone noticed he was there, he had done his job, right? He slowed to a stop a few feet from an adorably minuscule bumper car ring, the riders safely wrapped up in avoiding being rammed, and instinctively reached for his communicator as though he had anyone to call to look busy. He could fake it, maybe. Knowing that wouldn't fly, he tucked it under his arm to at least have it handy while he plucked a loose cigarette from his pocket, one among a handful stolen from the carton left wordlessly on the desk he had seen Jon claim in the library, after an abysmally used first meeting with the replicator. He would be prepared next time, knowing now that he couldn't ask too much from it at once.

[beholding_archivist]

"I wasn't aware you smoke..." The words are spoken testingly, almost guarded. But fitting to the way Jon keeps just outside the range of a regular conversation, one of his hands tucked away awkwardly in one of his pockets.

He also hasn't been aware that Tony had been back to the library at some point. It has been easy enough to convince himself of the opposite. Though this explains the small box he has found only to spend most of the night feeling paranoid and stressing himself out. What remains is the more pressing question of the why. Why would Tony bother...?

Then Jon's hand moves out of his pocket and holds out a plain zippo lighter towards Tony. One of the things he bought back from Risa after finding his restless hands missing the much fancier lighter the Spider sent him. The haptic isn't entirely the same, but it helped ease his boredom on that planet a little.

The question accompanying the offered item is a carefully uncompelling one "Can I offer you a light?"

[in_extremis]

"You can..." Tony welcomed, happy to see that zippo's humble familiarity, deliberately bracing his free arm across his chest to make Jon do the honours as Tony bowed his head. The device he had cobbled together from an old igniter at the forge was still in beta testing anyway. The list of people Tony didn't want to run into was getting unreasonably long for his the size of this population, he realized, but at least this one was circumstantial; if Jon didn't have such bad timing, he would have been glad to provoke him into a teacup he looked like he would almost fit into, and wasn't that wonderfully demeaning? Tony could still have some plausible deniability, though. It wasn't like Jon saw Tony make his delivery, he could still play dumb. Couching the lie in a truth, he explained, "Only when I'm under pressure. Smoke fairy," with a mysterious wiggle of his fingers. Peer pressure wasn't really his issue, but Tony had a myriad of addictive fixations that the Agrii had imposed an abrupt halt to, and after Cayde's innocent wondering about a bar in public, it was looking more and more like the one Tony thought he had under control would be the only release valve. He was going to have to find another one. Pretending like he wasn't aware Jon shared this problem after he turned out to be a man that carried a lighter around, was not going to help sell Tony's story. Only a little reluctantly, he offered another cigarette from his pocket. "I wasn't aware you were allowed out in sunlight." That was a weak dig, Tony's grin admitted it, but Jon was suited to a very different atmosphere.

[beholding_archivist]

"Hm." Jon nods simply, then takes a step forward to light Tony's cigarette, adopting a false tone of mystery as he responds to the light, yet not entirely unfamiliar tease without taking his eyes off his task of lighting the cigarette "Only once every seven years the Crypt Keeper is allowed under the sun to watch the Blood Moon rise and mourn the fall of the cherry blossoms while lamenting his own lonesomeness."

Tim sure did enjoy teasing him about how much time he spent at work and a few of his remarks even got bits of amusement out of Jon at times. Better times.

Feeling a little surprised to be offered one, he accepts it with a slight smile and doesn't hesitate before lighting that one as well and taking a drag "Thanks. For me it's pressure, stress, restlessness... Lately even boredom. I hadn't thought I'd fall back this badly after having quit for five years, but then Leitner happened and..." He gives a short gesture with his hand still holding the lighter before shoving it back into his pocket with a short sigh "Being here on this planet... doesn't quite help." It sure does get lonely.

"Have you tried any of the rides?" An innocent, and again uncompelling question. Though Jon can guess the answer. Tony hardly strikes him as someone to be tempted by these rather harmless rides. The man seems to prefer something more... Well. Thrilling.

[in_extremis]

The act of sharing a cigarette to establish a sense of camaraderie in a difficult negotiation was what had started Tony's habit, but he had never seen it work so quickly. Jonathan Sims, joking with Tony instead of giving him dirty looks for the remark? Had Billy crafted the guests here as well? Tony's surprised laugh at Jon playing along with him was skeptical, but if this was a weird magic trick or Jon trying to get something out of him, Tony was happy to play along for now.

"Oh, sorry, I..." It wasn't like Tony could take it back now, but for a second he was very worried that the gesture at the library had just been an act of cruelty and now he couldn't say anything. Maybe it wasn't him, maybe he was overthinking it, Jon did suggest another trigger. It was a good thing Tony had something to do with his mouth, taking his time with a long drag that almost made him cough at the suggestion of the indignity of the carnival rides. He gave his answer with a dismissive flick of his wrist, confirming in the motion Jon's suspicions. These weren't really his speed, he didn't see a good reason to hit up the merry-go-round at his age. "I might try some of the games, I can get into that," he did admit.

With a deep breath of fresh air and no better segue, he offered, "I've been sober for just over three years now, just got my chip, you know, before this, actually." His smile was an unusual one for him, lacking any crookedness or boastful pride, deliberately crafted in the same way that Jon's questions were deliberately uncompelling; Jon could take that information how he wanted it, Tony had his own peace with it. "Not for nothing, five years is a long time. If I make it to five, I might have a drink to celebrate." That might not have been a joke that played as well outside of a meeting, but Tony's regular wry grin returned. "I've fallen off the wagon because a girl didn't like me, though, is what I mean to say, so whoever Leitner is, or being kidnapped by aliens, if that's what did it for you, sweetheart, that's a steady journey you're on. Cheers."

[beholding_archivist]

The dirty looks can well still happen, but for now Jon is very fine with just sharing a piece of amusement he had no qualms getting behind himself. And the laugh was a welcome change from the usually a little cruel smirk Tony likes to cast his way. It's that same vein that has him refrain from requesting of Tony to drop the nickname in this very instance. The fact that Tony still even bothers with them at least makes it feel as if he still cares enough to try and get a reaction out of the Archivist.

He can have that reaction later. Maybe over some silly carnival games Jon already knows himself to be terrible at.

"Jurgen Leitner." Jon gives the full name and takes another drag from his cigarette, his eyes shifting over to the little bumper cars "I have cursed the man since I was a child. Convinced he is responsible for all the evil in the world. And in the end... He was nothing but a librarian and a fool, believing he could collect and trap all those books filled with sinister magic." A little sigh escapes the Archivist and he turns his eyes back to Tony "He was the first to tell me about the fears. That the place I work for is nothing more than a temple built for one of them. That every employee of the Magnus Institute unknowingly serves and feeds an evil god bend on reshaping the world to its liking. He told me that I belong to the Eye - That's when I needed some air. And a smoke."

There is another pause and again Jon's eyes shift away, this time to the cigarette between his fingers "When I returned, he was lying on my desk. His head bludgeoned to a pulp with a pipe and blood dripping everywhere. It only kept getting worse from there. Wanted by the police for murder, chased by monsters that wanted me dead, my boss kindly informing us all that our lives are tied to the Institute and expecting of me to figure out on my own what it means to be The Archivist in whatever this... Competition among the Fears is even meant to be. Being worried about what a cigarette might do to my lungs very easily became the least of my problems."

He knows it's a lot, and Jon is giving Tony the time the man may need to process all these information while Jon's eyes are back on the man. Of course there is a certain risk with laying these things out in the open, but Tony already knows what he is and hasn't called for a hunt on his head and Jon will give him that credit. It also would be nice to be able to trust someone again. To some degree.

Jonathan Sims || ota

[beholding_archivist]

Jon can count the times he has been at a carnival on one hand. Well, maybe one and a half. His grandmother took him one, maybe twice. He mainly remembers getting into trouble at one of the large lottery booths for vehemently asking questions about winning ratios and getting into an argument with a colorfully dressed man trying to sell tickets. When he was older he let himself be talked into going by some classmates once. That... didn't go well. And at least once he went by himself only to get out for a little while, have a look around and... Well. There were cheaper ways to get drunk.

At any rate, the Archivist has never truly found the appeal of carnivals. But here on Temba it's a nice distraction for at least a few hours.

So Jon can be found wandering the place mostly in silence, maybe picking away on a small bag of roasted nuts or simply staring a little too long at the offered games and rides, mentally cataloguing them before pulling out his recorder and making a few verbal notes to later record a more thorough report on the event.

Though while doing so he just might suddenly turn around and run into you, not too prone to paying attention while busy recording his thoughts. Let's hope you weren't just enjoying some ice cream.

[out_of_order]

The setup is unlike anything he's ever seen before. The Jedi weren't known for taking part in such festivities, and even if there had been such events, political circumstances had only ensured that they had their priorities focused elsewhere.

It's unfamiliar territory for Cal, but from what he sees so far, it's absolutely amazing. No, he hasn't any idea how something like this could possibly be done. By reasonable means, there's simply no way any of the structures and food could have been fabricated in so short a time. And yet everything seems real.

"Don't short yourself out, BeeDee," he laughs, as the little droid's taken to doing his own recording of things.

BD-1 seems as excited as if not more so than Cal, skittering off to try scanning things here and there, taking images. Thankfully the carnival grounds aren't full of a crowd one might normally associate with them. Cal himself looks on, distracted watching the little droid enjoy himself that the padawan doesn't notice the potential collision course of a certain Archivist behind him until a second just before Jon turns.

"Oh, sorry about that-"

[beholding_archivist]

Having been quite busy with his recorder, Jon hasn't noticed the droid hopping around excitedly nearby and neither does the Padawan's voice register with him right away. Those strangely shaped inflatable toys have required some additional observations on potential cultural or religious meanings.

And just as he clicks off the recorder and makes to put it away, he turns right into another person, resulting in a short, hardly dignified shriek and an Archivist almost jumping a foot back. Almost.

"C-Cal! What are you- I mean-- Of course you are, but-" He forces himself to pause, then starts again "Jesus. I didn't see you there!"

[out_of_order]

It doesn't take him long to register who it is, but anything more that Cal would have said is forestalled as Jon stammers over an exclamation. The padawan winces, mostly at the shriek. The Archivist must have really been focused elsewhere.

By then BD-1's heard the commotion and has come rushing back over. He stops beside Cal's foot, giving an inquisitive hoot. Really, sometimes humans are so excitable!

"...hey, Jon," Cal finally offers, deciding a belated greeting is better than nothing. "I didn't actually notice you were there either. Was kind of overwhelmed with everything else." He smiles a bit, glancing around. "I've never been to anything like it before."

[beholding_archivist]

For a moment Jon is distracted by BD-1's arrival, but Cal's words easily catch his attention.

"You mean there are no carnivals where you come from?" That's rather baffling to hear for him. At least that bafflement quite effectively distracts from the rather awkward greeting.

Jon looks around for a moment, taking in the comparably small size of the fair.

"I admit it's comparably small, but... We aren't many people in the city anyway, so I suppose it's enough."

Cayde-6 // [Video to Billy] and OTA

[deal_me_in]

[Video]

Huh! You do all that, kid? That's impressive. And naturally prompts so many questions but really, why spoil a good thing.

---

Cherry Blossom Grove

The grove's a beautiful sight, although Cayde supposes calling it otherworldly would be inaccurate given technically it is from another world, making its presence here a double entendre.

He's not much for picnicking, but one might find him relaxing under one of the trees, arms folded behind his head as he watches it sprinkle petals every now and then.


Carnival!

The only thing missing here are the crowds. Still, it's a fun atmosphere, and even someone used to run down ruins can enjoy the new and cheery surroundings. The rides are things he's largely only read about or seen in pre-Golden Age videos, so it's something of a treat to see now, although he's not in a hurry to go for a spin.

What really draws him are the games, and it should be of no surprise that he's particularly drawn to the ones that might require more skills in marksmanship. He's definitely got a good eye, whether it be darts or balls thrown, or popping off shots with air rifles.

[Video]

[wearingthestars]

[Billy gives a bashful sort of shrug.]

Just try to have fun.

[Video]

[deal_me_in]

That's the plan!

Vector Hyllus | OTA

[killikambassador]

Grove
The cherry blossoms are beautiful. Vector wanders around, taking in all the sights, breathing in deeply the smell of the blossoms and other flora. Enhanced Joiner senses are good for that kind of thing. His hair is already littered with stray blossoms.

A picnic sounds quite good right now, so he grabs a basket, blanket, and some food and drinks, before he starts looking for a place to set down.

Carnival
The Carnival looks interesting, similar to events they had on Nar Shadaa or Alderaan, though the games are different. Perhaps he can win something for Aden.

But first, he wants to check out a ride. But which one?

"Those teacups look very amusing."

[out_of_order]

If there's one thing that Cal's started to appreciate because of Greez, it's plantlife. Having been tasked with keeping an eye out for new and interesting seeds to plant in the Latero's onboard terrarium, the padawan's at least found more time to look at things without worrying about someone trying to shoot him.

His droid friend's been equally enthusiastic, and with the grove of blossoming trees, it's like they've been transported to another world within a world. BD-1 skitters about just to watch the petals that have already fallen to the ground as they fly around in his wake. He goes trotting by Vector, beeping excitedly.

[killikambassador]

As Vector looks around for a place to settle don, he hears the beeping and looks downward. He smiles pleasantly, kneeling down to greet the droid.

"Hello, little droid. May we help you?"

[out_of_order]

BD-1 glances up at the man, head tilting as he looks around Vector, probably to see who else might be with him. Then with something of a shrug, the droid hoots back a greeting.

"Making more friends, BeeDee?" Cal finally catches up, not that he'd been in any particular hurry. He looks towards the man that BD-1's come across, giving him a nod. "Hey there."

[killikambassador]

Vector looks up at the young man he assumes is the droid's owner. "Hello," He stands up to greet this new fellow. "We are Vector Hyllus, Dawn Herald of the Killik hive of Oroboro, planet Alderaan."

[doubled_speed]

Best Wingman (Closed to Billy and/or Teddy)

Tommy is NOT AT ALL pleased with this decision from his twin. And OF COURSE Billy kept it secret from him. Because Tommy would have spent SO MUCH TIME telling his brother that this was something that he shouldn't do. Thus Tommy does the next best thing. He makes sure that Billy gets to enjoy this too.

He stuffs a basket from the picnic station full of sandwiches and juice boxes, grabs a blanket, and then... realizes that's not enough. Another, smaller basket is grabbed as well and he fills it with what cherry blossoms he can, and then rushes off. Not very long after Billy puts up his video, Tommy is there, spreading a blanket out by his brother, trying not to shake from the overcharging the power of the caves give him. His hair and eyes are both shining with the light of his overcharged powers, and he smiles sadly at his brother.

"Idiot," he says, voice fond and he's struggling to keep the words at a reasonable speed as he lays out the blanket and the food. And, afterwards, he scatters cherry blossom petals for his brother. "You'regrounded after this."


Carnival Games

Listen, there is a lot of stuff that he doesn't care about at carnivals. Rides are definitely on that list. For him, it's all about the game booths. Tommy finds himself at a ring toss, glaring intently at the toys. Billy needs a frisbee, Teddy deserves a hammer, and Tommy wants to win something for Wanda too. And surprisingly, he doesn't care to cheat for it.

"Dammit," he curses as yet another ring misses. "I'm terrible at this shit!"

How is he ever going to win what he needs!?

Best Wingman

[wearingthestars]

There's a reason he hasn't let Tommy in on his plans, and he smiles at the expected chiding, seeming surprised by the offerings his brother's brought for him, laughing softly as he scatters the petals about.

"Grounded, mm? Who said you can ground me?" he teases, "You should be out there enjoying everything."

Re: Best Wingman

[doubled_speed]

"I'mtheolder brother," Tommy counters, and then takes a deep, slow breath. This place FRUSTRATES him.

But maybe proves he's a Maximoff more than anywhere else.

"So I'm the man of the house. And I ground you."

He'll go play later.

[wearingthestars]

It's not Billy's favourite place either, but the benefits outweigh the suffering at the moment, and he's more or less suppressed the urge to sneeze, though he glows much the same way as his brother.

"Oh, is that how it works? And you're going to ground me for doing something nice?"

[doubled_speed]

"Totally how it fucking works. Ground you for potentially hurting yourself."

Because this is a serious expansion of power, and that needs to be taken seriously.

[plate_builder]

Cherry Blossom Walking

Honestly, Reeve rarely makes time for relaxation these days. It had been a bit more common back in the Village, and that was a place that did things like this on a regular basis. But something as beautiful as this? Reeve has never seen anything like it in his life. The man is almost breathless as he moves through the trees, marveling at the wonder of the falling petals.

He'd heard, once, that Wutai had festivals around this natural event, but he'd never gone. So in a way, this was the first time he'd seen it. The air is fragrant, the flowers are light in the wind, and Reeve smiles.

"I've never seen something so beautiful before.


Upgrading Mini-C

Carnival games. Reeve isn't the sort to be caught up in them. But there is something interesting in one booth. The larger stuffed animals include larger stuffed tuxedo cats. There's even one that is almost a foot and a half tall.

"What do you think, Mini-C?" Reeve asks the six-inch tall stuffed cat sitting on his shoulder. "Would that be a good upgrade?"

The stuffed animal on his shoulder, its fur stained and some tears fixed with uneven stitches, nods and then tilts its head.

"Yes, I don't know how I'm going to score enough points for it. But I'll do it, come Meteor or high water."


Fireworks

At the end of the day Reeve and a new stuffed animal sit together under a cherry tree, watching the fireworks through the trees. Upon the approach of anyone the stuffed animal waves a paw at them, and Reeve chuckles.

"Join us, would you? Just until the show is over. We should take the time to appreciate the gift our magical companion has offered us."