monthly mingle: FLOWER FESTIVAL

[riverviewmod]

who: everyone in Riverview!
what: monthly mingle: flower festival
when: The month of April.
where: Anywhere around the city.
warnings: please put any necessary warnings in the subject lines

flower festival

In the days leading up to April 1st, residents new and old will notice preparations beginning, a flurry of activity getting the city ready for the upcoming celebration: The Flower Festival. Celebrating springtime, beauty, joy, and togetherness, the festival heavily features floral themes and dancing. The advertising mentions that on April 9th, a paid holiday, there will be a Blossom Picnic, as well as lists of various public dances at clubs or other open venues, the River Spirit Procession, and Flower Exchange.

a celebration of spring

The Flower Festival's main event is the Blossom Picnic on April 9th, but it also features traditions of sharing food and drink, and dancing that span over the course of the whole two weeks. There are a large variety of events going on throughout the city, from dancing lessons in any wide variety of traditional dances, to old-fashioned sock hops, to adult raves complete with mild party drugs. Feel free to use the prompts below or create your own event at any point during the festival, and if your character creates an event and hosts it in a top-level, you can submit that thread for extra bonus points.

i. blossom picnic

The main event that kicks off the second week of the Flower Festival is the Blossom Picnic on April 9th. A relaxed and low-key event, it draws several thousand people every year to the spacious Riverview Central Park, where there is a generous lawn lined with various blossoming trees, and families, found families, lovers, and groups of friends are encouraged to lay out a picnic blanket and share food. There will be live bands playing (but not loudly enough to distract from conversation and peacefully watching the petals flutter in the wind), a variety of demonstrations of traditional cultural dances from many different realities and planets, and a ton of ice cream vendors. This is an excellent festival not only for celebrating togetherness with the people who are already important, but for mingling and making new friends.

Characters may either pack their own lunches or they can purchase pre-packed Blossom Festival lunches. Stores and street markets are carrying a wide variety of specialty food that is only available at this time of year - predominantly pastries, an assortment of types of candies, and ice cream treats all in various floral flavors, as well as a sort of ambrosia salad based around a sweet rose-flavored cream and a native fruit that is bright green and tastes like a combination of peach and citrus.

ii. dancing lessons and dances

Starting on April 2nd, there will be dancing lessons offered almost everywhere you look! From partner dances to group dances to line dances; sexy and sensual or innocent and childlike - almost any type of dance you can imagine is represented, from any reality or planet that has people in Riverview Quarantine.

Additionally, the Riverview Central Community Center has multiple rooms blocked off so anyone who knows a dance from home can teach it to others in their community - sharing is caring, after all. Characters are welcome to block off one of these rooms and offer lessons in any dance they happen to know from home (and these sorts of thread starters would be eligible for the mingle AC Point bonus)!

As for the Flower Festival dances, they're pretty straightforward - in almost every club, community center, or other public space, there will be dancing at almost all hours of the day or night, formal and informal. Musicians bring out their instruments and play in the street for demonstrations of cultural dances and music at the same time as clubs are offering VIP cover charges for exclusive dances, and you can find anything in between.

Grab a partner, a group of friends, or just cruise and mingle the various dancing events.

Characters may also notice that most of the street markets and clothing shops are offering clothing that features floral patterns, flowers as accessories, and that show a lot of skin - for men, women, and anyone in between!

iii. flower exchange

During this year, there's been an influx of people from a dying reality consisting mostly of living plant people, and they've really taken the Flower Festival as a great opportunity to introduce one of their most honored traditions to the people of their new adopted world. The tradition involves sharing various types of flowers with strangers, with each type of flower having a different meaning and effect on both the giver and receiver - the bond of the exchange can spark emotion as well as physical responses that function in a unique way that affects almost everyone that participates, whether animal, plant, or even android.

Any characters exchanging the flowers with other characters, whether friends or strangers, will experience emotional/psychological effects, physical effects, or both once the exchange is complete. Effects can last for as short or long a time as the players involved want, and are as follows:

● Baby Blue Eyes - Trust/Healing the Inner Child
Emotional Effect: Either an inexplicable trust in the person the flower was exchanged with, or a generalized paranoia.
Physical Effect: De-aging. Characters can become a younger version of themselves, physically, mentally, or both. Whether or not their normal selves are of age, de-aged characters may not participate in adult prompts unless they're de-aged to something above 18.

● Chamomile - Peace & Harmony/Animal Support
Emotional Effect: A desire to make peace with one's enemies, or an inexplicable urge to push away loved ones.
Physical Effect: Both participants in the exchange will wake up the next morning with an animal companion that represents their soul/personality. Whether the companion can speak is up to player discretion.
NOTE: Animal companions from this event can be kept for a total of 300 Points. If you wish to keep them, just submit a request under your name on the Activity Bonus Rewards Page. For new players ONLY (players apping/reapping their first character in April) who wish to keep the animal companion but do not yet have points, feel free to submit and I will credit 300 points to be submitted once you have them.

● Rose - Friendship/Beauty
Emotional Effect: Openness and a desire to make new friends, or excessive competitiveness.
Physical Effect: A temporary glamor that makes both participants in the exchange appear as the most beautiful possible version of themselves, and improves their charisma.

● Crepe Myrtle: - Inspiration/Enduring Partnerships
Emotional Effect: New and creative ideas to solve life issues, or finding oneself averse to change.
Physical Effect: As soon as the exchange is complete, the two characters involved will be bound by an invisible tether that keeps them within three feet of each other. The tether won't affect anyone but the characters involved (no, you can't clothesline your enemies with it).

● Valerian: - Relaxation/Heart-Opening
Emotional Effect: A near-complete erasure of anxiety and stress, or a dramatic inexplicable increase in it.
Physical Effect: Forced honesty. Both affected characters become incapable of lying. Whether they're compelled to blurt the truth or if they can keep their mouths shut or talk around the truth is up to player discretion.

[Flower meanings used in this prompt come from this site.]

iv. river spirit procession

The River Spirit Procession is a yearly tradition in the Quarantine where a (usually small) contingent of people walk along the edges of the river carrying candles and dressed as river spirits, and offer sweets and blossoms or petals by tossing them into the river. The offerings are intended to appease the river spirits and guarantee safety from flooding, storms, and to ensure a good growing season. With the flooding that's still affecting the river, the turn out this year is much greater than usual, with a large number of residents entering the processions that happen throughout the month, usually on weekends.

During the processions, residents dress as river spirits, which is a relatively broad description and can be taken in a wide variety of ways and leaves a lot up to interpretation. They enter the procession at the place where the river enters the walls and follow the banks of it carrying candles, and often whispering or quietly speaking their gratitude for the river's plenty and their wishes for the year to come. Many residents also bring baskets of young blossoms or petals from flowers, and small sweets such as candy or tiny pastries and throw them into the river to appease the spirits. They carry along the river for as long as they wish to.

ACTION PROMPT: This year, with the flooding, the monsters, and the heavy turnout, the river spirit procession is a little more dangerous an undertaking than usual. After the first procession on April 1st resulted in several residents being swept away in the rising flood waters, and several others being attacked by a loose crocodile, the trouble becomes painfully evident. The Perimeter Guard will be sending out extra detachments and calling in reserve members to help keep the processions safe, and any extra hands to protect those who choose to participate will be more than welcome.

v. roommates or wildcard

Feel free to use this prompt to meet new roommates, for the purpose of getting to know each other, or hit up the mod-posted prompt to create a Communal Housing floor mingle. Or, if you have an idea for a prompt that isn't in this list, set during the Flower Festival, feel free to write it up!

visual inspiration

click on thumbnails for larger view

Credit: image i: unknown, found on pinterest; image ii: Steven Kent Lomtong; iii: Ryan Talbot; iv: Toru Nishimura

navigation

Comments

cisco ramon | the flash | ota

[franciscoramon]

i. blossom picnic [established cr]

[ Cisco Ramon loves himself a picnic, and this whole event is having the unintended effect of making him feel rather nostalgic. Last year, this picnic had taken place the day that he showed up on this moon, swept away from Central City, from S.T.A.R. Labs and the life he'd known. He'd been disoriented and apprehensive, that first time. Penniless, friendless, and feeling like there was nowhere in the multiverse he could possibly belong.

Things are different, now, and he intends to celebrate that to the fullest.

He spends entirely too long preparing, and shows up to the park with nine (9) picnic blankets that he arranges into a massive patchwork party-picnic blanket. He also brought baskets full of snacks he'd made to share with his friends - Earth recipes, none of them particularly gourmet, but all finger-foods and all very tasty. He also goes and buys a ton of candy and fruit and sweets from the street markets, until he's got quite the spread going. If he sees any friends passing by, he will wave them over enthusiastically, saying: ]

Hey! C'mon, come join me! It's my mooniversary!

iii. flower exchange

[ He's lived in this place long enough to know that there's a high probability that some of these flowers are going to have effects he doesn't enjoy, and likely he'll regret this at least once or twice. But that doesn't stop him from being curious, and in the end, he decides to just go for it. Carpe diem, right? So he will walk up to friends - or non-shady looking strangers - and offer: ]

Wanna give it a shot?

iv. river spirit procession

Come do the procession, they said! It'll be so peaceful, they said!

[ Cisco is currently hanging very precariously onto a tree branch, having scrambled up along with another member of the crowd when, out of freaking nowhere, a crocodile had come up out of the water and started attacking people. It hadn't gotten scared off by the screaming, either. It's still roaming the area just under the tree, big and powerful and scaly. The branch is hanging far lower than Cisco's comfortable with, and there's a faint note of panic in his voice. ]

Is it rabid? Can crocs even get rabies?! Where the hell's the Guard, anyway?

[ Just then, there's a rather ominous creaking sound coming from the branch beneath him, and it sways, dipping down a little as it starts to crack. Cisco shoots a frightened look at the person clinging to the branch with him, and asks: ]

What's the plan if it breaks?

iii

[bythehand]

[ Carpe diem is definitely the mood of the moment, in this regard. Finn's only been here for about four months, give or take, and even he knows that it's possible to find a magical shenanigan in even the most unlikely of situations.

But on the other hand: they're nice flowers. And nice... plant people. He thinks. From what he's seen hanging around here with Cisco, anyway. ]

Maybe.

[ Which is to say, he's already starting to walk forward. Rey would love how some of these look. ]

Are you saying you only want to give me flowers on special occasions?

[franciscoramon]

[ Cisco moves forward, too, a little less wary than Finn, browsing through the baskets full of bundles of free flowers to be exchanged. Those friendly plant people are looking on, and it's a bit difficult to judge, but they seem excited, eager for people to participate. It might seem like a weird tradition to Cisco, but he's sure half the stuff he misses from Earth would to Finn and people like him, too. ]

Wow, I came out to have a good time and I’m honestly feeling so attacked right now...

[ No, he doesn't expect Finn to know the meme, but it makes him smile to say it, precisely because it is a little slice of home. But he shrugs, a little awkwardly: ]

I'm just saying, if this is a whole thing where they're from, might as well try it. Be festive and all.

[ He plucks up tiny bundle of small, bright buttery-yellow roses from one of the baskets, decisively, holding them out for Finn to take, asking as he does: ]

You got any of these on your end of the galaxy? They're called roses, they smell great. Try it.

[bythehand]

[ Sadly, Taako hasn't taught him about memes yet. Just emojis. If it makes Cisco smile to say it, then Finn's glad he's got it to say. He thinks.

Cisco's not a mean sense of humor type, so at the very least, it's nothing to worry about.

Finn accepts the flowers with the dubious air of someone waiting for a second shoe to drop out of nowhere, but he actually perks up a little when Cisco names them. ]

Okay, I know we have these. Haven't spent a lot of time around flowers, but-- I know we've got roses somewhere. [ Check that out, a whole thing in common between galaxies. He lifts them up to give them a quick sniff. Pulls a sort of "not bad" face. ] I've actually got a friend named Rose. Back home. Bet you'd like her.

[ Oh, right, this is supposed to be an exchange thing. Finn's not one to knock the rose theme, so he'll go on a quick hunt to make this technical transaction happen. ]

[franciscoramon]

[ For a moment there, Cisco thought that Finn might actually turn down the flowers - which he'd offered half as a joke, but still, he thinks he might have been a tiny bit hurt, if he had. Cisco grins all the wider when Finn smells the flowers, gives a little nod of assessment, as if they just about pass muster. There's something endearing about it (though he wouldn't tell Finn that in so many words). Cisco knows a bit more about him, now, and the circumstances that led to an unusual lack of time to stop and smell the roses in his life. Cisco's glad he's got a chance to do that, here and now - in this case literally. ]

Oh yeah? What's she like?

[ It's so rare, hearing Finn talking about anyone from back home, much less someone he calls a friend. Cisco can't help being curious. And it had sounded like Finn thought Cisco would enjoy her for some reason in particular... ]

The different colors are supposed to symbolize different stuff. Yellow's friendship, I'm pretty sure.

flower exchange

[scholiast]

Sure.

(Lucretia had similarly been drawn towards the prettiness of the flowers, and the promise of magic intertwined with them; she's studying a blue blossom, twirling the tiny stem between her fingers. She glances at Cisco and gestures as if to hand it to him.)

Just... like this? (Seems innocent enough.)

[franciscoramon]

[ Cisco gives a shrug, but reaches forward to take the flower from her. He hasn't done this before, and there's none of those plant people around at the moment to ask if they're doing it right. But he'd heard all you need to do is exchange flowers, and all kinds of strange and magical effects would occur.

Except that, at least as far as Cisco can see, nothing happens. He and Lucretia don't grow to be giants, they don't sprout wings or start levitating, they don't begin to glow. Nothing at all. Hmmm. ]

Hmmm... maybe we both gotta do it for it to work?

[ He takes one of those same blue blossoms, does a flourishy and thoroughly unnecessary bow, and offers it to Lucretia. ]

Sure hope Magnus doesn't see me givin' you a flower - he might get jealous and all.

[ Is he ever going to stop teasing her about that April Fool's joke? Sure. But not for the next few months at least. ]

[scholiast]

Stop, (she says automatically, but she grins all the same as she accepts his proffered flower. Honestly, from Cisco? She kind of likes the teasing. It indicates a certain amount of friendliness, being able to gently tease somebody in such a fashion.

He's right to point out that nothing exciting is happening. Lucretia clears her throat awkwardly in the silence, and glances down at the little flower in her hand. Is something grandiose supposed to happen? She takes a step in toward Cisco, because being a little nearer to him makes her feel comfortable for some reason.

Feels nice, feels organic.)

Do you think we'll notice it, or is it more subconscious?

[franciscoramon]

Hey, y'all started it, not me.

[ When nothing happens - at least, nothing visible - Cisco's shoulders sag and he sighs. The step closer that Lucretia takes does nothing to alter the situation. But Cisco does notice, at the same time that she does, a little lift in his spirits, at having her close. Like he's at ease. ]

Maybe.

[ He peers down at the flowers, eyes narrowing. If he were objective, right now, he'd notice how quickly he's slid from excitement about participating in this festival into paranoia-tinged skepticism. But the effects of the magic are already working on him, unnoticed, and so he lowers his voice, asking in a whisper: ]

You don't suppose it's some kinda trick, do you? Like... there's some other reason they want people goin' around exchanging flowers?

[ What kind of conspiracy would require such a thing is further ahead than he's thought. All he knows is that, all of a sudden, he's not so sure what he thinks about these plant people and their cherished traditions. Cisco looks up at Lucretia, asks: ]

What do you think?

Iv

[angelic_archer]

[For reasons that Alec hadn't understood, the beings in the procession had insisted that he didn't bring his bow. It didn't matter that it was glamoured or not. It would ruin the blessing or... something. They'd allowed him a few other items, kind of. He hadn't told them about the small knife hidden in his boot or a few other items that were secreted away just in case of emergencies...

Like 'rabid' crocodiles.]

The Guard's here. They wouldn't let me bring my bow.

[As he speaks, he pulls his stele from his pocket, activating runes while watching the crocodile. Muttering about dragon demons, he slides the stele back into place while gauging the best place to land.]

The plan is for you to stay here while I deal with it.

[franciscoramon]

[ When Alec says he doesn't have his bow, Cisco mutters a quiet 'shit'. It just figures. He spends so much time trying to be prepared for crises, but when one actually rolls around, he and all the people around him get caught unprepared

But not, it would seem, entirely. Cisco watches as Alec waves his magic wand thing to activate some of his runes. Calling for help? Some kind of protection charm? Luck, maybe? They were going to need it. ]

Uh uh!

[ Much as he would love to stay here, in (relative) safety and let Alec do the brave hero thing, Cisco can't. This isn't a situation where they can afford to have any less than all hands on deck. ]

No way, dude. I'm not gonna cling up here like a helpless baby sloth while you're getting eaten by Tick-Tock down there. Lemme help. What's the plan?

[ Heart hammering, Cisco makes a split-second decision. He's in public, but there's chaos all around. And Alec is here, but, well, Cisco was figuring he would need to tell him eventually. So, just as Alec is assessing the ground, looking for a place to land, Cisco says in a rush: ]

Wait! Don't do it yet. I can- I can stun it from up here first.

[ Cisco keeps his legs hooked around the branch, and one hand firmly on it, but lets go with his right hand, aiming his palm in the direction of the crocodile. What if he choked and couldn't do it? What if the blast only made it angrier? What if...

But he can't afford to waste time on what ifs. So, darting one last glance at Alec, Cisco aims and lets off a quick vibe blast. It's brief, just a juddering noise and a streak of glowing blue energy. It's not very strong, either - Cisco is holding back quite a bit, worried that he'll just vaporize the thing, and as pissed as he is about this situation, he doesn't want to kill an animal just for doing what is in its nature. So the blast only stuns the thing, leaves it shaking its large powerful head, still for a few moments. ]

[angelic_archer]

[When Alec hears Cisco curse, he shrugs. This isn't the worst situation he's been in without a weapon. It's frustrating but something he can deal with.]

Remember, trained to fight since I was a toddler.

[It takes a second for Alec to remember what 'Tick-Tock' is from, then he grins. It was one of the books and movies he'd snuck into the Institute for Max when their parents were too busy to notice.

He's about to explain what he's planning to do when Cisco interrupts.]

You have a stun gun?

[It's the only way he can think of for a Mundane to be able to stun someone or something. At least he'd assumed Cisco was a Mundane since he'd never mentioned magic before. The noise and light remind him of something Magnus might throw at an enemy but it doesn't have the familiar feel or scent of magic.

He's about to ask what the spell is when he realizes that the crocodile is momentarily stunned. Pulling a rope from one of his pockets, he's knotting it into a lasso as he jumps down onto the crocodile's back.]

I'll get it away from everyone. You run!

[franciscoramon]

[ If they'd had more time, if Cisco was a better liar, maybe he could have figured out a way to pass off his powers as some kind of hidden tech. If he had his gauntlets with him, it would be easier. But there's no disguising it; that blue energy came directly from his palm, from inside him.

And he'll handle whatever damage control is necessary for that later. He's not about to squander this chance. Cisco does what Alec says, at first. He drops down, too, and starts running, along with all the onlookers who are seizing this opportunity. But before he's gone more than ten feet Cisco stops, hesitates. He looks over his shoulder at Alec, wrestling the crocodile all on his own.

It recovered from being stunned quicker than Cisco would've expected. He'd held back too much, and now it is fighting back, trying to roll, its huge and powerful body thrashing. Alec has been trained since he was a kid, yes. But there's a reason why Alec's got a parabatai. Shadowhunters aren't lone fighters. They work together. Protect each other.

Shaking, Cisco comes back, lifting his hand and shooting off another vibe at the crocodile, this one a little less timid. It sends the crocodile, with Alec on top of it, trying to tie it up, skidding back a few feet across the dirt. ]

I'm not ditching you, man! No way! Get the rope around its mouth!

iv;

[hasitsthorns]

There's worse places to be stuck, dude. At least we got a killer view!

[ Rose was the one who had scrambled up with him. When the jaws of crocodile had snapped at her, she'd known even she couldn't fight it off without raising suspicion. So instead she'd chosen to flee and end up trapped up here with him as the beast circled below.

She's trying to remain optimistic but that light crack from the branch has her just a little concerned. ]

Uh. Maybe we could, like. Use the broken branch and whack it? A good bop on the nose might set it straight.

[franciscoramon]

Yeah, emphasis on killer! As in we are going to be killed!

[ Cisco's all for optimism, but there's a time and a place, and right now he's not really seeing the silver lining on this very dark and crocodile-shaped cloud. His hair is all in his face, but he's too afraid to let go of his tight hold of the branch to fix it, even if he has got a pretty secure hold. So he just tries to blow it away with a puff of breath, which doesn't help matters much. ]

Oh yeah, a bop on the nose! Why didn't I think of that?!

[ But the branch cracks more, sinks a bit lower, and Cisco lets out a little involuntary yelp of surprise and fear. Much as he'd like to just keep complaining, Rose is right and they ought to come up with a plan. So, shakily, he says: ]

Crocodiles have got a super powerful bite when they're biting down, but they've got almost no muscles for opening their mouths back up. If we can- if we can lure it and get it to bite the stick, one of us could grab it and keep its mouth closed. I've got a belt, we could tie it shut with that.

[ RIP nice belt that had been a birthday present.... ]

[hasitsthorns]

[ Blond curls are kept up in a ponytail for Rose. Her vision isn't even impaired by the inky black night; she's squinting and got the crocodile in her sights. It's, uh. It's a big one. Despite his exclamation though, she's trying to keep looking on the bright side. ]

Sounds like a solid idea, dude. Just watch out for the death roll. [ She emphasises with a twist of her wrist. Somehow, she doesn't seem too bothered or imbalanced for only keeping one hand on the branch herself. ] It'll try to roll whatever it got a grip on to make things ten times worse. But either of us can handle it, I'm sure.

[ iv ]

[sentiences]

[ Dorian has his gun holstered as he bears the weight of Cisco's questions with an unmatched serenity. He wasn't really afraid of falling and honestly, he only went up so he could get better range. And he gets panic. Dorian can help talking people through it.]

Reptiles can carry diseases such as salmonella but not rabies. Only mammals carry that diseases.

Do you want me to go down and help you get away?

[franciscoramon]

Salmonella?! You can get freakin' salmonella from a crocodile bite? For real? I thought that was just something you got from eating raw cookie dough with eggs?!

[ Not that Cisco has ever let that stop him, but he's scared, and when Cisco gets scared, he babbles. ]

Not that anybody's probably ever gotten bitten by a croc and lived long enough to get sick. Pretty sure your biggest problem would be the huge chunk missing off you and not getting germs in the wound. Can you get it from like holding a bearded dragon? Or a pet snaaaaah yeah, this branch is toast, I'm toast, I knew I shoulda stayed home today!

[ There had been another ominous crack from near the trunk of the tree, and the branch dipped another few inches and swayed ominously. The crocodile is still roaming only a few feet off, and Cisco and Dorian are far from the only ones who are seeking shelter and escape, but the area is crowded and there's not many places to go or structures to scramble onto.

So when Dorian offers to help him get away, Cisco wants to say yes but bites his lip, worry clear on his face. ]

I mean, yeah, totally, one hundred percent, but... what about you? And what about everyone else?

[ He might be terrified, but he isn't going to just abandon people to get hurt. And that includes Dorian. Just because he's a robot doesn't mean he's immune to damage. ]

[sentiences]

I won't catch salmonella.

[ And he's strong enough to fend himself from a crocodile. He starts edging towards the trunk so he can slide down easily and waits at the bottom for Cisco. ]

It'll be all right. I promise.

i;

[flowlikewater]

[ It's really weird being in this place again. He doesn't know how he manages to do it, he must get fantastically drunk or high at some party and get taken up here.

This flower festival shit this place has got going on is... familiar, he guesses. Dare he even say nice. It feels nostalgic and not in a way that he feels like it should, and that's making him kind of cranky.

Genji's got his orange scarf around his shoulders, yellow tinted sunglasses and a cigarette dangling out of his mouth as he walks around. Then hears someone calling out to him...

...that in and of itself isn't weird. He was here once before anyway. Genji's gotten pretty good at pretending like he knows who people are anyway.

So he walks up to the guy, not taking the cigarette out of his mouth and raises one of his thick brows. ]

Did nobody show up to your party or something?

[franciscoramon]

[ Cisco hadn't been sure, at first. He'd seen young Genji before - in a picture of him with his brother, and in that one rather trippy shared dream - but not enough that he recognized him right away. The big scarf and sunglasses certainly disguised him a little. And he just moved differently. Probably because he was young, and not yet a cyborg.

But once Cisco sees those eyebrows, he's sure. It's definitely Genji. So he waves to get his attention, and then calls: ]

Genji! Hey, Genji! Over here, man.

[ When Genji strolls over but doesn't sit down, Cisco clambers up to his feet, pushing his hair from his face and grinning. His friend's voice, when he speaks, is different to what Cisco's used to - without that faint synthetic tone, and somehow rougher around the edges. But this isn't the first de-aged person he's run into; he smirks, the slight insult rolling off him without acknowledgement as he asks: ]

Lemme guess: you've got no clue who I am or what you're doing here, but you're just kinda going with it?

[ Cisco gestures at the bounty of food. Along with the cakes, and candies, there are a few small bottles of various types of sweet wines and sake, along with some tiny cups. ]

Wanna join me anyway?

[flowlikewater]

[ Now, an early twenties Genji is prickly if he's not having a good time. And he especially doesn't like people acting like they have the upper hand over him. He's cranky, tired and still not sure what that... guy he woke up next to's problem is and why he feels so weird about him—

So he reaches out and grabs a fistful of the front of this nerd's shirt, glaring. The tinted sunglasses only mask his bloodshot eyes a little. ]

Don't act cute. You gonna tell me what the fuck this place is and why you think you can talk to me so casually, punk?

[ ...he notices the sake though. Maybe he can beat him up and steal his booze. ]

wilcard, bitches (tho kind of iii)

[spellslots]

[Flowers: the new stupid thing that the Quarantine is apparently doing. Taako learned about the de-aging ones fairly early, considering what they did to Lup. And the valerian, with Kravitz, which wasn't... great. But there's a whole lot more of them that he'd like to figure out before someone just fucking hands him one and he's stuck with whatever happens.

So he's acquired one of the flowers, a crepe myrtle, and sort of just rocks up at Cisco's workshop with it in hand.]

Wanna do an experiment?

[Cisco is safe, they've done stupid dream and/or memory share bullshit enough that Taako is fairly certain not much could effect their friendship and if it's like - a horny flower or whatever they're both gonna be able to nope right outta that one. So. He's here.]

[franciscoramon]

Man...

[ Cisco has some familiarity with what a few of the flowers do by this point, too. He hasn't exchanged any with anyone yet, but he at least knows one or two to avoid. He totally gets why Taako would want to test out what will happen, with Cisco rather than in any other environment. So Cisco spins around in his chair, getting up and strolling over towards Taako. He shakes his head softly, smiling. ]

...what kinda weird-ass life are we living that you can just come in here holding a flower, talking about "wanna do an experiment" and I know exactly what you're saying?

[ This place is just too strange, sometimes. At least Cisco's learned better than to say something like 'what's the worst that could happen'. Instead, he looks at the flower Taako's got, then peers at his friend, eyes narrowed with playful suspicion. ]

Hold up. You're not trying to punk me, are you? This isn't the one that's gonna turn me into a fucking toddler, right?

[spellslots]

[This is why Taako loves Cisco, they can do this 'exasperated but able to joke about' thing when new weird shit pops up in the city.]

Oh, for sure, cause like - that's my ideal day, babysitting you in your own lab with a dozen things a toddler could kill themselves with.

[So very sarcastic, so very amused. Taako would 110% look after Cisco if he got turned into a kid, but that doesn't mean he can't give him shit about the prospect.]