( open ) but everything looks better when the sun goes down

[fingerstripes]

who: dick grayson + others
what: fireflies + may catchall
when: all of may!
where: all over
warnings: possible violence



Yellow

[ In Dick, fear blends and shifts, keeps him moving rather than freezing him up, looking a lot more like newly single-minded dedication than anything else. Fear turns him outward, draws him inexorably into the role of unasked-for shadow, and whether you're a friend or a stranger you're likely to find him there, sudden and unannounced, if you happen to step out late at night. If you're venturing out past the fence alone. ]

Hey. [ Look again and he's beside you, decked out in a mask (or a police uniform, take your pick). ] Not sure if you know the area, but it's not safe out here right now.


Red (anger)

[ On red Dick simmers. At the Police Station he's picking up extra shifts, passing the break room to down coffee after coffee in the rare moments that he's not out on patrol. With coworkers and friends he's snappish and short, burying himself for hours at a time in the archives with old case files. He's never at home.

As Nightwing he's somehow easier to find - or run across by chance - but if you happen to be looking the road there is paved with unsettled lowlives. No one is maimed or even seriously injured, but he's scared them, clearly with an intent running deeper than Nightwing's typically brisk, playful style of violence. Find him mid-battle just by the fence, taking on at least 12 too many vicious, snapping monsters. Find him mid-interrogation on the roof, holding someone against the drop-off more securely than the man in question likely perceives. ]


Blue

[ Or find him just after that.

Blue never lingers on Dick for long, but he's easy prey when his strength is limited, worn down by effort expended on walking himself down from anger and fear. He can't outpace the feeling when he's already steeped in shame. When a thousand what ifs crowd out everything else. Find him sagging in that dark alley, head in his hands; or huddled out by the fence, surrounded by wounded monsters. Give him a few minutes, he'll be alright. ]


[ ooc: pm or hit me up at with_pins if you'd like to play out a more specific scenario! I'd prefer to avoid lust prompts for Dick at this time, but Violet, Green, and Orange are all on the table with some discussion. ]

Comments

red!

[spellslots]

[There's no real reason for Taako to go beyond the safe barrier protecting the city, but there's cool shit in the abandoned city, and honestly, sometimes he just gets bored. Working for the Bureau has given him an inclination towards action that he swears he never had before. He blames Magnus.

He's on his way back from a quick jaunt through the forest when he hears a lot of creatures snarling, signalling a fight of some kind. Not being a complete idiot, Taako steps into the ethereal plane to investigate, walking unseen and unheard until he comes upon some guy in a skintight suit beating up a bunch of monsters. He seems to mostly be handling himself, and Taako nearly just leaves him be before he spots one of the monsters circling around behind Dick, and, well, he's not a total asshole.

Taako reappears in the material plane about twenty feet away from Dick and his new friends, and points his umbrella at them.]

Heads up, compadre!

[Six glowing darts emerge from the tip of the umbrella, each one finding it's mark on a monster, including the one behind Dick (honestly, he probably already knew it was there, his passive perception is way higher than Taako expects it to be). They don't do a huge amount of damage, but they certainly provide a distraction.

In retrospect, probably not his best idea. but he's committed now.]

!!!

[fingerstripes]

[ On another day he would have had a quip for that. A smile. A joke. Today the quick flash of surprise in his face flattens out almost at once. He doesn't want this battle hijacked. He wants to fight, and draw blood. He wants to see them run. ] Yeah, I had him.

[ But even steeped in simmering fury, he's aware that it's not really the overly helpful stranger he's mad at. He's been dragging this fight out. Letting them gang up for the pleasure of knocking them down. He's cut and bleeding and wearing out, and as much as he feels like he could keep that up forever, now there's an unknown factor in the mix. He won't put an innocent person in danger.

He leaps the fence an acrobatic little flip, intending to draw them in the other direction, take advantage of the break in the attack to clear enough space to close the gap in the fence. He tosses a quick glance back, looking for umbrella guy. ]

You waiting for continental drift? Give me a hand.

[spellslots]

[Well that was a very fancy little flip, and Taako immediately classifies Dick as a rogue, which means he's a little worried about the fact Dick is bleeding.

He really needs to just like, kidnap himself a cleric to haul around.]

What's it look like I'm doing?

[He just used his last action give him a second for the next one!!

A handful of the monsters turn towards him, so before following Dick, Taako takes a moment to cast scorching ray, using the umbrella to shoot three rays of fire that hits two of the monsters (the third ray misses, fizzling out harmlessly on the ground) taking them down.

Now he's going to head for the gap in the fence. He can't do fancy flips and shit after Wonderland, so the acrobatics are going to have to remain Dick's domain, Taako's just running.]

[fingerstripes]

[ There's probably plenty of time for a guy with that kind of power to escape, but there's a lot of them concentrated here, and the reason why is kind of his fault in the first place.

Dick tosses out a wing ding, aiming for feet, aiming to stop them in their advance. He'll block the path with his body if Taako can't make it in time. ]

[spellslots]

[Here's the thing: he doesn't really expect Dick to wait for him, partly because Taako has like twenty other ways to get out of this situation that don't involve walking physically through the gate, but also because he just doesn't expect a stranger to give enough of a shit. Which means he feels a little bad about making the guy wait.

So once he's clued in, he reassesses his plan. The first thing he does is cast slow, halving the speed of the monsters to give both of them a little more time, and then he casts misty step, disappearing into a shroud of silver mist and reappearing beside Dick on the other side of the fence.

Feel free to close the gate now.]

Hi, sorry, didn't realise you were waiting for me, that's real sweet of you.

[fingerstripes]

[ He's not mad enough to not be a little impressed by that. And he responds at once, using the gap to push back on the fence, activating the lasers with a hard tap from an escrima stick. And it holds.

To Taako he says: ]

Just bad planning. [ Pretty much entirely on his end. It's hitting him now how easily he could have gotten another bystander killed, if almost anyone else had happened along. He hadn't been thinking. He'd just been angry.

And somehow right now that just pisses him off more. He scrubs a tired hand through his hair and sheathes his escrima sticks. ]

I appreciate the thought, but I had this covered.

[ There's maybe a 50% chance that's actually true. ]

[spellslots]

[Those monsters are stuck at half-speed for a minute, which is amusing Taako to no end. Why doesn't he use that spell more often?]

Not to call you out here, but it kinda looked like you'd picked a fight with one too many of those things.

[It's pretty clear that Dick could've retreated at any moment, so Taako's curious as to why he bothered to keep fighting them despite that.

Maybe it's a superhero thing? Clark's shown him enough comic books that he can assume that the get up and mask mean a superhero with a secret identity.]

Blue

[advanced]

[Of course he sometimes follows Dick around, the man is a potential threat who stalks around the city in a costume. Usually he just keeps his distance, there's no need to interact or interfere, but this-- He feels uncomfortable watching this, maybe because Dick had shown him some kindness.

Before he can second guess himself, he jumps down from the rooftop into the alleyway, landing fairly silently beside Dick.]

What is it?

[fingerstripes]

[ His body sees the threat before the rest of his awareness catches up. The fact that it's news to him that Yogurt Guy had been on his tail tonight at all is probably a testament to just where his head is right now. ]

Nothing. I'm just- [ He's too exhausted to really be in tears, which is probably the only real blessing to come out of the semi-rampage he'd been for the evening. He looks towards the wall, trying to surreptitiously swipe at the wetness under his mask. Trying to pull himself together. He just needs a minute. ]

I'm not having a great night.

[advanced]

[He should go.

He's not this man's friend, and he knows that he wouldn't want to be seen in such a vulnerable position as having to wipe tears from under his mask. He sees, but he doesn't draw attention to it.

There's an elongated moment of silent, before he sits in the alley just a short distance from Dick.]

What happened?

[fingerstripes]

[ He silent for a moment. This is humiliating, sure. Somehow made even worse because there's a balance here that's tilting now. If he wants this man's trust, if he wants a real chance to help him out of whatever bad situation put him here, this isn't the kind of vulnerability he needs to be displaying.

But in an odd way it's grounding too. There's someone else to think about. Someone else the bugs can get to, if he doesn't pull himself together now. He takes his mask off and wipes at his eyes underneath. ]

You have any run-ins with the fireflies? [ There's some forced levity in his voice, and it's falling flat. But he's already pushing to his feet anyway, replacing the mask. Hunching his shoulders only a little under the sharp onslaught of cuts. Bruises. Pain. He hurts everywhere, inside and out.

He can't see the fireflies now, but they're here. He motions the man to move to his side. ]

Come on. If you haven't yet, let's not start a trend.

[advanced]

[It's actually a lot easier for him with the balance tilted this way, it feels less threatening to not be the vulnerable one, and it feels-- nice-- to help someone instead of hurt them. Not that he is helping, but he's at least trying to offer some kind of solidarity.]

Fireflies?

[He's noticed a couple buzzing around, sure, but he hasn't taken much notice of them.]

What's wrong with the fireflies?

[fingerstripes]

I'm pretty sure they're behind the breakdowns people have been having. [ Conjecture. Dick clings to that as he starts to climb. ]

They... amplify the stuff in your head.

Or something like that.

yellow ;; may 1st

[leadintheyoung]

[ Out is where Líadan intends to go late though it may be. Or early, rather. Half past three in the morning is late enough to be considered early given she starts her days well before dark in most cases and tends to end them well after, not that she's particularly concerned with the time. She's awake and that means she's moving and in this case with the intent to venture past the fence and into the abandoned city to have a closer look at something she'd seen in passing the other day. Of course, she's wholly equipped for an expedition and it's her dagger that's found for her initially unexpected company, but stayed in its sheath for familiarity. ]

Is it ever?

[ Her hand finds her hip instead, head canted with a mischievous glint about her eyes. ]

That's part of the fun! I would expect you of all people to know that, Nightwing.

[fingerstripes]

Well, the fun part's not what I'm questioning.

[ As a way to hedge around it. The knowing that if he lets her out of his sight for a second she'll be torn apart by monsters. Devoured by a totem. Left to die slowly, unable to call anyone for help.

He cannot let her go. ]

It's the part where you're heading out into the wild unknown with no backup.

[leadintheyoung]

If you're that concerned, you can come with me. I would have you know, however, that this is not my first... ah, my first...

[ Oh, what did he call it? She drops her eyes for a moment, trying to remember, but that not quite impish smile that's dawned doesn't quite leave her. ]

Rodeo!

[ Right. That's what Gladio had said and she's fairly certain Jesse mentioned it at some point. And now, a fraction more seriously: ]

This is not my first rodeo, Nightwing. I am perfectly capable of looking after myself.

[ Except for those times when she bit off a bit more than she could chew, but that hadn't happened here yet and he really didn't need to know about that. Everything had worked out in the end anyway. ]

[fingerstripes]

...Right. I- [ Yeah he can kind of see now where that kind of statement from a near stranger might sound patronizing. He has the courtesy to look a little contrite. ]

No, I get that. I'm sure you're used to handling... a lot, where you're from.

I'd just feel a lot better if we traveled as a pair. Just this once.

[leadintheyoung]

[ Nice save. It sees her retract any semblance of a look and relax into something closer for a smile even as she folds her arms. ]

That really was all you had to say. I am never opposed to good company in a venture, you realize, and you are good company in my experience. Why only once, though?

[fingerstripes]

Well, you did kind of strike me as the dark and edgy loner type. [ He's too overwhelmed with relief for the moment to really fake professional indifference. A small smile tugs at the side of his mouth. He steals a sideways glance at her. ]

You saying I'm wrong about that?

( Wanda )

[fingerstripes]

[ Dick heads to the appointed spot as promised, and he waits patiently, leaning a little on the bike. When he spots her his face lights up, and he offers her a wave, along with a slightly dopey grin he'll probably regret later. ]

Hey, Wanda.

[divulsion]

[Even as reserved as Wanda can be at times, being in Riverview has given her breathing room she hasn't had since she was a child. She's a little more open, not just with others but in her body language, and when she finds Dick sitting at the curb waiting for her, she smiles back. Just as broadly and dopey as his own.]

Hello, Dick. You found the place easily I hope?

[It's not exactly hard to navigate this city but Wanda finds herself relying on polite conversation to cover the fact that she's not certain how to great him physically. They cuddled on a rooftop, so a handshake is out of the question. She's not a casual hugger but a kiss seems like too much at the start. Aren't they supposed to happen at the end? She's not about to hop onto the bike right away either so. She stands there. Near him. Body language all too obvious about wanting to reach out but not being certain how.]

[fingerstripes]

[ Alfred raised a proper gentleman, so he offers her a handshake- only to falter at once when he reads something else in her body language. A hug then? A kiss on the cheek? He's thrown off, and the moment is getting away from him. ]

No. No problem at all. How've you been?

[ Which from Dick at least, is always a sincere question. ]

[divulsion]

Well enough. It's been a busy couple of weeks but I don't mind having things to occupy myself with.

[Helping to host a dinner for people from their multiverse, being elevated as a goddess to a colony of talking mice, and speaking with new arrivals from their world in particular had been enough on top of her day job. After a moment's consideration, she steps in to press a kiss to his cheek. It's chaste, but the expression on her face is almost sweet when she pulls back to smile at him.]

But I'm glad to see you. Have you been keeping out of trouble?

[fingerstripes]

I, uh- [ Okay yeah now he's kind of wishing he'd thought of that first, if only because that would have been a whole lot smoother than blushing like a shy middle schooler. His cheeks are a little pink, pleased and surprised. ]

-Yeah. I've been busy. Or I would've called a lot sooner. [ He can't quite wipe the smile off his face now. ]

I kind of wondered for a minute if you were gonna show up.

[divulsion]

[She loves his smile, and she feels so much lighter whenever it's pointed her way.]

Because you've been too busy to call? You weren't the only one, which means it very well could have been me calling you, wondering if you'd show up.

[So there. They're even.]

So, now that we're both here, where do we go from here?