EVENT: The Sound of Summer

[trainmasters]

Who: darers, newbies, and everyone else!
When: Day 40, dawn
Where: around the train

[After several hours of Kiss or Dare, the bar lights go off and you're let out into the grey pre-dawn. The Cat isn't one for ceremony, so there's no closing fanfare -- but in the sky are new stars in cobalt, pink, & violet. Congratulations to the winners!

You could go home and get some sleep, but you might have a rough time with that. As the sun appears in the sky, there's a horrible ruckus -- the sound of what seems like a million cicadas suddenly springing to life. They're staying in the canopy, not causing particular problems with buzzing around, but they are deafening.

Occasionally, you may hear one particularly low-pitched cicada noise. If you do, cover your ears, else you become hypnotized, overcome by a destructive urge. Those effected will find themselves compelled to act out violence on inanimate objects -- it's only property destruction, but the longer you're effected the more likely you are to lash out at anyone trying to stop you.

Good thing the hypnosis is broken by hugs, because this will be lasting for awhile.

Maybe it's the noise or maybe it's just bad timing, but the arrival of the cicadas is accompanied by the arrival of some new teammates! As always, the notifcation will appear on everyone's Chains:

WELCOME NEW HEROES

[[NOTES: Announcements and placements are up over here. You're welcome to make team posts if you like, or intro directly into this mingle. The cicadas will be here until next month's placements, so please feel free to interact with them in your own posts throughout the month. If you have questions, please comment to the announcements post. Thank you!]]

Comments

[schrodingerscockroach]

Yeah, you'd have said that earlier if it was true.

[voreaciously]

[she is being a shit]

I am shy.

[schrodingerscockroach]

We both know that's a lie. [Approaching slowly.]

[voreaciously]

Is it, though?

[schrodingerscockroach]

I don't think shy could hope to describe you. [Not with your issues.]

This isn't about art. There's something wrong. [Still approaching slowly.] You have a reason you don't want to hurt people. But this wanton destruction is making it seem like something reasonable for you to do, even though you won't say why you want to destroy.

[voreaciously]

[no, it's not about art, in spite of how beautiful some parts of this is, in spite of everything else.]

Not everything happens for a reason. Forces of nature happen.

[schrodingerscockroach]

Except you're not a force of nature.

Something is wrong. Let me help you stop.

[voreaciously]

I do not need your help I have said so many times, goodness how I dislike repeating myself so uselessly.

[in time with her frustration, ice rises in spikes all over the place, some in his direction.]

[schrodingerscockroach]

[Whoop, there's the ice.]

[But he's quick to move, pulling a knife out as he jumps up, onto the side of the ice instead of the pointy bit, stabbing the knife into it to give him more secure footing.]

We just have the stubbornness debate.

If you don't need my help, stop all this right now.

[voreaciously]

I could. But I do not feel like it.

[schrodingerscockroach]

Yeah, because that's really convincing.

[And kicking off the ice spike to try and clear the rest and get closer to her.]

[voreaciously]

I do not care to convince you.

[the funny thing about it is that no matter how he tries to get closer, he never comes closer and if he looks down he will see the ice under his feet moving like a conveyor.]

[schrodingerscockroach]

Because you can't.

[Doesn't take long for him to notice, which is when he changes it up, going for large pieces of debris or still standing trees, parkour style.]

If you had a rational reason, you'd have used it.

[voreaciously]

[he's going to have to keep hopping because the moment he lands on something ice starts to creep up along the bottom.]

Perhaps I do not care about what is rational or reasonable? Perhaps I wish to "cut loose".

[schrodingerscockroach]

[He's definitely doing that. If there's one thing he's good at, it's to keep going when people would normally stop. Moving to trees and fallen logs and the side of spikes.]

And you keep moving the goal posts. None of this makes sense.

[And if he gets close, he's gonna make another dive for her.]

[voreaciously]

I am not moving anything, you are. I am saying I do not care, you are the one constantly demanding, demanding, demanding. Better reasoning, sensible reasoning, something that you find acceptable. Nothing is good enough for you, nor will it ever be.

[the temperature drops and things get a little spikier and more dangerous.]

I do not care about any of it!

[she spins on her heel at the dive and tries to drive her elbow into his back. it's fine, he can take it.]

[schrodingerscockroach]

[Well, that's an enlightening complaint and something he should talk to her about.]

[But right now, he's close, and the thing is, he will take hits. He will take hits if it gets him what he wants and using her elbow means she's getting close and he's got reach.]

[He doesn't try to stop the elbow at all, ignoring the pain as his hand grabs her calf and then pulls her leg sharply towards him and doesn't intend to let go of the limb.]

[voreaciously]

[the grab connects and it doesn't hurt but she makes a sound, a gasp in affront at her own sloppiness before she goes down.]

[schrodingerscockroach]

[Dusk is a war of attrition and he knows better than to stop when he's engaged. Distance, distance is for talking.]

[But this close, words are gone, and he's pushing himself up with his other hand, the one on her calf tugging her towards him as he moves, aiming to get an arm around her to keep her from getting away, another going for her neck to try and keep her pinned to the ground, and get his legs hooked over hers.]

[voreaciously]

[she tries to struggle and reach for his neck to get him in a sleeper hold, because superhuman is still human and he still has limitations that do not afflict her. He's moving too and she keeps track, but she is good at holds and means to reverse it. It's fine. He gets an arm around her and--

She stops. Everything.]

Ah.

[schrodingerscockroach]

[The fact he gets a hand on her neck and leg over hers so easily is what makes him pause, to really take stock of what's going on, because she just]

[Kind of stopped.]

[Which was weird.]

[He doesn't let her go, watching her warily, scanning the area for any kind of attack. Is she trying to pull something????]

[voreaciously]

[whatever manoeuvre she was going to make against him is aborted and she raises her hands above her head before tapping out.]

[schrodingerscockroach]

[That]

[That looks like a surrender]

[He studies her face intently, then her body, and it doesn't look like she's poised to attack. The instincts that had been screaming danger at him have quieted down too.]

[Slowly he moves his hand from her neck.]

...what....happened?

[voreaciously]

I am stopping.

[







obviously]

[schrodingerscockroach]

....why?

[Well, he's sitting up now.]

[Still]

[On her]

[He's honestly debating sitting here until he gets an answer because WTF?]