001 - shenanigans

[citharede]

[ It's three in the morning when she posts this video.

Here is Athena, hanging her head and part of her torso off the edge of her apartment building's roof and filming herself upside-down, the dark streets below outlined in streetlights and marked by the occasional pedestrian. ]

How do you do, fellow kids. [ She dangles one arm alongside her head, hanging on to her device one-handed. ] I'm super fucking bored which I didn't think would actually be physically possible on a moon in another universe, but anyway.

Who wants to go on a firefly hunt? Catch a bunch of the fuckers, turn them loose in a department store. Or an office building. Or a coffee shop. Anywhere we can get in easy and run away fast. [ She rolls over so she's filming herself against the backdrop of the night sky now, instead of the street. ]

Whoever catches the most wins something, whoever gets bit loses automatically and has to go jump in the river.

Comments

[ video | un: honeybadger ]

[honeybadgerer]

[ this is the most deadpool thing gabby's ever heard. ]

Me! I want to do it.

voice; @waltz

[enveloped]

Athena Fionola Parker you get down from there right now!

[citharede]

First dibs on bug catching equipment goes to whoever you are!

Who are you. I'm Athena.

video;

[citharede]

Aw come on Cam! The middle name? In public? Seriously?

[enveloped]

The middle name is the least of what you'll get if you don't stop screwing around.

I've screen-capped this. For posterity. And to show your aunt.

How's that for motivation?

video; un: d.pavus

[tevinteraltus]

[ The dark-complected man with the impressive 'stache looks quietly amused, and arches an eyebrow at the feed, taking a sip from his glass of wine before he actually says anything. ]

The Quarantine can be a bit boring, I'll give you that, but...fireflies?

[citharede]

Not regular fireflies, those rainbow bitey ones that make you feel shit.

[citharede]

[ Nghnk. She sits up and scoots away from the edge, turning the camera so he can see the distance she's put between herself and open air. ]

There, I'm down. Well I mean I'm away from the edge. You're not seriously going to show Aunt Nory this are you? I can't get grounded for something in another universe! It doesn't count!

[enveloped]

I won't show her if you don't make me.

Your aunt can decide if it counts or not. I'm just the messenger.

[citharede]

This is blackmail. You're blackmailing me.

[honeybadgerer]

I'm Gabby! I'm new here.

[tevinteraltus]

...marginally more entertaining, it's true, but I don't believe they'll be much of a use released in any of those locations at this hour, and come dawn, they'll have retired for the day.

[ He taps his chin thoughtfully. ]

They are nocturnal, aren't they?

[citharede]

Yeah? I've been here like a month. Long enough to get settled. [ This person is A Smol and even if Athena is ridiculous she also doesn't like the idea of kids being here on their own. ] Do you have like, people here? Taking care of you?

[citharede]

These ones seem everyurnal. At least I've seen them all over during the day, too. Harder to see but definitely there. I just figure hunting them at night makes them easier to spot.

[honeybadgerer]

I have my case worker and a superhero.

[ since squirrel girl offered and all. ]

And my big sister. But she's more like . . . an alternate tinier version of my big sister.

[enveloped]

And I'm very good at it.

[citharede]

Man, there's so many fuhhhh-ricking [ saved it ] superheroes around here, it's crazy.

[ She scrubs a hand through her hair. ]

Superheroes and weird time stuff.

Hey, you want to meet my friends? Some of my friends, anyway, Cam and Jeff, they're kind of the people taking care of me here even though I don't really need people to do that. Jeff's a puppy and Cam's kind of intimidating sometimes but they're both good dudes.

[ A PAUSE. ]

You can totally say no, I guess it's kind of weird for a complete stranger to be like 'hey! Let me help arrange your new life on an alien moon!'

[citharede]

Can you be less good at it? For meeee?

[tevinteraltus]

Ah, so it's that you plan on capturing them for use at some later point.

[ He nods. "Everyurnal"? Alright, then. ]

The term you're looking for is "cathemeral", though I wouldn't expect you, or many, to know that. Perhaps you can win a bit of trivia in the future with that kernel of knowledge.

[ But he waves a hand dismissively. So not the point. ]

Might I request a forward warning before the deployment of your wrangled insects? They really could ruin a perfectly languid day, after all.

[honeybadgerer]

[ oh. ]

No, it's not weird! It's actually super nice. Would your friends be okay with that?

[enveloped]

The photos may be tragically lost with good behaviour.

It's funny how that happens. If I had a dime for every incriminating photo that mysteriously disappeared off my hard drive, I'd be significantly richer.

video; un: yakyuu.luvr

[yakyuuman]

[ Fireflies... are great and beautiful, but even a mention of any bug would summon Jyushimatsu from his deep and not-even-explosions-wake-him-up sleep. A summer miracle, one would say.

He's already out of his pyjamas and into his hoodie outfit when he replies in a burst, eyes shining. ]

Did it already start? Please tell me I'm not late!

video; un: j.calhoun

[bardish]

[ THANKS FOR THE HEART ATTACK, KID. The only reason Jeff's not freaking out by the time he responds is, of all things, seeing that exchange with Waltz. At least his hard-ass tendencies are good for some things.

Also it helps that it's closer to a normal hour when Jeff responds, so, like. He knows you didn't fall off the building and die. ]

You're plotting shenanigans where I can see it! Bold move.

[ Then again, Jeff was sound asleep when this post went up, since it was 3 am (I must be lonely~), so filtering this post away from him would've made no difference whatsoever.

Shit. He's gonna have to, like, get some tech savvy person to show him how to set up an alert to ping him when Athena posts, isn't he? So he doesn't sleep through the next hijink. ]

[citharede]

Pfff yeah. I've volunteered Jeff for way more traumatizing shhhhhcrap than this.

I just know how like. Lucky I am to have people from home here, even if I wouldn't wish being here on anybody. And even if one of the people from home yells my middle name on the network for all the world to hear.

So are you from a world with superheroes?

[citharede]

Aw man. Good behavior? How much good behavior? Is there a time limit?