Let's proudly not melt, shall we? [Mingle]

[ourearth]

Date: 31.8-9.9.2018

Characters: Open

---

With the end of the eternal summer heat in sight, the last gasp of summer festivities start in Mossgate. The first signs come when the flag above the town hall showing the town coat of arms is removed and replaced with the bright and beautiful pride flag. Anticipation is high in the LGBT+ areas of town, and the traditional pride pre-parties take place in the LGBT+ venues on Friday and Saturday nights. Bunting starts to go up along the main streets of town, and volunteers are gathered for meetings and rehearsals. Any latecomers who still wish to volunteer are invited to turn up and make themselves known at this point (especially anyone with a valid first aid certificate!)

Pride officially opens on Sunday, with special free walking tours of the notable LGBT+ venues and sights around town twice a day, as well as open lectures at the universities featuring such topics as “Defining ourselves: deconstructing LGBT+ labels” and “Not just Stonewall: a brief history of LGBT+ activism”. Interested parties can sign up online using the local theatre's website, where they will also be able to browse the special LGBT+ program for the week (which, unfortunately, is not free, but those volunteering at any point over the week will be provided with two free tickets as one of their perks – either to be used alone for two events, or with a companion for one). The twice monthly LGBT+ book club is holding a special taster event on Wednesday evening, and the comic store is also holding special events each evening, focusing on a different LGBT+ character or author each night. Some of the religious institutions in the town are holding special LGBT affirmative services, and some are also holding drop in sessions. The RSPCA holds a pride themed dog show. Certain beauty stores, hair salons and barbers are holding trans-friendly sessions and workshops, some outside of normal working hours (although some are only accessible by signing up in advance). During the evening, there will be LGBT+ pub quizzes and special LGBT+ events up and down the high street. And, of course, plenty of other stores will also be taking advantage of the pink pound and the locals will notice the sudden influx of rainbow products, especially in the touristy shops along the beach front.

The main event is the pride parade, held from 11AM on Saturday, starting at the town hall, progressing along the main beach front road and ending up at the Green from around 2PM. It's a massive event, equal to Brighton or Manchester, with plenty of floats and sponsors. All along the parade route, flags, bunting and ribbons float in the sea breeze and barriers have been placed to keep the audience from getting under the feet of the walkers, dancers, prancers and stompers that will make up a part of the parade's diverse make-up. The parade itself is made up of an interesting mix of local businesses and big name sponsors; the local walking society walking behind Absolut vodka, the WI walking ahead of Skittles, and the local scouts being proceeded by Stonewall and followed by the Conservative Party.

There is one unforeseen thing happening this year though that will be throwing everyone into a tizzy for a bit: In between the last security check and the head of the pride parade arriving at the spot outside the town museum, someone has managed to sneak a giant cake in the way of the parade. The parade will come to an abrupt stop for almost half an hour while rumours run wild about the reason for which the parade has stopped, ranging from a terrorist attack to a romantic proposal. Eventually, the cake turns out to be entirely harmless, is removed and the parade continues. But news of it spread soon, and it is moved to a square where people are allowed to take pictures with it. It is, of course, heavily advised against trying to eat from it. Just that it doesn't explode doesn't mean that it meets food safety standards...

The Green has once again been set up with stalls for sponsors and local businesses, including charities like the RSPCA and the Samaritans. Those out for freebies won't be disappointed, with stickers, badges and sweets being handed out left, right and centre, especially by the representations of political parties who are doing their best to build some trust back up with the population. The local reproductive health centre also has a stand, handing out condoms, dental dams, and advice.

A dance area and a DJ have been set up around the bandstand, and with several bars having build temporary extensions, the party will go on well into the night, although the parade officially ends at nightfall, when there is a fireworks display. After the fireworks, the Green is temporary cleared, and after it reopens, only those with ID proving themselves to be 18 are allowed back inside. There is, however, an alternative, alcohol free party held in the town hall for any ages.

Pride officially concludes on Sunday evening with the Kings and Queens ball, an extension by tradition that is held in the Hive. With the bar cleared out to make a second dance floor, there is a flamboyant tie dress code, (as long as it's smart and fabulous, you'll be welcomed), and while tickets generally sell out months in advance, Alexander keeps a few to one side for late comers, and volunteers are (again) provided with two as part of their package. When the bell finally tolls at 2AM, and the last partygoers are sent home, Mossgate will return to it's usual, quiet self (but the glitter will take some time to clean up completely).


[ooc: Eating from the cake will give characters a plot echo. It will also make them high and give them indigestion the next day.]

Comments

[italicised]

I Preperation

As one of the main sponsors of Mossgate Pride (well, technically the Hive is), Alexander has his finger in all of the Pride pies, and he can be seen out and about even more than normal. He can be caught at most of the volunteering meetings (and certainly all the ones that take place at the Hive), and for once he's got his business hat on rather than his party hat. He actually manages to only bring up relevant problems, and not side track! As an experienced member of the team, he's one of the ones that people will point to if newer volunteers need help, since he's also one of the ones who will make time for people, even when time is not really on their side.

II Parade

The Hive, of course, has it's own, beautifully decorated float near the front of the parade, on which Alexander sits on a throne, surrounded by all of his beautiful barmen. This year, he has a parasol to protect himself from the sun, brought a couple of weeks ago in preparation for the sun that is finally starting to give up a little. There are also several on foot around the float, giving out vouchers for the Hive liberally. When the parade comes to a halt, Alexander holds court for a moment, and then clambers down, making his way to the front so he can find out what's happening. When he sees the cause of the delay, it's enough to shock his delicate disposition. "Now, darling, of all the protests I've seen that has to be the strangest." He comments to the next person over. "Stone throwers and name callers I've dealt with, but bakers is a new one!"


III Kings and Queens

The ball is traditionally Alexander's time to actually relax and enjoy himself, and as soon as the decorations are up on Sunday morning, he officially relieves himself from duty. He has to - he needs all the time he can get to get ready. He's not one to go full drag (not that he hasn't in the past, he enjoys men's fashion more), but that doesn't mean that his costume is any less elaborate, from his embroidered tailcoat to his bedazzled fan, and all the way up to his silk top hat. He looks quite at home as he swans around the dance floor, greeting old and new friends alike and checking in on the volunteers that have had to put up with him over the week. Anyone who hasn't come with a dance partner who happens to cross his path when a new song begins might find themselves greeted with a bow and the offer of a hand enclosed in a delicate lace glove. "Care to dance, my blossom?"

II!

[iamnotgod]

Walter's compromise to himself had been to walk alongside the Parade, without getting in their way, having to run (and thus drawing attention to his own Numbered abilities), or otherwise 'getting in trouble'.

The cake surprise is enough to draw him to the front as well, however.

"Is it supposed to be a protest or a gift, though? In any case," he continues, looking over at the increasingly-noisy crowd with some nervousness.

"They certainly have a sense of timing."

III

[dragoonrouge]

Sadie is so glad that the...ill effects of the cake yesterday had worn off in time for the ball. She had been looking forward all week to the ball and had gone out and brought herself a dress especially for it.

She had been skirting around the edge of the dancefloor when Alexander approaches. Sadie blushes and stutters, "Er, I-I don't know how to, um, d-dance."

III

[scarsolderthanyou]

Sam is here under sufferance, because a few of his cohort-group friends pretty much dared him to. He's feeling less woozy, fortified by a good beer and a big dinner, but the scent things hasn't gone away yet. It has him twitchy and uncomfortable, and wincing away from anything with a strong scent. He's not going to last very long at this gig, but he'll be here long enough to satisfy his friends that he "did something fun" that wasn't babysitting.

His "tie" is a cowboy's tie, beaded cords held together by a broach, to go with a large and somewhat silly-looking cowboy hat. "I'd step all over your feet," he tells Alexander dryly at the question. "Besides, I'm used to leading, and I don't think you're the type to let someone else steer them around."

OTA for Walter! CW for suicide.

[iamnotgod]

During Pride Week: Tech Guru on ship!

Because there are always some sites that crash last minute, or tourists with reservations who swear they've handled things legitimately but can't get a word in with those in charge of the parade, or any number of things that mean this man is needed on hand, right quick.

Sometimes even in person.

Saturday Evening (Closed to Jim; PM me if you have ideas, though!)

In terms of 'sudden, inexplicable phenomena', the cake very much wasn't the same thing as the Northern lights, but something about it just kept nagging at him...

Hopefully, he thought, making his way to the plaza that evening after the festivities had retreated, I can take a better look at it alone-

"HEY, YOU!"

"Dammit," he muttered. He'd been seen - by a motley bunch of teens, but he very much couldn't run away without raising more of a fuss out of them.

"Come help us test this thing! We wanna see how it tastes!" One of them - a girl, dark blonde hair - shouted. All four teens looked like the humidity had gotten to them.

"Didn't you lot already hear the warnings?" But then, some people just didn't have these things sink it; it wasn't too abnormal.

One of the two guys - tall, dark hair, wearing shades over his eyes - wasn't looking all that patient.

"Aw, you just don't have the balls-"

Walter opened his mouth, already deciding that clearly a more blunt approach was needed-

And then that hollow feeling hit, and he wasn't listening to any of them at all. He wasn't here, watching these strangers urge him to make a stupid decision-

He wasn't anywhere, but he was watching-

There was a girl, lying on her keyboard in front of her webcam, covered in blood.

'Dont feel bad, mum' she'd said.

Walter took off running; not towards the teens, not towards the cake, not towards anything; just away.

All four teens stared after him, jaws dropped.

Re: OTA for Walter! CW for suicide.

[tobodlygo]

It didn't take much for Walter's blind run to catch Jim's eye from where he was in the green. He'd wanted to take a closer look at the cake, but there was a whole crowd of people milling about it.

When a blur head off at such a speed though, he sees. Walter isn't one to act so rashly, something must've happened to him. He doesn't bother asking the teens what happened, as they don't seem to have any clue whatsoever.

Jim takes off after his friend, managing to catch him as he runs into the public bathroom stalls.

"Walter? Hey, Walt?"

Lemme know if this needs revisions: 'Saturday', post-midnight, back at the flat

[spaghettimonster]

Whenever Walter makes his way back to the flat after Saturday's festivities, he'll find that Russell's beaten him home.

Jacket and shoes and various things are strewn across the furniture, trailing from entryway to living room couch, and Russell is at the end of the trail.

"...I think I like red," he says as the door opens.

What Walter can't see from the doorway, but can see as he enters the flat, is a whole collage of stencils taped to the same wall as the front door. And a suspicious pile of spray paint sitting on the floor in front of Russell's crossed legs, and an intent expression on Russell's face as he studies it all.

[blueskying]

The Unitarian Universalists are here with banners and umbrellas against the late summer sun. They're not as big as some of the other denominations here - in Mossgate there are just more options than in a lot of other towns where Sky has lived - but they're certainly present. UU's had Pride on its calendar for decades. The assistant minister, who's been here a lot longer than Sky, has taken advantage of the occasion to wear her headpiece of widely branching antlers, decorated today with little multicolored streamers. Bless her, she takes every possible opportunity to wear those antlers, and is instantly recognizable at most events.

After the parade itself, before everyone's dispersed, the assistant minister confiscates a piece of the cake from one of the younger members. Sky's not sure how they managed to get it, but he can hear in their sense a kind of guilty tension. He's been getting used to the whole sensing thing. Being around people he knows helps, somehow they're easier to interpret and it's less distracting. Right now though, there's the question of the mystery cake.

"Have you heard of the numb tongue test? After you've smelled something and it doesn't smell terrible -" there is a pause and a passing under noses, and a ruling of Not Terrible - "Then you take a tiny amount onto the tip of your tongue for several seconds and spit it out. If it makes you go numb or tingles or anything like that, it's definitely not good."

Sky's people look at him. He endeavors to seem surprised and hurt for a second, then grins. "I have the least to lose, but I hope if it's poisoned you all will take me to the hospital," he jokes. "I'd avoid the outer layer of the frosting, we don't know how long this was out..."

Unable to back out now he accepts a plastic spoon, clasping its handle between two hooks. Sky's congregants lean in expectantly as he calves off a crumb and a little blot of the inner icing and holds the sample in his mouth. He considers it thoughtfully and then feels the increasingly familiar sense of his insides falling away, his heart beating in a hollow place... his eyes widen and he pulls the spoon away, sample uneaten. The sudden concern he can hear makes him shake his head, try and pull out of it.

"I don't know. I wouldn't eat it, but I wouldn't anyway -" this provokes some snorts or smiles, Sky's adherence to a low-sugar diet is known - "and I can't stop anyone who wants to give it a try." He doesn't want to cause alarm, and it's not like this has been harmful, so far. Disconcerting, maybe.

There's a new weight at his waist that came with that taste. Something's been crammed into the fanny pack/'bum bag' he buckled on today and he doesn't want anyone to get concerned. It's going to take a bit before the unnerved sense changes to something he's familiar with from certain parts of his misspent youth.

[dragoonrouge]

A little while after Sky partakes in a mouthful of the cake he is approached by a very giggly teenager who is staring in wide-eyed fascination at his hook.

"How'd your hand turn into a coat hook?!" Someone has clearly had a bit more cake than Sky.

Pre-cake stuff

[scarsolderthanyou]

Sam is here with his grandkids and daughter and all that, and he's not super happy about it, but he's trying. So spotting the familiar face under the Unitarian umbrellas has him ambling over.

"Having fun, or working?" he asks Sky amiably enough.

[dragoonrouge]

During the Week (OTA)

Unlike most of her peers, Sadie does not spend Pride relaxing. Instead, in exchange for having both Saturday and Sunday off to enjoy the parade and ball to its fullest, Sadie is out every day in her RSPCA blue t-shirt doing various tasks for the organisation. On Monday and Thursday, Sadie is out and about in the town centre handing out flyers and chatting with members of the public about the RSPCA and the events they have organised throughout the week. Tuesday and Friday, she is at the RSPCA building itself, accompanied by her two kittens, Amber and Tigger, to help oversee the Open Day where members of the public are allowed to meet the animals in their care and hopefully give some of the lovely creatures a new home.

Finally, on Wednesday, Sadie is helping to coordinate the Pride-themed dog show, an event that has turned out to be far more popular than anticipated by her managers.
Despite all the work, anyone that approaches her is sure to receive a smile and a kind word, and even a bit of a chat if she isn't too busy at the time.

The Ball A(Closed to Ben)

Sadie fidgets nervously with her bi-colour striped alice band and tugs the hem of her dress as she hovers by the door. She wanted to look nice for the ball but now it was especially important everything was perfect seeing as she'd invited Ben as her Plus One. Who should be arriving any minute...

The Ball B (OTA)

Sadie was taking a bit of a breather off to the side, the Ball was in full swing and she had been dancing for a while, as evidenced by how flushed her cheeks currently are.

"The music's been so great this evening!"

Hitting up that first OTA!

[iamnotgod]

On a rare moment where he remembers he is in fact human, and that despite his enhanced capabilities he does still need to take breaks, he follows the crowd to the RSPCA building.

Not being there to adopt, however (his and Russell's flat doesn't have that much room, and with Numbers shenanigans it's not looking to be a stable place in the near or distant future), he stays along the walls, enjoying the AC and letting the noises of happy animals meeting future owners calm him.

He'll wave if - or rather when! - he catches Sadie's eye.

Ball A

[warped_replica]

Benjiro does his best to be punctual, but this time he is a couple minutes late as he approaches at a brisk walk only to slow and merge into the crowd of arrivals for the Ball. His minor detour to use a few pink pounds had been planned, but not anticipated as requiring quite so much thought and indecision on his part. Scanning through the crowd, he spots Sadie and lifts an arm to wave while the other keeps curled around his back. Separating from the flow, he moves over to where Sadie has been waiting. For the event, he’s dressed in a semi-formal suit of neutral tones with grey, white, and black decorated by a far more colorful tie that tries to capture the majesty of galaxies in space. The suit had been bought in anticipation of interviews by his parents, but with his own choice of tie, it seemed like it would serve well for the grand finale of the week at Sadie’s side.

Offering a bow of his head and shoulders, he straightens as his words drift momentarily when he gets a good look at Sadie in her dress, “Sorry, Sadie I...I-I got a little behind.” Flushing faintly over his cheeks under his black face mask, he recovers as well as he can, “That dress looks beautiful on you.”

[tobodlygo]

I.
Jim's here, he's queer and he's actually almost dying in the heat. Why the fuck did he think that the suit and blazer combo would be the best idea for this day, specifically? He's so close to just stripping down to his tanktop underneath but that would ruin the Image.

The shirt he wears is a ridiculously charming Ice-lolly print, paired with a tweed blazer and trouser pair with a chunky blue, pink and purple tie done in the traditional Windsor. He's a mess of badly paired colour, mostly because he can be, and because he completely forgot that this was happening until his phone told him this morning.

He's having a great time following the parade, so that's where you'll find him.

II.
He's lying on his back on the grass of the common looking up at the sky through pink-tinted sunglasses.

The blazer jacket is off, lying beneath him as he's starfished out as wide as he can go, the sleeves of his shirt rolled up. He's inches away from kicking over a plate of the cake that he totally didn't steal when the organizers weren't looking. He's so floaty right now.

Like... fuck, that's grass!

Holy shit, can you imagine grass?

He decides he needs a drink, and instead of being anywhere near subtle about it, he just speaks his number in a mumble, out loud, to ask any of his fellow network-mates if they would so kindly mind bringing him one.

He might be openly leaking from the eyes by the time someone gets to him.

II

[scarsolderthanyou]

Since he doesn't have anything on him tuned to the network right now, Sam is unaware of other people affected by the cake. He didn't have much, only what his grandson managed to mash into his mouth, so he's not high per se... he's just very dizzy and woozy, and now that he's got his face washed and his grandson handed over, he's in search of someplace cool and shady to sit.

He drops not far off before realizing just who is flopped out over there. "Figures I'd find the patch of grass with you on it, too," he grumps, holding one hand over his mouth and nose, which might look a little odd.

[blueskying]

There's a young man tripping out on the grass, a pretty one but also super young, and by now Sky's suspicious that that cake is behind certain things. He's not hugely affected himself and is making the effort to look like his mood isn't altered at all, but Sky has been there. Oh, Sky has been there.

Leaning out over the young man, his voice louder than is really necessary, he says, "I think you need a sign so no one trips over you! What a terrible way to start fall."

II

[dragoonrouge]

Sadie skips in Jim's direction, easily guessing that he was on the lawn near the yummy, yummy cake.

"Jim! I-I'm here to shout at the mean grass!"

II because I came up with something after all.

[iamnotgod]

You know what? This is somehow not what he was expecting.

Jim managed to eat his cake before Walter let himself touch any (and he's really wishing for napkins right now anyway), so he's just... watching Jim react.

This is not something he wants to replicate unless he's at home; he and drugs have never really crossed paths, let alone in good circumstances. A controlled environment would be ideal, frankly.

And sure, given what's happened to him so far this evening, one could argue he could use the break-

It just doesn't sound smart to him just yet. That's his excuse.

"Jim?" he asks, kneeling not too far away, weighing the pros and cons of just taking the plate away from him before it gets knocked over for real (which should not take much time, yet somehow...)

"You sure we shouldn't go home? There are drinks there."

[warped_replica]

Preparation
Lending his assistance when requested in matters of readying for the celebration of Pride, Benjiro does manage to assist his great aunts in one task despite the ongoing tension. Agatha is involved with the book club, so in the morning Wednesday he's busy helping his aunts in the kitchen preparing samples for the taster. He doesn't partake of any of the treats himself during the work, but it all certainly smelled wonderful.

With his great aunts involved deeply in the community throughout the week, he has a lot of time at the house on his own. Rather than waste the opportunity, he follows through with a plan developed the week prior, cooperating with a few online friends to run a 12 hour long joint-charity stream to benefit an international organization that supports LGBT+ rights. All of the games they play during those hours, together or simultaneously, are associated with the cause. Daydream Dad is definitely a particularly popular inclusion.

Cake
Out with what appears to be the vast majority of the town, Benjiro is surprised when the parade is brought to a halt. It doesn't take long at all for word to travel, and he hears about a giant cake of all things blocking the path. The theories that accompany its astonishing appearance on the route are discarded, especially once he manages to find an image of it posted up on the internet.

Benjiro mulls it over, and the more he thinks about the cake, the more it bothers him. So as soon as he hears that the cake was transported to a square to use as a photo opportunity, he heads that direction.

Serving as a popular attraction, Benjiro patiently waits for a lull in the traffic around the cake before he approaches. By the time he gets close to that cake, it is apparent chunks have been taken from the backside, and he frowns. He cannot deny he wants a sample to test and would consider taking a bit for such use if he had a proper container with which to store it, but he highly doubts other people that have cut into this cake have similar intentions. As he marvels at the stupidity bravery of some and tries to focus to look for any odd features to the cake, he is quite blindsided as a larger gentleman totters off balance right into him from a more rowdy group trying to organize for a less than sober photo. Shoved closer to the cake, his fingers of one hand skirt through some of the icing as he reacts without a thought to tuck into a jump with the momentum carrying him towards other people. Rather than collide, he kicks off the ground right in front of them to spring directly backwards with a tight flip and lands in a crouch with his arms held wide. As his mind catches up with his body, Benjiro startles from the realization of what he had just managed to do.

That's new.

Quickly becoming aware of the attention the maneuver garnered, he stands and excuses himself to bolt from the crowded area. He runs for quite a distance before he slows and hides around a corner. Face flushed, he pulls his face mask down to catch his breath in the heat.

Away from the stifling throngs of people, his mind clears and he can start to piece it together. He had been far more skilled at the petting zoo when he climbed to get the chicken than he should have been, especially in recovering from the fall. What he had just pulled off is not that different from what he recalls from that first flashback he got at the beginning of break either. Maybe that is a skill he gained from his Number.

About to reach to rub his face, he pauses to look at the icing and cake crumbs still clinging to his hand. Right. He has no napkins on him, and he's not ready to go searching for one when he's trying to retreat. If it makes him sick, so be it. Licking the sweetness off his hand with care taken to mind his teeth, he is struck numb as his inside turns hollow for thunderous beat of his heart. Something fizzles into view in his recollection, the snippets of hours spent constructing a giant machine with hands that do not belong to him. Hands that, quite strangely, do not have claws as his previous echoes have shown. His mind races around the build of a tunneling vehicle, the disjointed steps suddenly snapping into place as a clean, clear process with every aspect calculated to the fifth place beyond the decimal point. The seventh place for the more delicate portions.

Shaking his hand to try to get rid of the icing and cake any other way as he struggles to reign in the flood, he grips his head and leans back into the wall behind him. He gasps for breath as he shudders, but slowly, the overwhelming rush ebbs and his muscles let go. Sliding his back down the wall to sit, his breathing calms as he feels a sense of peace quiet the anxiety in the way one can throw a blanket over a fire.

It's...almost nice.

Several minutes pass without a thought before he shakes his head and pulls his face mask back up. This is weird. He...he really needs to find Sadie. She's great. She's so good and pretty and he just wants to see her.

After a couple of attempts, he manages to clamber to his own feet and walk back towards the festivities.

Ball
For the event, Benjiro has come dressed in a semi-formal suit of neutral tones with grey, white, and black decorated by a far more colorful tie that tries to capture the majesty of galaxies in space. Whenever he is not accompanying Sadie, the teenager can be found lingering at a quiet corner or with his back against the wall.

He has never been very good with crowds, so the occasional break is more necessary than he cares to admit in the boisterous atmosphere.

Cake

[dragoonrouge]

Sadie, having been caught up with RSPCA contingent of the parade, hadn't arrived in time to see either Ben's sick backflip or his exit from the area also finds herself examining the cake and most importantly, the chunks that had been taken from the back. Sadie glances around to see if anyone is watching before breaking a large chunk off of the bottom-most tier. She gives it a quick sniff before, in a moment of what can only be described as teenage impulsiveness, she shoves the chunk of cake into her mouth.

"Mmmmmmmmm!" It was surprisingly good! A hint of vanilla to the sponge and the icing wasn't unbearably sweet. She's almost considering going for a second bite when her stomach drops out from itself and the familiar sensation of Number nonsense starts. She braces herself for some sort of memory or change and is sort of shocked when nothing changes.

"Huh. Okay...?" Confusing.

She starts to drift away from the cake, back through the crowd and looks around at all the decorations. She giggles, it was kind of funny that she'd been going to Pride for ages but this was the first one she's been to since she came out. How ridiculous. More giggles escape her and she starts skipping as she moves, she just felt so light and bubbly, simply walking didn't feel good enough. Maybe she'd bump into someone fun!

Preparation!

[iamnotgod]

Walter is in the know about the stream, so about halfway through the day (really, it's more like ll AM) Ben gets a text from a familiar number (not Number):

You all right over there? You definitely LOOK like you're having a good time, but I do want to be sure. :)

He also made a donation; nothing extravagant, given his and Russell's combined budget, but Benjiro has no doubt seen the notif anyway.

Cake

[tobodlygo]

DUDE. That. Was. AWESOME!

Jim is so thoroughly impressed by the aerial feat that he actually begins to start clapping, except that Ben dashes off without a second thought. That... now that looked like a number thing. He felt the same feeling feel that the number feeling makes him feel when he had the cake, and he knows what it looks like.

After getting turned around some trying to follow him in the realtively simple diabolically complicated alleyways, he does come across Ben as he's pulling his face mask up.

"Hey, Kid!" He greets, he himself looking an absolute spectacle. "You, uh, You certainly had a thing felt there, didn't ya?" He offers Ben a bag with several canned drinks in, because he absolutely went into Poundland to get a drink while he got distracted. Jim's been on the network via voice that Ben should recognize him, if not the other way around.

OTA

[scarsolderthanyou]

I. Weekend Events - pre-cake

Sam Stone is not really a pride kind of person, but his daughter is, and with him trying the social thing again, she's convinced him to come under the guise of helping keep track of the grandkids. So here he is on the weekends, feeling vaguely out of place and drifting around from site to site on the tour.

II. University

He does take advantage of some of those lectures, though, and can be found around the university in the evenings with a book before or after the class.

III. Cake and five year olds

It's the most rambunctious of the grandkids that gets away from the rest of the group, and Sam that has the spare attention and hands to chase after him. The five year old boy has heard about a giant cake, and of course is determined to try it out, because it's cake and he's a headstrong little boy. Wonder where he got that from.

Sam catches up to him, out of breath, to find the boy has all but dived into the cake and is covered on most of his top half with frosting. He sighs, picks him up, and endures being swatted and giggled at by frosting-covered hands.

It's only when some of that frosting winds up in his mouth-- he tries to spit it out, and fails-- that he stops short with another of those goddamned pulse-heartbeart-hollow feeling. There's the usual vivid scene or memory or vision or whatever it is he's come to expect from those things, of flying again but this time with purpose, tracking something, testing the wind for a scent. This time, though, with it comes a suddenly overwhelming sense of everything smelling too strongly. The frosting, the car exhaust, the mass of people nearby, the boy in his arms, everything. He very nearly topples over in shock, hastily freeing up one hand from holding his grandson to cover his mouth and nose with his forearm.

"What the hell...."

"That's a bad word, Grandpa," his grandson scolds, then giggles some more. It's hard to tell if the cake affected him; he's just a hyper little boy.

IV. Weekend Events - post-cake

Sam lets his daughter deal with getting her son cleaned up, while he finds some grassy spot somewhere to sit, feeling woozy and with random scents bringing tears to his eyes, mostly because they're too strong, but occasionally because they spark a (non-echo) memory that is uncomfortable or associated with too much emotion. He hates this, but he doesn't trust himself to drive home until he has this smell thing at least somewhat sorted out-- or at least can stand up without feeling dizzy.

He may wind up getting a ride from someone. Or walking home. But for now, he's sitting. Feel free to come bother him, network people.

IV

[dragoonrouge]

Sadie spots Sam sitting down and it manages to register through the happy cloud of the cake that, as someone who was a volunteer, she should go and check on him.

Skipping over she beams at him, "Hey, are you feeling okay? Do I need to get the ambulance people?"

II

[warped_replica]

Prior to one such lecture at the university, a teenager arrives early on his own with a notebook and a printed map in hand. He looks at the map repeatedly as he approaches down the hallway. Spotting the older man seated with a book, Benjiro walks up close enough to speak at a comfortable level while minding personal space. Since he began wearing his mask, he has noticed a subtle expanding of the personal space kept between himself and others. For today, he’s wearing a white mask and a collared shirt with a button-up front and clean slacks, hoping to offset the odd accessory.

Bowing his head and shoulders, he’ll ask, “Excuse me... I’m sorry to bother you. I am here to attend the lecture titled ‘Defining Ourselves’. Do you know if that’s here or someplace else?”