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THE SUMMER EXPLOSIVES FESTIVAL
Locations: Various locations in Freesia, the Park.
Characters: Anyone and everyone.
When: The last Sunday in July.
Summary: The citizens of Freesia are celebrating THE SUMMER EXPLOSIVES FESTIVAL. Expect fireworks and barbecue.
With the chaos of last month's Nox Carnival and the ongoing fallout from that, most of Freesia's guests are probably finding the city a less than cheerful place to stay.
However, this past week they may have noticed a strangely festive air to the place. There's an excited buzz about the commercial district, and the city has been fancied up with fresh flowers wherever you go.
And then, come today, you'll finally learn what all the excitement's been building towards.
A: The first thing you're liable to notice is the box of fireworks that have been neatly placed by the entrance of wherever it is you live. Most of them aren't very big, consisting of things like firecrackers and sparklers, but you're free to play with them however you wish. Evidently, someone out there wanted to give you a present.
B: Head on over to the park, and you'll notice there's a large festival going on, and banners hung over the various park entrances proclaim it to be THE SUMMER EXPLOSIVES FESTIVAL. Oddly, no matter where you look, THE SUMMER EXPLOSIVES FESTIVAL always seems to be written in all-caps. The park grounds are mostly full of citizens gathered together, barbecuing food together and playing games. They're still not the friendliest, but they don't seem to outright mind the presence of the magic users at the moment. Various stalls have been set up, selling food, fireworks, souvenirs, t-shirts, and flowers. The stall owners are happy enough to sell their wares to anyone who doesn't mind the fact that they're overpriced.
C: If the merchandise doesn't interest you, there are also various competitions going on that are free for anyone to join. These range from three-legged races, to hot dog eating competitions, to karaoke contests, and similar activities. Prizes are mostly cheap flower crowns or flower chains, but do well enough in any of them and you might win something of actual value in the line of mundane material goods.
D: But it's after the sun sets that the real moment the citizens have been waiting for occurs. From over the farmlands, a plethora of fireworks are being launched off Bright, colorful, and loud, it makes quite a spectacle for anyone watching from the park. Or, if you don't mind the long climb, we recommend making your way to the top of the Lux Spire for the best view.
And the Nox, strangely, seem to be staying well away from THE SUMMER EXPLOSIVES FESTIVAL, even after the sun sets.
A: Not Inside Toys
...He could probably haul it up to the roof without much issue, and if a passing person saw him playing with them? Too bad. He was going to salvage whatever of a good mood he could.
The walk up wasn't too hard with the aid of a few blocks of concrete piled up in some sort of clunky staircase to the roof. He dropped down into an easy cross-legged position and pulled out the first, a colored sparkler, and until somebody noticed him he'd continue wearing through the box of pyrotechnics.
what a loser dickbag edward are u like 12
He was in a rather unpleasant mood himself, and he wasn't entirely sure why, other than the obnoxious coating of shadow that seemed to leak from beneath his fingers no matter how hard he tried to make it stop. There had to be other factors.
It didn't matter. Most of the city was preoccupied elsewhere, he didn't care. The shadows pouring from his hands bent into an angled shape, a deadly-looking blivet of a paper airplane.
He realized who he was looking at a split second before he sent it flying, but he found he didn't really care. Why was Aaron even here? He shouldn't have been in the city at all, Riddler didn't want to see him, even accidentally.
The shadow-airplane flew off. It had its own tiny motor of Riddler's design, so it flew upwards instead of succumbing to gravity--right towards whatever his former henchman was holding.
yes
Of course, his good mood couldn’t last. A small black – thing knocked into his hands and smacked the sparkler into his arm, leaving a burn and a small, burning ember of anger in the back of his mind.
“Hey! What was that for?” He could—and would!—have said more, but... Riddler. And all of a sudden, he was weighting his words again, just like he was still working for him. But he didn’t, not anymore, and he could say whatever he wanted. “Did you even know someone was already up here?”
no subject
It didn't take him much time to cross the road, and then head up. Shadows from the windowsills and shutters at just the right angles solidified under his feet.
And then he was perched on the edge of the building, giving his former henchman a dirty glare. "What are you doing?" he asked sharply. It sounded like he was asking for a report after a particularly unpleasant day.
yuck
"I don't see why I should tell you. It's none of your business."
After that, he nudged the box of goodies out of his way and stood, closing the height gap-- not entirely, but by a good amount. "Besides, it's not like you ever told us anything about what you were doing." No doubt a sore subject, but one he wasn't afraid to push until he got an answer.
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Riddler grasped his meaning instantly, stepping from the ledge to land quite a bit closer. "It wasn't your business what I was working on that time. And it still isn't, so watch your words," he said dangerously.
me: *has zero good angry icons*
His own shadow magic was-- quivering wasn't the word. Shaking. Coalescing. Condensing into a sickly, sticky black mass under his feet.
"And besides. After the panic you sent us all in disappearing? I think we deserve an answer." Never mind that he was all that was left of the we.
i am sure many emotions will happen thru this
The shadow cane was abruptly in his hand, hooked end pointing towards Aaron's face, nearly touching his chin. "If I managed to take the Batman down in a fight--" which he genuinely had done, at least briefly "--taking you down will be effortless."
He shook his head sharply. "I left you as much of a message as you needed, move on," he growled. Never mind that it would be hard to do so with his ex-boss towering in front of him and making no motions to leave.
TOO MANY
The magic seemed to respond better when he was angry. Maybe because that's when he used it the most. Funny, how those things ended up working. He summoned a few clumps of shadow to wind around his ankles and keep him anchored steadily to the roof, and then started to push the cane-- and, hopefully, Riddler-- back. He felt sick calling on more shadows to wind up his body, his arm that was attached to the cane, to help add strength and force, but did it anyways. "It was barely enough. We're not--" and then, bit-off and bitter, "mentally sound, all of us. You're lucky nobody went looking for you."
no subject
"It was enough, it was all you needed. I knew you wouldn't, that's why I left it! You would have been idiots if I'd been more clear!"
Riddler wasn't entirely sure what he was saying already. He jerked his head sharply and tried a sidestep; he could feel the space that led off the building behind him and instinctively preferred to have a wall at his back than nothing.
no subject
“Something stupid? You’re one to talk!”
At that, he pushed more—harder, fully knowing that anything else he said wouldn’t be a proper argument at all. Edward was trying to step so he had the advantage of a wall; Aaron didn’t want that, and tried to steer him off the edge of the building.
no subject
"I made the best decision I could! Would you rather be dead, Griffin?" he growled.
The cane made a bizarre noise, a hiss that echoed for far too long. A few jerky tendrils curled off it even as Riddler took a step back, two. They grew and reached up, down, to the side, intent on grabbing Aaron's head an limbs and--
Riddler hadn't thought any further than that. He was sure pain would be involved, however. Because Aaron was wrong.
fight me riddler
He jerked back, giving up on pushing and instead trying to pull Riddler off balance. The tendrils from Riddler's cane missed his head, luckily, but managed to snare his arms up to his elbows. They were squeezing and near-painful, and his attentions were divided enough as they were keeping him from being sliced to ribbons by the cane.
"My name is Aaron!"
He yanked again, baring his teeth, letting go of the cane altogether, and trying to lunge in close enough to sock Riddler right in the bony gut.
GLADLY, SCRUBLORD (he is sooooo gonna regret this later)
"I don't care!" he wheezed, realizing distantly that was a nonsensical answer, and not being able to bring himself to consider why that mattered.
A small spike of darkness shot slid out from his hands, still clutching at his stomach, and a little twisted butterfly--all sharp angles, just like the faux paper plane--shot towards Aaron's face as Riddler struggled to recover.
who u calling scrublor, scrublord >[
Any ideas of fleeing were soundly crushed when Riddler made to attack again. Any usual fear was swallowed up by a tidal wave of rage, and he resolved to face everything head-on.
He made his own counter to the butterfly, a sticky black net that shot over it and crammed it into a mockery of a chrysalis. It went sharply down, but still towards him. Sharp edges still poked out and managed to strike him--a lucky shot, or force?-- the shadow weapon getting stuck stubbornly in his abdomen.
He lurched back, looking down-- shock. Pain!-- and then finally did make to flee, turning and running to the edge of the building.
no subject
Thought was nothing but calculation--how far Aaron was ahead, how to best get down if the other tipped over the edge--and a cloud of hate. Destroy the enemy. That's all it was, that's all it needed to be.
It took only a few ragged breaths until he could stand straight, a few more until he could move, sending a small wave of tendrils more quickly than he could move himself along the rooftop in an attempt to ensnare Aaron's feet.
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He went hurtling over the edge and straight down onto the mattress, sparing him any broken bones or worse.
"Why is it my fault?!"
Sounding daresay hurt, but still- angry, overwhelmingly.
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"Because you don't know!" was his distorted response. "None of you did! You would have been stupid enough to die and you never figured it out and I hate you for this!"
His words were nonsense and his tone was filled with rage and twisted grief.
...No. No, he didn't feel that, he didn't feel anything, it was anger only. Anger that Aaron was still perusing knowledge he didn't need to have.
The edge of the building came up fast; he threw himself over in the same place Aaron had, though he made a small almost-springboard out of shadows to land on and throw himself back to his feet. The chase was on.
no subject
Was Riddler still in earshot? He didn't care.
"We thought you were dead!" (He remembered feeling so worried it felt like it was eating a hole through his stomach; like he was going to throw up.)"But now-- now I think you wanted to die!" His voice was leaning to the side of strained and quieter, now. "And maybe you should have done it yourself instead of looking for it."
no subject
Riddler heard...some. Enough to get the gist of it.
"It's too late!" he snarled. The rage was burning his stomach, caving in his chest on the inside. Too late for Aaron to figure it out, too late for himself to finally make that choice--
He arced his arm, a serpentine ribbon with lethal edges shooting out at Aaron's retreating back.
no subject
Riddler obviously heard enough to make him incensed. More than he was already. Good, Aaron thought vindictively. He kept running even as his lungs got worse, like they were on fire.
The ribbon lacerated his clothing and skimmed his flesh-- he cried out-- before his own magic made a protective covering.
He could escape into the farmlands if he wanted to run a lot, or merely into the commercial district-- it entailed running past more apartments and the mall. That, he could do. He called on some gooey, icky shadow to congeal where his feet touched the ground to stop Riddler in his tracks, should he step in Aaron's footsteps.
no subject
A few thin shadows slid between his feet and the goop, prying it away. It only took a few seconds, but that was enough for Aaron to take quite the lead.
He sprang forward to keep going and shouted "Stop!" As if any words in the world would actually make that happen.
end.
His own answering "NO" would be lost to the wind rushing through the alleyways, and before long he'd well and truly put a generous amount of distance between himself and Riddler.
Safe. Kind of.