THE SUMMER EXPLOSIVES FESTIVAL

[de_lux]

Warning: Too many explosive devices.
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.

Comments

[unriddling]

Riddler stood his ground, shifting the cane only so he could grab it with both hands, holding it as a buffer between them.

"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.

[exuviiated]

Aaron experimentally tried to send his own shadows down the cane, trying to dissipate it. Whether it worked or not would remain to be seen, expecially since his attentions were already divided between being angry, keeping himself anchored to the ground, and making sure the covering on his hands kept the sharp edge of the cane off.

“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.

[unriddling]

The cane was seemed to ripple, but it didn't break--it just seemed to kink up, resisting. Riddler's anger had always been a driving force; the deal with the Nox had only made it worse.

"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

[exuviiated]

The cane didn't seem like it was going to bend or give any time soon, so he sent a few more tendrils to wrap around it and provide even more stability, keeping them anchored together.

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)

[unriddling]

Riddler almost dropped outright, the pain doubling him over. He was expecting a shadow attack, not fists. It drove him a few staggering steps backwards.

"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 >[

[exuviiated]

Aaron grinned, all teeth, when Riddler staggered back. It quickly fell into a snarl once he started /talking/ again. Neither was making much in the way of sense, but neither cared, anyways. Aaron wanted to talk and also not. He wanted to rip Riddler apart and also submit, because he didn't care and what was the point.

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.

[unriddling]

The sight of blood twisted Riddler's face into an expression of savage victory.

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.

[exuviiated]

He doggedly kept running, sending his own tendrils-- lent strength born of panic, anger-- to cut the ones that were attaching to his ankles. They snapped and he kept running towards the edge of the building, angling to where he knew the old, moth-eaten mattress he'd hauled out earlier while refurbishing his... place.

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.

[unriddling]

That snapped him back to himself. Just a little.

"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.

[exuviiated]

Blood thundered through Aaron's head and blocked out anything other than his goal; getting away from Riddler, and maybe leaving him with something to think about. He felt vindictive and angry, so angry, it hurt, and Aaron had never enjoyed tunnel vision. He wheeled around a sharp turn, knocking down a stack of cardboard boxes left by a few native Freesians, presumably moving to a new place. They scattered across the concrete and Aaron kept running. "You made us all worried!" Was he rephrasing? "We didn't know where you were or what you were doing!"

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."

[unriddling]

The shadows didn't form anything physically beneath him to make him go faster, but he was outpacing his own best time when he was normal. Even with corruption, the Nox had kept his body more alive and functioning than he had alone. The boxes tripped him up, at least.

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.

[exuviiated]

Aaron kept running until his breath was forced and ragged. Likewise, the corruption had made him... physically, better but for the gummy black residue that gathered on his palms and chest no matter what he did.

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.

[unriddling]

Riddler's fury blinded him to anything on the ground, and Aaron's trap worked remarkably well--as he'd be able to tell from the furious roar behind him.

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.

[exuviiated]

A triumphant snarl worked up from his throat and past his teeth, and Edward would find himself quite unable to catch up with the mess Aaron was making to make sure he couldn't be followed, either by his irate pursuant or any good Samaritan hoping to put an end to it.

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.