Time for a big ol' Nexus Block party

[sumarusfinest]

On a sleepy summer morning a wonderful smell begins to waft throughout the Nexus. For those familiar with this place there can only be one explanation but for those new faces to the nexus this may be a strange thing: seeing so many people flocking toward the sweet and savory scents perfuming the Nexus.

There are a few tables set out this morning in the Plaza in front of a small cafe loaded with several carafes of coffee, a myriad of pastries from more than a few different worlds and cultures, and a large pan of eggs and sausage kept warm over a chafing dish. On either end of the table are disposable plates, cups, and cutlery as well as a few welcome pamphlets in a small container. Along the front of the tables is a hand made banner.

Meet and Greet

Manning the tables is Katsuya Suou, red apron on and a cup of coffee in hand. He looks far too cheerful for how early in the morning it is. It's always satisfying to put one of these on and see the throngs of different people stuck in line together to get their food and find a place to sit among the tables and couches nearby.

"Right then, is anyone hungry? I've got more than enough here for everyone so please mingle among yourselves or feel free to ask me anything you'd like."


((OOC: This thread is ALL ABOUT threadjacking and hopping. I encourage folks to tag on each other's comments and mingle rather than to reply only to me. This is a huge opportunity to have your characters interact with people they wouldn't have talked to before. Branch out! Meet new people! Scheme new schemes! Steal the last chocolate croissant!))

Comments

[heirtothearcane]

"I'm not sure. I haven't read much fiction." Without thinking, he gravitates towards Aristotle, carefully taking the book so that he can gently flit through the pages. "I had a strict reading list as a child. Mostly journals and studies. They were very enjoyable, of course, but sometimes I heard bits of poetry and found myself astounded by such beautiful combinations of words."

For a minute he's silent, his eyes shuffling back and forth until he finishes a verse, his mouth pinching into a smile which he turns to Johan. "Do you have a favourite work of fiction?"

[nochtann_an_fhirinne]

The moment she sees the weapon everything slots into place so quickly that it takes a second for her to realise the conclusion she's come to. That weapon is unmistakable. She may not have made the rifle herself, but how could she forget applying her research to bullet doses and formulas suitable for grenades?

She doesn't even need to touch it to know. Straightening, she presses her lips together and nods. "Impressive. And whose name is currently on your bounty?"

[ottershawastronomer]

Ogilvy can sympathize. After all, he's a seeker of knowledge himself as an astronomer, even if the knowledge he hunts is of a different kind. "I'd be interested in exchanging star maps with your brother, and we could see how the skies of our respective worlds are different. To answer your other question, my world doesn't have magic, no. We have mediums and psychics, but they're only frauds."

[notalldead]

"Ain't ya'll already earned it? Near as I can tell, all fights you've thrown in with always had yer side winnin'. 'Sides, you may be rank 'n file in Heaven, but down here amongst the sinners, yer lofty as y'all can git. Don't go sayin' yer not worthy of nothin', cuz y'are." A nice cowboy peptalk.

"I'll keep yer aid in mind too. I dunno how much I can git away with callin' you back in Castlegar. Seein' an angel would start riots fer sure. At LEAST two gangs would prolly start torchin' things and kickin' up a fuss. And if two get goin', ain't long a'fore the rest start feelin' the heat." Politics are complicated back where Jesse comes from.

[notalldead]

"Abandoned ship with somethin' creepin' in the vents? Hot damn, this sounds like a nightmare all right. Or somethin' outta a horror movie. Glad y'had someone with ya, though. Ain't nothin' worse than being alone in a nightmare on top of everything else goin' on in it."

Part of him still wants to be angry that this happened at all, and that anger manifesting towards whatever psychic caused this. Even though his better judgement and kinder nature reminds Jesse that it was an accident. At least according to Blaze, it was. But still, if someone's capable of that sort of thing, shouldn't their failsafes be more secure? Shouldn't they be more careful about being around others? It's not fair and it's not right. It's like walking into a place with your gun in plain sight and no safety on. Irresponsible to the point of it being condemning.

He's shaken out of his scornful thoughts when Blaze speaks to him again, however. And he's kind of glad for it. No use and no good getting mad at something that already happened by someone who didn't mean it. "I mean, that's what friends are for, right?" Jesse gives her a small, rueful smile. "Gettin' fussed over one another? I got faith in y'both to always come out on top in a scrap, but I sorta wish there weren't scraps t'begin with!" He laughs a little.

[gorogorogoro_chan]

"With all the different worlds, I'm seein' the potential for some trade," Majima says, almost blandly. "Maybe some real estate investments."

He glances up from his cigarette to furtively scan the surrounding crowd. Then he leans a little closer and drops his voice. "But there's this idea I keep comin' back to ...

"With all these powerful types around here -- magic, mutations, whatever, right? Who wouldn't fuckin' love to watch 'em throw down? See which of those freaky powers comes out on top? I know I would."

[conjuredskies]

Felix gives Jim a hard look when the latter jerks away, but his annoyance is disarmed by Isidor's courteous gratitude. No matter if it angers him, if he were an honest man he'd admit openly that Jim probably did the right thing. In Felix's mind he always does.

That doesn't make him less irritated. It just means his irritation gets directed elsewhere.

He eyes Isidor for a second. He's completely out of the loop on whatever situation has been brewing here. He keeps a hand on Jim's shoulder, and gestures from the three of them to the bar. "Perhaps we should move. I need to see to Jim, and since you're free for a few moments now, Miss Durant..."

He wants to get Jim cleaned up, and he wants to hear all about this strangely obnoxious suitor of hers.

[smartass_captain]

That's a very good idea. Jim doesn't have to have any kind of special powers to feel the firey gaze of one Officer Suou glaring daggers at him from wherever he's stuck playing the good host in the thick of this otherwise lovely party. He just knows it's going to be another point of argument between them going forward but frankly Jim doesn't have it in him to care right now.

If he does much more arguing Felix is going to be really cross at him if that hand on his shoulder is anything to go by.

"I'm fine." It's probably not the best thing to say but old habits are hard to break. "Could use a drink though." At that his gaze also turns to Isidor. He's got plenty of questions himself but he doesn't think asking them until they're at a quieter place will do much more than upset her. Maybe a small corner table somewhere out of sight of the party.

"C'mon. If he comes back, he'll be hard pressed to find you at this little get together if we go kick back for a bit."

[rekindledtitan]

Blaze lets him talk, and if both she and Ghost blink at the name he drops, it doesn't break her amused air. This kid may not be the first person to get an obvious kick out of meeting a robot, but he's definitely the most excited yet and it's endearing. It feels strange to meet someone who's so happy just to see you, but Blaze thinks it's a good kind of strange. It's one of the occasional pleasures of being in the Nexus.

Actually, she kind of has the same reaction to alien creatures who don't want to attack her.

She offers a hand. "Good to meet you, Peter. I'm Blaze-37, and this is Ghost. He's, uh, a Ghost. My friend and my partner." There's a little 'hi' from Ghost as he drifts down closer, probably for the the same reason Blaze tilts her head and asks, "So you know Stark?"

[fictionings]

He’s glad she disagreed since he’s not actually concerned with making any happy new memories at all. He doesn’t need to when that is a task left for his sister, who will make them in his place. His eyes flutter shut as he slinks gracefully into the seat opposite her. When he looks up, it’s with a fond, pleased, happy smile.

“Normally, I’d keep busy with classes, work, or volunteering. This summer has left me with more free time than usual, though. I’m not really used to it.” One’s days turn endlessly boring once you’ve turned yourself into a living ghost. He never imagined he would one day have to deal with boredom. Such a common, human emotion. He tilts his head, interested. “What about you? Is there something special you enjoy while waiting for the Fall? Maybe you can give me some ideas.”

[nanabooster]

"Why? Are you worried it might be yours, dear?" she says with a chuckle, slinging her rifle back over her shoulder. Moira isn't a bounty, strictly speaking. Tracking down Reyes, Lacroix, and the rest of Talon -- it's not a job. It's a moral obligation.

"My bounties are small fry. They pay the bills." And if she's lucky, they surface more Talon intel, or their apprehension fractures their network.

[big_bad_sheriff]

"Antarctica?" Well, that's an answer he wasn't expecting. Still, it fits what he can see - and smell - about this guy. "Hell of a temperature swing." Small wonder the extra breeze is so appreciated, then.

He takes note of the name, but doesn't offer a paw to shake. "Bigby Wolf. You'll get used to this place after a while." Don't think he didn't notice that damn-near comical reaction when Jim heard him speak the first time. It never gets old, honestly. Way better than the usual faces Fables make when they see him anyway.

[big_bad_sheriff]

Well, that's something he doesn't hear every day. Sure, Bigby didn't exactly have good intentions, back in the day, but he was hungry and intended to eat his prey like nature intended, so it's not like he was flat-out evil or anything. Not many Fables see it that way, but then there aren't a lot of wolves, either. Or other predators of any kind, really.

"Of sorts," he echoes in agreement. "Kinda funny sometimes where fate takes you, in the end. Folks you never thought you'd get along with, turns out they aren't so bad to be around. Can't change your nature, but there's a hell of a lot else that can."

[fictionings]

“A favorite?” A measured silence. The Nexus combined with the summer heat and a headache have him in an odd mood. One he’ll indulge by alluding to a book that is not his favorite but will always come to mind whenever anybody asks.

“There was an old Czech storybook I read again and again when I was a boy. It feels like that should probably be my favorite, but...” His eyes flick back to Viatorus. He offers a small, apologetic smile, unable to say more. “I like so many. It’s hard to pick only one. Ah, are you interested in reading more literature?”

[jarheadclan]

Jake nods, understanding well enough what Alec means. "I dunno if I fully get it either, honestly. Never been a big fan of... poetry and stuff like that, but I don't know if that'd help anyway. It just kinda... is what it is."

[jarheadclan]

Jake's ears flick forward slightly, alert to the strange flicker of something on her arm. And maybe ever so slightly comes to the wrong conclusion. "They try to make you one of 'em?"

[jarheadclan]

Jake grins at him, flashing sharp teeth. In a friendly way, of course. "Jake Sully. Good to meet you too. Don't think I've seen you around before, but I've been gone for a while."

[boldygoing]

"Thanks." Jim flashes him a small, grateful smile. At least somebody's backing him up on how dumb this all is. "We're gonna have five years to prove the point. Should be plenty, I hope."

He almost wants to ask more about Steve's apparently more hostile history with extraterrestrials, but that seems like something that'll just depress them both. Time to shift gears. "There's really no telling what we're gonna find out there. Terran astronomy's centuries old and we still haven't even scratched the surface of what's possible."

[mudblood_andproud]

"No. One of them did scar me." Hermione removes the glamour. The scar is a word. Mudblood.

"Because of their opinion of me... since I was a Muggle-born witch."

[heirtothearcane]

Czech. He hasn't read many Czech works. It would help if he knew the language. Something else to work on some day, perhaps...

Johan's question is met with a breathless laugh. "Always. I'm always reading. Reading, working, or writing for work. I only wish I had the time to read more. There's too much and too little at the same time. Too much to get through and always too little of the works I love."

[gorogorogoro_chan]

Majima was in the middle of pouring a mimosa for someone who is clearly a teen -- acne, braces and all. At the last minute he slides the cup over to Katsuya, much to the waiting youth's chagrin.

"Cool those jets, Suou-chan. Everything's goin' just fine!" Easy for him to say. "Have a drink. Take the edge off."

[fictionings]

“A shame there aren’t more hours in the day. What sort of work is it that’s always keeping you so busy? You must be quite dedicated to stay so focused.”

He’s been wondering. He’d guess either academia or self-employment.

[heirtothearcane]

"Oh." He wishes they wouldn't, but his cheeks turn ever so slightly red. Preemptive embarrassment for a reaction he isn't sure is coming yet. There's always the possibility that Johan comes from a world filled with magic and won't be perturbed at all. Of course, he might also come from a world that fears it. There's no way to find out except by simply saying.

"I... I'm a scholar." He flattens out his shirt with a palm. "And a magical consultant."

[nochtann_an_fhirinne]

For half a second she considers saying that she would be more worried for the person who came after her, but decides against it. There's no need to antagonise old comrades.

Moira raises a single eyebrow. "Pay the bills, allowing you to enjoy your free time mingling with the local populace, I see."

[brother_alone]

The sad unfortunate truth is that logic and reason don't mean much when you're having a psychotic break and spiraling into self loathing depression. Josh expects Ice to leave when he gets up but the bear pulls him bodily into a hug and doesn't let go.

Not that Josh would have the strength to fight him off even if he wanted to. He's too weak right now.

"W-whyyyy won't you listen? I-I'm a monster, but still..."