we've got the vision —

[evite]

WHO: daisy johnson & you, i hope!
WHERE: throughout the city.
WHEN: october 1-15
WHAT: open log for non-event shenanigans.
NOTES OR WARNINGS: lots of open opportunities, but as always, feel free to holler at me if you have questions or want something specific!


@ the boxing gym, which i have dubbed sucker punch

[ since arriving in new amsterdam, daisy has been a semi-regular visitor to one particular branch of one of the city's more populous (though not necessarily more popular) boxing gym franchises. located across the street from an up-and-coming vegan smoothie chain, it's a great spot to work up a sweat and treat yourself after; with fewer posh amenities than some of the competition, it's an even better place for avoiding yuppies who swing in wearing unblemished lululemon gear to take photos of themselves on equipment and leave.

(unfortunately, that's still a bit of a problem in this century.)

on her visits, daisy focuses on sparring in the rings available for public use. there are no pre-arranged matches, but on busier days, the staff will post up a waiting list for ring use — if she comes alone, she'll take on anyone who's amenable; if someone opts to come with her, or if she runs into a familiar face, she'll sign them both up for ring time together.

should she have to wait, she'll entertain herself with the standing targets and punching bags on the far wall. on good days, she's happy to chatter while she does, pausing conversation only long enough to adjust her gloves or reaffix the target should it slip. on more stressful ones, it might be easier to assume the bag she's attacking stole her lunch money, and far more difficult to get a word in edgewise.

feel free to interrupt her at any point during her visit — arrival, pre- or post-sparring, working out, or even just washing up afterwards! ]

@ the caves for powers training

[ for the last handful of weeks — not counting her unexpected disappearance — daisy has semi-regularly hosted personal powers training sessions underground in the caves, a familiar location for anyone who remembers the insomniacs' ball. with the continued influx of new arrivals and the realization that their unique abilities present both an opportunity and a challenge, she's decided to make these sessions a more permanent thing. while one-on-one training will still be offered when her schedule permits, she's going to be transitioning to a twice-weekly group session set-up.

on tuesday and thursday evenings, daisy will have chalked out space in one of the larger cave rooms for people to mingle and talk. anyone who has questions will be welcomed to ask them, as well as share any recent developments or concerns they may have with the group as a whole; once discussion has petered out, anyone in attendance will be encouraged to partner up to practice the following skills:

• summoning their ability, either by active motion (squeezing their fists, for example) or passive recall (intense focus or a specific mantra)
• utilizing their ability in some capacity, whether on their own or in reaction to someone else's actions in the case of more defensive or passive skills
• suppressing their ability, specifically focusing on calming the blue glow that comes from use in their chest implants

though she does not make it a point to show off her own abilities, daisy will (upon request) provide small demonstrations of focused use and disuse of her ability, specifically by disassembling and reassembling a generic countertop appliance — such as a toaster, microwave oven, or alarm clock. she won't advertise it, but she'll also accept item requests during these sessions, under the expectation that the requester provides any materials needed and that they allow appropriate time for completion.

not sure if your character would have opportunity to know about these sessions or item requests? daisy's posted a network-wide invitation here for classes. you can also feel free to handwave coming to her about training opportunities; she's fairly frequently mentioned on the network as an expert in this sort of thing! for item requests, daisy has made items in the past for leo fitz, rey, kylo ren, and prompto argentum. if your characters are friends with any of them (or at least chatty), feel free to come chat with me or their players to handwave discussions! i'm super keen to play out this aspect where i can! ]

@ the fighting rings

[ though daisy does not enter into wagered fights, she is a fairly regular attendant and better at the underground ring. observant attendants might notice that she tends to arrive with the same person, and someone particularly keen might notice her patterns of betting as well — on fellow displaced, she bets higher on their later fights, when exhaustion would normally make them poorer contenders and thus worse bets for the general public. it's not an exact science, but daisy's done very well for herself over the last few months, accruing a relatively high sum of winnings that she's as of yet done exactly nothing with.

however, she's not an unemotional viewer. when familiar faces climb into the ring, daisy watches these fights fully transfixed; she's not shy about cringing or biting at her knuckles when things get rough, and should someone manage to draw blood, she may occasionally go a little pale, though she's gotten better about resisting the urge to walk away lately. looking down for a moment or two or taking a deep breath generally helps settle the rolling nerves, anyway.

though fighting rings are inherently loud, busy places, she won't turn down a little companionship! feel free to approach her at the bar, where she'll treat herself (and maybe someone else!) to a drink, or ring-side. she can typically be found fairly close to the action, but she is small — it's not uncommon for her to have someone step rudely in front, or for her to have to elbowcheck her way back into her previously held spot. so sorry if she accidentally jabs you, et cetera. it's also absolutely fair game to call her out on her surprisingly sensitive reactions! ]

@ anywhere else!

[ have an idea for something you'd like to do but aren't sure where to put it? pm me, hit me up on plurk @ semicolons, or disco me at quake#2740 any time! ]

Comments

boxing - whose face is on that bag??

[secondnature]

[If there's anything Keith knows, it's losing himself to his temper. To his mood. There are some people who would never believe it of him now. Awkward and cantankerous, he's done better to keep himself in check since he's arrived than ever before in his life. There's been a single exception to that rule time and time again. A single exception.

That's not to say he's not had other cantankerous moments, but there's fussy Keith and angry Keith.

(And infected Keith, but that's a whole other story altogether.)

Why is Keith here? Because he likes fighting. Training. Making sure he knows styles that aren't just self-taught or alien (or a mixture of both). He's come across his fellow displaced before at various gyms around the city, so he's not surprised to see Daisy. No, what's surprising is the intensity.

Worried—but genuinely horrible at expressing that worry—he moves to spot and hold the bag from the other side, hands gripping it.]

I've got it for as long as you need.

[evite]

[ daisy's always been particularly swayed by her emotions. she wears her heart on her sleeve as it is, and heavy emotions have often led her astray as she struggles to maintain an even keel. today, she's mostly angry at herself — which just so happens to be the safest form of anger, as the old adage of "take it out on what hurt you" would just make things worse.

she's mad at herself for getting hurt, annoyed at the state of her still-healing injuries, bitter about not being able to get in the ring today after pushing herself too hard the day before. the fear of falling short, of not being able to keep up with the high expectations she inherited back home, wears heavy on her shoulders today.

don't tell me you're getting soft in your old age, bobbi had teased, but the teasing had stuck. she wouldn't go soft. couldn't risk it. she was already taking enough risks as it was.

the bag she's pummeling suddenly stops short, and it's only when daisy's arm is met with firm resistance rather than the expected sway of the bag that she finally looks up and notices the man on the other side. ]

Keith?

[ he's at least stunned her out of her inner monologue, so ten points to gryffindor on that one. she might have missed his actual words, though, so apologies for that. ]

[secondnature]

[Keith will never have the guide to knowing how to open a conversation like this. Does he ask her if she's okay? Does he hold the bag? Instincts tell him to do the latter, but that's not what a friend would do. Though Keith's twenty two, it's important to note that he's still getting used to having more than one friend in his life.]

It's me. [That doesn't need to be stated. The words just help him save time, help him determine how to approach what's going on.

Both of his hands loosen their "hold" on the bag in front of him.]

It's okay if you don't want to talk about it. I'll hold the bag either way.

[evite]

I don't — [ want to talk about anything, but the words get lost as she huffs out a breath, blowing a lock of hair away from her eyes. she hadn't come here to talk, but standing in silence while throwing punches at a bag feels a little too maladjusted-serial-killer-y for daisy's taste. ]

I'm just trying to get back to my old routine, I guess.

[ her pre-new amsterdam routine. training, fighting, working. being the soldier, being the shield. she hadn't had time then for personal relationships or emotional complications (even if they happened anyway, she told herself they didn't. it didn't mean anything. it was just work.) ]

[secondnature]

[How to approach this? When it was Hunk, it was easier. One, he knew Hunk better. With Daisy, he knows her, but he's not exactly the touchy feely guy. He's trying to do better. Before Noctis left, he was starting to be better.

And yet.

It's always like he's trying to learn. Keith cares a lot, even if he doesn't know how to express it. Show that someone matters. Reach out.]

Do you feel like you've fallen behind for some reason?

[Not talking. Not about feelings. Finding the reason. That's a way, right?]

[evite]

Yeah. [ a half-hearted swing of her right fist into the bag, but it doesn't quite connect the way she wants it to. apparently, talking to keith means she needs to pause. she can't do both. ] I mean...

[ sorry, keith, there will be feelings. ]

The UNA raid. [ a hand vaguely gestures at her ribs. it's not too obvious at first glance, but if keith follows her hand, he may notice the bumps under her workout clothes that indicate careful wrapping around her torso. ] I'm ... better, I guess. But I can't get in the ring every day, I can't do all the things I used to do, and it just. Sucks, I guess.

[ her mouth twists in a disappointed frown. ]

I can do this, but it's not enough.

[secondnature]

[If she hadn't pointed it out, Keith wouldn't have noticed. He pauses, tilting his head ever so slightly. He sees it now: the sign of the injury. The pain. He was messed up after the base, but not as bad as he could have been—should have been. His ability saved him. Reactive as it is. He should be in worse shape now.

His brow furrows.]

What do you need? [He means it. Keith is reluctant to spar with people or train with them out of habit, but if that's what she needs, he'll offer it. He'll offer other stuff, too. But he'd like to ask first, let her put words to it.

Feelings are fine, but Keith is good at acting on those feelings, and knowing where to start will help.]

[evite]

I don't know. [ it's not a blow-off. it's an honest answer. beyond the impossible "heal me immediately", daisy can't think of anything she needs. ] Everyone keeps telling me to be patient, but I'm pretty much garbage at that.

[ "get a hobby", strange had said. she had a hobby, a few of them, but they weren't productive ones. at least not in the same way. ]

Any suggestions?

[secondnature]

I don't like being patient, either. [Keith hates sitting and biding his time. It's something that he's never been good at. If he feels a solution is good, he'll vet it, sure, but in the end he'll end up taking it if it's right in front of him. He can't help it.]

What do you think you need to be doing? It sounds like it's not just that you're injured.

@ the fighting rings

[batricide]

[ He's fresh from the fight. A split lip (old injury, reopened) the only thing to show for it. None of the men here tonight are terribly difficult to down, which honestly he's thankful for. He hasn't been matched with any of the other displaced to boot. It's a damn good night to make some easy money. ]

Johnson.

[ Call him shocked to see her here. He doesn't usually pay attention to the crowds aside from discerning that there's not a threat among them - he's too busy beating his opponents absolutely bloody. Damian stops short at the sight of her, brow furrowing a little. ]

What are you doing here?

[evite]

[ hafid alghul is usually a solid bet. there's enough pent up rage and sincerely held superiority in him to make him an excellent fighter in the ring, and though many of the challengers they put in front of him are bigger men with bodies like tree trunks, he does well in taking them down. watching him fight is like watching a snake go after a lion. tenacious, determined, and almost effortlessly vicious. she'd earned a solid wager on him tonight.

but she hadn't expected him to make his way into the crowds, so her surprise is as genuine as his when he calls her name. his approach tears her attention away from the ring. ]

Hafid, [ nearly shouted above the din of the crowd's jeers for better action. if she wants to speak without shouting herself, she'll have to abandon her spot to step a little closer. ] Nice moves out there. Join me for a drink?

[ neatly sidestepping the question of her presence in favor of post-victory celebration? sure, why not. ]

[batricide]

[ He can guess. It's easy money if you know who to vote for. Damian absently swipes a bloody streak from his cheek as he heads over. He has nothing else to do for the rest of the night, and working out his aggression always leaves him just a tad more personable than he usually is. ]

You looking for some easy money?

[evite]

You don't exactly make it rocket science up there.

[ her eyes unfocus for a moment to peer at her own neural desktop and peruse the list of the fighting line-ups. she has time, though, so back to hafid she goes. ]

Come on, you made me a killing, and I have time to kill. You really going to make me drink alone?

[batricide]

Fine.

[ Honestly he could use a drink, the last guy managed to clock him pretty hard. ]

Surprised you haven't decided to step into the ring, Johnson.

[evite]

It's not really my scene. I'm just here for moral support.

[ and to make a little extra money on the side, but he's already so astutely called her out on that.

between the two of them, it doesn't take long to shoulder through the crowd of people to the bartop; there aren't two seats together, at least not at first, but daisy's at least fake nice enough to get someone to let her sit next to her "brother". the guy in the ring who just slammed down a win definitely isn't the one who needs to be chaperoned by his fake big sister, but the barfly buys the lie, so who cares? ]

Why, do you want to fight me that bad?

[batricide]

[ The brother comment earns a scowl. He doesn't need a babysitter or anyone thinking he does - there's a reason he and Jason run in wildly different circles, Jason doesn't need to know what he's up to and he doesn't need to know the same. Dick is kept out of their illegal shenanigans all together for his own good.

It doesn't stop them from spying on each other, of course. ]

Hardly. I'd humiliate you.

[evite]

Hard pass. I mean, good for you if you're into that sort of thing, but it's not really my kink.

[ not what he was talking about? but she's not going to dispute his fighting abilities versus her own, because it's not a competition. she doesn't claim to be the best at anything — or at least not this. she can hold her own in a sparring match or on the field, but a dirty fighting ring where anything goes is (as she said) not her scene.

a hand flags down the bartender, who brings her a beer faster than anywhere she's ever been in her life. weird how this underground gambling den and secret fight club has such great service. ]

Do you want one?

@ the caves

[isherarmor]

[She's found it easier each time to calm her mind, harder to think on her own nature - that's a mess of a minefield (Alayne Stone or Sansa Stark) - but there's a quiet she finds in it, much like when she's stitching something. What she's trying to do here, though it stitch together fragments of her own self - of who she's been and who she is - but she's had little success in finding what she can do. She wants to be patient, she's trying very hard to be. It hasn't even been that long, so there's time.

So she stops trying and just watches anyone else she can - wonders if they are thinking the same thing she is - if that's the key to all of this. Is it the calm or is it the storm? (Am I Sansa or am I --

//Alayne //

--no, that wasn't me. It was only a face I was told to wear.)

She'll catch Daisy's eye when she can, offer a slightly sheepish smile and a shake of her head: Nope. Not yet.]

[evite]

[ there are more people these days. it used to be one, maybe two at a time; as more new faces filter into the safehouse and onto the streets, more show up in these caves, hungry for information and help that can't be found easily elsewhere. there's more bodies than daisy has hands or time for, and so she shifts from a hands-on teacher to one that walks around, answering questions and giving gentle guidance to pairs and individuals before moving on to the next group that might need a hand.

every so often, there are some that come by that cannot yet access what they can do. maybe it helps them to watch others, maybe they're just curious; so long as they are one among the displaced, daisy doesn't question it. she just lets them be, and assumes if they need something, they'll call out to her.

by the time she makes her way over to where sansa's carved out a small space for herself, the collection of metal scrap she's been playing with has managed to merge into a formidable looking miniature dog. a gift for a friend, nearly done, with only finishing work left to go. her hands glide around the toy, a faint blue glow tat pulses from her palms enveloping the material as it rests in the air between them. ]

Having fun? [ being a wallflower's not the most exciting thing in the world, but sansa looks more curious than bored. ] I'm sorry we don't have a test or anything to tell you right away what you can do. I know that's gotta be frustrating.

[isherarmor]

[Daisy's right. It is. But she can only keep trying or give up entirely - and the giving up never lasts. She's curious, and in some respect it feels a disservice to Lady, to the power that's been taken from her - not to find out what's been left in its stead.

She's remembered her courtesies, her curiosity, her willpower and her snacks. She fishes out a compact little package - a bar in a foil wrapper - fiddling with it, turning it over in her hand as she watches the dog floating between them. She cannot help but smile, even though her smile has gone from sheepish to sad.]

If it were easy, it wouldn't be worth having. Or so says someone that might or might not be an idiot.


I ...thought it was to do with animals, you know. My new power. If not my wolf, then dogs. A bird. I was sure I could slip into their mind if I only found the right one, but all it did was burn and scare the birds when I cried out. Cats. Even a snake, once.

[Her free hand has come up near the dog, maintaining a careful distance before she asks:]

May I touch it, or would that ruin it somehow?

[evite]

[ whoever this person is, regardless of their idiot status, they give good advice. daisy knows that fighting for what you want isn't necessarily the path of least resistance, but she'll agree with a sage nod at sansa's parroted words of wisdom.

and though the gift isn't done, it won't break for simple touch, so daisy lets her hands curve to rest underneath; the glow fades away, and so the piece drops into her palm, teetering a little back-and-forth before it falls onto one side. once it rests, she holds it out for sansa to take. ]

It's recycled, don't worry.

[ maybe it will help her find some connection to this new world. maybe it'll just make her feel a little better. in any case, it's not like daisy can't make another one. ]

Why don't you keep it? I know it's not as great as having a pet wolf, [ because that sounds lit ] but it's something.

lmk if i need to change anything!

[isherarmor]

[Recycled. She's unsure of what that means, only perhaps that it's been through a cycle, and then again, but a cycle of what? It's well-formed, whether made from hands or mind or heart or all three. Stowing her snack in a pocket, she takes it with both hands very carefully. Fingertip to little metal nose, she marvels at it a moment.]

You're sure? ...thank you.

[It's a kind gesture, she hadn't expected a gift of any sort - it's lovingly made, so detailed and so representative of what she's lost - what she's trying to find and hasn't yet. She wonders if Daisy had sensed that, or just seen it plainly - it wasn't as if Sansa were hiding her feelings. Another thing that Sansa isn't hiding is the slight glow coming from her chest - at which the little dog trembles and rises. Barely an inch above her hands and turning just a little, faint lines rising along its tiny chest, resembling a collar of sorts - a little spray of ribbons (all metal) attached.]

I...

....how? Are you---

...am I...

[Aaaaaand it drops back into her hand. Still. All glowing ceased.]

[evite]

[ by now, daisy knows what it feels like when her abilities are activated. she's practiced enough that she can summon the skill on command, make things happen as she likes, and cease them if she's finished. it's been a while since things have happened outside of her own control.

but yet, as sansa takes the little dog, something very akin to daisy's own abilities begins to unfurl. she knows she's not doing anything — her own chest isn't even glowing — so it has to be sansa's doing.

she's surprised, to say the least. she'd expected, on some level, for the inhumans' unique abilities rule to hold true here. that what one person could do, another would not. but sansa was proving them wrong. (at least, as far as daisy knows.) ]

That's all you, girl. [ a proud smile curves across the corners of daisy's mouth. ] That was great. You just need practice now.

[isherarmor]

[She's stunned into open mouthed silence for a long moment after, staring at the dog's newly formed adornments, ones that remind her of one she'd made for Lady long, long ago. The sadness comes but it's eclipsed by the possibility - the very real possibility - that she's just uncovered her own ability. What else could it have been? She looks to Daisy - glowless - and replays it in her mind. If Daisy had not been doing this then...

...she had.]

Me?

[Daisy's smile just tips her over the edge and she's mirroring it right back now, cheeks flushing as she realizes she's done it. But no, not on her own.]

Really? Well. It was you, too. Your help. Your kindness in...

[Well, it was a gift of a dog - something Sansa attaches a fair measure of symbolic meaning to.]

Yes. Practice. H-how did you start? It should be something small, yes? I still can't believe it finally happened. I'm glad the secret to coaxing it out of hiding wasn't stress.

[evite]

Yours might be different from mine. [ as hers had arisen from emotion. agitation, frustration, stress — she'd been yelling at an alarm clock one moment, and staring at its broken pieces the next. ] But just trial and error, really. Find something to play with, and really concentrate.

[ she doesn't want sansa to get the wrong idea. ]

Don't be discouraged if it doesn't feel easy. It took me a long time to figure out mine, and I know people who are still waiting to figure out theirs. You just have to keep at it.