( open to all ) all the world's a stage

[dothelokimotion]

Who: Open to All
What: Party @ The Opherium
When: August
Where: Central City
Content Warnings: N/A



( i. here for your entertainment )

[ most people would see the strange arrivals as an imposition. and loki does to some degree. that being said, he’s more than willing to turn that problem into a business opportunity. show that he’s open and welcoming. throw in a little extra money to establish the theater as a prominent spot in this world. the doors are open, fees are reduced. and if you’re not interested in catching a play, you might want to stop by the steps where there are a few vendors selling cotton candy, ice-cream sandwiches and beer to passersby and there are a few street performers there to catch your attention, whether they’re juggling fire balls, doing magic tricks or simply playing a pianoforte on the steps of the opherium. ]

( ii. the curtain rises )

[ for this month, loki is running a bunch of shakespearean plays. hamlet, macbeth, the twelfth night . . . you name it, it’s probably running. during the intermissions, there’s an open bar for you to rub elbows with the other patrons, maybe discuss your favourite part of the play. enjoy the arts so to speak. if you catch the really late night shows, you might find that your favourite plays might . . . turn out a little differently. like the trees are real in macbeth. that the ghosts move through the audience, sending chills down your spine. but the experience is still worth it. or is it?

or perhaps, you might need some alone time after a show, wanting to catch the infamous view of the city from the opherium's balcony. the choice is yours. ]

( iii. something wicked this way comes )

[ the theater keeps up odd hours. its productions run late into the night. and sometimes, you might feel the urge to linger and explore. after all, it’s strange to hear that a god of mischief is running a theater these days. almost suspicious even! so you might be wandering the halls, ears and eyes peeled to hear anything that might be unusual.

and you might just get your wish. a ghostly murmur, the flicker of a shadow against the pane of glass, statues that seem to be unnerving with their gaze upon you . . . is there something really there or are you just imagining things? ]

Comments

steph brown | dcu (preboot)

[eggplanting]

[It feels sort of — weird, to make a trip to the theatre with everything happening around them. But Jason had told her about the place, asked if she'd wanted to come, and for all that she pushes herself, she knows that sometimes a break is necessary. And while she's studied a few of Shakespeare's plays in high school, she's never had a chance to actually see them performed.

(Turns out they're pretty cool, actually. Even if some of the language is lost on her.)

Fancy clothes aren't really her forte, but she has a nice pair of jeans and a button down t-shirt, and she can braid her hair back nice, so she doesn't feel too out of place, mingling at the bar, or watching the street performers outside.

At the end of the evening, she ends up on the balcony, sitting on the parapet with her legs dangling over the edge as she takes in the view. It's making her a little homesick for Gotham, but there isn't much she can do about that. It was still nice to get out for a while and not think about all the messes in the city.]

[robintohood]

[Spending an evening taking in theater instead of dealing with angry mobs for once has been a good respite for Jason. For a few hours he could almost forget the mess outside of the theater. He doesn't even mind dressing up a little for the occasion. He's got a red dress shirt and black dress pants on. He sticks to his usual black combat boots for comfort though.

After the production, Jason goes out to the balcony to get some fresh air and take in the view. He's surprised to see Steph there. Judging by how she's dressed and sitting, he guesses he's not the only Gotham vigilante who wanted a break.

He walks over to her]

It's not bad up here.

[eggplanting]

Hey, you.

[It probably should be worrying how quickly she's come to be at ease around Jason. She isn't stupid, she knows he's not exactly playing by the rules, but whatever he has going on isn't a danger to her. They likely shouldn't let him get too wild, but getting on his case about it 24-7 isn't going to help.]

It's a nice view, even if I miss the gargoyles. No one could gossip like them.

[robintohood]

[Jason laughs. It's strange how at ease he feels with some of the BatFamily now, especially when his approach to vigilantism is still far from what everyone else does. Then there's still the whole crime lord thing he's been doing before the sky cracked...]

No kidding. They're the best listeners you could have too.

[eggplanting]

Oh, god, if those things ever come to life I'm gonna have to change my name and move to Europe. They know too much.

[This is what she gets for complaining about boys to the resident gargoyles and grotesques.]

[robintohood]

Oh we'd be both screwed. They got way too much blackmail material on me.

[eggplanting]

Do you think gargoyles work like Santa? Should we be leaving milk and cookies out for them so they don't spill our secrets?

[This is a normal conversation to have.]

[robintohood]

[These are two completely normal people]

Maybe. A little bribery doesn't hurt anyone, right?

[eggplanting]

Maybe they'd like biscotti, I bet their teeth could handle it.

[She thinks she's funny.]

[robintohood]

[They're both hilarious]

Maybe just a little.

You got favorite perches back home?

[Get it? Because robins and birds]

[eggplanting]

[Steph snorts with amusement, which is very classy of her.]

It's gotta be Chinatown, kinda 'cause the architecture is really cool but also 'cause of Mrs. Chen. She owns a restaurant there and after I got her son out of a mess with the mob a couple years back, she started leaving a couple containers of leftovers out for me whenever she sees me around.

[Free food is the way to her heart. And while no one owes her for helping them, it is nice to feel appreciated.]

[robintohood]

That sounds pretty nice, especially when patrols get long during the night.

[meforsaken]

[It turns out Steph actually blends in pretty well, as the next person to approach the bar stands out in a way beyond just wearing jeans. The man is 6'3, dressed in clothes all torn at ends, and barefoot. The horns on his head might resemble the theater's manager, but the messy hair and missing teeth make it clear they're not the same person.]

Barkeep! I demand your craftiest IPA!

[As if suddenly realizing there's other people here, Loki turns to grin at Stephanie.]

Twelfth Night's just the best, yeah?

[eggplanting]

[That's like.... a whole vibe that Loki has going on, but Steph is a Gothamite, so while he's not the oddest thing she's ever seen, it's probably best to keep her wits about herself.

Which doesn't mean she can't be friendly.]

It's pretty cool, yeah! I'd watched, um — [Wait. Alternate universes. She's still getting used to that.] — back home they made a movie based on it that was really funny, I don't know if it exists here, but I'd never actually seen the play.

[meforsaken]

I'd seen both!

[Assuming they're talking about the same movie. Is She's the Man as much of a universal constant as Shakespeare? Who knows.]

I still always feel bad for Olivia, though...

[eggplanting]

[Oh, yay! Loki might look kinda weird, but Steph is pleased that he seems to know what she's talking about.]

Right? She really got the short end of the stick, ending up with the real Sebastian when she'd fallen in love with the fake one.

[Let Viola and Olivia kiss 2k22]

balcony

[grivences]

[ Robin would like to think she's dressed nice, even if her idea of fashion is a few decades out of date. She's beginning to regret not bringing a jacket, though, now that the sun is setting and the temperature's starting to drop. Still, the view from the balcony is nice, overlooking the busy city lights.

Sirens wail as some cops chase a car past the theater. Robin leans against the railing, smiling. ]

I guess New York isn't the only city that never sleeps.

[eggplanting]

[It's a cute outfit regardless of how in or out of date it is.]

Most cities probably don't sleep when they have superheroes running around.

[Not that she's one of those superheroes! Not that the idea of ignoring sirens makes her feel sort of anxious, but she has to be careful here, and running off to join a car chase isn't exactly subtle.]

[grivences]

[ Robin laughs and shakes her head. ]

Yeah... Still not used to that.

[ Sure, Eleven has superpowers and fights evil and stuff, but like. She doesn't do it wearing spandex, and there's only one of her.

Robin looks up at the girl perched on the parapet. ]

Do you come from a world like that? With superheroes?

[eggplanting]

Even more than this place, honestly.

[Maybe not more, but... different. The lack of structure makes it seem like more, compared to here. The Guilds are a lot more controlled than the Justice League or whatever.]

It's probably pretty weird if you didn't grow up with it. The costumes are a bit ridiculous.

[Not hers, obviously.]

[grivences]

[ Robin laughs, still a little incredulous. ]

A bit, yeah.

[ This whole world is going to take some getting used to. At least the people seem nice enough, so far. ]

So, what's life like in Superheroville? Got any tips for someone new to the game?

[eggplanting]

If we were in Gotham, I'd tell you to be nice to the city and she'll take care of you, but it's kinda different here.

[Very normal things for a person to say, as per usual with Steph. In her defense, she is kind of right when it comes to Gotham.

But she does actually think about it, both from her time as a civilian and what she'd tell someone now, as Batgirl.]

Learn how to kick someone in the junk, that's always solid advice, doesn't matter what they've got going on in their underwear. [It still hurts like a bitch.] And know when it's smarter to just like, bail. Even if we've all got superpowers here, you're better off taking yourself out of the equation when shit goes down, it'll be one less person for the good guys to worry about and one less person for the bad guys to hurt.

[grivences]

Start wearing steel toed shoes, got it.

[ She smirks. She thinks if she can handle throwing a molotov cocktail at Vecna, she can handle a good kick in the pants. ]

To be honest, I'd be happy to just treat this like an all expenses paid vacation away from the mess going down where I'm from, and do my best to avoid all that hero-villain crap altogether. The last thing I want to do is get underfoot.

[eggplanting]

Can't go wrong with teel toed boots.

[Batgirl's boots are even more reinforced than a regular pair of steel-toed work boots, but the same principle applies.]

That's a good way to look at it, no reason to mess with all the hero nonsense just 'cause you suddenly got powers. [It isn't advice she'd follow, but that doesn't mean it's bad. She's just a hypocrite.

She also does have to ask, even if it's none of her business:] Is everything okay, back home? I mean, you don't have to tell me, but if this is a vacation, it mustn't be great.

[grivences]

[ Robin laughs, trying to downplay just how insane the shit happening back in Hawkins is, but the laugh is a little too manic to really manage that. ]

It's a sort of... alternate shadow reality parallel to my hometown, populated by bloodthirsty monsters that's apparently started invading the real world? At least, that's what my best friend says happened. He got here before me, but he's from a few days further into the future than I am. It's... weird.