[SEMI-OPEN MINGLE] Baby dive in, the water feels fine

[agoddessonce]

WHO: Storm agoddessonce and friends
WHEN: a weekend in July
WHERE: At the Xavier Institute for Mutant Education and Outreach - Poolside
WHAT: Ororo felt like arranging a small, private pool day (semi-open mingle log)
NOTES\WARNINGS: Alcohol will be served so some underage drinking might slip through the cracks (please know that Ororo Disapproves Though). If your character has ever interacted with Ororo, even once, then please feel free to assume she'd invited you over to come and spend the afternoon at her place. Swimsuits highly encouraged!

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the pool;

The pool at the Institute is sparkling and inviting under the sun, glittering under the shade of the old mansion. It's a shame to see it go to waste day in and day out, so Ororo has invited a few people she's already met through her months in Etraya to use it. The water itself is cool and refreshing, and though there's an impromptu sign at the edge that proclaims POWERS ALLOWED - BUT NO HORSEPLAY to discourage rough play, there's also a tall diving board set up at one end. Guests are free to use it as they will. If any injuries occur - there's a reasonably well-stocked nurse's station inside the mansion!

Ororo had also spent a couple of days visiting Kwik Trip to see what kind of floats they could get for the day. Various pool floats are available (donut rings, pool noodles, and a dubious looking tank floatie) for guests to use and share. Try not to bother anyone who's just trying to relax!

the food, the drinks;

Ororo has no plans for the day to turn into anything particularly fancy or rowdy; she'd just wanted something casual and simple, an excuse to take a swim with some friends new and old, and to get to know the people of Etraya a little better. What better way to help people feel more open and relaxed than with a couple of drinks? There are a couple of coolers sitting around, open and full of ice and snow, with soda, juice, beer and a selection of fruity, ready-to-drink cocktails for guests who might want a drink to help them relax or break the ice.

She trusts people to self-police, generally, but will still personally, stringently remind folks to keep the alcohol from anyone sixteen and under. Do not test her! :)

There's a grill going as well, with typical barbecue fare: burgers (both vegan and beef), hot dogs, chicken wings and roasted vegetable skewers. Ororo has probably asked a friend or two to take turns manning the grill, but anyone is welcome to cook their own food to their liking. Plates are available to one side, with a range of salads, snacks and sauces and dips. Guests can dine at various seating areas set up around the poolside and in the shade.

the poolside;

There are plenty of loungers sitting around, to share or to drag into a corner to use for yourself! It's a day to relax as much as it is a day to mingle. People are free to bring their food and drink over to them, or use the chairs to work on a sun tan.

There's a basketball court not too far off from the pool here people are encouraged to play a game or two. Perhaps something easy that doesn't need a team - Horse, or a game of one-on-one? Ororo doesn't know the exact rules, but as long as no one's bursting any basketballs, she won't be upset.

the mansion;

Tired of waiting under the sun? Need a bathroom break? A select few of the mansion's rooms are open to use - the kitchen, the nearest bathrooms, and the rec room for anyone who wants a nap. If you wander upstairs, there are numerous rooms that don't see much use - one wing houses old classrooms and study rooms, an empty library, some faculty offices. The other wing has some locked bedroom suites - only a few of which are currently, actually in use. Be warned that if Ororo or some other X-Men sense or catch you lingering up here, they'll gently (... or not so gently, depends on who catches you and how they catch you) redirect you right back downstairs.

The elevator and the sublevels are completely off-limits and impossible to break into, kept secure by a combination of private codes and mutant biometrics. Nothing to see here! Just carry on. ♥

The party will last til the evening, at which point Ororo will invite people to come into the large kitchen of the mansion to piece together some dinner, or dry off or take a quick shower. If anyone's too tired (or too drunk) to go home, she'll personally take charge of turning the rec room into an impromptu blanket fort for people to sleep on couches. It's fine, none of the furniture is actually vintage or antique around here. Probably.

wildcard;

Feel free to come up with your own starters for poolside shenanigans! If your character has threaded with Ororo even once, assume you've got a personal invite for them and a +1. Hoping to keep this mingle light and easy to foster a bit of CR before the mission log goes up next week!

Comments

katsuki bakugo ★ ota

[nitropowered]

★ The Food, The Drinks

CW: underage drinking

Katsuki still isn't sure why he'd come to this thing, other than that he'd been a little bored with no school to attend and no studying to do. It's something to do at least, and might even have been fun if he had any friends around this place. Maybe if Kirishima was here, they'd find something fun to do, but as it is, he's making do with perusing the food and drinks, downing a few glasses of punch that he doesn't realize is spiked. After that, he makes some cheeseburgers and veggie skewers at the grill and tracks down Izuku long enough to plop a plate in front of him with a grunt before stalking off again.

By the time he's done all that, he's noticing a strange, unfamiliar, but not entirely unpleasant buzzing in his head, a sort of slipperiness about how his body moves, like he's not in full control of his limbs. For a few moments, he panics just a little at the loss of control, but it quickly hits him that he's a little drunk. Must've been the punch, since that's the only thing he drank.

Well. This is new.

Katsuki skirts the pool and sits down heavily on the end of one of the lounge chairs.

"Well, now what?"

★ The Pool

Katsuki is a competitive creature, by nature. It's only so long before he's standing at the edge of the poolside, stripping off his sandals and the t-shirt he'd been wearing and leaving himself in just his mid-thigh-length flame-printed swim trunks. There are people swimming in the pool, and floating around in it, but that's all boring as far as Katsuki is concerned. Who wants to just lie there on a pool floaty and stare at the clouds? Super boring.

So he stands by the edge of the pool for a few moments, stretching his shoulders by pulling his arm across his chest first on one side and then the other, and cracks his neck. Spotting someone who looks even a little athletic, he smirks.

"Wanna race? First one across the pool wins. Quirks or no Quirks?"

★ Basketball

His competitiveness doesn't end at the swimming pool, not once he's discovered there's a basketball court. It isn't long before he's easily dribbling a ball between his hand and the pavement, shooting a smooth hoop from the center of the court, and pumping his fist in victory. The only thing better than beating his own records, though, is beating someone else.

Running across the court, he collects his ball and dribbles it again, red eyes scanning the people nearby, "Hey! You! Play a one-on-one match with me! Bet I'll beat the crap outta you!"

It's challenging, and Katsuki looks smug as hell when he says it, assured of his own victory already. After all, he is the best at everything he does.

★ Dinner Guests

After he's done challenging everyone in sight to various physical contests, Katsuki finds himself a little tired, and ends up in the rec room inside the mansion, lying on his back on a couch with his arms draped over his belly, asleep. It's not the longest nap, only about an hour, but he wakes up feeling refreshed, mostly sober, and spends the rest of the day wandering around and meeting the people of this new place he's been thrust into. This is the first real chance he's had to actually meet anyone outside of Izuku, after all, and Izuku is all too familiar.

Once things are winding down, and the evening is setting in, the people remaining at the party all seem to be gravitating toward the kitchen, their lunches worn off and hungry. Katsuki sighs and looks around the kitchen, digging around in the fridge and cupboards until he finds something workable, and manages to produce a decent plate of omurice, despite the lack of dashi. Then he makes another, for Izuku.

It's quick and easy, and after a moment he makes a decision, turning to glance around the kitchen, "If anyone wants one, just let me know. I'll cook it for you."

With that, he shoves at the plate of omurice just so people know what he's referring to, and without checking to see if anyone is interested, he cracks another couple eggs into a bowl and starts beating them until they're light and fluffy.

★ Wildcard

Will match prose or brackets! Bakugo is spending the day at the party and participating in probably everything, feel free to hit him up at any point, including waking him up from his precious nap. Or if you want to plot something, hit me with a PM, on plurk at onlilypads or discord at onlilypads. I'd love to hear from you!

dinner guests

[agoddessonce]

She'd been keeping her distance, but also a careful eye, on Bakugo since a certain someone had admitted to liberally spiking the punch. He seemed to have slept or worked off the rum when she first saw him, earlier, but it didn't hurt to be watchful.

In the end, it seemed like he had fun and even commandeers the stove to make some vaguely familiar dishes. She notes how he makes a dish for Deku first (-- a friend? they arrived together--) but continued making more for whoever seemed to need or want one.

Apparently she was one of those people, because she gets a plate just as she's sitting down at the kitchen island for the first time in a couple of hours with a fresh glass of water.

"Ah. My thanks-- Bakugo, was it?" That was the name she thinks she caught earlier.

[nitropowered]

The edges of his vision are still a little hazy and his balance just slightly off still, from the alcohol earlier, and he's solidly decided he doesn't like getting drunk much at all. Can't figure out why Kaminari and Mineta are always going on about wanting to try it. It hadn't really made anything more fun, just a little more...out of control. Like doing everything while standing on a sheet of ice.

Not that he hadn't enjoyed the day. He's feeling pleasantly warm and well-exercised from swimming and basketball and tired in that way that makes you want to chill out for the rest of the night. Not that he'd acted much like he enjoyed anything, and few people here know him well enough to know that stoic cranky-faced silence just meant he had nothing bad to say.

He's seen the recipient of one of his last omurices of the night, and apparently she knows his name. Chin jutting up as he lifts his eyes from the stove, he makes eye contact with her and makes a grunt of acknowledgement. Reaching up, he flicks the heat off under the burner and slides the last omurice onto a plate for himself. Putting it down on the opposite side of the kitchen island to where she's sitting, he leans his hip against the counter and snags himself a fork.

"Yeah. That's me." he says, looking up at her slightly, "Uh. Thanks for having us, I guess."

basketball.

[hasitsthorns]

"Oh?" she questions, once he calls out to her. She's a little tipsy, maybe, and likely looks like an easy opponent in terms of basketball. She's short - no taller than 5'1" - and barefoot currently. He has pretty much ever advantage on her.

But won't that make it all the more satisfying to win? He's activated already the competitive part of her brain, so: "Alright, dude. You're on." She tosses her large sunhat aside and give a stretch before poising herself to get things started.

"Let's fucking go."

[nitropowered]

Katsuki isn't the type to underestimate someone because they're a girl, short, or barefoot, so when the girl approaches and says 'let's fucking go' he just grins, a wicked sort of grin that reaches his eyes. This is what Katsuki lives for - competition, and winning after fighting his hardest. If she's going to give him a good fight, then that's just perfect.

"Bring it." he says, smirking, and steps up to her, ball in his hands, "I'll toss it. Whoever catches it gets the ball to start."

With that, and a flick of his wrist, he tosses the ball up in the air between them, and he's immediately jumping for it, trying to use the 6 inches he has on her to his advantage.

[hasitsthorns]

That's a refreshing change of pace, she'd say. Although not fortuitous to her right now, a lot of people do tend to underestimate Rosie more than they don't. And who could blame them, really? She's tiny, unimposing, and likes to keep people unaware of her actual skillsets for as long as she can.

He has the advantage of height on her though, certainly, and to start that does see him snatching the ball before she can. While she could have used her speed to bounce up and yoink it first, no- Not the right time! She'll find a place to use that little advantage of her own.

"Welp, your start! Fair and square," she says, seemingly good-natured despite her starting remark.

basketball

[wannasmash]

In the past, Katsuki saying he'd beat the crap out of him would have been a mean threat, yet another in the string of years of resentment and misunderstanding. Now it's a promise, their promise to actually speak to and learn from each other.

A sharp grin spreads across his face as he readily steps onto the court. Izuku would have been perfectly content to preserve the relaxed atmosphere at the party. But... it's Katsuki. Izuku can't turn down a challenge from his rival. A test of their agility and reflexes...

"We'll see about that!"

[nitropowered]

Out of all the people in the world, over however many worlds there are, Izuku is the person Katsuki would choose to get competitive with like this. Something about it feels like slipping into bed at the end of a long day, comfortable and familiar, despite how new the equality of their relationship is. It's been just over a year since the change in their dynamic had started happening, but it feels normal for Katsuki to play with Izuku now instead of bullying him.

When Izuku steps up to him as he dribbles the ball and tells him 'we'll see about that!' it just feels natural, and Katsuki can't help the wicked grin that crosses his face. Without another word, he dribbles the ball back and forth between his hands, backing up onto the court to lead Izuku to the center. Once they're facing each other down, he jumps and tosses the ball straight into the air so they can both leap to try to catch hold of it.

[wannasmash]

Izuku experiences a special rush when he and Katsuki get going. It allows for an expression of play that might look a little odd to others, but that's just how they are with each other.


Phys-ed in middle school are about the extent of their sports experience. Izuku was never on any teams, and given Katsuki's lack of team attitude... "Sports" in high school consist of their Hero training and the tournament once a year. An ordinary sport like basketball would have been just a pastime, but the thing about UA students—and Katsuki and Izuku in particular—is they're overachievers.

Izuku follows him as if led by a string, a strategic distance—but still close—to see what he'll do. The air may have been Kastsuki's forte at first, but Izuku has made a lot of progress. And he doesn't skip leg day.

"That all you got?!" he cries in midair, managing to touch the ball. He curls himself, trying to shield it with his shoulder. Moving to the side of the court is in order. Forget giving him room to play, he wants to bait him into an out-of-bounds.