Sacramento's Got Talent!

[Sonnie Wu]

Grinning as she helped Coco carry the supplies backstage, "Do you see a stack of pie boxes back here? I got something else in mind. You'll see!" Sonnie made sure the Wasp's cargo was safely stored. "Don't worry, I'm making sure nobody comes back here, and nobody has!"

She blinked. "Hey where'd these flowers come from?"

The Beast was poking a finger at the bouquet with her name on it when guess who showed up? No, not John, as she barely missed noticing him doing his lurky Darkling thang.

"Starlight! Fashionably late to your own show!" She laughed, "Wow, now that is a dress!" Eyebrows were wiggled.

"Titles? Titles from Titania. Tittie Titles!" Curious as ever, she leaned over to take a peek at the envelope contents on display.

2 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2020-06-08 10:41:16	Sonnie Wu rolls 6 to Perception: Wits + Composure (10 Again)	1, 6, 8, 6, 2, 10, 5	2 successes

Ties go to the defender, so Sonnie fails to sense John!

[Seraphina]

“Interesting is good! And if you fall, I’m sure you’ll be able to play it off as part of your act!” the wasp didn’t strike her as someone to be so easily defeated by falling.

Laughing, light and musical in sound, “If she has a ten pound steak somewhere, she better share!” because steak!

“Knives too?” a few blinks, “Oh this is going beyond interesting at this point!” vases and knives?! “If you’re really worried, I can get one of the park guards to hangout back here, keep an eye on things.” It would be easy enough to do.

Finally Titania shows up. And either dressing the part of judge or performer, she wasn’t sure which. Or both! Maybe it was both.

“Hey! Good to see you. What a stunning dress!” Watching as she takes out envelopes, “Titles?” didn’t she already have one? Did she need another one?

As Sonnie mentioned flowers, her attention shifts. Looking at the flowers, they didn’t strike her as coming from Rhodes. Because he would still be there, with that roguish smile of his.

“Huh.” The Nix was confused, looking around, but not seeing anyone. “They are beautiful though!” and sweet. Whoever put them there.

Then a snort as Sonnie spoke of Tittie Titles.

2 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2020-06-08 11:59:53	Seraphina rolls 4 to Perception?(Wits+Comp)-1 Clarity (10 Again)	6, 9, 10, 6, 2	2 successes

[James Turner]

John was technically the "attacker" here so those with 2 saw him

He didn't notice he'd been seen and they'd kept it quiet for now so it was time to make his exit. Titania's entrance was well timed, she'd come in and took the attention of any room she walked into it. He used this vacuum to take two quick steps out of the door finally releasing the breath he'd been holding.


The Vase had a card on the outside but each flower in it was individual and tagged. When read the outermost card held a simple message:

Note

Sorry I'm not participating, don't have much talent to speak of but I wanted to show my support anyway. Knock 'em dead out there.
To Great Success,
-John

Beyond that there was a flower for each spring he'd met, there was no particular arrangement to it just single flowers with small ribbon with a name for everyone on it.


Sonnie's was a golden sunflower in full bloom, stem cut short so it could actually fit in the vase.
Titania's was a vibrant red Amaryllis with silk smooth petals.
Seraphina got a long stalk of Purple Hyacinth that stood as tall as Sonnie's sunflower, purple blooms running up the length of it.
Yamiyo had a flower too, a simple daisy though larger than a wild one white petals neat and orderly with the bright yellow center facing out.
Coco received an Edelweiss flower, white and yellow like the daisy but smaller, more chaotic leaves that formed an almost star like battern, exploding with buds in the center.

[Coco]

She had her own flower.

Her own title.

One moment, she was standing there in shocked wonder, the next she felt a surge of heat flooding her eyes as tears threatened to spill.

"Ah! I hate allergies!" Coco lied, stepping a few paces away from the group, trying to fan her eyes and keep the tears at bay, both for the shame of crying in public, and for what it would do to her makeup! If she really did want to look like a clown, all she had to do was keep crying like a baby and let all the color and glitter around her eyes run down her cheeks.

But, she couldn't help it, sniffled, a few tears leaking out as she was completely overwhelmed by the fact that, despite everything, despite her past, her relapse, her sharp tongue, all of it, she was still finding such kindness. Had things really changed that much, or had she simply been that much of a shit when she'd lived here before?

[Titania]

Yes, it was a pirouette the one this shameless narcisist was currently engaged into. Fair enough, the occasion called for a display of callous showmanship. And today, among friends, she could engage in such guilty pleasures without fear of reprisal or leering and overly indulgent gazes.
Yes, look at her pretty dress. "Thank you", she smiles, showing pearly whites.
Alas, the enthusiasm was short lived, for a bouquet of flowers had mysteriously materialized. A letter too, was that the work of a fan? An admirer? Perhaps, a stalker too. Caveat emptor.

"Hmm, John...", she pouts. It was an overly common name; Circe's roommate, was it? Suspicious, for the faceless man to reappear after so many months, he really must have wanted to attend the talent show. Nevertheless, those were flowers and not a poisonous apple or a wooden horse. Never mind what one curious wasp's reaction would suggest.

She bites her lips.
Despite what everyone would tell, she's quite apt at reading situations... people too. The explanation was found wanting. A Bee wasp allergic to flowers would warrant an entomology study or a dozen; it couldn't be the case
But no matter how frivolous, she's alwats diligent with her manners. "Indeed. Sacramento's Springs can be quite aggravating for one's wellbeing", she says while simultaneously fetching a silk handkerchief from her bag and offering it to her weeping companion.
"I know a couple of folk remedies that might be helpful"

1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2020-06-13 19:21:05	Titania rolls 5 to Read Coco, Wits + Emp - Clarity (10 Again)	7, 1, 4, 8, 1	1 success

[Sonnie Wu]

Okay, truth be told, Sonnie had seen John, if only very briefly. She hadn't mentioned it, though. It seemed more fun to play along with whatever the Darkling had been doing. And now they had all been rewarded with pretty flowers!

"Oooooo!" Picking up the sunflower, she sniffed it curiously. "Hey, I get it. Sunflower, like Sonnie!" The Beast did like a good pun. "Hm, the seeds are edible, right?"

The only thing that prevented her from taste-testing the flower was Coco's sudden bought of teary-eyed embarrassment. Sonnie blinked, then watched as Titania provided a handkerchief to the Dancer. "Um, yeah, you know... there might have been a pollen warning today?" she offered by way of explanation.

Wait, would a Wasp be bothered by pollen? Hmmm.

"So," the Monkey said, checking the time on her phone, "We should get this show moving. The crowd is gonna get restless."

A thought struck her, in that moment, "Um, we have judges, right?" How did she not think of that before now?

[Seraphina]

Picking up the note, she looks it over.

“John?” like, Winter John? Or some random John?

The purple hyacinth was held up to her nose, as she enjoyed the light scent. “Such a beautiful shade of purple!” maybe she needed some of these in her shop.

When Coco mentioned allergies, and her eyes seeming to tear up, “Tilt you head back.” She advises, knowing it would cause any tears to pool instead of falling. Her makeup was so well done, Sera wanted to try and help save, “Anyone have a tissue?” because she didn’t.

A nod to Sonnie, “They are, and so are the petals.” Little bit of useful information there. A weird taste, but they were good for you.

At the mention of judges, she shrugs. This had been the brain child of Titania, spearheaded by Sonnie, so this was left to them.

[James Turner]

John held outside the door to backstage for a second, two, listening intently to the reactions to the gathered spring. He smirked softly to himself, thinking and hoping he’d done a good job. As Sonnie said they should get the show on the road he hesitated and then slowly began to walk away with even, deliberate steps to rejoin the crowd.

[Coco]

Coco gratefully accepted the handkerchief and the advice to tip her head back, though some damage had been done. Not that it really mattered much, she suspected. Her make-up had probably already looked ghastly, and they'd just been being nice, though, of course, if her act went well, then no one would be paying attention to her makeup.

"Thank you," Coco said with a small sniffle as she passed the handkerchief back to Titania, though the words were really meant for everyone. She could still feel tears bubbling at the back of her eyes, the overwhelming joy and confusion, and that strange note of sadness and guilt, threatened to make her break down again, though the call of the stage was what saved her. For, while Coco was many things, at one point in time she had been a performer, and she had often been a show off, and after her time beyond the Thorns, she'd been gifted with abilities that those traits encouraged her to indulge, and so she'd cooked up something special for this performance.

Not that she was doing this solely for a mere performance, of course. No, she had other motives. Drawing money to the Freehold being one. Issuing a challenge being the second.

"I don't care if my name's not first, I'm going to go perform. Sonnie, can you help me set up? Just put the chair in the center and I'll show you where to put the vases."

Coco didn't wait for a response, but instead scurried over to her things, bundling them up in her arms and leaving the chair for Sonnie. She headed directly for the stage, her mind focused solely on the task before her, all the better to take her mind off of how she was feeling, and before long, the stage was set up.

The chair was just off of center stage, simply sitting there, and there were three vases standing before it, all of them tall, glittering, fragile crystal. The vases were nearly identical, although each as shorter than the last, a staircase of admittedly cheap glass, with about a foot between them. Coco gave Sonnie a smile in thanks, and then unpacked her knives, 3 of them, nothing too crazy, though the knives weren't really the star of the show.

"Hello, everyone!" Coco said, waving to everyone with her knives fanned out in one hand. "I'm the Magnificent Coco, and prepare your eyes for an illusion that not even the greatest hunter could track down!"

She winked, and then walked over and stood up on the chair. This was it. This was the moment when she could prove to herself, and to what might become her friends, that she was worthy. She took a deep breath...and began. The knives started to fly, a simple cascade of blades flying through the air, and then Coco reached out to the Wyrd, to that connection between her and the physical world, and invoked her favorite clause. A moment later, her "illusion" was revealed, as she began to balance one leg as she juggled, and then she stepped down, onto the head of the fragile crystal vase, and began to transfer her weight onto it.

It held! Surely, a magnificent illusion! Not fairy magic at all!

And then she walked to the next vase, and then to the last, and the pattern of her juggling changed. First a split with her right hand, and then her left, then back to the cascade, then under the leg while balancing on the vase, and then back to the cascade as she walked backwards, back up the stairway of glass, until she was once more on the chair again. For the finale, she leapt off the chair and caught the knives as they fell, and then she took her bow.

Tough luck for whoever came after her, but Coco felt the stirrings of pride as she began to gather her things and usher them off the stage again.

2 successes, to Tread Lightly

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2020-06-19 16:09:10	Coco rolls 6 to Separation 1 (dex+wyrd) (10 Again)	9, 6, 5, 8, 3, 7	2 successes

4 successes to Juggle

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2020-06-19 16:09:55	Coco rolls 5 to Juggling Act (dex+expression-5 difficulty) (9 Again, WillPower)	10, 8, 10, 9, 3, 7, 6, 2	4 successes

Coco uses Tread Lightly to stand on the vases. -5 for difficulty between the knives and the balancing, plus a few simple tricks.

[Titania]

She holds the handkerchief by the tips of her fingers. "Ewww" But what the Wasp lacked in social savvy, she certainly made up with bravado and showmanship. She stares at the performance, mesmerized, and did her heart just skip a beat?

Impossible. It must be the A/C going off again. She's all flustered because it's getting warmer and warmer. Yes, it must be it.
"Hmpf", she lets out as the performance draws to a close.
It would be a ten out of ten. Was that fair? Frontloading this kind of performance would demoralize every other contestant, she reckons. It would turn the whole show into an immediate flop.
Besides, didn't they implement a rule forbidding staff members from joining?

Wait...
A sudden wave of realization hit her, she didn't write the rules down.
Both her hands come resting on her hips, she shakes her head sideways, biting her lips to contain the awe and her rage.

Render unto Caesar.
The silence of her thoughts is interrupted by a clap, a single round of delicate applause. Some people say that not clapping is a sign of respect, she believes it would amount to intellectual snobbery. Besides, she wouldn't give her the satisfaction, because she's sure the wasp was doing it on purpose and she wouldn't giver her the satisfaction.
"Marvellous", she says, slender fingers still pressing against the palm of her other hand. "What a fantastic performance", she says with a cold yet polite smile.