Scenario per @MAIL that went out:
About a sevenday ago, your highly esteemed and not-at-all up to no good Weyrleaders found themselves in a game of DragonPoker against one brownriding (NPC) menace named D'merial. You might have heard of D'merial before; he's the guy who parades around every Tuesday in spandex and tells your 80 year old grandma how good she makes that walker look. He's the one who puts in a request every Wednesday at 11 o'clock for Mandatory Sexy Friday, in which he expects a weekly holiday of unrepentant, hedonistic, girls-gone-wild [REDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTED] to take part in the clearing — visitors welcome.
Don't worry. Risali and R'hyn burn the request every time it comes in.
The point is not what D'merial does on a daily basis, but what he didn't do. You see, it's unclear who the actual victor was, except that Risali or R'hyn was declared DragonPoker Winner, the goods which they'd won to be delivered in three day's time posthaste. A sevenday passed, then a fortnight, and when the demands for buttless chaps ceased to roll in at the expected time, the Weyrleaders knew they'd been duped.
Clearly, they could not let this stand.
It was with great fanfare that Risali and R'hyn both showed up in the barracks with black leathers and some pretty badass goggles for the entirety of the candidate barracks. It was with careful instruction that the candidates were told of the plan: we arrive, you stand around looking like a bunch of murderous badasses, we get the goods, and we leave. WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?
That's where we want you guys to come in! What, exactly, is your character doing once they touch down, once Risali and R'hyn pull up their riding coats and walk with the kind of predatorial swag that says they're going to get paid what they're owed or someone is paying with their life? Did your character accessorize to accentuate all that BAMF? For that matter, how exactly does your character feel when the prize is revealed to be exactly two violently colorful runner statues that are, frankly, abominations?
Stefyr gave up long ago on the idea that things in Xanadu had to add up the way things often do in other places with great consistency. 2+2 may always have equaled 4 back home on the farm, but in Xanadu, Stefyr was certain the answer could turn out to be a blue spotted avian with a tunnelsnake for a mother and this place wouldn't stop to look at it sideways, or even do more than squint a little. So, when Risali and R'hyn arrive in the barracks, gear in hand, what does Stefyr do? He blinks, maybe once, and then dutifully sets about finding something close to his size. How he manages to squeeze into the too-tight pants and the too-short of sleeve jacket isn't important. What is important is how he stands, big and broad and slightly ridiculous in his attire, but with a grim expression and an ominous presence so fierce that he might be channeling a certain eyepatch wearing assistant weyrlingmaster in order to achieve it. What is of equal importance is the way that his intimidatingly sober visage drains upon seeing the prize. His face settles into the blandest of all possible bland looks, possibly the blandest he has made to date. If he has questions hidden behind that more-plain-than-vanilla-beside-strawberry expression, he hides them well. The depth of the bland is, of course, equal to the depth of the dry humor. It is, in fact, dry to the point of self-incendiary, and a handful of beats later, without apparent cause, he abruptly doubles over in loud gales of laughter. So uncontrollable (THEY'VE FINALLY DRIVEN HIM MAD) is the sound for some moments that he has tears glistening in the edges of his eyes by the time someone buffets him to cut it out. He's ruining it for everyone. FARANTH, STEFYR, HAVE A LITTLE SELF-CONTROL.
For a woman that only has her current position (positions?) from her habit of rarely saying no, do you think this would be any different? If so, you are wrong and should probably think again because Rhodelia is TOTALLY down for not asking many questions, dressing like a murderous badass and going to parts unknown to do activities not yet mentioned! The wardrobe change might be record speed even if the flowiness of her black long sleeves could leave something to be desired. Where did she get those elbow-length black leather gloves though? Doesn't matter because they certainly make an ominous snap as she pulls at the cuff and lets out a snicker. Maybe the evil laughter needs some work too, but at least she's present and accounted for just… not first. She'll leave that honor for someone bulkier, seeking safety behind a human meatshield. She may also have not come empty handed to this shindig as someone may have been tipped off. While others might be looming menacingly, Rhody slinks off towards the back of the group and with the help of little bronze Molotov (or maybe even Xermiltoth) to add a little bit of atmospherics to this heist. What's more menacing than SMOKE FROM NOWHERE??? Even if that nowhere was actually somewhere and the fuel was reports that were hopefully supposed to be discarded and not important. They definitely BURN or rather smolder and SMOKE. Not for long, but long enough! Rhodelia coughs even as she waves the smoldering, smoking paper contraptions around in a totally unsafe manner in the back until either there's the sweet sound of victory or the embers start touching on her finger tips which is definitely the clue to drop the danger-sticks and stomp out the flames because SAFETY SOMEWHERE. And the colored runner statues? She meets them with a shrug. "So… we gonna have them flank the office?" Because nothing says powerful dictatorleadership like eccentric interior decorating choices.
When the instructions are to look like a murderous badass, Ajral doesn't scrimp. Along with the goggles and leathers provided — which, if they didn't fit perfectly, Ajral did her best to make sure she could get them to look like they did, but also, everyone's sizes should be on record somewhere and she must be given the right size because she can't look that murderous in clothes that are too big — she has definitely gone for intimidating but subtle in the makeup department. She's made her high cheekbones look higher and her eyebrows a little more intense (and undertoned in blue, if one were to look really closely) and has lipstick that is in the shade of +100 Serious Business Red. She also already owns those Boss Queen high-heeled boots, so every advantage is being taken in how their click-clack walk makes her sound like she's someone you want to be with or be afraid of. No one wants to mess with Ajral and her crew, or more importantly Ajral and the rest of the crew that are all R'hyn and Risali's. No one can really see her expression (or her perfect eye makeup) through those goggles, right, so the fact that it went from almost terrifyingly neutral to a little bit eye-wide at what they're actually here to get isn't going to be noticed … but if it were, well. Maybe she looks like she's going to laugh a little, but one eyebrow is piqued with intrigue. There must be a reason that a silent-but-deadly ambush approach was needed for such a prize, and she might just b determined to find out why those statues are special. Maybe that art lover in her thinks they have great value on one level or another. Either way, she isn't saying, but that low-key emotion reveal is mostly settling on a duel amongst 'pleased,' 'amused' and 'bemused.'
It's safe to assume Evangeline has never done ANYTHING like this before. From the moment Risali and R'hyn show up in the barracks with leather outfits, she is skeptically on board with questionable activity at best. Probably because the people who could punish her for it are the people asking her to do it, and in typical fashion, Evi sticks out like a sore thumb. Everyone else in their scary BADASS outfits and she looks like a confused steampunk imitation pirate. First and foremost, the dirty blonde hair is up in a tight bun that is fastened together by black metal knitting needles. In case she has to, stab someone or make a sweater if it gets cold. The woman has put an eyepatch over her left eye. The eye patch might lose some of its mystique since it's BEDAZZLED in bright prismatic crystals. A floor-length black skirt of a satiny material, an ivory long sleeve shirt that buttons at the neck with victorian style ruffles blossoming from the breast and tiny black bows around every button. Around her waist is where the outfit begins to get interesting. A black leather underbust corset with five chrome buckles down the front and chrome studs lining the side body accentuates her figure in a sexual way. Such a sharp divergence from her Little House on The Prarie style that if you didn't KNOW her, you might deduce that she is tough shit. In her hands is a hammer stolen from her time doing maintenance, and on the black handle, it says PROPERTY OF XANADU WEYR. She's a hardened criminal and master thief. Upon arrival at the debtors weyr, she follows along behind the others making sure to stay well away from the 'splash zone' of whatever the hell she's gotten herself into. Watching Risali and R'hyn, she swings the hammer around recklessly, partially out of nerves and partly due to all of her excess energy. Unfortunately, she is not holding onto it that well, and it goes flying, breaking a decorative firelizard statue in front of a neighboring weyr. WHOOPS. Gathering the pieces together, she gets well behind the group as she puts it back together, the next person to even LOOK at it will probably shatter it, but unless they are dusting for prints, her job here is done. Getting up next to a bulky male Candidate, she watches the Weyrleadership move to get there prize. The waiting is tense, Evi testing her hammer several times gently in her hand. YEP, still a hammer, still hard and metal. Standing on her tippy toes, Evi attempts to see over the shoulder of the boy she is using as a shield, saying with a fast mischievous whisper into his ear, "I heard the pool was like, 110 Marks and that if they don't get this back, the Weyr will be in debt." There's bound to be rumors about WHY they are doing this, or what the prize is, or why it's of this level of importance, and someone has to spread the gossip. When Xanadu's FEARLESS leaders emerge with their quarry, the runner statues are eyed, and Evangeline bursts out laughing, giggling somewhat uncontrollably for a moment at the scene around her, over ridonkulous runner figures? "Um, Ma'am, Risali, Are they worth something?" Hope spring is eternal y'all; at the very least, they could be antiques or collector items. Looking at her peers and then down at herself, both eyebrows go up, and she shakes her head as the thought emerges that she is becoming ONE of these crazy people.
Thank you so much to everybody who participated in this madness! Y'all are the real MVPs! <333