15560/Grad-ual Measures

Grad-ual Measures
Date of Scene:	13 August 2023
Location:	The Curio
Synopsis:	Tim's graduation party is sprung sucsessfully. All are given brownies.
Cast of Characters:	Phoebe Beacon, Tim Drake, Clark Kent, Michael Hannigan, Emiko Queen, Austin Reese, Dick Grayson, Essix, Conner Kent, Cassandra Cain, Jason Todd

---

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    THE CURIO.

    It's not that Phoebe wanted to show off the building that weirdly showed up in Gotham after a stint in New York City that followed her home like a puppy, but it was the least likely place to plan a surprise party where everyone would be welcome to show up.

    The bar below had been bought out for the night; the duckpin bowling bar was covered with a spread of good foods and a place to pile presents (Helpfully labeled "GIFTS GO HERE ->") with neon lights. The AtomicPunk lights were off for the moment. Tables had chairs flipped up onto them. The bar tenders weren't in. The whole of the bar that'd taken over the Curio's main basement seemed dark and closed off.

    Of course, that's because there was something laying in wait for Tim Drake, AKA Red Robin, graduate of Boy Wonder U and now graduate of Gotham University, being led in like a lamb to a lion's cave.

    "All right, so I've got kettle corn, movie theater butter, Homestyle, and this weird Lime and Chili one that I picked up a while back to watch the Sandlot, but never got the chance to break it out. The bar's closed down, so it'd probably be easiest there to work on some of the armor pieces chaffing my arm without running into anyone. I mean, Bart's got an apartment upstairs, but he's almost always out and about, you know?" she questions as she turns on the lights leading down the stairway, wearing a T-shirt with a carebear on it announcing that she was, in fact, Grumpy, braids pulled back in a hair wrap and wearing casual jeans. Normal everyday wear. Nothing to denote that there was, in fact, a spread from Onion Maiden and Planted Evidence, with enough food to feed a small army.

    ... considering all the speedsters they know.

Tim Drake has posed:
    He's running late. Tim really thought that without all the work that went along with his senior year, he'd have ample free time.

    AMPLE. FREE TIME.

    No, he doesn't know what he was thinking either. Between all of his Bat-related duties (which includes running an entire team of superheroes) and growing responsibilities at WayneTech, he's still as busy as ever. Other stuff just moves in to take over the spaces that were previously occupied by thermodynamics and digital forensics.

    If he's breathing hard as he shows up at the Curio, it's fine, because technically he's not late. By the skin of his teeth, but not late! Skateboard under one arm and helmet dangling from his fingertips, there's just enough time for him to run a hand through his hair to get it back to some approximation of normal before Phoebe's there to greet him, and then he's following her down the steps. Technically he's not late, but it's just by the skin of his teeth. "I scored a few of Alfred's brownies this morning. They're, uh, a little smushed."

    Tim hefts the brown paper bag he's carried with him off the urbarail and smiles at Phoebe as he follows after her, descending down the steps. Tonight, given the supposed casual nature of the evening, he's dressed in a t-shirt and jeans. Yes, it's a superhero t-shirt. No, he would not be wearing Green Lantern merch if he knew what the occasion was for, but here we are.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Ah sweet --" Phoebe dramatically pauses at the bottom of the stairs, and slyly holds her hand up behind her to make a shield so that Tim can't run away and escape!

    "Alfred's brownies are ALWAYS a fantastic SURPRISE!"

    And the lights go up!

Clark Kent has posed:
Having received an invite to Tim's Graduation, Clark Kent arrives and watches as the festivities wait to be unleashed on the young man. Moving gingerly into the back of the room, Clark smiles at everyone and waits.

Clark was wearing a grey suit sans tie. Shoes. Glasses of course, which he takes a moment to push up on his nose. No need to break out the cape and tights tonight. After all, the Batfamily mostly knew who he was when he wasn't a reporter.
The the lights go up. Clark grins.

Michael Hannigan has posed:
Mike is amongst the party goers tonight. Due to him having other business in town involving potential contracts with his stage persona, his attire is a bit higher class than he typically wears. It's still jeans and a tee, but they're expensive jeans and a tee lacking any sort of pattern that could help differentiate the left side from the right.

The gift he brought has been deposited with the others, seeming to rely heavily on the idea of the stuff on the inside being what matters. It's hard to shop for someone that could pretty much buy anything but after a brief question and answer discussion with Phoebe, hopefully the backstage passes for an upcoming 'Eyehateclowns' show will prove to be acceptable. Only time will tell.

As the lights come on, Mike smiles, lifting up a cup of ...some type of beverage in the air for a bit of a toasting gesture. "Congrats!"

Emiko Queen has posed:
Emiko Queen is a trained assassin. A master at stealth. Able to rival those of the Batfam in the matter. Of course she's managed to hide herself completely despite the number of people in the limited space, and not give herself away by getting figity.

Haha, cute Phoebe, hiding the signal in an otherwise pretty normal comment like that.

"Surprise!" It's hard to tell where she was hiding when Emiko is out in view just as energetically as she had been patient moments ago.

One of the few times she's gotten to jump from the shadows and it's not to stab or shoot someone, so she is hardly complaining.

Austin Reese has posed:
A dark room with plenty of places to hide, it would seem the perfect place for a member of the Bat Family to set up an ambush. If Tim didn't expect he was walking into something, Austin would be surprised. But the real plan is to surprise Tim, as he jumps out when the lights go up, "Surprise!"

It wasn't often that they got a chance to kick back and celebrate something GOOD, so he was more than happy to take the chance to actually partake in some good food and actually have fun with his friends. Plus if Tim really DID have some of Alfred's brownies, then he had brought the good stuff.

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Hearing the footsteps coming down the stairs, Dick gestures to everyone to remain silent until... "SURPRISE!" bursts out of multiple people at once. He's grinning as Tim is met with far too much attention all at once. He had explained the concept of 'surprise party' to Essix while they were waiting for the guest of honor. He's added a bit to the food side of things as he and Essix had showed up loaded with containers from Buffalo Wild Wings.

    After the first yell, he adds a "Congratulations Tim!" in a more normal tone of voice. "Now you must suffer through a party thrown especially for you." He chuckles, knowing Tim's not overly in love with being in the spotlight.

Essix has posed:
Another human tradition, the "Surprise Party" was about to be added to Essixes repertoire. She'd done her reading about graduation parties to better understand the purpose of the party as a whole, though when she read about surprise parties she couldn't quite understand why graduation and surprise were going together. No matter, the reason would reveal itself in time, or so she hoped.

Arriving with Dick, she wore her human form with it's imperfect face and offered her hand for introductions to those already there. She was dressed in black jeans and a white t-shirt with a black jacket over it, and a pair of black ankle boots.

Standing in the dark, waiting, anticipation growing... the lights come on and the over excited alien screams, "SURPRISE!" waaaay too loudly.

Conner Kent has posed:
Conner is a little sceptical about their real chances to surprise Tim. Surely the master detective has been expecting this kind of 'ambush'! But of course he has to be here, he is his first and best friend. Maybe Tim will let himself be surprised, so he lurks in the shadows like a... well, not very well. Until the right moment. "Surprise!" He joins the yelling raising his arms. "And you did it a year before me!" Not to mention Tim probably got twice as much credits.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "This is revenge for springing a trip on me." Phoebe gives a grin to Tim, and offers him a sparkly, bright red motarboard hat that has CLASS OF 2023 on it from a conveniently placed bag. "Hope Alfred sent enough for everyone. If he didn't, luckily we have a lot of cookies." she explains as everything spins up. The lightning-like party lights behind the bar, with its full assemblage of spirits, the juke box loaded with SO MUCH songs begins to play Hail to the Cheif.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
There's good and bad in being unobtrusive. You're basically fashionably late even if you were the first to arrive. If you see the shadow lurking about, you would realize that there's no malice in it. That's just how she is. Cassandra isn't trying to be sneaky, she's just over here being awesome, and then she moves to another place to do the same.

Problem is she does it so quietly, eyes wide and looking at what everyone else is up to. You have to assume that she's not sure how to interact. Which would be true.

Hi.

Clark Kent has posed:
Munching on a cookie, Clark Kent moves forward, and takes a moment to smile at the young man, knowing he would be overwhelmed soon enough.

"Mr Drake. Well done. Congratulations. I am proud of you. As I am sure Bruce is as well. Good luck with your future and if you ever need anything in Metropolis, please do not hesitate letting me know."

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Dick heads over to Tim, "Hey there little brother. How's it feel to be an actual college graduate?" He glances at Essix who had followed him over. "And to get it out of the way, this is Essix. I guess you could call her my ward. You know, the way I was Bruce's ward? Same kind of thing, except she's an alien rather than an orphan."

    "She's just learning socialization, so if she asks anything inappropriate, let her know. She won't be offended."

    He smiles and adds, "Now, with that out of the way, get out there and greet your guests, tonight is all about you!"

Essix has posed:
Sticking to Dick much like velcro, now comes the part where Essix thrusts a hand toward Tim with an all too excited, "Congratulations on completing an undisclosed to me number of years at a University and graduating!"

Then she falls silent with a broad grin on her face, eyes big and looking around at everyone... just so happy to be there it seems.

Emiko Queen has posed:
Emiko Queen idly picks up a cookie and bites into it. Regards Essix for a moment as she's pointed out, smiles and nods a little. "I know how the learning curve goes for social stuff... even if for different reasons. You just got to stick to it, the experience will teach you well enough." Pauses for another bite. "Though having a smart guy like Tim helping doesn't hurt either."

Tim Drake has posed:
    If Tim had even an inkling of an idea about this party, he doesn't let on. That's what being a good brother is all about. That and swiping brownies from the tray before Alfred could stop him (not that Tim really thinks he's able to get anything past the Wayne family butler, not really).

    He reels backwards at the foot of the stairs when he sees the assemblage of people, eyes wide at the shout of surprise, and then he turn a scandalized look towards Phoebe that is mostly just for show. Just a little flash of anxiety that is quickly quelled, because these are friends and family. "Yeah, I know, I deserve it," he says, a smile tugging at one corner of his mouth. "I'm so not wearing the hat, though."

    Oh, he's definitely gonna wear the hat.

    Tim's gaze jumps from person to person, making brief eye contact, before he ducks his head and rubs the back of his neck. "Yeah I definitely didn't bring enough brownies for everybody," he admits with a laugh, but they (yes, a bit smushed from their long day of travel) end up with the rest of the impressive buffet. Then he turns to face the assembled crowd. "I really don't know what to say. Uh. Thanks, for being here?"

    That last part comes out as a question, and then Tim's shaking his head, clearly amused about the whole thing. Dick's comment earns a huff of breath and a quick smile over thataway, because Tim can't say anything to it. It's too true.

    He looks up when Clark approaches, and his expression splits into a wide smile. "Well, I did let Bruce know that I'd be putting my resume out there, see if any companies are interested in head-hunting me." He shrugs one shoulder. "Maybe I'll end up in Metropolis."

    He's probably joking.

    When Essix's hand is extended towards him, Wayne social manners kick in and he immediately takes it, almost before he's even recognized who it belongs to. "Oh!" he says. And then, "Thanks. It's kind of all a blur to me too... but I did beat Conner, so whatever it is, I win."

Michael Hannigan has posed:
To the mention of Alfred made brownies, the performer smiles. Past conversations have raised the curious levels in regard to the man's baking skills so the opportunity to find out for himself would be nice. Oh please let there be eno- There isn't enough. -Awww.

Mike glances over to Phoebe for a few moments before looking back to Tim being talked to by Clark and Dick. He hangs back, letting those with closer ties speak first.

Lifting the cup up to his lips, he takes a sip while Essix gets in her greeting. The contents promptly and audibly getting spit back into his cup as her more than cheerful words reach his ears. The cup is held to his lips for a long moment before he calmly turns around and heads over to the table to get some napkins.

Conner Kent has posed:
Conner takes a minute to examine the spread of delicious (alas, mostly vegetarian - but there are cookies!) food on display, and adding a small gift to the pile, before joining Tim's group. "Oh, you would have a lot of fun in Metro," he says to his friend. "No. Who am I kidding? I think you would die of boredom after a couple weeks. And not enough rooftop gargoyles."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe gives Tim's arm just a little squeeze, and a shoulder bump before she abandons him to the affections of others. She knows how it goes.

    She gives an up-nod to Mike, and then hops behind the bar herself, moving with the comfort of someone who's pulled draughts and worked behind this particular kind of counter before.

    She pulls a hard cherry cider for Tim, in a cold glass, and adds a lemon swizzle and a lemon slice and cherry to garnish with and puts it to the side, for the Man of the Hour to claim when he feels ready for it. She does give a bright smile to everyone showing Tim appreciation.

    "Alfred made a couple trays of brownies for tonight." she states, "I made sure tehre was going to be enough for everyone. He was in on this." she states to the assembly.

    "All right, I've got Cherry Hard Ciders, I've got a bunch of non-alcoholic drinks and mocktails and endless soda -- who wants what?"

Austin Reese has posed:
Austin wanders over towards Tim, after snatching a cookie, to also snatch one of those brownies. And also to give Tim a big slap on the back, "Hey congrats man. You've been putting in tons of work and it shows." He's been putting in a ton of work in his own studies too, but he's got a while more before they have to plan his surprise party.

Clark Kent has posed:
"Excellent! Metropolis would be lucky to have you! There may even be a spot at the Daily Planet for someone with your exceptional talents! Call me!"

With a light laugh, Clark Kent steps vack and lets the rest of the crowd say their congratulations. As he was there in his civilian guise, Clark doesn't play the confident type. He plays the Mild Mannered reporter, taking a moment or two to make sure his "disguise" was secure.

"Great cookies though." Clark says, finishing off the tasty treat. Watching as Tim gets his well desreved attention, Clark smiles and appreciates the contacts that Tim has made in all walks of life.

"Now your next test...stay alive." Clark whispers. Gotham. Tough town.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
There's not a lot to say. Michael would hopefully find a/the brownie that just happens to be left where he can find it, which is weird. It's clearly there for him, it was just there, on a napkin, when he turned in an appropriate direction.

Similarly, Clark would find one when he turned. And then Emiko, and Essix. Someone's moving around the room. But it's clearly not malicious.

Essix has posed:
With introductions given, one of the social niceties that Essix understood, the 'mingle' can begin. For her that involves making sure that each person in the room is offered her hand to shake, along with the bright smile that had been on her face since the surprise... very loud surprise.

For each person who does shake her hand she offers a polite, "Very pleased to meet you." before she moves on to the next person. In the end, she is by the place where all the food is, but instead of taking any of is... she is carefully studying each item without touching it. Her head turns one way, then the other, she even seems to lean in and smell each thing.

Tim Drake has posed:
    "Thanks for the vote of confidence," Tim says to Emiko, but then he adds, "Though I think there are plenty of more well-adjusted people to take your cues from." And given Essix has Dick for that, Tim gestures a hand directly at his older brother as if to say "see exhibit A."

    Still, he's appreciative, smiling as he reaches for the drink Phoebe has so kindly prepped for him. He looks over at Conner as he takes a drink, then squints a little bit, thoughtfully. "You're probably right. I've been to Metropolis enough times to know it's just not got the right vibes for brooding. But if you ever need some investigative reporting work done here in Gotham, Uncle Clark, you can count on me!"

    He's just about to take another sip of his drink when Austin claps him on the back, but he manages to just see it coming, bringing up his other hand to steady the glass. "Thanks." It feels like an appropriate time to heave a big sigh. "Yeah, balancing two capstone projects at one time was a nightmare. I thought I had plenty of team-leading experience but there's something about seniors that're just... like herding cats."

    Briefly his thoughts turn to Selina and her cadre of kitties.

    Tim sets his drink back down on the bar so he can get one of those brownies, now that he knows there are plenty to go around. "He browns the butter before he adds it to the mixture," he says, fake-whispering as if he's sharing a big secret. Then he takes a big chomp of brownie as an excuse not to talk for a little bit. Cuz these brownies be thicc.

Michael Hannigan has posed:
Cup placed away from any possible food options, Mike uses some secured napkins to wipe the portions of beverage that didn't quite make it back into his cup. Having been here before, he makes his way over towards the restrooms to wash his hands.

Cross contamination is bad mmmkay?

As he comes back to toss the cup in favor of a less spat on exterior, he looks to the brownie set beside it. He pauses, and upon seeing others finding brownies near them, he shrugs, tosses the cup, and collects the brownie.

Thank you Brownie Bandit!

Hearing the mention of multiple trays of brownies being available, the performer smiles before taking a bite of the current one.

He might even get seconds! Woot!

Conner Kent has posed:
Conner falls into the brownie trap too, although the announcement of soft drinks draws his attention briefly too. He returns with food and drink, "what are the plans now you have so much free time?" He asks.

Because sure, it is not as if Tim needs a regular work. Right? Right. Conner is already looking for a internship. His bank account is not looking great.

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Dick watches Essix for just a minute, but as she seems to have things well in hand, he turns his attention to the party in general. He nods a greeting to Clark, then heads over to Phoebe at the bar, commenting quietly "Good work on the party. I think he was actually surprised, which isn't easy. Grab me a coke if you'd be so kind?"

    He glances around the room, then smiles as if thinking of something amusing. Which he actually was, that thought being 'Man, I'd feel sorry for a crook who tried something around here right now.'

Emiko Queen has posed:
"Shouldn't you have familiarity with herding cats, or is that a solo thing for the big man himself?" Emiko snarks a bit with a smirk at Tim before fetching herself a drink as well. Need to wash the cookie munching down after all.

Essix has posed:
As everyone seems to go for the brownies, Essix cants her head very left, lifts one deformed brow and asks of everyone, "Is this some kind of addiction? Is an intervention required? I read about interventions, I could perform one for everyone I think." before she looks to Dick to see if he is eating a brownie. When she sees that he isn't, she returns to looking at those who are.

Austin Reese has posed:
"I'd have figured you'd have the whole herding cats thing under control by now." Austin replies with a grin, as he wanders a bit through the party, greeting folks, though when overhears Essix asking about brownies, "Nah, they're just really good." He responds, before he takes a big bite out of the one he grabbed.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I would too." Phoebe replies to Dick, and she picks up the soft drink gun and clicks it for Coca-Cola.

    "Yeah, I said we were going to be marathonning the Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Extended Edition tonight after a review of some of the more techy-side stuff. He's the expert on both of those, and pretty much the only one who I can talk Elvish to." she sticks her tongue out, putting a cocktail napkin on the bar that backlights behind her. There is a LOT of alcohol for a bar that's been closed down.

    "An' not only would they be interrupting m-- our brother's graduation party which is rude in the first place? Beyond everyone who's here?" she purses her lips as her dark eyes turn to Dick.

    "The Curio's magic in the first place -- sort of a last gift --" she states, finishing up the coke with a lime slice, a cherry and a bright pink umbrella (for her own amusement). "It's also the closest thing I really have to that homey-feeling at the moment, you know?" she raises her eyebrows as she looks to Dick.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Eyes glance about, making sure that everyone's gotten something to nosh upon if they want to do so. Essix is given specific interest; the way that the lady sniffs things suggests a different way of approaching food, and you don't mess with that. So the head bobs approvingly, and she goes to sit in a corner and watch the social interaction continue.

Which is when Cass finds a single brownie placed in her customary corner, placed with love. Someone played her own game on her, and she pauses to look about the room with adoration in her eyes.

Who says that you need to talk, in order to be one of the family?

Tim Drake has posed:
    Tim snorts into his cider and has to pull it away from himself to cough a little bit, but his eyes are bright as he looks over at Emiko. "Just one cat, technically," he points out to her.

    He's about to take another bite of brownie (because Alfred really is That Good) when Essix asks after them, and Tim pauses with it halfway to his mouth. He frowns down at the treat, but it's a considering sort of frown. "I mean, there's definitely an argument to be made about our country's obsession with sugar there, but I think we're safe in this instance. Aside for anyone with crazy good metabolism, most of us work hard to offset our caloric intake. So it all balances out."

     Trust some sort of nerdy topic to pull Tim's attention.

    He spots Cass settling into her corner and lifts a hand to wave at her, silent but definitely beaming with pride in her general direction.

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Picking up the soda, garnish and all, he de-umbrellas it before taking a sip. "Yeah, much my thought. Would just be an ugly puff."

    "I'll take your word for the magic part, not something I'm really caught up on. Which is one reason why it's good we have folks like you in the family." He raises his glass slightly in a little salute to Phoebe, then turns to say to Essix, "It's ok, the brownies are just very good, not physically addictive." That said he turns to look for one himself, because Alfred makes the best brownies ever.

    They may be a little bit addictive, after all.

Essix has posed:
Essix listens to Tim's explanation and then to Dick's, and nods, but then turns back to Tim to say, "I recently read an article on the American addiction to sugar products and how it was an intended result from the companies that make sugar. Much like the addiction to cigarettes was intentional, and several other supposedly 'none harmful' things that later turned out to be harmful."

She takes a breath now, indicating just how fast she was talking before continuing with, "I am happy to learn that these brown squares are not addictive in a physical manner." Cue the bright smile and a sparkle to her eyes. "I worry about humans a great deal, as this is their planet after all, also why is she sitting alone in a corner?" She points at Cassandra in the corner. There is no ill intent in her tone, clearly she is just curious, and will be sorry later for pointing out someone who is attempting to distance themselves.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe just gives a grim sort of smile to Dick before he turns away, and looks up and over to Tim, following his gaze towards Cass -- to whom Phoebe raises a brownie with a grin, and then stretches her shoulder a little bit, looking out over the revelers a sshe rubs the back of her neck.

    ... and realizes that she's doling out alcohol, sans liscence, at the age of 19, in front of several crime fighters, Superman and a Cop. Ah well.

    Private Party, right? She pulls another Cherry cider.

Emiko Queen has posed:
Emiko Queen chuckles a bit as Reese is on the same track of teasing. Then snorts softly at the mention of crazy metabolisms. She's dating a speedster, she knows how crazy it can get. She still has to remind Bart on occasion to -slow down and actually enjoy his meal-. "You'll find there's a lot of things humans 'enjoy' that's not so good for them. Sugar isn't really one of them, unless you ingest a stupidly large amount of it in a short time."

She's about to go into a list of things but pauses when Essix points Cass out. She shrugs a little. "Some people prefer to not be in the direct middle of the group. Think of it as one of those little ways no two humans are going to be the same. It goes for how they think and process things, too." Hopefully that's a decent enough explaination, she's no psychologist.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
The Cass sitting in the corner takes note when she's pointed out. She smiles, but doesn't wave. She just pulls her knees up to her chest and wraps her arms around them, clearly content. There's no need in her heart to join in the festivities. She's here, and everyone is awesome. When her batteries for social interaction are a bit more full she'll talk, perhaps.

Sometimes you just need to recharge first.

Tim Drake has posed:
    Drink in hand, Tim moves away from the bar and the crowd there, away from being the center of attention for a little bit. He's briefly in Cass's orbit, his earlier wave making a return trip while he's closer, though he can respect when someone needs to fall back and take a minute to be by themselves. For now, he moves on to do some socially conscious mingling.

    And it looks like Mike is the first target for said mingling. "Hey, thank you for coming. You got a brownie, right?" There's a wry smile on Tim's face as he asks, like it's almost a joke, especially after Essix's comments.

    But seriously, they are really delicious brownies. So Tim is pleased to see that Michael does indeed have one. "I feel like we've been around each other plenty, but never had a chance to actually talk before."

Michael Hannigan has posed:
Brownie in hand and Phoebe's offers of drink still registering, Mike walks over, "Are there any ciders left?" Fortunately that wasn't what got wasted with the spitting from earlier but being he has to get a new drink, why not switch it up?

When Tim approaches, Mike turns, hearing the thank you. "Oh my pleasure." He responds, lifting up the brownie in demonstration of his acquiring one. "Like it just leapt out of the pan to come to my side of the room." He comments, glancing around for any guilty looking faces. "Yeah usually when we meet there's something else meriting our attention. It's kind of nice to have non-frantic type of get together."

Seeing no guilty faces, he looks back to Tim, "Congrats on the college degree. I hear those can be quite a pain to get."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Oh man do I ever have ciders left. I'm definitely not drinking any with this many law professionals hanging around." Phoebe states.

    And then she takes a long sip of something that is OBVIOUSLY a cider.

    Not that it affects her in the least as she takes up another glass and spins it in the air, showing some flash before she pulls Mike a cider, garnishes with lemon swizzle, lemon slice, and cherry on a cocktail sword and then attempts to place a blue umbrella on Tim's hat in passing sneaky-like before handing the cider over to Mike.

Essix has posed:
Turning back toward Emiko as she speaks, Essix hmmms softly then nods. "Your explanation is understood, thank you very much for taking the time to educate me."

She takes a breath, just one before going right into the next topic, "Should the guest of honor not be opening the boxes wrapped in brightly colored paper that is a waste of time to have used as it likely will end up shredded anyway?"

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Tim went by, and Cass smiled at him. It was a thing. It happened! She interacted, and she rewards herself with some more training. Getting up, Cass blurs. She watches everyone, then picks the right time to move. When either nobody is looking, or when their blind spots are in her direction.

She vanishes. Getting past a room this skilled is hard even for her, and she really wants to pull it off. You have to know when folks are going to move, to read their upcoming actions as much as what they're doing now. She has a goal in mind, and she takes it.

Natch, thirty seconds later. She's at the chicken wings and is eating meat. That's always a worthwhile goal. "Yummy!"

Damn, said that out loud.

Emiko Queen has posed:
Emiko Queen is trying to be a good supportive example, because she knows how hard learning to socialize in public, or semi-public, gatherings can be. Still Essix's comment on the presents and wrapping paper gets another light laugh out of her. "You're not wrong. But the point of the wrapping it up is part of the surprise." She explains. "So the one receiving them can't see what they are until they rip it off."

Unless you're one of the people in the room that has x-ray vision. Christmas must of been really complicated for the Kents.

Tim Drake has posed:
    "Meanwhile this is absolutely a cider but I am of legal drinking age," Tim points out, before he takes a matching long sip. A wink is aimed at Phoebe over the top of their glasses, and then Tim's nodding, saying "Yup," with a pop of the p at the end. "Funny how that keeps happening to us. But hey," and here he gives in to superstition by knocking on the wooden part of bar. "Now we have an opportunity to actually chat!"

    He holds his breath after and waits for the ceiling to fall down around him, but after a moment that seems to not be happening, so he lifts his drink up. "So! I'm a junior researcher at WayneTech. I could pretend to not know what you do, if you want." Look at Tim, being all sociable! So sociable that he even allows Phoebe to stick that little umbrella in his hat, head tipping down a little bit to facilitate it.

    He's mid-sip when Essix brings up the presents, and Tim splutters a little bit, before saying, "People brought gifts?" As if Mr. Detective himself didn't notice the sign and the gift-pile already. "You really didn't have to." He nods over to Emiko's explanation, adding, "We'll recycle it all, promise," in case that helps alleviate any concerns.

Essix has posed:
Once again the young alien listens to the explanation regarding the brightly color paper wrapped around the box in which the present is location. Essix hmmms again, this time seeming to have only understood in part the reason for the paper, but before she can actually say anything more Tim says it all gets recycled and the smile returns to her messed up face.

"Yes, yes! Recycling is best," she cheers, then with the same overly excited tone says, "Your planet is so sick, so many of the creatures on it are dying, and... do not get me started on your weather patterns." She nods a few more times, as if all this is perfectly acceptable party conversation.

Michael Hannigan has posed:
Mike nods, chuckling, "It's alright, you don't have to pretend. The stage name thing does give me SOME semblance of privacy but not entirely." Mike pauses, accepting the cider drink and fishing out the adornments. "Since you know what I do, that does help us pick whose career we'll be talking about, Mr. Graduate. So, what does a Junior researcher at WayneTech do anyway?"

Now sword-less, the cider is sipped.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Of course yours is cider. I know what you drink." Phoebe replies, and she stretches one arm out behind her head.

    "Anything else for the graduate before we inevitably get glitter all over the place from the wrapping paper?" she asks, and then turns to Dick, pointing at the pile of presents "That should be illegal. Glitter wrapping paper. Leaves a mess EVERYWHERE and the glitter isn't recycleable!" she protests, and she turns to look at Essix with a small smile.

    "Ah... Essix... generally at a celebration of an accomplishment we don't usually bring up the dying planet. There's something called a 'five minute' rule -- if you can't fix it in five minutes, it's probably better to keep to casual conversation. That being said --"

    Her expression goes flat "The planet is dying, our weather is growing worse, and seriously it's like six companies that are behind most of the damage but people just wanna keep using disposable everything like we're gonna be rescued by a more advanced alien species but that'll probably just lead to warfare, because if there's *one thing* humans are REALLY GOOD AT it is *fighting*." she states quietly to Essix.

Austin Reese has posed:
Austin had disappeared behind the bar for a while, re-emerging after a bit with a couple of wrapped boxes that he gets set out on the table, slipping back towards the main part of the gathering, picking up a new drink on the way, "What'd I miss?" He asks Phoebe, wandering up to catch the tail end of her and Essix talking.

Emiko Queen has posed:
Emiko Queen sits down, takes a sip of her drink. "I considered filling a smoke arrow with glitter, but I think that would be considered a warcrime."

Cassandra Cain has posed:
You realize, Cass is not just listening. She's coming up with new ideas. Smoke arrows can be filled with other things. Drinks can hide weapons. Wrapping paper is weird. She already knew some of those things, but now she knows them and is considering their application. However.

However.

There's only so much wingding you can eat, and you can't ignore socialization forever. So, wiping her hands clean in the cunningly prepared ahead of time finger bowls (Oh Alfred, you never stop trying to get us to polite), Cassandra wanders toward the humanity.

Then she says, "You did good," toward Tim.

But she really means everyone.

Essix has posed:
Essix ohs softly, one brief moment of analyzing the information Phoebe gave her with a thoughtful expression on her face. There were so many social rules, and all of them were learned by humans starting from the day they were born. For the little alien, the only thing she started learning when she emerged is that some of these humans cannot be trusted, no matter what they say. They say one thing, then do another, and steal something that isn't theirs to have! She has since learned that others are the most trustworthy of companions anyone could ask for, and she would do anything for them.

"I apologize for breaking this 'five minutes' rule," she finally says more softly. "I promise that future socializations in a jovial, celebratory setting will not include improper topics."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Oh you absolutely can include them," Phoebe counters to Essix, "Sometimes it's a GREAT way to escape a conversation that you don't want to have. Like telling someone their zipper's down, and when they look, disappearing into the rafters." she states.

    And without even looking to Emiko, she points at the Red Arrow.

    "Absolutely not in my place. There's some things even magic can't do." she states, and then looks to Tim with a smile.

    "You want another cider before you open gifts?"

Tim Drake has posed:
    "You'd think it's all flashy prototyping but in general it's mostly a lot of research. Just... a lot. So much research. I spend most of my time at work on the computer."

    All talk of the weather and the death of the planet mostly passes Tim by without comment, though he does flash an amused look in Phoebe's direction at the rant. Clearly it's something he's heard before. He does perk up at the mention of "Did someone say glitter arrows?" because his mind is already concocting Ideas for how they could be used.

    He sets his glass down on the bar for the offered refill and then looks between Austin and the boxes he sat out on the table. "I should probably open gifts, huh? You all really didn't have to get me anything, but thank you." He grabs another brownie from the tray and pops the whole thing into his mouth rather than saying anything potentially mushy (there was significant risk) before he approaches the gift pile.

    Before making Plaintive Eyes at Phoebe, to help him pick out which one to start with.

Emiko Queen has posed:
Emiko Queen doesn't even flinch at being implicated in response. "See? Warcrime. Or worse, Party Foul." She leans towards Essix, lowering her voice a bit in a faux whisper. "That's when someone does something that isn't wrong but totally kills the party mood."

And just flashes a grin at Tim, because who else would be mentioning arrows?

Michael Hannigan has posed:
"But working with computers interests you, though right? I'm not really much of a computer person myself. "

Hearing the mention of glitter, Mike turns his head quickly, looking around for any signs of Terry. "...Be careful with the glitter. That stuff gets EVERYWHERE." The observation is stated with the utmost of certainty almost as if h-

Oh right.

He does help out with the Titans from time to time. Mystery solved.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Don't look at me to save you. I already gave up my super secret hide-out to make sure you didn't suspect that it was /I/ who threw you a surprise party." Phoebe states to Tim as he looks to her to help him choose -- before picking up one of Austin's gifts and handing it to Tim.

    "All right. I'm getting myself another Brownie. We should have had a couple more people showing up--" she pauses to take out her phone and swipe aside Idu the dog's gloriously doofy face with a crab hanging off his nose.

    "Must have run into traffic."

Jason Todd has posed:
"Traffic is a lame excuse."

And so comes the announcement that Jason has arrived, clearly late.

He walks over and sets a gift where the one Phoebe just picked up was sitting. Seems like the right place.

"Sorry I'm late. Dog ate my homework" he offers with a particular glint in his eyes. "Congratulations Tim."

He then nods a greeting to the others that have been far longer than he.

"Where's the 'real' punch?" he wonders with a glance to Dick. It has to be hidden here somewhere.

Essix has posed:
The new arrival garners Essixes attention, leading her to cross over to where he is, extend her hand and offers a very cheerful, way too cheerful, oh gods make the cheerful stop, "Hello! I am Essix, Dick is my mentor and teacher, it is nice to meet you. I believe Tim was just about to open his presents then recycle the boxes and paper."

Tim Drake has posed:
    Tim nods to Mike. "Yeah. Grew up with them. Some say I am obsessively attached to my tech." And there's nothing Tim has to say to those people except a big fat "Yeah, you're probably right." He has some awareness of his personal flaws, thank you very much. He's just about to take the gift that Phoebe picked out, and then Jason's here!

    So Tim tucks the gift under his arm and waves. "Hey, Jay. If you ask Pheebs she can sneak you something alcoholic from the bar." He does a thing with his eyebrows to suggest this is all very hush-hush.

    It is not. Tim is just a dork.

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Dick is keeping a bit of attention focused on Essix, somewhat glad that there are others around to field her questions for a bit. Where he currently is seems like a pretty good vantage point, so he takes a seat on one of the barstools, his back to the bar to watch the going-on.

    When Jason asks about the punch, Dick waves in Phoebe's direction with a smile, "You'd have to ask the bartender. Don't know what she has besides hard cider back there, but she can probably dig something up for you."

Michael Hannigan has posed:
"Super secret? Really?" Mike repeats, looking over to Phoebe while arching a brow. "I've been here for happy hour."

Cassandra Cain has posed:
A hand reaches across the table, sliding a tin towards Tim. Tin for Tim, it almost works! Too bad it's unintentional as a joke, because Cass doesn't even know. It's a gift, completely unwrapped save for a sticker that says 'NASA shuttle launch 2003, Kennedy space center.' It probably has some kind of meaning, but the fact that it's stuck onto the side of a tin of cocoa beans is just pure Cassandra.

Then there's a moment, because Cass is heading out, mission accomplished. The moment is important, but since Tim was the main reason for this, he HADDA get his gift! But that's not the moment.

The moment is when Jason finds a single brownie pressed into his hand, by a person who when he turns is gone, not there, absent. It's important, because everyone else....

It's important, leave it at that.

Cassandra out.

<3

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Jason gets a big smile from Phoebe as he mozies on in and sits down, and then she looks momentarily confused.

    "You got a dog?" Phoebe asks, and then she looks over to Mike "Shut up." she states in the most friendly manner to Mike as she gives a laugh "Before tonight? Probably only like, three people knew I could bartend. You pick stuff up when you're living under strange roofs." she looks to Jason, and then looks behind her at all the liquor and alcohol, and the stuff she's got on tap, and then gives a small shrug to Jason.

    "You want amber, brown, dark, cherry cider, apple cider, oooooor --" she pauses as she leans back over the bar a little bit, having gotten a brownie.

    "Something else? Also -- there's totally spare rooms upstairs. I also have the couch in my apartment if Tim doesn't call dibs after his second cider."

Tim Drake has posed:
    The tin from Cass catches Tim unawares, as do most things Cass does, because she's just that good. He's quick enough to flash a smile her way before she's gone, and then he can't help himself, he has to know what's inside them.

    But when he cracks open the tin he doesn't actually know what's in it. "Some kind of nut?" he theorizes, looking at the tin's contents. And then, sort of like Essix did earlier, he sniffs them. "I have no idea what these are." There's a particular gleam to his eye as he says this, as if he's actually excited about the opportunity to figure out what these things are. Maybe he'll do run chemical analysis on them.

    All other gifts are temporarily forgotten due to this unresolved mystery.

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason Todd looks to Phoebe, "No. I have a cat." Admitting openly his excuse for being late was just a lie. And a lame one.

Nodding to Tim, he walks over and lightly claps him on the shoulder. At the list of harder drinks is rattled off, he considers, "Dark. Like my reputation" he jokes. He moves over toward the bar near Dick but doesn't opt to sit yet. Probably because he has a browie suddenly in hand.

"Pheeb? Has your place started magically manifesting brownies like my fridge and pineapples?"

Michael Hannigan has posed:
Mike gives an impish grin as Phoebe tells him to shut up. "Hey other than that, your hideout is great. Plenty of beer and places to sit." Seeing that everyone's starting to give out their gifts, he waits, watching as the pile at the table drops down to his envelope. But then there's the mention of manifesting pineapples.

Mike turns his head to look over to Jason, "...roommate with a love for pineapples?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Ohmigod don't I *wish* my place manifested Alfred's brownies like your fridge does pineapples. That would be *awesome*." Phoebe replies as she pulls a pint of stout for Jason with a lot of that rich roasted barley burnt ness to it and a foam head and sets it in front of Jason.

    "The bar's been closed down for a while. Not enough interest in the area to keep it going. I was wondering why *parking* was suddenly so great." she gives a soft huff of air and looks out and over the bar "So now it's just sorta gathering space, you know?"

Tim Drake has posed:
    Well, Tim has to move on to other things eventually. The next gift is one of Austin's, and Tim is careful to unwrap it and then set the wrapping paper aside so that it can be recycled, as that has already been brought up today.

     "Is this a modele ballista?" he asks, and then turns to grin at Austin, holding up the gift (not that Austin needs to see it, since he's the one who bought it). "I promise to spare you any torment I inflict with this," he says.

    He stashes the gifts (one a mystery, the other a future threat for several people currently in this room) and pauses to finish off his drink. He's two ciders in, that must mean he's well on his way to tipsy, but so far he's no-selling it pretty hard. Tim's briefly distracted by a flower on the table, but then he moves on to other gifts.

Austin Reese has posed:
"Yep. Real wood too. Probably won't kill anything." He grins, and leans back against the bar, having a sip from his drink, "Figure it'll make a rather nice 'decoration'" complete with finger quotes from his free hand, though he holds up his drink to fill the other quote part, "for your desk or something at WayneTech."

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason Todd pauses in the brownie conversation to greet Essix, "Hey there." He shakes the hand politely and glances at Dick, "Mentoring huh? Well wonders never cease." Back to Essix he offers a bit of a grin, "He's probably the one you want to learn from anyway. I'd have been better of if I had."

Then it's back to brownies and pineapples. Looking to Michhael he shakes his head, "No. Haven't had a girlfriend in a while. Last one, though, was out of this world." Considering she was a Green Lantern Corps member, he thinks he's being witty.

"No. Some odd supernatual thing last year. After it all ended, one of the uh spirits decided that I should always have pineapple. Usually two show up. When even one is gone, another appears. Its.." He shrugs. "I'm not the magic type to understand it. I just eat 'em."

Tim Drake has posed:
    "We could make pina coladas later with your magic pineapple stash," Tim points out to Jason. No one get this kid started on pina coladas, it will end in tears. He puts off opening more gifts for a while longer but the end of the night is approaching, and given that people will probably want to go home, he realizes it's time.

    It's not that he's bad at being social, it's just more difficult to do when he's being genuine, not putting on an act for social media or socialites. And being thankful for gifts in front of a watching crowd is a tough skill to master. But's he's very appreciative of the backstage tickets that Mike has provided for him, and all the other presents he tears into (with the wrapping paper carefully folded and set aside).

    At the end of the night he's still going to hold Phoebe (and anyone else who thinks themselves nerdy enough) to that LOTR Extended Edition watching, though. Being mildly tipsy only enhances the viewing.