8168/Curse Smursh!

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Curse Smursh!
Date of Scene: 08 October 2021
Location: Student Gardens
Synopsis: Jubilation tells Noriko about the origins of her vampirism and how she met another vampire who doesn't suck, well, not in the proverbial way. Jubes asks Noriko out on a date and Noriko puts her foot in her mouth.
Cast of Characters: Jubilation Lee, Noriko Ashida




Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilation has spent a lot of time off campus these past few nights, chasing leads and rumors that might lead her to others like herself and, perhaps, answers. The night is young, just before midnight, and Jubilee has returned. Instead of immediately going back to her apartment or over to the dorms to bother Nori, she instead went to the student gardens and claimed a seat on one of the marble benches that line the pathways.

    Tonight, she's watching a garden of Evening Primrose that hasn't bloomed yet. Her cheeks are stained with red smears that look like they've been pulled from her eyes.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
More boredom.  It's not like every night hasn't been a heap of boredom, but before Noriko could at least burn away the temptation to lurk and get in trouble by watching Jubes sleep.  And then hang out with her!  What brief bliss stamped out by the faculty!  Now?  Now it's her senior year and she never gave much of a shit to begin with anyways, so she's near enough one of her haunts she likes during her off hours. The garden.  The earth get cooler at night and she bets there won't be as many flowers which is a benefit and a curse.

The speedster's mind keeps rifling through a billion thoughts as if she has to get them all thought before she can sleep.  She pads her way into the garden in a blur like a sped up cartoon, her gait boneless and lazy.

When she spots Jubes, she whistles that little up-down tune everyone in the world knows.  If Jubes looks her way, she might catch that flash of a grin.  But it fades ever so quickly when she spots the red smears, and she blurs over to sit on the bench next to Jubilation.  "You okay?"  Her brow knits up with worry.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    The whistle does grab Jubilee's attention, though that isn't hard. She's not particularly interested in flowers, but when she heard about this particular one, the Evening Primrose, she had to see it for herself. So far, it's unremarkable. Her response to Nori is a smile. The smears are dried, though she hasn't yet washed them off. She might not even know about them.

    Jubilation is, once again, dressed like a vampire skank. This time, it's a low-cut tanktop and skin tight jeans. "Hey," she says with a faint smile. Jubes nods her head and turns back to watch the flowers. "Yeah, I'm okay." She sighs softly. "It's been a rough few nights."

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko takes in Jubilation's latest fashion experiment as if it might tell her something about the vampire's mood, but then realizes how dumb that is, or is it.  Is it?  Noriko squints at how low the tank top is, aka, she looks at Jubilation's cleavage for far too long while she is deep in thought.

"Do you not like your old clothes? Or is this all about..." making new friends.  Trying to.  Or whatever Jubilation might be doing that she isn't telling Noriko.  "You want to talk about it?" the speedster hop skips conversation topics easily.

As for the tears, Noriko doesn't say anything.  She just ever so quickly wets her thumb and much more slowly (she thinks she's synced to Jubes), she reaches to casually try and soften the dried tears away.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "Oh, no, I just... I'm trying to fit in, Nori," Jubilee admits, her eyes lowering. It's an awkward sentence for her to say. It's a thought that is completely alien to her. "I don't want to be so alone, you know? You should see how these vampires dress..."

    "Like they only shop at that store at the mall that smells funny and sells halloween masks and fuzzy handcuffs."

    Jubes squirms a little as Nori spit-wipes her cheek. Still, she smiles. "So... I found out, uh, how this happened to me. And who did it," Jubilee explains. Her gaze lifts to watch Nori.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"Jubes.  If you're one," Noriko deftly sidesteps using the v word, "and you like wearing other stuff, maybe there are other scenes where they dress differently?  I mean, you guys live forever right so the single style thing has got to get a little old and make it difficult to blend in right?"

Noriko is undeterred by the squirms, but they do make her grin.  She's quick enough to where she doesn't have to use force to keep Jubes in place...her squirms are just used against her so Noriko doesn't have to move as much to rub.  "What?"  That gives Noriko pause in her efforts.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "Yeah, I guess you're right," Jubilee admits with a shrug. "But I don't want to stick out any more than I already do with them. So, I'm just trying to be like they are."

    When Noriko stops her wiping, Jubilee nods her head and looks down at the stone pathways that line the gardens. "Yeah... I found out," she mutters. "It was a vampire they call The Ancient One." Spoooooooky. "It happened when I was delivering special Burger Joint sauce in the city."

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"Okay," Noriko doesn't press, perhaps because now she knows why Jubilee is doing it /over/ wearing her own clothes.  No need to go encouraging Jubes into upsetting the fashion hierarchy of the immortals.

When the sauce comes up in the story, Noriko's brow arches, but she goes back to cleaning Jubes up, and finishes in a leisurely two seconds.  "Is...is The Ancient One?  Did you meet them?"

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "I wanted to meet him," Jubilation answers, her shoulders tensing up. "I wanted to ask him, you know, 'why' and, I guess, the usual questions. But, I couldn't.... He's dead. Like, dead-dead."

    Jubilee scoots back a little on the bench so she can bring her legs up. She wraps her arms around her legs and hugs them to her chest. "So, now I'll never know," Jubes adds. That's the core of the apple. She'll never be able to ask her maker why he did it.

    "But, um, there's more. I found out that he didn't bite me or feed me his blood or anything like that. He cursed me with a magic spell," Jubilee continues. She rests her chin on her knees. "I know that sounds crazy, but... Try to keep an open mind."

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"Oh," and Noriko suffers a pang of guilt that sprouts from the dregs of feeling slightly relieved that Jubilation's sire is no longer around, especially in light of the unanswered questions.  "You can only find out more about him I guess.  What he was like."  Noriko's clearly unsure if she buys into that as a good idea.  Her mouth purse slightly.

"I mean...you exist.  You died.  So I guess magic is possible too?"  Noriko looks ill at ease for a moment.  "At least some asshole didn't suck on your neck until you were dead."  A shrug.  The speedster has already moved past it.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "Yeah, but isn't it usually a disease or something? I mean, a blood disease. I really wish we payed more attention to those dumb vampire movies..." Jubilee complains. Pause. A smile forms and her head tilts to the side so she can rest her cheek on the speedster's shoulder. "...No, no I don't..." She lets out a soft giggle.

    "John said he's never seen this happen before. Someone turned by a curse," Jubes adds, staring forward at the flowers on display. "I gotta say, I'm pretty...uh... I don't know... Maybe glad? I don't know. Glad that no one, you know, touched me." She uses 'touched' as the universal, single term for everything that might come along with getting embraced by a vampire.

    "I'm kind of scared now... I don't want to go near any of the people the school wants to send. I feel like Doctor Strange is going to do something bad to me. I don't know." She's never met the good doctor before, but the fact that hers is not a medical issue and falls under the realm of magic, she's worried.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"I don't know if it would be classified as a blood disease," Noriko does her best to sound more officious.  "No clue....so, curse.  Aren't things ties to curses?  Like, to do strong magic requires powerful things?  Objects or actions?  I can't imagine what is involved in getting rid of one," Noriko babbles unhelpfully.

"Well did they say who this Doctor Strange guy was?  Why they wanted to take you to him?"

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "He's some kind of sorcerer," Jubilation explains. "I guess they're trying to get him to undo this." She shrugs her shoulders. "What if the curse is broken and I go back to being dead?" It's a horrifying thought.

    Jubilee clears her throat and sits up. "But, I did meet someone else. She's nice and I think she's been like this for a while. She seems to have it under control. She even said that it was a good thing that those vampire hunters broke up that rave. Said it was good for us." Her tone is becoming more hopeful.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
There's a sudden fidgetiness to Noriko.  She swipes at her eyes when Jubilation brings up the possible outcome of the curse being broken.  "I know.  I've had nightmares."  Everyone is rushing so fast to find a cure, but neither girl has had any chance to get use to the new status quo, which is the safest there is.

"All I know is right now we can talk.  We can do..things, we couldn't before.  And you're still alive," and that matters most of all.

"You met another?  How?  Tell me!"  This sparse overview apparently is not enough for the eager speedster.  She swivels down so she can lay her head in Jubes' lap, her legs crossed over the back of the bench.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "At this place in the city. Fangtasia. I thought it was bullshit and, you know, it was for the most part, but there were some of us there, too." Jubilee smiles down at Noriko, reaching out to stroke her hair gently.

    "It was weird, Nori... It was like she was waiting for me. And it was almost like people in there recognized me or something..." Jubes smiles, recalling the kind stranger. "They served blood there like it's just a regular thing you could get. In a glass and everything. And no one died," Jubes adds, beaming. "It was /great/!"

    "It was almost like I could bring you there on a date or something," Jubes adds, laughing a little. A vampire date. How would the others react to her bringing outside food, though?

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"Wait so is this some place that is for posers or for the real deal if you know about it...or like Medieval Times restaurant for your kind or what?"  Because this place is called Fantasia and Noriko's life is infinitely boring compared to Jubes' nightlife.

"What do you mean.  Like they recognized you?  This place sounds like-"  Like it doesn't exist.  "it's too good to be true..."

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "It's both," Jubilee says with a grin. "There were people there who are, like, gothy and edgy and they have a menu of drinks and stuff for them. Vodka and blood orange or something, you know... But then there's some of us in there who are, well, us. I don't even think the wannabes know we're in there. It seems like maybe they think it's just some tourist trap or something."

    "It's /great/... they had blood by type, like, you could get a glass of AB Positive or something! It's like... normal."

    "I don't know... Maybe it was my imagination, but I thought there were people in there that recognized me. Looking at me like they knew me or something..." Jubilation gets caught up in the fantasy of it all, unwilling to pull the dangling thread of Noriko's skepticism.

    "Oh, Nori, we should /go/ there! It's been forever since we've gone out..." Her eyes widen, staring down at the speedster.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"Oh.  Cool.  Blood orange is good," Noriko declares for those who still have tastebuds that care.  "So, you saw how they sourced the blood then?"  Noriko just has to ask, because it sounds like a fantasy.  "Is it animal?  People?  Mutant?  Is it clean?  Fresh?"  Her mind races through all of the criteria.  It doesn't occur to her to just go and sample it, but then who would she take it to?  Hank?  Why?  What kind of excuse does she have for that?

"Sure, but I don't know what to wear so you'll have to help me with that," she spits out readily to the invitation.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "No, I don't know how they get it. I didn't ask," Jubilation answers with a shrug. "But, I dunno, it was..." Jubes struggles for the right words. Describing blood with the words she learned in life is a difficult task. "....It was good. Like, rich. It's not animals."

    "Oh, it was a nice place... But we'll figure out what to wear," Jubes answers with a smile. "But, we should go soon, because if you keep me cooped up here for much longer, I'm going to start thinking you're embarrassed of me." She gives Noriko a gentle shove.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko hmms.  It's a mystery to be solved.  Vetting these places can't happen all in one night, she's deciding right now on the spot as Jubes searches for blood descriptors that sound delicious enough.

"So long as I can wear my kicks." /What/ does Noriko think she's going to be wearing?  "I'm not embarrassed.  I keep wondering where you've gone every night," she says, giving a little gentle shove back.  "Which amounts to waiting for you to tell me is all."

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "You would just worry," Jubilee accuses, grinning a little as she does. "I've been to some rough places... But, you know... it's okay... I'm..." Instead of saying what she is, Jubilee opens her mouth and takes a mock bite out of the air with a quiet 'amrmf' sort of sound as her mouth closes.

    "Yeah, of course you can wear your shoes," Jubes answers, her brow wrinkling a little in confusion. "Or do you mean your sneakers?" She thinks about that for a moment. It /is/ a nice place... But, fuck them.

    "Yeah, you can wear those," Jubilee answers, smiling down at Noriko.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"I would just worry?  I already worry," Noriko says with a little noncommittal roll of her eyes.  Jubilation's mock biting garners a grin out of the speedster.  "I lived in rough places for years Jubes.  And that was without food or the ability to regulate myself.  I think I can handle myself."

"Yeah.  Everything else just hurts," Noriko explains.  "Or falls apart."  As if women weren't wearing things that are falling apart and hurt every day in some shape or form.  "Cool.  Maybe we'll get it to work with my outfit," that' awfully optimistic.

"So...when do we get to go?...and are you doing online shopping?  Is this why nothing is fitting you right?"  Noriko asks blatantly.  "And I don't mean your jeans.  Your jeans fit you."  Noriko doesn't know how to grammatically put what she means, so she just awkwardly leaves it at that.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "No... Nori, no. You don't understand," Jubilee pushes back softly. "You're food to them, don't you get it?" Jubilee hesitates, choking a little on her words, as she never quite explained to Noriko what that rave was like. What it's like to be in a room full of vampires. "I know you can take care of yourself, but... You're not going to have to," she adds. "Because no one is getting near you."

    It's a pretty obvious way of saying 'I'm going to protect you' without having to actually say it. Saying it would probably end in an endless circle of arguing over who's protecting whom.

    Noriko's point about everything but sneakers hurting gets a little bit of a laugh from Jubilee. "Nori..." she starts, still laughing. She's about to make some comment about how everyone knows that sneakers are comfortable but, you know, suck it up... But, a record screech happens inside Jubilee's brain.

    "What do you mean nothing is fitting me?" she asks suddenly, staring down at Noriko.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"Jubes, I know.  I'm not dressing for them.  I'm dressing for me."  Noriko rolls her eyes.  "I know I'm food.  I'm basically like a big fuck you to everyone in the room who can't have me.  Which means someone is going to try.  I want to stay nimble.  Just in case."  She can't let it go.  Perhaps she's been caged too many times.  The thought of being cut off from her freedom is terrifying.  "It's not you," Noriko tries to explain something she doesn't fully understand, and only gets that far.

"I don't know.  You get stuff from the store and like, look, my butt never fills anything out.  Just normal stuff."  Noriko streeeeetches, lifting her arms up and out, then curling up around Jubilation at the end of it.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Noriko's answer isn't even close to good enough. It was like a total dodge of the question. "No. Not normal. My clothes aren't fitting me right?" Jubes repeats. "What kind of a thing is that to say? I ask you on a date and you ask me if I've been online shopping because my clothes don't fit?"

    Suddenly, Jubilee is standing, sending Noriko to wherever the motion happens to. "Oh, forget it," she decides, stalking out of the student gardens and back to the apartment housing.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"I thought it was clear we were going and I just wanted to know where you got your clothes b-" but saying it out loud back to herself, Noriko suddenly realizes what actually came out of her mouth.  "Jubes-"  But Jubilation is already stalking out of the gardens.

"Wait!  I didn't-I-I'm sorry."  Augh.  The speedster is on her feet.  "Jubes-...I'm such an idiot," she sighs to last bit to herself.