429/A Little Sun and Sand and Hopefully No Lectures

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A Little Sun and Sand and Hopefully No Lectures
Date of Scene: 16 August 2014
Location: New York-199999
Synopsis: Impromptu ICE CREAM PARTY at Tony's.... and he didn't get any.
Cast of Characters: Maya, 20, 43, 136, 143, 194, Steve Rogers, 279, 411, Blurr, 541


Marrik (541) has posed:
"Well that is a flippin huge house." Marrik muttered as he slowly rode his bike up to the Stark household. His brief convrosation with JARVIS at the gate was interesting and thankfully brief. As he walked up to thw house proper he wore a dusty brown canvas coat, scuffed boots, and was afraid of actually afraid of touching anything because of how dirty his clothes were. Door open and he just.... stared at the house. He could guess at what some of the space was for but it was both modern architecture, which he had little experiance with, and he has seen smaller public buildings. "Hello?" He stepped out of his boots and left them by the door, "Toph? Anyone home?"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    If Marrik thinks /his/ clothes are dirty... well, he probably wouldn't want to know what sorts of arguments Pepper Potts had with the young earthbender the first times she came over to visit.

    The first living creature to greet Marrik is not Toph, but a black cat that rushes down the stairs from the second floor, peering at him with golden eyes. It should be easy to spot that it belongs here, judging by its red collar and the unique tag on it... a red and golden colored helmet. And as the feline studies the guest, a young girl, barely in her teens, comes from the living room area. Her black hair is partially messy, and judging by her slacks and oversized t-shirt, she isn't exactly too prim and proper. But there is an impish grin on her young face. "So you're Marrik, huh?" She never forgets a voice, after all. And it should be easy enough for him to recognize her voice as well. "Come on in, I was just slacking off here in the living room."

    As Toph heads into the living room, the black cat follows her, hurrying along and briefly pressing up against her leg with a soft 'meow'.

Marrik (541) has posed:
Marrik headtilted at the cat and followed the youth further into the, frankly palatial compared to other homes he's seen, home. "Well I expect earth working would leave you wearing most of it." He gave a small chuckle, carefully avoiding the furniture. "So this is Stark's home? Not like a receiving area for business or anything?"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Toph nods her head slightly. "Yeah, his own home. Not many people are allowed here, but Union guests are okay. And since I'm an officer I'm also making sure you stick with the rules." She shrugs. "The ones that matter anyway." So yeah, his home.

    "Sometimes he does do work from the office and all, but there's also Stark Tower in New York that's kinda the seat of business, I guess..." Toph reaches down to pet the cat a bit, then turns to Marrik. "So you brought board games, you say?" And tea? At least it would be amusing.

Blurr has posed:
    Toph could probably feel Blurr coming from a bit of a distance off, given her sensitivity to the earth beneath her feet, and to metal as well. And also his sheer size. In fact, as he approaches she can feel the earth trembling slightly.

    Thus, she probably isn't surprised when the hover speeder suddenly pulls up in front of the house, coming to an abrupt halt before the front doors. The vehicle quickly unfolds, plates shifting and gears turning as the speedster stands up into his biped form and peers into the windows. He's got...something in his hand.

Marrik (541) has posed:
Marrik nodded and picked a coffee table togently clear things off of then- "What was?" Marrik frouned mid pulling a thermos out of his coat. He frowned as he stood, not sure what the rumble signified, looking to Toph for cues on normalcy of this.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    "Mister Blurr," Jarvis intones quite calmly, "I am afraid that the house will not accommodate your size. Might I suggest you move to the patio?" It says a lot when even Tony Stark's house is too small for you.

    Meanwhile Toph blinks, then grins. "Seems we got another guest!" she states, then hurries towards the balcony doors leading out to the patio and pool area. Once outside she calls out. "YO! SPEEDSTER! Back here!" Her hand also gestures for Marrik to follow her. "Have a seat. I can go get some mugs or something."

Marrik (541) has posed:
Contrast Toph's energetic bouncing around with Marrik's careful picking his way through the house. This was both due to unfamilliar and because he was afraid of breaking anything. As he walked he juggled the thermos and started pulling out a pair of painted tin mugs to set down on the patio table. Tea was dark, smelled strong, likely honey sweetened, and a few faint hints of other smells in the tea. He breathed in deep after lifting his mug.... only to almost drop it on seeing Blur. No words. None? His brain came up empty. Checked out. Vacant Stare. Buh-Bye.

Blurr has posed:
    Blurr nods at Jarvis' suggestion. "Sure, I could always use holomatter, but since the weather is clear and nice why not?" He brightens when Toph calls out to him, and in a flash he's sped around the side of the house and is standing in front of the patio and pool in the back.

    "Hey Rocket I brought you some of that cream stuff you know the stuff you were devouring the other cycle it seemed like you really liked it so I thought you could use more!" he holds up a large plastic case. Given that he can hold it in his hand easily, without crushing it or having it slip through his fingers, it's -huge-. He sets it down with a PLUNK onto the patio.

    ...yeah, it's about 4 times the size of Toph. He opens it, and carbon dioxide fumes rush out. Inside are like fifty tubs of chocolate, vanilla, marble, and neopolitan ice cream. And a bunch of bags of dry ice. He tilts his head Marrik. "Who's your friend?"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Toph seems rather pleased that there are more people showing up, and she cranes her head back to grin up at Blurr, showing none of the surprise or worry that Marrik might have. Then again, she's more used to the multiverse and all. Not even his quick speech seems to distress her. "Heya! Wait, you did what n--"

    As the large case drops down onto the patio, Toph blinks. That... is huge.

    She blinks and reaches over to touch the case. "This is... filled with ice cream?" she asks. "How the heck are we supposed to eat it all?" Maybe Marrik will eat some once he gets over the shock, but still. The blind girl pulls out her radio and quickly talks on the channel, all before she walks over to Marrik. "Yes, that is a large robot. But he's on our team. Marrik, meet Blurr. Speedster, meet mister Eloquent."

Haru (143) has posed:
    Haru probably noticed Toph and her guests come out onto the patio. He's been taking Toph's orders to heart, and has been practicing his sandbending! Which means he's been making a mess on the beach. The 'waves' of sand could probably be seen from the house even.

    But eventually Haru's going to have to take a rest. It just so happens that when he does come in from the beach, it's right about then. "Hello," he offers to those present. He's a little out of breath, it looks like.

Marrik (541) has posed:
"Hello," Marrik's voice was soft as he stared up st Blurr. The voice was familliar but. "Breed 'em big back where you're from huh?" He shook his head then looked at the ice cream freezer. "Got a place near me that mixes on a frozen stone slab." Focus on the ice cream. Focus because thst means ignore the gisnt thing. "Is any of that rockey road?"

Blurr has posed:
    "Hmm. Sort of, but I don't know if 'breed' is the right word." Blurr says in response to Marrik's question. "More like build." There's a pause as Toph introduces them. "Oh, Marrik. I think I talked to you on my comm earlier." He frowns. "Oh, slag, is this too much?" he asks, reconsidering the giant crate. It hadn't seemed that large to him, obviously.

Steve Rogers has posed:
It is not ice cream alone that draws Steve Rogers hither, to paraphrase a certain book.

After the fight at the shrine, SHIELD needed him on some other assignments, and he's spent most of the nearly-a-week since the shrine in various areas of the field, dismantling HYDRA remnants and other clusters of bad guys. So he hasn't had the chance to catch up with Toph and see how she's doing - but hearing her speak up, with the general offer of ice cream, while he was already on the road? Too good to pass up.

Fortunately, he'd already taken the time to change back into civvies, and it's as such that Steve Rogers' chopper purrs its way up Tony's driveway; he parks it beside some of Tony's cars and dismounts, shouldering his big leather backpack on the way over to the patio, identifying himself to JARVIS along the way. "Hey Toph, Blurr, Haru," he greets the people he knows. then waves and nods to Marrik (an unfamiliar face) and Maxine (same).

Maxine Sandberg (279) has posed:
Malibu was quite a change from Maine as Maxine arrives. She doesn't remember being here before, well there's a first time for everything. She looks around to see who is here as she makes her way out onto the patio. "Good evening everyone." She looks at the ice cream freezer and is a bit surprised by the size of it. "How many people are you expecting?"

Marrik (541) has posed:
It's strange the details you notice in unfamilliar situations. For instance in spite of the giant sentient robot, ice creem freezer, and Tony's hand designed palace Marrik noticed Steve pull up. Something about motercycles appealed to him since unification. He offered the First Avenger a calloused hand, "Hello there."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    My my, if it isn't her student! Toph arches an eyebrow as the older earthbender heads up towards the house. "Done, Birdie?" she asks. Hmmm, it sounds like he's been working actively... "Cool down with some ice cream before you go down for round 2." At least ice cream is bound to help, right? "How's it going down there anyway?"

    Right. If more people are coming over, then she should get some bowls and spoons, right? Blurr's question earns a shrug. "It isn't if enough people show up and help eat it all. Besides, it's a good excuse to get people together. Most people love ice cream." And hey, if she has been mostly out of it for two weeks, it's a good way to catch up with her friends, right? Of course it is.

    As more people arrive, Jarvis lets them in after letting them know that the people are to go to the patio for the ice cream. And of course Toph can't help but beam. "Heya Cap!" she greets him with a brief salute. Sure, she might have lost some weight over the two weeks she was out of it and barely ate, but she seems like her normal self. Maxine also earns a rough pat on the shoulder as Toph passes by her. "As many as we get, we're gonna need it if we're gonna finish up most of this ice cream. We'll just have to put the rest in the freezer... hang on, I'll get some bowls and spoons!" And with that she heads inside, rushing off to the kitchen.

Rarity (136) has posed:
Did someone mention ice cream? Did someone mention PARTY?.. Okay, no one actually mentioned party per say, but they did mention a lot of ice cream, and what else do you do with a lot of ice cream in need of being eaten but throw an ice cream eating party? Come on people, it's not that hard of logic.

And that is why there is abruptly a "Hi Toph!" when a certain pink curly maned pony seems to appear over the earthbender's shoulder with no warning. Relax, it's the happy-go-lucky not mask wearing Pinkie Pie. Who's eyes just go wiiiiiiiide and sparkly at the massive cooler of ice cream that was brough. Her voice goes into a rare dip of being almost -quiet- out of awe. "It's.. so beautiful... BONZAI!" And quickly ruins her own moment by grabbing a bowl and spoon and taking off to help herself.

She isn't by herself however, as a few moments later ponies that can't seem to bend the laws of nature to appear out of rediculously empty spaces have to actually walk from the warp gates, arrive. "My goodness, that -is- a lot of ice cream." Is all Rarity really has to say at the sight.
Then wobbles a bit as three foals run past her with the declaration of "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS EMERGENCY ICE CREAM EATERS YAAAAAAY!" as they hurry to get some before Pinkie Pie eats it all.

Haru (143) has posed:
    Haru waves to Steve as well. "Hello," he offers in return. He also offers a wave to Maxine, who he doesn't know. Toph's question gets a nod. "For the time being. I've gotten a little better at it, but I still need work." Anything else he might have said is cut off as SUDDENLY PONIES! It startles him a bit and he raises a hand, as if in defense. "Wha..." Blink. Blinkblink.

Marrik (541) has posed:
Marrik simply stared at the ponies in mild amusement. The market taught him beings came in all manner of size and shape, it's just Blurr was decidedly very huge. He shrugged and rummaged around in his coat, arm going in each pocket up to his elbow. "No.... no....." His frown became more pronounced as he couldnt find what he was looking for, "Nuts and flatbread don't go with ice cream." He continued searching his pockets, at one point pulling out a live chicken and just staring at it before setting it down. "No idea how you got there but out you go."

Blurr has posed:
    Blurr nods in greeting to the new arrivals. At least 'too much' isn't a problem any more! Maxine, Steve, Haru, and...whatever those other mammalian things are, show up. Well, there's one thing that remains constant in all the chaos of the Multiverse--the fact that good food always attracts organics. Or really anyone who can make use of it.

    "Uh, hey Rocket do you know those things? I mean, those people um whatever they are?" he asks, staring blankly at the ponies. "Are they your pets?" He thought they vaguely resembled some animal native to Earth.

Steve Rogers has posed:
Steve pauses, watching the ponies stampede by.

TALKING ponies.

A bunch of them. And they eat ice cream. Apparently they love it.

Steve shakes it off, though, to shake hands with Marrik. "Steve Rogers," he introduces himself. "US Army captain, Union ensign, or you can just call me 'Steve' if you'd rather."

Then he walks over to Toph - actually heading inside after her, possibly to help get dishes and spoons, or meeting her on her way back. "You're looking well, considering what you've been through. How're you feeling?"

He'll get back to the ponies in a moment.

Marrik (541) has posed:
"Marrik Broom, Store owner and Spirit Medium." Steve had a friendly feel about him. His attention turned to the ponies and gengerly tapped the white unicorn with the purple mane on the shoulder, possibly wonering if it was real. He saw the horn and could only whisper a single word, "Unicorn...."

Maxine Sandberg (279) has posed:
Maxine giggles a bit as she hears the Cutie Mark Crusaders and waves back to Haru. "Yes, I think Pinkie Pie alone will put a dent in the in the ice cream." The pony has enough energy to power a city. Having too much no longer seems like an issue. "Hello Rarity, it's been a while. How has business been?" She smiles upon hearing her friend's voice.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    There are few people who can sneak up on the blind earthbender. But there are a few... And among them, Pinkie Pie.

    The earthbending master startles, pale eyes going wide in surprise as the pink mare calls her name, and she staggers as she's working on getting bowls from the cupboard above the sink. "Oh, hi Pinkie," she greets, remembering the energetic party pony from when she decorated for her birthday party earlier that year. "It's not going to eat itself, so hey, grab a spoon," she encourages with a smirk. At least they have some decent help in getting rid of the ice cream now. And well, she recognizes Rarity easily enough... not to mention the three fillies that follows her. Man, it's been ages since she met them. Well, better drag these bowls out! And hey, Steve is there to help? Like she will say no to that. She hands some bowls to him. The question earns a shrug. "Still feel kinda tired... Pepper told me to relax and take it easy for a few days, Goldie's relaxing and just doing minor stuff, and Pepper is taking it easy since her ankle got a fracture..." Yeah, she has been through a lot, huh? And she wasn't awake for any of it from what she can recall. "I'll be fine," she assures him.

    With the necessary items in hand Toph hurries back outside, then begins handing out bowls and spoons, practically shoving them into their hands. Or hooves. "Here we go! Eat as much as you want as long as you can keep it down, got it? We have a serious task ahead of us!" she orders. At Blurr's question she blinks, then shakes her head. "They are allies from Equestria. Awesome place. That's Pinkie, best party pony ever," she begins, pointing out Pinkie as she's helping herself to the ice cream, then Toph gestures to Rarity. "Rarity, Miss High Fashion herself, and these three are the Cutie Mark Crusaders." The latter three are given bowls and spoons. "We're counting on you guys, earn those cutie marks!" Ice cream cutie marks would be kinda sweet, she guesses.

Rarity (136) has posed:
People stare at brightly colored, capable of talking Ponies. But this point said Ponies have gotten use to it. Pinkie Pie doesn't need a bowl, she pulled her own from within the space defying curls of her mane. Somehow. Like people said, it's just best not to ask. The trio take the bowls from Toph with a chorus of "Thank you!" and dig in.

Rarity gives Blurr a bit of a look at the 'pet' remark, but someone else explains so she lets it slide. For her, it's not the first Transformer she's seen.

If people thought talking colorful ponies was different... What are they going to think when Rarity uses her magic to hold the bowl and spoon instead of her hooves? Then again, magic is probably -less- strange, considering the Multiverse. She scoops a bit of ice cream and 'nom nom nom' it (with actual nom nom nom sound to boot), then pauses at the poke. Turns her head a little to look at the.... scruffy dressed man. "Yes, I am a unicorn." Eyes roll to where she was poked, as if making sure he didn't smudge her coat or something.

Marrik (541) has posed:
Marrik pulled his hand back and looked at his fingertips. Unicorns were legendary beasts of purity and hope. Not.... going om nom nom at ice cream. Then again legend also said they were cloven hooved, had lion tails, and were impossible to catch.

He shrugged and took a bowl. That Rarity talked didnt bother him, and her magic even less. However he couldnt figure out /how/ her mafic was working, "Fine manipulation of raw kenetic force?" He didn't realize he asked that out loud as the chocolste in his bowl started melting.

Steve Rogers has posed:
"Good to know they're doing all right too," Steve nods to Toph, taking the bowls, and carrying them out as he accompanies Toph back to the patio. He really does need to catch up with the rest of the group. Maybe Tony and/or Pepper will come home from work during the impromptu ice cream social?

He assists in handing out bowls as well, including to the ponies, despite a quizzical look as Toph gives their names. "Pinkie Pie ... Rarity ... and - sorry, do you three have separate names?" he asks the terrible trio, looking a bit sheepish.

He also gets in line (if there IS a line) to get some ice cream for himself ... but he's content to let everyone else go first, at least everyone who's *here* already.

Marrik (541) has posed:
Poor Marrik keeps getting to meet legends, or giants. What's next, legendary giants? He took a couple steps back and offered Steve the bowl he'd gotten for himself but apparently hadn't touched. "US Army huh? I know it's a bit old but that's my bike out front." The olive drab one with the white star on it, "Know much about how they work? I keep having engine problems."

Rarity (136) has posed:
Rarity gives the man a bit of a look. She's no Twilight Sparkle, but her finess with unicorn telekinesis gives her more than enough of an understanding of that specific kind of magic. "That is one way of describing it, yes." She's -really- tempted to say something about how he's dressed, but fortunately, Maxine speaking up diverts her attention to a more appropriate conversation topic. "Oh it is going just splendidly, dahling. It has been quite the prolific summer for Equestrian fashion. More ponies have been visiting other parts of the Multiverse, and wanting things they've seen adapted to fit our," she pauses to waggle a foreleg, "different physiques."

Applebloom and Scootaloo pause to look at each other. "What does 'prolific' mean?," the young pegasus finally asks. "Ya'll got me," the Apple foal replies. "It means she's had a lot of work to do but it has been mostly of a profitable nature." Applebloom... just continues to stare. "... Raight." Scootaloo slaps a forehoof to her face. "Great, she's being a dictionary again." Sweetie Belle hmphs in an almost perfect mimicry of her sister, save a lot cuter. "You're the one who asked!"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Huh, seems like Marrik really isn't used to the whole multiverse thing. "Would you like it if somebody poked /you/ and asked silly questions?" Toph asides, arching an eyebrow. Hint hint, not a good idea to treat people, whether they have two legs or four, like they are freaks.

    "Less talking, more ice cream eating!" she commands of the fillies, then begins taking some ice cream for herself. "Sooo... anything new in the Union? I haven't caught up with the reports just yet, not even the ones that Goldie has been making from my world." Hey, she's a slow reader, okay? "Has the WMAT been any fun?" It so sucks that she missed most of that. She shoves a bowl into Haru's hands. "Get something to cool yourself down with."

Maxine Sandberg (279) has posed:
"I'm glad to hear that, I've been rather busy myself. Which is good for business, but I do need to spend more time with Annie. I would have brought her with me, but I think she was already at a friend's house." Maxine's sure she would have enjoyed this.

Her attention turns towards Marrik, "I could have a look at it, but if he's with the millitary he's likely more familiar with it." She can't help but to overhear the conversation as she gets herself some ice cream.

Blurr has posed:
    "Equestria, eh?" Blurr quirks a brow ridge at the strange creatures. Seriously, they really did look like pets, to him, anyway. There appear to be a lot of those things here, now. "They must really like the...ice cream."

    He watches everyone dig in, and realizes now that that size of a crate was definitely too large for one little Toph. Still, it was a good excuse to a little party, and everyone seems to be enjoying themselves. He sits down, the ground shaking slightly again when he does. The speedster watches the young fillies banter. "So uum...are those your offspring then?" he inquires of Rarity.

Rainbow Dash (43) has posed:
"Has it ever!" There's very little warning to a certain tomboyish voice coming from directly behind Toph. After all, Rainbow Dash doesn't make much noise when she's hovering a couple of feet off of the ground. Those narrow, yet long wings aren't flapping very hard, or very fast, so even the sound of them isn't very loud. It's probably her idea of pranking people. The cyan pegasus grins brightly as she glides past Toph and come down for a landing. "WMAT's been totally awesome! Sucks that I didn't get to fight this year, but I got to commentate on some seriously cool fights."

Both of those wings flip back against Rainbow's side. She lifts up a forehoof, waving it at the group. "Hey guys! So what's this I hear about free ice cream?"

Almost on cue, Scootaloo perks up. "Is that Rainbow Dash?!" She lifts a forehoof, eagerly waving it at the rainbow maned pegasus. And probably earning groans from her friends. "HI RAINBOW DASH!"

Steve Rogers has posed:
Steve raises his free hand to wave to Rainbow Dash - the one pony whom he *does* recognize, although they didn't have a chance to socialize when they were in the middle of fighting an emotion-eater. And now that Rainbow Dash is present along with Rarity and Pinkie Pie and the three fillies, it seems that he's able to make the connections between them better.

For now, though, he's dishing up some ice cream for himself, and seemingly not being *too* picky about what flavors are available - whatever's most convenient, really. "This might still be more ice cream than we can all eat together, but we'll see," he muses.

Rarity (136) has posed:
At the mention of spending time with Annie, Rarity reachs over with a forehoof to ruffle Sweetie Belle's curls lightly. "It is important to make time when you can" Then goes back to her bowl of ice cream, dainty like.

Which isn't enough to stop her from nearly gagging on the bite when Blurr speaks up again. "SPFFFF" You can't really spittake with ice cream, though.

Pinkie Pie peers down from where she's sat herself on top of the ice cream freezer. "You two do look alike, you know. Family resemblence."

"SHE'S MY YOUNGER SISTER!" Rarity looks down right mortified. Being the closest and not dirty person to her conversation Maxine ends up being the one the unicorn grapples with her forehooves and shakes lightly. "Do I look like I'm old enough to have foals? Do I?!"

Sweetie Belle... just rolls her eyes and goes back to eating ice cream at Rarity's melodramatics.

Twilight Sparkle (411) has posed:
     "Actually, we like the friendship as much as the ice cream." says Twilight Sparkle as she trots up. She waves to the other ponies and smiles. "Hello everyone! I didn't realize all of Ponyville had come to the party." she says with a giggle. Atop her back is Spike, the cute little purple and green dragon. He is about the size of the fillies, and seems quite happy to be having ice cream. As soon as he is in range, he hops off of Twilight's back and heads toward the ice cream.

     That is, until Spike sees Rarity. "Oh! Hey Rarity!" he calls out happily before picking up a container of ice cream and a spoon and heading in her direction. Mmm, ice cream.

     When Rarity attempts to spittake, both Spike and Twilight stare at Blurr, then Spike bursts out laughing, and even Twilight giggles politely. But, when Rarity freaks out, Spike is there in a split second. "Of course not, Rarity! If anything, she looks like your older sister!" he says. So helpful.

Marrik (541) has posed:
Marrik looked over at Rarity and handwobbled, "I'm not going to answer because you lot are the first chstty horses I've had a chance to meet." Beat. "Plus i've been around enough women that two questions are to be dodged at all costs. 'Do I look fat,' and 'do I look old', because there is no answer that will not have an argument." That said he started picking through the freezer of ice cream looking for Faruja's orange carton.

When he looked up, prize in hand, he looked at Twilight and wuirked an eyebrow. However instead of saying anything else he walked inside. Stark's fridge would be a boxy cold thing right?

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    The sound of the pegasus pony from above and behind catches Toph's attention, and she grins. "Heya Rainbow, glad you could make it!" She stuffs her spoon into the ice cream and points to some of the bowls and spoons that are left on the table. "Help yourself, there's tons of it and we gotta eat enough of it so we can fit the rest into the freezer!" There's bound to be enough left over for weeks here. Or days, at least. "I even missed two of the freaking finals," Toph mutters. "And it broke my combo on commenting on all of Cave Hopper's fights too, damnit." Next year? "Oh, next year I /will/ win!" she states determinedly. At least get past round one.

    Man. Blurr really doesn't get how most people and ponies are related, huh? "Yes, you do look old enough," Toph says, keeping her expression dead pan as she eats more of her ice cream."

    Even more ponies! Toph grins as Twilight and her little dragon arrives, and she waves. "Heya! Grab a bowl and get eating!"

Blurr has posed:
    When Rarity freaks out, Blurr recoils slightly, optics widening a little. Okay, well she was quite dramatic. And no, the Autobot really -doesn't- understand this whole family relationships thing. Understanding siblings and biological parents was enough, thank you.

    "Uh well you know I have absolutely no idea," the speedster answers Rarity's question. "I mean, they're smaller, and they act less mature, and you were with them so Ijust assumed you might be their parent or guardian or something."

    His interest is piqued at the mention of a competition, though. "WMAT? What's that? Is that some kind of competition?" Because he loves racing, and all that.

    As for the ice cream crate, even with this many people there will probably still be quite a few leftovers for quite some time. Hopefully Tony's house can accommodate.

Maxine Sandberg (279) has posed:
Maxine gets shaken a bit by Rarity, "Of course not. I'm sure it was just an honest mistake." She does her best to reassure her friend and hugs her a bit. "Besides, I'm technically old enough to be a grandmother myself." She would be a rather young one but it would true. If she could have children by biological means that is. "Hello Twilight and Rainbow Dash." She greets the other ponies as they arrive.

Rainbow Dash (43) has posed:
Rainbow Dash's wings do not stay against her back for very long. Maybe about twenty seconds max, before they flare out again. The pegasus takes off, speeding up to the large supply of ice cream. "Whoa, I haven't seen this much ice cream in, well, ever! I'm not gonna ask," She zips down to grab a bowl and get in the line, "I'm just going to dig in!" She catches sight of Twilight as she passes, and grins. "Hey Twi, hey Spike! Here to chill off too, huh?"

"It's this awesome tournament thing," Rainbow tells Blurr, "With wicked cool fighters from all over the place! I went up against Serori the first year." She wrinkles her nose, "She beat me, but only JUST."

Marrik (541) has posed:
As Marrik followed Toph he let out a low whistle, "So me visiting has tumbled down into half the union stopping by." He still seemed hesitent about getting near anything. "Now would be a bad time with so much company but I'd like to see how bending works. One thing to read theory, another to see it."

Rarity (136) has posed:
Between the reassurance from Spike and Maxine, Marrik being smart enough not to answer, and Blurr explaining his assumption; Rarity at least calms down. "Mmm... I suppose it is a difficult matter for your mechanical kind to grasp." At least Blurr doesn't talk like Sky Lynx. Hoo boy. And they claim she's the one that likes to talk about herself.

.. Wait, Spike is here?.. That dawning on her draws her attention to noticing the other ponies that have arrived as well. "Oh, hello dahlings, I didn't see you arrive."

Rainbow Dash (43) has posed:
Rainbow Dash also waves a hoof at Steve as she passes. "Hey, Cap! Sweet moves with the shield the other day!"

Marrik (541) has posed:
"Oh..." Marrik sat the ice cream carton he'd grabbed down as he heard what was going on in Union chatter. "JASRVIS. Uh look I gotta go." Doesn't matter he's not a proper doctor. He's seen more plague and infection than most specislists. Cue him headed for the front door followed by his bike stsrting up and roaring out of the front gate. It's only then he realized he didn't know where this kid was.

Rorschach (194) has posed:
    Well, it's not entirely clear how the dark-clad figure actually managed to make his way out to the cliffside residence, or how he even know there was some kind of get-together out here. Of course, there's also the question of why exactly he'd even want to go to the party in the first place.

    "Huh?" grunts the figure, as a mechanical-sounding voice says something to him when he starts banging on the door. Probably something about the perfect functionality of the doorbell.

    The inkblot-masked man just bangs on the door some more.

Blurr has posed:
    Blurr listens to Rainbow's descriptions of WMAT. "Fighter, huh? Any racing?" he's definitely interested. Then there's banging on the front door. "Oh Toph I think there's someone else at the door. Wow, you must be popular." he chuckles. "So they want an earthbending demonstration, huh? Think you're up for another 'training' session then?" He asks, grinning and with that tone of voice Toph would just -know- what he's thinking of right now.

Steve Rogers has posed:
"Were you expecting more company?" Steve asks Toph as he hears the banging on the door. "If it's a salesman, I'll go encourage him to fill his quota elsewhere ... and see you around, Marrik," he adds as the 'specialist' makes his departure.

Then he heads around to the front door. "Can I help you?" he calls out to the guy who's banging on Stark's door.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Toph was just about to sit down in one of the chairs on the patio, but that's when Marrik speaks to her and catches her attention. "Huh? You want to see some bending?" she asks and turns her face slightly towards him. Heh, why not? Toph shrugs, then blinks when he announces that he will have to go. "Well, I'll show you later, buddy." It's not like he won't get to see it sooner or later, right?

    At the front entrance, Jarvis lets out a breathless sigh. "Mister Rorschach, I suggest you treat Mister Stark's residence with more respect. As I said, please step back and I will open the door for you." And behold, the door does open. Steve is given a reassurance. "This man is an ally of the Union, one mister Rorschach." The sound of Unionites further in shouldn't be easy to miss. And Toph herself blinks, heading inside as her feet pick up the familiar shape of...

    "Inky! Hey, you here for some ice cream too?" she grins, gesturing for him to join them on the patio.

    Blurr's comment does earn an arched eyebrow from Toph. "I dunno if Goldie would like us making a race track around his house... but hey, since it's a party..." Toph raises her right foot, then slams her heel into the patio floor, and in response something rises from the pool. Within seconds, there's a pool slide in the middle of the water there, and Toph gestures to it. "Kick loose, guys." She's not about to join them in the water.

Rarity (136) has posed:
... Rarity just lets out a soft groan as someone mentions RACING to RAINBOW DASH, and resumes eating her ice cream. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle look at each other, and then look expectantly at Scootaloo. You can almost see them counting down in their heads... well, Sweetie Belle is. Applebloom isn't tremendously great with math. That's Big Mac's department on the farm.

Rorschach (194) has posed:
    "Artificial intelligence refuses to unlock the door," grunts a gruff-sounding voice, when Steve calls out the door.

    "Don't require computers to operate doors," grunts the trenchcoater, in Jarvis' voicebox's direction. He does step inside, though, after the AI lets him in. He jams his hands into his pocket, as he spots Toph, and heads out towards the patio. "Ice cream?" he grunts.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    "Yeah, ice cream," Toph repeats, then gestures over to the large container that Blurr brought with him. It's huge, four times Toph's size and filled with ice cream and freezing components to keep it all cool. The ice cream are all in many different flavours, and even if there are many people and ponies present, there's still lots of ice cream left. Not that they haven't been trying to eat a lot of it and given their all!

Maxine Sandberg (279) has posed:
"I didn't bring a swimsuit." Maxine points out and she certainly isn't getting in the pool without one. Especially with everyone present. She wonders what made Marrik leave all of a sudden. She would have to ask him about the motorcycle later. She resumes eating her ice cream as well now that things have seemed to calm down.

Marrik (541) has posed:
After several long moments where Marrik realized not only did he not know where this kid was but also the situation was already taken care of he looped his bike around to return to the stark palace/compound/house/bunker that currently was playing host to huge ice cream party.

Steve Rogers has posed:
Steve comes to a dead halt as Toph reveals that she *knows* this guy. And apparently, JARVIS recognizes him too. "'Rorschach,' huh ..." he says, sounding a bit skeptical - but he offers the stranger a handshake anyway. "You German?" he inquires, his tone more or less cordial now that he knows Rorschach is a friendly. If the handshake offer is rebuffed, he doesn't seem to take it poorly - just heads back outside, grimacing a little at the sudden appearance of a pool slide, but otherwise keeping a relaxed demeanor.

Rorschach (194) has posed:
    The masked figure looks over in the direction of the large ice cream container that Toph's indicated, and studies it for a few moments. He starts to head in that direction, until Steve stops, and greets him.

    "No," is his gruff, simple reply. He looks down, as Cap offers a handshake, as though considering. Probably just as he's about to retract his hand, the trenchcoated figure pulls a gloved hand from his pocket, and takes the offered handshake.

Rainbow Dash (43) has posed:
"Blegh, no," Rainbow Dash sticks out her tongue. "But how cool would that be!?" With a flap of her wings, Rainbow Dash lifts off again and performs a quick, enthusiastic loop around Blurr. "I'd totally kick some serious tail if they had actual racing in it!" She lifts her head up cockily. "I mean, I'm only the-"

Just about then, Scootaloo pops up in front of Rainbow Dash. "The coolest, fastest, most awesome pony ever!" She interupts, bouncing eagerly. "She could beat anyone in ten seconds flat!" Little wings buuzzzzz with excitement, but the little orange pegasus doesn't actually very far off of the ground. "No one can compare!"

"Heh, no one in Ponyville anyway!" Rainbow Dash says, her cocky grin faltering a little. She's already run up against people from the multiverse who are faster than her.

The pounding at the door briefly catches Dash's attention. She twists around, peering over her shoulder. "Sweet! Cool mask!" Then a grin at Toph. "Ice cream AND a pool? Now we're talking!"

Marrik (541) has posed:
Once he pulled back up to Stark's home Marrik went through the door, thanking JARVIS for being pleasent even with the huge number of unannounced guests. When he heard 'pool' mentioned just as he got back out on the porch he shook his head, "Got a change of clothes, but kinda not wanting to swim, sorry." He looked over at Rorschach and hrmed thoughtfully.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Hey, who knew? Inky /can/ act like a civilized being! Toph grins and flops down into a chair, bringing her legs up as she works on finishing up her bowl. And she even grins upon hearing that one of the Cutie Mark Crusaders is a total Rainbow Dash fangirl. "Rainbow /is/ pretty fast, Speedster. Wish I could catch the two of you racing. Maybe if she had some metal on her or something, then I could follow that..." Hmmm. That is a thought.

    "And yeah, of course Goldie has a pool! He has to have somewhere to work on a tan, right?" the blind girl says with a shrug. At that time, Jarvis speaks up on one of the speakers at the patio area. "This is also where Miss Beifong's swi--"

    "That is enough of that, Jarvis!" Toph snaps, cutting him off with a grumble. And a slightly sour look on her face.

Rorschach (194) has posed:
    When he's addressed by the talking pony, Rorschach just kinda stares a moment. And being stared at by Rorschach is not a good thing. Those black splotches of ink slowly swirl, as he eyes the creature, and listens to it for a few moments.

    "Ridiculous.." the man grunts.

Marrik (541) has posed:
"And yet there it is." Marrik smiled warmly, reaching out to offer a hand to the trench coated figure. The smell didn't bother him, mostly because he's been stomping around sewers for years. It was noticable, but no more than that to him. "Personal theory is the multiverse delights in punching prrconceptions about reality in the face.

Steve Rogers has posed:
Steve reclaims his bowl of ice cream from earlier, and - in the interests of leaving seats open for others who may need (or want) to sit more than he does - just leans against a pillar or something, careful not to lean too heavily on it. He didn't bring swimming trunks, sadly ... but then he didn't think the pool would be open, and he didn't have time to go back to his apartment for anything -

Although on that note, he makes sure his backpack is still where he put it down earlier.

Blurr has posed:
    "I take it you don't like water?" Blurr asks, once Toph seems to rudely interrupt Jarvis' statement about Miss Beifong and swimming, presumably. He glances at the makeshift slide, which is empty for now.

    And then the one Equestrian who had answered his question about WMAT seems to get quite excited about racing. In fact, one of the little guys...claims she can beat -anyone- in 10 seconds flat? Oh ho ho. Really? "Idon'tdoubtthat you'refastinfactIsawyouatthatshrinetheothercyclebutIdoactuallyreallydoubthtatyou'reasfastaswellme." He says, grinning and purposefully not keeping his speech at a normal pace, just to show off.

Rorschach (194) has posed:
    Turning now towards the second figure to offer a handshake, Rorschach considers it for a few moments, just as he did with Steve. And then, once more, retrieves his hand from his coat pocket and takes the offered gesture in greeting.

    Something like that," is the man's gruff-sounding reply.

Rarity (136) has posed:
"Gesuntite!" Pinkie Pie chimes in with a giggle at Blurr's erratically paced comment... And she's at the top of the slide? Wasn't she just sitting on the freezer moments ago? That's Pinkie Pie for you. "WHEEEEEEE!" And now she's gone down the slide and SPLASH into the water.

Maya has posed:
Maya is dressed so casually the only thing that might give Maya's idenity away is the tattos on her arms. She smiles a little bit as she arrive and speaks up.

"Hey good to see you recovering well Toph and hello to everyone else so what was this about Icecream?"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    "Not in large amounts," Toph snorts in response to blurr, though she can't help but grin when Pinkie takes advantage of the slide she just made. Maya earns a nod and a wave. "Just grab a bowl and spoon, then help yourself, Maya." There's a huge container out here on the patio with tons of various ice cream in it, so there's more than enough for Maya to pick from.

Marrik (541) has posed:
Marrik frowned. Why was it so br- OHGODMYEYES!

He stiffened, letting go of Rorschach's hand, I'm sorry," His pupils were contracted to pinpricks as he took a couple steps away and after a slow turn he frowned. No less bright here. Another turn. Still bright!

Rorschach (194) has posed:
    See, now, this isn't exactly a rare event, when someone's met Rorschach. This happens with an unsurprisingly frequent regularity, and as such, doesn't really get much of a reaction out of the trenchcoated man.

    "What?" he grunts, roughly.

Rainbow Dash (43) has posed:
Both Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo blink in confusion when Blurr just belts out one word right after the other without taking a single pause inbetween. "Did you get any of that, squirt?" Rainbow Dash asks, nudging the orange pegasus with a forehoof. Quickly, Scootaloo nods her head. "Yup! He said... Er... Something about..." She then shakes her head, "Nope, not a word."

But Rainbow Dash can at least get the speedy gist. Good thing she's distracted, or else she might glare at Rorschach for his comment. "So you think you're faster than me, huh?" She grins cockily at Blurr, wings beating to lift her up to Blurr's height. "You and me, bud!" Well, okay, probably at another time when we aren't having a fun ice cream party.

Blurr has posed:
    Blurr arches an optic ridge at Toph. "I realize that, given your body itself is mostly made of water. But why not? Frightening past experience?" He asks, curious because despite everything he -still- doesn't understand that Toph is actually blind.

    At Dash's comments, the speedster just gives her a cocky grin. "'Think'?" he chuckles. "Oh no, no. I -know- I am." Seriously, just look at her. Those wings shouldn't even be able to hold her tiny body up. He doesn't say that, of course. "Well well is that a challenge I hear?"

Maxine Sandberg (279) has posed:
"Good evening Maya." Maxine greets her before noting Marrik's reaction wondering what's wrong. "Are you okay?" She doesn't know his name. Of course she doesn't have any magic ability herself but he mentioned being blinded over the radio.

Marrik (541) has posed:
Marrik tried ignoring all the magical lines of force and it was like the sudden removal of a bright light. The source was gone, but his eyes still reacted like they just had the sun a couple inches from them. minus the whole instant fry from heat thing. "Well bother." He shuffle stepped ahead slowly, bumping into someone and grunting, muttering an apology He was trying to downplay the problem given their hostess. He was /pretty sure/ it would go away, but not right away. He whistled twice, tilting his head this way and that and grunted, inwardly wishing he could figure out the trick Sal had of seeing by sound. He heard Maxine speak up and nodded in the direction of the sound of her voice, "Getti me to a chair til I can figure out if this will clear on it's own would be good thank you." He wasn't panicked and sounded quite calm. Not the first time he's been blinded so he knew best action was to avoid panicing.

Maya has posed:
Maya smiles at Maxine "It's been a long time it's good to see you." She looks to Marrik she comes over to him and seems concerned for his well being. "Are you all right you don't seem well I'm a all right healer if there's something I can do for you?"

Rainbow Dash (43) has posed:
"Hay yeah it is!" Rainbow Dash says, not even skipping a beat. She's not afraid of the giant death robot! Seriously, he's giant. How can something that big move fast? The little pegasus keeps level with Blurr's face. "You and me," She says, pointing a hoof to Blurr and then to herself. "Next free day we got! We'll see who's fast!"

Rarity (136) has posed:
Rarity just shakes her head at Blurr and Dash. Totally not surprised at that, at all. She turns to look at the other two fillies (Scootaloo is way too busy fangushing over Rainbow Dash), only to see the two of them giving her -those- sort of big eyed look. She sighs, rolling her eyes, but knowing that whole thing about not swimming after eating is just a myth, relents. "Okay, fine."

"YAY!" Sweetie Belle and Applebloom run off to jump in the pool as well. Who needs swimsuits?!

"And no trying to earn CPR cutie marks this time!" Rarity shouts after them. Just don't ask.

Blurr has posed:
    Oh, is that what she thinks? Just because something is big, means that it can't move fast? WELL. Blurr is going to have to show -her- how wrong she is on -that- one. "You're on," he says, still grinning because well we all know much he loves racing. "...what's your name?"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Frightening past experience indeed. Toph sighs up at Blurr as she finishes the last remnants of her bowl. "I did nearly drown once," Toph sighs, closing her eyes. Yes. Let's not go into more details about /that/. "Besides... I can't see in water," she adds. It's useful that her allies know that at least. By now she's finished her bowl of ice cream, and... well, she'll have to eat some more later. For now she is stuffed. "I guess the freezer will be filled up at this rate..." she muses.

Steve Rogers has posed:
"Not for long," Steve says encouragingly. "It's good ice cream ..." He finishes his current bowl.

"But if you're that desperate to get rid of it - is it okay to have seconds, then?"

Rainbow Dash (43) has posed:
"RAINBOW DASH!" Scootaloo pipes up before Rainbow can even open her mouth.

Dash grins, "What she said. But you can call me Rainbow Dash the Awesome." Then procedes to stuff her face with ice cream, because we can't forget about the real reason why we're all here.

Marrik (541) has posed:
Marrik turned to face Maya when she spoke and was quite blunt when he spoke up, "If you could turn off the huge sun bright magic aura that would be great, or did you turn on the blinding to needle at me?" Wisest course of action? No, but this woman blinded him and he suspected it was intentional. He was not a happy person.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    "Heh, have thirds if you can manage," Toph says to Steve. "I just don't have room for that much." Even if she was hungry when she woke up, she's been making sure to eat a lot since then. Even those healthy things that Pepper told her to. However, she blinks when Marrik speaks up. "Wait, you can see auras? Or energy?" she asks, a bit confused. Man, some people have weird eyes. Is it very different from what normal people see? Not that she knows much about that...

Maxine Sandberg (279) has posed:
"We'll have to catch up sometime." Maxine smiles back at Maya it seems she's busy with Marrik. Her attenion then turns to Toph, "Sorry, one bowl's about my limit." It didn't make to fill the small redhead up. "Where did all that ice cream come from anyways?"

Maya has posed:
Maya blinks for a moment in utter confsuion for a moment, she looks at Marrik very confused for a moment "What are you talking about...aura what ...wait umm I have ... no control over it I was born like that..."

Marrik (541) has posed:
Toph's question deflected part of Marrik's probably unfounded annoyance. "Magical energy, usually goes hand in hand with Life but... I dunno its like I see the threads as colors, but not actual color like red, green, and all." He was grateful to talk about it, because it kept him from wanting to hurt things. "I can block it out, or just not focus on it but i really am seeing it. Eyes react like it's any other light, and it's kinda like I took the sun to my face." He could /SORTA/ see right now, but everything was washed out. "I can cast if I don't see what I'm doing but it's.... hard. I guess it'd be like you getting around wearing shoes, or stuck in a plastic room."

Blurr has posed:
    "Uh..." Blurr stifles laugh at the name. It kind of sounds...ridiculous. To him, anyway. "Well nice to meet you, Rainbow Dash. I'm Blurr. As for the 'awesome' part, I think you'll have to prove that to me first, before I start tacking that onto your name."

    The Autobot looks confused at Toph's comment that she can't see in water. "You can't see in water? Why not?"

Steve Rogers has posed:
Steve gets up to get seconds of ice cream, with a slight smirk on his face at Toph going so far as to offer thirds. One of the side effects of the super soldier serum *is* a heightened metabolism, after all ...

Twilight Sparkle (411) has posed:
     Twilight Sparkle has just been relaxing, enjoying watching her friends having fun. Spike has gone through an entire tub, and is starting on a second. Twilight blinks as she spots him, then her horn glows softly and she floats him over to land on her back again. "Be careful, Spike. You don't want to get a tummy ache again." she says before looking around. Her horn glows again, and a spoon floats over before dipping into Spike's ice cream, which Twilight then munches on politely.

Rarity (136) has posed:
Rarity looks at how much ice cream is left. "Maybe we should of brought doggie bags."

Twilight Sparkle (411) has posed:
Twilight Sparkle hmms. "Perhaps we could take some back to Ponyville. Between the cakes and my freezers, we should be able to handle quite a bit."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Why can't she see in water? "I can't sense the vibrations in water," Toph replies to Blurr, not catching on that he hasn't noticed that she is blind yet. "Earthbending and water doesn't go that well together."

    Well, not all of the ice cream is gone... but some of it is. "Hey, take some home, guys. I'm sure Blurr won't mind, right?" As long as people enjoy it and not let it go to waste, than that's what matters. At least she things so.

Steve Rogers has posed:
"If it weren't for warpgates, I'd be worried about it melting on the way," Steve says with a grin. "Thanks, Toph - and thank you for thinking to bring it for her, Blurr."

Blurr has posed:
    Blurr shakes his head. "Hey, I can't eat it; it's Toph's so as long as she doesn't mind, I don't either. Take as much as you want...I uh, didn't think about the possibility that Stark's home might not have large enough cooling facilities."

    The speedster still looks confused at her explanation about water. He's about to ask another question, but then his comms go off and duty calls! "Well thanks for having me, Rocket." he says with a grin. "Back to work!" ZOOM. Off he goes at the speed of sound and faster. There, Dash! Giants -can- move fast!

Marrik (541) has posed:
Marrik says, "So glad I invested in a frezer for the shop." Marrik chuckled as his vision continued slowly improving. "Pity I'm not going there yet." He pointed in Maya's general direction, "You, blindy lady." He grunted. "Sorry, just a little punchy. You said its basicslly something you can't help?""

Rarity (136) has posed:
Rarity gaaahs as Blurr's speedy departure causes enough of a draft in his wake to blow her mane all over, taking some of the bounce out of the curls afterwards. "WHY DOES EVERYONE FAST INSIST ON DOING THAT?!"

Maya has posed:
Maya says "I can't... my world is dripping in magic to the point higher order predators can use it." Maya's not going to give the full story but that's private but what is known Septerrans have a lot of magic to throw around that kids learn, math, writing, magic and relgion as basic eduction even in the worst dives of the planet. She's hkinda backing awya from Marrik unsure of what to do now.

Marrik (541) has posed:
"It's... Ok." Marrik didn't sound OK, "I've got it under wraps. Can't see what I'm casting, but eeeh. Noticed most magi tend to neglect a decent workout." He chuckled, "Marrik Broom." Then the offered hand to Maya.

Twilight Sparkle (411) has posed:
     Twilight looks between Maya and Marrik, then holds up a hoof. "Perhaps I could cast a magic dampening spell. It would only be temporary, but it should at least lessen the affects of the aura you are complaining about." she says to Marrik before looking at Maya for permission.

     Spike gasps as well when Rarity's mane gets a bit messed up. "Geeze. Some people have no appreciation for how much work goes into looking good."

Maya has posed:
Maya says "Go ahead if we're not expecting trouble I don't mind. Just keep ind mind I don't know how effective it will be." Maya's got loads of magic but her casting outside of healing is ... basically more like a war hammer than a fine blade that many other magic users are able to do.

Marrik (541) has posed:
"Actually miss Sparkle," Marrik sounded valm as he explained the situation. "Damage is already done. My eyes see magic as glow, maya's like looking at the sun. I generslly go about with my magical senses open in case random trouble, but like right now showed, can get in the way."

Twilight Sparkle (411) has posed:
     "Oh my...perhaps you should invest in some magical sunshades?" Twilight says, looking up at Marrik with a half joking, half concerned expression. "If I may ask...even someone who glances at the sun will not have much, if any, permanent damage. Could you not look away?" she says, even as she starts casting the magic suppression spell anyway. It can't hurt, right?

     Twilight's horn glows, softly at first, then more brightly, before a gentle beam of magic shines on Maya. It would end up dampening Maya's power all around if it works. So, any spells she -did- cast would be weaker. It is the only way Twilight can think of to dampen Maya's aura. "...did that do anything?"

Marrik (541) has posed:
"It's..." Marrik shrugged. He couldnt see the magic twilight was using. "Seriously fine. I can even see a little definition and detail." He looked over at Twilight. "Like I said, its something I can and did turn off, but since my eyes are how i percive magic getting over exposed works the same way as getting hit in the face by bright light. Why recovery is slower than last time i dunno."