shieldacademyau | [Mingle-Log] Only non-alcoholic beverages in the punch bowl...

[This is an open mingle log. You do not have to be part of the community to post in this thread. Consider it a test-drive of sorts to get your voice or meet new characters!]

SHIELD Academy
Open House
Everyone is congregated in the spacious auditorium of the SHIELD Academy. The noise level is probably a decibel below deafening and the lights are probably a little dimmer than what might seem normal for this time in the evening, but it doesn't seem to bother anyone as they just carry on. There are banners strewn about welcoming all first years to a new chapter in their lives while others welcome the others back for another year at the Academy. Refreshments are served up on stage while other tables set up around the massive room are home to pamphlets and flyers for clubs and classes. Special electives and advertisements for training sessions are also littered amongst the tables.

Make a few friends, find old ones, look into clubs that catch your interest. This is open house for all returning students and prospective students, so hang out, hit up others and just mingle!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Sif?"

The voice comes from behind her. Max has beens skirting the edge of the crowd, not exactly anti-social but not a full-on social butterfly, either. Last year was her first at the Academy, and also her first year in an environment that didn't involve being programmed into being a kill 'em all super soldier. Max loved it, and Sif had been part of why it had been a positive experience.

Shyly, she offered a little wiggle-waggle of her hand, wrapped in a fingerless glove. "Hey."

Sif's expression brightened when she heard that familiar voice, turning to give the younger girl a bright smile, and then a spontaneous hug in greeting. "Max!" she exclaimed in delight, one of the rare occasions she slipped back into companionable informality instead of the polite titles Asgardians favored.

"It is good to see you! How fared your summer holiday?"

Max wasn't expecting a hug, but gladly returns it. "I didn't do much." she admits. "The administration sent me to this summer camp in the mountains. It was nice." Especially since it was on SHIELD's dime.

"Did you go back to Asgard?" She looks a little envious. "And it was amazing, of course. Well, for you it's just home, right?"

Home is a concept Max is still getting used to. She wouldn't ever call Manticore a home.

"The mountains sound pleasant, though! And much cooler than some places on Midgard, or so I've heard. Did you have fun? Adventures? Both?" she asked with a smile, because it sounded intriguing. She wasn't entirely sure what was involved with 'summer camp'.

"Very briefly, at the start. I spent the summer with another people, the Valkyrie. Their lands border Asgard's, but they are set apart, separate. They are fierce warriors, women, and I spent the time training with them."

"It was a lot of swimming and hiking and obstacle courses and stuff. I think it's supposed to be a retreat for agents who need a place to decompress." Max admits. "There was this lake, it was really nice. It made me think about trying out for athletics this year." She still seems hesitant, though. "I wanted to as you about that. Athletics, I mean."

However, she is promptly distracted about hearing about Asgard. The other thing she did this summer? Dug a little into copies of Hamilton and Bullfinch. "Holy crap, the Valkyrie? Really? With the winged horses and stuff?" That way way beats summer camp in the mountains. "What's a girl gotta do to get a trip to Asgard, because wow."

Little kids want to go to Disneyland and ride the teacups. Max wants to go to Asgard and spar with Valkyrie.

"That does sound very pleasant!" Sif answered with a smile, thinking that sounded like the perfect relaxing summer. "The mountains here look very lovely, from what I have seen of them." Which hasn't been very much, so far. She hadn't traveled much outside the school.

At the mention of athletics, Sif cocks her head to the side to consider her thoughtfully. "What is it you'd like to know?"

Sif grins at Max's excitement. "Yes, those are the ones. The winged horses are necessary. Some of their training camps are on floating islands. Plus they traverse many of the realms in their travels. It grants them speed and stealth if they are above, when few think to look up. Perhaps one day you will have a chance to come visit with me."

"Well, I didn't do any athletics last year." Max says, a little awkwardly. "I mean, you know, I was too busy learning how to talk to other people without making it sound like I was planning a black op and ending every sentence with sir." Last year was basically all about Max getting the tools for integrating into the civilian population, so to speak. "But I really wanted to. And I know you're into a lot of sports so I was just wondering...is it fair for me to play, or be part of a team, 'cause I'm transgenic? You're Asgardian and you're even stronger than me, so...how do you handle it? Do people get mad because you can do things in five minutes that take them five years to perfect?"

Clearly Max has been really struggling with this ethical quandry, and she also very clearly wants to participate in sports. Hopefully Sif has a way to tell her it's okay. At the mention of going to Asgard though, Max's eyes become round and shiny with hope and she takes a breath. "Okay. I mean, I know you can't make any promises but that would be the most awesome thing that has ever happened in my life."

Says the girl who spent the first twelve of them locked up in a private military compound.

"There are many people here with enhanced abilities who still compete in sports," Sif answered, giving the matter a moment of thought. "Yes, we have advantages over some, but to play the game in all fairness, we also have an additional challenge. In our case, we limit ourselves and our abilities to even the playing field and still make the sport enjoyable for all. So perhaps normally it would be too simplistic and easy for us, but with this handicap or restriction, we make it more of a challenge for ourselves and keep it as such for others."

At least that was how Sif always viewed it. She was very much about fairness in sportsmanship. The battlefield was something different, but this was meant to be fun and in play with worthy companions.

"Besides, there is always normal training and practice where you can find worthy partners to test yourself against with your full abilities when that is what you crave."

The way Max's expression lights up has Sif laughing and draping an arm comfortably around the girl's shoulders. "You would do well in Asgard, I think. We would show them together that girls are just as able fighters as any male."

Max isn't stupid; all the X5's have ridiculously high IQs. But real world application is a completely different matter, and somehow even though it didn't make any sense when the same advice came from Maya, when Sif suggests paring herself back, it clicks into place for Max.

"I spent all that time in a place where they wanted us at 100% all the time," she admits ruefully, "It never really occurred to me that I should even try dialing back. But you're right."

Of course Sif is right. Sif is amazing. She beams at the Asgardian as the arm is draped around her shoulders. "I'm game if you are." she says forthrightly.

"There are times for us to give our full strength and skill," Sif agreed, giving her an understanding smile, because it had been a strange thing for her to learn here. She suspected Thor still struggled with it as well. "But in good sport, it is not one of them. Besides, if we did not give ourselves the challenge of playing fair, I suspect sports could end up being very boring. Then there is no benefit to it. At least this way, it is an exercise in control and being aware of our own limits and how to moderate how we use them."

She grins and gives the girl a squeeze. "I am always game. They will not know what hit them, the dour old pricks. It would serve them right."

[Mingle-Log] Only non-alcoholic beverages in the punch bowl...

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