MercCon: Opening Remarks - Main Ballroom, Arms Hotel

[bldspttredbride.livejournal.com]

The main ballroom of the Arms Hotel was ready to receive its guests, and anyone else who wandered in. There was a dais in front, with a microphone standing in wait, and a bar serving cocktails over against the wall.

The atmosphere was elegant, but in a low-key sort of way. Most of the con-goers weren't the ritzy type.

Come in, mingle, have some drinks. MercCon's about to kick off.

(OOC: up a little early for time zones and great SP. Beatrix's keynote speech is going in the comments, as it's looong. Wait for the OCD. OCD up - come one, come all! Guest characters and any residents of Fandom welcome.)

Comments

The Bar

[bldspttredbride.livejournal.com]

Where there are mercs, there must be liquor. Mod your service and get your drunk on.

Re: The Bar

[diet-deadpool.livejournal.com]

Two words made this trip even better.

Open. Bar.

(Am certain this is the best convention ever. Way better than that one with TM when he tried to get me killed that one time.)

"Dom Perignon!" A beat. "What do you mean, you don't have that? What kind of convention is this?!" Hayden sighed. "Fine. A Zima."

(Correction, diary, almost the best convention ever.)

Re: The Bar

[crazypilotman.livejournal.com]

Free beer! Oh yah, Murdock could dig that. But the selection presented him with some tough choices. He stood at the bar for several minutes, nearly placing an order a time or two before shooing the bartender off only to wave him back over. The bartender was probably not amused.

"Oh, I know! Can I have one of those little fruity drinks that comes in a coconut?" A beat. "Hey, I am not a fruit! Alright, alright! Geesh, man. Chill out. I’ll have the handwavy fruity thing."

A few minutes later, the bartender presented Murdock with his drink. "Um, excuse me? Can I have one of those little umbrellas?" He grinned foolishly once he had it and stuck it prominently under the brim of his hat.

Re: The Bar

[imablackwidowbaby]

Natasha made a beeline for the bar to order a shot of vodka. Mmm, vodka.

Re: The Bar

[at-swordspoint.livejournal.com]

Richard ordered a beer and stood with his back to the bar as he drank it, not really looking at anyone in particular.

Re: The Bar

[politely-terse.livejournal.com]

And where there is a bar, there is Rude. He sat and nursed a lager, still watching the crowd.

Re: The Bar

[bldspttredbride.livejournal.com]

Beatrix - still holding tightly onto BB's hand - found her way over to the bar. Considered her options. Settled for a glass of white wine for herself, and a glass of chocolate milk for BB.

Re: The Bar

[fivebyfivemerc.livejournal.com]

Jennifer settled in with a martini and kicked her feet up. This was the life.

Re: The Bar

[berserkerminsc.livejournal.com]

If anyone asked, Minsc would assure anyone that the hamster currently and occasionally scuttling across the bar and then hiding behind bottles and glasses was completely harmless (under the current circumstances) and absolutely sanitary. Not that anyone would probably immediately assume that the hamster was in his custody, as he was over at the other part of the room looking for him.

Re: The Bar

[athinguntoiron.livejournal.com]

Danny walked up to the bar, not wearing his Iron Fist gear for probably the only time this weekend. It was the opening night. Why not dress up a bit? It's not like he didn't have the suits for it.

Re: The Bar

[oathboundmercs.livejournal.com]

At the moment, Kethry was composing the earful she was going to give Idra when she and Tarma returned to Hawksnest.

Not that that showed on her face as she surveyed the room and its occupants while sipping very, very slowly from a glass of wine.

Re: The Bar

[not-mouthy-merc.livejournal.com]

Deathstroke was not terribly happy at the moment. Someone in the convention staff had gotten his name wrong, and now his nametag read "Wade Wilson" rather than "Slade Wilson".

Because there was no other reasonable explanation for having a nametag so close to his name... right?

For now Slade had his mask pulled down and was simply... watching. Some of these people looked rather promising.

Re: The Bar

[omgpanserbjorne.livejournal.com]

"Spirits," Iorek growled at the bartender, who for some bizarre reason didn't waste time asking him to clarify what kind of spirits.

He curled his paw protectively around the bucket as he slurped messily from it.

Re: The Bar

[thegunsmithcats.livejournal.com]

ALCOHOL! Bounding up to the bar, Minnie-May gave the server her best, brightest smile. "Hey there, cutie-pie, care to hook a girl up?"

A moment later, she was happily chugging something appallingly neon and highly alcoholic. Ah, the joys of MercCon.

Re: The Bar

[raspberryturk]

Reno, meet MercCon. MercCon, Reno.

Reno? Bar. Bar. Reno.

Life was grand.

Re: The Bar

[semiprofesional.livejournal.com]

Leon ordered a glass of milk.

No booze, no chaser, no fruity umbrella.

...it came with the fruity umbrella anyways, but he did not complain.

Mingle

[bldspttredbride.livejournal.com]

Chat. Chew the fat. Make friends and/or enemies.

Re: Mingle

[mouthy-merc.livejournal.com]

Deadpool, for reasons beyond his understanding-- (Meaning the author is trying to be tricky!) --yes, that... Deadpool was avoiding the bar for now.

And having fun just hanging out. Booze-less.

Yes, he was shocked too.

Re: Mingle

[tay-ah-tie-may.livejournal.com]

Mr. Teatime was not usually the mingling type. But the Guildmaster had sent him here to expand his horizons, and surely meeting and conversing with other people in similar lines of work was part of that.

Re: Mingle

[the_merriest]

Rikku was here. Bouncing on her toes. A lot.

Re: Mingle

[berserkerminsc.livejournal.com]

Why, yes, that was a large man in dented armour, crawling on the floor to peek his purple-swirled head underneath the chairs lining the wall and checking underneath the tables. You ask because.....?

"Boo!" he whispered harshly as he searched. "Where are you hiding? This is most unbecoming behaviour of one such as yourself, Boo. Boo, get out here."

Re: Mingle

[thegunsmithcats.livejournal.com]

Rally wasn't going to kill May for this. Really. Because walking right into a mercenary conference with Goldie on the loose was the best idea ever.

Keynote Speech

[bldspttredbride.livejournal.com]

Will go here, and any reactions to it can go underneath.

Re: Keynote Speech

[bldspttredbride.livejournal.com]

After everyone had mingled and had a few drinks, a blonde woman in a black leather jacket walked towards the stage, cutting a path through the milling crowd. There was a sheathed sword slung over her back, and she was holding hands with a young girl. The child looked to be around five, with a quick grin and long, curly hair.

As Beatrix reached the dais, she let go of her daughter's hand, with a curious reluctance. BB immediately sprawled out on the floor with crayons and coloring books, happily ignoring the festivities. Beatrix's eyes kept flicking over to make sure the girl was really there, safely within arms-reach. So she was paranoid; any mother would be, after what she'd been through.

She cleared her throat and smiled into the microphone, glancing around the room. Some new faces. Some old friends. It had been a long time.

"As a great man once said, the rumors of my death were greatly exaggerated," said Beatrix Kiddo. "Welcome to MercCon."

She waited for any applause to die down before continuing.

"It's been a few years since I've been to one of these, and I hope you've all been well. For those who don't know, my name is Beatrix Kiddo. You may have heard of me as Black Mamba, or even The Bride. My alias tends to be 'Mommy' these days." Another glance at the girl, who grinned up at her at that.

"We're here, of course, for the 17th Annual Mercenaries, Assassins, and Bounty Hunters Convention and Trade Show. We do the rough work, what no one else wants to dirty their hands with, or what they need alibis for. We do what needs to be done, and sometimes we do what nobody else could do. We don't do it for our own sadistic purposes; we do it for a check, and then we move on. Does that absolve us? I never used to think about these things, but life --" only a flicker of her eyes, this time "-- can change you. There are some interesting panels on the topic, this weekend. Ethics, as they relate to our unique situation, and how to be a merc while staying one of the 'good guys.'"

She smiled. "Don't worry, we've also got panels giving away the tricks of the trade, from weapons, C4, silencers, camouflage, teamwork, to the ever-important question of when's a good time to get out of a job. Or the business, if you're thinking of leaving for good. If you can. It's not the easiest job to quit."

"A man once told me ..." There was a lingering glance, this time, but BB was cheerily scribbling and didn't notice. Beatrix cleared her throat. "A man once told me an interesting story about Uber-man. Most superheroes, he said, have to put on a costume to be a superhero. Rat-guy doesn't wake up as Rat-guy. At the end of the day, most superheroes take the costume off and they're still Joe Smith, average person. Uber-man, on the other hand, is Uber-man, and he puts on a costume to be Clank Trek. That's the difference. He said that we mercs are like that. That you could leave the biz, get a boring job somewhere in a little town in Texas, and you'd still be a merc, deep down. Just one that was pretending to be someone else. I think he may be right. No matter what I do, I'm still Beatrix, I'm still Black Mamba, I'm still The Bride. Now I just have to figure out how to be all of that and Mommy, too."

"Enough of this. Without any further ado ..." Which meant, of course, she was about to be interrupted, by the girl looking up suddenly and tugging on her jeans.

"What, sweetie?" Beatrix asked.

"Can I say something?"

Beatrix smiled, and bent over to scoop up her daughter. "You can say anything you'd like."

BB waved to the crowd, and tucked her hair behind her ear, bashfully. "Hi. I'm BB. It's nice to meet you."

Beatrix pressed her face into her girl's hair, laughing, and murmured something too low for the microphone to pick it up.

"I love you too, Mommy," said BB. "Are we done?"

"Yeah, kiddo," Beatrix grinned. "We're done. Oh, can Wade Wilson come talk to me, if he gets a chance? Everyone else, let's get this started."

OOC

[bldspttredbride.livejournal.com]

Comment notifications are off, so if you need me, ping here, or grab me on Rikku's IM.

Re: OOC

[athinguntoiron.livejournal.com]

Just as a notice for any Marvel people interacting with Danny this weekend, I'm taking him from pre-Civil War for the weekend. He knows nothing about what's to come and hasn't even posed as Daredevil yet. Just FYI but I doubt it'll come up.