Viewing Party (D4, LE Mei's room)

[Mei-Ling Zhou]

"So the story goes that the head shot my mom took absolutely ruined her command console and and caused everything to shutdown. She actually had to do an emergency rewire to get the damn ON button to work again so she could restart the thing. It took six months to repair both their mechs."

Mei turned the volume down but let the video continue as highlights played and she chuckled at John's pun.

"Yeah Ducky, tell us what would you do?"

[Hrafnhildur Ylfasdottir]

"Oh, let's see here..." From out of her sock came a small notebook. She rifled through it a bit and finally stopped on one page in particular. "Well let's see now. I gotta say, this is just me thinkin', money not bein' a problem. So maybe these things can't be real but it's nice to think. But I'm thinkin' to increase the energy effish...effish...make it work better. Yup, got some plans for that right here but this would take a bunch of time and money. I think it could work. Shore up that cockpit too to protect the pilot. After seein' that I would move that right on up the list. A few others, armor and that kind of stuff. Just makin' it better, right. I got these ideas in my head, just don't have all the stuff. Maybe I'm crazy, like one of those mad scientists."

[John Slaktare]

"If you're a mad scientist you need a secret lab don't you? And I'd love to see you be able to make all that stuff happen. Hopefully you'll be able to work with some of the salvage and maybe do some of what you suggested. I got faith that you can do it," John replies.

He looks over to Mei-Ling. "All that sounds nice to me."

[Mei-Ling Zhou]

"So did your first match live up to the expectations you had Hrafn? Ready to climb into a pilot's seat?"

[Hrafnhildur Ylfasdottir]

"Hoo boy, where does it go from here. I can't imagine me, little Hrafnhildur, just bein' there and seeing it live with these two eyes. Thank you for letting me see this. And it being your parents too! Is that why I see Big J hanging out around here? You two watching matches from the old days? I don't blame him, that's some action right there." The notebook was closed, slipped back into her sock, and she sat back down as if all of her energy had been used in watching that match. To be honest it kind of had, her attention had been so gripped and her excitement so high it sure felt like she had run a mile.

"That salvage, I got a good eye for it. Hopefully we'll get some good stuff all together. As much as I would like to move from salvagin' and fixin' it looks like it take more than han I got."

[John Slaktare]

Butcher watches her as she sits back down, entertained at how into the recording she had gotten.

"Someday we should see an arena match all together. Sounds like a good idea to me," he agrees. "And you do have a good eye for the salvage. Better'n I got for sure. I don't doubt you're gonna put it to good use."

[Mei-Ling Zhou]

"I've gotta figure out how to get you out for a run in my mech Ducky, I just know you're gonna love it. I'm probably gonna have a hard time getting you back out. You don't get motion sick I hope." She laughed.

[Hrafnhildur Ylfasdottir]

"Hoo boy, that would be something, hearin' those mechs goin' at it like we just saw. This screen here is nice but it's not like bein' there for sure. I can imagine. I bet it's loud and everyone is loud and you can be loud. I think I'd just be cheerin' for both sides to win...unless one was the bad guy. Do they have bad guys and good guys in these fights? Is it kinda like the wrestlin' I watched back home? They had these guys that were the good guys, nice and took their vitamins and said their prayers. Then they had these guys that were bad, mean to the crowd, cheatin' and stuff. Is it like that?"

She stood up again suddenly and acted like she had a microphone in hand. "War Cloud, the bad guy, would say 'I'll see you at Slamathon next month and I'm bringin' a friend. You better watch out'. Then the crowd boos him and he loves it. The boos energize him. But hey now, Turkey Creek Johnson isn't worried. Nope. He just looks at that crowd and they cheer. He says 'you don't scare me, bucko'. Is it like that? Is it like that?"

Hrafna sat down again on her pillow and now acted like she had a steering wheel in hand. "One day Mei Mei, I'll be in that cockpit driving around. You bet you won't get me outta there. I'll bring this pillow with me and take a nap." She couldn't help but laugh as she hit the imaginary button to unleash a barrage of laser fire.

[John Slaktare]

John watches her moving around excitedly. He was kind of used to that in the hangar, when she's energetic.

"Some of the matches are like that. I was a bad guy for a bunch of them after they started callin me Butcher. I didn't talk to the folks watchin though."

He scratches his beard lightly and thinks.

"I'm guessin you have, but have you checked to see if you can use a neurohelmet?"

[Hrafnhildur Ylfasdottir]

"Bad Guy Butcher you say? Nah, maybe then but not now. I'm not seein' a bad guy in front of me right here. Nope. Hmm...what would my arena name be. Turkey Creek Johnson is already taken so it can't be that but...let's see..." It was not that she paced a few times as she thought.

"Oh! Haystacks Hrafna! Yup. I'd probably be a good guy on accounta me not knowing how to be bad."

[Mei-Ling Zhou]

"Oh you would definitely be a good guy though the idea of an Evil Ducky is really funny to me. I wonder what I will be, I know back home they will make me a Hero of the Confederation if I do well and say all the right things." She turned and looked at John. "Is it weird, having fans? I never really considered that before but you lived the life and I can't be the first fan you have met."

[John Slaktare]

"Definitely a hero. But I think Mei-Ling is right, you'd make for a fun villain," he agrees with Mei-Ling.

"I have had fans that have wanted to talk, but not a lot. I think most of the people that actually followed my career probably realized, when I didn't give interviews, that I tend to be private."

[Hrafnhildur Ylfasdottir]

"A bad guy you say? Let's see, maybe little Haystack Hrafnhildur could be one of those bad guys. Let me try it on for size." She cleared her throat and tried to scowl. "I most indeedidly will not take my vitamins and say my prayers. Then I'd wait for the crowd to boo me. Hmm...it could work."

The half scowl changed to a look of surprise. "Big J has fans? I bet Mei Mei does too."

[Mei-Ling Zhou]

"Yeah he has fans, none bigger than me though I think you could give me a run for my money. The only fans I have are my parents maybe...maybe Richard but he's a close friend not a fan. I hope I have fans some day, and a fan club."

[John Slaktare]

"Not a lot of fans, but a couple. Got quality over quantity. Plus she has me as a fan," John replies. "And not taking your vitamins is pretty bad. Gotta take them every day to get strong."

[Hrafnhildur Ylfasdottir]

"Well you both got me as a fan. Heck, consider me the president of your fan clubs. Oh wait, I'll just make one big club, Club Big J and Mei Mei. Hey now, that rhymes. J J and Mei Mei. I'm liking that. Now we just need a club flag and handshake. Don't worry, I'll handle that."

[Mei-Ling Zhou]

"Well I wanna be the first. First?"

She looked at John and then back at Hrafn.

"Second member of Hrafn's Hooligans; how do you like that for the name of your fan club. Need to get some shirts made with a double H and a buff little duck on it."

[John Slaktare]

"Maybe we'll have to get matching cheerleader costumes?" John asks Mei-Ling. "She's got a cheerleader costume, so we need one to cheer her on too."

"And I'm sure it'll be a great handshake."

[Hrafnhildur Ylfasdottir]

"Mei Mei and J J. Works just as nice. The J Man doesn't seem to mind so it's final. Done. No going back. Well, we can go back if you really want to. Nope, done." With that she gave them both a form nod, as if that had sealed the deal.

Hrafna's eyes lit up as she looked between John and Mei. "Oh! Oh! Oh! Hooligans is good. This way people who haven't heard of me will think I'm this big tough brute who hangs around with other big tough brutes. Oh gosh. Then when I show up they'll see I'm the size of a postage stamp and be confused!" She couldn't help but laugh at that scenario. "Sold! Cheerleaders, the whole lot. We'll get one in your size Big J. Aha! A while line of cheerleaders attending parties or just looking tough. Yup!"

[Mei-Ling Zhou]

"Correction, I have a SLUTTY cheerleader outfit. It isn't something you wear outside a bedroom but we can totally get some or if I get a little better at sewing I could make them." She looked at Hrafn. "I'm going to need to take your measurements at some point."