it's my party and I'll cry if I want to

[palfriday]

Who: Gal Friday + YOU
What: Icebreaker party
When: 3/13, evening
Where: Rischie
Warnings: TBA

[the morning announcements alter daily now, by the second week of the month. one week until the party. four days until the party. the party is tomorrow.]

The new cruiser get-together will start at 9PM tonight at Rischie! Remember: The dress code is cruise elegant! Hm? [there is a sound like a crackle and pop of static.] The Captain says he won't be attending, but he'll be paying extra special attention to everybody who does!

[if that's a sufficient enough bribe.

"but we don't have cruise elegant clothing," you cry. but you do! have you not checked the top drawer in your room's dresser, where at most two perfectly suited formal outfits are located? you have? but they weren't there before today? don't ask questions. just get ready for the party.

the house lights in the club are at full brightness, giving everything the sort of uneasy liminal feeling a room gets when used for something opposite its intended purpose. booths line the walls, and small tables and chairs sit between them and the dance floor, which is empty except for one table, holding a series of "HELLO, MY NAME IS..." nametags and sheets of glittery stickers. Friday is there, of course, standing by the table. she's even dressed up! and if your character hasn't corrected her previously, their name tag will have their true name. there are also a few buffet tables with refreshments on them, and trays bearing canapes and flutes of champagne float by. (deftly avoiding minors! excluding Jinx, but only if Venti is within close proximity. welcome to parenthood, barbatos!)

once everyone is settled in, Friday will clear her throat (??) to get everyone's attention and explain the rules of the night. it's an altered version of twenty questions: every person in the room must answer ten questions about themselves, asked by their fellow passengers, collecting stars for every answer considered acceptable. when they have 10 stars, they're allowed to leave!

oh, yeah, the door to the club shut about five minutes ago. it doesn't seem very eager to open back up again.

time to break some ice! breaking ice and cruises always go well together, after all.]

Comments

[skaikru]

Does "clever" and "helpful" see us through to the destination of this boat alive?

( laying it on a little thicker: )

What's the point of bringing all of us here and not telling us why? That's not fair, and we'd probably be more helpful if we knew what we were up against, Gal.

[palfriday]

[swerving on past that question--]

There aren't just rules for passengers, you know... It took an awful long time for him to even be okay with hints! [sighs, shakes head] I'm always in enough trouble as it is... If I gave the game away, he'd be very cross!

[skaikru]

( "game" is just gonna be... filed away, marked with the appropriate amount of red flags and panicked over the second this conversation is done. )

Oh, no, we wouldn't want that. ( flat, so flat. feigned concern only going as far as clarke's wit's end — and that's a very short pier to walk off. ) What happens when he's cross, Gal?

[palfriday]

Hm, well... If he's in a good mood, he just kills me! [pause] He's not in good moods very often, though!

[skaikru]

I... can't imagine you do anything to deserve that.

( does she like friday? not really, no. she's the only physically manifested outlet for clarke's frustration at being here in the first place. but her heart hasn't calcified over completely just yet. despite lacking certain features and a bit mechanically detached, friday still manages to seem sincere in her concern. if she's lied to clarke already, she'd not been able to parse it out. )

I'm sorry, Gal. Can I do anything to help?

( read: what would make the captain happy here, what does he want. )

[palfriday]

Oh, gosh, don't be sorry! It's just one of life's little things; I don't really mind it! And all you really have to do is... [clasps hands together] keep doing what you're doing! That's all!

[skaikru]

It's not just one of life's little things.

( clarke likes to talk a big game about how life is supposed to be more than just surviving, yet always let survival instincts take the reigns and govern her best judgements. but the notion stands, easily extended to everyone other than herself. )

And if you didn't mind dying on the whims of others, you wouldn't have a gun hidden in your desk.

[palfriday]

[a pause]

So, you are going to give it back?

[skaikru]

( yanno, lies come easily enough. she's seen you bleed, friday, and is growing emboldened. )

I'm sorry, but no. I threw it into the water.

( another beat, gauging her reaction as much as she can without having the glisten of eyes or downward twist of a mouth to go on — then clarke's holding out her hand for her well-earned sticker. )

[palfriday]

... Ah.

[and then she just kinda. stops. moving. responding. pretending to breathe. she just stands perfectly still.]

[skaikru]

( oh boy, another unexpected shift in attitude during the course of their conversation. clarke will blink and stare for a moment, eventually ask — )

Gal?

( a wave of the hand in front of her face, and if that fails: a soft shove to the shoulder. ) Friday.

[palfriday]

[her head perks up]

Yes? How may I be of service, Miss Griffin?

[skaikru]

( ...yeah, she's had about as much of this exchange as she can stomach without showing visible distress. there's a lot to process here, even more to doubt, and a fair amount to dig into the library for further information on.

also a gun that is not currently in her possession that might need to be disposed of ASAP.

but before that, as a parting note, clarke's eyes narrow and she leans in a fraction further to crowd into friday's personal space. )

You know everything about us, right? So you know what the people in my homeworld have taken to calling me.

( maybe not her true name, but a title she's quickly embodying. )

[palfriday]

[her head tilts, just a bit farther than a neck should go, before returning to normal. her face turns to Clarke. and the voice that comes from her sounds almost the same as it usually does, except for a distinct sort of lazy, almost bored drawl.]

You are so far out of your league, Wanheda.

[she grows still again. hands folded in front of her, face pointed to the ground.]

[skaikru]

( that — should be a terrifying slip in nature, a crack in the mirror with something strange flitting beneath the shards. but it would be a lie to say this isn't the conversational foothold clarke has been angling after this entire time. especially once the idea of anchors came into play.

anyway, clinging to the skirts of vibrato and carrying on: )

I'm going to assume you also know what that name means.

( if friday is going to freeze up again, clarke's going to take the liberty of invading her personal space even further, leaning in to whisper directly into her ear. sure, maybe she broke the landline, but figures the answering machine still works — and who had she really been wanting to talk to all along. )

I'm not afraid of you. ( captain. )

[palfriday]

[no response. just stillness.]

[skaikru]

( stillness is met with stillness in return, then a painstakingly slow withdrawl from friday's personal bubble. clarke takes a lengthy few seconds to give the stationary golem a thorough once-over. up and down, looking for flaws or any certain signs of life.

if there aren't any, she's calling this the natural conclusion to this conversation. maybe it would be revisited at another date, but right now clarke has people to talk to and stars to collect so she can at least get the hell out of this room, if not off this boat.

but they're dressed in cruise elegant, and a certain level of manners seems to go hand in hand with fine silks and fine bowties. so before she leaves friday's body to sort itself out, she's offering a semi-curtesy. and a very, very sarcastic: )

Nice to meet you.