We're wide awake now, our eyes are wide open. We're running this world, we keeping it turning

[opheliac]

Who: EVERYONE ON THIS DANG SHIP!
What: IT'S A PARTTTYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When: last week of april before more shit happens.
Where: rischie
Warnings: PG-13??? alcohol is definitely involved, teens being teens, drunk people or doing bad decisions??? who is to say!!!





Fast Travel Thread Links

★ ENTRANCE.
★ THE DANCE FLOOR.
★ AT THE BAR.
★ GAME AREA.
★ DJ TABLE // PRIVATE WITH JINX
★ LOSER CORNER.
★ THE FOOD TABLE.
★ KARAOKE.
★ OUTSIDE RISCHIE.
★ WILDCARD.

Comments

[neverleave]

[Even if she was embarrassed, Natsuno would keep any judgment behind his usual stoic expression. He doubts there's anything he can say she won't tell herself when she sobers up. All he does is nod.]

You're going back to the cabin?

[It's fine if she doesn't. If Clarke still wants company, he'll be there.]

[skaikru]

I don't know —

( tired as she may be, that's also pretty much her constant state. odds are still up in the air as to if she'd be able to sleep off what promises to be a terrible hangover. the only thing clarke knows for certain is she doesn't want to go back to the party. )

...I've dragged you all over the place tonight. ( an admission, a poorly formulated apology. yet not a release from her company, because the only thing that sucks more than failure is being alone. ) D'you wanna pick where we go next?

[neverleave]

[Natsuno rarely spends the wee hours in his cabin, since he doesn't really sleep. Most of it isn't particularly interesting (brood, kill time in the arcade or library, brood, shoot something, brood), but... he's not bad company if you're angry-sad.]

Pool deck? [The party assaulted his sense and he needs open air.] You can show me how to cheat in blackjack.

[skaikru]

( sometimes buddies just gotta brood together.

she doesn't particularly want to teach him blackjack — couldn't eloquently regurgitate the rules if she tried, so natsuno's going to get a great deal of oh, um and just don't do this and you'll win. and beyond that, doesn't want him to be able to throw his hat in the ring if events ever led them to the same fate as pirate jenny had met.

but. she had given him the reigns.

and has to take a minute to snort. choke back a (particularly self destructive) giggle before digging a hand into her pocket and pulling out a loose deck of cards. it's almost like she'd been planning on playing someone cards. they definitely had the resources for a shitty card lesson, if not the motivation. so why not. )

Yeah, that's fine. I can at least try.

[neverleave]

[...Clarke. Buddy. The captain clearly doesn't want to talk to you, so maybe you WILL need someone else to throw in the hat.

Also, he's definitely not surprised by the card deck, but decides not to comment on it.]

You can cheat too. See if I catch you.

[skaikru]

( don't rub it in, the fact that others have suffered and she hasn't even managed to goad him into a tête-à-tête is not so slowly eating her alive. what is she supposed to do with herself without something to sink her teeth into, an enemy to face, pr a threat to survival to tackle head on.

what is she supposed to do with herself.

...apparently neatly compartmentalize the panic of treading water just to stave off an inevitable drowning. take a deep breath, keep going, and at least in this moment — forget to feel horrible about (making a friend) roping her friend into another risky endeavor with little payout. so sure, they're going to go to the pool deck and play cards. and she's going to seek that numb relief of the alcohol in her system, even if disappointment has really harshed her vibe. )

I've had a bit of practice, and I won't go easy on you. So if you're still up for it —

( a loose sweeping gesture with the hand clutching the deck of cards — let's head to the pool deck. )

[neverleave]

[Natsuno isn't oblivious - he knows she's a mess, frustrated and bitter, and a stupid card game won't make it any better. Still... he's surprised to realize he doesn't feel like being alone either.

Perhaps two months on this ship aren't a long time, but it's longer than his shiki existence back in Sotoba. Night after miserable night, killing time in mindless activities, ruminating or just staring at nothing - it's exhausting.

So yeah, he's still up for it and, without giving the bridge another look, heads back to the elevators.]

We'll see. Losing to you when you're drunk would be embarrassing.

[skaikru]

( add it to his slapstick tracker...

but anyway, this is the closing moment of this particular novel. the epilogue features both teenagers eventually making their way down to the pool deck, dragging a pair of deck chairs together and spending the next few hours playing a loose version of blackjack. every few hands they switch roles — the dealer and the player, the house and the predestined loser. clarke's first few attempts at dealing from the bottom of the deck are clumsy and uncoordinated, easily spotted and don't net her any wins anyway.

there comes a point where this exchange even surpasses simple practice. clarke inevitably sobers up a bit, and the air of competition takes root. at some point she persuades natsuno to abandon blackjack in order to play a few rounds of war, then crazy eight's. both slightly more aggressive, both likely to get the blood pressure and hope up, but neither designed to be betting games. the evening almost dips into teenaged ridiculousness before clarke remembers they've an end goal in mind.

then it's a gentle prod back to blackjack.

he wins, she wins, they both bust over the 21 threshhold. and a while later, the sun starts to creep over the artificial horizon line, and her head splits directly down the center of her skull as the hangover hits full force.

eventually, clarke will recline in the deck chair. pretending she's waiting for natsuno to make his next move, but covertly closing her eyes and absolutely dead to the world a few seconds later. and, honestly? it's the best sleep she's had in a while, even if waking up in the sun with a splitting headache and cotton mouth almost makes her wish she'd drank the entire pool instead of playing cards alongside it. )

[neverleave]

[At some point Natsuno realizes it's gone from distracting Clarke from being a drunk idiot to... well, fun. As much as Natsuno is capable of experiencing "fun", anyway. He is genuinely annoyed at losing, genuinely invested in beating the next round.

He's vaguely surprised to realize he needed this teenaged ridiculousness.

Once Clarke passes out, he drags a pool umbrella over her chair and heads off to wherever it is teen vampires go. Enjoy the hangover!]