[IC] Shine City 3: Summer Sequel (Always Accepting)

[Knight of Doom]

Amaya was just finishing her alcoholic substance when someone made a bit of a loud entrance. A man wearing a helmet walked up to the bartender who had served her and held something out for him to sign. The blonde couldn’t help but wonder what was in the package the odd man had brought in. Her mind wasn't exactly focused after that drink, so a mirage of strange thoughts entered her head. Drinks? No. It can’t be. After the masked man had basically thrown the box, it couldn't be something fragile. Decorations for the bar? No, again that was fragile. A type of animal? No, that was just dumb. Animals needed to breath. Something personal? Maybe.

Amaya watched as the owner signed the pad instead. Hmm, what was in the box? Curiosity may have killed the cat, but Amaya was never really a fan of unanswered questions. It wasn't until a sound knocked her out of her trance. By that time, though, her mind had wandered off. Looking towards the sound, the slightly buzzed girl found herself face to face with one of the guys Rachel had picked out when trying to find a roommate for her. How had she described him? Tall and cute were the two adjectives she could remember, but what was the third one? Well, it didn't really matter those two described him perfectly. Amaya waited a moment for him to talk, but then she realized he was asking about the seat.

“Oh, no. The seat’s not taken.” She said on autopilot. Originally Rachel had been sitting there, but it was the first thing that came out of her mouth. Besides, Rachel would rather have the blond be sitting there. She could easily find another seat, even if ended up being on top of someone else. Wait, that was the third adjective! Blond. A satisfying feeling flowed through Amaya as she realized she had to refocus back on reality. So, she turned her attention onto the features of the person now sitting next to her. Now that he was closer to her, she realized how elegant and beautiful his features were. It was almost, feminine. But then again, it'd be rude to ask. Also some people were sensitive about the topic of gender, so she decided to keep her mouth shut. If the answer was revealed to her in a passive manner, then she'd know.

Not sure what to expect from this strangely quiet stranger, Amaya shifted her gaze around to see whatever Rachel was doing. However, she wasn't able to spot her, so she turned back to the stranger just in case they wanted to say something to her, or if they were just ordering a drink.

[Dolerman]

Jacques was truly lost in this blackjack dealer's eyes, its like his mind was still trying to make sense of how attractive he was, and even with a fairly sober mind it was tough. But he managed to retain some social ettiquette and pulled up a stool to the blackjack table, motioning the dealer to deal him in as he answered his question.

Well, I have been on TV but its not really my world, I host festivals internationally. I'm not in Shine County that often but I actually hosted the Masquerade Ball at the beginning of this year if you around the Town Hall at that time? I suppose after that I sort of just fell in love with shine city and decided to spend more time here. I'm still looking to buy a property but I have been able to enjoy some of the more attractive hotels around here, some that aren't too far from the casino actually...

Jacques was then unfortunately cut off as a very cute waitress came over, who seemed eager to get the drinks flowing early, which Jacques really couldnt be mad at, it was Saturday night after all. He leaned on his right arm towards where the waitress was standing and glanced at her chest, just quick enough to make it seem like he was reading her name tag and nothing else.

Ahh Ryoki? You came just in time, me and Yutaro here were just breaking the ice as he dealt my first hand. How about you bring me over a white wine spritzer, and your handsome dealer a sparkling water on me, I know that he cant drink on duty but blackjack dealing must be thirsty work. Hopefully you'll keep us company, I plan to lose a lot of money on this table today!

Jacques was now in the company of an attractive man and woman in his favorite part of shine city on a weekend night. He started to wonder if he ever wanted to leave this place. <3

[Silver Fox]

Ashton Griffone

The Cornerstone

@Knight of Doom

The girl seemed a little bit dazed, even though she's just on her first drink, as it took a bit of a moment to focus on the tall stranger. However after realizing what Ashton was asking, she gave permission, allowing the taller dirty blonde to give a even brighter cheery smile before taking a seat. Unsure where the brunette friend went, but the smaller blonde girl didn't seemed too concerned about it. Ashton's 'friend' of the night didn't seem to know what to expect, as the focus left the tall girl to look around the bar before returning it on the boyish woman.

Mhmm. Now what? Ashton has succefully gotten the lovely lady's attention but was a little unsure how to go about this. She didn't want to freak the poor, seemingly slightly tipsy, girl out. Well, keep it simple. Introduce yourself is a first important step then next is offer to buy another drink. Though this girl didn't seem to handle too much, but still. Didn't hurt to ask, and if not, water was also a fine alternative. And hey, if all else fails and the poor girl passes out. Ashton would happily take responsibility and carry this woman back home. Under the eye of the brunette of course. Be suspicious if a possibly strange giant man is carrying around a wasted beautiful girl.

Still smiling, she gave a soft eager nod to pump herself up before pulling the boogie board around her neck. Erasing the drink order with the click of a button before started scribbling down quickly on it. Usually she did try to avoid using it, but her name was one of those difficult to convey. It didn't take long as she flipped it around so the short blonde could see. There was a doodled flame that had a plus sign beside it, with a tree after and a equal sign after that. The answer being a cone shape of tiny dots in a attempt to form a pile of ash. Beside the doodled ash was another plus sign and then a triangular pyramid with a circle at the flat top. Supposed to be the general image for a 'ton.'

Ashton smiled brightly at her 'artwork' before pointing to the 'ash' and the 'ton' then finally to herself. Introducing herself as Ashton, without the use of words. Course if the girl didn't understand then she'd have to write out her name as a last resort but still. The tall blonde was a bit satisfied and proud of her work like a child first showing their mother their first drawing in kindergarten.

Releasing her hold on the boogie board to let it hang around her neck, the tall figure then pointed to the drink this girl was sipping before holding up the finger briefly before gesturing to the bartender. Tilting her head to the side in a questioning manner. Holding the bright smile that just screamed that she was eager to please. Trying to convey she was asking if the girl would like another drink.

[Sarcelle Renard]

Instead of letting the sea of customers drown him, Reiji had become a blur of motion as he the process took on a flow of its own. There was something oddly relaxing about only having to worry about pouring and serving, with hardly any time to think in between those two things. In fact, the only things that had time to go through his head were the impressions he had of people based on their drinks.

”Rum and coke.” Not very adventurous, are ya? The drink was about as basic as it gets, but it was still a respectable choice nonetheless.

”Vodka and cranberry.” Die in a fire. Because seriously, this one was almost as bad as the schmuck who got the vodka and Red Bull.

”Appletini.” This guy doesn’t care about what anyone thinks. And on top of that, the girly drink actually looked right in the hands of the dork that was wearing scrubs and had way too much gel in his hair.

”Jameson, neat.” Take me home tonight. Shit, he said that one out loud rather than just think it. Oh well, he was already moving on to the next drink, so the there was no time to be embarrassed.

Reiji was so wrapped up in his work that he barely even registered the biker approach him, even when he threw a package down on the bar. Sure, the fact that he had kept his helmet on was strange, but honestly half of the people here looked even weirder to him due to how nicely they all dressed, so he didn't particularly stand out in his mind. Thankfully, Scott took care of it, so the punk was free to keep working on thinning out the ridiculous crowd that had piled up. It was hard to tell if the sea of tipsy drinkers was disappearing, but he could only hope that they were, as exhaustion was starting to set in. The speed at which he churned out drinks was starting to slow down a bit and the needless bottle flipping was being done less and less, but there was no way in hell he was going to stop until everyone had been served and judged for their choice in transport to the wonderful land of Drunksville.

A grin tugged at the corner of Reiji’s mouth. Outside of playing guitar for his band, Spitfires, he had never even considered taking on a job permanently. That kind of talk was for squares who were looking to settle down and die a slow death at the hands of boredom and responsibility. And yet, there was something about this place that was making the idea sound not so far-fetched to the punk. For the briefest of moments, he could almost see himself helping out around here on a somewhat frequent basis. Oh well, he would have to sit on it later, as there were still plenty of drinks to be made and he was finding that he did not possess nearly as many arms as he would have liked.

”Motor Oil? Seriously? What, did your parents not hug you enough as a child or something?” he couldn't help but ask as he reluctantly assembled what had to be one of the most foul things he had ever seen.

[Verdaux]

---

9:36 P.M.

Any bouncer at this point would be tired, assumed Sabine. That, and she hadn't the money or time to spend filling out surveys with very personal information. If not for the former two, then she could always blame the bus schedules for her tardiness.

As expected, the line was a great deal shorter, but nonetheless just as slow-moving. Idle musings between people dressed in all manners of bright clothing stirred old memories, but when she focused on their words, the difference would become immediately apparent : school, shopping, even the latest rumor about a certain couple of upstarts making a comeback to Shine City were foreign; oil prices, trade embargos, false reassurances to mothers and wives thousands of miles away were more familiar, however bitter the words seemed at the time. Here, the happiness...felt shallow, admittedly, but why tell the inconvenient truth when one could afford to lie?

The urges to blink and yawn brought her in front of Arty (@Saarebas), both of which were obeyed and executed without reservation in front of the taller man. With the paper bag in her hand, Sabine pulled out from inside some wax-paper-wrapped parcel smelling strongly of mead, cinnamon, and raisins.

"If I remember correctly, this would be something served on Saint Patrick's day," Sabine started, before fishing out her ID card and ticket from her rear pocket. "But I'm counting for you to have a bit of luck sooner than later. I burned off all the alcohol, too.

If I give you this, can I make a delivery to Dangermouse and Haywood?"

The paper bag did seem to have quite a lot more inside, though what exactly is left to uncertainty...

[Saarebas]

That makes twenty, Arty had officially let in twenty different men sporting speedos. Yet another shiver shot down the bouncer's back at the thought of all those men flashed before his eyes. Quitting time was starting to seem farther and farther away as more and more people came before him seeking their wet and wild night. Luckily for Arty he was managing to wheedle down the line bit by bit as the night went on, he eventually was actually able to see the end of the line at one point. "Just muscle through it..." He thought to himself as he sorted through yet another group of people. Things were even starting to look up until a low and menacing rumble escaped the bouncer's stomach. A grimace came to Arty's face, he hadn't eaten since breakfast and it was starting to catch up with him. "What I wouldn't do for some food right now..." The Bouncer thought longingly to himself, though it didn't look like any food breaks were in his future anytime soon considering how busy the club was.

In the middle of his self reprimanding for not eating the powers that be seem to have answer his prays, though oddly enough it was in the form of a small rather tired looking girl which the ginger could honestly say he wasn't expecting. Instead of presenting him with her ID the young lady pulled out a bundle that had a unmistakable aroma drifting from it. Arty's stomach practically called out in joy, it had been so long since he had had brack that he doubted anyone in Shine City knew how to make it. It took him a moment to pull his gaze off of the food and to refocus on the girl, he took her ID and ticket looking them over and luckily for him er for her they were real. As he handed her back her belongings Arty listed to what she had to say, apparently she wanted to make some form of delivery to Nori and Cash. Which honestly set off a red flag or two with the bouncer, there were plenty of whack jobs in the city that would try and hurt people like Cash and Nori. "Hmm alright lass, but I'll have to check the delivery first. Can't have yo' bringin' somethin' into the club the shouldn't be there yo know?" He said, though he tried to say it in the nicest way he could muster just incase the poor girl thought he was accusing her of being some sort of dealer.

@Verdaux

[Knight of Doom]

Amaya watched as the person next to her drew an odd assortment of drawings. She was quickly able to decipher the two words, but had a bit of trouble interpreting them. A ton of ashes? What did it mean? Was it a threat? No, the blond in front of her was smiling too eagerly for that. Mmm. Ash. Ton. Oh, was is the result of ashes under extreme pressure? However, the green eyed girl could not remember what that resulted in. It wasn't diamonds, that was coal. Was it some kind of trick question? Was this some sort of game this person play with people?

A small headache started to form in Amaya's head, so she began to focus on what she did know and could understand. The human being holding the boogie board began gesturing to her empty glass and the bartender with a questioning look. That could only mean two things. A) they wanted to know if that was the bartender who had made her drink or B) they were offering her a drink. Well, A) is a yes, and B) should be a no, but if it's free, she can't exactly turn it down. Besides it would be kinda rude to turn down the offer anyways. She could probably handle another drink, right? She had probably mistaken the circumstances that got her drunk last time, and beside she probably had more in her stomach than last time as well. If not, well then, at least Rachel will take care of her. Right? Well, then again, as much as Rachel is her best friend, she's not very reliable. Well, everything will work out in the end anyways so why not?

“Uh, yes,” Amaya said basically answering for both answers. It had come out slow and uncertain. She hoped the blond in front of her understood that she was referencing the second part of their interaction and not the first. This was kinda awkward. How is Rachel able to socialize so much? The world may never know.

@Silver Fox

[Silver Fox]

Ashton Griffone

The Cornerstone

@Knight of Doom

This girl must have not quite understood what Ashton was trying to say in the introduction, as the girl didn't introduce herself. That or she just didn't want to. Still though, Ashton visibly disheartened as her tall stature slightly sagged. Bottom lip gingerly moving foreword to form a pout as her hands moved to rest under her chin and close to her throat. Looking a little like a pouty dog before blatantly face desking the bar counter. She recovered quickly though as she sat up and took her boogie board, gingerly erasing it before started to write on it again. Turning it around to form the words 'Hello! My name is Ashton! :D' as her smile returned before grinning widely at the answer. Dropping the boogie board to let it hand again, she gently reached and took the girl's fingers. Leaning down as the tall boyish woman lifted in and gingerly kissed the back of the fingers for a moment before releasing them. Still giving a bright happy smile, feeling like she successfully conveyed a proper greeting. As well as say that this girl was 'cute and attractive' with a little kiss like a prince gives a stunning princess.

Giving a little bounce in her seat and clapping her hands together, before raising her left hand and waved it wildly above her head while her right hand tapped against the counter to get one of the bartender's attention. @Sarcelle Renard@Specter189Whichever came over, the tall dirty blonde would casually point to the smaller blonde's alcoholic beverage. Before raising the outstretched finger vertically to gesture as 'one more' then pressing the palm of her hand to her chest with a bright smile. Trying to convey that the drink was 'on her' as she was going to pay for it. As for everyone's drinks at the table.

What's one more?

Turning her amethyst gaze on the smaller blonde, Ashton quickly tried to think of conversation and a way to properly convey it. Though maybe that would be harder than she thought. It was difficult for a coherent person to understand her sometimes, so someone who's got some alcohol in the belly might have a even harder time. Flicking her eyes around, she wondered with this girl's friend ran off too. It was a bit worrying to leave a friend in the bar alone. But maybe the brunette just wanted to be out of the way for apparent flirts. Did this girl want to get attracted to? It was apparently working.

Ashton tried to think, arms crossing slightly over her chest while her right hand raised to gingerly cup it between her outstretched index finger and thumb. Her chin resting on the index while the thumb curved around it and rested just under her bottom lip. She thought about doing certain things but perhaps that would come off as too foreword. After all, they haven't really said anything and Ashton was supposed to converse or something before saying something like 'I like you' right? Conveying things like that was easy, but anyone would be a little weirded out if someone they don't know just said that right?

Giving up and deciding to make it a bit easy on the girl she was attempting to 'befriend' slash 'woo' whichever. She sighed, almost in utter disappointment as if having to use her Boogie Board was the most troublesome thing, she started scribbling on it again. Turning it again to show the girl words. Smiling brightly once more.

'How are you tonight? Are you having a great time?'

[Takashi]

@Dynamo Frokane@Delta44

Yutaro tried not to grimace when Jacques mentioned the masquerade ball. Did the man not know what had happened to bring it up so casually? Or was the tragedy already just some afterthought for the people who weren't there, who didn't see what happened. There was only a brief flicker in Yutaro's expression before he rerouted the conversation to more pleasant things. The masquerade had been a good party before the incident, and getting to know the guy behind it was sure to provide some interesting conversation. "An international festival host?" Yutaro said, not revealing any of the uneasiness he had just felt. "I bet you've been to quite a few crazy parties. If you plan on hosting one, let me know..."

Just then, Yutaro looked over at the bunny walking over to take the party meister's order, and then he did a double take when he saw who it was. It was like an apparition had just appeared before him. For all these months he hadn't seen or spoken to her, and now here she was, as seductive and flirtatious as ever, ready to intoxicate the hell out of this unsuspecting client... as well as serve him some drinks. He looked at her beautiful raven hair, her lovely bre..lue eyes, and he was stunned all over again. She honestly looked great, and Yutaro was glad she was back on her feet again. Yutaro returned her smile, as if to say, "well, look who's back in action," and hoped that their shorthand hadn't faded after their time apart. It felt good smiling again. It wasn't a forced smile or cynical grin, but a genuine smile.

"Hopefully you'll keep us company, I plan to lose a lot of money on this table today!"

Yutaro turned his attention back to his customer, and gave him a friendly chuckle. "Oh, don't say that sir. I'm sure it's just a matter of time before you hit your lucky streak. I've heard that buying your dealer a drink is good luck." Of course that last sentence was complete bullshit, but customers liked it when he played along, and he could actually go for a bit to drink.

The first few hands saw not much gain or loss on either side, with Jacques winning hands just as frequently as he lost them. Yutaro wasn't worried though; the house always made it's money as long as the player decided to keep playing, and Jacques didn't look like he intended to leave any time soon.

[Bozo]

Blade nodded as Scott signed for his parcel, tucking the device into his frontmost pocket and turning away. He hoped that the man enjoyed his new mixer set, the titanium plating on that was much better than the glass he seemed to be using now. Regardless, Blade knew that he was no bartender, unskilled in the ways of mixology and alcohol. He just drank the stuff, after all.

Despite being offered a drink, Blade denied it, instead opting to snatch the drink that a certain blonde haired girl had been sipping on. Girls got free drinks all the time, and since he was having a bad night, it would make someone else's drink that much more delicious. He glanced at the tall individual standing next to her, a quick glance to their borderline feminine features giving him all the evidence he needed.

Girls loving girls, huh? City’s changed.

He stepped outside, flipping up his visor and downing the more or less drink in one fluid motion. It was watered down severely by all the ice, causing the Biker to grimace as he smashed the glass against the concrete, before climbing onto his bike and revving it up.

Next stop: Club LUSH.

The night air was filled with the sound of screeching tires as he pulled away, speeding down the avenue and into the late evening, alone by all means with nothing but the sound of the engine accompanying him.

-

10:05 PM

The Club grew larger upon the horizon as he approached, all but drifting straight up to the front entrance before hitching his bike. He walked passed the red-haired bouncer guarding the front, slapping a twenty onto his chest as well as a receipt for the Shine City Courier Service.

Dance lights and suds greeted him as he entered the club, the air hot and humid with the moisture from all the spilled water and warm bodies inside.

I hate clubs.

Where was the manager for this place anyway? Perhaps he'd just leave it on the counter for the bartender to deal with last time. It was his last delivery for the night, after all. He couldn't care less at this point. After a while of searching, followed by some brief moments of shoving and kicking while keeping drunken kids from grinding on him, he managed to find the bar.

Once again, he slammed it down, reaching into his frontmost pocket and waiting for the signature. As he did so, he couldn't help but notice some miserable looking blue haired chick to his left.

Bad night to be wearing that dress, lady.

The Biker shook his head, taking a seat next to her and tapping the counter.

Pointing to what was on the tap, he silently asked for a cold pint, and waited as he fidgeted uncomfortably on the damp seat.

I can't wait to get home and hit the fuckin’ hay.

[Verdaux]

"Hmm alright lass, but I'll have to check the delivery first. Can't have yo' bringin' somethin' into the club the shouldn't be there yo know?"

At this, Sabine couldn't help but grin as she pulled out some cylindrical bit of some sort from the paper bag. Goofy, yes, but this was the opportunity to hand-feed the most swollen guy in town; just a brush over his rippling biceps would have her knees buckng, she was sure. But given the sweetness of what she had inside, it took her a little time to fish out

a bite-sized piece of diabetes, hold the cream

to stick into his mouth.

"Say 'Aa~aah!' !" she commanded, before tip-toeing right up against his chest. What awaited Arty (if he went for it) was an explosion of fudge, for the lack of better wording. Slightly bitter, mostly sweet dough crunched as confectioner's sugar clung and dissolved in his mouth, leaving behind a satisfied sweet tooth and a slightly dried mouth. What followed would be a quick peck to the cheek, followed by a light, playful spank.

"Love ya, Arty!"

Just like that, she'd disappear in a storm of bubbles, straight into the crowd.

If he didn't, she'd take a bite herself for proof of its safety. Though, it'd be pretty disappointing to waste food like that...

[SkeankySnack]

Kyle

"Man am I tired." Kyle sighed.

His walk down the street was filled with the usual liveliness of the weekend crowd. It was a shame he couldn't fully appreciate it, it was about quarter to ten and he was drained; but his body refused to sleep. He figured a walk around the city would help wear him out a little, but so far it wasn't working.

His mind wandered back to the morning's events. He felt genuinely bad for upsetting Ryoki, he apologized profusely, but she wasn't mad at him, in fact she thanked him. Though he wasn't sure what she was thanking him for, he was glad he didn't lose a friend over such a stupid blunder and was more glad to reconnect with her. Kyle told her to keep in contact, or to call if she needed ananyway partly because she was his friend, partly because he still felt like he needed to make up for his error.

The whole ordeal had been rather strenuous and that mimiko woman didn't help things either. He rubbed his eyes tiredly before looking up and noticing a bar he hadn't seen before. It looked like it had just opened, looked kind of nice from the outside. Suddenly a thought occurred to him, if he couldn't walk himself to sleep, why not drink himself to sleep. With a newfound will, entered the establishment and made his way through the crowd.

When Kyle finally broke through, he managed to find an open spot at the counter off to the far side. He slid his way forward and claimed the spot as his own. Settled, he took in stock of the patrons, there were quite a few people in here, plenty of cute girls too, some being flirted with, some flirting with others, one particularly tall person had him do a double take. It didn't really matter anyway it wasn't like he was here looking for a date anyway, he was here to get on a comfortable level of drunk before stumbling home and crashing. When the bartender did finally approach Kyle spoke up.

"Do you have any hard ciders? Preferably something on the sweeter side."

[Evil Snowman]

Theodore Maxwell

---

Theo had kept drinking, although had switched to spirits. Merely watching what was going on around him, finding it interesting as people mingled. Eventually Theo started watching Reiji, finding his ability to mix drinks quite interesting. Finding that little flare as he flipped the bottles drawing to the eye. It didn't take much Theo for Theo to notice the each time he severed a drink he made a comment about it to the customer, although they were hard to hear Theo could make them out. Chuckling at a few of them finding them amusing, it then made him wonder if he had a line for every person he dealt with. Theo wondering what he might say about him.
"It might be funny ... plus Jack disappeared." Theo thought looking around the bar for Jack, spotting his friend in a corner booth getting very close to a pretty woman. Said woman meanwhile was trying to convince Jack to share his drink with her, not that Jack was going to refuse such a request if it might help him score. From what little Theo could see or was willing to see Jack was making some progress, although Theo had no idea how far he managed to get. Knowing Jack he'd keep at it until the girl told him to back of or he scored. Either way Theo wasn't going to see him, but that didn't matter Theo would amuse himself. Tonight's plan was to hammered then ... well who knows, Theo couldn't be bothered planning that far ahead. He'd simply go with what ever half baked idea his brain could conjure. Looking at the money he had set on the bar to cover the round for everyone, Theo was surprised to see it still there and untouched, not wanting it to get taken by someone other then a staff member of this fine little bar Theo reclaimed the money. Shoving it into a an small pocket on the inside of his jacket, before getting out of his seat at the bar. He decided he'd try something his landlady had told him about that got her hammered pretty quickly, given Theo know she could hold her drink pretty well it had to have some kick in it.

Approaching the bartender who seemed stuck serving mixed drinks, Theo waited for Red headed bartender to get to him, waiting for bartender to look at him.
"Hey, think I could g ... get an El Bastardo." Theo stated stopping for a moment in the middle of his sentence when someone who had a little too much to drink bumped into him. @Sarcelle Renard

[Saarebas]

Arty watched with a raised brow as the young lady reached back into the bag she had pulled the brack, which the bouncer was still having trouble keeping his eyes off of, and emerged with what he could only describe as a piece of a chocolate cake. Arty should of guessed that it was more food, now that he could think about it he could practically smell the sweet aroma wafting from the bag, or maybe it was the girl himself? Either way one of the first thought that came to the redhead was the absolutely no food policy that Beauregard had set up, his very next thought was how big of a jackass his boss was. So with a slight smirk Arty silently decided to forget that policy, at least for now. He was just about to stand aside to allow the dark haired girl through when she took it upon herself to raise up and offer him the chocolate chunk she had just fished out of her bag, even prompting him to open his mouth in acceptance. "Wait what-" But it was too late, the baked good touting girl had already slipped the piece of chocolate into Arty's maw. The bouncer had to say, this was pretty mind blowing chocolate. Though his opinion may have been made biased do to his current state of hunger, it took a surprising amount of willpower on his part to keep from asking for another piece. But the towering Irishman was pulled out of his sweet filled thoughts when the raven haired woman proceeded to plant a kiss on his cheek, rousing quite the shade of red to spread across Arty's cheeks. This blush only grew darker as she then gave Arty's backside a quick swatting only for her to disappear into the club after bidding him a quick farewell, leaving the now quite red bouncer rather dumbfounded.

It took a few minutes for the heat to escape from Arty's face. Though he had been doing this job for years now and he had found that many a woman, and the occasional man, would attempt to put the moves on him while trying to get into LUSH Arty could never quite get used to it, it always left him rather embarrassed. Then again the poor sod could never really handle situations where he was obviously being flirted with, well he couldn't handle the sober anyways. Luckily for him the night went on things didn't seem to get as heated. Though he did have a helmeted courier show up, he had handled deliveries for LUSH but the way that this one rudely slapped both a twenty and the delivery receipt on his chest left the rather sour taste in his mouth. With a sigh and a shake of his head Arty just reassured himself he didn't have too much longer until his shift ended.

[Knight of Doom]

Amaya finally understood what the tall blonde was trying to say after reading the words on the board. Ashton. That was their name! Duh. Though, Ashton was usually a feminine name. She's never heard of a male named Ashton. So that meant… that she was a girl! Right? The tipsy girl decided to just roll with that idea.

“Oh, hello, my name's Amaya,” she said holding her hand out. Instead of the handshake she thought would happen, Ashton leaned down to kiss the back of her fingers. The shorter girl couldn't help but turn pink for the third time that night. It seemed as though the universe was determined on embarrassing her tonight.

However, just after that, a gloved hand came into her vision. Amaya looked over to watch her glass of Sex on the Beach disappear. Some asshole simply decided to steal it. Wow, doesn't he know, those things cost money! The green eyed girl wanted to stop him or say something, but she wasn't exactly in her right mind plus she didn't want to start a fight. Rachel would be mad if she got them kicked out, or worse, banned. Speaking of Rachel, the brunette seemed to be sneaking sips of alcohol from the guy she'd been working on for awhile. It seemed as though they had clicked.

Amaya looked back towards Ashton who now had something else scrawled on her boogie board. 'How are you tonight? Are you having a great time?'

“I'm doing pretty well, thank you. Honestly, as long as I'm not at Club LUSH right now, I would be having a good time. My friend Rachel, she was just with me, wanted to go, but I'm glad we didn't. They're having Foam night which means everyone gets soaked. And let's just say, I'm not a big fan of packed crowds either. What about you?” Amaya asked. She wasn't sure if she should talk more since the dirty blonde in front of her didn't talk, or if that was too selfish.

As Ashton wrote down her answer to the question, Rachel made her way over with the guy in tow. She had a wicked grin on her face. “Hey, me and Jack are going back to his place, so can you get yourself home?” She asked, her eyes pleading to say ‘Yes’.

“Yea, I'll be fine. If need be, I'll just call a cab. Go… do whatever,” Her friend responded, clearly knowing her intention. Rachel didn't exactly do this often, but then again it wasn't exactly rare either. The girl's brown eyes instantly lit up.

“Sweet, thanks.” She said, already heading towards the door. “See you later,”

@Silver Fox

[Narcotic Dollie]

---

The bartender passed Calliope her drink and the blue haired girl was surprised to find that it was halfway tolerable. The same could not be said of the club’s music, however, because the new song that the DJ was mixing contained the same high frequency chipmunk voices as all the other ones he had played that evening. ’Is this how it's going to be all night?’ she thought, taking another sip of her drink and swallowing the mouthful of ginger beer and lime almost forlornly. ’So this is what normal people do on a Saturday evening. Dance around in their skivvies to music where the singer sounds like they've just taken a hit of helium? How strange.’

Her musings were interrupted when a man in a neon pink hoodie slammed something onto the bar top and flagged down the barkeep wordlessly, gesturing to a beer on tap. ’Now that's a clever idea,’ she thought, eyes lingering on the teal helmet the gentleman wore. It was sure to keep the bubbles out of his eyes and hair, plus if a fight broke out he’d be much more protected from blunt force trauma than the rest of them. He got an A+ on disaster preparedness, she'd say.

She also decided that if she was going to attempt to make a new friend amongst her fellow humans, wouldn't it be a good idea if it was someone who could handle themselves during earth’s upcoming demise?

“Hello,” Calliope said, hopefully loud enough for the stranger to hear over the music. She gnawed at her bottom lip for a moment while she considered what to say, before deciding that the best way to appear friendly was to pay someone a compliment. “I like your helmet, it is quite lovely and looks like it would be able to withstand many hits from a bat or crowbar.”

’I’ll be a pro at this in no time,’ the blue haired woman thought, feeling proud of her vastly improving small talk skills.

Blade watched as the Bartender signed for the package, thus causing him to repeat the process of nodding in approval and tucking it back into the pocket of his tasteful neon pink hoodie.

“Your Lud Bight, dude.” The Bartender presented him with his drink, a smirk across their face as they slid the tall dripping pint of beer over to him. Blade eyed the drink, reaching into his pocket once more and taking out a bendy straw. Sliding it into one of the ventilation holes in his helmet and slurping.

He did not answer so Calliope could only assume he didn't want to be bothered or perhaps had not heard her among the high pitched squealing that played over the PA system. ’...do I try again?’ she wondered, eyebrows knitting together in concentration. She didn't want this outing to be in vain, so she decided to make a second attempt. Now how to get his attention…?

“Hey,” Calliope started again, leaning over to flick the side of his helmet with her index finger. It made a nice thumping noise, letting her know that it was indeed as solid as she had previously assumed. “I like your helmet, sir.”

The sudden knock on the side of his head finally managed to convince him to give the woman his attention, the Biker turning around on his stool and staring at the lady through the dark tint of his visor. He cocked his head to side, before suddenly reaching out and twirling her azure locks in between his gloved fingers.

He brushed his thumb against them briefly, before drawing his hand back and nodding, giving a simple thumbs up. Turning back to his drink, he resumed drinking.

She blinked, picking at the lock of hair that the stranger had just wound around his finger. On any other night it would have infuriated her, but she had just assaulted his headgear and he hadn't been rough about it, so she decided it was meant to be friendly.

But then he turned away from her again. Was she not doing this correctly?

’What else do you do when trying to make friends?’ Calliope pondered, her fingers drumming against the countertop idly. “Do you…,” she began again, pausing to word the next bit mentally first before pressing on, “...want me to buy you a drink?”

Blade sighed. The girl was just begging now, it was sort of sad, really. However, he always had a soft spot for naive individuals; something about the aura of innocence they always seemed to carry around with them. Once again, the Biker turned, slurping up the rest of his beer quietly before sighing in satisfaction.

Well, one couldn’t hurt. Or so he thought.

With a nod of his head, he watched with slight interest in what the girl had in mind for him. It was sure to be quite the spectacle if she hadn’t thought this through.

Again he didn’t say anything, but Calliope was beginning to think silence was his way of being kind. She wished animals would do that too, all of their carrying on was hard to deal with at times. Like how at this very moment the rats that lived beneath the floorboards were yammering on about some ridiculous revolution to overthrow the raccoons that dwelled in the cellars and how their efforts would be futile without the assistance of the cockroach army.

Club LUSH should really hire exterminators.

“Can we get two shots of whiskey?” Calliope asked, receiving a nod from the frazzled bartender. She poured their shots and set them down in front of each of them before disappearing off to help other customers. “How are you going to do it with your helmet on, friend?” She questioned, quirking an eyebrow at the stranger before picking up her glass and waiting to shoot it at the same time as him.

Now, normally Blade didn’t drink hard liquor until he was all cozy and sobered up in his home, but he supposed that if it was free, it couldn’t hurt that much.

Rather than down his shot glass, the Courier instead stuck his straw inside it and sipped at it really fast.

He paused, sliding the empty glass over to her. He nodded his thanks, slapping a fiver right on her thigh.

Cheeky, of course, but he had the right to be in this country.

“Oh,” she said, looking down at the five on her leg. It was beginning to dampen from her still soapy skin. “No, I was buying it for you. That's how it works, right?” Calliope asked, but she was already scooping up the cash and tucking it into the front of his hoodie. “That's better. Thank you for having a drink with me, sir,” she hummed, taking her own shot and setting the glass down next to his.

It burned a bit more than expected, but it wasn't awful.

“Do you want to play a game with me?”

Blade shrugged in response.

“I used to play it with my dad a lot. He was a marine,” Calliope commented as she reached a hand under the hem of her skirt and pulled a buck knife free from the lace of her garter. “It's called ‘Five Finger Fillet’. Have you ever played it before?”

What kind of man plays five finger fillet with their daughter?

Blade stared at Calliope for the longest time, wondering just where she had been keeping that knife the entire time. The action caused him to pause. After all, it wasn’t everyday a woman just slid a blade out of her dress. If he had known this chick was packin’ heat, he’d have brought his own piece to the party.

Finally, he managed to shrug again, slamming his fingers onto the counter and spreading them apart. With his other hand, he would beckon for her to hand him the knife.

---

A collaboration with @Bozo.

[Sarcelle Renard]

The storm was starting to break. Once the drunks had to use their own money to pay for their drinks, Reiji’s workload had become considerably lighter. His tunnel vision cleared up, allowing his peripheral vision to notice that blondie had been joined by a tall blondie, who just so happened to be waving him over. After a wordless exchange, the guy gave the tall blondie a thumbs-up, showing that he understood that they were looking to get another Sex on the Beach. The oddest tinge of disappointment shot through the red head as he made the fruity abomination, realizing that his chance to get to know the shorter blondie had momentarily passed. Oh well, the night was still young and he really didn’t have time to let something like that get him down.

Gently sliding the drink to the two, Reiji smiled and said, ”Alrighty, here’s your Sex on the Beach. If you folks need anything else, well,” he chucked, making a small gesture towards the area behind the bar that he was stuck behind, ”It certainly isn’t hard to find me.”

With that, he got back to bartending. His attention turned to a white haired guy with piercing eyes, which after a moment he recognized as the one that had ordered a round for everyone. Reiji gave him a brief nod of acknowledgment and tried to listen to his request quietly, but he couldn’t stop his head from cocking to the side in bewilderment when he heard it. Getting an El Bastardo was the equivalent of using a jet to get across town. Sure you got there fast, but it almost inevitably resulted in a horrible, flaming wreck of a conclusion.

”You got it chief," he said with a raised eyebrow. With his usual flourish, he all but juggled the bottles of tequila, vodka, and whiskey. Of all the drinks he had made thus far, this one was by far the most potent, and with generous amount of tobacco sauce it called for, it was sure to get the most memorable reaction of the night. Reiji liked to imagine that the finished drink was smoking with ill intent as he passed it to the white haired guy. ”I don't know how drunk you are planning on getting tonight, but you have my assurance that you’re about to get there so fast that you are going to overshoot it,” he warned, worried about the monstrosity that he had just created.

The crowd had dispersed for the most part, so the punk was free to watch the horror story unfold before him as he wondered whether one man should ever be allowed to have so much power over the sobriety of others.

[freedomliveson]

It was quiet.

And he loved it that way.

Akihiro leaned against the emerald green park bench and smiled to himself, placing the rather large volume he had been perusing for the past hour or so to the side, patting the soft, leather-bound cover as he scanned his surroundings. Shiny Park was a rather gorgeous locale during the day and bustling with activity, which was fine when he wanted to hit the trails for a run with a fellow cardio enthusiast, but at night is when the park truly became shined(heh) as a refuge for his wearied mind. Sure there was the Mochavine or the Tiny Snowflake for casual hang-out spots, but for true solitude, Shiny park was a wonderful retreat. He made it a habit to visit this particular bench, which happened to be near the central entrance to the park, and lose himself in the deep mythos of his field. Gods and goddesses fought for power, humanity struggled against the forces of evil and governments were toppled in the name of liberty. The twenty four year old snorted a laugh as he ran a hand through his ash brown hair, ruffling it a bit as a slight itch afflicted his scalp. He could be accused of romanticizing his subject, but he knew that was made him such a hit at Shine City Academy. His students wrote glowing evaluations for him every semester he had taught an undergraduate course and his professors within his seminars were lauding his work due to the sheer passion and energy Akihiro dedicated to his studies. Yet, a threat loomed over his rather peaceful existence in Shine City.

Life AFTER university.

He shuddered at the thought, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back harder against the bench. Seven years of his life had been invested in this place. Great relationships had been built, intellectual discoveries had been made and he even got to see his younger sister develop, seeing as she too made the trip from the country to make a home in Shine City(well, the dorms of the academy anyway). With one year left in his program, the reality of entering a whole other...world was upon him.

The knot that had been forming in his stomach disappeared as he felt a buzz from his pocket. Withdrawing his phone, he chuckled as he read a text from Sahiro, one of his trusted friends that had decided to try and crash Club Lush with no reference or contact to get in. The text simply read:

Tried to lie my way in...almost got punched in the face. Always a next time!

The tenacity with which Sahiro, and by extension Akihiro's other friends, pursued parties and risks was not a trait the teaching assistant shared. Besides not wanting to get seen by any of his students(or professors!) at an establishment that had "lush" in the title, he really had no desire to ingratiate himself into the "nightlife community" that so many on and off campus talked about. He had tried to "party" once, but ended up with a splitting headache the day after and had to issue a number of apologies for some of the things he had said(no, yelled) to everyone in the room. Never again would he indulge in that lifestyle.

He uncrossed his arms and cracked open the tome once more. A few more minutes of reading and then it would be the hike back to the Academy...or so he hoped.

[Silver Fox]

Ashton Griffone

The Cornerstone

@Knight of Doom

Amaya, that's a pretty name. At least Ashton thought so as she smiled warmly in response to the introduction. It was then the man that came in for that delivery took Amaya's glass and walked out. The tall blonde blinked a little and sighed a little. Quite rude to take someone's drink and the bar's glass. One could call the cops as its a act of theft. The tall blonde pondered if she could confront him but decided against it as she rather not get into a fight unless absolutely necessary.

Plus, who knows? Maybe he had a bad day. Rulely customers, love life gone sour, house set on fire, whatever. Though still little excuse to act like that, Ashton still kept calm about it took her boogie board and erased the words. Scribbling upon it once more before setting it down for whenever either bartender came over.

'Put the price of that glass the was taken in my bill.'

After all, wasn't fair to the owner to lose money like that.

Turning her amethyst gaze to Amaya as the smaller girl answered the tall woman's questions, Ashton listened with wide curious eyes as she rested her elbows on the counter. Arms upright and hands folded together as she rested her chin on her fingers. Listening happily as Amaya explained how her night was going.

Club LUSH huh? Honestly Ashton didn't really mind if they went there. She liked getting wet anyway and dancing was fun too. Though it was a little awkward when you're the one standing out in a thick crowd like that. Marine had the same opinion as Amaya though. At least with Foam night.

Smiling brightly as the question, she cleared the boogie board again as she sat up, scribbling another answer. Amethyst eyes glancing up curiously as Amaya's friend came over. A guy at her side and spoke of going to his place. Oh that was nice they were getting along. Probably get some cuddles as they watch a movie or something. How cute.

Waving happily to the two, Ashton looked to Amaya with a bright smile. Holding up the boogie board. 'Friend needed a extra for a mixer.' The tall blonde then pointed to her table. Looking as Marine and the two other girls fond over the two guys. Looking to Amaya, the tall ambiguous figure rubbed the back of her head shyly and shrugged a little.

[Azaria Blue]

Mimiko

Mimiko flipped mindlessly through the sticky photos. What was it about unpacking that always made you go through nostalgic nick nacks? It was getting late into the evening and her energy was wearing thin. Sure half past nine was when everyone was getting ready for a night out - or enjoying one that they have already started - but not Mimiko. In fact, it was more likely that she was in bed already before the twen-teenagers began cackling and shouting in the streets.

A picture of her eighth birthday party had a picture stuck to the back of it. She pulled it apart with a crack and inspected the one in the back. A copy of her parents' wedding photo. She put it in the 'to hang up' pile. Mimiko was glad that there is a bit of freedom to hang things on the wall if she wanted. She always liked hanging up good memories, but there were perhaps just a few people who did not.

Ryoki had worried her to the core. Even if Mimiko could never revive her sister there was a chance she could help revive the pieces left in the broken girl. She was not sure if Ryoki would take her words to heart but they seemed to pull her out of the moment enough to look at it from another perspective. @Delta44 Mimiko had slipped her number into the pocket in the back of the girl's pants. She hoped Ryoki would find it if she ever needed help.
Mimiko looked up to find Pip leaning on the table and drinking her tea. She shooed the cat away before sighing. It must have been the milk he was after.

'Thanks a lot, at least you like it,' She sat the cup back down, lacking the energy to get a new up, boil the water, add the tea and sugar, wait for it to steep and cool before even having a sip. She would have to survive without.

She began flipping through the photos again. Ballet practice. Solstice cookout. A trip to the beach. She felt the tattered paper edges of the photo behind as she was about to pick up the sun-warmed face of nine-year-old Mimi. Her stomach sank into the cushion under her and dragged the corners of her mouth along with it. There were only a few pictures that she had ripped and none of them made her happy. She wished she would have packed this box herself, perhaps she would have left these behind instead of dragging them around to her new life.

She sat the top photo to the side and looked at a teenage version of herself with her arm wrapped around the blankness and a stray hand with blue nail polish on her hip. Her ex-best friend Rachel - she had joined a bitch clique and told them some of her deepest secrets. She flipped it toward the cold, tinder-less fireplace and it bounced off to the stone in front of it. A birthday party with half of the guests missing - laid up against the brick backing. A creepy clown from Halloween and a missing bunny - wedged strait between the fake logs that held the propane elements.

She looked down with a lump in her throat. A group photo with the top half missing. From a Christmas party. Her parents' bottom halves with looped arms. Both family and work friends mixed together with red hats, wine glasses and big goofy grins. Mimiko standing with her hands folded in front of her, shoulders shrugged and large hands resting on them. She still felt them like a ghost resting on her shoulders. She flipped the card away and it spun, hitting the wall in front of her. She leapt up and crunched it in her hand and cast it in the fireplace, then slamming it down after it bounced away. She gathered the others then went to the wall and manically pressed the button. It fruitlessly clicked. She heldd down the button and gritted her teeth.

With hot tears in the corner of her eyes, she kicked the fake logs with a swallowed scream. Her shin trickled blood from the sharp corner and she shoved a pillow off the couch as she walked by. She doubled back and grabbed everything from the silent sofa and slung them across the room. Pip scattered her way into the kitchen and hid on a chair under the table.

---

Mimiko sat with her knees pressed to her chest as the hot water hit her back. No matter how far she took herself away she felt hopelessly cursed. Followed. Weighed down. She let it go and moved ahead but it just grabbed onto her ankles as she walked past. She hoped she had a band aid because most stores were closed now.
She lay curled on her side with her hair twisted in a towel still and nothing but a large sweater and knitted socks on. Her apartment suddenly felt gapingly empty. Nothing but her and the cat at her back in this echoey room. She turned to look out the window again. Nobody. She needed to remember to be asleep while it was still light out.