video | un: Mason

[merged]

I'm not spending any fucking money on a bracelet, so, just as a warning, don't tag me or you will regret it.  [ She may not look particularly intimidating but what she lacks in physical prowess, she more than makes up for by being filled with rage and an impressive amount of teenage passive aggressiveness.  She gives a rough shake of her head, annoyed, rolling her eyes. ]  This shit just seems like a good way to get punched.

[ Huff puff.  Debbie Downer here is not into this shit, ok.

She may or may not be bored at work, as well, so if you're in the neighborhood for some alcohol in a dimly lit dingy bar (that didn't bother with getting a sign, so markers away), please come annoy the new bartender.  She can be found leaning on the scuffed counter, scrolling through her phone with a perpetual sour expression on her face. Please don't ask for anything too complicated because she'll just make it up and you won't be happy. ]

Comments

Audio Only; UN: RankA

[skyward_eyes]

Wow, you said a lot of words here and I don't even know what any of them meant, except for the threat.

audio

[merged]

Have you not heard about the city wide marker tag competition?

[skyward_eyes]

I haven't. Marker tag?

[Oh, that sounds either terrible or amazing.]

[merged]

[ It's terrible. Believe her. Oh god, she wants everyone to believe it's terrible! ]

Yeah, that stupid fucking game kids play at parties. They each get a marker and run around and mark their friends. Usually, by the end, the one with the most marked victims wins. [ That sounds all fun and dandy, right? Yeah, sure, if you're ten. (or of a less sour nature) ] I guess the city decided to up the ante a little and go with a fucking weeks long game where the fucking markers people use. Don't. Wash. Off.

[ If she sounds like she's probably been the victim of an accidental marking, it's because she was. And she is now a pile of salt. ]

[skyward_eyes]

That sounds amazing! You want in. I could buy you one of these bracelet things.

[And Nida, he adores the idea of this. A safe way to play at being an assassin again.]

[merged]

[ She has clearly made a terrible mistake and has to refrain from audibly groaning. ]

No. Fuck, no. Hence the warning. [ A pause. ] Not to mention, I don't really feel like I should have to wear some shitty bracelet as a way to say Don't use that hot pink vomit marker on me please; it should be a fucking given. People should have to sign up for shit like this and they should have to wear the stupid thing.

[ She could be trying to make some point but, really, she's just bitching. Someone doesn't know how to have fun. ]

[skyward_eyes]

I don't know. If our points are for leaving marks, we should leave marks.

[Come on, have fun, dear.]

[merged]

Yeah, marking those involved. Me? I've decided this is a really stupid way for us to spend our time. [ and that last annual thing they did started off more explosively than she likes her shit to be.

not to mention: eternal salt, she is. ]

Why would you bother? [ Earnestly curious. Really. Marker tag could (would) be fun with a small group of friends, maybe over the course of a single day, at a birthday party but otherwise? Nah. ]

[skyward_eyes]

My training. I was raised in a mercenary academy. If they'd handled my ambush tactics class final like this, I would have loved it.

[It's in his nature. It's about exploiting speed and skill and about situational awareness. It's his favorite sort of exercise. Too bad one of his friends cheats with super speed.]

action.

[scathefires]

[alcohol in a dimly lit dingy bar is exactly what jason, wearing a similarly sour expression, is in the neighborhood for today. he quietly takes a seat at the counter and waits for sharon to look up from her phone to catch her attention and place his order.]

Beer, please. [look, he even said please.] Whatever's cheap, I'm not picky.

[merged]

Damn good thing, then. [ She responds as she gets to filling a glass with one of the far taps. She seems to have some trouble filling the glass properly, the head leaving something to be desired. She sets it down in front of him, beer sloshing over the lip of the glass.

Whoops. She'll just wipe that up, excuse her, thanks. ]

Even the more expensive shit here is really just cheap shit. [ He said please, she'll be honest. There's a reason she picked this place to work. She thought shit alcohol meant low traffic but it really just meant shittier customers and nasty drunks most of the time. ]

[scathefires]

[jason can't help the small sliver of a grin that curls his mouth.]

Hell of a sales pitch you got there. [he takes a sip of the beer and - yep, it tastes pretty cheap. just what he was looking for.] Really, y'oughta put it on one of those chalkboard signs on the sidewalk. Your patrons will flock right in.

[he's amused. he recognizes sharon's surliness as cut from the same cloth as his own.]

[merged]

[ Heather smirks and lets out a huff of quiet laughter. There's little she appreciates more than someone with a good sense of humor, especially now and here. ]

Yeah, yeah, that'll get as many people coming in as: your bartender totally didn't lie to get this job. [ There had been a good deal of job opportunities but most of them seemed to either require more work than she was willing to do or for her to develop pleasant social skills. Neither really works for her.

She leans against the counter, feeling somewhat easy for the moment. ]

So, do you like cheap beer or just hate yourself?

[scathefires]

Who says it's not both?

[he takes another sip, crooked smile hidden behind the glass. it's a joke, but also not a joke, because it happens to be true. ha.]

So ... if I promise not to tell, can I ask what you lied about to get the job?

[merged]

[ She watches him a moment, still grinning lightly. Both, huh? Yeah, he seems the type. ]

You do know that if you break the promise, I will have to kill you, right? [ She may be capable of being threatening on the rare occasion but her words lack any of that. Though, if he ends up having a big mouth, she won't feel too bad punching him, even if the punches she throws are... shit. Kind of like her skill when it comes to tending a bar. ]

[scathefires]

Well, they say third time's the charm, right? Maybe this time it'd actually stick. [he shrugs lightly and sets his drink down. yes he's been killed twice. nbd.] Seriously, I won't tell. Breaking a promise is a dick move.

[merged]

[ Her grin dims slightly, turning a touch more skeptical. ]

Aren't you just the joker? [ Womp womp ]

Bar Time?

[helpdesk_hero]

[Alcohol isn't normally David's go to. In fact, it's not even what he's here for. He's tired, but he doesn't want caffeine, and frankly, some of his best thinking happens in places where there is just enough noise to require him to tune things out. Which was why he was here, sitting at the bar, tapping away at his phone. And it yeah, he should probably order something. After a moment he looks up at the bartender.]

What do you have that isn't alcoholic?

\o/

[merged]

[ It's a damn good thing she doesn't really give a shit if people order or not. She chose this place specifically for the chill. The less people she has to deal with, the better. Her brows furrow at his question as she pulls her gaze from her own phone (there's social media, she's never had social media before, it's dumb but also dualgram). ]

What? [ Oh wait, hold up. ] Uh... soda? Seltzer with lime or lemon? [ She searches around the back of the bar. Their menu isn't large, they don't really sell anything beyond the mediocre, but they do have a few things to mix with. ] I may be able to find a can of juice or something...

You often pop into bars to have a nonalcoholic drink? [ Because that seems weird. Though, she realizes she's not really sure what is weird these days. Hell, she's weird. ]

[helpdesk_hero]

I have to work early in the morning. You ever do a tech support job with a hang over? I don't recommend it.

[Not that he has, but he doesn't want to try. He might actually shout at a customer, and getting fired would be a bad choice.]

Seltzer with lime and lemon.

[merged]

You ever hear of limiting yourself? [ Ice, lemon, lime, seltzer; all in a tall glass with a straw dropped into it. She sets it in front of him. ] Personally, I don't think I could handle a tech support job without a drink or two; I'd probably hunt down my first customer and strangle them. I've only ever heard horror stories back home.

[ Not that tending a bar doesn't come with its issues but she doesn't have to troubleshoot for someone who has no idea what they're doing. Just thinking about it raises her blood pressure. ] You must be patient as fuck.

[helpdesk_hero]

Oh trust me, wanting to strangle customers is something I understand. In my world, there are actually ninjas. Apparently this confuses people. Anyway, one time some ninjas called our heroics help line, they wanted help figuring out how to beat a woman pretty famous for beating up ninjas...

'Rush her all at once' I said. And they just protested that it's against their code of honor. 'Rush her or you'll all be dead ninjas'.

Pretty sure they're all dead.

[Not that he wanted Elektra to get hurt. But his job was his job. He does take the drink and enjoy it a bit. Then he sighs as he looks at her.]

Patient? Was a substitute teacher for a while. Teaches that. [For people his own age. But it worked.]

[merged]

[ There's a lot to unpack there. Ninjas aren't so strange on their own, but toss in a ninja killing woman and modern technology, it all gets, well... confusing. ]

A sub would have to be patient [ as a high schooler, she knows just how tough that could be ] but let's back this conversation up: heroics helpline?

[ She's not going to bother assuming what it is because she knows, given her current track record, she'll assume wrong. ]

[helpdesk_hero]

[Do they have to back the conversation up? David sighs and gestures to his drink.]

Might need something harder to really talk about people trying to disable alien bombs, providing on the fly assistance for solving serious negotiation dilemmas, and helping people find out what magical form is being used to counteract.

[merged]

[ It's clear to Heather that David may not want to talk about that particular subject and she feels a tingle of guilt, guilt and understanding, that easily quashes her curiosity. She knows from experience that if you need to drink to talk about something, you probably shouldn't talk about it, yet.

She grabs a clean glass from the rack behind her. ]

Hey, if you don't want to talk about that shit, it's cool. [ Easy, nonjudgmental. ] I'd rather you just sat here and chilled.

You still want some booze? It'll be on me. [ If only because she'd tried to pry and she knows what it's like to have dark things and hard things and difficult things buried in the past; those things don't always need to come out, especially not to some stranger. ]