Teenagers Scare the Living Shit Out Of Me etc. etc.

[dyingtohealyou]

[Characters passing by the bulletin board may notice a new message tacked to it!]

Drinking party at the bar at 8pm. Under 21 only. Adults will be persecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Fun and games included, party hats optional. Don’t be late!

[Sure enough, there’s a gathering of teens (and maybe some not-so-teens?) to be found in the bar! While the posting mentions this is a teen only event, adults are in fact allowed as long as they are cool. OOCLY please be aware there are going to be teens drinking alcohol and possibly smoking! Also additionally, please let the teens/players have fun; again, adults are allowed but only if they’re cool enough to play along without snitching them out!

All party game top levels are going to be made under Ahito’s account but please assume ICly that Akira instigated/explained them! Once the game toplevels are up you can also post your own toplevels to mingle freely if you like IDK IT’S A PARTY HAVE FUN]

Comments

/2

[impacter]

[this goDAMN HONESTY CHARM WHY]

I don't know, Ginger.

There's no guarantee anything would have ever happened in the first place. If it had... perhaps it could still be viable, if I had the full strength of my magic. Or perhaps it would be rendered useless, were either of us to leave.

Not to mention... if either were to end up here without the other, then that could very well count as a promise broken.

So I'd rather not discuss this further.

[lustro]

[ Ginger wishes he didn’t get so caught up in himself and his tiny anxious world because, until now, it never occurred to him that the people here would… leave.

Or at least… not… in a way that seemed real. Not in a way that was as tangible as loss.

Logically, the idea was there; they’re not from this world, so some or all of them will go home one day. But Ginger is used to a slow-changing home, so slow it feels locked in stasis. He’s known the same people his entire life. He would have known the same people his entire life.

But Solomon reminds him, horribly, that these relationships are temporary. This is why Day had been worried, and Ginger just hadn’t understood, so self-assured of his own permanence. It’s terrible. He hates this.

He doesn’t -

He doesn’t know how to say goodbye. ]

Fine.

[ … is what comes out of his mouth, short and strained. His lips press into a line to stop whatever else might come out of his short-tempered mouth, upset at himself. Irrationally upset at Solomon for reminding him that his feelings will eventually settle like dust, neglected - forgotten. ]

Do we keep playing?

[impacter]

[Ah. He can hear that tension. But there's nothing he can do to sway Ginger's heart. So he lets the discomfort settle, his voice gentle when he does finally speak up again.]

We can.

If you're upset, though, Ginger, then we don't have to continue.

[lustro]

[ No need for the kid-gloves. He's. Absolutely. Fine. ]

Dare.

[impacter]

[Oh, Ginger.

He takes a moment to adjust himself in his seat with some considerable effort.]

Say something kind and truthful about your capabilities. Only for yourself, and it must be honest. Then go tell it to Mika.

If you downplay it in any way, or compare yourself to anyone else, I will have you start over.

/2

[lustro]

[ He goes quiet for so long, it’s as though he’s forgotten Solomon entirely. He’s thinking, and every option he comes up with is tossed out by way of an immediate rejection. (I’m persistent, devoted. Is he though? Not to Rum. Doesn’t count.) ]

[lustro]

[ And the fact that none of those other options work - isn’t that just proof that his inner demon is correct? If it’s this hard to find one thing, kindness has set him up to fail. ]

As a person, I can… I’ll be there when no one else can be. Does that work.

[impacter]

[He stays patient under that deliberation, though the longer it goes on, the more his gaze tinges with sadness.]

Partially. I think you could compliment yourself a little more than that.

You strive to be devoted? Reliable? Even if a situation might seem difficult?

[lustro]

[ Strive is not the word he would use. ]

It doesn’t make a difference if a situation is difficult since I carry these thoughts all the time. I can only be myself.

I’ll still be here when nothing else is. Is that devotion?

[impacter]

If you're choosing to be wherever it is? Then yes. I would call that devotion.

If not? Then I would call that resilience.

[Even if one stayed while everything else left against their own will, to be able to have the mindset to carry on regardless was still a strength.]

[lustro]

[ That’s not what Ginger thinks when he imagines devotion, but - what does he know anymore? ]

Then I suppose I am those things. I’ll tell Mika later.

[impacter]

I would like to see it now, if you could. That was part of your dare.

/2

[lustro]

…………

[ He doesn’t want Mika to see him struggle to say these things. They can come out of Solomon’s mouth, but what about Ginger’s? Mika has such tender feelings for him sometimes; this would hurt him. ]

Alright.

[lustro]

[ At some point, he’s off to talk to Mika about murder, very romantic. But he… does come back…

Good news: overall, it went better than he thought! Bad news: he now knows Solomon would kill him, so he’s upset again once he sees his face. ]

I did it. Let’s end it there.

[ Does he mean for good? No, there’s nothing final in his tone yet. He still…

… ]

Think we’re both tired from this.

[impacter]

[Chair-locked as he is, Solomon can't snoop with how Ginger blocks Mika with his broad back. So he waits patiently, Ginger getting his full attention once he slips back--

Ah. Well, that expression sure says a lot. He has to wonder what went wrong.

His eyes soften apologetically, but he'll nod his understanding.]

That's perfectly fine, Ginger. I'm sorry if my little exercise was more upsetting than helpful.

Thank you for coming to talk to me.