Pictures of last night ended up online, I'm screwed

[ofmyth]

WHO: Thor (ofmyth), Loki (selfimage), a bunch of booze, and everyone!
WHERE: Safehouse 2.0
WHEN: Late afternoon, evening, night on the 28th.
WHAT: Some people took down the monster, some people kept the group safe, some people snuck off to steal booze. They can all celebrate together.
NOTES OR WARNINGS: This is a post-event mingle! Loki stole a bunch of alcohol and Thor is going to make sure everyone gets some. Debrief, have fun, get wreckt, prepare for tfln the next morning.
Tag your own/check individual threads for specific warnings.

[When Loki hears the news of the Godzilla's demise, it takes a moment to sink in. There were doubts when a handful of the refugees wanted to run out and play hero, especially with their lack of abilities (for those who had them). He expected Thor to come back content on his involvement at best, broken and nursing his own failure, at worst. This? This is better than the best, and it's worthy of celebration. I's hard not to be pleased, hard not to congratulate; it's Thor's victory post the fall of Asgard, and Loki's sure that he's reveling in it.

Then, comes the booze: all different bottle shapes and sizes, some dark with lighter liquid, others opaque filled with something that has a more amber tint. It's unloaded carefully by all of them, messily lined up on the frames of one of the cots..

Thor looks to be almost a different creature than the moping, sullen thing he'd been since they arrived in the safehouse. Getting to his feet he stands taller, shoulders held back, a bright look in his eyes. Loki backs him up, tinking a metal spoon against one of the bottles to get everyone's attention. As Thor speaks he looks around the room, seeking out the eyes of everyone present.]

Seven days ago we were strangers. We were brought into an underground bunker, unsure of who we were and how we had come here. Some were angry, some afraid, others unsure. It's thanks to the aid and kindness of Gaby and El that we survived at all, here in this foreign city. Today, we have proven we will not merely surivive here.

[Thor hasn't met everyone here, but that's ultimately not the point. In his mind they are in this together, for better or worse. There is a 'we' who celebrate together now just as much as there is a 'they' who are responsible for their being here.]

Today we have repaid Gaby her kindness. Today we have protected not only her people here in the safehouse, but the people of the city. Today we have proved our strength to ourselves, to the city, to any who are watching us. Today, we set fear in the heart of our captor. [He seems to relish that last one most of all.]

Seven days ago we had little to celebrate. Today we raise a toast—[Up goes his bottle, held high and triumphant.] To us! To what we have done today! To victory!

[Loki chimes in, shaking the little bottle in his hand.] To New Amsterdam!

[Thor's arm is held high while others raise their drinks, then Thor upends his to drain it in a long pull.]

Comments

you got it babe

[persists]

[ She's lucky she has found the layout of this new safehouse easy. When she feels herself dizzy and stomach churning, she's off pushing down the hallway to one of the shared bathrooms. Mei is a doll and helps out at the right time, leaving Ciri to try and gather her wits after trying to clear her system out the best she can.

Sloppily, she looks up, gingerly taking the napkin and barely cleaning her mouth up. ]

Thank you — [ She mumbles, embarrassed. ]

[frostedplum]

You're welcome. Is there anything else I can do?

[ She stands just out of the way, fingers playing with each other nervously. Should she be doing more than this? Hopefully Ciri will tell her what she needs. ]

[persists]

Just stay with me for a spell. I may need more napkins.

[ Her forehead presses against the side of the toilet with no regret. ]

The ale and rum here is ... different. Stronger.

[frostedplum]

Okay.

[ She moves to lean against the side of the stall where she can look in. ]

That's unfortunate. Did it taste stronger too, or sneak up on you?

[persists]

Maybe a bit of both, to tell you the truth.

[ She isn't going to be proud enough to admit that she was reckless. ]

Easy to let your guard down when you're celebrating, gah. First good news we've heard since we woke up.

[frostedplum]

That's true. I drank more than I should have too. But everyone is so relieved now that the monster's dead that I wanted to join in.

[ She may not be sick to her stomach, but her cheeks are flushed and her words are coming out in that "drunk tone" people get. ]

I wasn't a big drinker at home. Unless we're talking about tea.

[persists]

[ It's certainly a big ass mood that they were able to lure themselves into. It's dangerous, honestly — ambitious, drunkards with too much mind to celebrate responsibly. She comes from a more primitive time, but this was worthy of some kind of party. ]

And joined in you did. Didn't need to be hammered beyond belief to do so. Everyone did good — we survived another day.

[ Well, mostly everyone. Ciri leans back, sighing as she tries to get her wits about her. ]

Tea is good... your favorite?

[frostedplum]

[ Mei doesn't mention the death toll, because she gets Ciri's point. As far as they know, no one from the bus has died, though it's possible a few who are still missing have. ]

Omigosh, how do I decide? Green tea is good. But so is pu'er and that's very different to green. I'd say those two are my favorites. And yours?

[persists]

Never heard of them, I wonder if there's similar ones here... It's not unusual for worlds to share common traits and goods. Good drink can be universal.

[ A laugh, but she conks her head against the toilet seat in a self-pitying kind of way. ]

Kaedwen imported some fine tea before trades became taxed to high hell. Black and did the job — kept you sleeping even during the worst times.

[frostedplum]

I hope they do! It'd be nice to have something more familiar.

[ She winces when Ciri knocks her head, even if it's not a hard hit. ]

Black tea is very popular too and comes in a variety of flavors. My country is pretty well known for making and distributing tea, so I've tried a lot of varieties. Maybe we can see if this place has any mint teas to settle your stomach?

[persists]

Ha. [ Ciri finds it amusing, after all that happened... something as simple as a conversation about tea was the highlight of her night. ] Only thing that could settle this is sleep — lots of it. I'll be fine.

[ She tries to be reassuring. ]

I'll be fine.

[ Repeating her words, the girl still feels foolish. ]

You have better things to do than slump around with a drunkard.

[frostedplum]

Well, I figured the drunkard was becoming a friend, and friends watch out for one another. So unless you'd really prefer I leave you alone, I'd like to stay.

[persists]

[ Well, that certainly sobers her up. She flinches, as if it Mei's words were blunt enough to cause harm. Truthfully, maybe they did. She sits up a bit straighter. ]

Come on, don't be so serious.

[frostedplum]

I'm being honest. I don't mean to be serious. Would you rather not be friends?

[persists]

What? It's nothing like that!

[ Her face looks flustered. ]

[frostedplum]

Oh! Okay, good. You seemed annoyed so I thought I wasn't your type of friend.

[persists]

No — I just —

[ She grits her teeth a bit. ]

Friends are far and few between for a Witcher.

[frostedplum]

A Witcher? I'm sorry, but I don't know what that is.

[ Mei knows what it sounds like: a Witch, but the —er suffix makes her wonder if it's someone who hunts witches instead. ]

[persists]

[ Certainly a deceiving name... ]

Right, right — a uh... monster slayer, of sorts. For hire.

[frostedplum]

Ohhhh. That sounds exciting! There should have been Witchers here to deal with those monsters we all faced.

[persists]

Oh, trust me — if they were here, that beast would have gone down easily. Nary a beast or monster that could outsmart a Witcher. Not the ones I know.

[frostedplum]

And you're one of them too? Are there Witchers all over? Are their many monsters in your world?

[ Tell her everything! ]

[persists]

[ screams. mei better tell her she's some kind of weather wizard!! ]

Yes. [ There's no hesitance there. She knows by now what she is and how she had grown with them. ] To both. They plague our world, but that's simply the way of life. Our villages hang on while the cities remain protected by wall and guards. We take jobs to solve problems — but...

[ She admits with a sigh, almost as if she's a bit bitter. ]

Witchers go through mutations, to better their senses and power. I'm not eligible for such thing, so I let me skill with a sword speak for itself.

[frostedplum]

[ Don't be silly! Wizards don't exist! She's a scientist. ]

Gosh! That must be really scary if you live in a village. I've been in both big cities and villages, and I know how isolated and helpless people in villages would be if they didn't know how to take care of themselves.

[ She gives Ciri a curious look. ]

What kind of mutations? And why aren't you eligible?

[persists]

[ She winces a bit, the subject foreign but still... close to her. ]

The trials... it's a stern process only three in ten survive. Those who didn't survive died in agony, but those who did gained lightning quick reflexes, their likened to cat-like eyes... It's to become the best monster hunter imaginable.

[ And her voice trails off. ]

Women are not considered because it makes the participant sterile.

[ Yet, Ciri bucks up a bit. ]

Regardless, I'm still a Witcher — I need only a sword and the direction of the nearest beast in need of slaying. No mutations needed.