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WHO: Gaby + two pests (open to more pests, see notes!)
WHERE: Black Bliss (Gaby's day job)
WHEN: November 21st
WHAT: Gaby's been silent. Loki's a jerkface who stalked her home once, so he's bugging her at work.
NOTES OR WARNINGS: If anyone would like to find Gaby at her day job by chance or because they see her on the streets, hit the mods up on plot engagement so we can arrange a thread or hash out the details! The bar is in the less loved part of New Amsterdam, halfway between the old safehouse and the new on each side. If there's enough interest, we'll put up an open prompt!

[ the sign in the front of Black Bliss is old, a relic of days long past. Gaby's boss insists that it's for irony. so that it stands out. so that people know it's there. as far as she's concerned, something about it doesn't play up. still, it's a bar in the end of the world, and people are messed up. still, they're busy.

of course, Gaby isn't Gaby here. that's a handle. an identity she slides under. her real name is Celine Li – called "Cee" by those who know her. she's not fond of overly long names.

she's in her element as she works. handing out beer. making a cocktail. of course, a time like 2511 doesn't require her to handle cash. it makes all the exchanges a lot easier. it helps her know when someone's money didn't just "disappear" in the EMP. some jackasses have pulled that lately. there's nothing to support it, so out they go.

Gaby spots Jason and Loki as they come in. men of their builds are always spotted. she notes them out of her periphery, turns to grab a beer and then slides over, bending forward like any good barkeep greeting new customers. ]

I'm Cee. I'm holding things down tonight. What brings you here?

[ said casually. but Loki and Jason will undoubtedly notice the tension in her jaw. the rigidity of her shoulders. it's not even just that they're here. it's everything.

but there's no escaping it now, is there? ]

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What brings anyone here?

[ comes a smooth voice of a regular, perfectly ordinary, completely normal customer. he strolls in wearing black with a splash of green, dressed in different textures but blending in nicely to the vibe of the bar. Jason's not far behind them, the both of them looking like they're up to something.

what else is new? they're always up to something. ]

Bartender's recommendation.

[ he slides his butt up on one of the corner seats. ]

( browns and blacks and reds and they both definitely look like a couple of hooligans walking into a bar to do some damage. luckily, they're not scheming anything too terrible. yet, anyway. jason slides up next to loki, waves towards one of the nicer beer taps.

they're out doing fancy things, he can drink fancy beer. )

Cee, huh. ( there's a teasing lilt to his tone, eyes shifting over towards loki before he looks back to gaby when he speaks up again. ) What's a pretty girl like you doing working in a place like this?

( this is what she gets for sassing him publicly. )

[ at least Loki played along and made it easier on her. it's no surprise to Gaby that it's Jason who cuts through her patience. she rolls her eyes, not humoring this. the good news? she never does.

customer service employees are allowed to be right sometimes in the future. worker's rights, or at least the lip service of it.

(definitely the lip service.)]

We're not doing that.

[ putting it plainly. ]

I'll grab your drinks and you can try again.

[ the "you" is obviously Jason. she rolls her eyes and turns away, grabbing two pint glasses. sure, she could make them drinks, but she loves beer. it's better for all parties involved. ]

[ green eyes drag over Jason and give him a little bit of look, though it's hard to tell if it's really admonishing or if it's borderline approving. ]

What my friend here meant to say is that we've been concerned with the hole that you left in our heart when you left.

[ not much better, but a little clearer. the rest remains rather vague, and he doesn't push further than just nebulous connotations. ]

It may be forward for us to seek you at your place of labor, but the means of communication haven't exactly been open. We do all have that book group we love to attend, we felt as if you'd fall behind.

[ why not. ]

Edited 2019-07-21 04:46 (UTC)

( thanks loki, he appreciates it. and returns the look with a smirk of his own, pleased. )

We're so lonely without you, Cee. Who's gonna look at us like we're naughty kids with our fingers in the cookie jar without you around?

( taking the beer she brings in hand before loki can steal his first sip (again) and raising it up to his lips. )

Might not be what book club is really for, but it is my favorite part of it.

Have you thought about trying to read a book? That is what it's for.

[ this is Gaby trying to be cute. both of their beers are set out in front of them. Loki's is a porter: dark, with a hint of vanilla and chocolate laced through. Jason's is an IPA – hazy, with hints of pineapple and tangerine. ]

To answer the question you want answered, the last book – which I actually read – was too heavy for my tastes. Most authors aren't stupid enough to waste their time with trying to tell a story about that war. And yet.

[ Code. She doesn't name the war. They can guess. They're smart boys.

She nods toward the beers. ]

They're on the house, just don't make me regret it.

[ there's a tilt of Loki's head that says he's being nice, okay? it's followed by a charming smile as dark nails wrap around the glass and bring it close. ]

And yet—here we are. My father was the self-proclaimed god of war, you know?

[ he brings the glass up. ]

Aside from being a poor father and a questionable ruler, he taught me quite a bit about it. When it's over, the healing takes far longer than the war itself.

[ he puts his hand to his chin, and glances side-long over at Jason. possibly just looking at him to be cute. maybe. he looks away to drink again. ]

( it is cute, so like. loki's not wrong in it. jason tilts his head to look over to him, and takes another drink of his beer. it's a great choice, he'll have to compliment gaby on her beer choosing--later. )

And I can't say I agree with the author's take on it, either. ( he doesn't like el. doesn't like the kind of bullshit el did. jason still hasn't asked about it, and frankly--doesn't want to. there have been too many deaths to justify jack shit. too many children laying on the pavement following cassius' attack. there's nothing that can make that right. but. ) But it's just the one goddamn book. There are a lot of others laying around.

( el's in charge, sure. but morningstar is more than just one ai's ideals. )

'sides, I'm surprised you didn't figure that shit out a long ass time ago. It was kind of obvious.

[ a sharp look. Gaby looks across at Jason as if she's trying to withhold a great deal of emotion. grab a towel, wipe the bar in front of her. hold it together. keep in how she feels. the entire process makes her easy to read like a book. but Gaby's always been easy to read: heart on her sleeve and a little too straightforward in how she deals with things. a day was gonna come when her ideals were gonna fuck her up. that much is clear. ]

Sometimes, a certain walk of life makes you blind to a certain ... reading.

[ Gaby clearly struggles with this. book language or not, she's not really the type to pull this off well. not without a plan. she has no plan here.

she waves at the other guy at the bar, indicating the place in the corner where she's gonna go sit. where she takes time to call and check in on Riko, if given the chance. ]

Break time. Come with me.

[ Gaby leaves her spot behind the bar, heading to where she indicated. the boys are meant to follow. ]

[ for the moment his drink goes untouched as he watches Gaby with mild interest—it's the look that Thor hates—the one where he seems that he can pick apart anything and use it for his own purposes. luckily "his own purposes" have been a bit less nefarious these days.

for a moment his gaze follows her, and then bright eyes look directly up at Jason. with deft fingers he takes his beer by the rim of the glass and goes to join her. ]

It looks like we're a bit special tonight.

[ he says with a wistful grin before sliding into one of the seats across from her. ]

( loki slides in first, so jason takes the seat on the outside. leans back in his chair with his beer in hand and spreads his legs out, heel tapping against the ground at an errant pace.

but there's still the stupid upwards curve to his lips, so clearly he's having a great time. )

We didn't come here for anything in particular, y'know. No need to hide us in a corner like your dirty little secrets. ( there's a pause. just long enough to let that sit before he lowers his voice just a tad bit more. ) Unless you want us to be that for you.

You already are.

[ no mincing words. not here. not when she's frustrated and hurt. it's a simmering kind of pain, one where she can't deal with it in any traditional manner. tell Riko? out of the question. say anything else? difficult.

and Riko not knowing she's Morningstar? that's another part of someone not seeing what's right in front of them. ]

All of Morningstar's IT guys are like El. I've met one or two who've gone off the grid, who've had to be moved. It fits, and they all like short aliases like that.

[ come to think of it – that fits. El would know how to fit in, but would've had to think on the fly. it wasn't as if ze was an active participant in tech support before that night. ]

Don't hang that in front of me like a mistake. Your group likes to pretend to know everything. All the inner workings – partly because your objectivity grants you some clarity. It doesn't work that way. You may not be here for a reason, but you're here. So we're talking, but don't chastise me.

[ long road to get to that final statement. but they got to it. ]

[ she's sensitive, moreso than usual. where the Displaced had their world ripped out from beneath them physically, Gaby just had hers ripped out from beneath her emotionally and mentally, and that can be worse. ]

While this doesn't have an underlying effect on us as it may for you, we're still all in this together to some extent.

[ Loki follows up, green eyes half-lidded and looking into his drink. ]

We weren't lying when we said we were concerned. We wanted to lend ... hm, an ear, I suppose?

[ that takes a bit for him to admit, and he sighs and picks up his glass for a drink. ]

We don't know everything. None of us do. ( and he absolutely abhors the lack of information. that's something jason can admit to freely. he didn't know everything back home, either; but he damn well knew a lot more than he knows here. but he drops the stupid charade for a moment. drops the snarky grin. looks gaby in the eye instead. ) Hell, I don't know jack shit. And it gets to me, like an itch in a place I just can't fucking scratch. We've all come from different backgrounds, different circumstances and realities, right? All of us have a different view on everything going on. You're clever. You read people well. That's why I was surprised.

( moment of truth over, he slouches back in his chair, purposefully ticks up the gothamite accent, ) An' we're all stuck in this shithole together whether we like it or not. So,

( with a wide gesture, both to loki and gaby. )

I happen to like this shithole.

[ does she mean the bar or the world? the world is garbage most of the time, but she wants to save it. it's as simple as that. ]

I'm not going anywhere. Not for good.

[ it's the first time she's voiced that. ]

It's not like I can leave you all to ... it.

[ said like she knows that's wrong. like she's more malleable in her thinking than she wants to be. ]

Them.

[ correcting herself. there's a pause before she does, uneasy and unhappy about it all. she rubs her palm against her eye, uneasy. ]

[ perhaps they haven't been around long enough for the history to sink in, perhaps it's better that way. there's dueling perspectives here, and he's on notice. ]

Surprisingly, I'm not all too concerned with that. [ he fiddles with the bottom of his beer, making the beer go swish in the glass. ] If there are any direct nefarious intentions—well, we're already sitting ducks, aren't we? But not just us ...

[ he's implying Morningstar, but he doesn't say it outright, not here. ]

Then we've got a far larger problem on our hands.

[ "our." ]

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