fandomtownies | Caritas; Wednesday [08/07].

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Caritas; Wednesday [08/07].

You know, weeks like this one mostly just wound up making Summer feeling a little thoughtful. Even before she came to Fandom, the concepts of alternate realities had a firm presence in her life. Sometimes, they were really big things, like the whole world being pixels or everyone on the planet except your own family being infected by a mutated love potion disease. And sometimes, they were little things, like flies in ice cream or no fish existing or you were lactose intolerant or your mother being allergic to wine and so she never became an alcoholic and you were actually happy growing up. And while she had no doubt that being out in space in Kanan and Hera's galaxy trying to stick it the Empire through jello would present its own challenges, it was actually a little weird to think that the consistency of a universe that just sort of stayed the way it was would be a novel and quaint concept.

Just some food for thought, really, as she went about cleaning glasses and taking note of the reduced selection of some wine and beer behind the bar. Ahhh, isinglass. Leave it to the woman putting sardines in bananas to truly appriciate the sudden implications of losing alcohol that had been processed through fish bladders...

Wednesday Jello Shot Special!
Aquarium Shots but without the fish in them
Because I couldn't even find gummy fish, you guys.
First one free to all Wednesday activity participants!

Sure, she could have just made something completely different, but forgive her if she wanted to lean into the nicer subtle weirdnesses of this place a bit more while she still could.

Caritas is open!

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Seivarden actually did appreciate the island being as close to normal as it had been in a while. She did like fish, though.

As did her cat. Especially this week. So at least getting drunk at Caritas meant she could escape disapproving cat stares.

"So," she said, leaning against the bar. "At least you won't try to get me to drink fish jello."

As someone also with a cat who was all of a sudden too good for chicken and turkey, Summer could very much empathize and appreciate that even the sound of the zombie band was preferable to the constant feline complaints.

"No," Summer agreed, "but I will still try to get you to drink jello. It's just my job, Seivarden. You can even have one on the house even without participating in the Wednesday event."

"So, special treatment?" Seivarden said. "I'll have a whiskey."

"VIP," said Summer, who even managed to do so without even throwing up in her mouth a little. "Special treatment for special people."

But there was her whiskey, made pretty much just like last time, placed in front of her on a coaster because Summer was a good bartender, dammit.

"So," she prompted, friendly neighborhood bartender that she was, "how's your week been?"

Seivarden refrained from asking whether being described as special people was a compliment or not, and said instead:

"No fish, obviously. The cat's in a bad mood and I miss sushi. I suppose I shouldn't complain though."

She emptied the glass.

If Seivarden had asked, of course Summer would say it was a compliment. What else could it have possibly been?

She did quirk a brow at Seivarden's clear lack of interest in nursing that drink, but she had the next one ready to go just as quick.

"Especially considering your cat is always in a bad mood," she pointed out, "and as far as all the weird things that could and has happened...a world without fish really isn't all that bad. If anything, it stands as a dark reminder of the grim future this planet faces if we don't get our shit together on climate control and the often overlooked threat overfishing and the disgusting levels of pollution in our waters."

Because, yes. That was a topic of conversation that Seivarden would clearly be interested in, Summer.

"She's not always in a bad mood," Seivarden, feeling the need to defend Issa like any good cat owner would.

Then she raised an eyebrow. "So people are ruining this planet? I mean, this place sucks but that seems like a waste of a decent system. Just terraform another planet and add a station and it wouldn't be too, bad. Compared too..." She made a gesture with her hand.

"At least the tea isn't too bad." She looked down into her glass. "Or the booze." As a proof she downed the next drink too.

Edited 2019-08-07 14:37 (UTC)

"Yeah," said Summer, "Earthlings are pretty much terrible. Sometimes I wonder why we've bothered saving this planet as many times as we have, but then I remember that realities where the Earth actually survives are definitely outnumbered by the ones where it doesn't, and that, oddly enough, makes me feel better about it."

Summer poured Seivarden another drink, only this time, she just left the bottle there, too.

"We're a long way from terraforming and stations around this slice of time, anyway," she added. "Good thing, too, for the sake of the rest of the universe. But, just so I don't come off as a completely jaded asshole, the rest of the universe is really just as bad, too, so..."

She shrugged.

"What can ya do, amiright?"

"What's wrong with your universe?" Seivarden said, actually slowing down the drinking a little now.

"An uncivilized mess?"

Sort of slowing down.

"Yeah," Summer sighed. "Pretty much. Or mostly just stubbornly mired in their own ways. I don't even think I can count on one hand the actual times their response to something big happening being to just sort of shrug and go on their merry way. Like, when I first started going here? We'd just been overtaken by a super-advanced galactic empire, consisting of hundreds of planets, all unified under one goverment, faster-than-light travel, super weapons, all that good stuff. And while they were total dicks and it really sucked having those bug-brains all up in our planet, you want to know what happened once they were finally defeated and driven off? Nothing. Not any 'oh, hey, maybe we should try to do some of that ourselves.' No 'maybe we should use some of this knowledge we gained from their technology to prepare ourselves in the event that this happens again.' Just....going back on with our merry little lives, no big whoop, can't miss the next episode of The Bachelor, now, can we!'"

There was a...slight pause.

"To be fair, though, The Bachelor is legit televised crack, but, I mean, if I have to miss it because there's alien heads to bust or, like, a whole universe to explore, I think I'm gonna survive."

At least Summer didn't have issues with the word 'uncivilized'. Seivarden realized she appreciated that. She took a sip while listening to the rest of it, then snorted. Why wasn't she surprised?

"The Bachelor?"

She wasn't sure she wanted to know. Well, no, that wasn't true, she did want to know so that she could mock whatever it was.

Well, Summer had quite a few things to say about societies that thought of themselves as 'civilized,' too, and none of them positive, either, so it was probably a good thing they were sticking with the un-.

The un- was much more fun, anyway.

Summer's face broke into a grin. "Oh, it's great," she said. "In the worst possible way. It's a reality show on TV, and the whole premise of it is a bunch of desperate singles throwing themselves at one lucky bachelor...or bachlorette. It's total trash, and I love it."

Her grin may have softened a little wistfully. "It's, like, the one thing me and my mom actually sort of still kind of bond together on, too. We, like, live-text each other practically every new episode when it's on."

Seivarden really didn't want to hear about Summer and her mother, for several reasons.

"So you have a TV show where people are looking for someone to get married to?"

Seivarden smirked. That sounded just like Earth.

Now there would be some quality entertainment right there, just put Seivarden in a room with Beth Smith and couple bottles of wine...

"Yeah, pretty much," Summer said with a wistful sort of smile. "And that's just one of many. The Bachelor's, just, like, you know, the best one. So iconic. You should check it out sometime, since you're so bored all the time and everything. Or don't. Because I promise you, that's all it takes. Just one episode, and then you're hooked. It's got, like, some weird sort of addictive magic to it or something."

Seivarden's glass wasn't even empty, but she refilled it anyway.

"Sounds like it would make that marriage thing make even less sense," she said.

"Oh," said Summer, firmly, knowledgeably, "the marriages almost never last, and that's the other great part of it, because the fallout is usually pretty spectacular, too."

She...may have found some cathartic peace there, in watching terrible relationships actually fall apart like they should out of her frequent frustrations regarding the sheer persistence of her own parents' terrible marriage.

Which, you had to admit, living vicariously through failed Bachelor relationships was a lot healthier than running away to apocolyptic version of Earth where you married a dude you'd known for about two whole days and ate people, Summer.

"I'm guessing it's the romantic kind of marriage and not the kind where you want someone to give birth to your kids."

That terrible Titanic movie night had scarred Seivarden for life.

"Seems easier just to exchange pins and then throw them at each other when the drama starts."

Octavia had had a bucket filled with potato-y goop upended on her today. It felt like maybe a drink or two were earned, somehow.

And yes, she'd changed her clothes since the game. She might not have cared terribly about how she looked, but she did care at least that much. Though mostly it was just about personal comfort.

Anyway. "So jello shots do exist outside of that one party."

"Was this a recent party?" Summer asked, tilting her head a little thoughtfully as she moseyed on over to Octavia. "Because if there was a recent party with jello shots that I missed, I'm gonna be totally bummed out.

"Also," she added, because priorities, "want one? First one's on me," her smile there was empathetic, "for having to deal with Skywalker Shenanigans."

And she may have been a bit eager when she recognized Octavia from said shenanigans because, like, no one hardly ever took advantage of the special, it was just going to waste, and that was tragic.

"Is that what it's called?"

Octavia just thought of it as 'occasional thing on Wednesdays', when she thought of it at all. She shrugged. "I think the party was last year. That holiday where people wear costumes?"

She'd witnessed it a few times already, but the name didn't seem to stick.

"Halloween, probably," Summer noted, with a satisfied sort of nod, because, yeah, she wouldn't count that as recent, and she....vaguely remembered that she was probably there, and, hey, if she had been there and only vaguely remembered, then it had to have been a good one, right? Right.

Either way, Octavia was definitely getting an aquarium shot set in front of her. "And here," she said. "Sorry that there's no fish, but, hey, you know." She waved a hand. "Fandom. I figured people could sort of just pretend there's fish."

"I didn't know fish in drinks was even a thing."

The problem with Octavia's deadpan demeanor was that it was sometimes really hard to tell what was a quip and what was sincere.

Still, at least she accepted the shot gladly. "It looks just fine without. Thanks."

"They were going to be gummies," Summer offered with a rueful sort of smile, lest Octavia start running around thinking she was going around putting actual goldfish into jello or whatever.

Well, considering her class, she supposed the surprising thing might be that she wasn't.

"But apparently, not even they exist around here this week. And you're come." She gave a proud little nod. "Anything else I can get you in the meantime?"

"A beer?"

With her tone, the physical shrug was kind of unnecessary. Also, she already pretty much knew she was going to overindulge with the jello shots, but she could pretend otherwise for now.

"Doesn't really matter what kind." Most of them were better than Grounder moonshine, anyway! But she was still considering the shot glass, tilting it up to the light to look through it. "Okay, the... candy part, that's new. I mean, I assume that's what it is."

And in swept Shunsui, all flowing robes with his delicate fucking toesies freed once again from socks, as they well should be, with a broad and eager smile. Not only did he know he'd be able to find Summer-chan here tonight, but this was also the place where there was more booze and, hopefully, more beautiful women, and so what other place would he rather be?

But.

Business first. As much as it pained him to deal with it, it was a necessity. And then? All the pleasure.

He'd been meaning to do this, after all, but if anyone expect him to actually go out and do something last week when the whole world forced you to have to work at stuff, then that person clearly unestimated this man's dedication to laziness.

"Summer-chaaaaan ♥," he sang as he fluttered over to the bar. "Lovely, lovely Summer-chan ♥! I have something for you, my radiant little smouldering ember ♥!"

What did that even mean?

Still, the man did know how to make an entrance, Summer had to give him at least that.

"Yeaaaaaah," she said, slowly, quirking an eyebrow and trying to decern exactly what that grin all entailed, "why do I get the feeling that I definitely don't want it, whatever it may be?"

"Oh, no, believe me, Summer-chan ♥," said Shunsui, his lazy smile growing just a little bit more as he placed a hand to his oh-so-sincere heart, "you'll want this, I assure you ♥. I rather hoped to perhaps have it delivered to you anonymously, as a particular surprise, perhaps through one of the squirrels, but there arose...complications ♥."

Meaning Shunsui had rediscovered the fact that no one took to drinking sake quite like a flock of radio squirrels did.

"SPeaking of squirrels," he ventured, leaning on the bar with one elbow, cradling his chin in his hand, his expression a bit dreamy, "did you know that you've got quite the admirer among them? That Leroy seems to be terribly besotted with you, Summer-chan, but who can really blame him ♥?"

"Ugh," Summer made a face, shook her head, did an almost habitual glance around to see if Leroy was actually being a general creeper right now in this general vacinity as they spoke, and sighed. "Yeah, I'm aware, unfortunately. Anyway what's this supposedly anonymous gift? And be forewarned, my neighbor is a cop, and we're totally tight."

They weren't. But it wasn't like Shunsui would know that.

Or, if he did, then Summer might have bigger problems on her hand.

And Shunsui just smiled beatifically at her for a moment, shaking his head, before extracting an envelop (one that looked as though it hadn't even been new and crisp when Shunsui put it in his pocket, much less now, as it had clearly been with him all day, was crumpled and a little bit torn, and even had a nice slime on it still from when he'd knocked over the bucket during the activity that day) and handing it over with a grand flourish. Offering it out as if it were the most delicate morsel ever crafted, presented on the silver platter that was his hands, his head bowed low enough that she should be able to see the bright center of the flower on the top of his hat.

Summer took the envelope from Shunsui's hands cautiously, as if she expected it to explode into a shower of glitter and hearts the moment it left his palms. And it wasn't quite as immediate or explosive, but after she peeled back the closure flap and opened it, she tilted it slightly and shook out a small shower of slightly wilted and browned-around-the-edges cherry blossoms.

Followed by a letter.

Written in Japanese.

And hearts.

"And you were planning on sending this...anonymously?" she asked, quirking one cool eyebrow at him. "You know I don't even know Japanese, right?"

But there was another piece of paper in the envelope, she noticed, and she went to pull that out, too.

"...what is this? A check?"

Of course it was a check, Shunsui was, like, a billion years old.

"I'd like to purchase the store from you, Summer-chan ♥," Shunsui explained, his doting smile not going anywhere anytime soon. "You had mentioned that you were thinking of trying to sell it soon, anyway, to help get a bit more money for your new enterprise, hadn't you ♥? Well, what better hands to place it in than hands that have owned it before ♥?"

Not, of course, that he had any vested interest in actually running a store. Not now, and he hadn't had an interest in it then, either. But he knew from that experience that it made for an excellent anchor, a good excuse to pull out of his haori in the chance that Nanao-chan or anyone else came sweeping in and insisting he had captain duties that were being neglected. But if he went back, you see, what of this store that he is clearly so responsible for and could not possibly thrive without him, neh??

The philantropy of it made for a rather attractive looking pretense, too, didn't it?

"I'm sure you'll find my purchasing offer more than sufficient ♥."

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Caritas; Wednesday [08/07].

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