just gotta ignite the light and let it shine

[whattaprick]

Who: Everyone who's stupid enough to show up for this, because legal drinking ages are for people from a different century/planet.
When: Afternoon/Evening, Day 30
Where: Lakeshore
What: Local Carnival workers get wasted and set off fireworks by the lake.
Warnings: Carnival shenanigans, ie. booze, drugs, and people getting set on fire probably. Put any tag-specific warnings in your headers!

So, Wismuth happened.

Lambert's pretty willing to bet a good chunk of the Carnival is pretty happy to act like Wismuth didn't happen, but he also doesn't really care about what sorrows people are drowning or not tonight: he knows he needed this drink, and after he'd slept off the immediate exhaustion that came with running around Wismuth for nearly two weeks with the power of Creation more or less constantly burning through him, he's ready to something, anything to feel like himself again.

Fast-forward to the lakeshore. There's a huge bonfire going, a box of assorted fireworks that's been 'liberated' from wherever the hell engineering keeps their supplies, and probably a crate of wine that's going to disappear sooner rather than later. Anything else, someone's going to have to bring themselves.

[ ooc: This is a mingle log! Bring your own entertainment, food, questionable substances etc. ]

Comments

Miko Nakadai | OTA

[pullingamiko]

A, cw for attempted underage drinking

Hell yeah actual adult party - and, since most of the adults here are, frankly, horribly irresponsible and/or don’t seem to have a concept of legal drinking ages, she can take full advantage of that fact.

Which… okay, that might be easier if wine wasn’t, as it turns out, super gross. After getting hold of some, she nearly spits out her first mouthful, then looks at her cup with an offended look. “Aw, gross, it’s like somethin’ went bad! Why do people drink this?”

...Unfortunately, she’s committed to this now, so she’s just gonna. Make an attempt to drink more of it. This is probably fine.

B

(( OOC: Honestly she’ll just be Around, and has Screamo with her, so if you want to just hang out on the beach/generally do stuff that does not involve attempted underage drinking, go for it!! ))

a

[milkruns]

It's probably a good thing that June doesn't actually know Miko is here, or she'd have been looking out for her. Then again, June might have saved her the trouble of discovering she doesn't like wine if she'd gotten to Miko earlier.

She has a glass of wine in her own hand, although she still looks pretty sober. She's mostly just...mingling? Does it count as mingling if you're half-people watching because you barely know anyone here? Close enough. But then she hears a familiar voice -- so familiar it actually jolts her a little -- but when she turns, she...doesn't totally recognize the girl complaining about wine. (It's an acquired taste, child.)

"Miko?"

[pullingamiko]

Well scrap.

Miko recognizes that voice, and, though it's kind of nice in a way to see someone from home, she would never admit as much and is absolutely not happy about this anyway. She reflexively attempts to hide her cup behind her back, even though that's probably pointless now.

"Jack's m-- Ms. Darby?!" What is she doing here how could this happen. This is the worst possible thing.

[milkruns]

Sorry, Miko, the fun police have arrived and they are confiscating your good times.

"Are you drinking? You're barely even old enough to drive!" And then, because Priorities, "What happened to you?"

[pullingamiko]

"I'm-- look, it's not like there's police here! Except Security, and the guy in charge of them is an egg right now." Because that's definitely, totally the problem.

She looks down at herself, then just... gestures at everyone else around them. "Uh... faerie magic, same as what happened to all of them. What are you doing here?"

[milkruns]

"Just because there's no one around to get you in trouble doesn't mean it's okay," June says, looking just slightly appalled but mostly stern. "And it's -- I'm sorry, did you say an egg? Wait -- no -- not the important thing here. I'm here for the same reason anyone is. I've got a contract."

Which she is none too thrilled about, clearly, but she's doing her best, okay. She knows about the changes, more or less, but it's still kind of a shocker to see someone she knows so changed. And even though she's got the disapproving mom look going on, it softens a little as she frowns. "Is Jack with you?"

[pullingamiko]

"What? You're gonna be here for a whole year?!" Which means she'll be here for the rest of Miko's contract, too. Which means Miko is out of mom-free time here. She cannot believe this.

She shakes her head, crossing her arms as well as she can while still holding her cup. "No; he's not here. Good thing, too, he'd probably hate it."

[milkruns]

"Isn't everyone?" June says, trying not to snap, but it does come out shortly. She's not thrilled about it either, Miko!! But hearing that Jack is not here is...a relief and a little bit devastating all at once, and it shows. For a second, instead of looking like Disappointed Mom, she just looks...really lonely. She purses her lips and looks around the party, rubbing one arm.

"You're right about that," she says, trying to keep her voice light, wry. It's a good thing Jack's not here, she tells herself. He's much safer back home. With all the giant robots and the ongoing robot war. Well,,, "He wouldn't be able to stand this place. He needs a little normal in his life."

[pullingamiko]

"Yeah, but they're not you!"

Aaand she instantly regrets that. Especially as she watches June's face, how she reacts as it sinks in that Jack isn't here. Shit.

Miko presses her lips together, and stoops down to put the cup of wine in her hand on the ground. Time will tell if it can stay upright in the sand, but anyway. "...Right. And, y'know-- if you can tell him this place exists too when you get back, it'll make it harder for him to act like I made it up."

A joke, or something, probably. She's trying.

[milkruns]

Ouch, Miko. That does sting, and it shows, even though June tries not to let it.

"Somehow I'm not sure he'd find the stories comforting, no matter who it comes from," she says, and she's not wrong. June knows that she'd probably get secondhand stress just from hearing about it. "Although, I guess if you come home looking like that..."

[pullingamiko]

Yeah that was... absolutely a mistake. But, seeing as how Miko is a stubborn disaster of an individual, there's no way she can just take it back right away. That would just be... weird and awkward and she doesn't even want to think about it.

So she'll think about this, instead, because it's way easier and more fun. "Well, what are we supposed to do, just not tell him?" It's said like a joke, but seriously, there was no way she could have planned to keep all this to herself.

She also... honestly had not considered the matter of going home purple, but it'll probably be fine.

[exaomori]

"It tastes rotten cause it is, you know~" Speaking of irresponsible adults, there's within earshot of her. Sitting lazily on the shoreline with her legs spread in a remarkably unladylike manner is Shura with her own glass of wine. If the flush on her face is anything to by, this isn't her first glass.

"This yer first time or somethin'?"

[pullingamiko]

"I know that!" She probably only knew that vaguely and tangentially, but as far as she's concerned that's enough to be indignant. She scowls, but nods, glaring down at her wine as if it is personally to blame. "Yeah. Nobody would ever let me drink back home."

Because she's a sixteen-year-old with a history of bad judgment, but anyway, that's clearly beside the point.

[exaomori]

Shura just laughs. "Nyaaa, so yer bein' naughty here? That's fine~ Gotta try it sometime, right?" Admittedly, for all that there were a lot of terrible adults in the immediate vicinity, it could be much worse. And since this isn't one of the teenagers Shura feels vaguely responsible for, she'll throw in a helpfup tip. "Go mix it with some juice and it'll go down easier ♥! Mixed drinks are better than just straight wine, anyway~"

[pullingamiko]

"Right! I don't see why I gotta wait 'til I'm twenty, anyway." Or twenty-one, she guesses, if she stays in the States. But that's not even going to be a question until she leaves the Carnival, and she doesn't really want to consider that right now.

Miko's dumb fluffy ears flick upward, and she considers that for a moment before giving a quick, enthusiastic nod. "Oh man, yeah, that sounds way better! Thanks!"

Time to probably water this crap down until it barely counts as alcoholic anyway, which might be best for everyone involved.

[exaomori]

"Haha, it's good to be young an' rebellious ~. Why not have fun when it's free, righ'?" So says the woman who still lies about her age. But really, this seemed to be a safe place to fool around with booze. "Get me another glass of the good stuff for me, will ya?"

Young and strong and hopefully willing to do menial tasks for Shura.

[pullingamiko]

"Uh... yeah, that!" Miko, of course, doesn't have much firsthand experience with having to pay for her own stuff, beyond whatever privileges her parents figured she should have to save for herself. But she's at least got some idea of what Shura probably means.

"Sure." This lady seems cool, so, why not. "Uh-- would that mean the wine, or wine mixed with other stuff?"

[exaomori]

Sure, Shura's kinda cool. She's also terrible. Just ask Yukio. Or rather, don't. That's probably a bad idea.

"Wine, wine~" Here is an adult cheerfully singing for wine. Or, after she thinks for a minute, something else. "Or beer, if they got it~ Heheh, you'd probably like that even less.

[pullingamiko]

"Got it!"

With that she scurries off, and... well, she is trying not to be caught by anyone too Responsible, so she can't search too much for specific kinds of drink. In the end, she ends up grabbing more wine, since she knows where that is.

She gets back pretty quickly and passes Shura the glass, then makes an attempt to take another sip of her own. YEP, still gross. "--urgh. What's beer taste like?"

[exaomori]

What a good girl, Shura likes her already ♥. Seeing a kid who was acting like a kid was satisfying in a way, if only because she didn't have to worry about them getting into something too nasty later on.

She can be good and patient while Miko finds her something else to drink. Laziness beats impatience on most days, and she beams when she sees Miko returning with more wine, accepting the glass and taking a quick sip.

"Mm, beer? Aah, like bread, kinda! All yeasty and good~. It's more refreshin', I think."

[pullingamiko]

"That doesn't sound too bad." Better than rotten grapes, anyway, which she is... pausing on for the moment. She will totally definitely finish it later, maybe.

A...

[periphrasing]

"I keep asking that same question myself." Peridot is nearby, clutching the bottle in her claws so she can squint at the label. "Lambert and Strange both drink it all the time, it's like they're obsessed or something." A pause, and then she looks up at Miko, one brow raised slightly. "By the way, correct me if I'm wrong, but don't humans have some sort of restriction on younger individuals drinking this stuff?"

[pullingamiko]

"I think they just like being drunk." Like, that seems like the most likely explanation to her.

She blinks and looks over at Peridot, her ears flicking upward as she gets ready to be defensive, but-- hmm. She doesn't seem to know, so... "Nnno. Nope! None of those."

She grins, hoping that works. She's not exactly the best liar, but. She's pretty sure Peridot is bad at this stuff, it's probably fine.

[periphrasing]

"...You're lying to me," she says flatly. Sorry Miko. No dice. Peridot unfortunately remembers being your older sister a bit too well for such a flimsy lie to slip by her. That said...

"I don't actually care, though. If none of the other humans here are concerned, I don't see why I should be."

[pullingamiko]

Dammit. But, if she's not gonna stop her, she can't complain too much. She just... won't mention that she's sure there are some humans here who would have a problem. She's just avoiding them.

So she perks up, grinning. "Great! I promise I'm being... responsible, or whatever, anyway."

As responsible as she ever is, which is saying basically nothing.