AFTERPARTY III: Never Have I Ever Been Quite This Drunk

[mirrite]

[There's absolutely nothing celebratory about this drinking party. "Party" isn't even the right word, not really-- it's more like a "drink until you forget and/or black out" session for anyone who wants to participate, and even the bartender isn't immune from that much. Please forgive him if your drink isn't mixed quite right; he's trying his best under the circumstances.

There's food, too, if anyone wants to attempt to stave off a hangover tomorrow, or just get something in their stomach after the events of the day: stirfry from Makoto, vegetable soup from Nageki (mediocre, but hey, a genuine effort was made and that's what counts), and some tea for those who would rather abstain from the harder stuff. (Is that even many people tonight? Probably not.)

Come on by the bar if you're hungry or want a drink, or even if you just don't want to be alone right now. That much, at least, is something that can be guaranteed tonight.]

Comments

[heroicact]

[...]

A familiar, familiar story indeed -- some things all the time and all the worlds cannot change, but all the same.

[There are all kinds of shades to Jack's mood tonight, though most of them are easily swept away in the current of all he's imbibed and will continue to imbibe -- just at the moment, though, lying down is at least preventing him from continuing his overindulgence in favor of listening raptly to the words that McGillis is placing between them, and perhaps for now it's an excellent substitute for wine or whiskey.

Not that he particularly drinks whiskey, either way.

There's a certain sting to it and other hard liquor that someone such as him can't quite like, and he has a preference for the smoother drinks, easy and uncomplicated as the tale McGillis spins, easy and uncomplicated for all the snarls of society beneath the surface. There's a slow dreamy smile as he regards his own hands, the fine lines of them marred only by a musician's calluses. Of course.]

The rise, the rise of an orphan from poverty to... um. Riches? Fame? General? General McGillis? [at least he remembered part of the title, y'know, you people and your complicated military hierarchies] You could find it in a storybook... Even the military part. Terribly interesting, since Pandora isn't. Military, I mean.

[vogelfrei]

Brigadier General Fareed.

[ Different from a General! And also a subtle reminder that McGillis is in fact his first not his last name.

A storybook story though... well. He's hoping to make it one, so the comparison makes him smile despite how sour they all have to be on stories these days. ]

And maybe you could - though most storybooks would leave out the gruesome parts. Much like I did now. We've had enough cruelty this weekend.

[heroicact]

Mm. Brigadier General, McGillis.

[Subtle is as subtle does. It's impossible to tell if Jack has managed to pick up on the hint and is deliberately being ridiculous (it might have been too subtle, though), or has lost the thread completely and is simply responding in kind (likely).

It doesn't seem to put him off any, either way; his smile simply curves a little when he looks up again and meets McGillis' expression. He did ask for a tale, and a tale he got. In this moment, he's easily satisfied.]

... A book of lovely pictures, for us. Kind stories. Very well. I promised, and so... [he doesn't, in fact, rise from his position; merely folds his arms across his midsection, settling in and closing his eyes and there is such a long pause that it may seem as though his drinking has sent him to sleep again -- but] Once upon a time? I wonder. Once upon a time, there was a boy who lived in a faraway land.

His father was an important man, who lived near the capital. A beautiful capital that he never saw... for he was not an important son. He lived an ordinary life for a while... [somehow, he pauses here to laugh, a little breathlessly] But the family was important, in some way. A role for him to play, however small.

The Vessaliuses, you see, work for Pandora. An organization of hope, in the face of the Abyss of despair.

[He should really be more coherent, this is a lot more like word salad stream-of-consciousness than a story ought strictly to be. But much like everything else, Jack manages to tumble out of that mold, too.]

For the good of the people, in some ways. For the good of the house, in other ways. The boy saw so many things... wondrous things, terrible things, humanity and the power of wishes. Ah, and the capital, too. Sablier... It really has been so long.

[He trails off; does the story have an ending? Perhaps the fact that it has a beginning is all that can be asked for...]

[vogelfrei]

[ It is a little incoherent, but that's okay. Stories don't need to be easily understood in order to be meaningful, McGillis knows this. So he listens to Jack with careful attention and when the other falls silent, he spends a little while just studying his drunken features. ]

Protecting the people is difficult work. You will see the worst of them. You will be tempted to become corrupt in turn. A house like yours must be walking a tightrope at all times or else the duty is already failed.

Did the boy think his family was doing a good job?