apocalypsehowcomm | (Open Log) You gotta know when to hold 'em

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(Open Log) You gotta know when to hold 'em

Who: George Milton, Nick Valentine, and anybody who shows up
When: April 22, starting around 6 PM until
Where: Apartment A-3
Summary: A night for playing cards, drinking beer or b.y.o.b. if harder, snacks and unwinding. Feel free to thread jack and jump all around, at least in my threads. This is just for some relaxed down time and catching up or introductions in a smaller, casual space.
Warnings: None expected. If your characters get to discussing anything triggery or get up to anything spicy, please CW in your individual threads.

Over the past week or so, hand printed signs drawn in sharpie on plain paper have shown up taped to walls around the apartment complex and on any easily accessible bulletin boards at ADI. A couple of them were also delivered to the flophouse with the request they be displayed somewhere the residents might see them.

They read:
Cards and Beer
Friday April 22 6 PM
Apartment A 3
George and Nick's place
You want more than beer
or chips and popcorn
bring your own.
Extra decks appreciated.

The night of, the door to A 3 is propped open. In addition to the dining table, a couple of card tables and cheap folding chairs are set up for games. Two bowls on the coffee table contain chips and popcorn respectively. There's a cooler on the floor in the kitchen filled with ice and cheap beer.

George or Nick will greet people as they come in and tell them to make themselves at home.

((OOC: Feel free to top level with your own character and make whatever prompts you like. George is generally easy-going, but if he catches anyone stealing, getting too hot and heavy in a bedroom, or otherwise being a general jerk about the apartment or the other guests, he will try to throw the offender out. If you want that kind of thread or want to succeed at something nefarious, let me know so we can work it out.))

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['Creative problem solving' is sort of Crowley's brand, so he's a little pleased with himself that Garner thinks it's worth considering.

('Creative problem causing' is also his brand, but that's not important right now.)]

Well, fortunately for us both I've only had one drink, so I reckon I can figure it out.

[He brings the glass over, resting one hand beneath Garner's upturned hand while he places the drink on his palm, waiting until he's got a grip on it before stepping back.]

Ehhh, it isn't a big deal. [Garner can't see the way he wrinkles his nose, but it might be obvious in his tone that he's still not comfortable with gratitude.] I'll talk shite about music and what-have-you until the cows come home.

[That might be important later.

For now, Garner takes the drink once it's in his hand and uses the other to shift it so he can give it a taste.

He makes a pleased sound and nods as he savors the sip.]

That is very good.

[Again, Crowley has broadened his horizons beyond the limited field he knew, not that it was especially hard, he could at least acknowledge that.]

That is the second time you've brushed off my praise...I'm curious. Are you low in self-esteem or simply think you are not capable of helping another? Or...perhaps, even...you were not exaggerating that you are allergic to being kind? Well, being called kind.

[Well he was going to be a smug bastard about the drink being good, but now he's going to have to behave like a cat that just had a bucket of water dumped on it.]

My self-esteem's perfectly fine, thank you. [Crowley's very good at multitasking; he can be a vain, smug asshole AND full of self-loathing at the same time.] Kind isn't the sort of word you want to be associated with, where I'm from.

[Not Earth so much as Hell. Even if there are no demons here looking over his shoulder, it's a deeply ingrained habit born out of fear, so not the sort of thing he can just... stop.]

[He can't help the small eyebrow raise of a 'I you insist' but at least he doesn't voice it.]

And where would that be, where you're from? Not...a very long time ago, yet somewhere similar enough to here and knowledgeable enough in Earth's culture to be able to impart that knowledge readily...

[Verbal poker? Maybe a bit. He was confident enough in the hand he had, at least.]

[He's briefly tempted to snatch the drink back from Garner, but it'd likely cause a bit of a commotion and Aziraphale would pout at him about it.]

Oh, I'm from all sorts of places, but it was Earth before I got here, just a different version of it.

[That absolutely does not answer the question.]

Ah...as you said...well traveled and prone to hopping from one interest to another...over a decent amount of time to have any proficiency in anything you do...

[He takes another, quiet, sip of his drink.]

You didn't answer my question. You do that a bit as well, when it's about you, anyway.

Might be a bit much calling it proficiency. You haven't heard me try to play piano.

[Demons are not especially musical, as it turns out, though he's not a terrible singer if he's drunk enough to not care about it.]

Well, it's not really anyone's business, is it?

[He prefers his privacy, especially when it comes to emotions.]

No, I suppose not...Though, I will say: refusing to tell a man who won't know the name of the place where you're from that name is....odd.

That leads me to believe that it is a place that, despite my not being from Earth, you think I will know. Which is interesting.

[And narrows his options, if he truly wanted to be nosy.]

That said...I have no interest in forcing your hand. I respect you more than to pry further than your comfort.

You could tell me, instead, about what drink I should try next or how you intend to beat all these men of their money?

[First of all.]

Or I can't be arsed to give you the half hour explanation that'd be needed to give even a lick of context.

[He's not sure what to make of Garner just... apparently dropping the subject, but at least his confused squint isn't visible.

People are weird.]

The first question very much depends on what sort of flavors you like. If you're into sweet shite, you're outta luck with me. [He has no advice there.] As for beating everyone, that's easy as anything. All you've got to do is figure out when everyone else is bullshitting.

[He shrugs lightly and takes another sip of his drink. That could also be very possible; people were, after all, complicated.]

Ah...well, then you are at a supreme advantage there. I would do well to take notes, for I have never been especially good at knowing someone is bullshitting. [He wasn't horrifically gullible, but he had his days.

As for the question of flavors...how did he even describe that? What did he even like? Not overly sweet, he could be sure of that at least.]

I...think I like earthy tones? If...that's a descriptor one might use for taste.

Well, you're at a bit of a disadvantage regardless, but if you're clever you can make it work.

[Watching people is an important part of the process, so Garner's missing out there, but it's also likely to make people underestimate him, which he can always use.

The description earns a scoff of amusement.]

That'd be why you like the whiskey. I prefer the peaty ones, which're plenty earthy. [He hums, giving it a second of thought.] You might like tequila drinks, they can be sorta smoky and a bit richer. Maybe some aperitifs, those're a lot like the bitters, made from herbs and whathaveyou. If you wanna go straight to a cocktail, a bees knees could do the trick if you swap out the gin for a good mezcal. S'just the alcohol, honey, and a bit of lemon juice.

[He'd offer to make one if he had mezcal on hand, but it isn't something he drinks typically, so it hasn't been worth investing in.]

[He settles back against the counter once more, now with his drink, and nods as Crowley speaks. This was all very good information and, while he didn't know some of those names, he would endeavor to give them a try.]

"Bee's Knees" is an interesting name, I was not aware Bees had knees of note.

[Though, the addition of honey made sense.]

Is alchemy or drink making another...abandoned project of yours?

[Do bees have knees? This isn't a question for 'Gorillas can't make nests that's what birds do' to answer.]

S'an idiom, no idea where it came from, actually. Just means something's good.

[It makes sense for it to end up as the name of a cocktail, with the honey involved.]

Eh, more of an on and off hobby. It's a lot easier these days with the internet, don't have to go digging around for recipes. And I did dabble in some alchemy back in the day, but it gets too messy for my taste.

[He tends to lean towards the more theoretical sciences, rather than practical ones.]

[Ah…he liked idioms, but there certainly wouldn’t be much cause for the ones he knew here, not without equal confusion.]

You are not incorrect…it only takes a moment of too much time or the wrong amount of something to ruin a solution. Sometimes to a messy end. I suppose that is what I liked about it: the precision and certainty of a known formula, as well as the mess and excitement of experimentation and discovery.

[Perhaps he would look into that assistant or partner to be his eyes. In time, anyway.]

[Crowley may be a self-proclaimed bastard, but he's always liked talking to people who are a) clever and b) passionate about something, especially if he also finds the topic interesting.]

I suspect you'd have ended up a chemist, if you were born on Earth. [Which is basically what an alchemist is, in broad strokes, if they're actually doing alchemy and not just scam artists.] This probably isn't half as funny when you can't see what I look like, but I did burn my eyebrows off once, mixing things that I ought not to have been mixing.

[Call that regenerating into Matt Smith.]

[He squints a moment for the vocal difference between 'alchemist' and 'chemist' but doesn't question it. They're likely similar enough.

He does, however, smile at the story. He might not have a good idea of what Crowley looked like, but he knew a person without eyebrows would likely look very foolish.]

You didn't put enough base into the mixture. If it was alchemist's fire, you'd be lucky to have skin enough to recover your poor eyebrows. At least, I assume they've returned to their rightful place.

Shit, wait. [Crowley, a whole idiot, makes a production of patting his face (and doing it loud enough to be audible) as if checking whether his eyebrows are still there. He breathes a sigh of relief.] Phewf, they're back. That would've been awkward.

[Why is he like this. He sounds so pleased with himself.]

That said, it might have been a proper alchemist's fire. I'm... not exactly as flammable as most people.

[Garner can have a little admission of non-humanness, as a treat.]

[The obvious display causes a bright smile to bloom on Garner's face and he chuckles. Crowley was, frankly, wonderful. Even if he protested it.]

Oh, very. I'm glad for your positive discovery.

[But his brows do lift a bit for the admission.]

Oh, no? A certain resistance, then? Even better for your undoubtedly lovely brows. And probably your eyes, really.

[He was absolutely going to puzzle on this, just maybe not right now.]

A certain resistance, exactly.

[It's a careful agreement, not saying too much about what or who he might be, but it's a little bit of information, because he likes Garner and that's always dangerous.]

Moreso when I'm paying attention. S'how I lost the eyebrows in the first place, got distracted and forgot to be careful.

[With both the concoction and himself. He tends to set himself to the default human body, for things like fire, if he's spending much time around humans. He can always heal later, after all. It's easier than having to mess with a bunch of memories if people happen to see something suspicious.]

Well now I'm curious. What distracted you so that volatile substances became second if not third thought?

[A pretty face? A Bigger problem? Suddenly realizing you'd left the reagent you needed on another table but you only have two arms and couldn't grow a third one but this was a time sensitive step in the process? Garner could relate to the last one at least.]

[It's an incredibly valid question, and Crowley makes a non-committal sound initially, as he tries to actually remember.]

Don't quote me on this, 'cause it was a while back, but I think it might've been a coworker deciding to pop in and check on me when I wasn't expecting it.

[Fucking Ligur.]

Ahhh....unexpected interruptions in the middle of sensitive operations.

[Like needing the smallest possible drop of something. Yes, completely understandable.]

Well, I'm glad you recovered and hopefully your reputation did as well.

Afraid I had to skip town and change my name, actually. I could never go back and see my family again, it was a terrible tragedy,

[It is..... fairly obvious from his tone of voice that he's just taking the piss.]

[His very intact brows continue their workout as they raise in response to Crowley's tone.]

I can only imagine the heartache you bear.

You're very fond of sarcasm.

Never hurts to know what you're good at.

[And he's good at being a sarcastic bastard!!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

(Open Log) You gotta know when to hold 'em

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you cant just read a man for filth like this, garner

look when you roll high, a minus 1 on insight means nothing

nat20 in being a nosy bitch

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