thisavrou_log | (no subject)

Who: Friends of Nathan Drake and Jane Shepard and also basically anyone who wanders in
When: The local calendar equivalent of April 11th-ish
Where: unp̨̛r͠o̧̕n̢ơ̕͡únć͢͡ȩ͢ab͞͠l͘͡e͟ s͏̶̢p͏̡͞a̢̧c̴̶̀e̴͞ ̢bar̵͢ ͟͡n͝a͡m͝è̛ in Region 1
What: It's a come meet my long lost brother party. It's a birthday with no birthday decorations party. It's a combination come meet my long lost brother and birthday with no birthday decorations party. Also there's a bar fight.
Warnings: F for Fisticuffs

It's a lively night in the commercial area of Kauto's Region 1. A new restaurant and bar has opened, owned and operated by a boisterous blue-skinned alien named Jef and a meticulously hospitable robot named Enna. Drinks of all kinds—from space beer to motor oil-tasting wine to sugary wine coolers, which are apparently a delicacy on some backwards-ass planet—are on sale at a discount, and the food on the menu is Epcot World Showcase-level good.

The main space is seeing good business, but a private area in the bar, separate by a row of booths, is the site of a dual-purpose gathering. It must partly be for a birthday, although there are no birthday decorations of any kind, because a few attendees (they know who they are) are wearing ridiculous birthday hats, but strangely, Shepard is not one of them. Someone brought a pack of party noisemakers for those willing to make annoying honking sounds, and Nate might be one of them.

Good news for thirsty friends! Shepard is buying all the drinks with an endless open tab, and Nate's ordering more snack trays over time. There's also what looks like a pool table (but the game has inexplicable space rules), a dart board, and a foosball table with apparently-sentient tiny robots attached to the rails who immediately start talkin' shit at each other when a game begins. At some point, an alien who doesn't actually seem to know anyone at the party has sidled up and begun a game of space poker, and people are getting into it.

As the night goes on, Shepard remains unfortunately sober and the brothers Drake are happily sharing stories of their youth that each thinks makes the other one look bad. But a few hours in, a large crowd of members of Jef's species enters the bar and it doesn't take that long before an altercation begins. What's actually happening is, to those in the know, a complex social ritual that involves the display of appreciation for one's station in life and respect for the strength of others through physical interaction. From the outside, though, it just looks like a BAR FIGHT!

Pandemonium erupts, as some partake in the ritual and some are just patrons who are pissed about getting hit with a pool cue. It spreads with no rhyme or reason, all music drowned out by excited shouting, and at some point Enna hurls herself into the crowd and starts laying the beatdown with her robot fists, because this is not how she wanted the grand opening week to go god dammit. There's no calming things down then; fight your way out of the bar, or just fight!

[ooc note: If your character is on friendly terms with Nate or Shep, it's likely they got a casual invitation to come by tonight. If not, the bar owners have been aggressively promoting their new business, so it would be easy for their attention to be caught—all are welcome!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[She nods along as Ana speaks, watching her face, caught between letting the silence spread out, or her inquisitive nature taking over.]

Favorite drink?

[Silence was never going to win.]

( There's a thoughtful hum, and then the bullshit answer )

Tea.

( You never specified Shepard, but the bullshit also gives her a few more seconds to think about it. She really doesn't drink that much, just subverting the soldier trope )

There were some sweeter beers. Harder to find, but more enjoyable.

[There's a sharp laugh at Ana's initial answer, caught off guard by the inversion.]

Fine — favorite tea. Follow-up question: do you like raspberries.

( The laugh pulls a smile, and then Ana takes the second question first )

In some forms. It is not disagreeable in tea either, though I tend to prefer chai. Is raspberry important?

[At "not disagreeable", Shepard is reaching behind the bar, furtively mixing something in a glass. Any attempt to look will be subtly blocked by an arm, until she straightens back up, tumbler in hand.]

Only because the juice tastes like 'em. Ta-da.

[Holding out the glass, it's easier to get a better look at its contents — a mysterious swirl of gold liquor weaving in among a reddish juice, all on ice.]

And it's not spiced, but this liquor tastes almost exactly like tea.

( She tries to look, leaning back again when Shepard blocks her view. Ana gives the offered glass a curious look, reaching for it as Shepard describes it )

I haven't heard that claim before.

( The flavours could be similar but to taste like tea? She sniffs it first before trying it, giving a nod after a few seconds )

It isn't bad.

[High praise, for a soldier mixing over-the-counter drinks for another soldier. She'll take it.]

Glad you like it. Looking at cocktail lists these days, I'd wager there's a masala chai spirit out there, somewhere.

Had a bacon vodka, once. Smelled like bacon, but it just tasted like vodka. [She shrugs, frowning vaguely. Canadians like weird shit.] Can't really recommend it.