SS Golden Mingle!

[cabbagedetective]

Who: The crew of the SS Golden
Broadcast: Nope
Action: SS Golden
When: 6/10 to 6/30


[With the exciting lights and sounds of the casino behind them, things seem to have really wound down for the fleet. With very little to do outside of the ship, what better way to try and stave off cabin fever than by socializing with one's fellow crew members? Compare casino winnings, swap stories about anything the other mysterious planet they left behind, or maybe just stare out the window together at the passing space debris. The choice is yours!]

Comments

[coppermarigolds]

[Aveline is still sort of angry about Anders being her captain. Seriously, that is all sorts of wrong and he's unqualified. Anyway, she won one thing at the casino -- or rather, Beverly won it for her -- and for now she's just going to curl up in a corner with the battered old book she won.

She is trying very hard to hide the title: Ser Aveline and Other Tales. It's dumb but it's familiar and sweet, and if they gave it to her she may as well read it. She's all tied up with nostalgia and maybe a bit distracted at the moment.]

[cabbagedetective]

[By now, Adachi's become comfortable enough around the ship that he knows all the good nooks and crannies to hide in for his now almost constant lounging sessions. However, one day he's surprised someone already occupying one of his usual spots. She appeared to be rather focused on her book too. She looks rather absorbed and not too interested in being bothered at the moment; but, if she's a crew member, than Adachi figures he might as well say hello and disrupt her little quiet time.]

Must be a pretty good read.

[coppermarigolds]

[She starts, and automatically moves to cover up the book. That's foolish and she realises it almost immediately, but she still leaves her hands on the pages.]

It's... silly stuff, really. Nothing important.

[cabbagedetective]

[Oh ho, this could prove to be just the kind of entertainment Adachi was looking for.]

Ah ha! It's something dirty isn't it?

[He chuckles, clearly pleased with himself. He stands up, waving a hair in the air in an expression of "now, now..."]

It's nothing to be ashamed about. Men aren't the only ones who can have perverted minds after all.

[coppermarigolds]

It isn't that at all!

[Ugh. Half-outraged, half-embarrassed, she leans back, one hand still casually over the title on the book.]

It's completely the opposite, actually.

[cabbagedetective]

[Adachi snickers at Aveline's reaction. Yeah, he wasn't buying that for a single second.]

Oh, then what is it about? It must be a real page-turner, considering how enthralled in it you seemed to be. If it's that good, maybe I can give it read when you're done?

[coppermarigolds]

[Her face twists, even as she blushes at the idea that she's reading something naughty out in public. She'd rather not have this conversation with anyone who's not already aware of who Ser Aveline is. Still, on a ship this small... it's not a conversation she can avoid forever.]

Fine.

[She draws back, pushing the book across the table.]

It's just old stories. That's all.

[cabbagedetective]

[Aww... Adachi was hoping for something smutty. How boring... He sighs, looking visibly disappointed.]

If it's just a collection of old stories, then why be all secretive about it?

oops ignore that tag with the wrong account

[coppermarigolds]

My father used to read them to me.

[Aveline struggles a moment, then sighs. May as well come clean.]

And... Ser Aveline is my namesake. It's a bit embarrassing, honestly.

No worries!

[cabbagedetective]

[Adachi cocks an eyebrow in response.]

So you share the same name as the main character? That's why you like the stories then, because you can pretend they're about you?

[How lame...]

[coppermarigolds]

That is not why.

[She huffs, half-rising.]

One story in this book is about Ser Aveline, and I have heard it more times than I ever care to repeat, and I certainly have no desire to hear about her glorious downfall one more time in my life.

[cabbagedetective]

[Whoa now! What was with this chick? It was just a question... jeez...]

Ah! Sorry! I didn't mean anything by it. I was just asking, because you said you shared the same name as her. That's all!

[He's waving his hands in front of his face, looking nervous like he just woke up a sleeping bear.]

If you don't like the story though... why read it again?

[coppermarigolds]

[She sits down again, sighing.]

Ser Aveline is... very well known, back home. I'm tired of being compared to her.

[And everyone asks about the name, sooner or later, and it's annoying.]

But some of the other stories are... nice, and my father read them to me as a child. That's all.

[unconfines]

[Did someone mention the not-so-beloved captain? Because here he is, as the is wont to be, interrupting crew members' lives because he's bored, mostly.

He's bending at the waist to try and read the title of her book around where she has it covered. He is not being subtle in the slightest.]

[coppermarigolds]

[What. Aveline turns to glare at him, her hand very firmly over the title.]

What do you want.

[unconfines]

I'm only curious. You're very touchy this morning. [He's grinning as he says it, either way, only more encouraged to be irritating.] Why, is it naughty?

[What else are they supposed to think, Aveline, really.]

Have you been holding out on me? Aveline.

[coppermarigolds]

It is not naughty.

[She glares at him. Look at her, attempting to glare him into submission, slightly hampered by her blush. But she does sigh and reveal the title. See? Nothing dirty. How dare you think that.]

There. There, have your laugh, if you must.

[unconfines]

Ser Aveline and Other Tales.

[He reads the title out loud and excruciatingly slowly. Half the point was just to get a rise out of her, and given that it's working well enough so far, he doesn't see a need to quit while he's ahead.]

Is that the depressing Orlesian one where she dies at the end? [That's about the extent of his knowledge on the story, yes.] Spoilers, I suppose. But if you're looking for something inspiring, you may want to flip to one of these Other Tales they're so excited to tell us about.

[coppermarigolds]

I was reading one of the others, thank you.

[She pulls it back, slamming it shut.]

I didn't ask you, you know.

[unconfines]

[He holds both hands up, as if surrendering, but his smile only spreads.]

I was only taking an interest in my crew. Is that so wrong? Not my fault if the book isn't any good.

[coppermarigolds]

I didn't say it wasn't any good.

[So. Anders prior to Justice was infinitely more aggravating and perhaps slightly less inclined to blow things up. That's not much of a trade.]

If this is your idea of 'taking an interest,' then you really are unqualified to be a captain.

[unconfines]

[He rolls his eyes, the extent of his reaction to a jab like that. The truth is, he doesn't entirely disagree with her— he doesn't feel equipped to handle the responsibility at all, even as he's trying his best. (With the responsibility, at least. Not with trying to make peace with her, that much is unquestionable; without a crisis to keep him in line, sometimes his pettiness wins out.)

Being berated by someone who clearly wants to chase him off it just makes him want to hang onto it even tighter.]

Please. You say that like you weren't already convinced of it weeks ago.

[coppermarigolds]

It's just reinforcing my initial impression.

[She balls her fists tightly, scowling, but she takes a deep breath. She is going to try. For Hawke, mostly. She has no time for this. She almost misses the Anders she knows in comparison. He apparently has some restraint.]

You are intentionally being aggravating. Why?

[unconfines]

[Because he's bitter and vindictive. Because if she's going to hate him the way Fenris does, the way Varric did, he may as well give them all whatever excuses they need, rather than reduce himself to a punching bag. Because ever since he set foot in this place it's been a near nonstop deluge of people talking to him and about him like his funeral pyre is already half lit, like his life is already set aside and finished and judged. Because on days that he doesn't feel adrift and confused and upset about the future Jove laid out for him, he feels angry.

His smile is sharp at the edges, somehow more closed-off than it might have been if he simply hadn't bothered. Anger isn't new to him, and never will be. It's comfortable, like a refuge.

Hawke wants them to be civil. He can be civil. But no one ever said he had to be pleasant.]

Well, because you make it so easy, for one.

[coppermarigolds]

And that's why you're not a leader. You can't lead while purposely antagonising those who are supposed to follow you.

[Aveline exhales, sharply. She can understand that this isn't the Anders she knew. She can understand that there might be a difference between pre-Justice and post-Justice Anders. She can't understand why that has to mean Anders has to harass her.]

You know, I'm not the enemy right now, Anders.