Twenty-somethings gotta twenty-something

[mikangirl]

Who: Everyone invited, everyone gatecrashing (technically you're all invited, so...)
Broadcast: Who knows, maybe some drunken texting later on
Action: Iskaulit Pool!
When: 3 July

[It's a party for a narcissistic redhead who likes to be reminded she's alive.  Come celebrate!  Alternately, come sneak in and steal the food!  There's a bar set up for drinks drastically lowered to cost-price or to-be-paid-later-tab, a non-alcoholic punch in case of wandering minors (spike it and Nami will end you) and random snacks.

Oh, and a pool.  Which is heated.  Kind of important, that part.

Step right up, I'm reliably informed we'll have Thor with his shirt off, take pictures while you can.]

Comments

[watermarks]

[ All the frizz is the reason; it's hard to bend out the water and not the moisture in the hair.

She smiles. ] Nami's a good person to be friends with.

[candothat]

[The concept of frizz-reduction is a foreign one to him. Alas.]

She is, and not only because she operates a bar, hosts parties, and has excellent taste in friends. [Although those are wonderful traits.]

[watermarks]

[ Ha. A quick, teasing grin. ] If you don't say so yourself.

[ After all, teasing him that he'd claimed to be her friend and then complimented Nami on her excellent taste in friends was much, much easier than taking the compliment herself. ]

[candothat]

I wasn't referring to me. I'm a terrible friend, and I am at peace with that.

[He's mostly joking, even though he does feel that he has compelling evidence to back that statement up.]

[watermarks]

[ Her eyebrows arch at that, skeptical and a little wary. ]

Oh really?

[candothat]

I'm only teasing. [Mostly. Look, it's been a rough day for self-esteem.] My intention was to compliment you, but that didn't go as well as I had hoped.

[watermarks]

[ Oh dear, that's much harder to dodge. She shifts a little, back and forth, and manages a small, wry smile and a little shrug. ]

Then I guess I should thank you for the intention. That's what counts with gifts and compliments, right? And this is a birthday party.

[candothat]

[Ha, she's trapped! There's no way around the compliment, Katara.

He smiles.] You don't need to. I think that, since it's her party, Nami is the only person who is obligated to appreciate intentions today.

[watermarks]

[ No way out but through! ]

So you'd rather I not thank you for the compliment?

[candothat]

Maybe not that one, the delivery was bad. Thanks can wait until I give you a better one.

[watermarks]

[ She blinks. And blushes a little. Whaaaaaaaaaaat is happening right now.

She attempts to disarm with Sincerity. ]

Maybe you should wait until you get to know me better before you try to compliment me. For all you know, I could be a terrible friend, and a worse person, with absolutely nothing worth complimenting.

[candothat]

[It occurs to him a little too late that what he said sounded a lot like flirting, which he was not doing because it never goes well and he's too smart to go around doing that. Definitely. Yes.

Sincerity is super effective!]

That seems unlikely based on the three times that I've spoken to you, [he can be sincere too, see?] but you make a good point. Compliments shouldn't be given out so lightly.

[watermarks]

[ Her blush fades. Oh good. This is good. Yes. Everything is fine. ]

Well, I'm glad to hear that. [ Since, you know, she doesn't want to be a terrible person, or be seen that way. (But also, sincerity in that assessment could be a little flustering if she let it; she doesn't.) ] And I agree. Compliments mean more that way. [ She thinks of Sanji and... relents a bit. ] At least, it feels that way to me, especially if they're about things that you don't really know yet.

[ She finishes wringing out her hair at this point and drops her hands down to her sides, giving a little shrug as the heavy mass of it settles down against shoulder. ]

[candothat]

[Pavel really, truly, and sincerely doesn't think that she's a terrible person... not that his assessment should be given much weight since he has thought that of people who could have definitely been classified as terrible. But he's not wrong this time, he's sure!]

Of course. No compliment means as much as the one that comes from someone who is familiar with your less-than-complimentary attributes as well.

[He abruptly remembers his manners.] May I get you a drink?

[watermarks]

[ She blinks at the change of topic. ] Uh, sure? Do they have soda over there?

[candothat]

Yes, I think so. Just a moment.

[It actually takes a couple of moments for him to retrieve drinks--a soda for her, water for him--but retrieve he does.]

No drinking for you ever? [Alcohol, he means. Obviously she drinks soda.]

[watermarks]

[ She takes the soda before giving him a confused look. ] Drinking? [ Pause a beat. ] Oh! [ She takes a sip of her soda and shakes her head. ] No, I haven't yet. So I don't know what my tolerance is, and finding out in a place like this... doesn't seem to be a good idea.

[ She's been scarred by being in a life-or-death situation and having someone who should have been her biggest support become hopelessly, hopelessly sloshed and become a hazard rather than a help. Honestly... she just doesn't see the appeal. ]

[candothat]

Given the regularity with which bad things happen even in supposedly safe places like this, yes, I agree with you... as difficult as not drinking at all is to imagine.

[watermarks]

[ She tilts her head to give him an inquisitive look. ] Why is that so hard to imagine?

[candothat]

It was a little joke. [He smiles sheepishly.] A very little joke. I forget that you're not from a universe with Russia in it. We have a reputation for drinking a great deal, all of us.

[watermarks]

Oh, I see. [ And she does! Sort of. But she knows a way out of it anyway, and she's curious. ] I don't know very much about Russia. Most of our Earth studies in world sharing class were focused on the people who were actually from there, so - Japan and America, mostly. What's Russia like?

[ She still enjoys hearing about the different places where people are from, but she'll try not to question him too much to the point of getting homesick or anything. ]

[candothat]

[Pavel is so, so pleased to field such a question. Most people who know him make a concentrated effort to not encourage him to talk about his homeland.]

It is a wonderful country--the largest on Earth, and one of the greatest contributors to science and physics and space travel, and the most beautiful... but I'm biased, of course. There are wide rivers and deep lakes and enormously tall mountains, and there are days during the summer when the sun never fully sets.

[He just loves Russia SO MUCH.]

[watermarks]

[ His feelings toward his country are clear in his voice and his enthusiasm, and Katara can't help but smile back. That's just... really nice to hear in someone. ]

Are you very far south, then? We have days like that with the sun too, in the South Pole.

[candothat]

No, far north. [Close enough, climate-wise. Not a lot of people appreciate cool temperatures and short, brilliant summers.] You have a lot of snow, correct? Cold weather, long winters?

[watermarks]

[ She nods, smiling. ] There's almost always snow on the ground, even in summer. But we do get breaks long enough for flowers to grow, sometimes. We'd go on hunts for them. I bet it's pretty much the same thing in the north pole, although we didn't stay there very long.