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 Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2016 2:23 pm
Normally, Jade liked to do a show and hang out with the crowd who'd come to see her for an hour or two before bouncing because she had videos to plan and skits to detail but, due to her recent partnering with a new marketing firm she was required to attend the after party. Which is what lead her to a bar in the heart of downtown DC.
Loud music pulsed through the bar, with people gathered in the center of a makeshift dance floor, bodies surging against one another while servers circled the occupied tables getting drinks for the patrons.
The white haired woman had opted for a seat at the bar, keeping the two tables on either side of her from being occupied so that anyone who'd come to see her comedy skit or watched her channel could be free to stop by and interact with her as she sipped on a pink, fruity, and very alcoholic drink.
As it was, for the first time since she'd entered the bar, Jade was alone left to sip her drink in peace and watch as people danced and surged around her.kuropeco Let me know if this works, I can adjust as needed!
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Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2016 9:27 pm
His first patrol by himself had not gone as expected.
This was partially because Cerussite was not even certain what he expected, and partially because he still felt, in spite of everything, as though he was not strong enough to do anything meaningful. But he was damned well going to try, and although it still made him swim in anxiety, he was out now, doing his best.
He'd been told already that crowded places were the best place to hide in plain sight. Unusual outfits were hardly even glanced at here, and Cerussite passed through the throngs of people without anyone batting an eye, his heart in his throat.
Focus, he thought to himself, looking around. Remember what Cinnabar told you.
And he saw someone, just ahead, by herself. The bar was crowded and noisy, and yet she sat alone, sipping quietly. Cerussite took a deep, dragging breath and slipped forward, boots clicking on the floor until he reached her, his pounding heart and erratic pulse loud in his ears.
I can do this. I can do this.
"Good - good evening," Cerussite stammered, once he was close enough to speak to her.
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Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2016 11:11 pm
Jade had just about finished her drink and the bartender was sliding another one her way when the redhead joined her. "Oh hello," she replied an easy smile sliding across her lips. "Did you come to the show, or did you just want to say hi?"
Either way, the woman didn't mind and gestured for him to sit in one of the chairs beside him.
"I'm Jade, in case you didn't know." She didn't want to assume that he knew who she was. Just because she was a youtube star didn't mean that everyone knew who she was. "And you are? Do you want a drink?" She glanced at the bartender who'd been hovering around her, because the company paid him to take care of her. "It's on me."
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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 10:00 pm
She looked, maybe, around his own age, give or take a year. Cerussite floundered at the question, mouth opening and then shutting again as he forced himself to relax and not act like a complete dunderhead. "I - came to see the show, er...I'm sorry for intruding."
He slid awkwardly into the offered seat, folding his hands into his lap. Unfortunately for her, Cerussite was no more aware of what happened on the internet than Hitch did; he had a laptop, unlike his fiance, but neither one of them spent a great deal of time online.
"I - that's a nice name," he said, and smiled, feeling the tension ease ever so slightly in his shoulders. "I'm Ceru."
Short, not his full name, nor his real name. Cerussite flushed a little, waving a hand. "Oh, no, I wouldn't impose, I can get it myself. Er - " Not bourbon, he needed to keep his wits about. " - a glass of white wine, please."
He cast his glance back at Jade, wondering how to go about this. "Do you come to these shows often?"
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Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2016 3:10 pm
"You're not intruding," Jade insisted, waving aside his concern easily. "Well, did you like it?" She asked, cocking her head slightly when she took a careful sip of her new drink. She was always eager to hear about what people thought of her skits and silly musical numbers even if they didn't follow her channel.
The bartender disappeared and returned with glass, sliding it across the counter to the redhead. Jade waved him off after and he moved down to attend to other customers, one eye trained on the pair in case the youtube star needed something.
"Pleasure to meet you, I like your outfit," she said approvingly, blue eyes drifting across his clothing. As a preformer, she'd come to appreciate people who wore whatever they wanted without giving a ******** what other people thought.
"No," she admitted with a shrug of her shoulders. "Usually only go when they're mine." She laughed pleasantly, starting to feel the alcoholic buzz. "The company sponsoring me is backing this whole event so, gotta stick around." She winked at him.
"So, tell me all about yourself Ceru."
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Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2016 8:06 pm
"Oh," said Cerussite, and then said, "Yes, I did. It was rather...entertaining."
He had no idea how to be less awkward about the whole thing, and smiling felt strained, in spite of the fact that Jade was being quite pleasant. It had been a long time since he'd talked to anyone outside of Hitch and Fritz, and now Cinnabar, and Cerussite was feeling distinctly terrible at the whole thing.
Mentioning his outfit made him flush. "Er, thank you," he said quickly, accepting the glass of wine with a nod of thanks. "I'm afraid I don't go to any of these myself, either, but it's been a bit fun to go about and see them all. I haven't been out for a while."
He took a sip of his wine and wondered if he could manage to drain her without seeming like he was flirting, which would have been terrible on so many levels. But draining involved physically touching her, which was equally as awful, even if Jade seemed perfectly nice.
"Er," he said, "Well, I moved here a years back, and now I just...go to school."
Another hasty sip of wine was taken. "What about you?"
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Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2016 3:14 pm
"Well I'm glad you enjoyed it, especially if you don't make it out often," Jade assured him, finishing off her drink and sliding the drink to the bartender who had come to check on them. She let him provide her with another drink, but made no move to drink it.
"What subject are you studying?" She inquired looking genuinely interested in what he might have to say. That was the thing about Jade, she found people fascinating and was always eager to get them talking so that they'd be more animated and she could get a better read on them.
As it was, Ceru was indicating he was very shy and had no idea what he was going. It was endearing.
"I moved back a few months ago, decided new scenery was exactly what I needed to get the creative juices flowing. Plus, DC's theater company asked me to help with auditions for their next musical, I couldn't say no." It was an honor she hadn't expected and she'd been interested in dipping her toes back into theater again, especially since her skits were quickly becoming her most popular videos.
"I run a youtube channel. Ally Argent."
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Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2016 12:00 am
His mind was working frantically to come up with answers to the questions. Even with his inexperience and newness to the Negaverse, Cerussite knew that identities were kept secret for a reason, and he could not afford to give out too much information about himself. He was not an affluent liar, nor even a particularly good one, but he could at least make the attempt - for himself, if nothing else.
Especially since he didn't even go to school.
"Art," said Cerussite, saying the first thing that came to his mind as he took a sip of his wine. Fritz's past time was something he was at least familiar with, even if he didn't do it himself. He could answer questions about art without feeling totally inadequate. "Er, comics mostly, but sometimes painting."
He shifted in his seat and gave Jade a little nod. She was, surprisingly, relatively easy to talk to. Not pushy, as he'd been afraid of but calm and relaxed as she flashed a smile to the bartender to refill her drink, whereas Cerussite was half curled in on himself out of habit.
He slowly eased himself into a less stiff position and said, "Oh, that's - I didn't know that was an actual...thing, I'm afraid I'm not even on the internet much. Is it a career, then, this Youtube thing, or do you do it just for fun? It's rather interesting."
Cerussite's brain, meanwhile, was still trying to come up with a solution to the whole energy draining issue.
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Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 1:59 pm
Nerves were easy to read and Jade hoped that she was making things easier for Ceru. She tried to be warm and welcoming, playful when the mood struck and felt right, and she wanted others to feel comfortable around her. "That's really neat. Are you talking like classic comics or more like Japanese comics?"
She kept up with pop culture enough to know what was popular; superheroes and anime.
"Oh, don't worry about it. Watching endless hours of videos isn't everyone's thing. I don't fault anyone who isn't into it." Hell, before she'd started her own channel she'd hardly watched any one else's videos. It hadn't been her thing. "Yeah, it's my career. If you're popular enough and get enough views or follows, you can make a living off of it. Sometimes I do vines but I prefer quality videos. Besides, YouTube pays me better."
It'd been easier than she expected to go from making casual videos here and there that were silly and fun and working full-time to just making videos or doing skits at clubs and bars. "I've recently moved on to preforming in front of people, it's nice. Gives me the rush theater used to."
She'd never been the most talented actor, but she had enjoyed it and missed it from time to time.
She reached out to touch her shoulder. "You got anything like that in your life?"
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Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 3:46 pm
"Oh, ah, Japanese," said Cerussite, with a slight, hesitant smile, drawing entirely on the secret stash of comics he knew was hidden under Fritz's bed while growing up. "A bit of this, a bit of that. I'm not - I mean, I'm not that good, but it's been something to do."
Jade was kind, if nothing else. It wasn't exactly hard to talk to her, but, then again, it was hard for Cerussite to talk to anyone outside of Hitch. He still felt incredibly uncertain of himself, terribly unsteady, as though each step was taking a great deal of effort.
"That's - that's very interesting," he said now, and meant it. "Do you have anything that you don't do now but that you, er, wish you could do?"
He felt a strange sense of pride in himself for being able to talk properly - and to a girl - well, woman - nonetheless. Cerussite's face was still heated, but he could feel some of the tension easing from his shoulders, shifting slightly where he sat.
"Er," he said. "Not...not really."
Biking was the obvious answer, but he couldn't say that; too much information was bad.
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Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2016 2:05 pm
"I bet you do lovely work." Jade was all about showering people with compliments, especially when they seemed unsure of themselves. Ceru, definitely seemed unsure and she hoped to that her easy-going nature would help. "I bet you're underselling yourself. People either undersell or oversell and you strike me as an underseller."
The pale haired woman liked to think she sat in a comfortable in-between. She never sold herself short but she didn't go around boasting like she was the next best thing. Most of the time.
"I don't know, I like to just...go with the flow of things, y'know? Take opportunities as they come and try not to miss out on an experience." In many ways, Jade was a thrill-seeker because she was hungry for life.
"That's a shame, here's to hoping you'll find something one day." She grabbed her glass and raised it towards him.
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Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2016 2:24 pm
He flushed pink under her compliment, Cerussite glancing away automatically, lowering his eyes. "Thank you," he said softly. "I, er..I mean, I'm not that experienced, but thank you."
He was getting complimented for things he didn't even do, which felt wrong somehow. He straightened a little and then gave a nod, Cerussite shifting where he sat. "Gong with the flow is good," he said. "I'm not...I mean, I'm not that good at that, but sometimes that's all that can be done."
Jade was raising her glass to him, and Cerussite, in a moment of unexpected intuition, saw an opening. He smiled a little and raised his own glass - but just before the rims touched, his fingers fumbled it, and the whole thing fell into Jade's lap, spilling wine everywhere.
"Oh!" gasped Cerussite, with genuine horror, in spite of his plan. His fingers were trembling, face crimson. "Oh, please, I'm so - I'm so sorry, I - "
He reached out and grabbed a bunch of napkins, looking awkward as he made to dab gingerly at her knee.
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Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2016 11:44 am
"Nonsense!" She chirped, shaking her head. "Art is about practice and talent right? The more you work at it, the better you'll get. Don't sell yourself short Ceru," she insisted. Jade was of the sort that encouraged people to just go for it. She was like a female Shia LeBouf with her sometimes aggressive approach to motivation.
Her mouth was open, ready to continue with her encouraging rant when Ceru's glass tipped too far and wine was spilling down her front. "Oh!" She squeaked, jerking her own glass back, pink liquid splashing along the counter when she set it down. "No-- No, it's okay. It happens just--" She waved the bartender down who presented them with two rags, to which Jade quickly began patting her shirt down hoping the blouse wouldn't stain.
She didn't pay attention to his awkward dabbing at her knee, more preoccupied with the rest of the wet parts of her. If he was doing something fishy, she didn't notice.
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Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2016 3:39 pm
He smiled weakly at her, trying to push past the guilt that was welling in his stomach, past the sense of deception that he could feel easing into his mind and heart. Jade was being nice to him, and here he was, just trying to figure out a way to drain her.
And he really was horrified he'd even spilled on her in the first place, even if it had been an opportunity to take.
"I'm - I'm so sorry, really," said Cerussite, and his fingers pressed against Jade's knee, the trail of energy starting to seep out softly, hardly able to be noticed amid the hubub of bar. "Really, here, just - "
He patted gingerly at her knee, making sure to keep his actions as entirely innocent as possible.
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Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2016 9:25 am
Jade waved the hand not dabbing at her clothing dismissively at him. "It's fine, accidents happen. It's not like you did it on purpose," she mumbled, attention turning from her blouse to her hands and arms. She ran the towel over the length of them until she couldn't feel the stickiness any longer.
"Hey thanks--" she stopped, suddenly a little more lightheaded. She swallowed, looked at Ceru curiously before shaking her head. She was fine, the alcohol was probably just settling and starting to effect her. "I-- is the room spinning?" She let out a girlish giggle, clamping her hand over her mouth afterwards with wide eyes.
"Usually it doesn't hit me when I've had so little..." she pouted, turning to glare at the drink as exhaustion seeped over her. "Maybe I should-- I should go."
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