perfectmatch | week two

[ She smiles. She wouldn't have judged him if he wasn't game, but she had a feeling he'd rise to the occasion. She waves the bartender down. ]

Ah, Bartender-san, we'll both try the punch bowl challenge, if you please.

[ They each get a skeptical but amused look for that, but who are they to refuse? They'll go ahead and start preparing their bowls. ]

Just so you know, I can outdrink all of my colleagues.

[That declaration, coupled with the bartender's skeptical look, implies an unavoidable truth: Verso's cooked.

But it'll be fun. When the last time he got blasted drunk with anyone? (That one night with his Expedition, when they all found Esquie's hidden stash of wine...)

Such memories are pushed aside. Fun, Verso. Fun.]

In other words, you think I'm in over my head.

It's a nice-looking head, at least.

[ Growth! Remember when she called him like a 6?

It doesn't take too long for the bartender to return with the massive punch-filled bowls... ]

Hm... Do you think we have to down it all in one go to win? I better get ready to treat for alcohol poisoning, just in case...

Thank you!

[He does remember that. He hopes he's at least a 7.5 now.

And oh lord. Somehow, the punch bowls look even larger now that they're filled and sloshing slightly when set down before them.]

Don't worry about that. I can recover from anything. [Quite literally. He doesn't explain that for now.] But... I'm ready for terrible decisions if you are.

[Both hands around the side of the bowl. R...ready?]

[ he's easily like an 8 now after making out with her okay ]

Oh? So I'm not alone in that?

[ Will she explain herself either? No. She's ready and takes the bowl up in both of her hands to start chugging it... they didn't say this was a race but in her mind, she's definitely thinking that whoever has to put their bowl down first loses. ]

[They can have this conversation later. If Verso survives it.

Anyway, he's not going to let her outpace him (delulu), so Verso starts chugging, too. It's a bold attempt, but ultimately, he is no drinking champ. It's likely she has the advantage.

So how is she doing?]

[ she's definitely doing just fine... almost unsettlingly so... but respect has to be put on her name when one of the few canon facts known about her is that she can outdrink someone like Nanami—

and actually, since she's about halfway through her drink, she'll pull one hand off the bowl just so she can flash a peace sign at Verso. ]

[Oh my god.

He had started off well, but he hasn't even reached the halfway point before he thinks he's going to have to put this giant bowl down. He, too, tries to give a sideways glance amid his chugging to view Shoko, and he's greeted with her flashing him a peace sign — yeah, he's cooked.

He lifts the bowl away from his mouth temporarily, sounding disbelieving. And like he already needs a break.]

Are you even human?

[ That's good enough of a win for her!! A moment after Verso draws the bowl away from his mouth, she grins and does the same. ]

Depends!

[ DEPENDS??? ]

You lasted longer than I thought you would.

[ ma'am ]

I'm tougher than I look.

[ma'am!!

He heaves a sigh, holds back an embarrassing hiccup, and finally sets his bowl down. Yeah, yeah, she wins. He'll happily concede the win.]

Waht do you mean, "depends"?

Being a sorcerer means there's a little bit more going on than with a regular human. Some physiological differences...

[ The way she can just say this after downing half a bowl of boozy punch. ]

Anyway, that was a good effort, Verso-san. Hehe...

[Yeah, he's setting his bowl down, though. Still, that doesn't mean the challenge to down the whole thing is over and done with — in that, they're still working as a team. Someone has to get this thing for free tonight.]

I might have lost, but I'm not done yet.

[Famous last words.]

I didn't know you were a sorcerer. That means you can use Chr- Er, magic?

[ But even if they're defeated, they don't have to pay for their own drinks anyway... Yay! ]

You could call it that. It's sort of like... having an extra type of energy in your body. So we're still classified as human, but there is a fundamental difference between normal humans and sorcerers, particularly in our brains.

[ Make sense so far? Time to make it make less sense. ]

Having a normal human brain is like, hyuu, but someone with cursed energy is like, byuu.

[ As she's gesturing with her hands vaguely. ]

[Hyuu... Byuu... Oh no, he's reminded of Esquie. And because of that, he seems to understand exactly what she means.]

But byuuuu isn't necessarily bad, despite being called, er, "cursed"?

[ Wow, he understands her just like that... This might just bump him up to a 9. And just for that, she nods emphatically, suddenly feeling more motivated to drop lore. ]

That's right! Byuuuu means you can use that energy to fight cursed spirits. Those are beings that form because of negative emotions generated by humans. Not a lot of sorcerers can use it to heal, but a few people have it figured out. It's even more rare to be able to use it to heal other people, though.

[The rating rises! Someday he'll have to tell her about wheeee and whoooo, too.]

Which is what you can do, then. So, first question: does this mean you can even get drunk?

[Could she just? Heal herself from it?]

[ She just offers him a Look. That therein lies the secret to how she can outdrink her colleagues... ]

Who knows...?

[ An enigmatic smile as she keeps drinking her bowl... ]

[Ma'am?

Resigned, as he picks up his bowl again-]

That's called cheating, you know.

I think it's more like... being resourceful, Verso-san.~

I'm impressed that you understood what I meant, though. A lot of people just don't have a sense for what I'm talking about. [ wonder why,, ]

Oh. That's because... I knew Esquie once — a friend of mine. He spoke in such a baffling way, but I've never met someone quite as wise.

[Though he speaks of the past, he doesn't seem to mind taking about Esquie. One of his best friends.]

We once had a conversation talking about our feelings, happiness versus sadness. A bit of 'wheee' and a little bit of 'whooo.' It captures the general feel of what you're trying to say.

[ Nodding emphatically. ]

I totally get it.

[ Though it's unexpectedly adorable, for someone like Verso to be talking about 'whee' and 'whoo'... ]

Esquie, you said? A friend? Do you think he's watching this?

[And it's so nice for someone to understand right out of the gate.]

I... wish. [And this is why he shouldn't bring up old friends, he thinks. There's a weight to the next admission, not so much evasive as it is merely resigned at this point.] He's gone now.

[ ...Ah. Shoko puts down her bowl, so she can reach over to rest one hand on Verso's shoulder. If she's able to meet his gaze, he'd find hers to hold the weight of sympathy and knowing in them. She's lost friends, too. (Smash cut to ghosties thread-) ]

...I'm sorry, Verso-san. It sounds like he meant a lot to you.

[ Someone he was able to have conversations about feelings with, especially. Even if it was spoken in whees and whoos. ]

[how this neatly ties into ghosties thread works so well in our favor...

His smile skews wan. She loses his gaze, briefly, drifting down to her hand.]

...Thank you.

[The guilt cuts through again. It always feels like a knife, but its edge is dulled, knowing that he might share a bit of it with her. Perhaps discussing his past isn't always so bad. Wei Wuxian might've been right about this honesty thing.]

It's one of those instances where I'd like to keep his spirit with me, that joy and strange way of looking at the world. Yet it's always easier said than done.

But hey, at least I've still got the "wheewhoo" thing down pat.

[ She gives him a nod before pulling her hand away. ]

I think the "wheewhoo" thing is nice, but maybe I'm biased. There are days when it might feel easier to keep that spirit, and days when it won't. That's natural.

[ Shoko reaches over again, this time to nudge Verso's bowl a little before she lifts hers up again. ]

Hey, let's call this a drink in his honor. Two disgustingly huge drinks in his honor. That counts as "whee," right?

week two | dates

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