All the world was a stage, and she was the star.
That was what Seo-yun liked to believe, anyway. She wasn't so vapid and self-centered to think that the whole world revolved around her, but there was nothing wrong with wanting to hype herself up a little bit. She was, after all, an amazing, charming, talented, beautiful person that deserved all the adoration that was thrust upon her and more. Maintaining that adoration came with a price, however. If all the world was a stage, one where the brutality of the fight for attention would put SOTF to shame, then you could never let the mask slip. Not even for a moment, or else the audience would toss you aside without a shred of remorse.
In that regard, Seo-yun was constantly performing. Always putting on a show for those around her, all to maintain their attention. Even now, as she sat in the dining room of Mary's hurricane proofed house as the party raged within and the storm raged without, her performance continued. To an outsider, it might look like she was merely taking a break from festivities. Sitting as she was in a dining chair, one leg crossed over the other, a glass of ice water in one hand and her phone in the other as she casually watched SOTF compilations, one might think there was nothing unusual going on.
In reality, there was so much more to how she looked, what she was doing, how she was acting. Her gorgeous, elaborate laced red dress; her liberally applied, porcelain makeup; her delicately curled, flawlessly cut hair; her perfectly even posture, all of it combined to create an aura of impossible invulnerability. Even as she was sitting currently by herself, electropop music blaring throughout the house, taking a moment to gather her thoughts and watch a few clips on her phone, she was maintaining her image; one of precise, effortless perfection. She was the eye of the storm, the order within the disorder, serene even as the chaos continued to unfold around her.
What she was perusing to pass the time was relatively banal. Currently all she was watching was a compilation of the kills of Season 65's ten-kill winner, Karen Ruiz. In particular, Seo-yun couldn't fathom what was going on in the head of one of her victims, the girl with the big mouth and terrible fashion sense. She tried to take out Karen Ruiz of all people, a girl with four kills to her name by that point and two different guns by herself, telling her allies to stay back and taunting her soon-to-be killer all the while. Seo-yun wasn't sure if she would call the maneuver courageous or stupid—the line between the two was thin at the best of times anyway—but it got both her and one of her allies killed in short order, about as predictably as you would expect. Still, Seo-yun guessed she deserved some points for trying.
Seo-yun paused the video, taking a small, quiet, perfectly timed sip from her glass. If she was ever brought onto SOTF, she wouldn't be like that girl. She wouldn't just get points for trying, she wouldn't just be a minor role in someone else's far better story. She was smarter than that, better than that, too perfect for that. If she was ever on SOTF she would win, because she would be the star. Seo-yun was like the Karens of the world, not the Cindys or whatever the girl's name was.
She began to gently bite her lower lip at the thought, before remembering her aura of perfection. She glanced around the room briefly to make sure nobody had wandered in to see the momentary lapse, before closing the app on her phone and switching to a chat client. SOTF was fun sometimes, but ultimately it was the entertainment equivalent of junk food. It was enjoyable for sure, and oh-so-addictive, but just like junk food it was best consumed only rarely, and in moderation. If she was going to be admired by all—and she would be, because she deserved that much—then she had to watch her mental figure just as much as her physical figure. Letting herself fall prey to simple bloodlust and the pursuit of cheap thrills would take away from her inland empire rather than enrich it.
Of course, if there was ever a time to indulge, then it would be at a party. That was what they were for, after all. Celebrations born of and partaking in general revelry, the perfect chance for social butterflies like Seo-yun to spread their wings. She had been doing much of that over the last several hours, but even someone as amazing as her did not have infinite stamina. She needed moments of respite between all the mingling and pleasantries. Her SOTF viewing was supposed to be her way of recharging, a mental snack break if you will, but all it did was make her mind palace even hungrier.
She placed her phone down in her lap, stealing a glance at the incredible amount of food scattered all over the dining table, some of which she had brought herself. Her stomach growled, her body just as hungry as her mind. She had eaten not too long ago, but it hadn't been a full meal, and she was already starting to feel a bit peckish again. Perhaps an extra bite to eat wouldn't hurt, so long as nobody else happened to wander in.
과부 설움은 홀아비가 안다
Meanwhile at Mary's hurricane party, off to the side... (Private)
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VoltTurtle
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MurderWeasel
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Just now, Mandy Gross was somewhere between a satellite and a stargazer, and not just because she was channeling Stitch. She'd picked tonight's getup because blue was a good color, nice for a party with bad weather she supposed, and also because it was one of the few outfits she could flex into multiple iterations, suitably for such a long-term affair. There was the blue velvet dress she had right now, and the fuzzy blue socks, and matching scrunchies shaping her hair into two long high pigtails that stood in for floppy alien ears, and the semi-subtle cool tone eye shadow. And then, for later, she had these super comfy PJs that were just exactly the same shade, and also a bathrobe in case they did swimming, which had made sense at some point in the planning process where the purpose of the party had slipped out of her mind. Probably not going to be out swimming in a hurricane, whoopsies, but maybe she'd get to take a shower?
But hey, anyhow, for all she was blue, Mandy was seeing red. She'd been cruising around the party and stuff since she arrived, doing various things, but it hadn't taken all too long to fall under the spell of Seo-yun, who was quite possibly actually the coolest person in school. It was a surprise she was slumming it here, actually, because Mandy figured if anyone had a gem-encrusted emergency bunker it was either her or that guy with the scar and he was hanging around here somewhere too, she was pretty sure.
Mandy had been invited just in this sort of general sense along with almost everyone in school, and had begged and begged until her mom had said she could go. Some of the begging had been just a bit of deception, like she swore there was definitely no alcohol and Mary's parents were home, which it turned out was untrue on both counts. She hadn't known at the time, though, and only partially because she'd made sure not to find out so it wouldn't be actually lying. Worst case, now she could say she was just mistaken and that would be semi-true. And besides, she'd take the grounding if it came to that. It was worth it to be here with everyone and actually feel like a part of things, and if the four trays of Lofthouse cookies she'd brought (flavor: blue) felt a bit inadequate compared to the smorgasbord on offer from everyone else, it wasn't really her fault.
She was inching towards Seo-yun, just a little at a time, because they hadn't ever talked properly really and at school it always seemed like it would be interrupting to just cut in. There were people you could walk up and just sit at their tables, and people you couldn't, and Mandy was more inclined to ascend the rungs of the ladder than just go straight to the top in situations like this, because she felt a teeny bit intimidated. Pleasantly so, of course.
But now? Now Seo-yun was also on territory that wasn't her own, even if she looked just as comfy as if she was standing in her own bedroom. So it was the perfect time to happen to meet, and maybe Mandy wouldn't even have to admit she was a lowly junior. That would be the best, just act like they had somehow never had class together in all their years by chance. Make sure she didn't imply she was special ed by mistake. No problem.
Her steps were very quiet (thanks, fuzzy socks) and she didn't wipe out or anything which was good because if that happened Plan B was to go stand in the yard and wave her hands above her head and pray for death. She got close enough to catch a quick snippet of what was on the phone, and wouldn't you know? Of course Seo-yun was the sort of person who watched SOTF. She had to be. She was cool like that.
"I," Mandy said, but she was talking too small so she took a quick breath and started again.
"Hi," she said. "I love your dress."
But hey, anyhow, for all she was blue, Mandy was seeing red. She'd been cruising around the party and stuff since she arrived, doing various things, but it hadn't taken all too long to fall under the spell of Seo-yun, who was quite possibly actually the coolest person in school. It was a surprise she was slumming it here, actually, because Mandy figured if anyone had a gem-encrusted emergency bunker it was either her or that guy with the scar and he was hanging around here somewhere too, she was pretty sure.
Mandy had been invited just in this sort of general sense along with almost everyone in school, and had begged and begged until her mom had said she could go. Some of the begging had been just a bit of deception, like she swore there was definitely no alcohol and Mary's parents were home, which it turned out was untrue on both counts. She hadn't known at the time, though, and only partially because she'd made sure not to find out so it wouldn't be actually lying. Worst case, now she could say she was just mistaken and that would be semi-true. And besides, she'd take the grounding if it came to that. It was worth it to be here with everyone and actually feel like a part of things, and if the four trays of Lofthouse cookies she'd brought (flavor: blue) felt a bit inadequate compared to the smorgasbord on offer from everyone else, it wasn't really her fault.
She was inching towards Seo-yun, just a little at a time, because they hadn't ever talked properly really and at school it always seemed like it would be interrupting to just cut in. There were people you could walk up and just sit at their tables, and people you couldn't, and Mandy was more inclined to ascend the rungs of the ladder than just go straight to the top in situations like this, because she felt a teeny bit intimidated. Pleasantly so, of course.
But now? Now Seo-yun was also on territory that wasn't her own, even if she looked just as comfy as if she was standing in her own bedroom. So it was the perfect time to happen to meet, and maybe Mandy wouldn't even have to admit she was a lowly junior. That would be the best, just act like they had somehow never had class together in all their years by chance. Make sure she didn't imply she was special ed by mistake. No problem.
Her steps were very quiet (thanks, fuzzy socks) and she didn't wipe out or anything which was good because if that happened Plan B was to go stand in the yard and wave her hands above her head and pray for death. She got close enough to catch a quick snippet of what was on the phone, and wouldn't you know? Of course Seo-yun was the sort of person who watched SOTF. She had to be. She was cool like that.
"I," Mandy said, but she was talking too small so she took a quick breath and started again.
"Hi," she said. "I love your dress."
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VoltTurtle
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Seo-yun glanced behind her as she stood up, taken off guard by the sudden intrusion. She didn't jump, though, even if the new arrival's appearance had occurred at a somewhat inopportune time. Someone sneaking up on her was hardly a new experience, she was very used to all sorts of people approaching her for the chance to talk to her. After all, who could resist the opportunity? When all eyes were on you, it was only natural for others to want to share the spotlight, if only for the briefest period.
"Thank you," she responded, without missing a beat, a warm smile decorating her features. "Your outfit's cute too, I like how blue it is. I especially like the pigtails, too."
Returning received compliments was so natural to Seo-yun that the thought hadn't crossed her mind that she didn't actually know who the girl in front of her was before she opened her mouth. It was a somewhat strange situation to find herself in, given that Seo-yun was familiar with everyone in her grade at MGHS, and even a significant chunk of the juniors. Even the horrible people like Junji and Laura (who had somehow managed to sneak in, because apparently every party needed someone completely vile to be there) hadn't managed to fly under Seo-yun's social radar.
If she tried hard enough, Seo-yun supposed that she might have seen the girl in the hallways between classes, or maybe occasionally in the background of the cafeteria. All that meant though was that up to this point she had been beneath notice. If Seo-yun was the star, then that would make the girl in front of her a mere background character, someone meant to populate the world and add to the verisimilitude, but never meant to share the spotlight. Perhaps that presented an opportunity, Seo-yun could do her a favor and lend her some time in the limelight, and in return she could add yet another admirer to her steadily growing collection.
"I don't think we've had the honor of speaking before," she continued, properly turning to face her new acquaintance, doing her best to ignore the hunger pangs. "My name is Seo-yun, and you are?"
"Thank you," she responded, without missing a beat, a warm smile decorating her features. "Your outfit's cute too, I like how blue it is. I especially like the pigtails, too."
Returning received compliments was so natural to Seo-yun that the thought hadn't crossed her mind that she didn't actually know who the girl in front of her was before she opened her mouth. It was a somewhat strange situation to find herself in, given that Seo-yun was familiar with everyone in her grade at MGHS, and even a significant chunk of the juniors. Even the horrible people like Junji and Laura (who had somehow managed to sneak in, because apparently every party needed someone completely vile to be there) hadn't managed to fly under Seo-yun's social radar.
If she tried hard enough, Seo-yun supposed that she might have seen the girl in the hallways between classes, or maybe occasionally in the background of the cafeteria. All that meant though was that up to this point she had been beneath notice. If Seo-yun was the star, then that would make the girl in front of her a mere background character, someone meant to populate the world and add to the verisimilitude, but never meant to share the spotlight. Perhaps that presented an opportunity, Seo-yun could do her a favor and lend her some time in the limelight, and in return she could add yet another admirer to her steadily growing collection.
"I don't think we've had the honor of speaking before," she continued, properly turning to face her new acquaintance, doing her best to ignore the hunger pangs. "My name is Seo-yun, and you are?"
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MurderWeasel
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"Oh, thanks," Mandy said, just about beaming when Seo-yun complimented her. She wasn't even sure if it was an actual legitimate compliment or just Seo-yun being full of social grace, but it didn't matter. The fact was, the girl had either thought Mandy looked good with her Stitch getup—which was a win—or was to some degree interested in showing her kindness and attention and was thus telling a white lie—which was almost as big a win, or maybe even bigger depending on why.
Of course, if it was Option B, that was most likely just the way she was. Being good to everyone was a great way to be liked by everyone, at least in theory. When Mandy tried it for some reason it didn't quite seem to work like that? She was interested in people and liked talking to them and asking them questions about themselves, lots of questions, and she was always willing to just sit there and listen to some dreamy boy or prom queen contender bare their heart and lay out their troubles, and she let people know that but nobody ever took her up on it. Once she and Seo-yun knew each other better maybe she could ask what the secret was.
"I'm Mandy," she said, responding to the introduction, which was also a proper thing that Seo-yun did even though everyone in the school already knew her, or else if they didn't they were even more of a space alien than the inspiration for Mandy's outfit.
This was where the interaction became more difficult, of course. Mandy sure wasn't going to give her last name, ew, and she wasn't going to supply that she was a junior, either, at least not until she'd made a good enough impression for that particular sin to be forgiven. But then, with those things to not say sketched out, what actually could she contribute?
"This is real cool," she settled on. "It's like a sleepover and an adventure all at once. Wonder how bad it's gonna get."
The weather was super boring to talk about normally and she'd probably feel the shame for days if that was all she had on some typical day at school but today they were all seeking shelter together under the roof of their generous host because there was an actual disaster looming outside, which made it more interesting. Right? She hoped at least. Maybe this was bog standard everyday stuff to Seo-yun.
Of course, if it was Option B, that was most likely just the way she was. Being good to everyone was a great way to be liked by everyone, at least in theory. When Mandy tried it for some reason it didn't quite seem to work like that? She was interested in people and liked talking to them and asking them questions about themselves, lots of questions, and she was always willing to just sit there and listen to some dreamy boy or prom queen contender bare their heart and lay out their troubles, and she let people know that but nobody ever took her up on it. Once she and Seo-yun knew each other better maybe she could ask what the secret was.
"I'm Mandy," she said, responding to the introduction, which was also a proper thing that Seo-yun did even though everyone in the school already knew her, or else if they didn't they were even more of a space alien than the inspiration for Mandy's outfit.
This was where the interaction became more difficult, of course. Mandy sure wasn't going to give her last name, ew, and she wasn't going to supply that she was a junior, either, at least not until she'd made a good enough impression for that particular sin to be forgiven. But then, with those things to not say sketched out, what actually could she contribute?
"This is real cool," she settled on. "It's like a sleepover and an adventure all at once. Wonder how bad it's gonna get."
The weather was super boring to talk about normally and she'd probably feel the shame for days if that was all she had on some typical day at school but today they were all seeking shelter together under the roof of their generous host because there was an actual disaster looming outside, which made it more interesting. Right? She hoped at least. Maybe this was bog standard everyday stuff to Seo-yun.
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VoltTurtle
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"It shouldn't be too bad. For us, at least," Seo-yun responded, her tone even, not quite emoting but not quite emotionless. "This house was built specifically to survive hurricanes, after all."
Not less than a minute into the conversation, Mandy had already proven herself to be quite the bore. The weather wasn't exactly the most interesting topic, even under the present circumstances. She didn't know Mandy very well, a hurricane might very well be a special event to her, but Seo-yun had spent her whole life in Florida. This wasn't the first hurricane she had lived through, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. There wasn't much for her to say, or even much to be said in response.
A less conscientious, more asocial person might take that as an opportunity to leave the conversation. After determining that Mandy was a boring sort, said person could simply cease responding to the pleasantries and leave it at that. Seo-yun wasn't that person. She was always happy to keep being social and keep a conversation going until it reached a natural conclusion, even with someone who wasn't all that interesting. That being said, if she wanted to at least feign being intrigued by what they were talking about, they would need a change of topic. Ideally it'd be something fun, something almost anyone could talk about, something like-
"Say, do you watch SOTF?" Seo-yun asked, her eyes lighting up, her voice carrying the slightest hint of excitement. "I mean, of course you do, everyone does," she continued, without giving Mandy the proper chance to respond. "Any favorites from the most recent season? I think mine had to be Karen."
Now this was a topic of conversation she could get behind. It would be so revealing too, to hear what Mandy thought. Knowing a person's SOTF preferences was almost like having a window into their soul. Their favorite characters, deaths, seasons, all of it could give one such a good feel of what another person admires, what their aspirations were, how they felt about the world at large. All without them needing to tell you anything else. Such was the nature of reality television.
"It's just too bad she decided to disappear from the spotlight as soon as she won, though. She could've had all the fame, if only she just decided to accept it," she sighed, her tone of voice changing to one of mild disappointment. "If I was in her shoes, I wouldn't waste the chance, you know?"
Not less than a minute into the conversation, Mandy had already proven herself to be quite the bore. The weather wasn't exactly the most interesting topic, even under the present circumstances. She didn't know Mandy very well, a hurricane might very well be a special event to her, but Seo-yun had spent her whole life in Florida. This wasn't the first hurricane she had lived through, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. There wasn't much for her to say, or even much to be said in response.
A less conscientious, more asocial person might take that as an opportunity to leave the conversation. After determining that Mandy was a boring sort, said person could simply cease responding to the pleasantries and leave it at that. Seo-yun wasn't that person. She was always happy to keep being social and keep a conversation going until it reached a natural conclusion, even with someone who wasn't all that interesting. That being said, if she wanted to at least feign being intrigued by what they were talking about, they would need a change of topic. Ideally it'd be something fun, something almost anyone could talk about, something like-
"Say, do you watch SOTF?" Seo-yun asked, her eyes lighting up, her voice carrying the slightest hint of excitement. "I mean, of course you do, everyone does," she continued, without giving Mandy the proper chance to respond. "Any favorites from the most recent season? I think mine had to be Karen."
Now this was a topic of conversation she could get behind. It would be so revealing too, to hear what Mandy thought. Knowing a person's SOTF preferences was almost like having a window into their soul. Their favorite characters, deaths, seasons, all of it could give one such a good feel of what another person admires, what their aspirations were, how they felt about the world at large. All without them needing to tell you anything else. Such was the nature of reality television.
"It's just too bad she decided to disappear from the spotlight as soon as she won, though. She could've had all the fame, if only she just decided to accept it," she sighed, her tone of voice changing to one of mild disappointment. "If I was in her shoes, I wouldn't waste the chance, you know?"
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MurderWeasel
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"Ooh." Mandy was just about beaming. Now they were getting somewhere, somewhere a whole lot better than the boring old weather ever would be. The noise she made was just a bit too overtly excited to be right, because she was trying to play it cool and not make it so obvious just how impressed by even being in this conversation she was, but she couldn't help it. This was one of her favorite topics, and Seo-yun could guess as much without even knowing her.
"Yeah," Mandy continued. "I liked Mae best. She was—I mean, oh, you know who she was."
Silly, silly. No, worse: she was being stupid. She had to treat Seo-yun with the same level of respect and benefit of the doubt she was receiving, or maybe even more, because honestly the other girl probably knew what she was talking about a lot more than Mandy did. Mandy watched, of course, and paid mostly okay attention, but she wasn't particularly special when it came to following along or anything; she couldn't remember quite who all the people were, especially the ones who died early. She just honed in on her favorites and got invested.
"She was just so elegant, and that kimono suited her, and having two boys wrapped around her fingers? And, I also liked Alicia? If you're going to die, you know, why not go out pretending you're a fairy?"
Okay, maybe part of why not was that Alicia might not have actually died had she not been so weird and out of touch, and the fairy thing was slightly uncomfortable for Mandy because the girl was all-in on it from the very word go, and that just made her wonder if there was something wrong with Alicia just in general. But still it was striking. It was something new, something she wanted to see more of but from someone with real control and charisma, but how to explain that?
Of course finally, finally her brain caught up and slammed her mouth softly shut. Because Mandy had answered the question, and given some detail, and offered up not one but two possible points of continuing discourse (and all without actually prodding at Seo-yun's point, oops, but Mandy thought Karen was creepy and weird, but she wasn't about to say that, so she had to figure out how to be a Karen fan for now she guessed, or maybe she'd get lucky and they'd just talk Mae and Alicia instead). She just smiled, lips still pressed together.
"Yeah," Mandy continued. "I liked Mae best. She was—I mean, oh, you know who she was."
Silly, silly. No, worse: she was being stupid. She had to treat Seo-yun with the same level of respect and benefit of the doubt she was receiving, or maybe even more, because honestly the other girl probably knew what she was talking about a lot more than Mandy did. Mandy watched, of course, and paid mostly okay attention, but she wasn't particularly special when it came to following along or anything; she couldn't remember quite who all the people were, especially the ones who died early. She just honed in on her favorites and got invested.
"She was just so elegant, and that kimono suited her, and having two boys wrapped around her fingers? And, I also liked Alicia? If you're going to die, you know, why not go out pretending you're a fairy?"
Okay, maybe part of why not was that Alicia might not have actually died had she not been so weird and out of touch, and the fairy thing was slightly uncomfortable for Mandy because the girl was all-in on it from the very word go, and that just made her wonder if there was something wrong with Alicia just in general. But still it was striking. It was something new, something she wanted to see more of but from someone with real control and charisma, but how to explain that?
Of course finally, finally her brain caught up and slammed her mouth softly shut. Because Mandy had answered the question, and given some detail, and offered up not one but two possible points of continuing discourse (and all without actually prodding at Seo-yun's point, oops, but Mandy thought Karen was creepy and weird, but she wasn't about to say that, so she had to figure out how to be a Karen fan for now she guessed, or maybe she'd get lucky and they'd just talk Mae and Alicia instead). She just smiled, lips still pressed together.
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Pippi
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Laura Hakštok had not been invited to this party.
Which, of course, was the entire reason she was even here. She knew that Mary didn’t like her - which, wow, how special and unique of you Mary, now go and stand in line with the other hundred-odd people - and so she had specifically avoided extending an invitation to this hurricane party Laura’s way. What she had not been able to do, of course, was keep the existence of a party a secret, considering just how many people were going. Laura hadn’t even needed to twist anybody’s arm to discover where exactly Mary’s house was; her class was full of very special boys like Rupert, who were all too willing to blab the hostess’ address, zip code, car model, favourite vegetable, and probably even the colour of her fucking bathroom curtains.
So she’d managed to just waltz right in through the front door, easy as that, while everybody else was busying themselves with grabbing snacks and drinks and chatting about who-gives-a-fuck. She hadn’t actually bumped into Mary yet, but it was only a matter of time before she did. She’d give Shitty Morticia Addams a friendly little smile and a lovely little wave, and watch the show as her face contorted. Because that was the best part of all of this; no matter how badly she no doubt wanted to, the dumb bitch couldn’t chuck her out, not into the middle of a fucking hurricane. So Laura, whether anyone liked it or not - and she knew most people would rather swallow broken glass than talk to her - was here to stay until tomorrow. At least.
Just because she was a partycrasher, though, didn’t mean she had to be a shitty guest. This was far from her first rodeo, both in terms of parties and turning up regardless of lacking an invite to such. She knew the drill; bring something with you that wasn’t your own damn self, and even if alcohol was getting provided, BYOB was always in effect. Her haul wasn’t as impressive as the one belonging to whichever dipshit had looted a fucking Kroger - seriously, this was a party in a hurricane shelter, not a fucking nuke bunker - but she’d dumped a 6-pack of Big Red, a crate of White Claw, a big fuck-off bag of sour gummy worms, and two bottles of honey Jack Daniels onto the table when she’d arrived, so, hey. You’re welcome, bitches.
She’d spent most of her evening flitting about, inserting herself into conversations without permission, letting people know how garbage their SOTF opinions were, and circling back to grab food and drink. If people were too wrapped up in playing Jackbox or whatever to grab some of these deviled eggs before Laura ate them all, sucked to be them; for a skinny motherfucker she could pack food away like nobody’s business.
She had a cup of Jack and coke - mostly empty, mostly Jack - in one hand and a slice of ham and pineapple pizza in the other, ready for a refill, when she stumbled upon this very, very sad sight in the dining room. Seo-yun and Mandy. What a fucking pair. She knew all about Mandy, because the girl reeked of desperation in every single one of her actions. She so very obviously wanted to be cool and popular - which, no shit, fuckin’ mood, bitch - but her way of going about it was to latch onto people in the year above her, clinging to the every word of whoever had grabbed her attention most recently. It really shouldn’t have surprised Laura that she was practically drooling over Seo-yun right now, the girl who’d just fucking decided one day that she wanted to be Princess of Mangrove Garden. Seo-yun was just lapping the whole thing up, as if the Grosspel of Mandy was worth a damn. It was pathetic, really. Most things about Seo-yun were. But what that did mean was that it was incredibly easy to get under her skin, with just the slightest little hint of insubordination to her oh-so-benevolent rule.
So, sure, Laura could have just ignored this feedback loop of simpering platitudes. But 1) she really didn’t want to, and 2) they were both right in front of a tray of cupcakes, and Laura was suddenly really fucking hankering for one.
“Yo, what’s up sluts?”
Laura loudly announced her presence as she strode closer, draining the last of her whiskey and coke as she stood behind Seo-yun.
“The fuck are you two doing in here?”
The two other girls had both dressed up for the occasion, and hey, so had she! Her outfit for tonight consisted of distressed jean shorts, and a bright blue tank top, a cartoon of a tornado and the words ‘BLOW ME’ printed on the front. Simple, but effective, she thought. Had she printed it specifically for this party? Absolutely. Was there already a burn hole near the hem where she’d accidentally rested a cigarette yesterday? Sure was! Was it worth every penny? You bet your ass it was.
“You guys know this is a party, right?” Laura continued, reaching over Seo-yun’s shoulder to put her cup on the table. “Are you seriously fucking drinking water already?”
There was a distinctive, pungent aroma clinging to her clothes. Sure, she’d read the rules; ‘No lighting up around fire hazards’ and all that bullshit. And as far as Laura was concerned, she’d followed them to a tee. So long as you weren’t being a total goddamn ape, there was no such thing as a fire hazard. And with no such thing as a fire hazard, she could light her joint wherever she goddamn pleased. QED.
She took a huge mouthful of pizza, waiting for a response.
Which, of course, was the entire reason she was even here. She knew that Mary didn’t like her - which, wow, how special and unique of you Mary, now go and stand in line with the other hundred-odd people - and so she had specifically avoided extending an invitation to this hurricane party Laura’s way. What she had not been able to do, of course, was keep the existence of a party a secret, considering just how many people were going. Laura hadn’t even needed to twist anybody’s arm to discover where exactly Mary’s house was; her class was full of very special boys like Rupert, who were all too willing to blab the hostess’ address, zip code, car model, favourite vegetable, and probably even the colour of her fucking bathroom curtains.
So she’d managed to just waltz right in through the front door, easy as that, while everybody else was busying themselves with grabbing snacks and drinks and chatting about who-gives-a-fuck. She hadn’t actually bumped into Mary yet, but it was only a matter of time before she did. She’d give Shitty Morticia Addams a friendly little smile and a lovely little wave, and watch the show as her face contorted. Because that was the best part of all of this; no matter how badly she no doubt wanted to, the dumb bitch couldn’t chuck her out, not into the middle of a fucking hurricane. So Laura, whether anyone liked it or not - and she knew most people would rather swallow broken glass than talk to her - was here to stay until tomorrow. At least.
Just because she was a partycrasher, though, didn’t mean she had to be a shitty guest. This was far from her first rodeo, both in terms of parties and turning up regardless of lacking an invite to such. She knew the drill; bring something with you that wasn’t your own damn self, and even if alcohol was getting provided, BYOB was always in effect. Her haul wasn’t as impressive as the one belonging to whichever dipshit had looted a fucking Kroger - seriously, this was a party in a hurricane shelter, not a fucking nuke bunker - but she’d dumped a 6-pack of Big Red, a crate of White Claw, a big fuck-off bag of sour gummy worms, and two bottles of honey Jack Daniels onto the table when she’d arrived, so, hey. You’re welcome, bitches.
She’d spent most of her evening flitting about, inserting herself into conversations without permission, letting people know how garbage their SOTF opinions were, and circling back to grab food and drink. If people were too wrapped up in playing Jackbox or whatever to grab some of these deviled eggs before Laura ate them all, sucked to be them; for a skinny motherfucker she could pack food away like nobody’s business.
She had a cup of Jack and coke - mostly empty, mostly Jack - in one hand and a slice of ham and pineapple pizza in the other, ready for a refill, when she stumbled upon this very, very sad sight in the dining room. Seo-yun and Mandy. What a fucking pair. She knew all about Mandy, because the girl reeked of desperation in every single one of her actions. She so very obviously wanted to be cool and popular - which, no shit, fuckin’ mood, bitch - but her way of going about it was to latch onto people in the year above her, clinging to the every word of whoever had grabbed her attention most recently. It really shouldn’t have surprised Laura that she was practically drooling over Seo-yun right now, the girl who’d just fucking decided one day that she wanted to be Princess of Mangrove Garden. Seo-yun was just lapping the whole thing up, as if the Grosspel of Mandy was worth a damn. It was pathetic, really. Most things about Seo-yun were. But what that did mean was that it was incredibly easy to get under her skin, with just the slightest little hint of insubordination to her oh-so-benevolent rule.
So, sure, Laura could have just ignored this feedback loop of simpering platitudes. But 1) she really didn’t want to, and 2) they were both right in front of a tray of cupcakes, and Laura was suddenly really fucking hankering for one.
“Yo, what’s up sluts?”
Laura loudly announced her presence as she strode closer, draining the last of her whiskey and coke as she stood behind Seo-yun.
“The fuck are you two doing in here?”
The two other girls had both dressed up for the occasion, and hey, so had she! Her outfit for tonight consisted of distressed jean shorts, and a bright blue tank top, a cartoon of a tornado and the words ‘BLOW ME’ printed on the front. Simple, but effective, she thought. Had she printed it specifically for this party? Absolutely. Was there already a burn hole near the hem where she’d accidentally rested a cigarette yesterday? Sure was! Was it worth every penny? You bet your ass it was.
“You guys know this is a party, right?” Laura continued, reaching over Seo-yun’s shoulder to put her cup on the table. “Are you seriously fucking drinking water already?”
There was a distinctive, pungent aroma clinging to her clothes. Sure, she’d read the rules; ‘No lighting up around fire hazards’ and all that bullshit. And as far as Laura was concerned, she’d followed them to a tee. So long as you weren’t being a total goddamn ape, there was no such thing as a fire hazard. And with no such thing as a fire hazard, she could light her joint wherever she goddamn pleased. QED.
She took a huge mouthful of pizza, waiting for a response.
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VoltTurtle
- Posts: 491
- Joined: Wed Sep 19, 2018 5:41 am
Of all of her classmates to be trapped here with, one of them just had to be Laura, didn't they?
As abruptly as Laura had arrived, Seo-yun moved to get some distance from her, making a clear show of how much disdain she had for the other girl. To say that she was immediately annoyed with Laura's presence was an understatement. Before Laura even entered the room, Seo-yun had caught a whiff of the malodorous air that permeated everywhere the other girl went and felt an immediate dread in the pit of her stomach. Of course she was here, of course she was going to harass Seo-yun just like always, of course she had to go out of her way to get in Seo-yun's space.
Now was one of those times that Seo-yun couldn't help but think about what would lead someone to be like this. For some people, it was very clear that they were not loved enough as children, and it always showed in their behavior. Seo-yun wasn't one of those people, as she was adored by her parents, for good reason. Laura, however, clearly was. Why else would she be like this?
Sure, Seo-yun didn't know that for certain, but it certainly felt right. In fact, Laura was enough of an insolent reprobate that Seo-yun wouldn't be surprised to learn that she was one of those kids that was beaten by her father whenever she messed up. The thought of that being the case almost made Laura sympathetic, but almost was the key word, there. She was still responsible for her own actions, after all, and she could really do with having just a bit more decorum. Trudging around like she owned the place, stinking of cannabis, violating the personal space of others, and wasting oxygen with her pointless insults.
Laura shouldn't even be here, Mary hated her just as much as Seo-yun did, and there was no way in hell that she would have been invited. Did that mean that she qualified as a trespasser? Did that mean that they were within their legal right to kick her out? If they did and she died out in the hurricane, would that qualify as murder? If it did qualify as murder, would Castle Doctrine protect them from any liability, legally speaking? Mm, actually, perhaps that line of thinking was too harsh. Being an annoyance wasn't deserving of death, even if there wasn't a soul who would mourn for Laura in the event of her timely demise.
Still, even if kicking Laura out wasn't an option, she was definitely still a trespasser, which gave Seo-yun an idea...
Without saying a word, Seo-yun brought her phone up and silently snapped a picture of Laura where she stood, before just as quickly putting it away in her purse. Following that, she ignored Laura's inane lines of inquiry, and turned her attention to Mandy, maintaining an ever-watchful eye on her rival all the while.
"Ah, Mandy, I'm sure you haven't met Laura before," she said, keeping her tone of voice even. "All you need to know about her is that she isn't worth your time. Let's try to take our conversation elsewhere, hm?"
As abruptly as Laura had arrived, Seo-yun moved to get some distance from her, making a clear show of how much disdain she had for the other girl. To say that she was immediately annoyed with Laura's presence was an understatement. Before Laura even entered the room, Seo-yun had caught a whiff of the malodorous air that permeated everywhere the other girl went and felt an immediate dread in the pit of her stomach. Of course she was here, of course she was going to harass Seo-yun just like always, of course she had to go out of her way to get in Seo-yun's space.
Now was one of those times that Seo-yun couldn't help but think about what would lead someone to be like this. For some people, it was very clear that they were not loved enough as children, and it always showed in their behavior. Seo-yun wasn't one of those people, as she was adored by her parents, for good reason. Laura, however, clearly was. Why else would she be like this?
Sure, Seo-yun didn't know that for certain, but it certainly felt right. In fact, Laura was enough of an insolent reprobate that Seo-yun wouldn't be surprised to learn that she was one of those kids that was beaten by her father whenever she messed up. The thought of that being the case almost made Laura sympathetic, but almost was the key word, there. She was still responsible for her own actions, after all, and she could really do with having just a bit more decorum. Trudging around like she owned the place, stinking of cannabis, violating the personal space of others, and wasting oxygen with her pointless insults.
Laura shouldn't even be here, Mary hated her just as much as Seo-yun did, and there was no way in hell that she would have been invited. Did that mean that she qualified as a trespasser? Did that mean that they were within their legal right to kick her out? If they did and she died out in the hurricane, would that qualify as murder? If it did qualify as murder, would Castle Doctrine protect them from any liability, legally speaking? Mm, actually, perhaps that line of thinking was too harsh. Being an annoyance wasn't deserving of death, even if there wasn't a soul who would mourn for Laura in the event of her timely demise.
Still, even if kicking Laura out wasn't an option, she was definitely still a trespasser, which gave Seo-yun an idea...
Without saying a word, Seo-yun brought her phone up and silently snapped a picture of Laura where she stood, before just as quickly putting it away in her purse. Following that, she ignored Laura's inane lines of inquiry, and turned her attention to Mandy, maintaining an ever-watchful eye on her rival all the while.
"Ah, Mandy, I'm sure you haven't met Laura before," she said, keeping her tone of voice even. "All you need to know about her is that she isn't worth your time. Let's try to take our conversation elsewhere, hm?"
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MurderWeasel
- Posts: 3511
- Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2018 9:56 am
- Team Affiliation: Jewel's Leviathans
Mandy stiffened a bit when the newcomer called out, then glanced over and oh no it was Laura. This was all sorts of unfortunate, and that wasn't even getting into the faint odor that arrived in tandem and made her start breathing through her mouth.
The next grade up was a subject that Mandy knew pretty well. They were cool people in general, in this way that honestly a lot of her classmates weren't really. It didn't seem like a year would be that big a difference in how people acted, but it actually totally was. People Mandy's age were for the most part still losers and kids, albeit a little less so than last year. Maybe by the time she was a senior they'd even be tolerable. But for now they weren't really that great to hang out around when there were other options, which there usually were.
But here was the catch: all this stuff applied in broad brushstrokes. Mathematically speaking, the average student in the senior year was a lot better than the average student in the junior year. It broke down more or less however you sliced it—mean, median, mode, whatever—but in any way of measuring, Laura was an outlier against the trend. Laura was the worst. She was a greasy stoner witch whose sole redeeming quality was that she seemed to somehow retain the loyalty of far more interesting and worthwhile people, people like quasi-celebrity Alaska, who was apparently pretty well known for being awesome at an SOTF game Mandy was peripherally aware of but had never played. Once, she'd briefly considered trying to be nice to Laura to maybe have a better shot at sliding into that whole circle, but after a little bit of observation? Some things just weren't worth it.
Like right off the bat, what a terrible impression to make. Mandy wasn't Laura's friend, so there wasn't some assumed level of okayness for her to just drop "slut" as a term of endearment, especially because it was so totally not accurate even a little, even though Mandy was sort of afraid some people might get the wrong impression of her sometimes? But then, maybe Laura was projecting? Mandy sort of struggled to imagine anyone knowingly hanging around Laura long enough to successfully make it even as far as second base, but maybe that was what ball gags were for?
Unfortunately, Mandy couldn't just totally blow Laura off because if Seo-yun inexplicably liked her, which was maybe possible judging from the familiarity Laura assumed, it would be super rude to both of them. So instead Mandy gave a little tentative wave and at the same time nabbed a nice blue cupcake off the tray to the side of her and bit a big chunk out of it, chewing to stall for time.
And then Seo-yun just totally shot Laura down right in front of everyone, bang bang.
Mandy wanted to cheer or gasp but she was so unprepared she instead just inhaled sharply and promptly choked on crumbs and frosting. Flailing, she grabbed a napkin and held it her mouth as she coughed and wheezed, but she managed to still give a thumbs-up with her cupcake-holding left hand to signal she wasn't actually literally dying.
The next grade up was a subject that Mandy knew pretty well. They were cool people in general, in this way that honestly a lot of her classmates weren't really. It didn't seem like a year would be that big a difference in how people acted, but it actually totally was. People Mandy's age were for the most part still losers and kids, albeit a little less so than last year. Maybe by the time she was a senior they'd even be tolerable. But for now they weren't really that great to hang out around when there were other options, which there usually were.
But here was the catch: all this stuff applied in broad brushstrokes. Mathematically speaking, the average student in the senior year was a lot better than the average student in the junior year. It broke down more or less however you sliced it—mean, median, mode, whatever—but in any way of measuring, Laura was an outlier against the trend. Laura was the worst. She was a greasy stoner witch whose sole redeeming quality was that she seemed to somehow retain the loyalty of far more interesting and worthwhile people, people like quasi-celebrity Alaska, who was apparently pretty well known for being awesome at an SOTF game Mandy was peripherally aware of but had never played. Once, she'd briefly considered trying to be nice to Laura to maybe have a better shot at sliding into that whole circle, but after a little bit of observation? Some things just weren't worth it.
Like right off the bat, what a terrible impression to make. Mandy wasn't Laura's friend, so there wasn't some assumed level of okayness for her to just drop "slut" as a term of endearment, especially because it was so totally not accurate even a little, even though Mandy was sort of afraid some people might get the wrong impression of her sometimes? But then, maybe Laura was projecting? Mandy sort of struggled to imagine anyone knowingly hanging around Laura long enough to successfully make it even as far as second base, but maybe that was what ball gags were for?
Unfortunately, Mandy couldn't just totally blow Laura off because if Seo-yun inexplicably liked her, which was maybe possible judging from the familiarity Laura assumed, it would be super rude to both of them. So instead Mandy gave a little tentative wave and at the same time nabbed a nice blue cupcake off the tray to the side of her and bit a big chunk out of it, chewing to stall for time.
And then Seo-yun just totally shot Laura down right in front of everyone, bang bang.
Mandy wanted to cheer or gasp but she was so unprepared she instead just inhaled sharply and promptly choked on crumbs and frosting. Flailing, she grabbed a napkin and held it her mouth as she coughed and wheezed, but she managed to still give a thumbs-up with her cupcake-holding left hand to signal she wasn't actually literally dying.
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Pippi
- Posts: 1126
- Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2018 6:32 pm
- Location: I'm Pip!
- Team Affiliation: Stephanie's Buccaneers
A brief flash of annoyance crossed Laura’s face, as Seo-yun flashed a grotesquely expensive looking phone at her before just as quickly returning it to an equally-gaudy purse. So, first off, incredibly rude, really, ignoring people and checking your phone during a party. At least Laura could say she had the common decency to call you a crackhead straight to your face. Seo-yun had kinda mastered the art of being a huge fuckoff bitch and making everyone think you were charming, somehow.
Second off, Laura could think of two reasons why Seo-yun had done That. Number one, she’d felt a hair slip out of place or got a miniscule fucking smudge on her cheek and she needed to super urgently fix it or else she’d lose a bazillion followers on Instafuck, some bullshit like that. Number two (heh, poop joke), she had just taken a photo; either a selfie for the aforementioned Instafuck, or she’d snapped a quick pic of Laura. And the only reason Laura could think of that Ess-Why would do that was to be a huge fucking narc and go telling on her like a little baby to Mary, all like “Uuuuuh Mary, mean old nasty Laura’s broken into your party”, as if Laura wasn’t planning on rubbing it in Mary’s face later anyway.
It was, y’know, the principle of the thing though, if that was the reason. And really, all of the potential reasons were equally likely, and all of them sunk Laura’s opinion of Queen Disphit even further into the quagmire. It was, obviously, always fun to mess with her and make fun of her and knock her down a peg or five, but the cool thing about trading insults with Sylvain or Alaska was that Laura didn’t actually dislike either of them? Whereas the longer she stuck around S.Y., the more she had to deal with all of her shittiest traits, and the more apparent it became that she was nothing but a little bitch.
So Laura was kinda tempted to just flip the two girls off and wander away to bother someone less goddamn vile, when Mandy, bless her dim little heart, almost managed to suffocate on a goddamn cupcake. She was coughing and spluttering and her face was bright red, a napkin pressed against her mouth, frosting and crumbs littering the floor. For a moment, Laura just stared at the Girl Who Fucked Up Eating A Cake. Then she snorted, smirking at the girl, reaching past her to grab her own cupcake from the tray behind Mandy.
Yeah, she could stick around a little while longer if this sorta thing was gonna keep happening.
“Yeah, so, that’s really pretty rude, actually,” Laura said, underlining exactly how upset she was by taking a huge bite out of her cupcake, continuing to talk with her mouth full. “Like, generally when someone asks you a question you’re kinda supposed to answer it? And I asked four questions so you’re basically ignoring me four times over which is extra-specially shitty of you.”
Laura grinned, and without waiting for an invitation, collapsed onto the chair next to Mandy, reaching out to grab a bottle of coke as she continued to speak.
“Then again, I guess I am interrupting stuff, right? You’ve probably got a, uh, coronation or parade to get to, or whatever it is pretty little princesses are carted around to. Surprised you’re hanging out with the bottom feeders like this.”
She took a bite of pizza, then put her hand to the side of her mouth, stage whispering.
“That means you, Mandy.”
She’d managed to get as many crumbs on her lap as Mandy had with her cake deepthroating act earlier, but that was just cause she was holding a cake and a slice of pizza in one hand, and succeeding at eating both, thanks very much. Still, she figured introducing liquids into the occasion would be a step too far and just make things messy and sticky - insert your own joke here, there had to be about a billion of them - so she put her food down before pouring half a cupful of cola.
“So what’s the photo for, princess?” Laura continued, taking a stab in the dark as to what Seo’s phone purpose had been. “Ooh, wait, no, lemme guess! The whole ice queen shtick really hasn’t been working out for your love life, and you’re so frustrated and desperate that you snapped a photo of me to assist in getting you off, which, like, flattering, but kinda creepy!”
She took a long swig of her drink, filled now to the brim with more JD, corner of her smile visible against the rim of her cup.
“How close am I?”
Second off, Laura could think of two reasons why Seo-yun had done That. Number one, she’d felt a hair slip out of place or got a miniscule fucking smudge on her cheek and she needed to super urgently fix it or else she’d lose a bazillion followers on Instafuck, some bullshit like that. Number two (heh, poop joke), she had just taken a photo; either a selfie for the aforementioned Instafuck, or she’d snapped a quick pic of Laura. And the only reason Laura could think of that Ess-Why would do that was to be a huge fucking narc and go telling on her like a little baby to Mary, all like “Uuuuuh Mary, mean old nasty Laura’s broken into your party”, as if Laura wasn’t planning on rubbing it in Mary’s face later anyway.
It was, y’know, the principle of the thing though, if that was the reason. And really, all of the potential reasons were equally likely, and all of them sunk Laura’s opinion of Queen Disphit even further into the quagmire. It was, obviously, always fun to mess with her and make fun of her and knock her down a peg or five, but the cool thing about trading insults with Sylvain or Alaska was that Laura didn’t actually dislike either of them? Whereas the longer she stuck around S.Y., the more she had to deal with all of her shittiest traits, and the more apparent it became that she was nothing but a little bitch.
So Laura was kinda tempted to just flip the two girls off and wander away to bother someone less goddamn vile, when Mandy, bless her dim little heart, almost managed to suffocate on a goddamn cupcake. She was coughing and spluttering and her face was bright red, a napkin pressed against her mouth, frosting and crumbs littering the floor. For a moment, Laura just stared at the Girl Who Fucked Up Eating A Cake. Then she snorted, smirking at the girl, reaching past her to grab her own cupcake from the tray behind Mandy.
Yeah, she could stick around a little while longer if this sorta thing was gonna keep happening.
“Yeah, so, that’s really pretty rude, actually,” Laura said, underlining exactly how upset she was by taking a huge bite out of her cupcake, continuing to talk with her mouth full. “Like, generally when someone asks you a question you’re kinda supposed to answer it? And I asked four questions so you’re basically ignoring me four times over which is extra-specially shitty of you.”
Laura grinned, and without waiting for an invitation, collapsed onto the chair next to Mandy, reaching out to grab a bottle of coke as she continued to speak.
“Then again, I guess I am interrupting stuff, right? You’ve probably got a, uh, coronation or parade to get to, or whatever it is pretty little princesses are carted around to. Surprised you’re hanging out with the bottom feeders like this.”
She took a bite of pizza, then put her hand to the side of her mouth, stage whispering.
“That means you, Mandy.”
She’d managed to get as many crumbs on her lap as Mandy had with her cake deepthroating act earlier, but that was just cause she was holding a cake and a slice of pizza in one hand, and succeeding at eating both, thanks very much. Still, she figured introducing liquids into the occasion would be a step too far and just make things messy and sticky - insert your own joke here, there had to be about a billion of them - so she put her food down before pouring half a cupful of cola.
“So what’s the photo for, princess?” Laura continued, taking a stab in the dark as to what Seo’s phone purpose had been. “Ooh, wait, no, lemme guess! The whole ice queen shtick really hasn’t been working out for your love life, and you’re so frustrated and desperate that you snapped a photo of me to assist in getting you off, which, like, flattering, but kinda creepy!”
She took a long swig of her drink, filled now to the brim with more JD, corner of her smile visible against the rim of her cup.
“How close am I?”
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VoltTurtle
- Posts: 491
- Joined: Wed Sep 19, 2018 5:41 am
Seo-yun could have responded in numerous ways to Laura's insinuation. She could have reacted with anger, and vehemently denied the accusation. She could have simply ignored Laura and walked off, like she said she was going to. She could even have sarcastically confirmed it if she was confident that present company would get the joke.
Instead, she laughed.
It started out as a slow giggle, but quickly escalated into a full on uproar. She normally didn't like to lose her perfect composure like this, but she couldn't help it. Laura didn't know the situation she was in. How could she have not realized the real point of the photo? She was so stupid it was downright pitiful.
When her laughter finally died down, she spoke, a smug, knowing smile plastered on her face.
"I don't really know what's funnier, Laura. The idea that you think I'd be so desperate as to masturbate to the thought of you of all people, or the fact that you clearly don't know why I took that picture just now."
She did a wide, dramatic sweeping motion with one hand, bringing her other hand above her chest.
"Allow me to enlighten you," she said, her voice taking dripping with superiority, in contrast with her usual even delivery. "We both know that there was no way in hell that Mary invited you to this party. Knowing you, you were probably preparing to rub it in her face that you showed up anyway, am I right?"
She shook her head.
"The answer doesn't actually matter. See, there's just a little problem with your intrusion. This house is private property, and do you know what the law calls entering a property without the permission of the owner?"
Her smile only grew wider. No doubt by now the realization was dawning on Laura, but Seo-yun felt the need to rub salt in the wound regardless. Normally she didn't like to treat anyone like this, as she didn't take any particular pleasure in tearing other people down, but Laura was an exception. She was so fundamentally, thoroughly heinous on basically every level that Seo-yun had a rare opportunity to revel in it all.
Beyond that, though, the current situation was also special. Laura was often so untouchable; no amount of verbal tongue lashings ever seemed to phase her or get her to finally give up on her needless cruelty. Right now, though, Seo-yun had a substantial amount of leverage over her, and that presented a rare opportunity. Even if Seo-yun wasn't currently planning to utilize it--who could trust the police in this day and age, after all--she could still hold the threat over Laura's head.
"In case you don't know, it's called trespassing, sweetheart, and it's illegal. Here in Florida you can even get jail time for it, though honestly I'd expect you to already be familiar with the inside of a jail cell."
Anyone who said that she couldn't give as well as she got clearly hadn't met her. This wasn't the first time that Seo-yun had traded barbs with Laura, but it was one of the first times that she had an audience for it, and she had to admit that she was making more of a show of it than normal. Maybe Mandy was the type to be impressed by such a display, and putting someone as vile as Laura in her place would suitably impress her.
"And that photo I took, well, you should be able to figure out what it is, now, right? Actually, who am I kidding. Mandy, could you explain it to Laura for me?"
Instead, she laughed.
It started out as a slow giggle, but quickly escalated into a full on uproar. She normally didn't like to lose her perfect composure like this, but she couldn't help it. Laura didn't know the situation she was in. How could she have not realized the real point of the photo? She was so stupid it was downright pitiful.
When her laughter finally died down, she spoke, a smug, knowing smile plastered on her face.
"I don't really know what's funnier, Laura. The idea that you think I'd be so desperate as to masturbate to the thought of you of all people, or the fact that you clearly don't know why I took that picture just now."
She did a wide, dramatic sweeping motion with one hand, bringing her other hand above her chest.
"Allow me to enlighten you," she said, her voice taking dripping with superiority, in contrast with her usual even delivery. "We both know that there was no way in hell that Mary invited you to this party. Knowing you, you were probably preparing to rub it in her face that you showed up anyway, am I right?"
She shook her head.
"The answer doesn't actually matter. See, there's just a little problem with your intrusion. This house is private property, and do you know what the law calls entering a property without the permission of the owner?"
Her smile only grew wider. No doubt by now the realization was dawning on Laura, but Seo-yun felt the need to rub salt in the wound regardless. Normally she didn't like to treat anyone like this, as she didn't take any particular pleasure in tearing other people down, but Laura was an exception. She was so fundamentally, thoroughly heinous on basically every level that Seo-yun had a rare opportunity to revel in it all.
Beyond that, though, the current situation was also special. Laura was often so untouchable; no amount of verbal tongue lashings ever seemed to phase her or get her to finally give up on her needless cruelty. Right now, though, Seo-yun had a substantial amount of leverage over her, and that presented a rare opportunity. Even if Seo-yun wasn't currently planning to utilize it--who could trust the police in this day and age, after all--she could still hold the threat over Laura's head.
"In case you don't know, it's called trespassing, sweetheart, and it's illegal. Here in Florida you can even get jail time for it, though honestly I'd expect you to already be familiar with the inside of a jail cell."
Anyone who said that she couldn't give as well as she got clearly hadn't met her. This wasn't the first time that Seo-yun had traded barbs with Laura, but it was one of the first times that she had an audience for it, and she had to admit that she was making more of a show of it than normal. Maybe Mandy was the type to be impressed by such a display, and putting someone as vile as Laura in her place would suitably impress her.
"And that photo I took, well, you should be able to figure out what it is, now, right? Actually, who am I kidding. Mandy, could you explain it to Laura for me?"
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MurderWeasel
- Posts: 3511
- Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2018 9:56 am
- Team Affiliation: Jewel's Leviathans
The bad part about choking was that the feeling didn't go away right away. Whenever it happened—especially if the substance causing it was spit or water, but still for things like partially-masticated cupcake too—Mandy would just have these little painful coughs for the next minute or so, like her body was trying to expel imperceptible lingering particles. That was what was going on as the throwdown happened before her very eyes, occupying part of her attention even as she tried to keep it locked on the battle transpiring before her.
In movies and stories, people were good at these things. Big, dramatic confrontations were the perfect time to unload both barrels, to use one's social adroitness like a fencing foil to trade barbs with the opposition, and characters were always so effortlessly quick and witty. In real life, that was a lot less common, but it still happened sometimes, and right now Seo-yun was doing her best Inigo Montoya impression. Laura didn't stand a chance, way out of her league and had to know it given how easily she was resorting to going crude and crass. The girl even went after Mandy for no reason at all, and while it was true that Mandy was never ever going to be on Laura's side, Laura didn't know that for sure. She was drawing down more bad feelings than she had to, hurting her own cause.
Then again, if Laura was outmatched in social combat, Mandy was the sort to wipe out thanks to her own feet as she tried to enter the ring.
She couldn't let the barb go unpunished, of course, even if she didn't have much capacity to retaliate. She had to say something, and so, after another little cough—ouch—and a deep inhale, she opened her mouth while glaring at Laura. She meant to ask the girl, "Why are you like this?"
All that came out, however, was a muted: "Why?"
But it was okay, because Seo-yun was doing better anyways, and Mandy didn't even really need Laura to hear her admittedly-pathetic attempt at defending herself. It was like, Laura kept throwing that word around, "princess," like it was a bad thing, but everyone wanted to be a princess. Okay, there was sarcasm, but still. The worst she had was that Seo-yun was what Mandy aspired towards. No help was really even needed.
And yet, in a display of royal graciousness, Seo-yun invited Mandy back into the fold by passing her the ball, rather than just slamming it into Laura's face herself.
Mandy blinked a couple times, because she wasn't actually used to being included like this, especially not on the side dishing it out instead of taking it, but she recovered with a speed she'd call adequate.
"Oh," she said, "oh, it's, because it's evidence. Right?"
She shouldn't have added that last word, she realized right away. It made it so very obvious how unsure she actually was.
In movies and stories, people were good at these things. Big, dramatic confrontations were the perfect time to unload both barrels, to use one's social adroitness like a fencing foil to trade barbs with the opposition, and characters were always so effortlessly quick and witty. In real life, that was a lot less common, but it still happened sometimes, and right now Seo-yun was doing her best Inigo Montoya impression. Laura didn't stand a chance, way out of her league and had to know it given how easily she was resorting to going crude and crass. The girl even went after Mandy for no reason at all, and while it was true that Mandy was never ever going to be on Laura's side, Laura didn't know that for sure. She was drawing down more bad feelings than she had to, hurting her own cause.
Then again, if Laura was outmatched in social combat, Mandy was the sort to wipe out thanks to her own feet as she tried to enter the ring.
She couldn't let the barb go unpunished, of course, even if she didn't have much capacity to retaliate. She had to say something, and so, after another little cough—ouch—and a deep inhale, she opened her mouth while glaring at Laura. She meant to ask the girl, "Why are you like this?"
All that came out, however, was a muted: "Why?"
But it was okay, because Seo-yun was doing better anyways, and Mandy didn't even really need Laura to hear her admittedly-pathetic attempt at defending herself. It was like, Laura kept throwing that word around, "princess," like it was a bad thing, but everyone wanted to be a princess. Okay, there was sarcasm, but still. The worst she had was that Seo-yun was what Mandy aspired towards. No help was really even needed.
And yet, in a display of royal graciousness, Seo-yun invited Mandy back into the fold by passing her the ball, rather than just slamming it into Laura's face herself.
Mandy blinked a couple times, because she wasn't actually used to being included like this, especially not on the side dishing it out instead of taking it, but she recovered with a speed she'd call adequate.
"Oh," she said, "oh, it's, because it's evidence. Right?"
She shouldn't have added that last word, she realized right away. It made it so very obvious how unsure she actually was.