[Regina's Home]
[Post order is fairly loose. If a direct question has been asked in a discussion, be sensible. Otherwise, if it feels okay, post it and things can develop from there. We'll tackle problems as and when we find them! PMs are your friend.]
[Regina Aston continued from Videos Cannot Do This Justice]
[Post order is fairly loose. If a direct question has been asked in a discussion, be sensible. Otherwise, if it feels okay, post it and things can develop from there. We'll tackle problems as and when we find them! PMs are your friend.]
[Regina Aston continued from Videos Cannot Do This Justice]
Season Sixty-Six was coming in a few weeks, and to celebrate it her father was hosting a pre-season party at his shop but only for over eighteens. Of course she (and a lot of his customers) had friends and relatives who enjoyed the show just as much, if not more, but were under the legal age to enter a betting shop, let alone attend a party there.
”Hey, dad?”
Her father looked up from his desk in the basement, his daughter’s face peeking through the open doorway to the underground study. “What is it Reggie?”
A flash of hesitance, maybe even sheepishness, and then she was off rambling. “Well, you know the night of your party? I’ve got friends who are fans of the show, and I know you don’t want me having too many friends over at home but I’m near-”
“It has to be over by eleven, or at least taken elsewhere and you clean everything up before I get home. Understood?”
Regina stared, then grinned at her success. “It’ll be like it never happened.”
No parties at home. It had always been her dad’s golden rule about partying. She had always been allowed to go out with friends as long as she kept in contact and was home by one, but their family home had always been off limits. That was why, despite all the planning testing Regina’s patience threshold, she was ridiculously excited about today. Budgeting, getting all the technology to get along just for once, and most crucially, making sure everyone knew this was happening.
So far? It had been a success. A fair few people had shown up within the first hour, some of them chatting over by the dinner table - covered with a few plain tablecloths to protect it - that was littered with disposable tableware and plates of still warm food. A few bottles of soda and disposable cups sat on the partition between the kitchen and the living area, with about half a dozen bottles of cheap alcohol beside them, brought by the guests of the party so far. She had not been able to actually allowed to buy any at all per her father's request. However, she had told people to bring a bottle if they wanted to drink under the proviso that it went home with them when they all left.
The smell of barbecue wafted pleasantly through the whole bottom floor of the house, and the loud chatter gave the house a lively ambience that it often lacked with fewer people. Admittedly, people that she loved more than life itself, but Regina had always preferred crowds - lots of people to chat to and engage with rather than just one person. That had only become more prevalent in recent years, and to be able to host her first party cemented it as a part of life she would never ever stop loving.
She meandered through the room, stopping just shy of the back of the couch to chat with a friend of a friend about the new season. Everyone was excited to see what the producers had planned this year, and given that the party was about Survival of the Fittest it was of little surprise that she kept getting inadvertently pulled into discussion regarding it. That said, when this particular someone - Hayley, maybe? - was gushing about how she hoped there would be a nicer win condition in this version, Regina momentarily wished that she had been out of earshot, if not sight.
“Maybe a clause where if there’s only kids from one school remaining, they all get to go home safely, you know?” Hayley smiled, clearly pleased with her idea. “It would be an interesting twist, and we’d see a lot more co-operation. It’d be more humane, you know?”
Regina tried not to stiffen, eyes narrowed ever so slightly. If she opened her mouth to reply, all that would come out was the odds of people trying to be heroes, turning the conversation to statistics, and forcing her to point out that that sort of contestant usually died being a martyr, rather than saving anyone. Not only were teenagers typically just not that diplomatic, but a clause like that would be terrible for ratings. Not that she had particularly approved of the ten kills rule, but it had made for fantastic viewing for fans, and spurred many a long night debating motivations for killing on the between her, her father and grandfather.
“We’ll have to wait and see,” Regina replied noncommittally, summoning up interest to continue the discussion rather than making it crash and burn. A burst of laughter erupted from the couch across the room, and she fought back a smile at the sign of her friends having a good time. That, and she recognised one particular chuckle as it died down, the moment of humour passing.
Enjoy yourself, even if you're not entirely comfortable with the subject matter. Not like it wouldn't be the first time. “They usually find a way to keep things different enough, but a clause like that would make for a completely different show than what we're used to. It'd be a brave choice, and I can appreciate why it's a good idea.”
