quote_gentle_unquote | * [semi-closed post]

Susan is still struggling, but she's established a little routine, specific to Dark: every morning, she goes to her favorite room - the one with all the rugs - and retrieves several bottles of alcohol. These, she ferries down to the cafe and arranges them on a corner table, where she sits for the next hour or so, passing bottles to anyone who needs a full one, and measures from the bottles to anyone who would prefer just a drink or two. By now, she's got a sense of the regulars, their preferences (though she cannot always accommodate these - it really is the queerest assortment of libations), and how much they require, but she always brings an extra bottle or two just in case.

Today, she's tireder than normal, and moving slowly. Her tea was running low, and so she's rationing it. She's even on the verge of capitulating and getting a cup of coffee to tide herself over.

[Primarily intended for Dionysus and Lan Wangji, but if anyone wants to play out the awkwardness of the daily alcohol retrieval I'm all in!]

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"Now, there's a play we could do with some housemates from! I hope the house is listening." He might be incredibly biased though, as it's set in ancient Athens, and you know. They worshipped him there. "I've been trying to see if I can get anyone else to join, with... mixed success, but I admit there's not a very large pool of us all to begin with. We could always -- and I realize it's probably a bit predictable of me to suggest this, but we could always do an old Greek play? You can do those with relatively small casts. Three to rotate through principle parts and however many else you want to throw in the chorus, usually. We would need some masks, but that'll be easy enough to find once the closets start cooperating again."

"Yes, Laertes suggested the same," Susan says. "I'm willing to entertain the idea, but it must hit SecUnit's preferences, and Laertes seemed to think them incompatible." She pauses. "I thought it might be rather funny to stage No Exit. Though I don't believe anyone would thank me for it."

He laughs. "Maybe we should steer clear of that one for now. What were SecUnit's requests?"

"The characters oughtn't be needlessly cruel to one another, and they also oughtn't be stupid enough that a simple conversation might resolve the plot."

"...That does cut our options down quite drastically."

"Yes," Susan sighs. "And I don't imagine it would want something raunchy, either."

It. He files that knowledge away. "When we spoke, it showed interest in seeing West Side Story -- ah, you've missed that one, unfortunately. Musical adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, but set in New York and two gangs fighting instead of Capulets and Montagues. Unfortunately, we definitely don't have the numbers or the demographics for it. That's not even getting into the problem of Mercutio. It's fairly different, but similar enough that I think he'd still catch on to the fact that Romeo dies. I -- well, I don't want to be the one to break that news to him, to say the least."

"It did?" This surprises Susan. "Even though much of the final tragedy might've been averted with a little more clarity?"

He hesitates, trying to remember the conversation. "I'm not entirely sure I covered that part thoroughly, actually."

"I see."

"It's going to be really crappy if we finally find a suitable play, only for the mansion to bring one of the characters here and we have to start over from square one." Imagine how awkward it would be if they've started rehearsals already? An absolute travesty.

Susan smiles at that - her small, genuine one; it might as well be a laugh. "Bacchus," she says. "Do you write plays yourself, or merely know of them?"

"Oh goodness no, I'm not a dramatist. I think I'm a good actor or director, and I'm decent enough at various tech-related roles, but I'm -- well, I'm no poet. That would probably solve the problem though; if we write something here, are they able to bring out a character from that?"

"Then I suppose we ought to pick something rather obscure, haven't we?"

"Hopefully that would work." He doesn't sound convinced, but that's mostly because he's sure that the spirits in charge of the mansion are deliberate assholes who would delight in any opportunity to make everyone's lives miserable.

"Chin up, Bacchus, we shall have a play," Susan says, briskly. Then, throwing him a bone, she says, "I'd be ever so grateful if you would help create a shortlist of ideal options."

“Oh! I would love to! Do you know roughly how many people we have who have agreed to audition?”

"Very few," Susan says, regretfully. "Nina has agreed to bully some of her more biddable friends, so I'd estimate we might have anywhere between six and eight, all told. Many, many more have agreed to help with stage managing and directing and set construction and costumes and make-up and choreographic sword fights and the like, though."

"I'm sure I could get Mercutio to audition as well, it seems like something he'd enjoy, so that brings the number up at least a smidge. I'll give it some thought and come up with a list for you!"

"Thank you, Bacchus," Susan says, with sincerity.

"No problem at all! I can't emphasize enough how happy I am to help."

* [semi-closed post]

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