4563/Persona:WTWM FA2 - Hit the Shack

Persona:WTWM FA2 - Hit the Shack
Date of Scene:	17 September 2016
Location:	Alberichstadt <P:WTWM>
Synopsis:	Day 2 of the School Festival Arc! The adventures of the pizza guy! Also beer, poker, catgirls, the return of the King's Game, and a startling revelation about the White Pig.
Cast of Characters:	August Kohler, Janine Liberi, 385, 908, Sanary Rondel, 1031, 920, 915
Tinyplot:	Persona: Were the World Mine-1

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August Kohler has posed:
SOMETIME AFTER SCHOOL, The Black Forest, Germany. September 17th, 2016.

August sends out an odd call over the radio, as well as over text message to those who have his phone: all non-losers and non-old people, come on down to the shack to hang out, eat and drink, and enjoy the day. Janine has already contested he doesn't fit into one of those, but whatever.

The Shack is more of a small house; it has living essentials, a bedroom, and a little kitchen. The only changes from when the original owner lived here are a massive mirror, framed on one of the walls, with makeshift steps fastened to walk into it. Currently, August Kohler is inside the MAIN ROOM, where he's sitting at a nice big table with a cooler on top, chairs pulled out, and a deck of cards and some dice out. Cups are set out around the table, with a large vase of water, as well as whatever's in that cooler.

August is relaxing at the table, sipping on a can of beer. He's waiting on the others, and also lamenting the fact that for a party, this is really fucking boring. Hopefully the pizza will arrive soon!

Janine Liberi has posed:
    Janine would also contest that she doesn't fit into some of those categories either. She, like old people, is likely to die sooner than later, for one. But she comes along anyway. Slung over her shoulder is a cooler bag, the contents making the 'ting' of glass on glass as she marches up to the shack and wrestles with the knob to let herself in.

    They've certainly done a lot with the place. Enough that she worries that someone might notice, but it hasn't happened yet. People are far too wrapped up in their own lives to come out here these days. Striding to the table, she takes off the bag and places it down, nodding to August and staring at the can of beer.

    "Don't drink that," she says with a sigh, unzipping the cooler and extracting the contents. Three bottles of wine, proper Italian vino, and some actual wine glasses. "It's swill. Save it for the Pig."

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Well, it's not like Yuna had anything else to do right now; she still kinda wants to see (and more importantly, hear) the opera - but that's not for a while longer, and hanging out at the shack with the rest of Die Reisenden sounds fun. So she shows up a little behind Janine - not QUITE fast enough to help with the door, sadly.

"Hopefully the mirror stays quiet this evening ... hey August, Janine!" She waves to the two of them, seemingly disregarding the beer and the wine. It's a school festival, they're being festive, it's not her business unless someone tries making Yuna drink. Instead, she collects a cup and fills it with water; if there's ice available, a couple of cubes (or whatever) go in to keep the water cool.

"So, having fun at the festival so far?" Yuna inquires as she takes a seat about halfway along one side of the table. Preferably somewhere she can see the door. (Elner is not in the shack, but hovering above it and probably *not* readily visible.)

Gudako Ordria (908) has posed:
    It's a party! Gudako is here, probably just to earn brownie points with August. She does this by having brought CAKES, COOKIES, and also a few varieties of SAKE. The sake wasn't her idea, that would be Caster and Berserker.

    Because of course the two foxes are with her. And they're the ones carrying the boxes of food, bottles of sake and even two sake sets, containing the pitchers and cups traditional for enjoying the drinks the correct way.

    'course, nobody gets to touch dessert until after pizza and other main course options. But still! Cake is always great, right?

    For her part, it doesn't seem like Gudako is really the party-animal sort of person. Her face is glued to her cellphone, agonizing over the increasingly large number of mobages she's dedicating time to, efficient use of energy and stamina, optimal banner pulling strategies and a number of other concerns. It's nothing new, and she's ever smiling with that dead-eyed, wide grin.

    "HIIIII~NYA!" Berserker greets, pouncing towards August after unloading all of the things she was carrying into Caster's arms. Caster mutters and looks for somewhere to set everything down.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
It's been way too long since the last time Sanry hung out with other people her age. Not by playing games, not by training for life-or-death combat, and not by running into them while going grocery shopping and nearly hiring them to do some pig wrangling. Just... Relaxing.

     No session of eating and drinking is complete without snacks, of course, and the healer's not one to show up empty handed! Instead of her usual gear, she's brought several quarts of (possibly familiar) dark red liquid and a strangely crinkly-sounding sack while donning her usual white coat and sweatpants combo. Heading for the main room, the healer takes a quick once-over of the people present before laughing lightly to announce her arrival.

     "Hey, hey. Just because pigs can eat almost anything doesn't mean they should. Even if they're magic brain pigs or... Something." She raises her hand in a brief wave towards August and Janine, then pauses before offering Yuna a same, slower one accompanied by an awkward nod.

     Don't make things awkward. Don't make things awkward. "... Heeey, everyone." Good enough! Noticing Caster's plight, she moves over to assist her with the pile of stuff with the free hand she still has. "Uh. So! What do we have planned tonight?"

Ashurel Cloudbank (1031) has posed:
    Ashurel, and unlike last time it is actually Ashurel, is here along with Gudako. Despite being about the size one would expect a Wizard to be and of a similar build, she's carrying a barrel over one shoulder and something wrapped in cloth in the other. It's not a big barrel, mind you, only about the size of a particularly stuffed duffel bag.

    "Salutations!" She says cheerily, trailing slightly behind the red-headed mage, "You guys met my Master, before. But she got sick, so I'm helping Miss Gudako now. My name is Ashurel Cloudbank, and I'd like to get off on the right foot! So!"

    She drops the barrel down on a table if she can find room, "I figured I would bring a gift my first time. This is called Cragcap. It's a slow-aged Dwarven Ale. I also brought you some dwarf-made cheese. It's similar to what you would consider a 'parmesan' type." She cheerily notes.

Kazimir Volkov (920) has posed:
The Shack is sturdy. Kazimir made sure of that. The place is solid and insulated and warm, and even with some minor modern facilities. While a proper connection to the water and power grids is impossible out here, the generator and outhouse serve just as well.

Still, he seems to have found the time to arrive. Probably for the free food and drink. He doesn't evne blink at the cooler full of drinks, smoothly pulling out a beer and cracking it open for himself. He takes a chair and picks up the cards, shuffling them after he takes a long pull of the can, and sighs. "Not going to lie. Germans make good beer." He comments. "Even the cheap stuff tastes better." As Janine arrives, Kazimir arches an eyebrow. "Bah. Don't be so stuck up."

As the others arrive, Kaz looks over those present. "Hell, anyone who brings drinks and food is fine with me." He says, saluting Gudako, Sanary, and Ashuriel with his drink. "As far as what's planned... Probably party games. Maybe food. Or maybe Kohler will do something crazy. He does that sometimes."

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
"Hey Gudako, Berserker, Caster, Sanary," Yuna greets the Confederates without missing a beat. She doesn't know Ashurel or Kazimir so well thus far, but she does wave to them - and gives Kazimir a sheepish look. "Sorry, I wasn't sure what I *should* bring ... I might have gotten some weird looks passing through campus or town with anything from off-world, too. Unless you want to borrow one of my karaoke rigs?"

She looks around; there's not much point to a karaoke set-up if Yuna's the only one who'd want to use it, but if there are others here who'd like to sing stuff ...

Ira MacNally (915) has posed:
Ira heard there would be food.

    May as well show up while she's still on the Die Reisenden Christmas Card list!

    The Irish teenager saunters in with her hands stuffed in her pockets. Though she gravitates to the food and cooler nearly immediately, she does eye the deck of cards and dice rather appreciatively. Gambling was always an attractive activity to her though it seemed they really /frowned upon/ the students doing that.

    "Hey everyone. I guess a bit of blackjack is up tonight? Or Texas Holdem? Craps...?" she says before pausing, "Oh, hey, I don't know you." she nods to Yuna, "I'm Ira." She still seems slightly prickly but this is more social she's been in a while. Generally she doesn't /attend/ parties.

Janine Liberi has posed:
    Yuna gets a long stare in response to her greeting. She raises an eyebrow as the idol gets a glass of water. Teetotal huh? Lame. "Haven't been able to get out much, too busy running the food stall. Those idiots are hopeless without me," she answers with a shrug. Gudako and the two Servants get another stare, especially considering how the former has her eyes glued to a screen. But to that, Janine merely shrugs. She's been at enough family gathers to get used to the quiet ones not wanting to engage. She does, however, walk over to Caster her to help her unload. A wordless apology for poisoning her in the Forest maybe?

    Sanary gets a log, the Italian's eyes wandering to the red liquid. "Holy shit, is that more wine? Nice." In response to the query of 'plans' though? "Pfff. We're stupid teens up to no-good, I doubt we have plans. This isn't a kids birthday party." But then Ashurel appears, carrying a whole barrel of ale. "Holy shit. I knew I was gonna die soon, but I didn't think it would be from alcohol poisoning." She produces some crackers from a cupboard to go with the cheese.

    She sneers a little at Kaz. "It's not being stuck up, it's having an actual sense of taste. You'll see what I mean." With that, out comes the cork opener... which she can't really use one-handed. "... ah shit. Someone give me a hand? And I don't want to hear a single joke about it." To Ira, she only says, "Only if it's a fresh deck of cards. I don't trust you not to cheat."

August Kohler has posed:
People are arriving! August continues to drink his beer, frowning at Janine as she brings in the wine. "What's with that trash? This is a party, not a wine tasting." When Janine offends the beer, he just takes another sip of it, as he replies. "You want to get the Pig drunk? That sounds like a /terrible/ idea. Let's do it sometime."

"Festival's fine, but working in the booth is annoying. I have shift basically the rest of the weekend." August speaks to Yuna as she enters, giving her a wave. He doesn't comment on her choice of water (there is ice available). "How have you been enjoying the show?"

August is, however, distracted when Gudako brings in sweets. He takes a minute to watch her Servants unload the boxes, smiling widely as he greets them. "Ordria! Caster! Berserk-" And then he's promptly tackled, knocking out of his chair as his beer can bounces off his head and rolls to the side, spilling the liquid inside slightly. August attempts to push Berserker off, and if he can't get her off with force or words, he'll suddenly point to the door. "Look, Berserker, what's that?!" And try and distract her long enough to escape.

Everything everyone is carrying can be set down on the counters, the table, or the floor pretty easily, as a note.

When he's finally back on his feet, August waves to Sanary, avoids the pig blood, and considers a pork rind before being distracted once more by ASHUREL. "Holy shit I think I love you." This is directed at the barrel, as he nods to her. "August Kohler. It's a pleasure, Miss Cloudbank." Now without booze, he grabs a cup and quickly moves to crack open the Cragcap, grabbing himself a cup, before trying it.

"Volkov is more right than Janine, as always!" August grins as he takes a taste of his Cragcape, before shrugging. "Whatever we want to do, really. Games, chatting, anything goes." Ira arrives next, which August tosses a way to. "I'll play, I guess. Who'll deal?" And then, August remembers something.

"Oh, right, I ordered pizza. It should be delivered in a few minutes, hopefully."

Gudako Ordria (908) has posed:
    A lot happens in a very small window of time. Half a dozen people show up with even more booze! Now they have sake, beer, wine, more beer, dwarven ale, Janine might be onto something here when she mentions alcohol poisoning. Luckily, Gudako doesn't drink.

    You can't be optimal when drunk.
    No, truly, being drunk is the opposite of all she stands for. Her Servants, though, they'll probably dive right in, and she actually isn't sure if they can handle their drinks that well. She wagers Berserker is better at it than Caster. Maybe.

    Caster doesn't seem to hold anything against Janine, happily accepting the help not just from her but from the others that move in to help her unload. At the mention of card games, she laughs. "Be careful if you let master play! She counts cards," spoken from experience.

    Gudako neithers confirms nor denies, glued to her cellphone screen. But would it really surprise people she plays card games optimally too?

    Berserker is distracted off August, at the last person who came in, when he points at the door. "IT'S IRA!" she bellows, and like a cat in need of attention she immediatly pounces towards Ira, leaving August be. This is like playing Hot Potato, but with a needy Berserker cat.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
"Hey, just 'cause I was raised around pigs doesn't mean I don't know how to show up the right way." Sanary says with a grin in reply to Kazimir, the grin widening just a bit at the thought of possible craziness. Or silliness, with all the booze around between what's already present, Janine's offerings, and Ashurel's freaking barrel. "Hey, Ira! Uh... Probably...?" Ira's barrage of unfamiliar terms draws a confused look from Sanary, althoug she does snicker at the mention of... Texas.

     Clearly. She may also be snickering at Berserker's reaction to her arrival, too. "Good seeing you around again. Everything holding up okay?"

     At Janine, the healer shakes her head before setting her own stuff and Gudako's (or is it Berserker's? Caster's? One of them) stuff aside. "Nah, it's pig tea. Blood, water, some local herbs... Er. Local to home, not here. 'cause I don't know what you got around here."

     And then she smacks a hand to her chest confidently. "Don't worry, kids. I'll stay sober so you can all get sloshed and not worry about getting caught outside with your pants off. But..." She stares straight at August afterwards. "... I can't make any promises about how much pizza I'll eat."

     It's pizza, dammit.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
"Yuna Kagurazaka," Yuna introduces herself to Ira, getting up from her seat long enough to shake hands. Hopefully Berserker won't flatten him before (or in the middle of) the handshake, if he accepts it.

As to the discussion of games - "If I'm the dealer, it'll be harder for anyone else to cheat, right?" she asks. "And when you play blackjack, the dealer has to follow set rules about whether to take another card or not ... not sure about poker. - Ah, what would we be betting with? Are there chips somewhere? Not potato chips or snacks, but ... y'know. Betting tokens?"

With that offer made, Yuna reaches over to take the deck of cards and start making sure that it's a properly-arranged deck with the usual set of ranks and suits. "Playing cards ... they're actually descended from tarot cards, aren't they?" she wonders. "Maybe I should have gotten a reading after all."

Or maybe the tarot reader will still be out there when the shack party winds down. It's not really a big deal for Yuna, though.

Kazimir Volkov (920) has posed:
Kazimir shakes his head. "Pig is probably sad drunk. Do you really want to deal with sad pig? Waste of time."

Afterwards, he just tosses the deck at Kohler, letting the deck splay across the table towards his classmate. "Your problem. Right now, I am just drinking your beer and eating your food." He pulls out his watch and clicks it open. "Not sure how long I can stick around. Pizza better get here fast."

Despite this, he doesn't seem to be going anywhere. He waves to Ira as she arrives. "Hey Ogre." He says. "Good to see you. Come get something to drink."

He proceeds to give Janine a hand with the bottle opener, unceremoniously putting the corkscrew in and pulling it out with a pop. He even pours a glass for Janine. "Here, Liberi. Enjoy."

Ira MacNally (915) has posed:
Ira rolls her eyes, "Oh please. I've never seen this deck of cards before. Never touched it. And you're already accusing me of cheating? Pull whatever bug you got outta yer ass or you're gonna have a bad time."

    She grumbles, reminded why she doesn't bother with this stupid 'socialization' thing in her spare time.

    But despite that, she wasn't raised by wolves, and she knows how to respond to Yuna's handshake with one of her own. "Hi Yunaaaaaaaaaaaaah-" her greeting is cut short as she's pounced by a Berserker, who catches the attention-seeking Servant, holding her up with ease. "Hi." Her mood seems to improve slightly, then un-improve slightly at Kaz's greeting.

    "Hey." she tucks Berserker under her arm like she was carrying a suitcase or pile of books before she goes to get herself a drink.

Ashurel Cloudbank (1031) has posed:
    "Oh come now. It won't kill you unless you get carried away," Ashurel says with a bright smile to Janine, "I used to drink it all the time when I was an adventurer instead of a scholar." She adjusts her robes, having set down the barrel and allowed herself to fix the cloaks she wears. She's got a bookbag she's carrying, but not much else.

    When Kazimir gives her a salute, she gives him a chipper wave and a flittering of her fingers before dropping her hands down again, "Oooh, crackers." She replies, watching Janine retrieve some, "Let me help you with that wine." Ashurel comments flicking her fingers with the slight rush of magic, "Open that which is closed. ~Knock~." The cork SHOULD... pop right out. It's a pretty blatant waste of a spell slot, but still.

    "I'm fine with anything everyone else wants to do. I don't want to intrude on a party."

    CragCap, to note, is a mild Dwarven Sour. It's got a refreshing and crisp flavor with sour afternotes that taste like some of its core components were cave berries, honey, and cave spring water. It's a strong alcohol, but very easy to drink.

Janine Liberi has posed:
    "Of course she does, why am I not surprised?" Janine says to Caster, looking sidealong at Gudako. When Sanary explains the nature of the beverage she has brought, Janine's nose crinkles in disgust. "Are you kidding me? Goddamn..." Looking to Yuna, she smirks a little. "I wouldn't mind playing for real cash, but I doubt some here could match my raises."

    She watches at Kaz opens her wine and pours a glass, tutting slightly. "Nonono. There's an art to pouring wine. Here, look." She takes up the bottle in her hand and pours, raising it high in the air as a scarlet thread of liquid hits an empty glass. "Letting it fall like this makes air circulate through it, which helps improve the flavour." Although, she does take the glass Kaz poured first, leaving the other for anyone else to take. "Salute." With that toast, she raises the glass, gently samples the first sip... and the unceremoniously downs the whole glass.

    With some wine in her belly, she grins at Ira. "Hey, would you trust me not to cheat?" And to Ashurel, she snorts. "We're teenagers. Getting carried away is in our role descriptions." And with that, she takes a seat. "If we're actually playing, deal me in. But I got a more interesting game in mind if we wanna do something else later."

August Kohler has posed:
"Pizza should be here soon. Guy seemed really eager to deliver, even though we're out here in the...Black Forest." August takes a minute as he speaks. Well. This will be awkward.

OUT IN THE DISTANCE, a lone pizza man bicycles through the Forest, following a set of directions. This is his craziest order, but he has /never/ let a customer down before, and he won't start now! Now, where is this shack?

Sanary Rondel has posed:
Sanary furrows her brow a bit at Janine's reaction. "Whaat? It's not bad. Good for your health, keeps you awake, brings good luck if you dream about pigs the night after." As if to demonstrate, she pops open a quart and takes a sip! She... Actually seems to be completely fine with it.

     Damn wine snobs. She eyes that wine glass skeptically for a few moments, then raises an eyebrow at the mention of blackjack again. "So... Uh. Blackjack. Cards? This come with instructions or something?" Sanary takes another sip of the pig blood drink and grabs some of Ashurel's cheese for herself. Not so much the crackers, though.

     Crackers are bullshit. No, she's just going to munch on the cheese itself and revel in the PURE MOUTH-FEELING. Sure, she might smell terrible later, but at least she'll be sober! Probably.

Janine Liberi has posed:
    Janine suddenly snaps her fingers. In a good way, not 'the finger bones on her left hand suddenly snapping' way. "Actually, my game can be played with poker. Here, hold on." She counts up everyone in the shack and walks off, coming back with some blank cards. She numbers them, one to eleven, for every person in the shack. And then she doodles on one more, a little crown.

    "This can be what we play for. The winner of a hand gets to give a single order to a number, and whoever has that number for that hand has to do it. Let's call it... King's Poker." She looks around, smirking. "Although, no orders that take someone out of the game, because that's bullshit. And it has to be done right now. Sound good?"

Gudako Ordria (908) has posed:
    Berserker is now being hauled around by Ira, tucked under an arm. She purrs, arms falling limp like she has no worries in the world. This is the life, she doesn't even have to walk places she wants to go. If only her master would treat her like this, sometimes, it'd be the best.

    The cat will help herself to a drink too, of course. Whatever she can get those huge paws on. Out of laziness it may well be the same Ira picks.

    Caster, for her part, installs the sake set on a table. The pitcher is filled with sake, the little cups set around it for people to help themselves to them, and then she sits down and enjoys some of it, for fear that Berserker might swoop in and drink it all. Caster sits and drinks in a very... imperial manner, but it's probably lost on most people here due to not being Japanese, unless they're especially interested in that culture.

    Gudako is super busy. Playing games.
    On her cellphone.
    Yep.

    "Oh. Have there been any updates on those new Persona users you guys found?" Caster asks, idly. "How's their progress? Were they already experienced?" She only vaguely heard about this, but wasn't present for it. It'd be useful to know!

    None of the three seem to have objections to Janine's game, although it's likely only Berserker will play, for sanity's sake.

August Kohler has posed:
"I'm in. Gimme a number." August reaches out his hand, all grabby, as he replies to Gudako. "Way less than we are. They're the school nurse and therapist, apparently have only fought like, a dozen Shadows. We have all the experience here."

Meanwhile, Pizza Delivery Man gets even more lost, as he can't find the Shack at the directions. Odd...but he refuses to not deliver this pizza!

Ira MacNally (915) has posed:
"So it's kind of like...truth or dare with poker?" Ira asks, having ignored Janine's previous question about cheating. "Interesting. I guess I'm in."

    Ira has returned with a beer, of course, because in her country and in this country the drinking age is much lower and she's old enough to qualify. She sits down, shifting so she has Berserker flopped across her lap. Occasionally, with her free hand, she pets Berserker like a bond villain. "I will take a number." If only because Janine came up with the idea, so she can't refuse the challenge, because it's Janine.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Somewhere along the line, Yuna finished taking inventory of the available cards - thankfully, not something that you need foreign-language proficiencies to do. The symbols of the four suits are all pretty well standardized, and even if Yuna can't speak English (or German) to save her life, she DOES know the numbers and letters. "All cards accounted for, plus two jokers," she reports. Then she looks at Janine, "Did you include me in that count ... ?"

She also does a quick head-count of her own. "Do we need a second deck to have enough cards for everyone to get a full hand of five ... ?"

Well, somebody's knowledge of poker is limited.

Janine Liberi has posed:
    Janine 'shuffles' the number cards (like a kid would by spreading them face down on the table) and then passes them out to each player, face down. If they seem like they might not want to play, Janine just keeps holding the card out with an intense, slightly drunken look. "Keep 'em hidden until you win. Then you can turn yours over, make an order, then everyone else does too to find out who has to do it."

    The cards are dealt by whoever is the dealer. It's simple Texas Hold'em, the one that most people understand. And the winner of the first hand is...

    SANARY!

Sanary Rondel has posed:
"We just need the one deck, right? Five cards a person, shuffle every... Round or something." Don't worry, Yuna. Sanary's got your back! Sort of. Turning to August, she strokes her chin lightly at the mention of more Persona users that aren't even here. "So they went through the forest game thing, too? Hmn.. Any luck getting them to join us, or is it more complicated than that?"

     Poker being what it is, it seems as though the rules Janine's suggested that are more interesting to the healer compared to the game itself. She might not know the nuances of the game, but even Sanary knows when two numbers are the same! Or two letters. J is good, right?

     And when she actually wins with two of those pairs, she knows enough to guess that embarassing things are about to happen. "Alri-ight. Uh... Number two, feed me some cheese~"

     How nefarious.

Gudako Ordria (908) has posed:
    Berserker is Ira's cat now.
    She seems very content with this newfound position.

    She loses the first draw because she immediatly begins chewing on the cards given to her and couldn't bluff to save her life. Those big paws are also ill-suited for card games, though oddly enough she has no problem getting the cards to her mouth, so it's clearly selective clumsiness.

Janine Liberi has posed:
    Janine throws down her hand in disgust at the end of the round. She had a flush forming, but the last card didn't match damn it. She flips over her number card, revealing the big '2' just as Sanary gives her order... "Aw, goddamn it." She scowls, standing up and grabbing a bit of that dwarven cheese, walking around the table....

    And shoving it right at Sanary's mouth. "God knows what milk dwarves make cheese from. Eat up, you hick." And then she sits back down with a huff. "Next hand, c'mon!"

Ira MacNally (915) has posed:
"Pfffff hahahaha." Ira cackles as the game seems to be off to a GREAT start.

    Also her position lets her stare directly at Berserker's hand. She isn't abusing this. Much. Clearly not enough, though, because she definitely didn't win that hand, but she seems perfectly okay with that.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Well, since Janine 'asked' so nicely, Yuna takes her number, checks whch number it is, and placse it face-down on the table, possibly resting it under her forearm or something when she has the opportunity. And if somebody tells her HOW to deal the cards for Texas Hold 'Em, she's willing enough to retain custody of the deck and manage the proper distribution (and where applicable, display) of cards.

"That would definitely make it easier for large groups," she comments. Only two cards for each player, plus five community cards? Easy and efficient ... well, maybe not that 'easy,' but still. She seems a little uncertain about the ranking of hands ...

But ultimately, it's a moot point, because Sanary wins the first hand. Yuna only had *one* pair, and not too high at that.

August Kohler has posed:
Well, that's a horrible hand. 3, 6. Absolutely useless as August tosses it down. He laughs as Janine just forces cheese down into Sanary's mouth, as he takes another swill of his drink. "Come on, next hand! I have a great order."

Sanary Rondel has posed:
That was not nearly as embarassing as Sanary had hoped it would be. Still, she got her cheese without having to get up, and she's grinning even wider upon the realization that it's Janine who would be doing that feeding! "Mrph...! Eheh. I like this game~"

     She even seems to let that hick comment go. Does she even know what that means? "Alright, next hand! And.. Uh. Not gonna ask about the cheese."

Janine Liberi has posed:
    Janine sends sour glares at everyone who laughs at her, reshuffling the number cards as they come back before handing them back out. Courtesy of Yuna, the next hand is doled out as Janine downs her second glass of wine. And the winner this time is...

    BERSERKER!

    Boy, that's embarrassing for Ira all on its own.

Gudako Ordria (908) has posed:
    Berserker is a terrible player, it's true. To Janine's respite she does not laugh, she's too busy receiving adoration from Ira. Pettings are great. When cards get redistributed she almost fights back to keep ownership of her cards, because they are her cards now. Is cat, after all.

    The new cards, it turns out, are much shinier when she has them. Without really looking at them, she slams them down on the door, declaring: "Berserker has more people in dresses! Berserker wins!"

    It just so turns out her hand includes three Queens and two Kings, and they are indeed all in dresses. In her mind the only reason she won is because those people look superior.

    "Berserker wants tummy-rubs! From number one!"

Janine Liberi has posed:
    Janine huffs and pours herself another glass. She actually drew a pair this time, but it didn't match the pair on the table, or any other card for that matter. She takes a sip and lets it sit as she turns over her card... which nearly makes her spittake.

    Number 1.

    "This is some BULLSHIT," she decides, loudly. But it's her suggestion, so she can't back down. Even if she knows how some cats act when they get tummy rubbed. And Berserker is the biggest, most vicious cat she knows...

    She rises, walks to the Ira-Berserker cuddle puddle, and gingerly lowers her good hand, looking more than a bit nervous. The Servant gets two quick circular rubs before the Italian backs down and takes her seat again, hopefully without any maiming.

    "I'll settle for 'not losing' this round..."

August Kohler has posed:
"Janine, that has to be the shittiest luck I've ever seen." August tosses down another flop of a hand. He's grinning like crazy at her expense!

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
"Some people might say you kinda won that round," Yuna says wryly to Janine before sliding her number card back over (still face-down), and gathering the cards to shuffle up and deal once again. This is actually being kind of fun so far, even if some of it stems from a degree of schadenfreude. "I mean, getting to rub the belly of a cute catgirl like that?"

Gudako Ordria (908) has posed:
    Not only does she get belly rubs but she gets praise and compliments! Berserker's ego is pleased, and the venus hand trap never springs, as the Servant is obviously too content to want to claw or maim someone. If not for the compliments, it might have been another story!

    Caster will stay over there drinking herself silly at the idea that cat is technically a part of her personality. Mutter mutter she's much more graceful and elegant than that wild beast.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
A 2, a 4, a 6... Wait, do even numbers count for anything? Probably not. Sanary grunts lightly as she tosses her cards over, lounging back and still munching on the last bits of cheese residue in her mouth. "I think I'm starting to get the hang of it... Heh heh. Yeah, Yuna's got a point there, Janny~" The healer laughs, and then she scurries over to grab that sack of pork rinds. Something to go with the non-alcoholic drinks!

     Only a small part of her is jealous that she didn't get to do that instead. Only a little. Not that she'll ever admit it.

Ira MacNally (915) has posed:
Ira had 'cheated' the previous round, actually. She'd slipped one of her cards into Berserker's, perhaps contributing to that win. The results certainly make it worth it. She's trying not to laugh too hard as bad luck hits Janine like a lightning bolt.

Janine Liberi has posed:
    Janine makes it back to her seat, arm intact. Good thing too, since it's her last good one. She drinks her wine morosely, grumbling about how karma shouldn't be a real thing as the next hand is dealt out. And the winner this time is...

    Ira! It's all Ogre now, as Kaz might say if he wasn't so serious.

Ira MacNally (915) has posed:
"Hah!" Ira throws down her hand this time with a giant-ass grin on her face. "There was definitely no cheating involved in that." She leans back in her chair, steepling her fingers. "So let's seeeeee...I say number four has to give number two a /spanking/."

    She grins, "I'm a merciful king, so it can be just with a hand, not like a paddle or belt. That'd be a little too far."

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Yuna blinks, doing a full-blown double-take at Ira. Then she peeks at her number, as if refreshing her memory.

Then lets out a MASSIVE sigh of relief.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
Sanary gets a blank look in her eyes. Four spanking two... Wait, that means /she/ has to...?

     She's already looking a little flushed, but she hasn't even drank anything alcoholic yet! The healer turns her paddle around without another word, displaying a big ol' four on her sign. A moment later, she glances at the sign itself, then back at Ira. "... With this or my hand?"

August Kohler has posed:
August stares at his number, as Ira's order is called out. He drops it to the table. "No, please, no no no, Ira, take it back." His eyes are pleading. He looks nervously at Sanary. Oh god.

Ira MacNally (915) has posed:
"The king has spoken her decree!!" Ira roars, standing up with all the gusto of a Game of Thrones episode. "Just use your hand, Sanary. I am a /merciful/ monarch and will grant August /this/ much." She seems to really, really be getting into it. It's definitely not that she's drunk, either. She's only had one beer so far and she's Irish. She's nowhere near drunk yet.

Janine Liberi has posed:
    Janine is actually trembling as she checks her card this time... number 1 again. Phew! When August starts to panic, she snorts and offers a malicious grin. "Assume the position August! I had to do it, you do too!"

Sanary Rondel has posed:
Sure, Ira /said/ it didn't have to be with her hand. But... But using her hand would mean... Aw crap, Ira's repeated it.Sanary reluctantly sets that sign paddle down before getting up and approaching August.

     "Don't worry. I'll... be..." As embarassing as it is, she's also trying not the snort or giggle at the same time. "L... Let's just get it over with!" And then she takes a seat on the floor with her legs out, gesturing August over. She's not about to bend /him/ over herself!

     At least she really will be gentle.

August Kohler has posed:
August reluctantly assumes the 'position', closing his eyes. He could run away, or into the mirror, but then it won't end. "JUST DO IT, DAMN IT !"

Sanary Rondel has posed:
A pat, a thwap, and a chop later, and THE DEED IS DONE. Sanary may or may not be coming away with redder cheeks than August by the end of those three varied smacks, too, and at least for a moment? She's really considering grabbing some of that booze, too.

     Almost. Alas, she's made a promise to be their sober guide, and she intends to stick to it! "Th-there. Uh.. A-alright, next one!"

August Kohler has posed:
August hates all of you. Except Sanary, despite the situation, because she was forced too. When they're back to their chairs, he's drinking super heavily. He'll have to forget this.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Yuna thought for sure August was going to wind up going through a wall ... but she may have been overestimating how strong Sanary is and/or how much strength she was going to use.

For now, though, she just refills her water and resumes her seat at the table, gathering up the cards to shuffle and deal once more. Her number card, when she receives it, barely gets a look before she tucks it under her left elbow - just until she needs to see what it is.

Janine Liberi has posed:
    The next hand is dealt! Janine is in a good mood now and gets into it. And apparently, this more pleasant nature is paying dividends on her luck, because she wins this one with an ace high flush!

    "Yeeeeah! Okay, number 1!" She picks up the half-drunk pack of beers August brought and puts it on the table. "Finish off this pack of beers!"

August Kohler has posed:
August is still flopping. He tosses his hand down, and while he isn't 1, he begins praying, almost mumbling due to volume. "Lord, please let me win the next hand. Don't let me suffer like thiiiis!"

Ira MacNally (915) has posed:
Ira sits down, /super pleased/ with the outcome of her decree. She picks up her next hand, poking the cards around, but having no success.

    "Aww man, now that's an order I would have been glad to do." Ira grumbles, putting down her certainly-not-number-1 hand.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
Sanary, at leaast, seems quite relieved at both not having her number called. "That would've been a bad one for me. I.. Uh. I mean, I can't keep an /eye/ on everyone if I'm just as drunk, yeah?"

     SHe pauses. "... An /eye/? Eh? Eh?" Oh dear lord, she's still trying.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Yuna gives her cards a sour look - *now* she got two pairs, and ... well, flush beats a lot, including that. She double-checks the number she was given ...

Takes a *LOOK* at the remains of the six-pack ...

"Umm ... Janine, I don't really think that's a terribly good idea of a command, some of us don't do that well with alcohol ..." And she flips her number over. She may not have had the winning hand, but she was number one in *another* sense. She finishes off her water, too, before reaching uncertainly for a can of beer. She may not WANT to do this but she's at least a good enough sport to make the effort, if Janine doesn't rescind it.

Janine Liberi has posed:
    Janine fixes Yuna with that same intense drunk look she used to bully her into playing in the first place. "Drink the beers Yuna. No fans to impress right now, believe me." Her three glasses of wine now certainly haven't dulled her sharp tongue.

Ira MacNally (915) has posed:
"Hey, if she won't drink them, I will!" Ira speaks up, just to be annoying.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
... Okay, now things are getting much more interesting. "Don't be shy, Yuna. Whatever happens in here stays here." Sanary offers as some sort of reassurance, although that mischievous grin returns!

August Kohler has posed:
IN THE DISTANCE, the pizza guy is cold and tired. He's huddling under a tree, using the lukewarm pizzas to warm himself as he keeps trying to reread these directions. He feels /really/ bad that these people won't get their pizzas while they're hot!

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
"I'll be lucky to be conscious to finish the second one," Yuna mutters, taking the can and popping the top. Then she raises the beer in a toast to the others, "Here's to the best within all of us!" And she takes a sip.

"Mmph - !" She grimaces at the taste, but swallows. "... hmm." Another sip. "... okay, maybe not that bad once you get used to it ..."

She's NOT chugging it, which is probably smart given her relatively petite size. She's not going with small sips any more, though, just drinking steadily; her cheeks are already displaying a rather rosy flush by the time she's halfway through the can.

"Not how I figured the festival was going to go - I mean, I expected the booths and stuff, that's practically International Standards dictates ... you do a school festival, you HAVE to have food stands and performances."

She drinks some more beer, finishing off the can, and lets out a breath, sitting back in her chair and looking around at the others. Then she starts gathering up the cards from last round, starting to shuffle again. "You know ... I don't think I ever said how glad I am to meet you all," the decidedly blushy Yuna remarks as she focuses on riffling the cards into a new and presumably-random order. "Lots of good friends here ... Union, Confederacy, neither, both, doesn't matter. We're all protecting people." A dreamy smile. "And everyone's so *adorable*. August, Ira, Janine, Gudako, Hikaru ... Berserker is so cute, even though she's kind of annoying sometimes ..."

She actually manages to get to her feet, leaving the cards half-shuffled, and drapes over Sanary's shoulder. "And you're cute too ... but I'm cutest of all ..."

Did she just snore?

"But in purple ... I'm *stunning*. Zzzzzz ...."

NOW she's snoring. Definitely fast asleep, and hugging Sanary in a rather awkward and almost-compromising manner.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
It takes all of Sanary's self-control not to snort and gigle at everything Yuna's spurting out in her drunken state. Some of it does draw an intrigued grunt from the healer, but it's mostly taken in light-hearted stride!

     Right until Yuna flops right over her. Then the healer's starting to feel that awkwardness from before coming back again. "Wh-wha? Huh? Uh. Yuna, you... Er." Yep, definitely awkward. Grunting a bit, Sanary hoists the idol up while trying not to make the blushing too obvious. "I'll keep an eye on her, then. Uh. And just hope I don't get called to run around or... Something."

     Sanary even sounds mildly frustrated. She's supposed to plotting revenge against her, not trying to keep her safe!

Janine Liberi has posed:
    Janine just stares at Yuna goes from meek little sips to steadily pounding the single can back while rambling. She doesn't know how to react to being called 'adorable.' No one has called her that since she was five. After getting into fencing, it was supplanted by 'dashing,' and 'cool.' But watching Yuna slump and declare herself the best-looking of the bunch was totally worth it.

    "Okay, that was pretty great. Someone else is gonna haveta deal though."

Ira MacNally (915) has posed:
"I call dibs on the rest." Ira quickly says, a wide grin on her face, already reaching for the unfinished beers. "Oh, I can deal, sure." But will anyone think Ira trustworthy enough to deal!?

August Kohler has posed:
August is trying to pay attention to something else, but for some reason he blushes when he's called adorable anyways. He just shakes his head, and moves for the deck when Janine says they need someone to deal. "I'm more trustworthy, I'll do it. She'll cheat."

August carefully, meticulously deals the card to each person, and then goes back to drinking his booze.

Janine Liberi has posed:
    "To be honest, I don't trust either of you not to cheat~" Janine says, halfway through a fourth glass. "But who cares, this is fun. Go ahead!"

    And so the next hand is dealt, the table having one chair empty. Sanary might have some trouble playing with a drunk Yuna clinging to her, but in the end, it's August who wins the hand!

August Kohler has posed:
August looks down at his hand, as he slams it onto the table. "YES!" Straight flush. He drinks even more, his face read, as he rises up...and walks to the mirror, placing his hand on it to open it and peek out.

Inside the Forest clearing, the Pig is lazing about. It's a very boring, piggy day. August grins and turns to the table.

"2, 3, I order you to lure the pig head-first into the portal. He'll be fine, he's a pig, they don't have anything up there anyways."

Janine Liberi has posed:
    Janine turns over her card and reveals the number two. "Aw, fucking hell," she says, but in a good-natured way. At least it'll be the Pig getting humiliated this time. Looking across the table of snacks, she spots Sanary's pock crackling and grabs at it. "Let's make a trail with this stuff!"

Sanary Rondel has posed:
Handling cards with a cute blonde girl over your shoulder is much harder than it looks! Not that it loks easy, but... Sanary's easily distracted. Still, she gets... Nothing!

     Nothing except for orders to lure the Pig into the portal. She raises an eyebrow at August first, then at Janine when she suggests usingt he cracklins as bait. "Eh? But isn't that.. Like. Cannibalism?" She doesn't quite object to it, but certainly does seem confused.

     Beingt he good protector she is, meanwhile, Sanary's still going to be holding Yuna over her shoulder the whole time. "Where is he, anyway...?"

August Kohler has posed:
The pig is in plain sight through the portal. He's dozing against a log, but he's not very deeply asleep! It should be easy to lure him if you know what you're doing.

Janine Liberi has posed:
    "Eh, August fed him ham before. He's like, a metaphysical pig, so I don't think it counts," Janine rambles. She peeks through the mirror and splits the crackling with Sanary, before creeping out and starting to make a trail of the stuff, so the Pig can follow it towards the mirror as he eats. "I'll hold it open while you dangle a bit for him, then pull it back when he gets close, okay?"

    My goodness, she's so much more cooperative when she's drunk.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
Sanary, too, is... Actually handling the crackling fairly well, all things considered. She's carried drunk people around before, hasn't she? Carefully, even, as she helps set out the trail with Janine before dipping closer to the mirror with a piece in her hand. She might not be drunk, but mischief?

     Come on. What else was a pig farmer supposed to do back in the day? "Heeey, piggy. Got some treats for ya~" She calls out in an almost sing-songy voice, wiggling that piece of deep-fried maybe-cannibalism while backing away ever so slowly.

August Kohler has posed:
What? Who's there? The Pig's ears move first, and then its nose, as it begins to crawl towards the smell of cannibalistic deliciousness. He falls for the lure perfectly, and gets right up to the portal. However, there's a problem.

When Sanary eventually pulls back, the Pig goes head first into the Mirror...and out the other end, entering into our world. He keeps approaching for the pork rinds, and is now fully on our side. As this happens, August replies. "Oh, /shit/." He falls backwards in confusion, and a pair of cards slip out of his sleeves. Woops.

Janine Liberi has posed:
    Janine watches with glee as the Pig gets closer, closer, closer, anticipating the 'thunk' that will come...

    But it doesn't. Instead, the Pig walks right through in his hunt for the skin of his bretheren. Making Janine sober up right quick. "What the FUCK!" she exclaims, quickly throwing the rest of the crackling into the Forest. Somehow, she feels like letting the Pig roam around out here might be a bad idea.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
Sanary, at least, doesn't suspect anything's wrong just yet. "Aw, hey there! You're... Whoa, you're small. Uh. Is he suppo-" And then Janine and August start freaking out! Sanary just gives them both confused looks (while reaching up to keep at least one of Yuna's ears covered in her maybe-sleep), then looks back down at the tiny pig. "... Am I missing something?"

August Kohler has posed:
The pig is, luckily, a creature of a simple mind. He seems confused (and obviously scared) at their freaking out, but when they toss the pork back through the mirror, he's off after it. August is quickly shouting. "Close the fucking mirror! Go, go!" All that alcohol has drained out of his system in a moment, as he turns to Sanary. And quickly moves to pick up his cards, before someone sees them.

"Shadows /can't enter the real world/. We've tried before. I know he has a Persona and all, but he's very much a Shadow, and very much just walked in here like it was nothing. Jesus christ, this is a revelation."

August Kohler has posed:
MEANWHILE, as the pizza guy almost collapses from exhaustion, he pushes forward with his superior willpower. And he sees something in the Forest...a shack! This must be the destination! He rushes forward as fast as an olympic runner, and begins hurriedly knocking on the door. "Pizza! Pizza delivery!"

The man doesn't even care about his tip, for a minute he thought this was a hoax. He shoves them the pizza, and runs back. The story of a 'miracle shack' becomes a small rumor, but no one can ever actually prove it, and therefore he's just thought to be crazy.

Also, worst of all: the pizza is /cold/.

Janine Liberi has posed:
    Janine pulls herself from the mirror once the Pig is through, and just nods along with August. Internally, her mind is whirring behind the fog of drunkedness. "If the Pig can come through... does that mean the Wolf-" PIZZA'S HERE! Janine gets the door, and in her current state, she accidentally grossly overpays the guy. But she's too concerned/rich to care.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
"They... Can't? Oh." Sanary looks from August to the pig to Janine to the pig to Yuna to the pig, then nods slowly before moving over to the mirror and... She has no idea what to do with it. Thankfully, Janine's on the case! "That's... Huh. Does that mean...?"

     And then IT'S PIZZA TIME. Sanary does her best to try and rouse Yuna and whoever else might be asleep by this point, because even cold pizza is still pizza!

     Not that she cares if they have any or not. It just means more for her if they don't wake up.

     She just needs to remember that thing about Shadows for another time.

August Kohler has posed:
And so, the second night of the school festival ends, with cold pizza, beer, and a bunch of passed out teenagers. Also, a new revelation! Two more nights of festival remain, and more adventures will follow!