18766/Darkness on the Edge of Dawn

Darkness on the Edge of Dawn
Date of Scene:	06 August 2024
Location:	145 Central Park Penthouse
Synopsis:	Jen listens to Mary mope a bit, and helps her shake off the angst.
Cast of Characters:	Mary Bromfield, Jennifer Stavros

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Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary was really in a /brooding/ mood, unusually for her. Of course, she had just witnessed a planet getting consumed by a cosmic horror beyond imagining. To think that Lovecraft was right, save that instead of tentacles it was really a Giant Purple Hat. So she's doing what she does to try and get her mind off things (and Marie-Ange wasn't there).

She's playing video games. Not streaming, but using the main TV in the living room, working through her frustrations by playing the Elden Ring expansion... and frankly, kicking its ass. Her eyes are narrowed as she is unusually locked in, not really paying attention to her surroundings as she grinds her way through the surroundings. Majestic scenery? Impressive bosses? right now, they're just obstacles for her to clear out.

Jennifer Stavros has posed:
Jennifer found some place new on the delivery apps and then placed an order for two. That accomplished, she wandered out of her room to plop herself down on the living room couch. "Hey." she told the broody mcbroodface Mary. "Want a beer?" she asked helpfully, with a look on her face that Marie would know in an instant as Chaos Gremlin mode.

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary hrms, "Well, sure. You know they don't really have beer in space? Though they have these interesting bar nuts... Zarg nuts, I think Mantis called them." She sounds a bit distracted, but does pause the game to look over at Jen. The Chaos Gremlin look goes right past Mary right now, which isn't surprising considering what happened to her. Sure, she saved thousands of people... but that wasn't enough.

Not /nearly/ enough.

Jennifer Stavros has posed:
Jen changed course for the kitchen to come back with a pair of beers. One got set in front of Mary, the other she kept for herself. She was tempted to use the bottle for immoral purposes but she was expecting a delivery. So she had to keep it down to a dull roar. Made it more of a challenge. So she plopped down on the recliner in her tank top and shorts and took a long sip of her beer.

Mmmm. Beer.

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary sets the controller down and leans back on the couch, taking a deep drink of the beer as she sighs deeply. "Yeah, I needed this. Maybe not as bad as Carol did, but... I was unconscious when the planet was actually /eaten/, so I didn't see it." She takes a deep breath, "I remember when Warworld came calling to Earth. Fought their ships in space, took out a couple of them. And this... this was leagues beyond that. Just, I don't know Jen." There's an uncertainty that the Philly girl doesn't normally express, and it's odd to see it in her.

Jennifer Stavros has posed:
"Way, way out of my pay grade." she said simply. "But look. Did you do everything you could, spent everything you had, to save people?" she asked, for once being plain-spoken and not at all Chaos Gremlin-y. "If you can look at yourself in a mirror and know that's what you did, you got nothing to be ashamed of." she said. Then she couldn't help it and stuck her tongue out. "I mean, k'mon, you're mopin' like yer from _Wilmington_." she said teasingly.

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary glances over at Jen, "Oh no you did NOT just say that, you Atlantic City..." She pauses, then chuckles a bit, "Okay, I probably deserved that. And you're right, I saved a lot of people. Literally burned out my powers to get as many people out as I could." She takes a deep breath. "WIsh it could have been more, and... hell, it's Kori's homeworld that got blown up. I still have to tell her what happened." And she isn't looking forward to that, at all.

Jennifer Stavros has posed:
"I get getting bummed that you couldn't do more." she said. "I really do. But we're mortal, we got limits." she pointed out in an act of staggering unknowing irony. She almost wanted to crawl into Mary's lap and offer distraction, but A) probably a bad idea, B) definitely a bad idea, and C) she had no idea what Mary liked anyway. And D) delivery incoming that was almost guaranteed to lift her spirits. And if it inspired her to lift other things, well, Jen wasn't gonna complain about _that_.

But there was a dangerous combination at play - alcohol and Jen's inner Chaos Goblin. The two were going to cause her to do something really fun and really, really stupid any time now.

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary considers, then grins a bit, giving Jen a wry look as she seems to sense the look, "Think I've buried myself in video games enough for one evening." She pauses, and arches a brow towards the blonde, "Care to join me?" Her grin grows, just a bit, as she glances towards the spot next to her on the couch.

Jennifer Stavros has posed:
Jen happily took another swig of her beer then moved her tiny-ass little self into Mary's lap. "Sorry." she said. "Wanted to do this earlier but ... still new at this." she said, twirling a finger to emcompass, well, everything. "And you were doing a really good job of moping. A+, will mope again." she said with a smirk. Then she leaned in close to Mary's ear and whispered something about a delivery coming in that she was gonna like, but after...