Recent Posts

There was an argument to be made that the girls’ tonal shift corresponding to the intruder’s gender was hypocritical, but in their defense, it was the women’s changing room. ”Don’t get me wrong, sweetheart, you shouldn’t just be strolling in here, girl or guy, but at least things feel more appropriate this way. Plus, Skye might have a little bias,” she added cheerfully, taking a swig of the sweet apple pie moonshine. As she savored the mild burn, she poured a glass for their new friend. No sense in being rude hostesses, after all.

”I’m on tomorrow. The boss likes to have me around getting a buzz going on big nights,” she confirmed. Her powers were still going to last for a few hours, so the newcomer should have already started feeling the effect of having a drink or two under her belt.

Thinking of dancing and the new girl did make Paige curious. ”So do you like to dance? The mirror thing’s a nice angle and the club has guy nights and girl nights, so you could really make a killing. What’s your name, darling? I could be your reference,” she said playfully, winking as she grabbed a seat, finally getting comfortable with the situation.

Vanessa had a long day of work. No one ever believed her when she complained about her work days because everyone was aware of her job playing video games for a living. Admittedly, she would never compare herself to someone working in coal mines or retail; she was lucky enough to work her dream job. She was still allowed to have long, exhausting day, and a day of working in animation certainly qualified. There was a reprieve when she left for the last hour of the day to record the week’s podcast, but it did not lessen all the pressure to get artwork finished for a new show set to premier in a week.

It was still nice to end the work day with a light buzz, and the presence of cocktails on the podcast made that dream a reality. Vanessa was ready to go home, make some quick dinner, and play with her Gamestation. On days of heavy gaming in the office, Vanessa would often return home to draw or watch Binge, but after all the drawing of her own day, she wanted to stay far from her sketchpad.

Vanessa was stepping off the metro when she felt a buzz in her pocket. She read Booker’s attempt at a text, but found its original meeting difficult to translate.



Yes, at first glance, Vanessa could guess her brother hit a typo somewhere along the way. The question was: where? Fiend-sitting? One of those words was definitely wrong. She wondered if, perhaps, Booker was dog-sitting for a friend, hence the corgi. Why he was telling her to be calm was a mystery, making her believe that was wrong somehow, as well.



Vanessa was already approaching the door to the apartment when she sent her reply, staring cautiously at the door. She wondered if she would be wrangling a tiny pupper making a break for it if she was not careful.

The door opened and no pets tried to escape, so Vanessa walked into the apartment, keeping an eye out for the new presence in the home. ”Booker, if you really brought a puppy, you have to at least try running things by me,” she called out, just in case Booker was somewhere in the apartment.

Rather than her brother or a puppy, Vanessa found another surprise in her living room: a young blonde woman on her couch. ”Okay, you’re not a puppy,” she said definitively, before adding in a louder voice directed toward the hallway, ”And if you’re cheating on Jules with a blonde teenager, I’m gonna kick your a**!” Her and Juliette got off on the wrong foot, but Vanessa actually liked the woman, and her distaste for cheating was well-documented. This was all without pointing out that the girl was likely a decade younger than Booker. Gross.

Vanessa kept her eyes focused on the girl in case she woke up. She was trying not to rely on her telepathy as much anymore, but if she could make eye contact with the girl and get a better idea of what was going on, it seemed like a justifiable time to use that ability.

The mirrorwalker was not looking like (s)he was living her best life. There was some preoccupation with Midnight and a warning. They got him/her a seat, and Paige and Skye got to watch as a handsome man shifted quickly into a very attractive woman.

A soberer Paige might have questioned the display, but the delightfully buzzed Paige was more concerned with finally receiving an explanation for the “sometimes a girl” comment from earlier. ”Ooooooh, sometimes a girl. Gotcha,” she said dreamily. It was definitely a mutation gender-identity psychologists would have a field day with.

Skye immediately softened to the intruder, which left Paige grinning. It was no secret that Skye had a preference toward women, particularly when they were cute. The pretty, slightly butch brunette certainly fit the bill. The blue-haired dancer resolved to help their guest get comfortable, going so far as to grab her a water bottle.

While Skye was rummaging through the minifridge, Chloe arrived with something stronger. Handing over a bottle of apple pie moonshine to Paige with a smile, she looked around the room. “Are you two just looking to start your night early? Oh!” She spotted a new girl sitting in one of the chairs. “Sorry, three. Did we get a new girl?”

Paige grinned and kissed Chloe’s cheek. ”Just a pretty new friend dropping in for the night.”

“Pretty is right,’ she said, eyeing the new girl mischievously.”

”Easy there, you’re still on the clock” she joked. ”Good luck tonight, sweetie!”

“You’re no fun,” Chloe replied with a pout before leaving the three women to themselves.

Paige returned to the others, unscrewing the cap on the bottle of moonshine and passing it to Skye. ”Ladies, I return bearing gifts!”

Maybe it was ironic considering her job, but Vanessa liked watching people play video games almost as much as she liked playing them herself. Winnie could play Genebolt and Vanessa’s brain could go on autopilot, watching as she tore through a dystopian society with lightning. Even though Winnie was not performing up to her typical standards, Vanessa kept comments to herself, not looking to convince the Brit that she should play her game with two hands.

The way Winnie was stroking her hair was nearly enough to put Vanessa to sleep. It was so relaxing, and she could do with relaxation after the week she had. It was a cute, innocent moment, and Vanessa had no reason to care if other patrons were watching them. The two friends were having a sweet, drunken evening, but they were still adhering to the “in a relationship” codes of conduct. As long as they behaved, their moment was no one’s business but their own.

Vanessa’s cheeks heated up when Winnie started singing her praises. Vanessa liked the way she looked after a long time of wanting to reach that point, but hearing Winnie remind her so emphatically that she was “the prettiest jalapeno popper” was the best thing she had heard all night. She was willing to ignore Winnie’s need to talk about sex with her brother. Was he the prettiest jalapeno popper? No. No he was not.

But in her eyes, neither was she. Vanessa firmly believed Gina was far more beautiful than her, but Winnie was also the kind of gorgeous that needed praising. "No, You! YOU'RE THE HOTTEST FRIENDLEPENO POPPLER. Like... stuuuupid hot. Like, all the people in all the everywhere see you when you walk in a room. And I totally never made any moves cuz you'rejustmymostimportantfriendandthebestthingever!" Alcohol was making Vanessa sappy and emotional, which had its own impact in diction. She always thought Winnie was beautiful, and she would have been lying if she claimed she never thought about the road not taken. In the end, she understood how important Winnie was to her as a friend, and as she learned in her other relationships, a bad breakup could damage a once-stable friendship. She was just happy to have someone that amazing and pretty in her life, and she knew it was important to make that clear sometimes.

Alcohol could only blind Vanessa so much to her friend’s obvious ploy. When two very good gamers were getting trounced by computer-controlled characters, foul play was afoot. For whatever reason, Winnie was losing on purpose—a fact that became clearer when Vanessa watched out of the corner of her eye as her friend ruined her cart.

It was harder to piece together motive through the haze of liquor. Winnie had proposed the drinking game rules, but she made the winner the one to drink more. She had some reason Vanessa could barely remember, but it sounded like a ruse based on how the night was going. Was Winnie really trying to get her drunk?

Of course, that was a game two could play. Vanessa already did her part by ordering new shots, but she was going to have to try harder to get them both across the finish line of inebriation. She was riling up Winnie, and thanks to alcohol, her taunts seemed to be landing like headshots. What she somehow forgot was Winnie’s ability to retaliate, and her utter shamelessness in invoking Booker’s sex life. Vanessa gagged and tossed a throw pillow. ”Gross! I’m going to have to burn that out of my head!”

It took a moment for her brain to connect her complaint with the goal she so recently committed to, but she figured out a path to make things work. ”Okay! None of this nonsense now. Rule change. Winner drinks two,” she said slowly, holding up two fingers, ”and the looooooser drinks… four!” Of course, that was also accompanied by fingers aggressively representing the number.

Win or lose, they were both going to be drunk by nights end.

---

How did they get to night’s end again?

They managed to drink… well, honestly, Vanessa lost track of what they managed to drink. They played video games. So many video games. Thanks to the rules of their drinking game, they drank so many alcohol.

Vanessa was giggling over something Winnie said. Or it could have been because she remembered a joke from a ViewTube video. The only clear thing was Vanessa laughing, draped across the length of the couch with her head in her friend’s lap. ”You know, I don’t know why we don’t do more nights like this. We should do way more girls’ nights. Like… all the time.”

Their couch was catching curious glances from some of the nearby patrons, but Vanessa was oblivious to them. She was on a comfy couch, she had the best friend a girl could ask for, and there were still a few jalapeno poppers left. She grabbed one and tossed it in her mouth, careful to chew so she did not choke on it. ”You’re like… the jalapeno popper of friends. Because you’re… you’re just so good.”

Vanessa made a wise decision when it was her turn to pick a game, even if her plan was to lose more games than she one. With all the chaos of Average Giuseppe Mobiles, it was easy to subtly swerve into a stray shell or catch a banana peel on a turn. A sober Vanessa would never let those little obstacles get in the way of her success, but Vanessa could sell the alcohol hindering her because, well, she was getting drunk.

When games went in her favor, Vanessa was still celebrating like all she wanted to do was leave Winnie under the tires of her cart. She pouted and huffed when she lost, even though she was glad to see Winnie knocking her drink back.

What was weird to Vanessa was how even things still seemed to be. She was putting a concerted effort into performing at a mediocre level and Winnie was not taking advantage of that to pummel her into the ground and declare herself supreme video game overlord. Even after all her effort, Vanessa still felt like the one who was on track to be drunk and stumbling in the near future. Something seemed out of place, but the alcohol in Vanessa’s system was not helping her connect the dots.

Vanessa did have another idea in mind since her plan A was showing limited success. If she could not tip the scales on both sides, she would just break them. The waitress was passing by and Vanessa hailed her attention, smiling sweetly. ”Excuse me, hun! I’m sorry to bother you, but my lovely friend here isn’t bringing her best to the games today. I was hoping you could help me out with something to get her in the mood for more fun.” The waitress seemed eager to assist, to the surprise of nobody.

After a quick order and equally quick retrieval of drinks, the girls had new shots in front of them. Vanessa was not sure why exactly, but over the summer it had become her favorite shot. In an effort to move the night along, she also ordered them both as doubles.

Vanessa raised the shot and downed it, enjoying the sweet and tart tastes that masked the prevalent amount of alcohol. ”You know, I know I’m not exactly speedrunning these things, but aren’t you a tiny bit worried about your pride, here? Maybe you’d be doing better hitting the buttons with ittle tiny birdy feet,” she teased, still wondering why Winnie’s gaming skills were suddenly so non-existent.

Beating Winnie at video games was always enjoyable, but everything was extra enjoyable when the happy mist of inebriation started setting in. Vanessa was having a great night, and she was about to pop in a video game she was known for dominating. She had the skill and timing down, she knew all the techniques, and everyone was convinced the game loved her and gave her good item rolls. Victory was going to be swift and glorious!

Winnie found Vanessa’s joke about her pursuit of the waitress as funny as she did, which was good, because the joke was hilarious and deserved all the laughter it earned. Vanessa could not stop from calling Winnie out on her “kiss and tell” line. ”Oh, bull****. You act like we haven’t literally spent nights drinking and recanting your exploits.” After all, everyone needed a friend to share in the joy of their conquests, and Winnie was quite the conqueror. ”Though I think Gina would frown on me lending my friend and her waitress that much of a helping hand.”

After another bout of laughter, Vanessa settled on Princess Violet and they jumped into the race. As expected, Vanessa led with a convincing trouncing of her friend in the first race. She took her two sips but looked at Winnie’s glass, which seemed disappointingly full. If she remembered correctly, Winnie made their wager with the hope that she could get herself drunk. Vanessa liked winning, but if Winnie was really having a long week, maybe she could help things along. She was not planning on throwing every match, but what would be the harm in letting things even up drink-wise?

So, under the guise of her increasingly intoxicated state, Emperor Ghast was starting to claim more victories over the Moonlight Princess. Vanessa pitched the same fit she always did when she lost, but she had to fight the urge to smirk whenever Winnie took the sips she was apparently so eager to get. No one was supposed to escape the night sober, and Vanessa was going to ensure the plan went as expected.