deercountry | the grand opening of the raccoon room

Entry tags:

the grand opening of the raccoon room

Who: YOU AND YOUR BEST BUDS
What: The Grand Opening of the Raccoon Room
When: October 31st
Where: The Raccoon Room in Cellar Door

Content Warnings: N/A for now

Welcome to the Raccoon Room! Code

You find a green door on a townhouse nestled in the middle of a long, cute cobblestoned street. There's a raccoon logo emblazoned on the door. When you enter, you're greeted by sumptuous green velvet drapery, a marble statue of a familiar looking guy with devil horns on his head, and surly ticket taker (Mako, rather unhappily wearing a Victorian style vampire outfit, including vampire fangs) who will make sure that you're paying your fair share for your ticket. That's either a nice rock, a nice shell, or a beautiful feather. If you don't have anything that's worth the right amount, he'll ask for more, or give you drink tickets if you over paid. Does Mako know what makes a feather beautiful? Who knows. It's all subjective here.

You enter the venue through heavy velvet curtains. The light is dim, there are tables scattered everywhere with plush chairs and flickering candles. It's a large room, but it feels intimate. You find a seat, get a drink, or take a look around.

At 8:00pm sharp, the show begins, with Wu, dressed in his grown, flowering top hat, made by Fern, and an impeccable green tuxedo with tails, a gold cape and fake vampire teeth, takes the mic.

"Welcome, welcome to the Raccoon Room! I'm so, so, so glad that you're all here. Things are dreary and dangerous outside, but in here, sit back, relax, and enjoy yourselves."

And with that, he waves the first performer on.

Throughout the night, you'll see Scorpia and Zari Tarazi sing, Fritter (Wu's raccoon omen) and Pabu the fire ferret perform tricks, and the headliner, Ryan Akagi of Chicken Choice Judy, rock out. Wu comes up between the sets and vamps, makes jokes, and applauds the performers, adding plugs to come talk to him if you want to perform.

Over at the bar, Mako's moved on from taking tickets to making drinks. You can order any old beer, wine, or cocktail, or the Jade Dragon, a speciality absinthe cocktail Mako created for the Raccoon Room.

Feel free to top level, make your own night of it! Your esteemed host will be a bit preoccupied, but this space is for Sleepers to come, enjoy themselves, and mingle.

If your character wants to perform, let Wu know.

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[ She can't help laughing at that before giving him a nod. ]

Yep, I'm the lawyer. For the record, I don't think our jobs are boring -maybe the paperwork part is. Anyway, I am glad that Wu gave you a heads up about me. [ Laurel smiles. ] We didn't talk a lot over the network, but he seems like a nice guy.

[ Plus, he had some nice things to say about Mako, but Laurel is leaving that part out. ]

My dad is a cop back home. Captain now.

He's something alright.

[ There is a decent amount of gruff affection dripping from those words, and Mako looks over at the left wing of the stage as he says it, where Wu's swaying to Zari's music looking enraptured.

Nope, wait, focus on Laurel, her dad is a cop and that's cool and definitely not boring. Mako leans a little closer, flashing her a real, if small, smile. ]

Definitely don't miss the paperwork. Captain's impressive, though—I was hoping to get there one day back home, but didn't actually want Beifong to retire yet. Must've taken a lot of work for him to get there. I, uh, haven't actually done any detective work in a while.

[ A beat. ]

The cats kind of had it covered in the dream.

[ ....which sounds like a deeply weird thing to say, so Mako coughs, a little awkwardly, and straightens up. ]

Can I get you anything?

[ Okay. Laurel is beginning to think there's something going on between Mako and Wu. Which is nice if there is. She's all for people finding happiness.

Wu did mention that Mako had a good jawline and now that she has seen Mako look his way, her suspicions may be right here. ]

My dad has been on the force a while so he had to work his way up to Captain - wasn't easy, but I'm very proud of him. I did consider joining the force once. He wasn't happy about that.

[ At the mention of the cats, Laurel looks amused. ]

A guy already told me about the cats and yeah, it's weird.

[ It will never not be weird. ]

Do you just have soda? I don't drink alcohol.

Edited (hit enter too soon) 2021-10-31 23:26 (UTC)

Flavored, or just the... bubbly water?

[ He can never remember the word seltzer. It is beyond him, and also painfully fancy.

Anyway, Wu can bite it because this conversation is extremely interesting as far as Mako's concerned: he could talk shop all night, is visibly excited about it if the smile that hasn't left his face is any indication. ]

Why would he want to keep you away? He should've been proud you wanted to join him.

Flavoured would be fine. Thanks.

[ She did know what he meant by 'bubbly water', but Laurel has a preference for something with a bit more taste to it.

As for what they were talking about, she can't remember the last time someone showed enthusiasm for her job or what her dad did. If anyone ever did - which is a little sad. However, she's glad that Mako is interested so she'll talk to him for as long as possible. ]

My dad is what you would call overprotective. Having two daughters probably made him that way. [ One more rebellious than the other. ] It's okay though. I like being a lawyer. I still get to help people.

[ Mako is incredibly interested, mostly because he... knows very little about what a lawyer might do. Courts in Republic City—really, in his world—don't work like the ones on Earth, and he has a vague idea that lawyer might sit on a council, the other half of the criminal justice system he was also part of.

He grabs for the most interesting soda he can find, a grapefruit-and-tamarind thing he managed to get off one of the trade ships, and pours it properly into a glass with some ice, then quickly slices off a little grapefruit rind to put on the edge. You know, to make it fancy. We're learning here.

That done, Mako shoves it across the bar to Laurel and then just... kind of stays there, listening. ]

I get it. I wasn't exactly happy when my little brother decided he was gonna join the force, too. Beifong assigned him to be my partner, and he was actually pretty good at it, but... he's not cut out to be a detective. You happy doing the law thing?

[ When the drink appears in front of her, she takes a look at it. Laurel doesn’t think she has ever had something like it before, but the garnish of the grapefruit rind was a nice touch. She gives him a smile. ]

Thanks.

[ She'll give it a try soon enough. ]

I'm really happy doing the law thing. Don't get me wrong, it was hard to get to where I am now. A lot of late nights and pots of coffee, but I'm glad I chose the path I did. Even if I can make a small difference, it'll mean a lot.

[ At the moment she decides to withhold from discussing her nighttime activities as a vigilante. That was something her father (and well, some of her friends) were very against Laurel taking on. They didn’t think she was capable, but she proved them wrong and earned their respect. ]

I have a little sister too. Two years between us - she is here actually. What about your brother, is he around?

[ While she waits for his response Laurel takes a sip from her drink and finds it pleasant. ]

He's...

[ Mako twists around toward the stage and blinks, a half-smile catching on his face.

Up on the stage, Wu is gladly introducing their next performer, who just so happens to be an extremely buff young man (sans mustache) and a small red animal. Bolin looks thrilled to be up there, as natural in the spotlight as he always has. As he thanks Wu for the introduction something inside Mako goes kind of squishy, seeing them up there together like that. ]

That's him. Right up there, with the fire ferret.

[ Laurel follows his gaze and looks up at the stage, a smile forming on her face. She hasn't seen anything like the animal before, but she is interested to see what Mako's brother is going to do for the show. ]

We just have regular ferrets back home. Never actually owned one though. [ She adds, taking a sip from her drink. ] What's your brother's name?

Bolin. The fire-ferret's Pabu.

[ He smiles quietly to himself as Pabu—in a matching tiny coat—squeaks to follow up Bolin's over-the-top intro, immediately leaping from his arms to do a handstand on his front paws. They've always been like this, but it's nice that Bolin actually gets an appreciative audience this time. ]

It's just been me and him for most of our lives. I'm lucky he's here. What about you and your sister, you get along?

Pabu? That's a cute name.

[ She watches the performance for a few moments, finding it entertaining as well as cute. They both looked like they were in their element up on the stage, and it was nice to see that he had the support of his older brother too. Family was important to her. ]

We didn't always get along - usual sister fights and so on. [There is a whole story that Laurel isn't going to get into to spare him and herself.] But we're doing much better now, I'm happy to say.

I feel grateful that she's here, even when I didn't expect it.

What's her name?

[ Out of curiosity, more than anything—Mako will make a point to look out for her if he has a chance to. People's family being here can be the strongest anchor there is, but it can also make this place a hundred times more terrifying. He sends Bolin a check-in text every day if he isn't around to physically see.

Usual sister fights doesn't sound like something you have to get better from, though, and it makes Mako pause. ]

I, uh. I get that, though. Bolin and I had... there was some stuff with a war back home that got rough.

Sara Lance.

[ Realising that she didn't give her own last name, she decides to give her sister's and it would make it easier for Mako to find her. Laurel is also temporarily staying at Sara's place until she found one of her own. Much as she wanted to stay close, she didn't want to intrude too much on her space. ]

A war? Oh my gosh, I'm sorry to hear that. I hope things are a lot better for you back home.

[ Mako pauses, all mention of the war forgotten for a second. ]

Wait. Does she look like you?

Yeah, she does. There's some differences but you can tell we're related. [A smile.] Have you met her already?

I... think she might have taught me how to do this.

[ Mako hefts a cocktail shaker to show her what he means. They had a lot of nights together, actually, chatting in the casual way that coworkers do except tinged with the oddness of Deerington: they'd talked about monsters and what they did to cope, and their least favorite parts of the nightmare. ]

Never even been behind a bar before the dream, but I needed a job and it seemed like as good a place as any to get information. She showed me the basics.

[ Hearing that reminds Laurel of Sara making her a mocktail, not long after they started to work on repairing their strained relationship. ]

Sara does have some good bartending skills. [ Among many other skills. She wonders if Sara told Mako much about her life back home. ] I'm glad that the two of you have met already; I'll need to mention it to her when I see her later on.

[ Laurel smiles, taking a sip from her glass. ]

Did she teach you anything else or tell you about where we come from?

We were pretty distracted by the monsters taking over the town when I was learning.

[ And then Wu had shown up, and Korra had disappeared, and Mako stopped talking about his life to anyone at all. He pulls another glass out from under the bar with a wave at someone who requested a drink. They only have mead, because it's the only thing he was able to find. It's a weird sweet drink and Mako kind of loves it. ]

Tell me about it. Your home. Only way to remember it while we're stuck here.

[ Monsters. Her visible reaction to that should tell Mako enough about how she feels in having to deal with monsters. Earlier in the month she encountered a ghost. ]

I'm guessing you've heard of America before. I live in a place called Star City which is in the state of Washington. Big city, lots of people and tall buildings. Like most big cities in America. There's crime and corruption, but also a lot of good in it too - people who fight back. Like me.

[ She pauses then, taking a moment. ]

Over a year ago, I decided to become a vigilante and do something to protect the more vulnerable people in my home.

[ Mako has been through too much to maintain much hope of things improving, but there was a brief moment when he and Wu were sinking into the unknown sea where he thought maybe, possibly, the place they ended up would be free of monsters.

That hope had fizzled quickly.

But at least there are people like Laurel in every world, not just his own, who decide to do something about them. Mako offers her a thin smile. ]

That a normal thing in the state of Washington, people needing to take the law into their own hands?

[ Sharing that part of her life had become easier over time, but only a handful of people in this place knew about it. But Mako didn't seem to react in a negative way, which makes Laurel feel better. ]

I can't speak for the whole of Washington, but it's definitely the case in my city. I'm part of a team and we work together to do what we can with what resources we have.

[ Oliver had started the team and it had grown over the years.]

The cops can only do so much.

...yeah. I know what that's like.

[ Mako can't help the bitter twist to his mouth, glances away to try and hide the shift in his expression. He'd tried for so long to learn how to keep his face impassive the way Zolt told him to, the way all the upper Triple Threats did, but he never really managed it. Mako has always been too expressive for his own good. ]

Beifong tried her best, but... there were a lot of problems at home her hands were tied on. A lot she and the United Forces couldn't handle.

I'm, uh. Not from a world anything like Earth.

[ Laurel caught a glimpse of his expression before he looks away and it's all too familiar to her. She has seen that look on her dad's face whenever a life was lost or a case didn't go the way he wanted it to. When those times hit him, Laurel was the one who had to pick up the pieces. At least her dad was sober now. ]

Then what kind of world are you from if it's not like Earth?

You can tell me as little or as much as possible.

It doesn't really have a name like Earth does. It's just... the world.

[ Mako's had to explain this a few times now and he's still not any better at it, still shifts awkwardly, looking up at Wu and Bolin on the stage for a moment. ]

We have bending, for one. Stuff like— [ Mako glances up, then holds his palm up and flicks his fingers, making flame appear in the palm of his hand. It dances there like a candle for a second, and he snuffs it out. ] —that. A lot of people can do that now, which is a lot more like home, but in the dream it was just me and a couple other people. My brother's an earthbender.

It's hard to explain. It's really different.

[ She has the patience to listen to him as he explains- Mako could take all of the time he needed to.

Laurel watches in silent awe as the fire appears out of nowhere in his hand. He made it look really easy, but she could imagine that having such a skill probably took a few years of practice to master. Those kinds of abilities would only be possible for metahumans where Laurel is from ]

So bending is like being able to create or manipulate fire or earth? Or anything similar I guess.

But it does sound complicated. Thanks for trying to help me understand better.

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arclightning - 2021-12-02 02:40 (UTC) - Expand

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lightinside - 2021-12-04 17:03 (UTC) - Expand

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