trans_9 | Anyway, this cake is great/So delicious and moist [Semi-Open]

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Anyway, this cake is great/So delicious and moist [Semi-Open]

The old cherry trees in the courtyard had decided to bloom with impeccable timing, transforming the entrance of the Susono Inn into an explosion of color. Pink petals collected between the stones of the courtyard's walkway, on the overhang of the foyer... oh, and if you got anywhere in a fifty foot radius of the place, you probably got a few on you, too.

The weather was cool and the air slightly crisp beneath the shade of the old trees. There were some wines and sake available for the older guests, and juice for the younger ones (both rescued from the Inn's storehouse). And of course, there was cake.

Mmm, cake.

[Subthreads are A-OK, feel free to threadjack. If you want a super-pathetically detailed map of the Inn for some reason, check here. The invitation post is here. Again, if you've threaded with Allenby/Zouichi a couple of times/are on good terms with them, consider yourself invited! Just ask if unsure]

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"Not if they all hate each other too. And seriously, why would you need to use a lead pipe?" He finishes his cake and scrapes the crumbs into a little pile with his fork to eat. "I guess. I never organized a party, though Albert put together a club back in the FAYZ."

"My mom always said it was a smart way to get around paying them more."

He nods. "Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't blah blah blah. I didn't sell any of mine either."

"You certainly know a lot about murder. Haven't you ever seen Clue?"

Zouichi blinks. "...as a joke, right? She said that as a joke."

"Albert put together a club? Like a book club?"

"The board game? They made a movie out of that thing?" He blinks back. "Nah, she was serious, I think. It makes sense when you think about it."

He rolls his eyes. "Like people would have showed up to a book club. Nah, he started the McClub, just this little nightclub with music and colored lights and kids DJing. It was only up for a few days before the electricity got shot, though."

"They did," Zouichi confirms. "...was your mother a businesswoman? That sounds a little... callous."

"Why was it called the McClub? I can't imagine Albert presiding over a dance club."

"Manager at an office. Marketing, I think. I didn't pay much attention. My dad did electrician stuff." He hasn't thought of it so long he realizes he neither remembers or cares what his mother did.

"It was a fixed-up McDonald's. I mean, I guess it was a way for him to get resources. He charged batteries and toilet paper for entry."

"Hmm. I'm not sure I'd like to have worked for her. Most of the people I knew back on Earth were scientists."

"Aha. How entrepreneurial. He seems to have a head for that kind of thing. Did you come up with the name?"

"She didn't let me have allowance most times either. She probably was being serious."

He laughs. "Actually, no, for once. I just named everything else. But yeah, Albert's probably the only kid who came out a winner in the FAYZ. With the hoarding and everything."

"If it makes you feel any better? I didn't get an allowance, either. Although there wouldn't really have been any point, since there weren't any real stores."

"And he seems to be doing fairly well now. At least, the last I saw of him; he was doing inventory at the time. I understand you got a hold of some adamantium."

"Somehow I don't see you as being the kind of person to blow money on anything but motorcycle maintenance, Zou. If yours even needs that or it just runs on the power of cool."

"Yeah, found it in an abandoned building. Took days to figure out what it was. Not sure what we're going to do with it now, honestly - I think we might've pissed off the blacksmith."

Zouichi shrugged. "I don't have many things I need to buy. Anyway, I haven't even given the bike a real workout since... probably since I've been here. Not much to maintain."

"Pissed off the blacksmith? How, exactly? ...Also, it wasn't in the form of a skeleton, was it?"

"How does it work on the snottier parts of the ship? In theory, could it go through swamps?"

Howard gives Zou a skeptical look. "By being my usual charming self. Albert blew the negotiation. And no, it was in hot liquid form, but that'd be awesome. Or claws, think how cool those would be."

"It runs, but I've been avoiding the... squishier areas to avoid destroying parts of the ship. And it depends on the swamp. If the terrain gets too inhospitable, it's got a handle, so I can just carry it."

"I haven't actually met any of the blacksmiths, but it must have been a pretty big faux pas for them to have turned down adamantium." He makes a face. "...You wanted to find an X-Man skeleton on the ship?"

"'I can just carry my motorcycle'. Do you ever heard yourself, Zou?"

"Nah, I pulled the adamantium from the deal because she tried to scam us. And hey, you haven't read stuff with Wolverine in it. Skeleton Wolvie's safer than alive Wolvie."

"Well, that's what the handle's for," Zouichi says stubbornly, maybe missing the point a little.

"Wait, what? How did she try to scam you?" He frowns a little. "I thought this Wolverine was a superhero?"

"She offered a price way below what our stuff was worth and pretended she wouldn't go higher, so we walked. Not anything unusual, but if Albert hadn't started by listing our lowest price we might have actually cut a deal."

Howard laughs. "Yeah, but like, Copper Age. All Copper Age heroes kill people. Punisher, and stuff. People like Superman are totally Silver Age."

"Hmm. Somehow, it's not something I would have expected from a professional craftsman. Unless she came from a haggling culture, I suppose."

"Copper Age? Why are comic book characters divided up into Ages?"

"That's probably the case, at least, that's what Albert figured. Why he couldn't do his research before we walked into that negotiation is beyond me, but whatever." Howard does a very poor job keeping the distaste out of his voice.

"Because they are. I actually have no idea."

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Anyway, this cake is great/So delicious and moist [Semi-Open]

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