Out with the old....

[sundead]

Who: Everyone
What: New Year's.
When: Dec. 31st, New Year's Eve, to Jan 1st, New Year's Day.
Where: Everywhere
Summary: It's New Year's, and the people of Luceti have a lot to reflect upon, and to look forward to. And on a more meta level, new journal names.
Rating: We'll see...

New Year's brings images of crowds, and songs, and fireworks; staying up til midnight and watching balls or bells being rung. But Luceti is a different time and place. Whether you're partying with friends or watching the sunrise, what are you doing today?

Comments

[shadedsunlight]

"Owner by circumstance and the other owners leaving. This place is cursed." All said with a glib smile and a light shrug. Is it cursed? Who knows.

Ginia lets him drink in peace, setting the bottle aside, but within reach. She tidies up a little, glance up at him when he speaks.

It's an interesting question, one that requires a little bit of mulling over. She knows it's different for her; there are no friends back home for her, or at least very few remaining and none she's seen in any recent period of time.

"With poise and grace. With the realization they may arrive within the next cycle, or I could be sent home and be with them. Until then, there are new people to get to know and new friends to make."

[redjacketthief]

There was a good point there. He saw it, but accepting things with poise and grace had never really been his style. His best results always came from wailing against circumstances and making things happen.

"That's true," he said calmly, "And, I know its not terrible because most everyone else is here, but my oldest and most reliable partner isn't here. He was, at one point, but he was already gone by the time I dropped in. Sorry for being sentimental there--the friend in question would put me in a headlock if he heard all this."

There's a wry smile on his face as he continues. "We always did our best work as a group, the four of us. I know I've done some pretty crazy things, but I can't take all of the credit. Some of it never would have happened with out my buddies around. All of them."

[shadedsunlight]

"I firmly believe one should never apologize for sentiment. Better to feel emotions then to feel nothing at all." She smiles and winks at him. "But if your friend comes by, I'll deny any knowledge of you being sentimental."

She leans slightly on the counter, quite interested in what he has to say. She remembers speaking to Jigen once, a short conversation, but nice. Then there'd been the conversation with Zenigata sometime after. "Do you mind telling me about your group?"

[redjacketthief]

"Thanks. That'll spare me a few losses." He's always forced to tap out during those impromptu wrestling matches. Jigen gets way too into delivering those headlocks, and his vision goes fuzzy from the constriction.

Lupin likewise leans in, as if he had known Ginia for more than a conversation and they were trading war stories. What was wrong with speaking of absent friends? It was obvious no one was concerned about that for his sake.

"What's there to say, really?" He asks this with a small laugh. "We're all so different. We all have different goals, different ideas. Just as often than not we end up working against eachother--but, you know? Our goals end up matching in some way, and that's when things get cool."

[shadedsunlight]

"Some differences bring people together in the best way." Ginia thinks fondly on some of the crews she's worked with. Some were in it for the money or the glory, and she butt heads with some members fairly often, but they usually managed to pull off some amazing jobs.

"Tell me about stealing Christ the Redeemer. Zenigata mentioned that to me."

[redjacketthief]

"Christ the Redeemer, huh?" He smiled at this--it was a fun one, but it seemed like everyone wanted to hear about it. What of the Statue of Liberty? What about the Sagrada Familia? No matter--not everyone here knew of all of the wierd treasures anyway.

"Well, since you're curious, it really wasn't that hard a job. It involved tricking the police, bribing a few construction workers, lots of cable...Oh. And a helicopter. One of those double wide, military grade ones capable of lifting heavy materials. Or statues. Obviously."

[shadedsunlight]

Ginia would take any of those stories if she knew about them. But it seemed easiest to go with one she'd been wanting to find out about then going from there.

"Oh yes, very simple when you break it all down." Almost a basic formula for a heist; have the right people on your side, avoid the people that aren't, have all the supplies you need, then work quickly and efficiently. "Well? Why?"

[redjacketthief]

"Because I could."

It was the simplest answer, and not entirely a lie. Sure, they used it as a place to stash stolen bills because it was central to both the arena they were stealing from and the prison that Lupin, Jigen, and Goemon were supposed to be staying in, but there were always simpler, less flashy methods. He was Lupin III. He couldn't do anything less.

[shadedsunlight]

Sometimes that's the best answer there is. If something is there, if there's something that hasn't been done, why not do it? Scale mountains, dive to the bottom of the ocean, steal landmarks and monuments. A very simple, but very satisfying answer.

"What did you do with the statue after?"

[redjacketthief]

"What, you think I have a collection?"

He'd dealt with this one before--it was fun dropping molotov cocktails all over counterfeit paintings, even if he had to shell out a few million in expenses afterward.

"I didn't keep it. It's too big, where would I put it? Nah, I just dropped it off in a place where it would be noticed and returned to its proper home."

[shadedsunlight]

"If you did, I'd be impressed in your ability to hide it. But my, that sounds like a fun adventure. If you ever have time, I'd love to hear more of them. I always love a good story."

[redjacketthief]

He was a challenger, not a collector. He didn't want or need one. Not that it would stop him from hiding one if he ever came upon it.

"I'd like to hear some stories sometime too, both of your personal adventures or your adventures here. There's so many wierd things here that hearing them from a different perspective might be interesting. I mean, I've already met this guy who can turn into smoke, and I hear that there are gods here. There's gotta be other things around here that are stranger than that."

[shadedsunlight]

"Sounds fair enough. One story in exchange for another. I like it. And I suppose I've picked up some good stories. I'll have to tell you about the time there was a magnificent castle made purely out of snow and how the inhabitants of the castle demanded tribute from everyone here."

[redjacketthief]

"Oh, wow!" He laughs, "that must be quite the story there! What kind of tributes? Treasures? Fair damsels in need of knights to rescue them? Clues that would lead them to the Holy Grail?"

[shadedsunlight]

"A story for another time. I promise it's a very good one. Though perhaps not as good as roaring battle out on the open seas."

[redjacketthief]

"Oh, now you're just playing with me!" He sees what Ginia's doing, though. She's making sure more conversations happen in the future.

Eager as he is for that to happen...his thoughts stray back to his brief conversation with her boyfriend. The man seemed a little tight for his tastes, or maybe he was too loose...

In either case, Ginia was decidedly on the 'no-touching' list. It was looking like she was going to make his resolve very, very hard to maintain.

[shadedsunlight]

The promise of future conversations, yes, but a girl can't share all her good stories right off the bat nor can he. There's something nice about being able to swap stories on the slight opposite side of the law. A good heist story goes great with a drink.

"Am I, Mr. Lupin? Not at all, I hardly wish to take up too much of your time, especially on such an eventful night."

[redjacketthief]

Even his stories would be laced with tall tales and lies, even when compared to the truth. Memories were tricky like that.

"If there's one thing I know I don't need to steal here, Miss Ginia, it's time. But, you've gotta be pretty busy yourself if you're running this place, and this is a night that's traditionally known for drinking and partying. I won't keep you, if you're busy."

[shadedsunlight]

Tall tales and lies, always welcome spices and additives to a story if used properly.

"Normally I'd insist it's no problem and that we have all the time in the world, but tonight, you're right." She smiles apologetically and gives a small bow of her head. "I am the hostess of the evening and I have a duty to uphold. However, I hope we can speak again later."

[redjacketthief]

"Oh, we'll speak again all right." Now that he knew where to find Ginia easily, there would be plenty of interesting stories in the future. He bobbed his head as well, his own smile grateful. He felt better, at least as much as he could in a place that was starting to get stifling.

He lifts his glass in a small, silent toast. "It's too much fun talking to you to not do this again. Thanks for taking time out of your night for a little talk."

That wasn't a lie.