The Greater (Drunken) Good

[notalldead]

It's been some time since Jesse's had his own question for the Nexus. Maybe he's been avoiding it until the last vestiges of Reynard's winter have passed. That whole ordeal didn't do so well by him, after all.

Or maybe Jesse's just been busy? Busy drinking, apparently. He swaggers into the Nexus, a half-finished bottle of Jack Daniels held loosely by the neck in one dangling hand. Once he's found a good enough sofa to sit upon, the zed flops himself down like a ragdoll.

"What's the-..."

He pauses, looking like he's trying to stifle a burp. His eyes aren't really focusing properly. His cowboy hat is a little askew on his head.

"What's the worst thing y'all ever done. Ever done fer the-...Y'know, fer the greater good n' all that shit. Y'ever done somethin' real bad even if it were fer a good cause? Y'ever-...? Yeah. S'all."

He's drunk as hell.

Comments

[smartass_captain]

"Jesse?"

Captain Kirk had been doing some work at one of the many Nexus couches when the zed showed up, and was quick to raise his hand in greeting. Said greeting, however, turned into a bolt out of his seat and a quick jog over to his friend to help him find a place to sit before he toppled right over.

He's drunk.

Really drunk.

Jim didn't even had the capability to get drunk. He grips Jesse's shoulder tight, worry etched onto his features.

"Jesse, are you okay? What happened?" The cowboy's question will have to wait a moment. Jim is more concerned about his longest Nexus friend. Jesse was the first person he ever met in the Nexus, ain't no way Jim's about to just ignore him when he's obviously upset about something.

[notalldead]

He has to squint for a moment before he can figure out who's addressing him. "Jim!" Jesse breaks out into a wide, lopsided grin before swinging the bottle around hard enough that the AV Field interprets it as an attack. His hand dinks off the sudden invisible shield where it otherwise would have collided with the captain's arm. Jesse appears not to notice.

"Yyyyy'all wanna wet yer whistle some? C'maaaan, don't make me finish this off by myself! Les git crazy, how, uh...How 'bout it." He sloshes the liquor around to try and make it more enticing.

[smartass_captain]

Now, it wouldn't be the first time Jim has imbibed in some Jack Daniels with Jesse and it likely wont' be the last. Jim's not entirely certain he should be trying to encourage this level of drunkenness, but then again, Jesse's a goddamn adult who can make his own decisions.

Moreso than others, given what he's gone through.

So Jim accepts the bottle with a shrug and an easy grin despite the concern he feels. If it will make Jesse feel better, or keep him from doing something he'll regret later, Jim will be his drinking buddy.

What else are friends for?

"Have I ever turned you down on that?" He claps Jesse on the shoulder. "Take a seat with me. We'll get wild, you an' me."

[notalldead]

"Hell yeah!" He laughs and kicks out his legs, aiming to prop them up on a nearby coffee table. One leg misses and slips off, and it takes him a few sloppy attempts to get it up there with the other. But he gets there eventually.

"We're gonna-...Let's party like we ain't ever gonna die, y'hear? We both-...We already cheated it once, right? Y'all came out lookin' way purtier, though. Still all, still all pink'n-..." Still looking down at his propped-up boots, he gives Jim a pat on the chest. "Now, don't think I'm holdin' that against y'all. No, nossir. Just sayin'. Juuuust sayin'."

How long has he been drinking.

[smartass_captain]

Jim shakes his head.

He's reasonably certain he'd be dead if he'd drank as much as Jesse has. The captain settles in next to him on the couch and gives the cap of the bottle a hard spin, tossing it up and catching it before taking a swig out of the bottle. He'd rather use glasses but well, there aren't any here and he's certainly not leaving the zed alone to go hunt some down.

"Yeah I get that a lot. Don't worry, the livin' are jealous too." He winks Jesse's way, trying to keep the air between them light and friendly. "It's good to see you again, man."

[notalldead]

"Yeah?" Jesse looks briefly, genuinely touched, looking kindly at Jim with unfocused eyes. His hand is also still resting on that guy's chest. It is warm and he is not.

"Shoot, I missed y'all too! Tough part about, uh...About bein' leaders, huh. Gotta put the gang first. Always, always, always, always put the gang first. We ain't-...They ain't gotta know, right. The bad stuff that sometimes gotta go on in the background? To keep 'em safe 'n happy."

[darklighthero]

Jak and his ottsel friend sits down and looks over at the drunken stranger.

Daxter eyed Jak and slowly nodded.

Jak spoke up a bit and said "I've...done various things i had to do for the various good of people... Like Killing Baron Praxis... he took advantage of too many lives, I had to kill Krew and unblock the gate, unfortunately letting the metal heads into Haven City.

I don't like to talk about it.

The ottsel's eyes hardened and shook his head "It's a long story."

[notalldead]

"Well, shewt." Jesse lurches forward, resting his elbows on his knees and looking the newcomer over with a smiling, if slack, expression. He's also quiet for way too long, just staring. Trying to figure out the long ears and the pet this guy has.

"Killin' a mean fucker ain't-...S'not so bad, ain't it? I've put a whole buncha-...Some real snakes in the dirt. 'Cept I ain't the one buryin' 'em, hah. More like, more like, like...like makin' 'em zed chow! S'better that way. Prolly."

He's already forgotten what he was saying. Jesse blinks sluggishly a few times.

"...Zat a weasel?"

[darklighthero]

Jak frowned "He messed with the wrong people, we found out about it and have eyes and ears. I only kill when necessary, but I don't usually kill with my bare hands. I let nature take its course and let them face their own ending."

Unless it's my dark side..

Daxter looked up at Jesse and blinked "I'm NOT a weasel pal... I'm a OTTSEL!"

[notalldead]

"Tha's-...That's kinna wishy-washy, don' you think? I mean, sounds like y'all ain't got the guts to plug a sonuvvabitch. I mean, I'm not WILD about havin' t'do it, but..." What was his point? He forgot. Everything he's saying sounds kind of terrible!

Let's look at that animal again instead. "C'mere. Can I pet it?"

[potatolion]

The man in a drunken stupor may have not noticed the small woman who was sitting on the couch, a canteen of water in her hands that she was putting away back into her satchel. Her brows shot up and her eyes wide with surprise when the man landed ungracefully next to her. “Eh...Hello Strange-One.” Kasa mumbled, seemingly unsure how to handle the drunkard. Her sensitive nose scrunched up as she examined him. He smelled of alcohol. Kasa was herself enjoyed a good ale often enough. But this man seemed to reek of the alcohol that he held in his thin fingers.

Her ears twitched as she listened to his question. “Worst for good?” She abridged and repeated the question. She leaned back against the couch in thought. This guy was obviously very drunk. She could tell him of events in her life and he'd probably be none the wiser after. The longer she sat next to him the more the smell of the alcohol became enticing. She licked her lips subconsciously as she thought.

“Hm... This one has done bad things in past for her survival that she is not proud of...But in name of greater good...This one...” She seemed like she wanted to continue. This was the opportune time to get some some old guilt off her chest but she sat their frozen next to this drunken man. She wasn't sure how big of an event this man was having in mind in terms of 'greater good'. Her story wasn't a history changing event, but she suppose she did have an example. And was it a good idea to just blurt part of her history to him? These thoughts stormed her mind as she stared down at the drunk with light grey eyes.

[notalldead]

Jesse furrows his brow, looking at the lady with his jaw slightly agape. Trying to follow what she's little saying and not doing so good a job of it. "This one what. This-...Uh. This one time? Like-...Naw, naw, go 'head, I'm listenin'!" As if him interrupting was the problem here.

He takes another swig of whiskey in the meantime.

[potatolion]

Her lips pull into a grin and she chuckled as she listens to the odd man speak. He sure did talk funny. She supposed it couldn't hurt to indulge him with a story. He seemed drunk enough that he wouldn't remember later anyway.

“This one and large group had been taken from refugee camp to another camp to do...unwanted work.” She began carefully, her smile faltering as she continued. “We had to farm food, assist guards and soldiers for practice or work mine for the people we were running from. Tired and hungry from being forced from our home we did not have choice but to do this work for what little food and shelter they offered.” She paused again, looking up to the ceiling to pull the details of her memory forward. Making sure she wasn't missing a detail.

“We were trapped for at least five winters. It felt longer. But she does remember at least that much time." She explained, going off topic for a moment, but quickly returning. "This one and another few people made plan for escape. On other side of the tall fence with spikes was the wilderness. Hot and unforgiving, but freedom was passed the heavily guarded fence. On night of escape we wait for change of guard and use items we collected to make ladder. It broke after first climber got over. Time was running out, she could hear the guard coming."

She paused and played with the fur of the wolf pelt that rested over her shoulders and down her back. Feeling her stomach knot up. "I grabbed one of the people of people in our group and pushed his body into the fence. He was one of the weaker ones and she knew he would not last far in the wilderness. So she just..." She made the motion of shoving someone back before resting her hands on her lap again. "But it did not kill him like she thought it would. He was alive and he made noises. The guards would be their quick. We used him to climb up to the rest of the ladder and escape before we were found, and left him behind." She fidgets in her seat uncomfortably and looks at him. "This one did terrible thing. But...It saved us. Even just a few of us."

She wanted to quickly change the subject and ask if he had to do something for the greater good. But she felt like her mouth was dry and she couldn't bring herself to speak again. Nervous to hear what this drunk man had to say about her story.

[notalldead]

He listens, smiling for the first portion of it, not realizing he was smiling. But Jesse notices it eventually and realizes he needs to coach himself into looking more concerned. More serious. This is a serious story. There's some conscious effort to put on a frown, even if his eyes don't focus properly still.

"Shoot. Y'all-..." He's quiet for a moment, digesting the tale.

"...Y'all must be from Korea, huh. That essplains-...The-...North Korea. That's the bad one, right?"

Right.

[potatolion]

Kasa's brow began to perk up slightly again as she studied the man who looked like death returned. She wasn't sure if he truly was enjoying the story or if he was just so inebriated that he couldn't stop himself from smiling; But what ever was going through his mind he eventually frowned and started to speak in his drunken slur.

"Ko...Korea?" She asked in a dumbfounded tone. She's never heard of such a place. She rubbed the scarred side of her neck as she responded. "This one had not heard of such place. But from sound of it, she never wishes to see it." She admitted with a bit of a chuckle, trying to return to her light-hearted self. "Eh...So...Does Strange-One have story for this one?"

[anewhero]

A man who could pass as a normal human sat down in one of the Nexus's chairs conveniently placed nearby. He had a strange coat on, with a red band on it and eyed the strangers nearby. One man with long ears, a weasel... otter thing? A woman with short ears and black hair, and a not so good looking corpse like man who looked drunk...

The man had to raise his eyebrow and said "Looks like i stepped in the middle of a story, I apologize."

The man seemingly was carrying some gun but kept it close to him.

"So, doing things for the greater good? Boy do i have a hell of a story to tell.."

[notalldead]

"So tell it!" Jesse reels forward at the waist, tossing a nearby ashtray at the man. It, of course, bounces off the AV Field, so no harm done. At least in the literal sense. Tossing objects is probably seen as offensive to most. "Fuck, I ain't-...Boy, I SAID I wanna hear it, why y'all, y'all bein'...Don't blueball me here, pardner!"

[anewhero]

The AV field literally makes the ashtray thrown at Marcus literally bounce off hitting the ground. The man would of literally squished it in his hands had it landed on him.

"Hm... I had to kill people so that i could survive... Not fun though.. landed me on death row.

[notalldead]

That was literally a lot of literallies.

"Howz-..." He has to pause because another burp threatens to happen. He manages to keep it swallowed, though. "How's yer-...Yer killin' folks fer yer own survival? Fuck, howzat the greater good? That's pretty selfish, near as I'm seein'. And buddy, y'all ain't-...All kindsa folks gotta put people in the ground fer-...Of course yer gonna go on death row fer murder!" Jesse tries to adjust his hat but mainly ends up with the brim covering his eyes. "Shit, fella."

[anewhero]

And I paid for it.

I honestly rather put terminators into the ground.

And now I'm part machine. Some survivors tried to put my friends into the ground so its only fair to protect them, it's the apocalypse after all right?

[bestdadinamestris]

Hughes would normally be excited to see his green-skinned friend wandering about the Nexus, but the fact that the zed is drunk off his ass doesn't sit well. Rather than dwell on that, though, he puts on his best fake smile as he strides over and takes a seat next to his friend.

"Come on, now, that's hardly a good question for a beautiful spring day like this." Hughes makes a sweeping gesture to the Nexus and gives a good-hearted chuckle, trying to lighten the zed's mood a bit. "Why not ask about the best thing someone's ever done for the greater good instead? Seems like a much better question to me."

[notalldead]

"Hey! Hughes! Shit, pardner, it's been ages!" He gives the other man a hearty slap on the back, maybe a little TOO hard. He's drunk and can't measure the strength he's putting behind things or keep his coordination so good. He also grabs the man's opposite shoulder and gives it a shake for good measure. It's his buddy!

"Best thing? Aw, I-...Hawwww. Yer clever. Reeeeal clever. Only good thing I ever-..." A stifled hiccup. "I ever done was start gatherin' Rotten. Everythin' else, tho." He blows a slow breath that puffs out his cheeks. Phew. That OTHER stuff.

[bestdadinamestris]

Ow. Hughes tries not to let his smile waver, though there's a flicker of pain across his face after the hit. It'd be fine if he was expecting it, but... well, he'll be ready for it next time.

"Really? What about your help during the demon attack? What about spreading cheer during the beginning of winter? I think you've done a lot more good than you think you have." He gives his friend an encouraging smile. Rather than indulge in the drunken sadness Jesse seems to find himself in, it's Hughes' intention to lift the zed's spirits. It seems like the best course of action given his friend's current state.

[notalldead]

He keeps that arm around Hughes now, maybe slightly hanging off him so he doesn't have to bother with that whole 'keeping his balance' thing on his own.

"Aw, don't talk about the demons. I ain't-...I gotta check up on the memorial an' switch out the flowers an'-...Shit. I mean, that weren't the best idea on my part, were it? Lost Jimbo, didn't I? Bad call fer the Rotten right there, and I ain't-...Look. Anythin' I do bad by them? It were a bad choice. They're-...Listen. They're everythin'. I gotta always do right by the gang. Anythin' that don't, I fucked up. Okay? I fucked up."

As he talks, he gestures with the hand still holding the bottle, the contents sloshing around noisily.

[bestdadinamestris]

If Jesse will allow it, Hughes is going to take that bottle and set it down gently next to them so there's no worry about losing its remaining contents (or getting hit in the head with it).

"It's not your fault for losing someone," he says softly, his tone completely calm and sure. "Things happen in battle and you made the best decision that you could. One of your Rotten may have fallen, but he did amazing work on those demons before he did. Without his bravery, we could've lost many more lives that day. You did the right thing, Jesse, and Jimbo would say the same thing if he were here."

He pats his friend's arm gently and offers a small smile. "And if you're worried about the flowers, why don't we go get fresh ones now? I'd be honored to come with you." This comfort thing is something Hughes has done many times in the past and is something that feels natural to be doing. If he can help Jesse out of this slump, it's worth any pain or spilled drinks that may come of it.