Dare You Enter My Magical Realm?
Swiftball, open to all brave enough to play truth or dare with Misty
Stepney let Abel off with a friendly slap. Whew, his secret would remain for another day. And now Jeff was in too with his slightly menacing aura.
Anyway! Now it was Abel's turn to pick a victim. He stroked his chin with a floppy hand as he took stock of the other kids in the circle, or at least as best he could with his last functioning brain cell.
Stepney was out now. Jeff rescued him. Connor and Misty.... mmmmm nah. Wasn't the right time.
Only one option would do.
"Zen! Zen-Zen-Zen-Zen-shen-Zen...," Abel called out and clapped along with each repetition. "Dare.... or troof?"
Anyway! Now it was Abel's turn to pick a victim. He stroked his chin with a floppy hand as he took stock of the other kids in the circle, or at least as best he could with his last functioning brain cell.
Stepney was out now. Jeff rescued him. Connor and Misty.... mmmmm nah. Wasn't the right time.
Only one option would do.
"Zen! Zen-Zen-Zen-Zen-shen-Zen...," Abel called out and clapped along with each repetition. "Dare.... or troof?"
Whoah!!!!!!!!!! A bunch of things happened.
Most of those things were a new guy arriving, which was technically one thing, but other things happened around that one thing which made it more than one thing because that's how things and also numbers worked. Zen didn't know who the new guy was (their social acumen was really failing them tonight huh) but Connor decided to be Very Helpful and say his name while he greeted him which cleared everything up. He was Jeff!!! That guy. Jeff. That was his name. That didn't tell them a lot but it was a start! Well, he also seemed like kind of a Grumpy Gus, but maybe he was having a bad night? No point in judging someone that you've just met like that. Maybe he was really nice most of the time!
And then Abel and Stepney finished up their thing (they kinda lost track of what they were doing, anyway, actually, what with Jeff showing up and also what with their knee being really bouncy and bouncy knees are distracting) and Abel was talking to them! He said their name like a bunch of times which was a number of times more than one which they appreciated.
"Zen! That's me!! And also dare or truth is the opposite of the thing you're supposed to say but I'll forgive you just this once cause you picked me and it's my turn finally!" They paused for half a second, as though there was ever the single tiniest itsiest bitsiest ounce of doubt as to what their answer was. "And I pick dare!!"
Most of those things were a new guy arriving, which was technically one thing, but other things happened around that one thing which made it more than one thing because that's how things and also numbers worked. Zen didn't know who the new guy was (their social acumen was really failing them tonight huh) but Connor decided to be Very Helpful and say his name while he greeted him which cleared everything up. He was Jeff!!! That guy. Jeff. That was his name. That didn't tell them a lot but it was a start! Well, he also seemed like kind of a Grumpy Gus, but maybe he was having a bad night? No point in judging someone that you've just met like that. Maybe he was really nice most of the time!
And then Abel and Stepney finished up their thing (they kinda lost track of what they were doing, anyway, actually, what with Jeff showing up and also what with their knee being really bouncy and bouncy knees are distracting) and Abel was talking to them! He said their name like a bunch of times which was a number of times more than one which they appreciated.
"Zen! That's me!! And also dare or truth is the opposite of the thing you're supposed to say but I'll forgive you just this once cause you picked me and it's my turn finally!" They paused for half a second, as though there was ever the single tiniest itsiest bitsiest ounce of doubt as to what their answer was. "And I pick dare!!"
"Well, Fenris, the King of Gossip. We meet again."
"Oh, uh.... my b," Abel blew the correction off with a laugh. Didn't matter anyway, because now he had to think of a dare. And he thought, and thought, and thought while doing a little dance in his seat.
Hmm....
Hmm............
HMMM....................
He got it. "Aight, aight, aight; what.... what I dare you to.... is....," he stammered, taking his time to try and draw out each word that was lost in the fog of liquor into a sequence that at least kind of made sense. "....What you gonna do is...."
He looked at Misty and pointed. "...Give your phone to Misty and, uh, let her shoot a text to the last person you called."
Hmm....
Hmm............
HMMM....................
He got it. "Aight, aight, aight; what.... what I dare you to.... is....," he stammered, taking his time to try and draw out each word that was lost in the fog of liquor into a sequence that at least kind of made sense. "....What you gonna do is...."
He looked at Misty and pointed. "...Give your phone to Misty and, uh, let her shoot a text to the last person you called."
Very few things amused Jeff Greene. He considered that a blessing, kept him focused on his goals. All the same, there were certain things in life that brought a smile even to his face. This was one of those things.
It wasn't that he enjoyed the suffering of others. That would be creepy and petty. No one in their right mind would see someone break a leg and laugh at their whimpering. No, it was more like...if someone got hit in the face with a rake. Yeah, that was a good equivalent. Or watching some freshman get their pants pulled down in the halls. That gave him a chuckle a year or two back.
Humiliation. That's the word. Harmless but loads of fun. As long as it wasn't him.
Despite his every effort to seem nonchalant and disinterested, Jeff found himself leaning forward, hands tucked under his chin, wondering what was going to happen next. Would this kid (Zen, right?) take the dare? Jeff really, really hoped so. Seeing Zen's face light up beet-red would make his evening.
It wasn't that he enjoyed the suffering of others. That would be creepy and petty. No one in their right mind would see someone break a leg and laugh at their whimpering. No, it was more like...if someone got hit in the face with a rake. Yeah, that was a good equivalent. Or watching some freshman get their pants pulled down in the halls. That gave him a chuckle a year or two back.
Humiliation. That's the word. Harmless but loads of fun. As long as it wasn't him.
Despite his every effort to seem nonchalant and disinterested, Jeff found himself leaning forward, hands tucked under his chin, wondering what was going to happen next. Would this kid (Zen, right?) take the dare? Jeff really, really hoped so. Seeing Zen's face light up beet-red would make his evening.
"Okay!"
It took them 0 seconds of thinking about it before Zen took their phone out of their pocket and handed it to Misty. It wasn't a very good dare, they thought. Dares should be something that were kinda hard, or kinda scary, but still fun, but this wasn't really any of those things? It was just kinda silly.
... Well, okay, now that they were holding their phone out, they realized that there was some mean stuff Misty could do here if they wanted, but why would she? That wouldn't be fun, and this game was supposed to be fun, and since Misty was the one who started the game she had to know that, right? Zen had kinda heard some not-great things about her before but there was no reason for them to assume those things were true. Misty seemed nice! They could trust her.
Who was their last call to, again?
It took them 0 seconds of thinking about it before Zen took their phone out of their pocket and handed it to Misty. It wasn't a very good dare, they thought. Dares should be something that were kinda hard, or kinda scary, but still fun, but this wasn't really any of those things? It was just kinda silly.
... Well, okay, now that they were holding their phone out, they realized that there was some mean stuff Misty could do here if they wanted, but why would she? That wouldn't be fun, and this game was supposed to be fun, and since Misty was the one who started the game she had to know that, right? Zen had kinda heard some not-great things about her before but there was no reason for them to assume those things were true. Misty seemed nice! They could trust her.
Who was their last call to, again?
"Well, Fenris, the King of Gossip. We meet again."
- Grand Moff Hissa
- Posts: 2758
- Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2018 1:37 am
Oh man, was Abel trying to suck up to Misty so that she'd spare him her wrath? Because, if so, damn good play on his end. She was feeling the bribes. In fact, he was her absolute favorite person in the room just now because due to his instigation whatever happened from here on out was really only partially Misty's fault. She smiled very sweetly as she took the phone from Zen, flipped into the call history, and took a look.
Wow. Okay, Abel had just been promoted to Misty's favorite person in the building, maybe even a mile-wide radius or so. This was about as juicy as it came.
Misty's smile actually drooped just a bit in concentration as she let her eyes flick around the assembled group, thinking quickly to herself, trying to come up with something that would be a real zinger. This had to be good, because it turned out the last person Zen had called was, of all possibilities, Lyra Doyle.
Lyra quite possibly actually had no idea that Misty disliked her. And that right there, that phrasing, that was the crux of the one-sided conflict, because oh no, Lyra was too good for grammar and biology and all that boring old normal-person stuff and just had to be the most very special creature ever created, uncategorizable to the point of needing everyone else to talk like idiots just to placate her. Misty thought it was maybe a control thing, like force everyone else to talk to you like you're a Fifteenth Century monarch just to show you can because daddy spanked you too much or something. Like, what was wrong with being a girl who liked to dress like a boy and liked robots? It was freaky and would get you teased but hey, like that wasn't happening anyways, right? Was Lyra that caught up in doing things the proper way that the only way she could imagine that stuff being okay for her was to secede from the "societal construct" of having two X chromosomes?
Of course Misty couldn't just go off with anything like that. That would be game over, fun done, half the people in the circle shunning her and bad things getting whispered around school and she wasn't about that. The key was subtlety and plausible deniability, and in an instant it came to her and Misty dashed out a quick message and fired it off. This was potentially going to piss off someone else and put her in the crosshairs but it'd probably cover up the actual point of what she was doing nicely, let her play the "Oh shoot I forgot," card if need be.
"I liked this one," she said as she handed the phone back to Zen, beaming. "Great chance to be pay a compliment and involve the whole circle."
On the screen was the message: "at forrests party and playing truth or dare and guess what?? jeff just admitted he thinks youre the prettiest girl in the whole school and wishes youd be his girlfriend and let him suck your toes."
Wow. Okay, Abel had just been promoted to Misty's favorite person in the building, maybe even a mile-wide radius or so. This was about as juicy as it came.
Misty's smile actually drooped just a bit in concentration as she let her eyes flick around the assembled group, thinking quickly to herself, trying to come up with something that would be a real zinger. This had to be good, because it turned out the last person Zen had called was, of all possibilities, Lyra Doyle.
Lyra quite possibly actually had no idea that Misty disliked her. And that right there, that phrasing, that was the crux of the one-sided conflict, because oh no, Lyra was too good for grammar and biology and all that boring old normal-person stuff and just had to be the most very special creature ever created, uncategorizable to the point of needing everyone else to talk like idiots just to placate her. Misty thought it was maybe a control thing, like force everyone else to talk to you like you're a Fifteenth Century monarch just to show you can because daddy spanked you too much or something. Like, what was wrong with being a girl who liked to dress like a boy and liked robots? It was freaky and would get you teased but hey, like that wasn't happening anyways, right? Was Lyra that caught up in doing things the proper way that the only way she could imagine that stuff being okay for her was to secede from the "societal construct" of having two X chromosomes?
Of course Misty couldn't just go off with anything like that. That would be game over, fun done, half the people in the circle shunning her and bad things getting whispered around school and she wasn't about that. The key was subtlety and plausible deniability, and in an instant it came to her and Misty dashed out a quick message and fired it off. This was potentially going to piss off someone else and put her in the crosshairs but it'd probably cover up the actual point of what she was doing nicely, let her play the "Oh shoot I forgot," card if need be.
"I liked this one," she said as she handed the phone back to Zen, beaming. "Great chance to be pay a compliment and involve the whole circle."
On the screen was the message: "at forrests party and playing truth or dare and guess what?? jeff just admitted he thinks youre the prettiest girl in the whole school and wishes youd be his girlfriend and let him suck your toes."
Misty looked happy, which was a good sign, right? The thing about compliments and involving everyone sounded nice, too. They read out loud, cause it was cheating if they didn't, right?
"At Forrest's party, playing truth or dare, guess what, Jeff just admitted he thinks you're the prettiest girl- oh!"
Oh no. Bad bad very bad Zen immediately stopped talking those terrible words into existence and went to shoot off the quickest message they possibly could back to Lyra, a very hastily-typed "omg sorry lyly thawasnt me someone otok my phone" before looking up at Misty. They tried to smile, still! Smiling was good, and made things better, and they didn't want Misty to be upset or anything over what was probably an honest mistake. Lyra probably sounded like a girl's name, if you didn't know better. She couldn't have known, cause if they knew they wouldn't have done it, cause if they had that would have been a Bad Thing, and this was a fun party game where fun things were supposed to happen. Right?
Their smile felt kinda pasted on. Strained. They'd heard things about Misty, hadn't they? But she wouldn't. Right?
"Oh, uh, sorry! It's, um, a good joke, it's just that— I get how you made the mistake but Lyra isn't a girl, actually? But that's okay! Now you know!" Their smile shrunk a bit, but it felt a little less forced that way, so that was the trade-off.
"They use they pronouns, actually! Like me." Hey they actually found in a convenient way to work in their pronouns in a conversation for once??? An incredible accomplishment.
"At Forrest's party, playing truth or dare, guess what, Jeff just admitted he thinks you're the prettiest girl- oh!"
Oh no. Bad bad very bad Zen immediately stopped talking those terrible words into existence and went to shoot off the quickest message they possibly could back to Lyra, a very hastily-typed "omg sorry lyly thawasnt me someone otok my phone" before looking up at Misty. They tried to smile, still! Smiling was good, and made things better, and they didn't want Misty to be upset or anything over what was probably an honest mistake. Lyra probably sounded like a girl's name, if you didn't know better. She couldn't have known, cause if they knew they wouldn't have done it, cause if they had that would have been a Bad Thing, and this was a fun party game where fun things were supposed to happen. Right?
Their smile felt kinda pasted on. Strained. They'd heard things about Misty, hadn't they? But she wouldn't. Right?
"Oh, uh, sorry! It's, um, a good joke, it's just that— I get how you made the mistake but Lyra isn't a girl, actually? But that's okay! Now you know!" Their smile shrunk a bit, but it felt a little less forced that way, so that was the trade-off.
"They use they pronouns, actually! Like me." Hey they actually found in a convenient way to work in their pronouns in a conversation for once??? An incredible accomplishment.
"Well, Fenris, the King of Gossip. We meet again."
"I'm sorry, what?"
Jeff was on his feet, the forgotten beer can knocked over onto its side. It was fortunate that he hadn't opened it, not that he would have cared at the time. He glanced over to see Zen hastily write a response, apologizing for the mess that Misty had caused, explaining how royally she had just screwed up, not with him, but with Zen and their friend too. In one action, she had managed to offend three people at once. Quite the achievement.
He couldn't be angry at Zen. All they'd done was read something aloud without thinking. The person to blame was this airheaded dope grinning from ear to ear. He didn't approach her, but instead fixed her with an icy stare, picking up right where Zen had left off.
"You must think you're really funny." he said, then descended into a low growl. "That's okay. I can be funny too."
If Zen hadn't stopped when they did, if Jeff had learned the full extent to which he had been vilified, things would have become nasty very quickly. As it was, Jeff simply sat back down, reset the beer to its neutral position, and continued to bore a hole in Misty's forehead. His turn would come sooner or later, and when it did, he would be ready. Oh yes, he would be ready...
Jeff was on his feet, the forgotten beer can knocked over onto its side. It was fortunate that he hadn't opened it, not that he would have cared at the time. He glanced over to see Zen hastily write a response, apologizing for the mess that Misty had caused, explaining how royally she had just screwed up, not with him, but with Zen and their friend too. In one action, she had managed to offend three people at once. Quite the achievement.
He couldn't be angry at Zen. All they'd done was read something aloud without thinking. The person to blame was this airheaded dope grinning from ear to ear. He didn't approach her, but instead fixed her with an icy stare, picking up right where Zen had left off.
"You must think you're really funny." he said, then descended into a low growl. "That's okay. I can be funny too."
If Zen hadn't stopped when they did, if Jeff had learned the full extent to which he had been vilified, things would have become nasty very quickly. As it was, Jeff simply sat back down, reset the beer to its neutral position, and continued to bore a hole in Misty's forehead. His turn would come sooner or later, and when it did, he would be ready. Oh yes, he would be ready...
Eager to see the action unfolding in front of him, Connor took a small sip of his beer as the dare was laid out to Zen. They obliged, handing the phone to Misty, and Connor could have sworn he saw something flicker upon her face. Interesting; he wasn't sure what to make of that. Outside of Jeff, none of these people were overly familiar to him, falling under varying levels of acquaintance to classmate. Message sent, Misty handed the phone back to Zen and waited.
At that point, everything seemed to almost explode - the cauldron of the game bubbled viciously. As the message was read out loud, his first reaction was a shocked smirk. Taking a shot - even a joking one - at Jeff was not going to go over well, and when the mustachioed senior ferociously jumped to his feet, Connor's mouth went slack and dropped a bit. What was he going to do? Almost at the same time, Zen was barely hiding their own panic over the message, pounding something into the phone, likely as a follow-up. His eyes slowly went from the fuming Jeff to the panicking Zen, and over to the expectant Misty.
No one else said anything once Zen explained, and immediately Connor's stomach fell. Wow. He blinked, and instantly his beer became that much more interesting. He tipped the can to his mouth. Perhaps there were agendas at play; a subtext had emerged and it sat in the pit of his stomach. Activating his cautiousness from its slumber, he continued to drink the beer. The cool ale flowed down his throat as he continued to watch the action in front of him, eyes going slowly from Misty, to Zen, back to Jeff, and then eventually to Abel and Stepney as well, both of whom hadn't said much either, an uncomfortable silence hanging for a moment after Jeff's proclamation - well, threat.
Oh, whoops. His beer was done. Drawing no attention to himself and still waiting to see how things unfolded, Connor leaned over and picked another beer out of his small cooler, cracking it with one hand, and taking a small sip. He was glad he'd packed extras.
At that point, everything seemed to almost explode - the cauldron of the game bubbled viciously. As the message was read out loud, his first reaction was a shocked smirk. Taking a shot - even a joking one - at Jeff was not going to go over well, and when the mustachioed senior ferociously jumped to his feet, Connor's mouth went slack and dropped a bit. What was he going to do? Almost at the same time, Zen was barely hiding their own panic over the message, pounding something into the phone, likely as a follow-up. His eyes slowly went from the fuming Jeff to the panicking Zen, and over to the expectant Misty.
No one else said anything once Zen explained, and immediately Connor's stomach fell. Wow. He blinked, and instantly his beer became that much more interesting. He tipped the can to his mouth. Perhaps there were agendas at play; a subtext had emerged and it sat in the pit of his stomach. Activating his cautiousness from its slumber, he continued to drink the beer. The cool ale flowed down his throat as he continued to watch the action in front of him, eyes going slowly from Misty, to Zen, back to Jeff, and then eventually to Abel and Stepney as well, both of whom hadn't said much either, an uncomfortable silence hanging for a moment after Jeff's proclamation - well, threat.
Oh, whoops. His beer was done. Drawing no attention to himself and still waiting to see how things unfolded, Connor leaned over and picked another beer out of his small cooler, cracking it with one hand, and taking a small sip. He was glad he'd packed extras.
Oh Jesus, this was way better than Abel expected. He still wasn't really sure why he picked Misty, but damn girl could pull through. As Zen was reading the text out loud, Abel was completely engaged.
He took one last swig of his now empty red solo cup, and at the punchline he completely lost it and started choking.
After a couple of coughs, he was fine. Totally fine. He just needed a minute.
Whew.
Oh, Lyra? That was the person that got sent the text? Abel felt a little bad, but also they'd probably understand or realize someone other than Zen sent that. Still hilarious, though.
Abel stopped laughing as Jeff interjected, jovial mood replaced with dread again. But he calmed down, muttered something under his breath. All right, dude.
Oh, but most importantly Zen sounded like they just stopped reading in the middle. They had to hear the whole thing!
Abel coughed one last time, finally cooperating with his epiglottis again. "What... whud else did tha text, uh, say? Or that it?"
He took one last swig of his now empty red solo cup, and at the punchline he completely lost it and started choking.
After a couple of coughs, he was fine. Totally fine. He just needed a minute.
Whew.
Oh, Lyra? That was the person that got sent the text? Abel felt a little bad, but also they'd probably understand or realize someone other than Zen sent that. Still hilarious, though.
Abel stopped laughing as Jeff interjected, jovial mood replaced with dread again. But he calmed down, muttered something under his breath. All right, dude.
Oh, but most importantly Zen sounded like they just stopped reading in the middle. They had to hear the whole thing!
Abel coughed one last time, finally cooperating with his epiglottis again. "What... whud else did tha text, uh, say? Or that it?"
"Don't care. Let's move on." In truth, Jeff did care. At least a little. Part of him wanted to snatch the phone from Zen's hands and read it for himself. It'd be pretty easy too. As a defensive lineman, He'd taken the ball from people five times Zen's size, no problem whatsoever.
But, he considered, if he went too far with that, if he started throwing his weight around, then he would start to look like the heel in the situation. He'd lose all sympathy with the room and then there'd be no satisfaction in what he was about to do. Best to leave it with the guilt being flung squarely at Misty. It would make his revenge all the sweeter if he had people backing him up on it.
"That's the dare done, right? Your move then, Zen," he said, and frowned at the unintentional rhyming. He didn't do cute. Wasn't his style.
But, he considered, if he went too far with that, if he started throwing his weight around, then he would start to look like the heel in the situation. He'd lose all sympathy with the room and then there'd be no satisfaction in what he was about to do. Best to leave it with the guilt being flung squarely at Misty. It would make his revenge all the sweeter if he had people backing him up on it.
"That's the dare done, right? Your move then, Zen," he said, and frowned at the unintentional rhyming. He didn't do cute. Wasn't his style.
- Grand Moff Hissa
- Posts: 2758
- Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2018 1:37 am
"Oh," Misty said, doing her best to sound sincere, "oh shit, really? My bad. Tell her—shit, I did it again—tell them oopsies from me. Or Jeff. Whichever."
Jeff was pissed, but what was he going to do? Hit her? Not likely. If this wasn't a room totally full of people who would object to an assault Misty might've felt just a little less comfortable needling the bulky footballer with the unfortunate facial hair, but it was just her luck to be surrounded by those she at least vaguely trusted to intervene before things got really out of control. She retrieved her plastic cup of red wine and took a slow sip, raising her eyebrows at the assembled group as she did so.
The rest of what had transpired? Well, that was close enough to going as expected. If this hadn't been a circle of party fun maybe Misty would've given Zen both barrels about the gender thing but it just wasn't a winning battle to have at this moment and Misty knew enough at least to not ruin her own good time. She was a little disappointed to learn that Zen was also into that whole thing but hey, maybe that offered potential ammunition for later rounds of the game. Then again, any prodding might have to wait until some future date; Misty was playing this one really coy, even if doing so went down a bit bitter. She was pretty sure she'd made her point and had her fun in any event, if the frenzied typing that had followed was anything to go off of.
So now it was Zen's turn to pick someone to take a swing at. Misty sank back deep into her chair but kept a little smirk on her face, watching Jeff closely. This had all just become so much more interesting.
Jeff was pissed, but what was he going to do? Hit her? Not likely. If this wasn't a room totally full of people who would object to an assault Misty might've felt just a little less comfortable needling the bulky footballer with the unfortunate facial hair, but it was just her luck to be surrounded by those she at least vaguely trusted to intervene before things got really out of control. She retrieved her plastic cup of red wine and took a slow sip, raising her eyebrows at the assembled group as she did so.
The rest of what had transpired? Well, that was close enough to going as expected. If this hadn't been a circle of party fun maybe Misty would've given Zen both barrels about the gender thing but it just wasn't a winning battle to have at this moment and Misty knew enough at least to not ruin her own good time. She was a little disappointed to learn that Zen was also into that whole thing but hey, maybe that offered potential ammunition for later rounds of the game. Then again, any prodding might have to wait until some future date; Misty was playing this one really coy, even if doing so went down a bit bitter. She was pretty sure she'd made her point and had her fun in any event, if the frenzied typing that had followed was anything to go off of.
So now it was Zen's turn to pick someone to take a swing at. Misty sank back deep into her chair but kept a little smirk on her face, watching Jeff closely. This had all just become so much more interesting.
Well, things sure were happening now! Zen couldn't really claim to be bored. Bored was nice, though. Maybe bring bored back?
They shot off a longer explanatory text to Lyra with a half-dozen distressed apologies, hoping it wouldn't ruin their night, maybe they should ditch the game and call them? But no, they couldn't quit now! The game had barely started, and also quitting was for quitters, and Zen was most definitely 100% not one of those. Lyra would understand. Unless they called first, in which case Zen would drop everything, cause they weren't a monster.
But things had definitely escalated awfully fast. They did a quick look around the group; Jeff looked... unhappy, to say the least. Misty looked... pleased with herself, though she had apologized which was really nice of her! Abel looked kinda... well, drunk, which made sense, cause he was totally drunk. Stepney looked like he was enjoying himself. Connor was kinda hard to read. So people were still having fun, mostly! Just maybe not Jeff, so much.
Who hadn't gone yet? Misty dared Stepney, Stepney dared Abel, Abel dared Zen... which left Misty, Jeff, and Connor. Well... Jeff was making a face like >:| and Misty was making a face like >:3 and Zen kinda only had one safe option.
"Connor! Truth or dare?"
They shot off a longer explanatory text to Lyra with a half-dozen distressed apologies, hoping it wouldn't ruin their night, maybe they should ditch the game and call them? But no, they couldn't quit now! The game had barely started, and also quitting was for quitters, and Zen was most definitely 100% not one of those. Lyra would understand. Unless they called first, in which case Zen would drop everything, cause they weren't a monster.
But things had definitely escalated awfully fast. They did a quick look around the group; Jeff looked... unhappy, to say the least. Misty looked... pleased with herself, though she had apologized which was really nice of her! Abel looked kinda... well, drunk, which made sense, cause he was totally drunk. Stepney looked like he was enjoying himself. Connor was kinda hard to read. So people were still having fun, mostly! Just maybe not Jeff, so much.
Who hadn't gone yet? Misty dared Stepney, Stepney dared Abel, Abel dared Zen... which left Misty, Jeff, and Connor. Well... Jeff was making a face like >:| and Misty was making a face like >:3 and Zen kinda only had one safe option.
"Connor! Truth or dare?"
"Well, Fenris, the King of Gossip. We meet again."
Connor inhaled sharply as Zen aimed their truth or dare cannon squarely in his direction. That was the nature of the game, of course, but things had taken on a decidedly different air in the last few moments. Taking a slow sip of his beer, Connor made a show of surveying the room. Jeff was riled up, Zen was on edge, and Misty almost certainly was playing with an agenda. Stepney was always one to watch as far as things coming out of left field, and Abel seemed to still almost be perplexed from his own truth question.
He would have to be careful, he decided, fingers tapping on the beer can as he debated to himself. Madison was still nowhere to be found, so at the very least, he didn't have an out, and anything that he might do wouldn't be seen by any of the more prying eyes of the school. A dare couldn't be that bad, though since phones had been allowed into the the game, he wasn't sure. Connor didn't want anyone sending Madison a phony text - that was a headache that he didn't need. Of course, it was Zen, who as far as Connor knew, seemed mostly harmless...
"I think I'll slow y'all back down a bit. Truth."
Connor smiled kindly at Zen, raising his beer can to indicate that he was game. It was a safe choice, to be sure. Connor wasn't sure he was ready for a dare yet, and Zen was enough of a wildcard that he wasn't sure what they would come up with for him. Particularly after Misty had near-blatantly thrown an attack of her own. He wasn't their enemy - he hoped that was apparent. This was supposed to be a game.
Connor didn't want to be collateral damage, so the safe option was the way to go.
For now.
He would have to be careful, he decided, fingers tapping on the beer can as he debated to himself. Madison was still nowhere to be found, so at the very least, he didn't have an out, and anything that he might do wouldn't be seen by any of the more prying eyes of the school. A dare couldn't be that bad, though since phones had been allowed into the the game, he wasn't sure. Connor didn't want anyone sending Madison a phony text - that was a headache that he didn't need. Of course, it was Zen, who as far as Connor knew, seemed mostly harmless...
"I think I'll slow y'all back down a bit. Truth."
Connor smiled kindly at Zen, raising his beer can to indicate that he was game. It was a safe choice, to be sure. Connor wasn't sure he was ready for a dare yet, and Zen was enough of a wildcard that he wasn't sure what they would come up with for him. Particularly after Misty had near-blatantly thrown an attack of her own. He wasn't their enemy - he hoped that was apparent. This was supposed to be a game.
Connor didn't want to be collateral damage, so the safe option was the way to go.
For now.
Aw man. Zen kinda hadn't considered this possibility. Cause like, who picked truth in truth or dare? Truth was boring! Friends should tell the truth to each other anyway. Connor wasn't a friend, but that meant they had no business knowing any of his secrets anyway. Abel had picked truth but Stepney had just been messing with him cause they were friends (Zen was.............. pretty sure) so that wasn't really any help with Inspiration. They frowned, glanced around the room like maybe a question would hit them square in the face, cause hey, maybe it would!
It did not.
They thought back to other games of truth or dare, that they'd been a part of or that they'd seen on TV, but the truth questions they'd heard had always been too... personal. They barely knew Connor! They didn't want to hurt his feelings, or make him think they were mean! That'd be terrible.
There was a good fifteen seconds of "ummmmm"ing between Connor picking truth and Zen actually picking a question, but they were pretty sure they had something that wouldn't hurt anyone.
"Okay, okay, here's one. Who do you think is the prettiest person in... uh, this room? And no picking yourself!" They felt compelled to add that last bit, so he'd at least have to give a real answer. There were quite a few people milling around in here, so it wasn't like he was compelled to pick anyone in the circle, so it was fine. Right? Not too embarrassing or anything. Nailed it!
It did not.
They thought back to other games of truth or dare, that they'd been a part of or that they'd seen on TV, but the truth questions they'd heard had always been too... personal. They barely knew Connor! They didn't want to hurt his feelings, or make him think they were mean! That'd be terrible.
There was a good fifteen seconds of "ummmmm"ing between Connor picking truth and Zen actually picking a question, but they were pretty sure they had something that wouldn't hurt anyone.
"Okay, okay, here's one. Who do you think is the prettiest person in... uh, this room? And no picking yourself!" They felt compelled to add that last bit, so he'd at least have to give a real answer. There were quite a few people milling around in here, so it wasn't like he was compelled to pick anyone in the circle, so it was fine. Right? Not too embarrassing or anything. Nailed it!
"Well, Fenris, the King of Gossip. We meet again."