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"That was my point, between the two of us, it's going to be gone like that." She snapped crisply for emphasis. "But I doubt we have anything to worry about. There's plenty more where that came from." Lifting her brow, Roxy shot him a look as though asking if he was surprised at all by the game. Perhaps someone would have been shocked that Roxanne Zuzen the actress was proposing a game where you pitted two people against each other, or anything else, but it was right up her alley for those who knew better. "Those two?" her eyes shifted to the couple in question, taking a moment or two to survey them both. "The one on the left. She seems physically smaller but she's scrappy. If it came down to it, I think she'd have it."

They weren't exactly enemies, but they weren't exactly friends. After all, he was inducted into the Weiss Hall of Fame — or family tree, or whatever the fuck someone wanted to call it — and his romance with Meera was a ruse. Not that Roxanne would know that. ( In fact, she honestly looked too pretty and seemed too engrossed with her own image to care about the standing and morality of others' relationships — forgive his potentially incorrect presumptions. ) "I'm sure I can make it go by if I drink the whole bottle," he said cheekily, taking pause when she proposed a game, "...Well, that really spoils my fun of drinking it without interruption — but I concur." Listening to her lay out the game, a hint of amusement crossed his features. "Aren't you delightfully sadistic," he said sarcastically, "Oui, I'll bite — how about the couple over there by the stage?"

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"French and into jazz? I should have guessed." There was no judgement to her words just a hint of amusement. How could she possibly pass any kind of judgement when she was there, New Orleans born and raised and at a jazz club, it was almost too stereotypical. "What are the odds we lose power and people start running around like chickens with their heads cut off. I'm hoping they keep it together, but it might be more entertaining if someone starts screaming."

jazz was one of sylvie’s favorites; it probably isn’t too evident when taking a good look at them. though a pianist, they were hooked to this club more than they had let on. it was ideal to sit at a table with the warmth of an old-fashioned whisky — typical yet pleasant in many ways ... and as for everyone else? to each their own. it was a matter of time to wait and see how the streets of vegas were going to end up, and how long the evening would be. “interesting, indeed,” sylvie commented mindlessly, taking a small gulp of her drink, looking toward the younger individual as the lights flickered here and there. “c’est la fucking vie.”

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"Between the shirley temple and a dance, I know which one would be more enjoyable." She lifted a brow, finishing off her own drink and sliding it over the counter, turning her attention fully on him as she reached out to take his hand. "I've heard LA is pretty dry as well, I can't say the same for France. We're pretty wet there." With a smile, Vivienne pulled him out towards the dancefloor, thankful there was still some music playing. She had no idea how long that would last.

after a brief talk on the phone with his older sister, diego found himself at the underground bar. they had rain in la, sure, but nothing comparable to whatever this was. as the rain poured down outside of the building, diego quickly finished his shirley temple. sure, he drank sometimes, but it wasn’t something that brought him comfort. he’d seen the way his mother could be on alcohol sometimes. it was brutual, he could never be like that. when someone spoke to him, he looked over at vivienne, holding up his glass. “i’ll have another shirley temple, or maybe even a dance to pass the time?" he asked with a smile, extending a hand towards vivienne. "hear that rain?” he hummed, nodding towards the window. “i’ve never seen anything like this. we have rain in la, but not like this.”

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"Never? You must be from here." Roxy mused, tilting her head to the side as she surveyed the other. Las Vegas wasn't exactly the place anyone was born and raised in, so there wasn't a tell that she had noticed from anyone who was. "Louisiana prepared me for this type of thing. But these types of storms are expected down south near the coast." It was easy to pretend that's why Roxy was so calm about the whole thing, the real reason was that way worse would have to happen than a storm for her to be in danger.

marisol had always loved music. growing up, it was a fundamental part of who she was, even to this day. earlier in the day, she found herself at kitty’s, listening to the music. when the torrential downpour started, she stared out the window at the rain. it shouldn’t be like this. “this is insane,” she said to the person nearest to her, sipping on her coke. “i’ve never seen anything like this.”

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"Oh, I see." Roxy nodded, understanding at a surface level why someone would be worried about their friends, but not having much experience with that herself. It had been a very long time since Roxy had given a shit about someone other than herself. "Well, considering how quickly people ran in here for shelter, I'm sure they found somewhere to hole up until it's safe to try and get here. Or wherever it was you were trying to meet them. Until that this lightens up though, there's no real reason to worry since you can't do anything, right? And worry about something that hasn't happened yet, well, that's just a waste of time."

Anything could be worse. Their brows raised just a bit, giving a small shrug. Sure, they supposed anything could be worse--but with every second, their brain was becoming more and more anxious with the thought of where Andrea and Aurora could possibly be. However, perhaps in their worry, they weren't aware of how much energy they were giving off because when the stranger questioned them about it, they didn't know what to say. They didn't really love the idea of opening up to someone they didn't know. Giving a small shake of their head, they said "Oh, uh... No, it's fine, I'm just...waiting for some of my friends to show up, that's all. Hope they're okay in the rain..."

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"I take that as a compliment." Vivienne smiled, taking a sip of her own seltzer and finding it to be rather thirst-quenching. It was so easy to get dehydrated when you were drinking even more so in a place like this and if the power really did shut down, they were going to get overheated very quickly. "I don't think it's ever rained this badly since I moved here and that was a few years ago." Rain did happen but this was next level. "Do you think it's a sign of something?" Truthfully, Vivienne didn't know the other women really, not at all, but there was something about her that made Viv want to trust her.

Giving a smile to the younger woman, kindness and understanding in this town Mandy pondered to herself as she wrapped her hand around the glass of seltzer water, giving the other a cheers in turn. "Huh you aren't like other's in this town kid." She smiled, taking a drink of the bubbly water enjoying the cooling taste- it taking her mind of the water that was pouring down from the sky it's self and what was seeming the wrath of god striking down in las vegas. "My guess judging by how bad it was just starting when I ducked in, a decent amount of time- haven't heard of rain like this in here in forever though."

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"Done what? Come here? To a club filled with every single vice that you've never been able to say no to for more than a week. Probably not." She knew that wasn't fair. Knew that Theo had been making some kind of effort, but it was hard not to immediately try and wound him in some way, to somehow get him back for the one he'd left in her. Her anger had never lessened, boiling under the surface of her skin as though waiting for a moment to pour out of her and burn him instead, but she couldn't fully let that dam break. Because she still loved him. She still wanted her brother back. "Putain de merde. What the fuck are you even doing here? The rain just started so why were you here at all?" Unless he was even more masochistic than she was, there was no reason for him to put himself in this situation.

it was the last place he wanted to be tonight. the last place he should have been. a place of smoke and static, of colour and noise, bassline mimicking the ragged rhythm of a heart too long starved of silence. somewhere, there was a reason for all of this: surveillance, eyes on a mark, some thread of a mission wrapped around his presence here. but it dissolved on contact, swallowed by the storm brewing outside, and the louder one still inside his mind. theo kept to the edge of the room, a quiet figure, half-draped in shadow, as if the darkness might take pity and cloak him completely ( it didn’t. it never did. he couldn’t be so lucky ). there were fingers — invisible, imagined, memory-wrought — that brushed the back of his neck, pressing his ribs. not quite ghosts, but a thousand versions of fear. of ways he could still fall apart. the sharp line of his jaw was locked in place, clenched tight. somewhere between a stranger trying to make conversation, the drifting haze of gin and bud, and the furtive exchange of something, presumably pills, between the two figures beside him, the fault line he’d been standing on cracked. he blinked, and the world folded. this happened, sometimes. time unraveled like loose thread, and when it wove itself back together, he was somewhere else; his mind, fractured, rewired, had a way of ejecting him ( like the time he’d come to with a socialite’s arm bent at the wrong angle. he hadn’t forgotten. neither had they. ). now, here, the bar stood before him, backlit like a goddamn shrine. his pulse jumped. hands trembled, subtle, just enough to notice. mouth, dry as ash. and then — a voice. do you want something? familiar, cutting through the fog like a flare. he turned, slowly, and there she was. vivienne. probably as surprised as he himself was. his throat tightened. “no,” brows furrowed. what the fuck else could he say? “i shouldn’t’ve fucking done this.”

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"If you don't want one, you don't have to have one, ma chère." Romi was one of the cousins Vivienne had seen the most since coming to Vegas, but it wasn't like they hung out all the time. She had been desperate to make stronger connections with them since everything with Theo. It wasn't always easy though. Their whole family was kind of insane and there were days when Vivienne thought about going back to France and leaving all of this behind, but she knew that would be next to impossible. Might as well make the best of it. "Considering how long the night might be, I'm going to need one but no pressure."

Now why exactly was Romi at a fucking bar? Well, the long short of it was that she was feeling lost. In fact, she'd been sitting there, sipping on a ginger ale, trying to decide whether or not it was actually worth it to buy a drink. After all, it's not like she was alcoholic. Her primary worry, and why she avoided it most days, was that if she got drunk, she'd somehow forget that she wasn't supposed to do cocaine. And honestly, she really couldn't afford a relapse right now. However, perhaps if she just kept it to one drink, she'd be alright--right?

Her uncertainty was at an all-time high these days and frankly, it was getting fucking old. Why couldn't she just trust herself to do what she knew was right? Jesus. So when the rain started to pour outside and the stranger next to her offered to buy her a drink, she thought: fuck it. "Uh..." she started, already overthinking this whole thing. She should've made plans with Meera tonight like she'd originally wanted to. None of this would be happening if she could be with her lover. "Sure, why not? I'll have a vodka soda. Thanks."

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Vivienne hadn't realized the person next to her was soaking but it was hard to ignore once her attention had been drawn to it. Light eyes roamed over his figure, not at all trying to hide it before lifting to meet his gaze. "Fresh out of a towel or a change of clothes other than the ones I have on, but we could always trade if you're desperate." The blonde teased. "It seems to be considering how wet you are, it's almost impressive. Did you even try to avoid it at all?"

They had managed to stop at eight of the smaller bars, along with calling into almost all of the larger casinos before his team had finally told him that the storm was reaching a point that it would no longer be safe for him to continue his community service, so they ended up marooned at The Underworld, a nightclub. Not the worst place, and still plenty of chances for publicity here. He was dripping wet as he leaned against the bar. When he heard a voice ask if he wanted anything, "A towel? Maybe a change of clothes?" He chuckled before he turned to give them his full attention. "That rain is really coming down at there isn't it?"

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"I wouldn't have told anyone if you had," Vivienne shrugged with a soft laugh. She was still convinced it would be next to impossible to be able to tell if someone had unless they started climbing on the ceiling or whatever possessed people were meant to do. Even that was most likely done for the movies, no one actually looked like the Exorcist without it being worldwide news. "That's fair. You seem like the type to take it all seriously. Some of these other people...I'm not so sure." Going through and avoiding eye contact on a tour was one thing, but now that they were all trapped here, it wouldn't have surprised Vivienne at all if someone got a little too antsy and confident. The type who thought they could take on a bear or a gorilla and somehow win. "Other than Peggy, what's your favorite thing in here? I imagine we're going to have a long night, might as well get the inside scoop, right?"

She could tell that the blonde wasn't too thrilled about being stuck inside the museum--and she couldn't really blame her. After all, if Dahlia had done her job correctly, the woman was most likely severely creeped out at this point (she couldn't be certain, of course, but one could only hope). Still, she also wanted to get the fuck out of here so she hoped for both their sakes that the rain would clear relatively quickly. If we do go back and see Peggy, you know someone's going to look. Giving a small shrug, she said "I suppose, that's a possibility. But I mean, I gave y'all fair warning," she said, putting her hands up as if to say 'I'm innocent,' which of course couldn't be further from the truth. However, the stranger's next question caught her attention. Have you ever? Brows furrowed, she said "Have I ever looked into Peggy's eyes? No." Of course, when she'd first been trained for the job, she'd been fascinated by Peggy, along with all of the other things in the haunted museum. What sort of demonic spirit lie within the doll, no one could be sure--unless, of course, you invited that energy in, which was a terrible idea. As much as she liked creepy shit, she'd learned to tread lightly. Don't get her wrong, she'd certainly thought about looking into the doll's eyes before--after all, what could a curse really do to someone with her...condition? Surely, it couldn't be as detrimental if she were a human, right? In the end, though, she'd decided against it. As a witch, she knew she needed to respect all energies, especially the darker ones. "Believe me, I enjoy this scary shit--that's why I work here, after all. But I don't mess with curses. You have to respect that sort of thing. Have I thought about it? Absolutely. But I'm not stupid enough to actually do it."

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"Anything with soda in it?" Vivienne repeated, brows lifting as immediate regret at offering the woman anything at all crawled through her veins. The idea of ordering something based on whether or not it sounded cool was a choice, not one that Vivienne had ever made. "You don't seem used to ordering anything at a bar, must be a new thing for you." There was no real judgement in the statement, just observation. Her stomach soured even more, not at the mention of anything tasting like ass, but at the attitude that went with it. "That's certainly presumptuous but feel free to spend your own money, since you have so much of it." It was no skin off of her back. Leaning over the counter, she gave the bartender a smile. "French 75, s'il vous plaît."

like everyday, kenny was blissfully ignorant of any carnage occurring in the streets - meteorological events included. she didn't find herself in places like the underworld often, only when she was preternaturally bored. typically, she could gain solace through a video game or comic book, but something strung her along throughout the streets of vegas to somewhere she could indulge in a real drink and feel somewhat adult-adjacent for a day. "... whatever has soda in it," she spoke upon realizing someone was asking her a question. "normally i just order whatever sounds the coolest, but sometimes they taste like ass and - sorry, that isn't too appetizing to you. i should buy my own drink now, i can probably afford it more than you. no offense."

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Roxy would never take offense to anything Ira said to her, she'd learned years ago that it wasn't worth it. Unless someone had power over her and her life depended on it, anyone else could say whatever they wanted...within reason. "You're right. Odds are this isn't any kind of set. It's real, for better or for worse." Being who she was, Roxy wasn't worried about being trapped in here for an extended period of time, it wasn't like there was something scarier than her hiding in the shadows. "Sure, anyone could find a virgin in the desert, Ira, but I said the Doll House. That's a bit different." She chuckled, tilting her glass as the ice clinked, already wishing for another one. "And I'm sure you could probably by looking into a mirror." Roxy laughed with a shake of her head. "You really shouldn't go back out there right now. I'm sure you have tons to do but at least wait thirty minutes." It was against her instinct to try and keep anyone safe, but it did happen once in a while. "Order something on my tab and we can talk about it. I've got a few things I'm up for, I don't think any of them are what you'd call science fiction."

Ira made a face. The headache he was ignoring started to work its way more into a migraine when Roxy spoke to him. It sounded like she was speaking down to him. But maybe he was just feeling irritated and hearing things wrong. He smiled, still, tilting his head a little, his mouth hanging open for some seconds before saying, “Yeah! Wow! I guess you do! You're really lucky, and smart!” He replied in slight sarcasm. She was smart, obviously. The problem came when you thought you were the smartest person in the room. Even if you were, no one wanted to be made to feel stupid or below anyone else. That tended to cause issues, he knew, as he had suffered plenty of punches to the face for being too smart sometimes, and acting above everyone, as he sent a fist right back at them.

Letting out a breath, he let her talk, squinting a bit as he looked around the club. “I doubt it, though. Felt real, Roxy. And there aren't any cameras around. Unless I'm completely losing it-” He reached a hand up to tap the circular scarring on the tip of his hairline to the right of his head.

“Yeah, an umbrella.” Pushing himself up a bit, he looked even farther into the club, still listening to Roxy, “I could find a virgin in the middle of the desert, Roxy.” Sitting down again, he said that last part so casually, turning his head back to her. Grinning, he went on,” I really shouldn't stick around here long. There's still stuff I have to do. But! While I'm here drying a little bit, we can probably get some drinks and talk about Miss Movie Star and what she's been doing lately. What do you say? Going to be in anything good, hm? Science fiction? Please tell me you are going to be in a science fiction soon.”

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"It undoubtedly will be." Vivienne agreed, lifting the shot that she had no intention of ordering herself and throwing it back. Even if it was on her tab, it felt more fun since someone else had ordered it. "I take it you aren't planning to deal with any of this sober."

Vivienne also wasn't and considering she'd already had a couple of drinks and maybe a little something else, she was more than willing to stick around and ride this out. She had a feeling that this storm was unnatural, these types of storms didn't happen in Las Vegas, but there was nothing to do about it now. Who knows, maybe it would even get interesting.

The heavy downpour was almost comforting yet unnerving to Wendy. It reminded her of the monsoon season in Thailand, summers spent in aunts house stuck indoors with her cousins, listening as the cicadas chirp louder and counting the seconds before the heavens opened. But there was also that little voice in the back of her head that is telling her that there was something not right with this storm. But that seemed like the norm with her these days — everything was suspicious, including herself. Keeping the drinks flowing and the music helped quieten that voice and those doubts though. "Vodka soda and 2 shots of tequila, please." She slid one of the shots to the other person and raised her own shot glass, "Cheers. Looks like it might be a long night."

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"Oh. Well, that's no problem." Turning back towards the bartender for a few more moments, Vivienne swapped her own drink for a seltzer water with lime and got a second one, just in case. Pushing the glass over to the woman, she smiled. "I can't imagine it's going to be easy trapped in here during the storm, but there's no reason to make it even harder." She lifted her drink in the others direction before taking a long drink from it. Honestly, a better idea considering she had no idea how long they'd be in here. If people kept drinking like a normal night out, it was going to get very messy, very quickly, and Viv had no desire to be one the ones making a fool of themselves. "Hopefully it doesn't last too long, but until then at least we're inside."

Of all the places and times to be sober this was not one of them was all Mandy could think as she took a deep inhale of her cigarette, her head resting on her hand as she blew the smoke out of the side of her mouth. Of course her fucking tire popped while she was out looking for her kid, of course this was the closest place ( god she should just listen to her wife, her wife was always right ) but was she going to stay outside with the feelings she had been having all night- like a thousand eyes on her? Hell no so into the bar she went. Glancing over at the person talking next to her, giving a soft shake of her head and showing the sobriety chip hanging around her neck Mandy chuckled "Of all the gin joints am I right, fuck this weather."

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"Anything could be worse." Roxy shrugged, having plenty of experience to verify that statement. But these days, she had the power to make sure it didn't so she felt a bit detached from the fact that the very statement might make someone nervous or anxious. "You seem...stiff. Are you worried about something? Outside of," she gestured to the roof and the windows, "the obvious." Sipping on her drink, Roxy kept taking stock of the club, so far it seemed like people were staying relatively calm, now that the initial shock of being stuck here was wearing off.

Aurelia figured that the woman was kidding, though it did admittedly make them feel a tad nervous. It wasn't really the stranger's presence but rather, the fact that they thought she might be right. After all, they were still waiting for their girlfriend to arrive for her birthday celebration--Aurora was supposed to be bringing her. Yet, with the heavens now opening up and Aurora and Andrea nowhere in sight, they began to get that feeling of dread in the pit of their stomach. I imagine more of them are going to be too scared to realize that we're perfectly safe in here until the storm is over. There's even food. They considered her words and nodded. "Yeah, I suppose that's true... It could definitely be worse, that's for sure."

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"I suppose I'll live." That was never something Roxy was particularly worried about. As far as things went, it was everyone else in here that should be worried...and not about the weather. "Don't mind if I do." She said, smirking as she rose from her own seat to move closer, elegantly sliding into an empty seat and crossing slender legs. "A glass of pinot noir is a start, but it will only last so long." It was hard to know when this storm would pass or how bad it would get before it did. "We could play a game, call it a drinking game if you'd like. Let's call it, who would survive. Pick two people in here and we come up with a scenario and decide who would live. All in good fun, of course."

"It could be more enthralling," Sévérine remarked in a sullen lament, thoroughly unimpressed by the show that Mother Nature appeared to be putting on for the desert — then again, France was always raining. And a little rain never hurt anyone, now, did it? Oh, well, except for the poor tree he'd witnessed taking a tumble across from the villas when he'd set out to take refuge somewhere that had a bar instead of getting stranded in his house. ( Yes, yes, he would love to spend time with his sister, but trap him in a house where he ran out of booze and smokes, and he would probably go certifiably looney. ) "As long as I have a nightcap, I'm just fine here to spend the night. What about you?" The cork had already been removed from the bottle of pinot noir, and he topped off his own glass. "Care to share a drink, Roxy? How shall we pass the time?"

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"Really?" Vivienne asked, eyeing the woman and the drink in question. She would never say no to someone else buying her something, but it was never really free. Everyone knew that there was no such thing as a free lunch but at this moment in time, she didn't really care. What was the worst she could ask for? Entertainment and someone to dance with? Vivienne was more than capable of that. The moment she was about to put her order in; the lights finally gave out and she knew it was only a matter of time before this place became even more of a sauna than usual. "Oui, it looks like we do. You have any ideas?"

"Uh, duh, I want a dance, ya'know?" Charlotte wasn't looking for anything more than that — dancing and drinking and gambling the night away when she wasn't predetermined to go on a date wit her own girlfriend was all in the name of fun and washing down the bitter aftertaste of a fight with her sister. She might as well have never left New Orleans if that was what reconnecting with Juliet was going to be — except she didn't have a damn clue that her sister would be up here in the first place. What was it like for Charlotte Key to have a single family member who threw caution to the wind to care for her? Oh well, a thought for another day, and shaking a leg on her jaded perspective to motion toward the floor that was still bumping with music, in spite of the roaring thunder outside and the rain pummeling the building above it. "I'll buy that drink for ya," she proposed, and if she could make a new friend out of it, no harm, no foul, she thought, bouncing on her heels and prepared to wrap her hand around the blonde's wrist and give her an overenthusiastic tug when the lights snapped out. "...Or not! Phooey, that's ass." She fished out a lighter and sparked the flame to get a glimpse of her companion. "Well, now we gotta play a game to pass the time, huh?"