15.0 [Audio/Video] Open the floodgates...

[reckless_riley]

[Riley is drunk.

Really drunk.

In the El Mojito bar, she sits, making a fort out of shot glasses. It's unsurprising that after a time, having sat alone for a while, she finds the need to talk to someone. Rather than call someone specifically, she turns her comm on and addresses the boat at large.]So... I don't know about the rest of you but I

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[reckless_riley]

[Oh hi, someone sensible. Comparatively at the very least.]

Because I could. And when it's broken I can call myself Ozymandius and be an intelligent drunk.

[It's not a matter of if it breaks, but a matter of when.]

[reckless_riley]

You know me, poster girl for ambition and grandeur.

[If it shatters, Riley's not going anywhere near it. She's had enough close calls lately to last her a while.]

You going to come drink with me or are you just commenting on my architectural genius?

[Okay, so those last few words were slurred but she's proud she's still with it enough to keep up with some witty repartee. Ish.]

[reckless_riley]

[Surly doctor friends are precisely what she needs right now. Have a drunken grin from Riley, who is not moving from her stool because that might lead to a lack of balance.]

Thank you!

[There are now little cherries and olives scattered around it. These are supposed to represent people, clearly.]

You have catching up to do, McCoy.

[reckless_riley]

[Riley looks at the small cluster of bottles her empty shot glasses, and with a squint, she tries to recall which one was the tequila that tasted like gin.

After a moment, she pours a shot glass full of it and slides it toward him, careful not to hit her structure.]

This. Try it...

[reckless_riley]

[Riley likes McCoy. He's easy to talk to and straightforward, so she gives him a straightforward answer.]

Trying to distract myself from both the events of the party and recent...developments in my social life. It's easier to not think about that shit when you're brain is totally focused on perfectly balancing one shot glass on top of more.

Getting shitfaced and giving yourself stupid tasks is damn helpful that way.

[reckless_riley]

[She makes a small noise. His statement seems a bit of an understatement.]

Yeah they did.

[She rubs her face a moment and sighs.]

The two guys who came to see me after I'd been hurt? Broke things off with the one that came in while you left...trying this...thing with the first guy. Gunn. Keep waiting for the other shoe to drop and to get to that point I usually do where I wanna just cut things short and move on but so far...nothing.

[What goes unsaid is that this has obviously unsettled her. Not only does she not want to break things off, she is actually considering what she could do to well...maybe make things work a while longer.

After a moment she wrinkles her nose and tosses back another shot.]

Don't know how it got to be like this. Fuck.

[reckless_riley]

[Riley snorts. What he describes is...sort of where she is. She gets it when he talks about feeling sick about not knowing how to act, and worrying about wrong choices.]

Alright, but is it really worth it in the long run? It's easy enough to get naked and roll around in bed but there's a whole different level of stripping bare with relationships.

[She might have been hooked with his mention of trying new things, and it already is pushing her this far to stick with it, among other factors, but it's hard to dispel doubts and mindsets she's had and reinforced for years.]

Dr. McCoy is the new Dr. Love, clearly.

[reckless_riley]

[This is why she likes you, McCoy. This advice isn't so far off from what she's been thinking for years. Riley levels at stare at the bottom of her shot-glass house and sighs.]

So my option is...take the risk despite the very real probability that it will not only not work but that I'll get all stomped over with soccer cleats in the process, or just...

[Her tone is dull, quiet, and she doesn't finish the sentence because it seems fairly obvious what her other options are.]

What do you think? Should I jump on the bandwagon? [There were only five million recent engagement announcements.] Worlds are ending, take the plunge before we all die or don't fix something that's not broken?

[She pauses.]

Or I can just drink more and forget the whole thing.