Spiced Cider has nothing on this ( monstrous_bride )

[onemillionsubscribers]

Gina is happy to work on making the rented cabin comfortable. The fact that it had so many things just begging to be used made her happy. It was rare she had the funds to take time off of both work and school. Both kept her up for hours. Sometimes she doesn't get to sleep and feel like a normal person.

Truthfully, she has never felt normal. Her functional anxiety always lingered right in the background. She didn't talk about it. She treated it like a Babadook. Something to be buried deep and not fed. She certainly wasn't going to start talking about it now. For goodness sake, she is a stone throws away from being thirty.

With the final bit of the food that Gina was worried about leaving sitting out she pauses. This is time to relax and not think so hard. There is still that nagging feeling she should have at least a small scanner with her. The mountains and the thick forest of this remarkably beautiful area just won't let her use the app she has on her phone as there is terrible cellphone service out here.

"I'm just heading to my van. I'll be right back," Gina calls heading for the door. As soon as she moves through the cabin and reaches the front door there is a loud rumble overhead. Gina pauses listening to see if it is just the wind but there is a loud sounding crackle followed by a boom. She yelps as the lights throughout the cabin flicker. Her heart slowly moves back down her throat to exactly where it should be as the rain starts to splatter loudly against the roof. With the aluminum roofing ever raindrop seems impossibly loud to someone who had just been spooked.

"Well....No. Not now. I like having my gadgets on hand but I like not dying even more." Gina shakes her head moving to where she had earlier tossed down one of her personal bags. "I have the worst luck on dark and stormy nights. Ghost seamen are kind of the worst."

Her nerves are not the greatest now. Thinking about that night kind of reminds her of how very mortal she is. She knows that (the) Bride has opinions on Gina learning to use a knife. She isn't against it. She just also thinks that her friend will be annoyed that for some reason creatures of the night either want to chat with her or stick her in their mouth holes. Best to not bring that up.

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[monstrous_bride]

She was born of a night like this. It always brings back memories. Worse still, she remembers every horrible moment of suddenly crashing into existence. Babies are lucky little shits.

She hears the other but says nothing, getting changed after dinner. The pajamas are old, striped things; she updates her look every few decades, but silk is a necessity. She has however shortened the top and converted the pants into short shorts. She's not sure why that's her preference, and quite frankly she wouldn't sleep in anything if there weren't company.

Or for the fact that she's been so often awakened in her life by violent confrontation.

But she comes back out and flops on the couch with a sigh, crossing her legs under her.

"Hopefully," she says, presuming Gina is back inside, "there's at least some good channels up here. Or radio, given our luck."

[onemillionsubscribers]

The sounds of the storm are loud enough that Gina is certain she wouldn't hear a thing outside besides the weather. That part only bothers her a little. She hasn't ever seriously encountered too many other things that were corporeal and dangerous to her health, there had also been many flavors of ghosts and intangible things that she had come across that were.

Gina decided that she was just not going to comment on the pajamas that the Bride was wearing. It was no business of hers what someone else wore but it was still a little intriguing that her friend was basically wearing short shorts. She wondered just for a second if the cold bothered her. Best not to pry.

"If not I have some movies downloaded onto my laptop. It wouldn't take much to set something up...What's your favorite genre?" Gina actually doesn't watch that much horror. Her life is a real life ghost story more or less so there's little point in entertaining more fear. "Weird thing? I don't really watch horror movies? I mean...Look at what I do. It'd be ridiculous to watch supernatural movies."

[monstrous_bride]

"Look at me," she replied, with a grin, indicating her patched together form. "For some reason they don't work for me, either. I've lived half the movies and they're never that stupid."

She does look thoughtful, though.

"I do love a good drama - I was a big fan of the classics. But I think part of that was I always had a bit of a thing for Carey Grant. Mmm, hell of man, that."

She chuckles, looking about for her own bag, from which she draws a healthy-sized bottle of hooch.

"Anything driven by the acting and dialogue, I guess that's my favourite, rather than the subject matter."

[onemillionsubscribers]

"I like watching dumb found footage movies when I want to yell at my TV?" She cringes at how dumb that sounds. "Like some guys love yelling when they're watching some kind of sports-ball game."

Gina considers the good looks of Carey Grant then winks. "He was a dish for his time. While I'm not... interested? Some people are like art. You can apperieceate the form while having no interest in deeper engagement."

It's the best way of explaining her position. People can look pretty but she has never had any deeper needs physically. "Hmm. Do you like Ryan Reynolds?"

Gina thinks that the Hitman's Bodyguard would make her laugh. She has seen it once and it was funny. "It's that or the Ghost Lights. It's about a construction worker invited to join a theater troupe. I keep meaning to watch it....I like the concept of someone learning about their feelings through the Bard."

[monstrous_bride]

"I haven't the faintest clue who that is. I haven't been to a movie since...when did Titanic come out?"

She shrugs.

"After so many decades they got a bit tiresome and silly, really. Well, not all - liked the one with the dinosaurs in it, they did a good job on that one. But you go ahead and choose something, I'll muddle along."

[onemillionsubscribers]

"Probably a year before I was born? My parents got married around that time."

Gina is just shy of thirty. She doesn't remember seeing the Titanic growing up. Her Mother had the VHS laying around.

"If you don't mind." Gina then starts to set things up. She can hear the wind howl and see the occasional flash of lighting from just outside.

"I'm just glad I'm not out in my van. The weather seems intense up here."

[monstrous_bride]

"Hmm," she murmurs, by way of agreement, looking back behind them through the curtain. "The sort of night I was born into - so yes, a staying indoors sort of night."

She leans her head back, arms across the back of the sofa.

"And I will admit, actually relaxing for one night in the past God knows how long? A good idea. I'll have to thank whoever came up with it."

That being Gina.

[onemillionsubscribers]

"I got tossed out a window on a fight like this." Gina pauses so she can turn slightly to lift the back of her shirt. There is a jagged scar that is slowly turning an even white. Gina had been cut up a little by glass during that trip through a window it looks like.

"My father was not happy with that phone call." She moves to grab a bottle of wine and a glass from the kitchen. She plans to be comfortable and let the wine keep her warm.

"Mmm. I try to take time when I can. My advisor back at Duke pointed out that a relaxed body leads to a relaxed mind. After nights like this I'm ah, inspired?" She's trying to deflect a bit.

The remark had made her feel warm. It's weird and she doesn't want to examine it when she wants to also enjoy a movie.

[monstrous_bride]

She grins, lightly touching her back for a moment next to the scar.

"Oh, look at it, your first proper scar," she replies with a grin. Like talking about someone losing their baby teeth, really. "Pity you don't heal like I do - but then again if I wore ever scar I ever picked up I'd look like a map of railroads."

[onemillionsubscribers]

"I couldn't drive for a week. And Egon kept trying to sleep right on my back." Which was the cat's way of trying to help.

"Honestly? Not my first time tossed around. Sometimes ghosts can be...spikey? The dangerous ones aren't as common in the places I usually end up filming." She settles in proping up a foot as she gets to the main menu for viewing the movie.

"I've had more trouble with normal folks. Every now and then my Mom tries to convince me to keep a better taser in my coat."

[monstrous_bride]

"You're not surprising me - I've been thrown out of or off of pretty much every structure you can think of."

She barks a short laugh.

"Well, first time I've ever said this: your mother isn't wrong. I'm a bit older fashioned: I recommend weapons that leave a concussion. Or broken jaws."

[onemillionsubscribers]

"Promblem. I'm a wet noodle. I think I should probably work on my upper arms before I think about like, Billy clubs." Gina is well aware that she's only in good enough shape to run up and down stairs with her equipment.

She doesn't think she is strong.

[monstrous_bride]

"It's not muscle mass, it's technique. And you're stronger than you know," she replies.

Then she grins, and winks.

"I'll show you some lovely little equalizers. Best part being they're so old-fashioned nobody sees them coming anymore."

[onemillionsubscribers]

"I've studied just enough history to ask if you want to bring back hat pins as a fashion statement," she says with a faint grin clearly to someone as experienced as the Bride referencing the hat pin panic.

"I've also added extra bits to my key chain. I'm not exactly trying to slack off on looking after myself...it's just usually I'm being threatened by ghosts not gross men so I've been a bit slow going."

[monstrous_bride]

"Oh, I was good with those," she replies, leaning back and heaving a nostalgic sigh. "Helps that I have the strength to drive them through concrete, but I was quick, too."

She actually grins at that.

"But no - blackjacks, koshes, and oh, some good, simple, brass knuckles. Mommy's little equalizers. Take one of those, and the punches I'm going to teach you, you'll hit like a freight train."

But, for now, she gestures at the television.

"But c'mon, get on with it - time's wasting and I want something to drink to."

[onemillionsubscribers]

Gina settles on Gunpowder Milkshake. It is a fun action movie and Gina does enjoy a good girl gang movie. The action is great and the comedic moments hit well.

"I love this one. The fights look....Realistic for someone of that obvious skill level." Gina is happy to watch something with a spark of violence if it's done right.

"Also hits the right spot. I....romantic stuff does nothing for me? I've literally never had any interest there. Kinda get uncomfortable if a story has too much focus simply because it's...Not my thing."

Which that will be very funny later.

[monstrous_bride]

"Rarely works for me, either," she said. "Again, except for when Carey Grant did it. Always such a gentleman but with the promise of an absolute devil when you wanted it," she replied.

"Fights aren't bad," she adds, with a slight nod. "Like that other one, actually saw it, was good...Atomic something."

[onemillionsubscribers]

"He is pretty. I think he must have spent a lot of time having fabulous hair," Gina says with a sigh. "I can appreciate the form. Like Charlzie Theron. A total dish for the ind of person who would enjoy sitting at that table...so to speak."

Oh no. They like the same kind of action movie. "You need to see the Old Guard. It's very good. It makes me want to swing an axe in spite of my noodle arms."

[monstrous_bride]

"I wouldn't kick her out of bed," she replied, casually enough. "And oh, axes - they're a bit of fun, honestly. I'd rather work at range, but, well, they certainly do the job."

She's enjoying the movie, crossing her long, mismatched legs.

[onemillionsubscribers]

Gina choked slightly on her drink. It makes her feel grossly inexperienced but she doesn't mention it.

"I briefly got talked into doing some theater combat training? It's why I can actually fall without hurting myself. Very nice lady showed me how and ah....I am fairly sure she was hitting on me. She said there were some knots she'd like to teach me to...break out of."

Gina was absolutely hit on. It almost totally sailed over her head.

[monstrous_bride]

"Hah! Bold to start with a bit of kink, you missed out on some fun there," she replied, chuckling to herself.

"Yes," she clarifies, "she was absolutely hitting on you. Much like the fighting part - I think you need to learn to not underestimate yourself. Apparently in a lot of ways. But that's a bit of a widsom that comes with age."

She gestures to herself.

"Took me some time to adjust to being how I am, out there in the big old world. To get used to the stares and realize I was perfectly fine as myself."

[onemillionsubscribers]

"I think she must have massively misunderstood me." Gina shakes her head.

"I suppose that's true. I'm still young enough that I can acknowledge that I still have a lot to learn. Especially about social interactions. I get why some people do the whole romance and sex. I don't mind flirting? Flirting is fine when I understand it's happening....I just. Don't have a need for anything else? It hasn't ever bothered me either. I think the only thing that has ever bothered me is just....missing social cues."

[monstrous_bride]

She leans her head on her hand, reaching out for wine, which she drinks straight from the bottle. Her tolerances are...higher.

"Or she just found you very attractive," she replies with a shrug. "And as for the rest, it takes all sorts. Nothing should bother you about any of that. Be a boring old ball of dirt if we were all the same."

She takes another swig.

"Me, I just ignore them. More fun that way. I am a menace at dinner parties."

As if she ever actually goes to dinner parties, which may be obvious from the look on her face.

[onemillionsubscribers]

People are weird, Gina decides. She has never quite had an interest in them in a physical sense. She had dated a few times. People who had tried to understand that while she was into them it wasn't ever going to be easy. That is why Gina has never felt bad about things ending. She tried warning them ahead of time.

The nurse had been nice.

"I saw someone ask a nurse what it was really like. I have the feeling you'd also get annoyed and bluntly share details." A faint smile tugs at her face. "Jamie was a riot when you got them going."

[monstrous_bride]

"Graphic details generally tend to put people off in a wonderfully efficient manner."

She puts down the now empty bottle, arms moving over the back of the couch.

"At any rate, live for today, don't worry about tomorrow, I say. Even when life is long, it's not worth it."