Looks like this will be a weekly thing

[forcegalactic]

[This whole week has been awful. This whole experience has been awful. Mordecai wants to go straight to his room and deal with his frustrations, but that's not what a mayor does. A mayor takes charge, a mayor fixes what's wrong, a mayor makes things better. Even if he can't do everything on his own, he's has to do something.

Two hours after the end of the trial, the living will find another note slipped underneath their doors.]

There's cookies in the kitchen. The dining room is ready for anyone who needs a quiet place to talk it out. I'll be in the bar if you need a drink, alcoholic or something more appropriate for the underage crowd.

-Mordecai Benmont Jiminy

[There's a pile of warm chocolate chip cookies in the kitchen. Two more candles are lit at the memorial - one for the victim, one for the culprit - and Mordecai has left a pile of blankets from the storage room on one of the dining room tables.]

Comments

excellent, just picture her ignoring barkeep and getting soda for them on tap then

[nankurunaisa]

[That's a nice idea.

There's still a part of Hibiki that reacts to that with "maybe he was lying, we have no way of trusting him".

But she won't tell Morty that. Somehow, despite their closeness in age, she feels kind of like taking care of him in the least condescending way possible.]

Your family, huh? Aside from Sanchez-san, what're they like? I wouldn't mind hearin' about 'em if you wanna talk.

heck yea

[mortyfied]

O-oh, yeah sure. I don't mind talking about them.

[It's actually the first time anyone's asked, so he's pretty happy to get to do this. It'll make him miss them a little less.]

Uh.. I guess first of all my mom - Beth, she's Rick's daughter and she's a horse heart-surgeon. She's - she's actually surprisingly pretty? You wouldn't guess it from me or my sister, and you really wouldn't guess it from looking at Rick.

[nankurunaisa]

She's a veterinarian for horses? Hehe, that's really cool! I've always wanted a horse, too, but my landlord won't let me keep one in the apartment.

[Is she joking? Maybe we'll never know.]

[mortyfied]

Not a vet. A heart surgeon. [Trust me, he's not sure what the difference is but Beth'd get hella pissed if she was called anything less.]

Also... wh-why did you want to keep a horse when you lived in an apartment? [Joke or not, he'll believe it 100%.]

[nankurunaisa]

A heart surgeon, then. That's...pretty specific! But she saves animals, so that's still good, ehehe.

[A bit odd, but.]

You know how it is! When you see a cute animal, you've just gotta bring it home, right? Even if it's a stallion!

[mortyfied]

I guess that makes sense.. b-but a horse? I mean maybe if you lived in like, a mansion or had a barn or something.

[Hibki you're... kind of weird.]

[nankurunaisa]

Maybe when we get out of here I'll move somewhere bigger! Being in here like this, it's giving me ideas about how I can live my life differently, y'know?

[Excuse you? She's never impregnated a robot.]

[mortyfied]

[GWENDOLYN WAS A LOVING ROBOT WHO CARED ABOUT HER CHILD'S FUTURE BUT COULDN'T AFFORD TO BE AROUND FOR IT]

Oh.. then in that case I hope you can get yourself a pet horse? Maybe you can go - ride it in a horse race or win horse... shows. I-I'll root for you.

[nankurunaisa]

Does that mean you're gonna come visit me all the way in Japan, Morty? Ehehe, I'm really lookin' forward to it already! You'll come to one of my recordings, right?

[mortyfied]

Y-yeah! I mean, sure. Rick takes me around the universe all the time, I-I bet we can make a stop to Japan sometime. [That actually sounds really fun?]

[nankurunaisa]

I'll take ya behind the scenes...you can meet all the other idols! There are twelve of us in the agency.

[Her smirk turns mischievous.]

Or maybe I shouldn't. I still wanna be top idol, after all. I can't have ya rootin' for anyone else.

[mortyfied]

No way, I-I wouldn't root for anyone else! [How could you even suggest something like that.] I'll be a die-hard Hibiki fan no matter what!

I um... actually, I don't know how idols are different than American musicians b-but I'll still be your fan! [Even though he doesn't know what that entails..]

[nankurunaisa]

Hehehe! That's what I wanna hear! Just promise to remember that when you meet Azusa, 'kay?

[Because Azusa has a few things going for her that Hibiki doesn't.]

Hmm...well, I don't want to take too much time away from your letter. But if you wanna hear more about it, why don't you tell me about your sister first?

[mortyfied]

Azusa...? [He looks a little confused, but decides he'll figure that out when he actually meets her later.]

Oh, uh yeah. Okay. [Summer, huh..]

Well her name's Summer and she's seventeen.. hey, just like - just like you!

[nankurunaisa]

[Hehe. Just an all-knowing smile there.]

Summer! That's a really nice name. I'm still a little unused to being seventeen, though. It'd be nice if I remembered my seventeenth birthday.

[But this isn't about that.]

What's she like?

[mortyfied]

She's... [A slight pause, as he tries to think of the right word to use to describe her.]

Annoying? But like - i-in an older sister kind of way, if that makes sense?

[nankurunaisa]

Mm, mm. Like an older sibling...I have an older brother, y'know. So I get it! Family is family, but that doesn't make them not a pain sometimes, hehe.

[Look. Look...she's not mean, she's just honest.]

[mortyfied]

[I mean look at Rick. She's not wrong...]

Yeah, you said it. She's - she'll get mad over really dumb stuff like eating the last of her chips o-or when I ask her to change the channel when "her show" is on... you know, she even kicked me super hard in the balls just 'cause she thought I went into her room - a-and I didn't step foot in there!

I-I-I don't wanna - go in there and see all her gross, teenage girl stuff around - l-lying around!

[nankurunaisa]

[Maybe she should add kicking big bro's balls to her dance moves...]

Huh? Gross teenage girl stuff? ...Like magazines about tropical birds and lizards? Or...or maybe make-up?

[She has no idea because she's pure.]

My big bro told me I'd never become an idol...and I haven't talked to him in over a year, even though I'm sendin' my mom money to help pay for the house and everythin'. He's the worst!

[mortyfied]

[Hibiki you... precious child. He won't even spoil your view on what gross teenage girl stuff was.]

Jeez, see? Older siblings are the worst! [#downwitholdersiblings2k15]


...though I mean, I guess Summer can be pretty nice when she wants to.

[nankurunaisa]

[Teenage girls like snakes and sharks, okay?

But since she has nothing nice to say about her brother (really, she holds grudges, has anyone noticed):]

What's she like when she's nice?

[mortyfied]

Well she can be pretty fun to talk to, she likes to sing along to bad radio songs with Rick and I and she can be kind of protective at times...

[Oh here it comes, the sad backstory (that's more or less headcanonned but also pretty much canon.)]

...o-our parents fight a lot, y'know? They've kind of always been, it's something I'm used to now. But... b-back when we were kids it was actually pretty scary. And I'm talking really little here, by the way. L-like five years old.

A-anyway, they yelled at each other over really dumb stuff, and back then we didn't have Rick to tell them to stop or take us somewhere else when it happened. So Summer she'd - she'd take me into her room and play games with me o-or read a book or something... or we'd just sit there and cry when it got really bad...

E-even now they're still arguing... I-I think they might even get a divorce soon...

[nankurunaisa]

That sounds nice! Singing can be a lot of fun with friends. Hehe, I think I'd know, right?

[But after sharing her piece, she lets him finish, her own smile turning to a sad frown as she listens.]

Mm, that sounds pretty rough. If I'm bein' honest, it's not somethin' I can relate to. When my father was still alive, he and my mom got along pretty well. I'm not a parent so maybe I don't understand, but...fightin' in front of you sounds pretty horrible to me.

[She leans over and she places her hand on Morty's shoulder, patting him just like she'd pat a sad dog.]

But it sounds like a good thing you have Summer. And Sanchez-san, too, if he takes you two away from that sometimes. When things are bad, there are always other things you can learn to appreciate. And you'll always have your sister! Even though my big bro and I aren't talkin', I know he's still there.

[She stops moving her hand.]

I can't say it'll get easier, but I think you'll get stronger. I dunno if that helps any, but I believe it.

[mortyfied]

[He's real quiet for a moment, thinking over what Hibiki said. It's always been pretty hard, just the idea of his parents breaking up, having to either chose one or switch between houses was really scary... and not something he wanted to even consider. He loved his parents, and he loved living together as a family! But... she was right, though. At least, he appreciates her trying to cheer him up.

He'll offer a smile, and take a sip from his soda before talking.]

Yeah.. a-and I'll have friends this time, too. I mean hey, if anything, I-I can always visit your dimensions and planets and stuff when things get hairy, right?

[nankurunaisa]

Right, right! I'm already lookin' forward to it. And you'll bring Summer and [god help her does anyone notice how hard she is trying] Sanchez-san, right? He might have to wait outside of the venue, though...

[Actually, that's kind of terrifying, but she'd love to meet Summer. She gives his shoulder one more pat before lifting it off of him.]

I've got your back, okay? I'm gonna keep doing my best, so...no more talk about you dyin' instead, okay?