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"Large pockets? What do you need large pockets for?"

He'll float in and follow along behind him as he looks around to see if there's anything different from the last time.

"You know, that thing with your mask," he explains. "I can't hold it all the time, after all."

Dorian's cabin looks remarkably the same. There are a few small changes: it smells more like cigarettes, he's taken the trash out recently, a few records are set out to listen to. But much like Dorian himself, the room is static.

"I am remembering correctly how it works, right?"

"You are," he admits, "but I can hold myself on just fine. As long as I want to stay on, I will. The Admiral made the adjustment after-"

He clears his throat.

"Being in a pocket might be best, though, if this works like we're hoping."

After something involving Arthur, isn't it. That's the reason why John's here in the first place. He doesn't say it, though.

"True. If it involves holding on, there's a fairly high chance you'll lose some of those facilities when drunk." Dorian offers his hand to John, gesturing to the mask before asking, "May I?"

That is exactly why he's here, thank you Dorian. Not that that is a terribly difficult leap to make, given John's... everything.

John gives a grunt and then he's putting his mask in Dorian's hand, focusing not on the sense of taste this time but something more ephemeral. He's not sure he has it but-

[ ...you realize you won't feel drunk, don't you? ]

"I can suffer through one next day of bad decisions if it lets you experience something new," Dorian shrugs. Oh no, one evening where he ends up vomiting the next morning but doesn't feel drunk himself. What a shame, he'll just have to settle for the literal thousands of other times he got drunk and ended up vomiting the next morning.

"Besides, I kind of want to see what drinking but not feeling drunk would be like myself."

[I wasn't planning on making it a habit. I just...

I was in the mood to experiment tonight. I appreciate you making the time for me.]

He's not getting into it, not by himself. Part of it is just the fact that he doesn't want to rant about how fucking difficult Arthur is and how much what he did hurt him and how angry he is at Arthur for acting as if he was being manipulative by just trying to do things in the least harmful way possible.

It's why he came to Dorian and not to Misty. He doesn't want to rant. But he doesn't want to be alone either. Or focus on how Arthur's voice had sounded as he'd closed the door.

"I'll always make time for you," Dorian points out. Especially now, when John's really in a bit of a mood. "You and Arthur were there for me after that Misty business with Pagan's coma. I'm going to be here for you with whatever this is."

No questions about whatever it is. No probing. Just someone who recognizes that it must have been bad and will happily be there for John and/or Arthur the way that they were for him.

"Anyway, first up! A shot of vodka. Sláinte!" And then Dorian expertly knocks back the shot before setting the shotglass back on the table with a thud.

[ The first part of what he says- well, he doesn't feel as if he did much of anything. All he'd done was spend time with him. But he doesn't particularly want to argue and he'd much rather focus on- ]

[ I don't feel anything. I assume it takes time? ]

"Yup," Dorian says, popping the 'p' of that word as he pours himself another shot. Better to speed along the process, after all.

"Nobody gets drunk instantly. You drink, you have some shots, you worry that you aren't drunk enough so you have a few more shots, then it hits you like a goddamn freight train."

Time to knock back shot number two!

[ ...is that... safe? ]

Isn't alcohol a poison? He thinks he remembers something about that in their discussion about substance abuse.

"Absolutely not!" Dorian grins. Hey, let's have shot number three. He'll fix himself a mixed drink to sip on after this but if John wants to feel drunk, let's get absolutely drunk.

"If you're eighteen years old and going to a pub for the first time, you're absolutely going to end up puking behind the trash cans because you don't know your limits. Fortunately, it's at that point where you realize what your limits are. This next shot is whiskey, by the way."

Variety is the spice of life, after all. And time for shot number three!

[ What's the difference?]

Between whiskey and whatever that was before.

[ I can't taste anything, so you know. ]

"The main difference is taste," Dorian admits. "But with some people, different alcohol gets them a different level of drunk."

[Aha. So you picked drinks that would get you drunk quickly?]

"Points for John!" he laughs. "Different types of alcohol have different levels of alcohol content. After all, you can't drink straight alcohol. Spirits like vodka and whiskey have a higher alcohol content than wine or beer. Drink those straight if you want to get fucked up as quickly as possible."

[ How will I know it's working?

What should I look for? ]

"Everything will start to feel different. Drunkness depends on the person, but there will definitely be a feeling of unsteadiness—a fuzziness or lightness in the head, perhaps?" Don't mind Dorian as he starts to make himself a gin and tonic.

"Generally speaking, you'll feel your inhibitions lowered and you're more likely to think that doing something kind of dumb is a good idea."

[And people do this for *fun*?]

Sorry, he's really not seeing the appeal here. He thought there was more to it.

"You'll understand when the buzz starts to kick in."

At least, Dorian hopes he will.

[ I certainly hope so. Mostly it just sounds... disorienting.

And you do this for fun? ]

"Absolutely! As far as I'm concerned, it's amazing."

Considering that he drunk like, three shots right in a row, the small, creeping feeling of euphoria and not giving a shit that comes with being drunk is starting to latch onto Dorian's brain—though as John's at the wheels, he's the one who starts to feel the effects.

And it feels great.

Edited 2023-02-25 17:28 (UTC)

Correction: it feels WEIRD and floaty and kind of like he's disassociating from himself. It feels like nothing matters and that... feels like Nothing Matters. Whoah.

[ ...is it supposed to make you... disconnect from everything? ]

"It all depends on the person," Dorian shrugs. "Different people get drunk in different ways. Some are fighty drunks, some are sad drunks, some are giggly drunks. You won't know what sort of drunk you are until you actually get drunk to begin with."

[ ...are there... apathetic drunks? ]

This is a concern. He's concerned about it.

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