mariko awkwardly moves her hands in case vara tumbles,her cat like reflexes could hopefully save her...friend? mariko settled on thinking of her as a friend. it'd be weird to think of her as anything else. "i must avert my eyes!" mariko giggles as vara comes up the steps flashing a bit of leg. mariko herself was just in some shorts and a t shirt. the shorts were long by women's standards. probably because they were mens. she liked having pockets. "its been quite a long time,vara." mariko says,holding in a sigh. now that vara was close to her,it felt far more real. "me too. erich wouldnt know who you are and my sister....well.." mariko laughs and pretends to choke herself. complete with tongue hanging out her mouth. "drink?" she offers up her bottle to vara.

"lets get in out of this heat" mariko suggests while fanning herself. the weather combined with the alcohol wasnt a good mix. nobody looked cute while sweating. the casino was close by and it offered a good view of the sea. it also had ice cold ac. mariko blushed when asked what she had been up to. "wellllll...." she starts,already laughing. "im still working on that album.so... fingers crossed?" she grins and crosses fingers on both hands. " other than that? i'm on a drug fueled journey with erich..um..other than that? nothing." mariko speaks as she is leading the way into the depths of the ship,turning down this hall and that until she reaches the casino. the ship had had some renovations,so its early grandeur was present. the main casino here had a distinct art deco feel to it. except the carpet....it was distinctly 1970's. avocado green shag carpet. " so...what about you? where have you...been?" mariko asked,feeling very much like she was prying.

"its research for my album!" mariko protests playfully. " the beatles did it for sgt pepper and they're heralded as geniuses." she says with a grin, taking a stool next to vara. she wraps her ankles around the legs so that she has extra bracing for when this drinking session gets serious. she assumed it would as vara was no lightweight and nothing helped reminiscing like alcohol. "look at you! a world traveler. we probably just missed each other by a couple of miles each time. i was in Belgium most of last month. still opening for the harlots." mariko says with a dramatic sigh. she was arguably the bigger name now,especially with the harlots having cassie summers filling in for erica. but she didnt mind opening a show. "so..i'm just going to ask. you didnt reconcile with...fuck,i forget the guy's name..." mariko circles her hands,trying to get the name to come to her. "you know,you guys date waaay back when. were super cute together?" she keeps drawing a blank and finally just shrugs. she had always hoped vara had found happiness out there somewhere.

"you should catch a show. if anything just to see the madness that is cassie filling in for hitomi. its..." mariko trails off. she likes cassie,so she doesnt exactly want to slag the woman. but,she just doesnt have the edge that old school punk rock requires. she merely raises an eyebrow and smiles weakly. "oh...i guess its for the best." mariko says in response to now knowing vara and trent never reconciled. she liked to think that the two had found each other and everything worked out. "i guess he didnt know a good thing when he had it." mariko shrugs. she had imagined seeing vara again so many times. the things she would say,the things she would do...but reality was so much different. she just wanted her friend to be happy. when asked about her own life,mariko laughs loudly and shakes her head. "god no. nina tarantino would probably have been better off if we did though. she ended up with tyron. you know, that psycho who stabbed himself in the big brother house with us? hasnt been seen in ages. did he kill her? i can't say." mariko takes the bottle and drinks a long drink. " i tried to help,so my conscious is clear. nowadays? meh...lets just say things are open." she says while making a face. that drink hit exceptionally hard.while she certainly had people whom she made rounds with,nothing was exclusive. " and i gotta say,i'm finally fine with my life." she says with a smile towards vara.

"well,i guess i can have people on the list now." mariko chuckles before reaching behind the bar and grabbing two glasses. it was easier than passing the bottle. she fills each glass to the brim and bends down to slurp the level down some. " people on a list? look at me,i'm a regular david bowie." mariko laughs and does jazz hands. which seems horribly inappropriate given their next subject is nina possibly being dismembered. "i know! i get the whole danger is sexy thing,but i think there has to be a limit....i took the topic right to aire's mom and she said just to let it go." mariko says with a shake of her head before piping back up."oh. i'm now part of dahlhouse now. so dont think im some narc who runs to people's mothers." mariko says in rapid explanation. the silence that fell among them was to be expected,there was a lot that really couldnt be put into words and perhaps silence said it best. " yeah..it took a roundabout way of getting here,but i think we did it."

ooc:yes. marlena. i dont know if she had a middle name. good luck with that. erich is bitter at them both for ada leaving him. but..he still wont speak ill of ada. karoliena loathes her now.

"pinkies up when behind the velvet rope." mariko laughs warmly. she was looking forward to vara taking her up on her offer. she inhales between her teeth before speaking again. "you may want to step outside for some songs. you may have been brought up in some." mariko winces slightly. there was no use in trying to sweep those songs under the rug. people still liked them and she would still sing them. "i sure hope nina is ok. if not...i seem to have a lot of death in my path." she shrugs before winking at vara. "you never know. you may need to check me for a wire." she says with a hint of her old flirtations with vara. mariko nods excitedly when vara brings up a return to doing what made her famous. "oh yes! please do. even during my not so pleasant days i still played your stuff. like how soon? because i was about to suggest we take the duke for a worldwide booze cruise."


ooc: there was a time i was going to have vara and mariko form a duo. i never came up with a name and i couldnt do a convincing vara.

ooc:oh god,i left him in the apartment when erich sold it! lets hope the realtor fed the poor dear.

mariko smiles into her glass as vara wasnt offended at all about the idea of songs about her. it was typical of vara. it was better to be remembered for something,even if it was bad,than to be forgotten forever. still,it will be strange to sing them actually to vara. but at the time written,they were things she couldnt say to vara in person. "you better. one of them won an award and the other i had to fight disney's legal team over." mariko teases,holding up a tiny plastic sword. "we could make it really awkward for the crowd and have you sing them with me." she proposes,half seriously. in the years of vara's absence,mariko had dropped her stage schtick and performed more or less like everyone else. she had found her identity and didnt need to hide behind the bloody schoolgirl thing. but occasionally she would close a show with it. people dig fan service. "awww. certified? i was hoping for a bumbling trainee type of search. but maybe i do need an expert called in." she playfully sighs with a nod. she glances at the cigarettes and slowly smiles wider. it was rare anyone she was around smoked tobacco. vara made it seem elegant. mariko raises her eyebrows at the confirmation that vara wants to go with her. "oh there will be work aboard the ship,vara. im captain,so i need someone to give orders to. i guess its just going to have to fall on your shoulders. i've become a real slave driver to. big changes since we last spoke. "she says happily. it felt good to have company like vara once more.

ooc: im terrible at writing songs,so id be up for it. it would have sounded very 90's nin/manson/jack off jill (the later became mariko's sound in my head)

Mariko nods with a little flourish at vara's response for her winning an award. However possibly awkward the circumstance,she was glad vara knew. Mariko was proud of her accomplishments and vara had known her when she a literal nobody. "Oh it will be sooooo worth it." Mariko says,clasping her hands together in glee. The sheer gasp of shock when vara walks out will be AMAZING. Mariko looks shocked when vara says she wants to be bossed around. Mariko lightly touches vara's forehead with her hand and looks concerned. " vara taking orders?! Where is my vara and what have you done with her?!" She gasps,nearly spilling her drink with flailing arms. Mariko shakes her head and closes her eyes ," nope." She replies to vara. " free as a bird. Atomic war bride is on the next leg. I took time off to work oj songs..." She says with a smirk before laughing loudly. They both knew that wasn't happening anytime soon. " how about... Jamaica? I've never been." She suggests. It's a long boat ride,so it'd be quite th3 forced reunion. But it was a big boat if thjngs turned sour.


Ooc: oh there is no hurry. Many things may have changed here,but my prodigious lack of output is not one of them.

Ooc: canonical storyline had Ada and Nicole taking their kids and going on a camping trip. They were never heard from again because you found life. From here on out, erich never saw Marlene again and eventually stopped wanting too. Probably for the best because my storyline had him as terribly unfit. Taking care of the baby while on acid,leaving firearms around,etc. He certainly wasn't blameless in the split.

Mariko turns her hand over and starts to run it through vara's hair,but stops short of actually doing so. It just didn't feel right to touch vara with more than just with the back of her hand. So She does that instead, playfully caressing vara's cheek with the back of her hand. " oh vara,you may not want to make that sort of statement. I'm sure the pool filter on here needs cleaned...if the Duke still is home to all the craziness it once was? A brothel floor could be more sanitary." She laughs,thoroughly enjoying talking with vara again. " let's not buy the tacky Rasta hats with the fake dreads while in Jamaica. Or anything with the word jammin on it." Mariko suggests while bringing up her phone to set the course for the Duke. Seconds later the rumble of the engines are felt as the ancient ship departs Italy. When Mariko sets the phone down,she hears vara's question. It was a bolt of reality among the gentle playfulness until now. Mariko thinks for a moment and drains her drink before pouring another one. One thing vara and Mariko's relationship with each other was,it was honest. So there was no avoiding this topic. Mariko eventually slowly nods and looks around the vacant casino before looking at vara. "I'm not going to lie. There was a time i hated you for what you did. I felt used and stupid,but..i made it through. I learned a lot from it. Found out who i really am and stopped defining myself by who I am with. So,in a way,im happy you left. I don't really even care to know the reason . I'll be fine for this trip, i am not attached to what was. I guess,i need to ask you the same. Can you do this?" Mariko taps the phone screen and the ship's engines slow to an idle. Maybe there was somethings to hammer out before gallyvanting across the globe confined on a ship alone.

Mariko furrows her brows slightly before slowly smirking at vara. She then turns her hand over so she is now cupping vara's cheeks. " me either." She says while leaning in very close to vara. " I'd suggest we not use the pool. Maybe wait until we find a hotel in Jamaica to Swim." Mariko says this in her most seductive. She always admired the effortless sexiness of vara. Mariko never had that.so she was content to use her skills in seduction to save them from the infamously dirty Duke of Winchester pool. Mariko nods and smiles warmly when vara agrees to the reality of the Jamaica trip. She starts the ship again and it churns on its way. " thanks. that means a lot." She replies looking down before meeting vara's gaze. The two probably were linked in some cosmic way forever. It certainly wasn't vara's way just to toss out meaningless apologies.