citylogs | [MINGLE, ESPECIALLY TO NEWCOMERS] ROOFTOP FESTIVITIES!!!

[MINGLE, ESPECIALLY TO NEWCOMERS] ROOFTOP FESTIVITIES!!!

WHO: All!
WHAT: Rooftop festivities!
WHERE: On a rooftop of an office building in the second open district!
WHEN: 8/14, evening!
WARNINGS: alcohol, tba as it goes

Banner displayed inside the train station, outside city hall, and on the most used residence buildings.

Follow the arrows.
So you're unaware. Maybe new. Or maybe you just didn't care the first time you saw it. That's fine. Between the banners hanging around key areas, and the flyers quickly drawn up in a similar fashion scattered across the city, it's hard not to know something is going on -- and there's helpful arrows, chalked on building walls and the streets the day of the party, to let people know where to go.

The Rooftop

A splendid scene awaits those who travel heavensward. Fairy lights connect the corners of the roof access building to metal poles at the corners of the building itself, lifted by cylindrical supports where needed, each one held straight by pots filled with well-packed dirty and stone. There's multicolored stars hanging from some of the lights, while various painted flowers hang on others, and what greets the ears first is some royalty free party music played from a CD player off the the side.

There's a long folded out table in the center for those who'd like to share cuisine, just set and serve yourself! Nearby is a space for Daan to do some bartending as well, a man who can make a multitude of cocktails and mocktails for those who want something less alcoholic. Also, pints of various ice cream flavors in a cooler!

Don't worry -- they won't have any odd effects on them, Don verified the lack of them herself. Not all of them are normal. Think loaded baked potato weird.

For those who'd like a quieter space, there's beanbags and a swirly, fuzzy carpet to sit on more away from the center of the party area. This'll be a great time to play some games, such as truth or dare, spin the bottle, and... whatever else you play at parties. Get to know your fellow man and such. Play the violin.

Naturally, no party... hosted... by Don Quixote would be without a space to fight, if one wishes to show off a little! It's also taking place on a swirly fuzzy carpet, just so no one smashes their head in, and there's a neat little banner hanging down from a string of lights that says thus:

WIN THREE MATCHES AND A PRIZE AWAITS THEE!!!!!!!
- NO KILLING
- HANDS ONLY

What the prize is, no one knows. But come find Don Quixote with your battle scars and she'll grant it -- and stick around a while, 'cause this party's gonna end with a bang... that is, with homemade fireworks donated by "a friend" through Junpei.

Anyway, have fun!!! Share words about your worlds!!! The society your characters are from, the cuisine they've brought, how they're working out in the city -- help the new kids along, too. There's more vets here now than there were a few months ago, after all.

Navi: Truth or Dare - Two Truths and a Lie - Hydra Storytelling w/Junpei - Drink Up With Daan - Qixi Festivites

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Exactly. It's supposed to be low-stakes, fun.

[ which is why Reno is, thus far, choosing not to dig too hard into things that could be real secrets. he's not a dick unless there's a reason to be, and he's still in friend-making mode at this point, trying to build connections so he's not completely an island in this weird-ass empty city.

also, Joshua will learn quickly that things with Reno are often fast-paced—he's not really the type for lengthy deliberation... ]

Truth... [ a pause as he considers some options. ] What's the most childish habit you still have as an adult?

[ What an odd question to ask. He was thinking of something along the lines of "talk about your first crush", or "what was your dream job". Questions that would get to know the other person better! Then again, he supposes that the question does give more insight to him... Still, it sounds unusual. ]

If I were aware it was a childish habit, I would do what I could to rid myself of said habit.

[ And in which case, he wouldn't have any! Or maybe he just doesn't want to consider being picky with food, or just about anything, a childish habit. :) ]

I don't have any.

[ He delivers that last line so simply, as if it's a fact. Now, he waits if Reno would accept that answer. ]

[ au contraire, my fancy friend, you can learn a lot about people by how they answer truth or dare questions! for example, Reno is currently learning that Joshua either had the kind of upbringing that didn't allow for very much childishness, or suffered through something that forced him to squash all childish behaviors—

or he's straight up lying, because who doesn't have at least one habit that's a little silly? ]

Well, that sounds like chocobo shit to me. [ he's grinning, though—there's no aggression in the words. ] You mean to tell me you ain't got even one thing you did as a kid that's still a habit for you?

[ an eyebrow goes up, skeptical. ] Even I got one.

[ His brow goes up at the mention of chocobo. He hasn't seen any... birds here, but he's curious if the chocobo he's thinking about versus what Reno's mentioning are the same thing. ]

I suppose I do sleep later than most people. [ JOSHUA GO TO BED ] Is that an acceptable answer?

[ Though, yes. It is obvious he does not consider it to be a bad thing. Why would it be bad when you can be so productive instead of resting? ]

Sure, I'll take that. Do you stay up to work or just to say fuck you to the world for making you go to bed? [ revenge bedtime procrastination is kind of childish, although Reno himself is also often guilty of it. ...maybe he has two after all.

Reno kind of gets the impression that if Joshua considered it a bad habit he would have already stamped it out, so it's clear he's not especially bothered by being a late sleeper. ]

Your turn.

It was the latter when I was younger, but now, it is the former.

[ Sorry, he won't repeat Reno's words. That is to say, he won't curse.

Now then, ]

Will you be answering a question, then? Or will you do a dare?

[ how many words can you use to say "truth or dare," Joshua...

Reno grins. ] I'll pick truth too.

[ he's all out of iambic pentameter just in case Joshua also wants him to recite a poem he made up on the spot smh ]

Very well. What is. . .

[ The question was... rather innocent, wasn't it? Joshua's got his legs crossed as he swirls the wine in his glass before taking a sip. Truth is, he's buying time as he thinks of a query. ]

A lie you've told someone, that you feel proud of to this day?

[ Somehow a bit more intense than Reno's, but he can't really think of a more innocent question at this time. Besides, getting someone to drink vinegar feels like a funny story to tell his brother. (What a little shit.) ]

[ oof, that's loaded. Reno's expression turns thoughtful as he considers it—he's told a lot of lies, for a lot of reasons. many of them he wasn't proud of at the time, even if they were necessary, and many more he was proud of at the time but has stopped being proud of in the intervening years. ]

Tough one.

[ the closest Reno can get are the small mercies, if they can even be called that. lies like "it's going to be okay" or "you won't even feel it." like "don't worry, I'm not here for you." these were all lies to their core, but ones that maybe grant someone an instant of peace before—

but he ain't about to tell Joshua all of that. ]

Think I'm gonna have to take the vinegar on this one.

[ Reno knocks back the rest of his drink. it might not be vinegar, but it sure does burn going down. ]

[ Well, that was quick. He didn't expect the guy to fold that easily! ]

Does this equate to my victory, then?

[ From the sounds of it, though, that might just have been one round. The others are still playing, after all. ]

I could go for another round. If you're amenable to it, of course.

Sure does. For this round, anyway.

[ that's the great thing about truth or dare! it can go endlessly! or at least until someone runs out of questions or dare ideas.

Reno will probably table his vinegar punishment until the end of their final round, whenever that is, to spare himself the effort of getting up to go pour a shot. ]

You wanna start, since you won?

[ Joshua feels a little bad that Reno has to be punished at some point, but at least it's just a game. He's warming up, as well, and there is a small smile on his face when he decides: ]

I choose dare.

[ Time to change things up a bit! ]

[ oh, delightful! Reno's making a small collection of the results of this specific dare. ]

Hold that thought.

[ with a grin, Reno leaves his drink on the nearest flat surface (as a sign he'll be back for it) and then darts off to snag a marker and a piece of paper from Don Quixote's stash. he's back after only a couple of seconds, and hands the pen and paper over to Joshua. ]

I dare you to draw a dog with your eyes closed and then let me present it to people later.

By "present", what is it you would be saying?

[ Surely, there would have to be a story behind it. Joshua can't imagine something like "Come take a look at this!" and end it there.

Still, he complies easily enough. His art skills will be judged, but that's okay! Before anything else, though, he has to stop and look at the marker now that it's been uncapped. ]

Interesting. All the ink is inside.

[ No need to dip it in anything! He's more used to quills, but these sorts of innovations would have had to happen at some point. Some brilliant merchant out there must have thought of this once or twice by now.

Joshua moves so he can have the paper on a flat surface, and then closes his eyes. His strokes are slow and careful, and were he actually looking at his work, he might have been able to make something cute.

Alas... ]

There.

[ It's Torgal! ]

Kinda depends how good the art is, don't it?

[ no... no, it's largely "come take a look at this!" just with some extra flourishes. he learned from his mistake letting Angela present her own art, because she'd really just said I drew a dog. and left it at that, and Reno likes something with a little more style.

he watches with a growing grin as Joshua first admires the marker, then sets to work at drawing what quickly shapes up to be an amazing dog. (amazing in the "Reno is amazed by it" way, not the "art is actually good" way. no offense, Joshua.) ]

Ramuh. That's incredible, you put its eyes on the side of its snout. [ Reno picks up the paper, clearly delighted. ]

[ See, Joshua let that chocobo comment slide from earlier, but now... with eyes opened, ]

Ramuh. [ He ends it rather punctuated, as if he's calling for Reno to look into his eyes after saying that. ] You know of Ramuh.

[ Those eyes of his briefly flicker to his drawing, lets out a huff, before he shakes his head. He's getting sidetracked, now. ]

How do you know of Ramuh?

[ There is a mix of disbelief and amusement with the way he says it. Imagine, if you would, a person at a bar drinking alone, and Reno just slides up next to them to talk about Ramuh as a pick-up line. That sort of thing. ]

Hm? [ for a second Reno's distracted enough by the drawing that the question doesn't parse, but once it does, he glances up to meet Joshua's questioning gaze. there's disbelief in his tone—Reno hadn't thought twice about the curse, but he also hadn't expected Joshua to recognize it. ]

Ramuh? Ramuh's— [ how does he explain what Ramuh is back home? not exactly a god, but not exactly not a god, either. like Holy, one of those things beyond human power but also sometimes able to be bound to human will? ] Not... a god, exactly... Kinda a god though. A deity, a... being?

[ literally never in his life has he had to think about how to explain this! ]

We have a whole pantheon of 'em. Ramuh, Shiva, Bahamut... [ "Bahamut" pulls a shiver from Reno, a frission of memory. ] If you have the right materia you can summon 'em to fight with you. Most people don't have the right materia.

[ Game's over for now. This has piqued Joshua's interest greatly. ]

You must tell me more.

[ Though he spies both their glasses to be almost empty. He gets to his feet, dusting off the ends of his tunic in case he sat on anything remotely dirty. ]

Shall I fetch you some more to drink? Perhaps even some chips.

[ now that's fascinating. to someone who knows nothing about Gaia's pantheon of gods and monsters, surely this lore wouldn't be that interesting—and the reaction leaves Reno curious as to what it is Joshua knows.

maybe this is another gil situation, where the currency is the same and nothing else is? ]

Another drink's fine. [ skip the chips, though. Reno's not actually sure what chips are in this context. he hands his glass over with a lazy grin, watching Joshua go as he tries to organize his thoughts re: deities, dredging up all the facts he can recall from materia training early on in his career. Turks don't often wind up in possession of summon materia, after all. ]

[ Another drink, then, for this lovely man who. . . well, Joshua's not quite sure what to make of him. He's ultimately just very curious, and the idea of learning more than what he already knows is rather exciting.

He leaves the spot for a moment to fill up his and Reno's glass with some more wine. The chips are actually plain ol' salted thick-cut fries, and yes, he does balance all of those in both his hands. ]

Here you are.

[ If Reno doesn't want the chips, then more for him. He's sure he'll find himself dizzy if he eats too much of it, but no one's watching him! No one can really tell him what to do. ]

You mentioned "materia"? What is that, exactly? Do you mean to insinuate that anybody would be able to summon these... beings?

[ He'll use Reno's words for now. ]

[ somewhere out there, Jote's ears are burning...

Reno takes the wine with a murmured thanks, then takes a sip as he turns to look out at the crowd. he turns the question over in his mind, tilts his head slightly. ] Well... yes and no.

[ here, Reno is operating on the assumption that Joshua knows nothing of materia at all. ]

Materia's a type of crystallized mako—man, I gotta take this back even further, huh? [ a laugh. how to condense decades of scientific research into an elevator pitch on materia? ] Gaia, the planet, her life force is called the Lifestream. The distilled essence of the Lifestream is mako. Materia is crystallized mako—happens naturally or can be made in a lab.

In theory anybody can use materia—ya just hold it, or equip it to your weapon, and most materia'll give you the power of the elements. But they take centuries to occur naturally and they're pretty expensive to make, so... elemental types, they're on the open market, sure—but 95% of folks easy'll never touch a materia as long as they live. With me so far?

[ Joshua's definitely following. There's a hand on his chin as he sits next to Reno with his legs crossed, and he imagines in his head this information alongside the information he knows of Valisthea and the Eikons.

It all makes sense! Anyone with a brain and a will would be able to use its essence and translate it into magic. And if it is expensive to make and only few people use it, then perhaps this "Lifestream" isn't abused. (Ha ha ha.) ]

Are there individuals who are capable of magic without the use of Materia? Suppose... they are able to use the essence of the Lifestream directly.

[ ha ha ha.......

the question prompts a brief but complicated expression from Reno before he shakes his head slightly. ] No one. —Almost no one. [ a little bit of dissonance between life here in the city and life back home. ] There used to be a people who could, a long time ago. But they were killed off, a couple millennia ago.

[ he thinks of Aerith—of Ifalna, kept prisoner in cells within the ShinRa compound. the very last of the proud race of Cetra, stewards of the planet, of the Lifestream, kept as test subjects for Hojo's whims. even for Reno, who is not a spiritual man, something about it unsettles him—although hindsight is 20/20, as they say.

moving on: ] Along with the elemental materia are some much rarer ones, the summon materia. They're the ones that can be used to bring the deities to fight with you. Only one of each as far as I know—I ain't ever used one, I just know about 'em.

[ Reno ticks off on his fingers some names: ] Ifrit, Shiva, Ramuh, Bahamut, Typhon, Odin, Titan... Phoenix, Leviathan... there's probably more, those're just what I remember from training.

Edited (MY B tagged from my phone and hit post comment too soon) 2023-08-25 07:35 (UTC)

[ The wine is there, and Joshua could easily take more sips, but he's so intent on listening. Everything Reno says, he hangs onto, considering them all facts about his world, accuracy be damned. ]

Where I am from, the origin of all magic is called the Aether, and it is the land's life force. When there is a concentrated amount of Aether, it turns into crystals, and can be used to use magic.

[ How interesting, that Reno comes from a world that is different, but almost the same. Though he hopes Reno's world is not on the verge of collapse due to Mako. One world is enough. ]

Those who are able to use magic without the aid of crystals are called Bearers, but the magic that they are able to use are limited. They are not as powerful as one may think, however, for continued casting of magicks renders them susceptible to the crystal's curse until they crumble away.

[ He could go on and on about Bearers, but he figures a "party" is not the right place for it, nor is it also the time to do so when's only just met the man. ]

Then, there are Dominants. They are hosts to Eikons, and are able to use their magic and can summon them and become one. Those you mentioned— Phoenix, Shiva, Ramuh, Garuda, Titan, Bahumut, Odin, and Leviathan the Lost. One for each element, supposedly.

[ Finally. Finally, Joshua takes a sip of his wine. ]

There is much about what is outside Valisthea that remains unknown. All I am knowledgeable about is information from where I am from. And this- Gaia— your world, interests me greatly. And dare I say, worries me, as well.

Edited 2023-08-25 08:20 (UTC)

[ Reno traces those connections in his mind, those similarities. Aether :: Lifestream; crystals :: materia... Reno doesn't know of any similar curses born from the overuse of materia, but honestly, the possibility isn't beyond imagining. considering how little they actually knew about the Planet—considering how arrogant they had been—

but Eikons as a concept, human vessels (or so it sounds) for the powers of this pantheon of gods or monsters, now that's interesting. a little scary, too, or maybe that's just the residual trauma of having seen Bahamut SIN summoned to lay waste to the city they were working so hard to build. ]

Do they remember who they are? The Dominants. [ mirroring Joshua, Reno takes a sip of his own wine too. ] I ain't seen all of them up close but I've had my ass kicked by a couple. Seems like it'd be... intense [ TERRIFYING ] to get taken over by something that powerful.

[ or maybe it's less a takeover than it is a sharing of faculties. what does Reno know! ]

Why worry?

[MINGLE, ESPECIALLY TO NEWCOMERS] ROOFTOP FESTIVITIES!!!

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