![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
- arknights: midnight,
- chainsaw man: denji,
- cyberpunk red: emerick kline,
- dceu: harley quinn,
- dogs b&c: badou nails,
- fear & hunger: daan,
- ffvii: reno,
- ffxiv: hythlodaeus,
- ffxiv: thancred waters,
- ffxiv: yshtola rhul,
- ffxv: prompto argentum,
- honkai sr: welt yang,
- library of ruina: angela,
- library of ruina: gebura,
- library of ruina: netzach,
- library of ruina: roland,
- library of ruina: yesod,
- limbus company: don quixote,
- limbus company: vergilius,
- mass effect: kaidan alenko,
- mcu: nebula,
- monster: kenzo tenma,
- nevermore: lenore vandernacht,
- penny dreadful: vanessa ives,
- persona 3: shinjiro aragaki,
- svsss: shen yuan,
- the sandman: dream of the endless,
- the sandman: hob gadling,
- the sandman: johanna constantine,
- zero escape: junpei
[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
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.
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:
- 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.
no subject
I choose dare.
[ Time to change things up a bit! ]
no subject
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.
no subject
[ 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! ]
no subject
[ 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. ]
no subject
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. ]
no subject
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.
no subject
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.
no subject
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. ]
no subject
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. ]
no subject
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?
no subject
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.
no subject
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.
no subject
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.
no subject
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?
no subject
In my case, priming into the Phoenix for the first time was a very emotional experience. My desire to protect those around me, as well as myself, was in harmony with what the Phoenix wanted.
[ But he won't talk about how that ended. ]
Whenever Bearers and Dominants use aether, of course they are able to help with the needs of society, and the people around them. It weighs heavily on their own bodies, however, until their own life is taken away. [ And that is why he worries. Joshua takes a rather large sip of his wine, until it's all gone. ] I hope it is not the case for those in Gaia.
no subject
if he's surprised at all to hear in my case, confirming his suspicions, the only giveaway is a slight lift of his brow. otherwise, Reno just looks delighted as he sits back and briefly looks Joshua up and down. ]
The Phoenix in the flesh, huh? —Sorta. [ obviously not literally; Reno can imagine that if Joshua did this priming thing he speaks of, there would be a lot more heat and flame involved. ] Back home we use Phoenix down to bring people back when they're too far gone for a hi-potion or healing materia. Sounds like I have you to thank for keeping my sorry ass alive all these years.
[ Reno's not sure if that's also an aspect of the Phoenix as Joshua knows it, but given all the other similarities it doesn't seem out of the realm of possibility. ]
Mm... I ain't heard of anything like that. [ a crystal's curse, materia curse—it's not the use of the crystallized form that has negative effects on the body, at least not that Reno knows of. ] But now that we don't use mako anymore, hardly anybody's usin' materia either, so I guess we might never find out.
no subject
I can't say I have had people use that in that manner, before. The Phoenix would not let anyone take its feathers.
[ But still, good for the people of Gaia! ]
Then there are no more people who use magic? What is society like?
no subject
[ good for the people of Gaia indeed. not that Reno had considered for a second asking Joshua for a feather, but he has to grin a little as he firmly crosses that possibility out in his mental accounting of this conversation. ]
Society's... hangin' in there, [ comes the slow answer to that question. ] We might not have a—crystal's curse, you said? But we found our own ways to exploit the planet's life force, and we suffered the consequences. Now we're rebuilding. Startin' with not relying on mako—for magic or for energy. It's not easy, but people are tough.
no subject
That fills me with optimism.
[ Hopefully Valisthea would be able to rebuild the continent, and people will be happy. There are so many hardships along the way, but if they all work together, then they should be fine. People getting used to the lack of magic would be very difficult, and such a big adjustment, but they will need to do it in order to survive. ]
I must thank you for sharing these information with me. There are very little books about the lands outside Valisthea, let alone those of other worlds entirely. I daresay, it is a good way to broaden one's horizons.
no subject
Oh, sure. Funny, the similiarities, huh? And if I didn't cuss like I do, we might never have known.
[ Tseng used to get on his case about his potty mouth—"not appropriate for your position, Reno, please"—and look how handy it's come in now. Reno has learned a whole host of interesting information about Joshua's world. ]
no subject
[ But he takes it as a good thing that he did. Good for you and your potty mouth, Reno! ]
I did not mean to take away the fun of the game we were playing, however.
[ Because they certainly did get distracted from it now. ]