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ʀᴇɴᴏ ([personal profile] electroburst) wrote in [community profile] expiationlogs2023-04-21 12:41 pm

(OPEN MINGLE) Ain't no party like an Aldrip party

Who: The Chosen
Where: Aldrip inn
What: Open mingle log (with mod approval)!
Warnings: Nothing major anticipated, other than light (underaged) drinking and comic mischief, but PM me if any warn-worthy things happen and I can update this space.

Feel free to use this log as a completely open mingle for all characters new and old! There will be a few prompts below the cut, but you're free mess around with them or come up with your own ideas for toplevels, and tag around as you please.



Nestled in the heart of the quaint town of Aldrip, the inn, formally known as The Inn, has housed the Chosen of Expiation since their initial arrival. In spite of the occasional influx of new Chosen, they've dedicatedly provided rooms, food and drink, and basic amenities without buckling—even during the food shortages and other issues that have plagued the town. Of course, the Chosen have been no slouches themselves, repaying the hospitality with mercenary work, hunting and fishing, cooking, completing odd jobs, and much more to help bolster the economy. Even those, er, less magnanimous sorts have benefitted from this give-and-take, although there are those that prefer their living space to be a bit more solitary (or perhaps cave-ier) that might not have noticed as much.


In the days to follow, most won't be able to recount exactly how The Party started. The true story is that one particular new arrival, after having spent a day or two scouting the area out and, deciding it's chill enough, opted to do what he does best: be a public menace. What is known is that rounds of drinks start getting ordered and handed out, and soon platters of cheese, fresh bread, and other victuals make the rounds as well, appearing on tables that quickly begin filling with people. Somehow, someway, local musicians are pulled in to play and given a striking, energetic setlist to set the tone. The word gets out—party at the inn!

And boom: just like that, it's a party, and everyone's invited.


Early on, the offerings are relatively meager. The inn's food stores aren't completely bottomless after the shortages, to say the least, and there are a sight more Chosen (and local residents who also join in on the fun) than there is free food to toss at them. The drinks range from milk, water and juice to scuzzy, pisswater beer, which is a bit more plentiful. As the tavern portion of the inn fills with people, the music relatively ambient so that you can still hear the people at the table next to you talking, others bring their own food and drink, adding to the options on offer.

Others bring things like cards to play with, or dice and coins to gamble with, and set up spaces at tables toward the back. There's even an amateur fortune teller, heavy emphasis on amateur. Maybe you've got some party games of your own in mind, or you're a natural-born performer and want to hit the stage. Maybe you'd rather just grab a pint and lurk in the corner doing some people-watching. Or maybe you're just hungry and want to stuff a bunch of cheese in your pockets for later. Either way, there's something here for everyone.


As evening wears on, the peaceful inn party blossoms into a proper block bash. Even if you're not the partygoing sort, it'd be a little difficult to ignore the sheer ruckus going on downstairs while you attempt to read quietly in your room. The music, chatter and laughter carries on down the street, attracting even more people. By this point, it seems as if the food and drinks have multiplied, thanks mostly in part to others showing up with their own offerings, Chosen and local alike. It's getting rowdy in a few places—the music's louder and livelier, people are dancing and singing, and the gambling/party games' stakes seem to just keep climbing higher and higher. It's a good time all around. If you're not the quiet, loner type, anyway.

Thinking of sitting this one out? Think again: somebody starts going around to all the rooms and knocking on the doors, calling out to come join the fun. By the time you get to the door, though, whoever's up here disturbing the peace is gone, but maybe you can track them down by their voice at some point and wring their neck later.

In addition to the escalating merriment, all this imbibing also has the added benefit of loosening a few lips. Now's your chance to pick up the latest Aldrip gossip! You might even hear tell of a few pesky monsters that need slaying, so if you want to jump on that bounty before anyone else gets to it, you better act quickly. (But maybe don't run out into the woods in the middle of the night to fight monsters while inebriated... or do, nobody's stopping you.)


Late into the night, the festivities are still going, and they're... messy. Fortunately the drinks and provisions seem to have run to the bottom of the barrel, so those that've been partying hard for hours are getting cut off whether they like it or not. The band's getting tired, the tempo of the music fluctuating. Some people might like to go to bed sometime soon, so maybe now it's time for the voices of reason to tell those still dancing on top of the tables to get down. And why is there a chicken in here? ...And oh no, somebody tell those guys to take that swordfight outside!! Yeeaaahh, maybe it's about time to shut this production down.

Or maybe not. Let the good times roll until the sun comes up! That's up to you.
aintyourdad: (028)

[personal profile] aintyourdad 2023-05-23 10:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Sure. [ He's not sure about her competence, but whatever. ] Good luck.
menancia: (70)

[personal profile] menancia 2023-05-23 11:30 pm (UTC)(link)
I want that, as well.

[His tone is somber, his expression grave. He does want that, for all of Dahna, and perhaps especially for her. He knows, of course, that such declarations from him are to be met with skepticism at best; she has no reason to believe that his intentions are genuine, that it is about more than saving face for his past mistakes. Time has changed him, including those years in Elde Menancia, but he does not expect anyone to simply accept that because he says so, especially not Kisara. Not after what he had done— or more precisely, what he did not do.

He does, at last, drink deep from his mug, gaze thoughtful beneath the knit of his brow.]


I didn't know anything different, either. I wish that had not been the case. I would like to think that I know better now— that I can be better, but I am only one person. I would like to see all Renans learn from the misdeeds of our past. Dahna is not theirs to rule— and while the reign of the current generation of Lords has been brought to an end, there is more to be done to ensure no more follow.

[He turns his gaze back to her, solemn.]

That is what I mean to do— not on my own, but to aid our friends by doing whatever must be done to ensure that Dahna does change. I owe your brother that much and more. His dream can come true.
theleadingman: [ commission, please dnt ] (76)

[personal profile] theleadingman 2023-05-23 11:46 pm (UTC)(link)
[Her response to what had been his best attempt at managing a self-deprecating sort of remark does earn a crooked smile from him in turn, just enough to ease a bit of the tension that's been mounting within him for days now, if only for a moment.

He does give a bit of a twitch at her form of address, however.]


You'll forgive me for not being certain. Pirates don't often make a habit of keeping many friends around.

[That, he knows, has little to do with his profession and everything to do with him, but there's no need to unpack all of that just now.]

I'm quite selective, you know.

[She may well have hit the nail square on the head with that last bit, though he can't say he's comfortable admitting as much.]

Now, must you with that awful nickname? I was hoping you'd tire of it.
sisterlyshield: (pic#15720731)

[personal profile] sisterlyshield 2023-05-24 12:08 am (UTC)(link)
[Does he? Didn't he say that when Migal was still alive? And if he didn't say it, then didn't he make them both believe it? Old habits are so very hard to break. Wanting to not be caught up in the concept of blind devotion, following a lord she was so adamant on protecting. There's just no way to return to those days. No way for Kisara to return to the woman she was in those times.

She almost swears her left hand aches.

As she listens, she rests her mug at her mouth, nursing from it with consideration, trying to imagine what a better Dahna might be like. Freedom is a very easy word to use, but it's a harder ideology to recognise, much less to put an image to. For the other Dahnans, many like her, they also don't know what it means to be free. How to live a life of freedom. It will not be an easy path.

It was never meant to be to begin with.]


I want to believe that it can. [Kisara admits with a small nod.] I don't know that I believe you. That I can believe you. Perhaps that's unfair of me. Ever since we've arrived, I've not been the kindest and I know that. I'm often cold and distant. As noncommittal as I can be. Maybe... you deserve something better. You probably do. I'm sure the others would tell me that you're trying your best. I don't know that I can do that. I don't know that I can ever forgive you. I don't know that I want to.

[Because maybe it's a lot easier just to be angry with him than to begin seeing him as a flawed, imperfect being. It's so much harder to forgive another.]
feintofhart: ([ war phase ] just chillin)

[personal profile] feintofhart 2023-05-24 12:38 am (UTC)(link)
Hey, don't go getting too cocky now! I'll have you know I'm an expert sharpshooter. And people can't dodge when they don't know where the arrow's coming from in the first place. Don't go thinking that we're just going to be standing at opposite sides of a big field, if you're going to make claims like that.

[ Although... ]

What's a gunshot?
feintofhart: ([ war phase ] now be sensible)

don't even know what game they're playing tbh!!

[personal profile] feintofhart 2023-05-24 12:42 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, I'm just magnificently preserved, [ Claude says, making a show of preening, slicking back his hair and dusting invisible particles off of his shoulders. She might be catching onto that he's not just your typical villager -- but he's not hiding that part anyway, he reminds himself. Besides, most people his age have been fully thrust into their everyday jobs by now. ]

Anyway, you and me both. I don't actually know what to do here. [ Claude taps his foot a little impatiently. ] Are we just meant to... what, go out and get a job at some fruit stall? They can't just keep us housed and fed for free under this roof for months at a time.
inemeraldfaith: (pic#14586020)

[personal profile] inemeraldfaith 2023-05-24 12:50 am (UTC)(link)
Yeeeeeah, I got that impression pretty early on.

[As it's highly unlikely that Balthier constantly looks so ridiculously put out. Of course, considering the situation hasn't exactly been favourable, it's a little hard to hold that against him. Not everyone, after all, can be the font of optimism that she is. She suspects were he even to attempt emulating her in such a manner, it would be quite the piss poor impression.

His complaint, which is how she chooses to interpret it, leaves her smiling. Knowingly, at that. As if she very deliberately finds some joy in getting beneath his skin. (Because she does.) Aerith looks proud that she can coerce such a reaction out of him.]


I definitely must. [She grins from ear-to-ear.] It's a shame you're not warming up to it more. Guess I just need to do it on a routine basis. Gotta get you used to it.
oracledriven: (neutral; hands on hips)

[personal profile] oracledriven 2023-05-24 11:35 pm (UTC)(link)
Maybe I've finally found my true calling.

[Is that a hint of irony in his voice? He glances from her to the myriad other patrons drinking their drinks, quiet for a second.]

Guess I never really got the point of it. Why would you want to be less aware of what's going on around you?
baldrshand: Pleased, self-satisfied glance (The cat who got the cream.)

[personal profile] baldrshand 2023-05-25 07:15 pm (UTC)(link)
The locals are very taken with us, but... no, not enough to lodge us for free. [She lays down another card.] I happen to have a ready-made occupation as a healer, so it wasn't difficult for me to find a way to keep myself busy.

[It's one of the things she knows that newcomers find most frustrating about this experience--the limbo-like feel of it. Ethlyn finds that she keeps having to actively remind herself how different her situation is from most people's, that they all were taken from something they could return to, a life still ongoing.]

There are dangerous animals around town, and enough of us have combat skill that we're hired as hunters. Perhaps you'd enjoy doing that--or organizing it. You seem like you're good at organizing things.
redlines: (pic#14021770)

gmail needs to stop eating my dang notifs

[personal profile] redlines 2023-05-26 12:12 am (UTC)(link)
It seems rather pointless to ask about motor vehicles and the like when nearly everyone I've asked about them looks at me like I just spoke another language. As for your latter comment, ah...

[ The look of disbelief fades into something a mite more serious, one brow arching. ]

I'd consider it a miracle if I felt as much as a buzz from the "beer" they've got here, but moreover I'd say it's rather rude to assume that I'm drunk simply for asking a question. Or anyone else for that matter.

[ h e l l a rude t b h. He's done nothing wrong! ]
theleadingman: (56)

[personal profile] theleadingman 2023-05-26 12:21 am (UTC)(link)
[He raises a brow, curious without being necessarily startled, and gives a minute nod before taking a swig of the stuff masquerading as beer.]

That would certainly do it, I imagine.

[There's no judgement in his voice, at the very least— whatever her reasons were, they're her own. It's not as though plenty of people haven't died by his hand.

He goes on to give an easy smile, as if quite pleased with himself.]


I'm a sky pirate. In my line of work, there's a certain degree of pride in having a bounty on one's head.
menancia: (95)

[personal profile] menancia 2023-05-26 02:46 pm (UTC)(link)
[Several moments of silence follow her admission, weighted. It is, in part, what part of him wants to hear— that perhaps things could be different, that she recognizes it may not have to be this way, but in truth, he does not believe he deserves anything more than he has already received. Likely, he deserves far worse, and he gives a small shake of his head, his eyelids lowering as he averts his gaze.]

I cannot ever ask your forgiveness, nor do I expect it. It is more than I could ever deserve.

[There's a faint strain to his voice; he believes that with every fiber of his being, even coming from a not-so-distant future where they have begun to build a new friendship between the two of them.

He had not deserved it then, either.]


If a time ever comes that you find you can believe, I hope it will be because I have proven myself through deed— but I know that it is too much to ask of you now, perhaps ever, and I do not have the right.

[He exhales steadily, glancing towards her once more. The alcohol, perhaps, is keeping him from filtering himself as well as he ought, but has never been terribly shy about airing his feelings, whether others care to hear them or not.]

However you see me, I can bear it. I would bear anything for you.
sisterlyshield: (pic#15720730)

[personal profile] sisterlyshield 2023-05-26 03:02 pm (UTC)(link)
[The weight in her arms feels heavy as she leans on them. His response is accepting, which... doesn't really surprise her. Ever since he's come to understand when she comes from, what she's experienced, how fresh things remain for her, he's been nothing more than accepting. He's never pressed her for more than she's comfortable giving. She may still play the role of what she's accustomed to here and there, but when dire situations aren't involved, Kisara would be the first to admit that she doesn't go out of her way to spend much time with him.

She could say it's for them both, but the truth is more likely that it's for her benefit.

"I would bear anything for you."

What a puzzling thing to say. Guilt makes people do many things, maybe.]


...You don't need to say it like that. [She replies with some consideration, turning his words over and the way he's said them in her head.] At a point, you can't go living your life through my eyes. Or through Migal's. Regardless of how either of us felt, or feel, time doesn't just stop moving. A day might come in which I can't get over it. You probably shouldn't spend your life condemning yourself because of that.

[Forgive himself? Probably. Maybe. There's a difference between forgiving and forgetting. Just because she's not ready to forgive him now doesn't mean she'll always feel that way. She can recognise that, even if she can't give him a timeline for it.

Colouring just a touch, wondering if it could be that it's more personal for him when it comes to her, she takes a moment to hide behind her mug.]


But I'm not a lord. I don't know how one thinks. I'm sure there's plenty I don't understand about what happened then. Or what didn't happen.
feintofhart: ([ war phase ] over the shoulder)

[personal profile] feintofhart 2023-05-26 09:12 pm (UTC)(link)
I wouldn't be a bad hunter, [ Claude admits, nodding slowly. It's not a job he'd particularly relish, however. It doesn't fulfil his burning desire to do something -- but he wouldn't want to waste that effort here anyway, not where things seem like they're already being run smoothly, not where it won't make any impact on the places he actually cares about. He eyes Ethlyn curiously. She's definitely onto him.

Not that she shouldn't be. It's not as though it's a secret, though a part of him instinctively wants to hide it. Old habits, he supposes. ]


Good at organizing things, huh? What gave you that impression?
baldrshand: A mischevious glance to the side (With your wicked art.)

[personal profile] baldrshand 2023-05-28 02:27 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, the questions you ask, the things you're concerned with. The things that will affect the lives of everyone, not just you and your immediate kin. [She props her chin on one hand, smiling.] They're the same sort of things that I've been brought up to worry about.

And, as it happens, I've done a bit of organizing here myself--a brigade of healing knights. Would that be something you'd be interested in?

[come join the arztenritter claude]
emet_sulk: (37 fond of them are you?)

I re-emerge from XIV patch hell

[personal profile] emet_sulk 2023-05-28 04:06 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh? Well, mayhap when you are a little less busy we can compare the meanings of flowers from our respective worlds. I should like a florist's opinion on some of our native blooms.

[ A snap of his fingers immediately produces a flower which resembles a species of rose. An Azeyma rose. It looks and feels real enough as he holds it out to her - for the time being, at least. ]
inemeraldfaith: (pic#14585988)

[personal profile] inemeraldfaith 2023-05-28 07:05 pm (UTC)(link)
You're not supposed to tell your teacher that you're a handful. Of course, the way you say it, you just sound proud of it.

[It comes as no surprise. Reno has, to her knowledge and experience, often come off not necessarily as uncaring, but rather unapologetic. He does what he has to and if he has to do it, regardless of whatever personal feelings he might host on the matter, he understands that sometimes business is just business. Maybe that's why she doesn't immediately consider him particularly threatening or horrendous. Like so many other people in Midgar, Reno must do what he can to make ends meet.

And to be fair, it's not as if the Turks that have come into contact with her have been awful. They are nothing in comparison to men like Hojo. If they knew what he was doing, what he wanted to do with her, would their feelings be any different? Perhaps not. It is likely that a Turk isn't to let their personal feelings interfere with the mission, as it were.

But enough about that.]


If you're just going to misbehave right out of the gate, I'm gonna put you on a leash. But then you might enjoy that! I feel like I can't win here. Shock collars aside, though, I think making something with flowers is a good idea... If I made you something, would you wear it? As like, I don't know. Advertisement? It'd keep me out of trouble.

[Probably. Maybe.]
inemeraldfaith: (pic#14585988)

Welcome!!

[personal profile] inemeraldfaith 2023-05-28 07:50 pm (UTC)(link)
I'd like that a lot! I definitely don't know everything about flowers, so I feel like I can always be learning something more.

[His display is a charming one. He presents her with... what looks like a rose. Close enough that she can tell at least it's related to the roses that she'd be accustomed to. With a great deal of reverence and care, she reaches over to take it. A gentle caress of fingertip over a petal with thought.

What do the flowers say in the world that he comes from? How do the people take to them?]


This is beautiful. Can you do this with all flowers? Or is this a special one?
menancia: (76)

[personal profile] menancia 2023-05-28 08:53 pm (UTC)(link)
No, I—

[His gaze drops as he collects himself; there is, for just a moment, an uncharacteristic vehemence in his voice as he tries to articulate himself and, briefly, fails. He has never been a man who has struggled with words, and while he has not had so much to drink that he can truly blame it for this moment of boldness, he reaches out to lay a hand against her wrist, as though it will better command her attention, better convey his meaning.]

It is not about having been a lord, or what took place then— not only.

[Because of course, he cannot leave that behind, he cannot and will not forget what had come to pass, because it would be a disservice to the very people he had sworn to protect both then and now if he did so— but it is not guilt or a desire for forgiveness or atonement that drive him now, not entirely.]

I would bear anything for you because— you remind me of what is worth changing things for. You always have. You have always shown those around you the best of what the human spirit has to offer, what kindness can achieve.
sisterlyshield: (pic#15720715)

[personal profile] sisterlyshield 2023-05-28 09:16 pm (UTC)(link)
[He makes contact with her wrist and gradually, ever so slowly, does Kisara eventually move her attention from the innards of her mug of ale (which is... not so much a delight as it is a worthy hiding space for conversations like this) onto him. It is different, she decides easily enough. Not the same as when she fit him into his clothes. When she fixed his hair on occasion. When she made certain that things with him were right and proper, as befitting a Renan lord.

This is a different kind of touch that comes with a different kind of circumstance.

Why just her? Why not all Dahnans? It would be more right to fight on behalf of all of the impoverished people who have suffered beneath the hands of their Renan overlords. Not just her. Not just a single person. Otherwise, he makes it seem as if it weren't for her that he might not have changed his outlook at all. How is any of that fair?

She suspects her expression looks both conflicted and incredibly befuddled as she tries to muddle through what he might be saying.]


I... don't know what you want me to say to that. [She admits a touch quieter, the colour dusting her cheeks darkening in the moments that Kisara finds courage enough to speak again.] I could say that I've always done what I thought was right, which isn't untrue. Would I have done the same thing if I didn't have that dream in mind? I don't know that for certain.

Either way— [She shakes her head at him with a small, subdued smile.] —it's a little strange if you're putting yourself in harm's way for me. You should leave that to the reckless professionals.

[Like herself.]
feintofhart: ([ war phase ] talkin business)

[personal profile] feintofhart 2023-05-29 09:34 am (UTC)(link)
[ ...huh.

She's got him pegged. That's odd. Mainly because that practically never happens -- not with anyone besides Hilda, and he and Hilda are practically glued at the hip these days. This woman's known him for a matter of minutes rather than hours, and already she's catching on. Claude's eyes sharpen with curiosity. Another noble, huh? And not one with her head up her ass, by the sounds of it. ]


Well, I can't heal very much. I nearly flunked all of my classes in holy magic. But I'd be happy to help organize things. Is there really so much danger here that a village like this needs one?
menancia: (85)

[personal profile] menancia 2023-05-29 04:31 pm (UTC)(link)
I put myself in harm's way because it is my duty to do so— even as a Lord surrounded by guards, I have never been delicate or defenseless. To not use my abilities for the betterment of others would be a waste.

[That is his duty to all of Elde Menancia, to all Dahnans, but he does manage a small, cautious smile in response to her own, to her referring to herself as a 'reckless professional.']

Perhaps I may surprise you with how reckless I can be. But— it is not my intention to try and change your mind about who I am or may become, or persuade you to feel anything other than what you already do. I only...

[His smile fades as he averts his gaze once more, suddenly interested in his own mug, and his hold on her wrist loosens, releasing her.]

I wish you to know that we walk the same path. I do not ever expect your forgiveness, and understand you may never be able to offer it, but I will be behind you, always. I have tried, these past months, to give you your space.

[With middling success, admittedly, especially when one considers the gift he had given her some weeks past, or even his invitation to join her here tonight.]

It is difficult for me to stay away.
sisterlyshield: (pic#15720733)

[personal profile] sisterlyshield 2023-05-29 05:45 pm (UTC)(link)
[Instead of offering up hasty reply, Kisara chooses to simply listen. As if he is pleading his case and she is merely judge and executioner. Yet that is only a metaphor. Dohalim is not the sort to make such pleas and she would never want to be in a position where she made such decisions on the behalf of others.

His wording is chosen with care. She's come to expect this of him. Dohalim knows how to hold conversation. It is something he's excelled in since his arrival. Kisara, on occasion, can provide words of wisdom, but it is not often. That is, it's not as often as she would like for it to be.

She wants to believe him. She knows it just by listening. Kisara wishes for that intensely. In the same way she wishes Migal was here. In the same way she wishes she could travel back in time and do things in a different way. But if she did, then there wouldn't be the growth that they're experiencing now. It is not that adversity is required for the evolution of a person. But it is undeniable that what they have been through is responsible for how they must think of things in different ways.

"I have tried, these past months, to give you your space." ... "It is difficult for me to stay away."

What a way to put it. For just a moment, she wonders if the thump of her heart, consistent though it may be, jumps just a touch. Is that her imagination? What could it mean?]


I... Oh. [She can't claim to be good at conversations like this either.] I know I haven't made things easy for you. You likely experienced this once already. Now, here you are, experiencing it again. I don't want to make any promises to you that I might not be able to keep.

[That seems like a very important thing to say. That she doesn't want to go out of her way to hurt him. To give him hope only to take it away from him inadvertently. She wonders why she feels it necessary to say so now. Another long drink from her mug and she empties it of its contents.]

You deserve better than that. I know that things are complicated. I know that things won't ever be the same again. I know that you and I also won't be the same again. We can't ever return to the way things were. I thought coming here would give me space from that, but all it's done is remind me that I don't actually know who I am when I'm not protecting you. That is no one's fault except mine. Between you and Migal, that was all I had. I need to become better. I need to become more. I need more power.
Edited 2023-05-29 17:49 (UTC)

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