* ‧̍̊˙· 𓆝.° ｡˚𓆛˚｡ °.𓆞 ·˙‧̍̊

[beathollow]

in the wake of turmoil

What's Up?

Mafuyu and Aerith have hatched a plan to give Braphine's Chosen some time to relax and have fun together! And just in the nick of time...

Date and Location

Afternoon of Monday, October tth into October 8th
The Aquarium within the Office District

The sway of water

It's a normal morning for anyone who's managing to sleep a standard schedule- up until a mass text goes out, that is. Everyone will find the same thing from either Mafuyu or Aerith's username:

ONE NIGHT STAY-OVER AT THE LOCAL AQUARIUM, SCHEDULED MONDAY, OCTOBER SEVENTH!! All of Braphine's Chosen are invited to an exclusive event hosted at the aquarium where guests can spend the day taking tours and then sleep over in qualified areas. Dining will be provided, all we have to bring is ourselves, changes of clothes and pillows and blankets. (And yes, the floors will be extra clean.)

... Simple enough. And should you choose to attend, both your hostesses will be pleased to see you once it's time to head over.

As they said, the aquarium is largely empty save for the group, and it's definitely worth it. A serene song plays overhead while attendants give tours or explanations as needed. The variety of aquatic life is surprisingly vast as well, and spacious halls give way to plenty of opportunity to explore.

Come nightfall, certain rooms dim the lights but the tanks stay lit- or black lit as darker enclosures like the jellyfish hall and the octopus tanks remain- and only a few staff remain to keep an eye on things- so... stay on your best behavior. The two restaurants stay open- a regular fast food joint with kitschy island cabana theming, and a much more upscale lounge where Aerith plans on corralling the adults for fun this evening.

Once it's time for the age groups to split, Aerith will lead the adults to a pleasant lounge with more tanks, large couches or more private tables, and a view overlooking one of the main rooms of the aquarium- wave to the kids if they're there! Or don't. Bouquets of flowers are placed around the room, and it looks like Aerith has a few ideas already, though she won't stop anyone from going out to review the different sections again.

Contrasting Mafuyu, who is content to let the fellow teens do whatever- though if they do congregate, she's not really the social sort and will simply be content to enjoy the vibes. Even if you just want to take a nap somewhere, there's plenty of dark secluded areas to do so.

Out of character!

This log is for an ic sleepover hosted at the aquarium! All characters are invited but attendance is not mandatory. That said, there are still staff members ready to boot any troublemakers out. We wanted to keep the types of displays vague to give everyone creative freedom, and characters are welcome to flit about between groups as they desire, be it to check in or to to snoop or whatever. As discussed with the mods, this does count as an open event and can be used for rewards. Thank you all for your interest!

code

Comments

late bc i fell asleep but it's fine

[moonshaded]

[God...what a pain. But this game is a little easier than the others, even if she doesn't, as far as she's concerned, have much interesting to say.]

I've never been stargazing.

[not kaine not even using the correct phrasing what an embarrassment this is.

Never mind that this is something that simply wasn't possible for her before. Everybody else is playing like a dirty little bitch about it.]

[beautifulknight]

...Really? Not even while you've been here?

[ Shocked...but taking a sip. ]

[moonshaded]

Just being outside's not the same as stargazing, right?

[She's never deliberately just sat down and looked.]

My sense of time was all fucked up at first. [There was a multitude of other things to worry about and focus on. Of course, now with sleeping the way it has been, time is all fucked up again, anyway.] But it's not so bad when you get used to it.

[beautifulknight]

Well, you're right! It isn't.

[ Argenti thinks observing the stars must be a deliberate act! ]

...I suppose if you've come from a different world, the changes must have been rather stark.

[ He thinks this is the reason for her sense of time being messed - which, well, he probably isn't entirely wrong, but... ]

[moonshaded]

[Maybe one day... it can't be so hard to find a reason to look up at them.]

This world's in better shape than where I come from, bastard god or no bastard god.

[Though if he gets his way... it's hard to shake the feeling that this city isn't one disaster away from ending up exactly like her world. Maybe that's what's made it so strange to exist in this place - almost as if it's like looking into the past.]

Even the name. "Sunset City." A dark night'd be unthinkable. [Though she doesn't ask yet, Kainé fixes him with a little scrutiny in her gaze. Was he lucky enough to not be... jarred?]

[beautifulknight]

[ Argenti will happily encourage her if she needs one, but if she finds one on her own, all the better. As it is, hearing what she speaks of her world does invite a natural curiosity. ]

It is? I hope it is not so much worse shape than this...

[ He does blink at the gaze, questioning in that, that it seems.

Argenti does nod, though. ]

I've seen many cities like this one. Though I still needed an adjustment period. I originally travel through space - I am uncertain if that is common where you're from, however.

[moonshaded]

[She huffs out a scoff. His hope is misplaced.] It's falling the fuck apart. [She leans back on her hands.] Things were probably more like this before. I missed the boat on something I probably would have hated anyway.

[Well, Argenti, that's a complicated observation... the history of their world has far more bumps and bruises and technological marvels than Kainé and others like her will ever be able to know.]

Nobody I know is going to space. Maybe we'd be in better shape if we could. You must have no choice but to look at the stars then.

[beautifulknight]

[ Argenti's small hopes dashed...with the wind...

He frowns at hearing that her world is in such an unfortunate state because there is no way he could be anywhere near happy about that. ]

...That is unfortunate. I hope that there is a way to fix it?

[ There's probably irony in here somewhere...regarding the complexities of technology and the state of worlds, and such. ]

But, you are correct that a majority of time I would take a good view of the stars in the space - alongside the other planets that can be sighted as well, of course.

[speedingticket]

[ Drinks because of course he has. ]

[vogelfrei]

[ Drinking - he's a romantic at heart, somewhere deep down. ]

[metagame]

[He isn't going to correct the scary lady.

But he is going to sip his tea.]

It was one of my duties as Pharaoh.

[moonshaded]

Didn't that make it annoying?

[Then again, some people embrace that kind of thing, don't they?]

[metagame]

Yes, it made it very annoying--- I even lost my desire to stargaze for a while.

[When a hobby becomes a job...]

Now... I kind of miss it? But the stars in the sky aren't where they used to be, and they're much harder to see at night.

[moonshaded]

You've got it back, but it doesn't feel the same.

[It's easy to be motivated by loss, to let it drive you. When it comes to nothing ever feeling the same and that inability to go back... it's a threshold she crossed a long time ago. Kainé tries not to dwell on it, but when it comes to all the little pains in the ass that now feel like vacancies...]

We're running out of time, but I can't say it'll bug me if I miss it. [Why, then, was it on her mind tonight?] You gonna regret it if you don't get the chance?

[metagame]

Maybe... Don't know where the best place would be to stargaze, though.

[He leans in his seat, and sips more on his tea in thought.]

A telescope and the temple? Not that I have the faintest clue of where to get one of those either. It might make for another great gathering...

Crazy as it sounds, I've grown fond of our odd group. I may not know everyone that well... But seeing them happy is enough. It's one of the things you learn fast as a king--- how to appreciate other people's happiness.

[moonshaded]

That'd be the place. Bring this happy little family straight to the goddess' door and hold hands in her backyard. [There's the smallest amount of disdain in her voice for that. Not everyone's comforted by the temple or by being near it... but even Kainé has to admit it's one of the quietest places around. It's fine for camping.

She doesn't comment on the telescope or the logistics of getting one; let him figure that kind of thing out if he wants to go wild and throw another party. Fond of the group? Well...the happiness isn't for her; she's barely even a part of it. It just gets the job done, right?]

You must have been a pretty great king. [A tyrant just wouldn't give a shit.] Did everyone else feel the same way? [There's the smallest furrow in her brow when she glances over at him.]

[unweathered]

[ ... Hmph. taking a sip]

Another world without stars?

[moonshaded]

Nope. The sun doesn't set. It doesn't matter if they're there or not.

[So the stars are likely mostly still there, hidden behind the smog of frequent cloud cover and the haze of dusky light that never fully goes away.]

Harder to miss something that's never there, I guess.

[Does that make it easier?]

[unweathered]

Mm...I can understand. I stopped looking upward when I moved to the city. It was always smoggy.

[ And she stopped dreaming]

[moonshaded]

Kinda defeats the purpose, doesn't it. There are always lights on. You can't go anywhere without brushing elbows with some asshole.

[Even now, weeks later, she still feels like an outsider in this city, which probably contributes to her wandering around like a cryptid at strange hours when things are quieter and it still sometimes feels like the middle of the day.]

Did you not like it there?

[unweathered]

[ maybe it's because she's seen what's in Kaine's heart. Maybe it's the goddess' touch but Schneider feels a little more open today]

... I hated it. The farm I grew up on...it wasn't nice, but at least we belonged.

[moonshaded]

[It is easier right now, isn't it? Maybe they're playing into exactly what was expected of them, or maybe...it's just a little easier to forget, in the dimly lit crevices of the aquarium, that other people surround them and they aren't just talking between themselves.]

So you lost out on feeling that way. [Kainé has very little to compare it to; in childhood, her experience with love and belonging was a small and fleeting thing. But she remembers what it meant to have it.

She tilts her head back.] I'd hate looking up, too. What if it looks like the same sky? [What if it doesn't?]

[imperiosity]

[Doesn't drink, but not for any complicated reasons.]

Never really been my thing, but I know a kid who's real big on all that astronomy shit.

[moonshaded]

[There's something appealing about that, too - the lack of complicated reasons. Not everyone has to be a romantic. Sometimes things are just the way they are.]

Yeah? [She leans her head to one side.] And he never tried to show you the ropes? [An excitable kid can talk your ear off. It sounds like Aaron might have gotten an earful from this one at least once or twice.]

[imperiosity]

Kid's pretty reserved, so nah, not really.

[Quatre also thinks Aaron is kind of a dick so there's that...]

The only reason we learned about it was 'cause we ran into him in the middle of a job. Brought us to an observatory with a whole-ass telescope and everything.