Heavenly Blanc Void Party

[starshower]

🥂 HEAVENLY BLANC VOID PARTY 🥂 Who: Everyone! What: Heavenly Blanc mingle and info exchange Where: The Heavenly Blanc Bar and Café When: "August 1"; but really, what is time Content Warnings: N/A Maybe you heard through word of mouth, or got an invite from the barista and barkeep directly, or spotted the handwritten paper invites hung up around the area, but there is a gathering happening at the Heavenly Blanc Bar and Café TODAY! So feel free to stop by, hang out, have some drinks, and share some stories. 🍺 DRINKS: Coffee will be served by Ren, and Tifa will be handling the other drinks. There's a wide variety behind the bar, ranging from alcoholic to the non-alcoholic, with delicious cocktails (yes, including virgin ones for the minors) to pick from. And before you ask - no, if you are underage, you may not have alcohol. Tifa will be very strict about it, and anyone who tries to bypass her imposed law will be subject to room temperature tapwater for the rest of the party. 🎲 GAMES: Various boardgames that came along with Le Blanc will be made available for all to play, including a Shogi board for the strategically inclined (and whoever knows how the heck to play it). Along the side wall are two pinball machines, and while they don't light up and make sounds, the mechanisms inside them still work, so they aren't completely out of the picture! Next to them, between the jukebox and the door is a dart board. Please do be mindful when throwing darts, as the light filtering into the bar through the front windows is very minimal. 🤔 INFORMATION EXCHANGE: The important part! When all are gathered inside the bar, Tifa and Ren will make a small announcement for everyone: "Now that we've all had the chance to take a look around and get our bearings, I wanna encourage everyone to exchange what you know, or what you've found. Even share it with the rest of us! Locations, ideas, theories - anything that could be useful in helping us all figure this out. We all come from different worlds, but we're stuck here, so we're in this together until we're not, yeah? Let's make friends and play nice, and most importantly, have fun today! Oh, and if you're coming and going, make sure to close the door nice and tight behind you." "It's nice to see everyone. Since we're stuck here together, let's cooperate well." ☕ OOC NOTES ☕ This is the open mingle post for the Heavenly Blanc void party! Please feel free to top-level and tag around. There is a top-level included here for you to post OOC notes of what their characters have discussed on the log, as well as their own thoughts about the world. If there is anything important that people should know, please reply to the top-level with the information, so that it's easy to find for everyone. General info posts about what your character will be talking about are fine as well. Just please try to avoid multiple edits if you can as you thread if you are going that route! for the sake of my dw inbox... Because this is an info exchange/mingle post, we encourage thread-jacking. However, we know that not everyone is into that kind of thing, so if you are okay with others hopping into your threads, please be sure to indicate it in your top-level. Questions about the log can be directed to the ooc post. Have fun!

Comments

[forethinking]

Exactly.

(Through the party, Ren had noticed the limping that accompanies Damien in his strides. Doesn't seem to be something that had happened here. Ren stands up, carefully not to upset his own damaged leg to help the older man sit down if he so wants or needs it.)

I thought to teach you.

[abeautifulgame]

[don't, Ren. he'll take a chair, but don't offer to help him. for all that he's more the Guy in the Chair, rather than the type that's into doing the physical work, he still has his pride and his injury is still a sore spot. the Irish Mob made him a fucking cripple, because Aiden couldn't wait five goddamn seconds, because his little girlfriend sold them out, because -- ]

[ -- yeah, he's just going to sit and stretch out]

I'd like that. [and he means that]

[forethinking]

I imagined so.

(He sits back, bowing to Damien as tradition goes before he starts to explain the pieces and the dynamics of the game. If needed further down, he also has it written in a paper inside his blazer. He imagined he would need it sometime.

After the explanations, Ren just gives him a thumbs up as to ask if he got it.)

[abeautifulgame]

[Damien asks a few insightful questions, as Ren walks him through it, clearly following along well enough, if he's able to come up with some of them. he's a quick learner, and when they finish, he nods, that in mind, glancing between Ren, the board and back again, something sharp behind his eyes]

[a gesture to the board follows] Should we try it out? Practical experience might be better, at this point. [now that he thinks he has a grasp of the rules. Ren can correct him, as need be, as they go through it]

[forethinking]

(He does hand Damien the written rules to go back to in case needed, as well as giving him an opening for questions as they go. First of all, a bow! Let's get started.)

Thanks for the idea, by the way.

[abeautifulgame]

[Damien bows, too, because thems the rules]

Glad to be of service. [Damien's silent for a moment, following that, as they play out a few moves, and then:] So, have you figured out anything else about this place? [that's the point of this whole party thing, after all, isn't it?]

[forethinking]

You tell me. Have you?

( :) Sorry Damien! You go first.

Ren decided to take it easy on Damien - he has never seen Shogi and well, played it.)

[abeautifulgame]

[Damien looks up from the board, frowning]

Quid pro quo doesn't really work if you aren't willing to ante up, my boy. [and he asked you, first! if he actually knew anything, he might be more likely to lie about it, now, just because. as it stands, though, well, he blows out a breath before he admits:] But no. Most of what I've heard has been more of the same.

[a beat]

Apparently I'm not the only one whose first thought was simulation. [he's still willing to keep an open mind, though]

[forethinking]

I stand with Akechi. (Of course, since they actually have a very good, real experience to pull from. Not that they're mentioning that anytime soon.)

It makes sense to me this world adapts to our perceptions.

[abeautifulgame]

[Damien waves a hand, waves him off, still frowning]

I'm not trying to sell my theory. [he's not saying that Ren is wrong, he's right, just because everyone supports him. if the circumstances were different, he might, might need that hit of feeling superior, but -- no. no, he's still not sure what's right, here, and the Merlaut just showing up hasn't helped him settle on an opinion] Just pointing out that that seems to be what the group's going with. There's very little variation. It's almost boring.

[forethinking]

If not a simulation.

(Ren brings a hand to his chin in thought, looking at the board before raising his sight back to the man.)

What would be your second guess?

[abeautifulgame]

[you're still not playing by the rules, Ren -- you've given him nothing, and so he feels compelled, for a moment, to offer nothing in return. just be glad he likes to hear himself talk, and that he doesn't really gain anything in not being forthcoming, right now, if only because ... ]

Not too far removed from your theory, actually. Something's getting in our heads -- [he taps his temple] -- and picking bits here and there, to populate the emptiness. [he pauses for a moment, thoughtful but clearly not finished, and then:] It seems to be going for the things we have an emotional investment in, too. [he pauses, ticking them off on his fingers] Tifa's bar. That little blonde boy and some of the animals here. [he means Blue. he didn't catch his name, if only because he was more eavesdropping than actively interacting with him] I'm assuming either you or Akechi have some strong attachment to this place?

[this would be your last chance to answer a question, Ren]

[forethinking]

(Heh! Of course he isn't.

Ren listens though, agreeing to the words until he asks Ren quite an interesting question.)

You'd have to ask Akechi on his end.

(Just getting that part out of the way - he's not just giving out assumptions on Akechi's feelings, specially when it comes to being attached to something.)

Though it is true that both of us spent a good amount time in the cafe. I worked and lived there. It's home to me.

[abeautifulgame]

[Damien glances up again, expression forever unhappy, and wets his lips with his tongue, jaw working as if he's about to chew Ren out -- and then he goes on, to give his opinion on the place, and Damien exhales and looks back to the board. there, Ren, you managed to give something up. was that so hard]

So, that theory, at least, seems to hold up.

[for him, too, though he's not going to volunteer that unless Ren asks directly. the Merlaut is the start of a bad memory for him, though]

[forethinking]

(He can tell he's getting on Damien's nerves, but that never really bothered him. If anything, he's more than used to it, honestly.

Strangely enough, he doesn't get asked how the hell he lived in the cafe, which is a new one as of now.)

Most of what I learned is about people and the origins of the places. Nothing too relevant for the situation overall.

(Going back to the first question.)

[simulatio]

[Akechi has been making his own rounds through the party, smiling, chatting, being generally his friendliest self. Eventually, he notices Ren and Damien in conversation, and, well, he certainly can't just let that go. It's almost certainly an interesting conversation, and being the person he is, he simply has to insert himself somehow.]

On the contrary, Ren, [where did he come from. Why is he here now. No one asked for his opinion, and yet here he is, hovering behind Ren and glancing curiously over the shogi board before looking back up to the two of them.] Knowing the origins of places is extremely relevant in this kind of situation. It's the only concrete evidence we have as to what's going on around us.

[He rests a gloved hand on the back of Ren's chair with another smile.]

I see the two of you have met.

[abeautifulgame]

[Damien glances over at Akechi, when he speaks up, not having noticed him until now. blame the fact that he had most of his attention focused on the game -- or the fact that he was fantasizing there, for a second about flipping the table. either way, the fact that he didn't notice him has nothing to do with him not being uninteresting. quite to the contrary, Damien all but lights up, when he does notice him]

[a gesture to Akechi follows, at his assessment, the wave reading somehow as there, you see, someone who knows that the fuck's going on and isn't fucking purposefully obtuse about it. a nod follows, as he drops his hand back into his lap]

Before. [a beat] You weren't wrong about the coffee.

[forethinking]

(Ah. This again.

Ren barely reacts to Akechi's phantom appearance - it's normal, as weird as it sounds. Even the hand on his chair is familiar, and while he really has never had a single fucking clue why doesn't Akechi just sit, it's not unwelcome. This time, it feels a little nostalgic and it's weird, because Ren relaxes some of the tension building from antagonizing the man in front of him.

Enjoy while it lasts, because Akechi pisses him off in the soon future!)

Thanks.

(He tilts his head back to look at Akechi for a moment.)

I believe Damien-san has a question for you.

(Snitch!)

[simulatio]

[There's a hint of pride to Akechi's satisfied smirk at the acknowledgement of Ren's coffee. Like, sure, it isn't as though he has anything to do with it, it's all Ren, but there's something nice about being able to make a recommendation that other people are satisfied with.

He quirks his eyebrows at Ren's statement, then turns his attention to Damien, still with his hand on the back of the other boy's chair. It's a comfortable position for him, weirdly enough.]

Oh? I'm all ears, though I'm not certain there's anything I could say that Ren isn't already aware of.

[abeautifulgame]

[snitches get stitches, Ren -- just remember that]

[not that he's particularly upset, in this instance, that Ren's forcing him to broach the subject right this second. he would have brought it up with Akechi, sooner or later, on his own, anyway. that in mind, he shrugs, explains:] We were talking about how everything this place has borrowed and mangled seems to have some sort of emotional significance to someone here. [again, Tifa and the bar, him and the Merlaut, and so on] Ren mentioned he had some connection to the coffee shop half of things, here -- [he points upwards, indicating Heavenly Blanc, as if it's not obvious that's what he was talking about] -- but he said I'd have to ask if that was true for you, as well.

[so, Akechi? have any strong feelings about the coffee shop here?]

[simulatio]

[Akechi glances down at Ren, somewhat unimpressed that he decided to deflect a question as simple as this to him. It's easy to infer what Leblanc means to him; he'd told Ren himself that he'd considered Leblanc one of the few places he'd felt truly comfortable.

Then again, that was before November. Frankly, Akechi wouldn't be surprised if Ren assumed everything he'd said back then was a lie.]

Hmm, emotional significance... perhaps. It is a place I spent quite a lot of time in the past. I mentioned before that I was quite well-known in the city? The neighborhood Leblanc was in was rather, shall we say, "out of the way." It meant it was one of the few places where I could relax without fear of any of my fans stumbling into it. And, as I said, the coffee was excellent.

[He waves his free hand as if to indicate Heavenly Blanc.]

Even with Tifa-san's additions, it still has a rather retro vibe to it, don't you think? Like stepping into someone's home.

[forethinking]

(Of course Ren wouldn't speak in Akechi's behalf. He has better things to fry his brain over than trying to figure out how much of Akechi can he actually speak about without it being a problem, so it's better to just let him disclose his opinions and decide what he wants to share himself.

It brings a soft, almost invisible smile to his lips to actually hear the significance of LeBlanc to him. After all, it actually was like you were stepping into someone's home in a way, for Sojiro, Futaba and himself. Even with the meshing and it not being LeBlanc itself, the items and familiarity are enough to ground Ren a little.

TLDR; ♪♪♪)

[abeautifulgame]

[if Damien notices Ren's pleasure at Akechi's assessment, he doesn't comment on it. instead, he hums, nods] It does. [Tifa's additions don't really detract from that, either. they're different, sure, but -- well, this place as much Tifa's space as it is Ren and Akechi's, and her half of that shows]

So, the theory holds, for now. [a beat] Not that I know how that piece fits into -- [a vague gesture] -- all this. [beyond maybe intent, but that feels like a given. there would be no point in bringing them all here at random]

... I wonder if they're trying to make us feel comfortable.

[simulatio]

Lulling us into a false sense of security by providing mementos of home? It's very possible.

[Akechi nods, drawing his hand back from Ren's chair to instead cross his arms and bring his hand to his lips in thought.]

The longer we go with no visible sign of why we're here, the more difficult it is to imagine that it's anything other than some kind of social experiment. Why else gather such an eclectic group of people? The time and resources to accumulate all of this must have been enormous. But what's the point behind it all, I wonder?

[forethinking]

(His long nails are hitting the table, rhythmically and one after the other. There's not much for him to occupy his hands with and the game was probably long forgotten by the two of them.)

How did they gather such an eclectic group of people is what is bothering me.