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open | a merry meri mingle
Who: Meridians new & old!
What: Cookout mingle
Where: Alenroux
When: Mid-March, after Vander's rescue
Warnings: Potentially alcohol consumption and violence, for the rowdy
PREPARATION:
THE EVENT:
What: Cookout mingle
Where: Alenroux
When: Mid-March, after Vander's rescue
Warnings: Potentially alcohol consumption and violence, for the rowdy
After the initiation of Springstar's invasion plans for Alenroux, tensions among the Meridian-aligned might be a bit strained. The move comes as a surprise even for many of the shard-bearers within the faction itself, to say nothing of those whose livelihoods depend on the farms here. It's not yet clear what Highstorm's response will be, but one will certainly be coming; when that happens, someone is going to come out on the bottom, and their blood will be at least partially on Meridian's hands.
At times like this, the importance of maintaining morale can't be understated. A call goes out to the newest generation of those harmonized with Meridian's light: it's time to have a party!
PREPARATION:
Those who can are invited to help with the set-up. There are drinks to procure, foodstuffs to acquire and prepare, canopies to erect for shade, entertainments to organize. It's not meant to be a grand affair — the gathering is private, intended to foster camaraderie among the shard-bearers after long days and nights of work — but it will be a comfortable one, with edibles and enjoyments to offer to those taking solace in the company of their fellows.
It takes one of Alenroux's long days to make all the necessary arrangements — and then, late the following morning, after the night's monsters have slunk back into the woods, things are made ready. All that's left is for the guests to arrive.
THE EVENT:
Spring is still in the midst of taking hold over Alenroux, so a tall bonfire at the centre of the gathering place offers a toasty place to linger and chat throughout the day. Hot drinks and a variety of fire-roasted foods are on offer, including an entire deer helpfully supplied and prepared by Liem. Logs and stumps provide simple seating, and nearby canopies provide shade around the tables of food and drink. A little further away, sturdy tents provide more private gathering places for those wishing for a break from the hubbub.
And there will be hubbub. To break the ice between unfamiliar faces, a variety of contests have been set up over the course of the gathering. These range from simple arm-wrestling competitions, to three-legged races, to friendly sparring matches for those so-inclined. Gathered Meris are encouraged to spectate and bet amongst themselves on contest outcomes — and better yet, to volunteer to participate themselves during the next round.
For those who have already had a chance to relax and let off some steam, the gathering is a perfect opportunity to get to know one's fellow sect-mates a little better, and to reaffirm why Meridian called to them in the first place. Those gathered are encouraged to take the chance to tell a few tales about the place they came from, and to share the visions inside their Sunbeam with those from other worlds. A favourite place, a cherished person, an unkept promise, even an old enemy: all could be worth revisiting for a moment with new comrades in arms.
no subject
[Literally. Three hundred years Jeralt has roamed Fódlan, and his legacy is a) being known as the Blade Breaker and b) being in debt to almost every single tavern on the continent. Then again, once you hit three hundred years old, you probably stop giving a fuck about mundane things like debt collectors.]
It's that it requires vast quantities of alcohol for me to feel any effects due to................. reasons.
[Strange biology reasons.]
Thus, as you say, being 'shitfaced' is difficult for me to achieve. I usually reach 'tipsy' and am forced to stop either due to lack of funds, or to escape the premises for my previously unfulfilled tab commitments.
[Continuing Jeralt's tab hopping ways...]
no subject
[ yes, he actually makes the accompanying air quotes. ]
Oh, I could fix that. That's easy.
[ a beat. ]
You know... temporarily.
[ you ever just offer to mess around with somebody's biological functions so they can party harder? ]
no subject
...and how would you achieve that?
[Unless the man was very generously offering to pay off all of his tavern tabs (impossible), then he could only be offering to meddle, somehow, in Byleth's biological processes. A hard 'no' from him, since Byleth's body was already a medical impossibility due to multitudes of once in a million chances all converging at the same time. Having someone muck around in there might... cause issues.]
no subject
I'm a necromancer~
no subject
[............]
I'm not a corpse, though. Well-
["Not anymore," he'd been about to say, the alcohol loosening his tongue, but he stopped himself awkwardly just in time. Listen, if you were technically stillborn, and were revived by shoving a goddess's heart into you, did you count as being 'alive' or a 'reanimated corpse' (the waters further muddied by the fact that Byleth had no heartbeat)? This was a question he pondered over sometimes, and set aside quickly because it made him uncomfortable to think about.]
...I'm not dead. Therefore, I'm out of your purview, correct?
no subject
Nah, it works on the living just fine. I can do anything up to and including bringing someone back from the brink of death, but I can't bring someone back once they're gone for good.
[ he can, technically, but he won't. but then he actually pays attention because when you've been around as long as john, you start to assume basic truths — like all living people have a pulse and dead people don't. constructs also don't, but a baby can tell the difference without trying. byleth is just out here breaking the rules, and john just assumed that he must have a working heart like everybody else. i n t e r e s t i n g. ]
Your blood probably cleans the alcohol out of it too quickly. I bet you're immune to being poisoned, too, aren't you? [ squint. ] Magic, huh?
no subject
I have... a robust body.
[Byleth can't lie to save his life, and it's very apparent here with how too still his expression is. Technically magic? Technically the Crest Stone in his chest functioning both as a heart and a highly advanced liver and kidney combo? That counted as magic, right? Right. Magic.]
And. Magic. Yes. In a fashion.
no subject
[ he drinks from the beer he's been nursing most recently and then laces his fingers together as he sits here and peers at byleth with his weird eyes that probably are not helping his case. ]
So, really, the ball's in your court. You know, playing ritualistic party games is a lot more fun when the stakes are higher. What's the point if you might not have a few regrets by the end of the night?
[ speaking from experience. ]
no subject
[Demonic beast, sudden death, some hitherto unknown side effect of meddling in whatever delicate balancing act Byleth's messy genes were performing, triggering a transformation into a divine beast... or maybe everything will go perfectly fine and Byleth can actually get solidly drunk, having a hangover, and nothing bad will happen.
He weighed the risk, clearly pondering if it'd be worth it. If something did happen, his physical form could be dissipated, and should return to normal upon revival... if he understood the mechanism of 'death' in this place. He hadn't yet experienced it for himself.]
no subject
[ john leans forward in his seat a little with interest. he can see all the nitpicky physical details, but he can't tell a thing about the magic other than it's there. an interference just like the Shards, sure, but he's pretty sure livers and kidneys work just the same on whatever planet byleth comes from. ]
no subject
[Oh no. How does he explain this without actually explaining jackshit? Byleth's expression didn't change, utterly blank as he stared for an awkwardly long time as his mind frantically tried to formulate... something. A response, at the very least.]
The. Thing that filters impurities from my blood is. Temperamental. I'm unsure how it would respond to outside tampering.
no subject
Right. So, what do we do when we don't know something? Hm?
[ no, he's not actually expecting an answer despite the questions and the dora the explorer pause here; it's super misleading, but he kinda likes to hear himself talk. ]
Science, obviously.
no subject
[What did science have to do with- oh.]
You mean experimentation.