( open ) liberate your sons and daughters the bush is high but in the hole there's water

[synergismus]

Who: Everyone!
What: Events around the city, any time.
Where: Everywhere in Baedal.
When: Whenever you’d like.
Notes:

• Behold, your all-purpose open game log. There are a couple pre-written starters to help you generate new and open CR, and you may also use this post to start your own group activities or planned threads. GO WILD!
  
• No one is late to this post. You may use it forever.
  
• The companion thread for this post is right here!
  
• DON'T THINK TOO HARD ABOUT IT JUST RP.
  
• Helpful links: Neighbourhoods, City Map.
  
• Lucky Pastry Advice for the Month of Velldaren: A truly rich life contains love and art in abundance.
  

Warnings: Zombie horrors in the appropriately titled ZOMBIES! thread, otherwise TBA. Please put warnings in subject lines of your comments if content warrants one.

Comments

drinks, food and loitering (gallmarch)

[synergismus]

>Gallmarch is the westernmost point of the city, stretching as far out as land will let it into the sea. It’s picturesque with boardwalks, beaches, and inland trail-like roads that wind through cobblestone that’s always just a little sandy. A laid back, lazy canton, it’s always got a few bars and a few diners open, not to me1ntion food vendors along the beach, and markets and cafes besides.

No Fish Today is the local headquarters for old school music and drinks that aren’t watered down. Looking more like a gutted cafe than a proper bar, it’s been the same for decades and no one’s in any hurry to change the aesthetic. It serves its purpose, and it serves mostly alcohol, though you might be able to grab some peanuts, too.

Less loud music and more ambiance, Shrove’s Wing is a teahouse nestled in an old building masked by trees and overgrown vines. It’s the city’s oldest source for veritea, but there’s plenty of mundane (and delicious) options on the menu as well. The courtyard is a popular place to bring lunch and grab a cup.

@ shrove's wing

[inkdamage]

Severus is not a social man by any stretch. Generally when he goes out, it's with the confidence (or hope) that he won't run into anyone he actually knows - going out means simply that, leaving the damn house, and he tends to want to be just as unbothered out in the world as in his home.

Such is the case this evening, sitting at an out of the way outdoor table in the cool weather, accompanied by a teapot, ash tray, and empty plate of something finished earlier. He'd been reading but it's too dim for that now, and is instead finishing a cigarette (or working on a pack, who knows) while observing a luminous star moth flit around on the pavement; it's the size of an adult's hand, flicking back and forth and leaving glowing stardust, enchanting the other patrons.

(They'd probably be upset if he nicked it for a potion. Life is hard.)

[meanwhileback]

People sometimes stare at Penelope when she goes out now-- this is new for her, considering her non-status in her own world. She dreams at night of being inconspicuous, of not having people snap photos of her with their cellphones, of not needing to maintain a professional, perfect exterior 24/7. They're just dreams. Reality is different now.

Thankfully out in Gallmarch, most people tend to have better things to do than harass the notorious, which means rather than worry about her own appearance, for once, Penelope can spend her afternoon harassing people she likes that just happen to also be there. What a coincidence!

Penelope's approach is less than subtle. She drags a chair to Severus's table, plops as obviously as possible into said chair, stows her (enormous) black bag underneath the table, and ever-so-casually pours herself a cup of whatever it is from his teapot. As if she's just entitled to his things. (Don't ask her; she'd say she is. And then she'd look at you like you're a dumbass for having even asked.)

"Nice moth. Dibs," she calls, and sips her (his) tea. Hi, Severus, 'sup.

[inkdamage]

'Uuuugh Jesus Christ' is probably not the thought anyone should have about someone who is an ostensible friend approaching, but Severus is a special case. It's not that he dislikes Penelope, or wouldn't want to see her, but it's just how he reacts when his brooding silence is interrupted. He permits her invasion with a critical eye, but doesn't comment on it or attempt to shoo her away. She's too much of an acidic bitch for that anyway. (This is why they are friends.)

Severus makes a noise that might be acknowledgment, and sharpens the cherry of his cigarette against the edge of the ashtray. He quirks one eyebrow when he glances at her. Yes, hello. What?

[meanwhileback]

He shouldn't feel bad about thinking that way; that's pretty much what everyone thinks when they see Penelope coming. She'd probably be disappointed if they weren't annoyed by her arrival.

She tilts her head to the side and furrows her brow at Severus, mildly pouting. What, you mean to tell me you're not made borderline euphoric by my presence?, as if to say. It's a practiced look. He's not remotely the first to get it, and likely not even close to being last. Unless she dies soon or something! What a cheery thought.

"So, you're better at this shit than I am," which goes without saying, but it's good to concede something at the beginning of a conversation with a person like Severus if you're planning to get anywhere, "what do you think, is it a good idea to go blabbing over the Network in unlocked posts about magic, or is it totally okay given that half the city runs off it? I'd appreciate an expert opinion."

[inkdamage]

That look drifts by Severus like opportunities to do the right thing drift by certain pirates, and he investigates the remainder of his tea while listening to her inquiry. And then looks mildly incredulous.

"It's completely fine," he says. "Supposing you had certain traditions, or were working with something uncouth, you might want to retain your privacy - but such a thing would be based on personal preference. It's commonplace, here."

Something uncouth, like, say, necromancy - which is what Severus was billing himself with when he and Penelope first met, she might recall. And he's never had any problem with it, nor has Njoki. He levels a more critical look at her, thinking about the attack she suffered.

"Have you been bothered by something?"

[meanwhileback]

"This city bothers me," she says, vaguely. "Things work too differently to what I'm used to. And yeah, that's pathetic newb whining coming from someone who's been here for way too long to still be doing pathetic newb whining, but it's only just started to piss me off."

Specifically, she means. In general, just being in Baedal pisses her off.

"I don't love the way fucking everything is a threat to me now, and maybe I'm kind of starting to like, fucking lose it. Leaving the fucking house mildly freaks me out." She stares at that moth, impassive. A practiced, jaded-yet-blank face.

[inkdamage]

"Everything was a threat to you at home, too. There are simply wear fewer masks here."

Only someone like Severus would find something like that reassuring - or something akin to reassuring, anyway; his tone isn't comforting, it just is what it is.

"Are you afraid that you'll be attacked again?"

[meanwhileback]

That gives her pause-- honestly, she hadn't thought about what specifically it was that she was afraid of, but now that he mentions it, it does make sense to her. She shrugs.

"That or something else. It's fucking bizarre, I feel far less safe now that people know who I am. I mean it's not like, impacting the business or anything," because christ knows that's the most important thing, here, fuck her feelings, nobody cares, "so I can focus on that for a while and ignore it, but it fucking creeps on me."

There's a pause while she grabs her bag, rummages inside it for her cigarettes. "I'm not used to doing this shit alone, I guess. Being small, female, and infinitely fucking breakable is no fun in this city, as it turns out. Whatever, I don't know what I'm talking about. Fuck. How're you."

[inkdamage]

Severus is quiet while she goes on, and though it's hard to tell considering his stoicism and the low light, he is actually having a fairly impressive deer in headlights moment in response to her sudden eruption of Feelings. He doesn't offer her a light, but only because he's taking a moment to consider this turn of events and - well, phrasing it like 'And imagine Penelope ten years younger and wearing a uniform' sounds terrible (so of course it's being written), but the only supportive context that Severus has beyond the horrible murderous wizard cult is in the form of being a teacher.

So.

"You are a witch," he begins, and he's not sure he can get this to sound like anything beyond Professor Snape (not that Penelope knows Professor Snape exists), but oh well, "You are far from helpless. You are a businesswoman, and an artist, and verbal warrior of the highest caliber. It doesn't seem to me like you've had a difficult time in this city, as hard as it might be on your heart."

It might be better if he sounded awkward, instead of stiffly formal. Alas. "And I'm fine." He's always fine.