[open] a fantastic public charity event!

[cointosser]

Who: Jaskier, open to all of the Free Cities!
What: The bard is holding a concert at Cadens's Old Public Hall in order to raise money for its renovation!
Where: Cadens
When: The end of March, a bit after the eclipse/Singularity event shenanigans
Warnings: None. This is a family-friendly event. :)

The Event

[Flyers hand-written and posted around the city of Cadens promise many a thing: a lovely night of community and belonging, beautiful decorations, a precious place to bring your bonnie sweet (the most important.) Jaskier fully intends on this being the perfect date night; the more lovers who become closer thanks to him, the better. The hall will see a larger audience than it ever has before! And hopefully more money will be thrown at it than ever before.

Of course, that’s what this is: a charity concert being held to raise funds for the old Cadens speaking hall, a large hall that has long fallen into disrepair. Through the efforts of Jaskier (and mostly) Alucard, restoration of the hall has begun. However, it has far more renovations ahead of it, and coin will be needed.

The concert is meant to be a grand time, but, it is about the money. This is a charity event, technically. But there's no reason he can't have fun with it.

And since Jaskier does nothing by halves, he has gone fully all-out. At the concert, any goers will be free to partake in:

+ free food (courtesy of himself, Alucard, and Sam's cooking, generally fresh bread, rolls, sweets, cheeses, and various finger foods and slices of roasts)
+ free wine and local juices (mostly paid out of Jaskier's pocket)
+ flowers will be given out, though it is STRONGLY IMPLIED a donation is expected (bouquets can be purchased for your honey, as well)
+ Nadine will be going around the crowd and providing small samples of tonics and potions

There will also be a small raffle that Jaskier will be running. Tickets can be bought for a small fee, and ticket holders can win small prizes of bouquets (courtesy of yours truly), a box of fresh pastries from the local bakery, an array of prized feathers from his pet toy gryphon, or a slightly fancier bottle of wine. The ultimate prize will be a free song written personally for you by Jaskier, all topics and requests accepted. Yes, it is a grand prize. For the small prizes, you can decide whether your ticket is a winner or a loser!

Please, remember to keep your behaviors amenable, fair citizens of Cadens. This concert is for charity, and no roughhousing, fighting, or generally ill tempers will be suffered. And as an event on city property, it is meant to remain completely neutral. No politics or you'll be kindly escorted outside the event!]

The Old Public Hall



[The Cadens Public Hall is an old, large speaking hall hosting distinctive architectural features that are strongly Thornean in influence. Like the old days, the concert is mostly meant to be standing-room only; the second floor mezzanine has been blocked off due to unsafe conditions (mostly old, rotting floorboards.) There's a slight musty smell that lingers despite Jaskier's best efforts to hide it.

His attempts to hide it are vast in number: every where one looks are richly colorful groupings of flowers, tied to pillars, hanging from strings of semi-magical lights that have been criss-crossed over the main concert area to mimic the sight of stars, and growing from pots meant to hide dusty corners. Illusionary birds fly and flutter about, adding spots of color and life to the old hall.

Small tables and chairs have been set out the entrance for folks to eat and relax at while music fills the hall and spills out.

Jaskier himself headlines the music, accompanied by a flautist, a drummer and a cellist. Songs that he performed at the Summit are part of his set: a song that venerates the magical accomplishments of Thorne (which may earn some grumbles from local Cadenites, but that same magic flows through the hall itself, amplifying the music and preventing echoing and regulating temperature.) His ballad about Lyfbringr, one of the gods of Solvunn, features, with a slightly baudy edge to it. But most prominent are several songs about the Free Cities themselves: bastions of hope for those who have lost their home, rich mixing pots of culture and people, with fantastic advances in technology.

Peppered among the songs are general fun, upbeat songs. As the night draws to a close, the songs become slower and softer, meant for dances between lovers.

Between sets of songs, Jaskier can be see moving through the crowd, shaking hands, dancing, and showing off his precious new pet toy gryphon named Mog, with black fur and feathers and an owlish face. (Yes, you can pet him.) Mog accompanies him on stage as well, flicking his tail and sleeping inside his lute case.]

Speech, Speech, Speech

[Like all good events, it must begin with a speech.

At the beginning of the concert, while his band behind him plays quiet music, Jaskier takes the head of the dais that is acting at the stage, giving the concert-goers a hearty bow with a sweep of his large, feathered hat.]

Hello and greetings, my fellow citizens of Cadens! While you may not know me -- though I highly doubt that, if you've ever stepped foot into a local tavern -- I have been dwelling in your city in some time now as the conveniently-dubbed Summoned. I am the Master Bard Jaskier, and tonight we have gathered for a few hours of good will and merriment.

I have been welcomed into your city ever since I came here by chance, and have long wanted to give back in what ways I can. This concert is being held for the good of the very hall we stand in, long having fallen to disrepair in lieu of other pursuits -- important ones, I'm sure! -- by the city. However, as a musician, I have high respect for any such beautiful place, and I have recently began working tirelessly with an anonymous patron and friend to restore this grand old beauty for the use of all Cadens citizens.

Please, peruse the first floor of the hall to see our recent work in restoring and preserving historical Cadens architecture. There is free food and drink for all -- though, if you're a known glutton, learn a bit of restraint for the sake of the children. [Laugh track.] There are small gifts available in return for donations at the stands just ousdie. There will be collection plates placed around the tables, and by the door -- you'll see that lovely young man there, yes? He'll be glad to take your coin off your hands! [Another laugh track. He's hilarious, he knows.] All donations will go straight to the restoration of this historic hall.

By your leave, lovely gents and beautiful dames, I bid you a wonderful night. May your hearts be light, and your coin purses even lighter!

For ideas about the general mood of the music:

Youtube Bardcore Playlist

Comments

[itookashot]

[ Jesper is highly observant which means he knows that Sephiroth is shifting, that he's changing where his weight is, that whether he knows it or not he's starting to bend. Jesper's persuasion skill is notorious in their group of friends, but it's really nothing more than being genuinely warm and persistent.

He said scared intentionally to make him get twitchy and want to prove otherwise, his success rate off the charts. Mostly because that's also a way to get him to do things too, claim he's a coward or afraid and Jesper will bounce right back being reckless. ]

Darling, I'm not gyrating on the dance floor, why would you think I'd try to make you do it? It's more like energetic twirling, bouncing, and swaying.

[ It's the truth! Jesper has not been getting down and dirty on the dance floor either, he really is more likely to make it up as he goes along and jump around to the beat. Since he has no lover to get sexy or sappy in a slow dance with, he's chosen the dance the feelings out route.

He reaches out a hand for Sephiroth, raising his eyebrows. ]

C'mon. You won't regret it.

[supersoldier]

[Jesper isn't wrong in his assessment. Sephiroth is inflexible with strangers, but for better or worse (it's better, no matter what he may say), his familiarity with the man has grown over the course of time. He is a difficult person to persuade still, but he is not unmalleable if the right words are applied, by the right people.

Even if he still sounds like a crotchety old man, with a reply such as:]

Swaying and gyrating are not that removed from one another.

[Of course, this comes from a man who has decidedly removed himself from any dance scene in the past, so maybe his assessment is skewed. He straightens, looks at Jesper's extended hand, and walks. Right past the man. Towards the dance area, as though he'd know what to do when he got there.]

Come on, then.

[itookashot]

[ Jesper's used to handling the most inflexible and controlled person to ever exist, so he knows what to look for, and he also knows when to push and when to stop. Enough smacks of a cane would teach anyone boundaries, but he still likes to poke at them, especially with people he's come to be fond of. And he is fond of Sephiroth. His icy exterior doesn't change that he is helping him learn how to fight without a gun, and he has moments like this, when he's nicer than he probably thinks he should be.

Jesper loves making people who wouldn't ordinarily warm up do so, it's his drug. So he's grinning brightly when Sephiroth walks past him onto the dance floor and he laughs, dropping his hand to his side and following him. ]

Swaying can be very comfortable and platonic. Gyrating is one thing and one thing alone.

[ He continues their conversation without missing a beat and when they get onto the floor Jesper snaps his fingers and winks. ]

So I've seen how you are when you're fighting, yeah? You're graceful and comfortable and in the moment, you're like pure silver liquid, it's lovely. What you want to do is imagine that you're fighting to the music and move to it like you would if you had a sword.

[supersoldier]

[One may hope that this is all Jesper had envisioned when he thought to drag Sephiroth out to the dance floor: that is, a sight not that far removed from when he had stationed himself in the corner, comfortable in his wallflower status. He stands amid the people dancing, the movement of his hair the only sort of swaying he's doing as it settles behind him, turning to face Jesper as he approaches.]

They're not even close to the same thing.

[Fighting. Dancing. Poetically, they can be. Where technique is concerned, and where Sephiroth very much concerns himself with, it's utterly different.]

When sparring, I have a target in mind. [Jesper's compliments apparently slide right off of him.] My movements are made with the intent to connect. [Dryly-] I don't think that's permissible here.

[itookashot]

[ Jesper grins, how can he not. ]

Well it'd be permissible if you'd be interested in gyrating.

[ He really can't help it, sorry. It is his natural urge to warm up the cold and distant, it's not even just the flirting, he wants to make Sephiroth smile some day, see what it would look like. Jesper though is not going to stand there the same way, so he spins around Sephiroth with absolutely no qualms. Even he does not have technical skill with dancing, but he doesn't need to. He's there to enjoy it and nothing else. ]

Have you had any fun? Ever? What's fun to you?

[supersoldier]

[He almost earns an eye-roll at that. Instead, a brow lifts, affecting skepticism.]

I have fun sparring.

[Believe it or not, Jesper, he does enjoy their training sessions. But mildly; it's no fault of the other man, but he cannot let loose around him. He's not someone he can let his blade dance against without worrying about the consequences. Much of the wild enjoyment garnered from a flurried, impossibly fast fight is lessened because of it.

His gaze follows Jesper's spinning form.]

Or challenging myself to get better.

[Which does not include dancing, sir.]

[itookashot]

Oh Saints you actually mean that.

[ Jesper's getting decent at a blade thanks to Sephiroth but he isn't fighting to even his highest standard of possibility. He doesn't know yet if his powers are the kind of thing that he could use to his advantage, the way bullets are, but he's not likely to test it out. ]

Listen, I do know the love of a good fight, I know how amazing the adrenaline feels when your back is to the wall and all you can do is act. It's brilliant.

[ And he's not talking about their sparring, he's talking about his guns, he's talking about being in the middle of a fight with his pistols, spinning and shooting, at peace when everything is madness around him. Jesper loves it, he never feels more alive, that is the truth. Adrenaline is one of the things he's addicted to, so he has to temper himself, as much as he can. ]

But it can't be the only thing you enjoy. It's not a violent enough world for that. You can be better at many things, not just fighting.

[ Jesper smiles at him and puts out a hand again. ]

Spin me and I'll let you go be a wallflower again.

[supersoldier]

[He considers arguing the point, but then Jesper puts out his hand, coupled with the promise of freeing him from his dancing obligation with a single spin, and Sephiroth reaches out first and foremost.]

You're making assumptions.

[He grasps Jesper's hand; his grip is firm, the way a soldier man might secure his weapon, but not particularly forceful.]

That my life prior to being in this world presented opportunities to explore "many things".

[When one's entrenched in military life, constantly at the behest of a company that has many fingers in many pies, then where does one truly find the time? In the meanwhile, Sephiroth raises the man's hand... and moves his arm in a circular motion to spin him about. Is that how this works?]

Jesper and Jasper are so close it is very reasonable lol

[itookashot]

[ Oh he did actually reach out and Jesper's delighted, clasping his hand right back with warmth in his gray eyes. It sounds very sad, honestly, and reminds him of Matthias. So serious, so work-focused, missing out on life in a lot of ways.]

All the more reason, my friend, to try everything while you're free to do it.

[ Jesper moves along with the spin and it's just fine for someone doing it for the first time and anyone else he might flirt with, anyone else he might tug close because he can. But he knows it's not Sephiroth's way so he simply keeps his hand once he's spun. He briefly threads their fingers together and squeezes affectionately. It's not a come on, he does this with Inej, with his friends, he always lets them know when he cares. ]

I had a mate who only had duty, it's how he was raised. And he died before he could experience anything more. I regret not giving him more fun and silly things to do before.

[ It's a serious story, coming from a non-serious person, but Jesper has layers. As soon as it's said he drops Sephiroth's hand though, it was very temporary, he's not that much of an ass. He promised! His smile is back, easy and like nothing serious ever happened, he has a reputation thanks.]

You're free, fly on the wall.