melodiesofkupo | voice; "oh in my agony i do retreat"

-The first sound anyone hears is some kind of fluid sloshing about in a container, the distinct hollow "pop" of a cork being removed, and several long, thick gulps. This is quickly followed by a sigh, a clearing of the throat, and smacking of the lips...

When Baiken speaks, her words are pretty badly slurred. She's been at it for a bit.-

I haven't dressed nice in goddamn *years*... If I wasn't interested in meeting this so called Empress myself, I wouldn't normally give a shit if some bouncer enforcing a dress code showed me out. I've never given a shit before.

But I'm being told it's required. Because of course it is. The rich and powerful are always like that, enforcing their rules and standards of conduct on people as a means of excising their own power.

You'll dress how I tell you to dress. You'll speak how I tell you to speak. If you don't, you're "uncivilized". But make no mistake, you can put a pretty bow on the common masses and they'll still look down on you. Tch...

-Another several gulps. Another cough. Another sigh.-

Whatever. We're either gonna be arrested as soon as we show up and treated like enemies of the state, used for political posturing, or both. And if we don't show up, they'll find a way to get us to show up. People like that always do.

... I need more sake...

-The voice feed cuts off at that point.-

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Probably not. [ The Republic lost to the Empire. The Empire to the Rebellion. Now the Resistance to the First Order. Maybe. It was a cycle, after all. ] If we go down, we'll go down together. And if we find a way home, maybe none of it will matter...

[ But she seems to have a negative amount of morale right now plus however drunk she is, and Finn doesn't know how to talk like Poe used to. Thinking like that is still pretty new. ] You might have more luck with the sake if you weren't drinking it by yourself. Does it actually help? [ He's asking genuinely, by the way. ]

Is that an offer? -Said with a low, completely mirthless chuckle and another pause for gulping.-

[ Hmm... Well, the sake last time didn't exactly kill him. And she might feel better if she were actually with someone, even if it was to have a debate about how they were probably going to die horribly. So. ]

It could be if you're inviting me.

... Fine. I'm outside a bar on the outskirts of town. I can't remember which one, so consider it a scavenger hunt.

[ Without bothering to try getting more hints (because, yes, he does remember that she's terrifying), Finn goes ahead and sets out, Nakagawa, Arito, and the Curti Center first on his list.

It might take anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour and a half to find her, but he does and tries to be confident in his approach. ]

-"Outside a bar" turned out to be pretty subjective. She was in small grove nearby the bar itself, sitting in the grass with her back against a tree, pipe in one hand, cask in her lap.-

You're pretty stubborn, you know that?

[ Yeah, it took a while to find her, but he was kinda impressed it didn't take him that long. So much so that he's actually smiling a little. ]

I've been called worse. You got any left? [ The sake, he means. Probably gonna try not to get wasted tonight, though. ]

Thing's deeper than it looks. Have at it. -She'd probably had enough, anyways, from the rosy haze on her face.-

[ Finn takes the bottle before gingerly sitting down beside her. He takes a swig and-

Oh. Right.

He cringes a little, squeezing his eyes shut, and swallows. ] Still smooth.

-She can't help a small chuckle. His reaction gets her, every time.-

You'd think an Empire fighting hero could handle his sake better.

I'm handling it. [ Barely. He clears his throat and finally opens his eyes enough to hand it back. Well, at least he got a real laugh out of her. ] It's... kinda still a learning experience right now.

Eh, you'll get there. The important thing is you're trying, I guess. -Another dry chuckle.-

You're exactly right. That's the important thing. [ See? Optimism! And then a thought occurs to him. ] You make it yourself, right? How do you do it? I wanted to learn how to cook some stuff and surely I can't mess up fermented rice... Right?

[ A part of him kinda wanted to get back on the topic about the Empire and impending doom and all that, but he also wanted to not go down another depressing rabbit hole. It was like he said himself. Drink today, worry tomorrow. Something like that. ]

Mm... Brewing sake is kind of a 'sacred art'. It takes a lot of time and practice to get it right. You sure you wanna learn? -Because she knew just explaining how wouldn't do the process nearly any justice.-

[ Oh, sacred? It was important, then... And probably really difficult. Somehow, that made him more eager. ] Yeah. I wanna learn. I mean, if you don't mind.

Hmm... Maybe. Get back with me when I'm well more sober. I'll take you by the Swordmaster Guild, if they'll let me.

[ !!! He beams a smile at her. ] I don't know what swords have to do with it but okay! That sounds great.

I wasn't kidding around when I said it's a warrior's drink. Appreciation of good sake goes hand in hand with being a good swordsman.

[ Ah, okay. Actually-... He pauses to think about that for a second. ]

You know, I was considering learning how to wield a sword properly. I trained with them a little back home and used a sword in combat once. It... didn't go well. But if being a swordsman has to do with learning how to make sake, I'm up for doing both. Eager to, actually.

Don't get the wrong idea... being a sake brewer doesn't make you a better swordsman. It's more of a spiritual thing...

[ Hmm... ] I've kinda had bad luck with spiritual stuff, too. But I want to try. Maybe it'll... help with that edge a little bit.

If you make your own, to your taste, I won't force you to drink mine any longer, at least.

[ He laughs. ] But I was finally getting used to yours. [ But knowing he could make it taste different, too? Yes, he very much looked forward to this. ]

-The slightest laugh back.-

Getting used to, or finally killing off your tongue?

I think they're mutually exclusive at this point.

voice; "oh in my agony i do retreat"

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