dissonates | [Voice/Action] backdated to Day 1 of the event until the end!

[Asch will be leaving a single message on the journal network on the evening of the first day, his voice flat:]

[Voice]

I know that the village is being its usual mad self this week, but Guy Cecil's gone back to his world. With the recent departures, Good Spirits is shorthanded.

[....oh, right.]

Also, considering the bar is in the area where alcohol is apparently prohibited, thieves have been after the stores. Most of the remaining supply's been hidden, but I could use help guarding it.

As far as I know, the journal network has always been for our eyes only, so if you want any for yourself and the staff doesn't recognize you, try to come up with something only one of us would know.

[After that, he won't be doing much exploration. Asch is having none of this silly experiment business; he woke up wearing this, and since his closet seems to be full of clothes either like it or much worse, he just rolls with it. He's been around the block before. He'll be staying in the bar pretty much 24/7 (besides food runs and emergencies) to make sure the collection doesn't get completely depleted; he may be a recently returned staff member himself, now, but the bar was important to Guy, so he can at least protect it for a while. Alcoholic drinks will be served through the back door to villagers only, so if you want some booze, better figure out a way to act convincing.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I'd prefer not to find out.

[Asch shrugs his shoulders, going back to what he's doing - namely restocking the fridge with foodstuffs and non-alcoholic beverages.]

These clothes may not be ideal, but they're not that different from what I'd be comfortable wearing. And I'm not interested in wearing a skirt.

Yeah...

[Okay, time for a subject change, because he's had about enough of skirts to last a lifetime.]

So where is all of the alcohol right now?

Most of it's underground or in storage. Nami placed an illusion over some of the bottles, as well.

[He lifts a brow.]

That information doesn't leave this building.

[Emil nods.]

Got it. I could do a patrol if you want, or I could just hang around up here too. Whatever you think will be the most useful.

Patrolling will just make you look suspicious. We want to make it seem as if we have nothing of value here. If you want to help us guard, just stay inside and try to act naturally.

Okay! Then I'll just act like I'm here for something to eat. That seems pretty natural, right?

More or less.

[Asch fishes around behind the bar for a moment, then slides Emil the remnants of a broken menu- the alcoholic drinks have been removed, leaving only the virgin drinks and the food.]

You're lucky we expanded the menu to include food.

[Emil scrutinizes it for a moment, but it doesn't take him long to decide what to order. He's easy to please, at least!]

I'll have a vanilla milkshake and some fries.

[...]

Make that a large order of fries so we can share them.

[Pfft. Don't you know bar protocol, Emil? You don't share your food with the server.

Asch rolls his eyes, somewhat exasperated, but turns to get started anyway, getting the food cooking before he begins whipping up the milkshake while they wait. If Emil wants to be Mr. Nice Guy, that's his choice. Saves him from making lunch later.]

[That would imply that Emil visits the bar often, which he... well, okay, he visits SOMETIMES, but it's mainly because Buffy makes a kickass hot chocolate. AND NO ONE EVER TOLD HIM NOT TO SHARE. It's the polite thing to do, after all.

He'll just take a seat at the bar while he waits.]

So, um, I mentioned that I'm one of the leaders of Brave Vesperia now, right?

I heard about that- you and Luke. Congratulations, I suppose.

[He slides the milkshake over the counter to Emil, looking... well, not bored, but not exactly impressed, either. Brave Vesperia has never interested him beyond a vague awareness of its existence, mostly due to their 'build guild' reputation, despite Yuri's attempt to dispel them.]

Thanks.

[He pauses to take a brief sip of the milkshake - not bad at all, Asch! Emil approves - before continuing on.]

I want to do the best I can to be a leader. I know Yuri used to be annoyed that all anyone ever asked us for was help with building things, so I want to try to make sure that Brave Vesperia does more than just that.

Have you got a plan?

[That's step one, after all. He's not sure how much experience Emil has with leadership, and it's not like he thinks that his advice would be spectacular - leading a fraction of an army is different than a guild, he figures, especially with Yuri originally in charge - but there's no harm in asking the right questions.]

No... I've never really been in charge of anything before. I mean, I've been a part of groups, but I was always just one of the members, not the leader. That's why I'm a little nervous about this.

You need a goal, then.

[He's not looking at Emil now - his focus is on his cooking - but there's a strange sort of calm in his tone, almost nostalgic, but not pleasantly so.]

A leader without a goal is useless. Even something as vague as "we want to make the inhabitants of the village live happily", or "Brave Vesperia will keep Luceti safe" is better than nothing. When you've got an endgame, you look more like a solid leader; you're forward-thinking and you're confident. People look up to someone who makes a plan and sticks to it.

[It's why the entirety of the Oracle Knights worshipped Van and followed him even after he betrayed the world, after all- you just can't refuse that sort of unshakable determination.]

I'd say we want to do all of those things, but wouldn't that be a little too broad? I always thought having specific goals was better.

[This is really a new area for him. Leading a group of monsters isn't the same thing as leading people at all, especially not since the monsters would pretty much do whatever he told them to. Well. Most of the time.]

So... maybe we could start with some small things and then work our way up from there. Besides, I think people would be a lot more willing to trust us if we show them that we can get stuff done.

Having a broad goal doesn't mean you're limited to only that one. Short term plans are means to an end- steps that you take towards accomplishing the nonspecific end. "Protect the village" can become "stop the droids from kidnapping people", which filters down into "patrol the streets", "recruit more members", "train everyone to defend themselves".

Having only smaller goals makes a group indecisive and aimless. You accomplish more, but you're not working towards anything.

So you mean have a broad goal, but break it down into smaller ones? That makes sense. Then you can actually see stuff getting done when you accomplish the smaller ones, but you're still working towards something bigger.

Thanks, Asch. You've been a big help in this. I think I'll be able to figure out what to do now that I've got some ideas.

[Voice/Action] backdated to Day 1 of the event until the end!

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