Grand Opening Mingle Log

[faredthere]

You've just moved to Farethere City!

Why? Well, you don't seem to want to dwell on it too hard. You certainly remember who you are and where you're from - it's not as though you have amnesia or anything like that, of course not. You just don't really want to think about the events immediately leading up to your moving here for some reason.

That's not important anyway. What matters is that you've just moved in to a new town! It seems like there are a lot of other people besides you moving in today, too. There's a giant 'Welcome to Farethere City' banner hung up between two trees, and there's all kinds of food and drink on tables underneath, including plenty you've probably never seen before.

Now's a good chance to meet your neighbors and get yourself situated. Wander around town a little - check out the library, or figure out what on earth those mushroom-shaped doors at the far end of town are for. Or just pig out on the food - you did just unpack all your stuff today, no one will blame you for taking the chance to relax.

(Don't think too hard about the unboxing process. Or why there might be some things in your house that you don't remember buying.)

Your mayor is floating about greeting people. You'll properly get to meet him at some point, so be sure to ask him all the questions you have about your new home.

Comments

[impossibilities]

[A young woman with violet hair is aimlessly wandering the welcoming party and the town to an extent, finding out where everything is. She looks mostly human... mostly. Except her skin is slightly iridescent and she sports a pair of dragonfly-like wings on her back.

Aside from that she's pretty average looking.

Please excuse her if she accidentally whaps you with a wing while moving about.]

[faredthere]

[She would have whapped Michibiki in the face with a wing, but instead she whapped him in the mask. Close enough.]

Oof.

[It didn't actually hurt.]

[impossibilities]

[Startled, Grainne turns around, pulling her wings tightly in.] Oh, I'm so sorry. Sometimes they have a mind of their own.

[They also have the annoying habit of quivering when she's nervous or embarrassed.]

Are you all right?

[faredthere]

Just fine! I've had worse.

[He sounds like he's smiling, at least, even if she can't see it.]

How are you liking the place?

[impossibilities]

It is... [She hesitates a moment, trying to find the right word to describe what she feels.] friendly. Everyone here seems to be very welcoming. It seems a bit different for me. Perhaps because I am used to large places.

[faredthere]

It can feel a bit too cozy. But knowing all your neighbors is nice too, isn't it?

[impossibilities]

I... [Something made her trail off, Grainne wincing as a half buried thought brushed by her.] I suppose so, yes. That's what community is about. [She manages a smile.] That and gossip.

[faredthere]

I’m always here for gossip, if you want~

[He doesn’t miss that wince, but he doesn’t comment on it either.]

[impossibilities]

[Smiling just slightly, she shakes her head.]

Gossip is so naughty though, someone could get into trouble. Oh, I'm Grainne.

[faredthere]

[It's so fun though.]

Pleasure to meet you - I'm Michibiki, your new mayor.

[impossibilities]

Oh! [How embarrassing; she had whapped the mayor.]

It is a pleasure as well. I-I suppose first impressions are not everything... I'm sorry about that.

[faredthere]

Nothing to worry about! [It's not like she has a lot of experience with those wings, though of course he can't say that.] I've had worse.

[impossibilities]

[She seems comforted by that.]

The city seems like a nice place. Is it usually this lively? Or is it more of a sleepy town?

[sacrifeyes]

Ah--

[What on earth just hit his shoulder? Eun was standing still, but still, he hurries to say,]

Sorry, that was my fault.

[impossibilities]

[Red faced, Grainne turns toward her victim.] I'm sorry. That was me. [The wings glimmer slightly with movement; apparently they tremble when she's nervous.]

They are terrible and have a mind of their own sometimes.

[sacrifeyes]

Oh... Are those wings?

[He can barely see them. Ah, the life of the legally blind. The hint of light along them, though...]

They're lovely. Sorry. My name's Eun.

[He offers a polite handshake. Pawshake. One of those.]

[impossibilities]

[The wings flutter upwards, as if enjoying the compliment and trying to show off a little.]

Yes, I'm afraid they are, but not much use. I cannot fly. [Her cheeks darken a tad.] I'm Grainne. Nice to meet you.

[Her hand is light and delicate, as is her grip.]

[sacrifeyes]

Grainne. [He repeats her name with a smile. His own grip is gentle, too; for all that he's a sheepdog in this incarnation, he still has an artist's soft touch.] It's nice to meet you, too.

[He folds both his hands neatly on his cane.]

Do beautiful things have to have a use beyond beauty, though?

[impossibilities]

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin. [Grainne had done a lot of make up reading lately; the quote popped into her head before she thought about it much.]

I think they should. Beauty fades always, and if that is one's sole purpose, then it becomes merely a thing given time, left with nothing but memories to comfort. It is... it is a sad fate.

[sacrifeyes]

...Is that from the Bible? It sounds familiar.

[Thoughtfully, Eun lifts his gaze towards the sky.]

I'm a photographer, so maybe I simply think differently. For me... because things fade, because nothing on Earth lasts beyond a fraction of an instant, I find the beauty of their living all the more compelling. Capturing the exact moment when sunlight brushes a leaf to bring out all the colors we couldn't see... it filled my heart with something inexpressible. I always wanted to linger there, to live in that instant of love.

[But he catches himself and smiles apologetically.]

Ah, but maybe I'm talking too much. I know not everyone shares my philosophy.

[impossibilities]

You are not talking too much, it is just you have led a different life. [She laughs, though not unkindly] Tis, though I'm hardly one to quote from it regularly. I'm a follower of the old ways.

Beauty is not nearly as compelling when you are the object which everyone seeks. It may be as that you are talking about a special moment in time rather than appearance itself, or... perhaps those moments when the world itself shows you its heart.

In that case, the world must be taken as its whole, snow and misery as well as light and warmth. Even love has a sharp edge.

[so does her voice, though it is sad rather than sharp.]

[sacrifeyes]

...Yes.

[His voice quiets a bit, withdraws within; almost like a cloud's passed over the sun. Whatever he's thinking, it's far from the surface.]

I find the cold places and painful edges beautiful, too, in their own way. But you're right.

[Eun shakes his head.]

The experience of the beholder is very different from that of the one beheld. Particularly when that attention is unwanted.

[impossibilities]

Yes... [Her hand pulls a lock of hair to the front, brushing it though her hair hardly needed attention.]

It sounds as if you have had experience with such a thing.

[Her eyebrow goes up, hinting at curiosity.] I hardly expected to meet someone who spoke like a poet on the first day here.

[sacrifeyes]

[He laughs a little, taken off-guard by the comment.]

Haha. I'm not nearly talented enough with words for that.

[But his tail wags once. He considers it a compliment.]

Still, like I said, I'm a photographer, and I grew up in a family of artists. I suppose that's why I end up thinking like that sometimes. [He tilts his head slightly.] If you don't mind my asking, what is it you do, Miss Grainne?

[impossibilities]

Talent is just another word for practice. [She smiles; how many times had she been told that when she was a child?]

Oh, I am in business. Cake baking. [Close enough. She put her spare time to good use.] At least it started out that way. It's gotten a bit more now. Home wares... home design. Knitting. People like my style, I suppose. It was really just to keep me busy after my divorce.

[And a long time ago, she had decided to dethrone Martha Stewart.]