you and me in the moonlight

[crosslaced]

Who: You!
What: A year end party MINGLELOG to help everyone recover from the Shit we’ve been through.
When: Forwarddated to Nov 24
Where: Enso E4, close to the ST Temple
Warnings: Mark as necessary, but none expected.

As the end of November draws near…… it’s time for that player plot the mods hinted at in their latest announcement.

Laurent’s Witch Labyrinth! -no, actually, it’s just a party.

[preparation]

All day on the 24th people are hard at work setting up on the golden beaches of Enso. The Storyteller’s Temple can be seen from the site and vice versa; it’s just a short walk away. There’s quite a bit to be done, so every extra pair of hands are welcome!

[the party]

As evening falls, a series of torches light up the party site for the lost; most prominent are the three large campfires spaced out across the beach, offering a variety of gathering spots for those who don’t like the loud partying going on at the other one.

There’s more than enough food to go around. An entire Cariborn is being dug up from the sandy soil way up the beach, having been roasted in the ground. There’s a wide variety spread out on tables… of handwaved origin… maybe they’re the ones left around from 4/20?? It’s probably fine. Herb- baked vegetables, fresh fruits, meat of various types, pizza!! and yes, Muffet’s Magic Blackberry Alcohol abound.

We’ve also got party favors. Amongst them, it seems like..... owo are these sparklers?

Come hang out! It’s a well-deserved break.

[activities]

The children (and adults so-inclined) have some cute party games to have fun with. There’s a simple little ringtoss area set up, with rings that aren’t even proper circles (listen, Laurent tried) and wooden stakes in the ground to be ringed.

Across the wide stretch of sand there's a lot that can be done- want to build some sandcastles? Pick some shells? Fight some crabs? The beach is dotted with doodles in the sand, inviting you to join in.

The biggest attraction is perhaps the petting zoo- well, it’s a cluster of animals just hanging out, but you get the idea. Located far up on the beach and away from the danger of the waves, the petting zoo has three whole Chocobos, two whole Tigerlilies (one of which is clearly guarding the Chocobos), and one whole horse. Sometimes two horses, but the grey wandering one is wearing a plaque that says “I BITE. PET ME CAREFULLY.”

[storyteller?]

Yes, ST-chan is invited! I’m leaving it to them to top-level or tag out at their leisure. Keep an eye out for the bunny god, they’re Coming.

Comments

[antepone]

Quite a while.

[ Longer than she can remember, which... bothers her, at best. Terrifies her, at worst. Storyteller had told her it was just how her story is.

But it's still frightening. ]

You have too, right?

[postictal]

Since day one.

[It's dry, rote.]

Give it just over a year, and we have a Denny, an infirmary, and magic metal.

[antepone]

[ She falls quiet as she considers that. ]

I wonder what we'll be able to have in another year. Maybe we'll find ourselves a power plant and cell phones.

[postictal]

I did come here with a cell phone. Not that it lasted. [Something about the water here. As always.]

Sure as hell'd be better than magic pebbles.

[antepone]

Mine got left at home, I'm fairly sure.

[ She stretches her legs out. ]

If we had cell phones, we could play games on them, too. Take pictures and videos... It would be nice during parties.

[postictal]

Back where I was before, people figured out how to make this...generator. Used it to power an entire network. Something to do with magic and electricity.

[Pity he never asked Sans how it worked. But then, him expressing even that kind of courtesy interest might have been termed suspicious, given how adamantly Tim tried to stay in his lane at first.]

[antepone]

[ Huh. Doesn't that sound familiar. ]

You were in another world before coming here?

[postictal]

Yeah. Place called Sol Raveh.

[It wasn't an ideal spot for a vacation.]

Castle in the Mist, war between darkness and light. You hear anyone mention it?

[antepone]

I can't say I have... the only other place I've heard of like that was just... space.

You were in a war?

[postictal]

Space.

[Not sure if he's gonna be envious of that, not gonna lie. Tim rolls one shoulder in a partial shrug and glances back at the fire.]

...I guess. There wasn't a lot of actual war going on when I was there. Mostly just the shadows doing whatever they wanted, and the people who kept them back.

[antepone]

Space, [ she says with a nod.

Honestly... anywhere else would've been better, Mira thinks. But she doesn't want to dwell on the past when she has so many good things here.

(She doesn't want to, but she still does.)

She almost considers asking if he misses his home. She decides that's too personal for a first meeting. ]

I see... I only came from Washington, so this is all new to me. This whole... different worlds thing.

[postictal]

[That earns Tim's equivalent of mild surprise, which is as subdued as the man himself - a slight lift of his eyebrows, and a faint hum.]

You're from...uh, Earth?

[God, he sure hates that he has to phrase it like that. This is just his life now. Can't assume that people are from Earth.]

[antepone]

I am. Well... a version of Earth, I guess.

[ She shifts a little. ]

But it's very much Earth. Are... you from Earth, too?

[postictal]

A version of it, I guess. [He hopes to god she's not from the same version. Ha.]

[He opens a hand, as if to gesture at himself.] Alabama.

[and BOY DID HE HATE IT]

[antepone]

[ The only spooky critter she's very familiar with is Mothman, who is DEFINITELY real. No Slender Mens here. ]

Alabama... I've never been there. Just around Washington and Oregon. France, before that.

[postictal]

[It's for the best. Really.]

You're not missing much. Nothing down there but guys with guns in pickup trucks, kudzu, and racism. [And because he was a broke college kid with a life of medical bills at his back, he'd never once in his life even crossed state lines. Then he got dropped into a new world entirely, and promptly crossed every line known to humankind. Including several they didn't even know existed.]

France, huh? What was that like?

[antepone]

Suddenly, I feel very lucky I lived in Washington.

[ She falls quiet, thinking. Her memories of France are generally good, so... ]

Beautiful. I lived about an hour from Paris... My father had a vineyard, and my mother had quite the garden. It was... quiet, but I never complained. [ Her voice is quiet as she speaks. ] I miss it a lot. Things seemed much easier, when I lived there.

[ Belatedly, she realizes she's probably said--or revealed--too much. Whoops. ]

The food was amazing, too.

[postictal]

[Past tense. Father had. Mother had. Never complained. Miss it.]

[It's small. He doesn't comment on it. He's just learned to start gathering what he can from context; when you don't have a camera, when you lack the means to scroll through footage and digitized memory, you make do.]

Easier than here, I'll bet.

[antepone]

Much easier.

[ She lets out a soft breath. Probably, she should open up--not to Tim, when they've only just met--but to others she trusts. And yet...

There's so much more for people to worry about here. She shouldn't add onto that. ]

Easier doesn't always mean better, though.

[postictal]

You'd consider this better?

[He...honestly doesn't sound shocked. He's of the same school of thought, though he should hope it's for a wildly different reason.]

[antepone]

I would.

[ She could mention that here, people don't hate her for what she can do. She could mention that the people she's met here accept her for who she is. That she doesn't feel as much of a burden--she still does, but it's lesser, here--as she does back in her world. She could mention she feels like she belongs here, for once.

But she doesn't mention any of those things. ]

The worst things... they still feel fresh and raw.

[ Flowers in her throat, over her eyes, blooming over her as she stifles down what she tries to hide. An apparition only she can see. Worrying about losing memories again. Treasured friends disappearing without a word or trace. ]

But everything else, like my friends here, learning new things, being able to do what feels right instead of what's expected of me... Those things are better.

[postictal]

[Couched in vague enough language that there's not much to pick apart. Though there's one exception: what's expected of me.]

[He does this unconsciously by now. A liar. Distrustful fucking prick. Always holding people at arm's length. Is that his instinct, the part of him that wants to know what he can use? Or does it belong to * Someone else?]

[Don't think about it.]

Plenty of people would rather stay here than head home.

The ones that have a home to go back to, anyway.

[antepone]

[ She almost asks if he'd rather stay here. She refrains, though. Does she have any right to ask such personal questions, when she refuses to open up? ]

Especially with nights like these... I can't blame them.

[postictal]

Oh, and you don't miss pizza?

[That's the closest he gets to levity in casual conversation without skewing toward gallows humor.]

This is a once in a year kind of thing right here.

[antepone]

[ That gets her to crack a smile, at least. ]

I'm not sure why I would ever miss pizza.

Or things like hot coffee with flavored creamers.

[ Ugh, she misses coffee so much. ]