(no subject)

[castrationfist]

Who: Everyone
Broadcast: N/A
Action: Iskaulit
When:

[So we've been stuck on the poison moon for a couple months now, so a lot of people probably want to get away from that.

Unfortunately, the only place you really can get away from it besides your own ship is the Iskaulit. So, here's a June Iskaulit mingle!]

Comments

stefan salvatore-alesci; ota

[stefanged]

a) Interfaith Center

[Considering that Stefan hates the polluted moon, he spends most of his time in the Center. Whether it's refilling tea through magic (thanks Alex and Kotoha!) or leading discussions on faith, he's around more often than normal.

On Thursdays, he'll sit on one of the cushions in the main prayer room and pull out his copy of the Qur'an. Although the passages are in classical Arabic, Stefan reads highlighted passages (and in turn translates them) as if they're no big deal. Mostly because they're not.

On Fridays, however, he hesitates as he stares out at the group of regulars and the newcomers that straggle in. Every Friday, he waits and sees if anyone in this crowd shares his faith, because jumu'ah gains so much more meaning when prayed together. And yet, every Friday, disappointment sets in his face as he realizes that he'll be praying alone again. Catch him before prayer, or after, or well - any time of day, really, he practically lives here now.]

b) Art Studio

[Sometimes, he drops by the studio to check on Alex. Stefan's not much of a painter; he prefers his hand-stitched journals and the power of a pen. So while he waits on Alex, he'll sit in the corner and write.

When he's not writing, though, he'll glance over at someone's painting and murmur,] Hey, that looks pretty good. [Even if, you know, he hadn't meant to interrupt them or say it out loud.]

c) Wildcard

[In those rare moments that Stefan's not in the Center or Art Studio, he's wandering around. Maybe he's in the community gardens and trying suspiciously hard to avoid one Ino, or maybe he's by the library and checking out that selection of mystery novels he donated a while back.

Either way, he's not leaving the Iskaulit anytime soon, so he'll be around.]

[intelligently]

( Thankfully this drawing isn't a tree. It's nice to be able to get out and do something different, even if drawing isn't usually what Lydia does. She isn't bad though, so Stefan's compliment is pretty on the ball, and it makes her smile, turning just enough to look back at him )

Thanks. ( There's a small pause as she catches sight of his book ) Though I think you're in the wrong room for writing.

( She's teasing, but if you're in an art room you should draw something )

[stefanged]

Probably. [He returns that smile, tucking his diary back into his bag. He might as well look for a brush to practice some calligraphy, since well - him and painting don't mesh.]

I don't really draw, but I feel like I should support the place somehow.

[intelligently]

Well, writing is a form of art. Depending on what you're writing about.

( Poetry and fiction, yes. Non fiction and diaries? Less so )

But then again there's only one way to get better at drawing - practice.

[stefanged]

[He shakes his head.] I haven't picked up a pencil since I was a kid. Don't think I'll be starting anytime soon, either.

[intelligently]

Why not?

( Actual curiosity )

[stefanged]

Religious reasons, partially. The jury's out on whether drawing living beings is similar to worshipping them.

[He shrugs, not entirely bothered by that.] But also partially because I prefer calligraphy.

[intelligently]

That makes sense.

( And is pretty interesting. Plus calligraphy is cool )

What about drawing inanimate objects?

[stefanged]

They're fine. Landscapes too, but it gets murky once you start talking about animals or people.

[passingthrough]

[Stefan has a knack for hanging out in areas Kitty doesn't do more than peek in out of curiosity to see who might be around. The art studio makes her think too much of her former husband which is still too loaded of a topic to throw herself into on the regular and the interfaith center? Well, her cultural heritage as a Jewish person is extremely important to her. As important to her as being a mutant. But faith is something that ran out a long time ago with everything she saw. She'll leave other people to theirs though. Enough gets taken from people. She won't take more.

The library, on the other hand, is one of her haunts. She looks up when she realizes she isn't alone and then looks a little longer as if recognizing him. She has seen him or a version of him before. She knows it was in the prison, but she can't remember who he was. The encounter had been brief, but he was part of that group, wasn't he?]

Mystic Falls?

[stefanged]

[People don't usually peg him for Mystic Falls. Locke City, sure - he's had his share of strangers ask about his "superpowers." (He's also had one too many strangers ask him about faith, how he manages to keep it despite the world going to hell in a handbasket.) Sometimes, they'll ask about Tokyo or Christchurch, or once, even Jordan.

So when a complete stranger says Mystic Falls, he tenses up, as if preparing for a fight. He doesn't remember a lot from back home, but nothing good ever comes of mentioning Mystic Falls. Save for the friends he barely remembers.]

Long time since I've heard of it. [He folds his arms, mentally going through his Echoes (scattered memories) and - and he's coming up blank. This woman wasn't in any of them.] What about Mystic Falls?

[passingthrough]

[She notices the tensing, so she does what she can to go the other way with non threatening body language. Not here for a confrontation.] Hi. I was in another place before this one. Same kind of deal though. [She figures he'll understand. So many people here have been in other multidimensional...whatevers]

You looked familiar from there, but you or the version of you who was there wasn't around long. I couldn't remember your name, but I was pretty sure you were friends with Elena or maybe Damon. Possibly both assuming Damon has friends.

[stefanged]

I'm sorry, did you just say that you... knew my brother?

[That's a first. A huge first, actually. But if Elena ended up in other nexuses, it stood to reason that Damon would've too.

He'll come back to himself being there later, because even though his memory's been shot numerous times, he'd like to think he'd gain back those memories. Some day.]

[passingthrough]

Oh. [Some things click into place with that.] You're Stefan. Right. That makes sense. There were just a lot of you for awhile and then disappearing just as fast.

[She nods.] But yeah, I knew Damon. He was there for awhile.

[stefanged]

Huh. You must've seen another me. I don't remember that at all...

[There's so much he wants to ask - how on Earth she was on good terms with Damon, how long they knew each other, but really? The most pressing thing he wants is "what was my brother like?" That's not a good question, so he settles for a laugh.] I'm glad he had you to keep him company, then. I know what Damon gets like when he's bored.

[passingthrough]

Probably. These places are fun like that.

Mmm...well, luckily for Damon in addition to me, he had a job to fill some of his time. [She's not sure if he took it on because he was bored or if he was trying to collect rehabilitation points for something. He wasn't always a big sharer.] He ran the vampire blood shack. Also a bar.

[stefanged]

A blood shack.

[Now that's a sentence Stefan never expected to hear. Damon running a bar, sure. His big bro'd idly talked about it, in the vein of "fun jobs while he plays human."] And why would my brother need to run something like that?

[castrationfist]

[Well, if Stefan is leading discussions on faith, during one of those, he might notice someone hovering around outside the door to the center, looking rather discontent.

(The fox ears, giant bushy tail, and the ornate mirror floating in a circle around her are probably worth noticing as well.)

She keeps looking like she's going to make an attempt to step in, but then stopping at the last second, then trying again.]

/slides in late with starbucks

[stefanged]

[If there's a giant mirror floating around her, then well - she's gonna be hard to not notice. Stefan'll pause mid-sentence and rise to his feet.]

Hey, you wanna come in?

[This is a public space, so a verbal invitation shouldn't have prevented her, but... it's hard to mistake Stefan's concern for anything else.]

yeeeee

[castrationfist]

[The mirror, for the record, is just a couple of feet tall.]

Well... It may not be a wise idea. What gods are worshipped here?

[stefanged]

Theoretically, every god. [Headtilt.] I personally follow an Abrahamic faith, but I wouldn't stop you from following your own practices or beliefs.

[castrationfist]

Oh? A bona fide man of the faith, hm? I was right about what I smelled, then!

[She's not entering the door yet, but pacing around to look at Stefan from other angles.]

Well, if I enter, it still might call down a curse, you know? Either through that western God of yours deciding to mark his territory, or simple divine providence.

[stefanged]

Excuse me?

[Smelled??? He must've misheard that, right?]

I'm- I don't think you have to worry about that here.

[castrationfist]

[She just giggles a little.]

Something a little similar to that Vlad fellow.

Hm... Well, maybe. Let's test!

[She very dramatically steps forward.

Absolutely nothing happens, and she seems almost disappointed to be inside.]

[stefanged]

Maybe I'm just a lowly "man of the faith," but isn't this a good thing?

[IE, being able to enter without randomly being smited?]

This isn't exactly ancient ground.