mingle a little Mor tonight

[catamite]

Who: Everyone!
Broadcast: Sure!
Action: The wonderful world of Mor, nearby way-stations, and ships!
When: The first week or so of arrival

[this is it-- Atroma's surprise vacation stay for you all! it's time to explore, speculate, relax, and totally behave yourselves. right?

how are you all dealing with the ever-so-educational volcano? have you played around with the visual toggle on those collars yet? aren't they cool? aren't these peasant clothes rad? if you haven't had a decent meal since Abeo, maybe you could afford some of that authentic farm-raised meat they have here. historical!

I bet you're all excited and completely thrilled to be here! who wouldn't be? ...so, make some discoveries, make some friends, and have fun!]

Comments

[ladiesss]

[okay. well now she's starting to blush.]

No! I'm serious!

[heresyandlace]

You want me to tell you if you're gay. [it comes out a little flatter than he means.]

As in...

[and he tilts his head a little, like a bird. because, he does know the correct meaning of the term, doesn't he? he's pretty sure he figured it out successfully awhile ago. unless he'd missed some nuance to it... because maybe she's meaning something else, if she seems this confused and distressed about it...?]

[ladiesss]

As in... [oh, god, does she have to say it?] As in really interested in girls. Like, romantically. And not guys. At all.

[she presses one of her hands into the side of her face, though. already a little defeated. it's hard to tell if she's shocked or amazed or... just kind of flatly taking this all...]

Oh my god, I'm totally gay, aren't I?

[heresyandlace]

...Was there any thought to the contrary?

[because he missed it if there was.

but he's not completely without sympathy, here. he knows how this goes. it's just taking him a few minutes to realize that this somehow really hadn't been as obvious to her as he assumes it is to everyone else.]

[ladiesss]

Yes. Of course there was!

[oookay. okay, she needs to settle down. she pinches the bridge of her nose because even now, she can't smear her makeup.]

Look, it's just... It's weird where I come from, okay? And I thought I just... Didn't like anyone, so... I don't even...

[heresyandlace]

[he nods. okay, he gets it, and he lifts a hand a little--waving for her to stop and relax.]

Goodness, and you bring this to me... especially when I haven't even had breakfast yet.

[he steps away from her, but he nods for her to follow during the step or two after that.]

I'm going to find something to eat. Are you coming?

[ladiesss]

[the idea of eating makes her stomach churn, but... Tek is... it sounds like Tek is being nice to her again. and she feels kind of on the verge of a bad fit of anxiety. so she swallows her feelings and nods.]

Y-Yeah, I'm coming.

[there, she hurries along to catch up with him.]

What... are you thinking of eating?

[heresyandlace]

[it's that anxiety that keeps him from heckling her, really... and that just takes all the fun out of things. he has to be nice, in this case, so he's at least going to act as though he's doing anything except that.]

There's a little stand I found a few blocks away. The theme of the place seems to be "on a stick."

It's the first time I've seen pork served anywhere since this whole misadventure began.

[ladiesss]

Oh, that's... cute. [she doesn't quite smile, but...] Doesn't sound so bad.

[she'll follow him diligently, making a little bit of small-talk--obviously just trying to distract herself, but it's doing wonders in calming her down. they can go get their meat. on a stick. and probably both eat them out of the way, maybe to the side of that stand.

thoughtfully, and a little embarrassed... she speaks up halfway through her some-kind-of-bird-kabob.]

...Yeah, I'm... Sorry I kind of threw that one on you. I might have panicked a little.

[heresyandlace]

[he likes standing off to the side in the shade--he doesn't have his sunglasses here, after all. it's cool here, out of the sun, and the noise level is low and perfect. being in the middle of an archaic town, surrounded by it but not in its busy center... he's perfectly at home here.

the food helps, too. very relaxing. he can only hope that it has a similar effect on the girl.]

I noticed.

[he keeps his attention off of her and centered down on his meal. whatever kind of meat he'd chosen is full of an appalling amount of knuckle and gristle, so he pauses to gnaw through a bit of it.]

...Are you worried it might be true?

[ladiesss]

Well, yeah.

[at least she's got that snotty teenager tone back. that's probably a good sign.]

I mean... I guess I don't know why, since I'm pretty much going to be ostracized by friends and family regardless or whether or not it's true, I just...

[heresyandlace]

Exactly.

[he crunches through another piece of gristle.]

You already gave up your chance to be normal. What would this change for you, really?

[ladiesss]

I don't know.

[not much. it's just... one more thing to hide from her classmates and her parents, if either of them are even going to matter for very long.]

I guess I just... Thought I'd finally figured out who I was and what I wanted, but I turned out to be wrong. Wrong enough to get mad about it, or whatever.

[heresyandlace]

[oops, he laughs just a little bit. and he points the half-empty stick of food at her to mark his words.]

You have no idea how young you are.

...You are going to think back on what you just said and laugh, several years from now.

[ladiesss]

[instead of saying anything, she just frowns and stuffs a hunk of meat into her mouth. chews it despite not technically having any teeth. swallows petulantly.]

I hate it when you're right.

[heresyandlace]

I know.

[and he drags the last piece of meat off of the skewer with sharp teeth. give him a moment to chew that one up, and sort through his final thoughts on the subject.]

...Is it something that is still up for debate, anyway? Are you even still wondering where you truly stand?

[ladiesss]

I want to debate it, but boys gross me out.

[she still has meat to chew on. she will gnaw out her frustration.]