citylogs | [open] welcome to the city

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[open] welcome to the city

WHO: Altria Caster (

excaliburden) & perhaps you!
WHAT: Help out a gal who just got here and is still getting used to magical city things like powdered sugar
WHERE: Across the city! Namely: a convenience store, park, subway, etc.......
WHEN: Early November
WARNINGS: N/A! Will update if necessary

a. local victorian orphan discovers convenience stores

[You're probably popping into the local convenience store for sensible reasons, like to buy a soda or to grab a few things you're missing for your dinner. Maybe for one of those hot dogs. No judgment.

Either way, you're getting interrupted by a gremlin in young woman form, who comes right up to you as soon as she makes eye contact, holding up... one of those small little packs of powdered sugar donuts.]

Have you ever tried one of these?

[She sounds awed.

There is powdered sugar around her mouth and on her fingers. She seems to have already eaten three of the five in the pack. It's a little bit like a religious experience, honestly.]

b. park break

[There's only so much walking around the city she can do before she gets tired. Even a few days in, it's still a pretty overwhelming place, and despite making many plans with many helpful people upon first arriving, she... has not acted on any of them.

So it is that even though it's either very early in the morning or very late at night, Altria can be found seated on one of the benches in the park, shoulders hunched and hands in her lap. She doesn't seem to be asleep, just... thinking very, very intently.

Of course, if she notices that someone's near, she'll immediately straighten, lifting a hand to wave--but with how deep in thought she is, it isn't hard to sneak up on her, either.]

c. subway

[Using the subway today to get across the city? That's a perfectly normal thing to do.

There's a young woman there as well, nose pressed to the window as she stares out as the train moves, even though it's, you know, underground and there's nothing to see. It's fine--she still seems amazed.

Also, if you hop back on the train a few hours later to go elsewhere, she's... still there. She might be leaning back in the seat, staring at the ceiling, or moving from seat to seat idly, or, in particularly empty times of day, sprawled along two seats at once.

Don't worry about it. Everything's fine here!]

d. wildcard

(Wanna tag in but these prompts don't work? Totally fine, hit me with whatever--or poke me over here to plot something out!)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[She visited the art exhibition. It was so strange as to be disorienting, especially since it was her first few days in the city.

But... Kaveh's experience was different, and listening to him speak so earnestly of his home is fascinating. Rainforests and deserts? Can she picture what those look like...?

She doesn't think she can. She's only familiar with forests and temperate climates. That's all Britain is. That makes his memories of his home all the more precious, and she hangs on every word, with the way that he paints a picture with them.

He asks her about hers, but really--the only answer that escapes her at first is a blurted:]

I want to hear more about your home!

[A beat. Sheepishly, she clears her throat.]

I mean... if you don't mind telling me sometime. I want to know what a rainforest looks like... and what paneer tastes like, and what makes a pita lady a pita lady!

[From context clues, she can piece together some things. Deep fried foods are always delicious. The pita lady is likely a woman with a stall, selling some sort of food or other. But even so... she wants more of this strange and unusual world she's never seen or imagined.

(Did Kaveh ask Altria a question? Well, some topics are more important than others.)]

[ kaveh starts. another, kaveh thinks. he wonders what kind of world altria is from, if she is from a world where the desert stretches, or the endless sea swims - or if she is from a world like heine's or netzach's, where there is nothing, and there will be nothing, and everything kaveh has painted for them will eventually be no more than a fever dream.

still, altria is asking, and she seems cheered for it. kaveh smiles. ]

Well, I'd like to save the paneer for later - rather than describing the crunch of its exterior, or the savoury flavour of the cheese, I'd rather make it for you when I have a chance. Instead, the question of the rainforest is much easier - you were there at the art exhibit. Did you ever go into the green room?

[He's going to feed her! Yay, yay, yay! That's even better. So she's certainly not going to complain, instead eagerly perking up when he acquiesces to her honestly a little demanding request.]

I did, yes. It was very green. In Faerie Britain, we have forests, but they have a different sort of green to them, I think... it is a little hard to explain, but it doesn't feel quite so all-encompassing.

[ kaveh brightens. ]

Then, the place you must come from must be closer in climate to Mondstadt, or perhaps Liyiue. Places where there is green, but the green isn't so much. If you can believe it, Sumeru is far greener than the room you were in. We have trees older than our nation; they are as tall as mountains. We built an entire city on one. It's our capital, and our pride.

Even greener...? Tall as mountains?

[TREES??? She looks suitably impressed, eyes wide and expression entranced. One of them is presumably walking backwards while carrying this fencing, and it's probably Kaveh, if only to prevent her from tripping and ruining all of their work.

She has that sort of aura.]

That's so hard to imagine...! [... Also hard to imagine is a capital that a normal, average citizen of the country could feel pride in. That, she doesn't say.]

What is the capital like? Do you go there often? Is it open to everyone?

[ it's in the wording, kaveh thinks. all of a sudden, he has a premonition: this young lady must be from a similar place to netzach and heine. a place where basic rights in other worlds are hardly considered the same way.

a capital that isn't open to anyone, kaveh thinks, is a capital that discriminates between people. he wonders if she's been discriminated against, what she has not been allowed to do. kaveh's heart aches at it. ]

Yes! In fact, I live there. It's called 'Sumeru City' - not the most creative of names, I know, but it's the pride of our land. [ kaveh's smile sobers. ] Ah, but it wasn't always open to everyone. No, I'd be lying if I said otherwise. You see, Sumeru is split between desert and rainforest. And for over five hundred years, the people of the desert were discriminated against by the people of the rainforest. I've been lucky; I was born in the rainforest, and grew up in that city. But the people of the desert who travel so far to roost in the capital are often not welcomed. Not as they are.

[... Ah. So there is discrimination there, as well, even in the home that Kaveh speaks of with so much love. It speaks well to him, she thinks, that he's so honest about it. That he sees it so clearly.

Those who don't, she finds, tend to beget it.

She smiles at him then, unflinchingly.]

You said they "were" discriminated against. So even if they're not always welcomed now... does that mean it's getting a little better?

[ kaveh hums. ]

Yes. A little, bit by bit. Just as it takes time for the forest to heal from a forest fire comes the slow process of rebuilding and reconciliation. [ and then, with a roll of his eyes and somewhat reluctant affection - ] There's a man who overthrew the government, which undid quite a bit of the corruption that had seeped into our soil and tangled our roots. That set the catalyst for the reconciliation between our forest and our desert.

Well, [ with a hapless shrug. ] if I were home right now, I'd be out there building much-needed infrastructure for the desert, and accommodations for them in the city. Truly, my timing's never sound.

[There is so much to unpack there. So someone overthrew the government, but this someone--the way that Kaveh speaks of him is so...

Has Altria ever heard that mix of emotions before? Perhaps... A hint of it, from Muramasa. Perhaps Fujimaru, sometimes. It's both nostalgic and foreign, and it's a thread she wants to tease at.

... And, of course, that Kaveh was at work helping however he can--even from what little she's seen of him, that tracks. He offered her his only pair of gloves, just to protect the ones she already owns. Selfless, endlessly so, and honestly so.

So... she smiles a little, tilting her head, twin tails swaying with the motion. Yes, she thinks she'll ask about his relationships after all.]

This man who overthrew the government... are you two close?

[ altria just homing in on the gay here tbh. kaveh doesn't flinch so much as he shutters. the look he gives altria is a little helpless. close, she says. ]

Well, um. [ kaveh fumbles. he is also the worst liar on the face of the planet. for a moment, ] Close is - I suppose.

[ he supposes. but kaveh thinks - is that really the word for it? to describe two heads bent over the same desk in the house of daena, cloistered so closely to one another that a hit to the back of one would end against the other? two minds peering up at the same sky debating self-determination while procrastinating on six projects total put together, and yet asserting that their hearts remain true and free? a single feather on kaveh's desk, turquoise blue, carefully treated because it reminded him of better times?

kaveh says, ]

Have you met a man named Alhaitham here?

[I mean, it's the most interesting option, clearly.

Oh.

This man is truly a terrible liar though, isn't he? True, her eyes help her parse out things that others would not be able to see, but even so, she's pretty sure just about anyone would be able to read "yes" and "it's complicated" from the way he stumbles over such a simple word.

Close.

"I suppose," he says, and Altria reads... depth. There's a depth to the feelings he leaves unsaid that brims in a way that Altria does not know how to read. It has nothing to do with her eyes, and everything to do with the fact that she's unsure if she's ever seen anything quite like it before.]

... I haven't.

[It's said slowly (as Cal checks the timeline of threads) as she carefully tries to process what she's seeing.]

He's here with you? [That... must be a relief, she thinks. Surely, feeling this strongly about someone and then losing them would be unbearable.]

[ SPEAKING THE TRUTH,

meanwhile, in this timeline, kaveh takes a moment to pause. the question, kaveh thinks, is an astute one. it's one that kaveh often wondered at - what it would be like, what would be the shape of himself, if alhaitham hadn't been here. alhaitham as anchor, as perpetual vexation and the reminder of home.

it follows, then, that there's only one possible answer. kaveh smiles. ]

He is. [ gratitude, and privilege both. kaveh knows that one goes hand in hand with the other. he mustn't ever take it for granted. ] Well, I can hardly be rid of him, now. He's likely holed up in the apartment doing something terrible to the decor, or coming up with scathing things to say about the latest manuscript that he's had the pleasure of reading. A spoiled brat, really. He ought to be grateful that he has even that much to read around these parts.

[Ah, and there's the lovely smile that Altria thinks must go hand-in-hand with such deep and wonderful feelings. How endearing. How romantic, to feel that strongly about someone else, and find them again in another world entirely.

That's the sort of romance she's dreamt of. In a way, seeing it for herself is inspiring--it is possible, see? (In a way, she's a little envious.)]

I see...! [So that's what "close" means to Kaveh. The sort of ease of being around someone where you feel comfortable complaining, where you feel happy to simply know them, and where you are different just because they exist.]

I'm so happy for you. And for him! [That, at least, is all sincere. Just because something is not for her doesn't mean she is unable to admire it in others.]

It feels... very romantic that you two found each other again in a place like this!

[ the kind of red that kaveh turns just now can only be described as 'fire engine', if only kaveh knew what a fire engine was. ]

Wh- It's! No! [ kaveh nearly buries his face in his hands, were it not for the fact that he's holding a roll of rolled-up fencing and would likely poke his own eyes out. the mortification crawls from toe to head, however. the flush crosses and camps high in his cheeks.

kaveh groans. ] Oh, I know you mean well. Or I hope that you mean well. But it's really quite embarrassing, and calling it romantic isn't wrong, but a word like that just doesn't quite work. Not really.

[ kaveh looks. he is aghast. ] But look at me, I'm just - how did we get on this topic? ... thank you, though. Your well-wishes really do mean a lot; more than you likely realise.

[He goes bright red, stammers, and somewhat denies it, and if Kaveh was hoping to change the subject, he's going to find that piquing her curiosity is the worst way to go about it.

After all, her only exposure to romance is in stories that she's dreamt up for herself--and to her mind, being so close, treasuring each other so much, and then finding each other once again to fill in those missing gaps is the definition of romance.

She thinks he's being earnest, though--in that romance is almost, but not quite right.]

What would you call it, then?

[There isn't any intent to tease, or anything like that. She's earnestly curious, because this is a territory she has no experience in at all.]

[ what would he call it.

kaveh looks. the mortification just won't die. but it's not as if altria is asking out of malice, kaveh thinks. she is curious. of course she is. most people in her position would be. and kaveh - he is making a big deal of it, isn't he?

it ought to be normal, this sort of thing. love ought to be. it's just that kaveh's never known where to start. ]

It's... [ kaveh tries. kaveh is trying. he looks. ] ... Miss Altria, is there a word for it? When a flower turns to the sun without knowing.

[A word, huh? A word for the way that a flower turns to the sun. A word for how Coral looks at Aurora, for how Cnoc na Riabh's subjects looked to her.

Love, she thinks, but maybe there's more to it.

Perhaps, instead, it's something closer to:]

... Maybe something like... "devotion"?

[A flower will turn towards the sun whether it loves the sun or not. Coral will listen to Aurora's orders whether she agrees or not. And Cnoc na Riabh inspires--inspired the devotion and loyalty of each of her subjects.]

[ devotion, kaveh thinks. suddenly, he is at a loss for words, because he is shamed. ]

Yes. [ kaveh says, and he smiles. ] That must be it. That is a beautiful word for it. Devotion.

Perhaps it's like that after all.

[She tilts her head, inspecting his expression a little thoughtfully--perhaps a little silly, given this conversation is taking place over a rolled up pile of fencing.

But then, brightly:]

But I think if you don't know what to call it yet, that's okay too! [In a sense, she thinks that's romantic, too.]

It means you have a lot of reasons to keep trying to figure it out with him.

[Lots of reasons to just enjoy each other's company, and someday, perhaps it will all come together. Isn't that enough?]

[ kaveh wants to cry. he's not sure why, or perhaps he's a little too sure why. there are too many reasons. the mortification, the embarrassment, the love and the joy. kaveh thinks - he's never though he would ever do this, have a conversation like this about this topic. it was a scant month ago that he hadn't thought he could love.

it was two months ago that he'd been sure alhaitham ought not love him.

slowly, kaveh shakes his head. he is smiling. ]

Perhaps. Though that takes both time and energy, and I know that if I were to bring this up, he'd have several dictionary definitions ready for me, and that'll simply devolve into an argument.

[ he breathes out in the way of a sigh. ] You know, Altria, you may not know this, but I'm rather grateful for this conversation.

[He sounds hilarious, she can't help but think. An argument and several dictionary definitions, huh? Perhaps that, too, is its own sort of devotion. It's not like she doesn't get it; the one person she was able to be her truest self around almost always became an argument as well.

He continues, though, and she blinks, tilting her head.

...?]

You are? How come?

[Perhaps it's a blunt way of asking, but she cannot imagine why he'd be so grateful that she interrogated him about his love life. Altria knows why she's grateful for this conversation, but him?]

[ altria tilts her head. she looks young like this, but she's always seemed young - like a little lady who has come unto herself, peering about into the world for the first time.

kaveh smiles. ]

Because I couldn't verbalise it before. That devotion. For the longest time, I couldn't admit to having a relationship with the man, let alone something that's - [ it's still difficult, kaveh realises. he has so many words in him, but it's this sort that comes out as as stutter, dragged out by their teeth.

but they must be dragged out into the light. they must. if kaveh doesn't verbalise them, then how would he know that they exist? ] love, I suppose. I don't want these words to die inside of me. That's all.

[Oh, she thinks. Oh. So that's how it is. The ease with which he speaks of the man he loves made her think it was a smooth, perfect romance, where everything fell into place as easily as that, but that isn't the case, is it?

She supposes that probably isn't how real life works at all. Just daydreams. Just made up stories in the dead of night.

So it wasn't easy--but he persevered. And now here he is, trying to put the words out into the open for something that is endlessly precious to him. She admires that, with all of her heart, with all of the feeling of someone who doesn't think she could ever do the same.]

... Now you've said them, and I've witnessed it! So the words can't ever die inside of you.

[But she's only one person, and so--]

But you should definitely let more people witness them too, I think. [Because they're beautiful, those words.

Because they're a treasure not everyone gets to have--and because then, many people will help him keep them alive.]

Oh, absolutely not. [ kaveh says in a rush, just as the red of his cheeks catch up to him again, and once again he finds himself burning in the night.

their steps take them to the heels of the planetarium. stretched up into the night sky is a wall - on the other side of the wall is a door. there's the beginnings of a dome peeking out just from this vantage as kaveh leads them to the back entrance where a pylon's propped the door open just enough for them to slip in.

warmth, and light. kaveh shakes his head. ] No, just saying this much took everything out of me. And if this ever gets back to Alhaitham, I'll never have a moment's peace in my life for as long as I live. No, this must stay between you, and me, Altria. Especially the bit about devotion.

A secret, alright? We've a secret between us. How are you with keeping those?

[Warmth and light.

Altria peers around curiously when they step into the planetarium, though she whips her head back around quickly at the way that he immediately denies her.

No? "But why not?" she wants to ask, though she can at least recognize that that is the petulant, romantic child in her.

He doesn't want to, and that is that.]

Huuuuh... [Huh...!!!] I don't really get it, but... I promise I'll keep your secret!

[She is terrible at secrets. Not through malice, just simple motormouth. Lord knows she'll try though.]

[open] welcome to the city

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