(OPEN) probably the least secret secret meeting, all things considered

[elswhisperer]

WHO: Setsuna F. Seiei (elswhisperer) & you!
WHAT: The code word log!
WHERE: City Hall Park
WHEN: July 12
WARNINGS: N/A


[ Over the course of the past few days, you may have noticed simple, nondescript flyers posted here and there across the city. All handwritten, they list a location (a particular statue in the City Park) along with a time and date (3:00 PM, July 12). Below that, an extremely brief message:

For establishing safe communications.

- moment.

On the day of, you'll find a young man in a red scarf waiting by the named statue. He has with him sheets of blank paper, pens, and pencils. ]

My name is Setsuna F. Seiei. 'Moment' from the network. The purpose of this meeting is creating a way to safely disseminate information to each other all at once. If one of us found an exit, or determined the identity of our captors, we'd be jeopardizing ourselves by revealing it openly over the network. At the same time, the network is our most efficient method of communication. We need to make the most of all the tools at our disposal.

We can accomplish that with the use of code language. One that's not complicated; that anyone could remember and pass along. What that code is and what we want to communicate with it is something one person can't determine for themselves. That's why I wanted us all to meet.

Without cooperation, we're not gonna get anywhere.

[ ooc: just a couple things! go ahead and mingle/threadhop as you like (especially bc i may not be the fastest tagger rn), and if setsuna has already mentioned to your character that he's been working on something, feel free to assume he left some kind of vague message about checking flyers over the inboxes or smth. ]

Comments

[unrequite]

[ Midnight hums in understanding. Pretty genuine understanding. Sympathetic understanding. He'd done the same, actually... Not that he says that out loud. ]

Well, beyond feeling uncomfortable, I can see how finding a place to call your own here could be a little loaded. No one likes to give in and go native when it comes to being taken against one's will. Never surrender, right?

[ Midnight laughs. ]

I wouldn't argue against staying in a motel long term, though. Bit of a choice, but I can respect that. At least it's as safe as any other domicile.

[codenametesla]

[She can't help a little laugh in reply to his comment and laugh; he was certainly good at making her feel at ease, oddly enough. Perhaps that was just an aspect of everyone finding themselves in the same weird situation, or maybe it was just his personality. Either way, she wasn't complaining.]

Yeahhh, I guess I just... don't want to admit it. That I'm stuck here, you know?

[But she was. They were. And someone had already told her once that they needed to be at their best for whatever was likely to come, so this was just another aspect of that, right? If it came to it, she'd apologize later.]

I don't think the motel life is for me, but that's good to know. [She offered, a slight wry smile peeking through before she turned thoughtful once more.] What kind of decorations do you think might work?

[unrequite]

[ He smiles when she begins to laugh. It's a nice laugh. (Was he aiming to make her laugh? Not really. He just likes knowing that other people can be happy around him.) ]

Well, I've been stealing light fixtures from around town. Interesting ones, really eye-catching stuff. If you like, I can send you a few pictures of them, see if you like to adopt one. Granted, I'm not much of an electrician, so I don't know if I could get them wired up...

[ He raises an eyebrow at her. Hint, hint. ]

[codenametesla]

[Somehow, 'light fixtures' wasn't what she expected, and yet made perfect sense for this strange man. And so while she looked amused at first while listening, his last sentence, especially as it trailed off, got a little eyeroll and a big grin.]

You know, I think I just might know someone who would be able to help with that. [She didn't really feel confident enough to tease, or otherwise play 'hard to get' in that manner no not like that, so she nods quickly after her comment.]

I would be glad to help, if that's what you want? Then you wouldn't have to worry about sending pictures either, unless you want to! Though, I miiiiight ask for your help in the future if I find something too big for me to get back to my potential future apartment alone? [That was about as demanding as she could get, oh the horror! What if he said no!]

[unrequite]

[ Midnight grins at her excitement. There we are. No need to play games. He's already perfectly content to let her do as she will, now that the initial barrier of nervousness is mostly broached. ]

Sure. I'd do that for free, even... Although that's a bit of a given, seeing as how none of us have much to fill time.

[ Midnight pulls out his handheld terminal out of his pocket, unlocks it, and opens the network to his user profile. He turns it toward Miss Althea, username clearly visible. The Seventh Crown of the Seventh Demon King. (Yes, really). ]

This is me. Contact me if you need an extra hand.

[codenametesla]

Well... that's true, but I'd definitely feel better if it was more of a fair trade, you know?

[At least at first, till she was sure where she stood with anyone in this town, the last thing she wanted was to either be taken advantage of, or make other people think she was trying to take advantage of them. God knew she was bad at the first one.

When he starts to pull out his phone, she goes to grab hers, bringing up the same network so that they can swap names-

And can't stop a very abrupt laugh at the one she saw, though she quickly tried to stifle it and start entering it in.]

That's um... a very good name!

[unrequite]

Isn't it? Thank you. Eye-catching, isn't it? People do seem to be drawn to comment on it.

[ Midnight laughs. Does he know? Does he? Does he? I actually don't know if he knows, all I know is that this is definitely his taste in naming things. ]

With regards to a fair trade, if everything else is provided for, it stands to reason that the only things we have left to trade are specialized skills and time. We're back to bartering. An extra hand with moving for a well-wired neon sign seems fair to me, in that respect.

[codenametesla]

I can't imagine why..!

[Who knows what he knows or what she knows he knows, but at least they're both amused.

She nods then, to his last comment, relieved.]

Yeah, that's... kind of what I was thinking, but I'm glad you think so! I just wouldn't want you to think I was trying to like... use you or something. If I can offer what skills I have to people, then I'm glad.

[unrequite]

[ That's quite thoughtful. Overly conscientous, even. Midnight grins, pleased. ]

Well, I wouldn't mind so terribly. Like I said, we have a surfeit of time and nothing to occupy our time, don't we? I'm the type to look for things to do, anyway.

[ He'd ask why she seems so concerned about what he thinks of her, except he thinks he already has a handful of reasons why, and those reasons would make the question itself rather difficult to answer. It's something he's willing to save for another conversation, at any rate. ]

[codenametesla]

[If there was a descriptor for Althea, after 'anxious mess', it would certainly be something like 'overly conscientious'. Midnight certainly has her number in more ways than one, though she doesn't fully know how easy she is to read.]

That... does make sense. In the face of too much time and too little to do, it's easy to get cabin fever, so it's probably good to look for things to do! So I hear, anyway.

[She certainly has experience with cabin fever, not so much with looking for things to do when they involve other people.]

If I ever see something interesting, I'll let you know then! Though it sounds like you'd probably know of cool things before I did.

[unrequite]

Really? Well. What if I was the type to keep to myself?

[ He laughs. He actually is the type to keep to himself, but he isn't about to break any illusions, here. ]

Joking aside, I would appreciate your efforts. You know where to reach me, hm?

[codenametesla]

Well... you seem to have an easier time talking to people, even if you do keep to yourself, I guess?

[She was definitely not tamping down a brief flare of anxiety, thinking she said something wrong at that comment before he laughed and she hoped that meant it was fine.]

Of course! And if you do want to keep to yourself, you don't have to actually go anywhere or act on anything I say, I won't be upset.

[Just in case. Besides, everyone deserved to be able to take a rain check and spend some time on their own, whether they were extroverted or not.]

[unrequite]

I do, I do. [ Said with effortless confidence. He just doesn't think much of it. Conversation's a skill, and he's polished it to a shine.

He smiles, looks Miss Althea in the eye. Truly young and trying her best, isn't she? ]

I appreciate it. Truly, I do. But you needn't worry on my account, darling. I learned to speak up for myself quite some time ago.

[codenametesla]

[Somehow this has all wrapped back around to her being anxious again, but this time at least, she tries to take calming breath and push it aside. He doesn't seem mad, or otherwise upset, and her anxiety couldn't make any powers flare up that would make him mad because she didn't have enough of those left.

Unless he could sense the minute amounts of electricity in a human body and tell she had quite a large amount more, but she'd never met anyone who could do that and he would have said something! Totally!]

Right. Of course, sorry. Thank you then, for taking the time to talk to me. I know I'm not the best conversationalist, but I really do appreciate it.

[unrequite]

[ He... probably would not have, but that's because he figures these things are strictly other people's business. Anyway, he doesn't have any particular powers in that respect, so when he smiles, it is a smile of a man who suspects nothing! ]

The worst conversationalists, I've found, are the kind who don't try at all. And that's not a moral failing, just a mismatch of interests. [ He gives her a wink. ] Thank you as well, Miss Althea, for your time.

//it feels like the thread is wrapping up, is this a good spot? lmk if not?

[codenametesla]

[She totally thinks anyone would, so the smile makes her relax marginally! the wink a little less so, but mostly because she doesn't know how to react to that, so she ignores it]

I... guess so? I hope so. [Because that meant there was hope for her! And she smiles at his thanks.] Just let me know when you need wiring!

it's good! let's end here :)

[unrequite]

Will do.

[ Nice kid, he thinks to himself as he turns back to the meeting.Very nervous. He wonders why that is...? ]