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ph_memes2024-01-10 06:19 pm
TDM #4 - Aurora Borealis Blitz [FIRST EDITION]
[Find our plain text version here!]
Pumpkin Hollow Gazette
1/10/24 | TDM #4 - AURORA BOREALIS BLITZ"
Content Warnings: "Further Details" section has independent CW labels.
Forecast: Heavy snow
BREAKING! REBUILDING HELP REQUESTED
By Cecil Gershwin Palmer
A photo taken of the damage.
ACROSS PUMPKIN HOLLOW - City government is requesting aid with repairs to public buildings and local fixtures after the recent earthquakes on Tuesday, January 8th. While there was minimal damage to Town Hall itself, several important buildings sustained damage, including the Magpie National Bank, the South Train Station and the Clock Tower, which is now stuck with hands at 8pm.
Regarding the cause of the earthquake, local biologist Dr. Elias Coldwood was heard to say “There's never been seismic activity here.” And he’s a scientist, so he would know! But clearly this is no longer the case. Perhaps Pumpkin Hollow has a mysterious tiny civilization underground worshiping a destroyer god, planning to attack through the bowling alley, the moment we create a bowling alley. Perhaps not. More on this story as it unfolds, faithful readers.
In the meantime, volunteers to help with the damage to city buildings are invited to meet with Mayor Hellen Poe for assignments.
ANNUAL AURORA IN NORTHERN SKY
By Yorick Aberdeen
An artist's rendition of last year's view.
ABOVE MARROW ISLE - Midwinter is upon us! That means it’s the time of year when our skies light up with the technicolor gleam of the arctic north! Those looking northward between the hours of 10pm and 2am should be able to see beautiful curtains of bright green, blue, purple, and pink lighting up the sky above the island. If you plan to go outside to view the lights rather than looking from your window, please make sure you travel in a group and carry a lantern. May it be ever lit!
HOROSCOPES
By Cecil Gershwin Palmer
What do the stars say about you today?
Capricorn: Do you feel as if you’ve lost something? If not, it’s wise to double-check. Perhaps it’s not something like a button or a key, but your sense of wonder or your self-confidence. Remember, things tend to be in the last place you look.
Aquarius: Something about the year ending made you feel lighter, like taking off a heavy wool coat. Ride this burst of energy as far as it will take you, because the shiny of a fresh beginning tends to wear off quickly.
Pisces: Don’t worry, I don’t believe what everyone says behind your back. You’re not too sensitive or too naive. They’re just jealous. Really, most of the time when they’re whispering, it’s not even about you.
Aries: You’re the sort of warm individual that babies and animals are drawn to. Unfortunately, this may include hungry wolves and swarms of insects. But don’t let that bring you down! We need that sort of personality around here.
Taurus: There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be the best, until you work to stop others from also being the best. That’s called cheating and may lead to you being disqualified from competitions. If you get caught, that is.
Gemini: You know those riddles about the two guards, one who always tells the truth and one who always lies? Well, everyone hates those riddles with a passion. You’ll see for yourself, soon.
Cancer: Wouldn’t you like to know?
Leo: Your incandescent personality often makes you the center of attention. However, that’s not the only thing about you that glows. Moths may flock to you in the dark this week, and so might children afraid to sleep with the lights out.
Virgo: Be careful with your words–they aren’t just the precursors to your deeds, but the manifestation of your will. This is not a week for idioms and metaphors, not for you. Even something like bemoaning a lack of spoons may make eating cereal harder.
Libra: You are, inevitably, the first one heard to say a situation isn’t fair. And it’s not, nor will it ever be. Instead of getting upset, have you ever considered getting revenge? That’s usually more satisfying in the long run.
Scorpio: Ugh, Scorpios. The position of Venus means your usually volatile emotions will be in the doldrums instead. Enjoy this while it lasts I guess. Who knows if you’ll ever experience such peace again, given, well. You’re kind of an emotional mess and no one likes you.
Sagittarius: There will never be another day like today. You must strive to make the day everything you want it to be. No mistakes, now! Consider your choices very carefully. Consider your choice to consider, very carefully.
SUNFIRE'S HEARTH
By Yorick Aberdeen
A photo of Mayor Poe's cats, Toffee and Butter, enjoying the view.
ASSORTED LOCATIONS - As the coldest part of the year settles over our fair isle, it is time for Sunfire’s Hearth--- an informal celebration of bonfires and hearth flames, for those unfamiliar! For the months of January and February, a raised platform for bonfires will be lit on weekends, and restaurants and taverns across town will keep their fireplaces lit. Unlike many of our other festivities, there is no structured celebration--- simply make some time during this time to bask in the warmth of a fire! You can even celebrate at home.
An additional benefit of this time of year is that Merrymeet is well on its way. So take this time and get snuggly in front of a fire with your special person to get in the mood for romance! (Or they could be platonic snuggles. Whatever suits you best.)
LOCAL ALCHEMIST REPORTS MISSING POTION
By Yorick Aberdeen
Some of Mx. Sallek's usual stock. Could stand to have better labels./p>
LOCATION UNCERTAIN - Early Monday morning, local alchemist Aeryn Sallek reported that a large container of magical potion has been swapped with another, and it would seem that the mistaken jug has been sent out for delivery. According to Mx. Sallek, they sent a number of jugs out for delivery in a case with our local delivery extraordinaire, Sam Porter Bridges. The jugs were meant to contain a harmless, potable freeze-resistance potion for our town’s various water sources, in the interest of keeping water reserves drinkable in sub-freezing winter weather. However, when they returned to the shop, one of these potions remained on their counter while a love potion they’d been working on went missing.
“‘Love potion’ is kind of a misnomer, honestly,” Mx. Sallek is quoted to have said on the matter. “But ‘emotional acuity’ potion doesn’t quite roll off the tongue. Basically what it actually does is enhance existing romantic desire and embolden the user to be emotionally open. But Yorick should already know all this, since he’s the one who ordered it.” [Editing note: don’t forget to cut the last part of that comment before publishing. Cecil, you don’t need to include personal statements directed at reporters from these interviews!]
It’s unclear which area of town this particular potion ended up being injected into the water source, but according to Mx. Sallek, the potion was not particularly intense to begin with. It should be significantly diluted as to be harmless. Still, if you notice any strange symptoms such as butterflies in your stomach, a desire to burst into song, or inexplicable yearning, please file a report with the Safety Board at your earliest convenience.
FOOD SHORTAGES PUT STRAIN ON ISLAND ECONOMY
By Yorick Aberdeen
MARKET DISTRICT - While there are many things to celebrate this time of year, Marrow Isle is not without its adversity. Over these past months, many new members of our community have arrived by ferry after our numbers remained small and stagnant for many years. And the presence of our newfound neighbors has been a boon to all of us. Many artisans have opened useful businesses, medical professionals have expanded our access to healthcare, and a new fishing vessel has taken to the seas. However, despite a few additions, our farming community remains quite modest and planting was not planned with such incredible new growth in mind.
The unfortunate result of this is that food reserves on the island this year are uncharacteristically low. As such, Town Council has made the difficult decision to allow for the temporary inflation of food prices and the rationing of food staples.
“We understand the hardship this will place on the residents of Pumpkin Hollow,” said Mayor Poe in a statement after this decision was made. “But please know that we are all in this together. We hope to be able to offer a better incentive package for those interested in farming in the coming springtime.”
Page 1
Aurora
The dead of winter sheds all colors of the trees and flowers across Marrow Isle, but tonight, there are no stark whites and grays and browns.
Tonight, in the sky sprawling with stars above the dreary town, there are lights.
Sprawling trails of violet and green twist and wave through the sky, brightening the earth below and the sea beyond Jack's Marina in magical colors. The return of the borealis is something many Pumpkin Hollowites look forward to, and their reactions are very clear: people scurry down to the shores to watch with wide eyes, many retrieve telescopes, and some even borrow the decks of ships, abandoned for the night at the docks, to watch the sights.
It doesn't take long for this to change, however; the sea nor land are safe from the curse, and it's made quickly apparent that the sky is no exception.
At first, the sight seems like none more than an illusion, perhaps someone blinking and missing a strange shift of the lights. A glimmering outline forms around a cluster of stars, only slightly harder than any of the lines that define the aurora's rays. Several of these shapes form, each array of stars different from the last, some larger, some smaller.
And then, the stars begin to fall.
Seeming to peel off the painted sky, the ebbing colors surrounding the starlight drop, crashing to the world below. Some fall to the streets and beaches, while others fall into the forest, leaving view, or drop into the sea, leaving splashes and waves in their wake that ensure any watching knows full and well that this is not a trick of the light. At first, these shapes are unmoving, glowing masses of aurora-light with stars shining brightly within them. Most townsfolk are uneasy, but this seems to pale in severity to the other disasters, even if they lack any idea of what it could mean for them.
That is, of course, until the masses begin to move.
Each one is as varied as the constellation it stole from the sky: stars form suggestions of skeletal structures, and their "flesh", only consisting of swimming lights and liquid sky that steals any lights around them. Two identical glowing shapes rise to a face finally taking form, and slowly, moving more like gel than animal as it rises to freshly-formed legs, it settles on the closest living thing it can find.
There is no calculation in it, nor what seems to be a glimmer of thought.
It simply lunges with intent to kill.
Cecil’s disconcerting horoscopes have the following effects for the next few days:
Horoscopes
[CW: Altered emotional states ]
(Don’t know your character’s sign? Feel free to just decide on one!)
Unbeknownst to the townsfolk, the “love” potion ended up in the water supply of the Oak & Iron. As promised by Aeryn, it is thoroughly diluted, as its recipients believed it to be a normal freeze-resistance potion to be mixed with their water. The effects are not particularly intense. However, anyone who drinks any of the tavern’s housemade ale or cider, drinks the coffee, or eats any food that might require water to cook will experience symptoms of “emotional acuity”. This involves feeling more emotionally open, more receptive to positive feelings about others, a strong desire for physical or verbal affection, and the intensification of romantic or sexual attraction that you might already be experiencing. It will last about half a day. Just in time to help potentially land you a date for Merrymeet, a flower and fertility festival in early spring!Love Potion
[CW: Altered Emotional States ]
Food rationing and inflation will have the following impact: Grocery budgets for apped-in characters will be reduced in their efficacy.
Basic groceries will be only the most minimal of staples. You will likely go hungry if you do not find a way to supplement this.
Bountiful groceries will be reduced to the amount of food normally contained in basic.
Lavish groceries will not be available at all.
Your grocery choices from Activity Check are not able to be modified for this month unless otherwise stated. Bonuses and Discounts associated with the Farmer and Fisherman jobs are also reduced.
Level 1 bonuses will be reduced to standard, which is to say how they would function for a non-Farmer/Fisherman character during a normal, pre-famine month. (ex. Whereas normally a Level 1 Farmer would get free Basic groceries, they will now have to pay the 50 Brass, but do not have the efficacy of Basic groceries reduced as described above.)
Level 2 bonuses will be reduced to that of a Level 1 Farmer/Fisherman. (ex. Whereas a Level 2 Fisherman would normally be able to have Bountiful groceries discounted to 50 Brass, they now must pay full price for Bountiful groceries. However, they can still get Basic groceries for free and don’t suffer from the famine induced efficacy reduction for either budget.) Oak & Iron Residents will only be able to receive bland, repetitive meals with their food vouchers consisting of simple broth, plain bread, bland potato dishes, and the like. It is enough to be fed and comfortable but it is incredibly unsatisfying. (This includes all new characters that are not apped-in.) Drinks, however, are still plentiful. Characters who do not eat will find that their respective sources of fuel will be reduced to just barely enough to keep them functional, provided that they ration carefully. (Ex. Transformers may want to be less active. Vampires will find that victims cannot handle excessive blood loss without fainting and generally prefer to stay home.) Characters who were present to fight the Mother Crab back in late summer and chose to can some of their crab can use it now! Hunting, foraging, and fishing can help reduce the impact of these reductions, and people can share their food. You can absolutely die of starvation. After Merrymeet in February, food will return to normal.Famine
[CW: Starvation and food scarcity ]
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Guiding them along, Magne glances back in kind, just to make sure that nothing was following the sounds of their voices. They seem safe, at least for now, so she can turn her attention to the fancy little markings on their forehead. "I hadn't actually thought anything of it. In my world you wouldn't be looked at twice, to be honest." After all, they look totally human, they seem by and large fairly polite, their fashion is actually quite nice, even if it is a bit impractical for the current circumstances. "Do you think you've got something to do with the stars falling? You weren't here when the earthquake hit, were you? I'm inclined to say coincidence, personally."
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"Well, uh," says Lev, and then pauses. They hurry along after Magne, focusing mostly on keeping their balance. "Where I'm from— well, it depends, nu? I'm very tall," they stop, feeling sheepish. That's self-evident. Two metres and one centimetre is tall for any community. "But, like, for my ... neighbourhood? My people? I'm ... very, very tall. Mine husband's only a metre-sixty at most. His mother, who's much like me in certain ways, she's considered abnormally tall and she's twenty centimetres shorter than I am."
"And the stars, the stars ..." they sigh. "For the stars upon my face, ten years ago, in certain places, I'd be stared at even if I dressed different, even if I hid who I am as much as I could. I'd tried that, nu? Before. But now there's much less need. But still," they shrug, aware that they're rambling. "I am like, a specific sort. But no, I have nothing to do with earthquakes. Mama Ziva, my second mother, she's the spirit of a birch grove, she's never had nothing to do with the ground, not directly. And the mother what conceived from Mama Ziva, she were mostly ..." they pause, and twirl their hand absent-mindedly. "She were plain. Nu. Like most people here? No ocelli, only Silver'd in her eyes." They pause again. "But I think such words mean naught to thee, and I'll have to learn to explain myself better."
The cultural gap that Magne's perceiving is not lost on them, either; they're desperately trying to think of how to explain the whole lovek thing, to people who seemingly have no idea that really, people's eyes are supposed to glow, and if their eyes don't glow, they should at least have feathers.
Not thinking about it, they blurt, "it's just, people here do look so strange to me? Like, none here have Silver'd eyes like mine, eyes what shine, which wouldn't be so strange if they weren't also all entirely featherless and uh. How do you say. Plantigrade. Plantigrade, and not standing on claws in any case. I feel like I am unusual here."
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"Unfortunately no," she admits at the pause, knowing that she probably doesn't see the same things that Lev does when describing their family. "But in the world that I come from, someone can look like just about anything. One of my closest friends has the body plan of a man, but green skin, scales, long lilac-colored hair and a face similar to a lizard's. His Quirk was called Gecko, because the scientists of our time aren't particularly creative with their naming system."
Of course, Spinner was only one example, and not even a particularly extreme one. She'd been arrested by a man with a cat's face once! Restrained by a man who could turn his arms into tree branches! Pursued by a giant woman! She could tell them so many stories in return...
Hands on her hips, Magne shrugs at the idea that the people here looked strange. She could relate, at least a bit. "I'm more used to really diverse body plans too, don't worry. It's been a strange adjustment, being somewhere that everyone looks so..." Vague gesture. "Plain."
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"Plain! Yes, exactly!" Lev exclaims, with some relief. They're starting to feel less like they're in a place where no one will understand what's so upsetting about a face with only two eyes of any kind.
They feel at ease around Magne; it's always easier for them to deal with people who seem practical, who are nonetheless not upset by the fact Lev themself is a space cadet. They're conscious they've been rambling, and they do want to hear more about Magne and her world. And maybe find the time to ask a couple of questions—they're a little oblivious in many matters, but it hasn't escaped them that they've likely got certain things in common with Magne. But that's never a question you just outright ask. Some people don't wish to tell, after all.
They laugh at "Gecko", though.
"The Gecko is what we call the part of the city we live in," they say. "It's like, a pun on the acronym for the committee what runs it. But, nu. What's a quirk?"
no subject
Now that they seem to be out of danger (and even if they aren't, Magne can put up a damn good fight) she's happy to walk and talk. Lev is pleasant enough, if a bit spacey. She can deal with spacey. She might conclude that they're a bit ADHD.
"In my time and place it's what we call the mutations and powers that a good majority of us develop as children. Mine is called Magnetism, and it's exactly what it sounds like; I can manipulate someone's polarity and turn them into a human magnet. I used to have a support item to make it viable in combat, but it didn't make it here with me."
this is not an ICP joke, I swear, she's really that much of a ditz sometimes
"A cop? Feh!" Lev says, and then adds, smiling, "good to know gamayun exist not just by us. Though I know only a few who are like, able to use pens with their hands, though like ... might just be our city, nu?" They shrug, and then fall silent for a moment, considering the fact that they'd not met a cop in a very long time—in fact, that cops haven't really been a thing in the Talons for years now.
And they tell Magne so—"we got rid of cops, when we got rid of kings. And we closed prisons when we closed the asylums, too. We make other arrangements now."
As for the quirk thing—
"Wait, like," they say, frowning a little. "Such things are ... unusual, by others? Not by thee, but by, ekh, like." They wrack their brain for names of people they've spoken to, and come up short. "Um, like, the army sawbones?"
Hawkeye has stuck in their mind a little, yes. People who compliment them with the enthusiasm Hawk did usually do.
There's also two other matters, which occur to them as they're rifling through their memory for Hawk's actual name, and not a description of him or his, ah, better attributes. One is trivial:
"I've like, never really been sure on the exact distinction between, nu," they pause, and admit, sheepishly, "magnetism and magic. They're both like, fields? And mostly invisible but very powerful? Though like, I suppose I've never been clear on the difference between either of those or electricity."
This is, by where he's from, the equivalent of admitting you're not quite sure on the distinction between frogs and toads, or ducks and geese.
The other, though, is less trivial:
"What do I call thee?" they say, head cocked to one side, smiling to try and banish the sudden awkwardness they're feeling—they feel like they really ought to be better at the common social scripts by now. "And, nu, how would'st thou have me refer to thee, when speaking to others? Like. I have mine assumptions there, but not all those I think are women are actually women. It like, pays to check."
Look if actual physicists can be baffled about magnetic fields so can weeeee~
"Apparently just people looking like people and having power beyond their physical bodies is weird to some people around here," she confirms. "I tried to explain to someone that only a small portion of the people on my version of earth don't have some kind of Quirk and they were baffled by the idea. Dr Pierce, Hawkeye? He would be considered Quirkless in my world."
Walking at Lev's side, Magne offers a soft smile and nods. "Don't worry, a lot of scientists have dedicated a lot of time to figuring out exactly how magnetic attraction works, and the further they look into it, the more weirdness they find. The basic versions that they give children in school aren't even the half of it. It's the same way with quantum mechanics, astrophysics, all of it. I don't know if anyone would rightfully call what I do 'magic' since it doesn't necessarily draw on my own energy to do anything with it and it doesn't come from the planet or from some higher power or what-have-you, it's just...something that I can do." A shrug. She has nothing else to offer.
At least the next question is easier. "My name is Magne. Big Sis to the people close to me. Don't worry, some people around here have a funny idea of gender overall; the robot Vika, she genders people by what their jobs and weapons are. She calls the poor boy she rooms with 'miss Bart' because he's a scientist, and he doesn't seem to have the heart to correct her. I suppose you could call me a woman in all but anatomy."
no subject
Lyubov tries to picture a guy with squared-off fingers, and then tries to figure out what possible theme there could be that would justify it—from everything Magne has said, it sounds like Quirks are narrative, which to Lyubov means they're something enforced by the way the world thinks it should be. She'll have to ask at some point, about how appropriate Quirks are, to the people who have them.
"Oh, Hawk?" she says, when Magne brings up Hawkeye. "Yeah, nu. I had to like, explain to him some things about myself. About the extra eyes?"
But it sounds like she wouldn't have to explain those things to Magne, or at least, not for the same reasons. She and Magne seem to come from worlds more similar than not.
And the idea of Hawkeye as the default "some shmuk with no powers" is very funny.
But as to the matter of magic and other natural forces—
"I mean like, where I'm from, magic is just something like ... like electricity, and allegedly like, magnetism's part of electricity? And if one thing is magic, so are all the other things. People included, since like, allegedly people run on electricity or something. Mine husband told me about the frog experiment—"
She shrugs.
"I am a rabbi. The natural world and its workings, they are my concern but only because I live in the world, and all of HaShem's workings ought to be something I value. I am no natural philosopher. But the distinction thou'rt making, as to where the energy comes from ..." she pauses. "Maybe I'll get to ask mine husband his opinion, again." He frowns, and then dismisses the thought. Too depressing to think of, right now. He really hopes that he'll get back, and that he'll get back as if he'd never been away from his husband.
When Magne introduces herself formally, Lyubov's relieved that her hunch was right, about why Magne reminded her so much of some of her friends back home.
"Well, funny coincidence!" she says, grinning at Magne. "My mothers did not think I was a girl, and mine uncle suspected, but was never quite sure. But I am. Well, nu." She smiles, a little sheepishly. "I am a woman such as thou art, to other women like us two, and to women who keep company with women. But to mine husband and to other men who keep company with men and rarely marry, I will always be a man like that. But, to thee, I'm called Lyubov."
no subject
Listening as they approach the inn, Magne has to take a moment to memorize all of that, quietly regarding Lyubov, and coming to a curious conclusion.
"I wonder if I could magnetize you. Would your polarity change depending on who you were with..." To demonstrate, Magne's hands curl just shy of her core, radiating light that envelopes Lybov's arm, turning it bright pink because of her current presentation. Nearby, a lamp pole creaks threateningly, and she releases it.
no subject
Lyubov nods enthusiastically, and says, all in a rush, "yes! Like, nu, even if I weren't like, frum, I'd still like—" she pauses, bouncing on the balls of her feet, energised and suddenly excited, "Like, I'd still find it unsatisfying, to think that like, once we understand something, it ceases to be magic or that like, we … we can know everything. That it's all surface, and secrets are merely puzzles."
She pauses to catch her breath.
"Knowing how things work, it like, makes them more wonderful?" she says, still a little breathless. "But like. Not fully knowing, but trying to understand, that's wonderful, too. It's like. I mean. I guess I'd say that, it's part of my tradition—" the last part she mumbles, a little shy.
As Magne demonstrates her magnetisation powers, Lyubov beams in joy, and laughs when a nearby lamp-post takes exception to Magne's wonder-work.
"That's like, a fascinating question?" she says. "I mean, I'd expect thou could'st magnetise me the other way if I were presenting the other way, but nu like, what if I'm paying attention to like. Both thee and say like, Hawkeye? Would we find proof of the existence of monopoles?"
Not that she understands fully what magnetic monopoles are. She just knows they're a very hypothetical problem.
no subject
Lyubov's enthusiasm for the whole idea is infections, really, and Magne finds herself smiling along with the almost breathless way that her new friend talks through these ideas. It broadens with the idea of how different polarities would affect the others around them. "I've done a little bit of experimenting on all of that, myself. I've learned that if one doesn't ascribe to any idea of gender at all I just can't do a thing with them, but if someone is staunchly non-binary, they become a powerful electromagnet. Destroyed a lamp post on accident once while trying to use someone as a pole to drag a monster toward myself." She gestures back to the slightly skewed lamp they'd just damaged with that demonstration. "I wonder what sort of person would lead to the discovery of true monopoles..."
no subject
Lyubov cocks her head to one side, smiling a little—she's assuming it's safe to smile, now that Magne's not fighting monsters, and presumably survived.
"Not anyone I can think of, nu?" she says, looking askance at the lamppost. "Maybe not me, even. As for those thou cannot affect, like ... back home, I suppose I know few who subscribe not to at least the superficial idea of gender." She shrugs, "My tradition is very gendered, for better or for worse."
And because she can be surprisingly slow on the uptake, Magne's mention of monsters finally resolves in her head, and she looks over her shoulder.
"Uhm, wait, like," she says, uneasily. "Monsters. How common are monsters, by ye all in this town?"
no subject
"My culture's also really hung up on gender and gender politics," she huffs with a small nod. "It's made life a lot more rough-and-tumble than it really needs to be. Being here has been a lot more peaceful than I've been used to, and given me the chance to meet a lot of folks that have funny ideas of gender, sexuality, all of that. A learning experience, for sure."
As she chats, she gestures vaguely with her hands, then shoves them into her pockets to ward off the chill now that things are calmer
"I haven't been here for long at all, but it seems like this isn't too far out of the ordinary. There are monsters in the forest, apparently there are monsters in the ocean around the island though I haven't seen them, and sometimes there are just...monsters out and about. So, best not to walk around on your own unless you know how to take care of yourself."
no subject
Lyubov nods, sympathetically. She leans on her walking stick, listening to Magne and considering the other woman, making a mental model of her—purposefully committing to memory how she moves, the specific contours of her face (piecemeal, not as a whole—faces to Lyubov will always be a collection of associated features, not a single thing with specific details), and what she says about herself (and what she omits). Standard stuff, really—she does this for just about everyone she befriends. If she makes not the effort, people start slipping from her memory, or at least from her awareness.
"My tradition ... nu, 'tis kinder to such as us, than the tradition of the land I was born in," she says, picking her words carefully. "Not always adequately kind, but, like. Valuing dignity, valuing life, such things can be extended in surprising ways. But still, I picked a side in liturgy. The Infinite One may know me as many things, but publicly ... nu, publicly I do the things men are obligated to do, and sit with the men in synagogue."
Her tone is light; she doesn't seem regretful, nor does she sound like the lightness is forced.
"But nu, like, not that anybody would mind if I sat with the women, some days," she adds. "But ... that would mean sitting apart from mine husband, and ..." she trails off, and blushes. "Nu, like. His mama, my shviger, she understood not. She thought like, I made not no stand for myself, but she got it in the end—"
A passing gust of wind makes her long coat flutter, interrupting her. She shivers.
"Nu, should we go in?" she says, a little apologetically. "'Tis chilly, and we ought to like, sit down and rest."
no subject
Listening to Lyubov is fascinating, if a touch confusing, and her head tilts as she imagines the situation with Lyubov having to decide whether to sit with the ladies of her congregation or to join her husband with the men.
The wind interrupts them, and Magne smiles warmly, gesturing toward the inn. "C'mon, I'll get you a drink and we can see what we've got to eat. We're a little bit strapped right now, but the soup is good enough to fill the belly and keep you warm for a while."
no subject
For her part, Lyubov's always glad to see others like her – for all that she's willowy and delicate, she's nearly seven feet tall, and flat as a board; and even if she's happy to remain so, happy with who she is ... sometimes it gets lonely. Sometimes sticking out hurts, when one's the only one sticking out.
were Magne not a fellow cultivar, she'd still be a big, confident woman, sure in herself and kind to Lyubov in specific — and she values that.
But the relief and the joy in meeting Magne so soon after arriving is undercut in the moment by the chill and the hunger.
"Thou'rt right," Lyubov says. "'Tis cold, and food shall do us both good. Let's go in."
She lets Magne go in first, and shuts the door behind the two of them, shutting out the night and the chill, and the threat of the star-beasts, and - for now at least - the gnawing worry at the back of her head, regarding the words of the white-haired old woman. Dwelling on death can wait.