[open/mingle] a light in the darkness

[orphne]

Who: any and everyone!
Where: astralin's farmhouse
What: mingle log for post-blackout!
Warnings: y'all tell me, please be good and don't break the house :(

If she hadn't been at the party, Kotone wouldn't have even known about the extent of the blackout. Sure, it's inconvenient, considering a lot of the lights are electric, and the fridge is, of course, powered by electricity as well, but the farmhouse she'd taken over from Astralin is an older and more traditional building. The main heat sources are the fireplaces strategically placed throughout the building -- a large one in the living space, a smaller one in the kitchen along with a wood-burning stove, and another large central one upstairs to help heat the bedrooms -- and the geothermal hot springs on the land. With the cold weather and snow on the ground, it's easy to take the food from the fridge and leave it outside in a locked box away from wild animals, but aside from the inconvenience of resorting to the candles and lanterns that were stockpiled in the basement, the farmhouse itself survives relatively unscathed!

Therefore, not long after the blast, Kotone sends a video message over the (charm) network inviting anyone who wants to take shelter from the cold, or even just cook some food, to come to Astralin's farmhouse on the edge of town for as long as they want or need.

She won't even make anyone help out on the farm. Probably!

1. Rural Snapshot
Power might go out, but life on the farm doesn't stop for something like that! The old wood stoves in the barn need to be cleaned up and made ready for use to keep the animals warm, and the animals still need to be taken care of. Goats, sheep, cows, chickens (a particularly big and brave one has the tiniest leather collar and a tag that says her name is "Scramble," and her friends Benedict and Sunny aren't far behind. They are Not For Eating (though their eggs are!))

Kotone won't make anyone help her with the farm chores of cleaning the barn, feeding the animals, or generally keeping things up and running, but she definitely won't turn down the help, either, giving pointers so the new folk don't completely muck it up (sometimes literally).

With the snow and general chill, there's not much to do with the crops themselves. Everyone is safe from the fields for now!

2. Potluck and BYOB (chef's recommendation: hot cocoa)
The farmhouse is not the inn -- Kotone has some food prepped and stored, with preserves from the fall harvest one of the key features, but it's not meant to feed the whole town. Thus, Kotone's going to request that anyone coming to stay at the farmhouse bring either raw ingredients or something they've made to share with any other hapless souls. Feel free to use the kitchen to cook, or get some help from someone else with cooking!

The wood-burning stove in the kitchen is perfect for heating up cocoa or wine, and there's room to get close with someone in front of any of the fireplaces. Like, it's encouraged to get close. It's a big farmhouse, but not that big. Make a friend! Share some warmth! The couches are cozy and comfortable, and if someone dozes off, well, Kotone won't be the one waking anyone up.

If someone would prefer to sleep in a bed, there are some bedrooms upstairs! One is, of course, sharing the room with plants. They're benign, normal plants, from potted flowers to hanging vines, but they are everywhere. Kotone herself doesn't have much of a green thumb other than keeping the plants watered and in view of sunlight, but the plants themselves seem to be flourishing throughout the farmhouse either way. It's almost as if someone (Astralin) had used magic to keep them growing strong and healthy, even indoors.

Oh, and speaking of sharing, again, the farmhouse isn't the inn. Expect to be sharing a space with someone else. Maybe a few people! Cozy up and make a new friend. It's better than freezing to death, right?

3. Hot Springs Episode
There are natural hot springs on the farmland that have been developed to mimic a Japanese onsen in places. The air might be cold and dark, but there are candles and lanterns around the springs to light it, and the water is nice and warm, perfect for those chill nights.

There are rules posted -- namely, clean yourself before going to soak -- and while there are separate bathing spaces for genders, Kotone doesn't really care too much about mixed bathing as long as everyone is respectful about it. Others may not be so casual about it, though, so one has to venture across at their own risk!

[ooc: This is a mingle! Feel free to use these prompts as inspiration or make your own. The only request I have is not to completely destroy the farmhouse or harm the animals -- anything else, go wild!]

Comments

[invinciblemikey]

(it all sounds really strange. if he knew his own life is surrounded by time-travelling, the one reason he is alive and breathing, it'd be less weird, but as is, he is processing, and what comes out of him is...)

... So you're Kototan, dude version?

[memori3s]

[ Good enough, honestly. ]

I guess so.

[ It's a noncommittal answer, but even he's not quite sure how to explain it either. ]

[invinciblemikey]

You two are really different. It's making me wonder how I'd be if I were a chick.

(his hands go to his titties, but, no, they're just toned titties.)

[memori3s]

[ Minato doesn't comment on what Manjiro's up to and remains unfazed. ]

How?

[ He means how he's different from Kotone, not how Manjiro would be if he were a chick... ]

[invinciblemikey]

How am I supposed to know, you're the one with a chick version, dude.

(zero braincells.)

[memori3s]

[ Bro come on... He literally just met her...

But Minato starts trying to remember everything he can about Kotone so he can at least offer an earnest reply. ]

She's...

[ Um. ]

She's cool.

[ Zero brain cells too.

Though there is one thing that sticks out. ]

...she good at learning about others.

[ Compared to him, anyways, who only knew as much as others were willing to share. Kotone, on the other hand, seems to have a way of nudging her way into others' lives to actively learn more about them. It's a good trait to have. ]

[invinciblemikey]

Oh, you meant how is she like. Talkative. Really really helpful, to the point I thought it was weird when I got here. Excited, and yet, super sleepy, too. She cares a lot. I don't know enough about you to know how you really differ, but she talks much more than you.

(which isn't a bad thing. he likes both styles, after all.)

[memori3s]

[ Wow. That's a lot of things, which means Manjiro must know her pretty well? ]

Oh.

[ ...sounds like Manjiro's come a long way since arriving.

He can, at least, say that he's encountered Kotone's helpfulness. ]

I met her when I first arrived. ...it was cold, so she let me stay at the farmhouse.

[ A pause. ]

She gave me cookies.

[invinciblemikey]

She offered to make me my favorite thing, so I thought she was bullshit.

(too nice, for no reason. he's used to people doing things for him, he is who he is, after all, but also, why would she do something for him for no reason whatsoever? felt sus.)

She ain't. I like her a lot.

[memori3s]

[ Which is good to hear, because people need allies to get through life. Even Minato knows that. ]

Your favorite thing?

[ Based on how much Manjiro enjoyed that hot chocolate -- ]

...cake?

[ Had to be something sweet, right? ]

[invinciblemikey]

Anko-sweets. You know, dorayaki, taiyaki, stuff like that.

(red... bean... paste... so precious to him...)

[memori3s]

[ Oh shit. They got red bean paste pastries here??

Now he's thinking about red bean paste...

In any event, he tucks that information about Manjiro away. ]

Mm. ...yeah, that's nice of her.

[invinciblemikey]

(he does. a box of japanese sweets that he is nursing, a true display of determination when it's his favorite thing ever.)

Yeah, thought it was weird, but it turns out, she's just nice. Are you just nice?

[memori3s]

No.

[ It's said a little too easily, almost frivolously. Only after hearing the word aloud does Minato realize that's not quite it. ]

...I don't know.

[ It's a term he'd use to describe others. But himself? That's not really for him to decide.

On the other hand... he's landed in his fair share of trouble over his difficulties sympathizing with others. It's one thing to rationalize an emotion and another thing to actually understand it. ]

I don't... think that's for me to decide.

[invinciblemikey]

Then, who have you decided that you are?

(he gets that part, but also, there is a part that is not supposed to be decided by anyone else. this convo got deep, but manjiro's just like that. he's always been a leader, it's been written for him since he was a kid.

so, he can't help it.)

[memori3s]

[ Now why would you ask that to someone who spent his entire life being whatever others needed him to be, doing what needed to be done not because he wanted to, but because he didn't see any reason not to -- ]

...I don't --

[ It's never been something he'd needed to think about. He didn't see any point in dedicating time and energy into figuring that out. ]

...it's not important.

[invinciblemikey]

(not wholly different from the boy who sits next to minato, after all. while he burns with passion, confidence, perhaps even arrogance, it's often not for his own benefit. he has too many people he needs to care for, to protect, and his misguided thought that allowing that for himself is proof of weakness. he'll stand tall, take as many punches as needed, give just as many.

'invincible' carries a burden, after all.

but, oh.)

It's the most important thing you'll ever do in your life, dumbass. Don't be static.

[memori3s]

[ More important than averting the apocalypse? Dang.

But those last three words seem to resonate, their message ringing true. "Don't be static." Is that how it goes? He reshapes himself like water in different glasses for others' purposes over and over again, but is that the same as never getting anywhere at all?

Except all that comes out of his mouth is a lukewarm: ]

I guess.

[ And then: ]

...how do you know?

[ How does he know there can't possibly be anything more important? ]

[invinciblemikey]

(listen, usually being half-naked in a body of water is much more fun than this--

but this is not so bad. his eyes close, his head leaning against the edge for support as he thinks. it doesn't take too long before he does speak, though.)

It shapes what you need to be who you want to be and how you will do what you need to do. Really fucking important, if you ask me.

[memori3s]

[ Yeah this is kind of the opposite of fun right now --

The additional elaboration helps though. Based on the criteria Manjiro lays out, it's kind of a miracle that SEES didn't collapse in on itself given its leader's lacking sense of self. ]

...mm.

[ It's acknowledgement. Minato can't refute what's been laid out. He is, instead, busy staring down at the water.

Strange, how he'd managed to help others figure all that about themselves. But when it comes to himself, he's definitely at a loss. ]

...yeah. I guess so.

[ Or is he reshaping himself based on Manjiro's words? Maybe the message will stick someday. ]

[invinciblemikey]

You'll get it eventually.

(so, there's nothing to worry about. life has a funny way of shaping people, either way. so much of manjiro is other people, after all. his empathy, his ground, his view of future, all laid in other hands. without them, manjiro is incomplete himself, but he makes do somehow. surviving is just that, isn't it?

so, he comes perhaps too close, just to give a good look at the other boy. the large hollow eyes scan, as if he's looking for his own words in the other's expression.

it's not important.)

You're fine.

[memori3s]

[ Everything coming out of Manjiro's mouth is frying Minato's brain, his last two words included. He's been complimented before. He knows how to nod through it, to express gratitude with some words despite shrugging at the same time.

But "you're fine" is different, and paired with Manjiro's earlier words -- he's enough? Really? Even if he can't provide any answers or action in this specific situation? ]

...right.

[ Minato glances up, though avoids making eye contact out of habit. ]

...what are you looking for?

[ No one hovers that close to another person without a reason to do so. ]

[invinciblemikey]

(unlike minato, manjiro doesn't have any issues with eye contact. to the contrary, that's automatic to him, an ironic contrast between the two.

but the question makes him smile, those eyes closing to make way for a smile.)

If I tell you everything, that's lame, don't think about it.

[memori3s]

[ Fair. After all, hadn't they just finished discussing how people should use their own brains and draw their own conclusions? So Minato nods, acknowledging Manjiro's response before sinking a little deeper into the water, chin barely above the surface.

He's not quite sure how they got here, but Manjiro's not bad company at all. And given all the wisdom he's imparted --

...yeah, he's definitely someone who's been a gang leader since he was eleven. ]

[invinciblemikey]

(for someone so lively, it's funny that the silence doesn't bother him. instead, it's almost like he's letting the conversation dissolve and be absorbed, whatever way it should be. except, he's starting to get hungry again, which is very noticeable by the way his stomach grumbles.

the next is less than pleasant, with manjiro shaking his long hair to dry it. he's gonna get out, so he gestures with his head to let the other know.)