[open] harpstring moon catch-all

[snowslip]

Who: Marianne and you!
Where: Around Aldrip
What: Catch-all log
Warnings: N/A


i.

[ Though Marianne has made her life in Aldrip for many moons now, the remodeling of town has her losing her way. You might run into her doubling back around, entering an establishment only to quickly excuse herself, or stumbling into shadier alleys looking terribly out of place for a woman of the cloth. ]

Excuse me— where is this?

[ Apart from running her usual errands, she can also be found putting up recruitment posters around town for the Artzenritter healer troop. Come take a look? Or perhaps lend a hand at graphic design, technology is a struggle. ]

ii.

[ The memories of the other Aldrip linger, an alternate life where she wasn't plagued by her Crest and she held hope and confidence in herself that she never knew she could. On one sleepless night, she writes an anonymous message to the network after much fiddling with the new charms. ]

I still feel troubled by the memories of the other life we lived. Is it the same for anyone else?

[ If you know her already, she may feel comfortable enough to confess in person. ]

Some days, I feel like I don't know which of my memories to trust.

[ ooc: Her usual haunts are the Willow Clinic where she'll be trying to ease pollen symptoms this month and Astralin's farm and the surrounding meadows where she can be found tending to chocobos and her horse Dorte. Feel free to PM or ping me at ahlyo for a custom starter! ]

Comments

[snowslip]

It was a shop that sold medical supplies. I thought I would pick up more needles and gauze for the clinic... but the town's changed so suddenly from when we first arrived.

[ Marianne murmurs, wringing her hands in thought. Most likely, the shop that used to be here had packed up and left. The needles actually being sold are not the kind she's thinking of... ]

[entreats]

[ Well, at least the last part of what the other girl is saying explains the problem immediately. Marianne is here because she has no idea what's out here in the first place.. ]

Ah.. no, you're definitely not going to find that here. Just scummy people who are going to try and take advantage of you.

[ And Marianne might just fall for that, Ange thinks. It's not even that she considers the other girl to be dumb, it's just.. Marianne is so nice. She might just fall for it solely out of some sweet desire to help other people, or something along those lines. ]

Do you want me to help you find the actual shop you were looking for? It's got to still be somewhere in town.

[snowslip]

I-Is that so? I must have gotten turned around.

[ She raises a hand to touch her cheek, recalling some of the alleys she had passed and the stares she had felt on her that now seem fishy in retrospect. She had grown used to walking the streets of Aldrip like any commoner would, but a part of her still had the sensibilities of a sheltered noblewoman. ]

I would appreciate your help, but are you not busy, Ange?

[ She must have places to go as well. It strikes Marianne that she doesn't know Ange very well past her reserved exterior to know where she would usually hang out. ]

[entreats]

[ ...

There's a noticable pause.

Even if Ange doesn't address the fact there was a noticable pause at all when she speaks up. ]

I happened to be heading there too.

[ Sure, Ange. If it weren't for the fact that she can say that so calmly, it'd be so obvious that it's a lie, especially with that pause beforehand.. Like she had to think up an answer on the spot in order to not seem too helpful here.. ]

So it's not like it's any skin off my back if I head there with you. [ ...

A slight huff, and she crosses her arms across her chest. ] Besides, if I just let you wander around in a place like this by yourself, then what would that make me?

[snowslip]

Oh, what a coincidence.

[ Almost too much of a coincidence that it's a little suspicious, but Marianne decides to accept Ange's explanation without fuss. What goes on in the other girl's mind is a mystery to her, but Marianne trusts her intentions. She appears stoic but she has a good heart. ]

Thank you for being considerate. I'll be more alert in the future. [ She laughs in a self-effacing manner as she falls in step with her. ] Have you been well lately?

[entreats]

Well..

[ For a moment her voice trails off, but when she speaks again, her voice is more flat again, the way it usually is. ]

I guess about as well as anyone is doing here. It's kind of weird to say I'm super well when we're constantly dealing with all these strange events, after all. [ Not to mention that Ange isn't really well by default. But even though Marianne is really sweet, and even though Ange does kind of trust her, it's not the sort of thing she exactly loves sharing with other people.

So she sweeps that part under the carpet, focusing on the more surface-level stuff. Thankfully what she's bringing up is a handy enough curtain to hide behind. ]

Maybe I should be asking you that. It's probably an adjustment for you, going from the city we used to have to this.

[ Especially with the way poor Marianne had been lost just now. It feels like a clear sign of all these changes maybe being a bit too big or overwhelming for her. ]

[snowslip]

That's true. It seems like every time peace returns, there's always new trouble on the horizon, isn't there?

[ They've faced trial after trial. Should they expect another one soon? Marianne will continue to pray for the well-being of the people, Ange included.

A small blush rises to her cheeks; she hopes she doesn't come off as too hapless. ]

I-I'm sure I'll get used to the new Aldrip in time. I do miss the old pace of life. I'm grateful the farm where I live has stayed the same.

[ Things feel so bustling and foreign these days, but she'll always have the comfort of the meadows and its animals. ]

[entreats]

[ It's hard to tell, Ange thinks. She isn't entirely sure if Marianne is being honest and just very optimistic about this - something she's willing to put some stock into, since from Ange's point of view Marianne is a pretty sweet and kind person - or if it's just that Marianne is worried, but doesn't want to admit to it..

Most of the time she can tell with people, but with Marianne either scenario is so likely that it makes it hard to decide which this is. And if Ange offers to listen to her and it isn't the latter, then she's going to seem like a huge dumbass and way too nice.

The worst possible combination of impressions Ange wants to avoid at all times.

So after just letting the sound of their footsteps fill up a slight moment of silence-- ]

I mean, there's a lot to get used to. [ Flatly. Nonchalantly. N-No, she's not saying this to be nice! Fight her! ] A lot has changed. I'm not sure I care for absolutely all of it either.

[ ... ]

The tablet games are kind of nice though.

aww ange

[snowslip]

[ Truthfully, it's a bit of both. Marianne has been wanting to shed her pessimistic outlook and try to look forward, but at the same time, she can't help but be prone to worry.

Oblivious to the internal struggle raging on inside Ange, Marianne nods along to her words. ]

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one. I've been making use of the tablet more, but I can't say I've tried the games. Maybe you could show me sometime.

[ She's mostly used her tablet to take pictures of the animals. So many pictures. ]

s-ssh, she's totally cool and doesn't care!! t-totally!!

[entreats]

.. If you want to. I don't mind.

[ She's totally downplaying it, but there's a small part of Ange that is kind of excited at the idea of having someone to play games with.. There's only so many times you can play against the computer before you start seeing through all its patterns. And for a relatively intelligent girl like Ange that point comes a little quicker than it does for most people.

Plus-- Maybe it'll start making Marianne a little more comfortable around technology too. It's a win-win situation, right? ]

Have you ever played other games? Maybe I could figure out what kind of games you might enjoy on here.

[snowslip]

[ Marianne thinks back to the games she's played - which there aren't many. ]

My adoptive father taught me chess. It's a favorite of his, but I was never very good at the game.

[ He had encouraged her to play as a way to hone her tactical thinking, but his stern countenance during lessons intimidated her too much that she spent more time worrying about displeasing him than about her moves. ]

When I was young, I, um, spent more time playing with animals than with other children.

[ She admits, looking down embarrassed. She was an odd child who didn't have friends to play games with, and the rumors surrounding her family had only made her isolation worse. ]

[entreats]

[ It's hard to not notice Marianne's reaction there. If it wasn't for that, it could have been a relatively normal statement - but Ange has had reactions like that often enough herself to realize that it means something about what Marianne was saying.

If not just that she was likely just as isolated as Ange was at that age. The reason for it might have been different, given how different the worlds they come from are like, but.. she can still recognize the experience a little.

And how awkward it can make you feel when it comes to social stuff. ]

They have games with animals on these things too, you know. [ She starts - tries, carefully.

Like she's trying to breach this gap without making it too awkward for the other. It's not like Ange of all people is judging Marianne for this, after all. ]

You can take care of cute little animals in some of them, if you'd find that fun. Though I guess there's plenty of real animals to take care of in this place.

[ Which kind of ruins the point, but.. sorry, Marianne, some of us prefer not going outside and instead staying in and taking care of our fake little Tamagotchis.. ]

[snowslip]

Really?

[ Marianne looks up at the mention of games about animals, her moment of self-consciousness passing. It helps that Ange has never made a big deal of it whenever she's paused awkwardly during conversation or struggled for words. Ange may not be very social and she's blunt in ways Marianne's not, but Marianne's come to feel at ease with her in their quiet interactions. ]

That sounds adorable. I would love to try.

[ Let her dote on animals both digital and real. Just be prepared to get distressed texts about why her tamagotchi is dying... All her experience in the real world won't help her. ]

[entreats]

[ Ange's next quest will be to save Marianne's Tamagotchi, clearly.. ]

Yeah, it's.. [ .. She can't say adorable.

Even if it doesn't seem like Marianne of all people would judge her for it, Ange still has a reputation to maintain. And you can't be an unfeeling ice queen when you're into adorable things, right. So.. ]

.. it's fun.

[ J-Just fun! Clearly nothing more! Not like Ange coos at the cute little creatures on her screen sometime or anything..

As they walk, she fishes her tablet out of her pocket. ]

Here, look. [ She seems pretty good at navigating the stuff on there by now even as she walks - she isn't bumping into anything, at least! - and it doesn't take long before she's opened a game on her tablet, showing off the screen to Marianne. It looks like a cute little lion cub - very cute-ified, mind you - wandering around on the screen. ] This is the one I'm taking care of right now. I called him Sakutaro.

[ You're the only person she's shared this with, Marianne! This is now their joint secret.. You must take this with you to the grave, Ange's reputation is on the line.. ]

[snowslip]

[ Maybe it's just her imagination, but does Ange seem a little hesitant when she's pulling out her tablet? Marianne doesn't mull on it for long though, she's soon distracted by the critter on the screen. She stops in her tracks, leaning in to get a better look at the little guy. Because how precious! ]

Oh, Ange. What a cute cub. So you can raise animals you normally can't keep.

[ Sakutaro...That there is a friend. The revelation that Ange plays adorable phone games shifts Marianne's perception of her, but not in the way Ange fears. If anything, she's gained respect points for being a digital whiz and tamagotchi raising expert. ]

[entreats]

Yeah. It's easier to take care of these than to take care of actual animals, I imagine.

[ She's trying so hard to sound Cool about this. Cool and business-like. Because that's clearly what this is all about, and not about Ange adoring cute little critters.

It doesn't matter that Marianne seems really sweet and receptive to all of this - it's just Ange's instinct to act this way around it, really. ]

And it's a good way to spend time when you don't have much to do. After having been here for so long [ and now it feels like she's explored enough of town that she's pretty sure there's no secrets left hiding anywhere ] sometimes I end up just sitting around without really having anything to do. So then I play games like these.

coming back to wrap up! happy for these two lonely girls finding new friends!!

[snowslip]

[ Ange's cool and business-like demeanor isn't convincing Marianne. Or rather, once Marianne learned that Ange has been looking after cute virtual animals, she has deemed her a sweet person under her stoic exterior, her image irreversibly changed. ]

It's a relaxing way to spend the time, isn't it? At least, that's how I feel whenever I'm with the animals.

[ Marianne spends the rest of their walk asking questions about the app and by the end of it, has it installed on her phone with her first pet adopted (a bird named after a childhood companion of hers), friend codes exchanged so that Sakutaro can wander into Marianne's farm and vice versa. ]

Thank you for showing me how to play. Today was fun.

[ She bids Ange farewell at the end of it, smiling. She'll always have her animal friends for company, but it's comforting to have human friends to spend time with too. ]