[OPEN] JUNE INTRO MINGLE

[asgardmods]

Who: Newbies and anyone who wishes to greet them!
What: Getting used to the city
When: Days 92 and forward
Where: anywhere in town!
Rating: PG-13 tops! If it gets worse, move to a private log please.

[Please include your location and the IC day (ex. Day 92) in your top-level comment or your subject line when starting a thread! It can be any welcome hall, major attraction, or just out an about in any district. For newbies making a top-level thread, you may include your character's name/canon/house in your subject line if you'd like, to make housemates easy to find! :) If a God is needed or wanted, please ping the mods and depending on availability we might be able to throw them in where asked.

Also, keep an eye on the event scedule for June! If you're ICly introing during an event, make sure you take that into account. Thank you!

Have fun!]

Comments

[whatagoodgirl]

Really? [She just stands in place for a moment, but the question's rhetorical - rejecting such an offer would be rude.]

I'll just go get a drink and be right back, okay?

[granter]

Of course! And I appreciate it, since I wouldn't have the money to pay for your drink, honestly.

[She laughs cheerfully, waving her hand almost lazily to encourage her to go inside the cafe] Please do! I'm in no hurry, of course.

[whatagoodgirl]

There's no need. I always pay my own way. [Bowing shallowly.] But thank you for the thought.

[She comes out a moment later with a pot of green tea and a small cup, and pours herself some before making introductions awkwardly.] Um, I'm Mako Nakarai, but I go by Nakama. So that's what you can call me.

[granter]

[As Nakama leaves, Yuuko's gaze lingers on her back with a cool expression. That statement reminded her more than a little of Watanuki, and that parts how she feels. On one hand, she feels fond at that association, and on the other, she's wondering if she could play the shrewd businesswoman to have this girl work for her like Watanuki had. She misses her snacktime already, okay...

But luckily she doesn't seriously consider either thought, just smiling distantly at her cup of coffee until she returns. Once she does, Yuuko gives a polite smile.]

It's very nice to meet you, Nakama-chan. My name is Yuuko. Ichihara Yuuko. [Her eyes close as she smiles wider] You can call me whatever you'd like, though. It's just an assumed name, after all. ♥

[whatagoodgirl]

Oh... can I ask why you had to take on an assumed name, Yuuko? [Extra-polite with the refined women.]

[granter]

It's a precaution. One that I imagine means little here, but old habits are hard to break.

[Though she wouldn't actually call it a habit. It's a precaution that for a witch of her power would save her life. Even if it was proven without a doubt that she was safe here, she still wouldn't use her true name here.

(And, of course, she was very fond of the alias. It was fun to pick out the perfect name!)

Yuuko sets her coffee on the table after taking a sip, still smiling.] Names are important, powerful things. By giving someone your name, you give that person power over you, even as far as giving them the ability to take your soul!

[whatagoodgirl]

Your soul? [She's wide eyed and a bit startled - the perfect audience.] So souls are a real, tangible thing where you're from?

[granter]

[It's not as enthusiastic of a reaction as Watanuki's, but she still smiles a bit more. She never gets tired of that reaction!]

Yes and no. A soul can mean a great many things. It can be the essence of a person's being, where without it, they become a shell. Or it can be an object of great importance to a person.

[whatagoodgirl]

We had... well, the life force of a person, which could be used to fuel a particular weapon. But if you used it, you died. I don't think that's what you mean by "becoming a shell", is it?

[granter]

[Interesting. She wants to ask more about the weapon, but she can return to it later.]

No, it's not. Losing your soul isn't the same as dying. Your body is still alive and it functions, but there's nothing there. [She places a hand on her chest] They're like a vegetable. They're alive, but they're not living.

[whatagoodgirl]

That sounds terrible... [There's a haunted look in her eye.]

[granter]

It is! And it's not something that I like to take, since possessing such a thing is a dangerous, heavy weight.

[She brushes some hair over her shoulder with a thoughtful expression, but whatever she's considering, she doesn't speak about.]

But that's why I take an assumed name. For most, it doesn't matter at all, don't worry. Only those with great magical or supernatural power have to worry.

[whatagoodgirl]

What happens when you take a soul? [Now she's actually leaning across the table a little. She's utterly hypnotized.]

[granter]

That depends on why the soul was taken.

[She's silently relishing in this interest, and takes a sip of her coffee before she continues]

If it was paid as a price to obtain something, then the one who takes it does not carry the burden. But if it was stolen, then they carry the burden in full. It's not easy to explain what that burden is, because it's something intangible. It's karma, but as an absolute.

[whatagoodgirl]

... so you really, truly can sell a soul...?

[It's only half-question, because this woman intimidates her a little, but she can't help but wonder if she's having a tale spun for her.]

[granter]

You can! But that's a very high price—the highest that I would accept.

[Her smile widens, and she doesn't wait for her to ask to elaborate] I'm in the business of granting wishes. But for a price, of course. ♥

[whatagoodgirl]

And people will wish for something so big that they'll lose themselves in the process? That's...

[She can understand that, actually. She'd give up herself for her mom's safety.]

... I guess you're not demanding their soul from them, they're offering it, so it can't be seen as your fault. But don't you feel bad?

[granter]

No, I don't. People that come to me for a wish come out of their own will. They will not meet me unless they want a wish granted. It's truly a fated meeting.

[Though she's still smiling slightly, it's colder. This is Yuuko's business, and the eventual fate of those whose wishes she grants may interest her, but she can't take the weight of them. When it comes to granting wishes, she's truly a neutral force.]

So if they wish for something that will harm them or even kill them... It's not my concern. That is their wish, and the weight of the price is theirs alone to bear.

[whatagoodgirl]

That... still sounds so hard. I don't think I could doom someone like that.

[granter]

Then you wouldn't be well suited for the business, I'm afraid! People often wish for things that harm them. It's human nature, but it's just as much human nature to be ignorant of the danger of wishes.

[whatagoodgirl]

[What are you? She wants to ask, but she's still a bit intimidated, even more so now by her cool detachment.]

No, I wouldn't. [Shivers a little.] Do a lot of people do what you do?

[granter]

Not at all! It's a very small market to begin with, even though everyone has a wish... Very few of them need the help of someone who can grant wishes. Most people have the power to grant their wishes themselves, though they may not realize it.

[And even sometimes when people come to her shop, she still pushes them towards fulfilling the wishes on their own—Many wishes can only be granted through the wisher's own will.]

It makes the job itself a fairly rare one... I know of a handful of others, but I'm the only one in Japan. There's another deep in the Himalayas, though they work even less than I. It's too difficult to reach!

[whatagoodgirl]

[Funny, that's her first thought.] If that's the case, do you tell them so, or do you still ask for a price and grant it? [It's one of the first halfway challenging things she's asked.]

[granter]

[The smile widens]

The ones who don't need my help won't come to my shop. It's that simple. If they truly have the power to grant their own wish, they'll never be able to come and see me.

[whatagoodgirl]

It all sounds like magic... is it that, or something else?