deercountry | days of future past;

Entry tags:

days of future past;

Who: everyone, you're all invited
What: Grand opening of Rocky's
When: March 1 - or whenever, feel free to future date if you want
Where: Rocky's Bar

Content Warnings: Will be placed in subject line if necessary

Dean will toss a post up on the network that is visible to all. It's just an ad for the place - a huge blinking gif that says ROCKY'S BAR, and a text under it that says 'GRAND OPENING MARCH 1, 7:00pm - ?'. There is a list of information available in the post, as well as normal opening times (12 noon), and closing (2am-ish). This is an open invite for the entire community to come check it out. All ages will be permitted into the arcade (and offered soft drinks/water from the bar) until 10pm, after that, they will be asked to leave the premises, and it becomes adult only.

Admission: Admission will be local 'currency'; a shiny rock, quartz or gemstone (or something similar) will pay for a night of drinks and games. Spices and things like salt/pepper are also acceptable.

Or, if you want to work a shift then throw down, same gig.

The place will be set up for a proper party - streamers, music pumping from a jukebox in a corner, though there is a playlist that is on shuffle unless someone picks something else. At the far end of the bar, through scattered tables and chairs, there is also a karaoke stage. Two microphones are set up, but there are more if there are enough in the party to warrant digging them out. For now, a Trench citizen is running the karaoke rounds (and will be doing so every Friday night until the position is otherwise filled), and should you want to sing, just write your name down in her little black book along with the song title, and she'll call you up when it's your turn.

There's a long banquet table of food against one wall that is being refreshed as needed by various Trenchies. It includes the following:

French fries
Onion rings
Nachos
Wings
Mozzarella sticks
Quesadillas
Chicken Sliders
Artichoke dip

Traveling downstairs and into the basement will take you to the arcade - there are tons of games lit by neon and blacklight, their siren song luring you right in. Pacman, DDR, Galaga, Asteroids, Frogger, etc are all there, as well as several pinball machines, ski-ball, a foosball and an air hockey table. If you dream it, it's probably there.

If none of that is your style, you can hit the bar, where Dean himself (and another Trench citizen) will be serving drinks - there's a Squid Special (a tequila shot and a beer), and three craft beers on tap - Cosmic Cowboy IPA, Fox Rye Lager, and Blue Ghost pale ale, all from Dean's own microbrewery.

(( ooc; this is an open/party style log where everyone can interact with everyone else. Don't feel the need to wait for Dean to serve you a drink, there is another Trench bartender helping him out until he hires someone else.

There ARE bouncers, but if your character is being a jerk, do let me know because Dean will step in and toss them out :3 If you have any questions, hmu

pincurls! otherwise, have fun, mingle, and enjoy! ))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Rose has that now. Even if Cal came here (God forbid!), he wouldn't be able to pull her from the path she'd set herself on.

"I'm sure I'll become a loyal customer."

"Thank goodness. I'd imagine it's not a good idea to probe too deeply into the lives of others. For one thing, it's rude, and for another, back home it seemed impossible to keep secrets for very long. And Mother was a fine example of someone who should have kept her mouth shut." Asking if the lifeboats were seated according to class! As though nonsense like that mattered when the ship was sinking out from under them.

Luz was still a young lady who had plenty of interesting things to say. Rose would hear no other argument on the subject.

"Absolutely. If I were a better cook, I'd throw a housewarming party once I got everything settled. But as it is, I'll still have company. But no food."

Such a feeling spoke highly of her, just so long as she took plenty of time to take care of herself, too.

"Ugh. You'd think that things would have been settled years ago. Women are just as smart and capable as men, it's just that we're rarely given chances to prove it."

"I'd rather go with impossible, but that's probably asking too much."

She'd love to know that!

"She'll be happy to have you! I'm not surprised about all that though: if you were a woman in those times whose asset was to be pretty, what else would you have to do but gossip and find out who's who? I'm not saying I can relate, since I'm poor but come from modern times, but if I had to guess, that'd probably be a thing I'd do to pass the time."

Lies, really. Luz would have to be pried from a library with a crowbar.

"Oh, I can help with that...if you want, that is! I know how to cook some dishes, and I learned even more once I had to rough it on my own. I can even try and get you some things to start with!"

Luz was very VERY bad at taking care of herself at times.

"It's really funny how slow of a time THAT took, when in just a few decades, what human beings can do as far as communication and learning and understanding changed pretty rapidly too! It'd be a lot to take in, if you ever choose to sit down and find out!"

Luz giggled. "Oh, I wish! I just am very good at dodging! Still have to work on making a good magical shield, actually."

"That was almost literally what all the women talked about. Everyone knew everyone else's business eventually, so gossip was like a competitive sport. People kept trying to know more than everybody else, so they could pretend like nothing was shocking to them. I suppose it could be interesting, but I felt like my life had already been decided for me. I felt...stifled, I guess?"

The library was a far better option.

Rose smiled in relief. "That would be wonderful. Snow White has taught me some, but the stoves here and the ones back home are entirely different. No worrying about burning wood or coal to keep the fire going."

And Rose was entirely bored with fish sandwiches. Tuna, salmon, cod, sturgeon, bass, catfish, no more fish! At least for a while.

"I suppose that there's a bit of a learning curve when it comes to seeing women as their own, authentic selves. However, technology tended to grow in leaps and bounds. When I was a girl, I never would have dreamed of travelling anywhere by an automobile, but by the time we took our tour of Europe, we took the train on many occasions, but I think Cal liked showing off what he could buy." See also: the Heart of the Ocean, squirrelled away in her undergarments drawer.

Rose blinked in surprise. "Really? How does one build a magical shield?"

"It does sound a little superficial, if that was what you had to do day in and day out. It would drive me a little crazy, now that I think about it! There are little circles like that in just about every institution you go to, even in school! Some can be pretty mean, now that I think about it."

She didn't really have to think about it though. Time on earth and even Boscha's crew on the Boiling Isles were a lot like this.

"I'll bet they are! Good ol' Snow White, she would be the type to teach people how to cook! But that's true, more people tend to use electric or oil than actual coal or wood now. It's more convenient."

Not that Luz hadn't watched more than a few mewtube videos on how to cook in old fashion style, for fun. Too bad she had no idea that Rose was only eating fish, she would have made some recommendations!

"That's the thing: when technology thrives and gets better, people all want the opportunity to use it! Social change might be something that the powers that be buck against, but not only is it hard to keep those people down, they want the opportunity to exploit the potential money they can bring!"

Isn't capitalism great?/sarcasm

"Cal sounds like a real winner," Luz said, shaking her head. "Hopefully you won't miss him too much."

Oh, that was a really good question. "Well, it's all about amassing a competent cone of power, then taking that power and directing it around a certain spot. It sounds easy in theory but is WAY harder in execution. If I'm being truthful, I haven't had much practice making it happen yet. I'm better with my glyphs."

"It was awfully superficial. All anyone could talk about what who'd taken a stroll with whom, who was wearing the ugliest dress and describing how ugly it was, then laughing about it, and which new money family was trying to rise above their station. An endless parade of gala events, cotillions, and polo matches with the exact same people you'd been with at the previous event. And the event before that. It's small wonder people resorted to cruel gossip, what else could one do when being surrounded by the exact same people all the time. Yech. But, people are still just as cruel?"

It can be hard to keep things interesting with the same group of people in close quarters. Granted, it seemed as though this place had a way with creating interesting circumstances.

"Yes, she's very kind. Though, I still don't know how to use most of my kitchen appliances. The icebox was sensible enough, so was using the burners on the stove, but I haven't the faintest idea of what the little box with the options even is!"

She knew enough to try and get seasonings for it, but those seemed to be few and far between.

Rose looks endlessly disappointed. "...is that so? Then I suppose our cultures aren't that much different--I was only lucky enough to be born at near the top of it." And she finds herself wondering about the crew on the Titanic.

Not the officers, but the men working in the boiler room, the legion of stewards and stewardesses, her maid, Trudy. She hadn't seen Trudy since Mother had sent her back to turn on the heat on those rooms and get tea ready. How long had Trudy waited before she realized that not only were they not coming back, but that the ship was sinking?

yes, capitalism is wonderful!/sarcasm

"Oh, God no. I've never been so glad to be rid of someone in my entire life!" Though she couldn't help wondering why Cal went to check among the Steerage passengers. Did he simply want his bauble back or did he honestly think he might find her safe?

And Rose raises her eyebrows. "It sounds hard to me even in theory! I can't imagine how it must be to try and put it into practice."

"Yup, depending on your friend circle and who you're hanging out with, you're likely to find that kind of conversation. Maybe it's always BEEN that way, the moment human beings were able to make something that other people couldn't get themselves. It's sad, but the good thing is you can always find friends that don't care, and then you don't have to either! I guess there are probably pockets like that here, but since everything runs on barter system, it's harder to be wealthy, and extravagance is kinda look down on by at least half the population because of the fear of blood pollution."

So there were just new things to worry about instead of the regular kind of gossipy bunch of people. Also, there was whatever Trench would throw at its Sleepers.

"Oh, you mean a microwave! I can help you out with that, although I can only imagine what they look like here. I don't know if anyone has them. We just use a stove back at our place. Most of us come from a world that have them!"

Besides, Reaper cooked for them anyway, so most of the time they didn't have to worry about it.

"People sometimes don't want to change because that means losing their comforts, and unfortunately, it is easier for poor people to be content when they have small comforts. Effecting change means, well, rebellion, and those in power have ways of stopping that."

Luz's mom had given her enough stories about that, sadly.

"Glad to hear it! You seem way too awesome to be saddled to someone that overbearing!"

She hoped Rose found someone who would treat her well. And sing with her on Karaoke night.

"Oh, it is! But any of the magic I did was hard. It all takes practice and work. So I might not know how to get it perfect now, but I will soon, mark my words!"

"I suppose the very first cavewoman who was wearing an animal fur looked down on the ones wearing grass skirts. And men are no exception, really. They have their own pride, they simply express it in different ways. And I'd like to think I can find lots of friends here who don't care about wealth, no matter how it's accumulated. But...why does it lead to blood pollution?"

Rose had assumed that the incidents on Valentine's day were an isolated incident, likely due to the holiday. Granted, March saw the end of winter, but Trench certainly didn't seem like the kind of place where people would indulge in old pagan traditions she'd read about in a book she'd had to hide from mother.

"A micro...wave?" A little confused line formed between her eyes. "It doesn't look like it has water in it?"

Rose had burned the first couple attempts at cooking she'd tried. Then she'd tried to recall what she read in a book about Japan, that they ate raw fish with rice all the time. She could do that.

"Yes, it seems as though nothing less than that would turn the world on its ear. And in rebellions, there are casualties." And she's seen more than enough death in her seventeen years already.

"Thank you, it's kind of you to say so. I'm sure he'll find someone new soon enough, likely someone easier to lead."

She honestly wasn't looking. She was still too heartsick for Jack to consider anything more than a polite, but meaningless flirtation.

"I hope you'll demonstrate it for me when you do, truly your magic is wonderful"

"Oh sure, everybody has pride, and you're going to learn it's not just us humans. There are people who are here from other dimensions and other worlds, and they have their own version of pride. However it's shaped, it has a way of affecting all the things you do."

Who could Luz possibly be talking about? ~~Darth Maul~~

There was so many crazy things going on in Trench that at this point, Luz was not surprised by any of it. Thank you, Deerington.

"Water?" Now Luz was confused. "What does that have to do with it?"

Oh sure, you COULD eat raw fish, but between the descaling and gutting and deboning, it was going to be a whole process no matter how you went about it.

Unless of course Rose obtained the fish already prepared for her, in which case Luz would consider her SUPER lucky, since she was usually fishing for Luca. Luckily, he had fish boy teeth that he didn't need Luz to prep it. If she wanted to eat fish though? Out of luck.

"Exactly. In the 'civilized' world, you don't have rebellions. Protests maybe, but most of the time, people want to be left alone to try and live their best life."

Luz always thought war to be pointless and life consuming, but sometimes it was necessary to HAVE a peaceful life.

"I hope not. That sounds awful, to have a life like that."

Luz wouldn't know this, having no knowledge of Jack. Be advised you would have a sobbing little starry-eyed teen if she did find out.

"Of course! I mean, outside of course. I don't want to start a fire or make ice indoors. Buuut-"

Luz took a glyph and scribbled the fire and ice glyph in separate circles but joined together through two loops on each side, and now there was a small bit of billowing steam all around them that slowly dissapted.

"I would hope to avoid bruising the pride of others, if only because I know what it feels like and it's awful. I suppose that in the absence of any real laws, one must follow the Golden Rule. Treat others how you would like to be treated?"

Who indeed? ~~Scary guy!~~

And she comes from an era where the only real fantasy stories were fairy tales, generally thought of as only being suitable for the nursery. But she'd gotten a book of the original versions and they'd been terribly violent. So she has...some frame of reference?

Rose cocked her head to one side slightly. "You said it was a microwave, so there must be waves involved somehow. Small waves, I assume?"

All of which she'd never done before. So she usually held her nose through the degutting and skinning, then sliced off small pieces. It wasn't a perfect solution, but it worked well enough?

Even though she felt really silly about eating pieces of raw fish. The book had pictures of what the fish and rice were supposed to be like and what she did didn't come close. For starters, she had no rice. And no idea of how to cook it even if she did have it.

"Who would have thought that the future would be so...very similar to my present," she says despairing. "But surely some progress must have been made?"

Because she doesn't want to think of growing old in a world that didn't grow, too.

And Rose would be the first to hug her and tell her that her final promise to Jack was that she'd hold on. She'd live. She'd lead a good life. And that was exactly what she was going to do, she owed him nothing less.

"You could always make shaved ice? Everyone likes shaved ice...in a warmer climate than this."

And Rose exclaims in surprise and amazement and can't help clapping. "That was wonderful! Really, it was!"

"That would make sense! The problem usually is knowing what it is that offends people. It can be different stuff! But the longer you stay here, the easier it'll be to figure out."

He was scary, but also much nicer than he wanted anyone to find out.

That was a good way to find out exactly how bad things were going to get.

"Oh no, not...waves in the sense of water! It's more like, well, electron waves that are produced in the oven that cooks the food. You know, I should probably find you a book about it and read it myself since I actually don't know how the process works myself. Most people don't know its science but DO know to use it."

Though even then, some people could still mess things up with a microwave. Luz made a mental note to tell Rose to not EVER put anything metal in a microwave.

Oh Rose. Please. Please tell Luz you can't cook so she can save you from your struggling existence and help you to eat right.

"There's plenty of progress! It's just, well. People just become jerks in new ways instead of the old one, and even then, not that much more? They're still pretty bad. But there are lots of things we've gotten better with too. Music! Communication! Cooking! Art! And people of all different races and orientations working and trying to make a living in these new kinds of jobs! Prejudiced people don't make it easy, but it can be possible with the right mind and energy!"

Luz has not lost her enthusiasm for humanity!

Again, see Luz with tears of appreciation and love for how amazing you and Jack sound.

"That IS true, but how would I do the flavoring?"

She'd have to ask Dean.

Luz was beaming, because of course she was. "Isn't it? I learned THIS outside of my world through experimentation! I found that if you were able to combine and direct glyphs while also linking them together, you could use both abilities to create something new!"

"Yes. I'd imagine that any of the more...fraught experiences would be off-limits to most people, which is fair. No one really likes discussing that kind of thing."

She'd believe it when she saw it.

The tales had all been dark and bloodthirsty. Or sad and mournful, in the case of Hans Christian Andersen. To think, to endure so much pain to try and win the love of the prince, only to fail and be turned into sea foam. Sea foam! It hardly seemed like a satisfactory ending.

"Electrons? I've heard vague stories about them, but I never got around to reading about them. Too interested in history and psychology, I suppose. I never imagined that they could be used to cook food! Maybe we don't need to understand the science, as long as it works?"

That would be good, because she absolutely would put a metal pot in the microwave.

She'd never had a meal which hadn't been prepared by someone else until she came here. And the closest she'd come to cooking had been learning to manage a household and the help.

Rose can't help chuckling at the notion of new ways to be jerks. "It seems as though jerks are commonplace no matter where or when one goes. But...I'd love to hear more about the music, communication, and especially art. I lost many fine paintings by, uh...something Picasso?

And about how well the different races and orientations are doing. My grandfathers both fought for the Union. They could have paid someone to fight for them, but they did what they felt was right."

Rose is trying to, but it's hard when one spend much of their life in boredom at her surroundings.

"I'm not entirely sure? It doesn't seem likely that we're going to get much fresh fruit unless the climate changes drastically."

Rose was also beaming, enthralled by the display. "Your own experimentation? My goodness, you're terribly bright! I'm glad you were born when you were."

"Like I said, you figure it out over time. Sometimes it's easier than others. One thing that helps? Don't assume everyone here is 'human.' Some of them aren't."

Which was crazy to say at first, but the more you looked around the more you realized it wasn't really that odd.

Luz would have agreed with that, and that was why she had graduated to manga and video games, thank you.

"It helps to know some basic things. For one, stove will always be better for heating up water. NEVER out anything metal in a microwave unless you want to blow up the room. Make sure you put in the correct time. Also, if you freeze things? The defrost setting is your friend."

Luz made a mental note to pop over to Rose's now and again to make sure she wasn't doing too bad when it came to food.

"They are, and trust me, you'll be surprised at the different flavors they come in. AS for that other stuff, I really need to start you off with television, and we can go from there! Oh, WOW. You would have been much richer if you still had painting by Pablo Picasso!"

Luz was pretty impressed, although she might have leaned more toward surrealists if she were honest, and that would be after Roses' time.

"Oh, that's good! You'd be surprised how much happened before we moved toward equality. There's still a lot of work to be done there, but I don't think those issues will matter as much here."

Nope, there would be totally different things to have an attack about here.

Luz giggled here. Aw, cute, they didn't use chemicals in their juice! Those must have been the days. Where, you know, things were safer in some respects. Maybe not as tasty, but who knew?

"Oh, I had to! I hadn't found any more than the four glyphs: ice, light, fire and plant. Then it occurred to me that you could probably combine them in specific patterns so that their functions could work with each other! From there you just have to figure out how those glyphs combine properly and exert the right push to make the magic happen!"

"I know one person who isn't, but he's more of a," Satan? "A mythological figure." There. Close enough as Rose was unsure of whether or not she still believed in God.

She wished that she would manage to not put her foot in her mouth around them or that at the very least she didn't offend them when they met.

Rose didn't mind the bloody stories much and had even read Frankenstein as a girl, despite Mother nearly having the vapors over it. But Father had spoken up for once, said that since it was written by a teenage girl, it couldn't be bad for a teenage girl to read it.

And she listened to the instructions carefully, eyes widening when Luz got to the part about blowing up the room by putting metal into the micro-wave. "I'll do my very best to remember all of that. It sounds complicated."

...she'll be eating raw fish and telling herself that it was the same as sushi.

"What's television," she asked and looked a bit perplexed. But she hadn't been expecting Luz's reaction to her paintings, but grins when she hears it. "And my ex-fiance called them finger paintings. Finger paintings! I knew he was a genius, right from when I first saw them."

But those paintings are now at the bottom of the North Atlantic. Along with everything she knew and loved.

"So this place is more accepting of differences? Even if the difference may be as small as a woman who loves to read more than she does ballroom dance?" Rose, you're seventeen.

"Well, my favorite flavor was always the lemon. Do you know if it ever gets warm enough for lemon trees to produce fruit?. Surely the locals had to share at least some sort of knowledge about what could and couldn't be grown."

"You have a gift. Truly, you do. I'm so glad that you're finding ways to grow and expand on them, that the chance is there in the first place."

"Oh? Hm. That's interesting, though not at all surprising. When you've seen Snow White and magical girls walking around, all bets are pretty much off in what's unbelievable about who you meet here."

Luz could already see that Rose was pretty progressive to start with, but that this world was still going to be difficult to wrap her head around. Almost everyone had that feeling come about one way or another.

As for bloody stories, she would likely not have to settle for only reading them. In Trench there was always room for blood.

"I understand that it would be for anyone getting used to the idea! There are some things a microwave can do that makes things easier, and some things that only stovetop cooking can do."

Don't you dare, Rose. Sushi and chewing raw fish were very different! Also, Luz will flip if she learns about it, as she was sure consuming fish like that might make you sick. Luca was one thing, he had teeth that were made for eating fish that way. Poor Rose didn't.

"Oh. Um. Well? Imagine radios, but if you could actually watch it in front of you, transmitted on a screen to be watched. Actually, I guess plays would be more apt to compare it to. Anyway, its a great way to see other stories being performed!"

Luz wrinkled her nose. "What a way to depreciative something different! I know art is subjective, but even the things Picasso did takes effort, a keen eye and a way to interpret ideas that needs color and vibrancy!"

Make a guess at what a certain someone does in her spare time.

Luz scoffed. "Trust me, no one is going to bat an eye about a woman doing those things. I've known women soldiers and leaders and, heck, beefy women that would make Cal shake in his boots!"

Luz could never not mention how cool it was to see so many women of shapes and sizes here. Also, she had a distinct appreciation for women with swol game.

"It should. We're starting to move past the snow and cold, at least. When that happens, I'm sure there has to be somethin like a lemon somewhere. That's really your favorite flavor? Huh!"

It was a pretty tart and irregular choice, and somehow that seemed to suit Rose pretty well.

And here, of course, Luz flushed a little.

"Well, you know, I try! Without a teacher, you have to take the initiative, or you're just not going to get any better, or learn how to further extend your magic!"

This was definitely an understatement: learning glyphs had been all about Luz learning and experimenting since no one she knew on the Boiling isles used this method.

"Yes. At first, I honestly thought Snow White was named after the story, but I have to assume now that she's really the Snow White. She mentioned German as her native language and that's where I believe the story came from."

She'd be pleased that she came across as progressive. She didn't want to follow the old money ways, but until Jack she had no real idea for how to achieve that. And she knew that Caledon Hockley wouldn't want a wife with a mind and opinions of her own.

Even if that blood was their own. Aside from reading Luz's mind a little, she'd been hesitant to use her new skills. After all, what she could do had been dismissed in her time as the work of charlatans.

"I'm afraid I'm going to need a journal to keep all of it straight. Not just the cooking, but the blood abilities, the names and natures of the Patrons, a list of those to turn to in an emergency," Rose pondered, knowing that was all information she needed to know and memorize as soon as she could.

No, Rose had no idea. She still had too much of her pride to ask more than she already had.

"Plays! I love plays. Shakespeare in particular, but those of Sophocles and Aristophanes I love as well. I'm especially fond of Lysistrata, where the women refuse intimacies with their husbands if they don't stop a war. Are there many plays I can watch?"

"Cal dismissed anything he didn't understand or like. If something drew his ire, that was a great way of finding something interesting!"

Let's see...painting?

And Rose grinned broadly. "I wish he were here, just for a day, just to see the look on his face when he met them. I'd need my Omni so I could take photographs of it!"

Rose was amazed by the sheer variety of people brought here. But so far, all of them had been interesting. Maybe that was what determined which...squid made it to shore?

"I'm so relieved. Lemon is definitely my favorite flavor, whether it's shaved ice, cakes, or lemonade."

Rose smiled warmly at her new friend.

"So it takes practice, as much as any other art form does? Practice and experimentation?"

"As far as I can tell, she's the same one. It's a little scary how normalized she's made the things her horrible stepmother did to her though. I have to remember to check up on her more. I hate how all this crazy stuff makes you lose track of people!"

She couldn't help but feel like this place just sort of whisked you away to do crazy stuff and then you did that and found out something else just as crazy was happening!

With Rose, she could see the beginning of the rights she had in America now, things that weren't happening in her time. There was nothing but respect and admiration there.

"No, no, that's actually a really good idea. You're probably going to run into something that you'll want to note for next time. You'll definitely want a map too. Do you have automobiles in your time?"

Wait, would women even be able to drive if they existed? Probably not? Boy it was hard to remember what had happened in the past.

"If you get the right program, you should! I'm more of a cartoon gal myself."

She was still trying to figure out if she liked the bard or not.

Luz couldn't help but be amazed at Rose's patience. Ugh, she would have had to marry this guy? She would have been miserable!

Yes, Luz LOVED to paint. It was a shame she didn't get to do it as often as she would have liked.

"I'd love to see that! This one girl, Vi? WOW. The hair, the muscles? THE TATS?! She'd give him a heart attack!"

Luz was tipping her hand a little there, but still. Some people here seemed so cool it defied logic!

"Oh, neat! It's a really refreshing flavor in its own way, don't you think?"

Luz nodded. "Oh, yeah. First when you cast, it's the same, because you're just so happy it works. Then you try to see if you can actually increase its space, so you have to add to it, and that means you have to be fast and accurate. It's like to have you feel it out and just go for it! Practice is pretty much mandatory."

Learning to combine glyphs had been a feat in itself, and remembering her Pale Blood had its own abilities could really be overbearing when you were still trying to still master your own magic.

"Yes, mothers--even stepmothers--should be loving and nurturing with their children. It's that sense of safety and support that is irreplaceable." Of course, Rose hadn't really gotten that from her own mother. At times she wondered why her mother simply didn't put her up for auction, going to the highest bidder.

Rose would call that an apt description from what she'd already experienced. She didn't know how people coped, other than possibly having a shoulder to cry on.

She'd be both terribly flattered and a little embarrassed to hear so. She didn't see what she did as being very revolutionary, but a reaction to having to endure the same set of people with the same opinions. Hers was a restless mind and it fixed itself on reading.

"We do. I don't know how to drive, it was seen as not fitting a lady of my time, but I'd ridden in cars a lot during our tour of Europe." And enjoyed very little of it, in such close quarters first to her mother, then her mother and Cal.

"Cartoons are...I don't think I know what they are, too. At some point, I'll learn everything I need, but it'll take a while." She could feel her cheeks flushing with embarrassment.

Rose liked the comedies best. The histories could be dull and the tragedies either too tragic or easily avoidable if the characters hadn't been such ninnies. Romeo and Juliet, in particular.

She would have been, but she honestly wondered how many women of her station were happy in their marriages. She'd guess that many, maybe even most weren't.

If Luz told Rose, she'd get an eager supporter and patron.

"I think I've seen her around and yes, she would. And he'd never get over the facts that his name, his money, his status, all of them would mean nothing here."

She wished even more that Jack was with her, she knows he and Luz would become friends quickly, too.

"Yes, absolutely. There's that tart edge which keeps things interesting."

And Rose's eyes grew wide again. "Yes, it really seems that way! Much in the way that a musician or a ballerina practice, if the skills aren't used regular, they're lost. At least, that's what I'd assume?"

She really needed someone who was an expert in Paleblood abilities to tutor her. The skills seemed rather invasive, but she wanted to be on even footing with those who'd arrived already powerful.

Of the three of them Luz knew she had the jackpot with her own mom. It was just rough to know she wasn't here to see her, that it would likely be a long time before she even got to see anyone from her world.

There were, luckily, always shoulders to cry on, and they were necessary to avoid potentially worse fates.

"Oh, we'll see some cartoons, Rose. We'll go through the whole span of animation! It'll be a glorious experience!"

Luz sounded like she was taking Rose on some great journey, and in a way, she was!

As far as plays went, Luz could take or leave them but had immense respect for the craft and especially getting to act out the stories!

Yes, that was about what Luz thought was the case, and it was sad to her.

"That is true! The economy seems to run on bartering, and then you have to come up with fair pricing for your wares and entertainment! No capitalism to exploit and hold over people here!"

Not in the obscene amount, anyway.

"Right?! People underestimate the lemon, like its some sort of bad tasting fruit! It's really good, just a bit powerful in terms of sour."

Which Luz liked anyway.

"Exactly! Casting can be as natural as breathing or walking, but if you stumble in the slightest way, you mess up or lose your advantage! It's very important to stay on top of things!"

Looks like Rose would have to do some experimenting too. Luz wouldn't mind doing the same, as she still had a faint fear of astral projecting by accident.

All Rose wished for was for Jack to join her. She knew he'd adapt quickly, that someone with his personality and talents would immediately win people over.

She didn't know that. She knew very little about corruption or beasthood and had assumed that it was something only Hunters really had to deal with.

And Rose grinned, looking interested. "Really? I enjoy experiences. Where will we start? After all, I'd imagine there was a lot of progress between when I lived and when you live."

In finishing school, they'd put on an all-girl production of MacBeth and she'd had a grand time, even though she'd had a small part. She loved plays of every kind, the ballet, the opera, it was one of the few good things about her station, she thought. Plenty of opportunities to go to any one of them.

Sad, but not likely to change. At least not in Rose's lifetime, she believed.

"And to think that I can pay for a few sweaters with a particularly interesting fossil or a handful of polished rocks! I love it! No capitalism grinding people into nothing." ...she may have snuck-read The Communist Manifesto by hiding it inside the cover of a Bible. No one questioned her as long as she seemed to be reading the Good Book.

"Sour is entirely underrated as a flavor," Rose stated decisively.

"Is it dangerous to mess up? Or do things simply...not happen?"

To do that, she'd need a teacher. Maybe many of them. Rose resigned herself to the embarrassment of asking on the network.

Of course, Luz was still in the dark about how much had been taken from Rose due to her tragedy, but she was starting to get a picture now. Clearly she was reacting the way a person of her time would react to being told things that they couldn't fully comprehend yet.

"Whenever you want! Now that I know how to access that stuff, I can take you through several eras of really cool animation! And you are right about that: my mom definitely was raised with different cartoons from me."

No anime, for one thing, which still seemed to be so sad and unfulfilling to Luz.

And who knew? Maybe Rose could get Luz interested in plays! Luz clearly had no issue with acting things out!

"Exactly! People here are still struggling between dressing lavishly or covering up to prevent blood corruption! That's pretty much the extent of it!"

It was still a little hard to conceptualize of course, but Luz was getting there.

"I get you!" Luz said, grinning. "It totally is! I don't know why more people can't see that!"

"It's more dangerous if I were mixing a potion. If you mess up when you cast glyphs, they just won't work. So yes, the former!"

Luz had no problem putting herself out there. It was certainly better than having her powers manifest at the worst possible time.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

days of future past;

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Tried to reply yesterday but I was on the sick side, sorry!

ack! no need to apologize for that! I hope you're feeling better!

Sure Luz, giving Cal a heart attack was totally what you meant.

that was assuming he had a heart in the first place (CW: human trafficking-ish?)

Re: that was assuming he had a heart in the first place (CW: human trafficking-ish?)

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