IC Inbox: Empatheias

[young_oldman]

[Your birds might get a little plump on bird seeds. Just saying.]

Comments

[miraculo]

[ He makes it sound like such a task to be talking about the menu... Clearly this man has not been on many dates.

Neither has Sanae, but she does knowing that accommodating for the time talking about what they'd order is a bit much. ] I... don't think that's necessary. Neither of us know what they might like-- or what they'd like to try out.

These options should be as-is.

[ And look, the waiter has returned and is going to take their order! Sanae is going to have some type of white fish with a savory blueberry and cashew sauce. ]

[young_oldman]

[More like he has not been on any dates.]

Alright. We should be around to help them if they're stuck on what to order anyway.

[As for what Lu Meng orders-!!

...hah. It's his turn to look a little perplexed. What to order, what to order...he's never eaten in a fancy restaurant before!! So far in Verens he's only eaten at pubs and cafes, and as he scans the items on the menu there's nothing here that catches his eye.

So of course he turns to his senpai in the matters of love, dating and not-dates.]

Which other item do you think we should try?

[miraculo]

I'm trying the white fish with the blueberry and chashew sauce. [ She taps on the menu. ] Since, whenever I go to a new restaurant, I always pick the more unique dish!

[ Sanae likes to have an adventure wherever she goes. Because even if it turns out to be something she doesn't like at least she can say she's tried it. Keepin' it sickeningly optimistic, here. ] But you should order what you like.

[young_oldman]

That's certainly adventurous. [Blueberries and fish??? Really?

With the pressure on and no clue about all these items, Lu Meng eventually just runs his finger down the list, and selects the item that he stops on randomly. It's another fish dish! Specifically, it's--]

I'll have the...spice-rubbed salmon with herb-and-pomegranate raita. [What the heck is raita, even? Lu Meng has no idea, but it sure sounds fancy! The waiter takes their order, pours them both a glass of water and takes the menu back with him as he heads to the kitchen to convey the order.

And now it's just the two of them. Sitting and facing each other in a romantic setting.

...this is going to be a long wait for the meal for Sanae, isn't it?]

[miraculo]

[ It certainly will be. Especially since Lu Meng is such a good conversationalist.

But his lack of dating skills actually helps quiet her embarrassing racing thoughts, because it only solidifies the fact that this is indeed a not date. Because a date would be better, she thinks. It would be more romantic-- they'd have both dressed up nicer, and he would have bought her flowers or something. Yes. A casual late lunch without any of the formalities is not a date.

Fortunately for the both of them, Sanae is a never-ending source of off-topic conversation. ] ...I don't know if you know this, but I've been trying to fly up into space. A friend actually is tossing me up high to give me a boost, and then I begin to fly up.

[young_oldman]

[Yes, space and science are great topics of conversation! Immediately he leans forward a little, his interest and curiosity perked up.]

But there is no air up in space. [He remembers that from one of her million factoids.] How will you breath? Can your friend truly toss you high enough to break the...[Hmm, give him a moment to try and remember that word...ah!] --the stratosphere?

[miraculo]

[ Frankly the image of her "breaking" the stratosphere is rather hilarious, so she laughs, reaching for a piece of warm bread provided by the waiter. She knows that he means breaking metaphorically, but. Word play. She likes it. ] Oh, that's okay. Last time I went up to space I didn't have any trouble breathing. Or with the lack of pressure and the temperature.

[ Waving a hand, and her smile settles softly. ] I haven't gotten as far as the stratosphere yet, though. But the point is to keep trying, you know? For Heiwajima-san to throw me into space, he would have to accelerate me 40,266 kilometers per hour all at once! Thankfully, I can add my own power to aid the escape velocity. If we accelerate steadily instead of all at once, reaching space might be more feasible-- and it would take less power.

[young_oldman]

...and how fast is 40,266 kilometers per hour? [They went by a different kind of measurement in his time ok.]

1/3

[miraculo]

About 11 kilometers per second!

[miraculo]

[ ....








Oh. ]

[miraculo]

....Enough to smash a normal human to a pancake if they went that fast.

[ Yep. ] But, don't worry about that, ahhaa~! It just means I have to go really, really fast.

[young_oldman]

[wut]

...how is that not a concern!?

[miraculo]

It-- it really isn't! I've flown through space before!

[young_oldman]

In case you've forgotten your own words to me...you're going to be smashed like a pancake!

[miraculo]

Lu Meng, do you even know what a pancake is?

[ SIDE TRACK ATTEMPT, GO! ]

[young_oldman]

Don't change the topic!! How on earth can you think this is a good idea!? I know your powers are incredible and it's almost inspiring that you have that much faith in your goddess to keep you safe, if the very idea itself wasn't the epitome of suicidal and stupidity. What's even the point of trying to make it to space if you die along the way!?

...and I do know what a pancake is!!

[miraculo]

C-- calm down, Lu Meng! [ She pleads, waving a hand and passing a glace behind her. Thankfully no one else has entered the restaurant just yet. ] I won't die.

[ Okay, he's upset. Upset because he's worried. She can understand that. But what she needs him to do is not worry-- at least not worry enough to yell at her.

Then it occurs to her: he doesn't know, he doesn't know that she's a living god. Nevermind that other humans of her world have easily traversed space one way or another, possibly with their own power and blessings, but Sanae's traveling is different in the sense that she doesn't need to think about protection from the vacuum of space. And not because wind is the easiest element for her to manipulate, either. It's because of who she is. As she often forgets-- and forgets to tell-- is that she is a god.

So at the end of these thoughts comes a troubled, hesitant expression. She wonders how he'll react. She wonders if he'll be angry with her further, for not being a typical, imposing or awesome god, let alone not telling him sooner. ] I... am a god.

[ She replies quietly, reaching for her water. How she wishes it were wine, because she thinks she might need some. Alas, she would not use a miracle to turn water into wine unless someone else asked for it. ]

[young_oldman]

What?

[Of all the arguments he thought she'd field at him, this one takes him by complete surprise. He stares at her, his mouth working silently as if to find words, but whether they are to be used for scolding, for praising, for assurance or for acceptance is a mystery. Instead he closes his eyes, takes a deep breath and clamps his mouth shut.

Give him a moment to process this Sanae.]

[miraculo]

[ She takes that "what" not as a moment for him to process it, but a moment for her to explain further. So explain she does! ] An... arahitogami. A living god.

It's true, I'm a shrine maiden for my own goddess, but I'm one in my own right, too.

[ She sets her glass down. ]

[young_oldman]

[Does it matter what kind of god she is? She's a god, a divine being.

It's a tense moment as he tries to figure out what to say, or even to sort out what he's feeling. The water in the glass near his hand starts to ripple as if the glass is being shaken by a vibration.

And then there's a sharp crack. The top of the glass now has a small crack, that inches slowly and slowly down the glass until Lu Meng takes another deep breath.]

I see. Then...I suppose my concerns are unwarranted then. [Just talking in a normal, casual tone. And the crack on the glass almost seems to reverse as if time if being rewound.]

[miraculo]

[ Worry flickers over her expression upon seeing that crack. Somehow, it's much louder than any of his previous shouting, and it concerns her a lot more than his anger. ]

....That's--... no, that's not entirely true. [ The glass repairing is odd. She doesn't know what it means or what he may be feeling to create something like that. She'd like to think that maybe it really isn't bothering him, but given the strange calm that has settled in, she doubts it. ] As you've seen, I'm not invulnerable. [ To exhaustion or pain. By all accounts, she should be affected by being slingshot into space if she can't even withstand a punch from Lu Meng. But the world of Gensokyo is mysterious like that-- flying through space or being in a nuclear reactor won't have lasting effects or damage, but a good melee combo will knock someone right out! ] Or omnipotent.

[ She wishes she were more powerful though, if only to not worry others. But from what she's come to learn from those she knows here, friends will still worry. And that's okay. If fact, if she were to be asked what she truly feels deep down in her heart... she feels a sense of thankfulness that someone cares enough to be worried for her.

She tries not to betray that worry, though. ] Thank you... for your concerns, though. [ She offers a small smile, trying to lighten the mood. ] It means you're a good friend.

[young_oldman]

[There's a twitch of his lips, an attempt at a smile. But not only is it weak...it's sad. And to her statement about them being friends, well. All the can do is bow his head towards her in respect, eyes cast downwards and away.]

I am honored then.

[miraculo]

[ This... isn't right. Him lowering his head in respect, casting his eyes down as if it would be a sin to gaze upon her. This-- this reaction-- is exactly why she's been a bit hesitant to reveal her godhood to others. Other people such as Alvin might not have treated her differently because of her divinity, but this gives her hesitance value.

And she knows what he's doing, and why he's doing it, too. He's showing respect-- a kind of respect that she doesn't think she's earned as a god. ] You don't have to treat me any differently, you know.

It's not as if I'm a god from your world.

[young_oldman]

[That's not true. He wants to point out that she knows of his story, that the Three Kingdoms did exist in her world. He had existed in her world, in some way or form.

But it's not his place to argue with a god. So he merely quietly inclines his head and solemnly, politely declines.]

You are still a god. I would treat you no differently than any other god I have met here in the city.

[With reverence. With respect.

With distance.]

[miraculo]

[ She wants to argue with him, to plead with him to not treat her any differently. She's still the same Sanae she was a few minutes ago, and he was yelling at her for talking about being slingshot into space!

She doesn't like this. She shouldn't have said anything. The candle on their table flickers.

She smiles, looking down at the napkin in her lap. ] ...But you would treat me differently from a human.

[ She definitely doesn't have the presence of a god, if he couldn't tell until she told him so. ]