A Faraway Place - NPC Account (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ulternnpc) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
farawayplace2023-07-07 02:48 pm
ulternnpc) wrote in farawayplace2023-07-07 02:48 pm
Entry tags:
[MINI EVENT] ☆T A N A B A T A☆
Those from the four regions of Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh will be very familiar with the sight of bamboo stalks that are left outside decorated with colorful and sparkly paper decorations. There are people gathering around, helping one another put up paper amulet of varying colors to tie around the bamboo branches. On each amulet is a single wish that’s been handwritten by someone.
One can only hope that their wish will be heard…
At night, there’s a surprise to be found: an alternate colored Jirachi is out dressed in what’s clearly a handmade costume. Around its neck, is a colorful paper chain made of sparkly origami paper.
Not only has Jirachi come to grant wishes, Miniors are out and about bright and colorful. They’ll be dancing around seemingly trying to invite people to come join them in the festivities.
((OOC: Happy Tanabata! In the morning is a general mingle post. But as the evening sets in and Jirachi appears, it will start granting the wish written on your amulet whether big or small -- wealth, a long life, or maybe a way to return home. You're free to catch Miniors too, and there's a slightly better chance of encountering a shiny one as well. Just be careful of the ones still in their shell or you might just get a rather explosive surprise...
This event can take place at any town, so feel free to specify a location!))
[ B! Thought this could be fun... ]
"Would you mind if I take your picture?"
Volo remembered hearing the very same thing, from the doorway of a new building in Jubilife Village, back when he was a merchant. He'd been carrying his Togepi that day; now she hovered close to his shoulder, as a Togekiss. Thinking about all those intervening years made Volo feel happily nostalgic.
"Ah...that would be wonderful!" He reached out to touch Togekiss' head. "Would you mind taking a photograph of both of us?"
[^^]
It's probably a lot faster than what Volo's used to! Not to mention, he could see the results instantly! Trip already had clear favourites among them, and began deleting the ones he didn't like so much... down to two, both of which he seemed to like.
"Can't really decide between these two," he said, humming thoughtfully, as he tapped buttons on the back of the back of the device.
He turned the digital camera for Volo to see.
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Volo was about to ask how long it would take to see the finished photograph, but it seemed it was already done! Not just one, but two, in the blink of an eye!
At first, Volo wasn't sure what he was supposed to be looking at, but he quickly noticed the display screen on the back of the camera, and his jaw dropped. With an excited chirp, Togekiss perched gently upon his shoulder, so that she could take a look as well.
"That's the photograph...? Oh, and another one? They're both very charming - if I may say so, as one of the subjects - but...how do you get them out of your camera? Are they trapped in there?"
[time to introduce Volo to more wonders of modern technology, I guess!]
[He turned theteal
Olympusdigital camera over.If you want a copy, I'll just have to hook this up to a compatible printer or a computer with any printer attached and I should be able to make prints. Do you want to come see? I'm sure we could borrow the library's printer, though colour printing might cost a little. I've got some glossy photo paper with me.
[ volo: i understand approximately none of what you just said :) ]
Ah, it's been a long time since I saw any type of camera, and it was nothing like this. I confess, I cannot begin to imagine how this process works, so I should love to see it in action.
Oh, but...you were busy capturing photographs, were you not? Would I be taking you away from that? I don't want to interrupt your...
[Work? Hobby?]
...day?
[oof, my last tag was so broken + meanwhile, Trip's just all "I get to talk about photography?!?!"]
[It's playful, even it sounds a bit rude and familiar
he's just Unovan.]Most people would've tuned me out by now.
I'm happy to talk about my hobby. It's an honour! Come on. I'll show you!
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[Volo turns to Togekiss and gives her an excited head-pat. She may need to go back into her ball when they get to the library, but since she was beside Volo when they first experienced the wonders of photography, he thinks she should share in some of this new knowledge, at least.]
Please lead on, Mr Photographer!
[Volo receives: super rare happy Trip]
Trip will also happily show him how to connect a camera to a computer ("Have you seen one of these before?"), if Volo didn't understand computers yet, he'll happily explain that too!
... he might get bogged down with jargo or too many details, but he'll do his best to explain things in the simplest ways possible!]
[ yay! ]
I have seen computers, yes! But only in passing. I like visiting the library, you see, for its books. But do I know what a computer is? Not really! I hear they are very powerful, though!
[When he first came to the library, the sight of people sitting in rows and silently staring at light-up boxes was both funny and disturbing, but Volo has gotten the sense that computers are important to modern society, so he's not about to make fun of them!]
[but will this answer or raise more questions…?]
With the internet, you can access information and photographs and video from around the world… but we won’t be doing that right now. Just accessing the photographs on my camera.
[Trip will plug his camera into the device with a wire.]
[ this is both cute and cringey... ]
His gaze flits expectantly from the camera to the computer screen, unsure where he's supposed to be looking.]
How do you know when they've arrived...? And do they ever get lost along the way?
[Volo, that is ADORABLE]
But he also felt a bit concerned. Is this man alright, living on his own? No, he’s not a child, just because he doesn’t understand things from another time, but maybe he lacks streetsmarts?]
… is there anyone you’re staying with or who’s helping you here?
[Trying not to sound too concerned. Look, there’s the gallery, on the computer screen too!]
Not unless something bad happens to the camera or the memory, no, the photographs won’t get lost, it’s more like we’re making temporary copies.
[See? Photographs in the camera’s screen and the computer’s screen…]
Here’s special paper for photographs. We can print them on regular paper too, but the colours won’t be as vibrant and the paper would be thin and bend and tear too easily.
[The pack of glossy paper should be easier for Volo to understand! He can have the pack to look at and study while Trip puts some in the printer and adjusts it to their size.]
[ at least he knows about printing...in some way... ]
[Volo only realises the possible meaning of Trip's question after he's started answering. He's not offended, just amused and puzzled at the idea that not knowing about computers and cameras could cause someone to worry! Maybe those are considered to be essential life skills in this time?]
...at the Pokémon Centre. But everyone has been quite helpful. You're being very helpful! So, you see, I don't feel alone. A little confused, maybe...
[Volo continues to watch Trip, suddenly feeling the urge to say something clever to prove that he's not a total dunce, this is just new to him. As his gaze moves from the camera to the computer, he's struck by genuine awe.]
This ability to make 'temporary copies', as you put it - can the same be done with words? Books? Sounds? What a wonderful way to preserve knowledge! Even better than a printing press! To think of everything that was lost in the past, before this existed...
[The implications are huge, but for now, Volo will try to stay focused on the photographs. The paper he's been given is heavy and sturdy, with a sheen that catches the light, and a silky texture that doesn't feel like paper - yet it's also not canvas, as someone might paint a portrait upon. It should be fun to see the results!]
[Good job, Volo!!!]
[If... if he could stay longer, Trip would insist on watching over Volo, that's how worried he still felt about him, but he didn't know how long he might stay this time, or even if Volo would accept his help.
Trip brightened at the question, even if he did continue to feel a bit wary about Volo being on his own.]
Yes! Even better than just having copies on computers, there's the internet. If you have access to it, you can access infinite copies of books, sounds, pictures, videos from around the world... ah, they're like... lots of pictures, one after the other, so they seem to move, almost like they're alive—with sound, too!
... of course, Ultern doesn't seem to have access to the same internet from my world, or we'd be able to find out much more from other regions... this network only seems to be restricted to Ultern.
[The printer began printing copies of the photographs... watch them be printed, in full colour, in real time, Volo!]
[ he's gonna have a bad time if/when he goes online and gets bombarded with ads, memes & fake news ]
[Humans had managed to create something that was infinite...? As infinite as the universe...? A whole other universe, even?]
Can everyone access it? If so, does that mean...that everyone knows everything!?
[Volo had sometimes imagined that he might come to know everything, after meeting Arceus, if it chose to bless him with divine wisdom. Of course, that had
neveryet to happen. Is that what humans had created...? A way of becoming all-knowing?Just for now, the photographs were put to the back of Volo's mind, as he looked at Trip with a whole new level of awe.]
Do...do you know everything...?
1/2
[Of all the ways Trip expected Volo might react, he never expected a question like that. His shoulders sagged and his jaw dropped and he looked... utterly baffled, then, flushed pink.]
N-no! I'm called a prodigy, but even I don't know everything. Nobody does! There's not enough time in the world to learn everything... no human being can know everything, all at once, a-a-and anyway...!
[That seemed to bother him more than expected, did he feel embarrassed at having to live up to expectations too high for him?]
2/2
Look, it's just... you can find answers for questions if you go search for them... like this.
[Trip demonstrated an internet search.
In the background, the photographs have all been printed.]
But you still have to be smart about it, because some sources are more trustworthy than others. You learn which is which. It's not like books which have to be reviewed before they're published, anyone can write anything on a lot of pages, so you go learn from something like an encyclopedia or a website run by medical experts, or something run by a credible organization and not... the internet equivalent of a bunch of dumb teenagers hanging around the street corner or something.
[He'll give examples of each, although it really is a skill that would take longer to hone.]
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ifwhen Volo did get to meet Arceus...]Ah, I'm sorry. Perhaps I shouldn't have asked that question so directly. I suppose what I meant was...could anyone become all-knowing, in theory, with access to this...internet? But you have just answered that question, I think, even if I asked it in a clumsy way...
[Volo was struck by that unpleasant feeling of being in the wrong, but not fully understanding why. If someone had assumed he was all-knowing, he'd have taken it as a compliment. He'd always felt flattered when people asked to draw on the knowledge he did have, whether it was about history or Pokémon. But he was different to the people here. He was different anywhere.
He tried to reassure himself that Trip couldn't have been that annoyed, though, since he was proceeding to show Volo what he meant. This seemed like an important thing to know, so Volo tried to silence his whirling thoughts and concentrate. It was a lot to take in, but it made more sense than he'd expected.]
It sounds...
[He hesitated, wondering if he was about to say something stupid.]
...it sounds a bit like...myths and legends. They can contain some truth, but you shouldn't take everything they say as truth. You have to study them, along with other sources, to find out what's true.
And in the past, writings weren't reviewed. Ancient historians would write accounts of real events alongside legends, hearsay, moralising, even pure fiction...and that was considered quite normal. So...perhaps we've come full circle...?
Anyway...! Now I'm just thinking aloud. Thank you. I do understand now, why a person would not become all-knowing just through having access to all of this. Though, I must say, it's still an incredible thing...to be able to seek out information so quickly, even if it requires some consideration...
[Volo realised that things were a little quieter than they had been a few minutes ago: the machine that Trip had been using to produce the paper photographs had stopped its mechanical churning sound. Volo glanced expectantly in the printer's direction.]
Does that mean it's finished...?
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[At Volo's last question, Trip nodded also, gathered the photographs, and held them out to him, soundlessly.
He seemed to become more quiet and withdrawn again.]
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Then his chest and eyes began to ache, as he wondered if there was a way to make sure these photographs stayed with him, and stayed just as beautiful, if he were to get drifted back to Hisui. They would make wonderful souvenirs, for sure. No matter what his face looked like, he looked happy.
Volo turned to his companion, trying to find the words to describe how grateful he was, and what an incredible photographer Trip was! But Trip looked...troubled? Volo remembered, then, that he'd said something to ruin the atmosphere, only a few minutes ago. The pain in his chest and his eyes became sharper.]
Oh...I... - well, first, I must say that these photographs - your work - they're very beautiful. Thank you so much for agreeing to take them, and showing me how they become something I can hold in my hand. Really, it's been an unforgettable experience.
But...I fear I've upset you. Quite unwittingly, if I have, but that's not an excuse, is it? No, not when I'm trying to be a better person -
[He was rambling again. About himself, too.]
Are you alright?
1/2
His first instinct was, of course, to retreat into himself and withdraw from everything and everyone else, but, Volo's praising his photography, his hobby that didn't mean very much to most people and he described them so warmly.
He could, cynically, think the glowing praise was simply because Volo was given free prints, but no, Volo's new to this time and this world and he seemed genuinely appreciative of it all, enthralled, even.
Trip's stubborn reticence gave way to a more genuinely moved and surprised expression at Volo's last question. He watched him, rather owlishly, with wide eyes, but didn't know what to say. The cynical part of him insisted all of this concern was for show or out of a sense of being indebted to him, not genuine care... but even if they were, it wasn't common that someone would ask.]
2/2
Thank you. You're better than most, I think.
[He didn't know Volo well enough to judge, truly, but the pained look in his eyes felt genuine and the regret too, even against Trip's doubts... if he's aware enough that he's trying to be better than he was before, he's already better than many... and he showed concern, instead of tiring of him or being repelled by his, admittedly, very extreme reaction.
Trip disconnected his camera, gathering his things, and gave Volo a genuine, appreciative smile. It's a fond and gentle smile, not a hint of arrogance or malice! The heavy gloom that had settled on him had also lessened somewhat and he left his seat with a lighter step, no longer bending under its weight.]
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Of course, nobody had to explain their feelings to him, and Volo knew that some people were more private than others. Even he could be private, sometimes, about some things. He respected that, even if he sometimes had to fight the selfish urge to press people on what was wrong, just so that he could know.
Usually it was the things that hurt the most. Things that had left scars in someone's heart. Volo knew that if someone accidentally reminded him of his own wounds, it wouldn't be their fault, even if it hurt him. Perhaps this was a similar situation.
Trip's smile did make Volo feel a little better. He matched it - not his usual wide grin, but a small and grateful smile.]
Thank you, again. I hope you continue to take your wonderful photographs, and make many copies of them, for everyone to see.