Journal the Seventh

[theabjectauthor]

[morning finds Lemony at his favorite spot in the library - a window seat with a view of the town, where the sun is bright but indirect. there's a small table off to his side, set with tea and some assorted pastries, a neatly constructed breakfast sandwich, and - of course - plenty of napkins. a stack of books sits to his other side, and on top, he's perched his journal. something about the quality of the light and the feeling of the moment almost makes him reach for his handkerchief ... and then he realizes that it is a good sort of melancholy. picking up his pen, he writes:]

To My Fellow Residents,

Over the past few days, I spent my time quietly observing what Paradisa wrought upon us: and while I could say much on the symbolism of age, the origins of the game of Bingo, and the perils of ingesting too many gelatin-based foodstuffs, I will not belabor you all with redundancy, a phrase which here means that many of you are likely discussing such topics amongst yourselves already.

Instead, I would be more interested to know how many of you possess the following traits, value the pursuant virtues, or have proficiency or curiosity in regards to the skills listed below:

☐ Curiosity
☐ Diligence
☐ Intelligence
☐ Courageousness
☐ Enthusiasm
☐ Versatility

☐ Punctuality
☐ Realism
☐ Respect
☐ Good Manners
☐ Integrity
☐ Stewardship

☐ Observation
☐ Codes
☐ Theatre
☐ Fire-fighting
☐ Lion taming
☐ (or really any sort of animal training)
☐ Self-defense
☐ Musicianship
☐ Artistry
☐ Mountaineering
☐ Cartography
☐ Inventing
☐ Rhetoric
☐ Biting
☐ Disguise
☐ Bibliophilia
☐ Herpetology
☐ Philately
☐ List-making

If the thought of placing an emphatic check or 'x' in several of the above boxes makes your fingers itch with anticipation, please speak with me, or come and join me in the library for a continental breakfast. After all, the world is quiet here. I hope to hear from you.

Very Fastidiously Drafted,

Comments

Re: filtered to this person

[theabjectauthor]

[no respect or manners? that puts her on his watch list. nothing horrible, of course - he knows Sherlock has little of both but could still be considered reasonably good, after all - but it's best to be careful]

Perhaps. It would depend upon what you consider a prize. You are an amateur archaeologist, then?

[psych0p0mps]

[it's not so much that she doesn't have them, as that she doesn't want to say she has them reliably. she is at least peripherally aware that she can be a bit of a brat sometimes.]

yes indeed!
it is one of my favorite hobbies

[theabjectauthor]

[once he learns that, they will be absolutely fine, as he's been known to be a smartass on occasion, himself]

I would be interested in hearing about your experiences, then - especially if you have had any since coming here.

[Beatrice had always said, after all, that the best icebreakers were the ones that encouraged people to talk about themselves]

[psych0p0mps]

[especially when said people are still kind of kids, lmao.]

i would be happy to share them!
did you want to just do that here or should i come visit the continental breakfast

[theabjectauthor]

You may share in whatever way you like! I recognize that not everyone is comfortable with certain levels of social interaction. In this case, it is the knowledge which is important, and that it is shared.

[psych0p0mps]

hmm but breakfast is the most important meal of the day
decisions decisions
...
by which of course i mean no decision at all
ill be at the library shortly 0u0

[theabjectauthor]

I look forward to meeting you, then! [even if you don't believe in proper capitalization or punctuation. which is disconcerting as hell, to be honest]

[psych0p0mps]

[ಠ_ಠ excuse you, quirks are a vital element of troll culture and communication. you Earth-centrist.

... But Aradia cannot read the action tags, anyway, so she just flies on over to the library in search of breakfast. Thanks to her timey wimey bullshit, she is fluttering through the door within fifteen seconds. It does, of course, occur to her that she has no idea who she's looking for, but she assumes he will be near the promised food.]

[theabjectauthor]

[he is, indeed, tending to a list he has begun to make of interested parties. he hasn't seen anyone with wings, at least not anyone not on a loss, so he stares a bit, before smiling apologetically]

I'm sorry, miss. I didn't mean to stare, but your wings are lovely.

[psych0p0mps]

[She's just picking out a bagel when he addresses her, and she sticks it on her finger while she replies.]

Thank you! I don't mind, anyway, I get a lot of stares with or without them. ['Cause, y'know, alien.]

[theabjectauthor]

It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Lemony Snicket. I would offer to shake hands with you, but that would impede your pursuit of breakfast, and be rude of me.

[psych0p0mps]

[Wow he is... incredibly polite. It makes her feel a little awkward tbh. So she affects some of her own, switching the bagel to her left hand and offering him her right.]

Nonsense, I only have one bagel. [that made sense... right?] I'm Aradia Megido. You're the one who did up the questionnaire thingy, right?