capeandcowllogs | The weary world rejoices

WHO: OPEN
WHERE: The Church
WHEN: From today and onto the New Year!
WARNINGS: Kirei.....
SUMMARY: Rejoice, Cityzens! The Church is hosting an event for the holiday season: accepting donations and offering dinner for all those in need during this harsh December! Donate yourself or take part in some free food. You don't have to worship to take part, but you may get a priest breathing down your neck about that.
FORMAT: Whatever you please!

Even in this day and age, certain tired methods of communication remain. A Church flyer is a old tradition and the City has had several passed by hand, or stapled onto walls. They are all advertising open invitations not just for worship but for food on behalf of the City's generous inhabitants -- regardless of beliefs or credo. On top of that, there is a certain tagline which appeals to the City's imPorts:

Be a Hero to one less fortunate than you this holiday season.

It's a sticky, blatant piece of baiting; hamfisted and obvious. Of course, no Church has ever really excelled at subtlety. Guilt is a powerful motivator, especially this time of year. That shows in the turn out: there is quite a few natives already participating, which leads to generous spread.

The Church is welcoming all without distinction -- however, you'll only get to taste wine if you're one of the faithful.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ He nods again in more sincere understanding. ]

Both my parents did what they could, but my father was the one invested in preparing me for the world; my mother was more concerned about protecting me from it. I'm thankful now for their patience. [ But though his father might have passed, his mother is actually still alive. ] I'm sorry to hear it. Granted, loss does force a person into independence, but that doesn't make it any easier to bear.

[ she just smiles somberly. it was a big deal to her, but she will never be ready to openly discuss how big a deal it was to her. ]

It couldn't be helped, we both knew that it was coming, and how important everything that followed would be. And learning to move on beyond the past will always be just as important a part of life.

[ The significance is of course lost on him -- the specifics of it, that is -- but death and loss themselves Nelson can understand very well.

Learning to move on beyond the past tho. What does that mean? ]

Preparing yourself for that sort of thing always does help you to accept it once it finally happens. But-- well, a person can't help how they feel. All we can really do is try to be at peace with ourselves.

[ it's a bit like a ball chained to her ankle, the past. something she'll cheerily acknowledge the lock on as if it's such an easy thing to open. yet, in the meantime, she still lacks the key. ]

I don't know. I think on some level we can help it. At least we can control what those feelings lead us to do.

[ It should be straightforward, but it isn't, it still isn't after all this time. Nelson considers what she says regardless, but it's with an uncertainty that he rejects it as possible for himself. Surely not. Why wouldn't he have been able to already, then? ]

Yes... of course we can control how we act on our feelings, but-- well, it isn't the same thing.

[ He smiles slightly, though, shrugging his shoulders. ]

It's all in perspective, of course.

[ but it's so much easier to blame yourself for them if you think you can control them. ]

It is, but part of keeping that perspective is knowing how to reign them, to prevent them from leading to anything rash. Or having them expressed in any visible way.

[ This is where denial and hypocrisy are good tools to have at the ready. It applies to other people, for sure...

He nods his head. ]

It takes practice. If you can make it a habit to keep the feelings inside and not let others see them, sometimes you can even hide them from yourself and feel all the happier for it. [ AKA, "Denial and repression, would recommend," AKA Nelson you are being an irresponsible adult right now. ] Eventually you start to do it without even thinking about it.

[ she furrows her brows, looking down at her hands as she wrings them together. earlier this year, she'd be right there with him on that recommendation, but it never seemed to work out for her. maybe just another opportunity to blame herself, can't even repress properly. ]

It never made me happy. Not even happier. It was only enough to pretend nothing else was there, and I suppose I couldn't quite cut it with that much.

[ she looks back up at him, trying to force a smile. ] I suppose more practice is precisely what I need.

[ He forces a smile in return. ]

Uh... yes. It takes a while. I know when I was younger no matter what I believed, I couldn't convince myself things were good when every day was more challenging than the one before it. All I could convince myself of was that the harder I worked, the better things could be. [ A pause. ] You notice improvement more than way. But it's nothing worth getting hung up about during the holidays.

Well, nothing comes for free. We have to work at anything we can expect to receive, especially against ourselves. I think we're often the most significant obstacle to our own happiness.

[ she gives him a weak smile, not enough effort put into forcing it. ] But there are usually more things to distract from it this time of year.

The weary world rejoices

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