2nd Prayer [Video]

[cethflayn]

[This humble broadcast is...well, angled very strangely on the face of a young girl who has not made a video debut on the network, but has contributed via text, and usually she would just do that again. However, it is important for Flayn to learn more about how this vastly advanced technology works, and these moving pictures are ever so favored. The video is a bit too close for a viewer to tell where she is exactly, besides "inside".]

...Oh! Oh, it is working!

[That is the sweetest Disney Princess Voice you ever did hear.]

Hello! This is Flayn. I have not made one of these moving portraits before, so please excuse me if it is not as polished as all of yours. The functions are still...a bit of a mystery to me.

[Steven did his best to teach her, but some things only become clear with experimentation and practice.]

Anyway...I wanted to ask about...what it is that everyone likes to do with their spare time. I understand that there may not be much of it when one is always traveling, but...there are things in this world that have piqued my curiosity. Like the 'video games'!

[There is a distinct inflection of "How do you do, fellow kids?" in Flayn's voice when she says "video games", and it is the most disorienting thing to hear come from someone who looks like they're maybe fourteen at the oldest?]

From what I have found on my own, the Poke'gears have such games placed in them already, though I am sadly not very good at them. But I have also heard that there are 'consoles' upon which you can purchase and play many of these games, and that they can tell long and complex stories! It does not sound very convenient for a life on the road, but I must admit, I find the concept intriguing.

Hm, what else...oh, right! Might I also ask what sort of books there are to read? [Flayn comes a little closer to the 'gear, her eyes sparkling with excitement.] The selections in places like the 'Department Store' are a bit overwhelming, and I thought it might be easier to get recommendations on things to read. I would particularly like to read stories with sweeping romances! Apparently, my brother had such books removed from the monastery library, and I could not even find a simple book on dance. But there is no one here who can dispose of such things, nor to stop me from enjoying them! I would be most grateful for suggestions.

[She pauses, glancing to the side.]

Ah...that is all I have to say, so I shall be going now. But if you decide to respond, I will send you a 'text message' in return, as they are easier for me. Hopefully that is acceptable, and thank you in advance!

Comments

Audio

[a_sin_for_him]

If it's romances you're interested in, you can find an entire section of them at any city's library.

[Text]

[cethflayn]

[True to form, Flayn's response comes as a text message.]

That may be well and good for a temporary solution, but I think it might be difficult to borrow a library book and finish it before I moved on. Perhaps it might be easier to use a library as a reference, to obtain titles of books that might be interesting and try them out before purchasing them in a store.

[Text]

[a_sin_for_him]

I'd imagine you could simply post the library books back, I'm sure there's arrangements for that sort of thing. Travel's a way of life here.

But it certainly gives you a place to start - there's all sorts.

[Text]

[cethflayn]

While I am certain the couriers here are reliable, it would put me at ease to return the book in person.

But it certainly would! What books in particular might you recommend?

Video

[sleepallthewayhome]

[Video from Newt as that's still easier for her.]

Sometimes I play games with my pokemon. We're all really good at hide and seek.

Also, the people who work at the libraries are really nice so you could ask them if you're looking for a book. They help me find good books as I'm getting better at reading.

[Text]

[cethflayn]

I have been advised that libraries would be a good place to start. However, my worry is that it would be difficult to return and keep track of books were I to borrow them and go traveling. That is why I want to purchase my own copies.

What books have you enjoyed recently?

Video

[sleepallthewayhome]

That's true. Oh, you could ask the librarian and then go and buy the books she suggests?

Um..I've been reading some mystery books. They're about a girl and her Absol and they solve crimes. I think they're called the Nancy Belden Mysteries. I really like them.

[Text]

[cethflayn]

Mysteries, you say!
I do not know if they would be to my taste, but I would certainly be willing to try them.

[Writing that one down...]

[text]

[yousayyes]

I've been keeping a running list of every novel I've read through here, so I'm not short on suggestions... but I think it'd be easier to narrow down what to suggest if I knew more about the kind of books you've read before. Any favorites that come to mind?

[Text]

[cethflayn]

Oh, yes! I have often enjoyed fables and legends from home, though I have not gotten the chance to read anything more modern. I suppose sticking with the things you know best is a good idea, but I would very much like to read books that the youths today are enjoying!

["Youths"........]

[yousayyes]

That's totally fair- more power to you for deciding to expand your horizons. ...I'll admit I'm not really an expert on what "the youths" these days are into, myself- but I've made a couple trips into the YA section here and there... so I'll see what I can do.

Anyway: are you looking for a plot that's CENTERED on a relationship, or more of a story that has strong romantic subplots /supporting/ the main plot? [That might be splitting hairs in some cases, but it's a good way to focus the scope of his suggestions.]

[cethflayn]

Um...hm. I am not sure. Both?

Both sounds good.

[ye]

[Text]

[tearsofademon]

I'm more into legends, myself, but if you're ever in Ecruteak and want to stop by the Collegiage Gym, Sion or I could give you a tour of our library. We've collected a lot of different books over the years, so we might have something you'd like.

[trying to be a good gym leader and advertise the resources---]

[Text]

[cethflayn]

You have a library in one of these "gyms"? Is that allowed? From what I have heard, they are specifically places where one's Pokemon does battle! I did not know you could keep books there as well.

[Text]

[tearsofademon]

It depends on the gym, I guess. But we weren't told we couldn't when we built it, and we wanted to focus on education too. So there's the main hall for battles, sure, but we have classrooms too. And the library upstairs.

[Text]

[cethflayn]

Classrooms and a library! How incredible! It must be in a magnificent gym building.
Where is it located? I cannot recall if you mentioned that before.

voice

[cometkin]

Oh hey. Mostly I play music in my spare time, but I did get a couple books in Lavender when I got my guitar. I'm reading this one right now called The Heart is a Lonely Haunter--it kinda reminds me of the The Hunter Is A Lonely Heart back home. It's about this deaf guy. If you like literary things, maybe try that or Lord of the Flygons? Or Night on the Team Galactic Railroad?

As for, uh, romances... I dunno if they have the kind I like here.

[What would even be the poke-equivalent of Passions of Xanxor?]

[Text]

[cethflayn]

Oh, hello!

[Hello Steven's Dad!]

I am not sure if I like particularly literary things, but I am willing to give those a try.

What sort of romances do you like?

voice

[cometkin]

Uh.

Ones where the love interest is an alien?

text

[fingersandteeth]

[It's been... a long time since Steven could pursue most of his hobbies. It wasn't just that the whole kidnapped by fairies thing had happened, although that certainly hadn't helped. It was also that gaming was an expensive hobby, no matter what kind of gaming you did. Consoles cost money, video games cost money, board games cost money, roleplay books cost money, miniatures and dioramas to lovingly paint and set up and take photos of to share online under the pseudonym (Sic Gorgiamus) you'd been using since you were in high school... they cost way too much money. And Steven hadn't had any between his escape and getting pulled here.

So. Instead of answering about hobbies, he skips ahead to talk about books.]

I haven't been in this world all that long, but I found a couple used bookstores here in Goldenrod, where I work. There's one two blocks from the Radio Tower. You can just go in and browse however long you want. And they're cheap, so you can just load up on whatever looks interesting.

I just got some Stephen Kingler, when I was there last, actually. And "Waillord of the Rings" and all that's been published so far of "A Song of Ice-types and Fire-types." None of which are very romantic, sorry.

[Text]

[cethflayn]

There are used book stores?
As in, books that someone else has given away to be sold to a new reader?
I do not think I have ever heard of such a thing before! But it sounds like a delightful place all the same - to have such a wealth of books that one can pass down volumes to others...
How can so many books be available in print, anyway?

[Guess whose continent had the metal printing press outlawed]

Re: [Text]

[fingersandteeth]

Moveable type is a wonderful thing.

[forsaintcecilia]

Next time you make a video, be sure to look at the little lens on the back of the 'Gear. That's the part that "sees" you when you're recording.

As for hobbies, I'd say music is the biggest one, but I also like sports, going shopping, tasting sweets from different bakeries and cafes... Video games are fun too, but I get antsy with them after awhile. I've got to move my body!

[Text]

[cethflayn]

Oh! I shall make sure to do so. I thought it saw me alright, but perhaps...

[Flayn is guaranteed to keep angling the dang thing wrong for a few months, even with this advice.]

What kinds of the 'video games' do you like to play? They are very intriguing to me, but I feel as though even the small ones on the devices we are given shall take me quite a bit of time to understand.

[forsaintcecilia]

Just think of it like an eye! If you look into it, people see you like you're looking them in the eye too.

Uhh... I guess I don't really have a genre, since I don't play them that often, but any game that's multiplayer is a good time for me! Where I'm from, there are arcades everywhere, so they're a great place to go with a group of friends.