middaeg | [Open] Let's count the seasons

Stuff like that, yeah. [Misdirection can be useful in a fight in a lot of ways. In this case, he figures it's probably some kind of method for the moths to defend their territory, though he feels like it's a bit much even by magical animal defense standards.]

Changing your mindset early can help you pick stuff up quicker! Sometimes it makes it easier to "click", so it can't hurt.

Is that how it works? [She looks at him, peering at his face for a moment. Then away, feeling silly. But...She's know him for a while, long enough to consider him an almost friend. Long enough to admit something silly?

Yeah. Not long enough to look him in the face as she confesses.]

...I'm not very good at that stuff. Being creative... I think that's a part of illusions. [She had a good memory, and by most people's standards was smart...for a farm girl who'd never gone to school. She could make things, she could make them really well.

If she had a plan or something to copy from. Making something from scratch was diffcult for someone who wasn't imaginative.]

Sometimes! It gets harder to succeed at something if you're convinced you're going to fail, in general. [Boy, is he all too familiar with that. Come to think of it, he's all too familiar with a lot of psychological stuff involving feeling like he's not capable of something, but that's absolutely not getting brought up if he can help it.]

Maybe just try with stuff you're familiar with already to start with? When I first started making illusions, I'd do things like flowers and stuff, or costumes I've worn enough to always remember. And just stuff you know can be super useful - I make a lot of illusions of myself, actually, to use as decoys.

[She nods along, makes sense, makes sense- Then the nod pauses as she squints.]

You faked wearing clothes? [Momo. That seemed complicated because moving objects so it was probably good practice, but at the same time she knows at least one person who'd never get dressed if they could fake it.]

[Momo manages to stop himself from laughing at that, but just barely.] No, I was already wearing clothes and cast an illusion of something more complicated on top. I might be open about my body, but I'm not an exhibitionist!

[Probably.]

... [She stares for a moment, moving her apple basket.] And the time you were wearing underwear for people? [At sew N sews. Not that she was actually sure what she was getting into here.

Vague fear, but what if she could bully?]

That's not exhibitionism! [He sounds more confused that she'd take it that way than offended at the suggestion.] Underwear models are super common in my world, and those pictures get seen by way more people than that. The only people who saw me trying on that stuff were the staff in that brothel, and they've obviously seen way worse.

[She hadn't been aiming to offend, she'd been aiming to embarrass. And yet again she'd failed. One day she'd get him... ]

I think you mentioned that...I don't get the place you're from. Is there really that much underwear that it's common?

[It was dry, she's not even surprised enough to get flustered talking about underwear now.]

Well, yeah, clothes are almost all mass produced in my time, so there's a ton of variety in things because we don't have to handmake all of it. [The finer points of industrialisation, even if it comes with its own pile of problems.]

So clothes shops need to advertise all those products, and that includes underwear. And bras, or whatever they call them in this time.

[Momo makes a breast cupping shape in front of his own chest just in case they still call them bustiers or brassiere or something here and he's using an unfamiliar word.] Some people like having fancy undergarments for the bedroom, so there's definitely a big range between useful and comfortable and the ones you're pretty much only going to wear to look nice for a partner.

[His fake boobage just gets a flat look. She did actually know that one. But Momo plz]

I guess you have lights at night? [She was getting better. Maybe? She didn't become as much of a mess as she spoke. Not compared to what she had been before. Are you proud of yourself Momo? But seriously though, not having much light kinda made fancy panties pointless.] It still seems weird. If you wanted something special for them, wouldn't you get something custom-made?

[What was the point if they'd already seen it in a store?]

Yeah, we have lightbulbs. They're pretty bright. [Since the technology here flips back and forth between things he's familiar with and things that got superseded by magic, he figures he might as well clarify.

Though on that note, he has to grin at her question as he considers how exactly to frame the answer. It's one of those things he really takes for granted in his own time.] You're thinking too small. You can definitely get something custom-made if you really want, but that's a lot of money for most people. Within a city - and I'm talking a normal-sized one, not a super huge one like the one I come from - you'd probably have around a dozen shops that either stock that sort of thing or specialise in it outright. And then there's places close enough to travel to if you really want to find something good, or the option of online shopping that lets you order stuff from other countries entirely and have them send it to you in the mail...and then suddenly you have thousands and thousands of options without having to make anything custom, and a lot of those might be particularly exquisitely-made or unique-looking or only have a limited amount made, if you want to go the extra step of "special". Lingerie is a pretty big market.

I've seen them. [She's nodding. They had them back home, sort of. Outside world tech. It was close enough.

Not that she understood a chunk of that. Online shopping? Ordering something from another country? All very big sounding things to a country bumpkin.] It sounds like you guys wear that stuff for...other times.

[Surely that was too much fancy underwear to be in constant use? But she snorts after a moment.] I never knew there were so many kinds of clothes. I started working a tailors' you know? Some of the things we get asked for...

Oh yeah, absolutely. Nobody's wearing that stuff day-to-day for comfort, it's mostly bedroom. Unless someone is into the aesthetic for themselves or just "into it" in general.

[There's a not very subtle eye wiggle at that "into it", just in case the point of what he meant by that needed to be driven home extra hard. Some people do just like the look even if only they know they're wearing it and are willing to suffer for that, but others are going to be into it whether or not there's someone else involved.

But that aside, he nods understandingly at her thoughts about clothing variety.] I can imagine...the big variety in my world is an advantage in that it's really rare that someone has to go to a tailor and spend a bunch of money to get a particular garment, so more stuff is available to everyone. There's still cheap and expensive clothes, and stuff that your average person won't be able to afford which is usually called "designer" clothing, but you can still find things like cheap formalwear if you look in the right places.

[Momo, Momo plz... He's getting the dead-eyed stare back as she leant away a little. Even if the little huff gave away that she'd nearly laughed at his over-acting. Okay...she gets it.]

I think most people can sew and do basic repairs... [She'd learnt needlework from her mother. And she'd heard that the guys shared the work because some were better than others at it.] But the fabric is expensive, you have to make it last.

...I remember when I was younger. For a while, I only had a skirt, a shirt and a cardigan. [Back when they'd had to run with only the shirts on their backs. They'd managed to get some scraps, an old sack to use as a cape to keep the chill out. Really they'd joined the military because Eren and Armin wanted to be the scouts, but the meals, shelter and clothing was a perk that inticed many.]

[Momo nods understandingly, like he's getting more of an idea where she's coming from.]

Yeah, that makes sense. Some fabrics in my world got really cheap once we could weave them by machine, like cotton, but there's still expensive ones - silk is always expensive because it's so hard to harvest and we don't have stuff like the arachne here to make it in bulk. But with the cheaper ones, usually even people without much money can afford more than one set of clothes. And there's also places called thrift shops where people will donate clothes that don't fit them anymore or that they just don't use, so people can buy nicer stuff at a lower price.

[There are still people who slip through the cracks or need support in other ways to get decent clothes, but the bulk of them and the existences of places that sell secondhand does make it somewhat easier, if nothing else.]

It's not just making the fabric, you have to grow the plants for the material. [When you thought about how much went into making just one shirt, it was kinda scary. With the limited space within the walls they had to choose carefully. Land for crops, land for plants like cotton... Livestock of the rough end of the deal there. But the food shortages affected other areas too.]

It's nice that people give up their clothes. Normally we'd just repair them until we couldn't. [Then use the scraps for other things.] That's part of the reason I know how to sew.

...Do you? With all those strange clothes you wear? Or make the illusions of...

[It seemed like a useful skill for him to have.]

Yeah, there are places that farm those plants on a large scale where I come from, but there's also a bunch of "polyester" fabrics that are completely man-made, so you don't need plants.

[Ethics and feel of wearing snazzy plastic aside. It doesn't surprise him that giving up clothes like that isn't so much of a thing where Mikasa comes from, though it does leave him with questions about other aspects.

Still, he'll answer hers first with a casual wave of the hand.] I don't usually need to? Our costuming department handles all the fancy stuff. Besides, Yuki does all that kind of thing better than I do.

[A.k.a. Yuki tends to excel in household skills where Momo doesn't.] Now that I think about it, do people hand down clothes to younger family members in your world? Once they grow out of them, I mean. That's kinda what thrift shops are an extension of.

[Excuse me Momo. Completely man-made isn't a thing where she's from so she's got no idea what that is. So for a solid mintue she's just thinking, and 1+1=5. Because not using plants normally meant it was animals, but he'd said man-made.

...Hair? They made clothes out of people hair? Momo what the actual fuck? Just enjoy her gaze drifting as she worked that one out.

Thinking so hard she's shaking her head, clearing the dust when his question sinks in.] I think so... I don't know anyone with living siblings though. [Off the top of her head. Connie had siblings, they'd been killed three years ago though.] It makes sense to though. If the elder one can get new clothes and the old ones are okay.

[Momo is not correcting Mikasa on that one unless she asks, though he does get the impression from her facial expressions that she's imagining something considerably more absurd than he was describing. It's funnier to just move on without doing so.

Of course, Mikasa's world tends to kill the mood of conversations, so he tries not to focus on the dead siblings part.]

Yeah, it's pretty standard where I come from, or giving the clothes to a thrift shop when someone grows out of them if they don't have someone they can pass them on to. If you can't use them anyway because you grew out of them, most people aren't just gonna toss them out because that's a waste. If it's worth a little more, they might sell it on instead, but that's more common with adults who've bought fancy stuff they end up not wearing as much as they thought they would.

[Even with the amount of excess in production in his world, most people aren't quite so ready to waste items instead of circling them back into the market somehow.]

[Tragically(Or not) she wouldn't ask because she wasn't aware it was wrong. He had given her much to think about it... But if they made things out of dragon scales and faun wool here. Maybe it made sense.

Momo may have started something cursed...]

That makes sense. If it no longer has a use for the person giving it away. [Her eyes crease in an attempt at a little smile.] It's nice that they'd do that, instead of finding a use for it in their own home. [For a moment she's silent. Then her face went back to it's normal resting bitch-face state.]

Maybe that will be how we can get enough clothes for those children. If there's a place like that here... [Then it occurs to her. Her eyes narrowing. She wasn't frowning at Momo, just...] Did you know? That orphanage that stopped sending children to work in factories? [She gives him a moment, but not long enough to answer.]

Eren brought it.

[She still didn't believe he brought a whole fucking orphanage.]

[Momo nods along with her remark on it being nice, and he touches his fingers to his cheeks for a moment as if to say it's nice to see her making that attempt at a smile. It's not a face he sees from her often, but it's always nice to see someone happier than usual.

He has heard about the orphanage, but he hadn't realised that was the cause - he looks a little surprised, honestly.]

Oh, a Mirrorbound with enough money to buy out a whole orphanage and run it...? That's pretty impressive, though I guess if it was gonna be any kind it'd be a dragon to hoard that much cash. Has it got enough staff? I've seen the help ads but though I love dealing with kids, I don't really have experience in it as a job...

[Also he's so busy with literally everything else that he'd be extremely pushing it to try and fit a commitment as major as that into his schedule too. He's aware kids like that would need consistency, and he doesn't think he could promise that with his schedule as it is.] But yeah, it might not be a bad idea to put out a call like that for hand-me-down clothes. Some people here probably repurpose the fabric, but there'd have to be some with unneeded clothes they might be able to offer.

[It was like a cat's smile, the closed eyes meant she was more at ease! Maybe. Though it's gone again with them talking about Eren, even if she brought it up. She still didn't believe he'd brought it. She'd only learnt about that when he'd contacted her to get the children returned.

But then he asked the more detailed things. Luckily Mikasa hung out there a lot, enough to have gotten sent letters and drawings while she was in hospital. Punching out the kids' old boss, they'd liked that. It still gets a sigh though.]

Yes and no. He's got enough money to keep running it, but he wants the orphanage to be able to not lose staff or funding if the mirrorbound were to return home.

[AKA, he didn't want the kids to be returned to the workhouses if he left and wasn't paying for their care. Her eyes drift to the ground as she thinks.] They're good kids... A bit shy, but they're good. Though I can't go at the moment, not with my leg.

[Not good for play. But he got a small nod with a huff of a laugh.]
Yeah, there's a point when it's impossible to sew them if you're changing. [Her wings flared a little, but it paled compared to the waving of her bug stumps.]

[Momo hums understandingly - he knows some people want to stay here, but not everyone is going to be able to even if they're willing, considering how randomly people vanish. It'd be a huge waste if someone got the orphanage functional again and then it went to hell as soon as they left.]

Start fundraising, maybe? There's got to be some rich philanthropist types around, that's not really a new concept. [And considering the Haven is in the middle of the Aristocratic District, they're in a good position to go hunting for people with money in the bank.]

That might be an issue for Mirrorbound, but I wouldn't count the locals out of having spare stuff and changes wouldn't be a problem for them. Besides, it does get hard to have clothes remade for a Monster form after a certain point, but different people deal with it differently. My first Bonded pretty much stopped wearing shirts once he grew wings, and that was early on, so someone like that wouldn't have much to offer for old clothes.

[It's not so much of an option for women in a city that's fairly conservative in its dress, but it is a direction some people seem to take.]

Maybe, I'm not sure how something like that would work... [A shrug, given the state of her world.] But if there are people who would give things, why wouldn't they be doing that? [Her attempt at a smile turns to a frown.] The old owner was a noble, but he wanted cheap labor.

[Cheap labor that had rebelled and he'd been badgered into selling up so he could hire adults instead. From what Mikasa had gotten there he'd been reluctant to sell until it was pointed out that adults, while costing more, would be more capable.

No comment on the lack of shirt though...She wished she could get away with it but alas.]

[A sort of knowing look crosses Momo's face at that, because he has all too ample experience with rich people and how their minds work. He holds his hands together under his chin, as if considering how to put his own experience with that part of society into words.]

Yeah, some nobles are gonna be like that, because that's probably related to how they got their money - they cut corners or were dishonest or even violent to keep hold of as much as they could. But a lot of the ones who are born into it or earn it more honestly are just blissfully ignorant about how the world works. Especially if they were never super broke or needy themselves. So sometimes you need to kind of wave it in front of their faces that there are people more in need of some of their wealth and they'll be willing to help out if you phrase it right.

[It's rare that you're going to catch anyone philanthropic enough to drop the big bucks because those types are usually helping out already, but a more humble amount from a lot of people can still do good work.]

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