InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Hummingbird heartbeat"

crimsonstar (crimsonstar) wrote in rooms,
@ 2014-12-30 18:40:00

Entry tags:

!dc comics, *log, daryl, song mingmei

Who: Song Mingmei and OPEN, but can be a narrative if no one tags in
Where: Through the DC Door, in Gotham, at a local restaurant
When: Today, Tuesday, December 30, dinner time
What: Mingmei is taking some time to herself and explores a new restaurant for a change
Status: OPEN, but can be complete as a narrative

Mingmei knew that she'd kind of been staying in the same place for some time now. She needed to explore, and she'd done some investigating as to where she should go next. She had some ideas in mind, but nothing was really standing out. People watching, however, was something that she knew that she enjoyed, and the afternoon saw her sitting in a cafe somewhere in the city of Gotham. Well, cafe was a polite word for the place that more resembled a pub.

The floor was wooden and the tables weren't the cleanest in the world. The dishes were a cause to worry and she carefully cleaned the top of her glass before taking a sip from her tea. She was dressed down today, having left work earlier to try to think about what steps she wanted to take next. In casual jeans and a red blouse, Mingmei sat near the window, watching the people as they walked past the restaurant.

Where did she want to travel to? She was in a unique position. Part of her really longed for home, but the part of her that wanted to travel insisted that there was still some place out for her that she needed to see still. Her laptop was opened in front of her and her fingers glided across the keyboard. She was reading the information they could share, trying to determine which world she wanted to visit next.

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falcons
2015-01-01 06:41 pm UTC (link)

This place was dark. It probably always was, and maybe it rained almost constantly, too. A taste of crime lingered in the air, and she saw at least one pickpocketing. Nobody stopped to help.

It was exactly like Zozo. Must be Gotham.

She couldn't decide if she stood out more or less in Gotham than she did in Zozo, but her short red jacket and red boots were definitely eye-catching. Her feet were steady if erratic in their steps--tipsy, but not able to control herself. And the way she dangled a dart openly between her fingers made people wonder if she wasn't quite right in the head, so they left her alone.

Daryl didn't mind. In her world, you always had to stay armed. There was nothing weird about it at all.

In her world, people also weren't shy about approaching strangers. They might not talk to you or tell you the truth--they might even fight you--but that didn't stop people from approaching. It was getting a little drizzly outside again, so Daryl stepped into the nearest establishment to dry off and stay warm for a while. She had no money for Gotham, didn't know another thing about the place than it was like Zozo, but she didn't seem undeterred.

She helped herself to a seat and, without an introduction, asked, "What's that?"

They didn't have laptops in her world. Her airship didn't have computerized chips, just gears and oil she had put together hself. This little thing that the other woman was staring at was strange, and so Daryl asked.

She was going to get thrown into Arkham at this rate.

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crimsonstar
2015-01-01 08:32 pm UTC (link)

Red wasn't such a strange color to Mingmei, nor was it weird seeing someone dressed all in red. In fact, red was the national color of her country. It was something that reminded her of home. Something that brought a familiar sight to her eyes. When the stranger sat down in front of her, dressed in the color of her mother China, and questioned what she had in front of her, Mingmei looked up curiously herself.

"This?" she asked, her English only lightly accented. It would sound strange to someone from Gotham. Her consonants were more pronounced, only slightly. When she spoke, her l's glided together a bit and her R's sounded very similar to those. "It's a laptop," Mingmei stated lightly. "Are you not from around here?" Normally, she wouldn't have asked, but Gotham was a city that seemed to be either very up to date or at least aware of what was happening around them.

She was always one curious to meet new people and she really didn't mind that this woman had just helped herself to Mingmei's table. It was a fairly busy restaurant, surprisingly so, because it wasn't very good.

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falcons
2015-01-01 10:05 pm UTC (link)

The accent was noted but not placed to any particular area. Daryl didn't know this world and its nations, and her own world was so much smaller. Minmei's voice was pleasant, and she didn't seem weirded out by the sudden company. That was all Daryl, with her breath probably smelling of alcohol, needed to know.

This dingy little pub fit her just fine, too.

"Laptop?" She knew what a lap was and a top, but the two together didn't make any sense. And since she hadn't learned to keep things to herself yet, she easily answered, "No, a place called Kohlingen was where I was staying. So, so far from here." And least she didn't use the phrase 'other world'. That much sense she had.

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crimsonstar
2015-01-02 12:17 am UTC (link)

The woman was nice enough as well, in her opinion. But nothing else seemed to really worry her about this woman. She seemed genuinely curious. What caught her attention, however, was the name of the place where she was staying. It wasn't anywhere she'd heard of, not in her world or in this one. Mingmei offered her a gentle smile, though, recognizing that reaction when someone was far from home.

"Laptops are computers," Mingmei explained softly, moving her computer closer to the other woman so she could see. She didn't mind the other reading what she had in front of her, as it might bring in interesting conversations overall. "You're from a different place too, then?" she asked, just accepting it simply for what it was. "I haven't heard of Kohlingen. I'm from a place called China, which is really far from here. On the other side of the world. I'm still getting used to this place myself."

Mingmei glanced around a moment, then smiled, deciding to be friendly to this stranger. "Have you eaten yet? In my country, it's customary to treat a new friend to a meal when you first meet them. It brings good luck. It's also how we say hello in my language, too. I speak Chinese, and we say "Ni chi fan le?" when we are greeting friends or family, which means just that."

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falcons
2015-01-03 02:49 am UTC (link)

Genuinely curious was definitely Daryl. She was vivacious, very much so--all she wanted to do was live anything, and she couldn't back down from something new. She didn't fear easily, even in the face of everything foreign.

Computers? Nope, that didn't help, but the nice woman let her look at it, and so she started poking at the buttons.

Oops, sorry if you lose anything important!

"This place reminds me of a town near me, so it's got some of that familiar charm to it," she said in a dry tone and a smirk. 'Charm'--it was a dirty, dangerous place. But she perked up with a sincere smile at the chance of food. "Really? Then Ni chi fan le."

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crimsonstar
2015-01-03 10:55 pm UTC (link)

Mingmei smiled at the woman's acceptance of what she was saying and her attempt to repeat the typical Chinese greeting. It was a really good pronunciation for her first time speaking the language and Mingmei's smile broadened at her attempt. She would never outwardly compliment her on her Chinese, that just wasn't something they did, but she wouldn't criticize her, either.

"I haven't found many places like it from home, but it seems many places here are different." She was looking over the menu, then decided on what she wanted to order. In typical Chinese fashion, Mingmei decided to order several different dishes that they could both sample from. She called the waitress over, then calmly asked for, "One medium pizza, with pepperoni and cheese, a grilled chicken sandwich with French fries, and a cheeseburger with French fries. Also, a regular soda. And, whatever my friend would like." She definitely didn't plan on eating that food all by herself.

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	falcons 2015-01-04 04:07 am UTC (link)
	That was a lot of food. Daryl didn't know it was a lot of food, but it was. Thankfully, she hadn't been eating much, so she was ready to eat whatever it was that Mingmei just ordered. "Sure, a soda, too." Whatever that was. It was going to be exciting. "So why are you here instead of back in China?" she asked after the waitress left. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

crimsonstar
2015-01-04 09:17 pm UTC (link)

Mingmei just smiled and waved the waitress away once their order was placed. "Oh, I'm Song Mingmei, by the way. I don't think I said that yet. Mingmei is what I go by here," she remarked in a friendly manner, settling back into her chair into a more comfortable position.

"Er, that's a rather long story that involves a hotel," stated Mingmei softly, not really sure how much she wanted to share about what she was doing in a place like Gotham besides living her dream with international business. She'd been doing wonderfully until the hotel had pulled them all from their world and into this one. "I'm working now as a reporter with the Daily Planet. It's not really what I want to accomplish, but it's a job, at least."

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	falcons 2015-01-05 03:37 am UTC (link)
	"Daryl," she offered Mingmei in reply, with a slight salute for formality. But then she said the magic word of hotel, and Daryl leaned forward and gave an unintentionally still normal-voiced whisper, "Do you mean the hotel?" If Mingmei didn't, then Daryl was definitely going to get called into the crazy house. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

crimsonstar
2015-01-06 02:50 am UTC (link)

At Daryl's salute, Mingmei smiled formally in recognition. "Oh...oh!" she remarked in surprise when Daryl seemed to pick up on her comment and realize what she meant. "Yes, that hotel, if we're speaking about the same one that can take you different places." She knew she might sound crazy, but there it was.

Just after she spoke, the waitress brought over their sodas and Mingmei sipped at hers lightly once it came. "I still prefer tea over soda, but soda isn't bad."

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