WEEK TWO

[mayorityvote]

WEEK TWO

23 Villagers

Three people have fallen and a tower has risen. Along with it, some of the restraints on your mind have dispersed and a memory has returned to you - is it precious, is it painful? Is it cherished, is it loathed?

Mercilessly, dawn breaks on another morning. The rooster still calls, and the crops still need tending to. Rise and shine, Puffin Town! It seems like the residents are not the only thing that has chosen to rise, as a few more establishments have opened up for exploration. The sound of moo-ing near the farms may feel especially inviting here - how about making some new additions to your farms, to drown out your loneliness?

There is no festival just yet but if you question the ducks on it, some excited quacking will herald fun things to come later in the week. Some of the ducks will also wave the gift notes from last week; regardless of murder, being kind to your neighbors is still encouraged! Can't let our beautiful town sink into gloom and doom, right?

(( OOC: Murder proposals are due by Tuesday at 4 PM EST / 1 PM PST, for the current week's murder, but feel free to submit for later weeks if you like!

We have also added a page to report your Astera planting - this does not need to have been threaded, we're just taking stock on an OOC level.

Further, the Gift Mechanic has been updated. All turned in threads will now yield a character specific item as a reward! We're only dipping into the random gacha once all personalized rewards have been given out.))

MONDAY • TUESDAY • WEDNESDAY • THURSDAY

Locations Proposals PCs Check-in Gifts Profiles NPC Contact Main Nav

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Comments

[liberazoth]

[ can't wait for someone to be garrotted ]

No personal touch, huh. I guess that's what happens when they just made a bunch for people to share ... or something like that, probably. Though they can't be for the ducks, since I'm not sure they can really hold them that well...

But I think I get it. Two of the other people I know also use swords, but none of us would probably be that great at using each other's.

[revelate]

Mm. That's it, more or less.

[Noah's focus is centered on the sword in the middle, its blade slim and slightly curved at the tip.]

Colony-issue Blades were not particularly unique, either, but they were still ours. We were given a choice of weaponry and could therefore choose what suited us best.

[...]

But the weapon I favored was one given to me by a dear friend. Using anything else just doesn't feel quite right.

[liberazoth]

Oh...?

It must be really rough, not having it here then. In both the not having a good weapon way, I mean, and the... well, not having that reminder of them with you way.

[ which ... huh. while they're all here ... what is it like for the people they left behind, where they all came from? are they having these kinds of conversations too?

vayne finishes up on his side of the room, tentatively coming up to behind and off to the side a little of noah. he also gives the swords a careful examination, gaze lingering on the one noah's holding for longer than the others. ]

Is that the closest you've found so far?

[revelate]

[Noah nods, holding up the blade and turning it over in his hand.]

The blade itself is similar, but it's not quite the same. We can't afford to be precious when it comes to arming ourselves against threats, but I can't help feeling like a sword like this is meant for someone else's hands.

What about you, Vayne? Are you a fighter?

[liberazoth]

I mean, I can fight, but I'm not sure if that's what you mean exactly when you say fighter...

[ it sounds like that has a weight to it that vayne isn't quite aware of the exact circumstances for, though he can make some guesses. ]

I'm used to defending myself from monsters. Creatures that might be territorial, or aggressive, or simply are the sources for the materials that we might need from them. Fighting... well, people, is something else. I'd rather not hurt anyone, if I had the choice.

[ but, well. he's aware of his position, and how it might differ from some of the others here... ]

But I guess... not everyone does get a choice, do they? Me saying that ... it's a luxury not everyone gets.

[revelate]

...And that choice? Is that usually one you get to make?

[Fighting against monsters and creatures to acquire food and materials is one thing. Something they have in common, but it's still hard for Noah to accept that some people have a say in whether or not they get to fight other people. More importantly, they get to choose not to kill others. It seems that is more the norm than what Noah is used to.]

It seems like most people have the freedom to choose. I'm a bit envious, I'll admit.

[liberazoth]

... I mean, I guess so.

I grew up alone. I don't mean with a mother or a father, or with siblings who just didn't talk to other people, or with a neighbor further down the road ... I mean, I grew up in an abandoned house by the river, deep in a forest. No one else lived there. It was just me and Sulpher, as far back as I can remember. There was a village not too far away, but ... Whenever I tried to stop by to try to buy something, they yelled at me and chased me away with rocks.

[ was he supposed to have defended himself? fought for his right to be there? maybe other people might. maybe other people might have yelled back, or stood their ground. he's come around to understanding that some people might just be that way. ]

It was always easier to just ... Remove myself, if anything happened. Before I came to the academy only just a few years ago, those was the only times I ever really saw or dealt with other people.

[revelate]

[Mother, father, siblings. These are all words Noah has never heard before, but in that lack of understanding, he recognizes that Vayne was alone. Noah might consider himself similar, having never had those things himself, but he can't mourn what he's never had. As far as he knows, no one from Aionios is any different.

At least Noah has his friends. People he fights with. People who support each other. Vayne... could it really be that he has nothing at all?]

You can't be blamed for that, I don't think. Having been let down and hurt by others leaves lasting scars. But... why was it that you were treated so callously to begin with?

[liberazoth]

I never really knew. I figured that maybe they were just suspicious of outsiders, and Sulpher never told me; he just said he didn't really understand humans. Professor Zeppel thought it might have been because they'd mistaken alchemy for witchcraft, but really...

When Professor Zeppel mentioned it to me, it was the first I'd ever heard of alchemy.

[ so how could he have been doing the thing that villagers were sus of him for before he knew about it. ]

[revelate]

I can't say I fully understand your circumstances, but I do understand prejudice. It's not uncommon to think less of, or even fear people who are different than yourself. I was the same not too long ago.

I don't know how about witchcraft and alchemy, either. When you put it that way, it almost sounds like alchemy is an intrinsic part of your being.

[So Noah's thinking yeah, maybe Vayne was doing the thing before he knew he was doing the thing. He fails to see where the issue with that lies regardless.]