Event Ten.

[awashmods]

Little Willie, mean as hell, Pushed his sister in a well. Mother said, while drawing water, "My, it's hard to raise a daughter."

t's pretty dark and miserable down in the well. The cavernous area feels much larger than a well should be, bodies milling about in the darkness and knee deep, frigid water. So you're here -- and you're not alone, and the only way out appears to be the thin circle of sunlight from above, the opening of the well. (And elsewhere, in the Town, everyone's waking up to gifts of various usefulness, but hopefully they remember to check the well today even so!) What now? Welcome to Awash's tenth event log, and the intro log for this month, everyone! All new characters have found themselves waking in the well in the middle of the Town. Hopefully they can get a hand out! For more information, please go here! Meanwhile, the current characters have some new gifts. If there are any questions, please ask them here, and have fun! Thank you!

Comments

[rerevale]

It's okay, big guy... go on without me! Momo-chan is probably easier to eat, anyway. I'm bite-sized compared to you!

[ Is he taking this seriously? Judging by the fact that he starts slowly smiling through this melodramatic speech, definitely not.

He's all smiles by the time he clips that last syllable. ]

So don't worry, okay? Wolves or no, you're gonna be fine.

[organfarm]

[ He's firmly shaking his head as Momo speaks because oh my god why would he ever let someone else get eaten by wolves, but at least Jion seems to realize Momo's just joking. ]

Oh, god, okay you're just joking.

[ He breathes an audible sigh of relief, petering off into a watery laugh. ]

I mean, I wasn't, though. So it's a good thing you were. Coulda gotten awkward if wolves actually came after us and I had to fight you over who gets left behind.

[rerevale]

[ There's something charming about a physically imposing person who carries himself with an air of timidity... which is to say that Momo watches Jion shift from nervous to nervous-relieved with an air of gentle scrutiny, brows turned down to match his vaguely protective instincts kick in. ]

Haha! Well, if you fought me over who had to stay back, you'd probably beat me in a second.

[ He pretends to flex, but mostly only for show. ]

You'd probably beat the wolves, too! I'm suddenly not worried at all...

[organfarm]

[ That modest flex earns a better laugh, and Jion scuffs a hand through his hair. ]

Well, I'd rather not fight with anyone, or anything, to be honest. Kinda counter-productive to my job, so ...

[ A glance back towards the woods. ]

And it's not like I'm really hoping there's wolves here. I mean, sort of ... but mostly, I'm just trying to figure this place out, you know? It's real different from anywhere I'm used to, so everything's kinda disorienting. [ A pause before he looks back to Momo. He seems awfully at ease. ] You've been here a while, right?

[rerevale]

[ A laugh for a laugh, and Momo shakes his head. ]

Nope! I actually just got here too, so we're on the same boat.

[ He kicks his makeshift ball out from under his foot; lets it arc and land on his knee, where he juggles it once, twice. ]

I've never had to think about things like this before, either. But there are so many people here— kids, even— who've been hard at work here for months! So I think we're in good company.

[organfarm]

-- right?

[ Jion agrees immediately and enthusiastically, nodding with great gusto. ] I mean, well, I guess I'm still kinda nervous about how things are gonna turn out, but you're definitely right that people here seem nice. Explaining things and helping when I was still all dripping from the well, and stuff.

[ A pause as he thoughtfully rubs a hand at his neck. ] I mean, even that vampire guy seemed decent. So I guess that's a good sign.

[rerevale]

[ Record scratch. Momo stops balancing his jacket-ball, which subsequently falls back, morosely, onto dead leaves. ]

—A vampire?!

[ Bonding is all well and good, but a vampire?!?! ]

D, did he have fangs...? Did he use his super sexy seduction eyebeams on you...?!

[organfarm]

Oh, no! No, uh, super sexy seduction eyebeams.

[ What the hell are super sexy seduction eyebeams. ]

But he did have pointy ears, now that I think about it! And he turned into bats! A ton of them. He helped me outta the well like that, turned into bats and flew me out. He didn't give me any warning so it scared the hell out of me, but it was pretty cool, now that I think about it.

[rerevale]

[ It may be too late for Jion... to compliment a vampire so openly?! Momo squints, trying to see if this poor dude looks hypnotized or entranced...

...before deciding that he doesn’t know shit about vampires, so he should probably take Jion’s word for it. ]

—That really is super cool…! And he didn’t try to suck your blood or anything…?!

Come to think of it, the person who saved me was like a real life ninja, too… Are you hiding anything super-super-cool, yourself?

[organfarm]

Nah, he apparently doesn't even drink human blood. But man, a ninja! This place is so full of cool people ...

[ Jion gives a slightly dreamy sigh. After being surrounded by the same types of people for ages, it's so cool getting to know all these people straight out of movies.

Which makes it all the more embarrassing when Momo asks if he's anything like them. ]

Oh, no no! Not really. [ Jion shakes his head with gusto, looking a little flustered. ] Nothing super-super-cool at all! But uh, I'm an engineered unit for the army. So I'm not a normal human. Still not as cool as a vampire or a ninja, though.

[rerevale]

[ "Nothing super-super-cool at all", Jion says, before he follows it up with a statement that Momo can't make heads nor tails of. 'An engineered unit'? 'Not a normal human'?

As someone completely unremarkable, the use of phrasing like that is, in fact, pretty remarkable; Momo wavers between being impressed and being concerned, this time around. It shows in the way he stalls before his answer, which is a first. ]

—Don't sell yourself short! I've never heard of anything like that before?

[ He won't jump to conclusions, so he keeps his tone light. ]

What kind of stuff do you do? If you don't mind me asking, that is!

[organfarm]

[ Jion blinks at that pause, but doesn't think about it too deeply. Maybe it's just startling since he looks totally normal at first glance? ]

Oh! Well, I'm a combat medic!

[ That much, he says with open pride. He's really happy with his job, after all. But Jion sounds a little more sheepish as he continues. ]

But I heal really fast, so I can retrieve injured people from dangerous areas, and give a lot of blood and organs. Stuff like that. Mostly, I'm just a medic. [ A bit of a gross oversimplification, but that's fine, right? He cants his head in thought as he continues. ] We're actually not that weird where I'm from, though. Like, we're kinda rare, but everyone knows we exist. Apparently civilian newspapers have done reports on us and everything.

[rerevale]

[ Everything about what Jion says is easy to visualize, except for the 'organs' bit. Giving blood on the battlefield sounds like a real, plausible thing that could happen in combat situations, but organs?? Wholesale organs?

It's Momo's time to be sheepish, hands folded in front of him as if he's not quite sure what to do with them at the moment. The sound of leaves under his feet sounds deafening without words to keep them muffled. ]

...That's still pretty amazing, isn't it?! Not weird at all...! [ Hard to wrap his mind around, yeah, but not weird. ] You're really putting your own life on the line to help other people, huh...?

[ Literally giving pieces of himself... Momo has to wonder what kind of world Jion really comes from. ]

Is it something you always wanted to do?

[organfarm]

... hm?

[ Jion looks politely boggled by that question, like Momo just asked him why the earth is round. There's a thoughtful pause before he answers, rubbing at the scarred bit of his cheek. ]

Well, I do like getting to help people. And it's not exactly what I was made to do, but I do feel glad that it's what the army decided to assign me to. So I guess in that sense, yes?

[ It's obvious he doesn't exactly understand what Momo's getting at. But he does notice that sheepish fidget, if only because it's the kind of thing he resorts to a lot himself. Maybe this is uncomfortable for a civilian to talk about? Totally understandable. ]

-- uh, anyway, what do you do? [ It's a somewhat hasty attempt to change the topic as he crouches down to retrieve Momo's jacket. He grins awkwardly as he holds it up. ] You were pretty good at that balancing thing earlier, so ... athlete, by any chance?

[rerevale]

[ "Made to do". Again, this is something that flies over his head— people shouldn't be manufactured to do anything, in his (very) hypocritical and simplistic view of things— but being self-righteous about something he doesn't understand seems counterproductive.

So. He focuses on the good segments of Jion's statements, which are "I like" and "I'm glad". They're enough to make Momo smile again, brows turned down but relatively genuine. ]

—Haha, after an introduction like yours, mine's gonna sound pretty boring! But you're close; I used to play sports.

[ A bit of shadow-soccer here, before he segues into his introduction proper. ] Right now, I'm an idol! Do you have those, where you're from? [ He spins on his heels, stopping at that perfect half-profile angle that lets him tip his head to the side and wink. ] My job is to make people smile! I hope I can do that for you, too.

[organfarm]

... idol?

[ Jion's still crouched down with Momo's jacket in his hands, gingerly trying to dust it off a bit and shake out some of the wrinkles, but he looks up at that explanation. He obviously doesn't keep up with pop trends, because it takes him a moment to realize what Momo means. ]

-- you're a singer!

[ Jion pops to his feet in an instant; Momo's sure doing his job well, because he's already beaming with curiosity and enthusiasm. ]

That's so cool! I've never met a celebrity before ... Idols are those singers with tons of fans and fancy dances and stuff, right? [ At least he's in the right ballpark. ]