awashlogs | Event Thirteen.

Entry tags:

Event Thirteen.

To love a human face was to discover
The cracks of paint and varnish on the brow;
Soon to distrust all impulses of flesh
That strews its sawdust on the chamber floor,
While at the window peer two crones
Who once were Juliet and Jessica.

t's a regular morning here in the Town. The sun isn't shining at all, snow is falling like crazy, and...there may be the sounds of shouts coming from the well, thoroughly muffled.

Okay, so it's not a regular morning at all, but you'd better go help those people! The newcomers are here again. Of course, once you get to the well, you'll notice that there's actually no real help you can offer -- it's totally frozen over.

As for the newcomers, well... hopefully being suddenly dumped into freezing cold water in the middle of November in a dark, damp well is your idea of a good time, because that's your life now!

And that's not even taking into account the mirrors in everyone's homes that are about to wake up and start chattering...

Welcome to Awash's thirteenth event log, everyone! Further information on this event can be found here at the OOC post. Please keep in mind that while this is a general event log, it is also an intro log; be sure to pay plenty of attention to our newcomers!

If there are any questions, please ask them here. Thank you!

Page 90 of 157

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

[Trivial... Hm.

Minato tilts his head a little, frowning to himself.]

That's true, we do need to conserve... but I don't think it's trivial.

[He takes the piece carefully, placing it in that tiny bag with a tilt of his head.]

It's yours. That already makes it something that isn't trivial.

If you want to make the attempt, nothing could be loss trying except time. [But he's wondering if blacking out the glass would make any difference.] Likely, we won't be able to see the image inside, but we may still be forced to hear the voice regardless.

Worst case scenario, the town would project the voice inside our heads rather than broadcast it verbally. Everyone's heads.

I'm guessing this is just the first part of whatever the town has planned for us this month. [He peers at Percy, at the hidden mirror. He feels worse for Annabeth's lack of presence mostly because he recently lost Jon's.] What fairy tales deal with mirrors...? Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, Alice. [A pause.]

There's a poem--The Lady of Shalott.

[She's so perky and sparkly and bright. It's kind of amazing, really...

But he likes it, too; it's always nice to see people here being so energetic and warm, despite the circumstances.]

A lot of it is still conjecture for us, but...like you can see from my text, we're all assigned a color. You'll get your color back from living here for a little while.

And as we bond together and mix those colors, it seems like we're bringing colors back to the town. That's why things are so...

[...well.]

Kind of paint-by-number in the hands of a five year old.

Yes, it's in the next room. Take another moment to warm up, and I'll show you.

[No need for you to get sick during your stay here.]

I'll take you to the stables, follow me. They'll probably enjoy the company anyway.

[He was getting there...!! Maybe. It's hard to tell with him. Sometimes, when it comes to talking about himself, he'll just trail off and never pick up that thread again.

But! Ryuji won't let that happen, so Minato shrugs a little.]

Someone taught me how to skin a werewolf a little while ago.

[WHY]

I have no need for them. [Aside from giving them away.] I'm afraid I don't have anything for your cat. [Alas, poor devil kitty that Akira startled away trying to grab after his sword.]

I trust you'll behave in town? There are a lot of children here.

[Including Akira, in a way, he guesses. Kids, teens, young adults. He's old, let him rest and generalize.]

[Hm, he took that well and easy. Oh well...

To Minato's house! Which is green, and stands out a bit for that reason.]

Just a moment--I know I have some extra blankets in the living room.

[He has so much time on his hands here... no reason to not make blankets better and mend old ones.

So after a few moments, he reappears with two blankets in his arms, which he offers to Yu casually.]

[Said devil kitty is still watching from nearby, at least, but doesn't seem keen on getting too close. Akira, meanwhile, pauses to consider the question.]

Will I get more chocolate if I behave?

[A smirk. Go on, old man. Bribe him.]

[Minato doesn't mind; Vriska hides her eyes against his shoulder and he rests a hand on her hair, just behind her horns, and just leaves it there, a comforting and warm presence.

And, softly:]

You don't have to respond to any of it. I think by now... I know you pretty well, you know?

[He knows what she's trying to say--so it's okay.

As for that... that gets a quietly amused snort.]

I haven't been making any girls cry. I'm not a heartbreaker, you know? [Well, there was Aigis, but that doesn't count.] I don't see any crying happening here.

[He'll protect her pride that bit--he knows she's crying, but he won't call her out on it. It's enough for him to know she's back, and she's still the same old Vriska.]

So what if I'm crying, huh? That's not even... really me, that's my fucking reflection.

[ She crosses her arms over her chest, looking ready to fight him over semantics right now. She knows the mirror is showing something that's integral to her person, to her experience of the world and of life, but it's not something she wants others to see, let alone give words to. Least of all some guy she doesn't know.

It feels too vulnerable. She doesn't like it one shitty bit. ]

[Wow, this little shit.]

Chocolate is difficult to come by here. And I only reward people who work hard. [Bribe him, young'un.] How hard are you willing to work to get what you want, Akira Fudo?

[Akira tilts his head, considering.]

What kind of work?

[It would be shitty of him to just say no and watch her struggle... so sure, he comes closer to help.]

You gotta tell me where, but I promise I'm not gonna yank on 'em. [Or just stick his hands in her hair without direction?! That's way more rude than saying shave it all off. He has hair manners when it counts.] Were you still here when my buddy Josuke showed up for a little while? If somebody told him to shave his hair off, he'd kick their ass.

[That scamp!]

[Oops...

As soon as he realizes it's not his mirror, he feels terrible for having flipped it over--even more so when it's Shiho staring back at him. She's...

... So tired, so guarded, so sad.

Quietly, he places the mirror back down gently, facedown, trying to tune out what she has to say--and when he hears the older, proper Shiho's voice behind him, he's not even surprised.

(Shiho does have an unerring sense for when people are doing something wrong, doesn't she...?)]

Sorry, Shiho-chan... I think I saw something I wasn't supposed to.

[A pause... and he adds:]

You were a very cute little girl, though.

[He shakes his head, wiping at his eyes.] It is you. Even if you don't want to cry, you're...

[He interrupts himself to sniffle and sob, just kind of uselessly rooted in place. Maybe she should walk away and forget this ever happened.]

Housing assignments seem to be random.

[ To his knowledge, anyway. He's been living alone since his previous housemate moved out to live with someone else instead, and the town probably decided that he needed a new one. Alexa just happened to be the unlucky pick among the new reds. ]

I wouldn't completely rule out the possibility that they thought it would be funny, however—whoever runs this place seems to have a strange sense of humour, if some of the quest rewards are any indication. I once received a jar of live bees.

[ Okay, so the bees weren't completely out of nowhere since the quest involved fetching honey, but still. An actual jar of bees. ]

That depends on what kind of person you are.

[Though Sasuke has run into a surprisingly small amount of people who want to destroy the town and the people here. First time for everything.] Behaving. [Most importantly.]

Sometimes, the town needs protecting by people who are strong. Going into the forest isn't wise to do alone, but going in to look for answers is something that needs to be done. But helping others survive is just as important as fighting the dangers.

Are you someone who cares about others?

[Akira lowers the box in his hands, and looks at him with a suddenly serious expression.]

Yeah.

[He can't talk openly about his strength, but caring about others is something he won't ever deny.]

[ It's like he's speaking another language. Lux stares at him in mild surprise, not sure what to say in response. No one's ever said anything like that to her before. She's genuinely perplexed. How does she respond to that?

She masks her confusion behind a light laugh, the smile on her face turning rueful. ]

You're a strange one. [ It's... refreshing. Yes, that's the word. ] You know nothing about me, and yet you can still confidently say that.

[ She pauses before reaching over to place a mirror piece in his bag. ]

Lux. And your name?

[A nod of acknowledgement.]

You should be more careful with your glasses. You might not be able to see for a while if anything happens to them.

[What with how run down this place is, it's not exactly the place to find an optician if anything goes wrong.]

What's the plan once we find it?

[Maybe Akira should have thought of this before they went into the forest, but hey. This is why Ryo was always the Plan Guy.]

[He doesn't seem to mind, at least--not the staring, nor the fact that she's calling him strange. He's heard infinitely worse, and, well...

If she thinks that's strange, he wonders. How many people has she had in her life to tell her things like that? To show her basic kindness that he believes everyone deserves?

He wonders.

But for now--]

It's Minato. It's nice to meet you, Lux-san.

[Accompanied with a polite, quick bow of his head.]

And I don't really know if it's strange, but... I can say it confidently because that's how I feel, I guess.

[ Again with that strange title. Was that a regional thing? It must be. Interesting. She would have to make a note of it somewhere, to see how widespread it was.

Again, she seems amused by him. How can he be confident about something when he immediately follows it with "I guess"? But she won't tease him about that.

She hums quietly in thought, looking up toward the cloudy sky. ]

It is, but that's not a bad thing. I think.

[ Or she could tease him subtly. Ok Lux. ]

I still think it's a waste of resources, but if we have enough to spare, I might consider.

[The teasing goes right over his head, good job, Minato.

Either way, he just carefully places the bag of mirror shards into her hand, nodding.]

I'll ask around and see if anyone has some. It can't hurt.

In the meantime... I guess now might be a bad time to say "welcome"...?

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Page 90 of 157

Event Thirteen.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

ii.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject