02 - week two

[afflictionmods]

WEEK TWO

When the glitter settles and everyone returns to their dorms - or wherever they intend to sleep for the night, if you’re planning on sleeping at all - your first week of school officially ends. Perhaps it was better than you expected, perhaps it was worse.

Hopefully you learned a bit more about teamwork and school spirit.

Still, this course is going to run for longer than a full week, and come Sunday morning you’re still exactly as you were when you settled down for the night. Still in Estelline, still with that mark on your wrist, still connected to your partner. There are some changes, though. The bookstore has received quite a few books, and those of you who added to the bulletin board and pep rally tasks in the first week will find an envelope taped to their dorm door (or themselves, if they spent the night elsewhere). Inside of the envelope is some kind of voucher! Furthermore, the common area is covered in a bunch of glitter.

Also, there are a ton of eggs in the kitchen – at least 10 dozens.

Florence or Lorelei are still available, should you wish to speak to them.

Finally, you've got some new locations to explore.


SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY

TASK LIST

CLUMSINESS AFFECT DETAILS (BEGINS TUESDAY ICLY)

W2 CYOA SIGNUPS
CYOA Signups for Week 2 close Sunday, May 29th at 6pm EST.

THREAD SURVEY
Google form for partner threads, due by Friday, June 3rd at 6pm EST. Optional.

W3 CYOA SIGNUPS
CYOA Signups for Week 3 close Friday, June 3rd at 6pm EST.

OOC NOTE

OOC: Anyone who performed in the Pep Rally (Sabo, Madara, Riku, Shizuku, Herlock, Idia, Flat, Miach) task will be able to redeem a voucher for a prize with one of the NPCs. This can be handwaved, and the prize selection is below.

-Single-serve coffee machine wither a selection of creamer. Comes with packs of coffee beans.
-Popcorn maker and kernels.
-High-quality tea kettle with a selection of just as high-quality tea.
-Carbonation machine (think Sodastream, etc) with flavored syrup.

Any coffee, tea, popcorn, etc. will last characters up to two weeks.

Anyone who participated in the Bulletin Board task will receive a voucher for your choice of two pairs colorful socks with cute animal designs. (Worry frog design available.)

FULL NAV

(CODE)

Comments

[sicklysweet]

He's a monster.

[Well, okay.

Hien technically said he was turning into a monster, but that's a minor detail.]

And that he eats worlds to survive. People hate him for it. They know what he's going to do to their world, and so they despise him for it.

[His smile is bright, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes.]

That how he looks is just a form he can take. That worlds are just food to him. These are all very funny, funny things, aren't they?

[partymagician]

[ If Owen is expecting a reaction... he doesn't get one. Fai picks up a cookie and takes a bite out of it. ]

He told me most of that the other night.

[ The way Owen's smile doesn't reach his eyes is interesting, but Fai knows pursuing that won't get him anywhere. ]

All worlds come to an end in one way or another. [ ... ] But it is ironic, to live forever but destroy things in turn. It makes me a little sad.

[ But he doesn't feel pity. Never pity. ]

[sicklysweet]

[He doesn't answer for a moment, but whether that's just because he's savoring the cookie or thinking of what to say is unclear.]

I don't know that I'd call it ironic. Aren't most ancient, powerful things good at destruction?

[...]

It reminds me of the Great Calamity, so I would think he feels pretty alone, with everyone trying to keep him away.

[Which is absolutely not something he would ever say to Hien, and it's not like he thinks Hien is lonely. An existence of being alone does not mean that you feel lonely.]

[partymagician]

[ Fai himself is good at destruction too, so. Owen has a point there. ]

Some are good at creation, at granting wishes.

[ Anyway. ]

The Great Calamity? Is that something that befell your world?

[ He won't respond to the bit about loneliness, as that's hitting too close to home when it comes to his own circumstances. ]

[sicklysweet]

[Wishes, huh?

Owen doesn't respond to that, choosing to ignore that. He certainly hasn't met anything older than him that would grant wishes.]

Something like that.

[He licks a bit of chocolate off of his gloves, mulling it over. He's already told a few people about it, so it really doesn't matter.]

It's the moon of my world. Every year it approaches and has to be pushed back, or it would destroy everything.

[...]

I wonder what it would feel like to be a calamity like that.

[partymagician]

Sad, probably. Repetitive too.

[ That's what he thinks. ]

And how does it get pushed back? Magic?

[ Since he knows magic exists in Owen's world, that's the most logical conclusion for him to come to. ]

[sicklysweet]

[He doesn't comment on that, but...]

Yeah. Bunch of wizards have been chosen to push it back every year.

[He reaches for another cookie.]

But this isn't about the calamity.

[Not that he had much of a point to this conversation to begin with, but. He's curious.]

[partymagician]

[ Hmmm. He wonders if Owen is involved. ]

I suppose not.

[ He has another bite out of his cookie. ]

It's about Hien, right?

[sicklysweet]

[:worry:]

Sort of. When he told you about himself...

Did he only tell you if you told him about yourself, too?

[partymagician]

...

[ Huh.

Is that how Hien is sharing his past?

... ]

No, he did not. He told me without prompting.

[sicklysweet]

[He frowns, and it's clear that he doesn't believe Fai for a second.

Granted, that... doesn't necessarily mean he has a reason to doubt him.]

Are you lying to me? It's not very nice to lie to people, you know. It's quite cruel, even if you think it's with good intentions.

[looking directly @ gentaro]

[partymagician]

[ Fai shakes his head. ]

Hien knows nothing of my past, outside of the few things I've shared.

[sicklysweet]

I see. Lucky you.

[He’s finished his second cookie and is reaching for a third.]

Now he knows everything he could know about me, and I feel a bit cheated.

[partymagician]

[ Fai lets him take another cookie. Must mean Owen likes them. ]

Maybe he just knows he won't get answers from me.

[sicklysweet]

[Yeah but he’ll never admit it.]

So you’re hiding something from him.

[partymagician]

It isn’t just him.

[ It’s everyone. ]

He’s probably waiting until I’m ready to talk.

[ That’s the way Hien has been with him, so it would make sense. ]

[sicklysweet]

How long do you think it’ll take until you can’t hide everything?

[He scowls, before shoving the rest of his third cookie in his mouth and taking a fourth.]

[partymagician]

Probably not long. I imagine we’ll be forced to share some of our darkest secrets with our partners at one point while we’re here.

[ After all, secrets bring pain. Fai has long since accepted that he’ll probably end up telling Hien just about everything. All he can really do is delay the inevitable. ]

[sicklysweet]

[Owen considers that as he finishes off his fourth cookie, and it's as he's taking his fifth that he finally speaks up.]

So why not just talk about it now? Wouldn't you rather talk about yourself on your own terms?

[Hm.]

Though I guess you've got more to hide than I so.

[Even though Owen's lived for over ten of Fai's lifetime, apparently...]

[partymagician]

[ His own terms would be never, so it'll need to be forced out of him, most likely. ]

Hmmm? What do you think I'm trying to hide.

[ Tell him your theories, Owen. ]

[sicklysweet]

I don't know.

[He rolls his eyes.]

And I don't really care right now.

[Is it because he's been pacified with cookies that he's not needling Fai... Him already finishing his fifth and taking another are probably signs pointing to "yes".]

It could be anything. All I'm saying is there's nothing to learn about me that people don't already know.

[Even if only one person has gotten the full and complete Lore Dump.]

[partymagician]

Do you regret sharing that information?

[ That's what it sounds like, if he doesn't want Fai to spill some of his secrets to him right now. ]

[sicklysweet]

No.

[He’s bothered by sharing information, but it’s not because he’s bothered over sharing that information in the first place. Even if he only told Hien so much as an exchange for learning things about Hien… he still could have decided not to play along.

He looks contemplative for a moment before reaching for a seventh cookie. How is he still hungry.]


None of that information changes anything. Why would I regret sharing any of it?

[partymagician]

[ He wishes he had an attitude like that towards his past. It frustrates him that he doesn't.

And he hopes Owen doesn't get a stomachache from all those cookies. ]

That makes sense. Some things really don't make that much of a difference if you share them.

[ But for Fai? He knows deep, deep, deep down that his past makes him a bad person, and despite all of his efforts to not care, he doesn't want people to dislike him. ]

[sicklysweet]

[Well, there's the problem. It's easier to accept your past and be open about it if you don't care if people dislike you!

Well.

And if you don't care that you're a bad person. Owen knows that he's bad, but that's something that he enjoys. He didn't get the reputation he has back home on accident.]

Yeah. So why bother hiding anything? If you're afraid of the truth getting out, if that's what eating you up inside...

[Eating this many cookies is probably a bad idea, but at least he's not saying anything weird about them.]

It's just going to be worse when you can't hide it anymore.