theafflicted | 04 - week four

WEEK FOUR

Saturday comes to a close, and it’s time for some rest and recovery. Perhaps the TLC you deserve will come this week, or perhaps the nightmare will continue. It’s hard to say with things being so strange around you, from Wei Wuxian’s disappearance to the sudden addition of objects and places and creatures from your homes. Who knows what this week will bring? Nothing ordinary, that’s for sure.

You wake up on Sunday to an increase in those little glimpses you saw yesterday. What were snippets of songs, locations that might’ve seemed familiar, and creatures that were dormant, are now all alive and whole. When you go to the karaoke bar, the songs you once knew are there. Monsters and animals are alive and sentient. New business are abound. Vehicles are operable, and perhaps some of your old belongings are back, too.

However, some of these things aren’t even things that should exist outside of your dreams. They may be far too strange and unusual to be real, or just things you don't remember ever seeing. The only thing you remember about these things in particular is that they were, quite literally, in your dreams this week.

That being said, every few hours, all of these things from your homes and dreams fade out and get replaced by new sounds, places, beasts….only to maybe come back again at another time.

Well. At least there's one constant here: You’ve got a handful of new locations to look at, with the fog having spread once more, and they aren't going anywhere. There aren’t as many new places that are native to Estelline this time around, but that may be for the best, considering everything going on.

SETTING TRACKER

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

NEWSPAPER SUBMISSIONS + EDITION #1

SAGE / FLORENCE / LORELEI

MEM SHARE DETAILS

OOC NOTE

OOC: Details on this week can be found here!

Also, we have a lot of participants for the news activity from last week. Neat! Everyone who participated in some capacity will have a small polaroid camera delivered to their doorstep. There's limited film, though - 10 photos per camera. It doesn't seem like there's any extra film at this time, either.

Finally, there will not be any weekly tasks this week. You guys are going to be busy with memshare and dreamscape stuff; instead, enjoy the Estelline University Newspaper!

FULL NAV

(CODE)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ He nods. ]

I'm the protector of Celes. It's my job to make sure everyone here is safe.

[ And to eliminate any threats, such as the avalanche. There's a village just down the road, which would have been struck by the wall of snow. ]

[ He looks around and spots the village over yonder. ]

I see... you're doing a good job.

[ He walks up to him and pats his head, whether he has a hood up or not. ]

You sure kept everyone safe.

[ ...

He doesn't know what to do with affection, so he just stares up at Hien, completely still. ]

Do you... live in that village? I haven't met anyone from there yet...

[ He's trying to get around the whole country to familiarize himself with the people and the topography, but it's time consuming. ]

[ Oh.

Hien looks down at him, wondering if he did something bad. He withdraws his hand. ]

... Not really, but I'd like to go with you. Can you show me around?

[ Fai nods, starting to walk down the path towards the village. ]

Sure. This village is one of the closer ones to the castle. I know they take care of a lot of important crops...

[ And sure enough, in the distance, the castle practically looms over everything. But it feels more protective than it does ominous.

As they get closer to the village, there are a few people milling around outside.

"I knew D-rank wizards were amazing, but that was something else!"

There's a chorus of thanks from everyone outside. Fai doesn't seem to know how to react to the attention as he clutches his staff to his chest again. ]

...I'm just glad everyone is alright...

Edited 2022-06-17 00:06 (UTC)

[ Watching him not know how to react makes Hien want to hug him, but he still needs to hold back. ]

It's alright to smile while accepting praise, you know.

[ "That's right!" A young girl chimes in. "Smile like this!" She points at her own face as she smiles.

Fai looks between them both. ]

I...

[ Don't really know how?

But he can't say that. ]

I'll... try one day.

[ ...

His childhood must have been that bad, huh. Hien looks around the village. ]

Yeah. You'll get to smile eventually.

[ A little too much, but. ]

[ The small crowd that had formed starts to disperse as people get back to their routines. ]

You sound really sure...

[ Fai just doesn't see it happening. He doesn't even really know how to do it. What if it looks weird? ]

Everyone does, eventually.

[ That's a lie, but he sounds pretty confident. ]

You just need to know how to balance it.

[ Fai has no reason not to believe him, not when he sounds confident like that. ]

Balance it? But don't people like it if you smile a lot?

You smile when you want to, not when you have to.

[ Wise words.

Though at least this much isn't a lie. ]

Why would I have to smile...?

[ He doesn't get it. Do people pretend? ]

There are moments when you feel like you have to smile, but it's okay not to.

[ He was about to say that he shouldn't worry about it until he gets older, but. ]

[ Hmmm. He'll chew on that for a while.

If it really is okay not to smile too then... maybe smiling isn't so bad at all. ]

...Do you like smiling?

I like smiling when there's something to smile about.

[ Right now, he's in pre-tent phase, so it's hard. At least Fai is cute. ]

A lot of people like smiling.

I want to.

[ He falls quiet, looking down at the ground. ]

I think I do have a lot to smile about here. The people are nice and accepting, even though I haven't been here long.

[ But still. It's hard. ]

Edited 2022-06-17 02:12 (UTC)

The people are kind, aren't they?

[ Hien lowers himself so that Fai doesn't have to look up too much when talking to him. ]

Here.

[ Hien reaches out with his index fingers and raises the corner of Fai's lips a little. ]

There. A smile.

[ Fai blinks a couple of times. ]

Huh...?

[ But then he actually smiles. It's tiny, but it's there. ]

You're funny.

Huh? Yeah. I'm the funniest man in my country.

[ A very big and obvious lie, but he says it more to play around. ]

Your smile is nice to see. I really liked it.

[ So Fai gets a small smile from Hien in exchange. ]

[ There's a pink tint to his cheeks—compliments are absolutely not something he's used to. ]

Yours is nice too. I hope you find some reasons to smile.

[ He means it too. A nice man like this should have reasons to smile. ]

I hope so too. Thank you, little one.

[ He pats his head again, since he's sure that it'll go right this time. He feels sorry about what he said to Fai in present day, but he doesn't know what to do. It feels so hard to let go... ]

[ He doesn't freeze up this time, but he does look a little embarrassed. ]

Um... you can call me Fai.

Alright. My name is Hien.

[ Did he ask? No. He's giving it anyway. ]

I'm just a wandering traveler, so I think I'll be able to move on soon. One day, you'll be a great protector. Your heart... will be kind too. I hope you can keep it that way.

[ He hugs his staff closer to his chest.

Fai briefly wonders how Hien can say stuff with such confidence. ]

I hope so too... I'll try to protect everyone I can. I want to.

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