cartesianism | WEEK 1: April 2nd

WEEK 1: April 2nd - April 6th

Peace Week

Sunday must have been exhausting for you, maybe even upsetting. A new town, new faces and a an ominous order from a man without a face... who wouldn't be a little frightened? Hopefully, all of that is forgotten when you climb out from under your blankets this fine Monday. Rise and shine! A new morning is a new start!

If you make your way to the lounge, you will find a few copies of the local newspaper provided for your perusal. Once you go outdoors, you'll find the weather forecast 100% accurate. It's pretty impressive.

It seems that quiet mornings like this are going to be your everyday life now. Maybe you should see this whole stay as a vacation? Go out and explore the town, meet your fellow motel guests and meet the townspeople. They're sure to welcome you with a smile!

This week's special in the diner is lemon pie made with love (and a top-secret recipe)

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[Welcome to the peace week! This week there won't be a murder nor a task. Enjoy the peace while it lasts! If you want to contact the Sergeant, please post here!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Keith watches her neither going away or taking a seat. In the past, he might've been tempted to just let that be the status quo until she makes up her damn mind on what she wants to do. Now he's just all too aware that this would be a "dick move," so to speak.

So no, while he doesn't feel like socializing much, he's also got nothing against her. He waves his arm, gesturing vaguely at the empty seat across from him as an invitation for her to take a seat.

That all said, he's not going agree that it would be "nice."]

[ Okay, that's... that's better than nothing? Dealing with people in this place feels like walking through a minefield blindfolded.
Miach had always made a world where people don't have to be kind and polite sound so good, Cian hadn't realized just how ill-equipped she is for living in one. ]

Did you manage to store all your purchases in the end?

[ She just has to breach this topic somehow... Keith you are doing everyone A Concern. ]

[...Yeah, he had a feeling this would be the topic of the hour. For another hour. For every hour of today.

Rather than looking at Cian, he sits up and brings the menu up to his face, reading down the list.]

If you've got something to say....

[You can say it, they can fast forward, acknowledge that it was said and then proceed to live exactly as before.]

[ ... direct. Again. Direct in a way that's much different from Miach and even different from Tuan who Cian had been eating with like this just a few days ago... It throws Cian off. ]

It's silly to worry about you owning weapons when everyone has access to them anyway, but... that's a lot of them. It's worrisome.

Don't worry about it then.

[Is that meant to be reassuring? Probably not, but it's not stated aggressively. It's just veeeeery blasé. He turns the menu over in his hands.]

[ This shuts Cian up for a solid few seconds. It's so simple, yes. You don't have to care about anyone. There's no reason to worry about strangers either. Those are concepts nobody has confronted her with in years and it is painful to learn over and over again just how much of Miach's teaching she's forgotten. ]

....I wouldn't, but the sergeant's order for us to kill each other makes it hard.

If you think I'd go around killing people because the Sergeant said so, why are you talking to me?

[Seriously. Why. Why are you forcing him to have this conversation if you've already drawn your conclusions.]

That's not what I think. It's very hard to imagine anybody killing for this reason.

[ It's hard to imagine most people killing period. ]

But if anybody would want to, they'd need a tool to do it, so they might try to get one from you. I'm wondering what you want to do with all of them.

Guess they'll have to be determined enough to kill with their bare hands then.

[ANd with that, he glances over the back of his chair, looking for a server to place an order with.]

[ Cian knows she should probably not continue this conversation about murder while the townspeople are paying attention to them, so she just shuts up about it and actually does the honors of waving a server over.

Her own order is a salad without dressing, and a still water. ]

[Meanwhile, Keith's order consists of a large steak dinner with mashed potatoes and greens on the side. And in after thought, another side of nachos. Gotta keep up his strength and energy after all. Water is also his drink of choice there.

The server jots it all down, then leaves. Keith plops an elbow on the table, resting his chin on his hand as he looks out the window.]

[ It is very hard to overlook just how much Keith just doesn't want to talk. Part of Cian wants to respect this, be compassionate and mindful of others needs... Another part of her insists that loneliness isn't a good thing so she should be compassionate and mindful and engage him in conversation... Both of these parts are very publicly correct, for sure.

And that alone makes Cian opt for her third impulse, which is to press on on the uncomfortable topic. Minimal rebellion. ]

You'll just keep everything locked up then?

[Christ, she's still talking about this. What the heck does she want from him? Floor plans down to the last square centimeter? His sleep schedule for when he'll be awake to keep a physical eye on his personal armory? Keith looks at her.]

What do you have going on in your life that you're this concerned about what I'm doing? Who do you thik you are?

[ Okay, that just gets him a blink and an incredulous look. ]

You know... I've been kidnapped into a completely different world with dangers I never knew in my whole life.

[ That's what's going on??? ]

If I'm not working with this correctly, it's because I never had to.

Here's your first tip. Don't piss off people with weapons.

[Since she apparently needs that explicitly spelled out for her???]

... are you dangerous or not?

[ You literally just implied you wouldn't use the weapons, jeeze! ]

Second tip: use your head.

[ There's a pause. Time to think! ]

If you were dangerous, you'd either be a pretty thoughtless dangerous person or a genius one. Announcing your interest in weapons like this would only not work against you if you had a really clever scheme.

So you're probably just not dangerous.

[That's a rather backhanded way of walking herself through it, and it earns Cian a face, but nevertheless.]

See how easy that was,

And if you were dangerous, you'd have no reason to instruct me to second guess you. I'd have simply taken your word for it if you'd said no, after all.

[ We are on a roll with thoughts here!! ]

[Why the heck she's so happy about her own naivete here is truly a mystery for the ages.

The server returns with their waters and the side of nachos. Keith remains silent as the items are placed down on the table. Once the server leaves, he sips at his water (surprisingly delicately) through a straw.]

How do you live?

Huh?

[ Well, Cian has spent a lot of time already explaining her world to other people, so she supposes this is just another such incident. ]

I live in a world in which there is no danger nor... nor privacy... [ uwaaah she hasn't said this word in a while! ]... and in which the medicules inside of me take care of all my aches before I can feel them.

So I never had to consider anything like this before.

[Cue Keith just raising an eyebrow at Cian with marked incredulity. She has no reason to lie about something like this, and furthermore her very behavior corroborates this "no danger = perpetual brainstate on off" thing, but it's still a weird world to hear about.

It's also not what he was getting at, but that's fine.]

Have you had to consider anything before?

[There. Is that a better reframing of the question?]

[ That gives Cian pause. A long pause. A 'staring into water and taking a long sip' pause. ]

It's better to not consider anything. [ That just hurts and it hurts Cian like hell - the one time she made a choice all of her own that nobody told her to make. ]

I did make a meaningful decision before, but it's been a long time ago.

[ Fully honest. Getting defensive doesn't seem to be a thing happening with her. ]

[Take your time with the pause, Cian. Keith will wait patiently, sipping his water like an ill tempered kid with a juicebox. He wasn't expecting any kind of answer that made sense, but her eventual reply manages to defy even his lowest expectations.]

What and your one bad decision made you write off making decisions forever? The hell did you do?

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