WEEK 2: April 8th - April 12th

[cartesio]

Second Week

Seven days have passed. Quite peaceful days, almost too peaceful. The town has welcomed you, excited to see tourists for the first time in many, many, many years. Some may have liked the peace, others may have been annoyed by it, but it was undeniable Cartesio seemed like such a nice and safe place it was hard to believe you had been told to kill each other.

But the threat is still up in the air. What's more: how much patience does the Sergeant have left?

Every time you take a look into the Lodge, you see the Sergeant. Lately he's looking more and more annoyed. Even though you can't see his face, you can feel he's getting frustrated. How long will it be before he lashes out and does something about these peaceful days?

Nobody in the town could suspect the harrowing times that'd befall Cartesio.

When you wake up on Sunday, you'll find new maps in the map rack and brochures on the table, showing places you hadn't noticed in the town before. Enjoy!

Links

IC Rules
Guestbook
Room Assignments
Events
Locations
NPCs
Activity Check

Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday

[Welcome to the second week! If you want to contact the Sergeant, please post here!. Also please remember to submit your activity check!]

Comments

[marmoron]

[There's a pause before he answers that.]

My pop was a firefighter. Why the curiosity?

[quickpersuader]

["Was."]

I'm a traveler. I enjoy learning about the world and the people that make it up.

[It's a calm and easygoing answer, but that seems par for course when it comes to Kino.]

[marmoron]

[That gets a teeny frown.]

Don't count me in as part of this world. I'm getting out of here as soon as I can.

[quickpersuader]

[Which gets a mildly perplexed look in return.]

Even though you and I are here, right now?

[marmoron]

I don't belong here and neither do you. If you want to get to know this world, speak to the people who live here.

[That's... logical. In his head.]

[quickpersuader]

Hmm...

[Right, this whole... other world business makes things more complicated. Let's try this again.]

Then... Maybe it would be more accurate to say that I'm interested in experiencing as much as I can, and learning about the experiences of others.

[marmoron]

[Translation: I'm a nosy kid. Got it. Keith takes his hand off the firetruck and turns to look at Kino directly.]

Don't you have your own experiences to worry about?

[it's not stated unkindly; just more of the usual lowkey grumping.]

[quickpersuader]

[You could have stopped answering at any time, Keith.]

I've had many amazing experiences, too. I don't mind telling them if you want to hear.

[Literally all you have to do to make this mutual is ask.]

[marmoron]

[Not what he was getting at, but....]

If you want to, go right ahead.

[quickpersuader]

[Hmm...]

In one country I visited, everyone over the age of ten was required to raise a pet. It didn't matter what animal, so long as they raised it lovingly. It was to teach their people from a young age to show kindness and generosity to others.

[marmoron]

Did it work?

[Keith's gonna go out on a limb and guess that's a big fat no.]

[quickpersuader]

It did. The people there were very passionate about caring for their pets. There were more bathrooms for different types of animals than humans... There were classes for raising different types of animals, and therapy sessions for those who were depressed after losing their pets. They even presented me with a pet of my own when I left.

[How about that?]

[marmoron]

[That surprises him a little.]

So the people from this place never had any major conflicts?

[quickpersuader]

Not that I saw while I was there.

[marmoron]

How long were you there?

[quickpersuader]

Three days and two nights.

[marmoron]

[So not the most reliable piece of evidence for its efficacy, but Keith isn't going to argue this.]

There's an alien race where I'm from -- the Galra. They've been conquering vast segments of the universe, either enslaving or destroying entire planets. I doubt giving them pets would help much of anything.

[quickpersuader]

[Wait what.]

Alien race?

[That captures Kino's attention quickly.]

[marmoron]

Non humans that come from other planets?

[Very helpful, Keet.]

[quickpersuader]

[So helpful. But now he has Kino's undivided attention.]

Tell me about them.

[marmoron]

[Blink.]

About the Galra? They're purple aliens that've been conquering large parts of the universe like I just said. What else do you want to know?

[Be a little more specific, Kino! Keith does a lot better with directed questions than giving spontaneous ted talks.]

[quickpersuader]

What do they look like? How do they act? Do they have one unified culture, or does it differ depending on where they're from?

[The fact that they're apparently conquering the universe just... does not seem to be a concern here.]

[marmoron]

[...Okay, that's a lot of questions and for a second Keith just looks taken aback.]

Uh...

[Heck, what does he know about Galra culture. Could probably tell you way more about Galra fighter jets and cruisers....]

They're ..purple? [He said that already.] They're taller than humans. Purple skin, some of them have purple fur. They look kinda similar to people? Two yellow eyes, a mouth and a nose. Their ears are bigger and look more like cat ears, but on either side of their head. Some have different colored markings on their face and body.

Culture... I wouldn't know much about it. Their home planet was destroyed over ten thousand years ago and they've spread pretty far. They used to be ruled over by an emperor. But since we fought and killed their emperor, the empire's splintered into factions and rogue pirates that are vying for power.

[He frowns.]

Last I remember the faction called "The Fire of Purification" was the most powerful. But that was three years ago. I don't know what's going on anymore.

[Explosion in the rift, etc etc. Stuff he kinda mentioned off hand to Kino before, but never actually elaborated on b/c of course he didn't.]

The point is: they like to fight. They're proud warriors that use their skill in combat and advanced technology to spread throughout the galaxy to claim new territory and resources. Not all them are like that -- some Galra despise what the empire at large is doing and are working to destabilize it from within.

[A beat.]

Satisfied?

[quickpersuader]

Not really. But they don't sound like people I would want to meet anyway.

[Still, there's no denying that Kino looks pleased.]

I can think of a few countries that are similar, but on a much, much smaller scale... what other kinds of things have you seen?

[marmoron]

Uh......a lot?

[...thanks Keith. He's not shit at smalltalk for nothing unfortunately. Literally any other paladin would be a better candidate for talking about this stuff with and actually having a conversation that isn't like pulling teeth. Unfortunately for Kino, she's stuck with Keet.

He does, however, extend the tiniest fragment of an olive branch.]

I spent two years on the back of a space whale traveling through a region of space called the Quantum Abyss.