areyto | EVENT | SETTLING IN

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EVENT | SETTLING IN

SETTLING IN

Initial quarantine period is over, but the newest arrivals in Llave, known colloquially as “Los Aparecidos” (The Appeared), remain largely restricted to the shelter for two primary reasons: one, as they are currently stateless, meaning they have no rights to citizenship anywhere, what to do with them continues to be debated; and two, it has become rapidly obvious that many have zero knowledge not just of the nation they find themselves in, but of the wider world around them.

The former has been explained to them via the lawyers who have taken their collective case, and further clarified by the prime minister, Rosario Alonzo de León, when she and several members of her government return to speak again with the arrivals. A highly intelligent and capable woman in her late forties, she makes a point of sitting with each newcomer to Llave to converse about their experiences thus far and what concerns they have.

As for the lagoons in characters’ knowledge, steps are being taken to address these.

Classes are being held now, in order to prepare the arrivals for whatever happens next. Characters will be taught a variety of skills, including but not limited to communication methods such as mail, phones, television, radio and the Internet; use of appliances, including basic lessons on modern utilities; and general safety rules both inside and outside the home. Characters can request specific classes or volunteer to help teach their companions. (And for anyone learning or helping to teach how to read and write, a reminder that the Spanish alphabet consists of 27 letters: ‘ñ’ has its place after ‘n’. And ‘ll’ and ‘rr’ have their own sounds.)

The woman organizing the classes has become well-known to the arrivals: Evelyn Burgos Peña was a clinical social worker before leaving her previous work to assume the duties of First Lady when her wife was elected. Aside from spearheading the new education efforts for the arrivals, she has also been working diligently with the Bajari Bara to establish the second change in the daily routine.

Due to the generally acceptable behavior during the Day of Heroes, characters are now sometimes permitted to leave the shelter to visit Old Nona. These group excursions are not every day, and last only a few hours. One of these excursions is tied to a class to which all are invited. Rather than make learning more about Llave itself a tedious lecture, on the week of November 22nd, the museum characters arrived at has opened its doors to them for a special exhibit on the island's early history. Characters are accompanied as they were during the Day of Heroes by a guide and an escort of Bajari Bara.

Characters are reminded being permitted outside is a privilege. Until the matter of their legal status is resolved, they have few rights and fewer legal protections. Behavior and curfew are both strictly enforced, and violations will result in the loss of this privilege.

Otherwise, the routine in the shelter remains the same. Caseworkers still check in daily and will refer those who present a need or who request it to the appropriate mental health professionals. Hot meals continue to be provided three times a day along with snacks. A projector was brought in and a different movie is aired every night (General Audiences only—remember, there are children present), with the shelter staff providing snacks to make it a movie theater experience. Entertainment items—books, games, sports equipment, art supplies, etc.—are available and can also be requested (though no promises are made that characters will get exactly what they want, especially if the item can double as a weapon).

Possession of weapons remains strictly prohibited and any visible weapons will be confiscated. Any who attempts to flout this rule, starts fights in the shelter or in Nona or attempts to break out will be swiftly separated from the rest by the Bajari Bara. Further violence will result in consequences according to their actions.

THE MONTH'S HEADLINES

Red chickcharney seen celebrating during the Day of Heroes.
Tombs found disturbed in Nona's Old Cemetery.
Santa Cecilia cattle farmers on high alert after cows, sheep found mauled.
Unidentified flying object spotted off the coast of Bimini.

OOC PLANNING POST • NAVIGATION

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[ mal starts a little in surprise when she hears a flute join in. she glances over to find wei wuxian beside her, fingers as fine as threads weaving her words company, and she smiles. ]

And I know it's true that visions are seldom what they seem…

[ she holds her hand out flat, palm up. wisps of green fairy fire rise, their glow strange and soft. as she continues to sing— ] But if I know you, I know what you'll do— [ they take shape. a man and a woman, he in regalia, she in a long gown, both of them crowned. they dance smoothly, turning, holding hands, enraptured in one another as she croons, ] —you'll love me at once, the way you did once upon a dream.

[ humming along to the tune, mal waves her hand, leaving them to dance in the air, fed by tendrils of fairy fire. they turn into an embrace, her back against his chest, two faces turned to one another. but when they come out of the turn, their hands let go and he slowly fades, one hand still held out to his companion. she continues reaching for him long after he is gone. as she lowers her head and her hand, mal brings her close again. ]

But if I know you, I know what you'll do, you'll love me at once, the way you did once upon a dream.…

[The words are foreign to him, not the language they've been gifted and different from anything he's ever heard. He can almost catch snatches of Spanish in it, but then the words slip and flitter away into something entirely different. Regardless, the longing is clear, and it reminds him of a song he heard once, though he doesn't know where, full of yearning and sorrow. And that's without the figures dancing in her open palm. The sight of them captivates Wei Wuxian and he keeps his eyes on her hand even after they've faded and her hand has retreated.

The melody dwindles eventually and he follows suit, Chenqing growing quiet after one last longing note. When the song has ceased, he holds his breath for a moment longer, not yet wanting to break the shared stillness between them. Another moment passes and he breathes out, smiling softly in a way that doesn't entirely reach his eyes.

He stands then, brushing off his robes and tucking Chenqing away.]

That was a beautiful song, Mal. [What might have been flirtatious another day comes out only sincere now with just a hint of lingering melancholy.]

Edited 2020-11-11 22:13 (UTC)

[ her smile is rueful. ]

I heard it a long time ago. [ a princess singing of a different prince. an apparently chance meeting. and a terrible curse, waiting. she shakes herhead as if to dispel the memory. ]

And you— [ her voice is brighter, a touch artificially perhaps, as she playfully pushes his shoulder. ] You never told me you're a musician.

[Always willing to go along with easy cheer, he grins back, shrugging it off.]

I hardly am. I'm just a humble player of the dizi. My friend Lan Zhan, now he is a musician. I'll introduce you sometime and ask him to play the guqin for you. Are you familiar with it?

[ she mock glares at him. ] Shut up. You're talented, and you know it.

[ considering his question: ]

Guqin, guqin… I think I do. About yea long? [ she holds her hands out to a correct estimate. ] Looks like a wooden board with strings. Has a kind of…subtle sound, I want to say?

Edited 2020-11-11 23:00 (UTC)

[His eyes light up at her recognition as he completely ignores her compliment, nodding in excitement.]

That's it! [He's not sure he'd call it subtle but he also doesn't know what Mal's base of comparison is, and after hearing a few of the instruments of the island he might be inclined to agree.]

Mm. Lan Zhan is a master of the guqin. What about you, do you play any instruments to accompany your lovely voice?

Not a one.

[ she leans back in her seat. the corner of her mouth turns up in her typical half-smirk. ]

I draw, not play.

[His jaw drops open and he laughs loudly, shaking his head in delighted disbelief.]

An artist too! The next thing you'll be telling me is that you practice calligraphy! [At this point he wouldn't even be surprised.]

You might think I'm being humble about my music, but I'm not, I know how I fall against other musicians, but art, Mal! Art is a subject in which I can proudly claim to excel!

We must take a day to play together and then to draw together. What kind of things do you draw? I'll ink you a portrait if you'll do one for me! What do you say?

[ AS IT TURNS OUT—

no, she does not practice calligraphy. she might have said something out loud to that effect, but instead she laughs at his unabashed delight. ]

I say, where have you been my entire life?

[ smiling widely, both of her cheeks dimpling in pleasure, she rises and waves him with her, ] Come on, [ and leads him to her cot where she picks up her sketchbook.

less a book than loose sheafs of paper held between two sheets of cardboard painted until none of the original color is visible. the top features her double dragon symbol.

sitting down on her cot, she pats the space next to hers. ]

Here. [ she hands him the book. ] This is what I make.

[ what she makes is amazingly detailed art of locations, objects and people. there are studies on hands, eyes, hair. evie's little starter castle, jay's r.o.a.r. equipment, dude. in pencil, in pen, others in watercolors, colored pencils, even markers and crayons. some faces are repeated, but none as much as evie and ben (and a certain pale, sad looking boy whose name will go unmentioned in threads with wei wuxian). ]

[His expression as he turns one page carefully to the next grows brighter and brighter with awe. There are so many things to focus on, her choice of study, the different mediums, the colors—some he has never seen in ink before, so bright and lovely he hadn't known they were possible to mix. His hand hovers over the portrait of a blue haired girl so beautiful she must also be a fairy or a goddess, and he marvels at the different shades of blue, the dashes of purple and red.

Another page with all of the colors of the rainbow has him unable to stop himself from running a finger over the waxy finish, astounded by what he feels. Candle wax? And in such bright incredible colors. He's never seen orange or pink rendered this way on paper.

When he has finished and the book sits closed in his lap, he raises his eyes back to Mal and finds himself speechless, wonder and amazement filling him up with too many words to know what to say. Eventually he manages, swallowing awkwardly over a lump in his throat.]

Lovely. All of it, every page. If you're not a celebrated artist in your world, then everyone in it must be blind.

I don't typically show these. They're for me.

[ taking her sketchbook back, mal sets it on her lap. she passes a hand over the double dragon on the cover. ]

The only drawings other people saw were my tags. I'd spray paint walls, building facades, windows, doors… Usually, I didn't really have permission. So I got more insults than I did admiration.

[ she chuckles. ]

My mother is one who thought art is a waste of time. Same with music. If it couldn't get us more power, it was worthless and yet another notch in the list of disappointments that is her only daughter.

[ mal's expression is rueful. gone are the days when she believed her mother. but there is an ache to knowing her mother has never approved and will likely never approve of her choices. ]

Edited 2020-11-12 00:45 (UTC)

[The revelations are so shocking that Wei Wuxian can't help raising his brow in confusion and shaking his head in disbelief. It isn't just the obvious allusions to being treated so poorly by her mother as it is the contradictory message. It's difficult to process. Such a parent should be thought of as a fool. But then, he hardly thinks his world stands on any moral high ground. If one thing remains true of people everywhere, it's hypocrisy. Hypocrites, the lot of them. ]

Where I'm from, music and art are considered skills that place people among the gentry. They're seen as avenues to power. There are those outside of the nobles of course who are skilled, but they're rarely given the time of day. For a parent to look down on them is unthinkable.

[Still, the thought of enduring a parent who didn't approve is one that strikes a deep chord in him and he hums in thought.]

My parents died when I was young, I don't remember them. I was taken in by a man who'd loved them both dearly. [He doesn't expect the way his throat begins to close up, but it does and he pauses to push it away.]

His wife, my...[And he pauses here, stuck on the word that the language supplies. Step-mother, it tells him, but it doesn't fit. She'd slap him for using it and so it won't leave his tongue.]

Auntie. She didn't approve of anything I did either. [Guilt surges in him, a physical aching thing and he adds quickly.] She had her reasons though, I made her life very difficult.

Anyway, I'm glad you didn't give up music or art. What a gift for the world to lose, even if only those lucky ones you choose to share it with.

Edited 2020-11-12 01:16 (UTC)

You said it yourself, [ she states kindly, not offended. ] They're skills for the gentry. You have to be able to afford them. My mother is not a kind or even a good woman. But she taught me to be strong. And she kept us both alive.

You can't eat art. And music, lovely as it is, won't keep you warm at night.

[ she removes one paper from the rest and hands it to him. a drawing done in pencil, the lines light and delicate. the street is run down, the building behind it a patchwork of corrugated metal sheets. a window has been shattered and badly boarded over. something foul extends in the overflowing gutters. a fine rain falls over the entire scene and collects in filthy puddles on the ground.

to the left, just off-center, a little girl no older than six sits on an upside down garbage bin. her shoes are peeling. the lace on the collar and hem of her dress must have once been pretty; now it is ruined. her hair is swept up into two cone-shaped buns atop her head, resembling horns. she holds her hands out before her as if attempting to channel something through them. her shadow stretches behind her, but it is not her shadow. a woman, dark and proud, her head crowned by two horns. one of her hands reaches for the child's shoulder.

mal smiles at wei wuxian. ]

They won't give you back freedom once it's taken from you. Only chance did that for me. Chance and a prince willing to gamble his kingdom on my being innocent of the crimes of my parents.

[With a voice like hers, Wei Wuxian would argue that Mal's music could indeed supply the funding to keep her warm at night, but the point is still valid and it's hardly the time or place to argue it. Mal's mother, awful perhaps as she might have been, was right about this at least. (Just like Madam Yu was right, she'd always said he'd bring them to ruin.)

He takes the drawing and studies it deeply, his heart sinking as he understands more from the details than any of her words could tell. He sees the poverty in it, the hardship, it is impossible to miss the squalor. More than that, the looming shadow of her mother, harsh and loveless rendered in Mal's own hand. He hears her words then and for once, a joke doesn't come. It is one thing to hide his own vulnerability behind walls of humor, but he does not treat the earnestness of others so carelessly.

His throat is tight now, hurting for her, and wondering at her wording, at the suggestion that, well—] They punished you for your parent's actions.

[It isn't surprising, the opposite actually. It is what he has come to expect from people. But he thinks of Wen Qing and Wen Ning, and every innocent Wen whom he sacrificed his status and reputation for, and he thinks of a world willing to punish the innocent for the crimes of those who share their name and blood.

It burns.]

They punished my parents, [ she clarifies, taking the drawing back.

mal glances at it once, the little girl she had been, maleficent's shadow, terrible and ever present. she slips it quietly among the rest. ]

Their prisoners having children was…an unforeseen circumstance. [ she scratches at the cover of her sketchbook with a black painted thumbnail. ] By that time, it was considered too dangerous to let the barrier keeping us separated drop. So that's where I was born. No sun. No vegetation. No wi-fi.

[ she chuckles. ]

And just look at me now.

Prisoners...[He repeats after her, images of the Jin work camp flickering into mind. Of Wen civilians forced to live in brutal conditions and do hard labor for the crime of existence. (Of his a-Yuan, only three years old then and locked behind bars.)

He wonders if there were bars on Mal's prison too.

He looks at Mal then and there is a desperate sort of anger and hurt reflected in his eyes, something deep and soul crushing that speaks to his rage and sorrow on her behalf, but of other memories too—deep personal wounds.

Then he blinks and looks away and the moment is gone.]

You said there was a prince?

Yeah. Ben. He’s… [ here, she pauses as the memory of what she did fills her with shame. but her smile is soft and sweet as she thinks of Ben. he would never have changed course if not for her. he who has always been so much more clear-eyed than she is. ]

He’s been working to get all the children out. Started with me and three of my friends. Before I got here, we had gone to get four more out. The Smee twins, excitable little Dizzy, and Celia who’s a firecracker already.

[ she chuckles. no points guessing which is her favorite.

and they’ll be the only ones so long as the barrier remains closed. the pinch of guilt becomes a fist throttling her belly. she breathes a heavy sigh. ]

[The soft smile on Mal's face chases away the ugly anger rising inside of him, and he grabs onto it, pushing all else away. It's good to know that Mal's situation has changed and that it will change for others like her.]

Good. No child should suffer for the wrongs of others.

[It's still too close to the things he's running from though and he smiles, one eyebrow raised as he wills the ugliness down into the depths of his heart.]

Sounds like quite the prince.

I think so.

[ she is, after all, marrying him. ]

He's the king now and I have hope that a lot will change under his reign. All of it for the better.

[He sighs in genuine relief, nodding along. If all rulers had that kind of compassion, he wonders how much pain might be avoided in his own world.]

I suppose if it doesn't, you can always depose him.

[He grins to make it clear he's joking. Well, mostly joking.]

Although I'm sure there wouldn't be a need, I'll bet he's already completely smitten with you, isn't he?

[ she laughs brightly. ]

As it turns out, he did ask me to marry him.

[Well that's one way to get his full attention. Wei Wuxian's mouth falls open and he stares at her with open only somewhat exaggerated shock.]

He didn't! Mal, how could you not lead with that? Aren't we friends? A king proposing to my extremely good lifelong friend and you wait until now to share?

[He shakes his head, eyes still blown wide.]

Well? What did you say then? You can't leave me hanging!

Oh, is that what I am?

[ "extremely good looking" is a given. she's mostly asking about the "lifelong." that said, she supposes getting absolutely wasted on moonshine rum together (and it was so good, pity they got rid of the bacoo before asking for another bottle) is one of those things one cannot do without coming out as friends on the other side.

she makes a show of remembering, face tilted up, lips pressed into a little moue. ]

I mostly remember being surprised. He sang a piece of the first song he composed for me, then went down on one knee and offered me a ring and a crown.

[ PAUSE HERE FOR DRAMATIC EFFECT ]

Mal! [It's a shout, completely uncaring of anyone around them. It's good, they should know how she is torturing him, he has nothing to hide! Let everyone know how cruel she is being and how his life is such suffering.]

He composed a song for you? How utterly romantic! [It's gross! He hates it! Tell him more!] Was it a good song? Is he a musician too? I can't even fathom someone composing a song for me, I think I would die.

And then? [He prompts her, setting his chin in both of his hands.]

[ it takes everything in mal to maintain a poker face, but it's a rapidly losing venture. his enthusiasm is contagious and enchanting, and mal allows herself to return to that moment. they had been before the kingdom; her friends helped play the music. but they all faded when took a knee. all she can remember is ben's handsome face, his dazzling smile, his love for her and the unrestrained hope in his voice when he put his question to her. ]

And then…

[ she drags the pause to just before it looks like wei wuxian is about to yell again. she holds out her hand. the massive purple diamond upon her ring glitters in the light. ]

I said yes.

EVENT | SETTLING IN

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