WEEK 5

[killerwaves]

WEEK FIVE

21 Vacationers

The weekend sure was something, wasn't it? Tempers flared, explosions burst, and some were treated to an immersive sand bath experience. Come Monday at least, things seem quieter though not in the unnatural still way—the distortions on the islands have receded sometime in the night (with some impressive firework-like booms that may have stirred your sleep, at that; and the waves seem a little higher this morning) and the various amenities on the island have been made orderly again. Though, as always, some traces remain in the landscape; the waterfall looks like it has seen better days, though it's no longer in danger of coughing up debris on your head if looked at wrong.

This week like the rest brings new locations for you to explore, on Kakapo's Nest though it seems like only one of them really fits the vacation vibe. Hope you like snow!

!

WEATHER ALERT:

Bulletin:
Starting Monday morning and continuing throughout the week, pollen counts will be elevated. This is expected to last until late Thursday

!

TASKS:

Breathe Freely:
Enjoy the great outdoors with a fellow vacationer! It's never too late to appreciate nature.
(REWARD: RARE!)

(( Yes, only one task this week which is memshare with someone else. Have fun!
REMINDER: Task submissions are due Friday by 9 PM EST/6 PM PST. ))

(( OOC: Murder proposals are due by Tuesday at 4 PM EST / 1 PM PST, for the current week's murder, which is the last week of standard murder, week 6 being endgame!!

Also, as always, your admins can be contacted for a chat. ))

MONDAY • TUESDAY • WEDNESDAY • THURSDAY

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[dupiety]

[Oh no, after he'd just helped the kittybots out... RIP. But at least his plan worked.]

Mm. Merely a feeling. You see, I--

[This time it's his own stomach interrupting the conversation. His eyebrows furrow and he reaches for one of the cheeseburgers.]

Ahem. I believe I witnessed a memory of yours. Quite vividly, in fact.

[gluttoning]

[He stops mid-bite.]

...I've never heard you that hungry. [Huh.]

You're sure it was mine?

[dupiety]

I try not to get this hungry if I can avoid it.

[Alas. He'll rectify it now, though.

He frowns at his burger after having taken a bite out of it.]

I cannot imagine it having been anyone else's. I experienced a hunger so agonizing that I would consume anything in a vain attempt to sate it.

[gluttoning]

Oh.

I was thinking about that earlier. I was trying to make something for the others in my cabana, and... it was like I was remembering something from a really long time ago, all of the sudden.

[Mm, cheeseburger.]

I couldn't help myself afterwards. I don't like thinking about those times.

...

...Ah. Wait. [As he reaches for another burger, his expression tightening with confusion.]

How did you see something like that?

[dupiety]

I can certainly see why.

[And then Beelzebub asks the all-important question, to which Temenos ponders as he chews on another bite.]

That is precisely what I would like to know. [Munch munch.] The only thing I remember before that vivid vision hit me was looking at some strange animal that appeared in front of me.

[gluttoning]

An animal... I wonder why it would do something like that. Have we always had magic animals running around this island?

[He doesn't even know where to start with that. But...]

Mn. Maybe if we catch it, it might taste good. You won't have to have a vision like that again, either. It's nice to be eating. It's not to be hungry.

[dupiety]

Unless Merlin's little pet was magical in nature, I don't believe so...

[He certainly doesn't remember seeing any other weird animals around until today.

The suggestion makes him smile, though in a melancholy sort of way.]

If only it were so easy for you to dispel your own hunger. Now that I have experienced it for myself, I feel I have gained a deeper understanding of your day-to-day struggles.

[It's probably not that anymore like it was in the memory, but it still can't be any fun to deal with.]

[gluttoning]

...

[He sees that sad tinge to Temenos's expression, tilting his head a bit at it. He was really concerned about this, wasn't he?]

You don't have to think of it as a struggle. It's just a part of life.

Sure, I don't like to feel hungry. But I'm happy when I'm eating. I've had thousands of years to get a little used to my appetite, even if it feels like it's always getting bigger every century.

My brothers always tell me I wouldn't be a very good Avatar of Gluttony without it, though. It's my role to play in the Devildom.

[dupiety]

[Temenos laughs softly. It's reassuring to hear all of this.]

It's all-too easy to forget that you are thousands of years old sometimes. And I imagine the memory we visited was when you were still quite young as a demon.

[He remembers feeling something like that in the memory- being himself, but not himself at the same time.

With a nod,]

You do play your role well, and I enjoy seeing your happiness when you get excited over your favorite foods. I suppose I simply can't help but worry when I see you eating with such urgency. I know you'll be all right, but I find myself wishing for a way to help alleviate that.

[He'll just have to get used to that too.]

[gluttoning]

[He falls quiet, thinking it over with a softening gaze.]

...It's nice to hear. That you want to help, that is.

My brothers have all gotten used to it. Belphie still worries sometimes. But we've been connected for a long time, so he's good at reminding me before I get too hungry.

[It's all become preventative. Keeping the beast at bay.]

It's not like it used to be. The castle... You must have seen the castle, right? That was our first year in the Devildom.

We had to learn a lot.

[dupiety]

[He nods slowly.]

Very, very young, then. Goodness, all seven of you must have been adjusting together.

[What a mess that must have been, considering the seven sins at play here.]

But I imagine you all have come a very long way since then.

[gluttoning]

Yeah. Well... at least six of us had to adjust.

[It was awkward and painful and humiliating and dangerous. But it was so long ago that it feels difficult to remember at times.]

Satan never knew anything different. I think... when he showed up, the only thing he really knew was wrath.

All he would do was scream at first. Everything would make him angry. We would have to chain him up to get him to stay still enough to eat. I think it took a while for him to feel he was one of us.

He's changed a lot since those days.

[dupiety]

[Temenos's eyes widen slightly as Beelzebub recounts the beginnings of Satan's life and the efforts that his brothers went through to help him.]

Demons are so much more than the scriptures would have one believe. I had long confirmed it as I came to know you, but... Your bonds are just as strong as any humans could forge, and your love equally as powerful.

...What is he like now? Your brother Satan.

[gluttoning]

He's smart. Really smart. His bedroom is full of books, and he spends a lot of his time reading stories or teaching himself new curses to use. He also really likes cats. Maybe a little too much. But it's nice to see him happy around them.

[He's not sure when that started, really, but it's none of his business.]

His temper is still bad. He's the Avatar of Wrath, after all. But he's found ways to live with it, and be one of our brothers. It's still a little hard with Lucifer. I think that's always going to be difficult for them, since Satan was a part of him for so long. [hwat] But they've really been getting along a lot more recently.

[dupiety]

[Mhm, mhm...well-read and a crazy cat man...

Wait, what.]

He was...a part of Lucifer? How so?

[You can't just SAY that and not explain, Beel.]

[gluttoning]

[Oh. Right, he hasn't talked about this, has he...?

Hm, what's the easiest way to explain this...]

I mean, he wasn't an angel with the rest of us. Not completely.

Lucifer had a lot of anger and bitterness to our Father that he held onto for a long, long time. When the Celestial War ended, and we fell, Lucifer's wings all turned black. When we woke up in the Devildom... he was so enraged that he tore off all but four of his wings with his own hands.

That rage, and those wings, are what turned into Satan.

[dupiety]

My... This is quite the history.

[He could totally see it being part of scripture in Beelzebub's human world or something.]

Having been born in such a manner, I can see why the beginning was particularly difficult for him. Though... [He tips his head.] Wouldn't that make him the youngest of you all?

[gluttoning]

[Beel shakes his head.]

No. Belphie and I are the youngest.

Satan is fourth.

[Said as though that makes sense somehow.]

[dupiety]

[It sure doesn't, though.]

But you two were technically created before him, were you not?

[gluttoning]

Yeah.

When we had our bodies created doesn't matter to the Demon King. He said Satan is the fourth oldest, and the fourth most powerful. So that's how it is.

[A shrug.]

Satan says he has some fuzzy memories and feelings from before the Devildom. So I don't question it.

[dupiety]

That...hardly makes sense to me, but who am I to argue with the Demon King?

[Shrug!]

What of your other brothers? Have they adjusted well enough over the millennia?

[gluttoning]

As well as they can.

[It's a little hard to remember after so long, to be fair.]

We're not who we used to be. But the Devildom is our home now. We've come to accept that.

[dupiety]

...I'd like to see it sometime.

[It's no place for a human, he's sure. But when has he ever let something like that stop him?]