LUNAR FESTIVAL | DAY TWO | ELDERS & FIREWORKS

[paradisamods]

[The celebration continues in Paradisa. With so much going on, it's easy to catch the excitement high spirits that seems to be spreading among the townspeople--and even the residents.

In the courtyard, the same bright, inviting lights remain.

The two figures from before have left, replaced by two more. They stand poised, almost as if they are waiting to be approached. Will you?

Just past the gates, there seem to be an endless row of crates filled with various fireworks of all shapes and sizes. It seems Paradisa may be hinting at something.]

_{[ LUNAR FESTIVAL EVENTS: OOC POST | DAY ONE | ELDER: CATTLEYA | ELDER: AVATAR ROKU | FIREWORKS COMPETITION ]}

Comments

[payback]

This place likes to play little games. So relying on it is always a risk.

[assassino]

Most of life is, though, is it not? Save the more obvious existence of magic and the strange appearances of many people, it has not felt so different from home.

[payback]

That much is very true... [A slight shrug.] I suppose this place grants most of our wishes pretty reliably anyway. If it wants to play games now and again it probably has the right.

[assassino]

Ah, but it has no such right to harm people. That wouldn't be just.

[payback]

That's a funny thing, isn't it? It does harm sometimes, but I think mostly it leaves that to the people it brings here, who carry on being harmful regardless of whether it's just or not. I wonder sometimes about how sadistic it actually is.

[assassino]

Perhaps no more sadistic than the natural world, or the God who created it. We can rise above it as individuals, but there will always be those who prefer to do evil... or evil, in the name of good.

[payback]

From our perspective, that's still quite a lot of sadism, I guess. [She shrugs.] There's not much comfort to be had in thinking a lot about these things, I think.

[Evil people and people doing evil for good - so which one is more dangerous? She wonders.]

[assassino]

No, which is why few choose to contemplate such things, much less fight to make the world a better place... if our lives are destined to be short, why waste it in discomfort, or aware of our own discomfort?

[payback]

That's certainly a fair question. [One she has no good answer for.]

[assassino]

[Nod.]

Well, no sense begrudging people for being unwilling to fight. No one should be forced into it.

[payback]

Very true. You don't get passionate soldiers out of doing that.

[assassino]

Precisely. To be a soldier or a politician, you need to have the desire to do it. That said, it is unfortunate that those jobs never attract great men.

[payback]

You think? [She takes a moment and thinks about that, all the fighters - not so many soldiers - and nobles she's known. She's high born to a degree after all, even if she's not running around in court or anything.]

I guess I never really met anyone in an army unless you count bonded samurai... plenty enough of them are unsavory, of course.

[assassino]

[He could relate to that, gurrrrrl. He eyes her, and shrugs.]

I have never heard of a samurai... are they like mercenaries?

[payback]

Oh, they're like soldiers... I guess some you could say are like mercenaries? Some are just wanderers, who kinda do what they like and some are no better than bandits. Others are bonded to lords, but it's not like they're mercenaries who just go this way and that depending on who pays them. They're loyal at least in theory.

[assassino]

Interesting... we have similar ideas in my homeland, but we tend to just call them murderers. The more talented ones are called assassins. [Not to be confused with Assassins.]

[payback]

... A lot of samurai are of the warrior caste, so they're high-born. Me too, actually. Some of them might be little better than murderers but their blood lets them get away with it.

[assassino]

That's not surprising. Were you samurai, then? I've met women here who were allowed to be warriors.

[payback]

Yeah, well... I'm not great at it, but I can work with a sword. Since my family is warrior caste though, I'd be a samurai girl even if I didn't.

[assassino]

That's still impressive, for a woman.

[payback]

I've known some pretty impressive women, I guess.

[assassino]

Tell me about them.

[payback]

Oh? [She's somewhat surprised by the question! She wasn't expecting to actually be... asked.] Ah, well... I guess I don't know so many of them, but enough. Hyakurin and Doa have been here, the other one hasn't...

[In fact she doesn't even really know Makie's name. She's just seen her fight, which is enough.]

[assassino]

But they're not here now? That's disappointing.

[payback]

No... in the case of Doa, I guess it's probably for the best. She's not really suited to living quietly.