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 This is Swallows the Sea (game 1), a game of The Quiet Year for the following people:
Who are we? Were... what's left. Our island home was long a summer colony-- a beautiful, upper-class enclave-- whose population would boom during the warmer months as wealthy tourists made their way to our shores and resorts.There have not been tourists in years. Not since the beginning of war. It is an awful thing, a war much like our own First World War, and it continues to rage. But it has staggered elsewhere for now. Taking making of our young men and women with it. Leaving us and our memories of what once was. We can see that the old, original Lighthouse remains. As does the more recent Wreck of a great warship (Whose? Which side's? It seems impossible to tell anymore). But in the middle of the island, the tall trees of our youth have been reduced to burnt, charred out Deadlands. Has the cave system inside the Cavern Mouth likewise been destroyed? We do not yet know. We were forced by the bombing to retreat to a small, barely hospitable island to the southwest of our original home. We are desperate need of fresh water and shelter and the war took so many of us that we lack even a proper sense of family. But there is a plethora of salvageable material all around us. Perhaps from this twisted metal we can create a new world. Perhaps we can begin life anew. We hope it will be a quiet year.        How do I take my turn? First, you access the Roll20 tabletop and draw a card from the current season's deck. This will tell you to do something, often answer a question. Second, you resolve the oracle instructions, changing the map and performing actions as necessary. Third, you reduce the count of every Project by 1. When a Project reaches 0, it's finished whoever started it describes how it ends. Projects that end prematurely due to the oracle's instructions are described by whoever drew the card. Fourth, you take your own action (unless the oracle says that you don't act this turn) Start a Project, Discover Something New or Hold a Discussion:
Sixth, make a post in the following format: Season and Week Oracle question Resolution to Oracle question, with image if you used one Resolution to finished projects, if you started them Your action, with image if you used one Updated map Projects list (mark out Projects that reached 0 this turn with e.g. bold or sirens) Abundances list Scarcities list Contempt list Game Tips
Thread Rules
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Apr 9, 2017 04:51
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 18:44 |
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Spring Week 1quote:There's a giant, man-made structure on the map. Where is it? Why is it abandoned? Trenches and lengths of barbed wire. Pillboxes and gun encampments. Clearly, one side controlled and then lost the nearby town but not before digging in. The remnants of occupation are carved into the earth. Stoddard and Rawlings openly weep at the sight. They remember the lost orchards.  Action Discover Something New: It's even worse than we imagined. The town so many of us grew up in. The town so many of us were born in. Where we buried our fathers and mothers and far too many sons and daughters. Good god. Where are the buildings?   Projects: Abundances: salvageable machinery Scarcities: water, shelter, family Contempt: Tyrannosaurus (0), DivineCoffeeBinge (0), Bad Seafood (0), Liquid Communism (0)
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Apr 9, 2017 05:35
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Spring - Week 2quote:Are there children in your community? If there are, what is their role in the community? There are a lot of children in the community, children who were left behind when their parents were conscripted to fight and die. Children who had to take on adult responsibilities before they were finished growing up, children who had to fill the space their parents left behind. The bulk of the labor in the community is performed by the young; there simply aren't enough able-bodied adults to let them be kids.  Action - Discover Something New: Before the War, there was a fad for keeping Silkie Chickens as pets, for some bizarre avant-garde reason. Apparently at some point some of them got free and ran off into the wilderness and have been breeding ever since. Now there's a flock of these ridiculous-looking - but presumably tasty - birds running around.   Projects: Abundances: salvageable machinery Scarcities: water, shelter, family Contempt: Tyrannosaurus (0), DivineCoffeeBinge (0), Bad Seafood (0), Liquid Communism (0)
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Apr 9, 2017 12:30
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Spring - Week 3quote:What natural predators roam this area? Are you safe? The shallows are safe, but swim not beyond them.  Action - Start a Project: We won't surive long without clean drinking water. We'll salvage what we can from the ruins and the wreck, and have our tinkers produce water filters. There needs to be enough for everyone, of course. Old Taigo predicts it should take us [3] weeks.   Projects: water purifiers (3) Abundances: salvageable machinery Scarcities: water, shelter, family Contempt: Tyrannosaurus (0), DivineCoffeeBinge (0), Bad Seafood (0), Liquid Communism (0) Bad Seafood fucked around with this message at 06:54 on Apr 10, 2017 |
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Apr 10, 2017 04:05
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Spring -- Week 4quote:What's the most hideous thing in this area? Without question, it's the Chateu. Originally a hotel on the edge of the beautiful forests, it was there that some of the younger families fled the conscription with their children. It burned in the same firebombing that created the Deadlands. We do not go there.  Action - Start a Project: We need shelter. There is nothing left standing worth living in, but Sandy was a spelunker back in her day and what she remembers of the caves beyond the Cavern Mouth might provide. It will take some scavenging to get together the tools, but she thinks she can teach some of the older children enough to explore safely.   Projects: water purifiers (2), cave exploration (5) Abundances: salvageable machinery Scarcities: water, shelter, family Contempt: Tyrannosaurus (0), DivineCoffeeBinge (0), Bad Seafood (0), Liquid Communism (0)
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Apr 10, 2017 04:57
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Spring -- Week 5quote:An old piece of machinery is discovered, broken but perhaps repairable. What is it? What would it be useful for? Sally and her team make slow headway in the cave system. The bombings unquestionably altered the nature of the island both inside and out. Sections of it are collapsed. Sections are flooded. It's as if she is walking through it all for the very first time. But there are treasures. She finds old crab traps. A mountain of them. Whether they were buried or washed up in the flooding is impossible to tell.  Action - Start a Project: Crab always seemed like such a luxury. Hell, it was a luxury back in the day and visitors would pay hand over fist for a plateful. But the act of crabbing itself... Old Taigo remembers how it was done. He says it's not difficult. A child could do it even. We just need to fix the traps.   Projects: water purifiers (1), cave exploration (4), repair the traps (3) Abundances: salvageable machinery Scarcities: water, shelter, family Contempt: Tyrannosaurus (0), DivineCoffeeBinge (0), Bad Seafood (0), Liquid Communism (0)
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Apr 10, 2017 06:35
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Spring - Week 6quote:There's another community somewhere on the map. Where are they? What sets them apart from you? Old Taigo sent two young ones off to the east to salvage machinery for material for the water purification project. Upon their return, Arno and Shelly bring, not just the materials, but surprising news as well. Further to the east, a smaller island juts out from the sea; the pair report seeing makeshift huts perched atop it, and smoke from a fire. The island is not large enough to hold more than a score of people, and despite the duo's attempt to signal them, the islanders gave no signal in reply; indeed, they must have been in hiding, for no figures or movement were seen. The community begins referring to these presumed strangers as "Islanders," but they steadfastly refuse any attempts to communicate.  Action: Start A Discussion. The Islanders refuse to communicate with us, and we need to decide whether or not they constitute a threat.  Projects: water purifiers (0 - FINISHED), cave exploration (3), repair the traps (2) Abundances: salvageable machinery Scarcities: water, shelter, family Contempt: Tyrannosaurus (0), DivineCoffeeBinge (0), Bad Seafood (0), Liquid Communism (0)
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Apr 11, 2017 01:42
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DivineCoffeeBinge posted:Action: Start A Discussion. The Islanders refuse to communicate with us, and we need to decide whether or not they constitute a threat. Even if they were a threat, we have no one left who could attack them. We should keep an eye on these Islanders in case of aggression, but war has taken enough from us without feeding its flames again.
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Apr 11, 2017 02:01
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They're probably kin. They're probably asking themselves the same thing about us.
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Apr 11, 2017 02:07
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We should be wary. Even fast friends can become bitter enemies over limited resources.
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Apr 11, 2017 04:53
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Completed Project: Water Purifiers Old Taigo and Barnaby clap each other on the back, smiling, their fingers raw and covered in grease. A child pours a bottle of sea water down the hatch while another feeds the flame. The first of the filters begins to boil. The process is slow, but the results will be worth it. Crisp, clean water as clear as the sky.
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Apr 11, 2017 05:03
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Spring - Week 7quote:A young boy starts digging in the ground, and discovers something unexpected. What is it?  Action - Discover Something New: Picking through a bombed-out church, the children discover a working piano. Relieved of his duties, having finished the purifiers, Barnaby sits down and plays them a tune.   Projects: cave exploration (2), repair the traps (1) Abundances: salvageable machinery Scarcities: water, shelter, family Contempt: Tyrannosaurus (0), DivineCoffeeBinge (0), Bad Seafood (0), Liquid Communism (0) Bad Seafood fucked around with this message at 07:04 on Apr 11, 2017 |
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Apr 11, 2017 07:00
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Spring - Week 8quote:A charismatic young girl convinces many to help her with an elaborate scheme. What is it? Who joins her endeavors? Start a project to reflect. Shelly, one of the young scouts who first saw the Islanders' village, also saw several of the Silkie Chickens running around the eastern coast of the island. Knowing that none of the elders are fast enough to catch a running chicken, she has convinced several of the other children to go out and catch some to bring back home. They set out in the early morning while the elders are still discussing the Islanders, never stopping to consider a possible threat in their enthusiasm.  Action - Start a Project: One foggy morning finds Old Taigo sitting on a large rock, staring intently at the old Lighthouse. When asked what he's doing, the old man insists that he saw lights moving around in the fog, high enough that they had to have been in the old building. After several days of insisting, he manages to convince a few of the others to humor him, and go check the site for salvage if nothing else.   Projects: cave exploration (1),  repair the traps (0), catching chickens (2), lighthouse salvage (3)Abundances: salvageable machinery Scarcities: water, shelter, family Contempt: Tyrannosaurus (0), DivineCoffeeBinge (0), Bad Seafood (0), Liquid Communism (0)
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Apr 11, 2017 07:49
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Repair the traps Nothing is truly unrepairable. Even those in horrific shape were cannibalized to fix up others and soon the mountain of derelict crab traps becomes a somewhat smaller mountain of usable ones. Kids quickly learn that crabbing isn't difficult. It's awfully boring, though...
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Apr 11, 2017 08:01
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Spring - Week 9quote:Where are you storing your food? Why is this a risky place to store things? In our defense, we do lack pretty much anything that could be used for construction. Hammers. Nails. Steady hands. Technical expertise. It's all gone. We do our best. At least it has a roof now. If only we could do something about the rats.  Action - Discover something new: Our once majestic rolling fields are now pocketed with the tell-tale signs of war. Deep craters in the landscape speak of repeated bombing campaigns by all sides. The children seem to enjoy the exploration of it all, though. Shelly, in particular. A particular large blast has, in the subsequent rains, filled up to become a small lake. She names it "Lake Shelly." No one can think of anything better so the name sticks.   Projects: cave exploration (0), catching chickens (1), lighthouse salvage (2)Abundances: salvageable machinery Scarcities: water, shelter, family Contempt: Tyrannosaurus (0), DivineCoffeeBinge (0), Bad Seafood (0), Liquid Communism (0) [/quote]
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Apr 11, 2017 14:59
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Cave Exploration After much prowling about, and not a few scrapes and bruises, Sally and her young assistants return to the group with smiles on their dirty faces. While it's not easy to get to, there is a gallery further down that is large enough to hide everyone, in an emergency. The more exciting news, though is that one of the youngsters stumbled on some rough stairs cut in the rock on the far end of the gallery that lead down to a sand-floored cave that opens to the sea! 
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Apr 12, 2017 04:28
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(OOC: sorry for the delay; busy day. Mea culpa.) Spring - Week 10 quote:What group has the highest status in the community? What must people do to gain inclusion? While the elders and their knowledge are respected, more and more the community finds itself paying greater heed to the fittest and most adventurous of the younglings; Shelly and Lily and Arno and Sally and their compatriots. Young enough to have the strength to act and old enough to have firm ideas about when to act, the small clique is informally known as the Wayfarers, being constantly sent hither and yon across the island on one project or another. Informal traditions begin to arise around the group, and they begin sending prospective members on scavenging expeditions to the larger machinery caches as a test.  Action: Start a Project: While the cave gallery is spacious enough to hold the entire community, it is hardly a fit place to live. The elders, especially, have a hard time getting there; the passages are narrow and twisty. Old Taigo and a few of the other elders are too important to lose because they catch ill in the rain; some kind of shelter has to be built. Older structures can't be trusted to be structurally sound. Luckily, there are plenty of dead trees to be found in the wastes...   Projects: catching chickens (1), lighthouse salvage (1), building shelter (3)Abundances: salvageable machinery Scarcities: water, shelter, family Contempt: Tyrannosaurus (0), DivineCoffeeBinge (0), Bad Seafood (0), Liquid Communism (0)
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Apr 13, 2017 03:55
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Catching Chickens Late one afternoon, the children come trudging back into camp with several of the fancifully plumed chickens in tow... but without one of their number. Shelly is devastated, but despite a day's search, on of the younger girls that went out with them was nowhere to be found when the youngsters regrouped to head home. The missing girl was last seen towards the eastern coast, but no sign of her was found. Liquid Communism fucked around with this message at 06:11 on Apr 13, 2017 |
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Apr 13, 2017 06:09
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Spring - Week 11quote:Two of the communitiy's younger members get into a fight. What provoked them?  Action - Hold a Discussion: What's to be done about the girl and her brother? We can't pretend this didn't happen. Perhaps it'd be best if both of them left.  Projects: lighthouse salvage (0), building shelter (2) Abundances: salvageable machinery Scarcities: water, shelter, family Contempt: Tyrannosaurus (0), DivineCoffeeBinge (0), Bad Seafood (0), Liquid Communism (0)
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Apr 14, 2017 09:33
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"We gave her the gun. We trusted her to act appropriately. Perhaps she still did. If there is fault it lies with us."
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Apr 14, 2017 14:22
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"Leave the girl be. No one was hurt, and we decided to trust her. What good is our trust if it is withdrawn in a month?"
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Apr 14, 2017 15:50
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"We cannot afford to lose any more young people. If she's going to point it around, someone should teach her safety so accidents don't happen."
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Apr 14, 2017 16:42
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Lighthouse Salvage The lighthouse is a very different beast, up close. The white paint has run with streaks of rust where the salt air has begun to devour stairs left unpainted, and the seaward side shows pockmarks where some navy or other thought to use it for target practice. They creaked so alarmingly at Old Taigo's touch that he refused to let anyone climb to to the tower's top, but no sign of life was found in the disused buildings at the base. The group returns loaded down with useful scrap, but short on any explanation for the lights... Liquid Communism fucked around with this message at 16:57 on Apr 14, 2017 |
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Apr 14, 2017 16:50
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Spring - Week 12quote:Alarming weather patterns destroy something. How and what? Late spring storms are rare in these latitudes, and even then tend to be mild. The one that erupts onto the island in the middle of the night blows up with barely a warning, the first rumbles of thunder barely enough to wake a few of the lighter sleepers before blinding sheets of rain are pounding down, lit by strobing flashes of lightning. The miserable people huddle under whatever scraps they can, trying to stay out of the onslaught as the wind moans in the skeletons of the forest like all the war's dead given voice. Once everyone has gathered in the aftermath and reassured themselves that noone has died, the losses are tallied. Most things made it through, but the food storage did not, the claptrap building folding up in the face of the storm's winds and leaving everything within at the mercy of the elements.  Action - Hold a discussion: That was a vicious storm. Should we check on the Islanders? Their camp is less sheltered than ours.   Projects: building shelter (1) Abundances: salvageable machinery Scarcities: water, shelter, family Contempt: Tyrannosaurus (0), DivineCoffeeBinge (0), Bad Seafood (0), Liquid Communism (0) Liquid Communism fucked around with this message at 17:26 on Apr 14, 2017 |
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Apr 14, 2017 17:24
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"Let's focus on ourselves first. I hope we didn't lose any food..." Edit: Did anyone accidentally draw an extra card? Please PM me if you did. Tyrannosaurus fucked around with this message at 17:46 on Apr 14, 2017 |
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Apr 14, 2017 17:31
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"If they're alive, we'll soon hear from them. If they're not, we won't. No need to trouble ourselves."
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Apr 15, 2017 22:04
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"We may not hear from them regardless. It can't hurt to at least send someone to look and see if their structures are still standing."
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Apr 16, 2017 02:28
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"We need to concentrate on our own problems. A drowning man cannot save another."
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Apr 16, 2017 14:30
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Summer - Week 1quote:Introduce a mystery at the edge of the map  Well, it's a beautiful start to the summer. We watch from the shore as, across the island, gunpowder explodes in a dazzling display across the night sky. Of course this means there was stored munitions somewhere. And that there was someone who, perhaps accidentally, lit it. Those islanders? Someone else? Action - Start a project: Ever since the storm, Barnaby hasn't stopped worrying about the islanders. Finally, he sets off to make contact. He tries to stop any of the children from tagging along.   Projects: building shelter (0), Contact the islanders (1)Abundances: salvageable machinery Scarcities: water, shelter, family Contempt: Tyrannosaurus (0), DivineCoffeeBinge (0), Bad Seafood (0), Liquid Communism (0)
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Apr 17, 2017 04:09
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Building Shelter No one would call the wood-and-plant-matter lean-tos comfortable - but, after some trial and error, they can be kept dry and warm. Summer - Week 2 quote:Summer is fleeting. (OOC Note: As I'm not sure if there's a 'discard' option I drew two additional cards that I will promptly ignore, I hope that's correct!) Action: Discover Something New: Some of the children, perhaps predictably, try to follow Barnaby on his excursion; he shoos them away, but on their return to the community they get a bit sidetracked. When they finally do return they breathlessly report finding a small cache of pre-war books and magazines in the forest, miraculously protected from the elements by being stored in a metal strongbox. After the magazines of a more 'adult' nature are confiscated by the elders, the community finds itself with something beyond simple survival to occupy their minds.  Action: Start a Discussion. How shall we arrange our families? Too many of the youngest children are beginning to act unruly, and they have no parents to guide them. Some of the older children are asking uncomfortable questions. We cannot simply ignore the question forever; what, if anything, is to be done?  Projects: Contact the islanders (0)Abundances: salvageable machinery Scarcities: water, shelter, family Contempt: Tyrannosaurus (0), DivineCoffeeBinge (0), Bad Seafood (0), Liquid Communism (0) EDIT: forgot to change the timer on the contact project oops DivineCoffeeBinge fucked around with this message at 06:16 on Apr 17, 2017 |
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Apr 17, 2017 05:17
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"I have no idea. We could try and... Do a military thing, I guess. Make ranks. Chain of command. I don't know."
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Apr 17, 2017 05:31
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Contact the Islanders Barnaby returns a bit crestfallen. We told him not to get his hopes up. "Deserters," he mutters. The islanders-- barely a handful in number-- are terrified of being discovered and being sent back to the front lines.
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Apr 18, 2017 13:41
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"Arranging families is something for people to figure out on their own. As long as the work gets done, there's no need to force it."
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Apr 18, 2017 14:52
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"Everyone should have a duty they are charged with fulfilling. So long as we've all something to do, and we do it, the rest should work out."
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Apr 20, 2017 07:41
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"Very well, then - so long as we are all working for the community, we'll trust that the children will learn from our example."
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Apr 20, 2017 07:45
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Summer - Week 3quote:Someone tries to take control of the community by force. Do they succeed? Why do they do this? They came at us with rifles and bayonettes. We surrendered, to spare the children, but not before they took Old Tagio from us. They are few in number, but dangerous; each armed, each a killer. They've set up shop in the haunted chateu. Their leader appears to be a man named Dresden. For now they are satisfied with food and drink, but we know better than to think this arrangement will last.  Action - Start a Discussion: We meet at night, in the caves beneath the lighthouse. We must do something about these tyrants. "We are many, but weak. Children and the elderly, with too few adults. We must hatch a plan."  Projects: Abundances: salvageable machinery Scarcities: water, shelter, family Contempt: Tyrannosaurus (0), DivineCoffeeBinge (0), Bad Seafood (0), Liquid Communism (0)
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Apr 20, 2017 08:19
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"They would not have come so far were they not running from something. Perhaps there is a way to make them believe that they have been pursued."
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Apr 20, 2017 08:54
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"Maybe this will be enough! Maybe they won't return!"
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Apr 20, 2017 13:01
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"The Islanders were deserters once, could they be turned against these soldiers?"
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Apr 20, 2017 21:01
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Summer - Week 4quote:The eldest among you dies. What caused the death? Old Tagio's loss was bad enough, but it seemed to unhinge his friend Jakob. The old man stumped his way up to the Chateau, angrily demanding justice. The sound of his bones breaking beneath the rifle butts and boots of the soldiers, and their laughs as they dragged him into the woods to die will haunt those who witnessed them.  Action - Start a Project: Salvage the Wreck - "That was a warship once," Lily is heard muttering, "Maybe there are still weapons aboard." Soon she and Sasha are out most of the day, trying to find a way to examine the wreck without alerting the soldiers.  Projects: Salvage the Wreck (5) Abundances: salvageable machinery Scarcities: water, shelter, family Contempt: Tyrannosaurus (0), DivineCoffeeBinge (0), Bad Seafood (0), Liquid Communism (0)
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Apr 20, 2017 21:18
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