expiationlogs | [03] a farmer's life?

Who: Mizuki and anyone [open]
Where: Astralin's farm in the meadowlands, and the new botanical gardens.
What: Just a day in her life, apparently.
Warnings: ~*~ vandalism ~*~ possibly, will add as anything comes up.

👁️ i. Astralin's Farm

[ If you asked her six months ago where she thought she'd be now, a farm would've never been it. Mizuki is a modern girl, accustomed to certain luxuries, wont to complain like a brat when she doesn't have them, but who cares about the small shit when your world's turned upside down? Day by day, she finds herself learning a little more about how they lived Back Then. Maybe she doesn't hate it all the time.

The heavy lifting continues. By now, Astralin's farm is complete, and the girl spends a lot of her time here as of late. ]

a.) [ She can be seen feeding the animals. If she's not hauling water over to their pens, then she's making rounds, making sure everyone everyone's gotten their fill to eat. In particular, she seems to favor two little piglets in the playpen. Once they've had their fill with the rest of them, she can be seen bathing them, washing off the mud they've accumulated on their coats from playtime. ]

Sure, a dog or a cat, maybe, but I never thought it'd be pigs.

[ Just talking to them. ]

Guess I should give you better names than Thing 1 and Thing 2.

- - -

b.) Baaa, baaa. [ Mizuki mimics the sheep she has in front of her, her tone mocking yet somehow affectionate. She's never done this before, but she has some shears in one hand, and the other grips onto its wool. ] Come on, hold still. I'm not trying to hurt you here.

[ Maybe she's hoping to use it at some tailor shops to finally get some new clothes made, as she seems to be collecting the wool in a large basket. The sheep seems calm after a while. ]

See? It's not so bad.

- - -

c.) [ When she's not helping Astralin tend to the animals, maybe she's stepped away to tend to her bike. Near the shed they built for it, she can be seen with a large bucket of water at her feet and a rag, wiping the face where she has her Adorabbit sticker, and the center console where Aiba belongs.

Well, the rag is kinda torn up, definitely not perfect, but it gets the job done. ]

👁️ ii. A Respite

[ During the hottest part of the day, Mizuki finds herself stepping away from the farm and back into town to find something to eat. As she thinks back on their collective trip to Rumpitur, she feels a sudden chill that travels down the back of her spine, despite the agreeable weather. An echo of the nightmares that occasionally plague her, mostly about those who went missing.

Just as she wonders whether she should spend another night at Astralin's farm, she passes through the new botanical garden, surrounded by the Chosen's statues. They've been in construction for a while, but this is the first time she's seen them all complete. ]

Heh, they work fast.

[ ...She passes by her own [statue], talking to no one in particular. ]

Even got my pipe right.

[ Then she'll walk over to the statue and mimic its pose. Silly. ]

👁️ iii. Wildcard & Notes

[ If you want to do something else, feel free to hit me with your own prompt or plot with me on plurk @

yammdere, PM, or @ me on the game discord!

One other thing I wanted to note that I couldn't seem to fit anywhere is that Mizuki's left eye is missing. She wore a "fake" eye towards the beginning of the game, but no longer does (it's a long story). If you'd like your character to take notice, feel free; if not, just be OOCly aware, since I probably won't go out of my way to mention it unless it's particularly relevant.

....Thanks! ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ He's not wrong, probably. Maybe it would have been the more merciful thing to do from the beginning, once she watched... helped? as their parents were killed. Mizuki stops and turns her head, remaining neutral as she idly continues moving her hands along their fur. ]

Don't think Astralin's that kind of guy. [ The name's kind of a mouthful, isn't it? ]

[ Well it's a unique name for sure, and not one Blackbeard's familiar with. ]

Astralin, who's he?

[ The one letting this girl get attached to Dinner and Lunch, he presumes, but maybe he'll find out more than that since that's the whole point of him skulking around out here in farmersville. ]

Really tall guy who's got some sort of plant magic going on. And ice, I think.

[ Plant voodoo. Mizuki just shrugs though, saying this nonchalantly. If he sticks around long enough, she figures the man may meet him and see for himself to make his own judgements. ]

I helped him build the place.

[ Plant and ice magic?? Blackbeard's eyes widen in question. He's seen a bit of that now and again, but not up close. He's still betting on it being a bit of fuckery, though there's a whole lot of weird going on in this place. Devilry and witchcraft wouldn't be out of place.

Strange that the girl doesn't seem afraid of him, for how she talks. ]

So what are you to this Astralin guy, then? What's he done to earn such trust and help building this farm of his?

[ In truth, she was really eager to get another safe space to hang out besides the inn and public spaces around town. She isn't about to get into all that yet though, and eventually, she will finally turn off the water for the piglets' bath. They're just going to play in mud anyway. ]

He was giving away some flowers, and I decided I wanted some. He's been teaching me how to care for them, too. Gave me my own little bed to work in and everything.

I asked him if there was anything he wanted in return, so here I am.

[ Blackbeard doesn't move to help, still leaning on the fence with both heavily tattooed arms, observing. Bathing pigs, yeah. Optimistic little thing. Or naïve. The story rings true enough. Blackbeard's instinct though is to look for the ulterior motives. ]

Hm... Bit early in the relationship to assume a farmer won't sell or slaughter his stock to eat, don't you think? Even the kindest people may surprise you. Better not to get attached.

[ To little Bacon and Ham there, or to the farmer? ~Who knows.~ Anyway, Blackbeard's not look to steal crops from any magic witches with plant powers, so that's reason enough to move on. Except one other thing— ]

What's your name, girl?

. . .

[ Well, it's not like he is wrong. And she can't deny that she has had held similar suspicions towards people like Astralin and Aerith. For now she will just carry that suspicion in her heart.

She really can't trust anyone. ]

It's Mizuki.

[ Can't trust anyone. Yeaaaah, Blackbeard learned that lesson young, himself. Though he doubts she needs a reminder from the likes of him. Eyes don't just go popping themselves out. ]

Take care, Mizuki.

[ Just a reminder from him anyway, then. But nothing else, no offer of help or his name. He pats the wooden fence he'd been leaning on with one gloved hand in a sort of finality as he turns, shadow-like, and starts to walk away. ]

[ They don't pop themselves out... unless the person chooses to, but that's a whole other timeline she doesn't know about.

Mizuki is still, content to watch him go with more concentration and interest than she intended. Suddenly however, she perks up a little, leaving the piglets for a moment to take a step or two after him.

Her hands are still dripping wet. ]

H-Hey... Don't I get your name, too?

[ Blackbeard's not all that far away, but he swings around, still walking in long, languid steps backwards and holds a hand to his ear. ]

Eh, wha's that now? Too much cannon fire in my life. Speak up next time.

[ His wide grin is barely visible beneath the beard, mostly just in the narrowing of his eyes, though that'd be hard to catch at the growing distance, especially as he turns back around and keeps walking, onto the next. ]

[ Seriously??

If she had Aiba, she would've told her all about that grin. As it is, Mizuki has no idea whether he's just a troll. She wonders how he'd like it if she'd call him Old man or Old geezer, but she supposes that has to be reserved for Date.

As he keeps walking, Mizuki dashes forward a couple steps, stopping to cup her hands around her mouth. She raises her voice: ]

What's your name?

[ He is absolutely a troll, but also he's used to people fucking off when he gives the slightest inclination that the conversation is done, not chasing him down? Persistent little menace, this one, and to her benefit, it works. He spins around fast this time, salt and pepper hair whipping around his neck with the sudden swing and shout-whispers, somehow making that a thing. ]

Blackbeard. Okay? Name's Blackbeard. So keep your fucking voice down. Don't need your plant-magic friend sic'ing a giant carrot or whatever to gobble me up.

[ Mizuki is a menace, and she wasn't about to let him go without getting what she wanted. Luckily for him, that's all it was, so—even though the name kind of tilt her head a bit with suspicion, she seems to relent. She lingers for a moment, then kind of rolls her eyes as she turns back in the direction of her piglets. ]

Tch... [ Okay, grandpa. ] Sure.

[ Does she believe him? Who knows. He's clearly done, and though Astralin isn't the type to do that kind of thing without reason, she best let Blackbeard leave before Astralin thinks he's a shady intruder. ]

[ At least she accepts the moniker. Small blessing, that. ]

Okay, great. Goodbye for realsies this time.

[ After waiting a moment to make sure there isn't another demand on the way, Blackbeard turns back around with a relieved sigh and heads off, muttering to himself about kids (and their pets and their plant-wizard guardians) these days. ]

[ .........for realsies?

Mizuki freezes, as if to say, 'Did he really just say that?' but by the time she turns to check, he is far out of earshot. For a moment it was like hearing Date try to sound cool and hip, and that's just a mental image she needs right now. ]

. . . Gonna pretend I didn't hear that.

[ She mutters to herself.

After a while, the brief interaction fades, tucked away into her memory as she goes about her business. Until the next time... ]

[03] a farmer's life?

sfjkda no i was waiting for someone to bring this up

in that case enjoy his assholery lol

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sorry for delay! i was out of town. we can wrap this up.

no worries! and yep, good with me

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🎀