hexarchate_rpg | on the nature of oaths

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moves: chapter 2

on the nature of oaths

[In the current move, Sasha has just accepted an oath of service from Jedao, a relationship Reshad believes is coercive. I'm not sure whether this properly counts as character rp or a new half-move, but I think we all need some new space to deal with the fallout!]

Sasha is waiting outside the antechamber. She has tied her scarf again, and looks as put-together as she ever does. "Are we having this conversation in my office?" she asks Reshad. "Or over tea, with everyone?"

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The laughing goes on for some time before it finally stops. Seyli rubs their hands over their face and shake their head, as if to clear it. "No, I'm just being weird," they offer as they reach out and take the offered muffin. "Thank you, I can't remember the last time I ate." They look bone tired, now that they aren't laughing hysterically.

Edited 2019-10-12 00:12 (UTC)

Thoughtfully, Mafyyil finishes her own muffin, which is frosted a suspiciously bright blue that she prefers not to think about, but which nevertheless is delicious. Usually, she would now remind Seyli of the importance of proper nutrition, and add a few appropriate lines of prayer, but ultimately decides against it - Seyli looks too tired, and anyway, it seems a bit hypocritical after eating almost certainly blasphemous pastry. "Actually", she begins. "I was going to clear my mind and just shoot some things, but I see you were doing something similar. Is this also about the saint's friend?" Mafyyil knows she has almost certainly phrased that wrong but is too confused by the whole situation to come up with a better wording.

"Saint...yes it is," Seyli says, because it's easier than trying to explain anything to Mafyyil right now. They take a contemplative bite of the muffin, which seems to be more of a cupcake, actually. (Not that they would ever complain about a cupcake). "I'll stay with you while you shoot, if you'd like?"

"Oh, that's nice of you!" Mafyyil brushes the last crumbs of her muffin (that's still a muffin, just a Muffin That Horrible Things Happened To) from the front of her dress and puts the weird-looking small blue umbrella that unfolds into a flower (yes, make that Really Horrible Things That Are Not Supposed To Happen To Muffins) into one of her pockets; she fully intends to keep it and write a poem on its petals. She then critically eyes the range's setup.

[What kind of targets are we using, anyway?]

Seyli can’t help but to stare at her, but they try to be discreet about it. Try.

They’d set the range back up for the next shooter so it’s back to a standard issue Kel range. It was small, though, with just three booths, and not much for long distance shooting. But you took what you could get when you were in a moth. It was set with reactive targets at a mid range distance, Seyli's used targets were already disposed of.

Mafyyil frowns and wonders why Seyli is staring at her. Oh, right: she's not supposed to handle guns without tying back her hair and flowers. Her weapon safety 101 instructors had one or two things to say about that. Quickly, she fixes her hair in a loose braid, sweeping the stems of her peonies into it. It means slightly reduced mobility in her left arm, but she can live with that; it's better than strands of hair and petals falling into her eyes at inconvenient times. (Also, it's a really loose braid.) The temptation is high to simply step up to the nearest booth and unpack.

[Let's assume that while Mafyyil's grasp of gun range etiquette is atrocious she knows at least enough to not point her gun at people, even when it's not loaded... Small mercies.]

Before she does that, Mafyyil can't keep herself from being a bit curious, though. "Have you actually seen him?", she asks.

"Shuos Jedao? Yes, I've seen him," Seyli says with a tight frown as they show her toward the booth and step well back to observe. They don't trust Mafyyil with a gun, but they are extremely curious to see where this is going to go. "He's...a very unusual man." They pause and their lips curl into an amused smile. "I'd like to see what he'd make of you."

[Poor Seyli. First Jedao, now bad gun range etiquette]

"He would have to be", Mafyyil replies, still frowning. She's not entirely sure whether Seyli is trying to imply an ordinary person could be friends with a saint, or whether Seyli is simply making fun of her. The way this conversation is going, shooting things might be the safer option, though if she can get some information along with that, she'd be much happier.

Mafyyil steps up to the booth and unpacks her things - she miraculously manages to pull her gun from the shoulder holster and lay it down without pointing it at Seyli, which she's very proud of. All those classes have paid off! Also, her goggles go on with minimum hair entanglement; only a few petals are dislodged and fall to the floor. She then starts rummaging through her pockets for ammunition.

Too-casually, she asks "If I decide to write a poem to memorize the occasion, what kind of verse would be appropriate, what do you think?"

[Ahahaha, poor Seyli, indeed! Can I assume we have an infinite supply of targets that are common property? Also: do we already have a written-down version of ingame gun-range etiquette anywhere? Asking because ~~I need to know in how many creative ways Mafyyil can mess up beyond the obviously universally horrifying~~ almost everyone is from different cultures so they might be used to different signaling systems and stuff...]

[Yeah, you can assume an infinite supply of targets that are common property. As for gun-range etiquette, I'm going to defer to y'all sa to how you want to handle that. The last time I was at a range was like 20 years ago, and it was an outdoors range in the USA, not an indoors one. I actually don't remember much.

zuhrovet might have suggestions; I think she has some more recent gun experience.]

[Some cursory research shows me that beyond basic safety as in, Do Not Point At People, gun-range etiquette in the USA actually differs in several points from what's usual in Germany ~~even ignoring the fact that Zielwasser is a valid German word~~. In fact, it looks like some German things will get you in serious trouble at a US American range, and vice versa. But that's okay - it's fortunate that Mafyyil doesn't know anything to begin with, so I'm not worrying overmuch. Anything she gets wrong is perfectly in character.]

[Tangential but I horrified my rifle instructor, who was a US Marine rifle instructor as well, by showing up to the first day of Riflery class in college and pointing the rifle up UNDER MY CHIN. He briskly corrected me and told me never to do that again.
I don't think even Mafyyil can beat that?!]

[Please don't try, Mafyyil, we don't want you banned from touching firearms forever!]

[No worries; Mafyyil is a beginner and a bit of an airhead but she takes shooting seriously. By the way: around here, pointing a gun at yourself, even in jest, is a really good way to lose your license, or, if you're in a beginner class, be immediately and finally removed. There's no way the class would have just continued normally after that...]

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on the nature of oaths

muffins and guns are a strange mix

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Re: muffins and guns are a strange mix [paging zuhrovet]

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Re: muffins and guns are a strange mix [paging zuhrovet]

Re: muffins and guns are a strange mix [paging zuhrovet]