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Dealing With Other People's Trauma, Tuesday 9/16

“Apologies,” Stark said once everyone had arrived. “Not from me. I don’t think I need to apologize to any of you yet…but we’re going to talk about apologies today. It’s a very important subject. A difficult one, sometimes, but important.”

Was Ignis twitching slightly somewhere else on the island?

“Sometimes…sometimes you need to apologize. Sometimes it’s the only thing you can> do. Even if you don’t want to, or if you’ve done it wrong before, or if you think it might not be useful. You still should try.”

He was talking to himself here, too. Definitely.

“There are lots of reasons to apologize. Countless reasons. You may have done something purposefully that hurt someone else, you may have done something unintentionally, you may have not done something…big things, small things…so many things that are deserving of apologies and yet so many things are never apologized for.”

Stark's voice trailed off for a moment then he shook his head and continued.

“It helps though, apologizing. It might not fix everything but it helps and sometimes a little improvement can be everything. Sometimes an apology means the world to someone. Sometimes it means very little. But you should still try. It's better for everyone if you do, usually.”

Oh no, he was looking extra sincere right now. Followed by looking concerned.

“of course, if you never know that someone was hurt you'll never know to apologize. Sometimes you may just need to pay close attention to reactions to things, from people. If you can tell someone that they've hurt you then they'll hopefully know not to do the same thing again. Hopefully. So…let's talk about apologies?”

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The Perk, Tuesday Afternoon

Erasmus had received a slip letting him know he had a package to pick up at the post office that morning, so he'd gone to get it after his class. Sadly, it didn't include even a prototype 'try this and tell me what happens' charm to try to block the Chain Veil (his father was working on it; Erasmus really hoped he was sleeping at some point), but it did contain a full restock and then some on pain charms, which was great considering he had another date with a migraine scheduled for Thursday.

He wasn't worrying about that until Thursday.

After the post office, he'd decided to stop by the coffee shop, where he had continued to fail in obtaining sweet tea. Instead, after a very confusing conversation with the worker at the register, he'd ended up with an iced pumpkin spice latte, which was...well, he had been trying to get something iced. He'd give them that.

"I'm just gonna have to make my own tea, ain't I?" he muttered, and took a sip of his coffee. It wasn't bad.

(Open Perk is open!)

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diplomacy

Diplomacy, Tuesday, September 16, 2025 [2nd period]

"Well, I couldn't very well ask to borrow Threepio from Luke, could I?" Anakin muttered to Ahsoka as the students came in. "Threepio would never stop talking. Ever."

"I guess whoever programmed him forgot a sense of discretion," Ahsoka replied, in a similarly low, but innocent and angelic tone.

"You're hilarious," Anakin said in a tone that said otherwise.

"I like to think so," Ahsoka said cheerfully.

Anakin finally remembered they had a class to teach. "Right. An important part of diplomacy is making sure everyone understands everyone else. In our galaxy, we use droids, but we couldn't bring one here to show you."

Mostly because Anakin didn't want to.

"So instead we'll be exploring the importance of well-trained or programmed translators by closely examining the work of bad ones." Yes, it was a movie day.

"We'll be using an instructional video." Sure, Anakin.

"There may be a quiz later."

There would definitely be a quiz later. Probably next week. "Don't drool too obviously on the desks if you do take a nap," Anakin concluded.

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random dorkiness

Meme: More Than Meets the Eye

I don't wanna deal with coworkers or work or life today, so here's a meme we haven't done since August 2024. We've had new characters in the last year, we might as well update.

There are certain characteristics about the people we play that *we* know, but we get tired of repeating in every introductory ping. There's also stuff that players wouldn't really be able to figure out just looking at an icon--how tall someone is, if they have an accent, what kind of clothes they are wearing...and in some cases, if their eyes/hair/whatever are different than the PB we've picked.

So wax poetic about what your characters look/sound like, if they have tics or scars, how they dress, if they have a distinct singing voice, etc!

Have at it!

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Caritas- Tuesday

If you heard a vacuum going during any downtime today, it was because Kitty was making Tino clean up all the glitter he'd brought back into the bar on Saturday. There was no way he'd get all of it, that was impossible. But he was damn well going to try now that he was good and ready and forced to.

Don't mind the noise.

[Open!]

Fandom Radio, Tuesday, September 16th

Hey there Fandom. It's ya girl, Arden Finch, hitting you up this lovely Tuesday morning with everything you missed - or didn't - from yesterday!

School started with Flight and Flying where we flew X-Wings and tried to shoot down other ships and we don't need to keep track of who crashed how many times, thanks squirrels ANYWAY MOVING ON. Cryptozoology learned about Bigfoot which somehow led to Charlie - hi, Charlie! - talking about fae playing basketball.

*long pause*

Yeah, we're just gonna move on to How Not To Drown, where people practiced treading water in the deep end of the pool and Rey and Dean Skywalker discussed...eggbeaters. Eggbeaters? Yeah, okay, the squirrels insist eggbeaters.

No Dorms, except for the pool kinda pulling double duty, so to Town we go! Professor Vess had...an angry bear trap at the Infinite Consortium and I'm really starting to think the squirrels are [BLEEP]ing with me. Dr. Blake dropped by to talk to her about a favor she wanted to ask of him, swapping classes at some point. Pizza Planet got extra avocados, which Ray had to turn into a bunch of pizza toppings because you've got maybe three days to use an avocado before it's gross. Stabby was missing from the Clinic, but the nurses assured Professor James Stark that he was probably on vacation. The Trooper Station got a call about a body that turned up in the hotel--what???! Somebody found a body?!

...Oh. In Hawaii. Way to BURY THE [BLEEP]ING LEDE, Jimothy! Body found on the literal other side of the country, all is well. Well, not for the body. But the island.

Vi somehow got all the glitter in the Magpie Emporium contained to specific places and I'm assuming magic was involved somehow. And Mr. Northman was practicing making various True Blood cocktails at The Devil's Nest. Professor James Stark was surprised to see Mr. Northman bartending, but felt better when he explained he was experimenting and not serving. Ms. Solo-Fel started texting and there's something scribbled out here. Something about, hang on lemme see if I can make it out...vampire emo--

*panicked squeaking and tearing paper*

Ooookaaaaaaaaay. Apparently the squirrels are afraid that Mr. Northman might eat them if whatever was written was announced on air, so I'm just gonna take this opportunity to head out.

Have a great rest of your day, Fandom, and this is ya girl, Arden Finch, signing off, and leaving you with Ellise's Bubblegum Brain. Bye!

Honolulu, HI - Monday Afternoon

One overpriced portal after Steve got his phone call from Chin and they were both back on the big island, heading through traffic to get to the hotel associated with the uniform found on their victim. Which was the less active part of the investigation to let Steve and Danny sort of settle back into it after the whole... liver thing.

Perfectly fine. Nothing could go wrong.

"We get anything from the M.E. yet?" Danny asked, trying to see if traffic would move anytime soon. He'd been spoiled with Baltimore, honestly.

[for the partner! nfb obvs]

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flight and flying

Flight and Flying- Monday, 1st period

The class was in the flight shed today, where Jaina was waiting.

"Today we're using a ship from my galaxy," she began. "This is the E-wing starfighter. It's used by the military about as much as the X-wings that I know a couple of you have experience with. It's flown with the help of an astromech droid that plugs into a socket on the ship to help with navigation and repairs when things get dicey. It's got heavy armor shielding, laser cannons, and proton torpedoes, so it's well-equipped to survive a firefight. It's just not as cool as the X-wing."

It was true.

"I'm going to give you a demonstration and get you used to things a bit, and then you're going to get some target practice in."

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The Devil's Nest, Monday Night

Eric was still looking a bit smirky from his time at Three Minute Dates and Tiny was not asking.

Taking several bottles of True Blood from behind the bar, Eric busied himself coming up with new drinks for beings with special dietary needs. Tiny would still have to serve them, of course, but Eric was enjoying the creative process.

True Blood and elderflower liqueur was disgusting, for the record.

The Devil's Nest was open!

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The Magpie Emporium, Monday [15/09]

It had taken the better part of a week, but most of the glitter was finally either gone or at least corralled to around the painting tables.

Which meant that the group preparing minis for their all-ranger game were going to end up with some very sparkly animal familiars...

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Trooper Station, Monday, Sept 15, 2025

Steve was feeling a little more settled in his own skin after a class period spent swimming, and then Troopers were relieved that they were missing out on another run around the island (especially since a few were nursing bruises from banana-related falls and none of them wanted to explain that. They suspected Steve would not be sympathetic).

He picked up his cell phone as it rang with Chin's ringtone. "McGarrett," he said with a smile in his voice. He quickly sobered as Chin relayed what was happening back in Honolulu. "A body?" he repeated. "Left in the lobby? How'd they even get access?"

He listened as Chin told him what they knew so far.

"Okay, let me know what forensics tells you about this. Danny and I will catch the next available portal back."

The Trooper Station actually had a case!

Fandom Clinic, Monday

Stabby's tank was dark and empty when Stark arrived. Well, empty in that it was currently unoccupied not empty in that everything had been removed.

"He went on vacation," a nurse said. "With all those sequined costumes. I'm guessing visiting the lobsters but you just never know with that one."

Stark just nodded and then shrugged. "All right. I'm sure he'll be back soon enough."

The clinic was open, the crab was on walkabout, and the alien was in.

And there was still glitter.

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Pizza Planet, Monday

Today at Pizza Planet, Raiden could be found trying to chase down the delivery guy.

"Hey! Hey, I think you meant to take these to El Burrito Loco!"

The delivery guy just kept going, so Raiden sent a runner to El Burrito Loco to let them know they had their avocados. However, El Burrito Loco also had their avocados, so...

"Fine. Fine, I can work with this."

Specials
Charred Corn & Avocado Pizza
Guacamole Buffalo Chicken Pizza
Avocado Toast Pizza

Pizza Planet is open, and possibly committing crimes against both pizza and avocados.

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swimming

How Not to Drown, Monday, September 15, Period 3

Everyone would probably be thrilled to be back in the pool today. Well, at least happy not to be dealing with squishy mud and fish?

"Today we'll begin to work on treading water," Anakin said, "and floating. It's a good thing to know if you accidentally end up in the water and are not confident enough in your swimming to move from the spot you've landed."

Steve nodded. "It's very important to learn how to control your initial panicked reaction," he said. "Treading water, especially in something like a pool where you aren't working against tides or currents, should be something you can do almost indefinitely."

Some of them weren't also Navy SEALS, Steve.

"You keep your head and chin above water," he said, getting into the correct position. "Don't work to keep your chest up--it's just wasting energy--and move your legs like an eggbeater."

He looked at Lydia and Henry. "Do you know what an eggbeater is?"

Anakin, still on the side of the pool, demonstrated with his legs as they stayed out of the water. "Kick the water downward with your heel," he said. "Like riding an underwater bicycle."

Steve nodded. "We'll hold you up with pool noodles until you get the legs right, then we'll add the arms," he said. "And remember to relax. Tensing up just makes everything harder."

Entry tags:

cryptozoology

Cryptozoology, Monday period 2

Jon nodded to the students as they settled in, then gestured to the image on the whiteboard.

"Bigfoot. Also known as sasquatch. Originating in North American forests, particularly the Pacific Northwest. Generally considered to have the appearance of an upright ape-like creature, larger than human, and incredibly hairy. Also presumably with very large feet. Depending on who you believe," if anyone, "the hair may be black, brown, or red, it may be anywhere from two to five meters tall - six to fifteen feet, if you prefer, and its eyes may shine. It also may smell."

He sighed. "Chances are, it's largely based in folklore, misidentification of things like bears and other humans, and the occasional hoax. The name 'Sasquatch' is probably a terrible Anglicization of 'sasq'ets', a term meaning 'hairy man' in a Native American language, which actually referred to a tribe of people, but that's what you get when people mistranslate things.

"The name 'Bigfoot' was coined by a group of men at a logging company who claimed to see a number of large footprints near where they were working, and even made a cast of one of them. In 2002, it was revealed that one man had wooden carvings of large feet and was making the impressions himself. He was inspired by a different hoax from earlier in the twentieth century."

Honestly, people, did you have to do these things? Jon shook his head.

"The leading logical explanation is bears. Both black bears and grizzly bears have been known to walk upright, and when you see them from a distance or the lighting is bad or there's a lot of foliage in the way, they can look more human or ape-like. Also, actual humans have occasionally been misidentified as Bigfoot, including several which were shot. As a note, if you must use a gun, please do not shoot if you do not know for certain what you are shooting at." He was looking at you, Americans. "Even most believers in the existence of Bigfoot acknowledge that most of the reported sightings are errors.

"As for non-logical explanations, they range from feral tribes of humans, to extraterrestrials," again, "to the supernatural. Of course. So - let's discuss."

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Infinite Consortium, Monday

Liliana looked at the packing slip in her hand, and then down at the artifact in the crate, then back to her hand. Her packing slip stated state Bear-Trap, One (1): Condition - Used. Inside the crate was, in fact, Bear-Trap, One (1): Condition - Used, but she was fairly certain it wasn't supposed to be growling. But, she was pretty sure that was a growling noise she'd heard and that it was coming from the crate. Visually, however, the trap just sat there on the bottom of the crate, yawning wide, waiting for her to come pick it up. "Mmmhmm. I wasn't born yesterday." She could feel the black mana radiating from it, accompanied by a kind of lurking malevolence.

On the (incredibly unlikely) chance she was wrong, she went and fetched the pushbroom from the utilities closet, lowering the handle towards the center of the trap. The tip hadn't even poked the plate before the trap was snapping shut again, over and over until she was able to whack it against the side of the crate hard enough to make it let go. Ruse destroyed, the trap sat there gnashed its metal teeth at her, promising violence.

"An ambush chair is amusing, an ambush bear trap, less so," Liliana informed it. "So no, I don't think so." The clanging started in earnest as she replaced the top on the crate and retreated to her desk to figure out what to do with it. It wasn't a creature, so she couldn't kill it, and she couldn't disenchant the damn thing. That was white mana. "Of all the days to not be my younger self," she muttered, ignoring the muffled clanging from the crate.

Right, she was going to reply to the text from Nikodemus asking a few more clarifying questions about the Chain Veil...and also asking if he wanted an enchanted, semi-sentient, murderous bear trap. Who knew? Maybe he would!

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jaina solo

Fandom Radio- Monday, September 15

Good morning, everyone. Hopefully you all had fun on the dates, and I'm not going to say anything like "maybe that's why it's so quiet today," myself, but the squirrels did in fact write that down.

Just a couple notes, with Pam doing some weeding in the garden at Pick Your Poison, and Stark doing some birdwatching at the park.

And that's it. At least I got the squirrels to come to me this time. Hopefully they do the same next week, with more notes.

Entry tags:

@park,
stark

The Park, Sunday Afternoon

It was a good day to be outside. The island wasn't doing anything outrageous. The weather was lovely. There was no one Stark needed to hide from or avoid, that he knew of.

So he'd gone for a walk around stopped off for an iced coffee and a snack and then gone to a bench in the park to watch the birds at the pond and whatever else he might see.

It would have been a good day, he thought, for walking with a dog. He ought to go and see Prompto again soon at the shelter.

For now he had his own thoughts for company. That would be enough if no one else ended up in the park today but he hoped for someone to talk to who wasn't himself.

[open park is, of course, open]

Fandom Radio - Sunday (9/14)

You'd think the squirrels would let me sleep in after yesterday night, but no. Of course not. At least I have a coffee for this.

There was the usual level of professionalism at Over Easy about the strange things that happen here. The big event of yesterday was, of course, Three Minute Dates. And hopefully everyone enjoyed themselves. After the events at the bar, people could meet up for more conversation. Like Ignis and Liliana who of course flirted once they were together again. Arden and Erasmus talked about Beaker before he had to leave after not feeling so well. Hopefully he's better now. Lana and Jaina talked about politics back home, comparing them. Rey and Adrian shared a drink as well as what drink orders would hopefully get them out of a bad date quickly.

Hopefully everyone at the very least had some fun even if there weren't any new dates to follow. Have a good one, I'm getting back to bed.

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Pick Your Poison, Sunday

The pain came in waves. Sometimes she'd spend most of a day feeling nothing; the next, she'd find herself in Harley's bed for hours longer than she anticipated.

It was frustrating. It made her angry. And with that anger came the urge to defy it-- and so Pam found herself back here again on a Sunday, her side stinging harshly. Weeding the Pick Your Poison garden.

She'd even opened the door, even though she intended to spend much of the day upstairs in the lab.

[[ open ]]