hadriel_logs | Event Log: The Hope of a Child

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Event Log: The Hope of a Child

Who: All characters participating in the event
What: The event log for the The Hope of a Child event
Where: All over the city!
When: January 23rd-Feb 1st
Warnings: Youths

By now, the gods have probably done enough weird crap to you while you're asleep for you to be a little suspicious- but it's not like you can just not sleep, especially when there are a few supernatural forces making your eyes droopy and your body feel heavy.

And now, when you fall asleep, you'll wake up somewhere else and you'll likely have quite a different temperament- you'll be younger, maybe a little more naive and innocent, and you won't exactly remember all the wild stuff that's happened to your adult self. Maybe now you'll be a little more trusting and emotional, hm? The gods could definitely use a little boost in power, and what better way to do it than to harness the power of overemotional kiddos!

Or maybe you aren't affected at all and find yourself surrounded by youths. What are you going to do when your best friend doesn't know how to cook for themselves? Or your bitter rival is throwing a temper tantrum because they broke their favorite toy? Nobody asked for this kind of responsibility, but think about what would happen if nobody was around to take care of these babies...

► This log covers January 23rd-Feb 1st.
► Feel free to make your own logs as well!
► Please tag headers of threads with content warnings where they apply
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!
► If you trip over a kid and die, please let us know here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

We have harps like that. They're just called harps. Anyone can play them, though the high harp is usually played by highborn ladies. What's a movie? And the life of a knight or a maester or a man of the Night's Watch just isn't [she's trying to remember her explanations of why from home] suitable for a lady.

It's good of you to help those in need. Sometimes, my mother has me accompany her to orphanages and poorhouses to distribute food to those in need of charity.

[Abigail has to think of a way to explain movies without referencing television.] A movie's like, um, it's kind of like a play that someone films with a camera, so when you see the movie - the actors are on a screen instead of a stage. [She raises an eyebrow] Why not? I think it'd be fun to ride on horses with one of those big jousting sticks.

Your mom sounds nice. My mom's nice too, even if she fights with dad sometimes. We go on hikes together and when I'm older, we're gonna climb Eagle Mountain.

[Margaery listens intently to her explanation]

So you wouldn't have to have a theatre troupe come through town to see a play? That would be wonderful! I love to watch plays and puppet shows, but we so rarely get such entertainments. [she tilts her head to one side as she considers why not] It's just. The way things are?

My mother is very nice. She taught me how to sew. And you and your family are going to climb a mountain? You must be very close with your mother and father.

Yeah, we can just go to a movie. And we can have popcorn and candy there. We hardly ever have that at home, so it's a big treat. [She shrugs.] Things can change. We learned in school that girls didn't use to have a lot of jobs or even vote and now they can do anything.

My mom sews sometimes too, when our clothes wear out. I didn't think rich people had to sew; I figured you just bought new clothes. [She nods.] We are super close! When I'm not at school and dad's not working, it's just the three of us. And sometimes, it's just me and Dad.

What's popcorn? I've had corn, but never popcorn. [she considers] I don't know if Westeros will change. The only two female warriors that I know of were Aegon the Conqueror's sisters and they had dragons. Anyone can be a warrior if they have a dragon.

We buy clothes, but mother says it's important that I know how to sew and mend my own clothes. Also, we sometimes sew garments for the poor. I'm super close with my mother and father and my grandmother as well. What do you and your dad like to do?

Popcorn is a special type of corn that when you heat it up, it gets white and puffy and good. We make it pop on the stove at home, but at the movies they have a special machine to pop them and melted butter. [She giggles.] Dragons aren't real.

We like to go camping, skiing, ride bikes, go on hikes and hunt, but I just follow him when he hunts for now. I'll hunt for real when I'm older. And canoe and snowboard when I'm older too.

I don't think we have anything like that back home. If we did, I would have heard of it. The Reach has the most and the best farmland in all of Westeros. We grow corn, wheat, barley, apples, peaches, nectarines, and grapes. [she shakes her head] Dragons are real. Or, they were real. The last one died about a hundred years ago.

[she has never heard of any of this, aside from hunting] You must spend a great deal of time outside. Especially if you're going to be hunting.

We have to grow stuff that can survive the winters. Everything else we get at the grocery store or dad hunts it. [She thinks that over] Really? So they're like the dinosaurs? That's so cool. Maybe they have dragon bones at the museum, like the dinosaurs. I mean, I know dinosaurs have been extinct a lot longer. But they might have dragon stuff too.

We do! We spend as much time outside as we can. Dad loves nature. Some people think he can't like nature and be a hunter, but he can. Hunting's the best way to know an animal didn't suffer.

Ohhh. You have winters to deal with. The Reach is always warm and beautiful. [Margaery has never heard of dinosaurs, but goes with it] They do have dragons' bones at the Red Keep in King's Landing. But all of them have been taken out of the throne room because Robert Baratheon is now king. When the Targaryens ruled, they were on display for all to see.

Most of my pursuits are indoor ones, except I do love riding my pony. And your hunts must be very different from ours.

Winters are beautiful too. Snow's really pretty. And you can ski and go tobogganing. You should take a vacation sometime and try it. [Her family sounds rich enough to travel.] The king gets to decide that stuff? You don't have like a president or, um, a prime minister, someone you vote for?

I like being outside. I think I'd feel stuck if I had to do most thing inside. [Luckily, she doesn't know what her future in hiding will be like.] Yeah, hunting's different depending on what animal you hunt. My dad likes hunting deer and elk mostly. What do you hunt?

Maybe? It would have to be a diplomatic envoy to the North. The Starks as a son who's my age, but he's only going to be Lord of Winterfell, not king. [they are, but they prefer to stay in the warmth and beauty of the Reach and Highgarden] The king decides everything with the help of the Small Council. And what's vote?

I don't mind. Besides, Highgarden is warm enough that I can ask to have my lessons outdoors if I want to. [very fortunate] My father likes to go hunting for deer and wild boar. He also has a hawk which hunts rabbits.

[Abigail hesitates a moment.] But you're rich. Can't you take trips whenever you want? And as long as you have your family, that's good enough if they're aren't a lot of other kids. [At least that's what her father tells her.] Vote, you know when the adults pick who's gonna be in charge. Everyone gets to make one vote for the person they want as president. Whoever gets the most votes wins and is president. [She's too young to know it's more complicated.]

Oh, that would be cool. Sometimes we have gym class outside. And recess is always outside, but other than that, we have school inside. [She nods.] Wild boar sounds good. It's like pork, right? I don't think we have many boars in Minneosta. We have rabbits though. My mom makes a good rabbit stew. I've never see a hawk hunt them. I've seen owls get rabbits.

[she shakes her head] Father is Warden of the South. It's a very important position. The only reason why we'd go North is to see about a betrothal between myself and Robb Stark and father wants me to be queen, not just Lady of Winterfell. [she looks confused at the explanation] So--everyone decides who will rule? Even the smallfolk? That would never work.

What are gym class and recess? And wild boar is very tasty, especially when cooked on a spit down in the kitchens. You can smell it all through the keep. And I love rabbit stew.

My dad's a pipe threader for a construction company. That's important too. Everybody needs running water so their sinks, showers and toilets can work. What's a betrothal? I don't think my dad wants me to be anything but a kid. [She nods.] Yeah, big, small, one vote for everybody. Of course it works. It's the only way to make sure everything's fair.

Gym's where you learn sports and exercise. It's fun. And recess is the break in between classes when you play. We cook on a spit sometimes, over a campfire. In our kitchen, we use the oven or the stove though. Sometimes the microwave too.

What's running water? We have to get our water from a well and springs nearby. And a betrothal is when two Houses promise that their children will marry each other when they're grown. We have no reason to broker an alliance like that with the North. They have no imports that we need and while being Lady of Winterfell would be an honor, it can't compare with being queen. [Margaery furrows her brow] But the smallfolk can't be involved in a discussion of who rules. They haven't the education for it.

I don't play sports, but I do have my dancing lessons. I suppose that serves as my exercise. And I don't have recess, but grandmother does take time for lunch. That can last a while. But what are stoves and microwaves?

[A look of confusion crosses Abigail's face. Even the poorest families back home had indoor plumbing. And her new friend is supposed to be rich.] You know, water that runs through a pipe into your house. So anytime you want water, you just turn on a tap. Why would you use a well or a spring? [She's only done that when her family goes camping.] Don't your parents know you're too young to think about getting married? My dad will never want me to be married. [Abigail shakes her head.] Everyone's equal. Education doesn't just come from schools. My dad knows more about how to use every part of an animal than anyone with just book smarts.

You don't play any sports at all? We have to change that. I know all kinds of games we can play. No recess too? [She definitely wants to show this girl how to have fun and be a kid.] A stove and a microwave are for cooking food. A microwave's faster for heating leftovers up fast and a stove and an oven's good for cooking food the first time.

[she shakes her head] We have no such thing in Westeros. We have to use wells or springs to get our water. [and she shakes her head again] Marriages are best arranged when the parties are my age, or close to it. That way, you have some idea of the assets each side brings to the bargaining table. And your--your dad should want you to get married. He should have made the necessary arrangements for you already. [she cocks her head to one side] But everyone isn't equal. The nobles oversee the smallfolk and see that they're fed and housed and the smallfolk bring in the harvest for the nobility.

No? Why would I? I need to be able to dance well to attract a suitable husband. I don't need to play sports. [she is thoroughly confused] I've heard of an over, but never of the other two.

[Abigail stares for a moment. This girl's family's priorities are way off.] You have servants, but no plumbing,not at all? Marriages are best when two people love each other and want to spend the rest of their lives together for a happily ever after. [Not that she's seen it. Her parents aren't in a fairy tale relationship.] My dad couldn't arrange it if I'm the one getting married. I'd have to meet someone and fall in love. [She shakes her head.] If the smallfolk are bringing in the harvest, why don't they use it to feed themselves or sell it to house themselves? How small are they? Nobles sound like paper pushers. [A phrase her father uses to describe his bosses.]

You play sports because it's fun. [Abigail speaks as though it's obvious.] You don't need to dance for a husband. The boys I know like sports better than dancing. And besides, wouldn't you rather have them attract you? [She raises an eyebrow. No water, and no stove, and no microwave] Seriously?

Plumbing. . . is that the running water you speak of? [she shakes her head no] Marriages are for alliances. It's difficult when it comes to the High Houses, like Stark, Baratheon, Lannister, Martell, Tully, and Tyrell. There are only so many marriages that can be made before one is forced to marry down into a region's bannermen. Father is determined that I make a high marriage. Love, if it happens, comes after marriage, not before. But if your world allows it, I hope you're allowed to marry for love. [she smiles] The smallfolk are allowed to keep enough grain to feed themselves for the year. The rest goes to the nobles whose land they farm.

What's fun about sports? [Westeros doesn't have much in the way of sports other than jousting and the melee, neither of which are allowed for ladies] It would be nice for them to attract me, but that's not how it's done. A lady must be as appealing as possible to attract an appropriate husband. Beauty, grace, charm, and the ability to run a household are all important. [Westeros has been technologically stagnant for hundreds of years] Seriously.

Yeah, that's plumbing. [She frowns.] Love's the only reason to get married. And even then marriage is hard. A lot of kids I know have parents that got divorced and they have to go back and forth between houses. If I do get married, it'll be to someone I really love and that I know I'll want to be married to forever. Your dad should want the same for you. Maybe I'll wait until I'm really old, so forever isn't very long. [She thinks it over.] That doesn't sound fair.

Everything's fun about sports! You can be on a team, run, throw, catch, get points, it depends on the game. Even if you lose, it's still fun. [She looked around for a moment.] I don't see any balls or equipment, but we could race! Or long jump! Or do gymnastics! [She crinkled her nose.] Ugh, if that's true, then I'll stay single and run my house alone. Or get a wife instead of a husband and she can do it all, attract me, run the household and I'll spend all day hunting and working like my dad. [She paused, once again trying to make sense of it.] Are you Amish?

Edited 2018-02-12 21:59 (UTC)

If love is the only reason to marry in your world, then your world world must be far less [she seeks a proper, polite word for it] regimented than mine. I want to marry for the highest possible alliance--the crown--and only for that. Grandmother has been putting a lot of work into my studies. They'd be wasted on the son of a bannerman or even one of the other Great Houses. But, what's divorce? [and she smiles] I'm sure you'll make a lovely marriage. You're so pretty and sweet, you'll have men falling all over themselves to be with you. [she shrugs] The rest of the grain is stored by the Great Houses and their bannermen. In times of famine, they ration it out to the smallfolk to ensure that they're well fed.

I'm not familiar with games that let you do any of those things. How would we play them? And your world lets women marry other women? Westeros doesn't. It's against The Seven Pointed Star. [and she blinks guilelessly] What's Amish?

It's not wasted if you're learning stuff. You can go to college someday and get a degree. That's what I'm gonna do someday. And then I'm gonna get a good job and work hard, so my dad doesn't have to work when he's old. [Even at a young age, it's clear to her that her dad will always be a part of her life. At this age, it's still an innocent thought to her.] Divorce is when people don't want to be married anymore, so they go to court and a judge splits up all their money and tells their kids where to live. [She looks at her blankly, still not understanding a place so different from her own world.] They could just keep the grain in their pantry themselves. Or cook their food and freeze it.

Most sports need stuff, like balls or pucks or skis, or swimsuits. Racing doesn't though, you just run and whoever gets to the finish line first wins. And with long jump, you draw a line. Then you run up to the line and jump as far as you can. You mark where you land, and then next person tries to see if they can jump farther. And gymnastics umm..I'll show you. [She steps out of the water she was wading in and finds a good spot. She starts with a somersault, then a few cartwheels, following it with a back handspring. She's a a ball of strength and energy from all the time spent in play. When she finishes, she raises her hands high in the air.] That's a part of gymnastics, there's also stuff on the balance beam, with a vault and with rings. And when you're done, you put your arms up so everyone knows you're done. [She stops and thinks.] It's not legal for women to marry women, but they can live like married people do. And in the news, they say someday people will be able to marry whoever they want. Amish are people who don't have electricity or running water or cars or cell phones. What's a Seven Pointed Star?

What's college or the university? We have the Citadel for learning in Oldtown, but that's reserved for maesters and maesters have to be men. It's good of you to want to take care of your father, though, most lords serve their lands and their people until death and their heir takes over. [she looks confused] In Westeros, marriages are for life. Sometimes a wife chooses to settle in a lesser keep on the land when her husband takes a mistress, but it's the responsibility of the father to see to the raising of children. [she shakes her head] The smallfolk don't have the resources to build their own icehouses and they understand that it's their duty to their liege lords.

[she watches in amazement as Abigail goes through her gymnastics routine and applauds] That was wonderful! Could you teach me how you do that? I've heard that in Dorne, men sleep with men and women sleep with women and no one says anything about it. The rest of the Seven Kingdoms are opposed to it. We've none of those things, but we're not Amish. I'm Westerosi. And The Seven Pointed Star is the holy book for the new gods. Almost everyone follows the Faith of the Seven except for the North and the Iron Islands.

Colleges and universities are schools you can go to when you're done high school. [She blinks.] Right up 'till they're dead? No one retires? [She can't imagine her father wanting to work a day more than he has to.] Huh. Most of my classmates with divorced parents live with their moms and only see their dads every other weekend and holidays. [She pauses] You don't need a whole ice house, just a freezer. Or a fridge with a freezer. The smallfolk should go to college too, get good jobs so they can afford more stuff. [She sees it as her way of improving her life, too young to know what'll happen once she applies to schools.]

Yeah! I can show you how to do all kinds of things! I'll show you a somersault first. It's the easiest. Come stand next to me. [She waves her over and gestures.] Stand right here.

I don't know Westerosi or a lot of religions. I know, um, Christmas and Easter are Christian and Chanukah is Jewish and Eid Al-Fitr is Muslim. That's other religions too. My family's not religious. Dad doesn't like it. [She has vague memories of visiting a church with her mother and dad not liking anyone, even God, being called Father.]

What's high school? [she nods It's the duty of Lords to serve their King until they die. That's when their firstborn son becomes Lord. [she considers] It's strange that they see their fathers so rarely. Shouldn't they be preparing their children for the future? [she looks confused] What's a fridge with a freezer?

[she goes over to stand next to Abigail. it should probably be noted that she's wearing a short sleeved gown that goes down to her feet] All right, what next?

Well, there are the Old Gods, the Faith of the Seven, and the Drowned God. I've never heard of those other religions. Are they from your home? And why doesn't your Dad like it?

Event Log: The Hope of a Child

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