It's a farmer's market in Four Fronds - the perfect opportunity for locals to sell their wares, low and high-blood alike. Since the ill-fated space ship crash, there has been a bit of re-structuring in the area. Homes and businesses that were destroyed have been cleared out, and finally replaced with - what else, but highblood luxury. The market square is expansive, filled with huge swaths of tents and booths for use in the great commerce of Alternia. In the middle of it all, Se'lune M'aidez has set up a very unique booth - one not for purchasing wares, but for charity. Specifically, a charity for enriching the lives of orphaned highbloods - with a focus on lives disrupted by the space ship crash. On Alternia, charities are novel, but the night is young!
Only Micillia may post in this thread. This growth will take the form of a solo with the following NPC responses responded to in any order, and in any format. If you'd like to expand on the NPC interactions, feel free to quote Sypon for RP! All responses must be covered to finish the growth Please ping Sypon when you are done!
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Time passes - minutes, then hours. It seems as though without any enticing external rewards, trolls don't quite understand (or care to understand) the concept of your charity. Finally, an older blueblooded teen wanders up to your booth.
"Sooo... Are you like... Selling anything?" She asks, confused. When she receives the explanation, she crosses her arms and hums in thought. "Like, isn't that what Regina is for? She's gonna take care of highbloods, so you don't have to worry, honey. Byeee!" She waves and walks away.
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A greenblood troll with ample stress-lines etched across their face wanders up to your booth.
"I lost my lusus in the crash, and I didn't get any aid. How can you assure me that this will go to trolls who need it?" Their expression is heartbreaking.
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A group of rowdy teens points out your booth and starts hanging out nearby. You can hear them laughing and chatting amongst themselves. Finally, one of them swaggers up to the counter. "Heyyy. You collecting handouts for rich kids? What a scam. Some kind of lowblood mutant over here thinking they're somethin'." Their friends shout 'Freak! Freak! Freak! Freak!' Until they get bored and walk away.
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After a while of nothing, a businesstroll in a slick suit walks up and inquires if you're working with an agency, which agency, and lots of other technical jargon you don't understand. They don't seem satisfied with your answers and hustle off when they're done.
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Another long stretch goes by when suddenly a couple of cooing highbloods shuffles up to your booth and immediately take out their purses. "Ooh, those poor dears! Your moirail lost their lusus in the fire, didn't they? I can't imagine a poor little highblood wiggler out there alone!" They start gabbing to each other, high society ladies who stick out for their own. "All people care about these days are the newest weapons and space technology. We should really be strengthening our society with the right kind of trolls!" They agree with each other, chatting on and on, giving a weighty donation, and finally pat you on the head before departing.
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A familiar greenblood with an uneven gait strides by and backs up slightly upon seeing your booth. He eyes you up and down, and closes in. "Hmm. Interesting." He's scanning the booth.
"I'm not buying it tonight, darling, but I'd love to see more presentation from you. You've got wings and style, after all. In this town, it's all about presentation. Doesn't matter what you're selling as long as your customer is buying the experience. Trolls are selfish; you have to make them want it. Best of luck."
The topic of the charity had been a debate in Se'lune's thinkpan for a while now. It had to be something that rich trolls would donate to, but also not too ridiculous. Really tho, a charity for highbloods in general was pretty ridiculous to Se'lune, but that made it easier to steal from. If she had been doing something for trolls in actual need, she might, might feel some sort of remorse. Good thing she chose something ridiculous.
Or at least, mostly. The greenblood found it hard to imagine living in a world where she did not have Obachan, but, well, Byakko managed! And Athera and Cynril too. Sure, she had a swamp full of help and support, something no "outside" troll had the pleasure of experiencing, but they were highbloods, they could get by, right? As far as she knew the outside world was all about catering to the highbloods, and screwing the lowbloods over.
She sighed. Byakko was someone she really looked up to. A mutant, somewhat like her, with even more misfortune, making her way through the world. Maybe the winged troll romanticized it. Or maybe her hero was amazing.
Se'lune's feet were starting to hurt, and she shifted from foot to foot for a while, before finally giving in and sitting down. Obachan knitted in the corner, making horn cozies for anyone who donated. The hippo hummed away as she knitted, somehow preforming the act without opposable thumbs. Obachan had secrets. A blueblood teen walked up and Se'lune jumped to her feet. "Hello!" The winged troll said, nodding to the blueblood's question. "Well, recently there was a major space crash right here in four fronds." Se'lune cleared her throat, trying to also clear away her nerves. "Because it mainly affected highbloods in the area, this is a fund to help those trolls that were now orphaned."
Se'lune shrunk as the older troll pointed out the obvious. "Oh" was all the greenblood said as the blueblood walked away. The Empress was there to help out trolls. It was her job. Se'lune had no real hope in the Empress's drive to help orphaned trolls, the winged troll had only heard bad things about the fuchsiablood. Still, if the Empress was helping, then this was not the best idea for a charity... She glanced over at her lusus, Obachan, who gave the greenblood a reassuring smile. That was right, she was here now, no turning back. If anything, that meant stealing from this charity would have absolutely no guilt. Assuming she got any sort of money...
"Hello!" Se'lune said as another troll wandered up to her booth. She bit her lip as the other greenblood showed obvious signs of distress, and tried to put on a reassuring face. "Well, that is what this charity is working to prevent. So no more trolls have to suffer..." She felt a lump of guilt in her throat. This troll looked just devastated. She wished she had been there to help them when they needed it. "The aim is to help out the orphans by providing parental support from other trolls's lususes. Generally we will be looking to pair up orphans with trolls that still have their lusus, so they can have some sort of protection."
Se'lune paused, her plumpbiscuit aching for the other greenblood. "Do you need help?" She hesitated. This was supposed to be a charity for highbloods, a fake charity for highbloods. But it just felt wrong not to offer something to the greenblood. "If you need help now, i can offer some things." She had some things she could give up. Old shoes, clothes, blankets. Obachan could knit the other troll a sweater. Her lusus looked at her expectantly, and Se'lune felt her digestion sack sink a little as she realized what Obachan wanted. Se'lune pulled out her bag lunch, and offered it to the other troll. She only felt a little bit sad to see her lunch go, this troll looked like they could really use a win.
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Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2018 9:59 pm
The greenblood seemed taken aback, and then a flash of anger crossed their features. βNo, I do not needβ¦ Your food! Where is assistance when we need it, whenβ¦β They looked around, noting their voice getting louder and more harsh. A few trolls were starting to look their way. βWhen non-highbloods need it. The Queen looks for weaklings to cull, tooβ¦ Is thisβ¦ Is this a target on our backs if we donβt have the funds or the blood color to support ourselves?β They jabbered. With a long sigh, they looked back at Seβlune just as defeated. βI suppose it doesnβt matter either way. But I donβt have anything to give, and I donβt trust anyone to make it right. Good evening.β
Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2018 12:24 am
Se'lune shrank back as the greenblood lashed out in anger. This was not really what she had been expecting. Sure, she had been to Four Fronds before, and seen the "outside world" before, but never really up close like this. Never so intimately. Her "charity" felt hollow and superfluous. I mean, it already was in a way, as she was going to steal from it, but the concept had been to help. This greenblood really drove home how out of her depth she was in this other world. How very little she knew. The greenblood could only watch as the other troll left, defeat still in their eyes.
Se'lune felt a little hope as some other trolls looked her way. She didn't want this to be a complete flop. That hope was immediately extinguished as their attention turned hostile. One kid went up and confirmed her feeling out of her depth. She really didn't know a single thing about what she was doing. Tears swelled at Se'lune's eyes, and she backed up to stand behind her lusus. Obachan frowned at her child, worry on her face, but made no move for hostile action. It just was not something Obachan would do. The greenblood cried into her hands behind her lusus. She wanted to go home. Back to her sweet, safe swamp.
She wiped the tears away and swallowed the sobs. Quella wouldn't run away like a hurt squeak beast. Quella would take this thing head on and make this thing work. The greenblood hugged her lusus from behind, just one quick hug, then it was time to get back out there. "Okay." She said to herself. Time to channel her inner Quella. Time to fight for what she wanted. With one last sigh she stepped out from behind her lusus, to face the teens. They jeered, and Se'lune felt herself grow sad again, but she had Quella. She could do this.
Se'lune was starting to space out. She watched as the other stalls in the farmer's market were visited. She watched as people walked past her booth, looking for other things. The greenblood was jolted awake when a fine dressed troll walked up to her booth. Their suite was clean cut and crisp, and their words flew over her head.
"Uh, what?" Se'lune had to ask as the other troll said things she didn't understand at a speed she could not quite grasp. "Agency? I dont-" She was cut off when the business troll asked yet another 5 or so questions is quick succession, before rolling their look stumps and walking away.
Se'lune stood at her booth, dazed. It was as if a whirlwind had come by, swept her off her feet, threw her into the air, tumbled her around, and let her fall back down to Alternia. Needless to say, she really had no idea what happened.
A pair of well dressed highbloods came up to Se'lune's booth, and she put on a big smile. As she opened her mouth to greet the two, they spoke as if she were not even there. "Ooh, those poor dears!" Selune nodded, this was what she was looking for! These were exactly the trolls she had been here for. She tried to continue, but was cut off again. "Your moirail lost their lusus in the fire, didn't they? I can't imagine a poor little highblood wiggler out there alone!" Se'lune tried to tell the two trolls where their donations would be going, what was going to happen to help these "poor wigglers", but she was overlooked as they continued once again. "And can you imagine? The fire damage to their hives! That has got to take an entire week or so to fix, right?" Se'lune nodded and smiled. Phew, results maybe?
The two highbloods completely ignored her, high society ladies who stick out for their own, talking more about their own matters. "All people care about these days are the newest weapons and space technology. We should really be strengthening our society with the right kind of trolls!" Se'lune stopped trying to speak up now. These two were in their own little world. The ladies nodded, as if it were wise words they had just said. Se'lune's eyes lit up as the highbloods took out their wallets and gave quite the donation. Had it worked? Had she actually earned money? The greenblood hardly noticed the condescending head pat, so focused on the earnings.
The farmer's market was winding to an end as the sun threatened to rise, and Se'lune found herself thankful. It had been a long night, and she was ready to pack up, flaunt her beetles, and then promptly flop. The greenblood was instantly pulled from whatever thoughts were frying in her thinkpan by the appearance of a famous greenblood. It was Aandes LaMode. She felt her jaw drop as the greenblood walked towards her booth. The winged troll had watched Autumn's performance with rapt attention, soaking in every detail, including how cool Aandes was.
The greenblood adult stopped in front of Se'lune's booth and the winged troll felt the older troll's eyes on her booth. "Hmm. Interesting." He said. "I'm not buying it tonight, darling, but I'd love to see more presentation from you. You've got wings and style, after all. In this town, it's all about presentation. Doesn't matter what you're selling as long as your customer is buying the experience. Trolls are selfish; you have to make them want it. Best of luck."
Se'lune was shocked. She wavered in her shoes, wanting to ask him what he meant, but also frozen in surprise. She ran forward, following him only a little way. "I- uh- Th-thank you!" Was all she said to his back.
