vatheon | There's lots of words containing ass in this log. How many did you find?

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There's lots of words containing ass in this log. How many did you find?

Who: ~~Buttagonist~~ Serph and YOU!
When: ALL DAY ALL NIGHT ANY TIME YOU WANT.
Where: the Grand Library
Style: Starting in action, but I will roll with anything!
Status: OPEN!

[Even though most items in Vatheon are free, it just so happens that a lot of what Serph wants aren't. And they're all very expensive, too, costing him far more Starfish Tokens than what he's amassed. Getting a job is quite a hassle, but he wants the tokens so that's the price he pays.

So Serph had canvassed the entire city, searching for a job that still would keep his mind occupied while he works, which basically meant he had passed on all the shopkeeping jobs. However, when he had found himself in the city's Grand Library, looking down the rows and rows of massive bookshelves, he had thought it was a good opportunity to learn more about non-Junkyard things.

A short conversation with the librarian on staff later, and he has a job organising the collection of books. Except... he actually spends his work time reading a book while he sorts everything else. The collection seems to encompass almost everything, from books of passion -- he quickly stops reading those; their mixed metaphors hurt his head -- to detailed creature biographies to books on the assembly of model planes to 'classics', whatever that means.

However, even if he looks occupied, he's still paying attention to what's around him. If you need any assistance, Serph is more than willing to stop and help you!

... No guarantees on how good he'll be at it, though :T]

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[The library was one of the first places Squall had visited when he was pulled into Vatheon, looking in vain for any information that could possibly lead to an exit. He had long since given up on that pursuit, but he still visited the library fairly often. It was a nice, quiet place where he could pass the time.

Today, however, he noticed something new on his visit. A new employee, to be exact. Normally, he wouldn't give such a thing a second thought, but this was a person he recognized.]

I didn't know you worked here.

[Well, now you know.

Serph finishes shelving one of the books before turning in the direction of the familiar voice. Ah. He gives Squall a nod in greeting.]

It's a recent assignment. I don't have enough Tokens for items from the Nostalgia Nook.

[Ah, the Nook. There wasn't much Squall needed to get from there - the only thing he had bought from it was his card collection (that he would still never, ever let anyone but Selphie see) when it appeared there, so he hadn't had a pressing need to get a job of his own.

Though now he's thinking he should, because he had to admit sometimes he was hit with a crushing boredom at times.]

I see. Read anything interesting lately?

[Hmm. Well, when almost everything he reads is about something he's unfamiliar with, it's hard not to be interested in finding out more.]

Much of what I read is new to me.

[...Maybe Squall can help him with this one book he hasn't been able to make sense of. He reaches over to pluck a book that he'd set aside after reading it and getting confused. There's a rather sketchy looking cover of a woman and a man hanging all over each other, wearing clothing that really doesn't leave much to the imagination.

Yep, that sure is a trashy romance novel.

He flips it open to where he'd gotten stuck and holds the book out for Squall to take. ...It happens to be open at one of those intimate scenes.]

Do you understand this?

[Squall catches a glance of the cover while Serph is flipping pages.

He doesn't like where this is going.

And then he takes the book and reads half a paragraph before stopping.

Nope, doesn't like where this is going at all.]

Yes. It's stupid. Don't read this crap.

[But what is going onnnnnnnn Squall you have to tell him. Seriously he's all :|? over here.]

What would you recommend instead?

[Serph, this is something he wouldn't tell anybody, let alone someone as naive as you. You can ask all you want, but he won't say a thing.

He is happy for the change of subject.]

...is there any type of book that you like? Like, ones that are full of information or a certain kind of story.

[How about everything? No? Okay then. Well, informative books are easier for him to read and understand, and he can easily find topics to read, since he's supposed to arrange them by their content.]

I'd like a story.

[There had been no stories in the Junkyard, after all.]

[A story, huh? Squall wonders what kind of genres Serph likes. Science fiction? Historical fiction? He doesn't ask. Instead, he walks over to a shelf - he already knows where everything is, having been to the library several times - and after skimming the titles on the spines, pulls out a hardcover book that looks to be about a couple hundred pages long. Returning to Serph, he holds it out to him.

There's two figures on the cover - one is a man dressed in a suit of armor and the other is a regally dressed woman. The man is kneeling down to her in reverence.]

Try this one.

[Good, because if Squall had asked, Serph wouldn't have known anyway. While Squall's doing that, Serph's going to actually be doing his job and sorting a few more of the books on the trolley he has. It's a little sad Squall won't tell him what had been going on in that book :T

When Squall's done, Serph turns and takes the book, looking over the cover in interest. The man looks like a wingless Archangel who actually had armour over his legs, and the woman makes him think of the female demons in the Karma Temple.

He tilts his head.]

What's the man doing?

[Why is he doing it?]

He's a knight. The woman is the master he serves. He's kneeling to show his respect.

[He doesn't know if Serph knows what a knight is or how he's going to explain that if he asks.]

It's his duty to protect her.

[So... like a Tribe and their leader?

...Trying to imagine Cielo in armour......

...... Yeah no.

He nods in understanding, and puts it on the trolley so he can read when he isn't talking to Squall. He's got a good memory, so he won't forget about this story of knights and masters and reshelve it before he's read it.]

Are there any other stories you like? It wouldn't take me long to read the book you chose.

[Reading fast is a necessity when you have lengthy reports to go through.]

[It's not like Cielo would want to wear armor anyway. That shit is bulky and hard to move in.]

Do you read plays? That shelf over there has good ones.

[He's read most of them. Reading is something Squall has done a lot of since coming to Vatheon. It's not like he's doing much else and there's only so many fish pun movies he can stand in any given amount of time.

...that idea of getting a job just sounds better and better.

Also we should bond over paperwork sometime.]

[...Why paperwork...... That would just make him wish Gale is here to do it all...

He tilts his head.]

What's a play?

[Bond over how terrible it is, I mean.]

A play is a story that's meant to be seen on a stage, performed by actors.

But they can also be read in book form.

[Oh. Well. I suppose that can be arranged.

Hmm, it sounds like he'd be better off seeing a play, though. If it's meant to be seen rather than read, then it sounds like reading one loses... something. Well, there's no harm in trying to read one; he hasn't heard of any plays being performed in Vatheon.

He gives Squall a nod, then.]

I wouldn't mind reading one.

[A small pause.]

Did you do a lot of reading, back in your world?

I did. A lot of it was for school, though.

[Books on magic, books on Guardian Forces, books on monsters...standards were pretty high at Balamb Garden. He did have some time for leisurely reading, but it was pretty rare and almost non existence once he was promoted to Commander.]

[School? One of the ex-Maribels had mentioned that. Serph returns to organising the books; he's sure Squall won't mind him doing his job while they talk.]

What kind of Tribe is "School"?

[She had sounded desperate in the end. The memories of it hadn't sounded pleasant. He hadn't known how to help her.]

[Nope, he doesn't care at all. He would often be doing something while someone else talked to him.]

School isn't a tribe. It's a place where people go to learn things. It's sort of like a job, except you don't get paid.

[Serph considers that as he looks over where this book is supposed to go. And looks up at the shelf it belongs to. ...Yeah no, he's not going to be able to reach that, even as Varna. ...Not that he would transform just to avoid needing to do a little menial labour.

He'll be ambling over to the ladder and pulling it over, yeah.

He can accept people going to places to learn things. That's why he's at the library, after all. Still, what the ex-Maribel had said bothers him. Even if she isn't alive any more, Serph still wants to know what she'd meant.]

What do people compete over in school?

[An odd line of questioning, perhaps.]

To be the best in the class.

[Granted, when you go to school like his, what they mean by "best" is different from other schools, but the principle as the same.]

The ones who perform the best in school get better opportunities than the ones who don't do as well as them. The pressure can come from different sources - they might be trying to get into another school or a job that has strict requirements on who can join. Children might be expected by their parents to do well or risk disappointing them and losing their approval.

[He doesn't have much experience with that second one because...yeah.]

In a school like the one I went to, you might have a rival you just want to prove you're better than.

[~~To be the very best, like no one ever was.~~

School sounds needlessly complicated to Serph.]

What's it like, having parents?

[It's hard to think of Squall being a child once, but he must've been at some point, right? People are supposed to have parents, are they not? It never occurs to Serph that things might be different for Squall.]

[He supposed he should have expected a question like this sooner or later. Serph doesn't seem to know much about anything that isn't related to the battlefield. The subject of parents is...tricky, to put it lightly. Squall himself isn't even really sure how the issue stands.]

I don't know.

[And Squall realizes that he wants to know what it's like too.]

I was told my mother died giving birth to me. My father is an idiot and I never saw him in person. I didn't even knew he was alive or who he was until my friend told me.

[He never expressed it, but he was always pretty envious of the others, all of them getting adopted while he never was.]

The closest thing I have to parents are Matron and her husband, and I'm not sure if it's the same as having parents.

[They had loved him like he was their own child, that much he knew, but he was an orphan in an orphanage. Kind and loving as they were, they were always preparing for the day they would have to give him up, and the matter only got worse when he started to isolate himself. Nobody ever adopted him, but they still had to say goodbye to him when he was six.]

I can't remember much about the time I was with them. I've had to take care of myself for the past ten years.

[He doesn't know why he's telling Serph all this. He just feels like he can speak freely with him.]

[Serph listens closely to Squall, and... honestly doesn't really understand a lot of what Squall has told him. Or rather, he does, but in such a way that it feels like he's missing the bigger picture. As many things related to his fragmented memories tend to be.

Serph pauses in his labours, the ladder temporarily forgotten.

The only part he understands is the implication that Squall's been alone for ten years. That's... a very long time, to Serph. Twice as long as he can stretch his memory. It must have been very lonely. But Serph's learnt about family from Signless, so...

He walks over to Squall and, if he'll allow it, places a hand on his shoulder. Since Squall probably isn't fluent in Serph silences, he adds a little more.]

You have family here.

[YEAH THAT'S RIGHT YOU JUST GOT CANNIDOPTED.]

[At first, Squall has no idea what Serph's doing so the hand takes him by surprise at first and he flinches initially at the touch. But he doesn't move to get away from it or push Serph's hand away.

Family, huh? Was that all there was to it? Just say that you're family and suddenly you are? He knows that there's more to families than flesh and blood.]

You really want someone like me in your family?

[No, really, do you?]

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