Yeah. We have printing presses still, so we CAN make books, but what was salvaged from the Old World is minimal and there aren't many authors around right now. Most people work as either farmers, shippers, or soldiers. So, not many new books, beyond what's needed for survival.
It's pretty amazing though, to see so much knowledge in one place. Most libraries didn't survive ninety years of exposure to the elements, and I wasn't allowed to go into any of the ones we found anyway, so seeing a place as big as this is new to me.
[As she says that, she gets that same distant look on her face that she had nearly a week ago, when an escaped Kitty brought Lavi around for a conversation.
Tuuri doesn't regret where her life has taken her. She just wishes she could have had more of it.]
[he can sympathize with sad feelings, and also that dark, bitter resentment that threatens to swallow him up from time to time. what he feels the most especially here in the library, just a fabrication of a place that holds so much meaning to him.]
You see, I know this guy. He can be a little silly at times, but he's got a good head on his shoulders and his heart is in the right place. And he's quite talented at recording history, or so I've been told. I'm sure that if I asked him to tell me stories, he would gladly do so.
[his eyebrow goes up as she speaks, then... ah, well -- the lightbulb moment had to come through eventually? lavi tips his head back and laughs, and thinks about how nice the sound can be, even after all that's happened.]
That's a whole lot to live up to.
You sure this guy knows his stuff? Maybe he doesn't know anything after all. Maybe he's just pretendin'.
He seems to know his stuff so far! He can speak several languages and has an appreciation for history and literature. And he's deviously smart too- as awful as that trial today was, he went above and beyond in searching out the truth and protecting everyone.
Even if he ends up not knowing as many books as he claims, that's alright. I've already found him to be admirable regardless.
[Indirect praise like this is far easier for Tuuri to give out, she would probably be too embarrassed to speak if she were saying these things to him directly.]
[happy for tuuri who isn't as embarrassed as lavi definitely is at hearing all of this, his hand goes to his head for want of doing anything else, scratching at his cheek. he's both pleased and a little confused, and of course, embarrassed. and also, something tugs at him too, the same feeling that always pulls at him when he meets someone new and likes them.
a feeling like he's running his fingers down a page of a book, wondering when it'll end.]
You know, I was plannin' on feeling sorry for myself for the rest of tonight.
[but now he can't? maybe he still could, but it'd be a little much]
You're gonna have to make it up to me, for interrupting my plans.
I suppose I do owe you for ruining your plans for the night! How about I offer up a story to make up for it?
[Nothing she knows feels interesting to her, but that's because she grew up in the world she did. Things that are normal to her might be new and exciting to someone else, who has never experienced life in the Finnish countryside before. And...a selfish part of her wants to tell her stories, to make sure there's someone out there who hears them and remembers. The desire to not be forgotten is a very human one, she thinks.]
[Lavi settles back, folding his arms behind his head as he gets comfortable.]
I'm all ears.
[and he'll remember too, he's sure. even if eternal damnation is real and eternity is a torment. he can't forget with a mind like his, even if he wanted to.]
[At the very least, she can tell him a story that isn't hellish to remember.]
We didn't have candy on the island I grew up on. There were sweet things, like fruits and honey and jams, but actual candy was too difficult to make and too expensive to import. I spent most of my childhood thinking the sweetest thing out there was honey, actually, and that nothing could possibly taste better than that.
But when I was ten, I got to go to Saimaa for the first time! It's the capitol of Finland- er, in my time it is at least- and there are so many different things to see there. It even had actual electricity, for everyone to use! I was a little scared when we first got there, but everyone was so nice to us. One of the ship workers even gave me and my cousin Lalli some candy, a few brightly-colored pieces that tasted like strawberries. The flavor was so intense that it nearly made me cry.
I've always had a bit of a sweet tooth since then, though candy is still pretty hard to come by in Finland.
[She pauses, and she looks a little embarrassed after.]
I know it's just a small thing, but it's things like that which really stick in my mind.
[It is a very small thing, a little thing. In the context of all the histories Lavi has recorded in the past, barely a blip on the pages.
But wouldn't it be nice, Lavi thinks, if the only history he had to record were those small things? He'd exchange a dozen wars for just this one story.]
Hey, it was a new experience. Nothing small about that.
Cute story, though... I'm curious to see what you looked like as a kid.
[At least her reasons for cutting her hair are less dramatic.]
I just wanted to try something new. I had long hair for years, even after I grew up I kept it long until a few months ago. Admittedly it's a lot easier wearing a mask with short hair like this too.
Yours is almost long enough to tie up! It's about as long as Lalli's is.
[And at that second question, she will mime a circle around the bottom of her face, covering her mouth and nose.]
It covers like this. I'm not immune to the Rash, so if I'm around anyone who might be infected I have to wear it to make sure I don't breathe it in. It doesn't protect against infection from bites or injuries, but it's one less worry still.
I had been thinking about if I should grow it back out or not, after the mission in the Silent World was over. But, well...I'm here now, so I guess it doesn't matter much anymore.
[For a brief moment, her gaze grows distant and regretful. But she recovers quickly, brightening up again.]
Actually, do you think our hair will grow while we're here?
[he sees that brief moment? but if Tuuri's looking for an answer, then he should respond in kind, right?]
That's a good question. [but first, he wants to point out that it is, because he definitely hasn't thought of it.]
Think depends on whether or not the rest of hell is gonna be like this even after the party... But I think it might grow a little now, during those seven weeks.
[It's honestly a question that opens up more questions, especially about how their bodies work after death. She's glancing down to her own fingernails now.]
I wonder if anything on us grows, actually. Some signs should be more obvious than others, yes?
[By the end of the week she'll notice if her fingernails are growing more or not.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2023-02-12 02:37 am (UTC)[Don't sleep in the library!!!
And it's fine! Everyone is strained today, she gets it. But she'll sit down next to him and grab a random book from nearby.]
You know, I've never seen this many books in one place before.
no subject
Date: 2023-02-12 02:52 am (UTC)[moving a little to make some room for her,]
Is it because they're part of the Old World...?
no subject
Date: 2023-02-12 03:07 am (UTC)It's pretty amazing though, to see so much knowledge in one place. Most libraries didn't survive ninety years of exposure to the elements, and I wasn't allowed to go into any of the ones we found anyway, so seeing a place as big as this is new to me.
no subject
Date: 2023-02-12 03:31 am (UTC)then in Finnish,]
...Your first library, and it had to be this one. With its missing pages and shitty endings.
[his fingers tap rapidly on his leg]
...Wish you could see a real one. Somewhere that isn't here.
1/2
Date: 2023-02-12 03:39 am (UTC)...yeah. Me too.
[As she says that, she gets that same distant look on her face that she had nearly a week ago, when an escaped Kitty brought Lavi around for a conversation.
Tuuri doesn't regret where her life has taken her. She just wishes she could have had more of it.]
2/2
Date: 2023-02-12 03:40 am (UTC)I don't need a whole library, though. There's something much better here.
no subject
Date: 2023-02-12 03:50 am (UTC)[he can sympathize with sad feelings, and also that dark, bitter resentment that threatens to swallow him up from time to time. what he feels the most especially here in the library, just a fabrication of a place that holds so much meaning to him.]
no subject
Date: 2023-02-12 03:57 am (UTC)That's way better than any library.
no subject
Date: 2023-02-12 04:31 am (UTC)That's a whole lot to live up to.
You sure this guy knows his stuff? Maybe he doesn't know anything after all. Maybe he's just pretendin'.
no subject
Date: 2023-02-12 04:44 am (UTC)Even if he ends up not knowing as many books as he claims, that's alright. I've already found him to be admirable regardless.
[Indirect praise like this is far easier for Tuuri to give out, she would probably be too embarrassed to speak if she were saying these things to him directly.]
no subject
Date: 2023-02-12 05:18 am (UTC)a feeling like he's running his fingers down a page of a book, wondering when it'll end.]
You know, I was plannin' on feeling sorry for myself for the rest of tonight.
[but now he can't? maybe he still could, but it'd be a little much]
You're gonna have to make it up to me, for interrupting my plans.
no subject
Date: 2023-02-12 05:33 am (UTC)I suppose I do owe you for ruining your plans for the night! How about I offer up a story to make up for it?
[Nothing she knows feels interesting to her, but that's because she grew up in the world she did. Things that are normal to her might be new and exciting to someone else, who has never experienced life in the Finnish countryside before. And...a selfish part of her wants to tell her stories, to make sure there's someone out there who hears them and remembers. The desire to not be forgotten is a very human one, she thinks.]
no subject
Date: 2023-02-12 05:54 am (UTC)I'm all ears.
[and he'll remember too, he's sure. even if eternal damnation is real and eternity is a torment. he can't forget with a mind like his, even if he wanted to.]
no subject
Date: 2023-02-12 06:35 am (UTC)We didn't have candy on the island I grew up on. There were sweet things, like fruits and honey and jams, but actual candy was too difficult to make and too expensive to import. I spent most of my childhood thinking the sweetest thing out there was honey, actually, and that nothing could possibly taste better than that.
But when I was ten, I got to go to Saimaa for the first time! It's the capitol of Finland- er, in my time it is at least- and there are so many different things to see there. It even had actual electricity, for everyone to use! I was a little scared when we first got there, but everyone was so nice to us. One of the ship workers even gave me and my cousin Lalli some candy, a few brightly-colored pieces that tasted like strawberries. The flavor was so intense that it nearly made me cry.
I've always had a bit of a sweet tooth since then, though candy is still pretty hard to come by in Finland.
[She pauses, and she looks a little embarrassed after.]
I know it's just a small thing, but it's things like that which really stick in my mind.
no subject
Date: 2023-02-13 07:26 am (UTC)But wouldn't it be nice, Lavi thinks, if the only history he had to record were those small things? He'd exchange a dozen wars for just this one story.]
Hey, it was a new experience. Nothing small about that.
Cute story, though... I'm curious to see what you looked like as a kid.
no subject
Date: 2023-02-13 12:31 pm (UTC)I had much longer hair then, and my mom would braid it into two pigtails for me. I was also far shorter, if you can believe that.
[She's already short, so bitty Tuuri was even shorter.]
no subject
Date: 2023-02-15 05:42 am (UTC)Pigtails, huh?
[that reminds him of... well, never mind that,]
How come you cut your hair? For work?
no subject
Date: 2023-02-15 12:28 pm (UTC)I just wanted to try something new. I had long hair for years, even after I grew up I kept it long until a few months ago. Admittedly it's a lot easier wearing a mask with short hair like this too.
no subject
Date: 2023-02-15 04:03 pm (UTC)I always put mine up too. It's annoying when it flops in my face.
[lavis truly middling fashion sense]
What kind of mask do you have to wear when you leave the zones? Like a gas mask...?
[also thinking of the plague doctor masks]
no subject
Date: 2023-02-15 05:22 pm (UTC)[And at that second question, she will mime a circle around the bottom of her face, covering her mouth and nose.]
It covers like this. I'm not immune to the Rash, so if I'm around anyone who might be infected I have to wear it to make sure I don't breathe it in. It doesn't protect against infection from bites or injuries, but it's one less worry still.
no subject
Date: 2023-02-16 05:15 am (UTC)[he thinks the decision is sensible, even though he still thinks it's a shame... (anita voice) don't let the war take away your hair]
no subject
Date: 2023-02-16 05:35 am (UTC)I had been thinking about if I should grow it back out or not, after the mission in the Silent World was over. But, well...I'm here now, so I guess it doesn't matter much anymore.
[For a brief moment, her gaze grows distant and regretful. But she recovers quickly, brightening up again.]
Actually, do you think our hair will grow while we're here?
no subject
Date: 2023-02-16 09:32 am (UTC)That's a good question. [but first, he wants to point out that it is, because he definitely hasn't thought of it.]
Think depends on whether or not the rest of hell is gonna be like this even after the party... But I think it might grow a little now, during those seven weeks.
[six now, he thinks]
no subject
Date: 2023-02-16 12:43 pm (UTC)I wonder if anything on us grows, actually. Some signs should be more obvious than others, yes?
[By the end of the week she'll notice if her fingernails are growing more or not.]
no subject
Date: 2023-02-16 03:47 pm (UTC)[thinky]
We can ask Eto if her burns are better now. Recovering from injuries is a type of growth, right?
(no subject)
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