WEEK 2

[grimgrinningghosts]

[One week. One week spent in the Haunted Mansion, and nothing seems to have changed. The hinges still creak in doorless chambers, strange and frightening sounds still echo through and you still occasionally catch a flicker of candlelight out of the corner of your eye. You might be slowly becoming familiar with the mundanity of this communal life, and we've recognized that possibility.

Something has to give.]

[SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY]

{ooc: Don't forget to turn in your week 1/intro AC! As per murdergame tradition, this begins our new weekly schedule - Tuesday and onwards are locked for the motive. Everybody's just working for the weekend.

Additionally, a few people this week are going to get tagged by...something. If you'd like to opt out of this, please let us know.}

Comments

[sixfingeredstan]

Can...can you not read?

[He supposes that demi-gods from cultures without written languages probably don't have much use for literacy. BUT STILL.]

Nevertheless, those are filled with information to those of us who can decipher it. You shouldn't be so careless with them.

[wannagetsmote]

So all this... actually makes sense to you? [Rather than throwing it, Maui picked up the next book and studied it intensely. It didn't make sense, filling pages and pages with information.]

Why not just... paint whatever story you're trying to tell? It seems easier than pages and pages of whatever this is.

[sixfingeredstan]

Of course it does. [Ford's arms are crossed over his chest, watching as Maui inspects the next book.]

Written language is far more expressive and efficient. It would take eons to paint pictures of everything that's written in a book.

[wannagetsmote]

Yeah? And it takes hours for someone to properly describe my awesomeness with their words. Or they could just show off a picture, and everyone would know.

[sixfingeredstan]

...I'm sure. Anyway, I don't expect you to understand the importance and nuance of the written word. All I can ask is that you treat these books with care and respect.

[wannagetsmote]

Yeah, uh huh, okay. Whatever. [He looked back down at the books, squinted at them for a few minutes, before finally looking back at Ford.]

So. These things are your legends, then? Your stories of heroes and all that? Why write them down? Doesn't anyone tell your stories aloud anymore?

[sixfingeredstan]

Some of them, yes! Some are stories, some are merely facts written down so other people can learn about them. [He gestures grandly.] Of course we do. To our children and friends, and students, and so forth. But there are so many people in the world, it also makes sense to write things down so that they can reach even more people than just one storyteller ever could.

[wannagetsmote]

Don't they get wet on your boats? The ink would run, right? The salt would mess with the parchment? [Maui reached out for another book, inspecting said pages for any damage. He had to admit, Maui liked the sound of what Ford was saying. If nothing else, the stories about his heroics would surely spread far and wide.]

And... how do you learn to do that? To understand that stuff?

[sixfingeredstan]

Well, most of us don't use boats that much. And when we do, we keep things safely stowed away to protect that. Mainly, we keep our books in rooms like this called libraries.

[Ford makes a thoughtful sound. How best to explain this?]

Well, you see, it all starts with the alphabet—the group of characters that make up each words. We have twenty-six letters, and each letter makes a certain sound. We teach our children these letters at a young age, and slowly build up their ability to translate groups of letters into sounds that make up each word.

[wannagetsmote]

You... don't use boats? But how do you -- [He shook his head. He could focus on that later, could drill the others on their apparent sedentary lifestyles. Right now, he was real curious about these books and the "letters" within them.]

You mean kids know this stuff? How?

[sixfingeredstan]

We do! Just not for all our travel needs. Most of us are land-locked.

[Ford nods with a little smirk.] Of course. Most children are capable of learning extraordinary things if you start them early enough. I could read by the time I was four years old.

[wannagetsmote]

Land-locked? Last I remembered, the islands were still small. How can you be land-locked when it's a quick trip to the shore?

[Maui squinted at the man, held up four fingers, then the rest of them as he counted within his head.]

That's... a lot younger than I am.

[sixfingeredstan]

We don't live on islands, for the most part. Or, well, we do, but they're very, very large. Many people don't have access to the ocean.

[Ford scoffs.]

That much is certain.

[wannagetsmote]

You're... a lot farther ahead in "time" than I am, huh?

[It had been fairly obvious from the get go but... While Maui wouldn't claim to understand the will of any god, he certainly didn't know how Te Fiti made her islands. Still, he could at least surmise that an island like that would take ages to form. And he couldn't imagine the strength it would take to pull it out of the sea.

Of course, Maui also hadn't missed the fact that for an island to keep growing, it would need the help of Te Fiti. A good sign, considering last he heard, she was still heartless.]

I'm guessing that means it's too late for someone like me to learn, right?

please let ford teach maui how to read............

[sixfingeredstan]

Yes, I'd wager a couple hundred years or so, but that's by no means certain.

[His expression gains a touch of sympathy.]

Not at all! It's never too late to learn.

please......

[wannagetsmote]

Things really changed in that time. Hard to imagine.

[While Ford looked sympathetic, Maui looked... almost downtrodden. His conversations with Wendy, heck, with anyone had revealed that almost no one thought about the gods anymore, or at least not the gods he knew. Considering his own situation... it made him just a bit uncomfortable.]

So if... someone unfathomably old but still stunningly attractive wanted to learn? Where would they start?

[sixfingeredstan]

They're changing all the time.

[Ford gives Maui a sly look.]

Well, I already know how to read. But if you wanted to learn...well, we've got plenty of time around here. I could help you out.

[wannagetsmote]

After thousands of years staying the same? A bit hard to take in.

[Not that he doubted Ford. It was hard not to, at this point.]

Psshh... A demi-god? Learning from a human. That'd be... That'd be... [He paused.] You wouldn't judge me?

[sixfingeredstan]

I suppose it would be. It's hard to take in change after even thirty years.

[Trust him, he'd know.]

Not at all. I wouldn't judge someone making a genuine effort to learn.

[wannagetsmote]

See, you understand.

[It's... weird. He's getting along with people. Getting to know them. He must be getting sick. Future-sick.]

Okay. Then... where should I start? If I actually wanted to learn, I mean.

[sixfingeredstan]

Of course I do.

[Tongue between his teeth, Ford turns his notebook horizontally and writes out the alphabet in big, clear block letters. He holds it up to show Maui.]

With this. The alphabet. These twenty-six letters make up the English language, with a few exceptions, of course.

Do you know any of these, or what sounds they make?

[wannagetsmote]

Of course I do. [Maui jabbed a thick finger forward, pointing out M-A-U-I in that order. After a minute or two, he pointed out a few more.]

These ones look like the one in the foyer. They're names, right?

[sixfingeredstan]

Excellent. Or, well, they make up names. So your name, Maui, is made up of four letters. [He points to each one as he says it aloud.] M, A, U, I. They are also a part of countless other words, but in this particular combination, they mean...you!

[He points out the letters to his own name, saying them aloud in turn.] Just like F-O-R-D spells my name. Ford.