[Walkabout] We interrupt your serious Jaunt posts with some very responsible Walkabout shenanigans

[runs]

[The feed comes on at first to show just Leo sitting on a rock by the coast, a small, slim, but obviously well read book in his hands. He can barely get his words out in between laughing, but he is, just about, reading out loud.]

And then the goodly child turned to her parents and said, "by the will of the Godly Ones I shall accept the marriage chosen for me, and repent my disobedience. For having walked alone hand in hand with our neighbour's son I have known pleasures of the flesh that the Godly Ones warned us against, and brought dishonour on my family. Let my marriage to the priest's son prove to me that the soul is more beautiful than body or actions and bring me back to the light."

And so the goodly child was married to the priest's son, and they brought forth many children to the world. Every day, she repented for her sins with hard labour, and when she died the Angels came down and took her to live with the Goodly Ones in live and peace. But the neighbour's son, who never repented his sins, lived a life of shame and wickedness, and thought often of her hand in his, until the Goodly Ones smited him for his wicked ways. The Devils dragged him down to hell where--


Aaaaaaand that's enough of that. [Leo stops, abruptly, though there appear to be several pages left. He flicks through them, pulling a face.] Apparently illustrations of what happens in hell aren't sinful.

Show meeeee, [a cat's voice can be heard closer by. It probably is a cat, because the voice is closer to a protesting mreowwwww than an actual voice. She seems to be the source of the sensory streaming.]

Not a chance. I think I want to unsee them. [Leo closes the book, firmly.]

Boo. ...so what about that other book? [She looks at a book that reads 'the ABC of Virtues and Sins' on the front cover.

...but then the scene changes abruptly. Now the are in a sparse classroom. This time, Leo is perched on the side of the teacher's desk, the alphabet marked out on the chalkboard.] Now remember, the Goodly Cat is watching you, and if you make a mistake, we will know. Shall we start with the sins? [He uses a ruler to point at A, and then looks pointedly at the children as a cue.

The children start to sing.]

Adultery, Blasphemy, Coveting what is your neighbour's
Dancing, Envy, Fri-vol-ty
Gluttony, Heresy, Impatience, Jealousy
Keeping sins to yourself, Lust, Murder, Nudity.
Ogling and Pride,
Quailing before judgement,
Rebellion, Sloth, Torpor and Unbelief
Vanity, Wrath
Following a bad example
Yielding to temptation
running with the zealots.

[As the children sing, the view changes table legs and children's legs come into view until the streamer with one languid jump lands on a child's table, making the poor boy almost jump out of his skin. He soldiers on bravely with the song though, and the cat now marches around the tables, being watched anxiously out of the corners of the children's eyes. There's an odd sensation in the livestream (because that is what it is this time around), almost like she's distractedly snacking on the side.

At times, her eyes go back to Leo, who purses his lips thoughtfully.] Hmm... I guess that'll do... For now. [The threat hangs in the air for a moment, before he taps the A again with his ruler.] And now the virtues. [The children's eyes go forth and back between the cat and Leo, the actual teacher standing forgotten by the door, watching how her pupils are doing with some anxiety herself, but they launch into the next song without hesitation.]

Abstinence, Belief, Charity and Diligence, Equanimityyyyyyyyy
Forgiveness with-due-repentence, generosityyyyyyyyy
Humility, Industriouseness,
Justive, kindness, love,
Mercy and nurturing, Obedience
Prayer, quiet, repentance, sa-cri-fice,
Temperance and unity
vigilance and worship
always a good example
yearning for righteousness and zealous,

[and then the last bit is crowed with abandon and clearly under the impression that feeling is best expressed by volume,]

are we!

[Leo stares at the children for a moment, and then looks directly at the viewer.] Did the one to your left sound a little slow, Goodly Cat?

Comments

[willyousee]

....Oh dear sweet and blessed Elua. They set them to music. Of course they set them to music. Zealousness is in there for both sins and virtues! How on earth are they meant to obey when everything is as confusing and nonsensical as humanly - elvishly - possible?!

[Alcuin may be losing his patience. Rapidly.]

[runs]

I think it's okay to be zealous but not for the wrong things, or something. I don't know if there's a list of wrong and right things though.

[willyousee]

Is that not precisely what they just sang? Sins and Virtues are the bad and the good, in list form!

[runs]

They don't work, though. Being dirty is also a sin, the teacher scolded a kid earlier for it, and humans have to get naked to wash themselves so nudity doesn't work as a sin.

[willyousee]

These are the cardinal ones - the most important. And believe me, you will tell a child anything to make sure they wash before eating.

[runs]

...Well, adults suck.

[At least when it comes to things like washing and such.]

So sometimes you have to commit a sin to not commit another, greater sin. [...that sounds both useful, because it would make it possible to override people's reluctance to do something sinful, and like a royal pain in the ass.]

[willyousee]

Usually, no. Usually they do not contradict one another. Usually sins and virtues stand alone.

Do not kill. Do not steal. Do not swear by the gods. Do not lie. Do not envy another. Do not overeat. Do not hoard money, items, or food beyond what you need.

Keep the holy days. Respect your parents and neighbors. Be generous. Be productive. Consider all things carefully before making a judgement. Keep a balance in your daily life. Love as you will. Be faithful to the gods. Keep hope in your heart. Take courage to do what is right.

There should be no contradictions, if at all possible.

I never got a notif for this :|

[runs]

Maybe it is so people will be easier to control, because they always feel guilty for something.

[But there is a problem with that thought.]

But there is nobody who controls them except each other. There is nobody who gains anything from this.

No worries!

[willyousee]

They gain from it. Their belief strengthens them. It gives them hope. It also tells them that they shall achieve paradise if they follow the rules. The control comes in as they police one another. There is nothing a destitute person likes better than to feel superior to another.

[runs]

Their belief means that they're more likely to die from malnutrition or lack of medical attention, or work accidents.

[She sees where he's coming from, but it's also ...well. She doubts that the gain is high enough to justice this still going on. It just makes no sense to her.]

[willyousee]

....How do you mean? There is nothing against the treatment of wounds or against eating, is there?

[runs]

They sure have something against effectively making and storing food so they'll have enough for everyone at all times.

[She doesn't know how food making works, but she can see the signs of an economy that is never far above the point of potential starvation should something happen to the food supply. And the signs of pointedly neglecting to fix such issues.

Being a cat lets you observe quite a lot that a humanoid investigator might not observe as readily, partly because while the Prudencians know that there is a Goodly Cat, there are so many cats around the island that it's hard to tell which one of them is her.]

And they seem to consider pain and illness something that means that you have sinned and that is best cured by repenting a lot, not by giving it medical attention.

[willyousee]

[There's a short, shocked silence, before he whispers:]

Eisheth's tears... Are you serious?

[runs]

Yeah.

[Is there anything else that she has gathered on either topic...]

And if a baby is ill the parents have sinned. Because not even they think that a baby is old enough to sin.

[itsananimalthing]

Would you guys stop tormenting the locals? Shit. Leave the kids alone.

[runs]

They're not doing anything here that they wouldn't do normally.

[itsananimalthing]

Except you're makin' them nervous by giving them critisicm and threats for if they don't do good enough. They're fuckin' kids, Kitty. Let them think they've done good and not worry that their gods are going to punish them cuz they weren't perfect.

[Riddick is, apparently a little angry about this. It's bad enough the people here think they're gods; abusing it by making children uncomfortable is not something he's going to stand for.]

[runs]

They don't need gods to be punished, or punishing themselves, for not being perfect. They can do that themselves just fine.

[She sounds rather petulant. Look, they're doing research! And having a bit of fun on the side, okay. But mostly they're gathering information.]

[itsananimalthing]

Except we're their gods, and you just made them think they did a bad job. If you hadn't done that, they'd be less guilty and less afraid.

You wanna make the locals sing? Fine, whatever. But don't fuckin' tell them they didn't do it good enough when they think you might punish them for it. That's cruel.

[runs]

...I'm not Leo.

[Riddick isn't necessarily wrong in his estimate of her, but it's too deeply settled into her bones to deny accusations when there is no direct proof for them, and she has in fact not said anything in this class.

Yet.

Everyone is kind of looking at her now, and she just... shakes her head and wanders onwards to the next child. Because if she just claimed that she won't blame anyone, she probably shouldn't do it right now. Even if it would look funny.]

[itsananimalthing]

You ain't stoppin' him, either. Cut it out, stop makin' kids feel bad, both of you, or I'll come interrupt your fun. And I'm pretty sure you won't enjoy that.

[pretentiouself]

Eh. I wasn't planning on actually giving any of them any kind of punishment. [Probably, anyway. And certainly nothing worse than 'you must repent by stroking the cat god'.]

[itsananimalthing]

You don't have to. You're makin' them punish themselves just fine with worry and guilt for not living up to whatever standards you're implyin' you got.

Tell 'em they did good. Don't imply they did bad, because then they'll be afraid of punishment-- whether or not you're plannin' on giving them any-- and that's cruel to do to a bunch of kids. Shit, do I have better morals than you people do? That's fucked up, I'm a murderer.

[runs]

I don't think he's competent enough at anything but his actual job to directly kill a person.

[This is totally reassuring.]

[pretentiouself]

I never claimed to do wet work. [Seriously, does he look like a fighter? And, well, he might have some morals. Somewhere. Maybe.]

And why shouldn't they be afraid of punishment? It's all they're likely to get here. Should we coddle them so that when we leave and things go back to normal they get punished for the things they've learnt to get away with us?

[itsananimalthing]

Maybe a little support and praise from the Goodly Ones, or whatever, will make them start to think that being punished all the time is a fuckin' bad thing. Because it is. It's how you make murderers, thieves, and generally angry people. I should know, I've met a whole lot of them.