We're Being Very General Today

[batteryacid]

Who: Eddie Kaspbrak & [ANYONE]
What: day to day stuff
When: general October/November timeframe
Where: Eddie's farm, out and about in town
Warnings: death (assisted suicide, vampire engages in blood drinking)

EDIT (11/10): Extending this log into November because these general prompts are still good



Food Isn't Going to Grow Itself
Eddie's day is pretty full with working on the farm. This is most likely the place that you will find him, just by virtue of the fact that it's a full time job and where he lives.

If he invited you over, feel free to just swing by! Wanna chat? No problem! Feel a need to call him out about something he did? Go for it!

You're being chased by a monster in the woods and need a safe haven? That's why he keeps a lantern by the front gate. (There's a wooden sign painted with "E. Kaspbrak Farm" also on the gate, but that wouldn't be visible in the dark...)

This is most likely where you'll find him unless you've invited him elsewhere.

Been Hanging Around This Town
To be fair, Eddie isn't a total recluse, and you stand a decent chance of catching him in town -- especially in the evenings, before full dark has fallen.

For anyone who wouldn't want to -- or wouldn't be able to -- make a trek out to Northwest Hollow and his farm, he sometimes does sword-training with River at the Festival Green.

He might be at the tavern or some other venue where Grace Holloway is giving a performance, just enjoying the vibes.

Or hell, maybe you caught him on a daytime visit to the shopping district. That's a possibility. He does chat with the tailors a lot -- he's probably going to end up doing as they suggest, and grow flax come springtime.

Wildcard
Anything else you can think of, and probably also for fallout from other October events!

****


[Locked to Angel] - Gotta Feel Your Feelings

After a talk with Cecil, Eddie shows up at Angel's townhouse. He knocks on the door and waits for a response.

He's not supposed to be alone with his grief, for his lost friend (lost friends, really, for all that the others still live). Eddie thinks maybe that's why he hasn't been able to feel it, has been pushing it away and back and just telling himself 'not now'. It's not the sort of grief that you fall into without a hand to help you back out.

****

[Locked to Erik] - Assistance Needed
The advertisement is placed on the community bulletin board like any other request.

Assistance Needed in Planned Death (As Soon As Possible)

Anyone with ideas for a relatively painless and least traumatic method of death is welcome to share them with Eddie Kaspbrak. Willingness to actually carry out said method would be appreciated.
Reasoning to be shared with those who respond in person. Please visit E. Kaspbrak Farm, Northwest Hollow.

And below the printed words, there is an additional handwritten note: Yes, I am aware that death is temporary here, I wouldn't be asking if it were otherwise. Serious inquiries only!

****

Comments

[batteryacid]

Eddie is busy, as Eddie usually is -- currently, he's weeding one of the plots, where little green leaves on dark red stems are pushing up from the ground. He doesn't notice the approach of the newcomer until Bobbin and Thread start clucking with some alarm upon noticing the new man.

Eddie looks up, raises a hand in greeting, and says "Hello there!"

[300kgbackpack]

Upon noticing the chickens, Sam crouches, watching them rather than looking back at Eddie.

He's never seen a chicken in real life before.

"Hey. Didn't know anyone was home, sorry 'bout that."

[batteryacid]

"...." Eddie watches this frankly bizarre behavior with a quizzical look on his face.

The white chicken, Bobbin, fluffs up her feathers in an attempt to look bigger (and scary), while the brown chicken, Thread, lowers her head and peers at Sam... looking for all the world like she's trying to imitate him. As if she's thinking 'Strange new human is being strange! Is this a new game?'

"Oh," Eddie purposely makes his voice flat, and deadpans, "Were you casing the place?"

[300kgbackpack]

Eyebrows go up about the white chicken fluffing up, and his stance shifts, hands atop his knees to keep himself braced. If it weren't for Eddie's question he might have clucked back at them both.

"Might be wondering if I can steal your bird." Accompanied by the most subtle 'I've just told a joke, please get it' tilt of his head. But he drops it not long after. "Nah man, just following the map around getting to know the place."

[batteryacid]

"You can always get chickens of your own by becoming a farmer," Eddie points out. It's not the most popular profession (for one to take on) and he knows it. "Although I suppose backyard chickens were a thing even back home, so maybe the poultry farmer would give you a hen or two for that."

Bobbin eyes Sam for a little bit longer, then sort of grumbles to herself, "Bok bokka bok..." as her feathers smooth out. She scratches at the dirt for bugs, keeping one eye on Sam. Thread inches a little closer to Sam, cautiously, but with a curious tilt to her head.

"And Bobbin... the white one..." Eddie explains, "is more likely to steal something of yours and come running back home. She's feisty."

[300kgbackpack]

Sam just watches the chickens going about their business, then finally pushes himself back to his feet and looking over the plots that Eddie is currently in the middle of tending. He still hasn't moved any closer than the fences.

"Good thing I don't have anything worth stealin'," he mutters, then shakes his head some. "Not cut out to be a farmer. Like I said, just getting to know the area. See where the trails go. All that jazz."

[batteryacid]

"It doesn't matter if it has value, really," Eddie says with a chuckle. "She stole a wooden spoon from the tavern once, and I have to keep returning my neighbor's socks to him. It's all about the thrill of the heist for Bobbin."

Eddie nods in acknowledgement to Sam's comment. "Exploring is probably a good idea. I'm sort of a homebody, so I settled in first chance I got." He stands as well, surveys the cleaned up rows of his beet plants. Then he glances over at Sam. "You're welcome to visit whenever you like."

An opening for Sam to offer his services in delivery, perhaps.

[300kgbackpack]

A vague sort of amusement comes over his face at the mental image of the little yardbird making off with the silverware from town.

"Got used to knowing whole regions just by walkin' around 'em. Figure I should do the same around here. Not as much ground to cover at least." He pauses a moment, looking over the property. "You good out here?"

Opening tentatively taken. He's used to serving homebodies, so asking is just second nature.

[batteryacid]

Another nod, a comment of "Solid plan," in response to Sam's explanation.

"Oh, sure. Doing just fine," Eddie replies to the question. "Harvest time for these crops comes around, though, not too sure how I'll get everything into town in a timely manner."

[300kgbackpack]

"How do you guys normally do that? Saw there weren't any vehicles..."

[batteryacid]

"I've only been here for a month, so I don't know about 'normally', but it was horse-drawn carts when we had to transport parts of the giant Mother Crab from the beach to the factories."

Eddie tilts his head thoughtfully. "Incidentally, there's probably going to be a lot of jarred crab on offer in the winter months when it comes to grocery packages."

He gives his head a little shake, to dismiss those musings.

[300kgbackpack]

"Never had actual crab before," Sam muses briefly, before mentally shaking himself from that train of thought and looking back in the direction of the village proper. "Dunno what shape you guys' courier service is in but I was pretty good at that. You need help, you let me know."

[batteryacid]

"Would I go to the Oak and Iron to find you, or did you get a home assigned to you already?"

[300kgbackpack]

"Oak and Iron, yeah. Lookin' at other places outside the main stretch though."

[batteryacid]

"All right. If anything comes up soon, I'll look for you at the tavern. Let me know when you move out, too?"

Eddie waves a hand toward his farmhouse. "By the way, you wanna come in? I could make us some tea."

[300kgbackpack]

"Yeah, sure. I mean, if nothin' else, there's gotta be a bulletin board up, you can leave me a note there."

Eddie might miss the spark of anxiety over the invitation, as Sam quickly covers it, saying "I'm more of a coffee guy, personally."

[batteryacid]

"Some other time, then," Eddie says. He picks up on the polite refusal.

"I plan to eventually expand, add a greenhouse, to see about growing coffee. This climate is just a little too cold, even for the more hardy variety that Bruno's got. But it'll be a while..."

Eddie doesn't grow the tea he drinks either, but it's a little more readily available than coffee. He's lucky that the local farmer is willing to provide him with some plants, once Eddie has a greenhouse, because Bruno can set the prices. Bruno has the drying and roasting operation all set up, and Eddie will really just be growing more raw materials for that.

[300kgbackpack]

Sam surveys the little plot of land, brow furrowed. It was a hell of a project, if Eddie was doing it on his own...

"This guy (sorry chris he doesn't actually know yr pronouns...) I met in the woods was talking about chickoree root. Nothing against all that but I'm already getting a headache from the caffeine withdrawal."

[batteryacid]

"Bruno supplies the tavern and a few other businesses with real coffee. It's usually rationed." Eddie shrugs. "You could maybe ask him about being looped in as a private customer, but he's pretty much got a monopoly on the stuff and can charge whatever he wants."

[300kgbackpack]

"Rationing. Makes sense," he mutters. He mutters a lot. It's just his natural volume.

He turns back again, and gets about as close to eye contact as he ever does, which means about the region of Eddie's chin. "Whaddaya need for that? Lumber, plastics, ceramic...?" He has no idea what goes into the construction of a greenhouse.

[batteryacid]

"I don't have the funds to build it yet. I submit a plan to Town Hall, they figure out how to make the upgrades, and give me the costs for materials and labor. Right now, I'm still working on a plan."

For a moment, he looks out over the farm... maybe picturing some parts of the upgrade he plans.

"And I think Town Hall has an actual architect who drafts a workable blueprint from our designs." Eddie gives a self-deprecating little laugh. "Which is good, because I'm not good at drawing."

[300kgbackpack]

Huh. Not actually needing to provide the materials to the individual locations is new to him. Usually he would have had to try and transport small-scale construction materials himself, sometimes with the air of a bike or truck.

...Is he gonna need to actually get a horse?

"Well, at least you got people takin' care of that for ya." Spoken like a man that's had to do a lot of shit on his own.

[batteryacid]

Oh, transporting the stuff to the farm itself will still need to happen when Eddie can actually pay for an upgrade to his business. The operation could likely use Sam's porter experience when it gets underway. It's just not happening yet.

"Actually, since you mentioned it, I don't even know if this world has plastics." Eddie gives a little frown, trying to think back if he's seen any since coming here.

At Sam's comment about people taking care of things for him, Eddie shrugs again. "The locals have been stuck here for years, making do in a half-empty town with monsters all over the place. They've developed an ethos of banding together to face hardships. I think it's nice."

[300kgbackpack]

"No kidding." He could believe it, just based on everything else he's seen. They're living in a pre-plastic world out here.

A glance toward the village, and Sam shrugs in kind. "Props to them for keepin' on, I guess. 'specially if the monsters wander in on 'em." He's not going to ask what kind of monsters are out there; there are ghosts, and the ghosts are apparently harmless, so he'd run with the assumption that the rest just might be too unless it's proven otherwise.

[batteryacid]

"People can... put up with a lot of crap and still hope." Eddie gives a little sigh.

"Best to carry a light if you ever have to go out at night, though I wouldn't recommend night wanderings. I stayed out a little past sunset once, checking some snare traps, and got attacked by the Pine Devil. I was lucky that someone else was there to fight it off."