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WEEKLY BULLETIN

announcements
What do you get when you combine a Catholic and a spirit child? I don't know, it's not a joke, it's just an announcement that one of the spirits-- a baby, it looks like-- has been adopted.

What an awful week, though. Both the exploration group and the distraction group did so well, and honestly? It made a difference. You guys should be proud.

On a lighter note, autumn is just around the corner! Look for temp drops and gusty weather cropping up in the next week or so.

classifieds
None.

If you wish to submit an advertisement, please drop them by the post office.

obituaries
Capt. Ben Winters: at least he died as he lived: doing something worthwhile. Thank you, Winters.

Number Five: clever right to the end.

A whole host of people have gone missing since the party... We haven't found their bodies or their lanterns yet, but I think it's safe to assume they're probably gone. Here's the list: Melisandre, Yaeris, Gene Hicks, Ahven Sychantus, Scott Ryder, Nathan Drake, Brienne of Tarth, Raylen Givens, John Constantine, Chloe Frazier, Irwin Wade, Elisha Harper, Dick Grayson, Aragorn, Rafe Adler, Billy Russo, Ben Hargreeves, Kyna Midha, Washington, Sam Drake, Daniel Riordan, Replica Riku Dawn, Eleven, Shadow Moon

[Worthy of note: this bulletin comes to you not via a newspaper, but by the network, now that Robin's connected with you guys once more!]

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Coffee's the third one. Tobacco's a fourth. We all just want to make ourselves feel better.

[Shrug.]

Dunno that I'd say I like my drinks sweet normally, but it's just what most people do with strong black tea so I'm used to it. I don't normally put sugar in coffee, on the other hand. Only if someone burned it, or made it too strong.

[Idiot cabin boys are the type to never get coffee right and if he was picky about his caffeine he'd never get any work done. They could stand to take lessons from Baby 5 because when she wasn't purposefully trying to burn him, she did actually manage pretty well.

A few sturdy forest spirits waddle over and are joined by others to form a couple towers with which to pass along the heated kettle until it reaches their cups. Rosinante watches them pour carefully, happy to let them do it. Given his track record in the last fifteen minutes, he'd probably spill it all over himself.]

Those are two things I'm not familiar with. Not to say they don't exist in my world, but if they do they're from far away and haven't reached my court, yet.

[he nods his approval to the spirits, who chitter happily that they managed a job well done, and sniffs somewhat dubiously at the packet of tea before putting it in to steep.]

Well. I do like trying new things, so while tea isn't new, your additions are worth testing. What about honey, have you tried that?

Yeah, it's just harder to come by. Some islands have lots of flowers and lots of bees but it must just be easier to grow and ship sugar cane, or sugar beets. Honey's kind of a special treat.

[And usually served drizzled over pastries, or spooned onto buns with cream. Why must honey be ruined by pairing it with bread? Dressrosa is known for its honey, he recalls reading - must be all the flowers that make it possible.

The tea will have to steep for a few minutes, so standing here it is. Means it's time for another cigarette, so he lifts his lantern up onto the bar and opens the top so he can expose one to the flame.]

Anyway, if you want to get familiar with coffee and tobacco there's plenty to go around. Rastus so far hasn't had any trouble getting cigarettes.

[the slightest deadpan] I think my brief experience with tobacco is all I will ever need. But tell me about coffee...

[please get the emperor hooked on a stronger caffeine fix than tea, it'll end great]

Easy to get here, just ask the spirits. Doctor Ingram must have trained them ages ago to just always have some ready.

[In fact, Will probably isn't far away with his table piled high with empty mugs. He seems to live here. Seems to subsist on caffeine and a more intangible sort of bitterness.]

It's stronger than tea in flavor and it'll wake you up twice as quickly. It's a bean instead of a leaf, but you grind it into a powder and mix it with hot water.

Stronger than tea...

[sold. He'll totally have some later. For now let's doctor this tea with some sugar. Just a tiny bit, no need to go crazy and regret it immediately, that would be such a waste]

The world is a vast and fascinating place. Or, the universe is, however you want to look at it. So many things I could try, now that I'm dead and I have access to anything I want. [wagging a finger as he takes his cup and turns to find a nice seat somewhere.] Except, apparently, a good xiaolongbao.

[Pardon him while he waits a little longer. The tea in bags here isn't the strongest. He probably should just try doing two bags per mug one of these days. But eventually he does meander his way over after finally deciding it's steeped enough. One sugar, not too much milk. There must be some way to improve it past that based on what this town can provide but he hasn't tried too hard.

Fortunately enough, he makes it to the table without spilling his drink, sets it down, and just kneels on the floor. He should keep a stack of pillows in the corner - usually he brings one down from his room in the morning.]

What's a... that? What you said. Never heard of that.

[there's a flash of interest - it means something didn't get translated, which fascinates Cao Pi. He's working hard on figuring out the boundaries of what is and and isn't understood and how to deliberately use his own tongue. It's easier with writing but speaking is still a crapshoot of arbitrary rules.]

They are steamed buns, filled with pork. The Wu peoples of the eastern provinces make very delicious versions of them, I like to request them for a snack when no one is watching. [he smirks over his mug] It's surprisingly gauche for an emperor to be seen publicly eating peasant food, but something about the delicate steamed skins and soft dough is irresistible.

[That was some unnecessarily flowery description for peasant food there, buddy. Rosinante lifts an eyebrow, then eyes his steaming hot tea. No, better wait longer, let's not forget that was just made.]

Never had that but I guess people fill buns with anything. I don't think there's much from home I miss that I can't find here, though. Maybe umeboshi.

[That would be an utterly divine treat. Everything else he's wanted, he's managed to make on his own, but his palate isn't exactly... imperial. Stir-fries and salads and stews are all simple enough.]

Well, that's true. They do. [don't even get him started! though he wonders at the word. It feels like something he's heard before, but not with the familiarity of his own homeland. Was that something Mitsunari mentioned? It could be.] ...umeboshi. What is that? Is it any good?

[better than tinned soup from the general store?]

If it wasn't good, I wouldn't miss it.

[The subtlest of smirks crosses his face as he tests his teacup again with his fingers. Finding it hot enough to touch, he takes a careful sip. Pulls away a little too quickly because yes that still burns, and splatters a portion of it on the table. Whoops. He holds up a finger to say "one second" as he reaches for a napkin to clean it up.]

Uh, there. Umeboshi are plums. Pickled in wine, then dried. They're really sour and salty at once. But they're addictive. Supposed to be good for you too, I guess.

[oh man why didn't his cooks ever think of that?]

I love plums. I didn't know they could be pickled, that's...quite interesting. [a thought hits him which makes him chuckle dryly] Perhaps this really is hell, if it's a place bent on not giving us the things we love the most. At least, not easily. I take it Master Rastus is doing well at getting your tobacco.

So far, yeah. Cigarettes and makeup. He came through with more than I'd asked for, so hopefully this next time around he'll be able to keep that up.

[Man, he does miss umeboshi now that he's thinking about it. Damn. There were pickled cucumbers at the general store last time he'd been there, but those weren't remotely the same.]

Did you ask him for anything on the next ferry?

[Cao Pi finally tastes his tea. Hm. Not much of an improvement. Oh well.]

No, not yet. I haven't decided whether I want a brush and ink that badly or if I can live without it. Make no mistake, I like the pens with ink inside them but...well. Maybe I should make the request, so I can demonstrate the difference visually.

[well! now they're sitting and chatting nicely, what a good time to bring up terrible topics and really get to know each other.]

So. Were there any other unique experiences worth relating, out there in the forest?

Nothing I hadn't seen before. Mostly quiet, like what you and I saw. Just a lot of trees and darkness. I know if you keep going instead of crossing the fence, there's a trail that runs out that way to what Winters said was some sort of museum. Maybe I'll go there next.

[He tries the tea again, and yes, all right. This time it's easier to drink.. He thinks it's fine, but again, he's just not that picky so long as bread isn't involved. The tea is hot, a little sweet, and the little pick-me-up the caffeine will provide is always welcome.]

A museum? Hm. [what kind of valuable information might be waiting for them out there? sign him up for a trip out when things have settled down in town]

So many secrets all around us. We learn one new thing, and five more mysteries arise around it. I do enjoy unraveling puzzles but this is...far more monumental than keeping up with the imperial court.

Funny. I think I can see why, though. When you're in charge of things, you still have people advising you, and a whole history of how it's been done before to draw from. Here, we've got...

[He looks around the tavern, then shrugs. Yep. This is what they've got, all right.]

An antagonistic lighthouse tender and some darkness. And free beer.

[god it's so true, isn't it? Cao Pi practically snorts into his tea]

The perks so far are not at all worth the headache, the wine is barely passable. But you seem to have made the most of them already. Tell me, commander, is there anything else you miss? Anything more poignant than pickled plums?

Yeah. Of course. People I cared about back home. The open sea. Sunlight.

[He's never been particularly claustrophobic, but the world feels so much smaller than the one he knew. When you can't see even a hundred feet ahead, when there's no horizon, everything feels too close. Too isolated.

Being as he's dead, Rosinante doesn't expect to see Law or Sengoku or anyone else ever again. That world is gone for him, and it's sad, but he did what he could to make it a better place. Kind of failed, and he'll probably dwell on that for as long as he's here. But this world might at least get some sunlight back some day if they work out how, so that's something to look forward to seeing again at least.]

[he makes a soft noise of commiseration under his breath. God, sunlight. He can't even begin to describe how badly he misses sunlight but. Hmm, that's a lot of vulnerability. You first, Rosinante]

The people we care about are better off alive, I think. I'm actually quite glad that my wife isn't here. Even if I do miss her terribly.

[there, that's enough vulnerability to get started with]

[So he was married? It's not much of a surprise, thinking on it now, even though Rosinante hadn't given one thought to anyone's marital status here. But of course, an emperor probably had an empress. The culture he's from - even though he doesn't know a lot about it, he can guess at it based at some of the royal traditions in his own world. It would be important to have a wife and to have heirs in line for the throne.]

I'm sorry. I hope she's faring all right. What's she like?

As do I. [well, the rest of his retainers will take good care of her, he guesses, so long as his father doesn't do anything gross] My lady is the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes upon. I fell in love with her the moment I met her, you know. On a battlefield. She tried to kill me.

[and that says A LOT about the two of them really]

She is extremely talented in playing the flute. Her music was always an inspiration to my writing.

[He chuckles a little at the description of their meeting as he sips at his tea. That's... kind of adorable. Really. Huh. In a warrior way.]

I always hear stories about nobles having arranged, political marriages. What you have sounds much nicer. You're lucky.

[He doesn't say had. It doesn't feel right. Cao Pi is still very much alive and in love with her. She should move on if she likes, but he's not about to suggest that Cao Pi should think of the relationship as over.]

I'm sure she'll remember you for your bravery and your poetry. That's an honorable legacy to leave.

[oof, opening up like this carried the risk of being too personal, and there it is. Cao Pi takes it in stride but there are definite cracks in his usual calm veneer.]

I suppose, had things gone far more sour for Wei my father might have reached for that tactic to shore up alliances, but he never had to. Thankfully. Zhenji is the only woman for me, he can keep his harem of concubines.

[ancient royalty sex lives are a trip, y'all]

Is it? Well. She may remember me far more fondly than some. I can be honest with myself about that.

[Modern (for him) royalty sex lives are something crazy too from his limited understanding. He's happy not knowing the details.

Anyway, he shrugs.]

Can't please everyone. I know that's a cliche, but I imagine for the leader of a large kingdom it's doubly true. People who desperately want to be liked probably aren't good leadership material, anyway.

[Take Sengoku, for example. Excellent leader in his wholly unbiased opinion, but even he has questions. How in the hell was what happened to Flevance acceptable? Even from an objective, security and order-minded point of view? He'll never get to ask, now.]

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