YazebaPbP/ThirdChapter

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A Yazeba's Bed and Breakfast adventure.

The Third Chapter: Firefly Catching

It was a cool night, in that warm summer way. The sky was crowded with brilliant stars, perfectly mirroring the fireflies flickering among the trees. Sal was sitting in one of the chairs on the back porch, looking out at the woods that surround the Bed & Breakfast. His guitar was heavy in his hands, and he could feel a song burning underneath his fingertips.

(sal’s handwriting)

Someday, I’ll see the contrails for what they are …
… I’ve named every light but one…
… I just want to trace that line and know

He sighed. The song in his head was louder than any chords he could play, and none of the words fit. Sal probably could’ve stayed on that porch forever, until the screen door creaked open and Hey Kid wandered over.

“Hey Sal-Sal? Is everything okay?” Hey Kid held up a plate of spaghetti. “Parish wanted me to bring you some dinner, since you missed it and all.”

Sal shrugged. “Thanks, Kid. Lots of stuff on my mind sometimes. I must’ve been distracted.”

Hey Kid hopped up into another wicker chair, and looked up at Sal. In the light of the lonely bulb hanging over the porch, Sal looked … older than he is, and sadder too. Hey Kid glanced out at the dark woods, and the crisp air, and the stars. They took a deep breath, and tapped on Sal’s guitar. “Hey Sal-Sal, wanna go firefly catching?”


Our Cast:

  • thenorm42 as Sal
  • Naphthalim as Amelie
  • FrivYeti as Hey Kid
  • Fluorite as Parish

Key Events

  • Amelie began attempting to clean up all the fireflies, leading Hey Kid to panic
  • Parish laid out a picnic for the firefly catchers; his leg was feeling better
  • Hey Kid and Amelie discussed cleaning Hey Kid's room

Hey Kid's Question

  • Sal accepts that growing up means accepting that "things can't be exactly as you dreamed, but realising they can still be worthwhile and fulfilling"
  • Parish says that "gathering more life experiences is part of growing up. You get more used to the world around you, but that doesn’t mean you lose your sense of wonder or fun"
  • Amelie belives that "it's a bit of both, it's like reviewing your past tape and recognizing the patterns you've found before reviewing it and updating your profile so that you're more efficient."
  • Hey Kid thinks that maybe growing up is just about figuring yourself out. Like, what you want to do and what you need to do, and doing things for other people. And it's not like you have to get all serious. Sal likes to play, and he's a grown-up. But... maybe he's still growing. Maybe everyone is. Maybe everyone is growing up, and no one is grown up, like, forever. Except Yazeba, I can't imagine her changing.

Sal's Question

  • Hey Kid wonders if Maybe I'm kind of like a firefly, still. Everyone at the B&B is so grown up, except maybe Gertrude. They get all worked up and forget to play. Maybe it's not just them telling me what to do. Maybe I need to remind them that they can be adults and still play.
  • My purpose is to scan for messes and be polite to guests," Amelie offer, something having shifted, but it remains unsaid.
  • Parish announces that “I suppose the real challenge is staying true to yourself when life, or indeed a rogue enchantment, surprises you. One can always serve others! It may be easier when one is in their original form, but I’d like to think I do well regardless.”
  • Sal says, "I think for me it's about reaching people, and helping people. I used to think the stage was the best place to broadcast my message from. Now I'm starting to feel like it needs to be a two-way street, like you can't teach without learning yourself, y'know?"

The Big Question

  • Ultimately, Hey Kid decides It's okay if things change.
  • Amelie decides I often forget that performing an activity with your friends is not the same as being idle. Or at least I used to not understand this.
  • Parish muses that any change by outside forces changes you on the inside too, and that's not always bad.
  • And Sal thinks There's always time for songwriting tomorrow...

Chapter Rules

Firefly Catching is played in a Pensive Mood. We start play with three questions that we are struggling with, and work to create an answer. Whenever one of us does a Bingo or a Whoopsie, we will collect a token from one of these Questions, keeping it if we did a Bingo or giving it to someone who can learn from our mistake if we did a Whoopsie. Our questions are:

Sal's Question: The Tangled Road

Sal has been thinking about a question, regarding who he is and where life has taken him. This question is:

What is my purpose in life?

This Question begins with 7 tokens on it. Once all the tokens have been removed, we’ll each go around and try to answer the question for ourselves, as best we can. We can choose whether or not to end the Chapter and read “A Night Like Tonight,” below.

Hey Kid's Question: Growing Up

Hey Kid also has a question they've been thinking about, based on the realization that they aren't going to be a kid forever. This question is:

"What is it going to be like to grow up?"

This Question begins with 7 tokens on it. Once all the tokens have been removed, we’ll each go around and try to answer the question for ourselves, as best we can. We can choose whether or not to end the Chapter and read “A Night Like Tonight,” below.

The Group's Question: A Night Like Tonight

There is one further question, which begins with no tokens on it. This question is:

"What does it mean to change?"

Anyone may put one of their tokens on this Question whenever they want.

We are probably not going to fully answer this question during this Chapter. Instead, when the Chapter ends, everyone goes around and gives as much of an answer as they can, based on how many tokens the question has.

  • Less Than 3 Tokens: Shrug, and maybe say something you think could be it, but is probably wrong.
  • 3-6 Tokens: Give a 1 word answer, if you have one.
  • 7-10 Tokens: Give a 1 sentence answer, if you have one. The Bed & Breakfast gets a ▢ Jar of Fireflies.
  • 11 or more Tokens: Give a full answer if you have one, write both the question and your answer down on an Index Card and keep it with your character sheet. The Bed & Breakfast gets a ▢ Jar of Fireflies. Hold onto any unused tokens for Housekeeping.

The Act of Catching Fireflies

It is a warm night, the sort of night that reminds us what it’s like to be alive. Everyone has the following additional Bingos:

  • Describe how you catch a firefly.
  • Tell a short story about how you’ve changed.

...and the following additional Whoopsies:

  • Tell someone who they should be.