Silva

Guess I know what books I'm adding to my wishlist... Welcome to Shard! Like Bean said, maybe don't join the GBs if you do fall down the Alleyverse rabbit hole. I personally recommend TUBA

And ghanderflaffles.

It's okay, Ark. I won't even remember it's Valentine's Day. When is it this year?

I got my report card for first semester. Pleasantly surprised by most of it.

Butterflutter the Eighth also happened to be allergic to butter. And butterflies. And the number eight.

"Er..." he said hesitantly. "I'm supposed to give this to you. Or well, anyone here." He held out the green paper, arm a little unsteady from nerves. The outside, seen without unfolding anything:

Everyone ignored the annoying unbolded message advertising the thread that wanted to be their biggest competitor and instead made some signs for the silent and peaceful protest.

*goes to post in the longest thread to spite Ark*

"Fine. Say it were made legal. Where is the line drawn?" Pry said. "The Scadrian system, like communism, is good in theory, but only works to an extent. The definition of consent is very malleable to some people. In the past, there was a case where someone argued that having a family who had an unlocked door was basically consenting," She gave the man the slightest bit of a glare. "You don't put a stumbling block in front of the blind. The DA will always do as the DA wishes no matter how much we try to convince ourselves otherwise - there's nothing we can do about that - so your point about them being out of work is invalid. But everyone else? Why give them the tools they need to create loopholes?"

Eve checked her watch. She was running late - there was somewhere she needed to get to. Placing a slip of paper she’d prepared in advance just in case this would happen on the table, Eve moved to the door.

Pry also stood. "First of all, how can you even consider making Hemalurgy legal?!" Yes she had decided to put the Keepers above TUBA, but in this one field it wasn't guild loyalty driving her. It was family. "And what would qualify as one of these 'circumstances'? Who decides that it fits the qualifications? Where is that line drawn?" She looked straight at the man who had suggested a form of "justice". "You call that a good system? Think about it for just a minute. You suggest cutting off limbs that aren't 'important'. Again, who determines that? To a weaver, losing a finger might mean losing the ability to do their trade. Losing a toe also inhibits a person's ability to balance. Who hires a person with one hand? One foot? "Do you know what people do when they have no honest way to make a living? Because they have it even harder than normal to get a job? They resort to crime to earn chrysts. Do you know what happens to the incarcerated? They get surrounded by terrible influences. People much worse than themselves. People who make them worse. When they finally get out, it doesn't matter how they came in, they'll be hardened criminals." Pry paused to try and let that sink in. "In addition, I'm in agreeance with the Ghostblood representative. To let the victim decide the punishment doesn't seem right. I have a one year old brother. He was a victim. Problem with your system is that there is no clause for the underage. My brother wouldn't have been able to decide what Hellbent deserved for multiple reasons. Also, what if there's more than one victim? What then? Who decides? "And if the one who commited the crime was never taught otherwise? If they were raised that it was okay to do what they did? What happens to them? What if it's a child who does it? They can be taught to be better, but if all they see of the justice system is someone cutting off their finger, why should they see it as something good? There might be thousands of cases like this. You can't ignore that most of the people who do crime do it because they have no other choice. They deserve a second chance. "There are too many issues with what you've proposed. I didn't even mention them all. I can only hope you've heard everything I said and won't just ignore it. A justice system isn't something that can thrown together in a matter of minutes. It needs to be expandable and written very carefully if we want it to outlive most of us."

Freedom stayed silent still. She watched as some of the others mingled, but her gaze kept being drawn back to the dust figure. Tapping her fingers on the bar, she wondered how something like it had come to be.

Freedom swallowed. Something about the place he'd mentioned triggered her memory. Some story she'd been told by someone?

Freedom watched the newcomer curiously, taking a sip of her water.

What about Joe?

The small boy took a deep breath before knocking on the door of the forge. He shifted his weight nervously as he waited for someone to open it. In his hand was a small slip of folded green paper. The last part of his job.

A small boy placed a pile of folded green papers in a mostly empty newstand. He just did what he was told and didn't ask questions. Literate people would do as literate people would. Their matters didn't really bother him. These papers had a new message on them.

The small boy finished his pie and set off. There were some more papers he needed to deliver before he was completely done.

"Water would be good," she said. "I'll just stick around here for now if you don't mind."

Freedom pushed open the door to find an already fairly populated building. Storing away age, she currently looked around twenty, though without a mirror to double-check she never was exactly sure. All the better. she thought. Lower chance of someone talking to me. She wasn't sure why she was there, but the sign had looked interesting. Now she was just hoping the place wouldn't explode with her in it.

The boy accepted the food happily and sat down to enjoy it. It had been a while since he'd last had pie.

No one brought the coconut pancakes .

A cloaked figure carrying a pile of green papers walked quickly to the front of one of the small shops near to docks. They tape it onto the window and move to the next shop, taping up another one. Then to another. And another. Soon all the little storefronts have a green paper on them, flapping slightly in the light breeze. The person hurries off with the rest of the papers, but not before some wind blows back their hood to reveal long dark hair. If one were to read one of the papers, they would find the following on it: