I shall never be forgiven all my faults

[Outside sounds can be heard as the journal turns itself on, outside sounds and not much else. Followed, after a second of thoughtful silence, by Giles' voice.]

Hello to all you New Feathers. Or at least, those of you I haven't met already. Allow me to extend my sympathies that you're in here with us, now that you all seem to have gathered. You can do the same for the next batch to arrive in two months.

I'm sure you'll make the best of it. Everyone seems to. You'll probably find that most of the people around you are helpful and basically kind. Granted, some are utter psychopaths, but they're relatively few and far between. The lack of money is a nice bonus, or so I've always found. The people at the Welcome Center seem to always be available for help, gods bless them, and the guide explains most everything you need to know. But I can answer any questions you might still have, or at  least I'll try my best.

Settle in and try to live the best you can until you're sent home. That's the best advice I can offer.

...well, no, there's another message I'd love to pass on. Civic responsibility, and all that. But some friends of mine might get annoyed at me. Have to keep some surprises back for the New Feathers, after all. [It's a soft jab at one particular friend, and a not-so-light jab against one particular person who isn't a friend at all. You both can't say he's not cooperating, he just doesn't have to like it.

There's a gap of about an hour between this message and the next, and when it goes out Giles' tone has changed. Now he's addressing certain people. A lot of "certain people", pretty much anyone who knows what he's been recovering from the last three weeks, but it's a directed message rather than one aimed at the village as a whole.]

To anyone who's concerned, my eyes are healing. Slowly but surely. It's driving me absolutely insane, but they are. I'm not...running into large obstacles and I'm not tripping over my feet as often.

Still, I'm sorry if I've kept back work on the boat .[He knows that his filters are absolutely useless when he's working the journal by memory, so by and large Giles has ceased bothering. Congratulations - if you didn't know before, you now know that he's been wor] I just don't feel up to working with oakum when I can't see, and...well, I know you've all been busy.

...but from what I've heard so far, there are plenty of other villagers starting to pick up the slack, in the matter of shipbuilding. So at least we're not alone.

[Another pause, a much more pensive one. Another question bounced over to anyone who feels like answering, anyone who can answer]

...is anyone else worried that the experiment this month seems a bit, well...late? I know I shouldn't complain, not after last month, but even so...

...I confess that I've come to almost depend on the cyclical nature of this place. Especially since deviations from that cycle rarely mean anything good for us. I know I should just keep my mouth shut, tempting fate and all, but...

...times that should be peaceful almost never are. That was how it worked, back home. The one night of the year where nothing terrible was supposed to happen usually turned out to be one of our most problematic.

[Anyone looking for Giles after his message will find him outside the barracks today, of all places. Not inside - he doesn't trust himself not to get in the way of anyone actually fit to train. But outside, off to the side, sword in hands. He's also moved a wooden practice dummy out with him, at least to give himself something to hit. He's running through a few katas and drills - some simple, some dizzyingly complex. Just to keep in practice. Approach with caution, citizens - the silhouettes of people still have a tendency to blend into the mingled shapes, shadows, and light that make up his world right now, and over the sound of the sword cutting past the air he won't be able to hear footsteps that well.

But when he pauses for breath, or to wipe the sweat out of his eyes, he might sense your presence.]

((ooc: Not that I'm complaining about the late/lack of experiment, either. I know the mods have plots they're getting ready to spring on us, and all that fun stuff, and that everyone is busy. But hey, you know Giles. He notices these things, and they bug him.))