I need a shamisen Rhiannon arrangement stat

[therewerefifty]

Who: Makie and you
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: Iskaulit, Twin Roses
When: Now-ish

[She'd been, uh... somewhat distracted about thinking on this from a bunch of ships colliding with each other and upsetting her carefully maintained equilibrium (guys I'm just a samurai chick who wants to sit peacefully and drink tea enough of these space shenanigans) and avoiding looking outside entirely, because being under the ocean is extremely unsettling.

Today is the first time she's been to the Iskaulit gardens since they arrived in this odd place.  It reminds her of something she'd like to do.]

...in Adstringendum, people arrived and left all the time, much like this place.  You grow used to a person's presence, establish... ties.  [What a formal way of putting it.  She's thinking of the bizarre jar collection in her room.]  And then suddenly, they're gone.  The same holds true here, doesn't it...?  It can be hard for a great many people, even if you know you'll see them again.

In Adstringendum, we kept what we called a memory tree.  People would attach the names of those who'd left... paper monuments, so they'd never be forgotten.  And new arrivals would always know who had been and gone.

I wondered if we might do the same here.

---------

[She'll be in the garden for most of the day.  Either playing her shamisen or actually, you know, gardening.  It's a thing.  And if she concentrates on the dirt under her knees, maybe she can forget they're submerged in the ocean.]

Comments

[willynilly]

[She doesn't know the context of this Ad-whatever-place, but... it's a nice sentiment, anyway. She hums in a thoughtfully approving manner.]

Do you think a tree could grow in the garden? Or maybe something else would work? Like a wall, or a statue...

[therewerefifty]

Hello, Ochako-chan. [It's good to see you okok.]

I'm sure if people were interested, we could adopt one of the trees already here. But a wall might be a nice idea, too.

[willynilly]

[Have a cheery wave over the comm. Hello!!]

Hmm... oh, oh! What about that creeping ivy stuff? It would grow all over a wall of we let it, I'm sure! that would leave room for lots of names.

I mean, the fleet's been around for a long time now, hasn't it? So there must be so many people who've come and gone... a little tree might not be big enough.

[therewerefifty]

Creeping ivy... [It might cover those names after a while, but careful clipping could keep it back. That's not a bad idea.]

Yes. For a proper memory tree, we'd need quite a large one with many branches. You could hang the names from it, then. But that might take some time to grow.

[ahappylie]

[Yet another person who came from somewhere other than home. It makes him wonder about the universe, that so many could just be stolen and have their lives played out so far from home. What gods could allow such a thing to happen?]

It's a lovely idea, Otono-Tachibana-san.

[a pause]

Did you lose someone here?

[therewerefifty]

...there's a little girl waiting for me in Adstringendum. She was here for a few weeks, but I suppose the Atroma found her unmanageable.

[It's been long enough since she left that it doesn't hurt, but there's still a lot of soft fondness there.]

[ahappylie]

[He wonders if that was her daughter then... Or at least an adoptive one.]

So they can remove people from the Fleet and send them back to where they came at any time? I thought it was only if they won the game.

[therewerefifty]

That is what they say at the beginning, but too many people come and go. It was the same in Adstringendum, and other places I've heard of. I believe the Atroma say this to us, but this place seems to operate by the same strange rules as others.

[bythewaves]

[ Maglor has been very distracted on this planet - but the greenery around him helps, and Maedhros and Fingon need some time not babysitting him, so...

He's sitting in the shade of his favourite shrubs, when he hears her speak. He's seen her before, he realises - like him, she favours this place. He waits until she is done before he gets up and comes over, shyly ]

Hail and well met, Lady. Thank you for the suggestion, it seems a good one indeed. I have seen you around, have I not? Maglor, at your service.

[therewerefifty]

[Makie glances up with surprise. And then she takes in the shy politeness and offers a small but genuine smile for his courtesy, getting to her feet.]

Otono-Tachibana Makie. I am known most by Makie, however. [She offers him a polite bow of her own, hands folded over her shamisen.] I believe we've passed each other a number of times.

[bythewaves]

Well met, Lady Makie. [ He smiles at her ]

We have, although I have been remiss in never speaking to you. [ His eyes follow her hands to the shamisen ]

Do you play?

[therewerefifty]

Ah-- then the fault would be equal, sir. [She's hardly the most talkative of people. She glances down as he asks, and changes her grip to splay fingers lightly over the strings.]

I do. I was lucky enough for this to accompany me here. Are you familiar?

[save_the_souls]

That's a really nice idea. It'd be nice to have a place to remember people at.

[therewerefifty]

I hoped so. [She's encouraged by the agreement, and she smiles.]

Even if it's not a tree, but just a memorial of some kind. I'm not sure what would work best.

[save_the_souls]

A tree would be nice, but it'd take a long time to grow one without magic. And I don't think I know any plant mages in the fleet.

[Because yeah that's a normal thing in Allen's weird, weird life]

I'm not sure what else to use though.

[therewerefifty]

[She's been around these places long enough that plant mage isn't enough to bat an eye.]

Ochako-chan has suggested someone with an augment for plants might be able to help. Otherwise... [She glances around.]

I suppose there are plenty of walls here. One could be repainted, or... decorated in some way.

Video;

[onlyanapple]

We had something like that in Paradisa. Except it was creepy stone monument instead of a tree. And the names just appeared on their own.

...Not a bad idea, though.

Video;

[therewerefifty]

...your monument was kept by your jailers, I assume?

[That feels kind of. Far more invasive than an effort of their own.]

Video;

[onlyanapple]

It was. Well, whatever our jailers were. Was? It was very complicated and very magical.

voice;

[noprophecies]

It is not a bad idea. [were it to become a thing, it would be something she'd visit privately and pretend she never did] I have heard of similar traditions.

voice;

[therewerefifty]

[This voice is familiar.]

It's a common tradition for all sorts of farewells. These places make it... difficult, when someone leaves.

voice;

[noprophecies]

Mm, they do. [there's an agreeing tone in her voice] If you need help growing a tree in the garden, let me know. My magic can speed it along a bit.

video.

[edwinjarvis]

[Edwin's trying to get used to the whole — electronics thing.

It's very interesting, though. And a combination of having an augment and being a kid has really helped him adapt quickly to this whole situation. He frowns softly, his expression thoughtful.]

Do people vanish from here often, miss?

video.

[therewerefifty]

[Hello, new face. This is a kid, Makie should totally sugarcoat things--]

Often enough, yes. I would venture to say a handful every few weeks, replaced by newcomers.

[Nah.]

video.

[edwinjarvis]

Oh... It must be terribly sad, to lose friends you've gotten close to.

[He doesn't have a whole lot of friends, none he'd find particularly close... but he'd be sad if he never saw them again.]