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

[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.

[ahappylie]

...Do you think they're not being sent back to their original homes after all then?

[therewerefifty]

...ah. No. I do believe they're going home. Some return, after all. I just don't believe the Atroma when they say it's "if you win the game."

It's entirely possible the Atroma have no control over who stays or leaves, and merely try to assert the illusion of control.

[ahappylie]

[Well that's disturbing. If it's not the Atroma, then who or what was responsible for bringing them here and sending them back? Was it all random?

Well, time to be glib about it all because he can't stand to be seen as serious here.]

That's a little disappointing. I was really looking forward to winning.

[therewerefifty]

[Makie looks startled. It's a few moments before she realises he's teasing, in effect, and her surprise shifts back to an amused look.]

I'm sorry to disappoint. But perhaps one merely has to shift their view of 'winning'.

[ahappylie]

[He almost managed to keep the smile off his face while she was startled, but now that she's realized, it's back.]

Perhaps every day that I don't somehow end up outside of the airlock can be considered a victory then.

[therewerefifty]

Survival is often a victory all on its own in many places. [With her own dry humour; she assumes he knows this well.] But for myself, if I can end the day somewhat content, I shall consider that a victory.

[ahappylie]

[He laughs and nods.]

I believe that is a wonderful way to measure victory indeed.