etraya | un: asano

[The network is an alien method of communication to Huaisang but he has to start somewhere. And decoration is a subject matter he's familiar with.]

I'm afraid I have no experience with woodworking but I may be able to lift debris and move it out of the way to clear out space, if that might be of use to you.

As for your other question, I decorate my spaces according to the philosophy of feng shui. I collect and display art according to my personal tastes around my home.

That would be so great, if you'd be willing to do that!

Feng shui? That's popular in China and thereabouts, isn't it? I've heard about it, but I don't really know the specifics.

I don't mind helping out. I find myself with a lot of free time on my hands since coming here. If I can make good use of that time, it's a boon to me as well.

It's the system we use to build and arrange structures where I come from. Many of our buildings and homes are designed with it in mind. By arranging spaces and alignments in certain ways, we can keep our homes - and our lives - in harmony and balance this way.

It is like that, isn't it? Despite all the stuff going on, we're still away from whatever we did at home, and the people we did it with.

Right! That's what I remember. And why I thought my friend was talking about feng shui when she told me about how a house needs to be built right, or else bad things happen in it.

Of course, that was her rationale for putting a hole in the dojo wall.

[ Excuse her, she'll just go be nostalgic and missing people. And thinking she was so so wise for choosing to do this in text format. ]

[Huaisang's not going to fault her for that. He's starting to feel a little homesick himself here in this strangely built city of islands with its odd mishmash of buildings and advanced technology now he's a little less confused and terrified.]

In some ways, it's a reprieve. I'm not accustomed to having this much time or freedom to myself, though. My schedule's been so busy of late that it feels very jarring to be suddenly be free of those obligations for the time being.

I don't know if the hole in your dojo's wall was the result of bad feng shui or not but I believe there's something to living in a tidy, beautiful environment that makes one feel better. And if there's something one can do to ward off misfortune and bad spirits in one's home, it's worth trying.

What did you do in your homeworld that it's kept you so busy?

Well, she claimed she put the hole in because the house was badly constructed. Apparently, where she's from, all houses have a special exit for the offerings to the spirits. I don't think that's a feng shui thing, after all, though. She's not from the continent.

I was the leader of a martial arts sect part of a greater alliance. I had disciples to oversee and teach. When I wasn't home, I was often travelling.

[There's much more to the story but the revenge quest that's consumed most of his life for the past ten years is a bit of an awkward subject to drop in a casual first conversation.]

I see. I'm not familiar with such a custom offhand but I lack expertise in the finer points of these matters.

Edited 2024-10-16 05:09 (UTC)

Really? That's such a coincidence. My family owned a sword school. Dad used to stay out late for discussions with other dojo leaders too... well, mostly they just went drinking. What kind of martial arts do you teach?

[ Ah... yes... revenge... not like that's a topic Rin's familiar with or anything. ]

That's fine! It's just a story. Guess I got a little nostalgic for home for a second there, sorry.

There is quite a bit of socializing and politics involved in a role like that. I delegate the martial arts training aspects of my position to swordsman more skilled than myself but my sect specializes in the dao. I'm poor at swordsmanship so I focus on teaching my disciples other useful skills instead.

Please don't trouble yourself over that. Stories are valuable. I'd like to learn more about the other people here and where they come from.

[In the worst case scenario that their worlds don't make the cut, there'll be stories of what one was, at least, as long as there's the living to remember them.]

[ This conversation is turning out to be very interesting for Rin. She lost her parents at fourteen, so this is like a look at what her father's life might have been from an adult's perspective, not a child's. ]

Yeah? What skills do you teach them?

I'm not all that good at swordsmanship either, but then I suppose, as a woman, it wasn't really expected of me.

That's very kind of you, thank you.

I teach Daoist magic, tactics, and meditation mostly but I'm happy to teach others about the fine arts or fashion to any who express interest. I suppose I'm qualified to demonstrate basic sword forms as well to some degree but I usually leave that to the warriors.

[It feels so odd being this open about anything he does when normally he shrouds so much of himself and what's most important to him in secrecy. But Huaisang's sincere in his belief that alliances are going to be necessary for him to make and being a little more honest in his dealings with others might be the right course of action for keeping his world safe.]

I was the second son in my family and had other aspirations but my father passed away when my brother and I were still young. My brother had no children of his own so I was his heir instead. However, I've never had the talent or skill to be a proper warrior myself.

You're welcome.

Then you have a lot of skills, though! Those probably come in handy as well.

Ah... that sounds like it might be hard on you. I'm an only child, but obviously wasn't really expected to carry on the dojo by myself. I suppose I would've eventually married someone my parents deemed suitable to inherit.

[ It's a little strange to think of this now. Almost sounds like another lifetime altogether. ]

They have their uses. Many in my social circle back home exceed me in power and skill but I do what I can to make my ancestors proud.

[He may not wield his sect's weapon out of fear that the same death that's come for so many of his ancestors will come from him but he does what he can to make up for his peculiarities in other ways.]

It hasn't been an easy path but I've made it this far despite the odds stacked against me. The course of one's life can change so swiftly. Had I been born a woman instead of man, I suspect I would have shared a similar fate.

Make one's ancestors proud, huh?

I don't know if I would've loved that kind of life, or if I would've hated it. My parents were killed before it ever got to that point.

I don't know very much about decorating, but I should be able to help with the woodwork if it's not especially intricate. What do you need fixed?

That would be so nice of you! Unfortunately, my house took quite a bit of damage, including walls and beams taken out, so it's kind of a big job, sorry.

That's okay, I don't mind!! I feel a little bad about not having been around to help out with whatever happened, honestly ...

[An entire minute later:]

Um. Do you have the wood, or do we need to ask Aurora...?

[Sorry were you expecting him to chop down a tree, he cannot do that actually. He just spent a few months saving a whole planet of trees that bonded with him emotionally as a form of communication,,]

Edited (html fail 2 electric boogaloo) 2024-10-18 12:37 (UTC)

Aurora has provided building materials, has she not? I think that should be okay.

Are YOU okay, though? If you say you weren't "around" for what happened.

[ Hi did you get possessed? She's very sorry if you got possessed. ]

I'm a State Alchemist, back home. I should be able to fix your place. You'll just have to give me a little time to assess the damage and explain to me what it's supposed to be.

What's a State Alchemist?

Okay, I think I can do that. What kind of explanation would be helpful?

You can come by and have a look if you want.

It's a title reserved only for really good alchemists back home. We can transmute matter, so we can fix things that are broken.

I'll just need to know the building was supposed to look like. I guess you wouldn't have blueprints here, but stuff like that would help. And materials, if not all the pieces are still there. Can't make something from nothing.

Transmute matter? How does that work?

[ Explain your strange power to her, Ed. ]

No, I definitely don't have the blueprints. The house is generations old. Or it was, at home. I suppose I can try to draw what I remember. I grew up in there, so I should be able to do that no problem!

Aurora is providing materials, yes? We're mainly going to need wood, shingles and plaster for the walls.

[This is going to be easier with a practical demonstration, which is why Ed fiddles around with his device a bit to switch it to video. It's still new technology to him, and he's not that good at framing it or anything, but you can see him, so it's good enough.]

Alchemy is the science of transmuting matter, changing it from one form to another. There's a lot of practical uses for it, but if something's broken, like this - [He points to a plate that's in several pieces and lying on his floor. He might've pre-broken it specifically for this demonstration.] - you can put it back the way it was.

[He claps his hands together and places them on the table. A bright, blueish electric light surrounds the plate in a circle, and in the space of a couple seconds, the plate is in one piece again, like it was never broken.]

Fixing a house is a lot like that, just a bit more complicated because there's more materials involved.

[ Her eyes might be bulding a little as she sees him just put the plate back together. ]

You can do that??

[ Ahem. ]

Okay, obviously you can, but... wow. That's amazing! I can't even imagine all the things you can do with that skill!

[ But also... wait a minute... ]

Hey, you're that boy! From... back in the forest.

Sorry you had to see all that.

Yeah... it's okay. We all went through hell the last month. And just about everyone had their own personal version.

So I gather... did you make it through okay, in the end?

Well, I made it here, and I'm offering help.

[So... yeah, more or less.]

How about you?

Well, I'm alive. Could be better after all that, but hey.

Uhm, thank you so much for helping me back there. I really appreciate it.

Ohhh
That's a good question!
I never got to decorate many spaces of my own so I guess I hadn't thought about it yet but
I'll be watching this to see what ideas people come up with!

You haven't? Did you move around a lot?

Sure, feel free. Maybe you'll get some ideas.

ah, yeah!
I was a roadie for a long time so just lots of hotels and couch surfing
then, the penthouse was Charlie's so I didn't have a say in decorating...
The Morgans let me do little things around Morgana Manor but I never, like, really had my own 'space' there

Wait, I don't understand all these terms. What's a "roadie" and a "penthouse"?

But you have your own space here, right? Kinda weird to think about. To be honest, it's not that I want to settle here or anything, but... it's my house. Where I was born and grew up, and my father and grandfather before me. I can't just leave it to torrents of time.

right! I forgot all the
time differences
I know we talked about it, just. still adjusting

a roadie is someone who follows musicians around while they tour and helps make sure everything is set up right so they can perform!!
a penthouse is like a really fancy apartment, like. it takes up the whole top floor of the building usually and is as big as a house, just. up high!

I guess so...
With Moorecraft and all the other stuff, I guess it felt more like my roadie days but
maybe I'll start adding little things here or there

Thank you for explaining! It's so interesting to learn about all these things. Traveling with musicians sounds like a really fun job to have. I guess maybe a job like that exists back home, too.

I mean, in the grand scheme of things, it's not that important. At least if we are to believe Aurora. Got worlds to save and all that.

[ Just mission after mission, relentlessly. ]

It might!!
And it was a great time
I miss it a lot sometimes, but... What I was doing before here, I think, was making a bigger difference

[ Or so she hoped. ]

we do!
it doesn't FEEL like that sometimes, actually, but
I know it's like... a grand scheme

What were you doing then?

It really doesn't feel like it, huh.

[ The conspiracy theory that this is all some kind of weird torture scheme by the bakufu will NOT be quite extinguished!! ]

[ She wouldn't be surprised about more going on, honestly. As much as she'd like to believe it'd be so simple and altruistic as saving worlds, well... It rarely is. ]

I was an informant!!
turns out a lot of guys will tell a pretty lady things they absolutely shouldn't if they get to bang her
but all those guys were, like, involved in nasty business
so it was to get information out of them to stop them

[ Wow it's so good that this is text, because Rin is definitely blushing. ]

Wow. Was it dangerous?

[ Rin is less naive than she once was, and while she doesn't know much about sex work, she knows that if a spy was found out, men like the ones she describes weren't likely to let it go. Especially in that lie of work. ]

[ Cute... It's good this is text, yes, because Rosie might be inclined to tease a little at that blush. ]

it could be
I worked for a man who protected me from any real threat

honestly, part of why it worked so well was no one usually suspected it was him trying to get information on them
since they all thought he was one of their own

[ Charlie did what he had to in order to keep up appearances, but Rosie at least was privy to how much he hated all of them for the things they did against their kind. He didn't mind dirtying his hands to do what he needed to though. She knew it wasn't easy; similarly, he knew how difficult it was on her to be so close to the same type of men that had wronged her all those years ago so- He kept her safe. Caged, but safe. And that was fine.

Or so she told herself for years. ]

That's good. I'm glad you had someone on your side. So you were like a team of spies?

I was only one of two spies, but we had did have a team!
Nobora was the other male informant, in case I wasn't to a client's particular persuasion

Feldspar was our alchemist, he made low-grade poisons or potions to get people to talk easier if we needed
Reyson was security to make sure things went as planned
Misto was probably the least involved in actual operations since he was the one in charge of shipments of things we needed from overseas and actually did a lot of the sailing himself since he liked to

and then Charlie was our boss!
the ringleader, so to speak

Wow. That sounds like a pretty well-thought-out operation. But also fairly small. Did you have many people to fight?

not a LOT
but they were, like, super wealthy influential people mostly
so the operation was smaller for that reason of, like, not allowing a lot of room for error

Hmm. I guess that makes sense... I don't know that much about these things.

it's okay
I really didn't either, for a long time?
Charlie always explained though in a way that made sense to me

[ ... Sure. ]

Really? That's so nice of him!

[ Oh, sweet summer child. ]

haha yeah
he did do his best by me, I think, but...
well
hopefully, if things go well here, he'll be able to have a good life

If things go well here, yes.

[ Fuck, don't remind her. ]

un: asano | text

un: oriole; text

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un: fullmetal alchemist

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video; un: fullmetal alchemist

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text. @wild.flower

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cw: mentions of sex work

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