synflux | [OPEN] Lost in paradise

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[OPEN] Lost in paradise

WHO: March 7th and anyone who wants to witness this
WHAT: Post-upgrade Problems...
WHERE: Around the base, around Japan
WHEN: April 12th and up to a week after that
WARNINGS: None so far!

A. Post-Surgery

[ Choices were made. March may or may not regret them a little, but upon remembering things like how badly injured so many of the Outsiders had been and Ishmael gritting her teeth while struggling to walk, she'd ultimately decided it was worth it.

Maybe not right now, though, not when she's kind of staggering around the base, looking very much Still In Pain and sheet-white. Of course, that's one thing. The other thing is that she looks completely disoriented and depending on where you find her, it's pretty obvious that it's not where she was trying to go. Maybe it's a non-Redemption wing. Maybe it's the cafeteria.

Maybe it's the rec room?? Maybe she's actually heading outside when she clearly shouldn't be??

If you're still not entirely sure what she's up to, she can be heard quietly muttering to herself in a shaky voice, definitely rattled-- ]

W-why is it so hard to find my room??

B. Compass Required

[ It's a day or so later! And she is.

... Not doing any better. Though at the very least, she's had some time to get the style upgrade implemented and is comfortably clothed in her much more familiar (to her) outfit from home.

But she hasn't actually been seen on the base all day, which probably isn't terribly strange, since March likes to go out and experience life, but at this point it's dark and if you're out at night, you might spot her. Talking to a few people who seem either amused or flummoxed by her current level of vexation. ]

No, sorry, I've definitely been to Shinjuku, and I know where it is on a map, I just--

I'm not drunk! Look, just tell me "this way" or "that way" and I'll figure it out from there!!

[ ... She has apparently been dealing with something similar for hours, given that she really does sound like she's on the verge of frustrated tears. ]

C. Bah Hummingbird

[ At this point, March has given up leaving the base on her own, so you can spot her in the greenhouse (though it's arguable whether she meant to be there or not), a cute little hummingbird perched on her shoulder. She's taking pictures of the plants, though she pauses to glance up when she realizes she's got company, offering a smile that is definitely a lot steadier than the mess she's been over the past few days. ]

These little guys are pretty cute, aren't they? I'm more of a dog person, but I gotta admit, they've got a lot of appeal!

[ OOC: Also fine with doing custom starters if nothing catches your interest! ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

(The mechanical twittering of another bird can be heard which gives away his arrival. He's dressed in casual clothes-- a pair of dark-blue-almost-black jeans and a white sweater. In his arms, he carries a cloth bag loosely. From the opening, something bright yellow and red peaks out.

Close by, four white hummingbirds help carry identical looking bags. Despite their small size, they're able to carry something that a grown man would opt to carry with both arms. )

Aren't they? (The birds flutter in the air and he directs them over to an empty spot on a bench. ) I've always been a bird person.

Are you taking pictures up here?

Yeah. I haven't gotten shots of all the different plants yet, and I thought having a bird with me might make the colors pop even more.

[ And an additional dynamic subject to the shot, for that matter, so March smiles up at this stranger and his... posse. ]

Are these all yours?

Even after all of these years, people still enjoy picture of birds with flowers...

(Back in his day, they'd painted them to evoke the seasons. Now, some of these modified flowers bloom out of season and these birds can be found at any time. He's of two opinions on this. On one hand, its' nice to appreciate flowers whenever he wants but on the other... well, being able to enjoy them at certain times had made them beautiful, too.)

Mhm. (He nods and goes over to level some of the bags. The birds all line up on the table in a line, bumbling into one another and chirping in acknowledgment,) I'm fond of them.

(And he taps one on the head gently as if it were real.)

They're just so cute. And helpful too.

(He definitely wouldn't have been able to carry all of that on his own. He's twigs for arms.)

[ Even robot creatures deserve love, the underworld of Belobog would agree.

But March watches this with a little smile, the hummingbird on her shoulder sidling slightly closer to watch the proceedings. Looks like they're helpful little guys too, which was part of the reason she'd gone for it, but March just also appreciates cuteness. ]

Do they have names?

Of course. Names are important.

(With each name, he'll tap a new on on the head. Each one sort of just bobs and bounce back up after each tap,)

Mame. Shio. Yukimi. Kashiwa.

(Did he just name them all after sweets... yeah. He's very proud of his names, ok.)

And you?

Me? [ she points to herself. ]

March 7th. This little one doesn't have a name yet, but I figured I'd ask my friend about it.

[ So ideally a name the next time they run into each other! ]

... It's April.

(Hello?)

[ ... Right. ]

It's my name.

...

(March 7th............. give him a sec,)

I like it!

(No, really. Actually. He likes it for real.)

--Thanks!

[ Well, at least. Finally. Lack of judgment. ]

I picked it myself, so I like it too!

Names are powerful. Every name is a title for the story of you.

(Tilting his head,)

Not many people get to pick their own names, though. It must mean a lot for you.

It means more now than it did back then... I did kind of just go with whatever at the time.

[ Amazing. ]

I don't have any of my memories from before I was found in a block of ice in space. Nothing about my past or my identity. So I sort of started off as a blank canvas.

...

(He's just going to settle down on the bench next to his little packages. His hummingbirds will also hop over to him to keep him company,)

Like how Kaguya-hime was born from bamboo... (The moon princess that was found in a stalk of bamboo. Sure, there are some differences here but it's how he chooses to understand in the beginning. It helps because that was a lot, okay.) You didn't have any clue?

Kaguya-hime? [ A bit blankly, even as she looks at him with a raised eyebrow. ]

--But no, I didn't. Nothing else was in that ice, just me. No one's come looking for me.

It's a story about a girl who was found in a stalk of bamboo.

(He doesn't mind sharing an old story,)

An old couple found her and raised her happily as their own. She grows up and experiences many trials and falls in love but whenever she looks at the moon, she cries for reasons she can't understand.

(And he waves a hand in the air,)

Not that it's exactly the same! The beginning just reminded me of it.

The moon, huh...?

[ So maybe she was also from space? A bamboo stalk might not be any weirder than a block of ice, when it comes down to it. ]

So does she stay where she is?

Ah...

(Even his hummingbirds are making beep-chirp sounds because they want to know.)

Her behavior changes whenever the moon rises. Eventually, she learns she was sent to Earth as punishment for a crime she can't remember. She would find a family, fall in love, and form many attachments on Earth. Her love tries to protect her but a messenger from the moon comes and blinds everyone with their arrival. She asks to leave her final words with her loved ones. She tells them she loves them but she must return home.

In the end, the messenger places a celestial robe on her. The moment it touches her shoulders, all of her sadness and compassion for her time on Earth fade from her memory and she leaves to return to her old life.

(He shakes his head,)

Sorry, sorry, the ending is pretty sad, right? Maybe a better story is in order...

...

[ A messenger... Someone who knew more about her than the person herself did. It's not the same situation, not really. That messenger had told her it was best not to remember her past, to just continue forward with the life she had now.

But the story leaves a prickle below her skin, like thorns sinking into her heart. What if something like that happened? If someone from her past came to get her, but to go with them meant leaving behind her friends and family now? And what if what she's forgotten was some kind of terrible crime?

March is quiet, gaze lowered. It's just a story. It doesn't have to mean anything. ]

I don't really want to forget the important things ever again. But it was--definitely an interesting story!

[ Might haunt her a little but interesting!! ]

...

(Oh, something about that story has definitely hit something. He isn't sure what it is exactly but it also isn't his place to try and guess or assume. If it's important, it'll be shared. So instead, he glances at his three hummingbirds,)

It's quite famous where I'm from.

(Which is just another version of this world but before he can really continue...

... All three of his hummingbirds will take off and swoop at March.)

Whoa--?!

[ What is happening is she under attack, were the vibes rancid-- ]

(They'll all take off and settle on branches in some of the trees in the greenhouse. They're making little artificial chirping sounds like they're laughing. Tsurumaru himself is also getting up, reaching for one of those packages he helped bring in earlier,)

Haha! Were you surprised?

(He just didn't want her to dwell on the vibes, ok.

Anyway, pulling down the cloth from the package... he'll reveal a regular ol' pot of colorful tulips from the flower shop he chills at sometimes.)

Geez, I seriously thought they were gonna peck me...

[ Well, it's a very good distraction. Thank you lil birbs and Big Birb. But March watches the tulips get revealed, blinking. ]

Are you planting them here?

(Mame, Shio, Tsukimi, and Kashiwa are perfect sweet little borbs that would never hurt anyone.)

They wouldn't do that... on purpose.

(Maybe.)

Mhm. The plants here are nice but most of them are... different from how I remember.

(Modified. Fixed to flower perfectly or grow a certain way that is easier for people to manage.)

These are from the shop I work at sometimes. (Where he LARPs as a florist when he wants to take it easy. He'll slide the flowers over to her so she can get get a better look if she wants.) These bloomed earlier than they were supposed to.

(Because unlike the other flowers modified to be on a perfect timer... these are real and grow depending on natural variables.)

Since they won't last the season at the shop, I thought I'd give them a better resting place.

(Outside a case and in a more natural place like the greenhouse.)

Yeah, I do kind of miss a good old... flower field, you know? It was really nice, watching the trees.

[ The cherry blossoms, she means. But March smiles down at the tulips. ]

Early bloomers, huh? At least they'll be in good company. [ The greenhouse isn't terribly natural, but at the same time, it's far more natural than what the rest of the city likely has to offer them. ]

Flowers should be enjoyed by others.

(Don't ask him how much these should have cost before he just snatched them from work. Some natural flowers are a novelty items, it would seem.)

I think the people here would like them. Since it looks like you've been here fro awhile... You must know a good place to set them, right?

C bah hummingbird

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