voidtreckerexpress | (open) pottery palooza

Entry tags:

(open) pottery palooza

Who: Madoka and you!
Where: The two merged booths in the quiet coach.
When: 1 & 2 Nebula.
What: Madoka could use some help with putting something together - and she's organizing a pottery activity for art month!
Warnings: Probably nothing, will edit if necessary!

( a. nebula 1 - ikea pottery wheels. )

[ Madoka sure is around at first on the day - especially when it comes to greeting new people on the platform and checking up on all the people who are sad because of the people who are leaving.

But at a certain point, it's almost as if she disappears. Checking anywhere in the regular spots won't let you find her. She's not in the kitchen, she's not doing chores.. but if one were to wander through the quiet coach, they might find Madoka there in the lab-turned-temporary-art-space. She's kneeling on the ground next to pieces of what might look like a pottery wheel, though you have to squint a little. They're all taken apart.

And the girl herself? Well, she seems to be having a really, really troubled expression on her face as she looks at the parts. She takes a few and tries to put them together, but they immediately fall apart again, dropping back on the ground as she yelps. Or.. well, you can't hear the yelp, since it's the quiet carriage, but it's visible on her face.

Please help this poor child. ]

( b. nebula 2 - pottery activity! )

[ By the second day of Nebula, surely everyone has spotted the posters all over the train. Though Madoka seems to have put a note next to them that wasn't there yet yesterday, reading: ]

Come do pottery sculting today at the quiet coach! You don't have to bring anything, just a smile! :)

[ Anyone who does go to the quiet coach will find Madoka there in the same space as yesterday - except now with two actually put together pottery wheels, and a huge smile on her face and a wave as she greets you.

Maybe you didn't even come here on purpose, and you were just passing by.. But alas, you've been trapped.. You can't just ignore that happy greeting and not head inside to participate, right? Are you that cruel. ]

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All right, forget the movie! This will be for my kids, so I'll try to... make it look like my kids!

[ With that, she begins trying to poke and prod at the clay... ]

[ Making it look like her kids still sounds pretty hard.. Madoka is assuming they've got to be ducks like Della - can she truly make them duck-shaped?!

But, not wanting to discourage anyone, Madoka quickly says: ]

Y-Yeah! You can do it..!

[ H.. Haha...

But she's making sure to watch as Della goes loose on that clay! ]

I'll start with Dewey! He's got this adorable little cowlick of feathers on top of his head... Hang on, beak's coming off kinda lopsided... it's fine if the eyes aren't balanced, right? ... Well, maybe he doesn't need his left arm right now!

[ in other words, this is not going well. ]

[ OH NO. It's going so wrong. Madoka to the rescue..!

.. or, well, partial rescue. It's not like she wants to touch Della's work and ruin it, so instead she's standing next to the pottery wheel, looking mildly panicked. ]

U-Um, you know..! It's really hard to make small things stick out with pottery, like arms.. [ Hence why that left arm is just. Dead. Cut clean off. ] Maybe you could make a mug of just his head?!

Oh, good idea! Mug-head, got it! So I gotta... make a giant hole in his head...

[ A fist-sized one, with her actual fist, right? ]

Are you..

[ ...

She's watching that fist being formed. Madoka knows where this is going. She knows Della well enough by now to know where this is going..! ]

Are you really.. going to punch it..?

[ IS THIS THE IDEAL FORM OF HOLE CREATION. ]

Sure, why not?

[ FALCOOOOOON - ]

[ Apparently it's too late to warn Della about the very likely consequences of this action.

Which means that perhaps the only thing Madoka can do right here and now is save herself. She's so, so sorry, Della, but she's just going to quickly scoot backwards here to get out of the clay splash zone..! ]

[ - PUUUUUUNCH

and, predictably, it splats absolutely everywhere. Including all over Della.

Della stands there, blinking slowly, trying to process what just happened. ]

... Something tells me I was not supposed to do that.

I-I'm so sorry!

[ Of course the apology from Madoka comes instantly. She even stands up from where she scooted away to, making sure to bow for Della. ]

I should have told you, but I was too late..! I-- um, should I get something you can clean yourself up with?!

[ She shrugs it off, calmly picking off whatever she can from her clothes and feathers. ]

My bad, I should have checked with you first. Nothing a good shower can't cure later. To be honest, I think Dewey would've done the same thing.

[ Madoka looks a little doubtful for a moment, but then realises Della probably does know best.. So instead she slowly moves closer towards the other again, helping to pick some of the pieces of clay off her. ]

Just make sure it doesn't get too hard, then it can kind of hurt to remove it later..

[ Since she can't get all the tiny specks off Della. ]

B-But there's still enough clay left to make something new out of it!

Yeah, like, um... uh... a plate? ... Maybe you better take the lead on this one.

.. Here, I.. um, I'll try to show you!

[ Maybe that's the main mistake she made here. Maybe she should show someone the entire process before letting them try it themselves.. She's sure to keep that in mind for the next time.

But for now, she just moves over until she's next to Della's pottery wheel, trying to save the remaining clay still on there, forming it back into a pile. ]

If you just press the pedal and keep it moving, I'll see if I can still make it into a mug for you..

Yes, teach! I'll watch and learn, and not move a muscle!

[ She then crosses her arms and STARES INTENSELY. Jiiiiii. ]

[ T-The pressure is on, apparently!

Though Madoka is determined to not disappoint Della. It's a little nerve-wrecking to be watched like this, sure, but she knows she has to try and stay calm and do her best. That's all she can do.

So Madoka moves her hands at the sides of the clay, forming it into a mug-like shape. And then she gently dips her finger in at the top to make a hole. A small one at first, but then she makes it bigger, until it's fully like a mug! ]

There, it works the best this way.. You just have to make sure to be really gentle about it, and then the clay will work along with you.

[ She only moves when the explanation is finished verbally, and so nods! Wise, sage, hand to beak. ]

So I gotta be slower and more gentle about it... Not my usual style, but we can all use some improvement! I got it!

That's okay..! Maybe if you start off being gentle, then you can slowly experiment once you've got it and see how far you can go with it in your own style?

[ It's not like Madoka wants to keep Della from.. well, being Della, after all! The other is so unique. ]

.. though maybe not so far that you get covered in clay again..

[ Unique is certainly... A Word to describe her.

But at least she's obeying! She moves very slowly, very carefully, eyes on the clay. ]

I'm surprised you didn't pop out the old "they're your kids, they'll love whatever you make" spiel.

Huh?!

[ Madoka's eyes grow wide, as if she's suddenly realising that it might just be offensive that she didn't say it. What if Della thinks her kids won't like what she makes now?!

OH NO, SHE'S MADE A TERRIBLE MISTAKE. ]

O.. Of course they'll like it! I didn't mean to say they wouldn't, I.. I'm so sorry! [ Congratulations, Della.

You slammed your fist down again, except this time straight on top of the panic button. ]

[ Oops. Again.

She only wanted to make Madoka a little flustered, and then they could both laugh about it. She didn't expect Madoka to go into sheer panic mode. ]

Whoa, whoa, easy there! I was only kidding around! You didn't do anything wrong, I was just poking fun at it.

[ Her mouth momentarily hangs open in realisation, before she instead starts looking a little sheepish. ]

W-Well, either way.. It is true that they'd like it as long as it came from you..

[ After all, that's how Madoka would feel about getting anything from her own mother, she thinks. She'd never dare to be rude about it! ]

It's the thought that counts, after all.. Right?

Yeah yeah, sure sure. But I do want to make an actual effort for it to be good.

[ She's quiet for a moment, as she gently begins to form the mug's hole. ]

... They didn't all instantly warm up to me, you know. My kids. Sure, they were glad to see me, but... have I told you I wasn't there for most of their lives?

Um..

[ It's hard to tell if that's an 'um' where Madoka has to think about whether or not Della mentioned it to her, or if it's just an 'um' because she wants to be cautious about the topic.

Either way, it leaves her voice to trail off for a moment before she continues. ]

You mentioned something about.. the moon, right?

[ She remembers that. And traveling that far away, including the long, long preparation, would take a long time for sure - didn't Della say she was there for a long time, too? ]

It's a long, depressing story I don't want to upset you with... but the gist of it is, I did a very bad, very selfish thing. And this isn't one of those "you had good intentions, they'll understand" deal. It was a bad thing. Full stop.

I missed out on a lot of my kids lives... so, for all I'm trying... I'm still new at being a mom. And they're still trying to get used to having a mom. They're pretty aware of my flaws. So... the whole "love anything I make" might not fly.

[ However, as she's saying this, she does smile. ]

... But they'll still appreciate it. They know I'm trying my best. I think I kinda prefer that over being seen as "best mom ever". That they know how hard I'm working to make up to them.

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happyends - 2021-09-19 07:54 (UTC) - Expand

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