Spring Garden Preparations

[wewillwewill]

Who: Elidibus, OTA
Where: Various, Rock Garden for landscape setup.
When: Evening, Quicksand 13 to Quicksand 15
What: Events leading to the Spring Garden Days Quicksand 16 (Platform Day) to Quicksand 18
Warnings: There's no particular warnings other than the possibility of individual character spoilers.


[An announcement over the intercoms goes throughout the train on the evening of Quicksand 13, after everyone's settled post-mission.]

Good day, this is Elidibus. Some of you may recall the brief transformation of the rock garden into a winter day several platforms ago. This coming platform I'm looking to arrange for a spring season change to the same carriage. Last time was a little spontaneous and short notice. This time I would like to ask for help.

One of the major changes is this will last for three days, including the Platform Day. During that time, those willing to help maintain the spring garden will be welcome. Whether by manual labor, organization, a special talent or other contributions. [After all the carriage is only so large and traffic may be regular.] Like last time, the climate, weather and soil will be present, but I'd like to ask some of those talented with the fast growth of plants and trees to lend assistance. Anyone familiar with planning the layout of a seasonal garden in a relatively small space would also be appreciated.

Those who might be interested in preparing food fit for picnic meals, I would like to ask for your help. Though I have a general concept for this seasonal garden event, I would ask you to bring any ideas you have to me. What I've observed on my star may differ from others and anyone should feel welcome to add their ideas. I may also approach some of you but there is no obligation to agree to my requests.

[This is announced over the intercoms. But there will also be signs posted near the public ICPs in each carriage or in a proper obvious place with this message printed on it.

Questions and the OOC prep links!]

Comments

Handwave

[wewillwewill]

Post here if you want to discuss a handwaved setup/request/etc. So the prompt for the Spring Day can be written to include the work folk put in, please at least let me know if there's anything you intend to do.

[happyends]

Madoka definitely would have helped provide some spring crafts! She would have made some paper flowers to decorate the carriage with, along with some more general easter-y decorations.

Time for all non-Earth people to start wondering what rabbits have to do with spring, tbh.

[wewillwewill]

Haha! Sounds excellent. Also May I suggest some of these looks? Please let me know if Madoka would make some like that!

[happyends]

Oh, definitely. Making cute bunny-shaped paper crafts is 100% her thing! She has done orgami before, so she could definitely make some bunny origami to put around the carriage!

Re: Handwave

[blue_ice]

I'll probably do a scene on the actual day, but for now Seto has holos to offer of spring trees. Not as good as the real thing, but can help fill in emptier spaces.

Re: Handwave

[wewillwewill]

Excellent! Would Seto be able to make projections on the sides of the carriage as well? Something like 'the fields continue' in appearance. If the carriage was a setting on a stage, the projections would be the backdrop that makes it seem bigger than it is!

Re: Handwave

[blue_ice]

Oh, absolutely! Not a problem. He can set up a weather cycle, and sync the appearance to everything inside the car.

Re: Handwave

[ranoutofbuts]

Faux has totally donated some not great drawings of his favorite orchids species. He knows they are not great, they are however the best he can do for the time being. And participation in these activities apparently makes users more content, so he had to give it a shot.

They are very scribbly, and look like a child did them.

Re: Handwave

[wewillwewill]

These are absolutely fine and will be spread on equal terms among the craft decorations!

Well on one hand it won't be stuffed in a back corner but on the OTHER hand it's going to be on prominent display with all the other entries so hopefully that isn't another trauma for poor Faux altogether.

Elidibus Scenes

[wewillwewill]

For encountering, approaching or being approached by Elidibus for prep-work requests. Please let me know if you want him to approach you! If you want to approach him, feel free to put a prompt here.

hey nerd

[blitzcheer]

Sooo, tell me about this Spring idea? What do you do for Spring?

[ Hello, Elidibus. Want this discussion to happen inside the carriage of the moment, the garden carriage? Then it will, with Tidus sat cross-legged on a bench, since that's the way he rolls. ]

I remembered when you talked about doing this kind of stuff before... but I don't know a lot about seasonal celebrations.

sup jock

[wewillwewill]

The seasons are straightforward. Winter to spring. Spring to summer and summer to fall.

[ It's an easy answer! But as for what 'do you do for Spring' goes... ]

I can tell you about what I've seen others do for spring. But if you're looking for what people do, it's best asking others. Roland, for instance.

[ He'd been told about Earth's 'Easter' which had some traits Elidibus seemed familiar with. But was definitely different.]

Do you want to hear about the event the mortals of my star celebrate during this season?

Preparation Top Levels

[wewillwewill]

All those things people would want to do before the official opening of the Spring Day Garden. Like egg painting! Or arts and crafts decorations! Or gradually setting up the garden!

Roland 🥚 Easter Egg Hunt Prep Center! 🌷 OTA

[adregem]

(A) kitchen: candy

[ Earth celebrations that aren't some alternate version of what he knows come far and few in between. So when's given the chance to help lighten the mood some, Roland takes it. After all, this was for everyone on the train...and they were all going through something, whether or not they were willing to admit it out loud.

Plus, it brings him back to the days when he used to host kids Easter egg hunts in the White House. He'll never forget how happy it made them, all of them; kids and parents alike. ]

So that's half a cup of milk and half a cup of butter- ah. But that's just for ten servings. I'll probably need to triple it to be sure.

[ Hence his hands-on approach to making the chocolate Easter egg cookies and treats. He borrows a variety of supplies from the communal kitchen, and arranges all the ingredients in a neat and orderly manner from volume to frequency of use. A cookbook is splayed out nicely before him, dog-eared to chocolate recipes that he could replicate without fancy ingredients. ]

[ From Easter egg cookies that need decorating with frosting, to hollowing out some moulds with chocolates, it looks like Roland's all in for this festival. He definitely could use the help, busy as he is at the moment, doing quick maths to modify the recipes for batch cooking. The apron he dons is of noteworthy attention. Maybe. ]

(B) garden: spring decor

[ Higgle.

These kindly creatures that looked more like walking clouds than anything else, are hard at work with the most mundane of tasks. While some are actually doing their best to wobble around, clearing paths, benches, and stones, others are goofing off. A pair chases one another in a never-ending game of tag. Some are hanging about by the fountain, tiny legs swinging about. At the center of this circus, Roland looks mildly frustrated, a bigger higgledy atop his shoulder, wearing a long cape and a giant crown. ]

Dammit. We're missing how many? Gah. I told them to just hide the treats, not to play hide and seek...We don't have time for this.

[ OOC: Higgledies can be seen by individuals who have purity of heart, whatever that might mean to their character. Basically, if your character is someone magically-attuned and/or considers their intentions as benefits to the community or the greater good. This is up to you if you would like to see them or not. Shenanigans can still occur even if they can only sense an invisible presence moving things around :) ]

(C) wildcard!

[ Roland will need whatever help he can get, or can help you in turn! ]

b

[happyends]

[ Madoka came here to put up some of the spring decorations she's made in the arts carriage.. but the moment she came here, she instead got instantly distracted by all of these tiny higgledies all over the place. After all, she has seen some of these before, thanks to Tidus letting her borrow some before on missions.

And while most of these look really different from the ones she's seen before, they're still recognizable enough as higgledies that Madoka cheerfully greets them all the same. She's squatting by the fountain, seeming to play with a few of them, when she suddenly hears the voice call out.

It makes the girl turn her head in the direction of its source, calling out: ]

Oh, sir, are you looking for the higgledies..? There are some over here!

b

[blitzcheer]

If you think you don't have time on this train, you deserve to get pulled into a game of hide and seek.

[ Who else could be sitting on this bench with a look - and voice - of utter amusement? Tidus, who else, his arms folded and his own blue High Higgledy and pals thrown into the mix of shenanigans taking place. While they're more than keen to be play with Rannygazoo's troopers, they've also taken to being in the fountain itself, bopping along with the non-existent current, or showing a dedication to paddling!! ]

Lighten up! You can always make more chocolate.

B / C

[crowneddragon]

[OOC: Any thought on what Roland might need help with? Esteban is willing to help out anyone in need. Else, we can have them tie up the netting/ mesh for decorations around the garden? If it gets to that point (fair warning, Esteban tends to get Distracted) XD]

[There's higgledies. There's higgledies everywhere and Esteban finds himself stalled, staring at the many, many little limbs and enlarged heads, barely squashing the urge to just gather them all up. Look at them. Look at them!]

"How 'bout playin' with them?" [He suggests instead at the worried man, a snicker on his lips.

He shifts the rope to his left arm so that his right can come up and run through a handful of signs, first spelling out {Ro-lan-d} more smoothly than he expected-- his practice is paying off! And then struggling harder with {Ra-ni-g-a-zou} Yikes. The SCA at his wrist nonetheless spills out the name in broken syllables, it's mechanical voice grating in the carriage slowly turning to a garden under some watchful eyes.]

"Play hard t' work hard? I'll help out when we've caught the troublemakers!" [Esteban is always down to help anyone who might need help. The bonus points from getting to play around with the higgledies beforehand has nothing at all to do with his offer to help. (But he certainly is happy to offer that help too!)]

inigo | ota

[flatteries]

[ Honestly, while Inigo is sure that there's probably people who can provide flowers much more easily, he still feels like he should do something to help out here - especially with how much he loves flowers in the first place.

So even though it might not contribute as much, he still makes sure to head over to his little patch in the greenhouse, moving to carefully put his flowers into pots so he can actually move them around, carrying them from the greenhouse over towards the garden

.. though that still technically leaves the problem of where to leave them in the carriage, huh. If you're standing around in it, you might find Inigo turning towards you with a flower pot in his arms. ]

Hey, where you do you think this would look best?

[ Or maybe you run into him later, when he's already put his collection of flowers down somewhere. If he catches you staring at them, Inigo smiles at you, piping up with: ]

Seeing something you recognize? [ You might actually be recognizing them, since the flowers come from various past mission worlds they've visited. Maybe you've seen one before in passing back on one of those..? ]

[blitzcheer]

Uhhhhh...

...

...

... Pass?

[ Of course Tidus is standing around - standing around, holding a couple of his flower pots for him. 'Cause that's what a pal does, helping them to rearrange their flowers into the new place to put them. To be 'Spring' like - whatever that means. (Wasn't that something to do with Persephone...?? --anyway.) ]

Don't flowers look good anywhere?

[wewillwewill]

[ Elidibus does appear to be standing - or sitting - around at times in the carriage. He looks up. ]

Flowers for display? [ He pauses for thought. ] I've been setting poles and netting for the decorations others have made. What if we added arrangements of these potted flowers there, on tables?

Elidibus - Decorations! Food! Painting Eggs! - OTA

[wewillwewill]

i. Painting Eggs - Art Carriage

Elidibus has taken charge of painting eggs. Of course while he's willing to do his part and does, he would also have asked others who are doing decorations if they wanted to participate.

The 'canvas' provided by default are eggshells, though anyone's welcome to have brought their own 'egg' canvas into the mix- wood or paper or clay, whatever made sense! The eggs themselves were carefully drained (or just magicked out. It's Elidibus so who knows) and washed and are strengthened so they're hard to break. The painting station is set up in the art car, with acrylics as the primary supply and a small variety of others that were either there at the start or pulled out by others who had a mind to try them.

The Ascian's scenes may have some 'Spring' aesthetic, but some have dipped into old memories. Buildings of some city with pleasant blue skies or a starry evening. Unusual or maybe vaguely familiar flowers. Constellation patterns against certain color backdrops.

ii. Kitchen - Picnic Prep

Spring and picnics go together. Either by observation or someone bringing it up, Elidibus will have begun looking for people or participating in some of the preparation for meals that can be easily brought to the rock garden. Last time was baked goods and warm drinks for the Snow Day event. For the time being it looks like potato salad, baked bread for sandwich making, and other 'can be made a day before' food items are in the works. A paper has been hung up asking people to drop ideas and recipes (provided the ingredients are available for them) but the focus right now is on things that can be made the day before and stored.

Largely Elidibus is going off what he's familiar with or what someone might have suggested is a good picnic food. But occasionally he does look over at someone who might have joined him for preparations and ask curiously,

"What are you making?"

iii. Setup - Rock Garden

While Elidibus isn't doing the 'heavy lifting' of transforming the carriage into a suitable spring day this time around, he is present regularly.

A person might catch him observing the flow of the climate- a task which probably makes it seem as if he's staring off into space in thought for many. Or he could be caught stringing up hempen netting between poles for those who made art decor to hang them from.

But sometimes the man is just resting on a bench, watching others at their own tasks; whether it's as simple as walking through with supplies or complicated as getting the balance of growth correct for the 'look and feel of spring'. His expression may not show particular emotions- this is pretty normal for him- but he doesn't seem tense.

iv. Wildcard - Anywhere

[Elidibus will be around or participating in various setup stuff so feel free to toss a thing at him!]

i. Painting Eggs - Art Carriage

[ranoutofbuts]

Getting used to scribbling out primitive drawings now, he has yet to see any real improvement yet. They are still... awful, from a purely analytical sense, and he still can't seem to write his glitching name either.

Regardless, he promised to donate his efforts to drawing some 'Spring' related material, which mostly comprise of various orchids he has memorized. His favorites.

Now when it comes to painting eggs...

Firstly, what is an egg, and why must it be painted onto? Secondly... how does one go about painting one? Yes, he's interested. Confused. But interested.

Picking up a too large brush and an egg, he eyes off Elidibus decorating his in hand with precision and finesse, and Faux sits there trying his best not to stare but unaware if he had succeeded or not. Just don't mind him, looking your way and awkwardly mimicking you.

PAINTING EGGS.

[likeyouknow]

Unfortunately for Elidibus, Pahja has found herself with time on her hands and nothing more but a deep desire to express herself artistically. She doesn't mean to seek out Elidibus on purpose, thinking it's better to leave him to his space and only intrude unasked every few days or so. It's still difficult to see him use Ardbert's face -- not only because of the man who's form he took (and shaved!) but because the face of a young man is stronger still in her mind. Themis, and Pahja wouldn't normally fight such a strong urge to protect, but it is Elidibus.

He probably wouldn't like it if she did, and he probably would hate it even more if she told him why.

It's still difficult to fight the urge to ruffle his hair when she comes across him in the arts car, however, though she does peer over his shoulder at the convocation eggs he's made.

"Are you going to leave Azem's up to Emet again?" She jokes, before pulling up a seat and sitting across from him. "He did it once before, so I have no doubt he will do it again if you mention you left it out."

iii. Just Two Guys Sitting Around Watching Everyone Else Do The Hard Labor

[smithandwesson]

Genjo Sanzo was not one to ever overexert himself when he didn't have to. But when he picked up word that the rock garden was going to be going through a 'spring renovation,' he could not help but peak in with bored curiosity. With what little time Sanzo had spent on the Voidtreckers Express, the rock garden was slowly creeping up there on one of his favorite places to spend his time.

It was familiar. And it was also a nice place to relax.

And although resembling barely anything of the traditional space it was supposed to be, there were little things that almost made him feel nostalgic for those dull, quiet days in the monasteries.

And this time, he could at least offer his input and 'wisdom as a great Sanzo priest' when it came to the overall feel of the garden.

With a quiet, casual stride, he walked up beside Elidibus as he sat relaxed on the bench. Sanzo's arms folded into the pockets of his purple hoodie as he looked out towards those who had been physically working.

"Pretty nice set up you have here. Offer people to volunteer in all this, and now watch it all come together."

Genjo Sanzo 🌸 Serving Up Some Education And Direction With The Garden 🌸 OTA

[smithandwesson]

i. Sage Advice From A Sage

[Genjo Sanzo had initially only peaked into the rock garden carriage to look around at what was going on. He had been spending a decent amount of his days within it already, more often than not, to catch sight of his master whenever he had been sneaking a smoke.

And although not a traditional chan garden by any means, it carried a strange sense of nostalgia. How often did Sanzo spend his time staring out at the gardens back when the world was peaceful?]

Put the stones over there. Make sure to pour it out slowly, with even distribution. Don't just dump them.

[For now, he was helping rearrange what little traditional part of the stone garden remained. Having volunteers who joined in collecting help wash the stones that were sitting about throughout the seasons. Now he had them put the rocks out to dry properly before rearranging them.

He had no idea how the hell he got roped into this himself. Did nostalgia hit him that badly?]

Gardens like this were quite common back home... Before all of the youkai suddenly became violent...... And were no longer themselves.

[But that was beside the point. Leaning down, Sanzo grabbed a nearby rake and began to rotate the stones, allowing them to dry evenly.]

The entire practice of gardens such as this is an attempt to harmonize oneself with nature. The Japanese added the use of rocks like this once they started practicing traditional Buddhist values. In a cross-cultural attempt, some gardens in China began to also pick up the technique.

[He looked towards the upturned soil that lay just across from them, nodding his head at what was going to become a more traditional garden space.]

For that, we need blossoming trees. And flowers.

[He would never admit to it, but it seemed Genjo Sanzo had gotten quite invested in the project.]

ii. The Sybolism Of Flowers

[As the days passed and the project had gotten closer to completion, Sanzo had found himself surprisingly more engrossed in the work than he thought he would be. What initially was him standing around micromanaging and putting his two cents in whatever he had the chance ended with him helping in completely rearranging the rock garden and helping tend to the bamboo wall or the small collectionof blooming trees that were recently planted. He even went so far as to provide food from the kitchens by the end of it. He was laying a large helping of pineapple buns that he had learned to make himself so that people could enjoy them with the gardens' official relaunch. Just in time to enjoy the sight of the blossoms falling from the trees.]

Back in my world, humans lived every day in fear of youkai, knowing death could come for them at any moment. Togenkyo was a paradise in name only... In reality, it was the very picture of hell. But despite that, the beauty of the world, though rapidly changing, would continue. The circle of life and death. The fleeting beauty that comes with life and the reassurance that all life will continuously bloom in an eternal cycle is forever hung over our heads. That is the exact representation these flowers hold over us all.

So enjoy this fleeting life and the beauty that comes with it while you are still very much in bloom as well.

iii. Questions From Someone Who's Never Done This Before

[Genjo Sanzo was only lightly aware of the religious practices that dealt with the east. He understood the base values and how many of them had started. But there were certain things that he couldn't quite wrap his mind around.

Egg dying and hunting was such practice.

He had been sitting at one of the dying stations himself. He seemingly concentrated on balancing the egg upon its scoop as he dipped it into the cup of dye. His eyebrows knitted together in concentration as if he were turning it into a serious meditative practice.]

What do you think could be the cause? That made it so that painting eggs only to hide them became an integral part of eastern tradition?

[Steady. He wanted to get this one white side just right.]

vi.Wildcard!

((OOC: As always! Feel free to comment with a top-level if there's something else that you want to play that isn't listed above! Or if you wish to plot something out, feel free to PM me or send me a message at <user name="chohakkaifan" site="plurk.com> -or- Discord ChoHakkaiFan#5971))