001 ✽ Be our guest

[giglio_madonna]

Who: Luce, and the many fellow Virgos
What: In which the hired chefs weren't warned about the Tiny God, kitchens are borrowed, and there's an open lunch.
When: Backdated to Oct 4, from morning to noon
Where: Around Virgo HQ, and eventually the FoB penthouse
Warnings: None.

About and Around: Virgo HQ. 9 am

You'd think celebrities would get to sleep in, but nope. Someone is knocking at your penthouse door and whoever gets the honor of opening it will get to see Luce standing there smiling.

"I know this is rather sudden, but would it be alright if I used your penthouse's kitchen?"

Yep, that's sure a question.

Flowers Over Bones Penthouse. Anytime before noon.

For those who are curious just as to what is going on, they're more than welcome to drop by the penthouse where Luce's band is staying. They'll generally find, at the kitchen table, someone clearly recognizable as a hired Virgo chef sitting there with her hand in her hands. She seems a bit... shell shocked. Sitting nearby is FoB's manager, Angel Ramsey, looking like she's given up on all of life's goodness as she does work on a laptop balanced on her knees.

If the timing is right or you wait around long enough, Luce comes bustling back in straight towards the kitchen to check on any number of things that seem to be baking, broiling, cooking, steaming... It's a very full kitchen. (If you've let her borrow yours, undoubtedly you know the scene now.) Feel free to talk to her even while she's so busy.

Flowers Over Bones Penthouse. Lunchtime.

Have you let Luce use your kitchen? Were you at any point even just idly bumped into while she was making her way around HQ? You've now been invited to have lunch with her band.

All the food from the other kitchens has been carted up to the penthouse, the chef having recovered enough to lead that endeavor, and now there is an unprecedented amount of food taking up whatever available space there is. There's soup, pasta, meatballs, salad, and so much bread. The fact that there's so much is probably proof of magic.

Furthering the idea that she's likely powered by witchcraft and the tears of angels, Luce bustles around as she gets her own lunch. "Don't worry, just dig in! Waste not, want not. And Angel, I've seen our schedule for this week..."

Once things have settled down, Luce can be found sitting outside enjoying the beautiful ocean view. She seems to be scribbling words down onto a set of three papers while eating her lunch. The titles seem to be Mare, Vongola, and Arcobaleno. Every now and then, she nibbles on something thoughtfully and just stares down. An artist's work is never done.

Comments

[giglio_madonna]

Hmmm, just a little bit. But I'm sure they'll come to me.

[Setting down her pen, she takes a sip of her tea.]

You can't rush these things.

[sponsorigami]

I wouldn't know, though I have wondered about writing a song and singing it.

[ Someday, he would like to lead a song, not just have a solo part, but be the focus. Ms. Ramsay told him that the current public wouldn't go for a shamisen main, even for a song. It would be "that bad song" of the album. Ivan let it drop, not wanting to seem like he was stepping out of line and incurring her wrath.

Would things be better now after a successful tour? Would his music reach? ]

[giglio_madonna]

You should give it a shot!

[As always, in direct contrast to Angel's pragmatism, Luce is forever encouraging with a bright smile.]

Have you had any thought to the subject of it, or some verses?

[sponsorigami]

I should?

[ He puts a hand to his chin and thinks, but right now nothing comes to him. He falls back on something far too obvious and almost impersonal despite why he thinks of it. ]

I guess it should be something about shadows and flowers.

[giglio_madonna]

Hmm, maybe.

[Luce doesn't seem to be buying into it much either, but her solution is pretty simple. She gives a small gesture at her own papers.]

Maybe you can help me with my own writing, and you'll get a better idea of what you want to do myself. You're so good at haiku, I'm sure you'll get a handle on everything soon enough.

[sponsorigami]

I could try. What you do have so far?

[ Haiku seems easier. The tight restrictions forces one to be very creative, to experiment and try other ways to convey the message. ]

[giglio_madonna]

Let's see...

[She shuffles through the papers, reorganizing them until she's tugging one of the 'Mare' ones up into the top.]

I have three ideas so far... This one is about the sea- how it knows no bounds, stretching endlessly, and reflecting the deep blue of the sky. I've gone through a couple of drafts, but I'm not entirely satisfied with anything just yet...

[sponsorigami]

[ He takes the sheet of paper in his hands and reads over her notes. ]

The ocean is also full of strength and mystery. Its waves can pull people under and lose them in the waters' depths. But, people also say that the dragon god Ryuujin in his palace at the bottom of the ocean with his beautiful daughter, Otohime. They seem to invite guests to the palace a lot in legends.

[ Of course, Ivan drifts toward a Japanese reference, but ultimately, he's trying to give suggestions for the song's "story." Then Ivan looks out the window from which they can see the ocean. They've got inspiration right outside their window. There are some speaks of color out there as well, ships. ]

Have you tried writing from the balcony?

[giglio_madonna]

Not yet, but that's a good idea.

Would you like to be out there with me? Maybe you can tell me more about Ryuujin and those legends.

[sponsorigami]

Sure.

[ He answers to both the question of going to the balcony and telling Luce about the legends. ]

Do the others know you're writing about the ocean, or is this still very early in development?

[ He doesn't know how these things actually work now that he thinks about it. How strange. Oh well. He must have been busy working on his own craft. ]

[giglio_madonna]

Still in development.

[Getting up with her things, she shakes her head.]

It doesn't feel like it would do to show everyone anything until I've at least got a first draft to show them.

[sponsorigami]

[ He'll help out and make sure Luce will still her tea out there. ]

I see. Let's try and get the lyrics to that point then.

[ He's committed now. He'll be offering all sorts of ideas. ]

[giglio_madonna]

Wonderful.

[Maybe a helping hand is exactly what she needs to get past this block. As they settle down again, she gets a fresh sheet of paper. Alright, new start as of now.]

So Ryuujin lives in a palace?

[sponsorigami]

Yes. He lives under the ocean in a great big palace. A lot of folktales have large turtles ferrying surface dwellers to the bottom of the ocean. Those people often lose track of time while they're down there. It can be both a blessing and a curse.

[ He's not sure how they don't have problems breathing, but it must by kami powers. ]

[giglio_madonna]

[Luce writes down everything dutifully.]

How interesting... Why do the turtles take people down there?

[sponsorigami]

They're messengers. The people they bring down usually have done something to please Ryuujin, like rescuing a baby turtle, so he thanks them by inviting them to the palace.

[giglio_madonna]

Just rescuing baby turtles is enough to get on his good side?

[It makes her laugh, but it's a good one. There's something endearing about a powerful mythical figure taking care about something as small as a baby turtle.]

[sponsorigami]

Even a baby turtle is one of Ryuujin's subjects. Such an act of kindness from a fisherman is to be rewarded.

[ Why not baby turtles? However jellyfish and octopuses got on Ryuujin's bad side once and lost all their bones. ]

[giglio_madonna]

He sounds like a noble person, then.

[Exactly her kind of giant sea dragon.]

Does he know about the difference in how time flows? Or is that never said in the legends?

[sponsorigami]

They do to some extent. There's one story where Ryuujin or his daughter gifts the fisherman a special box as he's about to leave. They tell him to never open it. He goes back to the surface to find everyone else had grown old and say they remember a man with his name, but he disappeared. They don't know it's him.

[ Which drives the fisherman to despair and forget or go against the warning. ]

When the fisherman opens the box, he instantly becomes old because it contained his age or something similar.

[giglio_madonna]

I see... Was it like immortality then, or just taking off the age? I suppose a myth wouldn't get too much into that...

[sponsorigami]

Hmm....

[ Ivan doesn't actually know, but he mulls the question in his head more before speaking. ]

I think it was more freeing the years the fisherman spent under the sea all at once. The box was like a cage for them.

[giglio_madonna]

A cage to hold back all the things you'd avoided, whether you realized it or not... Hmm. That's definitely one way to do things.

[sponsorigami]

Maybe he would have aged normally after if he had kept the box closed.

[ Or maybe he would have become immortal and found a way to return to the palace. The folklore never got that far. ]

[giglio_madonna]

I suppose we can only wonder about it, hm?

I'll have to do a lot more research. This is really interesting.