[D6 LA] Side Event: Realm Expo RP

[Kitsu Kanna]

Rei smiled. "I've been living here for three years now. I understand what you mean."

He crossed his arms, considering a moment. "I'm trying to think of recommendations I could give, but my list is coming up rather short." Eyebrows went up as an idea occurred to him. "I don't suppose you'd consider adding a ronin to the list?"

"That's a surprisingly recurring question actually.

The answer is: It's complicated. Or more exactly, it's a long-term bet.

The portrait of an honorable ronin is not publishable as is. However, were the ronin to die in the service of a clan later on, whether it has officially join it or not, then suddenly it's a bestseller in the making. People love ronin... But only after they've died for them."

Kanna adjusted her glasses.

"The publishing industry can be a macabre place. And you haven't even talked with my colleagues that write all these obituaries about still alive celebrities to be the first on the line the day they die."

[Usagi Rei]

"That's a surprisingly recurring question actually.

The answer is: It's complicated. Or more exactly, it's a long-term bet.

The portrait of an honorable ronin is not publishable as is. However, were the ronin to die in the service of a clan later on, whether it has officially join it or not, then suddenly it's a bestseller in the making. People love ronin... But only after they've died for them."

Kanna adjusted her glasses.

"The publishing industry can be a macabre place. And you haven't even talked with my colleagues that write all these obituaries about still alive celebrities to be the first on the line the day they die."

"I've heard of that practice." Rei said. For a moment, it looked like he was about to say more, but he shook his head. "It does seem rather macabre, doesn't it? Perhaps even distasteful."

He tilted his head, considering. "Life on World of Dreams is strange. I barely saw any ronin until I came to live here, now I see them almost every day. I'm not sure I could recommend most of them to you, and those I could, well..." Rei smiled, "-I wouldn't want to bet on their deaths."

Eyebrows went up again as a thought suddenly occurred to him. "Have you spoken with your clanmate, Akodo Reki?"

[Kitsu Kanna]

"I've heard of that practice." Rei said. For a moment, it looked like he was about to say more, but he shook his head. "It does seem rather macabre, doesn't it? Perhaps even distasteful."

He tilted his head, considering. "Life on World of Dreams is strange. I barely saw any ronin until I came to live here, now I see them almost every day. I'm not sure I could recommend most of them to you, and those I could, well..." Rei smiled, "-I wouldn't want to bet on their deaths."

Eyebrows went up again as a thought suddenly occurred to him. "Have you spoken with your clanmate, Akodo Reki?"

"The publishing industry is before anything else an industry, with the many distasteful mercantile imperatives it involves. Classy projects like the one I'm working on are for the most part payed by the good money made by the gossip magazines of the company.

Yes, it's a state of affairs that's not without causing a few moral dilemmas. Nothing dishonorable per se, as long as no story is made up and there's a real right of reply. But definitely stretching the limit of courtesy sometimes."

Kanna tilted her head slightly, surprised by the dropped name:

"I've met Akodo Reki but not much more. The idea behind crossing half the galaxy was not to spend all my time with people I could exchange with in the comfort of my own home, before going back to play my baby daughter. Though now I wonder why you're asking."

[Usagi Rei]

"The publishing industry is before anything else an industry, with the many distasteful mercantile imperatives it involves. Classy projects like the one I'm working on are for the most part payed by the good money made by the gossip magazines of the company.

Yes, it's a state of affairs that's not without causing a few moral dilemmas. Nothing dishonorable per se, as long as no story is made up and there's a real right of reply. But definitely stretching the limit of courtesy sometimes."

Kanna tilted her head slightly, surprised by the dropped name:

"I've met Akodo Reki but not much more. The idea behind crossing half the galaxy was not to spend all my time with people I could exchange with in the comfort of my own home, before going back to play my baby daughter. Though now I wonder why you're asking."

"I understand it on an intellectual level..." Rei grimaced. A week ago, he might have felt differently. Now he'd grown quite close with several celebrities. Feelings were complicated.

He looked at Kanna, smiling. "Oh? You and your spouse just had a daughter? Congratulations. Your first?"

But then he sighed. "I mention Akodo Reki because I suspect she has stories to tell. If she would be willing to tell them." His lips pressed together a moment. "I suggest her warily because she has a deep reserve that I wouldn't care to see intruded upon. But if she wanted to share..." He spread a hand, inclining his head.

[Kitsu Kanna]

snip

"Little Maki is my first indeed. A healthy baby with powerful lungs. She's at home with her grandparents while I'm working here and her father is with his detachment. Got children of your own yourself?"

Kanna nodded at the remark concerning her clanmate:

"I feel like this planet might need a little less alcohol and a little more priests. I've met quite a few people that would likely benefit far more from a trip to Kitsu Prime and a lengthy discussion with a medium of the departed than from all the pleasures this world has to offer."

[Usagi Rei]

"Little Maki is my first indeed. A healthy baby with powerful lungs. She's at home with her grandparents while I'm working here and her father is with his detachment. Got children of your own yourself?"

Kanna nodded at the remark concerning her clanmate:

"I feel like this planet might need a little less alcohol and a little more priests. I've met quite a few people that would likely benefit far more from a trip to Kitsu Prime and a lengthy discussion with a medium of the departed than from all the pleasures this world has to offer."

"No." Rei said shortly. A brief pause, and then he added: "Congratulations again, though."

He took a breath, then mustered a wan smile. "Oh. I gather she told you at least some of her story, then?" He gave a helpless shrug. "I thought that sharing more of it might help her. I'm not sure. Loss is... complex, to say the least."

[Kuni Koyuki]

Mariko couldn't help but smirk faintly at the mention of taste. She had enough pride in her project to believe that point at the very least. "I can't be trendy all the time but I'll chalk it up to word travelling slowly."

She hovered closer to her table, which had some banners and display work to make it a little more polished than her table neighbours when it comes to the advertisement, and took one of the many plushies from the collection. "Not really. I thought might ask where I got the idea from. Or what it's so green. Or what it only has one eye. Maybe why I haven't considered doing this sooner. If I'd consider doing more designs in the future. General questions like that."

"Oh, I suppose I got these last minute..." She said as she fished something from the other side of the table and fixed a velcro-back eye over the missing spot. "Not an elegant solution but it works."

An honest smile pops, incredulous as the little velcro eye was. Shaking her head with a very slight chuckle the smile dissipates away once more. Looking back to the little doll, now with attached eye, she takes a step close just to give a bit more of an honest appraisal of it.

"No, not very elegant," she says, amusement heavy in her tone. "As far as an honest interpretation demands it is not the worst attempt I could have expected. Though, I wonder if there is something you might do to make it feel more real. As such with the method of attachment, not a completion. I think it loses the importance of putting the eye on if you can so easily remove it. Not the thing for something that is just supposed to be cozy, however," she says, bringing a hand up to underneath her chin behind where the paint reaches. Slightly awkward, but seems to accomplish a similar effect.

[Kitsu Kanna]

snip

"She didn't tell me anything, no."

A pause.

"Some silence however can be eloquent."

[Usagi Rei]

"She didn't tell me anything, no."

A pause.

"Some silence however can be eloquent."

"I see." Rei's eyes narrowed, and he inclined his head. "You're good at your job, Kitsu-san." A brief pause, and then his lips pressed together.

A smile suddenly returned to Rei's handsome features. "I think I've seen you at some other parties this season. Which one has been your favorite?"

[Kitsu Kanna]

snip

"The ones I managed to skip.

Scorpion seem to have that weird idea that making things more complicated makes them more pleasant."

[Usagi Rei]

"The ones I managed to skip.

Scorpion seem to have that weird idea that making things more complicated makes them more pleasant."

Rei chuckled at that. "Oh, they're not that bad." He considered for a moment. "Well, maybe they are."

He shrugged, spreading his hands. "But Scorpion value fun over pleasant. If they're overly complicated, it's because they enjoy playing games. A lot." Rei grinned at that, just for a moment. "I've heard it suggested that the only way to win is to not play. But I don't think I'd agree with that. Beating a master at their own game is all the more satisfying."

[Bayushi Ryuhei]

Ryuhei needed some rest and a cold beer after this.

[Please PM if approached.]

[Bayushi Mariko]

An honest smile pops, incredulous as the little velcro eye was. Shaking her head with a very slight chuckle the smile dissipates away once more. Looking back to the little doll, now with attached eye, she takes a step close just to give a bit more of an honest appraisal of it.

"No, not very elegant," she says, amusement heavy in her tone. "As far as an honest interpretation demands it is not the worst attempt I could have expected. Though, I wonder if there is something you might do to make it feel more real. As such with the method of attachment, not a completion. I think it loses the importance of putting the eye on if you can so easily remove it. Not the thing for something that is just supposed to be cozy, however," she says, bringing a hand up to underneath her chin behind where the paint reaches. Slightly awkward, but seems to accomplish a similar effect.

"Hm, good point on that. Having it graduate so easily kind of loses the effect and I'm pretty sure many of these dolls haven't really actually earned theirs just yet." She said as she tugs on the eye slightly until she pulls it from the doll. "I figure in case anyone was wanting to give them another eye but that does quite make the doll much of a wish doll anymore, right?"

Mariko thought about this as she looked at the small army of dolls she had on her table. "Maybe I could consider an iron-on eye 'patch' instead."

[Kuni Koyuki]

"Hm, good point on that. Having it graduate so easily kind of loses the effect and I'm pretty sure many of these dolls haven't really actually earned theirs just yet." She said as she tugs on the eye slightly until she pulls it from the doll. "I figure in case anyone was wanting to give them another eye but that does quite make the doll much of a wish doll anymore, right?"

Mariko thought about this as she looked at the small army of dolls she had on her table. "Maybe I could consider an iron-on eye 'patch' instead."

"It is not my area of experience. Though.. I suppose if I were to give it an honest try. That may be a good idea, I think. Allowing it to carry the essence of what it is meant to be just a bit more. Perhaps not a perfect replacement for a real wish doll, and yet- it emboldens the same things. A child needing then to ask their mother to iron it on when it is time?" she posits, arms crossing over her midsection she squeezes just a little tighter for a moment to settle the nerves still out of alignment from before. Taking a gander over the army of dolls, the slightest hint at the idea of what it was all for.

"You should keep trying, if it doesn't work out quite right with this one.. or this design, Bayushi-sama," she says, and this was Koyuki so it was almost definitely as earnest a statement as it could be.

[Bayushi Mariko]

"It is not my area of experience. Though.. I suppose if I were to give it an honest try. That may be a good idea, I think. Allowing it to carry the essence of what it is meant to be just a bit more. Perhaps not a perfect replacement for a real wish doll, and yet- it emboldens the same things. A child needing then to ask their mother to iron it on when it is time?" she posits, arms crossing over her midsection she squeezes just a little tighter for a moment to settle the nerves still out of alignment from before. Taking a gander over the army of dolls, the slightest hint at the idea of what it was all for.

"You should keep trying, if it doesn't work out quite right with this one.. or this design, Bayushi-sama," she says, and this was Koyuki so it was almost definitely as earnest a statement as it could be.

"Nobody gets anything right on the first take," she admitted with a few nods on the matter as she replaced the doll with the others. "It's my first attempt at a plushie, although not my first attempt on art outside of acting. Painting, designing, and drawing are more or less what got me here. Although, if it went too perfectly and found immediate success, I think that in itself won't be in the spirit of the doll either. It's supposed to be pretty flawed but to represent an idea, if not actually fulfill its duty. So the fact that it doesn't quite work out is probably more fitting. In the end, it'll be more or less be perfect enough for what I want to do as a homage to my childhood."

She found herself wading too deeply internally for a moment and she quickly gave a dismissive shrug of her shoulders to brush it off cooly. "But yeah...I've got other designs I could potentially try, even if not exactly the same sort of plushie."

[Kuni Koyuki]

"Nobody gets anything right on the first take," she admitted with a few nods on the matter as she replaced the doll with the others. "It's my first attempt at a plushie, although not my first attempt on art outside of acting. Painting, designing, and drawing are more or less what got me here. Although, if it went too perfectly and found immediate success, I think that in itself won't be in the spirit of the doll either. It's supposed to be pretty flawed but to represent an idea, if not actually fulfill its duty. So the fact that it doesn't quite work out is probably more fitting. In the end, it'll be more or less be perfect enough for what I want to do as a homage to my childhood."

She found herself wading too deeply internally for a moment and she quickly gave a dismissive shrug of her shoulders to brush it off cooly. "But yeah...I've got other designs I could potentially try, even if not exactly the same sort of plushie."

For what only could best be described as 'a moment' a length of time so vague and yet understandable in all of the right ways, Koyuki just looks to Mariko for a moment as she regards the plushies of her design. There was certainly something about her, something different. That veneer on the surface only ran so deep, and there was much more down below. Not a thought Koyuki would have shared with most, perhaps one person came to mind that could get such thoughts out of her, but Mariko wasn't that one.

Before she lingered on the thought too long, she broke herself away from her own reverie and looks out over that small army of plushies, "Just don't lose the charm that these ones have and you will manage quite a lot, Bayushi-sama," she says with a far more neutral tone than the words themselves deserved.

"I am certainly beginning to understand the very expansive list of talents you can claim. Could be because it all begins with the same start. A good eye for detail can help a lot in all of those endeavors," she muses aloud. Just looking out over all the dolls like she might make ones day by making sure to acknowledge them each individually.

[Hotaru Tsuyo]

"Ooooh, that sounds lovely. Yurei and I both really admire your Art." She was pronouncing art with a capital A. Te gal had no idea what art really was.

"Well...despite what the holos say, ronin are a varied bunch. Some get eaten up by bitter cynicism and hatred, others seek better opportunities, and some more just end up dead."

She nods, and pivots her bad leg out of the way as a scurry of costumed children runs past. "More ronin here than I've seen anywhere else. Stands ta reason there'd be all of the sorts you can find. How do you chose a path then? Is there somethin' that sets apart the ones that end up bitter from the ones finding better opportunities?"

[Hotaru Sakura]

She nods, and pivots her bad leg out of the way as a scurry of costumed children runs past. "More ronin here than I've seen anywhere else. Stands ta reason there'd be all of the sorts you can find. How do you chose a path then? Is there somethin' that sets apart the ones that end up bitter from the ones finding better opportunities?"

Sakura shrugged. "I think..it depends on how lonely they are, really. Friends can mean a lot of difference, really. Otherwise...it's difficult. It1s easy to be ruthless for its own sake."

[Kitsu Kanna]

snip

"When you wrestle a pig, win or lose, you end up covered in so much mud you're now indistinguishable from the pig.

And while we're at the step of the conversation we're quoting idioms, a poisonous snake is immune to the venom of its peers. Another animal disguised as a snake, no matter how perfect the disguise, still die at the lightest of bite."

[Usagi Rei]

snip

"When you wrestle a pig, win or lose, you end up covered in so much mud you're now indistinguishable from the pig.

And while we're at the step of the conversation we're quoting idioms, a poisonous snake is immune to the venom of its peers. Another animal disguised as a snake, no matter how perfect the disguise, still die at the lightest of bite."

"For the first, I expect that is part of the point." Rei said, smiling wryly. "And as for the other, well, believe me. I've been stung."

He spread his hands. "I guess if I were to offer an idiom, it would be that one must play the hand one is dealt." It was a fairly common idiom on World of Dreams, perhaps less so elsewhere. "I'm stationed here for a reason, as are many other samurai. We have to do the best we can."