Waking the Dead 2.0 || August 9, 2063 || Tuesday

[kalikat]

[Dinner is served late in the mess hall because it's a grand banquet in honor of the Magistrate of Kibo. It's a pretty modest celebration, all things considered: the people at Kibo are invited, along with her family, any Searing Wind members who feel like dropping in from wherever they've been as of late, and a few friends among the other Keepers of the Vigil. That's about it.

Still, Kalika looks like she's having fun. Her husband and her children are, of course, all in attendance, together with her husband's familiars and the entire division of the Strays from Seigi. The food, mind you, is excellent, and there is more than enough booze.

You're welcome to come and go as you please. Kalika's easy like that.]


OOC Notes:
+ Will have some threads for NPCs of note, but just to give you a general idea: many members of the three blades are in attendance, along with pretty much anyone whom Kalika views as family. If you want to request for somebody, lemme know!
+ Debby and Noey: feel free to put your NPCs in here. =w=
+ Feel free to start your own threads too. Just specify if it's open to all, or if you're going to thread something out with a particular PC.

Comments

[atlas_shrugged]

[ Brig smiles, a bit sheepish. Enlighten the Lady of the Night on something he thought she'd probably already knew? ]

Gladly, Ma'am.

[ He puts his cup down and his hands are animated as he describes it earnestly. It's something he'd read decades ago, but only recently truly understood. Only recently applied strictly to his new life. ]

They say life's like juggling around five balls in the air. Could be more, could be less, but each ball stands for something. Usually they're work, family, health, friends and, if you have one, faith, let's say. It's about being able to manage them and keeping them all in the air.

Work's a rubber ball. If you drop it by accident or on purpose, it bounces back. You just have to catch it on the rebound. Maybe bend a bit to reach it as it comes back from the floor.

[ He pulls out a cigarette lights it, and goes on with it balanced in his mouth ]

The other four balls though - family, health, friends and faith – are made of glass. If you drop any one of them, there's high likelihood they'll break. And they'll be gone, if not badly damaged and difficult to pick up after.

I like to think of the glass balls as snowglobes really. Heavy, important. Priceless. Work's important too, of course, but sometimes you can let it drop if things are a bit hard to manage, or purposefully bounce it off the floor while you get your bearings again.

[ He takes his cigarette from his mouth and taps away the relatively long ash bar that's there. He still feels a bit sheepish, moreso with how happy he was to share it. ]

[kawaakari]

[Listening intently, and smiling by the time he's done with his explanation.]

The one who made that metaphor was an incredibly wise person. Who did you hear that from?

[atlas_shrugged]

I read it somewhere before, way back. [ A swig of his beer ] It's all I used to be able to do when alone. Read. Keep busy one way or another.

[kawaakari]

And what did you read the most? Surely you have preferences.

[She has some of her own when it comes to literature, anyway.]

[atlas_shrugged]

[ He's feeling smaller. 122 years of life and feels so tiny, so lacking in knowledge about the world beside her ]

Uhmm, I've always liked history, Ma'am. [ Because of Eisenstein. Closest thing he ever got to understanding bits of his past. And only of the Greco-Roman period because that's as far as he knows about how old his creator was. Big ol' shield and mastery of gladius and pilum, go figure. He has nooooo idea how old Eisenstein really was. ] It got me as close to how the world of people - humans - played out.

[ A pause ] I like period books too. The more romanticized micro perspective of history, albeit fictional. [ Of Mice and Men and Man from La Mancha are his favorites. You can pry it out. ]

[ This last one he's a bit sheepish about now. Loud and proud geek. Suddenly afraid it'll look small and childish to the Lady of the Night. ] And well... comics. [ A beat. The last bit comes out a mumbled whisper ] They made me believe in the ideal.

[kawaakari]

[She is not too surprised to hear any of that.]

I must admit that I share your passion for history and historical fiction. They have a certain charm to them. As for comics...

[Chuckling.]

Not quite my thing, but I understand their appeal.

[atlas_shrugged]

[ Brig just shrugs and smiles ] De gustibus non est disputandum, right?

[ OOC: Latin. "In matters of taste, there can be no disputes" (literally "Of taste there is no arguing." or "taste should not be disputed" ]

Thanks~

[kawaakari]

[A man of letters, indeed.]

Precisely. It's a shame that most "critics" fail to remember that, though.

[atlas_shrugged]

Well, I've always taken the loose tongued [ not eloquent ] "critics" as "idiots full of sound and fury. Signifying nothing." [ Quoting that line from Macbeth was always apt for individuals with more mouth than sense ]

[kawaakari]

[Chuckling at that.]

A fan of Shakespeare, are you?

[atlas_shrugged]

[ A smile ] Of a number of his works, Ma'am. I haven't read them all but I've loved those that I have. Are you one too?

[kawaakari]

[Nods.]

Might I know what your favorite Shakespeares are?

[atlas_shrugged]

[ Brig thinks a bit, pulling out of memory the works he particularly loved ]

Macbeth, The Merchant of Venice, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Twelfth Night. They're the ones I loved the most.

[ Playing out the plot of Twelfth Night in his mind puts a smile on his face ]

I've only ever read them though. I've never had the chance to watch them performed.

[kawaakari]

Oh, you should find some time to see them on stage. No play is complete without them coming alive before an audience.

[She's seen quite a few. Her son rather likes Shakespeare.]

[atlas_shrugged]

I will, Ma'am. [ The thought of finally seeing Nick Bottom and his donkey head in the flesh puts a smile on Brig's face ] Would you grace me with your company if they ever hold one here in Japan?

[kawaakari]

Of course, provided that I do not have a sudden engagement to handle.

[Chuckling.]

Perhaps we can bring my son.

[atlas_shrugged]

Of course. [ He smiles. Maybe the stars will align some time. ] It'd be nice to have Brother join us, Ma'am. Pretty sure he and you could enlighten me on the finer points of Broadway performances after we get the chance to see one.

[kawaakari]

He will likely be able to do it better than I can.

[Saying that with fondness.]

The stage speaks to him on an intimate level, one that is nearly as close as the way he is moved by stories.