This Girl is On Fire

    When one no longer has to race around with a sword saving the world, they get all sorts of chances to do, well, the normal things they love. In Elly's case, that involves the concert hall. More specifically, she is singing.

    Inside, it's empty other than her, but the acoustic design is such that her voice can be heard outside, as well. Outside is far from empty. There are lander children racing around (as usual) and several other group simply enjoying food. It is not immediately clear whether this is a special ceremony, or just a lot of people who happen to be eating vairious types of mochi while several people make yet more mochi in the traditional manner.

Goldenblade pretty much never stops advanturing, because there'll be time to stop later. For now, there's always things to do. But right now, that thing to do is listen to her friend Elly sing. She's been sitting in the back row, having snuck in. She's been listening to Japanese-style music since the 1950's, and her kids went through a western music phase in the 60's and 70's, so she's a little familiar with that. But this is some sort of cross between Japanese pop, which is what her grandkids listen to, and videogame music, which she's totally unfamiliar with. But it's nice enough, and she did get a fair amount done this morning.

The melody of Wake's voice turns to harmony as Player Two joins the game.

Player Two, in this case, being Uta, who just slides into the room and effortlessly weaves a second voice to go with the original one. She approaches without a care in the world, apparently, just being transported by the music.

It is only when she realizes what she's walked into that she stops, blinks, looks around, and, frozen like a small mammal caught in the headlights of a slowly approaching steamroller, she turns to Wake and whispers, "...am I interrupting something?"

    Elly will take the time to finish the song, though it is a touch unusual to have such a brief duet in the midst of the tune. Regardless, she will leave the stage to come join Uta. In so doing, she spots Goldenblade, as well.

    She does execute her patented curtsey, but she also gives Uta a hug. "My apologies, I thought I was the only one inside. But perhaps it is a good time to go properly join my people, rather than indulge my desire to entertain them. Did I sound okay outside? Every tells me that it sounds great, but I never know if they are simply being polite or really mean it."

Goldenblade will give a round of applause when Wake stops singing. It's polite, and anyhow Wake looked straight at her. "That's quite an interesting number," shee says, aware that's the same thing she said to her son when he got the album with Inna Godda Da Vida on it. She's more Glenn Miller than Iron Butterfly, herself, but she tells Wake sincerely, "It sounds very nice. It seems ... appropriate for this world." Most of the Game Music does, and she imagines that's deliberate. "Songs seem to have an unusual amount of power in this game, it's very metaphorical."

"Oh, no, no, I can guarrantee that that was quite impressive!", Uta replies to Wake. "I'd give it, like, a twelve out of seven." Strange grading system, but okay. It certainly is a grade for something that rises far above the mass, that's for sure!

"Or perhaps it isn't," Uta segues from Goldenblade's prompt. "Brainwaves function on a princpiple of frequency modulation and intensity. Th eunderpinning of Song are the same as mathematics. The great mathematician David Hilbert once said that who enjoys a symphony is appreciating mathematics without realizing it." Uta is all serious about this description. "So it might actually be far more concrete than we realize. Songs, back in our original world, held a lot of power to pluck at people's heartstrings. What if someone managed to crack the secret to brainwaves, and how it related to Music, and the special Songs that hold power in this world happen to be a version of that on steroids?"

    "I just like to sing."

    Elly laughs gently, letting the talk of power and math slip by her without much concern. "If singing can make life better and is so fun to do, I figure why not? When I have opportunities, I will study it more, but mostly because I want to bring jazz to Yamato. I miss a good saxophone or a proper guitar."

    She looks towards the nearest exit. "Is anyone else hungry for some mochi? I have heard it is particularly good this year."

Goldenblade hrms at what Uta says. "It's true that songs hold a lot of power in this world," she agrees. "It's like that one animated show where the girl sang at all the alients." As far as magic, itself, but it sems that most of the game is wrapped around magic somehow, even if not explicitly. To Uta, she says, "It certainly seems that music and singing have an effect more than you might normally expect." Compared to RL, of course. "Though I find it odd that there's nothing like folk dancing, which was a very popular activity in the historical era the game seems based on." Maybe it's secret folk dancing?

She nods slowly about jazz being interesting. and hrms about singing for singing's sake. "There's quite a lot of complicated music theory in jazz," she says thoughtfully. "But the most accomplished musicians had a feel for it, rather than perfecting their study. It seems this way has taken that methodology into all skills." As for mochi, shee shrugs off-handedly. "I can do mochi."

"I'm sure the Music Conservatory could do something about developin instruments that count as 'novel' for this world," Uta offers to Wake. "That's what we do. Research the nature and effect of Song on this world."

And of course, Uta raises her hand when the Baroness asks if anyone wants mochi. Chances are, if anyone is offering food that tastes real, Uta will almost certianly volunteer. Cooking -is- a skill in demand.

"I am not sure I am familiar with that animatied show, Paula," Uta offers to Goldenblade with a frown of confusion. "But it sounds like one I'd like to watch if I were, well..." Vague gestures meant to convey the idea of 'out there'. "There might be something to it. I might research it. I mean, the Landers' musical culture all revolves around the Forty-Two songs in the Alv language. And one Lander even did the Chicken Dance once!" Silence. "Oh, yes, the Conservatory would also be glad to work on jazz."

    Elly leads the way out of the theater. She is still listening, but she has a mission. That mission is to get out and help people enjoy themselves. Retirement or not, there is work to be done in Eas.

    "I would like to work on jazz, yes. I miss it. But, there is something far more pressing. We need a real piano. It is not easy, exactly, but it seems simple enough. Some metalworking, some woodworking, an incredible eye and ear for detail, and then we will have the most dynamic persussion instrument from the ol world once again at our fingertips. I would love to play."

    Outside, it is indeed mochi, mochi, everywhere. Whether it is baked into bread, eaten straight, or mixed with sweet red beans, there is no shortage of options. No ice cream, sadly, but it hardly seems missed.

    "And we should focus a bit more on introducing more food options. It seems that there is a lot of room to explore. New frontiers that have nothing to dowith a dungeon."

Goldenblade shrugs to Uta about Robotech, says, "It came out when my sons were in college. My oldest was very into it, at the time. It all seemed pretty unlikely to me. Not that Gojira was particularly likely, but it didn't involve a concert to war machines, so .. who can say? This place is a certain type of make-believe that I don't really get." She shrugs. "It's not /bad/, it's just very confusing when you don't understand what to expect."

She will partake of the mochi and offer her opinions on piano. "The strings on a piano are quite complicated, and have to be individually tuned. The Woodworking and metalworking would have to be first rate, because the srings echo in the frame, so the construction of the frame is vital."

"It would probably require Accessory Forging. So much Accessory Forging," Uta says, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "And saxophones, while probably not as sophisticated, are also not a trivial matter either." She moves her hand in circular motions as she walks while looking away. "Can probably count on Haru for that, though. Brother does like a good challenge. Especially ones that make the world better and people happier."

At which point, she snaps her fingers to Goldenblade. "That's it! Gojira! We have to work on Eassie the Kaiju-sized slime at some point!"

    Elly is nodding along thoughtfully. She is no craftswoman, but she has enough understanding to know that the stuff in a piano and the stuff that makes a saxophone are going to be really complicated. So complicated that she will be delighted to make it someone else's problem. She will just pay for it all.

    "Yes, I imagine that is all true, and I would like Haru to assist. But.. brother? That seems new." A pause then, for thought, and Uta is already on to the next.

    "A giant slime? Though I think I prefer Essie over Eassie. It sounds nice and has no implications about her modesty and honor." She does not realize in time that she just walked into a conversation about making a giant slime and ended-up focused on the virtue of the creature rather than the giant slime part.

Goldenblade nods about Haru being a likely candidate for pianomaking. "What I want to know is what is our next objective with the Palace Landers. It seems like everyone is waiting for everyone else and nothing is getting done. We broke a ton of crowns with that huge statue, but it seems like the kind of thing that only works once. What will our next step be? Elly, you're convinced that one ruler isn't hostile, but she's got that minder who maybe keeps her in line. If she's not crowned, can we corral him and capture him, or is he too strong? She may object if he's someone useful to her. And then we'd have to uncrown /her/."

"Huh? Eassie? You guys are serious about that?" She sounds incedulous. "Why?" she asks the onvious question.

"That's what we are," Uta remarks on the 'brother' comment. "And Essie it shall be. And worry not about the reputation of Essie. I am pretty confident that if we were to tally =the first words that people will exclaim upon seeing her, especially if we are somehow weaponizing her against hostile Palace Lands Adventurers, in which case the word would also be their last- anyway. I am pretty sure that of all those words, 'scandalous' will not even make the top 5."

Some silence. "Not that I recommend weaponizing Essie against Adventurers, mind you. As I think it is obvious to anyone, preserving lives should be our topmost concern."

"Because it is AWESOME!", Uta replies to Goldenblade. She even stops and spreads her arms up in the air to emphasize the concept.

    "The next step is to take over a root city, I suppose. Somehow. I'm not sure how that can be achieved, exactly. Even if we remove every crown in the entire Palace Lands, you still have invincible defenses. And I frankly do not condone doing to them what they were doing to Mac Anu."

    Elly will find herself a place to settle for a moment. She finds herself presented with a little wooden bowl of mochi and red beans a moment later.

    "I am not actualy running that big show as much as I used to. I am working on finding out how people feel about the end of the war. As in, what does that mean, exactly? What must be achieved? I know all crowns must be destroyed and that adventurers should be free to travel in the Palace Lands. I am not so eager to allow all Palace Landers to move freely about in Yamato. For reasons I feel are obvious. There are consequences for violating our kind welcome with war. Crowns or not, those consequences must be addressed. As for Laira Lorelai, it is my belief she does not want to do these things. Nonetheless, she did these things and has some culpability that must be addressed."

Goldenblade flateyes at Uta, seems the lake-sized slime plan does not strike her as 'awesome'. "What will you feed it? Even if there's fish in the lake, the people need that to eat. You'll starve everyone out." That's GB: Ever practical and unclear on things that make VR different from RL.

As for taking over a root city, she says, "They did it with Mac Anu, it certainly seemed doable, if wildly complex. And finding the Kunie will be very hard in a strange land. I agree all the Crowns have to go. But I have no idea how to make that happen." She arches her brow at Wake seeming to backslide a little on Laira Lorelai. "I suppose we shall see what we see on how thar all pans out."

"I do not think we even -can- do what they did to Mac Anu," Uta remarks, distracted as usual. "And if we could, well... that opens up far more questions than it answers."

Uta blinks at Goldenblade. "Slimes will eat through almost anything. Seriously. Excellent for garbage disposal. Hm. That said, I -should- perform some experiment to determine the exact nutrition facts of each element and material when it comes to slime biology, to ensure that we can support the logistics required by such a body mass index as that of Essie..." and that said, Uta trails off in the distance, shimmering a notebook into existence from her inventory, and scribbling some notes to herself.

    Elly watches Uta wander off with a bemused expression. She asides to Goldenblade, "I imagine she will not be able to create a giant slime like that, so we should be safe. For at least a year or two. Maybe we could get it to eat a leviathan? That would be helpful."

    But on to more serious topics. Elly noticed that raised eyebrow, though she cannot read minds. "You are surprised by something I said? Do you feel I am making a mistake? I do not want to take over kunie through slavery. I am serious on that. I cannot call something a war crime and then standby while it is perpetrated to my advantage."

Goldenblade says to Wake, "You are guessing then that their Kunie support them of their own will and are not crowned or controlled, themselves, as Mac Anu's was?" She shrugs, agrees, "If that's the case, then no, we will not be able to wrest control from them as we did at Mac Anu. But on the other hand, if their Kunie is controlled as Mac Anu's was, then we would be setting it free."

As far as slimes go, she shrugs, "Who knows what she can get a slime to eat? She seems very enthusiastic for the plan, and enthusiasm more than sense seems to drive this game."

    "Their Kunie would be aligned with the proper kingdoms of those root cities. So no, I think it is quite unlikely they are under any control. The only way to change that would be to commit a heinous act. Or rather, several of them. I know you do not want us to make a crown of our own. I do not wish to turn guardians against an unprepared lander populace."

    She looks over the children playing with a smile. "This is what matters. These kind of moments. I keep asking others how they will know when the war is over, but I may have just finally found the answer for myself. Still, though, I will keep asking. It would serve us poorly to continue fighting when it is time to settle matters and move on."

    She grins at the mention of enthusiasm. "Uta has that in spades, does she not? For all that, though, she is a very smart woman. She is always doing something. Always pushing to expand our understanding of this world and what is possible in it."

Goldenblade ehs, curious, and asks, "Are you suggesting we offer them terms? While most of their players are crowned? I think to do what is right, we have to at least free all their players. After that, they can keep their stinky server and suck on it. They haven't done jack with it anyhow, not like we have."

She shrugs, nods about Uta. "There are a lot of players like that, innocent or naive, but the game keeps them from facing what their actions would earn them, in real life. It's definitely just a game, the rules are very different from real life."

    "It depends what you mean by terms, honestly. One way or another, unless we fight to utterly exterminate all of our enemies, we are offering some kind of terms. Unconditional surrender, release everyone, subject yourself to searches, turn yourself in for our judgment, etc. There are a lot of choices to make. Which is why I want people to think about it."

    She takes her time to enjoy a mouthful of mochi. Which takes more than a little bit of chewy. The stuff is rather gummy.

    "And like I said, minimally every crown is destroyed. We have the right to search for crowns, and open travel for all adventurers in the Palace Lands. The basics of a war victory. There is also the matter of some kind of reasonable reparations. But most people do not understand it, or I mention these things and they immediately kneejerk react, thinking of the Great War or World War 2. I studied. I would not propose we bleed them dry, nor can we leave them alone and think that will go well, either."

Goldenblade nods thoughtfully about reparations. "My dad said the reparations we put on Germany after the first war are what caused the second. But Reparations had always been a consequence of losing a war, prior to that. But the Marshall Plan did seem to work out in everyone's favor afterward. Japan rebuilt its industrial base, or as much as they could. And the loans were mostly repaid."

She nods, "This is a very different war, I think the eliminating the crowns will be central to it. But do you think that they'll willingly uncrown their players?"

    "They certainly will not. If they were, no war would have been needed. No doubt their fear of adventurers will make at least some of them fight to the bitter end. They will imagine we mean the worst, and look at our invasion as proof that they were right to invade us. Wars and fear make people do remarkably foolish things. This entire war was pointless."

    She shakes her head slightly. "I hope that I am wrong about that, of course, but when an enemy believes they have nothing to lose, they generally find a way to lose even that.."

    The conversation, though dreadfully serious, does not seem to spoil her enjoyment of this moment. If anything, it inspires her to cherish it even more.

    Setting aside her empty bowl and chopsticks, she rises and smiles. "I however, have no intention of losing the things I love. Right now, I think I would love to play with the children. They generally do not let me play tag anymore, though. They have decided it is dishonorable to tag me! Maybe we can try hide and seek... I will talk to you soon, my friend. Oh, and feel free to join, if you wish!"

    With that, the Baroness of Eas will go see what the little ones are up to. A brief time later, there are children scattering and she's covering her eyes, counting out loud.