Bleeding Heart Graffiti

        ~~~ What if I look to the sky
        ~~~ And check out the stars
        ~~~ How they shine in to your eyes
        ~~~ They're just like mine
        ~~~ Searching the darkness for some kind of sign
        ~~~ We're building our life on the dreams we string together
        ~~~ Like Christmas lights

    The great doors of the Dome stand open, though no official duties are being carried out. The day is over and the light of the moon pours in, bringing a silvery glow to the entire chamber. Here and there, candles shed fragile light and bring to life softer shadows against the roof of darkness that is the dome above.

    It's not empty. The reverberation of that song can be made out nearly everywhere, though it can take some figuring out to find the source of it. It emanates from the direction of the hall leading to the private chambers. It is there that two women, about to be married, are simply relaxing, enjoying this strange, wondrous life that they've found in the most unlikely of places.

    

Goldenblade has been working with Uta on her singing and musical efforts lately as well, and on tricking her into eating and washing, both of which she tends to skip, at her expense. Sometimes it's just a bucket over the head, but often there's menu food as well. Goldenblade's not going to notice actual crafted food, so she's a bit stingy in that regard. But the menu food will nourish Uta, at least well emough.

Goldenlade, too, finds herself humming a tune, though it tends more ofren to Benny Goodman then the tunes that come with the game. And she has a tendency to lead when she dances, which she does ballroom-style, though poorly. Well, she's been leading for 60 years, it's a habit. She will sigh and head over to Wake and Tae, rolling her shoulders and smiling in greeting. "Hey," she calls as she gets closer. "How's it going?"

The pair do get an... interruption, but not really. It's just Kauchemar drifting through the Dome, walking past the duo without looking up from several parchment sheets in her hands. It's odd for the nightmare to not be vocally bombastic, but her attention is deeply focused on something.

Until the music reachs her ears. That gets nearly a whipcrack of motion as her head and her attention jerk. Her familiarity with the acoustic arts makes it easy to pinpoint where the song came from, and a few moments later she trots into the actual room. "That's beautiful! Can you --" Kauchemar stops and blinks as she realizes what she walked into "--Wait, are you two... you know? Before the wedding? How scandalous!" There's a bit of her usual mischeviousness with that quippy remark though.

    Eas has become something of a land accustomed to all the unusual moods adventures have from time to time, so nothing really shakes its occupants. Whether it be crazies from the Scale Emblem shouting for Olympus guild leaders in the middle of the night or nurses obsessed with slimes, they've seen it all. Tae and Wake have no lack of experience.

    Before they respond to Kauchemar's sudden shift in attention, though, Tae directs a warm smile at Goldenblade, "Hello! It is going well! Though I better.." And then Kauchemar's sudden appearance draws the singer's attentiont. "Well, thank you, can I.. are we?" She directs a confused look at Wake.

    The Baroness rather enjoys the unexpected interruption that is Kauchemar's abrupt focus. "Don't worry, we aren't planning on wearing white, anyway," she replies with a smirk curling the right side of her lips. "I didn't even get her father's permission, come to think of it."

    Tae finally gets it, then laughs, "Ohhhh, right. That. At least two or three times a day. And when she is away she has to come back and make up for lost time." Wake nods quickly in agreement as Tae adds, "With interest!"

Goldenblade smiles to Tae and hrms at Kauchemar's comment and Tae's reply. "Yeah, when my wife and I first got married, she'd cook for me three times a day, every day. When we got older, it was less and less, and we'd eat out more, once the kids could go without causing a ruckus." Because of course the conversation is about cooking. This is the main thing you think about at seventy five. And two or three times a day sounds about right, because sometimes you just get tea in the morning. "But making up for it if you've been away, won't you get too full?" she wonders. "Though I guess coming back after a time away and finding your table full -is- kind of a nice thing."

There's a pause, and then a laugh briefly at Tae's response. "At least you're properly collecting it." She gives a brief nod to Goldenblade, but her attention remains on Wake and Tae. "Regardless, that tune was quite catchy." She looks at the sheets in her hand. "Though I don't think I can utilize that rhythm..." She holds the sheets up at an angle to squint at. "It is however rather motivating in mood..." She presses the sheets up against the wall with one hand while pulling a quill out with the other and scribbling a few notations down.

    Tae playfully elbows Wake in the ribs, "Hey, your turn. You either spin off the title or stick with the artist, Elly. What's your play?"

    The Baroness smirks, unbothered by the use of her real name (tm). She steps away, looking thoughtful.

    "Fine, got it.."

        ~~~ Down to the earth I fell
        ~~~ With dripping wings
        ~~~ Heavy things won't fly
        ~~~ And the sky might catch on fire
        ~~~ And burn the axis of the world
        ~~~ That's why I prefer a sunless sky
        ~~~ To the glittering and stinging in my eyes

    The Baroness can't sing like Tae can. She hasn't the skill here nor in the dream before. Back then, she did have a good voice and lots of training from Tae to help her improve. Here.. she has the various tricks and magicks of the game engine to make it pleasant to listen to.

        ~~~ I feel so light
        ~~~ This is all I want to feel tonight
        ~~~ I feel so light
        ~~~ Tonight and the rest of my life

    Tae was going to say something, but there's this way that her eyes lock on Wake's for a moment that makes it completely unnecessary. She eventually asides, "By the way, after a fast, I can feel like I'm starving even after several extra meals. Even after so many times sharing the.. table.. I am still positively ravenous." She looks over at Kauchemar's writing and asks, "So.. how goes the progress? Are we stil eating properly?"

Goldenblade returns Kauchemar's nod, assuming agreement. Food is what holds a marriage together, as far as she's concerned. As far as catchy tunes, she says, "I wouldn't mind being able to play the clarinet like Benny Goodman, but I think there's so much going on here that I don't know how I could spare the attention."

She gives Tae a puzzled look, slightly worried. "Starving after several meals?" she wonders. "You should probably see Uta," though given Uta's current mood, "or better, Prophylaxis." She laughs. That's just a funny name. Of course when she was thirteen, Prophylaxis meant a condom. And now someone calls themselves that. "If you're hungry after several meals, though, you could have like a tapeworm or something." Because 1940's logic.

"Fun lyrics, but I dooooon't think those are appropriate for a public performance." Kauchemar pauses to waggle the quill at the pair. "But what you do to play in your private time is your business."

She turns away from the wall and meanders across the room while regarding what she wrote, going over it in her head. "Still not an entire movement, but it's a nice accential sequence." She shuffles the papers. "No connection to the later... hmmmm..." She shakes her head. "No.. no..." Pause. Glances up a moment. "Come to think of it, not sure when I got a full meal..." Rolls a shoulder in a shrug and turns back to her parchments with partially filled sheet music notation.

    It's a very well known fact that admitting one hasn't eaten recently in Tae's presence invokes the most powerful magic in all of Yamato. Tae is there one moment, gone the next, leaving a pouting Baroness in her wake. So to speak.

    "You know, I thought I did pretty well," Elly points out, sounding, frankly, far too sulky for a Baroness. Clearly the usual professional mask is off at the moment.

    "Anyhow, looks like we are going to all get some tonight." A pause. "Food, that is." Only some of us are getting the /other/ thing she meant.

    "We might as well grab a seat and wait. It won't take long, though. One of Tae's things is to always have food ready just in case someone dares be a bit peckish in her presence."

Goldenblade sadly isn't much used to listening to the words that go with the music. Gilbert and Sullivan were okay, but the one with the cats, that her wife dragged her to, was kind of meh. Sort of rambling aimlessly. As to what Kauch may have been singing, she looks blank. But noy eating? That's a sign, isn't it? But Tae picks up on that and Goldenblade looks pleased to be getting fed tonight.

"You sounded fine," she says to Wake, though given GB's level of tin ear it's probably 'faint praise'. Getting some food tonight sounds good. She can eat as much as she like and it doesn't go to her waist, it seems. The joy of being 25 and active again.

Kauchemar blinks as Tae disappears, having missed part of the context. "... Did you teach her to sneak as well?" Then back to her musings. "So close and yet... but I haven't found the right ... something." Parchment shuffle. "I think I now understand why some musicians have literal years between album releases..."

    "It takes time to reload the creativity sometimes, and the drive for excellence can be a huge challenge," Wake suggests. She did live with a working artist, after all.

    "And thank you, Goldenblade, that's so kind! It's hard to follow Tae, though. We used to sing karaoke and on special occasions I would risk singing in public, provided she'd do a duet with me. I knew she could cover any of my rough spots."

    The Baroness settles herself into a chair and lets out a relaxed sigh. "And this gives me extra time to figure out how I'm going to mess her up in our game. Each sings, but we can either sing any song by the same artist or a song that uses a similar title. Whoever corners the other wins!"

Goldenblade hrms, peers as Kauchemar looks after Tae and muses about musicians. She smirks about rough spots, and admits, "My wife loved karaoke, too, and we'd do duets, but mainly in Japanese. I sing less poorly in Japanese than English, but I'm not great in either."

"Pick a title thats's only one word or such off, then see if she can figure out the artist to match it, because the similar titles are already used." There's a pause, then a sigh as Kauchemar finds herself a chair, muttering about how similarity in what musical cues will get proper connections with the audience. "Tokyo has entire establishments dedicated to karoke. Stress relief and such."

    Tae is still working away at something. By now she's attracted attention in the kitchen and has a few extra hands assisting her. The staff is past the point of feeling scandalized when the Lady Tae insists on cooking, but that does not mean they will simply leave her to do so alone!

    "Definitely does. We were fans of Big Echo, generally." Wake sighs softly, drifting back in memories for a time. "I wonder if that could catch on in this world. I'll have to ponder that a bit. With the focus on art in Eas, it would be fun to empower people to enjoy participating in art as well as appreciating it."

    It will get filed away under things to do after she is able to get the 'big idea' built out.

Goldenblade is thinking about the songs she and her wife used to karaoke to, back in RL. She listens quietly now to Kauchemar and Wake, and is a bit lost because she actually knows zilch about music. Even what she likes, she knows where she likes to go, and whatever they play, it's okay. She's not picky. But now she's eager for snacks, her belly nudging her brain. She really does burn a lot of calories. "Training used a lot of energy," she mumbles.

Kauchemar seems to consider that for a moment. "I don't know about karoke specifically, because the songs the Landers use aren't really designed for that sort of ... improvisation." She looks down to her sheet music scribblings. "But you've likely seen how easily they'll join in though. They respond to music as a whole, if you can inspire them properly." She clenches a fist around the quill as she holds it up dramatically. "To rise to the occasion, just as we rose to the challenges to assist Wake in making Eas what it is, and what it will b--"

She stops, staring out at the Dome proper for a moment.

"Ah!" Cue more paper shuffling and scribbling that will likely last until Tae returns with food.

    Wake can't help but giggle. It's.. such a normal and weird scene. She lifts an arm to wipe at the corner of her eyes with the back of her hand. "They do rise to the occasion. And Eas has become more than I had imagined back when we first found it. It is no longer my dream alone, but has instead become a place for those who have dreams they wish to pursue. A place where those dreams can be realized from time to time."

    The smell of food suddenly fills the air. Tae has returned! And she is flanked by landers bearing trays and tables that are swiftly unfolded and set before Kauchemar, Goldenblade, and Wake. The meal tonight is grunty steak, perfectly seasoned, and a filet of some white fish, accompanied with a slice of local citrus. A variety of veggies have been cooked and gently tossed in a light oil, serving as a bed for Tae's surf 'n turf creation.

    "Dinner... is served," intones Tae dramatically. She turns her attention right at Kauchemar, fully expecting she'll need to feed the nightmare.

Goldenblade gets a considering look as Kauchemar replies, and says, "I wonder if you can put up a karaoke of the game songs? That'd help me come to grips with them. Cue you on the words, at least." The tune is her weak point, of course. She hrms as Wake describes Eas as a place of collective dreams. But she dreams of going home, so it's kind of not /her/ dream. But that's no nevermind, she's got to buckle under and play the cards she's been dealt, because that's how she was raised.

And there are nice things here.

Like a late supper, which arrives just as she thinks about it, and she's already salivating. "It smells delicous," she murmurs, and sets knife and fork and napkin in place.

"That!" Kauchemar snaps up her attention and points at Wake with two fingers. "That right there is the sentiment I'm trying to capture. Eas has become so much to many of us, and it deserves to be properly represented in the format so many of this world respond to. Less what many have endured through be forgotten."

Then Tae makes her triumphant return from the kitchen. "Oh, that's nice. Just give me a moment." She does pick up a citrus slice, at least plopping that into her mouth before she goes back to scribbling down from the recent burst of inspiration thanks to Wake's comments. She might need... farther convincing to shift her attention properly.

Though it's pretty clear she's in one of 'those' moods at this point.

    Wake breathes in, gives Tae a /look/ and lets out a purrrred 'mmmm' at the scent. It's borderline inappropriate, but whatever. "You put magic on a plate, dear," she adds. And then she'll just get to work enjoying the meal.

    The landers, having completed the task of helping Lady Tae keep the Baroness and her friends fed, will politely excuse themselves, after getting a most grateful showering of praise from Wake.

    Tae, meanwhile, has settled in on the arm of Kauchemar's chair where she very pointedly picks up knife and fork and without explanation, starts to feed the nightmare. She finds its best not to even suggest that someone in one of these interesting moods should eat. You simply get them to do it on autopilot.

    "What was your approach to composing music in the real world?" Tae asks suddenly. "Or did you know what you wanted to do intuitively?"

Goldenblade can at least, for the moment, feed herself. She did get kind of distracted during the road construction project, but that was task management issues, not any sort of strange mood. Anyhow, she will 'Itaidakimasu' and dig in heartily without further comment. There isn't much for her to say, really, though she does mumble out a 'Delicious' between bites.

"As a club DJ is was less individual songs and more composing playlists and remixes that go well together," Kauchemar replies. "So composing an actual song is a new experiment, to a degree. But what is art without challenge?"

Tae's method... actually proves pretty effective. Kauchemar's attention is on the spark of inspiration from Wake's words, but she's reflexively bite when food is put near her mouth. Fortunately for her equines have rather dexterious lips and tongues, and that's probably part of whys he can without diverting too much extra thought to the matter.

    Tae shoots a cheeky grin at Wake. Yeah, she's totally amused by this situation. She's really good at it, too! She doesn't just shovel it all in without thought. There's a bite of this, a bite of that, a drink, all in their proper time.

    "That is true, I never quite felt as confident putting together a set list as I did working with a song. Though, honestly, I only wrote one song of my own. I felt... a bit too vulnerable to do that more. Don't get me wrong, though, I did put my own personal stamp on my music, though." Tae gets back to patient feeding.

    Wake, for now, simply eats and listens. She hasn't much to say on the subject of music writing or arranging. At least, not that isn't just parroted from Tae.

Goldenblade peers at Kauchemar, but she doesn't really know about disk jockeying. It was all live bands in her day, and iy provided employment for folks. The record business put those performers out of a job, and that was a sad day. She hrms about new experiments, though, and nods about art with challenges. Challenges sound good. Otherwise it'd be too easy.

As far as playlists go, she's ever been picky. "The important thing is the mood that gets set and getting people's feet moving," she insists.

If there's issues down the road getting her to bath you might have to borrow that hippocampus from the ranch to try to drown her.

Or get Uta to take revenge for all the dunkings Kauchemar did to her for Water training.

For now feeding is the priority though. She isn't entirely unaware of whats been going on. "Delicious as always Tae." She's just a little spaced on how she was eating. "Essentially. Music doesn't need lyrics per say to tell a story." With that she's up from her chair and wandering back out to the dome proper.... though she just sits in the middle of the chamber and stares up at the unworking but still artistic astronomical displays for more inspiration. And probably where she'll be found passed out in the morning from mental exhaustion.

    Well, by the time Kauchemar leaves, most of the food is where it belongs: in the nightmare's belly. Tae is able to change from one perch to the next. Her new spot is Wake's lap, which she casually sprawls across. With a languid stretch, she settles in, getting very comfortable.

    "Dancing is a great thing, too," agrees the Baroness. "In its many, many forms."

Goldenblade arches a brow to Kauchemar at the assertion that you don't need lyrics to tell a story. "How does that work?" she asks, puzzled, between bites. She's hosed people down with a firehose before, all she needs is a firehose. Then Kauch wanders off, and Goldenblade gives Wake a puzzled look.

She nods to Wake and Tae about dancing, and as she's had her supper now, and Tae and Wake are getting playful, she will offer her excuses and bow out, "You two have a good evening," she says.