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Lilian Rook	It's a little funny, come to think of it, that all that fuss was recently made about secret hideouts to keep people and things away from Lilian, lest she deviously track down vulnerable teenagers and offer them life help. It's funny because this has just been an actual secret amongst her inner circle for a while now.     The Dragon's Garden, as it is colloquially called, has been iterated on for quite some time by now. The crescent-shaped valley on the shore, so steeply punched between high crags, could have conceivably been a crater once, since filled in with a rolling slope of bamboo, aspen, and plum trees ascending from the acutely curved beach. Beyond a view of the glassy ocean to the-- who knows, compasses don't work here-- and the refurbished remnants of old rope trails and guardian jizo leading to a singular gate out on the cliffs, the entire area is surrounded in a miles high contiguous wall of opaque, ghostly fog. If the sun didn't come through the circle above, it'd seem gloomy. Instead, it feels a little like dreaming.     There was originally a mysteriously abandoned fishing and farming subsistence hamlet here, but it's been two years by now. There was also a mysterious hell orb and a sword forged by a ghost, but those were taken care of first. Now there is an oddly prosperous little community that could comfortably be called a village, living out of since-repaired and updated traditional Japanese architecture and dozens more hand-built additions on prefab skeletons since then.     A small portion of the beach thrums with hydrogen stills. The grey cliffsides glitter with solar panels where trees don't curl sideways from them. Lacework of wires strings electrical lights along wooden fences down weaving earthen paths to and fro. Generators thrum smoothly out of the way of communal housing blocks. Terraced farmland is in mid-harvest with the use of semi-powered tools. The rotting docks and old boats are fully replaced and ostensibly in use. The crackling sensor and transmitter assembly looks just fine up on its clifftop (as do the numerous talismans applied to trees around the boundary).     People move to and fro at the sort of unhurried pace you never see outside the most rural of rural areas, dressed in clothes that are both clearly traditional and modern-made. There were always surprisingly few children, but by the sound of it, there are a couple of new infants and toddlers.     And, additionally, there is a completely different hermit community now welded to this one.     It's tough to recognize the remnants of the Ural mountaintop that Arthur skimmed off, having been functionally pulverized into another part of the landscape further uphill than the bamboo thickets. Landing on a spot that was originally murderous crystal gravel, the wards have since been expanded, and new growth since planted to cement them, around it, roughly doubling the size of the settlement and expanding the breadth of the Dragon's Garden itself by another quarter.     The styles in buildings visibly clash, even from afar, but the landscapes have been seamlessly blended by someone's earnest and dedicatedly creative hand. It's certainly much more cramped than when it had been scattered over a mountain peak, but that sort of makes it cozy. It is only a shame that relatively few of those fifty year old fix-ups clunkers of repeatedly jury-rigged G.D.F machines turned tractor came along. If one fears they might not be getting along, the current state of things is attested to by the fact that the independent power grids have been clunkily spliced together at their extremities, and new school-textbook-perfect water and quarry features have been drilled back and forth across the invisible divide by Oreshnika herself.
Lilian Rook	There is perhaps just a little time to tour around, before heading to the formerly abandoned townhouse in the valley green. Previously some kind of mayoral residence, it has since been furnished by more than one diligent hand until it resembles some sort of 'chibified' classical Japanese mansion.     There are far, far too many plants, pouring off of every surface and stuffed into every corner, and some of them are completely new species than before; no one knows where they keep coming from. Only after entering is one able to see the sliding doors that partially or sometimes directly reveal the sunlit courtyard that hadn't actually been there outside, largely filled with an anomalously blooming white cherry tree. The trickling of water from within overlaps with the ticking of an antique water-fed mechanical clock somewhere deeper inside. At this point, you're barely assessed by the permanent rotating staff of armed toughs. Despite being equipped with taselled spears or swords, they radiate a greater sense of menace than rifle-wielding soldiers would.     For those who even remember, you're guided to a different room than before. Away from the formal purpose chambers, and towards what must be a little tea lounge off to the seaside wing. Though it is quite nicely furnished, perfumed with floral growth and incense as every other room is, the purpose of it is clearly because this is where That Girl has gone to.     Sakura is knelt in front of a dinged up CRT television and watching Nika play Super Mario Sunshine on a lovingly scratched Gamecube, with some amount of fascination.     The two are, in fact, so transfixed by the ostensibly speedrun attempt, that neither of them actually reacts to people coming in. "But why is it that you're running into that corner?" "Huh? Oh! That's . . . Okay. Is it okay if I explain ¶de-facto speed¶ quickly?" "I would love nothing more!"
Ishirou	Ishirou was here, It is actually probably really better for his sanity to be here than almost /anywhere else/ especially after the recent ordeal at L-Corp.  Ishirou is a little worse for wear, not that people could tell under all of the baggy clothing.   He's still dressed in the hoodie, overly large and dark blue today.  Its hood is drawn over his face, and a face mask (the medical kind) is over his mouth and nose.  He's got jeans slightly too large for him, down to a pair of combat boots.   His hands are where things have changed the most in the most recent of days.  His gloves are black, but when he moves one can catch medical dressing focused around his wrists and upper arms.  He does his best to cover this up, but it's glanceable now and again or to those with really keen sight.   'Isn't it great, you haven't been here in so long... it reminds me of our first big fuck up.  Well, I suppose we can do this instead of the bath today... You'll want to take one after all of this is over, right?' Says the gremlin voice, but it's a very soft voice today.  He can ignore it.   He walks in to see Sakura watching the speed run Nika is doing.  It brings a small smile to his face to see them getting along, and he sits down quietly and just watches.  It's very interesting, and... strangely relaxing to watch the speed running tech and Nika explain it.
Arthur Lowell	>Arthur: Bring them in     Those who so choose, it's not hard to take one of Arthur Lowell's fancy fancy space gates! The guy's been recovering slowly but surely since the arduous process of giving a mountain a haircut of sorts, and he knows how to twist the space to teleport here. Then it's a short walk from the spatial landing point to the front door of Sakura's residence, and then to the... gamer cove.     "WHAT UP, GAMERS," Arthur has precisely re-tailored his barge-through-doors approach to get all the emotional content of a guy shoving one or two doors open with the heel of his palm, except in sliding one of those fancy paper doors aside real fast and flourish-striding his way in. "Y'all SEQUENCE BREAKING up in this motherfucker? I'mma POP A SQUAT and JUDGE YA SKIPS." He immediately curls both legs up as if jumping onto a couch, which is not there, just sort of drifting weightlessly in mid-air, a wide grin plastered on a face that's eager to watch something, *something* in this world that makes perfect sense and connects wonderfully across the boundary of years and dimensions: Super Mario Sunshine for the Nintendo Gamecube.     "I didn't figure you'd CONNECT WITH THIS, Flower-trimmer! But now that I see you doin' it, I gotta say it SUDDENLY MAKES SENSE." He rambles, watching the run with rapt attention too.
James Bond	Bond is a little late heading into the townhouse--chiefly because he wanted to indulge in the unnecessary trial of will that is having a smoke. A Lucky Strike smolders between his fingers, puffed on over the course of about three minutes. His casual outfit is a navy polo, boot-cut khaki chinos, tan-sueded chukka boots and a pair of amber-lensed designer sunglasses. Naturally, his standard issue watch is on display as well.      After his cigarette, the sunglasses are shed, folded and placed into the pocket of his pants. Heading into the townhouse, he gives several of the armed toughs nods of acknowledgement (handshakes and a bit of small talk, if there are any he recognizes).      As such, he enters into the room with Sakura and Nika probably a good bit of the way into the keynote presentation on ¶de-facto speed¶. He'd have cleared his throat to announce himself, if not for the fact that Arthur is very very easily heard from the next room over.      "Good to see you've settled in so comfortably, Nika," he says. He only means the gaming a little bit--the textbook-perfect alterations to the local geography were a dead giveaway. "And it's good to see you again, too, Sakura. I have to admit, of all the places that could've been chosen, I think this was the best."
Tamamo	Though Tamamo is naturally here, it would be more accurate to say that she is regularly here, being very personally concerned with the smooth running and maintenance of this place, including how well new visitors are integrating. This isn't to say she's had a lot of time recently to talk to the two Blooms, and that circumstance stretching over months has grown increasingly difficult to justify.     She still can justify it, and could do so forever, so long as her justifications are for someone's sake, in particular.     A little touring time isn't truly needed, in any case, for her. She'll be back again to check on things, to talk to more people, both to make an appearance as resident, sorcerous divinity (she prefers less emphasis on the latter trait) and to pass out little charms and blessings to people who ask nicely (this doesn't help shift the emphasis).     There's at least one person here who hasn't been allowed, and maybe still wouldn't be allowed, not enjoying Arthur's special exception, but certain circumstances allow that Tamamo, rather than directing Petra back through the portal, merely tell her, with a distant smile and half-lidded eyes, "This place finding some degree of safety in its secrecy, I must mention this to our guests. Ms. Soroka, would you mind refraining mentioning to anyone anything of any manner of finding or reaching this place? It might be better to simply never mention its existence at all, to avoid the temptation. I would be most cross were, for instance, certain supervillains to learn that there is a place in which I hold value beyond that which I presently call home."     Tamamo regards the increasing variety of plants fondly, and also with closer examination, before moving in past the guards -- politely ignored -- and to find that gaming is happening.     "'De-facto speed,' is it?" she dangerously repeats. "Good evening, everyone. Please pardon this greater intrusion, as I have brought buns. Are you well?"     'Buns' turns out to refer to baozi, which she's made in something closer to the mainland than Japanese style. She'll need to find some place to set out the fancy lunchbox where no one needs to sit.
Trudy Grimm	She's been pretty elusive lately, but Trudy Grimm can hardly pass up an invitation to visit Oreshnika and the Ural villagers. This would also be the second time she's met Sakura-- and in a much less dire situation. Her arrival is by Arthur's space gate, though the Mage of Space only gets a little smile from her when she recognizes him.     It's not looking like Trudy has been sleeping well and she overall looks more disheveled than usual. More the 'might have stopped caring' variety than the seemingly carefully managed 'witch of the waste' look she usually has going on. The witch just sort of...drifts through town, taking in the unique mix of old and new, the blend of Eastern European and East-Asian architectures and peoples getting along side-by-side.     Guard-accosting has her putting her hands up, palms-out, even with how mild their assessment is. Lowering her hands, she follows them with her eyes, then proceeds with the others.     Arthur's so impressively forward. Ishirou's here to appreciate. Even James is his usual charming self. Trudy's entrance sees her staying near the door, clutching the Grimoire to her chest like a student would a textbook. She'd be so easy to miss if not for the gentle green glow in her eyes, briefly taking in the motions on-screen before shifting to the two Blooms.     "Miss Nika, Miss Sakura, hello," Subconsciously, she tightens her arms around the Grimoire, "It's been a while." Tamamo's voice prompts her to let go of the book such that it swings on its strap, her attention shifting to the bunrei, "Oh, Miss Tamamo. And Miss Rook soon I imagine?"     Glancing down, she reaches out. A lobe extends off her shadow. In lieu of finding table space not currently occupied by collectibles, books, or plants, the witch provides a-- well, it's a big bone hand, unfurling palm-up into a seasonally appropriate novelty table. Without hesitation, the witch flips a pale sheet out over it like a tablecloth, "Here, you can set that here if you like."
Petra Soroka	It's been a long ten months since Petra last saw Oreshnika. Ten months that Petra has spent spiraling down from the already-rancid point of kicking Oreshnika's door and screaming, all the way through abusing Lilian for months and opposing everything that she and the other Blooms stand for, and then, um, coming back around on that, and earnestly wishing to be able to help Nika.     It is also time that Petra has spent being cursed by Tamamo-no-mae, sleeping with Lilian's inverse, and playing Tomodachi Life on her DS, which are all not only relevant things, but connected.     So it does feel, a little bit, like Petra is being granted a second chance at making a good impression on Lilian's 'family'. Being invited to the Dragon's Garden is an important, nerve-wracking event even *before* Tamamo's insistent warnings, and Petra is *very serious* about doing better this time. Curupira the Chinchilla is not the only thing that siphoned Petra's funds away from purchasing a mattress-- she has a whole tote bag of snacks and games to bring Nika as gifts, along with a very carefully enshrined *new* gaming system, that's only been opened to add Petra on the friends list.     You know. Not that she's lonely, or anything. "Ms. Soroka, would you mind refraining mentioning to anyone anything of any manner of finding or reaching this place?"         Holding the colorful tote bag stuffed with games and snacks up to her chest like a shield, Petra blinks a few times at Tamamo before nodding dumbly. It hurts a lot, actually, that Petra would be suspected of leaking Nika's location to someone who might hurt her, even though it's Tamamo and this is the correct way for Petra to be treated. "... Yes ma'am."     The modernity of the technology in the Dragon's Garden briefly gives her pause-- no matter how many times she visits Lilian's world, it always takes her a little off-guard that it isn't a storybook medieval fairytale, and is actually decades further advanced than Petra's used to. She tries to squash the feeling of being incredibly out of place, in her scuffed up and patched bomber jacket and CREATURE MODE shirt, and regards the village with quiet awe as she ambles to the center.     The feeling of being unwelcome vanishes once Petra enters her natural habitat, the Gamer Cave, and she immediately lights up. "Oh! I love Super Mario Sunshine, it's like, such a beautiful game, and it's got such unique movement tech." This is, for the first minute or so, how Petra introduces herself to the room, before settling down on the ground to Nika's side like she lives here. "It's great to see that you're doing well, Nika."     She sets the tote bag out beside her, and starts withdrawing various sweet and salty snacks, motioning to Arthur that he's invited to Partake in them, too. Then she pauses, and looks over at Sakura, who she dimly recognizes for a few reasons and only belatedly remembers has never met her before.     "Oh. Um. It's nice to meet you, miss Sakura. I'm, uh, Petra." A glance at Tamamo, either out of wariness or for support. "A friend of Lilian's."
Lilian Rook	Oreshnika and Ishirou have completely switched places in terms of dress by now. Even Sakura has dressed down to somewhere closer to the mean, though it was never exactly a strong impression that she chose her clothes for herself to begin with. Here Nika is, hair combed and bouncy, face washed, skin flush with the benefits of eating something other than ramen and MREs, and wearing a clearly brand new summer yukata that is slightly too big on her (having apparently spurned the clothes available at her home village for reasons that hadn't suddenly changed). And here Ishirou is, looking--     "Not okay. Ishirou. You should . . . It would be better if you were to rest." It's odd to hear, given she is astonishingly good at this particular speedrun and is able to comment on his state while hammering ridiculous FLUDDless jump angles. "If you're here, you should ask Sakura to ¶heal you/reject this misery/make as if never¶ for you. I can ask with you, if it's scary. She's my new best friend, so I can help." Sakura, sitting right by her, presses her hand over her mouth, tries not to laugh, does so with her eyes anyways, and then looks slightly worried. "Nika . . . Perhaps we shouldn't talk about that right now." she says, tenderly. "Oh. Okay." says Oreshnika. "You're right. He's smart. He knows what he's doing." she says, adding a satisfied nod.     She is in the midst of awkwardly popping off and rehearsedly copy-yelling (quietly) "Personal best!" as Arthur enters. "Arthur!" The sight of the magical nintendo man who made most of her wishes come true causes her to pause the game and jump up with sparkles in her eyes. "Please tell me! Do they still do this ¶outside/in the real world/amongst real people¶ now? I only ever saw old vidoes, but . . ." It's a stark difference from exclusively communicating via Pictochat. Even if she does look awkward and sound stilted, the way she shuffles from foot to foot is more overstimulation and excitement than 'fear she is going to electrocute someone by speaking'.     "Of course I feel likewise, Mister Bond." Sakura says that with some private, harmlessly mischievous pleasure. "It's rare that I do. I'm used to feeling as if it hasn't ever been so long. It's wonderful enough to know that you're alive and well, after what I feared . . ." She slowly looks over to Oreshnika, over her sleeve and out of the corner of her eye. Oreshnika doesn't notice. "After what I told you, I didn't know what to expect. That you might live seemed like too much to hope for already, never mind that I might finally meet Miss Oreshnika, after all this time . . ."     "As a general rule, you should expect unconditional success whenever I do anything." says Lilian, with perfect dramatic timing in arrival. "I know you haven't had the luxury of putting much faith in fate, Sakura, but I'd like it if you started putting some in other people. Or at least, just me." Despite everything that's happened, the fact that Lilian can smile as she pulls up a cushion and forms three quarters of a circle with the other two means a lot. Sakura herself holds her breath, puts her sleeve to her eyes, then exhales, shakily beaming. "You're right. You're completely right, Lilian. Everything is different this time. All of these people are different than anything that ever was here. You, are different, than you ever were before. And because of those things, I am different too."
Lilian Rook	"Am I different too?" "You've gotten better, haven't you?" "That's true. And I'm going to keep getting better. So everything really is different than it was."     Oreshnika settles back down to grab her controller, then hesitates. Instead, she trots over to a table, pulls off her Nintendo DS (never far), flips it open, and scrolls through her preserved pictochat log, turning it around to face Sakura, and showing her the group portrait drawn by Tamamo. "You should trust them."     Sakura takes the DS, brushing a fingertip fondly (nostalgically?) over the screen, while Nika excitedly settles in again. "Tamamo! Have you learned much about games yet? This part is really exciting, but it's hard to explain. I'll do my vest best, so please listen carefully, okay? If I didn't explain something well, you can tell me. I want you to ¶understand me and mine¶ so you can enjoy it too!" Sakura looks up just to give Arthur a faintly worn smile. "Of course. It's something my beloved 'sister' finds joy in. Why wouldn't I love to see it myself?"     She waves to Trudy on Nika's behalf while she is deep in the weeds of explaining that Mario's movement and his actual speed are separate to Tamamo. "It has. And I see you're no less thoughtful than before." She glances to the grip on the grimoire. She'd been obnoxiously perceptive like that back then, too. "Perhaps if you'd learn to try a little less, though . . ." "Beg pardon?" "Ah, a keyphrase, is it?" ". . . Habit. Don't worry."     Lilian, for once, obliviously between two people whose minds she can't read, thinks nothing of Petra showing up. Why wouldn't she? She was there at Operation Winter Hazel. And besides, everything's fine now! Petra is a frien-- Petra is an all-- Petra is something, alright! Nika, too, is oblivious to the sticky narrative gravitas surrounding the hole where Petra is, and greets her with a wholehearted wave.     "Petra! Hello! I knew you would understand why it's so good! You're really good at noticing important things and explaining why they matter to people, so it makes sense. You have a really good sense for ¶the story-worth of things/the arcs taken by souls in orbit¶ so of course you have good eyes for games!" she says, innocently choosing violence. "We can play together now! Lilian made it so I got signal on my systems now! I never got to see the green bars before, haha! She's so nice, isn't she?" Lilian loses an inch of height into a cushion and clears her throat, conspicuously looking away.     "I'm pleased to meet you as well, Miss Soroka." says Sakura. "Though we've never formally met, please be assured that I know who you are in many ways." She touches a fingertip to her lips, thinking of how to phrase something. "I think, though, those ways are less important than the ways in which I might get to know you now. So I would be very grateful if we were to know one another better." She steals a glance at Lilian while she's looking away. "You're certainly something of Lilian's." she says, very quietly. "I hope that she makes you different too."
James Bond	That you might live seemed like too much to hope for already, never mind that I might finally meet Miss Oreshnika, after all this time . . .     "It seemed that way to me, too. But," he says, with a smile. "I remember something else that was said back then. Something I told you. That the idea of an 'orphaned sword' resonated with me. Something made to reach a summit, and not to have a master. Do you remember that?" Bond's eyes drift, briefly, to Nika's spirited explanation, given to Tamamo.      The gameplay might as well be another language, but she is quite good at breaking it down, isn't she? "There was a reason for that," says Bond, returning his gaze to Sakura, "Which I didn't quite grasp at the time. Sometimes, something feels true, even if you don't know why. I found out, eventually. And it's taken some time, but the idea of living feels like less of a fantasy, these days."
Ishirou	Ishirou initially responds positively to Nika, trying to smile despite himself. "That's why I'm here right? This is supposed to be a friendly get-together right?" he says, a bit tiredly. Despite this, he knows he has so much to do... There is the stuff with the strange huge robot that just destroyed a town... stuff with L-Corp... Rita's world... The comment about Sakura healing him causes him to look taken aback a little. "I..." he pauses, then latches on to /anything else/ at that moment. "It's good you two gotten so close... I'm happy for you." he is especially happy when Sakura tenderly interjects. He looks relieved until... 'You're right. He's smart. He knows what he's doing.'     'You're right. He's smart.'         'He's smart.'             'Smart.' 'Hahahahahahhahahaha!' the voice laughs. It feeds on this and becomes LOUDER in his head. 'She called you s-m-a-r-t. Are you going to lose it at her? Mmm? Are you going to reject it loudly? Are you going to cry? Haha... I grow again~!' Ishirou is trying his best to keep it together. The voice is right, he wants to scream. He isn't smart. He isn't smart! He isn't smart!!!! If he was... He sinks farther into his hoodie trying not to break down right then and there and wipes at his eyes. "I'm... I'm... okay... we can..." he says, taking a breath. "Talk about it later. It's just some... damage from other work..." His mind is just full of 'the voice' laughing.
Arthur Lowell	>Arthur: Do they still do this where it can be judged by Earth?     Her way of speech seems to be... splitting? Diverging? Refracting through selves? He understands that just a little bit, and it resonates with something he can understand. "Homie, they do WHOLE-ASS CHARITY CELEBRATIONS about this. ONE GAL ON-STAGE doing the SKIPS, ONE GAL running COMMENTARY and CHATTER. You know my world had a giant-ass APOCALYPSE *ONE YEAR* BEFORE we were SCHEDULED to get our SPEEDRUN FESTIVAL?" Now that Nika's hands are a bit free, he harasses them with his elaborate handshake, then ends it with the finalization of that statement. "CHEATED. We got CHEATED, FOR REAL."     He stretches that grin ever-wider obnoxiously for a moment, fulfilling his bullying obligations. "You should hit the STAGE for that? You're makin' BEST FREINDS, getting POPULAR. Here, after we SAVE THE WORLD and KILL ALL THE MONSTERS and PRESERVE THE FOUNDATIONATIONAL PARADIGMS OF SELF-AND-REALITY," He leans forward, a gleam travelling along his teeth. "I'm getting YOU and SAKURA to do a GDQ, YO. That's a PROMISE. Wait, no, it's the OTHER THING." Double fingerguns and a wink. >Arthur: Choose violence     Arthur also looks to Petra. One eyebrow shoots wayyyyyyy way up at the "yes ma'am". He squints one eye near to closed as he contemplates that word. "I'da hit her with a 'YES MISS' myse-- wait. Wait, no. Hold it, let me BULLYMAX for a second." He closes his eyes, distilling the most socially gong-smashing thing to say. He draws on what Trudy Grimm said, in her own greeting. >Arthur: Choose more violence     "I'da hit her with a 'YES MRS. ROOK', myself, on account of the last woman I MA'AMED near about KILLED ME." He says in an easygoing tone, making a broad open-palm shrug. "She maybe near KILLED ME for the OTHER REASONS though. Maybe COLUMNS A AND B. Still, y'gotta hit her with 'YES MRS. ROOK' sometime."
Tamamo	'... Yes ma'am.'     The to-be-expected response that requires no further attention from Tamamo.     'A friend of Lilian's.'     'You're certainly something of Lilian's.'     "Ever perceptive," quietly said, the slight smile directed elsewhere. No elaboration will be coming from her. It's clear enough that neither Nika nor Sakura require any.     'Ah, a keyphrase, is it?'     '. . . Habit. Don't worry.'     Tamamo sends a curious glance at this exchange, but she can always ask about it later.     'I'm... I'm... okay... we can... talk about it later.'     "Of course. One ever requires both time and effort to heal from the injuries one suffers. You would put forth your efforts in seeking treatment should you require more, would you not, Ishirou?"     'All of these people are different than anything that ever was here.'     "I did feel some kinship for that previously envisioned fox, but I suppose it would be better to say that she and I have both made our touch upon the world, than that I am different from her, in this case." Tamamo sets out the steamed pork buns on top of the table provided by Trudy, and takes one for herself. Nika is gaming, and therefore -- no, wait, there is still a way for her to eat. Tamamo just has to offer her the bun by hand, held in a cloth napkin, and she can eat it without putting her game down. This is a clever solution with absolutely no downsides.     She will, still, have to do so when Nika is not mid-sentence, and the enthusiastic explanations offer indeterminate food delays. She doesn't have the attention to spare, in the midst of that, to even properly notice Bond's side of the conversation.     'I want you to ¶understand me and mine¶ so you can enjoy it too!'     Having carelessly fallen into this mystifying topic, Tamamo does her best. "I should certainly like to. I have not practiced a great deal, myself, though I have become somewhat more familiar with games of... how shall I put it? The sharing of art, perhaps." Those aren't really games so much as they're chat programs, but they're done for leisure reasons with game consoles, so it's a little hard for her to make the distinction from a perspective that's a thousand years distant. "Oh, but I did find some adorable game regarding a kindly mother, cooking..."     ...deep in the weeds of explaining that Mario's movement and his actual speed are separate...     "Mm, yes, I see. One first builds the potential of speed, is it? It is as when one creates the 'symbol' of motion without yet applying it to firm 'reality,' yes?" Truly, runes can do anything.
Trudy Grimm	Trudy (and her makeshift table) move aside as Lilian enters the room, neatly getting out of her way just as she's announcing her presence. The convenience of furniture affixed to one's shadow. "Hello, Miss Rook. Miss Tamamo had just brought some snacks, I'm sure you'll like them."     She seems to freeze under Sakura's scrutiny, only her eyes shifting off Lilian to the other girl. It takes only a second to trace the look back, finally moving in a half-panicked snap as if surprised the cursed book is even still there. No, that's not right. More surprised that she had dropped it.     Letting out the tension with a low sigh, Trudy collects the tome again, holding it out in both hands, "Try a little less, huh..." Her eyes close, head tilting slightly, "I'm not really sure what you mean by that, honestly."     The witch releases the book, letting it hang again while she claps her hands together, "Today isn't about me." Bringing her hands apart, she gestures to the three gathered Blooms, now, "It's about you and yours! While these games are quite beyond my understanding, I do really enjoy displays of skill and knowledge," The witch dons a wider smile, "Watching Nika play has always been a joy. It looks like you and I have that in common, Miss Sakura." > "I'da hit her with a 'YES MRS. ROOK' myself"     Trudy's expression evaporates, head turning towards Arthur in wide-eyed confusion. I missed...? I really am... Her expression neutralizes, attention shifting back to the TV, eyes closing halfway mid-thought. To the outside she seems focused on Nika's gameplay and explanations. Could've been worse.     Shoot         What was she saying just now..?
Lilian Rook	Sakura smiles mysteriously at Bond. "Even if we four are unique, or maybe it's because of it? The people Lilian brings together, here, tend to be that way. Resonant with one thing or another. Like snatches of song you can just barely here from a radio between stations?" She looks so adorably thoughtful while she says it, yet no amount of her being itty bitty and dressed like a doll can take away from the memory of Antengent Radio. "I'm so happy to hear that. Right now is like a fantasy for both Nika and myself. And 'living is a fantasy' is . . ." "Yes. That's right." "I'm happy you're still with us." "I'd miss him, just a little." "Haha, but I'd meant you!" ". . ."     Oreshnika, despite her semi-perpetual state of split attention, suddenly pauses her game again when Ishirou starts trying to reassure her. Turning her head fast enough the blonde bounces on her shoulders, she squints at him, then her brow furrows, and her lip tightens up. Glaring just past him, she reaches out and prods her fingertip against his forehead, and-- Silence, quiet devil; your words do not reach me Silence, useless devil; do not darken my door Silence, weakling devil; wisely do not test me Silence, coward devil; I will listen no more     The ¶Words that nobody spoke¶ pass through his brain-- that he doesn't have-- like a bolt of electricity. Something cold buzzes between and above his eyes, tickling parts of his head that are hard to describe. For a second, he is intensely aware of Nika's cross little pout at not-him, and the way it's directed at something he can't even contextualize as a separate, nameable quantity. Then the noxious voice shuts up. For now, at least.     "Sorry for poking you, Ishirou." Oreshnika says without explanation, going back to her game. "It was rude of me. But there was someone else being really rude and saying mean things that aren't true, so I had to tell him to shut up."     Any opportunity to make anything of this is occupied by Arthur Lowell, for good and ill. Oreshnika is absolutely giddy-ready to bap-dap-pound that Gamer Swerve, bouncing a little on her cushion with each choreographed mood until her expression is the picture of a triumph emoji. "That's so amazing!" she says. "I want to raise money for charity! I really really want to! I want to play games so it helps people! I really really want to ¶make this fit/be worthy of looking upon/say it was for something/¶! If it got canceled, then we can do another one! I can bring my big brother, and my ¶pen-pal/childhood friend/reflection/betrothed¶ and they can see me! And Lilian and Sakura can do commentary! And you can be the announcer!" "Oh, speaking of him . . ." "Present and accounted for, of course. Whatever it is that you've said to him, he isn't quite so eager as to leave his sister alone in such a selfishly self-sacrificing way." "Ma'at Prizrakov?" "Awaiting your questing blade, 'Dame Commander'~" "Hmph. I'm not going to get embarrassed, you know."
Lilian Rook	Tamamo's mention of the other Tamamo-no-Mae causes that same wistful smile on Sakura as before. While Oreshnika enthusiastically chomps pork buns offered like treats to a little animal, dutifully remembering to not explain Mario tech with her mouth open, Sakura says, softly, "That's true. So much that I wish you all the happiness she deserved, as well. Sometimes, I think, I see in you the way that Saeko could have been. Haha. How selfish is that?"     It's surprisingly effortless-- almost Liliesque-- the way she switches to speaking to Trudy as if they hadn't stopped even for a moment. "We humans are meant to make things. To lay foundations such that the 'ourselves' of tomorrow need struggle less than the 'ourselves' today. Working hard is a very important virtue, but if that work isn't spent on making less work, then you'll never have time to experience everything else there is in life."     "Craftsmen build tools, merchants invest fortunes, priests engender faith, warriors invent techniques, parents raise children, and lovers forge trust. Perhaps think on what it is you need to 'make', so that Miss Grimm tomorrow has to try less hard, yes?"     As people find places in cushions and chairs, and potentially find their way with fresh buns, sweet snacks, and readily available tea, Sakura allows her attention to drift from Oreshnika's expert plastic button mashing, during the period she has yet to intuit that Petra's bag could possibly contain anything meant for her. She shifts around, jewellery chiming faintly, still kneeling on her pillow, to face the bulk of the group.     "Before I fail to do so, let me say, welcome, to all of you, returning heroes. Welcome home from the battlefield. Praise to all the gods that have seen you through, and to your courage that makes up all the rest. Hold your heads high, for the feats you've accomplished are by no means ordinary, and faces you've shown in crisis are those of honour." she sighs out the rest of the air she had, before gathering a different kind of breath.     "Thank you for giving me hope, after so long. Whatever it is you might need, whatever you might want to know, it is, all of it, yours. Whether it is the Fourth Bloom, Serenity or Completion, the forty-four, or anything else I may divulge-- no, even if it is something I could wish for--" "Sakura . . . ?" "--then you more than deserve it."
Lilian Rook	Lilian moves her legs out from under herself, reclining sideways on the cushion instead of kneeling properly. Her fingers brush across the side of her face, under her eye, and through her hair. "I really wouldn't mind just being here. If all we did was . . . eat salty rubbish and watch video games, I still think it'd have been worth it. It's not as if you're going anywhere, are you? You don't have to . . ." "'Eviscerate myself for your sakes', Lilian?" "You really hate not knowing everything, don't you?" "Please don't worry that way. Even though you're right, I do have just enough 'common sense' that I know not to watch what I wouldn't want to see." "It's the curse of being stuck, powerless, that you want to obsess over every little detail you can control. I know." "Haha . . . You're so much better at understanding it, this time. All of it, actually." "I'm the best version of myself. I'd never lose to the me of yesterday." "I believe that now. You didn't lose to the 'you' of 'maybe', either." "Oh. Is that who it is? I was wondering since back then. Why Lilian is ¶like-unlike¶ a ¶candle and shadow¶. She didn't know ¶who(?)¶ I was talking about, though. She maybe didn't want to tell me, and that's okay."
Petra Soroka	Petra is certainly something of Lilian's! The fact that the intrusive urge to say 'toy' rather than 'friend' floated into her mind is something that stays between her and God, and preferably he won't get involved either. Lilian's arrival sets Petra even more at ease, absentmindedly bobbing up and down while sitting beside Nika, reveling in the positive vibes. "You're really good at noticing important things and explaining why they matter to people, so it makes sense."     Petra freezes in the middle of pulling open a bag of takis, gaze defocusing while she tries to recover from Nika's earnest assessment of her. Eventually, she manages an awkward half-smile, and forces out, "W-well. That's, uh. Something I've been practicing. So I'm glad i-it's paying off."     Petra lingers for a moment after that, letting out the tension in her chest with a quiet little croak, then shakes her head and becomes normal again. "We should absolutely, totally play together. I've wanted to be able to ever since last time, Lilian *is* really nice for setting that up." Petra roots around in her bag again, getting distracted by a bag of chocolate covered pomegranate fruit snacks, and opening that up too to put it between her and Nika.     Eventually, she manages to reach the Switch that she'd got for Nika, the box carefully unscuffed even after Petra opened it to add herself as a friend. She holds it out to Nika, her nerves suddenly spiking with the wish that this is something that she'll appreciate, and Petra does her best to make her smile natural despite the excited apprehension of gift giving.     "So, uh, speaking of multiplayer signal. This is one of those newer systems I mentioned to you last time, it's got, like, *so* many games that you could play with me, or Arthur, or Tamamo." Petra had assumed that Nika was the type to appreciate physical game cartridges, so withdraws a bunch of them from her bag, ranging from the classics like fighting and racing games, to a farming sim and platformers, and then one game that's been meticulously removed from its original box and placed into another, to conceal the fact that Petra *did* get Oreshnika, the Autumn Bloom, an otome as a gift. "Though we've never formally met, please be assured that I know who you are in many ways."     This is one of the most intimidating introductions that Petra has ever encountered. A million different things that could mean run through her mind, ranging from bad, to devastating, to lethally embarrassing. For the second time in just a few minutes of being here, Petra lets out a sound that's reminiscent of a death rattle, and then rubs her hand against the gauze on her neck and glances away. "Kn-knowing o-one another better would be g-good, yeah. I agree." "I hope that she makes you different too."     That does clear it up a little bit, though Petra's imagination is still far off from the truth. That phrase, when pointed directly at Petra, carries with it enough weight that Petra can only intuit that some amount of the vast and horrible arc had reached Sakura, and that confirmation actually makes Petra relax a little again.     Petra talks directly at the ground, not able to meet Sakura's eyes, solemn for the moment. "... Well, if anyone can. It's Lilian. She's... really amazing."
Petra Soroka	" Hold it, let me BULLYMAX for a second."     Moment ruined! Petra's face shoots up to stare at Arthur wide-eyed. "No, oh my god, that's literally not-- you don't need to fucking *bullymax*, what the fuck, it's not even--" "I'da hit her with a 'YES MRS. ROOK', myself, on account of the last woman I MA'AMED near about KILLED ME."     Petra flinches back, wincing, and then revitalizes herself by pulling out chocolate fruit snacks and pelting them at Arthur. "Shut up! You aren't invited to comment on this! If Tamamo killed me it'd *also* be for other reasons!" Petra brattily flicks another pellet at Arthur, and then continues, caught up in the moment. "*Maybe* you just didn't do it *good* enough!"
Lilian Rook	Oreshnika hums happily between bites of pork bun, as she finishes explaining speed desynchronization with obvious glee that Tamamo gets it. Explaining something that someone then understands seems to fire dopamine like nothing else for her. "Most good things people can be come from practising. There's nothing that feels worse than practising and not getting better, but it feels really really good when it works. Then you get to ¶make oneself into a work of purpose¶ any way you want!"     "You have to practice if you want to be anything. Even if you were born bad at something everyone is good at, you can practice it until you catch up. Even if it's hard, and you're scared you'll fail." Lilian barely-perceptibly tenses up, though even she ca tell that Nika is talking about herself.     "And even if you're born really good at something, you have to practice at how to ¶produce works of good/earn a place in our galleries/deserve its admiration¶, or else it doesn't do anything. That's what my mother always said, and I think she was right."     It takes her about five full seconds to process that Petra is handing her a new game console. Nika's expression rapidly cycles through several naked emotions, ranging from giddy excitement to mortified guilt to terrified confusion to heart-wrenching adoration, but she settles, when Sakura touches her shoulder, on a tiny, bewildered sniffle, and a dutiful "Thank you very much for the gift, Petra." then, more fluidly, "I love it very much. It must have been so hard to get all of this. I'll totally be sure to be around for you to play with whenever you want, okay?" She gently hugs the box to her chest. She may already be thinking of a name, like a new kitten.     The coy smile Sakura gives Petra isn't wholly dissimilar to one Tamamo might give, save that she lacks any real ability to project coldness or contempt, so it's really about half of one. "That is very much true. She's done many things, all in a row, that changed what ought to have been immutable. I've learned a great deal from watching her." She takes a little breath. "If you start with yourself, then all kinds of things can follow after. And until then, those things that want you can wait. Isn't that right, Miss Soroka?"     She veils her face politely with her sleeve when Petra says 'good enough'. As cute as she is, most here are aware that Sakura is at least one fifth not totally innocent.
James Bond	I really really want to ¶make this fit/be worthy of looking upon/say it was for something/¶!      "You will," says Bond to Nika. "I don't know much about the medium. But I know that sincere enthusiasm is a very good thing for an entertainer to have." He finally, finally takes a seat.      Overhearing that Nika's brother is 'present and accounted for' sees a little mote of tension fade from Bond. It never would have happened this way before. Would it? There would have been some ugly price to pay. Someone with nothing to gain but spiteful satisfaction, stabbing out at the last minute. An uncaring world enforcing down on someone who dared to look up.      But everyone here had looked up, and seen only the wide open promise of a clear, blue sky. It had taken work, of course, to get off the ground, and there was no shortage of danger along the way. But it happened, and no one had come to take it spitefully back. I really wouldn't mind just being here. If all we did was . . . eat salty rubbish and watch video games, I still think it'd have been worth it.      "I'm for rubbish and games myself," Bond chimes in. "One day, I might have a wish. When I've had all the rubbish and games I didn't have along the way--if that makes sense. But to step in and see what's been built here, what's grown here... that's quite a gift already. For a very long time, I thought it was something for someone else, those sorts of things."
Ishirou	Ishirou gains just enough control to look up. By then Nika has paused her game and...is approaching him? He looks nervous for a moment, did she read his thoughts..? He didn't /mean/ it... It's not... he's mad at himself not her... It's not /her fault/... The doubt and nervousness that plague him just make/it/ stronger. Ishirou DOES have a brain, he is a brain in a jar. Let's not dwell on that though. This is why the bolt feels weird. For a moment he's not there/is there. So many thoughts/painful memories/huge mistakes rest on him. Between the deaths he was forced to relive, the pain of talking to Carmen to ask his question... to literally trying to drain the despair out of a creature created entirely /out/ of it to buy the refulgence sisters the time they needed. It runs deeper, the creature was only /created/ by these events, but not entirely formed by them. His death at Petra's hands, his attempt to regain control and reveal the nasties parts of himself to the world... to hurting Lilian... over... and over... and over... and over... To the moment he truly realized what he had done, how he had done it... How is very /existence/harmful to others because of his suite of abilities, his nature drove him to know/understand things, but at odds with himself to avoid the pain/suffering/death of others. That is what this creature is, its form in Ishirou's mind is just all of his despair, made manifest. Silence, quiet devil; your words do not reach me 'You have no power here!' it lied. Silence, useless devil; do not darken my door 'You'll never make me disappear..!' it stated. Silence, weakling devil; wisely do not test me '...Stop it!' it demanded. Silence, coward devil; I will listen no more '...nooo! I'll come back, he'll never be free of me...! He'll take a bath some day...!' it promised. But then it was blessedly silent. Ishirou could hear his /own/ thoughts but was unaware she silenced something that wasn't his. He looks confused and surprised at the same time... he looks at Nika once she pulls back and apologizes. "I..? Someone else..?" He rubs his head, but suddenly feeling /much/ more tired now than he was a moment ago... finally feeling the desire to want to sleep. "...Thanks?" He yawns, tiredly, instead of looking nervous. He picks up some of the food Sakura provided, and the tea and consumes some. But as he eats his eyes droop a little more.
Lilian Rook	Lilian looks at Bond in an odd way.     A way that she never has before.     No, she really, actually looks at him.     Gesturing to the chair next to her, Lilian says, velvety smooth and just north of neutral in warmth, "It's quite a feeling, when you start to realize there's nothing stopping you anymore. It takes a while to sink in. For you though, more than most, I think that's fine. I believe you've more than earned . . . all the things you missed, that they didn't let you have, which everyone else did. All of it with interest."
Arthur Lowell	>Arthur: Make the promise     Arthur's quest log visibly updates with an EPILOGUE QUEST, one of the promises he makes to the post-post-apocalyptic that must be fulfilled one day. When it's all said and done, it's a list of things to do. He's gotta host a speed-run for charity with Nika! >Arthur: Receive fruit snacks     "HAHAHAHA!" Arthur cackles, shielding his face with his arms and batting the incoming food. One piece he even catches and eats. "That's how I roll! UNINVITED, INCONSIDERATE, IMPOLITE. Tammy! Tammyyyyy! Wait, no, I gotta not hit you with the BAD NAMES either. TAMAMO!" He's hollering to Tamamo. "Come on! BACK ME UP. Is it 'MA'AM'? 'MRS. ROOK'? Maybe we got DEEPER OPTIONS." It's true though, the boy has not one single Respectful Terms of Address bone in his body. >Arthur: Regard new console     "Shit, they got NEW NINTENDOS? God, I gotta CATCH UP. They still got MIIS on those little bastards? STREETPASS up in here? I gotta fuck with that! We gotta do lots of MULTIPLAYER." He rambles. "Which means you gotta go with LILIAN'S ADVICE. Lot of this is FOR YOU. Got DESTINY in your corner saying it's COZY TIME, so don't be FIGHTING IT. CHILL OUT, PLAY GAMES, EAT GARBAGE, and HANG OUT WITH YA PALS. Even the PEN PALS."     He squints at the console though. "Is that already ALCHEMIZED? What's with the TWO COLORS? Reminds me of..." He thinks back to a certain alien species. "Ah, NEVER MIND." >Arthur: What do you wish to know?     "..."     There's a brief bit of quiet. Unusual for Arthur.     "Yeah. Fourth Bloom is where I want to start. This is good. This is *real* good. But that means I need to round it out. Complete the set. Because it's good, but someone's missing out. I don't want someone left out of good fun."
Trudy Grimm	Trudy had hoped to shove the matter out of sight, as so many things that bother her tend to be. Bury it beneath the floorboards; she's long-since become accustomed to the maddening heartbeat that serves a constant reminder of everything she tries to cast off but can't. Her anxieties; her dreams; her blood.     Sakura is clearly not having any of that, using that tone that snatches the witch's attention in the same way Lilian's does. She rewards the Spring Bloom with her direct attention, eye contact and all, to hear out what she has decided to share. As Sakura speaks, though, Trudy's gaze falls downward, pensively searching through empty space before her. After a moment, she looks back up with a little nod.     "I think I understand, thank you. I'll give this some serious thought, Miss Sakura."     But what do witches do?     Her shadow balloons out a bit more and the hand-table shifts. A large skull emerges just enough to-- watch the TV, really. Trudy moves the snacks to this, cloth and all, positioned to not obstruct eyesockets that glow with green 'pupils'. She then takes the hand over as a chair; fingers curling up and around to support the witch while she reclines.     > "Fourth Bloom is where I want to start."     "I agree," Trudy puts some effort into adding confidence to her tone this time, "There should be four of you here eating Miss Tamamo's cooking and playing together, no?" The smile she puts on this time feels different from before.     If she can focus on being useful for someone else's sake again...     That means she can put off other matters just a little bit longer.     "I don't think it'd be right for me to claim any sort of reward until after the work is truly done."
Tamamo	'Sometimes, I think, I see in you the way that Saeko could have been.'     "If she had not chosen to remain... how might she have become, I wonder? One cannot know, though one can take a glimpse as to the shape of something by carefully tracing the threads that would have formed its pattern, and guessing as to how each color would mix together, when taken from afar, in that final, woven shape.     'Haha. How selfish is that?'     "Oh... is it? Perhaps I did not take your meaning."     Even while she's speaking to Sakura, Tamamo doesn't take her attention away from feeding Oreshnika. She is extremely pleased by this activity. She can't feed this adorable creature too many buns only because they're actually quite filling, for being snack-shaped food, so she savors every moment of her awakening maternal instincts. Instincts? Can a goddess never meant to bear children have those? Well, never mind the details. That's not important. If too much is eaten too quickly, drinks are soon available.     '--no, even if it is something I could wish for--'     "I would wish to know of your wishes, as well, Sakura-chan." So casually familiar, compared to... very nearly everyone else. For her, it's a reflection of a wish for closeness.     When Tamamo said 'Little Petra,' the meaning was more than a little different.     "Oh, but this is only for my own, selfish purposes. You need not, if you would rather speak of aught else. I suppose it is that we should concern ourselves with the Fourth Bloom, given how very close to being unable to find our Nika we had been. Even a single day's delay would have brought us misfortune. And yet, ah... 'to try less hard,' I wonder if this will be allowed for us in this, as well. In truth, I would not like to leave be the matter of the swords. I feel as if they will be important to many of us."     'I really wouldn't mind just being here. If all we did was . . . eat salty rubbish and watch video games, I still think it'd have been worth it.'     "To find a little happiness is enough for me, I think. Mine are small wishes, though they burn brightly. Such a small flame might grow, were it to be released." Tamamo says that as if the metaphor couldn't possibly require elaboration.     'Why Lilian is ¶like-unlike¶ a ¶candle and shadow¶.'     "Oh, do you mean...?" Though Tamamo doesn't say, her head tilts, one ear briefly flattening.     'YES MRS. ROOK'     Arthur's boisterous volume makes him generally difficult to ignore, and easy to overhear. Tamamo's motions all pause for just one instant, frozen, and then she puts a finger to her lips, thinking. Quietly, "'Family names.' I wonder why it is I have given so little thought to the matter. Somehow, it seems..."     Back at a normal volume, "No, no, that is quite out of order." There's an order for these things, and the steps can't be skipped. Simply inappropriate.     'There's nothing that feels worse than practising and not getting better, but it feels really really good when it works.'     Happily refocusing on Nika, Tamamo nods along. "There are some games as I have seen, and I have wondered whether I would enjoy them with practice, but if so, perhaps I should, instead, practice something that I already enjoy. Still, there are those that did introduce to me something I would not have considered, and so, to fail at some task, however miserably, was a necessary step in finding that enjoyment. Within this game, I had thought to myself, 'the cooking it presents is not just as it is done,' but only a game's version of it. And yet, I then imagined one who knew nothing of cooking playing such a game, and thereby coming to learn what they had not."
Tamamo	Wistfully, "Would that not be wonderful? There is the purposeful crafting of oneself, of course, but there is also this, the experiences one comes across at the hands of others or by the whims of fate, that present to one new paths to follow, and aspects to gain. So long as one does not forgo that which can be done with one's own hands, to be satisfied only with the glimpse offered within a game."     As if just remembering, "Ah, but it is a bit different, within that other sense of 'gaming,' which takes place always between several people, with the shuffling of tiles and coins."     ...most here are aware that Sakura is at least one fifth not totally innocent.     Being brought back to present memory the degree to which Sakura is aware of many things outside the sanctum also brings to mind a certain work of Tamamo's fine calligraphy skills, that included the line 'good girls should not watch.'
James Bond	For a spy, Bond has borne the weight of a great many looks. Reproach. Cold disregard. Guarded praise. This one is different. Novel. There isn't a name for it--but, as he takes a seat beside Lilian, he doesn't imagine that it's a bad kind of look. I believe you've more than earned . . . all the things you missed, that they didn't let you have, which everyone else did. All of it with interest.      "...thank you," says Bond, sincerely, and otherwise at a total loss for words. Maybe there doesn't need to be anything said more than that.      "It's quite nice," he says, after a few moments of reflection, "To find... not only that those things are available now, but that... everyone else hasn't lost interest in them, if that makes sense. It feels more like coming in from the cold than it does catching up. There's a lot that has to be done, still. But now there's a place to come back to, between... shifts, I suppose." She can tell, by the way he says 'place,' that he doesn't strictly mean a physical place, either. Even if this one is warm, and beautiful. A place, rather, in the sense that the heart has places within it.
Ishirou	Ishirou, half asleep, speaks up when he hears 'fourth bloom'.   "...Nazca," Ishirou says, mumbling, but long enough to be heard.  "That... commander... inside his head, I got glimpses, and heard about the fourth being in their control... they want the Blooms too.." He frowns for a moment.  What are they doing to her... or have done to her..?
Petra Soroka	"If all we did was . . . eat salty rubbish and watch video games,"     Automatically, Petra turns over to her bag again. Most of the snacks she'd put out so far were sweet, and that was apparently wrong, so she looks inside for an appropriate salty rubbish. What food does Lilian even like? All I've ever heard her talk about is raw meat. The closest thing that Petra has is a bag of beef wasabi chips, so she obediently withdraws it from the tote and places it in the communal snack area for Lilian's easy access. <<¶make oneself into a work of purpose¶>>     Petra stretches her legs out across the ground, leaning back on her arms to prop herself up. She considers Nika's words to Tamamo for a little bit, tilting her head to rest her cheek on her shoulder. "That's a smart way of putting it. It's like, if you work really hard to be good at a certain thing, 'being good at that thing' is a cohesive, purposeful shape that other people can see. So they know that you're 'the person who's good at that thing', or 'the person who does that thing', without you needing to say it. Like that. It's good to be known for something, identifiable, like that." "Even if you were born bad at something everyone is good at, you can practice it until you catch up."     Petra's eyes flicker over to Lilian, then back to Nika, and she presses her lips together. "You know, Nika. You've spent all this time practicing speedrunning yourself, right? You've probably figured out things no one else knows, just by working hard at things other people didn't think to try. So you'd be the expert on a lot of new things, too, not just studying and practicing what other people already know." Petra bites the inside of her lip, chewing on the tar sublayer, then giggles, dropping (most) metaphor. "I only tried speedrunning out a little, and not for Sunshine. I was never that good at it, since all I could do was look at other people's guides, but I know a little."     Nika's sincere appreciation of the gift makes Petra beam and clap her hands together, releasing some of her nervous energy to replace it with sheer excited energy. "It wasn't that hard to get! I have a job now, and, you know, I've seriously been looking forwards to playing stuff with you. Like actually, basically no one I know ever plays anything multiplayer unless it's like, Mario Party." "They still got MIIS on those little bastards?"     "Hell yeah they do." Petra nods emphatically at Arthur, preparing to launch into a lecture about all the Mii-related features of the Nintendo Switch. "The big one, that's already downloaded on there, is this cute little RPG with them, where you can--"     Petra cuts off, jumping across like three trains of thought to end up at a question directed towards Nika. "Didn't you mention having a staff, before? I'm not misremembering that, am I?"     The topic of conversation turns to the Fourth Bloom, and Petra doesn't have much to contribute. She's neither one to know what kind of help to ask for, or to proactively make a plan after barely becoming tolerated in this storyline just recently. She's more than willing to help them-- shockingly more, even to herself, at the twinge of determination in herself. She just needs to be pointed in the right direction.     "'In their control'? Does that mean, like, as a prisoner? Or that they work for them?"
Lilian Rook	'Tammy! Tammyyyyy!'     A metaphorical violin sting and glowing ! over Arthur's head comes and goes at his quick correction. Perhaps a literal one, too. "At least ask in spring." she huffs distractedly instead.     Nika, meanwhile, manages a perfect military salute (come to think of it . . .) and gives him an utterly cheek-pinchable "Yes sir!" at his orders to eat garbage and play games. She reaches for one such bag immediately.     Sakura can't help but smile at Tamamo. Smile for her. She always does. Call it being raised by foxes. Call it her particular love for Lilian. Call it a lot of other things. "I'm glad, that she stayed behind. Even if it was for the wrong reasons, at first, I couldn't do without her. But what I meant is, that . . . You make me think of how she might be, if the world were a little kinder. That's all. Isn't it true that it was to you, this time, too?"     She hesitates only slightly when asked.     "I wish things didn't turn out like this." Sakura closes her eyes. "That's all. It's such a simple little wish, but like those of my three 'sisters', something simple and earnest, without nuance, without room for other wishes, is necessary to carry an edge sharp enough to cut 'reality', just as a sword must be made of even and pure steel." She looks at her, directly.     "Jus like theirs, it isn't a happy thing to have, Tamamo-no-Mae. But it is something useful, and it is what I wanted, and what I asked for. Even now, I couldn't possibly argue with it. When compared with you all, what you risk out there, what you have to go through, how could I say whatever I feel matters? If I were to take on the whole world so that you wouldn't have to bear it, with just that, I would be gladder than anything. Because this world shouldn't be so cruel to you. It shouldn't have made girls like us. It shouldn't produce so many pure, unique, beautiful souls in the first place, if it was only going to grind them out and extinguish them. So I'll keep doing this, over and over and over again, until it doesn't turn out like this. Until Lilian has her turn and Oreshnika is finally understood and Ashley--"     She takes a deep breath, and recovers a tired and faltering version of her earlier smile. "Well, it isn't my place to say." She scans across Arthur and Trudy, and notes even Lilian and Nika looking at her now, mentioned by name. "Your minds seem to be made up. At first, I thought it was cruel, to let you have that hope, and send you out into a reality you weren't ready for. But I suppose that was hubris on my part, to think only I've seen, felt, enough; as if 'having felt' and 'being capable of doing' were even slightly the same thing, ahaha. So, let us see . . ." She can't conceal the tiny frown at Ishirou's news.     "As I said once, the Summer Bloom is named Ash, and they are to be found not so far from the coast of old America that you once went, though it's only that they often return there. Though they were the last Bloom to flower, they were the first to survive the ordeal of witnessing their own wish, as they usually are." Her wandering gaze to Lilian cannot be concealed. "This is the first time that anyone else has. It's . . . I can't begin to tell you how amazing that is. Because the reasons that Lilian stayed were . . . I think they were filled with so much more 'light' than has filled Ash's heart. The reasons they stay with us are understandable, but . . ."
Tamamo	'TAMAMO! Come on! BACK ME UP.'     "There is an order to things, Mr. Lowell. If--" she pauses, and adjusts her explanation for the audience, "--one claimed the title of champion even before the tournament, would it not diminish the joy of being crowned?"     Shifting to still-not-really address Petra -- as a topic -- Tamamo adds, "'Ma'am' is sufficient, for that one. In your case... you used it without respect, I suspect. That would explain why one sought your death for its use, no?" She doesn't even really sound accusatory. It's just a thing she expects.
Petra Soroka	"That would explain why one sought your death for its use, no?"     Petra, her attention split between snacking while watching Nika game and listening to Tamamo, nods absentmindedly in agreement. She also doesn't object to being referred to as 'that one', though it's debatable if she even noticed the implication of that.
Lilian Rook	"It's true. They were discovered by 'NAZCA' only shortly after I, myself, was taken into the Himorogikage. Those men have been . . . useful, to them. Nearly 'good'. But perhaps Mister Bond, no, perhaps Lilian, even Petra, too, might understand more. Their discovery is what drove the current formation of NAZCA into its concern with the Divine Trees and their obsession with the very same events described by Tamamo-no-Mae to my ancestor; those that come to Lilian in the dreaming world, and to which 'the Mother of Ghosts' warns Oreshnika. Ash is, if I may borrow words, NAZCA's 'ace', and already a recipient of the abundant care, support, and guidance, that is necessary to foster a Bloom."     Sakura stares into her hands. "But nearly the right kind, for that girl. They will not take well to you. They are not so sweet as Nika, not so principled as Lilian, and not so lonely as myself. They believe . . . that where they should be. And they sincerely believe that they must defeat you. Now more than ever. Not only for the aims of their patron, but also, for the purposes of their own anger. A vengeance, of a sort, to which we are a useful end."     Drawing herself up, Sakura finishes with "Lilian has met, and all but resolved her tie with, Exigent Serenity. I myself have never succeeded at meeting Virtuous Crisis. Oreshnika is aware of, and in communication with, though she doesn't fully realize it, Reciprocal Perfection. Ashley has already linked hands with Invariable Completion, some years ago, and has all but mastered that resonance, that alignment, between their human self and their wish."     "Finding them won't be difficult. You could even simply reveal yourselves to them, and force NAZCA's hand; no doubt that will be easier after the damage you all caused to their work in Winter Hazel. Even now, they're beginning their own operation, 'Black Lily', which you might use. What you do when you find them, and what it will take to keep them, even I can't say. They've seldom been defeated, even by those 'Lilians', and only ever once seen through the miasma that clings to them."     Answering Petra directly, Sakura says "I wish it were simpler to answer than it is, Petra. It's both and neither. They are used and they use NAZCA in turn. Are you a prisoner, or do you work for your own master?" Then Ishirou, with an odd expression. "Less than you might fear, more than you would hope. There is no such thing as a Bloom of Humanity who does not, on some level . . . despise humans. But you've come a long ways, Ishirou. Please, call upon all of your experience, and try to understand how complex real people, especially the least like 'people', can be. More than ever, hold your answers until you have changed them many times."
Lilian Rook	Oreshnika is vaguely aware this discussion is happening, but she is also being lavished with treats, excitedly opening (with great care) presents, figuring out cables, and also pricklingly, uncomfortably aware that this is all above her pay grade.     Petra knows it; that hunched posture, feverish downward stare, abandoned peripheral vision, stony neutral expression, busy and clumsy hands, the twitch of itchy skin. She should be part of this, and yet it has nothing to do with her. Because she can't handle gore and death, even on video. She doesn't know anyone; can't relate to anyone. Nobody pays attention to her. Nobody really thinks of her, when they need someone. She has to be protected; fed and watered and not abused; but that's it. She can barely go outside, never mind deal with the world. Not like them. She could never be one of them. She's happy to just be here, really. Even sitting with the other girls is more than she'd ever dreamed. It makes her nervous. This is the most she's ever fit in, so it's best she keep her head down and pretend she doesn't hear, so she doesn't say something that exposes her as a naive, weakling coward, who can't stomach being afraid and can't stomach being hated and can't stomach violence; better silence for a moment than risk being kicked out forever.     "You're right. You really understand." she says to Petra, in the asynchronous gaps in whom Sakura is talking to. "If you're naturally really good at drawing, the other kids think it's neat, but they forget about it in a year or two. You don't turn into 'an artist' just because you draw well in your notebook, you know? You're right. I think people can be that way in ¶aspects of self-reflection¶ too. I think they should."     She sees a little of Nika's tension bleed away when she receives that compliment. "Incisive." says Nika. "That's what mother would call it." She looks up, blinking in surprise at the mention of a staff. "You remembered? I didn't show you, because you were all outside when I was . . . I do, though. Did you really want to see it that much? It's special to me, but maybe not to you."     Now she does her best to be brave and strong and talk to Tamamo, too. "If you think there's a game you might want to play, I'll play it with you. And if it's hard, I'll figure it out first so I can show you how, too. It's not fun if one person is really good and someone else can't keep up. When people do things together, it's only good if they ¶stand level and see themselves in one another's eyes¶."
Ishirou	This conversation tips Ishirou towards awake again.  It's fine, he can sleep after the party, right?  He fights back a yawn.  Nika was right, he really does need to rest.  Why did he get so tired suddenly..?   'Less than you might fear, more than you would hope.' After a while, Ishirou nods to Sakura.  "Honestly... that is probably the worst-case scenario..." There was something each of the others wanted... something that drew them to each other, and to them.  Not the Fourth.  Alone, and stewing in their hatred of mankind.  To have entered the relationship with Nazca that is... 'You have come a long ways, Ishirou...' Has he..?  Has he really?  He knows what some people would say.  He knows how he feels on the subject.  Even then, even if she is /right/ there is still more to go.  "Thank you, but I'm not done yet..." he says, with a tired smile.   Call on all of his experience..?  But... Hold onto his answers until they have changed.  That was a failing, wasn't it?  Being vapid, or changing his opinion... repeatedly.  "...Right.  Things can't go back to how they were... but there is no reason they can't be better." Then... "Do you mind if I stay here and... heal as Nika said?" The first step is to admit you need help.  Though this isn't exactly what he wants.  Sakura knows that much... what he wants is to make Lilian's life better.  Happier, anything he can do... not just because he messed up, not just because he wants to give and receive affection... because he's realized that she is important to him, and he wants her to be happy, because he loves her despite how crippling bumbling he is at expressing anything that isn't 'oooh let's study it' and 'nerd shit'.
Arthur Lowell	>Arthur: That would explain why     "What, just on account of I infuse mad disrespect into every syllable, people are gonna be mad? Fucked up!" That ! pops up and he does his best to dodge back. "A guy can't go around doing disrespects in all directions anymore! What's the damn world coming to." He laughs a bit, letting the goofy bit trail off into nothing. "Ma'am it is, huh?" He lets a *tiny* bit of appropriate respect into the word this time. "Sure, steps in order, haha." >==>     Was it cruel? To send Arthur out to do something that could never have happened, that doesn't especially make sense to have happened now? "Ehh. That's complicated. Even if it was impossible, I gotta be doing it anyway. I try for impossible stuff, otherwise how am I gonna remind myself enough that impossible is something people gotta live through every day?" He looks for a bit at the CRT, as if staring through a window out into the sky. "Out in the real world, every day, people deal with 'impossible'. They hit the bounding edges and they just can't do anything past that, they can't fly and shoot lasers and fight monsters. So I gotta hit 'impossible' and fail too, so I can understand them and stay where I'm supposed to. Otherwise I'll forget what it was like, you know?"     He shakes his head. "Sounds like this guy -- this girl? Uhh-- Sounds like *this bloom* is... huh. I guess a different kind of impossible. And the kind I can't just move a mountain about, even if it kills me." He rubs his face, sighing a little.     "I'm gonna be real with you, Sakura, I'm three for three so far, but this sounds like it's the one that puts me at three for four. Sum total of my life experience is bad homeschooling, couple years of years of Videogame War, and then like two consecutive nothing-we-gotta-talk-about zone-outs. I am *not* about to draw on my lived-ass fucking experience to forge some real connection and win over someone more than the people who've been giving them good food every day when they wanna kill me. Like, sounds like they've been doing ace work for forever, I still can't stomach a dead body or a monster with too much time bullshit. I'm *decent-ish* at helping get a link through stressed out isolation 'cause of the horrors, I'm *bad* at..."     He gestures in a vaguely helpless way, then massages his own forehead awkwardly. "I'm asking you to guide me straight into some bullshit I am *not* qualified to deal with, so, appreciate your consideration for real, yo. And I'm just telling you now: If *any* of you Blooms got into a situation that ended with my throat getting slit, it's probably gonna be them. And that's not gonna be your fault, that's gonna be me running out of luck." He turns to the others, doing that open-palm shrug again. "I'm going into a guaranteed loss here, hope one of you all is *real* good at deprogramming someone's indoctrination."
Trudy Grimm	Upon urging from Arthur and herself, Sakura offers... a lot more than Trudy had ever expected. She inwardly considers Lilian's earlier comment, that this girl has an urge to know Everything, and sets aside a moment to truly appreciate just how accurate that asssessment is proving to be. The witch lifts a hand to cradle her chin, a finger tapping her lips in considerate thought.     'Black Lily' no doubt involves Lilian. That much is clear. She recalls a similar codename coming up back in the Urals, when NAZCA learned Lilian was present. The witch's eyes narrow slightly when a dark thought enters her mind. She chases it out immediately; consciously. Using Lilian as bait is absolutely forbidden.     Her gaze dips. Ash, then... doesn't sound like they are being mistreated. No, that would be easy, wouldn't it? NAZCA has more sense than that, it seems.     She opens her mouth to say something, lifting her gaze back to Sakura, when she catches Nika in the corner of her eye. The words fail to come out. Petra isn't the only one who remembers the Russian girl's reaction to more grisley things, all those months ago. Her head dips in thought again. It's a moment before she finally speaks.     "It sounds like... Why does Lilian have to do it alone?" The big skull next to her shifts its gaze towards her as she raises her voice, "What if we instead focus on finding a way for you to find your... your wish? Nika's wish? If you've never found it on your own..." Leaning forward in her seat, Trudy continues, "If there's a way I can help build that road for you to walk on, I'll do it. Myself if I have to... though last time, it was definitely a group effort."     "If you're all together, if you stand together, even Ash would have to listen to you, right? They couldn't possibly ignore what you have to say."
James Bond	When compared with you all, what you risk out there, what you have to go through, how could I say whatever I feel matters?     Bond reaches into the pocket of his chinos and procures his wallet. Simple. Brown leather. He holds it open for Sakura to see his Paladins badge. "This is how," he says. "Having it, to me, means that I'm going through it, and risking it, so that what you feel does matter. There are plenty enough people who would say that it doesn't," he says, folding the wallet back up and putting it back into his pocket. "And plenty more who wouldn't even entertain the question."     His hands come to rest between his knees, fingers interlaced. His brow, so often given to dark, brooding expressions, is here thoughtful and insistent on finding the right words. "I see what they have in mind every day, when I walk outside. When I'm on assignment. When I close my eyes at night. The... grinder," he says, after a pause, with some effort. The one that grinds up pure, unique, beautiful souls. Girls like them, and so many other people. "None of them want to turn it off. They just want their turn at the controls. Those people have had their chance. Here, and God knows where else. It's time for something different--and it was girls like you that gave me hope there could be anything different."      "Thank you for everything that you do, Sakura. Even if it isn't strictly 'the same.' Just don't act as if 'different' is 'less than,' please. That's one of the cruelest tricks the world plays." Ash is, if I may borrow words, NAZCA's 'ace', and already a recipient of the abundant care, support, and guidance, that is necessary to foster a Bloom.      Bond sighs through his nose. "I know exactly what you mean." They believe . . . that where they should be. And they sincerely believe that they must defeat you. Now more than ever. Not only for the aims of their patron, but also, for the purposes of their own anger. A vengeance, of a sort, to which we are a useful end.      -Exactly- what she means. Arthur isn't confident... but Bond is. "It'll be difficult. But not impossible, with the right approach." The right approach *isn't* his usual. With everything Sakura has said... "I came from something very much like where Ashley is now, with one distinction, albeit an important one. Maybe I'll be able to reach them, past that anger. I think it's worth trying."
Tamamo	'Isn't it true that it was to you, this time, too?'     "I have far more reason to hope, in this life," Tamamo says, "and even were I to lose that hope, I have already come closer to my wish than I ever had, before."     'I wish things didn't turn out like this.'     'Because this world... shouldn't have made girls like us.'     "Ah..." Tamamo's eyes close for a moment, "I understand. Simple wishes are... all the harder to fulfill, are they not? Were I to think upon it, I would say, perhaps, that a less-simple wish is made with the world in mind, as water is drawn to ditches when it flows from the mountains. A simple wish is more like to exist without being pressed against the form of the world. Oh, but please pay that no mind. I have rambled on."     '...and already a recipient of the abundant care, support, and guidance, that is necessary to foster a Bloom.'     'They are not so sweet as Nika, not so principled as Lilian, and not so lonely as myself.'     Tamamo's mood, even buoyed by hand-feeding Nika, falls again.     "The more that I do understand of this, more that I mislike it. It is possible that we should bring a greater happiness to one who deems us an enemy, and we are obliged to buy the fight they sell us, but the steps I have taken until now were never to so impose my will upon those who wish not to be saved. Had even young Nika been steadfast in ignoring my pleas, I would have turned away, heavy though my heart would have been."     It might have been forgotten in the year since, but seeing the instant connection between Lilian and Sakura, and thinking 'I want Lilian to have more friends this close' really was the whole reason Tamamo-no-mae had pushed for everyone to go chasing an army into the Ural mountains and fight a pack of secret assassins. There hadn't been anything deeper to it, because she didn't need a deeper reason. Furthering the goal of saving the world in accordance with a ghost-smith's mad visions was always, at best, a secondary benefit.     "Though there is much I might offer, I have not a desire for... ah, no, I suppose I do desire a single conquest, but that is all to which I shall lay firm claim. In the cases of others, if we are to come to conflict no matter the steps we take, I have little desire to hasten them toward that end, while it is still possible to make other preparations."     Her attention returns to Nika in time to catch that posture and that expression, though it's soon wiped away with bravery. "A game I wish to learn, then? I suppose there may be some. I shall think upon it. The most fun are those games that can be enjoyed together with others, no? I like best the ones that allow couples--pairs, to cooperate closely, I think."     Recalling that Oreshnika is younger than Lilian, Tamamo spends a few moments thinking, 'Doesn't that mean it's okay to adopt her...?'     '...it's only good if they ¶stand level and see themselves in one another's eyes¶.'     "Hmm." Maybe not, then.
Tamamo	'Do you mind if I stay here and... heal as Nika said?'     "If that is your wish, finding a place for you to temporarily stay in the Garden should not be difficult, Ishirou." Tamamo doesn't mind, and is already going back over her memory of the village's unfinished tasks. "Someone of your talents could be kept busy, should you be staying long, and wish to do more than rest.     'I'm going into a guaranteed loss here, hope one of you all is *real* good at deprogramming someone's indoctrination.'     "It is..." Tamamo looks away to hide a trace of discomfort, "...not impossible, for me." It isn't often visible.
Petra Soroka	"When compared with you all, what you risk out there, what you have to go through, how could I say whatever I feel matters?"     Petra shifts uncomfortably, drawing her knee up into her chest to slouch over it and look at Sakura with a slight frown. "I mean-- I know you weren't referring to me that much, but... I'm here *to* help. That's what I'm *for*. You shouldn't ever need to worry about what I 'go through', since it's nothing compared to the rest of girls like--" Petra cuts off and finishes lamely, changing the word for present company. "--you. You and Lilian, Nika. Ash. What you feel matters, that's the whole *point*." "But perhaps Mister Bond, no, perhaps Lilian, even Petra, too, might understand more."     Petra, having never understood anything in her life, straightens up like she's been called on in class while distracted. She wasn't *not* paying attention before, and as a Bloom, Sakura's words were already given extra weight in Petra's mind, but now Petra is on high alert. She carefully listens to every word out of Sakura's mouth until she finishes talking, attentively absorbing out of the fear that she'll have been expected to be more understanding than she is, and trying to bend all of her mental willpower towards simply being as smart as she supposedly is.     She doesn't get it yet though. "Lilian has met, and all but resolved her tie with, Exigent Serenity." PHONE: Lilian Rook says, ". . . Tamamo was the biggest reason I stayed. I think if it came down to it again, you'd be one." §<<In cutting 'Lilian Rook' from that burden, you've isolated her from <humanity> more than before;>>§     The topic of Exigent Serenity brings a lot of thoughts to the surface of Petra's mind. The confusing balance between the girls wanting the wish-forms so strongly that they manifested something beyond humanity, and could never distance themselves from totally without abandoning their own self-actualization, with their need to stay tethered to the world.     Petra has a hand in that equilibrium now (and the equilibrium had one in her), which makes it frustrating that she can't properly wrap her mind around it. By its nature, according to Lilian, but Petra's always hated that her own nature distanced her from that. Still listening to Sakura, Petra's thoughts drift unbidden to the Beauty of Ash, and when trying to picture it in her mind's eye, her ears fill with tinnitus and she ducks her head, rubbing her temples to make it go away before she misses too much of what Sakura says. "They are used and they use NAZCA in turn."     Petra pulls her head up from between her knees, neural connections suddenly snapping into place, and she blurts out, "They're one of the good ones." She stays there for a beat, then her lips twist and her gaze falls to the ground. "Okay."
Petra Soroka	With her part in that discussion done, Petra scoots beside Nika, shoulder-to-shoulder in a way that seals the two of them in a conversation that's just slightly shielded from the discussion about the Summer Bloom. Petra was always one of those girls who thought the idea that 'we are all made of stardust' was one of the most profound things ever, and clung to it in multiversal astrology. Even though she's not a ¶thing in heaven¶ anymore, looking at Nika, she digs in herself to find some way to show that she understands.     Peeking over Nika's shoulder at the DS in her hands, Petra figures that she knows how. Pulling out her own DS, she flips it open and swipes through the list of jailbroken games until she gets to Mario Kart. "Hey, Nika. All that talk's making my head hurt, and I'm kind of tired of it. I mostly just came over to spend some time with you, anyways, so do you want to go sit somewhere out of the way and play some stuff together?"     It's not a lie, really. Every contribution that Petra makes to the kind of conversation that she's always mentally labeled an 'Elite Conversation' drains her like drawing blood, no matter how strongly she believes in the topic-- which until recently, was rarely very strongly at all. The act of expression and the difficulties of making yourself understood is something that's followed Petra her whole life, and environments like these are the ones most draining for her.     Once the pair has moved to the side together, Petra is, sincerely, happy to play with Nika. She radiates it, literally, with the near-touch of their shoulders vibrating with the champagne-bubble aura of Petra's skin. "I do want to see it. Your staff. I mean, it's important to you, so it'll be important to me, too."
Lilian Rook	'They hit the bounding edges and they just can't do anything past that, they can't fly and shoot lasers and fight monsters.'     Lilian breathes in sharply. "I remember. What Rita said, I mean. That . . . somewhere out there, there are plenty of girls, who are sort of like me, and that . . . none of them got any power from it. I remember that feeling, when I first heard it." Her passive level of aggression towards Arthur dies down to nothing in short order. "To those people, at least, the cruelest thing you can do is to tell them to try harder; to want it more. Those people are the ones worth not letting yourself grow cold for." She scoffs reluctantly. Christ. "Suddenly something you said actually made sense in retrospect."     'this guy -- this girl?'     Sakura hides what might be an impolite smile with her sleeve, and says, empathetically, "Some things, we don't yet have stories for. And those things can be quite complicated. Seeing as you speak English, I recommend using 'Ash'." she says, as if that explains anything.     "That's the thing I'm most afraid that you'd fail, did you know? That is to say, after how far you've come, I'm sure you'll find a way to make this happen too. Even if it hurts more than you can bear, you can always come to me, and I'll hurt in your place, okay? So, you don't have to say those things. I'm glad, I really, truly am, that you understand how difficult, and different, this will be. I'm so relieved that you aren't underestimating what you're about to 'lock blades' with. Or should I say horns?" What? Is that an Americanism thing? "That attitude will help you greatly. Just don't forget that I believe in you. Things are different this time. Lilian said so~"     'and even were I to lose that hope'     "You won't." Lilian interjects, firmly, and then clears her throat, as she has to say something else too, to make it worth the attention.     "That mention of 'ace work' is something I'd like to know too." says Lilian, leaning forward in her Object Oriented pose. "No individual matching that description exists in the Immunes database. Oreshnika's brother had, so I'd know. Satsuki is from a private military background, so I have some knowledge of how those operate, but NAZCA is an extension of the Letter Agency, and there's no way they have standardized programs for a Bloom. Between those here, even Director Gerart, who is slightly aware of my abilities, holds myself and his expectations of me apart from my class."     Sakura nods. "That much is true." She even smiles a little at Trudy. "NAZCA is an group of many sinful men who sincerely believe in the self-proving necessity of their cause. They are not virtuous people, but they aren't foolish nor insane, as we often like to think of those we yearn to call 'evil'. You've met some of their warriors. Did you notice? What they've been through, what they've done to themselves, what they'll give up; their determination is not to be taken lightly. The Summer Bloom is much the same."
Lilian Rook	'They hit the bounding edges and they just can't do anything past that, they can't fly and shoot lasers and fight monsters.'     Lilian breathes in sharply. "I remember. What Rita said, I mean. That . . . somewhere out there, there are plenty of girls, who are sort of like me, and that . . . none of them got any power from it. I remember that feeling, when I first heard it." Her passive level of aggression towards Arthur dies down to nothing in short order. "To those people, at least, the cruelest thing you can do is to tell them to try harder; to want it more. Those people are the ones worth not letting yourself grow cold for." She scoffs reluctantly. Christ. "Suddenly something you said actually made sense in retrospect."     'this guy -- this girl?'     Sakura hides what might be an impolite smile with her sleeve, and says, empathetically, "Some things, we don't yet have stories for. And those things can be quite complicated. Seeing as you speak English, I recommend using 'Ash'." she says, as if that explains anything.     "That's the thing I'm most afraid that you'd fail, did you know? That is to say, after how far you've come, I'm sure you'll find a way to make this happen too. Even if it hurts more than you can bear, you can always come to me, and I'll hurt in your place, okay? So, you don't have to say those things. I'm glad, I really, truly am, that you understand how difficult, and different, this will be. I'm so relieved that you aren't underestimating what you're about to 'lock blades' with. Or should I say horns?" What? Is that an Americanism thing? "That attitude will help you greatly. Just don't forget that I believe in you. Things are different this time. Lilian said so~"     'and even were I to lose that hope'     "You won't." Lilian interjects, firmly, and then clears her throat, as she has to say something else too, to make it worth the attention.     "That mention of 'ace work' is something I'd like to know too." says Lilian, leaning forward in her Object Oriented pose. "No individual matching that description exists in the Immunes database. Oreshnika's brother had, so I'd know. Satsuki is from a private military background, so I have some knowledge of how those operate, but NAZCA is an extension of the Letter Agency, and there's no way they have standardized programs for a Bloom. Between those here, even Director Gerart, who is slightly aware of my abilities, holds myself and his expectations of me apart from my class."     Sakura nods. "That much is true." She even smiles a little at Trudy. "NAZCA is an group of many sinful men who sincerely believe in the self-proving necessity of their cause. They are not virtuous people, but they aren't foolish nor insane, as we often like to think of those we yearn to call 'evil'. You've met some of their warriors. Did you notice? What they've been through, what they've done to themselves, what they'll give up; their determination is not to be taken lightly. The Summer Bloom is much the same."
Lilian Rook	"Lilian is extraordinarily powerful. She has grown unusually swiftly, too, even compared to before. In one or two years, I believe she would outmatch Ashley. However, they have spent nearly all their life fighting, as they have very little else. Men and monsters. Things of the Earth, of the Otherside, of the Rivets, of the stars; all the universe is their enemy. They have far more experience, and moreover--" She spares Lilian a guilty glance. "Because they have given up, on seeing value in 'humans', they do not restrain themselves, as Lilian does."     "They have not been ignored, for not fitting 'humanity', as Nika and I, but punished, as Lilian. Neither have they seen light, and held to the very best inside them, in hope, as Lilian or Nika, but given up the notion that anything might improve, and they strike against fate out of need and resentment, as . . . I. They have not achieved what Lilian has because they cannot submit to others even to bide their time; they cannot bear to lie, or to conceal. They have touched their Invariable Completion and clung to human form to punish others and nurture chaos, not for daring to try their hand at loving, as another."     Sakura, but briefly, falls silent at Bond. The beginnings of a tiny smile touch her lips, and she extinguishes it in the blink of an eye. She won't allow herself something like that. She hasn't earned it. Others deserve that smile more. "Thank you, Mister Bond. Even if it's difficult to accept, I know that you meant it. Something other than fighting over control of the machine . . . That would truly be something, Mister Bond. After all, the end of the world is simply the debt finally come due, for seizing that control. For inventing it. If you can bring about something beyond our reality of separations and binaries and machinery designed to categorize and put to work . . . I think that would be wonderful."     She frowns in commiseration with Bond at the rest. She'd clearly gathered, but left it up to him to say. "You understand." she concludes, and reaffirms. "I think we will rely a great deal on your expertise. Yours, and Lilian's. Arthur's heart. Tamamo's patience. Miss Soroka's eyes. Miss Grimm's conscience. Ishirou's earnest desire. All of you, please try to see this through from as many eyes as you can. And when you make your judgment, hold it to yourself, and wait for it to change, and then wait again, before you voice it. And do not hate one another for believing differently."     'I would say, perhaps, that a less-simple wish is made with the world in mind, as water is drawn to ditches when it flows from the mountains. A simple wish is more like to exist without being pressed against the form of the world.'     "That is . . . so." says Sakura. "It would be easier to--" But surprisingly, Lilian interjects again. "It'd be so much more realistic to wish that certain people would love you, or that you could go and live somewhere more hospitable, or that others change their mind about you, or even people would just leave you alone and give you a chance, than something so abstract as my turn to be, wouldn't it?" Sakura nods slowly.
Lilian Rook	'Had even young Nika been steadfast in ignoring my pleas, I would have turned away, heavy though my heart would have been.'     "The girl you hope to defy, and hope to save; they have worked very, very hard, and become very, very strong, and gained nothing for it. Their determination is not less than yours. Not by far. And so they direct it thusly, because it is all they have." She pauses to think, very carefully.     "Those drowning are often known to act paradoxically, counterproductive, in panic. They latch to others and drag them under, even though they desperately wish to be saved. It is known that the stronger the swimmer, the more difficult it is to rescue them. Please understand. I beg of you that you not discard them before they can begin to show you who they really are. As everyone else has done to them."     'They're one of the good ones.'     That's when Sakura actually falls into stunned silence. Even Lilian turns to look, head slowly tilted. A silent, electric pause follows; one that could go anywhere.     "The only 'good' Bloom." Sakura repeats softly. "We are the 'deviants'. The errors. Naively mislead and corrupted, or intrinsically rotten. Endangering everything, in our ignorance and selfishness. But Ashley is different. They are special and apart, and it is our fault; the fault of 'the others'; that they cannot have what they want, and cannot be better treated. Yes. I think this is true. It is only true that they do not take to that idea with hope, or feel self-worth in it. Only pain and blame."     'Do you mind if I stay here and... heal as Nika said?'     "I don't." Nika suddenly blurts out, then looks abashed. Sakura smiles. "Of course, Ishirou. For all you've done, this is too little to ask. I'd do much more for you, if you but said the word."     Nika fails to conceal relief when Petra asks. She's been fidgeting with her DS for a while, and gladly takes the excuse to flip it open and huddle side by side, feet pulled up and knees nearly to her chin, to immerse herself in the comforting glow of gaming. Simple joys where everything is explained and you can be praised for doing it correctly by trying hard. "Okay." Oreshnika says, and Petra knows she means it warmly. "It used to be mother's. I had to ¶repair/COMPLETE/salvage¶ it, though. But I love it lots, and I took good care of it. I'll even let you read the writing on it. Okay?"
Tamamo	'I beg of you that you not discard them before they can begin to show you who they really are. As everyone else has done to them.'     "Because it is you who asked, I cannot help but listen to your words. It is a request I must heed, though I admit I am less well-inclined toward those who mean harm to ones I love, even should they later cease and let go their hateful aggression. Please understand, and forgive me that my heart is not so wide as to accept all things with equal ease." Tamamo answers Sakura, while letting Nika (fed and watered) go and play her racing games.     'You won't.' Lilian interjects.     Immediately, Tamamo's sunny smile returns, beaming for Lilian, alone. It's all she needs.
James Bond	They're one of the good ones.      Bond pauses, in that way that one does when something inexcusable is said, by someone who may not know better. That awkward, ungainly, silent stare where one tries to determine--was it a joke, was it ignorance? It couldn't have been sincere. Could it? No--not with the way she looks at the floor. For the second time today, he sighs through his nose, and forces himself to look away. Maybe at the lovingly tended, scratched up console down there. We are the 'deviants'. The errors. Naively mislead and corrupted, or intrinsically rotten. Endangering everything, in our ignorance and selfishness.      Bond is somewhere else. Thinking of someone else. Tiago. The blonde-haired, half-Spanish fellow. What happened to him? The one with the smile that made you look away; that convinced you it was a fault of his, and not that you had starved yourself of joy he freely allowed himself. The one everyone talked about. In that way. Tiago--who didn't keep it to himself quite enough. Enough to avoid anything official, but not the stares and the rumors. Bond hated him. But he was also perversely, sickeningly thankful. If everyone was looking at Tiago--if all the rumors, jokes, insinuations were pointed his way, then...      The sound of Nika's voice brings him back. Bond stands up, smiling thinly, and excuses himself.