Player Plot: Remember Me

[notthatjason]

characters: Jason Grace & OPEN
location: (1) Harbor then (2) School
date/time: May 15 - 17
content: A small memorial event for those lost to the flood. Include a lantern/boat launch followed by a re-dedication of the Wall for the Remembered, now located in the school.
warnings: Likely discussions of loss/death what is death to a dead thing


1. Harbor
A few days after his network post, Jason can be found down at the harbor. Those that were here in September will definitely recognize it as a very similar set up to what Rastus had going when they did the memorial service then. He doesn’t have glowing stones, but he did bring down two torches from the bonfire and has rigged up a kind of tiki torch situation to light up the area for crafting. He has plenty of paper to craft into lanterns and boats. He’s made a few for those that might struggle, but there are plenty of supplies if you want to take the time to craft your own. There’s also other basic craft supplies -- markers, scissors, tape, and the like -- for making the boats or lanterns more decorated or personalized.

Jason encourages anyone who shows up to mourn or celebrate in their own way. This is intended as a way to honor the dead and missing, but if you don’t want to launch a boat you don’t have to -- perhaps you have another ceremony in mind.

2. School
After several boats have been launched, Jason will pick up one of the torches he brought to the harbor and lead whoever is around to the school. In the end, this seemed like the more accessible of the two locations he had debated. Prior to the memorial, Jason had spent some time sprucing up one of the classrooms and relocating the remains of The Wall for the Remembered, pictures and names moved onto a newly painted tree -- very similar to the one that used to reside in Town Hall.

Inside the classroom, there is one table set up with paints if people want to add names of those they just launched boats for -- Jason didn’t feel like it was right to add them all himself. There is a second table with snacks -- provided by the cafeteria spirit -- so the snacks are mostly what one might find in a school lunch, but hey there are pretty decent cookies. He’s also brought two torches to stay at the school: one in the entrance and one in the memorial room itself -- probably placed somewhere to give the wall the best light.

Once everyone is gathered, Jason will hold up the torch that he led everyone here with and speak: “Thank you all for helping with this and coming today. I can’t say I knew everyone who appeared in the most recent obituary shared with us, so I can’t exactly say anything personal here -- but I know that each loss has had an impact on at least one person in this room.” He pauses, a kind of moment of silence though he doesn’t say as such. After a moment he speaks again, “I know that our future here may be uncertain, but it’s important to take the time to remember those who have helped us even get this far. Tomorrow we can think about the future, but for right now let’s focus on those who are no longer with us -- whoever that may be for you.” He lowers the torch and steps away to give people their privacy and watch over the proceedings.

Comments

[callada]

Never mind the offer of a change of topic, then. It seems she's willing to talk after all, if maybe a little carefully.

"Well, if you're not from Earth you're probably in good shape. That's where most people here seem like they come from. There's really only just a couple of us now who aren't."

And it seems safe to assume she's not from Earth, if she's nervous about even talking about which world she came from Earth has so many people that it must be easy to hide among all of them. Or that's the impression he gets, anyway, from the stories he hears here - and he does like hearing them.

He also certainly understands the feeling of being worried someone from home might show up and turn his own life chaotic in ways he's not comfortable with, but Rosinante figures he's set himself up to be pretty fortunate. Here, people know him as kind, respectable, and hard-working. He's a good, honest, loyal soldier who died fighting to save a kid's life. If someone showed up and it was his word against theirs, surely they would believe him, as it's all rooted mostly in truth and how could they know any different?

[flangirl]

Pudding laughs softly, bringing up a hand to hide her open mouth. What a statement. What utterly strange luck, indeed - of course, Rosinante is right; the odds of coming from the same world, when that world isn't Earth, is so small. Yet, here they are.

"Well, there's Fjord and - "

She stops abruptly, all mirth and half the color falling out of her face, and ducks her head, feeling hideous inside more than out.

"I. I'm sorry. I didn't know Fjord's friend, and I don't know if you did. I shouldn't talk so casually about him here."

[callada]

"It's all right," he says, though there's a heaviness to it. "People die here. No point in being ignorant of that."

It is sure as hell unpleasant, but so be it. In a way, he wonders if they somehow were left here for the decades the spirits have been around if they too would adopt that sentiment of death being meaningless. He'd like to think he never would become so callous, but he is not perfect.

"I've met others from other worlds, too. Most of them aren't here now. Doctor Ingram, though, he's from up in those stars somewhere. And Stone, he's from... I can't remember what his world is called, but it's full of people like him. Raksurans. Basically dragons."

Stone isn't here right now, so Stone can't correct him on the use of that word. Seems he's accepted it anyway. Big flying reptile? Dragon.

[flangirl]

Pudding nods. "It's strange, so many people being from one Earth or another, and then a handful of us who've never heard of it... It's daunting to think about how far the portal can reach. And if it could pull in Fjord, and someone else not just from his world but who he knows dearly... I don't mind talking about where I'm from, really, but I don't think I feel safe putting a name on it. Does that make sense?"

[callada]

"Sure," he says. "A lot of people here probably would do the same, if they weren't unfortunate enough to all be from the same world. Do what you need to do."

Mostly, it's pointless to argue. It's not like the name of a world would tell him anything in particular. The descriptions, the stories, those are the more interesting parts. It's exciting to hear about how much variety is out there among the stars. He'll never get to visit those worlds, but he can imagine them.

"Never mind the conflict and all that, then. What are the good parts? What do you miss?"

[flangirl]

"The water," Pudding answers immediately, with a small, awkward laugh. Same thing as his song that moved her so deeply. "The sea. Knowing it's deep and vast and full of living things and possibilities. My best friends, Nitro and Rabiyan... They're not human at all, and they're small and always close by... it's a little lonely here." She bites her lip. "Food. Not for me, but enough food to feed everybody without waste or hunger. It's - it's not right, here, having this little, growing so little, not being able to hunt or fish. At home, there was always enough for everyone. My whole archipelago was set up with the idea of always having plenty, no matter how many people live there." Mama is Mama, but you can't say she doesn't provide food and shelter for everyone who lives in Totto Land.

[callada]

Sounds nice. Food for everyone? She's fortunate to be from somewhere pretty well-off if that's the case. This place has to be one hell of a rude awakening to someone who's never faced starvation. Which isn't to say he resents her for it, of course not - it sounds like she's lived the sort of life everyone should have. That's why he and the other Marines ever worked as hard as they did, to try and ensure people could have that kind of stability in their lives.

"Anyone ever tell you what happens if you go fishing here?" he asks. As far as he's aware, he's still the only one to have actually tried.

[flangirl]

Pudding blinks openly at the question, somewhat stunned.

"I never even thought about it. There's nothing here but spirits, right?"

[callada]

"As far as I know, yeah. But it took us a while to be sure of that. Some of the spirits look pretty normal, right? Like the insects."

Okay, so the occasional moth might drift by with extra eyes or unusual markings or long tentacle legs, but for the most part, bugs look like bugs, birds look like birds, and so on. The animal spirits are spirits, but not too out of the ordinary and it would make sense for someone new to mistake them for actual animals.

Such was not the case when he went fishing.

"In the first couple months I was here, I figured I'd found out what was in the lake. We didn't have the bugs back yet, or the birds. Everything was pretty quiet. I thought maybe the lake had fish, though, or something. Baited a hook, waited, felt a pretty strong tug after a while. So I reeled it in. And, uh. Pulled out my own dead body, or so I thought."

[flangirl]

Pudding listens intently, nodding softly at the explanation of the smaller spirits. That makes sense - notes with a little surprise that bugs and birds "came back," even as spirits, in stages. (Are larger animals on their way, perhaps?)

But a breath squeaks in her throat with the sharpness of her inhale, both hands clapping over her nose and mouth as her eyes go wide with horror.

Well. That would be a hell of a rude surprise.

"Oh my god," she breathes, pulling her hands down just a little after a few moments of half-focused staring. "What happened?"

[callada]

Yeah, it's pretty awful and her reaction is exactly how he probably should have reacted, but instead he just stared at it while it stared back. A different kind of shock.

"Wasn't sure at first if I was hallucinating or not but a couple people came by to see it for themselves. It didn't move, but it watched me if I moved. Finally, the Grandmaster and I decided to haul it up and bury it, but before we really got a chance, it dissolved into seafoam and slid back into the lake."

A tame way of putting what happened, given "dissolving" involved "grinning so wide it split its own head open". He's seen a lot while being here but that's still one of the more grotesque events in his past year of un-life. He frowns at the recollection and shakes his head. Fucked up stuff.

[flangirl]

Puddings stomach churns a little, the natural revulsion of a Devil Fruit User more than anything else.

"That's horrible," she breathes, folding her hands together against her collarbones. "I'm so sorry." She glances out at the waters, where the boats and lanterns are already starting to vanish into the dark. ...Kind of a horrible place to send them, isn't it? A lake more dangerous and full of ill omen than the sea...

...That's Beacon, she supposes. Somehow... she thinks it could still be worse than here.

"I don't suppose hunting would go a whole lot better, even if there were things big enough to hunt."

[callada]

"Never seen anything other than spirits in the forest. Some might look like animals, but you're right - no point even trying."

Especially given his experiences with the green-eyed spirits and whatever they had been feeding them during that bout of torture. It had to have been spirit flesh, there's nothing else out here, and just remembering what happened is traumatic enough. Better to change the topic and quickly.

"Stick to what we can grow ourselves. I'm glad we have that greenhouse and people who know how to tend it."

[flangirl]

"Oh - yes, me too!" Something more pleasant, something Pudding can help with. "I'm not much of a gardener, but I went to help look through what's there anyway, in case of edible things. Some of the herbs that just grow like weeds in there are useful for salves and medicines. And fruit is growing fast. We should be okay until we can find a way to get supplies coming in again." Should, might, fffff let's attempt to be positive. And ration hard.