(closed) february catchall

[miyagimagic]

Who: Ange (entreats), Chizuru (tealeafs), Daniel (miyagimagic) and various others.
What: February shenanigans.
When: During all of February.
Where: Locations vary.

Content Warnings: Nothing right now, specific warnings will be in headers when they come up.

( starters in the comments! if you want to plot anything with me, feel free to either pm the journal or contact me at queeningsquare, i'm always open to new ideas and threads! )

Comments

[miyagimagic]

Thanks. You should see it in spring-- hopefully it'll look a whole lot better when we're not busy clearing snow and ice from here every single day. [ Though even as he says it, the place is free of snow right now.

(It's easier to cheat with snow cleaning when you have ice powers that can help get rid of it so much easier.)

Daniel moves to sit down on the backsteps of the dojo, staring out into the garden - and obviously leaving a spot for her to come sit down next to him. He doesn't mention anything about it out loud, leaving the choice itself up to Ariane, but the option is there if she wants to take it.

And.. sure, he could start on karate already. He probably will in a little bit, but if they're on this topic anyway, it feels a bit handier to ease into it by saying: ]

I modelled it after my own teacher's style.

[toteninsel]

[ Spring. Rotfront only had one season, and Ariane's space shuttle didn't have any. The fact that she might be here long enough to watch the seasons change is exciting, and she looks genuinely happy at the prospect. Ariane takes a seat beside Daniel and follows his gaze to the garden, imagining what it might look like in full bloom. It's better than any painting. ]

I'm sure it will. My homeworld hadn't finished Klimaforming by the time I left, so we only had indoor plants. I'm excited to see a real garden.

[ She means it, too. ]

Well, then I suppose I should give credit to your teacher. He has good taste. What was your homeworld like?

[ That might be a little far off from karate, but as far as Ariane's concerned, it's just as important. There are so many stories of beautiful worlds here -- it's one of Ariane's favorite things about Trench. ]

[miyagimagic]

[ Thankfully Daniel is so used now to people bringing up otherworldly things out of the blue in conversations at this point that he doesn't even do as much as blink at Ariane's mentions of these things. Klimaforming, whatever that is. Her world had a climate that was still in the process of forming, or something along those lines..?

Not that it matters. Daniel seems to grasp the general context all the same, and the man is apparently also more than willing to indulge her in talking about worlds, rather than karate right off the bat. It might be a good way to get to know his prospective new student. ]

Well, it depends. Different parts of the world are very different. [ There's an easy smile on his face as he speaks, glancing over at her. ] I'm from the Valley, which is-- well, it's pretty much sunny all year around. It's kind of nice. I grew up in New Jersey, where that's definitely not the case, so I've learned to very much appreciate it.

[ Sure, it might be a little vague, but it's not like he quite knows what Ariane is used to or not. It's hard to work with descriptions when you've got no material to compare it to. ]

I've gone to Okinawa before-- it's all the way on the other side of the world, the place my teacher came from. I think that was the prettiest place I've ever seen. [ He idly twists his wedding ring on his finger a little, his smile widening. ] I'm not even sure I can put it into words, it's just.. a feeling, you know? Like you instinctively knows when something is about to be one of the best things you'll ever experience.

[toteninsel]

[ Meanwhile, to Ariane, the idea that a world would be immediately ready for human habitation is a strange one. Isn't the outside cruel by default?

Not the Valley, apparently. New Jersey sounds a bit more like what Ariane is used to, and she wonders if it snows there all the time, like it does on Rotfront. But Okinawa is a place that Ariane actually recognizes, and so that's what she focuses on. ]

I think I know what you mean. [ Okay, yes, this conversation is a bit gooey, but Ariane is deeply earnest here. ] I've always wanted to visit a place like that. Chozen told me a little bit about Okinawa, actually -- he's the one who recommended me your dojo. He says you're a good friend and karate teacher.

[ Ariane believes that. Daniel seems awfully nice, much nicer than any teacher she knew back home. ]

Did you and Chozen learn karate together?

[miyagimagic]

[ The mention of Chozen does grab Daniel's attention - though it slowly makes things make sense, actually. He figured that Ariane would most likely have heard about this place either from one of the students or Chozen, and it seems that it's the latter.

(And it's hard to not Chozen the way he is now, Daniel thinks. He can see why his recommendation must have convinced her so easily.)

He considers it for the tiniest moment, but then he shakes his head as to the actual question. ]

Our teachers learned karate together. Miyagi-do has a very old tradition dating back hunderds of years, as the style of the karate was passed on from father to son. [ It's the sort of thing that can sound a little boring, like he's about to go off into a history lesson - but there's a strange fondness in the way Daniel speaks about it, keeping it from being some dusty old story. ] But my teacher's father decided to not only teach his son, but also his best friend's son, who happened to be Chozen's uncle. And then those two decided to pass their teachings on in turn.

[ Granted - in very different ways, and under very different circumstances, but.. still. ]

While mister Miyagi taught me karate out in the Valley, Chozen got taught by his uncle back in Okinawa. I didn't even know there were more people who practiced Miyagi-do until I went to Okinawa and met Chozen and his uncle.

[toteninsel]

[ History lessons, for Ariane, were always just National propaganda. This is far more interesting, and even though Daniel tries to rein himself in, Ariane doesn't look bored. She especially likes hearing the fondness in Daniel's voice, and between that and his wedding ring, it's easy to put two and two together: Chozen must be very special to Daniel, indeed.

But that all makes sense. One teacher, two students, two families. Ariane nods, to show she's following. She's a little out of practice when it comes to conversation, but hopefully, Daniel doesn't notice. ]

That must have been a fun trip. It's impressive, how we're all connected. [ A beat. ] Probably more that we know.

[miyagimagic]

This place is one of those connections, right?

[ Daniel smiles warmly at her, even though it seems there are several things here that are going right over his head - for now, anyway. He can hardly realise what sort of assumptions Ariane is making here, after all, and he doesn't seem to notice anything about her social habits either.

But maybe this is just due to how Daniel is with young people. Ariane may be a little older than most of his students, but she's young enough to register as such with Daniel - and the man has basically made mentoring young people into his entire reason for being here at this point. So how could he greet her in any other way than this? Amicable, warm, despite the fact that Daniel hasn't felt any real warmth in months due to his blood. ]

We all come from such different places, but.. we all got to meet because we're all here, even though we usually never would have. [ He shakes his head. ] I may not exactly love Trench, but at least that's something valuable.

I promise you that the kids here at the dojo are all really kind. I'm sure they'll all be very glad to meet you as well.

[toteninsel]

[ That's... a remarkably sweet way of looking at this. Ariane has spent far too long thinking of these links between people as little more than primordial soup, an indication that the boundary between I and we is not as strong as most would like it to be. To her, it's a horrifying thought, something a fraction short of death. But Daniel seems to regard it as an opportunity - isn't it wonderful, that Daniel knows Chozen who knows Ariane? And now they're here together, in this snowy garden, and maybe things aren't so bad after all.

It's something to think about. Maybe she'll ask Elster about it, later. ]

I've heard some people here talk about how they hate this place, because it separates Sleepers from their homes. But I think you have a nice way of looking at it.

[ Ariane never wants to return to Eusan, so she's more inclined to agree with Daniel on that point.

And, oh, meeting the kids does sound awfully sweet. It's a little surprising that everyone else taking lessons is so young, but that doesn't bother Ariane. ]

Well, I'm sure you're showing them how to be. [ Does this mean she's been accepted? Sounds like it. ] I'm looking forward to meeting them, too.

[miyagimagic]

[ Honestly, it's not like Daniel disagrees with those people either. He misses his family so much, and he even misses his dumb karate war back home and how it all felt so much more manageable than anything else in this place.

(And that's saying a lot when Terry Silver is involved in said karate war.)

But he'd like to present a more optimistic view. So he's glad to hear Ariane say that it's a nice way of looking at it. Maybe she can end up looking at it that way too, he hopes. Everyone should find something nice in this place. ]

Great. [ He answers to the last part of what he says though, with a tiny nod and a smile. But he supposes he should ask something else here, huh. Something he was thinking about before, but didn't address yet.. ] And if there's anything I should take into account, you can always let me know. I'm not sure what exactly your physical condition is like.

[ You know, given the cane. He's trying to be sensitive about it. ]

But I never mind accomodating with anything that could help.