[Chuubo's] Fortitude: The Glass-Maker's Dragon IC

[Tengu_temp]

Natalia feels ambivalent about this whole issue. On one hand, the fact that this is probably not related to Typhon is a relief. On the other hand, it's still a strange, irrational happening, and she ran out of leads to investigate for the time being. This lack of logic is quite annoying, and what if this phenomenon will turn out to be something more nefarious? She doesn't want anyone to suffer because of it! It's her duty!

For the time being, though, it seems like everyone is just enjoying ice cream. While nothing new happens, Natalia decides to focus on the everyday and her preparations instead.
"Weird events happen in this town sometimes...", she remarks absent-mindedly, mostly to herself. "I mean, hello again."

[Geostationary]

"So, let's talk aesthetics. This is a spooky old manor! Clearly not good for a comforting café atmosphere, unless you do gothic manor decour. A gothicafé, if you will! But fix it up, paint it, and go with a period style, it could be a Russian noble's home and dining facility! A russofé! But let's see, you want to put in art. What styles do you work in? You mentioned fans and glass. Some sort of tea-house, perhaps? You'll need to take advantage of the natural lighting..."

Rinley went on. She had managed to both find and rope Miramie into following her to the old manor after school, where she then proceeded to talk in depth about future plans and possibilities for the cafe, and was currently engaged in a discussion of the merits of various aesthetics.

"So, thoughts?"

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I write the greatest scene openers. I'll also take an xp for trying to arrange the lives of others.

[Sanguine]

Was hanging out with Chuubo helping him in anyway? Leonardo didn't know. But he didn't hate it. There was just something so peaceful about hanging out with Chuubo, something that made all of his worries seem less urgent. Of course Leonardo did have some legitimately urgent concerns and it would not do to forget about them. Then again, there was that Outside Dust to consider.

Leonardo's brooding is disturbed by the ridiculously cheery smile of the Child of the Sun. Ignoring the many people in the line in front of him Leonardo sauntered up to the counter to speak with Jasper and Natalia. "Since when do you two work here?"

[Tengu_temp]

"Since Sunday." Natalia throws three balls of ice cream in the air and then catches them with a bowl. Are you even supposed to do that? Nevertheless she does so smoothly, quickly adds whipped cream and other condiments (some of them even before the last ball lands), and sets the bowl on the counter for a waiting customer. She's not trying to show off, this is just the most efficient way to do it! But yeah, she's kinda showing off.
"The owner was desperate for help. I couldn't leave him in a situation like that."

[Terraoblivion]

Jasper stopped for a second to admire Natalia's ice cream juggling. She was just so cool, even if she seemed like she could do with some support to feel happier. However, after the ice cream landed, she immediately turned back to Leonardo, still giving him that annoyingly cheerful smile. "Right. And it's an opportunity to learn about why humans care so much about money...And to get some, I don't want to have to eat gravel..." It always hurt the throat when she swallowed it and the various weeds around Fortitude weren't much better.

"But you shouldn't cut in line! Others are busy as well in trying to buy something here." Of course, it didn't help that she was too busy talking to Leonardo to actually serve any customers, but she couldn't keep track of everything at the same time.

[Crinias]

Jasper is right in her concerns, as the line of customers currently seems to be longer than it has ever been at any point in the last two days. It’s probably just because of their new goods. Maybe ice cream and teriyaki was to humans what creamed sloth and fried greed were like for her, toe-curling in the satisfaction of how they tasted?

Leonardo is driven away by Jasper’s scolding back to Chuubo and Seizhi, who are discussing something.

"…You know, I was a bit worried, I expected this all to have terrible consequences. But so far it’s been surprisingly… Ok," says Seizhi.
"I just figured that if I made it more indirectly it wouldn’t be as bad as... last time," says Chuubo. Both boys then stop and shiver involuntarily at whatever ‘the last time’ was, and over at the counter, Jasper suddenly sneezes.

It occurs to Leonardo that the sort of statements that the two boys have said are the kind that precede particularly foolish events done by the lesser men of the world.

[The_Snark]

"Ah. Teahouse?" says Miramie faintly, trying to remember everything Rinley said. Easy to lose track at the speed she talks. "If I had to pick one of those options, I mean. I think Sakura would like that, but I'm... not so sure. I want this place to be, ah, sort of my place? If that makes any sense? I don't want to dress it up to look like Russia or Horizon, I'd feel like a fake. A teahouse look would be better, there's this place in Arcadia that I think would be really nice if they only removed some of the modern shopping-mall parts... but I don't know if it's really me, you know?"

She bites her lip. "Um. Sorry. I know that's not the easiest look to work with; I don't mean to reject all your ideas. I could show you some of my paintings, if that would help? I've got a few in one of the back rooms."

[Geostationary]

"Oh, that's a good idea! I don't think I've seen any of your art before. It's important that your look is authentic and true to yourself! Otherwise it would be, I don't know, hollow? Don't you also do pieces in glass?"
Rinley lights up at the notion of seeing Miramie's art.
"Also, we could go look at that shop in Arcadia later if you want to take some notes. I'm pretty sure I know a shortcut!"

[The_Snark]

"Yes, that's it exactly," Miramie says, relieved Rinley grasps the point so easily. She leads the way through the front door, making her way past a stack of chairs in the front hall. "Here, the back room is this way. And yes, I do glasswork too, but that's heavier, I don't have any pieces here yet. I thought I might try my hand at making glasses and mugs myself, to save the cost of buying them, but of course I can do sculpture too. Um. Do you think plates can be made of glass, too? And silverware...? I've never worked with colored glass before, but I could ask Professor Hayashi. Or I could leave it all clear, I've always thought clear glass has this nice clean look..."

She opens a door into a darkened room, flips a switch to activate an old bare light bulb on the ceiling. "Here. The lighting's not very good, I'm afraid, but I wanted to keep them from getting sun-bleached before they're even out of storage. We could move some of them if you want to get a better look.."

There are several paintings leaning against the rear wall of the otherwise-bare room. Most depict familiar scenes, people and places found around Fortitude: the Archive and its shelves, fishermen at the docks, a young woman wearing a faded formal dress and a glum expression, an older man seated in a chair and smiling, snow-covered rooftops, a few houses and streets. All are technically proficient, but somehow they aren't very striking or memorable; they're almost too real-looking, like slightly stylized photographs of everyday life.

Three stand out.

The first depicts a sunlit room lined with bookshelves, a comfortable chair sitting in one corner. Bright colors and vibrant tones dominate, the richness of the oil paints lending a warmth to the painting... except in the center. The far wall of the room is simply gone. Beyond lies a barren wasteland in watercolor, all washed-out greys and browns. No life is present, and the earth is cracked as if no water has ever touched it. A storm gathers in the distance. The overall effect is peculiar: the cheerful colors on the edge draw the eye at first, but the grey's central location makes it impossible to ignore.

The second is a oil painting done in broad strokes of rich green and brown and blue, almost abstract, depicting an enormous tree growing out a small island. A serpent winds around the tree, sleeping, blending in with the roots so well it could almost be a trick of the eye. The waters around the island's base are dark and smooth. The overall impression is of peace, a stillness that has gone unbroken for years.

The third could almost be called another of the Fortitude shots, except that it depicts one of the Outside storms blowing in over the surface of Big Lake, an abstract painting invading a photorealistic one. The storm is a riot of color and light, evoking thoughts of butterflies and stained-glass windows. A tiny figure stands in a rowboat out on the lake, too small to make out details, defying the storm alone.

"Some of this is old work. I'm getting better, there are things I wouldn't do these days..." Miramie explains as Rinley examines the paintings, feeling acutely self-conscious. It's mostly a fib - the fact is that she wouldn't have taken these paintings over here, where they might be seen (by other people, even!) if she didn't think they were her best work. Somehow, that doesn't help. What if Rinley thinks they're badly done, or overwrought, or boring? What if her best just isn't any good? And what was she thinking, bringing that hidden room-painting here?

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Feel free to notice masks or shards of black glass in one or two of the paintings; Miramie won't remember those and probably won't notice unless it's pointed out.

[Tengu_temp]

"I had to eat gravel a few times during training, as punishment. It was horrible. I feel for you." Natalia looks at Jasper with a hint of awkward compassion. She had no idea the strange girl had to go through such things! She thought she's so cheerful and carefree because that's what people whose hearts haven't been burdened do. Natalia is not sure what to think about this... So it's best to return to doing her job for the time being. For now.

For now, because the conversation between Seizhi and Chuubo catches her ears. The Prodigy has good hearing! It sounds like they're related to the mysterious occurence - it's hard not to notice that Natalia's expression becomes more focused and serious. Like a tracking dog that caught a trail.

[Terraoblivion]

Jasper nodded, looking somewhat uncomfortable at the thought of eating gravel. "Right. It tastes horrible and I'd have to swallow it whole. That hurts...Really, why doesn't this lower world just have spirits supplying food when you need it?" At least she was pretty sure that was how it had been back home, she couldn't quite remember, but surely her mother wouldn't force her to cook for herself and heaven had to have ready access to food. "Anyway, we should work. There are so many people waiting to give us their money! And we shouldn't let Leonardo wait either." So with the moment over, the child of the sun turned back to the line with a bright smile to serve the customers delicious food...At least she was pretty sure it was delicious, she hadn't had any. Surely the owner wouldn't mind her eating some of it when there was a break.

[Sanguine]

Leonardo stepped in front of Chuubo and Seizhi with his arms crossed and his lab coat somehow billowing in the wind despite the fact that they were inside. "Chuubo, what incredibly foolish thing have you done now?" The young scientist sighed, the look on his face showing his exasperation at the foolishness of lesser men.

[Tengu_temp]

"Yes. To both of the things you said. Spirits are not a real world thing, though. They only exist in this dream one." Natalia goes back to work with her previous flashy efficiency (in fact it's what she's been doing all the time, hooray for multitasking), but it's pretty obvious for anyone who looks at her that she's paying attention to something else. Namely, what are Chuubo and his friend going to say.

[Geostationary]

"I don't see why you couldn't make plates and silverware. I mean, clay is already glass-like, isn't it?"
Rinley proceeds to rummage through the paintings with enthusiasm. As she goes through, she puts aside a few of the pieces, including the three listed.
"So, a lot of these are scenes around Fortitude. Very realistic, but they lack a certain... charm? They're almost like photos."
She motions towards some she set aside- a scene with fishermen bringing in their haul, the seated older man, boats on the water.
"But these three, they have a sort of life too them. like this one here, with the Outside storm- it's like a maelstrom of light and glass. Which, being an Outside storm, I suppose it could be. Ouch. Or this one, with the tree and ohmygodthere'saserpentinthereIjustnoticedthat."
Rinley is clearly excited about noticing the trick of the eye, and takes a moment to compose herself.
"That is so cool. It makes makes me think of a cousin, actually. He was out at sea (he was a sailor), and sailing through a fogbank. Couldn't see a thing! Then, all of a sudden, the fog cleared a little and he found himself staring into the eyes of a vast, serpentine, thing just hovering above the waters. They just stared at each other until he passed into a thicker patch of fog. What was I talking about? Oh, yes, the paintings. This third one's really cool visually. What inspired you to try that? The storm almost looks like glass."

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So, Storytime XP! Also, I'm tempted to try getting Forshadowing XP with these paintings. We'll see how things go. Look to the defiant figure!

[Crinias]

Chuubo freezes as he attempts to keep a straight face, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly as he tries to explain himself.

"O-oh! Why, Leonardo, n-nothing! Back me up here, Seizhi."

"Right!" says Seizhi, unable to take his eyes off Leonardo. "We were just wondering, oh, about the nature of stores and their like, as they seem a lot safer than in Horizon! Oh, there was this one time we went to a strange tea shop, only it turned out it was run by vampires, one thing led to another, and well, haha, we ran a lot that day. Fortitude shops are much nicer."

Seizhi's gaze is somewhere far away as he says that last bit.

"Great tea, though they could have used better service," comments Chuubo, his gaze also far away. "Anyway, we're not involved with anything strange or unusual, like making carefully worded wishes to avoid disaster," he concludes.

Seizhi looks to the heavens for a moment and closes his eyes, a hand over his face. The moment passes. Seizhi suddenly perks up, as though he figures that this is better than being chased by vampires, or as though he has found a silver lining to what has just been said.*

"With so many clients, this shop clearly needs some assistance! Excuse me..."

And with that Seizhi flees towards the counter, to do as he says, as he obviously belongs here.

[Terraoblivion]

Jasper suddenly grew serious hearing Natalia say that. "I don't know what it's like where you come from...You know that. But it's no more real than this place. The new sun keeps the town safe from being consumed by the Outside. If anywhere is real, it's here. It's just, well, different from what you're apparently used to." Her expression turned into a small smile. "So please don't say that this place isn't real...Or my home wasn't, back when I could still go there." After all, who knew if it still was. Shouldn't she be able to go back if it was?

She was quickly distracted by not only her realization that she'd forgotten to address her part of her line, but also that an abnormally normal boy was approaching the counter away from the line. She looked a bit sheepish, as she glanced at him and his attempt to delay her even more. "...Please don't cut in line."

[Tengu_temp]

Natalia stays quiet for a short moment, just working.
"...I'm sorry.", she finally says. "It was uncalled for. I won't call this place the dream world anymore. But... Don't say it's more real than Earth either, okay?"
Dealing with Jasper is hard. Natalia feels awkward on the inside. Fortunately, a distraction shows itself; she turns towards Seizhi.
"You're Chuubo's friend, right? I have some questions for you, if you don't mind. It's important."

[Crinias]

The red-haired boy seems a bit surprised at seeing Jasper. He frowns for an instant, as though he recognized a familiar face, then stops. He smiles with the warm ease that jaded employees working in costumer service tend to develop.

"Oh, you are mistaken, my fellow comrade. I work here too, you see. Sorry for taking so long."

Seizhi then goes under the counter to the other side, quickly finds and puts on an apron and begins to help the girls with the customers with great energy and excitement. His every movement suggests he is used to being here.

Turning towards Natalia, but without disregarding the customers, Seizhi nods.
"Chuubo? Sure, what do you want to know, though? There's nothing very unusual about him..."

Seizhi pauses for another instant, deep in thought. His eyes then light up, and he blushes a little.

"Oh! He's not dating anyone right now, if you're wondering," he says while smiling awkwardly.

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Seizhi activates his "Is This My Destiny?" power, generating a level 3 Affliction that basically says "I belong here", alongside other effects. He then spends 2 Will, added to his Do Stuff 1 Skill and a +1 Tool bonus from his power for an effective level 4 Intention: "Satisfy the needs of the clients". He's good enough that you'd think he's been working here for a while.*

Nobody other than you could notice that he actually doesn't belong here; you can resist this deception if you want to. I'd judge that it would be a Serious Wound for Natalia or Leonardo (a level 3 Affliction generates level 4 miracles, which is pretty serious stuff) but Jasper is Immortal, so she can basically ignore it if she wants to.*

[Terraoblivion]

"Right. I'm sorry..." Jasper looked genuinely sad, far more sad than anybody should at something that minor. "Especially since I've lost my home as well. I was just really happy to see that there was a new sun, so I think that I let it get to me." She gave Natalia a small smile through her awkward sadness. She'd been in Town enough to hear people talk about how Earth drowned when her mother died, but if Natalia was comforted by believing that her home still existed, she shouldn't ruin that. Especially without really solid knowledge.

Jasper looked confused for a second. The owner had pretty explicitly said that he was the only one when he hired them, so there couldn't be someone else, right? Also, it was kinda odd that he'd stand in line like that before suddenly deciding that he was going to work after all. She gave Natalia a sideways glance, surely it couldn't just be her who noticed that something that clearly wrong was up, right?...And to see if she was really crushing on that boy. They might have met at school after all and he did look cute in sort of an aimless, innocent way.

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And I think those are some nameless feelings of loss, so XP.

[Tengu_temp]

Well, that was unexpected. Natalia wants to clear Jasper's misconceptions, which seem to make her feel so sad. She didn't lose her home herself! Well, she kinda did in a literal way, a few years ago, but last time she checked Earth was still around and normal, and that was only recently. Much closer to the present than the time when the planet was supposedly swallowed by Outside! However, she can't do any of this, because...

"What." Natalia gives Shenzi a flat, unimpressed linefaced look. "How did you reach that conclusion...? No, I'm talking about this store. Look around!" She makes a wide gesture with a free hand. "The menu changed overnight. The owner is acting weird. The supplies come from a strange, unknown place. And I know for a fact that Chuubo has a wish-making machine. I heard what you were talking about right now, and I'm 97.3% certain he's involved somehow."
Natalia stares at the boy, calmly but firmly, demanding some kind of answer. It doesn't seem like she considers his presence behind the counter anything unusual at all; in fact, she's handing him over a cup of ice-cream to give to a customer as she speaks.

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Gratitude towards Jasper.

[Crinias]

Comprehension dawns on Seizhi's far, an he continues to smile, embarrassed. "Oh! Oh. Sorry, it's just that suddenly wanting to ask someone's best friend about them just seems the natural thing to do if you're interested in them, but don't want to be too straightforward or direct. As for the shop, uh..."

Seizhi quickly takes a good look around. "Well... yeah, I guess it has to do with Chuubo," he admits reluctantly, shrugging and sweatdropping as though he feels it isn't very necessary to keep it secret.

"It's a wish-granting engine, though. It's an important distinction. Chuubo is the one who makes the Wish, and the machine grants his desire. He has no fine control over the actual results. Really, I'm surprised things have gone so well so far this week. Usually at this point someone begins to freak out over something."

Seizhi pauses as he serves a few costumers more ice cream and teriyaki, and the line moves a bit more under his diligent work.

"I get the impression he was going for a 'boring, but safe' angle. Instead of directly wishing for something, creating an indirect way to obtain more of his favorite foods seems... more acceptable," he continues, frowning a bit while saying this, clearly hoping this is the case.

"Besides, I also like ice cream and teriyaki. Oh, but don't tell Leonardo about this wish, he adds, terrified. "I think he'd be happier if he didn't know anything about this."

[Sanguine]

Leonardo watches as Seizhi flees, going about the job which he obviously possesses. "I think I intimidate him." Seizhi clearly wasn't comfortable around Leonardo, running away from him like that clearly showed it; not to mention his reaction when the two met. Leonardo would have to do something about that, it could hamper his investigation. But that was a matter for later, right now the fact that Chuubo was lying to him was much more important.

Looking Chuubo directly in the eyes Leonardo calmly said. "Chuubo, it's been a long time since we last spent any time together. And in all that time you haven't gotten even a little bit better at lying. So please stop embarrassing yourself and just be honest with me."

[The_Snark]

"Oh... just this dream I had," says Miramie, trying not to look indecorously pleased at the praise. "About, um, two or three months ago now? I started dreaming the same thing every night, and after a week or so I decided to try and paint it. I thought maybe capturing it down on canvas would get it out of my head. And I guess it worked, because I haven't had the dream again since." She gazes at the painting reflectively. "I'd forgotten about that until you reminded me. I think the piece turned out well, but I sometimes wish I'd waited long enough to find out how it ended. I always woke up just before."

[Tengu_temp]

"Freaking out happened already. The poor man looked like he was going to jump off a bridge if he couldn't find any help running the shop. And there are no bridges big enough in the near vicinity."
Mystery solved. Natalia is relieved, but also disappointed; it's not any kind of villain ploy that tries to undermine the peaceful nature of the town, just the side effects of one boy's derpitude. And a show of more local weirdness. Still, it's good enough; she will take that.
"Don't worry, I won't tell him. As long as we keep the shop running, everything should return to normal by the end of the week; is that right?"

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Feeling at ease

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I don't have time for this

[Crinias]

Chuubo looks back to the counter and Seizhi. "Yeah, he does seem a bit odd around you. Maybe it's the mad scientist outfit?"

But upon Leonardo's firm gaze he closes his eyes and scratches the side of his face in embarrassment.

"I'm still so transparent? Geez... Alright, you got me," he admits, shrugging, "since lately we've been spending lots of time around here, I sort of wished that all coffee shops in Fortitude would sell ice cream and teriyaki. I thought it would be convenient in the long run, see?"

He preemptively tries to appease Leonardo by giving him a great apologetic smile and saying: "But don't worry; what's the worst thing that can happen?"

---

Seizhi's face freezes as Natalia mentions the wish's time duration.

"Oh! Well. I suppose that it could last just a week, yeah..." he starts optimistically, "but the results of a wish are a bit strange in their duration. So I guess this could last until the end of the week, or it could last until the end of Town and Fortitude, in a hopefully distant and faraway future. Or maybe never.

He pauses, as though organizing his thoughts. For some reason he doesn't seem very concerned with that last possibility. He continues with some awkwardness. "...But maybe not! Considering how he worded it, things might go back to normal if all coffee shops in Fortitude stopped labeling themselves as such."

[Terraoblivion]

For a second, Jasper looked a bit disappointed as Natalia denied wanting to ask Chuubo out. Dates were happy events and it might have made the Russian feel better if she did. Seizhi's next comment did earn him a confused look, however. "It is? Couldn't it just be because you were there? I mean, there are many things she might ask about...Like what she did." Her expression brightened into curiosity. "And how does the wish-granting engine work? It seems really exciting and unique."

"Why is coffee shops selling ice cream and teriyaki a bad thing? They're tasty!" At the discussion of turning the wish back, the child of the sun gave a big, beaming smile as she declared her clearly very deep, complex thoughts on the issue.

[Tengu_temp]

"Right now, all the coffee shops are forced to sell ice-cream. It's not their owners' decision. Being forced to do something, even if it's something fun, quickly turns into torment. I know from personal experience."
Natalia looks at her open hand, with a distant, regretful expression. Her memories return to her training again... Practicing martial arts every day, one style after another. Fighting other, less talented students, every day. Hurting them, every day. Bad memories.
"When you're like this, your biggest wish is for someone to come and help you break free. It never happened for me... But for the coffee shop owners, it can. Someone just has to talk to them." She closes her fist and looks up, at the faces of the people around her. Her face is back to her usual calm neutrality... Mostly.

[Sanguine]

With a mighty crash of thunder Leonardo rested his face in his palm, the world fading to naught but a single spotlight in the darkness illuminating Leonardo as he wept for the poor fools that inhabit this world. "Oh, what fools men can be, mucking about with the primal forces of creation. Dooming themselves as surely as the moth that flies into the bug zapper. Oh when will these poor misguided fools learn that I alone am qualified for such hubris." Leonardo's monologue suddenly cuts off, the special effects disappearing with it, as he turns to Chuubo utterly shocked and asks. "Wait, the Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine actually works?"

[Geostationary]

"Really, a dream? A shame you didn't get to the end- it'd be interesting to see where it all leads. I know a few tricks... but yes. Paintings. Hmmmmm... I feel surrealist or Outside themes are a poor choice. Light needs to be involved..."
Rinley suddenly turns to Miramie after being briefly lost in thought.
"What sorts of glasswork do you do? Just sculptural? Plates? Windows, window-like things, and window accessories? How about your friends? What do they do?"

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In which I continue to grill Snark over Miramie's art.

[The_Snark]

"Well - Sakura likes traditional art styles. She dabbles in origami, and calligraphy, and a few other things; she makes these beautiful little paper fans and sashes... She says she wants to learn watercolor painting too, and I've tried teaching her a little, but she doesn't practice much - she hates not being good at things. I think she maybe likes the idea of being an artist more than she likes making art."

"And... that's it, really. Danny's not very interested in art, and Kiri spends most of his time reading, and I don't have a lot of other friends... except you, I mean," she adds hastily, worried that she's said something offensive by leaving her off the list. A moment later she starts worrying that calling Rinley a friend is being too presumptuous. She moves on in a hurry. "If you wanted to do something I'd love to see it. Maybe I'll ask Jasper or Natalia, too. Um, glasswork. I used to work with... sculpture, I suppose you'd call it. I haven't done much with glass in a long time, but I think I still could, if..."

She laughs nervously. "Well, if I had ideas. Really good glasswork needs inspiration, an idea or a passion which you can pour into the shaping. That's how the Hayashis do their best work."

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No worries! Art talk is fun. Let me know if you're running low on ideas, though, and I can move us on to another thing.