vivarium | the garden

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the garden

T H E G A R D E N

Early in the morning, yet again, the test subjects get to wake up to Calhoun’s dulcet tones. Through a megaphone.

“Hey! Lazy test subjects, get your human rears up!”

Once everyone is moderately awake and gathered, Calhoun will continue.

“You all did such a great job last round, and everyone’s been so pathetic lately, that I, your glorious, merciful host, decided to open a room for you! Remember, rooms are a privilege, not a right! That means!”

He takes a deep breath to scream out the next parts:

“Don’t. Break. My. Stuff!!”

He eyes at a few people in the crowd before leading everyone up to the second floor, where a new door will now be openable. Once inside there is a surprisingly refreshing breeze and bright light flooding from the ceiling.

Welcome to the Garden!

The roof of the garden is made up of what appears to be grids with screens depicting a blue sky during daylight hours and a starry night during the evening (they must be sunlamps because the light from the ceiling feels warm and, yes, finally some vitamin D for you sad test subjects). It appears to be more of a dome than anything else, but the grass is green, there’s a few trees around, some flowers, a bench here and there, and even a little waterfall that creates a small creek around the garden!

Sure, there aren’t any edible plants, fruits, or vegetables around, the water is freezing, everything feels almost artificial, but this is a lot better than the cold, monochrome, and bleak look of the warehouse so far, so unless everyone else wanted to stay in the boring lobby instead of here, there wasn’t much to complain about.

Well, have fun! Enjoy your new surroundings.

basic info ✖ mingle

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I suppose you have a point. *He sits down and pats his flower crown* I thought it was Hersel who said I looked princely. It sounds like you agree.

"Just goin' along with the theme," said Heiji, lying back down on the grass. "I know this is probably just transplanted earth, but it feels so nice!"

He was just going to. Resist the urge to nuzzle his cheek against some flowers. "I figure sleeping out in the open's better than the floor, so I guess I know how I'm spendin' the night. Kinda feels nostalgic."

I'm not sure if I've ever gone camping but I think sleeping on the grass might be more comfortable. We might have to stake out our own little territories if that's the case.

"Right?" Heiji asked, smiling. "It gets real hot in Japan in the summer -- in Osaka, at least. It's milder if you're somewhere like Hokkaido. But at night it cools down a little and there are cicadas. You got 'em in the States, too, right?"

Cicadas? Yes. I know what a cicada sounds like. I think there are a lot more in the Eastern half of the country than the West, but it's a sound of summer.

Heiji looked satisfied with this. "Of course. If it's summer, it's gotta be cicadas and iced coffee!" ~~And swimsuit guessing contests~~

"Say, in America, havin' a tan is supposed to be a good thing, right?"

~~And he's so good with that too.~~

Generally, yes, especially in the summer. Why?

"In Japan, it's kinda the opposite. Like a lot of women use umbrellas and stay in the shade so they don't tan too much. I guess guys get more sun, though."

Should he ask why Snake is so pale hmmm nah it would probably be rude.

*Showing tact, Heiji? Remarkable.* I don't know why you wouldn't want to be tan. It's an attractive quality. Although if you're the type that goes to tanning beds, then it can get a little ridiculous.

Tanning beds... Americans were weird. "I'm tanner than most Japanese people, so I'm guessing I stick out a little. It's more normal for islanders."

Or people who spent all day at the beach for one reason or another.

You'd probably be just fine in America. *Heiji is very tan? An interesting new tidbit of information.* Are Japanese people paler? Does that mean that I'd be fine over there?

"Yeah?" Heiji sounded mildly surprised by the idea. He hadn't really given it much thought before.

"Most of them are paler than me. I mean, there are definitely people with naturally darker skin around..." So he wasn't freakish, just a little unusual. "But anyway, I don't think anyone would think it was weird to be an American with a pale complexion. The stereotype is usually blond hair and blue eyes. You'd still obviously be someone from a foreign country. That could be good or bad, depending."

Is being a foreigner looked down upon in your country because your population is more homogenous?

"Depends, but I don't think you'd really have a problem. If you were a little kid, you might get picked on. And some people might avoid you 'cause they don't want any trouble. Then again, you'd probably get other people crowdin' around you and askin' about New York or movies or whatever else." And be prepared to be complimented on your Japanese whether you were actually any good at it or not.

"It's really unlikely that you'd get mugged or whatever, if that's whatcha mean."

Oh because if you're a foreigner and an American, obviously you're from New York? *Snake shakes his head. The crown stays where it is.* What does your country think about the blind?

Heiji just gave him this look like come on dude, Americans totally make kung fu noises and pretend to swing imaginary samurai swords around Japanese people you have no leg to stand on here. It was probably lost on Snake, though.

"Think about them? You mean like how easy is it to get around? Well, we do have things like raised walkways that let ya know where to stop or turn when you're walking down the street. And there's braille on cell phones, maps, and stair railways... but you'd probably still need to ask directions if you were in Tokyo or somethin'."

Most likely since your braille would be Japanese...although that could be something I could to read. But one thing at a time.

Assuming that I haven't ended up in Japan by myself, specifically in Osaka and we've wandered up to the tower, now we're hungry. Where do we go? *Is it all Japanese food? Or do they have Italian restaurants too, he wonders.*

Heiji sat back a little, imagining the possibilities. "Osaka's full of restaurants, but since you'd be the one visiting, why don't ya tell me what kind of food you like? You have to consider your guest's feelings, after all."

I suppose I should try sushi once. But I could really REALLY go for Italian food about now. *A lasanga? Yes, please.*

"Oh, you like Italian? In that case, I know a place or two with great risotto! Or maybe you're more into pasta? Anyway, we could stop by when you come over."

The prospect of showing someone around his hometown clearly brightened Heiji's day. "But now it's your turn! Say I'm over to visit; what's on the itinerary?"

You're assuming that I'm actually from Seattle and not near it. *Although if he knows so much about it, he has to have been there a few times, right?* You'll have to give me a moment to think this over. I think it's a bit different for me to show something off that would be appealing visually. *What did he know about Seattle? As long as he didn't try to think about HOW he knew or if he'd been in a place, it might be easier to think about.*

Heiji made a tsk-tsk sort of sound. "Didn't say anything about Seattle. But since you do talk about it a lot, I wouldn't mind going."

In any case, he also didn't mind waiting a moment. He'd lean over the small stream and lower a hand into the cold water, whistling a song he must have heard somewhere before.

Edited 2014-09-24 00:52 (UTC)

Well, assuming that I do live in Washington State somewhere... *It helped to think of what he knew about the whole state.* There are a few national parks, like Mount Rainier and Olympic National Park if you like hiking and impressive views. Also for more nature, the Snoqualmie Falls. More hiking, more views but of a different sort.

Obviously we'd need to get to the Space Needle, but there are lots surrounding that, including a garden made of glass, multiple museums and places to shop. Also, one of the longest continuing farmer's markets in the United States for more than 100 years. Obviously no where near the length of Japan but it's impressive for our country. Oh, and I hope you like coffee because Seattle prides itself on it. So I'm sure we could sample some at multiple coffee houses.

"A glass garden, huh? I don't know for sure, of course, but I bet I'd like hiking. Or any fresh air, really." After all, he did seem to like this garden, and it wasn't even a 'real' one.

"Hey, is there a lot of iced coffee in Seattle? It's pretty popular in Osaka, but I don't know if it's the same thing. Probably a bit different in the States, yeah?"

I believe there's a lot of -every- coffee in Seattle so we'd have a chance to compare. I think because of the climate people particularly enjoy the beverage.

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detectiveofthewest - 2014-09-25 01:50 (UTC) - Expand

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