Flute Concerto in A Major

[collector]

[Irving Braxiatel appears on the Plane with a small information kiosk. You can tell it is an information kiosk because it is a kiosk and it has the word "INFORMATION" on a sign above it.

He picks up one of the brochures at the kiosk and flips through it, smiling to himself.]

Really, Broderick...

[Setting the brochure back down] And that takes care of that. For now, anyway.

Comments

[destinedking.livejournal.com]

[the land of this Arthur assumes everyone is literate, so Arthur reads that sign and completely understands it. Thank goodness for the power of historical anachronisms. He looks at Brax and the brochures skeptically before picking one up and flipping through it.]

Alexander the Great rules over this place? Should I expect to see a Caesar in the Coliseum as well?

[hostclubdaddy.livejournal.com]

What a great service you've provided, Braxiatel-sama.

[he drops, and then returns with a scrap book]

This will be a great addition to my "Wonders of the Astral Plane Memorial Scrap Book Collection!"

[and he takes one of the brochures and carefully inserts it into one of the page sleeves in the scrapbook. With that done, he picks up another brochure and begins reading it, oohing and aahing and regarding it with the utmost fascination]

[collector]

[Oh, Arthur. Brax is immune to your prattery. He had a little brother, after all.] Indeed, you might. The most surprising part of it would be finding a Roman in a Roman structure instead of something Japanese.

[collector]

[smiling fondly at Tamaki] What else do you have in your scrapbook, Mr Suou?

[horriblyevil.livejournal.com]

[An unremarkable man, slouched over and buried inside of a plain loose hoodie, slides to a stop by the information kiosk, obviously attracted by the huge all-caps letters above the little desk. It looks like he's been walking around the Plane for a little while. He's idly twirling a red dry-erase marker in his hands.

The man glances at Brax and appears to sink further into his hoodie, reaching forward to grab a brochure without asking for one. He flips it open and gives it a quick read, unable to suppress a low, cynical scoff at the segment about rulers.

Aaaand now that he has what he wants, the man folds the brochure in half and shoves it in his hoodie pocket. Again, he glances to Brax.]

Uh... Thanks.

[He flashes a false grin and awkwardly attempts to slink away.]

[not-theman-iwas.livejournal.com]

[Oh, hello, Brax. Three's on the Plane, too, wrapped up in a knee-length coat that's almost comically too large for her. She almost walks by, apparently distracted by something important in her own head, and then... gets distracted by the information kiosk. O hai?]

Is this a tourist spot now?

[heartscastaside.livejournal.com]

This is quite a service for a place that would never ask it.

[oliverplus]

Whoooa, hey, you beat us to it! [snatches up one of the brochures and starts flipping through it] Oh, wait, this is different...hah! [can't help a laugh]

[collector]

Hold on a moment.

[He is wearing his half-amused smile again.]

I don't believe we've met.

[collector]

[looking over her clothing] People here apparently dress for one.

[collector]

[He smiles openly at Caster]

When histories are erased and rewritten, they leave traces, like in a palimpsest. People who have died in one timeline but live in another often find themselves burdened with a sense that they should not be alive, which can lead to depression and eventually suicide. So I thought I'd help Broderick by giving him something to do.

[horriblyevil.livejournal.com]

We haven't.

[There's a crinkling sound of the brochure in his hoodie.]

I just met a... uh... short-- [motions with his right hand at about five feet] girl in a weird costume.

[collector]

Is it? Broderick does have a bit of an odd sense of humour...

[heartscastaside.livejournal.com]

Occupy his time by making a brochure for a place he's never been? How interesting.

{She picks one up to look at it herself}

How did you explain it to him?

[not-theman-iwas.livejournal.com]

[Flashes him a cheeky grin. She's sure she doesn't know what you mean.]

And here I am without a disposable camera and 'I love the Astral Plane' paraphernalia.

[collector]

One of the benefits of being both wealthy and eccentric is that most people don't ask me why I want them to do something. Give it two weeks and the newest popular rumour about Irving Braxiatel will be that I have found a gateway to an interdimensional nexus and plan on opening it up as a special feature on the Collection.

[sipping on a glass of champagne that appears to have come from nowhere] Which will be infinitely better than the one a few years ago about me having 'gone to school' with the head of Earth's Institute.

[collector]

[His smile widens.]

Then it's a pleasure to meet you, Mr...?

[heartscastaside.livejournal.com]

{She chuckles}

Then a hatchling griffin will be no surprise at all, will it? How lucky for us.

Ahh, that reminds me...A young woman recently appeared here. It is Saber. Have you met her?

[collector]

Yes, I have. I decided not to introduce myself as your Master. Didn't mention you at all, actually. I thought it may be for the best.

[heartscastaside.livejournal.com]

It is indeed for the best. Luckily she...does not know me. She is from either an earlier time or a different world. Still, it would be...unwise to provoke her. {Which is mostly re: herself}

[horriblyevil.livejournal.com]

[He has to stop himself from auto-correcting Brax and saying Doctor. Of course, the first name out of his mouth these days is a super villain name. There's a bit of an awkward pause, and then--]

Billy! You can call me Billy.

[collector]

[mildly] Not unstuck in time, I hope.

[collector]

[smiling right back at her] Just give me a moment and I'll have someone in the PR department whip something up for you.

[horriblyevil.livejournal.com]

I dunno. Is that what this is?

[Billy really doesn't want to hang around long, and it shows a little in his tone. This is the guy who gave him the wrong impression about the Bringer of Darkness doctor. That, and, you know, he might recognize Billy as the Dr. Horrible of several days ago. He's not making much eye contact.

Time to feign some ignorance.]

Sorry, it's... a lot to take in. Not every day you get sucked into an Astral Plane for some sick experiment.

[hostclubdaddy.livejournal.com]

Well asked! But the better question to ask would be what don't I have!

[he places the second brochure back in the kiosk, and then opens the scrapbook to show Brax. The scrapbook has items behind a plastic sleeve with detailed notes on the outer margins.]

[Tamaki points to each item as he explains to Brax the contents, turning the pages when appropriate] This is a swatch from one of the towels found at the onsen. When we arrived here we couldn't return home immediately. It wasn't that bad. Our hosts were very welcoming, as were all the people we met here. We also had those rings, which were a lot of fun. This is a ticket stub I found when Kyouya and I went to the theater after the snowstorm. And here's a business card from the Twin's shop. They gave me a catalogue of costumes as well, but I felt they would probably want that back so I didn't add that to the book. Ah, and a tarot card. That wasn't a very pleasant experience for anyone, but it's still important to document. This was a floorplan to the library that I found while exploring with Kaoru.

[Tamaki turns a page, and then his face lights up]

Ah, but this is the best part! This is the "Label Treasures of Alien Cultures" section! These are all labels and wrappers I have found in the Astral Kitchen and Astral Bar that appear to be of alien origin. I can't really say I know their significance or true origin, but it's fun to try to make those things up myself.

[pauses, looking up at Brax as if he were god or Buddha]

But you might be able to shed light on these mysteries, Braxiatel-sama.