awashrpg | USER #030066

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USER #030066

Black-as-can-be cats arrive a-pair,
Up on a rooftop, a plaintive eve,
And on the tips of their pointed tails hung
A wispy crescent-moon, looking hazy.
'O-wah, good evening,'
'O-wah, good evening!'
'O-wah, o-wah, o-wah!'
'O-wah, the man of this household is bedridden.'

A poem by Sakutaro Hagiwara, that I heard once from a friend. It seems things have calmed down since #FFFFFF arrived, but I wonder if that's the end of it.

How is everyone's literary analysis? I think we should be prepared for more mysterious messages, and maybe there's a way to prevent it before it gets bad.

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I don't think I know that one. What's it about?

Whatever version you want to tell me is fine.

[ not even getting into the fact that things like "class plays" and "middle school" are so far beyond his realm of understanding... this is the most accessible. ]

it's about a nightingale that fell in love with a student. he was in love with a lord's daughter and she said she'd dance with him if he brought her a red rose. there weren't any but the nightingale made one by singing under the moonlight and dying the rose with her blood.

but the student's rose was rejected then he threw it into the road and said he wouldn't believe in love anymore! but of course, the rose was saved from being crushed by a carriage by a girl (who is the reincarnated nightingale) and they fell in love and lived happily ever after. because love may have no form but it exists all the same!

or that's the version my friend wrote for our script anyway. i think she said that in the original the nightingale hadn't been in love with the student and instead was curious about love which she sang about but didn't understand? also the original ending was so sad...maybe the author was rejected by a girl and so stopped believing in love? or someone said something he made and was proud of was shit and then he got offended.

Your version sounds better, then. I think I would prefer a happy ending, if I had the choice.

I don’t know if I believe in love, but I don’t want to stop anyone else from it.

[ all the stories he knows end so sadly, but it’s not like he’s trying to only know depressing things. he’s just a depressing person.

......also, he can’t believe she said “shit”!! ]

i liked our version better too. i think the nightingale deserved a happy ending. especially since she had died for love.

i think love is important. people are not meant to live alone. so we seek out people who understand us and who will love us as a friend, as family or even as someone special.

[She can say 'shit' but she's too embarrassed to say 'lover'.]

[ people aren’t meant to live alone. that’s... painfully true, dextera thinks. more than she can possibly know, in saying this, but he doesn’t want to load someone down with trauma over his brother on this open public forum.

instead, there’s a long pause between his reply. ]

I forgot about all those kinds of love. You’re right.

It’s just that, no matter what, it’s hard to find someone who can understand you. It’s scary to open up like that.

it can be terrifying! because you don't know how they'd react. because you don't know if they'd stay.

[Because sometimes, you're ten and hate your powers and everyone you've met has rejected you and its easier to give them a reason to hate you--to reject them first--before they decide it for themselves.]

but the things that scare us, the things that hurt us aren't things that only we experience even if it might feel like it sometimes. if we become strong enough, we have the power to help the people who are scared the same way we were. we can do for them and say to them the things we wished someone had for us.

[ dextera is surprised by her response—optimistic, but completely naïve. he doesn’t know who she is at all, really, but he’s sad for what she must have been through. ]

That’s a good answer.

I don’t know if I really have the strength to protect anyone, but then I guess that’s why people like you exist. It’s admirable.

[There's really no need to feel sad. She doesn't regret her life at all, even if parts of it had been painful.]

sometimes protecting someone could be as simple as telling them things will be okay. it can be as simple as holding out a hand to someone who needs it!

there's a lot i can't do either! but there's always something we can do.

ah. i hadn't even told you my name! i'm kaoru!

Oh, Kaoru.

It’s Dextera.

I should have known that it was you.

[ as nice as he can possibly say that, when he only has text!! he’s happy to have a face to put to the name, especially when she speaks such words of wisdom for such a young girl..... ]

ah! we meet again!

[She doesn't doubt for a moment that he was being nice.]

is it because i'm as adorable when writing as i am in person? i'm kidding.

how are you?

I'm all right. I can't ask for anything else.

Are you well?

[ they never really talked about what the furniture might have said to her, because they're not that close, but he's worried about her now that he remembers to worry... ]

that's good!

of course! i wish i could find some cuter clothes but otherwise i'm better than fine!

[There was nothing to worry about! That was how she felt about the whole thing. Especially since they didn't know each other well enough for her to want to worry him...though what he said was a bit worrying for her as well.]

Do you not like the clothes here?

[ dextera has no fashion sense... he’s either worn a uniform or scraps. it’s kind of charming to hear someone complain about fashion! ]

it makes me look like I belong in a cheap maid cafe.

If I went around greeting people as master while dressed like this it wouldn't even look out of place...

[At least the clothes should look like they'd be worn at a higher end maid cafe!]

[ ...he feels like he’s talking to an alien all of the sudden. maid cafés? does such a thing exist? ]

I’m sorry. What’s a maid café?

do you not have maid cafes where you come from?! that's so tragic. they're a sort of magic all of their own!

maid cafes are places that sell dreams to desperate men and boys who don't yet understand themselves! you walk into one and you're greeted by cute girls dressed in fancy maid outfits with frills and stocking and they'll call you master while you spend huge amounts of money on desserts where they decorate the plate with syrup! oh and omurice! your server will even write personalized messages with ketchup!

sometimes these places even offer services where the maid will spoon feed you!

[She likes these places so she's a bit of an expert.]

[ no... that sounds terrible!

he can’t imagine what the joy of having someone treat you like that is. it seems so boring, to be treated like the master of the house—not to mention all the responsibilities.

but kaoru is so passionate. ]

It sounds like you’ve been to a lot of them. Maybe this town could use one.

[It's like being the master of the house without all the responsibility. She did say it was for desperate men and dumb boys, right?]

you could say I'm a bit of an expert!

but like. not in any weird way. i didn't like being called mistress! i just thought the girls were cute!

[when she was 10 she would have jumped on the suggestion that she could create her own maid cafe empire. But she's too mature for that now!]

i'm not sure i'm cut out to run a business...besides, i don't even know if where i'd find the costumes or how to make any of the food items. it sounds like a lot of work.

[ dextera himself would probably never go to one of these establishments... but kaoru seems to like them so much that he can't hate the concept entirely. ]

I bet the clothes here could be repurposed, if there are people who know how to sew. Unfortunately, I don't know how to cook either.

Maybe it's something for someone else to take charge on.

i won't say no if someone wants to put in the work but i'm more cut out to be a maid cafe patron than an owner.

i miss things like that though. the people are nice here, but being able to go to a maid cafe on the weekends, going shopping with my friends or even just hanging around the house watching tv...thinking about it makes me a bit homesick.

do you miss anything from home?

[ kaoru you have no idea what you set in motion with this maid café thing ]

Not really.

My home was dangerous and not that interesting. I need to go back eventually, but I prefer this town.

[she's so sorry you have no idea...

But that...seems a bit sad.]

i'm sorry. i hope things get better one day.

but it's good that you like it here! it's kind of dreary but everyone here is so nice.

I'm trying to make things better, but it's hard. I don't know what "better" looks like.

So this town, even if it's grey, is a good inspiration.

i'm sure you'll figure it out!

and there's a lot of good people here so I'm sure the memories you make here will help you.

I think that’s true.

You’re one of the good people I’ve met here, Kaoru. Thank you.

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queenofminiskirts - 2018-04-17 00:28 (UTC) - Expand

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