USER #030066

[passio]

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.

Comments

[swordfucker]

[Of course he'd suggest something kind like that. Guren laughs, because he's surprised anyway, tilting his head like he's uncertain.]

I can't keep coming over here just to end up napping. [Right?? That's weird, even if he is constantly needing more sleep in some range or another. It would make him even more of a burden, and what would there be for poor Dex to do...

As comfortable as it sounds, he's having trouble justifying it.]

Even I know that would be bad company.

[passio]

[ of course you can come over here to nap, guren... dextera is used to silence, and having another person around is still somewhat exciting to him. even asleep, guren would be entertainment for dextera’s low standards.

but he says no anyway! and dex seems genuinely surprised that he would gently pass on the suggestion, when dextera is so sure that guren should sleep. he denies himself too much. ]

...

[ so he stares....... his hand is still in guren’s, but there’s a long, intense moment where he’s just watching guren for a better explanation than i just can’t. ]

[swordfucker]

...

[Guren doesn't pull his hand back, but still, there's just silence and staring? Why is there staring!! This is a basic thing! Friends don't go to friends' houses and sleep there...! Ah, wait, that is a thing, actually. There's a long pause from Guren, and eventually he turns to the side, his free hand reaching up to his own face to touch under his eyes.

Does he have eyebags... Is something giving him away... Why did this worry happen!!]

Geez, you don't give in. Fine. Maybe in the corner, out of the way, or something.

[passio]

[ ...dextera seems satisfied, when he relents, even though he didn’t necessarily require it. though, if guren protested more, dextera would likely protest right back.

(don’t worry, guren, you have no eyebags—dextera is just stubborn, in that silent, careful way of his.)

he starts to shrug off his coat, intent on makeshifting a pillow or even a blanket out of it—usually, for himself, he doesn’t mind curling up on the floor just as he is and sleeping whenever exhaustion hits, but what’s the point of guren staying over to rest if he’s uncomfortable? ]

[swordfucker]

[ Guren has no idea he’s taking that coat off for him, or he’d be telling him to stop. It’s too much, isn’t it? Even this... but he shifts closer to the corner of the room, shifting against the wall with crossed legs and arms. This is probably fine. ]

...

[ But he has no idea what to say? This is embarrassing. He’s just going to stare at Dextera quietly until it’s clear the coat was going to be for him, and then he’s holding out his hands. ] Hey, come on, you don’t have to worry about that.

[ Why is he so caring... it’s touching and surprising all at once. ]

[passio]

[ that’s fine... but he’s going to do it anyway.

rather, he settles next to guren—and maybe that was his plan all along, to stay here next to someone, a quiet comfort that he has no explanation for. with any high comes a low, and he’s not exactly sad, but more... thoughtful, now that he’s had his laughs.

the coat is long enough that he can drape it across the both of them. ]

[swordfucker]

[...Oh. Guren stares at Dextera as he sits next to him so simply, and it's not like he can tell him to get lost when he's being kind like this, just trying to share the space and a makeshift blanket. The truth is he doesn't want him to go away, anyway.

So, instead, Guren shifts just slightly so that he can lean against Dextera, their arms touching.]

So you'll rest, too?

[passio]

[ dextera nods.

he’s not even really sure that he’s going to sleep, and guren isn’t on the side for optimum comfort, but sharing space with someone like this sets him at ease. there’s no one else he feels he knows enough to get away with it, and guren isn’t fighting him when he leans his weight back against guren’s arm.

he rests his head against guren’s shoulder. ]

[swordfucker]

[It's strange how the weight of someone familiar can make an uncomfortable spot become almost cozy. He's not worried about the stiffness of his own neck, how his back isn't straight enough or how his arms are crossed when he's too busy making sure that he won't stir too much that it will disturb his friend.]

Good. [He breathes it out like a sigh, letting his eyes drift closed. He feels a little less bad about it if Dextera is going to rest in any way, too, even if he doesn't actually sleep.

Like this, he can fall asleep in ten minutes or so.]