Yumika does has a problem... in that she sees a problem everywhere, even in a harmless curiosity about an outsider. We should keep her away from Allen, he is planting ideas in her head!
It was one sweet sidestory. Reina is grrrrreat! I can't wait to actually meet her face-to-face!
Unintentional Racism != Intentional Racism, I always say. Ignorance can be fixed, and can even be charming, but you can't fix stupid and you can't shine it much either.
Okay, so I was reading through this, and I had this idea. It's probably not correct, it'd be far too easy if it were, but...
Dorima Shiru->Dorima Rushi-> DreamerLuci
The personalities and interests are similar enough, and the difference in relationship values with Silas can be explained away as the value of anonymity on the internet- that's not her relationship with Silas, it's her relationship with YamiOtako.
It also means Allen would have forcefully dragged her away from the computer at some point. I do not see any problems with this.
Just a crazy idea I had. I- I'll get back to lurking now...
...it fits better than I thought it would. I feel stupid now.
Remind me, though... did we ever give away our IRL identity to DreamerLuci, or were we always YamiOtako to her? You kinda can't have a job anonymously, but on the other hand, moderating a forum can hardly be called one.
Allen having access to the mod account via Dorima... now that is a twist I've never seen coming.
"Hmm... " Allen rubbed his chin. Something flashed behind those glasses. "Excellent! I assume you're taking the side of 'Otaku is worth it' or something like that?"
"Yes…?" Silas said.
"Interesting… so. I'm going to be arguing against that point."
"Wait, what?!" Silas started to panic. "But you - "
"I know, I know, personally, I'm on your side, but it's hardly a debate if we both agree!" Allen seemed almost gleeful. "Let's begin!"
Say, have you ever watched Oshiete Galko-chan? Err... Yeah. I may have borrowed the use of the term "Otako" from the character "Otako" in that show. Basically, the play on words is that the kanji 子 (Romaji: "ko") in Japanese translates to "child," so "Otako" is a portmanteau of おたく (Romaji: "otaku") and 子 (Romaji: "ko"), translating to something like "Otaku boy" or "Otaku child." I think it's a cute but awkward name, making it kind of fitting, so I started using it in lieu of "Otaku" a while back.
Um, hi. It's the middle of AP week where I am right now, so I have no idea why I am working on this instead of studying for Physics.
I guess I've just sort of... accepted my fate. I'm going to do badly, is what I've been telling myself. And there's nothing I can do to change that. At least, not between right now and test day. It's better to just not worry about it than get consumed by the anxiety, I guess. I mean, for a while it had gotten so bad that all of my other classes had started to suffer. I'm in the middle of the grading period and I have more C's than... well, I have a lot of C's. And one failing class, can you guess which one?! So... yeah. Anxiety! not fun. I'm so glad I have this thread.
The update should be coming soon. Me and Nevill are ironing out my inconsistencies and my horrible abuses of the English language as we speak. Oh, and as proof that I haven't been slacking off...
Well here it is. Sorry for the wait! Real life hurts, and a couple of big personal failures on my part (My management of Sakuramatsuri was a mess, Physics is an ongoing danger zone, etcetera, etcetera) left me feeling really unmotivated for a while. But... here it is! The storm has passed me by, and I'm still here. I have to say, SV is one of the best stress-relievers ever.
[X] [RESPONSE] Apologize. It's personal, and Silas doesn't feel comfortable talking about Yumika behind her back.
[X] [WRITER] Hana, the most comfortable choice.
[X] [LEAD] Grease for the Cogs. Silas will flit back-and-forth between his clubmates, making sure they're all hard at work, and that all their personal goals align with a group goal. (Builds Hobby: Leader, possible consequences)
[X] [CW] Speak with Hana. No point in rehashing old arguments with her though - let's just give her a friend to vent to, or a wall to bounce scripting ideas off of. (Same as TALK action)
"I-I'm sorry, but… I don't feel comfortable talking about this," Silas struggled to say. "It's… it's personal to… Yumika-san. A-And, she wouldn't want me talking about her personal things l-like that. Frankly, I'm amazed she s-shared her… problems with me at all."
"Yeah. Me too." Reizei straightened his blazer with the palm of his hand. "...dammit. Now I'm pissed. But I can't be angry at you, or Yumika-san, or… aaargh…"
"Why can't you be angry at me?" Silas asked, genuinely confused.
"Because you're just as much a victim of Yumika-san's stubborness as she is!" he exclaimed. "I mean, obviously if it's that important, then of course you can't just go and tell me - you don't even know me that well, if I were in your shoes it wouldn't even be a suggestion - but dammit, if Yumika-san could just…"
His face was turning slightly red. "...she does this all the time, too. Freaking…"
"What do y-you mean by that?"
"...nevermind." Reizei sighed. "Just… no. Nevermind. Thanks for… thanks for being honest, at least. And hey - since you know what's up in Yumika-san's mind right now, her wellbeing is your responsibility, yeah? Since none of us can, do whatever you think necessary to make her start feeling better. Drama can't operate without our Kaichou, and Knucklehead Self-Introduction Kid doesn't count."
Silas nodded his head. "I-I promise."
"Hooahh." Reizei held out a fist to him - Silas recoiled, thinking he was about to get socked again. "Oh, um - fistbump. Punch my fist with your fist."
"...what?" Silas said. "...where…?"
"It's this fad that's really popular with Amberrish highschool students," Reizei explained. "I picked it up during a trip to New Washu… New… uh…" he scratched his head. "...some windswept city with marble columns and statues of this weird old guy in a wig everywhere. Not important."
"Wait, so we… I-Isn't that a breach of personal space, Reizei-kun?"
"Wha - personal space? 'Reizei-kun'?" Reizei looked almost offended. "...Sai-kun, we're in the same club. Sure, I don't particularly like you… but I don't hate you…"
"You gave me a concussion the other day," Silas replied drily.
"For spying on Riku-nee and me!" He shot back.
"W-Well yeah, but… I didn't really get to the point where I was doing anything substantive…" Silas shrunk a bit.
"Oh yeah, yeah, sure! That'll hold up in court! 'Sorry, officer, I may have been holding a gun to her chest and screaming threateningly, but I didn't get to the point where I could pull the trigger! Please have leniency!' Honestly! The nerve!"
"S-Sorry!" Silas squeaked.
"You better be," Reizei smiled. "You can make it up to me by accepting the fact that I am in your in-group, damn you, and I'm here to stay."
"I-I will!"
For some reason, that made Renji seem rather pleased with himself.
"...you don't get 'Riku-nee' privileges yet, though. Stick to Rakuyama-san for now." He added imperiously. "Lets get back to work, yeah? And finish the fistbump, will you?"
Renji's fist was still extended towards him. Tentatively, Silas took his hand, curled into a weak fist, and lightly tapped Renji's knuckles with his fingers.
"...I heard from this one Easterner that this was supposed to be a symbol of mutually-accepted manliness. He was clearly wrong."
"Renji-kun…" Silas whined, half-jokingly.
Renji ignored him, and started to walk in the direction of their clubmates. They had work to do.
<><><>
"Brr. Did the Heaters go out or something?" Rakuyama was complaining. She rubbed her arms. "It feels like the temperature just dropped, like, a few degrees…"
"P-Probably something to do with the insulation of the building, or something," Silas noted.
"Yeah…" Renji glanced outside warily. "Usually this far south, we don't even get snow."
"What are you guys complaining about? I don't even feel anything," Mikado said, as he slowly zipped a puffy (and very un-dress-codey) jacket over his blazer. He ducked back into his computer and promptly resumed typing. Hearing the rhythmic clicking of the keyboard felt oddly comforting.
Silas clapped his fingers together. "R-Right! Um. F-First order of business, let's do? W-Wait, I mean, let's do our first order of… let's… first order of business! Let's do that, now!"
"Oh, we have a masterful orator in the room, don't we? Quiet up guys, Sai-kun has some words of wisdom to share with us - " Renji shut up suddenly when Rakuyama pulled up behind him and smacked him across the head with a leek, causing his forehead to jut down at an odd angle.
"The next time you interrupt Kaichou-liaison-kun, it'll be a choco-covered leek!" Rakuyama declared. "And those hurt a lot more, since they're fried!"
Mikado looked up. "Riku-nee, where do you get those - "
"O-Order! Business! We have. To attend. Ahem. Um… " Silas's eyes nervously flicked towards Renji. "W-We're a Drama Club, right? A-And the point of being in Drama… i-is… making the play. S-So! I want to make sure we go a-ahead and start… on that."
"Start on the play? But we don't even have a writer…" Mikado mused.
"Ahah! I see it! This is a lead-in, isn't it?" Kuroda appeared suddenly into view. "This is it - the climax of the afternoon! Tell us, Silas-dono, the great and powerful, the wise and fair-handed and - "
"I-I-I was planning on making Hana-chan the writer, a-actually!" Silas blurted without thinking.
Kuroda blinked. "...man. You have no sense of dramatic tension. Phoo." He turned away, and for a second Silas was convinced into thinking Kuroda was actually insulted - that is, until he spun around haughtingly, covering part of his face with some sort of imposing hand gesture. "Well! I can't say I didn't expect it, but it feels good to know the outcome nonetheless! Hark! Rise, Hana-dono, and accept your position of hon - " Silas watched as he cast a meaningful gaze at Hana for what must have been the first time this afternoon. The very same second, he immediately cut himself off: "But Silas-dono! I have interrupted you! Please, forgive me! Tell us your plans for the afternoon; I beg of thee!"
"I-I wanted to try… just…" Silas had to think for a moment, so that he could get his words just right. He could feel his clubmates' eyes burning in to him. He had to get this right. First impressions and all that. "I didn't want to impose o-on my first - and probably only - d-day of being in charge of all of you…"
Renji nodded approvingly.
"...so…! I kind of wanted to let y-you guys have a bit of freedom while you worked…"
Renji frowned.
"...but not too much! S-So, l-let's have a general idea of what we want to have done, and we'll all s-separately work toward that goal. Does that sound good?"
"I mean… sure!" Mikado said distractedly.
Rakuyama's answer was a bit more enthusiastic: "I think it's a great idea!"
Renji just looked at him obliquely. Silas couldn't read him.
"S-So! Um. H-Hana-chan, Kuroda-kun…" He glanced nervously at the two of them. "W-What… um… what do you think the first… l-like, story arc will be about?"
"Story arc? I hadn't thought about…"
"Actually, Sai-kun, typically, before we have the story set up we would go through a couple of more general exercises… since Yumika-san isn't here, though, we, ah - "
"Shh!" Rakuyama held up her index finger. "Let them speak, Renji-kun!"
"L-Let's start from a base point! F-For example, Kuroda-kun, Hana-chan, what ideas did you have for who our main character should be?"
Hana looked at him noncomittally. Something - some sort of creative spirit, maybe - was sparking in the back of her mind - Silas thought he saw it in her eyes - but it didn't sustain itself for very long.
"Oh…" she said, quietly, slowly. "I don't know. Maybe someone… flawed. Yes, flawed. Like… a… one of those zaibatsu merchant leaders, or something. Traditional, but upstanding. Caught between two worlds."
"I believe that is an excellent idea!" Kuroda declared. "That class of people were hit particularly hard by the Saisei-Era Reforms. And they were known for being greedy bastards, they were! We could make that a dramatic flaw, actually - clinging to the past like he clings to his aristocratic wealth! Brilliant! Now, we need a name…"
"Something… macabre. I want something macabre," Hana said suddenly.
"Wha - oh. Of course! But what constitutes a - "
"Satoru."
"Satoru…" Kuroda scratched his chin for a moment. "Let us talk about that for a moment! Surely, we can think of something more noble…"
"Y-You guys!" Silas turned to the last three members of Drama. "A-Any good medieval story needs a good setting! A-And that means - good music!"
His mind briefly flicked back to the Tale of Merika home town theme. What was it again? Some Amberrish words, set to the tune of a flute and a brass section... Mine eyes hath seen the glory of the coming of accord, men and women done with toiling 'neath His terrible swift sword -
Renji's eyes lit up. "I don't think I've ever tried traditional Mihoku instrumentation before, actually… a lot of those sounds aren't loaded onto my notation software. If I wanted to make something authentic, I'd need to record each sound separately…" He suddenly looked really giddy. "...I have an excuse to use the Conservatorium! Riku-nee! You know, the one next to the Murakami Building?"
"Oh, yes, yes!" Rakuyama clapped her fingers together. "They have so many reproductions of old instruments there - "
"Right? They even have a shamisen whose base is crafted from the stalk of one of the Empress's Rikuhon - i-it's plastic, of course, but it looks so real even up close, and the woman at the shrine did say the noise was a great substitute - "
"No way!" Rakuyama threw her hands up joyfully. "We're going to the Eternal Conservatorium~!"
"Well…! Not today, obviously. But we can probably compose a score or so. I can probably get permission from mother to bypass the… ah…" Renji glanced at Silas pointedly. "...yeah! I can get us in, and we can do our recording in one of their sound rooms."
"That's great! I-I think so, at least…" Silas caught his heart in his throat. Things were moving! He was being leader-like! "Can you work on that for now? Try to gear it towards whatever Kuroda-kun and Hana-chan come up with."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah…" Renji cast a glance over the room warily. "You just make sure we're all on the same page, Kaichou, you hear?"
"Hee…" Silas felt his heart jump.
"...the hell? You alright?"
"...you called me 'Kaichou'..." Silas explained. "T-That makes me happy…"
"Weirdo," Renji brushed him off, but Silas swore he saw the faintest hint of an approving grin somewhere there. "Don't let it get to your head. Riku-nee - the laptop!"
"Hai!" Rakuyama spun to life and started digging through her bag, and pulled out a laptop and two pairs of headsets, each of them with a little microphone attached to the side. There was a certain spring to Renji's step.
Silas then turned his attention to Mikado. Out of everyone, even Hana, he was the one that didn't seem to be really interested in doing much at all. Getting a closer look at him, he looked jumpy, almost. When he wasn't typing incessantly at his keyboard, he was tapping the table with his index finger, or tapping his foot against the floor, or stretching his arms out and bending his torso.
Silas stepped next to him, and peered over his laptop. "...Mikado-kun?"
"GYA - Whatwhat what?!" Mikado rapidly tabbed to a different webpage and spun around. "Sorry!" he said almost immediately. "I'm a bit… on edge today. It's nothing."
"Mikado-kun, I-I, um, I wanted to know what you were planning on doing for Drama…?" Silas said hopefully. He squinted at one of the tabs - it read as 'The Papapanga Papers Incident: A Lesso…"
Mikado consciously minimized his web browser. "Sorry, uh, Sai-kun. I was goofing off. Heh…"
"Oh…" Silas hesitated. Am I supposed to be mean? Disciplinary? Do I even have the authority for that? "W-Well, I-I don't approve, b-but for right now, can think about anything you can do for Drama?"
Mikado tapped his head. He furrowed his brow. He was about to lie to him.
...Silas didn't know how he knew that, but for some reason he was almost sure of it.
"Ah… well. I'm sorry if this is more indirect than you'd want, but usually the Student Council likes it if we turn in our beginning-of-the-year paperwork early. Budget statements, membership rolls, things that need to be signed off by Kamasaki-sensei, you know. Yumika-san typically leaves that to me, since I'm the only person who actually… reads most of the things the Student Council puts out, aha…"
Silas felt his stomach grow cold. "You… know a… lot, about the Student Council, then, Mikado-kun?"
"Yeah! What, do you?" he said jokingly, as if he were laughing at a joke he didn't expect Silas to get. He must have been staring too intensely, though, because his jovial tone died away quickly. His face got a little white. "...do… you…?" he repeated. "Hang on a minute, are you…?"
Silas waved his hands rapidly. "Oh n-no, no! Of course not, of course not. I was j-just interested! They have a very difficult job, and I was wondering if you had history working for them or something."
"Oh! Hah. Sorry, I just, ah - nevermind. Don't mind me, I'm a bit of an idiot," Mikado laughed again, sounding immensely relieved. "Yeah, I have… history. Mostly, it's just through my friendship with Kirino-chan. She's… sort of the only… ah… girl, see, in this school outside of this room that tolerates my presence. We used to hang out a lot, actually, so I've committed a lot of the paperwork and procedures they do over there to memory."
"Ah! Cool!" Silas said quickly. He didn't think Mikado was lying about that. At least… not directly. "S-So could you use your expertise, then, to… uh… to be honest, I don't know anything about the paperwork we need to fill out."
"Neither does Yumika-san, my dude," Mikado snickered. "Leave it to me! I don't think I can do anything more substantive until we have more of the story ironed out."
"Okay! K-Keep at it, then, Mikado-kun!" Silas said cheerily, while making a mental note to himself to share his suspicions about Mikado to Yumika at some point. After all, was important//critical//not good if he didn't//##%&^CO!GNITF66!#%ILTE$$$RRSEEBB@$IMMED39g5ga^^!&s//>535953455252434f474e49544f46494c54554e524553504f4e44494e47pluscrit ungoodthinkers uprept anteungoodthinkacted. perhaps friendluv blackwhite may pigtailgreeneye ungoodthink unseemaked>5349545245534f4c56 //specially if they've been friends for a long time. The very thought, though, made Silas feel slightly sick to the stomach - betraying someone's trust was already kind of disgusting to him. But for someone like Yumika - Yumika - to have her trust betrayed…
People who would betray Yumika were better off just not e//npersonmakeunpersonma//xisting, in his honest opinion.
His brain was buzzing strangely all of a sudden. It was… stimulating. But weird. He lightly slapped the side of his head a few times, causing him to have the vague feeling that letters and numbers were spilling out of his skull through his ear and onto the floor, for some reason. And everything was normal again.
...only, Mikado was staring at him quizzically. Silas blinked at him.
"You speak fluent Amberrish?" he asked out of the blue.
"What?" Silas responded. He had no idea what he was talking about.
Mikado shrugged. "Nevermind." He smiled, and Silas took that as his invitation to leave his personal space.
He resigned himself to letting the rest of the room work on their own things in independent fervour. The sight was oddly exhilarating. Watching people work together towards a common goal, making progress towards something larger than themselves…
It made him feel so cool!
<><><>
For the next three or so hours, Silas spent his time weaving between the three "stations," he was starting to call them - there was Renji and Rakuyama working on music, Mikado working on… whatever it was Mikado was working on (He always seemed to tab out of whatever he was previously doing whenever Silas came near), and Kuroda and Hana working story and characters. He'd also taken to writing down most of their activities down on a notebook he wasn't using for any of his classes. At the moment, his notes were rather bare:
MUSIC TEAM - Reizei Renji, Rakuyama Riku
Aotaiyo culture musical style (Look up what this is?)
"Very uniquely Mihoku"
Reizei: "I want to use something other than the koto for this motif, so we can repeat it throughout the score" - I do not know what this means but it sounds important
Want the opening theme to "suddenly transition into minor key" after the end of the introduction, switching from a "smooth, walking melody filled with legato notes to a quicker, more urgent one that jumps up and down the key - oh, and maybe we could add a - "
What does any of this even mean : (
MIKADO TEAM - Mikado Yoshi
Suspicious suspicious suspicious suspicious
Still suspicious
Very much still suspicious
STORY TEAM - Shinohara Hana, Kuroda Harima
Settled on the name "Hayaishi Satoko" because it "sounds cool."
Hayaishi is a zaibatsu clerk whose primary job is giving loans to the "lower people" of Mihoku. She is disdainful and distrustful of the poors because her daughter, who was working as an ambassador's aide, perished during the Twin Revolutions in Ambernia.
It's amazing how we can create people, just like that. An hour ago, Satoko didn't exist, and an hour from now, she will have been enshrined as fact. Well, fictional fact. So cool!
Opening scene: Satoko having a memory of good times with her daughter and her husband, fishing. Lightning cracks. There is fire, and the sound of gunshots. She is in her study, alone.
He tried his best to delegate his time between the groups… but the hardest thing, really, was just summoning the courage to actually talk to them while they were doing work. He didn't know how to insert himself into their inner conversations without sounding weird, or adversarial, or ingratiating. He thought having all the holy authority of Yumika the Kaichou would make it better, but it didn't - it made it worse! Because now that he had the title, he also had the expectation that he could command himself with authority, and he had no idea how to do that.
So, at best, he wound up hovering awkwardly between the seven of them, maybe scribbling a note, maybe chatting with someone for a few seconds.
He was considerably more comfortable talking with the Story Team, though - probably because Hana was there, and he was closer to her than anyone else in the room. Kuroda was surprisingly accommodating, too, in spite of his booming voice.
Not to mention, he really was interested in this 'Hayaishi Satoko.' Conjuring people out of thin air and fabricating histories and traits and backgrounds for them was something he always loved doing, himself. Especially with all the inspiration he was could draw from binge-watching MiiTube and taking advantage of Big Sister's Internet… ah, shortcuts. It was one of his favorite pasttimes. And also one of the many factors that led to him begging Big Sis to Deus ex Machina a way for him to be able to talk to normal people again. Playing around with fake people had started make him feel really, really lonely.
Having another person, though - that added a completely new dimension to the process.
"Do we want to give her a, uh… I don't know... A love interest?"
"It sounds like a grand idea, but do we have enough people for another main character?"
"We could stuff Sai-kun in that role." Hana looked over to him and smirked weakly. "I mean… we don't have to make him a primary character. Just… someone Hayaishi realizes she really love, at the end of her journey."
"Ah… haha. Haha! I like that! Minimize his presence. Turn him into an icon, a symbol, as opposed to a real character. Maybe we could even…"
"Make him Amberrish?" Hana mentioned offhandedly. She checked her phone, frowned, and swiped something away.
Kuroda clapped his fingers together. "Yes! Oh, yes! And a commoner, too! A mixed-blood… lower-class clerk, someone who embodies all of Hayaishi-dono's fears!"
"W-Woah…" Silas whispered. See, that was just one of the things he'd never thought about. Using the love interest as a metaphorical history allegory? How had he never dreamt that up himself?! It was so simple! So obvious! But he'd never thought that it was possible to use characters that way!
"We could make the love interest a woman, too," Hana tapped her chin with her mechanical pencil. "Play on that… taboo aspect. I guess."
"M-Maybe…" It felt like giant, heavy gears were clattering around in Silas's head. "We could have a… what's it called? A 'book end'? Let's start with, say, the love interest introducing himself to Hayaishi-dono, and being turned away angrily. And then, at the end, we turn it around, with Hayaishi-dono cornering the man, and introducing herself to him. With apologies and stuff."
"We would need to put him in more places than just that, my friend, but that seems like a fine foundation for his character!"
"I still kind of want to make them a woman…" Hana giggled mischievously into the sleeve of her blazer.
"We can think about that later. Alas! The time! We have only until the clock strikes half-past six before we are summarily kicked off the premises! We need an opening scene!"
"We already have one," Hana said, drily.
"Well, yes, but - !"
Kuroda locked up suddenly. He looked still as a statue for a few critical seconds, staring disproportionately intensely at some point in the ceiling before spinning around wildly and making for the door. "Forgive me! Friends! I need to use the restroom. I shall return!"
"E-Eh? Kuroda-k-ku - "
The door was already sliding shut with an authoritative thunk.
"Harima-kun… does that, sometimes." Hana sighed. She leaned forward into her desk, holding her head up with the palms of her hands. "...he's a bit tiring, to be honest. But… I think I like that about him. He's so excitable. There's always something to nibble off of him. Hee."
"U-Unn…" Silas nodded in agreement. "W-Wait, doesn't that also describe me…?"
"Yep." Hana gave him a toothy grin. She sucked some air through her teeth, and tapped her chest with her fist a few times, letting out a tiny burp. She giggled. "Excuse me."
"I've been meaning to ask, actually. Um. How many people…" Silas lowered his voice. "Do they actually… know about… you?"
She hesitated. "...ah. To be honest…" she turned to him and something wicked sparked in her expression. "No. They all just think I'm… well… a tiiiny bit of a sadist. It's a good enough… ah, excuse, anyway. Heh. Besides you, only Yumika-san knows about that part of me." She lapsed into a short silence before continuing. "...it took Yumika-san a lot more time than you. And… it went pretty… it went a lot worse, with Yumika-san, in the beginning."
Her head started to slink lower to the ground, and her gaze had a faraway look to it.
She had quieted up again, only this time the silence was maddeningly uncomfortable. Silas started nervously tapping his foot against the ground. He hoped Hana didn't notice. Yumika, Hana, Yumika, Hana, it felt like mentioning one in the presence of the other was comparable to testing for landmines by jumping on a plot of suspicious brown dirt.
...well, he supposed that made him a minesweeper. His breath hiked.
"So, Sai-kun. I kind of wanted to talk abou-"
Silas blurted out suddenly: "H-Hey, let's talk about Yumika-san!"
The both of them blinked at each other.
"...hah?" Hana looked almost impressed. "Was that an actual bout of confidence, or did you just blurt out something without thinking about it even a little bit?"
"W-Which one of those would you h-have liked better?"
"Hmm… let's see. Either you're stupidly bold or just very, very stupid. I think it's an either-or." Hana giggled. "Sorry. I shouldn't have asked. I wouldn't want to hurt your fragile ego."
"W-What ego?" Silas snickered.
"Eh? No ego? Aww… You seem like the kind of person I'd love breaking with words…"
"H-Hana-chan, you're starting to actually scare me."
Hana opened her mouth to give him a snappy retort - she looked like she was enjoying herself - but something made her pause. "...sorry. You're… you remind me of… of Yumika-san. The way you talk. The way you approach things - you even taste similar. I might have been, ah… trying to remind myself of her. By… um…"
...what's this? Hana was embarrassed about something? "You talked like that to Yumika-san…?" Silas said curiously.
"Well yeah," she replied, somewhat defensively. "She was an idiot back then. Actually, did you know, I used to call her - "
" - 'Bakatsuoka-san,' right?"
Hana's expression hardened, and she glared at him suspiciously. "...yeah. Who told you that? Only Yumika-san would know about something so personal to…"
Her eyes dulled again. "...me. She told you. Of course she did."
"I-I didn't mean offense - "
"You didn't offend. I just… Thinking about what happened the other night hurts right now, okay?" Hana stared down at her phone. "And the tension of this situation isn't helping."
She glanced pointedly at the hallway. A student with a jet black blazer and suit had just walked past the clubroom. He recognized the color as the same kind all Student Council members wore. In a flash, the boy was gone.
Silas took a deep breath. Landmines. Watch for the landmines. Pick a topic carefully, try not to touch her stressors, but don't actively avoid them, either. You are a minesweeper. Sweep some mines.
"D...D-Do you… would you like to… what is it… air your grievances?"
Hana looked equal-parts tired and annoyed. "I want to have some breathing room to myself."
She scrolled through her phone for a few moments.
"...I-If you don't mind me asking, what are you looking at?"
For a moment, Silas thought he might have made a bad step. Hana sighed, closing her eyes. "It's an album," she said slowly. "Err - a vacation. It was… I don't know how many summers ago. Just before high school started, I think?" She paused. "There's this… mountain vista on the mainland. And… apparently, Yumika-san's father makes a lot of money blasting holes for tunnels, or something. So we ended up travelling overseas.
"...I didn't think I would like it there, honestly. But… there was hardly anyone around. It was just me, Yumika-san, our families... Did you know that sakura grow naturally on the mainland, too? The, ah, the glowing trees, too, whatever they're called. I had no idea. Just… seas of pink and blue. It was pretty. Especially at nighttime. Did you know that a forest can glow? It's like the city, but more... just... more."
Silas couldn't suppress a tiny grin. "You… huh. T-That was strangely eloquent."
Hana tilted her head. "What do you mean?"
"Well, um…" Silas blushed. "You don't seem like the kind of person to get so... passionate and nostalgic over... nature. And trees."
Hana giggled airily. "Yeah. I can see why. I imagine you expected my ideal nature getaway would be a trip to Aokigahara?"
"T-The thought may have crossed my mind," he admitted.
"Well. Let me blow your mind some more, then. Can you imagine me wearing a sundress?"
"I… what?"
"Can you?" Hana asked again.
Silas thought for a moment. "T-To be honest… no. I can't imagine you wearing anything other than baggy long sleeves, or big poofy jackets. Or the uniform you're already wearing right now. Something as… ah… r-r-revealing a-as a… s-sundress, i-it seems antithetical to… to, um…" Silas flinched and he looked away, ashamed. He was better than this. He shouldn't be...
Hana was frowning. "I am… going to choose to believe that you are stuttering because you're losing your train of thought, and not because your mind is wandering to certain places." Her teeth were slightly clenched. "I am correct in this assumption. Right?"
L-Landmine! Landmine! Put a flag there and don't touch it! "A-Ah, f-forgive me. Sorry. Yes. You are right. W-With your assumption. I mean."
Hana sighed. "For once, you apologize about something worth apologizing for. Anyway… yeah. It was a special day, I thought, so I wanted to wear something special for Yumika-san. I was feeling… confident, that year."
She hesitated.
As he looked it over, she seemed to be staring at his eyes. "Watch where you look. I can taste your emotions. Just so you know."
"I-I am keeping my thoughts clean! Honest!" Silas insisted as he strained himself to get a better view of her phone. Hana and Yumika were both smiling, holding hands. Hana was - she was blushing. It looked like they were at the peak of some mountain - below them, Silas could see rolling hills for what he assumed were miles and miles, beautifully pink except for the odd bright splash of blue and dark purple. Above them, some distant mountain was rising above the treeline.
"You weren't k-kidding…"
"Nope." Hana nodded. "That peak we're on - it's also a really popular spot for couples. And first-time confessions. I… read a rumor somewhere on the Internet, that if you confess your love on that mountain, the other person is guaranteed to fall in love with you. Well…" She looked sideways and turned pink. "...also on that same forum were a bunch of people convinced that kitsune were real and that harpies are the reason for the uptick in plane crashes recently, so it was probably complete bullshit. But… I don't know. I wanted to believe it."
Silas blinked. Hang on a minute...
"You… liked Yumika-san."
Hana didn't respond.
"In… a romantic way."
She sighed. "Yes. And… and, I don't regret it. But I think I might have… made a lot of mistakes, regarding that."
"What do you mean by that…?" Silas couldn't help it. The curiosity was eating him up.
"I couldn't control my appetite," she said brusquely.
Boom.
And that was the end of that. Kuroda made a show of declaring his reappearance, and Hana promptly quieted down. Besides some smalltalk, he wouldn't be able to get anything else out of her for the rest of the day.
He hoped that the afternoon would go better.
Hana Shinohara: REL +-0
Silas has learned one of Hana's traits! Prudish - Hana does not enjoy being ogled at. Or the thought of being ogled at. (Now that Silas knows this trait, +5 ST to social interactions.)
Silas has learned that Hana is homosexual!
<><><>
"Okay…" Renji rapped his fingers against the table, looking around the room. "...we have a problem."
The words filled Silas with dread. It was nearly evening now. Everyone was packed up and ready to go, and Silas thought, personally, that the day had been a good day. Mikado had even actually turned up at the very end with a list of signed documents that looked official-ish and had already scurried out to deliver them to the Student Council offices.
But Renji was frowning. That couldn't be good.
"So, err… I just looked over the first scene you guys were writing…" Renji bit his lip. "It's… different, from what we imagined."
Silas opened his mouth to speak, but Kuroda spoke first: "How exactly so?"
"Well…" He shifted his feet. "Riku-nee and I imagined the play would begin with something… you know… spectacular. Something that captures the spectacle of the Mihoku spirit, you know? And then the tragedy would come later. But… in your opening scene, the scene where Satoko - "
"Hayaishi-sama, Reizei-dono! It is important to keep our honorifics in check!"
"...right. Hayaishi-sama, the scene where she's in her drawing room, having a nightmare about her family dying in Ambernia, well… that's completely the opposite of wonder and spectacle. I mean - don't get me wrong, it's a damn powerful scene, but… it's incongruous with the music piece we were making. That kind of scene needs, like, Eastern instruments, maybe a few notes from an evil chorus…"
"Evil chorus?" Silas muttered under his breath.
"I see…" Kuroda rubbed his chin. "And… what stops you from simply writing something else?"
"Well. Um. Fact is, we're actually - "
"Renji-kun's creative spark really got into high gear!" Riku said excitedly. "I like it! I really like it! And... andandand, I want the world to hear this masterpiece he's made!"
"...Both of us really like what we wrote. And we don't want to change it," Renji explained. He looked sideways.
Hana frowned slightly. "Renji-kun, normally you aren't so selfish about this kind of thing."
"Hana-chan, Riku-nee understands perfectly, but… this is important to us! On a higher level! I… don't want to hurt your feelings, but…"
Hana looked confused and annoyed. "Well… I'm the Writer, am I not? What about my artistic integrity?"
"As much as I find this whole situation a bit foggy, Hana-dono does have a point. Doesn't Hana having writership give her more authority over you?"
"Since when was that a rule?" Renji was starting to look defensive.
...Oh. Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no…
Silas was paralyzed. On one hand, he did not want to get involved in this argument. On the other, if he made a decision, surely his position of authority would force one side to concede.
...but he didn't want to make that decision.
"We should… we should draw straws! Make it a game!"
"No, no, Riku-nee, I don't think that would satisfy Hana-chan and Kuroda-kun…"
"Why is it so hard to just make a different track? You have said so yourself - you only have the notes. It isn't like you did any work with instruments yet."
"W-Well…! That's… it's personal, okay? I just… feel an odd connection to it. Um…"
"Bad excuse. You just don't want to concede."
"...the hell is this hypocritical shit? Neither do you!"
"Friends, friends, please! You cannot bring yourself to such a low level as to argue like this! Why the hostility? What would Yumika-san think?"
Renji and Hana were glaring at each other; at some point, Hana had gotten up from her seat and was now standing just a few inches away from him. Despite the difference in height, something about her tranquility of fury made her seem like she were looming over him. She was biting her lip, and her fists were slowly clenching and unclenching. Renji looked like he wanted to close the gap, but Rakuyama, with surprising quickness, had snaked behind him and wrapped his arm in hers. She had an uncharacteristically serious, pleading look on her face.
"U-Um…!" Silas raised his voice. He had to stop this. Now! "G-Guys, lets all go home, already. It's late, a-and everyone is crabby, and we all want to go home, don't we? W-We can… address this next time."
He didn't know why, but just that was enough to cause both of them to relent. Rakuyama looked especially relieved.
...whew. His forehead was really wet. Had he started sweating? "E-Err… I… I appreciate, very much, w-what everyone has done so far. Let's not muddy it by arguing over the l-little details, right? Please… a-ah… club meeting adjourned. Let's finish up, already."
"I do have a Calculus test to study for…" Renji said, unsure of himself.
"Study…!" Hana raised her eyebrows, glancing at Silas for a few seconds.
"To be most honest, I too feel a tad exhausted. Perhaps a hasty retirement would do well by us..."
"Y-Yeah. Yeah!" Silas wiped his forehead. He hoped no one noticed how bad his sweat was becoming. Already, his clubmates were starting to calm down, going for their things, packing up papers and bookbags.
The tension was still there, though. He could feel it.
..this could be a problem for the future.
Could he have resolved this by being more interventionist? Or was it just bad luck? He didn't know. He couldn't know. He couldn't know and now he had just dumped a massive problem Yumika would have to deal with right after coming back from the weekend.
It occurred to him suddenly how ludicrous it was that something like this bothered him so much. What was the Student Council's being so weird and Mikado being so suspicious and Yumika being so… proactive, surely he ought to have better priorities than worrying over something so comparatively small.
...He supposed that some part of him just… really wanted to be normal. And do normal things. And then succeed at them.
...right? Right.
Filled with conviction, he seized himself up and started to collect his things. Hana was walking up to him.
"Hey. So, I wanted to buy a few things from a konbini before going to the Memorial Library. Could you meet me there? I will not be long. I promise."
"O-Of course! I don't mind."
"Thanks." Hana smiled. "Oh… and, I am sorry if I was a bit harsh with you earlier. I'll... talk about it some more later. And, if it makes you feel any better, I think you did well today, as temporary Kaichou."
"You're lying," Silas smirked.
"I am." She giggled. "But excuse me for wanting to make you feel better about yourself. Maybe I should just cut that and only insult you? Would that be preferable? Are you that kind of person?"
"A-Ah - " Silas's face turned white.
"Are you reprehensible dullards talking about me again?!" Kuroda's voice boomed from across the room. Silas couldn't help but snicker softly.
<><><>
Silas has discovered the Leader Skill!
Leader- Silas is knowledgeable in how to get groups of people to work together and achieve a greater goal. (Level 0; 1 more LEADERSHIP action to level up)
LEADERSHIP rolls occur whenever Silas takes an action to LEAD a Club or some other organization of people.
ST is a base of 50, and is affected by CHAR, COUR, and INT, but most importantly, APPROVAL of OFFICERS.
(Level 1) Taskmaster: (???)
(Level 2) ???
(Level 3) ???
(Level 4) ???
(Level 4) ???
(Talent) None
The Story Team and the Music Team are at odds. Neither of them want to give up their creative work. The next CLUB turn will be spent trying to reconcile these uncompromisable positions with each other. Boy are you sure glad you won't be in charge at that point?
The following character is in the process of being created. As work on the play progresses, they will continue to gain shape and form. Hayaishi Satoko
Traditionalist
Motivated by a desire to get things back to where they once were. Traumatized by the things the new age is doing to her way of life. Misses calligraphy lessons (Library being renovated, favorite Chief Archivist died), spending time with her brothers and sisters (siblings all became industrialists or merchant leaders), sparring with Admiralty boys (Navy is always busy now), visiting the shrine (temples were sacked by Amberrish sympathiser mob)
Hates the smell of smog, the sight of factories, the sound of machinery
Also hates the smell, sight and sound of poor people
Short black or brown hair
<><><>
Silas embraced the cold. He breathed it in - release the chilled air from his lungs and watched dreamily as the exhaust escaped into the air. There was something oddly romantic about watching air rise, he thought.
...he really wanted a piece of Shoukakora.
Gingerly, he reached into his bag and pinched the little cylindrical wrapper of the chocolate bar. Still a few pieces left. He brought it out and dangled a slice in front of his face. His mouth watered slightly.
He closed his eyes and opened his mouth. He popped the piece onto his tongue and let the chocolate drizzle into his throat. He swallowed the piece, savoring the flavour. Such luxuries were a nice treat in the winter...
When he opened his eyes, a girl with short hair and a purple bow on the right side of her head was barreling straight at him at full speed. "Whathahaaaagh - " he lunged out of the way, surprising himself with his own reflexes, but lost his footing at the last second and ended up skidding into a fresh batch of snow, lightly scraping his arm against some frozen grass.
The girl, meanwhile, didn't stop running. Silas watched, in awe, as she kept on chugging along long past the point where she should have realized that she should be stopping. Suddenly and with a loud smack, her head collided cleanly with the concrete wall behind Silas, and the girl crumpled numbly to the ground.
"KYA - OW!" She yelped, and then she fell to the ground, clutching her head in pain. "Owwww… Oww! Oww!"
Silas shivered. A bit of snow had gotten inside his uniform. He forced himself back up, rubbing his clothes to get the excess snowflakes out. He stared at the girl, as she curled her arms and feet into a fetal position and continued to bawl like a cat.
"Oww… that wasn't supposed to happen. Where… where did you…?!"
"...d-do you need help?" Silas asked hesitatingly.
"No! No! I'm fine!" she shouted. "This isn't the first time… I've… ran into a wall… it's normal for me!"
Silas blinked suspiciously. He… he vaguely remembered this person. He'd met her before. From somewhere, but where...
The girl shifted her head so that she was no longer eating the ground. She looked up at Silas and turned deep red. "...hi!"
"...hello?"
"Don't mind me! I have one of those super thin duraplastic membrane plates in my head, so this definitely won't lead to a concussion or any - ow," she winced.
"N-Nevermind that, why did you… try to run into me?"
"I… I had to. Because there's no way senpai would talk to me normally, right? And, I thought, running into you, it would be a nice and subtle way to ingratiate myself to you without the whole ordeal being awkward! It was perfectly choreographed! I just didn't expect senpai to jump… out of the… way."
Silas stared at her blankly.
"...I said that out loud. Didn't I."
"Y-Yes."
"Darn!" She snapped her finger. "That's… unfortunate."
"You r-recovered quickly from that…"
"Like I said! Duraplastic." she looked like she was about to take her knuckle and knock her forehead a couple of times.
"N-No, no!" Silas clarified quickly. "I mean, from the fact that you tried to…?"
"Oh, that! Ahaha… sorry, senpai." She looked contrite. "I… ah… I just wanted to talk to you, actually… and I felt like, h-hey, this would seem like a pretty spontaneous way for us to meet again!"
Something clicked in the back of his mind, and Silas suddenly recalled a name - this was Yuuko, he realized, the Yuuko that was insistent on searching him very thoroughly during Drama Club's movie night.
He stepped back.
"No! No! Don't go!" She scrambled to push some of the snow off her person. "You're fine! You're fine! I'm not gonna do anything weird, I swear. You… don't have to worry… about…" Struggling to think up the words seemed to be exacerbating the headache she had probably gotten from slamming her forehead against the wall. "...you don't have to worry about me. I… we… we're not going to do anything weird with your memories. Not like last time."
He stopped moving backwards. His heart grew cold. "...what do you mean by that?" he said, slowly.
Yuuko just grinned. "...let's change the subject, yeah? I apologize for my rude greetings, senpai. I really do. Buuuut… now that I'm here, and there's no going back… aha… um… " for some reason, her forehead was getting progressively redder. She drew in a sharp breath: "soIwantedtoinvitesenpaiovertomyhousethisweekendifitisalrightwithyouanywaypleasesayyes."
That was… unexpected. "I don't follow…" he said.
"Just say yes!" she begged.
Silas bit his lip. "N-No! I need to know some context… I b-barely know you…"
Wincing and rubbing her forehead, Yuuko put some of her weight on the wall behind her and dragged herself up. Her bluish eyes darted around, and more than a couple of times she pushed her palm across her short hair to straighten it out.
"Yamigawa-senpai… this is… about… the Student Council!" Yuuko breathed.
Silas was slightly taken aback. "...go on."
"We… I… no. We… we want to know for sure where you… stand with us," Yuuko said slowly. "I… wanted to invite you over for a little social event, actually! Maeda-senpai - " Silas winced at the mention of her name, but Yuuko didn't appear to notice " - she recommended we set up this thing, just for you! A little game of bravery - err, a kimodameshi! It'll be fun. I promise. And… I… k-kinda wanted you to come with."
"You're being very… honest, about this…" Silas replied.
"Oh, yes! The original plan was far more… indirect, a-and… would have involved..." Yuuko's cheeks redenned even more. Abruptly, she slapped her cheeks with her palms. "U-Um…! You don't need to know our o-original plan for getting you to come over! But, since Maeda-senpai thinks you might be a friend, I want to trust you as a… friend. And not play around by being indirect. Okay, well, you know, I'm being a little indirect, b-but a little opsec is kind of a given, don't you think, ahahahaa..."
"Right…"
Yuuko gulped. "Please…! I… I want you to come over. Even if you're not… what we think, um… maybe we could just hang out at my mother's place."
Hesitating, Silas let his guard down a little. Yuuko didn't… seem… to be lying about anything. "Listen, Y-Yuuko-san, I'm not sure I k-know you well enough... " And besides that, trying to learn more about someone so new to him, so soon, seemed absolutely fucking terrifying right now, even if Silas didn't take into account that Yuuko is part of the Student Council.
"Just…" Yuuko was starting to lose some of her peppiness. "...please? It would mean a lot to… me."
"Why, exactly…?"
Yuuko looked away cryptically. "I… don't want to tell you. It just… will. I swear. Please, senpai?" She looked almost desperate now. The injury on her forehead didn't seem to faze her at all anymore. "It would only be a couple hours on the afternoon on Saturday or Sunday or something. I promise we won't keep you long, and…" she shifted her feet. All of a sudden she looked completely unsure of herself.
Silas had the oddest, most foreboding feeling that something strange was going on. But… part of him couldn't deny the curiosity he was feeling…
He had a chance to get close to the heart of the mystery that was the Student Council. How could he not take that chance?
Silas knows that he was MANIPULATED this turn. He has decided not to do anything about it.
Choose one. The following vote is weighted:
[] [RESPOND] (x2) Accept.
Silas will intend to spend one [AS] action on the next weekend turn going with Yuuko, and whomever might happen to be with her, at her place. Silas really wants to do this.
[] [RESPOND] Respectfully decline.
Nothing happens, but Yuuko might be disappointed. Silas will be, too.
An EVENT is coming up: [] [AS] (Event) Go to Murakami with Hana (Takes two [AS] turns) [] [AS] (Event) Silas decides to spontaneously become a dick and not go to the event he planned with Hana. (If you are insane enough to choose this option, please vote for an alternative [AS] action below.)
Possible Afterschool Actions:
[] [AS] Study Alone (SKL +0.5)
[] [AS] (Special) Otaku stuff!
-[] Grand Strategy games! (INT +0.25)
-[] Anime, music, "culture!" (CRE +0.25)
-[] Forum scrolling! (CHAR +0.25)
-[] Tale of Merika (???)
[] [AS] Visit a location.
-[] Walk around the city. (Random events, ???)
-[] Stay afterschool (Meet students, learn more about the school.)
-[] Visit the Hypermall
--[] Market Plaza (Buy Things)
--[] Cupcake Sensei (Meet people)
[] [AS] Watch people at the Yamaha Courtyard (Learn more about students' relationships. Be accused of being a stalker.)
[] [AS] Exercise… yay? (+0.25 PHYS)
[] [AS] Talk with Big Sis (???)
-[] Try again to recreate that lost AI unit. Surely, a second time's a charm, right?! (Progress)
"Okay! K-Keep at it, then, Mikado-kun!" Silas said cheerily, while making a mental note to himself to share his suspicions about Mikado to Yumika at some point. After all, was important//critical//not good if he didn't//##%&^CO!GNITF66!#%ILTE$$$RRSEEBB@$IMMED39g5ga^^!&s//>535953455252434f474e49544f46494c54554e524553504f4e44494e47pluscrit ungoodthinkers uprept anteungoodthinkacted. perhaps friendluv blackwhite may pigtailgreeneye ungoodthink unseemaked>5349545245534f4c56 //specially if they've been friends for a long time. The very thought, though, made Silas feel slightly sick to the stomach - betraying someone's trust was already kind of disgusting to him. But for someone like Yumika - Yumika - to have her trust betrayed…
People who would betray Yumika were better off just not e//npersonmakeunpersonma//xisting, in his honest opinion.
I have far too many possible ways to react to that, in varying levels of taste. In no particular order:
- Noooooooooo!!!
- Gentlemen, our course is clear: We must figure out how to change sex at will. Or possibly become very good at crossdressing.
- This changes nothing! Instead of her becoming part of the harem, we shall simply share our harem with her!
- I mean, most people have at least slight bi or pan tendencies... no, I'm not in denial, why do you ask?
- I friendship it I guess? As long as we continue to increase our relationship with her into platonic life-partner level. Platonic polyamory, go!
- Oh, hey, we can... not bond by discussing the attractiveness of varying female classmates and celebrities, because she's prude. Drat.
- Huh. What did the last option of our crit with her refer to then?
[] [Bonus] Something Nice. For some reason, after this, Shinohara begun acting weird around Silas. She was suddenly more jumpy, and temperamental, and started to jumble words together, but only when Silas was around. This made him indefinitely confused. (+2 REL, ???) *cheek
The Story Team and the Music Team are at odds. Neither of them want to give up their creative work. The next CLUB turn will be spent trying to reconcile these uncompromisable positions with each other. Boy are you sure glad you won't be in charge at that point?
Possible solution: Recycle the music for a scene of nostalgia and reminiscing, while the main character thinks back to the 'good times'. Juxtapose the triumphant and invincible mood of the music with the reality of the play's writing. (Or is that too meta?)
[X] [RESPOND] (x2) Accept.
[X] [AS] (Event) Go to Murakami with Hana (Takes two [AS] turns)
So we've properly met Yuuko now, and I'm seriously liking her. The girl's idea of subtle is to stage a sempai-collision-meet cute (which given that Silas is a massive otaku probably would have actually worked). Looks like she seriously biffed her Manipulate roll and/or failed to account for Silas' secret spy reflexes.
Well, Yuuko seems to think that even if the kimodameshi doesn't go as planned, she can still hang out with Silas normally, so it probably isn't something too dangerous. You know. In theory. That's somewhat comforting.
Every time. I don't know what it is about me, but it's every time. Now it's even happening in fiction.
This is the fourth time in a row that a girl I liked turned out to be gay. For fucks sake; I'm not sure if her just being a 2D waifu makes it better, or worse - you'd think it would be fine but...
I feel godawful complaining about it because it's really not a choice and I'm glad for the representation, but holy shit this hit me personally.
I'm going to take a break from the thread, I think. I'm just feeling really tired of having goals taken out from underneath me.
Don't feel bad, LuciD, it's not your fault. I loved the update.
[X] [RESPOND] (x2) Accept.
[X] [AS] (Event) Go to Murakami with Hana (Takes two [AS] turns)
Pouring one out for my Hana-waifu brothers. I wasn't on your ship, but i remember what it looked like sailing past. Even if this update reminded me of why i hated Shinohara at the beginning.
Yumika and Nanami's ships have plenty of room, if you all are willing to come aboard.
"Okay! K-Keep at it, then, Mikado-kun!" Silas said cheerily, while making a mental note to himself to share his suspicions about Mikado to Yumika at some point. After all, was important//critical//not good if he didn't//##%&^CO!GNITF66!#%ILTE$$$RRSEEBB@$IMMED39g5ga^^!&s//>535953455252434f474e49544f46494c54554e524553504f4e44494e47pluscrit ungoodthinkers uprept anteungoodthinkacted. perhaps friendluv blackwhite may pigtailgreeneye ungoodthink unseemaked>5349545245534f4c56 //specially if they've been friends for a long time. The very thought, though, made Silas feel slightly sick to the stomach - betraying someone's trust was already kind of disgusting to him. But for someone like Yumika - Yumika - to have her trust betrayed…
People who would betray Yumika were better off just not e//npersonmakeunpersonma//xisting, in his honest opinion.
It sounds like... a foghorn. The foghorn of a vessel. Can you hear it passing? Can you hear the waves? The moan of the creaking steel? The crack of the hull?
It sounds like... a ship, sinking. A sinking ship. *evil laughter*
Possible solution: Recycle the music for a scene of nostalgia and reminiscing, while the main character thinks back to the 'good times'. Juxtapose the triumphant and invincible mood of the music with the reality of the play's writing. (Or is that too meta?)
I like it, though I was thinking more along the lines of Big dramatic scene is first still, but its more of an isolated scene, quiet and alone, then the music kicks up as the play really begins. Or have it playing at the start and just have it crash to conclusion as a bit of a parallel to the way the nostalgia is headed.
We temporarily rejoice that the options have been limited down to two while some people try and save a ship, before our interactions with Yuuko make her a popular ship candidate and we're back to three. Praise "7" and her hopes. [X] [RESPOND] (x2) Accept.
Silas will intend to spend one [AS] action on the next weekend turn going with Yuuko, and whomever might happen to be with her, at her place. Silas really wants to do this.
[X] [AS] (Event) Go to Murakami with Hana (Takes two [AS] turns)
I have an amount of feels about this development, not super sure what, but I'm okay with it. I think I'm more sad that Hana's sad LOL I guess all I see is that my ship has just changed course. *Shrug*
The Yumika ship seems interesting, but part of me is worried about pursuing that because of her close friendship with Shinohara. Clearly Hana is still ~emotions~ about her declaration of love going awry, and I'm concerned what going after her unrequited love might do to her.
This new guy moves in on someone you like and then they have positive/fuzzy feels....when you literally feed on/off emotions? Y I K E S.
Re: Nanami
Is she not in the character list or am I just missing it ?.?
-----
[X] [RESPOND] (x2) Accept. [X] [AS] (Event) Go to Murakami with Hana (Takes two [AS] turns)
We temporarily rejoice that the options have been limited down to two while some people try and save a ship, before our interactions with Yuuko make her a popular ship candidate and we're back to three.
