( OPEN ) blink twice if you need help

[tot]

WHO: uta and whoever
WHAT: bingo effects & catch-all for dec
WHEN: 12/10 - 12/12 (for catte), 12/13 - 12/16 for the rest
WHERE: wherever most (in)convenient
WARNINGS: there shouldn't be any??


ᴍᴇᴏᴡᴍɪx ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴇʀɪᴄᴀʟ sᴏɴɢ ɪɴᴛᴇɴsɪғɪᴇs.

[ where are you right now? are you simply wandering around the island in no particular place? well, for those near the beach you can find a small calico cat who seems rather skittish and may be running away from a dog. fortunately, the dog doesn't seem to be chasing after the cat with any bloodlust but more like following her around? what is happening here?

or maybe you are having a meal when this small calico walks up to you and meows exactly once before sitting politely at your feet. or maybe you're just somewhere on the island in general when you stumble upon her. ]

ᴛɪᴍᴇ ʜᴀɴɢs ᴏɴ ʜᴇᴀᴠʏ ʜᴀɴᴅs.

[ because i refuse to believe that there is not a single bench on this entire island, uta will be outside sitting on one of them while flipping through a book with a title that seems... questionable or exciting depending on your taste in reading material. for uta, however, she'll questioning the novel she received with the proud title of My Boyfriend Is The One Except He’s A Lizard And Father Doesn’t Approve on its cover and spine. can't forget what you're reading, after all.

why is she reading this book outside where god and everyone can see her questionable taste? simple. if she must suffer, she will not go down alone—would be the answer if she was petty. the truth is that she's hoping to pawn it off to someone (anyone) else who finds the faintest interest in it. ]

ɪ'ᴠᴇ ɢᴏᴛ ᴀ sᴇᴄʀᴇᴛ ɪ ᴄᴀɴ'ᴛ ᴛᴇʟʟ ʏᴏᴜ.

[ since it has been a bit since they've all arrived, uta will be checking out the boutique's offerings to see if she can't find something to change up her wardrobe. farmcore has never been her thing, but wearing an all-white dress with a short skirt is definitely not practical. that said, she will be posing in front of a mirror in some new clothes which still aren't great for farming before going to change into something else that is a lot more reasonable.

perhaps it's interesting that regardless whatever she is trying on, she'll have a particular straw hat on her head in exchange for the headphones. ]

ʙ-ɪ-ɴ-ɢ-ᴏ!

[ if you'd like pick a square from her card here and we can go. ]

Comments

[associative]

[ He looks proud of her as he skates backwards, watching her balance well on the ice. ]

I think so too. What about the fall? We could hold it in the afternoon, and then some sort of event in the evening? It might get cold, but we could have some kind of bonfire.

[tot]

[ of course this is before she gets her powers back.... ]

Oh! I'd think that would be wonderful! It'd be easier for everyone to be outside for a longer period of time when it isn't too hot too.

[ says uta who doesn't really understand seasons but it's fine. she'll learn. ]

Everyone could get involved and do their piece, too. Fall is when the "harvest" takes place, too, right? Then we could invite Aria, too!

[associative]

I think that'll be great! We can make it a whole celebration for all of us.

[ Ah, how fun... He's excited about this now. ]

...Who's Aria?

[tot]

[ uta isn't going to try to do much moving on the ice but she's happy that gaku's excited for this purposed concert as much as she is. ]

Oh, right. Aria is the name I use to refer to the Harvest Goddess. Don't you think it suits her? It's a lot easier to say, too.

[ cue her trying to make little swivels on the ice with her feet... she's wobbly but doesn't look like she's in any danger of falling just yet. ]

[associative]

It's a pretty name. How'd you come up with it?

[ He holds out his hands just a bit, readying himself should she look a little bit more unsteady on her skates. ]

[tot]

From one of my music lessons when I was younger. [ uta answers simply. ] An aria can be seen in the same way as a solo except for longer and larger pieces of music—like operas.

[ she'll briefly take a hold of one of gaku's hands when she finds herself wobbling too much. ]

Given that she's the Harvest Goddess and there's only one of her among all of us, it's like she's the single voice among the rest of the music.

[associative]

[ He has a solid grip on her hand, squeezing just a bit only so she has that anchor to lean on should she feel like she's about to fall.

Opera isn't one of his strong suits, but now that she's defined the term, it jogs his memory. ]

I'd never thought about things that way. [ ... ] You have an interesting perspective.

[ Maybe unusual fits better there, but he thinks that comes with a bit of a negative connotation that he doesn't mean. ]

[tot]

[ she'll test out how to move while still holding onto gaku while also musing over his response. uta didn't think it was too different but— ]

Do I? [ looking up at him with a smile and clearly taking no offense to his words. ] Then, I'll take that as a compliment.

[ hmmm. ]

What kind of name would you give to her, Gaku?

[associative]

No idea.

[ But he'll give it a bit of thought anyway, before eventually shaking his head. ]

I guess I'm no good at naming people or gods or goddesses.

[ It feels like a much bigger deal than naming anything else. ]

[tot]

It's okay; don't feel bad. Deciding on a name is hard. There are a lot of things to consider when picking a name.

[ and she'll give herself a little push with one of her skates as she lets go of gaku now that she feels more comfortable. ]

[associative]

[ He lets go of her hands, watching her go. ]

Like personality, right? Symbolism too.

[tot]

Yeah, exactly!

[ she'll skate a bit out of the ways to do a small spin, that kind of wobbles, before spreading her arms out to her sides, with a slight "tada!" feeling to them. ]

Does your name mean anything special, Gaku?

[associative]

[ The gesture is cute and a little performative, so much so that he almost claps for her. Instead, however, he glides around her in a wide circle. ]

The kanji for my name means "music".

[ He smiles a little. ]

And yours?

[tot]

[ she'll give him a sort of awkward bow at his applause. ]

Music? I wonder if that means that your family already knew what you were going to be.

[ uta laughs for a moment and there's a fondness in her smile that lingers as she recalls a different time in her life. now whether its one that brings her joy or sadness... ]

My dad wasn't very original with names, so mine means "song" because the only thing that could make me stop crying was him singing to me.

[associative]

I like that. That's sweet.

[ His own? Well... ]

As for my own name... my dad owns a music production company. It's hard to know if he already planned to make me an idol then, but he did force me down this path when I became a teenager.

[tot]

Do you think so?

[ a hypothetical question than a real one as uta will laugh. pretty certain that other crew members might have not shared gaku's feelings towards her name. as for what he ends up telling her about his "origin" as it were... ]

...did you dislike being made to learn music and go through all of that training? I remember when you first told me about it, it sounded rather rigorous with the long hours.

[ given that he still performs and all of that, surely it means that he likes it to some degree? ]

[associative]

I was resentful for a long, long time as I went through that training.

[ Partially because it was so rigorous, but the rest of his resentment was due to his father not thinking he could do it. ]

But when I stepped on stage for the first time, all of that went away as I realized that performing is my dream. So I don't hate that I've been through all of that now.

[ It's made him a lot stronger too, and given him the thick skin that he needs to have in the industry. ]

[tot]

[ when gaku first mentions how he was resentful of having gone through all of that training (as uta could only suspect), her hair loops do droop. it's to be expected, but she'll perk right up when he continues about how he doesn't hate it anymore. ]

I'm glad that you were able to turn that experience around. [ truly. ] Even as good as you are, if it was something you weren't enjoying—it would be so sad.

[associative]

[ Her hair loops drooping is cute even though it shouldn't be, given that it means she's sad... but he still thinks that anyway. ]

It would have been, yeah. I don't want to spend my entire life miserable. [ He pauses. ] I know myself well enough to know I would've found something else I liked.

[tot]

[ they really shouldn't but it's good that they've moved on from that? also uta will be making more and more improvements on the ice as they spend more time on it. ]

What do you think that would have been? If you had an idea or could make a guess.

[associative]

[ She picks things up pretty fast it seems, so Gaku speeds up a bit as he skates around, encouraging her to do the same. ]

Probably a chef, honestly. My favorite thing to make is soba, but I like making other things too. I probably would've had fun going to culinary school.

[tot]

[ she'll be encouraged and will pick up speed herself...but she won't try anything fancy and will just focus on maintaining her balance. ]

Soba? Really?

[ how is it that she knows so many cooks in this place?? an useless utahime. ]

I'm always so envious of people who can cook, especially those who can cook well. I'm doing my best to learn here, of course, but everyone who is good with it makes it look so effortless. I keep making messes.

[associative]

[ At least Uta can mooch off of all these great cooks! ]

It takes a lot of work, honestly. I wasn't very good at it until I practiced a lot.