[OPEN]

[imaginex]

WHO: Sakura Tohsaka, YOU
WHERE: Recollé Park, the Leviathan's Claw
WHEN: 9.22.17
WHAT: Either Sakura's drawing your character as a fantasy trope or she's telling you ghost stories to sell wares. This girl's got shit to do.
WARNINGS: Maybe vague mentions of monster horror in her drawings/stories, but otherwise none!

I. Draw Me Like Your French Girls, Senpai

[There's only so long Sakura will allow herself to skimp out on drawing practice, so come Friday she heads out of her apartment early, art supplies carefully tucked underneath her arm in a pink tote bag. To her luck, she lives within walking distance of Recollé Park, and with the brisk morning air to clear her thoughts, she's in the proper mindset once she settles on the dew-dropped grass. For what exactly?

Well, that's where everyone else comes in. You might feel a pair of eyes on you, stranger, in the form of a young woman sneaking glances before her hand winds around her drawing pad. Though she'll do her best to avoid eye-contact, it's pretty obvious what she's doing. The real question is who is she drawing.

You?

Maaaaaybe.

For anyone bold or annoyed enough to demand an answer or steal a peek, they'll see Sakura's gotten creative with her people watching. She's not just drawing who she sees; between the gesture drawing and expression studies, she's traded normal outfits for a more fantastical flair, reimagining everyone as D&D characters. Perhaps she's decided you make a fine-looking Barbarian, Miss, or the person over yonder is looking particularly Rogue-ish today. And for the truly unfortunate among you -- Sakura did you just draw that poor dude getting eaten by the Kraken?

There sure are a lot of monsters in this sketchbook.]

II. I Wouldn't Turn Around If I Were You

[And after she inevitably loses her nerve and vows never to draw in public again--

It's work time! Specifically at the Leviathan's Claw, here to serve all your weird nicknack and supernatural needs. At first it seems no one's manning the front until you wander further in, and a smiling face pops up right behind you, esteemed customer.]

Ah, how may I be of service to you? Oh but please speak quietly -- [Voice in a whisper, she leans in with a hand half-covering her mouth. Her expression is dead serious.]

I haven't yet caught our Kuchisake-onna, and it's best you not see her without her mask on...

III. Wildcard

[What weirdness do you wanna see? I am here to make all dreams come true. Just PM me or leave a prompt, I will follow along.]

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[ooc: For the first prompt, let me know if you prefer I RNG what Sakura draws your character as, or if you have a specific outfit you'd like seen!]

Comments

[thesettingsun]

Thanks, I'm here all week.

[Sometimes he's even funny!]

[imaginex]

[Once she's got the giggles out of her system --]

I'm sure it'll be fine.

If anything, something else will find a way to break...

[thesettingsun]

At least it won't be monotonous.

[Just really annoying.]

[imaginex]

I admit, if I could fix things myself, I probably wouldn't mind.

It seems really satisfying to know how to do that sort of thing.

[thesettingsun]

You could look it up on Youtube? But you might make things worse in the process.

[imaginex]

... That's true.

[She admittedly didn't consider fudging it up even, and her shoulders slouch]

Becker-san it is.

[It's Becket, child]

[thesettingsun]

It's Becket. But I won't tell John you messed up his name.

[There are some things he doesn't have to know, even if they're friends.]

[imaginex]

... I'm not even surprised I did.

[Spoken in both embarrassment and slight shame]

American names are still hard for me to remember.

[thesettingsun]

I think that's normal, for when you've just moved Stateside. And I told you how bad my Tokyo-ben is - your English is way better.

[imaginex]

You really think so?

[Despite still looking abashed, her smile seems to perk up]

I meant what I said before - if you ever wanna practice speaking or reading Tokyo-ben, I don't mind helping.

[thesettingsun]

If you really don't mind, and you're not busy... I do have that book with me.

[In case a scythe he can't lift would be helpful somehow.]

[imaginex]

[Holy shit yes, she wants to see, and the girl snaps to attention]

I'm not busy!

[thesettingsun]

[Shuji pulls a book out of his napsack and holds it out to her.]

One 'Disqualified From Being Human' for your perusal.

[imaginex]

[Sakura isn't sure what she expects: for the book to be strange in some discernible way, or maybe for a scythe to be sticking halfway out of it's pages. Regardless, that's not what she gets, and after examining the book from every angle, finally opens it properly.]

What a striking title...

[thesettingsun]

[It's an ordinary book, with ordinary text. A novel like any other.]

From what I've managed to read of it, it's depressing.

[For Sakura, even a casual flip-through will confirm that it's not a happy book.]

[imaginex]

[Depressing doesn't begin to cover this. Her mouth keeps thinning as she flips around, occasionally stopping to read entire passages, until... until she thinks it's wise to set the book down, she lowers it to her lap.]

... Did your previous self write this?

[thesettingsun]

[That's not a promising reaction. Shuji can't help but think he'd have preferred almost any other response, even 'wow your past self is a bad writer'.]

He did. 'Dazai Osamu' was his pen name.

[imaginex]

[That's probably the worst part; it's skillfully written, easy enough to be considered a classic which, y'know, kinda is, and Sakura could see herself getting lost in the pages if she gave herself the chance.

She... really doesn't want to.]

Aa... well, I can tell you what's written here, but you're right. It's extremely depressing.

Though it might just be a story, and so has nothing to do with him. [At the very least, she'll try to find the silver lining for his sake]

[thesettingsun]

...Even if it's depressing, I still want to know. Maybe it's not about his life, but it still says something about what past me thought was worth writing.

[He may regret this, but lay it on him.]

[imaginex]

... Alright.

[And so she does, face a construct of neutrality as she outlines the chapters - the abuse that "Oba" suffers at the hands of a female servant, his later attempts at a double suicide, and his descent into his chosen vices of alcohol and morphine.]

... It seems he had trouble connecting with others. [Her final conclusion, at which point Sakura finally closes the book] So he felt forced to act like a jokester of sorts... to hide his true self.

suicide mention etc

[thesettingsun]

[Shuji listens through all that in silence, at which point he exhales, not sure how to say something delicate.]

The double suicide part - I assume he wrote this before he died, but I remember him dying that way.

suicide mention etc

[imaginex]

[Her eyes snap up, sharpened by her discontent. It takes a moment of mulling before she finds her voice again]

He... he drowned, then?

tw: dazai osamu

[thesettingsun]

Yeah. Double suicide by drowning is one of the memories I got back from him.

[He really, really wishes he hadn't had to experience being a bystander in someone else's head, unable to stop what was happening. He never likes it, but especially not with that memory.]

tw: dazai osamu

[imaginex]

[Sakura's only experiences with memories have been... mild, overall. Frustrating, but mild.

The thought of experiencing death through the lens of someone else? It's enough to make her stomach clench uncomfortably]

I'm so sorry... you shouldn't have to experience his poor choices.

[She speaks perhaps with more frankness than usual, her disapproval evident even after what she read. It's not that she's lacking in sympathy, either -- but this man killing himself was not the answer to his problems.]

[thesettingsun]

[Dazai Osamu clearly needed help that he didn't get. That doesn't erase all of his bad decisions that made things worse for himself.]

Don't worry about it. He's the guy I'm stuck with now, unfortunately.