[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

[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.

[imaginex]

... I suppose so.

[Well then. She'll hand him back his book]

But you're not him, so... that's one point in your favor, I think.

[thesettingsun]

That's a pretty low bar to clear. ...But at least it's something.

[He'll take his book and put it back in his bag now.]

[imaginex]

[A contemplative hum follows that statement, with Sakura glancing out the corner of her eye. These memories are... formidable, and she thinks she's finally beginning to understand why everyone counts her as lucky, having only remembered two of them]

Are you going to be okay?

[thesettingsun]

I'm okay. Past me isn't me.

[Even if he has fears about being replaced, or subsumed, he at least doesn't think Dazai's choices reflect on his own.]