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| Explanations Forthcoming; [Etsuko, Masumi, Etsuko's Intro(?)} | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Feb 11 2014, 11:30 PM (250 Views) | |
| Nonsequitur | Feb 11 2014, 11:30 PM Post #1 |
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Yellow Bubblegum
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So the day had finally come. Maki had been called upon to answer questions that Masumi was having difficulty addressing to the satisfaction of young Etsuko's curiosity. She had come as soon as she heard. She wore a long, thick coat, blue with heavy accents of a complimentary shade of green. It covered a dark sweater, tight jeans and knee high brown boots. Her red hair was in a ponytail. Almost on reflex, she always bought food when she came. No doubt Masumi could handle that sort of thing, but it had become customary to her. And besides, she herself was hungry. This time, she bought a takeout bag from Wild Duck Burger, she recalled the preferences for both Etsuko and her surrogate mother from the last time. "Suzuki-san? I have arrived." She said as she knocked upon the door. While she expected one or two awkward moments, she was more or less anticipating a fairly standard talk. She wondered why Masumi did not feel she was up to the task. Presumably if she found the right person it would have been likely she would have had to tell that child this, sooner or later. But Etsuko was a special case in several respects. If for whatever reason it goes poorly, friction between Maki and her would be preferable to that between her and Masumi, after all. |
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| The One True Nobody | Feb 12 2014, 09:18 AM Post #2 |
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
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Masumi Suzuki wasn't exactly calm about this upcoming... talk. She wasn't going to make Etsuko sit through it alone, in fact she would have considered it irresponsible, so she was going to be sitting through it with her, there to help explain, Maki taking the lead was just, well... ...Compensating for the fact that Masumi had no idea how this "talk" was supposed to go in the first place. When her own parents had tried to take her aside to talk about it, Masumi had known enough about the topic to be embarrassed by the prospect. She'd insisted she knew the whole thing, used some rudimentary knowledge to make it look like she did, and dodged the "talk" completely. Now she wished she hadn't. If she had, she might have some idea of how parents were supposed to approach this awkward issue. She wished she could be as easygoing about the subject as some of her friends and acquaintances, but as someone who's life had taken a turn for the screwed-up directly as a result of teen pregnancy, Masumi couldn't bring herself not to worry. The real question wasn't even so much "what Etsuko didn't know" as "what Etsuko thought she knew." She had been alone on the street for years. Had sex been a factor? Had it come up? Had she been forced to use that at any point? The possibility made Masumi shudder inside, but it was a very real possibility, whether she wanted to think of her unofficial daughter in such a situation or not. The short summary of all this was that Masumi was incredibly stressed--so stressed that she forgot Maki had said she was bringing lunch along, and almost started cooking lunch. "Masumi? Didn't ya say Officer Yamada was bringin' food...?" "Oh?" And Masumi looked down at the pot she'd just set on the stove, blinking in surprise at as if only just then noticing it was there. "Oh! Right. I shouldn't waste food..." "No, y'shouldn't," Etsuko said in a chiding voice. "Put that away. Sheesh." "Don't take that tone with me, young lady," Masumi said in a halfhearted way, her face starting to heat up instead of the stovetop. So she quickly stowed the pan back in the cramped cabinet it had come from and turned around, tugging her shawl more tightly around her shoulders. Etsuko was sitting cross-legged on one of the mats by the table, one of her knees twitching impatiently. It looked like Etsuko was going a little stir-crazy in spite of the slow trickle of guests and friends that came to see her... Masumi felt a twinge of guilt. Ever since Etsuko had met her sister, Masumi had been reluctant to take her out of the house or let her go places with anyone. Maybe she should ease up, she thought... A knock at the door. Masumi moved to open it, taking a step away from the counter and beginning to call back, "One mom--" But Etsuko sprang to her feet as though propelled by an invisible slingshot and rushed to the door, working the locks in a matter of seconds and opening it, grinning at Maki in a way that suggested the woman just being there was a breath of fresh air. She didn't even look at the Wild Duck bag. "Hey, officer! It's nice t' see ya!" she said happily. "Come on in, it's been a while! I can't thank ya enough for your help, y'know--" As Etsuko moved aside to let the policewoman in, Masumi felt another surge of guilt. Yes, Etsuko... really, really needed to get out more... but what if she was snatched up by the butterfly while she was out somewhere and Masumi wasn't around to notice? Oh, it was all just too uncertain and suspenseful and... and Masumi almost wished Philemon would get it over with already so she at least only had to worry about Etsuko vanishing to the ruins voluntarily... |
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| Nonsequitur | Feb 13 2014, 12:36 AM Post #3 |
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Yellow Bubblegum
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Maki gave the young woman one of her rare smiles. "Hello Etsuko. It's good to see you once again, and think nothing of it." How much 'help' does she really contribute? She wondered that more and more lately, the actual figure was always depressingly low. But even if her path had insurmountable obstacles, she had to follow it to the end, that was her resolve from the very beginning. If such a thing could have been called monstrous than so be it. "Have you been well, Etsuko-san? Suzuki-san?" She came inside and put her worries away fro the moment. "I have to say I came here not only to eat with you but with a specific purpose in mind. But first? The matter of the food." Her own version of the 'talk' had been comprehensive and detailed. She was glad for all the questions she thought to ask and her good recollection now that she, a potential spinster, was to share what was learned with Etsuko. If such a thing was even necessary. She was braced for the unhappy possibly that none of what was discussed was new to the girl who had to survive on the streets if only by her wits. Though there weren't any obvious signs associated with one formerly of that lifestyle in her, at least not as far as Maki had noticed. |
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| The One True Nobody | Feb 13 2014, 09:58 PM Post #4 |
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
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Etsuko's face stiffened, and fell a little. "Everyone who comes here seems t' have some serious thing to... talk about," she said evenly. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised." Masumi stepped out of the kitchen, dressed as she usually was in a casual skirt-and-shirt with a purple shawl around her shoulders. The blue butterfly hairclip was as glittery and expensive-looking as ever. "Maki-san, thanks for coming," she said. "...Have things been well? You can--" (She glanced toward Etsuko.) "...You can talk about Persona-related things freely, by the way. Things got a bit hectic last time we had visitors." Etsuko's expression became even more guarded then before, and she sat herself back down at the table, folding her legs underneath her. The ring, which she wore outside her shirt now, felt suddenly heavy against her chest. |
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| Nonsequitur | Feb 13 2014, 11:18 PM Post #5 |
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Yellow Bubblegum
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"Ah, I see, good to know, then." She set the bag down on a convenient table. "This might be significant in the future, but this talk has nothing to do with that. Or your sister or your family." Maki turned to her. "First? Tell me, what do you know of romantic relationships?" Her reaction to that was a good litmus to determine just how she could have best tackled the rest. Maki remained relaxed though she had no doubt if this conversation was so strange from her side then it was either a cause of mild panic or bafflement for Etsuko. |
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| The One True Nobody | Feb 13 2014, 11:38 PM Post #6 |
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
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Etsuko looked up at Maki. She looked genuinely clueless for a couple seconds, puzzled for a few after that, and then she said, "...I know the thing goes in the hole and um, and um, and um--" And then she shrugged. "And that's how babies are made?" she answered uncomfortably. "And boys really push to get inside a girl's pants so I need to be careful around them?" A pause. At this point, Masumi reached the table, and moved to kneel on the floor next to Etsuko. She opened her mouth to interrupt the girl with a question, but then Etsuko said, "My sister told me something I've been wondering about, though. I was wondering if it's true?" Masumi closed her mouth, frowned, obviously not pleased with the prospect of Nishiyo Sadako exerting any kind of influence over her sister. "What did she... tell you?" the fortune-teller asked with audible trepidation. Etsuko seemed to miss the significance of the undercurrent to her guardian's tone. She just looked at Masumi and answered as casually as ever, "She said 'Sometimes men're most trustworthy when they're tryin' t' get inta your pants.' She said... that a lot of people would do--a lot for the people they were tryin' to um, to do the thing with. She told me I shouldn'ta left the boy I was livin' with when he was interested in me like that, because he woulda took better care o' me." Masumi's lips tightened, and then she tried to falter out and explanation. "Well--s-some people are like that, I guess," she said in tones of clear disapproval. "In fact I daresay a lot of them are, but--um--" How did one impart helpful moral lessons on the young again? The fortune-teller looked to the police officer, face positively radiating a distress signal: HELP, I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO THIS. |
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| Nonsequitur | Feb 14 2014, 12:06 AM Post #7 |
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Yellow Bubblegum
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"I suppose this is true. Or rather was true. When you had to fend for yourself, it is important that you remain vigilant about such things." She seemed to have had very light experience with this. She suspected that she didn't even knew the proper terms. Maki would help. "Your sister's advice is basically well-meaning but deeply cynical and ignores the possibility of a long-term relationship built on trust. In those cases physical intimacy is a factor, but far from the only one" So, she had to help her to discern between the relationship she meant, and the type that was the most Nishiyo could have hoped for. Etsuko was ignorant of a lot, but she was far from being so damaged as to have to expect only that of others. "For the moment? I will say that not every relationship with men, or women for that matter, must be ruled by a dynamic of who can get the most at the other party's expernse. Nor are every relationship with those of the appropriate genders having to do with sex- the term for 'getting in one's pants'- or romance at all. To start with? I should deal in the fundamentals." With this, she discussed the fundamentals. The mechanics of it and every idiosyncrasies she could have imagined. She spoke plainly, and avoided both the pitfalls of being too graphic or lurid or being too timid or meek. "It's a lot to take in at once. So please, ask any question that comes to mind and I'll try to answer them to the best of my ability." She did however relax her business-like demeanor. She never, ever did that. But it would have done Etsuko no favors to look at something like this so…clinically. |
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| The One True Nobody | Feb 14 2014, 12:26 AM Post #8 |
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
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Etsuko tilted her head to the side, frowning a bit, and Masumi watched her with a look on her face that looked like it belied a pre-prepared cringe. But at no point did Etsuko blush or look terribly embarrased. She simply nodded in apparent comprehension about Maki's opinion of her sister's advice and listen to the explanation of how the birds and the bees worked. It was like planting a seed in a garden to make a flower, except it made a baby and you were planting it inside a person and okay that was slightly weird but nothing new. "That makes more sense then when Victor told me about all that," she said slowly. Then: "What's that word mean?" "Which word?" Masumi asked, ready to pitch in with an explanation of whichever term Etsuko hadn't gotten, provided it wasn't too embarrassing to put into words. But when Etsuko looked over at her guardian, she asked an explanation of the one complicated word out of the ones Maki had used that Masumi didn't expect to be asked about: "What's 'cynical' mean?" |
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| Nonsequitur | Feb 14 2014, 01:22 AM Post #9 |
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Yellow Bubblegum
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"Cynical means to expect the worst from people. It can also be used as justification for acts a person might otherwise find objectionable. For example: Say that one was mistakenly given an extra sum of money after using a bank's ATM. A person who adopted a cynical attitude may say it was fine, decrying that banks 'rip people off all the time anyways.' Those who often think like this are sometimes called cynics." It was unfortunate Etsuko was deprived of any formal education at all. What was worse? She didn't have any easy means of rectifying that problem. What she said before the question was not lost on her. "Hmm? What did Victor say?" |
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| The One True Nobody | Feb 14 2014, 01:53 AM Post #10 |
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
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"More importantly," Masumi interrupted, frowning a bit. "...Who's Victor in the first place? You're telling me he tried to explain how the, um, the 'birds and the bees' work?" Etsuko looked back at Masumi and said, "He never talked about birds and bees... but um, Victor was a boy who took care of my for a long time. I met him after I ran away, actually... he and me were, were kidnapped by these guys. I didn't know what t' do. I didn't know what was gonna happen. He got the both of us out, though. He was a bit older n' me, and he'd been on the street for a while. He promised t' look after me. It was mostly him that kept us fed and stuff for a while, but he taught me things..." She wondered if she should go on, tell them about why she'd run. Maki asked what he'd told, though, and that... was pretty much the answer to the other question, anyway. So Etsuko shifting on her mat and looked at the table. "He tried to explain, um, how 'sex' works. I know that word, he used it. He also told me boys n' men put a lotta pressure on girls t' get that, so I needed t' be careful. And he said, he said sometimes they forced it, and that I should dress like a boy when I was out on the streets so no one got any funny ideas." She nodded a bit, and looked up. "That's why I call myself Daiki and wear what I wear. See?" "Oh," Masumi said uncomfortably. "...So when you say you left him because he was 'interested,' you..." A hurt look came over Etsuko's face, and she looked at the table. "...I think I overreacted..." was all she said. |
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