un: white heron; ( o^ ^o)且 且(´ω`*)

[mistsplitter]

Greetings. My name is Kamisato Ayaka. You may know me as one of the organisers for the upcoming festival for the arts. Please worry not-- we are doing our utmost with the preparations, and I am positive that there will be something enjoyable for everyone.

I must also apologise for sending a suspicious message not too long ago to most people that I know. I received it from someone I did not know, but thought it was sweet of them to consider me a friend. If you received a message comparing oneself to a flower, and that you must send it to other people so that you will not turn into a bitter gourd, I do apologise for the inconvenience I have caused. (｡╯︵╰｡)

Apart from the festival, I am also working on opening a tea house. While I am still working on obtaining a permit, I would like to learn more about other's tastes through a game.

Participants must respond to this entry by posting a cup 🍵, and other players will respond to you by preparing tea that is made especially for you, based on the meanings provided with each kind of tea. They may even give you snacks, as well as other things for this little tea gathering, or even multiple pots of different kinds of tea.

Let us a have a fun tea party before the opening of the tea house. (ﾉ´ヮ`)ﾉ*: ･ﾟ

🖤	💚	🧡	🤍	💜	💛
black tea	green tea	oolong tea	white tea	herbal tea	yellow tea
I would like to get to know you better	You are a dear friend	You are like family to me	Our bond is unbreakable	I would like to take you out on a date	I like / love you
🌸	🍡	🥛	🍪	🍓	📚
flower	dango	milk	cookie	fruit	book
I wish you happiness and success in everything that you do	I will always be here for you	I miss you; let us spend more time together	I would like to hold your hand	I would like to hug / kiss you	There is much I can learn from you

((OOC: i mean if you guys wanna give eggplants at a tea party, that's fine too))

Comments

[essenceborn]

Of course I do. I always say what I mean.
Do you not transmit illness because you're dead already?

[nugrass]

[...

Somehow, he didn't think about the fact that they wouldn't understand that expression.]

not that kind of sick.

if you "get sick" of someone
it means they annoy you
or frustrate you
or make you angry
and you don't want them around anymore.
that's what i mean when i say folks usually get sick of me
they don't want me around.

[essenceborn]

I do not see how it is possible to be angry with you.
You have exceptional friend qualities, and you are well-informed about a variety of subjects.
You are an excellent friend.

[nugrass]

most people don't choose friends
based on how much they know.
which is a goddamn shame.

but more seriously
you just haven't seen how annoying i can get.

[Which isn't ever something he's trying to do, but ends up doing pretty often regardless.]

[essenceborn]

That's because you are not annoying at all.

[ Like, duh. Gosh??? This is a perfect cycle of logic to Nen. It's impossible not to like every minute of time spent in Chipp's company. ]

I like being around you. You were the first person to spend time with me after the winter room.

[nugrass]

oh god
i just realized
I'M the one who set your standards
aren't i?
I'M the one who set the bar
you had no idea what to look for in a friend
until *i* scooped you up
and made you eat a cup of ice cream

ok
do me a favor
when you make new friends
try not to compare them to me???
im really not as good of a friend as i seem
there are way nicer people out there
way friendlier
i just like good food
and playing games.

[essenceborn]

[ I mean...Chipp's not wrong there. He was a very formative experience for them and they do base a lot of what they see from others off of it. It also tells them a lot about Chipp: he takes the time to show them things, to make them think and build their own opinions and thoughts about things, and always wants them to try something new.

He's the reason Nen is trying to build up more strength and stamina now, too. ]

But I like food. And games.
You are always nice to me, Chipp.

[nugrass]

[Oh, if only the folks back in the land of the dead could see this. They're always telling him he's a much better person than he gives himself credit for, that he makes a wonderful friend.
That he should probably get off his own case about it.

Right now, he's staring at his screen like that doesn't compute. Because in some way, it doesn't.]

well yeah
of course i am
you're a goddamn treat to spend time with
anyone with eyes could see that
i'm just

[A pause.]

you

[Another pause.]

you haven't given me a reason to be mean yet
that's all.

[As if he could ever.]

[essenceborn]

Do you want to be mean to me Chipp?

[ Because while Nen isn't so great at understanding the usual give-and-take exchange of emotions and their role in social interactions beyond their very limited scope of experience, intent behind them? That's more logical. It makes sense. It gives reason to something that feels intangible and hard to understand.

Chipp doesn't seem like the kind of person to be mean to anyone. He was even more careful with the animals in the pet shop than Nenonen was. He goes out of his way to help them.

Nenonen can't imagine a world where he's mean to them. ]

[nugrass]

[...




...]

no.
i don't.

[It's good they're incapable of imagining such a world, because it doesn't exist.]

[essenceborn]

Good.
I don't want to be mean to you either.

[ Nen's mouth twitches at the corners as they read his message. They hook their feet at the ankles. ]

I think you are good.
I want to make more friends who are like you. And keep you as a friend for a long time too.

-> privated;

[nugrass]

nenett
im gonna be honest
REALLY honest
i think you're attaching too much worth to me.
im nice to YOU
and thats because you're worth being nice to
you're a good person
you're sweet
still learning your way around the world
i don't wanna ruin the experience for you.
i don't wanna be the reason you forget what it's like
to be sweet.

but there are folks i'm mean to
VERY mean to.
and they might not even deserve it.
sometimes i just do mean shit
because i think it's funny.

don't you want friends
who're nice to everyone?
not just to you
but everyone they know?

[essenceborn]

I don't know. I've never had friends before.
Or...
I didn't know what they were until I came here.
I know I still don't understand many things. I don't understand what it is to be mean to someone.
But I think there are some things you would say are mean if I described them.

I don't know what kind of friend I want because I want them all.
I like all my friends, even when they are grumpy. Or mad. Or angry.

[ Nenonen thinks of Knives here, who is both...a friend, and not. A friend they also somehow feel uncertain of and protective of in the same breath. It's a strange emotion to have. ]

If friends who are only nice to everyone all the time are the friends that I should have, does that mean if they aren't good if they can't do that?
I don't want that.
I want to keep you.
You are my friend.
Please do not leave me?

[nugrass]

i aint gonna leave you

[Typed and sent so fast, he managed to get it past his own subconscious code switching.
It makes him pause for a second.]

i'm not gonna leave you
i'm too selfish to do that.
how am i gonna watch you grow as a person
and learn about the world
if i'm not there keeping an eye on you?

i'm just saying
make sure you're a little picky when it comes to friends.
you shouldn't want more folks like me around
one's already bad enough.

[essenceborn]

Am I a disappointment?

[ They've been called that before. A lot.

Anytime they didn't live up to the expectations of the researchers, or the scientists. Anytime they couldn't do what had been expected of them. Anytime their results weren't "within parameters" or "as expected."

Does wanting more people like Chipp in their life a disappointment? Should they really change that? Would that make Chipp "happy"? ]

[nugrass]

what?
no
fuck no
why would that make you a disappointment??
fuck
break my heart over this why don't you??

i just want to make sure you stay safe.
people like me are dangerous
just because someone's similar
doesn't guarantee they'll be nice to you, nenett.
you gotta learn the difference
it's like foraging for mushrooms.
if i'm a chanterelle
then you gotta learn how to pick out all the false chanterelles
that share a lotta traits
but would kill you in a couple bites.

[essenceborn]

I don't know what a chanterelle is.

[ But admitting that doesn't feel like a bad thing right now. The way Chipp's starting to explain things now is...better. And realizing that it's better is what makes Nenonen realize that they didn't like how he was saying it earlier.

Earlier felt like Chipp was saying he wasn't good enough. That he was intrinsically bad and not worth a friendship.

Now sounds more like he's worried they will be taken advantage of if they base their measure for friendship solely on what they think of people similar to them.

Maybe it's the first and the second, or just one, but Nen takes a long moment to stare at their phone and wonder why it is they didn't like the way Chipp spoke about himself. Would they have been fine with it if it were an object fact? That would have been the case back in their world, but something about that feels...wrong now, in a way it hasn't before.

Nenenon doesn't want to think anything less than the world of him. ]

But I will watch out for poisonous mushrooms.
I understand that this is a metaphor and the mushrooms represent people.
But also, I will be careful not to eat bad mushrooms.

and now he just needs to figure out how to broach the subject about ✨the murders✨

[nugrass]

[If they got the feeling that Chipp was degrading himself, saying he wasn't good enough, that he wasn't worth being friends with, that would be because he was.
It didn't take him long to realize that they weren't understanding it. Or, rather, were rejecting it.
But that's exactly what it was.

And the fact that they can recognise his backpedaling is huge.]

thank you
for listening to me.
sometimes it's hard to get across what i'm saying
and it's even harder to help people understand it.
so you know
thanks.

and you can trust mushrooms sold in stores.
don't be afraid of those.

lmdsgd y e s....... yes he does

[essenceborn]

[ Nenonen is growing in all sorts of ways thanks to the people they've met in Ellipsa. People like Chipp. There's a lot they might still accept at face-value, but him putting himself down? Now isn't one of those things.

As the tone of their discussion changes, Nen finds themself holding their phonea little tighter. Relaxing. Holding it tight, then relaxing again. Him thanking them makes Nen want to see him. It feels important. ]

You are welcome.
I like to listen to you. I like when you explain things to me.
So I want to say thank-you too.
Thank you for helping me understand the things I don't.
Thank you for wanting me to understand you.
I want to be able to do that.

im gonna move this to a thread in nen's inbox after this okok 👀

[nugrass]

[Is that what they want? To see him?
Because after all this, after hearing that they want to understand him, all he can think to do is ask-]

mind if i come over?
i'm gonna make a pit stop at the library first
but i wanna talk to you about stuff.

yyyyyyy!!

[essenceborn]

[ If Chipp didn't ask nen was going to. ]

Okay.
I will wait for you.

[ Nen would wait for Chipp forever, honestly. ]