video, un: Yousoro★

[ayes]

Hell-o~! [The voice cheerfully greeting you comes from a girl who you may have seen manning a grill and serving up delicious noodles at the beach a while back.

You waves enthusiastically at the camera.] Wasn't the party fun?! Ahhhh, it just feels so much better sending summer off right! Thanks to everyone who showed up! You should also totally go eat at all the restaurants and vendors in the market who brought all the food and drink and stuff!

Um, if anyone wants some watermelons, I have a few left over that I don't really know what to do with. Keyleth helped me grow a lot of them, and I think I asked for more than we needed. So if you want some, you can let me know here or stop in at the Silk Wyrm, the tailor shop I work at!

So, anyone have any ideas for next year's party? I wanna make it even better!

Comments

[gekkajuu]

Still, if not for you, it wouldn't have happened! Everyone owes you their gratitude for coming up with the idea.

Even if it wasn't exclusively a refugee party, or anything like that... I'm sure it felt like an outing for everyone. Like it was our first day "off" since coming here.

[ayes]

Yeah, exactly! We could all use a day to relax and forget about all the things we've been worrying about, right? That's the whole point of a party or a festival like that. Haha, it was pretty lucky that the new bunch of people woke up right before it, right? They got to come down and party.

[gekkajuu]

They certainly had a nice start. But that makes it all the more important. If they felt even a little more welcome than they otherwise would have, that makes everything worth it twice over.

[ayes]

Yep! That's the idea. Help them feel welcomed and take a day off!

Plus, getting to see the ocean was just... ah, I've missed it so much! I feel so recharged after that.

[gekkajuu]

It's beautiful, isn't it? All that sparkly water... And it's so incredibly big, it's kind of humbling.

[Atsushi really doesn't need any humbling, but it's a peaceful feeling all the same.]

[ayes]

Yeah... [You sighs, happily.] It's just so big and vast and the salty air smells so good and you just wanna dive to the bottom and explore and bob in the waves... [Nostalgia bomb.] Did you grow up by the sea too?

[gekkajuu]

Not quite. I lived by the sea a bit before coming here, though.

Well... "by the sea" is an exaggeration, but Yokohama is definitely a port city, and it's great to go to Yamashita Park and walk along the shore.

[ayes]

Oh, Yokohama! So you're from Japan too?

Haha, anyplace is kinda close to the sea when it's an island, right? I don't think there's a place in the whole country more than... I dunno, two hours from the ocean?

[gekkajuu]

Yes! Then, You-chan is, too? I did wonder, but it's tricky to assume!

That's true, too. But the ocean can still seem a world away if you're somewhere remote, with no access to transportation.

[ayes]

Yep! I'm from out in the sticks near Numazu! Didja grow up in Yokohama? We take the train through there to get to Tokyo!

[gekkajuu]

I grew up in the sticks near it, if nothing else. But the city itself is amazing!

... Was amazing, I guess.

[ayes]

[You sighs at that, a long exhale.] Using the past tense feels so weird. ...I can't believe it's all gone.

[gekkajuu]

Me, neither... I'm very glad with where we ended up, and with the chances we get here. Often, I tell myself I don't miss my old world at all. Apart from anything else: we left the bad behind as much as the good.

But when you start thinking about specific little things... it's hard not to miss them. Even something as silly as the scent of Chinatown.

[ayes]

Yeah, I know. Like the fishermen at the docks getting back, or the smell of the orange groves on the hills. D'you think we can get it back?

[gekkajuu]

[That's quite a question, and Atsushi takes a moment to think it over.]

I don't know... They say our worlds were destroyed by the Storm, and I'd rather not get my hopes up, if that's true. Besides, for having been taken to another planet, I think we've gotten a rather wonderful life back for the one we lost.

But... there's so much we don't know about the Storm. If it's a reversible process, we should definitely try to reverse it. I don't know what we can do, though! And it's hard to say if it's worth the effort of trying, when we're still trying to find our footing here and now.

[He doesn't want to give up before he starts, but at the same time... it's probably smarter to pick his battles.]

If anything, I'd rather find a way to safely wake up everyone who's still asleep. Even the younger people.

[ayes]

[You listens to him, and then sighs when he's done.] Yeah. You're right. That's probably safer than keeping them up there, don't you think? If there really is someone who might attack the station again. Besides, it's kinda no fun to have everyone you know asleep.

[gekkajuu]

It really is no fun.

[With an awkward smile, he tried to steer the conversation to happier topics... but there's still something to ask.]

You don't have anyone from your world here at all?

[ayes]

No, it's just me. --I mean, they told me that everyone is here! All my friends and family are asleep up there, so I'm glad they're safe. They're just... all asleep.

[gekkajuu]

I'm sorry. That must be rough.

[He only has the one friend/family here, himself, but... having even one is a great support.]

Are you doing all right? I mean... considering the circumstances.

[ayes]

Oh-- oh yeah! Don't worry about me, I'm fine! I've made tons of friends!

[Not untrue.

But it still hurts a little.]

[gekkajuu]

[Augh, now he's gone and made her feel bad... That just figures.]

Some of your friends will definitely wake up. I'm sure of it.

[He knows that's not a promise he can make, but he means it anyway, pouring every ounce of his willpower into that wish.]

[ayes]

Yeah! They definitely will, I know it! They're not the type to just sit back and nap all day, haha.

So It's not going to be long, I bet.

[gekkajuu]

Have you found them, in the stasis pods? If you want to visit them sometime, I can come along. You can tell me all about them, and when they wake up they won't understand how I know who they are.

[ayes]

...really? You'd do that? [Wow. That's actually really sweet of him.] I looked for a while, but I couldn't find them. Do you know if there was like... a directory or anything? There were a lot of people.

[gekkajuu]

Of course! [More than just willing, he's almost eager now. If he can help You, even a little bit, it will make him feel better, too.]

I don't know if there is one, actually... [He feels a little dumb, now, even though he tries really hard not to get his hopes up. There's still one important person that he hadn't managed to find in a pod, after all.] We should go up there and ask! If there isn't one, we can go look the old-fashioned way.