Waterlogged Stress (Melody)

some coincidences are deliberate

Felt like having Marie take the first dip, hope it's not too incoherent :x

It'd been a long couple of days, and with as much studying and practicing she'd been doing and just how long they'd felt, Marie felt like she'd had approximately zero time to relax. Which was obviously impossible, which just helped cement the idea in her head that she really just needed to give it a break.

She'd actually never been to a hot spring before, truth be told; there was absolutely no interest when she was a child, and after everything changing she just never really could be bothered to try. Her mother had offered the suggestion a few times, but she'd always respectfully turned her down. Here, though? And now? She was ready to admit that she needed a good hot soak to de-stress and ease her nerves. Plus with Fukui so nearby, the chance of any guy sneaking a peek at her felt astronomically low - not that she'd have an easy way of knowing, one way or the other.

Someone from the school staff - a reserved young woman who had been exceedingly helpful in showing Marie around during her first year here, was perfectly happy to show her to the place, and had even extended the offer (which Marie accepted) of sticking around to help Marie walk her way back to the dormitories. Thankfully it wasn't that late in the evening and she'd managed to run into the woman back at the school; otherwise, this plan probably would've turned out a wash.

And so after stripping in the appropriate changing room and briskly showering, taking a little time to put her hair up into a loose bun, Marie slipped out into the actual hot springs area with her body towel in tow. From the sounds of things (or the absence of such) the springs appeared to be empty at the moment...which kind of surprised her, considering just how popular hot springs were and just how close this one was to a school.

But that was just fine with her.

Dipping herself gingerly into the water, she made a point of folding her body towel and placing it on the lip of the spring behind her, reclining her head and resting on it like a pillow. With the tips of her forefingers she shifted her sunglasses - which were currently her cats-eye pair, a gift from a friend, instead of her 'normal' ones - onto her forehead, closing her eyes as she proceeded to do exactly two things:

1) Soak.
&
2) Not think about anything at all.

CODED BY DUCKIE OF GS

Melody sighed as she nervously stripped down and wrapped her towel around herself. She'd never been to a hot spring either, having spent most her life in London. She was new to the whole place, and even having studied about the culture, culture shock was still a thing. Sure, she was a second year student education-wise, but this was her first year away from home. It had taken a ton of work to get her family to allow her to travel so far before she was even eighteen. Still, she wanted to try the hot spring, and it seemed there weren't many people here, not even girls.

After getting ready, Melody ran her fingers through her always slightly frizzy hair, and walked out into the hot springs, noticing another student about her age already relaxing there. Briefly, she considered going back inside and getting changed. Public things like this were... weird to her, to say the least. Still, she could be stubborn when she wanted to, even with herself, and she eventually stepped one foot into the hot water, followed by the other after a long moment. "Oh, hey," she greeted the girl. "I'm surprised there aren't many people here. I thought these places were always busy..." She took a deep breath before releasing it slowly, and placing her own towel near her as she slid into the water several feet from the other occupant.

some coincidences are deliberate

Melody Black

She generally wasn’t one for just lazing about, but now that she’d finally tried out a hot spring and started to relax a bit? Marie was willing to admit she’d probably been wrong about this. The water was the perfect temperature, and she’d begun to drift off to the point where her limbs were feeling pretty weightless.

She was so adequately out of it, in fact, that she didn’t even register the sounds of soft footsteps making their way over to the spring - she was too caught up in thinking about nothing at large, the ambient sounds of the world around her serving to lull her deeper and deeper into a trance-like state.

So it stands to reason that she gave a small start when she heard someone speak up.

With her head lifted and eyebrows raised in surprise, a wet hand retreated from the water to probe the towel she’d been resting on - the familiar lump of her cane under the towel being a reassuring one, in case this was someone coming to ask her to leave. She hadn’t been keeping track of the time, but surely she hadn’t been here that long, right? That helpful woman from the school definitely would’ve come to check on her if that was the case.

And then, a few heartbeats later, she realized this other person was inquisitive. Not someone who worked here. She was fine.

Managing to pass off feeling for her cane under the towel as drying off her hand, she gingerly used a forefinger to nudge her sunglasses back down squarely on her nose before she allowed herself to crack open her eyelids.

”My thoughts exactly. I didn’t know what my first time here was going to be like, but I was expecting somewhere between ‘public pool’ and ‘overcrowded hot-tub’...” Recovering pretty swiftly from the sudden appearance of a conversational partner, Marie’s response was cool and measured as she shrugged her shoulders. ”Not that I’m complaining, really. ‘s pretty nice.”

Suddenly becoming aware of a weird crick in her neck from the way she’d been reclining, she half-heartedly massaged the side of her neck before turning her head in the general direction the other girl’s voice was coming from. She sounded fairly young, so Marie felt pretty confident in making an assumption. Plus, she thought the girl’s speech was interesting; definitely not a local accent, but Marie had never felt right guessing at origins like that. Made her feel too analytical, too much like a busybody.

”I’m guessing you’re a student here too?”

CODED BY DUCKIE OF GS

"Yeah," Melody nodded. She took a deep breath again, slowly releasing it as she tried to relax despite being out of her element as much here as she was at the school. Her home was a lot different, and even her studies and stories from her uncle hadn't really prepared her. Still, she figured she might as well immerse herself a bit. "I'm a second year student, though I just transferred here from London." She spoke almost perfect Japanese, though her accent was somewhat heavy.



The blond girl tilted her head as she looked up into the sky. At the same times he crossed her arms and placed one leg over the other - a physical representation that she was uncomfortable, if stubborn. "I'm here to learn to play the guitar better, and maybe even pick up singing." Well, she said maybe, but she was totally going to learn to be a better singer. She was good, but it was nowhere near her guitar abilities. Guitarists who could also sing did a lot better in the fame and fortune department. "What are you here for?" It took her a moment to realize the way she'd asked the question made her think of something someone would ask in prison, and she blushed slightly. The fact that she was a native English speaker and not a native Japanese speaker didn't help. "I mean, what are you studying?"

TAG: Marie Reisender

some coincidences are deliberate

Melody Black | aaaaaaaaaaaa this feels so short i’m sorry :x

Having guessed correctly, Marie nodded attentively as the other girl mentioned where she was from - all the while hoping that it didn’t appear like she was trying to rush her, or something. She knew that others sometimes found her disjointed social etiquette to be quite aggravating, but there wasn’t a whole lot more she could do besides vaguely trying to do better. ”Quite a ways to go for school. Your speech is really good, too.” Wait did that sound the way I thought it did in my head? "I mean, if you didn't have that cool accent, I'd be hard-pressed to tell if it was your first language." Better? Better. Maybe.

When she explained what talent had brought her to Fukui, one of the corners of Marie’s mouth quirked upwards in a tiny smile. ”I play the violin and the saxophone. I dabble a little bit in some other things, but those are what drew me here.”

The crick in the side of her neck had eased, thankfully, so she briefly stretched before reclining her head back again. Her sunglasses shifted a little bit as her head met the towel, but she quickly adjusted them again with a forefinger. ”It’s always great to meet someone else here for music. I mean, I’m a little biased, but-” There was a slight pause as she tried to figure out the way to word this specific thought. ”-there are a lot of career paths others pursue at Fukui that I don’t really understand, can’t connect with.”

Well, that came out sounding a lot heavier than I intended.

Looking to get off that subject as quickly as she brought it up, one of her eyebrows shot up in a curious look. ”Do you have a particular style of music you like the play? Or a preference between acoustic and electric?”

CODED BY DUCKIE OF GS

"It's weird thinking of myself as the one with the accent," Melody admitted, reaching a wet hand up to brush her bangs from her face a bit. She was distracted enough that she wasn't thinking about her awkwardness as much. "I mean, obviously where I come from I sound like everyone else." Her Londoner accent was easily identifiable by the rest of the world, but not something people thought about when it was what they'd heard their entire lives.

"Music is my life," Melody stated confidently. "The name must have been an omen or something. Mom is a painter and dad loves classical music. So I was introduced to art from like, the day I was born. I swear Mom was already painting a picture of me the day I came home from the hospital. At least that's what they told me." Great, now she was rambling about things the girl didn't care about. Quick! Change the subject!

"Anyway, I'm really into rock," she glanced over at Marie more directly, finally. "All kinds really, but I really get into the more intense stuff." She also really enjoyed playing for people. Not that she'd brought her guitar to the hot spring. "So, I guess electric all the way. I own both, but I only brought the electric guitar. It's easier to practice with late at night with headphones."

Melody sighed and her posture relaxed more as she sank a bit into the water. She'd made no effort to tie up her hair, so a good portion of it was wet by now. Oh! She should probably ask a question too. "Sax and the Violin, huh? Are you into classical like Dad?" Now that she was actually trying for eye contact, Melody realized she thought Marie was kind of pretty. Though, she'd been having those thoughts more often lately, without having her parents to worry about.

TAG: Marie Reisender | It's fine. Quality over quantity and all that, and the quality was just fine. No need to do a ton of you don't want to with me, as long as I have enough to work with.

some coincidences are deliberate

Melody Black

”It might help to remember others feel the same about theirs?” Another shrug of her shoulders - it was a surly default motion from her childhood that had mellowed out with age, and her mother always poked fun at just how much she did it. ”Plus, anybody who’d give you grief about it isn't worth your time.”

Hearing about someone else’s drive, their passion, always served to brighten up her disposition. That kind of ‘butterflies in your stomach’ kind of feeling. She was sure others would malign her for that sappy little bit of empathy, but she really couldn’t help the fact that she enjoyed listening to people talk about stuff like that. Also the mental image of the girl’s mother painting her as a newborn was too adorable for words.

”So more of the high-octane stuff? Cool. And fair point about late-night practicing.” The answer to her follow up question was certainly a good one; she’d never really considered that factor for an instrument being an option. Then again, she remembered looking up prices for electric saxes and violins once and coming away with a huge case of sticker-shock. Maybe an investment for the future. ”I think I managed squeak by getting noise complaints last year by a combination of my dormmate being continually absent and willing myself to play as quietly as I possibly could.”

”In terms of playing?” In thinking on her answer, she absent-mindedly begain cracking her knuckles; whatever the reason, sometimes she just needed to find something to keep her hands busy while in thought. ”Yeah, I’d say that. I do tend to gravitate towards playing more classical pieces on violin. Really heavy into mellow and chill stuff, so that’s mostly what I do on sax. Stuff most people would call cheesy.” A bit of teeth flashed as she grinned up at the sky, remembering how she joked around with a friend by playing what she described as ‘classy porn music’. What was the name of that song? It was kind of on the tip of her tongue. ’Mindless...Murmurs’? No, it was uh...’Careless’ something-or-other.

Having finally popped the last knuckle on one of her pinkies, she kind of tilted her head to the side to look in the other girl’s direction again. ”So how’ve you been settling in so far? If you don’t mind me asking, that is.” She was quick to add that note, knowing that her question might have come across as too forward. ”I mean, Fukui is a bit much to take in at first. Kind of a scatterbrained layout.”

CODED BY DUCKIE OF GS

Melody couldn't help but agree with the girl when she said anyone who was concerned with her accent wasn't worth her time. At her home, these people would be in the reverse situation. It was all stupid, and anyone who thought looking down on others for how they were born was a short-sighted moron. She'd told someone that once; one of the few people back home who knew anything about her dating preferences, actually.

Marie admitted she was more into the mellow music, basically the opposite of what Melody went for. That said, a true musician had an appreciation for every kind of music, even if they had a favorite genre. "Cheesy? How is mellow music on a saxophone cheesy? It sounds exactly like it should." Wasn't that the understatement of the year? Exactly like it should? The heck did that even mean? Melody knew what she was trying to say, but words didn't flow like tunes did from her brain and subsequently, her mouth.

"I'm adjusting... okay I guess. It's hard to listen all day in class in a second language... Not to mention I have a habit of running into or getting run into by just about everyone in the school. I haven't even been here a week, you know..." she pouted slightly. "Fukui isn't the only thing with a scatterbrain I guess. I'm still trying to get my head on straight."


TAG: Marie Reisender | I kept getting distracted trying to write this...

some coincidences are deliberate

Melody Black

How could sax music sound cheesy? Oh, that felt like an outright invitation for examples...a pity that they weren’t back at the dorms. Otherwise she’d be happy to illustrate the difference.

Instead she laughed softly at the question, a warm chuckle that kind of faded into her response. ”It does! You’re not wrong. It’s just that there’s a very fuzzy line between ‘mellow’ sax music and ‘cheesy’ sax music, with a lot of overlap. Probably doesn’t help that it’s hard not to make ‘bedroom eyes’ when you’re playing the sax.” Of course, she let the fact that she didn’t have to worry about that much trail off into her train of thought. ”It was how my parents met, actually. Dad playing in a club one night.”

Oh, and running into people at the school. Yep. Doors too; for a brief moment she rubbed the bridge of her nose in painful reminiscing. ”Iiiii can definitely relate to that. I think I had more bumps and bruises last year than I did classes in a semester. A lot of excited people in a cramped space is pretty exhausting.”

”Hey, if you ever have a question about something, I’d be happy to help out. Not exactly an expert or anything, but I’d try my best.” And then something occured to her - a thought, though a very delayed one. ”Name’s Marie, by the way.”

CODED BY DUCKIE OF GS

Okay, so any instrument 'could' sound cheesy. But even something meant to sound cheesy could be good. Melody was hard pressed not to find an example of something she liked from any genre or subgenre of music. Even in the 'cheesy' category she was sure she would semi-guiltily admit to liking some song or another. What got her was the 'bedroom eyes' comment. Red creeped across Melody's face as the image of the girl next to her making bedroom eyes surfaced into her thoughts. She'd already gathered the girl was blind, but... still... that mental image...

"Uh, er, yeah," Melody hooked some hair behind her ear, looking down at the water in front of her rather than at the girl, more of a habit than anything, considering Marie couldn't see her. "If you've got any defenses from angry teen girls who I spill rice all over, I could use that." She did not like how that lunch had gone. She'd turned pretty nasty, herself, when she'd been assaulted, and Melody was trying really hard not to be like that.

"OH!" When Marie introduced herself, Melody realized she hadn't done so either. With a nervous laugh, accompanied by a shift in the water to face her new acquaintance better, she placed an arm on the ground outside the spring water, and introduced herself as well. "Melody Black." She thought better of holding out a hand to shake or something, knowing it really wouldn't be doing anyone any favors to do so. "I'll be sure to look you up if I really need anything. At the moment though, I might just need someone to massage out the tension from so many collisions," she joked. "Other than that, my only real challenge is keeping up in class, since Japanese isn't my first language."

some coincidences are deliberate

Melody Black

She completely missed the impact that her ‘bedroom eyes’ comment left on Melody, incorrectly attributing it to her extended offer. Which was perfectly fine, since she wasn’t exactly one eager to accept help herself.

”Well, not particularly? Though usually when stuff starts to escalate like that I try to just drop it and walk away.” Had she been younger, her answer would’ve been quite different, but it was pretty remarkable what a couple of years could do to someone’s temperament. Nowadays she just fell back on talking sternly and simmering.

Odd as it was, this was probably the most conversation that she’d had so far this year, and Marie was pleasantly surprised that it was so...well, pleasant. It didn’t really hurt that it wasn’t following the format of nearly all of her other interactions with other students, which usually always centered around being very poor at talking around the elephant in the room. She even felt comfortable enough that she was tempted to respond in kind to the ‘massage’ joke, but she thought better of it; it would probably come across as inappropriate. That would be a joke reserved for her friend, obviously, not some schoolmate that she’d just met.

And then she was temporarily lost in thought, drawing in a corner of her mouth as she contemplated how she could possibly offer help on that last front. It was kind of an abstract problem that defied simple solutions, save for just taking time to adjust, but that wasn’t an answer most people wanted to hear.

Wait, maybe those could-

Struck suddenly with her idea, her head shot up as she sat up a bit straighter in the water. ”So this isn’t a perfect solution, but I have a collection of voice recorders I use in classes. Most of them are back-ups, because it’s better to be safe than to just have the one. If you think it’d help or you’d like to try it, you’re welcome to borrow one or two?” Little out of left-field; you should elaborate a bit more. ”It might help a bit to have a literal recording, so you know you didn’t miss anything.”

Not all of them were blank or used for classes, so she’d have to vet the choices to make sure she wouldn’t be embarrassed by any personal stuff, but she’d worry about that later if it came up. Better to make the suggestion than to just let some of them sit in disuse, right?

CODED BY DUCKIE OF GS

Yeah, walking away might have been a better idea. She'd kind of embarrassed herself with the way she'd so easily goaded the other girl into getting even more angry. Melody knew how to make people mad or feel insecure, and in her anger she'd done both just to get more of a rise out of the other girl. And to make matters worse, it turned out the girl wasn't just a spoiled brat. She was also a proud seamstress that had had a personal work ruined. In retrospect, Melody could see where things had gone wrong. Ah well. Melody was just as proud; they were destined to butt heads again, she was sure.

About that time, Melody was surprised with the other student sitting up straighter in the water, as if surprised or suddenly struck with something, either physical or metaphorical. She suggested recording the lesson so that she could go over it again if need be, and even offered to let her borrow a recorder. "Er, well, I mean... if you don't mind lending them to a stranger..." Melody was no thief. Even when she'd been a jerk she had never been a thief. But still, she didn't want the girl to lend personal things if she wasn't truly comfortable with it. "I'd be happy to take you up on it, Marie," she nodded, mostly to herself. "At least until I can pick one of my own up so I'm not just keeping your stuff."

Melody was starting to feel quite warm in the hot spring, so she stood up and grabbed her towel. The cooler wind (by comparison to the water, at least) bit into her flesh, causing goose bumps to rise, and she shivered a bit as she wrapped her towel around herself better. Once she was satisfied with her wrapping job, she sat back down at the edge, with only her legs dangling into the warm pool. "You know," she decided after a moment, "If you're going to be that nice to me, I should do something nice for you." That was how it worked right? Give and take, not just give and not just take. And she could stand to practice a bit of the giving. Like it or not she still owed the seamstress jerk for the free clothes, too. But she'd get back to that one. "What do you say? I could treat you to dinner or something soon, or heck, we could just hang out a bit. I'm looking to make more friends anyway. Though I'm not sure how much that helps you compared to me. Someone as cool seeming as you probably has several friends."

TAG: Marie Reisender | Melody... a strange combination of sweetheart and jerk depending on how she's treated...

some coincidences are deliberate

Melody Black | “would you say it was a blind date” “UGH MOM YOU’RE SO EMBARRASSING”

”Ah, it’s no problem really. You can borrow one for as long as you like.” Retreating back from her straight posture, she sank slowly back into the water - not to the extent that she’d been relaxing before Melody had shown up, but pretty close. ”And besides, you’re not technically a stranger. A first name’s more than I’ve got for a lot of people.”

Presently she was aware of small splashing sounds as the other girl emerged from the springwater, and she kind of tilted her head back quizzically for a second. Was it late? Was Melody leaving? But then, she didn’t hear any retreating footsteps...she probably just felt like it was time to get out of the water. Truth be told, Marie should probably be feeling about the same right now, given how hot-blooded she usually ran, but for some reason she was completely comfortable for the time being.

Just a few more minutes. Maybe.

Having her attention drawn back to her, Marie kind of turned her head in Melody’s direction again as if she was shooting her a glance. ”For me? Huh.” She didn’t really want to interrupt her, but the three words just kind of slipped out in a soft voice. Marie didn’t have a whole lot of practice accepting niceties from other people, to be fair, but thankfully she managed to keep her tongue held while she listened to the offer.

When Melody got to how she seemed cool, however, she had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing out loud. It wasn’t a complete avoidance, however; a strange sound halfway between a snort and a laugh caught in the back of her throat. That’s me, being real cool. ”I think you’d be surprised on both counts, actually. I’m a pretty big dork.” She coughed once or twice, trying to dislodge the last bit of that expression she’d strangled earlier.

Leaving her hanging-

”That said,” she began, turning her body this time to regard Melody as she curled her knees up beside her into a more comfortable sitting position. ”Sounds pretty good to me. Whatever you’d prefer, really; I wouldn’t say I’m partial to any option.” Propping her elbow on the lip of the spring and resting her chin on it, she took the opportunity to stretch out her legs a bit under the water. It occurred to her that she hadn’t really moved much since getting in the water. Probably some of the ‘weightless limbs’ thing she’d been feeling earlier had been her legs falling asleep.

The prospect of making a new friend at Fukui was definitely an interesting one. Though if she decided to mention it to her parents, she’d likely leave out the bit about where they’d met. Her parents loved her too much to pass up on good-natured ribbing over a situation which, more likely than not, was pretty awkward.

CODED BY DUCKIE OF GS

"You can't be half as big a dork as me," Melody shrugged to herself as she started gently splashing her feet in the water. She hadn't realized how much of one she really was before she moved, but really... when she wasn't being stupid and making people dislike her... she wasn't cool, she wasn't athletic, and she most certainly wasn't popular... unless one counted how much she stood out at a foreign school where most of the inhabitants had rather different physical traits from her. She didn't.

"Well, let's make this easy then," she decided after a moment. "What sorta things do you like to do when you hang out with people?" She scratched her cheek, "I haven't quite got my sea legs yet since coming to this school, so I'm not really sure what I know what I like to do around here, myself." She chuckled a nervous chuckle at that. She'd hung out with her roommate, Shion some... who, as it turned out was a first year, and they'd been paired up by mistake. Melody hadn't said anything though; she rather liked the mistake, truth be told. Other than that... most of her encounters had been accidents and involved accidental pain to get the conversations started. She was pretty glad this one had only involved a bit of initial embarrassment because of new situations.

TAG: Marie Reisender

some coincidences are deliberate

Melody Black

Yet again she was sorely tempted to quip back, but something in the back of her mind told her that wouldn’t be the best of ideas. Still, she felt like she had to say something back, at least. ”We can be dorks together, then. Solidarity and all that jazz.”

A light breeze kicked up the air around the surface of the water, feeling pretty refreshing against her face. The difference in temperature would make most people shiver, but Marie had grown fairly used to very highs and very lows in terms of climate. It did, however, serve to make her realize that she was now done with soaking.

Okay yeah time to get out now getting a little uncomfortable.

Briskly raising herself out of the water, she snatched up her towel and made a point of slipping the strap of her cane over her left wrist before wrapping herself up. Satisfied that the towel would stay in place, she too decided to sit down on the lip of the pool of water before getting back to what Melody said. ”What do I like to do when I hang out? That’s...a very good question, actually…” Her voice trailed off at the end there as she considered some possibilities, trying to think of all the options she would like to do and which ones were really feasible.

”...dinner sounds pretty good. To be honest, things have been so hectic that I haven’t had the chance to cook for myself since the school year started. I think I’m starting to get burnt out on pre-packaged stuff and the cafeteria food.”

The tingling feeling in her legs finally subsided, now that they weren’t having their circulation uncomfortably restricted. Stretching them out again in the water, her mind wandered as she reflected on what had happened so far (a detestable habit that she couldn’t curb, considering how much she second-guessed herself in social situations). This was probably definitely one of those things that would read as different to other people.

Wait, wouldn’t this be considered a date? Does it technically count if you don’t call it a date? Is it a “Schrödinger's Night Out” thing where it both is and isn’t a date until it’s actually happening?

CODED BY DUCKIE OF GS

Would going out to dinner with someone were physically attracted to be considered a date? In the strictest sense... maybe... but A certain blond British girl hadn't even considered it. How awkward would it have been to invite someone on a date when you were both basically naked in a pool of water? Melody likely wouldn't have been able to manage it. She wasn't that brave. Plus... well, to be quite honest, she could see quite well, and that didn't make it any better when it came to gaining the nerve to do such a thing. Melody... currently didn't have the courage in the best of circumstances.

"Dinner sounds fun," Melody nodded with a small grin. She didn't have the most money, but she did have some sent to her every couple of weeks by her parents at the moment. She'd be happy to take a new friend out to get a bite to eat, date or not. "I don't really know any of the places around here, so I guess unless you have a favorite place, we can both be surprised," Melody tapped her chin. She'd have to do some research on that when she was dressed and near her laptop in the dorm.

"Got a favorite type of food?" She'd hate to take the girl to get sushimi if she were allergic to seafood, for instance. Melody was still getting used to eating japanese food all the time, but the fangirl in her thought it was fun to experience japanese schooling. She'd seen enough mangas and animes to positively flip on day one when she had the same sort of meal at her own cafeteria.

TAG: Marie Reisender

some coincidences are deliberate

Melody Black | we can end the thread/move to a new one whenever you feel like this one’s done, btw

She didn’t really have a whole lot of experience with dining out. Not that she would’ve suggested any fancy establishment, because that would’ve been weird, but she was pretty unfamiliar with local places herself. And as for a favorite type of food...savory things, kind of? Which didn’t mean that she didn’t have a sweet tooth or anything. Mainly she just tended to avoid things that relied heavily on chopsticks, because those things were finicky enough even with sight, damnit. Her mouth popped open momentarily before she quickly shut it, gears grinding in her head.

”I like a lot of savory things, I guess. I’m not a very picky eater.” A pause. ”I did have a weird reaction to some shellfish when I was a kid, but I don’t know if it was necessarily an allergic reaction. That’s probably the extent of any picky eating habits I have.” This comment was delivered with a shrug as she withdrew her feet from the water, deciding to sit cross-legged as she thought to herself. ”What about you?”

But despite how distant and removed she was from local culture, she did sometimes hear things through word-of-mouth. Like how she’d heard some students (and one or two teachers) talking about a simple little hole-in-the-wall sort of place comfortably within walking distance of the school grounds. She wasn’t clear on why it wasn’t more popular, really, but they apparently had some really good food for not a lot of money at all, so maybe that was a good choice? Plus they were apparently known for good-quality yakitori and okonomiyaki, which was fine by her, because those were easy options for someone with an aversion to chopsticks like her. Nice curry bread too.

”I haven’t really been to any places around here enough to have a favorite, but I think I know a good place?”

CODED BY DUCKIE OF GS

It wouldn't do for her new friend to to have some sort of allergic reaction as a thank you for letting Melody borrow a recorder for class, now would it? Melody, too, shifted to sit out of the water, now sitting on her knees rather than cross-legged in order to protect what little modesty she actually had in a towel. Not that it mattered with a blind girl around, but Melody herself felt better about it.

"I'm new to a lot of the types of food they actually have around here," Melody admitted. SHe was used to western foods rather than eastern ones. She'd always been a bit of a japan nut, but that didn't mean she'd ever had much beyond what they put in western restaurants. Things were actually rather different here, which she'd found was kind of hit and miss in her past week and a half in Japan.

"We should try the place!" she decided enthusiastically. "I can walk with you back to school if you want, and we can go whenever you want. I could go tonight even." she shrugged. "I'm getting hungry already. Lounging around in spas does that to me, heh." She still hadn't thought of this whole thing as a possible date, but she was excited to make a new friend. She hadn't had any luck with anyone else this week.

Marie Reisender

some coincidences are deliberate

Melody Black | i'm imagining steam escaping Marie’s ears as the gears keep trying to turn

To say that Marie was taken aback by Melody’s unexpected eagerness would be somewhat of an understatement. ”I, uh- sure?” There was a momentary pause before she answered again, sounding more sure of herself this time. ”I mean, sure, tonight sounds great. It’s not a place that’s too eccentric, either, so you don’t have to worry about that.” This was new ground that Marie was treading; she couldn’t recall the last time someone was this excited to do something with her, and it was certainly the first time it’d happened here.

The briefest thought flashed through her mind, creeping and insidious - is she doing this because she feels bad for me - before she quickly shook that one out of her head, determined not to let it stick. NO. Stop it. She’s just being friendly. Stop trying to sabotage everything.

”I’m gonna need to grab a change of clothes real quick at the dorms, though...” She had no plans of dressing up for the occassion - ‘dress’ and ‘skirt’ weren’t in her wardrobe, and they were barely in her vocabulary - but not going out to eat with a new friend in a worn tanktop and pair of shorts seemed like a good idea. T-shirt and jeans sounded so much better. ”Plus I can go ahead and let you borrow a recorder while we’re there.”

The small knotted feeling in the pit of her stomach was not an unfamiliar one, but it was really freaking weird that she was feeling anxiety for something as simple as hanging out with a new friend. Usually that was reserved for class projects and...well, stuff more complicated and ‘panicy’ than this. If this was just something to be expected, part of her wondered if she’d be able to survive making new friends at Fukui.

CODED BY DUCKIE OF GS

"Yeah, sure," Melody nodded as she stood up and stretched. She needed to get dressed, herself, though she was fine with the clothes she had in the lockers here. The truth was, Melody, like a lot of people, had no idea what to do with a blind person. The rest of that truth was that worrying about it wasn't going to make anyone comfortable, so instead she'd just keep the obvious limitations in mind, and learn when she made other mistakes, right? "Alright, we'll walk back, pick up the recorder... you can get changed, and then we'll go."

Melody waited to see if Marie was going to need any help, though she figured she knew her way around the cane well enough not to fall in the water. People really needed to have more faith in people like Marie, in her opinion. She probably had like, four other super senses, and could probably find and whop her with the cane rather hard if she did something to make her mad enough.

Within a few minutes, Melody had dried off and gotten dressed back into her shorts and t-shirt, with a dark red hoodie thrown over the otherwise black ensemble. She did her best not to look at Marie as she got dressed; it was just bad form to disregard the sacredness of a changing room, regardless of orientation.

"So you're in the second year dorms, yeah?" she asked the obvious question with the obvious answer."I haven't actually been up there yet." she rubbed her neck, "The school kinda screwed up and I'm rooming with a first year girl. We're friends and stuff so it's pretty nice, but I still feel like it's weird."

Marie Reisender | whoops! posted on the wrong account the first time x3