ayabe

[gitalong]

meme for the meme lords?

Comments

[kazokun]

Hi Missile, come in.

[ Just in case he needs the invite, Ayabe's trying to make it a reflex so people don't go bashing their noses all week. ]

I haven't decided what to make yet. It's like the garlic's gone bad, but it looks fine. I don't want to just throw it out...

[gitalong]

[ man, after this week, Ayabe's going to be even more polite by sheer habit ]

It's not growing or anything, is it? Maybe you're just not in the mood for it!

[ it's tragic when that happens, but it won't be for forever. ]

You should make... something sweet!

[kazokun]

[ He could stand to be more polite, tbh ]

If I make something sweet, it would be separate from lunch, as dessert. Hamburger's pretty easy, if you're hungry and want to share.

[ He's just going to... go find a thick towel to wrap around the cloves of garlic in here and remove them from the fridge. ]

We can eat and then go plant these.

[gitalong]

[ but Missile thinks Ayabe is already super polite! ]

Huh? It would? But what about teriyaki chicken? Is that a dessert?! Have Miss Lynne and Miss Kamila been eating dessert for dinner all this time... without even sharing any?!

[ Missile knows his chickens, okay. and out of distress, he'll crowd closer to Ayabe, regardless of icky garlic smell... ]

[kazokun]

[ How sweet is teriyaki chicken... That means Missile has definitely tried them though, right? ]

Don't get too close, Missile, you're going to—-

[ Trigger the panic attack explanation but without the context, from the viewpoint of somebody clinging to a chandelier 20 feet in the air. Don't ask how he got up there. ]

[gitalong]

[ oh cool, great. meanwhile, Ayabe gets a nice, wonderful memory from, oh, about half a foot off the ground. a memory i'm totally making up, because while i'm sure it happened, Ghost Trick... does not dwell on the past.

the sun is shining, the air is brisk, and his Miss Lynne is running ahead of him! they're playing tag! he loves the days they get to play tag, because that means outdoors! and grass! and chicken delivered by the man with the funny nose in the park! and everything smells wonderful and Miss Lynne and Miss Kamila smile and feed him bits of their food and play with him!

and when he's tired out from running back and forth and around and around, he can flop down on the blanket they brought with them, and Miss Lynne will go find a water fountain so he can drink something, and Miss Kamila will pet him, and brush him, and tell him how fast he is! and sometimes, if the day is just warm enough, and the sun filters through the trees just right, they can all curl up together on the blanket - Miss Lynne on one side, Miss Kamila on the other, and Missile in the middle! and there, in the dappled shade, they can all doze off, warm and content with full bellies and full hearts.

]

[kazokun]

[ ...He blinks in surprise, like being waken out of a really good dream and immediately lamenting the fact.

HE WANTS TO GO BACK. BRING HIM BACK. HE WANTS TO BE A HAPPY DOGGY NAPPING BETWEEN MISS LYNNE AND MISS KAMILA FOREVER. ]

[gitalong]

[ Missile is also left stunned. wow, he'd been so high up!!! truly, the power of hands... ]





Do you usually call your broom "him"? Oh, is there a soul in it?

[kazokun]

No- no, it's...

[ It's better that Missile misunderstands, actually?? ]

Well. The broom I have back home, it's name is Fujishima-san. Plum gave me two to have here: Hanazumi-san, and Takiyama-san.

[ They sort of have souls???? in the way where Ayabe names his broomsticks in the same way other people name their swords. ]

[gitalong]

[ oh man, Ayabe has souls that live in brooms? and they don't get bored??????? ]

You do?! Can I meet them? I want to say "hello!" to them!

[kazokun]

[ They get used often so they don't get bored!! Presumably!!!! But Ayabe obliges, slipping the guitar case off his shoulder and setting it on the ground so it's easier to unzip. ]

Don't tell anybody, okay, Missile? They're kind of shy, so I don't like people knowing I carry them with me.

[ It's weird and embarrassing is what it is, but anyways. He unzips the guitar case and instead of a guitar there's two broomstick handles that are immediately apparent, with whatever else that's in here lying in the bottom of the bag.

He pulls out one of the brooms, the handle lovingly polished and bristles free of hair and dust. ]

This one is Hanazumi-san. The one inside is Takiyama-san.

[gitalong]

[ !!! ]

I won't! I promise I won't tell anyone!

[ Missile is practically dancing around when Ayabe kneels down to open up the thing he'd been carrying on his shoulder. and when it's unzipped-!!! oh boy oh boy oh boy...! ]

Hello, Hanazumi! Hello, Takiyama! I'm so glad both of you and Ayabe are such good friends! I'm sorry I can't talk to you, soul to soul, but I'm still really happy to meet you!

[ even if they smell just like regular brooms, and don't seem to be interested in doing any Tricks ]

[kazokun]

[ Missile's happy tags save my soul every time I get them in my inbox, everything in this game is terrible but then there's Missile, the light of my life.

Neither broom can say anything in return, seeing as they're soulless inanimate objects, but Ayabe lets Hanazumi-san down gently so he can bop Missile very lightly on the forehead with the handle before setting it on the ground. Like it's saying hello, despite Ayabe very obviously being the one to control it. ]

They can't talk, but they can hear you. I talk to them too.

[gitalong]

[ i'm so glad Missile can be a ray of light for you in this dark, dark murder mansion

/is bopped. his tail continues to wag frantically. ]

You do? Wow, can you hear what they say to you, Ayabe? You're so smart!

[ does intelligence have anything to do with it? doubtful. ]

[kazokun]

[ It has absolutely nothing to do with intelligence but it's still nice to hear sometimes. Compliments are so scarce he can probably count on one hand the number of times somebody says something nice to him, so he'll absolutely take it. ]

That's right. Things like "Good work today" or "My bristles feel a bit dry. I would like to be soaked."

[ Normal broomstick conversations. ]

[gitalong]

[ Ayabe deserves All the compliments, gosh dangit ]

... Huh, I guess that is what a broom would like talking about...

[ presumably? Missile's never met a broom before! ]

... Ayabe? Why do you feel guilty about things that are dirty? You didn't make the mess, after all.

[kazokun]

[ Ayabe wants a 336 year nap.

That's a good question, though. It's normal to feel guilty if you're the one who made the mess, knowing it was your fault and that somebody's going to be angry if you don't clean it up. ]

Well, it's...

[ ...all his examples don't work, because Missile is a DOG and dogs think messes are fun?? ]

...It reminds me of my family. They're always very messy, and I'm always cleaning up after them. I ran away from home, so... when I see a mess, I'm reminded of my family. The fact that I abandoned them.

[gitalong]

[ sometimes... you can just tell it to the dog straight. ]

Why did you leave? Did something happen?

[ there's no judgement or anything like it in his (synthesized) voice. he's just curious, and innocent. if you leave your home, there must be a reason why, right? ]

[kazokun]

[ There's a reason, but every time he explains it, it sounds so childish. Maybe that's just how it is when you keep something to yourself for so long, turning it over and over in your head so that it grows without having the chance to untangle and sort itself out. ]

I just... couldn't stand the pressure of it anymore. Taking care of five siblings from the moment I wake up, all the cooking and the cleaning and solving their problems... I got too tired. I wanted to live on my own.

[ Being a single parent of five wore him down so he ran away from home, yeah ]

[gitalong]

Huh? But where were your parents? Or your adult?

[ ???? hewwo? child services????? ]

[kazokun]

They both work. My mother is a nurse who works late into the night, and my father is a truck driver who is across the country most of the time.

[ PRESUMABLY there is an adult sometimes, but his mother is never seen and maybe doesn't even live with them so

who knows?! We need to get child services in there, at which Ayabe will fight them off tooth and nail bc leave his kids alone. ]

It's just me. I'm the parent. The adult.

[gitalong]

But you're not an adult. Do you even pay taxes?

[kazokun]

I... help my parents file them, sometimes?

[ Me, sitting back like would Ayabe do this? I think he would. He doesn't have a job to pay the taxes, but he would file them, maybe. ]

[gitalong]

I don't know what that means, but I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to be doing it.

[ me, staring blankly at the screen: is Ayabe forging his parents signatures? is he learning tax law? is Ayabe committing tax evasion??? ]

[kazokun]

[ It's fine! He can make sure the numbers work! Maybe sometimes a little tax evasion is necessary when you have six mouths to feed. ]

No, but the point is, I'm the eldest, so all of that falls on my shoulders.