Dripping Memoirs: When the Broken meet the Emotionless...

Loveless

With an ever-bleeding heart...
Original poster
LURKER MEMBER
FOLKLORE MEMBER
Invitation Status
  1. Not accepting invites at this time
Posting Speed
  1. One post per day
  2. Multiple posts per week
  3. 1-3 posts per week
  4. One post per week
  5. Slow As Molasses
Online Availability
10 AM to 12 PM (BRT)
Writing Levels
  1. Intermediate
  2. Adept
  3. Advanced
  4. Adaptable
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Male
  2. Female
  3. Nonbinary
  4. Agender
  5. No Preferences
Genres
I'm mostly used to Modern-Fantasy and things with some level of Slice of Life to them, though I'm willing to try anything even dice RP. I do think my fight scenes read a bit odd though, it's a work in progress... I also have a penchant for Comedy.
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  • Japan, 400 years ago.​

    I'm here.

    I stand alone, in the middle of a dense woods. Where I've come from? I'm not sure... I can only observe myself, surely in a different form than I'm used to. If I have really come from somewhere else... Still, I can be assured that somehow, in some way, I exist.

    The 'others' sing in-between the silence, content at the pouring, the sky water that falls softly. Somehow I know the word for it, whispering it low to myself as I try to make sense of this world I didn't previously know: '雨(Ame)'. Behind me is a tree, big, majestic, proud, as if it reigned over the forest land. The Tree. I suddenly remembered why I was here... I had heard its call.

    For what purpose? That, I still don't know... The bark-covered being did not answer to my inquiries. I suspect that it cannot relay words the same way I do...

    Under the rain, I sit down observing this environment I had found myself in. Flowers, bushes, tree, grass... They all danced in the wind, their satisfaction and happiness soon becoming my own. They sing with their souls at the gently all-encompassing rain.

    I too, hum something softly to myself.



    Time has passed. I don't how much, but I am certain that it had indeed, passed.
    Today too it rains, a rather strong one. It seems that I cannot get wet the same way the woodland critters can. The rain doesn't bother me. It is oddly... welcoming.

    It turns out I was not as alone as I initially had thought.

    Nearby, passing the bulk of the forest and into a clearing, I have managed to find a community to bipedal animals, quite unlike anything else I had seen before. They can themselves '人間 (Ningen)'. I knew at a first glance into their habitat that despite looking very similar, we are not the same.

    Some days, their saplings would get lost further in-between the greenery, unable to find their path back. I assume that it must be rather daunting to suddenly be in such a situation, though honestly, I wouldn't actually know... Still, I'd guide them back through the paths I was already quite familiar with, back to their tall wooden dens.

    First time I had seen it, it had filled me with... bitterness. But I had come to understand that like all animals, these humans were merely making use of what nature provided them to survive. As much as it fills me with sorrow for the fallen trees.

    The saplings too, would grow rather content in not being alone, merrily following me on the memorized pathways. They can get wet, so I shield them with a big leaf to the best of my ability. The fully-grown one's would greet us at the entrance. They too understood that I'm not the same, but only a portion of them seemed to react with fear. A lot of it was... gratitude. Without knowing how to react to their gentle words, I simply blink back at them, turning around and leaving for my place of origin.

    I'm not sure if I enjoy them, and yet, the humans aren't all that bad... When they dance and sing in some special occasion and it happens to be raining, I watch them from afar. Eyeing the different lair located by the entrance. ‘神社 (Jinjya)' its what the energetic saplings would exclaim loudly when they ran.

    I think... that if it continues to be this way, we can actually coexist peacefully. I'd be satisfied with that. At least that's what feels right to say right now.



    What a fool I was...!!

    I should have known, should have readied myself as soon as I had seen how they built their homes.

    It's all gone, from the flowing stream forwards. The forest that had once been there was mercilessly slaughtered, burned alive, chopped down as if meaningless. I've never seen this much destruction before, I'm numb with horror, but also the need to thank the favor...! Yet, it's not like I can actually act on it. It can only watch as my companions cease to exist at the hands of greedy creatures.

    How much time has passed since then? Once again, I know time has gone by. I don't know any of the faces wandering the ever-growing village.
    A different generation, much less respectful than the ones I've come to know...

    I can only watch, keep my own concerns to myself as I look back towards the tree that has become my origin point.

    ...How long until it too is gone? How long until I am gone too?
    Certainly, without this tree I cannot exist. Not in this way that I've grown used to. Where will I disappear to, I wonder. Will I remember all that has transpired here? I don't know... The unknown is... unnerving.

    I sing again, a sad grieving melody that will last who known how long...
    Perhaps, it will echo through the left over wasteland even after I'm gone.
  • Somewhere in America, a park.​

    I am... not gone yet.

    Still, this is surely a new location. New flora, yet the same tree, It was calling to me again...

    How??
    It doesn't really matter all that much... Well, it does, but it's secondary. Soon it is the last thing in my mind.

    The humans, they come and go, day after day, wandering into this space and later wandering out. Unlike the woods I had gotten familiar with, this environment seems deliberately constructed, artificial, it had filled me with aversion for the first few times I had ended up here, but it eventually had grown on me. It wasn't as if I could easily move either way...

    Here too, their saplings would wander outside in the rain... Why did they do so when they could get wet and cold? Maybe I'll never understand it. We've chatted a couple times, mundane, sapling things. They're very... lively and innocent. Quite unlike the fully grown ones. I don't think those ones can see me, or perhaps, they're just not acknowledging it. It's not like I want to interact with them either. Not after what they've done.

    Every time is rather peaceful. They don't really come out in the downpour willingly. I don't think they like it. I just observe as they run this and that way, hurrying to find shelter or maybe to get back into their solid dens. These ones are colorful and a lot more sturdier. They've learned, they've progressed. They took over countless other spaces and then built these tiny fenced prisons as if it made everything right... It doesn't.

    Everything has changed, but me. I'm still the same, lonely humming under the rain, watching over my plant companions.

    If there is an ending to this story of mine, I suppose it is yet to come...
  • ~About the Plot~

    A university student meets an Ame-Warashi (rain spirit that looks like a child, loosely based on the character by CLAMP, that may be based on the Amefuri Kozou youkai.) and through an unlikely friendship, both learn to be, on the girl's case more human, and on the boy's case truer to his feelings.

    Modern fantasy, primarily slice-of-life, filled with heartwarming moments but also its fair share of slightly bleak and heartfelt moments. A bit of a roller-coaster. Romance is not necessarily planned but always a possibility for the future.

    And oh, the OP is written like a monologue, but just the OP I swear!


    ~About the Writers~

    Heyo, Loveless here! Huh, what to say about this... Well, I like Japanese culture a lot. I quite enjoy reading about their beliefs, habits and rituals, it's quite fascinating to me and I love how nature-centric it is. Preaching that we should respect it not because of some benefit or future goal, but simply because it is, and has been for a really long, before us humans even.

    I also enjoy exploring the human psyche a lot, it being one of my favorite things about roleplaying, the fact that I get to explore what makes my characters who they are. What makes them 'tick' so to speak. So, I decided to mix both things I love, Japanese youkai and the exploration of emotions together in this RP! And guess what, my boyfriend liked the idea and I was very excited!

    I'm going to be playing the (at this time) still nameless Ame-Warashi through this and I'm soooo looking forward to seeing where this shell of an individual will develop!!! Anyway, enough about me, I'm going to let him type something now~


    Thank you Loveless~ Riri here! And I share many of the same reasons I wanted to try this that my writing partner and partner mentioned. There is just something fascinating about exploring human psychology and human psyche.

    On my end, I'll be exploring the journey of someone finding themselves and their own identity, after having suppressed and contorted themselves to fit into society and not have issues... which lead to strong depression and a feeling of having no clear path in life. But through a fateful meeting and friendship, and through introspection he shall grow and develop, and finally come into his own as the full person he is, or at least, eventually will be~
  • Name: N/A
    Actual Age: 400+
    Species: Ame-Warashi
    Gender Identification: Female

    ~Overall Information~

    An ancient spirit bound to an even older sacred tree, it is unknown whether she's the one summoning the rain with her presence by itself or whether she's only allowed to wander through the physical plane when it's raining. Either way, the Ame-Warashi is never seen out in clear weather, without a doubt getting dragged back into the spirit realm as soon as the rain ceases. The process is just up for the course to her, who will have a memory-gap from her last visit on the physical world to the next, current one. Whatever occurs to her while a formless spirit, it leaves no traces nor recollection behind.

    The Ame-Warashi is emphatically connected to plants, being able to feel when they're in suffering due to conditions not being the ideal to them. She might talk to them, but the plants can't exactly reply back, only that disconcerting feeling of something being wrong being transmitted emphatically to her. As a consequence, Ame-Warashi is rather attached to flora, taking them as company and growing increasingly distressed at the complete lack of greenery in an area.

    The sacred tree, itself, is quite important to her given that it acts as a gateway between the spirit and physical realms at each new occurrence of rain. If the tree was to go, the Ame-Warashi would be locked in an intangible state as a formless spirit until a new gateway could be found, IF there was such a thing. It's most likely that she'd never be able to return, a thought that's rather bothering as it is a permanent journey into a limbo-like existence.

    ~Personality~

    (?)


    Name: Yuki Hisakawa
    Age:
    Species: Human
    Gender: Male
    Occupation: College Student​

    ~Overall Information~

    (TBA)
 
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  • Bucket of Rainbows
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It was just another day. Just another day of boredom, fake facades, people-pleasing, and complacency…of fronts and superficial friends... of emptiness and depression with only a little respite due to a pair of cute little furry friends. And… one mystery that still tickled his childlike curiosity to this day, one he always remembered to check every rainy day.

A girl. A young, blonde, pretty looking girl, always wearing an emotionless expression. Always looking around, with an expressionless stone face. She only ever shows up during rainy days under the cherry blossom tree that’s on the way to his college from his house (A path he specifically goes through every day and specifically chose his higher education location over).
Talking about the tree, it's a special one: A diplomatic gift from 200 years ago from the japanese government to the United States, and has been in his town ever since. Oh, and said town? It's a Japanese “Colony” of immigrants in California, and yes, his family is one of many among them whose original hometown was located in Japan. But back on topic. Today was cold and rainy winter morning during March. The day is Monday, he was making his way to college, whose classes had just started a week ago. The shift from high school to college had hit the black-haired young man hard mental health-wise. Normally operating by an established routine due to his lack of general motivation, the new schedule and change had thrown the boy’s world out of order and had him struggling to make it to classes on time and pay attention, all while his parents kept insisting that he should enter as many clubs and extra classes as possible while going to all the “suggested events” the institute was hosting, which might as well have been obligatory for him. Day by day he had been getting closer and closer to cracking under pressure and even his pets had not been enough to keep him happy and sane as before.


The college student had woken up in the middle of the night that day, and had spent a substantial amount of time… thinking, stressing, and suffering from insomnia. He was not in a good state of mind for the rest of the morning… having a blank look with unfocused eyes, like peering into the void. While on his way to college, all of this pressure and exhaustion triggered a seemingly very uncharacteristic moment for Mitsuki Hisokawa, and didn’t keep riding his bike towards class. Instead, he chose to stop by the park the boy had passed by so many times since his childhood.
And there she was… just like the first day he had first seen her so many years ago while trying to shield himself from the sudden rain on that fateful date. Now there he stood, on his bike instead of on foot, wearing a raincoat along with a jacket instead of no water protection, staring at the girl in her usual spot. He had never tried approaching her or talk to her before, he thought she might just be a figment of his imagination, and was just content enough leaving the mystery intact and to ponder at the possibilities when bored. But now that he had been started to be pushed to the brim by life, Mitsuki suddenly felt a strong urge to finally find out, as to not have any regrets… as to why have regrets, even himself was not so sure.

Leaving his bike parked by a bench, the boy gulped, and slowly but surely approached the cherry blossom tree in the center of the park, where the silent girl was standing by the piece of Japanese heritage and under an umbrella.

He stared at her while sometimes looking away for a few moments, not knowing how to even start, eventually, he just settled for something simple.

“Em… hello there, I wanted to talk to you.” He finally blurted out to the mysterious girl, doing what he hadn’t done for more than a decade now.

 
  • Love
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Existence.
Something like that should be such a simple concept to each and everyone, and yet, it certainly wasn't to the small girl holding a pale blue umbrella.

Existence was fickle, passive. Strong to some, faint to others.
Every new occurrence of rain, she existed, whenever it ended, that same concept was put under doubts. Yet, there she stood, holding the object up as if it made a difference to her, watching humans passing-by with fast, apprehensive steps. Like most woodland critters, they didn't like the rain too much, looking for any kind of protection from the cold droplets of water, barely daring to wander under its wet embrace.

To the Ame-Warashi left alone in the middle of the now soaked park, it changed nothing. Not really. In that matter, the rain-dwelling spirit felt a little closer to the plants that made her company. Though she wasn't about to get overjoyed at its presence, it wasn't as if she hated it either. It was rather... familiar. Even if the environment was to be warped with progress or maybe her entrance point was to get moved again, at least, the rain would not. Always the same sounds, the same tranquillity, the same sense of belonging? Perhaps belonging wasn't the right word to describe it, and yet it remained to be the one closer to the attachment attempting to be described...

Surely, this predicament wasn't bond to change.
Another rainy morning, another session of passively observing, another instance of the flowers' song. Passion for the weather that despite having found a kind of... appreciation for, the inhuman girl couldn't exactly comprehend. Happiness, satisfaction, hope? None of these rang any bells, only by name, names that still held no context, weight or meaning. Merely dictionary definitions. Inked down characters that were dull and soulless just as she was.

A hollow husk wandering across time until the moment it inevitably was barred from entrance. Weak presence without a reason to be.

And still, she watched. Lacking any intention or motivation to do so, she still watched. There was nothing to do but watch.

But those that observed should remain attentive to the fact that they might be seen as well...

"Em… hello there, I wanted to talk to you."

Huh...?
The girl could only blink in confusion, staring back at the fully-grown human, expecting to be disregarded as usual. Honestly, her past experiences with them had taught the rain spirit that the grown-ups could not see her. Budding and sapling ones could. They'd sometimes get lost in the pouring weather, she'd make them company until a big one would come for them, often unable to notice the Ame-Warashi standing right there in front of them. It was, a pointless endeavor really, to get them to acknowledge her, the grown-ups of this era were even more thick-headed than the ones she had come to know long, long ago.

...But then, what did this one want?

Looking around just in case, the rain-dweller searched for someone else the human might be engaging with... only to find the park just as, empty as it normally was whenever she was present. A couple more confused blinks had made it towards the location itself until the truth of the situation had caught up with her.

With a gasp of pure terror she had faced away from him, stepped back closer to the sakura tree and run behind it.

"T-there's no one here!!"

It didn't matter if the action made no logical sense, if that'd only be giving out her position, at that moment all that had been on the girl's mind was to run and hide, hoping that the grown human had really been talking to someone else that was not her.

The tips of a still open light blue umbrella stuck out from the barked cover, making the attempt even more pathetic...
 
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  • Sweet
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Well... that went, a bit, different than what he had expected. Yuki thought the girl would be cold or something similar, considering her normal demeanor, and prepared himself mentally for that. But this? This caught him completely by surprise and ended up chuckling at the mysterious one just hiding in such a silly manner, having to place his hand in front of his mouth to contain himself even if just a little.

“..." The young man couldn't actually remember the last time he had even chuckled so joyfully like that, a small smile forming unconsciously on his face, which quickly shifted to a bigger, wry smile, with Yuki scratching his cheek a bit in awkwardness.

“Em... sorry. I know its a bit difficult to trust me, but I mean no harm... I just wanted to talk. I... have always been curious about you, always standing by the tree with that tranquil expression... and better now than never." If his words had been examined closely, one would notice that the last part was full of complex feeling along... a tint of recklessness. Hisakawa made sure to raise in hands in a gamble to seem less threatening and walked slowly towards the scaredy-cat of a girl, until he was on the other side of the tree, keeping a few steps worth of distance away from the girl without a name.

Funnily enough, Yuki didn't feel nervous anymore. He was a bit anxious about possibly messing things up further, but... he felt oddly at peace already, not really knowing why and not caring to delve deeper into his thoughts to learn why. "I want to get to know her, even if just a bit" That was the only wish reverberating in his heart at the moment and was far too done with everything to not try to follow it to the fullest, right here, right now. Even the previous thoughts of ending things soon... were in the backburner, at least for now. He didn't care if he missed a few classes, he was doing things that he actually wanted to do, for once in his life.

 
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  • Nice Execution!
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Surprised by the sudden approach, the girl now stood behind the great old tree, so glued to its trunk that she might as well be hugging it. The startled and cautious spirit had intended to remain covered up, unmoving, holding the unneeded umbrella for as long as she would be allowed to do so. Surely if she hid there for long enough, the human would eventually give up trying to locate her under the rainy weather. Honestly, like most animals, they seemed to despise the cold downpour, rarely exiting their dens unprotected... It had to have a limit, didn't it?

That's what the Ame-Warashi had decided to do. Pretend that she wasn't there, wait for the human to leave...

But then there was a noise. She didn't know its name, but it was a sound that threw her back, waaay back to the depths of her memory. A mirthful and soft sound. The blonde girl peeked from behind the tree, realizing that the source of it was the black-furred human, tilting her head slightly trying to understand what it meant. Had she missed something while running away? Or perhaps- Now she seemed a little peeved, still staring discreetly at him. Was he making fun of her?! Did her... apprehension? Did that seem amusing to him?!

Before anything could be said, however, the human had glanced in her direction, the rain spirit immediately hiding once more. Had he seen her?? Why couldn't he just leave, it wasn't as if she wanted to talk to anybody, definitely not a human... Not after they had done. How was he even seeing her? A fully-grown human! She had tried calling their attention for so long and say a piece of her mind! Why now? Was her home in risk again?? Well, not exactly a home, it did not compare to the forest she had once dwelled in but- Nothing could be done about that...

She wasn't letting it happen again though!!

The girl listened to his words with attention, despite a lot of it not making much sense. Even if they hadn't been fighting the sound of the pouring water as they were being said, getting overpowered at points, some concepts had just been unheard of.
'Curious?'
, the word had been repeated under a whisper, once, twice, several tries, but no matter how many times it was said, she just couldn't grasp what it meant.

He had approached again, circling around the tree. A light-blue umbrella had been lowered to block his path, an action done out of self-preservation and uncertainty. His confounding sentences still lingered in her mind, sea-blue eyes darting towards the ground and the blockage of same color... And then the girl had raised her gaze to face him, a hardened, serious and distrustful expression, as if holding the human in some kind of trial he didn't know about.

"What is it that you want?"
, the Ame-Warashi's tone was harsh, nearly accusatory,
"What does 'curious' stand for?"
 
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  • Nice Execution!
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Well, the situation was looking a bit precarious for the young adult to say the least... he had started to sweat more even under the cold and chilly embrace of the rain currently surrounding the two figures. Yuki still held both of his hands up while being pointed at by the umbrella, eyes of his having a difficult time matching the harsh gaze of the girl and instead opting to look away a bit, focusing more on the tree at the center of the area right beside her.

Hisakawa's eyes fluttered closed for a second as a warm sigh of exasperation escaped his lips, soon after facing the mysterious girl the best he could, shakily speaking up towards her odd questions.

“Well... both, both of those I can answer with the same thing? Curious means I want to know more about you and well... that's what i'm here for. I want to... I want to know more about, about you." There was some nervousness in his words, stopping and repeating some parts for the sake of clarity and not causing a misunderstanding... those were his hopes at least.

Only now he had started to lower both his hands, clasping them together in front of his chest, eyes and expression shifting to one of sadness.

“Is... that a bad thing to want? Its what I think I want, at least..." his sight turned downwards, passing by the umbrella and eventually landing on the wet sand and dirt between them...

“If, if it is and you want me to go away, i'll do it." It was almost like the courage the man had mustered had started to run out by the second, seeming more and more pitiful with every spoken word, shrinking his figure a bit as he prepared to step away from the park and back to his bicycle.

What he would do after leaving? He didn't know... he just knew that there was a bridge on the way and he didn't feel much of anything right now... maybe a viewing site would help, or maybe spur something much darker.

 
  • Nice Execution!
Reactions: Loveless