starsand | [Open May Catch-all]

[Open May Catch-all]

This will be an easy access post for threads for any of Owl's characters for the month of May! Which... uh. Only includes one so far, but that's fine. Anything outside of mingle/event stuff can be threaded out here instead, and if you wanna hash anything out, feel free to hit me up on Discord (OwlKnight#3531) or on Plurk (

OwlKnight) !

Kanade is a composer for a popular music circle back in her world, who lives her life almost entirely shut away in her room. Suffers from a lot of PTSD due to some family tragedies, some of which she entirely blames herself for, so now she's become quite devoted to "saving" people with her music. Recently in Starsand she's mostly been trying to process the trauma from her kidnapping. "Trying" being the word; she's mostly been sticking close to Mafuyu whenever possible, and the only time she leaves her side is when Mafuyu is at school. During those hours, sometimes Kanade will visit the kami shrines, but other than her trips to and from the shrines, she can't really be found outside alone.

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[Elliot has been doing his best to avoid most of the kami shrines except when necessary, but occasionally they're on his route. When he's not actively trying to come up with solutions on how to stop the timeloop from repeating or trying to live some semblance of a normal right, occasionally he just...ends up on autopilot, tuning everything out. Right now, he's reading a book on composing as he walks. Reading might be a generous word- He's looking at the writing without really registering the words until he nearly bumps into Kanade.]

Oh, sorry-

[Looking over the book, he doesn't finish his sentence when he recognizes her. Someone else who was kidnapped.]

[It's easy for poor Kanade to stumble at even the slightest nudge. Even if she'd been paying attention, she's light and frail enough that a harsh breeze could make her lose her footing. It's even worse when she's not paying attention; momentarily occupied with switching up the music on her phone, she doesn't spot Elliot until it's too late. It's not that hard of a bump, but it still makes Kanade stumble back anyway]

A-Ah, no, it's my fault...! I wasn't watching where I was going...

[... Ah, but she sees the spark of recognition in his eyes, she feels a buzz of nervousness in her chest. There's uh... nothing wrong, right?]

Um... is everything okay?

[Out of reflex, Elliot reaches out, stopping himself when Kanade catches her footing. He may be awkward around girls, but he's not a jerk.]

...Huh? [He blinks and looks embarrassed when he realizes he was staring, especially when he hates being on the receiving end.] Uh- yeah. Kanade, was it? You good?

Edited 2023-05-21 21:58 (UTC)

[It's one morning after the meeting, and Mei can't help but do the occasional bit of people watching to get a feel of things. Whether it was the locals going about their business or watching others flit back and forth between their homes and places of their interest, it was interesting enough she'd take notes of little moments that caught her attention. Even if not all of them were particularly great, rumor nonsense getting a special mention, it was always worth learning the general feel of a place like this. It made her understand the kind of lives that chose to spend time here.

...of course, this is one moment where said people watching would have her crossing paths with someone she'd met. When Kanade passes, she thinks for a moment, then calls to her.]

Excuse me! Kanade, right?

[It isn't very often that Kanade has people calling out to her on the street. Especially not such a new voice; it makes her pause (thankfully not in the middle of the road), turning towards the source of the voice with a look of curiosity on her face.]

Oh. Hello... you were one of the Fallen Stars at the meeting yesterday, right?

Mei, yes.

[...she probably doesn't need to throw in the reminder, but it never hurts to make sure.]

If it's not too much out of your routine, maybe we can talk for a while? [She scoots a little on the bench she's sitting on, a quiet offer to Kanade.]

M-Mei-san... right.

[She bows politely, but can feel her spine locking up as she does. She doesn't feel like she's in danger, but... she feels extremely nervous all of a sudden. So while she sits, she sits at the very edge of the bench, directly opposite of Mei.]

O-Of course. What is it you wanted to talk about?

[It doesn't take long for Mei to pick up on it, between the stutter, the way her body language reads, and the significant distance.]

Well, if it helps, it wasn't anything to worry about. I figured, 'why don't we get to know each other a little better now that we have the chance?' [Even if she didn't have everything, Mei did try to be something of a role model to those around her. This also meant trying to take others' minds off their worries for a bit where needed.]

... Oh.

[She seems... surprised at that. After all, she doesn't just... meet people. Connect through music, yes, but she hasn't really met someone like this since middle school, probably.]

Um... I'm afraid I'm not really that interesting of a person, so I doubt there's much to really know about me...

I don't think that's quite right.

[That music that can draw feelings she thought fully unpacked back to the surface, bring her thoughts back to what mattered most to her... it was more than enough to make Mei's head turn.]

Where composing is concerned, someone of your caliber is a rarity.

Edited (phrasing) 2023-05-15 09:52 (UTC)

[It's always a complicated thing, when Kanade is complimented for her music. She's glad that people are moved by it, and it drives her forward in writing songs that can keep on touching hearts and souls in that way. But every time someone implies that she's some kind of prodigy or rarity...

... It just makes her think of how easily she'd overshadowed her father, and how his clients only wanted something like her contribution to his song. All her gift - her curse - had done for so long was hurt one of the most important people in the world to her.

Still... Kanade smiles at the compliment. She's not rude enough to just shake such sincere words off like that.]

Thank you. I can't take all the credit, though... if it wasn't for our lyricist, or the input from the rest of our circle, or all those who have inspired me... I couldn't compose even half as well.

[Mei is nothing if not sincere -- her thoughts were always on what others felt, after all, even if she might stumble here and there in social situations. It showed in little ways, from how she accounted for others' taste at the dinner table, to how she helped them in the day to day at school. That sincerity, of course, now shares space with her ability to listen, nurtured over years since becoming St. Freya's principal. And she can't help but take apart Kanade's response little by little, read between the lines...

...so even if she has a talent for this that's so rare, she only sees it as a smaller piece, huh? In that case,]

I have to wonder -- how many years have you been working with them, now? They sound like they've completed the music you make.

[Ah. A much safer question. One that stops that dark fog from filling Kanade's head even more than it already has.]

Two... no, I suppose it's almost three years now, with how long I've been in this world. [And that comment.. the smile on Kanade's face is much lighter this time.] They really have. I can't imagine what my songs would be like now, without any of them.

[She can't imagine what her life would be like, without any of them. Her priorities shifted so much over the course of her time with Niigo - she still wants to save people, but the crux of her desire to help is no longer just that. She doesn't just want to save people, she doesn't just want to save Mafuyu. It's an end goal, but.. she still wants the little things. She wants to see Ena's progress with her art, and watch her find her love of it again. She wants to see Mizuki happy and comfortable in their group. She wants Mafuyu to be able to truly smile, and rediscover those parts of her that she thought she lost... she wants to be able to see those things, so she continues to take these small steps forward that she wouldn't have taken without these precious people by her side.]

Nearly three years, huh... [...it's faint, but there is a smile on her face, as she looks up to the sky -- seemingly trying to catch the stars still invisible.]

...there's something about that -- the sense of wholeness that must bring. That feeling of fulfillment that emerges from having others' talents snap into place with yours, to create a piece able to leave ripples in whoever listens to it. Like it did with me, at the meeting.

It's... indescribable, isn't it? In a good sense, I mean.

[...she almost sounds like she misses it, under the genuine happiness she has for Kanade having such a tight knit group.]

Edited (details, details, fussing) 2023-05-16 23:50 (UTC)

Mmm... it's like finding a few missing pieces in a puzzle that's almost complete. You can see the full picture even without those pieces, and it's a good picture, but... it's better with them.

[Kanade's head tilts a little as she processes Mei's words; despite how terrible she was in handling recent.... emotional developments... she's a surprisingly perceptive person. She can pick up on that feeling of longing easily. And maybe it's too much for her to ask someone still so new, but... maybe it's okay...?]

... You must have people important to you in much the same way.

Mm... I'm not sure I'd say 'people', but... yes, I do.

[Not that her fellows from St. Freya didn't matter--they were still important. They gave her balance, some footing to stand on.

It's just that one stood out even among them.]

She'd done so much for me, and I still don't feel like I've fully repaid that kindness.

... It can feel like an impossible task, to repay someone that's affected your life in such a way.

[It's not any sort of put-down, really. When someone shakes up your entire life, how can you repay that?]

All you can do is work to always prove to them how much you treasure them and their place in your life.

[...to prove how much she treasured that person, huh.

Would what she did that day run against that thinking? But... in the end, they both had reasons that were 'right', didn't they?]

[It does take her a moment, but... eventually, she does smile, again -- a bit wider, this time.]

I suppose that's the only thing that can be done, now, isn't it? To live, showing appreciation for everything they've done for you in every step forward...

[...even if she wishes for more than that, she'd long since realized that having that person's back regardless of what she chose was more important. She wants to reach out to those around her, just as that person did for her.

To be a beacon, in spite of what she'd lost.]

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[Open May Catch-all]

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