yumemigaoka | August catch-all ♫

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lisa imai

August catch-all ♫

⭐ Who: Lisa and you! Yeah, on your phone in the front row! Get up here!
⭐ When: August! Waterpark threads will be on that log, but she'll be busy the rest of the month too.
⭐ Where: Mostly in Koubai and Kihada, but maybe also Akabeni? All over the place, really. See individual top-levels.
⭐ What: After taking a bit of a mental health break earlier in the year, Lisa's ready to put her life officially back on track! Part of that's going back to school, but her social life seems to be developing too... If you don't see anything you like, swing by her plotting top-level and we'll hash something out.
⭐ Warnings: Probably nothing, but while Lisa's mood is more positive than usual it's also a little more swingy. Lisa-typical poor self-image, possibly.

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Mm. It's okay. You're doing it now, I think that's what's important. [She sees that haunted look... and she knows enough to know that Lisa was hurt. She walks over to her, closer, while looking at her and the guitar.

She smiles a bit more.] I know how that is. Someone caught me singing once, and... I was a little mortified. A lot mortified.

[She looks down at the guitar for a moment.] Is this yours? Or, ah, a loaned one?

[She's quiet a moment. Is that what's important? Is she... ready to leave the past behind? Can she move on? Is Lisa allowed to move on?

......

A small but noticeable weight seems to lift from her shoulders, and her smile turns brighter.]

I think so too. And I definitely know how getting caught when you're not expected to be heard feels. Still... [Her entire aura seems to shift to something more confident.] I think I wanted to be heard, today. Not enough to play outside, but enough not to stay home.

[At the question, she nods, holding out her instrument with some care.] This is my bass. Mother and Father bought it for me a few birthdays ago as a... peace offering, I think. But it's still mine, and it means a lot to me. My Sandglass knows that - colors aside, it's still an ESP over there.

[Junna smiles a little bit, when she sees the weight lift -- metaphorically, but noticeably -- from Lisa. She looks down at her, and she's quiet for a moment. She murmurs, then, because she shouldn't get too distracted.]

Then... I'm glad I happened by. And I did like getting to hear you play. [She'd always wanted to, after all.

Then she looks down at her bass. If her sandglass resembles it -- well, that tells Junna a lot. This bass is important to her. Plus, it's... it's important to her, and it's tied to her parents, too.]

That's amazing. It's... [She gets a bit breathless -- then laughs.] It's really cool. I bet I sound like a nerd, though.

I'm glad it was you that found me. [Her voice turns... quieter, more tender, and while her bearing is still confident there's something more delicate showing through.] I know I said I wanted to be out in public, but... sometimes you've got to put on a show for the fans, right?

[She doesn't elaborate, but she's not sure she wants to anyway. She can't quite put her feelings into words. Lisa just knows that she really needed Junna to hear this, even if she would have been totally fine if nobody showed up. That said... she takes a breath, and lets herself calm down a bit.]

If you're a nerd, what does that make me holding it? It's probably the single thing I'm most familiar with in my life, including my phone and my Sandglass. And... there's a lot of memories tied up in it. Most of them are even good memories.

[Looking down at it as she cradles it to her body again, her expression is... complex. Proud, sure, and affectionate. But a little melancholy too. There's a metaphor in here somewhere, she's sure.]

[Junna looks down at her. Her expression softens, too, when she sees that tender look on Lisa's face. It's so... delicate. Her hand trembles a little at her side, but she smiles.]

...I think I get what you mean. Sometimes you want the right people to see you. [And maybe that means Junna's one of the right people. She exhales softly, but then there's a little hitched laugh. It's a good laugh; she seems a little happy that they're both nerds about this.]

No, I think... [She looks over the bass for a moment. The way Lisa holds it, the way she talks about it -- about how familiar it is, how there's a lot of good memories tied up in it, and some bad too. She can't know all of them. Even if they've talked about it some, even if they're talking about it now. There's too much for Junna to know all of them.

Her voice is still quiet.] ...I think it suits you, Lisa.

[She keeps looking at her, but back to the way Lisa looks quieter. More tender and delicate. Junna hesitates for a second; this is all still new to her. And her hand trembles a bit as she raises it, her fingers hesitating. But then, gently, she puts a hand on Lisa's cheek.

Hers are red, now. In her head, there's a constant refrain: Oh god please let that be the right thing to do. Somehow, though, she keeps her voice quiet but steady.] Perfectly.

[Something about that comment catches Lisa's attention, and she looks back up to Junna. She did want Junna to hear her. That much is plain to read from her own feelings, but the reason feels... a little more nuanced? Junna's her friend and they're aspiring to music and performance - to return to those things - but it's more personal than that. Something in her chest is warm, thinking on it, and even if she doesn't go back to playing she's just happy. What is this feeling?

Junna, at least, seems to think that this is right. That Lisa's bass fits her. Which is itself reassuring - Rhodonite is one thing, but she hasn't really felt like she fit in for a while. So... she can relax somewhat. She is relaxing, both from Junna's presence and from feeling more at peace. She opens her mouth to say something, to thank her precious friend for hearing her out-

-and then she feels that soft, hesitant, uncertain touch on her cheek, and the words slip off her tongue. It's surprising; yes, she's aware Junna can be a lot more forward than her after the last few months, but actually seeing it - feeling it - is still novel, and she hasn't quite gotten used to it yet. But that extra reassurance - the reminder that someone's there for her - is more helpful, more grounding, than she knows how to express. So she doesn't try. After the initial surprise at feeling that hand there, eyes wide and looking straight to Junna's, she calms down, leaning slightly into it, a gentle smile on her lips.]

I'm happy to hear you say that.

[...kami, she's in deep. She blushes too, one hand coming up off her bass to rest on Junna's. Today is... turning out to be a good day.]

I... needed to hear that. I needed to hear you say it.

[Junna's heart is hammering in her chest right until Lisa leans into her hand. At that, she breaks into a smile all over again. Even if she worked up the courage to do something like that... it's a relief -- and a thrill -- to see it was the right thing to do. And when Lisa puts her hand over Junna's, well, that gets a surprised but happy noise out of her.

She looks down at Lisa, and it's impossible to ignore that warm, happy feeling in her chest. It's not lost on Junna that she's got it bad, now. She smiles down at her, and it takes her a second to process what Lisa said. And to find words, in turn.]

I... [She brushes her thumb over Lisa's cheek.] ...I'm glad I was here to say it. And that I'm the one you needed to hear say it. Really glad for that.

[She decides she wants to be at eye level with Lisa, so she ends up kneeling down -- carefully shuffling to not mess her skirt up -- so she's in front of her. But her hand stays on Lisa's cheek, and she's still amazed she has the courage to do and say something like this.

Her voice is quieter for this last part, though, and vulnerability slips through.] And I'm so glad I found you.

[Her eyes are shiny as Junna agrees; she has a hard time expressing exactly how much she needed that affirmation from someone she trusts to tell her things as they are. Junna... probably doesn't exactly understand that yet, which is entirely Lisa's own fault for continuing to patch over her rough spots instead of talking about them, but she's also a perceptive girl, so it's entirely possible she's recognized that without having to be told. But even besides that... she's just happy to have someone that cares enough to literally reach out to her.

Even if Junna is distractingly pretty as she kneels and looks her in the eyes. Yet... she can feel that little bit of something, and it holds her attention despite her feeling like she's on top of the world. It's enough to bring her back down to where her girlfriend is and root her to the present, and her smile is... calmer, even if there's still a strong undertone of affection as she lets her own voice slip into a near-whisper.]

I'm glad you found me, too.

[...she feels restless. Junna being this close is not entirely good for her self-control.]

[Junna doesn't quite understand it. Not yet. But she's starting to understand; that she was here when Lisa needed it. Today, but also more than today. And there's a certain joy in that -- in being able to be here for someone, to see it was the right thing to do, and feel like she made things better.

But also knowing Lisa was here when she needed her, too.

She looks into those shiny eyes, and her own smile is calm as she looks back at Lisa. And then it's a little hard to think of anything more than right now. Lisa really does look pretty, smiling like that. And almost whispering like that. Junna smiles a little more, hearing it.

She's a little too flustered to speak right away, but it's more than that. She also feels impulsive and nervous at the same time. But she doesn't want to pull away either, and her thumb brushes Lisa's cheek. When she manages to speak, her voice is just as quiet.]

...I'm trying to think of something to say and failing, and it feels wonderful anyways.

[She lets out a breath, shivering a little at the touch. She's just... happy. She can relax like this.]

You don't have to say anything. Just... stay with me for a bit?

[Lisa doesn't know what else to say either, but... she's not sure she needs to say - or hear - anything else. This is enough. Junna is enough, whether she has something pretty to say to her or not. And the best way for her to not reach for anything more and get herself in trouble... is to just let it go. She definitely won't object to recharging her batteries with keeping Junna close for a bit, but she's. Okay. Better than okay.]

[A smile tugs up at Junna's lips -- and that's really not hard right now. This isn't really a sort of happiness that she's known before. It's still warm, still powerful, still almost overwhelming. She gently strokes with her thumb.]

...I'm not going anywhere.

[And she won't, either. This... this is all she needs, right now.]

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August catch-all ♫

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