There's no backing away from this, though. As he opens his mouth to reassure her that her ability did cheer him up, a montage of memories plays in rapid succession, highlighting certain moments before moving onto the next.
There are girls, seven in total, of various appearances and backgrounds, whom you encounter throughout your life. Their fathers own big stores; they are maikos; they work in teahouses. But all of them are beautiful or cute, particularly in the eyes of the memories' beholder. Every single one wears a smile that withers your resistance when she points it your way.
With your first girlfriend, you notice a strange sound behind what appears to be an innocent smile. All living beings emit sounds that your extraordinary ears can hear, ranging from the blood circulating in their bodies to the emotions they experience. In contrast to the straightforward expression of this cute girl, you hear something more complex while she snatches her hand away from you as you reach for it.
"Zenitsu," she says in a sweet voice, "I want that candy from the stall we passed before. Can you buy me one?"
The worst sound in the world is that of a girl's crying. In order to make your girlfriend happy, you turn around with an affirmative chirp and empty what little money you've got left in your wallet.
There's something familiar about the sound pulsating from her that grows louder as the days pass. You still can't quite put your finger on it, but it spikes the second you recount to her a conversation you heard in another room while you were sleeping. Citing that your hearing creeps her out, she later shuts her doors on you and leaves you with nothing but your tears and heartbreak without a single sen to your name.
One day, as you stare into the mirror of a maiko you're dating, showcasing a full head of black hair, you realize it's the same sound of disdain that everyone gives a passing orphan whom nobody loves.
But that's not true, you tell yourself. This girl definitely loves you. She smiles, laughs, and speaks sweetly to you. As someone who truly loves her, how can you doubt her sound?
The rest proceed in a remarkably similar manner. Willfully blinding yourself to the sounds of girls who seek only to rob you of your money and enslave you to their whims, not one of them ever lets you reach for their hand—nor does that sound in the background ever change. It all comes to a head once your seventh girlfriend leaves you on the ground with the shoed foot of a debt collector on your back to elope with her lover, when an elder sporting a pegleg inquires after your predicament . . . ]
[i'm so sorry i started to reply to this for real and then work blew up. anyway.
When the memory fades out, Flayn finds that, well... she can't help but think that in the very unlikely event that she ever ran into any of the girls from Zenitsu's memories, she would have some very stern words for them.
He deserves so much better than what he's gotten.
(He definitely deserves better than what he got after she meddled in his affairs.)]
...I hope you know you deserve to be treated much better than you have been, Zenitsu.
[He opens his mouth, perhaps to protest some point, but doesn't speak right away. It's always weird, being told that when he knows how crazy he can drive people.]
Well, the cultivator who took me in treated me a lot better.
Maybe everyone was trying to help, but weren't you trying to help even before that? It doesn't make sense to pardon everyone but you when you think about that. It's not like you used your power carelessly, either.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
fishingforcompliments) wrote2020-06-07 04:10 pm
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It's not your fault. You were just trying to cheer me up, weren't you? As strange as it was, it kind of worked.
[It's way too weird to admit that, but he does it for Flayn's sake.]
You don't have to make it up to me.
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It... it did?
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There's no backing away from this, though. As he opens his mouth to reassure her that her ability did cheer him up, a montage of memories plays in rapid succession, highlighting certain moments before moving onto the next.
There are girls, seven in total, of various appearances and backgrounds, whom you encounter throughout your life. Their fathers own big stores; they are maikos; they work in teahouses. But all of them are beautiful or cute, particularly in the eyes of the memories' beholder. Every single one wears a smile that withers your resistance when she points it your way.
With your first girlfriend, you notice a strange sound behind what appears to be an innocent smile. All living beings emit sounds that your extraordinary ears can hear, ranging from the blood circulating in their bodies to the emotions they experience. In contrast to the straightforward expression of this cute girl, you hear something more complex while she snatches her hand away from you as you reach for it.
"Zenitsu," she says in a sweet voice, "I want that candy from the stall we passed before. Can you buy me one?"
The worst sound in the world is that of a girl's crying. In order to make your girlfriend happy, you turn around with an affirmative chirp and empty what little money you've got left in your wallet.
There's something familiar about the sound pulsating from her that grows louder as the days pass. You still can't quite put your finger on it, but it spikes the second you recount to her a conversation you heard in another room while you were sleeping. Citing that your hearing creeps her out, she later shuts her doors on you and leaves you with nothing but your tears and heartbreak without a single sen to your name.
One day, as you stare into the mirror of a maiko you're dating, showcasing a full head of black hair, you realize it's the same sound of disdain that everyone gives a passing orphan whom nobody loves.
But that's not true, you tell yourself. This girl definitely loves you. She smiles, laughs, and speaks sweetly to you. As someone who truly loves her, how can you doubt her sound?
The rest proceed in a remarkably similar manner. Willfully blinding yourself to the sounds of girls who seek only to rob you of your money and enslave you to their whims, not one of them ever lets you reach for their hand—nor does that sound in the background ever change. It all comes to a head once your seventh girlfriend leaves you on the ground with the shoed foot of a debt collector on your back to elope with her lover, when an elder sporting a pegleg inquires after your predicament . . . ]
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When the memory fades out, Flayn finds that, well... she can't help but think that in the very unlikely event that she ever ran into any of the girls from Zenitsu's memories, she would have some very stern words for them.
He deserves so much better than what he's gotten.
(He definitely deserves better than what he got after she meddled in his affairs.)]
...I hope you know you deserve to be treated much better than you have been, Zenitsu.
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[He opens his mouth, perhaps to protest some point, but doesn't speak right away. It's always weird, being told that when he knows how crazy he can drive people.]
Well, the cultivator who took me in treated me a lot better.
[Maybe even better than he deserves.]
He's the old man from the end of that memory.
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[But lord, Zenitsu. Please cultivate better taste in lovers. Find yourself someone who will cherish you and let you hold their hand!!]
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More importantly, don't blame yourself for what happened. Yours wasn't the only power that was at work last week.
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...well... no, but it seems to have been the catalyst for the others.
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Everyone was just reacting to how we were acting. That's not your fault. No matter what anyone says, you can't think that, all right?
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[so
it is her fault!
beau's threats the next day are only going to hammer that home.]
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Maybe everyone was trying to help, but weren't you trying to help even before that? It doesn't make sense to pardon everyone but you when you think about that. It's not like you used your power carelessly, either.
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...still...
[It's hard to shake the guilt for her own actions - particularly when, for the most part, she can't even admit to them.]
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You were thinking about me when you did it. That's more than enough for me.
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You truly are among the kindest people here.
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Are you going to tell Asch?
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...I ought to. I owe you both that much.
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Do you want me to go with you?
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No... I should tell him myself.
[If he does react poorly, she doesn't want Zenitsu to get caught in the crossfire.]
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All right. If anyone happens, though, you can tell me.
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[if she turns up dead on friday he'll know it went poorly!]