Audience - Koharu

[holyspirits]

Comments

[cupidsammo]

I'm really not. All I know is just—normal Earth...

[holyspirits]

The Earth I know about is pretty normal, but I've thought about possibilities like this for a while. I never thought it would be this expansive though... not anything I'd see, anyway.

[cupidsammo]

Maybe I should've daydreamed about the stuff I'd read in manga more... I wasn't mentally prepared for any of it.

[holyspirits]

[ this is going to sound stupid, but. ]

Manga?

[cupidsammo]

[ okay, well. they get credit for knowing where japan is. ]

Oh, yeah. They're just comics, really... I like to read them sometimes.

[holyspirits]

[ oh, this makes sense. ]

I imagine they're better than the comics we have if they would ever make you think of things like this. But I don't think I've ever seen anything like that before.

[cupidsammo]

Better? What kind of comics do you read?

[holyspirits]

Usually whatever I see at the checkout lines at the store. I don't read them a lot, but sometimes I'll see what's there. I never buy them though. [ the implication is more that it's a necessity not to buy things rather than a want. they don't even want comics but they don't always like not being able to have something frivolous just because. ]

[cupidsammo]

Ohhh, like in newspapers? Those are really different from comics with dedicated storylines.

[holyspirits]

Yeah, like those. [ sometimes it is all you have... ] We didn't have a lot where I'm from. The town itself was pretty empty when it came to stores and things like that.

[cupidsammo]

That's hard to imagine... Back home you can't throw a rock without hitting a few convenience stores along the way.

[holyspirits]

We have one set of shops mostly run by Mennonites, but it's everything combined into one. On one aisle there's snow globes, and on the next you'd find Civil War bullets. Turn the corner and there's a doghouse for you, too. I like the idea of a city with multiple options.

[cupidsammo]

That's... definitely more varied than any one store you'd find in Tokyo. Especially the bullets.

[holyspirits]

Probably because it's all we have for a few miles around. Like they couldn't make up their mind to make more buildings and crammed everything together instead.

[cupidsammo]

Where is it at?

[holyspirits]

Nestled among greasy restaurants and homes that may sag in on themselves one day. [ but... ] A small town in America. People don't stay there by choice very often, though there are people who live there because some of the schools are meant for privileged men.

[ annoying. ]

[cupidsammo]

Oh, I see...

I only ever hear about the big cities in America, so I don't know what the smaller ones are like at all.

[holyspirits]

Well, what is more exciting to most people? Big cities with lights and shops and architecture and opportunities, or small places where people know too much about each other and the best boast you have is a tuna fish sandwich at the local diner?

[cupidsammo]

True...

Are you staying there because you have to?

[holyspirits]

For now. My family was there, but I always thought it would be nice to travel as soon as I could. See if I could go somewhere else for a while.

[cupidsammo]

A lot of people want a change of pace sometimes. Where do you think you would go?

[holyspirits]

South America, maybe. Someone told me about it once and it sounded nice. I want to see the rainforests and everything.

[cupidsammo]

Oh, that does sound lovely! You must like being outdoors, then.

[holyspirits]

Yeah. I've always liked it more than being confined somewhere else. [ this is idle chitchat as they walk, but it's fine. ] There was a tree in the yard of my house that's been there as long as I can remember. Every time I needed to go somewhere to think or regroup, I would sit under there. Somehow it always made me feel better no matter what.

[cupidsammo]

It's nice to have somewhere to go when you need it! In a small town like that, it must've always been peaceful outside.