[open] a real nightmare

[no_kyouken]

Who ⬤ Majima (Shuten) & Open
What ⬤ May Substories, etc
Content Warnings ⬤ Cross dress, violence, alcohol, probably smut somewhere.

Prompts in comments, wildcard me with anything else you want. You can catch me in the discord or DM me at itsabee#1072. CR meme comment Network post Feel free to double up prompts, I will tag you however many times you want. majima 🎶 goromi 🎶

Comments

[starshepard]

[ Azem lags behind somewhat. Stopping to check out a book here or there that catches their attention. ]

Hmm? [ They take the book and look it over, flipping through it a bit before nodding. ] I think it should for a start.

Anything else you might suggest?

[no_kyouken]

Yeah, couple things...

[ There are three sets of flashcards. Katakana, Hiragana, and then a beginner set of Kanji. A regular dictionary and then one specific to Kanji. And finally, some manga to practice it all on... he pulls out a big anthology volume; some magazine's monthly assembly of teen titles. ]

Should do it.

[ He collects all the items together, ]

Lemme get 'em for ya.

[ Since this was his stupid idea. ]

[starshepard]

[ Azem looks a little taken aback by everything then laughs. ] Reminds me a bit of my school years.

[ How long ago had that been now? A lifetime ago for any mortal in this place. ]

If you insist. [ They probably have the money, not that they understand the value of it. ]

[no_kyouken]

It'll keep ya for a good long while.

[ They're surrounded by people speaking the language, so it seems like the key is to just start building up a vocabulary where she actually recognizes the word spoken without even needing the translation. Actual conversation flow should come with plain old immersion.

Majima wouldn't put it quite so eloquently, but that's the general flow of his assumptions. ]

Gift from me.

[ He only has the one eye, he cannot wink but the suggestion is there as he hands over the money. ]

Better spendin' it on you than th'snake drinkin' it.

[starshepard]

We'll see.

[ Learning a new language hasn't really been something Azem has tried before. It had never been necessary, so they don't know how long it might take them. If anything, they're likely underestimating the time. ]

Aw, thank you. It's rare I receive a gift for no real reason.

[ Usually, gifts were given because Azem had done something to help someone or saved a village or what have you. ]

[no_kyouken]

[ He glances curiously, wondering how much to read in to that. ]

Ain't that what friends do?

[starshepard]

I suppose so.

[ Azem responds with a shrug. They were often the one giving out gifts back home, but that was because they were always traveling. They always came across something that made them think of their friends and just had to take it back to them. ]

Anyroad, thanks again for this.

[no_kyouken]

[ Anyroad? He's going to take that as an alien thing, actually thanks. But it does make him smile faintly. ]

Yeah, no problem. What do ya wanna get t'eat?

[ He offers over the bag of books. ]

[starshepard]

[ As if 'anyroad' is the strangest thing Azem has ever said, please Majima. ]

I'm good with anything.

[no_kyouken]

Takoyaki it is then.

[ It's his favorite, there's no escape when you leave the choice up to him. He offers out his arm to them with a smile. ]

[starshepard]

[ They take his arm and let him lead the way. ]

Oh, is that those little balls? [ Azem, you just described so many different street foods with that question. ]

[no_kyouken]

Octopus, tako.

[ Vocabulary lesson number 1. ]

Yaki tells ya how it's cooked. It's 'to grill', on a griddle. Famous in th'town I came from in Japan.

[ So he acquired something of a taste for it in Sotenbori. ]

[starshepard]

[ Azem hums and bobs their head in a nod. ] I see.

So would you say it's one of your favorite foods?

[no_kyouken]

[ He smiles, cheerful with this topic of conversation and the company. ]

Yeah. Takoyaki cures any bad day. Sometimes ya just need t'sit an' enjoy some street food.

[ His pleasures are generally pretty simple. He doesn't ask for much, not when all of his days were equally bleak. He's improved a lot in Jigoku-cho, they wouldn't recognize how he used to be. ]

[starshepard]

I see. Well, I'll certainly be glad to eat some with you.

[ The obvious question might be to ask how often he has a bad day, but Azem doesn't want to push that kind of subject. Why harsh the good vibes? ]