[Rei swallows, and feels a little like she just drank pure grain alcohol. What. The. Hell. Usagi had the chance to just lay here and sleep, and she wanted to talk about starting a business?]
...I'm fine. I'm just...a little surprised.
[After a moment to just...process this, Rei takes a breath.]
You need connections with the people who are going to provide your services. Obviously you aren't going to be the caterer or the photographer. You need to make sure they're willing to work with you first.
[She blushed, pretty much able to guess why Rei might be surprised. She scratched the side of her head.]
I guess... this is pretty surprising... but I mean, we don't... know how long we're going to be here, and I'm not about to be queen here. I want to help take care of you and Minako...
.... And I mean, I pretty much read all the manga here anyways.
[She cleared her throat and then tapped her lips.]
Oh gosh, I didn't even think about photography! Ah this is why I came to you Rei-chan! You would know best! So should I make up business cards and just go around asking about such things or ask Otherworlder's first? I think if I start with the residents here, I might make them happier for starting with them since they actually live here.
[Rei shakes her head, looking right at Usagi...with exactly the look you'd expect. One part annoyed, one part grateful, one part slightly indignant, and one part...pleased.]
You're not about to be queen any time soon, even at home. Four years, minimum, is a long time. And you don't have to worry about us. I've got a couple of leads on work with the task board. I might take a couple of jobs that way.
[Shaking her head, Rei huffs.]
As for work, Usagi. What you should start doing is getting together capital. You need money for business cards and fliers, as well as a space to work. So, you need either money of your own or investors. People, or a bank, willing to loan you start up money that you pay back with some interest.
[She fidgeted under the gaze, still not used to it.] Four years will come and go, especially... [Her shoulders slumped.] with college. I mean, I'm obviously not in getting Tokyo U or Kyoto U but there are those little colleges in Tokyo I could get into at least... but I talked with Mamo-chan and Ami-chan about which ones I could get into. [Surprisingly, though, the idea to GO to college was hers.
At the mention of what she'd have to do her shoulders slumped.]
Waaaah so much... [She didn't think it would be all that. A small cloud appeared above her head.] Rei-chan how will I ever save up enough if I don't take like... super big tasks? No one is going to give me a loan.
[She didn't need to be a part of that discussion but she had encouraged Ami to have it.]
And you don't have to save up alone. You can think of me as an investor. One of the tasks I'm looking at pays really well. It should be enough for us to get a start with.
I know I know... and... I know I have to study as much as I can. And... even if I sound ungrateful... I am glad for all of your help, especially when you'll be so busy at such prestigious universities. [Since she IS going to become queen of Earth, as far as she's aware. And she knows she can't flake off and goof around like she has when she's going to be helping rule all of earth. However, that wasn't her focus. She suddenly perked up like a rabbit's ears lifting. She suddenly brightened considerably.]
OH MY GOSH REALLY?! [She hugged onto Rei tightly.] REI THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! I'll do everything I can to make you proud and... uh, I guess pay you back!
[Rei makes a flat face, lips pursed and just accepts that she's done something that will elicit all the squealing. But she's also being practical. And so, pats her friend on the back, returning the hug and loosening up a bit more.]
You don't need to pay me back. It'd be an investment in hearth and home. You'll be putting your profits into rent and food for our home. It's not like you won't pay it forward. And I trust that you'll do well.
[And if she's wrong? Well, she can just go fight another monster.]
OH! Speaking of rent and the sort, I was thinking... well, not NOW, but what if we worked towards a bigger place, an actual house! Or maybe there's an old shrine we could ask to rent? I mean, something... a bit more like home for you? [It's hard not for her to pick up on Rei's... ire of sorts with the space they live in and more importantly who she lives with. While Usagi is not empathic she's very astute with reading people.]
REALLY! [At the mention of her doing well she brightened up and so did the room, literally.] You really think I'd be a good party and wedding planner?
I don't really think there's a Shinto temple anywhere in Verens, Usagi. [Rei isn't admonishing her so much as pointing out an obvious fact.] I'll adjust. I've lived in a house before, you know. Before Mother passed. [That had been eleven years ago but she still remembered the house.] I think that a bigger place would be better though, simply because the longer we stay here the more likely we are to acquire things. Furniture, knicknacks, all that sort of stuff, and if we're already budgeting space now, just think of what will happen in a couple of months.
[Rei's not that put out by the company, it's nice, but she is used to a much larger space. And she's got a point there.]
And yes. Of course I do. You're certainly the most party-focused person I know, and I highly doubt that you'll put anything less than a hundred percent into it. I'll be counting on you, to take care of the investment and make good on the rent.
[She pauses, pressing her lips together.]
Because I don't think I'm going to take a regular job like you. I'd make a terrible waitress, and an even worse sales representative. I'll probably make money through the Task Board, and use the free time to study. There's something that I'm going to try doing, and it will require a lot of time, I believe.
Ah maybe yes maybe no, we won't know if we don't ask. If nothing else, if we find one and it is being used, just think of that will mean for you! [She wants to make Rei as comfortable as she can, Minako too. That's why she's including the singing in the culture festival, the search for a temple, whatever she can for them.] And I know, why don't the three of us go out and look at some of the houses they have we can rent? I don't think Otherworlders are allowed to buy property but maybe? I wasn't looking too much into it.
I will, I promise! I've been saving up as much as I can, and if need be, I'll always do like... the monster hunter jobs with you Rei. I just took the waitress job because- well, I didn't know how consistent the monster thing would be, and better a steady paycheck than an unreliable big one right? Although, yeah... maybe not a waitress, but I bet you would make an amazing... well... anything if you wanted!
A temple on Verens isn't going to be a temple I'm going to want to practice my art in. Unless I constructed it myself, sanctified it, and found a kami to inhabit it, that's not a Shinto temple. I know you're trying to make me feel more at home, but that's like suggesting that a Catholic Mass can be held in a mosque. [And that is an admonishment, her voice firm on that point. The idea that she could be a priestess of a religion and just use a sacred space for another faith is beyond troublesome.]
A house is just fine. Here, I'm going to live in a house. And that's fine with me. Really, truly, that's not a problem.
[She turns, looking down at her hands, and then up at the yumi she had already mounted on the wall. It was something from home, she'd just happened to find the weapon when she'd woken up, and seeing it was nice.]
I want to connect more with who I was in the past. I know I was a hunter, I remember that, and I remember fighting too. Martians were soldiers and warriors, even the ones that weren't of royal blood. And I think it'd be good for me to learn some of those arts. To connect with beasts, maybe understand Phobos and Deimos better since they're stuck as birds.
[There's a long pause.]
Someone I met suggested to me that I might be able to use dunamis to connect with the local wildlife. I've been practicing a bit, and I think I'd like to try that.
[She winced at the admonishment, not trying to be sacrilegious or insulting of any culture.] Ah... yeah, sorry. [Because she knows she can't offer much else to the statement and knew the subject was to be dropped.]
Did... you still want to do the three of us looking? [She didn't know if that would impede on Rei's schedule or if Rei wanted to do such a thing alone. Now that she wasn't living alone, Usagi wouldn't mind a bigger space.
She looked at the yumi and smiled.]
I can't say I'm surprised, I know you practiced archery back home and you have the Mars Arrow, after all. [She remembered her people too, but Lunarians, while there had been an army, it wasn't a strong one. They depended on her mother more than anything, and maybe that had been the problem. After all, hadn't her mother sought her best protection from other planets? She frowned. She had asked the princesses of all the other planets to look after her, to be friends and companions, to be her guardians... Would they have been friends if her mother hadn't arranged the circumstances? She'd like to think they would, but sometimes...
After all, the only reason she had even met Rei and Minako was because of Luna setting things in motion. Oh sure, she would have met and befriended Ami and Makoto at school, but she'd never have had a reason to meet Rei or even Luna...
She stopped the train of thought before she became too upset, trying to clamp down on it so as not to affect the area around them or let Rei know. She doubted she was doing very well, though. She nodded.]
I... wasn't aware the Dunamis could do that, I haven't tried it at all, honestly. But I'm sure you've already found the best possible teacher, or are on your way to, at least.
[It was going to be dropped. Rei appreciated the thought, but there was a lot there going on. It didn't work, but she'd tried to be helpful and Rei couldn't fault her for it.]
Yes, I'd like that. We can start that soon, I think. It shouldn't be a big deal, and we should move soon.
[That said, she cocks her head to one side when she feels Usagi's emotions shift from admonished to melancholy. That was a strange thing to see, since Usagi so rarely got internally reflecting, and she wondered in part what triggered it. She decided to simply reach out and touch Usagi's knee, smiling in a silent reminder that she was there. That she was a friend, and that nothing needed to be dwelled on. She wasn't always the most talkative, and she favored these little gestures instead.]
Red-kun has done it, a little bit. If you've met him, he does it to connect with his companions. I think that by learning it, I might could do the same with Phobos and Deimos. They've been agitated lately, since they're powerless, and I don't want that. I'd rather be able to commune more fully with them.
[A half smile.]
And he suggested I might be able to form a bond with some things that live here. A wyvern or a dragon, perhaps. That may not happen, but it's an interesting thought.
I'll let Minako know! Maybe we can find something closer towards the lake? I guess the port, so it would be a tiny bit like home with water nearby, I... uh, would like to stay away from the factories, if we can help it, I'm sure you probably would too, Minako-chan as well.
Oh! I know Red-kun, he's super sweet! Actually, I know someone who is pretty skilled with it if you like? Ah- you probably know way more about James Madison just by me saying it, but he's really sweet and has amazing control. Would you want to talk to him by any chance? I mean I know... [He's a politician and a man so...]
Ah a dragon! How powerful! And so very you! I could easily see you befriending a long red dragon.
[There's a lot in that statement, a lot just kind of rushing at her at once and she shakes her head and leans back on the bed, holding her head.]
One thing at a time, Usagi. Please.
[Jumping around like this is all well and good, but the thing she's fixated on is mostly:]
James Madison. Start there. The fourth president of the United States. I've met a man claiming to be the Marquis de Lafayette, and one of their contemporaries, John. He mentioned Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, but James Madison as well.
What is this place, that dead American statesmen walk around.
Oh! Is he a president? He never mentioned that! I only know about George Washington being the first one. Ah but yes! There's actually a lot of them and I've gotten to meet a lot of them.
[Usagi began ticking off her fingers.]
George Washington, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, Marquis de Lafayette, and John Laurens! They're all here! I've met all of them except Washington-san! I'm close friends with John and Madison-san. But Jefferson-san and Lafayette-san have been very polite and kind to me! [Why yes, as astute as Rei is, she's very likely to notice Usagi is not mentioning Hamilton.]
But Madison-san is very skilled and kind, I talked to him a lot for advice while I was getting started. I know you don't like politicians [or men.] but if anyone could understand all he has to teach, it would be you!
[Rei's a little surprised, mainly because she doesn't mention Hamilton, though. But more that Usagi remembered her feelings about politicians.]
You know, I'm not really sure if my distaste for men in politics would extend to the men that wrote the Federalist Papers. They're as much intellectuals and philosophers as they are politicians, you know.
Ah that's wonderful! I wonder if he knows that or no one wants to tell him, let it be a nice surprise!
[She's not very good with Japanese history, never mind American history, so she has no idea what his presidency was like. But Rei seems to like him so clearly he was a good president!]
Eeee that's great! I'll ask him for you! Oh Rei-chan, I think you'll really like him, he's very calm and gentle! He's like a nice gentle breeze on a hot day!
We'll see. I mean, I don't think it's terribly pressing.
[A pause.]
Because, you know, what I was getting at is that I'm going to go down to Shaarnath soon, to work with baby wyverns. I'll be gone a couple of days, I think. Red-kun found accommodations for me already.
[She blinked. She knew Rei could take care of herself and Red too, if anything should happen.]
Ah... well, will you call me as soon as you get there and when you'll come back? [Maybe she and Minako could make a welcome back meal.] I know you can handle things, cause Rei-chan is incredible like that! I'm sure you'll have an amazing time there, Rei-chan. Maybe next time I can join you, or Minako-chan, or both!
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THAT FUCKING ICON I AM DYING
...I'm fine. I'm just...a little surprised.
[After a moment to just...process this, Rei takes a breath.]
You need connections with the people who are going to provide your services. Obviously you aren't going to be the caterer or the photographer. You need to make sure they're willing to work with you first.
no subject
I guess... this is pretty surprising... but I mean, we don't... know how long we're going to be here, and I'm not about to be queen here. I want to help take care of you and Minako...
.... And I mean, I pretty much read all the manga here anyways.
[She cleared her throat and then tapped her lips.]
Oh gosh, I didn't even think about photography! Ah this is why I came to you Rei-chan! You would know best! So should I make up business cards and just go around asking about such things or ask Otherworlder's first? I think if I start with the residents here, I might make them happier for starting with them since they actually live here.
no subject
You're not about to be queen any time soon, even at home. Four years, minimum, is a long time. And you don't have to worry about us. I've got a couple of leads on work with the task board. I might take a couple of jobs that way.
[Shaking her head, Rei huffs.]
As for work, Usagi. What you should start doing is getting together capital. You need money for business cards and fliers, as well as a space to work. So, you need either money of your own or investors. People, or a bank, willing to loan you start up money that you pay back with some interest.
no subject
At the mention of what she'd have to do her shoulders slumped.]
Waaaah so much... [She didn't think it would be all that. A small cloud appeared above her head.] Rei-chan how will I ever save up enough if I don't take like... super big tasks? No one is going to give me a loan.
no subject
[She didn't need to be a part of that discussion but she had encouraged Ami to have it.]
And you don't have to save up alone. You can think of me as an investor. One of the tasks I'm looking at pays really well. It should be enough for us to get a start with.
no subject
OH MY GOSH REALLY?! [She hugged onto Rei tightly.] REI THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! I'll do everything I can to make you proud and... uh, I guess pay you back!
no subject
You don't need to pay me back. It'd be an investment in hearth and home. You'll be putting your profits into rent and food for our home. It's not like you won't pay it forward. And I trust that you'll do well.
[And if she's wrong? Well, she can just go fight another monster.]
no subject
REALLY! [At the mention of her doing well she brightened up and so did the room, literally.] You really think I'd be a good party and wedding planner?
no subject
[Rei's not that put out by the company, it's nice, but she is used to a much larger space. And she's got a point there.]
And yes. Of course I do. You're certainly the most party-focused person I know, and I highly doubt that you'll put anything less than a hundred percent into it. I'll be counting on you, to take care of the investment and make good on the rent.
[She pauses, pressing her lips together.]
Because I don't think I'm going to take a regular job like you. I'd make a terrible waitress, and an even worse sales representative. I'll probably make money through the Task Board, and use the free time to study. There's something that I'm going to try doing, and it will require a lot of time, I believe.
no subject
I will, I promise! I've been saving up as much as I can, and if need be, I'll always do like... the monster hunter jobs with you Rei. I just took the waitress job because- well, I didn't know how consistent the monster thing would be, and better a steady paycheck than an unreliable big one right? Although, yeah... maybe not a waitress, but I bet you would make an amazing... well... anything if you wanted!
Something you're going to try? What's that?
no subject
A house is just fine. Here, I'm going to live in a house. And that's fine with me. Really, truly, that's not a problem.
[She turns, looking down at her hands, and then up at the yumi she had already mounted on the wall. It was something from home, she'd just happened to find the weapon when she'd woken up, and seeing it was nice.]
I want to connect more with who I was in the past. I know I was a hunter, I remember that, and I remember fighting too. Martians were soldiers and warriors, even the ones that weren't of royal blood. And I think it'd be good for me to learn some of those arts. To connect with beasts, maybe understand Phobos and Deimos better since they're stuck as birds.
[There's a long pause.]
Someone I met suggested to me that I might be able to use dunamis to connect with the local wildlife. I've been practicing a bit, and I think I'd like to try that.
no subject
Did... you still want to do the three of us looking? [She didn't know if that would impede on Rei's schedule or if Rei wanted to do such a thing alone. Now that she wasn't living alone, Usagi wouldn't mind a bigger space.
She looked at the yumi and smiled.]
I can't say I'm surprised, I know you practiced archery back home and you have the Mars Arrow, after all. [She remembered her people too, but Lunarians, while there had been an army, it wasn't a strong one. They depended on her mother more than anything, and maybe that had been the problem. After all, hadn't her mother sought her best protection from other planets? She frowned. She had asked the princesses of all the other planets to look after her, to be friends and companions, to be her guardians... Would they have been friends if her mother hadn't arranged the circumstances? She'd like to think they would, but sometimes...
After all, the only reason she had even met Rei and Minako was because of Luna setting things in motion. Oh sure, she would have met and befriended Ami and Makoto at school, but she'd never have had a reason to meet Rei or even Luna...
She stopped the train of thought before she became too upset, trying to clamp down on it so as not to affect the area around them or let Rei know. She doubted she was doing very well, though. She nodded.]
I... wasn't aware the Dunamis could do that, I haven't tried it at all, honestly. But I'm sure you've already found the best possible teacher, or are on your way to, at least.
no subject
Yes, I'd like that. We can start that soon, I think. It shouldn't be a big deal, and we should move soon.
[That said, she cocks her head to one side when she feels Usagi's emotions shift from admonished to melancholy. That was a strange thing to see, since Usagi so rarely got internally reflecting, and she wondered in part what triggered it. She decided to simply reach out and touch Usagi's knee, smiling in a silent reminder that she was there. That she was a friend, and that nothing needed to be dwelled on. She wasn't always the most talkative, and she favored these little gestures instead.]
Red-kun has done it, a little bit. If you've met him, he does it to connect with his companions. I think that by learning it, I might could do the same with Phobos and Deimos. They've been agitated lately, since they're powerless, and I don't want that. I'd rather be able to commune more fully with them.
[A half smile.]
And he suggested I might be able to form a bond with some things that live here. A wyvern or a dragon, perhaps. That may not happen, but it's an interesting thought.
no subject
Oh! I know Red-kun, he's super sweet! Actually, I know someone who is pretty skilled with it if you like? Ah- you probably know way more about James Madison just by me saying it, but he's really sweet and has amazing control. Would you want to talk to him by any chance? I mean I know... [He's a politician and a man so...]
Ah a dragon! How powerful! And so very you! I could easily see you befriending a long red dragon.
no subject
One thing at a time, Usagi. Please.
[Jumping around like this is all well and good, but the thing she's fixated on is mostly:]
James Madison. Start there. The fourth president of the United States. I've met a man claiming to be the Marquis de Lafayette, and one of their contemporaries, John. He mentioned Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, but James Madison as well.
What is this place, that dead American statesmen walk around.
no subject
[Usagi began ticking off her fingers.]
George Washington, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, Marquis de Lafayette, and John Laurens! They're all here! I've met all of them except Washington-san! I'm close friends with John and Madison-san. But Jefferson-san and Lafayette-san have been very polite and kind to me! [Why yes, as astute as Rei is, she's very likely to notice Usagi is not mentioning Hamilton.]
But Madison-san is very skilled and kind, I talked to him a lot for advice while I was getting started. I know you don't like politicians [or men.] but if anyone could understand all he has to teach, it would be you!
no subject
[Rei's a little surprised, mainly because she doesn't mention Hamilton, though. But more that Usagi remembered her feelings about politicians.]
You know, I'm not really sure if my distaste for men in politics would extend to the men that wrote the Federalist Papers. They're as much intellectuals and philosophers as they are politicians, you know.
no subject
[She's not very good with Japanese history, never mind American history, so she has no idea what his presidency was like. But Rei seems to like him so clearly he was a good president!]
Eeee that's great! I'll ask him for you! Oh Rei-chan, I think you'll really like him, he's very calm and gentle! He's like a nice gentle breeze on a hot day!
no subject
[A pause.]
Because, you know, what I was getting at is that I'm going to go down to Shaarnath soon, to work with baby wyverns. I'll be gone a couple of days, I think. Red-kun found accommodations for me already.
no subject
Ah... well, will you call me as soon as you get there and when you'll come back? [Maybe she and Minako could make a welcome back meal.] I know you can handle things, cause Rei-chan is incredible like that! I'm sure you'll have an amazing time there, Rei-chan. Maybe next time I can join you, or Minako-chan, or both!
no subject
[Please order take out. Please order take out. Please order takeout.
A fervent prayer repeated over and over. Minako in the kitchen would be the death of her.]