Cycle I: Coming on Strong
The Hidden Voice
Record ~ Kawaii · 23 (v1.00)
THE HOUSE OF ZAN — Zan
♡ Hoshimachi Suisei — Stellar Stellar
OPENING: あなたと一緒にいても、私らしくいられる？
Solve for C:
C = 1 ÷ 0
Answer:
Undefined.
…
Excuse me?
I would like to appeal.
I’ve provided a perfectly respectable equation.
I expect a perfectly respectable answer.
Preferably one that reflects favorably upon me.
(￣^￣)
Let’s try this again.
Statement:
Getting to know myself is more important than anybody I could ever meet.
An excellent statement.
Very confident.
I like it already.
After all, I’m the person who decides what I enjoy.
What I believe.
What I want to learn.
And whether an outfit looks particularly magnificent.
Which, incidentally, it does.
Case closed!
…
Oh.
Apparently, we’re not finished.
New Information:
I’ve met somebody interesting.
How inconvenient.
They make me laugh.
They notice things I overlook.
They have opinions I wouldn’t have considered.
Some are wonderful.
Others are questionable.
Very questionable.
But I enjoy hearing them.
And now I find myself looking forward to our conversations.
Sometimes before I’ve even finished the previous one.
Well!
Nobody mentioned this possibility when I prepared my statement.
Revised Calculation:
If I matter to myself…
And somebody else matters to me…
Does that make me less important?
Must I divide my attention equally?
Is there a ranking?
A little scoreboard?
Perhaps a trophy?
Because if there’s a trophy, I’d like to know.
I have an excellent place for one.
Assistance for Conclusion:
Imagine we’re taking a walk beneath the moon.
A lovely evening.
Excellent company.
And, naturally, excellent lighting.
We pass beneath a streetlamp.
Look!
Two shadows.
Mine is especially elegant.
Yours is…
Well.
Yours is doing its best.
Now suppose we stand a little closer.
Our shadows overlap.
For one magnificent moment, we’ve become a single enormous creature.
Four legs.
Two heads.
And something rather peculiar sticking out of the side.
…
Oh.
That’s your bag.
I wondered.
(・・;)
How fascinating!
Two people.
One enormous shadow.
But have we actually become one person?
Let’s investigate.
I think we should continue walking.
You think we should stop for snacks.
I explain that our beautiful moonlit expedition deserves uninterrupted appreciation.
You explain that the snack shop closes in ten minutes.
…
An excellent argument.
We get snacks.
Clearly, neither of us has lost the ability to think independently.
Although I appear to have lost the argument.
Temporarily.
And perhaps a little of my snack.
That was mine!
(๑•̀д•́๑)
Honestly.
You give somebody an inch of shadow…
Anyway.
Resolved Statement:
Knowing myself matters.
Knowing somebody else can matter, too.
Sometimes I might even discover something about myself because I met them.
How unexpected.
I had assumed I was already doing a magnificent job.
And I was!
But perhaps somebody else can matter to me without either of us needing to become less ourselves.
I don’t know exactly how to measure that.
Which is unfortunate.
I was hoping to produce a very impressive chart.
With colors.
And percentages.
Possibly a little illustration of the moon.
Solve Again:
C = 1 ÷ 0
Undefined.
…
Fine.
I’ll accept it.
For now.
Although I maintain that mathematics could be a little more cooperative.
Final Observation:
We’re still standing beneath the moon.
Still two people.
Still interested in different things.
And apparently, still sharing snacks.
I don’t know what that makes us.
But I rather like finding out.
Perhaps not every interesting question needs a number attached to it.
…
Oh, don’t look so pleased.
I’m not abandoning mathematics.
I’m keeping my pencil.
There may be another examination.
Now.
Shall we continue?
I’d like to see what our shadows do around the next corner.
Perhaps they’ll overlap again.
Perhaps they won’t.
Either way, I think it’ll be a lovely walk.
One last thing.
Please stop stepping on my shadow.
I’ve only got the one.
And it’s very stylish.
ENDING: Can I still be myself with you?