wipesfaith | 04 [written/action]

[Classic incognito message, with the picture blocked out and everything; he even makes an attempt to disguise his handwriting, which he forgets after the first three words.]

Say you want to ask a girl out. How do you go about doing that?

Girls like flowers, right?

[See, there's actually a lot of consideration that goes into this. For a guy with a faulty brain-to-mouth filter and a do-or-die attitude, the amount of waffling here is...strange, maybe. But everyone's a walking contradiction. He has some ideas, along with maybe ten different speeches that he's mentally mapped out over the past three years and never planned on actually using, but second- and third-guessing himself leads to this pandering for advice...thing. He's pretty sure it's lame, but... It couldn't hurt, right?

Okay, so maybe he's just procrastinating.]

[Action]

[Anonymous dweebiness aside, Jean goes about his day as usual. Training at the Battle Dome; going to school; taking care of his horse at the stables, and taking him out for a ride into the woods; and checking the General Store for some...supplies, art supplies. Don't ask, don't tell.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I guess it doesn't hurt to try it.

[...Thanks, now you've implanted in his mind the bizarre mental image of his best friend doing that.]

It's stupid to think that cooking a meal for someone is gonna change their feelings automatically, huh. [Unless he's aiming to win Sasha over, which he'll pass on.] But it could be a nice touch, is what you're saying.

Yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying. She'll know you're thinking about her, and you won't be coming on too strongly.

[Hmm...]

If you don't mind me asking, what's this girl like?

She's kinda quiet. Won't talk much unless she has something to say, you know? It makes her a little mysterious, and she's really cool in this effortless way. She's really strong too, not just in battle. Dedicated, loyal, passionate. [But a little too willing to die. And a little too attached to one Eren Yeager, unfortunately.]

And she's incredibly beautiful.

Oh, wow. Just from that description, she does sound pretty cool. [Dedication, passion and loyalty are things Utena can admire. They're... noble. Prince-like. Suddenly, she's happy that whoever is on the other hand can't hear the embarrassed little laughter that comes out of her mouth.] It sounds like you really admire her a lot. I hope she likes you back!

[...Yeah. Yeah, that would be nice, wouldn't it? If she liked him back. But he doubts it. Really doubts it. Still...]

I just need her to give me a chance.

[And then...maybe she'll see something in him. Maybe. He hopes. ...Fuck, he's nervous.]

You just have to believe in yourself. You sound like a nice enough person, if not a little clueless about romance. [Like you're much better yourself, Utena.] You just need to put your faith into it, that's all. If I knew who you were, I'd offer to help give you the push you need, too.

[Utena Tenjou: professional love life meddler. Yep, definitely offbeat when it comes to romance. Stop that.]

[By this point, it would be pretty awkward to reveal who he is, so. Yeah. Not gonna do that. But if this goes his way, she'll find out eventually.]

I'm not clueless, just [...um...] new at this.

All the confidence in the world won't make her like me, you know. But I'll just hope for the best.

You're right--if she doesn't like you like that, it won't help at all to have confidence. But if you're confident enough to ask her, then at least you'll get your answer. Right?

[Hey, it makes sense to her.]

I'll hope along with you, okay?

[See, that's what he's afraid of - that no matter what he does, she just won't see him the way he sees her, and nothing will change that.]

Yeah, I'll probably need it.

Maybe, maybe not. Just give it your all!

[A small pause, then she writes more.]

Even if she doesn't like you back, I'm sure she'll appreciate that someone likes her for who she really is instead of some shallow reason.

At least I'll have that going for me.

[This might contain trace amounts of sarcasm.]

[Not that Utena's response can be a telling way of whether she picked up on it or not...]

Oh, come on. I bet you have a lot more going for you, too! [Then she adds, as an afterthought:] Jeez, it sounds like you don't think highly of yourself at all.

What the hell makes you say that? It's not like I'm sitting here all mopey and sorry for myself, I'm just being realistic.

Are you sure? It sounds more like you're being too hard on yourself.

[Jeez, she didn't say it to piss this person off...!]

I'm very sure.

[Wow, he's not pissed off...!]

[Not how it "sounds" from over here. You know, because it can't really sound like anything. It's written word.]

Well, as long as you're sure. I guess. [Still not convinced, but sure. Whatever you say, stranger.] Just make sure you go through with this, okay? It would be a shame for you to back out now.

No way I'm backing out.

[It just...might take a little while to work up the balls.]

Great! Then I look forward to hearing about the results.

[She may not know who you are ~~or so she thinks~~, but that shouldn't be able to stop you from sending a message to her, right? What a meddling, pushy girl Utena can be.]

Sure if you really want to.

[Jeez, why are people getting all invested in this... But he'll let her know if he does, through some miracle, end up with a date. If he gets his ass rejected, though, he's pretty sure it would be weird to come moping to another girl about it.]

[It's Utena Tenjou. Getting overinvested in the problems of others is what she does. Things would probably work out a lot better if she didn't do stuff like that, but it is what it is.]

Great! I'll be waiting to hear from you, okay? Good luck with your special person!

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