(no subject)

[espigeonage]

[What am I doing with you. I don't know French! I never play playbirds! I'm going to get this all wrong!]

You know how I hate to distress a lady. Just relax. All that review should mean something. You won't know how good you are at me until you try, no?

I have to say that this choice in usernames is a little cold. But thank you for disregarding used tires and uselessness - there's nothing sexy and suave about those names. You had good taste to make the journal on Legumentine's, I have to say! No more appropriate day for a hero of the ladies' hearts... even if you then left me for weeks to play the games again.

Non, non, relax, I said! There's nothing that different about my voice, is there? Even if you are a popular-character virgin, I will do what I can to be your best, as well as your first.

So, mon amie, salutations~☆

Comments

[musicmaestro]

[Gonzo here will whistle appreciatively. Because wow.]

You are one classy bird!

[espigeonage]

Ahaha, thank you! It's against my instincts to upset the ladies.

[Is this a mammal? A bird? Another of those weird hybrid creatures?]

Anyway, salutations! I am Sakazaki Yuuya, senior student at Saint Pigeonations!

[musicmaestro]

I'm Gonzo, how'd you do!

[Just put him down as a whatever.]

Hey, you got any tips? I tried to cluck with a French accent once, but it was more an existential statement than a pick-up line,

[espigeonage]

Ah, well, I lived in France for a time. It's natural to pick up that accent.

[musicmaestro]

I don't know, I hear in France they like to eat things like me...

[crest_of_diligence]

[Jin-Kyong has just been listening politely, not sure how to approach, but then she says quietly, voice carefully measured,] pardon me, sae-nim [and her voice's tone denotes that's more or less 'sir'] but have you ever been to France? Could you please tell me what it's like?

[espigeonage]

I have to say I've never seen anything like you, my friend, but then again I live in the year 2188.

[espigeonage]

Salutations! No, no, just call me Yuuya. I have indeed been to France, I lived there as a fledgling. In my pigeon heart I am more inclined to Japan, of course, but there are delights in every nation.

Much of the country in my time is given over to the nobility, and those needed to provide for them. It is very beautiful, of course.

Pardon the extreme lack of icons.

[crest_of_diligence]

Oh, wow. [She looks at him with awe, eagerly soaking up his words.] I've never been to Japan. I've heard that it's a very crowded and busy place. Could you please tell me more about the places you've been, Yuuya-nim? [Manners are her thing. It may take a bit for her to ever address anyone sans honorifics.]

[espigeonage]

Of course, young miss, but only if you do me the great honor of giving me your name, first. It's cold conversation when this is a mystery!

[crest_of_diligence]

I'm so sorry! [She bows, cringing.] I forgot. I just haven't met anyone from so far away before. My name is Jin-Kyung Ahn. It's very nice to meet you, Yuuya-nim.

[espigeonage]

[Hnn. As a Dove Party member - and as Yuuya - he's never happy to see a human girl cringing at him.

...HAVE A ROSE. No, I'm not sure how he's holding it either.]

And it is a pleasure indeed to meet you, miss Jin-Kyung. We were speaking of the places I have been... ah, yes. The grand thing about France is that it is bordered by so many other countries, and it never takes long to reach them! And, too, it has several truly romantic cities.

[crest_of_diligence]

[A present? For her? She removes her gloves before taking it so she can feel the petals, and idly strokes the soft surface, fascinated. Roses are for rich people.]

Is it true French women wear pretty dresses every day? And that everyone eats bread with every meal? Do you know what wine is like? Er, um... [She pauses, sheepishly asking,] Am I asking too many questions? I'm sorry. Thank you for the rose. I've never had one before. I've seen them, but only in pictures...

[espigeonage]

[He did remove the thorns at some point. And... it's a purple rose, because those exist in that future.]

Time spent with a lady is never wasted, mon amie! So, this is your first time with a rose. Do inhale the fragrance. I am told humans enjoy it to a degree that most birds sadly cannot.

Ah, well... Doves and other birds, ladies and gentlemen both, find the wearing of clothes to be optional. There is just no need for them, most of the time. Bread is popular in France, but anybirdie can substitute it with seeds, or fruit, or insects and so on. There is great wine to be found in France, and some say it quite spoils you for wines made elsewhere, but I'll say there are cheap ones there, too, like anywhere.

[crest_of_diligence]

[She smells it while she listens. It's addictive, because it's new and sweet to her.]

You get fruit there? What kinds? What does wine taste like? [So many questions, so little time.]

[espigeonage]

Berries are always popular... There are many fruits harmful to humans and much enjoyed by birds. But there are also rosehips, medlars, apples and crabapples, cherries pears... I'm sure I'm forgetting some. Forgive me.

In France most wines are made to be served with food, not on their own. I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to describe them well. It's an acquired taste, I'm told, and most seem bitter to the virgin beak.

[crest_of_diligence]

I don't even know what some of those are. I guess you could say I'm not from the same sort of environment. But it sounds wonderful.

What's it like to be able to fly, Yuuya-nim?

[espigeonage]

Perhaps so!

Well, I am what is called a fantail pigeon, mon amie. Regrettably, the plumage which makes us look so well [he's fanning a little. It actually appears that most of his tailfeathers have been trimmed] hampers our performance in the air, compared to that of other breeds. So for me it's just another way to get around, not so different, I imagine, than a human sprinting.

[crest_of_diligence]

But you get to see everything from up above. That must be amazing.

This might be odd to ask, but - there's a lullaby where I'm from, about a dove and a crow who fall in love, and all the other birds want to keep them apart. Is it really like that, with birds? I'm sorry if that's a rude question.

[espigeonage]

Sometimes. It's enough of an effort that I'm afraid it's difficult to pay that much attention to the view. It's different for soaring birds, of course, and if a lady ever asked, I would gladly put forth such an effort.

Non, non, you will find it is impossible to embarrass me. Many have tried. Now, it is true that there is some concern about breed purity. A dove and a crow would have a barren love, but a rock dove and a fantail such as myself would have hatchlings that are part of each. Some elements of society frown on this, and say if it happens often then in a few centuries all pigeons will be one breed, a mixture.

But it is romantic to be opposed so, and in any wise those voices are a minority. There is not the taboo humans held. Even a human and a bird... unorthodox, to be sure, but most won't care.

[crest_of_diligence]

I would never try to embarrass you. I just don't want to be rude. I guess it makes sense a dove and a crow couldn't have offspring, but the lullaby is more about the love they have than anything else. I guess someone years ago must have thought it was a romantic idea, like you said.

...a human and a bird? Has that happened?

[espigeonage]

Love in the face of opposition is an old obsession. Humans held it, and birds do as well.

Quite a few times, miss Jin-Kyung! It presents certain difficulties, as humans are seen as low class. But there is a vigor and steadiness to such men and women which many birds find admirable.

[crest_of_diligence]

Can a bird and a human get married?

[espigeonage]

In Japan, yes. I understand there are countries where it is not legal, often because human and bird relations are... poorer.

[crest_of_diligence]

Poorer? That... doesn't sound good.