Scenario:Lunalu - Square One for a Dreamer
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Square One for a Dreamer
Lunalu is spending her day off inside a storybook cafe when Vane happens to spot her, and the two begin to chat about Popol Saga, Lunalu's favorite storybook series. Lunalu lets Vane look at her idea notebook after noticing his enthusiasm for stories, where he discovers a character she created to appear in Popol Saga, based on an idealized version of herself.
Seated in a storybook cafe, Lunalu spends her day off absorbed in the Popol Saga.
She is a well-known monster artist who is working hard to become a romance artist someday.
Continue 1
Lunalu (Mikhail): I'll stop here to catch my breath. You go on ahead.
Lunalu (Popol): I'm sorry we had to push ourselves so hard... I'll rest with you.
Lunalu (Mikhail): Heheh... You don't know how to take a hint, do you? This is the end of the line for me.
Lunalu (Popol): What... What are you saying? We promised we'd watch the sun set over the ocean once more!
Lunalu (Mikhail): I would love nothing more than to be able to, but look...
Lunalu (Popol): That wound! When did that happen?
Lunalu (Mikhail): It seems I didn't do a perfect job of repelling our pursuers.
Lunalu (Mikhail): But you still have a chance. Go.
Lunalu (Popol): I refuse.
Lunalu (Mikhail): Now's not the time to act childish. If you don't go, then we'll both die for nothing!
Lunalu (Popol): I'd rather stay a child forever than become an adult that abandons you!
Lunalu (Mikhail): Damn it... I'm trying to do right by you. I'll hold them off, so get going!
Lunalu (Popol): No... If I leave, how am I supposed to do right by you! I swore we'd get through this together! I'll never, ever abandon you!
Vane: ...
Lunalu & Vane: Noooooooo!
Waaaaaaah!
Waaaaaaah!
Lunalu and Vane just about leap out of their skins, startled by each other's screams.
Vane: I-I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to scare you! Lunalu, right? Member of (Captain)'s crew?
Lunalu: Huh? Um... Yeah, that's me...
Vane: Phew, so I wasn't mistaken! I'm Vane, from the Order of the White Dragons!
This friendly young man is actually vice-captain of the Order of the White Dragons, the group of knights who protect Feendrache.
Continue 2
Vane: I'm actually a part of (Captain)'s group of friends too...
Lunalu: (H-hold on, if he's here... Does that mean he heard me a moment ago?)
Lunalu: (If he did... Someone just end my suffering now!)
Vane: Now that I think about it, you went to the Cerulean Spa the other day too, yeah?
Vane: Man, I was so surprised to hear some crew members caused an uproar by turning into gorillas!
Vane: You... okay there, Lunalu?
Lunalu: Um... How long have you been here for?
Vane: Huh? Probably as long as you have, I guess?
Lunalu: Did you hear me say anything weird?
Vane: Anything weird, hm?
Vane: Well... Oh!
Vane (Mikhail): Damn it... I'm trying to do right by you. I'll hold them off, so get going!
Vane (Popol): No... If I leave, how am I supposed to do right by you! I swore we'd get through this together! I'll never, ever abandon you!
Lunalu: Ahhhhhh! Stop, no more!
Vane: Sorry! But I get it, I really do!
Lunalu: Wha?
Vane: You were reading the Popol Saga storybook, right?
Vane: When I get super into reading a storybook, I also start reading the dialogue out loud without meaning to!
Lunalu: Oh... Is that how it is? Thank goodness, it's an all-ages thing!
Vane: It's a what?
Lunalu: Nothing! Ignore that! So I take it you're a Popol Saga fan too then?
Vane: I've read almost every storybook! But I don't really know too much about all the lore and other details since I haven't touched the novels yet...
Lunalu: What matters is that you enjoy the series. The extra stuff isn't required.
Lunalu: Actually, an imperfect love can inspire others to dig deeper into what you're so interested in...
Lunalu: Driving newcomers away from calling themselves fans can only hurt a series.
Vane: When you put it that way, I feel like I can safely call myself a fan too then.
Vane: Hehe, it's cool to hear how a creator like you sees things!
Lunalu: I don't think my opinion is that special...
Vane: By the way, when you're done with that volume, could I borrow it?
Lunalu: Of course! Feel free to!
Lunalu: The highlight of this volume has got to be the scene with Prince Popol and Mikhail pouring their hearts out to each other!
Lunalu: And the way they managed to slip out of such a dangerous situation was crazy! After everything that happened, the distance between them—
Vane: Umm, this latest volume is actually the only one I haven't read yet, so if you could keep the spoilers to a minimum...
Lunalu: Ah! I'm so, so sorry! I didn't mean to ruin it for you!
Lunalu: Finding a fellow fan made me so happy I got carried away...
Vane: It's okay, I get it! I've totally done the same thing before!
Excited by their mutual love of Popol Saga, the two lose track of time discussing the series together.
Vane: I didn't know that you'd be reading all sorts of series as a storybook author.
Lunalu: I do my best to broaden my horizons, but it's also been a habit of mine since forever ago.
Vane: A habit to read... Sounds like you've had the makings of a creator since you were a kid.
Lunalu: Hmm... I'd say I was more a normal kid who just really liked to read.
Vane: Coming from someone who didn't really read at all when he was young, your childhood seems like it was pretty special.
Vane: Or at the very least, you were destined to become an author, but I probably don't know what I'm talking about...
Lunalu: I appreciate what you're trying to say, but honestly, my life has been super normal compared to the authors who write about their war experiences and such.
Vane: Now that you mention it, there are a lot of war-themed books...
Vane: But if that's the case, what got you wanting to create in the first place?
Lunalu: Huh?
Vane: Gah, sorry! I don't mean to pry into your past or anything! That was rude of me!
Lunalu: No, no, I'm not upset!
Lunalu: You just caught me by surprise. Now I'm also wondering why I started creating...
Vane: Phew, that's good then. I was sweating for a moment there!
Lunalu: Ahaha... I should say sorry too. If you're really curious, I wouldn't mind telling you about my past.
Vane: Huh... You sure?
Lunalu: Yeah, it's not like anything super interesting or important happened to me.
Lunarrator: (I felt comfortable enough to share my life story with him, perhaps because we both harbored a love for the same series.)
Lunarrator: This is the tale of a girl who liked to read books, back before she had any aspirations of becoming an author.
Lunarrator: She was awful at communicating with others, and wasn't very good at studying or exercising.
Lunarrator: Naturally, she found herself alone, so she spent most of her time in a secondhand bookstore.
Lunarrator: Once she hit puberty, she realized how ordinary she was...
Lunalu: Oh well... Not everyone gets to be the hero of the story.
Lunarrator: Except for when she was engrossed in a book.
Lunarrator: She'd read stories about heroes setting out on a journey to defeat the evil king and save their world.
Lunarrator: Tales about knights facing challenge after challenge to obtain the holy sword.
Lunarrator: Epics about princes finding true love and their happily ever after.
Lunarrator: And in them, even a plain girl like her could use her imagination to become a main character.
Lunarrator: The Popol Saga in particular stimulated her imagination like no other series, and it quickly became her favorite even though it was unfinished.
Lunarrator: Eventually she daydreamed about coming up with her own stories, absorbed in her imagination as she was.
Lunarrator: She began building worlds and creating characters, preparing for the day that she'd create her own tale.
Lunarrator: It was only a matter of time before she inserted herself into the world of Popol Saga.
Vane: Wow! That's completely different from the way I spent my childhood!
Vane: Sure, I daydreamed and stuff, but you authors are on a whole 'nother level!
Lunalu: Y-you think so?
Lunalu: (After that, I was heavily influenced by romance storybooks and became a monster artist, but talking about all that might take too long...)
Vane: Seriously, it's amazing! How do you come up with ideas for stuff?
Lunalu: Er... I don't really have a set process, but ideas just come to me sometimes.
Lunalu: That's why I carry a notebook around. I jot down new ideas right away whenever they strike.
Vane: Whoooa! So this is one of those secret idea notebooks!
Lunalu: It's not really a secret or anything though...
Vane: Still, these are the memos that eventually get turned into stories, right?
Lunalu: Sure? I guess sometimes staring at it helps me put ideas together to create something...
Vane: Wow, there are pages filled with neat writing... And other pages filled with drawings too!
Lunalu: Ah...
Vane: Hm? Ah! S-sorry, I didn't mean to look without permission!
Vane: It was super rude of me to go through your important stuff like I own it!
Lunalu: No, it's fine... Totally fine.
Vane: Wait, it is? You sure I can look?
Lunalu: Yeah... Go ahead. Honestly these memos are more cringe than important to me.
Lunalu: As long as you promise not to tell anyone else about them...
Vane: Swear I won't tell a soul!
Lunalu: Then go for it.
Vane: Woo-hoo! Thank you, Lunalu!
As Lunalu timidly flips through the notebook, Vane gazes at each page in awe and wonder.
Vane: Huh... Oooh! What's this series of knight Lunalu here?
Lunalu: Ah, that... Um... Well...
Lunalu: (Why'd he zero in on that of all things!)
Lunalu: It's part of a long series I came up with in my teens, back when I first started reading Popol Saga.
Vane: Sounds like it's got a decent bit of history to it!
Lunalu: Yeah... The cringiest of histories... It was the projection of a more perfect me that would show up in Popol Saga...
Vane: Putting yourself in that story sounds pretty fun, actually!
Lunalu: Y-you really think so?
Vane: Is it okay if I read it?
Lunalu: You can if you want...
Lunalu: (I'm about to die from embarrassment, but Vane doesn't seem like he'll be grossed out by it... Guess it should be fine?)
Vane: Awesome! Thank you, thank you! Hope you don't mind if I get started right away!
Lunalu: H-hold it! You have to let me read with you and censor anything that's too cringeworthy!
Vane: Sure! Let's go through it together then!
This is how Lunalu and Vane begin to read through a notebook filled with forbidden content.