A few short stories

[81pi81]

Disclaimer: This is a crossover between Katawa Shoujo and the video game "Papers please". The customs procedures described here are taken from the game. They are probably different from the real ones in Japan and the UK.

Paper Love

London Heathrow, May 3rd, 2008

"Name?"
"Lilly Satou."
"How long will you be staying in Great Britain?"
"Two weeks"
"Purpose of your stay?"
"I am visiting a sick aunt."
I checked her passport and visa. Everything was OK, so I stamped her passport and let her through.
"Next!"

-------------------
Sendai, May 15th, 2008

"Papers please."
She was called Lilly Satou, she had a Japanese passport and was coming from Great Britain. I checked her passport quickly and let her through.
"Next!"

--------------------------------
London Heathrow, 30 June 2008

"Name?"
"Lilly Satou."
She looked a bit sad. Homesick, maybe?
"How long will you be staying in Great Britain?"
"Permanently".
"Purpose of your stay?"
"My parents live here."
Her papers were all in order. So I stamped her passport and let her through.
"Next!"

-----------------------
Tokyo, 2 July 2008

I have been working at the British embassy in Tokyo for thirty years now. I have met a lot of people who wanted a visa to Great Britain. Some were really desperate. I did not realise at first that Mr. Nakai was special. I just could not get him to understand that he could not get a long stay visa to the United Kingdom. He was barely eighteen, he had no job, no family in Great Britain, his English was very poor, and he had not even finished high school.

He said he was in love with a girl in Scotland and that he would do anything to be with her. But I am not tricked that easily. He spoke louder and louder and grew more and more excited, but I am used to these people. So I was really shocked when he grabbed his chest and fell on the ground moaning. He was obviously not simulating. I panicked and did not know what to do. Fortunately, someone else called the ambulance.

-----------------------
Sendai, 4 July 2008

When I saw this girl, I immediately thought there was something wrong with her: she was worried, nervous, and impatient. A tall blonde girl, called "Satou Lilly", with a Japanese passport? She was blind, and travelled on her own. Strange. I checked her passport very carefully. However, the photo was hers, the names, the dates, the stamps were all OK. So I gave her back her passport and let her through.
"Next!"

---------------------
London Heathrow, 3 January 2009

I swear, the airline staff is completely irresponsible. They never refuse to give a alcoholic drink to a passenger, especially a first class passenger. For instance, that girl from Japan. She had had a few sake shots on her first flight, then a few vodka shots while in transit at the Moscow airport, then a few whisky shots in the plane to London.
And there she was. Drunk as a lord. She was holding the arm of a flight attendant. Officially, because she was blind and travelling on her own, but actually she could barely stand.

"Name?"
"Li-lilly Satou."

The photo on the passport showed a beautiful young girl. Was it her? I looked at her face carefully. Indeed. Her hair was now cut short, she looked older, she had obviously sobbed during one half of the flight and drunk during the other half, but still it was her.
"Duration of stay?"
"I am staying in Scotland FOR EVER!!!"
She shouted so loud that people around her were scared. However, she looked harmless and I did not call the security: it would have made things worse.

"Purpose of your stay?"
"I am fleeing from Japan."
A Japanese citizen seeking political asylum in Great Britain? She did not have the required papers for a refugee. So I asked for more details.

Miss Satou told me a long and complicated story. She had a boyfriend in Japan who had had a heart attack. She had come back to Japan just for him. But after a while, he had grown tired of her. He blamed her for doting on him. She was acting more like a nurse than like a girlfriend. Finally they had a very bad fight and they broke up. The last straw came when Miss Satou's best friend, who was extremely ugly, finally found a boyfriend, who was... you guessed it, Miss Satou's ex!

She was wasting my time with all that chatter, the people waiting behind her were growing impatient, but still it was better to let her talk than try to interrupt her. Meanwhile, I checked her papers carefully. They were all in order. Her family lived in Great Britain, and she would stay in Inverness.
I stamped her passport and as she took it, she bawled that "She did not want to see that bastard EVER AGAIN, and that she would NEVER go back to Japan!"

I felt relieved when she finally left.
"Next!"

[AntonSlavik020]

That was probably the best one yet, though it helped that it wasn't a song. I'm familiar with the game "papers please", so I found the crossover interesting, as simple as it was. While it's kinda sad that Lilly left Japan permanently, Hisao ending up with Hanako and the general amusement of drunk Lilly made it still enjoyable enough.

[Oddball]

IU don't know that game either, but the story stands on it's own quite nicely.

[Mirage_GSM]

I agree that this one was very good.
I know the game, but I think this story would have been even better if it had not been classified as a "crossover". That didn't do anything but distract from the story you told.

[Mahorfeus]

I liked it. Got a tad over the top towards the end, but hey, she was drunk. I hesitate to call this a crossover, since while you're borrowing elements (or THE element) from Papers, Please, nothing about the KS is fundamentally changed.

Also, GLORY TO ARSTOTZKA.

[bhtooefr]

The West Grestin checkpoint is a feminist conspiracy. For Kolechia!

(I've only played the beta demo, though.)

Also, the dates are a bit wrong. The first arrival at London (for visiting the sick aunt) would be very late on 2007-06-30. Arrival in Sendai would be 2007-07-13. Second arrival in London would be most likely 2007-08-13.

[81pi81]

I NEED YOUR HELP URGENTLY

Hello,

You might be surprised by this email. You do not know me, but I read about you on the Internet, and you sound like someone who can be trusted. I need your help today.
My name is Shizune. I am a member the student council of Yamaku High School. The elections for the new student council are approaching, and this year, there are two competing lists.

I want to run the student council so that we can make great things. If my list wins, we shall organise plenty of festivals and parties. If the other candidate, Lilly, wins, then she so lazy that nothing will get done at all.

However, she is more popular than I am, so maybe she is going to win. But I am not going to let her. I plan to cover the walls with posters and run meetings to tell people about my plans for the student council. The people in charge of counting the votes might even lose a few ballots. All this is going to cost a lot of money, but I have a plan.

There are currently 10 million yen which are sleeping on the student council bank account. Yes, there is that much money which is not spent, because the other members of the council are lazy, and without ambition or ideas. I could use this money directly to fund my campaign, but this would raise suspicion. This is where I need you. These 10 million yen are going to get transferred to your personal bank account. Then you can keep 5 million, because you are a very deserving and helpful person, and transfer the rest to another bank account, which will be used for my campaign.

If you want to help me, please answer this email quickly. Never tell anyone about this transaction, because if the wrong people know about it, none of us will get any money. In your reply, please give your full name, and bank account number.

Yours,
Shizune

[Oddball]

Sounds legit.

[Silentcook]

Quality took a dip down.

[AntonSlavik020]

Yeah, after the last one, this was definitely not as good. So far the only one I liked was the "drunk Lilly" one.

[brythain]

I think this one was meant to be a spoof of various email scams for sucking money out of gullible recipients. Like the infamous Nigerian ones.

[forgetmenot]

I think this one was meant to be a spoof of various email scams for sucking money out of gullible recipients. Like the infamous Nigerian ones.

I, for one, got the joke. I just feel it wasn't very well-executed. It might have been better if there were some obviously egregious spelling errors, or maybe some more obvious parallels to actual Nigerian scam emails (for example, the tacit deposed prince could be Shizune claiming she was disowned from her own family with a few subtle jabs at Jigoro... I dunno. I don't really feel like wasting brainpower on this). As it is, it's a poor parody. I liked the "drunk Lilly" story much more.

[brythain]

I think this one was meant to be a spoof of various email scams for sucking money out of gullible recipients. Like the infamous Nigerian ones.

I, for one, got the joke. I just feel it wasn't very well-executed. It might have been better if there were some obviously egregious spelling errors, or maybe some more obvious parallels to actual Nigerian scam emails (for example, the tacit deposed prince could be Shizune claiming she was disowned from her own family with a few subtle jabs at Jigoro... I dunno. I don't really feel like wasting brainpower on this). As it is, it's a poor parody. I liked the "drunk Lilly" story much more.

Yeah, it should have included an implicit Yakuza money-laundering scheme.

[81pi81]

The drabble format is tricky, but interesting. Here is my first attempt.

Lilly's route: Diminuendo (early draft).

Lilly: Have you locked the door?
Hisao: Yes. I am sure Hanako is sleeping anyway. Imagine her catching us here?
Lilly: Poor Hanako, I do not think she would get over it... Hisao, your are nervous, aren't you?
Hisao: It is my first time, actually. But I am sure I love you and I know I am ready.
Lilly: I love you too, I would do anything to please you.

We kiss tenderly. Then, Lilly's gentle fingers unwrap the lemon-flavoured lubricant and the strap-on dildo which we have chosen together.

[81pi81]

The Interview

Kobayashi was the editor in chief of Loud'n Heavy, the number one heavy metal magazine in Japan. He was sitting in his office, consulting the sales of the previous month. March had been worse than February. Sales were dropping steadily, month by month, and the magazine was losing money. The era of music magazines was over. Nowadays, kids did not buy papers: they chatted on Internet forums, and the artists expressed themselves with Tweeter or Facebook. Who needed quality journalism? He would soon have to reduce the staff a little bit more, and next, he would have to find another job himself.

Those were his thoughts when Suzuki came in with his laptop computer under his arm. Suzuki was the youngest journalist in the staff. He was back from Sendai where he had interviewed a new local band, the Dismembered Demons. Now that was a classy name. Bands sure had taste, these days. Their music was crap too, some generic melodic death metal with a female singer, but their first album sold well, and the public enjoyed their gigs. So Kobayashi guessed the magazine had to interview them.

When he saw Suzuki's face, he knew that something was wrong. More bad news were coming.

"Hi Suzuki, how was the interview?"
Suzuki answered, embarrassed: "Well, things did not really go as expected."
"What do you mean?"
"I first took a few photos of the band. Let me show you."
Suzuki turned on his laptop and they viewed the pictures together.
Kobayashi asked immediately: "Where's she?"
"There, behind the drummer."
Kobayashi almost screamed: "You took photos of the Dismembered Demons with their lead vocalist standing at the back?"
"I swear, I tried to make her stand in front of the others, but she did not want to. The only way I could get a photo of the band was with Ikezawa standing behind the others. No way to take a pic of her alone either. What are we going to do?"
"Well, you know how to use Photoshop, don't you? Tomorrow, I must have a picture of the band with her in the foreground."
"Errr, yes, sir."

Suzuki was shocked. He had a lot to learn about this job.

"Then I interviewed Ikezawa. But there was an incident too."
Kobayashi shook his head, expecting the worst.
Suzuki selected a sound file on his computer and played it.


"Hello, miss Ikezawa".
"...."
"Speak louder, please."
"H-hello."
"Miss Ikezawa, the Dismembered Demons are just at the beginning of their career..."
"Y... Yes..."
"How does it feel to be successful this early?"
"It... is great... We... we are all under 25, and I am the youngest. We are lucky that our first record p-pleases the public."
"Tell me about your musical background."
"Well, a-actually, when I was in high school, I did not listen to heavy metal at all. J-just soft pop music."
"Then, how did you become a member of the band?"
"O-one day, I went to a karaoke bar with some friends. We sang in a private room, just between us. But this time a strange guy approached me, with long hair and tattoos. It was Kouji, the guitarist. He told me he had heard me by chance, and that I would be a great addition to his band. He told me I had the perfect voice and... the perfect l-look..."
"And how did you react?"
"I did not believe any of this at first, but he sounded serious. He gave me his phone number and a demo recording of the band. My friends did not like the idea... and they did not like the demo either. I thought I would never call him, but I came to find the idea interesting. I did not have anything to lose, after all. Finally, two weeks later, we had a first session together, and things went unexpectedly well. Soon, I became part of the band and the songs written by the Dismembered Demons were meant to be sung by me and a backing vocalist."
"Miss Ikezawa, can you tell us more about your vocal style?"
"Well, I... can sing normally, like a pop singer, laalallala, and I can also scream like a death metal vocalist LIKE THAAAAAAT! see? The point is to make a contrast with the other vocalist, with the low-pitched growls."
"By the way, rumour has it that you discovered your talent for death metal screams when shouting at your boyfriend in high school. Is it true?"


The recording was silent for a few seconds.


"Igottadosomething!"
"Hey! where are you going?"


Noises were heard of steps hurrying away, and a door was slammed. Then a new female voice; she sounded calm but angry.


"Mr. Suzuki, I am afraid this interview is over, you must leave immediately."


"This woman is Ikezawa's agent. A blind blonde, she was with us during the photo session and the interview. There was no discussing with her, I had to leave."

Kobayashi exploded. "You fucking moron! Why the hell did I send you to Sendai? You can't even interview a musician properly! Couldn't you feel it? She was tense at first, but she was starting to relax a little bit as she was talking about music, she might have said interesting things next! That was the time you chose to drive her away with that bloody personal question!"
"It was just a little joke! I did not expect her to react like this!"
"Well, she did not find it funny! And neither do I! What if the rumour was true? Remember, that girl is new on the scene. Despite rumours, nobody knows anything about her. Not even how she got those scars! And now, because of your brilliant interview, she is still a complete unknown to us!"

Suzuki let Kobayashi shout at him for a few more minutes. When he could talk at last, he asked:
"Now what? We cannot publish this interview?"
"Not as it is, of course! You are going to write the rest!"
"But how..."
"Make it up! Use your imagination! Tomorrow morning, I must have a good photo of the Dismembered Demons, AND a complete interview of Ikezawa!"
"Err, yes..."

Back in his office, Suzuki started to rewrite the interview, thinking of how much he had to learn about journalism. His screen was split into two windows. On the first, he was typing the "interview". On the second, there was a video of the Dismembered Demons playing live. He stopped typing and watched the video.

Kobayashi was right: the band sucked. They sounded the same as dozens of others all over the world. In a few years, they would break up and nobody would remember them. Their only good idea had been to invite Ikezawa to join the line-up. She certainly did not look like a rock star. In the video, she was wearing a dark dress covering her from the neck to the wrists and heels, probably because she did not want to show more scars. Not really a sexy outfit. And the kind of face you did not want to watch for too long either.

But the band had felt that she was the girl which could bring them success. And she did, for obvious reasons. Her scars raised curiosity, some weirdos among the fans were even attracted to her precisely because of them. But it was not that simple. She had something else that he could not define. She was a beginner, just like himself, she still looked stiff on stage, and her vocal technique could be improved, but she had a strange charisma. Sung by another woman, the songs would have been just boring crap. But when Ikezawa sang, or screamed, the public felt the emotions of the song: anger, despair, sometimes even hope... Whenever there was a guitar solo, or the other vocalist growled, the energy exchanged between the band and the audience was weaker. Just watching the video was enough to feel these changes.

There was a gap Suzuki could not explain between the girl he had talked to a few hours before and the singer he was watching. Maybe she took drugs in order to feel good when she performed? In this case, she would soon join the club of talented musicians dying of an overdose or committing suicide. Suzuki watched her carefully. No, he could swear she was not on drugs. On that small festival stage, facing the public, she enjoyed herself, she felt genuinely happy, at home and ready to give it all. When she performed, she just became someone else.

Suzuki could wait. In a few years, he would certainly hear from her again, and in a better band. She was special.