Private ✪ Stokbon Self-Discovery Conjecture

[Juniper Lockton]

Juniper was happier than usual today. She was practically skipping through town, in her own thoughts and daydreams because of how great her time in Terra had been and how much everyone had been so nice to her and how much happier she was as Juniper than Justin. The very thought made her cringe and she almost went down the spiral to depression over it but caught a reflection of herself in a store window as she walked.

This was who she was always meant to be.

She was just late in figuring it out.

What all that meant for her life in the real world was yet to be figured out, but she didn't care. For now, even when life outside was not great for multiple reasons, Terra was a fantastic escape, even when there was peril and danger. Even the Landers had grown to like her presence around Stokbon since she'd been helping with this and that in her endeavor to just interact with as many people as possible. Today, she was on her way to see if the local seamstress needed any help of any kind. She'd gotten a dress she was wearing today from her and liked the idea of getting friendly with a seamstress so that she could easily commission dresses and other clothes in the future. Perhaps clothes that would double as armor so that she didn't have to feel clunky or gross on adventures?

So many questions.

But now she was ju-

WAM

"Ow!" Distracted by something as she was walking, she walked full-force straight into another woman who was coming from the other direction, knocked backwards and rubbing her head immediately from the impact. She was quick to recover though, ears flattening in sad apology as she reached out to show sympathy for the other crash survivor, "I'm so sorry! I wasn't paying attention."

@Harukami

 

[Harukami]

Haruka was trying to remember something. Where was she going again? She knew where she was, of course- she was in Stokbon, the capital of the country she tended to stay in, Falderen. She was pretty sure she'd come here to look for interesting cooking ingredients, there was just one little problem...

She was aware the city she was in, but not where in the city she was.

A soft sigh escaped her as she walked along the city streets. Her cute clothes, made of thick linen and leather, were comfortable to walk long distances in- but they got dirty very suddenly as she walked into another person due to her mind being anywhere but where she was.

"Owwie," she winced, thankful she wasn't bleeding anywhere. This kind of situation happened a lot to Haruka, partially because she was clumsy and partially because she was an airhead with the memory of a peanut. She was always so busy trying to remember things, she forgot to focus on where she was going!

"N-No, I should be t-the one apologizing!" She stammered, getting off the ground and dusting off her clothing. There were some minor scratches in her leather waist wrap, but it wasn't a big deal to her, at least for now. "I-I forgot where I was going so I-I was trying to remember and then..."

Finally, it clicked in her head. "Right! I needed more cloth!" Well, her guess had been totally off the mark earlier- but it could be worse. It seemed neither of them were too hurt, so it was fine, right? Taking the extended hand, Haruka smiled softly before giving a polite bow. "M-My name is Haruka. I didn't dirty your clothes, did I?"

@Juniper Lockton

 

[Juniper Lockton]

Getting a good look at her after all the commotion, she seemed like the kind of girl in your class who wouldn't always get jokes but would be super sweet to you. Juniper appreciated that notion and kept in the back of her mind at the comment about how she forgot where she was going, stuttering that she should be the one apologizing.

She did have to wonder how dirty someone had to be to worry about getting someone dirty by bumping into them briefly, but that thought didn't linger long. She was pretty and clean, seemed like, so it just seemed like a very polite question.

She hadn't meant for the extended hand to be a handshake, but the change of pace into shaking hands already was welcome, "Oh, um," she looked herself over quickly, "No? I'm okay, seems like. I'm Juniper, Juni if you like." Finally she introduced herself, seeming to forget to do so, "I was actually heading to the seamstress, too, if you wanna walk with me? Can never be too careful in the big city."

"Your name is really pretty, by the way!" She offered excitedly, seeming like a warm light in a crowd with how friendly she was.

@Harukami

 

[Harukami]

Haruka hadn't realized she messed up her greeting yet. No, she thought she added the 'mi' at the end, completely unaware she forgot it. Honestly, she was beginning to think lately that she should have just made her given name her username as well, instead of adding the 'mi' to make her name sound like 'God of Spring'. But, since she hadn't noticed yet, she had no reason to beat herself up over it.

Instead, she just was flushing in the cheeks because her name was complimented so nicely.

Right! It was a seamstress who sold cloth and linen! Surely, they had the materials necessary for Haruka to alter some of her gear again. She'd been thinking of strengthening her armor, and maybe putting some ribbon around the rod of her staff. Surely a seamstress could help her with that, right?

"I-I'd love to!" She chimed with a soft smile. "But a correction... Juni is a much cuter name than mine." Her soft smile turned into a grin as she gave the warm woman next to her a quick hug- mostly in effort to catch herself when she started to trip. Apologizing quickly and letting go, she laughed nervously.

Really, her dance lesson with her ojii-san at the beach had been much smoother than her ability to walk on paved streets! How was that even possible?

"W-What is Juni looking to buy? I just need some fabric and ribbon."

@Juniper Lockton

 

[Juniper Lockton]

It was her turn to blush as Haruka hugged her and said her name was cuter. It really hit harder when someone complimented a name you picked for yourself. When it was something you had control over, it was just better in general. Much better than people complimenting on your natural born looks.

Even if that also felt good.

The hug really hit the spot, too, even if it was a little unexpected and awkward. Juniper embraced it instead and acted like they were friends seeing each other after a while apart. Why not, right? Hugging was a human need and it wouldn't hurt to hug a stranger. Or an acquaintance, at this point, she supposed.

"Oh, I'm actually heading there to see if Ms. Gale needs any help today. Might browse some of the dresses while I'm there, though." She smirked, playing with the hem of her own dress to indicate she might have gotten the dress from the same Dorothea Gale, "What plans do you have for your fabric? Sewing something for yourself?"

@Harukami

 

[Harukami]

Haruka was surprised when the woman hugged her back, but was relieved by it all the same. She gave a gentle pat on Juniper's back, smiling shyly when she let go and got steady on her feet. "S-Sorry about that. I can be pretty clumsy..."

Her hands clasped together in delightful applause. "It's so wonderful of you, visiting just to help! Whenever I go, I-I always have an ulterior motive... I feel kind of guilty now..." Running ahead a few steps, Haruka twirled in place, managing not to stumble too badly. She got dizzy, though, and stopped partway around.

"I-I want to upgrade my armor, and make some clothes for different activities. These are my only c-clothes right now. I-I went to the beach recently and felt a little out of place." She smiled, remembering the dance lessons she took on the shore from her platonic grandfather. "It was fun, but I got sand in weird parts of my clothing. I-I'd also like to make a new apron..."

@Juniper Lockton

 

[Juniper Lockton]

"Oh, silly, going to a shop to buy stuff isn't an ulterior motive. If you were befriending her to get free stuff, that'd be a good example." She offered, not realizing that she was kind of doing exactly that even if she didn't intend for that to be the case.

It was fun watching her interact, seeing how she spun and almost got dizzy, giggling at the sight. She nodded and her ears twitched as she listened, "Ohhh, do you cook and stuff?" She asked, tail practically wagging just at the mention of food or anything related, "Sand in weird places is never fun, gross. Your clothes look cute as they are, yea, but I think we could get you into something way cuter if you wanna shop with me while we're there! Trying on new clothes could be fun! We could even pick out clothes for each other and see how we like 'em? I dunno, I just like making friends. I doubt she'll need anything, anyway, but we'll see. Oh, oh! What kind of masteries did you pick? I find that everyone I've met so far has picked really suitable ones for their personalities and I just wanna see what that means for you." Realizing she kind of rambled for a bit, there, she rubbed the back of her head and smiled sheepishly,

"Sorry, that was a lot for no reason. Can you tell I'm awkward?" She said playfully.

@Harukami

 

[Harukami]

"I-It's not!?" Haruka stammered, apparently very surprised she understood 'ulterior motive' wrong. "English is so confusing sometimes... I studied so hard, yet I...I still don't get it..." She let out a deep sigh, regretting not studying a little harder in school.

"I-I've never been shopping with anyone but my sister!" She exclaimed, startled and yet moved by the idea of shopping with a new friend. "I-I'd be honored, if you'll let me join you." Juni was moving fast with the conversation, leaving Haruka little time to stutter as much. "I-I have four masteries now. Beast Arts, Divine Magic, Pyromancy, and Spirit Magic. I'm still learning to control them, but I've gotten pretty good compared to when I started. I have a kind sensei that teaches me to control my flames."

When the woman called herself awkward, Haruka burst out laughing. "I-I'm the one st-stuttering to high heaven, a-and you think y-you're the awkward one? Juni is too cute! So cute I could-" she stopped herself right there. There was no way she was finishing that sentence.

@Juniper Lockton

 

[Juniper Lockton]

The stutter, while noticeable, wasn't anything to find awkward in someone else, and Juniper recognized that immediately.

"Oh, you have a sensei? That's cool. I need one of those myself, I think." She mused, knowing it was harder than it sounded to find someone willing and worth learning from, "I like your choices, though. Beast arts was a really hard one to not pick. Maybe we can show off for each other on an adventure or something sometime." Date after date proposed but only because she wasn't used to doing this sort of thing or planning time with friends. Just throwing a bunch of stuff at the wall to see what stuck was a common thing to do, right?

"I picked geomancy and aeromancy with weapon arts. I use these two spheres here to control them, respectively." She said, pulling out the two spheres, fancily decorated artifact-looking things, and showing them off. That didn't take long and she moved on to their next topic, knowing they would be at their destination not long from now.

"Well, stutter or not, you're already really cute and great and sweet to me so I hardly notice it. You don't seem awkward at all!" She let her off the hook regarding what she wouldn't say, but did find herself curious to what it was, setting her imagination running wild with ideas.

Finally, they arrived, and as they entered Juniper waved at Dorothea before greeting her. She'd become one of her favorite landers pretty quickly, and her kindness was a big part of that.

"Oh, you brought a friend today. Good for you, Juni. Now how can I help you two sweet girls?"

"I was gonna ask you the same thing! Haruka here wants to get a few things, we were gonna shop a little bit, but I wanted to see if you needed any help with anything today."

"Well aren't you thoughtful? I don't think I need much help today, it's been slow and I'm caught up on everything that needs to be done. But you've been coming around a lot. Tell you what, why don't you come in tomorrow around this time and work for me for a few hours helping me run the front of the shop? I'll teach you a few things between customers."

"I'd love to! Thanks, yea, I'll be here!" Still smiling, she turned to Haruka, "You wanna get your stuff and then meet me by the dresses? I'm afraid I can't wait and I simply must go this very moment." She used proper speech to funnily make her point but wasn't sure even as she was saying it if it would be as funny as she hoped.

@Harukami

 

[Harukami]

Haruka smiled as she explained her relation to her teacher. "I-I met Sensei my first d-day in the, erm, world. H-He's helped me out a lot. I-I've met many kind people since coming here... Like Juni!" She grinned cheerfully, adding, "I'd love to j-join you! I'm n-not good at fighting yet, but I'm a t-top notch support."

Surprised to be told she wasn't awkward even with her stumbling and fumbling over words, her large smile remained large. She was just glad Juni didn't press her to finish that one sentence. Now that would have made things awkward.

Harukami bowed politely to Dorothea, before turning to Juniper with a nod. "I-I look forward to seeing you there, Juni." She giggled a bit, finding it interesting how Juni suddenly was using such polite speech compared to earlier. "I'll be there soon!" She chimed, before beginning to look at the fabrics. She chose a few different ones, purchasing them before she made it to the dresses to meet with Juni.

"D-Did you wait long?"

@Juniper Lockton

 

[Juniper Lockton]

By the time Haruka found her, Juniper already had five different things picked out. Two for her, three for her shopping companion for the day. She didn't have all that much gold yet, refraining from going crazy on pretty clothes, so this was probably going to be it for what she picked for herself.

"Hm?" She perked up, "Oh, no not at all! Look, isn't this super cute?" She laid a dress over herself, something that looked like it fit her, if a little short. But it was pretty and she was pretty sure her friend the seamstress would help her fix that anyway.

"These are what I picked for you, I picked these for me." She handed Haruka's allotment to her and gestured to her own, "Take your time to pick mine while I browse more. Isn't she amazing at making pretty dresses?"

Really, they weren't all THAT special, but to someone who was just diving into the world of wearing dresses, everything was new and amazing.

@Harukami

 

[Harukami]

"It looks perfect!" Haruka chimed as she watched Juniper lay the dress over herself. She did notice it was a bit short, though, which made her blush slightly. "I-I might lengthen it, but that's because I'm timid. But the color and style suit you well."

Taking the three Juniper had chosen for her, she tried them on in a similar fashion, looking at them by laying them over herself. There was an interesting assortment to her, but they all suited her rather well. None were things Haruka would normally pick on her own- but that was because Haruka tended more towards two piece outfits than dresses.

That gave her a question to ask her new friend. "Nee, Juni. Do you prefer one-pieces or two usually?" In the real world, Haruka mostly wore kimono and gender-neutral clothing. She did wear some skirts sometimes, but felt they didn't suit her as well as when she was younger in the style that she liked. So, when she said 'usually', she actually meant strictly in the game world.

"Ah!" She found a dress that was of a very cutesy style and laid it on herself. "I think I made a dress like this for my sister once." It looked decent on her game avatar, luckily. "Hm..." She found a more sophisticated and stylish dress for Juniper that looked cutesy yet cool. "I-I've always had a thing for frills, so it may not be to your liking, but... What do you think of this one?"

@Juniper Lockton

 

[Juniper Lockton]

Just what she was thinking, and just what she wanted to hear. Truly, they were on the road to being very fast friends.

"I was thinking about lengthening it too. I'm glad you think so, I reeeeeaaaally like it. Easy buy."

"What does Nee mean?" She cocked her head, ear flicking curiously, "Oh, well I wear jeans and a t-shirt usually IRL. Here, so far I prefer dresses but I haven't..." Another sentence between them that was better off not being finished. Or at least Juni thought so.

"I just prefer dresses I think. They feel very light and flowy and I don't think I have ever felt prettier." Maybe a weird thing to say, but it was the truth.

Taking the dress from the other girl, she nodded, "No, I like it, I can't wait to see how it looks. That's part of the fun, though. I wouldn't have picked this for myself, but it feels good to know that you think I could pull it off."

"What about you, though, Haruka? What do you prefer?"

@Harukami

 

[Harukami]

"S-Sorry! Sometimes I use it instead of 'um'. I got so at ease I fell back into native tongue. How embarrassing..." She probably shouldn't tell Juniper that 'nee' could also mean big sister, since she didn't mean it that way in the first place. That would just be confusing.

When asked what she usually wore, Haruka tensed up for a second, then took a deep breath. Maybe it was time to clear something up, but she wasn't ready to come out to a stranger about being genderfluid yet. "I, um, vary a lot. S-some days I wear skirts, s-some pants. I wear a lot of kimono and traditional clothing for comfort, too. Ah- I'm from Japan, by the way. Though I guess that's obvious now. A-Anyway, I vary by the day... Though skirts don't really look as good on me as my sister..." After all, Haruka still had a male body...

"I like skirts," she said thoughtfully. "I've, erm, always had a thing for cute things. Dresses can be super cute, but I-I find it harder to find things that fit me in one piece than two."

She found a couple more things- one or two more items for herself and for Juniper to look at. Haruka couldn't help smiling broadly as she was looking through the store. She'd never gone shopping with any girls other than her sister. It was actually a lot of fun!

@Juniper Lockton

 

[Juniper Lockton]

"Oh, it's okay, that's cute. I didn't put it together that you probably spoke Japanese." A little embarrassed but not too bad.

"That makes sense. Sounds like an older sister? Hard to ever feel like you look as good as someone you look up to." She remarked. She kept thinking about talking to her about being transgender. Or at least, probably being so. She'd done some research since first playing the game, being careful not to be caught by her parents, and it seemed that she was. But doubt and dysphoria were difficult feelings.

"Okay, now let's move on to what is arguably the most fun phase of this whole thing, trying stuff on!" Her excited talking caught the attention of Dorothea, who could be seen smirking on the other side of the store, pleased that people were enjoying her craft.

She started with the dress with frills, getting into it rather quickly and stepping out to model it. It looked cute, the frills providing a more refined look that suited her. It looked almost like something a waitress would wear, or a more modern maid.

The ones that she'd picked out for Haruka included a sundress, a dress with floral designs all over it, and a mock neck dress that had a collar around the neck leading down to a formal sort of dress that was sleek. It just looked cool overall and she hoped it would look good on her shopping partner.

"How do I look? From 1-10? Think it could do with adjustment?"

@Harukami

 

[Harukami]

"We're twins, actually- fraternal." In fact, Haruka was the older sibling by a few minutes- not that it really mattered who came first. To Haruka, whether she came first or second didn't change that she came as a set with her sister.

A broken set, but a set.

"I... was born male." Haruka finally decided to confess. "But more often than not, I see myself as a girl. I live in the countryside, so most of my neighbors know me as Haruka, but... Um..." She shifted her weight to one leg before telling her, "My birth name was Hayato... Luckily, only people in Tokyo knew me that way..."

She was ready to be punched or something. She knew a lot of people were against genderfluid people, or people that wore dresses when they were clearly 'male'. But she had hope her friend would understand her at least a little bit.

Haruka started with the mock-neck dress, considering it the least likely to look good on her. To her surprise, it fit almost perfectly- but it was so formal. Would she have a chance to wear it?

"Yours looks wonderful, but I think we could adjust the sleeves slightly..." She walked over, pinching some excess cloth at the ends of the sleeves. "What do you think? Which way is better?"

She then took a few steps back and spun in her formal attire. "Does it suit me? I'm not sure when I can wear it, but it's so pretty it's hard to refuse... B-But only if Juni thinks it looks good!"

@Juniper Lockton

 

[Juniper Lockton]

Listening, Juniper became enthralled by her words as she mentioned that she was born male, attention suddenly enhancing on that fact. She blinked, then smiled, and waited until she finished,

"I was too. I'm really glad to have met you, because of that. My given name is..." She leaned in, "Justin. But nobody but us has to know. We're ourselves here, right? Who cares who we are outside of this." Speaking more to herself than anything, she nodded with certainty.

Watching her pinch the sleeves, she nodded, "I think you're right. Noted!" Then she looked over her companion as she spun, smiling again,

"It looks great! I think it suits you a lot better than you might think. Clothes can help shape your attitude and stuff, you know. It might help for you to try wearing more adventurous things here since there are no consequences to just trying stuff out like that."

@Harukami

 

[Harukami]

Juniper was the same? Well, to some extent anyway. Haruka was honestly amazed. She knew there were others like her- whether it was girls who were meant to be boys, or boys meant to be girls. But, Haruka had never really had the chance to interact with people like her before. Her smile blossomed beautifully as she realized her new friend was just that much more special now. And wise, too.

"Juni is a beautiful name," Haruka chimed with a grin. She wasn't going to say or use 'Justin' ever most likely, because it was clear to her that Juniper was in fact a girl. A really cute girl at that.

"That's certainly true. I always feel more confident in my kimono back home. It just feels so refined, I guess?" she giggled, adding, "Plus, it's suitable whether I'm feeling like a guy or a girl. They're really hard to make though compared to normal clothes... At least for me."

Haruka took note of the fact she could be more adventurous here. Juniper was right- no one was going to judge her (that mattered) anyway. And now, she had help finding new types of clothes that would suit her. "I'm really excited to try on the next one too now... But I'm definitely getting this. It's already special to me now."

@Juniper Lockton

 

[Juniper Lockton]

So they weren't exactly the same, but that was okay. They were kin enough. It was interesting, though, that she made kimonos, more than anything. That wasn't a cheap skill.

"Make? You make kimonos?" She asked, curious. She took her next dress as she smiled, loving that they were already making memories together and had only just become friends. The first time you meet someone is one of the most important times in your relationship. Not only because of first impressions but because of the memory of that first impression. Several relationships in her life had been renewed because they started to grow apart only to remember why they were friends in the first place.

"I'm really glad you like it, I hope it serves you well here!"

Taking her next dress to put it on, she came back out with it and showed off hers first, smiling and posing in different ways as she did so. Not the best at modeling, but she was clearly having fun!

@Harukami

 

[Harukami]

"I try," Harukami explained. "I like to make clothes a lot... Mom said I should be a fashion designer instead of a scientist. I spend a lot of time sewing at home, or cooking. I really like crafts and things. I actually made the clothes I'm wearing right now too... Er, was wearing, I mean."

She smiled sweetly before going to change into the sundress Juniper chose for her. It was slightly shorter than what she normally would wear, but it looked rather cute regardless. Shyly, she fiddled with her fingers at the hem of the dress. "D-Does it suit me? I wonder if I'm too tall for this size..."

Watching Juniper modeling was a blast, though. She was clearly enjoying herself with her awkwardly cute poses. It made Haruka clap for an encore. "Juni is amazing, you know? You're so cute!" It made Haruka want to hug her without it being on accident. She felt too shy to say it, though.

@Juniper Lockton