Chapter Text
I don’t exactly remember what circumstances we first spoke to each other on. I know we met in a botany server, I had joined to get advice on a little garden I was working on in my backyard, and at some point we started talking. She was a regular there, although from what other server members told me in direct messages, not many particularly appreciated her presence.
She goes by OrdinaryMagiciann online, but she told me her real name a while back: Marisa.
The server we had met in was kinda stuffy. Not that I’m inherently opposed to that, but that atmosphere did not mesh with Marisa’s attitude at all; her antics had managed to get her banned once, even. I put in a good word to get her unbanned, though.
Marisa is certainly a character, I’ll say that much. Very energetic, quippy, and the kind of person who says everything that comes to her mind. Of course, you can’t really get a feel on someone’s behaviour solely through their online persona… people tend to act in ways online they wouldn’t otherwise in the real world, but I got the feeling she was as authentic as authentic could be with me.
I don’t know exactly what it is that makes her such welcoming company online. She always treats me without any judgement or cynicism, which I can’t necessarily say for my other online acquaintances, but that wasn’t the only reason, I don’t think. I suppose there’s just something infectious about her attitude that reeled me in despite our differences in… energy level. It helps that she has an incredibly sharp wit, I always find myself laughing at some point when talking to her.
Over time I learned more about her, such as how she lives in Japan. Her grasp of the English language was honestly beyond impressive given that she said she lived in a more rural area, although as most do online, we used shorthand more often than not. But when she showed me the stories she’d write? I can’t lie, she was very talented. She appreciated that praise a lot… although it directly led to her jokingly pointing out her language superiority every time I made a grammar mistake. I don’t appreciate that as much, and she continues to do it no matter how much I tell her to knock it off. Oh well.
Her stories are so creative too. She’d crafted such an elaborate fantasy world, it really encouraged me to tap into my own creativity more. The way she spoke about this “Gensokyo” world she’d devised, you’d think she’d have lived a life in the writing with how much rich detail it held. I had told her she should really consider picking up writing full time, but she insisted that it wasn’t really her thing. Confusing to me, but I guess her job in pest control she told me about is a fulfilling path for her. If it makes her happy, that’s fine with me.
Kind, talented, funny… I was happy to call Marisa my closest internet friend.
We had long since left the server we had met in, as I think my defense of her made the other users dislike me as well. We didn’t really need that server to maintain contact at all regardless, as our friendship had progressed beyond just being about botany as we realized how well we meshed.
Generally, we speak about every day, but recently that hasn’t been the case. Work has been picking up for her apparently, and despite her attempts to contact me on the job, her co-worker is pretty stern and has been getting on her case about it. I’d rather her keep her job instead of risking it just to talk to me, so I can’t argue with her co-worker on that front. I believe Marisa said her name was Reimu? I’d have to scroll back through our messages to jog my memory.
I don’t tend to start conversations in fear of interrupting her work. By today, it’s been the longest we’ve gone without speaking at all. Just about a week.
But that changed when my phone vibrated. My face immediately lit up when I saw the notification on the screen.
2 unread messages from OrdinaryMagiciann
OrdinaryMagiciann:
guess who
i bet you’ve missed meeeeee
otherWRLD:
Damn right
I was going a bit insane
You should’ve seen my face when I got the notification
OrdinaryMagiciann:
i’m glad
about you missing me
not about you going insane
well
depends what kind of insane
otherWRLD:
Is there a good kind? lol
OrdinaryMagiciann:
me
duh
otherWRLD:
True true
I like your kind of insane
OrdinaryMagiciann:
ok romeo
when are we going out then?
otherWRLD:
NOT LIKE THAT you ass hahahah
OrdinaryMagiciann:
lolll
hey you can’t blame me for assuming
i’m quite the catch~ all the fellas want meeeee
otherWRLD:
I’m sure whoever you end up dating will be very happy
you have a way of making me very happy, at least haha
OrdinaryMagiciann:
hehe
i wonder who it will be
otherWRLD:
Well you can bet I’ll be your wingman :sunglasses:
OrdinaryMagiciann:
thanks
anyways
i’m sure you’re dying to hear my tales of heroism from this past week
and why your favourite person was gone so long
otherWRLD:
I can’t wait to hear how you vanquished the evil termites or whatever
OrdinaryMagiciann:
no one is a match for me and my skills
and every situation was resolved as you’d expect from me
otherWRLD:
Pride is a sin Marisa
OrdinaryMagiciann:
I’m no stranger to hell, I’ll be fineeeee
otherWRLD:
But if you’re in hell, how am I gonna get my socialization without you
OrdinaryMagiciann:
you really need to befriend people irl dude
people you can talk to face to face
i can’t be your only lifeline :sob:
otherWRLD:
I’m telling you, one of these days I’m gonna get a flight to Japan
OrdinaryMagiciann:
mm
maybe one day. yeah.
I’m not stupid, and I knew exactly what that sudden dip in enthusiasm meant. She always insists we’ll never be able to meet in real life, no matter how much I tell her that I’d be willing to pay for the flight to Japan, no questions asked. I don’t know why, she’s never given me a straight answer.
Is there some situation or person that’s preventing her from meeting me, and she actually wants to despite that? Or… does she just not want to meet up with me at all? She doesn’t even want to voice call me, either.
OrdinaryMagiciann:
you got university anyways
otherWRLD:
Honestly
These past few days
I’m
Very very tempted to drop out
OrdinaryMagiciann:
if you do I will come to america to kill you
just kidding
i don’t murder
i would beat the shit out of you though
otherWRLD:
Oh now we’re able to meet up? lmao
OrdinaryMagiciann:
i will break the laws of reality to fry you if you do something dumb like that
and that’s a threat
otherWRLD:
I know you’d never hurt me Marisaaaa
OrdinaryMagiciann:
my sweet summer child
beating people up is my bread and butter
otherWRLD:
Something tells me pest control is a front for something else hahaha
OrdinaryMagiciann:
kidding kidding
why do you wanna drop out thoughhhh
otherWRLD:
Unfulfilled and stressed
Every day I just wish I could escape
OrdinaryMagiciann:
:(
otherWRLD:
The workload is becoming too much
OrdinaryMagiciann:
you can do it
i promise
otherWRLD:
Wish I had that faith in myself
OrdinaryMagiciann:
you should
you have such a bright future
you’re so talented
and like
otherWRLD:
Never mind me
OrdinaryMagiciann:
you shouldn’t abandon the freedom of-
but
otherWRLD:
You still haven’t told me why you were gone so long
OrdinaryMagiciann:
ah
right.
yeah
well I had to be away from home for a while to deal with work
otherWRLD:
That long for work?
I didn’t know pest control had to like
Travel around
OrdinaryMagiciann:
a very very widespread and important
pest problem
otherWRLD:
what kind?
There was a pause in our back and forth until she started typing again.
OrdinaryMagiciann:
wasps
and i lived to tell the tale
i wanted to bring my phone with me but reimu wouldn’t let me
she hasn’t even talked to you once and she already hates you lmao
otherWRLD:
Oh :(
OrdinaryMagiciann:
it’s less you and more my phone that she hates
and well
you’re in my phone
otherWRLD:
Yeah phones aren’t common where you’re at right?
OrdinaryMagiciann:
understatement of the millennia
she doesn’t really get it
or our friendship
but it’s whatever
her loss
maybe she’d be less of a sourpuss if she had you around lol
otherWRLD:
I’m not that charismatic
OrdinaryMagiciann:
mm
you are to me
i really appreciate you
i think my friends would too
you’re chill and nice
otherWRLD:
I
Thanks
Thank you
That means a lot
Especially coming from you
OrdinaryMagiciann:
i mean everything i say
you’re awesome
and i only associate with the most awesome people
to be honest
i really
well
actually never mind
but yeah you’re one of my best friends ever
otherWRLD:
So are you
You’re an incredibly positive influence on my life
And just a joy to speak to
Holding out hope for the day we can finally meet
And you can show me those magic tricks you talk about haha
A minute passed. Then five minutes. Then ten minutes. This doesn’t usually happen, and I immediately felt like I had done something wrong.
otherWRLD:
You there?
Another 5 minutes.
OrdinaryMagiciann:
sorry
i just
had an idea for a thing
i gotta go for a bit
otherWRLD:
Oh okay
Bye
See you soon
She didn’t message me again for the rest of the night. I didn’t want to pry, but I had this horrible feeling in my gut that I had upset her.
I just have to hope things will be fine tomorrow.