russian intensifies

[constellates]

[When you wake up on this fine morning and check your Retrospec feed, you'll find... Russian spam? It begins - ]

Доброе утро. Меня зовут Аня. [ - and it continues on from there, resulting in a full paragraph.

For anyone who can read Cyrillic, they'll find the following message: Good morning. My name is Anya. Is anyone able to understand this? I recognize it as Cyrillic, as Russian, however I don't recall ever being able to speak this language. I woke up and suddenly it's all I knew. If the people on here remember horses, maybe they remember me speaking differently? Properly? Maybe? Please let me know.

In an entirely separate text, she tries again. In two more languages.]

おはようございます。私の名前はAnyaです。わかりますか？これは日本語です。でも昨日でAnyaは日本語を話しません。

[ - and that also goes on. An English message, with the same approximate fluency level as the Japanese, to explain the whole situation is finally provided at the end. Third try's the charm?]

good morning. my name is anya. i am sorry to try again but i am confused. today i know how to speak russian and japanese. the russian is easy but the japanese is harder. english is also harder now. even though yesterday i only spoke english?

??? why?

if the people here remember horses do they remember the anya that did not know russian? please help. please. thank you.

[ ACTION ]

[ a: авария

Normally Anya is full of life. There's a skip in her step, there's a smile on her face, there's a whole-hearted willingness to tackle the day and everything that it brings her. It was easy to call Anya cheerful and friendly.

That doesn't appear to be the case anymore.

She avoids her friends. She ducks her head and doesn't make eye contact at school. She doesn't open her mouth to speak once, brows furrowed and lips pressed into a thin line.

Yet with her head bowed as it is, it's hard to steer clear of others, isn't it? Which is why she bumps into you - somewhere. She still wanders, even if she isn't at her best. Whether it's at school, at the dance studio, wandering around the city, she seems to have accidentally run right into you.

Startled, she exclaims in smooth Russian:]

Извините! [Then her eyes widen and she seems to pause, having to take a sincere moment to recall the words she's looking for. Even now, a distinct Russian accent colors her words.] Ah, um... I'm sorry...

[There's no helping the sad, defeated look on her face - but Anya is still a very gentle girl. Even though she wants to be by herself, she finds herself looking up to whoever she ran into uncertainly.]

Are you okay...?

[ b: секрет

Distracted as she is, Anya isn't really noticing any of the secrets that are posted around today - or her own. So there's a neat little sign posted on her back, whether it's detailing something small like:]

i ) Anastasia sometimes sneaks out to climb the rooftop of her house even though her mother has told her not to.
ii ) Anastasia used to be a cheerleader.

[Or something a little bit more telling like:]

iii ) Anastasia doesn't like to be left alone.
iv ) Anastasia is too scared to be an idol anymore.

[ ooc: anya's regain was her canon language tick! an example can be found here! complete with sprinkles of Russian and accent. an additional note is that if you hover over the different alphabets, the exact translation should come up! AND FINALLY, Anya's hair used to be the lightest shade of the blonde in the world - and now it's gone full silver, but that's the least of her problems.]

Comments

[constellates]

[to be honest if Anya wanted to die her hair, she probably would've asked Karkat to help her with it.

but for right now she seems content like this - calming down a little bit now that she has some sort of physical connection to someone important to her. even if she notices where they're going, she doesn't say anything. she'll go along with anything that he suggests.]

Да... Ah - yes. [A nod, providing a little translation.] I... can speak Japanese now too?

[so

surprise]

[alienates]

[ japanese too..... now that he thinks about, he remembers japanese in her post? ]

Did you just... suddenly wake up like this or whatever? [ everything seriously has been weird as fuck lately. ] Like the whole people remembering shit they never did before thing.

[constellates]

[a little nod.]

Mm. мечта....? воспоминание? I had a dream too. Or a memory, maybe.

I spoke Japanese and Russian in it.

But I thought it was just... odd.

[but nope. now it's... definitely very real]

[alienates]

It is remarkable just how fucked up this keeps getting? Every time I start to think that maybe we're just overthinking it and things aren't that weird, someone suddenly starts speaking Russian.

[ amazing

he gives her hand a light squeeze though so she won't think he's like. complaining about her?? ]

At least Yuri finally has someone to speak Russian with. He's been whining about that.

[constellates]

[she was admittedly considering it for a moment, but the squeeze of her hand manages to get her to smile softly instead.

it's... kinda funny. she was worried all day about not being able to talk with people, but karkat seems to be taking it remarkably well? sort of. it soothes at least some of her ruffled feathers]

Да... I told him this morning. [and she frowns a little bit] Viktor speaks it too. So... в одиночестве... I am not alone.

[which is

always a pretty big concern of hers, considering how she hates to be left by herself in anything]

[alienates]

[ see, karkat can come off as unapproachable, grumpy, and even sometimes hostile? even if people wanted to get to know him better, he tends to purposely make it difficult for that to ever be a thing. but once he decides that yes, this is a person he genuinely wants to keep in his life, karkat will latch onto them and never let go??

so this whole thing is... weird, and it seems like it'll be difficult? but if it's anya's life now then apparently it is also his life now!! (he won't say that out loud) ]

Idiot, you wouldn't be alone anyway.

[constellates]

[Idiot... Well, at least Anya hasn't lost her understanding of Karkat - so she's not that offended. Rather, she's blinking in confusion and tilting her head at the assurance that she wouldn't be alone?]

Нет...? No? Even though I... cannot speak the same?

[Everyone else speaks English - and very well, at that. She had that just yesterday but now she feels like she can't string her words together the right way anymore.

It's enough to make her feel at least a little bit more alone.]

[alienates]

I'm not your friend because you know how to speak English. If that were the case I'd be best buds with my goddamn mailman. I'm your friend because you dragged me into it.

[ he pauses there. decides to reword what he's about to say. anya, normally, can deal with the backwards way he tosses compliments around, but karkat figures she needs to hear something more direct right now. ]

I'm your friend because I like you as a person and that isn't going to change any time soon.

[constellates]

[Well.

It's true. The directness is noticed and appreciated - because it takes her a little second to turn the words around in her head, trying to determine if that means she's on the same level as the mailman? - and she offers a brief little smile at that. Oh... Her expression softens and she slows her walk for just a second as she squeezes his hand and.]

Can I hug you?

[pretty please?]

[alienates]

[ in... public? then again, they have been holding hands for a while now which is, admittedly, more embarrassing than one hug. he looks at her for a moment, considering

and then just opens his arms up. he doesn't let go of her hand though while doing the gesture. ]

Just come here.

[constellates]

[this will probably be the first time ever that Anya lets go of someone's hand before they let go of hers. primarily because yes, she's going to step forward and wrap both of her arms around his middle and give him a warm hug and let her head fall against his shoulder for a moment

before lifting her head and giving him a proper smile]

I feel... одинаковый? Mm. I like you too. Very much... Um. I do not have the words to tell you like I did before. [to which she looks a little disappointed] But I... находить.

I will find them again.

Because I am... Glad? Happy? Ah, no... You are like... Сокровище. A treasure to Anya.

[alienates]

[ wow. that is the sappiest and grossest thing he has ever heard and he is? embarrassed?? karkat kind of hopes that no one overheard that, but then again they are hugging in the middle of a sidewalk in a pretty busy city.

he does hug back though. of course he does. ]

Even in Russian you're embarrassing, oh my fuck. [ ... ] Yeah. You're like my... best bro or something... [ MUMBLE MUMBLE ]

[constellates]

[That's true. Anya's painfully sincere in every language, even if now she's struggling to figure out the words of endearments she wants to use. Still, she looks a little bit proud of herself even as she lets herself lean against him with the returned hug.

She hums a pleased little note.]

Да. You are my best bro too.

[alienates]

[ karkat just used his "call anya his best friend" quota for the month so you gotta wait til april for him to stop pretending he never said that. ]

Alright. Now come on, we're almost there.

[ although he is letting her choose to end the hug so ]

[constellates]

[She'll end the hug to spare him - though she's also reclaiming his hand whenever she does let go.]

Mm. Where is it?

[she kind of just blindly put her faith in him, as per usual]

[alienates]

The book store.

[ he will accept the hand holding, since at this point what is even the point in fighting it? there is none. karkat starts walking again once that's done though. ]

There's one down this street.

[constellates]

[Oh. Anya blinks - she's walked this way a few times before. She nods in recognition of where they're off to.]

Oh! Да... Yes, Anya has seen it before.

Do you want to read?

[alienates]

[ he opens his mouth to make a sarcastic reply... then closes it. NOT TODAY, KARKAT, NOT TODAY. ]

I'm picking something up and want your opinion on what to get.

[constellates]

[TRY AGAIN TOMORROW, KARKAT.

Still, Anya nods in agreement. Sure? And then they don't even need to enter the bookstore before she gives an opinion, aka her only opinion:]

Звезда. Something with stars.

[alienates]

[ the look on his face more or less says he should have seen that one coming. ]

Plot twist of the century. Alright, stars it is.

[ and, finally, the store is in sight. karkat directs them over to its entrance. ]

[constellates]

[He knows her well. There's a little smile from her even as they enter the store and she finds herself looking around, taking in all the words and directions.

It... makes sense to her for the most part? Though it takes an additional half-second to translate since her thoughts are primarily in Russian now.]

Did you want something else?

[Besides stars.]

[alienates]

We're getting stars and something else.

[ he does not elaborate what the something else is though, and instead focuses on... figuring out how the hell this store is organized. he usually orders his books online, or he knows where what he wants is already located. if it's stars then the... science... section???

karkat refuses to ask for help. he works retail and just flat out refuses to bother someone who is working. ]

Do you know where they keep their star stuff?

[constellates]

[Something... Else...

But yes - Anya is more interested in the astronomy and that's why she's nodding as the opportunity arises to demonstrate her absurd love for the stars. So there's a nod as she pulls on his hand to bring him to the science section.]

Да! Yes. It's this way.

[She already seems happier....]

[alienates]

[ he is glad that he seems to be passing this friendship level. he's seriously not used to actively attempting to cheer people up? and like, the number of people he would do that for is very low and the people on that list don't typically need to be cheered up. so. here we are.

he lets himself be tugged since why stop now, and also, he has no idea where to go without her leading. ]

... So, uh. Anya. Do you want to go to the observatory with me sometime?

[constellates]

[this is the part where if Anya was in better humor, she'd joke about him asking her out on a date

as is, she lights up entirely anyway. She glances over and gives an immediate smile and a nod.]

Of course! But it is... неожиданность? Ah - surprise? Why do you ask?