2025-09-03: Rhyme and Reason
- Log: Rhyme and Reason
- Cast: Koh Katsuhiro, Ririka Kawase
- Where:
- OOC Date: September 03, 2025
- IC Date: Thursday, July 05, 2012 (Late Evening)
- Summary: It's late in the dat at the SEES dorm, and Koh returns to start a late dinner. Ririka comes down to the kitchen to make more tea, and the two start to chat. Koh asks Ririka for her opinion on some song lyrics.
<Pose Tracker> Koh Katsuhiro has posed.
It's a normal evening in the Iwatodai dorms, late enough in the evening that most students are considering retiring for the next grueling day of school. For some, however, it is time for food.
Koh is rarely found idling in the dorms alone, but on this particular evening he's returned from his usual outings without having eaten. He does, however, have things to eat. A small bag of convenience store meals procured on the way back from a trip to the arcade. He'd gotten too distracted to actually eat then, so he has to do it now.
The kitchen area is thus filled with the hum of the microwave and the scent of chicken and curry. There's some quiet music too, compressed jingles that emanate from a music player resting on a counter.
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
Ririka is not coming downstairs for food, buit... she is coming down for something else. She's long since changed out of her uniform, wearing a t-shirt with an anime character on it and a pair of shorts. She's got headphones on, which isn't too unusual for her, though whatever it is she's playing is pretty loud and aggressive. And in one hand she's carrying a thermos.
She's humming to herself, both hands loosing mimicing a guitar--maybe she's 'playing' along to her music--as she turns the corner into the kitchen and stops short. "Oh, Katsuhiro-san."
There's some awkward shuffling as she sets the thermos down, pulls her phone out of her pocket, and pauses the music. She pulls her headphones off to let them dangle around her neck. "How are you?"
<Pose Tracker> Koh Katsuhiro has posed.
"Hey, Kawase-san." Replies the boy, turning away from his 'cooking' to examine the new visitor to the kitchen. He offers a warm smile, leaning to catch the microwave door and prop it open once it starts to beep. Steam wafts out.
"Good," He replies to her question, "I was hoping I'd run into you, actually." He gathers napkins and utensils, removing the plastic bowl of katsu and setting it out on the counter to cool.
Koh is still wearing his uniform, likely having not returned to the dorm until...nowish. "Do you have time?"
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
Ririka offers a smile back, and gets out a tea kettle and fills it, then sets it on a burner to heat up. While that's going on, she rinses out the thermos. (There might be a very faint hum right at the pitch of the beeping microwave as it goes off.)
"You were?" she asks, setting the thermos aside and leaning against the counter. Does she have time? She thinks for a moment, and then slowly nods. "Sure. I've got a few minutes."
Homework is calling her name, but... she should take a break anyway. "What's up?"
<Pose Tracker> Koh Katsuhiro has posed.
Chopsticks are found and curry is stirred. Koh's drink is not tea, but a bottle of sports drink that came from the same place the rest of his meal did. He lifts both food and drink and heads over in the direction of the dining table.
"Cool." He chimes, expecting her to follow. There's a notebook waiting for him, perhaps his own homework for the day.
He opens it to reveal a scribbly mess. So perhaps not. "I was working on some rhymes I wanted your opinion on," He notes cheerfully, "I thought you might have some feedback."
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
Ririka does follow... but she's hanging out by the entrance to the kitchen so she can keep an ear out for the kettle. She leans against the door frame as she glances curiously at the notebook.
"Some rhymes...?" she inquires curiously. That gets her to take a few steps closer so she can look at the page. "What are the rhymes for?" She's curious, at least.
<Pose Tracker> Koh Katsuhiro has posed.
"For fun, mostly. I thought I could use them in a song. Or you can have them, if you want. They're pretty good." Koh beams.
The page is a mix of Japanese and English, plus a few scribbled lines and sketches. There's a crude looking and very Jack Frost occupying the corner of one of the pages. Also what appears to be something that was probably notes for math class.
"But, I guess you're a famous musician, so don't worry if this is too small-time for you." His tone--and grin--indicate he's not serious.
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
Ririka looks at Koh excitedly. "Oh! Do you write music, too? That's really cool!" She shakes her head a little. "I think if you wrote the lyrics, you should use them yourself. They'll have more meaning that way, you know?"
She lookat at the lyrics. A mixture of English and Japanese... she doesn't ecomment on the English; she seems to read that well enough. The Jack Frost gets a 'cute', though.
Laughing a little, Ririka shakes her head. "I mean, I wouldn't say famous... sure Polychord's name is out there, but... we're still mostly a local band. Buuuut--"
A whistle sounds from the kitchen. "Oh, shoot, one sec." She goes and turns off the burner, then prepres her thermos and comes back, setting the now-full thermos on the table. "So, what kind of feedback would you like?"
<Pose Tracker> Koh Katsuhiro has posed.
"Sometimes." Koh affirms of his musical composition. "I made some friends at Gekkoukan, we've been playing a little. I'm not very good, it's more for fun."
He waits while the girl fetches her tea, flipping through a few pages before she returns. The pencil tucked in the notebook's rings is pulled free.
"I guess you can just tell me if it's a good rhyme or a bad rhyme," He decides. "Ready?"
Too late: "How do you feel about: star-crossed Jack Frost?"
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
"Cool! What do you play?" Ririka shakes her head. "You don't have to be good, as long as you enjoy it. At least, that's what I think."
She sits down with her thermos and considers. "Welll... that might be subjective but... okay. I can try."
And the first one is already up. "Star-crossed... Jack Forst..." she repeats to herself. "I like it. What's next?"
<Pose Tracker> Koh Katsuhiro has posed.
"Mostly the guitar, I tried the drums for a bit but it didn't stick. I thought the guitar looked cooler anyway." He beams. "But, yeah, you're right. It's a good way to...kill time. Even if I'm not serious about it."
A little checkmark is made next to one of the lines. "'Japan' and 'Curry with naan'. I was hungry when I wrote this one I think."
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
Ririka grins a little. "Guitar's fun. And easier to carry around than a piano," she jokes lightly. "How long have you been playing? And who are you playing with? Maybe I know them..."
"I've been picking up drums from Hiro-kun a bit... It's been giving me a better idea of how to construct the rhythm section for a song. He's still way better at it than I am, though." That would be Hiroshi, the drummer for Polychord.
But the next rhyme comes. "Mmm... That might work depending on the type of song, but... the number of syllables don't match. You'd want to think about how you position those two phrases if you wanted to write a song with them."
<Pose Tracker> Koh Katsuhiro has posed.
"I think they make smaller pianos these days, Kawase-san." Koh too is joking. "Is that what started with?"
"I guess the more you know the better," The boy affirms. "Even if you can't really play, it must help with writing." Which isn't something he's too worried about yet, but it's good to know!
"Hmm. That might be a good point." He decides. "Okay, one more. Emperor Akihito, large burrito." A pause. "Ono-sensei's lecture was really boring today." That part of the page is filled with scribbled historical rhymes. Katana = Hiragana, Sword = Skateboard, Sengoku = Son Goku (super saiyan)... it goes on for a bit like that.
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
Ririka grins. "I mean, I've got my keyboard in my room, but between that and the stand, and it devours batteries unless I have an outlet for it..." Yes, Ririka has a keyboard, acoustic, and electric guitar. All three of those can be heard in her room at various times when she's practicing.
She nods. "Yep. I've been playing piano siiiince second grade?" She thinks on that a moment before nodding. "Yeah, since then."
"Yeah! Like... I take Hiro-kun's input on drum parts, but having a better idea of how it works physically helps me suggest and refine things better."
She giggles a little at the next rhyme. "I'mmmm guessing you were hungry for this one, too?" She sounds it out. "Wellll... you'd need a song where talking about burritos makes sense, I guess?"
She glances at the rest of the rhymes. "That's kind of true for a lot of these, honestly. The tone of the song will help you decide what's a good rhyme or not."
<Pose Tracker> Koh Katsuhiro has posed.
"That's a lot of instruments," Koh observes, though more with admiration than any genuine surprise.
"That is a long time, though." Koh nods. "Did your parents teach you?"
He grins as he examines the scribbling. "Yeah, a little," Koh replies. "I guess I need less food based rhymes next time. Or a food based band"
After a second of consideration the notebook is shut. "Anyway, thanks for indulging me. You should come by our club sometime, you can give us tips. We don't have a studio or anything, we just take whatever empty room we can find after school."
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
Ririka shrugs a little. "Yeah, but... I gotta practice, so..."
"Nah. My dad's a doctor, and my mom stays at home. They paid for lessons, though." She looks to Koh. "So when did you start playing guitar?"
There's a giggle from Ririka. "I mean, you could make that into a food-based song, that might be fun. Like... I dunno..." She starts drumming the table lightly with both hands, humming to herself for a moment, before busting out a quick verse.
"Goin' to the food court, got the best in Japan
Gonna get me some mochi or maybe some naan
Rollin' with my crew, and my man Akihito
And then next thing I know, we're scarfin' burritos"
She pauses and catches herself, blushing. "Or... you know," she mumbles. "... that's just... one idea, you'd want to refine it, fill out the other verses, bridge and chorus... um."
But she smiles a little at the invitation. "Sure! Oh! And if you don't have a place you go to, check out The Soundworks. It's in Tatsumi Mall. They sell strings and other accessories, and even do repairs." The one right across the train station that's five minutes from the dorm. Handy!
<Pose Tracker> Koh Katsuhiro has posed.
"Ah, I see. I guess...about two years ago is when I got into it. I've been listening to music and stuff since I was a kid, but I never tried making it until recently." A nod.
Koh laughs at Ririka's impromptu performance, offering a grin at the girl. "Hey, that's pretty good. Maybe I can work on it."
At her suggestion a sharp nod is made. "Oh, really? I'll check it out. That sounds handyand I'll let you know next time our group gets together to practice. Actually, I know there's probably a SEES call list or whatever, but," He finds a blank sheet in the notebook, "I can give you my cell number."
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
"Hey, cool! If you want to play together sometime, let me know. I love jamming with other musicians."
"Ehheh, you think so? Well... I was just building off of what you said. But if you don't mind some advice... I find I've made the best songs when I had something I wanted to say. Put your feelings into your songs and people will respond to them."
She smiles. "But if you feel really strongly about naan and burritos, that's good too."
"Oh, here." Ririka takes out her phone. "Here, I can do it right now." If Koh goes for it, she'll take his number and put it in, then text him. Otherwise, she'll just rattle it off for Koh to put in later.
<Pose Tracker> Koh Katsuhiro has posed.
"Next time I'll write a song when I'm less hungry," Koh agrees.
One numbers are exchanged he gets around to picking at the katsu and curry. "But, I'll let you know how it goes!"
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
"Like I said, if you really like food, write a song about it! But... yeah, that might help." She grins. "It'll be easier to think, at least."
She picks up her thermos and starts to head back to her room. "Good luck!"