idolpro | princess maker

[ When you insert the key and open the door, you'll find inside the room looks small, cramped, just one living space without any doors—you can hear noises of the bustling life outside, as well as other people beyond the thin walls. the space bends on the walls, and a basket sits on the table in the center of this studio room with a blanket folded into it.

Inside, a baby stirs restlessly - you hope she goes back to sleep soon, and you play your flute in hopes of lulling her back to sleep. Unfortunately, a sharp knock sounds from the ceiling - the tenants upstairs don't like what you're doing. You take a more drastic measure, singing softly to your baby as you rock the basket back and forth and hope the tenants don't complain again. ]

-

[ Slowly, the scene changes, fading in and out with various silent scenes—the baby cries, and in turn, the upstairs tenants knock at your ceiling again; she finds her way to your flute, tooting happily though no noise comes out; a little toddler, she becomes attached to a stray cat; you decline her request, and she storms out to run away for a little while as you regret; she returns, covered in cat hair and ignores everything you say; then the wall becomes opaque. ]

[ In the corner of the room, a young girl the age of 10 crouches, looking away from you. she holds a cat in her arms, petting the creature constantly.

You wish you could have done better for your baby girl. But, this is what you love to do and maybe you'll get a gig that pays well enough that you two can move out of this shithole - hopefully. You tried your best to rear her, but with how infrequent you're in the house, working odd jobs in the day and performing at the pub at night, you're not sure anymore. You know she is capable of anything if she puts her mind to it - even becoming a princess - but you also know it's not easy to become a princess, and she's horribly equipped for any of that. Then again, if anything your little tyke is tough, and if anyone could be a rags-to-riches princess, it would be her. Thankfully, you've emergency savings - for her schooling, of course. You have a lot of regrets, but maybe it's not too late. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Maybe encourage her to write an apology letter to the owner and ask her to explain why she took it. So she can get her own voice across but still understand why it's wrong to steal.

If she doesn't understand why it's wrong, the apology won't be sincere, though. I wonder how we can explain why this is bad...

Well we're poor, right? Five gold coins might mean the difference between whether we can afford something. Or whether the store can complete orders for more jewelry. There might be less pretty things for everyone to choose from.

You're right. I think it comes down to "this is an action that hurts someone," right? Or maybe, "this is an action that is unfair?"

Yeah, that's a good way to word it. But we might want to stay away from unfair since we're not exactly in a fair situation, in a kid's eyes.

That's true. I think that ideas like "justice" and "fairness" are good concepts to teach a child, though. Maybe there will be other situations that will be better examples.

That's a good idea, but... I think we should also speak to her about why she thinks it's a trifle. If we're poor, even something small like that should be worth a lot, right? Does she think it's nothing for the shop owner, but important to her, so it should be fine...? Let's ask her what she thinks.

That's a good idea. It's good to ask her why she felt like she needed to steal it. Maybe if she has a chance to explain, we can try to fix the cause instead of just the act itself.

Right! It's no good just telling a child something is bad, Shira has to learn from this, and we won't be able to teach her anything if we don't understand her.