"the moon asks a question
" is a lyrical short story by E. Jade Lomax that explores the nature of love.The moon thinks she has fallen in love, but doesn't quite understand what it is. So she asks other beings- the sun, the clouds, the earth- what love is.
Illustrated here, by purutsukid.
Note: Due to the story's allegorical nature, the tropes below may or may not be accurate to your interpretation of it.
This short story includes the following tropes:
- all lowercase letters: The story's title is rendered in this manner.
- Cowardly Lion: The moon spends a lot of effort and exposes herself to a lot of ridicule on her quest, yet it is only a distraction from what she really fears: confessing.
- Dance of Romance: One reason the moon loves the ocean because they tidally dance together. The sun scoffs that the moon only likes it because she is egoistical, to which the moon points out that in a dance, someone has to lead.
- Grand Romantic Gesture: The sky "turns every color" for the earth, who it loves.
- Insecure Love Interest: The moon insists that she isn't beautiful, "not like" her mother, or like her Love Interest. Earth replies, very sensibly, that all of them can only be beautiful in their own unique ways.
- Spell My Name with a "The": The Anthropomorphic Personifications are only referred to as "the [X]", presumably to emphasize the writing's mythic and ontological style.
- Small Role, Big Impact: The ocean says only one word, and only at the end, but that word is what completes the story. The moon thinks she should have asked her in the first place.
- "Just So" Story: Turns out that just about every motion of nature is made because of love.
