Pigging out is DEFINITELY a healthy response

[zelda_hylia]

Who: Zelda and Shizuo
Where: Middle District
When: Afternoon, January 16th
Style: Action
Status: Closed


[Truth be told, Zelda was thrilled when Shizuo suggested lunch. It gave her an excuse to do exactly what she'd been wanting to do the entire week the curse was active - eat far more sweets than she should.

She arrives at the bakery early, not in her royal garb but in a similarly shaped dress. Not seeing much else to do, she stands near the building and waits.]

Comments

[a_violent_end]

[Shizuo is surprised by the sudden contact, but he knows better than to make a big deal about it when they are trying to have a serious conversation, and focuses on listening instead of the unexpected hug. He nods to show her that he's heard what she has said, and when he talks back, he makes an effort to be equally as discrete. Subtly has never been his strong suit, but he tries.]

That doesn't sound like the safest idea. [Surely snooping around won't bode well with the island and its natives.] Just...be careful.

[And maybe he can help.]

I'll look around a little, too. Just to see.

[zelda_hylia]

[Zelda pulls away and gives him a small smile.]

Thank you.

[She rubs at her face. It had been disturbingly easy for her to look upset, and now she couldn't shake the feeling entirely. She looks down at the cakes again, selecting another and eating it slowly.]

I wonder if I should bring some of these back to Zelos?

[a_violent_end]

[Shizuo toys with his own cake, now lost in thought about the fairies and Zelda's research. He looks up blankly when she mentions bringing the cakes back.]

Who's Zelos?

[zelda_hylia]

[Oh. That... hadn't been on purpose. Mentioning that she was staying unchaperoned with a man like Zelos wasn't on her list of priorities. She's already said it now, so she might as well explain. Besides, Shizuo would notice if he ever visits.]

He is, ah... my housemate. He doesn't do anything inappropriate or anything like that! It is still strange to stay with a man alone, though.

[a_violent_end]

[Shizuo blinks at her in mind surprise. He wouldn't have guessed that she lived with a man. It is strange, even if the guy minds his place.]

Huh. That's...a little strange. I wouldn't have guessed that.

[It bothers him a little, just because he doesn't have the most faith in males in general - in his experience, most were scum, especially the kinds of men he encountered while working - but at the same time, it's Zelda's business, not his. So he gives her an off-handed shrug.]

As long as he doesn't cause you any trouble.

[zelda_hylia]

[She looks mildly irritated remembering the way Zelos weaseled his way in.]

It isn't something I make a habit of. It was only going to be temporary, but with the recent curse... we both said far too much to separate now.

[Zelda sighs, poking at her cake.]

I should ask around and see if someone else wants to move in as well, though. I don't want people to get the wrong idea.

[a_violent_end]

[Shizuo isn't sure what kinds of things could have been said to lock them in, but he's not going to press and ask questions. The confessions were troublesome - he understands that too well.]

Hm. Maybe. Though it isn't anyone's business who you're living with or what you're doing.

How big is your place?

[zelda_hylia]

[She looks a little sheepish.]

It may not be anyone's business, but I'm not sure I could tolerate anyone thinking that of me anyway.

[She thinks about the layout of the house.]

Big enough, I suppose. It has four bedrooms so that is not an issue, though we both seem to prefer the downstairs bathroom.

[a_violent_end]

Who would think of you that way? [Clearly not Shizuo.]

Tch, if anyone says anything about you, I can set them straight. Besides, it's a big place. It makes sense for you to have roommates.

[zelda_hylia]

I didn't really have anyone in mind.

[She grumbles a bit to herself.]

It does make sense to have roommates, but I expected to have female roommates... of course, with how long Zelos spends in the bathroom he might as well be. His hair is longer than mine, even. I'm sure he conditions it.

[a_violent_end]

If bothers you that much, make him leave. Just because you both confessed things doesn't mean you have to keep him around. You're both in the same position, so it shouldn't matter if you ask him to go. He should understand where you're coming from.

[If he really is a good guy, that is.]

All of her tsun @ Zelos, seriously

[zelda_hylia]

[This isn't about logic, Shizuo! It's about the fact that Zelos has nicer hair than any man has a right to!]

I-I'm sure that he would. I'm sorry, I was complaining too much, wasn't I? He doesn't really bother me that often...

Haha aw

[a_violent_end]

[That's forever lost on him.]

No, don't apologize. It's fine.

[Now it's Shizuo's turn to look sheepish.]

I was just trying to help. I don't really know anything about roommate trouble and stuff like that, though.

[zelda_hylia]

Truthfully, neither do I. It's... rather nice, though. Having something as simple to complain about as someone hogging the bathroom.

[And she does seem genuinely pleased, for whatever reason. She shifts her weight, looking down at the table.]

If things ever get dangerous here again, I'd like it if you were in the house as well. You're welcome if you want to come now, even.

[a_violent_end]

Oh.

[He's kind of caught off guard by the offer, but then shakes his head.]

I wouldn't want to bother you, or make things seem even worse because you'd be living with two guys instead of one.

1/2

[zelda_hylia]

Why would that seem worse?

[She pauses to think about it.]

2/2

[zelda_hylia]

[Oh goddesses! She had learned far too much since coming here - people of the same gender could be together, people could be in strange hate relationships, and evidently people could be in a relationship with multiple people!]

E-eh?! People really do that?!

lol'ing forever

[a_violent_end]

[Shizuo widens his eyes, not having expected that reaction.]

...What? Do what?

[Now he needs to think about it. He had just figured that if living with one guy could, in Zelda's opinion, cause trouble, living with two would be worse. That makes sense, doesn't it? He didn't really have a meaning beyond that immediate connection.]

Oh. Oh - no. That's not what I meant. Well, kind of. I guess some people do. But you were just worried about what people might say and it just didn't sound like a good idea, because you know, it's. I don't know.

[He didn't mean to shock her...so he's just going to shut up now and shove some cake in his mouth.]

Zelda's idea of relationships pre-Vatheon: 1 man, 1 woman, marriage, babies. After: whatisthisidek!

[zelda_hylia]

O-other worlds certainly have some strange relationships, don't they...

[She seems to calm down.]

I didn't think you were implying anything strange, I just didn't think that it was even... something other people would think of. As I said, it's been very enlightening here.

LOL poor Zelda

[a_violent_end]

[Next time Shizuo will try to think a little bit more about the way he words things, just in case. He's glad she's calm now, though.]

Eh, yeah. People do weird things. [Though honestly, he can't think of anyone he knows personally who prefers relationships that way - how did this come up again?]

[zelda_hylia]

[It's because Zelda has an overactive imagination, Shizuo.]

That is certainly true. I do apologize for reacting so strongly.

[Moving right along!]

It does make me wonder, though. Things that I consider basic might not be true on other worlds... the hours in a day, the days in a year, birthdays... even how quickly a person ages!

[a_violent_end]

I haven't thought of it too much, but that makes sense.

[Shizuo is more of a take-it-as-it-comes kind of guy and doesn't think too deeply about situations. Prompted by Zelda, however, he begins to think about the oddities of Ikebukuro - like Celty - and therefore comes to the conclusion that Zelda is probably right.]

I wonder if we've changed at all. If we won't get old, if we stay stuck here.

[Especially with the coral...]

[zelda_hylia]

[She rests her hands on her milk, making that face she makes when she's about to really start going on.]

I spoke to someone that mentioned that, actually. A mouse that could talk. For her, a significant portion of her natural life has passed while she has lived in Vatheon, but she does not feel any older. I think that this area must be in a state of temporal flux. There have been people on the network from the same world, people that knew each other, but they were pulled from different points in time. In addition to that, those that are sent back home temporarily say that it is as if no time has passed at all in their absence.

[She looks thoughtful.]

When you think of it that way, perhaps only our minds and spirits are here. It seems so real when you dream... and that would explain why people come back from the dead.

[a_violent_end]

[A lot of information. Shizuo listens closely, and doesn't really like the conclusion, though it does sort of make sense.]

I wonder if it makes any difference...what we do here, I mean. It almost makes it sound like it doesn't matter. If you just wind up back and everything is the same...

[If they are stuck in time and time only resumes after you return, then...what exactly was the point? Shizuo hated questions like that. What is life, what does it matter, what was the point of it all - he preferred to just live it out.]

I don't know, this stuff is beyond me.

[zelda_hylia]

Not everyone is released back to their own homes. No, it doesn't matter if this is an out of body experience or a place that lies beyond time - I think that our actions here surely make a difference.

[She sets her jaw.]

Even if time is not moving as it should, our minds are still moving. We are are still living here, even if we may forget it when we return.