Mind of a child

[replicatedcourage]

Who: Sola and OPEN!
Where: Around town
What: Groceries and thought bubbles
When: Monday morning
Style: Action but I'll follow if you choose to change
Status: TOTALLY OPEN

[Sola feels great.

Living with Signless and Psiioniic makes him happy, Ion visiting and sometimes sleeping over makes him happy, and even the novelty of waking up to this strange bubble that lets him see what he's thinking is incredibly neat. He experimented with it a bit on discovering it. He tried to pop it with a pin but the surface just caved under the point and sprung back when he removed it. He tried squishing it with his hands but all that did was distend and warp the images that appeared inside. He even tried to melt it with water but aside from the images inside it becoming runny for the time it was in the spray of the shower, nothing really came of it. Still, being able to see his own thoughts visually, even as they were displayed in rudimentary crayon drawings, is so cool.

More cheerful than he'd been in weeks, Sola decides to show his gratitude to his roommates/caretakers and sets out to get groceries, calling farewell to those still in the hive so they know where he's going and colorful crayon thought bubble in tow.]

((ooc: feel free to run across Sola in the plaza, the store, or enroute to either of those places!))

Comments

[demonicbookworm]

<sub>[Ruca is pretty depressed. This bubble makes him depressed. Considering the amount of things he thinks about, he is very worried.

Still, as he was proven last time, trying to hide at home from the curse will not help him at all.

He sighs, his shoulders drop in defeat, his eyes closed. He's walking while absolutely not paying any attention to where he is going.

...It wouldn't be a surprise if he accidentally bumped into Sola.]</sub>

[replicatedcourage]

[Luckily Sola's watching where he's going or they'd have collided. He puts a hand out on Ruca's shoulder to stop him from running into things.]

Hey! Are you okay?

[demonicbookworm]

_{[before Ruca realizes who s this, he already starts saying:]}

Y-yeah, I'm okay... _{[then he realizes.]} Ah, Sola! _{[he smiles.]} It's good to see you!

_{[his bubbles shows that he was worried, since he's heard something bad happened to Sola.]}

[replicatedcourage]

You too! I'm pretty much fine. I'm getting groceries!

[His bubble shows a brief flash of what looks like a scribble of black and red crayon, then a much more happy scene of a little stick figure, presumably Sola himself if the enormous ears are any indication, walking to the store as if drawn in a childish flip book.]

[demonicbookworm]

You're fine... that's good. _{[he smiles even more.]} Will you mind if I go with you?

<sub>[That seemed like a good idea...

Ruca looks at Sola's bubble... are those crayon drawings? Meanwhile, his own bubbles shows that he thinks those drawings are pretty strange and remind Ruca of the times when he was little.

The moment he realizes Sola can see all of that, he starts to panic on the inside (his bubble shows that) and he looks embarrassed.]</sub>

Um... I...

[replicatedcourage]

[Sola is nonplussed at the visual of Ruca basically calling him a child, but after a moment he just shrugs and continues on his way, not bothered if Ruca falls into step beside him. He's aware he's very young, after all, and even if it was kind of annoying to be judged on that alone, Signless had taught him not to start a fight when he's angry.

Though the cranky stare then the about face to continue to the store could be considered pretty rude in their own right.]

[demonicbookworm]

W-wait... S-Sola!

<sub>[he knew it, he just knew! He didn't mean anything bad, he didn't mean to call Sola a child.

Ruca's thought bubble now shows that the boy wants to lock himself in his own room for the rest of this curse. Maybe that way he wouldn't hurt or upset anyone.]</sub>

[replicatedcourage]

[After a few steps, Sola glances back over his shoulder, thought bubble showing the both of them holding grocery bags, still in cute little crayoned stick figures.]

Do you want to come? You can help me carry.

[He could use his sylladex, but he'd decided that was a bad idea for groceries since occasionally things would go flying out of it and accidentally egging the table or something wasn't in his plans today, as evidenced by a doodled replay of that memory in his bubble with a big red X through it.]

[demonicbookworm]

_{[he nods.]}

Y-yeah... I want to.

_{[he looks a bit unsure though.]}

Do you... want me to come?

_{[his bubble looks like if he asks 'you’re not angry at me?']}

[a_violent_end]

[Shizuo kind of wants to practice cooking, just a little, before he cooks for Izaya. Instead of visiting one of the restaurants, Shizuo decides to pick up some simple ingredients from the store and cook his own dinner.

He's thinking about how he might need to invest in a cookbook at some point. His bubble reports this, and begins narrating in simple black text, I wonder what I should cook. Should I start with something simple? What would Izaya like? His bubble is occupied with those thoughts when he comes across Sola -

and stops before approaching him. Immediately, his thought bubble is filled with the words jump, building, blood, bones, and various other terrible things. It's good that his bubble can't recreate images. Shizuo takes a moment to school himself and returns to thinking about Izaya and meals. Only when he's sure he has control over himself does he step over to Sola. Now, his bubble is rambling about food and cook books and so on - but each word wavers, as though under pressure.]

Hey.

[replicatedcourage]

[Sola's bubble, in contrast, just has a very simple crayon drawing of an eggplant, flicking back and forth as if someone was waving the paper it had been drawn on. He'd completely forgotten to pick that up when he'd been to the store earlier, feeling a little stupid for doing so since, well... the dish they'd wanted to try and make had been eggplant parmesan and how can you make that without the eggplant?!

He looks up when Shizuo says hello and the eggplant is abruptly replaced with a doodle of the blonde, a stick figure in a vest with overlarge sunglasses and a perpetual frown.]

Hi! How are you?

[a_violent_end]

[Shizuo laughs at that image. That's actually...kind of cute, and his thought bubble echoes that sentiment, before it wonders about that frown. Not that he is trying to stare down Sola's bubble. That's rude. He tries to focus on Sola instead, but keeps his thoughts careful, and right now they're focused on running through a spur-of-the-moment grocery list.]

I'm fine. How have you been? I wanted to message you and ask, but...

[I didn't want to upset you.]

[replicatedcourage]

I've been good! Ion comes to visit me every day and I get to help Psii with his bees!

[His thought bubble reflects this, first with a preschool doodle of Sola (with GIANT ears) and Ion (who's wearing a little princess crown) holding hands and laughing, and then another of Sola (still with the ears) and a tall troll with four horns and eyes one each of blue and red surrounded by little buzzing bees.]

How about you? Are you and Izaya getting along?

[His bubble flashes to something else but it's quickly and inexpertly covered by a big crayon squiggle before Shizuo can see what it was. Sola looks a bit uncomfortable; can't say the kid is that great at hiding things.]

[a_violent_end]

That's good.

[Shizuo gives him a small smile, and works very hard not to think of things that are not Sola's suicide. He focuses on thoughts of bees - and on wondering about Psii, whom he has never met.]

We are. Really getting along.

[He's just going to avoid any thoughts to that night where Shizuo decided to accept Izaya and what followed, instead focusing on how he and Izaya had watched a movie a couple of days before.

Unfortunately, he catches sight of the crayon squiggle and it makes him wonder - his thought bubble broadcasting a question mark. But at the same time, Shizuo doesn't want to know what that is about, because it could mean surfacing thoughts he doesn't want to appear in his bubble.]

We watched a movie together the other day.

[He doesn't know what else to say.]

[replicatedcourage]

A movie? Is that like tv? Signless and Psii watch it all the time but they keep covering my eyes and it gets annoying.

[The scribble is gone, replaced by two Troll stick figures, the one from the bee thought and another with two small horns, sitting on either side of Sola on a couch with their hands over his face and a little angry mark over the Hylian's head. Clearly this behavior isn't welcome. He wants to watch too, damnit!]

[a_violent_end]

It is like TV. Just...longer.

[That little drawing makes Shizuo smile again. He likes Sola's bubble. His thoughts explain this, and then begin to ramble about the movie.]

I like the kind of movies where you don't have to close your eyes.

[He says it that way, since he doesn't want to elaborate on the things of things that would make the trolls cover Sola's eyes. Of course, he has an idea on what those things are and his bubble isn't afraid to ramble about violence and sex, but Shizuo ignores it.]

The one we watched was about a robot.

[replicatedcourage]

[Luckily for Shizuo, while Sola can read, he can't read quite as fast as the blonde's thought bubble is scrolling.]

A robot? What's that?

[Despite there being a few robots around the bubble, Sola's never seen one, and as such his bubble is simply a large question mark until it fades into another crayon picture of Shizuo and Izaya on the couch holding hands while the tv is on in front of them. Izaya is smiling and though Shizuo is still frowning, his eyebrows are upturned and there's a heart above their heads.

Sola, seemingly unaware of what his bubble is showing, smiles as well.]

I'm really glad you guys are happy. I wish I could be too, but...

[He sighs, the image changing again to a simple drawing of Zelda and Sola facing away from each other.]

She likes someone else.

[The drawing changes again, to a boy drawn exactly like Sola but with blonde hair and a blue tunic. It gets scribbled out promptly in disgruntled red swaths of crayon.]

It's okay though, there's other stuff besides that, right? Having friends is good too!

[fonmaster]

[Ion's been learning to cook since the fried chicken adventure with Laharl, and he lights up when he sees Sola in the store.]

Sola! Hello.

[The Fon Master doesn't have a thought bubble, and for that he is thankful.]

[replicatedcourage]

Ion!

[Sola's bubble promptly swaps from various cartoonish representations of groceries to a sun-shiny stick figure of Ion, complete with dress and tiara regardless of if he's actually wearing that right now.]

Are you shopping too? I was going to try and make dinner for Signless and Psii.

[fonmaster]

I am!

[Ion is so serious, you don't even know. He gestures towards the meat section.]

Laharl prefers meat, so I was going to get some. I don't really like it myself, though.

[replicatedcourage]

Really? I like it. It's way better here than tektite!

[Insert a doodle of a goofy looking crab or spider with four legs and one BIG red eye, all blues and yellows. After a moment, a simple version of Sola's face appears over the critter with his tongue sticking out. Blech!]

[fonmaster]

Tektite?

[Ion pauses by the seafood section, then points to some crabs.]

Is it like that?

[He actually kind of likes crabs. It's too bad that Sola doesn't...]

[replicatedcourage]

Kind of, but bigger and less legs. They just don't taste very good.

[Cue a memory of Sola eating Tektite legs with a grossed out face. Funny, it doesn't look like he cooked those at all...]

[fonmaster]

Did you not cook them first? Of course they'd taste awful, then!

[Oh Sola, he has no idea just how bad it was. Ion asks for a little crab as well, though he has to tell the clerk to cook it for him. He can't put it in the boiling water himself, he just can't.]

You should try a bite.

[replicatedcourage]

[Sola makes a face, mirrored by the same drawing again of him sticking his little crayoned tongue out, but Ion just looks so eager for him to try and how can he make his friend sad?

A sad little Ion appears in Sola's bubble but is quickly scribbled out as Sola takes the crab leg and bites into it, shutting his eyes tightly and trying to like it, though he can't imagine why anyone things this tough and crunchy carapace tastes any good!]