In our bodies we will live, in our bodies we will die

[dishevelment]

Who: Ren Koumeidishevelment & OPEN (with one part locked to Ren Kouha roughcut)
When: IC 6/16 OOC 4/3
Where: Various places around the city
What: Koumei and Kouha need to have a Talk + Koumei attempts to find a hobby
Rating/Warning: Potential for serious, feels inducing discussions



A -- Locked to Ren Kouha

[It has been a short while since Kouha arrived in the city, and Koumei was overjoyed to have his youngest brother around. Although Haru insisted that it wasn't a problem, Koumei knew that he would need to repay the Saniwa back one day for allowing the two brothers to be in the same apartment. Just being together was enough for Koumei to be content.

But there was something that they needed to talk about-- something involving the Empire that they were supposed to inherit. Something involving their siblings, and the fact that one among them had allowed the darkness in his heart to swallow him whole.

Koumei was actually awake that morning, idly playing with the his little robo-pigeon and the robo-fox that resided in the apartment, trying to find a way to further delay the inevitable. He didn't want to talk about this...

But it was a shadow lingering over them that was hard to ignore.]

B

[There had been a common refrain he had heard over the last several weeks: "Find a hobby."

It was a strange notion for Koumei, a man who had spent much of his life supporting a war effort in one capacity or another. If he hadn't been in war counsels or attending to his work in the magic research facility, he was catching up on precious sleep or playing with his pigeons in Rakushou.

But, mostly it was sleeping.

While Doudanuki's insistence on teaching him how to use a sword was compelling, it was far from an actual hobby. That was work-- and the only way he was able to keep Doudanuki from destroying his hair.

Thus, Koumei found himself in the library perusing the various crafting books, looking for something that would catch his interest. If he wasn't there, he was looking at the selection of fiction novels of a variety that ranged from cerebral mysteries to sordid romances.

After checking out a few of them to read further, he went over to the gardens to enjoy the afternoon reading. Whether he actually spent the afternoon napping underneath a tree or not was another story, but regardless of the outcome he would consider the day well spent.

It was strange, having so much free time. He didn't know what to do with it.]

Comments

[dishevelment]

Two?!

[Impossible! He regretted eating as much fried squid as he did at that festival, even if it was delicious. His stomach was a mess for days afterward.

But, his system simply wasn't used to deep fried food. :|

Eyeing the mess of items uncertainly, Koumei idly reached for an item (an ornamental umbrella? What was that doing in here?) and delicately pulled the tiny paper dome down so he could prop it up amidst the 'tower'.]

My, that's certainly a lot. How do you do it?

[iseaghosts]

I'm a monster, some of us can eat lots.

[ Or, she's just used to food like that. It's tasty, so she has it pretty regularly.

She puts a crab stick next to the umbrella. ]

[dishevelment]

Oh, really?

[Headtilt. Her appearance didn't strike him as strange, but when all of his eldest brother's retainers had partly assimilated with the spirits that they were aligned with, unusual features no longer struck him as 'odd.']


You don't strike me as very monsterous, Miss, [he commented, eyeing that crabstick a little sadly before adding a plastic spoon to the pile.] Why would you call yourself one?

[iseaghosts]

Because I am one, boo course. Mermaids, ghosts, zombies and unicorns are all monsters.

[ She boops him on the nose with another crab stick. ]

[dishevelment]

[He's going to make a grab for that crabstick-- don't tease him with shellfish, man!]

I never said I doubted you. They're just not called 'monsters' where I'm from. We see people like that as people who have made a tremendous sacrifice for what they love, and they're treated with respect.

[iseaghosts]

Huh? I was born a mermaid ghost.

[ Okay, she'll just tease him some more with it then. ]

[dishevelment]

Eehh? Born that way?

[Nooo, don't tease him with the crabstick, he wants to eat that!

But the commentary was surprising-- though, again, not entirely out of his frame of reference.]

[iseaghosts]

Yeah, my mum's a mermaid and my dad's a ghost.

[ She moves it across his lips the next time he speaks. ]

[dishevelment]

[Oh, no-- don't tease him like that! He makes another swipe for the snack, growing flustered now by the girl's teasing. While he wasn't opposed to flirtations, he drew a line when the other party only seemed to be as old as his youngest sister, who was younger than him by at least ten years!]

How-- how does a union like that even work?

[Mermaids and ghosts existed in fairy tales, and never in the same ones.]

[iseaghosts]

Oh no, did you never get the nepenthes and the bees talk?

[ Funny thing is? She's not even flirting. And she'll just stick the crab stick into his mouth when he talks again. ]

[dishevelment]

N-nepenthes and bee--mmphf

[He couldn't even finish his sentence, fumbling on the unfamiliar word before she finally relented and gave him the little snack stick.

He really did feel like he was playing with Kougyoku-- something he never really had much opportunity to do, because he had Responsibilities to attend to by the time he learned of her existence in the city.]

[iseaghosts]

Yeah, the mummy fish releases her eggs in the wild, and the daddy fish showers them with sperm.

[ Poor Koumei, this sex-ed is weird.

If Kougyouku ever shows up Sirena will make sure they get to play around plenty. ]

Oh, I guess you've got uuh point, I don't know how dad would fertilize my mum's eggs.

[dishevelment]

[That....was far more about fishy biology than Koumei ever wanted to know. His hobby was birds, not fish-- where would he need to know this???]

That....does sound problematic. But you're here, so he was obviously successful.

[iseaghosts]

Yeah, and they probably did it on their own too, you know, without the help from a clinic.

[ She's pretty sure that a clinic wouldn't be willing to help create a halfling. Sadly, they were still very discriminated against. ]

Other monsters don't like hybrids much.

[dishevelment]

Why wouldn't they?

[He asked, all innocence, as he polished off his crabstick and reached for a stack of colored pencils to poke into odd areas of the tower]

It sounds like your parents must have worked hard to have you-- that should be respected, not looked down on.

[iseaghosts]

Because a lot of monsters don't like when two different types of monsters are together.

[ It's what her and her fellow hybrids had in common; the hardship of two monster genetics and other's opinion on it. ]

[dishevelment]

Well, that's a silly reason to dislike someone-- especially if no one's being hurt!

[Because, while racism was a thing he understood, his culture was more one based upon a person's merit. People were judged by what they could do, not by what they looked like.]

[iseaghosts]

Fright? My parents just liked each other. But me, Neighthan, Avea and Bonita have all had to move so many times because no one liked us.

[ Even just counting high school, she had run out of fingers to count the schools she had gone to. ]

[dishevelment]

I see...and, is your world set up like it is here, with the free education to all young people? Moving so often sounds like it would be quite troubling if that's so.

[iseaghosts]

Yeah, it is. It was crilly tough, but I think we get to stay at Monster High, we've made furiends there.

[dishevelment]

Small things like that can be a great help. I'm glad you found a place that works for you in your home.

[iseaghosts]

I'm souper happy there, we've been there for a few months now and they still accept us.

[ She decides to put a hamburger on top of her tower. ]

Have boo lived mostly in one place or moved around too?

[dishevelment]

[Ah, it's good that the young woman was happy in her current arrangement, then!]

For better or worse, I was mostly able to stay in the same home during my childhood. Since growing up I've done quite a bit more travelling because of my responsibilities, but I still prefer the simplicity of being able to sleep in my own bed.

[iseaghosts]

Fright? There's something special a-boat your own bed. It's like, um... extra comforting.

[dishevelment]

That's right. There are days when I'd like to lie there all day...

But adulthood brings responsibilities along with it, and I can't shirk all of them.