Groovy Tunes, Saturday

[furnaceface]

Sigh, Fandom. Jono supposed that he could come back here for his shift after his most-of-a-week (week and a half, going by Kaeleeran time) spent in Glacia, doing his duties as a member of Karla's Court. Really, in the wake of Fandom's nonsense, some time spent being a public face near the end of Winsol had been almost refreshing.

Almost. Someday, maybe he'd shake this 'the General' thing the Kaeleerans kept looking up to him for. The hell was the matter with them, anyway? He'd been asked to more holiday season social functions last week than he had been in his entire bloody life, and he was quite happy to spend today on the island, in his shop, listening to his mus--

...

Okay, listening to whatever the hell music his stereo system was going to let him listen to, which, in this case, appeared to be some manner of K-Pop. Bubblegum Hip-Hop Backstreet Boys My-Heart-Will-Go-On rot-your-teeth-out touchy-feely nonsense, more like. He couldn't even put this music into a bloody box.

But at least he wasn't being asked for any dances by Glacian aristos. He'd suffer through.

[OOC: Open, OCD-free, and this is almost like method RP! *Glances askance at Nuance's playlist*]

Comments

[kenselvren]

If there was another person on the island who could mindspeak, you can bet Jalian was going to visit whenever she could! Even if the whole "male" thing was kind of strange.

At least this time she wasn't being chased by pink...whatever those things had been?

//Hello!// Jalian waved as she came in.

[furnaceface]

Pink... ies. She wasn't being chased by Pinkies. And all the better for the island, wasn't it?

//Hello, luv,// Jono greeted, giving her a nod of his head in greeting as she came into the shop. Yes, yes he was absolutely reaching to turn down the volume on the Davichi once she came in. He didn't want to be associated with this. Ever. Maybe it was good music to somebody else, but, well... //How're you doing today?//

[kenselvren]

Jalian thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. //Good. There was a party last night. It was strange, but interesting.// There had only been one truly annoying thing: //Is so much of the food here flesh or sugar?//

[furnaceface]

//Much of it is, yes,// Jonothon confirmed with a nod of his head. //Though plenty of places will prepare things without meat in it for those who prefer a more vegetable-based diet. I've got a couple of friends who wouldn't eat meat, either. One of them goes so far as to live without eating milk or eggs, as well.//

Between Elphaba and Raven, Jono was pretty well-versed in where to go to find vegetarian or vegan foods. It was actually a welcome challenge these days, given that he didn't go shopping for himself.

[kenselvren]

//I will eat those,// Jalian answered. //Only not the animals. And the sweet things make me ill.// There was a bit of wistfulness there; they tasted so good!

[furnaceface]

Jonothon looked thoughtful at that.

//All sweet things, in any proportion? I believe the rule of thumb when dealing with sweets is 'all things in moderation,' luv.//

See, he was being helpful!

//If you like, I could give you a list of places I've found to be vegetarian friendly, over the years. And I'm certain a lot of your classmates would be more accommodating if you were to let them know in advance that you don't eat meat. Some people never think to ask.//

[kenselvren]

//A list of places would be good,// Jalian agreed, thanks in her mindvoice.

//Not all sweets,// she clarified. //I can eat honey and some things. There is a smell...// She sent him her impressions of it, which he might be able to recognize as refined sugar.

[furnaceface]

Jonothon nodded and reached for a piece of paper and a pen, writing down a few of the restaurants that had been pretty good for Raven's vegetarian diet while they'd been dating. Il Pollo, Café Fina, Luke's, Taste of Thai...

//You might have to ask the people serving for a vegetarian menu, or to replace all meat with vegetables, but they're generally pretty good about it.//

A beat.

//And that smell generally doesn't come with the healthiest of foods,// he acknowledged. //I imagine a small - key word being small - taste here and there probably wouldn't destroy you until you work up a tolerance, but there's nothing healthy about it in the least.//

[kenselvren]

Jalian took the list, sending him gratefulness. //Maybe,// she agreed hesitantly. //Maybe not healthy. Before I knew what it was that made me ill, I had some, and it was very good, though!//

She hopped up to sit on the counter and eyed him curiously.

[furnaceface]

//It is very good,// Jonothon agreed, not minding her sitting up on the counter, at least. He did the same, from time to time. It was his bloody counter, he could do with it as he pleased. //I hesitate to admit just how much of that rubbish I ate growing up. It'd make me a terrible influence. Or something.//

Or something.

[kenselvren]

//You do eat?// She'd wondered if he did or not, and how. //I promise not to be terribly influenced,// she added.

[furnaceface]

//I used to eat,// Jono clarified. //Before.//

Before she-knew-what.

//Mostly whatever I could get my hands on. My parents had never been the most nurturing sorts.//

[kenselvren]

What she sent him back wasn't really words: acceptance and a measure of understanding, her own mother's decent but stern incomprehension of her, more Elder Huntress than mother. Then a curiosity about how Jono worked, a need to know just about everything, coupled with a hesitance born of his need for privacy.

[furnaceface]

Jono considered the offering, met it with a nod as he looked face-to-face at the query that followed it.

How was he supposed to respond to that? He gave her a sort of twist of uncertainty mingled with apology. He was what he was, and he didn't completely comprehend it himself. Though it came with the most vague sense of what psionic energy was, at least in his reality, those powers that were tied in specifically with the mind and the self, and then an image of himself literally tearing his body apart, shredding it to dust as it was used as a weapon against something far more powerful than any normal person should have been able to take down. The sensation he'd felt of twisting about, whole and disjointed all at once, a collection of those psionic energies and an awareness and little else. And then that power, pulling a body together for him out of thin air. He stopped sharing only a few moments later, just after his body proved itself to be unable to hold it all in again, just after his power tore its way free. Again.

It tended to do that.

[kenselvren]

In return he got a somewhat grumpy exasperation, the reaction of someone who wanted to know why everything when faced with the lack of an answer. Jalian might be a full Huntress, but sometimes she was still very young.

She examined the memories he sent, then turned them about a bit in a return query - why not build himself whole again if he could? Was it the pain of it happening again?

[furnaceface]

He nodded slightly again, gave his shoulders a shrug.

//I've been put together whole a few times,// he explained, moving back to words. //And so long as I was still this, I've been unable to keep it in. Losing a grasp on it, even for a moment--//

He segued into more mixed memories and emotions, a sort of greatest hits of play-by-play of his chest tearing itself open from his point of view. The first time, when he'd hurt Gayle. Again, when it had almost been Didi and Raven harmed in the flame after Raven had healed his body for him. Once in Garden, when he'd defeated Adel to save Rinoa. Once in Massachusetts, at the academy, after ripping apart D'Spayre and himself in the process. Over and over, again and again. 'No More Mutants,' and then his body couldn't handle Weapon X's implants and tore itself open again. The memories he'd been given by Weapon X of his first time manifesting. And again, under slightly different circumstances, courtesy of Legion in his alternate universe.

And then, in the wake of that, just an overwhelming sense of being tired. He could be whole, but maintaining that shape was near impossible, and he was just so very, very done with being torn apart, over and over and over.

[kenselvren]

Jalian scowled and sent him the mental equivalent of a hard poke. //You don't stop trying!//

Stubbornness, thy name was Jalian.

[furnaceface]

Jono wrinkled his nose, and Jalian was being rewarded with a stinkeye for her trouble.

//To what end? Needlessly putting other people in danger when they're around me? I've been wrestling with this for a long time, and the result has always been the same. If I'm getting on fine as I am, what's the point?//

[kenselvren]

Jalian didn't really have an answer for that; she hadn't thought about the "danger to other people" part; of course he would worry about that. She sent him wordless frustration and grumpiness, with a deeply hidden apology possibly just visible buried deeply.

//You shouldn't have to be fire.//

[furnaceface]

//Maybe not,// Jono allowed, shrugging his shoulders faintly. //But then, it's what I am. Maybe coming to terms with that is more important than mastering how to change that.//

It seemed defeatist, perhaps. But it was a far healthier outlook than the one he'd worn before, the one that had him wallowing in self-loathing because of his circumstances, rather than his actions.

[kenselvren]

He'd get back more wordless stubborn refusal for that, mingled with the acknowledgment it was his decision.

And then a change of subject.

//What is this place, anyway?// She'd gathered that he sold the things that were here, but she wasn't sure precisely what they did; so many of the words on them were so odd.

[furnaceface]

//This? This is my music shop,// Jono replied, waving a hand around at the wares. //Recordings of various sorts of music, a few instruments here and there, and equipment to play the recordings on, mostly. There's some band merchandise near the back wall, there, as well...//

He was going to stop himself now, mostly to look at her and see if any of that actually meant anything to her.

He'd had a few people in here who didn't even understand the concept of music. You could never be too sure.

[kenselvren]

It helped that she was getting his concepts rather than just words. She eyed the store curiously. //All of this is music? Is every one a different song?// She'd never heard of so many different ones!

[furnaceface]

//Many of them are,// Jono agreed. //There are thousands, easily. We have some duplicates, but most of these discs have several songs on them, at least.//

He reached for whatever was closest, a copy of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, and held it out to her.

//The island's having its way with some of my equipment today, or else I'd demonstrate, but this album alone has eleven different songs on it.//

[kenselvren]

Jalian's eyes went wide, and she sent him astonishment and a touch of awe. //So much? How can there be so much different music?//