the season rubs me wrong

[oceanthief]

WHO: Lapis & YOU!!
WHERE: various cities
WHEN: throughout June
WHAT: A combination open log and June catch-all. If the prompts don't catch your eye (or you've got something you want to do), PM me and we can do something else!
WARNINGS: none! will edit if this changes.

heropa;

[it's always nice to come down to Heropa to spend some time at the shore, even if many of the visits are more than a little bittersweet for Lapis. water is water to the gem, but there was something special about the taste of salt on her lips. it made everything a little more hopeful even in the face of bad memories.

of course, with summer rolling around it's nearly impossible to be alone on the beach. and when you're blue and touch down on the sand with a pair of shimmering water wings it's...kind of inevitable that you're going to attract some attention.

this, alongside her penchant for just accepting things rather than arguing when the stakes aren't world-shattering, is how Lapis ended up clutching a surfboard at least three times her size. someone's slapped a paper number on her chest which only serves to make her seem even smaller and more lost.

she's currently seated on a bench, apparently waiting to be called for...something. the next person passing by will find their clothing snagged and - oh, no, it's the not the surfboard talking. it's the small gem on the other side.]

What's a surfing competition?

[and why is her name already on this board...]

nonah;

[Lapis doesn't really bother with book stores all that often - most things she can find easily enough online, and anything she needs more tangible access to is in the library. but here she is all the same, an enormous stack of audiobooks balances precariously in the crook of her elbow. apparently it's not enough for whatever she wants them all for, because she's still busy reaching for more.

there seems to be absolutely no rhyme or reason to the collection; everything from Wuthering Heights to a biography of John Wilkes Booth has managed to make its way into her arms. from the way she's turning the cases around, the odds are pretty good that Lapis is literally just judging an audiobook by its cover. some things don't change from planet to planet.

things that also don't change are how tall they make these goddamn shelves!! like it's not hard enough to keep a grip on everything with how many books she's got. Lapis looks around carefully, to make sure there aren't any inconvenient displays nearby...and summons her wings, flapping up a few feet to pull something off the top shelf.

this isn't cheating at all. shut up.]

nonah part two;

[she keeps to herself mostly, but sometimes even Lapis likes to just get away from her house. right now 'away' is simply the closest park, where she's currently perched on the back rather than seat of a vacant bench.

her feet are kicking to and fro, a sure sign that Lapis' attention is elsewhere. and sure enough, there's a stray cat lazing under a nearby tree - or it was presumably lazing a little while ago, anyway. right now it's busy chasing a watery mouse, leaping and bounding after the simulated enemy with almost as much enjoyment as the gem behind the construct. best not to try and sneak up on her, though, even if it's tempting with how distracted she is.]

Comments

[oceanthief]

[as soon as the little creature leaps into her lap, Lapis goes completely still. her legs remain at an uncomfortable angle, caught mid-swing, but she makes no attempt to lower them again. the only motion she makes is to tilt her head, just slightly, to direct a response at Hyunsoo.]

It's ok.

[and, surprisingly, it seems to actually be ok. despite her statuesque posture, Lapis doesn't actually seem to be troubled by the new lap warmer she's unintentionally acquired. apparently this is what she assumes to be the correct reaction to an animal climbing on you.

behind her, the mouse continues to lead the cat on a merry chase; it just happens to be nudging it a little bit further away from the chinchilla than before.]

[valuemeal]

[ It's only when he hears her voice and looks more at her face because of that near robot-like turn of only her head that Hyunsoo realises who this is. That's right, that weird.. water gem girl. (It's the easiest way to file it in his memory, okay.) It does explain why the mouse looks a little odd now he looks at it again, considering he's seen her water powers in action before.

Still weird, but.. well, he's just gotten more used to the fact everything here is weird.

The chinchilla, on the other hand, is starting to settle and curl up in Lapis' lap, apparently totally okay with this lack of sudden motion. ]

He saw the cat.. he's kind of skitterish. [ But looking at the tiny thing now.. ] He must like you though, usually he's--

[ .. oh. Wait. He can't actually talk about it too much, then it might seem like he - gasp - likes cute tiny animals. That can't be. ]

I-- I mean, I'm just figuring! [ Subtle. ]

[oceanthief]

[she slowly stretches her hand out to give the chinchilla a single, gentle pat before settling it easily at her side. all she wanted was to see if it really was as soft as it looked - and the answer is oh my gosh yes.]

What's there to figure? You just have to stay still.

[no, Lapis, that isn't how it works. you just happen to be miles better at dealing with the animals of earth compared to the people on the same planet.]

[valuemeal]

If I stay still, he never stays still. [ At least it does like Hyunsoo though. Just.. very energetically so. But at least with the way it's still calmly sitting alongside Lapis for now, he's getting a small break.

(Hyunsoo might be pouting as he eyes the critter before looking back at Lapis.) ]

Do you like animals? Maybe it's that.

[ Considering it does seem she's playing with that cat over there. Maybe? Kind of? Hyunsoo isn't sure how far playing goes when weird powers are involved. ]

[oceanthief]

I don't really think about them much; there really wasn't anything like these on Homeworld.

[and the things on colony planets hadn't been for fraternizing. it was resources, potential threats, and nothing else. if it couldn't be used, it wasn't important.]

They're the easiest thing to deal with here.

[she says, having apparently marked down the petsitting incident as a success in her mind...]

[valuemeal]

[ Homeworld. Right. Weird gem people place, probably. ]

I agree with that, at least. The people here are so weird. [ Although it's unsure whether Hyunsoo can really claim animals are easier to deal with when even tiny chinchillas won't listen to him and sit still..

Some realisation seems to hit him at that point though, and he almost looks a little sheepish before glancing away. ]

If you were out here so you wouldn't be bothered by people, then.. uh.. sorry for running into you. I guess. [ The most reluctant pouty apology to the point you'd wonder why he's even apologizing to begin with. ]

[oceanthief]

This would be a pretty stupid place to go if I didn't want to see anyone.

[she doesn't sound offended, or even condescending; it's just a matter-of-fact statement, like commenting on the color of the sky or the weather. similarly, Lapis doesn't really seem to notice (or care about) the insincerity of his apology.

really, it's kind of a silly thing to worry about. this was a green space apparently here for the sole point of being around other people in a slightly more organic setting. if she had wanted to go away, she'd have taken to the sky or space.]

I just didn't feel like being in the house right now.

[no reason. just that sometimes you needed a change of scenery, and even now she enjoys being able to make that decision for herself.]

[valuemeal]

Can't blame you for that. [ Because even if Hyunsoo himself has no idea of all the things that happened to Lapis, he feels like it's a pretty normal human thing to want to go out from time to time. Apparently it's just a gem person thing too. ]

Might as well enjoy the great outside or whatever here as long as there's nothing going on yet.

[ Considering he does remember what he talked about with the other last time around - and even though things have been (relatively?) peaceful, the thought of what could happen in this place does linger in the back of his mind. ]

[oceanthief]

It's not really that great.

[even without the constant threat of upheaval and violence, Lapis still can't bring herself to talk about earth more enthusiastically than that. the lingering darkness in her heart was just too hard to banish completely, even when she actually felt energized enough to make an attempt.]

[valuemeal]

[ Wow, Lapis sure is a moodmaker..

That thought does shoot through his head as he moves to pick up the chinchilla before it starts crawling straight out of his hands and over Hyunsoo again before it settles in his jacket's pocket. ]

I mean, it's nothing special.. [ That much he'll admit, at least. ] But it's not like there's anything that bad about it. As long as nothing weird's happening. Or are you saying the place you come from is that super amazing?

[oceanthief]

[her specialty is being the rain cloud on an otherwise lovely day, after all. Lapis seems a little sad to have the chinchilla taken from her, but makes no motion to stop it. not like she really has any say in the matter when it's not her animal.]

The place I'm from doesn't exist anymore. [Homeworld as it was now bore little resemblance to the planet of her memories.] I just really can't stand earth.

[valuemeal]

.. that sucks.

[ Okay, so maybe it's not the most thought out tactful thing to say in this situation, but at least he sounds like he means it. A little bit. Somehow? After all, even Hyunsoo can imagine that it must suck to be stuck somewhere you hate to be and have no alternative. ]

The earth's a pretty big place though, you know? Maybe there's some spot around that you can tolerate. Even if it's slightly.

[oceanthief]

[she makes some kind of noise, caught between agreeing with one sentiment and doubtful of the other. it's difficult for Lapis to verbalize her feelings about the planet to human - how can a species with the lifespan of a mayfly understand what it is to face eternity with all of your options stripped?]

The sky's alright.

[if Lapis is aware that an answer like that really doesn't count as part of earth, she makes no indication of it.]

[valuemeal]

[ Eh, he'll take it as an answer. It's something beyond just being a party pooper, and that's the important part - especially when Hyunsoo knows how much it can suck to not feel strongly (in a positive way, at least) about anything unless you have even one thing to slightly cling onto. ]

You probably don't get on airplanes a lot though, huh.

[ Considering.. you know. Lapis' general attitude towards the human world. ]

[oceanthief]

Why would I? They're so slow.

[also, she can fly. but does Lapis mention that right away? nooo. that would be helpful to the conversation flow.]

[valuemeal]

[ Even with knowledge of Lapis' odd water-related powers, it's true that there's no immediate sign she can fly - it's not the first thing Hyunsoo thinks of when he thinks of water, anyway, so he isn't assuming a thing.

Instead he's caught off guard by something else entirely-- ]

Slow? [ ??? ] What's faster than a plane?

[oceanthief]

Me, for starters. [she shrugs lightly, kicking her feet out into the air with an idle smile.] And most of the spacefaring stuff we used to build on Homeworld, too.

[valuemeal]

[ Okay, weird otherwordly spaceships are in plenty of movies he's seen, he can get that part. But... ]

You?

[ Hyunsoo still seems sceptical. ]

Do you just run around in the air or whatever back home?

[oceanthief]

No, that's stupid. [clearly.] I fly.

[valuemeal]

H.. hey, how is it--

[ .. he guesses he can kind of see why it'd be a stupid assumption. Running in the air is weird, okay, but so is people claiming they can fly without even having wings or anything! What are those people even expected to do, levitate? ]

You don't exactly look like a bird, you know! [ At least it's not an insult, even though Hyunsoo sounds a little huffy all the same.. mostly in a kind of sad way though. Like a barking tiny puppy. That chinchilla in his pocket might in fact be more intimidating than he could ever be. ]

[oceanthief]

That's because I don't really shapeshift all that often.

[this is probably the worst thing that Hyunsoo could have said in terms of his comprehending the situation, as it opens up a completely new avenue of confusion. Lapis, meanwhile, remains completely oblivious to both this fact and her conversation partner's sulking; she actually thinks that she's doing a pretty good job with the whole talking thing at the moment. topics she has actual knowledge of really help up her confidence.]

[valuemeal]

[ A whole new avenue of confusion indeed. Hell, you could go so far as to call it a highway of confusion, with how quickly everything seems to race straight past Hyunsoo's ability to understand any of this. ]

Shapeshift?! [ At least he's moving down from huffy to just.. well, confused. Shocked. The chinchilla is poking its head curiously out of Hyunsoo's pocket again at how loud he suddenly got. ]

Those water things, flying, shapeshifting.. is there anything you can't do? Next you'll tell me you can pull rabbits out of hats!

[ Yes, because that's clearly the more impressive superpower here. ]

[oceanthief]

...what's a rabbit?

[because apparently this is the most confusing thing that Hyunsoo just said, not his complete incredulity at her staggering variety of abilities or the casual way she mentions them. once again, earth fauna trumps all.]

[valuemeal]

.. that's the part that stumps you?!

[ Because he's pretty sure there's some stuff in what he said that's much more impossible than the existence of rabbits, okay. And for a moment he does look sceptical, as if he's convinced Lapis is just trying to pull his leg..

But then he probably realises that all weird stuff is normal where she comes from, so maybe all normal stuff is weird..? God, thinking about it is enough to hurt his head. But he does at least bother to explain. ]

They're these small soft furry animals. [ He spots the chinchilla poking its head out of his pocket, pointing at it. ] Bigger than this one. And they have long ears. They have some at the animal centre I work at.

[oceanthief]

Oh.

[she seemingly accepts this without question, completely ignoring his previous outburst. Lapis doesn't particularly care what other people think are odd, so long as she understands her own words and actions.

...speaking of, the gesture towards the chinchilla is taken by her as an invitation to interact with it again. before continuing to speak, she reaches out to give it a small skritch behind the ears. adorable.]

Why do they live in hats? That seems kind of cramped.

[especially for an animal even larger than this one. she hasn't seen a human with that big of a head just yet.]