sou "wife material" hiyori (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
killed) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
come_sailaway2022-09-02 08:06 pm
killed) wrote in come_sailaway2022-09-02 08:06 pm
killed) wrote in come_sailaway2022-09-02 08:06 pm
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[ Hiyori looks down into his basket, carefully moving things from one stack to another. For young kids presentation is almost more important than taste, as they'll gobble up gum simply because it's shaped like band-aids and cheap knock off versions of better treats simply for shape and packaging. They're valued in a different way than they would be for adults, so offering up truffles and luxury chocolate bars would be no different than getting socks on Christmas.
No, something nicer is in order... He piles up a few things off to one side before finally removing one. They're not all from here, he's taken odds and ends from various places, and what he offers now is a hot chocolate kit with cat-shaped marshmallows. He gives a few chocolate peanut butter cups shaped like pumpkins and bats next, a pumpkin marshmallow pop, even a large chocolate ball decorated like a unicorn - the type of chocolate shell that holds inside of it all sorts of little treats. Some come from his basket, others he pulls off the shelves without a thought.
Why does a grown man want these things? He likes sweets and cute things, but he's not above collecting things to share with others either. He pays careful mind to what others like, and the tone he uses now suggests that he's had this sort of conversation a few times before.]
Pop'n Fresh is popular with them now too, though a younger child might need a bit of help... The taste leaves something to be desired, but it's exciting for children to be able to make something with their own hands.
[ Wordy as always, but he means well enough. Hiyori himself is like a child sometimes, and his own childhood was rather rigid and structures, but he loved sweets back then too. He didn't indulge much in the cheap candies one finds at the department stores, but he liked desserts that were decorated and shaped. He doesn't have strong feelings about children on the whole, but he's worked with them enough to know how to care for them. He imagines he doesn't need to tell a god that they prefer cute and sweet things, but it seems doubtful that he's kept up with the trends. ]
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What Hiyori says as he describes the best treats to give her makes sense though. Something that can be for you, and something that you can make with your own hands—kids do like to experiment. This is certainly... a better alternative to backyard potions, that's for sure. There's just one problem he's noticing. )
Aren't these a little big?
( He's not opposed to them too, but his understanding of Halloween was that you would give handfuls of small candy to the kids, not necessarily big packages and the like. )
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[ Children are clever like that. Hiyori never went himself, but he knows enough about their means and methods. They take stock of who has the nicest house, who gives out the nicest treats, who's the kindest to them... They file all of that away and often start their own little information network with each other to carve out a pathway... Well, some of them do anyway, but those who don't are all that more excited when they find a person who offers them such rare gifts.
Hiyori is a little extra about everything, his luxurious and rich upbringing nothing if not apparent, but that does work to their benefit from time to time. He sighs a little, and his shoulders fall back as the moment of excitement passes and he sobers up and he settles into a kind and thoughtful smile. ]
... It's alright if it's a nicer haul haul the average child would have, don't you think? If you provide a few big items and fill the rest up with small candies, then she'll have the best of both worlds.
[ Big ticket items to fawn over as she picks them out of the array of smaller candies, a mix of quantity and quality that would delight any child as they picked and sorted through them. She's an unfortunate child now, and perhaps before as well, denied the opportunities that a child should have. They can afford to embellish it a little. It's painting the picture of a community of adults who put such care into taking care of the next generation instead of... whatever it is that they have here. ]
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( Castor... does not in fact have the frame of reference necessary to understand that comment, so he will be staring blankly as if Hiyori's talking alienspeak at him for a moment. He quickly decides that understanding the specifics isn't necessary though; they're in high demand for high quality candy, or something, right? That's the gist? That's enough for him.
In any case, where his intention had been to get Fio a small single bag, he supposes that there's no harm in gathering a little more for her. She's a good kid, after all. Bright and friendly, and Pollux is rather fond of her—it would be unbecoming of them not to prepare something for her on the occasion. He starts doing some mental math in his head, splitting some of Hiyori's suggestions down the middle so he can decide on which may go directly to Fio, and which the twins may keep on-hand for her. Perhaps they can give them to her after boxing lessons as a treat? It needs to be in moderation, so something like that... )
Very well. Then we've decided on a few big items.
( He's sure the unicorn in particular may stand out to her, but what he means to say, is that he needs recommendations for the small ones next! )
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That's a question for another day, but it's one that will linger in the back of his mind. For now he plays the role of his shopping companion, the best in the neighborhood... It does seem that he's enjoying it at least, being a person who's had few opportunities such as this. It's difficult to maintain an appearance in a tiny place, and especially one with so many children. ]
Are you fond of children, Castor-san?
[ It's a formality to ask, but he does pick through the shelves to pick things out - different fun size packs of candies - chocolates and peanut butter cups, gummies and konpeito and sakura kit kats - poplar yet small treats. ]
I enjoyed working with them quite a bit myself... They're sharper than many give them credit for, but they see the world through a different lens...
[ They're just as cruel, but it's a different kind of cruelty; they're liars, but but refined, and they haven't yet crystalized their distrust; they're so many things at once, humans with infinite potential and ones locked by fate.
He wouldn't dare say it aloud, but he thinks a human who could ascend to godhood would be the only one who could understand how much it is to be an hopeful child and a cynical adult... They would be the only one who could understand that pain and hardship and how they're always just a little bit afraid.
Such as it is that he can look upon the pair fondly, because humans idolize the idea of a foolish human who can become something greater; a child who might become a god.
It's a thought for later, but his mind is mind is busy even as he piles things up, never quite matching the enthusiasm that mixes in with them. He adds one more comment before allowing him to answer the question, adding in marble balls, different colors swirling in them. ]
If you give out others, you should ask their favorite color and surprise them with it.
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He's busy inspecting the marbles for himself as they're passed to him, when he gets his opportunity to respond. )
Not particularly.
( And in this, he's honest; he may know how to act around them, know better than to be cruel towards them, but it doesn't come from any personal love of his. )
But Pollux is fond of them. It would be troublesome to upset her.
( Just the same way she's fond of human holidays, and humans themselves, but where Castor doesn't go so far to humor her in such a vast affection... If it's only a small segment, it is hard to go against her wishes. Particularly when he sees the way her face lights up, smiling brilliantly back at those spirits from the world which they came; with Fio, it's quite the same. So long as it's only Fio, and the children who are young enough to earn her fondness don't become too numerous... It's fine.
With that, he sets the marbles aside. )
And I suppose they're less of a problem to deal with, as far as humans go.
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[ His own parents loved him, but even if they didn't it wouldn't matter, just as it doesn't matter if they'll mourn him now. It's the same for the other adults that were there in his youth. What need is there for true love and care so long as he's given acclaim and adoration?
He runs his finger along the flat edge of the shelf as he searches it for something in particular before tapping the front of a package and taking it off. This one he opens, a package of hojicha kit-kats. He takes a pair out, snapping it in half and biting down on one before offering the other. Despite being a candy they have a smoky with a slightly bitter to them, so perhaps it'll be more to his taste than one of the sweeter varieties. It's important to partake in what one is collecting. ]
What is it that you're fond of, then?
[ It's a question asked without judgment or expectation, but simple curiosity and conversation, just as his so often are. ]
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So children may be more tolerable in a comparative sense, and there's no need for pointless cruelty—but ultimately it's Pollux who defines the relationship Castor maintains with them. Perhaps that's why the answer Castor gives is... exactly what he may have expected it to be: )
I'm fond of Pollux. I don't need anyone else.
( He'll still take the candy he's offered though, turning it over to look before taking a bite. He looks more thoughtful than anything else. Might be a miss. )
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That's true. The minimum amount of people you need to create a world is two people, and so yours was complete the moment that you were born.
[ That's how twins are. Their world is complete before they're even born until the day that they die, but they can be be more fragile than any other, following each other in all things. They're like rabbits who die of loneliness. What does that make Hiyori, who was born as a hedgehog who harms others with his sharp spines, and whom can only trust them to sink sharp teeth and claws into his vulnerability to tear out his organs?
He looks down for a moment as he pinches the front and back of the candy, pulling the top open. He speaks in a soft voice that carries to it the fondness of a brother or father, a person who's experienced all those connections and holds them in such high regards.
Love is a beautiful thing. It breathes life into every person it touches, filling a person's lungs with oxygen until the cell membranes break down and the alveoli collapse. People live and die all for the sake of giving and receiving that single emotion. He's always adored that. ]
Do you know why that is?
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So it seems that Castor didn't expect for Hiyori to continue.
The confusion is clear in his expression. To the untrained eye, it may look more wary or suspicious. Eyes narrowed, resting on Hiyori's, his expression would be neutral if not for the way his brows pinch together. To one who is sharper, it may be recognized for what it is: curiosity. )
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[ There's more that could be said there, and certainly great philosophers and orators would voice their thoughts as much as those who study the mind at present would. If they see their world as perfect and complete, then it is, just as much as how magic and spirits can exist so long as even a single person can validate that thought. The world is as they wish it to be always, even when age and experience scars them and transforms it into something bitter and cynical. It's so much easier when the world is a miserable, loveless, heartless place.
Castor isn't a philosopher though, and so Hiyori won't lecture him. Instead he pulls the next kit kat bar out of it's package. He doesn't care for the more bitter and savory ones, preferring something sweeter, but he's always had a special fondness for the banana caramel flavor. It's sweet, but not too sweet to share, and it lacks the disgusting artificial taste that can be present in such treats. ]
If you look at it another way, you could say that you need another person to validate your existence... I'm Sou Hiyori because that's who others see me as; as long as a single person does, I will always be him.
[ He bites down on one half now. He's Sou Hiyori, a brilliant doctor and technician, the perfect man who can do everything, and so long the masses around him see him as such his world is equally complete. They're opposites and equals all at once. He sets the package down so he can pinch the one in his mouth between his fingers and tilt his head back before finally offering up the second flavor for this one to try, with a little nod that suggests that he hopes this one is better received. ]
But, [ He adds, shifting back to the more general group, ] We can't live alone, so they're either generous or greedy depending on how you view it. If you invite others into your world then you can multiply your happiness along with that of others to create a chain reaction.
[ There's no world that can be healed by happiness and magic when people are so selfish and bitter, so broken by circumstances, but it's a nice idea, and in that tiny, expanding world perhaps one could create a small miracle in doing so... Well, it's not like he's trying to give a lecture though; if another person's world is complete, there's no need to tamper with it, and so he can give these as thoughts and perspectives and nothing more.
Why would he need to do otherwise? He's happy with his world, complete and perfect, a place where none can hurt him and none can make him cry despite how far it reaches and how much it encompasses, a world where at least his heart is safe from all harm - it's buried deep in the forest, in a place that none can reach, where neither love nor hate can sew through it. ]