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[swordfucker]

Guren Ichinose | Red | #A5211F

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[apocalypticist]

I don't normally eat big meals. Getting my caloric needs from meal replacement bars or snacks is more convenient.

[ ryo asuka: natural-born killjoy who would stop eating entirely were it physically possible for him to do so. ]

Alright. I'll be there soon.

[swordfucker]

You're a real weirdo. I hope you're not allergic to anything. I'm starting now.

[Time to cook.......... again!!]

[apocalypticist]

I don't have any allergies.

[ And that's all he has left to say before he closes his laptop and heads out. A few minutes later, there's a knock on the door to Guren's house. ]

[swordfucker]

[Good! Because what he has is lobster, thanks to making Minato a dinner of the same thing. They're in a pot over the fireplace-stove in the kitchen, and Guren answers the door as soon as he hears it.]

Come in. [Silly starving boy.] It's almost done.

[apocalypticist]

[ Ryo steps inside, his stomach rumbling and his mouth nearly watering at the smell of food wafting through the house. Is this how Akira feels when that demonic appetite starts demanding meat...? ]

What did you make?

[swordfucker]

Lobster. There's a butter sauce, too.

[It's honestly kind of hilarious to see him hungry, even if he's trying to be his usual stoic self. Guren is pulling out the lobster, now, setting a plate just for Ryo and bringing it over to the table.]

Dextera told me too late that touching that orb would be dangerous. I had touched his own in the past, so I thought they would all be like that. [So, his bad, for that order.] The monster's essence— it's making you feel the same things? Are you acting on the violence, at all, or can you control it?

[apocalypticist]

I haven't been acting on it. Intrusive thoughts are just thoughts; they're not voluntarily produced and I'm not going to let them control my actions.

[ The spider's emotions are not his own and he knows it; he can keep them separate from himself and not let them bleed into his own desires and thoughts. They're like a persistent pop-up ad that plays music—annoying as hell, but unlikely to infect the computer as long as you're careful. ]

[swordfucker]

Here.

[He pulls out the chair, indicating that Ryo should sit and eat. He didn't make any for himself, since he's eaten today.]

If that's the case, then why worry about working in the lab? The only reason I could think of you wanting to cancel is that you were thinking of acting on it with me. [So, he sits down in a chair nearby, watching him evenly.]

It's fine if you were. It's not like it's your fault.

[apocalypticist]

I'm simply being cautious.

[ Ryo's confident in his ability to stay in control, but he can't say for certain that there won't be a lapse at some point. He moves to sit down, licking his lips and forks a piece of lobster into his mouth. Honestly, what he really wants to do is stuff his mouth with as much food as possible, but he's going to restrain himself. One piece at a time, he's not an animal. ]

Yes, some of those thoughts involve you—I've been fantasizing about rigging the lab to explode or slipping something like cyanide into your drugs.

[swordfucker]

[Jesus Christ, Ryo.]

Huh. [Interesting, if he had to put it like that. And Ryo admits it openly, so that's... good? He thinks. He's interested. And he's sort of interested to see if Ryo will just inhale the lobster at some point, too.]

Good to know. How about the reward— you received some sort of potion, right? Have you tried anything with that?

[apocalypticist]

I found one after we completed the quest. I'm not going to drink an unknown liquid without letting you sample it first.

[ Or slipping it into someone's food to see what happens, but he'd prefer to let Guren test it. ]

[swordfucker]

Good. Do you have it on you?

[He leans over his spot at the table, a little.] Dextera's knocked him out for at least 6 hours. It seems like those were the only effects of his. Mine seems like it's entirely different, since it smells sweet, but I haven't tried it yet.

[apocalypticist]

Yes; you can try it after I've finished eating.

[ Right now he wants to enjoy his dinner without watching Guren potentially puke his guts out or suffer some other effect of drinking the potion. ]

[swordfucker]

The kid's going to tell me what to do, now?

[But he's joking, since he doesn't really intend to try it right when Ryo is eating, anyway. If he did, he'd tell Ryo to shut up and hand it over. For now, he just folds his arms over the table.]

I take it the food is good, then?

[apocalypticist]

It's filling.

[ ...Most people would offer an opinion on the taste or the overall quality of the dish, but Ryo is not like most people. He doesn't enjoy the food for the taste, he's enjoying it because it satisfies his hunger. ]

[swordfucker]

[He laughs, quietly, not really offended. Ryo is just such a weirdo, and he swears there must be something to it. But there's nothing to do for now but to lean back in his chair and wait.]

Good. Eat up.

[apocalypticist]

[ Ryo continues to eat, and soon he's practically inhaling the lobster — though he realizes what he's doing after a few seconds a slows down so he doesn't choke. Before long, the plate is completely empty. ]

Thank you, Ichinose-san.

[swordfucker]

Sure.

[He pauses, leaning forward again to cross his arms over the table.] Does it feel like it helped at all?

[apocalypticist]

Yes. It was a satisfying meal and I'm sure it'll keep the hunger at bay for a few hours. [ But probably not longer than that. Still, it's a welcome respite from constantly wanting to snack. ]

[swordfucker]

You're a real weirdo, you know that?

[Why does he have to talk like a ROBOT, it doesn't feel good to help with that sort of answer at all. Not that he's doing it for the feeling...] A few hours is something, I guess. Try eating like that the next time.

[apocalypticist]

That's the second time today you've called me that. What makes me a weirdo, exactly? [ Not that he particularly cares, but he'll ask anyway. ]

[swordfucker]

You make like some of my superiors look like bags of emotions, for one.

[Because... Ryo shows none? It's wild.] It's okay to feel more than the obvious. I'm not even sure if you're capable of it.

[apocalypticist]

I veer toward logic and rationality. I'm not a naturally emotive person. [ EMOTIONS ARE JUST NEUROCHEMISTRY etc. ]

I've never had any strong feelings about food, and I don't care about eating or culinary experiences; I only eat because my body requires sustenance.

[swordfucker]

You remind me of someone I know.

[He says it out of nowhere, focusing on Ryo closely as he does.] A few people, actually. They're all part of the same twisted family, and none of them can really afford to behave like a normal human.

Do you ever have fun with anything? [God, even Shinoa has fun. Even the Hiiragis have fun... He's concerned.]

[apocalypticist]

[ For Ryo Asuka, it's never really been about not being able to afford behaving like a human. It's that he despite what believes himself to be, he fundamentally isn't human; humanity does not truly come naturally to him and he can only ever mimic it. He's the uncanny valley in living form, because no matter what he does there's always going to be something missing, an imperfect act.

He knows he's never been like other people; as a child he preferred scientific texts meant for adults over the brightly colored cartoons normal children adored. He was an outsider, feared and reviled by his peers. ]

Of course I have fun. I enjoy reading about the sciences, and spending time with my best friend.