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Who: Celeste Blackwell and the fleet
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: Can be found sulking around the SS Golden kitchen
When: Feb 6, evening

[The last time this girl appeared on the network, she was in quite a hot rage, so it might be odd to see her looking quiet and pensive now. Sad, despite a slight smile, to those who really look closely.]

I've been away for awhile - don't ask, I don't quite understand it myself - but apparently I've come back just in time for Valentine's Day to be around the corner. And normally I'd be the last person to bring up something like this, but...

[But what? She doesn't say, just asks her question.]

... have you ever been in love? What were they like? What really made you think "My god, this is the one" when there are so many other people out there who might've been just as good? And I mean, if you're in love right now and you still want to answer, it needn't be past tense. I suppose - I just don't quite understand this either, I never have, but that doesn't stop it from happening.

[She appears to be at a loss for a moment, before shaking her head and chuckling to herself.]

My mates would laugh themselves sick if they could hear me now.

[And that's all.]

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[The bluntness of that question makes her grin with wry understanding. She's not someone who'll hurl encouragement at him, badger him into believing in the all-encompassing power of love and going for it anyway. She's been there.]

I couldn't do anything about my first love. For about a million reasons, he was literally the worst possible person for my heart to latch onto in every way and yet there it was. I still loved him.

[So yes. It counts.]

[ He cocks his head to the side. He was the bad decision for at least one of his examples, but he doesn't feel the need to point that out at this moment. ]

Then yes. Twice. They were both as different as can be, but I wouldn't trade either of them for anything.

[ Even if he'd never do anything about that feeling. ]

Twice for me, as well. They were quite similar in some ways, I think - both very wise when they wanted to be, but also the most incredibly silly buggers.

[She's quiet for a moment. The shortness of his answers - not quite curt, but short - suggests that he's already getting a bit more personal than is his wont. But there's no harm in asking.]

What made them so different?

I'm... not really sure how to explain.

[ At least, not without getting into more detail than he's willing. ]

But I guess what they both have in common is they're good people.

[ Even if one of them refuses the title of "person." ]

[Her smile at that is almost a smirk, just a touch too warm.]

Lord, you've no idea how many bad boys I've chased about because they were exciting and dangerous and it'd mean endless adventure. But the good people are the ones I've really fallen for as well, both times.

[Caleb is... complicated. Endlessly complicated. Some might even call him a monster. But at his heart, he's truly good, and no one can tell Celeste otherwise.]

[ Shinjiro scoffs. ]

Bad boys are never worth the trouble.

[ He's including himself on that list, of course. ]

Oh dear, is that the voice of experience speaking?

[God help her, she has no idea he means himself...]

You could say that.

[ It's not that he's trying to avoid saying that he's the trouble he means, it's just that it seems awkward to come out and say it in the middle of a conversation about love, romance, and all that crap. ]

Well, I suspect you're not wrong. I never invested any real time and energy in them, just hitched along for the ride when I could. Thinking you're special in any way tends to be a fatal error, and anyone who's turned on the world like that could turn on you just as quickly.

Hmm. You've got a good head on your shoulders, from the sounds of it.

[ He approves. ]

Edited 2016-02-08 18:30 (UTC)

Do you know, I've heard that before. A bit of crap treatment early on in life must be the recipe for the perfect amount of skepticism.

[She had most of the trust wrung out of her, in other words, and has only just started to rebuild it recently. But she says that in a light, almost silly way which takes the weight out of the words.]

Thank you, though, it never hurts to hear it again. What's your name? I'm Celeste.

Sorry that's how it happened.

[ From the sounds of it, he means it. ]

I'm Shinjiro.

[It does sound very sincere, which brings a more genuine smile to her face.]

We've all got our issues, don't we? No one gets a perfect ride of it. You've simply got to make what you can of them and get on with it.

Have you been here very long, Shinjiro? [She can't help but wince a bit at how wrong the name sounds with her English accent and inflection.] God, sorry, you'd think I'd be better with all sorts of names coming from an international school. And then another world with people from all over different universes. I will get it right eventually.

[She tries to laugh at herself as she says it, but the truth is that she can barely say her own middle name properly, nor her mother's given name, because she was brought up so English; it's something that embarrasses her even when most people don't seem to notice that she's biracial, because there are so many other options around them.]

[ A smile flickers on his lips. ]

Don't worry about it. As long as you've got the basic idea, it doesn't bother me if it's a little off.

[ He pauses, then adds. ]

And you're right... we've all got our problems.

I appreciate that. [And the smile, even if it's a small one. He's not exactly dour, but she gets the sense that smiles from him are something to be appreciated regardless.]

That's something these sorts of places have been very good for, in my experience - even if this is only my second go at one. I've learned very quickly that my problems can't begin to measure up to the sort people can have in some universes, and a bit of perspective can be a very good thing.

It's the old adage that someone always has it worse, huh?

[ Shinjiro shrugs slightly. ]

It's not wrong, but it's a bit daunting to think about that scope.

It's worthless as a platitude, I'll give you that, no comfort at all. You really do need to see it firsthand before it has any value.

[And memories of exactly that flash through her memory for a moment, all the very visible signs of torturous lives that she saw in Eudio, until she has to close her eyes and shake her head to make it pass.]

You're not wrong either, though. If you stretch your mind too far in that direction, how very different things can be with an endless number of universes to take into account, the very concept of reality itself can get rather blurry. You learn where to draw the lines for the sake of your sanity, regardless of how open-minded you'd like to be.

Keep some perspective, but don't think too hard about it, huh?

[ He nods his head slightly. ]

It's not a bad way to look at things.

Yes, exactly. There's simply no call for judgment, at least not right from the off - truly terrible people are terrible people regardless of universe, but it does pay to let them prove it first.

[ He goes a little contemplative at that. ]

That sounds about right to me.

Well, then. You must have quite a good head on your shoulders yourself.

[She gives him a small, but very genuine, smile.]

[ Shinjiro smiles, a brief flicker on his face. ]

Thanks. I try to, at least.

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