[Yes, and he always prefers when she doesn't wear perfume. She's one of the good people though, the ones that recognize that a little goes a long way. Still doesn't beat au naturale.
Yikes. This is a dangerous question to answer, isn't it? And even though he recognizes the danger in it, he feels...oddly compelled to be totally honest.]
I can tell exactly where you are in your cycle at any second.
[Honesty is the best policy ... Even when it does lead one to incredibly weird truths. Nariko lets herself process that information so that she doesn't immediately jump to her first, initial reaction: Which would be something akin to embarrassed horror. He's known this whole time! Granted, it's not his fault or even a skill that he may have honed or whatever. Something occurs to her:]
[And he...uh, takes a moment to take a sip of tea.]
And that's usually what gets me horny.
[Not that he's in the habit of announcing that a smell is turning him on, but...his natural biology may or may not have attuned specifically to her cycle now. As well as his own 'season'.]
[Yeah, she's not being very clear, so she rubs the back of her neck and then leans over to kiss him outright.]
It's really okay, Boxer.
[Like 'the thought of it gets me wet' sort of okay. It sucks to be a little bit horny and in pain at once, but such is the life of period experiencing individuals.]
I mean, it is a little different. [But she isn't going to use the word 'weird' because that's a little too intense and also because weird ins't necessarily bad, either.]
But I think that part of it is sort of cool.
[What does that even mean. What does she do to make the chemistry right itself onto the correct track??? It probably involves her being in less pain than she is right now.]
I can kind of see why you might not want to tell women about this part.
[Well, that's a relief. He lets out a relieved sigh.]
Yeah...it's not gone over well in the past. Usually they get pissed that it's an "invasion of privacy" but...just because I smell it doesn't mean I try to use it to my advantage, or--even acknowledge it.
... Right, because it's not as if millions of women don't have their periods and ovulate all the time.
[Look, she'd been kind of weirded out because she thought it might have been a problem for him or that she smelled like heavy period blood 24/7. Not because she had some misconception about privacy. This obnoxious, ritualistic pain went on whether a monsterkind could smell it or not.]
[Who knows when her own mild uneasiness turned into a morbid fascination. She's about to mention how wild it is that it's better in the water except-]
Oh, well that makes sense considering everything you have to do in there. You know, sometimes I'd give anything to see the world the way you do for a little bit.
I wish I could share it with you. It's beautiful down there. It's not the same thing--but we haven't spent some time with you scuba diving with me yet.
We can do that as soon as I'm not draining whole pints of blood!
[It'd make a great weekend activity!]
I think I wouldn't be as terrified of drowning or getting swept away somewhere if I was with you. [Something occurs to her, and it puts a grin on her face:] ... It'd be so cool to see you punch a shark! Not to kill it 'She's semi-afraid of marine life but that doesn't mean she wants it to die!] but just, y'know.
[No. No reasonable person would know. But it's a fun mental image all the same.]
[Boxer's the only marine life she isn't semi-scared of.]
That's assuming I can keep up long enough to see you do it! [His job is to literally patrol the bay, dude's probably stupidly fast, and he's mentioned it before so she just kind of assumes he makes the water version of 'nyoom' when he's swimming.]
Let's hope we don't get to drowning at all. [She laughs, but it's a little thin.] ... You've got a height issue and I've got a 'the image of my body quietly floating into utter darkness' issue.
[She shudders a bit, and rubs the back of her neck before she goes back to enjoying her meal. It's too good to waste on bad thoughts, and she can't help smiling when he does that. So cute and handsome and assuring.]
Ahh, y'know, I should definitely get a look at things since they're talking about remodeling sections of the pier.
That's true, but it's part of my job to adhere to the final choice without sacrificing stability or function. There have been lots of times where the final choice was awful, but the finished product was much better. As long as we get the overall idea of what they wanted it's usually fine.
[It's an incredibly broad way to look at the polls, but sometimes that's what you need when New Cloudbank's citizens get a wild idea up their asses, and don't consider some of the long term effects.]
Besides, I'm not going to let any part of the docks or the piers get out of hand! Not when I know how much work you and the rest of those guys put into it every day. There's no need to make your lives harder.
There isn't a project in the city that's cleared for work until I approve it. I'm allowed to send it back for any revisions or changes if I can make a logical argument for the objection.
[She lifts a hand, tilts in a sort of 'well...' gesture.]
And the thing about political bullshit is that anything is logical if you know just how to word it.
I know it's not the most aesthetically pleasing option, but the more straightforward and regular it is, the easier and faster it is to direct traffic and give people accurate estimates of time for service...
[There's a pause, and he sighs.]
It's a place for commerce before it's a place for leisure...and the way it looks shoud reflect that.
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Yikes. This is a dangerous question to answer, isn't it? And even though he recognizes the danger in it, he feels...oddly compelled to be totally honest.]
I can tell exactly where you are in your cycle at any second.
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Wait, so, can you tell when I'm ovulating?
[After all, that's a part of it!]
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[And he...uh, takes a moment to take a sip of tea.]
And that's usually what gets me horny.
[Not that he's in the habit of announcing that a smell is turning him on, but...his natural biology may or may not have attuned specifically to her cycle now. As well as his own 'season'.]
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...............]
Oh.
[It almost comes out like a gasp, as if he's suddenly put his hand down her pants.] Oh. That's - That's okay. Definitely okay.
[LOOK it's just kind of weirdly hot, alright?]
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[He's having a hard time getting a bead on that reaction so he's not entirely sure if that's an actual okay okay or not so okay okay.]
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It's really okay, Boxer.
[Like 'the thought of it gets me wet' sort of okay. It sucks to be a little bit horny and in pain at once, but such is the life of period experiencing individuals.]
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[He gives her a small smile.]
I was worried that you'd find it weird...
[Sorry, babe, he's not gonna fuck you any more until your blood chemistry is back on track.]
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But I think that part of it is sort of cool.
[What does that even mean. What does she do to make the chemistry right itself onto the correct track??? It probably involves her being in less pain than she is right now.]
I can kind of see why you might not want to tell women about this part.
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Yeah...it's not gone over well in the past. Usually they get pissed that it's an "invasion of privacy" but...just because I smell it doesn't mean I try to use it to my advantage, or--even acknowledge it.
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... Right, because it's not as if millions of women don't have their periods and ovulate all the time.
[Look, she'd been kind of weirded out because she thought it might have been a problem for him or that she smelled like heavy period blood 24/7. Not because she had some misconception about privacy. This obnoxious, ritualistic pain went on whether a monsterkind could smell it or not.]
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[Not that any woman let him get that far in his explanation of how it worked, but it's also the reason why he could never argue against it.]
Especially in the water. My sense of smell is even better there.
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[Who knows when her own mild uneasiness turned into a morbid fascination. She's about to mention how wild it is that it's better in the water except-]
Oh, well that makes sense considering everything you have to do in there. You know, sometimes I'd give anything to see the world the way you do for a little bit.
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I wish I could share it with you. It's beautiful down there. It's not the same thing--but we haven't spent some time with you scuba diving with me yet.
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[It'd make a great weekend activity!]
I think I wouldn't be as terrified of drowning or getting swept away somewhere if I was with you. [Something occurs to her, and it puts a grin on her face:] ... It'd be so cool to see you punch a shark! Not to kill it 'She's semi-afraid of marine life but that doesn't mean she wants it to die!] but just, y'know.
[No. No reasonable person would know. But it's a fun mental image all the same.]
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I don't think I'll end up punching any sharks, but--but I think you'll get a kick out of watching me swim, at least.
[He hopes.]
And saving people from drowning just happens to be my specialty.
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That's assuming I can keep up long enough to see you do it! [His job is to literally patrol the bay, dude's probably stupidly fast, and he's mentioned it before so she just kind of assumes he makes the water version of 'nyoom' when he's swimming.]
Let's hope we don't get to drowning at all. [She laughs, but it's a little thin.] ... You've got a height issue and I've got a 'the image of my body quietly floating into utter darkness' issue.
[This is one way that no couple should match.]
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You'll be fine. More than fine. I promise. No darkness, no dead body floating. I'll keep you in the safest waters.
[Have a cheesy thumbs up.]
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[She shudders a bit, and rubs the back of her neck before she goes back to enjoying her meal. It's too good to waste on bad thoughts, and she can't help smiling when he does that. So cute and handsome and assuring.]
Ahh, y'know, I should definitely get a look at things since they're talking about remodeling sections of the pier.
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Right. The pier.
[Oh Boy is there a story there or what?]
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I'm guessing you're not exactly on board with the idea.
[Said somewhere around stuffing the last of her dumpling(s) into her mouth.]
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The leading choice in the poll is all form and no function. Sure, it looks fancy...but it'll be a nightmare to direct boat traffic...
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That's true, but it's part of my job to adhere to the final choice without sacrificing stability or function. There have been lots of times where the final choice was awful, but the finished product was much better. As long as we get the overall idea of what they wanted it's usually fine.
[It's an incredibly broad way to look at the polls, but sometimes that's what you need when New Cloudbank's citizens get a wild idea up their asses, and don't consider some of the long term effects.]
Besides, I'm not going to let any part of the docks or the piers get out of hand! Not when I know how much work you and the rest of those guys put into it every day. There's no need to make your lives harder.
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[He looks up at his food.]
You're saying you're at the head of this project?
[If that's the case, he trusts her to modify it to make it more workable than the plans are on the poll.]
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[She lifts a hand, tilts in a sort of 'well...' gesture.]
And the thing about political bullshit is that anything is logical if you know just how to word it.
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[Boxer gestures.]
I know it's not the most aesthetically pleasing option, but the more straightforward and regular it is, the easier and faster it is to direct traffic and give people accurate estimates of time for service...
[There's a pause, and he sighs.]
It's a place for commerce before it's a place for leisure...and the way it looks shoud reflect that.
(no subject)