583/Are Our Lives Weird?

Are Our Lives Weird?
Date of Scene:	11 October 2023
Location:	Tsukino-Osaka Dorm
Synopsis:	Naru and Usagi have a talk about life, the weird, and jealousy.
Cast of Characters:	Usagi Tsukino, Naru Osaka

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Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Naru-chan," it's unsurprisingly a little plaintive; Usagi says Naru's name all the time, talks to her all the time, but usually not when she's facedown on their couch, cheek smushed into the cushion. "I ran into this magical girl who said the craziest thing. And I can't stop thinking about it."

She's been pondering this for a few days now, ever since the dinosaur youma, ever since the ultimatum - give up your identity or this kid dies. Ever since Uranus had refused (even as a ploy!) and Cure Wukong had hesitated.

Ever since Cure Wukong had implied things were usually - different.

"Do you think our lives are weird." A pause. "Weirder than for other people in all this magic mess?"

Naru Osaka has posed:
They do live together, there's a lot of talking. Even if some days it feels as if they are a little bit of ships in the night, when both of them are just SO BUSY with school and the weird that is so much of both of their lives.

Naru is at her desk, either working on homework or.. more likely honestly.. making more notes about how to attempt to keep the world from ending without losing any of their friends or any of Hematite's friends. Because there's nothing quite like thinking about how to break contracts with demons to make social studies homework feel a little bit irrelevant.

"I mean.. I know our lives are weird." Naru points out before Usagi clarifies. She twists in her chair, away from her notebook to look over to the couch. "I.. I don't know." Naru has to admit. "That's super hard to quantify, cause what's weird for us is possibly not weird for others?" She sighs a little. "I think so? I mean.. most poeple are way less freaked out."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"I kinda thought they were just hiding it. Like, you know, can't think too long about this or you'll cry in math! I mean... I guess I don't know too many of the others like, in a friendly way? But Tragar-chan has - has a lot of bad things to worry about too, and so does Wako-chan, and I think Chiyo-chan too, but maybe that was just an assumption? And obviously Mamochan is really stressed and, and, but?"

And she groans, and rolls over onto her side, so she can look at Naru. Her face is set in a frown, concern tugging at the corners of her mouth. "You're - I mean - you're... everything got really weird and really bad and it all happened really fast. Like... at the beginning of the school year, we were still at Juuban Public Middle School! We were just worrying about having a great end of middle school. And now -"

Well. Now people have hurt them. They've both almost died. Naru has muscles because she works out for weapons training. Usagi even has muscles! Not very good ones, but still!

"And I thought everyone was feeling the same thing as us, but Cure Wukong was surprised, and, now I'm thinking... what if it's not like this for everyone else?"

Naru Osaka has posed:
"It's a lot." Naru agrees as she reaches for her coffee cup to just hold for the moment. She leans back in her chair a little. "Like.. it's hard to believe that like.. six months ago, neither of us knew anything and now.. " she shakes her head a little. "A little too much sometimes."

"Based on the reactions of people when I tell them that there's a gun out there that shoots out your soul, it seems to mostly.. just bounce off. Like.. the implications of that." Naru mmms softly. "Chorno and I have joked about just hiding quietly in a barrier to drink tea for an hour just to have a little pause from the unending level of crisis. So he's feeling it too, for sure."

Naru considers a moment. "I don't know. I have to think if it was this awful for everyone, the school would just be even more of a mess of depressed students."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"I know! Monsters have been in Tokyo forever and we just found out, and now I keep forgetting that people don't know, because it's so - normal."

Which! She doesn't know how to feel about all of this being normal to her now, but, it is, and she can't make it unnormal. She thinks.

But the idea that people are just... taking all of this calmly... Usagi has to tamp down on her initial response - a surprised (and surprisingly mean) urge to say and people call me stupid. How were people just - shrugging off everything going on? How were they just not freaked out that there was a weapon that blasted out your soul? It was almost - almost - enough to make her think that Sailor Uranus had a point, because what was... what was the point of that weapon, anyway? It was like the dinosaur - something that could kill people.

"I don't get it," she says, plaintive again, "And I don't think this is just me being dumb. I just - Cure Wukong said she usually just deals with people trying to change history, or something? And I - do you think other people are like... having fun? Whacky adventures? And that's why they're not freaking out?"

She needs to meet Chrono. He sounds like he has a good head on his shoulders - though, sure, she's not exactly a quiet person, so maybe he wouldn't want to hide out with her...

"Is it bad that I'm kind of mad at them?"

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I wonder if they just take it calmly because their brains are being kind and just not letting them think about the scope of it." Naru muses thoughtfully. "I mean.. I'd rather love if I didn't think through all the implications, but I do. And you do. Perhaps they just don't?"

"I .. I honeslty don't know." Naru comments on the notion of whacky fun adventures. "When I was talking about magic with Sunbreaker.. it was just so much a part of her everyday life.. like not just life and death, but just entwined in everything that I can see how it's fun. Or at least.. can be fun, even if it isn't all of the time. Like fireworks.. they can be fun and pretty and awesome.. or burny awful.. the fireworks themselves are neutral, but how its used, that's what matters."

Naru sips her coffee, making a face because it's cold, but she sips it anyhow. "I'm less mad at them, and more kinda jealous. I mean.." She hesitates a moment and then admits a little more quietly. "I get all the death potential and none of the powers with a side order of periodic patronizing commentary."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Or maybe... maybe people aren't trying to kill everyone else, all the time. Maybe the bad guys they're fighting aren't trying to merge Tokyo with the Dusk Zone and shoot people's souls out and taking little kids hostage to force you to reveal your identity or watch a group of six year olds die!"

Oh well, that all just kind of burst out, didn't it? Usagi covers her face, dragging in a few ragged deep breaths. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell. I just - it's weird. That... that Sunbreaker talks about magic like it's totally normal, and other kids like me talk about all of the danger like it's weird, and, and, and... I'm being selfish."

It's a realization; maybe a wrongful one, but a heartfelt one, as she swallows and sits up and looks at Naru, shoulders hunched. "I'm sorry, Naru-chan. I - you're in danger like me, and you're worrying about it too, and I... I don't have a way to even give you any power, so you're safer or, anything. And - patronizing commentary?"

She's been lost. How could someone be patronizing to Naru, huh? She's amazing. She's in this just like them!

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I think.. I think perhaps this whole damn thing is a /lot/." Naru reaches over to set her coffee cup on her desk and get up out of her chair to come join Usagi on the couch. "It's not selfish to be frustrated by this. To be wholly and entirely sick of feeling like we're going to die /all the damn time/. It's not sane, and we can't live like this forever, or we will both just lose our minds. If we haven't already."

Naru reaches out to pull Usagi against her, so they are leaning on each other. "We can't make it any easier, but it /is/ easier even just ranting about it together. We might have the super short straw on this magic stuff, but we're at least not doing it alone."

Naru gives a little shake of her head. "People assume that I have no combat experience, because I don't have powers. Or that I am utterly incapable, because I don't have powers. Which they're sometimes right, I can't take on Sunbreaker by myself, we established that, but I'm not entirely a porcelain doll to be set on a shelf. And they mean well, so it's hard to get mad about it, but it isn't awesome."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
It is a lot. There's a lot going on, all the time. These shrines and the Midnight Tokyo Project, Nephrite's creepy haunted house that they probably have to go back to and burn to the ground with purifying powers, the soul shooting gun, there was still Jadeite, and Mamoru said he wasn't that bad anymore, but like, who knew, right? There were the Outer Senshi, and nd there were still random monsters to fight, and just attacking at random, all the time. It was... it was honestly a lot.

And it felt like, lately, there was no break. No stopping point. Just go, go, go.

So Naru has a point. And maybe - "I guess. It just... I don't want to be mad at everyone. But it's not fair! We've been doing all of this for so long! And there's no break! I could use a break. A sanity break. And everyone in our class is scaring me all the time and they aren't even trying too anymore -" hahaha a deep breath. "Sorry. Hinoiri-chan said she'll let me wear her necklace in class, as like, a charm to help me not be scared, and it does help, but it's just - you know, I was really hoping the culture festival would be fun and cute and instead it's scary just like life."

She is hugging Naru now. She is hugging Naru as tight as she can. They are supporting each other, leaning on each other. "Yeah. We're not... alone. We've got each other, and our friends. And anyone giving you a hard time is dumb. I can't take on Sunbreaker all by myself! And Inai-sensei says I'm one of the stronger magical people out there, because I just have so much to throw around. Probably no one could except Mamochan, and that's because he's super strong and messed up because of all that Dark Energy and his regular stuff going on. If anyone thinks that you're weak, or incapable, just because you don't have magic, they're - they're stupid." Completely stupid! Totally and utterly just an idiot!

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Chrono and I decided that the world can just end without us for a couple of hours." Naru squeezes her bestie tightly. "Which isn't much and it certainly isn't /enough/, but it's something. We should take a few more of those couple of hours. It's hard to turn the brain off, but seriously.. we just /have/ to. There's too much, and if we're ragged before any of the actual big things ever happen, we'll be even more screwed."

Marathon. Not a sprint.

"Did you notice that Hinoiri's necklace is warm?" Naru comments quietly, with a little bit of a smile. "I don't think it's wholly mundane. Which tracks, she's the most casually magic of anyone I know."

Another tight squeeze from Naru to Usagi. "We've got friends, we've got each other, and we'll manage this. Even if it sucks immensely on the way, because we are awesome." She gives a little nudge. "Even when we don't exactly feel awesome."