Howard Bassem | Gone | 3i_sell_drugsMay 22 2011, 06:29:14 UTC
[Howard's life tends to be full of fear. The FAYZ will do that to you. Whether it's the niggling fear of never having enough food, or the more explicit fears of being eaten alive by insects, somehow fear always seems to get in the way of any total relaxation.
Never is that more the case than when he wakes up from a nightmare, finds ants in the bed, and can't find anything to snack on. It's a culmination of all his anxieties building on each other. He goes out to the couch in front of The Warehouse in his pajamas and barefeet, trying to decide between going to the mess hall or finding a can of RAID.]
Re: Howard Bassem | Gone | 3i_sell_drugsMay 23 2011, 19:31:02 UTC
"I'm just saying, it's not like people don't just randomly disappear. Here and back home. So yeah, maybe you will disappear tomorrow, and then what? Or yeah, maybe there's a limit to how much I did back there that you can give a pass to, then what?"
Re: Howard Bassem | Gone | 3zouichiMay 23 2011, 19:36:49 UTC
What exactly had Howard done, back in the FAYZ, that he had to worry about how much Zouichi could 'give a pass to'?
"Maybe. But... I don't know. Maybe you'll feel better if you tell someone. Even if I do disappear." He pauses. "Anyway, what do you care if I disapprove of you?"
Howard's never really given Zouichi the impression that he harbors much actual guilt about his past actions.
Re: Howard Bassem | Gone | 3i_sell_drugsMay 23 2011, 19:52:38 UTC
"Why's it weird that I care what you think? Oh, I forgot. One-sided friendships are totally what every growing teen needs," he says bitterly. "Nevermind. I didn't do anything awful."
Re: Howard Bassem | Gone | 3i_sell_drugsMay 23 2011, 21:09:15 UTC
"Let's just get something to eat," he interrupts the silence, still looking distraught, possibly a bit more than he had been as they reach the mess hall. The silence is making him anxious; he doesn't know what Z's made of the last few seconds. He grasps for a conversation topic. "If Stacy gives you anything we should compare and see if it tastes different than mine."
Re: Howard Bassem | Gone | 3zouichiMay 23 2011, 21:17:20 UTC
Zouichi blinks. "You sure you want to? Who knows what it's going to look like?"
What the ship ends up giving Zouichi is... some water. He looks down at it, then shrugs and drinks some. By now, he should be good for fifty years or something.
He sits down at one of the tables. "I meant that, you know."
Re: Howard Bassem | Gone | 3i_sell_drugsMay 23 2011, 21:41:00 UTC
"Seriously?" Howard says in response to Stacy's offering to Zouichi. He knew Zouichi didn't really need to eat, but actually seeing proof of it is a different thing. It's both awe-inspiring and jealousy-inducing.
"Yeah. I know." Rather than a 'me too', he pushes his tray to Zouichi. "You want a bite before I inhale this?"
Re: Howard Bassem | Gone | 3zouichiMay 23 2011, 23:14:00 UTC
Zouichi picked up a small portion of the slop with his fork; he didn't really want to eat it, but apparently this was important to Howard, so he took a bite.
He'd never tasted anything quite like it.
It was bad. It was terrible! It was awe-inspiring in its uniformity of texture and lack of taste. In fact, it's not just bland... it doesn't taste like anything. Somehow, the ship has managed to take sources of proteins, vitamins, carbohydrates, all the ingredients the human body needs, and somehow destroy every single flavor that must have been present in the final product. It's almost impossible to believe, but the evidence is there!
Re: Howard Bassem | Gone | 3i_sell_drugsMay 23 2011, 23:23:49 UTC
"Like flavorless Jello. I told you," Howard says, pulling the tray back to him and bringing his arm in front of it in a strange way of guarding it. He'd only been exaggerating a little about inhaling it; he eats it so fast he nearly chokes. But he seems to be calming down a little - at least one of his irrational fears is temporarily laid to rest.
Never is that more the case than when he wakes up from a nightmare, finds ants in the bed, and can't find anything to snack on. It's a culmination of all his anxieties building on each other. He goes out to the couch in front of The Warehouse in his pajamas and barefeet, trying to decide between going to the mess hall or finding a can of RAID.]
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Then he falls silent as well; he doesn't want to push Howard on this.
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"Maybe. But... I don't know. Maybe you'll feel better if you tell someone. Even if I do disappear." He pauses. "Anyway, what do you care if I disapprove of you?"
Howard's never really given Zouichi the impression that he harbors much actual guilt about his past actions.
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There's a long pause. "...are we friends?"
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Given how little he cares about most other people, hopefully Zouichi will understand his meaning.
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Instead: "Thanks."
A bit of silence there, while he digests this.
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What the ship ends up giving Zouichi is... some water. He looks down at it, then shrugs and drinks some. By now, he should be good for fifty years or something.
He sits down at one of the tables. "I meant that, you know."
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"Yeah. I know." Rather than a 'me too', he pushes his tray to Zouichi. "You want a bite before I inhale this?"
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He'd never tasted anything quite like it.
It was bad. It was terrible! It was awe-inspiring in its uniformity of texture and lack of taste. In fact, it's not just bland... it doesn't taste like anything. Somehow, the ship has managed to take sources of proteins, vitamins, carbohydrates, all the ingredients the human body needs, and somehow destroy every single flavor that must have been present in the final product. It's almost impossible to believe, but the evidence is there!
"Interesting," Zouichi says.
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"I've never had Jello," he says, mildly.
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