inhuman observation

"It is absurd to divide people into good and bad. People are either charming or tedious." Izaya Orihara | Information Broker Izaya Orihara Roleplay Blog

[cxriseanglo]

"Hm, someone who is a professional stalker is trustworthy? I’m shocked." Smiling, Shiloh stared into his eyes, trying to figure out just what exactly he was trying to get at as he spoke. "You’ve only just now played me in chess, surely you can’t know that much about me." Glancing away to look at the board, the girl tried to figure out just how she was going to win the game. She really had no clue. Her concentration was broken when he mentioned how she was easy to read, green hues shooting up to meed red. "I am? No, I wasn’t aware of that…" She thought she was good at concealing what she truly felt about things.

[redeyedobserver]

"So hurtful, Shiloh-chan," he shook his head.  "Have I ever lied to you?"  Izaya wanted to know, tipping his head to one side and watching her carefully.  "But people play chess differently depending on how they think--and I know how you think, so I know how you play chess."  He stated this with total confidence, as if it was a given fact that shouldn't have surprised her at all.  "Oh, Shiloh-chan, you're too innocent," he informed her, somewhat amused that it was so easy to draw her attention away from the chess game.  "All of your emotions show on your face, even if you don't say what you mean.  You're lucky that you don't have a job that requires you to lie to people."

[cxriseanglo]

One Summer's Day || Redeyedobserver

[cxriseanglo]

"Uh…." Shiloh responded, looking to him with an eyebrow raised as he used that type of "logic" against her. "Honestly, that makes little to no sense, Izaya." She responded, a slight smile on her lips, only to laugh when he made the pun. "Hm, a hired stalker, then. It’s like a chain, I suppose. If people were more interesting than animals, then don’t you think that there would be less videos of cats for everyone to freak out over?" Rolling her eyes at him when he oh so kindly made the comment of her sweet tooth, Shiloh laughed. "I’ll be fine, I have healthy teeth. Sweet is so much better than bitter anyway. Can someone ever be comforted by bitter foods? I mean, come on, that seems a bit ridiculous." Finishing up her sweetened coffee, Shiloh hummed lightly and set the mug back down on the table, an amused look on her face. "So, what’s the most interesting job you’ve had to do? Not the way you got information, but the actual job itself?"

[redeyedobserver]

"It makes perfect sense," he protested, sitting up straighter and looking indignant.  "Nope, I'm not the stalker--I'm just a resource," he asserted.  "Would you say that binoculars are spies, because someone else is using them to spy on someone?  Or call a knife a murderer, because someone else bought it to kill someone?  Of course not," he concluded.  He laughed when she mentioned the popularity of cat videos.  "But those are popular because of humans--because they have a reaction to cats!  So really, the interesting thing about those is that they have such an effect on people."  He sipped at his coffee as she spoke.  "Ahh, but I would not be comforted by sweet foods--I don't like them.  There's nothing comforting about inviting bacteria in to rot your teeth, you know," he smiled, refusing to let it go.  His eyes lit up at her final question.  "Hmm," Izaya considered.  "Let's see, I've found some interesting people, and objects, so it'll be one of those.  I found a shipment, once, for some people, but that's not really a story I can tell you.  So maybe," he thought for a moment, "Oh!  That's right.  I retrieved an object of scientific interest this past year.  That would be it."

[cxriseanglo]

"I’m starting to think that it doesn’t matter who starts it, rather, you two need someone who can finish it, hmm?" Reaching over, Shiloh scoldingly and rather gently pinched his cheek, a teasing smile on her face. "Come on, let’s head out. It’s gonna be getting crowded soon if we don’t."

[redeyedobserver]

"Well," Izaya sighed, "It'll be over when we die, I guess!  Or when he starts leaving me alone, of course--but Shizu-chan's so irrational, I can't imagine he'll ever do that."  His expression and tone mostly spoke to some sort of long-suffering martyrdom, but there was a hint of satisfaction in his gaze.  "Yes, let's go," he agreed.

[cxriseanglo]

"Lonely doesn’t necessarily mean a bad thing, you know." Smiling when he used one of her previous statements against her about everyone’s birthday should be celebrated, Shiloh shook her head in defeat and nodded. "Alright, you win. Let’s go."

[redeyedobserver]

Izaya shook his head. "Alone isn't necessarily a bad thing, but lonely is, isn't that right? It means you're sad because you're alone."  He grinned when she acquiesced, "Of course I do, because I'm right."  He wrapped a hand around her wrist and tugged her along, like an impatient child.  "Let's go!"

[cxriseanglo]

"I wonder if that expression holds any truth to it? I suppose it depends on the person who is saying or hearing it. You do live a rather interesting life. I think, I’d rather have an interesting life than a boring and normal one. I mean, if you live a calm life constantly, the second something goes wrong it’s gonna be chaos everywhere. I’m sure you’ve seen a film where it’s the quiet little town and all the sudden something bad happens and everyone practically destroys themselves because they can’t figure out how to deal with the situation. Though, that is on a rather large scale. I think for me, I’d be fine living a calm life for a little while, or, at least I’d like to stay in one place for a little longer than a year." She smiled wistfully at the ground, "Though, I shouldn’t complain about moving around so much. I’m so, so lucky to see the things I’ve seen in my life, right?" Looking back up at his face, the Brit nodded and smiled regularly, "I doubt I’ll be in a relationship by then, but maybe you’ll have a lover. I guess we’ll have to see."

[redeyedobserver]

Izaya shrugged, in a noncommittal way.  He wasn't inclined to speak on the subject of love.  For one thing, it wasn't something he typically interfered with, because there was no sense to it.  For another, he avoided attachment, personally, and that was a topic he didn't intend to broach.  So he made it sound as though he was board.  "May you live an interesting life," he spoke the words carefully, deliberately, as though deciding how they sounded.  "Ahh, but I'm not concerned about that.  There's always a way to make things interesting.  But even that becomes--typical--" he had taken a moment to pick a word, "After a while, and so you have to go deeper, and deeper, and then--" he half-smiled, "Is there a bottom, Shiloh-chan?"  He didn't wait for an answer.  "Well, seeing things is lucky, but so is choosing where to go and what to say.  But you're almost an adult now, ne?  Soon you get to choose whatever you want."

[cxriseanglo]

"Which is why I speak it as a first language and don’t have to learn it as a second because I think I would die from irritation." Shiloh sighed and shook her head as he countered her statement once more, "I’m not as weak as I look, you know. I might only a hundred and sixty centimeters tall but I’m not that pathetic. I’ve got a knife myself and I know how to use it, so I think I’ll live." How the hell was he able to do such a good impression of her? It was slightly unnerving. Her gaze was cast downward as he leaned closer, white teeth tugging at her lower lip. "I’m fine, Izaya." Her voice was low, hoping to get it across that she didn’t want to talk about the subject he was pressing her about. "I’m not afraid of you since you’re not scary and thunder is a fear that little kids have. I am not a child, Izaya. I’m not—" Her words were cut off by a loud crack of thunder, a hand clasping over her mouth to cover the squeak that escaped it. Her knuckles had gone white with her grip on the umbrella, the whole thing lightly trembling with her shaky hands. "I’ll be fine." Though, the comment was more of a reassurance to herself than anything. 

[redeyedobserver]

"Well, lucky you," he smirked, "Tell me, Shiloh-chan, how is my English?  Your grammar is so very annoying," he sighed dramatically, but raised his eyebrows at her next assertion.  "Oh?  Know how to use it, do you?  We'll test that sometime, shall we?  You know, it's very dangerous to carry a weapon if you're not good with it.  Someone could use it against you."  If they hadn't been standing out in the rain, huddled beneath an umbrella, he might have made her demonstrate right then.  However, there was something far more interesting to focus the conversation on just then.  "We'll work on the not scary later," he informed her, eyes narrowing.  "And little kids can be scared of thunder, but so can older people, ne?"  He wrapped his hand over hers that held the umbrella, steadying it.  "Ishyo ni eki ni ikimashou."

[cxriseanglo]

"I already set my boundaries, did I not? Nothing life threatening, nothing that would impede my schedule, and nothing sexual. I trust you enough to know you won’t cross those set boundaries." Laughing slightly as he asked her a counter question, Shiloh shook her head. "That’s what I’m talking about. You’re getting a little too cocky and that might just lead to your downfall. I think in chess it’s always a good idea to know your opponent beforehand so you can try to anticipate their moves." Though with Izaya being Izaya, Shiloh had absolutely no clue as to what his next move would be. For all she knew, it could easily be her downfall. 

[redeyedobserver]

"You did," he agreed, the light making his eyes seem a little bit deeper red than usual.  "And don't worry, Shiloh-chan, I wouldn't dream of betraying your trust.  I'm a very trustworthy person," he informed her, not a trace of guilt on his features at the lie.  "Ahh, but isn't that only when I overestimate my skill?  Like I said, I know what I'm capable of--and what you're capable of, too," he informed her, running a finger along the edge of the board as he thought.  "You're too easy to read, Shiloh-chan--has anyone told you that before?"

[cxriseanglo]

"Twenty-three is a good age," Shiloh concurred, nodding her head. "Well, I’m sure you did something not too long ago that he’s probably still pissed off about." Shiloh mentally made a checklist in her head of things she had in her apartment. She figured they could go there afterwards and she could surprise him with a small bittersweet cake. 

[redeyedobserver]

Izaya smiled and hummed as he checked his text messages.  "That's so silly.  I've never done anything to Shizu-chan--that he didn't deserve, anyway.  He starts it, you know," he said with all the gravity of a two-year-old asserting that some spat wasn't really his fault.

[cxriseanglo]

One Summer's Day || Redeyedobserver

[cxriseanglo]

"Hm, I do trust you, however I do know that even the most careful people can make a mistake and everything can come crashing down in a matter of seconds. It’s a bit morbid, but it is true, you know." Setting her mug on the table, Shiloh crossed her legs, smoothing out her shirt. "You know, you’re kinda like a professional stalker." The way he was so eccentrically talking about human lives was rather amusing to the young girl, and with each moment she spent with him the more happy she was that she had bumped into him. It was rather interesting who you could just bump into on the street one hot summer day. "I think anything that is sentient is rather interesting, don’t you? Not just humans, but animals too. My favorite food?" Tapping her finger against her lower lip, Shiloh shrugged. "I like sweet things a lot. Maybe a parfait? I love strawberries and cream too, though…"

[redeyedobserver]

"Ahh, but I'm not just a careful person, I'm infallible--or, I haven't made a mistake yet, so there's no reason to think I ever will!"  Izaya responded brightly, his tone indicating that he saw nothing wrong with either the lack of logic or the excessive confidence in his reply.  "Oh, English is interesting--infallible, when we're talking about falling."  He laughed.  "Of course, stalking might imply that I pick who I'm investigating, ne?  Really, you might say my clients are stalking people, but through a surrogate.  Oh, but that's a rude thing to say--everyone has their reasons."  He nodded as though that settled everything.  Shiloh seemed more amused than disturbed by anything he'd said so far, and he'd begun to ramble a little bit more comfortably.  "Ahh, not really--sure, they're cute, but they're more like toys.  They don't think and reason, or have agency, or--ahh, I don't know the word in English.  People are much more interesting than animals."  He shook his head in feigned disapproval at her food preferences.  "So many sweets, Shiloh-chan.  Your teeth will rot, you know."

[cxriseanglo]

"That just makes me sound lonely, Izaya. Actually, what about going to the amusement park? It’s close, right? You don’t necessarily /have/ to do something. Sometimes wishing someone happy birthday is enough."

[redeyedobserver]

"But it's your birthday and you're alone--so you are lonely.  We can take the train, it's not too far.  Well, it's your birthday and you aren't celebrating it, so it would make me a bad friend if I didn't change that, ne?"

[cxriseanglo]

"Mmhm! What’s wrong with making myself a cake? I still don’t know Tokyo well yet. Maybe the zoo? You’re gonna make me feel guilty if you take me somewhere, though…"

[redeyedobserver]

"It means there's no one to make it for you, Shiloh-hime. Hmm, if you want--what about a restaurant, too? You haven't gone many places. Why feel guilty? It is your birthday, and I'm your friend, so I'm supposed to do something.

[cxriseanglo]

"It’s not that weird to make a cake for yourself, by the way. You really don’t have to do anything as well! Really, it isn’t a big deal."

[redeyedobserver]

"So you're nineteen, now? And it's your birthday, and you're making yourself a cake, so yes I do. Where do you want to go?"

[cxriseanglo]

"Hime…? I’m no princess, Izaya. You’ve not stopped by in a while, so I didn’t see the need to."

[redeyedobserver]

"But it's your birthday, isn't it? Ahh--I was out of the country for a little while, taking care of something.  But I'm back now, so--what do you want to do for your birthday?"

[cxriseanglo]

"Is it really that odd to make yourself a birthday cake on your birthday?"

[redeyedobserver]

"Yes. So, Shiloh-hime, why didn't you tell me it was your birthday?"

[the-muse-cafe-blog]

"Your the one who pisses me off enough to do it, Louse!" Shizuo snarls, not calming down the least bit in fact it was only getting worse as the Flea continued to act casual.

"Tch, that things a toothpick, it won’t do anything but scratch me. And since when was this your city?!"

[redeyedobserver]

"Well, I live here, don't I?" Izaya's smile widened.  "Since I was a kid!  I think I should be allowed to defend it from monsters, don't you think?  Isn't that every kid's dream?"  He laughed, "So, I'll defeat you before you can destroy any more of Tokyo!" he brandished the knife like a child with a toy sword.

[redeyedobserver]

the-muse-cafe

"I don’t leave you alone, because whenever you stink up the city your causing trouble!" Shizuo barks, gripping onto the sign tightly and effortlessly rips it from the ground.

"You're the one causing property damage," Izaya pointed out, leaning against the nearest wall and pretending to examine the blade of the knife.  "So if I stick you with this, I'm just defending my city, ne?"

[cxriseanglo]

One Summer's Day || Redeyedobserver

[cxriseanglo]

"Says the male who just adores running from rooftop to rooftop and giving his poor friend a heart attack by casually dangling himself off of the ledge.” Shiloh quipped, rolling her green hues at him. The redhead sipped at her coffee and stuck her out at him, “Does it really matter? I think it was because I was tired of being alone. Nobody wants to be alone forever. It is interesting how people change either for themselves or for their loved ones. Kinda like how when a kid refuses to eat their vegetables for so long and eventually the parents just give up and bend to the kid’s stubbornness. It happened with my mum and I. I can’t stand the taste of kale unless it’s cooked in vinegar or baked like a crisp. Though, I bet you just love the taste of bitter greens considering how you can drink black coffee.” 

[redeyedobserver]

"Ah, Shiloh, do you worry about me?" his eyes widened, "I'm so touched.  But also terribly hurt," he was abruptly sullen, "That you thinking I'm clumsy enough to let myself fall.  Do you trust me that little?"  He pouted, then shrugged.  "Ah, but what's wrong with being alone, if you can still show love?  It doesn't matter if you have someone near to you, or if you talk to them each day and know everything about them."  He continued, "I love all of humanity, and that's enough.  People are amazing--but the fact that watching them, seeing all of their lives, their decisions! that is the same, regardless as to what they feel back."  He spoke with authority, with the conviction of someone who has thought deeply about a subject.  "Bitter greens are nice," he agreed with her supposition.  "What's your favorite food, Shiloh-chan?"