abnormalizes | Seasons: IC Contact/Continuations

[Taking Eva out on a quest was a nice idea Louis had, he thinks - he just wanted to get her away for a little bit, just spend an afternoon somewhere they can sort of relax and do something she'd enjoy.
Of course, most people wouldn't see any of the quests in the Winter segment as "relaxing" or "enjoyable", considering how cold it is, but hey - bundle up enough and surely it'll be just as fun and enjoyable as any other, right?
Haha, yeah. That's how Louis sees it, anyway.

Which is why he's currently cradling a glowing rock in his hand, nice and bright to lure out those Fluorescent Hares, while going through his hammerspace purse for a few others... he still has glowing gems from the Hell dimension, after all.
What a sentence.]

... Are we sure these stones are bright enough for those pesky hares? I feel as though we might need something brighter, but I'd rather not risk losing any light from my belongings, either...

[She can keep herself warm, so it's fine by her And honestly, this quest should be easy enough.]

Well, if we need something brighter, I can always set myself on fire again.

[Said without a change of expression.]

You - what? Excuse me?

[Asked as he looks at her, blinking as if he's very obviously startled.]

... When have you set yourself on fire before?

[Blinking in return.]

Oh, right, this would've been before you were here? Criminals blocked out the sun and took out the power to the city in order to cause chaos, so the place was pitch black. And I can make fire harmless and was out rescuing people from gang members, so...

... So you opted to light yourself on fire, perhaps multiple times.
I suppose that makes sense, if you can make it "harmless" - it's an easy source of light in reach at any time - but...

[Y'know. Fire??]

It was useful! And straightforward, and super bright. See?

[Foosh, there she goes, on fire. It crackles as any fire would, but she doesn't so much as flinch.]

[- Honestly, she's lucky Louis's not the type to startle, or that definitely would have made him jump a foot in the air like a cat.

...

But he is going to look between her, the fire, and back to her, before just... reaching out to touch it? Slowly and carefully, of course, like it's definitely gonna burn.]

... Hm.
Summer thing, I assume?

[It does not hurt! But it does spread to his fingers.]

Yep! Creating fire and making fire harmless are both summer powers.

[Ah - he's on fire now. Apparently.
Just gonna... wiggle his fingers, there, above her shoulder where he'd had his hand hovering.]

Yes, this definitely does seem like the sort of power this place would just give to people... I suppose it has its benefits, though it's strange that you'd be given an entirely cosmetic power such as this.
All of mine have been... well, it feels rude to say useful, a power like this has use, but none of mine have been purely cosmetic.

Even though I sort of wish they have. There's just no way to keep your hair nice when you're practicing with wind.

I can make fire I didn't create harmless, too? So, like, I could rescue people from a burning building or something like that.

[Not really cosmetic!]

Ah - that's something I hadn't considered... I thought it was just for fire that you created, which, well. It would be entirely cosmetic, in that case.
But if you can do this to preexisting fires... yes, that would be a lot more useful.

So it's more of a skill that happens to have cosmetic uses, then.

[Which he's still checking out, mind you. Even getting a step closer to look at the fire closer, even though, you know, it's still fire.
It may not be burning him, but it's still, like, bright?? Why is he like this.]

[Moth-ass man.]

Pretty much! If you want a cosmetic power, summers learn cosmetic shapeshifting before they learn how to add limbs and stuff. Sometimes I use it to change my hairstyle.

[Moth-ass man that has several lighters in his hammerspace bag.]

I wouldn't call shapeshifting cosmetic, exactly... such a power is intended for stealth, isn't it? Sneaking and the like.
But it's good to find uses for it otherwise.

... Your hairstyle, though? Do you not like styling your hair?

I don't mind it, but shapeshifting is faster and easier, and sometimes I'm in a rush? Plus I can do things like alter my hair length at will.

[She suddenly has a pixie cut.]

[His eyebrows scrunch up, and he's finally moving his hand elsewhere - to play with her hair, of cousre. Because Louis is nothing if not very tactile when he's allowed to be.]

... I can't say I relate; if I'm going to style my hair, then I will, and even a rush won't stop me.
But then again, it's something I take a lot of joy in. As I'm sure you can imagine.

[Not allowed to do it himself while he was alive, so he's taken to it pretty readily now that he's dead.]

Regardless - this does seem very useful for styles that would require cutting it. There are so many I could never try, as that'd require going at my hair with scissors, and, well -
No.

[She leans into it, humming contentedly at his touch.]

Bad experiences...?

... Any time I attempted to grow my hair out, inevitably someone would have it cut off again.

[The "someone" probably isn't hard to guess. It's also said with a blase shrug, even as he goes from playing with her hair to just holding her cheek gently.]

Among the living, it's usually considered "messy" or "abnormal" for a man to have long hair - unless they're some sort of rock star, which obviously wasn't in the cards for me.
So mine was cut on a routine, even when I expressed that I wanted to try it long.

Yeah, that sounds like your shit parents.

[She hates them so much.]

I wish I could give you my powers. I'd help you do whatever you dreamed of with your hair in a heartbeat, even if it meant that I couldn't do it anymore.

Seasons: IC Contact/Continuations

im just gonna put this right in ur inbox

i'm already sorry

... i never got the notif and just assumed you were also sleepy whoops

notifs o9

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