(Untitled)

[cleverestofall]

 Ushas is not in the habit of asking anyone for help, but if she's here now, she may as well put the opportunity to good use; she is nothing if not practical, after all. Shifting uncomfortably on one of the sofas, she mumbles, "Alright. I'm not keen on this. But

Comments

[fireburned]

"The fuck?" Harvestman is quite a useless person to answer this question. "Get therapy."

[cleverestofall]

Ushas tilts her head back and raises an eyebrow up at the stranger, very coolly indeed. "How charming of you. Why would I do that? My mental health is undoubted. I'm the most rational person I have ever met."

[fireburned]

He rolls his eyes. It's almost as if he's a teenager and not a vampire. "You don't get romantic love, sounds like. You don't get sex. You got no idea how to go 'bout wooing some guy. You either need to talk to someone 'bout how you function emotionally, or read a romance novel. You'll get into his pants either way."

[cleverestofall]

"Of course I don't get romantic love," Ushas says, sounding almost angry. "There's nothing to get. It's hugely irrational. But surely on some level- an intellectual respect for someone and a...natural biological desire born of an outdated instinct to ensure my race's survival despite technology that renders that instinct obsolete- surely it's just a confusion of the two that I'm feeling."

[iczer6]

Okay first thing is that the way love is often described in books and movies isn't how it works in real life. That you're not 'flying to moon on gossamer wings of love' is actually pretty normal'.

And emotions aren't rational but just because they aren't doesn't mean they're worthless.

Honestly getting therapy might not be a bad idea because it seems you really don't know how to relate to someone on an emotional level. This doesn't mean you're flawed or bad though.

[fredman72]

"You hang out with them, and enjoy being with them," says the tall, sandy haired nerd type who replies. "And you don't let anybody tell you that you have to do the nasty with them."

[hotshot_momma]

Love. Or the beginnings of it.

Trust me, first - and second and third and Nth - times I fell for someone, it did NOT feel like an amazing technicolor dreamworld. More - as you say - breathing easier around them, wanting to impress them, feeling like looking at them was 'bout as nourishing as a square meal.

[save_us_alice]

Alice rocks back and forth on her heels, frowning a little. "It sounds like what one would call a 'crush,' she offers up. "An early version of love. As for what you should do --" She stops, then sighs. "I almost wish someone could tell me," she admits. "Your situation sounds somewhat similar to my own. When my aunt first started talking about marriage to me, I was utterly uninterested in the idea. I didn't think I needed anyone by my side, didn't care to fall in love -- and besides, according to my world, I'm 'damaged goods' when it comes to matrimony. But then I -- I met this young man, and. . . ." She stares off into the distance for a moment.

Then she shakes her head. "Perhaps you should focus on making him think you're impressive. It might make you feel -- better, I don't know. Do you know what will impress him?"

[cleverestofall]

Ushas grimaces at the idea of a 'crush', but she has to admit that it makes some sense. "He's impressed by...power. And intelligence. And daring. But he also wants someone who'll swoon over all his achievements and be impressed by every single one of his schemes, and I'm not going to do that." She gives the other girl an awkward smile and asks, "What's yours like?"

[save_us_alice]

Alice looks thoughtful. "Well, you said you were certainly intelligent enough, so that's one thing settled. How do you best show someone you're daring, though. . . ." She grimaces slightly at her mention of "swoon over all his achievements." "I wouldn't do that either. I would give him the respect he's due, naturally, but it would take rather a lot to get me to swoon. And besides, if you want him to find you impressive, it might be better not to play the eager fan."

Alice returns it. "Very shy and prone to being nervous. He's the quiet sort, the kind who tends to prefer his own company to anyone else's. But he's also incredibly sweet and quite the gentleman. And from what I've seen, he has at least a small adventurous side -- he's adapted to being thrown over a hundred years into the future, after all." Her smile fades. "That's part of the trouble, honestly -- I met him here, and though we seem to share a memory of meeting as children, I can't be absolutely positive he's the same boy I met. Alternates are such tricky things. . . ."