(09-07-2018, 07:06 PM)robkelk Wrote: If we add that to the Halloween party story, he probably would.
Speaking of the Halloween party story, here's a line for you, riffing off a comment you made on the PiratePad.
Quote:"Ben, I'm the Goddess of the Past. All of my meaningful relationships - those kind of relationships - are in the past. That means I'm available. Want to go somewhere after this party, just the two of us?"
Heh. Ben would have a counter for that, but he's pretty sure that saying it out loud would land him in hot water. That counter being, "But by your own logic, wouldn't that just mean I'm another notch in your headboard once everything is said and done?"
I have all kinds of Asperger-style thoughts like this. The trouble for me? Balancing how badly needed the thought is against how many feathers it's going to ruffle.
But in this case, Ben would go for an assist with Belldandy because he knows she'd understand, her not judging Ben based on one statement and instead taking the big picture view. And she'd understand his concern completely, and then be able to relate this concern to Urd in a way that's not going to anger her.
Another bit we can have is Ben having a quiet moment with Keiichi, the two of them having talked about cars and engines for a bit.
Quote:"You know, I envy you, Keiichi."
"Ah-heh. I get that a lot."
"Well... this is different. A lot of people say that just based on the surface details. They see an utterly beautiful woman with a kind heart and not much more. They rarely look into the details. But me? I'm mildly Aspy - that is, someone with Asperger's Syndrome. It's a form of high-functioning autism that some of us don't think of as a handicap, but rather as having a different set of tools in our brains. I'm pretty sure you've noticed that I haven't had much trouble at all picking up calculus, right?"
"Yes..." replied Keiichi uncertainly.
"Well, imagine adapting that kind of ability and putting it to work in dissecting a person's character. The ability to break it down into the most basic elements and all the impetuses that drive them, and make out the strange connections between the various components that most others have difficulty even imagining. That's what I do when I get to know someone. Yes, it's cold and kinda dissociative, but it's just a simple matter of fact - this is how I function - how my CPU is laid out - and there's nothing I can ever do to change that fact.
"So, when I see Belldandy, I don't just see a kindhearted beauty. I look for the reasons why she is so kind and gentle to everyone. I look for the subtleties that others miss. I carefully watch her eyes, her mouth, the way she walks and talks. And I can tell you right now, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that Belldandy is God's Treatise on the perfect ideal of what a woman is.
"I know that you know she is a Goddess, and that she is practically perfect. But I know it as well. Not based on some snap judgment or just on what someone else has told me. I don't simply know that she is perfect. I come to as full of an understanding of Belldandy as is possible through my interactions with her. And because of that, Keiichi, I envy you a great deal."
Keiichi gave Ben a worried look, but Ben caught it right away and gave the other man a small, sad smile.
"Don't worry. I know you love her a great deal. And that is something that I would protect. I could never be so evil of a person as to even attempt to take that away from you."
Ah yes, the melancholy is strong tonight.