You Look Good With Curls [Ada, Yugiri]

It was strange to be talked into something like this, Yugiri had kept her hair quite long since she arrived. Cutting it all off was just something she hadn't considered since staying with Ada, there were other things on her mind but they all still needed for her to figure out how to go about them. Maybe she should just try and make her own way rather than trying to rely on people of more wisdom than her on the subjects.

With Ada behind her and working her hair, Yugiri was fairly silent throughout the whole process. She didn't really know what she wanted to talk about or if she should given how meticulate it must be of work with how much hair Ada was working with. It'd probably distract her to get involved in conversation.

At least it wasn't knotty. Yugiri always kept her hair somewhat tidy and groomed, but it was inevitable to have some rough spots with how much hair that was being worked on here.

It had been a touch surprising that Yugiri had accepted her offer, if Ada was to be honest. She'd seemed a touch reserved about her appearance, after all. The offer to put her hair into curls like her own had almost just been intended as a bit of a friendly joke, but given that Yugiri had accepted, Ada certainly wouldn't let her down.

"You really have lovely hair, you know. I know quite a few girls who would practically kill for it. And a few men, for that matter."

While Ada's own hair was in much a similar style, she was definitely not used to putting hair quite so long into curls like this. They were proving...well, very large.

Yugiri didn't get why people envied her appearance or features, she was fairly critical of it and also very apathetic on top of it. The combination of feelings really didn't do much in the way of making her understand she might've been quite the looker.

"Why would they do that? I'd like to see them try anyway."

Yeah, any of those girls or guys would totally get beaten up if they tried to fight her over something as trivial as her hair. Yugiri also moved her head a little bit as she did it, probably disrupting the woman's work that she hadn't considered. She had really just let Ada do whatever to her hair.

"Well, I doubt they could take you on for it. But people do take their appearance very seriously, and you're a very pretty woman. I can certainly imagine people would want to look like you."

Ada, of course, was not the sort to be jealous of anyone's appearance. She didn't think she looked perfect, of course, but she was certainly not the kind of woman to lament her looks and compare them to others.

"But appearance is hardly everything in the world, if you can forgive me for saying something so obvious. And, less obviously, I find we often seem more attractive based on other considerations than just our appearance. Confidence, temperament, achievements, these all convey more value than just outward looks."

"I guess it depends. I do have a pretty good list of tricks up my sleeve."

She listened to Ada explain attractiveness, it was kind of interesting. Yugiri did think about it a bit after all, she had never considered things like this.

"You think so? What about if the person's a different sex? Does all that stuff outweigh their looks?"

Yugiri asked the question without skipping a beat, having Kokoro come to mind for her. Did she like girls not for the sake that they were girls? It still seemed super weird to have a trend. Yugiri didn't really expand on it, she wanted to make it sound like she was asking about a topic completely unrelated to Yugiri and things that bothered her.

"Well, I think at that point the question comes down to the individual. There are certainly some people who would not generally find any appeal in the same sex, but could nevertheless become attached to specific people simply because of other factors. I cannot exactly say I understand such things myself, but I have seen it happen enough to think it is true."

Ada shrugged at the thought, just giving Yugiri what felt like an honest answer. She had no particularly strong feelings toward those sorts of people, but she also couldn't grasp feeling any attraction to another woman.

"Attraction can often grow out of emotional or interpersonal connections. I doubt you have ever heard of the term 'friendzone,' but there is a rather common perception that once two people have become close to each other in a non-romantic manner, they cannot become attracted. I have never understood that outlook, myself. After all, would an ideal partner not be someone whose company you enjoy even outside of mere romantic ideals? Perhaps I am simply an old woman, but I consider a true deep-seated affection to only be possible toward those with whom you have developed a truly meaningful bond."

"Really? Hmm."

She thought to it, did Kokoro have any reason to feel that way? It didn't make sense for her cousin to have been interested in her because of her being a woman. Yugiri didn't like that, it meant it sounded way deeper. So where did these feelings develop from? How did she miss it?

"If that's so, what's the difference between a romantic bond and a bond between friends? That sounds like anyone you're good friends with is someone to consider pursuing romance with, or something.. What about family bonds and all that stuff?"

Yugiri gave Ada question after question, she was a wise woman after all. She had answers and maybe Yugiri was talking about it a bit more than she initially wanted to, except for help to settle the thoughts on her mind.

"Well, you would not wish to make love to a friend, yes? I suppose that willingness to share oneself even bodily with another is ultimately the place wherein that matter is raised. Physical passion being born of that otherwise emotional attraction. But I do know people who have raised families with those they simply considered dear friends. Love is a complex matter, and I suspect there is no single answer as to how it should be considered for everyone. Though...well, I personally doubt there are many who consider the bonds of family to be inherently attractive. Those are a bit different, I would think."

That was a more complicated issue, but Ada didn't mind. She enjoyed these sorts of discussions, particularly given she had very few people to normally hold them with. The fact that she was ultimately not well-versed on the matter of love from a practical standpoint was not a huge concern, either.

"I would assume that those who develop such feelings even over the bond of family are those whose reliance on the object of affection has reached an unhealthy degree. Either this family member is the only person they feel they can trust, or something has simply left them to only feel a significant bond with said family. That would, in my view, likely be the reason for the relative prominence of oedipal and electran tendencies when it comes to these sorts of incestuous interests. This is not to call these things justified, of course. My own bloodline surely used such things for the sake of breeding, and I know other nobles have always done much the same, but it is a quite unpleasant thing, to put things very plainly."

"Well, no..."

For a moment she didn't really know how to respond, then she had the visual image of herself and Erchanhardt and that really had her shaking her head to reinforce Ada's point. What an uncomfortable thought, made no less uncomfortable by the fact that said person's daughter was right behind her. Ugh.

Then the conversation touching on what she did want to know had to get her thinking, did something about those strike her in regards to Kokoro? How did Kokoro get so attached to her? Yugiri always tried to be distant to everyone, just because she acknowledged Kokoro though... Did that really make such an unhealthy obsession form? Wasn't Kokoro also the most outgoing and willing to be rebellious of them? Yugiri would think that'd make her find her family the last group to be attracted to when so few accepted her.

Why'd everything need to be complex.

"Right. Yeah, that makes sense."

Her response was fairly reserved, just trying to think back how she could consider Ada's words of wisdom.

Ada admittedly hadn't considered how that question would come across until Yugiri shook her head, and she frowned a little bit to herself upon the realization. Well, that definitely would have made anyone uncomfortable. Even if Ada wouldn't have inherently minded them...you know...the thought of actually implying it like that did make her a little uncomfortable. Oops.

"Love is a complicated thing, and I cannot pretend to understand everyone's view of it. Some people fall in love quickly, some people never do at all. The circumstances of our lives certainly influence who we come to feel so strongly for, and of course the circumstances of our birth."

Finishing up the first of the large curls she'd been working on, Ada moved onto the next, giving Yugiri a bit of time to think about what she'd said.