5th floor common room, Tuesday Night

[withoutverona]

Romeo was channel-surfing, which was not entirely unusual.

What was unusual, though, was how carefully he was listening to the actual words people were using, instead of dismissing them as baby talk and watching the picture to put the story together.

he was hoping for a fake-Big Brother, and possibly some other friends, to try his enhanced (or possibly reduced) vocabulary on.

Comments

[takingthedayoff.livejournal.com]

"The point is that we're all daft sometimes. There's no shame in acknowledging that and if you have to do it, you might as well use as few words as possible. If that doesn't work for you, try some others. When someone walks into a room, it's okay to shout their name in greeting. So instead of 'hello!' I'd shout 'Norm!' or 'Romeo!' or whatever the case might be. Or try this one. It's great for those times when you don't have any normal words that will express how you're feeling: 'buzzard on a buzzsaw!'"

[withoutverona]

"Ferris!" Romeo tried. "Though, i'faith, I have done that. It seems easier than 'God ye good e'en,' which I should say at home." He snickered as he repeated "buzzard on a buzzsaw," savoring the words.

[takingthedayoff.livejournal.com]

"Now put some twang into it. It's said better with a southern accent. Buzzard on a buzzsaw!"

[withoutverona]

Romeo tried to comply, though his Southern accent was hideous by any standard. "Buzzahd onna buzzsah, thankyaverymuch."

[takingthedayoff.livejournal.com]

For some reason, this was the funniest thing on Earth to Ferris right now. "Perfect. Absolutely perfect. But seriously, fitting in is easy. All you have to do is listen and watch other people and be confident. You pick it up in no time and in the meantime, let the confidence tide you over until you get it right."

[withoutverona]

Romeo wasn't crazy about what he heard as Ferris' suggestion he was somehow getting it wrong, but he understood the sentiment was well-meant.

"Confidence generally helps in any setting," he observed instead.

[takingthedayoff.livejournal.com]

"It doesn't just help, it's the guiding force in getting what you want. Maybe stay away from the southern twang though. It's not for everybody."

[withoutverona]

"Certainly not for me," Romeo agreed, a little absently. He'd have to think about the confidence theory. "I always felt that getting what you want depended on other forces being in alignment."

[takingthedayoff.livejournal.com]

"That's a myth perpetuated by a society that wants you to sit down, shut up and do what you're told. Getting what you want is only a matter of tweaking the circumstances and moving pieces into position. It takes a good amount of planning, but it's always possible."

[withoutverona]

Juliet would have agreed instantly, but Romeo was not his wife. "But what if what -- or who -- you want does not want you?"

[takingthedayoff.livejournal.com]

"There are ways around that. Got your eye on someone?"

[withoutverona]

"Not now, I speak of something that happened some time ago," Romeo said. "She was a daughter of a family that did not care for mine, and she herself cared little for me, I fear, despite my every effort. And she was planning to become a nun."

[takingthedayoff.livejournal.com]

"Every situation is different, but the important thing to remember is that with everything there's give and take. You can get what or who you want no matter what, it's all about how much you're willing to sacrifice and what you're willing to do to get the other person to like you. Every situation is a matter of setting up the right circumstances at the right time. Sometimes you have to decide between morals and doing the right thing or getting what you want, but it's still doable."

[withoutverona]

...and this is what Romeo looks like when a point flies thousands of feet above his head, so he focused on the words he understood. "Of course there is always sacrifice in love, it should hardly be love if it came easily."

[takingthedayoff.livejournal.com]

"But is it love if you have to work so hard to get it? Shouldn't love be something that you feel without trying?" Ferris could get on board with the subject shift.

[withoutverona]

"The feeling is the easy part, it is the convincing her to feel, and then getting the universe to let you love, that are the trick," Romeo argued.

[takingthedayoff.livejournal.com]

"Well played. Girls will always, always be the most difficult thing in the world to play."