do you think that jak has a hard time in grocery stores (or big stores in general i guess), both times he comes back from deployment? does it ever abate or does he always need someone with him? /saw your hurt locker reblogs
I think it would abate, in time, because his... domestic instincts, i guess, are just so hot-wired into him. He’s made to be a family man, and so he’s made to be capable of maintaining and running a household. But, initially, yes, especially after his first tour. There’s just so much choice? And it’s not only the grocery shopping, which is more multi-layered. Choices in general are hard, when you’re used to following orders and not having to make many decisions completely on your own for so long, and then with the grocery shopping, it’s even worse.
He doesn’t give much thought to food, anymore. He’ll eat whatever is thrown in front of him, because denying food is denying the energy that could be the make it or break it of surviving another tussle, another battle, or, hell, another day. After the first tour, though, with his time as prisoner so fresh in his psyche, it’s not just about eating to have the strength to fight, it’s about the inconsistency, too: eat what’s given to you, when it’s given to you, because you don’t know when you’re getting fed again. It’ll take a while for that mentality to fade away.
The first few times he actually managed to come home with anything, it was likely all non-perishables. Protein bars, and juice pouches, and individually packaged snacks like trail mix and dried fruits, single serve juice crystals - the kind of things that you might find in MREs, but not the things you can make a real meal out of, or that he needs to worry about going bad.
It wouldn’t have even occurred to him to get household supplies, except maybe toilet paper and garbage bags. But cleaning supplies? Laundry detergent? Dish sponges, and air fresheners, and toiletries? Forget it. Toiletries might have crossed his mind, eventually, but the choices would be overwhelming. On a good day, he’d just calculate the prices to get the absolute best buy for ml or ounces per dollar or whatever, or buy whatever bar soap is most familiar from his time pre-war and use it for everything, his hair is likely cut short enough that it’s not going to matter, really, if he doesn’t use conditioner or a proper shampoo.
