[MINGLE] One-Man Show

[sixthiteration]

WHERE: Inari Shrine and elsewhere
WHEN: 25 January 2019 through ?
OPEN TO: All opted in characters
WARNINGS: Please warn in the subject line of your comment as needed, and remember to move anything turning adult to a new post.
IMPORTANT NOTES: Final reminders and informational links are here. Please label all top-levels clearly so that there is no confusion who they are open to and what they are for, and DON'T FORGET TO ADD YOUR TAG!
Have fun and ask questions here!

Comments

[to_defend]

No one's ever tried to stop her, before. Well, Eddie had tried, but he'd failed, and he had chased after her. But the ragdolls had always just let her run. At first, she turns and glares at Steph, but it's more born out of confusion than any actual malice, then Reeve has a gentle hand on her and Rinoa too.

There are a few beats that she doesn't move, looking from one person to another with steady breaths and an almost wild expression, but their words are kind, their attention kind, and aside from receiving reassurances that her true form wasn't going to push them away, neither - apparently - were her actions. Gradually, her breathing evens out, and she reaches up to put a hand over Reeve's, looking at each person in turn. She's not smiling, but the edge is gone and she's appreciative to have met people like this.

"I ... miss that. I miss being myself." Small, deft, not bound by the restrictions of thus human body. "I miss them, I miss 2." It all tumbles out; given what she's already been through with these people, what she's already seen, and how they've all come together to make her feel welcomed and safe, it all tumbles out. She'll never feel as comfortable as a human as she did when she was cloth and steel, and she'll always look for her friends in the people she met here.

But sometimes; sometimes they were just new people, a collection of too many habits that were familiar and otherwise, and for now she just appreciates each of them as they are.

[spoileralert]

Steph releases her at the glare, looking apologetic. The reassurances from Reeve and Rinoa seem a little odd to her, but...

"I'm sorry. I miss my friends too." They might arrive here to see her, whether 7 wants them to or not, but Steph doesn't say that. It might not be exactly comforting.

"It must be weird, getting used to a human body."

Then something clicks.

"Wait, is that what you're upset about? Not being human? Did somebody say something?" She'll break their nose if they did.

"I mean, no offense to anyone here, but as a rule humans pretty much suck."

[plate_builder]

"I can't exactly argue against Steph's point," Reeve admitted, squeezing 7's arm briefly. then he drops the touch because this might be too much. Doesn't want to overwhelm her just yet. "I can't say that humans have done much good."

Still, he intends to keep looking after the woman.

"I'm sure if anyone says or acts cruelly toward you, Steph will bop them in the nose. She's got the spirit for it."

And speaking of... He was definitely a bit worried about her now. One more memory to get through, and he didn't want to know what had hurt his friend so much before. Clearly there is math he can do here, and he knows what is coming next. Her, and something to do with what she had seen. The pain he'd already seen around the village.

[alittlelonger]

"I miss mine too," Rinoa echoes. "I miss Squall." She doesn't want to keep saying it forever, but it's still going to be true for the foreseeable future. He saved her from space, and she almost wished the memory continued so she could see his face again. This place seemed moderately innocent before, but now she wasn't so sure.

She hadn't thought of someone being mean to 7 about not being human, but she furrows her eyebrows too. That would not be okay. "People here are generally more accepting of those who are different than anyone I've come across in my world." Different was not good there. "I would hate to find myself in a different body, as a different species, that must be really difficult. I'm sorry, 7."

She hasn't thought about how they still had one more person here without a memory. Her mind wasn't moving that fast, slogging away.

[to_defend]

She's no longer running, at least, and she seems a little less tense then before, but everyone's words of encouragement against whatever slight she might have received aren't reassuring. She crosses her arms and sighs, hunching in on herself.

"No one's ... said anything, because no one knows. Just ... a couple close friends I could trust. No one's been mean. Humans weren't great in my world either, they are the reason they are no longer around." She takes an apologetic look at each of them, longer with Rinoa, because she hit the core of the issue.

"I don't feel like myself, like this. I don't like it, and I haven't gotten used to it." It seems like every time she gets a hang of one aspect of being human - sleeping, eating regularly, remembering to blink - something new happens that's another steep learning curve she's got to climb.

[plate_builder]

[OOC: Continued here, please see new warnings.]