[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

[firacrux]

An inside-out tent didn't quite do the image justice. A hollow world, with gravity that worked opposite that of a normal world, hanging within the atmosphere of another. It was completely impossible as far as he knew, and yet it sounded amazing. "That had to be some intense magic to pull that off. The fal'Cie?" It must be. Only thing that would make sense. Something like that couldn't exist within the bounds of normal nature.

Oh. Now he feels bad, didn't want to drudge up more painful memories. "Hyne... So you're stuck. Whether you want to or not." He frowns deeply, eyes casting back up to where the visions had been. Horrifying. To be stuck a mindless monster forever, presumably until someone killed you. If they could kill you.

A slow nod, then he turns to regard her again. "Was she here before?"

[tosavecocoon]

It was the strangest thing to imagine and Vanille might not have believed it if she hadn't seen it every day of her life and then actually traveled there. From the inside, it really looked exactly the same. It was impossible to tell the difference.

"I think so," she says. "They crafted Cocoon just for our Focus. But we won't let them destroy it." Not anymore. Thinking back to how far she and Fang have come, it's amazing. Incredible that they have a new family made up entirely of the enemy. Never would she have imagined it possible.

"Yep. Fang was here for a little while. I guess she's back on Cocoon now." At least, that's the hope.

She nods at that. They're stuck all right. "You either complete your Focus and turn into a crystal statue for eternity or you don't and you go Cie'th. Except... Fang and I were turned into crystal once, after failing our Focus the first time. We woke up on Cocoon hundreds of years later. So... maybe there's a chance we can defy our Focus this time. We want to save Cocoon. We just have to figure out how."

[firacrux]

"Seems like a lot of trouble to go through just to force some people to off 'em," He observed, brows knitted in confusion. It didn't make much sense to him to manufacture an entire false world just to dictate that some of the people inside should work for them. Weird, is all, very weird.

Seifer just nods, for once deciding on the tactful route of not asking for certainty as to whether or not that's the case when they're taken away. It's a question he doesn't have the energy for right now. Very likely no one here does.

"Great, so it's a lose lose. Play their game get fucked, don't play their game get fucked. Shit." What an awful circumstance. The only other option he could think of would be offing yourself, but that wasn't a good outcome either. "I hope you do," He says honestly. "That's fucked up, all of it. Maybe you can break the cycle." He can be hopeful for someone else.

[tosavecocoon]

"Yeah. We don't really understand it, either," Vanille admits, clasping her hands behind her back. The fal'Cie definitely always have had a different way of looking at things. "That parade I saw on Nautilus with Sazh? It was a parade about the war of Transgression, when Fang became Ragnarok and cracked Cocoon's shell. Gran Pulse and Cocoon were created separately, kept apart from each other, and the fal'Cie spread so many lies about each that it wasn't hard to create panic in Cocoon. Not after what we did."

Maybe now Seifer can start to really understand what Vanille has been through and what made her the way she is. Somehow, she still manages to keep her cheerful and upbeat personality, which is the real feat of her life.

"Yeah." She manages a smile, despite everything. "Thanks. Guess I'll have to let you know how it goes."

[firacrux]

"Hyne, what a mess. So they orchestrated the whole conflict between everyone from the start." He shakes his head. Victims of a fate out of their own control, does he ever know that feeling. "Well... I can't say I'm great at advice. Or comfort for that matter, but if you ever want an ear and just need to get shit off your chest I know a thing or two about how shitty fate can be." Having grown up as a mercenary he knows a thing or two about doing the necessary that people would judge you for, as well.

He's getting the picture. Doesn't fully understand it, but he knows what it's like to be the enemy of the people. To have done something so awful it nearly destroyed the world. He gets it. That weight is a lot to carry. Somehow Vanille has remained cheerful and positive, he'd be envious but Seifer's never been either of those things.

"Yeah," A faint smirk. "You will. Say, what do you think we start figurin' out where the hell we are?"

[tosavecocoon]

A lot of her cheer is sheer stubbornness, to be honest, but Vanille clings to it like a lifeline. Serah had given her the advice to "face it later" and it had helped in the short term. It never did much for the long term, but at least it had given Vanille the space to sort herself out.

Now, though, she understands the weight of it and how she really should have dealt with everything to begin with. At least on this planet, whatever it is, she doesn't have to worry about any of that l'Cie drama. She's just Vanille here. Nothing more. Nothing less.

"Yeah. Thanks."

Whether he likes it or not, she quickly wraps her arms around him and gives him a brief hug. He doesn't seem to be the type to spend a lot of time hugging people, but given this is how she shows emotion, this is what he gets. She keeps it brief, so she doesn't make him completely uncomfortable, pulling away and dropping her arms.

"That sounds like a plan!" she chirps, smiling up at him. "Let's go!"

wrap?

[firacrux]

Sheer stubbornness is something he can appreciate. Sometimes there's no real choice other than moving forward. Especially with all those bridges in flames behind you. Cheer wasn't the easiest method to hold on to, but he couldn't blame Vanille for it if it was working for her. Not like Seifer knew the first thing about healthy approaches and coping mechanisms.

True. It was a nice vacation from themselves and their baggage here. A fresh start. Seifer wasn't the Sorceress' lapdog, Vanille wasn't a l'Cie, they're just them. People all in a strange situation trying to make the best of things together.

While not necessarily the first to offer a hug, Seifer wasn't against them. Didn't know what to do with them, but he wasn't against them. Vanille's reaction even managed to shock an almost shy smile out of him. Something a little baffled and unsure, but genuine enough. He even manages an awkward return to that hug before she slips away.

"Great," With a determined nod he glances around then back to her, offering a lopsided grin. "Let's go." Might as well get on that moving forward thing.