expiationnet | [Video]

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[Video]

[At first, there's just audio as Aerith is figuring out how this little trinket works. A phone would be easier, wouldn't it? As video comes on, she lifts a hand and wiggles her fingers in greeting.]

Hellllooooo!

[If it seems like she's too cheery, that very likely might be the case. Despite the situation and bizarre circumstances, she's chosen to approach all of this with a great deal of optimism. Smile, and the world smiles with you, goes the saying.]

I understand a lot of us are kind of going through the same thing and it's probably very easy to focus on what we don't know, but I thought it might be kind of nice to have the reminder that we have a common goal. So whether you arrived here with friends or without them, you're not alone! You have the rest of us, too.

[Gesturing to herself, she continues.]

My name's Aerith and I didn't arrive with very much, but if there's something I can help you out with, make sure you let me know and I'll do my best! Also, if you're having trouble finding a place to stay, I'm sharing a room here with my bodyguard, but I'm sure he won't mind too much if we make a little more room for you.

[You're welcome, Cloud.]

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[Totes looks like a local.]

Oh... Maybe that's why the reactions I've had are so scattered. I just wanted to help people who needed it, really.

[But honestly, a big giant sleepover doesn't sound like the most horrible thing either. Maybe she thinks it because of her history with the concept of friends. Maybe it's because at the age of twenty, one still isn't too old for such a thing. She's still thinking on it when he continues and instead of answering immediately, she examines him closely.

The turns of his expression. The lines in his face, riddled with what she decides must be wisdom and experience.]

Hm... I don't think I know you well enough to make a pointed deduction like that, but I do think that all people, at various times, are capable of feeling lonely.

[ He wouldn't know if that's an insult or not...so he'd probably err on the side of being insulted.

The afterthought is enough to make him narrow his eyes before looking a little baffled. His brain replays the initial message back and yup. He's quite certain that there was nothing in there about shelter for the mind and heart. Unless he's losing it. That's never outside the realm of possibility and that's not because this face has lines (~~SAY IT TO HIS FACE, AERITH~~).

His confusion settles into something a little more opaque. ]

Depends if you're a person. Other species might not agree.

[~~YOU LOOK LIKE A LOCAL, SIR.~~

Of all the responses he could have given, the one he does offer is not one that Aerith has prepared herself for. Not... that she's had any expectations, per se. A curious thing, that. If one isn't a person, what... are they?

An animal, maybe? But he definitely looks like a guy. Although looks can be deceiving.]

Oh, that's true. But can't other species be lonely? I... don't really know, actually. I don't know how many 'other species' I've even met.

[Can the Cetra be considered an other species? Does that make her an other species in a way? She doesn't think so. She looks and feels about as human. Just with some extra abilities that humans don't have.]

[ ~~THAT'S THE SPIRIT!~~ ]

Probably. Depends on how much they feel or want to feel.

[ Time Lords for example, preferred to think of themselves as above it all. Feelings were irrelevant. Feelings made logic muddy, and amusingly, the Doctor thought it was the most complex and intimidating concept they refused to touch because they thought it beneath them. ]

You may have met plenty and you just didn’t know it. Some look like humans.

[ Or Time Lords. Whatever. ]

That. Is also true.

[But again, if they looked like humans, how could she even know? If a human-looking individual sounds superior, then to her they're probably just an overconfident (possibly arrogant) human. Sort of. She has to, once more, wonder where she fits into all of that.

...Looks like a human, walks like a human, quacks like a human... Are they a human?]

But if I don't know who's a human and who isn't, it makes it a little difficult to be sensitive to the needs of non-humans, I think. I'd like to think a non-human would tell me as much, so I don't accidentally insult them.

Well, some of the non-humans might just be a little bit shy.

[ Somewhere in Aldrip, Clara is rolling her eyes. There's very few scenarios where he's shy because he's so painful obtuse to the fact that he's a gigantic pain in the ass. But maybe that's part of his charm, in a very weird way. ]

It might be better to let them get comfortable with you first before saying anything revealing about themselves. After all, they might not know how you'll take it. Not everyone handles that sort of news the same way.

Welllllllll...

[Aerith winds up, piecing her thoughts together. Folding her hands, she sways a bit from side-to-side, which probably looks as strange on projection as it would in the flesh.]

If I ever meet any, I hope I will make a very good impression that they might feel like they can trust me to share such things one day! But... I also understand that everyone has things that they don't feel comfortable sharing and they shouldn't feel forced into doing that.

[Including herself. Aerith is a curious woman, good of heart, and filled with secrets.]

[ The Doctor has equally odd physical ticks, so while it doesn't strike him as strange, he does think it looks a little funny because of the way it distorts the projection. His mind chases a brief thought -- perhaps there's a way to better the quality of the project -- before he's pulled back to the conversation at hand. ]

And I'm sure that they'll take that into account. [ There's a pause. ] Are you used to encountering strange things? Being pulled into a strange world aside.

Hm...

[The short answer to that is that she is. Aerith has experienced many, many things that most people never have and never will. But she can't say it like that. Cloud has repeatedly reminded her that for who and what she is, it's important that she keep most information about herself to a minimum.]

Haven't we all experienced strange things? That might be hard to really gauge because all worlds are probably different. Midgar would probably feel really strange to anyone who wasn't from there. We use spheres to cast magic. We live in a city that has two layers. Flowers don't really grow anywhere except in a few places. To me, it feels pretty normal, but I'm sure other people would find it really weird. Wouldn't that be the same for all of us?

In short, yes. But it depends on the other person's ability to recognize the strange in what they might otherwise consider normal. [ He shrugs. ]

There's plenty of people who are content to remain ignorant to the strange and curious because it would disrupt their day to day life. And there's no fault in that if a bit boring.

But what I'd rather know what your propensity for the strange was before arriving here.

I don't really think much of anything I've been involved in has been 'normal.' I've known some interesting people that were doing interesting things. So I feel like I have a good grasp on facing things that maybe others couldn't.

[She looks thoughtful, resting a hand to the bottom of her chin.]

I'm not going to say I'm insensitive to some of these things. It's not that. I think I'm just very good at keeping calm in strange situations or unfamiliar ones. Kind of like the one we're in now. Most of us are in a world that we aren't native to. I'm not complacent about it. I just understand where I think priorities should be.

[Which is to say, she thinks they ought to be looking out for one another.]

An emotional support sleepover?

[ It’s not really fair of him to distill everything she’s said down to that, nor does he actually mean it because what she actually said, revealed a lot about her character to him than he had been expecting to get in return.

His response, in his mind, is a joke. An awful, not very funny joke. At least he has enough self-awareness this time around to realize that it might not be a very funny to Aerith. ]

I’m kidding. If you can handle this situation with little problem, I’d like to learn more about these not very normal things so long as you were interested in sharing.

[Some people might actually take that response as a little hard. Instead, Aerith isn't necessarily like that. A joke or not, she's inclined to find it more a good idea, honestly. She almost considers saying as much too, until he reveals that he's teasing.

Doesn't keep her from smiling, though.]

Hm...! Well, I think a little mystery is exciting, so you'll have to earn that kind of information! But I feel like you might have some stories to share, too. I don't see any reason why we can't exchange some!

[ Thank god. He's run into too many people who seem all too sensitive to his bluntness (wait a minute that's not right. It's not other people that are the problem. Somewhere Clara is flicking him in the head hard for that one).

His lips quirk a little higher and the twinkle in his eye sparks at Aerith's response. This particular incarnation of him had always been more receptive to cheek and mischief and there's something in her reply that resonates with him. ]

Don't tempt me with a mystery. We've already got the biggest one on our hands here. [ By his tone of voice though, it clearly says that he loves mysteries and the more there are, the better. ] A story for a story seems like a fair trade. We may as well take after the locals.

But I'll let you get back to your emotional support sleepover first. We can chat another time — we have all the time on our hands after all.

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[Video]

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NOT MY HTML FAIL

Shhhhh. I saw nothing!

weeps in failure

I offer the gentlest of face baps.

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