[She hadn't been expecting to be hugged back! It was really nice, even if it makes her blush a bit.]
Me too. [And sad, and anxious, but also relieved that Serenity seems to be doing okay.]
I just- I stopped using Cloud Nine for a little bit because I didn't want you to see that side of me. I want to be seen as I normally am in times like these.
[Though Cloud Nine is really nice, she has to say. 10/10 recommended by all 8 peps most likely.]
I just didn't want to seem inconsiderate if you were feeling down. Cloud Nine takes away all negative emotions and makes it so you can't feel things like fear or anxiety.
Well... it just makes me really, really giddy. I didn't want to show up giggling like a crazy person.
[Which would have been highly likely.]
But you're probably right.
[Taking her hand, because she doesn't want to be without the human contact despite feeling embarrassed for hugging her. It made her feel like she was really here in the moment instead of back there, the smell of her unitmates burning beside her filling her nostrils.]
[Oh. She probably meant that giggling because of Cloud Nine sounded cute and not that she sounded cute, right? Still, she can't help but reflexively giggle a little out of nerves. It was always a little hard to relax when getting to know someone new.]
You think so?
[She follows her through Bad End's dorm, taking it all in. The last time she was here had been to apologize to Sashay for shooting her. Twice.]
[It's a little messy because Sashay was full of nerves while they were gone and guzzled some ramune but-- it's still mostly in one piece. There are a few scratch marks though.]
Great! It's right over here.
[She leads Ren into a room that at first glance seems completely dark. But as they step inside, the night sky comes into view, projected across the entire ceiling as though they were looking at the real thing.]
[It certainly looks like someone made a mess since the last time she was here, but it's fine! No judgement whatsoever. At least it distracts her from the compliment about her laugh.]
Oh!
[Her eyes widen as she looks up at the stars. It was nice having a piece of something so peaceful at your fingertips.]
This is amazing.
[She really is in awe of it. The fact that they're in the dark also made it a little easier to hide the blush that still colors her cheeks.]
[It's really cute, watching Ren's expression for a moment as she took it all in. After a moment though, she followed her gaze to the sky, looking at it with her.]
Stargazing is actually a hobby of mine. Or, I remembered it was a little while ago. So I thought that having something like this for the dorm might be really nice.
[Seeing this has actually lifted her mood considerably. Thank you for the gift you didn't know you just gave her, Serenity.]
I don't know if I've ever been to one or not. At least nothing I can remember.
[Smiling a little shyly-]
Do you want to sit a while and we can look at them? Maybe you can tell me what each of them means. I know stars and constellations have names right? Though, I'm not sure how well that holds up here. We're all from different places after all.
Edited (Oops spotted a typo) 2020-10-19 07:17 (UTC)
That sounds wonderful. There's a great spot over here, come with me!
[Serenity gently leads her by the hand to a small nook that's partially set back into the wall. It's softly cushioned and has enough space for the both of them to curl up comfortably.]
I don't know if they're the same as the ones back home, but-- I've been doing some reading about the stars here. It's currently set to simulate the winter sky. So... those six stars down there form the constellation Phoenix. You can see the body, the neck and the beak, right?
[She lets herself be lead by the hand, finding she really enjoys it. A warmth from their joined hands spread from her finger tips to her chest.
Eventually she has to let her go and sit in the nook area. When Serenity takes her seat, she rests her hand on Serenity’s. Her need for physical contact overrode her usual polite distance. She didn’t know how Serenity was feeling but she hoped her presence granted her the same warmth.]
Oh! I see it.
[She found they were harder to piece together on her own. It made her laugh.]
[The warmth of Ren's hand on her's is a welcome comfort. Doing something she loved with someone who enjoyed it made everything bad that happened earlier feel so far away.]
Then how about... Instead of looking for what they are-- try thinking about what they could be.
Sometimes it's fun to just look up at the sky and look for what you can see. Ignoring all the stuff that's already been decided. Just like the way you can with the shapes of clouds.
[Looking up at the stars for a moment then back at Serenity. The way she spoke was so... hopeful. She tried to be hopeful for everyone around her but it felt like sometimes it had been a while since she actually felt it for herself.
Between quietly enduring her own traumas - what Ao did to her in Betrayal to this most recent game - she really wanted to try and do her best to make everyone feel better. She hated feeling weak more than anything, but it had been a while since she felt hope.]
Right. [She looks back up at the stars again, silently praying to become stronger. If she could make sure Serenity stayed just like this, not yet smothered by all of the bad things that could happen in this place, then she wanted that more than anything. She wanted to protect her and they had only just started to get to know one another.
Ah. She... really should have made sure to put Cloud Nine on herself. She could feel tears stinging her eyes already and has to look away. Immediately she comes back to herself, realizing she's probably gone too quiet.]
U-uhm. I wonder if they have a bigger one of these in the city? I know there's an aquarium and other places to go too.
[She's trying to say that she wants to be able to spend more time together, talking about things like this. It already means a lot to her that there's someone who understands how she's feeling, because Serenity had died too. Unlike her, Serenity wasn't losing her optimism over it.]
[Serenity could sense a great deal of emotion lurking under the surface. Even if she couldn't begin to imagine all the things going through Ren's head, she knew that she wanted to be here to support her in whatever way she could too. Just her presence was comforting and warm.
She sees the tears in her eyes, but she doesn't say anything. Even if she doesn't know everything the other girl is going through, she can imagine.
Gently, she leans against Ren's shoulder, smiling softly.]
I haven't gotten to spend nearly as much time in the city as I would have liked to yet. It would be nice to go more often...
[It probably isn't fair of her to be letting so much bubble up to the surface when Bad End suffered too. Serenity had to have suffered a lot because of this game.]
It's... I'm sorry you had to experience something like this so early. You haven't been here very long and I want to be able to show you the nice things about this place - like food we could go eat or places we could visit.
[Squeezing her hand gently and resting her cheek against her head-]
There are a lot of really fun games too that happen sometimes.
Honestly, what we suffered wasn't half as terrible as what the rest of you went through. I feel bad making other people worry about me...
[She had someone to hold her hand through the whole thing. And even still people were so kind-- including the ones who went through much worse.]
This place... really is full of some pretty incredible people. It's hard to see things like that happen to anyone. Hopefully... we'll all get to do something nice together next time.
I don't really agree that one was worse than the other. I saw what happened to you all - well... a little bit. I wasn't feeling well after I came back.
[It had been terrifying, feeling so much electricity course through her body at once to the point where she went into such a state of shock she just stopped feeling it. It was the smell of burning flesh that really got to her. It had been horrible. She imagines watching or experiencing those rocks falling onto Bad End was much the same.]
Yeah... I'll let you pick. We can go somewhere you haven't been and just work our way on to the next place.
[There was honestly a ton to do when they weren't all playing games.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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No, no-- please don't apologize.
[Serenity will reach out and pull her back in for a proper hug.]
I was honestly really happy.
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Me too. [And sad, and anxious, but also relieved that Serenity seems to be doing okay.]
I just- I stopped using Cloud Nine for a little bit because I didn't want you to see that side of me. I want to be seen as I normally am in times like these.
[Though Cloud Nine is really nice, she has to say. 10/10 recommended by all 8 peps most likely.]
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[Serenity gently pets Ren's hair.]
If it helps, you don't have to stop using it on my account. We're all doing our best to cope in our own individual ways. That's "you" too.
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[Which would have been highly likely.]
But you're probably right.
[Taking her hand, because she doesn't want to be without the human contact despite feeling embarrassed for hugging her. It made her feel like she was really here in the moment instead of back there, the smell of her unitmates burning beside her filling her nostrils.]
What were you up to before I got here?
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[She gently takes her hand and leads her through the common area towards the conservatory.]
Actually, I was just showing off the dorm upgrade I bought. Do you want to see it?
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You think so?
[She follows her through Bad End's dorm, taking it all in. The last time she was here had been to apologize to Sashay for shooting her. Twice.]
Yes! I'd love to see it.
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[It's a little messy because Sashay was full of nerves while they were gone and guzzled some ramune but-- it's still mostly in one piece. There are a few scratch marks though.]
Great! It's right over here.
[She leads Ren into a room that at first glance seems completely dark. But as they step inside, the night sky comes into view, projected across the entire ceiling as though they were looking at the real thing.]
This... is our observatory.
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Oh!
[Her eyes widen as she looks up at the stars. It was nice having a piece of something so peaceful at your fingertips.]
This is amazing.
[She really is in awe of it. The fact that they're in the dark also made it a little easier to hide the blush that still colors her cheeks.]
What made you want one of these?
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Stargazing is actually a hobby of mine. Or, I remembered it was a little while ago. So I thought that having something like this for the dorm might be really nice.
I'm really glad you like it.
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I don't know if I've ever been to one or not. At least nothing I can remember.
[Smiling a little shyly-]
Do you want to sit a while and we can look at them? Maybe you can tell me what each of them means. I know stars and constellations have names right? Though, I'm not sure how well that holds up here. We're all from different places after all.
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[Serenity gently leads her by the hand to a small nook that's partially set back into the wall. It's softly cushioned and has enough space for the both of them to curl up comfortably.]
I don't know if they're the same as the ones back home, but-- I've been doing some reading about the stars here. It's currently set to simulate the winter sky. So... those six stars down there form the constellation Phoenix. You can see the body, the neck and the beak, right?
no subject
Eventually she has to let her go and sit in the nook area. When Serenity takes her seat, she rests her hand on Serenity’s. Her need for physical contact overrode her usual polite distance. She didn’t know how Serenity was feeling but she hoped her presence granted her the same warmth.]
Oh! I see it.
[She found they were harder to piece together on her own. It made her laugh.]
I’m no good at looking for them on my own
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Then how about... Instead of looking for what they are-- try thinking about what they could be.
Sometimes it's fun to just look up at the sky and look for what you can see. Ignoring all the stuff that's already been decided. Just like the way you can with the shapes of clouds.
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Between quietly enduring her own traumas - what Ao did to her in Betrayal to this most recent game - she really wanted to try and do her best to make everyone feel better. She hated feeling weak more than anything, but it had been a while since she felt hope.]
Right. [She looks back up at the stars again, silently praying to become stronger. If she could make sure Serenity stayed just like this, not yet smothered by all of the bad things that could happen in this place, then she wanted that more than anything. She wanted to protect her and they had only just started to get to know one another.
Ah. She... really should have made sure to put Cloud Nine on herself. She could feel tears stinging her eyes already and has to look away. Immediately she comes back to herself, realizing she's probably gone too quiet.]
U-uhm. I wonder if they have a bigger one of these in the city? I know there's an aquarium and other places to go too.
[She's trying to say that she wants to be able to spend more time together, talking about things like this. It already means a lot to her that there's someone who understands how she's feeling, because Serenity had died too. Unlike her, Serenity wasn't losing her optimism over it.]
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She sees the tears in her eyes, but she doesn't say anything. Even if she doesn't know everything the other girl is going through, she can imagine.
Gently, she leans against Ren's shoulder, smiling softly.]
I haven't gotten to spend nearly as much time in the city as I would have liked to yet. It would be nice to go more often...
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It's... I'm sorry you had to experience something like this so early. You haven't been here very long and I want to be able to show you the nice things about this place - like food we could go eat or places we could visit.
[Squeezing her hand gently and resting her cheek against her head-]
There are a lot of really fun games too that happen sometimes.
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[She had someone to hold her hand through the whole thing. And even still people were so kind-- including the ones who went through much worse.]
This place... really is full of some pretty incredible people. It's hard to see things like that happen to anyone. Hopefully... we'll all get to do something nice together next time.
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[It had been terrifying, feeling so much electricity course through her body at once to the point where she went into such a state of shock she just stopped feeling it. It was the smell of burning flesh that really got to her. It had been horrible. She imagines watching or experiencing those rocks falling onto Bad End was much the same.]
Yeah... I'll let you pick. We can go somewhere you haven't been and just work our way on to the next place.
[There was honestly a ton to do when they weren't all playing games.]