.:A Brief Interlude:.

[ganymed]

Who: Ganymede and people.
What: It's a meeting.
Where: Mac Anu, Ganymede's McMansion.
When: 10/12
Warnings: Nothing yet.
MAC ANU ~ GANYMEDE'S MCMANSION



The everpresent afternoon sunset hangs, echoing picturesque across the glass windows apparent at each spot within the large building. In a large room full of tables and what not are heaps of various cuisine settled here or there. Seafood, pastas, drinks, the like; Mediterranean style so if nobody likes that...gomen.

Ganymede has made it clear that he prefers people to be here in order to get themselves together. Sorted, somehow. They're all acting with a sort of independence he seems disinterested in disturbing, but he wants the prospect of potential solutions to be floated along.

If someone has new information they can share, well, it is encouraged. If not, he hopes that they will at least participate in some way.

It now begins.

 

(( OOC Note: People will not be attacked by monsters once within the McMansion, including pool area. ))

Comments

[insinning]

[ah. Michel. He yelps a little as the cape falls on top of him, but he holds it close]

Thank you--

[...Michel. What in the world.

You know what, Sinclair wont question the full leather? outfit. It's also very Michel in a very strange way.]

...but it's okay. I'm not sleepy. Just tired.

[userunfriendly]

[ Look. It's not all leather! It's not even mostly leather. It's really comfortable, actually...

Especially the cape. ]

...Mm. It feels difficult to believe. But Oria may have been right to call me an optimist. I didn't expect a simple meeting would become so combative.

[insinning]

[THE SPIKES??? Well, Sinclair is wrapping himself up and Orion the pomchi in the cape. It's nice]

...it's a big group. We're bound to clash over ideas.

[Sinclair might be a lot fluffier at heart, but he's seen enough company debacles to understand this]

...I really wasn't expecting to be attacked though. Or for Mithrun to attack Makoto.

[userunfriendly]

[ He's managed not to spike himself yet! ...Yet.

Michel takes a seat nearby, leaning back into the cushions. Sinclair might just be tired, but he thinks he could fall asleep here if he stayed unmoving for too long. ]

I thought people would be more cautious, if nothing else. With most areas open to PVP now, that they would want to avoid retaliation.

[insinning]

...not if you're using to scrapes.

[Tipping his head back as he snuggles into the cape, Orion climbing down to investigate Michel the Giant]

At a certain point, it all becomes instinct to hit hard first to make your point.

[userunfriendly]

[ Michel blinks down at Orion and gives his fingers an uncertain wiggle. Is it cats or dogs that answer to that...

He wonders if he should bother to use that pet voucher or not. ]

I understand the logic of your reasoning. [ And yet. ] ...It's how Didier used to play chess. If he saw a piece he could take, he would take it. Never mind what it did to his defenses.

[ Not everyone is good at playing the long game. He does know that. ]

[insinning]

[Orion barks happily and jumps up to Michel. Mountain man!!!

Sinclair nods, looking down]

...I guess I'm used to people grabbing me in those situations because I'm not very tall. So I didn't even think twice either. I'm sorry Ganymede had to see that.

[userunfriendly]

[ Dog... He startles a little for that, but it only takes him a moment to begin petting. As long as Orion doesn't lick him his thoughts will wander again. ]

If you hadn't defended yourself, the situation would have become worse more quickly.

[ And he can't criticize when after all, he... Michel pauses with a tiny frown as he tries to remember which memory Sinclair saw. ]

...It isn't your fault. And Ganymede is stronger than he seems. If anyone is to blame for his reaction, it's Hani.

[insinning]

[Orion is a good dog and only licks if he needs to. Sinclair frowns]

...Hani. I wasn't expecting him to defend me like that.

[ It made him so happy it hurt. But now he was worried. How long could a broken shoulder last for]

[userunfriendly]

[ The only thing predictable about Hani is their unpredictability. But Michel thinks of those words — the emphasis, "he's not yours" — and raises his eyebrows slightly. ]

You had no idea they felt that way?

[insinning]

Mm...[ Sinclair blinks and tilts his head as he considers that]

I've considered then family for awhile now. And I knew they didn't want me to get hurt or disappear the way... [Sinclair trails off. The way Mithrun did. The way Mithrun was fading now]

But...no, I didn't realise.

[userunfriendly]

[ Disappear... Michel's eyes seek out Hani and then Ganymede, thoughtful. What had Hani said back then? That the terrible things and wonderful things both slipped away, impermanent? ]

They've changed. [ Maybe all of them have. ] I'm sure... they're pleased with their choice.

[insinning]

Mm. They told me that they want to be "Hani" and hold tight onto all the memories that make "Hani" them.

[ But, then...he frowns a little and then:]

...Michel, do you feel like you've forgotten something about yourself that's important?

[userunfriendly]

I wonder what that means to them.

[ They had always said they would talk more about it, and yet. They'd never quite had a moment. Hani is like a butterfly, never settling for quite long enough for Michel to do more than see the sunlight glimmering off their wings.

His hand on Orion stills at the next question and he glances over. ]

I'm not... quite certain. "Lily" offered to take away my painful memories, but I refused. I can remember the memory you saw clearly enough.

[ He keeps probing at it, like picking at a half-healed scab. Ever since hearing the new healer mention what had been done to his memories. ]

Do you?

[insinning]

...I think I have. But I don't know. [ He frowns, looking at his hands ]

I wonder if Lily would have offered me the same thing if I didn't make him angry. But my new level 75 armor...I get the sense it's based off someone really important. But I don't know who it is.

[userunfriendly]

[ Polite little Sinclair? Making him angry? For the first time that night, a tiny bit of humor touches Michel's expression... although it doesn't stay, given the topic. He checks the equipment description briskly. ]

"Voyager of the Stars." It sounds like it should be a person. Or a hero from a book.

[ But Sinclair not remembering is... ]

[insinning]

Someone like that would have been someone I admired once in my past. Someone I would "want to be". But I never had anything like that.

[...

No. That's wrong. He shakes his head]

Did you notice? Our armor all represents a "memory".

[userunfriendly]

And if you had, you wouldn't have forgotten.

[ Not naturally. But there's many more forces than the natural at play here. Michel makes a quiet noise of understanding. ]

...It took me some time because of how abstract they were. But yes. The first set... must have been the one you saw.

[ Blood on his teeth, on his tongue, the taste iron and bitter and laced with pain and hatred. How had he not realized? ]

[insinning]

...I didn't see anything happy in my mirrors. But I'm sure, my first set represented my memory of my family. Us, spending time together. Being happy. I felt warm and safe...it was before everything went wrong [Soft, uncertain] Michel, I need you to remember that for me.

[If he forgets that, then what will become of him?] My second one must be what you saw in the mirror. [Disgust, hatred rising up with him] I hated that whistle so much.

[userunfriendly]

[ Before everything went wrong. That's the feeling he'd held in his heart when he rebutted Lily, isn't it? The memories of that warmth, laughing together. Loving each other, in the way that family could.

Welcome home, Emil. We love you. He'll remember. ]

I will. I know how precious they were to you. If you forget... I'll remind you.

[ Until Sinclair believes it. That's what an older brother is: a strong back, a shield of faith. He'll believe in that for Sinclair. ]

...I remember that as well. I can only guess how it made you feel to hear it.

[insinning]

I miss them so much still.

[He can admit it here, in the safety of Michel's cloak]

Eighteen years was too short. What if that gets taken from me too?

[userunfriendly]

[ Carefully, he displaces Orion the pomchi so he can move closer to Sinclair. It's an unimaginably different relationship than he had with his family. But the sense of loss is something he can still grasp.

He reaches over to tug the cloak up a little higher and let his hand rest on Sinclair's shoulder. ]

You became the person you are because of their love. The imprint they left will remain with you no matter what. I believe that even if the memory can be taken from you, you'll still be able to see them in your own reflection.

[insinning]

[ Sinclair nods, hiding his face. Ah, this is embarrassing]

You think so? I...want them to be happy with the way I'm living. No matter what.

[userunfriendly]

From the little I saw, I think— no, I feel certain that they'll be happy as long as you're living happily.

[ And he's sure Sinclair knows that, because that's what the dungeon reflected. But if Sinclair needs to cry a bit, Michel won't tell. ]

[insinning]

...I hope so. You know, I used to think the only way they'd be happy with me if I was doing exactly what they wanted me to. They wanted me to go into biomedical engineering. They were leaders in prosthetics making, you see.

[Sinclair gives a little huff of a laugh. He's sharing stories now, things he feels like Michel would understand]

Except, engineering was so boring to me. I had to work twice as hard as my classmates to get any decent marks.