driftfleet | open mingle post;

Entry tags:

open mingle post;

Who: Everyone on the waystation!
Broadcast: n/a
Action: open to everyone to tag into
When: October 11, 2014

[It sure is a lovely ~~day~~ actually pretty much indeterminate time period out here in the vast darkness of space, isn't it? I bet everyone's enjoying themselves, getting a chance to get off their dinky little ship and stretch their legs. Even on this shitty, empty little waystation.

Where are you, droot flooters? What are you up to? Stay out of trouble, now.]

[ooc: hi everyone! I thought I'd give this a try and see how the game liked it. What we have here is a mass mingle post. Rather than everyone making a bunch of different posts about landing on the station, everyone is invited to post a parent comment with their character out and about, doing something. Everyone else is invited to look at who's posted, tag them, post their own parent comments, thread jack, tag around and generally have a grand old time! It should hopefully be a nice low-pressure way to do some action tagging with each other.

Please tag in if you feel so inclined! Don't be shy to tag around!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[his response is very instinctual, actually. he hardly thinks about it before he tilts his head and catches her mouth in a kiss. by the time any negative consequences even cross his mind, it's too late.]

[ Needless to say, Cecil is caught off guard by the kiss and she makes a small, sharp noise of surprise, initially going stiff against him. This isn't what she was going for and she even begins to pull away, before it sinks in just how long it's been since someone kissed her like this without stirring up feelings of guilt and sharper loneliness in her. That's when she sighs into the lip-lock and, relaxing into it, gently kisses him back. ]

[one could comment about how it feels like forever for Robin, but it always feels like forever since the last time he kissed someone. so he really enjoys it, for the short time it lasts. she's warm and she's comfortable and she likes him. she likes him enough to kiss him back.

but after a few moments, he kind of... realizes what he's doing, and suddenly pulls away from her. he looks a little surprised at himself. why did he do that? how did they get here? he's still holding onto her, but he's got a grip on her shoulders to force some distance between them.]

I... Maybe shouldn't have done that.

[ The abrupt end of the kiss is jarring for her and she nearly instinctively moves in to initiate a second kiss herself, but she stops immediately as her senses come back to her in all too much of a hurry and she licks her lips instead, averting her gaze from Robin's face quickly. She wants to laugh, really, but it would really only be laughter born from discomfort and anxiety, so she swallows it before it turns into something more like sadness. ]

It's fine... Don't worry.

[ For some reason, it's much too easy for Cecil to simply fall back on pretending that didn't just happen. Not for the first time since she woke up in this presumably different universe, she's not even certain why it feels so much like second nature to just detach-- to just go numb.

What happened in Court? What did she forget? ]

I don't expect anything from you.

[he, on the other hand, is trying not to well up into a panic.

he's not totally sure why. he's thinking about the girl with white hair and red eyes he ruined. he's thinking about Tek (but when is he not thinking about Tek, after he scribbled all over his heart), and he's thinking about Rin, who knows too much and would hate him, and--

his fingers clamp down and he forces himself back into her sights.]

No, don't do that. Cecil, please--

[why is he saying this? calm down, calm down...]

Don't give me that bullshit about expectations. It doesn't work that way, and you know it.

Get mad at me. Call me out. Anything.

[ The severity of Robin's reaction to her reassurances shocks her. She's never seen him like this before and she doesn't understand why he's so worked up about, what to her, can hardly be called a wrong. She even stares at him in surprise, until she schools her expression into one of forced cheer. ]

Why would I be angry, Robin? I'm not in love with you and you're not in love with me.

I'm really not upset. If you didn't want to kiss me, you shouldn't have.

But I did. I like you.

[but... it's fine. it's fine, it's fine, it's fine. he eases up a little bit; her forced smile at least reminds him that he's acting ridiculous. he wishes she were mad at him. it's familiar. has he really slid back that far?

but hey, fuck it, it's fine and he manages to smile to, although apologetic.]

I just... mess things up, a lot, doing that. So, I'm sorry.

[ Cecil's fake little grin falters at his admission though as it sends a stab of sharp, dizzying pain lancing through her heart. Something about this situation feels familiar and it hurts incredibly. She looks away again and loosens her hold on him, going almost as limp as a doll. She feels a little sick to her stomach and she doesn't really understand why. ]

I think... it's easier to believe you didn't mean it...

I'm-- [he needs to stop saying he's sorry. he suddenly laughs, and leans in to give her a quick peck on the cheek, his smile getting bigger. maybe genuine? it's hard to tell.]

Haha, I'm such a mess. Why do you put up with me?

[he hugs her. he gathers up her wilting form and hold her close to him, whether she wants it or not.]

I shouldn't be worrying.

[ In spite of her better judgement, she can't help herself; she more or less melts into the embrace, finding it comforting even if all of this at the moment just reminds her that there's something wrong with her memory. She closes her eyes and rests her head on his chest. ]

...Because you're lonely and I think your heart is too good to be wasted on so much loneliness.

[he doesn't believe it at all. Finch used to say things like that, and he didn't really believe it then, either. but he says nothing, perhaps smartly--people get upset when you try to tell them that you're a terrible person. instead, he holds her there...

for a moment. and then he laughs again. this whole thing...]

Would you like to sit down? You were supposed to tell me something.

[ It's unnecessary; his silence says enough. Kain started doing that too— say nothing when Cecil or Rose tried to reassure her of her goodness. Since Golbez broke her control of her, Kain has said so very little. The silence says it all.

Cecil nods a little. Well, maybe even if their shared kiss did mean something, there isn't much point in wondering if Robin actually regrets it, is there? It doesn't seem likely to happen again and he truly isn't who she wants. The attraction is there and so is their friendship, but she's too tired and falling for an immortal sounds like too much heartache. Friendship is enough. It's preferable. Isn't it? ]

[he's not oblivious to how she feels, but he's trying to bury it anyway. the most concerning part is that she really hasn't moved, so he loosens his grip on her a little and looks down for her face. this whole thing is embarrassing, but he's going to push on.]

Did you hear me, Swan?

[ Again, she nods, brought out of her thoughts by the nickname instead of the by the question itself. She finds her voice and gives him a verbal reassurance too. ]

...Yes. That sounds fine.

[...all right. he finds her hand and leads her over to a bench. it's still near all of the wares and automated machines, so they don't go far... it's just not a very interesting view. once they're both settled, he keeps her hand.]

So... What was on your mind, huh?

[ She lets him keep her hand, lacing their fingers together comfortably. She's not paying any attention to the view, but suffice to say that in a moment like this, it hardly matters one little bit. Her mind has already begun to switch off, pushing what just happened between them to the far reaches of her subconscious. Instead, the worries that have occupied her time over the last few days — when she isn't worrying about what awaits the fleet, that is — have begun to swirl to the forefront again. She's almost not sure where to start; the only people she told about the situation at home, as she believed it to be, were the Count of Thornrose, Damarhis, and the multi-Memory Noah Tyki. ]

Well... do you remember the things I told you, when you were aged down in Court? About my "family" ordering me to do some terrible things? And how I left because I couldn't do it anymore? That person was the Queen of Baron, or so we all thought. It turned out the one who have me orders multiple times to commit genocide was an imposter and the true queen had been murdered. All this time, she was dead... and I thought she'd gone mad. I thought she wanted my head because I left her and Baron.

[ Once she starts though, it's like she can't stop and the words just keep flowing. ]

The woman who placed the imposter in position is named Golbez. She's my older sister. An old, twisted Lunarian named Zemus brainwashed her as a child, when she was most vulnerable after the deaths of our parents, and convinced her to abandon me in the woods. Over the last year, under Zemus' control, Golbez usurped the military force of Baron to wage war against the other nations of the world.

[if he is at all surprised by any of this, he does a pretty good job of keeping it on the down-low... it's really very impressive. the more he hears, the more absurd this story starts to seem. but, hey, if he told anyone about his life, it would sound just as ridiculous.

he at least looks like he's seriously paying attention. he nods, urging her to continue.]

With the true queen dead, the world safe, and I no longer considered a traitor to the country, it... was suggested that I take up a new role instead of simply returning to my old position as captain of the Red Wings.

[...he thinks he knows where this is going, but...]

And...?

And— And—

[ And then, she suddenly just goes silent again, looking awfully distressed. She doesn't want to say it. She's afraid it'll change things. She's afraid of not being believed when she says she didn't want the crown.

This was a bad idea. She can't do it. ]

[he watches her stumble. eventually, he lifts her hand gently up to his face to press the backs of her fingers against his cheek.]

Is it better or worse than being a creature with dominion over human agony?

[ That quickly puts things in perspective for her and after a moment of just staring at him in stunned realization how petty she must seem to him, she closes her eyes and curls her fingers around his hand, rubbing her knuckles against his face affectionately with a small smile of disbelief aimed at herself.

No, it's not worse. They both might have had their responsibilities forced on them, but his lot is likely far more painful and difficult. ]

...They made me Baron's new queen.

[whenever you feel bad, just think about Robin's life! at least he can use it to put a few things in perspective. his expression stays... very neutral while she says this. he's had kind of an invested, vaguely surprised, almost expectant look on his face since she started explaining, and with the big reveal, it... does not go away, at all.

he blinks, once, as wheels start turning back behind his eyes. but then--she can practically see the lightbulb go off when he realizes that is the end of the story.]

Oh. How long are beings like you supposed to live?

[yep. that was his reaction.]

[ It is a reaction exactly like that that reassures she did indeed choose the right person to tell. Imagine if it'd been Rin or Barakiel or anybody else. Robin, on the other hand, just doesn't care about this kind of stuff. ]

Lunarians? A while. Hundreds of years.

[he nods a little; it informed his opinion of the situation somehow. he still seems a little wide-eyed, but he takes a new guess.]

And you're keeping this a secret because... you don't really want to be queen?

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