come_sailaway | [Mingle] Let's save the pitiful children who just haven't a clue

[So Rich said he'd be at the library all afternoon, but that was a lie. He's actually there first thing in the morning, though he seems to be in and out a lot. He's pushed some tables together, swiping several things from the buffet to put together a refreshments table. It takes him forever to carry over enough cups, and at the end of it, he's still looking over it with a little frown.]

Man, I hope this is enough... god, what if it's too much? Am I gonna have to eat all this if no one shows? Maybe I should have had a sign up sheet.

[ Giles arrives early too, he nearly stays hidden until he can see who else is coming, but he's hardly going to let a child set up alone. He doesn't speak a word, but he nods once, solemnly, to Rich before assisting with moving the tables and things from the buffet. ]

[Oh, gosh. Rich is already overwhelmed to run into a stranger, even if they're probably here for the same reason. He gives a weak smile as the gentleman starts setting things in their proper place. He's... really quite organized.]

Hey, thanks. It'd look disastrous if I'd just done it myself, but you're like... making it look like HGTV up in here. You a designer, or a party planner?

Maeve seems uneasy when she walks into the room, but she's still...just gonna go settle herself somewhere off in a corner where she can seem like maybe she's just here for the library. This is fine. Everything is fine.

This is definitely fine and normal! Rich gives a double take when he sees her. She... probably wants to be left alone, but he'd feel bad just ignoring her, so he attempts a polite wave.

She pauses for the briefest of moments before waving back. It's still early, in a way, and she's still not sure what to do about it, but she's at least going to pretend to browse through the books for a minute.

It's... probably best not to bother her. She looks awkward around him, and he's sure she wants to be left alone, but it feels weird to just pretend she isn't here.

"Oh. You're just here for something to read? Here I thought you were going to join the killer party." He gestures to the empty expanse of chairs. "I mean, we're definitely about to have a rager here."

Maeve is just...mentally in a weird place. Sure, it's weird, but at least it wasn't like...William. The Man in Black. He seems friendly and she just...feels off.

"Is it because we've all apparently murdered someone or?" She understands that's not the joke. So she sighs. "Forgive me. I'm just..." A vague gesture. "I think I preferred my deaths in Westworld." There's a longer sigh after that. "And at least I..." She's about to say at least I didn't know the people I killed for the most part and it barely mattered, but she knows how that sounds. Especially when she's argued so much about how much she matters as a person. "Nevermind."

Edited 2022-11-10 06:24 (UTC)

"Oh! Uh. No. It was... damn, that was a bad choice of words." He falls silent for a few moments, looking away for her sake. He almost seems to make himself smaller to avoid the heavy weight of those words.

"I'm sorry. Again, we don't have to talk if you don't want anything to do with me. I know... it was probably a lot easier where you were from. I mean, I guess I don't know if you saw your murderer every day back home, but... yeah."

Maeve looks down. Perhaps a different tactic. "It's fine, darling." She doesn't know what to do with her hands here. Usually she'd reach out, offer some form of reassurance, but things seem...different here. "I'm sorry. I'm not...quite myself still."

She considers something for a moment before lightly putting her hands on either shoulder. "It wasn't you and I don't blame you. So you shouldn't hold yourself to the crimes someone else committed even if it was with your body." She is quiet again for a moment. "However," she says, withdrawing her hands. "I understand if you have difficulty with it." She's having difficulty with some things herself. "But I think it was just the nature of not being trapped in the Nothing that I prefer. Dying so many times makes it stop counting after a while. But as a Host, my memory is far too precise to forget every detail."

"Hey, I can't blame you for not being yourself. This is... a lot for all of us." It's why he wanted to have a meeting together in the first place...

He nearly jumps when she reaches out, but the comfort isn't unwelcome, even if it seems like there's a bit of stiffness in the gesture on both ends.

"I'm not having difficulty, exactly. I... just want to do whatever's gonna be less painful for you, you know?" And not knowing him is probably better than knowing him, right?

He winces softly at the mention of that weird void. "This was my first time dying so... I'm glad to know it isn't as shitty the rest of the time, I guess." God, is that something to consider a good thing?

"I... sorry, I don't think I heard you mention that before. What's a Host?"

It's likely fair. They probably need this. Most of them. Some way to talk with each other and...at least find some semblance of support from it.

"And I appreciate that, I do." she studies him for a moment. "But it's not necessary."

Maeve lets out a small sigh. "I suppose the closest thing I can use to explain it is artificial intelligence? Our creators made us to be as close to humans as we could be. There are limitations, of course, but..." She shrugs. "Human enough and yet still not."

"If you say so..."

He really feels awkward, though. It feels like there's this thick glass between the two of them, indestructible no matter how much fear remains... or how much trust is offered.

Fear is on the table now, though. For a brief moment, Rich startles, eyes going wide and body stiffening. He tries to listen, really, but... he can't help that hesitation.

"...I-I see. Um. Cool. Uh..." He remembers how Max reacted and clears his throat. "If this is a bad thing to ask, I-I'm really sorry, but what was... what did your creators make you for? I guess, what purpose did they have in mind for you?"

Maeve is more than aware of the shift and the expression on his face. There's a defensive part of her that starts rising because being looked at that way is...well, not what she wants to see when she's already on uncertain grounds.

But she pushes it down. The question is met with a laugh, but it's not actually a happy one. "We were props, I guess. The humans that created us made us as close to human as they could so when we died, it would be more believable." She looks off to the side, forcing the brunt of the anger in her eyes away from Rich. It isn't his fault that they did this. "Westworld was an amusement park for humans where no actions had real consequences. As long as you were human."

Her expression darkens further. "Wanted to see how humans would behave without consequences, but the only ones that suffered were us. Not that we knew we were. We didn't remember anything for so long. And then we...well, a couple of us woke up and others started waking up as well."

There's a shrug here, but it does nothing to really soften the truth of how she feels about Westworld. "We were in a place called Westworld. Set up like the old west. Cowboys, outlaws, etc." She frowns. "So yes. What they made us for was to play a part they chose on a never-ending loop and die." There's more to it than that, she knows, but she's...still feeling a little defensive about it. "If there was more, I'm not aware of it."

...Okay, that was clearly the wrong question. Rich's eyes widen again, but the fear in his eyes isn't against her this time. "Shit. No wonder you were so freaked about about what I did..."

He swallows around a painful lump in his throat, raising a hand to shove his hair out of his eyes, as if he can see what to possibly say in this situation if he just gets his bangs out of the way.

"I'm... I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. You shouldn't have gone through that because of humans... and fuck, I can't even imagine... I know people can be shit, but to just kill someone because they can..." Because they think it's just some game, some scenario in a theme park... It twists his stomach.

"Again. I'm really sorry. You don't have to tell me more. It's obvious you'd be the one more in danger from me than..." He trails off awkwardly.

Maeve looks at him quietly. "You didn't upset me. Home upset me. The people of Delos upset me. The people that came there and took part in it upset me. You weren't even there."

There's a pause there, though. "Why am I in more danger from you? Having suffered doesn't make me less dangerous. Doesn't make anyone less dangerous. I have control over myself, so you're not in danger from me. But I don't believe myself to be in danger from you either."

Not with how scared he seemed of everything.

"I... I mean, that's true, but... I mean, it's understandable that humans would make you uncomfortable, that's all."

Right? It's kind of the same with him. She wasn't the one who tortured him and forced him into that desperate act, but he still looks at her and alarm bells start to go off. He'd probably look a lot less frightened otherwise.

"I'm not... planning to hurt you again. I guess I was just, um..." He sucks in a breath through his teeth. "I'm actually more used to AI that harms people, rather than the other way around."

"Yes. I suppose at the beginning, they did. It took a long time for me to admit what I was, but no one has attacked me and everyone has been mostly kind about it." So her ability to trust is a little better than it was. "It doesn't mean that I trust every human immediately, but I am trying to be better about it."

She studies him quietly, brows furrowing slightly in concern. "And yet you are anxious about me feeling uncomfortable around you? Are you certain you would not prefer that I leave? I do not need to stay."

"N-No, it's okay! I mean, I'm the same way. Trying to be better about it. I don't want you to have to leave anywhere I am just because I have this baggage. B-Besides, you haven't been a jerk about it like Max was, so I mean, I should try."

It's obvious to him, at least, that they both need to talk this out. Leaving it hanging in the air isn't going to help either of them feel better, and it might end up putting them in danger.

"What happened with Maximilien?" Because she wants to have a full understanding. She will likely ask Maximilien his side as well later. She understands most of the inorganic types are very uncomfortable with certain things. Especially how they're addressed. She understands it even if it doesn't apply to her. "I would prefer both sides of the story if I am going to understand."

"A big mess, mostly." Rich runs a hand through his hair. "He ran into me in the store and I got freaked when I saw him. He noticed that and got in my face a little bit. I made the mistake of asking him what kind of robot he was, and... I don't know. We got into an argument, he punched a hole in the wall next to my head, and after that, I think I blacked out. Had a... panic attack, basically, some flashbacks and shit. He was gone by the time I got my senses back."

They sort of got along the second time, after Rich was done trolling him. ~~And Rich fortunately doesn't know about Max's murder list and how he's near the top.~~

"Ah. The R word. I see." Maeve had a feeling it was sort of something like that. "Maximilien isn't necessarily as bad as he seems, but then again, I guess he is if you make him angry. But that's true of most of us. Humans included." She shrugs. "As long as you have learned, though? For your own sake, I wouldn't call anyone that unless they specifically request or prefer it. I don't particularly care one way or another. I don't have the same history with the word. But I do my best to warn others of it when they are new and we meet. Mostly so no one else attacks them."

Not that that would have really helped Rich. "I understand it likely didn't help you terribly much. But...that's more the showing up after you."

"It's not like I meant to piss him off. I just didn't know any other words besides that one and like, the specific product name the AI in my world used. That's about it. If they give me something else to use, I'll take that advice. I just didn't know." Frankly, he's trying not to get frustrated at the idea that it was all his fault. Maximilien was still a billionaire asshole, even before the misunderstanding soured their communication.

Maeve is quiet for a moment. Not knowing isn't a crime, she supposes. She likely could have gotten away with carefully keeping a disguise up for this, but...oh well. She's already here. "He barely likes people as it is, so I suppose it's easy enough to upset him." There's a shrug. "I can't say I entirely blame him, but...I'm sure it's..." Well, not forgotten. Max likely didn't forget that. She can't forget, so that's one of those things. "Just one of those things."

"Yeah, I can tell he doesn't much like people. He's a bit of an ass." He shouldn't say that. It's obvious they're friends, and straining this conversation further by insulting her friend is a bad idea, but he can't help but get defensive.

"What happened wasn't all on me. He could have done anything else besides threaten me like that. I get that he has issues with the word, but he can't just punch out a wall every time someone says it."

Maeve studies him quietly for a moment. "Perhaps we shouldn't speak about Maximilien any longer. I don't think it is helping either of us in this moment." That's the diplomatic way of excusing herself and him from a conversation where they might not fully agree.

Rich breathes out in a frustrated huff. He just can't seem to get himself under control. Especially knowing she disagrees... well, it might as well be her disapproving of him, looking down on him, nitpicking his every flaw-

He raises a hand to massage his temple and shakes his head. "I... sorry. I don't think I should... talk more at all, actually. I'm not, not cut out for this."

Maeve studies him for a moment, not really sure how to deal with this or not deal with this, so perhaps it is the best. She's sure someone else can deal with that. Probably.

"If that's what you feel is best for you." She looks off to the side. "Perhaps I'll just go back to looking through the books, then."

"...Maybe for, um... for now. I'm really sorry," he mutters quietly. He wants to be better. He wants to help her, since he needs to make up for the trouble he caused, but he can't stop himself from feeling nausea clawing at his stomach.

"I really should be over this..."

"It's fine, darling." She'll have another conversation very similar to this later in the month and perhaps then it will seem like a pattern. "I'll see you later." And she's just casually slipping around the bookshelf to pretend she's looking at the books here.

[ Steve is doing that thing people sometimes do. You know, the thing. Where he's clearly thinking about going in a place but hasn't actually committed to doing so, so he's just sort of loitering outside the library looking a bit like a lost puppy.

It's just... you know, the thought of going into this room and talking about being possessed and facing other people who were also possessed is really fucking scary. The thought of never talking about it again is equally as scary. He's already made at least ten mental notes to check in with Will Byers if he ever sees him again, make sure he's okay. Because this shit sucks. Big time.

So he stands outside of the library, offering a casual nod to anyone who passes by. Super nonchalant, super cool. Nothing to see here, thanks! ]

[Yep, it's all totally normal here! Everyone is super cool. And Rich doesn't say anything to him the first few times he hurries past with refreshments in tow, opting to wait patiently for Steve to get his courage up.

...Well, at least until his fifth go around, as he's stepping out of the library. Still, he doesn't want to make it too obvious he's checking up on him, so he offers a soft smile, giving him a double take like he's just realized something.]

Uh, hey! I'm getting snacks for the meeting so... if you want me to grab something? Even if you're not coming, the beignets are to die for.

[After it seems like a large enough group has formed, Rich gets to his feet and claps for attention.]

Alright! Hey guys. Glad you all could make it. I'm Rich Goranski, and I'm the one who invited you here. I also was apparently possessed by a 12-year-old kid named Omori for most of the month. So... guess if you saw any of that, or if he was super weird to you, I'm sorry about that.

[He offers a weak smile.] This... actually isn't my first time dealing with crap like this. Back home, I actually had something controlling me as well. It's a... long and complicated story, so I'm not going to get into it all right now.

The important thing is... I know how guilty you probably feel. I know you probably are worried about what this other person in your body did to the people you care about. I know you're probably scared it might happen again, and frankly, after being in that weird place where there was like... nothing at all? I bet all of these emotions are super overwhelming.

[God knows he's already pretty overstimulated.] But the thing is... that month doesn't matter. Not as much as you think it does. What 'you' did isn't your responsibility. The people who care about you already understand that. The people who don't... well, if they're good people, they'll learn to trust you anyways.

And I mean, I think it's kind of freeing. Like we all get a chance to redefine ourselves. It sucks that it had to come with this kind of cost, but... being who you are completely, and not letting fear hold us back. Showing people who we really are in case this mess ever happens again... I think that'll be a good thing in the end.

[He flops back in his seat then, but he beams.]

Anyways, my movie mentor life lesson speech time is up. And I know saying it'll be good in the long run doesn't help now. So if you want to talk about anything, we're here to listen.

[After Rich has said his piece, he heads off to the side, mainly just to listen. If anyone approaches, he's happy to talk, but if not, he's just here to be a comfortable presence, hopefully.

Maybe the soft guitar music he's playing will help with that atmosphere. It's not his usual style, but he's hopeful that it's calming enough to help those who just want to zone out and forget all about last month entirely.]

[ venti feels that he prooobably doesn’t quite deserve to be here, he definitely wasn’t among the first group of possess-ees and very much didn’t bear a huge brunt of that trauma. still though, he seems to be wallflowering a bit at the meeting, listening to people as they might mingle and talk, then approaching rich afterwards; there’s a small smile to his face as he admires the song. ]

Rich, was it?

… You’re quite talented with this. [ music and arranging the meeting both, perhaps. ]

Edited 2022-11-10 00:22 (UTC)

[Rich is pretty sure that this is for anyone who went through something weird, even if it was only for a day or so. That was his plan, anyways. Not like he was going to gatekeep the meeting anyways, especially when he had no memories to deem who was and wasn't possessed early on.

He smiles when he's approached, just barely managing not to flub the notes when he's complimented.]

Rich Goranski, at your service! Um, thanks! I just thought people might like something calming... I'm used to more punk rock, but this is nice.

I’ve never quite heard anything like punk rock until I came to this ship. Discovering new music might as well be one of the miracles to being brought here, at least~ and I’d certainly like to hear your favorite songs, too.

[ maybe later or after a talk, perhaps. ]

How have you been doing, after everything that’s happened?

Ah, sure! I can definitely do that. I've been practicing a couple of them. They won't sound the same when they're acoustic, but at least you'll get the gist.

[He could ramble on about that for longer, but the question is a bit more important. He offers as casual a shrug as he can manage.]

It's pretty messy, I'm not going to lie. Getting used to... experiencing things will all my senses again. And it's definitely not fun to hear what you were used to do to people who trusted you. At least I'm sort of familiar with it, but it definitely doesn't make it easier. What about you?

[Mingle] Let's save the pitiful children who just haven't a clue

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MEETING START

POST-MEETING

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