trans_9 | Okay, That Stung... [Open]

Entry tags:

Okay, That Stung... [Open]

Vivio wasn't in the best of moods.

That was probably an understatement right there - she was downright crappy. After her argument with Sherry, Vivio had retreated into the Sensoriums, mostly to work out her frustrations the best way she could - by training.

Bringing up a training room and setting herself up for practice, Vivio began by striking a punching bag, fists and feet flying as blow after blow connected. She could feel herself slow just a bit - Sherry's punch still stung. But, it was probably worse than that.

It's just that you're so stupid sometimes I can't stand to be around you!

Sherry hated her for a reason more than just being there. Vivio's reaction to that proved it, but she couldn't understand way.

Stupid...? Vivio mused to herself. H-How am I stupid? What have I done to make her think that?

As Sherry continued on, the words kept ringing through her head, kept calling her "stupid". Her face contorted in rage before, briefly, she took up her adult form and struck the bag hard enough to knock it off its chain before returning to normal.

"I'm not stupid! I'm not! You're the one who's stupid! You always will be!" Vivio shouted to no one in particular before slumping to her knees, sniffling as she did.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Jayne had entered the Sensoriums as a man on a mission. What that mission was naturally involved indulging some torrid fantasy world he'd constructed in his head.

But when he stepped in and saw this one was already in use he was all ready to hightail it right back out the door. You never knew what sort of scary ass nightmare some of these kids could conjure up.

But something stopped him short. The sound of crying. Possibly one of the most mind numbing terrifying things for any man to have to deal with. A crying girl.

He froze. Like an idiot he froze when he should have run! If this was a fire fight he'd have had no trouble diving for cover and letting things play out. He was a survivor! This was what he told himself.

Yet instead of doing what every instinct in his head screamed to do, he opened his mouth and heard his voice speaking the words, "Uh...hey...you OK?"

Vivio turned around to see Jayne standing there. She couldn't help but be embarrassed - someone had caught her in a moment of anguish. Wiping her eyes clean, she stood up.

"I... no." Vivio admitted. "No, I'm not. I... got in a fight with... someone."

Jayne had to stifle a snort and an eye roll.

Women! If he got moody everytime he got in a fight with people...well he was actually pretty moody most the time. But he didn't cry over it!

"You hurt?" He asked very practically, though he already suspected it wasn't a physical pain that had her doubled up.

"I-I'll be fine..." Vivio uttered, standing up. Yeah, she was hurting emotionally, but she wasn't going to let that stop her.

The slight grunt and wince from where Sherry punched her? Not so much.

"Uh huh, sure."

Well now he was invested. Jayne moved closer slowly, fully aware of how a man he size tended to spoke smaller girls.

"What happened exactly? This big boat is supposed to punish people who fight."

"I got in an argument with someone." Vivio said. "I was trying to help her out, but she kept insulting me. So, I... ended up hitting her."

Now Jayne's face screwed up into a look of confusion, "Well it sounds like she had it comin' if she was gonna treat you like dirt when yer tryin' to help."

"Hey, if you're that intent on kicking the punching bag's ass, you ought stay focused." Hit Girl's voice rang out, and she was in the corner, bent back, the girl looking casual. "Not fall over like that, library girl."

She could say worse insults than that, but she didn't see why: the girl seemed upset for some reason.

"What's eating you?"

Vivio repressed a groan hearing Hit Girl's voice. Right now, she was probably one of the few people she wanted to deal with.

"If you're going to tease someone..." Vivio uttered, staggering to her feet. "...go find Sherry. I'm sure she'd love finding someone else she deems 'stupid'."

I think that's all you need right there.

"I could, but I'm actually more interested in why you're so pissed off. The only Sherry I know is the cooking kind that people drink as alcohol or whatever. But you're obviously here for a reason, and you definitely sound upset.

She shrugged. "If she calls me stupid, she's getting one across the face. Same as anyone, really."

"Maybe you'd get it through better than me..." Vivio said. "I found Sherry - Captain Leon's kid - upset. I wanted to talk to her, try to cheer her up and she snaps at me. I thought she was just being thick-headed until she tells me she couldn't stand me because I'm so stupid..."

A beat.

"...then, I slapped her because of it. And... she punches me. In the gut."

Solar plexus, really, but...

"Huh." Well, that was a bit to think about. Not that she knew anything about this Sherry kid, or remotely cared about the captain on the ship. That was all politics stuff, and she was never really a fan of that.

"Sounds like she was in one of those moments where nothing anyone said would have worked," She said. "Not that slapping somebody isn't going to bring out a reaction. Violence bring violence."

She shrugged. "Do you think you're stupid?"

"No, of course not!" Vivio admitted, a little shocked. "I-I mean, I've done a few silly things and all, but nothing stupid!"

"Then the only opinion about you being stupid or not is your own, right?" Hit girl said, looking at her. "I only met you before once, and though you definitely seemed selectively ignorant, that's different from being stupid, trust me."

The shout brought Ed out of his thoughts as he was headed into the sensoriums for some cake in a nice setting. Noticing Vivio there, he sighed. God another problem. At least his own was solved for the time being. Being GlaDOSed had given him time to think things over, and having his memories helpfully unlocked by Stacy to what happened in a few days his memory time later, well, yeah.

"Trouble in paradise kiddo?" inquired Ed curiously as he leaned against the door.

"You could say that..." Vivio uttered, standing up. It was nice to hear Ed again, that was for sure. Turning to face him, she asked "Am I stupid?"

Ed gave her a bit of a confused look for a moment, quirking an eyebrow at Vivio. "Stupid? Naw. A little headstrong but definitely not stupid. What's wrong?"

Vivio let out a sigh. "I found Sherry - Captain Leon's kid - looking upset, so I wanted to cheer her up. She ends up snapping at me, wondering why I care even though we weren't friends. When I told her, she got defensive and says she doesn't want to be around me because I'm stupid..."

She shook her head a bit before continuing.

"It got the better of me and... I slapped her. And she punched me in the gut."

Ed was silent for a bit, thinking about what Vivio said. And then he sighed with a slight expression on his face. It wasn't disappointed or sad, or annoyed or anything. But... amused?

"Did you win? The fight I mean. Or did Stacy step in between something that clearly should have ended in blows and apologies?"

"I don't know. She's the one with the big red mark on her face..." Vivio admitted, a slight amused smirk on her face. "The punch... it stings, but Einhart's done worse."

"So you two traded blows, and really you both came out worse for it and admitted feelings. Sounds like typical growing up to me."

Reaching out, he conjured a chair and sat down on it, straddling it as he motioned for Vivio to sit down in one too. "When Al and I were growing up, we fought all the time over the silliest things. Somehow, this is part of growing up no matter HOW aggravating, you following me?"

Vivio brought up her own chair, sitting down on it as she listened to what Ed had to say, nodding a bit after he finished.

"Sure we had our differences, but in the end, there needs to be understanding on either end. Did she say why she hated you? Like anything at all?" inquired Ed curiously.

"After all, everyone's got a reason to hate another."

"Nuh-uh." Vivio admitted. "She just said I was so stupid. She never explained or anything!" It was confusing, alright. "I mean, beyond ratting her out after Claire caught us on Zokez II, I haven't done anything else to her except try to be her friend! And I apologized for it, even after she said she'd take the blame!"

Edited 2011-03-08 03:22 (UTC)

Ed played that sentence over and over in his head and then sighed very lightly. "Vivio... I think she's one of those types with a long memory. Forgiveness yes, but never forget. Those kinds of people are the toughest kinds of people to deal with, because any kind of slight or misdeed, ANY of them, will be mentally strung up."

He exhaled loudly. "I'm pretty sure she just wants it to be done and over with. I am really sorry but that's how I see it."

Edited 2011-03-08 03:32 (UTC)

Vivio sighed herself, scratching her head. "I dunno, Ed. It... doesn't feel right." she admitted. "It feels like there's something more to it and I just can't put my finger on it."

"Well maybe she has some serious trust issues too," added Ed with a shrug. "People are hard to figure out sometimes and if she doesn't want you around, then you simply cannot force the issue."

"B-But...! I..." Vivio stammered, confused. "I just don't get it! I mean... I have all these other friends, I-I even made Einhart one of them! Why can't I do it with her?!"

"Well lets look at this objectively. Sometimes, some people are easy to get along, and others are much harder by spades to do anything of the sort. Trust is built on foundation of one thing or another and in short, you're looking at this like it's an obstacle, with a point to hammer down on until they finally give in and actually be amused by the situation in their own way."

Sighing, Ed got up and stretched out his arm, rotating his good shoulder. "Get up, it's time for an object lesson."

"From what I can piece together, your friendship making.... is like this!"

And he launched a full speed punch at her head. He knew she could block it, but he wanted to get her riled up first.

"WOAH!" Vivio had just hopped up when Ed threw his punch. Catching it with her hands, she winced a bit before pushing it away and getting distance between the two of them.

"Heh... in a way, yeah. Everyone likes to joke about it, especially since Nanoha-mama tended to do that."

Ed nodded. There was some power in that block and he grinned, closing the distance and sweeping his leg up and about for a kick. "And just like this," and he kicked out in a smooth motion to drive her onto the defensive, "Is where all of it lays!"

"With every friend you make, there's a measure of force behind it, and it's quite frankly the way you've been raised! Like me, you can't take no for an answer very easily!"

Vivio easily fell into the defensive. There was no time to shift into her adult form and fight back as Ed kept up his offensive.

"Maybe I have... but, I can't just abandon it! I can't let anyone think they can be so stubborn and make others take it!"

"So where does it stem from?" Inquired Ed as he punched and kicked at her, moving from one form to another. He pulled back just slightly to allow her a breather and possibly even the odds as well.

"What drives you so much that you need to keep friends with everyone?"

Vivio grunted as she took advantage of one break to press the attack back at him.

"Because I don't want them to be alone! I know how it is to be that way and I don't want them to be hurt, too!"

"And you think," block, block, sweep, "that everything will be right as rain if you keep hammering at it, and hammering at it they'll give in? It doesn't work for everyone, and certainly not for the girl you want to call as a friend!"

"People are growing, evolving, changing. They can't accept something so they move on, it goes with friendships." Ed cocked his metal arm and it swung at her stomach to try and drive her backwards. "They get mad, they yell, they tell each other that there isn't anything that they want to do with the other. And yet, people keep going on. Why? We're flawed, we're horrible to each other, and yet we're the most social creatures on the planet!"

And with that, Ed swung his foot so that he could try and catch her and trip her up.

"I can't... I won't accept that!" Vivio shouted back. "We're in this together. No matter what! And... and I refuse to let her go at it alone! She needs to learn! She needs to listen! She isn't important! She isn't special and I'll do anything it takes to get her to see that! I refuse to see her suffer because someone decided to abandon her!"

As she ranted, Vivio was caught off guard by the leg sweep, knocking her off her feet. "WHOOP!"

Ed moved immediately to catch the smaller girl in his arms when she fell for the sweep. "And that..." He finished in a softer voice, "And that is why you feel so angry right now. You think you're right. She believes she's right and together you can't compromise on the subject because you two are literally night and day."

"Like me and Al. We're brothers, but we'd fight like this, and even if I was older, I never won. Even if you can't come to blows like this, this is the lesson that I'm giving you right now: People aren't going to want to listen to reason, and even if you feel like giving up on them is abandoning, sometimes it's the right thing to do, especially in a closed space like this. Because in the end, she will have to decide for herself if she ever wants to join the new kid-squad, considering all of her older friends are gone now."

He sighed. "You okay? I didn't hit too hard did I?"

"I'm... I'm fine." Vivio said, getting up to her feet. Did she feel better? No, not really. She was still a bit worked up after it was all done and she still felt a bit bad, but... at least things were starting to come to.

"No you're not," replied Ed with a chuckle as he helped her to a chair. Dang she hit hard for a kid. He wondered what would have happened if they had fought for real. "But you'll feel better later I swear. It just takes time for you to adjust to admitting everything."

"Really who raised you like this?" inquired Ed curiously as he got a couple of bottles of water for them. "Most kids aren't so single-mindedly determined to make friends."

As was Signum's habit, she's around the Sensoriums, and started paying attention to other rooms when they held someone interesting or someone she knew.

As was also Signum's habit, she's also mildly awkward when younger people are having an obvious emotional problem, but...it's Vivio, so she decides to try and help out anyway. Remembering to move 'punching to restore reasonability' down to a very last resort lest she get obliterated by Vivio's parents, she eventually walks over to Vivio's space and announces herself.

"Something wrong?"

Vivio blinked in surprise hearing Signum's voice. Trying to calm herself, she stood up to face the knight.

"I... had a fight with someone and... it didn't go the way I wanted it. At all..." Vivio admitted.

"Fights seldom do," Signum observes, "even for a Takamachi."

"What were you fighting about?" she asks, curious.

Vivio looked down a bit as she continued. "One of the kids here - the captain's kid - was upset and I wanted to cheer her up. Instead, she snaps at me, says that I'm just stupid and..."

A beat.

"I slapped her, because she was being stupid. And she punched me in the stomach."

It was probably a good thing she had stopped herself. Going Kung-Fu Action Jesus on the captain's kid is never a good thing!

Please forgive Signum if she smiles a little at that. "I can see it runs in the family," she says.

She quickly returns to her usual serious expression, though. "I haven't met the captain's daughter, but it seems like she simply didn't want help for some reason. Many people are like that at times, for many different reasons, some better than others."

"I know, but..." Vivio uttered, sighing a bit. "...I guess it's just frustrating to see her like she is and, well... not open up."

Signum thinks on this, trying to think of solutions other than escalating the violence, for once. "She either needs or thinks she needs something besides someone to listen to her. Do you know what she was upset about originally?"

"I... I wish I knew." Vivio admitted. "I had just found her upset and when I tried to talk to her, well..." She trailed off there. "...maybe she... just doesn't need my help."

"It sounds like she needs someone's help..." Signum says.

"...honestly, I'd ask your mothers," she asks, stumbling for good advice that didn't involve more punching. "I'm the wrong person to be giving advice about making friends. I do think she owes you an apology for calling you stupid, though. You're far from that."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Okay, That Stung... [Open]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Mind if I join late?

/o/ 's cool!

no subject

no subject

1/2

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject