DAY 006

[inflori]

( Hey. )

[ Petre is unusually quiet when he reaches out to the station as a whole. All the fellow hosts, awake or currently resting, get a pressing nudge that won't relent until he has their attention. ]

( Is anybody's powers changing, sorta? Like. In a way that you don't even know they are. )

[ There's reluctance to show any true uncertainty in his voice. Misato told him that wanting everyone to think you were a threat was only a sign of your weakness... or something like that. All he knows is that this feels like showing vulnerability. He doesn't like it, but he's more curious than proud right now. ]

( ... I keep changing whenever I look in the mirror. )

Comments

[wille]

( Why don't you-- )

[ Brace yourself for reason #83752 why Misato should never be allowed anywhere near kids. ]

( Why didn't you look anyway? I thought it's normal to . . . )

[inflori]

( I don't know! Would you check your fucking vagina to see if it'd turned into a bucket? )

[ let's play the drinking game of passing out drunk because you drank a shot every time petre used the f word ]

[wille]

( What!? Hey--! )

[ Watch her bite back insults along the lines of have you even seen a real-life vagina. But he's the kid and she's the adult here. Deep breaths. ]

( Okay, okay. Look, I'm sorry. I'll lay off. You're worried, huh? What did you think was your power at first? )

[inflori]

[ he hasn't

and every woman in the world was relieved to know that ]

( I already know what it is. I can turn into other people. )

[wille]

( So . . . Why are you surprised that your face keeps changing? You can't control it? )

[inflori]

( Duh. I wouldn't want to just change my face for no reason. )

[ petre this is not how you get people to help you ]

[wille]

[ Misato tries . . . ]

( You're worried cause you don't know how to change your face to what you want it to be? )

[inflori]

( No, I already do that. ) [ Frustration builds up in his voice, but he quickly dials it down to continue. Sort of. ] ( It just keeps changing when I don't want it to. )

[wille]

( I say, practice makes perfect. )

[ A beat as she tries to step into his shoes. ]

( Are you scared of forgetting what your real face looks like? )

[inflori]

( Wh- No! )

[ That's a scary thought. Daaaamn. ]

( I just don't want it to be changing all the time. Like, what if we go on a mission and I look different every second? )

[wille]

( Control comes with practice! Can you go back to your real face when you realize you've changed? )

[inflori]

( Of course I can.

How do I control something that I don't want to happen? )

[wille]

( You focus on what you want to happen.

It's like trying to forget something. Trying not to think about it doesn't work, it's better to find something else to focus on. And then one day you no longer remember you meant to forget. )

[inflori]

( ... I have no idea how I'm supposed to do any of that. )

[wille]

( Think of the face you do want, your own for example, and keep focusing on changing into that and nothing else. Maybe . . . keep a locket with your own face in it? )

[inflori]

( That sounds stupid. )

[ Or slightly terrifying, that he'd have to keep something lest he forget what his face is like. Being a part of a hive hasn't done anything to compromise his sense of self, but now -

- fuck. ]

( Why can't I just make it stop. )

[wille]

( One day you'll learn to make it stop. But you need to make do to get to that point first. )

[inflori]

( The guy I used to practice with is gone. )

[wille]

( You can practice with me.

I won't even ask after-- uhm other body parts. Promise! )

[inflori]

( You're so gross. )

[ is that a yes

it's a yes ]

[wille]

( Whatever. You like me anyway. )

[inflori]

( And an idiot. )

[ Petre, redefining the tsundere trope since Asuka-whatever her name became in Rebuild. ]

im laughs

[wille]

( Don't make me pinch you for being too cute. )

[inflori]

[ If Petre was a cat he'd be chewing on her arm. Angrily. ]

( Since when am I fucking cute. )

[wille]

( Since just now. )

[ There's no winning, Petre, there just isn't. ]