Therapy Session Take #1

[perfecttune]

WHO: Mari and you (OTA, characters are free to interact with others as well)
WHAT: Mari is hosting a therapy session! Come if you would like, or if you want to argue against it feel free to show up as well! This is more informal than it seems although she did invite some guest speakers.
WHERE: One of the large buildings that was most likely a common area for everyone, or just a super large bedroom.
WHEN: After First Crossing
WARNINGS Talk about death and violence, specific CWs will be in the text.

A message goes out on the server from Mari: Sorry for the delay everyone! I thought it best to wait a bit till after the meeting Kel thoughtfully put together for all of us! If you would like to come for the Therapy Session, please come to building X. If you would like to bring anyone or anything along please do! Special guest speakers/appearances include Makoto Naegi, Daniil Dankovsky, and Soo Won.

Mari put her tablet down and went back to straightening the chairs she was able to gather in a circle. Surely this would be welcoming? This way they could all see each other and seek comfort if needed... but just in case, she had set up private areas using curtains as a makeshift divider in case others felt the need for a one on one talk...

It still felt strange to her to not have refreshments so she had cups filled with water just in case, surely even if they didn't need to drink it still helped to make the session feel welcoming?

As people filtered in she would call out a greeting. "Welcome and thank you for coming! If you feel comfortable taking a seat please do so! There are also refreshments over there."

Comments

Speech

[solitarynote]

[Sunny was happy that Frieda showed up. It wasn’t like he was surrounded by total strangers anymore - the close-knit, quite literally, quarters that they shared in the Oasis made sure that he could at least recognize when someone he didn’t know showed up - but Frieda was always a calming presence.

Even her voice, in the midst of relaying such a heartfelt message, was something warm to him. And yet…

Sunny remembered the cavern. He remembered that pleading voice, the turn to anger, the flash of lightening…

The teen may have scooted just a bit closer to her in a silent show of support.]

[urtitan]

[That support - continuous as it has been, even with the ugly revelations about her - earns him a grateful smile from her, along with a nod of encouragement. While nobody else is speaking, she leans over to him for some quiet encouragement.]

Do you want to share something with everyone too, Sunny?

[Not out loud, of course - that'd be too much to ask of him, she knows that -, but perhaps in writing?]

[solitarynote]

[When Frieda smiles, it’s like the sun after a long draught. No matter how many times he sees it, it’s always a welcome sight.

And then she asks him to share.

Sunny’s heartbeat quickens on reflex. He hasn’t been part of group therapy before, only solo… and that didn’t work out. At least everyone isn’t staring at him? He hopes?

His fingers shake as they grip his pencil. Something to share… Frieda is asking so nicely though…

Nope. He can’t. The teen shakes his head, feeling like he’s let her down somehow.]

[urtitan]

[Seeing that deer-in-the-headlights look on his face reminds her of the Crossing, of how he became so paralysed by fear that he couldn't even move anymore. Her expression softens, and she reaches out to stroke his head.]

It's alright. You only came to support everybody else, didn't you? That's already a big help.

[solitarynote]

[Sunny visibly relaxed at that - and the headpat, to be honest - as his stress seemed to melt away.

Oh good, he wouldn’t be expected to share.

The nod he gives is honest; even if Mari had asked him to come, he didn’t want to disappoint anyone here. While they next speaker took their place, he scribbles something in his notebook, turning it for her to see.]

I wanted to help. Even if Mari played the big sister card.

[Is Sunny still mildly salty about that? Maybe a tad.]

[urtitan]

[Frieda has to laugh. It's not often that Sunny complains so candidly!]

Well, sometimes that's necessary. It's for your own good! Believe me.

[How often has she gently nagged or guilted her little siblings into doing what was best for them, the family, or the wider community?]

[solitarynote]

[Sunny relents with a small, almost voiceless sigh. There was a time that he would have vehemently denied that but…

He didn’t know why he didn’t this time. Maybe he felt he could really believe what she said. Or maybe, inwardly, Sunny was becoming more open to the presence of his sister due to Frieda’s own kind nature.]

[urtitan]

Makoto's speech was inspiring, right? It's as he said: We don't need to dive into the difficult topics right away. Just talking to each other at all and being a community is enough.

[Whether it'll really be enough, she isn't entirely sure, but hearing Makoto speak did instill her with renewed optimism, as always. He truly is a wellspring of strength for her, perhaps not unlike she inspires confidence in Sunny. (It's the circle of hope!)]

(CW: Panic Symptoms) Linked as it might be relevant :)

[solitarynote]

[Frieda’s voice broke the feeling that had been building in him silently.

He blinked, gaze finding hers, but where she seemed to be filled with optimism for the future, Sunny just looked… lost.

Talk to someone. That’s what Makoto had said. And yet, Sunny found that his throat was closing tighter than before. The pencil that he had been taking notes with jerked sharply against the page, leaving a dark line across it.]

U-um… [The noise he had uttered was barely perceptible, squeezed out with what air he could muster.

Talk.

Talk.

But why was it so hard?]

♡

[urtitan]

[Ah, there it is again - the way he seems to suddenly close up, like a startled clam, and yet his eyes are so wide open. Her expression once again softens.]

I should just stop using that word altogether, shouldn't I? Would it be easier if I said "share"? That can mean sharing just about anything you saw outside, or what happened in Captain Spaceboy, or in your dreams.

[Does that make it any less daunting than the dreaded "We need to talk"?]

[solitarynote]

[Sunny paused to consider that, calming considerably.

‘Share’… it had a similar meaning, but somehow… it didn’t sound as scary. Like, instead of a solo speech among strangers, he was at a casual hangout with friends.

That reframing had him nodding.]

That’s… better…

[Still, what to ‘share’…? His dreams were a bit too personal, and as much as he enjoyed Captain Spaceboy, what if someone laughed at him?

…Frieda did have a point though…

The teen took a few moments to scribble something in his notebook.]

Don’t eat the sand. It isn’t brown sugar.

[Sunny had mentioned this weeks ago but… his voice was barely above a whisper when he spoke to Frieda, like sharing a secret.]

It’s because… not everyone… was here…

[urtitan]

[Once again, she can't help but laugh. She's not judging him, but how can he still be so naive at his age? Granted, the time he spent in isolation (as she knows from Kel) certainly didn't help his development, physically or otherwise... and besides, he simply has that kind of whimsy.]

I'll make sure not to eat it! Thank you for the warning. The sand does have strange colours around here, doesn't it? It's really amazing to see.

[solitarynote]

It… does… [He agreed with a nod. Sunny hadn’t ventured outside of the Oasis, but there were some vantage points that he could see… the brightly colored sand looked so pretty. He almost wished he could see it up close… but that would require him to leave the Oasis.] It… looks like… a rainbow. Far away…

[urtitan]

It does! It's beautiful up close, too.

[That gives her an idea...]

Do you like to paint, say? Perhaps we can ask the Ferryman for materials. There's a lot here to take inspiration from.

[Even if the Ferryman just gave them glue and some kind of surface, it'd be enough to make sand art!]

[solitarynote]

[‘Up close’… there was that small temptation to go see the shifting sands like that… but he couldn’t. The Oasis was safe, the Desert Dunes weren’t, and Sunny didn’t have a party of three others to keep it otherwise.

He wasn’t Omori.

So stay within the Oasis he would…

Except for the fact that Frieda brought up another unexpected idea.]

Mmm. [He hummed, a soft, flat noise as he thought. Mari had liked to paint. It wasn’t like Sunny was bad at it, but drawing was certainly easier. And more readily available. And yet… his notebook wasn’t private, not here. So… he gave a hesitant nod.] S-sure…

[Then… he could draw what he wanted. And only him and Frieda would see it. There was something comforting in that secrecy, if only because part of Sunny was afraid of what his mind would conjure from the space around them.]

[urtitan]

Do you want to ask the Ferryman? Or should I?

[She knows how shy he is...]

Or is there something you'd enjoy more that we could ask for? Are there any games you like to play, or an instrument?

[If only cameras existed in the Walls, then that might be another hobby she could see Sunny enjoying! He's proven himself to be a meticulous observer, after all.]

CW: sudden flashbacks, practice-related injuries

[solitarynote]

[Sunny hesitates, maybe an instant too long, as he debates. It isn’t that he dislikes talking to the Ferryman - quite the opposite - but he’s scared if he asks for too much that they might not enjoy seeing him or he would be a bother…

Just as he opens his mouth to answer, Frida’s moved on in the conversation, questions piling up in Sunny’s mind until…

Instrument.

The teen freezes almost as surely as if the word is a smack. His breath hitches-

-A duet. Fingers tender and red from practice. A snap-

Sunny shakes his head frantically. No. No. No. He skips straight over a lingering fear into the realm of Afraid in an instant.]

[urtitan]

Sunny..?

[He looks terrified, like he did during the Crossing... what did she say that set him off like this? She can't hide her startlement, but does her best to keep her voice gentle and soothing as he puts a hand on his shoulder.]

Sunny, it's alright. We don't have to do anything you don't want to.

Frieda’s so kind, I feel bad doing this to her T.T

[solitarynote]

[Frieda’s voice is calm, her words a way out, and yet-

Sunny keeps shaking his head.

She didn’t understand. She couldn’t. He wouldn’t tell her, wouldn’t tell any of them-

He looks around for… someone-

HELP

-And his gaze finds his sister.

His sister, here, when she shouldn’t be, when she should be There and safe and yet-

Sunny bolts from his chair, knocking it over in his haste to get to the door. He doesn’t stop running, isn’t sure where he’s going, just…

Far, far from here.]

She can handle it!! (Or can she?)

[urtitan]

Sunny--!

[She moves to follow him, but several of the others - Kel and Mari among them - act faster. She exits the shelter along with them, but outside, her steps slow as she sees Sunny take off into the desert, their fellow souls on his trail.

She feels confused and guilty - but it was her words that made him run away, so perhaps she shouldn't chase after him. It might only make things worse. Sunny, I'm sorry. What did I say that scared you so much?]