Explain your fears to the oc below IC

Saiph looks to the other person with him, as he overlooks a great, scenic landscape at their side. What this great scenic landscape was, though...

...Was a swamp.

The boy seemed uneased, for some reason. Was it because of the mushy feeling of the swamp waters, or...

"...S-sorry, I... I don't... I don't like frogs. Not in the slightest." Saiph timidly explained to his companion. "Slimy little things... I love everything around me, yeah, but frogs, frogs-- th-they're just like a bad omen! That time one got in my hair, that time one made me jump back into a display case, that time one got in one of my customer's hair... I-I mean, they're the worst!" He groaned, looking away from the view.

"I swear, far worse than my big, huge fear I'm gonna turn into some monster if I'm not already one myself and end up destroying a lot of the things I really really cherish it's definitely worse than that yeah yep..."

His eyes slowly go towards his company, a face sunk like he just revealed some deep secret of his.

"...S-so, anyways. Frogs."

Maribelle had already started to walk towards the quagmire. She didn't get why Saiph hadn't immediately followed her, but nor did she seem to care, only pausing to look over her shoulder at him when he spoke up. Maybe she should have kept walking, though, because then she rolled her eyes at the boy.

Frogs? He was afraid of frogs? How pathetic.

Frogs were one of the cutest, sweetest little things. She liked seeing the shine of jelly-like tadpole eggs and then later watching the hatchlings dart about in pools. She liked catching frogs and bringing them back to Laojin, only to lose them because she was horrible at keeping them detained. A bad omen? That was so stupid!

But then, Saiph continued on. That wasn't all. Alas, Maribelle had already made up her mind, it seemed, as she then rolled her eyes again.

"If you turn into a monster, then there's no helping that. Would it make much of a difference, anyway? Everyone becomes one." Keep in mind that this was coming from an edgy teenager, so maybe Saiph shouldn't put too much stock into her words, but, hey. It's fine. "Lots of times people hurt the things -- the people -- that they like. It's just a fact of life." It was a... very cold attempt at comfort. One probably couldn't even call it comfort.

She was just being an asshole.

"..You're an idiot for not liking frogs, though. They're not scary." she then said to him, "Like, turtle frogs are cute. They're, like, turtles but without the shells. I like them. I don't know why anyone would be afraid of frogs. It's not like they can hurt you!" Unless they were poisonous. But it wasn't like she was using all of her brain right now.

"Come on. We're going into these woods." She then told him, "So get moving."

spoiling this for the sake of pregnancy being sort of discussed ?

     Terry took a long swig of his coffee as he stared out the window. "I don't like kids, either," he muttered in response to her rant. "But all of what you just said? That's a whole lot of psychological layers than just not liking children. I almost feel like I need to say sorry to you for what caused this mindset. I can tell you, though, that kids aren't as dumb as you think. You'd be surprised with how much a lot of them can be clever and tricky."

     He looked down at the remains of his drink, swishing it around in his mug. "I've seen plenty of people too, that've hated the thought of being parents. Hated that they'd essentially lose their life and all their free time. They're right about that, but I've never seen them keep that hate after the kid. They're happy, and they have a sense of belonging and importance after that. Kid's clinging to you, you're the reason for their everything. That's one hell of a role to take, and it makes you feel good.
     "'Course, then they drop 'em off with me and claim their work's done, and I can tell you that I don't feel any sense of importance trying to get a kid to stop picking his nose. And at the end of the day, that's what children are: people picking their nose because they don't know any better. Nothing to fear there."

     Terry chuckled bitterly. "My fear came true long ago. I wanted to teach music. Band director, elementary music teacher-- Hell, I'd have settled for choir. But the school kept saying I was good with the other kids, and they promised me I'd get priority for the music job as long as I stayed with them as a homeroom teacher. Should've seen those red flags. Anyways, my fear was that I'd be stuck in this job. Guess the ending to that story is pretty clear."

Kaboodle sighed. "Well, I don't know what to do about that." She responded to Terry. "Maybe you should give them an ultimatum and if they don't listen, you should try to see if you can move to a different school?" She shrugs. "I might be totally wrong, but that's my two-cents"

----

Kaboodle took a deep breath. "I hate snakes." She looked intensly as she spoke this. "I know a lot of people say they hate snakes...but I feel like they have a vendetta against me personally. When I was like 6, a snake tried to bite my ankle, but I barely got out of the way in time. Then I turned 16 and one actually got into my workplace and I was lying on the work couch and it slithered up to my chest and actually bit me! I had to go to the hospital. Then I went to this hotel. It seemed quaint, though a little rusty in a few places. Everything was fine. But then I heard a hissing noise. I looked in one of the wall holes and there were snakes. And they looked at me like I burned their crops, poisioned their water supply, and delivered a plauge unto their houses. I packed my bags and noped outta there. I don't know what the snakes have against me, but I'm terrifed of what they're planning..."

Mila stood listening to the corpse, just letting him yell his frustrations. It seemed reasonable, to her, and at the very least she could relate to a degree that it was a horrifying scenario. "I don't think you belong under the earth." She murmured. "You may be dead, of course, but you're a person. You think, you feel, you talk and you fear. In that sense, you're a living thing that walks the earth like any other." Mila cleared her throat, crossing her arms across her chest. "It's a perfectly reasonable fear. Perhaps you could designate a person to keeping you.. well... Above ground." She suggested. "Someone you see at least every other day, who knows that if you haven't checked in with them, they should grab a shovel and start checking the mortuaries." 

She gave a slight shrug. "That's what my guild does, at least. We have many members, so it's important to keep a track of people incase someone gets lost or killed and we're left unaware. It might bring you some comfort."

Spoilered for mentions of being held hostage and magic harvesting - not graphic but better safe than sorry!

[Aaaaa, that response is genuinely so sweet!! Mila would definitely appreciate the sentiment behind his words, too :0]

Veritas didn't waste a single moment after the story concluded. He slid off his coat and placed the oversized thing on top of her "Well they sound like utter assholes" he didn't know what else to think. He had just met the girl and already he was hatching plans to stomp the skulls of her parents in. Ungrateful bastards didn't deserve a single bit of sympathy when they die. But he took a deep breath, in and out. Calm down.

He gave the small girl a smile, even if she couldn't see it, and comforted "Well you ain't with them anymore. You ain't gonna be cold anytime soon. I promise on my life" he gave the girl his decree as he began to button up the coat. He knew it wasn't cold here, but it was better safe than sorry "An hey, they are prolly realizing they are just assholes an I hope all that magic explodes in their fuckin face"

--------------------------

TW: Implied SA and Cheating 

         Tarus acknowledges Veritas and smiles slightly. “Your fear might seem silly but it definitely has a reason.” He taps his chin. “Sometimes I too worry about similar events. Then I remember how my wife saved my life.” He pats Veritas shoulder. “I wish you luck with dealing with your current situation. If you ever want to talk I’ll be happy to listen.”

      ——-

    Tarus clears his throat, his tendrils are out and twitching slightly. “ My biggest fear is heights. I can’t stand them. I’ve burst into tears while riding a roller coaster.” He chuckles awkwardly. “I can’t stand planes or being in tall buildings either. The height and possibility of falling makes me dizzy and feel feint.” 

Amory nodded her head, his fear was rational and was also one of her fears. Hopefully, her just being there would help them out, but you never knew. "I understand the feeling"

Amory plunked down on the end of the stage, her eyes looking to the being in front of her. The pub had closed early due to a parent not reading the signs on the door. Her eyes were duller than normal as she stayed quiet for a few seconds. "A kid came today." She started her voice gentle but not exactly sure of what to do. "I love kids, but.."

Her eyes drifted to the doors, "My developers messed up. When kids come around my system frizzles." Her tone went sadder s she continued. "When that happens my body goes into Security guard mode, where the whole thing is for me to secure the place."

"But they're just a kid." She murmured, "I can't control my body... I can only watch. Watch the horrors that happen in that mode."

     “I felt that deeply.” Poppers voice is distorted. (Their voice used to sound happy and sweet) “Everyone though it was my fault it happened, which it wasn’t. Somone manipulated my wires..”

      ——
     Popper let’s out a series of sniffles. They hide their face in embarrassment. “I’m afraid of the dark. It’s so scary and I can’t see anything..I’m afraid someone will hurt me in the dark again. *more sniffles* The darkness makes me feel more lonely…”

"No, no, ah...that's....reasonable?" Harold hesitates to offer comfort to the apparently living animatronic, but feels compelled to say something after that emotional display. It was an awkward effort, but it wasn't like he was much better at talking to real people. Whatever the thing's circumstances were, it's feelings were real enough, and that was all Harold needed to show empathy. He was also terrified and assumed it was better not to agitate the thing further. "Not that you have anything to fear," he adds quickly, "but, um, if it makes you feel better then just keep the lights on? Nothing wrong with that."

Harold was afraid of many things, and going down the list wasn't exactly worth the emotional effort. Especially not for a stranger, but he still felt like he couldn't dodge the question. Saying he was afraid of nothing would make him look like an ass, and giving a dismissive answer only made people more curious. Better to pick one confession than offer none at all, he thought.

"I'm not a fan of the ocean," he begins, awkwarly avoiding eye contact, "I just never liked to think about what happens down there." Although he was being intentionally vague, he knows exactly what part of the ocean bothered him. It was the creatures. He'd seen whales up close with their cold, dead eyes and oversized bodies lurking under ships and breaching the water. They were terrible, monstrous things, and nothing else seemed quite as intimidating up close. That being said, it wasn't like he had any personal traumatic experiences to drive this phobia. He just hated to know about their existence, among the other things that lurked under the water.

"It's good that you fear the sea." said Melantha. She had never been out to sea. Once, so long ago, she tried to steal a boat just to explore, but so clumsy was she that she got caught. It was for the best. "The ocean... it's awfully big, isn't it? And so deep. The currents are strong enough to rip apart the strongest boats and the depths will never spit you out. My father said demons live in the water, and beyond it, and everywhere around it. It's no wonder you'd not like it."

Of course, this was coming from Melantha. She really didn't know much about the ocean, about how it truly was. Part of her didn't care, either, because living so far inland for most of her life, it barely affected her what happened on the coasts. So, proudly, she puffed up her chest and met Harold's gaze. "Still, that doesn't mean you're not a big baby."

implied animal abuse?

"Oh, that's quite understandable," Kestrel hums as he listens, fidgeting with his glove. He'd never been much of an animal person, either -- albeit, not to the extent that Melantha is when it comes to dogs; he didn't grow up around them and wouldn't have wanted to, anyway. The only time he even got close to a dog as a child was during one of his father's hunting excursions, and he trembled like a leaf whenever it chased after deer or game. So, in a sense, he sympathizes with Melantha. "They can be rather intimidating. How dreadful it is that you had to witness that, too." 

They're kind of cute, though. Sometimes. He likes watching them on walks whenever he's out in town. He'd not tell Melantha that, though; upsetting her is the last thing he wants to do.  

He continues. "But I wouldn't go as far as to say they should be dead... goodness, not at all! All they need is some good care and discipline and they'd be right as rain -- and they wouldn't be bothering you, either."

"I try not to let my fears control me, you know," Kestrel says with a sigh. "It's unprofessional in my opinion; I wouldn't want to make others unnerved with my anxieties, so I swallow my fear and... what's the term? Oh -- I just deal with it. That's all." 

Awfully ironic considering he's doing the exact opposite of dealing with it right now. Within the crowd of people, he stands uneasy, eyes scanning the waves of movement for any glimpse of an exit. Despite wanting to keep the perfected demeanor of a gentleman that he likes so much, he looks more like a sad, trembling animal more than anything else; his fingers tap at the backs of his hands and tangle together, he gnaws at his lip, and he mutters excuse me and sorry and every other little apology he can muster up as he attempts to dodge between people. It's kind of pitiful...

Eventually, he gives up his feeble attempt of trying to get out and turns to his companion, a look of defeat sitting flat on his face. Quietly, he mumbles, "I don't like crowds. Terrifying -- they're awful! I can't imagine how people enjoy being around so many others..."

He pauses then, hands wringing together. "Anyways, ah -- could we leave? Now? Please." 

“There’s no need to get so worked up over crowds. They care less about you than you care about them.” He groans a little, as he had looked forward to this social event but alas, it couldn’t be helped. He saw how Anton’s physical state was deteriorating by the second and took his hand, dragging him out of the crowd. 

“Better?” He said bluntly. He wasn’t really one to show much emotion towards people he barely knew but he wasn’t a bad kid. He had done the bare minimum at least. “You should practice on getting a hold of your fears instead of avoiding them. It leaves you handicapped in social situations where you’re forced to do things you don’t like.” 

——————

“I guess, if anything I don’t like the ocean or rather I don’t like that we know so frightening little about it. There’s also the fact that there are sirens that will drag you down to the depths of hell.” He didn’t give the expression of someone who was afraid but his tail was swaying in an uneasy manner.