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strange things | text
[It's taken some time for him to sit down and actually try this because every instinct he has is screaming at him that it's not allowed. The rules toys follow aren't just something they choose to follow, they're instinct. Instinct they can fight, certainly - like when he and Sid's toys had scared Sid - but instinct nevertheless.]
[But this is a special circumstance and maybe Buzz has the right idea. One of the big people had been nice to him, sabotaging his back switch so it didn't actually change anything when switched to demo mode.]
[This situation is so much bigger than them, bigger than any other chaotic situation they've ever faced, bigger even than their little prison break at Sunnyside. What's an escape from a daycare compared to an otherdimensional...whatever? A place where magical shock devices have been put inside them and now they're being expected to, what, go on missions? His only job is being huggable and good for playing pretend. How that's supposed to translate to "missions" is beyond him.]
[In any case, it's so big that maybe he and Buzz need a little help from the big people. Or at least for them to know the two toys hanging around are actually alive.]
[But that doesn't mean it's easy to talk to them. He decides to do it first over text. And decides to maybe test the waters a little instead of launching right into "Hi I'm woody, I'm a talking rag doll."]
[The comm is almost as big as he is, so he has to rely on the voice-to-text to type anything because it's so much work hitting all the buttons.]
Hi. Hello. So.
How nonhuman would someone have to be for you all to think they were too weird for you to want to deal with? Asking for a friend.
[But this is a special circumstance and maybe Buzz has the right idea. One of the big people had been nice to him, sabotaging his back switch so it didn't actually change anything when switched to demo mode.]
[This situation is so much bigger than them, bigger than any other chaotic situation they've ever faced, bigger even than their little prison break at Sunnyside. What's an escape from a daycare compared to an otherdimensional...whatever? A place where magical shock devices have been put inside them and now they're being expected to, what, go on missions? His only job is being huggable and good for playing pretend. How that's supposed to translate to "missions" is beyond him.]
[In any case, it's so big that maybe he and Buzz need a little help from the big people. Or at least for them to know the two toys hanging around are actually alive.]
[But that doesn't mean it's easy to talk to them. He decides to do it first over text. And decides to maybe test the waters a little instead of launching right into "Hi I'm woody, I'm a talking rag doll."]
[The comm is almost as big as he is, so he has to rely on the voice-to-text to type anything because it's so much work hitting all the buttons.]
Hi. Hello. So.
How nonhuman would someone have to be for you all to think they were too weird for you to want to deal with? Asking for a friend.
Re: video
Pleasure to meet you, ma'am. The name's Woody.
[He reaches up to tip his hat because that is especially polite when dealing with a lady and comes back with nothing.]
[He sighs and salutes from his forehead with two fingers instead.]
It's going to take me a while to get use to that. They stole my cowboy hat.
Re: video
Nice to meet you too, Woody. Sorry about your hat. Jorgmund isn't big on letting us accessorize or...anything but what they tell us to do, really. You holding up okay? Judging by your concerns, you don't end up talking to a lot of human people.
no subject
I wasn't made for this. For...whatever this is.
[He gestures around himself like he's been put in a danger box.]
Don't get me wrong, I know this is probably a shock to everyone, but I literally wasn't made for this. My life's purpose is being good for pretend games and being huggable and I am fine with that.
My friends and I have wound up in more danger than you'd probably expect but it's always been bad luck. We don't go looking for it.
I don't even know what they expect Buzz and I to do, but the fact they equipped him with dectectors that pick up on toxic gas and radiation isn't promising. I think they decided whatever coal mines you might have to barge into need some canaries.
no subject
[Poor guy. It's bad enough Jorgmund dragged the Easter Bunny into this, and Bunny's at least a child-protecting badass. Woody and his friend are meant to soothe and comfort, not protect.]
Sorry, I know that's not reassuring, but I'm not very good at that. Unless you want a hug. Would that help at all? Do you want me to come find you and give you a hug?
[Hey, he'd said he was good at being huggable. Sure he's made of stuffing and magic, but maybe he'd find it soothing the same way anyone else would?]
no subject
[Stacia's not a little kid but she's still young. Woody'd put her at about 15 or 16, maybe 17 at most. (He's not bad at pinging ages on sight alone with how many kids he's been around). Even if she's 17, it's young. 17 had been how old Andy had been when they'd angled for one last play time before he went to college. Children are children are children, and as far as Woody is concerned even 18 still seems awfully young in his eyes.]
...I maybe wouldn't say no to that [He says it slowly as he works through the idea in his head, the ways it would be different.] But I also know I'm a stranger. It's a bit different hugging someone strange that you've just met when you know they're a person and not just a doll. I don't want you to feel obligated, miss.
[Wait, does she need a hug, too?]
Do you need a hug? You're awfully young to be in this mess. Are your parents here or are you alone?
[The concern is genuine and palpable. Woody believes with all his cotton stuffing that his calling in life is comforting children and that means he hates to see them in distress or danger. He can't even stomach movies or TV shows where a kid might be exposed to real harm, even in fiction. Was she ripped away from home and her parents and forced into this without even having them here to comfort and guide her?]
no subject
[Stacia opens her mouth to continue, then pauses, her expression becoming more thoughtful.]
...Actually yeah, now that I think about it. I would like a hug.
[She learned long ago that there were a lot of situations where all it took to get something she wanted was to clearly and politely ask for it. A 'no' in response was hardly the end of the world; and if she accepted the 'no' graciously enough, another path to the thing she wanted eventually presented itself. Still, offering a hug to a near-stranger feels safer than asking for one. Probably the vulnerability factor. There's only so much vulnerability that it's safe to present to the world when you're a tiny girl, even if you can turn into a giant wolf-monster on reflex. Mutual vulnerability is fine, though.]
no subject
[He moves the comm around so she can see the room.]
I'm in what looks like some kind of common area.
Video --> Action
[Bonus: once she and Woody are in the same place, she'll be able to tell him about Lonestar and the secret New Hire chat function.]
[It doesn't take her very long to locate the common room where Woody is waiting. In person, her height and over-sized jumpsuit conspire to make her look younger than her seventeen years, no matter how confidently she enters a room.]
Hello? Is this the right room?
no subject
[Woody lets out a little groan of annoyance.]
That is the second time today.
[He's wondering how many more times he's going to reflexively rag doll before he gets used to this. With Sid he'd been mentally prepared for the whole thing but this is harder because it's people just approaching normally.]
Sorry, reflex.
[He stands up off the floor.]
There's a whole lot of instinct I'm fighting to even have conversations with everyone.
no subject
Not quite the same thing, but yeah, it's weird just telling people I'm a werewolf. If Jorgmund hadn't pushed it too far during the "on-boarding" process, I might still be sitting on it.
[She plonks herself down on the floor near him and holds out a hand to him. Just scooping him up without checking in one last time feels weird, even if she specifically came here to exchange hugs with him.]
no subject
You're sure it's okay? I know there are plenty of horror movies about living dolls so it'd be fine if it wasn't.
no subject
My life turned into a monster movie a few years ago. I got used to it. And once I stopped being afraid of myself, all the other monster movie options got a lot less scary. I'm a big bad wolf, everything else that goes 'bump' in the night can bring it.
[With that, she hugs him. It's been awhile since she's hugged a soft toy, she's mostly gone to pillows and other people these days, but it's not like you really lose that skill, right?]
But hugs are still important, even for horror movie monsters. Sometimes especially then.
no subject
[He's still boggling a little at the idea of a werewolf being real but this situation is wild enough that he'll believe anything people tell him at this point, no matter how surreal. Thing is, he doesn't want to be a horror movie monster, though. He doesn't like that that's going to be some people's first instinct seeing him moving out of the corner of their eye.]
[But getting hugged like this is the opposite of that.]
[What's more, it's the first he's been hugged by a kid in a while. Stacia is young enough to count as one, at least in his eyes. She's too young to be wrapped up in this mess, werewolf or not. In fact, that she's a werewolf at all is troubling considering he's pretty sure that's the kind of thing people have happen against their will. At least in fiction.]
[Bonnie hugged him in her sleep the other night and it was the happiest he'd felt in a while...but it had been by accident; she'd been reaching for Forky. Then the next day she'd cast him aside. Again. And it was her mother who'd even thought to pack him for the road trip. Not her. She wouldn't have noticed if he wasn't brought along. Probably didn't notice he was gone the way she probably noticed Buzz wasn't there.]
[And for someone who cares deeply about doing his job, and doing it well, that isn't a source of resentment, but it is a source of misery. How many days now has it been that he's been covered in closet dust-bunnies, staring out between the slats of Bonnie's closet door like they're prison bars? How many days now has he been left seated on Bonnie's little stepstool watching playtime go on in front of him without being allowed to take part? Without purpose?]
[Without being loved by a child? He talks a good game about how it's about being there for a kid, whether you get playtime or not, but trapped in the closet isn't being there for Bonnie. Because she doesn't want him to be there. Without being in charge of the room, since Dolly is instead, he also has no direction outside playtime. Oh, sure, he keeps his friends calm when they're very high strung, but it isn't something Jessie or Buzz can't easily take turns doing instead of him.]
[After watching Andy grow up, it's starting to feel like there isn't anything next. That he's useless. His purpose fulfilled.]
[But now there's a kid who wants a hug and for once - for the very first time ever - he gets to hug back. His grip is gentle. He can't wrap his arms all the way around her neck, so instead he nuzzles his head against it, arms wrapped around it as best as he can manage, a light cling that isn't too constricting. It's a nice hug, all things considered, despite his size and inexperience hugging a human back. After over a decade of being broken in, he's very soft.]
[He tries not to move, doesn't want to spook her by moving too much because he knows it isn't going to seem natural to anyone.]
[Where his face is turned away from where she can see, his expression is suddenly pained, because it's the first time in a very long time that he's felt anything like he did in the time before Bonnie. Back when he was actually loved back by a child. He knows they just met and feels foolish for getting that emotional, but sometimes it takes a little kindness to make you realize how deprived you've felt.]
[When he finally lets go and she moves her hand away, he half covers his face with his hand, looking away, trying to hide how upset (relieved?) he is. His voice is a restrained rumble when he speaks again.]
Sorry. It's just - it's been a while since I was hugged like that. My current owner doesn't pay much attention to me these days.
[He clears his throat and tries to play it off, stretching his arms like he didn't just get very emotional over something as minor as a hug.]
no subject
Well, if you ever want a hug, you can always give me a shout. I'm a fan, and people here are...well, I don't know that they're less huggy than what I'm used to back home, but we haven't yet reached the 'casual physical contact' point yet either.