[Erin seems open to talking about herself and the world she came from, because she says:]
I didn't get as far as I did by hoping. The kind of situations I have been in couldn't be improved with positive thinking. Taking action was the only way to get things done.
[There were already some implications she comes from a place she considers unhappy, yup. With the way Erin is, it's easy to guess she wouldn't just sit around in unhappiness if she could help it!
Which is whyyyyy she also is turning this into a plan of action:]
I'm going to start small. A beach, even if it's a small one. Then if that goes without a hitch, I'll try to channel this place into giving truly useful stuff. Maybe answers that don't include some maiming to get to them!
[Making useful places pop up into existence is the way to force this town into cooperating, she thinks!]
There's nothing wrong with starting small and growing forward from there. It's sometimes easier for people to look at more attainable goals than try to picture the bigger plan and all of the moving parts. I get it. [she's definitely not going to blame anyone for breaking it down into steps. it makes sense to her. but at the same time...]
But it is possible to take action and think positively. In general. Not that you have to force yourself to, but...it's how I've managed to get by instead. Thinking the worst of everything won't help either, even if all of the actions are perfectly executed. But it's not the kind of thing that comes easy to people, especially when the situations feel hopeless.
Optimism and I stopped getting along when I was exiled into hell by accident.
[It was the kind of problem that sure felt very hopeless! And she managed to survive that by sheer force of will and also her boundless resolve and foul temper]
How do you manage to do that, then? Be all positive even when there are things to be done?
[It's unlikely Erin will ever adopt such a way to handle situations but hey, at least she's not telling Aerith HEY AERITH YOU'RE DOING IT THE WRONG WAY]
Just do, I guess. [it's because of her own sheer force of will, and her connection to the planet, knowing there are things she can do and will influence whether she means to or not. but she won't say that right now.] I think some people compare positivity to naivety, and that's not really true. I know what things have to be done and I know how hard some of them are. But I think that's even more reason I try to stay hopeful in the worst situations. Things are bad, so why feel worse?
Dunno, everyone I have known who have to get things done have gotten that little spark of hope and whimsy snuffed real fast. Haven't met exceptions yet.
[Until now, maybe. If Aerith can manage to push through this all without losing that, then Erin will be able to say she knows one (1) exception.
The question gets a sigh]
Some creep planned to destroy the world or something by bringing the demons of hell onto Earth. He opened a portal to let them out. My sister Shelley and her friends ruined those plans and the result was that the portal started to suck like a vacuum.
It got me because I couldn't hold on and Shelley couldn't reach me in time.
[Erin getting lost into hell sure wasn't part of any plan anybody had, that's why she calls it an accident, yup]
[she doesn't quite address the first part because, fair. she is aware not everybody can be as bright-eyed and optimistic as she can be, and she doesn't expect them to. instead, she sighs right back.]
Why is it always creeps who wanna destroy the world? [WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN.] But I guess that makes sense. You got out though, didn't you? Eventually? [please say yes. please don't say you were just stuck.
this does also put some things into context about her sister though.]
I would think so! Especially if you had to go back after you left the first time. [...] There's really no chance of you having to go again, right? It's over.
Probably. I see no reason why I should be dragged back, but you never know what the future holds. If someone had asked me a month ago if I would ever be warped into another world for some cult's ritual I'd have said it was impossible.
[Good news, Erin, the author hasn't done anything with you in years and apparently you're not one of his favorite characters to write, so nah, you're safe. No more adventures for you]
Good point. Can't say any of us were expecting something like this, especially when so many of us were in the middle of something important. But the good thing about it is you survived to escape twice. And there's a chance for us here, too.
[There is...being asked makes Erin ask too, because hey, some amount of nosiness happens when you're a journalist! Since they touched the topic of where Erin had been before the cult summoned her, she turns that around:]
Where were you, before you got dragged into all this nonsense?
Oh, here and there I guess. [vague, but still truthful.] We were traveling a few places before we ended up here. Our friends are probably waiting for us in the last place we were. We still have a long way to go, too.
Oh right, the cat with the strong accent. [The one Aerith met at the Golden Saucer...] So you're all traveling around, I see. And somewhere in that Cloud is a racer on chocobos. Whatever those are supposed to be.
[She can't help but piece together what she has heard about, to have an idea of the things Cloud and Aerith and Yuffie have seen and experienced]
Yeah, Cait Sith. We met him at the Gold Saucer and he joined us for a while. Yuffie didn't join us until we were leaving Costa del Sol before that. And Vincent is...[she hesitates in that she has no idea how to describe this weird vampire man.] He has his own goals, but they align with ours.
[there's a smile though.]
Gotta make money somehow, right? We pick up jobs in different towns to keep us going.
Usually whatever people had available. Fighting monsters, making deliveries...escorted a dog once. Little things that people can't do themselves because they're too dangerous or just because they need an extra hand.
That all better have paid well. Being on the road with a group is already difficult enough, being broke would be one pain more.
[...hmmmmm...]
Not that you seem to have a problem with that. If anything seems to me you like them enough to find their company very welcome despite the trip.
[An educated guess, mostly! Erin is perceptive enough to be aware Aerith has a strong friendship with Cloud and Yuffie, and it's not hard to guess given how sociable Aerith is she would easily make friends with the rest]
It really wasn't that bad. Our group got along pretty well, mostly, and we've got a few people who really hate the idea of wasting money. [so yeah. it's like what erin said, aerith has a tendency to just be fine with any company given. she's grown particularly close to the others in the short months they've been together.]
[Kind of makes her feel jealous, really. She spent years in hell with pretty much zero true allies, and due to some circumstances only had one single friend for years after she returned to the living realm. The thought of how nicer it'd all have been to deal with if she hadn't been alone is an intrusive thought to her right now]
Guess things like this bloody cult thing and ruining it is better to do with company than alone, too.
[Maybe she should be glad there are so many here in the same situation instead of just her, somehow]
Exactly. [which is a good point for erin to realize and she's happy to make it.] We're all here and we all want the same thing. Doesn't it make sense for all of us to be working in the same direction than to be trying things on our own and possibly getting even more scattered? I get that sometimes being here can be pretty uncomfortable...[what with all murderers and victims in the same space.] But we're still together. We can make the most of that.
Really not used to this, is all. At least I should be glad the company is decent. There's several of you I'd actually willingly hang out with any time. That's more than I can say about the average person I have worked with.
Word from the wise, Aerith, you're the luckiest person ever if you manage to surround yourself with people you actually like. If you can stay with the bunch you're traveling with forever you should. Stick with them.
[Erin has no idea what the goals you and the rest of the crew have, but in her opinion? You have stumbled into something extraordinarily rare by having reliable friends, hold onto them for as long as you can. Don't let go, ever]
[lmao @ staying with her friends forever...but she doesn't really give any tells, keeping the smile on her face because the sentiment's sweet and true. she'd love that, if possible.]
I've gotten lucky. I'll admit that, but...it took me a while to get to this point, too. Practically my whole life, actually? [all of her friends are extremely recent.] But just means it's not too late for other people either. Decent company is a good start...maybe even a step in the right direction to finding more decent company when you get home?
Eh, I have been told I'm difficult to get along with, so that's not really going to happen.
[A little too prickly for that, other than a handful of close friends and family. Other than that, it's going to be a small circle altogether.
honestly the reason why she has been lonely is more because the options for socializing were not exactly abundant for a long time. like, who was she going to make friends with at work: the head editor who really needed to dial down her voice twenty decibels? the guy who every time erin was near a guy joked about she finally finding a boyfriend regardless of if the person is sixty or fourteen? assorted coworkers who are presumably very dull to be with?
of course she is considered difficult to deal with she is just not willing to deal with their bullshit]
[she shakes her head because while that might be true, she doesn't find that to really be an acceptable answer.]
Difficult personality or not, everyone has the capability of finding the right friends. Sometimes before you know it you're settling on compromises. You're learning to meet people halfway. And they start doing it back so that you're both working together on things instead of just besides each other. Most people aren't really that hard to like.
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I didn't get as far as I did by hoping. The kind of situations I have been in couldn't be improved with positive thinking. Taking action was the only way to get things done.
[There were already some implications she comes from a place she considers unhappy, yup. With the way Erin is, it's easy to guess she wouldn't just sit around in unhappiness if she could help it!
Which is whyyyyy she also is turning this into a plan of action:]
I'm going to start small. A beach, even if it's a small one. Then if that goes without a hitch, I'll try to channel this place into giving truly useful stuff. Maybe answers that don't include some maiming to get to them!
[Making useful places pop up into existence is the way to force this town into cooperating, she thinks!]
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But it is possible to take action and think positively. In general. Not that you have to force yourself to, but...it's how I've managed to get by instead. Thinking the worst of everything won't help either, even if all of the actions are perfectly executed. But it's not the kind of thing that comes easy to people, especially when the situations feel hopeless.
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[It was the kind of problem that sure felt very hopeless! And she managed to survive that by sheer force of will and also her boundless resolve and foul temper]
How do you manage to do that, then? Be all positive even when there are things to be done?
[It's unlikely Erin will ever adopt such a way to handle situations but hey, at least she's not telling Aerith HEY AERITH YOU'RE DOING IT THE WRONG WAY]
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Just do, I guess. [it's because of her own sheer force of will, and her connection to the planet, knowing there are things she can do and will influence whether she means to or not. but she won't say that right now.] I think some people compare positivity to naivety, and that's not really true. I know what things have to be done and I know how hard some of them are. But I think that's even more reason I try to stay hopeful in the worst situations. Things are bad, so why feel worse?
[more to the point...]
How did you get exiled by accident?
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[Until now, maybe. If Aerith can manage to push through this all without losing that, then Erin will be able to say she knows one (1) exception.
The question gets a sigh]
Some creep planned to destroy the world or something by bringing the demons of hell onto Earth. He opened a portal to let them out. My sister Shelley and her friends ruined those plans and the result was that the portal started to suck like a vacuum.
It got me because I couldn't hold on and Shelley couldn't reach me in time.
[Erin getting lost into hell sure wasn't part of any plan anybody had, that's why she calls it an accident, yup]
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Why is it always creeps who wanna destroy the world? [WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN.] But I guess that makes sense. You got out though, didn't you? Eventually? [please say yes. please don't say you were just stuck.
this does also put some things into context about her sister though.]
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...but I got out again last year and there's no way I'm going back in. I want to be done with hell forever.
[Thankfully she was not presently stuck in hell. It sucks majorly, Aerith, don't go to hell]
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I would think so! Especially if you had to go back after you left the first time. [...] There's really no chance of you having to go again, right? It's over.
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[Good news, Erin, the author hasn't done anything with you in years and apparently you're not one of his favorite characters to write, so nah, you're safe. No more adventures for you]
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Where were you, before you got dragged into all this nonsense?
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[She can't help but piece together what she has heard about, to have an idea of the things Cloud and Aerith and Yuffie have seen and experienced]
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[there's a smile though.]
Gotta make money somehow, right? We pick up jobs in different towns to keep us going.
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[She sympathizes with that! Was in that kind of situation for a short while]
What kind of jobs? It doesn't tend to be a lot of opportunites out there for odd jobs.
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[the sidequest life.]
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[...hmmmmm...]
Not that you seem to have a problem with that. If anything seems to me you like them enough to find their company very welcome despite the trip.
[An educated guess, mostly! Erin is perceptive enough to be aware Aerith has a strong friendship with Cloud and Yuffie, and it's not hard to guess given how sociable Aerith is she would easily make friends with the rest]
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It's better than being alone, don't you think?
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[Kind of makes her feel jealous, really. She spent years in hell with pretty much zero true allies, and due to some circumstances only had one single friend for years after she returned to the living realm. The thought of how nicer it'd all have been to deal with if she hadn't been alone is an intrusive thought to her right now]
Guess things like this bloody cult thing and ruining it is better to do with company than alone, too.
[Maybe she should be glad there are so many here in the same situation instead of just her, somehow]
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Word from the wise, Aerith, you're the luckiest person ever if you manage to surround yourself with people you actually like. If you can stay with the bunch you're traveling with forever you should. Stick with them.
[Erin has no idea what the goals you and the rest of the crew have, but in her opinion? You have stumbled into something extraordinarily rare by having reliable friends, hold onto them for as long as you can. Don't let go, ever]
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I've gotten lucky. I'll admit that, but...it took me a while to get to this point, too. Practically my whole life, actually? [all of her friends are extremely recent.] But just means it's not too late for other people either. Decent company is a good start...maybe even a step in the right direction to finding more decent company when you get home?
[whatever erin's situation may be, she means.]
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[A little too prickly for that, other than a handful of close friends and family. Other than that, it's going to be a small circle altogether.
honestly the reason why she has been lonely is more because the options for socializing were not exactly abundant for a long time. like, who was she going to make friends with at work: the head editor who really needed to dial down her voice twenty decibels? the guy who every time erin was near a guy joked about she finally finding a boyfriend regardless of if the person is sixty or fourteen? assorted coworkers who are presumably very dull to be with?
of course she is considered difficult to deal with she is just not willing to deal with their bullshit]
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Difficult personality or not, everyone has the capability of finding the right friends. Sometimes before you know it you're settling on compromises. You're learning to meet people halfway. And they start doing it back so that you're both working together on things instead of just besides each other. Most people aren't really that hard to like.
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[Aerith, our local socializing pro]
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