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driftfleet2015-06-10 06:17 pm
birdsbirdsbirds) wrote in driftfleet2015-06-10 06:17 pm
(no subject)
Who: Robin
Broadcast: Video!
Action: None!
When: Now!
---
[hey, it's Robin. he's lounging around in his captain's chair, feet up on the control panel. he's twirling something around in his fingers--it looks kind of like a glow stick? it's a glass cylinder filled with some sort of glowing, red liquid.]
Back in those casino stations, I won one of these.
[he stops twirling the cylinder. when he holds it up closer to the camera, you can see that it's capped with silver on one end. the insides seem to be bubbling a little, as if the liquid is carbonated.]
This is a Luxilizer... though most people below the surface just called them Dummy Sticks, as in, you were an idiot if you walked around the lower levels without them. They're filled with a liquid extracted from a luminescent fungus that grows in the caves of my hometown.
[he twirls it again. Robin himself doesn't seem particularly delighted about the thing, he's just casually explaining, perhaps out of boredom.]
They were originally designed as a backup light source, in case a person got lost in the tunnels. It also makes it easier for others to see them. It can get pretty dangerous down there, in the dark...
[after a pause, he grips the glowing tube and smiles at the camera.]
It's funny to me. No one where I'm from would give these a second thought, but I've learned that underground cities are not a familiar concept in most worlds.
---
[PRIVATE TO JASON | TOTALLY HACKABLE, HE AIN'T NO COMMS OFFICER]
Hey, remember me? [waving from his side of the video feed.] Mr. Mean Everything?
Broadcast: Video!
Action: None!
When: Now!
---
[hey, it's Robin. he's lounging around in his captain's chair, feet up on the control panel. he's twirling something around in his fingers--it looks kind of like a glow stick? it's a glass cylinder filled with some sort of glowing, red liquid.]
Back in those casino stations, I won one of these.
[he stops twirling the cylinder. when he holds it up closer to the camera, you can see that it's capped with silver on one end. the insides seem to be bubbling a little, as if the liquid is carbonated.]
This is a Luxilizer... though most people below the surface just called them Dummy Sticks, as in, you were an idiot if you walked around the lower levels without them. They're filled with a liquid extracted from a luminescent fungus that grows in the caves of my hometown.
[he twirls it again. Robin himself doesn't seem particularly delighted about the thing, he's just casually explaining, perhaps out of boredom.]
They were originally designed as a backup light source, in case a person got lost in the tunnels. It also makes it easier for others to see them. It can get pretty dangerous down there, in the dark...
[after a pause, he grips the glowing tube and smiles at the camera.]
It's funny to me. No one where I'm from would give these a second thought, but I've learned that underground cities are not a familiar concept in most worlds.
---
[PRIVATE TO JASON | TOTALLY HACKABLE, HE AIN'T NO COMMS OFFICER]
Hey, remember me? [waving from his side of the video feed.] Mr. Mean Everything?
action;
[oh, the drunken enthusiasm. he's thrilled that someone else gets it. normally, Tek would just give him a disapproving look and insinuate that he's being melodramatic. he knew he liked Jason for a reason.
so he laughs, takes a step back to sort of match, and barely flings his arms up in time to not get immediately clobbered. Robin is still unusually hard to predict, but he's slower. less concerned with not getting hit. and when he finds himself face-to-face with his adversary, well--how could he not be a little distracted? it's fucking charming.
and hurts a lot. mostly it just hurts a lot, but that's what he deserves. for being weak, for liking someone. for getting distracted. the gesture blurs seamlessly into all his other sick thoughts, the ones that sink into his bruises and ache when he finally finds his footing again. he doesn't say anything, not once their whole fight--but he never stops grinning about it.
eventually, his body gives up on him. he has to push things around, manipulate his own limbs, the puppeteer and marionette both--but it's sloppier work than he'd like to admit, and eventually he slips up, hits the floor, and doesn't get up.
he tries. he thinks. he kind of forgets for a moment. you stop for two seconds and it's all over--his head's pounding, breathing's become a laborious ordeal, and he's pretty sure something is bleeding? oh, it's his face. okay.
he sticks an arm out. he meant to raise his hand, but it didn't quite get that far.]
That'll do.
action;
Well, you'll live. It'll just suck for a while.
[ Jason wipes the blood from his face -- his nose doesn't feel broken, but it's definitely been bleeding -- and crouches down. He's going to have a nice collection of bruises come morning, but he gave worse than he got. All is well in his world.
In Robin's world, though... well. He's a little concerned. ]
Need a hand up, or do you wanna just lie there for a while?
action;
he tries to breathe air in through his nose, but that doesn't go so well. the blood's getting all gummy in his throat. still--he uses what little arm strength he's got left to tip himself over so that he is at least laying on his back. more polite that way.
and he can kind of prop his arm up to lift his finger--a point.]
You the secret keeping type? 'Cause that'll change my answer...
action;
[ One of these days, he thinks he'd like to face off against Robin when they're both at their best. He'd hate to have to mean it, though. Life is so much nicer when the only fights are friendly ones. ]
action;
Nah, nah. Look here.
[he manages to redirect that pointing finger towards his own face. his nose, specifically. the flow of blood from his face is sluggish... which is not all that odd, until the bridge of his nose suddenly clicks back into place. on its own. he winces a little.]
It's just going to keep doing this...
action;
[ It beats the Shittiest Resurrection Ever, at least. And honestly, with the number of aliens and metahumans he met as Robin, one guy of dubious humanity who heals himself is a pretty small secret to keep. ]
Want company while you put yourself back together, or...?
action;
[oh look, even with a bunch of bruised ribs and whatever's going on with the nerves under his arm (when did he even get hit there?), he can manage a sardonic smile. he'd argue that he's had quite a few shitty resurrections himself.
but he appreciates him not being weird about it. almost as much as he appreciates him... not just... leaving. which is kind of a surprise. ugh. he can't count the number of ways he feels terrible, right now.]
I wouldn't mind... S'real sweet of you.
[oop, there goes his arm. it's on the ground now. okay. fast healer or not--he's still not going anywhere for a while.]
action;
[ He settles into a cross-legged position on the floor next to Robin, making himself comfortable. ]
And it's been a long time since anyone thought I was sweet.
Still... wanna talk about it?
[ He means whatever's got Robin looking for someone to beat his face in... though if Robin chooses to deliberately miss the point and talk about the mixed blessing that is slow and painful regeneration, he's good with that, too. ]
action; (this got long i'm sorry)
people ask him if he wants to talk about it, sometimes. but he never thinks they actually want to hear about it. no one wants his problems. no one really wants to know what a mess he is. no one likes feeling sorry for someone they can't fix. no one wants to be with someone who's miserable.
the blood on his face is starting to move backwards. it's very slow, but it almost looks like someone's put a video into reverse--with rivulets crawling sluggishly back towards his mouth and nose. returning to the host, where it can repair him. efficient, even when he wishes it wasn't. his silence is a long, distracted one... but eventually he closes his other eye.]
There's a lot of things, I just... I'm getting tired of dealing with my own shit.
[he's not sure what it is about Jason that makes him feel like he'd... be all right to tell. maybe it's just that he doesn't know him well--less impact. or maybe it's because he already feels like he does know him well, because of all those similarities he keeps finding. like he'd listen, but also... understand, instead of just staring and saying he's sorry for him.]
I don't know. I'm really reconsidering my whole stance on... people.
action; (no need to apologize!)
Yeah?
[ For a one-word response, it's got more meaning than you'd think. The tone, his posture (not that Robin can see it at the moment), everything is meant to say Tell me more; I'm listening.
He reaches out absently to smooth Robin's hair back. When someone's bleeding on the ground, his instinct is to either comfort them until help arrives, or make sure they don't get up.
...But then, this isn't a typical situation for him, and after a moment, he freezes. ]
Shit. Sorry. This okay?
action;
[the little word gets in deep, burrows into his heart. it's warm, and he wasn't expecting it. he's so preoccupied that he almost doesn't notice the fingers brushing his hair back--until he does, and he suddenly looks up at Jason with an expression just a little too startled. too nervous.
but he follows it, quickly, after he clears his throat again--] No, it's-- Fine.
[but that sounds awkward to him, too short. he glances away as a small, almost shy little smile appears to fill its place.] It's... Nice.
[so, he's not doing so good. so Jason's stumbled upon kind of a strange, delicate thing for him--whatever it is. for Robin, it's honestly a dream come true to be doted on and paid attention to like this. for a second he entertains the fact that he might actually be dreaming. hallucinating, at the very least. maybe he hit his head too hard.
but like this, it makes it easy to know where to start:] I actually... Met someone here a while ago. A little nightjar, but he had the daytime sky in his eyes. I really liked him. Loved watching him light up over little things. We'd talk about nothing for hours. And he... Gods, he adored me. [a weak little laugh.] Forgave me over and over. I think I could have told him the worst thing I've ever done, and he still would have looked at me like I was the sun and stars.
[he takes a deep breath of that tight, angry air. the pounding in his heads been reduced to a dull throb.] He's gone, of course. Disappeared a few days ago. It's not the reason I showed up wanting a mean fight, but... I can probably blame him for the drinking.
action;
And this... this is a familiar story. Steph wasn't quite like that for him, but she was family, by profession if not by blood, and she got him in a way he didn't think any of Batman's little helpers ever would. ]
I lost someone a little like that, too. More unexpected family than what your guy was to you, but... I'm starting to wonder if they do that on purpose.
"You have someone who can see you for what you really are and still care? Well, we can't have that! Drama gets better ratings!"
Fucking Atroma.
[ For all the bitterness in his voice, his hand is still gentle in Robin's hair. ]
But if he's not the reason you came looking for a fight, I take it it gets worse?
action;
he pauses before he continues, looking up at Jason again... and lifts his still-feeble arm to briefly ruffle the other's bangs with his fingers. kind of returning the gesture.]
Family's important, though. I'm sorry to hear that.
[he drops his arm back onto his chest, where it's out of the way.]
Fucking ratings. The whole thing's... [well, he doesn't know what it is. real or fake. vital or excusable.] They're all like this. I've been to a few different places--before this show, or whatever it is--and they're all like this. Run by some higher being that never makes an appearance. People just... Leave, sometimes, without rhyme or reason.
[he's finally coming back around to irritation. his next breath almost seethes out of him, between his teeth. this is why he's here--this feeling.] Yeah, it gets worse.
action;
Well, there's family and there's family. [ I'll give you this one for free, he'd said, not that long ago. I'm no one's son. ] But thanks.
And why am I not surprised that there are more assholes like this out there. [ It's not really a question.
He keeps stroking Robin's hair, despite the growing irritation. Easy there, pretty bird. ]
Is this my cue for a change of subject, or do we fare boldly forth into the gaping chasm of suck?
action;
"Gaping chasm of suck"... You have such a way with words...
[it's not eloquent, but it's maybe one of the better ways he's ever heard to describe his life. he doesn't want to stop here, not while he's already open and gushing. not while there are still fingers in his hair.]
...At the risk of sounding melodramatic, I feel like I've been cursed since the day I was born. Nothing good ever seems to last. I have a particular talent for ruining everything I touch. I was meant for something very grand, once, on my own world, but... [his smile here is bitter.] Even fate couldn't save me. I've been walking in its shadow for a long time.
[that is something he doesn't want to talk about, yet. he speaks vaguely and poetically because the details are a disgusting, tangled mess. it's bad enough that he's already speaking so lowly of himself in front of another person. Robin, the man who claims he's too fantastic and gorgeous to ever be wrong--he shouldn't have faults like this.]
I wish I could stop caring, but there's a... wolf in my chest, always snarling. Always angry about it. It walks through my dreams and I can hear it when the world is too quiet. It's exhausting, and I'm sick of it... And here, I thought things might finally start to be different. People are nice. I've met others who are like me. Some bad things happened and I decided that I didn't want to be miserable anymore.
[he has to close his eyes, here. he might be rambling--it's not like he'd planned out a "woe is me" speech ahead of time. the points of it are kind of confusing even to him, who's living in it.]
But being kind and open and honest... I don't know. People still leave. I'm still some Gods' plaything. I thought that maybe I could claim some of what I'm supposed to be, but it's just...
[and Jason can almost feel how much it makes him seethe, how deeply frustrating it is. he's sick of it, tense with it, until he finally finds another path to talk along.]
This last one, this nightjar, I swore I wouldn't let the wolf devour him like it does everything else. I told him the truth, I kept him away from my shitty decisions... He would have been so easy to snare, but I didn't want him living like that. I wanted him to be happy without clinging to me and my poisonous way of being.
[and he's gone now.] I think I just made it worse. I should have just eaten him.
[that's when he finally opens his eyes again. his face is all healed up, his breathing is starting to get easier. it's hard to say if his mood is really faring any better--his voice is subdued while his gaze settles on Jason's face again.]
I don't know. I get really sick of listening to myself think about this... useless spinning. I'm just... Even here, I'm starting to think that I really am meant to stay away from people. My heart just ruins everything.