01

[stickupherforehead]

Who: Pearl and YOU
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: Marsiva
When: 6/19 till shuffle

[sleeping Pearl kinda looks dead. If anything, it's probably because she's not moving at all. Or breathing, for that matter. And when she regains consciousness, it's all at once. No gradual waking up for her.

In fact, as soon as her eyes pop open, she's scrambling out of the bed, getting tangled in the bedsheets, and falling onto the floor right onto her face with a loud thud.

A hissing intake of breath, and then Pearl is turning around and staring in surprise at...the bed.]

Sleeping? But that's not...I've never -

[and then she finally sees the giant windows and more importantly, the fact that she's in space. Oh and also that she's probably been kidnapped or something like that.

..............]

GARNET! AMETHYST!!!

[and she's tearing off the bedsheets and scrambling to her feet. Don't hyperventilate. Stay calm. Don't freak out. This doesn't look like Gem based technology. Then again, she barely knows what modern Gem technology looks like. But, but it could also be some completely unknown alien species who had somehow kidnapped her and taken her hostage and of which she knows absolutely nothing about!!

.....] STEVEN!!

Comments

[wolfuncaged]

No, it is the name of the group of people who run this mess. You may, on occasion, hear an announcement from them, but they never directly communicate to us.

[stickupherforehead]

[hmmm. That would be the enemy then. It's almost always (at least a little) easier when she's got an objective in mind.]

How long have you been here - [squint. You...sort of look human. And all humans sort of look the same, right?] - Mister...?

[wolfuncaged]

[There's a reason Steven kept insisting they'd get along, it seems. ]

Fenris, just Fenris. I have been here for six months.

[stickupherforehead]

Fenris, then. [nods] I'm Pearl.

[wait what] Six months?

[that's it? Then again...] Is...that a long time?

[wolfuncaged]

Ah. Pearl. Steven has spoken highly of you. He says you are quite adept with a sword.

[His tone is almost impressed. He can always appreciate a fellow warrior. ]

It can be. I was in another world, that had kidnapped me from my home, before this. I was there for nine months. I suppose it's all a matter of perspective. Those more prone to homesickness would be far more likely to find it a longer time than those who aren't.

[stickupherforehead]

[that's definitely a flush of pleasure from Pearl.] Did he? Well, I try my best.

[wait. More worlds are kidnapping people? And by 'worlds,' Pearl is imagining different space faring species.]

And what is a year to you? [for Steven, a year is practically forever. For Pearl, it's barely a blink of an eye.]

[wolfuncaged]

Hm. He was most impressed.

[That is a weird ass question.]

...I imagine a year varies between worlds.

[stickupherforehead]

[you'll figure out sooner or later that Steven is impressed with many, many things.]

True. Perhaps it's a bit pointless to ask unless you know what calendar they're using.

[hmmm] Are you a human, Fenris?

[wolfuncaged]

[He is like an excitable puppy. ]

From what I understand, it's an Earth one.

[A scoff.] No. I'm an elf.

[stickupherforehead]

[that just gets a nod, even if she is simply assuming that 'elves' are from another planet altogether. Also, she has decided that elves look a lot like humans.]

Earth? [...hmm] Are there that many humans here?

[wolfuncaged]

There are. But from my experience, they are always the most numerous people wherever you may choose to go.

[stickupherforehead]

[....Pearl opens her mouth, and then closes it after a moment, brow furrowed.

....wait for it...]

Elves and humans naturally live together on the same planet?

[wolfuncaged]

In Thedas, we do. Though "together" suggests humans think of us as equals. They do not.

[stickupherforehead]

Thedas, Thedas... [nope, she's drawing a blank here. Is that another planet? Did humans somehow colonize another planet without her knowing? They could barely make it to the moon, for goodness' sake!! What is going on here?

...] Humans are... [how to say this] rather adept at subjugating others, even within their own species.

[at least that's consistent, if a little hypocritical. Maybe Thedas is an isolated island in the middle of nowhere and these elves were looked down on?] I have never heard of Thedas.

[wolfuncaged]

[Humans, they get everywhere. Like cockroaches.]

Hm, I have noticed they have a proclivity towards it in the various worlds I have learned they inhabit.

This does not surprise me, Steven hadn't, either. I do not know where it exists within the universe, or I would help you locate it. We are a simple people, all this...technological advancement is far beyond our grasp.

[Most of his fellow Thedosians are completely lost on the matter still. He can thank his time in Exsilium for his knowledge. Yay. ]

[stickupherforehead]

[worlds. Humans inhabiting different worlds.]

But this makes no sense! Humans are a primitive species who barely managed to reach their own moon!! They certainly cannot build a spaceship capable of holding enough humans and materials to colonize worlds. Most of them are too busy thinking of increasingly useless ways to waste their time!

[she certainly doesn't seem to think much of humans]

[wolfuncaged]

[That's cool, Pearl, he doesn't either. Except select ones. ]

From what I can gather, a lot are native to the worlds they live in. It seems they just...happen to be there, naturally. Maker knows how.

[stickupherforehead]

[time to start a "Humans Are Meh" club.]

Native humans? [...huh.] Native humans hailing from different worlds, elves in at least one world and not present in at least one other, varying levels of technological prowess...

[she has started pacing while speaking out loud] Perhaps the idea of a multiverse is feasible. Goodness knows it's certainly a popular enough concept.

[wolfuncaged]

[It would be the greatest club, until the po-po humans shut it down. ]

That is what I have gathered from my time in such places as this. I do not try to comprehend it too deeply, but it is possible. I have met elves from worlds very different to my own, who have their own cultures, their own ways of life, completely separate to those from Thedas.

[And most of them have it infinitely better, too, lucky bastards. ]

[stickupherforehead]

[sharing hour would consist of going around in a circle and telling the group what their (least) favorite human pet peeve is.]

The possibilities are endless. And mind boggling. What if another version of you showed up? Everything could be different, all because of a single decision. Or perhaps even a decision made by somebody else!

[she hasn't let up on the pacing] Which means this isn't going to be easy.

[she's already an outdated gem. Going up against something like this is probably out of her league.]

[wolfuncaged]

Yes, I have experienced that. Not myself, but there are several versions of people I know, back home. And all have different experiences, nothing too great, but the differences are still there.

[He gives a soft, amused scoff.]

Very little is easy.

[stickupherforehead]

[...geez, Fenris. You sure have been through some stuff.]

I know. [huffs] But wouldn't it be nice, for once?

[wolfuncaged]

[His life is endless suffering. ]

I imagine it would get tedious, after a while.

[stickupherforehead]

That might be called 'peace.'

[even if that was still filled with fighting, the level if stress was different.]

[wolfuncaged]

[He gives a soft sigh.]

Peace rarely lasts long, I find. There is always something to fight over.