driftfleet

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!!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[oh hey, a small human.]

Do you? You don't know how relieved I am to hear that. Is he doing alright? Has he been keeping out of trouble?

[yeah, this lady is totally a mom type.]

[Aw, Aang finds it endearing. He gives a chipper smile.]

Yep! It's been a little while since we last talked, but the last time I saw him, he seemed alright and he was having lots of fun! He got some really neat prizes from the casino!

[a little while? Time is relative but how long has Steven been here?

More importantly:] A casino? Isn't that a place human adults go to indulge in their various vices?

Um... I'm not sure what that means, but it's a place where people use money to play games and when you win you get more money or prizes!

[hmm.]

That sounds like that arcade place Steven always likes to go to. [even if that driving game is horribly inaccurate]

Perhaps I have been reading too much into the dire warnings regarding casinos. [geez, humans are difficult to figure out]

Really? Whatever place that is, it sounds fun!

It didn't seem very dangerous to me! Except that they kept stuffed animals in machines - that looked sad!

The stuffed animals...looked sad?

[Pearl knows that Steven could cry at anything, but this is another child. Or are all human children the same?]

[They're just boy protags of a feather. He gives a light nod.]

I think so! I mean... I know they're not the same as real animals, but it still feels sad to keep them all cooped up like that!

[she's going to get such a skewed impression of human kids unless somebody else fixes it.

Okay, so logic isn't going to cut it. This is some sort of sentimental thing for inanimate objects. She better put her hard earned childcare skills to the test!!]

From what I recall, most toys are piled together in a disorganized array anyway...

[that's probably not it, Pearl]

That's different! At least they're free when they're in a pile.

Wha - [okay. Uh.]

So what you're saying is that, as long as they're not in any way confined - even if they have no inherent ability to ambulate under their own power, they're free to.....lay there?

...Yep, that sounds about right! As long as they're free in spirit!

But spirit is such an ambiguous term!

[Pearl is so lost right now. So lost.]

It is? It seems pretty clear to me. It's the thought that counts! [He's not the easiest to follow youngster...]

In which you personify inanimate objects, treat them like real creatures, and it...somehow makes you feel better?

[is that it? Is she finally getting it?]

Kind of like that! I think. It's also like... the more things you treat nicely, like they're alive... the better things are?

Does this apply to all objects, or just the ones that look like animals?

Ummm... I was mostly thinking of the animal ones! But... Sure, why not?

It might take some doing to treat all objects like that, wouldn't you think?

[nope, sorry. Now she's in "relentlessly lead somebody to the only logical conclusion" mode]

Hmm... Yes, I guess it would!

However, you didn't even think of it until I brought it up.

Take this cot for example. [there's a glow of the thing on her forehead, and then somehow she's got a marker in her hand] Normally, nobody would care about it, but if someone were to draw a face on it...

[and then she's ~~vandalizing~~ drawing a sad little face on it] ...and now, it's suddenly sad! Perhaps it's lonely!

[He frowns.]

Why's it sad? What can we do to help it?

I - [nope. This was not how it was supposed to go. But this type of reaction is really rather familiar.]

The point is, most humans merely need a face on something before they'll start empathizing with it!

[hmmm.] If anything, I suppose it's a bundle of leftover instincts from when cooperation and the care of young are tantamount to the species' survival, but still!

[wait, what was her point again?

Sigh, and finally, a small smile.] I think I see why you're friends with Steven now. What's your name? I'm Pearl.

[He's not sure if he gets it at all. He just stares in confusion, and then when she changes the subject, he immediately perks up as if forgetting what she had just tried to teach him.]

Hi Pearl! That's a really pretty name. My name's Aang! How long have you been friends with Steven?

[she'd grumble a bit, but really, it's not worth it.]

For a while now, I guess. [relatively speaking] I've known him since he was a baby.

(no subject)

savedtheworld - 2015-07-05 04:25 (UTC) - Expand