driftfleet | video; optional action

Entry tags:

video; optional action

Who: Celeste Blackwell and the fleet
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: Can be found sulking around the SS Golden kitchen
When: Feb 6, evening

[The last time this girl appeared on the network, she was in quite a hot rage, so it might be odd to see her looking quiet and pensive now. Sad, despite a slight smile, to those who really look closely.]

I've been away for awhile - don't ask, I don't quite understand it myself - but apparently I've come back just in time for Valentine's Day to be around the corner. And normally I'd be the last person to bring up something like this, but...

[But what? She doesn't say, just asks her question.]

... have you ever been in love? What were they like? What really made you think "My god, this is the one" when there are so many other people out there who might've been just as good? And I mean, if you're in love right now and you still want to answer, it needn't be past tense. I suppose - I just don't quite understand this either, I never have, but that doesn't stop it from happening.

[She appears to be at a loss for a moment, before shaking her head and chuckling to herself.]

My mates would laugh themselves sick if they could hear me now.

[And that's all.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Well, it's worth a try. There's still a lot she can't tell - she'll respect Caleb's vow of secrecy in any and every universe - but they're not there yet.]

That's right. It wasn't in space, and they certainly weren't kidnapping people out of thin air - it was just this little old city that happened to get its power from physical intimacy between people, and apparently they needed a boost. They'd recruit people from their own universes, offer them some sort of incentive to come and cuddle up or shag around a bit, anything from fixing that one mistake that sent your life off the rails to bringing yourself back from the dead. Once you'd filled your contract, or even if you decided it wasn't what you wanted after all, you were free to go.

That...may actually be weirder than what I'm used to. [What even?] So his contract just isn't up?

God, it feels good to hear that. I thought that Eudio had made me blasé, but it takes a hell of a lot to bat a single eyelash around here.

[It was all very, very weird. Just tame and consensual, so not quite as awful as what a lot of others came from, which probably explains the lack of strong reactions.]

He - yes, that's part of it. It's his incentive, you see, the bit about travelling through time, space and dimensions however he likes. And there's someone else really important waiting for him in his own home, someone who -

[... no. That's both too complicated and too weird to ever be shared, never mind on first meeting. She's still sorting out how to feel about it herself.]

- well. You can't always be first on the list, but sometimes making it there at all is its own sort of miracle.

I have a really high tolerance for weird. [Also for violent and traumatic.] Maybe I just have a low tolerance for cuddling. [There's a little smile. But that was definitely the weird part to her. Smile fades though.]

I kind of prefer one name lists myself.

That's the ideal, isn't it? Or it's meant to be. Maybe having my first relationship start in such a strange place gave me different priorities than you'd expect.

[She looks thoughtful, deeply thoughtful, but not all the way to troubled.]

No one really tied themselves to one person, even if they did have one that stood out above the others - given what we were there to do, it was counterproductive. I saw it go horribly wrong as often as I saw it work, but it did work for Caleb and I.

Maybe it hurts less that way. Different expectations. Easier ones to live up to. [She'd definitely been through a lot of hurt.]

Well, like I said, it could go wrong in the most amazing ways. I had a mate there who was in an open relationship - you'd have to be with her boyfriend, I can't imagine him being completely tied down - and she seemed fine with it. She'd talk quite casually about how he shagged around. How do you think it went wrong?

[Celeste's smile is a bit sad; god, she misses all of them so much. They're just funny stories now, and that hurts, but telling them relieves the pressure a bit.]

She fell in love with someone else, of all things. Or maybe they both did. Something happened between the three of them, anyway, and somehow this person turned into someone they didn't seem keen on sharing, even with each other. It was the most incredible situation, I'm not sure I ever had it right. But he had his own special person, the one who mattered above all else, so...

[Celeste just sighs, shaking her head.] He left before it could make too much of a mess, and those two were still together when I did the same. It was just - such an odd environment.

Messy and complicated. Sounds about right. Maybe that's the only flavor relationships come in even without the extra dramatics of a place like this or [give her a second] Eudio.

I'd certainly never claim that Caleb and I aren't complicated. He's endlessly complicated on his own, without throwing me into the mix. But it's easier to think of the whole world being that way - which is probably cruel, but misery does love company.

It's only cruel if you're forcing it to be that way. You're just calling it like you see it.

That's true enough. [She cracks a small, wry smile.] It's a fine line between pessimism and realism, but I get the feeling we're on the same side of it.

I'm Celeste, by the way.

Kitty.

Sometimes reality is just on the negative side. We can't be held accountable for that.

Pleasure to meet you, Kitty. Do I dare ask how negative you're accustomed to? I've heard some stories that actually take the cliché straight out of "spine-chilling," but of course they're always that person's to share if they like or tell me to sod off if they like.

Edited 2016-02-20 20:12 (UTC)

Home wasn't good, but it's probably not worth going into. [She's already gone over it with a few people and it's a little draining.] The prison was better.

[That just gets a small nod. She can be nosy, but she meant it when she said that people's full stories of tragedy were theirs to decide what to do with.]

Prison. [And that's thoughtful rather than alarmed, since Kitty did say it was better.] If that wasn't at home, was it - like this as well?

Exactly. It's called MarinaNova. If you ever run into anyone from there, send them my way. And try not to judge them for the prison thing. It wasn't much of one. [She cares less if she's judged. She's used to being judged.]

I will, and if you could keep the same sort of ear to the ground for Eudio, it'd be appreciated. Particularly anyone named Caleb Holt.

[Celeste thinks she's starting to understand the camaraderie here. They can help one another in unique ways, and for her own part, she's willing to do it in a heartbeat. The feeling must be rubbing off.]

Oh, I try not to judge at all, when I can avoid it. I mean, some people are really horrible, but it's generally worth letting them prove it before jumping to conclusions.

Edited 2016-02-20 21:34 (UTC)

[She nods.] Deal.

Usually. We did have a few horrible people there. [At least at times. Tyki could...be both.] But most of them weren't. Some of them are here. They just don't remember or they are an alternate version.

[Celeste's eyes widen, just before she averts them from the screen. How stupid of her not to have thought of that.]

Of course. With so many universes already, the likelihood of someone filtering through both places... [She swallows, blinks hard.] ... it must be dreadful. You could know someone so well and it's simply not part of their reality.

It's okay. I haven't run into anyone I was that close with. [Yet.] I'm used to seeing people return without memories. It's not that different.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

video; optional action

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]