driftfleet | first one to make that doctor who joke loses

Entry tags:

first one to make that doctor who joke loses

Who: Everyone! All of you!
Broadcast: Maybe!
Action: Definitely!
When: Anytime during the toxic moon event!

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[boy oh boy, isn't everyone just so excited to explore this... charming... place...?

this is a game-wide mingle and the timeframe isn't super-important, so throw in with whatever you want! play war games, go shopping for gas masks, get lost in the wilderness, hide up in the Iskaulit and refuse to set foot on the moon, anything goes.

here's the main event info post for reference! have fun!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Perhaps.

[ He shrugs loosely. ]

Perhaps the ability to be read is one to be treasured, instead of being looked down on. Sometimes . . . that is the way it should be. People should know each other.

Hmm, agreed. Personally, I think it makes it easier for the crew to read me. Which is both good and bad. I'm the captain, you know. Some things the crew shouldn't see.

_{[ Like when he had no idea what to do anymore or when he was beyond
scared. No, the crew shouldn't see those things in their captain. ]}

Do you want people to know you better back home, Leto?

[ Hm. An interesting question, though it has a fatalistic answer. ]

My status makes it difficult for such things to come to pass. One cannot simply court the hand of royalty. What my people know is enough.

[ And he tries not to want things. It is a dangerous slope. ]

_{[ He made a curious sound at that, seemingly not impressed with the royal status - and he wasn't. But he wondered about it. What was it like to be royal - to be above and not want to risk getting to close? To risk showing favoritism and thus receive backlash from others you ruled? It was a rather fine line, not so dissimilar from being the captain.

An idea tickled at him and blue eyes turned up to Leto as his finger tapped the bishop's crown. ]}

Well, we're not in your kingdom now, so how about a game? For every one of your pieces that gets captured, you have to tell me something about yourself - something you haven't told me before. And same goes for me. Sound fair?

[ A game. The light sparks in Leto's eyes. He enjoyed games and bets, things that involve risk and dares. He can't put his life on the line, but there are other ways to receive. ]

Very well. The game, as they say, is on.

_{[ Kirk's grin widened and he pushed his bishop into position, suddenly aggressive and aiming to take the first of Leto's pieces. ]}

If you like, we can make an extra bet on top. Telling each other secrets as we capture, and then a prize for the winner.

[ He cocks his head, considering this. Leto doesn't have much in the way of secrets and he can't think of secrets he'd like to pry from others. Still . . . this was like a conversation, with rules and guards. He enjoys the chase too much to protest. ]

What kind of prize?

_{[ He pursed his lips as he considered it, but really he didn't have much to bet in the way of personal possessions. All he had was stories and, well, himself. ]}

How about we name our prize when we win? It has to be something the other can give here and now, and the other has the right to refuse if they find it uncomfortable - in which case you ask for something else.

Sound good?

[ Leto considers this and nods. ]

Agreed.

[ He moves a pawn. He does want to win, Leto thinks to himself. It is a hum in his blood. Challenges are rare to come by. ]

Agreed.

_{[ He smiles and considers the board, pursing his lips slightly as he thinks. He will probably need to make a sacrifice here if he had a hope of winning, so he moved the piece in question into position - which put it in prime position to be taken. ]}

_{[ ooc: heads or tails? lol ]}

( heads! though I'm okay with any outcome. )

[ A sacrifice. Very early in play. Leto takes it with his knight, his eyes glowing. ]

A secret or a question?

_{[ Kirk considers, tapping his fingers against the table as he ponders his next move. ]}

A question.

_{[ ooc: It came up tails using the google coin flipper - promise. ]}

[ Leto thinks carefully. ]

The chamber . . . the radiation chamber. Had you known what would happen, what will happen . . . would you have gone in anyway?

_{[ He stills, staring at the other man. How had he -? Telepathy. Of course. Blue eyes hardened sharply and he settled back in his seat, hands in his lap. ]}

Do not do that again, Leto. I don't know how it is in your culture, but reading people's thoughts in mine is considered rude and a serious invasion of privacy and a breach of trust.

_{[ His voice is gentle, but there is a hardness that rides beneath it. No, he had not appreciated that at all. ]}

You had it right the first time - what did happen. And yes, I would. My crew should not suffer any more than it already had for my mistakes.

_{[ He moved a piece a bit more sharply than was warranted, keeping his initial flutter of anger in check. Though now that he thought about it - why had he said 'will'? If he had read his mind, it was a thing that had already happened. ]}

I don't read minds. I see time. It's not something I can, ah, turn off.

[ The notion is distasteful. While Leto gives enough privacy, he also cannot separate himself from his abilities. It shows, from the way he talks and moves, that he's not always in the moment. Memories, timelines scatter his vision.

But he accepts the anger gracefully. It is deserved. ]

Suffering wad had, either way.

_{[ His shoulders relax some at that explanation and his cheeks color some in embarrassment for having jumped to the conclusion, however well founded it might have been. He couldn't fault Leto for something he could not control, after all. ]}

That's true. But the crew - they are my crew, my family. I am their captain, and I will do anything and everything I can for them. My life, in exchange for theirs? That's a bargain I can accept - and would do so again.

It's not that it's the first thing I would think to do every time. But in that moment, it was the right choice.

[ The right choice. What was the right choice? Leto made the right choice, but it was also the only choice to make. There were no other avenues. ]

Bargains. Rightness. I can't say I'll ever understand those terms.

Considering you're a ruler, shouldn't you? I always thought that's what ruling - leading - was about. Knowing bargains you have to make, believing that you're doing the right thing and actually doing it. I would think those are concepts that would come up all the time.

[ He laughs softly. ]

That's a very kind approach to the politics of leadership. When you bring morality into it, ruling becomes very subjective. Prone to inner conflict. What I might be doing is right, but what is right depends on the person.

We all cannot be right.

There's truth in that. But I think most people will agree that something like wanton execution and mass murder is generally not so morally right, while providing education and food for your people morally is.

But I guess it comes back to our earlier conversation, huh? What can you live with?

_{[ He makes a move and takes one of Leto's pieces. ]}

Question or secret?

I wonder. I doubt even if I provide all of those things, my people will not accept me.

[ But they're not meant to. ]

Anything, I suppose. There's little I haven't lived with.

[ He waves a hand flippantly. ]

Ask away.

Is there a reason for them to dislike you? Other than you being in power, which there's not much you can do about that.

_{[ He takes his time in thinking, tapping a finger against the curve of his chin. ]}

What's the one thing you can't do, but wish that you could?

_{[ Maybe that was a bit deep, but it was fair play he thought, considering the question Leto had asked him. ]}

[ He smiles, bemused. Of all the things to ask. ]

Die.

[ What a fun answer! Still, it was truthful. Leto turns his attention to the board as if he hasn't said anything out of the ordinary. ]

_{[ He actually has to pause at that and look at Leto for a bit, as if
debating if the other is pulling his leg. But he doesn't see a reason for
Leto to lie and there's no hint that he can say that the other is joking.
The idea of another race living for a lot longer than humans is not unknown
to him - Vulcans surely did for one. But not dying at all? ]}

Yeah, you might need to elaborate on that.

I can't die.

[ He flicks his gaze to Kirk - quiet, unassuming. ]

Oh, people will try. Bombs, guns, lasers. They'll get very creative over time. But it'll never work. I'm linked to another creature, symbiotically. He affords me a lifespan of several centuries and more.

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