And We Danced (Masquerade Overflow!)

[thespaceopera]

The Captcha is upon us, but the party isn't over! Feel free to continue your threads here, start new ones, and continue the dance party!

- Original Mingle
- OOC Post

[[OOC: Wait for Sections! Sections are up! Feel free to use the section prompts or make your own! We'd also advise against just linking back to your original mingle post for the sake of players with slower computers.]]

Comments

[reconstitution]

Rogue hosted a Christmas party. It was small. I didn't dance.

[ He sure did hold up that wall, though. And then disappeared two hours in. It was still too many damn people. ]

[passingthrough]

Oh. Sorry I missed that. Rogue hosting a party sounds...interesting. Even if Christmas isn't really my thing.

[reconstitution]

It wasn't bad. [ The fact that he'd even been invited had honestly bewildered him, at first. It was a very nostalgic party, anyway. ]

There was jazz music. And food.

[passingthrough]

I'd say maybe I'll be around for the next one, but that seems weird to hope for and too hard to consider this far ahead.

[reconstitution]

It's hard to tell what the pattern for leaving is.

[passingthrough]

Maybe there isn't one. They probably get off on that. Having everyone looking for patterns that don't exist.

[reconstitution]

That's what people with power do. Exploit it.

[passingthrough]

I may not have power, but I have powers and I only use them to help people or myself or for my own amusement or laziness. [Smiling lightly.]

[reconstitution]

That makes you different from them.

[passingthrough]

I guess so. If I wanted an easier life through crushing people who couldn't defend themselves I came from a really good world for that. [Read also a terrible place.] If I didn't do it then I really wouldn't do it now.

[reconstitution]

You got the choice and you made the one with the least amount of bloodshed. [ He admires that, really. ]

[passingthrough]

[That almost stops her, but the inertia in dancing is strong!] ...I never thought of it that way before. [She thinks about the people she did kill, but she never really stops to remind herself they were killed to save others and that almost any other choice that kept her alive would have resulted in more deaths.]

[reconstitution]

I would have done the same, if given the choice between hurting people or sacrifice.

[ Maybe if he'd been given enough autonomy, he could have made the same choice. ]

[passingthrough]

You mentioned they took your memories and programmed you. [What do you mean this isn't good dance talk?] No free will at all? [She's not trying to pin blame on him for anything. Just wondering how tight their hold was.]

[reconstitution]

Any sign of it was met with wiping and reprogramming. Usually they would put my back in cryo, after. [ There were also the installed fail-safes, but that's for an entirely different conversation. ]

[passingthrough]

Cryo? Is that how you got your name? [Wondering how long her spent in there total now.]

[reconstitution]

Not...really. My codename was the Winter Soldier. When I came here, I didn't really know anything else. Allen Walker came up with the name. He said it wasn't appropriate to call someone 'Asset', either.

[ Such a long time, Kitty.. ]

[passingthrough]

Allen? Of course... [She looks down for a moment.] He has a knack for helping people on the path back to being something...more. [She'd been so close to the Allen in the prison. She'd managed to deeply damage any hope of a relationship with the one here already by something stupid she'd done in the prison.]

[reconstitution]

It was the first thing I could really call mine, so it's stuck, now.

[passingthrough]

There aren't that many things in this world that we can definitely hold on to. I'm glad you have one now. [Especially when they can strip your memories and freedom. Nothing is saying he'll even be able to keep something as simple as a name. Erik was in a place where he ended up going by Blade because he'd lost the memory of his name. His whole identity.]

[reconstitution]

I'll enjoy it while I can.

[ Because really, there's no telling what happens beyond what he already knows from Steve. No use thinking about it until it happens, right? ]

[passingthrough]

You make it sound like someone is going to take it away.

[reconstitution]

[ He shrugs a shoulder. ]

Wouldn't be the first time.

[passingthrough]

That is a good and sad point. Luckily I'm dancing with you to cheer you up. Is it working?

[reconstitution]

More or less.