driftfleet | (no subject)

Who: Katie and anyone!
Broadcast: Yes
Action: Vanquish
When: Today!

[So ever since a couple of weeks ago when she spent a couple nights off ship (for reasons she still hasn't explained), Katie has remained basically shut up in the personnel office instead of getting underfoot or sticking her nose out of the ship and making faces at the moon, a quieter shadow of herself. She's hiding. She also feels guilty for hiding, because she wasn't raised to hide, but she's at a complete loss of what to do about what, to her, is a critical and terrifying problem. What she'd really like to do is just tell an adult about what she saw, because that would be the simplest and wisest thing for any other child. There's something terrible. Make it go away. But with how much honesty would have to be involved she'd be a wreck on the floor within minutes.

There's a brief few days in there where her mind shies around the idea that she may have to kill someone on the Fleet. Which makes her shut down on multiple levels, because she's just a kid and kids shouldn't have to think about that, and it's a horrible act, and nobody would understand at all why she did it, and on a very base level she doesn't want to, she's not made that way. But not going through with it just means she's letting the problem roam free and he's hurting people just by existing. Any older fae would have dealt with this by now. Ignoring the problem is equally a terrible option.

So there's a third choice. She's just terrified of making that one, too. It's never ended well for anyone. Sam and her mother are testament to that.

In short, Katie is hiding because she can't make a choice and getting more and more frazzled and withdrawn because in not taking action she's letting things get worse and this suuucks--

Sometimes it might be nice just to be, in fact, a little girl.]

---------

[By the second week she starts making dolls. Simplistic blue yarn dolls at the base. It's just something to do with her hands and mind at first. Then she makes one in which her blue wool is dipped sporadically into black ink as she makes it, so the doll looks rather like it got thrown in a tar puddle when she's done. She attaches five or six pieces of loose, spattered wool to its shoulders, closes her eyes, and blows gently on its darkened face.

Don't ask why she does creepy things.

Then she stares at her little collection, swallows... and goes to watch Princess Bride instead. It's video courage! (Which small children have to make do with instead of liquid courage.) Which leads to this post on the network twenty minutes in, very grumpily:]

[Video]

If we're in space and everything's so very future and all, why don't we even have television? [Petulant, pale child alert. Please ignore the spattered bits of ink on her chin.] Aren't we allowed to watch alien TV?

...I don't suppose anyone can make a TV with magic, can they? I don't think you should have to watch movies on this thing. [She taps the screen and accidentally turns it off. OH WELL. Question stands.

...but now that it's off, after a few minutes there comes an addition in text:]

[Text]

If it would make everything better, would you do something terrible so that nobody else had to?

[Hopefully, that part's anonymous. Right?]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

You know, you have a point there! Why don't we have television! I want to know what I look like on this television show we're supposedly on!

And I suppose for your second point. I don't know, I suppose it depends on what everything is and how terrible.

[Stop. Wait. Why are you answering both--

...well she might not know how to turn it to anon properly but Katie's not stupid. She cringes a little. And then... pointedly only addresses the first part. :D]

I wonder if they make us look prettier on TV than we really are. They do that at home.

[Vash won't force Katie to talk about something she doesn't want to. So he doesn't point out she only addressed one thing.]

They do? I've actually never seen a television show before. I didn't realise they could do that.

It's something in the TV system! Computers or something. It's very clever. [It's makeup. She knows that.]

Maybe they'd make your hair extra sparkly.

Sparkly? Really? You think my hair is already sparkly?

Edited 2016-06-11 13:33 (UTC)

[She didn't say that. But then again, liar anyway.]

Absolutely. I bet you blind people out in the sun.

[It was the extra bit that made him think that.] Hm, well that's no good! How am I suppose to get girls to fall in love with me if I'm too bright for them to look at?

You'll have to rub coal in your hair! It will make you look all dark and mysterious, I bet.

I don't know if I want that much dirt in my hair. I try to take real good care of it. Being this handsome doesn't come all that easy.

Really? It looks easy.

Nope! I have to get up super early and spend like an hour styling it everyday! [He may be exaggerating to a small child. Why? The world may never know.]

You spend an hour making yourself look pretty? You must be very bored.

Handsome. The word you want is handsome. I spend an hour making myself handsome.

And yes, I am kinda bored. But I also want to look my best too!

Who are you looking your best for?

Well, I guess everyone if we're on television!

But that's boring! They already make you look good. You should try to make yourself as ugly as possible so they have to really work to fix it.

But the girls wouldn't want to kiss me if I'm ugly!

Oh, I see! Do you kiss a lot of girls, then?

N-no. Not yet at least. These things take time!

Oh. How much time have you had?

[Too much.] No enough.

Well, you can't be trying very hard. You should find some glitter! Sparkle at people!

Yeah? You think so? Where should I put it? In my hair maybe? I'm not sure it will stick well on my coat.

If you put it in your hair it will be extra shiny and people will notice more!

Great idea! But I don't have any glitter, do you?

[Video]

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