driftfleet | 04

Who: Winn and you!
Broadcast: y!
Action: on the Tourist!
When: August 2nd

[ some of you may have noticed that winn has been uncharacteristically quiet for the past...16 days. he's not really sure how to address the elephant in the room - he knows these two weeks and change have been hard on the people he loves but for him it's like no time has passed and the dissonance is hard to bridge.

it's a good thing he has a not at all unhealthy coping mechanism set in place. ]

You know, if we're entertainment on a reality show, the least they can do is give us like a recap - you know your basic [ in a tv announcer impression ] here's what you missed on the Fleet - or - last week, on the young and the Drifting - [ he rubs the back of his head before shaking it ] Well, maybe talking about the 'least they can do' isn't such a great plan...first order of business - what'd I miss? Second order of business - if you or anyone you know has ever fallen into an unexplained sleep here or at any other kidnappy world - I'd appreciate it if you'd answer a couple questions, they're a text attachment at the bottom. Sorry if it's been done before, I'll gladly take a link to any previous research as well as fresh data. Third order of business -- hi. [ he gives the camera a little wave and a nervous chuckle ] Um. Yeah, I'm, I'm fine, I should've opened with that but if you know me the order isn't really gonna surprise you that much and if you don't you're probably really confused right now and looking for the off button - it's to your right, right on top, there you go.

That's it, I guess....good morning, Drifters - don't forget to drink your coffee! Winn out -

[ except he's not all the way out. hank and cisco each get the following message to their personal numbers ]

I need to discuss something in person. My place? [ he can't really leave kitty yet ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It's fine. I met a lot of important people there, after all. And that time, I didn't even die, so it wasn't bad.

[yeah, these are her standards. survived, so it was okay! pls ignore her ptsd. you should hear the shit they can't talk about, really.

though once she's back to that, she's tinged a little pink with embarrassment.]

It did. I'm lucky as hell... But if I kept going on that vein, I think she might bust through the wall to strangle me.

[ nope, he's not going to ignore it. he can't. he can't as a person, and he can't because she reminds him of his own girlfriend. so many people with ptsd.

he offers his support in the form of a gentle and concerned squeeze to her hand.

her next comment, however, earns a smile. ]

I think we have a scientific duty to test that theory.

[She just looks confused by the squeeze to the hand. ??? Did she say something wrong again? But his words get a grin in return.]

Okay, but if she does, I'm using you as cover.

It'll just allow me to test a second theory - if you scream in a spaceship, how many superheroes are gonna cram in to save you.

How many do you think can arrive fast enough?

Two for sure, and they both happen to like me a lot so I'm not worried, shield away.

Is that so? Your superheroes are a bit more useful than my team's, then.

I may be biased, but - I don't care cuz I'm also right. They're the best.

... I should probably argue in defense of my team here, but honestly, I never understood the superhero theme they had going? The naming tradition and weird cape uniforms were already in place when I got there, and the only answer I ever got as to why they were that way was that the original team really wanted to be superheroes.

Cuz superheroes are awesome. [ nodding ]

Though if they don't need it for aerodynamics, there's no excuse for a cape.

Are they? I still don't quite get what the deal with superheroes is at all.

[She shrugs, and fiddles with her own cape.]

I am pretty sure none of us could fly. Except the times I got turned into a harpy? But wings made the cape not worth it either.

[ he has so many questions about that he has to physically stop himself. ]

Superheroes are -- they're everything people wish they could be. They're brave, they're strong, they don't take crap from anyone. Pressuring them won't keep them from doing the right thing, even if it hurts. They protect people, they stand up for what's right they're...everything humanity could be, if it pushed itself. They make you wanna be a better person.

... When you put it like that, maybe everyone else on my team really were superheroes.

It just still seems weird to me. A superhero is just... a good person? Is that all it is?

A really good person. With...superpowers. Who uses them for the collective good of mankind or whatever kind they're defending, yeah.

[She considers, then shakes her head.]

I don't think superheroes can really work in the same kind of world where adventurers exist...

What are adventurers?

[ because he's getting the feeling they have different definitions for those ]

[She has to take a moment to think.]

Well... We're what the title says. We have different classes, like mage or healer or whatever, but we're adventurers because we... well, adventure. It's sort of an umbrella term for jobs like monster extermination, dungeon exploration, or just... traveling and seeing the world. My party and I tended to do more dungeon exploration, but my parents were contracted by the city to exterminate monsters that got too close, and my mother helped support and strengthen the city's wards. Or sometimes they just go somewhere else for a month, because... Well, they're adventurers.

[ that sounds like a difficult way to grow up, but he's had his fill of tough childhoods, so for the moment he avoids commenting on it ]

Yeah, superheroes would definitely infringe on the monster extermination market - and they do it for free, so it's kinda hard to compete. Though it's more - monster incarceration, the way they do it.

[Good call, Winn.]

Yeah. Even when monsters do make it past the wards, there's usually a bunch of adventurers in the city ready to fight it, so... Even when they start destroying buildings, usually not too many people get hurt or anything.

[ occasionally, he listens to that little voice. ]

So adventurers are like, Rent-a-Hero.

More like... Adventurers are going to do what they do anyway, but that usually happens to line up with what a superhero apparently would do?

Well, we do have heroes, and they're usually adventurers, but that's a title for a very specific kind. Heroes are the ones who killed gods.

When you say gods -

I mean gods. Absurdly powerful divine beings worshiped by people. Pretty much universally try to fuck people over and get killed as a result after a few hundred years.

Do they...create anything, or are they just like, very powerful and live a long time?

[She opens her mouth to answer, then pauses.]

They can create, or destroy things that should be impossible to destroy. They can alter the laws of the world at will- The fact that monsters leave anything behind when they're killed is the doing of the first god, Pasha.

... I... actually have a book about him here. A children's storybook, it was my favorite when I was a kid. The Atroma somehow got it onto the communicators. Do you want to see?

[She really wants him to say yes- The fact that he's willing to listen about her world without judging it or calling it a game or anything makes her want to talk to him about it more.]

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winn - 2016-08-20 06:03 (UTC) - Expand

experiencepoints - 2016-08-20 06:10 (UTC) - Expand

04 - video

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