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[scanninggaydis]

Who: Felix Gaeta
Broadcast: Video, Fleetwide
Action: Vanquish Cargobay
When: Now!

[When this video starts, Felix is standing over two boxes stacked on top of one another. The top one is open, and he's pulling....books? out of it.]

If anything was going to convince me that these sponsor drops are pointless, it would be this. Our fleet is attacked, and this is what someone thinks to send?

[He glances at a title, frowns, and then holds it up to the camera. Dating Advice from a Manwhore: A Guide to Overcoming Self-Doubt, Relationship Struggles, and Finding Your Authentic Self. After a second, he puts it down, and takes out another one: It's Just a F***ing Date: Some Sort of Book About Dating.]

I'm really not sure what to make of this particular interest in my dating life.

[Or lack thereof, but he doesn't need a man, thanks.]

Anyway. There's more where these came from and I sure as hell don't need them. If anyone's interested, let me know. You can contact me privately too. Just in case, you know, you feel the need for privacy.

[He pulls another book out of the box at the same time that he goes to end the video and...looks vaguely surprised and confused for a second. Just before the video cuts out, there's an image of a different kind of book on the screen.]

Comments

video

[scanninggaydis]

[No. No points for you, Kitty. Negative points.

...okay maybe like one point. But that's it. He just lifts an eyebrow at her.]

I don't know, it's a lot of pressure. What if I don't pick a person they like? I'll let them down.

[He is emphatically Not Into That Kind Of Thing.]

video

[passingthrough]

We should host a contest for your love. I mean the audience can't really vote on it, but the rest of the fleet could.

[How are her points now?]

Re: video

[scanninggaydis]

I think the entire fleet caring about my love life is even more terrifying. No thank you.

[...This is rich coming from a guy whose favorite hobby is to gossip about people's sex lives but. Man, at least he's never done it obviously.]

video

[passingthrough]

Are you sure we don't already care? [Raising an eyebrow.]

[scanninggaydis]

If anyone actually does, then I'm sorry.

[He's boring like that and they're never going to get satisfaction.]

Also I think I'd prefer not to know, if that was the case.

[passingthrough]

No fun at all. [She doesn't blame him one bit.] You can donate them to the library. At the rate I'm reading things in there I'll probably be desperate enough to check them out eventually. I should probably warn the boyfriend in advance so he doesn't think I'm looking for a second though.

[scanninggaydis]

I figure if you actually showed him the contents of these, he'd see that he didn't really have anything to worry about.

[passingthrough]

To talk to him you'd think everyone wants to be with me regardless. [Which has nothing to do with jealousy in the way she means it.] He overestimates me greatly. [Just that he holds her up on pedestals stacked on even taller pedestals.]

[scanninggaydis]

It's not the worst failing in a boyfriend.

[...Unless you somehow manage to fall down from those pedestals. Speaking as someone who has the tendency (used to have the tendency) to hoist people up on really high pedestals.]

[passingthrough]

Might be the worst failing in this boyfriend. [Which isn't really true, but it's just to say that he's pretty great without any major failings. But she is worried about the fall. She's always been honest with him. She wants to trust that he's seeing her as she is, but she does wonder how that's possible.]

[scanninggaydis]

Yeah, sounds like a problem.

[The look on his face isn't the least bit serious.]

[passingthrough]

[That's good. Nothing serious to be found here.] I work long and hard on it.

What were we talking about that isn't my love life?

[scanninggaydis]

Nothing important.

[Better her than him!]

[passingthrough]

So, terrible sponsor drops aside, how are you doing?

[scanninggaydis]

Making do. Our ship managed to make it out of the attack mostly unscathed, so that's good.

You?

[passingthrough]

We had some damage. Got boarded. But we're all okay and the ship is getting repaired. Unexpected bout of excitement. I knew there'd been an attack before. I didn't realize there had been two, but I think I convinced myself it was never happening again.

[scanninggaydis]

Two attacks?

[He frowns, and leans on the box in front of him.]

Clay talked about one....

Glad to hear you're all okay.

[passingthrough]

Yeah, Nami and Vash clarified that for me. All I knew about was the time a fleet fired on us to drive us into a nebula which didn't sound that much like an attack. But I guess there had been a more traditional attack sometime before that one.

You too.

There was a lot going on during. We tried to help protect other ships, but we were pretty busy protecting ourselves too.

[scanninggaydis]

We were lucky, we were able to mostly provide support to other ships.

If this is a pattern, the fleet has got to be more organized next time.

[Which, he knows is a sentiment he's seen other people express over the network after the attack. It's absolutely true.]

[passingthrough]

Agreed. We worked with a few other ships, but a fully united force would be good. It would also be good if the ships weren't so empty or had so many vacancies and redundancies as far as augments go. But people get attached. [She has.]

[scanninggaydis]

Right, the augments. I was basically redundant on my ship, at least when it came to the augment.

[Not useless in terms of his ability to help. Just. Two pilots was unnecessary.]

Coordination's hard when no one is really in charge.

[passingthrough]

I used to be, but back then we had all the essentials and I spend about half my nights off ship. More if we're in a system with nice lodging, so I thought the extra pilot was a good idea. And now it's just me again.

Mmm, like a fleet leader?

[scanninggaydis]

Well, an admiral or commander, if we're being correct.

[It's a fleet with a bunch of ship captains.

He shakes his head after that, though.]

I doubt people would like that though. And I'm not sure they'd be wrong.

[Being able to be organized quickly would be good, but honestly? The idea of technically being under the thumb of another admiral isn't appealing. He likes Clay well enough and he's a good kid, so he's okay with being on a ship with a (civilian) captain. But that's about it.]

[passingthrough]

I'm not that military oriented, but sure. [She nods.] Until we were actually attacked I didn't put much stock in the idea of having a captain at all. Even though I am one now.

[scanninggaydis]

I am. Was.

Anyway, it does seem pretty pointless, outside of an emergency. It's not like we have a goal to fulfill, outside of being entertaining. I assume mostly the hierarchy there for audience interest.

...Maybe for authenticity too.