video & action »

[ladybro]

Who: Kate Bishop and YOU.
Broadcast: Fleetwide.
Action: Aboard the Blameless, as well as in Málum aboard the Iskaulit.
When: Today.

So I know I'm not the only one here who can boast both some experience and frustration with alternate worlds, dimensions, timelines, so on and futzing so forth. [ kate hits the network like she hits the ground: running. no hello, no hi, no how-do-you-do. ]

But, uh, I figured it might be good to gather some intel from people outside my little social circle. Personally, I've counted no fewer than six different versions of home. Including mine, but not including any other generally Earth-based worlds. I'm talking we had mutual acquaintances in common, but details were...different. Shout out to anyone who can identify me a seventh. It's like Pokemon at this point: gotta learn'em all.

What about the rest of you? Are other worlds a thing where you're from? A fact of life? Or are they pretty much the stuff of sci-fi -- culty, but soon to be a blockbuster reboot on a big screen near you?

Hawkeye, out.

[ -- and with that, she kicks back and waits to discuss the existential can-o-worms she just opened. part of it is almost masochistic, because she knows how little she doesn't want to learn about yet another world where the avengers exist, but she doesn't.

to take her mind off things, kate heads for her shift at málum over on the iskaulit. but something's...off, tonight. usually a paragon of coordination and balance, she's been breaking a lot of glasses tonight. futz, that's gonna come out of her pay. it puts her in a foul mood, so patrons can expect a bit of petulant surliness with their drinks. ]

Comments

[ladybro]

I'm sure he does. You just gotta find your ideal genre.

[spacebro]

How do I do that? [Teach him, Obi Wan.]

[ladybro]

You gotta play the field -- so to speak. Me? I like racing games. [ and she's pretty good at them. and she meant it when she said it's all about the hand-eye coordination. ] But you might find your groove with something else. Shooters? Arcade fighters? Those games that cost $30 a month and guarantee you'll never feel the tough of sunlight ever again?

[spacebro]

I started by losing to him in racing. I did stop driving into the wall right away though.

[ladybro]

A very key skill both on screen and on, y'know, real roads.

[spacebro]

I haven't driven an earth vehicle yet. Do you think that's a disadvantage for the game?

[ladybro]

-- You've never driven? [ it shouldn't surprise her so much. she grew up in new york; driving oneself isn't always a priority. but kate loves getting behind the wheel. ] Next planet we get to with any kind of real vehicles? You and me are going for a joyride.

[spacebro]

[He's also had people drive him a lot, but no need to go into all that.] I've mostly piloted shuttles in the fleet and on Daxam, but I would be happy to go on a joyride with you.

Should it be joyous to go on a joyride instead?

[ladybro]

Shuttles have nothing on the feel of rubber gripping road, Mon-El. You'd love it. [ kate's mood is certainly improving at the prospect. ] God, I miss my car.

[spacebro]

There are a lot of cars on Earth. But I'm sure yours is special.

[ladybro]

My Firebird? Oh, sure. [ special. ] That thing saw me move across the country. Twice. Not bad, for a vintage piece.

[spacebro]

Firebird? Interesting name for a vehicle that doesn't fly.

[ladybro]

Oh, she flies. [ kate smiles. ] Just not in the way you're thinking.

[spacebro]

You and this car have a very intimate relationship, don't you?

[ladybro]

You could call it that. Sure. [ as cars go, this one had been something of a hail mary. ] It was probably the first thing I ever owned that was really -- truly -- mine.

[ a little inaccurate given that she'd borrowed the money for it from finch and marcus before she left. but that debt felt different -- because that debt had been her own, too. not racked up on some credit card controlled by papa bishop. ]

[spacebro]

Do most people start at a car? I thought it would be more like shoes.

[ladybro]

You're probably right. [ ... ] But when I first left New York for California, it wasn't a popular move with my father. By the time I got out there, he'd cancelled all my credit cards. Had the car he'd bought me for my sixteenth birthday towed away. Technically, it was all his. It had always been all his.

[ a shrug. ] So when I got the Firebird without any help from him? It felt pretty futzing good.

[spacebro]

He did all that to get you to go back? Did he try controlling you like that before too? [Definitely not asking because his parents can be manipulative.]

[ladybro]

Never like that. [ -- kate's careful, now. although she tends to be something of an open book, it's clear that this is a subject about which she doesn't know how to be candid. at least, not as candid as she is about the rest of her life. ] Dad's always been a piece of work but I never thought he'd cut me off. [ ... ] I dunno. Maybe it was the best thing that ever happened to me.

[spacebro]

So, it's been good to be away from him for you? [He can just lowkey get wisdom from you without talking about his own family, right?]

[ladybro]

It's been -- healthier. Hard to say whether it's been good. [ kate rubs the back of her neck. truth be told, she's actually looking for her dad back home. long story, sure, but not one mon-el needs to hear given the current conversation.

so, instead: ] I don't think I've mentioned it before but I grew up kinda... [ she waffles. uncertain of how best to explain it. ] Rich. My family are pretty well known back home. The name Bishop comes with a certain cachet. It wasn't exactly easy for me to stop taking advantage of the privilege that comes with that kind of cachet. Credit cards, servants, private schools, all of it. It's hard, but I like myself more when I'm not depending on dad's money to get by.

[spacebro]

I can understand that. [Tiny pause as he realizes that might have sounded too sincere since it was. He knows all about leaving a big family name and riches behind. Not that he was a choice in his case. But he had thought about it before. He even had a little planet picked out where he could run away to that he used to think about. Then it was raining destruction and he's being guided to a pod and he was scared and he just left without much of a thought to anyone but himself.]

I mean, I can imagine what that would be like. Having to start over in that way.

For what it's worth, I like you and I'd recommend liking yourself too. [But he knows all about not liking himself too and finding improvement in that as he changes.]

[ladybro]

Don't get me wrong. I love me. [ self-esteem has never been one of her shortcomings, at least. ] But it's hard to do what I do, knowing what my dad does, and not feel like a giant hypocrite so long as I'm still living off his bank account. So I made a change.

In retrospect, however, I should have at least left with enough to buy my PI license.

[spacebro]

[He smiles at the ways she says she loves herself. A little amused and a little admiring. It's not a strong point of his.]

What does your dad do? [Are you in the evil dads club too?]

[ladybro]

By trade? He runs a pretty big publishing empire. Not unlike where Kara used to work, actually. [ ... ] But he dabbles in other stuff, too. Less than legit stuff.