driftfleet | B'lire Game-wide Mingle

[ It's a terrible word, because it brings up things he's not ready to admit to or deal with yet. ]

An android, [ He repeats, gaze flicking across Vision from head to toe, more honestly curious than assessing a threat, although that is an added benefit. ] which explains why your skin doesn't seem like ... natural skin.

[ Which is rude or awkward. Or both. Steve is easing back into being social, if only because he's rationalized there'll be punishment if he shuts himself away completely. ]

I guess that's a good guess. Aliens probably wouldn't have the same conceits or preconceptions as humans about life.

[He nods, unfazed by the awkwardness.] I admit, I have yet to encounter any alien races with metal or metal-like inclusions, though I'm not the only android currently present.

Some do and some do not. Humans, and more specifically humans from Earth, are still the majority here, though, so it is a good starting point. [He leans his hand on one of the planets in the mural, a large green one that was his favorite destination so far.] This planet we're around now seems to have mostly humans, aside from some rumors of strange creatures, but there are others we'll visit with other sapient life. Or at least, we have in the past. I hope you'll enjoy it.

At least you aren't alone then, [ He decides. Or opines, depending on how you look at it. Which is important and still fairly uncomfortable to deal with. His natural tendencies towards being responsible means keeping an eye on the comm station on board ship, which means interacting with strangers. ]

Is that a -- are we supposed to enjoy it? [ Is not enjoying allowed? Or will that bring censure. Their kidnappers have been fairly hands-off about things, at least after dumping new victims onto the ships, and Steve is kind of hoping it stays that way until he gets his bearings down solid. ]

[That actually gets a smile - it's a good observation, actually.] I am not. it's much like, oh, how I imagine suddenly discovering a cousin you never knew you had would feel. Here you are with completely different life experiences, yet here and there along the way are things you never thought you'd share with anyone else, and they've been through just that. Or being able to mention something important to you and you needn't even explain it - they understand already.

[Connor is a bro, okay?]

I don't personally care what they think we ought to do, as they give us no direction. But if the opportunity to set foot on an alien planet appears, I do not want to pass it up just to spite an uncaring overseer.

[ Steve has no sense of that kind of expectation. There's someone else here with his name, with perhaps some of his earliest experiences, but that doesn't make him feel any kind of kinship. It makes him ashamed. It makes him feel like the lowest kind of scum on Earth. Even if they aren't technically on Earth anymore. But he opts to say, ]

Then I'm glad you've been able to connect with someone. [ Bros are theoretically awesome, he supposes. ] So it's more out of curiosity and ... spite? [ Steve could might get behind that. ]

Thank you. [Though at that he smiles at the mural and lays a hand lightly on a picture of one of the ships - clearly a Fleet ship, but one that Steve won't be able to find anymore. It has an emblem of a windrose on it.] I've met many people here I would have never met, had I stayed on Earth in my own timeline. It's been a good opportunity. I tended toward shyness at home for fear of being different. Here, however, everyone is different.

[Oh, yes. He nods and bites back a smile.] Primarily the curiosity, I admit, but there are times when spite wins out.

[ He lets out a slow breath, leaning forward a little to peer more closely at the area Vision is highlighting with his touch. The ship is very unfamiliar, but Steve commits the emblem to memory anyway. In case it's something important. ]

Between you and me, [ because it's oddly easier to say this to a stranger. ] I was held prisoner back home until recently. And now I'm attending someone else's whim again. Probably the only thing that's different is they haven't started torturing us yet.

[ that he can see. ] Spite's a damn good motivator, pal.

[He flinches at that a little, because--well, who wouldn't at the mention of torture? The fact that this is starting to sound familiar doesn't help.] I'm very sorry to hear that. This place--we have a certain amount of freedom here, and outright torture isn't something they practice. It's more subtle and insidious than that.

[His eyes dart around to various parts of the mural, some abstract and others not so much, but each represents someone who was important to the mural's first artist. Wrath had had a full life here, and except in the memories of the few people left who remembered her, they existed now only on this wall. That, more than any natural inclination toward art, is what had prompted the Vision to continue her work.]

It is perhaps not the most noble motivation. But it does persist.

[ Yeaaah, maybe that wasn't the best decision he's made so far. Steve shrugs after a moment, both acknowledgment and avoidance. ] You know, life happens. Sometimes it's shitty.

[ He does take note of Vision's opinion - that these captors are more subtle when it comes to the fine art of torment. It's something to be aware of and to watch for. But since he's already decided that this current topic is a terrible one, especially when meeting someone new, he tries to follow where Vision is looking on the mural. ]

I get persistence. Sometimes it's the best way to annoy other people and get things accomplished. Tell me about one of these people, who used to be here.

It does. I am sorry that the unfortunate events have visited you. [Actually, it wasn't the worst thing to share. A bad reaction from the Vision is more out of sympathy than revulsion.]

Of course. [He looks around for a bit and then taps an image of a sparkling wind (Wrath loved glitter) blowing through a swamp.] Misty Day. She was from New Orleans, called herself a "Swamp Witch". She had powerful abilities, but almost no formal training in how to use them, nor a good way to develop them further. We worked on developing a scientific method. I built her a little swamp area in our ship's cargo bay, and she introduced me to the music of a group called Fleetwood Mac. She was very kindhearted, and more than once she healed my friends of grievous injuries with her powers.

Yeah, well. Me too. But at least they happened to me and not someone else.

[ He's tough, he survived. That's what matters. And, besides, it means he gets to learn about people from completely different universes, which is not something he realized he wanted until coming to this place. So it all works out. ]

Misty Day. [ Memorizing the image and name associated with it, so he won't forget. ] Kind of her to use her power to help others. [ Although he's not quite sure about magic itself. That's something Steve is just going to have to sit down and think about one of these days. ] Not enough people do that. Help other people because they can.

I would still rather they not happen at all.

[Even so, he can understand the sentiment. Better they go to someone who can handle it than someone who cannot.]

She was kind and generous, and I'm glad to have known her. She's one of those I would have brought along to my own timeline, if I could have; hers was cruel to people with abilities. That she was still trying to be a good person in spite of that was an excellent example of human resilience. [His voice is warm, a bit sad but still fond. He's glad to have known her, but part of making friends here is losing them.]

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