A tactful time after Rose's yelling session...

[truerevelation]

Alright.

So ... I ain't gotta tell anyone where we are this time, and from the stuff people were sayin' on the network, returning here ain't the biggest surprise anyone's ever had. Even if we did get the red carpet bit... Yeah, this is Questing Country - magical kinda Liminal Space dreamland. The Oracles over at the table are the best guys to ask about what this place is.

But I figure we still need to work out who is and isn't actually us. Except, uh. Wash.

[That was psychic shouting and his ears are still ringing from it somehow, OK.]

So this is Kanji checking in. Give us a yell if you're hearing this? How you're doing, all that stuff. Or if you've got powers up and goin' here... anyone else been species switched, too?

...But, uh. If you see a guy who looks like my plain Hecatite form, that ain't me. That's my old overlay, and I think he wanted his powers back or something. Hell if I know what mine are right now.

Comments

[truerevelation]

Okay, dude, I think you win at archetypes. Dawn's pretty cool too, but, y'know.

[Private:]

Though, uh. With everyone yellin' about Adversaries here... how're you feeling about that stuff?

[tookashirototheknee]

Yeah! I've got like... moving constellations and galaxies on my clothes, it's awesome.

[Private:]

Not bad, to be honest. At home, I'm seen as an adversary-ish because I'm pretty outspoken that I think the guys in charge are assholes, so I'm thinking it's more 'fuck the status quo' than anything else.

It's really not the worst thing I've been called.

[truerevelation]

I have to see that.

[Mental cough.]

Uh. I mean. Sounds cool.

[Private/protection 1: and sounding a little quiet. But if he's talking to someone else who got tagged with the role...]

...Heh. Sounds like a good way to look at it. Not the worst thing I've ever been called either, not compared to home, but ... ugh.

[tookashirototheknee]

[There's a laugh over the network.]

Hey, I don't have a mirror to show you, but I'm sure you'll see it soon. I also have a hyperactive round metal ball that won't shut up about space.

[Private]

Yeah, it's kinda crap that people seem to be making such a big deal about it. I don't get it.

[A pause.]

Hey, do you want to meet up? Serious conversations are always better in person, I think.

[truerevelation]

... I'll stick with Piyo.

[private]

... shit. Can't believe I ... I ... I said that, didn't I. I mean, the stuff you said, that was ... uh, I know what you meant, but ... There's just something that, it ain't me, I can't just...

[Breathe, Kanji. There's a faint psychic hint of a worried chirp.]

... Uh. Yeah. Maybe. Still wrappin' my head around it.

[tookashirototheknee]

Dude, Piyo's awesome. I'm a bit jealous of that bird.

[Private]

[Matt's voice turns concerned, and a bit worried.]

Hey. Take a few breaths, dude, ok? Couple steps back, and start over. What about it isn't you? What're you worried about?

Tell me to fuck the fuck right off if you want, by the way. I just... I get the identity crisis thing, and the 'this isn't me, what the fuck'.

[truerevelation]

Heh. I mean. Spaceballs are cool too. But... y'know.

[There's a bit of a proud chirp up...] Thanks!

[Back to private... Kanji's still a little cagey with his reply, slow, cautious, trying not to get tangled up again. (Hah.)]

...Sorry, dude. I was ... I was Champion of Threads last time. Kept the powers. All of that. I thought that was me. Or I'd ... made it me. Yeah, some of that stuff's fine. Ain't gonna argue with bein' able to watch the sky 'cause of what someone else taught me.
But ... being here? It's ... gettin' me mixed up.

[tookashirototheknee]

Not as cool as nebula birds.

[Private]

[Matt sighs, voice gentle and a bit worried.]

Sometimes going back sucks. Going somewhere that you were, and realizing how much you've changed since you were there. I haven't had that happen yet, but I know it will when or if I ever get back to Earth.

[A long pause, and then: ]

It really sucked going from a scientist and explorer to prisoner and slave, and, well, if what people have told me is true, I end up as a rebel leader. I still don't know what to think about that. It's awkward realizing you're not what you were, and sometimes it really sucks.

[truerevelation]

See, he gets it!

Piyo...

[On the private line:]

... It sure as hell sucks. Tellin' people it's okay, and then... I ain't going back. I ain't gonna be the sorta person that ... that woulda been a - never mind.

Rebel leader's badass, though.

But. Yeah. Maybe this ain't the place to talk this stuff through.

Private

[tookashirototheknee]

I'm not used to being the badass one. That's Shiro. I'm the nerd in the corner who just wants to explore space.

All of that aside, though, sometimes you just have to... keep going and not go back. I've seen a lot of people who are happier and healthier that way, and really... it's ok to change. It's ok to not be who you were. That's life. If you stay the same, that's actually kinda scary.

Private

[truerevelation]

... you sound like me on a good day. Heh.

I don't wanna be the guy I was once. I know I'm changing. I want to... keep bein' something better. I don't want to look back...

Man. I just ... I dunno.

Private

[tookashirototheknee]

Who says you have to? I still don't know what the shit I'm doing, and I'm older than you. Heck, Dad sometimes said he didn't really know who he was or what he was doing, and he's... well, my dad.

Take a breath. Remember what's important to you, whatever that is. Labels suck. Don't let some stupid label define you.

Re: Private

[truerevelation]

Heh. Yeah. Maybe I ... need to keep remembering that bit.

['What's important' is still the tricky bit, though.]

Private

[tookashirototheknee]

Yeah. Remembering's hard sometimes.

I'm always willing to listen, though. I know how crappy it can be when you have a whole bunch of things in your head and no way to get them out.

[Happens when you're captured by aliens.]