02 ♚ voice;

[passe]

[ There's some white noise before Hal speaks, but it isn't hesitation this time. He's bored and indifferent, addressing this to the comms unit only as an afterthought. His voice is quiet, but it's not timid - it's carried by an easy confidence and a subtle aggression, though only if you're used to listening for that sort of thing. ]

What do you people do here? To raise morale. Therapy does not seem to be cutting it; this is a war zone. Crying about your feelings to someone without qualifications is hardly going to ease your burdens.

You rally and you hide in the tunnels as though you're waiting for Hitler to drop a bomb on your head, but this is not your home front, and you no longer have the luxury of calling yourselves civilians. Quiet reflections will do nothing to ease fear and tension when the enemy is at your door; you need something much bolder.

There is a reason soldiers so often resort to the excesses of alcohol and whores.

[ There's a distracted pause, and when he speaks again he sounds amused. ]

The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of Hell, a hell of Heaven. Cheer up, all of you.

Comments

jkgdjahksl; oops

[ex_question191]

Hey, it's comparative progress. If you're gonna take two steps forward and get dragged one step backwards, you're still gonna get further than just giving into inertia.

[ stiles grimaces. he's not entirely sure that makes sense outside his head. at least he hasn't started talking about voluntary apnea. ]

[passe]

Futile, but noble. I suppose there is merit in that.

[ It makes sense. Too much sense, actually; Hal's built his life around the concept. ]

You seem quite young for such insight. [ It's an observation, but the question is implied: why? ]

[ex_question191]

[ heh. ]

I had a good therapist.

[passe]

Touché. [ He's not going to argue with a clean serve. He'd rather know why he was in therapy to begin with, but there's no need for an interrogation just yet. ]

May I ask your name?

[ex_question191]

Stiles. How about you? You're not actually Milton, right, because that would be intimidating.

[passe]

Hal Yorke.

Intimidating in what way? Are you a fan of his work? [ Knowing Milton, too. You're just getting all the gold stars. ]

[ex_question191]

Uh, I wouldn't say fan.

[ he gets As in english? he reads a lot of wikipedia? ]

It would just be weird. Meeting famous people is weird. Especially if they're supposed to be dead.

[passe]

I have found there are a great many people on this ship who are meant to be dead.

And if Milton were here, he would be hard to miss. The man never shuts up about God. I am sure he would have turned this ship into a convoluted religious allegory. [ As if you totally aren't doing that, Hal. ]

[ex_question191]

Oh. Right. Yeah.

[ he knew that, actually. even back home, people don't seem to stay dead. ]

It just feels different when he's from, what, the fifteenth century or something? It'd be like meeting Shakespeare.

[passe]

You realize there are some who are older here, though I suppose you would not have heard of them.

You should also know that Shakespeare was largely a fluke. [ And overrated. Totally the Tim Burton of his day. ]

[ex_question191]

Are you serious? Dude, if he was a fluke, then I don't get why we have to study him every single year.

[passe]

He was popular. History has the tragic tendency of interpreting that as talent. I believe the same could be said for some some of your modern artists.

And Milton was the seventeenth, by the way.

[ex_question191]

Hhhuh. So he was like, the Stephanie Meyer of plays. Not that I wanna claim Twilight as "my" anything.

[ tipping his head, but not missing a beat. ]

How old are you?

[passe]

Older than Shakespeare. [ A bit over 520, to be specific. It's not something he's used to sharing, given the baggage that came with being so old back home, but the rules are different here. ]

Who is Stephenie Meyer? [ He was totally thinking of The Beatles, here. His tastes are a bit nonstandard. ]

[ex_question191]

[ ...fuck his life. he can't say he wasn't suspicious, but he still wasn't expecting that. you know, since all he had to go off was a voice and some really old-fashioned taste. but he gets the impression this dude isn't trying to imply he lived in the 1600s. ]

Oooookay.

[ just give him a moment to process. his throat bobs as he swallows, but he's pretty resilient when it comes to the supernatural, and he manages not to ask so what are you as a follow-up question. ]

She writes vampire fiction. Romance. With a bit of Mormon allegory thrown in. It's pretty, uh, awful is the only word I can think of? But she's really popular. Probably more widely-read than Shakespeare.

[passe]

[ Don't worry, Stiles, you won't really have to ask. Hal's not very sneaky. He notices the obvious pause for processing the information of his age, of course, but he's a bit too distracted to find it amusing or otherwise. ]

Vampire romance? Has nobody told her that is an oxymoron? [ He actually seems somewhat concerned. His friends hid these things from him for good reason, thank you. Unless- ] Do you mean romance between two vampires?

[ex_question191]

Uh, noooo. Oh, actually, I think he turns her to be with her? Or maybe because she's dying? But for most of the books she's human and he's like, salivating over her perfect human blood. Match made in heaven, right?

[passe]

[ Well, at least the salivating part sounds accurate. ]

I once knew a woman who imagined herself to be a writer. She was not very good either.

[ And had a vampire fetish. Until she was one, maybe. He's slightly wary at the idea that this could be the same woman. ] What year are you from?

[ex_question191]

Two-kay-eleven. How about you?

[ holding his breath just slightly because that will give a pretty definitive answer on the age thing. ]

[passe]

[ He can tell Stiles is anxious, so there might be a bit of a grin at his expense. ]

Twenty-twelve. I have found it to be a slight adjustment.

[ex_question191]

[ stiles gives a low whistle. ]

Yeah, that's significant.

[ he nods, slowly, like he's working himself up to saying something. ]

So you're really old.

crawls in

[passe]

[ Now there's a genuine, broad grin, though it's a shame Stiles can't see it. He can probably hear it well enough. ]

There are older. Are vampires relegated to mere fiction in your world?

[ And there's the cat out of the bag. It's not something he cares to dance around. ]

gathers up

[ex_question191]

[ vampires. stiles mouths the word to himself in disbelief. vampires exist. okay. he can live with that? maybe? but the question is still a good one. ]

You know, I don't actually know? I mean, there is a lot of fiction, but I wouldn't put money either way.

lays on

[passe]

If you have no experience with vampires, then - which I presume by your reaction that you do not - what gives you cause for doubt?

Outside of the quantity of fiction, of course.

... gently auggie locks this talk about the supernatural

[ex_question191]

Yeah, that's totally it. I've just read way too many books? And really want to believe, like, crazy people or whatever.

[ and then he private-locks it. ]

Also, I'm friends with a werewolf, so you know, my disbelief, she is suspended. Do you drink blood?