voyagers | [ota] i am a super srs rper

[john would agree with her that that is absolutely ridiculous. if she is going to be given so much responsibility, she should be allowed to have the opportunity to have a drink too if that's really what she wants. all of his responsibility, it usually keeps him from drinking along with-- well.

he frowns at what she says.] ...drowning would be bad. [this is his very profound statement for the day before he turns toward her and that hand, reaching to grab hold and following where she tugs basically. the drunk puppy is now following. john young has always been very good at following. his voice is soft when he speaks again, half as explanation, half as an apology.] I've never been drunk before.

[ he's good at following and she's good at leading. as a member of the peacecraft royal family, she was born to lead. it's in her blood — though she would sooner credit these attributes to her adoptive father than to the king who perished in a great fire when the alliance military stormed the capital when she was but two-years-old. ]

Oh? And here I was thinking you were an expert. [ she's teasing and leading him towards one of the changing rooms. ] Here, I'll wait outside. There should be a sink in there.

Edited 2014-07-30 23:01 (UTC)

[john is good at leading too, but he was made to be good at following orders. and he is good at that too, really good. jed would say he's better at following orders than giving them, but the jury is still out on that one. he'd be amazed to know all she's done at her age, all the responsibility she has.

if anyone deserves a drink, it'd be her.

he smirks softly at what she says.] Glad to know my inexperience wasn't shining through. [his smirk widens a bit before he nods and then... heads inside of the changing room. there's the sound of fumbling, stumbling a bit before there's the sound of water running

and john sticks his head into the water because it seems like a good idea so when he comes out again, his head is completely wet but he seems to be thinking at least a little clearer. maybe.] I'm... John Young by the way. Bad, first impression, I know.

A bit bad, but forgivable, and certainly not the worst. You haven't stolen an ambulance or threatened to kill me yet, so you haven't taken the trophy away from the current worst first impression holder.

[ heero yuy, king of making bad impressions. ]

It's a pleasure to meet you, Mister Young. [ she doesn't introduce herself because she's rude. she doesn't introduce herself, because she can't even go grocery shopping without being recognized. for better or worse, hers is a face the public knows, and introductions on her end simply fell out of service because of it. relena's yet to realize she's dealing with a place that incorporates various times as well as worlds and realities. ]

Edited 2014-07-31 03:44 (UTC)

...what kind of life do you lead that that would even-- I will let that person have their trophy, and you actually associated with them after that?

[it's not like john can say someone threatening to kill him is really his dealbreaker, but she looks young. granted, he was young too when he was first an ultra agent so he knows being young doesn't really mean anything.]

You too, Ms. .... what can I call you? It doesn't have to be the truth if you don't want it to be, but we're... probably not from the same world in this place. [john may be drunk, but he does remember that. there were people from all kinds of different places. there are people who are witches. people who are vampires and all kinds of things that john knows doesn't exist in his world. if they did, ultra would be trying to kill them too.]

I do, when they're around. [ heero was come and go. it was his way. ] Believe it or not, I trust this person with my life.

[ which is why she did nothing to detour him when he was firing on the bunker she was being held captive in. she knew he was up there in wing zero, he knew she was down there being held against her will... yet they both knew that she was fully willing to die if it meant preventing a military takeover. she trusted him to do what needed to be done, much to mariemaia's horror. ]

You mean you don't know? [ oh. well then. she'll be bowing in apology, the rising up and extending a polite hand for him to shake. ] Forgive me, I assumed you knew who I was. That we were from the same world... [ although, to be honest, that sounds like ludicrous to her ears. truth be told, she's waiting for heero to sneak aboard this ship and take her back to the nearest preventer base. she's so used to being kidnapped and holding her own while waiting patiently for rescue that the reality of her unusual situation has yet to sink in. ]

My name is Relena Darlian. I'm the Vice Foreign Minister for the Earth's Sphere Unified Nation.

[john thinks about his own life and the different ways that he has met the people in it.] ...I can believe it.

[but he is still incredibly curious about her life where that would be ordinary. he is also a really private person. john has a lot of walls up inside of himself, and he doesn't talk about his own history and his own life, which is why he never expects other people to do so.

john shakes his head in response, lifting his hand out to take hers in his own.] It's an understandable assumption to make. Not really used to this whole other worlds thing either. [it's just what he learned the last time that he was here, and it stuck with him. it's why he was more willing to share about his powers with a witch who so clearly wasn't from his own universe where that kind of knowledge was dangerous to hand out.]

...you're-- I feel like I should say it's an honor to meet you, Ms. Darlian. [because that's one helluva impressive title.] I've never heard of you before, and I... don't know what the Earth's Sphere Unified Nation is, but it sounds like you have a lot on your shoulders.

[ relena herself is a surprisingly private person in contrast to what the world might believe. there are the things she deliberately puts on display for the media to eat up and use as fodder for their cover stories and that which she keeps very closely guarded. she learned that early on when she was the diplomat's daughter and not the diplomat herself -- never do anything which could reflect poorly on daddy's political career. the same went for her own.

she shrugs lightly, as humble and modest as ever. ] I do what I can, and I'm only the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs. It's the Minister himself who has the most work cut out for him in our department.

[john stares at her after a moment at the way she so humbly responds to that, and he shakes his head with a tiny smile after a moment, because it's amazing to him. he doesn't know the details, and he's mostly drunk, but... he has the responsibility of his species on his hands (the responsibility that he created when he-- well, he's done plenty to deserve that responsibility.]

I don't think there's any only about that title at all, Ms. Darlian. [he doesn't know many people who are so quick to be humble and modest.] So what kind of work do you do?

[ only meant she was only third in line for the presidency, behind the vice president and the foreign minster himself, should anything happen to the three men who stood in higher positions than her. ]

Oh, a variety of things. I help settle border disputes, mediate disagreements between Earth and the colonies, assist in setting up trade agreements, as well as other tedious aspects of foreign policy.

Edited 2014-08-08 11:50 (UTC)

...that sounds incredibly impressive. Just so you're aware of that. It's a lot to have to weigh on your shoulders, and now you're helping a drunk man not... fall into a pool.

[there's a tiny half apologetic smile as he shakes his head.]

Sorry about all of that.

It's weight that has to settle on someone's shoulders. Those shoulders, for time being, just happen to be mine. They won't always, but it's a necessary burden to bear if the peace is to maintained.

[ because she's symbol of that, the last living daughter of the peacecraft dynasty. people have faith in her, believe in what she has to offer them. it's not a position she often enjoys being in, but she understands that its necessary. and she'll do it for as long as she's needed to. ]

Oh, it's alright. If anything, you've succeeded in making this unusual kidnapping a little more interesting. And now I can't claim that I don't know anyone.

I know, but you're so young. Not to say you can't do it, but I am pretty sure most young people are thinking about... a lot simpler things. In other universes.

[and it's not like he-- well, there was a lot on his plate at that age too. it's just harder to hear when it happens to someone else. john smiles sideways with a half laugh.]

I'm really grateful to hear that. I'm glad you can look on the brights ide, and I swear... I don't drink. Ever. Except... now. [and now just happened to be when the ship decided to take him again.]

I left behind the innocence of youth some time ago.

[ her youth, her innocence, it was lost the moment she witnessed her adoptive father's assassination. she ceased to be a child after that, moved by both that traumatic experience, the truth of her origins, and her conversation with doctor j. ]

You don't need to justify yourself to me. [ she waves it off. ] We're only human, after all. Humans have weaknesses, no matter how strong we claim to be. Sometimes, it's too much, and in order to deal with that, we have to seek out methods of coping with it that aren't just standing still with a false, impenetrable smile. It's okay to not want to deal with reality for a while, Mister Young.

It sounds like you really have. No one should have to, but... it happens.

[john has seen it happen time and time again. he experienced a loss of innocence at a very young age himself, but sometimes he'll see kids stumbling into the lair, still young, still young enough to keep some of that innocence (even stephen has it still, and john doesn't want him to lose it much as he argues with him on things).

there's a tiny smile from him when she waves it off. he thinks maybe he was trying to justify himself... to himself ultimately. and he doesn't say he's not human (hasn't considered himself human since jedikiah said he was the only human who would ever accept john.)]

You're very insightful and wise. It's never been something I've been able to allow myself to do. People are counting on me. Not nearly as many as those who rely on you. Do you ever not deal with reality for awhile? [it's said with a quiet, warmth to it as he sends her a tiny smile.] You can call me John.

Yes, [ she agrees almost sadly ] yes it does. Often, to those who are undeserving of it.

[ here, she isn't thinking of herself. she's thinking of heero, who has been through god knows what while undergoing the rigorous training doctor j put him through in order to turn an innocent boy into a highly trained assassin. she's thinking of quatre winner, from a family of pacifists, who took up piloting a gundam to defend the idea of peace, because fighting was the only way to achieve that. in the past, growing up too fast and discarding their innocence was the only way. she's tired of that being the only way. the world she wants to create will have no need for such ultimatums.

as for non-humans, well, that concept may be a little hard for her to grasp at first, but it's not entirely farfetched. after all, "newtype" humans were a very real thing in her time. humans who had evolved past the expected human capacity; humans — like heero and quatre — who had the ability to master and control the zero system. and quatre, whose empathic nature made her admire his convictions even more. she couldn't imagine doing the things the gundams had to do while having that ability. ]

Wise? I wouldn't call myself that. [ though it's not the first time she's been called that. ] ...no. No, I don't suppose I do. I think the last time I stopped dealing with reality, it was two years ago. During the war. It was only a moment, but I let myself relax. But it was just a moment. All you can really do is hold on to those moments.

[ leaning against a system's console in a control room they'd snuck into while heero searched through libra's database for her brother's location. for just a moment, they were just a pair of teenagers, but the moment hadn't lasted long at all. i've found zechs... ]

John. Alright. In that case, I insist that you call me Relena.

Edited 2014-08-23 22:53 (UTC)

[john doesn't know what she is thinking of, but he nods his head in agreement. he's thinking about cara. he's thinking about the many people in the lair who had their innocence stolen from them, their childhood stolen from them. they're forced to go into hiding underground. they are forced to run and to never have a normal life again.

their lives are constantly in danger, and they have powers they have to try to learn how to control.]

Wise people usually don't call themselves that. They're wise enough to not make that call themselves. [there's a tiny but warm smile on his face as he shakes his head.] A moment isn't very long at all, but now you're on a magic ship to nowhere... so I think you'll be allowed to take another moment for yourself. If you want.

[he understands how it can be difficult to relax, to let oneself relax and enjoy the ship or enjoy anything.]

If you insist. [john smirks a tiny bit teasingly almost before he nods.] I can do that for you, Relena.

It is nice not to have a security detail at my heels everywhere I go.

[ she couldn't even sleep in her own bedroom without preventer agents stationed outside her door and windows. she'd grown used to moving around them like they were flesh statues, but it was really nice to be without them. the only thing she missed was that distinct feeling of being watched by something — no, someone — unseen. even when her guards were keeping the closest of watches on her, there he was, in the shadows, watching them watching her. relena was certain the only watchful eyes heero trusted were his own, but even he wasn't able to look over her here. ]

I do insist. If I'm to give myself another moment or two, then I'll need a reprieve from being Vice Minister Darlian and Miss Relena for a while.

Edited 2014-08-23 23:35 (UTC)

That... does sound like it would be a pain.

[even if it sounds like she needs it, like there is that much danger around her. she can have the freedom here to be whoever she wants to. if there is anything about this ship (as much as it is mysterious, as much as he can't really trust it to be safe), people really can leave their worlds and responsibilities behind here and be whoever it is that they want to be, whoever they are underneath all of that.]

Since I want to help you have another moment or two, I am very happy to oblige, Relena. No fancy titles, no expectations, just your name.

[ota] i am a super srs rper

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