[Voice/Action]

[selfhelp]

[Today is a good day for serious business, apparently. There's a certain something he's been putting off for a while, and after one-too-many dreams interrupting his sleep, he's had enough: this morning when Billy wakes up, the first thing he does is jot out a note in the journal-]

[Private to Ben Grimm]

Hey, would it be okay if I swung by to ask you a few things?

[He'll work through his morning routine until he gets a response, after which he'll go for a visit and get a hell of a lot more than he bargained for.

After that, his mood for the day is drastically altered; he'll skip out on school, trying to sort out his feelings on the matter. Tommy's still AWOL, and he's trying not to worry Teddy, but what he's just been told has really got him thinking- about people, and heroes, and the unfairness of mankind in general. And eventually he'll just go ahead and return to his journal for it. He's kind of in over his head here.]

[Open to All]

I know Luceti's full of heroes- seems kind of a standard trait for most of us, for whatever reason. Back on my world, super-humans aren't that uncommon, and in general they're revered for everything they do for the world. Some of them were born that way, and some of them are from other planets, and some were altered to get their powers, and some have a lot of talent or skill instead of powers. But they're all considered to be super heroes. There's bad guys, too- just as diverse and unique as the heroes they fight. People fear them and celebrate their defeat.

There's another group, though... humans who got their powers because of evolution. It's much more natural, in a lot of ways. Some are heroes, some are villains. Some are just trying to get by without becoming one or the other. But regular humans fear them, and hate them for it, even if they save the world just as much as the heroes they love. They're called criminals or monsters, no matter how innocent they might be.

[He hesitates- it's probably obvious to some, what he's talking about, and he's not sure if he should lock it from the mutant population, or apologize, or something, but it relates to them even if it's not by name. Hiding it wouldn't be right.

In the end he just leaves it be.]

...Sorry for the ramble. But it's not fair, and... I just can't understand why. Why hate one and love the other, when they're basically the same?

Comments

[rocketpunch]

Hold on, hold on. You're forgetting the best kind of hero. The kind of hero who uses their own hands to build super awesome machines! ...though maybe that's what you meant by a lot of talent, huh.

I understand why, though. People are just afraid of change. That's how it always is, right? [She can relate.]

[selfhelp]

Mmhm- those are the ones with talent. Or they're some kind of genius, either way.

But yeah... fear makes people do some pretty awful things. It's the same all over the place, seems like.

[rocketpunch]

Pretty much. People don't understand change, or they don't want it, or they're afraid of looking stupid. People who are different usually aren't appreciated until long after they're dead, you know?

[selfhelp]

That's true, actually. There's a ton of people in the history of my world who died thinking nobody cared about their work, but they're ridiculously famous now.

[rocketpunch]

So, maybe it'll be the same for those guys you're talking about? They might not be geniuses, but the principle isn't too different.

[selfhelp]

I don't know if that's all that reassuring, knowing that you'll only be appreciated after you're dead.

[rocketpunch]

It's...not supposed to be reassuring, sorry. It's just true from what I've learned.

Maybe it's better than not being appreciated at all, though?

[selfhelp]

But if you're dead, you won't know about it. So it's not really better or worse.

[rocketpunch]

Well...to be honest, if you expect things to change overnight, you're not going to get things done, anyways. It takes time to change people's minds, even if they're being really boneheaded about it in the first place.

[selfhelp]

Yeah, I know. This situation's existed for more than fifty years. It's just that waiting for things to change for the better really, really sucks.

[rocketpunch]

Yeah, I can't...really relate to fifty years or anything, but that sounds really, really rough. I hate how stubborn people can be.

[selfhelp]

Same here. But I don't think it's hopeless, either. It just sucks that it might not get better even in my lifetime, you know?

[rocketpunch]

Yeah, totally. I'm glad I have people who like me even if I am really different. Not everyone gets that kinda luxury. I'm guessing it's worse for your world, from the sound of it.

[selfhelp]

I don't know if comparing worlds is really fair, considering I don't know your situation well enough either. I will say that it can be terrible, though. Lots of people have died in what some would call a war.

[rocketpunch]

Well...it's not really the same, I can just relate to being hated by everyone else for something that isn't my fault.

...So...what's gonna happen to them, then? Do you think it's going to get better, or....

[selfhelp]

[Ouch... yeah, definitely relating to that, then. He purses his lips at her question, as it's a tricky one to answer.]

I wish I knew. It seems like every time it gets better, it gets worse again- like it's some kind of endless cycle. I'd like to think that eventually we can all get along, but it's probably a long ways off.

[rocketpunch]

Man, that sounds really rough. It's too bad things can't be more like Luceti. I mean, everyone here is pretty accepting of what people think of as strange, you know?

[selfhelp]

God, I know. It kind of blows me away- how things can be so different here. I don't think I've seen any outright prejudice or hate since, like, the whole Kin'coran thing.

[rocketpunch]

...Yeah, but during that whole thing, some of our own were pretty hateful, too.

[selfhelp]

No... I don't think either side was completely in the right that week.

[rocketpunch]

[She really, really wants to make the argument that she was in the right, but that's probably not the time or place for that.]

Maybe not, but it still could have been handled a lot better.

[selfhelp]

[...Why is this making her grin like that...]

I think that's pretty much a given.

[rocketpunch]

[The short answer? Because she's Precis.]

Well, if it ever happens again, we'll be ready. But that's enough about that. Um, it probably doesn't mean much, but I hope things go well for you and everyone else back home. Things got better for me, so...yeah, I'm totally rooting for you and your friends, okay?

[selfhelp]

It definitely means something. Thanks, though- all we can really do is keep trying when we get back. Encouragement always helps.

[rocketpunch]

Well, if you ever need any more encouragement, just call out for Precis F. Neumann, Luceti's number one inventor! I'm good at just talking, too.