selfhelp | [Voice/Action]

[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?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Sometimes the government is the worst of the instigators. There's been a bunch of programs created to force the super humans to register their identities, they've done experiments or just straight-up had them killed. Not to mention funding the Sentinels- giant robots designed to fight, capture, or kill. They treat their own citizens like invaders or something.

[Luke's eyebrows rise in consternation at the thought. That...sounded like something the Empire might do.]

That...isn't right. Governments aren't meant to do things like that. That's horrific. And, I'm sorry. I don't know what else to say except that they should take a stand.

Billy, pardon if I'm prying but are you one of those people? I understand if you don't want to talk about it.

Um.

[And then he'll be tossing up a quick filter, because even if no one knows about mutants or cares, he does.]

Yeah, I am. Back home we're called mutants.

Mutants. That word...has a lot of implications.

What is it in you that's...mutated?

Just genetic code- it's not like anything's wrong with our bodies. We just... evolved different, I think. There's this thing called the X-gene that appears at random in humans, and that's what gives us our powers.

Right, I didn't mean to imply anything was wrong with it. Just that the label was loaded. Was it given by yourselves? Or by non-mutants?

I'm... not really sure, actually. I think non-mutants? Most of the bigwigs in the mutant community prefer to say "gifted", or something like that.

Sounds like a better way to put it, Billy. You are gifted.

Haha... thanks. I'll try to hold on to that train of thought- maybe it'll help when things get tough.

I hope so. Otherwise I wouldn't be much of a motivational speaker, now would I?

Does that automatically come with the job?

[Though the Jedi are kind of extreme negotiators, so it follows a trend, sort of.]

Not for everyone, but I've had to give more than my fair share of peptalks.

[He grins. Jedi are negotiators, sure. And Luke knows as well as anyone that he's a symbol too. Blame Leia...and the propaganda machine!]

Well, I can't deny that there's something unbelievably cool about a pep talk from a Jedi Master.

Haha, if you say so. I'm happy to oblige, though.

I really do appreciate it, though, so... thank you.

[His voice is quieter now, his expression less playful and more serious, but still smiling.]

I guess that's just what makes you a hero, too.

Thanks Billy.

[He's never really been good at accepting praise like that. Logically, he understands it, but that doesn't make it any less...odd to him.]

Really I'm just happy to help.

[Voice/Action]

[Video]

[Video]

[Video / Locked]

[Video / Locked]

[Video / Locked]

[Video / Locked]

[Video / Locked]

[Video / Locked]

[Video / Locked]

[Video / Locked]

[Video / Locked]

[Video / Locked]

[Video / Locked]

[Video / Locked]

[Video / Locked]

[Video / Locked]