video;

[velocette]

[There's very little light, of course; but the faint light from his cigarette and a lighter are just enough to show the two fish bowls he has on his desk, and the silky tails of the two bettas inside them.]

I wonder if this place, being a safer place for some of us than our own homes, doesn't create stagnation. I wonder if, without the Admiral's piloting skills, some of us would just lie down one day and never get back up.

I think that's what was happening with Harvey. It wasn't safe at home, and at least here he knew it would go on and on no matter what he did.

If I ever get another inmate, I'll have to figure something else out to stir up some motivation in them. There's something to be said for the carrot and the stick, I guess.

...Is it dark, or is it just me? [He has to ask that seriously okay]

Comments

[strangehistorian]

It isn't your fault...

[routemistress]

This 'ad better be your idiosyncratic way of telling everyone 'e graduated, Piper, or I know an admiral that's getting a punch up the hooter.

[velocette]

[He smiles softly, earnestly glad to hear that.]

It's hard not to reflect more on mistakes than victories.

How are you holding up?

[velocette]

He did. [And despite his general melancholy right now, he's proud.]

But that wasn't the biggest goal.

[And then he laughs a little, and lights up a cigarette] How much worse do you think the Admiral's flying would be if you had popped him?

[routemistress]

No. No, it weren't.

[She knows what Harvey always said he'd do when he graduated; she suspects the Boy did too. And that he's slipped away without telling anyone is, in her view, depressingly significant.]

'E couldn't very well be any worse. Did 'e say anything to you? Like what 'is plans were?

[Iris: eternal optimist.]

[velocette]

[He inhales slowly, eyes closed, trying to put the haphazard way his mind works into some kind of order.]

Towards the end, no, he just wanted to stay safely perched on the fence the rest of his life. Even though part of him was smart enough to know there is no way to rest in life, that something would have knocked him on to one side or the other eventually.

When I first met him, when he had good days, I think he wanted to be the hero in his own life again. I think he wanted to live somewhere that would have given him a chance to win; or at the very least, that wouldn't have been so stacked against him.

[Did that amount to a goal? Maybe not. You can't always choose or change the life you're in, not while it's beating you into the ground. But it had been a wish.]

A wish was enough to go on around here. Back home, for any of us, wishes are just embers. Most of them burn out without a mark.

[routemistress]

You've got one now that needn't. Decided what you'll do with it?

[She wants to beg him to send it after Harvey, to give him whatever he needs; but she's more than half sure he's already put himself beyond all need.]

[velocette]

[He shakes his head, and for a moment feels a little dazed.]

When I was a kid, everyone was always talking about what they'd do with a million dollars. Or even ten dollars. But I don't remember how to want something I don't already have.

[strangehistorian]

Oh, I'm fine. The mirror Barge didn't hurt me as badly as some others, I think.

It is very dark, though. Would you like a lantern?

[private/text]

[routemistress]

[Her eyes close, her mouth pinches suddenly, and Iris shuts off the video; but a moment later she continues the conversation in text.]

i have an idea if you don't think of anything you want.

use it to build and fund something in his native Gotham: I'm thinking domestic violence shelter. A really good one that won't turn away anyone that needs it.

not sure if he'd want it named for him directly, but we can worry about that later.

[bodilesswarrior]

You didn't fail him. [Her voice is quiet, and sad, but fervent.]

And no, it's not just you. Power's gone.

[velocette]

[Now that would make painting a lot easier. He smiles, a little sheepish.]

If you have one to spare.

[private/text]

[velocette]

I'll look into what most shelters lack.

[He's sold on this idea, as well as on the challenge of making it the best it can possibly be given the wide range of issues that come with families fleeing domestic violence.]

[velocette]

[Babs is one of those rare people who is easy to believe, because she always seems much too confident and on the side of justice to lie. (Granted, the people most likely to lie are often the people fighting for an ideal, but the fact remains: he believes her.)]

What are the chances he's doing better, wherever he's at?

[strangehistorian]

I conjured several! I can send one on its own if you'll tell me where you are, they take simple commands.

[bodilesswarrior]

[Barbara is no stranger to twisting truths when it suits her, but she prefers to be straightforward, in matters like this. If she thought the Boy did something wrong, she'd tell him.

Some things you just can't control. It's something she's had to learn all over again, since coming here.]

It depends, I think. On what - and who - he found there.

[velocette]

Thank you. [He would ask for her name here, if there were any chance of him remembering later. It's unlikely, so instead he tries to imprint her on his memory another way.] I'd like to give you something, too.

[strangehistorian]

Hm? Oh, that's not necessary! I just enjoy helping.

Where is your cabin?

[velocette]

Iris had an idea about my deal with the Admiral. She thinks it would be a good idea to have a shelter for families leaving domestic abuse built there--I want to make sure that if he sees it he'll know it was us.

[Any advice? :c ]

[velocette]

Cabin 1, Level 1. Makes it easier to remember.

[He does have a gift for her when she arrives, though: a battered copy of Medea that he had brought from home.]

[bodilesswarrior]

[Her eyes go wide, and then she smiles, achingly wistful.] I think that's a fantastic idea.

Lots of shelters have a bit of poetry inscribed somewhere.

->spam?

[strangehistorian]

Very easy!

[She has a small crowd of lanterns with her when she arrives, and one in her hands for him.]

Oh! Is that a play?

[velocette]

I can think of a lot of lines that would fit him. Maybe something about the stars...

[Since that's what they see most of all, around here: whether at port or on the Barge, there are stars.]

Spam!

[velocette]

[He is enchanted by the lamps, the first real light he's had aside from his lighter and the dull tips of his cigarettes.]

Thank you. And yes, it is. I thought you'd like it, if you haven't read it before. It's best when you read a part out loud.

Spam!

[strangehistorian]

Thanks so much! I always like to read new things.

Re: Spam!

[velocette]

So do I. Do you have any stories you reread a lot?

[It's the stories you get hooked on that really say something about who you are, in his opinion.]

Spam!

[strangehistorian]

[Chromie considers.]

Have you heard of a human novel called "Flatland"? I find it a very good analogue for the four-dimensional experience.

Re: Spam!

[velocette]

No, but I'll look into it. Is it futuristic? Most science fiction is--for good reason, I guess [motioning at their very futuristic Barge] but I always feel outdated.

Spam!

[strangehistorian]

No, it is... [Chromie considers.] An allegory, about a strange land. I don't read much fiction, normally.