(no subject)

[bad_in_latin]

[ The video is blurry at first before eventually focusing in on a gentleman in suspenders and what can only be described as some kind of cowboy coat. Leather duster? Whatever. Despite the apparent old-fashioned getup, Mal looks relieved when he gets the comm to work. Feels relieved, in fact. ]

… Well. Least the comm tech’s familiar. Can’t say as I tend to send many messages out all public-like, but this seems t’be a special occasion.

[ And he is desperately grateful for that familiarity. He adjusts his suspenders a moment before putting on a neutral smile. ]

Evenin’. The name’s Malcolm Reynolds. Uh - Firefly captain. And since that likely don’t ring no bells, that’d be my spaceship. I’m guessin’ that ain’t something anyone’s seen hair nor hide of here, but I’d surely appreciate anyone who might have a thought to it. Don’t hardly seem fair for this so-called righteous governin’ force to go takin’ our property. Anyone else get stuck with that particular hand? Or any chance of there bein’ a chance it’s been stowed away somewhere hard t’find?

Because I surely get tetchy all land bound an’ all. Don’t hardly do me no favors to keep me out of the sky.

[ All neutral still - since, y’know, the government has to be listening in on this too. Wouldn’t do to advertise a break-in right up front. Just a good citizen wanting to not go crazy in a new world…

While he figures out how the hell to drop off the grid as fast as possible.

After a few choice conversations, he adds the following message: ]

Anyone know a good bar to get drunk in?

Comments

[timecapture]

I don't know.

[It's because you're Malcolm freaking Reynolds, Captain. But don't worry, Max is at least trying to keep her squee down to a minimum.]

I don't know if it was taken with you. All I had was my school bag and the clothes I was wearing.

[She's gone to the thrift store since then and gotten more, of course, but it's been harder to pay attention to that than, say, food.]

I hope you're able to get her back. She sounds like a really great ship, if you care that much about her.

[Breathe, Max.]

[bad_in_latin]

[ Well that's a relief - and a disappointment. Real worry flashes across his face for a moment, cutting through his usual nonchalance. No ship. No way to get to his gorram ship. Land-locked for god knows how long ...

He swallows, hard, but when he faces the camera properly again he's got things under control. ]

'course. You ever heard of a Firefly-class? Ain't no other way t'go.

[timecapture]

I sure have! I'd love to be able to fly in a spaceship, one day.

[Not that it's likely to ever happen, but given Max's general love of being high up, it's always been, at least, an idle daydream.

But don't think she doesn't notice the look on your face, Mal.]

I'm sure she's safe, wherever she is. I've been told that people who blink out of here end up back where they came from, at the moment they left.

[bad_in_latin]

[ He's totally subtle, what are you talking about jeez. A ... pause at all that. Because she's doing the same thing Callaghan was doing, and not just making the weird face... ]

That's surely a relief. I don't much like the idea of leavin' them long.

... Which world are you from? Or d'you, uh. "Know my story" or whatever that professor fella was on about.

[timecapture]

I don't blame you. I miss my mom and dad, and my friends.

[Oh, shit, he knows. But Max isn't about to try and hide it. Looking slightly sheepish, she gives a nod.]

Sure do, Captain. And I'm from earth, in 2013.

[She doubts he's heard of Arcadia Bay.]

[bad_in_latin]

[ Admittedly there's not much to be done unless she wants to pretend to be from the 'Verse. Not if she claims to know what a Firefly is. Mal being as paranoid as he is, especially in a new place. ]

... 2013? How the hell d'you know've me back then?

[ So he's not 100% up on this whole fictional thing yet. ]

[private]

[timecapture]

If you really want to know, I'll tell you. But I think it might be better if it's locked.

They have... records, of a sort, back on my world. Stories.

[But if he's real, is it really a story?]

[private until noted otherwise]

[bad_in_latin]

[ This ... does not bode well. What the hell is going on here? ]

Records five hundred years afore anythin' happened? That don't make no sense at all.

[private until noted otherwise]

[timecapture]

Yeah.

[Aaaaaand now she feels slightly guilty, even though she'd had no way of knowing it was real.]

I honestly thought they were just stories, but... that doesn't make sense, if you're here.

[bad_in_latin]

[ There's a long moment of silence while Mal just makes faces. ]



What, like fake ones?

[timecapture]

To tell you the truth, I don't know. Nobody really thought it was real.

[bad_in_latin]

[ And now the next alarming thought: ]

How much d'you know?

[timecapture]

[She hesitates. But Max, being who she is, can't bring herself to lie about it, especially with the look on the captain's face. She's only seen the show and the movie, but she tells him what she knows about his (mis)adventures.

It takes awhile, to say the least.]

I'm sure there's more, but...

[She hasn't seen it - and at this point, she's not really sure she wants to.]

[bad_in_latin]

[ Partway through the description, Mal sits down rather heavily. When she passes over troubled spots - Serenity Valley, the Miranda incident, a few backstory tidbits - he winds all the muscles in his chest up tight and doesn't relax until the end. It doesn't seem like she has all of his worst memories, but ...

God in heaven, what is he supposed to do with that? The first curse comes out in a shaky breath and swiftly develops into a torrent of Chinese swearing. ]

[timecapture]

[She feels guilty for telling him. Really guilty, but she couldn't have just refused a request like that, especially considering that it's his life plastered on the screen. She can't even begin to imagine what that feels like.

She can't help but wince as he begins to swear, but she honestly feels like it's better for him to get it out. Max waits in silence, giving Mal a sympathetic look now and then, when she can look at his face.

She's not sure it helps.]

[bad_in_latin]

[ Eventually it tapers off into silence. A long silence, while Mal runs a hand down his face and tries not to notice the incoming headache. ]

Reckon I didn't need to introduce myself, huh.

[timecapture]

Honestly, it never hurts. That's why I locked this; there's a good chance that a lot of people don't know.

But I'm willing to bet that the people in charge of this place do.

[It makes sense, after all. If she knows, then they probably do, too.]

[bad_in_latin]

Ain't that just a comfort. Them seein' near on everything --

[ Boy, he sure does feel like cursing again. ]

-- Ain't your fault, kid.

[timecapture]

I'm still sorry about it.

[She feels like a guilty little kid, for some reason. She knows it's not her fault, but...]

Well... since I seem to know a lot about you, do you want to hear about me?

[She really feels stupid for asking him this, but it only feels fair that she at least makes the offer, even if he doesn't take it.]

[bad_in_latin]

S'only fair, ain't it? With you knowin' everything an' all.

[timecapture]

[And so Max curls her hands into fists on her lap, takes a deep breath, and tells him everything - about how she'd returned to Arcadia Bay after five years gone and discovered that she could time travel while saving her childhood friend, Chloe, by undoing her death. About how she'd used her power to help people and make friends, but how she'd gotten these terrible visions of a twister destroying Arcadia Bay.

She'd played around with her powers, broke into the school with Chloe and had a swim, and somehow managed to talk her way into an exclusive party with the richest, most popular kids at school. She'd also frozen time to stop her friend, Kate Marsh, from committing suicide - and thankfully succeeded in talking her down. But even worse were the natural disasters that seemed to revolve around her powers - snowfall, eclipses, animals dying and a double moon.

It's hard to keep talking when she gets to the part about "jumping" into photos of her past and changing the timeline, but tell him she does. it's only fair, she tells herself, and hopes he doesn't just think she's crazy. It's even harder to tell him about Chloe, rendered paraplegic by the alternate timeline and how she'd jumped back and "fixed" things (except not really) after her encounter with her.

She also tells him about the Dark Room, and when she does, she looks directly at her knees, trying to will her voice not to break. The red binders filled with just about the most horrible pictures she could imagine, including of Kate and Chloe's missing friend, Rachel Amber. And Rachel was dead, buried in the junkyard.

When she gets to the part where she learned that her favorite teacher, Mark Jefferson, had been responsible for it, it takes her a few minutes to keep going again. She hadn't told anyone except Chloe ,and now, she can't really seem to stop. The memories of being drugged and duct taped were still all too vivid, and she can't stop a few tears from escaping. The worst part, though, was the realization that the twister was her fault, and all those times she'd rewound time, trying to save Chloe, had just caused nature to go straight to hell.

It takes her longer to tell him about her decision to allow Chloe to die in order to save Arcadia Bay, and by the time she's finished, she's more than glad she kept this locked.]

[bad_in_latin]

[ If she hadn't just given him a rundown of his entire life, Mal would have dismissed her outright. Time travel? Jumping into photographs? Seriously? But ... given everything she's said so far, he at least ought to hear her out. In the end, he has his doubts, but ... ]

S'a hell of a tale you got there, kid.

[timecapture]

I know. It's really hard to believe - but I can prove it, if you want.

[She's been reluctant to use her rewind power - but after reading her file, she knows what it will take to cause a disaster like that again.]

[bad_in_latin]

The time-skippin' you mean?

[timecapture]

Yeah. The other stuff's hard to prove, given that it happened in a different universe, though.