1. Video

[psychicpsycho]

[He's sitting at his desk in his currently rather barren bedroom, wearing a fleece blanket around his shoulders like a cape.]

Did I do this right? Okay. Yeah.

Okay.

Hi. [A small, brisk wave at the camera.] I'm Austin and I wanna ask this for anyone who knows the answer. Swearing in. What's the catch?

So, like, I know we do assignments and we do work, I'm gonna train be some kind of shrink which is fucking hilarious-- but anyway, it completely does not add up. I have a radioactive tattoo on my wrist and you're telling me nobody's keeping any kind of tabs on me? I get free housing, free healthcare, a guaranteed job that I'm guaranteed to be shit at, and all they want is some elementary school pledge of allegiance and a few man-hours? No. Nuh-uh. I want the dirt.

[A pause as he picks up his e-cigarette and takes a drag.]

Tell me how you've been mistreated. Tell me if there've been experiments. Tell me what they're really after. Meet me in person if you're uncomfortable telling me over the network. I need to know.

[Another brief pause.]

Okay. That's it.

[He turns off the camera.]

((OOC: Hi! New kid on the block! This is Austin, this is his character info, and this is his permissions post.))

Comments

[boobwindow]

Is it like this place?

[psychicpsycho]

It's like a nightmare version of this place.

I dunno how supers evolved in this universe, but back home they used to call us witches and put us on trial. And then over the years we got stronger and more numerous, but a lot of the hate's still there, so they say, hey-- we won't kill you, we'll just persecute the shit out of you instead.

[boobwindow]

[ That is exactly what she fears. ]

That sounds backwards as hell. Witches? Really?

[psychicpsycho]

Back in the old days, yeah. Things got a little better after they started writing comic books about us. Or rather, they manufactured one of us and then wrote comic books about him, then you suddenly have everybody lining up to be a hero because wow, everyone accepts us!

As a meat shield.

[Nope, not bitter at all over here.]

[boobwindow]

Manufactured? You mean they train metas and shape them into superheroes?

[psychicpsycho]

Exactly. Of course some people decided to do the whole vigilante thing instead, and villains did their thing, but that's how the whole gaudy-suit business got started. Military propaganda.

[boobwindow]

What happens if you oppose them?

[psychicpsycho]

Well, it depends. Are you a law-abiding normal? [His universe's word for non-metas.] Or are you a valuable asset if you comply but a menace to society if you don't?

They'll let you organize a peaceful protest. Sort of. But at the end of the day they know they've got control.

So, to answer your question, I dunno if I'd have made it out alive if I didn't have the power to block people from reading my mind.

[boobwindow]

That doesn't sound like the way to live.

[psychicpsycho]

[He smiles wryly.]

Tell me about it.

[boobwindow]

It does contextualize things, though.

[ Now she can understand where his paranoia is coming from. ]

Is this place a step up or down from your world?

[psychicpsycho]

Step up, definitely. That's why I wanna go back. This place is a fucking paradise, I hate it.

They don't need me here.

[boobwindow]

I'm sure that isn't true.

[psychicpsycho]

No, it's completely true. I'm not saying I'm hurt by it. I'm just commenting how useless it is that I'm here.

[boobwindow]

Everyone contributes somehow.

The smaller contributions matter, too.

[psychicpsycho]

Yeah, sure, I just don't care whether or not I contribute here. I know that sounds cold, but all I care about is getting back home.

[boobwindow]

Unfortunately I don't know when you're going home. It could be from days to weeks to even months.