video; un: rita.farr — aka SUPERHERO CODENAME ASSIGNMENTS

[farr]

[ of course, rita sets up a visual because the starlet always wants to be seen (except when she doesn't). at the present time, she seems rather enthusiastic like she's fighting a proud grin, one that suggests she's ready to give herself a pat on the back at any moment. ]

Good evening, everyone! For those who don't know me, I am Rita Farr, your Team Morale Coordinator.

[ wait, who assigned her that position? ]

As you all well know, we have been joining mission after mission with the intention of collecting orbs to protect the world and save towns from devastation. In a way, you might say we're ... space-travelling superheroes!

And as any superhero would tell you, it's very important to have codenames for our mission. Obviously, we often obtain our very own undercover civilian names. But in the line of duty, when we're in the heat of the fight, we should just as well have assigned titles to continue preserving our identities.

As the Ximilia's Team Morale Coordinator — [ again, who voted her into that position? ] I took it upon myself to select carefully crafted codenames for each and every one of you.

[ she then holds up a sheet of paper, featuring a list of all of the orbers, each with another name printed beside them. ]

You will find this list posted in the Mess Hall. Please take a moment at your best convenience to study the list and memorize each of the names listed for future use. Though I worked very hard to select them — [ she clears her throat, brushing her hair back. ] I suppose that if you have any issue with the name chosen for you, we can discuss making possible changes. Though I don't see why anyone would want to.


XIMILIA'S SUPERHERO CODENAME CHECKLIST:

Clarke — VINCENT VAN GIRL Finn — BEAR BOY Kovacs — BLACK LUNG Dante — PIZZA HUT Rita — ELASTI-WOMAN Chuuta — BEATS Ziggy — STARDUST Dimitri — BREAD MAN Yuri — SIR SECRET Kazuma — SWASHBUCKLER Ryunosuke — SWORDMASTERSITTER Yujin — STACHE DADDY Alina — SUNSHINE Aleksander — SHADOW Mal — GUNSHOW Yzak — SIA Helen — BELLE Marta — LOTUS Joel — TIMESTOPPER Daisy — SHAKE SENORA Natasha — JANE FONDA Shaun — BANGLE BABE Yelena — NIGHT VISION

Gwen — DRUMSTICKS Itachi — PUZZLER DOGSHIT MCGIVENS Andy — ATHENA Joe — ADONIS Sabriel — MYSTIC MAGIC Joric — MR BEAD Newt — MONSTER MASH Felix — ARMORMAN Dr. McCoy — DR SPACE Cassian — INCOGNITO Jyn — CAUTIONETTE Steve — BOMBER KID Dean — KANSAS Lúthien — SIREN Minimus — ROBOFOX Rodimus — ROBOROD Nie Huaising — FAN MAN Wei Wuxian — MR FLUTE Rand — ROBIN HOOD Yennefer — VIOLET Zhao — CHEF BANDIT Viveca — VIXEN Degar — WONDERWALL

( please note that none of the above is to be taken seriously and is in good fun! though rita very much likes to believe she has team leader qualifications and is entirely in her right to make assignments. but she's very bad at selecting names so if some of it seems nonsensical, it's on brand. she went by what she knows or assumes or whatever she likes. )

Comments

[singlelogbridge]

It isn't. [He says, shorter than he's ever been with Finn before he catches himself and sighs, softening his tone.]

In my culture, giving out a title holds weight and it is not done without cause. I already have one of those back home anyway. If I wanted to use it, I would have shared it myself.

[heroooic]

[The sharpness is not missed, most notably because he's simply never heard it before. Not from Wei Wuxian, anyway.]

Your culture? [He frowns, confused.] Like... human culture? But everyone's human here.

[At home in Ooo, all Kingdoms had culture, customs, different rules of engagement. Finn was familiar with the concept in theory. But, as a human, Finn lived among those cultures and very much outside them. Even dogs, the closest thing he had, didn't live in abundance in their part of the world.

It doesn't occur to him that humans would break themselves apart by categories other than species; there simply weren't enough around for that where he was from.]

[singlelogbridge]

Human...? [Finn, your world is so concerning.] Ah, no. The world I'm from is made up of many, many, different cultures, Finn. All of them have their own languages and traditions, and often they differ greatly from each other.

Most of the orbers are from different cultures too, though some share similarities. There are a greater number of orbers from a placed called "America" as well as some from "Japan."

[He pauses then, weighing his next words carefully.] There are also more similarities between some than others, and several orbers seems to share many similarities that a few of the rest of us don't. [After being here for nearly a year, it would be impossible not to have picked up on. If nothing else, Christmas and New Years made that apparent.]

[heroooic]

[ Christmas was the first thing Finn had been exposed to upon arrival. There were things that were familiar -- warm sweaters, hot chocolate, marshmallows, snow -- but the context was wrong. Snow here wasn't the creation of magic, isolated within the boundaries of its own kingdom. It came with seasons, according to the orber that explained it to him, something Finn never witnessed back home without a weather machine. The food and chocolate, all that was a year-round nicety back home. The closest thing Finn could compare the celebration to was one of he and Jake's own devising; their yearly tradition of gathering together with friends and trying to be a little more empathetic toward each other than they'd been the year before.

Though Wei Wuxian doesn't specifically call it out, Finn can't help but remember how strange it had felt. Everyone knowing what something was and him on the outside looking in. At the time, he assumed it was just another way he couldn't relate to humans' who had grown up amongst one another. It never even occurred to him that there would be others aboard the ship that felt alienated.

Frowning, he chews thorough that thought. ]

But... then how many people are like you? Like, the envelope you gave me, does not everyone do that?

[singlelogbridge]

[It's the perfect example and he smiles at the reminder of the Hongbao he'd distributed to both Finn and Ziggy not so long ago.]

No, not everyone. There's myself and Nie Huaisang, a man who comes from the same world as me. Then there is Shaun, and presumably the man named Zhao Tianyou. And there are those who are aware of the customs in my culture, but don't share them.

We don't even share the same calendar. The Lunar New year is based off of time keeping that tracks the cycles of the moon. As far as I know, only myself and Huaisang keep to that calendar. That's why everyone celebrated the new year a while before me. [It hasn't been so strange keeping up with here at least since it's hardly as though they really even needed a calendar. Adjusting to the time keeping had taken a little longer.]

Aren't there things that are done differently where you're from? Different holidays and different traditions?

[heroooic]

[ Finn listens, fascinated. It was so unlike what he expected humans to be. The humans back home, their culture was monolithic and recent. They celebrated the Founders who brought them to the islands back after the Mushroom War. Revered them like gods, sang songs about them, celebrated them. It wasn't something Finn could connect to at all.

And back home, well... he and Jake never belonged to any one kingdom. They were scavengers, Jake liked to say. Swords for hire, but beholden to no one. It was something Jake clearly enjoyed about their life style, and Finn too to some extent. Still. It made it hard to feel like he belonged... anywhere, really. ]

There are kingdoms, they have different things they do. Festivals and big events and stuff. They're pretty cool, but they weren't really my traditions. My brother and I don't belong to a kingdom. [ Finn laughs a little, rueful. ] I thought meeting more humans would clear up what my culture was, but maybe it's not really that simple.

I guess you've been kinda feeling outside of everything too, huh? [ Finn's tone doesn't hold the weight of cultural isolation; he can't fully understand the pain of having something and losing it. Still, his words are sincere. ] I'm sorry, dude. I think I get it now, about the titles.

[singlelogbridge]

Thank you, Finn. I'm alright really, only a little frustrated at times. At the end of the day though, I enjoy learning about the differences. How many others get the opportunity to experience the different traditions of peoples across the universe? [It might lead to the occasional frustration or misunderstanding, but he knows he's lucky to get the chance. Mostly, it doesn't bother him. Only sometimes when something strikes the wrong chord.]

And one day soon you'll have to tell me more about your life with your brother. I'd like to learn about your world too.

[heroooic]

Me too! [ It was one of the things he enjoyed the most about being here. Especially now that he would endeavor to learn more about the differences between even the orbers who ostensibly seemed to come from the same worlds. The nuances might sometimes be lost on him, but it didn’t dampen his interest.]

And I will, Wei Wuxian. We can both share more about our worlds! Compare notes.

[ He grins, utterly unaware of the terror that his own family would hold for the man. Unaware that it would soon be here. ]