8575/Roost Chats

Roost Chats
Date of Scene:	06 November 2021
Location:	Level 4 - Recreation - The Roost
Synopsis:	Conner and Hope discuss the roles of vigilantes. And also movies.
Cast of Characters:	Conner Kent, Hope Summers

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Conner Kent has posed:
The big screen is still going over the credit titles of Seven, but the sounds is off and most of the other Outsiders have left the room. Conner has not; he is pondering the shocking ending of the movie and quite happy with the nightly selection. His popcorn bag is long empty, and the (second) pizza box has only a couple cold slices.

He heard everyone leaving, some quietly, some excitedly commenting the scenes. But he didn't heard Hope moving, so she glances at the redhead. "Hey, you didn't fall asleep, did you?" He teases.

Hope Summers has posed:
Hope grimaces at the screen as the credit roll, wrinkling her nose. "No," she answers after a moment, leaning forward to claim a last, cold piece of pizza. "Just was kind of...grim, I guess." To be fair, Hope's tastes in entertainment are pretty simple. She likes to see the good guys win, the epic success. She's seen enough tragedy in her own life.

"I mean, it was cool and all," she adds quickly. "Just, you know. Not exactly fun. Anyhow." She waves a hand, taking a bite of the pizza. "Don't have to like all of them, right?"

Conner Kent has posed:
"Ah," Conner doesn't need a movie to have a good ending to appreciate it. Happy endings are rare in real life, after all. "Do you prefer lighter movies? Maybe we should aim for a comedy next weekend. I don't think Seven Samurais is less grim."

"I thought it was a good story, no plot holes, good acting, intriguing but realistic characters," he shrugs. "Oh well. I bet you like Star Wars."

Hope Summers has posed:
"I mean, who doesn't like Star Wars?" Hope counters, smile quirking. "I dunno, I just like movies to feel like stories. I want them to be epic, and magical, and yeah, I want them to have happy endings. Otherwise what's the point of a story? Stories are to get away from all the awful. You want to learn about the terrible things people can do for terrible reasons, there's no point in calling in entertainment. That's training."

She shrugs, folding the pizza in half to get through the eating more efficiently. Hope may have adjusted to the modern world in some ways, but she still eats like someone's going to grab the food out of her hand at any second. "Anyhow. I'm glad you liked it."

Conner Kent has posed:
"I liked Star Wars when I had no idea about aliens and space," replies Conner. "Now it is difficult to... turn my brains off enough to really enjoy it," poor Conner, he is becoming an adult. "Also, all those flashy special effects are not the same when one has enhanced senses and, well, speed."

He leans forward, glancing amused at Hope's 'starving wolf' eating habits. "I want to see stories I can believe. I like to be intrigued by a mystery, and shocked by a clever twist. I dunno. Maybe we should read some classic fantasy, too."

Hope Summers has posed:
"Eh, it's not about the effects," Hope shrugs, mouth full. "It's about the story. I'm just saying, I spent my whole life planning and training and scraping by, knowing that my entire existence was to fight a losing battle to save a dying race. I //really// don't need to watch movies that end in that kind of failure, you know? Would be nice if more movies covered the aftermath though," she snorts.

"It's one thing winning the big battle. It's a whole different thing when after everyone acts like...Well, either it's yay we did it or it's we did it but 'it' was just a small part of things and now what do you do?" The slice of pizza is gone in short order and she falls back against the couch, turning so that her shoulder rests against the back, legs tucked up beneath herself. "Sorry," she laughs, rueful. "Guess we've both got our baggage."

Conner Kent has posed:
"Oh, it is always a small part of things, every event is a small part of life," admits Conner. No reason not to party hard after a hard-won win, though! "And yeah, the baggage." He stands up and offers the redhead his hand. "Movies allow us to escape unhappy times, too. Are you unhappy nowadays, Hope?" He smirks, the amount of pizza she ate should have made happy almost anyone. "You look good, at least a little more relaxed than a year ago."

Hope Summers has posed:
"Unhappy?" Hope echoes, brows rising. "Definitely not." Taking his hand, she pulls herself off the couch and gestures around with the other. "I mean, look at this place. Anything we could need. Supplies. Security. Home to a bunch of people that, let's be serious, don't have a whole lot to fear from anyone who might find it and very little threat of collateral damage. Food whenever we want."

She looks away though, pushing her fingers through her bangs. "I mean. There's nothing to be //unhappy// about here. And I've managed to...I've got a better idea of things now. I keep busy. I mean sure, maybe I'm not so sure about the whole purpose thing now, but that's- Like that's normal for people like us, right?"

Conner Kent has posed:
Conner shakes his head, keeping Hope's hand in his own. "All the things we take for granted in modern U.S. hmmm?" He knows that is not true for her, and in fact he knows it is not even truth for much of the world population. "Right now we fight to keep the status quo, instead of trying to make big changes for the world. Maybe we should be more ambitious. But even Tim and you just try to... well, keep dangerous microchips from terrorists, or drugs off the streets, and the criminals in jail."

Hope Summers has posed:
"Yeah. But what's that really do?" Hope reaches into her pocket, pulling out the chip she stuffed there earlier. "I mean, look. This little thing? Taking it so the Reavers didn't get it definitely slows them down. Which, I mean, great. But it doesn't stop them from making more Reavers or hating mutants. And worse, it //does// stop medical researchers from being able to build bionic arms for war vets or disabled kids. I'm not okay with that. So now I've got to figure out a way to get it back to the //good// people without giving the //bad// people more ammo."

Conner Kent has posed:
"I don't know. As a crime-fighter I try to uphold the law," Conner points to the chip. "But sometimes it gets complicated. The world is complicated. It is not just surviving and fighting monsters, it is also giving hope to the people, and maybe helping some criminals to find a better way to use their talent, and exposing political dirt so the corrupt lose power. Big changes are slow to come because things are mostly good." He sighs, "there are hate groups, but they are mostly fringe. There is a degree of racism, but it is not lynching mobs in the streets, it is... pervasive, but low key. Hard to fight against it."

Hope Summers has posed:
"That's the dangerous part of the narrative," Hope says, tucking the chip away again. "That it's small, and fringe. It doesn't stay that way and when it's not anymore then it turns into everyone's doing it and it's dangerous to disagree. Now when they're small is the time to stop them. At least I hope it is. I don't know - I didn't have enough time for that before. It was already too late the day I was born. Which," she laughs, "Is how this all got started anyhow."

She gives his hand a squeeze, leaning in to bump her shoulder against his. "It's good not to have to go it alone though."

Conner Kent has posed:
Conner grins, "yeah, you are not alone. We are not alone. But we don't talk enough about the future, or what we can do besides punching bank robbers." He does think about it, that is why he wants to be a reporter. But that is what a normal guy called 'Conner Kent' is going to do. What about Superboy and the Outsiders.

"Can't stop thinking we could do much more. And also that to that do much more, we are going to be breaking laws," he admits. "But we could do it, because we are not a public team and we don't have to deal with political pressure like the League or the Avengers do."

Hope Summers has posed:
"Just because something is a law doesn't make it right." Hope snorts, shaking her head. "Laws are one of the best tools for people who want to oppress others. Because it makes it safe for all the people who aren't brave enough to do anything to keep doing nothing. But more? More we can keep doing."

Conner Kent has posed:
"That is pretty pessimistic, Hope," replies Conner, standing in front of the redhead. "Some laws are that, though, as citizens we need to pressure the legislators to change them. There are ways."

Well, conversation has wandered a bit. And it is very late. "Are you staying here tonight? I will, it has been a long week and I plan to sleep a few hours. I really appreciate the sound-proof walls. In place in Greenwich Village is hard to sleep well."

Hope Summers has posed:
"Not pessimistic. Just the truth." Hope gives his hand another squeeze. "Doesn't mean I've given up on making it better. Just means I don't trust something just because it got written down." She smirks a bit, releasing his hand only to slide her arm around his waist and start toward the dorms. "Yeah, I was planning on staying here. Safe place, right? Also way fewer...talents to pick up on. At least if I start accidentally copying Gabby or Laura the worst thing that happens is I wake up //not// sore."

Conner Kent has posed:
Conner chuckles, giving her an amused glance, "why are you sore? Did you get into /another/ fight after taking the microchip?" She would! Then he finds her arm around his waist and she is pulling him. He doesn't exactly resist, but it is not what he expected. "Uh, Hope?"

Hope Summers has posed:
"No, but I followed up a solid training session with sitting in the lab for hours checking out that chip, so..." Hope trails off, shrugging. "Not the best exercise practice. What's up?" she asks, looking back up at him with a quirk of a brow.

Conner Kent has posed:
"Nothing," replies Conner. He has half-forgotten how Hope is about physical contact. He chuckles, letting the girl lead him to the top floors, where the private rooms of the team members (except for Tim) are distributed in several wings. "At least no one shoot you with laser guns, hmm?" Well, one never knows with the way Hope trains. Now, he was shot with laser guns, but they didn't do much and he heals fast.

Hope Summers has posed:
"This time," Hope laughs. "I never assume that sort of luck's going to stick." Once they're up to the dorms she gives his waist a squeeze before stepping away. "I'm going to grab one of the spares for now," she says, slipping her hands into her pockets again. "But maybe in the morning we could get in some more training?"