( video | un: revanche )

[nilhilistic]

Greetings, people of Aldrip.

I am a new arrival to this place. My name is Rafal. I am a dragon from another world. As familiar as I am with the mechanics of multiple worlds and travel between then, I am afraid the technology gap here is rather large. I would like to request the aid of a master, someone who is proficient in it and is willing to teach me.

Of course, this does not need to be for free. You are welcome to request a boon or a favor. I lack money at this juncture but I will see to it soon enough. I am no longer in the business of resurrecting the dead and I do not kill for others . . . but I am open-minded in other requests.

Thank you.

— Ah, yes, a picture of my true form since that seems to be a sticking point among skeptics.

Comments

[nilhilistic]

[ there's the sound of beaten wings as the earth seems to shudder. and then rafal enters, pushing through the door firmly. he looks fairly normal, save perhaps his red eyes.

he scans the area trying to figure out who this person. ]

[starguy]

[ Dude. Peter is shocked out of his song as his walkman skips from the very clear shudder in the earth around him. ]

What was that?

[ He pops off his walkman and tucks it back onto his belt, along with his headphones. By the time he's all set to go out and investigate, Rafal walks through. ]

Oh, hey, man! [ Peter yells and waves him over, before realizing this is a library and he should probably not shout. The next he says, almost quietly: ] You're the dude from the network right? The dragon guy?

[nilhilistic]

[ rafal sighs. humans. ]

Yes. I am . . . the dragon guy.

You may call me Rafal. I do not think I caught your name.

[starguy]

Nice to meetcha, man! I'm Peter Quill.

[ Peter smiles brighter. ]

I'm a space guy! Oh, and sorry I didn't introduce myself over text. I totally could've been anybody, huh? Next time I'll send ya a picture first.

[nilhilistic]

I wasn't particularly worried.

[ still, that is a thoughtful point. he's pleased to hear it. ]

I'll admit, I'm curious to know what being a "space guy" entails.

[starguy]

[ Peter chuckles. ]

Well, it means I'm from space! And I haven't met a ton of other people who're from space since I got here, so I figured that might make me kinda stand out. Like how I figured you were the dragon guy, because there aren't like a ton of dragons here, either. If we had like, six dragons in town, then you'd have to be another kind of guy!

[ Flawless logic, clearly. ]

[nilhilistic]

[ does he want to fight that logic . . . probably not. ]

But surely you are not from space. You are from a planet in space, correct?

[ isn't space like. a vacuum. rafal knows that much. even his father never traveled that far. ]

Which planet is it?

[starguy]

I mean, I was born on a planet that's in space, yeah.

[ He agrees with this logic. ]

I'm from Earth! But I live up in space, on a ship called the Milano. And I traveled all over the galaxy before I ended up grounded here.

[nilhilistic]

[ ah. a flicker of sympathy runs through his expression. ]

That must be quite taxing when you are used to a certain amount of freedom.

[starguy]

[ Peter does actually look a bit serious at that. ]

Yeah, it... it sucks, a lot, honestly. I miss it out there.

[ He looks down and away for a moment, his mood a little dampened but if anything, this is more honest than the faux-bright cheer he had a moment ago, so don't sweat it, Rafal. ]

But you didn't come all this way to hear about me being lonely, huh? I promised I'd help you out with your tech, and that's what I plan to do.

[ He holds his hand out for the phone. ]

[nilhilistic]

I do not mind it.

But I welcome your expertise.

[ rafal hands the phone over without fanfare. to him, it is just a device and the idea of privacy is not concerning. he's too blunt to bother lying to anyone. ]

[starguy]

[ Peter waves a hand, dismissing his concern. Now is not the time for self-reflection, it's fine. He's fine! ]

Great! Let's take a look here...

[ Peter definitely snoops a little bit as far as text messages go, but mostly he is just checking to see how much Rafal has managed to change from the default settings... ]

Looks like you've got some of the messaging down alright, unless you want some more help there. Do you need help taking picture, or using the apps? There's a couple of games on here too, if you get super bored.

[nilhilistic]

I understood the picture taking . . . but what are "apps"?

And why does everyone care about "gaming"?

[starguy]

Apps, you know! Like appetizers. They're like bite-sized programs that run on your phone. There's one that pulls up the maps, and one that lets you draw... stuff like that.

[ I am sorry for this misinformation, he's decided to be a bit of a stinker but like... harmlessly? Well, he thinks it's harmless. ]

Gaming is just playing games. [ He shrugs. He is from the 80s so he doesn't get it... although he thinks Snake and Tetris are VERY cool. ] The games on here are pretty sweet! You could probably play against your friends, get a whole thing going.

[nilhilistic]

So I keep hearing, but I don't see the value of games that do not test your physical prowess. What is the point of it?

[ how can winning a game virtually have any value? ]

[starguy]

Eh, it's not always about physical strength, man. It's about having fun!

[ Sometimes it's the friends you make along the way. ]

[nilhilistic]

I have never done anything for the purpose of fun before.

[starguy]

[ Peter's jaw drops, his brow furrowing in confusion for a few seconds before breaking out into a smile.

This guy is just like Drax. ]

Oh my god, I have got to show you how to have fun!

[nilhilistic]

[ rafal looks deeply skeptical. ]

Must you?

[starguy]

[ Peter nods very fast. ]

I must.

[ You're making his day here, Rafal. ]

We'll start with games, alright? I bet you'd love Tetris.

[nilhilistic]

[ he sighs. ]

Fine. Show me the Tetanus.

[starguy]

Tetris.

[ Peter smiles, pulling the game up on Rafal's phone. ]

You start by putting down these shapes, see? And you can turn 'em before they hit the bottom. Then when you make a line.... [ He demonstrates. ] Ta-da! The line disappears and you get points.

[nilhilistic]

Riveting.

And how do you win?

[starguy]

You don't! You play until you lose, then you try to beat your friends' high score.

[ Factually incorrect but he does not know or expect Rafal to reach level 29+ and he's definitely never made it there himself... ]

[nilhilistic]

[ rafal doesn't grasp this. ]

That seems like an exercise in masochism. Who plays if not to win?