Movie Marathon!

[thefinaljedi]

Who: Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Arsene Lupin III, Ami Mizuno, Adele Leblanc, Leonardo, Gambit, and anyone else who has the desire to show up.
What: Star Wars Movie Marathon
When: February 21st to whenever its done
Where: Luke and Ben's place
Summary: Luke and Ben have decided to just end the constant cycle of confusion and actually WATCH the Star Wars movies. There is soda (gasp!) popcorn, canned tea, and all sorts of other movie related nonsense.
Rating: PG, same as the movies (Could get PG13? doubtful)

Comments

[semper_cogitans]

[And this is a cause for unexpected shame from Robert.]

... It... is o-only now, in Luceti, that... th-that I have come to learn anything about... the past from f-further back than a few centuries...

... H-History is... no longer seen as... i-important in my world... but I know that... th-that is a foolhardy attitude to t-take, now...

[tailasoldastime]

[As Robert speaks, his guilt changes into curiosity... how do you not learn about history? (Alright he forgot that North America exists, but details, details.)]

Wh... wh-why was it not... important?

[semper_cogitans]

[Robert winces a little at that.]

... W-Well... it is... m-mostly that people from the past were seen as... n-not having any valid input... that they had done d-dangerous and cruel things, and... s-so were unfit to learn from...

... [Softly:] I th-think the ignorance of my w-world is... surprisingly profound, s-sometimes...

[tailasoldastime]

Vali-? [But wait... he's remembering now when they talked about what happened in Robert's world. What the humans of his century did... He supposes... that if he knew humans have done that, he would find them dangerous and cruel... and nobody to learn anything from, either.

Except... he learned what he knew from his guardians, his servants... who learned it from somebody else, maybe their own guardians... when a world learns nothing from people of the past, then what... what do they...?]

B-but then... h-how... how do you know an... a-anything...?

[semper_cogitans]

[Terrans are remarkably good at the mental leap of logic required to justify that only the recent past means anything and that ancient history is utterly worthless information.

Yes, logically, there is a progression of information. But it's so much easier to think of information as belonging only to their world, their enlightened sensibilities...]

... I-Information before a... c-certain period was, er, e-essentially completely disregarded...

... Only recent s-scientific and technological advances were, er, c-considered to have... value.

[tailasoldastime]

[...]

... What... c-certain period? [How "recent" are these "advances"? Could he even imagine this century?]

[semper_cogitans]

[Not before Robert met the Beast, and other people from similarly-early time periods, like Sayo...]

... Er... well, approximately... 2100 A.D....

... Perhaps a little b-before that, but... [Still less than three hundred years.]

[tailasoldastime]

2100... A.D.?!

[That's... that's hundreds of years! About 300, but he's not bothering to count, it's still hundreds of years!]

[semper_cogitans]

[Indeed.]

... Y-Yes. I... I understand that this... s-sounds irrational in retrospect, but...

[He can't really say much else about it.]

[tailasoldastime]

H-how... I can't... [He wouldn't know anything... anything Robert's world knows... how is that possible...?]

[semper_cogitans]

[Robert, for his part, is actually a little embarrassed.]

... In... in s-some ways I am... more ignorant than m-many others.

[tailasoldastime]

[Beast's mind is still trying to fathom the century difference... it's so different to him, how has this never come up before?

But in a way, Robert's comment helps, as it surprises him enough to stop freaking out.]

I... but... but you've seemed s-so... v-very understanding... of... of me. [Really, he's shocked that they've only found this problem now. How can he be so helpful if he comes from such a period?]

[semper_cogitans]

I... t-try, but... it is not s-something easy for me, in the first place...

... And, er, understanding your w-world is... difficult, admittedly. It is sometimes... d-difficult to even understand Don's...

[tailasoldastime]

[... A soft exhale. He... he guesses they don't really talk about his world that much. He told him about "technology" and "electricity", because he knew he didn't know... but beyond that... nothing. He does remember now how shocked Robert was when he told him what year he's from... that... that must explain it.]

Does... d-does it make talking... difficult?

[semper_cogitans]

Not talking, b-but - [- Robert struggles to convey this idea properly -] - ... understanding. There are... s-so many things that I take for... granted, that you should know, but... you d-do not. And while it is... n-no fault of your own, sometimes I am... stymied on how to e-explain things...

[He trails off, and then adds, more quietly:]

... And... it makes it more difficult to... u-understand you.

[tailasoldastime]

I... [But then he stops. Understanding... what does it mean here? It seemed so clear before, but hearing the word so much now is starting to confuse him. He rarely felt like they had trouble getting along because he can't understand... so that must mean he understands something... right?]

I... b-but it... does it... is it really th-that... difficult to... understand...?

[semper_cogitans]

So much of my l-life is... dedicated to these concepts, Beast. D-Dedicated to concepts that... that your world has never even b-begun to grasp.

[There's no way to say that without sounding superior.]

... You are... my f-friend. That much is... apparent.

But at the same time... th-there are very different views that... we h-have of the world. Perhaps... because of necessity; perhaps because of... i-incidence...

... You have one of the f-furthest gaps of... knowledge, of a-anyone I know. [Robert looks back up at him, and his expression is a mixture of pleading and anxiety.] ... I wish I... kn-knew what that meant, for you...

... I have... trouble enough u-understanding other people as it is.

[tailasoldastime]

[He looks back at Robert, eyes both heartfelt and questioning.]

But... we understand something. We... w-we understand enough to be... friends... don't we...?

[And close friends at that... through the confusions so far, Beast still regards Robert highly.]

[semper_cogitans]

[As does Robert, at least proportionately to the short time he's known Beast. But this is an issue, and one that Robert has never really been sure how to navigate.]

... I... I s-suppose so. H-However... [... and this is going to be hard to describe...] ... my a-abilities to discern the emotions and thought processes of others are... h-highly restricted in most cases.

Perhaps I... u-understand less than you think I do, though... it is not out of not wishing to...

[tailasoldastime]

[O...

... Oh.

He lowers his head. He doesn't like that feeling where what he thought was true actually wasn't... did he misunderstand something? He knows how he felt during their talks, did... did Robert really not feel the same...?]

Re... r-restricted... how?

[semper_cogitans]

There is... a d-difference, in my brain, from some other humans. I... have difficulty... i-interpreting the social cues and other... non-verbal parts of c-conversations...

Often I am not... e-even aware they have been given.

[Robert's not quite looking at Beast anymore; he's looking beyond him somewhere.]

... Over time, I can... s-sometimes learn to discern them... but it is difficult, and... a-and when your world is so different, I am... n-not certain how much of it is from that...

I want to learn. I want to... u-understand you. [But it's so hard.]

[tailasoldastime]

[His eyes widen... the way Robert describes it... it's almost like there's a larger gap between them... that even though they're both human, they... they can't even...

No... that can't be true... they can still understand... they must. How he feels can't be that untrue... can it?]

Is... i-is there an... c-can I...?

... Wh... wh-what... what would... help?

[semper_cogitans]

[At this, Robert smiles awkwardly.]

Be... b-blunt with me. Say what you m-mean... explain why you t-tend to do certain things, if... if you wish for me to understand them.

... Those all... m-make communication easier...

[tailasoldastime]

Ah... blunt... y-you mean, s, straightforward?

... I... I can do that.

[...]

... If... if I haven't been... before... with th... I-I... [A soft sigh before he responds quietly with:] I'm sorry.

[semper_cogitans]

It is n-not your fault, Beast. I... I never said this b-before. How could you be expected to know...?

[Robert shifts a little, to give the Beast a more serious look.]

... All I need is... a w-willingness to accept the... oddities I have.