Thirty-Sixth Hope [video]

[good_breakfast]

[For once in the greek tragedy that is Hope's life, he turns on the video feed on purpose. His face bears a fairly solemn expression. He takes a deep breath before speaking.]

Uh.... hey. A lot of you know this already but... my name's Hope Estheim, and I've been on this ship for over a year. I've made a lot of friends here, and I've even found a

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[recidivated]

[with a very proud and sincere look on her face, Xion approaches Hope after he turns off his Guide. after giving him a little time to breathe, she doesn't hesitate to take his hand in hers to try and reassure him, her smile never fading.]

Now you can never tell me you're not the strongest person I know.

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[good_breakfast]

[He sighs.]

I still... didn't tell them everything. Someone who can use magic is dangerous enough, but.... I don't want people to think I'm gonna turn into some kind of monster any second. Even if I know I'm not... people are still gonna be scared.

[But he squeezes that hand like doing so gives him boundless reserves of strength... which it does.]

Besides.... my knees were shaking the whole time.

[He adds the tiniest of laughs.]

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[recidivated]

You've done enough for one day, Hope. [she lays her other hand on top of their already linked ones, stroking his soothingly.] I'm sure everything will be fine. It's like you said-you don't have to worry about being hunted down for what you are here. And you have friends who will stick by you no matter what.

[and upon realizing she's being a little hypocritical, given the secrecy of her own unnatural state of existence...]

...And you're a lot braver than me.

Re: action

[good_breakfast]

[He finally smiles, squeezing that hand even more.]

I know. It's because of you guys that I was able to finally say it. You're all my strength and my courage. Especially you Xion.

[His warning bells go off at that last part. He didn't want to make her feel guilty.]

You don't need to tell anyone about that Xion. You're just a beautiful, wonderful girl who would do anything for her friends. That's all anyone needs to know about you, okay?

[video]

[dontgetcute]

[Like f-ing clockwork man. Of course Fang saw this.]

Nice little show there Hope. Afraid you left out a few details, but I guess they're not that important.

[Actually they kindof are, but who's judging.]

Re: [video]

[good_breakfast]

...

I only told them the stuff that affected them Fang. My brand hasn't budged for a year.

It's... It's not gonna happen.

[Fang may notice that it sounds more like he's trying to convince himself than her.]

Re: [video]

[dontgetcute]

I'll make sure it won't.

[Over a year now...no l'Cie ever lasted longer than a few weeks...]

So why only put yourself out there like that Hope? Why not even mention the fact there's actually two l'Cie here?

Re: [video]

[good_breakfast]

That's not my secret to tell Fang. I only have the right to tell people about me. Besides, I've seen you already telling people you were a l'Cie.

[Video]

[motherofthesun]

... So, this is why you asked if I was a fal'Cie.

Re: [Video]

[good_breakfast]

....I'm sorry Tai- Amaterasu. I know you're nothing like them. It's just...

[Once bitten, twice shy. Especially when by "bitten" he means "forced to destroy your world and pretty much die whether you do or not".]

Re: [Video]

[motherofthesun]

It's alright Hope.

[A pause. Hm...] Well, I guess I could explain more if you would like...

Re: [Video]

[good_breakfast]

Explain more... what?

video;

[abstracted_sky]

[He's not really sure what to say. He was pretty sure Xion could take care of herself, and if she couldn't he was pretty sure she would ask for help if she ever got in over her head. And she had to trust Hope, or why else would she ever have started a relationship with him in the first place? She was his friend and more so his replica, which meant that he could trust her judgement, probably more so than anyone else's, save for Riku.

So all in all, the only real thing he has to comment on is the fact that his friend apparently know's magic, can summon a Eidolon, either has to complete something call a Focus or turn in a horrible monster and is basically going to die either way.

Yup, this is going to be an easy conversation. But let's start off with what he wants to say most at the moment.]

You're really not scary, you know. Even if you do know magic. [Seriously, you're even less scary than he is, Hope. And he can be pretty scary when he wants to be.]But... why'd you hide it for so long? You don't really think everyone will stop

Re: video;

[good_breakfast]

[.... Sora, there are baby Chocobo's scarier than you.]

I know I'm not the only one who can use magic here... I just... I was used to the way things worked on my world. When I came here... the first thing I did was try and escape and finish what I started back on Cocoon. But after a while... I realized that I didn't have to run while I was here. I didn't have to fight anyone, or hide from anything. I finally had a normal and happy life.

But... I knew it was a lie as long as I hid what I was. I knew that if Xion loved me, even knowing what I could do, if my friends really cared about me, they would too. That's why I had to come clean.

[He smiles at his friends answer.]

Thanks Sora. Thanks for being my friend. Somehow, I knew you wouldn't be scared of me.

video;

[abstracted_sky]

[So what you're saying is, you are less scary than someone who is less scary than a baby chocobo. Sure you want to put that on yourself, Hope?]

It must have been hard on you, huh? Having to go through all of that only to be brought here. But, as long as you're here, you can be safe and happy, right? That's more important.

I'm glad you and Xion found each other. You both deserve to be happy. Just take care of her, okay? She's really special.

[He almost says to me, but he doesn't want Xion to know that he knows she's his replica. And he's pretty sure if Hope found out, he'd tell her.]

You don't have to thank me, Hope. I'm your friend because I want to be.

[And because he hasn't had friends his own age, who he can just be friend's with and not have to fight a war with in so long, he's almost forgotten what it's like.]

Re: video;

[good_breakfast]

[He smiles at that.]

You don't need to tell me. Don't worry, I'd never hurt Xion. She's everything to me.

[AUDIO/ENCRYPTED]

[11ady]

A blessing and a curse. Mr. Estheim, I hope I don't strike you as overly opportunistic but we could use an ally like you.

[no beating around the bush; she doubted he'd appreciate political posturing anyway]

Re: [AUDIO/ENCRYPTED]

[good_breakfast]

[Oh he recognizes that voice. There's only one person on this ship who calls him that too. Still he's cautious. The last thing he wants is to use his magic as a weapon. Especially as a weapon on someone else's behalf.]

Yeah? And who's we?

Re: [AUDIO/ENCRYPTED]

[11ady]

Preventer. As you may already have heard, we're a department of defense and intelligence bureau aboard this vessel. Our specialty is non-lethal tactics. It's a pity we don't have any medics on call for emergencies.

[if he doesn't wish to be a weapon, there are other ways to help; they just need help. period.]

Re: [AUDIO/ENCRYPTED]

[good_breakfast]

[He sighs. She's hit his weak point and he knows it.]

I'm done getting involved with fighting, but... if you really need someone to heal your hurt guys... I.... I guess I could do that.