Other Voices

Kit:  I've asked other members of Legion to post their thoughts on things here, simply because Samantha has her own LJ if she wants to talk about things, and this blog is not about just one or two members.  For those who are more reluctant to speak, I've allowed others to talk on their behalf.

Daryl

I don't talk much or get out much, because I really don't feel comfortable around people anymore.  A long time ago I was told I could go online and meet new people and make friends, which is not something that I had a lot of time to do normally.  It was fun at first because I was allowed to talk to people, and everyone seemed nice.  Shawn and Mark both say that this is because the internet was young and the places I was going to were social places where people would hang out and talk, and that the community was friendly.  I guess they're right, because the first place I went to was called FurryMUCK, and it was there that I met some nice people, including one who even helped us to get a better computer.  I stopped going online though because one of the people I trusted the most hurt me there, and then the other people that I had trusted went away.  I don't come out very often, though sometimes I will to play a game or just to have fun, but it is kind of hard to trust anyone anymore, and I just kind of watch instead.  I have tried to play games online once or twice but there are people who were just mean to me, or the people that I tried to become friends with just stopped showing up or were to busy to keep me company, so I've stopped again.

Samantha:  Claudia doesn't talk to anyone.  She's simply there, and I try to protect her as much as I can.  She's quiet, she's observant, and she's frail.  We had named her after the girl from Interview with the Vampire, but she's nothing like that.  There's really not much we can say about her - she's the youngest of our 'core', and perhaps the most fragile.

Mark:  There's not much I'm willing to say about myself right now.  I've been convinced to join a game of Pathfinder, and Kit and I sort of oversee the character in equal parts.  I'm not one to talk much, so he does most of the conversations, I deal with most of the strategy and combat in the game, though I do step up once in a while during social scenes that I'm comfortable with.  The game is entertaining, though not quite the type of game I would normally play.  The group is too relaxed, I think, for the kind of game I want.

At the other's request, I'll mention two individuals.  Sonic is our second-youngest, and is unusual.  His motor skills are limited, and his ability to speak his hampered.  He's quite aware of the world around him, but his ability to interact with it is incredibly limited.  It takes effort and concentration for him to walk, move, or talk, and as such he sort of shuffles when he moves, and his speech is a matter of limited intonations and attempts to make words.  He deals with pitch, more than vocabulary, so trying to understand him is much like trying to play charades.

The other is Bard.  Bard has no vocabulary at all, and his presence manifests as music.  In the background we typically have music of some sort or another - a song that plays through our head all day.  He will rise up from time to time, either humming or singing, creating music or rhythms of some sort, and at times he will just spontaneously beatbox.  An interesting... twitch... is when a memory crosses our path that one of us really does not like - and when flinching or reacting to the memory, Bard will respond with a rhythm or sound as a sort of defence mechanism.  It's unusual, and we really do not understand why it happens.

Guardian:  A long time ago, I was necessary.  I was called Avatar, and acted as a focal point for the rest of Legion.  Those days have long since gone, and the majority of my duties have been handed off to Mark.  I have mostly moved on, though I am here if necessary.  In essence, it is my role to ensure that, if the worst happens and Kit falls apart, that I can keep us intact enough to reassemble him and allow him to return.  I am the eye of the storm, as much as it is possible to be.  Once, I was one who would rise up to talk to others, but those days have long since passed.  I would have called Catherine a friend at that time, as she and I would talk about things of importance, and I enjoyed her company.  I am uncertain she remembers much of our encounters.  Kit's doctor remembers me, and has mentioned me in passing once or twice, which I find to be somewhat warming.  It is good to be remembered.

I believe my other duty, though again, this is not as necessary as it once was, is to keep an eye on the one we call The Crying One.  This is an entity which is more a bundle of negative emotions which lurks at the heart of our being.  It is a destructive, mindless, chaotic force, though it has not been present too often in our more recent past.  The maelstrom of half-thoughts and shards that exists outside of our existence is the greater threat, but even this has not been much of a danger in the recent past.  Perhaps I have done my job too well, and there is no need for my presence at all.  Still, I remain.

Shawn:  I introduced myself a while back.  I see no point in repeating myself here.  But, since Kit wants us all to say something, I'll make some introductions for those who have passed on and those who have since disappeared.  Samantha prefers not to talk about Milady, but I will.  She was the first female within our group, and she was the first of us to disappear.  When Kit broke, and we all had to scramble to put him back together, she just up and left, plunging herself into the storm.  This wasn't something we'd have thought possible, but I guess being a girl in a guy's body was something she just couldn't take.  When Samantha made her first appearance - again, after one of Kit's fits - she would freak out at the mere mention of Milady.  Mind you, she had other triggers as well, and we really don't understand why she had those, either.  There is some speculation though - is Samantha actually Milady "evolved" in some form, like how Avatar became Guardian?  Or maybe Claudia's Milady, which is why Samantha's so protective of the brat.

The second one I'll mention is Troy.  Who's Troy?  We have no fucking clue.  He was there, for perhaps a week or two or three, then he was gone.  We've no idea who he was, why he was with us, what purpose he served, or anything of the sort.  Poof.  Gone.

The third one I'll talk about is Natasha.  That was a piece of work.  We have no clue what that guy was, other than the fact he stole his name from a book.  He was powerful, in that it took all of us to suppress him when he took control, but when he was down, we couldn't see him at all.  He was like a bloody ghost, and we only saw him once.  The guy was at once smooth, but disturbing, and we always wonder whether or not he's still around, or if he's left.  We'd never know until he decided to come up again.

There was another.  We've no bloody clue who that one was.  A friend of Kit's once mentioned looking at him, and she said he was "angelic".  Wasn't any of us, none of us are angelic.  We've debated whether she saw Daryl, but he's too young, and we wondered if it was Avatar at the time, but Guardian says it wasn't him.  So, yeah, no idea.

Mark:  The last one which bears mentioning is Dark.  He's an animal - very instinct-driven.  The best way to describe him is almost totemic - he's a panther.  Not sleek like one, but much in the way he manifests in our mind's eye.  He doesn't talk, and his movements are a lot more basic than what most of us are like.  He's got more coordination than Sonic does, but he dislikes standing at full height - he prefers to crouch.  Obviously, he's not going to talk about himself here - he lacks the ability to think in this fashion.  He's a lot stronger than most of us in a physical sense, which first surprised us when he showed just how strong he was.  If I recall correctly, I believe he lifted someone who weighed in excess of 250 pounds, and I don't think any of us are capable of that.  This is more significant when you realize we weighed perhaps 160 or so at the time.  We keep him on a short leash, since his social skills are significantly lacking, and fortunately, none of us have had need of actually bringing him up to the surface deliberately.  He's designed for combat, and fairly vicious combat at that.

Samantha:  That's our role-call, I guess.  :>  I'm kinda amused that Shawn had the most to say about this, but then again I didn't expect anyone to talk about those who.. well, yeah.  We don't talk to each other as much as we used to - we kinda pass mental notes back and forth when necessary, but we've kind of learned how to fit comfortably adjacent to each other, and can swap in and out when we need.. so yeah, there's not as much talking as there used to be.  Mark and I talk with each other a lot more than, say, I do with Guardian, and Mark and Shawn kinda look at each other askance from time to time, and Daryl's always around the fringes, but everyone else kind of hangs back and just observes or sleeps.

Was there a point to this?  Not entirely, but it seemed like it might be something that could help put some things in perspective, and some of us aren't really known for communicating.  It's a good idea once in a while to take stock of things, and see how things have changed.