exsilium | voice.

Entry tags:

voice.

[Peter is ... angry. Angry is a good word for it, because he's mixed up, he's confused, and he's hating that he's hearing what's going on. Threats of torture? Maybe they were said in anger—and he's definitely done stupid things in anger himself—but that's not helping. But all he's seeing is a weird understanding that maybe SHIELD had the right idea by taking the reins back home, because this is what happens when people are left to their own devices.

Then again, SHIELD isn't really good at keeping the psychologically unstable types off the street. He knows that all too well, too. SHIELD also probably doesn't give a damn if people are infighting as long as they've got buttons to push and to control in the process.

He debates responding to Sofiya's commentary instead, but he has some sweeping questions that need to be answered.]

Have any of you ever read Lord of the Flies? Or ... I dunno, Battle Royale? The really terrifying thing about these books is the idea of humans going out and hunting one another. That we're a game. There was a guy on TV a year or so ago who decided he was gonna go after Spider-Man. It was stupid, but he thought that he'd make big ratings because he'd be able to take down this guy that everyone was calling a masked menace. Of course, as you should know right up front, Spider-Man's a good guy. Not a good guy as in let's-all-be-friends-with-Spider-Man, but he definitely isn't out there to hurt anyone, he's just wearing the mask for a reason ... he's a vigilante, but not the type that hurts people to prove something. Or kills. None of that. No bullets, no necks snapped, none of it.

[There's a pause where he breathes out, because that was a lot of quick babbling with very few pauses.]

If you can't make the connection from my well-placed pop culture references or my babbling about Spider-Man, what I'm seeing here is a lot of infighting. People are hurting each other and disagreeing over how we're meant to do this. People are talking about the law, but honestly, what law? We're locking people up because it's generally what is deemed the right thing, but none of us really know what we're doing. I mean, I've seem some crappy cops in my time, and believe me. You guys need some work.

Uh, but no offense, because I'm not here to criticize everyone. That's just gonna create even more infighting amongst us.

But I do think that all of us sitting down and agreeing we're in over our heads is a good place to start. Got it. You sitting yet? Actually, I bet you're turning this off, which fine, suit yourself.

What's happening is that we're going all Lord of the Flies on one another. We're going all rated-R Survivor to ensure that none of us get off this moonbase alive. And above all else, we're being idiots and making this about ourselves. Okay, I don't doubt that the release of those files might be some well-timed emotional manipulation, and I'm a bleeding heart who gives in to that crap. I can't deny it.

And maybe things will stop, but all I see is us redirecting our tensions elsewhere, and honestly, I ... I don't want people to die. I don't want any of that sort of thing to happen. That's my thing. I helped out with the guys who were trying to undo the mutiny's mess because I saw that as a danger to everyone's life. But I think moving forward, we need to try to be a little less Lord of the Flies and a little more boy band.

Don't get what I mean?

Come on, just look at the Backstreet Boys. I bet anything those guys didn't get together all that willingly. But they all stand together in uncomfortable leather pants and continue to sing terrible songs even though they're definitely nearing fifty. They're outliving The Beatles! Except one of the guys left, but that really says something about situations like that. It leaves room for imperfection.

So we can all band together and get really stupid haircuts and manicures and wear leather pants and ...

My point is, can we try to work together a little more? Just maybe? And instead of remarking on all of the above, let's hear some suggestions moving forward. You might think it's not the time, but I'd rather stop this from escalating.