[Network Video]

[doubled_speed]

Hey all!

[Are you shocked to see Tommy? Probably not. Someone said something about cooking, of course he's going to weigh in. At least the video is a rather stationary thing, his comm clearly propped up on a counter in the diner's kitchen.]

I don't know about you, but I'm in for the idea of us getting some good food in us. Maybe we can talk too when we're there? If we're going.

Anyway, gonna say that the diner is pretty stocked up and I'm happy to be prep assistant on any cooking in the Diner. Just remember Diner Rules. Don't be a dick and all of that.

And anyone cooking has to promise to help carry their own shit to the thing.

[Says the guy currently, on screen, cutting a tuber with enough speed that his hands are a literal blur.]

So, uh, food time? We could use it?

Comments

[doubled_speed]

That's... a really good point. How interesting.

"I mean, it IS a chaos god with a destructive bent, so is that really so shocking?"

[crystalmaster]

"Not really. But it's sure irritating," Radley said.

[doubled_speed]

"You don't even know the half of it. One of the times it was up to that, I think I got turned into a stone statue?"

He doesn't remember it really well.

[crystalmaster]

Radley stares in horror. "How did you get free?!"

[doubled_speed]

"My friends Cassie and Jonas helped fix it."

And Tommy hadn't really asked for any information on how.

[crystalmaster]

"That's good you had friends who knew what to do," Radley said. He would have loved to have had that for himself when he was trapped in the mine back home.

[doubled_speed]

"It's super hero shit. We always figure out how to fix things," Tommy said with a shrug.

[crystalmaster]

"Is everyone you know back home a superhero?" Radley wondered.

[doubled_speed]

Oh come on, not everyone.

"Billy's parents aren't."

[crystalmaster]

Radley wondered if they felt left out.

"Is it hard for them, watching from the sidelines?" he mused. "I felt like that back home when things fell apart in my town. I had wanted to save it, but in the end ... I couldn't."

[doubled_speed]

"I think it might be. They're scared for B," Tommy answered as he moved to start chopping some other foods for a different fry he wants to do. "They're good people like that."

[crystalmaster]

"Yeah, I'll bet," Radley said. "It's been hard here too, feeling mostly useless. But it'd be worse if I was really close to someone and worrying a lot about them."

He had felt that a lot at home too.

[doubled_speed]

"I guess I get that," he says, but he's not really sure he agrees. Billy's one of the most powerful people there is. He didn't need fussed over.

[crystalmaster]

Radley was sure that parents or other guardians would worry anyway, or they likely would if they really cared. He wished that his family would worry about him.

On the other hand, he could understand the other point of view too. He was sure everyone else here was more capable of handling the sci-fi elements than he was. He didn't worry a whole lot ...

... But he still did a little bit.

"I look after a lot of guys back home. It's an interesting experience. They're capable of fighting if they have to, but what they really want is to goof off and have fun. Most of their lives were pretty sad before I found them. I want them to be happy, so I mostly let them do what they want. But I havta put my foot down if they get too wild."

[doubled_speed]

Huh, he wasn't expecting that.

"So you're like a big brother?"

[crystalmaster]

"Yeah, that's a good way to put it," Radley smiled. "They think of me as both a brother and a father figure. They honor me on Father's Day."

[doubled_speed]

Oh dear, that's awkward. "You're sorta young to be a dad, man."

[crystalmaster]

Radley laughs. "Yeah, I guess. It doesn't bother me. I'm happy they care that much. I like being useful and making a positive difference."

What's haunting is when he can't protect everyone.

[doubled_speed]

"Huh."

It's a lot of what he has to think about, and he didn't know that he could understand it at all.

"Positive differences can be hard to do I guess."

[crystalmaster]

"They sure are." Radley sounded far away now, thinking of the past both good and bad.

[doubled_speed]

Well, that's interesting. Tommy looks at the guy. He'd ask if he was okay, but... Tommy didn't pry like that.

"I've gotta to pick up some extra things from the greenhouse. Make sure nothing burns?"

[crystalmaster]

Radley starts. "Oh! Yeah, sure." He becomes attentive again.

this one good to wrap?

[doubled_speed]

"Awesome. It could be about... ten minutes I think? I can't go as fast with the plants, to not hurt them."

Sure. :)

[crystalmaster]

"Right. Sure, I'll hold down the fort here," Radley promised.