[Day 3, ME] Family Dinner

[Babble]

"I grew up in Cebu City, in the central Philippines. A lot of languages are used there, so it wasn't unusual that I was multilingual from an early age. It wasn't a power at that point. I don't think it was." he shrugged. "I was good with languages. It never seemed odd that I could learn them so fast. Even when I was told I must be an Elite, I felt like I must be a very minor one But then, I had a conversation with a stray cat."

[Dapper Dog]

"You can talk to animals?" she asked.

[Babble]

"Yep." He smiled. "That's when I started to appreciate them. I can talk to plants, too. But, they don't really say much. Talking to machines sparked my interest in computer science. Thst's my major."

[Dapper Dog]

“So you can basically talk to anything?” she responded. “That’s surreal. I don’t know how I would handle that.”

“Like, how do you relate to us normies?” she joked.

[Babble]

"Talking to other people keeps me normal." He answered. "Keeps me grounded. You know how you can get lost scrolling through social media or just browsing the internet? I worry about that sometimes, wondering if I could find my way back."

[Dapper Dog]

“Social Media is so fake and yet so real,” she admitted. “It really just warps our perception of reality, because it can seem like everyone is either doing so much better than you, or everything is on fire all the time… or just everything is just fake and terrible.”

“But then again, I am still using it.”

[Babble]

"Right. Because as horrible as it all seems, you want to know more. Or, because you're looking whatever you can find that is positive and encouraging." he nodded. "Now, imagine having no boundaries. No language barriers. No paywalls. Nothing to keep you from searching further. That's not exactly what it's like for me, but it's similar."

[Dapper Dog]

"Honestly, that sounds terrible, how do you handle it?" she responded.

[Babble]

"Like this." He motioned to the view of the city. "I make sure I keep myself anchored in the real world by appreciating the places, things and people around me. I've also avoided immersing myself too deep. But, I don't think I can avoid that anymore."

[Dapper Dog]

"Why not," she said with concern.

[Babble]

"I've been holding myself back. I can do more. I don't really know what my limits are." He explained. "I spoke to the armored that attacked us. I told it to 'stop'. It did. It's self-destruct stopped, but only for a second. If I had more training, I could have done more. You may not have been trapped. The others might not have died. I can't change that now. But, I can prepare for the next time."

[Dapper Dog]

She puts her hand on his and said, “I support you being prepared for whatever comes but sometimes, shit just happens. There was a whole series of events that went down long before you or I arrived that made that moment possible.”

“Shit just happens.”

[Babble]

"I know that." he squeezed her hand. "I do. But, what's the purpose of having crazy powers, if not to prevent some of that? I'm not planning on getting lost. I just need to better understand what I can do."

[Dapper Dog]

She smiled and said, "Being a hero is kind of hot, so I am all for it."

[Babble]

"Regardless of how many languages I speak, there are still times when I don't know what to say." He was a bit flustered. "Thank you again, for inviting me."

[Dapper Dog]

"It's cool, just enjoy the view," she said leaving her hand on his.

/scene?

[Babble]

/scene