tushanshu | video;

[Well this sure is a video post. It opens on Kidd, who's looking rather casually bored, dressed up in all the stolen finery one might expect of a pirate. His accent is vaguely British-y, and his tone is casually bored.]

I've heard tell this turtle of ours stops off at locations along the course of its journey. And these shores— would anyone say they at all resemble the Caribbean? Nassau, perhaps?

[He assumes otherwise, but it never hurts to ferret out little bits of information. If nothing else, mention of Nassau might weed out any who know the region and what it stands for. Stood for. He cocks his head to one side, there's maybe a hint of something predatory to his expression.]

I find it curious, aye, to be plain, that we can be so long at sea without fear of outside attack. Pirates, and the like. This place is grand enough, but hardly impregnable. Has anyone considered proper fortifications for it t'all? A blockade, perhaps, or cannons? Or something a sight more modern, I understand there's all manner of things not common to my era.

Thanks be to you, listeners.

[A casual salute, and cut feed.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

If you're curious enough, then yes.

I've been little else in all my life, fair lady. Tell me your stories.

You may be sorry for asking, as there's quite a few of them.

But the important bit—though the late twentieth century is where I'm from, it's not the only temporal zone in which I operate, nor am I restricted to one particular timeline or version of history.

[Well, that's an interesting wrinkle in what Kidd knows about Life, the Universe and Everything, even being here. It's not the twentieth century that's cause for a slight, faint expression of incredulity, it's the temporal zone.]

There's versions, now? Beyond what's represented here, I suppose?

[Faint incredulity is better than outright shock or disbelief; Una will take it.]

Just so. You might think of history as a sort of vast river, with many tributaries on one hand and a nearly infinite number of splits and diversions along the way. A particular decision might create a fork in the flow, where a series of events results in different consequences. And this is happening forever, at all times, in infinite variations.

Bloody hell.

[It does make sense, in a way. It's the only reason Kidd doesn't just turn off the feed to go outside.]

So how does it work? All this journeying of yours.

A combination of tools that allow one to traverse the time-streams, and a certain amount of native talent. [A small, wry smile.] Methods and theories are changing all the time, based on the discoveries we make and things we learn. Every answer about Time invariably opens up any number of new questions.

Any talent worth having can be learned, if you've will enough. Leastwise that's how I've always looked at the matter.

[And that? Would definitely be useful. But some matters are better left alone, and almost this sounds like something better favored by the Templars. Controlling a man's life, their thoughts and will, that's one thing, fair and true. But to be able to wipe them entirely from the scope of existence? That's another matter.]