Winter's not carrying anything more than a note card for her speech - scandalously light for most people, just right for Winter, who likes to kind of go with the flow for things like this. In an elegant but largely understated blue dress (not the ice blue that seems to be associated with Diamond, and in turn with her, which she's happy she got away from), she eventually makes her way up to the podium. She's in no hurry, really.
As she looks out over the room, over the assembled Numbered and various others, Winter feels a certain vindication, and she takes a deep breath. "I'm Winter Tsukuyomi. You know, it's funny. Two years ago, I would have done a lot to be able to speak like this. I'm almost saddened by the thought. We wanted, so much, to be heard and understood, then. But we hid. For our own safety, and the safety of everyone that didn't understand. Now, I just... had to ask, and here I am. Maybe it's a sign that the world is changing already. In tiny ways, little steps that most people wouldn't even notice.
"But those are the steps that can mean the most to us," she continues, picking up steam. "We have jobs now, even when people know what we are. We can go to school, buy homes, all of those other things that felt so far away before. I've talked before about the hardships we've faced, in some detail. They're covered in my lovely wife's book, for all three of the people that haven't read it yet, going off the sales numbers. But that's not what I want to talk about tonight. Tonight, I want to talk about the things we've accomplished. The things we've gained.
"Because we have made strides forward. In coming out into the open, we've given ourselves legitimacy. People know what we are, now, and that we can be a force for good. We've carved out a place on the world stage all our own. In driving back the Invasion, we've proved we have the capacity to rise to the occasion and band together to keep our world safe. Since then, we've built homes for ourselves, an entire community. We've worked to improve our image, to become better people inside and out. We are stronger than we were a year ago."
She hesitates, no more than a second before she continues. It's kind of a sore subject at the moment, but... "The girl I was, in another time and place. I've learned things from her, too. From her shortcomings, her mistakes, the things she couldn't do herself. Though I have a connection to her, through the pulses she's shown me and the power I wield, I am myself, and I will make my own place in history. It's a very romantic idea, but... wouldn't you want to be the best person you could be, if you might be reincarnated someday into a new life? If you could guide a new self to great things? That's the kind of life I want to live. So someday, in the far future, maybe on another world... a young woman can stand on a stage like this and overcome her limits. That person will be able to make herself heard, because I've put everything I have into making my life a fulfilled one. Because we've all worked hard to make ourselves better people. And maybe it's forward of me, but I believe we can make the whole world a better place through our actions and our efforts.
"All of us - Numbered or otherwise - have that potential, to become something more than we are today. And I think that potential is something worth betting on. You don't have to be able to fight to change the world. It doesn't take superpowers. Having wild hair doesn't make a difference. What matters is that we have the desire to make that change happen, in our hearts. That's all I wanted to say. Together, we'll fix our world. We'll find solutions to all our problems. There's a lot of work to be done, but we can rise the to the challenge. I'm sure of it."
no subject
As she looks out over the room, over the assembled Numbered and various others, Winter feels a certain vindication, and she takes a deep breath. "I'm Winter Tsukuyomi. You know, it's funny. Two years ago, I would have done a lot to be able to speak like this. I'm almost saddened by the thought. We wanted, so much, to be heard and understood, then. But we hid. For our own safety, and the safety of everyone that didn't understand. Now, I just... had to ask, and here I am. Maybe it's a sign that the world is changing already. In tiny ways, little steps that most people wouldn't even notice.
"But those are the steps that can mean the most to us," she continues, picking up steam. "We have jobs now, even when people know what we are. We can go to school, buy homes, all of those other things that felt so far away before. I've talked before about the hardships we've faced, in some detail. They're covered in my lovely wife's book, for all three of the people that haven't read it yet, going off the sales numbers. But that's not what I want to talk about tonight. Tonight, I want to talk about the things we've accomplished. The things we've gained.
"Because we have made strides forward. In coming out into the open, we've given ourselves legitimacy. People know what we are, now, and that we can be a force for good. We've carved out a place on the world stage all our own. In driving back the Invasion, we've proved we have the capacity to rise to the occasion and band together to keep our world safe. Since then, we've built homes for ourselves, an entire community. We've worked to improve our image, to become better people inside and out. We are stronger than we were a year ago."
She hesitates, no more than a second before she continues. It's kind of a sore subject at the moment, but... "The girl I was, in another time and place. I've learned things from her, too. From her shortcomings, her mistakes, the things she couldn't do herself. Though I have a connection to her, through the pulses she's shown me and the power I wield, I am myself, and I will make my own place in history. It's a very romantic idea, but... wouldn't you want to be the best person you could be, if you might be reincarnated someday into a new life? If you could guide a new self to great things? That's the kind of life I want to live. So someday, in the far future, maybe on another world... a young woman can stand on a stage like this and overcome her limits. That person will be able to make herself heard, because I've put everything I have into making my life a fulfilled one. Because we've all worked hard to make ourselves better people. And maybe it's forward of me, but I believe we can make the whole world a better place through our actions and our efforts.
"All of us - Numbered or otherwise - have that potential, to become something more than we are today. And I think that potential is something worth betting on. You don't have to be able to fight to change the world. It doesn't take superpowers. Having wild hair doesn't make a difference. What matters is that we have the desire to make that change happen, in our hearts. That's all I wanted to say. Together, we'll fix our world. We'll find solutions to all our problems. There's a lot of work to be done, but we can rise the to the challenge. I'm sure of it."