River Tam | Day 64 | Video

[enchangement]

[ Sometime before dawn the video clicks on, though it might not be terribly obvious at first; a night like this in a place with such little artificial light means that the video begins terribly dark, but eventually it focuses to show the strange constellations in the sky above Cape Kore. ]

Good morning. May God give you a good morning, adios, good bye, vas a Dios, you go with God, so it has always been attributed to higher and distant and foreign powers, that there is no control to be had over our spinning through the 'verse. Trapped on a rock, in a dream, trapped and here we are, back to ourselves.

Worse for wear. Damaged, cracked, broken, missing pieces, missing tunes, missing bones, missing missing missing...

Some of you are new, agitated and angry and odd like all the others. Why are you here? We don't know. How do you go home? We don't know but she can tell you, she can tell you this...

When you go you are taken and when you are taken it is sudden, and when it is sudden it sets the entire axis to spin in the wrong direction.

[ She sighs. A hand moves to blot out some of the stars, fingers spreading a bit to let the light back through, but not all of it. ]

If God is here then God is trapped along with all the other rats in the maze.

Come on new voices. Come on and upheave your suffering, vent your frustrations, scream to the sky. Make noise that we may be able to better identify the new notes, she and I, make noise so that she may be better able to say goodbye when you're gone if she remains.

Announce yourselves, oh friends of mine, that she may feel reassured you haven't gone to dust like the carbon in starts that sits in our very bones, the iron and silver and atoms that are only as close as they will ever be. Nothing ever touches.

Announce yourselves for I am tired and angry and will set my soul to wounded hearts like the anchor and she won't be tracking you all down today. No, not today.

So much happens from sunset to sunrise. So much happens during the day. So much happens in so few hours, a handful of moments and it may be a miracle we haven't set the woods alight.

Why haven't we?!

[ Private to: Steve Rogers ]

Would you like a list? The dead and the missing?

There was a murder and there are several who did not wake in their beds.

[ Private to: Daneel ]

You have been a good friend to Ned. Thank you thank you thank you.

This means you have to keep yourself whole. Do you fight? Can you fight?

Comments

telepathy;

[mentis]

River.

[ As much as he wishes he could dive into obscurity and vanish forever he couldn't possibly do that to her. When they had met she had been like a piece missing in the jigsaw of his life and now when he's wounded and aching and horrified at himself he needs to assure himself that she will be fine. ]

Are you safe?

telepathy;

[enchangement]

[ Charles gets River in a mental rush, more water than burning star at this hour, because she was worried and because she knows Erik and Raven are gone. Unfortunately this also means she encounters the source of his personal horror and nearly drowns herself in a sudden flurry of emotional response that she has to create some distance from before she can actually frame a response.

Charles is her friend; so is Ned. She is disgusted and horrified and saddened, and it makes her limbs ache. She presses the heels of her hands to her eyes until there are more stars to join the ones in the sky. ]

Every cell is where it belongs.

[ She's coming over. ]

telepathy;

[mentis]

You don't have to.

[ He knows she knows and perhaps he would rather she reacted with scorn - with anger - because it is what he deserves. Charles has been holding himself back for so long that he thought he was above something like this - had refused aid from Dr. Banner simply because he assumed he was better at it than most.

His hands curl at his side where he sits on Erik's bed and mourns. ] I just wanted to make sure you were all right. Or as all right as you could be.

[thezerothlaw]

[Daneel really doesn't know what to think of any part of this message; it concerns him greatly in its vague sort of incoherence.]

I am capable of defending myself, to a point. I cannot cause harm to a human being, however. My programming forbids it.

private;

[enchangement]

Then we should discuss this problem of how to keep Ned's friends alive.

Namely, you, in this case.

You are interested in the deaths, you are interested in the law, you are interested in a system that cannot be properly maintained here. We are contained and there is no prison, there is no fear of the societies markers, and thus be careful. The solution you imagine is not the solution you will be presented with.

You are Ned's friend and you have been a good friend so you are now my friend and I will be the same in return.

She has no such programming. [ A pause. ] In opposition I will use what I have to protect what I care about.

[bonesandskin]

If any god has anything to give me, I would rather they keep it to themselves. [ The video flickers, back to normal, his surroundings the familiar darkness of his attic and his voice dry and tired through the audio. ] I have had quite enough, to be certain.

[enchangement]

What did it do? I didn't find you, I'm sorry.

Would ask if you're all right but you'll say yes despite what she would call truth.

video

[hung_garian]

God's not here. You can tell by the lack of smiting and thrown-out 'Father of the Year' mugs.

[Not that either of those are actually things God particularly does in his world, but whatever. Life's too short for accuracy.]

[enchangement]

Angels are here, faith is here, so why is God not?

[ Gabe you are so weird, even River doesn't know what to do with you. ]

Unscathed and scathing still, she'll take it as a good sign.

Video;

[manofiron]

Hate to break it to you, but there aren't any such things as gods. Just aliens who like to assume the title and try to lord over us mere mortals.

[enchangement]

There are angels with wings who would argue, Tony, but what is the difference between an alien and omnipotence?

Have fun being a walking spectacular?

audio;

[hexappeal]

That's one hell of a way to get everyone's attention. I can dig it.

[enchangement]

Many thanks to try not try.

Hello, you're new, she's River. Proper name. Was a dryad upon your arrival. An idea.

[burnburnburn]

[Dilandau was inclined to dismiss the raving woman until he hears the end of her speech]

Why haven't you indeed? Burn enough of it down and you might even flush out the people watching us.

[enchangement]

Could light your own match.

Others may not be inclined to dance around the bonfire. They're above and outside and beyond; fire is not assured, and metal bears are unpleasant.

Voice

[recognize_an_opportunity]

[This is going to be awkward, but he feels he has to say it, after what happened with Ned. And Charlie. And River.]

I, uh, should apologize. For what happened last week.

[enchangement]

Apology accepted. To me, anyway.

Best to bother Ned when he's up for bothering which is today. How is your friend's skull? Did I crack it?

[ Does she sound hopeful? Only ...very slightly. Don't mind the small troll, Meyer. ]

[video]

[perfectantidote]

Father's left us all to rot long ago, sweetie. No use calling upon Him anymore.

[He'd raise a glass in a mock-toast, but... well. He currently lacks a glass, and he doesn't know who the rambling girl is, anyway.]

So... what's with the, uh, rambling?

[enchangement]

It's how she talks. Cut out pieces and this is what's left; a brilliant and dying star.

Before written history, she's sure, and that was millennia ago.

[video]

[lexiegrey]

[ Lexie is somewhat bewildered at best, but she's had a day or two to get used to this place as well as she can. She didn't think she could get anymore confused, and this particular message has her scratching her head a little. ]

I'm not sure if I understood all of that completely, but do you think setting the woods on fire is the best plan?

[ She's legitimately curious about that one, actually. ]

[enchangement]

Hello hello hello new voice to a changing song.

Not the best plan. A plan. Could backfire could backdraft could do nothing more then set all the unnatural creatures into the center of town.

It's just a plan.

[Video]

[tryingitall]

Our candle burns at both ends. It gives a lovely light and leaves wax all over the table.

Hello again. The best I can say for myself is I didn't kill anyone. But it was a hard fight not to.

[enchangement]

Could always reconstitute, reshape the wax and burn it again.

Or just cut the thing in half and burn it that way.

That's a good thing. In her harsh judgement she's angry; too many things with teeth that didn't have the sense to keep themselves away from everyone.

The world went quiet and all the monsters broke loose with barely the control of changing mortals living one life amongst them all.

To much to expect that no one would get hurt.

She's still angry.

Video

[godsprophet]

What... makes you think God is here?

[ Completely nonchalant question with a perfectly innocent questioning look. Because, so far, that's all it is. An innocent question. ]

[enchangement]

Angels are here, why not God?