8 ⚙ VIDEO

[viced]

[ Mitchell -- who is normally the picture of control on the network -- perfect hair, perfect clothes, he doesn't even normally reach out to flick his comm on when he's on the network. At first, there's just sound -- nothing at all, just a grunt and a "motherfucker", followed by a jostling sound, a rush of wind from movement, and then the camera clicked on -- showing a whirlwind of swirling video while the man who'd once been the mayor in another world, swears again, and finally seems to peel his hand back from a button, wide-eyed, holding one hand with another --

And he looked a disaster. Hair sticking out in one place, knicks from shaving, a grimace on his face, and...even his tie is askew. ]

Well shit --

[ For lack of a better word. ] Just my luck, I'm shit with any power I get. This would've gone better, if you just had to hear my voice.

[ But Mitch's luck is notoriously bad. ]

Sometimes, I'm convinced powers can't get any worse, and then shit like this happens.

So, obviously, The Clarvoyant was right, huh. [ Softer, a little more bitterly than before. ] Uh, if youi're out there -- we should talk again. About ways to make sure this doesn't happen again.

I have my own plans for De Chima, moving forward. I assume, though, that most of you also have suggestions. [ Business, his tone says, like night and day, he's ready for it, leaned forward, palms flat on the desk, looking much more like his old self, despite the fac that he looks like a mess. ]

What I want is to make sure that we have avenues for communication, for moments like this. This isn't even within the import community, and as easy as it is, to focus sometimes on what the worst of us do, we can't forget that there are people out there who don't believe that most of us are just people trying to get by -- that we're not dangerous. A few of us have gone through this before, you know? Over and over, actually. A lot of us from the city dealt with groups who wanted to fuck with our powers -- or just kill us, a group, in particular. I gues I wouldn't be fucking surprised that these things will happen no matter where you go.

But, ah, that's why we have to be better. Smarter than them. Listen to what our powers are telling us, if we can. What I want to do is open up the lines of communication with our government, the police and military to make sure they're well-warned if this shit is going to happen -- be ready and waiting with the right prevention measures, way to get into contact with the people who can come and hell. Because no matter what happens, whether we catch them or not, we need to be ready to deal with them -- or someone like them again.

But -- ah, obviously, I'm still adjusting, like most of us are. [ Sheepishly, he tries to lift his hands, but they're stuck to the table. They don't budge.] Conventional wisdom says that this shouldn't last much longer, but...

Who knows. We've been caught unawares before. We have to be ready for any possibility. Beyond that...? Well, ah, what else do you want to see? Do you have ideas for how to move forward, without making us into enemies?

[ And he tries to lift his hand, to shut off the comm, but his hands? They are still stuck.

He looks down at them, and then to the comm, and then back down to them, strain clear on his face with the grimace. It's obvious, he's trying to pull them off, before the desk jumps, from the effort, and the comm bounces with it, and he has to try more, a few more bounces before his hands rip from the table, and he flies backward, landing off screen, but obviously on his ass, with the "Shit!" that slips free, before he reaches out to slap a sticky hand on the comm. ]

Comments

video;

[sidecars]

Wow, Mitch. Buddy ol' pal. You look.... [ He's trying not to laugh here. ] You look like, what do the kids call it? A hot... Something hot. A hot mess! You look like a hot mess!

[ Nyaha, Bucky is so proud of his modern lexicon. ]

voice;

[viced]

Hey, fuck off!

[ This time, he hit the right button. ]

You ever be able to stick to things? It's horrible.

video.

[glowsferatu]

The problem being, these powers are someone else's, and they're telling me far more than I ever wanted to hear. I imagine yours aren't telling you much, either. [ She doesn't even immediately recognize them, Newt hasn't really used them much around her. ]

But this seems to be happening far too often this year. This is, what, the fourth time, the fifth? I've been putting a lot of thought into this, and I'm not sure how much the government will be able to prevent it. I think we need to start considering solutions of our own, and that means actually sitting down to talk about them.

[ All that said, she does cock an eyebrow, raising her head a little as if it would help her see past the feed. ]

You are alright, aren't you? [ It would be embarrassing to have gone through all that just to realize the other party's injured. ]

video.

[viced]

Unless someone sticks something to me, I'm probably not learning shit from it.

[ He says, obviously pulling himself back up from the desk now, the comm is angled differently, like he had to grab it. ]

I mean, I'm fine, but if you're talking about these things coming up, we do talk about them -- and if you mean the government...

You do know most people talk, rant -- actually, about them plenty.

video;

[helpline]

I vote that you give all boring politician speeches from here on out with your hands stuck to a table.

[ the peanut gallery is enjoying this. ]

Voice;

[viced]

I'd prefer not to stick to anything!

Jesus, no sympathy for the fact that we might be going through a pretty significant change?

[ He slaps the comm. Like he's turning it off. ]

Ass.

voice;

[mathemagier]

Err, are you quite alright, Ambassador Hundred?

[He's having a hard time focusing on anything he said because of video]

video

[viced]

[ He's wincing, after trying to hit the voice key, but obviously that doesn't work. ]

I'll be -- fine -- once I get my fat ass back in my chair, and don't...touch anything.

[mightthinkthat]

Might I suggest you invest in a secretary? Possibly a stylist while you're there? [ Certainly no one's actually listening to your message. ]

I would suggest sharing a general how-to on powers, if only to save us from being stuck to tables, however, people may not wish to part with that kind of information for their own personal safety.

[viced]

Shit, if it goes on like this, I might. I was intending voice, but...

Well, might as well roll with this. [ A pause. ]

But I agree. That would be ideal. Anyone tried matching powers up yet? Even one-on-one instruction would help, you know?

video;

[performance]

Uh— [ don't laugh don't laugh don't laugh, this is serious ] —not to dismiss the importance of your message, but you look like you could use some help.

video;

[viced]

Well -- I should be alright.

Unless you know how to turn off the whole sticking bullshit.

I could use less of this.

audio | private.

[blahnik]

[ usually, she favors text, but.

but. ]

Transparency is typically the term most thrown about. Unfortunately, transparency has obvious drawbacks. But we do need to be on the same page. Among the imPorts, there is a clear lack of communication. Word of mouth is hardly efficient. [ or trustworthy. ]

In opening communication channels with others, we need to improve that with our own. Little will reduce our credibility faster than seemingly contradictory messages, particularly in the event of a crisis.

audio | private.

[viced]

[ It's a good thing she hits the private key. He can't even do it -- and beyond that... he can't encrypt for shit without his voice. ]

How can we do it, though? Something like this... we're limited, unless we have people, in general, sending messages back and forth instantly.

And it's so limited. Unless we take to bluetube, or any of the social media networks.

( video )

[abadidea]

[There's a lot of sympathy in Isaac's expression when he responds, and some concern, too.]

Can...I help you with anything?

( video )

[viced]

Know anything that won't stick to me?

[ A shift. He looks miserable. ]

Like.

I'm sticking to everything.

video

[ringen]

[ Yes, good, all of that was very fascinating, Mitchell, but -- ]

You look like you could really use a hand there, my friend.

video

[viced]

I don't know...

Your hand might get stuck.

anonymous text;

[flowerette]

Do you really think the future can be prevented? It isn't that simple, Mitch. Changed, altered -- perhaps. But prevented? Never.

voice

[viced]

Then changed -- if you have to, but I don't believe anything is inevitable. I've dealt with too much shit, and too many assholes telling me it has to happen a certain way to not be obstinate about working our way through it.

private.

[slightlyoffchilt]

So -- as I'm to understand -- you have foreseeing capabilities? Right now?

private.

[viced]

No, oh shit no --

Someone else did.

The only thing I'm foreseeing is my ass on the floor when I try to unstick myself.

video;

[heliophilic]

My powers are telling me that they're stunned you've lasted this long.

Try unclenching.

video;

[viced]

Uncl --

[ He squints. ]

I'm not trying to relax a shit out over here!

video

[youbastard]

[ Well he looks...awful. Really awful ]

You've seen better days haven't you? Do you need some help or something...?

video

[viced]

Know how to get rid of powers?

That would be nice. Or even mine back, I don't like them, but...

[illuminescent]

Mr. Hundred, do you require help?

voice

[viced]

I'm... ok --

I've run into things a lot worse than I'm hitting the floor now, it's just --

Annoying.

[ He sounds annoyed more than anything, like he's fighting to get out of something. ]

[darwinatrix]

The government can offer us safety and protection, but in the end, we are responsible for ourselves, are we not?

[viced]

In the end, sure we are.

But we need to accept that sometimes, we might need help from the people who can help. Even the government.

Video

[aggressiveapathy]

[What to even- where to start-

April is still shaking her head a little as she just skips to the easiest possible path.]

Lunch order?

Video

[viced]

Ah.

Something easy to eat? There isn't much...

You pick. I don't even really care.

[acclimatized]

[ john will try to pretend he isn't enjoying seeing mitch in this state. ]

Are you okay?

[viced]

[ Uh huh. Uh HUH. ]

Well, I'm not dying...