savetheearth | Thirtieth Message [Video

Entry tags:

Thirtieth Message [Video | Sheet of Paper]

[The lighting from this number is as bad as ever, but the view's horizontal and low - it most clearly catches a certain amount of floor, and a set of jagged pieces lumped together on it a short ways away.

Anthony's there, partway crouching, unfocused - his hand comes into view pulling off of it. Swallows - slightly breathy.]

-- There... um.

[Shallow:] I... got - the... I got a third - sigil, a few months ago. I haven't used them yet.

Please uh - [Swallows again, clears his throat short and sharp.] - tell me what happens - if I can't tell. I'm - I'm trying them.

[Keeping his voice small to keep it stable in the anxiety, of course, but either way, he staggers back - nudges one of the shards on the ground with one step and shuffles into place behind them. Produces some circular plate from his pocket, holds it flat, drops a small handful of something else onto the surface, and begins tentatively sliding them around.

He doesn't a hundred percent fit into the frame and the surface of the plate's at an angle to fail to show on the screen at all.

Either way after a few moments there's a bright blue flash and a swooping Whoom! sound - Anthony jars. And then proceeds.

Whoom!

Whoom!

And three blue sigils flash bright, clear, and geometric in a wide triangle on the ground, with an echo - with a low disembodied voice, on cue as if reading them.

Antorbok, Magormor, Ulyaoth.

A buzz and rush of energy and a ray of blue light flashes from each into the pile of shards on the ground. It rises as if lifting it - the shape of a solid vase takes shape at the top highlighted in waves of energy.

And then the sigils snuff out. The light's gone. The vase hangs in the air a moment - and then drops, and smashes in a splash of blue sparks.

Anthony yelps and flops down, feeling around at the pieces.]

-- Did - did - was it... Did it -- put the pieces back together...?

[Breathy again, with a small crack, as that was unnerving to hold still through, but he sounds faintly excited - it wasn't deadly, as far as he could tell. Not immediately.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[...Well, that was definitely interesting.]

It did, but I think it broke after the... spell finished.

[His tone shifts slightly to a concerned one. Even though he should know that Anthony doesn't feel pain in his current state.]

You didn't get hurt by the shards, did you?

I don't think so, I -- [Turning his face from down at the pieces to up at the voice to down again. And up again.] -- don't usually feel pain.

I -- ...It's because I didn't catch it -- isn't it... Not sure I should, erm. [Still feeling at the shards half trying to guess how they line up.] ...Try it. Again...

...Okay. [There's a hint of relief in his tone.] Just don't wear yourself out by using it over and over again to catch it.

-- I know. ...I know. I'm -- ...

[...going to give it another try. One more try - he heard where it had stopped in the air last time, slides the physical sigils into their slots on the plate again, flinching on the Whoom. Whoom. Whoom.

The sigils light the floor again, and are again read. Antorbok, Magormor, Ulyaoth. Three beams of light again intersect in the shards, left them, fit them back together and fuse them in waves of energy.

Anthony follows with his hearing only, not his face. When the energy cuts and the light goes dead he holds his hands up and out. Stiffly.

A vase, flashing the occasional uneven wave of blue light, drops into them. His grip's loose - his arms twitch as he tries to readjust, "tosses" it a moment, and catches it again.] It -- [Coughs.]

It is. Fixed...

[As Xander can likely see far better than he can, but anyhoo.]

Good job, Anthony. It looks...

[Then he had to be hit with an echo. He's silent for a few moments as Connor meows in the background before he regains his composure and releases a shaky breath. What was he saying again?]

...It looks like it has never been broken.

[He may or may not be making too little of it - it unsettles him, but there'd been when Xander had gotten jumped not a long while ago, perhaps something could've just been disturbed - reels any more meaningful unease behind a thin - ]

Umm. -- Are you okay -- ?

Yeah, I'm fine. What you demonstrated triggered a 'pulse'.

Vase repaired entirely. Impressive skill; would be in high demand in archaeology.

It - would it -- ? -- Sir?

[Cut-off inflection - and perhaps he shouldn't be surprised by it, it seems potentially useful, obviously, but to have it directly called impressive and demandable, even if the extent to which it can be called a skill is dubious -

At any rate, no, back to now, don't go running away with anything...] Uh - I suppose I should -

[Should he?]

- um. Test it. More. See if - see if has to have all the pieces...

[Among other conditionals - coughs. And - semi-apologetic, on another thought.]

-- I, uhmm. I don't even think I have to be the one doing it. I think er -- ...all it needs is -- are, um. ...These. [He splays his fingers and presses his hand onto the plate. On it are three small, glowing pale blue tokens.]

Worth further testing, then. In either case, could market ability as a repairman.

[Magic. There was actual magic right there on her screen.]

It worked... But it mended itself in midair, then fell.

Would that work on something other than a vase?

-- Oh, I don't, uhmm... -- see why it wouldn't -- ...!

[His voice is still wound a bit tense, still a bit husky, but it's padded, somewhat lightened.

Coughs - covers his mouth late with a sheepish wind in his face, as a fidget.] ...Per - haps I should find -- some - something that's uhmm. About the same size -- to try it on; it shouldn't only be...

Ermm -- ...broken things. It should - work on. I, umm. Pulsed a - scroll. A while ago. -- A - a-a description of the spell was written on it. It said um -- ..."That which is broken will be fixed; that which is dull will be sharp", so er - per - perhaps it - uhmm. Is supposed - is supposed to -- ..."improve" -- objects...

[Emi has to once again remind herself to be nice, he can't help looking like... that.]

...I thought you were blind. Or appeared to be, at least.

Wait, it's in braille, isn't it? [She pauses a little.] I'd assume there was plenty of broken things in the Dead District to try this on.

Maybe... [Drags that out some.] I'll -- ...have to. See if -- ...

[If he could come along to do so with anyone crossing by the Dead District any time soon.

And he speaks back up with a dry " -- Ah..."]

-- And actually uhm -- I had, erm. [Forced edge of a painfully abashed laugh.] -- To ask people to read it off. On the network. The scroll -- you're um. You're right - um. I'm blind. Wasn't braille... -- Was from before there was braille...

Oh. Well, I was wondering about that scroll. [Emi's voice sounded a little sheepish, but she carries on regardless.] When was it from?

Uh -- 814... [Husky.] -- In the time of Charlemagne. The -- other me was from, the - Holy Roman Empire...

That makes me wonder how your other self managed to deal with this... condition you seem to have.

-- He might've - uhm. Just -- gone insane. [A very wry and soft, lightening breath of a laugh and pull wider to a smile.

Swallows and unsticks lower.] Started hallucinating -- he - he did, and I would -- wouldn't know how - how bad it erhmm...

Got -- to - to be. [He's talking about his alter ego's apparent bouts of insanity as if it's a casual conversation topic, god help 'im, at least it's got to be better than treating it as grave when he's already bumbled on this far with it unprompted.]

That's amazing!

Uhm --

[Somehow that feels like a compliment even though it really oughtn't - he's got something worth noting; that could plain be why...]

-- It - happy to know...

The effects you have been given have more often than not caused you harm, so one that repairs is well-deserved as well as impressive.

Put a pillow under the pieces next time and train your aim.

I'm s -- [No, no, even he can catch himself on that one, it isn't as if he let her vase smash...] -- I will - ! I'll --

...Learn to catch things. I'll learn to catch things...

I'm sorry - [Whoops.] - that -- ...If that was uhmm...

[Rests a hand on the ground where the pieces had fallen. The word he's looking is "disruptive".]

So it really has to levitate like that for you to fix it?

That makes two people who can put things together.

[ Promising. ]

[...Ah - right, he remembers that now! And - comprehension flickers to a small wince and downward cringe, as that renders that redundant in addition to possibly dangerous, curse the lack of clarity of its nature.]

I'm sorry - I'll have to. See what else it - can do, sir. [Coughs.] It doesn't -- I don't think it's only -- supposed, to - work, on... broken things...

Oh, no! I didn't mean that as a bad thing. Our abilities are so over the place it's nice when they align.

[ That is certainly a useful spell. He wonders if it works on the Gundams if they ever needs major repair... ]

Wow, that's amazing. You might want to consider having someone around to catch it for you next time.

I uh -- [Coughs.] -- ...think I can do it. Nex -- next time. I uhmm. Didn't know when it was going to fall... [Quick and dry.]

But -- [Stick, and an unstick with a swallow.] -- uhmm, thank - thank you, s-sir.

[Which continues to feel simultaneously the proper and the most absurd possible thing to say; he can't exactly claim any sort of credit for it.]

Edited 2014-07-14 22:22 (UTC)

Well, it's your first time using the spell, isn't it? It's only expected you wouldn't know.

[ He's used to Anthony's politeness by now, so it doesn't bother him as much as it did in the beginning. He simply accepts it with a nod and smile. ]

If you don't have anyone around, just line the floor with cushions to catch the item.

Is there anything you can't fix with that spell? Any limitation?

[Rolling along in a "library-voice".] -- I don't know - yet. I'm sorry, I --

[He turns his head vaguely down a moment, just a fidget, and back - ] Only had one vision of -- ermm... using it -- ...it-it-it was on something, uhmm. The same. Size. -- Something similar...

[He lets that trail off to speak for itself, as he's unsure how to follow that - any other information or statement he'll need requested as not completely off-track.]

I see. [ He nods in understanding. ] May I suggest that you try fixing bigger and more complicated items progressively? If you could master the spell, it will be beneficial to us if we were to encounter any attacks in the future.

[ He wouldn't dream of having the Gundams fixed, but smaller robots or weapons could be repaired if Anthony could master this useful skill. It'll reduce their casualty as well as repair cost. ]

[His eyes shine as he watches the video.]

That's amazing. That's so great. What other magic stuff do you do? And, uh... You can't... you can't see, huh?

Uh --

[That's a new voice.

His face snaps neutral. Swallows to clear out for a coherent, proper answer - and slips on the rail with that last part.]

-- uhhhh... [Drifts off quiet. Swallows again, re-directs.] -- N - that's right, uhm. I can't. -- Sorry.

[Slipping thin - and that was strictly compulsive, and he catches that that was an odd place for that - scrambles to attach it to something else - ]

-- Sorry, that's - that's all I know -- uhmm. I can do right now. Just um. Just - just that. Umm. Spell. I -- [A snag. Strains a polite and twitchy smile.] They're saying it - could be useful, erm. Though.

[They being some of the other responders; a sort of passive thanks to them as well.]

[It's probably for the best that Anthony can't see him. He was out of focus in the original video, and in the dark. In this response, he's at least in enough light for the damage... the rot... on his face to be perceptible. Lucas manages too keep it to a short gasp. It's nothing um... Nothing he hasn't seen before in zombie movies and whatnot... He swallows.]

Hey, don't apologize to me, man. It's not your fault you uh... Probably echoed all that back, huh. Man. That's... that fucking sucks.

[He's sure that if he hadn't dealt with his own echoes, he wouldn't be so calm about this whole thing. He does feel a bit of nausea, but it's more of a sympathetic thunk in his stomach. Somewhere in his head, he knows, is a library full of everything, and that has a calming effect. This guy's already gone through a lot of crap, so freakin' him out by being a jackass is not gonna help.]

Sorry if I'm being rude, or whatever. I'm Lucas Evans. I don't have anything like that, just a... the data for the Earth's memory of wind. Can't do anything with it yet. So I think it's real cool! Do you know if it can put together more complicated stuff? Like electronics or whatever?

[His face tenses in that little beat a swallow takes; it becomes a bit more overtly apologetic at what follows.

"Sorry if I'm being rude," though, lures him straight back to attention - about to give a prompt negative when the introduction comes in, and onward - data of memory of wind - and then the question, and - ]

Uh -- ! [Eye sockets have widened a tad. He spies multiple threads.

He's mentally staring around and scanning between them, pick one to grab pick one to grab - don't leave the question hanging, first...! Picks up quavering.]

-- I don't know! Umm. I don't know -- I, thi - thi... this is the first time, I've -- used it. [Feels at the materials on the ground to indicate them - voice sort of hiccupped in forcing in a "lightness".] I uhmm, I still - have to practice... er -

[Slide between dry points.]

- And you weren't - being rude, at all, I'm um...! ["I'm used to it" sounds so inappropriately bitter.] Sorry if I -- I was acting like I thought you should be, it's -- nice to meet you!

[One more thing missing.]

I'm Anthony... - Janvier...!

[Yeah, it's pretty obvious how uncomfortable Anthony is. His conversation is so stilted and uncomfortable that it puts Lucas in mind of all the kids in his school who have social issues. He's not as good at making friends with them as the other kids. It takes a lot of quiet listening and conversation to get close to them.]

Nah, it's cool. Don't worry, man. Maybe you can try that on my broken iPod. If you can fix that, this'd be crazy useful.

[He grins, not really thinking about whether Anthony can see or not.]

Nice to meet you, Anthony. I, uh... Like I said, I'm mostly just... brains, I guess. Magic is sort of outside my experience, so I think it's really, really cool.

[(hee hee, brains)]

-- N-no, I'm -- [Huffs a laugh. Partly a release of unease, and barely any tone to it, but there's some heart in the fact he managed it..]

- not um. "Experienced", um -- either - really, I could - could try that, I suppose...

[Coughs.] Brains is still - brains is more important than magic...

[Aye, he's trying to keep rollin' along too much to catch and give himself a corrective internal knock over how "brains is" sounds.]

Edited 2014-07-29 06:32 (UTC)

[The fact that Anthony is able to crack a joke about his monstrous appearance puts Lucas a little more at ease about it. He'd never make a joke like that on his own, but... He chuckles.]

If you wanna try it out, I'll come by. Just let me know. I've kinda been trying to be good lately, so I think my mom's not gonna be too mad if I decide to go hang out with somebody.

I mean, I guess important is something. Not as cool, though. My past life, Philip, was kind of a huge super genius or whatever. The first thing I got was an eidetic memory. So that's neat. Sometimes a double-edged sword, but still neat.

[He edges in an "err - " and lets it die. He can imagine why an eidetic memory would be a double-edged sword. Refocuses and mutters:] Sounds neat.

[Coughs once more.] -- And er - hopefully N - my guardian wouldn't mind, um. That. Either, so uh -- hope it'd be worth your time, if -- you had. Time.

[Time to try it; hopefully he hasn't lost the message there, ending with a twitch to a semblance of a polite smile.]

Uh - you don't normally...? [This surely can't be nearly as rude a question as he's half-worried it is - brings it high, this is actually proving to be a conversation... Re-words.] I -- would that normally be unusual? Uh - going... going someplace -- ...

It's all right. It's nice to remember some stuff, at least.

Yeah, no, I mean. I have plenty of time til school starts.

[He grimaces, tugging at his forelock.]

Well, not for me, I usually go out practically every night. But, uh... Well, I'm kind of a partier. I got in some trouble over it, so I've been laying a little bit low. Not with my mom, though. With, uh... My partner, I guess. I've been trying to behave myself lately, partly because of some echoes I got that are a little tough to deal with.

[He heaves a shrug and a light sigh.]

Anyhow, I bet you get bored, since I'm sure you probably don't leave the house a lot.

[If he had, Lucas would definitely have heard about it by now.]

[Slight wincing as he listens. Trouble. Laying low, keeping his head down, difficult pulses (an inherently concern-inducing subject which is inherently insppropriate to pry on, which triggers a layer of regret on another point on top of the sympathy).

Hastens to speak up at the last part, though it doesn't lift off the metaphorical ground, drags husky - ] I'm all right, I'm all right...! I uhm -- [Dropped into a smothered cough and re-expanded in his throat some.] ...I - I-I have the network, of... course. [With an indication of the point that Lucas's voice is coming from.]

S -- ...Sorry if. -- I'm -- not -- minding my own business, erhmm. By the way.

[He shrugs, and then realizing that Anthony couldn't see that, he clears his throat.]

Ah, don't worry about it. I talk about the crap I get myself into a lot on the network. Suffice it to say that uh... When you mess around with booze and weed too much, you can sometimes get lost in your own head. Literally, in my case.

I'm sure the network is interesting enough but, man... Just doin' nothing but reading it all day would get boring. Do you want me to bring anything when I come? Like coffee or ice cream or something?

[Literally...?

Shifting back to what's been prompted - there'd be irony to so much as letting himself sit overlong after that particular apology on anything more that's not exactly his business - ]

Er - not at all! Not at all, I don't - [He doesn't finish that phrase - eat, drink, both, take thy pick, m'friend.]

-- But thank you. Uhmm.

Should be fine - for you to plan to come at - any time; it um. [Deliberate self-deprecating laugh.] - isn't like I'm busy - just as - just as long as I can uhmm. Let - my guardian know. That -- someone's gonna be over...

Oh, all right.

[That's really not enough for Lucas to assume that Anthony doesn't eat or drink, but the idea is definitely in his head.]

Yeah, no problem! I don't have much to do in the summer, either. I mean, I go to a fancy school so we do have a little homework over the summer, but I already finished it all. So yeah, just let me figure out when's a good time or whatever.

Don't have much to do, either -- [Mumbled quickly with an abashed twitch of a smile, alas that just sort of stumbled out.] -- so umm, any -- ...any time.

Cool, I'll hit you up on the network when I have a free afternoon. It should be soon!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Thirtieth Message [Video | Sheet of Paper]

[Voice]

[Video]

[Voice]

[Video]

[Voice]

[Video]

[Voice]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

[Voice]

[Video]

no subject

audio;

video;

video;

video;

video;

video;

video;

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject