text; Dated 22nd, mid-afternoon

[alilyinthemoonslight]

Hello, there. I suppose I haven't been very talkative for awhile. A lot of things happened right before we left Vegas, and... I suppose I let that weigh down on me for too long.

As well, I have perhaps been a little too harsh to a couple people since then. [ Tieria and Lucas come immediately to mind, but she's not going to call them out publicly. ] It's no real excuse, but... I haven't been myself.

Which I can't afford, as I know there are a lot more dangers cropping up out there. The murders and the cultists in Vegas, the mafia here... The media too, if you look look in some places.

Obviously, saying "we should be careful" is silly. My question is, does anyone have any more ideas for HOW best to be more careful? To better our standing or find ways of reaching out, and protecting those around us? My girlfriend, my sister, my best friends - most of us are powered by some means or another. Some... not anymore, and then there's my father.

When I first came onto the Network, I pushed people away because I didn't want them being in danger thanks to me. Now, I'm worried that's an even greater danger than before, for those near me who can't do the sorts of things I can. I'm... worried about them, about my father most of all.

Of course it's not just about him - I'd like to help anyone I can if there's anybody wondering the same things. I'm sure very many of us are, now.

There was a time I think I believed I could solve a lot of things with the power I'd obtained. I know now that's not the case, so... I know at least we need to approach things in a different light, now.

[ A sigh, and she taps her keyboard idly. There was one more thing, but... it seemed trivial in light of all this. ]

...as an aside, does anyone know of anyplace which may be hiring for the late summer and fall? It's more of a personal thing, but... I need someplace that won't turn me away because I'm Numbered, as nervous as I am about bringing yet more attention elsewhere. Tying in with the above, I'm worried of putting THEM in danger, too. Still... it's something I'll need to be doing, and I need to figure out how to approach it.

Comments

voice;

[disdainfully]

For the moment, staying close seems to provide some measure of protection, though how many I cannot say. Sharing a house seems to have helped so far at least for my family.

[Many have gotten attacked, but nobody who lives in his household.]

voice;

[alilyinthemoonslight]

And if there's a bunch of us generally around the house at any given time... I still worry that makes us a bigger target. Especially since most of us were rather... public during the snake fight and following, though not intentionally so.

voice;

[disdainfully]

You showed quite some fire power though, didn't you?

voice;

[alilyinthemoonslight]

We did, a lot of us helped kill that snake, but...

[ So did Alan, didn't he? ]

I'm not sure if that's enough to scare them off...

[espigeonage]

I've been handling things by being stealthy. I'm better at that than I should be. But I know, I'm lucky. I don't live with family or near them at all, and there's not a lot of attention after me.

[alilyinthemoonslight]

Sadly, stealthy isn't much of an option for us any longer. Not after the snake.

[espigeonage]

No kidding. In my case it's basically just getting out of sight a lot and not being alone much. Hard work. idk if I can keep that kind of thing up.

[alilyinthemoonslight]

I can only imagine how troublesome that must be, in that regard.

Do you have anyone near to you that you have to protect, in the meantime?

text

[dragon_blossom]

i wonder if our families are safer with us around to protect them or us gone to keep attention away

text

[alilyinthemoonslight]

They seem to mainly just be gunning for US, if someone else gets caught in the crossfire... then I guess to them it's just collateral damage...

text

[dragon_blossom]

it makes me scared to stay home but then again it makes me scared to do anything.

magic doesnt help if i just get shot or bashed in the head before i know its coming.

Video

[guitar_case_vagabond]

[Video, because it's easier than typing right now. She's at home and wearing normal clothes... because if you look closely you can see Senketsu in the background, focused intently on the TV as he furiously mashes the buttons of the video game controller on the floor in front of him. On the couch just behind him is a younger, dark-haired girl as well, maybe in the area of seven or eight years old.]

I say we throw the first punch. These fu-- [she stops, glancing back over her shoulder, even though it doesn't look like anybody's listening in. She quiets her voice a bit.] ... these guys want a fight, let's give 'em one.

Video

[alilyinthemoonslight]

[ She gives her a long, quiet look over the tops of her glasses. ]

And do what, Raye? [ Kill them? ] This isn't like just destroying some giant monster, if we just run out to fight them one on one... then what happens?

We need to think this sort of thing through.

Video

[guitar_case_vagabond]

[She starts to fire back but falters when Lily's unspoken question sinks in. It's easy to talk big about something like that, but when it becomes something she finds herself seriously thinking about.]

I... I dunno. Look, if all I had to worry about was getting jumped on the street, that'd be one thing but....

[Her first curls on the table.]

They're coming at us where we live now. For fuck's sake, they torched that Alan guy's fucking house.

text

[sunshinethatwarmsherup]

No. I have no idea at all. At least you have the powers though. That puts you in a much better situation than I'm in right now. At least if you're with him and those you care about, you can still protect them.

[ At least you weren't stuck in a city where people were being murdered Lily. ]

text

[alilyinthemoonslight]

Powers don't mean everything. I sort of learned that first hand, didn't I? But... it is true, I have something to work with. It just doesn't feel like enough.

[ She is, though. Not only is any city someone where people are murdered, well... All one has to do is look to Alan Hunter's mother. ]

text

[sunshinethatwarmsherup]

They might not mean everything, but they definitely help. Especially when we're being targeted and have no idea how they're managing to do it.

[ Yeah, but it's different when it seems like the murders are targeted at them. ]

I just... don't get why I'm not getting anything. How am I supposed to protect myself or my family from what's going on? Throw things at whatever ends up trying to hurt us and hope I don't get shot?

Text; Private

[buildyourworld]

He's doing well. I have people keeping an eye on his safety.

[ She still owes him an apology but he'll at least tell her as much. ]

Text; Private

[alilyinthemoonslight]

I kind of figured you would be, honestly. Thank you.

[ And the same goes in turn, Tieria, but all the same: ]

I apologize if my emotions got the better of me before. As I said, I wasn't really acting like myself.

Text; Private

[buildyourworld]

You don't have to thank me, I'm just doing what I should.

[ He could be stubborn but Neil's right, he really should stop arguing with teenagers on the Network. ]

I apologize for my behavior too. [ He'll offer no excuse since he's pretty sure they both understand why it happened in the first place. ]

There's a coffee shop sheltering Numbered, Espresso Yourself, though I wouldn't advice you to go for it if you have better choice.

[text]

[gogoghostpowers]

I don't think it's the kind of work you were looking for, but my parents have been looking to hire some help for building their roller coasters. Just general maintenance stuff, making sure everything's connected properly and keeping it from collapsing.

And you wouldn't have to worry about putting them in danger. At least, not any more than I already am, since I kind of live with them.

[text]

[alilyinthemoonslight]

Honestly, I'll keep anything in mind. Though even just maintenance, I'm not sure how qualified I am for things involving construction and the like. Still... everything's pretty much worth considering, right now.

[text]

[gogoghostpowers]

Trust me, you don't need much experience. It's pretty simple, once they tell you what you have to do, and it's not even that much.

Beleive me, I'll be doing most of the work actually testing the coaster.

[drawitagain]

Does the Government know you're one of us? I mean, if it's possible to just pass as a regular kid...

[alilyinthemoonslight]

The cat is pretty well out of the bag on this end, I'm afraid.