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exsilium2013-09-22 12:29 pm
controlledvariable) wrote in exsilium2013-09-22 12:29 pm
Entry tags:
- charlie dyer (original),
- dick grayson (dc comics),
- ellie (the last of us),
- helena bertinelli (dc comics),
- jesse pinkman (breaking bad),
- johnny d'amico (original),
- peter rumancek (hemlock grove),
- saul goodman (breaking bad),
- stephanie brown (dc comics),
- tempest (original),
- vanadi (original),
- ✝ dinah lance (dc comics),
- ✝ edward elric (fullmetal alchemist),
- ✝ medusalith boltagon (marvel 616),
- ✝ sango (inuyasha),
- ✝ teshigawara naoya (another),
- ✝ ygritte (asoiaf)
→ video
[She looks tired, a little strung out, like she's sure most people do right now, but this is important, and it's important that people listen, which means she's using video, in the hopes it'll help make this message stick.
When she speaks, it's steady enough, though there's hints of worry and desperation in her tone, at times. Indications of how serious she's taking this, how hard it's hitting her.]
I know everything's a mess right now, but if you're seeing this, I need you to take the time to sit and listen, please, because I'm trying to help all of us and that won't work if everyone ignores me. Some of are probably going to hate me for this, but that's okay, as long as you keep listening while you hate me.
[a beat; a breath]
We're not abandoning the Exiles.
[This might seem a little on the fly, but she does have a rough idea of what she wants to say, and getting that across first took priority.]
And I don't mean that in a 'we're going to ignore the Initiative and stay to stop the bomb' kind of way, because, well. Let's say we stay, we've got some heavy hitters here, powerful people, so maybe we manage, in the short time we've got, to find a way to stop the bomb. We save us, we save the Exiles, everyone's happy.
[Her smile is sad, before slipping away, attention focusing more on the camera.]
Do you think the United Earth are just going to let that be the end of it? "Oh, our nuke failed, I guess we'll leave 'em alone"? Or do you think they're going to keep sending them until they wipe us out?
[You all know the answer.]
So we stop the first, maybe the second, hell, maybe even the third. Maybe they even run out of nukes, but they still won't stop, which means they'll likely start using regular bombs, and we've seen what that does to the city, or they send in the Masked. [another pause, this one to let the implications of that sink in.] There's about 500 of us, and we're good fighters, some of us work really well together, but there are five hundred thousand Exiles. Do you think we can protect them from wave after wave of Masked? Can we protect them inevitably? Can we protect the Hold, so that it doesn't get destroyed and we've lost our only any way of ever going home?
Because I hate to be the pessimist here, but I don't think we can.
[Sorry, team.
Steph sighs, running a hand through her hair before starting again.]
If we stay, if we stop the nuke, we're just inviting more trouble down on ourselves and the Exiles. Trouble that's going to keep us fighting twenty four-seven, trouble that won't leave us the time, energy or resources to fight this war the way we've doing since our arrival. We can't face the United Earth in an all out battle; we tried that, and a world was lost. If we stay, we're gonna lose the Exiles slowly, and we're gonna lose our own, and we're probably gonna lose them for good.
[There's no smiles now, not even sad ones, she just looks grim.]
We've been fighting this war using time travel, by going back and changing things to make the present a better place for everyone, and that's what we need to do now. That's why we need to pack up and go to the moon base, where we can keep fighting, no matter how much it feels like a retreat. We're not abandoning them, we're going to save them, they won't be gone forever, neither will Exsilium, but we have to do it the Initiative's way, not our own.
I know it's hard to put faith in the Initiative, all it seems like we do is react and run without winning any of our battles. But the reason we've even got a moon base to use is because of us. I'm sure those of us who were here remember that mission to the American Frontier? All it took was changing one election and now we've got a base on the moon that wasn't there before. And that's not all, the Initiative let me look over their files, and we've taking funding and supplies from the United Earth, weakening them, we've made their military less effective, and I know it might be hard to see the effects now, but we're playing a long game, here, and all those little changes will be what lets us win, in the end.
[She isn't sure if she believes all that, about the Initiative being effective, but she has to say it anyway, because she does believe they need to get everyone on the moon base to fix things.]
We've got better technology, better medicine, better health care and they've even improved the environment with the missions we've undertaken. We even have more information on the United Earth and it's AI than we did before, and none of you can tell me that isn't going to help us win this war. Information is everything.
[And she does believe that, at least.]
If you want more proof, I can share it, but I think I've gone on long enough. And I'm not gonna say this won't hurt, losing the Exiles, that we won't feel guilty, that it won't be hard living with limited resources on the moon, but if you really want to help us stop the United Earth, if you really want to save the Exiles, please take some time to think about this logically and strategically. All us Transports need to get to the moon base, and we need to keep working with the Initiative, because using the transporter and stopping the United Earth before they can become so strong is how can save everyone.
[She looks straight at the camera, falling silent for a moment to let that sink in.]
Please stay safe, everyone. If you're not too angry with me for this, know that I'm here to help with anything you need, and I hope I'll see you once we're settled up there.
Good luck.
[And the feed cuts.]
When she speaks, it's steady enough, though there's hints of worry and desperation in her tone, at times. Indications of how serious she's taking this, how hard it's hitting her.]
I know everything's a mess right now, but if you're seeing this, I need you to take the time to sit and listen, please, because I'm trying to help all of us and that won't work if everyone ignores me. Some of are probably going to hate me for this, but that's okay, as long as you keep listening while you hate me.
[a beat; a breath]
We're not abandoning the Exiles.
[This might seem a little on the fly, but she does have a rough idea of what she wants to say, and getting that across first took priority.]
And I don't mean that in a 'we're going to ignore the Initiative and stay to stop the bomb' kind of way, because, well. Let's say we stay, we've got some heavy hitters here, powerful people, so maybe we manage, in the short time we've got, to find a way to stop the bomb. We save us, we save the Exiles, everyone's happy.
[Her smile is sad, before slipping away, attention focusing more on the camera.]
Do you think the United Earth are just going to let that be the end of it? "Oh, our nuke failed, I guess we'll leave 'em alone"? Or do you think they're going to keep sending them until they wipe us out?
[You all know the answer.]
So we stop the first, maybe the second, hell, maybe even the third. Maybe they even run out of nukes, but they still won't stop, which means they'll likely start using regular bombs, and we've seen what that does to the city, or they send in the Masked. [another pause, this one to let the implications of that sink in.] There's about 500 of us, and we're good fighters, some of us work really well together, but there are five hundred thousand Exiles. Do you think we can protect them from wave after wave of Masked? Can we protect them inevitably? Can we protect the Hold, so that it doesn't get destroyed and we've lost our only any way of ever going home?
Because I hate to be the pessimist here, but I don't think we can.
[Sorry, team.
Steph sighs, running a hand through her hair before starting again.]
If we stay, if we stop the nuke, we're just inviting more trouble down on ourselves and the Exiles. Trouble that's going to keep us fighting twenty four-seven, trouble that won't leave us the time, energy or resources to fight this war the way we've doing since our arrival. We can't face the United Earth in an all out battle; we tried that, and a world was lost. If we stay, we're gonna lose the Exiles slowly, and we're gonna lose our own, and we're probably gonna lose them for good.
[There's no smiles now, not even sad ones, she just looks grim.]
We've been fighting this war using time travel, by going back and changing things to make the present a better place for everyone, and that's what we need to do now. That's why we need to pack up and go to the moon base, where we can keep fighting, no matter how much it feels like a retreat. We're not abandoning them, we're going to save them, they won't be gone forever, neither will Exsilium, but we have to do it the Initiative's way, not our own.
I know it's hard to put faith in the Initiative, all it seems like we do is react and run without winning any of our battles. But the reason we've even got a moon base to use is because of us. I'm sure those of us who were here remember that mission to the American Frontier? All it took was changing one election and now we've got a base on the moon that wasn't there before. And that's not all, the Initiative let me look over their files, and we've taking funding and supplies from the United Earth, weakening them, we've made their military less effective, and I know it might be hard to see the effects now, but we're playing a long game, here, and all those little changes will be what lets us win, in the end.
[She isn't sure if she believes all that, about the Initiative being effective, but she has to say it anyway, because she does believe they need to get everyone on the moon base to fix things.]
We've got better technology, better medicine, better health care and they've even improved the environment with the missions we've undertaken. We even have more information on the United Earth and it's AI than we did before, and none of you can tell me that isn't going to help us win this war. Information is everything.
[And she does believe that, at least.]
If you want more proof, I can share it, but I think I've gone on long enough. And I'm not gonna say this won't hurt, losing the Exiles, that we won't feel guilty, that it won't be hard living with limited resources on the moon, but if you really want to help us stop the United Earth, if you really want to save the Exiles, please take some time to think about this logically and strategically. All us Transports need to get to the moon base, and we need to keep working with the Initiative, because using the transporter and stopping the United Earth before they can become so strong is how can save everyone.
[She looks straight at the camera, falling silent for a moment to let that sink in.]
Please stay safe, everyone. If you're not too angry with me for this, know that I'm here to help with anything you need, and I hope I'll see you once we're settled up there.
Good luck.
[And the feed cuts.]
no subject
[Frankly, she's rating anyone here, herself included, really high on the honorable scale right now. She's planning on bailing too, after all.]
We have little choice, I know. But it will never sit well with me. This entire manner of warfare does not sit well with me.
no subject
[They might have earned the retaliation of the United Earth, and she does think they should hold themselves accountable, but they're not the ones who chose to drop a nuke on civilians.]
Warfare at all doesn't sit well with me.
[just saying]
no subject
[But that's not entirely rational. She keeps remembering all those she failed to protect at Alqualondë, seeing the faces of those who died on the Helcaraxë- her people. People who relied on her, trusted her. Then later- her brothers, her cousins, almost all her kin were gone by the end of the First Age. And all she can think is that once again she sits in safety while those around her perish. Her hands have enough blood on them.]
[She frowns, rubbing her head.] There is little point in arguing the matter; I should have held my tongue. Speech will not change what must be done and it will not ease my conscience.
no subject
We're not leaving them to die, we're leaving so we can save them.
[She knows not everyone has the same understand of time travel as someone from her situation does (she's no expert, but she gets the basics), but it's hard to keep hearing the same argument again and again.
If they do this right, no one has to die. All they'll have is memories of deaths that never really happened, and they'll have to live with that, but so be it.
She doesn't know what to say to everything else, so she just shrugs and looks away. This is hard for everyone, no matter what they think.]
no subject
[She hadn't intended to continue to argue this, really. But she's so frustrated with people thinking that going back in time and "fixing" things erases the fact that real people experienced real pain.]
no subject
[Time travel is confusing.]
no subject
no subject
[Batguilt.]
But I don't see another option, and all we're doing by arguing is hurting ourselves.
no subject
Then we are not so far apart in opinion after all. [She's just...losing her temper. Guess that tendency wasn't limited to Fëanor's side of the family. She takes a deep breath.]
I should rest. [Her voice is almost apologetic.] It has been some time since I have slept properly.
[Before the rescue mission, certainly, but she had been restless since before that. The party? What was that? Five days ago? She could last without a decent sleep longer than a human, but not forever.]
no subject
She could do what Jesse plans, sacrifice herself and free a space for an Exile, but how would she choose?
Maybe this is the easiest option, because there's a chance to erase some of the guilt, without having to make any more hard choices.]
Welcome to the club.
[But it's gentle, sympathetic. She feels like she hasn't slept properly for months, bar the night she spent with Saul, and that's not a trail of thought she wants to tread, right now.]
Get some sleep, we're going to need our strength for the next few weeks.
no subject