All right, I think I've finally found my way around this thing. And what better way to use it than broadcasting what I have so far of my newest work? I usually have Varric give my friend-fiction a quick read before I share it with anyone else, but I think this snippet is particularly fantastic. It's dedicated to a certain new sparring partner I ran into.

Settle down, everyone, Aunty Isabela's got a story for you all.

( Not explicit BUT NOT FOR GENERAL AUDIENCES EITHER. )

[Hello, friends. A cold-eyed elf with a fairly significant skin condition stares at the camera, his jaw set, his mouth a thin, inscrutable line.]

Talk of a council is all well and good, but we have another matter in front of us.

As many of you have pointed out, there is no formal system of law in place. At present, those of you who acted as peace officers have simply continued as you were in your own worlds. If you brought others to justice, if you spoke about justice -- you have continued to see this as your right.

[His eyes narrow, drawing his long eyebrows together.]

But it is not your right. Your laws are not universal. Your morality is not sacrosanct.

We must decide on appropriate conduct as a whole, with consideration given to perspectives outside of our own.

I propose that any code we settle on be simple and direct. For example:

1. Murder shall be abolished. In the case of murder, execution.

2. Theft shall be abolished. In the case of theft, the hand shall be cut off at the wrist. Repeat offenders shall lose both hands.

3. Conspiring with the United Earth shall be considered treason. In the case of treason, suspected or actual, execution.

4. Bodily autonomy shall be respected. Knowing efforts to mind control, telepathically invade, steal, or otherwise forcibly take spiritual or physical authority over another sentient being will constitute assault. In the case of this assault, execution.

And so forth.  These are merely ideas, of course.

[His lower lip twitches, suggesting that he's perfectly aware of the extremes he's recommended. Suggesting that he's just trying to get your attention, to get you to think about how you would define your own terms. What constitutes murder? Theft? Conspiracy? Justice? He's only asking.

Maybe.]

[After several hours, the post is edited with a very carefully recorded text attachment.]

( alternatives.txt )

[Last time Jaime posted as Blue Beetle, he kept to text. This time, he thinks that people might need a face - masked as it may be - to match to the words. His voice is put through a technological filter, just distorted enough for him to keep from being recognized. He's in the VR room in the most professional looking room he could think of, which is essentially a large table with wall-to-wall windows behind him looking out onto San Francisco - potentially recognizable to some canonmates as a loose copy of the Titans Tower meeting room, which is fairly generic anyway.]

So... hi. I'm Blue Beetle. A bunch of you already know that I've been trying to dig up as much info on the Chimera Project as I can - those are the cloned children, for you new guys - and I think I've got enough information to get going. Thanks to everyone who helped me out with this, by the way - you know who you are. I know everyone must be really tired of hearing people give long speeches by now, so I'll try to keep it short. [He smiles at the camera for an instant, a flash of white, human teeth behind the armour]

[He's making an effort to sound professional, but he's not used to public speaking. Sometimes, he looks down at his lap instead of the camera (consulting his notes as if he's giving a speech for class if he's honest about it) and he's stiff, uncomfortable, but his voice is even and steady. Small victories, and victories born of actually rehearsing.

Are you ready for a fun history lesson, Transports? Because you're sure as hell going to get one.]

( Non-IC cut! )

( When she speaks, Collette aims to sound warm. She's tired, keyed up, and confused as well as trying to understand what's gone on since the mutiny began, and what's continuing in the aftermath. She brings a question she'd talked to Ros about, in her own way; something she wants to know very simply because she doesn't, and it's all the more important now.

Out of respect for that same woman, she keep's Ros's name out of this. )

When it comes down to do or die, who do you trust here to make decisions to pull people through, and not leave people stranded high and dry, or freeze up and fall into inaction? People who keep their temper in heated circumstances. Ones who maybe aren't going to forget the bigger picture, even if that doesn't make it easy on the smaller scale.

I've got a few names myself! Blue, Kate Kane, Nathan Summers, Caesar Silverberg, Lenalee Lee, Xerxes Break, Gilbert Nightray, Jaime Reyes, Ashraf, Kang, Peter Quill, Donny, Armin Arlert, Chrono and Rosette, even Dick Grayson and Ahiru and Vanadi, of all people, would stand by you figuring things out.

Those are some of mine. What're yours?

( I'm going to keep talking, though, so you might want to tune out if you don't want to hear me ramble about a few maybe important, maybe not things! )

[It's the first time Abbey's making a video for everyone to see! Hey there, moon base, meet a cute blue yeti girl.

She's looking very bored at present, though, and is sitting on her bed with a bath towel in her hands.]

Good evening. I am Abbey. Am new here.

Please to tell when best time for showering is. Water much too hot whenever I go. Was hearing two ghouls in hallway complaining that water being too cold but they are leaving before I am asking what time.

Thank you.

[Yes, because knowing the most popular time for showering is clearly an important issue. But she's seen other people ask to play games and do other casual things through the use of the tablet, and figures it can't hurt to ask.

And yes, lukewarm showers = too hot for Abbey. Eek.]

[it's probably obvious, by how annoyed she looks, that no matter how many times she used this bloody gadget, she would never get used to it. At the very least she isn't turning it upside down anymore.

Tempest is sat on her bed, hood up, but fingering what black hair is peeking out]

Given that this is not my home world, and that the usual materials are not available . . . is a, mm, "modern" dye for hair available? And if so, where can one purchase such a thing?

Ah, and out of curiosity - how many of you are from worlds that contain magic? [her tone turns dry, if slightly amused] Worlds with wizards, witches, that sort of thing.

[babydoll is feeling rather sociable today, finally feeling like she can ask a few more questions than she normally would. of course, that isn't much for her. she never likes to pry too much into peoples' personal lives unless they've given her the permission to do so.]

When I first offered, it was a while ago, so I'd like to offer once more. If anyone needs help with training or handling certain weaponry, I can help.

[she pauses, eyes wandering away from the device for a quick moment before focusing at the camera again.]

I was also wondering- what sort of things did everyone do before arriving in Exsilium? What type of jobs?

[it's also the fact that she's from a much earlier time than most of the transports around exsilium that's making her curious. living in the 60s only gave her so much leeway.]

[The screen clicks on. There are stacks of paper on every side of Billy's room, with wire prototypes strung together. He looks weary and a little uncomfortable for a second, but this request requires a visual presentation.]

Do any of you happen to have experience with piano construction? I'm willing to trade services for materials, of course, and I'd like to help as much as I can. But my usual construction projects are much closer to this:

[Billy pushes a button on a remote in his hands, and then a little round robot walks on the desk that the tablet is propped on. It's a green baseball-sized bot that takes up most of the screen, greatly resembling a pea with tiny hands and feet. It 'smiles' and waves hello in a mechanical back-and-forth, then waddles out of sight.]

I can trade you a similar robot---it's useful for retrieving small items from small spaces, and it's easy to control from up to half a mile away. I'd like to add a camera mount with an additional viewing screen on the remote control when I have the materials for it. Or perhaps I can build something for you, or fix something you already own.

But this piano project is very important to me. I'd appreciate any help at a fair price.

[There's a bit of rustling at first once the feed clicks on. The screen is filled with a small snout and tiny paws and it seems almost like it was turned on by mistake by the pet in question on screen. After a moment or two though, a voice speaks up, mechanical and deep.]

My GPS program appears to be malfunctioning, as I am unable to download a map of the island wirelessly. [There's a pause and a mechanical hum before the voice speaks again.]

Please instruct me on a place where I may find a USB connector to transfer information from my tablet. Thank you for your assistance.

[One paw stretches forward to tap the tablet and shuts the feed off.]

Does anyone here do any tech stuff? Computers? Robots? Anything?

Because seriously, this network is kinda sad, and there's only so long I can entertain myself coming up with new visualizations for data traffic.