[They will argue about moral choices until the city burns away. The choices here are ugly, and knowing the outcome regardless of their actions makes them uglier.

She never does this. Oriko has always believed that action is better than telling. People don't listen to soothsayers; truths must be learned on their own time. Never once has she simply come forward with information like this - everything was a speech, a story, a revelation, pulling threads and nudging.

She sounds, frankly, cold. Detached, but hoarse.]

What I have to say is brief, if you will hear it.

Here is what is going to happen:

There is no conceivable escape for Exiles at the shoreline. The fate they will meet there is no different. Guns wait for them, and death.

Don't send them down there indiscriminately, rashly, unless you send them knowing that.

[the camera is on Renee in Nondescript Alley #9, not wearing the mask that usually renders her faceless. She figures unless she wants to walk around with the mask 24/7 she'll need people to get used to seeing her normal face and avoid associating with her Question identity.]

Haven't had much use for this thing so far, but I'm getting desperate so I figured I'd give it a shot. Tell me someone knows where I can get a drinkable cup of coffee in this dump. Anyone who does gets a cup for themselves on me.

[No she's not going to give her name and background. If you need it she's likely already found you or will find you. Pardon her attitude, recovering alcoholic/ex-cop in a city with more bars than coffee places does not make for a happy Renee. Still, at least she's offering a reward. She taps her finger on the side of the computer for a second, then looks vaguely irritated at something and goes on]

Also, I've been hearing stories about tension between arrivals and exiles, not to mention inter-group conflict. Anyone doing anything about that? Doesn't seem to be any sort of police force.

[The feed comes on to one of the sectioned-off areas of the temporary housing area, more specifically to a cot carefully made and covered with a plastic sheet. Atop the sheer is a collection of plants in various containers, mostly stereotypical pots made of plastic plastic or unglazed ceramic, though there's at least two or three deep cereal bowls for smaller plants and a paint bucket barely in frame. These are very clearly mostly tomato plants, from the small red shapes spotting them here and there.

Finally, a slight redhead enters the frame, fidgeting with her coat nervously.]

Um, hello! My name is Tsubomi Hanasaki--I'm new. It's nice to meet you all! I'm here to talk about plants!

[She lifts the closest pot with any reddening tomatoes, leaning closer to properly show it to the feed.] I've been growing some vegetables. Mostly tomatoes, and I'm waiting on some carrots. Anyway, after some trial and error, I think I've figured out how to grow tomatoes indoors, if anyone wants a plant! There are... a lot here... [She gestures to the pots on the cot.] They need a couple of lamps and some water, and all I ask in return is letting me look at it sometimes! You can keep all the tomatoes, and everything. So if you want to come to the Hold and pick one up, ask around for me! Or I can come to you! I have about twenty, but I'm planting new ones every day, and as soon as they've taken root I'd be happy to give them away. [The power of magic, to get these plants started!]

[She looks uncertain for a moment, and then takes a deep, visible breath.]

Thank you for your time!

[She bows, and goes to turn the video off, only for it to go tumbling from whatever she had it perched on with a rough clatter. Tsubomi's concerned expression fills the feed just before it turns off.]

[Action is open to other people in temp housing or anyone who wants to come by and pick up a plant!]

voice;

[Haruto hasn't been on the network much, recently, but he can't keep silent today, of all days.]

Has anyone ever heard of National Doughnut Day? It came up in the library, but I've never heard of it. And I'm very fond of doughnuts.

Speaking of, I've been going to one bakery, near the Transport apartments. Is there anywhere else to try?

( and action for roommates, cut for length )

[You see Kousuke Nitoh, a maned young man with hungry eyes. He beams and waves, fluttering his fingers at the camera]

OKAY! Hi guys! I been doing a little bit of investigation, I guess you could say... I mean it's not my thing, really, but anyhow. I been looking into all the stuff about ghosts up on this floor? I live on floor 7 and there've been some crazy things going on, so I thought I'd like share my findings or whatever.

[He waves his hand over the tablet and his face is replaced by a photo of the hallway. There's nothing in the photo... Maybe some glare from the window off a few dust motes in the air creating some blurry orbs... his voice comes over the image]

So this is the kind of stuff I'm seeing. I'm hearing noises and stuff too. Like a scream and all? Also once I saw some blood coming off the wall but I didn't get a picture of it.

[Another couple of clearly-not-ghost photos pan over the screen, and then the image of Kousuke comes back.]

Anyone else know anything about the ghosts? Anyone from this floor or who used to live by the ghosts? I'm tryin to figure it out and it's givin' me goosebumps, but the good kind!

[Just after the footage comes back, an indistinct shape is seen hovering over Kousuke's shoulder. It resolves into an eerie face, see-through and lightly glowing. It's difficult to tell what it is, other than definitely, definitely a ghost.]

I'm all about researching the unknown, though I usually like stuff I can actually touch and feel more. Heh. So yeah, bring it on, ghosts!!

[The face over his shoulder, though still vague, is definitely smiling.]

( Audio picks up the sound of industrial construction, either things familiar in woodshop, car garages, or anywhere of a similar sort. When the feed goes live, Collette is framed to one side, looking forward and away from the camera.  She's clearly resting on her arms, and given the angle of the ground on the screen, she's probably lying on her stomach in order to do this.  She glances over her shoulder, eyes going to something behind the tablet being used for recording, then smiles as her eyes drop down to the tablet itself.  For all intents and purposes, the camera is positioned to make the viewing audience seem like they're side by side with Collette, wherever it is she is, keeping a low profile in this industrialized looking area.  Concrete floor that she's resting on, packing boxes ahead of her, bundles of cables and chains glimpsed somewhere past her head. )

Guys!  ( She keeps her voice low, not a whisper (they carry further, and can't be heard about the ambient noise), but low to avoid excessive attention. )  Anyone else catch where they dragged the ship off to with that giant crane after the crash? I wondered about that. But I've got news!

( She makes a waving motion at the camera, and it shifts, jarringly, to leave Collette off screen and show something covered in plastic and wiring and cables, a few Initiative workers using welding guns, others wheeling parts away or calling out shouts of questions over the sounds of construction. )

They say the spaceship's salvageable!

[ If the Initiative ever wanted proof of how well they expanded their network's range, this would be it.

Normally Caesar isn't prone to using video, but this will be one of his few exceptions. He's sitting in a large metal chair, one with all sorts of technical whatzits and doodads that he'll never ever fully understand on his own attached. For those more future-inclined, it looks an awful lot like the captain's chair of, say, a spaceship's bridge. He waits a few beats until he's sure the tablet, either held by someone else or propped up on something across from him, is broadcasting. ]

Good evening, Exsilium.

If someone would be kind enough to go wake the Initiative up for us and let them know we have something large, space-faring, and very high up above the island right now that we'd like to bargain with them for, that would be really great.

( OOC note: Feel free to threadjack! This is totally a threadjackable post. )

[Oriko understands how to navigate around the camera, moving slightly to adjust the impact of her message whenever her tone changes. To start with, she's facing her tablet's camera almost directly, smiling and polite, but at some point she will shift so that she sits considerably higher than the lens.]

Good afternoon. I hope everyone's settled in, those of us who arrived here recently. I guess this is mostly for you.

I'm grateful to the others who have compiled information on local shops. It makes me feel so much better about my potential expenses if I plan them out. Thanks to your contributions, I've already budgeted for the next two months with some left over for the woman nearby who makes her own candles - I'm happy to send more business her way!

[She seems very pleased about that, but soon falls serious.]

I expect that we will soon be called on by our hosts. For some of you, this is the most recent call of many. For that reason I believe we shouldn't become too hesitant or apathetic.

'The enemy of my enemy is my friend.' How many times have you heard that already? Surely you'll hear it again. I wonder...If that applies here, as well, to our story. Would you believe something like that?

I know you must be angry. So am I. I won't tell you how to feel, so I can only offer encouragement.

Those of us who need to repair from a previous life, don't you think these people worth that time?

( [locked to: madoka kaname] )