[A video feed begins to flicker to life from a StarFish Communicator, that, oddly enough, seemed to be on the ground. It showed at image of a park in the city, with a.... oddly dressed boy with brown hair that seemed to defy gravity, sitting down on a bench. The youth was wearing what looked to be a white toga, with a red piece of cloth, and brown shoulderpads, brown armbands an a thin, gold band around his upper right arm, as well as brown leg braces and sandals, and a necklace with a thick jewel of green crystal. with a brochure in hand, the boy seemed a little confused, unsure of what should be his next move. He seemed a bit wrapped up in everything, not even noticing the device on the ground transmitting this, until a shine from it caugh his eye.]

What's this?

[the boy picks up the Starfish communicator and begins to play with it, gently.]

A video feed? Ummm..... Hi there. I don't know how I ended up here or with this mark on my left arm, but, I guess I should find a place to stay before it gets too dark, I guess.

I read that Brochure, and well, I still don't understand anything yet. Why am I here? ANd more importantly, what should I even do now? Maybe, maybe I should just try to fit in around here.... after all, this isn't the first time I've lost a home...

Hopefully the people around here aren't too bad...But I can always just help out and make friends that way I guess! This weird things been recording this video, so maybe someone been watching, I better keep in on me if someone tries to contact me, like the old 3G pager!

{Mamoru turns the video feed off before securing the Starfish Communicator in his old backpack from school on Earth.]

[It's been an entire 24 hours since Sola ran out on Johnny after their fight but the sting of the argument hadn't dulled at all. The Hylian had spent the time between then and now hiding out in Link's empty tree house, alternating between crying while hugging his knees and punching the wall imagining it to have Johnny's face. Really, it's a bit over the top and melodramatic but you can't expect a boy with the emotional maturity of a first grader to be able to handle things like this well.

In the wee hours of the morning he'd cried himself to sleep.

Now it's mid-afternoon and the replica has calmed some, even if the ache he feels has not. He's still angry, still brutally angry that Johnny hasn't come for him, that he hasn't tried to prove Sola wrong in thinking the vampire doesn't love him, and it just stings more. It hurts so badly to know - not think, but know - that Johnny doesn't want him. He didn't want to be right about that...

So then why had Johnny said he did? It's the big mystery and the only solution Sola can think of is that Johnny was just playing with him, seeing how long he could string the stupid kid along until he cracked. Hell, he's probably laughing at him right now. Stupid Sola, can't even tell when someone's lying to his face...

Sola's face on the SFC is cold, his complexion dark and brooding.]

Johnny Rayflo is a liar and a jerk!

[For a moment it seems he has more to say, but he's overcome with a mix of sharp anger and solid grief. Not wanting to scream or cry at the network, instead he shuts off the feed with a violent flick of his hand.]

[When the SFC turns on, there is just a little mouse sitting there, wringing his little paws, and looking at something off screen, with his ears held low. It isn't until a few moments after that he realized the SFC turned on -- he had pressed the button himself and everything, he'd just gotten distracted-- and Gamzee turns back, his ears lifting a little, his tail flicking up hopefully.]

Aigh. Does any motherfuckin' one of you know shit about purrbeasts? [a pause.] Cats I mean for those all not possessing the correct vocabulations there. [He rubs the back of his head for a moment.] Shit, it's all like... my best bro be tossing the most wicked of fuckin' fits and we don't get whats the haps, you know? Just alls of a sudden being like fuuuuuck, I'm making like an out of control bottle of wicked elixir and rolling my shit every fuckin' where. [He is motioning with his tiny little hands as if to make things clearer. Mostly it is just adorable looking.] Psii blames himself on it, saying like he's gonna kick his wicked shit but I don't think it be like that.

[He furrows his brows again, glancing off at the side.]

I think maybe he be illin'. Here, look.

[Gamzee hops in to bodily shove and push the SFC around until it is pointing at Karcatkat. A Karkat that is rolling on the floor like a goddamn loon, kicking his paws at nothing in particular, rubbing his face all over some flowers left on the ground and just generally acting the cat equivalent of high as fuckin' balls. There's a purple bee looking very sad (if bees can indeed do things like look sad) overhead, occasionally dipping down, before flying up again.

Well, until Karkat aims a very lazy, and very out of it swat at the buzzing bee, managing to topple himself over with that.]

Woah, bro, don't--

[Whatever he don't should do isn't really clear as when Gamzee raises his paws to admonish Karkat, the sfc topples over and the feed cuts.]

[Hey Vatheon, instead of a view of Sola's face, the first thing that pops up is a massive pair of antlers, adorned with leaves from the park's trees, a piece of paper pierced through one prong, several short lengths of tangled cord wrapped around here and there, a small lantern, and a bat (by the name of Johnny Rayflo of course) who turns on one foot and yawns as he lazily hangs from the horns.

It takes a minute, but Sola finally steps back so he can be seen along with his impressive headgrowth.]

This curse is stupid.

[ It takes herculean effort for the Psiioniic to turn the SFC on, but he manages it. Not that anyone could appreciate the work and mild head trauma he's put forth to accomplish this action.

There is a fat yet oddly expressive purple bee no bigger than an inch and a half on the screen, buzzing back and forth and flailing his little insectile legs. For those in the know, he's dancing in the intricate beenary code of a well-trained beehouse mainframe drone.

The message is simple: Help, I am a bee.

Otherwise, this is the rough equivalent of a funny video involving an unlikely dancing creature. Only without memetic background music.

And it's actually really, really stupid.

After way too long doing his little bee dance, he lands and speaks in such a faint voice it'd be easy to miss entirely:] Help.

Oh dear, oh dear...

[That, along with a small crash, are the first two sounds that Vatheon may hear one early morning. The video is a bit more difficult, at least for the first few moments. Darkleer always keeps his room fairly dim at night besides his workbench light, and now to add to the confusion, there seems to be a flurry of white and black obscuring the SFC's video camera.]

[After a moment, however, things settle and viewers should be able to see a currently shirtless Darkleer. It's hard to miss recognizing him, considering things. But a few things seem to be different... You know, like the enormous fuzzy and speckled wings extending from his back and laying mostly against the ground. They twitch, now and then, as Darkleer takes care to not stop on anything. Instead of his usual long arrow-shaped horns, a pair of antennae flow from his head that are just as fuzzy as his wings.]

[He tries to turn around, and one may see beyond the curtain of his own very long black hair some bit of moth fluff extending along a good deal of his spine. It can't yet be seen but it also extends a bit to his neck.]

[Noticing the state of the SFC, Darkleer very very carefully makes his way over to his desk.]

Since this is currently on regardless, could... anyone please inform me on the proper method of dealing with wings? Particularly extremely large ones that do not seem within the norm?

[They give another sudden twitch and Darkleer hunches his shoulders up, glancing over to where Summoner lays still unconscious on his bed. Darnit, matesprit, of all the times to be asleep...]

| Text: Filtered to Golden Victory employees |

I have... a bit of a strange question to ask, but...

Have any of you experienced anyone taking... issue with what we do at the host club... ?

|end filter|

| Video: Filtered away from Asakura |

[Ioder looks a mite perturbed today. Calm, in spite of that, but certainly not the usually cheerful emperor most people are used to seeing.

Thankfully for all the things that are annoying him, his SFC doesn't seem to be one of them today.]

A question, if I may...

How do you, personally, deal with a particularly bad misconception about yourself or something you do? Do you simply ignore it and move on, or try fervently to change the opinion of the person involved?

[There's been a break in the rain up on the island, and the SFC broadcasts a stretch of beach, the sand damp and the sky cloudy and dark. That doesn't seem to bother the beach's two inhabitants, a pair of trolls near the water, one with nubby horns and a dark cloak that billows and ripples behind him in the breeze, and another all in yellow, lying down, his head resting against the other's thigh.]

It's hard. I know it is.

[Signless' voice is soft and reassuring. He obviously doesn't realize the device is recording, let alone broadcasting.]

If it wasn't hard, it wouldn't mean anything. Part of the sacrifice is giving up the emotions that are easier, the ones that come more naturally, and letting yourself breathe free again.

[Psii makes a soft noise that the SFC barely picks up and shifts, the bones of his shoulders pinching together on his back, clearly visible under his shirt, and moves a little closer to Signless.]

Being like this, though, you're giving the other person so much power over yourself, letting this desire occupy such large parts of your day, and if you aren't careful, it's going to consume you entirely. Do you remember the fires in the plains on Alternia? When the grass would get so dry, and then there would be a single spark, and the entire prairie would be ablaze? Hatred is like the sun that dries the grass out, and revenge is the spark that starts the conflagration.

[Signless pauses, looking out at the water for awhile before continuing.]

I've struggled with this too, you know. It's very hard for me to think about... about the Empress and what she'll do--what she did, and not want to hate her. But then, that's giving her too much credit. That's giving her more power over my life than she needs. That's what she would want, for me to spend all my time thinking of ways to try and get revenge. [his voice hardens, becomes steely] Not that she doesn't deserve it.

[It evens out again, becoming soft and gentle once more.]

I choose not to live that way, though. I choose to not give her that satisfaction, to not give her what she wants. I choose to forgive, and breathe free and easy.

You want to choose that too.

[OOC: answers can come from Signless or Psii or both!]

[She had heard rumors of this place, she was pretty sure that someone had even told her about it earlier, back when she was less acclimated to this undersea world. She had been walking, still growing used to being around a large group of people, when her nose had caught scent, of all things, paper; large quantities too. Having spoken to the librarian and finding out exactly the place was, she decides to call Signless in a bout of giddiness. Still not that adept with the comm, she manages to send it broadcast instead.]

[Disciples excited face appears in the video, clearly something very good has happened by the smile on her face. Finally finding words, she speaks.]

SIGNLESS! THIS PLACE HAS BOOKS! FOR FREE!

[She is immediately hushed by someone off-screen. Looking in direction of the voice she apologizes, but continues at a slightly quieter tone.]

They said I could borrow some to read, and then can return for more later! Isn't that amazing!?