[locked to Kaien Shiba]

[text]

Do you mind if I ask you a question?

[A thrashing turns on the Forge. The camera jolts to the side and stays there, recording at an odd angle. The room is in one of the non-distinct newcomer apartment units, and on the bed is a young man, struggling to sit up ( Read more... )

( You are so fragile and thin, standing trial for your sins )

( You hate them. )

[ It is more than apparent, from the moment the broadcast begins, that the presently streaming video feed is far from intentional. The camera's lens peers skyward, providing ample view of the waning night and the morning lurking just around the corner; the dawn brandishing as a slender knife that cuts brightly across the softening darkness and ( Read more... )

[At first it's just quiet. Katze is sitting with a cigarette dangling from his lips. The remains of several more are in an ash tray nearby. He inhales, holds the smoke in his lungs, then exhales in a rush.]It's been brought to my attention...quite forcefully, actually...that my terminology is difficult to understand here. I've tried to make this ( Read more... )

[Those who've been aboard it (or maybe just heard about it) might recognize the Victoria. She's sitting on the rail, dripping wet with her back to the water, looking down into the screen with a curious smile. A few droplets fall when she blinks. Someone's been playing Liar's Dice again.]

I've loved and lost. Gambled and ...lost. [Laugh.] Watched ( Read more... )

[The way the video just simply turns on so easily may seem strange in itself, but it can’t be as bad as the sight that comes into view a moment later ( Read more... )

( timelines equalise the letters )

[In the darkness, a child's voice sings.]

The Queen of Hearts, she made some tarts
All on a hot summer’s day
The knave of hearts, he stole those tarts
The Mad Queen said, “Off with his head!
Off with his head! Off with his-”

[Static.The mansion is burning. Heads are rolling. Your best friend is dead. What will you do ( Read more... )