[ voice ]
[no time to filter. Mao has to do this fast or this infernal compulsion to talk and talk and talk and talk will win]

I'm shutting down. Chekov, reboot me when this is over.

[He hates relying on the kindness of near strangers. Hates being this vulnerable. But it's either shut down his server so that the deities cannot access the information he has, or remain conscious and spew all his secrets for the entire City to hear.

Mao likes his secrets.]

[ action ]
[He uploads the whole of his consciousness, not just parts, and then shuts down the computer. It's only then that he realizes just how much he had come to rely on the server. His control over this body is immediately weakened. It won't be long until he's almost entirely cat. What if Chekov reboots the server but he's unable to download himself to this body again? What's left of his mind spins with countless horrific scenarios.

But there's no use worrying about it. And as the hours pass, he becomes incapable of worrying about it. He wanders the streets like a normal pet cat, sniffing around for things either interesting or tasty or both.

Give a cat a treat?]




[ooc: Mao has uploaded his entire consciousness to a computer and has shut the computer down for its safety, so there will be no replies to the network post! You may, however, encounter him on the street.]

So why do I just feel like talking? Is this one of those curses people were talking about?

I was actually starting to wonder if they were gonna happen because, honestly, everything that's been going on is pretty different from what people were telling me to expect. I guess maybe things weren't so bad when I got here, though. I mean, I'd sort of expect people to mention to a kid that was just tossed into another dimension that there was some crazy revolution going on. Political unrest turning violent is just the sort of thing that warrants a mention in passing, right?

I mean, not that adults don't try to shelter kids, but I'd expect at least a "be careful" if this was going on. Some kind of ambiguous warning to stay inside and hide, even if you don't expect someone my age to be able to understand the implications of what's happening.

For the record, though, we usually understand what's going on a lot better than most people think we do. It'd be much more helpful to talk to us about things like we're actually people rather than try to lie to us about something that's completely obvious. It's really just insulting, and something like this affects everyone, no matter how old they are or how much they've been told about what's going on. Seems like you might as well help them understand what's going on, since ignorance doesn't actually protect anyone.

Y'know, I start thinkin' about what's goin' on around here, 'n sometimes it reminds me of home. It's kinda funny, 'cause there aren't a lot of similarities, but I guess there's certain stuff that sticks with you. When I was in the army, I saw all kinds of shit, really awful shit, and a lot of what's goin' on here isn't quite as bad, but...

[He sighs and scrubs a hand across his face.]

You get used to it, y'know? You start expectin' horrible shit to happen. Hell, I didn't even write home, the whole damn time I was in the army, just 'cause I was convinced I was gonna die, and my letters'd be more painful if I did. We were just the walkin' dead. Nobody expected us to get outta there.

[A shrug.]

So yeah, what's goin' on around here? Pretty bad, but I've seen worse. Funny thing is, though, this whole choosin' sides and allegiances thing? That got worse, after I got back from the war. You'd've thought I'd be done with that, but back in Atlantic City, there's a different kinda war goin' on. A turf war, kinda. Like this one.

[A long pause.]

Wait. Why the fuck am I... is this recordin'? Shit...

Everything has just been really pretty crazy this month. I mean all the uproar and people being arrested and the people trying to overthrow the deities or whatever and then normal citizens attacking other people...

I don't know. It makes me wish I was home so much.

I don't know if I've ever told people about back home. I had my own garage there. Well, mine and the bank's. It wasn't a hugely successful place, but I did good work and I made a living. Plus I could walk to my dojo from there - boy do I miss that place. I'd run in the morning and then work and then go to the dojo, then home to my trailer. I knew it was meant to be mine when I first went to see it and there was a coyote hiding there. Just a sign, you know?

And my cat, at least Medea is here with me. I don't know what I'd do without her. When I first found her I thought some terrible person had cut off her tail, but the vet said she's a Manx and they don't really have tails. I never thought I'd be able to have a cat. Usually they hate me - they can smell the predator and it freaks them out, but Medea loves anyone who might pet her. And her fur - it's so soft, like a rabbit's and...

[Mercy will continue on till someone stops her or she gets far enough away from her device.]

[voice]

I don't like this. I know I'm not the first person to say that this month, and I won't be the last. We were dealing with a possibly militant rebellion at home and it didn't feel as dangerous as this month has been. Probably because I had the illusion of control in Republic City. I refused to believe that terrible things could happen under my watch. That's something I've inherited from my mother - overconfidence.

Jinora's gone, at least there's that. But of course the rest of Korra's friends have shown up instead, young and angry and ready to get into the middle of a mess that they have no business in. I understand the desire to go home, but there's only so many times you can break a brick against the wall before it starts to come back at you. Of course, none of the are sensible about it. I wouldn't be surprised if they joined the rebellion. I probably would have, when I was young and too impatient to wait for justice. Tenzin is here, but he's too soft to be much of a babysitter. And I am not going to co-parent with him. If I wanted to do that--

[ There is a sudden quick click. Yep. Lin is completely done talking, as much good as that's going to do her now. ]

[ There's another click, followed by a mutter -- ] Better delete... Oh. Of course. It published. Great.

[Lucy is sitting in the stock room at her shop with boxes spread all around her. She glances up at the screen and pops the top on a bottle of lotion. She smells it, seems satisfied and squirts some into her hands then runs it into her skin.]

I don't know what you want me to talk about. I never really went for the whole confession thing and this is reminds me all too much of the therapist sessions Momma decided I needed to go to after Daddy died. Not that there's anything wrong with therapy. I could probably use a lot more of it, but narrowing down what you want me to talk about, particularly in the scope of the City, plus everything that happened at home...

[She stops and shakes her head.]

Let's talk about why I was a philosophy major back home. You literally can't do anything as a philosophy major. I mean...sure I could buy some hemp sandals, grow dreads and be a professor...maybe that was just my professor...but it's not really my style.

[She purses her lips, other words, other things, other confessions on the tip of her tongue.]

Apparently that says something about me. The whole...reason why I wanted to study philosophy. At least that's what the therapist said. Something about ambitions and--

[She abruptly cuts the feed on the video.]

Y'know, half of me wonders if these guys making trouble-- the ones who want to take down the Deities, or take over, or whatever-- have the right idea. Don't wanna get involved in it-- I got too much I won't risk for a maybe-- but there's a point to it. City's a pretty fucked up place, any way you look at it. Take right now, I'd like to shut up and go about my business but no luck.

Thing is, there's people worth staying for and I'm better off than I'd be anywhere else-- hell, better off than I'd be even if things didn't fall apart at home, probably-- but the place? The curses? I mean, don't think anyone likes that, but it's not fair. Sometimes I think it's an okay price to pay, but that's just me. Plenty of people'd have it better anywhere but here. People here longer than I've been.

Wish I wasn't still talking.

Either way... I don't know. I don't much like the way things've been lately, worse than usual. Still don't wanna pick a side, though. Isn't just that I don't want to risk losing what I've got, it's...

Well, I got enough shit I regret. Don't want to take on any more if this goes south.