first. (video)

[astrays.livejournal.com]

[Hello City, today you are treated to the sight of a dark-haired, blue-eyed man in a stained overcoat who, all in all, looks rather unassuming. However, what might stand out most is the fact that he's wet. Very wet. The I-just-went-swimming-with-my-clothes-on sort of wet. Though the figure doesn't look that bothered by it, he seems to be too occupied with peering into the camera, his brows furrowed and his head tilted slightly to one side in mild confusion.]

I was told this communication device reaches a network of some sort. [If his expression is anything to go by, Castiel doesn't quite understand though. But instead of asking, he's falling silent for a good moment as he looks away. When he speaks again, his eyes are still focused on something off-screen.]

A second chance is a very rare thing, much less a third. I suppose one would consider a fourth chance to be impossible. Yet here I am. [Another, smaller pause.] It is not for me to question it. As... nice as it would be to be in my own reality to make up for what I've done wrong, I'll no longer question His will.

[He finally returns his gaze to the communicator.]

If this reality needs my help, so be it. How can I be of assistance?

9 Lonely People [Video]

[neverwasanyone.livejournal.com]

[He's got the camera mostly facing himself, although it's backed up far enough away that you can, on occasion, catch flashes of his right hand holding a hex key or a strange little box wrench. Someone got an Erector set for Christmas. (And a nice new pair of white gloves, apparently, though some viewers might wonder why he's still wearing them inside.) Trowa looks deep in concentration, occasionally tilting his head to stare at something just off-screen.]

[Not so deep that he can't tell the Network what's on his mind, of course.]

...Santa didn't kill me. But he didn't bring anything. Other people did.

[Not that he seems too broken up about that. In fact, he sort of just sounds like he accepts it. If he's been too good to die, but still too bad to get Santa presents, then it makes sense that nothing should happen at all, doesn't it? Of course it does.]

[He grows silent for a little while, focusing on something and then raising whatever it is into the air where he can see it, closing one eye and squinting the other. After a few seconds of that, he sets it back down and thinks, twirling the tiny hex key between thumb and forefinger. It isn't until he comes to a decision and moves to resume his work that he continues talking.]

I got a train, but it was wrong. They're machines. It's not suppose' to have bug legs. That was bad. And the noise hurt. I didn't like that. It made real smoke, though. I took it outside.

[...He might have let it chase him around in the snow. Possibly even had a little bit of what might be considered a taste of 'fun'. Gasp!]

It's not there anymore. I think somebody stole it.

[That's right, Calendar Man. You don't scare him (yet). He just thinks you don't know how the hell a train works. The card was nice, at least. He kept that, even though he can't read it.]

This is good, too. This building-things toy.

[Trowa picks up his comm and turns it to point at the model he's just finished--some kind of jet--before pointing it at the flute sitting on the floor next to a telescope.]

I don't know what those are. They're dumb.

[Back to work.]

...I guess Christmas is okay. Maybe.

[Video]

[cosmic_ring_hero]

So, Christmas is out of the way and there's another holiday coming up already. New Years Eve! [As he says this, the words 'New Years Eve' appear above him in sparkling letters and a rain of confetti surrounds him. A few moments later it all fades away.]

So, Network...what are your plans for the big night? Who's going to brave Times Square to see the ball drop? And good parties going on? Who's spending the night at home sleeping? Let's hear what's happening!

51 | video

[osreborn]

[ The communicator is propped up on a table, in what looks like a lab -- or some kind of workroom. Norman appears, wearing a lab coat over his suit, and gloves. There's radio music playing softly. ]

We can't function as a society without change. It's simply impossible. As much as we, as a society, are so resistant to change, we're also dependent on it. We must be, of course. We're programmed to want to evolve to our highest capabilities and bring the world and all our toys with us, sometimes making human involvement obsolete. If you look at the rising popularity of combat drones in government and military use, you may know what I mean.

[ A robotic arm reaches from off-screen to hand him a test tube. He glances at the arm and shakes the vial. ]

Actually, I wanted a drink. [ Turns back to the communicator. ] Air force. Police forces. SWAT teams. Et cetera. But I thought it might be only fair to offer contracts to anyone within the City that might be interested first. In the spirit of the New Year and all.

( ENCRYPTED to MITCH HUNDRED )

[ He picks up a small orange disc that rested on the table with a gloved hand, turning it over. ]

See this? This is a prototype for an energy generator, one that works on a separate grid than electricity and will produce more reliable results than solar or wind power. It's still small, but...

[ He walks over to the room's circuit breaker and shuts everything off. The lights and the music flicker, but everything stabilizes after a moment or two. ]

... As you can see, functional enough to keep the power operational in the event of an emergency. In this room, anyway. It's obviously still in development, but we would always consider home use.

( ENCRYPTED separately to Oswald Cobblepot, Karla Sofen, LUST, Daken, Black Mask, Edward Nygma, Matt Murdock, Peter Parker, Katurian, it's a formal invite! )

( And under a cut. )