video, un: j.k. [post-butterfly effect]

[aeturnus]

[ On the screen is one Cain, also known as Romulus, commonly known in the city as Jacob Kane. He looks normal. Normal as he's ever looked, really, but the confidence that he lacked during the recent event is back in full force and he's very nonchalant about it all. He's at a flimsy-ish table with a laptop off to the side where the camera is obviously his propped up phone instead. ]

Hey! Long-time no talk, Riverview Quarantine. Just a few things. If you met me over the last week and a half or so, that was... technically me but not. You know that thing that was going on? Yeah, that. Don't worry about it. Forget about all that.

Quick catch-up for those who have (or haven't!) met me, I go by Jacob Kane nowadays. [ Not Romulus. Nope. This total 180 is completely normal considering he hardly looks any older or different at all. ] My job while I'm here is designing phone apps. I've been here for about two months now and I think this is my first actual post on the network. Anything interesting happen while I wasn't looking?

to Doom; Still good for lessons?

to Shai; Thank you. For everything you did.

to Natsume; Seen anything like our colorful friend lately?

Comments

[aeturnus]

Not naturally, though.

[ That crow does get a pause, however, and he eyes it oddly. Why. Why, Letha? ]

[burntbridges]

Yes, naturally. That's just how it works.

[She's rather indignant now, is she really being accused of forcing people to use their own corpses on their own time?]

[aeturnus]

[ He pauses to put his hand over his face. Breathe in, breathe out. Slow breaths for only a moment. ]

All right. I get that these things are different between different worlds, but I don't believe that's the case here. It certainly isn't where I'm from.

[burntbridges]

Well, maybe if you listened to me you'd know better. Necromancers deal in aiding the dead with their transition, it would be pointless to force them to stay in their bodies.

[aeturnus]

What was that about eventually being a soldier that animates the dead?

[ Oh, he was listening. ]

[burntbridges]

Well, with people who distrust necromancers for no reason, we need to use some method to keep our town safe. Risen just tend to be the most reasonable solution.

[Letha that's not... no.]

[aeturnus]

Have you ever heard of self-fulfilling prophecies?

[burntbridges]

I can't see how they relate.

[aeturnus]

Using scary necromantic powers against people who are scared of necromantic powers to get them to back off will just make more people scared of people who use necromantic powers.

[burntbridges]

They have catapults, we have risen. It's their fault for being so superstitious about simple concepts.

[aeturnus]

Because catapults where you're from are also fueled by the souls of the dead?

[burntbridges]

How many times do I have to say that body and souls are different? We respect souls, they're people. They have lives and stories and it's not our business to bother them.

[Except for the part where she bothered Walter constantly when he didn't talk to her. And wouldn't let him just rest in peace even when she wasn't using his body.]

Bodies, on the other hand, are property. It's fair game to take a body that doesn't belong to anyone else, because otherwise it's simply going to waste.

[aeturnus]

Riddle me this, then: why did I have to salt and burn a body to affect and release the soul?

[burntbridges]

[At the word 'burn', she suddenly seems extremely apprehensive. Not guilty, but very, very nervous.]

How- should I know? You were the one performing rituals on him.

[aeturnus]

[ Interesting. His eyes narrow a bit but he'll let it slide. He isn't here to prey on her weaknesses, just poke her stupidity. ]

Because you wouldn't or couldn't release him.

[burntbridges]

You were just- severing his connection to his body?

[She's actually visibly shaken by the concept. Burning a body and breaking its soul's connection... is a very sensitive topic, it seems.]

Why?

[aeturnus]

So he wouldn't keep getting dragged back by some force he couldn't stop.

[ Cain's not sure what the issue is, figures it's likely Letha's upbringing and what she was told to rationalize her magic's use. Walter seemed pretty for it. ]

[burntbridges]

And what if he didn't want to lose his body, was that not something you'd considered?

[She's bristling now, her face showing some mix of anger and anxiety.]

How could someone who speaks to the dead possibly tread on them so carelessly? Burning them is disrespectful and horrifying, and- and he'll never be able to contact the living on his own terms, now it will always have to be done through magic. Because you ripped that connection from him. Is that your form of helping?

[aeturnus]

None of that is normal here, Letha. Just like people don't get a chance to say their last goodbyes before they pass on. You can't force others to do what makes you comfortable.

He didn't want to keep being bandied about like a toy, and I know this because I actually talked to him. Do you recall you're the one who suggested it?

[burntbridges]

Well I wasn't expecting you to go through with it! [She groans, and brushes her hair out of her face with a stressed huff.] Do you know how much pain I went through when my body was burnt to ashes? No, you don't, because you wouldn't stop to consider that I know what I'm talking about. The things I do may not be normal but they are better, and they help people. [In theory maybe.] And you're horrible.

[aeturnus]

[ His lips twitch halfway before he schools his expression. He doesn't care if she sees the amusement, it just doesn't last all that long. ]

Being burned alive sucks. Being burned dead probably isn't too great, either, no. If you could listen to Walter being unhappy and would rather see about losing his body and getting some rest, and not ask yourself questions later, then you need more help than any armchair psychologist slash internet expert can get you.

[burntbridges]

[She does note that amusement, and it just serves to anger her more. His points are valid, and he just has to be cocky about it, and that makes her feel dumb and powerless and she hates it.]

Oh, go to hell. Everything was fine until you started poking your nose about. Really, what right do you have to steal from me and then lecture me about listening?

[aeturnus]

[ It's more for the "my pain is singular and impossible to understand" thing. He gets that people feel that way but no, he actually quite well knows what it's like to be burned to ash. S'up. ]

Again, people aren't property and Walter definitely made his own choice in that.

[burntbridges]

And it was a stupid choice, and you should have known better than to let him make it. I was putting him to his best application and when we met he made the choice of coming with me back to the Quarantine.

[She's not crying, you're crying. God, she hates that her eyes water when she's angry.]

[aeturnus]

[ He's familiar with people crying due to more than being upset. It just makes him tilt his head and regard her. ]

Drafting people into eternal servitude isn't ever a good choice. Your will does not supersede the will of another living, thinking creature, and I'm willing to bet he hadn't been given the whole picture of your plans for him when you brought him back.