riverview | Entries tagged with the black tapes: richard strand

[The post that appears first is a picture of poor Cameron Waltz from the Arts party. Where he's crying after his fantastic boyfriend Jeff has just serenaded him in public. Anyone who knows Alex knows that she's not the person who would put it up, and as soon as someone mentions it to her, it comes down and is instead replaced with an audio post.]

Yeah, sorry about that. [She assumes people 1. know that she wasn't the one who did it and 2. that the person who did it is gonna hear holy hell for it. Hear holy hell and also do penance which is what the rest of this post is about.]

While I've been living in America since college, I'm definitely a Canadian at heart. And in Canada, we have a proper Thanksgiving Holiday while America is celebrating Columbus day. [Yeah, the distaste in her voice for that "holiday" is totally palpable.] And before anyone makes a crack about copying America, our Thanksgiving started in 1578 and was made an official government holiday in 1879. For Americans playing along at home, that's 50 years before Plymouth Rock, and something like 90 before it became a federal holiday in America.

So, I'm inviting people to stop by tomorrow for turkey and stuffing and all the stuff that goes along with a proper Canadian Thanksgiving. We're not going to do a sit down dinner, not really, given that it's a Monday, but we're gonna have food and proper pumpkin pie which is not custardy and Nanaimo bars which are. I'm making them. I'm making them right now actually but don't worry, I've been making them since I was like ten. It's the only thing I can make other than coffee.

[Literally the only thing, because Alex burns toast.]

madeupnames

[There's a muffled and pained groan, one of a boy who has made terrible mistakes and is suffering horribly for it.

... And also a clear sound of someone sliding out of a bed and thumping on the floor — blankets and all, legs barely hanging onto the lip of the mattress.]

I am so, so sorry.

madeupnames

WOOOOOO—

[THUMP, CLATTER, A CURSE WORD THAT STARTS WITH 'MOTHER' THAT COMES FROM A POLITE LITTLE VOICE.]

Wheeew — Helloooo Riverview!

[There's a shuffling of feet as the familiar voice carries further away, like he's walking away from the feed. Someone calls distantly: 'Enjoy your glory years, kid!']

Thank you, sir! Where's the tram...? Which street again — Oh! I dropped my — [Dropped his phone. Oops. Right! He picks it up, squinting into the feed; Peter looks — well, drunk. He's very drunk. He whispers a little lower:] Hey, sorry, oops — sorry, it's late and I'm kinda noisy. I'll shut up. Shhhh.

[He staggers sideways in his attempt to sneak quietly, so there's that.]

Guys, I was, like, so worried about drinking? But I feel great! Mr. Wilson, thanks for helping me loosen up a little; I dunno why I was even nervous. I even did the karaoke thing on my own. Like, the thing on my bucket list? Man... It was so fun... I don't think I had that much fun in... I don't even know when. Heh. I love you guys. [He whispers in a giggle to himself, looking around and ignoring the feed for a moment:] I have noooo idea where I'm at... Oh, wait! that's Centerfield Lane, I'm doing great...!

But where's the tram again? Shit. Iiii mean 'crap'. Crap is what I meant.

Uuuuh. Hold on. [The feed blacks out again, and there's the telltale sounds of someone clearly climbing up a fire escape toward someone's roof. He's very coordinated for a drunk teenager.] There we go! I seeeee it now. Cool, awesome. Cool.

[He looks at the feed again, the background higher up.]

So I was thinking! I've been spending soooo much time moping about stuff I can't, uuuuh. Do anything about, so I was figuring... why not relax a little? I got this To Do List thing I wanna get done, and I was wondering if anyone wanted to help with it? It'll be fun!

I got stuff like — [He counts off on his fingers.] learning how to kniiit, surfiiing, learning origaaami... Holding a really big snake? When I was a kid I always wanted to face my fears and hold a snake, and I almost got a chance to, but then I remembered how scary snakes are and chickened out...!

[He waves at someone down below, sounding so happy.]

Heeeey! You wanna hug?! I have 'give a stranger a hug' on my to do list!

['Dude, what are you doing on a roof at eleven at night?!' the teenaged kid calls back.]

I'm drunk!

['I guess I can hug you?!' Peter fist pumps.]

Awesome!

[The kid down below yells back from cupped hands: 'Hey—! You're gonna break your neck up there! Get down!']

It's cool, I've got really good balance!

[He gives the guy a thumbs up. This is all still recording. Save him.]

11calls

[Hey look, it's yet another post that does not happen at three in the morning. It seems that Alex is actually sleeping for the most part. It's kind of amazing. And she's also sounding extremely chipper, even if there is the faintest of whispers of 'Richard' from somewhere behind her. Look, she locked the thing in the drawer of her desk and it still keeps saying the name of the person she has a crush on. It's all Jeff's fault. But she's not going to mention it at all. Nope, it's not even happening. Instead, she's focused on something else.]

So I was talking with a friend recently, or at least recently-ish anyway about games. Like board games and things like that. Did you know that dice and games were used before recorded history on Earth? And that dice were found in tombs in Iran that date back to 2800–2500 BCE? So honestly, playing games is like something that really seems universal and kind of timeless as well.

Which brings me to my next question, and trust me I really do have a point. What sort of games did you play at home? Do you have copies here? What sort of games do you want to see if you have copies of?

I'm putting together a game night, either renting out a cafe, or if need be the school, and I'd like to include something from everywhere if possible. Board games, dice games, card games, it's all going to be welcome here. If nothing else, it'll be a nice distraction from everything else. [Everything else here meaning all of the love festival stuff that's going down.] And the goal is to play five games you've never played before, so come on down.

I'm not even limiting games like Monopoly or Uno or whatever. [Even though she probably should just based on her experience. She's also definitely not bringing Mario Kart. Alex does have some sense of fair play and wanting to keep friendships in tact. For now anyway.]

Also hi if you don't know who I am. I'm Alex. Alex Reagan. Welcome.

interconnectedness

How does one get a cat to leave them alone?

nobasisinfact

It seems someone felt it appropriate to put some sort of concoction in my tea. While not completely debilitating I find the results, irritating.

I'd appreciate it if someone happened to know exactly what idiotic concoction of the month is supposed to cause color blindness. Complete color blindness.

[There's a grumble after a few seconds.]

Because of course, this place would do something this stupid.

bardish

[ Here's Jeff Calhoun, wizard dad/teacher of youths, broadcasting live from his classroom at Gramarye. It looks a bit... chaotic right now, as there are winged origami hearts flapping around, and some kids equipped with butterfly nets and... y'know, magic, trying to round them up.

Amidst the chaos, the hearts are chirping out what sounds suspiciously like people's names, which the kids are reacting to with various degrees of shouted denials and peals of laughter.

Meanwhile, Jeff looks about as harried as if he's reporting from a warzone. But he puts on a nervous smile and waves at the camera. ]

Hey-- hi! Uh, so... one of my students got a little too into the spirit of Dragosta and brought these [ GESTURING TO THE BAT-WINGED MENACES. ] lovely cards in to share with his classmates and--

[ NO, he can't keep the charade up! ]

Okay, look, he pranked the class. And it's gone totally out of control! A batch of these little fuckers-- [ Cough. A student mock-gasps, 'Language, Mr. Calhoun!' Cue: adolescent giggling. ] --little... scamps... flew out the window, so if you see any? Don't be alarmed, and for the love of god, don't throw rocks or anything at them! If you miss, that projectile of yours will come crashing down on some innocent bystander, and I can't have that blood on my hands, because it's totally my fault for leaving the window open in the first place and failing to rule my classroom with an iron fist and--

[ BREATHE, JEFF. It's just, look, he's pretty sure this is some kind of karmic retribution for all the teachers he terrorized as a teenager, himself. ]

Uh, so just. Ignore them! They're harmless, really. All they do is follow you around shouting the name of whoever you might have a crush on.

[ Hence the kids' reactions to the various names the cards are shouting. Their secret crushes, revealed! It's totally embarrassing! ]

The enchantment should wear off in a couple of days!

[ Meanwhile, one of the origami hearts from hell lands on his desk and starts to chirp a name... but all it manages to get out is a 'CAM--' before Jeff's swatting it with a notebook. SHUSH, HEART.

...

Gosh, he actually feels kind of bad for smashing it with a notebook. Poor enchanted bat-heart... Jeff seems to remember he's still recording, so he flashes another nervous 'EVERYTHING'S FINE' smile at the camera. ]

Okay, that's all, I gotta get back to cleanup-- Bye!

[ But hey, FEEL FREE TO SAY YOUR CHARACTER'S BEING TERRORIZED BY ONE OF THESE HEARTS AS WE SPEAK. ]

thestoriesarereal

[The video turns on with a very pensive looking Lucy.]

Okay so....I know it's a bit early to think about this--but, better to get a head start on this than to have it sneak up on you.

Does this place do anything for Halloween? Or for the month of October? I know it could be different in other worlds, but where I'm from there's trick-or-treating, people dressed up in costumes, and loads of candy.

There's also spooky and scary stuff, but I'm not really thinking about that.

[No, she's just thinking about the candy, and the costumes and the other fun things that can happen--but mainly it's the candy.

Oh, and movie marathons about wizards and witches.]

If anyone could let me know, that'll be great! Thanks!

madeupnames

[The feed is mostly full of textbooks, the spines all turned enough that they're legible; it's math, chemistry, social studies, all the fun things nobody misses from high school. And on the right side of the screen is Peter, sitting with his cheek on his palm and his elbow pressed beside a blank page of paper. He looks kind of sleepy, like he'd just nod off if he didn't have the feed to focus on.]

So I've got this essay I need to write by tomorrow, and I'm having a hard time getting — personal, and all that. The prompt's asking about what inspires you, specifically. [He looks to read it word-for-word:] 'What motivates you in your day to day life?' And I mean, I've got a lot of motivations, but trying to put it to paper is giving me a wicked case of the fogbrain.

[He tucks his pen under his nose, holding it with his upper lip for a moment before letting it fall pitifully to the table. He sighs.]

What motivates you guys? Into doing what you do? What makes you put your shoes on in the morning, huh?

And don't just say 'to avoid stepping on pointy stuff barefoot'. That's a cheap and obvious answer—

[Peter startles violently as birthday music blares behind him, so much so that his pencil goes flying through the air and RIP's somewhere off-screen. Pam the pancake making robot seems to be flying onto the scene in the background with freshly made pancakes and festive lights blinking all over her.

A little lighter arm pops out, preparing to light a lone candle on the stack of flapjacks.

Peter mutters, mortified:]

...I thought I disabled Birthday Mode for repairs...

[He looks back at the robot with his hand pressed to his temple, and clears his throat.]

... Pam, uh. My - my birthday was two days ago. Two days. It's August 10th. And, uh, it's... it's the 12th now.

[Peter watches as the AI seems to try to process this, tapping his finger on the table and thinning his lips at the awkward silence. Pam's little plate-holding robo-arms lower slightly, the generic birthday MIDI file slowing to a depressive stop as the party-themed lights and lighter are shut off together. A pause of nothing. Then she turns and dejectedly wheels away into the community kitchen with her plate of pancakes.]

Wait, Pam — Aw, c’mon, I can still eat them! Hey—

[Peter drops his arms.

... Note to self, fix her internal clock...]

enveloped

[The video starts with a tall, bearded man wearing a tailored suit sitting on the edge of a very executive looking desk in an equally executive looking office.

He smiles before speaking in a low, steady voice, his arms by his sides. Purposely left uncrossed. No fidgeting. He's comfortable in front of a camera, but not without practice.]

To be forcibly removed from our homes, support networks, and everything we’ve ever known is no small matter. For some, the experience can be traumatic. You may struggle with day to day life, or find yourself feeling unsafe in your new home. Holding down a job or making connections with other people can feel difficult, or even impossible, when you're uncertain of your environment and place within it. Everyone copes differently.

Very few of us asked to be here, and it's necessary the city is prepared to deal with the very real problems experienced by its displaced citizens, and accommodate their needs as efficiently and empathetically as possible in order to create and maintain a happy, healthy society. My name is Cameron Waltz, I'm a negotiator and cultural mediator from Earth, and I've been appointed the role of public representative to present our needs to the city council, and ensure our voices are being heard.

I'm looking for feedback on how your life has changed for the better or the worse since your arrival. I'll start with a few questions, none of which you have to answer, but would be very helpful in solidifying the case I'm building.

Please answer as honestly as you're comfortable. Anonymous commentary is allowed on this post, and you're welcome to be as vague or as specific as you'd like, without fear of discrimination.

I greatly appreciate any and all responses. With your help, we can find the holes in the existing social services system and work together to close them.

Thank you for your time.

--text attachment

-Have you felt adequately supported by the city, and its representatives?

-Do you struggle mentally or emotionally with your expatriation on a day to day basis?

-Are there aspects of life in Riverview you find more difficult than others?

-If you’re a minor, or know a minor, have you found the social services offered adequate?

-Are you satisfied or dissatisfied in the career provided for you? Do you find yourself changing jobs often?

-Do you struggle to make ends meet?

-If there's any one thing the city could do to improve your life, what would it be?

bardish

WARNING DO NOT BUY USED FURNITURE OFF THE NETWORK!! Some of the sellers here are VERY unscrupulous! I am now the proud owner of:

- 1 cursed endtable (IT KEEPS INSULTING MY MOTHER WHEN I'M TRYING TO SLEEP??)

- 1 set of drawers that was housing a colony of space termites

- 1 mattress that is stained with either blood or cranberry juice or chocolate i'm not sure which. maybe all 3? now i have to sleep on a futon like i'm 19 yrs old again and it's KILLING my back

Anyway is anyone in the market for some gently used furniture?

[ jk jk he's not a big enough to dick to unload this NIGHTMARE FURNITURE onto anybody else. ]

foxtrots

Ah, this might be a strange question.

[has that ever stopped him before? nope. but the fact that he acknowledges that such a thing is even possible counts for something.]

I was curious about tattoos, and if you have them, why you got them. I know some people like pretty things on their skin, and I think that's fine. Your body's the only thing that's really yours, right?

[though minsu's been through his share of those as a shape-shifter, he's finally settled on one that has meaning to him. too much so to cast aside.]

But does anyone have one that's really meaningful to you? Like something you really wanted to make a part of you forever.

I have something like that now, and I thought I'd look for a place that does them after work.

godslay

[ Hey, you know who hasn't graced the network in a while?

This tiny monster.

You know who understands how the network works and thinks it's neat?

That same tiny monster.

When the camera clicks on, Groot is standing way too close to the screen, and all that can be seen are his gigantic, black eyes. There's a muffled, "I am Groot?" and then he's setting the communicator down and taking a few steps back until he's mostly visible from the waist up. He waves cheerfully at the camera, and then reaches offscreen to produce...

This bad boy.

He waves it around effortlessly; even if it's already extended, it's clearly near weightless. An excellent blade, all around.

Not excellent for children, however.

Offscreen, Gamora's voice sounds distant:

"Peter, have you seen my—"

Her feet appear in the camera's view, followed by a sharp, reprimanding, ]

Groot! Give that back! You're going to hurt yourself!

[ And she's stomping over to snatch away her sword.

Groot whines when Gamora takes Godslayer, and after a brief pause, the sapling is bursting into immediate, earsplitting bawling.

Sorry to anyone next door or on the adjacent floors. ]

Ugh.

[ She scoops up her communicator, too. It takes a second for her to notice that Groot turned it on, but then she clicks off the feed. ]

[ Following after that disaster: ]

Who has experience dealing with tantrums?

heahmund

[ While he's done some exploring, there's one thing he can't seem to find and the annoyance in his voice is a bit clear. ]

Are there no Christian churches here?

[ Catholic would be preferable but one thing at a time. ]

mannerism

(un: p. carter )

[ Well, here we have a username that hasn't been seen on the network in a while. The video itself is, alas, distorted at the moment. It seems the device itself is being moved rather quickly from hand to hand. ]

-- bloody well doing alright by myself.

[ And then there's Peggy Carter and a native nurse who has apparently made the mistake of trying to open and hold the device for her. It's enough to get her chased out as the woman struggles to sit up. On her way out, the nurse does take a few bloodied bandages with her. ]

Well, turns out one can get promoted in their absence.

[ She holds up a file of pages, apparently her new job description. ]

Is it too much to hope that my house is still intact?

stantheman

[ The recent events have prompted Stan to be rather more quiet and reclusive than he is normally and he's even been mostly ignoring those he knows well. Too many things were reminding him negatively of Derry and he didn't particularly like facing that fear.

But it's about time to talk about something, anything. ]

If you had to guess, what do you think would be the most likely way you’ll die?

[ His thoughts aren't morbid lately or anything. ]

madeupnames

[ >> VIDEOS SUCCESSFULLY UPLOADED TO NETWORK.

PAM — TEST VIDEO ONE

There is a sooort of human-y shaped... robot... in the screen? No, well, it has an apron on. That's literally the only remotely human-y thing about it, with it's multiple arms and little cute wheels and the pans and interesting funnels and — oh, that's a spatula in one hand! Cool. Peter has adjusted the camera feed to record it, clapping his hands together and backing away in the screen. He's got a dope shirt on and his signature hoodie and cuffed pants, and he's ready to LIGHT SHIT UP.

"Okay, here it goes — Hey Pam?"

"Yes, Petey Parker?"

"Wait, wait, I said Peter, Peter is the — did I screw up the voice recogn—"

The video stops for a second.

"Hey Pam?"

"Yes, Sweety Parker?"

"Oh my god no no no, Peter, it's—"

The video stops for a second.

"Hey Pam, can you make some pancakes?"

"Of course, Sweety Parker," she says, and then whirs to life. Peter has apparently given up on trying to make her get the name right, but that's — you know, that can be fixed later. Batter from the fixture on her back moves through a tube and into a funnel and — proceeds to overfill the pan underneath it, getting batter all over the kitchen stove.

"Oh crap!"

PAM — TEST VIDEO TWO

"Hey Pam, can you make some pancakes?"

She gets through the batter funneling thing okay, but then when it's time to FLIP the pancake, it ends up flying up and sticking to the ceiling. Peter stares up with a slack jaw for a moment, and then rubs his face with a groan. Don't worry, he'll crawl up the wall to get that off, but only when the video's off and nobody's around. Cool.

PAM — TEST VIDEO FIVE

This time will be different! Pamela's been fitted with a new arm, and the idea is she flips the pancake from one pan to the other, so both sides can be heated. Peter is much more covered in flour and pancake mix than the last few failures. The only problem is that the piston is too overpowered the first time, so when she flips the pancake onto the other pan, the two pans just VIOLENTLY SMASH TOGETHER AND THE WHOLE ARM COMES OFF.

"Oh my god Pam, are you oka—"

"The pancakes are complete—"

PAM — TEST VIDEO SEVEN

The pancake is thrown unceremoniously at Peter's head.

PAM — TEST VIDEO NINE

Peter hides behind a table he has flipped over for protection. Pamela starts speed-making pancakes. There are too many pancakes. TOO MANY PANCAKES OH MY GOD THEY'RE FLYING NOW—Also note to self, Pam's ability to process the human language is way worse than Siri, because 'Stop making pancakes" apparently sounds like "Top the pancakes", so she shoots blueberries into the mix from the secondary container on her back. It's terrible. But Peter does eat the berries off the counter.

PAM — TEST VIDEO TEN

Pam wheels around in a circle to move towards Peter at the table.

"The pancakes are complete."

Her wheel gets caught on something and she topples completely over, sending pancakes flopping across the surface of the table. Peter winces, looking over the edge and at the fallen machine.

"... Thanks, Pam."

From the floor: "You're welcome, Sweety."]

[Live VIDEO.]

[Peter sits at the table, red in the face with his hands on his temples.]

... That supposed to be a video invitation thing about Bad Movie Night.

Those're — um. Just. Ignore those. Those're just a, a thing for robotics, um. I'm just ironing out the kinks with the AI programming and the... anyway. Since things have been so stressful lately in Riverview, I thought maybe... you guys would like to rent out a school room and watch awful movies next weekend? Just let me know if you wanna hang out there with us, I'm kinda just leaving it an open invitation kind of deal.

I've got Plan 9 From Outer Space? And Birdemic. And you can bring whatever bad movies you want, too. No pressure, though. I've never really done one of these, I usually just watch them with my friend back home, but I figure... spread the love, right? Because man, we can all just take a little break—

[There's something whirring to life off-screen. "Processing command...! Yes, Sweety Parker, I will make the pancakes."

VrOOM SHE'S WHEELING OFF IN THE BACKGROUND, and Peter nearly knocks his chair over to follow her. He slaps for the network device, mostly-offscreen.]

Nononono, Pam, I didn't say—

[End feed.]

((OOC: Action for Communal Kitchen Floor 2 is also totally fine, if you wanna drop in on Pam and Peter, maybe try to get some free pancakes.

Bad movie night might have a log this Saturday, so stay tuned for that possibility.))

pinkyswearing

[ There are certainly more important things going on but Kai is never one for caring about the appropriate times to ask things. ]

What are you most afraid of, citizens?

nobasisinfact

[The voice that comes over the network is deep. Anyone who remembers speaking to him might recognize it as Richard's.]

As many of you are aware, several people have gone missing. While it's come to light that they are being kidnapped, Alex Reagan, who was recently kidnapped while investigating the situation was able to offer a description of her kidnappers.

[There's a pause as a click is heard before another two, then Alex seems to begin speaking as he's playing back part of the recording on her recorder.]

[Alex’s voice gets closer to the recorder, and she whimpers before she adds, talking so quickly that her words almost run together, pain lacing through each sound.] Two white males, taller than me, not familiar one older one young with.. [A louder grunt and the sound of someone hitting flesh before Alex just yelps loudly and goes silent. The recorder continues to run for three minutes until it automatically shuts off in the silence.]

If you have any information or happen to know any locating magic, contact Dr. Richard Strand via TheStrandInstitute, or reply here.

winscenario

[ The video starts with one of Jim's usual smiles. For those who recognize the location, he's sitting at his desk at the Perimeter Guard. ]

So, after some rocky couple of months, it looks like we're settling in for a quieter month. I don't know about you, but I'm definitely not complaining. Everyone should take the opportunity to relax a little and have some fun, but please be careful. Keep in mind that things can stop being peaceful and safe pretty fast.

Building on that thought, I'd like to reinforce we are always accepting new members at the Perimeter Guard. Can't have too many of us. Also, if you can pilot ships, shuttles or airplanes, I'm always looking for more members for the aerial unit, more specifically.

If anyone's curiosity is piqued, feel free to drop by and ask for Captain James T. Kirk. I'll be happy to show you around.

[ And he leans in as though he's turning off the camera...

(( BLOCKED FROM @FRANKENSTEIN ))

... but instead he just fiddles with a couple of settings before going on to add. ]

I was also wondering if anyone here could teach me how to waltz? Or any other similar dance, really. Something nice and romantic. [ A nod. ] Thanks.

[ And now he's done. ]

((ooc: WHOOPS FORGOT TO ADD. If you want your character to join the aerial unit (they can still keep other jobs or remain in other branches of the perimeter guard in case you're wondering) please JOIN HERE! Thank you! ♥))

riverview network

Entries tagged with the black tapes: richard strand

Seventh (lack of) sleep note. A picture and later a post.

video. un: p.parker | the morning of september 20th (aka an epilogue to bad choices)

video. un: p.parker | don't drink and vlog, people

Six (lack of) Sleep note. Game night. Audio as always sn@pnwsalex

Text, un: ambiguity

(I refuse your merry making and offer annoyance instead) Voice: TheStrandInstitute

CAUTION: BEWARE OF STUDENTS (video; un: j.calhoun)

video @L.Mills

Video | HAPPY... LATE... BIRTHDAY??? | @p.parker

#1 video; @waltz

DO NOT BUY FURNITURE FROM QUARANTINE CRAIGSLIST!!!! (un: j.calhoun)

video | @minsu

video ==> text | @gamora

[ Audio: @heahmund ]

（００１｜ｖｉｄｅｏ）

[ text: @s.uris ]

Video Upload + Video + Possible Action. un: p.parker (guest starring Pam)

[ text - @kaianderson ]

Voice || un: TheStrandInstitute

( video; un: kirk )

Links