video;

[rebelled]

[when he flips the feed on, it's to a shot of him sat on the floor in the middle of an empty room, walls covered in sigils. there's only one person around who knows where that room is, and he trusts her not to tell anyone. there's a reason he wants the solitude it provides for this message.

on the floor in front of him is the game sorry!, the board already laid out and cards in place. the pawns however, are all largely gathered together. blue (minus one pawn), yellow, green; all placed on the red start location. the red pieces are scattered across the board; one on the spot directly outside the start, one on the first square of the safety zone, one on top of the pile of cards. the last is still in his hands, along with the missing blue pawn. it's where his gaze sits when he starts talking.]

With all that's happening on this ship-

[a sigh. okay, he needs to focus on what he's trying to say here.]

Last time I made a mistake by not…asking other people for their opinions. [be proud, tyke? he can at least admit he was wrong before.]

I can't do that again. But I want to help, and I can't just keep-

[he places the fourth blue piece down with the group of pawns, purposely putting it to the back.]

Games are simple. They have rules to follow, and as long as you stick to them, things won't go wrong. You can win or lose, but the purpose of the game is for you to have fun with those you're playing with.

[the red pawn gets put down now, directly in the middle of the board.]

This ship…doesn't work the same way. There aren't a clearly defined set of rules, and people try to break the original ones all the time. [smiley. the manticores. ward and resnik. a pawn for each of the known groups. a last for whatever else is still out there.]

It isn't a game here, but there are still players involved. There have already been sacrifices made. People…keep dying, and there's little we can do to stop it. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't try.

[that blue piece gets moved now; pushed toward the front so it can be picked out first. maybe that's the real reason he was sent to this ship. maybe this is his new purgatory.]

I want to, but I don't know how.

Comments

video;

[swagneto]

Sometimes opinions can be wrong. [ Pot, meet kettle. It's a bit of a hook, but the thing is, just about everything Cas is saying right now hits home with Erik. ]

The ship plays by its own rules. You need to learn them and use them against her.

[ Her being the Tranquility in this case. ]

video;

[rebelled]

People will always make mistakes, but that's how they learn.

[they, not we. he still can't count himself amongst the number because he isn't meant to make mistakes in the first place. he just somehow always manages to.]

The rules here change all the time.

video;

[lacksgrace]

You're just wasting your time with all that. It's gonna happen whether you want it to or not.

video;

[rebelled]

[he shakes his head a little, looking to the collection of pawns.]

That doesn't mean we shouldn't try to protect one another.

video;

[tumbleweeds]

I don't think anyone knows how. We just do what we can.

video;

[rebelled]

But what is that? How do you protect people from...all this?

[video]

[elvenking]

[This...is a little close. But not so close that he's going to avoid it. It's been a long time even by elven standards since this kind of epiphany hit him as well. There have been so many PSAs from people with opinions on the Best Way to handle this situation, and he has refrained from commenting despite his own experience because such people are not interested in sharing wisdom, only in imparting their own perceptions. At least, this is his interpretation.

This is the first time he's seen any one of these folks ask for help. He will see what he can do.

So an immortal elf looks through the video feed, considering.]

You have come to understand that even if you do everything right, people will die. It is only a matter of how many.

[video]

[rebelled]

[he nods, very slightly. that's a lesson that he's long since learned the hard way.]

But that's why we have to make an effort. We may be able to protect others.

[majestyofthethrone]

But you're an angel. Isn't that your job?

[rebelled]

I'm not very good at being an angel.

[Voice]

[realslimstrider]

[It hit a little too close to home when it's put like that. Games, rules, people dying.

He stares at the video for the longest time indecision on how to answer.]

A lot of people seem to be saying give up, it's all inevitable. I don't think they get that it's better to try your hardest first. Though dude, this is way the hell away from 'fun'.

[Voice]

[rebelled]

Nothing is inevitable. I've seen people change their fates before, and the same can happen here too.

video ]

[firms]

[ You... don't seem all there. But, the ship can do this to you, can't it? ]

There are people on the ship, people in charge you could talk to. And different departments, you could look into. It seems like there's plenty of ways to help if you really wanted. Do you have any specific skill sets?

video ]

[rebelled]

I don't think I'm somebody they would want to work with. I'm still...dangerous to be near.

[that counts as a skill set, doesn't it?]

[video]

[wolfdreamer]

[Important things first:]

What is that game?

[video]

[rebelled]

[it takes him a moment to catch on that he's being literal here.]

It's called Sorry!. It arrived in my locker when I did.

text;

[puppydogeyes]

I'll take you on SEC.

video;

[rebelled]

[don't mind him squinting a little as he tries to read the message from across the board.]

Are you sure that's a wise idea?

[culver]

Bad game.

[rebelled]

We can't play a different one though.

video;

[51stcentury]

I'm not sure that any of us know how to stop it, Cas. Otherwise we would have.

video;

[rebelled]

We can't just give up though. We haven't found a way yet, but that doesn't mean things won't change.

video.

[ironbanded]

Stopping it may be beyond our power - an immediate fix, at least. But we will do what we can to prevent it. If we stand against the evil here, I do not doubt that we will overcome it, given time.

video.

[rebelled]

If it means that others will be protected, then it's worth whatever effort it takes to make that stand.

video.

[faithlessly]

[ dean's not entirely sure how he feels about this. or rather, how he feels about this cas wanting to get back up on the horse in terms of action. you're not exactly the image of angelic wrath lately, and all. still, this is at least going in a better direction than before. ]

You sure about this, man?

video.

[rebelled]

Yes.

[he's back to rearranging the piece again; a green one being placed next to the blue]

...no. But we could make a difference here, Dean. We could- Help.

video;

[angerissues]

Honestly, man? I don't think anybody knows. [ Seems like he's not the only one who feels that way, either. But on board a ship like this, without answers to the most basic of questions, he's not surprised. ]

video;

[rebelled]

Then that means it's even more important that we find a way to help. Even if it means only helping one person at a time.

video;

[executiveassistant]

[...hm. Her expression is pretty wry at that.]

You're right, it's not a game. And it's dangerous to treat life like a game.

You'll miss some of the "rules" if you do.

video;

[rebelled]

They still treat it like a game. [the red pawn in the middle gets moved to the cards now too.]

They make up the rules for themselves though. But that isn't how a game is meant to be played.

video;

[logicunlocked]

Here's how I see it. You've got to take things one day at a time, and take the opportunities when they come. Otherwise, there's no point beating yourself for not having the chance.

video;

[rebelled]

How do you know when to take those opportunities though? Sometimes you may think you're making the right decision, but then you end up just making things worse.

video;

[leaps]

Even if you know all the rules, it doesn't mean you can stop things.

[ sulu's voice is very quiet, thinking of vulcan, of how they'd done everything they could, everything they were trained to do, and yet-- ]

video;

[rebelled]

That doesn't mean you shouldn't try. There may be a way to protect people, but we'll never know if we never try.