entranceway | [Video]

[The video opens with a pitched cackle. The man on screen wipes a tear away from his eye and shakes his head, sighing contentedly as he comes down from the fit.]

Ohhhhh-okay, okay. Okay. People of--is this, is this really what we're going with right now? Wonderland? What pretentious dickwad came up with that one? [There's another short bark of laughter then he clears his throat.] Wh-oookay. Ahhh, this is just--just beautiful! God, and here I thought things just couldn't get better.

[There's a pause in which he composes himself, runs a hand back through his hair, and fixes the video with a slightly less hysterical visage.]

So, right, I did the reading and the whole shtick. Oh no, where am I, I'm so confused and lost. Wah, wah, I don't like change. What am I gonna do with myself? Here, let me confide in the local ECHOnet, seeking solace from my equals. Yeah, that crap just ain't me, kiddos. So uh, I'm Jack. If any of you assholes knows me, pipe up, because I'm gonna need a basic rundown of the whole dealio as far as who's here. And I swear on my mother's grave--the devil condemn her soul in eternal torment--if I see or hear one CL4P-TP unit, I will set it on fire. I'm not even kidding right now. You have been warned. I don't need that crap here, too.

So yeah. Really, just uh, sayin' hi. Oh, and in case you didn't really catch it, I was making fun of the ostentatious name of the place. Yep. That about wraps up this video. Later, losers.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[She looks up at him. A father knows what to say.]

It's natural? But I don't-- want to kill, I just... only when people are trying to hurt my friends. But then everyone says it's-- it's bad, so I... am trying not to... hurt anything.

[She feels very uncomfortable suddenly. But she can't explain why, so she just fidgets with her hands.]

No one trusts me. I'm very dangerous. A psycho.

That's right, it's natural. But I get it, sweetheart. I really do. You don't wanna do it, but sometimes they just don't give you a choice, do they? Like when they hurt your friends.

[Or when you deign to let them live despite betraying you and they try to shoot you on the back.

Jack watches her fidget and wants to calm her. Soothe her. Help her. Because that's what a father does when his baby girl accidentally kills her mother. He helps her control her powers. He's projecting, just a bit.]

We're all dangerous. But that's okay. Because you're not a psycho. Anybody tells you any different, you let ol' Jackie know.

[And he'll get his murder on.]

[She's not a psycho.

They just met, he barely knows her. But he's telling her she's not a psycho.

Even though there are things very wrong with her brain, that's what he says.

She smiles a little bit.]

Might not say that if you knew everything about me. But, um, thank you.

[There she goes, tripping over thank yous for a second time since she's been here. The second time since she left the Academy. Maybe she should have thanked Simon for taking care of her, when he was still there to do it. But she shouldn't get caught up in that now.]

Most people... get annoyed or scared at my babbling. But you're being nice.

"Oh, sweetie, the things I've seen? It'd take a lot to shock me. But, you're welcome. Don't really get why you're thanking me, though.

[He honestly thinks she's probably more sane than anyone you'd come across on Elpis or Pandora. Even with her odd vocal flair.]

I'm not most people. You don't know annoying until you've met a Claptrap. And I'm nice to non-bandits. It's a thing.

You just remind me of someone. People were afraid of her too, but she had this... ehh, this power she couldn't control. Killed people. Nasty bit of business.

[She frowns at that. It does sound a lot like her. A power she can't control, one she's used to kill people. Ha, and she's usually the one reading people.]

...We're... similar. [She smiles wryly.] Does that mean you feel a paternal instinct when you listen to me?

Now, I wouldn't go that far with it, kitten, but-- [He stops and his mismatched gaze darts back to her image on the screen with focused intent.

Okay, so he really didn't know she had any powers for sure, but he was starting to really question if she can read minds or not. He squints.]

Wh--uh... Never mentioned I was a parent. How'd you come by that little tidbit of information?

You told me. Said you have a powerful daughter.

[She could leave it at that, but....]

People say things, and they don't... know they said it. Or I hear it in whispers, in their voice, following me like shadows.

I have a power too.

[He started to argue because since his second wife found out about her and bolted, he's kept her under wraps, but River continued and he stayed quiet.

The information he received kept him quiet as he mulled it over. She could read minds--thoughts? Someone like that would never suffer betrayals. They wouldn't need to be sly or creative to ensure someone was being truthful with them. They wouldn't need to flush a room full of freshly rescued scientists out an airlock to find one traitor.]

Yeah you do. Power like that's gotta be frustrating. Sounds like it's something you couldn't turn off if you wanted to.

So, yeah. I got a daughter, since you already know. I don't like bringing her up. Not a lot of people I can trust right now. She, uh... Yeah. Very powerful. Power she can't control, so I built her a machine to help her control it. She's safe there. Happy. She can't accidentally hurt anyone and no one can hurt her. But she's got access to everything. Anything with a camera or computer is hers so she doesn't feel left out.

[In other words, yeah, he might be a little sympathetic towards River. That's not something he can be accused of anywhere else. He might also be very intrigued by this power even if it makes him edgy.]

[Can't accidentally hurt anyone. Like River does? Though that has less to do with her power and more to do with what gave it to her. She doesn't think twice about him remembering killing a group of people. She's killed people. It's not up to her to decide what's right and wrong.]

I won't tell. Secret's safe. [She mimics zipping her lips shut.] But you're wrong. People betray me. Money was too good. Money's always too good.

You're a peach.

[Talking with her, he'll have to get used to having half a conversation in his head while she answers aloud, he supposes. Because her answering his thought is momentarily jarring.]

I guess so. Money motivates all kinds. But from what I gather, money isn't a factor here.

You ever thought about using that power for your own gain back home? [He could think of so many things she could do with that power somewhere where money had meaning.]

...I don't know. 'Mnot... stable. Always have my brother taking care of me. ...It always seems to hurt more than help.

[So far, her power has successfully turned a village on her and her brother, gotten people killed just for talking to her, gotten Kaylee to hate her, gotten a bounty hunter to attack the crew of Serenity... When has it done good? When she told her brother Jayne was guilty about betraying them? That didn't do much but disappoint Simon.]

You read minds, right? Look at the people I've met.

[Moxxi, a "bandit" running the Underdome, and "cheating" on him. Vault Hunters, mercs who kill whomever they want. Captain McCrazy (Zarpedon) and her Dahl killers. Among others.]

You, Princess, are one of the most stable gals I know. [It's true, but he also wants her as an ally. A mind reading enemy would be a major downer.]

Is you bro here?

[River... doesn't smile, exactly, but she's not frowning anymore.]

No... he's not. There's a man, he checks on me sometimes...

I won't be your enemy.

[Video]

video

video

video

Video (What is this? How is he making friends?)

Video (hes....charming??? in his own way??? shit idk)

Video (He's... something. XD)

Video

Video

Video

Re: Video

Video

Video

Video