Biggest country in world I know but Initiative don't seem to bother to bring anyone else but me. Too many goddamned Americans and Japanese. [ Says the heavy Russian accent. ] And aliens. And fucking elves. [ For all the emphasis he puts on that word, he doesn't sound angry. More of a 'fuck, what the hell, man?'

... Sorry, elves. He's targeting one elf in particular and he doesn't much care if there's more of them.

Sharp snort. Sound of a lighter snapping on, and the crackling of cigarettes. Then the camera switches on.

Have a pair of heavily tattooed hands, one of them curled around a white stick. Then he tips the tablet upwards until it shows his face, and Nikolai pulls off the sunglasses. ]

You lot ever get tired of talking on this thing? Bunch of stupid questions lately. [ He takes a drag of the cigarette, and blows it at the screen. ] You've all forgotten how to fuck, or something?


[ ooc; for any character with knowledge of Russian criminals, Nikolai's hands carry tattoos that basically says he's one of the worst ones out there. Yeah.

Also, content warnings for sexual assault for the thread with Steph (controlledvariable). ]

[When the video feed initially comes on, it's pointed slightly too high and catches only the upward flip of hair on the person trying to use it. However the angle is quickly corrected and Tintin comes fully into view.]

I've been doing some digging since my arrival; is it true that the network is the only information delivery system here? No papers at all? [The question's clearly a bit hypothetical, as he barrels forward regardless.] With the network being so active, it seems like it would be easy to misplace high priority information. Or is there a way to break how it's sorted down a little more specifically? By the sound of it, most of us are out of our depths here and it might be a good idea to have some kind of system that's a little more-- [He waffles a moment, looking for the right word.] --well, 'focused' I suppose.

On that note, I'd appreciate any information you might have regarding a few statistics: how long the average Transport stays in Exsilium, any census data on hand, how common the missions the Initiative sends us on are and the like. Any hard fact is a good one.

--Oh! [He sharpens, suddenly serious.] And if anyone knows where to find dog food, I'd appreciate that as well. It comes in a can.

[The feed clicks off.]

[A video feed begins, displaying a small girl sitting on her bed in her apartment quarters. She's fiddling with the placement of her netbook as it records, but she doesn't seem to realize it's... filming upside-down. When she's erroneously confident it's pointed in the right direction, she crosses her arms and grins.]

Hello, everyone. My name is Toph Beifong! I'm a new person here, but if you're from my world, you've probably heard of me. Greatest earthbender who ever lived, pioneer of metalbending, celebrated war hero. Not to mention a wanted person for a while, too. And the star of a smash-hit play.

[she straightens up and tips her head, apparently pretty proud of all that.]

Anyway, I wanted to let everyone know that I'm blind, so I can avoid having to explain it to each of you every time we meet. But - don't think I'm asking for your help or anything either, I can get around fine with earthbending. Basically, just don't bother coming at me with any pictures or books or papers or whatever. I can't see them or read 'em.

[she pauses as if about to say something else, and then suddenly brightens.]

Oh! I was gonna say not to bother sending me text messages either... but actually, I was messing with this thing earlier and I found out it could read them to me! [As she says it, she waves her hands in the air excitedly.] I mean they gave me one with special buttons just for me, so that I'd be able to use it, which is so cool already, but I never thought it would read for me on top of it! How awesome is that?!

[very awesome, because she's all smiles now.] So, I guess that even though you basically kidnapped us right when we were ready to start relaxing... I should say thanks to you Initiative people, too. I can't really think of anyone ever giving me something like this! You know... something that I normally wouldn't be able to use, but it's fixed so I can. It's kinda nice.

Anyway, uh... nice to meet you all! [she reaches towards the camera again and the video ends.]

video
Hey, good afternoon! I'm sure most of you don't remember me, but I was here for a while up until about a month ago. Annnd my stroke of good luck has brought me back, so there's that... I was hoping I could get in touch with some of my old friends this way, but I've also met a lot of friendly new faces within these past couple of days. My name is Asami, and I really think it'll be a pleasure getting to know some of you guys!

I guess to hit the ground running, and maybe to keep my life at least a little consistent, I'm interested in starting a business around here. I know we have some lab tech guys, and I'm not sure if you're looking into selling any products... And then a couple of people have expressed a need for more clothing or food options. Obviously there are limitations to what I can do, and it'll probably take more than one person to get something off the ground, but I'm in the idea stages right now if you would like to throw them at me.

[ She sighs, feeling as if she's been talking a little quickly. ] Basically, I want to help make life a little easier around here. If anything else, I'll be willing to join in on something that already exists.

[ A glance downwards. Cheater, she's written a little list to get her through her points! But this one's for Blaine: ]

Oh. One other thing, I was wondering if anyone else has gone home and come back and what that experience has been like as far as memory and continuity go.

That's all. You guys have a great day!

action
[ Also, this chick will be causing a ruckus out on the streets today with her new motorbike. It is loud, those wheelies are completely accidental, and it travels from 0 to 60 faster than anything she's ever driven.

Sure, it's exciting, but also hella dangerous and very embarrassing. ]

[When the video clicks on, it's nicely arranged so that Seles is visible sitting in a chair in her room and her hat doesn't take up too much of the screen. Her hands are folded formally in her lap off screen and she gets right to the point.]

I'm interested in training... So for those of you who happen to be experienced in using swords, I'd like to request that you share your routines with me. I could make my own, of course, but I've heard it's more educational to encompass knowledge from a large variety of people.

And could Cloud respond to me as soon as possible? It's... regarding the same thing!

...Thank you. [Click!]

Hey, I finally got this working!  Kinda embarrassing it took this long. Can't even work stuff like this and I'm not even old....  Wait, wait, I just might be able to make this a lot more interesting.

[there's that tell-tale static of a microphone being turned on.]  Gotcha!  Man, this little thing is so cool!  It still doesn't make up for, you know, any of this.  Honestly, breaking and entering, kidnapping, forced labor...what the heck would they even need with ordinary people?  Wouldn't they want super heroes or trained soldiers instead?  This all seems way too fishy for me.

First things first...where can a guy find a decent meal around here?