[someone is not happy. Takegami is sitting in a small pub, the netbook propped up against the chipped and stained wall, his back against the small clusters of natives. he doesn't seem too concerned about attack - mainly because the natives are studiously ignoring his presence just like he was ignoring them. a hot temper and a nasty left hook often bought him this kind of response these days. he takes a sip of some clear liquor and speaks in Japanese.]

Hijō ni ōku no atarashī kao, hijō ni ōku no atarashī koe wa, sorera no memori kara fēdo mae ni itte irudarou koto?

[he drains off the glass and takes out a small cigar, twirling it around in his fingers while staring at a spot on the wall before switching to English.]

So... More newcomers to this worn world, and less of them that may have fought in wars. I wonder why the Initiative cannot find more true fighters than youths and civilians. It is not like it can be too hard to find the right sort. Just point their machine at a military base I would think. Welcome all the same, perhaps some of you may be what they truly need.

However, I do have to ask if any of you may know how to restore a piano. It seems that the United Earth decided that music is not welcomed here. Also, if there are questions concerning this place, I have been here for longer than most and I can answer questions that many of you may have.



[ooc; just hover the mouse over the fail Japanese for a translation!]

[He doesn't care if people sees his face or not. He also doesn't care that he is looking far paler than normal or that bandages on his hands show fresh blood on them. He had been a little silly, and he is paying for it so no one should point it out to him - or at least that was his thought. Feel free to tell him otherwise.]

This must be not exactly the kind of welcome they had hoped for all the fresh blood in this place. A strange disease, the natives growing violent over the possibility of a cure, and people going which ever way they can in an attempt to find those that started this.

[Takegami pauses as he takes a drag on a small cigar, his movements slow as if he has all the time in the world. He doesn't since he is sick, but he won't let something like that get in his way.

He never feared any death, though he might think it is rude when it tries to take away his control.]

I would say welcome to those that have joined us Transports... but this is not the time or place. So instead, I will say Songen o motte shinu ka, mattaku shinu koto wanai.

[And with that, he flicks off the feed so he can have a nice little coughing fit without people seeing it.]


[ooc; hover over the Japanese for some fail translations.]

[ For someone that is a bit bruised and battered, he seems to be in a rather good mood. His attitude might be from the rather ample actress dabbing at a cut on his forehead or maybe the bottle of whiskey he's sipping from. Whatever the case, Takegami salutes the camera with the bottle. ]

A toast for those of us that had decided to remodel the apartment complex. Let us hope that we will get something with a touch more color in their new design, mm?

[ Destruction? Injuries? Possible death? What's that to him? He's got whiskey! ]

I have been told that if some of you need a temporary place to stay, there is room enough in the theater's warehouse. Mind, you can't light fires in there but it is out of the rain and there are plenty of blankets to go around.

[The picture starts on a stack of quiet a few thin books. Closer inspection would reveal that they are apparently collections of piano music. Some music lover seems to have lucked out and found these for dirt cheap somewhere since they're next to useless in this place.

Right as people may begin questioning who is doing this, a kitten that's appeared on screen before walks up and starts curiously poking at the books with her nose. A hand reaches in to grab her as the tablet is seemingly placed against the books due to the odd angle it holds for a few moments.]

Hey, be careful with those!

[The voice, if recognizable, is oddly soft and gentle despite the chastising. Like he was hoping no one would hear that. Oops.

Finally the video sharply turns to show a very serious looking Elliot as Arietta squirms from his grasp onto his shoulder.]

Does anyone know who these people are?! Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Tchaikovsky... [He probably mispronounced a few of those.] There are dozens of these guys and I've never heard of any of them! Do all of them live in this place?!

[Elliot seems to think that finding out this information is incredibly important from the tone in his voice.]

Seems like a lot of people want to know about time travel - which, given the objectives here, isn't all that surprising. I'm not a mathematician or a physicist - if you want the grounding in temporal mechanics, you're better off asking someone else. I am a time-traveller, though, long before I ever came here. I've timeslid enough to have lost count of the number of times. So while I can't tell you the science, I can tell you the practicalities.

People who don't deal with this sort of thing generally have one of two concepts of how time works. One is that time is perfectly linear and immutable. If you go back and time and change something, you will have always gone back in time in changed it, and therefore nothing has actually changed. It will have always already happened. The other view is that every choice splits the universe, into an infinite multitude of realities in which every choice has happened at least once.

The reality, from what I've learned of the mechanics, and what I've experienced, is somewhere inbetween. What the Initiative seeks to do - it's entirely possible, given the right skills. There are nexus points in time, moments that are important whether or not they seem so at the time. History hinges on those moments, and so does the timestream. If a moment is uncertain enough, two different futures will exist for the same timeline simultaneously - call it timeline 1, futures a and b. 1a and 1b will exist in phase until the nexus point snaps into certainty, at which point one will become the future of timeline 1, and the other will become a different reality, timeline 2. Or something else happens entirely, if things are uncertain enough, and both futures break off into timelines 2 and 3, and something else becomes the future of timeline 1.

I don't know anyone who's actually tried to carry out the grandfather paradox, though I assume if you did, you'd strand yourself in a timeline that was no longer your 'native' one - your reality would continue on without you while you're stuck in the other one.

And, I suppose, the one piece of advice I can give - if all of this seems overwhelming, it's simplest to think of things in terms of your own personal timeline, the chronology you've experienced. Which may be out of order with what people around you experience, but it's easier to keep straight that way. And even if you experienced things in a timeline that later - from your point of view - was broken off and orphaned, that doesn't make those experiences any less real.

[Aaaand now you are free to ask questions, even if he forgot to actually invite them. He's not really a teacher, okay]

[ So here's Bucky, with his pale face and dark hair, treating this thing like it's a walkie-talkie and not a laptop. ]

Awhile back— it must've been months ago— someone told me the UE was mixing up people's minds. Erasing them. Filling them up with lies and propaganda.

The person who told me that is gone, now. A lot of people are gone now. So I wanna know if anyone else had intel on this.

[ He pauses, and presses his lips together. He looks like he's gonna say something for a while, before he says it. ]

Yeah, if you need to know, I want to stop 'em. [ He smiles when he says that last bit, white as something out of the reels. ]

[The feed comes on showing Takegami sitting in the middle of lit candles, some of which were throwing off odd colors instead of the normal yellow glow. He is smoking a little cigar, and seems to be in a mellow state of mind, especially since he is dressed casually - ie, tank tops and loose jeans - and the only jewelry he's wearing are his rings.]

So many new voices appearing over the netbook; I do suppose it is that time of the month for this place. I wonder if the machine that brought us all here is trying to find a new hero for their cause or if it just enjoys to cause confusion in us all? That would suggest it has a sense of humor, but from what I hear, that would be a terrible thing, no?

[He doesn't care if it is or isn't. He takes a drag of his smoke and holds it up to eye level, examining his little cigar before exhaling slowly.]

There are so few of us from the first and second waves of Transports. The Initiative has gotten better with bringing people in, but they still need to understand us just as we need to understand them. They are confused and scared; we are confused and scared. You would think that in this confusion there would be a touch understanding, do you not?

[Another pause, this time Takegami leans forward to pick a piece of stone off of the table next to him, holding it out like a talisman. The image is worn by time, the cravings almost gone, but he seems to know what was there.]

Domine dirige nos... In all this time, London has always been itself. I think that being we are here, we should remember the history of this place and all our homes when it comes to rebellions, and use the lessons from them. We are a force just as much as any to be found here. We just need to stop complaining and realize this.

So, I want some people's opinions on the sentient-weapons thing. It's just something I've been thinking about, since I haven't had a chance to use mine much during the missions I've been on. I'm planning to switch to something more practical for my needs, but...

Are they actually as useful as they seem, in your opinion? I mean, where I'm from, intelligent items are kind of a pain in the ass, to say the least. Always demanding things, and if they're strong enough, they can make you do stuff if they don't like you.

I don't see as much of that here, but... It makes a girl cautious, you know?

(OOC: At some point, this post is going to inspire Pidonus to switch her sentient weapon from a whip over to her voice - making her bardic magics, bardic music, and suggestion spell more effective. If someone with a voice ability wants to suggest the idea to her, that'd be great!)

[The screen flickers on, showing Meliantha's face.]

Greetings, fellow travellers.

In the course of our last mission, I was able to take some time to exchange some of the currency from my home into currency for the place we were in, and then obtain supplies with it. For example, I was able to get clothing for myself, as well as the person whose body I had temporarily.

With what I had left - considerable amount, gold is much more precious there, it seems - I obtained items that people have mentioned on the network as desiring.

I have two hundred packages each of these kinds of... cigarettes. [She holds up two different packs, Marlboros and Kool 100s.]

I also have seventeen bottles each of... just a moment... 'Smernoff' vodka, Southern Comfort, and Bacardi. The bottles say they are 24 ounces.

I am willing to sell them - in fact, I obtained them to sell them to people, as they're not vices I indulge in, personally. I am also willing to trade for services! For example, I would like proper training with guns, as I do not know how to use them particularly well, and as long as I am here I should be learning how to use them. Also, cooking lessons would be appreciated, as I am terrible at it.

Please leave me a message and I will get back to you. According to my partner in this enterprise - who has already claimed part of it for his assistance - the packs will be ten marks each, the bottles thirty.

Thieves.

[ River is currently pacing around anxiously in front of the tablet where it's sat on the bed she has not slept in once in the week she's been here. ( Has she slept at all ? ) She's playing with the ends of her hair, head bowed, but wide eyes with dark circles dart over to the tablet on every other pass. ]

You're all - thieves and thefts, criminals and their crimes. They told you to go and you went, toy soldiers lined up in a row, and they took it all. Took everything, took you -

[ She stops for a moment, just to stare, before her pacing grows a little more jerky and frantic. ]

You're not you anymore. They mixed the signals and broke it apart, tore you into pieces and put you back wrong. You are a soul and you have a body, he said, but when you take someone else's brain and put it in someone else's body, can you still be called you? Were you even you to begin with?

Nǐ suǒyǒu de shuōhuǎng zhě, it wasn't yours to take and you took it, stole it away, and I - I know what they're trying to do. I can see you, and you're wrong.

[ A hand buries in her hair, shaking. ]

They want help. They need help, they're trapped and they - put it in my head, you cut it out and put it there but that doesn't make it right. Who decided you were right?

[ She lifts her head suddenly, fingers still tangled in her hair and eyes gone even wider. ]

Where are you? Whose side are you on?

[ ooc; as per usual, hover for Chinese translations and please check out her permissions post! you might notice that her name as it appears on the network is listed as "Mǐnsōu Shí," which is the alias she'll be using while in Ex. The first name is an anagram of her brother's name and composed with hack-job Chinese characters that don't actually mean anything, which anyone that can speak the language is more than free to call her out on. :') ]

[It's a theater - anyone could see that because of the amount of ropes, pulleys and backdrops all hanging around the place. Of course there were also the actors themselves, half out of costumes and makeup, lounging around the piano and various bits of furniture. The netbook was set up in such a way that it caught most of the people around, including a rather amused Takegami sitting at the piano it self. He was also not as fancy dressed as normal - longish hair curling around his face, arms bared and jewelry glinting on wrists and fingers.

One of the actors - a woman with wild hair and wilder face paint - leans in close to him and in a serious sing-song tone, starts talking.]

Seems a down right shame.

[Takkegami laughs and plays a couple chords.]

Shame?

What a nice, plump frame.

Frame?

Business needs a lift. Debts need to be erased. Seems a down right shame, with meat being as it is, what it is, if you get it?

Ah!

Good. You've got it.

[Takegami laughs yet again, and starts playing a version of this song, accompanied by the actor and he himself singing Todd's parts. Once done, he leans in to the netbook and blows a kiss at the watching public before turning it off.]

Video;

[Harvey is leaned toward the camera and is giving it a sarcastic smile.]

You know, Initiative, you really should have asked me to dinner before you took me back to your place.

If Donna Paulsen or Mike Ross are here, get your asses to 305. If anyone else from Pearson Hardman is here, or if anyone recognizes the name Harvey Specter from home, let me know.

Listen, I’m not staying here because I’m happy or because I agree with you. But I’m staying. For a while. And if I don’t get a meeting with someone high up in the Initiative soon, I’m going to be angry. And you wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.

[He drums his fingers on the coffee table in front of him before leaning back against the couch. It’s easier to see what he’s wearing- jeans and a t-shirt -now that he’s sitting back. He’s obviously made himself home in his unit, and looks at ease.]

Now that that’s out of the way, I’ll introduce myself. Harvey Specter. Lawyer and Senior Partner at Pearson Hardman. [Of course he’s throwing out those titles.] I’m going to need help finding the best places in Exsilium. Anyone interested in a drink or grabbing a bite to eat?

Action UNIT 305;

[And if any roomies are around, Harvey is spread out on the couch in the living room, fiddling with his tablet. He’s mostly avoided everyone up till now, but he spends a good part of the day on the couch.]

[The feed flicks on to the rather perturbed face of a woman. A new women. Yaaaay, sudden influx of transports, right? Yeah, not so thrilling to her either.]

Oh, it is just like the queen and country to fight against every strong power with nothing left. I suppose I should feel proud to be ripped from my home to be brought to this wasteland. And I had always been curious to see how our civilization would end … however I didn’t think I would bear witness to it.

[She pauses with thought on this for a moment, giving it the proper weight an idea like that should deserve. But the thought is quickly ended as her regular annoyed tone starts up again.]

Regardless, I’m really not in the mood for impossible odds today, and I have many things to attend to. So could someone point me to the bloody transport home?

[video]

The last few days are kind of a fuzzy blank, but I'm assuming there's a perfectly good explanation as to why my bedroom as a smashed ruin and my window now covers the entire wall.

I'd be interested in hearing it, IF someone can spare a minute.

[video again, twenty minutes later.]

I am sorry. I am so very sorry. I wanted to get back what I lost but...

I never wanted this.

Please forgive me.

For those of you who may not know me, I’m Nathaniel Howe, one of the newly promoted sergeants of the transport section of the Exsilium city watch. I will do my best to protect the citizens and the transports, and offer my services whenever needed.

However, there is something much more important that I need to discuss. I and my fellow Grey Warden Duncan have just returned from a brief reconnaissance excursion in United Earth territory. We weren’t able to glean very much new information regarding our enemy, but we did procure this:

[Nathaniel holds up a small vial--approximately half the size of a standard test-tube--filled with some unknown liquid]

We found this on one of the citizens of the United Earth, and we have great reason to believe that it contains the drug that is being used to keep the citizens docile, and to prevent them from rising up against their leaders.

Unfortunately, neither Duncan nor myself has been able to determine what exactly is contained in the solution. We are, of course, sharing what we’ve found with the Initiative, but I am also calling on my fellow transports to see if there is anyone who has the knowledge or means to possibly determine what ingredients are in the drug, and to hopefully find an antidote.

If you are interested in helping, please let me know. I’m also willing to answer whatever questions anyone might have about what we learned.

( OOC INFO behind the cut )

[#1, Text to Network, Anonymous]

What is it you desire?

To make you think about this, let's agree not to just say "Going Home". Seeing what makes you unique is more valuable than what we mostly have in common.

[#2, Action]

*If you're out and about the streets around Exsilium - or the halls of the apartment building - you might just run into a certain oddly-dressed girl. Quite possibly literally, as she's using her powers to teleport around quite a bit.

Naturally, bothering her would have to ensue. Especially if her teleporting caused you to crash into her.*

[#3, Also Action]

*Alternatively, perhaps you agreed to meet her someplace in a quick offscreen message? She'll be there, right on time.*

(OOC: If you want a variant prompt or the like, ask! She's going to start considering using her charms occasionally now, so please check her permissions post if you haven't already.)

[It's been eating at him since he got here, and no amount of ignoring the problem had made it disappear from his mind. He'd tried to find information about it here, but he found these devices baffling and the library not much help in the matter.

He turns on the tablet and stares into it, face uncertain and anxious despite the mask of nonchalance]

Have...any of you ever heard of a group called Duratek?

I was told once, in my own world, that they sought to find a way to come there and steal our resources. They sent a man to sabotage our keep, like cowards, and killed many people within it. [One of which was nearly his father, and the memory causes more anxiety than he'd like to admit] I don't know if your United Earth would do such a thing, but their goal sounds the same to me.

They came from Earth as well, but I cannot find any mention of them. I wonder if maybe they are the same group in disguise. Maybe even hope. Because that may mean there are not one but two such threats to my land.

[ Scene: a kitchen. Someone, the focus of the camera, is in the middle of attempting to put on a sweater-- a box and wrapping paper are off to the side. ]

I promise it is going to look great on you! I saw it and I knew you had to have it.

I-- really don't think I need--

[ The sweater gets pulled all the way on, at which point Bariyan looks down at himself and sighs. He tugs in defeat at the bottom-most sweater-cat.

Then he looks up, straight into the camera. He blinks. Horror flickers across his face. ]

What are you doing with that.

[ Feferi just laughs from behind the camera, completely innocent, no mischief here, no way. ]

Nothing. Say hello to everyone!

[ Instead of saying anything, Bariyan continues to stare dead-eyed into the camera. Then he points at it. ]

You are not putting this on the network.

[ But Bariyan knows that fish princess does what fish princess wants. So he follows that up with a heavy sigh, and proceeds to drag himself out of the kitchen in an attempt to escape filming.

Poor Bariyan. As he trudges off, Feferi turns the camera around and gives it a smile. ]

Okay, will someone help me out here and tell him how cute he looks?

[Every feature on her face looks exhausted, it’s clear she hasn’t slept. But her usual determined expression stays the same.]

Again, disastrous problems befell us. And again, not everyone came out of this unharmed. What more will it take to convince others to stand together and fight?

Our threat is not only just this UE, nor the Initiative who has shown its care for us if not recently then in the past on multiple occasions. What’s more, the threat has become infighting as well.

We are on our own.

[A bit of silence with a final AHEM.] With that, I’m announcing our third Defense Meeting that will be held this Saturday morning in the gardens, as last time.

We are a group that in time will grow stronger in defending not only ourselves but each other and that is our cause; to protect each other and fight as one during whatever circumstances, whether they be battles or something similar to what we’ve recently faced. This meeting we will be choosing our leaders amongst our own by nominations and by vote. But I encourage everyone to come and see for themselves the cause we are standing for.

And Barnaby Brooks, if you have a moment, I’d like to speak with you.

[An exhausted sigh, and finally,] ... Thank you. I'm Fiona, and I've been the one organizing these efforts thus far. If you have any questions, I'll answer them.



[OOC: Look who’s back from the dead. \o/ Anyways, OOC Nominations post is here along with link references~ Hooray. :>]

[ asa usually avoids the video function on the network, if only because he's.. well, extremely shy. it doesn't seem quite polite to do so when addressing the network as a whole, though, especially in this case, when he's planning to offer something that includes a small demonstration.

dressed as modestly as always, his long red hair has been pinned up in a messy bun, small black antlers decorated with green ribbons and tiny silver charms that chime when he bows his head politely. he looks just about as nervous as he always does, though at least he manages a small, tentative smile. ]

Ah-- Hello. [ a slight fidget, a blush rising in his face, golden eyes sliding away from the video slightly. he always feels silly doing this. ]

It was.. suggested to me some time ago that.. that people might.. appreciate my skills, so I thought-- I mean, if it can be useful-- [ he clears his throat, then lifts his palms, cupping them and tilting them toward the camera to show that they're empty. a few moments later, a tiny vine twists out from between his fingers, growing in mere seconds and blooming with a big blue flower of some unknown type. he strokes the petals gently with his fingertips, lowering his hands and glancing up again. by now, he looks like he's seriously two seconds from bolting from the frame. ]

I-- I can do that with any.. any plants. Flowers, herbs, fruits and vegetables-- I can.. maintain large gardens and.. adapt the plants to.. to new conditions. [ his shoulders hunch, ears flattening back, voice growing a little smaller, more hesitant. ] I don't.. know if it can be useful to.. to anyone, but if it can, please don't-- don't hesitate to ask.

[ he reaches out, then, and hastily ends the feed. ]

[ it opens with the sound of walking, the creak of a door opening followed by hard soled shoes on an old wooden floor. there's a creak of a lid opening, and then the scrape of a chair across the floor. There's a pause without sound and then there is a song. After it's done, Takegami plays a couple simple scales and then sighs. ]

That was an interesting interlude. Do try better next time, mm? I think I lasted a good two minutes laying in that alley. Mind, I am still pissed about my jacket. Do you know hard it is to find a good leather coat in this place? Blood does not come out of leather, never mind the holes. People and their guns. How messy.

[ yeah, he does not care about dying. in fact, he finds it a little funny. ]

What did I miss while I was spending time among the dearly departed?

[ the feed comes on just in time for the tail end of a crazy breathless laugh and the sounds of someone running away. for a moment there's no picture but that of the inside of a pocket, but there is a tilting of the camera, a dizzying spin and now you're graced with the appearance of Takegami. He's smiling, his lips blue and his hair straggling into his face, his breathing sharp, shallow and painful. A harsh cough brings up bright blood and he moans something in Japanese, quick and too fast for anyone to catch it all. ]

It seems... some people do not... have a sense... of humor.

[ Laughs slightly and then another cough, this time the netbook falls from his weakening grip to fall to the ground. It shows a bit of the alley and the Transport apartments just a few blocks away. ]



[ooc; The end of this log results in a couple shots to the lungs, which means he's got a couple minutes at the most. He might be able to respond before his lungs fill up completely before dead silence and then he'll be back in a couple days, so have fun! ]

[ the camera flicks on and the image is that of a disused staircase and old iron railing at first. It then swings around showing what could have been a small parlor with the doors forced open and footprints in the dust. There's a soft voice chanting something in Japanese, but for those that know the language, it's basically a polite 'I am coming inside'. ]

It moved around a little but still is what I had found before. [ Takegami pauses and the camera moves over to a wide room, maybe once a small conference room or a ball room. There is a lot of debris swept up into a pile to one side, and sitting in the center of the room is a worn piano that someone has been patching up. ] See?

I was going to make this place into a club. Some drinks, some music, something other than the dull chatter about missions and fluctuating timelines. Something interesting or at least something that is not missions or recruiting armies.

I do think I would need some help with it. I am no carpenter and I hesitate to add that I know little about brewing arts although I can mix up several cocktails from simple ingredients. I would be most grateful for those that can help in that regard.

[ The camera swings around and there is Takegami, stripped down to a pair of worn jeans and a tank top. And for someone that complains he is not a fighter, he has muscles. He also looks sweaty and dusty, but still is smiling a little. ]

If you wish to help, it would be appreciated. I may be able to pay for that help in alcohol if not in money.

[Today you have something different: Rather than a face peering into the camera, you have a full body view of a young woman standing to the left of the shot, with her right hand on her hip. Said hand glows bright white, like the rest of her body. If you haven't seen her before, she's probably a pretty surprising sort of freak to see when you turn on the communicator.

The center and right part of the shot are occupied by the wall, to which she's attached an off-white poster, landscape orientation, with the following written on it in large letters of bright green marker.

* As Your Potential Leader A Complete Stranger In All Senses
* Proposal To Further Factionalize Already Fractured Population
* Plans Will Only Be Revealed When Or Rather If Any Group Is Gathered
* Initiative Is Our First Enemy Rather Than The United Earth
* Conflict With Other Armies Also A Welcome Possibility

It's attached to the wall with a piece of clear tape on each corners and one in the middle of each long side as well. Close examination will note that it appears there is a second identically-sized piece of paper hidden under it.]

Hello, Transports. I'm Kanaya Maryam. Apart from those who saw my arbitrary self-introduction, you probably don't recognize me as anything but an alien interloper of an age you judge as inappropriate. Even though you have absolutely no reason to trust me, I'm going to ask you to do exactly that, because Exsilium has a terrible leadership problem.

[She's pointing to the second bullet now.] Lots of Transports have been trying to create an army out of members of Exsilium's already perfectly fine existing army. This hasn't worked up until now, but I am somehow absolutely certain that when I do this it's going to be totally different.

[Third bullet:] My plans are so fantastic that they have to be kept confidential and will only be revealed to members of the army once it forms - whom, by the way, I will accept and reject at my discretion even though my goal is to unite Exsilium.

Oh, and did I mention - [fourth bullet] - that I want to overthrow the Initiative first, even though we're fighting the United Earth. Because that's my intention, to fight the people who brought us together and control whether we even stay or leave, let alone go back in time.

And by the way, all the other armies that have already been forming - they're getting in the way of my plan, so we're also going to fight you if you go against us.

[Both her hands return to her hips as she stares at with her head cocked and her lips stretched thin.] Tell me, Exsilium, do you think that sounds like a good plan for anyone to execute? Especially if she's an alien, an undead, a "teenager" [finger quotes], or the like? Or would you advise me to stick with the perfectly good hundreds-strong army that we already have, and take it up with the administrators of the Initiative if I really insisted upon doing something. Perhaps would you go so far as to say that I sound... stupid? If so, that's good, because I have some appalling news for you, which I've just delivered wrapped in your planet's particularly loathsome form of verbal irony.

[In a sudden, too-quick motion, she reaches up with both hands to rip off the poster and reveal the paper underneath it, filled up entirely with these four words:

This Is Stupid
Stop

She neatly folds the old poster three times and throws it away in a waste receptacle off screen, and then stands up straight to address the camera again.]

It does sound stupid, because it is, and so do you. Stop.

[The video ends.]

Um, hello, everyone.

[He sounds a bit uncertain. Possibly because he’s never talked into a magical piece of paper that will supposedly connect him to dozens of others who’ve been brought here to save a world they’ve never heard of before.]

I, um – I was told that this is the way to contact everyone brought here by the Initiative, like me. My name is Med’an, and…I’m one of the new guys here, I guess.

[This is awkward. What do you say to strangers you’ll be fighting alongside? Wait, he’s done this before…sort of. He marshals his inner hero.]

I – I may not be very experienced in war, but I will help. It’s my duty, back home, and…now it is here too. So – I look forward to working with everyone. Good day.

[That sounded good! Very heroic and professional. And then there’s a few moments of fumbling around trying to turn the magical paper off.]

[ Video--coming from Adam's tablet for once, and not his retinal enhancements. it shows him, obviously in his messy apartment, and obviously... different from what one might be used to. he's neither properly dressed nor his usual stoic, composed, monotone self.

but most notably, the lenses of his shades--which are mounted to his head--are retracted. his eyes are visibly artificial. here's the usual gravely voice: ]

...And they keep dragging more and more people here. Or is that the machine malfunctioning again? Can't be sure anymore.

Anyway, hello. My name's Adam Jensen and I'm -- [ insert vague, dismissive gesture here--his hand, too, is artificial and looks like it's made out of black metal. ] ... who the fuck even cares. I'm the local oversized can opener. Hi.

[ if it wasn't obvious before that he's drunk, it's sure as hell now. ]

Given the uh, premise under which you all arrived here as well as the popularity of thought-provoking surveys lately, let's talk about a topic each of you surely can contribute to with a story or two. Since I couldn't help but notice that we're quite a miserable bunch of misfits. Exceptions prove the rule by the way.

[ pause, during which he reaches off screen... for his smoke. ]

So, broken dreams. There's a pretty catchy song on them by Green Day which I can only recommend. But before you scurry off to find it, why don't we share with the class why we're all so damn bitter, and not only since we ended up in this shithole. Though I guess the shithole made it worse, in some cases. I don't know. Getting it off your chest might have a soothing effect, or something.

[ another pause, and he seems pensive for a moment. he might be able to offer alternative treatment methods for your troubles which may involve punching ahem. ]

Here, I'll start. I was planning to get married not too long ago, start a family. I had the perfect girl, a decent job I liked and paid well, and then--then science happened.

[ a dry, humorless chuckle. ]

Gotta love science. Your turn.

[when the image comes on, Frodo isn't quite framed all the way. He's still figuring the device out, but looks skeptically at it for a moment. Is anyone listening at all? He feels somewhat foolish talking at the object, but it is better to start somewhere and try this...

[There is the slightest pause.The proper thing to do - had this been decent places or decent times - would be to introduce himself, but he doesn't know who is listening. Instead, Frodo goes on ahead]

Has anyone ever managed to leave this place, go home?

It's time we get organized.

If in your universe you had any dealings with SHIELD or its affliliates. Please contact me.

That last mission was a cluster. If we're going to survive here, we should stick together.

I look foreward to your responses.

Stark that means you.

(OOC: So, basically, Phil's tired of the crap and is trying to get the Marvel peeps together. All of them not just MCU so. Lets do this!)

[ A scruffy woman appears on the screen. Her hair is a wild mess and her eyes are darkly blotted with eyeshadow. She rather looks like a girl that got trashed and passed out with her make-up on. Hold onto your pants - it doesn't get much better. ]

Hello! Hello? Pleasure to meet you, I'm Sexy.

No, no, that's not right. That's his name, not for you.

TARDIS! I'm Time-And-Relative-Dimension-In-Space.

No. Wait. Yes, but no. What was she called?

[ The woman ducks her head, thoughtfully, one translucent nail furiously tapping at her lower lip. Nevermind liquor, she's chattering away way too quickly. ]

Ah! Idris! You may call me Idris.

Where's my thief? Thief! Yoohoo! I know you're only ten. I know we've not met yet, but you know me, surely you do. Will. Have. Tenses! Thief? Has anyone seen my thief?

[ A FEW MINUTES AFTER THIS THREAD. Leliana's voice is shaky and her accent heavier than usual, too much anger bubbling inside her. ]

Anders! Where are you, you fiend?

I can't believe I thought you were a good man. You were one of Elissa's friends, for Andraste's sake! To find out this out from someone else while you walk around like you didn't... you didn't...

The blood of Kirkwall's grand cleric is in your hands. Grand Cleric Elthina! How could you murder one of the holiest people in Thedas!? What have you to gain!?

[ ANDERS BRO GET YOUR ASS IN HERE BEFORE SHE HUNTS YOU DOWN HERSELF ]

[ ooc: I am so sorry for spamming! Important development that can't be delayed and stuff. ]

Judging from some of the chatter on the Network, those monsters weren't anything some hadn't ever seen before. I gotta admit when I heard about them I was thinking more along the lines of Killer Croc myself, not-- [ a thoughtful pause. ] I'm not sure what it was supposed to be.

[ And there's another quick pause. ]

Alternate worlds are another thing people may be used to here, am I right? Those Initiative guys didn't mention it, but it was printed in that guide... Anyway, doesn't hurt to ask if anyone here might be familiar with Gotham City. [ Because she needs to know just how many variations are out there. Damn multiverse. ]

Or from Gotham. You get it.

[ Artemis appears to be reclining in his apartment, and when he addresses the communicator he sounds bored. ]

So. What's the deal with elves?

[Looking annoyed and more than a little irritated, Claire’s pacing in her room with her communicator, the video focused on her face from a lower angle.] Usually when you’re drafted to fight a war, it’s at least in the right century.

Look. I need to get back home. I know that everyone's probably saying the same thing. But the entire world was about to change, and I'm needed there. You can't just take people against their will like this. I don't care about your war, I need to be fighting my own.

[A sigh. She lifts the camera for a clearer view of her face.] In the meantime, I guess I should say.. My name is Claire Bennet. And I guess while I'm here I could use a little training.


[Action, Open!]

( Insert clever line or cool lyrics here. )

That was a mess, wasn't it? The monsters, I mean. If things get that bad around here often, I can understand why you'd feel the need to bring me here. A world with no sun can never prosper.

Unfortunately, I'm not really in much of a position to help out at the moment.

[He pauses for a moment, putting on a pair of red-tinted sunglasses.]

You caught me at a bad time. I'm still on vacation, I'm afraid.

[Annnd feed off, yo'.]

[Action]

[If you happen to out and about today, you'll mostly definitely come across this guy. Except it seems his talk of being on vacation was completely serious, since wherever it is you run into him he's sitting in a worn out looking deck chair with his hands behind his head and enjoying the sub-par weather.

Seriously guys. Vacation time. Important.]

[ooc: reply through either the network or just happen to run into him, whatever works!]

[ This post is anonymous, coming from a tablet with no name attached. There's wind in the background. Whoever's talking is up somewhere high. ]

These tablets are nice, but not nearly as advanced as I'd guess for the future. Which makes me think illusion, though you all seem very adamant on it definitely not being an illusion.

Not the point. Though if this is someone fucking with my head, they can consider this their only warning. [ A moment, as if she's either letting that sink in or waiting to see if anything happens as a result. ]

I have a few questions left over from that very thorough welcome speech. How do I buy alcohol on this island? How easy is it to travel outside of this city? And approximately how many more times can I expect to be attacked by mutant bears?


[ maybe half an hour later another post appears! this one is basically a mass of encryptions, point of origin blocked. Anyone who tries to hack through it will find themselves in what feels like a rabbit trail, but with some effort put in it will lead to a two way encrypted channel, with one message already there. Anyone with some knowledge of hacking who puts effort into it can find this message because the code is designed to lead them there. (Very experienced people might notice this.) ]

Thanks for playing.

[ Looking further into where the message comes from will come to Max's attention immediately, and she will certainly try to stop anyone figuring out what tablet it comes from, though depending on skill levels involved she may not be successful. Essentially, she's getting a feel for the other hackers in this place. ]