001 | Video

[swisspoetgoatherd]

[Christian still isn't sure he's using this thing, whatever it is, correctly. It confuses the hell out of him. But he's seen other people popping up on his screen, so he can only assume that when he pushes something that says video and sees his own face on the screen that everyone else can also see it.

He clears his throat, takes a deep breath, and-]

Hello, my name is Christian, and... well, I'm really not sure at all what I'm doing.

[His expression tightens a bit, his eyebrows drawn together. The confusion his clear on his face- and fear.]

Everything is very strange and I suppose I would really just like some sort of better explanation for what's going on.

[Should he stop there? Should he keep going? He clears this throat again.]

Right, well. Thank you.

Comments

[video]

[player_not_slayer]

Sorry dude. You're dead and this is hell.

Hope you had a good life.

Re: [video]

[swisspoetgoatherd]

That was my first thought, honestly.

[He chuckles, though. Maybe it's some sort of bad joke. Or maybe not, so he should probably make the best of it, anyway.]

This might be an improvement.

[theshabbiestofmen]

Hello. My name is Remus Lupin. And--

[He scowls a little.]

Despite what the person above me said, there's no evidence we're dead. Quite the opposite, in fact. As far as I can tell, we're all about a ship traveling through space. Aboard the ship are many different types of people, from many different times or worlds-- which may or may not sound rather fantastic and unreal, but I assure you, it's quite true.

[swisspoetgoatherd]

Oh. Well, that's a relief, I suppose.

[He smiles- and it's genuine, because finally, someone is just straight forward with him.]

It truly is fantastic. I must be out of my time.

[He wants to ask so many questions about so many things, but he's overwhelmed. Where would he even begin?]

But, just the same, it is a pleasure to meet you, Remus.

/threadjacks

[player_not_slayer]

Bet you can't prove it.

[Don't mind him, he's being a brat]

[theshabbiestofmen]

And you as well. If it's any comfort, I think we're all out of our times, frankly. When are you from?

[swisspoetgoatherd]

The summer of nineteen hundred. It's a shame, it really was turning out to be a beautiful summer.

[He chuckles.]

Are you from any time closer to that?

[It feels so weird to say. He'll probably never get used to it.]

[theshabbiestofmen]

Have you had to eat every day? Breathe?

[theshabbiestofmen]

Merlin, are you really! From where?

[He grins a little sheepishly and adds:]

Ninety years afterward, I'm afraid, but there's all sorts of people here, I'm sure you'll find someone near your time.

[player_not_slayer]

[Oh hell no, he's not falling for this logic trap.]

Habits of the living, man. Hell is any place without pistachio butter.

Have you seen any pistachio butter around here?

[swisspoetgoatherd]

[Ninety years? The number made Christian gape. Ninety years, and Remus was from the past according to the time they were in now.]

France. A small village. It was rather lovely.

[Shame. He'd just been starting to enjoy it again.]

Do you know what year it is now?

[theshabbiestofmen]

I'm not sure I know what that is. You can't seriously believe we're all dead.

[theshabbiestofmen]

Not the faintest idea, honestly, although I can't imagine it matters.

[A beat.]

Oddly enough, I spent my childhood in a small village. In in France, though-- England.

[player_not_slayer]

Might seem so until you get chewed on by some freaky space vampire or some shit.

[That part...

That part he's not kidding about. Sorry dude.]

[swisspoetgoatherd]

Oh, really? What part of England? I moved to France from London, myself.

[swisspoetgoatherd]

Freaky space vampire?

[For once he's heard of it. The vampire part, at least, maybe not so much the freaky space part. But he's half there.]

You can't be serious!

[player_not_slayer]

You can't seriously not know what a pistachio is.

[player_not_slayer]

Totally serious. People disappear all the time under shady circumstances, there's creepy little girls running around with tasers, and some of the rooms here will try to eat you.

[Srs news calls for a srs face. Of course, now he's just trying to freak the guy out.]

[theshabbiestofmen]

And yet, here we find ourselves.

[theshabbiestofmen]

Not too far from there, actually. But I went to school in Scotland.

[swisspoetgoatherd]

[Christian gapes. What the fuck did he manage to get himself into.]

I'm. Er. You know, I'm inclined to only believe two thirds of what you just said.

[Naive and gullible, maybe, but not that gullible.]

[swisspoetgoatherd]

Scotland? What sort of school put you in Scotland?

[player_not_slayer]

...You're serious. You're actually serious.

You, sir, are in need a nut education.

/threadjacks a threadjack. COME AT ME

[rebelled]

This is neither Heaven nor Hell, and every person aboard this ship is very much alive.

[player_not_slayer]

You'll see, if you stick around here long enough, bro.

[All the dire tones.]

Oh shit, son

[player_not_slayer]

[Dude...way to be a buzzkill.]

Including all those demon-y shitstains from earlier?

>[

[rebelled]

Their hosts were still alive. The demons themselves have been dealt with, however.

>:E

[player_not_slayer]

Dealt with as in made dead, right.

[Semantics, he can argue them.]

So having demons running around doesn't make this place hell?

voice;

[coarse]

That's great. Let me know if you get one.

[He sounds... mildly sarcastic. Disbelieving, maybe? But he's looking for that explanation, too, so. Here's to hoping it comes up.]

audio;

[lawofmotion]

I don't think anybody has a better explanation than what's already in the Welcome Guide yet.

[There's a pause where Brendan's large fingers try to pull it up on his device, like he can give this guy, Christian, a little reassurance that he isn't as out of the loop as he thinks he is.]

Do you need a copy?

Re: voice;

[swisspoetgoatherd]

I can certainly try.

Re: audio;

[swisspoetgoatherd]

There's a Welcome Guide?

[Here he was just assuming they were all stranded somewhere like fish out of water.]

Yes, that would be brilliant. Maybe it'll clear a few things up.

audio;

[lawofmotion]

[It takes a little while, but Brendan finally finds the file he downloaded and sends it across using the datastream they're already sharing. He's read through it a few times already and though it hasn't cleared everything up the way he wanted it to he thinks it's a good start.]

You're welcome. I think a lot of people are still asking questions but the answers are harder to come by.

[sweetmotherofgod]

None of us are sure what we're doing, and it doesn't stop being strange. I'm sorry.

For now, you should be okay if you just don't taste the goo, don't go wandering off on your own, and pretty much don't ever listen to anything Simon tells you.

Re: audio;

[swisspoetgoatherd]

[Christian looks at the screen, the expression on his face clearly amazed at what it's doing. Technology is very strange. But he does manage to open it after touching a few buttons.]

Thank you. It's still confusing, but... it's a start.

[swisspoetgoatherd]

I didn't really think it would stop being strange, but at least I know I'm not the only one who's terribly confused.

Simon? Is he the one telling me I'm going to be eaten by vampires?

[sweetmotherofgod]

[ aaand facepalm. ]

Looks like a cherub, acts like the biggest tool imaginable? That'd be him.

And for the record, the only vampire I know here drinks synthetic blood from the medbay instead of people and is actually a really awesome lady.

audio;

[lawofmotion]

It's something. [His agreement is thoughtful, his own opinion on this mysterious situation he's found himself in still jagged in his head. It's uncomfortable to think about, but he's glad that he doesn't seem to be the only person who feels lost.]

The start's a good place to begin. [He pauses and smiles a little] I'm Brendan. If you find anything else out I'd be interested to know.

[coarse]

Appreciate it.

[forgottenportrait]

Pleased to make your acquaintance, Christian. I am Garry, and I sincerely wish I had more information to offer you.

Here's hoping we can find a way out of this bizarre situation as soon as possible.

[theshabbiestofmen]

If you can find it in the kitchen, I'd be more than happy to learn.

[player_not_slayer]

If I could find it in the kitchen, this wouldn't be hell.

[ :| this is his problem, Lupin. He's going a little stir crazy without proper food around here. He'd take any kind of nut butter at this point...almond butter, walnut butter, pecan butter...]

[theshabbiestofmen]

[He hesitates for just a few seconds.]

Boarding school. From age eleven to seventeen.

[theshabbiestofmen]

You'll excuse me if I can't quite summon sympathy right now.

[swisspoetgoatherd]

Oh! Did you enjoy it?

[rebelled]

Demons are present on Earth. Hell is simply their birthplace.

[And a whole lot more. But he's not sharing the details.]