hadriel | voice

I'm still hung up on that whole paintball thing. I know I shouldn't be. It wasn't my fault. Wasn't any of our faults. Brainwashing in any form's not cool.

[She still wonders if it was her fault. If some part of her is more like her father, or even Hannibal, than she admits to herself.]

I got a free gun out of it. So that's something. I guess.

And in other news, if I wore a shirt that said 'nudist on strike' in big, colourful letters - all of you'd know I'm not really a nudist, right? I found the shirt and I hate for anything to be wasted. I also found one that says 'Joyful Santas of the world unite.' Not sure what that means, but a shirt's a shirt. Maybe I'll wear a red and green scarf with it. Can't let it be wasted either.

[She pauses for a moment as the thought occurs to her that her father would think she wasted her paintball victims by leaving them on the ground to be sent to a party, instead of using them in the way he would have.]

So what are the best, or worst, shirts the rest of you found? I can't be the only one.

[She's trying to distract herself.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Wait, what? What's paintball and what does that have to do with brainwashing?

[Yeah, maybe the newbie isn't the best choice for a distraction, but she can't not ask about that.]

I'm guessing you're new? Paintball is a game where people shoot balls of paint at each other. It's supposed to be fun. But when people were shot here, they passed out and we didn't know if they were going to be okay. The brainwashing part was that they did something to our minds to make us want to keep playing.

Paintball sounds fun, but...fuck. Why would they do that? What happened to the people that passed out?

They were okay. They were sent to a party eventually, but we didn't know that at the time.

...yeah, that's pretty fucked up. I'm glad they weren't hurt, not really, but what could've happened....

Does this happen a lot?

Not paintball specifically, but a lot of strange stuff happens here.

I mean more the brainwashing stuff. Because that sounds...creepy.

Yeah, it happens regularly. There was this thing with mirrors where instead of seeing a normal reflection, the mirrors showed us a bad future. We didn't want to look, but we felt like we had to. And another time, we forget who we were and thought we had different lives. I've heard about other things too. I haven't been here as long as others, they could probably explain it better than me.

...ugh, that all sounds like crap I'd want to avoid. Is there a way to avoid succumbing to it, or do we just end up having to go along?

Some people can resist it. Hannibal might be able to help. He's a psychiatrist and very good.

Okay, awesome.

...what's a psychiatrist?

[Abigail pauses for a moment, wondering if she's serious. Abigail's spent so much time with psychiatrists at the Port Haven facility and then with Hannibal, that's it hard for her to imagine not knowing them]

You know, a shrink. A doctor of mental health.

[Sadly, Thedas lacks therapists except in doggie form.]

Huh. I've never heard of anything like that. But if it helps, it helps. I don't care if it's new to me or not.

That's a good attitude. It can help. Sometimes you have to find the right doctor, but it's worth it.

[She won't scare off getting help by telling her about her bad experiences with support groups in Port Haven.]

Do you know how to use a gun?

[Just in case.]

Yes. I prefer a rifle, but I can use this too.

That's good. [Being able to protect yourself is important.]

I prefer a shotgun myself, but rifles are good too.

I used to hunt. My rifle was really good for that. I've never tried a shotgun.

[Jo's ears perk up at that sentence, but she's pretty sure this girl isn't from her world.

It's probably a normal use of the word.]

Shotguns aren't good for deer, most of the time. Too messy.

Yeah. That's one of the reasons I haven't used one.

[But, for monsters or ghosts? They're often a good idea.]

Keep the gun in good shape, it might come in handy some day.

Yeah, I've heard about bad stuff happening here. Even if we can come back, I'd rather not die.

That's the spirit. Be careful.

I try to be.

If you need anything...I'll try to help.

I'll keep that in mind. Thanks.

No problem. [Jo pauses for a moment.]

I'll talk to you later.

I'm Abigail by the way.

[Oh, right.

Jo laughs.]

I'm Jo. Jo Harvelle.

[Abigail gives a small chuckle.]

Nice to meet you, Jo.

Nice to meet you too.

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