video; un: Clyde

[darknstormy]

[ The video shook a little before finally landing on his face. Well, the profile of his face. Seth had turned it on without realizing then stepped away. He glanced back, catching something moving in his peripheral.

Shit.

[ A look of illumination graced his features and he stopped his approach to turn off the feed. Seth cleared his throat, his expression more accepting of their surrounding circumstance than his frustrated focus of seconds ago. What could he say? He was glad to have a speaking voice again. Might as well put it to use. ]

If there's somethin' that getting sucked from one mess to another's taught me, it's that nothin' lasts forever. All this shit's temporary... I couldn't talk soon after ending up here. My better half couldn't hear. And some of you got acquainted with the pain in the ass who lives with us, Leo. --Who by the way, can't exactly help what he is and didn't fuckin' ask to be made but still lives buy a code. But I digress...

[ Seth sat back after the brief introduction of sorts. ]

I'm Seth. Seth Gecko. You've already met Leo on here. As my Bonnie once called him, 'a walkin'-talkin' after shave commercial' who sang for you. Margo hasn't graced you all with an appearance yet but that's probably thanks to the roller coaster we've been through since arriving. She'll no doubt talk about magic when she does. Me? Well, I'm just a run of the mill guy from Kansas City. No powers, though not too bad with a piece.

[ He leaned forward and pulled out a gun tucked at the small of his back, brought it to view then returned it. ]

So if I haven't bored you all to hell yet, maybe some of who's left can enlighten me on what life's been like here? It seems the breaking up into islands is something new. Before ending up here, the three of us were at a place in France--or at least, it seemed French--that nobody could make a sound or chance gettin' torn apart by monsters.

Anybody sharin' insight about life here, you've earned yourself some manual labor. Or anythin' else I can come up with.

[ He offered an expectant look at the end. Not quite a smile, but a signature move when trying to get something without the means to obtain it otherwise. ]

Comments

video

[abyssalarcana]

[Oh, video replies, Caedra hates you so. It's simpler to just write out a message and be done with it. But she also hates the limitations of the writing capabilities the tool has, and she's certainly learned in her years that many people can't resist a pretty face.

So she switches on the feed to reply, with an easy smile and a little wave.]

Nice to meet you, Seth. I'm Caedra. I've been here for a few months, so I suppose I may know a few things by now that could help you out? I can't say I pay a lot of attention to some of what happens here, but I'm happy to try to answer questions!

I do have a request, though. That 'piece' - that's a gun, isn't it? I don't know much about them. Do you think you could teach me to shoot one?

[That style of weaponry is so foreign to her and there's a certain odd elegance to it. She's curious. And it wouldn't hurt to have another skill in her arsenal, especially should her magic be stripped away further by their captors.]

video

[outofthefire]

No. To the guy posting this, do not let this demon get a gun. It'll just kill you and then go kill some other people for fun.

[darknstormy]

Don't worry, Peaches. I'm not exactly on the best term with demons. Well, except Leo. So there's that and that I don't give up my piece easily. I don't mind giving lessons. Anythin' goes wrong and my buddy gets a meal out of it.

That work for you, Caedra?

[ Maybe, just maybe Seth saw this also as a matchmaking opportunity for his adopted younger brother. ]

[Video][Private]

[imhisaunt]

Mss Laura! You be careful!

[Delar is fussing at the camera. But he hasn't forgotten, nor is he ever going to, what happened to Margaery. He does not want that happening to another friend]

text;

[aroundthecoroner]

[Congrats, Seth, you mentioned Leo, so now you have Michael's attention. So he has roommates. One of which has a gun, and the other of which probably knows how to cast spells. Good to know.]

What all do you want to know?
Most of the time we just kind of hang out and keep busy.
And then once or twice a month the gods do something to us.
Sometimes it's fine but other times it, uh, really sucks.
Like the last one, that was pretty bad.
About once a month more people show up, and they usually come with monsters.
And like, an assortment of random stuff? We got beanie babies one time.

[The beanie babies are of course incredibly relevant and exactly what Seth was asking about.]

[darknstormy]

[ Thanks to the realm before Hadriel, Seth finally got used to texting which came in handy when he couldn't talk. Maybe this person couldn't either. ]

What everybodys been thru so far

Great. Never saw the movie Gods and Monsters. I probably shouldve. Mightve helped here.

WTF good were Beanie Babies???

[aroundthecoroner]

[Nah, he can talk. He just doesn't like to.]

It's hard to keep track to be honest.
We all got some kind of paranoia flu a couple months ago.
There was one time everyone got crazy possessive of each other and things got, uh, kind of violent.
This one time we all saw each other's dreams? That was pretty crazy.
Oh, and I guess someone should tell you about the robot war.
There's a robot war.
These things called the Null really hate the gods, they're trying to wipe them out.
Since we kind of depend on them to live until they put us back where we came from, those of us that were here when they showed up tried to fight them off.
Which worked but it wasn't exactly pleasant.

Oh and uh, I don't know about the beanie babies, I didn't take any.
Not all of the stuff is even remotely useful.
We did get girl scout cookies once, though. That was pretty great.

video

[toiletseat_girl]

Once a month, the gods do weird shit to us, like the whole deaf thing. Their goal is to provoke an emotion. They feed on our emotions. Usually, they only do it once a month and it lasts about a week, so it sucks. But it's doable.

What you might not have heard about is the Null. They're a race of mechanical beings who hate all emotion and have the goal of getting rid of it. They'd also like to kill the gods. Personally, I don't think we've seen the last of them, so you might wanna save your ammo.

[darknstormy]

Anyone ever try to go against what the gods want?

[ It wouldn't be Seth if he didn't immediately want to defy authority. ]

Null? Like null and void?

[ He had to admit, that was a pretty creepy name for a monster. Monsters. His face didn't show any disbelief. Seth had come face to face with more than a fair share of monsters. Demons. Both good and bad but wasn't worth mentioning now. ]

Wouldn't the gods wanna get rid of the mad robots themselves since it screws with their game plan?

voice

[64th]

Gecko, huh? Do you have a brother named Richie? Wears glasses, thinks he's smarter than everyone else?

[ she sounds a little annoyed but in truth she misses her frenemy. ]

video;

[darknstormy]

[ Oh HELL no. Whoever this voice was wouldn't just get to mention Richie and hide in the dark. Granted, she (sounded like a she but not a voice Seth could identify--definitely not Kate or Kisa and if this was the damn Marshall's daughter again...) didn't have to turn the video on her end but he wouldn't switch his off. ]

As a matter of fact, I do.

[ If video was supposed to help this person switch theirs on, his face probably didn't help that along. Seth stared almost angrily into the screen. His brother was a knucklehead but he was fiercely protective of him. ]

And he usually is. Just don't tell him that.

[ Maybe that added fact helped? Seth had yet to change his expression though. ]

How do you know him?

(Video)

[stonebird]

When I first arrived in Hadriel, we were confined to caverns. We lived in the cool, damp dark and encountered many monsters. Then, thanks to our gods, we were transferred to a land that was perpetually hot and bright.

(Now...islands. And water. Sansa is amazed at this change.)

I have never heard of Kansas or France.

[darknstormy]

[ Was that the Queen's English? Made sense she wouldn't know Kansas or Kansas City or the fact that Kansas City was also in Missouri, but France? Seth didn't think the Brits ever got over the French helping the colonies whip their asses. The woman should know France. He stared curiously at her.

She reminded him of Kate. Not just the red hair but... there was something in the simple response that he couldn't shake. Seth softened, managing to somehow hold a boyish look than the gruff man who first started the broadcast. ]

Sounds like you went from caves to the desert. This is better, right?

[ He gave a nod, remembering what she had said. ]

Kansas City's in the Midwest. Good ol' U.S. of A.

But if you don't know France, doubt you're familiar with the States. And I doubt Reims was actually France. Somethin' about it seemed off.

Kind of like arrivin' in this rabbit hole.

video; un: agent.carolina

[uptightness]

[He... does speak a lot, although there's a bit to it that is more jibberish than anything else to her. The latter is something she can answer though.]

Kansas City, huh. Name's Carolina, and it was a desert area when I first arrived. Some areas had been built up although others had been destroyed in events before my time. Apparently in caves below the surface before that.

[Which, Carolina didn't actually mind the more barren landscape. Easier to get around, anyway, especially as her armour was back at their residence.]

Aside from the whole island event, it was fairly quiet over all. Creatures each time people arrived. A Null made an appearance.

[darknstormy]

[ Agent? Did that make her a Fed? She didn't come across like any other kind. Wasn't about to get anyone a role or major league contract.

Another plus one for Hadriel being a desert on arrival. Seth was glad to miss the boat on that one. There was only so much sand and sun that he liked, especially after Mexico and Texas. Especially having to deal with monsters. No matter what Leo said, the eldest Gecko preferred island life compared to squatting in caves.

He gave a nod and replied, a bit stoic. ]

Missouri, yeah. I spent some time in Texas and Mexico, if that matters any. You from the southeast or that just coincidence?

[ Kanye did name his kid North. Who knew from what time this chick was. Leo didn't look to be from the future but he was. Seth worked with the information given to him. ]

So with these creatures around on a regular basis, where can I get a reload on ammo?

[ A slightly more important question. ]

[Audio]

[drabsolutelynot]

The clinic would prefer you'd avoid getting eaten, shot, maimed....and preferably you won't eat, shoot, maim anyone else.

audio;

[darknstormy]

[ Seth had remained on video for most of the conversations but opted to return audio on this transmission. ]

Yeah, no plans on shootin' or eatin' anyone unless I come across a cow. Or someone shoots first.

I don't plan on bein' eaten or maimed but it wouldn't be the first that someone's tried it so no promises.

Clinic short staffed or somethin'?

private video;

[nonscriptum]

[Nate doesn't really frequent the network, so when he actually does he rarely expects to see a familiar face - even if it's not really the one who he might have anticipated. After multiple conversations with Richie and an event that manifested the guy's older brother as some kind of ghost, yeah, Nate would be hard-pressed not to remember.

Let me guess. You're the safe cracker, and he's the guy with the plans.

They had plenty of relatable material to draw from.]

Seth Gecko? [Nate is smart enough to privatize the video, anyway. Now that he knows how to.] I knew your brother.

[darknstormy]

[ Seth watched the message come through with the private setting. He stared casually, furrowing his brow when the guy said his name. ...Until the mention of knowing Richie.

Looking at the guy, there wasn't any indication if the younger Gecko was friend or foe. It was easier to guess enemy with Richie but Seth didn't jump the gun. ]

And you are...?

[ The question wasn't antagonizing or accusatory. Seth kept a neutral expression, waiting for answer. It was bittersweet learning that Richie had been in Hadriel. Yet given their history, who knew if someone knew the Gecko brothers from their record of thirty two jobs back in the states. ]

Video

[knifecollecting]

Some of us will answer questions for free. [But, depending on where he is, she might have him go help Pell in the garden.]

[darknstormy]

You in that equation?

[ Barely a second passed before asking another question. ]

So far, we've had a run down of monsters runnin' loose and robots tryin' ta kill us along with the powers that be who brought us here.

[Video]

[lifetothefullest]

[Lance has been watching the other conversations, as he usually does, so he's a little late to reply. But since the others have most of the main topic covered, he can mention something else--]

You might want to be careful with using your gun; getting more bullets can be kind of challenging here.

[So don't use too many on shooting lessons with the demon, basically. Less because he's super concerned about Caedra knowing how to use a gun, and more because Seth might need the ammo later. Lance knows from experience how much it sucks to be used to using a gun as your primary means of defense, especially somewhere as dangerous as Hadriel, and then be unable to use it due to lack of bullets.]

[darknstormy]

[ Seth had to pick up his device again once this message started coming through. The video feed jostled for a second before his face projected steadily. He gave the guy a nod in acknowledgement. ]

Challenging but not impossible, right?

text.

[dedikated]

( For all the time that's passed - even more for Kate, since she was taken home for three years - it's still, it always will be a strange experience to hear familiar names. To see familiar faces.

Things that feel like a lifetime ago, like they happened to another person, still sting. Richie was a strange one, but he'd been okay. Someone she could understand pretty well.

She never expected to hear his brother on the network. )

You're not the first lot brought from other places like this.

( Since everyone else has the city itself covered, Kate's more concerned about the notes of coming here from another place. Bianca had mentioned another place, a barge of some sort, but this is the first time Kate's heard this particular story. )

What kind of monsters?

text;

[darknstormy]

[ Another text. After the last world he'd been sucked into, Seth didn't care much for texting but respected that not everyone would want to immediately show a stranger their face. However, the message he received wasn't informative like the other text response.

He gave his reply some thought. ]

So Ive heard

The kind attracted to sound who can obliterate the typical joe. Didn't remotely resemble anything human or from my world. Hard to describe.