video; un: tamwood

[neurotoxicity]

[ The video comes on to show a very tired looking woman sitting at a desk with folders and papers sprawled out on top of it. There are labels on the folders but it seems like she's purposely keeping those hidden. She lets out a breathy sigh and then starts to play with the cross around her neck. ]

I haven't been here long. [ Which is probably obvious to anyone who pays attention seeing how she's never appeared on the network. ] I'm trying to understand, though. [ Her tone matches how tired she looks. She's been awake since she got to this place, searching through the old posts and trying to find out everything she can. ] I've seen about the Sphere itself, the nightmares, and the memories. [ She gives something of a forced smile and for just a second what looks like sharp canine fangs can be seen. ] Lets all hope none of mine get shown. [ That's a much more earnest wish than her tone actually reveals. Most of her memories are things she wished she could forget. Having others see them? Experience them? She couldn't imagine how humiliating that would be. Not to mention how awful it would be for anyone here to experience. She wouldn't wish her experiences on many people. ]

I suppose that doesn't really leave me with many questions to ask. Except, what do you all think is important to know? It doesn't have to be about this place, it could be about you, or other people here. Anything to look out for or pay attention to? Anything that could be useful to add. [ To her files. There's a pause before she adds a very indifferent sounding: ] Thanks.

Comments

Voice: Ben.Solo

[havethestrength]

Everyone's memories are shown eventually.

[neurotoxicity]

Is it forced or can people choose to not watch?

[havethestrength]

It's forced, but you can pretend you didn't see it.

[neurotoxicity]

What good would pretending you didn't see it serve anyone?

[havethestrength]

Some people want to pretend others didn't see them.

[neurotoxicity]

Trying to be delusional doesn't work out well for most people.

[havethestrength]

You sound like once who's tried.

[neurotoxicity]

No. [ The answer is actually yes and her voice waivers for just a second before she adds: ] I can't say I've ever tried to be delusional.

[havethestrength]

[That tells him everything he needs to know.]

I see.

Video - un: detwatts

[gadaboutdetective]

[Hmm... Another new face. It seems like she’s been busy too, between the sounds of the progress she’d made getting familiarized with the place and how tired she looked. The pile of papers and folders on her desk remind him of his own office currently, so it’s nice to know he’s not the only one with a penchant for piling things up a little more chaotically than neat and tidy.]

Uh— hello? I’m Detective Llewellyn Watts. It’s nice to meet you, miss...?

[A pause, uncertain of what she’d like to be called. Ah, well... He moved on instead.]

It sounds like you’ve already covered the more important things here so... I would say a few important locations to know about would be a few of the food stands at the market if you’re looking for a quick snack... [Food is always important to Llewellyn.] And there’s an excellent shop owned by one of the other residents here. Miss Inesa, she makes custom clothing based on one’s personal tastes. She and the others who work with her do excellent work?

[Humming a little, almost as an afterthought, he continued a moment later.]

And if you find yourself in need of further details on the uh— things that have happened here, beyond what’s found on the network... you’re welcome to stop by my office and look through my notes.

[neurotoxicity]

Tamwood. Ivy Tamwood, former I.S. [ Though she doubted that would mean anything to him. The most she offers is a polite, but very small, smile. ] A pleasure to speak with you, Detective. [ It seemed difficult to qualify this as 'meeting' someone, but it was something she supposed. She looked down for a second and seemed to be writing something down. ]

I don't suppose there's any place that sells good sushi? [ It was meant as a joke but her tone was dry and her facial expression didn't change from the neutral expression she'd had to begin with. ] One of the people brought here opened a clothing shop? [ Nothing about that seemed logical to her. Why would someone bother to open a clothing store of some kind in a place like this? It seemed so ordinary. ]

You have notes? [ It's a comfort to know that someone else here has been keeping notes. She'd been worried people were just accepting their fate and letting what happened happen. ] If you're willing to let me look them over I'd certainly appreciate it.

[gadaboutdetective]

I can’t say I’m familiar with I.S. But likewise!

[He responded with an attempt at a polite smile, despite the curiosity on his face. He’d met a few people who were with organizations that used acronyms during his time here, so he wasn’t a stranger to the idea at least.

On the matter of sushi, his expression drew into a serious line, thinking carefully on the idea.]

I’m not sure if only because I haven’t had it here? That doesn’t mean there isn’t though, I will uh— look into it and get back to you.

[Yes, he’s very serious. Food is serious, Ivy. When all else failed in his life, he always had food to fall back on.

At the very least, her request was something he could make happen.]

I’m happy to let you look over my notes. You can stop by my office whenever you find yourself in the area. [He paused, a sudden thought coming to him late.] Or... Let me know if you are, actually. I confess that I’m not one for sitting around, and I’ve been a bit preoccupied of late. So even though I try to keep regular hours, I might not be there.

[neurotoxicity]

Inderland Security. It's...[ she waves a hand and moves forward somewhat cautiously ] like the FBI but they handle cases with nonhumans. [ Most IS agents would probably want to kill themselves twice for being compared so closely to the FBI. More often than not the two agencies didn't get along. Which was exactly why she was proceeding so cautiously. This place was weird but she was new and unsure of how people would react to a vampire. There's still speciesism in her own world after all. A lot of it.

She lets out a breathy chuckle at his response in regards to sushi. He seems to take food fairly seriously. ] Maybe I should have asked about hot dogs instead. [ There were specific times for hot dogs, but she had a feeling that time may come up here. ]

Preoccupied? [ There's a bit of hesitation in her question, she's curious but it doesn't seem like her place to really ask a stranger something about why he's been preoccupied. So, she moves on quickly from the question, giving him the chance to just ignore it if he wants to. ] If you'd rather, I could schedule a time to come by now?

[gadaboutdetective]

[Llewellyn was quiet for a moment, before humming a drawn out note. Yeah... FBI hadn’t been founded yet when he was from. Either way, her explanation was enough to give him an idea of what she meant. He’d look into it further at the library, just in case it came up again.]

Cases involving non humans? I presume that means your world is more like a few others I’ve met here compared to my own.

[He got along well with a few who fell into that category, so she wouldn’t have to worry about that once she got to know him better. Llewellyn had very little patience for people being narrow minded and opinionated about those who didn’t fit the ‘normal mould’ a world expected. Got him in trouble on occasion too...

His expression turned back to a smile though, now that he could help with easier than sushi.]

I can certainly show you the hotdog cart I like when I’m in the mood for one, soft pretzels too if you’re interested. I’ll still keep an eye out for a good sushi place though, I like trying new things.

[And food was always a safe bet... Well... Maybe not safe. He’d nearly been poisoned once, but that wasn’t the food’s fault.

If she had hoped for an elaboration on the matter of his preoccupation, it went unanswered for now. Either on purpose or because his attention span had jumped to her switch to scheduling a meetup.]

Oh— Yes, that would be convenient. When did you have in mind?

[neurotoxicity]

[ It takes a bit of the uncertainty out of her when he mentions that her world is more like others. That implies he's heard of supernatural creatures and may not have that bad of an outlook towards them. So she explains a bit more: ] We're called Inderlanders. Witches, pixy, faerie, trolls, dryads, were's, and vampires. You've heard of things like that here then? [ But not in his own world. Interesting. ] I can't imagine that was an easy adjustment for you if the supernatural isn't out in the open in your world. We only recently came out to humans and they...had problems adjusting. [ Problems that were still happening. Then again, there were a lot of compounding issues to that adjustment period. ]

I would be interested if you don't mind showing someone mundane things. [ After all, she could easily just find things herself. But this gave a lot more information about Llewellyn and information was what she was after. ]

Well, I can't say I have any appointments set up currently so....tomorrow afternoon?

[gadaboutdetective]

[Not an easy adjustment was a good way of putting it, he still sometimes felt a little lost considering how little experience he had himself compared to those here.

His brow furrowed a bit, of course coming out to humans would have been difficult... People were difficult, it didn’t matter what world you came from.]

I’m... not surprised. Humanity tends to be... rather slow to accept those who are different. It’s utter nonsense on society’s part, but unsurprising. [Clearing his throat a little, he nodded quickly.] I have though, heard of them I mean? In my world, they’re stories. Never found any proof to suggest they were real, most proof presented turned out to be an intricate hoax.

And as for here? I can say there are some who fall into a category, and several who know magic. [He doesn’t elaborate on what and who, though. It’s not his place to tell. Not everyone seemed open about what they were, and he could respect that.] They’ve been nice to get to know, and interesting to learn from.

[Tomorrow afternoon? He flipped open the notebook a friend had given him in an attempt to keep him more organized and wrote it down.]

I never mind showing someone ‘mundane’ things. Just because it’s mundane doesn’t mean it’s unimportant, right? Mm... And yes, tomorrow afternoon would work just fine for me.

[neurotoxicity]

Fear. Humans have an intense fear of things that go bump in the night, the things they don't understand. In my world we were just stories, that's how we liked it, until the Turn. [ Then they had no choice but to come out. ] It could always be the same in your world. A lot of us never wanted to come out. [ It'd probably be a lot easier if they hadn't, but life always had an irritating way of taking choices away.

She tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and tilted her head. ] Magic, hmm? My partner is an earth witch [ Well, half truth. Rachel was definitely more than just an earth witch. ] She specializes in charms, she even carries a splat gun around with sleepy charms. [ Which she still found kind of...lame. Useful, but lame. ] I would be interested in hearing about the differences. [ But she won't ask him to give their names. ]

You're very generous with your time, I appreciate it.

video; un: CheeseWiz

[harrythelizard]

[Admittedly, it was refreshing to see someone so capable on the network, someone who clearly either actually handled this whole "showed up from another dimension in an underwater human aquarium" thing well, or at least was really good at pretending she was find with it.

He could commiserate with hoping none of his memories were shown over the network. He certainly had more than a few...embarrassing ones.]

Sure, no problem. I'm Harry Dresden, and the place isn't so bad. The fake sun even feels like sun, so that's something. Have you know why we're here?

[neurotoxicity]

[ Her expression maintains a level of indifference and calmness. It's not that she's not bothered by showing up in another dimension, it's just that she's experienced worse. A lot worse. Besides, there were worse things than being away from her Master. ]

It's nice to speak with you, Mr. Dresden. [ Might as well be as polite as possible to get the most out of people while she can. ] Does the fake sun work the same way as the real one? [ Mostly she's curious if it'd affect an undead vampire or not. That seemed important to know just in case. ] I've seen a few explanations for why we were brought here, but I'd appreciate hearing anything you had to say about it.

[harrythelizard]

To be honest, I haven't spent a lot of time testing out the properties of the sun. I had...other things I was focused on.

[Like trying to determine how many of the natives were actually real. That was still a project in progress. Oh, and making sure he had a circle strong enough to bind something actually dangerous. That was time-consuming in itself.]

Sure. The Sphere is a creature. It was really young when it's entire species was wiped out, except it obviously, and it's been running experiments on the people it brings here to figure out what happened. According to it, it doesn't have a good means of communicating with any of us because our minds are incompatible, but to spite our differences, we should give it the data it needs to bring its people back.

I don't buy it, but it's all we've got to go on right now.

[neurotoxicity]

I doubt that's something that's important to most people. [ Though she does sound just a tiny bit disappointed. She'll just have to see if she can figure that out on her own.

She writes a few things down as he speaks and then shakes her head. ]

That doesn't make sense. [ On a lot of different levels. ] If our minds are so incompatible that it can't even speak to us, how could we possibly be giving it any useful data? Nothing about the "experiments" [ she makes air quotes around experiments ] people have described here seem like they would give data about how a species got eradicated. They seem more like psychological experiments to learn about behavior.

[harrythelizard]

Oh trust me, I asked it that several times, and it just kept assuring me that we were helpful.

[He nodded, steepling his fingers and resting them against his lips thoughtfully. He didn't even look the part of a grizzled mage on purpose this time. It'd just become a habit.]

Yeah, that's the impression I get, too. If it's not a machine, though, and is actually a person, however we want to define that, it could be lying.

[neurotoxicity]

The fact that it finds torturing it's captivates helpful says a lot. [ She'd known enough people like that to be extremely uncomfortable. ]

Or at the least it could have been trying to color the truth to make it seem less threatening to you all.

[harrythelizard]

Exactly. Add into that sometimes people disappear but we don't know because it replaces them with very believable simulacrums and it becomes really difficult to believe it doesn't want to hurt us. Some noble goal of saving it's people just feels like an excuse, like it's trying to appeal to our better natures. I really hate getting played.

It's not coloring anything. It directly told me we're in the middle of an active experiment and disclosing information would render the results useless. I don't trust that thing as far as I could roll it...which probably isn't very far.

[neurotoxicity]

It replaces people with simulacrums? [ That was the first time she was hearing that and it was certainly disturbing. ] What would that add to an experiment? [ She believed the experiment to save it's people angle even less after that bit of information. ]

I don't think anyone likes getting played. [ She certainly didn't, but it was sort of the story of her life with her master. ] You make it sound like it happens to you regularly.