[network/video] @baelfire; day 011, morning [open] [cw: character death]

[jumpship]

[ the video opens shakily, the boy's face a little puffy and red, dark rings under his eyes like he hasn't slept over night. he's not entirely meant to turn the video on but he doesn't hustle to change it, either. it's early, maybe too early for most people to be up, he thinks. ]

What happens when someone dies? I... I have seen so many people come back, but how will we know if they will?

[ his voice comes out a little steadier than he'd thought it would, honestly. he takes a deep breath. ] How long did everyone have to wait before they came back? I... I think I'd just like to know.

And if they don't come back, what do you do then? How do you even get to say goodbye somewhere like this? Is there absolutely no way out when the doors are locked? When someone gets--

[ another deep breath. ]

Sorry.

Comments

video | ID: Bowman

[pointnshoot]

[Bard has been in the same house four days, without food for two. He is hungry and blind and stir-crazy and rather certain that someone else is in another room, though he has yet to hear them and can't be sure enough of where things are to judge whether they've been moved. But he hears the Baelfire boy, sad and questioning, and none of that matters half as much as it had just moments before.

He's getting better at aiming his eyes at where his hands say the screen is, but his gaze is still unfocused and unseeing. He does look truly sorry for the poor boy's plight, though, and his voice is as kind as it can be.]

I woke up the next night. I do not know how far away I was from where I fell asleep [because that's still what it felt like] but I was somewhere else, so if your friend comes back you may also have to wait for them to find a shelter that won't impel them to leave.

[jumpship]

[ he hadn't expected anyone to answer, but when he hears Bard's voice, he looks to the screen, frowning. ] The next night? Oh.

[ would Killian come back so fast? he'd have to try and message him every night perhaps, or have Tinker Bell try and contact him, maybe. he can't be dead. not forever, anyway. ]

I'll look for them. I hope they come back. I just -- Are... are you okay? I'm glad you're not... you know.

[pointnshoot]

My eyes aren't what they used to be, but I can get around if I need to. [Kind of a huge lie--all he can really rely on is luck--but he says it with such a practiced Reassuring Smile that it should at least be obvious he's not trying to cause any upset.] You be careful looking for your friend, though. You won't do them any good if you get caught out yourself, and the rest of us don't want you dying either if we can help it.

Video; ID: technicalities

[tadashiwashere]

I'm not actually sure myself...

[It bothers him on a deep level that people have died, but something doesn't sit right that they just... come back. He knows it gets to Al more, but for now, he's scratching nervously behind one ear before focusing the full brunt of his concern on the video.]

What's happened? Are you okay?

[jumpship]

I have heard that some people come back, but what if... what if some people don't?

[ though really, he can't expect anyone to have these answers, either. ]

I'm -- I'm fine. A friend. The doors closed too fast. I think he's --

[ he looks away from the camera, biting back the strange wave of emotion. Hook and he hadn't been on good terms, not even close, but there had been growth, had been a chance for it, anyway. and now...? ]

[tadashiwashere]

[Tadashi's expression softens with understanding and he takes a deep breath. That... that's tough. And it's not something he's had to experience first-hand as of yet. So far his group has been careful -- and really lucky. He wants to offer advice, or to do something, but it's morning. It's too late, even if there was a way out after the doors slammed and locked.]

The best thing to do... well, the only thing I can suggest... is to not focus on the what-if's right now, okay?

[There's the barest hint of a smile, but it's mostly sad. And meant to be reassuring.]

Do you know what you're near? Maybe one of us can come to you.

video; ID - @RSTARK

[kingofthenorth]

I've heard there are people who come back. I've not known anyone personally who has died and come back. Where I'm from, there were rumors about the dead if you don't burn the bodies, but it appears those who come back here don't have... such problems.

[Robb wanted to keep the details vague in hopes not to terrify the boy. However, he didn't even know the exact details himself.]

[jumpship]

They do? [ he sounds far, far too hopeful, but the hope dims quite quickly. ]

Problems? What do you mean? What did the rumors say? Maybe it's the same here.

[kingofthenorth]

North and beyond the Wall, they say there are beings called the 'The Others' or 'White Walkers'. I've not seen one with my own eyes, but they've been been defeated by the First Men over 8,000 years ago. Before the war, a man executed by my father for abandoning the Night's Watch spoke of one of these beings. I've heard whispers and stories from my own men that if you don't burn the dead bodies, they will rise and be pawns of the Others.

...For our sakes, I hope this is not true here.

[Robb didn't exactly believe the stories, but the look on the man's face will always stand out to him. He wished he could have spoken to his bastard brother about it more.]

@TW; text

[maskintape]

as far as I know there's no way to tell who comes back
we have a word for it in exotic alabama
it's called a "crapshoot"

anyway I think I was only dead for a day or so
has something happened

video to text;

[jumpship]

[ Baelfire pauses when the text arrives on the screen, but he knows what Tim's implying. so there's a likely chance Hook might not come back at all. he's not sure how to feel, and switches the video off instead, to hide his tears and to type back. ]

i don't know. someone i know is missing. they got stuck outside.

[ but even Hook seemed convinced he was dead, and maybe he isn't but when Baelfire looked? he certainly wasn't there. ]

[maskintape]

[ Oh dear.

Tim remembers being lied to a lot as a kid. All the important information being kept from him when he was shut away in the hospital, having to rely on overhearing conversations between doctors that he only half understood.

He'd hated it. It had made him feel more scared and frustrated than he already did. ]

I'm sorry

[ He should really level with the kid. Someone has to.

But Tim is a liar. ]

they might be ok
the snow didn't look too bad last night so
I'm pretty sure the admin or whatever will have found your friend and taken them to get checked out by a doctor. then when they're fixed up you can yell at them for making you worry
it'll be great. trust me

video; @Chillinski

[figureitout]

We don't know.

[Stiles looks serious, even grim, not least because he's been wondering about the same thing. By now, he's seen too many obituaries for names he recognizes, seen too many people on the network after lockdown, too many trying to make their own death easier by spending the time talking to others.

And every time, he can't help but think, will they come back, or will someone find the body after a few days.]

And if there was a way out, there'd be a way in... and then we wouldn't even have this situation in the first place. [But damn if he doesn't wish there was some sort of way to cheat the locked doors.]

[jumpship]

I thought so.

[ but he wants to know, because Hook acted like he was dying, but maybe he wasn't dead? maybe he found shelter and was too sick to talk? maybe. but something deep in the pit of his gut tells him that it's not the case. ]

We'll... we'll find a way out. We have to, we can't keep living like this, can we? I just want to go home.

[ he sounds much younger than he might have the last time they talked, the boy setting the tablet down, pressing his face against his knees, both for the warmth and to hide his face. ]

[figureitout]

[Yeah, so does Stiles -- there has to be a better way than waiting for those obituaries, the matter-of-fact announcements.]

... yeah. There's a lot of us here, we'll find a way out. We'll work together and think of something. Whoever's behind us can't fight against all of us... and then we'll get to go home.

[There's a false surety in his tone, a reassurance, because Baelfire sounds scared, and hell, not for nothing. Stiles thinks he'd be scared, too, if he wasn't too focused on being so anxious about all of this.]

video; @Greed

[ossifragant]

[...He's just a kid.

This isn't fair, but Greed tries to keep his face neutral.]

Seems like it's random-- who comes back, who doesn't. I don't think we have any way of knowing.

[jumpship]

Random?

[ there's hope in the random, at least, but Baelfire's luck hasn't exactly been great. in fact, he's had rubbish luck, and even thinking about this makes his stomach twist. ]

Is there anyway to know if... if someone comes back? I... I know things show up if someone dies, but.

[ossifragant]

Someone I spoke to came back after dying. It's... it's possible.

You'll probably know, because they'll be back on the network after a few hours.

[Or days. It might very well be days-- who can tell.]

video

[trybelieving]

Oh, Baelfire.

[She sighs out of sheer exhaustion, struggling to find words that might bring him comfort. It'd be wrong to give him false hope, but he should hope, she thinks, no matter what the end result.]

I'd like to think that what I remember of life outside of this place is real. I have memories that you and Hook haven't gotten around to yet, so it seems to me that you should still have that, in the future.

[It probably won't help him much, but - ]

If we don't see him again here, then we still have each other.

[jumpship]

[ when he hear's Tinks voice he almost looks up, thinking she's in the room, but it's easy to be separated in a house like this, to put distance. he feels a stab of guilt for consulting the group at all when he had Tink who was in just as much pain, no doubt. ]

I'm -- I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything. I couldn't get back to sleep.

[ he shrugs, looking away from the camera. ]

But was this place ever meant to be in our futures? Maybe it's changed everything? I wish we knew, Tinker Bell, I wish we had answers to anything here. [ he's frustrated, his voice raising slightly, a frown working its way across his lips. but Tink is right, in the end. ]

I'm glad you're here, still. We still have each other.

[trybelieving]

It's fine, Bae. You're welcome to sleep in here with me, if you think it might help.

[She gives him space when it seems like he needs it, but he's a child. If he wants someone to tell him a story or stay by his side, she's more than willing - it's just that Tink feels like she's useless when it comes to comforting him. He's been through so much that she never knows where t start. She wants to help, but it's not as simple as finding a magical solution. There's no cure for a broken heart.]

I don't know that a place like this has the power to change everything. Some things are meant to happen.

[She believes that, even here.]

... I miss him, too.

video - @claytonator

[dr_unconscious]

[When Clayton finds this video later in the morning (after he's gotten his beauty sleep in and made his own post), he finds his feelings rather conflicted.]

[On the one hand: Thank christ it's not Baelfire that is in danger of dying. He's not sure how he would be able to handle that, in light of the very melodramatically optimistic video he just made. His new friends dying is one thing--a kid dying is something else entirely. This much, at least, Clayton lets himself be thankful for.]

[On the other hand: Someone close to him has still died. Looking through the other replies Baelfire has already gotten, Clayton has sussed out that he's talking about Hook. That was...just last night, wasn't it? Oh the poor boy. He must feel so hollow right now--Clayton can only imagine it, and yet it still hurts tremendously to see him suffer like this. He's not sure what else he can do, but he can try something.]

Ain't nothin' to 'pologize for. [Clayton's expression is remorseful, but empathetic. A smile at this point would just come across as forced, so he doesn't attempt one.] 's a good thing ta ask. Took 'bout a day fer me to come back...seems like that's the least 'mount a time. But some a the other folks, they took a little longer. Few days, maybe. He's still got time and you shouldn't give up hope on 'em yet, alright?

[jumpship]

You think he could still be alive? Or... or he could come back?

[ he can just remember how miserable Hook seemed, how the text messages were so devoid of any hope. it sends a chill down his spine, makes his stomach churn. ]

And... what happened to you when you woke up? Are you... you okay? If he comes back I want to know what to expect and... and I want to help as much as possible.

[ he frowns, looking exhausted. ]

video; @Nobody

[promises_to_keep]

[He knows Baelfire knew Killian Jones; he's been kind of nosy and has been trying to keep up with public communications. Having read the names of two friends on obituaries himself, though, he understands how hard it is to know someone from home has died in this place. Lea gives him a sad look, knowing better than to patronize him by trying to smile.]

There doesn't seem to be any pattern to who comes back and who doesn't. For that matter, I can't find any sort of pattern to what sort of people this place brings in.

One friend of mine came back after two days, but another came back the same day the obituary was posted. Thing is, obituaries only seem to get posted every few days, so I'm not positive when either one of them actually died. [He does venture a bit of a smile then.] Both my friends came back, though... so I'm sure yours will, too. [Killian Jones doesn't strike him as the type to take death lying down.]

[jumpship]

I... I just assume he's... you know. He could have made it but... but they say no one does, with how cold it is?

[ he shakes his head, trying to rid himself of any image that provides. ]

There's no sense to this place at all, and... and I've been many places that I thought were strange. I just... I just wish I knew.