[network] @beyonce | day 430 | Don't Hurt Yourself | audio [open]

[thewarningafter]

[There's the sound of breathing and boots crunching through snow -- this is one of those feeds created on the move, it would seem. When Stephen speaks, his voice is lighter, easier than it had sounded for a long while before his death. It's like a burden has been lifted from him, but there's something wry in his tone, too.]

You can count me back among the living. Or I can, when I sit down and catch up.

[Haha census humor. The lightness drains from his voice as he turns to more painful and worrying matters.]

I've been catching up on some of what I missed...it looks as though I'm not the only one who's learned first hand how dangerous our counterparts can be. The one that killed me was able to access the bunker; I don't know if someone let him in or if he'd stolen a tablet. I'd found a key card and a microchip I believe might grant access to the remaining locked room there, but they're not among my supplies now. If anyone found them...please. Please let me know. If that thing has them....

Gabriel, Vanitas. I'm sorry I left you, and I hope the fact that your names haven't been posted since mine was means you didn't follow in my footsteps. And Peter? You're an idiot. That goes for both of you.

Comments

@godsend, audio

[termineur]

Stephen? Glad you're back. It was-

[ No, no need to go into how bad it was that they lost him in the bunker. ]

We got the microchip. We made the trip to make the keycard, and we're on our way back. Not sure why it has to be in a hunk of plastic to work, but whatever.

Are you okay? Need help with anything?

[ He can't guess the death price right off the bat, but Stephen's have always been bad. ]

perma-audio

[thewarningafter]

[Stephen's sigh of relief is audible and shaky, something he's been holding in until Gabriel replied.]

Good. Good, that's -- really good. I'm glad you found it. I thought it might need to be attached to a key card; I was going to tell you --

[But then...well, yeah. Dead. He knows what Gabriel means by his next question.]

It's not as bad this time. Dangerous in its own way but there's not much to be done other than stay careful until I can get back to where you are, unless you know of anyone in the northern residential zone I can meet.

[termineur]

[ The fact that Stephen doesn't outright say what it is has Gabriel following that precedent- it's probably a mental thing, because of course it always is. But he does let out a small huff, because most death prices are pretty concerning. ]

I don't. But- tell me about it later? I'd like to at least check up on you while you're traveling. [ And hey, those daily counting sessions are a little calming for Gabriel, too, honestly. ] You sound like you're doing okay right now, at least.

But- yeah, we figured out what we had to do. Took some pouring through notes before I remembered that machine was in the Industrial area. And so far, we're doing okay. Not too many anomalies seem to be wandering around up here. Must be all the walls and skywalks.

[thewarningafter]

[By now he's gotten in the habit of not sharing information about his death prices over the network if he can help it, though little has come of most of them...and though he'll get bored in a few minutes and turn it into a guessing game with House, of all people. He clicks over to private text and shoots a quick message to Gabriel before going back to regular audio:

no pain]

Some of the doors probably give them trouble. I don't like the idea of those skywalks, though. Too closed in if one of them did get inside.

[Like the hallway where Peter's anomaly had cornered him.]

[termineur]

[ It's a good habit to have, honestly. Gabriel takes a look at the text and immediately understands. It had been sounding like the death price was good, and hey, that never happens. Here, the problem will probably be mostly going back to normal- and trying not to die while it's happening.

So he sounds a little calmer as he continues. ]

Yeah, it seems like a lot of the anomalies we're hearing about are bigger than they had been, and they don't have tablets. So they lost some mobility problems and gained others. We're going to have to take note of what we can take advantage of, clearly.

@librarian; audio

[cahooted]

[Well, that's a message he can absolutely not make heads or tails of? At the same time there's a lot to infer; it's like straight from adventure story. A bunker and key cards and mystery...]

You guys take this very seriously.

perma-audio

[thewarningafter]

Uh...yeah? You alright, Flynn?

[cahooted]

Yeah, thanks. Yesterday was really freaky? But I think I'm slowly getting the hang of this.

What did the key card look like?

[thewarningafter]

Like a security clearance card for someone named Doctor Williams. She died in there -- getting the hang of what, exactly?

[cahooted]

Everything. The quests. The storyline.

Do we know anything about Doctor Williams?

@Spoiler; video

[spoileralert]

No offense, but was it ever really in question that they're dangerous? It seems like a lot of people are having run-ins with them and not taking, like, any precautions.

I don't know if you took precautions or not, but it's definitely a pattern.

audio

[thewarningafter]

While I agree that my death might have been avoidable had certain precautions been taken, perhaps on the part of some of my compatriots, I was not expecting to encounter a mud-monster that occupied the full width of the hallway in which it had cornered me. Inside the bunker, for the record.

audio

[spoileralert]

See, that sounds reasonable. People hanging out with their anomalies and chatting it up, not so much.

audio

[thewarningafter]

Yeah, Peter's going to get himself killed if we don't hold an intervention.

audio

[spoileralert]

How would one go about that with someone like Peter? He's not really my usual audience type.

@hexappeal, audio

[sleight_of_fate]

Hey. Sounds like you're feeling pretty good for just coming back...good to hear, at least.

[Rhys is healing nicely and fairly happy about that, at least.]

I have something for you when you get back to the area, if you're heading back to Residential 3. Just as a heads-up. No big deal, but I've been holding onto it for a bit.

perma-audio

[thewarningafter]

Good is a relative and fleeting term.

[But he still sounds oddly cheerful about it. He pauses, though, a little confused.]

...What kind of something?

[Rhys doesn't like him; he's pretty sure he did a thorough job of burning that bridge a while back. Why would he be holding onto something for him?]

Re: perma-audio

[sleight_of_fate]

Just something I put together for you a while back and never got to deliver. It's a surprise.

[Okay, so they aren't buddies but Rhys does keep his promise, and needs things at night to keep his hands busy.]

And I absolutely promise that there's no hugs or anthrax involved. So you're safe from that.

Re: perma-audio

[thewarningafter]

[Give him a little while and he'll probably remember what they talked about by the time they meet up.]

Oh, well. Those are the two big ones.

[sleight_of_fate]

Always important to know what you're getting.

[Rhys would rather it be a surprise, though, just because there's so few nice surprises here.]

I've been wandering around the Bunker area, so pretty much anytime we catch up to each other, okay? It'll keep.

@hotstud_xxx; voice-to-text

[rubikscomplex]

You sure sound chipper for a guy who just rose from the dead. What's your price?

perma-audio

[thewarningafter]

[He huffs out a little laugh. He's clearly feeling good, despite all reasons to the contrary.]

You're the diagnostician, you tell me. Get on audio, though; I need my eyes.

[It'll be like a game.]

[rubikscomplex]

[Ngh... he doesn't really want to go on audio. At least he sounds better than he looks.]

You have acute MN poisoning, the manifestations of which are incredibly varied. There. You have my diagnostician opinion. Did you lose your attitude, or something? That seems more like a positive for everybody.

[thewarningafter]

Well, if we're just going to give blanket MN diagnoses, everything is MN poisoning. Congratulations, you've cracked literally all of the cases.

If you're just going to be an asshole I don't have to offer you entertainment.

[Even if it's mutual entertainment.]

[rubikscomplex]

[He doesn't, and House considers hanging up. But as much fun as it is lying around, recovering from having his hand cut off, there are only so many times he can go over the network archives and information they've collected before he needs something else. Will, to his credit, can be entertaining, but he's also one person who needs space on occasion. Pestering him constantly isn't conducive to anything.]

You're walking, you're talking, you can hear, you can see. Not one of the major senses that've been impacted, then, unless it's smell or taste and who actually cares about those? [House pauses to cough and tastes blood, per usual.] Your memories for here are intact, what about before? Remember ever not being in Norfinbury?