redshiftrp | text; @apocalypseArisen

best we can do is just look for them
check security footage when it's available

I haven't seen Ben for a while
hasn't been in his room or at the library

[and Peter isn't thrilled about this]

i know
and i havent seen him at mealtimes either
wouldnt he have told someone if he was going somewhere dangerous though
its not like him to ghost everybody like that
um
pun not intended

how do i check security footage
that sounds like a really good idea

it was a good pun and I'm proud of you

we can probably review footage in that security room that opened up

ok
where is that again
i can meet you there

[ Right now? Right now sounds good. She'll be on her way as soon as she has directions. ]

[Peter forwards her the location and then leaves to meet her there. He will probably be on the ceiling when she arrives, because that's how Spider-Man rolls.]

[ Ami arrives via walking on the floor like a normal person, because alas, she cannot simply say "fuck you" to gravity. She's distinctly upped her goth game in the last few weeks, ever since her trip to Hot Topic (which she would have excitedly told Peter about immediately afterward). Today she's even using the red mascara she found there.

But she's got a notebook and pen in one hand, and the urgency of her steps and the determined look on her face suggest she is taking this quite seriously. Obviously Ben and Reynir are both grown-ass men who can take care of themselves ~~citation needed~~, but they're not the first people who have just quietly disappeared in the night. It's inexcusable that it's taken her this long to really question what happened. ]

I'm here.

[Peter is also not super thrilled that it took him so long to realize that something was up. He looks a little worried when Ami shows up, dropping down from the ceiling (don't ask why he was up there) and immediately turning his attention to getting the security room open.]

If-- if whatever happened didn't happen somewhere with cameras, obviously we won't find anything this way. Just um, figured it couldn't hurt to look."

[ Ami nods. ] Yeah. It could help us narrow it down, at least. Rule out places he didn't go.

[ She pauses, waiting for him to get the door open. Her racing mind keeps coming back to one thought in particular, though, so after a moment she decides to voice it. ]

Hey, Peter... those couple of days when we couldn't find you. You went home then, too, right?

[ She already knows he did, it's just establishing context for her actual question. ]

[Once he's got the door open, he heads right for one of the computery stations and boots that puppy up, glancing over at Ami when she starts asking him stuff.]

I-- yeah, I went home. Spent a few years dead and about eight months actually alive and like, doing stuff.

[ Ami follows him, sort of, but stops in the doorway, her gaze drifting down to the floor. ]

But you did go back to being dead.

[He frowns, stares at a random screen across the room while he tries to work out a reply to that. It was a little more complicated than one might think.]

I... I know that from the point of view of everyone back home that survived that I was dead for five years, but I can't say for sure if... if I was there floating around in some afterlife or something. The only memories I have are of dying and then waking up whole again, nothing of the actual being dead part. So-- so it's possible that I could have just been brought back directly from here. I really have no way of knowing for sure.

[ Ami frowns, considering that. Normally you get sent back to the same time you left, right? Or is that just anecdotal? There's no rhyme or reason to the time periods people arrive from, so why would there be on the return trip?

It sparks a tiny glimmer of hope, at least. On this detail, maybe some uncertainty is a good thing. ]

Okay. I hope that's it.

[ She walks in and joins Peter by the screens, following his eyes without any real idea what she's looking at. There's even a hint of cheer restored to her voice as she adds- ]

Either way, I'm glad you got to skip being a ghost. It sucks pretty hard, would not recommend!

[Peter isn't sure if the uncertainty makes him feel better, but it seems to have worked for Ami. That's always a plus.]

I feel like it would be interesting to experience for a little while? But yeah, I'm not too upset about skipping the ghost thing.

[As for the screens, he's still sifting through old footage, trying to pinpoint the general time frame that Ben might have vanished from. There's a lot of footage, it might take a bit.]

I guess we can't be sure if you don'tfind a body.

Speaking of missing persons, where's Reynir? Young guy, big braid?

He missed our tea time. He has not returned to his room since.

I'm going to go look for him. Just in case. He's a good kid.

Please inform me if you find him.

[Which he won't, but you know what Jacob might find instead? This fellow sitting outside Reynir's door, his knees pulled up to him, head buried in his arms. If there's one thing apparent about him immediately -- aside from the fact that he must not like showing much skin, given how covered-up he is -- it's the tension wracking his entire frame, wound so tight that he rattles from his shoulders all the way to his hands, his fingers curled tight against the fabric of his coat.

Long story short, he's having a bad day, and trying to not have a bad day. A bad day for him means uncontrollably rotting the surfaces around him. He doesn't like that. Nobody likes that.]

Edited 2020-03-08 07:53 (UTC)

oh no hes missing too?
is there anybody else
should we do a headcount
i dont even know how many people live here anymore

I know this sounds a bit over dramatic but it seems to me that we really should be looking out for each other.

Not just our friends but... everyone. No one else is going to do it for us.

I don't know many people here. But Reynir is the one I noticed.

[ Whether or not Jacob meant it as a criticism of her personally, that's sort of what she hears, and it ruffles her feathers. Who's this guy? He doesn't know her life. There's no way she could have seen this coming. But on the other hand... ]

... youre right
we should
at the very least i should know whether my friends are alive or dead
but explain to me please what you think im doing wrong
i cant just monitor where everybody is at all times even if anyone wanted that
which they emphatically do not

[ It really was not directed at her at all, but this boy so easily says things the wrong way and gets peoples backs up without meaning to. He can't do right for doing wrong.]

No that's not what I said. You're not

LOOK

Okay right. You are doing a good thing looking out for the people you know and care about. But who here knows everyone? Is there a list of people who are here? Do we know where people bunk if we all need to get out quick?

It's something maybe we need to think about. As a community.

Edited 2020-03-21 05:08 (UTC)

I suppose there is not truly a way to be sure. However, I was at another "place like this" before arriving here, and there were those who disappeared and then returned after spending some time at home. One of them was my father.

I have not seen Ben Hargreeves.

ok
thank you anyway

[ It's kind of cold comfort, but she'll take it. Even an infinitesimally slim chance of seeing her friends again is better than no chance at all. And part of her wants to leave it at that, but... if your friends could disappear at any moment, doesn't that make it even more important to make new ones? ]

i dont think weve talked before by the way
my names ami
whats yours

I do not believe we have. My name is Connor.

nice to meet you connor

man i dont even know what i would do if my dad showed up here
like obviously id be happy to see him again but
ive gotten so used to living on my own
it would necessarily change my entire social dynamic
also id have to protect him from monsters i guess but i was already sort of doing that back home

Likewise.

Why would it change your entire social dynamic?

well because
you know
hes my dad!!
didnt it make things weird when your dad showed up?

[ Well ... ]

My relationship with my father has always been strange. His appearance changed nothing about how I interacted with anyone else.

[ The overwhelming issue of them being on different sides in a thousands of years old war and how it complicates everything was a bit more important than 'social dynamics'. ]

Do you believe we'll all be sent home one day?

[ She takes a while to respond. ]

i dont know
what do you think

[He has to think about this himself.]

I believe those who wish to return home should be allowed to.

thats not the question you asked

It's what I prefer to the alternative.

[ There's a few minutes before her next reply. ]

do you not want to go home

[✔ Read.]

[ 15 more minutes or so. ]

sorry
you dont have to answer that
i shouldnt have put you on the spot

if its any help though
i know ben would have chosen to stay
so if you did feel that way
you wouldnt be the only one

I took no offense. It's merely a difficult question, and knowing the fellow who suffered such a fate makes it all the heavier on my mind.

[And while it's one he's not sure he wants to answer, he feels he should try.]

I shouldn't want to stay here, but I haven't a home to return to. I don't know where I belong, if anywhere.

who says you shouldnt want to
there is no wrong way to feel about that
what you want is what you want
i may feel differently but that doesnt mean either of us is wrong
anyway if you dont have a home thats a very good reason not to go there

Edited 2020-03-08 23:41 (UTC)

Oh.

That is unfortunate. He likely would have mentioned going anywhere prior to doing so. He's conscientious like that.

yeah
peter and i are going to check the cameras to make sure

[ pause... ]

if it does turn out hes gone for real
i guess that would make me acting chief librarian wouldnt it

Is there a library line of succession? Are you his heir?

I did not realize libraries were so structured.

oh yes
in fact structure is pretty much all a library is!
without structure a library is nothing but a huge messy pile of paper

serious answer though
i dont think im chief librarian material in the long term
this is bens project
without him around it just feels
i dunno

Yeah. I understand.

He was cataloging everything. It was his project and it seems...

Very final? To take it over from him? Admitting he is gone.

well not exactly
sort of the opposite in fact
if he does return he would be sad to find his library in disarray
but if he doesnt
then whats the point in keeping an endless vigil for him there
is that really what hed want me to do

Carrying on his work is not keeping an endless vigil. You can honor him in many ways, including that.

But it is ultimately up to you.

I hope he returns. Not that I wish him to be trapped here, but because well .. he is dead at home. This seems better?

It wouldn't be that hard to write a tracking algorithm for our devices, at least for within the station confines.

[ Whether it'd take to unfamiliar tech, that's another story. ]

oh yeah these phones do have gps dont they
do you think that would work

Edited (get outta here subject field!!!!) 2020-03-09 13:56 (UTC)

I think it would be an easy enough thing to try. If it works, so much the better. If not, what have you lost?

[Kieran's gotten good at getting his comm to speak text to him whenever he's finding it a bit too difficult to parse through. It's frustrating at first, sure, not being able to get through what he's pretty sure is a short bit of writing (even if it looks like a novel to him), but it quickly subsides when he hears exactly what Ami has to say.]

So... Ben's gone, huh?

[The tone of his voice isn't much above 'numb'.]

text; @apocalypseArisen

text; @Spides

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Text un: Rook

[text; un: longinmouth]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

[Text @Connor]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

[text; un: longinmouth]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

@Sparrow

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

text; @starscream

no subject

no subject

[AUDIO][PRETEND THIS IS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MONTH]