Text | username: detjoda

[axecop]

[So, one can hardly blame Joseph for being confused. Last thing he remembered, he was shlepping around in the graphic horror show of a serial killer's brain, and had just finished feeling ground beneath him crumble into nothing while struggling to breathe around a bullet in his lungs.

Then there was the smell of medicine. Shaky, rhythmic beeping. And he was wet. But that was hazy and he couldn't remember it as well. And it certainly doesn't explain how he got... well. Here.

He defaults to text because he trusts that not to betray how rattled he is.]

Good afternoon, [He's deduced that it's probably afternoon, though it's hard to tell with no sun.]

My name is Detective Joseph Oda. I gained consciousness a day or so ago and while they attempted to explain things to me then, I have to admit that I'm still very confused. If this is the usual recruiting process for this ALASTAIR group, I imagine this won't be the first time someone has had similar questions.

Barring the whole space travel and dimensional transport factor, which I'm going to have to wrestle with on my own time, I don't understand how we are expected to buy this. We're asked to follow orders and potentially risk our lives for a company that we've never heard of, didn't apply with, and have no understanding of the motives of-- and we're led to believe this is the only option?

Maybe someone else can reassure me that my cynicism isn't warranted. Or maybe someone could explain to me how exactly a star disappears without warning. Still don't really get that one.

In any case, I appreciate any help or information you could provide me. I will be taking notes of everything I see and hear in the hopes that something might end up making sense.

Thank you,

Det. J. Oda

Comments

text; un: red streak

[sanicspeed]

Nice to meet you, Detective. I'm Barry Allen. Forensic Investigator. I dunno but titles seemed important.

But you generally have the gist of it. Part of me thinks that keeping things going smoothly until we get the full story is better than ruining things. You know what I mean?

[axecop]

Thank you, Mr. Allen. Do you have a particular forensic specialty? I've been working Homicide for close to ten years now.

I do know what you mean, though. I'm not suggesting anyone march up to our "employers" and start demanding answers. Whatever their aims, they do seem to have us between the proverbial rock and a hard place.

[sanicspeed]

None, really. I'm the only one the precinct has so I do pretty much everything. I like the job, though.

I'm glad you're not out to cause a ruckus. Still, I suggest meeting some people. There's a lot of people here who understand, you know, about being a part of the police. So they can help out. Most of them have also been here longer than me so they'd have better answers.

[axecop]

Forensics is one of the backbones of all the work we do, and we definitely appreciate all the help we can get. I'm glad to hear you enjoy it.

[Other cops? Joseph dares to let himself hope, just a little...]

I'm not exactly the troublemaking type, myself. Are there a lot of other cops here?

TEXT. UN: LOKI

[selfimage]

[ look, he even signs his name at the bottom of a forum post. ]

You weren't here for Anwick, were you?

[ no, he's not here to avert any cynicism. ]

[axecop]

No, I wasn't. Could you tell me about it?

[He's taking notes. Seriously.]

[selfimage]

TL;DR
We arrived for some mission or other with order to same some fledging dragons from the stake and flame.
Some of us followed orders- others of us didn't and thought to occupy our time with other forms of self-entertainment. [ see: him. it was boring, ok. ]
By our hand the dragons were saved and blah blah blah blah. Balloons and celebration galore. So many bottles of champagne uncorked.
Then the dragons- the ones that we saved? Well, they ended up causing the apocalypse. The worlds "natural end" is what ALASTAIR called it.
Just like that.

text; un: melanblue

[ninmu]

The star has not disappeared. There is something in space blocking its light from reaching this planet. That's the theory.

[ here to be helpful, it's melan!! he has little to offer on the topic of ALASTAIR, but he can answer the other part. ]

[axecop]

That's a relief. And a much better theory than "it's gone out."

From the looks of things, I don't imagine the cultures here have the technology to look out and see what it is.

[ninmu]

One of our comrades was able to construct telescopes. However, they didn't provide more detailed information than that. The obstruction is probably too far away for me to fly to, as well.

text; un: Hawke

[bougy]

( another detective? she can't help but wonder if that's ALASTAIR trying to give them some kind of a clue. not that she cares. )

Hello, Detective, I wish I could say it were a pleasure. You've got a pretty good handle on it already, so good work there. Magic put something in front of the sun but don't worry because we're going to fix it with science soon.

Don't know if you actually have to help, though. Probably not. It's not like ALASTAIR seems to care about its name anyway. You should see some of the people it's hired/kidnapped.

[axecop]

Thank you. I'm having a bit of a hard time accepting magic as an explanation for anything, so it's good to hear I'm not speaking total nonsense.

I was under the impression that their willingness to take us home depended largely on our cooperation in their missions. Is that not true?

[bougy]

Don't mention it. I get it, magic is pretty overwhelming. But whether someone believes in it or not, it's still dangerous. I've been learning science is like that, too.

Who knows? I guess you can trust them if putting faith in your kidnappers is your kind of thing. ( at least indentured servitude involved some kind of a clear contract before anyone said the final 'yes'. )

text; un: beloved

[dailydouble]

Your cynicism is entirely warranted. As for the star, magic seems to be the answer.

[axecop]

Good to know I'm not just being negative.

Magic. Of course it's magic. That's the only way to describe most of what's happened to me in the past day or so...

[dailydouble]

Magic of a different type, of course. How much have you learned about our employers?

text; username: axecerbic

[lumberpuncture]

magic, apparently.

Haven't you been LISTENING?

[As always, Johanna is (not) helpful]

[axecop]

Others have said the same thing, yes. I was listening to them. Thank you for the contribution.

[As always, Joseph is excessively Canadian.]

[lumberpuncture]

oh, my pleasure.

If you're looking for logic, keep dreaming. this entire thing is batshit.

text; un: ChiselChest

[whereismypie]

[ sorry about that display name, but Dean likes it, so! ]

that's the Twilight Zone for you, detective. as in, welcome to it.

so far, information on our current overlords' pretty tragically scarce, so good luck finding answers. some of us have been at it since day one — with no luck.

as far as "stars" disappearing without warning, i hope you believe in magic, 'cause there's a ton of that going around.

sorry about the infodump, pal.

[axecop]

[Man, just when he'd had enough of the Twilight Zone back home.]

I see. That's not very reassuring, but the honesty is appreciated.

Are you one of those who's been looking for answers?

[whereismypie]

[ sry bro, you ain't leaving it anytime soon ]

i'm all about the real talk, det. joe.

aren't we all looking for answers? yeah, i've been doing that. or trying to, outside of riots, getting thrown in jail, some b&e, figuring out who turned the lights off— they been keeping us pretty goddamn busy. i hope you like multitasking.

oh, i'm dean by the way. don't let the username fool you into thinking i ain't nothing but good looks and mad charm.

text; un: weapon_stories

[of_her_own_accord]

As someone who possesses multiversal travel capacities herself, the disabling of my own ability would seem to suggest that for the time being, we have little choice but to leave our fates in the hands of those at the top. Unfortunate, but practical.

And helpful, in this case. This world is in direct danger of mass extinction events without our assistance.

[axecop]

[Whoa there...]

You're saying you actually have the capability to travel between universes on your own? And that someone, or something, has restricted your abilities?

The sun disappearing is certainly a catastrophe. But as I understand it, ALASTAIR's last attempt to save a world did not go quite as planned.

[of_her_own_accord]

Indeed. Under different circumstances, the goals of ALASTAIR and my organization's own might not have been too far diverged from each other. As it stands, I too am "working off my time," so to speak.

On the contrary. I would say ALASTAIR'S last attempt went exactly as intended. The final fate of a world is not always pleasant.