01 ⚓ Video ⚓ Strangers, who are you? Where do you sail from?

[hearrrtofgold]

[For half a second the feed catches the corridor outside of the mess hall, showing a blurred image of the walls before focusing on a new face. It's a rather handsome youngish male face, framed by brunet hair, adorned with a soul patch, beard, and moustache, and dominated by a prominent nose as well as brown eyes and lips pulled into a thoughtful frown.]

That is officially the weirdest way I've ever been sprung from custody.

Hi. Duke Crocker, token new guy, here to do - you know, all the typical crap. [Graduate an inmate, save his hometown and his best friends, possibly start an underground trade system, that sort of thing. No big deal.] Two things, before I go any further: first, mess hall and kitchen's this way on level one, right? I'm starving, and that hospital food isn't fit for an animal. Not even a spotted hyena would touch it.

Second, what the hell is the date? Is it still December, or is it June? Apparently it's been a really long time since I've seen a calendar. Someone should really do something about that.

Comments

[secretasshole]

It is currently January 21st, and I have been informed that the food in our infirmary is more than adequate.

[hearrrtofgold]

Thank you. You are a beautiful man.

[secretasshole]

Thank you.

Were you injured?

video;

[notdreaming]

I don't think the date really matters much around here unless you're from Earth. It's winter, though. 'Christmas' and New Years happened.

video;

[hearrrtofgold]

I just lost six months. Trust me, it matters.

Okay, so it's winter. That means I traveled back after going forward, so it's not too long after I disappeared. [Man, he hates dimensional limbos.]

video; I'm incapable of not double-teaming people

[ichoosefight]

I know, right?

[ About being sprung. WACKY AIN'T IT. ]

Wait, are you a warden or an inmate? Most inmates are a little more... confused, when we get here.

video

[hearrrtofgold]

I know! Usually it's "you're not a sociopath, now go home and pay your taxes."

Do we really need to put a label on it? Where does that really get us, in the end?

[patheticvillain]

Could pull you a calendar out of the ether if you want.

[hearrrtofgold]

I shouldn't be surprised, should I. Be my guest.

[enchangement]

Not circling a planet nor in orbit of a star to sun.

The date doesn't matter.

[hearrrtofgold]

Right. So I've heard. Still kind of matters to me.

[youwillgotohell]

How long were you in the hospital?

[hearrrtofgold]

A couple of hours. It was a false alarm, I'm fine.

[la_belle_rogue]

Hospital food's the worst.

[Solidarity. She's eaten way way more than her fair share of it.]

[hearrrtofgold]

They brought me this stuff earlier - it was supposed to be steamed vegetables but I think they came straight from a can and just put it in a microwave.

spam???

[neuropathy]

[ Nathan is coming back from the gym when this happens.

At first, he doesn't know what to think, and so thinks nothing, stopped in the middle of the corridor to his cabin, stock still and--he didn't think there'd be another of that sort of transmission for months. But it's not that, there's no impenetrable technological barrier. This is real, and that was the mess hall in the background. He could check in, vent all his disbelief and trapped, buried hope--

No. Too tentative a step. Instead he just goes, clips what should be two strides into longer ones (he's not running), gets to the mess hall - hair sticking up, t-shirt stained dark - and looks.

Possibly he muttered something audible about making Duke wear a bell, also, but never mind that. ]

spam!!!

[hearrrtofgold]

[When Nathan runs into the mess hall Duke is poking around for a coffeemaker and mug. The hospital had been surprisingly strict about that: no caffeine for patients in case it messes with their medications. He'd tried reasoning with them that he wasn't on any medications but they'd no more listened to that than anything else he said.

He's just grabbed one mug when someone lays a hand on his shoulder and he spins around, ready to tell the person off or at least what ask the hell they're doing. Instead he stares as if he's just - well.]

Nathan?

[godsays]

It doesn't really matter.

[hearrrtofgold]

Why does everyone keep saying that?

[strangehistorian]

Hello, Mr. Crocker! Welcome to the Barge!

[hearrrtofgold]

Thanks, Ms. -?

[coldlies]

Time hardly matters here.

[hearrrtofgold]

That's the impression I'm getting.

[video] I meant to do this way earlier.

[tentacruelest]

It's January. You're out of sync, Crocker. Kindly get with the times.

[video] stand by for impending fanboy

[hearrrtofgold]

[Steph really wasn't kidding, it's Davy Jones. And he does look just like Cthulhu, just the way Duke expected after seeing that stupid pirate movie series that everyone said inspired him to grow his hair out, Johnny Depp-like.

He has a sort of silly little smile on his face, the kind a small child might get if introduced to an astronaut.]

Kind of a strange order coming from someone in a hat like that.