I believe that I am in Hell,

( Action for Neil & Todd / Off-Network In All Conceivable Ways )

[Public Voice Post]

I don't remember if this has been asked before, but is there any apparent pattern where the handcuff curse is concerned? Are the participants usually friends? Enemies? Strangers? Given the unlikelihood that I would be handcuffed to a friend, I can't believe it's coincidence.

[And if you know Justin, you will also know that he has three friends in a vast City. The odds of randomly being attached to one of them are slim to none.]

It's nothing important. It just seems that there's significance in what happens here more often than not.


[COMMENTS]

[Justin wakes up in a place that is definitely not his room. This, however, is a thing that he notices only after the initial wave of agonizing pain subsides. Looking at the video feed, a careful observer will notice that this doesn't look like Justin. There's something different about the face, the hair...]

What...

[He's in the Welcome Center in one of the guest beds. Therefore, it shouldn't be much of a surprise that Penny's voice can be heard in the background.]

Jimmy? Do you need more medicine?

I don't-- [Oh. Oh. Realization dawns--and is immediately derailed by pain. What the hell did Jimmy do?] Yes. Please.

Just give me a minute, okay?

Thanks.

[He notices the device's recording light. With a sigh that becomes a groan as moving proves to be a bad idea, Justin grabs the device. Before turning it off--]

Jimmy. I have something that belongs to you.

[COMMENTS]

[As they sometimes do, the network device turns on of its own accord. There's nothing interesting to see; Justin is hunched over a never-ending pile of paperwork, still trying to put the police force back in order in the only way he knows how.

A group of laughing officers comes into view. One of them--a rather pretty woman--breaks away to set a piece of paper on Justin's desk.]

We found the person responsible for the break-ins.

Thank you. Where is he?

Being held.

And the items reported as stolen?

Found those, too. We just need to get things back to their owners.

Good. Please keep me--

[The officer grabs Justin by his shirt collar and kisses him, effectively cutting off that particular sentence. The device only offers a view of the back of the female officer's head until she breaks away. Justin looks horrified; her expression isn't visible.]

...Updated. Please keep me updated, Johansen.

[The other officers are trying not to laugh. Johansen returns to them, blushing furiously.]

I--yes. I'll do that.

Thank you.

[As the officers retreat (one of them slapping Johansen on the back in a congratulatory fashion), Justin glances at the network device. Of course it would turn on. Thank you, City.

He reaches over to turn it off without comment.]


[ooc: Purple is an npc officer named Johansen, apparently. Action is welcome. Really.]

[COMMENTS]

Welcome--or welcome back--to the City.

I'm around if you need me.


[Action]

[It's a lackluster post to the network, but Justin isn't worried about making the strangers feel welcome. There are a very few, very specific people he's looking for. He delayed the post, unsure if seeing them would be a good thing or a bad thing.

Better to regret, perhaps...

Justin can be contacted via his network device or found in any of his usual haunts--the fringes of Xanadu, the police station, the apartment that he's currently sharing with Neil and Todd. He's exceptionally melancholy today (and has been, for some time), which is no small achievement considering his usual disposition. Approach at will. Should anyone choose to check the apartment, they may have to face Justin's recently-adopted tabby in addition to an abysmal mood.]

[COMMENTS]

[Justin isn't a fan of talking out loud when typing will do, but this is video for a reason. That reason is a thin orange tabby who is curled up quite happily in Justin's lap, sound asleep and purring.

Does this cat belong to anyone? I hu--I... I mean, I found her. On my way home from work. Please message me if she's yours.

[The video feed ends, but Justin keeps talking in a rather melancholy monotone.]

This curse--many of the curses--are harmless, but no one in the City should become too... compliant. It's tempting to become accustomed to curses, to--to death. In a place where death is seldom more than a temporary and upsetting setback, we shouldn't be careless. We shouldn't assume that, if we die, we'll come back.

Not everyone comes back, not every time. Death can be permanent, even here. Some of you know that--maybe you've heard, or maybe you've been here long enough to see someone die and not return--but if you don't, keep it in mind. Be careful. Don't take unnecessary risks during curses or... or take the life that you have for granted. Even if you're dead within the City, you still have this existence; don't treat it lightly.

[There's a breath as if he's getting ready to say something else, but he evidently thinks better of it and ends the feed.]

( [Filtered to Police / Unhackable] )

( [Private / Unhackable] )

[COMMENTS]

DEATH, MAMA, FIREBUG, MISFIT, FALLEN, HOME (twice).

IMPRISONMENT. 

PATRICIDE.

I'd like to know who the last two applied to, the very last especially.  Killing your father is one thing; eating him is another.  

Is it evil to eat the candy when you know what will happen when you do, or is it natural to satisfy your curiosity when there are secrets for the taking? 


[ooc: All of these will almost certainly be brought up to the characters they belong to (except for the last two, although Justin won't forget it).  Brace yourself.]


[COMMENTS]