[002. video]

[ceiling_cat]

You guys usually have weather like this? Nothin' but rain and sleet... it's enough to get anybody down. [He looks back at the video feed, grinning.]

That said, since the weather's keepin' me in, thought I'd bug ya all with a question or two.

First, I'm tryin' ta fix up a place to stay. This place doesn't happen to've dragged in a hardware store or somethin', does it? Anyplace I could pick up some tools? Be nice ta get my hands on a bit of paint an' plaster, too.

Second thing is I've been hearin' a lot about what happened last week, and somebody told me weird things happen every other week 'round this joint. Anybody willin' to tell me stories about what they've seen when? You never know, maybe we can figure out what's comin' if we look at what's happened before.

Comments

[Video]

[exarmatio]

It happens sometimes, this time of the year.

[The mention of last week makes him wince, just a little, but he shakes it off.]

There have been a lot of different things, really... I've been here for two and a half years. I've seen this entire place get turned into a jungle, become a tropical island, turn into the ocean floor. We've also been completely stripped of our abilities, or have had our personalities altered, or have been forced into Victorian era clothing. Sometimes the event is harsh, sometimes it's lighthearted. There's honestly no way to predict what sort of event might be coming next.

[Video]

[greatcuppajoe.livejournal.com]

I've heard about the last couple months worth, but nothing before that. I guess the jungle and tropical island were sometime earlier?

[Shaking his head, amused.] Fancy clothes, huh. That's pretty bizarre.

Shame about the weather, but thanks for the warning. I'll hafta make sure I get the house patched up before it gets any colder.

[Video]

[exarmatio]

Mhm. The jungle was back during the summer, and the tropical island was earlier this year. February, I think. That happened once before, though, soon after I arrived here. It seems like sometimes, events repeat themselves, but it isn't common.

I can definitely suggest doing that. The last two years, the winters have been fairly harsh. The winter before last, it snowed nearly the entire month of January. A lot of us were snowed in.

[Video]

[greatcuppajoe.livejournal.com]

[Maybe he ought to lay in some canned goods, too. Hanekoma shakes his head.] That much snow, huh? Guess we're a bit more northerly than Tokyo.

Any of the mind events ever repeat on you guys? Personality switches, forced happiness, that kinda thing?

[Video]

[exarmatio]

It didn't snow nearly that much last year, but it never hurts to prepare. I'm a bit used to it, actually, though I haven't lived through a Japanese winter just yet.

There was one event in particular that's been repeated. I wasn't around the first time, but for an entire week, any time someone would sleep, they would enter someone else's subconscious.

[Video]

[greatcuppajoe.livejournal.com]

Unless you're plannin' to spend it in Hokkaido or up in the mountains, it's not gonna have too much snow. Maybe a couple a weeks where there's anythin' built up. [Shrugging.] Oh well, guess I'll scrounge up some blankets just in case.

Hm. Did the other guy hafta be asleep too? Or was it just mind-readin' in dreams?

[Video]

[exarmatio]

Ah, actually, if we manage to make it back in time, it will be in Tokyo. I suppose it really is a little different there, climate-wise.

If you need blankets or anything, though, we may be able to find some spare ones that we aren't using.

[He pauses to think.]

I'm... not sure. I was in a coma the entire week.

[Video]

[greatcuppajoe.livejournal.com]

That so! Where in Tokyo? I'm from Shibuya myself. And if you've got some spare blankets, that'd be great -- there's four of us stayin' in the same place, and we're still workin' on the basics.

[Blinking.] Sorry ta hear about the coma. Magical, or did ya get hurt?

[Video]

[exarmatio]

There's a campus there, actually. Mahora. It's big enough to nearly be a small city on its own, but it's right in the middle of Tokyo. My students go to Shibuya sometimes, on the weekends, but I've never been there myself... I wouldn't be surprised if you haven't heard of the campus, though.

[He tilts his head, smiling.]

Magical, I suppose, would be the better explanation.

[Video]

[greatcuppajoe.livejournal.com]

Haven't heard of it, unfortunately. I'd guess we're from different Tokyos. [He shrugs.] Sounds like that happens around here, though.

-- So did the coma go along with what the spirits were doin'? Or was it somethin' that hit you specifically?

[Video]

[exarmatio]

Exactly. There may be many people here from England, but none of us are from the same England.

Ah... no, it was unrelated to the event. About five of us were hit with it. That was the doing of another person entirely.

[Video]

[greatcuppajoe.livejournal.com]

An' only a couple from the Shibuya I know.

Gotcha. Sorry ta pry.

[Video]

[exarmatio]

Ah? It's good to know that you have friends, here! ... that is, providing they're actually friends.

[He just gives a smile in return.]

It's no trouble, really. Any information I can give, the better, I suppose. Everyone's a little bit curious when they first arrive.

[Video]

[greatcuppajoe.livejournal.com]

I'd bet they are! The place's ... interestin', I'll give it that.

Friends an' acquaintances, yeah. Four of us showed up the same day.

[Video]

[exarmatio]

... really? Four in one day, from the same world?

[Video]

[greatcuppajoe.livejournal.com]

Weird, isn't it? Seems like we aren't all from the same time, but it's close enough.

[Video]

[exarmatio]

Ah, that's not really surprising. It's odd to see so many at one time, though. Typically, if anyone from the same world comes in, it's at a slow trickle.

[Video]

[greatcuppajoe.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Could just be happenstance... so, you've been here a while. Anythin' like that happened before? With a big group showin' up all at once?

[He'd dismissed it as simply easier to gather multiple subjects in a single try, but if it's that rare-- hm.]

[Video]

[exarmatio]

... it's difficult to say. Sometimes two come in at the same time, different timelines or not, but usually they come in a few days apart, if not weeks.

[Really, this is the first time he's heard of such a large group.]

[Video]

[greatcuppajoe.livejournal.com]

Doesn't sound like anybody's figured out what's up with our arrivals yet. Just one more mystery, huh?

[Video]

[exarmatio]

Pretty much. But with how often people come and go, I'm not surprised that no one has figured it out yet.

The only thing we've managed to figure out is that, usually, if someone begins to go distant and avoid the networks, it means they're likely about to go home. It never works that way if you do it intentionally, though...

[Video]

[greatcuppajoe.livejournal.com]

So it's like there's some kinda effect on the people who are about ta head out, keepin' em quiet.

[With all the other mental effects the spirits seem able to pull off, he's not entirely surprised.]

[Video]

[exarmatio]

Not always, but sometimes. It's happened with nearly everyone from my world that's come here.

[Except for him. That's how his luck always seems to go.]

[Video]

[greatcuppajoe.livejournal.com]

All back where they came from but you, huh? Sorry ta hear it.

[Video]

[exarmatio]

Well, there's one here with me right now that's managed to stay longer than three months. That's sort of an accomplishment.

Honestly, I'm a little used to it.