lastvoyages Inbox

[forensicks]

[Walter has recorded a video message from the point of view of someone who has just come through the door into his cabin and sees Walter at his desk in the chair turned around to face the viewer. He gives a little salute-wave.]

Didn't get me. But nice try.

Comments

(frozen comment) Starter Archive

[forensicks]

[FOR POSTERITY.]

Spam

[skitter]

Taylor takes a day or two after the dreams seem to settle down, before she goes looking for Walter, with Scraps the magic ferretipede riding on her shoulder.

[forensicks]

Walter is pretty easy to find since he's working fairly substantial shifts in the library, though rather than the circulation desk he's a good section or two deep inside, using a table to sort through books from a large cart.

"Oh! You must be Taylor."

Library spam

[ukan]

And true to Lark's word he does seek Walter out the next day.

"So. You know me. I'm Lark, hi. Welcome aboard."

[forensicks]

"Hi, I'm Walter."

He is acting professional and trying very, very hard to not look like he's just met a celebrity. Yeah. Facade success.

"I've been talking with Emet-Selch and he's rather laissez-faire as long as the work gets done. Would you say you agree with that, yourself?"

audio

[citizendetective]

Walter. Can we talk?

[There's a pause here, because it's not that she hasn't spent time thinking about how she wants to do this, it's that she's spent so much time thinking about it and still hasn't come up with an answer. Does she want to keep the comforting barrier of the network, or--]

In person?

audio

[forensicks]

Hi! Hi.

[Step one of promptly answering the audio feed from a memorized network ID is accomplished. Step two, saying anything of substance, is taking a little longer. He'd known this was coming. Be it from Misty herself, or Arthur, or some weird friend of Arthur's, or succumbing to curiosity and asking for an account of the warden ledger, or maybe even a flood down the road. But the one thing he'd never imagined was that Misty would be at all calm. Generally, Future!Misty was either happy or upset. He'd thought either was plausible in this case. Well... You never know. It could be something else.]

In person is great! Where are you? [Said like he would definitely drop literally everything and run to where she is.] Or, library, I've already done plenty of work today, there's plenty of places like Study Room 2 in the library.

[two of them dot jpg]

[ukan]

Hey. We're paired up this month and we're headed into a port. I assume you'll want to go off ship for a bit?

[forensicks]

That sounds great! Wasn't going to push the issue if my new temp thought otherwise, but yeah, absolutely. I don't know a lot about the plan for this time, do you have the 411 already?

audio

[citizendetective]

Walter, are you free? Would you like to have lunch or tea?

Re: audio

[forensicks]

[Ah yes the tea!! She is so thoughtful!!]

Lunch is great! Can I maybe come over to yours? Then you can set up whatever you like.

BITCH SESH

[untiltheend]

[Some time after this.]

A few days(?) after their initial conversation, and at a time they've ascertained that there are no smokers currently in the Speakeasy I don't know how they did this, don't question it Sebastian arrives at the agreed-upon time, for once not in his usual butler uniform but in a dark brown three-piece suit. He gets himself a glass of red wine as he waits for Walter to arrive.

[forensicks]

If nothing else it would be easy enough for Sebastian to check the speakeasy multiple times then message Walter when a good time came around, but truly ninjutsu to do such without inconvenience to himself.

"Gosh darn it, I feel underdressed," Walter jokes, knowing that surely Sebastian himself wouldn't be comfortable in anything less, but he isn't entirely joking. This might be the day their friendly acquaintance crosses the line into an alliance, but he's been leaving a lot of bad impressions lately. Curse his handy cargo shorts for carrying things like enchanted knives. At least his gray long-sleeved button-down with its little red dot pattern is nice.

Day 2 of the Silent Hill Flood - audio

[abrightboy]

Walter? Are you okay? I just want you to check in. I'm not expecting... anything else. But if you don't answer, I'm going to check my Warden Item and come find you.

Re: Day 2 of the Silent Hill Flood - audio

[forensicks]

I've got a good book. Is this—is this a thing? Is it different for you?

Sometime during the first phase / days of SH flood:

[mukha]

[As much as Pyotr is perfectly happy to be alone (except for the fact that he's also furious—) he knows he needs to keep up appearances. His 'friend.' Better check on him.

That's all it is, of course. He isn't actually worried about him. No...]

Stay s̶͙͋t̷̮̄r̷̗̿ò̶̤n̴̤̒g̶̥̀.

[forensicks]

what's with the special effects?

[Between a luckier personal experience and the isolation of the situation, this is the first time Walter is starting to worry that something is seriously wrong for actual reassurance to be needed.]

spam; library

[destinymaker]

[ Hello there, Walter. After the Silent Hill event just kind of massively sucked and left Durandal more of a recluse than he'd usually be, he's now back to being out and about and looking just as he always would. (He's not feeling as he always would but that is! Neither here not there!)

Running into each other at the library is not precisely unusual, and neither is chatting, but there's one thing that has been on Durandal's mind before he got derailed from it. ]

Did Dr. Shaw ever answer your questions satisfactorily?

Re: spam; library

[forensicks]

Oh, hm?

[There's a pleasant normality to no longer taking advantage of Hanna's incapacitation to purely work circ, to instead go on a few errands further into the library, and in turn encounter Durandal out there. Though the topic has a freshness. Sure, they've talked gossip about infirmary staff on one notable occasion. It's not really surprising that Durandal would be so attentive, but this borders on openly critical in a way that a cooperative inmate could have easily abstained from.]

Well, her statements did reassure me that she has no intention of abusing her power. [Immediately the rhetoric will stand out: He didn't say just "yes".]

[mukha]

Pyotr doesn't bother Walter while he's at work anymore—perhaps another subtle sign of a light slowly dimming, a spark that has gone out, or perhaps he has just found 'more productive' things to do with his time— but he still spends quite a bit of time at the library, when he isn't helping Frankie with custodial. Today he's seated at an out of the way table covered in various books, obscuring the pages he's ripped out of a chemistry textbook. When Walter approaches, he starts picking up the books, surreptitiously slipping the chemistry pages into his jacket like a pickpocket.

"Oh, hello. Done already?" He smiles. "I was thinking earlier about what would happen if I asked the Enclosure to make a fake Barge and then I went into the fake Barge's fake Enclosure and asked it to make another fake Barge, and so on... Maybe we could place bets on how many layers of fake reality we could go down before we start to disintegrate."

[forensicks]

"Very Russian of you," Walter quips. Like the dolls. He has a bit of a sinking feeling - up until now he thought Pyotr was stopping by less because he was still struggling after the incident, even though his death toll has been cured for a while, but the amount of material does make Walter think this isn't actually the first time since then. That Feeling When you let someone who genuinely felt close to you slip away a bit. This wouldn't be the first time, but... Circumstances are kinda intense. Oh well.

"Do you think we could get a read on whether more fake reality means more comas, or something?" Walter doubts it, everything seems so deliberate, like a stop-motion animated movie, but it's something. A small step forward out of the meaningless spiral their days have become.

[mukha]

[sent from Abel's communicator:]

ob boat deck 17 need help

-pyotr

[forensicks]

[Walter has his elbow wrapped around Wu Xin's as they jet across the water. As they start to pick up speed, he slowly closes the web of comm messages with Will and Malcolm but then glimpses—

What the fudge. What a headache. The ID is, in fact, not Pyotr's memorized one, and if Walter had to flip a coin and pick this might be a warden. It's a solid five minutes after the message was sent and he tries as fast as possible to send literally anything.]

1

[Exclamation point should just be available by default, oy vey. Walter spends another minute trying to figure out how to convey the current situation succinctly so:]

🥚

During Enposib Time

[abrightboy]

[From here.]

Once they’re on their way away from John and Arthur, Malcolm looks over at Walter.

“Are you okay?”

[forensicks]

Walter's head tilts a bit. He isn't looking at Malcolm.

"Well, they both feel 'intensely', so everything is kind of a lot. A whole lot."

text

[deuceoftears]

As Justine's new warden, I'm told she's harmed you. I'd like to hear your side of that, if you're amenable.

- Cho Jedao

Re: text

[forensicks]

My testimony of the incident, or anything else?

Video, after his conversations with Justine and John (and Will)

[abrightboy]

Hi Walter. Are you busy right now? I want to talk about your case. [A beat.] The one where Justine cut your arm open.

Re: Video

[forensicks]

Yeah, I'm free, but what case? It's not like it's a mystery.

[deuceoftears]

[1 - awkwardly backdated to slightly before port, after John told Jedao about Justine's attack on Walter

2 - filtered to include Malcolm and Walter

3 - no rush on replying at all, I know y'all two's thread is still ongoing.]

Hello, Malcolm. Walter.

John told about Justine's attack on Walter, now that I'm her warden, and I spoke to him about it, as well. He said he wanted something that would get a reaction out of her.

Because she took his blood, but isn't fazed by bloodshed, I thought...it would be appropriate to take something away from her, bodily, that she would care about. Walter said he spent two weeks healing, so I'm going to remove her sense of taste for two weeks.

When I told her, she was extremely sulky about it.

[Just a little bit dryly, at the end.]

[abrightboy]

That’s acceptable to me, as long as Walter is okay with it. Thank you for taking this seriously.

[mukha]

He's sprawling on Walter's couch, performing the tedious chore of checking the network for the day.

He plays Godric's latest post and rolls his eyes at the soft voice filtering out from the device.

"Oh boy, yippee!" He claps his gloved hands sarcastically, kicking his feet. "Did you hear that, Walter!? Maybe it'll snow! What a wonderful, novel experience for anyone who isn't from Russia! Aren't you excited!? Aren't you looking forward to your first, magical Christmas aboard the Barge!?"

He wonders if he could get away with leaving 'get murdered repeatedly' as a response.

[forensicks]

"And just think, when I graduate in a Christmas miracle, you'll get to go to the backyard of my grandma's house! Experience the innocent joy of sledding in Oshkosh parkas made from plastic in the good old US of A. Once the esteemed admiral fixes that vital issue with cabins that appear to be outdoors, of course."

Walter is in the other side of the room at the table working on one of his jigsaw puzzles and, for a challenge, having resorted to using only half the pieces, which makes it look kinda skeletal. He checks his own phone to look at the ID. It's not one he's memorized, which itself narrows it down... "Is that Eric's maker?? Two thousand years wandering the earth and you never find a snowy abandoned city with electric lights, real shame."

Later in the night after The Justine Thing

[abrightboy]

Hi Walter. I’m going to be mostly in my cabin for a bit. If you n…. Well. You don’t really need me for… things. But you know how to reach me, anyway. Remember to bring your shield with you when you’re out and I have a spoon I want you to come and get when you have a second. Did you hear about what Justine did today?

[forensicks]

Hrrrangh.........

[Walter is tired. It's like five AM. He's been sleeping off and on fitfully, weaving in and out of the terrible news, of Justine just like Malcolm's father. There is something that got conveyed in the blissful silence of text that is somehow the first thing on his mind:]

Like to Yelena...?

[abrightboy]

On the back of the clearly hand-drawn card, he has printed the date (Dec 28) and time, as well as the location - the Enclosure.

[atowncalledtreffy]

There's another new psycho killer on this ship. I want to arm you again.

Gonna put a few knives at your door.

A Few Days After Inmate Bill Of Rights To Shut Up

[abrightboy]

[Walter will return to his cabin to find an envelope taped to his door. It has a crude stick-drawing of a cat’s face in the corner. No signature, but the cat’s mouth is shaped like an ‘M’. Inside the envelope is a flash drive. On the flash drive is about ten hours of cat videos. Someone may have taken a very brief trip to LA.]

After Walter asks John if he can talk to Ashton

[abrightboy]

Hey. So. What’s all this about you wanting to talk to the person that just murder spree’d with the warden protections keeping them from killing some more? I thought you a) wanted to avoid violence against your person and b) wanted wardens to keep killer inmates from killing? This premise seems to work against both objectives. Are you at least taking your shield and phaser?

[forensicks]

I want to talk to them without John watching, that's completely different.

Audio - he has a concern

[inthebiblicalsense]

Good afternoon Walter, this is Ethan, or Abel if you didnt catch the announcement.

When it's a good time for you I'd like to speak with you about Pyotr Stepanovich.

He's...given me instruction on the few people he will accept my concerns shared with and you were one of them. I would prefer to have this conversation in person, but for your own comfort where we hold it is up to you.

Thank you for your time, and I'll wait for your response.

Re: Audio - he has a concern

[forensicks]

Uhhhhhh, Ethan. Hey.

Are you...

Excuse me. How recently did you receive this "instruction"?

I'm not entirely sure this development would be... welcome.

Text, afternoon on June 1

[musicdied]

Is that copier in the library available for anyone to use, or is it staff-only?