deernet | video; UN: TripleJ

[The feed at first is just a mass of red, curly, curly hair. Then Kyle sits back from where he's propped up his Omni on his desk so his upper body and head are visible. He looks vaguely annoyed, which anybody who knows him will recognise isn't terribly unusual.]

So this is a problem that isn't REALLY a problem, but fuck it, I'm gonna ask about it anyway...

You guys have noticed the clothes here, right? Like, everything looks like you're gonna go hunt Dracula or some shit, or like you're going to that fancy-ass party celebrities go to on earth, the, uh, Met gala? Yeah, that.

Now I'm not a fashion guy. [This is evident to literally anyone who can see the feed - this is clearly a man who bought the first clothes he found that fit. Well, mostly fit. He's looking a bit like he mugged an extra in a bad stage production of Oliver Twist.]

But if I DID want something that didn't look like ass, I don't even know what that would look like, you know? Like if you wanted to make an impression, or something. So I guess just like... what the hell are you guys wearing?

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['Personage.' Hoo boy.]

Uhm. Yeah, no, that's a good point. Has that happened a lot, people trying to throttle you?

[Kyle is pretty sure that he does indeed currently resemble a ragamuffin. Dammit.]

Yeah, I know how to layer for the cold, I'm from Colorado. [He writes down the name of the shop.] Thanks, dude, I appreciate it.

Yeah, just Kyle is fine, I-- [He stops, frowning.]

I'm sorry, did you hear that?

Kyle it is, then. [A slight bow of his head.]

It hasn't happened to me yet, but I have seen it happen once to the proctors I've been working under. Pain brings out the worst in some people, and some folk have a high fight drive. Add to the fact that Corruption brings out a dark side in people.

[He's been scraping out the inside of the turnip all this time, but the mention of the sound, his hands work a little quicker, almost driven now.]

Dare I ask what you heard? Nothing came through at my end. However... I've had some EVP - Electronic Voice Phenomena - on an audio log I'd recorded, though I didn't hear it till I played it back.

I feel like pain doesn't bring out anything good in anybody, dude.

Uh, yeah, it was a voice. It said something about a dead person.

Once in a great while, I've encountered someone who took their Corruption with the patience of a saint. I find those a bit unsettling, though I appreciate their calm,

[He looks into the device, a furrow of concern rippling his usual sangfroid, and he sighs, raggedly. Grabbing another tool, he starts scoring the outlines of a face on the side of the turnip.]

At least it confirms my suspicions. It may be something that followed me from my world of origin, or it could be something from this world messing with my technology.

I had a ghostly intruder in my space in this world's predecessor. It seems to have turned into an October tradition. [He says this with a hint of wry sarcasm.]

How many people have you been observing since you got here?

That's fucking weird, dude. [So tactful.]

I'm an apprentice Blood Minister: they have us observing or assisting with triage when we aren't in class. Avoid medical studies, my good young man: it's hard, messy work. Though there's some cross-discipline with arcane studies, as there's a certain amount of magic involved.

[A dry, closed-mouthed chuckle.] No contest. I'd warn you, this city, like its predecessor runs on freakin' weird.

[He drills two small holes near the rim of the turnip jack o' lantern, then threads a length of twine through them, tying the ends off with large knots, then reaches for a candle on the workbench and slips it inside.]

An old-school jack o' lantern for modern ghosts..

[Kyle crosses his arms over his chest.] And you think only YOU can handle hard, messy work? Fuck off with that, I'll have you know I almost went for med school. [He is conveniently leaving out that he didn't because he hates hospitals.]

Dude, I think you might need to get out more.

I was advising you thus to spare you the worst of it. But let the record show, I had two medical doctorates before I arrived here, for what they're worth in a place that runs partly on magic.

One way to find out if this arcane method of protection from the ghoulies and ghosties works. [Finding a votive candle, he places it inside the turnip, then finding a Zippo-style lighter, lights it and moves the turnip closer to the device. The crackling interference dies down and stops.]

Certainly an ironic paradox. Best to get used to it: this place seems to run on it.

Wow, two? Really?

[Alright, that's pretty weird. Spooky, even. But Kyle's seen ghosts before and this seems tame in comparison to some of them.]

Riiiight.

One in genetics and one in virology: I've had to adapt my knowledge to suit the peri-industrial technology, but the human body stays perilously fragile regardless of the level of technology or magic they live with. The magic part has been a bit of a learning curve for me.

Yeah, me too. I'm not used to magic at all.

Guess we'll figure it out eventually.

Outside of things in my world that look supernatural, but have a scientific explanation, we're on a similar page. I have a feeling we'll be a long time reading it, but it will be an interesting one.

video; UN: TripleJ

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