bringinghopewithme: (eyeroll)
Bunnymund ([personal profile] bringinghopewithme) wrote in [community profile] piper902020-10-09 03:19 pm

[Video] [Locked to New Hires only] [TW for Punishment in the linked log.]

Stacia, Armstrong, I need to see both of you in person. On the double. Five minutes ago. Anyone else with a real good sense of smell, you come see me too.

[On the camera, underneath his oak tree in the garden, Bunny has a little bit of that dead-eyed stare that comes from being reminded how thoroughly shackled they all are to the most banal form of evil. Mostly, this is just businesslike, direct. Calmly urgent, after his furious meltdown in the Executive wing got him nowhere good.]

Everyone else: Sam and Dan and I tracked what attacked Tenten and Setsuna into the Executive wing. I smelled it there recently before the suits caught us and kicked us out.

[There's no real reason to bring up their Punishment. It happened, it hurt, he hates that he dragged Dan and Sam into it, but they all knew it was likely to happen. And if anything they learned can help prevent any further damage to the kids, it'll have absolutely been worth it.]

I couldn't identify the species, but it's supernatural, and old. Older than me. Some variety of predator. Given we tracked it into areas we're not allowed to go, and it spent a lot of time wandering around there all leisurely, it either looks enough like a suit that they gave it a pass, or it can walk through walls. If I had money, I'd put it on walking through walls. I'm not ruling out both, though.

But don't worry. Jorgmund's bringing in - [he scoffs, and rolls his eyes hugely] dogs to finish tracking it.

I'm still racking my brains to see if any memory of what it could be falls out, but if any of that rings any bells for all you, I'm all ears.
garmr: (pic#12927697)

[personal profile] garmr 2020-10-09 12:06 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah. Like a knife on a bottle. Makes me really wanna crush you myself.

[Guts no]
parannoyed: (012)

[personal profile] parannoyed 2020-10-09 12:15 pm (UTC)(link)
Someone is going around flaying people but we're going take time to focus on someone's tone.
garmr: (pic#12927691)

[personal profile] garmr 2020-10-09 12:23 pm (UTC)(link)
You asked. I answered.

[SHRUG]
parannoyed: (010)

[personal profile] parannoyed 2020-10-09 12:35 pm (UTC)(link)
[He drags a hand down his face.]

Jesus Christ.

[He...he kind of would rather work with the Reds and blues, they were almost more cooperative at this point. Even after shooting some of them, look at Doc.]

Can't you all just start pretending I'm saying things like North says them? Pretend I sound like someone who's emotionally intelligent and probably likes dogs.

[Personable people always like dogs. He knows this, in his heart, as a cat person.]
hallelujahjunction: (Basic - Breaking It Down)

[personal profile] hallelujahjunction 2020-10-09 05:17 pm (UTC)(link)
Not to wade right into a contentious prospect [but totally wading into a contentious prospect] but I think three things can be true at the same time: that any individual here's an unacceptable loss, and that folks are free to make their own risky decisions, and that the difference between this thing attacking bait and this thing attacking someone unsuspecting is that at least the bait would be expecting it.

[Dan's using his very even-toned kumbaya scratchy Slingblade voice because oh my God, people.]

I'd be willing to volunteer if y'all find Agent Washington wanting. I'm sure all of us adults are fairly chilled at the prospect that we could lose lives because we weren't proactive, especially those of the kids. The problem is we still don't know enough about what we're facing. If being bait's a death sentence, that's a different conversation than if being bait's just dangerous.
garmr: (pic#13039877)

[personal profile] garmr 2020-10-09 06:05 pm (UTC)(link)
Don’t take this the wrong way, but it sounds like it’d be a death sentence for both of you.
hallelujahjunction: (Default)

[personal profile] hallelujahjunction 2020-10-09 06:11 pm (UTC)(link)
None taken. But that’s why we need more information. If, for example, this is something you can fight with super strength, or magic, or fire or what have you, it may be more dangerous for some of us than others.

[Dan hates that, because his being a mundane human means he almost certainly doesn’t have anything to recommend him for the job, and he hates being useless. He’s getting the hang of his Stuff-given power, practicing it on the cafeteria workers, but he can tell that they’re not going to fight this thing off with the noospheric power of turning frowns upside down.]

We do have quite the stable of special talents here.
parannoyed: (002)

[personal profile] parannoyed 2020-10-09 06:14 pm (UTC)(link)
Just trying to go about our business in pairs could be one, too.

At least if we controlled conditions we might be able to lure whoever's doing this into a trap and stop them. If a volunteer - which I'm willing to be - gets gutted but the attacker's neutralized it's someone dying for a good reason, rather than people dying for no reason at all.
garmr: (pic#12927697)

[personal profile] garmr 2020-10-09 06:37 pm (UTC)(link)
Appreciate the enthusiasm, but it's no good if you die before you can react to her.

Like he said, we have to gleam more before we can kill this thing, and we've got to pick the right person for the job.
parannoyed: (010)

[personal profile] parannoyed 2020-10-09 06:15 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you.

[He huffs.]

Honestly, if I'm found wanting that's all the more reason people should be fine with me being the bait.
Edited 2020-10-09 18:16 (UTC)
hallelujahjunction: (Default)

[personal profile] hallelujahjunction 2020-10-09 06:21 pm (UTC)(link)
Hardly. We should be talking about who's capable, not who's expendable. [Dan raises an eyebrow, but hey, could just be after-electrocution twitchiness.]
xrater: (10)

[personal profile] xrater 2020-10-09 06:30 pm (UTC)(link)
No one here is wanting... Except maybe Ronald.

But any of you playing bait is a bad idea. Ideally, it should be someone like myself, Data, or Phos, who can at least be repaired in the instance of someone attempting to rip whatever passes for our hearts out.
parannoyed: (010)

[personal profile] parannoyed 2020-10-10 03:42 am (UTC)(link)
No one else should be allowed to volunteer any of you but you. I'll always defer to "more tactically sound" but I also think "willing" is the more important factor here.
xrater: (Default)

[personal profile] xrater 2020-10-10 05:48 am (UTC)(link)
I wasn't volunteering anyone. Simply saying that we made more sense than trying to bait it with a human.
parannoyed: (004)

[personal profile] parannoyed 2020-10-10 05:58 am (UTC)(link)
I just mean the reason other people are suggesting themselves instead of what "makes the most sense" is because it's not right to volunteer anyone but yourself.

Besides, with all things being equal on the "are you people that deserve to be safe?" front with the rest of us, you're all infinitely more valuable to the overall well-being of the group due to the things you can do.

So I don't know if I agree with that assessment that you'd all make sense anyway.
Edited 2020-10-10 06:00 (UTC)
parannoyed: (005)

[personal profile] parannoyed 2020-10-10 03:47 am (UTC)(link)
It was a joke. A bad one. Why am I sucking so bad at this tone thing?

[Maybe it's because your life has been an isolated disaster these last few years, Wash.]

The real reasons that I'd be a good choice are my combat experience and the fact that if the worst case scenario happens, I wouldn't be leaving anyone grieving back home.

Someone volunteering when it might break the hearts of friends and a family is only a good idea if it's more tactically sound. Experience and "almost no one will miss you" is a good combination for something high risk.