IC Contact

[peacemongering]

[Open to text, voice, video.]

Comments

@jwatson; text; Evening Day 187

[jumpthegun]

[Okay, John's not in the best place to be having this conversation, but he told Bucky earlier today that he would, and the Joker's appearance provides a convenient excuse for the call. Learning what he has about Pierce also casts a new light over some of his responses; John's going to do his level best not to show that anything has changed. Text should help with that. He's not the best liar, in general, but he can give it a solid go.]

Mr. Pierce, I'm very sorry to bother you late, and to be calling on your expertise so soon when I haven't even offered you much. But I'm sure you saw in the guide that there's a very dangerous man here who goes by the Joker. He's presently in the same house as myself and my companions. We have him contained for the moment, but he escaped his previous guard, and I'm not entirely sure what to do with the man.

I know you're an experienced negotiator. Have you ever had to talk with someone who was, quite honestly, beyond reason? The Joker has some sort of mental disorder that makes him very difficult to reason and deal with.

[peacemongering]

[This is a bit of a surprise so soon into his arrival, and he has been busy doing what he can to prepare himself for the coming days of travelling and exploring alone. He knows its best to keep the kind of profile that casts no doubt as to his objectivity and his goals here. So having the good doctor call on him is not particularly alarming, simply curious.]

While I saw this man's name in the guide as someone to avoid, there were no specifics as to his personality or the like. I suspect that containing him for the night is going to be your best bet.

I have negotiated with individuals like that, yes. However, as I'm sure your professional experience has taught you, those with mental disorders are wildcards. Their minds don't function within reason, and unless you have something to offer that he wants, your options are limited.

[jumpthegun]

Just to give you a little more awareness, then, the Joker is a mass murderer in his own universe. Here, he's murdered and injured multiple people. He's also issued bomb threats to throw everyone into disarray. His general goal is chaos. Not terrible conducive for anything we're doing here.

His one obsession is a man who goes by the designation Batman. You might see him around. Batman was recently holding the Joker in his custody until recently. I've been unable to raise him on communications, which is troubling. The Joker hasn't boasted about killing, him, though, and I don' think he would. He seems to just like making people suffer, Batman particularly.

It limits our options severely. I honestly don't know what he wants other than to cause misery and catch Batman's attention.

[This is all true, so it's easier, to an extent. Just laying the groundwork to subtly make his other inquiry.]

[peacemongering]

[Well, that is quite the interesting pickle they are dealing with wherever they have bedded down for the night. Every wasteland needed a few people unhinged and chaotic to make it just a touch more difficult.]

And we know that a bomb threat is little more than to call for attention and fear, given the supplies to make a bomb are not available as far as I can tell. The lack of electricity being the main factor to that.

Has anyone asked this Joker what he wants specifically? That might be the first place to start. Second is to keep him contained as it helps no one in your current location to risk injury. Another option for the long term is medication for his mental illness. Once stabilized, he may be more reasonable.

@username; text; evening 189 after lockdown

[advanced]

You can't hide from me.

text;

[peacemongering]

Is that so?

text;

[advanced]

You trained me, you know what I can do.

text;

[peacemongering]

I am well aware of your abilities. Are you aware of mine?

@jwatson; text; Morning 195

[jumpthegun]

[After the conversation with Bucky, John can't not call Pierce.]

How are we feeling this morning, Mr. Pierce?

@snowpiercer; text

[peacemongering]

I admit to having better mornings, Doctor. How is your throat this morning?

text

[jumpthegun]

Well, you know this weather? Leaves a man a bit hoarse.

So, where do we go from here?

@LELRIC; audio; evening 196

[armoured]

[He ran into a lot of people in that maze, but Pierce sticks in his mind for being so new and still being alone, which automatically makes Al worry over him. So prepare to be mothered.]

Mr. Pierce, it's Alphonse Elric, we met-- uh, before.

[To the very observant, his voice now has a slight tinny echo where there wasn't one before.]

I just wanted to make sure that you're okay after everything that happened.

@snowpiercer; audio

[peacemongering]

[If he's surprised by the sudden contact, it doesn't show in his voice, which was warm and welcoming. Like Alphonse had pleased him greatly by calling.]

Alphonse, yes, I remember you. You sound... odd, like you're far away. Are you quite alright, son?

[Pierce himself sounded nasally like he had a cold, but really, it was just the inflammation because of his healing nose.]

I did run into some trouble in the maze, but it was nothing that I couldn't handle. How are you?

[armoured]

Oh, uh-- sorry.

[Is his tablet damaged somehow? He moves it closer to his helmet and speaks a little bit louder, which just makes his voice boom out but doesn't remove the tinny quality.]

Is this any better? I'm holding the tablet as close as I can. Maybe it got damaged in the maze, and-- you don't sound so good either, if you don't mind me saying. What kind of trouble did you run into?

@robertsmith; text; day 207; evening

[advanced]

Why?

text

[peacemongering]

I require more clarification on exactly what you are asking 'why' about.

[advanced]

[There's actually a number of 'why' questions, so he'll take them one at a time.]

You let me go. Why?

@LELRIC; audio; night 210

[armoured]

[He's finally getting to a stage where he feels up to properly talking to people again, and he's a bit ashamed it's taken so long. Which is why he sounds a little hesitant when he sends in the message.]

Excuse me, Mr. Pierce? It's Alphonse Elric, I just wanted to check in and see how you were doing since I haven't heard from you in a while.

audio;

[peacemongering]

[Again, Alphonse is actually the only person that he is willing to engage in with an audio conversation. Everyone else staunchly receives text, but this young man has his attention and at least maybe a little of his trust.

For his part, he sounds wearied, maybe even a bit thin of voice. There is a single cough as he settles himself into actually engaging instead of simply gathering information.]

I meant to contact you, but matters have been more pressing as of late. How are you, Alphonse? Your voice still sounds so hollow; are you eating quite enough?

[He doesn't mean to father at Al, but there are few people he might consider potential allies here. He wants to keep them healthy. He also hasn't figured out why Al's voice sounds the way it does.]

[armoured]

[The sound of his voice makes Al feel a pang of guilt. He should have checked in earlier, he should have made himself stop thinking only about his own pain and focus on other people.]

Yeah, I've got plenty of supplies, please don't worry about me. I'm-- I'm okay.

[Better than he was, at least.]

But you don't sound so good, are you getting sick?

Riverview

[peacemongering]

Inbox comments for this game are below.

In the kitchen; after he gets her file

[krasnaya_vdova]

[It's easy for Ava to slip into the Residential building in the middle of the night. She hasn't really been back since she was staying here herself, and that had ended in fire and ashes. She doesn't know quite what she's doing here, except that she needs answers and actually talking to him seems to just end in verbal games she can't quite spin to her favor.

So she's here, because that's something she knows how to do. Creeping around in the dead of night is very much where her talents lie. She doesn't quite know if he'll have anything useful, but maybe there's something physical, tactile.

She's slipping through the kitchen, when there's a sound from the hallway, and she slips silent into shadows of the corner of the room, behind the table. She's very good, trained well and then sharpened; just another silent shadow in the dim light.]

[peacemongering]

[The postal service needed some serious intervention, what with a file crossing his desk at the Prometheus Labs that had no place actually being there. He had figured out quickly that it had come due to references to laboratory experiences when he flipped through briskly. It wasn't until he saw many references to a name he had encountered more than once since his stay had begun that he realized that this file would be coming to his own personal living area until he could analyze the contents.

As was his usual routine, he enjoyed the quiet of the night hours and each time just after midnight, he gathered up a few choice reading materials, slipped into a pair of slippers and wandered his way down to the communal kitchen. It was always relatively well-stocked, but the state of the place was for anyone's guess as some residents clearly hadn't been taught how to clean up after themselves.

Still, pushing open the door, he wandered in to a darkened kitchen and flipped on the light. It was in relatively good state of affairs tonight, and he padded to one of a few refrigerators to root around for some milk, his staple. He set the file on the counter as he grabbed a glass and filled it half full.

Then he leaned over the file and flipped it open, shuffling through the thick assortment of papers. Slowly his eyes rose from it and his eyebrows drew together. That wasn't right.]

text; un: ren

[killthepast]

[ PRESUMABLY: he's been on like. Light... around-the-office desk duty since his MULTIPLE GUNSHOT WOUND incident. Which is why Pierce gets this grumpy text one day at work: ]

Send me out. I'm ready for field work again.

[ HE'S BORED. BOOOORED. ]

[peacemongering]

[He had been wondering when this request was going to hit his desk. Patience wasn't always a virtue of the young.]

Have you been cleared by medical? I haven't seen the doctor's approval yet.