video, backdated to dusk;

[malodorous]

[ So he's not exactly a cinematographer. Pretty far from it, actually, so congratulations! You're looking at an unsteady landscape: a great, overgrown clearing with a dilapidated barn a little ways in the distance, surrounded by woods that stretch off into the rolling distance. There's the noise of summer insects and boot-heavy footsteps.

Then the shakiness of the camera stops for a moment, and the image swings around to focus on the man holding it. Kristoff, for a moment, looks about as satisfied as most people will ever see him. He then seems to change his mind about filming himself, wrinkles his nose, and instead focuses the image over his shoulder. Coming idly up the path behind him is Sven the reindeer, perhaps looking a bit hulking and ominous in the fading light.

The rest of the feed for this post consists of alternating takes of Sven and the landscape. You're welcome. Kristoff is sure to make his point, however! ]

So, uh. I was kinda introduced to the concept of 'the grid.' I mean, I had to try and look it up, but-- Yeah.

Anyway, I... I'm not from around here, or around this time, and I never lived in a real house, I guess, before I got here, and... Well. My point is that I don't need the grid, and I don't think anybody else should, either.

So, hypothetically, if I didn't want to give ghost tours any more, and instead decided to teach people how to not die without electricity and pre-packaged meals, is there anybody here who would actually understand the value of that sort of thing? I mean... Would anybody go for that?

Because, seriously, the next time there's zombies or massive disease outbreaks or governmental strife or whatever, getting the heck outta dodge is a viable option if you know how to pull it off.

Just saying.

Comments

video

[mousquetaire]

[ D'Artagnan isn't sure the people here could actually live without electricity. They seem to use it all the time. ]

If they don't, they ought to.

Where did you live before you got here?

video

[malodorous]

Arendelle, more or less, which isn't a place in this world.

There's a place sort of like it, apparently, but I've never been.

[mousquetaire]

And they don't live in houses there?

[ His eyebrow is raised, making him look judgmental. He shrugs, though. ]

I'm just curious. I'm from Paris. I've never heard of Arendelle.

[malodorous]

Most people do, people in the towns and stuff. I generally don't.

Arendelle's up north. The country Elsa visited here was Norway. Does that sound familiar?

[mousquetaire]

Yes, of course. The Kingdom of Norway. I've never been there, nor know of any who has, but I've heard of it.

[ Who hasn't? the Vikings had come from there. ]

Are you a sailor, then, spending your time on ships?

[malodorous]

No. I'd never even been on a ship until I got here.

I'm an ice harvester.

[mousquetaire]

Oh.

[ He says 'oh' as if he has any perception at all of what that means. Spoilers: He does not. ]

So, you live rough? In the snow. That can't be easy. No wonder you're offering to teach people. Everyone here must seem ignorant to you.

[malodorous]

Ha. I guess so. I guess I feel a little better about it, now, but... People in the towns always seemed kinda pampered to me, and like they pushed the wild back just to make things easier for themselves. Here, that's multiplied pretty greatly. Everything's all paved over and built up and electric.

What is somebody pulls the rug out from under you, you know? If you've live like that your whole life, you become helpless.

[mousquetaire]

I don't know. I've never lived with any of those things, either.

[ But he is used to living in a town, in Paris. And before that he lived on a farm, which was rural, but still not living rough, away from all forms of civilisation. ]

I wonder how people here would cope if their only light came from candles, or they had to fetch water from a well. Those things seem unheard of, to them.

[malodorous]

Yeah, I don't think it'd go over well.

[mousquetaire]

Probably not.

But how likely do you think it is?

[malodorous]

I don't know. With this place, it's really hard to tell the likelihood of anything.

I haven't seen it happen yet, but that might just be proof positive that it's on the way. This place has got to have a running checklist of everything that could possibly go wrong.

[mousquetaire]

[ D’Artagnan lifts his eyebrows and nods. He can’t argue with that. ]

I’ve been here a month and I’ve seen the walking dead, and a handful of Apocalypse rings. You have a point.

Good luck with what you’re doing. They’d be wise to take you up on the offer.

[malodorous]

Ha. You should go around telling people that. Maybe it'd help drum up business.

[mousquetaire]

If they have any sense they won’t need me to encourage them.

Maybe that just means they don’t have any sense.

[malodorous]

[ That's funny. This guy isn't half bad. ]

Maybe. I guess you can't argue with that kind of logic.

[mousquetaire]

[ D'Artagnan gives him a little shrug. ]

You can only do your best. Some people won't do what they should no matter how often you tell them.

[malodorous]

Yep. And that's when you start bodily moving people around.

[mousquetaire]

You’ve done this before, I think.

[malodorous]

I was joking, but now that you mention it... Yeah. I guess I kinda have.

[mousquetaire]

So what would we do, if you were teaching me? In fairness, I can live without much of what they have here, but I’d have no idea where to get obvious things, like firewood, or water that’s not from a tap.

[ He doesn’t really know much of this place outside the city, that’s the problem. And in the city, those things are either not needed or right at his fingertips. ]

[malodorous]

Well, that's a start, getting wood and water that won't half-kill you at best. Then there's starting fires, finding edibles, trapping, fishing, securing shelter, making sure you're wearing the right clothes, how to keep track of where you are and where you're going... All that stuff.

[mousquetaire]

[ D'Artagnan nods, lifting a shoulder. He's interested, though. ]

I know some of that already. Or at least, I know how it works at home. I wouldn't say I'm an expert about this place, particularly.

You've been here longer than me. Can you show me how to find shelter here?

[malodorous]

You mean apart from the housing that the government assigns us?

[mousquetaire]

[ He rolls his eyes so hard. ]

I’m sorry, I thought we were talking about surviving without these luxuries. Such as in the forestland, which I have no idea how to find here.