maskormenace | Video; Forward-dated to the 7th

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Video; Forward-dated to the 7th

Hey there.

[it's a Louisiana accent, for those in the know. A Louisiana accent attached to a wary (and worn) looking man in his late thirties, rubbing a hand against the rough stubble on his chin. He's in a black suit jacket over a simple white, striped formal shirt, a black tie. Not Sam's usual fare, not by far, but no one here is going to know that.]

...So I'm gonna warn you now that you've probably heard all I'm gonna say before. Sorry for that. I have spent a little time gettin' some lay of the land, probably not enough, but enough to get that I'm not the first to be this confused at showin' up, or the first who's come from somethin' a little hard, and who this situation ain't exactly helpful to. I get that, and I won't bother you none with it.

Now, I've figured out through the lack of True Blood on the shelves an' the fact that apparently my town doesn't even exist anymore, that there's a lot more to this than bein' a few states over. And I'm gonna try to adjust to that, same as anyone. I'll even give bein' an assistant manager at the De Chima Vineyard a good go, despite not really bein' a wine man.

But... [he sighs deeply] ...the best way I figure to do that adjustin' is by talkin' with people. I've always found that more helpful than just nosin' around on my own. I owned a bar and grill back in Bon Temps - that's that non-existent town I mentioned - and managed some rentals. People and business are what I know. They're what I'm comfortable with. So I hope you don't mind me askin' ya'll to just talk with me a bit. Maybe 'bout what it's been like for you to be here, or any tips you've got for a newcomer. Hell, at this point I'd just settle for you givin' out the name of your favorite place to drink or eat.

'Cause sometimes all we need's just not to feel alone.

[he licks his bottom lip, considers, and nods his thanks.]

So, my name's Sam Merlotte. I'll thank you in advance for hearin' me out.

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[ Here's a curly-headed, fifteen-year-old teddy bear of a boy who does not understand what the word "stranger" means. He's been invited to talk about things and that's what he's going to do. ]

You're in De Chima, too? There are lots of places to eat here. Do you like pizza?

[ And then-- ]

I'm Matthew. The town where I live doesn't exist in this world either.

Yeah, that's right. Individual housin', I just went to check it out this afternoon. And I'm pretty sure they take away your right to call yourself American if you don't like pizza.

[he gives a smiles, pleased to already be talking with a friendly soul.]

It's good to meet you, Matthew. You gone by the state your town was in yet? I've been thinkin' about goin' into Louisiana to see the absence of mine for myself, but the more I consider it... the more I think it might be too weird.

[ Matthew smiles back, very nearly laughing at the pizza joke. ]

Right! Me and my friend just went to a pizza place a couple days ago. I don't know the exact address but it's downtown, and it's good! I'll text it to you later.

[ And then he nods. ]

Yeah, we actually live in Virginia. In both places. Here and at home. De Chima's not real far from where Henrietta's supposed to be.

[ He rests his chin on his palm. ]

It is kind of weird. But so are a lot of other things here, compared to where I'm from.

That'd be great, thanks. [that enthusiasm is adorable, kid.]

Do you mean the flyin' cars and things? 'Cause I had to do a double-take at those myself.

No problem!

[ He's not going to forget, either, so know that shortly after this conversation ends he will look it up and then text Sam the address of a little hole-in-the-wall pizza joint downtown. They even have a special imPort discount day. ]

Yeah, those for sure. [ A beat. ] And the war thing. And the superpowers.

[Sam and his empty-ass new house will appreciate not having to spend time scrounging for dinner tonight in addition to furniture, so thanks for that, Matthew.]

...Yeah, that war thing. [Sam rubs at his chin some.] I'd say it sounds similar to the Cold War we had in my world, 'cept Russia never actually invaded where I'm from. Can't very well call it "cold" when you've got countries bein' that openly aggressive. Are people still worried?

Right, yeah, that's the same as my world. It never turned into real fighting.

[ He's quiet for a moment. ]

I've been here for a month and nothing bad has happened. At least, nothing with Russians.

[ Nothing that he's heard about, that is; this is not a kid who watches the news. ]

...I wonder if it wasn't supposed to here either, but us showin' up changed things.

[Sam certainly isn't gonna be the first to claim any knowledge on alternate universes and messing with time, but it's a thought he can't help having.]

Well that's somethin'. I'd hope the U.S. is tryin' not to escalate things further than they have. They've gotta know it wouldn't be good for anyone on either side.

[ That's a little over Matthew's head. Maybe a lot over his head, even, but he still tries to wrap his brain around the politics of it for a moment before admitting-- ]

I don't know. It must be pretty complicated...

[ That's not very helpful, so on to something he does know that might be useful to a newcomer! ]

Hey, they told you that you don't have to be Registered, right? You can take your name off the list, if you want to.

Yeah, I heard about that. Also heard it means they leave you high an' dry for the most part, right?

Well, they don't give you any money. And-- [ He tilts his head, trying to remember the other things. ] My boss told me he couldn't promise I'd be able to keep my job, since I'm not Registered anymore. I think he called it "probationary status". But so far they've let me stay there.

[ Matthew doesn't seem too concerned about any of this, at least not for himself. ]

Why didn't you want to join up?

[ The answer comes quickly. ]

I don't want to fight anybody.

[ That's something that does concern him. ]

I wouldn't be a very good superhero.

I wouldn't feel too bad about that. I've yet to read a comic book with a happy superhero in it.

...But is that the deal? Sign up and you've gotta fight when they tell you to?

[ Matthew looks a little uncertain; he wants to be truthful but he still doesn't understand everything in this world. So he starts picking his words more carefully. ]

I don't know exactly how it works. But Gansey--he's my brother's friend--said that being on the list is like saying you'd be willing to fight for them.

[ It's very obvious he is not cut out for such a thing himself. ]

But it has to be your choice. I just wanted to make sure you knew. In case you don't want to, either.

...There are people you know from home?

[that's the first Sam has heard of this phenomenon. The odds seem ridiculous.]

I'll have to look into it some more then. I can't say as I'm eager to fight for anybody, you're right about that. Thanks for the tip.

[ Matthew nods earnestly, glad if he can help even a little. ]

Sure, no problem.

[ As for the question-- ]

My brother, Ronan, is here, and three of his friends. Noah was, too, but I didn't see much of him. He got sent back.

[ There's yet another person from his world here, from his town, even, but Matthew doesn't touch the subject of that guy. How's that for ridiculous, Sam? ]

That ever strike you as... odd? Does that happen for other people? Big groups like that formin' of people from the same world? People who knew each other before?

And what's that you mean by "sent back"?

[ He visibly considers the first series of questions, touching his chin thoughtfully. ]

There's another girl, Pacifica. She said she's here with a bunch of people she already knew, too.

[ He doesn't know about any other big groups yet. ]

The Porter sent him back home, to our world. It does that sometimes. One of my friends here got sent home for a whole year and then the Porter brought her back again. And I met someone my first day here who's gone home and come back twice.

And it's random? There's no controllin' it?

[he hates to throw so many questions at the kid, but every time Matthew answers one, two more just seem to crop up. Sam keeps hoping to hear something that will make this whole experience cohesive and give it some sort of sense; it's seeming more and more unlikely.]

[ All Matthew did on his first day was ask questions; he remembers what it's like. Of course Sam is an adult and so he's probably handling it better--Matthew assumes--but he's still going to answer what he can. ]

I think it's random. If there's a way to control the Porter, nobody's figured it out yet, that I know of.

[ If anyone knew how, they'd have to send the imPorts home, or that's what Matthew innocently believes. ]

If it helps-- I think maybe time's different here than it is in our worlds. Ronan's been here for months longer than me, but we never missed him at home. I don't know how it works exactly.

...That's be somethin' of a relief, if it's true. Everybody's got people back home they care about. It'd be hard to think every day you spend here's one you don't get to spend back with them.

[and with the recent death of his brother, Sam's had a lot of reason to think about time spent with others.]

[ Matthew nods earnestly. ]

Yeah, I know what you mean.

[ He hesitates for a moment. ]

For me-- its my mom.

[ That's not something he'd blurt out to just anybody, but Sam is hard to mistrust with his Louisiana accent and his talk of caring about people at home, which truly does strike a chord with Matthew as well. ]

...All the more reason to hope it's like you said, that time doesn't work right while we're here.

You're real close with her then? [he's softened his tone a little, unconsciously - aware that it could be a sensitive subject.]

She's my mom.

[ He says that with the simple sincerity of a kid who doesn't understand how someone might not be close to their mother. (In fact, he's a total mama's boy, her favorite son.) ]

It's hard sometimes, having to be away from her again.

Video; Forward-dated to the 7th

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