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[psychofailed]

[The feed opens to a man in a hospital room. The bed has been tilted so he can sit semi-upright, and he's been familiarizing himself with the details of his current situation. Digging through network archives was more like Karanomori's area of expertise, but he's at least managed to find the imPort FAQ, and gotten a nurse to fetch a copy of the government's welcome brochure.

Once he's gotten the gist of where he is and what's going on, he puts out a call over the network.]

This is Enforcer Kogami Shinya of CID Division 1, seeking other members of the MWPSB. If you receive this transmission, please respond.

[He's. About to shut it off there, but...he should probably....address the others on this network somehow, get more information on his fellow dimensionally kidnapped. Unfortunately, it's been three years since he's been allowed to socialize outside of the MWPSB, so he's a bit. Unsure what to say, and there's dead air for several seconds as his gaze drifts over to the window a nurse left open earlier.]

...If anyone can bring by cigarettes and a lighter, I'll pay you back later. Or you can consider me as owing you a favor.

Comments

video;

[oceanthief]

[ah, a broadcast that Lapis is familiar with. she doesn't know this man or his organization, but the way he calls out to them is similar enough to the airwaves Homeworld had cultivated that she feels a brief pang of nostalgia. Lapis isn't quite certain if it's tinged with bitterness or not.]

Don't you know what they look like yourself?

[funnily enough, there's no trace of sarcasm here. gems don't do recovery the same way that humans do, and so the imagery of a hospital is completely meaningless to her. in Lapis' eyes, he could get up and find whatever "cigarettes" were whenever he liked.]

video; 1/2 lmk if i'm assuming incorrectly here!

[psychofailed]

[Um.

He's looking at a blue person. An actual, literal blue person. What??? Okay, no, relax, it's probably just someone in--do they even have holo-cosplay here? He's just going to assume they do, for the sake of his sanity.]

[psychofailed]

[So. Her question. He actually ends up having to replay her response, because he was so caught off-guard that he totally blanked on what she was actually saying.]

...If you mean the cigarettes, I do, but I'm not exactly in a fit state to get them.

[There is, however, a small bit of sarcasm in his own voice, because nonhumans are pretty much pure fiction where he's from and he can't imagine anyone not knowing what a hospital is.]

nah, you're right. she blue. c:

[oceanthief]

[Lapis seems, if anything, even less impressed by his startled response. she doesn't even need to ask - at this point she knows exactly what was causing it. ugh, humans.]

You look fine to me.

[all his limbs are there, no gaping wounds or cracks...must be someone looking to get over on anyone willing to help, she supposes.]

video;

[leonized]

I hope you find your— associates. [He was about to say friends, but it didn't sound like he was looking for friends, really.]

But don't you think a cigarette is a bad idea when you're in a hospital?

video;

[psychofailed]

[Friends wouldn't be inaccurate. Neither would family, honestly: once you become a latent criminal, all that's left to you is either a life locked up in an isolation facility, or as an Enforcer with the MWPSB. They're all he's had for the last three years.]

Thanks. They'll find me, if they're here.

And maybe, but I'm going to do it anyway.

[At least he's honest?????]

video;

[leonized]

[He looks faintly judgy, but don't mind him too much.]

At least wait until you're out, they probably won't even let you do it in there.

[Video]

[monge]

[Oh dear, someone lost their club friends. That's terrible, awful, his heart bleeds for him.]

Have you tried looking for your friends under your bed, zura?

[I mean, that's where he'd look, anyway.]

[Video] oh my god, this is perfect

[psychofailed]

[sdkfjalksdgkljfg

Holo-cosplay, Kogami. Holo-cosplay. You aren't actually talking to a...flaming dog-thing. It's just someone with an avatar. He didn't even know that was common practice on this network, from what he'd been looking through before.]

Pretty sure they wouldn't fit under here.

[.....that's. said more or less deadpan. Because why not go with this absurdity train, he's already apparently been kidnapped into another dimension and has superpowers, why not this apparently completely sincere suggestion from someone talking to him as a flaming dog-thing.]

[Video] I'm glad!

[monge]

[Komasan is, of course, completely oblivious to anything that might be wrong.]

Ah, I see. Your friends are giants, zura. Monge...

[That must be amazing, imagine all the things his giant friends could help him reach. The possibilities are endless.]

Then have you tried looking out the window, zura?

voice

[hsalf]

I don't believe you're allowed to smoke in hospitals.

voice

[psychofailed]

Good thing I wasn't going to ask if I could.

[Hence asking this network and not the nurses.]

[hsalf]

[He snerks a little. He appreciates the guts.]

Fortunately, I'm not a smoker, so I can't offer you any. Can't you just wait until you're discharged?

[Video]

[equinamity]

[The woman on the video feed looks tired. Or, perhaps as if she's had this conversation before.]

Nursing staff will likely be furious if you are found with a lighter in the facility. You do realize the oxygen hookups harbor a high risk for explosion, correct?

[Video]

[psychofailed]

[Is everyone going to tell him not to smoke in a hospital? E v e r y o n e? Ssssssigh.]

I'll be careful with it.

[Video] --> [Action]

[equinamity]

Very well.

[In short order, he'll find a sharp knock on the door to the hospital room. In will come the woman who had shared her concerns about smoking within the confines of a hospital, a single brow raised.]

Thankfully, the nurses have not yet figured out that you have asked anyone with access to the network to bring you cigarettes, Enforcer Shinya.

[Hawkeye crosses the small room and places a small packet of cigarettes on the bedside table, along with a single lighter. Thoughtfully, she glances to the open window.] I hope you can walk to that window and light up from there. It would be conscientious of you to not blow up the building while indulging in an already bad habit.

video

[thinhammer]

Ooi, whats'a... M..W-- [ He's not good at remembering things regularly, let alone something so uneccesarily complicated. Abbreviations are supposed to make things easier to say, what's with this mouthful? ] What's that thing ya said, huh? The letters. Is that a club or somethin' where ya come from?

video;

[psychofailed]

[He's surprised it took this long for someone to ask tbh. And you didn't even give him a hard time about the smoking, that's so appreciated rn.]

MWPSB stands for the Ministry of Welfare Public Safety Bureau. It's the official name for law enforcement where I'm from.

[thinhammer]

How can anyone remember that?

[ He squints in the confusion that he and no doubt everyone else feels in the face of that name, but then another thought grabs his attention. ]

So ya keep everyone safe where you're from, right? [ That's about all he could draw from the explanation; the word safety. ] Kinda like me where I'm from! [ He seems excited, like this thing they apparently have in common is grounds for a friendship. He has no idea how much they really don't have in common. ]

video;

[112ounces]

[ Oh. Carl recognizes a room like that. Carl resist the urge to touch the bandage that has covered the right side of his face and forehead. ]

Good luck smoking in there.

video;

[psychofailed]

[He recognizes the sarcasm in the tone, of course, but being a bit of a sassy shit himself, he just smirks faintly and...takes the comment completely at face value.]

Thanks, kid.

video;

[112ounces]

The nurses there will take it out of your hands once they smell it.

Why are you in the hospital in the first place?

[resipiscent]

How long are you in there for?

[The hospital, that is.]

[psychofailed]

About a week.

[resipiscent]

I can cut that down by a day or so. I mean, if you're interested.