001 | voice

[hardedged]

[ the network post begins with a disgruntled exhale. great way to start, jones. nice first impression. clearly, this mysterious new arrival is glad to be here. ]

I'll make this quick and painless. The name's Jessica Jones, and I'm looking for answers.

They brand us like cattle. Expect us to play house. Assign crapass jobs.

And of all the places to wage the Cold War 2.0, they pick fucking Florida. [ she scoffs, as if that's somehow the worst offense of all. ] How do we leave this shithole?

[ there's a pointed beat of silence, as she presses her lips together in contemplation. almost as an afterthought, she adds: ]

And where can I get a drink around here? The cheaper, the better.

Comments

Voice

[meancuisine]

[That actually is a great first impression as far as Eliot's concerned. He doesn't want to get into the part about the government on the network, but the last question gives him a good opening for fixing that]

First question ain't so easy, but I can help you with the second. Can you get over to Maurtia Falls?

[hardedged]

[ hmm, she doesn't like the sound of that — unless he's just planning to recommend the name of a bar. jess doesn't trust anyone here enough to meet them yet. but her thirst for booze is strong. decisions, decisions. ]

Depends. Who the hell are you?

video;

[oceanthief]

[oh, a moderately familiar face in the 'I had a conversation with her once and it wasn't completely mytifying' sort of way. Lapis' stoic expression doesn't change, unfortunately, but the relief at knowing how to handle the upcoming talk is at least in her mind. probably.]

You already asked all of this the last time you were here. It'd be quicker to just reread that post.

[despite how easily this could be taken as snarky, there's absolutely no sarcasm in her words. whether this is more or less reassuring is up for debate.]

[hardedged]

[ she doesn't switch over to video. sorry, strange blue robot (???) lady. ]

... What?

voice

[notsheepish]

Jessica?? [Whoa, wait, cool the jets for a second, Ruby. You know how this works.] ...Jessica Jones, you said? You're, uh... You're new here, I take it?

[hardedged]

[ OKAY... that reaction is... suspicious. a bit too much shock and enthusiasm to be meaningless, though she doesn't comment on that yet. instead, she offers a curt and dry reply. ]

Yep.

[ voice ]

[hostage]

[Should he... Shouldn't he... He really shouldn't... But he will.]

Welcome back.

[hardedged]

[ it takes her a while to respond, but she eventually does. by now, she's more or less accepted what's going on. #fml ]

Yeah. Guess so.

voice;

[douchebag]

[ Oh, how Felix can relate to this. All of it, actually. ]

Word is, we don't get to choose when we leave. It just happens. Same thing that brought us here decides it's time for us to go and poof. We're gone.

[ Which is arguably worse in some cases. His tone brightens. ]

The good news is that there are plenty of places to get a drink.

[hardedged]

Gotta hand it to these pricks. Most organized kidnapping I've seen.

[ they planned it all out — every last detail. they even have goddamn pamphlets. ]

voice;

[unwiseheart]

They picked Florida because they hoped Russians would not want to come to Florida. [ Says the man who sounds incredibly Russian. ] They were only mostly right.

[hardedged]

[ in her own incredibly (fake) russian accent: ] Da.

text; anonymous

[nastygram]

fyi that you are not going to get anything in the way of sympathy or understanding from pretty much all of these dicks

but you WILL get to hear all about how that this is a vacay OR an opportunity that we can make the most of

total disregard for the kidnapped, tattooed, suped up, and potental full admin control against our will part

but
u kno
that's just how it goes

[hardedged]

[ someone who's talking sense for a change. finally. jess gives a scoff. ]

Big surprise.

[morethan084]

[From the way she's talking, Daisy took a wild guess...]

You don't remember being here before, do you?

[hardedged]

[ jesus christ, another one. just how goddamn popular was she? ]

Nope.

video, private;

[23wishes]

First of all, we can't leave. The entity that's inside the Porter is asleep and so she can't be reasoned with. From what I've heard, it also can't be destroyed. We're all stuck here until our time is up and we're ported back out.

Secondly, if you want to make sure no one's watching when you say things like this, use the Mirrornet. Just in case. I'm not sure it really matters yet but it probably helps if we look like we're playing along with all of this.

[Her voice softens now and she smiles softly.]

By the way, what city are you in?

[hardedged]

[ woah, information overload. jess tries to absorb as much of it as she can, at least. ]

Why?

[ regardless of the kind smile, she's not the trusting type. she won't switch to video either. ]

video

[rathercommon]

[ Kitty almost responds in the form of a cat...until she remembers that the last iteration of this woman refused to speak to her as a cat. So, instead, she decides to look like a person. ]

You could come by the Krakatoa. I'll give you a free drink.

[hardedged]

[ good call. ]

Crack—a—what?

[dualismum]

Aha- welcome back. Sort of.

[ it's not strange for her not to remember, honestly. It happens. ]

We can't leave - only the Porter decides that.

[hardedged]

Yeah, I get it.

[ if she sounds especially grumpy, it's because she is. another stranger welcoming her back, and a repeated explanation of what she now already knows. ]

voice;

[storyseeker]

What's wrong with Florida? [She was born there.] Aside from the unrelenting heat and humidity and occasional hurricanes. [Which is why she knows its drawbacks well.]

[hardedged]

Just answered your own question there.

VIDEO.

[arsiento]

[ New himself, he's just idly kind of scrolling on his communicator with his thumb before stopping at this message.

Diablo tilts his head slightly, squinting at the screen. There's a lot he could say in response, some in agreement and some not, but what he goes with is: ]

Ain't my coast, but I'd take Florida over North Carolina.

[hardedged]

[ a pause, as jess stares at his tattoos for a moment. huh, wasn't expecting that. good thing she still can't be seen, not that she particularly cares about appearing rude. ]

Not much of a consolation prize.

[ aka — they both blow. but florida still sucks more in her book. ]

[inmyothertights]

[OKAY HERE WE GO AGAIN-]

Does the name Luke Cage mean anything to you?

[hardedged]

[ congrats, billy, you've just hit on one of her sore spots. and your prize is jessica's instant suspicion and aversion! (as if that's hard to win.) ]

Why?

[devoutish]

[Alfie's not sure that he isn't going to end up finding this woman incredibly annoying - but for now, at least, he appreciates her attitude. It's refreshing. He responds dryly:]

Not ready for your new life as a hero?

[hardedged]

[ yeah well, you know what else is incredibly annoying, alfie? your face. #nailedit ]

No shit.

[hypodermicgurl]

Come by Maurita Falls. I'll save you from your horrible dry spell.

[hardedged]

My hero.

video

[snoobs]

[ Her accent is distinctly Indian, so she is not at all familiar with the issues each state has. ]

What's wrong with Florida?

[hardedged]

[ she just scoffs in return. ]

What's right with it?

Video

[pretendtoneedme]

Seems like they based things in this world around the fact that most've Cape Canaveral's already built to withstand just about anything that could be thrown at it, since they've been launching rockets there since the fifties. The rest of that?

I haven't been here long, but most've us are still trying to figure out why the hell it's happening.

[Someone shares Jessica's amazing unhappiness at the situation they've been thrust into. He also completely shares her sentiments about "crapass jobs" and having a literal interior body brand.]

After yanking us over here, jobs and housing are the least they should give us.

[hardedged]

[ well, look who it is. ]

Doesn't mean shit if they both blow.

Video;

[heckblazer]

Finally, somebody who speaks my language. Been waiting for the other shoe to drop me'self. But in the meantime most places serve up a decent pint.

[hardedged]

Yeah? How long?

[ she's asking out of a desire to know how long she should expect to stay herself. do the manipulative pricks running this place truly think she'll just sit here and play nice? there's a pause after that last part. ]

Anywhere special?

voice

[musclemothers]

[The voice that greets Jessica is mildly nasal and about as dour as hers; there's no combating a middle-aged white dude when it comes to unearned malaise about the world.]

If there was a way for us to leave this world, don't you think most of us would have done it by now? Now, if you want to leave Florida, just rent a car. Or request a housing change. Considering they toss us in with a bunch of god-knows-who and god-knows-what, I imagine they'd be willing to accommodate the request.

[hardedged]

[ well, if this dude isn't irritating as hell. somehow, his frustration only heightens her own, and she disregards his advice by opting for a dry insult. what a nice person she is. ]

Gramps, is that you?

voice.

[dreamcatcher]

At least that last one I can answer. There's a bar on 32nd and the waiters dress like pirates but the drinks are strong enough you feel it a week later.

( or, in her instance, she feels them the day after despite her curse. so that has to really be saying something... or seeing fake pirates when she was missing her own meant she drank a little more than she ought have. )

Can't help you with the rest, but if I find it out, I'll let you know, between planning princess parties.

( her tone is very flat, which indicates how much she looooooves her assigned job. )

[hardedged]

[ she scoffs, somewhat amused by that last part. ]

And I thought my job was shit.