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    1. Jinxer 11 yrs ago

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10 yrs ago
Currently living inside Life is Strange.
10 yrs ago
I'm baaaaaaaaaaaack.

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@Lillium@HecateProxy@wolverbells
Arthur Ragnarson


Hallway


Arthur laughed, rubbing the back of his head in mild embarrassment; or at least in the mannerism of it. "That bad, was it? I shall have to work harder." After her own introduction, she joked again but this time about her cooking. It seemed to Arthur that Lucie's apparently cool attitude was not aggressive or demeaning and merely just different from the usually accepted 'touchy-feely' relationships most seemed to prefer. For him, as someone who had difficulty feeling emotions and empathising with others, her manner was a breath of fresh air.

"Explodes? I wasn't expecting anything so... experimental." He couldn't help but smile, and in his usual manner, made an offer. "If there's that much danger to us all then I wouldn't mind preparing something. You know, so we don't all perish."

They were interrupted by one of the girls from earlier, one who had spoken out in the auditorium earlier as he recalled. She was like a fairy, gliding up to them and then, when the silence became awkward, glided away towards the cafeteria.

"Oh, so you saw that too? I'm glad I'm not losing the rest of my marbles just yet." Lucie indicated she wished to change and Arthur nodded, realising he himself hadn't yet change since arriving here, however long ago that was. "I'll do the same, although it irks me to use whatever clothing they've provided." He stopped at his door, number 15, and indicated that it was his own. "I'll meet you out here in a mo then?"

Arthur entered his room and crossed to the wardrobe he remembered being there from when he had awoken. Although he had been disoriented and even feeling a mild sense of terror at the situation, his subconscious had managed to take note of the room properly before he left. Inside were clothes of the same style he would wear when allowed to be in casual wear at Eton: relatively dark blue jeans and a variety of smart shirts, mostly short-sleeved and usually a pale blue colour.

He changed quickly into a new pair of jeans and one of the sky blue shirts from the wardrobe and double-checked the fitting in the mirror on the wardrobe. He was unsurprised to find that they were the right size; after all the world the people running the facility had put in he doubted they'd oversee even this small a detail. Ready for some food, he left his room and stopped for a moment as he realised the level of acceptance he had come to for their present situation.

Lucie arrived not long after and he greeted her with a nod and a patented smile. "I believe this is normally where the chap says something cliché like 'You look stunning' but I believe these circumstances might be a little inappropriate."

They walked the rest of the short corridor and into the cafeteria where the previously shuttered left hand wall was now open with a large counter revealed. The display cases were all empty and Arthur recalled that it was from tomorrow that they could order specific meals if they so wished. A door was set into the wall next to the counter, one of those double doors with no handle so that they could be pushed through even if one were holding something.

There were voices from inside and as the two pushed through they could see two girls. Arthur searched his memory and remembered Elisa using their names in the auditorium; Irina and Amara as he recalled. It wouldn't be well-mannered to use their names without their introduction and some people preferred to use nicknames rather than their given names so he chose to wait until they were properly acquainted. He smiled and waved in his calm, collected way.

"Hello again! It seems we weren't the only ones with an appetite." He made to walk to the bank of fridges he could see, big American-style ones with double doors while separate big chest freezers sat nearby, to check what was available but then noticed the girl from the hallway was running water over her hand. On reflex his eyebrows knitted together in concern and he crossed smoothly and quickly over to her.

"May I take a look?" He asked - in that manner one did when they weren't really asking, it was more of a statement of fact - and inspected her injury. "It doesn't look too deep but you should cover it up before you cook anything - especially raw meat." Here he glanced at the chicken breasts on the counter nearby to convey his meaning. "I'm a first aider, courtesy of my fledgling sporting career. If you're not opposed to it I can properly cover that up. It's in a bit of an awkward place for a plaster and I bet they've got a first aid kit in here somewhere."
@Gonzo@banjoanjo@HellHoundWoof@Lillium@Airalin@KahleenCuthald@Thundercrash@SheriffLlama@wolverbells@HecateProxy

GM Post - Everywhere


"Good evening all! This is your favourite team leader Elisa with another public service announcement!"

Through the halls of the facility the bubbly scientist's voice echoed through the intercom, interrupting conversations and the introspection of those alone. There was a pause but faintly in the background the sound of some pop music could be heard. Clearly Elisa was not one to make entirely professional announcements.

"And so, after your successful first round of sessions, the kitchen area has now become properly available to you in the cafeteria! For tonight you can prepare your own food from the resources provided and the various appliances and equipment inside is at your disposal." Those near the cafeteria would hear the distinctive sound of something unlocking and the clunky sound of metal security shutters rising.

"Oh, and one last thing. If you wish to order your food, rather than prepare it yourself, there's a board in the kitchen area with your names all written on it. Please write what you'd like to eat next to your name for the appropriate meal and we will do our darnest to get it ready for you! That will be from tomorrow morning though so please see to your own provision for tonight. Later on we'll announce lights out so don't wait around too late!"

A click, a long beep, and the sound cut out.




Arthur Ragnarson


"Well, that was more eventful a swim than I had hoped for." Having showered to wash the chlorine water off of him, Arthur was drying his hair while muttering to himself. He had been planning to relax and clear his mind to plan a long term plan to gather information about the organisation running this place but now his mind felt just as jumbled as before.

The not-drowning girl had been the first interruption while the second act in the meddling of his be-by-myself time had been the near-fight between the three young women. He hoped he had diffused the situation sufficiently, although he had excused himself at the earliest possible opportunity so ultimately it could have gone either way and he would never have known.

Not really my problem though, in all honesty. Maybe everyone getting their frustration out, even if its on each other, might help in the long run.

A quick change and Arthur was ready to leave the pool area. The announcement was a timely reminder that, thus far, he had only eaten a bag of crisps since coming to this place. Even before considering hydration, it was important to replenish one's blood sugar after blood was taken even if it was just measures and not an entire blood donation. Not to mention he had worked up quite a hunger after his swim.

"I suppose I'll go and see what they've got then." With no real plan, or particular dish in mind, Arthur left the pool area and nearly bumped into the redheaded girl from the Near-Battle-of-the-Pool such was his preoccupation with the thought of a good dinner, or what a good dinner might be under the circumstances.

"Ah, hello again. Comment allez-vous? Ah, sorry, I noticed your accent earlier although my French is... shall we say about as fluent as your average professional footballer is in his native language?" It occurred to Arthur that this young lady may not get the reference, such was the hate certain cultural groups in Britain had for the footballing profession that was unlikely to be matched in other nations. Aware that he was entering the dangerous territory that was waffling on a tangent, Arthur forced himself to bring up something a little more relevant.

"In any case, I was considering the wisdom in following the advice of our overly-excited Chief Scientist and scouting out the supplies in the kitchen area. Might you be, per chance, thinking of doing the same? Oh, and, where are my manners? My name's Arthur, I'm not sure I ever got around to properly introducing myself earlier."
@KahleenCuthald@Lillium@wolverbells

Arthur Ragnarson

Pool


The situation went from slightly odd to downright bizarre. Not to mention hostile. Having spent much of his recent life in all-boy's boarding schools, Arthur was not as well versed with the other sexes as he would have liked to be. Conflict resolution was, however, something he was better at. Well, at least when there was violence involved. In that case there was always the fallback of beating both sides down.

As such, Arthur chose to ignore the very obvious ogling of his relative nudity by the girl with the French accent. He felt little embarrassment, after all he was the only one suitably attired for the room they were currently in. It was how, however, difficult to not respond in kind but doing so would have been highly inappropriate by most people's standards.

An eye for an eye and all that...

Myriam defended herself and tried to mend some bridges. While some of her logic was a bit naive, Arthur was impressed by how she hadn't risen to the barbed comments as much as he had expected her to. Pulling himself to his feet, Arthur rolled his shoulders and let the exertion of the swim wash off him. With his patented charming smile, he gestured openly to the three.

"I think we may have all gotten off to a bad start. Considering our circumstances that's understandable... and ill-advised. You never know who might prove useful to one another in here." He turned with interest to the second of the pair who had entered. "You're a telepath, then? That's an interesting ability. I'll try and keep my thoughts in order for you, then." Closing his eyes, Arthur exhaled slowly and lightly, letting the interruption of the unneeded rescue that had disturbed his relaxation fade before opening his eyes again with a soft smile.

"There, you shouldn't have much unintended noise coming from me now, I hope."

Now begged the question of what to do now? Now that his activity had been interrupted he no longer felt that continuing it would be as relaxing as before, especially with spectators about. A thought occurred to him as he glanced at Myriam, remembering how she had been closely attached to another girl who had looked to be far younger than the rest of them. Also a lot smaller.

"Myriam, wasn't there a girl you were with? The small miss? By the looks of it we're all out of our first sessions so maybe it might be wise for you to find her. She seemed to be coping with this whole situation less well than the rest of us and she seemed fairly attached to you." He sighed, his mind drifting back to their 'situation'. It would be unusual to cope with this situation well but, then again, Arthur felt even the negative emotions like fear far less acutely than others. "God knows, we could all do with someone or something to lean on at the moment."

He took a mock bow to the three, smiling somewhat impishly.

"I'm thinking I might go the cafeteria and find some proper food to eat after my swim. First, I better attire myself a little more... appropriately." He glanced at the young French miss and smiled in a ever-so-slightly cheeky manner before heading to the locker rooms to be true to his word and put on something better suited to company.
Apparently, no Skype for me anymore.


Noooooo! Any chance you'll be able to get it back up later?
Arthur Ragnarson

Room 15/Pool


On his fifteen length Arthur found his mind clearing of doubts and side matters; even the merest worry fading and allowing him to think objectively. He found exercise usually helped him with this, especially cardio activities like swimming and the warmth of the water and the gentle movement of it around him helped to soothe one's soul. Upon the sixtieth length he vaguely caught sight of another person in the pool, probably one of the other inmates, but he was too in his zone to pause and carried on, letting his mind go completely clear and to rest from the exertions of the day.

It was ten lengths after that, as he switched strokes to breast stroke from his tireless front crawl to give other muscles a time to work, that he noticed the figure under the water. He hadn't noticed her fall into the pool and she was so still on the bottom of the pool he thought for a moment she was just staying under as long as she could, as one often would in a pool when not simply swimming.

She's... drowning?

He could think of nothing else and the lack of movement from the figure only helped him draw that conclusion. For a moment he considered whether to help or not. If they were deliberately drowning, as would be understandable in this situation, should he not respect their wish and leave them to it? But then, if they were not doing so deliberately, that would weigh upon him. Guilt was not something he felt often but in this circumstances he suspected it might, for a short time anyway. More importantly, they all needed to keep going to have any chance of getting out and this person might prove useful later on.

"I better help then." He took a slightly deeper breath and dived swiftly down, his strong limbs propelling him down to the girl in no time. He recognised her from the auditorium but could not recall her name, they hadn't exactly spoken up until now. Her eyes were closed and she looked peaceful but he nevertheless wrapped a powerful arm around her and pushed off of the swimming pool floor. They burst up above the surface of the water and Arthur swam them both to the edge of the pool before heaving the girl, light even with her soaking wet clothes, onto dry land.

Pulling himself up after her, Arthur saw the movement of her chest signalling that she was breathing. With a sigh he sat down, rubbing his forehead with finger and thumb. He tried for a light comment rather than go in assuming the girl was attempting to kill herself as it was now clear that she had been deliberately staying at the bottom of the pool.

"Seriously, if you're going to just lie at the bottom of the pool then at least put on some swimming gear. Anyone would think you were trying to drown yourself." He laughed as unexpected relief poured into him; it was a pleasant feeling.

"I'm Arthur. What do they call you, Miss Mermaid?"
Arthur Ragnarson

Room 15/Pool


From his room Arthur could hear the sounds of others returning to their rooms, it was clear the first session was to be a short introductory one. While he had his concerns, and the involvement of his father made him even more wary, he knew that the inmates' best option was to carry on cooperating with their captors. That was, at least, until another option presented itself. It was a tempting idea to let their powers develop and then try and break out but the scientists had the nullifier; it wouldn't go as well as some had tried to imply earlier.

And they have cameras everywhere, I bet. It'll be difficult to coordinate with the others to surprise them. I guess it's just the status quo for now.

Arthur rolled his shoulders, feeling the itch to exercise as he often did when unsure where to go next. For him it was like preparing for the unexpected, keeping in the best physical condition he could so that he was ready for anything. However, he didn't feel like going to the gym. He needed time to think and pumping weights was pretty exhausting and wouldn't give him the time.

There was a pool, wasn't there?

As he suspected, the wardrobe in the room contained a change of clothes, not his own but in a similar style (it was mildly creepy to what extent they had researched the inmates) but no swimming shorts. It seemed unusual for the place, so well thought out, not to have clothes for the pool so he ventured that way anyway and found locker rooms inside, one for men and one for women. The lockers were labelled and had towels, swimming shorts and goggles inside.

After a quick change and a brief shower he ventured into the pool, feeling the warmth of the heated water filling up the room. No one else was there yet but each person coped with their stress in different ways; it wouldn't surprise him to find some staying in their rooms while others went to the games room.

Arthur dived into the pool and began swimming lengths, letting his mind go blank as he focussed on stroke after stroke, losing himself in the simple joy of physical exertion.
Arthur Ragnarson

Session Room


Arthur took a seat on the highlighted sofa. As with everything in the place it was of high quality, comfortable and almost brand new. Gisela sat in the chair, slipping off her heels before tucking her legs underneath her; hardly the usual counsellor approach.

"So, Arthur, let me tell you what we know so far and how we're going to proceed. Then we'll cover potential implications of your power. After we're done you can give your family a call." Arthur caught something in her otherwise relaxed posture; an alertness as she watched his reaction.

They know, then. I suppose I'll test this then.

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and interlocking his fingers to form a platform on which he rested his chin, appearing thoughtful and focused.

"That sounds fair to me. I'd like some contact with the outside world so I appreciate the effort you've made to ensure it is possible." There it was. A flicker of confusion. They'd clearly researched their 'pupils' well; not many would know of the... difficult relationship he had and his father had. Gisela regained her composure quickly, smiling with a nod and looking down at her clipboard.

"Okay, so first is what we know about your power as it stands now. Going by the data from your rugby injury we can see that you heal at a rate of 6.7 times faster than the average. Whether this applies to any kind of injury is something we don't know so find the cause of it will be our first objective. I'll take some blood samples from you and we'll examine them to see if there's any clue there. Until we have those results we won't know how to move on from there." She looked up from her clipboard at Arthur who merely nodded his understanding. He was wearing a surprised expression, widening his eyes a little and opening his mouth the smallest bit; over the years he had become adept at mimicking expressions as they didn't come to him naturally.

"Next are the implications. Well, you've studied at Eton. You can understand what impact we could make if we could somehow replicate your ability in others, the lives we could save and the illnesses we might be able to cure if that's something your ability affects. That's pretty much it for today, I'll just take those blood samples from you and then you can be off. You're not afraid of needles or anything, are you?" She smiled at her joke and Arthur replied in kind.

As if you wouldn't know that already. Not that I'm too sure what fear feels like.

"No, I think I'm okay with them. I've not really had blood taken before." He forced out a nervous laugh and rolled his sleeve up when instructed. Gisela fetched a kit from one of the cupboards and put a tightstrap around his upper arm to make the process easier. She drew two small syringes of Arthur's blood before disposing of the waste and pressing a cotton wool ball down on the jab.

They both watched in interest at the injury and sure enough it stopped bleeding almost immediately. For good measure Arthur accepted a plaster to put onto the hole and then stood up, ready to get the hardest bit of all this over with.

"Your father should be ready for your chat now. Return to your room and you'll find a tablet in there set up for a video chat." Gisela smiled again, guiding him to the door. "Until our next session." She said as a means of farewell.

As ordered, Arthur returned to his room and there was, as promised, an iPad on the bed. It was set up with some kind of attachment plugged into the charger port which he wasn't technology minded enough to understand but assumed it was some kind of security device. The tablet was already switched on and when he unlocked the screen it began the video call automatically. There were no buttons except a red phone icon to end the call; they really weren't taking any chances with the residents contacting the outside world except in controlled environments.

The call was picked up almost instantly and his father's study came into view. The wing-backed leather chair behind the heavy oak, ornate desk and the dark wooden bookcases filled with leather bound classic editions of various literary works. It was just like his father to choose an imposing vista for this meeting.

"Arthur." The tone was clipped, it appeared Ragnarson Sr. had no intention of spending more time on this call than he had to. "You have settled now?" It was more of a statement than a question. No, an order.

"Father. Yes, it is most comfortable." Arthur's tone was just as short and hostile. The only emotion he ever truly had felt was rage and only towards his abusive father. The one who, even in this situation, was uninterested in Arthur's situation.

"Good. Do not disappoint me there. Make yourself useful to your family, that's all." The call was cut off abruptly. In a rare fit of irritation Arthur hurled the device at the wall, the tablet screen shattering as it clattered to the floor. He calmed his breathing, the anger vanishing in a flash and leaving him with the usual emptiness he felt inside. At least had managed to confirm a few things from the meeting and the call.

That bastard is involved in this, after all.
@Vocab@Gonzo@sakurasan@banjoanjo@HellHoundWoof@Lillium@Airalin@KahleenCuthald@Thundercrash@SheriffLlama@wolverbells@HecateProxy

GM Post - The Auditorium


The commotion was over, for now. It seemed like those who were going to yell out or react violently had done their bit.

Only four this time? Not so bad this time.

Elisa turned back to face the remaining group, seeing the anger, terror and confusion across all their faces; mixed up into one pot of frightened children ready to lash out at anything at a moment's notice. This had always been the crucial point of the programme, getting the kids on board at the earliest stage possible to contain their abilities and stop them harming themselves and others by accident. She dropped her smile a little, wearing the slightly sterner look her companion had adopted (or rather, wore permanently). The removal of the screaming girl from earlier had made the atmosphere a bit cooler and it would rub people the wrong way to continue grinning.

"Let me answer your... queries in turn. First you, Irina." Of course, Elisa had memorised all their names, backgrounds and everything bit of information they had on each of them. "Kidnapping is an offence, you are correct. Isolating potentially dangerous persons is not. Under government rules we have taken you, with permission from your countries, to isolate you from others until we can understand your abilities properly. Think of it like this: if you had a disease or an illness that could kill you very easily, and could spread to those around you by merely being near them, would you resist being kept away from them or would you go willingly until you were better?" Her eyes hardened.

"Take you, for example. You know you can hear others' thoughts, yes? Earlier, before we turned on the nullifier, you were in pain, yes?" She was walking towards Irina, towering over the girl who was sitting down (it turns out Elisa was rather tall, even without the slight heels she was wearing), her voice low as she hammered the points home. "Now imagine this: what if you let that get out of control? Imagine if you accidentally let everyone around you hear that without even realising you were doing that? Do you think it might drive them mad? Imagine the secrets you would pour out unwillingly? And then think of yourself... powers grow as you get older, whether you use them or not. If you don't learn how to control your power, to use it when you wish to, you will drive yourself insane with the constant thoughts in your head." She looked around the room coolly.

"We brought you all hear to stop that happening to you all. We are treating you as if you were a bio-hazard. You are dangerous to people without even meaning to be. Above all, you are dangerous to yourself. Once you are better able to control your powers we can let you out, until then we have a duty of care to protect you and those around you. That includes your family and friends."

Here, Christopher glanced at Nikolai. ["I believe that answers your question about legitimacy, Nikolai. We are contracted by governments individually, you are here because your government charged us with reducing the dangers associated with empowered persons."]

Now Elisa had stalked to another part of the room so that she was opposite Mara, staring the girl down.

"And you, Amara. Your family have been notified. I have been nothing but honest with you about how or why you were brought here. Everything was done in a way to minimise risk to people around you, not just yourself. After the preliminary tests you will be allowed to call your family, or vidchat with them, whichever you choose."

There was a pause, silence descending on the room. Then one hand was slowly raised.




Arthur Ragnarson


In the stunned silence that had descended on the room, Arthur looked around and saw the shock and horror on all the faces of his fellow inmates. He too felt the same but... however, why ever, felt strangely calm. Well, more like empty. He found his hand raised calmly, like he was in class. A twisted, horror show of a class.

"Yes, Arthur?" Elisa had called on him and suddenly he felt the attention on him. He had barely formed what he wanted to ask in his head and found himself, suddenly on the spot, at a loss at what to do. Slowly, Arthur stood, buying time while trying to remain calm and collected.

"You say we might be a danger to others. I say that if we develop our powers then, while we may be less of a danger by accident, we may be more dangerous by design. What is your purpose in this? This is no charitably funded organisation, there's private money here. So, where's the catch?" He stared at Elisa, unconcerned by the hard look on her eyes. There was a coldness behind them, like she was looking at a machine rather than a human being. Arthur supposed that was how one was like when they became a research of living organisms or else the stress would become too great.

The scientists paused, observing the young man, before replying. "We receive funding from governments to not only contain and develop those with powers but also pass on research developments to other projects. Things that were previously impossible become possible. For example, in your case, if you ability to heal rapidly can be developed properly then we might be able to develop methods to cure illnesses or increase the success rate of risky operations." She smiled. "A lot of people are interested in the application of such developments and will fund this research. Whether for greedy reasons or for philanthropic reasons, it does not matter to us. Our core mission is the same: protect you, develop you and in so doing protect those around you."

Arthur nodded, sitting down.

"In that case, I'm ready to see this coach of mine. I can't speak for everyone here but I'd rather have a shot at leaving her than being stuck here as an unwilling specimen. I'll take my shot at freedom, even if it means gambling on much worse." His meaning was clear:

I don't trust you, but I've got no choice.




GM Post - The Auditorium


With a nod from Elisa, Christopher spoke into into a microphone on his lapel and the doors to the auditorium opened. A stream of men and women entered. They were a weird group wearing anything from lab coats to jeans and a vest. Men and women, young to middle aged. They spread out to line up at the front of the room as if they were on show, or on parade.

"These will be your coaches. We have already matched you with whoever has had the most previous experience with abilities like yours. Like I said, you are not the first group we've had here and we're discovering new methods to enhance your abilities all the time. Your first session will be establishing a dialogue with your coach, having a DNA swab and maybe a blood test depending upon your power, and then discussing the next steps." She stepped back, gesturing for the coaches to begin taking their chosen 'student' away.




Arthur Ragnarson


"Arthur Ragnarson. Please follow me."

The one who had called his name was a younger woman, perhaps in her mid-twenties, wearing a business suit (trousers, blouse and jacket) but despite her severe choice of clothes she had a gentle look and gestured for him to follow him. Arthur smiled to his two very newly made friends, squeezing out of the row and following the coach out of the room.

"My name is Gisela. I was employed in a private clinic before I came here, which is why I took you on as my pupil." They exited out of the door at the right hand end of the corridor into another corridor lined with rooms with number plaques on them.

"So your experience is relevant to my 'power'? I have to be honest, I'm not convinced I have a power. I just happen to heal faster than other people but it's not anything miraculous." He followed her into a room that looked a lot like a counselling office. There was an armchair, a couch and a coffee table. A bookcase filled with books and files that looked to be mostly medical journals was against one wall while a sink and a few cupboards was against another. As with the rest of the facility there were no windows in the room, just the fake natural light-emitting glass frames.

"Something like that. We have a way of locating people with powers and it also tells us what their power is. It's one hundred percent accurate so there's no mistake. You have a power, even if you find that hard to believe now." A wry smile and then she gestured to the sofa. "Please, take a seat and then we will begin."
Room numbers so far:

Wolverbells/Irina: 3
Jinxer/Arthur: 15
KahleenCuthald/Myriam: 18
Vocab/Mayuri: 7
Lillium/Lucie: 12
HecateProxy/Mara: 6
Now's a good time for anyone to ask any questions/yell at their kidnappers/catch up to the rest of us in the auditorium.
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