Entry 1: Video

[uberwaldian]

[The communicator turns on, but there's a bit of fiddling and static before she can get it to work. Anyone listening can hear what sounds like muffled swearing. Finally, the video switches on, and there's an attractive young blonde woman peering at the screen, wearing what looks like armor and a loose leather-and-gold collar around her neck. Her

Comments

as I can't send you ardent...

[iam_aghost]

Pleasure to meet you, Captain. Dr Caesares, if you wondered. I don't think it runs on imps. Do things usually run on imps at home?

As for rules - there aren't any, specifically, that you can enforce. I presume you are a police captain rather than an army one, si? Every warden enforces rules on their own inmate, of their own choice. Which, I am fully aware, has all sorts of difficulties of its own.

What would a blanket do?

Hooray for Caesares, then!

[uberwaldian]

Things like this usually do, yes. Cameras, particularly. What paints the pictures on this? They're very good.

So there's... what no law at all, here, then? It's just up to us to decide what we want to enforce? [She raises a brow, mouth twisting wryly.] Feels just like home.

Haven't you ever dealt with a boogeyman before?

:D

[iam_aghost]

...pictures on here are not painted. On cameras where I'm from, it's to do with the capturing of light energy in chemicals on film. I can probably show you.

No law at all. In theory, if you want to let your inmate get away with murder, you can. But... that being said, we try to uphold some kind of standards between us. So yes, feels just like home to some of us, too.

Not with a blanket. How is it done?

[uberwaldian]

Oh? That sounds quite interesting. I'll have to see it sometime. [This is the vague and genial tone she uses with Carrot when he wants to drag her halfway across the city to look at rocks. It means: I'll pretend to be interested and you pretend not to notice I'm not, okay?]

Well, what sort of standards, then? The sort that allow for murder? [She sounds more curious than judgmental, really.]

It's a pretty simple theory, really, although a bit nasty. The boogeyman goes away when you hide under the blanket, right? So if you cover him with a blanket...

[iam_aghost]

Only if you want to. I'd like to see these... imps at work.

No, not murder. I have not been here long enough to remember many examples, but a warden was collectively punished for beating another within an inch of his life in anger. The others... I would have to research, and haven't experienced myself.

...That is quite brilliant, I have to say. In its own way. I'm not sure things here will follow the same rules, though.

[uberwaldian]

Oh, I don't think I've... [She glances around her room. It's pretty unimpressive, by any standards. It's mostly just... brown.] My only watch is clockwork, I'm afraid.

What do you mean, follow the same rules? I understand not having laws... gods know I may be the only one in the Watch that does. But a boogeyman is a boogeyman. We get them all the time, in Uberwald!

[iam_aghost]

As is mine.

Well, not everyone here is from Uberwald, or even your planet, and... we have different ways of dealing with matters, I suppose.

[uberwaldian]

Humans still seem to be human, though. Are you saying it's only other species that are different?

[The thing flickers behind her, again. She sighs and rolls her eyes.] Yes, yes. I can see you. Very menacing.

[iam_aghost]

No, no, I'm sure most species are similar. But... there are differences between worlds, how things work, here.

[uberwaldian]

That's the part I don't understand, though. That's not how the world works -- it's how boogeymen work. Are you going to tell me that vampires... [She pulls a face, inadvertently.] ...don't suck blood and... and wear black here?

[iam_aghost]

Well, they do drink blood. But as far as I'm aware, there's some very complicated differences in how you'd go about stopping one.

[uberwaldian]

I've generally heard that a stake to the heart will do it. Or fire, in a pinch.

[iam_aghost]

I imagine they're some of the usual methods, but there are variants between worlds here.

Where, exactly, are you from?

[uberwaldian]

Uberwald, originally. We've got our fair share of vampires. [She sounds a little bitter.]

...Er, but you mean worlds, don't you? We call it the Disc.

[iam_aghost]

I see. We don't have vampires at all at home, so it's an experience, I have to admit.

The Disc... I've heard that before. I think there's another man from there here. Angry fellow, works in the library. I haven't seen him of late.

[uberwaldian]

Well, it's a big world, I'm afraid... and there are a lot of people I know who you could be talking about. He's not an orangutan, is he?