1.00% | dictated

[magnets]

[ It's been a while since Jesse's showed up, propped up against a wall and jarring awake like someone's hit him. There's a lot of shock, a lot of wandering, he even lights himself a cigarette before he gets to the journal and seats himself on the floor, cross-legged, ash lightly sprinkling on the page. ]

The hell is this, they give- [ It starts cutting in and out as he flips the pages, opens and closes the book. ] -write my feelings in some damn- [ Close, open. ] -creep-ass-

[ Open. ]

Oh, yeah, yeah, let's just not even tell the guy, let's just sit him in some damn fancy-shmancy fuckin' hotel and not even let him - Hah, not even tell what the hell's happening, that's great, let's not even let him pack or anythin', just kidnap him and throw him to the buzzards, yeah, yeah, let's pull some roadkill, old Western crap. [ With silk sheets and fancy furniture. Hmm. ]

Screw this, I'm checkin' the place out, bullshit, this is bullshit.

Comments

[simulatedmedic]

Someone has a dirty mouth.

[hellofist]

Don't think there's, uh... roadkill. Or buzzards.

[magnets]

Uh. Sorry? Who gives-

[ He answers before he kind of fully comprehends the situation because, wow, excuse you, talking book. There's a toe of a sneaker against the thing before he makes his response, slow and careful. ]

Hello?

[magnets]

Oh, cool, great. There's a load off my mind.

[simulatedmedic]

[A sigh, and you can almost hear the eyeroll.]

Looks like we have another visitor. Wonderful.

[magnets]

Uh, no shit. Ya mind cluin' me in on what's goi--

No, you know what, how's a book talkin' at me? That's my first question. A book. Who's this?

[dog_eat_dog]

[Have a woman with a not-taking-shit tone!]

Oh, calm the fuck down. You want someone to come hold your hand?

[simulatedmedic]

The book isn't talking to you. Stop being ridiculous. It's some form of communciations device.

[Obviously.]

Just call me the Doctor. It's easier than having me explain myself every time.

Dictated

[putuporshutup]

[Meg hasn't genuinely laughed this hard in a while. She always feels pretty bad for new arrivals, but this one is just too entertaining.]

You have no idea.

[hellofist]

[Man check out the mood on this guy. And usually this is where she'd say there's nothing to worry about here but he's showing up right after people have gotten their hearts cut out, it wouldn't exactly be true.]

What's your name?

[magnets]

[ This is just going to be a match of nobody taking shit here, have some sarcasm right back! ]

Sorry, yeah, next time I'll take some kidnappin' more lightly, I'll, uh, I'll sleep all sweetly on silk fuckin' sheets for a while instead'a figurin' everything out. Seriously?

[magnets]

Yeah, my fault, next time I'll pick up on that. It ain't like it's a damn cell phone -- yo, it's literally -- a book.

[ This is some abracadabra shit. And some serious tone going on here. ]

That's it? Just the Doctor? No, uh, no Doctor Huxtable, no nothin' else, just you're a doctor?

[dog_eat_dog]

[Tess loves a good battle of the wills.]

Yeah, seriously. I didn't say anything about taking it lightly. Maybe just consider that nobody's going to give you answers until you calm down enough to listen.

[magnets]

[ Stop laughing! Stop laughing, he is very serious. If only you could see his serious face right now. ]

It's messed up, yo, how many people are even here?

[magnets]

Jesse.

[ It's slow, guarded, and almost a question. ] What, you mean you don't already know?

[magnets]

Answers, what answers? Answers to what, nobody's tellin' me jack shit around here!

[ Which is what she was just talking about, so maybe he folds his arms, the rustle and thump of him sitting down on the floor again, doesn't know why he doesn't just pick the damn book up. ]

Well? I mean, I'm listening?

[putuporshutup]

[She does do her best to stifle it, but it doesn't change that she's appreciating the colorful delivery. A lot.]

I'm not exactly sure... at least a hundred, probably more. What's your name, yo?

[It honestly sounds natural. She is in no way making fun of him.]

[dog_eat_dog]

Good.

First, find the journal. Yes, it's absolutely bullshit that a paper journal works like a radio-slash-tablet, but you're just going to have to work with me here.

I'm talking to you through that. My name is Tess.

Following me here?

[magnets]

I'm s'posed to work with--

[ He has to cut off there to mop a hand over his face because it's literally a magic talking book, okay. ] Yeah, cuz that's normal. It's right here, it's right -- I'm literally lookin' right at it.

[ Normally here is the part when someone should probably give their name in return. But Jesse is not for the moment, because he has more to say about this, okay. ]

You're not exactly given me much to follow on here, I got a magic book and a pack'a smokes and jack shit else.

[dog_eat_dog]

That's fine, we can work with that. And you're in a bedroom, right? Go to the door and tell me what your room number is so I can head your way and walk you through the rest of this shit in person.

And save a smoke for me, I haven't had one in a dog's age.

[magnets]

[ It catches him off a beat, that she's not actively making fun of him for it, at least how it usually goes with the gravelly, sarcastic sounding ladies. Who have already made fun of him. ]

[ A hundred people, that's -- Well, that's Kafkaesque, isn't it? ] And they do what? Exactly? To us? Hi, I just wanted to scoop ya outta your house, throw you in a hella nice room for a while?

[ Another beat, and then, ] It's Jesse - why, who's askin'?

[putuporshutup]

[What can she say, she's used to blending in.]

It's Meg. And it's not so much a 'they' as an 'it.' The castle is the one fucking with everyone, and you honestly never know what it's gonna do.

[magnets]

Yeah, yeah, hang on, hang on. Gimme one reason why I oughta be trusting you? Exactly?

[magnets]

[ Deadpan as anything: ]

Magic books, magic castle. Yeah, okay. Anything here that's not magical? Can I shoot lightning bolts outta my fingerprints now?

[dog_eat_dog]

You got an alternative? 'Cause if I'm not appreciated, that's fine, I've got plenty of other things to occupy my time with. I could just go lounge in the hot tub with a cocktail while you stumble around the place yelling and trying to get a straight answer out of anyone else.