Text- Introduction time

[smilingarmor]

[Is that a new username you see on the network? By golly it is!]

Well, this is quite an interesting situation we've found ourselves in, isn't it?

I'm still not certain quite what to make of this whole business, but I thought I should introduce myself. My name is Emberto Alegre, and as I recently discovered, I'm now one of the 'Different'. Or perhaps I always was; the 'Martin' fellow who spoke to me about it wasn't exactly clear on that point

...On a side note, 'Different' is a very dull sounding name for a group connected by such fantastical circumstances, don't you think? One would think that a group whose job it is to deal with such things would be able to come up with something better than that. But then I suppose government agencies aren't exactly known for their creativity.

In any case, I look forward to getting to know you all. Beyond that, I suppose we'll just have to see where this unusual ride takes us.

Comments

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[howkickassiam]

You don't think us being 'Different' is their fault? Well, I do.

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[smilingarmor]

I don't know what to think at the moment. I will admit that this 'Bureau' does come off as rather shady, but a bad first impression is hardly enough to base accusations on.

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[howkickassiam]

Well, I've been around a couple of months now and I can tell you it seems like the most logical conclusion.

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[smilingarmor]

I don't suppose you have a theory about how they're able to do such a thing? Or about what they'd hope to gain by it?

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[bearshermark]

Yeah, it's not the greatest name ever.

Welcome to the club, though. I hope you're adjusting okay. I'm Elliott, and I'll do my best to help if you need anything.

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[smilingarmor]

Good to meet you, Elliott. I suppose I'm adjusting as well as can be. The few I've told about it outside of our little community have certainly been rather understanding, even if they don't know what to make of it any more than I do.

Though that does make me wonder exactly how 'little' our community is? If I understood correctly, this is something that affects the whole world to one degree or another. It would be very odd if we 'Different' could only be found in one city.

[bearshermark]

It's hard to say. I've wondered about that, but I wouldn't have any idea how to reach out to the rest of the world. Most of us keep our existence secret because we'd sound crazy to most people. I'm really glad you've found some support, though.

[smilingarmor]

That's certainly true. There are likely ways to go about it, but the question is how to do so without attracting people who actually are mentally disturbed? Ah well... If it can be done, we'll likely have plenty of time to figure it out.

And I'm glad for the support too. And for having friends who know I wouldn't make up such a thing.

Especially my stage manager; he's a burly sort of fellow who might take offense to suspicious characters lurking around. And since Mr. Martin did say that his group would be keeping an eye on us, I would rather avoid any incidents if those eyes happened to be walking around on two legs.

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[darkforcerising]

Mr. Martin isn't exactly clear on anything but being a grumpy asshole.

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[smilingarmor]

Haha! That's certainly true. He definitely doesn't make for a very good first impression of this 'Bureau'.

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[darkforcerising]

To be fair, what good first impression could any of have of the Bureau.

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[smilingarmor]

Good point. They definitely need to hire someone new in the PR department is if this is their idea of even a lukewarm impression.

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[ashenscipher]

You are not the first to question the name they've given us. What would you suggest they change it to?

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[smilingarmor]

Hmm... the 'Multi-Memoried Marvels' perhaps? It sounds a bit like something out of a comic book, but it's a bit catchier than just 'Different'. And we could call ourselves 'Triple-Ms' for short!

Or perhaps the 'Coalition of Extraordinary Individuals', for something more grand sounding.

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[ashenscipher]

Those certainly have a style to them.

I think the Bureau prizes efficiency over style.

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[smilingarmor]

Yes, that much I could tell right away. Hence the need for us to make up for their drabness.

[traceofeffort]

I don't think Mr. Martin is very clear on anything. That seems to be on purpose. Anyway, hi! I'm Lisa, and I'm very happy to have more people along on our little adventure.

We've been workshopping better names for ourselves, but I don't think anyone's come up with anything that's stuck.

[smilingarmor]

I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case.

Either way, it's good to meet you, Lisa. And is there some sort of general message thread regarding suggestions for new names? If so I may add a few of mine.

[traceofeffort]

Nah, we don't have anything that fancy. Or enough traffic for a sticky post to be worth anything, not that any of us could do that. I think we just kinda throw things at the wall and see what sticks? I feel like we do a lot of that around here, though - we have a lot of wall and not very many things that COULD stick.

[smilingarmor]

Haha! Well I can certainly add a few to the wall if you like.

And I heard that there are in person group meetings as well, so we could always collect suggestions the old fashioned way there too. And then we could put any that were collected to a vote to see what people liked.

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[scotch_egg]

What kind of memory did you have? Any sort of magical powers? [he says those words with the expression that he swallowed a lemon] How much do you believe the bullshit the Bureau is feeding you?

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[smilingarmor]

[The response he gets is still text, but it comes quite promptly.]

Magical powers? Ooh, that does sound exciting! But I'm afraid I didn't see anything quite so remarkable. I was simply talking to four other people; two young men, a young lady, and a little girl. Apparently I wanted to join them on some sort of heroic quest, and one of the young men wasn't especially pleased about it. The place we were in was quite remarkable though; it was like something straight out of Arabian Nights! Frankly, I'm curious to hear the rest of the conversation.

As for the Bureau... I'm not sure quite what to think about them. Something certainly happened, and I don't know of any way that such a thing could be induced by someone else, so until I have some proof otherwise, I'm not inclined to think that it was something they caused or controlled. But... I also know that shady government agencies generally have reasons for being so, so I'm not inclined to be especially trusting either.

Other than that... I suppose we'll see. I like to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, but Mr. Martin seemed intent on straining it.

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[temptationaccomplished]

I do wish you hadn't answered him so freely. Now he's going to think he can get away with this with every new person.

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[smilingarmor]

Get away with what? Asking people what they remembered, or asking their opinion of the Bureau?

not here

[scotch_egg]

It made him furious. He wanted to tell the man he wasn't his bloody mother, no matter how much he seemed to want to act like it. Friends, he called it, but as far as he understood it friends let friends be who they were. He doubted Fell came behind Anthony and constantly policed his behavior or hovered over him.

No, Alec wasn't a friend. He wasn't even a child. He was just some pet dog. A stray. Someone that was attached to Anthony.Someone to keep healthy because otherwise Anthony would be upset. Someone to train to behave.

He wanted to tell Fell this. To snarl it at him. But what good would that to? The man would fluster and feel terrible and would either keep on regardless or would pull back-- Either way he'd be upset and then Anthony would be pissed off at him for having upset the man.

It really was like his mum.

Can't you see you're upsetting Rufus? Why can't you be more supportive?!

So fine. Fine. Next time he would just lock his bloody reply. Wouldn't even bother to reply to this one so he wouldn't ruffle any feathers Fell had soothed. In fact if he could avoid Fell altogether all the better. He didn't think it would work, but he was going to make an attempt.