001 | Video

[skeletonenigma]

[To be honest, he would have preferred text, but this is a perfect opportunity to test out the console. The keyboard is self-explanatory. The video function isn't. One of the kedan had offered to show Skulduggery how it worked, but he’d politely declined. He didn’t particularly feel like being saddled with a guide for the entirety of his time here.]

Ah, there we go. Excellent.

[This does, of course, mean that he can now be seen. He was a little concerned about that when all of this was first being explained to him, but then he saw someone walking around in the city with blue skin and two heads. He’s rather less concerned now.

... He doesn't really have anything to ask, though, now that he’s thinking about it.]

Thank you. Carry on.

[Yes, that was a skull talking just then, Irish accent and moving jaw and all. Why do you ask?]

Comments

[loquaciouslyfeline]

[Well. A talking skeleton. This is new.]

I must say, I've seen quite a few unusual folks in my time, but you certainly take the cake. [It's not an insult by any means; rather there's a hint of amusement to her tone. If anything, she's curious about this strange man. As such, she transitions smoothly into her own introduction.]

Captain Amelia of the Terran Royal Navy.

[skeletonenigma]

[Ah. People can respond. How about that.]

Thank you. I can't, of course, eat the cake, but that's a whole other matter.

[He'd have taken it as a compliment even if Amelia was insulting him. As it is, her introduction intrigues him, a fact which can be seen in the tilt of his expressionless skull.]

Skulduggery Pleasant. A pleasure to meet you, Captain Amelia. How long since you arrived here?

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[wrathfulkhan]

[What. The hell. Is this.

Gene's seen some crazy shit in his day. But the last time he'd seen a skeleton? It was dressed like some Hollywood version of a pharaoh and shouting "YOU MUST ENDURE!" at him.

Also it was swinging a giant scythe that kinda sent him into a horrifying dream world, so he'd prefer to avoid future skeleton encounters. Even if this skeleton seems polite and more normal than some of the people he's met here, despite being a skeleton.

Then he realizes that he is in fact recording. Shit. Quick. Compose your face. Good. You were only staring at the screen like a confused dingus for like, five seconds, tops.]

...hi.

[Nnnnnailed it.]

[skeletonenigma]

[He's amused, Gene, promise. Even if it's a little difficult to tell.]

Hello.

[solo_patria]

Monsieur?

[What? Of all the things here, what? Enjolras supposes he should not be surprised by much any more, but now? He IS rather surprised.]

[skeletonenigma]

My apologies. These consoles take some getting used to.

[At least he's one of those sorcerers who knows something about technology beyond the basic operation of a phone. Otherwise, this would be a bit harder.]

[bindsthedead]

[Sabriel isn't 'surprised' so much as incredibly wary. Kind of a side-effect of being the latest in a line of necromancers sworn to keep dead things truly dead. Her expression isn't hostile though, just incredibly guarded.]

More newcomers, I take it?

[skeletonenigma]

[Skulduggery would probably prefer her world's version of necromancers over his own. Especially since it's thanks to an insane necromancer that he ended up like this.]

As of less than an hour ago. Newcomers arrive fairly often, do they?

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[dracobin]

--why, you are a skeleton!

[Laurence, Laurence, the Emperor is not wearing clothes, at all.]

Pray, how is it you can speak, without lungs, or vocal cords?

[skeletonenigma]

Magic.

[It took him a moment to answer. For one dizzying second, Skulduggery actually understood what it was like for everyone else to turn on their consoles to something they'd believed utterly impossible.

When he speaks again, you can hear a smile in his voice.] You're a dragon?

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[escarabajo]

[Jaime takes a moment to stare before contributing, very helpfully--]

You're a skeleton.

[skeletonenigma]

Yes. That does seem to be the reigning opinion of the morning.

audio;

[imaginate]

[That's number three on Six Impossible Things today, what the heck. He switches on an audio feed at lunchtime while sketching.]

What if we don't?

[skeletonenigma]

[... Come to think of it, he remembers one of the kedan mentioning that the consoles had audio as well. He either missed it, or didn't think it was important. Either way, he definitely prefers it.]

Don't what?

[everylittlegirl]

[Hayley squints at him.]

Are you.. one of Nico's?

[skeletonenigma]

I doubt it, but I suppose one can never be too sure. Who's Nico?

Video;

[originalflameon]

Todd? Is- [It takes Jim a second to realize he isn't talking to the blazing skull, but in his defense how many talking skulls does one get to meet?

Two, apparently.]

No, sorry, I was mistaken. ... But if there is any way I can help you? Are you new to this place?

[skeletonenigma]

That depends on who Todd is. [He's never met anyone else in the same situation as he is, so someone calling him by a different name is immediately intriguing.] I'm new, yes, but the welcomes here are... incredibly thorough.

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[6collegecredits]

[Wow. Okay. That's new. Like, freaky new.]

So um...I'm guessing someone's already pointed out the obvious, so let's just go with..."how"?

[skeletonenigma]

The obvious? [Is it possible for a skeleton to sound innocent? Because Skulduggery definitely sounds innocent.]

video;

[iwannabeadragon]

[Undead are bad business where he's from. This is not where he's from though. Generally they don't talk either, or wear suits.]

You are missing a face.

[Brilliant observation Hawke.]

[skeletonenigma]

[It's blunt enough to make even Skulduggery pause for a moment.]

I have to hand it to you, that's the most succinct observation anyone's managed to come up with. Apart from 'are you dead.' And 'are you a skeleton.' Was there a question in there somewhere?

[manofiron]

Let me guess. You're from a world without the internet?

[ Because having trouble with the console is the important thing here. Not the fact that there's a talking skeleton on the other side. ]

[skeletonenigma]

We have the internet. I haven't had much reason to use it. I understand why the consoles work, I'm just having a little trouble figuring out how.

[That's all in the past, though. And by 'the past,' he means the last hour. He totally gets it now.]

[modernized]

[He opens his mouth--]

[--And then closes his mouth. ...And then opens it again--]

Yeah I got nothin'.

[Talking skull. Okay. That's, uh, spooky?]

Ok, so I hope this isn't offensive, but are you like...okay are you like some kind of skeleton zombie, or just a regular talking skeleton? Just curious.

[skeletonenigma]

I like to think I'm not a regular talking skeleton, but I'm certainly not a zombie. You've offended me in that sense. [His head tilts to the side.] Questions are only ever asked for curiosity's sake. You never have to make excuses for them.

Video

[fuckcable]

Well, shit.

Now I have seen everything.

[skeletonenigma]

Are you sure? I look in a mirror almost every day, and I'm amazed by the idea of a civilisation floating on the back of a giant turtle. 'Seeing everything' is very relative.