02 [Video]

[memoriesinsmoke]

[So this is awkward. Liz has never been very good at talking about business beyond "what do you need me to burn". Handling everyone as a group was always Kate's thing - but Kate isn't here, and Hellboy's skills with rounding people up usually leave something to be desired. So she's just going to put on her best poker-face and do this.

Thankfully, she's always been good at keeping a straight face.]

I'm sure something everyone's noticed about this place is that there's no shortage of paranormal things going on. Some of you may be used to it, while others probably aren't.

For those of you that don't know me, I'm Agent Elizabeth Sherman, and back home I work for the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. Our job was to research, monitor, and investigate paranormal happenings around the world. ... And defend mankind from it, whenever it came to that. [Which it did. Very frequently.]

Considering the nature of this place, I thought it would be wise to try and put together something similar over here. That way the next time something happens, we'll have a group ready to take care of the problem without having to worry about civilians and other non-combatants getting caught up in the mess.

Of course, it's the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. So along with fighters, we'll need people with knowledge of the paranormal - and who could maybe help with looking into finding more information about the nature of the things found in this world - people who can keep records of what's already happened... office kind of stuff, basically. [She does paperwork when she has to, but it's not her forte, okay.]

If you're interested, let me know your experience with this sort of thing and what you're planning to contribute, and we can work something out.

Comments

[video; 40% encryption]

[depicted]

[That is too interesting to pass up, and God, has he been bored. Fresh-faced youth answers the call with the confidence of experience.]

I would be very interested. Dorian Gray, pleasure to meet you, and I have, oh, about a century and a half experience with the paranormal, now, it must be? Demons, dragons, vampires, ghosts, cursed objects... [Dorian waves it off.] That sort of thing. Most of the time, my experience has been in investigating and containing it. Rarely combat-based containment, but I can fight in a pinch.

Not really accustomed to doing paperwork for this particular side of things. Still, a few years in the Square Mile and you get used to it, and this is bound to be more engaging than banking. I'd be happy to help where I can.

[video; 40% encryption]

[memoriesinsmoke]

Dorian Gray? [Like from the Oscar Wilde story? Well, there are certainly stranger things that have happened.]

Well, whatever. Glad to know you're interested. Now, when you said you rarely used combat-based containment, what exactly did you mean? There are all sorts of demons and spirits that can't be fought off. I take it you're referring to those sorts of situations?

[video; 40% encryption]

[depicted]

[When people repeat his name, it is usually because the recognize it from Oscar's story. Under the circumstances, he isn't interested in lying about it] As in The Picture of, yes. Oscar took a little creative license in telling the story.

But exactly that. Very few of the supernatural things I've met were particularly tangible. So they also couldn't be destroyed. Most of them had to be fought with their own logic--removing the medium that linked them to the human world, in a handful of cases, or trapping them in a physical object and isolating it. That sort of thing.

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[shootingshields]

I'm afraid my knowledge of the supernatural doesn't go beyond basic concepts of myths and the like, but I'd certainly be interested in some kind of collaboration. Something like that sounds exceedingly useful here.

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[memoriesinsmoke]

We could probably work something out. Any sort of help would be useful, honestly. [So long as they know what they're doing, which Liz knows Peggy does.]

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[shootingshields]

I observe a lot and speak with a number of kedan. I can gladly share anything potentially relevant. I may even have information in some of the notes I've compiled already - I can look through and check.

[thetyrant]

[His expression is completely neutral, but there are several other involuntary signs of anxiety. Sweat is visible on Logan's brow, his left hand sitting just within few is clenching and flexing, and there's a slight tremor to his shoulders. But his face is a picture of composure and his voice is steady and calm.]

What exactly qualifies as the paranormal? I ask because while my world has certain...entities...it also has magic as an openly discussed topic, as a matter of course. I understand it's not the same in many worlds.

[memoriesinsmoke]

[Liz doesn't miss those signs, but she doesn't plan on mentioning them unless they become particularly relevant.]

Magic, spirits, demons, aliens... that sort of thing. Of course, just because something is considered paranormal doesn't automatically make it a threat.

[thetyrant]

I see. I have a little experience with these things. My mother could use Will, what you seem to call magic, as could a friend of hers I grew up with. My sister can as well, though I haven't seen hers work.

[Clench. Flex.]

And there are other things. Creatures.

[notdreaming]

I'd like to help. I don't have any experience with the paranormal, but my entire family were scientists. I could help with research. [ And learn about magic! ]

[memoriesinsmoke]

That'll be fine. Researchers are always necessary, and in this place it won't be long until something happens. [That last bit is mostly in regard to lacking experience with the paranormal.]

Anyway, what's your name?

[notdreaming]

[ She can totally x-ray stuff just by looking at it, too. Super helpful for a paranormal investigator, yes? ]

Kara Zor-el, of Krypton.

[video]

[assworthsaving]

[Well he's no stranger to weird and unusual things, and he's seen his share of the impossible. Though he hasn't been here long enough to see much of anything yet, this is still work that he's familiar with.]

Not exactly into desk jobs, but I keep journals with anything relevant that I find. Mostly notes on myths, legends, anything historical that I'm looking into. This place included. And my paranormal resumé includes zombies, mutants, and flesh-eating spiders.

I'm willing to do research and share notes, but I'd rather help out in a fight than get stuck doing paperwork.

[video]

[memoriesinsmoke]

There's always the option to do both. [Because hey, with every mission she's had to do her share of paperwork, too. She just never liked it.]

[video]

[assworthsaving]

[He would be out in the thick of things anyway, just this way he was more likely to have someone watching his back. Not a bad job.]

So long as I'm not being locked into a cubicle, you got yourself a deal.

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[storm_warning]

You saying that there are ways to deal with ghosts?

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[memoriesinsmoke]

All sorts. It usually depends on the ghost.

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[storm_warning]

And you're some sort of expert in that?

[Liz, this is a side of you she never knew. Well, she sort of did, but it still floors her.]

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[cowled]

So essentially you're looking for people to... hire you?

[That was entirely too much talking for him to actively pay attention to but he thinks that's probably the gist of it, right?

in other words: Batman is up in your business, creepin' on your shenanigans.]

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[memoriesinsmoke]

Mostly looking for people to join up, but I wouldn't be opposed to some funding.

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[cowled]

Now you're speaking my language. Do you have any sort of expense review drawn up?

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[sharpes]

Hey, gorgeous. Miss me?

[completely ignoring the content of this post? you bet.]

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[memoriesinsmoke]

No, but I seriously doubt you'd let something like that stop you.

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[histruename]

[Hellboy... really hates using this network thing. It's one of the reasons he's glad Liz is being the spokesperson, here. But this is business, at least. He's okay with getting on it if he has to.]

You know I'm in. If you need any help interviewing anyone, let me know.

[Which could be either a good or bad idea. He conducted a few interviews in the early days, back when the Bureau was still small. Which either ended up with him letting just about anyone in, much to the chagrin of everyone else, to being outright rude to the phony idiots trying to get a job pretending to be psychic. That will always be a great way to piss him off. Needless to say the Bureau quit letting him do interviews after that.

But this isn't his father's Bureau. Here they don't have to worry about anything but disagreeing with each other.

...Or maybe he should just stick to field training.]

[video]

[memoriesinsmoke]

Thanks. I'll be sure to let you know. [Truth be told, Liz still has no idea what she's doing. She's never done anything like this before, but thankfully, this place has a fairly small population of foreigners. It shouldn't be too difficult to weed the bad ones out of the people she isn't (and in some cases, is) already familiar with.

Still, she's glad that Hellboy is around to help out. Even if neither of them is really best suited for recruiting people, it's better that it's the two of them rather than just one.]