voice; @hicks

[preseance]

( when he speaks his voice is soft an' easy, mild-mannered as all get-out, with an alabama accent that kicks like a mule to the head besides. he has the air of someone well-used to wieldin' some manner of authority, albeit in another fashion in a faraway place from this. )

For those of you I ain't met, name's Eugene Hicks, an' I'm one of the medics here in Beacon. If'n anybody finds themselves in want of food or company, Sundays me an' a few others are layin' out a spread at the Church. Anybody's welcome, all I ask is no fightin' under the Lord's roof. If'n you felt like bringin' a dish of your own to share, it'd be appreciated. ( he pauses, an' in a lighter tone obviously aimed to jest, ) First person to complain about my Ma's fried tomatoes or the lack of ice cream with the pie will be shown the door, no exceptions.

( it ain't a video post, but he ducks his head all the same. there's a slight jangle of his dog-tags. )

And, ah. Given that the El-Tee ( 'LT', short for lieutenant ) found a village across the river, Rastus seemed to think I ought to maybe work at buildin' a bridge so's we can all access whatever resources might be on the other side without any measure of difficulty. I can do carpentry all right, but if anyone can lend a hand it'd be appreciated. Apparently there's a creature in the river fixin' to drag folks under, so please mind yourselves if'n you're of a mind to get close.

That's all. Look after yourselves an' have a pleasant evenin'.

Comments

voice; @fuckthis

[evocation]

What kind of food do you want us to bring?

[preseance]

( his voice is soft an' fond, gentle-like. )

How's your potato salad?

@priestess ⟪ voice ⟫

[voktys]

I crossed the river just yesterday. There is a spot slightly more narrow than the rest, and what use would there be to magic if not for something like this?

⟪ all this to say: ⟫

For the purpose of constructing a bridge, there could be a benefit to my powers, if only so those working on construction don't immediately meet whatever is lurking in the depths.

[preseance]

Then I'd be glad of the help.

( lordy, but he's just as fond of her as he is of kyna, an' it's replete all in his voice. )

Find anythin' we oughta know about on the other side?

@missprincessmary; voice

[withsadness]

I can bring tea! I know how to make that, now!

[It's the only thing she can make.]

Oh--I'm Mary! Hi! You help people with Wade!

[preseance]

( he's heard a bit about mary from wade, an' so he's already smilin' as he replies, )

I, for one, would love a cuppa tea l'il Miss. An' I surely do. My name's Gene, it's nice to meetcha.

@raylan · voice

[ultimatums]

This thing at the church – you ain't tryna rope people into a mass, are you? 'Cause I'd have to decline on that count. Heard enough preachin' to last a lifetime.

[ once this is out of the way he'll move onto the more important parts of this. namely, ice cream. ]

[preseance]

( oh, that gets somethin' like a laugh. )

No sir. I ain't preached a day in my life an' don't intend to start now. Just thought this place could use a little'a that hometown touch, is all.

voice, @five

[fogey]

[ eugene might've called five out on the hypocrisy of his advice, out in the woods, but this is still nice to see. doing something like this with other people, sharing food and working together on things, really is the kind of thing he'd been talking about. he's not so presumptuous as to think anything about this message has anything to do with him, of course. just a nice surprise on his tablet, tonight. ]

You'll need to make sure that creature can't pull people off the bridge, or it won't see much use.

voice : @username

[dualikey]

It didn't pull our raft down, just the person who went in.

But I guess that doesn't mean it couldn't. Or that there's only one.

If they're fish then there's probably a school or something right?

[preseance]

( given how their last conversation went, this is. enough to make him smile just a touch. )

I've been tryin' to think of a workaround for that. You got any ideas? So far I was considerin' that we could lay boards beneath the bridge across the river to block it off, then build it in a higher arch overtop. Or maybe some sort'a net. Or, hell, even goin' to reason with the thing. Maybe it's just lonely.

( hm. actually... )

Dinner's at six, by the by. Forgot to mention that part.

voice; @drake

[nonscriptum]

I'm better at accidentally destroying bridges than, uh, building them, but I'm not opposed to a little hard labor.

[ Might get some of these myriad frustrations out, at any rate. ]

[preseance]

( playfully, )

Good, then you can cut down trees an' we'll charge folks a nickel apiece to watch. Raise money for the Church an' all.

@dysmas :// audio;

[chardismastic]

Carpentry not so much my thing but I can help get you the wood you need. Figure that can keep you on the skilled side of the labor.

[ A pause, almost hanging up but then: ] And I can see what I can whip up, given the supplies in the general store.

[preseance]

I'd appreciate that, Mr. Adler. On both counts. What's your specialty?

( for. the food, obviously. )

@witch — post graveshare cr.

[hext]

Dick Grayson's working on a similar project, Gene, do you recall? Was it to build a boat, or just to get across once — have you met him?

[ she pauses, considering. ]

This leads me back to what I mentioned to Wade. An exploration tally or guide I'd like to design, so as not to duplicate work, or lose people. Keep a headcount, of sorts. I suppose he didn't tell you. What do you think about something like this?

[preseance]

Yeah, we've spoken at length about it. He an' I are buildin' a few things together, but it don't hurt to get more hands in the dirt.

( he nods along with what she's sayin'. hard to talk to her, hear the hush an' quiet of that voice that he remembers bein' twisted up in agony. )

Reckon it wouldn't hurt. Awful lotta responsibility to take on, though.

@oracle voice;

[spitefullight]

I'm going to go out on a limb here and ask;

Have we tried pulling whatever's in the river out? If it's just one creature maybe we can just...catch it.

[preseance]

Not yet, so far as I know. But that's its home, an' it may not take too kindly to bein' ousted without cause. I'm thinkin' about seein' if I can hold a civil accord with it. If it's like the other spirits here, maybe it can see some manner of reason.

( he shrugs a bit. no harm in tryin', so long as he doesn't get too close. the fact that it threw a rock at bill makes him think it's got some manner of higher function an' reasoning, anyhow. )

@carnie; voice

[ordinaryannie]

There's an old rail bridge that used to be part of the tracks running from the ore dock. If what's left is sound enough to be rebuilt, that might be easier than building something that can take the weight of some of our larger residents from the ground up. If not, the pieces that aren't rotted through might still make useful salvage for building something new.

[preseance]

( he recognizes the voice, an' though she can't surely see it he nods a greetin' anyhow. )

That's a good suggestion, Annie, thank you, I'll look into that an' see about how sound it is.

( makes him wish a damn sight they had someone from the engineering corps with them, but. paratroopers make do. )

How've you been holdin' up?

@riku; voice

[equinoctials]

[ The Lord's roof? He remembers the Cathedral at Notre Dame being spoken of with the same reverence. Maybe he doesn't know or understand the religion under which a famous structure like that had been erected, but he respects the faith it kindles in the hearts of devotees.

And, Riku guesses, he can't help but like someone whose standards of attendance boils down to no fighting and no complaining about the food. He's reminded of an uncle who lived on the other side of the island, salt of the earth and dutiful in all the ways that count. ]

We have some logs from when we built the raft that we didn't saw into planks yet. Consider them yours. I'll help.

[ He would, maybe should leave it at that.

But the pull on his conscience is a little much to keep silent. After an audible hesitation, he adds: ]

Don't let anyone in that river if you can help it. Someone I know barely made it out with all his limbs intact after meeting one of the inhabitants.

...Whatever's down there is hungry.

[preseance]

( now this one he don't quite know what to make of. he was in the thick of the discussion in kyna's post, but he'd been reasonable an' levelheaded enough, though maybe he came down a little on the side of mistrustful. gene honestly can't blame him for that one. at least he seems to be here with friends, which is enough to ease the most unsettled of souls.

lord knows he'd have a harder go of it if wade weren't here alongside him. they had no notion of each other before the war, but somethin' of the shared experiences has made it easy to fall into step alongside him. it's a soldierin' thing, that sense of safety in numbers. in known quantities.

riku's manner'a conductin' himself made him think of the maquisards. hard folks, with hard lines in 'em, ones that do what needs doin' even when their own damn government ain't standin' behind 'em. weren't for those men an' women in the rebellion they'd have never taken france. )

That'd put us off to a good start. 'Preciate it.

( he catches that little pause, an' cants his head faint to one side. it ain't information lightly shared. )

Ah, yeah. Sora mentioned it while we were chattin'. Hope your fella made it out all right. I'm gonna talk with Winters some, see if there's anythin' we can do to mollify the creature. Wouldn't do to have it eat somebody if the solution's as simple as throwin' a leg of lamb in the river once weekly.

[ locked ]

[identifier]

Searching for a light, now building bridges?

[ he is warm. teasing. ]

[preseance]

( why is this locked. what're you up to, ya fiend? )

Well, a fella needs to keep busy.

( which dick probably knows better than most. dick's only seen him sit silent an' still once, at the church. )

@silent

[callada]

Between exploring and working on boats I have my hands pretty full, but I'll contribute what I can for a bridge too. I really want to see what's over there. Cao Pi and I found another farther upstream too in bad shape so if you all finish the lower one while I'm out, I'll pitch in on fixing up the upper bridge.

[preseance]

( he is still vaguely pissed at you, rosi, so this reply is a bit clipped. )

Any time you can spare would be appreciated, Commander.

@Nightshade | Text

[primordialerebus]

I can... maybe cook something. I might need help with the seasoning though.

[ M.K. may be in the room right now, but like hell she's asking him. ]

text;

[preseance]

Anything I can help with?

( he ain't wholly sure why she's usin' text, but. he'll stick with the theme just in case. )

@replica

[replicates]

Pretty sure Riku and the others might've offered wood already since we're building a boat, but I can help with the bridge if you need more hands.

Rastus is helping me get something from back home. I owe him one.

[preseance]

( ah, he recognizes this username, an' on that account his tone's soft an' fond besides. )

Always happy to have more folk helpin' out.

( at the mention of rastus, he nods a bit. don't matter, as it ain't seen, but he agrees with the sentiment regardless. )

Hope whatever it is you've got on order gets here all right, too. Me, I pestered him for a gramophone.

( he misses music. the invincible's nice an' all, but. havin' it in the church where he an' wade run the clinic would be a nice change of pace from the war. )

@cuttingedge; voice

[knifecollecting]

Did you actually make a pie?

[That's amazing.]

I can help build the bridge, but I don't know anything about actually designing one.

[preseance]

Ma'am, there's only a few things in this world I am dead serious about an' one of them is pie.

( okay, gene is serious about almost everything, but at least his tone is lightly playful here. )

That's all right, I just need folks to do the heavy liftin'. If you don't mind that then I reckon we've got an accord.