NETWORK | VIDEO

[mrsklover]

[The message starts off with nothing but darkness for a few long seconds. It's quiet and still until, finally, a groan comes through. Another one follows behind it and the video shifts to show it apparently just pressed into the dirt.]

Fuck...

[The video turns again, whipping around as the person holding the comm seems to drop it a few times before finally righting it, camera facing the wrong way.]

How does...fucking... Shit...

[It falls again but then is lifted back up, turned around, and at long last the owner is shown: Richie Tozier squints at the device almost like he's in pain. Which...yeah. Sort of.]

Uh... Hey everyone... [He scratches his head.] You ever get the feeling like you missed something? Or a few somethings?

Comments

[crystalmaster]

Good.

[Radley gives him a thumbs-up.]

Well, I guess I'll see you around. If you decide you want something more filling than booze, come by the diner.

[mrsklover]

That sounds amazing. What do you guys serve there? Burgers?

[His eyes go wide with hope.]

Pizza?

[crystalmaster]

Burgers, yes! We don't have an actual pizza oven, but I've had some success making pizzas in what we've got.

[mrsklover]

Oh man. I am gonna be there in a second. This is the best day of my life. Two burgers, please! Supersize me!

[crystalmaster]

You got it!

[Radley sets to work making the burgers.]

[mrsklover]

[ Richie shows up about fifteen minutes later looking a bit less rough than he had on the video. Despite having (ostensibly) just woken up, he looks a little drained. Paler than usual with bags under his eyes.

Well, more bags than usual.

Still, he waves at Radley and gives a grin. ]

Yo! Here for the order. I just realized though, I didn't ask what kind of burger this was. Repli-cow meat? Glownie ground? Soylent Green?

[crystalmaster]

Hi! They taste pretty good.

[He shows them on the menu.]

((OOC: You know, I don't think it was mentioned what kind of meat they're using, lol. I don't think Radley would use Glownie, though.))

[mrsklover]

You know what? I have eaten worse on tour at places by the side of the road. I'm just gonna be glad it's a burger that looks meat-like and not question it.

[ He pauses, thinks, and then frowns. ]

I hope it's not the bantha though...

[crystalmaster]

Nah, no bantha.

Tour, huh? Are you a musician?

[mrsklover]

Comedian. Pretty good one if I write my own material. Which, for the record, I didn't. But if I ever get home again I probably will. Shock all my fans when I stop pretending to have girlfriends I'm horrible to.

[crystalmaster]

[Radley smirks a bit, then perks up with a thought.]

Yeah? Maybe you could write a routine for here and we could have comedy night at the diner.

[mrsklover]

[ Richie immediately perks up. ]

That's a pretty good idea! I don't know the last time I actually wrote out a routine. I've been here for so fucking long I haven't even thought about it...

[crystalmaster]

Great! ... Oh, are your routines family-friendly? We have some kids here....

[mrsklover]

[Richie's grimace is answer enough.]

Uh. No, not really. I mean, I guess it depends on the kid and how comfortable they are hearing the word 'Fuck'.

[crystalmaster]

... And you couldn't maybe have two versions of your routine so the kids could enjoy one of them?

[Radley would feel bad to leave them out, but he would definitely not encourage them to hear a very adults-only routine.]

[mrsklover]

I...uh... [He doesn't even know where to start making a children-friendly show.]

How young are we talking about, here?

[crystalmaster]

Ten, for at least one of them.

[He's not sure how old Omega is.]

[mrsklover]

Ten? Jesus. I mean. I guess I can talk about...uh...shapes? Colors? I don't even know what they'd think is funny.

[crystalmaster]

[Radley laughs awkwardly.]

Yeah, I think we'd better scrap that idea.

[He imagines Richie trying to force a G-rated show would come off exactly like that: forced. Better not to try.]

[mrsklover]

[ Richie shrugs, not too concerned about that. Maybe it could be something he worked on. Or maybe he should branch out into prop comedy. Kids liked physical humor, right? Something to think about.]

How many kids are here, now? Feel kinda bad for them that they got scooped up away from their family.

[crystalmaster]

There's at least two I know of. One of them has a brother with her, so that's nice. The other has an animal friend from home.

[mrsklover]

Wow. We turned into a preschool while I was gone. A whole family kidnapped by the Agrii. [ He sighs. ] What could kids possibly do for these aliens?

[crystalmaster]

I have no idea. Do they even choose who comes or is it completely random? I've heard it's random.

[That frustrates him on multiple levels. He feels he does have things to offer, but if he wasn't even chosen for that, it's a slap in the face. He hates the thought that he was torn away for no real reason at all.]

[mrsklover]

[ Richie shrugs. ]

They say there is a reason? Like we're the 'He Rows' right? But I don't know what selection process picks me up in the same group as geniuses like Tony or magical assholes like Jon. I might have done shit with supernatural crap, but I am a forty year old man who once held an ax and a bat. That's all I got.

Well that and like a whole host of issues.

[crystalmaster]

[Radley smirks a bit in sympathy.]

You feel like your heyday is past, huh? Hey, at least you had one.