londoncallingrpg | Haunted House GP

The house doesn't exist, that's the first thing anyone who might find themselves inside it would want to know. Now, you might ask how one could find themselves inside something that doesn't exist, but you'd honestly be better off asking yourself how you could leave something that doesn't exist. After all, ideas and concepts can't be burnt or broken, and you can't breakdown a door that's not there- Or was there and then decided to be somewhere else for a while...

You wake in a house though, a house that doesn't exist. A house that defies the laws of reality. There are corridors that go on for days, rooms full of nightmares, and millions of doors that lead you anywhere but out. Trapped inside with you are dozens of other people, all searching for an exit, or an explanation.

Behind every door you'll find your darkest fears, maybe even memories you've tried to forget, or secrets you never wanted to share...

(OTA! Here is your first of two Halloween gps! This one is, of course, set in the haunted house where your pup can run into anything you can dream up! Deadly traps! Spooky monsters! An existential crises! Top level your pups waking up or running into danger, and then go ahead and tag other players! Since this is all magic-y and spooky don't worry too much about time lines and who bumped into who first. Only rule is that your pup can't escape until November 1st! Have fun! Also, because there are two GPs going up this week, both are open to new top levels for two whole weeks! And, of course, you can keep tagging long after that if you want. :D I'll post reminders daily on slack.)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

quartermaster_q

"It was. ...I could though, I'm terribly clever," Q grinned. "Do you want to see something really brilliant?" he asked, not above showing off a little.

From:

hardertohide

"I don't know, will it be violating my mind?" Dutch asked with raised eyebrows, but the look in her eyes said yes. She tended to be too curious for her own good.

From:

quartermaster_q

"Not at all," Q assured her, taking off his glasses and removing one of the arms, revealing a tiny magnet on the end.

Carefully he ran it over his hand, peeling back what looked like flesh, only to reveal that a small patch was purely synthetic- though very realistic.

"I had my hand crushed a while back. Not a pleasant experience. They told I'd be healing for months, then in physical therapy for even longer. So I designed this. Nano cybernetic tech that can be grafted to bone and living tissue. ...Still in very early beta testing, but not too far from becoming the new standard. Ten years tops, I imagine. Maybe fifteen if there are any truly nasty side effects. ...my own design, of course."

From:

hardertohide

Dutch stared, and then looked up at him with wonder in her eyes. "I think 'really brilliant' is a hell of an understatement, Quinton," she stated, as matter of factly as she could pull off when faced with this kind of tech. "How does it work?"

From:

quartermaster_q

"Not too unlike a mechanical prosthetic, the tech is simply smaller. It's still all pulses and brainwaves though," Q explained. "And it's not Quinton. Quinton isn't my name, Dutch. ...It's just Q. Q's the closest thing I have to a 'real' name."

From:

hardertohide

"Q, then," Dutch waved that aside as unimportant. It wasn't, really. Dutch wasn't her 'real' name, but it was her name. People ought to be able to identify as whatever they wanted. "Nano cyber tech. You could make millions off of that." She wasn't sure what she was saying, exactly; part of her admired him for not going there, part of her thought he was an idiot for not going there. "Now I really hope we don't blow up," she added, and smirked. "It'd be a shame to lose a mind like yours."

From:

quartermaster_q

"I would have thought you'd think it wasted already, working where I work," Q quipped, carefully sealing the synthetic skin closed again, then slipping his glasses back on.

He didn't comment on the money. That sort of thing just didn't hold his interest these days.

From:

hardertohide

"Not if that tech actually ends up reaching the people," Dutch pointed out, still smirking.

She was thankful he wasn't commenting on the money. It saved her from having to figure out how she really felt about it.

From:

quartermaster_q

Q was quiet for a moment, then glanced over.

"It's why I do it," he admitted. "I mean, don't get me wrong, there's something very enjoyable about being given actual permission to tear a system apart, or solving a good puzzle- But I like knowing that what I do helps."

He stretched his legs out a bit, then shrugged one shoulder, looking more like a sloppy school boy than a high ranking member of MI6.

From:

hardertohide

"That's - unbelievably cheesy," Dutch stated, but she was smiling as she said it. She looked at the countdown and sighed. "If we've an hour left to live, I wish we had some booze."

From:

quartermaster_q

Q hummed his agreement, then sighed.

"I'll never get to know if the new Fallout game is any good," he noted, trying to stop his gaze from drifting to where he knew Bond's body still sat.

"...At the risk of sounding even more cheesy. I wish I'd had a chance to actually wed the bastard," he confessed quietly. "We kept saying we would- But we said it the way one says they're going to learn to paint or go on a cross country drive. You know it might never happen, it's just a nice thought."

He looked at Dutch then, curious. "Do you have a boyfriend? ...Girlfriend?" he added, not wanting to assume anything.

From:

hardertohide

"I've got friends," Dutch replied, "some of whom I sleep with." The one she slept with the most regularly was Jade, but she couldn't have applied the concept to him. To them.

"I did meet someone recently, but it's probably for the best we haven't had the opportunity to see much of each other."

She only wished someone would come along and make Em see how painstakingly beautiful she was.

From:

quartermaster_q

"I've never been good at making friends," Q admitted. "I mean, actual friends, not just one night friends," he clarified.

"I don't think people find me very likeable."

From:

hardertohide

"You'd be all right, if it wasn't for who you've decided to work for," Dutch answered honestly, then paused as something dawned on her. "Was it a decision?" You never knew. Just because he believed in it now didn't mean it had been his choice.

From:

quartermaster_q

"Some might argue there was a bit of pressure to say yes when they offered me my first job there," Q admitted carefully.

From:

hardertohide

"Figures," Dutch muttered, looking back ahead of them.

From:

quartermaster_q

"We do good work. ...I do good work," Q insisted, his eyes drifting to the clock again.

"Did good work."

From:

hardertohide

"Being coerced into doing good work for the win..." Dutch mock-celebrated. She fell silent, thinking things over a bit, before asking, without phrasing it as a question, "You could easily've coerced me."

Not that she was as good as Quint... as Q. But she was good at what she did.

From:

quartermaster_q

"I wouldn't do that to you. ...To anyone. I don't regret joining six, but I do wish I'd taken a different path there," Q admitted.

He looked over at her again, then tilted his head slightly.

"If you're ever interested, and we don't explode, I'd be happy to find you a job at Q branch. I always need more staff. ...People tend to burn out fast in my line of work."

From:

hardertohide

"You've got to work on your pitch," Dutch chuckled, and shook her head, still smiling as she looked at him. "If I ever take you up on that, I'll probably be possessed. Fair warning."

From:

quartermaster_q

"I'll be sure to remember that," Q promised with a faint smile.

From:

hardertohide

Dutch rolled her eyes, at her hope that he might yet have to. That would mean the end of the countdown wouldn't result in their death, and she liked that plan. She would take a little possession down the road, for that price.

"What do you know about the supernatural, anyway? I'm surprised you haven't weaponised it." Not him, particularly, but the government would certainly want to, wouldn't it?

From:

quartermaster_q

Q was silent for a long moment, then offered up something he wouldn't have usually. Something he knew he shouldn't mention. Something not even he was supposed to know about.

"Torchwood," he said. Just one word, no explanation.

He'd managed to get in a few times. Through their systems, through their back-door... Once or twice through the front door by making deals with Jack. Though Q knew that if he could just get closer, he could do so much more with all that lovely tech they had. ...Perhaps Dutch was his ticket in. Maybe she'd have better luck.

If they didn't die anyway.