leftinbasketforfbi | 3rd Study Done Β Video/Action for Mio Ψ

[He doesn't like going on the network. Like, he really doesn't like going on the network. Unfortunately, he has to move past it right now because SCIENCE and also his munna is sick.

So when the feed starts, Reid (who is wearing HUGE glasses today) is sitting with his back against a tree, taking a break from all the traveling with Mio. Yang the Absol is curled up next to Reid's leg, staring at the communicator. In Reid's arms is the most sad-looking munna ever, and its face looked a little green. It's a sick, sad munna.]

Um, hi?

[Reid cradles Flora the munna carefully, readjusting the glasses on his nose.] Right. Uh, for those of you who don't know, I'm Dr. Spencer Reid. Not that--you don't have to call me that. Spencer or Reid will work fine.

[As you can probably tell, Reid is not good at talking to lots of strangers.]

It's come to my attention that no one's ever formally gathered data about arrivals and departures from this place, and in hopes of finding a pattern that could lead us to being able to better predict who might come and go, I put together a survey. The more people who contribute, the more useful the results will be, so any spare moment you could use to fill it out would be appreciated.

[He switches to text briefly to provide a link to the survey.]

This, um... isn't exactly my realm of expertise? That is, my specialty is largely theoretical and practical applications of knowledge, not setting up studies, and without any kind of possible beta testing, this study isn't exactly what I would call formal. So really, any suggestions on how to improve it or any help from people experienced with correlational studies would be helpful.

On a more personal note...

[He glances down, his glasses hiding his eyes, and he shifts so the munna is more visible on the screen. The poor thing looks utterly pathetic--she's not even hovering.]

Flora has been very sick since she hatched. Does anyone know what might be wrong with her?

[She'll tell you what's wrong with her. She's living off a steady diet of nothing but sleep terrors and nightmares. Reid, you really should see someone about that.]

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[He doesn't seem off-put at all by the awkwardness; he's...ah, rather closely acquainted with someone who tends to have difficulty expressing himself normally. At the very least, that's broken him of slipping into Condescension Mode immediately; that'll kick in if he's presented with something legitimate to pick on, make no mistake about that, but for the time being...]

Ah, how rude of me - introductions did fall a bit by the wayside there on my end. Solf J Kimblee; just "Kimblee" is fine. Former military, you see; old habits die a bit hard.

It's good to see someone else actually taking an interest in this sort of thing, though I believe I've taken a bit of a different approach than you have, actually. [It's clear from the light patterns blinking up off of the 'gear onto his skin as he speaks that he's checking something else - just taking a second look over that link you've put up there, Reid; he glances it over before flicking back over to the video screen.] I haven't been as focused on their physical demographics; what interested me was seeing if whomever brought us to this place was looking for specific personality types - after all, if there was a pattern there, it might give a clearer picture of what they might want with us.

[Reid has done pretty well so far in the 'mellowing the condescending people' department. Maybe it's the awkward adorkable-ness.]

Kimblee? Ah, nice to meet you. Former military? What rank, if I may ask?

[Reid raises his hands, giving small gestures with them as he talks, as if he's not entirely sure what to do with them.] So far, I haven't exactly had a chance to pick out a pattern of personality, but someone implied that an unusually high percentage of people here come from troubled backgrounds. Maybe I'm coming from a world with an unusually low percentage of troubled backgrounds, but I'd like to follow the lead a little anyway. Otherwise, I'm wondering if there's something physical that causes people to come here instead of man-made. [He draws his hands close to his chest, still gesturing but making himself a little smaller.] Did you, uh, did you find anything? A pattern in personalities, I mean.

Ah, I was a Major at the time that I left; unfortunately, I was involved in a rather brutal war that warranted my early retirement. My superior officers kept me around, however; before I was brought here, I was serving as a personal assistant to our country's leader. It seems they thought a bit highly of me.

[...that's...possibly the nicest way he could have described that, um.

Ah well. In the meantime, you are just going to be getting so much kittyface, Reid. So much kittyface.]

And I have a few theories, though I must admit curiosity regarding something you've said - define "troubled backgrounds"?

[The kittyface is strange. Why is he getting kittyface?]

The simplest way to define it would really be just backgrounds that make it easy to prefer this place over their own world. Obviously, I don't know the average in other worlds, but in mine, people are typically very resistant to leaving their homes behind and cutting off any kind of contact with the people they knew. That kind of complete departure from what they knew usually requires that one's life is in danger.

However, I've heard that a lot of people prefer this place over home, and don't have long-term anxiety or any significant grief for leaving behind their past interpersonal relationships. That's worth looking at.

[Everyone gets kittyface eventually. Unsettling expressions are just something Kimblee does once in a while; he doesn't always realize they're unsettling - okay, he almost never realizes they're unsettling - but it happens from time to time, usually with different causes between them.

For the time being, however, he's pretty chill. It's been a while since he could discuss something like this properly.]

There are several reasons why that might be the case, from what I've seen - and what you would consider to be a troubled background certainly is one of them, don't get me wrong. I've met several here who consider this world to be far better than their own, in terms of their personal circumstances, and that's one of the primary reasons I've heard.

There are also a few I've met for whom life is incredibly mundane - those with few friends and a job that's effectively going nowhere - in which case, I don't blame them for wanting to go on a journey with magical creatures where there might be a new friend around every corner. A form of escapism, if you will, from the banality of their lives.

And then, of course, there are those who have literally nothing to return to; whether their circumstances were troubled or not, there are several here who are deceased back in their own world, and as such, returning home is obviously not even an option, much less a priority.

[He's about to respond, but wait.

Hold up.

Hold the fuck up.]

People come here after they die?

Don't get me wrong - being here is far from an indication that you've died, and as far as I can tell this isn't any sort of afterlife. But I've seen many instances of it, yes.

I know for a fact that one of the people from my world is dead back home; he remembers the circumstances of his death, and told me about them with no prompting at all from my end, so I have every reason to believe him. I have reason to suspect another was dead as well, though he never verified it to me directly. I've also had conversations with several people asking about such things - people who didn't know me, and had no reason to lie to me about something like that, that have told me that they died somehow in their world.

3rd Study Done Β Video/Action for Mio Ψ

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