deernet | un: trienemybest; video

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un: trienemybest; video

[The video feed opens in Varian's creepy basement lab where health and safety regulations go to die. The boy himself isn't looking that great, his skin has a grey-ish tinge to it and he looks more exhausted than usual. But that's fine, he's fine. He turns the camera around to take in some sapphires on his workbench. Some are soaking in various chemical substances, some are under a microscope, some are in various steampunk-y machines: it's clear some testing has been going on. ]

So, Flynn was kind enough to give me some of the crystals that grew on his corpse during...whatever weird new thing death is here. [He doesn't sound as excited about this as his usual projects and anyone who knows about his deeply unfortunate past will know why.] I have experience in creepy, magical death rocks -no...no I'm not going to elaborate on that- so I decided to study them. They seem to be crystalising the actual cells of the body- so not just a separate coating. I also found traces of warmblood within the crystals themselves, which I think is what Flynn is? A-anyway, it seems they're working on a cellular level, like they're what jumpstarts the reversal of the cell degeneration after death- so- so it's possible they're what reverses then entire process.

Anyway, moral of the story is, they're probably super important in resurrecting people so maybe don't mess with the process when it's happening? Of course, without having any other samples to compare this to, it's all conjecture right now.

[A beat, he turns the camera back to himself, grimacing.]

Sorry, I forgot who I was talking to. Please don't take that as encouragement to get yourselves killed in the name of science.

[Another beat, then he waves a hand airily.]

Thaaaaaat said, this is October, so statistically, there's a high chance that a not-insignificant portion of the population will be dead by the end of the month. So...if you wanna donate your death crystals for science then, that would be less...morally grey. Probably? Probably.

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[Varian's always one for validation, so having his work be called fine research does lift his spirits, despite the subject matter.]

Nope, judging from what Flynn has said, he had no side effects. Which- which is really weird because the last place we were in really made you suffer every time you were resurrected. It wasn't an easy process.

"The last place we were in." Yes, I have been hearing about that, here and there. Are there other things that have been turned on their heads, aside from resurrection?

[Then, a thoughtful pause.]

If death is only an inconvenience, what is the trouble with killing ourselves for research?

Deerington- it was...well, it was a kid's nightmare. Basically. The whole squid thing is new. And the powers? We definitely didn't have blood powers there. And it was a much smaller town. I- apparently it was in 1950's America? But I'm from the wrong time period to properly judge that part.

[It still sucked anyway.]

Because we've only had the one death so far. Flynn might be a one-off case. I really don't want to uh...encourage a lot of death just in case everyone's different. It's not something you can take back if it goes wrong.

Ahhhh. So that was the nightmare, we are the Sleepers, and this is the Waking World. You would expect a dream to have different rules, no? --And I do not know either this time or place, so cannot judge your judgment. [So, no worries.]

Wise. Was it different for everyone in the nightmare? And--what do the people here know about it? I have heard, [because he didn't wash up on the beach, unfortunately,] that the lucky squids, these ones they come out to welcome on the beach.

That's exactly it! That's why we're called Sleepers, it's a carryover from the nightmare. Honestly, the last place could be pretty nonsensical at times, which ironically made sense, being a dream and all. I'm not sure what time this is now- apparently it's the future of the dream? But the place feels more like the time I come from back home than anything else.

[Which is nice, having a slice of familiarity. ]

Kind of? The way it worked in the nightmare was an escalating scale of awful. The first death you'd just get sick, the second, you'd lose memories of home, third, you'd lose memories of home and the dream. The memories were, of course, different for each individual - it was...never pleasant. [He hums softly.] They seem to know a lot. They always come to greet us- I'm still trying to work out what their angle is.

The future is not so implausible; progress does not only go forward. Trench is built on the remains of catastrophe, yes? It would take them time to recover.

[Thoughtfully,] They are only a century or so off home--10 or 20 of Eyes, I think. After electricity spread through the cities. Though the "Omnis"--these are like nothing we have; they would win us the war if we did. [Instant, wireless communication? Full voice and--he's assured--motion and color? They'd leave anyone relying on semaphore or telegraph in the dust.]

Hm. But none of that here--less unpleasant, certainly.

[Static washes over the channel a moment.] Have you asked them if they have seen more of us Sleepers die? They may be able to tell you, if anyone has stayed dead.

Is kindness not angle enough?

That's a good point, it does make sense that it might be...behind. But yeah, there's no electricity in my time yet. The way the buildings and fashion are like Corona though. But yeah, I hear you, the Omnis are like nothing I've seen before.

[He might not like sketchy magical rocks, but they are helpful.]

I could ask them. As far as I'm aware, last month was the first time Sleepers came through the ocean- but it is worth exploring a little more. Just in case.

[He chuckles awkwardly. ]

There were people in the dream who were the complete opposite. Townies. They... well, the month I arrived there, they were actively sacrificing Sleepers- as in trapping them in burning buildings or smashing their skulls in with hammers. Soooo call it a natural suspicion.

Only last month? And they were as ready for you as they were for us who came second? [The old and suspicious part of Illarion takes note of that. He's had no reason yet to suspect Trench's inhabitants are putting up a false face, but that foreknowledge of their arrival is curious indeed.] It would be good to know why. I will ask.

[An odd noise follows, like a click of teeth.] A well-earned one. Were they ever less than hostile to you?

[Pause.] Whose nightmare was it?

Yeah! Which is thought was really weird. It doesn't make sense, right? If this is supposed to be the future the dream was built on, then how did they know?

[He's so glad to have someone else interested in this- it's been really bugging him. ]

The Townies? Nah- they hated us and never made it a secret. There were the Wastes too, they liked us, but while the Townies were still around, they never came too close- they were scared of them.

[It was a whole damn mess.]

A little girl called Julia Sodder. She was the child of a pthumerian and a human. She...uh- they wanted to bridge their worlds, create a being that had the best qualities of both? She turned out to be way, way too powerful for anyone to handle. She was put into a coma to try and stop her destroying the town, and that's how the dream happened.

My-- [There's a moment's hitch, as he's fishing for a word. What he comes up with sounds somehow different via the translation, like he swapped languages,] ((hypothesis))--hypothesis, yes, is that they will point to the Pthumerians, the Palebloods, or the Disciples. All have some kind of visions, yes? Though from what I have heard, not so solid as to move all of society to act on them and welcome us. Unless it has been a very long time they have known, and were waiting...

[He trails off to roll that around in his head a moment. There are implications here--that he had best not go chasing before he has real information, rather than speculation.]

Hmm. So this is opposite, too.

[Why that might be so--or certainly one why--then becomes clear. Illarion makes a quiet, troubled sound of awe. That's something with precedent back home, and not one he likes.]

The Townies--were they also people, or a part of this girl's dream? --Either way, I am not so surprised at their response to you.

Do you know--did Pthumerians walk openly in the world, before the dream?

That would make some sense. It's frustrating guesswork at the moment, while we try and work out actual answers. I never thought I'd say the dream was easier...but here we are.

[The fact the dream made more sense than reality is deeply concerning.]

It is, I mean- I'm not complaining about that. The Townies were awful. Like the month I showed up in the dream, they were literally killing Sleepers in creepy sacrifices. Like trapping them in burning buildings and stuff.

[It did a good job of establishing them as The Worst pretty early on for him. ]

Once the dream started to collapse they acted- um.. people from the future call I glitching? So like a broken machine? They definitely weren't human. And not really? They were all trapped in the layers of the dream, keeping it functioning. We saw them in memories and...such but them actually wandering around like they do here? No. And there were a lot less of them.

[He gives a laugh at that, one that echoes a little wrong over the Omni.] Of course--if it is a dream, then it follows its own mad logic. Here, we do not have that excuse for things not to make sense.

[Having been on guard for centuries against the sense-making world decaying around him, it's a worry he understands.]

No, of course--this is better, and I am glad all of you from the dream are in better situations now. But I do wonder, if this world was made in its mirror image--somehow, as the Pthumerians' bridge worked.

[Though mere conjecture is nothing on hard information.] Though I should not speculate beyond my own understanding. I will ask and listen more, having heard all this.

[Well. That sure is a 'lil creepy.]

Oh, I don't know. The dream was the foundation for this world. I guess I was being a little too hopeful that it wouldn't be equally crazy.

Yeah, I'm glad too. It was...difficult to live in. I guess we'll have to wait and see how it all...rolls out.

[He smiles.]

And hey, if you wanna read up on the dream, I still have all my notes on it.

[And that's only the tiniest part of the creepiness. What joys lie in store later!] Oh, I do not know--it is early yet to judge a whole world crazy, yes? As you say, let us watch what the new months bring.

I would like that, if you can spare them for a time. It is well to know one's history.

[Nothing like a little extra creep to spice up a life.]

That's pretty much it. We need to observe- gather our data.

Of course! You're welcome to them, I'm not using them right now. You can drop by any time for them- I live in Cassandra- one of the little Lamp Guys is on our front lawn.

Cassandra! I had been meaning to visit there. [A pause. There's a weird static pop that covers up the silence.] You are free right now? The sooner I can come get them, the less likely I am to forget.

It's pretty interesting- not exactly my first choice of a place to live, but this is where our house from the dream ended up.

[Varian is far too science-minded for a place like Cassandra, but at least the incense keeps the monsters largely at bay.]

Sure thing, I've got nothing going on right now. Feel free to come on over- can't miss our house, it's the big one with the tower sticking out of it.

[Contrariwise, Illarion's been feeling a pull to the place nearly since he heard of it. The Disciples' mysticism bears investigating.]

The house with the tower, [he echoes.] Who am I to ask for, when I arrive?

[Varian has some housemates who definitely feel that connection, so he'll put up with it for their sake. Plus, you know, he doesn't want to try and move an entire house. ]

Seriously. It...uh appeared in the dream. It's a whole... thing back home. [An awkward thing that will be made a hundred times awkwarder if Rapunzel ever shows up. ] Oh right. I'm Varian. Hi.

"A whole thing," [another echo, and then Illarion gives a quiet chuckle.] I am thinking there is a story here I might like to hear sometime, Varian, if you are telling it.

It is good to speak to you. You may give me a name, if you wish, so you have something to call me. [Which is another kind of whole thing back home, now from Illarion's side.] I will be along presently.

Oh yeah, sure. I can do that. It's...definitely a story.

[Well. That's...definitely new.]

You- you don't have a name of your own?

[Ah. Right.

Intellectually he's well aware no one here has any reason to know of shrikes and their peculiar habits; emotionally, the whole notion of being in another world hasn't totally sunk in. Explanations were owed.]

I do, but I do not share it; it is an unfair burden to give to those I have only just met. [He says it kindly enough.] So, whatever you prefer, that is what I will be called by you.

[Varian's been here a while now. He's met people from all sorts of worlds, all sorts of walks of life, all with their own traditions and rules of living. But this... is a new one. ]

Uh. I haven't heard someone's name being a burden before? It's...uh- well, what do people you know call you? Back home? I don't know if I should have the job of naming an entire person.

What do people call me? [Illarion laughs, low and ironic and a little uncanny.] Mostly things you should not be repeating, I think.

["Oh fuck, not you again," as a common example.] "Traitor" or "Monster" are the most complimentary, these days. Or "Knight-Captain," but that is for those who answer to me.

You really could not do worse, whatever you chose.

...Yeah okay those are not great names to call people.

[Those are names he's been called, he doesn't especially want to continue the trend.]

Do...do you not have friends? Back home? To uh...call you something?

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