02. video; un: jsims

[itknowsyou]

[ It's been months since Jon Sims was on the network, and this time, he's in the frame alone. The alleviation of Corruption couldn't come a moment too soon for this guy, apparently: he still has the haggard, hollowed-out look of a man who hasn't had a real meal in months. There's something profoundly unsettling about his eyes, which are too deep and too green. He never seems to blink. ]

Good afternoon. My name is Jonathan Sims. I am a researcher of what might be called 'the paranormal,' and... a survivor of the place known as Deerington. I've been working with several others to maintain an archive of topics and artifacts relevant to Sleepers, kept beyond the control of the Pthumerian Never Mind.

[ He doesn't even try to mask his distrust: he clearly isn't a fan of the patrons. ]

We are developing a secure location to the north of Trench, though [ impatiently ] I cannot recommend visiting without the use of traveling Lamps. The walk back to town is... not ideal.

More to the point, I am making a request for information. [ This is where he gets cagey, tense in the way of a man hiding something. ] The Archive is now undertaking an effort to create a comprehensive catalogue— a bestiary, I suppose— of recurring threats in Trench. If you have had a particularly upsetting or perilous experience with any being in this city, we would like the written record of your experience. Please submit accounts via text to this network address.

[ It's the second time he's hit the network to ask for personal stories. Those who respond might find themselves writing (or speaking) more freely than they planned to, flashing back to the memory in detail— though in this low-Corruption month, the effect isn't too intense. ]

Thank you.

Comments

voice; un: shiro

[shiro2hero]

Did something happen with Never Mind?

[Last he heard, the bird was just weird. But he could be out of touch.]

And what can I help with?

[itknowsyou]

It isn't just Never Mind I take issue with. Gaze... [ He gives a soft chuckle, surprisingly bitter. ] Well, I suppose it's in the name. We are constantly under their supervision, and I am not alone in distrusting our patrons.

[ He says patrons like it's a fundamentally heavy word. Guess who has baggage. ]

I, ah... If you have accounts to write, I'll take them.

[shiro2hero]

Ah. Got it. I don't know much about most of them. I'm more familiar with mine, and Moon Presence. But Gaze... why stay if it bothers you?

[Get out of there bro! Just leave!!]

I mean, at this point I'm probably classified as an account.

[Shiro that's not funny.]

[itknowsyou]

Despite the unpleasant effect, I suppose I find it... familiar.

[ normal thing to say, not ominous ]

I know. You've been through, well... all of it, at this point. [ The irritability goes out of him; he wilts back into awkward sympathy. ] I don't want to ask this of you if... that is, I, I don't need more than you'd prefer to give. Anything would be of use.

video; un: polaris

[anbaric]

[ meanwhile, asriel lives in Gaze almost intentionally, but he has always been like this. the proximity to the libraries is also helpful. even so, this raises an interesting point. ]

I am interested in how you manage to keep it outside of Never Mind's purview. I imagine that when he doesn't know something, he continuously makes an effort to change that.

[itknowsyou]

That is an ongoing area of research. [ If he sounds exasperated and kind of defeated, no points for guessing why. ] Our attempts to ward against Pthumerian influence are, frankly, scattershot at best. But our location is well away from town, and associated with a figure detached from the central pantheon: she seems to be called Mother Mercy in her current iteration, but the site was dedicated to Mother Superior in her original form.

We do not do this in her honor, to be clear.

[ tone of: fuck her. ]

Video | un: notbatman

[saltyadam]

[Jon isn't exactly Adam's favorite person, so his teeth grind a bit when he flashes on the screen. But he's been working on his urge to hold a grudge, and he feels the pull of something that nudges him to reply.]

Are you exclusively compiling from the Trench, or from Deerington as well?

[itknowsyou]

Both. Many of my memories from Deerington have become... fragmented, since arriving here. I recall bits and pieces, but certainly not enough to fill an archive.

Anything you'd care to contribute would be of use.

[saltyadam]

I've been here for awhile, and was at Deerington for quite some time as well. But Takashi was at both for ... the entirety of the time, so far as we can establish.

[A beat.]

A lot of it are experiences I'd rather he not have to relive, and I'm going to assume he'll volunteer to do it anyway if he hasn't already.

We have a mental link. I can do it instead of him.

[itknowsyou]

[ There is a long, awkward pause. ]

I... yes. He has offered. And I appreciate that you'd rather... prevent that experience.

I do consider us friends, of a sort. [ He nearly winces as he says it, as though he ought to apologize for being friends with someone. ] I don't want to put him through anything unnecessarily difficult.

[saltyadam]

[Of course he did. It's exactly the kind of self sacrificial thing he'd volunteer for.

He stiffens at the mention of their friendship, but takes a breath. Forces himself to release it.

Nods.]

Tell me what you need me to do.

txt; @anonymous

[wrenchedup]

listen im new here and all but you might wanna stop alluding to where the location is if you wanna keep it an actual secret, dude. unless you figure your friend never mind isn't always watching.

voice; un: an.exorcist

[likethelight]

[ A pause before he responds, weighing something. Several somethings. ]

Why does it matter if it was particularly upsetting or not? That's relative.

[itknowsyou]

If he's always watching, surely there's little point in secrecy. We've simply constructed an alternative to the institutions he controls in Gaze.

Which, by the way, seem to be organized on a principle of 'whatever is most annoying to the user at any given time.'

[ does jon have reasons to hate eldritch patrons beyond their shitty archiving systems: yes

does he hate them for this anyway: also yes ]

[itknowsyou]

I meant what I said about gathering information on different threats— creatures and phenomena that might recur here and deal significant damage. [ He has worse motives, but he can at least cling to the pragmatism of this one. ] You can start there: write an account of an attack by a... monster, for lack of a more elegant term, or a curse that befell the town. Text via Omni will do.

[itknowsyou]

[ There is a tense pause on the other end, Jon weighing his answer. ]

If we mean to categorize every strange occurrence in this town, we'll quickly fill a library. We ought to prioritize the most significant... the most harmful.

[ This isn't untrue, but it's also not his primary reason. ]

[saltyadam]

[Of course he has worse motives, he's Jon.

Adam thinks for a moment, and what comes to mind initially is really less of a threat than Jon probably means, but fits the parameters none the less.]

Are you familiar with a creature called Mothman?

[He's been around long enough to know that myths between various people's homes and worlds are vastly different, even if they seem to come from a similar setting.]

1/2

[itknowsyou]

[ Why this. ]

[itknowsyou]

Shiro has already provided that one. Thank you.

[ It involved dancing? Stupid fake cryptids dancing on lampposts? He can't eat this, this isn't food ]

I'm told there were genuinely deadly large moths last April? I'd prefer something in that vein.

[saltyadam]

[Adam raises his eyebrows. He senses a bit of tension there, Jon.]

The giant butterflies? They were mostly harmless. Large as a house, though, and tended to infect your eyes if you stared too long. And... drain some of the life out of you, yes, okay, I see your point.

[He rubs his temple.]

This place has heavily skewed my definition of the word 'deadly.'

[itknowsyou]

[ Too wholeheartedly: ]

I know the feeling.

Much as I am curious to know what 'infecting your eyes' involved, I think it best we focus on anything you'd label a genuine threat.

[wrenchedup]

eh, i've seen things with worse organization. it's just why make it easy if your place is actually out of his purview is all. otherwise, power to ya.

[saltyadam]

The eye infection was connected to how they gain energy, if I recall. They fed on it the way plants feed on sunlight. I heard whispers from locals warning anyone away from attacking them, though I only have rumors to go on as to what the consequences might have been.

The draugr from last October would also be noteworthy, if you weren't here for it. Or the sleep monsters from June.

[itknowsyou]

If you have relevant skills to contribute to the ongoing effort to ward anything against Pthumerian influence, by all means. They haven't proven simple to control in any capacity.

[ not least because remina seems to think he's her special little guy ]

[itknowsyou]

I'm not familiar with either. If you had an experience notable enough to share...?

[ He seems, at this point, faintly desperate just to get a written account of something suitably horrifying. And not Mothman. ]