un: ut malum pluvia | audio

[somebadnews]

[ Five is walking out of the lighthouse as he addresses the network, since it's generally quieter where ghosts aren't constantly interrupting his thoughts. The beauty of this form of communication is it's not entirely unlike talking to himself, which is really his preference. ]

Okay, listen up. Since we're all sharing, let's see if we can't come up with an actual plan, before we experience the next shift and you all inconveniently forget who you are again.

[ To say nothing of a haunting that has already sent him into a panic attack or how he nearly drowned just to see for himself what he'd already heard second-hand. Nothing but success for Five Hargreeves. ]

Two orders of business. One, Miang-Si is obviously a catalyst, if not the cause of what's happening here. I searched her room one of the nights she was out galavanting with her lake friends. There was correspondence that suggested she was enamored with someone, who I now assume was the Huntress. I also found evidence that the woman in white, and another in red, visited her there. The witches she's involved with also may have dragged in women doing laundry nearby into their lake at some point, judging by what was found with the skeletons at the bottom.

Secondly, these hauntings aren't just some curse. If they are spirits, we need to figure out a way to trap them. There's a woman in white, a man in black, a lumberjack, and another woman in red. Who else has been seen and how often? If we can capture one of them, maybe we can get some answers before whatever triggered this starts again.

[ He has no doubt it'll happen at the worst possible moment.

Just as he's about to continue with his all-important conspiracy theories, he's approached by a young girl with a silver coin in hand. Distantly she can be heard saying she's worried about her family, and asks him to take a donation for Kathoo'lul's blessing. Dumbfounded, he takes it and promptly loses his train of thought as she scurries away. ]

...Amazing how easy it is to start a cult around here.

Comments

[redhourglass]

( excuse you, where are your manners?? )

not until you tell me why it matters

[somebadnews]

[ It's a perfectly reasonable question. ]

For science. I like to keep track of how many different universes we're dealing with here.

[redhourglass]

by my count there are 5 of us
different timelines, same universe — at least as far as i can tell

[somebadnews]

[ 'Different timelines'... that'll only drive him mildly insane. ]

You realize in a group this small you're not protecting anyone by leaving out their names.

[redhourglass]

( technically it’s different places in the same timeline (we think…?) but she won’t mind five going a little nuts over it 😌)

i thought it could be a fun puzzle for you

[somebadnews]

I was hoping for something to keep me occupied when I'm not figuring out how to un-break time.

You're not surprised that you were the ones dragged here, are you?

[redhourglass]

honestly? i’m surprised there aren’t more of us

( she likes your sense of humor, kid not kid five )

[somebadnews]

Maybe we just haven't run into them wrecking havoc through this dimensions yet.

[redhourglass]

yeah well
i’ve had more than enough reunions so far

[somebadnews]

I could probably narrow it down from there.

[redhourglass]

be my guest

i've met your sister, by the way

[somebadnews]

[ ...Not that surprising. And yet, he's suspicious. ]

She hasn't mentioned. Did she tell you, or did you work that one out on your own?

[redhourglass]

she told me
it was a while ago, back on the train
we got on the topic of family

( namely that he's not the only one with a sister here BUT that would be giving away the puzzle for him to solve 😌 )

[somebadnews]

Always nice to hear she's making friends.

[ That he doesn't know about. He's already assuming she said more than he'd like her to, given she's still talking. ]

Something catch your interest?

[redhourglass]

( it's not a fun game if everyone knows they're playing )

i'd just gotten here
so everything was interesting then

[somebadnews]

I would have thought you'd have more pressing concerns.

[redhourglass]

prassenze hadn't gone missing yet
time hadn't started repeating

so, no, not really

[somebadnews]

And getting stuck in another dimension is just another Tuesday for you?

[redhourglass]

( she had thought this was her afterlife but — )

pretty much, yeah

[somebadnews]

[ Not that he's one to talk. ]

Did she mention our other siblings?

[redhourglass]

not in a lot of detail
just that they exist

[somebadnews]

They were all scattered here, somewhere. Drop a line if you happen to run into any of them.

[redhourglass]

sure
let me know how the cult ends up

[somebadnews]

It's no mystery how the undead took power when everyone is this gullible.