[open, voice, story time!]

[hellojon]

Who: Elias Bouchard
Username: ebouchard
Warnings: none at the moment, will edit if needed

[ Lord help us all, Elias is on a monologue. When he talks, there's a casual tone in his voice despite the subject matter. ]

Indulge me for a moment. As many of you know, back in my world, I ran an institution called The Magnus Institute. We collected Statements of supernatural experience, investigating encroaches by the Dread Powers that exist there and in this world. [ Though this is voice, you can hear the capital-S when Elias says 'Statement.' It's something important. It's something powerful. ]

One of those Statements was from a woman named Anya Vilette. She was a house cleaner and took a job cleaning a building at a place called Hill Top Road. It was a new construction and supposed to be a simple job—perfect for her. Most of her work was with the universities. She was tired of students making messes of the place, treating their house like garbage, leaving it for her to clean up. This should have been a quick, simple job. The house was odd, however. Rustles in the dust sheets covering the furniture. Shadows that didn't match the objects casting them. A cupboard under the stairs leading to a basement that nobody had mentioned existing. It wasn't on the floor plan. Nobody told Anya about the basement. But what harm could it be to take a quick, little look?

[ As Elias talks, it's obvious that this is something he's done a lot. He's going into full podcast mode, voice matching the curiosity Anya must have felt at the basement, the irritation at the students, the hesitance at the shadows. He's indulging in the Eye's tendency to be a bit of a theater kid. ]

In the basement, there was a crack in the foundation. It was jagged, maybe a foot across in diameter at it's widest. She could see the crack as clear as day, though there wasn't any light in the basement...and there wasn't any light in the crack. She had no idea how deep it was. The crack in the foundation led to an expanse of darkness, something that could have been a few feet or it could have been an eternity. Anya Vilette walked to the edge, looked into the crack...and something pulled her in.

When she awoke, she woke in Hill Top Road. But things were wrong. It was two weeks in the past. Her friends were looking at her like they didn't know her. Buildings she knew weren't in their proper location. She came to us because she had no idea what to do. Because everything was just slightly wrong. And she was so scared.

[ The dramatic reading stops. When Elias speaks, he speaks in his normal tone of voice. ]

Anya Vilette never existed in my world. My team researched her story—there was no record of that woman ever existing. She was pulled through a crack in reality, pulled into a new world. Much like our mutual friend and their flowers. Much like all of us.

[ It's only a theory, but Elias is delivering it like it's a fact. He takes a pause before continuing, ]

Anya never returned to her proper world. The last time I saw her, she— [ well, she was in the middle of an apocalypse, an apocalypse he caused, and he could see it all, all knowing, all watching, the Eye looking out on all the domains— ] —she was still having trouble adjusting.

I'd suggest that anyone interested in a research project look into ADI's history. Who built this place, when was it founded, how long has the location been here, and so on and so forth. This whole project is that of the Hunt. But it wouldn't surprise me if just here or there, hiding in the background, we found a few traces of the spider.

Comments

video, un: mkblackwood

[lowficharm]

[Oh so the cat's just out of the bag now huh Elias. There's so much judgement in Martin's face as he answers this.]

Oh, alright, just say this to whoever then.

[A pause, and realization he can be a little catty here...]

I guess you never knew then. The spider's plan.

un: Aberration

[dangerousmind]

[Huh. He just came out and said it. She supposes Jon and Martin might have been able to do the same if they'd arrived after ADI had already been humbled into accepting Avatars in their ranks.

Still. Crazy. She appreciates the power move, though.]

You're certainly more upfront than your Archivist. Getting him to admit he knew things was like pulling teeth, and I still never had the full story.

So you think someone from your world escaped and built the ADI during it's founding. I was working with a similar theory.

Voice, un: Chosewell

[failedpromise]

You wouldn't happen to be a friend of Martin's by any chance, would you?

(She's known he knows more about the entities than he's been letting on for months, and this is too much of a coincidence. Sorry Martin, this is a chance for her to learn more.)

un: rainey.day | voice

[rainestorms]

That's a very interesting story, with an interesting call to action.

[Raine's doing their best to sound polite. They are genuinely curious, albeit they're assuming he's leaving something out.]

Obviously the Hunt is involved in the ADI, but what makes you think it's a project specifically?

voice,

[hellojon]

Circumstances have made it so being more open about these things could be...beneficial.

[ Said in that really annoying Elias Bouchard tone of voice that implies 'I am perfectly fine with all of this and have zero problems with my own decisions.' ]

Though no, by the time the spider pushed it's pieces into place, I was...unable to stop it. [ floaty eye panopticon god thing. ] There is also the fact that it has an annoying tendency to slip right out of my sight.

What was the plan?

Re: un: Aberration

[hellojon]

It could be my world. It could be a completely different world entirely. I've no way of knowing just how far this chain goes, which world held the domino that was knocked over first. I suspect someone who was involved in building ADI knew more about the Entities than they were willing to admit.

But yes, my Archivist always had a...combative relationship with these things. He was far too willing to overlook his potential.

[hellojon]

Former employer, [ said with a small nod. ] I was Martin's boss before...circumstances led him to take a leave of absence from the Institute.

[ a diplomatic way of saying 'multiple monster attacks and also Martin got yeeted into the Lonely.' ]

[hellojon]

Because the Web is very good at covering their tracks. The Hunt's involvement is obvious. But if there was any traces of the Web behind the scenes, suggesting certain Wardens for the job, nudging the project in a certain direction, choosing a building location, then they would do a good job covering their tracks. Even something as simple as keeping ADI running might be useful—most Hunters I have encountered back home have been...single-minded in a way that isn't useful to this sort of structure.

Besides, we already have proof that the Web has spun it's strings and interfered with one ritual attempt.

[failedpromise]

So he does know more than he's been letting on.

(There's a satisfied smirk in her voice. She does love being right.)

I take it that by Spider you mean the Web?

[hellojon]

That I do—apologies, the Entities have various designations back home. The spider, the Web, the Mother of Puppets...all of those names have been used to describe the same phenomenon.

[failedpromise]

So you think the Web is the reason we're being pulled here from other universes. Why?

[hellojon]

I think it's part of the reason—maybe even the one pulling the strings. The full picture is...annoyingly obscured. But they seem to be the main suspect.

As for why? Well, that's the question, isn't it? What about the idea of other universes would appeal to something like that?

video --> voice

[lowficharm]

[Of course. Of course he is. God, Martin wants to fight him in the pit, and his face says as much before he switches to audio-only as well.]

Well considering you'll just blab it to everyone, I don't really know if I want to tell you. For all I know you'll go right to all the spiders here and present it as a 12 point murder spree for fun, or something.

Re: video --> voice

[hellojon]

Don't be ridiculous, Martin. There are plenty of Entities I would be willing to work with. The Web is not one of them.

[ What a surprise, the Entity of seeking and knowing and being a nosy asshole absolutely fuckin hates the Entity of sneaking around behind closed doors. ]

[lowficharm]

Funny thing that you say that, seeing as wanting really hard not to work for the Web is exactly how you end up doing it!

[He knows this and he hates it. At least it became easier to sidestep when he was a little more aware of it.]

Just because you hate them more than me doesn't mean we're friends or something.

[dangerousmind]

If they crossed over from one world to the next, I wonder what that means for our own worlds. Nothing good, I imagine.

[She... suspects Jon had a very good reason to have such a combative relationship with his own power. There was a monster within him, she saw it just as much as she saw it in her own reflection. But it was tired. Beaten and broken.

Not like this guy.]

I've never heard of anyone being familiar with any of the entities beyond you, your Archivist and Martin. I can point at certain superficial connections between entities from my world and this one, such as the Mother of Spiders being one of the nicknames used for a drow deity associated with common elven cosmology. She's a manipulative cow too.

But beyond that, not much. [The Nightmare King... an entity of fear that nobody can identify. Even Kalvaxus said he left it well enough alone. But she'll keep that one close to her chest.]

[hellojon]

Nothing good is an understatement.

[ Or at least, nothing good for most people. Some of us are perfectly fine with the monsters in our chest. Some of us are happy serving a horrible fear entity. ]

To be fair, it's only recently that the entities in my world have been named and classified. Before that, they certainly existed. But they were more...primal. Not a fear of something called the Dark, with specific rules and circumstances surrounding the fear—but instead, the fear of greater concepts. Of being unseen, of not knowing who or what is coming to find you. Of being unable to see the dangers.

It's also possible that they've developed in entirely different ways than those here. After all, fish aren't scared of drowning the way other animals are.

[hellojon]

We were never friends, [ said with a cavalier little shrug. This isn't 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' as far as he (and definitely Martin) is concerned. No, it's more like 'the enemy of my enemy still horribly sucks.'

But that tidbit about working for the Web is...worrying. The fact that someone else might have been pulling the strings is deeply irritating in a way that Elias finds hard to express. ]

As far as I'm concerned, our animosity towards each other and our mutual dislike of the Spider can co-exist with each other.

[dangerousmind]

The... world - cosmic system, whatever you want to call it - it has an infinite amount of otherworldy entities that grant power like the entities that are so present in this world. Some of which aren't officially classified.

[She feels the brush of cat fur against her skin, the shining grin, the bright eyes - slit like a house cat.

But she's gone. Aelwyn's not even sure how she would feel about seeing her again. There was a time in which the Shadowcat was her only friend. And together they made music out of the screams of an Oracle. She won't pretend she's not proud of that any longer.]

So. I suppose it's possible. There's even gods who claim domain over fear itself.

[hellojon]

[ Elias makes a small noise of approval and acknowledgement. ]

The categories and labels are just that: categories and labels. It wouldn't surprise me if both of our worlds at least shared the greater concept of a few entities. And it also wouldn't surprise me if the entities in this world shifted in a way that I was unfamiliar with. Fear is an adaptive thing, after all.

[dangerousmind]

If the entities were to encroach onto the cosmic system of my homeworld, I think they'd run into a bigger problem than here - namely that they wouldn't be even close to the most powerful beings in the cosmos.

They'd be up there, I'm sure, but... there's already pre-existing gods who have ultimate power over infinity multiple times over. Whereas here, I'm fairly sure they're the only higher presences around.

[She pauses, frowning.]

If the entities are fear, how would the world change after they're destroyed? What would a world without them even look like?

[She supposes he doesn't have an answer to that, but...]

[hellojon]

I can only guess, [ Elias points out, with a little shrug. ] There's the possibility they can't be destroyed at all and all of ADI's efforts are useless. Maybe they'll simply revert to a primal form, something amorphous and ill-defined, present but not actively malevolent.

One thing is certain: fear will always exist. It has always existed.

[lowficharm]

[Hmm is it because you're afraid of not being able to control your own life Elias? To lack a certain understanding? How about that! Somehow, Martin understands how that feels, though his capacity for empathy for Elias is basically nothing these days.]

Or, maybe, I know you're squirming over not knowing something and I find that quite funny, actually. Maybe, I find it more enjoyable than helping you in any capacity. Hm?

[petty petty petty PETTY]

[hellojon]

[ urrrrrrrgh stop being such a petty jerk! Only he's allowed to be a petty jerk! ]

If you wish to live in ignorance, I suppose that is your prerogative.

[lowficharm]

You're the one not getting to know something for once. I'd call that more ignorance than me.

[no never he is enjoying this! Besides, even if Elias had some answers, he saw what happened with Basira and all the red herrings he fed her. He'd have no reason to trust a damn thing Elias told him, no matter how interesting.]

Maybe if you were a bit more trustworthy, more people would care to tell you secrets.