Halloween Reaction Videos - [Open] [Network - Video]

[spaghettimonster]

Date: [October 31st]
Characters: A string of numbers yet to be determined (Russell)]

---

[Mid-afternoon, Halloween, a video post becomes available on the network. It's coming from a slightly odd angle, pointed as though someone had tapped their number on a mirror and propped it against the head of a bed. Front and center in the view is Russell, sitting a few feet away, with a pile of things in front of him. Two different cell phones, a few colorful sketches, and... several bones. There's no dirt on them, but they sure don't look like plastic.]

I am having. A day.

Multiple times, today, I've had that... that dizziness, and emptiness, and found myself remembering things or finding things. I can't go to my door without tripping over something that sets it off. Is that just me?

And, can anyone tell me about this?

[He gestures at one of the cellphones, and holds it up close to the mirror so the charger port is visible from the mirror's feed. It's not any of the standard ports, or even an obscure one. And something about the style of the phone, there's no match on Earth for it.]

Did one of you drop this off with the bucket, or do the rest of all that... decorating?


((ooc: Tag in action/prose as you prefer, and I'll match! And if anyone has the technical skills to examine a strange electronic device, and especially to devise a charger for it, I'd love to pursue that option.))

Comments

[Network - Audio, IC-ly Much Belated]

[iamnotgod]

[Walter has been out of the flat for much of the day investigating, and the entirety of the evening thanks to winding up at Jim's place.

The showcasing of the new tech draws him a little out of his Echo-induced shell, however.]

In order: no, unfortunately - I ran across a lot of familiar faces with the same problem.

[He has also been having this problem, but HE DOESN'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT THAT NO]

Second, it looks like a mobile. How heavy is it?

[He's had a look at the strange new thing in Jim's kitchen by now, okay? Tech-that-isn't-from-Earth may as well be commonplace, now.]

And definitely not.

[Network - Video, immediate response]

[spaghettimonster]

[By the time of this video clip it's far later and he's on the couch, the view angle as if holding a phone up in selfie mode.]

I figured you weren't the mastermind behind this, I found this with that bucket you almost tripped on.

[It would have been the perfect way to make Russell find it, pretending to trip over it and draw his attention... but no. If anyone's on his suspect list, Walter's not on it. He's mentioned the suspects to his flatmate before, and so far it's mostly the two mystery persons who've showed up; that anonymous voice who's announced fears about escaping animals and bombs, and the bald man who'd ever-so-conveniently escaped from suspicious near the bomb by sneaking off in the wake of strong memory surges.

He hefts the mystery mobile in one hand, demonstrating its weight, then holds it up for easier inspection. This close to the camera, it's easier to see what he'd told Sadie earlier - no familiar logos or hints of brandnames on it. Nothing very obviously futuristic about it, though the screen's dark. At the very least, it's a custom case.]

It feels like a mobile. Weighs... maybe a little light for its size, but nothing too strange.

[He taps the screen, and it lights up to show... a photo album of skeletons. Or maybe just one skeleton a bunch of times, posed in different positions.]

Except for this.

[Network - still Audio from Walter's end]

[iamnotgod]

[Walter nods along with the inspection, then just stares at those pictures.

It is too early for this.]

Someone really likes skeletons.

[It's not immediately obvious if it's been taken by a skeleton!]

[Network - Video for now]

[spaghettimonster]

[He laughs, because yeah, this is the photo album of someone who is very interested in skeletons. Look, he's scrolling down, and it's still mostly just skeletons in some room with magenta walls. They're (almost) all clothed, in random and erratic but clean-looking clothing, but he can't help but wonder...]

Right, but also... there were all those graves dug up, all over town. What if the prankster behind that left this phone, as a clue? Should I contact the police, or would that just incriminate me...?

[Network - Audio again] ... Would any of those photos be taken in Undyne's house?

[iamnotgod]

[And there's a distinct smack as hand meets head.]

That's... distressingly possible.

I would hold off on telling them unless you're absolutely sure, though.

[Between this, the bald stranger last month, and Jim's shenanigans, he does not need them to end up on the police's radar.

Why have their lives come to this.]

[Network - Video a little longer] - official answer says yes to 1 innocuous pic

[spaghettimonster]

I'm not sure. And I don't expect to find proof, there aren't any unearthed graves in the most recent pictures...

[Russell rests the strange mobile on his leg so it's easier to keep scrolling, past where he'd looked before, just in case something had broken with the recorded dates of the saved images. Then he frowns and pauses.]

Huh. Where have I seen that before...?

[Network - Still Audio here!] - Aww yeah.

[iamnotgod]

I don't live in your head, I can't see your memories.

... What are those dates, anyhow?

[He can't actually make out the numbers from this angle.]

Written Text

[dragoonrouge]

The handwriting that pops up is a looping cursive that's frequently interrupted by mathematical formulae. Someone is clearly on the Network when they should probably be focusing on their school work.

Sadie here! Ive had a couple of Echoes today, one memory from the spiders, the other was a gemstone. The weird thing was the second Echo felt different to the other Echoes so far :/

Can't say Ive ever seen a mobile like that though Russell.

Typed Text

[spaghettimonster]

Lucky for her, the network seems to record and archive these things indefinitely. Whether it's grocery lists, homework, or videos showcasing some things he's found. Russell switches back to typing, so it's not just clips of him talking to his wall.

Me neither. It doesn't have a brand name anywhere, I don't know what it is

But we're calling them Echoes now? That fits for the deja vu, though I didn't remember anything a few of the times.

And I got one off a bucket. I don't remember anything about buckets, or have bucket powers. Did yours have anything to do with anything?

[dragoonrouge]

Yeah, and it normally sounds like your heartbeat is echoing around your head too when they happen. It feels apt.

It doesn't always have to be a memory, like my teeth or the Reverand's lightsword, or the journal I got in the mines. Have you been able to unlock the phone and see what's on it?

I remembered fighting a giant spider. Fuck that btw spiders are awful and I hate them. Then in the graveyard was when I got the gemstone from the feeling but it didn't feel as awful this time. It almost felt comforting, like I was being hugged. It was bizarre!

To emphasise her point the word 'bizarre' is underlined multiple times.

[spaghettimonster]

Given the context of the rest of what they're dealing with, he has to pause at the repeatedly underlined description of bizarre.

You got a gemstone from a magic hug in your head

You're right, that IS bizarre.

The phone's unlocked already, but most of the apps don't work. The contact list is almost empty and those numbers aren't in service, the saved photos are of skeletons and toys. The menu doesn't even say what provider it's on or who it's registered to.

[dragoonrouge]

You said you got dizziness with the bucket and that that's when the phone turned up?

I think that phone may be an Echo, I've received two objects that belong to my other person, that must belong to your other person

[spaghettimonster]

Oh. That stands to reason

But why would this guy have or have had a broken phone...?

[Also, how do they all keep remembering and gaining powers from mystery aliens or whatever, but that's really not a question he expects Sadie to have an answer for, and one rhetorical question per turn talking seems good.]

[channingchanningchanning]

That's just you.

I never trip of something that sets me off.

[Suddenly Audio - the suspicion comes out]

[spaghettimonster]

Oh really...?

[He doubts it, but if there's even a sliver of truth to that, well.]

You're that shouty guy. Are you setting them off for other people?

[audio into infinity on his end anyway]

[channingchanningchanning]

And what if I did?

[...]

Not that I do. [He's a good dog, after all.]

[audio indefinitely] (someday he'll catch that he's a meddling canine, but not today)

[spaghettimonster]

Then you wouldn't have any place to talk!

And besides, it seems like it's everyone here. Aren't you remembering strange things too?

[channingchanningchanning]

[Strange, and weird, and terrifying. Mostly terrifying, really.]

Everyone remembers strange things. One time there was a duck in the harbour that was as big as a house.

[spaghettimonster]

...Alright, yeah, but... I think everyone saw that. It was in the news and everything.

[If the duck was a shared hallucination, it was a beautiful one.]

[Text via phone] (in the evening)

[warped_replica]

Today was a day.

Would tomorrow be a good time for me to stop by?

[Text - not network]

[spaghettimonster]

You're welcome any time, but especially tomorrow

I don't want to leave the flat until those bloody skeletons are gone

[He doesn't know yet that Walter and Jim may be coming back to the flat, yet, so that might make for a bit of a party.]

[Text - not network]

[warped_replica]

I’ll drop by right after school then.

The skeletons will take some time to bury. [In part due to investigations, and also for the sheer manpower required to dig and cover that many graves.]

[Text - not network]

[spaghettimonster]

Then maybe I'll pick some different route for the next few days...

Should I get some food to bolster us for a bad conversation?

[Text - Not Network]

[warped_replica]

Probably wise since I don’t think conditions will improve overnight.

I don’t mind picking something up on the way. Do you have anything specific you’d like? There’s a good pizza place by my school.

[Text - Not Network]

[spaghettimonster]

[Well, that's not great news.]

Is that the greasy place? I'll pass on that

But if you want it go ahead, I have a half-off coupon for a sandwich down the street