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[Shortly after this thread, he'll receive a text message from Kate.]

Hey there, it's Kate. Spoke with the Admin of this place. Got some answers, some not sure I believe, and some that I ain't sure I want to believe. And to go with that, I also believe that I told you I'd explain things once I knew more.

Let me know when you'd like to talk. I'll be around.

Edited (html....) 2020-10-21 06:25 (UTC)

Haha, cute. I like the username.

[meanwhile, this dork has been posting under the name of his own movie character. embarrassing.]

That was a lot faster than I'd expected! How'd the talk go? We've only exchanged a few words, but I get the sense from other people that it can be... well, interesting conversation.

Thanks, it's a nickname of mine from my fans. Could have used my own name, but I figure this is just as nice.

I'd say the talk went reasonably well, all things considered. The admin seems helpful, at least in the way that they apparently want things to stay calm and for people to not murder each other.

It suits you! If that's the case, maybe I should change mine to ✨✨✨?

Yes, they don't seem to be actively trying to goad us into it, huh? ["actively"] If you don't have anything else going on, would you like to catch up over a cup of tea? I'm trying to prove that I at least have the kitchen skills to handle that much.

Maybe you could change it to "Clear Pond"?

I think I'd enjoy a cup of tea at this point, honestly. Don't think what I'm gonna tell you would come up well over text. You free now?

You're the only one who calls me that, so-- does that make you a fan of mine? ✨✨✨

[but ah, he thought so.]

I am! I'll put some water on. Stepford cottage, feel free to come in whenever you arrive. I'm the only one home right now.

[which means Kate can get to walk into the living room that looks like a paper factory exploded inside it. Gotta do what you gotta do!]

You know I am.

[Even if he says she can come in when she arrives, Kate still gives a polite knocking on the door before she enters, just to announce her presence.

Though the scene that greets her is... Hm. Well, it's not her place to judge, quite frankly.]

You uh, need any help, hun?

Haha, don't mind the mess, [Natori calls from the kitchen, where the kettle just started whistling.] I'm making more supplies, since I have a feeling I'll be needing them sooner rather than later.

[Said supplies include not only an abundance of paper dolls piled in front of the couch, but also the paper streamers hanging from the ceiling by twine from the grocery store (shimenawa were about as hard to get ahold of here as he'd expected) and stacks of ofuda, a few of which are already pinned to the walls in strategic locations. Plus what looks like just... normal paper scattered around the room. Natori comes out after a second with two mugs, expertly navigating his way towards the couch.]

I just put the teabags in, so let it steep for a bit. Uh... I supposed we can sit on the couch. [The paper dolls dutifully take off from the ground like a flock of birds, moving to a more out of the way corner of the room.]

[The paper dolls move on their own, and Kate flinches back a step, heart beat rapidly kicking up a notch in anticipation of something terrible.

Which doesn't happen, and she tries to brush off the motion, doesn't comment on it as she takes a seat where they've cleared.]

Supplies for what, if you don't mind me askin'?

[Like!! That sounds Kind Of Ominous!]

Protective wards, seals, and exorcisms, [he says easily, in lieu of drawing attention to her reaction to the dolls. He feels a little guilty for not giving her a heads up; he has a tendency to forget that just because people understand some aspect of his profession doesn't mean they're used to, say, giant moving piles of paper.] The dolls can also carry messages. I turn the phone off when I go to sleep, so they're the best way to get me in an emergency. I can give you one if you'd like.

[he sticks to just offering out one of the mugs for now.]

There's a few residents here who have similar abilities to mine, though theirs are more tied to the Christian tradition of exorcisms and purification. Apparently there's enough of a pattern to this place that they've decided to make a network of sorts for future problemsolving. [read: he got added to a holy boys group chat.]

Natori-san, can you spare a moment?

Hi Yagami-kun. Any new developments on the mug theory?

Unfortunately not. However, recently, I've found a different item that you might be interested in.

["Found" is such a nice word to use instead of, ah, "stolen", but perhaps they can get to that later.]

In regards to seeing if there's anything particularly supernatural attached to it, I mean. Are you interested? I want to investigate further, but I think judging whether or not it'll be detrimental to keep it close is a priority.

[Now that's interesting. The Admin distributing multiple items (besides anime), or something else? Well, there's only one way to find out, and there's a lot he can say in response, but the most expedient is:]

Sure! Can't be too careful, right? I can head over now; still Hitchcock?

[Expedient works. Questions can be sorted through later.]

That’s right. I’ll see you soon?

See you soon! ✨

[Luckily he's spent the past few days prepping more supplies; it's easy enough to grab his bag and head over.

It's similar to last time: same businesslike knock, same outfit (it seemed better than showing up in a Halloween costume), even the same easy initial greeting of] Yagami-kun. [Except this time after a second, Natori frowns slightly, his gaze dropping down to Light's hands and the floor near his feet. Just his imagination, or...?] ...Where exactly did you find this item, this time?

[Light’s appearance is as unruffled as ever, not a single hair out of place — with the help of long sleeves that cover his arms, where he would otherwise show the lurid green-blue bruises pressed into his skin at even intervals that give the impression of fingertips.

But, ah, despite the coverage, it seems like Natori’s suspicion has already sparked; he wonders if it has anything to do with those grabbing, suffocating hands that sought to stop him in the Well. Even so, Light puts on an unaffected facade, waving the man in.]

In the Well.

[You know, that locked building that no one’s poked their head into — except for stubborn Light.]

Come in, let me show you.

[The well, huh. Figures-- both that Light would be the type to go poking around in it, and that he could pick up a passenger along the way.

Stepping into the house makes it clearer, now that he can compare the floor by Light's feet to the rest of the room; there's a subtle shadow, a distortion of the air around his hands and feet. He holds up a hand to cut Light off.] Hold on. Let me see if I can guess.

[With that, he strides into the house without waiting for directions from Light, moving even as he says the obligatory] --sorry for intruding. [It's not just lingering around Light; there's a trail, if he squints, and he follows the trail back to wherever it is that Light's keeping the log book.]

In here, right? You've got pretty good instincts, calling me for this.

[They make their way into the living area, where the log book sits, quietly tucked away on an end table. It’s a temporary place for it now—Light doesn’t plan on keeping it close to where foot traffic might wander by, even if it is foot traffic belonging to a housemate—but Natori’s efficient means of locating the object makes his jaw tighten. The implications are clear.

It means that there’s a trail to follow to begin with, which in turns means there’s definitely something lingering around the item itself. Promising, but worrisome in its own right; to have brought it back with him was the only real option, but considering what Natori specializes in? An easily-trailed presence doesn’t bode very well, especially not after the nightmares he’s had, the trouble it’s been to fall asleep.

Well. It was a risk he weighed in the moment, and one he’s committed to. Light nods.]

Yes. Honestly, the fact that you can sense it so soon is a little worrying…

[Light crosses the room and fetches the object before returning. All-in-all, it seems like a harmless thing, old and full of organized information.]

Like I said, I found it in the Well. It's a log book, and filled with what you might expect from one. Maintenance notes, dated all the way back to the 70s. You’ll notice that it references Pump One, though I have no idea where the others might be located. The format also changes later in the timeframe, especially in the 90s. [He offers it to Natori, if he wishes to see.]

The names inside, though— I can’t recall them, no matter how hard I try, or how many times I read them. And there’s a place on this island where a similar phenomenon occurs.

Edited 2020-10-24 16:40 (UTC)

[Natori watches as the fog contracts as Light gets closer to the book-- something distinct from the auras that he can see left behind on the book itself, something that's coming out of it. Something that's coming out of it, and reaching out for Light.

He doesn't take the book when offered, not yet.]

I'm not just sensing it. There's something coming out of the book. [He keeps it matter-of-fact, straightforward-- hoping to project the impression that this isn't deadly, just something that needs to be addressed.] It looks like it's trying to follow you around. I want to try and seal it-- spiritually speaking, it shouldn't impact the book itself-- but first I need you to tell me whatever you can about the place it was kept. [And, after a second of thought,] And about the location where you've experienced this name phenomenon before, if it's different.

[He's going to get started on a familiar routine, just a larger scale: carpeting the floor with blank sheets of paper.]

You can put the book off to the side for now; I don't want it to become too accustomed to your energy. It doesn't look like it's... sticking to you yet, but if you've felt anything unusual since you entered the Well, I should know that too.

[She'll take the mug, but she doesn't drink for the moment, trying to force her heart to stop beating so fast, though she does far better at looking like she's not doing just that than the initial flinch backwards.]

Well, colour me surprised at there being more than just you here for exorcisms. Not that I ain't thankful an' all, what with all the weird things I've heard goin' on around here. I think I'll take you up on that offer too. Best to have an emergency line, I think.

Haha, right? It's a little reassuring in some ways, a little alarming that we'd need so many in others. They seem more fun to talk to than the rest of the community at home, at least.

[He dunks his teabag in his mug; normally, he'd just gesture for one of the dolls to fly over from the pile, but...] Remind me to give you one before you leave, [he says lightly, immediately moving on to] So what was your talk like? Did you get to disprove your theory?

Will do. [She gives a nod, swirling the tea in her cup a bit, though not taking a drink. Bad habit, letting it steep far too long, letting it go slightly cool.]

Not sure if I disproved it so much as proved that they know of the thing that had me trapped in its realm before I got here. [She says with a dry chuckle.]

Hope you don't mind the downer I'm about to be.

[He makes a small hum of consideration-- so it sounds like it wasn't the best case scenario.] Not at all. It's better to know than not, right? [Mm, but maybe not; she's said as much in the past.] Or even if it's better to not-- well, we're here now and it's relevant.

I don't think you're wrong on that. [She inhales softly, turning the mug in her hands for want of something to do with them.]

The place I was before I got here... I'd been taken too. Not in the same manner that I got taken here, but the same kinda situation. People trapped across different timeline's and universes. All of us brought together for one purpose. To evade those that the Entity brought in to hunt us. We only ever saw 'em in what we called trials, but the basic gist is that four of us go into a trial, we evade getting stabbed and put on meat hooks to be sacrificed to the Entity by the killers we faced. [She shakes her head here, one hand going to idly rub the spot on her chest that's obviously discoloured, circular in nature.

Where she'd been hung many times in the past.]

Or, if the Entity was feelin' generous, it'd let them murder us outright. There's rules as to how that works, an' how the sacrifice works, but that's the gist of it. Our goal was to survive, to not get caught, and to fix generators to power the exit gates to leave alive.

Dying isn't permanent though. An' surprisingly being outright killed is the better outcome to bein' sacrificed. Being sacrificed... The Entity eats part of you. Part of your soul. It's what that note I got was about. I know mine's been chewed to hell n' back, and those that be in this place offered to fix that.

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