hugtopia | video--morning, probably sometime mid-Achtom?

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video--morning, probably sometime mid-Achtom?

[Sometime relatively early in the squeaking problem, once it starts getting hard to sleep, Will finally makes his presence known on the network. He's still laying in bed as he flips the video on, hair a fluffy mess but mask firmly in place; the bedhead isn't helped in the slightest by the Flareon cuddled up against his chest, who seems quite intent on sleepily grooming him.]

Hi, everyone! I'm sure my household isn't the only one with a Rattata problem lately. Don't you all think they're getting louder at night?

Anyway, I noticed something! It actually seems quieter when I'm not trying to sleep alone--it's almost like they're avoiding my room when I've got a napping buddy?

[The camera pans as he turns it away from himself and the Flareon. Now, it's showing a Chansey curled up in a blanket nest; a Xatu is brooding over her like a mother bird, head tucked under her wing.]

I don't know, it could be just my imagination. But why not test it out and share our results here, if it's going to be hard to sleep anyway? If anyone wants to try sleeping together, with me or your roommate or whoever else you want, let's hear if you start feeling better!

[It's not even an innuendo. ~~Unless you want it to be, of course.~~ Shocking, right? He's just going to offer his services as a bedwarmer if people want them. For Science!11 Also for Cuddles.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I can't say you'll be rid of them like this, but..... I think it'll at least help keep them out of the way while you're resting. And probably while you're working too, if it's actually effective to begin with.

[Even Will is antsy at the state of things, secondhand frustration seething just under his skin like a maddening itch there's just no way to reach. As much as he wishes he could promise a better solution..... This is just a bandage fix, something to keep Verstael from going mad with aggravation until the community as a whole can get the mice to stay where they belong. They're so cute when they're behaving themselves at Ainea's temple.....

Right now, though? Even he's finding it hard to be charitable, and he loves animals; he can't blame Verstael for having a little trouble with gracious hosting in this situation. Will toes off his shoes at the foot of the bed, setting his bag down beside them; that done, he doesn't hesitate to crawl into bed with the man, nestling against Verstael's side and resting his head against his shoulder. This should theoretically work even better than just holding hands, right?]

[Verstael let out a sigh as he felt Will's weight press against him. He tended towards always doing something with his hands. Even if it was suspected that this was a potential fix for the situation, it didn't feel like he was getting anything done. His mind couldn't get off the paperwork he should've had finished if these vermin hadn't shown up.

It took some time for him to forcibly calm himself. Getting angry didn't do anything to help. Much as his mind restlessly obsessed over the work he could be getting done, that didn't help either in his current situation. He needed to relax and focus on what he could do.

If this counted as doing anything.

He'd never slept with anyone like this. He didn't have the opportunity, and as he became more famous and undoubtedly could if he'd wanted to, he was much too busy to bother. There was a certain warmth to having another body pressed against his that seeped through his skin at least helped him settle down.

Oxytocin and endorphins. Simple chemical reactions because he was still human. Ah well, maybe they would help him get through this agonizingly long day. He let out another soft sigh of frustration, quieter than the last.]

I don't understand how people put up with this.

[Lying around. Doing nothing.]

Some people actually look forward to taking breaks to relax after stressing out like this, you realize?

[Will laughs softly at that, nuzzling into Verstael's shoulder. All teasing aside, he gets it. It's frustrating to feel so powerless against what should be such a simple problem, isn't it? Everyone's feeling the strain of their homes being invaded, a place that should be their safe haven.

Sleeping with people like this isn't unprecedented for him, but the novelty is still there--he'd only really started trying once he'd started traveling, after all. Before then would have probably turned out horribly, but after? Why not? It was nice, even if they only connected for an evening.]

Breaks aside, though, haven't you ever heard of shower thoughts? Sometimes you do your best thinking when your mind is clear and has enough room to work.

Do you not feel the need to accomplish something while it's on your mind?

...While I do enjoy pondering things, I've always liked to write out my thoughts as soon as possible. It's important to record things, especially when you're dealing with complex problems.

[And it felt as if he always had something significant to write down. He glanced at Will, relaxing slightly on the bed as he forced himself to give in to the circumstances.

While he didn't towards being sentimental or discussing fears, he somehow felt a little more open here. Maybe it was because he wasn't here with employees or coworkers. His relationship with Will, whatever it would be defined as, was a bit different.]

I feel that if I don't write them down quickly enough I may lose them.

Well, sure--but it's not always possible, is it? You might have a ton of stuff you can't do all at once, or you might get stuck on something you can't solve right away.

[Will's smile softens a little at the admission; whatever you might choose to call this, it certainly isn't professional. And that's fine, isn't it? It's good to have some friends that aren't work-related. Strict hierarchies laid out in gleaming sterile labs aren't good for conversations like these.]

If you can't write something down right away, then leave yourself a voice memo on your tablet. or tell someone about it. Ideas are always more real when you talk about them, right?

You don't have to try and hang onto everything all at the same time, all by yourself, Ver. Nobody's got that many hours in the day, or that much mental bandwidth.

[Of course. While he'd been writing all of his notes recently, he still had his recorder. He hadn't kept his notes on the tablet, at least permanently, due to his doubts about it. Of the few things brought with him, though, one was a recorder from home. He'd used it often enough during his research when he hadn't the time to sit down and write.

He pushed himself up, moving away from Will as he leaned over to dig through a drawer by the bed and take it out, settling back down and holding it above himself as he recorded.]

Chief Besithia's Journal | Time Displacement

M.E. 722-V-7th
1-Achtom-12th

Among the stories I collected while speaking to my fellow detainees one anomaly caught my attention in particular. Apparently on one of the other worlds a limited area quickly degraded. It was as if both inanimate objects and at least one person who was inside aged instantly.

I've been pondering how such an incident could take place. It would seem that a limited area was suddenly pushed forward through time. However, no one seems to know how it happened, and those inside experienced it in a flash with no memories of going through a lengthy period of time. They had no known enemies. Perhaps this was a natural occurrence of sorts - a small area accidentally being caught in a temporal malfunction.

I wish I could have seen the results with my own eyes. Testing could prove whether the objects truly aged or if there was some other cause behind their deterioration. If it truly was a shift through time, I can't help but think that understanding the cause of it would unlock the secrets of time travel. Unfortunately, as this occurred on another world, I have only the story to base my theories on. Whether there are any ways to reverse the effects, I do not know.

[With a small click, he turned off the recorder and let his arm drop to the side, hanging off the end of the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Why did such a tantalizing story have to be out of his reach? Regardless, the information was important to knowing what was possible, which was increasingly becoming "anything" as he learned more about other worlds.

He turned his head towards Will, acknowledging his presence again.]

I'll admit, since coming here so many new realities have been opened up that it's difficult to keep pace. Back home I was ready and willing to go toe to toe with any great mind in the world. Here it's starting to feel as if we were not the advanced country that we thought we were, with space and dimensional travel being near commonplace on other worlds. It's going to take some time to grapple everything, and my life already wasn't long enough to unravel all the mysteries of my own world.

[Ah--had Verstael forgotten he had that until now? Will stays where he is, still and quiet to listen to the notes being put down. Time displacement..... how weird. He has no idea how something like that could happen, short of some kind of bizarre magic..... Still, Will has to smile sympathetically at that admission. It's hard to not be 100% sure of your world's superiority, right?]

With all the worlds gathered here? I think a hundred lifetimes probably wouldn't be enough to unravel all the mysteries. Maybe that's why Havenwellians decided to become robots?

I would not be surprised.

[He fully understood how long research could take, after all. One project could take a decade before finding success. Hundreds of projects...

He knew he would not be around long enough to learn it all, and he was disappointed in his existence as a mere human.]

I know of one who has gained immortality. If there were some way to replicate that I would no longer need to be constrained by time.

[Envy wrapped around him like a ghost, present but untouchable.]

[It's like the taste of acid at the back of his throat, a raw, bitter burn. Will finds himself curling closer to Verstael on instinct, as though mere closeness could ward it off for the both of them. ]

That's--who managed that?

[Even Will's not sure what he was trying to say. That's incredible? That's terrible? That's the work of the gods? If it was, would it be a blessing or a curse? He isn't really sure how he feels about all this, honestly. Immortality sounds kind of lonely?]

His name is Ardyn. The Lucians had him imprisoned because they feared him, but I released him from captivity.

[And there was a mixture of feelings that went with that. He was proud of following his research to the island. He was ecstatic about learning of Ardyn's gifts. He was envious of Ardyn's immortality. For as composed as he often was there was a lot going on underneath. He couldn't help but reach up towards the ceiling as if there were something amazing up there, speaking emphatically with his hands.]

Instead of sapping his life and turning him into a mindless daemon, the plague granted him immortality. He's nigh invulnerable, with extensive regenerative abilities. He can even catch glimpses into the minds of others. It's miraculous, really.

[And he wanted it for himself. That immortality, the endless potential to accumulate more knowledge.]

If only I could replicate his experience.

[His own ambitions would be his undoing in the end but his heart ached for them. Was it truly asking too much to be immortal and all-knowing?

The comfort Will offered was all but ignored as his mind wandered, but as he settled down and sunk back into reality - his very mortal human self - his muscles relaxed. It was strange having someone curled up beside him, but it wasn't all bad. Just strange. He didn't' oft have the experience of someone truly listening to him. Not even with Ardyn. He got used to things being that way.]

So he's that divine daemon you mentioned before.....

[Will raises his eyes as well as Verstael reached for the ceiling, smiling in spite of himself as he watches the expressive gestures. It's hard not to be swept up in it all--the fierce pride, the exultant joy, the overwhelming drive, the desire--

He can't help but be in awe of it, just a little. Verstael may act cool and composed, but.... well, still waters run deep. Just under the surface, he's possessed of a passion and intensity that Will can only dream of. How could someone aimless and adrift like him not admire that kind of inner fire?]

Even if you could figure out what made him so special, and how to replicate it..... you'd still be throwing away your humanity, wouldn't you? It sounds agonizing...... You might not even be the same person afterwards.

Does being human matter so long as I can maintain my mind?

[Though for the most part he didn't mind his humanity, it had a few shortcomings he could do without. If there was something so important about staying human that he was overlooking, he was willing to hear it.]

I mean..... actually, that's probably phrased really badly. Sorry.

[Will laughs sheepishly; there are non-humans here, after all.]

I mean, I don't know what exactly a daemon is, but it sounds like a corrupting influence if it affects most of the population so badly. Even if you preserve your mind, who knows what kind of effect it would have on your personality, or your worldview? It could change you so deeply you don't want to follow through on the goal that drove you to change to begin with. Or the perspective shift could be damaging to your ability to do your research in a way that would still benefit people.

It sounds like you didn't know this Ardyn before he was infected, if you freed him--you don't have any way to know what he was like.

[He went silent for a moment. Ardyn seemed relatively fine.

Scratch that. Ardyn had problems, but they were things Verstael had been overlooking. When he'd first awoken he still had reverence for the gods and an overall calm demeanor. It seemed as if he might have been possessed but still retained his mind.

Still, Verstael valued his mind beyond all else. Anything that would damage it concerned him and Will made a fair point. He frowned as a conversation came to mind.]

I have been told that in the future my goals seem to be quite... different. I cannot be sure how truthful that is, though.

Really? Different how? Why wouldn't it be truthful?

[Will shifted a little, lifting his head to look at him in mild concern. Different goals, huh..... just the tone suggests it's the bad kind of different.]

I wonder if you figured out how to do it, but it didn't turn out quite the way you hoped.....

He claimed I attempted to become a 'giant daemon worm weapon' and was intent on smiting the world.

...The idea is absurd.

[He had a hard time imagining wanting to become a worm of all things. He had a hard time believing he would do any of that. People might think him mad and he might play with things that made others uncomfortable, but his work had always been about making progress and protecting Niflheim.]

.....Um. What?

[Will boggles in sheer, undisguised bewilderment, struggling to wrap his mind around the very concept. A giant daemon worm weapon intent on smiting the world? That..... there are so many things wrong with that, he doesn't even know where to begin. Why would he ever want to smite the world, when he's only trying to further knowledge and help people? Why would he make himself into a living weapon, let alone willingly daemonify himself? Why a worm?

.....What exactly is a worm, for that matter? Is it some terrifying and ferocious animal?]

[He rejected it adamantly, shifting in his spot next to Will as his hands started going again to emphasize his words.]

It's ludicrous. I see no reason why I would ever do such a thing.

[But there was something uncomfortable lingering there. Something that would probably be frightening to anyone, even the man who sought to play among daemons and gods without reserve.]

...Unless I was no longer of sound mind.

[It is deeply unsettling, the idea that a good man could change so profoundly that he doesn't even recognize himself in his own theoretical, potential future. The very thought is enough to make him uneasy--and honestly, he's not entirely sure where his own discomfort ends and Verstael's begins.

At least there's that vehement denial to hold onto; he doesn't even mind all the emphatic gesturing moving him where he lays, given the circumstances.]

Hey..... Don't--don't gamble more than you can afford to lose, okay? If something could really change you that much.....

You're better than that. Finding solutions to problems that nobody else could even dream of is what you do, right?

Of course.

[Perhaps the spitting remark didn't need to sound as bitter as like a drop of lemon on the tongue, but who would like to think of their own mind eroding? Being forced to face such a fate would earn backlash from most anyone.

But then his mind was churning again, prodding through all the possibilities that could lead to a bad ending, and his tone turned analytical.]

I will have to whatever the cause might be and purge it. I can't allow my mind to become clouded.

[The following silence indicated something even more than discomfort about what they were talking about, though.]

...

The townhouse has quieted.

How are you going to figure that out? There's no way to know what could have happened, or when.....

[Will trails off thoughtfully at first, and then to listen intently. He'd been so distracted he hadn't even been thinking to listen for it, but.....]

Ah--you're right!

Research. It may be difficult with limited resources, but it is my specialty. I will pinpoint any potential threats.

[With mostly Lucians around, and ones from the distant future at that, it would be hard to figure out what happened in the Empire over the course of decades. He would have to try, though.]

...If this truly works, I may need to employ your services more often. Whether the solution is absurd or not, I need to keep my documents secure.

[Odd as it was having a warm body by his side. Thankfully he wasn't one to toss and turn in his sleep.]

It's such a weird fix..... I kind of wondered if I was just imagining it when I noticed, since they aren't as loud at my place.

[Research, huh..... what a daunting thing to research. How do you study the future from another world entirely, with only people who weren't close to you around? It seems like a completely impossible task. If anyone can do it, though, it would definitely be Verstael.]

Heh. I don't know how much use I'd be with that kind of research, but I can always drop by and chase the mice off.

[He would do what he could. For the moment, at least, he was separated from that world and not at risk.]

Chasing them was ineffective, they kept coming back. I suppose we'll see how long the effects of this last. I do hope that it has some lasting power.

[For now though, he would lay back. He had work he wanted to get to, but he didn't want to have the mice immediately come back. Perhaps if they spent some time together they would stay away.

He turned his head Will's way.]

It won't be an inconvenience to you?

[Because clearly other people spent as much time working in their homes as he did.]

I bet it lasts a little while. People can't sleep all the time, after all.

It's no bother, though! I haven't worked out a steady job here yet, so it's not like you're taking me away from anything. I've mostly just been helping out around Ainea's temple and doing this sort of thing--the "real" job they want us to do.

It might not be the most productive thing in the world, but it's good to earn brownie points until I figure out something better, don't you think?

[He might not be taking anything about this situation as seriously as people would probably prefer, but he's not necessarily lazing around doing nothing, either. Will has just been approaching things from a social capital angle, working on building up some goodwill with the Havenwell locals and reaching out to his fellow newcomers as well as he can.]

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Chief Besithia's Journal | Time Displacement

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