aefenglom | 002

Entry tags:

002 | Video

Name: Rich Goranski
Date: Backdated to Oct 14
Format: Video for initial post; various in comments

[Without so much as an introduction, a video plays. It's a little shaky with the recorder's nerves, and occasionally, a long talon partly covers the view of the scene, but it still shows what it needs to quite clearly.

Eventually, even with the struggle still continuing, the camera is turned away from the action, towards Rich. He has to hope what he just got will be enough to get the Coven to actually believe him this time, but right now, he doesn't have time to wait around. Direct action is needed, so he pings the friends he trusted: Michael Mell, Myr, and Niles. The message is still sent to everyone, however, so everyone can view the video and the panic in Rich's eyes when the camera is turned back to him.]

The SQUIP has lost it. It's going full villain again and I need back up. Meet me near the inn, I think it's trying to take Heere there.

[Without an explanation of what entails the SQUIP going full villain or who 'Heere' may be, he continues.]

Everyone else, please stay safe and-[He's cut off by something happening off screen, which makes him swear and stuff his watch into his pocket. There's about a minute more of muffled yelling and darkness before the recording eventually ends.]

~*~

[Hours later, there's another video tacked on to the earlier one, once the mist has finally started to fade away. Rich is back inside, his changes from before calming down enough that he isn't at risk of burning down Justine's whole cottage. He looks tired and worn, a few nasty scrapes on his face, but... there is a sort of relief in his expression, some sort of certainty that, no matter what happens next, he did what was right.]

Hey everyone. Sorry about that... I know I promised to be less of a downer the next time I posted on here, but... shit happens.

I'm just letting everyone know the SQUIP is knocked out. It had been using magic to charm and mind control several people, including someone I was bonded to, Justine, and a friend from home, Jeremy Heere.

Two of the people it was Bonded with, Linden Tailor and Connor, are also unconscious... guess some sort of trauma went through the connection when we stopped it. Since it was actively using mind control magic, I used Mountain Dew Red to deactivate... the part of it that was still a supercomputer, I guess. It should recover fine, and while it's passed out, I'm going to bring the recording to the Coven so they can see I wasn't lying when I told them what it did in my world.

If any of you were being controlled by it, let me know. It got to quite a few people when I saw it, but its powers should have worn off by now. It can be... a little traumatic, though, so my door's open if you wanna talk. Hopefully now that the SQUIP was... de-SQUIPped, somehow, this shouldn't happen again.

[With another tired wave, Rich signs off. He'd love to stay and chat but... he's pretty sure his roommates are still going to need a little more help in the fallout.]

((Everyone is free to respond! Rich will respond when he's done dealing with his roomies, who are likely either a) dealing with mind control withdrawal or b) having panic attacks over the SQUIP. Other players on Team Anti-Bastard Computer Man will also be responding a few hours after the events of the battle, providing information on what went down and vouching that yes, Shit Was Bad.))

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[At this point, Papyrus is recovering, both from his long illness and the effects of the mist. He's much furrier than before his hospitalization, and the skeletal wings are new and full enough that it's probably apparent that they're souvenirs from last night. And right now, he's appalled by what he's hearing.]

SQUIP was.... mind controlling people? Like in Dorchacht...?

[His eyesockets shift to the side as he ventures a guess that he doesn't quite believe, but hopes is true. After all, he's seen a lot of injured people getting brought into the hospital since properly waking up, and heard people talking about it all.]

Was it the mist? Messing him up so bad... he did awful things?

[For a moment, Rich is relieved to see Papyrus back on his feet again. He had attempted to visit the skeleton a few times during his illness, but had been shooed out pretty quickly by Coven healers that didn't know how infectious the illness was. It's nice to see him mostly recovered now... Rich just wishes it could have waited a little bit longer. He sighs and rubs a hand over his face.]

It was controlling people like it did in Dorchacht and like it did in my world, Papyrus.

The mist is a nice thought, and it probably did have something to do with it deciding to be so obvious about its control, but... this is what the SQUIP does. It controlled some of my friends here for months.

It controlled me for two years. It's usually subtle about it, but that's still what it does.

[And to face off against something as focused on manipulating and harming people as it was, he had to take drastic measures. That only makes sense, right?]

Uhhh. I remember, you said something like that before, but...

[Papyrus trails off, jaw shifting to the side as he grimaces.]

It's just so hard to hear. I hoped it was like with me, and Alphys. We know each other! But also we don't? Somehow, we're from different worlds. Almost the same, but little differences we just can't explain.

[None as big as this would have to be, neither of them being a maniacal mind-controlling computer in one world. It's an unpleasant idea, scary, and he doesn't quite want to believe it. SQUIP! Who offered such pointed advice on flirting and manipulation! SQUIP, who Papyrus saw several times a week, working at the same part-time job. But... Rich's seriousness is very convincing, and he nods once, slowly.]

I'm... glad you knocked it out.

[He really is, too. Those drastic measures make sense, and they're nothing on the lethal consequences some people have talked about bringing to bear against feral monsters. Rich is safe, all the people who were hurt are safe, and SQUIP is alive with the opportunity to become a better person. A happy ending?]

I'm sorry. I don't think it's like you and your friend... the SQUIP here has made it obvious it's the same. It kept saying humans were unpredictable and those kind of measures had to be taken.

[If this SQUIP really was better than the one in Rich's world, he's pretty sure it would be shocked and vehemently opposed to what happened to Rich and his friends, and wouldn't bother making excuses.]

Besides, it's been a jerk here too. I'm glad it's knocked out too... I'm hoping when it wakes up, it'll at least be less likely to be able to control people.

[Rich isn't sure it'd ever be possible for it to become good. He doesn't have much hope after Aziraphale tried the diplomatic approach. Besides, he... doesn't exactly like the thought of people hanging out with it if they let it go without apologizing for what it did before.]

Be careful if you run into it, though. Let me know if anything bad happens.

[Yikes. That's still distressing, if he's being honest with himself. The example of things SQUIP has been saying just add to it.]

Manipulation, mind whammies, making villainous monologues... That's more than being a jerk. It sounds like you did the best you could! And, hopefully, it's all out of its system now! Literally.

[He's not clear on what Mountain Do Red did to SQUIP, other than maybe read it its rights or turn its computer power indicator to red... But it's clear they did something to drastically change the situation. Enough to hope for a big change in SQUIP's behavior going forward. Which is... maybe a different kind of mind whammy, but one in response to actually doing things, which is better than any other kind of mind whammy.]

Anyway, I'll keep my guard up around it.

[Papyrus makes no promise about avoiding the ex-computer, as - like with Dorchacht - he wants to know the truth of this for himself. Which... reminds him of something. He blinks and looks away, then adds in a lower, conspiratorial voice.]

And... Do you think that Mountain Do thing would deactivate all computers? That sounds like dangerous stuff.

[Oh, Papyrus. If you think that's bad, never ask Rich to detail the kinds of things it would say to him while he was still under its influence.]

Tell me about it. He really did go full anime villain at the end. I seriously thought there was going to be some episode breaks so we could all yell and charge up.

I don't know about the best, but... it's a start in the right direction, I hope. Once it wakes up, we'll see where it's at.

[He's really hoping he didn't do something absolutely, terribly distressing to it with the Red. He didn't want to damage its brain, even if that would kind of be deserved... he just hopes whatever is left of it is still okay, and maybe a little more sane.

The question is so bizarre that he honestly has to take a moment to absorb the fact that, yeah, he's talking discontinued soda flavours as a means to prevent the robot apocalypse. With a skeleton.]

I don't really think so. Not unless you like, poured it all over them. A SQUIP activates with regular Mountain Dew, so I think it was just something in the ingredients that can determine whether it activates or deactivates.

Even if it did, it's discontinued now. I just have what my friend brought over from his stash.

So anime is real, sometimes...

[They can share both those hopes, then. That the SQUIP wakes up a healthier, better person... And that this particular soda can't deactivate any and all computers.]

And you just have a small sample... Maybe that's for the best.

I bet an alchemist could try to make more... But you don't need much, right? It's a back-up weapon. A special attack, for emergencies.

[He doesn't want Mettaton to be unfortunate crossfire in this conflict, after all. Deserved as the conflict does, from his limited knowledge, appear to be.

And Papyrus is in no hurry to ask about the worst of it - it would be a number of shocks, and no mistake. There's things that humans get up to that monsters don't do, maybe because of some difference in their souls, or maybe because their desperate shared situation encouraged a degree of kindness in them. Petty meanness, neglect, avoidance... But murder and torture were rare and horrific, underground.]...

Apparently it is.

[Rich finds himself laughing just a little, and it's a relief to know he can actually still find things funny right now.]

Definitely just for emergencies, though. I had been planning on holding on to it until I needed it... and then I needed it before I thought I would.

Are there a lot of other robots around here, though? I've only met one besides the SQUIP.

[Laughter's good to hear, after all that. Papyrus pauses a second to think, then arranges his answer to try inspiring more.]

Oh, there's at least two more. One looks incredibly human, except he has little lights in his head. And the other... He's the sexiest rectangle you'll ever meet!

When he's not being, uh, humanoid.

[Papyrus is still so used to his favorite celebrity's box-bot mode that he forgets, sometimes, that Mettaton can change between two forms.]

Either way! There's no mistaking him for a robot.

That first one definitely sounds like Connor.

[Rich... isn't sure what to think about him anymore. He hopes now that he isn't being brainwashed, he'll be easier to get along with. Luckily, Papyrus' other description prevents him from getting too moody.]

Um. I'm sorry, I think my ears are broken. I swear you just said he was the "sexiest rectangle" here. I can't remember the last time shapes were sexy. Unless you count that acute triangle in my geometry homework.

'Cute triangles in your homework...?

[Well, that's one way to convince students to pay attention and learn, he guesses. Though wouldn't it cause a different kind of distraction? Humans are mysterious.]

...But no! Your ears are fine. Sometimes people are geometric shapes. Like when they're monsters. Or robots. Or robot monsters... or robot monster-monsters. And some of them are sexy!

Especially when they feature in so many hours long films. Lying about... Posing seductively... Flower petals raining down...

[Papyrus' expression goes a little bit dreamy as he gazes off somewhere else, before sending his message. Some of his favorite films, truly.]

[Humans are extremely mysterious and should not be one of the things Papyrus wastes so much time trying to figure out. Rich is just going to assume that it's just someone having a "type" and move on.]

Right, I think I've got it. Just never really thought of non-human-shaped robots as sexy. Honestly, a lot of robots in my world are as humanoid as possible. All the shape ones just make us think of them like adorable puppies or something.

[Rich doesn't have that weird attachment, and in fact, was quite distrustful of the Roomba in Jake's old house.]

And... I don't think there are a lot of robot actors either. That sounds like a movie to add to my watch list.

It is!!

If I find a copy... and a way to watch it, here... I'll lend it to you. Or invite you over to watch.

[Come to think of it, Mettaton could always film a new one... But can the watch even record videos lasting hours long? Would it even be the same, in these small sepia screens? It's hard to say.]

I guess all that makes sense, about your robots. Your world is all humans, right? So your robots look like you.

That'd be cool! If it ever happens... Jeremy's been having trouble even getting his Gameboy to charge.

[So Rich can't really imagine a television running well here, either. Still, there's a hope to hold on to, at least.]

Yeah, as far as I can tell. It's just humans for us. I guess we'd want to model them as close to ourselves, but I expected a little creativity!

Don't any of them even have cat ears?

[He's unwillingly - begrudgingly, out of friendship - heard more than he wanted about certain cat-eared anime protagonists. And that one was supposedly human, other than the ears.]

But, it will surely happen someday! Someone will figure out a way. Magic does so many other things. Even power robots, sometimes...

[And the more people who come from other worlds with different kinds of electricity and magic, surely, the more who stand a chance of making magic here imitate all the electrical technology he knows and misses.]

Uh... not that I've seen. God, I wonder if Jeremy's SQUIP had the option for cat ears.

[He probably would have gone for that, considering the figurines Rich has been unfortunate enough to see in his friend's room.]

It seems like it can do a ton of stuff here! It's kind of why I wish I could use it myself, instead of having to sit here and breathe fire.

[Because the gods are assholes and love the irony, he supposes.]

Breathing fire's not bad! That's almost magic.

[At least by the standards Papyrus still expects. Not like turnskins, who get strength, and stronger smelling, and allergies to silver... None of the flashy cool moves that burping fire could lead to.]

Sigh. Magic does seem cooler. Sure, they might explode if they don't do enough... But who wouldn't! Go up on the wall, cast things into the woods...

It's probably cool for some people, but it seems a bit like rubbing salt in the wound for me. I'm not a big fan of fire.

[He obviously doesn't talk about it much, but surely Papyrus recalled the scars.]

Anyways, I'd much rather make magic fireworks or like, build toys out of thin air or whatever. My friend Jeremy's a witch too, actually, and even the little things he can do are pretty cool.

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