Day 230 audio; @dreamsnhonor [cw: anomaly body horror]

[heroproceeding]

Hey, Zack here. So, Enoch mentioned this earlier about our anomaly buddies coming around again.

Thing is... there's something off about all of this. Not only is the one that's been following me different?
But Zell and Kuns have been telling me they see 'em like a mess of something or other. You know, your typical anomalies. But for me and Jim, it's different. The anomalies almost look like someone we know. Just faceless.

[ It would have sounded crazy maybe six months ago. But right then, if anything, Zack just sounds tired as he makes note of that. That's before the video comes on to capture one of the anomalies in question. To those who've had their lights stolen, the anomaly looks like a young lady in her mid-teens. Innocent looking enough, right? Well- expect her face is gone as he mentioned.

Those who haven't had their light stolen will see something more akin to the Norfinbury flavored expectation. An oversized flower curls and spins, the leaves that remain with it red and curled almost like a bow behind it. The creature crawls along on multiple lithe hands with eyes running down the sides of them. They look worse and worse for wear the further down you look, black and cold with frost bite though only iced over with a blue hue. Sometimes Occasionally, the flower opens wide enough to reveal its center to be a mouth lined with tiny, sharp barbs for teeth. Typically when it seems to get off balance which also reveals what at first looks like to be a long braid behind it to be a set of roots that uncoil from one another and help balance it out.

Zack flicks the video back off with a frown. ]

I feel like we should do a tally of who's seeing what and maybe then we can figure things out from there. So, shoot me a message and let me know what you see. And if you have any theories, I'd like to hear 'em right about now.

[ He's just about to cut it off there when one last thought- if not a slightly distracted sounding one -occurs to him. ]

I'm also attaching an updated list of those who've been discovered and identified in the morgues, too. You can thank Davesprite for the help.

[ An attachment can be found along with this message. ]

( ooc: Durp. Slight edit in the brackets due to a reading error. This is why you don't read the new plot in the middle of the night. )

Comments

[tidalflame]

Maybe.

I'm still pretty new here, I'm not really sure what these lights are supposed to be.

They're not souls or anything, are they?

[heroproceeding]

I don't think they are. I mean... at least they're not our souls. 'cause if the whole soul thing is the way they say it's supposed to be, then wouldn't I have died when mine got taken?

[ But he'd just been knocked out for a while. Still had a pulse and everything. No... This has to be different. ]

[tidalflame]

Hmmmm...Not necessarily.

I think you'd just feel...numb.

[He's silent a moment as recalls the feeling of his own soul being torn from his body. Somehow, it seems like it happened in another lifetime now.]

Do you feel any different?

[heroproceeding]

[ Just feel... numb. There's something odd about the way Zidane says it. An oddity Zack can't quite place, but an uncomfortable tingle runs down his spine all the same. ]

I don't feel any different, no. I was disoriented for a little when I first woke up again, but it wore off and I've felt like myself since. No numbness or anything.

[tidalflame]

Hmm...

You probably still have your soul then. Sorry I worried you over nothing.

We still don't have any answers though.

There was this kid here when I showed up who said they were studying the monsters and thought they wanted something.

[heroproceeding]

A kid, huh... [ Thinking about it, it was probably the same one that seemed to sympathize with them. An odd one... but not a bad kid. Just seemed a little naive. Was though... So, they're gone, too, huh.

Part of him really has to wonder just how many people it's going to take to get through all this, but Zack bites his tongue on that thought. ]

Not the first time we've wondered over them wanting something but this is definitely the first time we got a clue of what maybe. [ Still, there's something about the way Zidane phrased things earlier- something... ]

You know.. You sure sound awful certain about the whole soul thing.

[tidalflame]

I do?

[He tries to play dumb.]

'Sjust a theory.

[heroproceeding]

[ It's hard to play dumb when he'd... but Zack just hums in the end. Maybe he's just reading too much into it. ]

Some theory then.

[tidalflame]

That's what life around here is all about, isn't it? Theories?

And not freezing to death.

[heroproceeding]

[ Zack huffs at that, rolling his eyes. But there's maybe the faintest trace of humor in his voice when he speaks next. Even if he also sounds pretty sour. ]

Can't really argue against you there. It sure would be nice if there were less theories and more answers though, you know? Only been here seven months now.

[tidalflame]

Yeah, answers would be nice. It seems like every time anyone figures anything out it all just gets more confusing.

[He hums.]

...Geeze... Seven months, huh? How long has all this been going on, exactly?

[heroproceeding]

From what I heard, it's been ongoing since almost two weeks before I got here, myself. So, almost eight months now is my best guess. [ Zack clears his throat, but the frown in his voice has yet to disperse. ] Time's... Time's a little funny now ever since we got stuck in that white maze. I'm not really sure how long we were in there for.