[network] @ADMIN; Arrival [open]

[snowblindmods]

Welcome to Norfinbury. The time is E̛̬̞͖͖̫R҉͖̯̬R̼̻͉̰͎̳̙O̩͓͔̫͇͈̯R and the date is E̛̬̞͖͖̫R҉͖̯̬R̼̻͉̰͎̳̙O̩͓͔̫͇͈̯R. This network has been provided for your use. Please interact politely with everyone else on this network.
E҉̘̩̙͢͝͡R̛̫̘̝̮̞̬͓̝̫̻̻̜̦̀ͅŖ̮̳͕̲͚͜O̷̙̖͓͙̗̰͘͟R̯̝͓̪̻̩̟̟͕̥͍̭̪͍͘:̵̛̛̝͖͓̺̥̙̝̀͜ ̧̛͙͚̱̫͇̹̙̥͎̜̖̺̻̕͠͝I͇͓̫̺͖̻͈̝͇̰͕̩̯͝͡N̶̛̪̯̤̭̻͎͚̻̟͙V̧̼͙̹͔͝A̷̸̵̧̰̱̺̗̤̤̹̙̺͕͎͇̦̫͕̣̰̪͟L͏̡͍̣̫̘̖̰̟̤̟̕I̛̜̻̖̦̥͓̟̫͡ͅD҉͏̶̴̷͔̬̗̘͖͓͚͔̗̱̝̹̻͔ ̷̢̗͉͚͓̱̫͙̱̪̥̤͢R̵̢̭͕͖̙̤̣̬̪̜͎͇̙̥̘͕̙͟͜ͅE̴̷̶͇̖̙̪̜̜̫̪̬̣̣̫̺͜F̢͏̸̳̬̟͖͉͎͉̤͉͉͎̣̲̙͉͢E͏̨̧̫̩̭̯͓̬̼̳̳̱͉̤͞R̶͉͈̪͔͈͘Ȩ̧̩͙̦̝͉͇͚̼̫̭̕͘͡N̷̡̖͇͕̻̰̯͈͕͉̯C̳̝͍̤̫̥̰͝Ȩ̴̨͡͏̥̥̯̰̭̻̳̫E҉̘̩̙͢͝͡R̛̫̘̝̮̞̬͓̝̫̻̻̜̦̀ͅŖ̮̳͕̲͚͜O̷̙̖͓͙̗̰͘͟R̯̝͓̪̻̩̟̟͕̥͍̭̪͍͘:̵̛̛̝͖͓̺̥̙̝̀͜ ̧̛͙͚̱̫͇̹̙̥͎̜̖̺̻̕͠͝I͇͓̫̺͖̻͈̝͇̰͕̩̯͝͡N̶̛̪̯̤̭̻͎͚̻̟͙V̧̼͙̹͔͝A̷̸̵̧̰̱̺̗̤̤̹̙̺͕͎͇̦̫͕̣̰̪͟L͏̡͍̣̫̘̖̰̟̤̟̕I̛̜̻̖̦̥͓̟̫͡ͅD҉͏̶̴̷͔̬̗̘͖͓͚͔̗̱̝̹̻͔ ̷̢̗͉͚͓̱̫͙̱̪̥̤͢R̵̢̭͕͖̙̤̣̬̪̜͎͇̙̥̘͕̙͟͜ͅE̴̷̶͇̖̙̪̜̜̫̪̬̣̣̫̺͜F̢͏̸̳̬̟͖͉͎͉̤͉͉͎̣̲̙͉͢E͏̨̧̫̩̭̯͓̬̼̳̳̱͉̤͞R̶͉͈̪͔͈͘Ȩ̧̩͙̦̝͉͇͚̼̫̭̕͘͡N̷̡̖͇͕̻̰̯͈͕͉̯C̳̝͍̤̫̥̰͝Ȩ̴̨͡͏̥̥̯̰̭̻̳̫E҉̘̩̙͢͝͡R̛̫̘̝̮̞̬͓̝̫̻̻̜̦̀ͅŖ̮̳͕̲͚͜O̷̙̖͓͙̗̰͘͟R̯̝͓̪̻̩̟̟͕̥͍̭̪͍͘:̵̛̛̝͖͓̺̥̙̝̀͜ ̧̛͙͚̱̫͇̹̙̥͎̜̖̺̻̕͠͝I͇͓̫̺͖̻͈̝͇̰͕̩̯͝͡N̶̛̪̯̤̭̻͎͚̻̟͙V̧̼͙̹͔͝A̷̸̵̧̰̱̺̗̤̤̹̙̺͕͎͇̦̫͕̣̰̪͟L͏̡͍̣̫̘̖̰̟̤̟̕I̛̜̻̖̦̥͓̟̫͡ͅD҉͏̶̴̷͔̬̗̘͖͓͚͔̗̱̝̹̻͔ ̷̢̗͉͚͓̱̫͙̱̪̥̤͢R̵̢̭͕͖̙̤̣̬̪̜͎͇̙̥̘͕̙͟͜ͅE̴̷̶͇̖̙̪̜̜̫̪̬̣̣̫̺͜F̢͏̸̳̬̟͖͉͎͉̤͉͉͎̣̲̙͉͢E͏̨̧̫̩̭̯͓̬̼̳̳̱͉̤͞R̶͉͈̪͔͈͘Ȩ̧̩͙̦̝͉͇͚̼̫̭̕͘͡N̷̡̖͇͕̻̰̯͈͕͉̯C̳̝͍̤̫̥̰͝Ȩ̴̨͡͏̥̥̯̰̭̻̳̫
E҉̘̩̙͢͝͡R̛̫̘̝̮̞̬͓̝̫̻̻̜̦̀ͅŖ̮̳͕̲͚͜O̷̙̖͓͙̗̰͘͟R̯̝͓̪̻̩̟̟͕̥͍̭̪͍͘:̵̛̛̝͖͓̺̥̙̝̀͜ ̧̛͙͚̱̫͇̹̙̥͎̜̖̺̻̕͠͝I͇͓̫̺͖̻͈̝͇̰͕̩̯͝͡N̶̛̪̯̤̭̻͎͚̻̟͙V̧̼͙̹͔͝A̷̸̵̧̰̱̺̗̤̤̹̙̺͕͎͇̦̫͕̣̰̪͟L͏̡͍̣̫̘̖̰̟̤̟̕I̛̜̻̖̦̥͓̟̫͡ͅD҉͏̶̴̷͔̬̗̘͖͓͚͔̗̱̝̹̻͔ ̷̢̗͉͚͓̱̫͙̱̪̥̤͢R̵̢̭͕͖̙̤̣̬̪̜͎͇̙̥̘͕̙͟͜ͅE̴̷̶͇̖̙̪̜̜̫̪̬̣̣̫̺͜F̢͏̸̳̬̟͖͉͎͉̤͉͉͎̣̲̙͉͢E͏̨̧̫̩̭̯͓̬̼̳̳̱͉̤͞R̶͉͈̪͔͈͘Ȩ̧̩͙̦̝͉͇͚̼̫̭̕͘͡N̷̡̖͇͕̻̰̯͈͕͉̯C̳̝͍̤̫̥̰͝Ȩ̴̨͡͏̥̥̯̰̭̻̳̫ E҉̘̩̙͢͝͡R̛̫̘̝̮̞̬͓̝̫̻̻̜̦̀ͅŖ̮̳͕̲͚͜O̷̙̖͓͙̗̰͘͟R̯̝͓̪̻̩̟̟͕̥͍̭̪͍͘:̵̛̛̝͖͓̺̥̙̝̀͜ ̧̛͙͚̱̫͇̹̙̥͎̜̖̺̻̕͠͝I͇͓̫̺͖̻͈̝͇̰͕̩̯͝͡N̶̛̪̯̤̭̻͎͚̻̟͙V̧̼͙̹͔͝A̷̸̵̧̰̱̺̗̤̤̹̙̺͕͎͇̦̫͕̣̰̪͟L͏̡͍̣̫̘̖̰̟̤̟̕I̛̜̻̖̦̥͓̟̫͡ͅD҉͏̶̴̷͔̬̗̘͖͓͚͔̗̱̝̹̻͔ ̷̢̗͉͚͓̱̫͙̱̪̥̤͢R̵̢̭͕͖̙̤̣̬̪̜͎͇̙̥̘͕̙͟͜ͅE̴̷̶͇̖̙̪̜̜̫̪̬̣̣̫̺͜F̢͏̸̳̬̟͖͉͎͉̤͉͉͎̣̲̙͉͢E͏̨̧̫̩̭̯͓̬̼̳̳̱͉̤͞R̶͉͈̪͔͈͘Ȩ̧̩͙̦̝͉͇͚̼̫̭̕͘͡N̷̡̖͇͕̻̰̯͈͕͉̯C̳̝͍̤̫̥̰͝Ȩ̴̨͡͏̥̥̯̰̭̻̳̫
E҉̨̢͎͎̗̦͈͎̘R̨̘̦̙̖̳͈͟R̢̞̺͖̩̟̻͙͕̩͜O̢̢̼͉͔̟̯̝͇̙͜͠R̴̛̗̝͕̣̘͙̪͖̀͟:̢̢͉̙̥̝͖͉̯̟͇̖̱̖͓̲̳ ͏̴͉͈͈̦̝̦͉͖̖͉̪̝̠̭I͡҉̣̼̜̩̻̜͓̻̳̼̥̭̯̭̫͉̭ͅL̶͖͖̯̝̥̬̖̤̥̹͎̟̬̻̦̜̝̻̗͟͞Ļ̸̸̸̥̺̝̜̭̘̞͈͎͚͉E̶͍͍͈̬̕͜͟G̳̬͉̙̥̩̼̭̦͔͘͜͡À̴͟҉̤͔͇̩̳͝ͅL̟͉̯̥̝̀͢͝ ͏҉͈͎͇̞̪̬͓͎̖̥̜̦̖̜O̺̹̺̜͉̠͉̠͇̭̣͔͡͞P̢͘͜҉̺̝̥͎̜Ḙ̢͔͇̰͇̯̺͇͓̜Ŗ̦̝̫̯̻̰͍͙̼̮͎̕ͅA̸̬̯͉͓̥̕͢͞ͅT̷̡͎̻̳̥Ḭ̵̡̥̭̥̀͞O̴͈̤͚͇̜͘͘͞N̢̬͕̙̫̦̳̫̭͖͙̤.̧͢͜҉̩̼̬̞̟̻͇̭͖ ̳̝̺̯̣̠̣̲͎̝̞̣̭̫͘͠S̡̧̼͈̱̳̰̰̳̻̺̫̝͈͖͎ͅH̦̖̣̦̱͓͙͓̣́͜͠͠Ù̸͎̹̼̱͈͇̼̼̕ͅͅṰ̤̝̦̞͍̮̦̞̼̪͕̹̬͈͝T͞͏̟͖͔̯̼̫̞̥̣̘͉̫̟ͅI̢͖̪̮̺̰̟͎͈͇̻͈͔͉̱̯͓̻͞N̢̨̮̱͕̣͟Ģ̸̝̟͚̩͙͖ͅ ҉̴̝̭̩̯̫̤̼̬͇͡ͅD̨͏̺͎̝̟͔͉͕̲̮͎̦͓̥͕̹͓̮̖̘̀͠Ǫ̵͍͇̝̱̖̳̦͖͡W̸̧̩͕̹̹̬̰̻̣̣͓̞̼̮̦̺͟͞͡N̡̛̫͙̠͚̠̲̙̟̤͔̦͙ͅ.҉̢̻̝̦͓̀̕͠

Comments

text; id: nanny

[jinxings]

I can confirm there's no such place in Japan. Nor in Africa, as far as I know.

[ Look, when you're a lonely child that's bad with people, you just dive into books, and if you happen to learn random things like general layout of Africa in the meantime.. besides, he'll offer up the information since this seems like someone who's actually thinking about all of this and might be able to find out a thing or two. ]

The weather does make it seem like a place up north, though. [ Although that just makes him think of the Nothern Union, which would be.. well, bad news, to put it gently. But it'd make no sense at all for them to be behind any of this. ]

[anygoodstories]

^There you are ladies and gentlemen. First hand expert confirmation that the idea of something named 'Norfinbury' in anything other than Northern Europe or Canada is completely bonkers.

[Haha nanny. Shaun knew plenty of geography, sure, but most of his recent and in-depth knowledge was limited to Italy, England and certain parts of America. And maybe bits of Turkey, but the Ottomans made things very confusing. Sarcasm aside, at least they're agreeing with him.]

I'm inclined to agree with you, but nothing outside looks particularly Russian or Siberain. Perhaps it's a local haunt that never made it into the text books.

[jinxings]

[ The sarcasm is going over Haku's head entirely, anyway. Maybe in person he could recognize it in some occasions, but he's entirely too socially defunct (or maybe just inexperienced) to be able to tell it over text. So thank you for agreeing so nicely with him, network guy! ]

Have you ever been there?

[ To Russia or Siberia, he means. It could say a lot about a person - in his world, anyway - but even aside from subtly trying to find out more about the other people here, it might give some more certainty as to whether it really doesn't look Russian out there. Haku's never been there, he can't know for sure. ]

[anygoodstories]

[To be fair, for once he was only like. Half sarcastic. Not knowing things isn't in Shaun's repertoire of life skills, so the confirmation actually does help a little.]

Where, Siberia? Not really. I've studied it some-- mostly the period leading up to the October Revolution and the Ottoman Empire, but my world tour has focused mainly on Southern Europe and the Americas with a touch of North Africa.

I've known some blokes that have been stationed in Europe, though. He was an alright fellow. Bit cold blooded, though.

[Hehehe. Cold-blooded.]

[jinxings]

[ It's all pretty fascinating to read about. Haku's read a lot of books over the years to counter the sense of loneliness, so this feels a little like it - and he can use it with how isolated you start to feel in the middle of these snow fields. ]

What did he say it was like over there? [ So maybe these questions are pretty useless to their current situation, but.. well, whatever. Haku needs the distraction of thinking about something else entirely for a moment or he'll just drive himself crazy. ]

[anygoodstories]

[If Haku was looking for a book-- well, Shaun didn't have any books at all, but he had plenty of facts and knowledge in his head from his studies that he could probably write a textbook.]

Cold. Brisk. Sort of cloudy. Heard the people were cold-blooded.

[Daniel Cross wasn't a very chatty guy.]

That was sarcasm, by the by. The man wasn't a very amicable conversational companion. From what I have heard, Siberia's a bit more on the rural side; a few small villages here and there, but not the best for actually living a life if you enjoy feeling your toes. Western Russia's a touch better I hear, but you still couldn't pay me to live somewhere where the weather has historically devastated military campaigns on a regular basis.

[jinxings]

[ Not for living your life, huh.

Haku is sort of glad he's just communicating over text - it means the other won't see that his expression drops a little at reading those words, the memory of his older brother slipping back into his mind. He endured all that for his sake, it twisted him so much--

No, don't think of that. Shake it off. ]

In that case I have bad news for you. Right now, we're practically living in that sort of place anyway.

[ The cold outside seems to match up well enough, even if he isn't sure yet whether this is actually up there or not just yet. ]

Although I suppose I can guarantee here have been any actual battle campaigns here though. This doesn't seem like the sort of place anyone would want to fight over.

[anygoodstories]

Ugh, don't REMIND me. I could really go for a hot espresso right now and I feel colder than an irate snake stuck in the tundra. Someone should take this up with the realtors.

[Seriously, he left England. Not willingly, but. He still didn't need more storm and gloom in his life.]

If this place were involved in a military campaign, I'd say it would've only been as a foothold for the invading army to try and obtain, or a point towards a more major city or fortress.

I'm sure it meant much more to the folks that actually lived here, though. Wonder whatever happened to them.

[jinxings]

They left. They all got killed. They mysteriously disappeared. This whole place is fake to begin with and no one actually lived here to begin with. All of us are hallucinating.

There's a lot of possible explanation for the fact why there aren't any people in a place like this. Which would you want to discuss first?

[ You know, real casual. Like they aren't stuck in some extremely weird situation. ]

[anygoodstories]

[Faking casuality to not deal with how extremely fucked up everything was? Hell yeah he could totally do that.]

Oooh, mass hallucination, that's a good one. Seems too coordinated to be likely, but that might require further data. We'll put it on the backburner.

'Fake's good too, though if it were true then that would require some SERIOUS effort on someone else's part to make it look lived in and weathered-- not sure how much you can fake weather damage and decay, actually. Might need to call an expert.

[jinxings]

They faked that stuff a long time ago already.

[ Hey, these are moments when randomass knowledge comes in handy. You've got to occupy your time with something when you feel lonely as hell and isolated from most of the world, and books are pretty convenient for that sort of thing. Even if it means you end up reading about the weirdest things. ]

Back in the 19th century, nobility wanted to impress people who came to visit them by building ruins on their grounds. Fake, of course, since that's not how ruins are generally created. [ He's actually pretty excited to dumb his nerdy knowledge on someone, in fact. If not just since it's very distracting for his current mental state and makes his head a little less noisy for a few moments. ]