[network] @totheark; Text/Video; Night 75 (after lockdown), Good Night [open] [cw: impending death]

[0thingsonmymind]

i didnot want it to e n d like t h i s

*After that cheerful message the post switches over to video. Its notably dark and lit only by the tablet's backlight and starts with a shot of Brian's masked face. The red frowny face might seem more fitting than usual. After a few moments he swings the tablet around to show a piece of rubble that he's written "GOODBYE" on in blue crayon. It holds there for about 5-10 seconds before the post switches back to text.*

F)Q)>Gl

((ASCII85 code at the end translates to "sorry." Brian'll respond in text until he becomes too weak to do so.))

Comments

[maskintape]

ok
we are Speak ing
speakingsearchinglost
like Before
funeral home is emptywrong
it he she they do not Decay donotopen
use less

[bookofnope]

We don't yet know if it useless. We are searching for NIMA.

Since it is involved in the revivals, we think that a logical place to look would be in the town's morgues. This was what your friend was trying to do.

You are not lost. He left a very specific purpose.

[maskintape]

ni ma
itcan Returnhim yes
find take makeitours
we will
but
we do n o tthink he will co nt in ue
the other the tim
ourtimeislimited

[bookofnope]

[Make it... ours? Not a thought that Beckett has had before, for obvious reasons when his considers it. But he likes this Other Tim's straightforward thinking.]

Yes, that should be possible, if we do learn to master it. It might have many more uses.

[He dislikes manipulation, but isn't beyond dangling carrots that might not pan out. Except - this brings up the real issue, the one Other Tim brings up himself. Time is limited.

The medication, Brian said. Does he have the right? It isn't even a question. Would he still?]

How long can you fight him? Or how long can he fight you?

[maskintape]

fight?we do not
it he is dormant sleeping un Aware
no struggle
Di Vi Si On
branches like Trees
thegrowthisdifferent but He touches both He hides among Us we are His we are the Forest
no fight it is point less
time it
changes
minutes hours days

[bookofnope]

I understand. I had thought that Tim was actively fighting to stop some change from happening.

[Does this make it better? He knows what Tim would say, the Tim that thinks he's the normal one. He takes the medication, but does he really know what it does, what it means?]

Do you know some way to stall the switch, or else to trigger it?

[maskintape]

may b e
he it does not understand it fears cries heisangry
we do not seek to Change Conquer Remove
we only seek the Ark the answers
weremainothernotonly

a Trigger lies in side in ternal
se izures?no pills
we wake from the black

[bookofnope]

[So he - it - they know.

That focuses his choice. And makes him wonder. Do not seek to Change, they say. Perhaps he is misunderstanding. He can hope so.]

I know about the medicine. Yet you have not tried to actively stop Tim from being able to take them. By hiding or destroying them for example.

[maskintape]

no
not us
Other.Friend
takes hides uses wedonot
we and he are ?better
than he
or we
we can do more see more be more

[bookofnope]

[This poses a problem for the plan of getting their help... but could it also, possibly, solve his dilemma? If both Tim and this other self feel better without tampering, is there any question left at all?]

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<Small>[This poses a problem for the plan of getting their help... but could it also, possibly, solve his dilemma? If both Tim <I>and</I> this other self feel better without tampering, is there any question left at all?]</small>

<font face"Courier New">I will not do anything against your will.

But I need allies, especially if I mean to continue your friend's work, and the other Tim is not one. I have not been able to make him understand that the two of you ate better, as you and he.</font>

[maskintape]

[ Generally speaking, Masky is far less knowledgeable about things than Brian is. It's relatively suggestible. It doesn't plan things well. It simply doesn't try to understand a lot of the concepts that it's missing.

It knows Tim, though. It largely understands him, too. Sharing a brain with a guy for twenty years will do that. ]

he does not trust he is a Liar
he Sees liars enemies always
Alex m other doctors Clayton ator
he makes liars of Us
he it is afraid wearethesame
as him as others
We Are Not

it he only does trust
Jay
he will helpyou?may be
a Jay fears us do not speak of it

WHOOPS SORRY FOR THE HTML FUCKUP

[bookofnope]

[Tim, a capital-L Liar? That is... actually, Beckett thinks, it isn't that surprising. Afraid, of course he is. Very human of him.]

Jay knows you. I see.

But Jay was not close to your Friend. I do not know how much he would wish to help with what was important to him.

The most I can do is ask for his help in convincing Tim to work with me, if not trust me.

YOU SHOULD BE!!!!!

[maskintape]

it
jay
it wants needs Seeks answers
it he is afraid
butthewant is STRONGER

[ Unlike Tim, who knows when to back the fuck up, Jay is. Perhaps a touch obsessive about such things. Just a bit. ]

[bookofnope]

I Understand.

[It's a bad habit to pick up, writing like the two of them do, but he wants to convey that he means this - the want is STRONGER, indeed. Oh, how he knows.]

I will speak with him, then. And I will see how I manage to convey any information I gather to you, about the funeral home and about NIMA.

If nothing else, I am sure that Tim would be willing to do much, in order to have Him back.