Content Warnings (mentioned in advance, some may not apply yet):Mentions and discussions of death, descriptions of injuries and gore (kept as vague as possible), serious discussion of homophobia, body horror, general effects of people being alone for prolonged periods of time.
READ SC
SUMMER, 2224
More points in time may become available eventually. This is a side project. Be patient.
There's a Seasons Canon PMV now, watch if you want! It has less warnings than the story itself. :]
Reawakenings
Where am I?Hello?
Is anyone there?.
.
.Where am I?WHERE AM I?I can't see anything
It's so cold.
.
.Who am I...?
What is going on?.
.
.Am I dead?Is
Is that me?
abandoned vehicle 96
abandoned vehicle 97
abandoned vehicle 98
abandoned vehicle 99oh would you look at that
a whole hundredwho wouldve thought me going out would result in a whole load of nothingim talking to myself
again
ah
my greatest listenerhuh
surprising lack of vehicles over there
then again theres a parking lot nearby
so people probably just used thatwait
eternal autumn land or whatever i named it is nearbyi havent visited that place since uhh
what was it again
2213?
i thinki should go over there
its been a while
Oh my god
Oh my god I can seeWhere am I?
It's
It's autumn right?How do I know that?Where's Levi?
Who is that?Who am I?
oh look its the
whats it called again
the dumb statue thing people would vent to
did someone move itwhatever
more important things to see
like ten of the same tree
.
.
.
HELLO?
huh
what
HELLO?
HI?
IS SOMEONE THERE?
what the
who are you
It's
It's uhhJacob
That's my name. I think
you think?
I don't know I
I can't remember muchI don't know who I am past that
ah
newly made ghost
happens to the best of us
So I am dead
I thought I saw my corpse down there
down... there?
theres no grave there thats
a tree
are you sure
I know I saw a corpse
Maybe not mine, but it was all tangled up in roots and everything
And uhh
I woke up in the exact same place and exact same pose that it had
thats
odd
barely anyone goes here
who the hell would bury a corpse in a place like this
let alone leave it unmarked
like seriously not even a stick or something
I
I think the tree is the mark
even still who would do that
Levi
who
I don't know
I just felt the need to answer
thats most definitely some memories bleeding in
it didnt take me very long to remember pretty much everything
like five minutes at most
Is it gonna hurt?
huh
I mean, it's a lifetime's worth of memories rushing in right?
i wouldnt know
i died at 24
so
not a whole lot to remember
Oh. You're older than me
see youre rememberingbut wow thats rough
by how much
I was 22
I think
not a lot of things that can kill you naturally at that age
so howd you drop dead
I dunno actually I just remember uhh... two really bright lights?
real specific
Oh my god did I get hit by a car that's so LAME
somewhere out there someone who died in a car accident must be real sad at what you just said
Okay but consider:
There's literally so many other things that could've killed me
Cool things like I DON'T KNOW!!
RABID DEER ATTACK!
...rabid deer attack
I said I DON'T KNOW
Just anything that'd get me in the front page of a newspaper from the sheer weirdness of it
Not the obituary section that no one bothers to check unless they're skimming through and see a familiar name
why do you care so much about that anyway
i mean i get the inherent human desire to leave a mark
and be remembered
but
would you really want to be remembered because of a bizarre death and thats it
I just feel like my death should be really important
For some reason I can't explain.
.
.You haven't told me your name
summer
Like the season?
Or do you have the version that's spelled with an o?
wow i didnt ask you if you spell your name with a c or a k
It's with a c
like the season
thank you oh so very much for askingsay
are you the type to use jake as a nickname
or some stupid shit like cubby
People do that?
yeah trust me
I remember someone calling me Jay
oh good
comparatively uncommon but normal
I think I'm remembering a lot of things now
yeah why else would i be asking questions
its to jog your memory
You aren't doing a great job at the whole questions thing
oh come onnnnn
cut me some slack
i havent interacted with anyone in years
Years?
yeah
ghosts are pretty damn rare as far as im aware
in fact youre
the only ghost ive seen besides myself
And it's...Hey, Summer?
what
What year is it?
shjjsjhjjHHAAHAHHAHA
AHAHAHAH
What!?
OH MAN THATS A NEW ONE
i was wondering how the fuck someone managed to die after all of humanity vanished
YOU MUSTVE BEEN DEAD FOR A WHILE HAHAHA
AFTER WHAT
hey
jay
welcome to 2224
youre in for the wildest ride of yourwell not life
death i guess
Oh my god
OH MY GOD
I'VE BEEN DEAD FOR 200 YEARS
hey hey hey calm down
calm down
its okay
IT'S NOT OKAY IT'S
OH MY GOD LEVI WHERE IS HE
IS HE OKAY
uhm
well
all living humans vanished so
if for some god forsaken reason someone from 200 years ago managed to still be alive
they wouldnt be here anyway
Wait
What about everything besides humans
oh uh
all animals are fine
like theyre still just
here
Okay
Okay
It could still be fine
huh
what
i
Oh. UhmActually before I explain everything
I still don't know what happened
right
sigh
on 2214 everyone disappeared
literally all of humanity gone out of nowhere
i have no clue why or how
i know i got to be a ghost because im pretty damn sure i died right when the vanishing happened
and corpses stay
it was only living humans that disappearedso i guess i get to live on because of being really lucky
or unluckydepends on how you see it reallywhich leads us back to you
you also have explaining to do
I know there's someone... very important to me.
I need to find him because if everything's as you say then the vanishing shouldn't have affected him.
and were ignoring the fact its been 200 years
Yes we are.
wow
i mean i respect the loyalty dont get me wrong
but also dont get your hopes up
I know.
so theoretically where should we be looking
Around here, actually. I recognise this forest
No idea how
makes sense actually
this whole place has gone unchanged for a long while
its just always been autumn in this specific forest since god knows how long
.
.
.
Oh.We need to start looking
fine fine
im all eyeswait no i dont have those
You what??
thats a story for later
not now
oh theres that thing again
What is that?
its like uhh
they called it the mourner if i recall correctly
real fancy bush statue thing
Topiary
what
That's what 'bush statues' are called
oh
i didnt know thatanyway so that thing
been there for the longest time
i think someone moved it before the vanishing happened
people would come here all time time to vent their sorrows to it
as if anyone was listening
haha
.
.
.
whats wrong
It moved
yeah i said someone moved it before-
No like
Just now
I need to talk to it
what are we just assuming sentience whenever something moves
god forbid theres wind
like oh wow a plastic bag is flying
new form of wildlife discovered
lets give 27 awards to dr whatshisface for discovering this wonderful creature uhh
polycorpus ambulus
idk my latins rusty
SUMMERLOOK at it
oh my god
it moves
I need to talk to it
I have to
jacob
you cant
What?
Why?
i dont mean it as in a rule way
theres no ghost laws against talking to living things
(theres no ghost laws period)
but as in
without possessing whatever killed you no one can see or hear you
So I have to find the one in a million cars that killed me?
well its not one in a million
in 2212 there were 291,730,274 registered vehicles in the united states
thats counting public transport too
but like literally who cares if you died to a random persons car or a school bus
You know what I meant though
thats also assuming it was for sure a car
Fuck
Can't you at least-
I don't know
Repeat everything I say...?
hshjshhHAHAHAHA
HA
im not fucking doing that
what if
and this is wild
WHAT IF
i walked over there and initiated a conversation like the normal person crt tv thing i am
Fine fine whatever
You are going to bring up me being here too, right?
.
.
.
RIGHT?
did you say something
Oh my god
hey
hey
hey
hey
hey
i know youre alive and sentient or whatever
that or i look like an idiot right now
but if i look like an idiot no ones gonna know anyway
What do you want.
shit
sorry for interrupting whatever you were doing
i just really needed to confirm the suspicions of sentience
didnt really plan ahead past thati mean
can i ask some questions or
Make it quick.
why are you called that anyway
yknow how everyone calls you the mourner or whatever
I didn't get to choose what others named me. They interpreted my grief as a commodity, an attraction, so that's all I was to them.
oh oh uh
whys it always autumn here
its been autumn in this one forest for as long as i can remember
His favourite season.
im personally offended
because my name is summer i mean
.
.
.
am i meant to assume youve singlehandedly warped reality to keep this specific forest as autumn for-
youve been here for a bajillion years
Yes.
how
Immortal.
ah
.
.
.
do you plan on doing anything about the ghost thats been looking at you really sadly this whole time
THE WHAT
yeah
uhh
the ghost
uhm
(Tell him my name idiot!!!)
(no hold on ive got this)
Describe this supposed ghost to me.
oh okay
let me look at him
(Is this really necessary)
red hair thats brighter than mine i think
theres a bit of it thats dyed blue and-
JACOB!?
OH YOU GUYS KNOW EACH OTHER
Why would I want to talk to the first thing I see if I didn't at the very least feel like I know them??
I DONT KNOW??
CLOSURE??
CLOSURE????? WITH A RANDOM PERSON??
YOU CALL THAT A PERSON?
WHAT.
sorry
we should probably
stop yelling
If you aren't lying, then he should be the only one that remembers my name.
And you were questioning the authenticity of names as leverage earlier-
oh yeah
i guess ive never heard anyone say it
probably some unpronounceable word that instantly curses my entire bloodline
Levi.
i mean i dont
have a bloodline to speak of
It's Levi
because im dead i mean
that and i dont get the hype
His name. It's Levi
shut up
anyway i guess i dont know your name!
shame
IF YOU WEREN'T DEAD I'D- please just say it already I can't stand not being able to talk to him
oh you guys know each other
still dont get the hype.
.
.wait hes not human
Painfully aware.
I don't think a single person besides you has pointed out that part first
whatever whatever your name is levi
there
lame ass name but i dont want to judge since im in another whole damn levelmy real question is
how the fuck did jacob die
because from what he remembers we have nothing to work with besides 'two really bright lights'
so we were talking about it being a car accident
and theres 291,730 vehicles in the-
No it was nearly 300 million
verbal typo sorry for unregistering about 300 million vehiclesANYWAY
him finding the one car that killed him is really improbable because people travel all the time
so it could be in a whole damn other country for all we know
so what gives
did he hit a deer and remember it from its pov or what
That makes no sense
whatever
He... doesn't remember?
No
he cant hear you
Sigh
I suppose it makes sense that he wouldn't remember. It wasn't a natural death.
see thats what i was saying
what the hell is gonna kill you naturally at 22anyway ooh storytime
???
A creature not unlike me appeared to wreak havoc. About a dozen people died because it was trying to attack a building. But then we walked by and it. You know.
I killed it. But it was far too late. I couldn't do anything.
...What were we even doing before that?
hes asking what you were doing before
We just went on a walk together. That was it.
.
.
.
Somehow I don't believe that.
do i
Don't.
Not yet.
wait
hows he meant to become corporeal if the one thing he could possess is that
Which is presumably torn apart in pieces if not totally gone
i dont even know if ghosts can possess organic matter
probably not because if so we wouldve heard about a lot of murderers suddenly doing stupid shit
or walking corpses if said murderers were already dead
I don't know. How am I meant to know that.
maybe you knew something i didnt so i had to ASK im just one person
yes i have been a ghost for a bit but that doesnt mean im THE ghost expert
i wish i wasnt but this is frankly NOT THE TIME FOR THAT
You don't know things so you ASK SOMEONE WHO'S BEEN IN ONE PLACE THIS PAST CENTURY IF NOT MORE?
Wait no
No no no
OH
SOOOO SORRY FOR ASSUMING YOU ARE OH SO KNOWLEDGEABLE AND CAN SOLVE ALL MY ISSUES
YOU MUSTVE GOTTEN THAT A LOT DURING YOUR TIME AS A GLORIFIED TOPIARY
NO NO NO NO NO STOP
AT LEAST I'M STILL ALIVE, AND THE ONE THING I LIVED FOR CAME BACK.
YEAH SO?
IF IT WASNT FOR ME SHOWING UP AND WALKING YOU THROUGH ALL OF THIS YOU WOULDVE NEVER KNOWN THAT
AND YOU WOULDVE STAYED HERE FOR THE REST OF ETERNITYAND AND
GUESS WHAT
I COULDVE BEEN LYING THIS WHOLE TIME
WHAT THEN
STOP
WHAT
THE FUCK
IS THAT THING
Oh. OH MY GOD. I CAN SEE YOU.
ARE WE NOT GOING TO QUESTION THE- THAT?
(I've missed you so much)
(I know)
STOP HUGGING THE MERE SIGHT OF YOU TWO IS GOING TO KILL ME.
.
.im dead.
.
.its going to double kill me
I hate you
yeah yeah whatever
i hate you more
i still feel my question as to WHAT THAT THING IS
HAS GONE A TINY BIT UNANSWERED
What do you mean. That's Levi
HE DID NOT LOOK LIKE THAT A MINUTE AGO
I've seen him like this a million times
whys he not talking and just staring at me
.
.
.
nevermind!
can we stop that stupid argument
i helped you see him even if it was unintentionally
so like
i think that makes up for itwhat did i say this time
Nothing, just... my head hurts a lot.
well its been what
ten years roughly
all the aspirin has expired by now
I remember that one time he ate an entire blister pack of aspirin. Plastic included
i
i dont even
what????
can you be normal now
i mean
not the big snake monster thing
i think im genuinely getting a headache just from looking at you
Fine.
Didn't you say you don't have eyes?
yes
doesnt mean i cant SEE
come on were both ghosts and my ability to see is what youre questioning-
How the hell are you having a headache though?
huh
i never
questioned that.
.
.hjsjhrhahah
What?
What?
hshsjsjsh
WHY DO YOU LOOK LIKE THAT
What about my appearance is so inherently comedic to you.
i dont know what i was expecting
past idk
something real cool and intimidating
not
that
Sigh.
oh my god
are you shorter than me
I'm not.
He's decidedly not.
awh
but like LOOK AT HIM
are you telling me THATS what was under an entire ecosystems worth of plants
Well what's under the TV?
touché
I just killed all those plants didn't I.
I'm sure it's fine
can we leave
i have no idea how you managed to live here for 200 years
everything looks the same and i think i just saw the exact same leaf fall thrice
I guess there's no point in staying here any longer.
oh oh do you want to come see my place
its not that far away
not like
time matters
still
Sure!
(Oh god)
if you just follow me over here
Ow.
sorry
ill just go on ahead for a bit
you guys prolly need some alone time anyway
Of course.
.
.Hey, Levi
Yeah?
Were you holding something just now?
I saw something for a split second
No. Probably just.
A yellow leaf or something, they're everywhere.
How did you know what colour to say?
Almost all leaves here are yellow. Either that or orange.
Way to completely ignore red and brown and purple and all other acceptable leaf colours.
.
.
.It fell, when you died, okay?
What?
The box.
I was still convinced you were unconscious and trying to wake you up.I didn't want you to think the surprise was ruined.
Even if you were gone forever.
How... how would I ever find out if I was theoretically permanently dead?
Oh shut up, let me be sentimental in peace.
This is awkward now. I can't just... take it and give it back.
It's the feeling that counts, I guess.
.
.
.
It's been a really long time.
I know.
And you didn't talk to anyone else?
I just listened.
People would come by and tell me anything they wanted.
That a family member or a pet died, that they had lost their dream job, their house burned down...At some point growing numb is a painful inevitability..
.
.Except once.Someone came by, maybe a few decades ago. They just cried and cried and I didn't know why.
I don't remember if I asked or not.Their family didn't want anything to do with them.That's the first time I moved in god knows how long.
Just so they could have a shoulder to cry on.
I.
I can imagine why.
.
.
.Jacob?
Mhm?
I wish I could've said yes back then.
The answer hasn't changed, it's just...Hard to imagine that it's been that long since when it should've happened.
It's okayIt's not like it matters much anymore
There's no one but us left to even know it should've happened
I was worried when they stopped coming to see me.
Sure, over time it was less and less people, because at some point there's got to be more interesting things to visit.
But then it was a full stop.
By the third month I was worried enough that I finally wandered out.
And there was no one.
Absolutely no one.
And I think I had grieved so much already, heard so much tragedy from others that I...
Couldn't bring myself to care anymore.
Everyone was already gone to me, because you were-
HEY
OVER HERE
YOU WALKED PAST ME
DUMBASSESim gonna do my impression of a little kid on a roadtrip
are we there yet are we there yet are we there yet
are we there yet are we there yet are we there yet
are we there yet are we there yet are we there yetTHE ANSWER IS YES
I'M WALKING BACK
GOD DAMN
You exhaust me.
This is an observatory
yeah
make yourself at home
What is that.
so so so glad you askedAHEM
(Fuck)
so since the internet is down forever
given theres a grand total of zero people to maintain servers and all those tech things you dont give a shit about
ive just constructed a shittier homemade version of google maps
because im not walking all the way to another country just to witness more nothing
This is stupid.
no its not
I'm pretty intrigued actually
see
Sigh.
as i was about to say
do you have any idea how many damn cameras youre watched by on like uhh
your way to the park or whatever idk what you did for fun when you were alive
Like 10??
youve just killed a good percentage of cameras with that because its actually
about 75 cameras a day on big cities like this one
Well, this wasn't a big city.
it wasnt?
Something must've happened in the last 200 years, because this was a small town at best
You know, those ones with like two schools, one university, and an ungodly amount of houses built for nuclear families
We were one of those
Those houses were all too big and expensive so we just went with the one apartment complex in town.
I also didn't want to deal with HOA bullshit
whats that
Oh my god. I'll explain another time
anyway
theres a whole lot of cameras everywhere around the world
and i want to live and explore vicariously through them because:1. walking is a bitch
2. all gasoline is expired so no cars to use
3. i also dont know how to drive
4. also also i never learnt how to ride a bikeso as a self proclaimed master of awesome electronic hackershit i just took control of all of them
Just... all of them?
well not ALL of them im not like
the god of hacking
and also the internet is very much still down so i can only use the wired ones or the ones within bluetooth rangehey levi is there a god of hacking
No.
sad
I haven't seen any of this in so long.
.
.
.
Do either if you mind if I go outside for a moment?
Oh it's fine, do whatever you need to
well live
uhm
not live
well exist
Alright. I'll be back in a bit.
so
so so so so
this is my favourite camera to watch
every day a couple of seagulls pass by
ive set up a feeder to go off at the same time so i always know when to expect them
which would be in a few minutes actually
Why are there seagulls all the way out here?
why are there seagulls in every other parking lot huh
huh
I've never thought about that
well its a big open space and a lot of people pass through there
more people means more food
especially when its the parking lot to a grocery store and
anywhere people would reasonably be carrying food
and since its so open they can see from a mile away (not literally)
if someone drops some of those tasty tasty french fries
Why is it always french fries?
i dont knowanyway wanna do something while we wait for the seagulls
Sure
like uhh
theres this pc ive set up solely for playing hangman
Why??
idk just one of those games i can never get tired of
hold on hold on here comes a word
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
☐☐☐
wowie
What the fuck
go on guess a letter
youve got full reign over the keyboard
Uhm uhmm
UH
O??
_ O _ O _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
☐☐☐
FUCKING
O
YOU GUESSED O
thats gotta be dumb luck
No it's not
It's literally not
you didnt guess a normal vowel like
i dont know
a or e
Since when are vowels classified as normal or abnormal
Is that something you twenty-two-hundreds kids were up to
that doesnt quite apply
i was born on 2190
I mean doesn't referring to someone as a (insert decade) kid mean that they grew up in that time?
Not that they were born back then?
So you would've been 10 on 2200
ive never known if its one or the other
whateverA
_ O _ O _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
☒☐☐
youve got to be kidding me
HAHA. See?
E!
_ O _ O _ _ _ E _ _ E _
☒☐☐
i actually hate you
Ahahahaha-
you know what
weve gotta hurry up or well miss the seagulls
so
S
_ O _ O _ S _ E S S E S
☒☐☐
IM SO GOOD AT THIS
IM LITERALLY SO GOOD
Wait that's
JOYOUSNESSES
J O Y O U S N E S S E S
☑☑☑
NO
I HAD IT I WAS SO CLOSE
HA
So about it being dumb luck
shut up
I'm back.
Hi!
Wh-
What are you doing.
I just won hangman
if it wasnt for me you wouldnt have known what word it was
Humanity is gone and you're playing hangman.
yeah
wait wait wait
look at the camera
That's a huge seagull
yeah they just kept getting bigger
seagulls from your time are tiny compared to these and you still called them big
Why are you watching a seagull.
Isn't an abnormally large seagull interesting?
listen man i have serious emotional investment on these little critters
ive even given some of them names
case in point thats waiter
because it always shows up a minute or two before the rest of the flock without fail
even though the feeder wont go off for a while
What do you even feed them?
whatever canned food i could find
Like sardines?
god no
This looks more like a social experiment than regular birdwatching.
kinda is
sometimes i switch the food up at random and watch them figure it out
ive made them learn how to open cans
like with a can opener
i named the first one who figured it out a++ because of its good grade in can
How come you guys got rid of the HOA but not that awful grading system
I feel afraid.
i still dont know what the hoa is
hold on
i have to take this
That doesn't quite work when you start typing and not, you know, using a phone
Wait.
You mean there's someone else out there.
'someone' is a bit of a stretch
I found another.
oh shit rlly?
does it bleed?
Untested. Remains inactive but appears heavily weaponised.
well then RESTRAIN IGT before it activates and pulls anything
*it
damn it
I brought nothing to restrain it. The encounter was unexpected thus I was unprepared.
uhh....................
hm
where is it
There is nothing nearby that would serve that purpose. I would have already thought of something by now if that was the case.
jus make it bleed then
You do understand the danger that comes with that.
yes ofc i do
Not a question.
whatever
its not like theres a high risj
*risk
you can be rebuilt it cant
simple as that
Alright.
Who is that?
robot
WHAT??
This is getting ridiculous.
oh shut up i did say saying 'someone' was a stretch
so its ultimately your fault for being overly hopeful after being shut down
G/B news?
shit
g
It did not activate when harmed.Bad news: it bleeds.
fuck
What?
SUMMER?
fuck
So, ghosts. They've been really briefly explained, but how exactly do they work?
It's actually surprisingly simple.Ghosts cannot be seen by living people. They can, however, always be very faintly seen by animals
(No, Levi does not count as an animal).In order to be seen, they must possess the object that killed them, if applicable (i.e.: a knife, if they were stabbed). Yes, ghosts can manipulate other things in the environment, but this does not, in fact, count as 'possession'.
Ghosts can also pass through solid matter like walls and floors, just like in the movies.This can get tedious if they're possessing an object while trying to do so.
And, lastly, how are they formed? No one knows!
Ghosts are incredibly rare, to the point there currently seems to be only two of them.We do know they can form months, if not years after their death. A ghost forming after centuries has never occurred before, so Jacob happens to be a (horribly inconvenient) exception.
so
should i be explaining or
YES.
Yeah
okay okay fine
im currently talking to-hold on
P.S.: It is seagull time correct?
uhuh
Update me.
and you berate me over changing topics when i do it huh
When you tell me bad news I feel nothing.
When I tell you bad news you feel bad.
Therefore we should temporarily pivot to something you are interested in so you may mentally recover switfly.So.
Please.
Update me.
...
fiiiiiine
current food is anchovies
waiter is there but no one else has showed up
it showed up real early actually idk what its game plan is
So not yet?
no
Alright.
are you happy with the update about hte seagulls
*the
Yes. Thank you.
no
thank you
\v/
[;D]
anyway
so
humanity might not be as gone as we thought
What???
a few years after the vanishing these weird robot things started showing up
falling? landing? as if a rocket left the atmosphere and right back down but only the latter halfthey just appeared
and some of them bleed when damaged so i can only assume SOMETHING was put into them
Wh-
i know I KNOW its insaneits just
so weird
they seem sentient too but theyre extremely hostile so
i dont know
And the one you're talking to?
not one of those actually
just an average surgery robot that gained sentience
somehow
That's horrific, you mean to tell me that's just- Happening now?
hey
it scares me too
I. I need a moment
fair
i get it
I'll just-
Can I?
...Please.
hold on hold on
hi
again
What is it this time?
something really really big slipped my mind
i cant believe it did
so
can i be honest with you
No. Please lie to me.
shut up
That would be counterproductive.
whatever whatever
you know what im just going to be soooo honest youll be horrified
Woe is me.I cannot feel sorrow. I do not know why I pretended to do so just now.
ill cut to the chase before we derail it
theres others
as in im not the only person "alive" rn and i found out a couple
uh
hours ago i think
time is hard
How.
well one of them is a ghost yknow like me
the other is
complicated
Start with the one you can explain most easily.
right
so this other ghost is from around 200 years ago
i have no clue on how a ghost manifested fucking CENTURIES after dying
Nomenclature?
jacobuhhFUCK
IM AN IDIOT
I DIDNT ASK HIS LAST NAME
And I am led to believe you are not currently in the same location.
i mean
kinda
i told him about all the robot stuff and he freaked out
needs a breather and all
which i completely understand i wouldve done the same
I know.
What about the 'complicated' one?
so
uh
theres this pretty damn well established classification of 'living' things
that includes humans, other animals, and any artificial beings
Wow. I have not seen you use commas in a while.
im not pressing enter over and over when listing things
but that classification right
Right.
what if
theoretically
there was something that didnt fit any of those
Once again. How.
hard to explain
so i was with jacob already when we met this other thing
guy
creature
one of those
apparently they know each other but currently irrelevant
he couldnt see jacob even in the slightest so that discards the animal category
and is very very clearly not artificial
i know machinery when i see it even if its real convincing
So that would only leave human.
thats the thing
it SHOULD be the only thing leftkeyword shouldbut its not
That is quite literally impossible.
exactly what i thought but then
then
not only do i find out that apparently the topiary thing
that
was a living thing that had been sitting there for 200 YEARS
ALIVE
i also find out that he can turn into this big snake monster thing
you do not understand how horrifying that was
looking at it for too long made my head hurt
like the sun but taking out the burnt retinas factor and just the headache
Someone would have found out by now that a creature like that existed.
There would be news reports. Conspiracy theory boards at the very least.
again
THATS THE THING
absolutely fucking NOTHING on it
like we just assumed that plant looking thing was a monument?
without asking who made it? when?and as ive been informed
jacob was killed by a similar creature
so
theres more than one
which again again shouldve made the news SHOULDVE MADE ANYTHING
BUT IT DIDNT
Another species then?
presumablybutnow im kinda scared
Why?
i know i went to visit the mourner once
probably to see what everyone else saw that was oh so interesting
buti dont remember anything at all
even my INTENT is a guess
i just know for a fact i went there and came back out
relieved?
i dont knowthe fact that i dont remember scares me
.
.
.
Do you want to talk, or is silence better?
I don't know
It's just
GOD it's so FUCKED UP
This is all just happening now and I have to be thrown into it full force
I WISH that wasn't the case
Not that I don't want to be here with you it's-
You know what I meant by that
I do.
I guess I just answered your question
Hah
...You did.
You didn't know this was happening either, did you?
I only knew that humans were gone. Not.
This.
I-
.
.
.
I'm grateful that you're here as an ounce of familiarity during...
Whatever this is.
Of course.
It's not like I was going to die anytime soon.
About that, actually.
How did you... find out?
I stood there for long enough that time lost its meaning.
When no one was nearby, it was more like sleeping.
I wasn't conscious, for most of it. I didn't need to be.
When I finally wandered out, I checked just about everything I could.
I stumbled across a calendar that said it was 2214.
So I can only assume that's when everyone vanished.
Yeah. Summer told me that same year.
Funny, isn't it?
Spending so much of my life thinking I was something I fundamentally wasn't...
Only to be rejected by what I was now supposed to belong to.Even after that, rejected once again because I didn't vanish with all of them?
It stings.
You don't have to keep playing this...
Weird tug of war game where both groups actually want to lose
.
.
.
Bad analogy
If I had simply rejected my humanity you wouldn't have died in that way.
But if you had we wouldn't be here together
And that's far more permanent than me just living a full life and dying and oh wow you're alone again
No, scratch that
If you had we wouldn't have gotten to even being friends much less... anything else
.
.
.Do you think this was the best outcome for us?
Of course not
If there's parallel timelines or whatever else then there's definitely at least one outcome that made us happier in the end
But there's also infinitely more tragedies so who are we to complain?
That makes sense.
In a way no matter what you did when you found out we'd already be connected forever anyway
Because, you know
I like when you make bleak situations poetic..
.
.And make bleak things feel loved.
Oh come on, we've been over this
Uh
A long while ago.
.
.By the way
You used your powers for that one, didn't you?
I had no idea back then. But I can only assume so now.
See? So it was because of some stupid subconscious choice that you didn't even know was happening
I did always ask myself how it happened.
Point is that it probably would've gone that way no matter what
So I think in pretty much every universe where that moment happened it-
Well, you're boiling it down to some constant event.
We both know there's a lot more that shaped us after that.
So if we don't even meet in every other universe I don't care.
You're my choice, and I'm glad I made it.
Oh, shut up already
I had a good point and everything and you get all sentimental again
Make me.
You know that's painfully unfair
Of course. My favourite situation.
Agh. I can't tell you to shut up
Keep talking, that'll get me real bad
Whatever you say.
hey
Oh, hi
im not interrupting anything am i
No, you're not
okay cool uh
can i talk to levi real quick
alone i mean
...Fine.
I'll just leave for a moment then
so
Get to the point.
just what ARE YOU
You've asked me that question twenty times. I don't know.
no this is the first time
not counting that other time when i was terrified of you
I keep making you forget you asked, because every time you insist that I should answer.
wh-
I can't answer something I don't know.
so you can make people forget things
Yes.
is
is that why no one remembers th-
Also yes. When I killed that thing, I revealed my true form in a spur of rage. I wasn't thinking.
So I made everyone forget it happened in the first place.
It was the first time I did that, in fact. I didn't know I could beforehand.
what
you dont know the things you can do
It's not inherent knowledge to me. Probably taught to other members of whatever species I am, but since I was raised as a human, I never learnt any of those things.
oh
ii thought youd know more
I really don't know much more than you do. You're not going to get a lot of answers out of me.
wait i do have a question
im certain i went to see you at some point but i remember nothing about it
at all
besides the fact i was therewhat happened?
.
.
.Ah.
So it was you.
what do you mean
Being kicked out was hard on you, wasn't it?
how do you-
You told me.
no i-
was that what i went to you for
was that it
It was bad enough that I felt the need to move for once.
I couldn't let you remember, though. That was a risk.It wasn't a long time from then, that you died, right?
well yeah
living in an abandoned observatory isnt
the safest thing imaginable
youd be surprised at how precarious things get when you shove every piece of technology you can find in there
How did it happen?
im not
ready to tell you that
or anyone for that matter
Then I'm not ready to tell you much more about myself, either.
that
sounds fair
You'll probably learn about me against your will from Jacob, anyway.
rightoh
do you mind if i ask what your full name is
Why?
well itd be rude not to know your last name at the very least
if were gonna be stuck here together for the rest of eternitywait im being a hypocrite
solstice
thats my last name
.
.
.Serpio.
cool
now that thats over with
let me just
walk back
.
.
.That was terrible. Must've taken at least half an hour of retries.
Right-Where did he go.
ive got a bit of an update
I am listening.
not even levi knows what the fuck he is
Levi?
did i not
tell you his name
No.
We got carried away by the sheer impossibility of a new type of living being.
yeah
we did
anyway so from what i just learnt
he was raised as a human so presumably
he never knew he wasnt
up until he found out somewhere along the way
Makes sense. Why would he not be raised by his own species, though?
that i did not find out
he did tell me that the reality bending powers that species seems to have
are taught
like if we were never taught to speak we wouldnt know how
so they dont know either until someone comes along and shows them
I cannot relate to simply not knowing things.
haha
real funnyoh
i also know that his last name is serpio
maybe you could have some luck with looking him up
I will try.
Did you learn anything else?
not reallywait
right
What?
levi does has the ability to make people forget things
thats why no one remembers jacob being killed by that thing
and why no one questioned the weird topiary
And your visit to it?
yeah
that too
apparently i was oh so sorrowful that he decided to move
and like
yknow
be generally alive
but he couldnt let me remember that obvs
I see.
i thought itd be more awful and horrifying
but it makes sense it would just be that
i dunno
its just weird that theres this point in time
where i dont remember anything i said
but someone else doeshhhh whatever
any luck
It will take a good while.
We are talking about looking up someone from 200 years ago here.
right
i mean how long ago was the hospital you were made for built
Oh. You are right. Longer than that.
so it should be faster to try and look him up
in the hospital records instead
like yeah maybe he didnt ever go there but who knows
I have found that he decidedly exists.
wow
i couldnt have guessed
Huh.
what
Apparently he was admitted at the same time as someone named Jacob Oakley. Same incident left both of them injured.
bingo
those are our guys
any details
Shards of glass to the face. Ouch.
I would not know how painful that is.
oh wow
how the fuck did they even do that
Says who?
HA
okay fine fine you got me
You things get injured so much. Is it fun?
NO?????
wait a second
?
i said wait a second you can interrogate me later
Those damned interrogations!
what
why did you do that
Why did I do what?
the
!
that thing
Am I not allowed to exclaim now?
it looks weird and uncanny on you
It appears I am doomed to never type up a representation of me speaking loudly.
What a horrible, terrible fate this is.
At least I have question marks???
are you done
Look at you, not even bothering to punctuate your question. Are you against any poor little typographical guys?
yeah yeah and youre allergic to the concept of an uhh
'
that other thing
That (') is called an apostrophe. Also, you are being a hypocrite.
fully aware
anyway can i go now?
Much better. Go along then!
sigh
why are you here
Oh you know just checking in making sure that-
no
why are you here
how actually
thats a better word than why
I-
How do you expect me to know?
listen im just looking for any semblance of an explanation at this point
whatever made you come back uh
ghosts dont DO THAT
.
.
.
its not like im the self proclaimed ghost expert or whatever but
even i know there has to be SOMETHING that brought you back
I mean
I'd place my bets on Levi having something to do with it.
Quite adept at paradoxes, that one.
wait did you
say something really quietly or
No, what do you mean?
You're bleeding.
i can hear something
Summer, are you-
YOU'RE BLEEDING.
why does it hurt again
YOU'RE BLEEDING.
WHY DOES IT HURT AGAIN
SUMMER-!
.
.
.Quite adept at paradoxes, that one.
Another place.
Another time.
Rain and thunder and wind and blood
Humans are confusing to me.
They make things in their image. Even when otherwise would be more convenient. More efficient.
I was designed to be a surgery robot. To traverse flat. Tiled. Floors.
In that scenario. Why give me legs? I need not traverse harsh uneven terrain like other robots do..
.
.I suppose. Were that not the case. I would not be all the way out here today..
.
.That is. However. Not the point I am making.
I can see the functionality in me having legs. They still work. It may not have been the most efficient for my original duties. But they are there for a purpose.Humans are oft scared creatures. I could picture them being frightful of being operated on by something unlike them.So they made me the slightest bit more alike..
.
.What purpose does it serve to make a robot bleed?
I have never seen one of you land so horribly. That glass on you seems important. And it is completely shattered.
Hold on.
Summer I am unprepared.
And yet you leave me alone here. With this thing.
Woe is me.
Where is Summer when they are needed.
Right. Summer is a friend of mine. If you were wondering..
.
.I am talking to an inactive robot. That crash landed and will presumably never be active again.
God. I am just as unhinged as they are. Loneliness is getting to me.Sigh.I wonder what your name is.
Do you have a name?.
.
.You have some sort of designation written on you. But it's all scratchy and faded.
Presumably from the damage you sustained.It starts with CIRP though. I wonder if you would consider that your name..
.
.My model was mass produced. Even if I may be the only one that gained sentience. I could not bring myself to consider it a name when thousands of others also could.I did not have one for the longest time.Summer always used to tell me that we were-
//::;:..///////::__//
Oh shit.
Shit. Fuck.
SUMMER?
I AM EXPERIENCING AN EMERGENCY.
IT IS ACTIVATING.SUMMER?
////// // // /::. :__///
WHERE ARE THEY.
NO-