No matter what I do, I find myself back infront of the typewriter, jabbing at the keys. Desperately trying to find the path forward, the narrative that will lead us to the end of this horror story - but this other presence, this co-author is stopping me at every turn. I've had to deal with a ghostwriter before now, but this, this is different. Everything I write - every plot element, every shining light in the darkness - he is there, at every twist and turn and snuffs it out. I write, and I write, and none of it matters - his plan, his story keeps going, he is in control here. No matter what I do, more people keep dying, good people. Revy. Bradimir. Maximillion. Ciel. Sothoth.

The seals, the damn seals, everyone keeps playing into his hands and breaking them, getting one step closer to his goal at every opportunity while everyone else is distracted by the shining lights in their eyes. Nobody knows what they're messing with, not even Sothoth did. I don't trust the Hustler - but I don't think they'll do anything truly disastrous with their newfound Liturgic power.

I'm a writer. I write. Writing is the key. I have to keep writing. No matter what, I have to keep writing. Just a few more pages. Just a few more drafts. I'll get this right. I'll get this write, ha ha. I will write a way out of his horror story. My words versus his. Typeface versus cursive. In a horror story, the villain always finds his end. Eventually. No matter the cost.

---

...Ah, I'm sorry, but I'm going to be a bit sparse in describing my evening. I'm a little distracted. I had planned to go investigate the woods once again, but the blizzard scuppered those plans.

I mostly spent my evening down in the basement - uh, the regular basement, not the extremely deep basement, that is - looking for more information on some of the more... relevant types of esotera. Other than a brief chat with BPI-2300 in the Control Department, the only other person I saw all night was Phenera early on. I'm sorry I can't be of more help.

Can I present my CCTV on the Occultic Seal?

Sorry to doublepost but also

Can we check the slippery spot and the lantern? Does it seem like there's anything mixed in with the ice?
Is the river itself made more slippery at all?

Check the Museum Hall and Sleep Lab for any signs of a KO or tools that could be used to knock someone out.

You check the Museum Hall and the Sleep Lab... The only thing you can see in here that's out of the ordinary is a trail of pizza rolls leading into the Stairway to Heaven. Nothing in either area really looks like you could use it to bonk someone, unless you smashed someone's head on a display or something.

Investigate the Slippery Bridge ™ by the Survey Dorm for blood stains

You head outside to inspect the bridge by the Survey Dorm. Carefully walking over it, you inspect it for bloodstains - however... the bridge isn't slippery at all. No more slippery than a normal snowy bridge. It's not even particularly icy. There's not any bloodstains though.

Can I present my CCTV on the Occultic Seal?

You present your CCTV on the Occultic Seal.

Spooks' screen shifts... to reveal nothing but static and strange symbols. You stare at the video, confused, and give Spooks' head a shake, hoping you can fix the picture - much to his dismay. Still, nothing appears to change.

Sorry to doublepost but also

Can we check the slippery spot and the lantern? Does it seem like there's anything mixed in with the ice?
Is the river itself made more slippery at all?

You join Hustler on the bridge, sharing a mutual glare of disdain. Still, the bridge is... fine. It's not slippery at all. There's also no lantern that you can see whatsoever.

Check BPI-1650 (wherever it is) and the containment room it was originally in

What things in 1650 room?
Riki also want to look at west bridge for slip slip.

Check BPI-1650 (wherever it is) and the containment room it was originally in

You check on BPI-1650. It's sitting on the Stairway to Heaven, a pad of paper and pen next to it. Also next to it is a big pile of pizza rolls and some rotting beef. It looks to be well-fed and in good spirits.

Inside BPI-1650's containment room, you see... what looks like a bunch of empty battery casings, as well as an oil lantern.

This post was last modified: May 6, 2024 at 12:05 AM by Morgan.

Can I see if I can make a block of ice slippery by holding the lantern over it for a while?
Editing in, can we source the lantern from anywhere? maybe the mines or the underground or boathouse

Tinkaton doesn't have much to say about her night - you've already seen most of it. For starters, she wore her Hawk mask. as well as a special coat that was her Christmas gift. She had been saving the latter just in case she needed it, and tonight was the right time. Unfortunately it didn't help her as much as she had hoped. She left her dorms as the lights went out and she slowly made her way through the building, bumping into someone in the lobby on the way. She couldn't tell who. The power came back on as she made it to the chapel, passing by Morgan on the way inside.

In the chapel, our victim, Walmart John, was doing...whatever it was he was doing. He wasn't harming anything, so Tinkaton let him be and just leaned against the wall, preparing to guard the seal. Walmart John eventually left to head to his ultimate demise, while Pea called out from the seal room. As she listened to him, Nashu rolled in dressed as a Dark Souls II knight...whatever that is. And, well, you've already seen that. Even with her shotgun, Tinkaton wasn't really prepared to take down a suit of armor, so the fight unfortunately ended with her being knocked out, the flames threatening to consume her.

That...was the end of her night. She woke up back in her bed later on. Apparently Nancy had found her in the doomed chapel and rescued her, returning her to her room. Tinkaton likes Nancy. She wanted to see 23 too, though...where is he?

Show off my lithium

Can I poke around for 23 for a minute? I'll check the Occultic Seal, Lab Zero, and the Esotera Lab

This post was last modified: May 11, 2024 at 10:33 PM by DxHustler3000.

........



Alright, that's enough of that. Time is short, and testimony is essential.

---

Tonight, my ambitions were simple - destiny, and liberation. I started with the latter. Dodo's aspirations left a mark on me in our short time as close colleagues, and in his spirit I have sought out another bird victimised by this facility's cruel practices. On my way to free him and offer him my company and mutual protection, I saw our guest Fairy with Nashu in the Facility Lobby. By the Control Department, I saw... Nancy. I'll have to swing back to that later.

Upon meeting my new blessed friend, I healed him and broke the chains that bound him. He is not in debt to me, and he is not my pet - I freed him as an act of good will. Though he seeks to work under me, this is purely out of his own nature as a man of reason, and observer of fair trade. To reflect this, we make our way to the Lockers, giving him a visage reminiscent of, perhaps, a previous life. He reminds me of an old colleague!

Our next mission is the storming of the Chapel and dismantling of the Liturgic Seal. My reasoning is simple. Seals are fragile - easily broken by sheer strength of will or action. It is not a suitable vessel at all, even considering the hard work of its defenders. I, however, am much less prone to such trivial things. There are many dangerous forces surrounding us, preventing our freedom. Some can be annihilated by the supreme force of Liturgy; others will seek to destroy it; and some have been birthed by it. It's not a power I wish to see abused or mishandled by the uninitiated.



I pray you can see why this was so important to me, and why I took the steps I did to secure it. It was for the greater good.

To celebrate our victory, me and my comrade head north, to the Boathouse. I retrieve a can of gas, and my friend retrieves flowers from the Arboretum. My only witness is the Retcon Fairy, who was doing something indescribable out on the lake. With our collections made, we then return to the Director's Office, where I prepare an appropriate meeting room. Seven thrones. One left to fill.

And, of course, who should show up but Morgan - my very own Judas. I see now that he is a lost cause entirely, and I apologise for such a massive misuse of my faith. I was wrong to trust him, but I have grown stronger from his betrayal. For his own sake, I pray that tonight was our last bladed encounter. He made such a mess of my display, too...

And with that, we grew tired and cold from a busy day of Hustling. We retire to my dorm, and I grant my friend safety and comfort under my blanket. I will cherish him for eternity. My poor, sweet, holy bird, may your lost soul find solace in our new purpose.

Whatever.

Dex, help us out.

Dodo's gone. So's Hazel. Niles too. It's just you and me now.

...It's a waste of time to sit around and mope about the past. Clinging to 15 minutes of fame, or people you wish you treated better before they got ripped away by this masked asshole. But... remember what I said earlier? Before Dodo... you know, he left me his necklace, and he left me a note. Right next to the ginger ale, where he knew I'd find it.

To my favorite human,

Those who turn to the gods in search of hope will always be disappointed.
Hope is something you can only give yourself. Do not let gods or fate shape your life.
Seize them, and wield their sword to cut a path for yourself.

Be strong. You are better than you think you are.

-- Father Dodo

I dunno what that motherfucker saw in me, I don't think I was ever anything besides an asshole to him. For no real reason either, just like everyone else. I'm not gonna pretend like I know what the big lug was thinking, but he's right. I don't care if we're all destined to die out here in the middle of nowhere - I'm gonna kick destiny's ass.

So, let's go. Can't stop now, not when there's mysteries to solve. Maybe this necklace thing'll bring me good luck, maybe I'll be wrong as ever. Can't hurt to find out, huh? That's right, in honor of everyone who's bit the dust so far, it's time for a special episode.

Presenting... Dexter Hexley: Paranormal Investigator - Season 9, Episode 7: A Cold Reception!



There's been a lot of talk about slippery bridges, lanterns, whatever the hell an "iRaft" is - but let's get serious, people. The hell kind of murderer just sets up a basic slip and fall incident? That's some insurance fraud shit, not murder. I don't buy it for a fucking second, especially considering more than one guy apparently crossed that stupid bridge and ended up totally fine. Nah, there's some obfuscation at play here. My guess? the lantern was a red herring.

Think about it, visibility's already low as hell. If you wanna make sure people are paying attention to something, you set up a big glowing beacon - the one thing people actually might be able to notice in that ungodly shitstorm out there. Yeah, anyone who went outside would've been staring at that thing - and away from the murder. Doubly so if you set up some kind of fake trap, like whatever apparently made the bridge slippery.



Now, alright. Riddle me this - who's our source for the lantern? The slippery bridge? Yeah, that's right. One guy. Morgan. All he did was set up that whole thing, using shit he easily could've grabbed thanks to his winter outfit - which MIGHT I ADD, he only has because he is literally a cold-blooded murder. Like seriously, what the hell?



Anyway, it was simple. He sets up this bullshit fake trap, designed specifically to draw attention, and what does he do? Using his superior vision and cold resistance, he smashes that Walmart guy over the head elsewhere, claims he heard a fake-ass yelp from the trap that conveniently only he knows about, and just drags him over to the lake. Grabs a raft, grabs a knife, stabs him, and sets up the scene to look like he was moved.

I mean seriously, the hell is his alibi? He was in the woods? Who does this guy think he is, another washed-up writer? Nah.



Morgan! You got lucky once, motherfucker. It ain't happening again. Give it up, asshole!

If Riki start at Survey bridge, can Riki ride raft down river?

Riki want to grab Walmart Hom Hom for this. First, Riki ride and steer raft with both Heropon and Hom Hom in it. Then, Riki start at Survey bridge again, and try to push Hom Hom down river alone with no Riki guidance.

Where Hom Hom end up for both? One same as where friends find earlier?

This post was last modified: May 6, 2024 at 1:09 AM by Giffany.

Spoiler: Show

...................

Dodo is dead... He succumbed to the sam̴̡̪̦̞̞̓̀͛̓͝e̸͇͊̈͝ ̸̨̛͖̦͎̖̏̂̏f̷̱̩̖͚͂o̷̤͚͗̓ṙ̸͍̤̠̎͒ć̷̮e̴̡͙͕͍͝ that they... That I...

Another seal has been broken... Hustler claims needing, one more to sit beside them...

There is still a Crimson Eye agent in the, facility... They might have revived, Gus Odean...

Another, anomaly has been killed... The Ritual is only, continuing...

How is any of this...

.................

Is this what the, Bureau envisioned? Their research into "Killing Games" and, "esotera", did they believe it was, without risk? Did Mr. Sinclair believe that this, was worth it?

C̵̰̈̌́a̷͉͕̬͐̇͝n̶̩̩̻͎̂̏ ̸̳̆͐̈͋̓̃I̶̜͂͘͠ ̸͙͉̟̈́͝e̴̖̬̞͈̩̓̐͜v̷̡̲̀͆e̴̮͍͙̙̽̅͂̿̕r̷͎̞̽̈́̐̈́̓͜ͅ ̷̪̹͉̪͎̆̑͝ṯ̶͊́̿̾͜r̷̞̘̜͉̜͊͌ͅu̸̢̪͈̞̟̓͌̚ş̴̛̙̯̙̖̹̈̈́̉͂͒t̸̛͖͐̄͛̿ ̷̦͚͌̿͂͗͛ä̷̹̹̪̪́, ̷̡̧͔̫̆p̵̛͎̫̈́̇̀͂͘r̸͇̪͌̀̄̽̓͘o̴͖͔̣̯͑͂͘t̵̡̡͕̟̠̹̽̔̎̄̿ô̶͔̯̆̈́̈́͜c̷̭͓̉̂̈́̕o̴̬̍̂̈́̈́̓̐l̴͈̀̽́́ ̷̪͗͑̋̾͐̏ạ̷̹͈͊̂́̓̂ḡ̵̮͚͙̺̖̝̓̀̊ä̶̳̈́̄͠i̸͉̚ņ̵̘͚͔͚͘͜?̸͉͐̔̄̑̋̚

...............


Hello, everyone! It has been an eventful week! I am a little, frazzled. Especially after the events of the last two days. I am sorry about that!

I have already given a, shortened account of my night. I am happy to assist with any further clarifications. For now, I want to ask Miss Partridge some, questions. Where is, The Hunter? And why is this outcome the, best outcome for the Seal? There is, a lot you are not telling us right now! I think it is helpful to answer these important questions!

What is the condition of the, blood in the raft? Is there a substantial amount of pooling? How cold is it? These are, very normal questions to ask!

does john's blood taste like beef stroganoff?

Sure, Dex. Good start.

Can I get someone to fall off the bridge for me? I'd like to see if I can hear it from where I was standing when I heard that Thud sound.

Sure, Dex. Good start.

Can I get someone to fall off the bridge for me? I'd like to see if I can hear it from where I was standing when I heard that Thud sound.

Don't look at me.

Sure, Dex. Good start.

Can I get someone to fall off the bridge for me? I'd like to see if I can hear it from where I was standing when I heard that Thud sound.

Don't look at me.

No, you're getting involved now, you spoke first.

I volunteer to go fall off the bridge and see if Alan Wake can hear me from where I heard the Thud.