@dr; text

[donttalktome]

This is Dr. Ingram, for those who are new. I won't waste time with pleasantries here, as I'm not exactly in the mood.

It perhaps goes without saying that I didn't expect to be the one telling you all this.
Winters would've likely phrased it in his usual well-meaning, forthright way.
But he's not here anymore, so you get what you get.

Let's start off by correcting a misconception.
I don't like Robin, and I probably never will.
We don't get along, and though I see she's neglected to share the particulars on that subject, this doesn't seem like the best time to clarify.
But you see, while I don't like her, and I don't exactly trust her, I'm also not stupid enough to think that what she's doing up there is pointlessly malicious.
She isn't toying with us simply for her own amusement, and at the moment she isn't threatening us, but I swear to whatever nonsense ancient deity you worship that if you lot manage to antagonize her into a reset, I will personally blame you.
And yes, I will likely still be around to do so.
(Your security is better this time, Miss Keeper, but let's remember that nobody's perfect.)

But that's digressing.
I suppose it might be understandable that you think she's lying about being useful, given that you haven't been told what her purpose is.
She mentioned that she was watching for something, but not what that something is.
Somethings. Plural.
They don't have a name, at least not one we know, but over the years some unfortunates no longer with us have decided to call them the World Eaters, on the assumption that they might've had something to do with the state this world is currently in.
A bit dramatic if you ask me, but it gets the job done.

What we know about these entities is scarce.
They are massive, they are ruthlessly destructive, and they cannot be reasoned with.
They are attracted to clusters of activity, of light, because that's what they feed on.
You can see why all of this might be a problem for us specifically.

If the World Eaters reach Beacon, they will wipe us off the map with much more permanence than Robin could ever manage.
This place will no longer be a viable "home" for anyone unlucky enough to survive, and we don't know if there is another.
At the moment, we strongly doubt it.
As it stands, Beacon and its lighthouse, the bonfire, the lanterns— they might very well be the last sources of light on this planet.
If the World Eaters snuff them out, then that's it.

Eventually, they always catch wind of our presence. There's just too much here for them not to notice.
And that, for those of you who haven't put two and two together yet, is why resets occur.
Lantern light seems to attract them the most.
By eliminating the concentration of it, the World Eaters can be thrown off the scent yet again, for a while, at least.
Groups who aren't making progress toward a solution are reset early, because they'd only die anyway when the World Eaters find them and it isn't worth the risk.

By my estimations and those of others, we have roughly 22-24 months.
It's a generous time limit, but it is a time limit.
Do not forget it.
And don't give her a reason to reset us beforehand.

I'm willing to answer questions, but potentially not stupid ones.
And don't expect any reassurances.
Winters and his confidence in you are both gone.

Comments

text | @cgriffin

[colonists]

[ ...what in the actual hell is this. this is almost too much to process, and vague enough that it's telling them something while not really telling them anything at all.

except that they have 22-24 months. ]

Where are these 'World Eaters'? Where do they come from?

I know you said information on them is scarce, but there has to be more known about them if they're the ones who've been responsible for the multiple resets of this place.

[donttalktome]

No idea, and no idea.
You did read my message, right?
If anyone here knew more about them, they've long since been obliterated.
The fact that these things have something to do with the state of the world is mere speculation.
It's an educated guess though, seeing as how they seem to eat light.
A resource this world is quite obviously lacking.

@rlutece

[originallutece]

Chilling, but precise.

Can they be killed?

[donttalktome]

I've never seen anyone try.
Granted, I've never seen one in person.
Our group was reset early, if you'll recall.
I wouldn't imagine it's something any of us could do, even if it were possible.

@mollymauk

[mollymocked]

would you consider asking what the fuck a reset is a stupid question?

if it's somewhere on this bloody device, you really have to know that i'm not a big reader and personally i'd rather hear the answer from someone as charming as you are.

[no need to measure your cheek dick here, molly.]

[donttalktome]

[Cheek dick... what a horrifying mental image...]

I suppose no one's talked about it in a while.
It's when Miss Keeper up there decides we're out of time or making no progress and has the forest spirits kill us all.
They also trash the place so that it's more or less back to its original unexplored state.
And yes, it really is as unpleasant as it sounds.

@keeper; text

[beaconkeeper]

Thanks for this. And for the confidence in me.

Which is what I'm choosing to take this as! We're starting over as far as I'm concerned.

Here's hoping this puts us all on the same page.

[donttalktome]

[UGH don't be nice to him???]

Take it as whatever you want.

[That's the closest you're getting, sorry Robin.]

Text, @hello

[lunchbreaks]

Dearest Dr. Ingram,
I wonder what the point was of not having disclosed this information sooner, but I suppose that is in the past.

If you will need to restore this world in order to proceed in moving our souls to our respective afterlives then I will assist you.

What weapons have been gathered in anticipation of the World-Eaters?
Sincerely,
Aziraphale

[donttalktome]

Oh good christ.
This isn't a letter.
Just type.
We held it back to avoid an immediate panic.
It's happened in the past.
There's a lot to learn here, and this is the worst of it.
I'm not the one in charge of restoring the world, that's a collective task, but I suppose your assistance is noted.
As far as I'm aware, there are no weapons capable of harming them.

@dclaire

[consecrates]

you're still likely to be here after this reset.
but i'm assuming everyone else won't be.
why is that?
aren't we all dead, like what winters said?

[donttalktome]

Because I happen to know how to survive.
And no, I'm not sharing.
Somewhat defeats the purpose.
In any case, whether we're dead or not, and we probably are, there's apparently a state beyond death.
Call it whatever you want, but not everyone comes back when they're "killed" here.
Typically after a reset, no one does.

[callada]

Much appreciated.

Is there any record of what past groups have already tried?

[donttalktome]

Nothing concrete, at least not that I know of.
Vaguely I know that they've tried to "fix" the world, but without a way to remove or redirect the World Eaters, that sort of solution probably wouldn't last very long.

@hierophant

[trivialpursuit]

What provokes her to reset early, exactly? It isn't arbitrarily deciding we're too slow, I hope.

@riku

[equinoctials]

Robin says she doesn't make the decision lightly.
It's usually an unsalvageable situation, like everyone trying to kill each other, or unable to get anything done because they're too busy infighting.

text | @kol

[unpredict]

[ world eaters! sound fun. he can't wait to meet them. ]

Why is it you don't trust Robin?

[ as someone who has come from numerous family squabbles, been left out of things because of damaged relations... he's curious. besides, knowing who he's playing with is much more important than knowing how to rid the "planet" of a ridiculously named creature. ]

[donttalktome]

I've all but said, but alright, I'll do the math for you.
My group was reset early.
A reset entails everyone in town being hunted down and killed by forest spirits.
I don't trust her because she tried to murder me.

@javert, text

[policier]

You say you don't know much about these creatures. But what about the other groups, the ones that were previously reset? Do you think they may have left some clues behind?

( Surely they must have made some progress, even if it was ultimately a failure. )

[donttalktome]

It's entirely possible.
My group was somewhat problematic, and we never found anything, but yours might have better luck.
None of you have yet devolved into pointless murder sprees, so that's a start.

@scientia; text

[reigniter]

[So she is immature enough to flip the switch just because a bunch of people loudly say they don't like her. Good to know he wasn't wrong on that one if he was wrong on everything else. Ignis will mark this down.

He does, however, know how to set his priorities.]

So what do we do?

We can't go after them, clearly, because we are not equipped.
We can't kill them if they come after us.

Do we just continue exploring the region? Perhaps draw attention away from the Beacon that way?
I would prefer not to re-explore already explored parts. That's a waste of time.

[Yes, that's a jab towards Keeper's "you'll get bored if I reveal everything" from the previous post.

If he appears not rattled by it- let's just say he fought an immortal being once and put a dent in it. For a price, of course, but still.]

[donttalktome]

That's a good start, yes.
Ultimately what we need to do is find a solution.
Figure out how to survive them, how to get rid of them, something.
It's possible the previous groups, or even the original inhabitants of this world, knew something we don't.
If that's true, we need to find it.

@kingofwei

[pure_havoc]

oh. how absolutely delightful

[there is no mistaking the sarcasm, it's too easy this time. he also doesn't offer anything else yet, he wants to see if the good doctor agrees]

[donttalktome]

Yes it's quite the lovely situation we've found ourselves in, isn't it?
But it is what it is.

[equinoctials]

[ 22-24 months. Two years at the most. It's not himself Riku thinks about, it's about Sora, and the promise between them. He can't be the light that guides him back here if a reset wipes them out. ]

I can see why you'd wait to tell us. It's a lot to swallow. Out of any options, that one was the only move wise enough to make.

You said your group didn't last long. That means you guys lack as much information about the groups that came before you as we do. That's too bad. I wonder how many people were lost just making the same mistakes, not knowing any better.

There's someone who is in Beacon from the time before the darkness came. Am I right in assuming they're native to this world? Anyone ever asked them if they know anything about what these World Eaters are?

[donttalktome]

[Hm. He's not used to people agreeing. He thought they'd all be mad. This is weird?]

At least someone's got their head on straight.
You're right in that we didn't get all that much further than you have.
Unfortunately I don't know much about this person, Robin hasn't seen fit to share.
I wouldn't know how to contact them, but if they are a native of this world, it's likely they'd know at least something.

@darkness

[evulsed]

Everything returns to darkness.

This is stupid. Why not just leave and find another world?

[ This seems obvious to Vanitas, a world hopper himself... ]

@scientia; (just gently intrudes)

[reigniter]

Because they will follow. Simple.

If you can leave, why couldn't they?

We are dead, however. I doubt there are many places we can go to from here.

@freddie1967

[sauntered_downward]

Why don't we just go back? We got here, we can leave!

[donttalktome]

What a genius idea.
How has no one ever thought of this before?
Oh, wait, they have.
When you find a way out of here, you come back and let me know.

@helsing

[kungfuey]

If you haven't seen one how were you convinced the threat is real?

[donttalktome]

I said I hadn't seen one in person.
But I have seen them.

@jtodd

[mind_blown]

you don't trust her, but that is a lot of trust i'm seeing.
you're exempted for the same reason then, you took some sort of contract?

[donttalktome]

Contract? What the hell are you talking about?
If you're insinuating that she's replaced Winters with me, that's not the case at all.
As it stands there is no one chosen to lead the next group, assuming there will be one.
I'm not exempt from anything, and I don't trust her.
I trust that she isn't an idiot, and that she shares a common goal with us, but her personally?
No.

[sunborne]

[ oh no. oh no oh no oh no-

daylight tries to keep calm to ask his questions, any of them, but he's honestly just trying to not freak out right now.

in the end, this is what he manages to get: ]

I'm sorry that you and the others had to hold this back from us when we first came in. It must have been difficult to keep that away from us while we tried to settle down. Used up time we could have used to try and make progress on this.

[donttalktome]

We thought it prudent to sacrifice time for the sake of stability.
It would've been a bit much to toss all of this on you at once.
I know from experience.

@Grandmaster

[paletteswap]

Are previous "Beacon" locations still accessible?

[donttalktome]

I don't know that there were previous locations.
It's possible that this was simply the only safe place left after the disaster that left this world dark.
If there are other locations, I don't know where, unfortunately.

[moderatelymaladjusted]

By your estimations. And others. Who are the others?

Did your group write any of this down somewhere? Or, carved it in to a tree? What did your group do with the information when you were told about this?

[donttalktome]

People no longer with us.
A few members of the last group before yours.
And no they didn't write it down, they were too busy killing each other.
Which started to be a problem once they were told that light attracts the monsters.
Hence our hesitation to spill that particular secret immediately.

[pearlstrings]

Do you imagine that your plutonium might make a return to the museum?

[donttalktome]

Well it isn't mine, strictly speaking.
It isn't the museum's, either.
Nice try, but that was missing when my group found the place, too.
I suppose it's possible that the Postmaster has been holding onto it that long, but I have my doubts.
Which leaves us with the further mystery of who might be collecting the stuff. And perhaps more importantly, from where.

@parker — text.

[webshoots]

I have some questions.

[ because of course he does. ]

1. Do we know if they're destroying other worlds in between "being attracted" to this one?

[ like, honestly, that's the most important question here. it’s great and all, being worried about what’s going to happen to a dead planet full of already dead people, ASSUMING THAT IS THE FULL TRUTH, but what about the not-dead planets full of not-dead people? THAT ALSO seems like a concern. there's also the question of if they're capable of travelling outside of this creepy death realm of more death, but he'll come back to that one. ]

2. What constitutes as progress? We’ve established that murder is the opposite of that (but murder tends to be the opposite of progress in most places), but that seems like a very low bar.

3. And can you clarify what you mean they'll wipe us off the map with MORE permanence than Robin? Don't get me wrong, I like that little nugget of hope buried at the end there, but I'm trying to reconcile the idea of: we're dead, here; we die MORE when Robin resets the town. How is there an even more dead than that? I must have missed the class where we covered the graduated scale of no-longer-living.

[donttalktome]

Of course you do.
1. It's entirely possible, but I have no way of knowing for sure.
2. It is a fairly low bar, from what I understand. You'd have to ask her for the specifics.
3. I meant that they'll do more than just kill us and reset the town. They'll eradicate it. And us with it.
Whatever the step beyond our current state is, there's no coming back from it, at least not here.

text; @kingsknight

[broplaints]

So why are you still around?
Why'd she pick the three of you to survive the resets?

[donttalktome]

She didn't pick Rastus.
Apparently he's just immune somehow, probably because of his station as the bonfire keeper.
And she didn't choose me, I cheated.
She picked Winters as a leader for the next group.

@hopper | text

[magnumpi]

[ This... is a bit much. More than he's willing to digest right away. ]

"This planet"? What planet are we on, exactly? And if lanterns attract these... things, why did we all get one when we got here?

[donttalktome]

I don't know its name, assuming it has one.
And we have them, presumably, because they keep us alive.
And no, I don't feel like arguing the semantics of the word "alive".

@cuttingedge; text

[knifecollecting]

Would Winters have told us sooner? What do you two think you're playing at, not telling us something like this?

How can we keep them from sensing the lanterns? Will splitting up help?

[donttalktome]

No, he probably wouldn't have.
And what we think we're "playing at" is a little game called Let's Try To Keep Everyone From Losing Their Collective Shit.
As far as I know, we can't keep them from sensing us.
Splitting up is a stupid idea. You'd die long before you got far enough for it to matter.