(1/6) kpwlt 2024/01/23(Tue)05:47 No. 1081684 ID: 127310
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Your name is Rose Marshall. You have just attended your uncle's funeral. You are currently standing by his open grave.

Your maternal uncle, George Duckweed, was an odd fellow. He very seldom appeared at family gatherings, even when he was invited. You really got the sense that he was disliked by much of the family, though he was always kind to you. Nobody knew whether or not he had any children, spouse, job, or house. He was a bit like you, in that regard, aside from the fact that he definitely had a car.

(2/6) kpwlt 2024/01/23(Tue)05:47 No. 1081685 ID: 127310
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After your assortment of aunts, uncles, and cousins had dispersed, a man very clearly not related to you approaches. He gazes at you gently through his round glasses.

"Terribly sorry to interrupt this moment of solemn reflection for you, Ms Marshall." You wouldn’t have called it that, but whatever. “My name is Milton Falk. I was Mister Duckweed’s lawyer. It might interest you to know that your uncle left you his house. Now, while it's definitely liveable, it's not exactly finished, but if you're anything like Mister Duckweed, you should be able to finish it off without too much trouble or cost to yourself."

"If you're interested in taking a visit to the house before deciding whether or not you want it, give me a call at any time."

The man pushes his card into your hands and walks off.

(3/6) kpwlt 2024/01/23(Tue)05:47 No. 1081686 ID: 127310
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A couple of months later, you decide to call Falk. His car pulls up in front of the library you made the call in within the hour.

Falk’s car is clean and empty, aside from a bloated manila folder exuding a cloud of dust on the back seat.

The drive is smooth, but long. After what feels like a couple of hours, you have departed from civilisation. There is now only one road that stretches to the horizon, and the view out the window is desolate.

You tire. You give in to the embrace of sleep.

(4/6) kpwlt 2024/01/23(Tue)05:48 No. 1081687 ID: 127310
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You are eventually woken by the car stopping.
You both exit the vehicle.

Before you is the house. All around you is nothing. Seemingly not in a metaphorical sense. The sky is white, as is the ground, which looks to have the texture of concrete.

(5/6) kpwlt 2024/01/23(Tue)05:48 No. 1081688 ID: 127310
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“Well, feel free to take a look around. I’m afraid I can’t stay, but when you’re done, give me a call and I’ll come right away. I'd say give yourself a day to make up your mind. Anyway, you don't need to call me unless you don't want the house, but if you do..."
At this point he hands a second card and the housekey.

MILTON FALK
Property Lawyer - KP Legal
Email: falkmilton@kplegal.net
Phone: 4

After this, he drives off.

(6/6) kpwlt 2024/01/23(Tue)05:48 No. 1081689 ID: 127310
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After entering the house and fiddling with the lights, you spot an elaborate layout of pieces of paper on the ground, right in the way of the hall.

The first is a note.
"Dear Rose,
Welcome to my house! I've been building it over the past few years, just for fun. It's yours now, and I'm afraid if things are the way they were when I wrote this note, it's not quite finished. It's completely built, but it's not real at the moment. Your job is to realise it. Bring it into the real world. It won't be as physically demanding as building it, but you will need to work hard. The house just needs a bit of tender loving care. Live in it for a bit, it'll show you its woes soon enough.
Love from,
Uncle George"

He's signed his name with a flourish.

The next three are maps of the house. The leftmost one seems to be the top floor, and the rightmost one seems to be the bottom. These'll probably help you in exploring the house.

Hmm. Well, are you up for paranormal hijinks, and/or unwilling to admit their possibility? If so, I guess get to exploring. Else, keep the lawyer on speed-dial. Start wandering around with the map, and if you get bored, open the entrance to the red realm.

I don't think going straight for the paranormal bits is proper weird house etiquette.
I'd say go in the hall, take a peek at the living room then go upstairs to the master bedroom.

>Red Realm
Great. A literal closet of skeletons.
>Nobody knew whether or not he had any children
Give the house a once-over, make sure he's not keeping anyone captive.

Get started on that TLC. Give the house a kiss a friendly pat and introduce yourself.
Tour the house, but be careful around the Locked Room and Limitless Space.

(1/8) kpwlt 2024/03/10(Sun)06:30 No. 1086014 ID: 127310
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>Hmm. Well, are you up for paranormal hijinks, and/or unwilling to admit their possibility?

You think that you'd be mad not to admit the possibility of paranormal hijinks, considering that your weird uncle's lawyer has just brought you to a house in some kind of pitch white netherworld.

>I don't think going straight for the paranormal bits is proper weird house etiquette.

No, probably not. You'll save those for a rainy day.

>Great. A literal closet of skeletons.

You're trying to suspend judgement for the minute. Who knows, the Red Realm could be what Uncle George called his home cinema.

>Get started on that TLC. Give the house a kiss a friendly pat and introduce yourself.

You tap your hand on the wall gently a couple of times. You mentally say hello and tell it your name. You don't say it out loud because, well, that would make you feel a bit stupid.

>If so, I guess get to exploring.
>I'd say go in the hall, take a peek at the living room then go upstairs to the master bedroom.
>Give the house a once-over, make sure he's not keeping anyone captive.
>Tour the house, but be careful around the Locked Room and Limitless Space.

Alright! Time to start your tour of the house.

There's not a lot in the hallway. Just a few family photos framed on the wall. They look pretty old. You can pick Uncle George in all of them, but he's a lot younger than you've ever seen him.

(2/8) kpwlt 2024/03/10(Sun)06:30 No. 1086015 ID: 127310
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Ah, the living room. This room looks like it's doubled as George's personal library, for neighbouring the central fireplace there is a bookshelf loaded with compendiums and novels.

You recognise some of the authors. You do not recognise most.

This seems to be a comforting place, with two comfortable chairs huddled close to the fireplace, and a long stretch of seatspace towards the back of the room.

(3/8) kpwlt 2024/03/10(Sun)06:30 No. 1086016 ID: 127310
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Next, you enter the clean, vinyl tiled kitchen. It looks as though Uncle George put everything back in its place before he died, as there isn't a single dish or piece of silverware in sight.

Almost every appliance in the kitchen is labelled, from the pan on the stove to the microwave. In fact, the only thing that stands free of annotation is the refrigerator.

There is not a lot to note in the dining room. At least, it feels slightly underwhelming. It is a nice place, but it's also just a dining room. You might notice some things about it later, though.

Also connected to the kitchen is a pantry, as well as a cold storage room.

(4/8) kpwlt 2024/03/10(Sun)06:30 No. 1086017 ID: 127310
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Now going upstairs, the guest bedroom is quite a nice place. It has a little guestbook of its own lying akimbo on the bedside table. You can see several recurring signatures.

The bedroom has an empty closet. One could imagine that George's guests used to put their clothes in there.

Overall, this room seems pretty normal, all things considered.

After checking out the guest bedroom, you apprehensively try the handle of the so-called locked room. To your surprise, it is genuinely locked. The door bears a keyhole, however.

(5/8) kpwlt 2024/03/10(Sun)06:30 No. 1086018 ID: 127310
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The first three things that strike you when entering the study is the whispered smell of mildew, the torn papers peppered on the ground and desk, and the fine layer of dust covering most surfaces in the room.

The desk is positioned so the person seated at it would face the door.

In the centre of the desk there sits a relic of a computer. To its left, a red telephone. Taped to the phone is a note.

1 - Boris / 2 - Gretchen / 3 - Kaspar
4 - The Lobster / 5 - Milton / 6 - Machine God
7 - ANOMAT Cleanup / 8 - W.O.L.A.N.D / 9 - The Logic Clown
* - Operator / 0 - Wormwood / # - Death (Instant)

Um. Interesting.

(6/8) kpwlt 2024/03/10(Sun)06:30 No. 1086019 ID: 127310
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Alright, into the master bedroom now.

Wonderful. The room oozes comfort and smells like nostalgia. It’s not luxurious to the point of decadence, but you can really tell that your Uncle George didn’t skimp on this room.

The wallpaper is floral. The bed is frilly, and the uncovered window would normally let in the warm sunlight and fill the room with a feeling of kind sanctity (there’s no sunlight here, obviously, just the endless un-darkness).

All in all, much nicer than where you were sleeping before.

(7/8) kpwlt 2024/03/10(Sun)06:31 No. 1086020 ID: 127310
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Heading all the way down the stairs into the basement now, the storage area certainly lives up to its name.

Boxes, seemingly full of random junk Uncle George couldn’t bring himself to throw away, just litter the place.

There are also some weird gadgets and contraptions that probably couldn’t fit in the boxes here. One in particular catches your eye. It’s about the size and shape of a toilet cubicle. On its door is a handle, and the faded, but visible word “LETHE”. Inside is a short bench to sit on, and a button to the right of this bench. Very peculiar.

(8/8) kpwlt 2024/03/10(Sun)06:31 No. 1086021 ID: 127310
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The pool room is quite a sight to behold. There’s four portraits of people here, one of whom you recognise as George. Under each portrait hangs a vertical cue stick. A scoreboard hangs opposite. Trophies sit on a shelf, with a perfect view of the entrance to the Red Realm. If you had any friends right now, this would be a pretty great room to hang out in.

Finally, you’re curious about the Red Realm. You’ll just take a peek through the door. You won’t even go through.

To your surprise, what lies behind the door is a relatively small room, rather than what you would call a realm. In the middle of this room is a tall, red obelisk with a keyhole on its front. Above this keyhole, words are written.
FORGET
EVERYTHING
YOU
KNOW

That’s a bit weird. But that also concludes your tour of the house. You could probably either go to bed now (you’re pretty tired), or figure out something else to do.

Can you go to bed? Are you tired? Because this is pretty obviously a dream. In particular, your uncle specified the house was not quite finished, and yet here it is finished. He also said it wasn't real yet. The word "LETHE" also relates to dreaming and/or dying.

Best to wake up in Falk's car, and see what half-built nonsense your uncle actually left you. You can always go back to the dream later.

Hmm. It's a bit strange, in hindsight, how your uncle's lawyer chose to inform you of your inheritance at his funeral, after everyone else left. Why was there no reading of the will? Was he specially instructed to inform you discreetly, without anyone else's knowledge?

Also interesting is the content of the note; it suggests he didn't know exactly when he was going to die. That, plus the long-undisturbed state the study, actually rules out the pound-sign button on the phone as the cause of death. (Were you ever informed of how he died, come to think of it? A question for the lawyer if/when you eventually call him, I suppose.)

This also suggests that the placement of the note and maps, along with the appliance labels and lack of dirty dishes, is evidence toward someone else going through the house and preparing it for your arrival after your uncle's death - likely the lawyer. But then, why wasn't the study cleaned up in the same way? The dust and mildew can be written off as lower priority than dirty dishes and clean sheets, but why were torn-up and potentially incriminating notes just left there? Unless you're meant to find them? Also, how is the study already mildewing if he just finished building the physical house in a void devoid of precipitation?

The guest-book (and it's interesting how this non-existent house has had a number of guests already - three of which frequented the pool table enough to have dedicated cues) could tell an interesting story, now that we can guess that someone else has been through here since your uncle's death - is it actually open to the last entry, or did someone leave it open at the spot where they found the name they were looking for? Who was the last entry for, for that matter? And are there any names in those pages you recognize, from the hotline phone in the study or otherwise?

Great. Your uncle was a warhammer-or-whatever diehard fan, and he went crazy-senile with old age.

Replace anything he tinkered with, and sell or donate the goods to his other buddies in the fandom.

Ah well. At least he wasn't a mass-murderer.
Bed now.

Open the door to Limitless Space.

>>1086064
Yes, don't forget the limitless space, that might be where the unfinished part of the house is.

Lethe is the river that makes you forget, so maybe don't press that button. Could the red obelisk and the booth be related?

>>1086078
The house is "unfinished" because it's not "real". We are currently somewhere that is not inside the material plane, or something like that.

So do you know of anyone who could offer you expert advice on the supernatural, now that you are in an urban fantasy or horror or magical realism or *shudder* paranormal romance novel?

>>1086016
Man, if somebody inherited my house, most time of the year they'd inherit a DISASTER

After the ominous telephone and the creepy LETHE booth, curiosity made me apprehensively google "suicide machine", expecting some kind of creepy victorian-era devices. Instead google gave me emergency hotline numbers, and a few reluctant links to a 3d printed suicide pod thing. I was expecting creepy, not sad.... :( Yeaaah, maybe don't touch the telephone or the booth, yet. Keep an eye out for keys. What are the names in the guest book? Have you seen them anywhere else in the house? What's in the fridge; anything edible?

(1/4) kpwlt 2024/03/20(Wed)07:39 No. 1086817 ID: 127310
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>Can you go to bed? Are you tired? Because this is pretty obviously a dream. In particular, your uncle specified the house was not quite finished, and yet here it is finished. He also said it wasn't real yet. The word "LETHE" also relates to dreaming and/or dying.

>Best to wake up in Falk's car, and see what half-built nonsense your uncle actually left you. You can always go back to the dream later.

You pinch yourself all over and even throw yourself at the ground a few times to see if you wake up. You don’t.

>The house is "unfinished" because it's not "real". We are currently somewhere that is not inside the material plane, or something like that.

Oh yes. That sounds right.

>Hmm. It's a bit strange, in hindsight, how your uncle's lawyer chose to inform you of your inheritance at his funeral, after everyone else left. Why was there no reading of the will? Was he specially instructed to inform you discreetly, without anyone else's knowledge?

>Also interesting is the content of the note; it suggests he didn't know exactly when he was going to die. That, plus the long-undisturbed state the study, actually rules out the pound-sign button on the phone as the cause of death. (Were you ever informed of how he died, come to think of it? A question for the lawyer if/when you eventually call him, I suppose.)

>This also suggests that the placement of the note and maps, along with the appliance labels and lack of dirty dishes, is evidence toward someone else going through the house and preparing it for your arrival after your uncle's death - likely the lawyer. But then, why wasn't the study cleaned up in the same way? The dust and mildew can be written off as lower priority than dirty dishes and clean sheets, but why were torn-up and potentially incriminating notes just left there? Unless you're meant to find them? Also, how is the study already mildewing if he just finished building the physical house in a void devoid of precipitation?

You don’t know how your uncle died. You don’t know who would clean up the kitchen before your arrival, you don’t see why the lawyer would. As for the mildew, the only reason you can think of is that someone deliberately brought..? created..? put it here.

>The guest-book (and it's interesting how this non-existent house has had a number of guests already - three of which frequented the pool table enough to have dedicated cues) could tell an interesting story, now that we can guess that someone else has been through here since your uncle's death - is it actually open to the last entry, or did someone leave it open at the spot where they found the name they were looking for? Who was the last entry for, for that matter? And are there any names in those pages you recognize, from the hotline phone in the study or otherwise?

>What are the names in the guest book? Have you seen them anywhere else in the house?

You go to the guest book. Milton Falk has signed his name over the two open pages, which are otherwise blank. There are many names throughout the earlier pages of this book, though three in particular repeat myriads of times.

“BORIS”
“gretchen”
“Kaspar”

(2/4) kpwlt 2024/03/20(Wed)07:40 No. 1086818 ID: 127310
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>Lethe is the river that makes you forget, so maybe don't press that button. Could the red obelisk and the booth be related?
>Yeaaah, maybe don't touch the telephone or the booth, yet.

If the booth makes you forget and the obelisk wants you to forget, then they had better be related. As for the phone, it’s red too. Could be related.

>So do you know of anyone who could offer you expert advice on the supernatural, now that you are in an urban fantasy or horror or magical realism or *shudder* paranormal romance novel?

You have no idea. Maybe some of the people on that note on the phone could clue you in? Hopefully they’re normal about it. Hopefully. Nothing would be more horrifying right now than finding out your entire life was just a setup to a paranormal romance novel.

(3/4) kpwlt 2024/03/20(Wed)07:40 No. 1086819 ID: 127310
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>What's in the fridge; anything edible?

You race down to the fridge. Although it’s mostly barren, there’re milk, eggs, butter, bread, and a few jars of various jams. That’s pretty normal. In the crisper there are numerous vials filled with various liquids. Uh. Slotted into the door is a cylinder wrapped in paper. Unwrapping it reveals a crusty bread roll with some vegetables and pork inside. Interesting…

(4/4) kpwlt 2024/03/20(Wed)07:40 No. 1086820 ID: 127310
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>Open the door to Limitless Space.
>Yes, don't forget the limitless space, that might be where the unfinished part of the house is.

Limitless space time. You open the door and can suddenly feel a pressure and moisture change in the threshold between the basement proper and the space.

You step in and the door slams shut behind you. You panic and tug at it again, but it opens easily. You’re still panicking, however, so you run out. It only closes of its own volition once you take steps away from it.

Now that you’re out again, though you’re still a bit spooked, you can comprehend the sight that greeted you in limitless space.

It was a well.

Well well well.

Wait - the lawyer's card says his name is Milton Falk, phone #4, but the phone says Milton is #5, and #4 is The Lobster.

Oh hey, bánh mì. Ăn đi. Assuming you're hungry. Are the potions labeled?

Peer in the well. Got any pennies? Or wishes?

What's down the well?

Well isn't that something?
Looks like its a well on a rock in a starry void. Maybe get a doorstop before you go back in to investigate.

Hmm what's that vertical white structure?

(1/3) kpwlt 2024/04/05(Fri)06:48 No. 1088042 ID: 127310
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>Wait - the lawyer's card says his name is Milton Falk, phone #4, but the phone says Milton is #5, and #4 is The Lobster.

Indeed. Looks like someone got a bit lazy and forgot to amend something somewhere along the line.

>Oh hey, bánh mì. Ăn đi. Assuming you're hungry. Are the potions labeled?

You aren’t hungry right this moment. The potions have absolutely no labels. The only distinguishing features between them are the colours. You could probably taste test them to find out what their deal is. If you wanted to.

(2/3) kpwlt 2024/04/05(Fri)06:48 No. 1088043 ID: 127310
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>Hmm what's that vertical white structure?

Tentatively going back into limitless space, (and checking the door after it slams shut behind you), the vertical white structure seems to be some kind of damaged column. Peering over the ledge, it seems to go up and down as far as you can see. There’s no way to tell if it’s floating or attached to something.

It sort of looks like it’s maybe made of concrete?

(3/3) kpwlt 2024/04/05(Fri)06:48 No. 1088044 ID: 127310
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>Peer in the well. Got any pennies? Or wishes?
>What's down the well?

You peer down the well. You’ve bent over the well enough that you can look down it, but not so much that you could easily be pushed in.

It’s hard to make out with your head blocking the light, but you can make out flashes of something reflective down there. Something moist-looking. It’s definitely not a pool of water down there, the reflection would be suggestive of that if it was, but the bottom and lower sides of the well are definitely coated in water. You’d estimate it’s almost two metres to the bottom of the well.

The well feels familiar. You don’t want to go into the well, but you feel like you might want to, one day. You feel like you might have wanted to in the past.

You pull out a coin and toss it in. It makes a sound not unlike an egg being dropped on the pavement when it hits the bottom. You haven’t got the sense for it yet, but I’ll tell you now that this action has caused a ripple in planes yet unseen.

Not limitless enough to be unable to lay concrete, I suppose!

Your uncle has phone numbers for Boris, Gretchen and Kaspar, and they have left their names in his guest book often, so they're probably your neighbors. How they're your neighbors in a white void I have no idea, but he was clearly a friend of theirs, or a terrible enemy. They probably know your uncle has passed away, but you might want to make sure. Good to get to know your neighbors anyway.

You could also study some of George's reading material. You still have no idea how to realise this house. Perhaps he learned about the realisation process in the books in his study.

Well now you've seen the whole house, do you think you'll keep it? It seems pretty nice, but the commute might be a bit much.

(1/3) kpwlt 2024/04/09(Tue)01:05 No. 1088366 ID: 127310
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>Well now you've seen the whole house, do you think you'll keep it? It seems pretty nice, but the commute might be a bit much.

You will definitely keep it. It’s at least a thousand times better than what you were going through beforehand.

Not like you’ve got anywhere to commute to anyway.

>Your uncle has phone numbers for Boris, Gretchen and Kaspar, and they have left their names in his guest book often, so they're probably your neighbors. How they're your neighbors in a white void I have no idea, but he was clearly a friend of theirs, or a terrible enemy. They probably know your uncle has passed away, but you might want to make sure. Good to get to know your neighbors anyway.

Good idea. They might be able to help you understand more of what’s going on here.

You excuse yourself from the presence of the well and head upstairs to your uncle’s… your study.
You decide to call them in order.

You dial 1 on the phone. It rings and buzzes in your hand for a while.
“This is Boris. I’m sorry I’m not able to take your call right now. I’ll call you back when I am available.”
The phone hangs up. You know, Boris’ voice sort of reminds you of your grandfather.

You dial 2 on the phone. After a couple of minutes someone you can only assume to be Gretchen picks up.
“George! It’s been ages!”
You let her know that this is his niece, Rose. You decide to leave out the part where he dies for now.

“Oh! Oh. Oh…”
Gretchen seems to infer what you didn’t mention from the fact that you are talking to her at all. She clearly doesn’t mean to insult you, but her tone becomes more reserved and solemn.

“I’m Gretchen. George talked about you inheriting his place a lot. Didn’t think it’d ever come to pass. Anyway, what’d’y’need?”
You ask whether she has any tips for finishing the place off.

“Well, can’t really speak with too much authority considering mine’s not done either, but the houses really like being lived in. Live in the house, clean it, just basically tend to a normal house. I’m sure you’ll get a sense of what needs doing. Sometimes the houses go through a bad day and throw some real weird things at you, just be prepared to deal with them. I think it also helps the houses feel more lived in if you have some friends over every once in a while.”

You thank her for the tips, but don’t hang up.
[You can progress this conversation non-chronologically. Any questions you wish to ask Gretchen this update will be retroactively added to this conversation.]

After asking all further questions you want, you thank her a final time, and hang up.

Finally, you dial 3. Kaspar picks up almost immediately.
“Hi Mr Duckweed.”
You quickly tell him that you are in fact Rose, and that Mr Duckweed is your uncle.

“Oh… Uh… What happened to Mr Duckweed?”
His voice has become much quieter, even though it was fairly soft before.
You try to break the unfortunate news as gently as you possibly can, though you will forever remember this moment as though you dumped it on him like a piano that has been dropped down a mineshaft.

“Oh. Sorry.”
You can hear the tears in his words. Seems like it hit him pretty hard (kindly imagine the sound a piano makes on impact). He hangs up.

(2/3) kpwlt 2024/04/09(Tue)01:05 No. 1088367 ID: 127310
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>You could also study some of George's reading material. You still have no idea how to realise this house. Perhaps he learned about the realisation process in the books in his study.

There don’t seem to be any books in the study, but you’ll check out the ones on the shelf downstairs.

You scan the bookshelf. You see lots of books by people called things like Orwell, Milton, Adams, things like that. Finally, your eyes land on a shelf which seems to be filled entirely with house related books.

You quickly pull out the more boring looking ones. Sand, Silt, & Clay. Domestic Materials. [i]A Firm Foundation. Structures of a Friendly House. Turning ‘House’ into ‘Home’.

(3/3) kpwlt 2024/04/09(Tue)01:05 No. 1088368 ID: 127310
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All that are left are a few more esoteric looking ones. Home Realisation. Astral Projection: A Guide for Infernal Beings. Fischer’s Non-Exhaustive List of Void Anomalies. Well Maintenance & Navigation. Reincarnation Basics.

Hmm. Re: Gretchen, towards the end of the conversation, you could tentatively invite her over, on the grounds that you'd like to know more about your uncle, and also could use whatever help you can get about the house.

Books: I'd look at "Home Realization" and "Well Maintenance & Navigation".

>>1088367
Check out the synopsis for
1, Structures of a Friendly House
2, Turning ‘House’ into ‘Home’.
3, Home Realisation
4, Well Maintenance & Navigation (uh oh, better check to see what dropping the coin did)

>>1088366
Ask Gretchen about the Red Realm and the well. The Lethe, too.

Oh ask Gretchen how you're supposed to get food. The house has tapwater right? Safe to drink?

To Gretchen: "There's probably something my uncle read to get started but... maybe we can step back to explain me what's going on here, to begin with? Not that I'm ungrateful - I'll absolutely continue his work if that's what he wanted of me - but I am curious as to 'the point' behind the house's existence. Existences, plural? Apparently this is just a thing, if your similar situation is indicative."

"You said you didn't think it would ever happen? I apologize if this seems rude, but the way you phrased that struck me as odd."

"How do I differentiate things that need 'dealing with' from things that are an intended part of the layout - or at least my uncle's vision for it? Is it like pruning a plant, where I decide what should persist and what should be changed or cut short? Or are there things that are objectively bad for the house?"

Ask Gretchen about getting food and deliveries so you can invite her to lunch.

Take a look at the table of contents on those esoteric and house care books, just to get a feel for what you might be dealing with.

(1/2) kpwlt 2024/04/14(Sun)04:14 No. 1088740 ID: 127310
File 171309326873.png - (69.85KB , 1024x1024 , u6p1.png )

[The following is a continuation of an earlier conversation with Gretchen


>Oh ask Gretchen how you're supposed to get food. The house has tapwater right? Safe to drink?
>Ask Gretchen about getting food and deliveries so you can invite her to lunch.

You ask Gretchen about how you’re supposed to avoid starving.
“Yes, drinking whatever water the house gives you is fine. Unless you're at Kaspar’s. You can get food by doing chores. George always said it was part of your symbiotic relationship with the house. Make the house, uh, feel good and it’ll give you something to eat. I think. Most of the time at least.”

>"How do I differentiate things that need 'dealing with' from things that are an intended part of the layout - or at least my uncle's vision for it? Is it like pruning a plant, where I decide what should persist and what should be changed or cut short? Or are there things that are objectively bad for the house?"

“Oh you’re pretty much free to shape it however you want. If you like doing renos. Otherwise, the house’ll throw you some chores to do most days. You’ll get an innate sense of it, so you’ll know what it wants most of the time at least.”

>"You said you didn't think it would ever happen? I apologize if this seems rude, but the way you phrased that struck me as odd."

“You… You don’t know?”

Gretchen seems to wait. Presumably to decide whether this is something she should tell you. You can almost hear her trying to manifest your dead uncle’s guidance in her own mind.
“Listen… Your uncle was a… very special kind of person. He wasn’t going to die of natural causes for, uh, forever. Um. If you’re the same kind of person he was then you probably won’t either.”

>Ask Gretchen about the Red Realm and the well. The Lethe, too.

“The Red Realm is something we use to talk to the house. Sort of. It’s kind of like dreaming but you’re in the house’s dream.

The well is pretty important, I think. George used to go on about how there was something sleeping at the bottom of the well. All of the wells. I think that was a metaphor though. Anyway, George always said he was from the well, so I presumed you were too, and I was sorta hoping you could tell me more about it?

The Lethe? George always said he used it ‘to forget’. Always sounded super depressing. Anyway, it’s really not that bad. Yes, it does make you forget literally everything, but you remember everything afterwards and it shows you something else. Something like, what your life could be like if you didn’t make the choices you did before or something like that. Also, I think he hid his key to the Red Realm in there.”

>"There's probably something my uncle read to get started but... maybe we can step back to explain me what's going on here, to begin with? Not that I'm ungrateful - I'll absolutely continue his work if that's what he wanted of me - but I am curious as to 'the point' behind the house's existence. Existences, plural? Apparently this is just a thing, if your similar situation is indicative."

“Uh… It’s just a house I think. No deeper purpose as far as I know. It’s sort of like asking, well, why is there anything at all? What’s the point of something existing instead of nothing? Y’know?”

>Re: Gretchen, towards the end of the conversation, you could tentatively invite her over, on the grounds that you'd like to know more about your uncle, and also could use whatever help you can get about the house.

“Sure! I’ll come over first thing tomorrow! Get some rest before then.”

You thank her a final time, and hang up.

(2/2) kpwlt 2024/04/14(Sun)04:14 No. 1088741 ID: 127310
File 171309327154.png - (55.69KB , 1024x1024 , u6p2.png )

>1, Structures of a Friendly House
>2, Turning ‘House’ into ‘Home’.
>3, Home Realisation
>4, Well Maintenance & Navigation (uh oh, better check to see what dropping the coin did)

You don’t feel like even glancing through most of the books, so you condense a list of just four for now.

Structures of a Friendly House

You turn the book over to reveal its synopsis.

In this gripping read, accredited houseologist James M. Rand and architecture professor Kosta Alexandrou discuss numerous houses. From their facades to their floor plans, Rand and Alexandrou break down what makes these houses truly friendly.

You check out the contents now.

Foreword - 1
Acknowledgement - 2
Contents - 3
Introduction - 4
1. What is a friendly house? - 7
2. Examples of friendly houses - 51
3. Friendly house analysis - 86
4. Potential ethical issues of friendly houses - 134
5. Rand has a mental breakdown - 151
6. Implementing structures of a friendly house - 160
7. Conclusion - 206

Interesting.

Turning ‘House’ into ‘Home’

Weirdly enough, this book has nothing on the back. Where you would expect the table of contents to be, it just says Property of Jeremy.

Home Realisation

A house is a fascinating thing. One minute, it pops up in the void, then, after potentially lifetimes spent with it, you occupy its realised husk. This book will tell you how.

This book has no page numbers from the looks of it, and no table of contents. However, flipping through lets you see the headings.

Communicating with the house
The void
Surviving the void
What to do if you’ve died in the void
Finding out what the house wants
Home symbiosis
The gradual process of realisation
Coming to terms with the realisation of your house

Alright.

Well Maintenance & Navigation

Well Maintenance & Navigation is an essential guide for anyone wishing to involve themselves with any form of Reality Wells. In this edition, author K. P. W. Lett describes how to deal with Reality Wells, and how, if needed, to navigate the turning tunnels found inside them. However, the most important thing to do with a Reality Well is not to panic about it. They are quite safe and oftentimes completely stable, leaving plenty of room for error.

Reality Well Morphology
Using Reality Wells
Using Reality Wells to produce Reality
Reality Well Navigation
Well Problems
Creating Wells

All this reading has gotten you tired! Although it doesn’t seem to be night right now, you might like to turn in.

Do you know how your uncle died? Did he die here, in his house? Is it possible the house will try to kill you?

>>1088741
Hmmm, so, did your parents have weird tentacles too?

>What to do if you’ve died in the void
This seems important...
>husk
Ah. So, this is where a living house exists. The only houses that exist in reality are dead ones.

>sleep?
Well alright, go take a nap then.

Maybe skim "surviving the void" and "well problems" for anything urgent like "drink 3 tablespoons of vinegar before bedtime or you die" before going to sleep. Just in case.

Take a brief look at "what to do if you've died" before you hit the sack.

Sleep well, and don't forget to make your bed when you wake up! This place has got to be spick and span!

(1/3) kpwlt 2024/04/18(Thu)01:20 No. 1089098 ID: 10556b
File 171342840298.png - (24.74KB , 1024x1024 , u7p1.png )

>Do you know how your uncle died? Did he die here, in his house? Is it possible the house will try to kill you?

You don’t know how, where, or why your uncle died.

>Hmmm, so, did your parents have weird tentacles too?

Well, for one, they’re not weird. Everyone in your family has tentacles. You have 21 tentacles. Apparently, both your parents also have 21 each. You haven’t asked anyone else in your family exactly how many they have.

>Ah. So, this is where a living house exists. The only houses that exist in reality are dead ones.

That’s marginally unsettling. Does that mean the goal is to eventually kill the house?

>What to do if you’ve died in the void

You crack open Home Realisation and flip to What to do if you’ve died in the void[.

Since 20ΦΔ, ANOMAT has placed standardised resurrection devices in all new houses, in order to reduce the danger associated with owning a house. Although some houses conceptualised before 20ΦΔ do utilise ANOMAT resurrection devices, many use homemade ones. It is exceptionally uncommon for a home to not have some form of resurrection device.

Automatic resurrection devices are the most common form, though some resurrection devices will require more contribution on the part of the dead. Check which kind your house has.

If your house lacks a resurrection device, attempt to contact your neighbours. They are also able to bring you back.

If this is also impossible, you must wait for an astral ripple. It is a very rare occurrence, so there is no telling how long you might spend dead.

>"surviving the void"

The first rule of surviving the void is to have fun. Nothing’s more dangerous than a grump.

After that, it is important to complete your chores. These will get more difficult as you go along. Pay attention to what day it is, and stay physically safe.

Try not to attract attention from any alternate planes. If you absolutely must, remember that infernal beings can be reasoned with, while astral beings can’t, as a rule of thumb. Void beings will vary.

Learn the difference between day and night. Optionally, learn the difference between day, night, and the time in between them. Knowing this will be critical to your survival, as the rules of the void can sometimes change based on these times.

>"well problems"

You switch to K. P. W. Lett’s tome now.

Reality Wells can experience a number of ailments that can affect their effectiveness. Any sort of external Well degradation or abnormal emission can be indicative of an issue. In order to prevent this, it is advised to have your Well regularly checked by Well Experts, such as those from W.O.L.A.N.D.

Common Well issues that can be solved by Well Experts include, but are not limited to:

Well Decay
Lacerations
Shallow Hellbender Lairs
Wellborne Interlopers
Shallow Cave-Ins
Blood Flooding
Infernal Presence

That’s enough reading for one day!

>Sleep well, and don't forget to make your bed when you wake up! This place has got to be spick and span!

Alright mum. You wiggle your way up the stairs, leaving a circle of books on the ground.

You slip into bed even though it’s still bright outside.

(2/3) kpwlt 2024/04/18(Thu)01:20 No. 1089099 ID: 10556b
File 171342841388.png - (28.24KB , 1024x1024 , u7p2.png )

Nevermind, it is dark now. That’s a bit weird.

You sleep peacefully under a pinkish moon-like object. (?)

(3/3) kpwlt 2024/04/18(Thu)01:20 No. 1089100 ID: 10556b
File 171342842178.png - (693.90KB , 1024x1024 , u7p3.png )

You wake up. The darkness has turned back to light.

DAY 1: Day of Chores

Tasks for Today
* Locate the Echo Chamber in Storage (BASEMENT) - 1 ʁ
* Move the Echo Chamber to Kitchen (GROUND) - 1 ʁ
* Use the Echo Chamber to alter two items - 2 ʁ
* Consume a beverage on Porch (GROUND) - 2 ʁ

You can hear a knocking on your door.

>>1089098
>Does that mean the goal is to eventually kill the house?
Well, the book made it sound like the house will eventually die on its own. Doesn't have to be malice on your part.

>>1089098
>resurrection devices
Huh. Do we know where ours is? Maybe your uncle is only temporarily dead? Or maybe... he died in reality, not the void?

>>1089100
These chores don't seem too bad.
Go answer the door.

Wow, they got here early. Or are you just a late sleeper?

Do you know what "ʁ " means?

Answer the door, hopefully it's a neighbor you can share a drink on the porch with

>>1089098
Huh. Do you know if folks outside your family have tentacles instead of hands, or if it's a quirk unique to your bloodline, on a scale of "the way of things" to "common" to "not unheard of" to "your family might be strange?"

>>1089113
Agreed - two birds, one stone, and all that. If you need a moment to freshen up for the morning, make sure to inform your guest of that fact. Also, ask if they need to put a new signature in the guest-book, or if that's only for overnight stays. Maybe ask real quick if they knew your uncle well enough to know what your house's resurrection device was called or looks like.

(1/2) kpwlt 2024/04/23(Tue)08:46 No. 1089459 ID: 127310
File 171388719082.png - (33.93KB , 1024x1024 , u8p1.png )

>Well, the book made it sound like the house will eventually die on its own. Doesn't have to be malice on your part.

You guess so.

>Huh. Do we know where ours is? Maybe your uncle is only temporarily dead? Or maybe... he died in reality, not the void?

No way to know for sure. Not yet, anyway.

>Do you know what "ʁ " means?

Nobody’s ever told you, but you have a certain intuition that the ʁ symbol is shorthand for some measure of realisation. Check the computer to find out more.

>Huh. Do you know if folks outside your family have tentacles instead of hands, or if it's a quirk unique to your bloodline, on a scale of "the way of things" to "common" to "not unheard of" to "your family might be strange?"

Okay, your family might be strange. You know that most people don’t have tentacles. People in family also tend to try to hide their tentacles from those outside the family too.

>Wow, they got here early. Or are you just a late sleeper?

You aren’t really an early riser, but you wouldn’t say you sleep in that long.

>Go answer the door.
>Answer the door, hopefully it's a neighbor you can share a drink on the porch with

Alright, you go downstairs and open the front door.

A young lady stands there.

“Hi Rose! I’m Gretchen.”
She sounds essentially the same as she did over the phone.

“Did you just get up? Guess I’m gonna have a long day.”
She catches your confused look and explains.
“Time works a bit weirdly here. Days basically start when you wake up and end when you finish your chores, so all of our days can be different lengths. They all start and end at the same time though, so they stretch. Sort of.”

(2/2) kpwlt 2024/04/23(Tue)08:47 No. 1089461 ID: 127310
File 171388723953.png - (28.27KB , 1024x1024 , u8p2.png )

You find it appropriate to ask Gretchen about the resurrection device.

“Oh, that? Yeah, it’s just around here.”

She leads you out and around to the left side of the house to show you a panel bearing an image of a bird.

“Light means it’s still working.” She points to a glowing diode on the front of the box.

“Don’t touch it, I reckon, just call ANOMAT if the light ever turns off. Shouldn’t do, though.

Boris, Kaspar, and I all also have our own resurrection devices. George didn’t have one before ANOMAT started making them, though. Anyway, most of them are pretty straightforward. Except Kaspar’s.”

Rightio

“If you want me to explain anything here, just ask. I’ve come over plenty of times. By the way, we should probably get cracking on your chores!”

Well, doesn't seem like there's any big hurry. But, seeing as how one of them was share a drink on the porch, might as well, haha.

hang out on the porch, share a drink and get to know each other.

>>1089459
Oh, if the chores are associated with realization then the house *wants* to eventually die? Or are the chores needed for it to exist happily and the process of realization is a byproduct? Well, either way the house is requesting things that will eventually kill it, so I guess it's all good.

>>1089461
Ask about the Echo Chamber. How's it work?

You did make your bed, didn't you?

(1/2) kpwlt 2024/04/28(Sun)09:07 No. 1089925 ID: 127310
File 171432043334.png - (320.29KB , 1024x1024 , u9p1.png )

>You did make your bed, didn't you?


YES! Yes you made your bed! Forget about the bloody bed! Actually, you know what? Have a discussion thread to speculate on the status of the bed.

https://questden.org/kusaba/questdis/res/142104.html

(2/2) kpwlt 2024/04/28(Sun)09:07 No. 1089926 ID: 127310
File 171432043631.png - (40.12KB , 1024x1024 , u9p2.png )

>Oh, if the chores are associated with realization then the house *wants* to eventually die? Or are the chores needed for it to exist happily and the process of realization is a byproduct? Well, either way the house is requesting things that will eventually kill it, so I guess it's all good.

Mmmmaybe? Maybe right now, since you don’t know a whole lot, it’s best to just do whatever feels right and deal with any ethical dilemmas when they properly actually arise.

>Ask about the Echo Chamber. How's it work?

You ask Gretchen about the Echo Chamber.

“That sounds like one of those gadgets George would keep in the basement and bring out for us to mess around with every now and then. I never put much effort into remembering their names, so, sorry.”

>Well, doesn't seem like there's any big hurry. But, seeing as how one of them was share a drink on the porch, might as well, haha.
>hang out on the porch, share a drink and get to know each other.

Well, you’d love to, but the only drinks in the house are the potions.

“Everything alright?”

You, uh, could also drink the milk, but… It’s just, you’ve never really been fond of milk.

The chore list seems to be an order of operations. Clearly you need to use this echo chamber to turn two glasses of milk into something actually good

>>1089926
Offer your guest some milk. Drink some tapwater if you don't want milk.
I don't suppose she knows anything about the unlabeled potions?

(1/3) kpwlt 2024/05/03(Fri)08:04 No. 1090201 ID: 127310
File 171474864164.png - (32.82KB , 1024x1024 , u10p1.png )

>The chore list seems to be an order of operations. Clearly you need to use this echo chamber to turn two glasses of milk into something actually good.

You’ll try that. You don’t really want to try that right now in case it goes horribly wrong, but you will try it.

>Offer your guest some milk. Drink some tapwater if you don't want milk.

“Ah, thank you.”

You and Gretchen go out on the porch and drink your milk and water respectively.

Tasks for Today
* Locate the Echo Chamber in Storage (BASEMENT) - 1 ʁ
* Move the Echo Chamber to Kitchen (GROUND) - 1 ʁ
* Use the Echo Chamber to alter two items - 2 ʁ
* Consume a beverage on Porch (GROUND) - 2 ʁ (COMPLETE)

>I don't suppose she knows anything about the unlabeled potions?

You ask her.

“Oh! Those. They’re kind of a long story. But, uh, George, Kaspar, Boris, myself, we used to get a bunch of stuff and mix it all up in Kaspar’s alchemy lab just for the hell of it. Never thought George kept the ones we didn’t finish! We could give ‘em a go if you wanted.”

(2/3) kpwlt 2024/05/03(Fri)08:04 No. 1090202 ID: 127310
File 171474864340.png - (28.94KB , 1024x1024 , u10p2.png )

Anyway. Time to get the Echo Chamber. You tell Gretchen about your remaining tasks and she understands what must be done.

You locate a relatively large toolbox engraved with the words ECHO CHAMBER and haul it up the stairs to the kitchen.

* Locate the Echo Chamber in Storage (BASEMENT) - 1 ʁ (COMPLETE)
* Move the Echo Chamber to Kitchen (GROUND) - 1 ʁ (COMPLETE)

The Echo Chamber has a knob on its front that goes from 1 to 7. It’s currently set to 3.

kpwlt 2024/05/03(Fri)08:04 No. 1090203 ID: 127310
File 171474864720.png - (71.12KB , 1024x1024 , u10p3.png )

Gretchen gets herself a glass of water (getting the box up the stairs seems to have really made her thirsty) and you now get yourself a glass of milk.

You and Gretchen both watch as you carefully set the glass in the box, close the lid, and engage the latch. The box rumbles and trembles for a few seconds, and then the latch pops off of its own accord.

Lifting the lid (apprehensively) reveals that the glass has now been transmogrified into a jug of milk.

Glass of Milk →→→ Jug of Milk

...Hooray, more of a thing you don't like. :P Does the house know you don't like milk? Maybe you need to mention it.

Ok, try another glass of milk but instead set the dial to 6.

Is it just creating more of whatever's in it? Try again on another glass of milk with it set to 1. If you get one glass of milk then its a multiplicative process, if you get 2 then its additive.

(1/2) kpwlt 2024/05/05(Sun)08:20 No. 1090366 ID: 127310
File 171492241382.png - (40.84KB , 1024x1024 , u11p1.png )

>...Hooray, more of a thing you don't like. :P Does the house know you don't like milk? Maybe you need to mention it.

You say “I don’t like milk.” to the house.

Gretchen looks at you quizzically. “Oh,” she seems to try to say.

You make a vague gesture at her to try to communicate that you were talking to the house. She may or may not have gotten it.

(2/2) kpwlt 2024/05/05(Sun)08:20 No. 1090367 ID: 127310
File 171492241514.png - (27.14KB , 1024x1024 , u11p2.png )

>Ok, try another glass of milk but instead set the dial to 6.

You stick another glass of milk in and set the dial to 6 (not 7).

After some slightly unnerving rumbling, you open the Echo Chamber to reveal some grass?
It seems to be still living, though doubtless it won’t be for long.

Glass of Milk →→→→→→ Grass

All tasks complete. 6 ʁ earned. Return UPSTAIRS to begin the night.

>Try again on another glass of milk with it set to 1.

Yet another glass of milk goes into the box.
You could say it came out untouched, but it really didn’t. It’s still a glass of milk, but it’s slightly different now. The glass is a different shape and the milk has a sort of different consistency or something. You don’t know, you’re not very fond of milk.

Glass of Milk → Glass of Milk

I think this means it’s multiplicative, though you’re not sure how a glass of milk ever multiplies into grass.

“What’re you trying to make?”

I suppose the dial indicates degrees of separation? 1 would exchange a glass of milk for a different glass of milk, while 3 makes a jug of milk, similar, and 6 makes a fistful of grass, far removed.

The echo chamber makes things? You were just testing it, to see how it functioned. Ask Gretchen if she wants to echo chamber anything, before heading home for the evening (because apparently it's become quite late?)

Further testing required (when not hosting guests) but we can rule out the echo chamber simply making more of whatever substance is in it. Actually this makes sense, if it is about echoing further and further back through an item's history. If that is true then one of the settings between 3 and 6 should turn milk into cow (maybe don't test that right now)

All that to say, I don't think your going to get a non-milk drink out of it. Ask Gretchen if she would like a go at it.

>>1090367
Glass->grass. It changed the letter. Looks like the dial determines how similar the resulting object is(similar to a certain SCP). Try 4 or 5 to see if you can get a different drink out of it without turning it into something inedible.

Tell her you're just experimenting. Why, is there a way to get specific things? You'd like a different drink.

>>1090391
Actually, it might be because cows turn grass into milk. If we turned the dial to 4 or 5 would produce a steak? An entire cow? Raw milk or the half-digested cud that cows store in their stomach, depending on if it was 4 or 5? Would a 7 produce dirt? Grass seeds? The possibilities are endless, as long as you're only looking backward in time. There's only so much you can do with milk, though, so let's stop for now.

Actually. Come to think of it. Have you asked anybody else in your family about your uncle, or his house? Did you even tell anybody you were going?

(1/2) kpwlt 2024/05/21(Tue)06:23 No. 1091480 ID: 127310
File 171629782246.png - (33.90KB , 1024x1024 , u12p1.png )

>Actually. Come to think of it. Have you asked anybody else in your family about your uncle, or his house? Did you even tell anybody you were going?

No, and no. You don’t usually talk to your family, and you’ve nobody that would miss your presence. You had no friends before coming here, and you’re convinced that your family only invites you to family gatherings because it’s no longer socially acceptable to torment wild animals for entertainment.

>I suppose the dial indicates degrees of separation? 1 would exchange a glass of milk for a different glass of milk, while 3 makes a jug of milk, similar, and 6 makes a fistful of grass, far removed.

Interesting theory.

>Glass->grass. It changed the letter. Looks like the dial determines how similar the resulting object is(similar to a certain SCP).

Another interesting theory. But where does the ‘of Milk’ go?

>Try 4 or 5 to see if you can get a different drink out of it without turning it into something inedible.
>Further testing required (when not hosting guests) but we can rule out the echo chamber simply making more of whatever substance is in it. Actually this makes sense, if it is about echoing further and further back through an item's history. If that is true then one of the settings between 3 and 6 should turn milk into cow (maybe don't test that right now)
>Actually, it might be because cows turn grass into milk. If we turned the dial to 4 or 5 would produce a steak? An entire cow? Raw milk or the half-digested cud that cows store in their stomach, depending on if it was 4 or 5? Would a 7 produce dirt? Grass seeds? The possibilities are endless, as long as you're only looking backward in time. There's only so much you can do with milk, though, so let's stop for now.

All interesting ideas, certainly something to test. You’re a bit reluctant to try now, though. Wouldn’t want to spook your potential new friend.

>The echo chamber makes things? You were just testing it, to see how it functioned. Ask Gretchen if she wants to echo chamber anything, before heading home for the evening (because apparently it's become quite late?)
>All that to say, I don't think your going to get a non-milk drink out of it. Ask Gretchen if she would like a go at it.
>Tell her you're just experimenting. Why, is there a way to get specific things? You'd like a different drink.

“I’m sure there must be a way to get specific things out of it, it’s just that nobody knows how to. You know what,”

She pulls out what looks to be some kind of agonised green bouncy ball.

“Kaspar made this. He said he made it while trying to ‘conceptually exploit the machine’. What did he call it again?”

She puts the tormented spheroid into the box and switches the dial to 2.

After the device does its thing, there are two of the things inside. She takes them out, one in each hand, stuffs one into her pocket, and places one in your false palm.

“Now we can both have one!”

GmNwnT →→ Double GmNwnT

(2/2) kpwlt 2024/05/21(Tue)06:23 No. 1091481 ID: 127310
File 171629782528.png - (21.83KB , 1024x1024 , u12p2.png )

Gretchen now gives you a friendly wave.

“Well, thanks for having me over! Hope to see you again soon! Speaking of, there should be a calendar on your computer with some local events on it. We always go to ‘em. You should come to some!”

You thank Gretchen for coming over and helping you with the box.

You swear this wasn’t there before, but Gretchen goes to a relatively distant train platform, at which there is a train waiting. She boards the train, which departs promptly.

You keep looking at the platform, wondering how and when it got there. After a while, it sort of dawns on you that you’ve just been staring at nothing all along. You haven’t blinked or looked away, and the platform didn’t disappear. It just isn’t there.

>>1091481
I've had that sorta happen with screen changes. Like, I'll be looking at the page, waiting for it to load, and suddenly I'll realize it's already loaded, presumably during a saccade, and my brain never flagged my view as having changed.

Anyway. Uh, mess with the echo machine? Investigate the well? Do you feel tired? Seems like an awfully short day, but you do you, I guess. Maybe you could read some more of those books.

It's probably only there when the train is. You'll have to get a train schedule if you want to take a trip. A little concerning is that you've been staring at nothing, so the train platform wasn't there at the same time that it was. Maybe just... not think about that too much right now.

Anyway, Kaspar seems like a tricksy fellow. He managed to create an inert rubber ball that still experiences emotional distress! Is there some way to separate and refine torment from the tormented, and combine it impossibly with base matter? Wait, where did Kaspar find someone who was tormented?

You might want to be wary of this "Kaspar."

Well, that doesn't make how the chamber works any more clear. But hey, Gretchen seems nice. It's good to have a potential friend in a place like this.

Is the study still a mess? Might as well tidy up while you've got nothing else going on.

Huh, the 2 setting duplicates the item? Seems like our guesses weren't quite right. Perhaps each setting has a unique effect.

Why don't we check out the well? It sounds like you can go down into it?
Or we can get the key from the lethe and check out the Red Realm.

(1/4) kpwlt 2024/05/29(Wed)06:43 No. 1092013 ID: 127310
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Update 13: The Sinister & Unlucky Update

>You might want to be wary of this "Kaspar."

Yes indeed! I was never really a fan of Kaspar myself, between you and me. Anyway, what you’ve been hearing about Kaspar has sort of painted him as a weird fellow in your mind, so you’ll be aware whenever you see him.

>But hey, Gretchen seems nice. It's good to have a potential friend in a place like this.

You do like Gretchen. Even if she seems a little put off by some of your antics, she does seem like she genuinely wants to be friends with you.

>Uh, mess with the echo machine?
>Huh, the 2 setting duplicates the item? Seems like our guesses weren't quite right. Perhaps each setting has a unique effect.

Maybe. Or…
You put one of the balls back in the Echo Chamber, and set it to 7. Just to test a theory.

When the smoke clears, there are 7 little green bouncy balls in the box.

GmNwnT →→→→→→→ Septuple GmNwnT

(2/4) kpwlt 2024/05/29(Wed)06:43 No. 1092014 ID: 127310
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>Seems like an awfully short day, but you do you, I guess.

I wonder if the days get longer as you go on. This day technically isn’t over yet, it only will be once you go upstairs?

>Is the study still a mess? Might as well tidy up while you've got nothing else going on.

You will once you go upstairs. You won’t go upstairs yet because you’ve still got some day to enjoy. I think.

>Why don't we check out the well? It sounds like you can go down into it?
>Or we can get the key from the lethe and check out the Red Realm.
>Investigate the well?

Alright. You head down to the basement and decide to go down the well first. You won’t go into the Lethe yet because it gives you the heebie jeebies and you still haven’t reconciled the part where you forget everything you know with a desirable outcome yet.

You jump a bit when the door of Limitless Space slams shut behind you, but you bravely carry on.

(3/4) kpwlt 2024/05/29(Wed)06:43 No. 1092015 ID: 127310
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You find a little knob in the rock formation and tie a spare tentacle to it. You can retract or untie this tentacle at any time. This tentacle is long, but it’s not infinitely long. If you don’t have this tentacle tied here, you will still be able to pull yourself up from the well as long as you are standing under the opening.

You hop down the well and fall for a few seconds, before slamming against the bottom. If you had bones, they would probably be broken. You find yourself on a floor, and surrounded by walls, that are made from a material not unlike some form of skin stretched over bone. If you (you you, not Rose you) run your tongue along your gums, or the roof of your mouth, that is how i would best describe it to you. It isn’t completely wet in here though, just a little damp in spots.

(4/4) kpwlt 2024/05/29(Wed)06:43 No. 1092016 ID: 127310
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Picking yourself up, you notice that you have two paths ahead of you. One looks to slope up, the other goes down. Both bear signs.

The downward path’s sign seems as though it had once read “SURFACE-LEVEL HELLBENDER LAIR”. However, someone has clearly crossed this out. The sign now reads “SURFACE-LEVEL HELLBENDER LAIR”. Curious.

The upwards leading path’s sign clearly states “AQUIFER - VERY FAR”.

Both signs have, in smaller, darker, stencilled writing, “W.O.L.A.N.D” near the bottom.

Aquifer sounds like the safe choice.

How could it be surface level if it's below the surface?

Might be good to get some actual rope to use to climb in and out of this well. You can't really explore further if you're still hanging onto the top of it.

I don't think we want to wander down a "very far" path right now, you probably can't stretch your tentacle that long. Let's check what used to be the hellbender lair.

(1/3) kpwlt 2024/06/05(Wed)19:33 No. 1092483 ID: 127310
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>How could it be surface level if it's below the surface?

It’s possible that this terminology just means that it’s near the surface.

>Might be good to get some actual rope to use to climb in and out of this well. You can't really explore further if you're still hanging onto the top of it.

No need. The well isn’t deep or wide enough to prevent you from climbing out easily. The only reason you’d need a rope is to mark where you’ve already been and there are better ways to do that.

(2/3) kpwlt 2024/06/05(Wed)19:33 No. 1092484 ID: 127310
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>Aquifer sounds like the safe choice.
>I don't think we want to wander down a "very far" path right now, you probably can't stretch your tentacle that long. Let's check what used to be the hellbender lair.

Aquifer doesn’t sound bad but yeah, it’s best to check near paths rather than far ones for now.

You head down the descending path. It doesn’t feel like you are descending, even though it looks to descend quite steeply.

You enter a small cavern with several collapsed tunnels leading into it. Several large lizard looking things lie in various stages of death and decay. The more mutilated of them even have little, uh, little stone fellows near them.

(3/3) kpwlt 2024/06/05(Wed)19:33 No. 1092485 ID: 127310
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You go closer to one of the little stone fellows.

This little fellow swivels to ‘look’ at you. It’s slightly unnerving. It says nothing.

It’s still covered in blood.

You sort of want to pick it up.

>>1092485
Say hello! ...hmm, you can't truly die here, right? Might as well pick it up then.

something so cute can't be bad! But, maybe try sending a finger over while you keep your distance.

I suppose if these lizards are "Hellbenders" then this would explain why the sign has been crossed out.

I wonder if those emerged from the lizards...or simply made the wounds. Or neither, I suppose.

Greet it, but please don't touch the creature that just grew out of someone who is now dead. It might have cooties.

(1/2) kpwlt 2024/06/10(Mon)07:33 No. 1092769 ID: 127310
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>I suppose if these lizards are "Hellbenders" then this would explain why the sign has been crossed out.

That would indeed explain it.

>I wonder if those emerged from the lizards...or simply made the wounds. Or neither, I suppose.

You hope they didn’t make the wounds. If they took down those lizards they could probably take down you.

>Greet it, but please don't touch the creature that just grew out of someone who is now dead. It might have cooties.

Aw, come on. You’ll wash your tentacles when you get back.

>Say hello! ...hmm, you can't truly die here, right? Might as well pick it up then.
>something so cute can't be bad! But, maybe try sending a finger over while you keep your distance.

What a cute little fella! You hold it for a while with just one tentacle to make sure it won’t beat you to death or lacerate you or anything and then grab onto it properly.

Whenever you turn it away from you, you can feel that something inside it is wiggling to try to turn around to face you again.

(2/2) kpwlt 2024/06/10(Mon)07:33 No. 1092770 ID: 127310
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At one point while holding the fellow you nonchalantly look directly into the small indent on its upper portion. You are immediately filled with intense fear and hatred. You struggle for breath as steel introduces itself to your lungs and hearts. Your head is split to make way for the hands of an unknown interloper.

You cast the little fellow across the room and make yourself as small as possible in the corner. You make sure that you are still actually fully intact. You still are. What an odd thought.

Don't make eye contact. Got it.

Well at least a little guy didn't burst out of your head, or whatever happened here. Better get it a blindfold if you want to keep it.

>>1092770
Lungs and hearts? Do you have more than one of those? I think you just relived the last memory of the Hellbender that this guy came out of! Observe that it was stabbed, and its head split.

I guess loot the swords and go back home. This is probably enough adventuring for the night.

(1/1) kpwlt 2024/06/17(Mon)08:19 No. 1093030 ID: 127310
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>Don't make eye contact. Got it.
>Well at least a little guy didn't burst out of your head, or whatever happened here. Better get it a blindfold if you want to keep it.

Yeah, seems like they’re pretty harmless.

>Lungs and hearts? Do you have more than one of those?

Yes, you have two lungs (one pair of lungs) and three hearts. You aren’t sure whether that’s also true for the Hellbender.

>I think you just relived the last memory of the Hellbender that this guy came out of! Observe that it was stabbed, and its head split.

Yes, indeed. I wonder if you could figure out exactly how everything unfolded from these. You also wonder where the little fella came out of, as in, where he was in the Hellbender. Supposedly in the head, but then where would the Hellbender’s brain be?

>I guess loot the swords and go back home. This is probably enough adventuring for the night.

Alright.

You yank the sword (singular) out of the Hellbender corpse and retract your tentacle lifeline, making sure to hit as many walls as possible on the way out. The way you exit the well would easily deceive any onlooker that what happened in the well was a lot cooler than what actually transpired there.

As you leave the Room of Limitless Space, you hear what could have been the sound of scurrying just obscured by the autonomous slamming of the door. It sounded to have come from the Storage Space, though quite close to the Pool Room.

Oh no it's the Hellbenders back for revenge!

Check your storage space. There's probably some bag of grain there that the rats have gotten into.

Time to hunt mice with a sword. Just a typical part of being a homeowner.

I wonder what would happen if we put one of those little guys in the echo machine. Can we pick one up again without having an existential crisis?

Also I’m pretty sure WOLAND is another name for Satan.
I’m not really sure what to do with this knowledge.

Investigate the noise.

>>1093030
mental note: set up some mouse trap, ferment the jug of milk to conjure the trap cheese
/
investigate the storage
/
unrelated:
what's up with this kaspar guy, his water undrinkable, resurrection device confounding.
/
it makes sense that your uncle owned a memory wiping tool. no man can live sane with infinite tales of life in one body.

(1/3) kpwlt 2024/06/27(Thu)04:46 No. 1093495 ID: 127310
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>I wonder what would happen if we put one of those little guys in the echo machine. Can we pick one up again without having an existential crisis?

A good thought, but one that may have to be put on hold for now. Try to remember to do this at some point, ok?

>mental note: set up some mouse trap, ferment the jug of milk to conjure the trap cheese

If your hunt doesn’t provide any results, that’s exactly what you’ll do.

>what's up with this kaspar guy, his water undrinkable, resurrection device confounding.

Kaspar seems like a bit of an odd character. He also apparently has an alchemy lab?

>it makes sense that your uncle owned a memory wiping tool. no man can live sane with infinite tales of life in one body.

The thing is, though, you’re not sure that your uncle was sane in the first place. And where he was getting infinite tales of life, you don’t know.

>Also I’m pretty sure WOLAND is another name for Satan.

…

>Oh no it's the Hellbenders back for revenge!

Oh god, you hope not. Those things looked bloody menacing, even when dead.

(2/3) kpwlt 2024/06/27(Thu)04:47 No. 1093496 ID: 127310
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>Check your storage space.
>Time to hunt mice with a sword.
>Investigate the noise.

You march into the storage space and notice a pair of stubby legs trying to cram themselves under a cupboard(?) of some description.

(3/3) kpwlt 2024/06/27(Thu)04:47 No. 1093497 ID: 127310
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You grab an almost nonexistent ankle with a vicious tentacle and drag the thing kicking and screaming across the floor to you.

A squat, rodential creature clad in a red cotton top and blue denim shorts. It takes one glance at the bloodied sword in your hands and starts crying for mercy. In a flash of pity, or perhaps shock, you loosen your grasp on its leg and it scrambles away.

As it turns to take one last look at you before vanishing under the cupboard, you see the glint of some sort of blade in its mouth.

You shouldn't kill sentient foes out of hand. Maybe you can come to some agreement, or drive it off? Or coopt them somehow.

Draft up a tenancy agreement for the little guy. Some extra income/ help around the house wouldn't hurt.

Little guys are great to befriend. They can get into small spaces you can't. That's something that when it comes up, it's vital to have.

>>1093497
"What do you have? A knife?"

(1/1) kpwlt 2024/07/02(Tue)20:14 No. 1093724 ID: 127310
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>You shouldn't kill sentient foes out of hand. Maybe you can come to some agreement, or drive it off? Or coopt them somehow.
>Draft up a tenancy agreement for the little guy. Some extra income/ help around the house wouldn't hurt.
>Little guys are great to befriend. They can get into small spaces you can't. That's something that when it comes up, it's vital to have.

You try to reason with the little guy, but he seems to be giving you the silent treatment at present moment. You also don’t bring up any sort of money agreement, since you despise the idea of being a landlord.

>"What do you have? A knife?"

This gets a response, albeit a nonverbal one.

He extends the little knife, while maintaining a white-knuckle grip on it. He then takes it back and throws out several little bits of chopped up wood as if to give an explanation.

Aw, little carvings! Having an in-house artist is classy as hell. Just tell him not to break anything important.

>>1093724
Compliment the carvings. Do they look familiar?

(1/1) kpwlt 2024/07/04(Thu)07:16 No. 1093774 ID: 127310
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>Aw, little carvings! Having an in-house artist is classy as hell. Just tell him not to break anything important.
>Compliment the carvings. Do they look familiar?

You tell him his carvings look cool. You can almost hear his squeaks of gratitude.

As for the carvings, they sort of look like something you might have seen before? This one looks like a horsey. Or a knight, if you’re a chess terminology prescriptivist.

This fellow seems nice, you should let him stay.

Welp, guess we are going to invite Reepicheep over here to play chess!

>>1093876
yes I see he's carved a bishop, and a knight, and a... sad...whale?

(1/2) kpwlt 2024/08/09(Fri)07:24 No. 1095587 ID: 127310
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>This fellow seems nice, you should let him stay.

Alright, you’ll let him stay. He probably has a name of his own, but he hasn’t been particularly forthcoming about it. What do you want to call him in the meantime?

>Welp, guess we are going to invite Reepicheep over here to play chess!

You’ve actually never played chess, though you do have a passing knowledge of the rules. Regardless, you think he’d probably destroy you.

>yes I see he's carved a bishop, and a knight, and a... sad...whale?

Well, he probably doesn’t have much in the way of a reference.

(2/2) kpwlt 2024/08/09(Fri)07:24 No. 1095588 ID: 127310
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Now, what was it you were doing again?

You seem to be thinking about Kaspar a lot. No judgement from me (not that i’d tell you if i was judging you), but you might want to ask around and gather more information about him before actually meeting him if he worries you that much.

You could also investigate further into WOLAND if you wanted. You do have their number, after all.

You could also do something else entirely. I’m not your boss.

Well, let's see. Thinking about the telephone room, weren't there some books in there, that you haven't looked at yet? We could check another one or two of those. Or cold-call somebody. Ask if their refrigerator is running.

Didn't Gretchen say the house would provide food if you do all your chores? Should check in the pantry and cold store to see if anything showed up, and plan dinner while you're at it.