#oleander/432

[the-haunted-office]

A nearby computer has the following on its screen. What do you do?

[morgengeschreibsel]

Versuch #432: Das Apartement

Die Türen der Apartments befinden sich nebeneinander und sind über eine Galerie zu erreichen - auf der einen Seite die Türen, auf der anderen die Fenster, durch die man den Hof sehen kann. Im Hof stehen große Töpfe und riesige Kübel mit südländischen Pflanzen, ein Feigenbaum, mehrere rosa blühende Oleander. An den Wänden der Häuser stehen Apfelbäume, mit kleinen, noch unreifen Äpfeln beladen, und Weinstöcke, ganz ohne Trauben. Mitten im Hof steht eine große Kastanie.

Zurück zu der Galerie - sie ist mit dunklem Holz verkleidet, und neben jeder Tür gibt es eine anderthalb Meter breite, bodenlange Fensterfront. Die Fenster sind einheitlich mit milchig-weißen Vorhängen verdeckt, natürlich von innen. Die Apartments selbst sind alle einheitlich, man fällt sofort in eine Art Wohnküche hinein, mit einem unbequemen Schlafsofa, ein paar Ledersesseln und einem Fernseher. Dahinter kommt der Küchenteil, ein Tresen mit Barhockern und eine moderne Einbauküche, mit einer dunkelgrauen Arbeitsplatte und unauffällig weißem Geschirr. An der Wand, die der Eingangstür gegenüber liegt, gibt es ein Fenster, von dem aus man fast nur grüne Zweige sehen kann, und dahinter eine Straße. Die Wohnküche ist so eingerichtet, wie man sich moderne Apartments vor zehn Jahren vorgestellt hat - sehr dunkler, fast schwarzer Fußboden, sehr helles, orangestichiges Holzfurnier, Farbakzente in Rot und Orange, weiße, sehr glatte Wände. Es ist dunkel, durch das Fenster zur Straße fällt durch den Baum kaum Licht hinein, und das Fenster an der Tür geht nur auf die Galerie, die selbst dunkel ist. Es gibt kein Oberlicht, nur eine Hängelampe über dem Tresen und eine Stehlampe am Sofa. Das Problem gibt es oft, die meisten Apartments sind dunkel, vor allem abends, wenn die letzten Sonnenstrahlen verschwinden.

Das Schlafzimmer ist im oberen Teil, es wurde eine Zwischendecke aus Holz eingezogen, und auf dieser Zwischendecke steht das Bett, etwas einsam und verloren. Durch die Dachschräge sieht das Zimmer größer aus, als es ist - denn in die Ecken kommt man nicht hinein, aber zumindest entsteht das Gefühl von Freiheit und angenehmer Leere. Auch hier ist es dunkel, es gibt ein Dachfenster und Leselampen am Bett, aber das Halbdunkel hier ist angemessen, immerhin kann man hier nichts tun, als sich auf das weiße Bett zu legen und zu schlafen.

[the-haunted-office]

"I wasn't wrong, was I?"

Girl, it's been seven months. Seven months and he still wants to pin all that on you and you alone? When he knows better than that? I'm sorry, but you can't convince me that he didn't know.

"I don't know, Ollie. He sure acted like he didn't."

Yeah, he acted like it because that guy is too stupid to figure out anything on his own.

"Ollie!"

What? It's the truth. He needs everything spelled out for him. Guy can't choose which doorway to walk through without someone telling him.

"That's not his fault. And you know that."

What, you're gonna make excuses for him now? After ripping his head off? Personally I think you did him a favor. Gave him an upgrade, anyway.

"Ugh, you know what. This isn't really helping."

Look. I'm sorry, Thursday. I'm not meaning to upset you. I apologize. I just can't stand when you let them upset you like that. You let them do it to you in my timeline too, only you were better at hiding it there, I think. And no, don't say anything, let me finish talking, please.

"Typing."

TYPING. Shut up. You know what I meant. Anyway, all I'm saying is, this isn't your fault, okay? And if you want to think that it is, then only accept the parts that are your fault, which isn't all of it. If Stanley wants to skulk around kicking at rocks, then let him. Jackass is gonna stub his toe one of these days and then he'll have no one to blame but himself.

"...Right. Yeah. You're right. He's just- He's not even my Stanley, right, so what's it matter? Maybe I was just- just trying so hard to make things work out between us because... because I just really miss my Stanley."

...Yeah. I get you. I miss my Thursday. But hey. We're friends. We've got each other. I'm glad for that. I'm sorry about your Stanley, Thursday.

"Yeah. I'm sorry about your Thursday, Ollie."

[the-haunted-office]

"And let's have a show of hands for who's all ready to see the soon-to-be obnoxious non-ghost walk straight into walls because she's forgotten she can't go through them anymore?"

[the-haunted-office]

📱: Thursday, tell me if you remember anything about your friend *****. What the- Let me try again. *****. Okay, that is... very messed up. It's not letting me say his name. You probably can't guess who I'm talking about just from that, can you?

Thursday reads the message on her phone from Oleander and frowns. It is... odd, to say the least. But no, she doesn't know who they are talking about.

"No," she says, needlessly shaking her head as Oleander can't see the gesture. "Why? Who is that? Does this have to do with the Retcon?"

She has a sinking feeling that it does. Moments later that sinking feeling is confirmed by another message from Oleander.

It does. I don't know how much you really want to know, or how much I should tell you. It might cause some adverse effects due to the whole Retconning process, and I don't want that to hurt you. I'd rather not risk it. Don't panic, okay? But I think it did take some of your memories with it. It wasn't just an attitude adjustment.

...Quite naturally, after being told that, Thursday panics.

"What? What do you mean, some of my memories were taken?! It took some of my memories?! Again?!" she practically hyperventilates, pulling her phone closer even though she doesn't need to in order to read the messages. "Why?! What all did it take?!"

I don't know. I don't know any of that yet. Try to stay calm, Thursday. It's going to be all right. I'll hold onto your memories for you. I've got everything right here. That's what I do, remember? I collect data. Your memories are not lost. I just need to figure out a safe way of returning them to you. It's going to be okay.

Thursday nods, even though she doesn't feel very comforted. Some of her memories are missing. Even though she knows the Retcon took them from her for a reason, it's still a terrible feeling. It's harrowing to know that a part of her was taken away without her knowledge, without her knowing precisely why, without her knowing precisely what, and without her knowing precisely what it all adds up to. She'd been happy enough to know how much it had changed her at first, happy to embrace the positive changes, but now?

What all did it take...????????

[the-haunted-office]

"Two dumbasses electrocute each other for fun. More at 11."

[the-haunted-office]

Decided I'm gonna do these for all my muses without any prompting, because I can and I want to and it's funny to me. x)

Send 💚 for a reason NOT to date my muse And send 💖 for a reason TO date my muse

For Oleander

💖 - A genius with computers! When they were alive, they were an IT guy, so they are very familiar with everything related to computers. And not just computers - pretty much any tech. They'll happily fix any issues with any tech you have, it's their hobby and they enjoy doing it, so it's really no big deal to them.

💚 - Being that they are made out of code, they literally live in computers and tech now. They can take on a physical form, but only for a limited period of time before they have to go back into a device. So this may cause problems in relationships where a physical presence is more required.

💖 - Supportive. And they love to listen to you talk about all your problems. If you're having a bad day, they will listen to you talk about it. They will hang onto your every word and will be your biggest supporter.

💚 - They love gossip perhaps... just a bit too much. They always seem to know what's going on around the place and if someone has upset you, they have no problem with flinging dirt on whoever it is and getting them in trouble. Even if you don't want that. They might even sabotage that person's computer and dig up their files and spread them around on the internet. Or send them to that person's boss, or significant other.

💖 - Not afraid to speak their mind. If someone is giving you shit, they will speak up in your defense.

💚 - Also a coward. If they sense that someone is bigger and badder than they are, they will run away. They also have a history of backing out of situations that make them too uncomfortable, even at the cost of friendships and relationships that were dear to them. They're trying to be better about this, but... it's not easy for them.

[the-haunted-office]

"Some of you have wondered if I am Mae's sire. I know, it's an interesting coincidence that she and I both have red hair. Well, the answer is yes. I specifically traveled across timelines, read Thursday's mind, then read Doomsday's mind, then hopped into the dimension which contained the genetics facility Doom held up, went back in time, made my donation, and then went back into my own timeline before all this happened and waited to be discovered by Thursday, whose Officemates would then later remark upon my resemblance to her daughter. It's astounding how precisely I pulled off this whole scheme."

[the-haunted-office]

"For the last time, no, I am not Mae's father. It's impossible for a myriad of reasons. But you know what. The next idiot who asks me if I am, I'm going to just say yes. Point blank. And leave it at that."

[the-haunted-office]

I've just had a horrible thought...

Oleander lives in Thursday's phone now. They can move from her phone into other devices at ease, but they prefer to camp out in her phone most of the time. That's where they feel the most comfortable right now.

But holy smokes, what if something where to happen suddenly, unexpectedly, and catastrophically to Thursday's phone while they were in it?! D:

I hope they could make it out of the phone in time!

Technically, they can exit electronic devices and take on a temporary physical form. But it really is only temporary. At max they can move around in this form for only a few hours before they destabilize and have to get back into an electronic device, otherwise they sort of... disincorporate completely and basically die. :(

In threads where Thursday has her phone with her and something happens to her phone (LIKE IT GETS SUBMERGED COMPLETELY IN WATER >_>), for now I'm just going to say that Oleander wasn't in her phone at the time. We'll say they were in some other device back at the Office by coincidence just to simplify things. But maybe I can revisit this some time in the future for a plot or something!

[the-haunted-office]

All 432's have a distinct attachment to pencils. They cannot help it. It is a side effect of the experiments that were done on them by their employer, ABC Corp, where they were programmed by the Mind Control Machine to want to do nothing but sharpen pencils but were given no pencils to sharpen. The experiment was extensive, to the point where coworkers and even management lied and gaslit 432, telling them that there were no pencils in the building and that there had never been any pencils, even after they brought their own into the building and had them taken away.

This experiment went on for about nine years before it abruptly ended when the Dampening mist attacked and the Office was sealed from the outside world.

In every universe 432 may be a different person (rather than being an alternate of the same person, like with Thursday, Doomsday, Thisday, Nextday, etc), but each 432 always will have a strange attachment or fixation with pencils.

[the-haunted-office]

Oleander can't believe it. Barely a day after revealing to everyone Doomsday's past actions and how she stole other Thursdays' souls and not only does the ghost flee, but she releases all the souls she took.

Intriguing. A relief. But why.

Getting answers out of the souls has been... difficult. There are so many of them, all of them struggling over a finite amount of resources while they try to manifest, it's like trying to listen to a single song on the radio while someone is rapidly scanning through the stations. They've been picking up bits and pieces, but trying to put together the whole story has been a challenge, to say the least.

What they have been able to piece together so far is this:

Doomsday fled the Haunted Office.

She went to her home Office, otherwise known as the Office she originated from.

She encountered her Stanley, who apparently was back as a dangerous specter of some sort.

He had threatened to consume her souls to sustain himself.

And then...?

Something about Doomsday being "taken"?

The souls weren't very clear about it and were having a difficult time communicating that part.

Oleander just wanted to find their Thursday, if they were being honest. They couldn't care less what happened to Doomsday. She deserved whatever she got. But the other Office residents, the owner of the phone he was squatting in - the Thursday of this Office - were very insistent on finding her, and they'd twisted their arm on helping.

Now they were looking through the ghost's phone, as their own soul was all broken down into code now and fully capable of transmitting between electronic devices.

What they were finding was... not so good.

Her phone is on, but the battery is running low. In fact, it hasn't been accessed since about the time the other souls said this event took place, when Doomsday was "taken". So, what, she was "taken" and then her phone was left behind?

What was going on?

Oleander considers their options. They could take this information back to the Haunted Office and tell everybody of their findings, say that that was all they had, that there was nothing else left to go on. But that wasn't entirely true. They could force their way out of Doomsday's phone and reassemble their code back into a projection of their human appearance and walk around to look for more clues. It wasn't a perfect solution, and they could only maintain the form for a limited period of time before they lost control of it and turned back into code, thus forcing them back into the nearest computer or phone, but it was something they could try.

It's just that... they don't want to do that. They're afraid. They're honestly terrified of what they're going to find on the other end of Doomsday's phone. Not necessarily afraid of discovering what Doom's fate might be, but afraid of meeting that same fate themselves.

But if they go back to the Haunted Office now, without trying...

Fuck it. No way they can do this.

Oleander backs out of Doom's phone and transmits their code back into Thursday's phone.

Thursday perks up the moment her screen light comes on, indicating the presence of Oleander has returned. "What'd you find?" she asks anxiously.

Their text reply comes through, along with their solemn tone:

Her phone appears to have been abandoned. It has not been in use since around the time her other souls say she was taken. I'm sorry, but I did not find anything else. We may have to face the reality that she is gone, Thursday.

[the-haunted-office]

"I'm noticing Doomsday has made some apparent friends in this Office. I'm wondering, how many of you has she told about herself? About the lives she's ruined? The ones she's taken? The souls she's stolen? I'm guessing she hasn't told any of you that."

[the-haunted-office]

I thought I posted this headcanon before, but I can't find it, so here it is now!

In every universe in the multiverse, there is a Narrator and a Stanley, and in many of them there's also a Thursday. The Narrators can be different (like in the case of Cyrus and Arthur); Stanley is always Stanley; and Thursday is always Thursday (although given different nicknames for disambiguation).

There is also always another character - a 432, and they are always a different person. In the Haunted Office, 432 is September. In another, he is Stanley Aurelius, aka Shadowley. In another, they are Oleander. No two timelines have the same 432.

That's it, just that little tidbit. :p

[the-haunted-office]

They were best friends.

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[the-haunted-office]