#you know vidcund's the one who told on him. bitch

[tricoufamily]

you say you like aliens and yet you are weirded out by the weird aliens. curious.

[harmonyckrs]

DAY 7 in Twisted Strangetown: Investigating the Beakers

THE PREVIOUS DAY

Now that Vidcund is safe and Aktu is in Ajay's possession, Chloe and I figured it would be a good idea to move out and observe the Beakers. We told Pascal that we were doing a secret investigation to locate Bella Goth, which he seemed to take rather well.

He offered to escort us to the Beakers, which I initially assumed was out of kindness. It turned out there was another reason why he asked, though - that weird guy that Boss insisted we protect.

I'm not really into sex or romance, but I'm glad there's at least something going well for him after everything that happened.

Pascal also claimed that he got some valuable information to share to help us with our investigation in regards to "Bella Goth," but it turns out he just wanted to talk shit about Loki and make false claims about him being responsible for every bad thing that's ever happened in Strangetown. He and Chloe spent some time talking trash about him, even though our interactions with Loki are still incredibly limited and we have yet to figure out who he is a person.

Pascal tried to do the same for me, but unlike her, I take my job seriously (okay wow. I'm sorry for trying to enjoy myself and actually interact with other people for non-work related reasons? You gotta learn how to blend in man). I refuse to involve myself in petty drama, especially after what happened with Erin and Kristen.

Needless to say, Pascal did not appear happy about that. I expected better from him, considering his reputation as the most reasonable person in Strangetown. The competition doesn't really appear to be very strong considering the eccentric nature of everyone else, but I hope you can understand my point.

Mr. Beaker was out harassing the other two brothers while Mrs. Beaker was at work, which left only Mr. Subject inside of the house. I watched him try to cook hotdogs, but he ended up setting the grill on fire that nearly killed all three of us (and you didn't do shit when it came to putting it out lol). It's a miracle we were able to live (the miracle is called ME bitch. Give me some damn credit). Either way, I hope the Beakers are better at cooking than he is.

The General told me fascinating information about the Beakers, such as the rumors of Mr. Subject being their living test subject that they perform harmful and illegal experiments on. Erin also told me about her parents being well-loved scientists and not approving of her becoming an oracle, so I suppose Mr. Beaker may be the same way considering he follows the path of his parents.

On an unrelated note, a lot of people tend to think I was the golden child among Chloe and I as some kind of justification for why Chloe is the way she is. The truth is, that was neither of us. Aunt Glabe raised us the best she could, what with our father abandoning us for his new family. We don't know much about them at all since he never visited or wrote us letters, but Aunt Glabe mentioned that he had four kids.

FOUR FUCKING KIDS.

I'd understand abandonment if he wanted to live the childless life, but this is just irrefutable proof that we were unwanted! And the worst part? I don't even know where that man's grave is. Even if I wanted to yell at him and crush his tombstone the way he crushed my aunt's well-being, I can't.

On the bright side, the odds of me ever encountering any of those four kids is pretty low. I imagine they're probably all scattered around the world, living their best life with help from our father. I'm not even sure what they look like. For all I know, I could've encountered one or two of them already. The odds of me somehow meeting all four is really low.

THE NEXT DAY

[harmonyckrs]

DAY 4 in Twisted Strangetown: A Curious Family Reunion

THE PREVIOUS DAY

WHAT'S UP GANG? Chloe here, back at it again with another report (Chloe, take this seriously. People's lives are at stake here)! So that basic looking nerd dude with the alien baby asked us to temporarily move in so that he would feel more at ease and make sure nobody else would get kidnapped again or whatever. Dunno why Lola agreed to this but yeah

Anyway, I told Lola about what Ajay and I talked about so now we have to go find this Aktu dude or whatever and figure out where Vidcund went. Speaking of Aktu, that dumbass called me today lol. He gave me some kind of cryptic message about meeting him in the "floating world of colors and clay" as if I'm supposed to know what that means. Wack ass bitch

Also I just found out that the bimbo girl that I thought Lazlo was dating isn't actually in a relationship with him! So I guess there's actually one hot single woman in this boring town (don't even think about pursuing her). Maybe I can snag her for myself since Lazlo seems to be taking his sweet time making a move LOL

Anyway, Chloe OUT! Gotta go solve that fucking riddle

A: And that's about everything. Again, I'm really sorry about what happened.

V: Is the entire town really under someone's control?

A: Yeah. Cyd and I suspected something was off for a while, which was why we came here before it started to affect us. Whoever is responsible for it doesn't have any power here, so he told me to grab any human I saw and take them here. And you were the first person I encountered, since you just ran up to me and shoved me out of nowhere yesterday afternoon.

V: You were spying on me! And you couldn't have just asked? I know at least seven people who would've loved to participate in your little experiment, my brothers included!

A: Again, I'm sorry! We'll help you get back to Strangetown once Cyd's powers are fully recharged. Also reversing that other person's mind control took a lot of energy, so he's also passed out. I can introduce him to you once he wakes up.

V: And how long is that going to take?

A: Probably about a week for both...again, sorry. I can find a way to make it up to you.

V: You better! I'm going to be missing a lot of work because of this! I don't want to lose my job, and Pascal still needs my help with Hecate!...oh, fuck! My family's all still being mind controlled, aren't they?

A: Yeah, probably.

V: Can't you do something about that?

A: I'm not the one with mind control reversal powers. And Cyd already had a hard time reversing yours. He'd probably die from exhaustion if he tried to reverse the entire town, unless if you're fine with moving everyone here and waiting several years.

V: Ugh...

A: Yeah, sorry. The easiest thing to do for now is figuring out who it might be. I'm not really familiar with everyone in Strangetown, but maybe you might have a clue.

V: Actually, I think I know who's responsible...

THE NEXT DAY

---

BONUS:

V: So there's that old lady Olive Specter, who's a witch. I'm pretty sure she could be behind everything that happened. And then there's also that asshole Loki-

A: Loki?

V: Yeah! He sent our town into an eternal winter because of one of his stupid experiments going wrong, and now we're stuck having to wear coats all the time. He's just the worst! And he stole my girlfriend, Circe, from me when I was a teenager. It took me ages to get over that. And he's also one of my coworkers and acts all high and mighty just because he's at a higher rank from us thanks to the strings that his parents probably pulled for him...are you even listening?

[harmonyckrs]

Give Me Back My Wife, Grim Reaper - Part 3

*BEEP BEEP. RING.*

“Hi. Is Lazlo there? I need to talk to him…Lazlo. Get to the roof. I really need your help, and it’s important nobody else knows about this. Make sure your brothers aren’t around.

There’s a green person in my yard. Not, like, alien green, but like a completely different species entirely. I’d take care of this myself, but he seems really withdrawn. Are you free to come over right now? You’re a lot better at getting people to open up than I am…”

As I woke up the next day, free from my unusual vision, I came to the realization of something truly terrible.

Crystal and Lazlo met Aktu. They've talked to him. They have more recent information on his whereabouts that we don't.

And that also meant Aktu was here.

Harper: (I can't tell Zoya about this. She won't believe me.)

Harper: (I'm going to need to get in contact with that woman that Crystal mentioned yesterday...Erin).

Harper: (Where did Crystal say she lived again?)

*DING DONG*

Erin: OMG! Hi! It's so nice to finally meet another fellow psychic! Lazlo told me all about you.

Harper: Same here. Can I come in?

Erin: Sure! The bunker's a bit of a mess, though. I'm so sorry about that. My roommate Chloe refuses to clean.

Chloe: Oh, shut up. At least I don't hog all of the room space with my so-called magic equipment. None of that shit even works!

Erin: Ugh, ignore her. She's a massive bitch.

Harper: (Think this is the first time meeting a real alien...let's not think about that at the moment. We've got more important things to focus on here.)

Harper: It's alright, Erin. Maybe we can just talk in the dining room, if that's alright.

Erin: Sure!

Lola: Neither of his roommates show any major signs of distress. I believe they think it's simply a long alien abduction...or perhaps they could be covering a murder.

Ajay: Either way, continue to keep an eye on them.

Lola: Will do.

Erin: Hey! Whatcha two talking about?

Lola: Important business you wouldn't understand. Why don't you go outside and play soccer with Kristen?...and who's that guy?

Erin: Oh, this is Harper! He's a psychic, like me!

Lola: Oh, interesting. Well, you two have fun. Ajay and I were just about to leave.

Harper: Wait.

Harper: I overheard you two talking about a murder. Is this about Vincent?

Lola: Vincent?

Erin: I think he means Vidcund. And also, like, if it was a murder, I really don't think one of his brothers did it. I bet you it was that creepy old lady, Olive!

Lola: Olive has an alibi. She was celebrating Ophelia's birthday at her house. For the time being, we're keeping an eye on Pascal and Lazlo. And this is NOT the type of information that we're freely sharing with civilians like you.

Erin: Okay, well, don't blame me when we see his name carved in her newest tombstone.

Erin: Ugh, so sorry about her too. Lola's a total sweetie when you get to know her, but she takes her job way too seriously. It's like, scary. So what did you want to talk about?

Harper: I want to exchange visions. Do you recall having any visions about new people entering town? Or about either Crystal or Lazlo?

Erin: I foresaw the arrival of this plant guy, who mostly stayed in Crystal's house. When I tried to ask Lazlo about it, he changed the topic and refused to answer any questions I asked about him.

Harper: Yes, him! Was there anything about him?

Erin: Let me think...

"I'm sorry. But I have to go. I know you two are going to be upset about it, but this is the only way I can clear my consciousness.

Celeste is in danger because of me. And my friends are all still under the control of the Divine Harpist. I have to go fight her in order to free them...and I have to do it alone, or else I'm just going to get more people possessed.

I'll return here if I make it alive. But if not...thank you for everything. I'll remember the two of you fondly as my soul rests in the Netherworld."