Raymond Addams, at your service!

Ray - he/him - tma oc

[dontsee-justlook]

Greetings! My name is Raymond Addams, pleasure to meet you.

Do you require assistance?

----

Yo it's Spooky once again back at it all that

Raymond is 24, Flesh and Corruption marked, but not a full avatar. To combat his hatred of having skin, he wears very extravagant clothing so he knows where people's eyes are (also, he likes it) He wears classic ouji and makes all of his own clothes! He can also bake, especially cookies.

He's from the southern US but moved to the UK for education purposes. He very heavily covers up his accent, or tries to.

Oh, also he's depressed and has multiple infestations in his house :D have fun!

general rules:

- No Nsfw

- THIS GUY can be in a romantic relationship but you gotta talk to me abt it first

- anyone can interact !

- If I do something that makes you uncomfortable TELL! I want to make sure you have fun too <3

Alright seeya

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[There was the sound of things being packed up in Edas office as well as mutteres as someone searched for somthing on her shelves]

@edalynn-pines

[Sparrow enters the office, stopping in the doorway. Something was off here. Something was very off. They hazard a joke]

Do you get why I’m always trying to organize in here now?

[edalynn-pines]

"Yes, it is dreadfully messy in here."

[She grumbled. Her hair was tied back in a messy bun and her outfit was rather fancier than usual]

"Where is that damn key..."

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They looked her up and down. Whatever was in that office, it wasn’t Edalynn Pines. They leaned against the doorframe, partially blocking the way out. Their tone was noticeably sharper now]

Key for what? There’s about a thousand locked things in this office you know.

[edalynn-pines]

[She glanced at Sparrow and they felt the over wheeling feeling of being watched for a few moments before she smiled]

"You know what im talking about. The drawer."

[She pulled the key out from under a piece of taxidermy]

"there's so many things in here that should have been in artifact storage what was i thinking?"

[She muttered]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They shuddered, their eyes narrowing. The room started to distort slightly as their temper rose]

That you enjoy surrounding yourself with strange objects. A conversation we quite literally had last week.

[They see the packed boxes on the floor. She couldn’t have been fired, could she? No. That’s was almost impossible unless you literally died.]

Where exactly are you going anyway? As far as I’m aware we didn’t get any heads up that our archivist was moving departments. That’s a lot of work we’ll have to adjust now, you do realize.

[edalynn-pines]

[She didn't react to the room distorting and she sighed]

"Apologies, I suppose i should have informed you and the others about my move from archivist to head of the institute. Starling will be moved to archivist, I'll have to tell them when they arrive."

[She unlocked the drawer and hummed while she examined the contents for a moment]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

Head of the Institute-?!

[They nearly dropped their coffee]

Have you gone mad? Wait- what about Elias?

[edalynn-pines]

"Elias is gone and I havent gone mad."

[She said like this was the most obvious thing in the world.]

"I found him dead in the tunnels while I was on my way to artifact storage."

[She sets the leitner on the desk and the few files she had in the drawer too]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

You-

[They glance back at the assistant’s desks. No sign of Starling or Ray yet. Damn.]

Okay hold on. Just. Back up a second. Elias is dead and you’ve decided that you’re the new head of the Institute?! Edalynn Pines? Famous for consistently not finishing her statements and giving them to her assistants to clear up? Running the Entire Magnus Institute? I think you, or whoever has convinced you to do this needs to think this through a little more.

[The room shifted more noticeably now. Something was very, very wrong here and whatever it was they were getting to the bottom of it. Whoever this Not-Eda Eda was certainly hadn’t done their research on how to properly imitate her]

[edalynn-pines]

"I've decided to.. turn over a new leaf of sorts. Running an institute and being a head of the archives are very different."

[She pushed the few statement folders that were in her locked drawer towards sparrow. They were statements written by Eda and sparrow's]

"Have these put back into the archives, i know you have your own sorting system."

[She walked over to her book shelf of journals and began putting them in boxes]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They took them, holding them tightly. They set down their coffee on the desk, hazarding another step into the room]

Now hold on just a minute! You know exactly why those files are where they are. They’re filed there for a very specific reason. Now you might be running us aground down here for no reason that Edalynn Pines ever would but you are not fucking up my filing system in the process!

You don’t even care about those journals! Those are years of her work!

[edalynn-pines]

"Yes- my work thats going into my new office."

[She hissed and brushed her hair out of her face]

"I dont understand why youre so angry with me Sparrow, i am ell aware that those files were in there for a specific reason but I doubt starling is going to want them when they move in here. I have no intention to fuck up your filing system, I am simply moving things out of here."

[She spoke in a stern tone that she had probably only used once or twice. Her greyish eyes locked onto Sparrow and she gave them a sort of odd look, Like she was confused by their anger]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They stepped back a bit. Getting told off by Eda was always scary, even scarier when they knew whoever this pretender was could most definitely kill them. They pick up their cup, backing away further]

Lie to everyone else all you want. But you do a right miserable job of acting like her. We’ll make the archives a living hell to manage. I hope you weren’t planning on getting your scheduling done this week over all the misfilings. It happens when you put things under new management.

[They glance back into the archives, spotting Ray and practically dragging him in before glaring at her]

Oh Ray! Wonderful! You’re here! “Edalynn” here just informed me that starting today she’ll be the Head of the Institute and Starling will be our archivist! Isn’t that just exactly the kind of thing she would do?

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

Oh, is Eda acting odd again? I've said we need to stage an intervention with her.

Head of the Institute? Edalynn Pines taking on extra responsibility is the last thing you need right now. How about you take the next couple days off to process. You can trust us to handle things, I promise. But there's absolutely no need to rush in this manner.

@edalynn-pines

[edalynn-pines]

"No. No, im fine. Ill take a day off later, I just need to clean this place out. Now, if you lot wanted to help it would be appreciated."

[She picked up a box and moved it over to the shelf to stack the rest of the journals in]

@a-poem-poorly-written

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[Sparrow gave Ray a Look of “don’t you dare” before looking back at Eda]

Well you know that we would love to but seeing as we’re under new management there’s a lot of things we’ll have to get organized, so I really should start on that.

Oh and Ray, when you have a moment, a word please?

[They left, leaving Ray and Eda in the office]

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

Eda, You're acting very out of character. I know you must be stressed, but you don't need to do a thing. We can talk it through if you'd like.

@edalynn-pines

[edalynn-pines]

"There isnt much to talk about or talk through, but if you reslly think its necessary we can attempt it."

[She put the last journal in the box and looked over at Ray. Her greyish eyes seemed to stare right through him]

[dontsee-justlook]

[Ray took a moment to regain his confidence. Nobody knew about the maggots. He was Raymond Addams here.]

I do. How did this becoming head of the institute start? Did someone promote you or did you decide to take up the mantle?

[edalynn-pines]

"I decided to take up the mantle after I found Elias dead. I just assumed this would be a good course of action."

[The longer she stared at ray, the more the feeling of being watched grew on them]

"Are you alright? I feel like somthing is amiss."

[dontsee-justlook]

Oh, only a little. My boyfriend had a near death experience over the weekend, I'm still quite a bit rattled. Regardless, I'll do my job just fine.

Can you think about this for a moment? Immediately taking up the mantle as head is a terrible idea. It'd look suspicious from the outside, and from here it looks like you're scared.

[edalynn-pines]

"Do i really look scared?"

[She chuckled lightly]

"i do suppose it isnt the best idea, and I truly dont want to seem suspicious.."

[She frowned]

[dontsee-justlook]

Look scared or not, this is incredibly last minute. Why did you believe this seemed like a good course of action?

[edalynn-pines]

"Because unlike some people, I belive im competent enough to run an institute. Just give me a few days, if I fail miserably, ill step down."

[dontsee-justlook]

That's slightly more reasonable, but maybe wait a couple days first. As I said, I would hate for suspicion to be aimed at you for a spontaneous decision.

[edalynn-pines]

"i would also hate that."

[She sighed and messed with her hair]

"now, Sparrow wanted to have a word with you. Id assume keeping them waiting while theyre as agitated as this would be a good course of action for you."

[dontsee-justlook]

No, no it would not. I'll go discuss whatever it is they want to discuss. And you may stop migrating your belongings and wait a moment before making rash decisions.

[Ray exited the room to find Sparrow, speaking under his breath about the insanity of the people at this job]

@a-poem-poorly-written

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[Sparrow is pacing around the office, looking horribly worried when they look up at Ray. They waited until the door fell shut, not that it would matter, but anything not to see into that office right now]

There is no possible way that that is Edalynn Pines. Please tell me something is very, very wrong here.

[dontsee-justlook]

My first assumption would be that she's making a rash decision which doesn't seem out of character, but she does seem oddly...put together? I admit it's unsettling.

What do you believe took her place then? Do you believe this is a Stranger?

[a-poem-poorly-written]

I- I don’t know. She said Elias was dead. Dead! The creepy head of the Institute dies and she just “decides” she’s going to be the new head?! There’s no way! And do you notice, she’s acting an awful lot like Elias?

[They were holding two files close to themself, seeming rather unwilling to let them go]

These are from a locked cabinet in her desk. Her own statement and mine, which I asked her to keep out of the archives for me because it’s dangerous. Even if she was moving departments she wouldn’t just toss these back in with everything else! A-and the put togetherness! She brought up putting her stuff in artifact storage. She hates artifact storage because they’re always trying to take her things!

I don’t know what’s in that office, some sort of ghost of Elias or maybe it possessed him too or I don’t know! But it’s not her.

[dontsee-justlook]

So you believe Elias is possessing her? I was under the impression the institute was of the Eye which opposes the Stranger. How would he be using their methods?

[a-poem-poorly-written]

I- I don’t know! That’s the problem! Fears are amorphous sometimes and it makes it hard to tell what it is! But if it killed Elias, who’s to say it’s not going to kill her too? Something is wrong something is so wrong here Ray I just-

[They glanced at the stairs coming down to the archives]

Starling! Starling you’ve got to help us figure this out there’s something wrong with Eda.

@14-shattered-souls

[14-shattered-souls]

[they took their headphones off and looked concerned]

"Isn't there always somthing wring with Eda? It cant be that bad- unless it is- whats wrong?"

[They hurriedly made their was over to the other two and glanced at Edas office]

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

Don't go in there Starling- I'm sorry. Apparently Elias is dead, and Eda's acting....very off. We believe it may be something impersonating her, and doing a bad job of it at that.

@a-poem-poorly-written

[a-poem-poorly-written]

She’s claimed that she’s now Head of the Institute, and with no warning is clearing out her office—while complaining about the disorganization mind you—because you’re now the Archivist!

@14-shattered-souls

[14-shattered-souls]

[They laughed]

"No way! This has got to be a joke! Us? The archivist?"

[They continued laughing]

"She has to be going through one of her delusional spells there..."

[They trailed off as she saw the serious looks on there faces]

"You- youre both kidding right?"

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

Well, she doesn't seem to be, but I do think this is most likely some fear induced last minute decision, whether that be Fear or fear.

[Ray sat on a desk where there were no papers]

Well, I don't see why you'd have to be the Archivist just because Eda says so.

@a-poem-poorly-written

[a-poem-poorly-written]

I don’t know if we should even be calling her Eda. There’s absolutely no way that’s actually her. It’s just too wrong, even for one of her delusional spells. She acts like Elias! Who, should we not forget, is dead now and no one in the entire institute has made a fuss about! I-I mean what if the same thing that killed him kills her?!

@14-shattered-souls

[14-shattered-souls]

"i- I mean I doubt it will- i- I should talk to her. Im good at reasoning with Eda."

[They began to make their way to the office and paused, giving the two of them a conflicted glance]

"Should I talk to her?"

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

To me she seemed very different but not dangerous. I doubt it'll hurt.

@a-poem-poorly-written

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They shrugged, but were clearly worried]

Ray’s right, I don’t think she’ll hurt you, but. . . I mean you’ll see.

@14-shattered-souls

[14-shattered-souls]

[They walked off into Edas office, and paused when they saw the boxes. They took one more glance at them and closed the office door behind them]

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

[Ray slumped and turned to Sparrow]

What would we do if Eda isn't herself? I'd hardly feel comfortable killing her body as well, is that the plan?

[a-poem-poorly-written]

Kill her? No! No. There’s got to be some other way. Maybe she’s still in there. A-and even if not we can’t just kill her! What if whatever it is gets one of us next? No. There’s got to be a way to get her back. Right?

[dontsee-justlook]

Sparrow. I don't want to get your hopes down, but I don't...think...it would make sense for her to still be alive. Think about the statements. Are any of those people alive after being replaced?

[a-poem-poorly-written]

I. . . no. . . no they aren’t. . .

[They sit on their chair with their knees up, resting this chin on them. Their voice sounding somewhat warped now]

But then what do we do? I-I mean what’s protocol for this? Just. Let it happen? Our entire system just—[snap]—gone like that? And it’s not like being the archivist is even a good thing, really. What happens when the Eye gets a hold of Starling? Ray, what if it kills them?

[dontsee-justlook]

I don't see why they have to be the Archivist. They have to sign the papers and everything.

We shouldn't just let this happen, no, but. Our Archivist is gone. Do we even have to stay now? Are we bound by anyone?

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[There was the sound of things being packed up in Edas office as well as mutteres as someone searched for somthing on her shelves]

@edalynn-pines

[Sparrow enters the office, stopping in the doorway. Something was off here. Something was very off. They hazard a joke]

Do you get why I’m always trying to organize in here now?

[edalynn-pines]

"Yes, it is dreadfully messy in here."

[She grumbled. Her hair was tied back in a messy bun and her outfit was rather fancier than usual]

"Where is that damn key..."

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They looked her up and down. Whatever was in that office, it wasn’t Edalynn Pines. They leaned against the doorframe, partially blocking the way out. Their tone was noticeably sharper now]

Key for what? There’s about a thousand locked things in this office you know.

[edalynn-pines]

[She glanced at Sparrow and they felt the over wheeling feeling of being watched for a few moments before she smiled]

"You know what im talking about. The drawer."

[She pulled the key out from under a piece of taxidermy]

"there's so many things in here that should have been in artifact storage what was i thinking?"

[She muttered]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They shuddered, their eyes narrowing. The room started to distort slightly as their temper rose]

That you enjoy surrounding yourself with strange objects. A conversation we quite literally had last week.

[They see the packed boxes on the floor. She couldn’t have been fired, could she? No. That’s was almost impossible unless you literally died.]

Where exactly are you going anyway? As far as I’m aware we didn’t get any heads up that our archivist was moving departments. That’s a lot of work we’ll have to adjust now, you do realize.

[edalynn-pines]

[She didn't react to the room distorting and she sighed]

"Apologies, I suppose i should have informed you and the others about my move from archivist to head of the institute. Starling will be moved to archivist, I'll have to tell them when they arrive."

[She unlocked the drawer and hummed while she examined the contents for a moment]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

Head of the Institute-?!

[They nearly dropped their coffee]

Have you gone mad? Wait- what about Elias?

[edalynn-pines]

"Elias is gone and I havent gone mad."

[She said like this was the most obvious thing in the world.]

"I found him dead in the tunnels while I was on my way to artifact storage."

[She sets the leitner on the desk and the few files she had in the drawer too]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

You-

[They glance back at the assistant’s desks. No sign of Starling or Ray yet. Damn.]

Okay hold on. Just. Back up a second. Elias is dead and you’ve decided that you’re the new head of the Institute?! Edalynn Pines? Famous for consistently not finishing her statements and giving them to her assistants to clear up? Running the Entire Magnus Institute? I think you, or whoever has convinced you to do this needs to think this through a little more.

[The room shifted more noticeably now. Something was very, very wrong here and whatever it was they were getting to the bottom of it. Whoever this Not-Eda Eda was certainly hadn’t done their research on how to properly imitate her]

[edalynn-pines]

"I've decided to.. turn over a new leaf of sorts. Running an institute and being a head of the archives are very different."

[She pushed the few statement folders that were in her locked drawer towards sparrow. They were statements written by Eda and sparrow's]

"Have these put back into the archives, i know you have your own sorting system."

[She walked over to her book shelf of journals and began putting them in boxes]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They took them, holding them tightly. They set down their coffee on the desk, hazarding another step into the room]

Now hold on just a minute! You know exactly why those files are where they are. They’re filed there for a very specific reason. Now you might be running us aground down here for no reason that Edalynn Pines ever would but you are not fucking up my filing system in the process!

You don’t even care about those journals! Those are years of her work!

[edalynn-pines]

"Yes- my work thats going into my new office."

[She hissed and brushed her hair out of her face]

"I dont understand why youre so angry with me Sparrow, i am ell aware that those files were in there for a specific reason but I doubt starling is going to want them when they move in here. I have no intention to fuck up your filing system, I am simply moving things out of here."

[She spoke in a stern tone that she had probably only used once or twice. Her greyish eyes locked onto Sparrow and she gave them a sort of odd look, Like she was confused by their anger]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They stepped back a bit. Getting told off by Eda was always scary, even scarier when they knew whoever this pretender was could most definitely kill them. They pick up their cup, backing away further]

Lie to everyone else all you want. But you do a right miserable job of acting like her. We’ll make the archives a living hell to manage. I hope you weren’t planning on getting your scheduling done this week over all the misfilings. It happens when you put things under new management.

[They glance back into the archives, spotting Ray and practically dragging him in before glaring at her]

Oh Ray! Wonderful! You’re here! “Edalynn” here just informed me that starting today she’ll be the Head of the Institute and Starling will be our archivist! Isn’t that just exactly the kind of thing she would do?

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

Oh, is Eda acting odd again? I've said we need to stage an intervention with her.

Head of the Institute? Edalynn Pines taking on extra responsibility is the last thing you need right now. How about you take the next couple days off to process. You can trust us to handle things, I promise. But there's absolutely no need to rush in this manner.

@edalynn-pines

[edalynn-pines]

"No. No, im fine. Ill take a day off later, I just need to clean this place out. Now, if you lot wanted to help it would be appreciated."

[She picked up a box and moved it over to the shelf to stack the rest of the journals in]

@a-poem-poorly-written

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[Sparrow gave Ray a Look of “don’t you dare” before looking back at Eda]

Well you know that we would love to but seeing as we’re under new management there’s a lot of things we’ll have to get organized, so I really should start on that.

Oh and Ray, when you have a moment, a word please?

[They left, leaving Ray and Eda in the office]

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

Eda, You're acting very out of character. I know you must be stressed, but you don't need to do a thing. We can talk it through if you'd like.

@edalynn-pines

[edalynn-pines]

"There isnt much to talk about or talk through, but if you reslly think its necessary we can attempt it."

[She put the last journal in the box and looked over at Ray. Her greyish eyes seemed to stare right through him]

[dontsee-justlook]

[Ray took a moment to regain his confidence. Nobody knew about the maggots. He was Raymond Addams here.]

I do. How did this becoming head of the institute start? Did someone promote you or did you decide to take up the mantle?

[edalynn-pines]

"I decided to take up the mantle after I found Elias dead. I just assumed this would be a good course of action."

[The longer she stared at ray, the more the feeling of being watched grew on them]

"Are you alright? I feel like somthing is amiss."

[dontsee-justlook]

Oh, only a little. My boyfriend had a near death experience over the weekend, I'm still quite a bit rattled. Regardless, I'll do my job just fine.

Can you think about this for a moment? Immediately taking up the mantle as head is a terrible idea. It'd look suspicious from the outside, and from here it looks like you're scared.

[edalynn-pines]

"Do i really look scared?"

[She chuckled lightly]

"i do suppose it isnt the best idea, and I truly dont want to seem suspicious.."

[She frowned]

[dontsee-justlook]

Look scared or not, this is incredibly last minute. Why did you believe this seemed like a good course of action?

[edalynn-pines]

"Because unlike some people, I belive im competent enough to run an institute. Just give me a few days, if I fail miserably, ill step down."

[dontsee-justlook]

That's slightly more reasonable, but maybe wait a couple days first. As I said, I would hate for suspicion to be aimed at you for a spontaneous decision.

[edalynn-pines]

"i would also hate that."

[She sighed and messed with her hair]

"now, Sparrow wanted to have a word with you. Id assume keeping them waiting while theyre as agitated as this would be a good course of action for you."

[dontsee-justlook]

No, no it would not. I'll go discuss whatever it is they want to discuss. And you may stop migrating your belongings and wait a moment before making rash decisions.

[Ray exited the room to find Sparrow, speaking under his breath about the insanity of the people at this job]

@a-poem-poorly-written

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[Sparrow is pacing around the office, looking horribly worried when they look up at Ray. They waited until the door fell shut, not that it would matter, but anything not to see into that office right now]

There is no possible way that that is Edalynn Pines. Please tell me something is very, very wrong here.

[dontsee-justlook]

My first assumption would be that she's making a rash decision which doesn't seem out of character, but she does seem oddly...put together? I admit it's unsettling.

What do you believe took her place then? Do you believe this is a Stranger?

[a-poem-poorly-written]

I- I don’t know. She said Elias was dead. Dead! The creepy head of the Institute dies and she just “decides” she’s going to be the new head?! There’s no way! And do you notice, she’s acting an awful lot like Elias?

[They were holding two files close to themself, seeming rather unwilling to let them go]

These are from a locked cabinet in her desk. Her own statement and mine, which I asked her to keep out of the archives for me because it’s dangerous. Even if she was moving departments she wouldn’t just toss these back in with everything else! A-and the put togetherness! She brought up putting her stuff in artifact storage. She hates artifact storage because they’re always trying to take her things!

I don’t know what’s in that office, some sort of ghost of Elias or maybe it possessed him too or I don’t know! But it’s not her.

[dontsee-justlook]

So you believe Elias is possessing her? I was under the impression the institute was of the Eye which opposes the Stranger. How would he be using their methods?

[a-poem-poorly-written]

I- I don’t know! That’s the problem! Fears are amorphous sometimes and it makes it hard to tell what it is! But if it killed Elias, who’s to say it’s not going to kill her too? Something is wrong something is so wrong here Ray I just-

[They glanced at the stairs coming down to the archives]

Starling! Starling you’ve got to help us figure this out there’s something wrong with Eda.

@14-shattered-souls

[14-shattered-souls]

[they took their headphones off and looked concerned]

"Isn't there always somthing wring with Eda? It cant be that bad- unless it is- whats wrong?"

[They hurriedly made their was over to the other two and glanced at Edas office]

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

Don't go in there Starling- I'm sorry. Apparently Elias is dead, and Eda's acting....very off. We believe it may be something impersonating her, and doing a bad job of it at that.

@a-poem-poorly-written

[a-poem-poorly-written]

She’s claimed that she’s now Head of the Institute, and with no warning is clearing out her office—while complaining about the disorganization mind you—because you’re now the Archivist!

@14-shattered-souls

[14-shattered-souls]

[They laughed]

"No way! This has got to be a joke! Us? The archivist?"

[They continued laughing]

"She has to be going through one of her delusional spells there..."

[They trailed off as she saw the serious looks on there faces]

"You- youre both kidding right?"

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

Well, she doesn't seem to be, but I do think this is most likely some fear induced last minute decision, whether that be Fear or fear.

[Ray sat on a desk where there were no papers]

Well, I don't see why you'd have to be the Archivist just because Eda says so.

@a-poem-poorly-written

[a-poem-poorly-written]

I don’t know if we should even be calling her Eda. There’s absolutely no way that’s actually her. It’s just too wrong, even for one of her delusional spells. She acts like Elias! Who, should we not forget, is dead now and no one in the entire institute has made a fuss about! I-I mean what if the same thing that killed him kills her?!

@14-shattered-souls

[14-shattered-souls]

"i- I mean I doubt it will- i- I should talk to her. Im good at reasoning with Eda."

[They began to make their way to the office and paused, giving the two of them a conflicted glance]

"Should I talk to her?"

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

To me she seemed very different but not dangerous. I doubt it'll hurt.

@a-poem-poorly-written

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They shrugged, but were clearly worried]

Ray’s right, I don’t think she’ll hurt you, but. . . I mean you’ll see.

@14-shattered-souls

[14-shattered-souls]

[They walked off into Edas office, and paused when they saw the boxes. They took one more glance at them and closed the office door behind them]

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

[Ray slumped and turned to Sparrow]

What would we do if Eda isn't herself? I'd hardly feel comfortable killing her body as well, is that the plan?

[a-poem-poorly-written]

Kill her? No! No. There’s got to be some other way. Maybe she’s still in there. A-and even if not we can’t just kill her! What if whatever it is gets one of us next? No. There’s got to be a way to get her back. Right?

[dontsee-justlook]

Sparrow. I don't want to get your hopes down, but I don't...think...it would make sense for her to still be alive. Think about the statements. Are any of those people alive after being replaced?

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[There was the sound of things being packed up in Edas office as well as mutteres as someone searched for somthing on her shelves]

@edalynn-pines

[Sparrow enters the office, stopping in the doorway. Something was off here. Something was very off. They hazard a joke]

Do you get why I’m always trying to organize in here now?

[edalynn-pines]

"Yes, it is dreadfully messy in here."

[She grumbled. Her hair was tied back in a messy bun and her outfit was rather fancier than usual]

"Where is that damn key..."

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They looked her up and down. Whatever was in that office, it wasn’t Edalynn Pines. They leaned against the doorframe, partially blocking the way out. Their tone was noticeably sharper now]

Key for what? There’s about a thousand locked things in this office you know.

[edalynn-pines]

[She glanced at Sparrow and they felt the over wheeling feeling of being watched for a few moments before she smiled]

"You know what im talking about. The drawer."

[She pulled the key out from under a piece of taxidermy]

"there's so many things in here that should have been in artifact storage what was i thinking?"

[She muttered]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They shuddered, their eyes narrowing. The room started to distort slightly as their temper rose]

That you enjoy surrounding yourself with strange objects. A conversation we quite literally had last week.

[They see the packed boxes on the floor. She couldn’t have been fired, could she? No. That’s was almost impossible unless you literally died.]

Where exactly are you going anyway? As far as I’m aware we didn’t get any heads up that our archivist was moving departments. That’s a lot of work we’ll have to adjust now, you do realize.

[edalynn-pines]

[She didn't react to the room distorting and she sighed]

"Apologies, I suppose i should have informed you and the others about my move from archivist to head of the institute. Starling will be moved to archivist, I'll have to tell them when they arrive."

[She unlocked the drawer and hummed while she examined the contents for a moment]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

Head of the Institute-?!

[They nearly dropped their coffee]

Have you gone mad? Wait- what about Elias?

[edalynn-pines]

"Elias is gone and I havent gone mad."

[She said like this was the most obvious thing in the world.]

"I found him dead in the tunnels while I was on my way to artifact storage."

[She sets the leitner on the desk and the few files she had in the drawer too]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

You-

[They glance back at the assistant’s desks. No sign of Starling or Ray yet. Damn.]

Okay hold on. Just. Back up a second. Elias is dead and you’ve decided that you’re the new head of the Institute?! Edalynn Pines? Famous for consistently not finishing her statements and giving them to her assistants to clear up? Running the Entire Magnus Institute? I think you, or whoever has convinced you to do this needs to think this through a little more.

[The room shifted more noticeably now. Something was very, very wrong here and whatever it was they were getting to the bottom of it. Whoever this Not-Eda Eda was certainly hadn’t done their research on how to properly imitate her]

[edalynn-pines]

"I've decided to.. turn over a new leaf of sorts. Running an institute and being a head of the archives are very different."

[She pushed the few statement folders that were in her locked drawer towards sparrow. They were statements written by Eda and sparrow's]

"Have these put back into the archives, i know you have your own sorting system."

[She walked over to her book shelf of journals and began putting them in boxes]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They took them, holding them tightly. They set down their coffee on the desk, hazarding another step into the room]

Now hold on just a minute! You know exactly why those files are where they are. They’re filed there for a very specific reason. Now you might be running us aground down here for no reason that Edalynn Pines ever would but you are not fucking up my filing system in the process!

You don’t even care about those journals! Those are years of her work!

[edalynn-pines]

"Yes- my work thats going into my new office."

[She hissed and brushed her hair out of her face]

"I dont understand why youre so angry with me Sparrow, i am ell aware that those files were in there for a specific reason but I doubt starling is going to want them when they move in here. I have no intention to fuck up your filing system, I am simply moving things out of here."

[She spoke in a stern tone that she had probably only used once or twice. Her greyish eyes locked onto Sparrow and she gave them a sort of odd look, Like she was confused by their anger]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They stepped back a bit. Getting told off by Eda was always scary, even scarier when they knew whoever this pretender was could most definitely kill them. They pick up their cup, backing away further]

Lie to everyone else all you want. But you do a right miserable job of acting like her. We’ll make the archives a living hell to manage. I hope you weren’t planning on getting your scheduling done this week over all the misfilings. It happens when you put things under new management.

[They glance back into the archives, spotting Ray and practically dragging him in before glaring at her]

Oh Ray! Wonderful! You’re here! “Edalynn” here just informed me that starting today she’ll be the Head of the Institute and Starling will be our archivist! Isn’t that just exactly the kind of thing she would do?

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

Oh, is Eda acting odd again? I've said we need to stage an intervention with her.

Head of the Institute? Edalynn Pines taking on extra responsibility is the last thing you need right now. How about you take the next couple days off to process. You can trust us to handle things, I promise. But there's absolutely no need to rush in this manner.

@edalynn-pines

[edalynn-pines]

"No. No, im fine. Ill take a day off later, I just need to clean this place out. Now, if you lot wanted to help it would be appreciated."

[She picked up a box and moved it over to the shelf to stack the rest of the journals in]

@a-poem-poorly-written

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[Sparrow gave Ray a Look of “don’t you dare” before looking back at Eda]

Well you know that we would love to but seeing as we’re under new management there’s a lot of things we’ll have to get organized, so I really should start on that.

Oh and Ray, when you have a moment, a word please?

[They left, leaving Ray and Eda in the office]

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

Eda, You're acting very out of character. I know you must be stressed, but you don't need to do a thing. We can talk it through if you'd like.

@edalynn-pines

[edalynn-pines]

"There isnt much to talk about or talk through, but if you reslly think its necessary we can attempt it."

[She put the last journal in the box and looked over at Ray. Her greyish eyes seemed to stare right through him]

[dontsee-justlook]

[Ray took a moment to regain his confidence. Nobody knew about the maggots. He was Raymond Addams here.]

I do. How did this becoming head of the institute start? Did someone promote you or did you decide to take up the mantle?

[edalynn-pines]

"I decided to take up the mantle after I found Elias dead. I just assumed this would be a good course of action."

[The longer she stared at ray, the more the feeling of being watched grew on them]

"Are you alright? I feel like somthing is amiss."

[dontsee-justlook]

Oh, only a little. My boyfriend had a near death experience over the weekend, I'm still quite a bit rattled. Regardless, I'll do my job just fine.

Can you think about this for a moment? Immediately taking up the mantle as head is a terrible idea. It'd look suspicious from the outside, and from here it looks like you're scared.

[edalynn-pines]

"Do i really look scared?"

[She chuckled lightly]

"i do suppose it isnt the best idea, and I truly dont want to seem suspicious.."

[She frowned]

[dontsee-justlook]

Look scared or not, this is incredibly last minute. Why did you believe this seemed like a good course of action?

[edalynn-pines]

"Because unlike some people, I belive im competent enough to run an institute. Just give me a few days, if I fail miserably, ill step down."

[dontsee-justlook]

That's slightly more reasonable, but maybe wait a couple days first. As I said, I would hate for suspicion to be aimed at you for a spontaneous decision.

[edalynn-pines]

"i would also hate that."

[She sighed and messed with her hair]

"now, Sparrow wanted to have a word with you. Id assume keeping them waiting while theyre as agitated as this would be a good course of action for you."

[dontsee-justlook]

No, no it would not. I'll go discuss whatever it is they want to discuss. And you may stop migrating your belongings and wait a moment before making rash decisions.

[Ray exited the room to find Sparrow, speaking under his breath about the insanity of the people at this job]

@a-poem-poorly-written

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[Sparrow is pacing around the office, looking horribly worried when they look up at Ray. They waited until the door fell shut, not that it would matter, but anything not to see into that office right now]

There is no possible way that that is Edalynn Pines. Please tell me something is very, very wrong here.

[dontsee-justlook]

My first assumption would be that she's making a rash decision which doesn't seem out of character, but she does seem oddly...put together? I admit it's unsettling.

What do you believe took her place then? Do you believe this is a Stranger?

[a-poem-poorly-written]

I- I don’t know. She said Elias was dead. Dead! The creepy head of the Institute dies and she just “decides” she’s going to be the new head?! There’s no way! And do you notice, she’s acting an awful lot like Elias?

[They were holding two files close to themself, seeming rather unwilling to let them go]

These are from a locked cabinet in her desk. Her own statement and mine, which I asked her to keep out of the archives for me because it’s dangerous. Even if she was moving departments she wouldn’t just toss these back in with everything else! A-and the put togetherness! She brought up putting her stuff in artifact storage. She hates artifact storage because they’re always trying to take her things!

I don’t know what’s in that office, some sort of ghost of Elias or maybe it possessed him too or I don’t know! But it’s not her.

[dontsee-justlook]

So you believe Elias is possessing her? I was under the impression the institute was of the Eye which opposes the Stranger. How would he be using their methods?

[a-poem-poorly-written]

I- I don’t know! That’s the problem! Fears are amorphous sometimes and it makes it hard to tell what it is! But if it killed Elias, who’s to say it’s not going to kill her too? Something is wrong something is so wrong here Ray I just-

[They glanced at the stairs coming down to the archives]

Starling! Starling you’ve got to help us figure this out there’s something wrong with Eda.

@14-shattered-souls

[14-shattered-souls]

[they took their headphones off and looked concerned]

"Isn't there always somthing wring with Eda? It cant be that bad- unless it is- whats wrong?"

[They hurriedly made their was over to the other two and glanced at Edas office]

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

Don't go in there Starling- I'm sorry. Apparently Elias is dead, and Eda's acting....very off. We believe it may be something impersonating her, and doing a bad job of it at that.

@a-poem-poorly-written

[a-poem-poorly-written]

She’s claimed that she’s now Head of the Institute, and with no warning is clearing out her office—while complaining about the disorganization mind you—because you’re now the Archivist!

@14-shattered-souls

[14-shattered-souls]

[They laughed]

"No way! This has got to be a joke! Us? The archivist?"

[They continued laughing]

"She has to be going through one of her delusional spells there..."

[They trailed off as she saw the serious looks on there faces]

"You- youre both kidding right?"

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

Well, she doesn't seem to be, but I do think this is most likely some fear induced last minute decision, whether that be Fear or fear.

[Ray sat on a desk where there were no papers]

Well, I don't see why you'd have to be the Archivist just because Eda says so.

@a-poem-poorly-written

[a-poem-poorly-written]

I don’t know if we should even be calling her Eda. There’s absolutely no way that’s actually her. It’s just too wrong, even for one of her delusional spells. She acts like Elias! Who, should we not forget, is dead now and no one in the entire institute has made a fuss about! I-I mean what if the same thing that killed him kills her?!

@14-shattered-souls

[14-shattered-souls]

"i- I mean I doubt it will- i- I should talk to her. Im good at reasoning with Eda."

[They began to make their way to the office and paused, giving the two of them a conflicted glance]

"Should I talk to her?"

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

To me she seemed very different but not dangerous. I doubt it'll hurt.

@a-poem-poorly-written

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They shrugged, but were clearly worried]

Ray’s right, I don’t think she’ll hurt you, but. . . I mean you’ll see.

@14-shattered-souls

[14-shattered-souls]

[They walked off into Edas office, and paused when they saw the boxes. They took one more glance at them and closed the office door behind them]

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

[Ray slumped and turned to Sparrow]

What would we do if Eda isn't herself? I'd hardly feel comfortable killing her body as well, is that the plan?

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[There was the sound of things being packed up in Edas office as well as mutteres as someone searched for somthing on her shelves]

@edalynn-pines

[Sparrow enters the office, stopping in the doorway. Something was off here. Something was very off. They hazard a joke]

Do you get why I’m always trying to organize in here now?

[edalynn-pines]

"Yes, it is dreadfully messy in here."

[She grumbled. Her hair was tied back in a messy bun and her outfit was rather fancier than usual]

"Where is that damn key..."

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They looked her up and down. Whatever was in that office, it wasn’t Edalynn Pines. They leaned against the doorframe, partially blocking the way out. Their tone was noticeably sharper now]

Key for what? There’s about a thousand locked things in this office you know.

[edalynn-pines]

[She glanced at Sparrow and they felt the over wheeling feeling of being watched for a few moments before she smiled]

"You know what im talking about. The drawer."

[She pulled the key out from under a piece of taxidermy]

"there's so many things in here that should have been in artifact storage what was i thinking?"

[She muttered]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They shuddered, their eyes narrowing. The room started to distort slightly as their temper rose]

That you enjoy surrounding yourself with strange objects. A conversation we quite literally had last week.

[They see the packed boxes on the floor. She couldn’t have been fired, could she? No. That’s was almost impossible unless you literally died.]

Where exactly are you going anyway? As far as I’m aware we didn’t get any heads up that our archivist was moving departments. That’s a lot of work we’ll have to adjust now, you do realize.

[edalynn-pines]

[She didn't react to the room distorting and she sighed]

"Apologies, I suppose i should have informed you and the others about my move from archivist to head of the institute. Starling will be moved to archivist, I'll have to tell them when they arrive."

[She unlocked the drawer and hummed while she examined the contents for a moment]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

Head of the Institute-?!

[They nearly dropped their coffee]

Have you gone mad? Wait- what about Elias?

[edalynn-pines]

"Elias is gone and I havent gone mad."

[She said like this was the most obvious thing in the world.]

"I found him dead in the tunnels while I was on my way to artifact storage."

[She sets the leitner on the desk and the few files she had in the drawer too]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

You-

[They glance back at the assistant’s desks. No sign of Starling or Ray yet. Damn.]

Okay hold on. Just. Back up a second. Elias is dead and you’ve decided that you’re the new head of the Institute?! Edalynn Pines? Famous for consistently not finishing her statements and giving them to her assistants to clear up? Running the Entire Magnus Institute? I think you, or whoever has convinced you to do this needs to think this through a little more.

[The room shifted more noticeably now. Something was very, very wrong here and whatever it was they were getting to the bottom of it. Whoever this Not-Eda Eda was certainly hadn’t done their research on how to properly imitate her]

[edalynn-pines]

"I've decided to.. turn over a new leaf of sorts. Running an institute and being a head of the archives are very different."

[She pushed the few statement folders that were in her locked drawer towards sparrow. They were statements written by Eda and sparrow's]

"Have these put back into the archives, i know you have your own sorting system."

[She walked over to her book shelf of journals and began putting them in boxes]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They took them, holding them tightly. They set down their coffee on the desk, hazarding another step into the room]

Now hold on just a minute! You know exactly why those files are where they are. They’re filed there for a very specific reason. Now you might be running us aground down here for no reason that Edalynn Pines ever would but you are not fucking up my filing system in the process!

You don’t even care about those journals! Those are years of her work!

[edalynn-pines]

"Yes- my work thats going into my new office."

[She hissed and brushed her hair out of her face]

"I dont understand why youre so angry with me Sparrow, i am ell aware that those files were in there for a specific reason but I doubt starling is going to want them when they move in here. I have no intention to fuck up your filing system, I am simply moving things out of here."

[She spoke in a stern tone that she had probably only used once or twice. Her greyish eyes locked onto Sparrow and she gave them a sort of odd look, Like she was confused by their anger]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They stepped back a bit. Getting told off by Eda was always scary, even scarier when they knew whoever this pretender was could most definitely kill them. They pick up their cup, backing away further]

Lie to everyone else all you want. But you do a right miserable job of acting like her. We’ll make the archives a living hell to manage. I hope you weren’t planning on getting your scheduling done this week over all the misfilings. It happens when you put things under new management.

[They glance back into the archives, spotting Ray and practically dragging him in before glaring at her]

Oh Ray! Wonderful! You’re here! “Edalynn” here just informed me that starting today she’ll be the Head of the Institute and Starling will be our archivist! Isn’t that just exactly the kind of thing she would do?

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

Oh, is Eda acting odd again? I've said we need to stage an intervention with her.

Head of the Institute? Edalynn Pines taking on extra responsibility is the last thing you need right now. How about you take the next couple days off to process. You can trust us to handle things, I promise. But there's absolutely no need to rush in this manner.

@edalynn-pines

[edalynn-pines]

"No. No, im fine. Ill take a day off later, I just need to clean this place out. Now, if you lot wanted to help it would be appreciated."

[She picked up a box and moved it over to the shelf to stack the rest of the journals in]

@a-poem-poorly-written

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[Sparrow gave Ray a Look of “don’t you dare” before looking back at Eda]

Well you know that we would love to but seeing as we’re under new management there’s a lot of things we’ll have to get organized, so I really should start on that.

Oh and Ray, when you have a moment, a word please?

[They left, leaving Ray and Eda in the office]

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

Eda, You're acting very out of character. I know you must be stressed, but you don't need to do a thing. We can talk it through if you'd like.

@edalynn-pines

[edalynn-pines]

"There isnt much to talk about or talk through, but if you reslly think its necessary we can attempt it."

[She put the last journal in the box and looked over at Ray. Her greyish eyes seemed to stare right through him]

[dontsee-justlook]

[Ray took a moment to regain his confidence. Nobody knew about the maggots. He was Raymond Addams here.]

I do. How did this becoming head of the institute start? Did someone promote you or did you decide to take up the mantle?

[edalynn-pines]

"I decided to take up the mantle after I found Elias dead. I just assumed this would be a good course of action."

[The longer she stared at ray, the more the feeling of being watched grew on them]

"Are you alright? I feel like somthing is amiss."

[dontsee-justlook]

Oh, only a little. My boyfriend had a near death experience over the weekend, I'm still quite a bit rattled. Regardless, I'll do my job just fine.

Can you think about this for a moment? Immediately taking up the mantle as head is a terrible idea. It'd look suspicious from the outside, and from here it looks like you're scared.

[edalynn-pines]

"Do i really look scared?"

[She chuckled lightly]

"i do suppose it isnt the best idea, and I truly dont want to seem suspicious.."

[She frowned]

[dontsee-justlook]

Look scared or not, this is incredibly last minute. Why did you believe this seemed like a good course of action?

[edalynn-pines]

"Because unlike some people, I belive im competent enough to run an institute. Just give me a few days, if I fail miserably, ill step down."

[dontsee-justlook]

That's slightly more reasonable, but maybe wait a couple days first. As I said, I would hate for suspicion to be aimed at you for a spontaneous decision.

[edalynn-pines]

"i would also hate that."

[She sighed and messed with her hair]

"now, Sparrow wanted to have a word with you. Id assume keeping them waiting while theyre as agitated as this would be a good course of action for you."

[dontsee-justlook]

No, no it would not. I'll go discuss whatever it is they want to discuss. And you may stop migrating your belongings and wait a moment before making rash decisions.

[Ray exited the room to find Sparrow, speaking under his breath about the insanity of the people at this job]

@a-poem-poorly-written

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[Sparrow is pacing around the office, looking horribly worried when they look up at Ray. They waited until the door fell shut, not that it would matter, but anything not to see into that office right now]

There is no possible way that that is Edalynn Pines. Please tell me something is very, very wrong here.

[dontsee-justlook]

My first assumption would be that she's making a rash decision which doesn't seem out of character, but she does seem oddly...put together? I admit it's unsettling.

What do you believe took her place then? Do you believe this is a Stranger?

[a-poem-poorly-written]

I- I don’t know. She said Elias was dead. Dead! The creepy head of the Institute dies and she just “decides” she’s going to be the new head?! There’s no way! And do you notice, she’s acting an awful lot like Elias?

[They were holding two files close to themself, seeming rather unwilling to let them go]

These are from a locked cabinet in her desk. Her own statement and mine, which I asked her to keep out of the archives for me because it’s dangerous. Even if she was moving departments she wouldn’t just toss these back in with everything else! A-and the put togetherness! She brought up putting her stuff in artifact storage. She hates artifact storage because they’re always trying to take her things!

I don’t know what’s in that office, some sort of ghost of Elias or maybe it possessed him too or I don’t know! But it’s not her.

[dontsee-justlook]

So you believe Elias is possessing her? I was under the impression the institute was of the Eye which opposes the Stranger. How would he be using their methods?

[a-poem-poorly-written]

I- I don’t know! That’s the problem! Fears are amorphous sometimes and it makes it hard to tell what it is! But if it killed Elias, who’s to say it’s not going to kill her too? Something is wrong something is so wrong here Ray I just-

[They glanced at the stairs coming down to the archives]

Starling! Starling you’ve got to help us figure this out there’s something wrong with Eda.

@14-shattered-souls

[14-shattered-souls]

[they took their headphones off and looked concerned]

"Isn't there always somthing wring with Eda? It cant be that bad- unless it is- whats wrong?"

[They hurriedly made their was over to the other two and glanced at Edas office]

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

Don't go in there Starling- I'm sorry. Apparently Elias is dead, and Eda's acting....very off. We believe it may be something impersonating her, and doing a bad job of it at that.

@a-poem-poorly-written

[a-poem-poorly-written]

She’s claimed that she’s now Head of the Institute, and with no warning is clearing out her office—while complaining about the disorganization mind you—because you’re now the Archivist!

@14-shattered-souls

[14-shattered-souls]

[They laughed]

"No way! This has got to be a joke! Us? The archivist?"

[They continued laughing]

"She has to be going through one of her delusional spells there..."

[They trailed off as she saw the serious looks on there faces]

"You- youre both kidding right?"

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

Well, she doesn't seem to be, but I do think this is most likely some fear induced last minute decision, whether that be Fear or fear.

[Ray sat on a desk where there were no papers]

Well, I don't see why you'd have to be the Archivist just because Eda says so.

@a-poem-poorly-written

[a-poem-poorly-written]

I don’t know if we should even be calling her Eda. There’s absolutely no way that’s actually her. It’s just too wrong, even for one of her delusional spells. She acts like Elias! Who, should we not forget, is dead now and no one in the entire institute has made a fuss about! I-I mean what if the same thing that killed him kills her?!

@14-shattered-souls

[14-shattered-souls]

"i- I mean I doubt it will- i- I should talk to her. Im good at reasoning with Eda."

[They began to make their way to the office and paused, giving the two of them a conflicted glance]

"Should I talk to her?"

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

To me she seemed very different but not dangerous. I doubt it'll hurt.

@a-poem-poorly-written

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[There was the sound of things being packed up in Edas office as well as mutteres as someone searched for somthing on her shelves]

@edalynn-pines

[Sparrow enters the office, stopping in the doorway. Something was off here. Something was very off. They hazard a joke]

Do you get why I’m always trying to organize in here now?

[edalynn-pines]

"Yes, it is dreadfully messy in here."

[She grumbled. Her hair was tied back in a messy bun and her outfit was rather fancier than usual]

"Where is that damn key..."

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They looked her up and down. Whatever was in that office, it wasn’t Edalynn Pines. They leaned against the doorframe, partially blocking the way out. Their tone was noticeably sharper now]

Key for what? There’s about a thousand locked things in this office you know.

[edalynn-pines]

[She glanced at Sparrow and they felt the over wheeling feeling of being watched for a few moments before she smiled]

"You know what im talking about. The drawer."

[She pulled the key out from under a piece of taxidermy]

"there's so many things in here that should have been in artifact storage what was i thinking?"

[She muttered]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They shuddered, their eyes narrowing. The room started to distort slightly as their temper rose]

That you enjoy surrounding yourself with strange objects. A conversation we quite literally had last week.

[They see the packed boxes on the floor. She couldn’t have been fired, could she? No. That’s was almost impossible unless you literally died.]

Where exactly are you going anyway? As far as I’m aware we didn’t get any heads up that our archivist was moving departments. That’s a lot of work we’ll have to adjust now, you do realize.

[edalynn-pines]

[She didn't react to the room distorting and she sighed]

"Apologies, I suppose i should have informed you and the others about my move from archivist to head of the institute. Starling will be moved to archivist, I'll have to tell them when they arrive."

[She unlocked the drawer and hummed while she examined the contents for a moment]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

Head of the Institute-?!

[They nearly dropped their coffee]

Have you gone mad? Wait- what about Elias?

[edalynn-pines]

"Elias is gone and I havent gone mad."

[She said like this was the most obvious thing in the world.]

"I found him dead in the tunnels while I was on my way to artifact storage."

[She sets the leitner on the desk and the few files she had in the drawer too]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

You-

[They glance back at the assistant’s desks. No sign of Starling or Ray yet. Damn.]

Okay hold on. Just. Back up a second. Elias is dead and you’ve decided that you’re the new head of the Institute?! Edalynn Pines? Famous for consistently not finishing her statements and giving them to her assistants to clear up? Running the Entire Magnus Institute? I think you, or whoever has convinced you to do this needs to think this through a little more.

[The room shifted more noticeably now. Something was very, very wrong here and whatever it was they were getting to the bottom of it. Whoever this Not-Eda Eda was certainly hadn’t done their research on how to properly imitate her]

[edalynn-pines]

"I've decided to.. turn over a new leaf of sorts. Running an institute and being a head of the archives are very different."

[She pushed the few statement folders that were in her locked drawer towards sparrow. They were statements written by Eda and sparrow's]

"Have these put back into the archives, i know you have your own sorting system."

[She walked over to her book shelf of journals and began putting them in boxes]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They took them, holding them tightly. They set down their coffee on the desk, hazarding another step into the room]

Now hold on just a minute! You know exactly why those files are where they are. They’re filed there for a very specific reason. Now you might be running us aground down here for no reason that Edalynn Pines ever would but you are not fucking up my filing system in the process!

You don’t even care about those journals! Those are years of her work!

[edalynn-pines]

"Yes- my work thats going into my new office."

[She hissed and brushed her hair out of her face]

"I dont understand why youre so angry with me Sparrow, i am ell aware that those files were in there for a specific reason but I doubt starling is going to want them when they move in here. I have no intention to fuck up your filing system, I am simply moving things out of here."

[She spoke in a stern tone that she had probably only used once or twice. Her greyish eyes locked onto Sparrow and she gave them a sort of odd look, Like she was confused by their anger]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They stepped back a bit. Getting told off by Eda was always scary, even scarier when they knew whoever this pretender was could most definitely kill them. They pick up their cup, backing away further]

Lie to everyone else all you want. But you do a right miserable job of acting like her. We’ll make the archives a living hell to manage. I hope you weren’t planning on getting your scheduling done this week over all the misfilings. It happens when you put things under new management.

[They glance back into the archives, spotting Ray and practically dragging him in before glaring at her]

Oh Ray! Wonderful! You’re here! “Edalynn” here just informed me that starting today she’ll be the Head of the Institute and Starling will be our archivist! Isn’t that just exactly the kind of thing she would do?

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

Oh, is Eda acting odd again? I've said we need to stage an intervention with her.

Head of the Institute? Edalynn Pines taking on extra responsibility is the last thing you need right now. How about you take the next couple days off to process. You can trust us to handle things, I promise. But there's absolutely no need to rush in this manner.

@edalynn-pines

[edalynn-pines]

"No. No, im fine. Ill take a day off later, I just need to clean this place out. Now, if you lot wanted to help it would be appreciated."

[She picked up a box and moved it over to the shelf to stack the rest of the journals in]

@a-poem-poorly-written

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[Sparrow gave Ray a Look of “don’t you dare” before looking back at Eda]

Well you know that we would love to but seeing as we’re under new management there’s a lot of things we’ll have to get organized, so I really should start on that.

Oh and Ray, when you have a moment, a word please?

[They left, leaving Ray and Eda in the office]

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

Eda, You're acting very out of character. I know you must be stressed, but you don't need to do a thing. We can talk it through if you'd like.

@edalynn-pines

[edalynn-pines]

"There isnt much to talk about or talk through, but if you reslly think its necessary we can attempt it."

[She put the last journal in the box and looked over at Ray. Her greyish eyes seemed to stare right through him]

[dontsee-justlook]

[Ray took a moment to regain his confidence. Nobody knew about the maggots. He was Raymond Addams here.]

I do. How did this becoming head of the institute start? Did someone promote you or did you decide to take up the mantle?

[edalynn-pines]

"I decided to take up the mantle after I found Elias dead. I just assumed this would be a good course of action."

[The longer she stared at ray, the more the feeling of being watched grew on them]

"Are you alright? I feel like somthing is amiss."

[dontsee-justlook]

Oh, only a little. My boyfriend had a near death experience over the weekend, I'm still quite a bit rattled. Regardless, I'll do my job just fine.

Can you think about this for a moment? Immediately taking up the mantle as head is a terrible idea. It'd look suspicious from the outside, and from here it looks like you're scared.

[edalynn-pines]

"Do i really look scared?"

[She chuckled lightly]

"i do suppose it isnt the best idea, and I truly dont want to seem suspicious.."

[She frowned]

[dontsee-justlook]

Look scared or not, this is incredibly last minute. Why did you believe this seemed like a good course of action?

[edalynn-pines]

"Because unlike some people, I belive im competent enough to run an institute. Just give me a few days, if I fail miserably, ill step down."

[dontsee-justlook]

That's slightly more reasonable, but maybe wait a couple days first. As I said, I would hate for suspicion to be aimed at you for a spontaneous decision.

[edalynn-pines]

"i would also hate that."

[She sighed and messed with her hair]

"now, Sparrow wanted to have a word with you. Id assume keeping them waiting while theyre as agitated as this would be a good course of action for you."

[dontsee-justlook]

No, no it would not. I'll go discuss whatever it is they want to discuss. And you may stop migrating your belongings and wait a moment before making rash decisions.

[Ray exited the room to find Sparrow, speaking under his breath about the insanity of the people at this job]

@a-poem-poorly-written

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[Sparrow is pacing around the office, looking horribly worried when they look up at Ray. They waited until the door fell shut, not that it would matter, but anything not to see into that office right now]

There is no possible way that that is Edalynn Pines. Please tell me something is very, very wrong here.

[dontsee-justlook]

My first assumption would be that she's making a rash decision which doesn't seem out of character, but she does seem oddly...put together? I admit it's unsettling.

What do you believe took her place then? Do you believe this is a Stranger?

[a-poem-poorly-written]

I- I don’t know. She said Elias was dead. Dead! The creepy head of the Institute dies and she just “decides” she’s going to be the new head?! There’s no way! And do you notice, she’s acting an awful lot like Elias?

[They were holding two files close to themself, seeming rather unwilling to let them go]

These are from a locked cabinet in her desk. Her own statement and mine, which I asked her to keep out of the archives for me because it’s dangerous. Even if she was moving departments she wouldn’t just toss these back in with everything else! A-and the put togetherness! She brought up putting her stuff in artifact storage. She hates artifact storage because they’re always trying to take her things!

I don’t know what’s in that office, some sort of ghost of Elias or maybe it possessed him too or I don’t know! But it’s not her.

[dontsee-justlook]

So you believe Elias is possessing her? I was under the impression the institute was of the Eye which opposes the Stranger. How would he be using their methods?

[a-poem-poorly-written]

I- I don’t know! That’s the problem! Fears are amorphous sometimes and it makes it hard to tell what it is! But if it killed Elias, who’s to say it’s not going to kill her too? Something is wrong something is so wrong here Ray I just-

[They glanced at the stairs coming down to the archives]

Starling! Starling you’ve got to help us figure this out there’s something wrong with Eda.

@14-shattered-souls

[14-shattered-souls]

[they took their headphones off and looked concerned]

"Isn't there always somthing wring with Eda? It cant be that bad- unless it is- whats wrong?"

[They hurriedly made their was over to the other two and glanced at Edas office]

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

Don't go in there Starling- I'm sorry. Apparently Elias is dead, and Eda's acting....very off. We believe it may be something impersonating her, and doing a bad job of it at that.

@a-poem-poorly-written

[a-poem-poorly-written]

She’s claimed that she’s now Head of the Institute, and with no warning is clearing out her office—while complaining about the disorganization mind you—because you’re now the Archivist!

@14-shattered-souls

[14-shattered-souls]

[They laughed]

"No way! This has got to be a joke! Us? The archivist?"

[They continued laughing]

"She has to be going through one of her delusional spells there..."

[They trailed off as she saw the serious looks on there faces]

"You- youre both kidding right?"

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

Well, she doesn't seem to be, but I do think this is most likely some fear induced last minute decision, whether that be Fear or fear.

[Ray sat on a desk where there were no papers]

Well, I don't see why you'd have to be the Archivist just because Eda says so.

@a-poem-poorly-written

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[There was the sound of things being packed up in Edas office as well as mutteres as someone searched for somthing on her shelves]

@edalynn-pines

[Sparrow enters the office, stopping in the doorway. Something was off here. Something was very off. They hazard a joke]

Do you get why I’m always trying to organize in here now?

[edalynn-pines]

"Yes, it is dreadfully messy in here."

[She grumbled. Her hair was tied back in a messy bun and her outfit was rather fancier than usual]

"Where is that damn key..."

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They looked her up and down. Whatever was in that office, it wasn’t Edalynn Pines. They leaned against the doorframe, partially blocking the way out. Their tone was noticeably sharper now]

Key for what? There’s about a thousand locked things in this office you know.

[edalynn-pines]

[She glanced at Sparrow and they felt the over wheeling feeling of being watched for a few moments before she smiled]

"You know what im talking about. The drawer."

[She pulled the key out from under a piece of taxidermy]

"there's so many things in here that should have been in artifact storage what was i thinking?"

[She muttered]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They shuddered, their eyes narrowing. The room started to distort slightly as their temper rose]

That you enjoy surrounding yourself with strange objects. A conversation we quite literally had last week.

[They see the packed boxes on the floor. She couldn’t have been fired, could she? No. That’s was almost impossible unless you literally died.]

Where exactly are you going anyway? As far as I’m aware we didn’t get any heads up that our archivist was moving departments. That’s a lot of work we’ll have to adjust now, you do realize.

[edalynn-pines]

[She didn't react to the room distorting and she sighed]

"Apologies, I suppose i should have informed you and the others about my move from archivist to head of the institute. Starling will be moved to archivist, I'll have to tell them when they arrive."

[She unlocked the drawer and hummed while she examined the contents for a moment]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

Head of the Institute-?!

[They nearly dropped their coffee]

Have you gone mad? Wait- what about Elias?

[edalynn-pines]

"Elias is gone and I havent gone mad."

[She said like this was the most obvious thing in the world.]

"I found him dead in the tunnels while I was on my way to artifact storage."

[She sets the leitner on the desk and the few files she had in the drawer too]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

You-

[They glance back at the assistant’s desks. No sign of Starling or Ray yet. Damn.]

Okay hold on. Just. Back up a second. Elias is dead and you’ve decided that you’re the new head of the Institute?! Edalynn Pines? Famous for consistently not finishing her statements and giving them to her assistants to clear up? Running the Entire Magnus Institute? I think you, or whoever has convinced you to do this needs to think this through a little more.

[The room shifted more noticeably now. Something was very, very wrong here and whatever it was they were getting to the bottom of it. Whoever this Not-Eda Eda was certainly hadn’t done their research on how to properly imitate her]

[edalynn-pines]

"I've decided to.. turn over a new leaf of sorts. Running an institute and being a head of the archives are very different."

[She pushed the few statement folders that were in her locked drawer towards sparrow. They were statements written by Eda and sparrow's]

"Have these put back into the archives, i know you have your own sorting system."

[She walked over to her book shelf of journals and began putting them in boxes]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They took them, holding them tightly. They set down their coffee on the desk, hazarding another step into the room]

Now hold on just a minute! You know exactly why those files are where they are. They’re filed there for a very specific reason. Now you might be running us aground down here for no reason that Edalynn Pines ever would but you are not fucking up my filing system in the process!

You don’t even care about those journals! Those are years of her work!

[edalynn-pines]

"Yes- my work thats going into my new office."

[She hissed and brushed her hair out of her face]

"I dont understand why youre so angry with me Sparrow, i am ell aware that those files were in there for a specific reason but I doubt starling is going to want them when they move in here. I have no intention to fuck up your filing system, I am simply moving things out of here."

[She spoke in a stern tone that she had probably only used once or twice. Her greyish eyes locked onto Sparrow and she gave them a sort of odd look, Like she was confused by their anger]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They stepped back a bit. Getting told off by Eda was always scary, even scarier when they knew whoever this pretender was could most definitely kill them. They pick up their cup, backing away further]

Lie to everyone else all you want. But you do a right miserable job of acting like her. We’ll make the archives a living hell to manage. I hope you weren’t planning on getting your scheduling done this week over all the misfilings. It happens when you put things under new management.

[They glance back into the archives, spotting Ray and practically dragging him in before glaring at her]

Oh Ray! Wonderful! You’re here! “Edalynn” here just informed me that starting today she’ll be the Head of the Institute and Starling will be our archivist! Isn’t that just exactly the kind of thing she would do?

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

Oh, is Eda acting odd again? I've said we need to stage an intervention with her.

Head of the Institute? Edalynn Pines taking on extra responsibility is the last thing you need right now. How about you take the next couple days off to process. You can trust us to handle things, I promise. But there's absolutely no need to rush in this manner.

@edalynn-pines

[edalynn-pines]

"No. No, im fine. Ill take a day off later, I just need to clean this place out. Now, if you lot wanted to help it would be appreciated."

[She picked up a box and moved it over to the shelf to stack the rest of the journals in]

@a-poem-poorly-written

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[Sparrow gave Ray a Look of “don’t you dare” before looking back at Eda]

Well you know that we would love to but seeing as we’re under new management there’s a lot of things we’ll have to get organized, so I really should start on that.

Oh and Ray, when you have a moment, a word please?

[They left, leaving Ray and Eda in the office]

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

Eda, You're acting very out of character. I know you must be stressed, but you don't need to do a thing. We can talk it through if you'd like.

@edalynn-pines

[edalynn-pines]

"There isnt much to talk about or talk through, but if you reslly think its necessary we can attempt it."

[She put the last journal in the box and looked over at Ray. Her greyish eyes seemed to stare right through him]

[dontsee-justlook]

[Ray took a moment to regain his confidence. Nobody knew about the maggots. He was Raymond Addams here.]

I do. How did this becoming head of the institute start? Did someone promote you or did you decide to take up the mantle?

[edalynn-pines]

"I decided to take up the mantle after I found Elias dead. I just assumed this would be a good course of action."

[The longer she stared at ray, the more the feeling of being watched grew on them]

"Are you alright? I feel like somthing is amiss."

[dontsee-justlook]

Oh, only a little. My boyfriend had a near death experience over the weekend, I'm still quite a bit rattled. Regardless, I'll do my job just fine.

Can you think about this for a moment? Immediately taking up the mantle as head is a terrible idea. It'd look suspicious from the outside, and from here it looks like you're scared.

[edalynn-pines]

"Do i really look scared?"

[She chuckled lightly]

"i do suppose it isnt the best idea, and I truly dont want to seem suspicious.."

[She frowned]

[dontsee-justlook]

Look scared or not, this is incredibly last minute. Why did you believe this seemed like a good course of action?

[edalynn-pines]

"Because unlike some people, I belive im competent enough to run an institute. Just give me a few days, if I fail miserably, ill step down."

[dontsee-justlook]

That's slightly more reasonable, but maybe wait a couple days first. As I said, I would hate for suspicion to be aimed at you for a spontaneous decision.

[edalynn-pines]

"i would also hate that."

[She sighed and messed with her hair]

"now, Sparrow wanted to have a word with you. Id assume keeping them waiting while theyre as agitated as this would be a good course of action for you."

[dontsee-justlook]

No, no it would not. I'll go discuss whatever it is they want to discuss. And you may stop migrating your belongings and wait a moment before making rash decisions.

[Ray exited the room to find Sparrow, speaking under his breath about the insanity of the people at this job]

@a-poem-poorly-written

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[Sparrow is pacing around the office, looking horribly worried when they look up at Ray. They waited until the door fell shut, not that it would matter, but anything not to see into that office right now]

There is no possible way that that is Edalynn Pines. Please tell me something is very, very wrong here.

[dontsee-justlook]

My first assumption would be that she's making a rash decision which doesn't seem out of character, but she does seem oddly...put together? I admit it's unsettling.

What do you believe took her place then? Do you believe this is a Stranger?

[a-poem-poorly-written]

I- I don’t know. She said Elias was dead. Dead! The creepy head of the Institute dies and she just “decides” she’s going to be the new head?! There’s no way! And do you notice, she’s acting an awful lot like Elias?

[They were holding two files close to themself, seeming rather unwilling to let them go]

These are from a locked cabinet in her desk. Her own statement and mine, which I asked her to keep out of the archives for me because it’s dangerous. Even if she was moving departments she wouldn’t just toss these back in with everything else! A-and the put togetherness! She brought up putting her stuff in artifact storage. She hates artifact storage because they’re always trying to take her things!

I don’t know what’s in that office, some sort of ghost of Elias or maybe it possessed him too or I don’t know! But it’s not her.

[dontsee-justlook]

So you believe Elias is possessing her? I was under the impression the institute was of the Eye which opposes the Stranger. How would he be using their methods?

[a-poem-poorly-written]

I- I don’t know! That’s the problem! Fears are amorphous sometimes and it makes it hard to tell what it is! But if it killed Elias, who’s to say it’s not going to kill her too? Something is wrong something is so wrong here Ray I just-

[They glanced at the stairs coming down to the archives]

Starling! Starling you’ve got to help us figure this out there’s something wrong with Eda.

@14-shattered-souls

[14-shattered-souls]

[they took their headphones off and looked concerned]

"Isn't there always somthing wring with Eda? It cant be that bad- unless it is- whats wrong?"

[They hurriedly made their was over to the other two and glanced at Edas office]

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

Don't go in there Starling- I'm sorry. Apparently Elias is dead, and Eda's acting....very off. We believe it may be something impersonating her, and doing a bad job of it at that.

@a-poem-poorly-written

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[There was the sound of things being packed up in Edas office as well as mutteres as someone searched for somthing on her shelves]

@edalynn-pines

[Sparrow enters the office, stopping in the doorway. Something was off here. Something was very off. They hazard a joke]

Do you get why I’m always trying to organize in here now?

[edalynn-pines]

"Yes, it is dreadfully messy in here."

[She grumbled. Her hair was tied back in a messy bun and her outfit was rather fancier than usual]

"Where is that damn key..."

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They looked her up and down. Whatever was in that office, it wasn’t Edalynn Pines. They leaned against the doorframe, partially blocking the way out. Their tone was noticeably sharper now]

Key for what? There’s about a thousand locked things in this office you know.

[edalynn-pines]

[She glanced at Sparrow and they felt the over wheeling feeling of being watched for a few moments before she smiled]

"You know what im talking about. The drawer."

[She pulled the key out from under a piece of taxidermy]

"there's so many things in here that should have been in artifact storage what was i thinking?"

[She muttered]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They shuddered, their eyes narrowing. The room started to distort slightly as their temper rose]

That you enjoy surrounding yourself with strange objects. A conversation we quite literally had last week.

[They see the packed boxes on the floor. She couldn’t have been fired, could she? No. That’s was almost impossible unless you literally died.]

Where exactly are you going anyway? As far as I’m aware we didn’t get any heads up that our archivist was moving departments. That’s a lot of work we’ll have to adjust now, you do realize.

[edalynn-pines]

[She didn't react to the room distorting and she sighed]

"Apologies, I suppose i should have informed you and the others about my move from archivist to head of the institute. Starling will be moved to archivist, I'll have to tell them when they arrive."

[She unlocked the drawer and hummed while she examined the contents for a moment]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

Head of the Institute-?!

[They nearly dropped their coffee]

Have you gone mad? Wait- what about Elias?

[edalynn-pines]

"Elias is gone and I havent gone mad."

[She said like this was the most obvious thing in the world.]

"I found him dead in the tunnels while I was on my way to artifact storage."

[She sets the leitner on the desk and the few files she had in the drawer too]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

You-

[They glance back at the assistant’s desks. No sign of Starling or Ray yet. Damn.]

Okay hold on. Just. Back up a second. Elias is dead and you’ve decided that you’re the new head of the Institute?! Edalynn Pines? Famous for consistently not finishing her statements and giving them to her assistants to clear up? Running the Entire Magnus Institute? I think you, or whoever has convinced you to do this needs to think this through a little more.

[The room shifted more noticeably now. Something was very, very wrong here and whatever it was they were getting to the bottom of it. Whoever this Not-Eda Eda was certainly hadn’t done their research on how to properly imitate her]

[edalynn-pines]

"I've decided to.. turn over a new leaf of sorts. Running an institute and being a head of the archives are very different."

[She pushed the few statement folders that were in her locked drawer towards sparrow. They were statements written by Eda and sparrow's]

"Have these put back into the archives, i know you have your own sorting system."

[She walked over to her book shelf of journals and began putting them in boxes]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They took them, holding them tightly. They set down their coffee on the desk, hazarding another step into the room]

Now hold on just a minute! You know exactly why those files are where they are. They’re filed there for a very specific reason. Now you might be running us aground down here for no reason that Edalynn Pines ever would but you are not fucking up my filing system in the process!

You don’t even care about those journals! Those are years of her work!

[edalynn-pines]

"Yes- my work thats going into my new office."

[She hissed and brushed her hair out of her face]

"I dont understand why youre so angry with me Sparrow, i am ell aware that those files were in there for a specific reason but I doubt starling is going to want them when they move in here. I have no intention to fuck up your filing system, I am simply moving things out of here."

[She spoke in a stern tone that she had probably only used once or twice. Her greyish eyes locked onto Sparrow and she gave them a sort of odd look, Like she was confused by their anger]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They stepped back a bit. Getting told off by Eda was always scary, even scarier when they knew whoever this pretender was could most definitely kill them. They pick up their cup, backing away further]

Lie to everyone else all you want. But you do a right miserable job of acting like her. We’ll make the archives a living hell to manage. I hope you weren’t planning on getting your scheduling done this week over all the misfilings. It happens when you put things under new management.

[They glance back into the archives, spotting Ray and practically dragging him in before glaring at her]

Oh Ray! Wonderful! You’re here! “Edalynn” here just informed me that starting today she’ll be the Head of the Institute and Starling will be our archivist! Isn’t that just exactly the kind of thing she would do?

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

Oh, is Eda acting odd again? I've said we need to stage an intervention with her.

Head of the Institute? Edalynn Pines taking on extra responsibility is the last thing you need right now. How about you take the next couple days off to process. You can trust us to handle things, I promise. But there's absolutely no need to rush in this manner.

@edalynn-pines

[edalynn-pines]

"No. No, im fine. Ill take a day off later, I just need to clean this place out. Now, if you lot wanted to help it would be appreciated."

[She picked up a box and moved it over to the shelf to stack the rest of the journals in]

@a-poem-poorly-written

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[Sparrow gave Ray a Look of “don’t you dare” before looking back at Eda]

Well you know that we would love to but seeing as we’re under new management there’s a lot of things we’ll have to get organized, so I really should start on that.

Oh and Ray, when you have a moment, a word please?

[They left, leaving Ray and Eda in the office]

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

Eda, You're acting very out of character. I know you must be stressed, but you don't need to do a thing. We can talk it through if you'd like.

@edalynn-pines

[edalynn-pines]

"There isnt much to talk about or talk through, but if you reslly think its necessary we can attempt it."

[She put the last journal in the box and looked over at Ray. Her greyish eyes seemed to stare right through him]

[dontsee-justlook]

[Ray took a moment to regain his confidence. Nobody knew about the maggots. He was Raymond Addams here.]

I do. How did this becoming head of the institute start? Did someone promote you or did you decide to take up the mantle?

[edalynn-pines]

"I decided to take up the mantle after I found Elias dead. I just assumed this would be a good course of action."

[The longer she stared at ray, the more the feeling of being watched grew on them]

"Are you alright? I feel like somthing is amiss."

[dontsee-justlook]

Oh, only a little. My boyfriend had a near death experience over the weekend, I'm still quite a bit rattled. Regardless, I'll do my job just fine.

Can you think about this for a moment? Immediately taking up the mantle as head is a terrible idea. It'd look suspicious from the outside, and from here it looks like you're scared.

[edalynn-pines]

"Do i really look scared?"

[She chuckled lightly]

"i do suppose it isnt the best idea, and I truly dont want to seem suspicious.."

[She frowned]

[dontsee-justlook]

Look scared or not, this is incredibly last minute. Why did you believe this seemed like a good course of action?

[edalynn-pines]

"Because unlike some people, I belive im competent enough to run an institute. Just give me a few days, if I fail miserably, ill step down."

[dontsee-justlook]

That's slightly more reasonable, but maybe wait a couple days first. As I said, I would hate for suspicion to be aimed at you for a spontaneous decision.

[edalynn-pines]

"i would also hate that."

[She sighed and messed with her hair]

"now, Sparrow wanted to have a word with you. Id assume keeping them waiting while theyre as agitated as this would be a good course of action for you."

[dontsee-justlook]

No, no it would not. I'll go discuss whatever it is they want to discuss. And you may stop migrating your belongings and wait a moment before making rash decisions.

[Ray exited the room to find Sparrow, speaking under his breath about the insanity of the people at this job]

@a-poem-poorly-written

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[Sparrow is pacing around the office, looking horribly worried when they look up at Ray. They waited until the door fell shut, not that it would matter, but anything not to see into that office right now]

There is no possible way that that is Edalynn Pines. Please tell me something is very, very wrong here.

[dontsee-justlook]

My first assumption would be that she's making a rash decision which doesn't seem out of character, but she does seem oddly...put together? I admit it's unsettling.

What do you believe took her place then? Do you believe this is a Stranger?

[a-poem-poorly-written]

I- I don’t know. She said Elias was dead. Dead! The creepy head of the Institute dies and she just “decides” she’s going to be the new head?! There’s no way! And do you notice, she’s acting an awful lot like Elias?

[They were holding two files close to themself, seeming rather unwilling to let them go]

These are from a locked cabinet in her desk. Her own statement and mine, which I asked her to keep out of the archives for me because it’s dangerous. Even if she was moving departments she wouldn’t just toss these back in with everything else! A-and the put togetherness! She brought up putting her stuff in artifact storage. She hates artifact storage because they’re always trying to take her things!

I don’t know what’s in that office, some sort of ghost of Elias or maybe it possessed him too or I don’t know! But it’s not her.

[dontsee-justlook]

So you believe Elias is possessing her? I was under the impression the institute was of the Eye which opposes the Stranger. How would he be using their methods?

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[There was the sound of things being packed up in Edas office as well as mutteres as someone searched for somthing on her shelves]

@edalynn-pines

[Sparrow enters the office, stopping in the doorway. Something was off here. Something was very off. They hazard a joke]

Do you get why I’m always trying to organize in here now?

[edalynn-pines]

"Yes, it is dreadfully messy in here."

[She grumbled. Her hair was tied back in a messy bun and her outfit was rather fancier than usual]

"Where is that damn key..."

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They looked her up and down. Whatever was in that office, it wasn’t Edalynn Pines. They leaned against the doorframe, partially blocking the way out. Their tone was noticeably sharper now]

Key for what? There’s about a thousand locked things in this office you know.

[edalynn-pines]

[She glanced at Sparrow and they felt the over wheeling feeling of being watched for a few moments before she smiled]

"You know what im talking about. The drawer."

[She pulled the key out from under a piece of taxidermy]

"there's so many things in here that should have been in artifact storage what was i thinking?"

[She muttered]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They shuddered, their eyes narrowing. The room started to distort slightly as their temper rose]

That you enjoy surrounding yourself with strange objects. A conversation we quite literally had last week.

[They see the packed boxes on the floor. She couldn’t have been fired, could she? No. That’s was almost impossible unless you literally died.]

Where exactly are you going anyway? As far as I’m aware we didn’t get any heads up that our archivist was moving departments. That’s a lot of work we’ll have to adjust now, you do realize.

[edalynn-pines]

[She didn't react to the room distorting and she sighed]

"Apologies, I suppose i should have informed you and the others about my move from archivist to head of the institute. Starling will be moved to archivist, I'll have to tell them when they arrive."

[She unlocked the drawer and hummed while she examined the contents for a moment]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

Head of the Institute-?!

[They nearly dropped their coffee]

Have you gone mad? Wait- what about Elias?

[edalynn-pines]

"Elias is gone and I havent gone mad."

[She said like this was the most obvious thing in the world.]

"I found him dead in the tunnels while I was on my way to artifact storage."

[She sets the leitner on the desk and the few files she had in the drawer too]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

You-

[They glance back at the assistant’s desks. No sign of Starling or Ray yet. Damn.]

Okay hold on. Just. Back up a second. Elias is dead and you’ve decided that you’re the new head of the Institute?! Edalynn Pines? Famous for consistently not finishing her statements and giving them to her assistants to clear up? Running the Entire Magnus Institute? I think you, or whoever has convinced you to do this needs to think this through a little more.

[The room shifted more noticeably now. Something was very, very wrong here and whatever it was they were getting to the bottom of it. Whoever this Not-Eda Eda was certainly hadn’t done their research on how to properly imitate her]

[edalynn-pines]

"I've decided to.. turn over a new leaf of sorts. Running an institute and being a head of the archives are very different."

[She pushed the few statement folders that were in her locked drawer towards sparrow. They were statements written by Eda and sparrow's]

"Have these put back into the archives, i know you have your own sorting system."

[She walked over to her book shelf of journals and began putting them in boxes]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They took them, holding them tightly. They set down their coffee on the desk, hazarding another step into the room]

Now hold on just a minute! You know exactly why those files are where they are. They’re filed there for a very specific reason. Now you might be running us aground down here for no reason that Edalynn Pines ever would but you are not fucking up my filing system in the process!

You don’t even care about those journals! Those are years of her work!

[edalynn-pines]

"Yes- my work thats going into my new office."

[She hissed and brushed her hair out of her face]

"I dont understand why youre so angry with me Sparrow, i am ell aware that those files were in there for a specific reason but I doubt starling is going to want them when they move in here. I have no intention to fuck up your filing system, I am simply moving things out of here."

[She spoke in a stern tone that she had probably only used once or twice. Her greyish eyes locked onto Sparrow and she gave them a sort of odd look, Like she was confused by their anger]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They stepped back a bit. Getting told off by Eda was always scary, even scarier when they knew whoever this pretender was could most definitely kill them. They pick up their cup, backing away further]

Lie to everyone else all you want. But you do a right miserable job of acting like her. We’ll make the archives a living hell to manage. I hope you weren’t planning on getting your scheduling done this week over all the misfilings. It happens when you put things under new management.

[They glance back into the archives, spotting Ray and practically dragging him in before glaring at her]

Oh Ray! Wonderful! You’re here! “Edalynn” here just informed me that starting today she’ll be the Head of the Institute and Starling will be our archivist! Isn’t that just exactly the kind of thing she would do?

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

Oh, is Eda acting odd again? I've said we need to stage an intervention with her.

Head of the Institute? Edalynn Pines taking on extra responsibility is the last thing you need right now. How about you take the next couple days off to process. You can trust us to handle things, I promise. But there's absolutely no need to rush in this manner.

@edalynn-pines

[edalynn-pines]

"No. No, im fine. Ill take a day off later, I just need to clean this place out. Now, if you lot wanted to help it would be appreciated."

[She picked up a box and moved it over to the shelf to stack the rest of the journals in]

@a-poem-poorly-written

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[Sparrow gave Ray a Look of “don’t you dare” before looking back at Eda]

Well you know that we would love to but seeing as we’re under new management there’s a lot of things we’ll have to get organized, so I really should start on that.

Oh and Ray, when you have a moment, a word please?

[They left, leaving Ray and Eda in the office]

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

Eda, You're acting very out of character. I know you must be stressed, but you don't need to do a thing. We can talk it through if you'd like.

@edalynn-pines

[edalynn-pines]

"There isnt much to talk about or talk through, but if you reslly think its necessary we can attempt it."

[She put the last journal in the box and looked over at Ray. Her greyish eyes seemed to stare right through him]

[dontsee-justlook]

[Ray took a moment to regain his confidence. Nobody knew about the maggots. He was Raymond Addams here.]

I do. How did this becoming head of the institute start? Did someone promote you or did you decide to take up the mantle?

[edalynn-pines]

"I decided to take up the mantle after I found Elias dead. I just assumed this would be a good course of action."

[The longer she stared at ray, the more the feeling of being watched grew on them]

"Are you alright? I feel like somthing is amiss."

[dontsee-justlook]

Oh, only a little. My boyfriend had a near death experience over the weekend, I'm still quite a bit rattled. Regardless, I'll do my job just fine.

Can you think about this for a moment? Immediately taking up the mantle as head is a terrible idea. It'd look suspicious from the outside, and from here it looks like you're scared.

[edalynn-pines]

"Do i really look scared?"

[She chuckled lightly]

"i do suppose it isnt the best idea, and I truly dont want to seem suspicious.."

[She frowned]

[dontsee-justlook]

Look scared or not, this is incredibly last minute. Why did you believe this seemed like a good course of action?

[edalynn-pines]

"Because unlike some people, I belive im competent enough to run an institute. Just give me a few days, if I fail miserably, ill step down."

[dontsee-justlook]

That's slightly more reasonable, but maybe wait a couple days first. As I said, I would hate for suspicion to be aimed at you for a spontaneous decision.

[edalynn-pines]

"i would also hate that."

[She sighed and messed with her hair]

"now, Sparrow wanted to have a word with you. Id assume keeping them waiting while theyre as agitated as this would be a good course of action for you."

[dontsee-justlook]

No, no it would not. I'll go discuss whatever it is they want to discuss. And you may stop migrating your belongings and wait a moment before making rash decisions.

[Ray exited the room to find Sparrow, speaking under his breath about the insanity of the people at this job]

@a-poem-poorly-written

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[Sparrow is pacing around the office, looking horribly worried when they look up at Ray. They waited until the door fell shut, not that it would matter, but anything not to see into that office right now]

There is no possible way that that is Edalynn Pines. Please tell me something is very, very wrong here.

[dontsee-justlook]

My first assumption would be that she's making a rash decision which doesn't seem out of character, but she does seem oddly...put together? I admit it's unsettling.

What do you believe took her place then? Do you believe this is a Stranger?

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[There was the sound of things being packed up in Edas office as well as mutteres as someone searched for somthing on her shelves]

@edalynn-pines

[Sparrow enters the office, stopping in the doorway. Something was off here. Something was very off. They hazard a joke]

Do you get why I’m always trying to organize in here now?

[edalynn-pines]

"Yes, it is dreadfully messy in here."

[She grumbled. Her hair was tied back in a messy bun and her outfit was rather fancier than usual]

"Where is that damn key..."

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They looked her up and down. Whatever was in that office, it wasn’t Edalynn Pines. They leaned against the doorframe, partially blocking the way out. Their tone was noticeably sharper now]

Key for what? There’s about a thousand locked things in this office you know.

[edalynn-pines]

[She glanced at Sparrow and they felt the over wheeling feeling of being watched for a few moments before she smiled]

"You know what im talking about. The drawer."

[She pulled the key out from under a piece of taxidermy]

"there's so many things in here that should have been in artifact storage what was i thinking?"

[She muttered]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They shuddered, their eyes narrowing. The room started to distort slightly as their temper rose]

That you enjoy surrounding yourself with strange objects. A conversation we quite literally had last week.

[They see the packed boxes on the floor. She couldn’t have been fired, could she? No. That’s was almost impossible unless you literally died.]

Where exactly are you going anyway? As far as I’m aware we didn’t get any heads up that our archivist was moving departments. That’s a lot of work we’ll have to adjust now, you do realize.

[edalynn-pines]

[She didn't react to the room distorting and she sighed]

"Apologies, I suppose i should have informed you and the others about my move from archivist to head of the institute. Starling will be moved to archivist, I'll have to tell them when they arrive."

[She unlocked the drawer and hummed while she examined the contents for a moment]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

Head of the Institute-?!

[They nearly dropped their coffee]

Have you gone mad? Wait- what about Elias?

[edalynn-pines]

"Elias is gone and I havent gone mad."

[She said like this was the most obvious thing in the world.]

"I found him dead in the tunnels while I was on my way to artifact storage."

[She sets the leitner on the desk and the few files she had in the drawer too]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

You-

[They glance back at the assistant’s desks. No sign of Starling or Ray yet. Damn.]

Okay hold on. Just. Back up a second. Elias is dead and you’ve decided that you’re the new head of the Institute?! Edalynn Pines? Famous for consistently not finishing her statements and giving them to her assistants to clear up? Running the Entire Magnus Institute? I think you, or whoever has convinced you to do this needs to think this through a little more.

[The room shifted more noticeably now. Something was very, very wrong here and whatever it was they were getting to the bottom of it. Whoever this Not-Eda Eda was certainly hadn’t done their research on how to properly imitate her]

[edalynn-pines]

"I've decided to.. turn over a new leaf of sorts. Running an institute and being a head of the archives are very different."

[She pushed the few statement folders that were in her locked drawer towards sparrow. They were statements written by Eda and sparrow's]

"Have these put back into the archives, i know you have your own sorting system."

[She walked over to her book shelf of journals and began putting them in boxes]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They took them, holding them tightly. They set down their coffee on the desk, hazarding another step into the room]

Now hold on just a minute! You know exactly why those files are where they are. They’re filed there for a very specific reason. Now you might be running us aground down here for no reason that Edalynn Pines ever would but you are not fucking up my filing system in the process!

You don’t even care about those journals! Those are years of her work!

[edalynn-pines]

"Yes- my work thats going into my new office."

[She hissed and brushed her hair out of her face]

"I dont understand why youre so angry with me Sparrow, i am ell aware that those files were in there for a specific reason but I doubt starling is going to want them when they move in here. I have no intention to fuck up your filing system, I am simply moving things out of here."

[She spoke in a stern tone that she had probably only used once or twice. Her greyish eyes locked onto Sparrow and she gave them a sort of odd look, Like she was confused by their anger]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They stepped back a bit. Getting told off by Eda was always scary, even scarier when they knew whoever this pretender was could most definitely kill them. They pick up their cup, backing away further]

Lie to everyone else all you want. But you do a right miserable job of acting like her. We’ll make the archives a living hell to manage. I hope you weren’t planning on getting your scheduling done this week over all the misfilings. It happens when you put things under new management.

[They glance back into the archives, spotting Ray and practically dragging him in before glaring at her]

Oh Ray! Wonderful! You’re here! “Edalynn” here just informed me that starting today she’ll be the Head of the Institute and Starling will be our archivist! Isn’t that just exactly the kind of thing she would do?

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

Oh, is Eda acting odd again? I've said we need to stage an intervention with her.

Head of the Institute? Edalynn Pines taking on extra responsibility is the last thing you need right now. How about you take the next couple days off to process. You can trust us to handle things, I promise. But there's absolutely no need to rush in this manner.

@edalynn-pines

[edalynn-pines]

"No. No, im fine. Ill take a day off later, I just need to clean this place out. Now, if you lot wanted to help it would be appreciated."

[She picked up a box and moved it over to the shelf to stack the rest of the journals in]

@a-poem-poorly-written

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[Sparrow gave Ray a Look of “don’t you dare” before looking back at Eda]

Well you know that we would love to but seeing as we’re under new management there’s a lot of things we’ll have to get organized, so I really should start on that.

Oh and Ray, when you have a moment, a word please?

[They left, leaving Ray and Eda in the office]

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

Eda, You're acting very out of character. I know you must be stressed, but you don't need to do a thing. We can talk it through if you'd like.

@edalynn-pines

[edalynn-pines]

"There isnt much to talk about or talk through, but if you reslly think its necessary we can attempt it."

[She put the last journal in the box and looked over at Ray. Her greyish eyes seemed to stare right through him]

[dontsee-justlook]

[Ray took a moment to regain his confidence. Nobody knew about the maggots. He was Raymond Addams here.]

I do. How did this becoming head of the institute start? Did someone promote you or did you decide to take up the mantle?

[edalynn-pines]

"I decided to take up the mantle after I found Elias dead. I just assumed this would be a good course of action."

[The longer she stared at ray, the more the feeling of being watched grew on them]

"Are you alright? I feel like somthing is amiss."

[dontsee-justlook]

Oh, only a little. My boyfriend had a near death experience over the weekend, I'm still quite a bit rattled. Regardless, I'll do my job just fine.

Can you think about this for a moment? Immediately taking up the mantle as head is a terrible idea. It'd look suspicious from the outside, and from here it looks like you're scared.

[edalynn-pines]

"Do i really look scared?"

[She chuckled lightly]

"i do suppose it isnt the best idea, and I truly dont want to seem suspicious.."

[She frowned]

[dontsee-justlook]

Look scared or not, this is incredibly last minute. Why did you believe this seemed like a good course of action?

[edalynn-pines]

"Because unlike some people, I belive im competent enough to run an institute. Just give me a few days, if I fail miserably, ill step down."

[dontsee-justlook]

That's slightly more reasonable, but maybe wait a couple days first. As I said, I would hate for suspicion to be aimed at you for a spontaneous decision.

[edalynn-pines]

"i would also hate that."

[She sighed and messed with her hair]

"now, Sparrow wanted to have a word with you. Id assume keeping them waiting while theyre as agitated as this would be a good course of action for you."

[dontsee-justlook]

No, no it would not. I'll go discuss whatever it is they want to discuss. And you may stop migrating your belongings and wait a moment before making rash decisions.

[Ray exited the room to find Sparrow, speaking under his breath about the insanity of the people at this job]

@a-poem-poorly-written

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[There was the sound of things being packed up in Edas office as well as mutteres as someone searched for somthing on her shelves]

@edalynn-pines

[Sparrow enters the office, stopping in the doorway. Something was off here. Something was very off. They hazard a joke]

Do you get why I’m always trying to organize in here now?

[edalynn-pines]

"Yes, it is dreadfully messy in here."

[She grumbled. Her hair was tied back in a messy bun and her outfit was rather fancier than usual]

"Where is that damn key..."

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They looked her up and down. Whatever was in that office, it wasn’t Edalynn Pines. They leaned against the doorframe, partially blocking the way out. Their tone was noticeably sharper now]

Key for what? There’s about a thousand locked things in this office you know.

[edalynn-pines]

[She glanced at Sparrow and they felt the over wheeling feeling of being watched for a few moments before she smiled]

"You know what im talking about. The drawer."

[She pulled the key out from under a piece of taxidermy]

"there's so many things in here that should have been in artifact storage what was i thinking?"

[She muttered]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They shuddered, their eyes narrowing. The room started to distort slightly as their temper rose]

That you enjoy surrounding yourself with strange objects. A conversation we quite literally had last week.

[They see the packed boxes on the floor. She couldn’t have been fired, could she? No. That’s was almost impossible unless you literally died.]

Where exactly are you going anyway? As far as I’m aware we didn’t get any heads up that our archivist was moving departments. That’s a lot of work we’ll have to adjust now, you do realize.

[edalynn-pines]

[She didn't react to the room distorting and she sighed]

"Apologies, I suppose i should have informed you and the others about my move from archivist to head of the institute. Starling will be moved to archivist, I'll have to tell them when they arrive."

[She unlocked the drawer and hummed while she examined the contents for a moment]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

Head of the Institute-?!

[They nearly dropped their coffee]

Have you gone mad? Wait- what about Elias?

[edalynn-pines]

"Elias is gone and I havent gone mad."

[She said like this was the most obvious thing in the world.]

"I found him dead in the tunnels while I was on my way to artifact storage."

[She sets the leitner on the desk and the few files she had in the drawer too]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

You-

[They glance back at the assistant’s desks. No sign of Starling or Ray yet. Damn.]

Okay hold on. Just. Back up a second. Elias is dead and you’ve decided that you’re the new head of the Institute?! Edalynn Pines? Famous for consistently not finishing her statements and giving them to her assistants to clear up? Running the Entire Magnus Institute? I think you, or whoever has convinced you to do this needs to think this through a little more.

[The room shifted more noticeably now. Something was very, very wrong here and whatever it was they were getting to the bottom of it. Whoever this Not-Eda Eda was certainly hadn’t done their research on how to properly imitate her]

[edalynn-pines]

"I've decided to.. turn over a new leaf of sorts. Running an institute and being a head of the archives are very different."

[She pushed the few statement folders that were in her locked drawer towards sparrow. They were statements written by Eda and sparrow's]

"Have these put back into the archives, i know you have your own sorting system."

[She walked over to her book shelf of journals and began putting them in boxes]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They took them, holding them tightly. They set down their coffee on the desk, hazarding another step into the room]

Now hold on just a minute! You know exactly why those files are where they are. They’re filed there for a very specific reason. Now you might be running us aground down here for no reason that Edalynn Pines ever would but you are not fucking up my filing system in the process!

You don’t even care about those journals! Those are years of her work!

[edalynn-pines]

"Yes- my work thats going into my new office."

[She hissed and brushed her hair out of her face]

"I dont understand why youre so angry with me Sparrow, i am ell aware that those files were in there for a specific reason but I doubt starling is going to want them when they move in here. I have no intention to fuck up your filing system, I am simply moving things out of here."

[She spoke in a stern tone that she had probably only used once or twice. Her greyish eyes locked onto Sparrow and she gave them a sort of odd look, Like she was confused by their anger]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They stepped back a bit. Getting told off by Eda was always scary, even scarier when they knew whoever this pretender was could most definitely kill them. They pick up their cup, backing away further]

Lie to everyone else all you want. But you do a right miserable job of acting like her. We’ll make the archives a living hell to manage. I hope you weren’t planning on getting your scheduling done this week over all the misfilings. It happens when you put things under new management.

[They glance back into the archives, spotting Ray and practically dragging him in before glaring at her]

Oh Ray! Wonderful! You’re here! “Edalynn” here just informed me that starting today she’ll be the Head of the Institute and Starling will be our archivist! Isn’t that just exactly the kind of thing she would do?

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

Oh, is Eda acting odd again? I've said we need to stage an intervention with her.

Head of the Institute? Edalynn Pines taking on extra responsibility is the last thing you need right now. How about you take the next couple days off to process. You can trust us to handle things, I promise. But there's absolutely no need to rush in this manner.

@edalynn-pines

[edalynn-pines]

"No. No, im fine. Ill take a day off later, I just need to clean this place out. Now, if you lot wanted to help it would be appreciated."

[She picked up a box and moved it over to the shelf to stack the rest of the journals in]

@a-poem-poorly-written

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[Sparrow gave Ray a Look of “don’t you dare” before looking back at Eda]

Well you know that we would love to but seeing as we’re under new management there’s a lot of things we’ll have to get organized, so I really should start on that.

Oh and Ray, when you have a moment, a word please?

[They left, leaving Ray and Eda in the office]

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

Eda, You're acting very out of character. I know you must be stressed, but you don't need to do a thing. We can talk it through if you'd like.

@edalynn-pines

[edalynn-pines]

"There isnt much to talk about or talk through, but if you reslly think its necessary we can attempt it."

[She put the last journal in the box and looked over at Ray. Her greyish eyes seemed to stare right through him]

[dontsee-justlook]

[Ray took a moment to regain his confidence. Nobody knew about the maggots. He was Raymond Addams here.]

I do. How did this becoming head of the institute start? Did someone promote you or did you decide to take up the mantle?

[edalynn-pines]

"I decided to take up the mantle after I found Elias dead. I just assumed this would be a good course of action."

[The longer she stared at ray, the more the feeling of being watched grew on them]

"Are you alright? I feel like somthing is amiss."

[dontsee-justlook]

Oh, only a little. My boyfriend had a near death experience over the weekend, I'm still quite a bit rattled. Regardless, I'll do my job just fine.

Can you think about this for a moment? Immediately taking up the mantle as head is a terrible idea. It'd look suspicious from the outside, and from here it looks like you're scared.

[edalynn-pines]

"Do i really look scared?"

[She chuckled lightly]

"i do suppose it isnt the best idea, and I truly dont want to seem suspicious.."

[She frowned]

[dontsee-justlook]

Look scared or not, this is incredibly last minute. Why did you believe this seemed like a good course of action?

[edalynn-pines]

"Because unlike some people, I belive im competent enough to run an institute. Just give me a few days, if I fail miserably, ill step down."

[dontsee-justlook]

That's slightly more reasonable, but maybe wait a couple days first. As I said, I would hate for suspicion to be aimed at you for a spontaneous decision.

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[There was the sound of things being packed up in Edas office as well as mutteres as someone searched for somthing on her shelves]

@edalynn-pines

[Sparrow enters the office, stopping in the doorway. Something was off here. Something was very off. They hazard a joke]

Do you get why I’m always trying to organize in here now?

[edalynn-pines]

"Yes, it is dreadfully messy in here."

[She grumbled. Her hair was tied back in a messy bun and her outfit was rather fancier than usual]

"Where is that damn key..."

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They looked her up and down. Whatever was in that office, it wasn’t Edalynn Pines. They leaned against the doorframe, partially blocking the way out. Their tone was noticeably sharper now]

Key for what? There’s about a thousand locked things in this office you know.

[edalynn-pines]

[She glanced at Sparrow and they felt the over wheeling feeling of being watched for a few moments before she smiled]

"You know what im talking about. The drawer."

[She pulled the key out from under a piece of taxidermy]

"there's so many things in here that should have been in artifact storage what was i thinking?"

[She muttered]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They shuddered, their eyes narrowing. The room started to distort slightly as their temper rose]

That you enjoy surrounding yourself with strange objects. A conversation we quite literally had last week.

[They see the packed boxes on the floor. She couldn’t have been fired, could she? No. That’s was almost impossible unless you literally died.]

Where exactly are you going anyway? As far as I’m aware we didn’t get any heads up that our archivist was moving departments. That’s a lot of work we’ll have to adjust now, you do realize.

[edalynn-pines]

[She didn't react to the room distorting and she sighed]

"Apologies, I suppose i should have informed you and the others about my move from archivist to head of the institute. Starling will be moved to archivist, I'll have to tell them when they arrive."

[She unlocked the drawer and hummed while she examined the contents for a moment]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

Head of the Institute-?!

[They nearly dropped their coffee]

Have you gone mad? Wait- what about Elias?

[edalynn-pines]

"Elias is gone and I havent gone mad."

[She said like this was the most obvious thing in the world.]

"I found him dead in the tunnels while I was on my way to artifact storage."

[She sets the leitner on the desk and the few files she had in the drawer too]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

You-

[They glance back at the assistant’s desks. No sign of Starling or Ray yet. Damn.]

Okay hold on. Just. Back up a second. Elias is dead and you’ve decided that you’re the new head of the Institute?! Edalynn Pines? Famous for consistently not finishing her statements and giving them to her assistants to clear up? Running the Entire Magnus Institute? I think you, or whoever has convinced you to do this needs to think this through a little more.

[The room shifted more noticeably now. Something was very, very wrong here and whatever it was they were getting to the bottom of it. Whoever this Not-Eda Eda was certainly hadn’t done their research on how to properly imitate her]

[edalynn-pines]

"I've decided to.. turn over a new leaf of sorts. Running an institute and being a head of the archives are very different."

[She pushed the few statement folders that were in her locked drawer towards sparrow. They were statements written by Eda and sparrow's]

"Have these put back into the archives, i know you have your own sorting system."

[She walked over to her book shelf of journals and began putting them in boxes]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They took them, holding them tightly. They set down their coffee on the desk, hazarding another step into the room]

Now hold on just a minute! You know exactly why those files are where they are. They’re filed there for a very specific reason. Now you might be running us aground down here for no reason that Edalynn Pines ever would but you are not fucking up my filing system in the process!

You don’t even care about those journals! Those are years of her work!

[edalynn-pines]

"Yes- my work thats going into my new office."

[She hissed and brushed her hair out of her face]

"I dont understand why youre so angry with me Sparrow, i am ell aware that those files were in there for a specific reason but I doubt starling is going to want them when they move in here. I have no intention to fuck up your filing system, I am simply moving things out of here."

[She spoke in a stern tone that she had probably only used once or twice. Her greyish eyes locked onto Sparrow and she gave them a sort of odd look, Like she was confused by their anger]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They stepped back a bit. Getting told off by Eda was always scary, even scarier when they knew whoever this pretender was could most definitely kill them. They pick up their cup, backing away further]

Lie to everyone else all you want. But you do a right miserable job of acting like her. We’ll make the archives a living hell to manage. I hope you weren’t planning on getting your scheduling done this week over all the misfilings. It happens when you put things under new management.

[They glance back into the archives, spotting Ray and practically dragging him in before glaring at her]

Oh Ray! Wonderful! You’re here! “Edalynn” here just informed me that starting today she’ll be the Head of the Institute and Starling will be our archivist! Isn’t that just exactly the kind of thing she would do?

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

Oh, is Eda acting odd again? I've said we need to stage an intervention with her.

Head of the Institute? Edalynn Pines taking on extra responsibility is the last thing you need right now. How about you take the next couple days off to process. You can trust us to handle things, I promise. But there's absolutely no need to rush in this manner.

@edalynn-pines

[edalynn-pines]

"No. No, im fine. Ill take a day off later, I just need to clean this place out. Now, if you lot wanted to help it would be appreciated."

[She picked up a box and moved it over to the shelf to stack the rest of the journals in]

@a-poem-poorly-written

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[Sparrow gave Ray a Look of “don’t you dare” before looking back at Eda]

Well you know that we would love to but seeing as we’re under new management there’s a lot of things we’ll have to get organized, so I really should start on that.

Oh and Ray, when you have a moment, a word please?

[They left, leaving Ray and Eda in the office]

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

Eda, You're acting very out of character. I know you must be stressed, but you don't need to do a thing. We can talk it through if you'd like.

@edalynn-pines

[edalynn-pines]

"There isnt much to talk about or talk through, but if you reslly think its necessary we can attempt it."

[She put the last journal in the box and looked over at Ray. Her greyish eyes seemed to stare right through him]

[dontsee-justlook]

[Ray took a moment to regain his confidence. Nobody knew about the maggots. He was Raymond Addams here.]

I do. How did this becoming head of the institute start? Did someone promote you or did you decide to take up the mantle?

[edalynn-pines]

"I decided to take up the mantle after I found Elias dead. I just assumed this would be a good course of action."

[The longer she stared at ray, the more the feeling of being watched grew on them]

"Are you alright? I feel like somthing is amiss."

[dontsee-justlook]

Oh, only a little. My boyfriend had a near death experience over the weekend, I'm still quite a bit rattled. Regardless, I'll do my job just fine.

Can you think about this for a moment? Immediately taking up the mantle as head is a terrible idea. It'd look suspicious from the outside, and from here it looks like you're scared.

[edalynn-pines]

"Do i really look scared?"

[She chuckled lightly]

"i do suppose it isnt the best idea, and I truly dont want to seem suspicious.."

[She frowned]

[dontsee-justlook]

Look scared or not, this is incredibly last minute. Why did you believe this seemed like a good course of action?

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[There was the sound of things being packed up in Edas office as well as mutteres as someone searched for somthing on her shelves]

@edalynn-pines

[Sparrow enters the office, stopping in the doorway. Something was off here. Something was very off. They hazard a joke]

Do you get why I’m always trying to organize in here now?

[edalynn-pines]

"Yes, it is dreadfully messy in here."

[She grumbled. Her hair was tied back in a messy bun and her outfit was rather fancier than usual]

"Where is that damn key..."

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They looked her up and down. Whatever was in that office, it wasn’t Edalynn Pines. They leaned against the doorframe, partially blocking the way out. Their tone was noticeably sharper now]

Key for what? There’s about a thousand locked things in this office you know.

[edalynn-pines]

[She glanced at Sparrow and they felt the over wheeling feeling of being watched for a few moments before she smiled]

"You know what im talking about. The drawer."

[She pulled the key out from under a piece of taxidermy]

"there's so many things in here that should have been in artifact storage what was i thinking?"

[She muttered]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They shuddered, their eyes narrowing. The room started to distort slightly as their temper rose]

That you enjoy surrounding yourself with strange objects. A conversation we quite literally had last week.

[They see the packed boxes on the floor. She couldn’t have been fired, could she? No. That’s was almost impossible unless you literally died.]

Where exactly are you going anyway? As far as I’m aware we didn’t get any heads up that our archivist was moving departments. That’s a lot of work we’ll have to adjust now, you do realize.

[edalynn-pines]

[She didn't react to the room distorting and she sighed]

"Apologies, I suppose i should have informed you and the others about my move from archivist to head of the institute. Starling will be moved to archivist, I'll have to tell them when they arrive."

[She unlocked the drawer and hummed while she examined the contents for a moment]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

Head of the Institute-?!

[They nearly dropped their coffee]

Have you gone mad? Wait- what about Elias?

[edalynn-pines]

"Elias is gone and I havent gone mad."

[She said like this was the most obvious thing in the world.]

"I found him dead in the tunnels while I was on my way to artifact storage."

[She sets the leitner on the desk and the few files she had in the drawer too]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

You-

[They glance back at the assistant’s desks. No sign of Starling or Ray yet. Damn.]

Okay hold on. Just. Back up a second. Elias is dead and you’ve decided that you’re the new head of the Institute?! Edalynn Pines? Famous for consistently not finishing her statements and giving them to her assistants to clear up? Running the Entire Magnus Institute? I think you, or whoever has convinced you to do this needs to think this through a little more.

[The room shifted more noticeably now. Something was very, very wrong here and whatever it was they were getting to the bottom of it. Whoever this Not-Eda Eda was certainly hadn’t done their research on how to properly imitate her]

[edalynn-pines]

"I've decided to.. turn over a new leaf of sorts. Running an institute and being a head of the archives are very different."

[She pushed the few statement folders that were in her locked drawer towards sparrow. They were statements written by Eda and sparrow's]

"Have these put back into the archives, i know you have your own sorting system."

[She walked over to her book shelf of journals and began putting them in boxes]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They took them, holding them tightly. They set down their coffee on the desk, hazarding another step into the room]

Now hold on just a minute! You know exactly why those files are where they are. They’re filed there for a very specific reason. Now you might be running us aground down here for no reason that Edalynn Pines ever would but you are not fucking up my filing system in the process!

You don’t even care about those journals! Those are years of her work!

[edalynn-pines]

"Yes- my work thats going into my new office."

[She hissed and brushed her hair out of her face]

"I dont understand why youre so angry with me Sparrow, i am ell aware that those files were in there for a specific reason but I doubt starling is going to want them when they move in here. I have no intention to fuck up your filing system, I am simply moving things out of here."

[She spoke in a stern tone that she had probably only used once or twice. Her greyish eyes locked onto Sparrow and she gave them a sort of odd look, Like she was confused by their anger]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They stepped back a bit. Getting told off by Eda was always scary, even scarier when they knew whoever this pretender was could most definitely kill them. They pick up their cup, backing away further]

Lie to everyone else all you want. But you do a right miserable job of acting like her. We’ll make the archives a living hell to manage. I hope you weren’t planning on getting your scheduling done this week over all the misfilings. It happens when you put things under new management.

[They glance back into the archives, spotting Ray and practically dragging him in before glaring at her]

Oh Ray! Wonderful! You’re here! “Edalynn” here just informed me that starting today she’ll be the Head of the Institute and Starling will be our archivist! Isn’t that just exactly the kind of thing she would do?

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

Oh, is Eda acting odd again? I've said we need to stage an intervention with her.

Head of the Institute? Edalynn Pines taking on extra responsibility is the last thing you need right now. How about you take the next couple days off to process. You can trust us to handle things, I promise. But there's absolutely no need to rush in this manner.

@edalynn-pines

[edalynn-pines]

"No. No, im fine. Ill take a day off later, I just need to clean this place out. Now, if you lot wanted to help it would be appreciated."

[She picked up a box and moved it over to the shelf to stack the rest of the journals in]

@a-poem-poorly-written

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[Sparrow gave Ray a Look of “don’t you dare” before looking back at Eda]

Well you know that we would love to but seeing as we’re under new management there’s a lot of things we’ll have to get organized, so I really should start on that.

Oh and Ray, when you have a moment, a word please?

[They left, leaving Ray and Eda in the office]

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

Eda, You're acting very out of character. I know you must be stressed, but you don't need to do a thing. We can talk it through if you'd like.

@edalynn-pines

[edalynn-pines]

"There isnt much to talk about or talk through, but if you reslly think its necessary we can attempt it."

[She put the last journal in the box and looked over at Ray. Her greyish eyes seemed to stare right through him]

[dontsee-justlook]

[Ray took a moment to regain his confidence. Nobody knew about the maggots. He was Raymond Addams here.]

I do. How did this becoming head of the institute start? Did someone promote you or did you decide to take up the mantle?

[edalynn-pines]

"I decided to take up the mantle after I found Elias dead. I just assumed this would be a good course of action."

[The longer she stared at ray, the more the feeling of being watched grew on them]

"Are you alright? I feel like somthing is amiss."

[dontsee-justlook]

Oh, only a little. My boyfriend had a near death experience over the weekend, I'm still quite a bit rattled. Regardless, I'll do my job just fine.

Can you think about this for a moment? Immediately taking up the mantle as head is a terrible idea. It'd look suspicious from the outside, and from here it looks like you're scared.

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[There was the sound of things being packed up in Edas office as well as mutteres as someone searched for somthing on her shelves]

@edalynn-pines

[Sparrow enters the office, stopping in the doorway. Something was off here. Something was very off. They hazard a joke]

Do you get why I’m always trying to organize in here now?

[edalynn-pines]

"Yes, it is dreadfully messy in here."

[She grumbled. Her hair was tied back in a messy bun and her outfit was rather fancier than usual]

"Where is that damn key..."

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They looked her up and down. Whatever was in that office, it wasn’t Edalynn Pines. They leaned against the doorframe, partially blocking the way out. Their tone was noticeably sharper now]

Key for what? There’s about a thousand locked things in this office you know.

[edalynn-pines]

[She glanced at Sparrow and they felt the over wheeling feeling of being watched for a few moments before she smiled]

"You know what im talking about. The drawer."

[She pulled the key out from under a piece of taxidermy]

"there's so many things in here that should have been in artifact storage what was i thinking?"

[She muttered]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They shuddered, their eyes narrowing. The room started to distort slightly as their temper rose]

That you enjoy surrounding yourself with strange objects. A conversation we quite literally had last week.

[They see the packed boxes on the floor. She couldn’t have been fired, could she? No. That’s was almost impossible unless you literally died.]

Where exactly are you going anyway? As far as I’m aware we didn’t get any heads up that our archivist was moving departments. That’s a lot of work we’ll have to adjust now, you do realize.

[edalynn-pines]

[She didn't react to the room distorting and she sighed]

"Apologies, I suppose i should have informed you and the others about my move from archivist to head of the institute. Starling will be moved to archivist, I'll have to tell them when they arrive."

[She unlocked the drawer and hummed while she examined the contents for a moment]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

Head of the Institute-?!

[They nearly dropped their coffee]

Have you gone mad? Wait- what about Elias?

[edalynn-pines]

"Elias is gone and I havent gone mad."

[She said like this was the most obvious thing in the world.]

"I found him dead in the tunnels while I was on my way to artifact storage."

[She sets the leitner on the desk and the few files she had in the drawer too]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

You-

[They glance back at the assistant’s desks. No sign of Starling or Ray yet. Damn.]

Okay hold on. Just. Back up a second. Elias is dead and you’ve decided that you’re the new head of the Institute?! Edalynn Pines? Famous for consistently not finishing her statements and giving them to her assistants to clear up? Running the Entire Magnus Institute? I think you, or whoever has convinced you to do this needs to think this through a little more.

[The room shifted more noticeably now. Something was very, very wrong here and whatever it was they were getting to the bottom of it. Whoever this Not-Eda Eda was certainly hadn’t done their research on how to properly imitate her]

[edalynn-pines]

"I've decided to.. turn over a new leaf of sorts. Running an institute and being a head of the archives are very different."

[She pushed the few statement folders that were in her locked drawer towards sparrow. They were statements written by Eda and sparrow's]

"Have these put back into the archives, i know you have your own sorting system."

[She walked over to her book shelf of journals and began putting them in boxes]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They took them, holding them tightly. They set down their coffee on the desk, hazarding another step into the room]

Now hold on just a minute! You know exactly why those files are where they are. They’re filed there for a very specific reason. Now you might be running us aground down here for no reason that Edalynn Pines ever would but you are not fucking up my filing system in the process!

You don’t even care about those journals! Those are years of her work!

[edalynn-pines]

"Yes- my work thats going into my new office."

[She hissed and brushed her hair out of her face]

"I dont understand why youre so angry with me Sparrow, i am ell aware that those files were in there for a specific reason but I doubt starling is going to want them when they move in here. I have no intention to fuck up your filing system, I am simply moving things out of here."

[She spoke in a stern tone that she had probably only used once or twice. Her greyish eyes locked onto Sparrow and she gave them a sort of odd look, Like she was confused by their anger]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They stepped back a bit. Getting told off by Eda was always scary, even scarier when they knew whoever this pretender was could most definitely kill them. They pick up their cup, backing away further]

Lie to everyone else all you want. But you do a right miserable job of acting like her. We’ll make the archives a living hell to manage. I hope you weren’t planning on getting your scheduling done this week over all the misfilings. It happens when you put things under new management.

[They glance back into the archives, spotting Ray and practically dragging him in before glaring at her]

Oh Ray! Wonderful! You’re here! “Edalynn” here just informed me that starting today she’ll be the Head of the Institute and Starling will be our archivist! Isn’t that just exactly the kind of thing she would do?

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

Oh, is Eda acting odd again? I've said we need to stage an intervention with her.

Head of the Institute? Edalynn Pines taking on extra responsibility is the last thing you need right now. How about you take the next couple days off to process. You can trust us to handle things, I promise. But there's absolutely no need to rush in this manner.

@edalynn-pines

[edalynn-pines]

"No. No, im fine. Ill take a day off later, I just need to clean this place out. Now, if you lot wanted to help it would be appreciated."

[She picked up a box and moved it over to the shelf to stack the rest of the journals in]

@a-poem-poorly-written

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[Sparrow gave Ray a Look of “don’t you dare” before looking back at Eda]

Well you know that we would love to but seeing as we’re under new management there’s a lot of things we’ll have to get organized, so I really should start on that.

Oh and Ray, when you have a moment, a word please?

[They left, leaving Ray and Eda in the office]

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

Eda, You're acting very out of character. I know you must be stressed, but you don't need to do a thing. We can talk it through if you'd like.

@edalynn-pines

[edalynn-pines]

"There isnt much to talk about or talk through, but if you reslly think its necessary we can attempt it."

[She put the last journal in the box and looked over at Ray. Her greyish eyes seemed to stare right through him]

[dontsee-justlook]

[Ray took a moment to regain his confidence. Nobody knew about the maggots. He was Raymond Addams here.]

I do. How did this becoming head of the institute start? Did someone promote you or did you decide to take up the mantle?

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[There was the sound of things being packed up in Edas office as well as mutteres as someone searched for somthing on her shelves]

@edalynn-pines

[Sparrow enters the office, stopping in the doorway. Something was off here. Something was very off. They hazard a joke]

Do you get why I’m always trying to organize in here now?

[edalynn-pines]

"Yes, it is dreadfully messy in here."

[She grumbled. Her hair was tied back in a messy bun and her outfit was rather fancier than usual]

"Where is that damn key..."

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They looked her up and down. Whatever was in that office, it wasn’t Edalynn Pines. They leaned against the doorframe, partially blocking the way out. Their tone was noticeably sharper now]

Key for what? There’s about a thousand locked things in this office you know.

[edalynn-pines]

[She glanced at Sparrow and they felt the over wheeling feeling of being watched for a few moments before she smiled]

"You know what im talking about. The drawer."

[She pulled the key out from under a piece of taxidermy]

"there's so many things in here that should have been in artifact storage what was i thinking?"

[She muttered]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They shuddered, their eyes narrowing. The room started to distort slightly as their temper rose]

That you enjoy surrounding yourself with strange objects. A conversation we quite literally had last week.

[They see the packed boxes on the floor. She couldn’t have been fired, could she? No. That’s was almost impossible unless you literally died.]

Where exactly are you going anyway? As far as I’m aware we didn’t get any heads up that our archivist was moving departments. That’s a lot of work we’ll have to adjust now, you do realize.

[edalynn-pines]

[She didn't react to the room distorting and she sighed]

"Apologies, I suppose i should have informed you and the others about my move from archivist to head of the institute. Starling will be moved to archivist, I'll have to tell them when they arrive."

[She unlocked the drawer and hummed while she examined the contents for a moment]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

Head of the Institute-?!

[They nearly dropped their coffee]

Have you gone mad? Wait- what about Elias?

[edalynn-pines]

"Elias is gone and I havent gone mad."

[She said like this was the most obvious thing in the world.]

"I found him dead in the tunnels while I was on my way to artifact storage."

[She sets the leitner on the desk and the few files she had in the drawer too]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

You-

[They glance back at the assistant’s desks. No sign of Starling or Ray yet. Damn.]

Okay hold on. Just. Back up a second. Elias is dead and you’ve decided that you’re the new head of the Institute?! Edalynn Pines? Famous for consistently not finishing her statements and giving them to her assistants to clear up? Running the Entire Magnus Institute? I think you, or whoever has convinced you to do this needs to think this through a little more.

[The room shifted more noticeably now. Something was very, very wrong here and whatever it was they were getting to the bottom of it. Whoever this Not-Eda Eda was certainly hadn’t done their research on how to properly imitate her]

[edalynn-pines]

"I've decided to.. turn over a new leaf of sorts. Running an institute and being a head of the archives are very different."

[She pushed the few statement folders that were in her locked drawer towards sparrow. They were statements written by Eda and sparrow's]

"Have these put back into the archives, i know you have your own sorting system."

[She walked over to her book shelf of journals and began putting them in boxes]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They took them, holding them tightly. They set down their coffee on the desk, hazarding another step into the room]

Now hold on just a minute! You know exactly why those files are where they are. They’re filed there for a very specific reason. Now you might be running us aground down here for no reason that Edalynn Pines ever would but you are not fucking up my filing system in the process!

You don’t even care about those journals! Those are years of her work!

[edalynn-pines]

"Yes- my work thats going into my new office."

[She hissed and brushed her hair out of her face]

"I dont understand why youre so angry with me Sparrow, i am ell aware that those files were in there for a specific reason but I doubt starling is going to want them when they move in here. I have no intention to fuck up your filing system, I am simply moving things out of here."

[She spoke in a stern tone that she had probably only used once or twice. Her greyish eyes locked onto Sparrow and she gave them a sort of odd look, Like she was confused by their anger]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They stepped back a bit. Getting told off by Eda was always scary, even scarier when they knew whoever this pretender was could most definitely kill them. They pick up their cup, backing away further]

Lie to everyone else all you want. But you do a right miserable job of acting like her. We’ll make the archives a living hell to manage. I hope you weren’t planning on getting your scheduling done this week over all the misfilings. It happens when you put things under new management.

[They glance back into the archives, spotting Ray and practically dragging him in before glaring at her]

Oh Ray! Wonderful! You’re here! “Edalynn” here just informed me that starting today she’ll be the Head of the Institute and Starling will be our archivist! Isn’t that just exactly the kind of thing she would do?

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

Oh, is Eda acting odd again? I've said we need to stage an intervention with her.

Head of the Institute? Edalynn Pines taking on extra responsibility is the last thing you need right now. How about you take the next couple days off to process. You can trust us to handle things, I promise. But there's absolutely no need to rush in this manner.

@edalynn-pines

[edalynn-pines]

"No. No, im fine. Ill take a day off later, I just need to clean this place out. Now, if you lot wanted to help it would be appreciated."

[She picked up a box and moved it over to the shelf to stack the rest of the journals in]

@a-poem-poorly-written

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[Sparrow gave Ray a Look of “don’t you dare” before looking back at Eda]

Well you know that we would love to but seeing as we’re under new management there’s a lot of things we’ll have to get organized, so I really should start on that.

Oh and Ray, when you have a moment, a word please?

[They left, leaving Ray and Eda in the office]

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

Eda, You're acting very out of character. I know you must be stressed, but you don't need to do a thing. We can talk it through if you'd like.

@edalynn-pines

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[There was the sound of things being packed up in Edas office as well as mutteres as someone searched for somthing on her shelves]

@edalynn-pines

[Sparrow enters the office, stopping in the doorway. Something was off here. Something was very off. They hazard a joke]

Do you get why I’m always trying to organize in here now?

[edalynn-pines]

"Yes, it is dreadfully messy in here."

[She grumbled. Her hair was tied back in a messy bun and her outfit was rather fancier than usual]

"Where is that damn key..."

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They looked her up and down. Whatever was in that office, it wasn’t Edalynn Pines. They leaned against the doorframe, partially blocking the way out. Their tone was noticeably sharper now]

Key for what? There’s about a thousand locked things in this office you know.

[edalynn-pines]

[She glanced at Sparrow and they felt the over wheeling feeling of being watched for a few moments before she smiled]

"You know what im talking about. The drawer."

[She pulled the key out from under a piece of taxidermy]

"there's so many things in here that should have been in artifact storage what was i thinking?"

[She muttered]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They shuddered, their eyes narrowing. The room started to distort slightly as their temper rose]

That you enjoy surrounding yourself with strange objects. A conversation we quite literally had last week.

[They see the packed boxes on the floor. She couldn’t have been fired, could she? No. That’s was almost impossible unless you literally died.]

Where exactly are you going anyway? As far as I’m aware we didn’t get any heads up that our archivist was moving departments. That’s a lot of work we’ll have to adjust now, you do realize.

[edalynn-pines]

[She didn't react to the room distorting and she sighed]

"Apologies, I suppose i should have informed you and the others about my move from archivist to head of the institute. Starling will be moved to archivist, I'll have to tell them when they arrive."

[She unlocked the drawer and hummed while she examined the contents for a moment]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

Head of the Institute-?!

[They nearly dropped their coffee]

Have you gone mad? Wait- what about Elias?

[edalynn-pines]

"Elias is gone and I havent gone mad."

[She said like this was the most obvious thing in the world.]

"I found him dead in the tunnels while I was on my way to artifact storage."

[She sets the leitner on the desk and the few files she had in the drawer too]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

You-

[They glance back at the assistant’s desks. No sign of Starling or Ray yet. Damn.]

Okay hold on. Just. Back up a second. Elias is dead and you’ve decided that you’re the new head of the Institute?! Edalynn Pines? Famous for consistently not finishing her statements and giving them to her assistants to clear up? Running the Entire Magnus Institute? I think you, or whoever has convinced you to do this needs to think this through a little more.

[The room shifted more noticeably now. Something was very, very wrong here and whatever it was they were getting to the bottom of it. Whoever this Not-Eda Eda was certainly hadn’t done their research on how to properly imitate her]

[edalynn-pines]

"I've decided to.. turn over a new leaf of sorts. Running an institute and being a head of the archives are very different."

[She pushed the few statement folders that were in her locked drawer towards sparrow. They were statements written by Eda and sparrow's]

"Have these put back into the archives, i know you have your own sorting system."

[She walked over to her book shelf of journals and began putting them in boxes]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They took them, holding them tightly. They set down their coffee on the desk, hazarding another step into the room]

Now hold on just a minute! You know exactly why those files are where they are. They’re filed there for a very specific reason. Now you might be running us aground down here for no reason that Edalynn Pines ever would but you are not fucking up my filing system in the process!

You don’t even care about those journals! Those are years of her work!

[edalynn-pines]

"Yes- my work thats going into my new office."

[She hissed and brushed her hair out of her face]

"I dont understand why youre so angry with me Sparrow, i am ell aware that those files were in there for a specific reason but I doubt starling is going to want them when they move in here. I have no intention to fuck up your filing system, I am simply moving things out of here."

[She spoke in a stern tone that she had probably only used once or twice. Her greyish eyes locked onto Sparrow and she gave them a sort of odd look, Like she was confused by their anger]

[a-poem-poorly-written]

[They stepped back a bit. Getting told off by Eda was always scary, even scarier when they knew whoever this pretender was could most definitely kill them. They pick up their cup, backing away further]

Lie to everyone else all you want. But you do a right miserable job of acting like her. We’ll make the archives a living hell to manage. I hope you weren’t planning on getting your scheduling done this week over all the misfilings. It happens when you put things under new management.

[They glance back into the archives, spotting Ray and practically dragging him in before glaring at her]

Oh Ray! Wonderful! You’re here! “Edalynn” here just informed me that starting today she’ll be the Head of the Institute and Starling will be our archivist! Isn’t that just exactly the kind of thing she would do?

@dontsee-justlook

[dontsee-justlook]

Oh, is Eda acting odd again? I've said we need to stage an intervention with her.

Head of the Institute? Edalynn Pines taking on extra responsibility is the last thing you need right now. How about you take the next couple days off to process. You can trust us to handle things, I promise. But there's absolutely no need to rush in this manner.

@edalynn-pines

[ben-maxxing]

//open rp!

(Read this first if you haven’t already!!!)

[The show is over, and hanging above it all, still and limp, is Ben Maxx. A simple accident that was expertly planned. A harness that wound up a bit too tight in just the wrong places. A board ever so slightly misaligned to hold a cable taut, keeping its puppet in place. He hangs there now, the light gone from his eyes and the beating gone from his heart. All before he could ever take his final bow]

[dontsee-justlook]

[As it turns out, Maggots are very hard to get under control. Especially when they don't listen to you. Why did it have to be maggots?]

[When Ray came back from the bathroom to watch the finale, he quickly realized Ben was missing. It was only after the show was over that he could rush up and try to get Ben down from there.]

[He was dead. He had to be, right? Otherwise he wouldn't be so limp. He was dead and Ray would never come home to his place again or get to make him a new cookie recipe or-]

[But. Ray had died hadn't he? Just less than a week ago. And there he was, back before anyone knew.]

[So he rushed up to the stage and frantically tried to figure out how to bring him down before anyone could see. Maybe if Ray got to him first he'd come back to life and nobody would have to know. Maybe the maggots would cooperate for once and help him out or something he didn't know how these Fears worked but something-]

[In his rush, one of his sleeves tore open. Behind it was a mass of holes, some maggots and flies crawling in and out of them. Ray didn't notice.]

[ben-maxxing]

[The rafters were covered in cobwebs. Fresh ones. Ben hung above an open space between the track. Just far enough between the rafters that he was too short to reach them and save himself. Though it was far too late for that now]

[dontsee-justlook]

[Ray rushed backstage, and quickly took his scissors in hand. Cutting through the cobwebs didn't do much practically, but it made him feel better.]

[Ray started climbing up to the rafters. He felt afraid of falling at first, but what's the worst that could happen, he dies? He was already dead.]

[ben-maxxing]

[The rafters were, as Ben has proudly told him many times, entirely sturdy and safe. He was able to make it to Ben quite easily actually. When he got close he could see that all that had actually gone wrong was a snag on a wooden board. A simple snag on some old beam placed there ages ago was all it took for the dominoes to fall and to end Ben’s life]

[dontsee-justlook]

[No time. Ray quickly tried to find a way to lower him to the ground. Whatever worked. Of course the Web killed him, Ray should've known. But he didn't know quick enough. The past can't be changed. The future can be.]

[ben-maxxing]

[After a minute, he manages to get him down and into the light booth nestled up in the rafters. It was enough solid floor to at least be safe. Ben lays still on the ground, any signs of life gone. Just a cobweb spun on his arm and a single small spider scurrying from the scene.]

[After almost ten minutes, his heart began to beat faintly. Irregularly. The harness still pulled tightly around his chest and neck prevented him from breathing]

[dontsee-justlook]

[Ray had been trying to cut the harness off, but he was struggling. Eventually he realizes with the sheer amount of maggots he had, he might be able to life the harness just a bit so Ben could breathe easier while he worked to figure out the weak points.]

[ben-maxxing]

[This plan worked, after a few minutes he was able to fully cut the harness off and Ben slowly began to breathe again. He bolted up with a gasp, clutching at his heart and looking around frantically. He seemed to realize he was in the light booth, but missed Ray entirely. He tried to stand and immediately fell back down, mumbling something about cues and spiders. He tried again. At this rate he was going to stumble out the door and tumble out of the rafters altogether. Clearly he wasn’t fully back yet]

[dontsee-justlook]

[Ray quickly put an arm around him to stop him from getting up again.]

Hey, Ben, oh shit-

[During this was when Ray noticed his sleeve was undone, leaving the hive on display.]

[ben-maxxing]

[This seemed to snap him back into reality. He paused, looking between Ray and the door. Then his eyes finally landed on his arm. He wasn’t able to speak very well, his lungs still getting used to having space to breathe again, but what words he did manage to speak clearly sounded very worried]

R- ay. Arm- you- h-hur- -t?

[dontsee-justlook]

I'm hurt? You're hurt. Relax, we can stay here until you can speak a full sentence without your lungs fucking off to wonderland halfway through.

[Ray figured Ben already knew he was American, and he had better things to worry about than keeping the facade up.]

[ben-maxxing]

You’re- you’re h- -urt. I’m-

[He broke into a coughing fit. Though seemingly trying to clear it through sheer force of will]

I’m f-fine. Just. . . pass’d out. Your arm. . . You’re hurt

[dontsee-justlook]

You were dead. Ben you were dead for over fifteen minutes. Learn to breathe again before you worry about my arm.

[Ray redid his sleeve]

See? All better. One couldn't even tell it's there.

[ben-maxxing]

Dead. . ? But. . .

[He looked very worried again]

Th-the show Ray the- my cue the end the-the spider did I miss it??? Did I ruin it???

[dontsee-justlook]

No, you did perfectly darling. I saw it, it was wonderful. Now it's time for you to recover, and not die on the next performance.

[ben-maxxing]

[He still hasn’t entirely processed what has happened, and was trying to stand up again, each time he fell looking back at Ray’s arm]

B-but Stella if Stella saw-!

But your arm you’re not okay-!

But everyone is downstairs how long was I-?

I’m dead? Like actually really dead? I. . . oh my god i need to sit down.

[The next time he fell, he landed himself next to Ray, taking his hand lightly and looking like he was really trying to process all of this]

[dontsee-justlook]

[Ray held him like he'd vanish otherwise, finally processing what he almost lost.]

You died. You died and you almost didn't come back- I love you I'm sorry I couldn't say it before but I do. We can figure out everything from there.

[ben-maxxing]

[He looks up at Ray, the chaos clear for just one moment]

I love you too.

[And then it began again, hearing a noise downstairs he stood up, making it this time, and grabbing Ray’s hand]

The after party! Oh god I hope we’re not late! Come on we’ve got to go! Dead or not I can’t be late to the after party for my own show!!!

[dontsee-justlook]

Alright, alright. But we shouldn't stay for long, you should rest after all that.

[Ray switched back to his fake accent]

Are you sure you can make it down the ladder? We're quite high up, it'd be terrible if you fell.

[ben-maxxing]

I’ve climbed up and down this ladder sleep deprived, with a broken arm, and even drugged once. I’ll be alright. . .

buuuuuuuut maybe I could use just a little help getting on?

[He held his hand out and looked up at Ray. He was, in truth, perfectly fine. He just liked the attention]

[dontsee-justlook]

[Ray helped him on without hesitation. He didn't want to risk it, and he did want to give Ben attention]

Drugged? Was this while you were kidnapped perhaps?

[ben-maxxing]

Oh, no. We got this theater long after all of that. No, just a very regretful night at the pub.

[They made it down, and the rest of the crew looked rather relieved to see him and Ray.]

[dontsee-justlook]

[Ray kept close to Ben the entire time.]

The show was magnificent! A wonderful job to everyone, truly.

[ben-maxxing]

[The party was set to go on for a while, and despite wanting to stay, he was starting to feel a bit lightheaded, so he settled on going home. That was, so long as Ray was coming with him]

[dontsee-justlook]

[Ray absolutely was]

Hm, if you have the right ingredients I could prepare death day cookies.

[ben-maxxing]

[He snorted, amused by this idea]

Death Day cookies? Well I suppose I’ll have to have them now, won’t I? What exactly does a death day cookie consist of?

[dontsee-justlook]

Well you died today and I still have you, this is clearly worth celebrating! A death day cookie is a delicious treat that I grant you as a thank you for being alive despite dying.