A story told through chatlogs, pictures, emails, comic pages, dialogue transcripts, blog posts, and more about four kids and the adventure they have in the world of their dreams.
AC: I’m sorry to disturb you, but it appears I’m in a rather sticky situation at the moment.
AC: Do you have a minute?
VL: ah, yes. the big day.
VL: the one that wasn’t supposed to happen, according to you the last time we spoke.
VL: what happened?
AC: I’m afraid I... was not able to tell the truth about certain matters.
VL: i suspected as much.
VL: but for the sake of having it said out loud,
VL: jesus christ, amaya.
AC: It’s not as easy as you’re making it sound, you know.
AC: We are talking about the greatest business deal my father has ever planned in the duration of his entire career.
AC: Nothing will change. All telling people will do is make everyone angry.
AC: But just the thought of going through with it makes me want to throw up.
AC: Quite frankly, I’m at a complete loss.
VL: i’m not saying you have to tell everyone.
VL: i’m aware the black kingdom’s politics differ from ours on an unfathomable level, and you guys have to go through several incomprehensible dances of pure bullshit before you can ever get anything done.
VL: which honestly, to me, seems like a total waste of time.
VL: i mean, seriously. all this beating around the bush is completely useless. why do you even bother with it?
VL: it’s just a giant mess of paperwork and strained relations.
AC: Vincent.
AC: What is your point here?
VL: have you told andrew about this?
VL: i would think that he, of all people, has the right to know.
VL: after all,
VL: you’re going to be marrying him in a couple of hours.
AC: Please don’t keep reminding me. I don’t think my stomach can take it.
AC: Also, he is the one person I cannot tell for that very reason!
VL: what reason?
VL: andrew’s one of the nicest people in the universe.
VL: honestly, i think he’s the one person who wouldn’t flip out on you if he found out.
VL: he’d probably just say some sappy bullshit about how he wants you to be happy and find a way to help you screw up the wedding somehow.
VL: best course of action, in my opinion.
AC: That won’t work, and you know why.
VL: okay. yeah.
VL: he would be totally crushed by it.
VL: he really likes you, ‘maya. i can’t lie to you about that.
VL: but the fact of the matter is that you don’t want to marry him.
VL: either you break his heart, or you have to throw aside who you are and marry him.
VL: it’s your choice to make.
VL: now, if you’ll excuse me, i should probably take out this bastard already. he’s been trying to assassinate me for the past hour. it’s starting to get more annoying than funny.
Getting married, pardon my language, is a tremendous pain in the ass.
The entire house was currently in a flurry, dresses flying everywhere, maids swerving to avoid each other, platters stacked so high with various types of edibles that it was a miracle they hadn’t toppled over, considering all the chaos. People were running everywhere, carrying things, shouting to each other, spinning around in such a whirlwind of disorder that I was honestly fairly astonished that none of them crashed into each other. Though, to be fair, it was probably a great relief that none of them did. After all, it was a very big day. The big day, for me, at least.
I sat in my room, clutching my phone, and tried very hard not to vomit on my shoes.
It was a rare emotion for me, I must admit. Panic does not suit a distinguished member of the Carnegie family. Father would be ashamed if he ever saw the text I had just sent to Violet — a cry for help at best, and a pathetically executed destruction of poise at worst. But it had to be said — I was panicking. And my best friend, unfortunately, was not picking up her phone.
Not that this was a rare occurrence, of course. The Red Kingdom was a mess on a good day, and as one of the two people with any substantial hold over it, Violet was a very busy person. But it did still sting a little. Really, today, of all days.
Though it wasn't as if Violet knew, of course. No one knew. Not her, not Father, not anybody. To everyone else, it was simply The Big Day — the day the heiress of the Carnegie corporate empire was to enter into holy matrimony with the heir to the Fricks, the biggest suppliers of pretty much anything in the Black Kingdom, sealing the two biggest business names in the kingdom together in the most powerful trade deal ever executed. A veritable holiday for the Black Kingdom, really, considering that both Father and Richard Frick had given a good proportion of their workers the day off so that they could attend the wedding. It was the event of the century, and nothing and nobody, Father had declared, was going to screw it up.
So naturally, I texted the one person other than Violet who could possibly have a chance at doing so.
the flirting, yes. the heartbreak, partly. the severe lack of appetizers toward the end of the night, i greatly contributed to. but the murder?
the murder is completely on vince.
... but i should probably start from the beginning.
so hey, everyone, it’s me, violet vivaldi. insert youtuber intro here. but you probably already knew that from the texts amaya uploaded, henceforth dubbed chapter one because i guess she has some kind of desire to make this all look like a cute story. which i mean, relatable, i wish this was one of those cute fairy tale things as well, but considering one of the first things i mentioned was the murder, you can probably already see that whatever this tale is, it is... not that.
where was i?
oh yeah, the murder.
so i should reiterate that this completely was not a planned thing. and yeah, i know, like half the crap that goes down in red kingdom is not a planned thing, and knowing us that is a lot of crap, but that’s gotta stand for something, right? though i guess when you recall that it was vincent who did the deed, any excuses kind of fly out the window. it’s kind of useless to excuse him for one violent action when he’s pretty much the poster child for violence in these parts. and probably all parts, now that i think about it.
diamonds royals, am i right.
and before you start getting super confused and wondering what the hell went down between the last chapter and this one, and how much time has to have passed for quiet, awkward, but mostly harmless vince to have evolved into some kind of super hitman heartless killer, i should probably tell you that you have the wrong vincent. i mean. yeah, technically, they’re the same person, i guess, but they’re not both awake at the same time, if you know what i mean. that vincent doesn’t even know about the dreamscape yet. and i would’ve been fine and good with letting him and the rest of us stay ignorant of this world forever. except, of course, for Freaking Pietro.
which brings us back to the murder.
but before i explain that, i think it would probably be appropriate to backtrack a little and explain some crucial details. specifically Freaking Pietro. oh boy.
let’s talk about Freaking Pietro.
so the first thing you need to know about Freaking Pietro is that he is one shady dude. which is normal in red kingdom. everyone here is at least a little shady. but pietro has apparently made his personal business to become Shadiest Man in Red, a nickname that also serves as a godawful pun because he doesn’t wear anything other than red. he says it’s because it hides the bloodstains. i know for a fact that it is actually because he really effing loves hotdogs and accidentally spilling ketchup on himself, and that is not a good thing for your reputation if you are trying to usurp vincent’s title of Shadiest Man.
(personally, i think it’s a lost cause. pietro has trouble kneecapping people, something about the sound it makes and how he doesn’t like that particular sound. the only reason vincent hasn’t kicked his ass yet for trying to steal his title is because vince, for some unfathomable reason, thinks pietro is hilarious. something about his desperateness to be at the top and how it’s reminiscent of a puppy. or something. i don’t even know, man, vince is weird.)
anyway, the really important thing you need to know about Freaking Pietro is that he is Rich. not just rich, no. he’s Rich. that capital r being very necessary. and being Rich, he is obligated to throw The Best Parties, to which i am always invited because obviously, i am the princess of hearts, i own half this goddamn kingdom, and to not invite me would have been a very bad thing indeed because if there is one thing i love, it’s parties. and when the girl who owns half your ass loves parties and you throw The Best Parties, it’s probably a good idea to invite her.
so yeah, i went to Freaking Pietro’s party. it was the usual thing: people getting high in the bedrooms, nobles laughing about how much better their getting high was than the common folk’s, outfits that cost ridiculous amounts of money, and obviously really effing good food. and i was talking up some shmuck from the East Side, turning on the charm and trying to weedle out some kind of agreement between his crime group and this other crime group so they wouldn’t cause a war right in the middle of the East and end up dragging my hearts group into it due to alliances issues - god, what a mess that would end up being - when somebody tapped me on the shoulder and whispered, “pietro says he wants to talk to you.”
“then pietro can come ask me himself, richard,” i said, because of course i knew exactly who was speaking. in fact, i knew his birthday and blood type and all of the names of his exes and also his favorite foods and his mom’s favorite foods and his brother’s and father’s and cousins’ and let’s just say i know every goddamn detail about him because i mean, i’m the princess of hearts. blackmail and information are my thing. vince is the punching guy, i’m the brains. that’s how we work.
“well, see, violet,” richard had the nerve to protest, “pietro’s kind of in his room right now, and he wants to talk to you there because of privacy reasons, and respectfully, it really would save a lot of time if you just went there to talk to him instead of him coming out here and asking you to come with him and then both of you guys having to go all the way back there. i mean, this place isn’t exactly small, you know?”
richard did have a point, i have to admit. Freaking Pietro’s house was Freaking Big. probably because it was a mansion. that’s kind of how mansions work, from my experience.
so i rolled my eyes and sighed and finished up my business with the East Side dude before going to see pietro. (the dude was putty in my hands looong before richard showed up - you can say a lot of things about me, but you can’t deny that i am damn good at my job.) and i was pretty sure i knew exactly how this conversation was going to play out: pietro would chat me up for a bit, maybe offer me some variety of alcoholic beverage, and then he would declare his eternal and undying love for me, at which point i would have to kindly turn him down yet again because pietro had been at this for a pathetic while now, and i was getting pretty sick of this whole situation. and then he’d beg and plead and possibly cry and definitely threaten me, and i would have to threaten him back in order to get him to shut up. which he would, in the end. i’d been through this enough times that that much was pretty clear.
sure enough, i found pietro sitting out in his personal balcony with a bottle of wine, and i had to stifle a sigh. goddamn the dude was persistent. i really needed to beg vincent again to strangle him for me.
“for the last time, pietro,” i said, folding my arms and not joining him at his little table setup. “the answer is no.”
pietro looked injured. “you didn’t even let me ask,” he whined.
“we have been over this a million goddamn times. i’m not into you. you have to get over it. go to a brothel or something, there’s literally one down the street. i’m sure they’ll oblige you if you pay them enough money.”
pietro stood, and i braced myself for more begging and threatening and tears. but for some reason, i couldn’t find any hint of that in his features. which made me very uneasy because i am the best at reading expressions, and i was pretty sure he looked kind of... smug.
“oh, violet,” he said, pulling out a pistol from behind his back and aiming it straight at my face, “i never said anything about asking you out again.”
at which point, the pistol went flying out of his hand, a sword emerged through his back, and pietro’s eyes went wide as he collapsed to the ground, having died in one of the most overdramatic sequences i had ever seen.
“hey, vi,” vincent said with absolutely no expression on his face whatsoever, pulling his sword out of pietro’s back. “so, how’s your day going?”
“you are the biggest drama queen i have ever seen,” i told him. “also, thanks, that could’ve gotten messy in so many different ways. also, why are you here?”
vince just kind of looked from me to pietro, like what else do you want me to say?
“okay,” i said, “let me rephrase that. how did you find out that pietro was going to kill me before i knew that pietro was going to kill me? i mean, that’s not usually your thing, you know?”
“because the guy who hired him also hired somebody to kill me,” was vincent’s straightfaced response. “as you can see, it didn’t exactly work out.”
i nodded as if this was a common occurrence, which in our line of business, it kind of is. “and who exactly is that?”
“cide.”
i blinked. a hard, gutwrenching feeling descended upon me. “aw, crap.”
“yeah,” vincent said. “exactly.”
the gutwrenching feeling grew worse. cide was bad news. not because he was rich or powerful or extremely dangerous, though he was all three, but because he was technically legally a black kingdom citizen, meaning that vincent and i had pretty much zero power over him. he led a very private life, almost never went out, wasn’t married, his parents were dead, and i knew almost next to nothing about him except for the ongoing rumors about his secret businesses in the red kingdom. but seeing as i’d never been able to dig up any real proof, even that information was essentially useless. he was, for all means and purposes, untouchable.
“goddamn.” i sat on the chair pietro had abandoned, staring blankly at the still-unopened wine bottle he’d left. “i mean, i’d heard cide was moving in on the red kingdom, but i thought that was just a rumor. i guess this thing is bigger than i thought.”
“it’s bigger than we both thought.” vincent offered a hand to me and helped me up. “c’mon. we need to get a message to our friends in the black kingdom, and we need to hurry. this assassination attempt isn’t even the full story yet.”
“what? what could he possibly be planning other than getting rid of us and taking control of the entire goddamn red kingdom?”
i was very, very surprised and disturbed when for the first time ever, i saw a hint of fear in vincent’s features.
“a whole lot,” he said grimly. “man, vi, you have no idea, do you? this whole thing? this is only the beginning.”
AC: I have come to believe a group chat may be more effective in discussing our current abnormal situation than our previous game of telephone.
AC: So, with that said.
AC: Does anyone have any ideas as to what all of this may mean?
VV: uh, yeah!
VV: wizard theory for the win!
VV: c’mon amaya, by this point, you gotta agree that it does seem pretty logical!
AC: ...
AC: Not to be entirely offensive.
AC: But I fail to see how a theory based entirely on your desires to become “violet friggin’ potter” could be in any way logical.
VL: actually, it sorta... is.
VL: i was skeptical at first too, but yeah, she got me.
VL: i’m siding with vi on this one.
AF: Okay, dude, I know Violet’s convincing as hell whenever she wants to be
AF: And I have no idea what the hell this “wizard theory” is all about
AF: But it sounds as if she has somehow just convinced you that she is somehow Harry Potter, and moreover, that Harry Potter is real
AF: Soooo... now I have to start asking the important questions and questioning whether you have somehow been brainwashed or something because well yeah
VV: ruuuude
VV: you haven’t even heard my theory yet!
VV: wizard theory simply states that we’re like one of those characters in books
VV: and there’s like, something awesome or special or whatever about us!
VV: and we’re gonna have to end up saving the world or something cool like that
VV: which really, if you think about it, makes perfect logical sense, considering our circumstances
AF: What
AF: What kind of circumstances could possibly make any of that seem logical?
VV: siiigh
VV: ok, well
VV: what could the actual probability of all four of us somehow meeting and becoming friends, while all possessing the same super rare condition be?
VV: that’s right, stupidly low!
VV: a low enough possibility that we can rule that out as impossible
VV: following so far?
AC: Yes, I managed to garner as much.
AC: What are you getting at?
VL: she’s saying it was all preordained.
VL: that we were somehow specially chosen for some kind of reason.
VL: what that reason is, however, is the question of the hour.
VV: aw, jeez, vince, stealing my thunder! not cool
VV: but yeah that’s the gist of it!
VV: i do have to say though
VV: whatever that reason is, we’re not going to have to wait very long to find out what it is
VV: you guys got that latest email too, didn’t you?
AF: Yeah
AF: Apparently, things are going down tonight
AF: Call me crazy, but does anyone else find that seriously, intensely creepy, even more than all the other ones?
AF: Like, are they gonna try to break in while I’m asleep or something? Should I put the security guys on high alert?
VL: oh, damn, i hope they do. my cousin just got a new bat.
VL: that should be interesting.
VV: vince, didn’t your cousin break her old bat by smashing some guy’s truck?
VL: right after his kneecaps, yeah.
VV: ... you’re right
VV: that WOULD be pretty awesome to see
AC: As interesting as the idea of this trickster getting his kneecaps smashed might be, I think we are forgetting a particularly important detail here.
AC: Specifically, the statement that whatever is going to happen is supposedly going to happen in our dreams.
AC: The ones we, as our mystery man knows, can’t remember.
AC: And if Violet’s theory is right, and our inability to remember them is somehow planned...
AC: This is simply conjecture at this point, but we might finally be able to find out what that reason is by tomorrow morning.
AF: Huh
AF: Well, if you put it that way
AF: I’m actually... pretty curious now
VL: well.
VL: there’s only one way to find out.
VL: guess i’m going to bed, then.
VL: i’ll see you guys tomorrow.
VL: providing whatever this is doesn’t kill all of us, of course.
AC: Yes, I would assume that attempting to message me would, in fact, mean that you are contacting me.
AC: However, I must say that this is excellent timing. I was just about to ask you something.
AC: You aren’t too busy at the moment, are you? This may take a few minutes.
AF: Who me?
AF: Haha, whew, you’re uh, being pretty serious about all this! I mean, whatever you’re gonna say, you don’t have to be so nervous about! You can talk to me about anything, y’know! I’m never too busy for a pretty girl like you
AF: Uh
AF: Not that I think you’re pretty or anything
AF: Wait no I mean I do think you’re pretty!
AF: But not in like a weird or awkward way or anything!
AF: In a totally platonic, not creepy, not weird way, of course!
AF: Ha
AF: Ha
AF: Ha...
AF: Uh, right, yeah, what did you wanna ask me?
AC: Are you... all right? You seem to be a little flustered.
AC: Really, if you happen to be busy at the moment, I can ask later.
AF: No!
AF: I mean
AF: It’s nothing! I’m totally fine. Ask away!
AC: Well, if you’re sure.
AC: I simply wanted to know if this looked familiar to you at all.
AC:
AF: Holy crap
AF: Wait
AF: You mean you WEREN’T the one sending these messages?
AC: I...
AC: Take that to assume YOU weren’t the one sending these messages either.
AC: Goodness, and here I was certain that Violet was right, and it was simply you boys playing a prank on us.
AC: Does this mean that you have received one of these as well?
AC: And that you ALSO have this strange condition?
AF: I, well, yeah!
AF: Me AND Vince!
AF: Does this mean that all four of us have the same supposedly uber-rare condition and for some strange reason, we ALL received this super weird email on the same day?
AF: That’s...
AF: Seriously disturbing
AC: I must agree.
AC: For all four of us to have the same extremely rare condition, and for someone to have found out about us and sent us these messages... The probabilities are extremely low.
AC: What could this all mean? I am completely baffled, and I do not like it one bit.
AF: Yeah, I don’t like it either
AF: But uh hey, don’t freak too hard
AF: We’re both in the same boat, aren’t we?
AF: And you’re a supergenius, and I’ve got a security system better than almost any other in the country
AF: Not to mention Violet and Vincent’s respective skillsets
AF: Whoever this is, it’s doubtful that they could actually pull off anything capable of hurting us
AC: Hmm.
AC: You’re right. It would be difficult to bypass any of our defenses.
AC: These messages still make me uneasy, but now I am sure they must simply be a cruel prank on the behalf of some thoughtless stranger.
AC: Thank you for relieving my concerns. I really appreciate your care.
AF: Of course!
AF: Haha, no problem, anytime
AF: You know I’d do anything for you
AF: Uh
AF: Because we’re friends!
AF: And we do things for each other
AF: In a friendly way
AF: Not romantic
AF: At all
AF: Of course
AF: ...
AF: I, uh, have to go
AC: Oh, yes, of course, I’m sorry for taking up so much of your time.
AC: I know you must be busy, what with the company and all.
AC: Do please excuse me.
AF: Don’t apologize, I don’t mind at all! If anything, chatting to you is a relief from all my responsibilities
AF: Well, see I just got a weird-ass freakin’ email
AF: And I kinda wanted a second opinion on it before I started freaking out
AF:
VL: hm.
VL: that’s certainly… strange.
AF: Right?
AF: So what do you think, should I start freaking out or what?
VL: i think we should both probably be concerned.
VL: considering the fact that i received one of those nifty things myself.
AF: Get outta town!
AF: You telling me somebody sent us BOTH these weirdo messages?
VL: i’m a little more surprised at the fact that these actually apply to both of us.
VL: from what the doctors said, i was fairly sure it was a rare condition.
VL: pretty low odds of meeting somebody else with the same one.
VL: what are the chances?
AF: You want percentages, man, you gotta ask Amaya, I don’t really have a program to do that and I’m crap at math otherwise
AF: But more importantly, who could’ve sent us these weirdo emails? I’m scratching my head here, I don’t got a clue
AF: It’s super weird bro, usually I’d assume it was some weird person with a bone to pick with the company but I doubt they’d care about you too if that was the case
AF: Who do you think it is
VL: who do i think it is?
VL: well.
VL: since you did bring up amaya.
AF: You think it’s Amaya???
AF: No wayyyy
AF: She’s not really the type to think of something like this, I don’t think she would
VL: amaya isn’t the type to think of this, no.
VL: however.
VL: violet is.
AF: Oh damn you’re RIGHT
AF: And Vi can be super freaking persuasive whenever she wants to be, we both know that perfectly well
AF: She wouldn’t have had any trouble roping Amaya into this
AF: Man, and here I was all worried
AF: How do you think they figured out about our condition though? I never said anything
VL: with their combined skillset, i’m sure it wasn’t too hard.
VL: the girls do happen to be a pretty formidable pair when it comes to info-gathering and pranks.
VL: i wouldn’t bat an eye at them doing something like this.
AF: Geez, I know we’re both like majorly freaking hot and the ladies adoooore us
AF: But this is kinda excessive
AF: What the heck are they even thinking? If they wanted our attention, they coulda just texted
VL: who knows what goes on in girls’ heads, man.
VL: anyway, how do you want to break the news that we’re on to them?
VL: because we kind of do have to tell them that at some point.
AF: Well, knowing Vi, you should probably be the one to talk to her
AF: Because of… you know
VL: that, and also you want an excuse to talk to amaya with an actual purpose instead of just floundering around trying to look cool.
AF: Well
AF: Yeah and also that
VL: go try to not make a fool of yourself.
VL: i’ll chat up vi in the meantime and try to figure out what exactly we did to deserve this.
AC: I have only been gone for a few seconds, Violet.
AC: I’m not sure what I could have done in that timeframe.
AC: Did something occur?
VV: i just got a new email and wowee if this one doesn’t look even creepier
VV: i mean jeez get a load of this
VV:
VV: what does that even MEAN omg
VV: is this guy hitting on me because ew, he is SO not doing it right
AC: Hmm.
AC: It appears I have received one as well.
AC: I am starting to become a little uneasy with these messages. They don’t seem very innocuous in nature.
AC: You may be right in that it is simply a strange, desperate fellow rabid for the attention of us ladies.
AC: However, I have a feeling that there is more to this. I may need to get a second opinion.
AC: Perhaps one of the boys will have an idea as to what these messages mean.
VV: oh you’re right! maybe we should ask one of them
VV: in fact, what if it IS one of them
VV: wouldn’t that be just like them, sending creepy messages to us as a prank. i can see af bouncing the emails off a buncha servers or whatever so you can’t track them right now
VV: i mean i know we’re gorgeous and anybody would be super lucky to get OUR attention but really
VV: i’m going to get them back so hard if this really is them, i was actually a little freaked for a sec!
AC: Hmm, that does sound quite plausible.
AC: Very well, it’s decided. I will contact them and ask a few choice questions, and if I find anything, I will report back.
VV: why don’t we split up the job? you take one, and i’ll take the other. it’ll be faster!
VV: i’ll take mr. hard-to-get, he’s been quite distant lately and i’ve been meaning to scold him for that anyway
VV: this is gonna sound super weird, but i just got like the freakiest email
VV: it kinda looks like spam but like also not at the same time???
VV: do i reply or
AC: What kind of an email is it?
AC: Honestly, Violet, I keep telling you, you need a better spam filter. One of these days, you’re going to end up seeing something you regret.
AC: And I don’t just mean another photograph of someone’s genitals.
VV: omg
VV: that is so ominous are you ok
VV: what could possibly be worse than seeing yet another dick pic
VV: actually wait don’t respond to that, i can think of a lot of things actually
AC: You still haven’t told me what kind of email it is. From that, I infer it is not another inappropriate picture?
VV: nope nope!
VV: c’mon, ur my bestie, u should know i’d never message u for something like that
VV: it’s like
VV: one of those super freaky emails
VV: like the ones some characters in books get before they suddenly get slapped with the realization that there’s like something awesome and special about them
VV: omg omg can you imagine
VV: me, violet vivaldi, bein’ like some kinda
VV: wizard or something
VV: like harry friggin’ potter except violet-fied
VV: like violet friggin’ potter
VV: can i get a hell yeah
AC: Would you like to just send me a screenshot of the email so I can see for myself what you’re talking about?
VV:
AC: Hmm.
AC: You’re right, this is certainly suspicious.
VV: i know right?
VV: how do you think they KNEW?
AC: Knew?
AC: Are you telling me that this statement actually does refer to a truth about yourself, and you really have been unable to remember your dreams lately?
VV: not even lately!
VV: awww you mean i never TOLD you?
VV: i can’t ever remember what goes on in my head whenever i dream at night, it’s super weird
VV: dad took me to like a buncha psychiatrists when i was little and they never could figure it out
VV: but i mean i was like ten, so my immediate reaction was like “whatever, i don’t care”
VV: and my reaction is still pretty much the same, ‘cause from what i hear, nightmares suck balls
VV: but how do you think this dude knows about it do you think i have a STALKER???
AC: Don’t you already have a stalker? This could be from him.
VV: whaaat pssh no way
VV: fabio’s a dumb jock who can barely even do algebra let alone send me creepy messages about my dreams
VV: no way he knows
AC: Right, of course, my mistake.
AC: And it would be even more unlikely for him to have sent me mine.
AC: I doubt your stalker cares very much about me and my particular brand of memory loss.
VV: what huh what do you mean YOURS
VV: are you telling me you got one TOO???
AC: I received something very similar, yes.
AC: I was also quite surprised to see you suffer from quite the same syndrome as I. I do wish you had told me before, having another subject to observe would have been very appreciated in my efforts to understand it.
VV: no wayyyy! twinsies!
VV: but also yeah that’s super freaky
VV: whoever this is, they probably somehow knew we both suffer from the same weird memory loss thing and sent us BOTH emails?
VV: omg what if we’re BOTH wizards that would be so awesome
AC: As pleasing as that would be to us both, I must say the probability of that is extremely low.
AC: It is more likely that we simply have an admirer of some sorts.
AC: A scientist, say, interested in finding more about our condition.
VV: oh
VV: laaaame
VV: but yeah i guess that makes sense
VV: i still like my wizard idea better though
VV: anyway, should i reply or not? you haven’t answered that yet
AC: Hold on. Let me do it. My computer’s security is better than yours, so it would be safer for me to respond.