Archival (AO3) is a self-contained series based on the Hermit Archives AU by @chrisrin.
As per the source material, this series is horror (and definitely check the CWs on each piece), but to paraphrase from the notes on the first piece: I firmly believe in allowing my characters to survive their horrifying experiences and find a relatively happy ending, so permanent major character death is not and never will be part of anything I write.
Series summary and currently published stories are below the cut.
Series Summary
Pearl E. Moon is a librarian with a keen interest in the supernatural. Or rather, she was a librarian—that “keen interest in the supernatural” had her bosses squinting, and when funding fell through Pearl was the first employee pushed out the door. Now she’s an archivist at the Void Institute—the Head Archivist, even, working with a trio of bizarre assistants.
On the one hand, it’s a blessing: all her favorite parts of her former job, with a work environment where her coworkers won’t look at her sideways because she believes there are things lurking in the dark. On the other, it’s a curse: she’s not qualified for the job and she knows it, the supervisor looks at her with self-satisfied amusement, and the specter of her past haunts her in the form of her second assistant.
Something isn’t right with the institute—but something isn’t right with Pearl, either, so she fits right in.
Stories
A Graceless Epigraph: Pearl familiarizes herself with her new work environment and meets her coworkers.
Terminal Velocity: #0192109 - Statement of Bdubs [Surname Unknown], regarding a very long fall.
Off With His Head: #0180712 - Statement of False Symmetry, regarding a scavenger hunt in her neighborhood. (cover)
False Face: #0183012 - Statement of Tango Tek, regarding a secondhand Halloween mask.
Liar's Dice: #0211902 - Statement of Cleo [surname withheld], regarding a game of dice with a stranger.
You're It: #0182011 - Statement of Zedaph P., research assistant at the Void Institute, regarding a game of tag with friends.
Cleansing Flame: #0202212 - Statement of Scar Goodtimes, Archive Supervisor at the Void Institute, regarding a stubborn mycelium network.
Alien Purgatory: #0211007 - Statement of Evil Notion, regarding a series of bad dreams.
Red Winter: #0211006 - Statement of Skizz M., regarding a very strange axe. (cover)
Senseless Soldier: #0190106 - Statement of Xisuma Void, Head of the Void Institute, regarding a visit to the home of Archival Assistant Grian, surname unknown.
Achromatic: #0193012 - Statement of Tango Tek, regarding a brief episode of color blindness.
Switching Curtains: #0213103 - Statement of XB Crafted, Administrative Assistant at the Void Institute, regarding a brief stay in Joe Hills' library.
Doppelganger: #0201806 - Statement of W. Knight, regarding a stalker with his own face.
Tourist Trap: #0190708 - Statement of False Symmetry, regarding a ghost town encountered on a road trip.
Entry Condition: #0091710 - Statement of Impulse [surname unknown], Senior Archival Assistant at the Void Institute, regarding the hiring of Archival Assistant Grian.
listen y'all I really wanted to have this next statement out by last Thursday, but it is a doorstop of a statement so far, and it hasn't been behaving. Literally this thing is 3.8k already and I still have a fair chunk to add. hopefully I'll have it done soon, though!
ok so i realized too late that I posted the ask prompt on my main blog which means I'm uploading these here with screenshots and just tagging the people who asked if they weren't anon hghjkls
anyways, here goes!
you're the one who told me to never look back
but I'm looking back at you
17 - Shower Day (The Amazing Devil)
I decided to draw the pearl from @el-ride 's lovely hermit archives series, Archival, in which skyblings are old friends but grian doesn't seem to remember pearl at all and is kind of avoiding her while pearl is having an existential crisis over her long-lost brother friend suddenly being her employee. Idk if I really did it justice but I love hermit archives fics that put people in different roles and archivist pearl just works so well
Wow sorry to vanish for a month! I am not in fact dead, but I was sick and finals week happened. I've got some extra time now, so I'm back to working on the next statement. I'm looking forward to sharing it with y'all!
Not dead, just crashed hard last week. May or may not be able to get any statements up for the next few weeks, I have about 50 pages of homework due in the next three weeks.
I have made a foolish, foolish mistake and hit myself with lore realizations that are massive spoilers and won't come up in-universe for a while longer.
As promised, another illustration! This one goes to Statement #0182011 - You're It
I really enjoyed the thick colored lines on this one, it's not a look I do often and figuring it out was fun. The general vibe of it was really enjoyable to pin down, too.
Statement of Impulse [surname unknown], Senior Archival Assistant at the Void Institute, regarding the hiring of Archival Assistant Grian.
[Pearl]
It’s strange, having someone else down here in the archives with me. I’ve been alone for so long I forgot anyone else could work in this department. Sometimes he talks and I’m not expecting it and I practically jump out of my skin. Sometimes he appears where I think he isn’t and I have to go and make a cup of tea before my heart rate settles down again—I started with coffee, but at that point it was happening so often I almost gave myself caffeine poisoning and decaf is an abomination, so I switched.
Statement of False Symmetry, regarding a ghost town encountered on a road trip.
[Pearl (Statement—False)]
As I made my way down the main street, I noticed there were no people. I mean, it was a very small town, so maybe everyone was inside? At least that’s what I thought at the time. But there were no cars in sight, all the lights were turned off or broken, every curtain was drawn and every door was closed. The gas station was pitch dark and still as the dead—I was almost expecting crickets to start chirping or a tumbleweed to roll by, like you’d see in an old cartoon.
Statement of W. Knight, regarding a stalker with his own face.
[Pearl]
I saw him across the street, at first. I didn’t think anything of it the first time; he was sitting on the porch of a house across the street, two doors down, smoking. I just thought he was a neighbor’s friend I hadn’t seen before. I should have—there was no way I could have, but I should have known better! Maybe if I had, my neighbor would still be alive.
Statement of XB Crafted, Administrative Assistant at the Void Institute, regarding a brief stay in Joe Hills' library. Original statement given March 31st, 2021.
[Pearl]
How long have I been wondering about the man behind that nameplate? How long have I been building him up in my mind as some kind of monster? His books destroyed me, and I’ve hated him—or at least the idea of him—ever since. So I’m sure you can imagine that waking up in his body was a bit of a shock.
