spooks, can you ask fun with despair what he thought of velma season 2?

[!ERROR - VIOLATION DETECTED!]

Discussion of the television program "Velma" is strictly banned under Policy 21 Subjection 5 of the Employee Code of Conduct. Please refrain from further discussion of banned media on the premises.

Hey, I heard something about a hole in the ice, that actually there? And can anybody pull out whatever got dumped into the lake through it? Potentially relevant to the murder and all that.

Hey, I heard something about a hole in the ice, that actually there? And can anybody pull out whatever got dumped into the lake through it? Potentially relevant to the murder and all that.

You walk out onto Mirror Lake's icy surface, discovering a hole much closer to the Boathouse than to Walmart John's body. It looks like an ice fishing hole, and there is a fishing rod set up. You ask Spooks if he can help you get stuff out of the lake, and he responds affirmatively before... just grabbing the fishing rod. He fishes for a while, eventually pulling up an inexplicable combination of items: a bag of fertilizer and some tomatoes.

You have... no idea how did that. You aren't complaining though.

Tinkaton wants to check her CCTV footage.

Riki submit to check CCTV too. Maybe help with deep deep dive suit mystery.

This post was last modified: May 5, 2024 at 5:38 PM by Spooks?.

Tinkaton wants to check her CCTV footage.

Spooks' screen shifts again, now displaying the Cafeteria...

The Cafeteria appears to be empty... Until you see the Retcon Fairy Godmother enter from decontamination. She sits down and eats a burrito, and Morgan comes upstairs, going the same way the Retcon Fairy came from. When Morgan is gone, the Retcon Fairy grabs something from a drawer and enters the Chem Lab. A while later, she leaves into the Geology Lab, carrying bottles of something.

The CCTV doesn't pick up anything else of note, outside of a few short sporadic blackouts. Eventually, you see Konata passing through, coming up the stairs and entering the Chem Lab. She leaves into Decontamination.

Riki check paper towels in deep under bathrooms, and big big bag in corner. Towels recent? Used for bloody, or frosty? Plus extra not sure what bag full of...

RIP John Final Fantasy, I'll do one of those funny dances in Ul'dah in your honor.

Anyway, I have no idea if this will be remotely helpful, but here's my night: I left my room and skedaddled as fast as humanly possible to Whisper Valley Archives where I ran into a warm and toasty looking Astrid. Dang, I wish that was me tonight. I exited into the Lobby, encountering Spooks and Columbo. I dragged Spooks away to ask him to watch over the Chapel, and he did it. What a good boy.

Spooks followed Columbo into the Archives, and I went upstairs to the Elevator. The power was out for a half second, and I felt someone pass me headed into the Museum Hall, but that was a popular place tonight, could've been anyone. Power came back on so I didn't have to take the stairs thank god.

I went downtown and entered the Directors Office because I'm the only person in the damn game who hasn't been in here yet tbh and I wanted some lore :< and I got some, yay. On the way out I passed the good Hustler and his feathered associate entering the Directors' Office to do their ritual. I then went up to the Service Elevator via Receiving Bay. Lita can have an underground exploration as a treat.

I went through the ex-Laser Hallway and Observation Room to the Lost City Outpost, hunting for interesting stuff and finding a lore paper again. Two in one night! I feel lucky. Next I popped into the Residential District, a bit curious about that locked door on the map, but to use the scientific term, "the vibes were off" so I quickly retreated. As I was running away like a sensible woman NOT a pussy I heard an explosion. Retracing my steps, I saw Konata KO'd on the floor of the Observation Room amidst shit being blown up.

I took a ride in the service elevator back to Receiving Bay, whereupon some guy throwing pizza rolls around completely creamed my clock, and that was the end of the whole mess.

Present my lore posts whenever you get a chance.

Let's do a funny slip and fall on the ice, making sure to hit my head on the surface. Have Spooks on medical standby. Do I get a head wound similar to the body?

For clarification purposes, where exactly is the body and the raft? Close to the shore on this side, in the middle of the lake, hanging out just by the island?

Let's do a funny slip and fall on the ice, making sure to hit my head on the surface. Have Spooks on medical standby. Do I get a head wound similar to the body?

Kick Hustler in their bald head when they're injured from the ice.

Riki check paper towels in deep under bathrooms, and big big bag in corner. Towels recent? Used for bloody, or frosty? Plus extra not sure what bag full of...

You check the paper towels in the bathrooms by the control department. They aren't dirty, they just look like they've been used to dry hands or something. The garbage bag though... it's full of tasty Totino's brand pizza rolls. Yum!

Let's do a funny slip and fall on the ice, making sure to hit my head on the surface. Have Spooks on medical standby. Do I get a head wound similar to the body?

I advise against this course of action, however previous attempts to deter unsafe behavior have proven fruitless. I will stand by for medical support in case of emergency.

You thank Spooks and walk onto the surface of Mirror Lake, intentionally slipping. Your feet fly out from underneath you, and you smack your head on the ice, falling unconscious...

Spooks helps you up, offering you an ice pack for your head. Comparing the two head wounds... they are very similar - though you suspect it would be pretty similar to any large blunt wound. The angle seems closer though than an average shovel bash would be.



Please refrain from future activities of the sort, and should you detect symptoms of concussion, report to the nearest supervisor immediately and avoid further head trauma where possible

Whatever.

Dex, help us out.

For clarification purposes, where exactly is the body and the raft? Close to the shore on this side, in the middle of the lake, hanging out just by the island?

The body and the raft are a ways into the lake, position-wise closer to the mouth of the river in terms of area and distance than the Boathouse or Lighthouse.

Let's do a funny slip and fall on the ice, making sure to hit my head on the surface. Have Spooks on medical standby. Do I get a head wound similar to the body?

Kick Hustler in their bald head when they're injured from the ice.

You attempt to give Hustler a firm kick, when Spooks stops you.



[AGENT DESIGNATION - MORGAN], what did I just say? AVOID. FURTHER. HEAD. TRAUMA. WHERE. POSSIBLE!

Riki submit to check CCTV too. Maybe help with deep deep dive suit mystery.

Yet again, Spook's monitor begins to display a scene...

The Lost City Outpost is captured in... admittedly pretty low-res video. You see Giffany emerging from the Laser Hallway, going to the Residential District and later looping back through towards the Occultic Seal.

After a while, Indiana Jones enters from the Residential District, also heading towards the Occultic Seal. A short while after through, he comes sprinting back through the way he came. Giffany follows, hammering the elevator button until it arrives. She scampers inside and it begins to rise.

A little while after that, Columbo and Astrid come down the elevator and enter the Residential District. The Deep Colossus then trudges into the Lost City Outpost through from the Occultic Seal, entering the Residential District after them.

Lita comes walking down the Laser Hallway after that, and begins inspecting one of the outpost computers, before going towards the Occultic Seal. She returns to the Outpost and heads back into the Observation Room, and shortly after Astrid and Columbo do the same, albeit from the opposite direction.

Finally, something slithers under the door, taking form as a flickering black creature, clad in a coat adorned with purple spirals. It glances upwards, directly at the camera, closing one eye to focus on the small, hidden camera.

The video goes fuzzy, and despite the normal lack of audio in these... you can hear a voice over the video.

Now, what's this...?

It's poor etiquette to film in a restricted area, you know. You really should keep up with the Code of Conduct. Think of the PR disaster, if anything down here happened to leak to the mainstream media.

Sincerely, I hope you took out an extended warranty on this sad excuse for a camera - and any others you plan on placing anywhere beyond the Observation Room. I'm afraid you'll be needing it.

He then... unceremoniously pulls out a gun and shoots out the camera. The feed goes dark.

Never fear, Ser Nashu is here!



...actually, it's pretty stuffy in there. Nothing to do with me not wanting to save another set of sprites, I assure you.

Well, no use in hiding it: I had a mind to get my paws on the seal last night. Didn't work, clearly.

I began my venture by speaking with my favorite duo - separately. 23 and I are of one mind in suspecting that something smells fishy about Nancy's behavior. As for Nancy herself...she told me that someone influenced her decision to vote, and she didn't even seem to know why she believed them. Curious.

23 had left with Morgan at some point, and it was time for me to leave too. In the Facility Lobby, I passed DXHustler and the old sylph lady who just showed up. I headed to the Morgue - noticing a trail of pizza rolls leading to the Anomaly Lab - and attempted to loot Niles' corpse, but someone had beaten me to the punch. Bollocks.

Undetered, I resumed my preparations upstairs, passing Spooks in the Anomaly Hall. I entered Revy's dorm right around the time that the power went out, but I managed to find the suit of armor and bombs in there. I class changed to paladin, and the lights came back on as I exited. Then I passed the pizza roll perpetrator, Phenera, leaving a trail in the Museum Hall on my way to my destination: the Chapel.



Gods, it has been entirely too long since I've had the chance to deploy some "Nashu's Delight". I checked inside, spying an oddly-dressed person in a hawk mask, and I let them taste my wrath.



The fight began as you saw on the CCTV; after the Chapel went up in flames, I took cover from their shots. They went like 'pew pew!' and I went "pew!" By which I mean I shoved a church pew into them and knocked them out cold. I guess paladin beats machinist in PVP!



...It does not, however, beat whatever in the seven hells this was.

A figure, presumably Hustler, commanded their avian associate with a snap of their fingers, and it proceeded to pummel me so badly that not even my armor could save me. I do not like this bird. I want Dodo back...

When I regained consciousness, the fire had burned out and everyone else was gone. I poked my head into the seal room and beheld its fate, as well as that of Pea. Bollocks, again.

Well, nothing to be done about it. I left the scene and headed to B2F, passing an unconscious Lita in the Receiving Bay. I took a whiff of the Observation Room, and noticed it smelled like...root beer?



The old sylph from earlier threw a flask of something at me, but her aim was off. "I'LL BE BACK" she screamed as she flew into the elevator, and proceeded to never come back.

I took a walk through the Residential District, noticing that it seemed to be...raining? Passing strange. Somebody had extended the bridge across the chasm, but when I tried to cross it, I met with the Deep Colossus - and I wasn't really in the mood for a second beating, so I made a tactical retreat to investigate another day. Instead, I checked out the elevator in the Outpost, where I stumbled upon the mysterious secret room connected to the Director's Office. I grabbed a couple documents and left, passing by Hustler's art project along the way. Then I turned in for the night.



Did you get what you wanted, Nancy...?

Just where is 23 anyway?

Check the Museum Hall and Sleep Lab for any signs of a KO or tools that could be used to knock someone out.

Spoiler: Show

Well. I'm unemployed again. Sigh. All of that work and I'm right back at square 1.

Anyways...

I wake up and head straight for the Orange Zone™ to look for Nancy and 23. They have to see the photo I found. Nancy is busy talking to Nashu, so I pull Hunter aside and show him his former self.

Doctor Crowe is dead. This much is certain. I don't know if it bothers Hunter as much as Nancy is bothering him now. Her demeanor recently is starting to shake him up I think.

I've never heard him speak so... cautiously before.

Regardless, he tells me he needs to get something from Counter Terrorism, so we walk and talk. I break off into the Armory to get a Breaching Axe. As I'm exiting the Armory, I notice the entire space is completely empty. Weird. It's hard to get any quiet in this fuckin' basement, let alone in the Orange Zone™. I savor the moment for a bit.

As I'm leaving towards the Shuttle Station, I see... The Horse. In the flesh. I wasn't even sure he was real to begin with. He exits the Service Elevator and goes into Lab Zero, and I pause for a moment before continuing just in case he's about to pull a switcheroo. Once I'm sure he's gone, I run the tracks up to the Kitchen. Dexter is here, reading something. I let him be and get some Raw Meats and a Cold One from the fridge. Looping up the stairs and into the Cafeteria, Retcon Fairy Godmother is here.

I ignore her and head outside through the Waiting Room. It is cold as balls outside. Thankfully, I've been prepared for this since the last cold snap, so my Jacket is keeping most of the wind off. I see a faint light flickering over the Survey Dorm Bridge. I ignore it and move through the Sleep Lab to the Chapel. I have something very important to deliver to the doors of this infernal place. Something so monumentally important it outweighs even the seal itself.

One Beer.

As I approach the Liturgic Seal the power shuts off and I trip over something in the dark. I see two figures, one of which I assume is Pea, so I toss them the beer. I turn to leave and the power comes back on. As I'm sauntering away, The Hawk comes to the chapel, entering as I move to the Stairway to Heaven. I produce beef for the maneating plant, but it seems full up on Pizza Rolls. A growing plant needs real food but I just let it be.

Back outside and the Bridge Light hasn't moved. I'm going that way anyways so I stop to take a look. Someone lit a lantern and hooked it to the bridge. While I'm looking at it I take a step and almost slip off the bridge, there's a part of it that's exceptionally slippery. Whatever, Astrid time. I ask her about the Director's Secret Code, which she actually has the answer for. She politely tells me she can't help me investigate which is fine. I leave the Observatory a wealthier man (in lore).

I leave Astrid in peace to go to the Black Forest, where I hear a strange yelp and a loud THUDding sound on the east side of the yard. Probably some dumbass who forgot a wind visor before they went out. I go into the forest, which is surprisingly easy to walk through thanks to the tree canopy. Still cold as fuck though.

I walk for a while and finally reach my destination, the Radio Tower. There's a giant chasm nearby that's how you know you're here. I just use the Breaching Axe to tear down the door and go looking inside, where I find more LORE.

As I'm leaving to go back to the Main Facility I find the Spider (Large). She seems cold out here, doesn't even try and maul me or anything. Poor thing. I head for the Patio and go downstairs, only to notice.....

Gus is missing. What the fuck? the whole leisure center seems to have been ransacked. I don't know what to make of that, so I move on towards the Director's Office.

I open the door to the Director's Office. Hustler is here. They're doing something with the furniture, rearranging it for some kind of celebration. There's a monolith in the center of the room, made entirely of books. That's when I see it. Their eyes.....

Spoiler: Show

It's already too late for them.

I charge Hustler, hellbent on getting the Mask off their face. The power goes out before I can reach them, so we go crashing into the book monolith. Grappled and vulnerable on the floor, I produce the Breaching Axe and try to cut the Mask off their face. As I raise the Axe, the HUSTLER BLADES come out, and the wires wrap around my weapon. Down the axe, I start beating the shit out of Hustler on the ground. Just as I get my hands around the mask, I hear a croaking noise in the corner of the room.

The HOLY is here, and he's closing in. I've fought the thing before, so I know I can't take the 2v1 in the dark. I make a retreat, as Hustler tells me "Your Replacement is already paying dividends." Shitty cost-benefit analysis aside, I have to haul ass. I run out of the Office, and see the Horse go into Jack of Spade's room. Shitx2.

I go to bed.

Investigate the Slippery Bridge ™ by the Survey Dorm for blood stains