PRIVATE MESSAGE: Ancient_Archivist -> Oxymoronic [Moderator]

[09:43] Ancient_Archivist: This has gone to a not so funny joke to a criminal offense. I’ve been impersonated.

[09:56] Oxymoronic [Moderator]: Are you talking about tonight’s thread?

[09:59] Ancient_Archivist: Yes. This user, ROOM_5 - it wasn’t me. I did not have any strange dream. I never typed any of the stuff said in that thread.

[10:00] Oxymoronic [Moderator]: There was indeed something fishy about it.

[10:01] Ancient_Archivist: Can you take action? Ban the user, see its IP address, or report it to anyone?

[10:08] Oxymoronic [Moderator]: The first one, yes. The second, no. The third, well, they haven’t done anything criminal thus far. They didn’t ask for money, favours, or anything. It’s pretty disgusting, but the police has better stuff to do than run after what would be to them nothing more than drama between friends. And besides, I don’t want this whole story leaked outside of this forum. If it’s true, the image could spread and cause havoc. If it’s false, our reputation will be seriously tainted. I might be forced to get a psychiatric diagnosis.

Looks like the user made their account at the same time they posted their first message. Weird. Must be some kind of macro. Anyhow, I just banned them permanently.

[10:10] Ancient_Archivist: >I might be forced to get a psychiatric diagnosis.

I forgot to ask you about your health. How are you feeling? Any more weird stuff?

[10:12] Oxymoronic [Moderator]: Thank god, no. Perfectly normal night. My number one hypothesis is that I had a random lucid dream, like you said, and other users jumped on the bandwagon because they thought it was some collaborative storytelling exercise.

[10:13] Ancient_Archivist: Glad to hear. Stay safe Oxy. I’ll always be here for you if you need to talk.

[10:14] Oxymoronic [Moderator]: That’s so sweet! Thank you.

Threads/Staff Announcements/Regarding recent events

[10:45] Oxymoronic [Moderator]: Greetings to all,

I have been informed by Ancient_Archivist that the user known as ROOM_5 sent messages that were NOT written by Ancient. Ancient has been the victim of an impersonation. As a result, ROOM_5 has been permanently banned.

This is serious. I will not tolerate any more manipulation. This charade has gone on long enough. As a result, I’d like to bring to your attention our forum’s new rule:

Rule 7: Do NOT refer to any paranormal or supernatural experiences you may have had on the forum.

I admit that this is harsh, but I also think it is required to bring back a civil standard of discussion here.

For those of you worried about me, know that I’m feeling very well and have slept like a baby last night.

Thank you for your comprehension.

-Oxy

[10:45] System: Thread locked.

PRIVATE MESSAGE: Cupio_Dissolvi -> treeisfun

[11:58] Cupio_Dissolvi: Finally. I’ve been waiting for this moment. Can Oxy see private messages?

[11:58] System: User @treeisfun is currently offline. A notification will be issued upon reconnection.

PRIVATE MESSAGE: karmIcCycles -> Cupio_Dissolvi

[12:27] karmIcCycles: holy shit holy shit holy shit holy shit

You were RIGHT *screams*

[12:31] Cupio_Dissolvi: Hmm? Did you come into contact with babel.png too? How?

[12:33] karmIcCycles: 10ne1 sent me a DM with it.

[12:36] Cupio_Dissolvi: Wonderful, wonderful! I am looking forward to hearing about your experience. Every bit of information is another piece of the puzzle. We WILL figure this out. Together. No matter what Oxy thinks of it. In fact, can she read private messages?

[12:37] karmIcCycles: When I used to moderate a programming forum, it wasn’t an option for us. Don’t know how it works for this platform, though. *shrug*

[12:38] Cupio_Dissolvi: Well, she hasn’t intervened yet, since I’m still speaking to you. We all know she sits in front of her computer all day, so I’ll take that as a confirmation that we’re safe to talk here. Now, proceed with your experience.

[12:43] karmIcCycles: Okay. I went ahead and read yours and tree’s adventures from the old threads. The first two rooms were extremely similar to yours, so I won’t describe them. As for the third room, it was pretty much like tree described - *whispers* well, he isn’t the greatest communicator. I took ROOM_5’s advice, whoever that may be, and kept a steady pace, avoiding the pitfalls in the bridge. I was feeling pretty confident at this moment.

[12:46] Cupio_Dissolvi: >he isn’t the greatest communicator

You think? I find that there is a certain charm to his way of speaking. It’s a different style of narration, but it has its merits. It evokes a feeling of camaraderie, you see? I digress.

You seem pretty unstressed, as opposed to Oxy. Why is that?

[12:48] karmIcCycles: I play a lot of VR. I haven’t seen the sun in a long time either! *laughs* For me, it was just another game. Why does it matter if the hardware is made of metal or neurons? *smiles*

[12:50] Cupio_Dissolvi: That is… an interesting point of view. One that I do not share. I must also admit that your use of emotes unsettles me a little bit.

But please, go on. Tell me what you found after the bridge.

[12:58] karmIcCycles: >your use of emotes unsettles me a little bit

*stares*

On the internet, I feel like everyone is like a lifeless puppet. It’s hard to communicate emotions through text, so I try to put a little bit of life in my words to make it more like the real deal, you know? It’s almost as if we were meeting in person!

Anyhow, when I pushed the door at the end of the bridge, I exited from some cottage house? I was pretty confused. A whole snowy viking canyon, inside such a small building? No way! *gasps*

Now, the exterior had a cozy feel to it. There were three more houses, one to the front, and two more to the sides, exactly similar to each other. In the center of all four stood a nice little garden with a bench. Such a cute stop after all the stress!

ROOM_5 said to pick the door in “right house”. Did they mean right as in correct, or as in the direction? *thinking* I went ahead and rested at the bench.

*inches closer*

Or tried to, at least.

As soon as I put my butt on the wood, it collapsed under my weight! I examined the planks, and found that it wasn’t wood at all! It was paper! *gasps*

[12:59] Cupio_Dissolvi: Hmm. Intriguing.

[13:04] karmIcCycles: Hundreds of little brown paper shreds, folded neatly into the shape of a wooden plank! It didn’t stop there. The metal was paper too! The plants, in the garden? More paper!! Origami, everywhere, mimicking life! The grass! The dirt! The rocks! I ran back to the house I came from, and guess what? *trembles in excitement*

[13:05] Cupio_Dissolvi: Yes. Paper. I get the idea. What happened afterwards? Did you exit? Did something happen?

[13:10] karmIcCycles: Oh yes! I turned around, and there was… a deer person? Wendigo? White skull, twisted antlers, and a FABULOUS rainbow robe that would have made any Disney princess MELTDOWN in jealousy!!!! *aaaaaaa* All paper, of course. *nods*

It didn’t do anything. It stood next to the broken bench without moving a centimetre. It stared, and nothing else. It was kinda creepy *shivers*

I remembered ROOM_5’s advice, and headed for the house to the right. It followed me with its empty orbits. Spooky! *trembles* The deer person still hadn’t taken a single step.

And then - and then! *jitters* I approached the handle with my hand…

[13:13] Cupio_Dissolvi: Please. I’m trying to collect information here. Get to the point. No cliffhangers.

[13:17] karmIcCycles: THE DOOR OPENED ON ITS OWN!!!! *aaaaaaaaa*

There was ANOTHER paper deer person in the doorway! It looked down at me. I forgot to mention that… they didn’t have arms? Maybe they were hidden under their massive robes? *thinking*

A rustle tickled my ears. Just like when autumn leaves touch the ground! The origami wendigo took a step back. On the floor, where they used to stand, there was a sheet of white paper! *makes a rectangle shape with his hands* And they nodded at me! It was a challenge!

PRIVATE MESSAGE: Cupio_Dissolvi -> 10ne1

[13:18] Cupio_Dissolvi: [Image Attachment: screenshot719.png]

Does your brother always communicate this way? Please, this is unbearable.

[13:21] 10ne1: LOL :D

I don’t know what they do in those computer science classes of his, but he wasn’t like this before college, I promise you!

I don’t like it either. After a LOT of insisting, he finally toned it down a bit with me. Under that cover of mature-and-logical science man, he’s a bit of a soft bunny. I don’t want to imagine what a class full of these people would be capable of. I blame the anime he’s been watching!

What are you discussing, by the way? Not weird paranormal stuff, right? Oxy said not to do that. It’s a hoax.

PRIVATE MESSAGE: karmIcCycles -> Cupio_Dissolvi

[13:21] karmIcCycles: I made the only papercraft I remembered from elementary school: the paper boat. The wendigo was staring at me the whole time! *shivers*

It took a while to get all the folds in the right place. I had to do some of them again. But in the end, I figured it out! *trumpets of victory*

[13:21] karmIcCycles: Umm, are you still there? *tilts head sideways* We can continue another time if you’re busy!

[13:22] Cupio_Dissolvi: I’m still here. What do trumpets of victory even sound like?

[13:22] Cupio_Dissolvi: Actually, please don’t answer that.

[13:24] karmIcCycles: I’m glad you asked! It’s the tune that plays every time Kiyoshi slays a boss in my favorite anime It’s Very Hard To Be A Student And A Monster Slayer At The Same Time!

I have the music saved here! [Audio Attachment: senpaivictory.mp3]

I really recommend you watch it! Such a masterpiece of a show. *thumbs up*

[13:24] System: Block successful. You will no longer receive messages from this user.

PRIVATE MESSAGE: Cupio_Dissolvi -> 10ne1

[13:26] Cupio_Dissolvi: No, don’t worry. I would never disrespect Oxy’s wishes and know the chaos that could arise should we continue discussing such matters. Karmic was simply explaning to me his latest adventures in some video game he appears to have enjoyed.

[13:30] 10ne1: Ah, that explains everything! :D

As soon as you bring up one of his hobbies, it sends him into overdrive. You’ll know better next time!

But yeah. Glad to see you weren’t talking about that paranormal stuff. I can’t believe I stayed awake in fear of getting sent to some hellworld, and, of course, nothing never happened. I should have listed to my brother. As weird as he is, he really does smells scams from kilometers away.

[13:32] Cupio_Dissolvi: Thank you for the insight. He is a nice person, but I can see that his communication style will require some tolerance on my end should I wish to keep contact with him.

[13:33] 10ne1: The most valuable gems are often hidden under many layers of dirt.

[13:33] Cupio_Dissolvi: What is this from? Is it a local proverb?

[13:35] 10ne1: No, actually! It’s from my favorite TV series! It’s called Destination: Heart! It’s about a college dropout who reunites with her high school love interest during a road trip. Let me find you a link, it’s really awesome. I strongly recommend it.

[13:35] System: User @Cupio_Dissolvi has locked the Private Message.