Work Text:
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[PARROT]
Okay... Statement of Squiddo, last name not given, regarding the investigation of an unnamed entity. Original statement extracted from a letter to Miss Womanbrine, written December 21st, 2022. Audio recording by Parrot Extwo, Head Archivist of the Unstable Institute.
Statement begins.
[PARROT (STATEMENT)]
Dear Womanbrine, I’m writing to you on this fine day to update you on my findings in this tragic world. The entity that I formerly believed to be non-existent, does in fact haunt this location. I’m disappointed to say that I was unable to contain said entity.
I’m sure you’re aware of our agreement months ago; when you came to me, I wasn’t expecting such an escalation of events. I know I was sceptical from the start, but I couldn’t have expected this.
Nine months, I thought I had escaped my past involving the paranormal. Nine months since I had last hunted the creature that almost ended my very life. I’m no stranger to the paranormal. Weird creatures, ghosts, and especially haunted locations have always been second nature to me. I actively chose to engage with these threats, I sought out an audience that held this same sentiment. But being faced with your own mortality? That’s enough to deter someone from any sort of path, no matter your past. I firmly believed that this period of my life was over… Admittedly, your promise to pay me was what pushed me over the edge, though now I’m unsure whether these findings will be to your liking.
Herobrine is not the strongest entity in this world, in fact, he is far from it. I wished to prove otherwise, but you cannot compete with this being. Time and reality itself has unwound before me, colours never visible to the human eye have shown themselves to me. It’s an enlightenment that I can’t explain.
My journal entries can only show so much, but I hope they provide some insight on this situation.
14th December 2022
I reach this land, not knowing what to expect. Womanbrine has told me that some sort of creature trying to outdo Herobrine claims these parts; I have to say, there is a resemblance. Despite it only being my first night in this new world, I have witnessed certain similarities (most notably the leafless trees), but this creature appears to be far more than a copy cat. It seems that the world around it can be changed, even without its presence. The first signs of this that I have found is the foliage. Many flowers and vines replace the clouds in the sky which obstruct much of the daylight. I will say, it is pretty and this entity has great taste, even if it’s made navigation a lot more difficult. At least the weather isn’t too affected by it.
Although, besides the environment, not much of note has taken place. Womanbrine left me with a guide before we parted ways (very handy), and I have been taking precautions to follow most of the following advice:
– Keep close to water.
– Don’t go too far down.
– Stay in the light.
– Do not look too closely at the shadows.
– Do not talk to it.
Like many of the creatures which I have hunted, this one seems opposed to light. Such a discovery is always a comforting one, especially with the shadows around these parts being particularly dark, abnormally so. I cannot say I’ve seen any active sights of the entity. No shadowy figures, no nametags, no traces of life. Just nothing that I’d usually identify an entity by.
I am starting to believe that this place isn’t all that bad, like, it’s kind of nice. Maybe I can return home sooner than I expect—Skipper must be missing me.
17th December 2022
It’s been three days, and not much has happened.
I mean, not much that wouldn’t be expected of a place like this of course. Light and colour seem to act weird I suppose? Like, my eyes are so strained from even looking outside during the day for too long. It’s definitely not something that I’ve seen much of before, typically being a feature of places that are on the verge of corrupting.
The more I think about it, the stranger it gets, really. There isn’t a single sign of an entity inhabiting this place; I’d assume this is simply some fragmented piece of land that strayed too far if it wasn’t for Womanbrine’s insistence. My best guess is that this thing is somehow intertwined with the fabric of this world, if it does exist. I’ll keep watch for a few more days before returning home, it’s not too wise to stay in these sorts of areas for too long… It’s really disorienting.
19th December 2022
Some days I cannot help but wonder: should I be afraid?
This entity refuses to show itself. The only threat seems to be the displacement of my items (which occurs at random intervals). A nagging desire to attempt to contact this creature is festering in my mind. It’s getting harder to believe that this creature even exists. Have I been led down a dead end?
No, I can’t have been. The conditions of this place have been far stranger and far more irregular compared to other anomalies. Besides, I have travelled too far in this land to come back with inconclusive results. The fragmentation of this world is a dangerous thing to meddle with, so I might as well poke around and find all that I can before taking my leave. I am beginning to believe that the only way to come back with results, however, is by engaging directly with the creature… I mean, nothing has happened! There were just some flowers and vines in the sky! Yes, this entity has unique patterns, but I’d hardly call it a threat. At best it’s a harmless and passive entity, not stronger than Herobrine. I don’t like going against Womanbrine’s advice, but this entity simply isn’t a threat, not a violent one.
Besides, when dealing with these ‘dangerous’ entities, many will take time to escalate to their full potential, but never this long. 5 days, and still no active sight of anything going wrong. I’d be more inclined to believe that all of this is just a cause of the fragmentation. The piece of a broken world. But Womanbrine seems insistent, and I know that she knows what she's talking about.
I will write to Womanbrine tomorrow and inform her of my findings. And for tonight, I will take refuge in a nearby cave I’ve been using to collect necessary resources. It’s well lit and will keep me sheltered through the long night.
20th December 2022
I have written to Womanbrine informing her of the current situation. This entity has remained at a distance, one where I can’t get any information on it. When Womanbrine wrote to me of a threat, I had expected more, although there is always room for escalation and I’m trying my best to keep that in mind.
Everything is beginning to feel mundane. No matter how many forests or lakes I explore, I feel like nothing of note takes place. There’s only so much you can do in a barely habitable place before it becomes repetitive. The only thing keeping me sane right now is writing in this journal and talking to myself; I regret not bringing Skipper. Sure, more glitches have been taking place… especially with my possessions, which I don’t appreciate, but ultimately, nothing has hurt me or my journal. I’ve attempted to contact the entity, even going as far as to mock it.
All I have received back is silence.
I’m honestly not sure whether my passion for the paranormal has just faded, or if the isolation has gotten to my head. Since the start, I’ve been hesitant. Even in this seemingly beautiful, somewhat eerie world, that spark of passion that has always followed me into my work seems to have burnt out. I mean, I guess it can only stick around for so long after so many years in the field.
But is this really where it ends? On an incomplete note. An unfinished task, not out of cowardice but out of mundanity. It’s getting so much harder to recognise myself.
[PARROT]
Uh. So, for the record, the rest of the journal is just undated scraps of paper. They’ve been tucked into some kind of order, although honestly, I don’t think it’s right. There are just some… inconsistencies, I guess. Either some are missing, or they’re just in the wrong order. Or this Squiddo person just lost their mind. Most of them are covered in some sort of inky substance anyways, so… I won’t even try to read those parts, and definitely not the completely obstructed sheets. I think I’ll pass on touching those portions too, like the colors are just—nevermind. (Sigh) Bro, this feels like a waste of time.
Statement resumes.
[PARROT (STATEMENT)]
???? 2022
I am not alone. There are more glitches, and this thing wants me gone. I really want to get out of here. I don’t know if I’m just seeing things or if this thing is messing with me, but behind every shadow and every dark corner there is something there. There has to be something there.
It doesn’t even look like darkness, that’s the thing, it’s something more. Like, it’s an abyss and more than once I have found myself staring, captivated. There’s almost an iridescence to it? No, that’s not right. There’s no way to really describe it, but I know it’s not a trick of the light, I know that this isn’t just some anomaly. This thing is following me, it has to be. More than once I have heard myself breathe or take a step when I haven’t. I mean, you cannot forget something you just did, not when you are being so cautious. I’m experienced, not crazy. This thing is trying to lure me into its trap and I feel like everytime I am not actively fighting it pulls me closer.
It’s so scary not being able to feel in control of yourself. How can I trust myself when everything is falling apart? I don’t even know how to get out anymore.
???? 2022
Something else is pretending to be me. It can't be me, like, I’ve been keeping track of days. I know what I’ve been doing and when I’ve been doing it. So many things are wrong and I didn’t do any of them even though it looks like I did. It’s not me.
I’m trying to leave, I really am. I want to get home to Skipper, but each time I start to go back the way that I came, the sun sets and rises from the completely wrong direction. Or doesn’t rise at all? There are no days and nights sometimes, it all feels like one, but I’m still distinguishing it? It feels like I’m adapting to this place. Like, it’s less boring in a way, but at the same time I’m scared and confused and stuff doesn’t work the way it should work. I can’t tell if this is a good sign.
████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████—And, in a way, I don’t think I’d mind being stuck here if it wasn’t for the lack of trust I have with myself. Where do I end and where do I begin? When do I just become one with this place?
???? 2022
The glitches are getting more violent. Whatever resides in this place wants me to get out. And quickly.
Of course I have no intentions of doing so! What’s a little more curiosity? I know I can contact this entity. Maybe I’ve already spoken to it in a way. My memory is starting to go fuzzy, but it’s okay, that’s why I have this journal. I do have to thank Womanbrine, I haven’t felt this sort of ecstasy in what feels like forever! I know, I shouldn’t get too ahead of myself, but this entity is nowhere near as powerful as the thing that had almost ended my life. I’m fully confident that I am safe. Honestly, I can’t believe I was ever afraid. — ████████████████████████—it’s funny really.
I find it important to mention, this is likely a case of some sort of copycat. Initially there were a few unique features and a few Herobrine-inspired ones, but now the terrain glitches are awfully similar to the Farlands—and I know the Farlands like the back of my hand! This thing cannot trick me into believing that it’s so special and unique and then turn around and try to impress me with mimicry. Okay, so, credit is due for the flowers. It’s a nice touch, really, especially with all those colours. An artist’s gotta appreciate art! If only—████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████—the colours—████████████████████████████████
…That can’t be right.
???? 2022
It’s spoken to me. I am as much of a threat to it as it is to me. A mutually assured destruction.
Who would—████████████████—when you can embrace it? I feel like I should mention, I didn’t give those plants enough credit, even when writing to Womanbrine. Like, those colours are so vivid, it’s almost intoxicating. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before.
Admittedly, it’s become a source of comfort. The fear and homesickness isn’t doing me any good so when the glitches are calm, I find myself surrounded by the foliage. Their colours seem to shift and almost leak out into the world, consuming what it can. Strangely, it’s the only time I can feel sure of myself. I let the colours dance, take on hues that almost hurt to look at, ones which I have never seen before. I feel like my whole life has been clouded by some sort of filter that has just shattered. I am both—████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████—I could stay here.
???? 2022
████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████—I mean, I can’t be stuck here. I know how I got into this place, it wasn’t a difficult process. The exit is near, I can tell it is. These findings should be sufficient enough for Womanbrine, especially with this sample!
Identifying it is one thing, but the fact that I managed to—████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████—I’m almost there. Everything looks so mundane again. Maybe I could I mean, I’d appreciate a little more colour… I think everyone else might too!
???? 2022
Round and round and round and round, I’m walking in complete circles. I can’t tell if this is what I want.
Is this thing taking control? Maybe I’m just changing. Maybe this is my calling and I don’t need to be scared. Falling into this neverending abyss of colour and life and joy as though into a warm embrace. In a way, it is one.
All I have ever wanted is to spread happiness through my work and creations. All I have attempted to do has failed. Maybe this is where I succeed, even if it doesn’t want me to.
???? 2022
The threat is gone. Well, to me at least. I should really inform Womanbrine of the nature of this entity, I mean it’s power is beyond anything I have ever seen and I could not be more thankful.
Maybe a return to the outside world would do me some good as well. I mean, I can’t imagine confining myself to so little space when there is so much more to show. It’s probably safer this way anyways! It’s not like I intend on harming anyone other than any entities or ghosts or whatever I bump into. The less opportunity for these things to harm others, the better!
I swear, I still am myself. I’m just happier.
???? 2022
I don’t need this anymore.
This entity has gifted me far more than a human should have. The confines of time are not meant for it, light and colour takes on a new shape and meaning and this is far more beautiful than anything the human eye can see. If only I could share this.
It’s mine now. It’s taken over and I let it, not as a parasite, but as a friend. I don’t think there even is an ‘I’ or an ‘it’ anymore.
Ah, I think I know how to describe it now! You know when you were younger and went into those really old arcades? The lights and sounds were distracting, yes, but the floors were the true staple of them. Those swirls and shapes in all those colours floating around the dark backdrop of it all. It’s sort of like that, in the way that the colours are so bright that they stand out whilst simultaneously harmonising to create a beautiful painting. I dictate it now, how the patterns form, how the colours seep out. I am a true artist.
There is a clarity in the confusing.
[PARROT]
Statement ends.
(Sigh) I asked Spoke and Wemmbu to help me with follow up for this statement… and honestly, bro, I thought this was going to be a more serious job. Squiddo used to have a vlogging youtube channel, but all the videos are either taken down or are just some stupid adventure with no lead. She hasn’t even shown up anywhere for a few years now. No records, no videos.
It probably doesn’t help that her information is non-existent and Womanbrine, Herobrine, whatever! Isn’t even real! Herobrine is the oldest children’s tale in the book. And seriously bro, Womanbrine? Not to mention whatever ‘the Farlands’ are… The constant switch up and everything, it just feels like a false story or someone who’s beginning to lose it.
The only semi-useful thing that has been found is that she also used to work as an architect. It’s surprising that even that much was found with no last name, but I guess it’s not everyday you meet someone named Squiddo. Anyways, any project she was on seems to either have been discarded or later torn down—that is probably because most of them were placed in rural areas. And still, no trace, or way to contact her.
I just know there's something more to all of this, I can’t waste my time on people like this.
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