[video; open]

[trollinthecave]

̸̟̥͑ͧ̋̏̉͊͋ͮ ͓͔͖̔̇ͨ ̰̦͈͖̖̾͂̈́̌͛̋̇͝ ̡̰̬̟͛͋̂ͯͦ͢ ̢̤̜̤͍͙͇ͨ̾̏̀̌͗̚ ̟͕̀ͮ̾͌̅ͥ͟ ̶̡̱̱̲̬̿ͯͫ́̐́̍̆ ͛ͩ̈̏̓͛͋̚҉̮̮̗͠ ̡̞̱̪͔ͨͭ̈́͐͆̽ͣ ̬͈͙̣̦͎̟͎̹ͪͬ͒͊ͦ̃̄̚͜ ̷̧̪͕͖̦͎̾ͬ̒̋ͥ̄͊̎ ̲̫̟̜̻͎̙̑̈́̿́͢͡ haͣs̸͙̝ͣ͒͆̿ ̱̃́̅̀ͫo̢̲̩̹̳̹̾͐pe̙̲̫̱n̳̦̪̯̙̠̗̾ͮ͊ͮ̆ͥͭẻ͊̃̚̚̕d̨͈̹͔̠͂ͬ̈́̍̔ ̟̱͔͓̫̱̰̀c̞̜͂̓̀̑ơ̳̟̠̹̱̾̈́ͪ͒ͅm͕̙̙ͮ͑͐m̞̬͇͒ͬu̠͔̬̥̽̕ṉ͎̃ͥ̉̆̚į͚̓ͭc̢͇̼̄́a̛t͍̥̓͂ͩ̊͒̍͜i̲̳̊ǫ̯̗ͪ̈́͌̓̂̂̔ṇ͍͈̲̩̼͗ͩ̓̋ͭ͟ͅ!͚̳̹̹̼͠

[ It’s a wonderful day in the Cave, what with the crystals still shining a redbrown chestnut as they had yesterday. Maybe not so wonderful considering the person on the screen appears to be... off. Obviously still human, but not quite right, a bit of a twisted visage while looking strangely familiar at the same time. He raises a hand to begin speaking, accent crisp and as straight-laced midwestern American as humanly possible without being some hilarious caricature.

As of the time this announcement is posted, the message from yesterday appears to be locked down and impossible to reply to any longer. ]

Good afternoon, everyone! I know everybody heard that weird message earlier and you don’t need to worry about that anymore. It was some sort of glitch in our communication network and I’ve fixed it so that it won’t do that again. So carry on with whatever you guys do and don’t worry about what that glitched message said, okay? New systems like ours can be finicky and things like that can be expected until it’s fixed.

[ … by the end of the transmission, it seems sys.admin// is still replying to any messages left to him/her despite this person’s claims. Oh wait, there it—no. No, it’s still open. ]

Comments

this is not actually here, and I'm not sorry

[inequal]

[ Liam doesn't know who you are, what you're doing, the fuck is up with your caller ID, or why anybody should care, but YOUR FACE, SIR

HE WANTS TO PUNCH IT

SO BADLY. ]

[trickntreats]

Sylvester Wilton has opened communication!

All fixed, eh? Sure, I can absolutely see that.

[Not. You get a failing grade, Mr Creeperman.]

[ audio forever; ]

[deshabille]

Milena Tichý has opened communication!

Well, we can't all be good with technology. But thank you for trying, I was so distressed.

[trollinthecave]

I fixed it! It just...unfixed. By itself.

[trickntreats]

Usually it's the point of a troubleshooter to keep things fixed.

[trollinthecave]

It's being tricky. I'll get it this time.

[trickntreats]

Let me know if you manage it. I love a good bout of entertainment. It'd be like watching tennis!

[trollinthecave]

I'm good at technology. This glitch is just sneakier than I thought.

[deshabille]

Sneakiness is a terrible quality.

[agonybooth]

Vincent Stark has opened communication!

That didn't look much like a glitch to me.

[trollinthecave]

Well, it certainly wasn't a rational or well-constructed message.

[trollinthecave]

A very cowardly quality, if you ask me. Being direct is so much better.

[deshabille]

I'm glad we agree. Your name?

[trollinthecave]

A bit more like Pong. [ He holds his hands up like paddles as he speaks. ] Beep boop.

[trickntreats]

[He laughs. Dad damn it, he likes this one too.]

You guys are making it so hard to pick a side to root for. Now that's just sneaky.

[agonybooth]

It seemed rational enough to me, except for that last part.

[trollinthecave]

Have you been getting enough sleep lately? It was total gibberish to me.

[trollinthecave]

You can call me Cid. Everybody around here does. Friendly neighborhood tech support, at your service.

[trollinthecave]

I'm just a likeable kind of guy. Don't really like all that sneakiness. You won't see me hiding behind all that static and nonsense.

[trickntreats]

People do weird things when they're afraid. Or desperate.

[A statement, rather than an excuse.]

[deshabille]

Pleasure to meet you. I'll be sure to drop you a line if any more mysterious static confuses me.

[trollinthecave]

That's what I'm here for, stopping any mysterious static from confusing you Sleepers.

[trollinthecave]

If what did this was a person. I think it's nothing but a computer glitch causing a little trouble with our communications.

[agonybooth]

I've been getting plenty of sleep. And for the most part, it was not gibberish. Perhaps you were listening to another communication other than the one you're claiming to "fix".

[trollinthecave]

I could say the same to you. Maybe you don't know which one I'm talking about. If that's the case, then all the better; it was nothing really to worry about in the first place.