[ NPC Open ] Hands of time will wring my neck.

[itsjustabaddream]

Who: Dr. Neil West (itsjustabaddream) & YOU!
What: Ocularum recruiting and meeting, his office, hardware store, research
When: Late May, early June
Where: Oh you know, around
Warning(s): Content warnings will be on specific threads!

Moments pass.

[ The doctor is in. ]

As usual, you can easily find Neil in his makeshift office, reading or writing as he awaits his now more abundant appointments. Maybe you're here for yours, or perhaps you'd like to make one. The door chimes as you enter, and the room is filled with the smell of coffee and pastry. Can one of his little enchanted pots offer you a hot beverage? A teapot and a coffee carafe with dopey faces and tiny legs toddle around on the refreshment table, waiting to serve.

"Hello there! How may I help?"

Shattered glass.

[ Recruiting ]

A flyer hangs on a lamp post outside each trolley station in town.

"Interested in esoteric knowledge, demonology, or wizardry education? Looking to discover the truth behind the barrier? Seeking proactive solutions to the problem, rather than biding your time waiting for the goddesses to act? The Ocularum needs sharp, progressive minds to aid in the effort of deciphering this mystery. Come to Northwest Hollow and look for the open eye."

The symbol of the Ocularum marks each one. Perhaps you catch Neil posting them and can ask him about this. But if not, you can always see him at the meeting...

Hands of time.

[ Ocularum Meeting ]

If you follow the instructions on the flyer at the time and date listed below the main text, and find the open eye symbol above the door to West Dream Analytics, you will find that Neil has gathered his people in his office waiting room. Once everyone has gathered and the appointed time chimes, Neil will lead everyone past the threshold of his catty-cornered desks and open door frame, past his treatment office and living space, down into his basement.

Red wallpaper lines the walls and dark hardwood paves the way. The walls of the room are full of arcane artifacts and scientific or magical equipment, as well as shelves and shelves of books on the occult. In the center of the room, there is a table. Grab a seat, Neil will happily share the Ocularum's objectives--- unobstructed truth. A task force to seek a solution to the barrier that relies on people, research, magic and science, not gods. He hands out pamphlets on local demons and leaflets about the local magic system, offers magic lessons. "And for those interested in more hands-on research, or even providing protection to those performing it, I have a few projects lined up..."

Care to study some paranormal life? Learn some magic? Want to ask him a question? Dr. West is an open book--- to an extent.

Where's that chime?

[ Hardware store ]

It's pretty uncommon for Neil to come all the way into town. He's pretty far out and not always a particularly popular person. Besides, he lives near the farmland, so he's able to buy most of his groceries directly rather than go to the store. But today, he has to go to the store because a teenager broke his window with a rock. Again.

In a rare moment of vulnerability, you can find Neil West at the hardware store trying to purchase some supplies to patch the broken glass until his new window is made, looking incredibly lost. Help.

Close your eyes and you'll leave this dream.

[ Wildcard ]

Attend one of Neil's research projects studying the Paradesium ruins, Brutoks, Lake Sal-Co-Penn, the Tristitia, the Whispering Trees, stardust, ghosts, or anything else. Or throw something at me! I'm open to anything. DM me on Discord!

Comments

Where's that chime

[preacher_in_reticence]

Degas is at the hardware store as well, looking for the best paint for the shelves River's installed in the temple, when he spots Neil down the way. And like, he could cold shoulder the man, pretend he hasn't seen him, but the look on his face is...it's enough.

"Dr. West. You seem...troubled. How can I help?"

[itsjustabaddream]

Neil nearly jumps out of his skin when Degas calls out to him, then clears his throat and straightens out. "Reverend Clayton. I assure you, it's no trouble, I'm just--- attempting to figure out how one patches a broken window temporarily."

[preacher_in_reticence]

"In the summertime, with something like cloth so that insects can't get in, or some sort of screen perhaps. Have you already spoken to the glazier about getting a new pane made?"

Degas turns toward the shelf, looking for an appropriate patching material.

"If it's a standard size, they might have one in stock already."

[itsjustabaddream]

"It's being remade. It had some... decorative lattice framing that has to be made custom," Neil explains awkwardly. "I should probably just replace all of them with something simpler, with how often they get broken."

[preacher_in_reticence]

Degas doesn't seem to know how to respond to that right away. The awkwardness in the room grows for every second of silence.

"Teenagers, again? If you know who, I could talk to their mothers...?"

[itsjustabaddream]

"Indeed. You know how children are. And please, don't trouble yourself on my account." Neil is standing as stiffly as humanly possible. He looks a bit haunted.

[preacher_in_reticence]

"Is that because you don't want to trouble me, or because you worry about me feeling as though you're indebted to me?" A stab in the dark. Degas doesn't really know what Neil's problem is, but he is in a better state to attempt to prod at it like a loose tooth than he's been in many years. He's alive enough to care, now.

[itsjustabaddream]

"It is merely because I do not want assistance," he replies vaguely, being obstinate.

[preacher_in_reticence]

"Neil." The tone of his voice is now that of a disappointed parent. "You could exist in community with the rest of the town if you made the effort. You don't have to be against the world if you don't want to be. You're a son of the Mothers, like anyone else."

[itsjustabaddream]

Neil barks a laugh at that, which comes across as surprisingly harsh. "Thank you for your insight, Reverend. Very illuminating."

[preacher_in_reticence]

"I'm speaking as much as your neighbor, your fellow man on this island as anything else. This isn't a sermon, it's just..." Degas tugs at his beard a little, for lack of better fidget toy. "...I don't want you to be miserable. I never have."

[itsjustabaddream]

"Is that so? And where were you when Japhet blacklisted me and destroyed my business?" Neil is keeping his voice low so as not to make a scene, but he is seething.

[preacher_in_reticence]

"Staying out of it entirely, because I didn't want to speak on something that I didn't know the truth of."

Yes, silence does favor the oppressor, but it was an earthly concordant matter. The temple wasn't part of it, nor were the goddesses.

[itsjustabaddream]

"So, letting me be miserable, then. Interesting. I wonder what caused you to act in a way that misaligns with what you say that you want," Neil snaps. "I swear, this is my lot every time I leave the house. I'm not interested in reconnecting with the community that rejected me because a rich man wanted to control me. I would be perfectly content minding my own business, if everyone else would just mind theirs."

[preacher_in_reticence]

"That rich man is dead. His entire line but for one girl is dead. Do you want to move forward from that, or to let that be the defining moment of your life?"

Bold words, from a man who's made his wife's death the defining moment of his life for years.

[itsjustabaddream]

"That depends, do you want to let being a busybody and a hypocrite define yours?" Neil catches himself raising his voice, and reels back a bit.

"Dahlia is complicit. She inherited all of her father's power and could easily clear things up and has elected not to do so. You could hear me out and clear my name, but you have elected not to do so. Both of you are content with inaction, both in this regard, and with your responses to the barrier. And I despise you for it, but that will not stop me from getting to the bottom of this so that you and everyone else on this blasted island can go back to your merry lives of sitting on your hands in peace. And I will be catching the first boat back to the mainland. Good day to you."

With that, Neil begins making his way out of the shop emptyhanded.