2021-09-18 - A Twelve Week Bender For the Understudy

(TXT to Ravn) Fern : I have no idea what's going on. Even now that I've had a day to process...I'm really confused and more than a little paranoid.

(TXT to Ravn) Fern : Also I probably sound like a crazy person. But please tell me you are also confused that it is September.

(TXT to Fern) Ravn : Not half as confused as I was at finding myself naked in an unfamiliar bedroom. In September. Turns out I apparently bought the house and moved into it, with Aidan Kinney.

(TXT to Fern) Ravn : Then I got dreamsnatched into a Wild West Saloon and played poker with naked Seth Monaghan. Never bored in Gray Harbor.

(TXT to Fern) Ravn : So, who's crazy, the fool or the man who follows the fool? 😃

(TXT to Fern) Ravn : ... I won Monaghan's underoos.

(TXT to Ravn) Fern : That sounds weird! But not wholly terrible.

(TXT to Ravn) Fern : I woke up surrounded by alcohol bottles. Like I fell off the wagon or something. The physical signs were there too but no hangover. And I don't remember drinking anything. Or doing anything. But apparently some family members are concerned and also I must have really pissed off my ex boyfriend. Whose number I didn't even know I still had

(TXT to Fern) Ravn : It was pretty fun, not going to lie. But you're definitely not crazy. Time really did shift.

(TXT to Fern) Ravn : Oh hell.

(TXT to Fern) Ravn : You're saying the Veil put you on a three month bender?

(TXT to Ravn) Fern : I cleaned up the house. And fought the urge to go get an actual drink. I have no idea what could have possibly happened. I hope to god it wasn't all three months.

(TXT to Fern) Ravn : I mean, if you literally did go on one, wouldn't there be physical signs?

(TXT to Fern) Ravn : Mind you, on some level I'm waiting for the first person to come tell me they apparently got married or pregnant.

(TXT to Ravn) Fern : There are, like my hair was a mess, my skin too. Bloodshot eyes. But I didn't feel hungover. Or have cottonmouth. Unless maybe I was passed out for more than a day? I don't know

(TXT to Ravn) Fern : That's definitely going to happen. If it hasn't happened I'm going to be disappointed

(TXT to Fern) Ravn : I have this... theory? That we really did lose the time. But that time still played out to the rest of the world. Like cardboard figures, or stand-ins.

(TXT to Ravn) Fern : Like that one Adam Sandler movie?

(TXT to Fern) Ravn : Like, you walk back on the movie set, but the actual bender was played through by your understudy?

(TXT to Fern) Ravn : Not sure, I'm not really a movie buff and Adam Sandler has made like, six thousand movies.

(TXT to Ravn) Fern : Fair. He's got this movie where there's a remote that lets him fast forward through life. So he loses time. I'd be a lot more comfortable if it was someone else that did the actual drinking. That's for sure.

(TXT to Ravn) Fern : I've been sober for like almost 4 years. I can sit in a bar and not want to drink. So I have no idea.

(TXT to Fern) Ravn : I'm no expert but shouldn't you be dealing with -- I don't know, sweats, shaking hands, upset stomach, the classic withdrawal symptoms? I haven't detoxed from alcohol but I've been there on SSRIs.

(TXT to Ravn) Fern : It's only been like a day. But you're right. Unless it's all going to hit me at once or something like a delayed reaction. Which seems unlikely. I just have to keep not drinking and that should clear up my concerns. Right?

(TXT to Ravn) Fern : It also could be that my brain is still so utterly confused my body doesn't even know what to do. But, it sounds like there's going to be several of us going through this missing time stuff? So that's a comfort.

(TXT to Fern) Ravn : I don't know, I have lots of concerns. But that concern -- yes.

(TXT to Fern) Ravn : You, me, Aidan Kinney, Tanasha Jones, Kailey Holt -- at the very least.

(TXT to Fern) Ravn : I haven't even managed to reach out to anyone else yet. Have this impending feeling of -- oh, I don't know. Wasted opportunities?

(TXT to Fern) Ravn : And being terrified of finding out whether my understudy idea is true, in which case, what did mine get up to?

(TXT to Fern) Ravn : See above anxiety, people getting married or pregnant, yanno?

(TXT to Ravn) Fern : Yeah. You're the first person I've reached out to. I still need to call my mother and let her know I'm fine. That will probably shed light on some things.

(TXT to Fern) Ravn : Might at least tell you if she knows you were gone. And maybe give you some ideas what you supposedly were doing.

(TXT to Fern) Ravn : I'm just... Waiting for the other shoe to drop. Veil experiences aren't usually just quirky. I think I'm just waiting for the bad news. Okay, what happened? What terrible thing did I get involved with, while I was sleeping?

(TXT to Ravn) Fern : Yeah, fingers crossed on getting any information at all. But we can't hide forever right? I have a couple people to try and text just to feel out.

(TXT to Ravn) Fern : I remember knowing that bad stuff was happening Veil side too. So, that's a concern.

(TXT to Fern) Ravn : No, we can't but I sure as hell am going to procrastinate pretty hard on a few people I was already wondering how to get in touch with three months ago. Because if time passed normally for them... Then I have a lot of explaining to do.

(TXT to Fern) Ravn : UNLESS a cardboard me did get in touch. In which case I need to explain that anything they have seen me say or do in three months is in fact not real.

(TXT to Fern) Ravn : AFK joining a monastery.

(TXT to Ravn) Fern : Ahahah! Well hopefully for your sake the majority are just as confused as you are right now

(TXT to Ravn) Fern : And you can't join a monastary. Who will be the poster child for HOPE?

(TXT to Ravn) Fern : Speaking of. Have you been by there yet? I haven't

(TXT to Fern) Ravn : Ignacio is supposed to be the poster child!

(TXT to Fern) Ravn : I'm heading down later today. Need to see if the place is even standing. Half expecting to find a damp ruin where the mermaids have left us only Denny's bleached bones.

(TXT to Ravn) Fern : But you're the other poster child! Fingers crossed it's okay. I'll try and pull myself together and go down too.

(TXT to Fern) Ravn : Also, I totally can be a monk and a poster child, churches are supposed to be all about community work.

(TXT to Fern) Ravn : Look, with what you just said -- four years and whatnot -- I'm obviously not going to suggest we go for a line of beers. But we could pick up de Santos and Hawthorne if they want, and just... I don't know. Drink too much coffee, scream into pillows a bit. Deal.

(TXT to Ravn) Fern : I'd be more inclined to go for a line of jaeger bombs. But yes. You're right. Maintain what sobriety I believe I still have. Coffee and maybe junk food sound good. With more company. I'll reach out to Conner if you reach out to de Santos? See what we can do?

(TXT to Fern) Ravn : I'm sure coca cola and cheese burgers qualify as poisoning our bodies too. Let's get down there tonight or tomorrow, assess the damage, find out what little we can. Maybe try to reach anyone you feel safe with in the meantime? I'm going to... keep procrastinating a few people hard, yes. Bok bok bok, all the chicken sounds.

(TXT to Ravn) Fern : Coke and burgers. Sounds great. I'll be in touch soon and let you know if I learn anything else. Also you should at least pick one person!

(TXT to Fern) Ravn : Deploying ostrict defences. Nah, I'll get around to it. Just, in time. I'll see you tonight then!