002 - Octopus's Garden In the Shade

[thebeastwithout]

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[Today on the hot mess that is Retrospec, somebody's either fallen asleep on their keyboard or allowed their cat to play with the computer for too long, 'cause there's a solid string of this for about a minute straight.]

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Garfield Logan added 3 new photos - in Huntington Avenue, Recollé
2 mins

[The first photo is a blurry image of Gar screaming, with only his head and upper chest visible. Something long and twisty is visible at the edge of the frame.

The second is a slightly less blurry image of a... realistic-looking octopus tentacle, for some reason.

The last is an image of Gar's bare chest underneath a ripped shirt, which no one ever really wanted to see, but we're all being traumatized today so just go with it. Everything looks normal up until the part where his shoulder attaches to the octopus tentacle in the previous picture.

It's kinda gross.]

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Comments

[thebeastwithout]

...
...
...

i think maybe this has happened before

i dunno

[invocate]

remembering old memories?

or the arm tentacle thing?

[thebeastwithout]

...i'm not sure

[he had been swept to shore by the water - he remembers the sheer force, pushing him away, rushing into his lungs
he couldn't do anything...

so why...

does he also remember... swimming towards his parents -- and his arms slicing through the water like...]

i think i went swimming a long time ago
when i was a little kid
i can't remember what happened then but this suddenly doesn't feel so strange

[invocate]

okay. that is something though.

do you feel a little calmer?

[thebeastwithout]

yeah

yeah i think i do!

guess i got distracted by the other weird stuff i was thinking about

i'll probably freak out again when i look at it ag oh wait what?!

[invocate]

what? what is it gar?

[pls don't tell her you now have even more tentacles Gar]

[thebeastwithout]

it's gone!!!!

[it takes a few moments before he clarifies]

it's an arm again!
it's been an arm - i was just typing with two hands and i didn't even notice

what happened!!

[invocate]

Oh thank goodness!

[she was seriously beginning to wonder if Gar was going to turn into some sort of tentacly squid-boy]

maybe once the initial shock wore off your body was able to... reset?

[thebeastwithout]

uhhhhh i dunno!
that sounds scientific sure

i still don't know what happened but like
it's definitely an arm again
right??? it's back??

[she gets a picture of his skinny arm underneath his torn sleeve]

i guess i just gotta
not think about octopuses?

[invocate]

i am really glad to see your arm

but yes, maybe not think about octopuses

and keep that meditation app handy until you have a better idea what is going on

[thebeastwithout]

[a faint pause before he responds]

yeah ok

[today he has learned that being alone with his thoughts is disturbing, but not any more disturbing than waking up to freaky body mutations
either way he's not excited about experiencing either of those things again]

thanks for your help
i guess everything's cool now
talk to you later?

[invocate]

yeah! see you at school!