Note #1: Trapped
I'm sorry, Ben.
This place is hell.
I can't get out and believe me, I've tried.
They won't let me leave either.
I don't even know why I'm writing this letter,
You probably won't ever find it, anyways.
Just like me, It'll be lost in this maze of shelves.
I found what I was looking for, though.
I barely made it out alive.
And I still don't know how long it took.
It was more enlightening than those balls of light we saw in '37.
Do you remember?
Note #2: Worth
I’m not going to kill myself
I just thought you should know that.
The previous note made it seem like I was going to
And who knows
I still might
But as of yet
I’m still alive.
On the run from the Keepers…
But still alive.
For the sake of truthfulness,
The prize was worth it.
But for your sake?
You, my husband?
It won't be worth it at all
If you go looking for it
If you suffer what I have suffered
I would never forgive myself
So I beg you.
Please don't look for it.
Ok?
Note #3: Knocking
This place goes deeper than anyone knows
I'm not sure even the Curators know its vastness
They never could tell the difference between reality and fiction.
The doors keep going
It's interesting though
I never have to knock.
Well
I guess you never had to knock to get out.
Only to get in.
But-
Damn it all
It's so hard to explain.
Note #4: The Face
All the doors I try
They never get me out
I don't think they ever will
The rooms keep going
Its brain keeps growing
But I guess you wouldn't understand that.
I keep on seeing this figure
His skin is a vast void
It's darker than night
But nobody’s there
So it goes then.
So it goes.
Maybe forever it goes
Just like these damned doors.
God damn it these fucking doors!
Note #5: Pattern Screamers
I'm surprised that there aren't a lot of pattern screamers in here.
Well, I guess this place exists outside of the universe
but still
We're here
I feel like they should be here
although I guess that'd give The Vessel quite a headache.
Get out of my head. Your kind has no place in my holy mind.
You don't know what I'm talking about, do you?
About The Vessel, I mean.
why would you?
We won't let ourselves go unnoticed
Though I guess you could, even without seeing the shelves
Damn it, why is my mind going cloudy?
I just want to explain!
I said get out!
Sadly this didn't really work for me — while I don't think the short nature of it is necessary a death blow, it certainly doesn't do it any favors. Ultimately there's just not a lot of substance — it's a pretty rote article to get an emotional foothold in the reader, but doesn't really work because there's no strong character or voice behind the letters. They feel more like excerpts between chapters of a larger work than any substantive narrative on their own. -Rounderhouse
I hope that this changes as I continue to expand on the story between these two. While there was definitely more I could have done to make this piece more emotionally gripping for the readers, part of the whole idea of this is that it's not about the readers. The person writing is going to keep writing as he's trapped in the WL and other universes as well. While I understand that this probably will be a repetitive failure, the point is that sometimes we do things that we know are going to fail, just because we hope they will work eventually. Especially when it involves someone we love and don't want to lose, whether that be a mother, father, boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, or wife.
While I understand and sympathize with having in-universe justifications for the way a story is written, ultimately it is still a story and needs to be interesting to read, regardless of what those justifications may be. -Someone
In response to your reply, Aeons: I find that when things are not going well, sometimes the best thing to to is reassess and try again from another direction. I had a similar problem with the piece posted here as Rounderhouse did: while the words were good, the overall theme did not catch for me. I, too, enjoy making works which will be extrapolated upon later, but I find the best thing to do is to put a heck of a lot of exposition first, and then add shorter additions (like yours!) later on, when there is a foundation to work from. Otherwise, the short, un-grounded work can feel sporadic and without walls, if you know what I mean.
I look forward to more works from you in the future, perhaps even ones which show the meaning behind this one. -Stygian
REMEMBER TO PLACE TRANSPARENT HIGHLIGHT THING
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To all patrons who've missed the previous five notes, please contact your nearest archivist.
Note #6:
Note #7: An IKEA?
I opened a door today, Ben-
Well, what's in a day here?
You'll just have to bear with me.
Bear with me like you always have…
It looks like a regular old IKEA
Well, except for a couple of things.
The shelves extend up towards the ceiling, which I can't even see.
There are clouds blocking the view.
They are quite beautiful, actually.
Well, nothing like the clouds in Valiir
What I wouldn't give to go back there.
Note #8: Insanity
Do you know what the definition of insanity is, my love?
Doing the same damn thing over and over and over and over and over and over again!
And expecting a different result.
I laughed here but there's no way for me to show that.
I keep writing these letters and hoping that you'll find them.
Keep hoping that I'll know when you've found them.
Even though I'll never know.
I'm stuck in hell within a hell.
This IKEA is by no means a regular old IKEA.
It goes on forever.
FOREVER!
Note #9: Never Found
These notes you definitely aren't going to find.
Not only are they trapped inside of this fucking IKEA,
They are about the IKEA.
And I'm sure those who regulate what enters the Library won't like that much at all.
I don't care.
I'm going to keep writing.
And sure, you'll probably read these not only out of order,
but also without the context of the others.
Cause, yeah, they aren't going to like these ones.
I still miss you, my love.
Note #10: