XIX.

[hellshaped]

[Hellboy had spent the day flipping through his journal -- the old one -- and reading back on everything that had happened in the past year he'd been here. And even before. It went back quite a ways, further than he could even read.

There were a lot of people he knew that weren't here anymore. People he liked, people he didn't like, people he only had one conversation with before they disappeared.

And as he went further back, the number of people whose handwriting just stopped showing up after awhile was staggering.

With a heavy sigh, he closes the book and picks up the new journal, opening it to the first blank page. It was always a blank page, wasn't it?

That's the nature of this place.]

How many people have been here longer than a year? When do most people seem to disappear?

Comments

dictated;

[gevurah]

It'll be two in July for me.

[ A beat. ]

Who knows. Maybe a year?

Hellboy ]

[interpersonally]

I passed the six month mark. My friend Lexi didn't even make it one.

[ino]

I've been here way longer than that. Most people don't make a year, though -- usually not more than three or four months, honestly.

Stefan

[hellshaped]

[Oh hey, haven't talked to you in awhile, bro.]

I got here a year ago today. Still don't know why it keeps some people and throws others back.

forever c:

[hellshaped]

Two? Jeez.

[Oh, he pauses for a beat, too.]

A year. Really?

[hellshaped]

Really? [Kate said a year ...

... WAIT ...]

What do you mean, "way longer"?

furreverrrr

[gevurah]

Some don't make it past a month. [ Hrm. ] Some of the people I've met tend to vanish after a year. [ Tobias... Charlie was around way longer but he's also gone. ]

meow

[hellshaped]

I wonder what it is about the year mark that increases the chances.

[He pauses.]

I've been here a year today.

[gevurah]

Your anniversary?

[ That awkward ~feel~ ]

What do you think?

dictated;

[echivoc]

[ And then Cross realized his Paraversary has passed and how long he's actually been here... ]

Two years for me as of late January, if my memory serves me right.

[deterrence]

[skims through the above replies...]

I am approaching two years as well. I haven't noticed a particular trend in the amount of time people spend here before leaving, but sometimes those who were close to each other seem to go at the same time.

Hellboy

[interpersonally]

[ it's been some time, yo. whatchu been up to, HB? ]

I don't think there's any real reasoning behind it. But, if everything here is random -- [ why does anything matter? ] I'm having a somewhat existential night.

[payback]

I've been here a bit over three and a half years now.

[ino]

Well, this'll be my sixth year.

[hellshaped]

I don't feel like I'm about to go back to Earth, if that's what you mean.

Stefan

[hellshaped]

[You know, this and that. Turning into toys, getting locked in rooms with people he doesn't know for three days. Regular stuff.]

It happens to the best of us.

I don't know if it's completely random. That would mean that whatever kind of sentience this place has is kind of nuts. And that's no good.

[hellshaped]

Six. You're kidding.

dictated;

[hellshaped]

You didn't remember? I don't think I could forget if I tried.

[hellshaped]

Really? You mean close as in they know each other from home, or they developed friendships here?

[Maybe the castle is pulling everyone here to teach them the power of friendship ... no, that's dumb.]

[hellshaped]

[Three and a half, six, two ... he had no idea people had been here this long, jeezy creezy.]

I'm sorry.

dictated;

[echivoc]

I don't commit many dates to memory.

dictated;

[hellshaped]

Dates and me have a long history. Habit, I guess.

Hellboy

[interpersonally]

[Sounds like a trip ]

Okay. So, we go with a fully aware, calculating castle with a plan. What's the plan?

dictated;

[echivoc]

Habits tend to be heard to break.

As to your second question, most people seem to go after about several months.

[gevurah]

I mean, what do you think of Paradisa so far?