Observations In Downtown Diner, 9/28/2025
rating: +14+x

Aside from the usual crowd. That is, the usual illusions, there's someone new sitting in the booth near the far wall, sipping a coffee. Alone? I suspect they're an illusion too, but I do sometimes get a real person. Someone stopping in for a bite to eat. Sometimes I play the part of an illusion. It's easier that way. It does make me wonder if anyone else comes in here and pretends to be an illusion. I doubt it though. At least not today. It would be hard to ignore the beastly face, or the wings of the figure in the corner. Hell, it's hard for me to keep from meeting their eyes. I suppose I shouldn't mind them either though. Eve

"You're late. As usual."

n if they are an illusion, it feels nice to blend in. Ah. They're not alone, someone has chosen to join them. This one is… I'm having trouble finding the words to describe them. It's not that there's any features I can't find a word for, it's more that I can't think of anything interesting to note. They look relatively nor

"Sorry. I uh… got distracted."

mal. There are of course a couple things that set them apart, but I keep forgetting what they are when I glance down to write. I should really learn how to write without looking at the page, shouldn't I? A task f

"If you can't take your job seriously, I'm going to stop agreeing to meet with you. You know that, right?"

or next time there's a slow night, I suppose. Anyway, I can tell they're talking. Well, it's kind of difficult t

"I know. It won't happen again. I think you'll want to be aware of what I'm here to tell you."

o tell with the beastly one, but I think that one is talking too. It's times like this that I wish I had a hearing aid. My hearing is fine, but it would be nice if I could listen to the conversations instead of just watchi

"Fine."

ng the gestures and extrapolating from there. Maybe it's for the better though. I'm sure whatever I can think of would be more interesting than anything that actually happens. After all, they aren't real anyway

"It's about Naan. She's leaving."

s. Hmm. My theory is a romantic evening. It is the spring, after all. I think. It's so hard to keep track of the seasons in this place. Not that they really even matter. It would be nice to see the seasons again, I t

"What? She can't leave. She knows her responsibilities."

hink. They uh. They would be an odd couple, that's fo— Woah. The beastly one's face just changed. It's a bird now. I guess that explains the wings. Damn. I wish I'd taken my father's offer to go bird-watching all that time ago. Then maybe I'd be able to tell you exactly what kind of bird it is. I really hate how many cool experiences I missed as a kid just because they seemed boring to me. Instead of any of tho

"She's made her decision. We have to respect it."

se, I have to settle for people-watching. Or, illusion watching. They're blue though, I can tell you that much. With some yellow around their eyes and beak. Oh. Back to the beast. A shame. I really never reali

"We have to respect it? You have no stake in this. You don't have to care."

zed how pretty birds are. I guess now I understand why my father liked them so much. Oh dear. It see

"Hey now. It's not my fault."

ms to have become an argument. I hope everything is okay with them. What? Their face is cracking. The… nondescript one's faces is cracking. No. Separating. I can almost see within. It's… I don't remem

"Nevertheless, if she thinks she can just send someone here instead of coming herself, I have to get the message across somehow."

ber what I was going to say. Oh well. They just keep acting normally though, not seeming to notice their own face falling apart at the seams. Oh god. The beastly one has… Is that a gun? I don't think I've ever even seen a gun since… No, I didn't even see any guns in my time in the real world. Aside from a fe

click.

click.

clickclickclickclickclick.

w locked up behind the counter in a store, I think. They— They squeezed the trigger. I swear I saw them squeeze the trigger, but I didn't hear a shot. Wait. Are those bullets on the floor? Seven. They're rust

"Come on Vav. There's no reason to be so violent."

ed. Can lead rust? I don't think so. The face. The beastly one's face changed again. It's a cat now? Yellow. A yellow cat. Maybe a lioness? It's hard to tell from this distance. I still don't understand this. The ill

"They don't matter, Resh. But fine."

usions are rarely this… weird. Actually, not rarely, never. It's kind of comforting how this level, despite how weird it is. This level doesn't stray too far from expectations when you get used to it. Maybe that's what drew me here in the first place. It's almost scary, but I'm sure it will go away soon. The illusions nev

"I uh. I'm just going to head out if that's okay with you. Uh… Thanks, Resh. And no hard feelings, Vav. For almost shooting me, I guess."

er stay for long. I suppose the real people don't either for that matter. I'm sure it will pass. It did.


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