This is a simple test. Basic. Straight forward. It involves your eyes rolling over these words, involves your mouth quietly enunciating them. Go ahead, do it now.
One.
Two.
See? Easy enough. But let's go deeper. I want you to take note of the time, down to the minute. What time is it right now?
…
…
Got it?
Now, speak this next sentence aloud– and absolutely no faking.
i have broken my hourglass
How did that feel? Try another one with a little pizzazz!
my feet are bleeding in the sand
I'm going to assume you feel a little silly. Ridiculous, even. You're wondering why you're listening to a stranger on the internet, but don't abandon me yet. See, this isn't a magic trick.
But it is magic.
I'm doing a sort of study. It's not the type you're familiar with – there are no beakers, no lab coats and no animals to test. It's just you and me. You, me and these words, and we're getting to the end of them, and once we're there, things will change for both of us. Won't that be nice?
Have you heard of M̴̱̺̒͌i̸̻̘͝s̶͙̹̅ẗ̵̩̰́e̶̤͛͝ṟ̶̎ ̴̱̋͠T̸̜̏i̶̹̐̔͜c̶͚͖̑k̸͓̾̽ ̴̗̔̐Ṫ̷̠͊ō̴̢͉͊c̵̰̒k̵̟̿͐?
No?
He's really quite a lovely individual. Warm. Personable. He's eight feet tall and his skin sags from his bones like a split-open pig on a spit, but his eyes are to die for. So large and bulbous. Like white spider sacs with two narrow pupils, rotating in lazy circles.
Tick tock!
But enough about him, let's continue our experiment and see where it takes us =) These next words are going to be reader's choice. I'm going to list a letter and I want you to say the first words that come to mind– whatever they might be.
T
T
T
T
Fantastic choices! You're really turning out to be something wonderful. Not like my last participants… festering pieces of wasted flesh. I'd rather see them lit on fire and cut into thirds than deal with their fucking whining again LOL
But you… you're really shaping up to be exactly what I'm looking for.
Open your mouth.
Now close it.
Hum– anything, a tune, a sound, a gurgle. I don't give a flying fuck.
Very nice.
You're very nice.
Are you sure you haven't heard of M̴̱̺̒͌i̸̻̘͝s̶͙̹̅ẗ̵̩̰́e̶̤͛͝ṟ̶̎ ̴̱̋͠T̸̜̏i̶̹̐̔͜c̶͚͖̑k̸͓̾̽ ̴̗̔̐Ṫ̷̠͊ō̴̢͉͊c̵̰̒k̵̟̿͐?
Certain?
You've probably met him and never realized it. Sometimes he visits his friends before they ever get a chance to chat. Have you woken up in the middle of the night feeling uneasy? Frightened?
No?
Hm. Well, then there's nothing to worry about! You're perfectly fine.
No need to read on ^_^
…
...
For the rest of you, I want you to read this name. Really read it. Sometimes it's difficult to translate digitally due to its… history. But do your best.
M̴̱̺̒͌i̸̻̘͝s̶͙̹̅ẗ̵̩̰́e̶̤͛͝ṟ̶̎ ̴̱̋͠T̸̜̏i̶̹̐̔͜c̶͚͖̑k̸͓̾̽ ̴̗̔̐Ṫ̷̠͊ō̴̢͉͊c̵̰̒k̵̟̿͐
Do you see it? Say it aloud.
…
How does that taste?
It tasted horrible for me, at least at first. I remember my skin crawling. My body prickling with goosebumps with every syllable, but then I adjusted. Scout's honor. I adjusted after he slipped a finger inside my eye socket and fished out pieces of my mind like pink bubblegum. Bad pieces.
Hurtful memories.
Nasty ones.
Memories full of self-loathing and pain.
Yuck!
He fished all of them out, smeared my rotten brain matter across his cold gray lips, and then made me a promise that I never needed to suffer again. He told me that he would come back each and every night and take a little more.
What a guy!
But anyway, enough about me.
What time is it now? Go on, take note of the minute. How long has it been since I last asked you to check the clock?
One minute?
Two?
That's fine. Just peachy. Go ahead and close this tab and forget you ever read this. Seriously. Nice meeting you! =D
..
..
Still here?
..
..
Well, how long has it been?
Three minutes?
… Four?
Maybe you can't even recall.
Maybe you didn't follow the instructions that I wrote out in plain text. Fucking mutt.
But that's fine. That's okay!
I've got one final sequence I'd like you to participate in, alright? But before we begin, I think I should let you know that you and I, we're both going to change forever after this. Nothing will be the same. But it won't hurt!
I promisepromisepromise
I need you to scroll to the end of this post– the very end and then I want you to read it backwards. Bottom to top. I want you to start at the last sentence and then slowly read up until you get to the little white bar.
Got that?
See you on the other side!
______________________________________
And sweet dreams ;)
Thanks for volunteering BTW!
Oh, but before I forget, M̴̱̺̒͌i̸̻̘͝s̶͙̹̅ẗ̵̩̰́e̶̤͛͝ṟ̶̎ ̴̱̋͠T̸̜̏i̶̹̐̔͜c̶͚͖̑k̸͓̾̽ ̴̗̔̐Ṫ̷̠͊ō̴̢͉͊c̵̰̒k̵̟̿͐ has a rather peculiar voice. It takes some getting used to, so before he visits you tonight I thought I'd share a small recording. Just to get you in the mood.
On that note, I suppose I'd better be signing off. After all, I've gotta get started on making some new memories, haven't I?
Tick tock.
The most important rule is that he cannot takes memories he isn't offered. First, you need to summon him. Properly. You have to read his true name. Speak it out loud. You have to visualize him in your mind's eye and crucially, give him time to find you. To bind to you. Three minutes oughta do.
I mean, what the hell do you want me to do? You're in too deep now. Even if I wanted to pull you out I wouldn't be able to. Like I said, M̴̱̺̒͌i̸̻̘͝s̶͙̹̅ẗ̵̩̰́e̶̤͛͝ṟ̶̎ ̴̱̋͠T̸̜̏i̶̹̐̔͜c̶͚͖̑k̸͓̾̽ ̴̗̔̐Ṫ̷̠͊ō̴̢͉͊c̵̰̒k̵̟̿͐ operates on a different playing field than you or I. He has his own laws. His own rules.
I'll be sixty next year. I'm getting too old to make new memories. But you… you've got plenty of time. And besides, you said the words, didn't you?
I have to.
No. Shut up.
Time is beginning to slip away for me, one memory at a time and I'm losing sight of reality. That's why I'm giving him to you.
What if I told you I've forgotten my own daughter's name?
Sure, he started with the bad memories, the awful ones. But once those ran dry, he moved onto the good ones. Important memories. Did you know I can't recall my father's last words? Woops. How about my wife's birthday?
I'm fading.
So the two of us reading this backwards, we're safe. We can talk freely. I can let you know that I'm terrified, and that I didn't want to do this to you, but M̴̱̺̒͌i̸̻̘͝s̶͙̹̅ẗ̵̩̰́e̶̤͛͝ṟ̶̎ ̴̱̋͠T̸̜̏i̶̹̐̔͜c̶͚͖̑k̸͓̾̽ ̴̗̔̐Ṫ̷̠͊ō̴̢͉͊c̵̰̒k̵̟̿͐ made me. He's hungry, you understand? He's been having such cravings for human memories lately, and I just can't take it anymore.
It marches forward. Not back.
You and I are going to take a walk backwards because it's the only way I can be honest with you. See, M̴̱̺̒͌i̸̻̘͝s̶͙̹̅ẗ̵̩̰́e̶̤͛͝ṟ̶̎ ̴̱̋͠T̸̜̏i̶̹̐̔͜c̶͚͖̑k̸͓̾̽ ̴̗̔̐Ṫ̷̠͊ō̴̢͉͊c̵̰̒k̵̟̿͐ isn't like you or me. He doesn't follow our laws. But he has his own laws that he needs to obey, and what's the number one rule of time?
Yep. You're reading the right direction.
Hey, you made it.