Inbox

[itsjustabaddream]

INBOX OF NEIL WEST

Neil would be happy to hear from you. Leave a comment below to reach out. You can pay him a visit at home, or send him a letter any time.

GAME NAV ✦ THE OCULARUM

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at the doctor's home

[i_didnt_mean_to]

(CW: mentions of suicidal ideation, further discussion will be about the act itself. I will do my best not to be graphic, but please correct me if I go too far.)

Please forgive Mary's knock. It probably sounds unusual because she uses her whole forearm instead of just her fist. Her fist is small and she worries about the knock being too soft to be heard.

She is... she is trying not to bolt. Like she said to Doctor First Aid, she needs help with her mental health, and he recommended Dr. West. But... there's still part of her that is ashamed to admit what she sees as her weakness. (The fact that everyone else seems to have died due to external factors and her death was... internally driven... means she's been hiding it.)

"Please be in," she mumbles softly, eyes on the door, "Please be in, please..."

[itsjustabaddream]

[ No worries abt the CW! It's not a trigger of mine, just warn as-necessary in the subject line for anyone else who might drop by for a read :) ]

"Coming!"

There is a bit of shuffling behind the door as Dr. West hurries to the door. He opens it, confused at first, until he looks down. "Oh! Hello, Miss, my apologies. How can I help you?"

January | Which Is Life, And Which The Dream?

[lastofthefirst]

Doctor West, take hold of your courage, something shocking has happened. Someone is here, during office hours. Specifically, Our Vikas is here, shaking her cloak off in the doorway where, y'know, one does so, to shed the snow; she looks around with a curious expression, taking in the room with the odd small nod, before fixing her attention on Neil.

"You're the oneiromancer, yes?"

(Oneiromancer; one who performs divination via dreams, from the Greek. More colloquially, given that English has dog shit words for 'magic', one who performs sorceries derived from or relating to dreaming).

[itsjustabaddream]

"I haven't heard that term since I left Providence," Neil remarks, bemused. "Yes, that's me. How may I help you?"

Suddenly Post-BOOM houseguest

[sistermagnetic]

The couch that she's woken up on is anomalously comfortable. It's almost enough to make her not question overly much how she got here in between the pulsing of her headache. At least, until the previous day catches up to her, and she can only flop back the couple of inches she'd risen with her hands pressed over her face. She really wishes that she still had her sunglasses.

"Where...?" A peek between her fingers tells her that this is not somewhere that she's been before. She didn't end up in some new god's sitting room, did she? They're going to be getting a piece of her mind if so...

[itsjustabaddream]

It is about this time that Dr. Neil West is wandering from his bedroom to start on his morning tea. He almost doesn't notice the stranger in his home, but when he does, he startles audibly. "Oh! My goodness, ah--- ho-how did you--- Who---" His hair is a mess, and he's in his nightshirt. How embarrassing.

A house-call, post The Dream

[witheredpeonies]

Surprise, Neil, Annabel Lee has shown up for her lessons a couple days after the AU dream in a bit of a stormcloud mood. But she has still shown up. After all, who beside the dream therapist would be best to talk to about this?

[itsjustabaddream]

Neil opens his mouth to greet her, but then immediately notices the energy shift and has to take a second.

"Good afternoon, Annabel Lee. You seem out of sorts, if you don't mind my saying. Are you well?"

Late February | Offices of Neil West

[restingslasherface]

Jean calls ahead before showing up, though surprise of all surprises since I keep forgetting to include him in threads they've brought Hungry with them, the Ghastly floating just behind Jean's shoulder with an over-serious air. Every now and again Jean throws the creature a bit of fish over their shoulder, which he catches without ceasing his expression of Great Seriousness which one might otherwise associate with - and all credit to Mister Neil Gaiman for this comparison - small children and mountain gorillas.

Knock knock.

[itsjustabaddream]

Don't worry, I've forgotten Neil's Gengar repeatedly.

Neil answers the door with a nod. "Hello, Jean. Do come in." He stands aside to allow them passage. "What was it that you said you needed?"

March 1st, ACTUALLY TALKING ABOUT STUFF

[pineapplesalmon]

Well. That conversation with Eddie a while back was... enlightening that he's not doing as well as he likes to pretend he is.

He knocks on the door, standing kind of awkwardly there.

[itsjustabaddream]

There is the sound of a chair scooting across hardwood floors from behind the door, and Neil opens the red door to his cottage, a shop bell ringing softly. He looks a bit surprised--- normally people only knock if they're a guest, but clients tend to let themselves in. "Oh! Hello there. What can I do for you?"

paying a visit

[littlefairytale]

It's the part about dreams that Ruby actually recognised, when she saw Neil's flyers. Dream magic on Remnant is the realm of one specific Grimm, but Erin introduced her to the less hostile form early on in their relationship. It's still some of the best sleep she's ever gotten.

The thing is, Erin's struggling too. Even if she wasn't, Ruby finds that she's terrified of letting anyone close to her see what's really wrong. But the longer she goes without so much as saying the truth aloud, the worse she feels. And the worse she feels, the less stable she is.

It takes hours lying in bed on one of her days off to convince herself to come here. There's nothing planned about it, no advance contact, nothing but that stubborn riding of a wave you have to catch before it passes you by never to be seen again. By the time she's made it to his door it already feels like its waning. She keeps raising her hand to knock and then letting it fall again as she considers turning on her heel to head back into town.

At one point she actually turns to leave, only to hesitate two steps away from the door then turn back and knock quickly before she can change her mind again.

[itsjustabaddream]

A whisp of red magical light and energy twirls around the door handle, and the door opens itself. A bell like one might find on the door of a business jingles merrily to welcome Ruby inside.

"Come in!" The chipper and upbeat voice of a man calls from inside.

By Appointment

[misbegottendreamer]

When Drelasa arrives at the clinic, just a little earlier than scheduled, she's giving off a very strong feeling of nerves. This is the first time she's ever let herself be vulnerable about her dreams, outside the very isolated community of Kogoruhn. Even her bells seem reserved compared to the usual, their jingles soft and indecisive, suggesting that her movements are a little more hesitant.

"Good day, muthsera. I... apologize that I am a little early. I did not want to risk being late on account of something unexpected."

[itsjustabaddream]

"Ah, hello! You're not too terribly early." Neil smiles brightly, standing up and coming around his desk to offer a handshake. "Honestly, I prefer to start a little early. Then we finish early, and it feels like we've stolen back a little bit of time from the day, doesn't it?"

therapy in media res

[littlefairytale]

There's a lot of context, to the why of Ruby Rose. It's easy to fill a session or two with just explaining the things Dr. West needs to know for anything Ruby says to make sense.

That Remnant is a planet plagued by monsters called Grimm that are drawn to negative emotions, so common and so dangerous that human civilisation is limited to seven major safe cities and scattered settlements that can be wiped out at any time. That people like her start combat training as soon as they hit double digits, if not sooner, because the world needs Huntsmen. That she'd grown up wanting to be like her missing mother, a Huntress, a hero. That she'd been bumped ahead two years to the big academy and was made leader, a mantle that seems to settle over her like a shroud. That her school was destroyed by a powerful witch who can't be killed and who her family had been a part of fighting, in the shadows, for years without her knowing. That she, like her mother, was supposed to be special, because her eyes are silver and hold a unique power.

That she'd watched two of her best friends die because she was a second too late to save them, and people still keep getting hurt on her watch no matter what she does.

The running theme is this overwhelming sense of guilt and responsibility, like she's drowning in it. That theme only becomes louder and louder, as they begin to hone in on the straw the broke the child prodigy's back and brought her here.

"...between here and the last world I was stuck in, I spent— I spent maybe five days at home. And those were maybe—" her voice goes up an octave just by pulling tight, "the worst days of my life? Which— I-I mean that's saying something, I guess."

[itsjustabaddream]

"Mmm." Neil hums his acknowledgement while writing, then speaks once he's finished taking his notes. "And the last world you were stuck in, that was the ship, yes? I cannot imagine that helped the situation at all."

He sets aside his notepad, going for a coffee cup instead. "You've spent so much of your life shouldering responsibility that was too large for you. Not because you are too weak to carry the weight--- on the contrary, you are a person of impressive strength. It was too large because it would be unfair to ask any one person to bear all of that. And now you feel responsible for things just as a matter of course, even when no one is asking you to. You're struggling to let things not be your fault."

A Letter | July

[somebodychildofanyone]

The letter arrives by normal mail; the thick parchment of the envelope is branded with the la Croix family crest (a cross wreathed in thorns, with a skull in the middle), which Neil may well recognize as it's also River's mark on her forged material. Should he bother to even open and read it, it reads thusly, in River's oddly scratchy, nearly runic handwriting:

Doctor West,

It is with considerable thought and great reluctance that I breach the silence between us, but I truly do not see another option. I have been given the recent information about events at the Larkin Estate; this, combined with the reported events during your attempted seance, have me worried. Scratch worried, they have me up at four in the morning writing this letter, neck-deep in bourbon. If the location is still a locus of power it bodes ill, even if it is 'merely' cursed rather than an active malevolence. To my grave misfortune, however, most of my training was in very practical applications of my magics, leaving me a bit weak in more esoteric learnings, particularly those of hauntings rather than direct exorcisms (e.g. forcing the ghost in front of me to pass beyond to the Sunless Lands). So while I have some ideas for potential cleansings, I am reluctant simply to act on them, especially as the one I'm most certain about is also perhaps the most extreme.

So it is that I humbly request that you reply, by letter or by sending stone, in the hopes of arranging a consultation at the location of your choice on the matter of the Larkin Estate. Even if your opinion on the matter is that I can do as I please, I would rather have you informed of my intent so that you do not mistake my action and/or egregious misuse of power as a hostile action, as causing distress or a public panic is the furthest possible thing from my desire. I am out of my depth, Doctor.

Respectfully,

River la Croix, necromancer

[itsjustabaddream]

The letter comes at a terrible time, which is directly after a deeply unpleasant conversation with someone who he previously felt able to confide in. River's partner, in fact. So when the letter arrives, Neil is none to pleased to see it and dreads what it might say.

Still, he opens it out of morbid curiosity and is... surprised by what's in it.

It's formal, but mature and respectful. And it hits him right in his weak spot--- someone is having trouble sleeping. He groans, and reaches for his sending stone, calling River.

Visit to Neil's House

[apocryphalarchivist]

After the sending stone call to pick a time, Jon makes sure to keep it punctual as he's able. No part of this is going to be fun for either of them; it was already bound to be bad enough when these things came to a head, but after the blight, it was bound to be so much worse. (He still gets headaches when storms sweep over the island.)

He's just gotten to shore leave for the next few weeks when he crosses town to Northwest Hollow, and after a hesitant knock, he lets himself inside, calling into the home.

"Neil? Are you in?"

Best to rip this off like a band-aid.

[itsjustabaddream]

Neil is, as usual, at his desk. "Oh, Jon! Good to see you. Yes, do come in! I had been hoping you would stop by, actually."

Belonging | Early September

[restingslasherface]

Jean is over at Neil's place. This is not, in itself, unusual; they do have experience as an assistant librarian, so they're very handy for organizing notes or talking at when Neil needs someone to talk at for a theory or a design. But this time they'd said they wanted to talk, that they needed help with something themself, and it's clearly being difficult to work up to. This is Jean's second cup of tea and they hadn't even inquired about coffee instead, which they almost always do because tea low-key scares them. Reminds them too much of Madam Binah...

"...I spoke with Comrade Jon," Jean manages, at last. "And he helped, hahaha, clarify some thoughts for me. I want to say up front! That I am not saying this with intent to cease our association! I am trying to work through this and it's been unfair of me not to bring this up..."

"Doctor West, what is my role in your organization, to you? How is it that I...belong here, for lack of a better phrase?"

[itsjustabaddream]

Neil is condensing some papers, putting away some research or other in his basement (where such projects normally are contained) as he listens. His face almost imperceptibly contorts at the mention of Jon, before shifting to an expression of concern.

"I---" He starts, then stops, puzzled by the question. "Goodness, Jean, I'm--- sorry that you even need to ask."

Neil sets down what he's working on.

"First and foremost, Jean, you are a friend," Neil insists. "And before I get into anything else I would like to make it as clear as I can that no usefulness is required in order for you to be a part of this. Only a desire to help, which you have in spades."

"As for your... function, let us say, within the group, I would say that you have several. Recruitment, for one, and intel. No one is on the ground more than you are, when it comes to the things we're fighting. You also have less reservations about getting experimental, which is something I value as a similarly-minded individual, and you are also more physically inclined than most of our other members, making you our primary protector."

"Does that help?"

december.

[decrypter]

It's a newcomer who shyly walks up to the building - someone had given her directions to the place, but Helena's always hesitant when going somewhere new. But bundled up against the cold, she grips her cane in her hand, and reaches out to touch the door. Knock knock knock.

The last time she had spoken to someone calling herself a psychologist - Dr. Mesmer still frightens her in a way she cannot explain, something about her intensity and her manner. But someone like Dr. West is supposed to help, even with dreams - and Helena's nightmares are only going to get worse as winter descends.

Ithaqua. It comes back to him.

Hopefully, he's accepting new patients. When the door opens, it's a rather short young woman there, dark eyes slightly clouded, and yet with a set of glasses on her face. For luck, you see.

[itsjustabaddream]

The little bell above the door jingles and a voice comes from a hallway a short distance away. "Coming!"


The voice of the owner appears shortly after. Hurried footsteps, the shuffle of papers, a hip check to a piece of furniture. A hard surface covered in writing implements, based on the way it rattles. "Hello! So sorry to keep you waiting, miss. Were you looking to make an appointment?"

first visit!

[carefulinspekshun]

After being in town for the better part of a week, grinding himself into the pavement to establish a sense of normalcy and rebuild that ground-level of life, Hector catches wind of a therapist in town. God Grove certainly didn't have any of those (likely part of the problem with everything, really), and they were just as scarce in Drain. It's hard not to feel like he has a responsibility to try to seek out some kind of help, though, considering everything he'd done in his downward spiral.

That doesn't stop him from looking any less than incredibly nervous when he finally bites the bullet and makes the first visit to the office of West Dream Analytics.

He opens the door sheepishly to the home (someone else running their business out of their home, that's novel!), into the little entry area, pulling his face from his scarf to offer a sheepish grin to the man behind the desk. Don't freak out. It's just therapy. People do this all the time. It's fine.

(Gods, he's nauseous.)

"'Scuse me, sowwy for coming without an appointment. I was wondering if... Dr. West's taking new pay-shunts right now?"

[itsjustabaddream]

The little bell jingles, and Neil looks up.

"Why, hello there!" Neil grins in a way that seems to just light up the space. "No need to apologize, my friend, I don't mind walk-ins. And yes, I'm absolutely taking new patients right now! Why don't you come over to the desk and I'll get you the paperwork?"