gertrude is literally sooo funny and by that i mean completely fucking evil
shaky young woman who hasn’t slept in weeks: will this help? like…. like talk therapy? will it help with the nightmares?
gertrude, knowingly feeding this young woman’s subconscious to her eldritch patron for the rest of her natural born life and maybe after: yes it will help with the nightmares
gertrude, struggling not to purr like a cat that got two dinners from its two parents: do you feel better? :3
woman who has just shared the most intricately detailed account of the worst moment in her life that anyone has ever given: n…… no
gertrude: awww, well. let me get you a business card for someone who might help you with the nightmares.
gertrude: supplemental. it’s a shame i had to give that nice young woman new, worse nightmares.
[Image description: three screenshots of TMA transcripts.
1: Gertrude: Are you quite ready?
Lucia: (intake of breath) Ah – Um -… Will it help?
Gertrude: I’m sorry?
Lucia: Telling my story. Do you… will-will it help with the nightmares?
Gertrude: If that’s your primary goal, my dear, I would suggest you speak to a qualified counselor. We can suggest one, if you like.
That said, I do believe most people find the process of giving a statement to be rather… mm, cathartic. And whatever nightmares your experiences left you with, I’m sure they won’t be bothering you much longer.
2: They, um, haven’t told me what they found down there. They paid for my flight home, but haven’t told me anything. I don’t know anything. I, I just want to sleep. (businesslike tone) That’s it. That’s all I have. That’s what happened.
Gertrude: And… Do you feel any better?
Lucia: No.
Gertrude: Well that’s a shame. Hang on, let me see if I can find you the number for that counseling service. They’re, They’re actually quite good.
[As she speaks, she moves, and we hear the rustling of her clothes and a couple of footsteps.]
Lucia: If you say so.
[Tape clicks off.]
3: Dekker really came through with the explosives. It almost felt like cheating. Sad about the loss of history, but… Miss Wright didn’t seem to think the old gnostic church got many visitors anyway. I’m honestly impressed she had the strength to get through it, even if she does seem to have been.. deeply affected by it. [highlighting begins] Shame about the dreams. I would avoid them if I could. [highlighting ends]
At least we know for sure that these grand rituals can be disrupted by conventional means, though a more… nuanced approach will be needed for some of them, I’m sure.
Also… I can’t rely on having this much lead time. I’ve had ten years tracking supplicants drawn by the siren call of flesh, watching them gradually stockpiling meat. Very useful, in terms of preparation time for derailing the final push, but in future, I think I need to get a little bit more… pro-active.
