[ Randall M. Ceah, interdimensional traveler, journal entry for 10/11/2024 ]

I have ventured to many places and have had many strange encounters. This was up there as one of my most odd and terrifying events. With, I add, had a very humorous conclusion.

I opened an interdimensional door and took a cautious step out. Whenever entering a new dimension, a traveler always checks that the door has appeared on solid ground. My boot met with a stone floor and feeling confident, I exited. And as the door closed, I was met with architecture of a non-euclidian nature.

Such structures were not unfamiliar to me. The experience is disorienting and similar to motion sickness. But a seasoned traveler, like myself, can navigate such weird geometry. I had appeared at a sunken city and the ruins were ancient.

I explored the space, with its interesting hieroglyphics and gigantic structures. I took notes and photos, documenting and thinking nothing of the true nature of where I was. Then, I paused when I discovered that I was not alone in the ruins.

Upon entering an expansive chamber, my eyes met with the dark, sinister gaze of a very grumpy Great Old One. It was him, perhaps the most well known descendant of Azathoth, Great Cthulhu. I regretted hitting the randomizer on my dimensional door device.

We stared at each other for a while. I was petrified because encountering a deity was always harrowing, regardless of who they were. And I had to enter the house of one so harrowing as Cthulhu.

And the most frightening aspect was the fact that he was awake.

I took an experimental step back, away from the Great Old One. Cthulhu rose as I attempted to flee. Just one of the plethora of his tentacles from his face could crush an entire city. His draconic wings expanded outward, filling the chamber, and causing a gust of wind that caused me to stagger back.

Cthulhu stood up and I watched the gargantuan monstrosity rise. It was something I would never forget. My whole body went numb as the tentacles rose up and he opened his gaping maw. I thought that this was it, I was to be the meal of a Great Old One.

The tension in the air dropped as Cthulhu yawned. It was a low but somewhat humorous yawn. I looked around for an exit as Cthulhu stretched. I was about to flee when he spoke.

“You—a tourist?”

“Explorer,” I said without thinking.

Many confuse me as a tourist. It had become an involuntary reaction to correct them. Realizing my error of correcting a Great Old One, I knew this was it. He was about to step on me.

“Explorer? Did you wake me?” asked Cthulhu.

“No, you were awake when I arrived,” I said.

Cthulhu nodded and said, “Something woke me up. I seem to recall now.”

The fact I could understand Cthulhu made me question my own sanity. And having a conversation with a creature that humankind was not meant to understand did not help. But he was still dazed from awakening from his long slumber. It was the only reason I was still breathing.

Cthulhu’s eyes widened and he said, “I remember. Someone appeared above me and dropped something on my head. No, they threw it on my head.”

I wondered who would be suicidal enough to wake Great Cthulhu. His gaze went to the floor at his feet. I followed his eyes and there I saw two out-of-place artifacts. They were keyboards.

OOPart were common oddities on my travels. Usually they were things left behind by interdimensional tourists. But keyboards in R’lyeh? That was a new one, especially for a seasoned traveler like myself.

Cthulhu looked at me and pointed at the keyboards. He then demanded, “Pick those up.”

I obeyed and retrieved the keyboards. They were covered in a white crust that was unfamiliar to me. I looked up at Cthulhu out of curiosity and asked nervously, “What are they covered in?”

He then said “caked with eons” and I inquired no further. He did not make any further verbal demands. It was very clear that if I took the keyboards away from R’lyeh, he would let me leave unharmed.

Without another word or glance at Great Cthulhu, I left his slumber chamber. Everything around me shook as he went back to sleep. As I fled, I saw initials scratched on the underside of the keyboards:

“T.T.T.”

The Terrible Time Trasher! Again with this rebel and their endless quest to litter across the timeline! I wondered how long ago they appeared and dropped the keyboards on Cthulhu. I further wondered how long the Great Old One was waking before I entered his chamber.

I further examined the keyboards and found that they had sustained damage. One keyboard had its ‘W’ key broken and the other had the ‘A’ almost completely eroded away. Both keyboards saw heavy use and I planned on discarding them somewhere appropriate.

I then recalled a chance meeting I had at a convention. It was many years back and I met one intriguing individual by the name of Buck Bloom. Mr. Bloom was the only person at the convention who believed that I was an interdimensional traveler [and not a tourist].

Mr. Bloom had spoken of his interest in writing and recently texted me that he was on the verge of starting his own author’s website. I decided to send him a text informing him I had keyboards that made contact with Great Cthulhu.

Mr. Bloom responded to me promptly. Our texting conversation went as such:

ME: “Hello Mr. Bloom. Would you be interested in keyboards that were time displaced and made contact with a Great Old One?

MR. BLOOM: “Randy MC! Long time, traveler. You have keyboards of a unique origin then?”

ME: “Yes, I figured they would be good inspiration for your writing.”

MR. BLOOM: “Actually, for my new website, I have an idea to spell out the titles of my blog by using keyboard keys. So, what kind of shape are these keyboards in?”

ME: “They are very damaged and covered in the filth of eons. I was going to discard them but if you have a use for them would you like them?”

MR. BLOOM: “Yes. I could use them. I’ll rip and tear through them and make something beautiful with the keys.”

ME: “Alright, name a time and place to meet and I will deliver them.”

I met with Mr. Bloom at the appropriate time and place. He smiled but seemed tired and frustrated. Apparently designing a website from the ground up had taken a lot of his time. He seemed very eager to “rip and tear” through the keyboards.

Later that evening, Mr. Bloom texted me back. It was a long text that I will not regurgitate. However, I will note one item of interest. Mr. Bloom attempted to clean the keyboard keys to little avail.

They remained filthy, “caked with eons”, and Mr. Bloom sent me a picture that summed up their state:

I chuckled. Mr. Bloom still planned to use the keys for his blog. I wished him well and he asked me to keep in touch. If any unwanted keyboards came my way again, I was to contact him.

So, to recap, I met a renowned Great Old One, found that the wicked Terrible Time Trasher had struck again, and reconnected with a unique person with an appetite for destruction against keyboards.

What adventure will the next dimensional door lead to?

[ this concludes the journal entry of Randall M. Ceah on 10/11/24 ]

Please note, this was a work of fiction. Any names, places, products, or Great Old Ones featured in this work are purely fictitious. Any resemblance of actual persons, living or dead, are purely coincidental. The actual date of this work being written is 10/17/24. And remember, “In his house at R'lyeh, dead Cthulhu waits dreaming.”