Tuesday's Disquiet 10.1
Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
Identity confirmed. You are Hinamori Amu. Updating records and categorizing as category 2-c, under contingency rules.
Amu wasn't listening. There was a lump in her throat, one which wouldn't go away no matter how hard she swallowed. She'd forgotten that day—she'd almost forgotten about Yui, even after they'd promised to write and call every chance they could. How could she? She was the worst friend ever!
The memory was still clear in her head, as bright as the day it had happened, and she resolved that she would never forget it again. The spirit had gone through other memories afterwards, like those of Conception and her exaltation, but she had a feeling—by the way older memories had kept popping up—that it hadn't had an easy time of it.
She was a horrible person. How could she just forget about her best friend?
You hold an activated, partial instance of the Catalyst, what you refer to as the Humpty Lock. As such, you have access rights to most of the information in this system. What do you want to know?
She let out a shaky breath. Yui was… Yui was important, especially to her eight-year-old self, but there was far more at stake here than a single friendship. So, despite the tears stinging at the corners of her eyes, she tried to put it all aside and think carefully about what it was saying.
Despite the way it was talking, it didn't sound like a computer. She thought she had some experience with sapient computers, by now, and those didn't have emotions. She was getting a little unsure about Exa, but not in the same way. This spirit definitely had emotions; right now it sounded eager, even if its choice of wording didn't.
There were lots of things she could ask it, but she'd start with the reason she was here.
"I was sent here to unseal you, I think, but right now I'm not sure what that means."
The sense of expectation jumped ten-fold. Amu bit her lip, trying to pick her words carefully. It had already agreed to tell her the truth, or nothing at all, and she didn't think there were any loopholes in that agreement.
"First… what exactly are you? Who are you? What would unsealing you mean? You have something to do with guardian characters, right?"
I do.
That was the first time it had used a personal pronoun, she thought.
In life, I was known as Sugawara no Michizane. I lived, and then I died, but that was not the end. A myriad of gods inhabit this land, each empowered by the faith of those who know them, and so—in time—it came to be that I would join their number, as Tenman-Tenjin, the god of learning.
My life as a god would outlast that as a man. I watched over the people, taking joy in their successes and sympathising with their failures, while occasionally granting boons to those deserving; those who valued learning over all else, or to whom I took liking. As you did, once upon a time. On occasion I can still do so, but events have conspired to limit my free will.
"You were sealed."
Silence.
She nodded to herself. It was like talking to a different person; probably because she'd asked him who, he was able to relate his personal history, and it made him sound far more human. Probably the seal was exactly what was forcing him to follow these rules, and made him sound like a computer, but the seal itself wasn't sapient; the god was.
"What would you do, if you could make your own choices?" She asked.
I would spread my boons as widely as my powers allow. I would grant learning to all those who wish for it, all who follow the path of the scholar, save only that they keep striving.
"You would give everyone shugo charas?"
I would not have the power for that.
"But you would, if you could. Or…" She blinked. "It's the seal that lets you do so?"
Silence, again. Which could mean that any answer he was willing to give would be a lie, or it could mean that the seal would not let him tell the truth. Well.
"Could you do so before being sealed?"
I could not.
Right. She scratched her head, wondering how to figure this one out. There was also the matter of exactly how she could break that seal, but she'd worry about that after deciding to do it. Nyarlathotep hopefully wouldn't have sent her here if she didn't have a way to do so, but even if he did—
"Speaking of which, what do you know about Nyarlathotep?"
The mood in the room seemed to darken, and when he continued there was a tone in his 'voice' that she couldn't identify.
I was approached with an offer, a decade ago, from two beings of power that called themselves Nyarlathotep and Philemon. Of the two, I thought Nyarlathotep the darker one, and did not pay as much attention to Philemon's part in the exchange. This was my mistake.
Philemon? That name… seemed like something she might have overhead, somewhere, but she actually hadn't. She would have remembered if she had.
She guessed she could understand Tenman's reaction. She'd felt the same way.
"Okay. Before I do anything, though—"
[ ] What do you mean, "Catalyst"?
[ ] Can you tell me a little more about yourself?
[ ] Where exactly am I? Where's Io and the others?
[ ] Write-in
A/N: I gave you so many ways to mess up here, but noo~. Well, let's try some more.
Feel free to combine votes in every imaginable and unimaginable way. You almost certainly do want a write-in.
Amu wasn't listening. There was a lump in her throat, one which wouldn't go away no matter how hard she swallowed. She'd forgotten that day—she'd almost forgotten about Yui, even after they'd promised to write and call every chance they could. How could she? She was the worst friend ever!
The memory was still clear in her head, as bright as the day it had happened, and she resolved that she would never forget it again. The spirit had gone through other memories afterwards, like those of Conception and her exaltation, but she had a feeling—by the way older memories had kept popping up—that it hadn't had an easy time of it.
She was a horrible person. How could she just forget about her best friend?
You hold an activated, partial instance of the Catalyst, what you refer to as the Humpty Lock. As such, you have access rights to most of the information in this system. What do you want to know?
She let out a shaky breath. Yui was… Yui was important, especially to her eight-year-old self, but there was far more at stake here than a single friendship. So, despite the tears stinging at the corners of her eyes, she tried to put it all aside and think carefully about what it was saying.
Despite the way it was talking, it didn't sound like a computer. She thought she had some experience with sapient computers, by now, and those didn't have emotions. She was getting a little unsure about Exa, but not in the same way. This spirit definitely had emotions; right now it sounded eager, even if its choice of wording didn't.
There were lots of things she could ask it, but she'd start with the reason she was here.
"I was sent here to unseal you, I think, but right now I'm not sure what that means."
The sense of expectation jumped ten-fold. Amu bit her lip, trying to pick her words carefully. It had already agreed to tell her the truth, or nothing at all, and she didn't think there were any loopholes in that agreement.
"First… what exactly are you? Who are you? What would unsealing you mean? You have something to do with guardian characters, right?"
I do.
That was the first time it had used a personal pronoun, she thought.
In life, I was known as Sugawara no Michizane. I lived, and then I died, but that was not the end. A myriad of gods inhabit this land, each empowered by the faith of those who know them, and so—in time—it came to be that I would join their number, as Tenman-Tenjin, the god of learning.
My life as a god would outlast that as a man. I watched over the people, taking joy in their successes and sympathising with their failures, while occasionally granting boons to those deserving; those who valued learning over all else, or to whom I took liking. As you did, once upon a time. On occasion I can still do so, but events have conspired to limit my free will.
"You were sealed."
Silence.
She nodded to herself. It was like talking to a different person; probably because she'd asked him who, he was able to relate his personal history, and it made him sound far more human. Probably the seal was exactly what was forcing him to follow these rules, and made him sound like a computer, but the seal itself wasn't sapient; the god was.
"What would you do, if you could make your own choices?" She asked.
I would spread my boons as widely as my powers allow. I would grant learning to all those who wish for it, all who follow the path of the scholar, save only that they keep striving.
"You would give everyone shugo charas?"
I would not have the power for that.
"But you would, if you could. Or…" She blinked. "It's the seal that lets you do so?"
Silence, again. Which could mean that any answer he was willing to give would be a lie, or it could mean that the seal would not let him tell the truth. Well.
"Could you do so before being sealed?"
I could not.
Right. She scratched her head, wondering how to figure this one out. There was also the matter of exactly how she could break that seal, but she'd worry about that after deciding to do it. Nyarlathotep hopefully wouldn't have sent her here if she didn't have a way to do so, but even if he did—
"Speaking of which, what do you know about Nyarlathotep?"
The mood in the room seemed to darken, and when he continued there was a tone in his 'voice' that she couldn't identify.
I was approached with an offer, a decade ago, from two beings of power that called themselves Nyarlathotep and Philemon. Of the two, I thought Nyarlathotep the darker one, and did not pay as much attention to Philemon's part in the exchange. This was my mistake.
Philemon? That name… seemed like something she might have overhead, somewhere, but she actually hadn't. She would have remembered if she had.
She guessed she could understand Tenman's reaction. She'd felt the same way.
"Okay. Before I do anything, though—"
[ ] What do you mean, "Catalyst"?
[ ] Can you tell me a little more about yourself?
[ ] Where exactly am I? Where's Io and the others?
[ ] Write-in
A/N: I gave you so many ways to mess up here, but noo~. Well, let's try some more.
Feel free to combine votes in every imaginable and unimaginable way. You almost certainly do want a write-in.
Code:
QuelI->{
EXiV[zep]->{
tikz hymm & vigiga nuih
}}->Exec->[TzW];
Last edited:
