text | un: tequila sunset

[horrifictie]

greetings citizens.

behold: the city speaks! it is a raven that appears in my mind's eye, without a voice and yet with speech all the same. cool cryptid shit. im a superstar prophet now.

do you have any questions you want to ask the city? i'll ask them for you. no lame questions and only one a person! cant waste my new friends time with TRIVIAL mortal concerns.

[ ooc: this is related to harry's new power and questions will be relegated to the mods for answers. there might be a response delay while I wait for the mods to respond so just keep that in mind! ]

Comments

[horrifictie]

at the moment? no.
it is still recovering from the curse.
the same as everyone else.
and we need to help it.
only we can keep it alive.

[worldbent]

Ah, is that what was meant by Haniyasu-no-kami?

How little faith the gods have in us. I can't blame them, considering the state of humanity's faith in them.

What will happen if this place "dies"? Isn't that a little ironic for the land of the dead?

[horrifictie]

very ironic!
i theorize it will revert to its original state.
perhaps resembling the wasteland?

[worldbent]

Does the city know who it was before the Enma took control?

[horrifictie]

the raven told me there was no city before the enma.
however, the enma didn't create the city either. they just help run it.

[worldbent]

I see. I suppose that means that King Enma may be holding out on us, after all.

Thank the city for me, please.

By the by. This is also something you could do, in your home city? What was your home city like? Its consciousness, I mean.

[horrifictie]

yes, i could!
revachol whispered to me through the wind, the rain, the shivers of the falling snow.
she was not a chatty one. only spoke when she wished to.
though it is an old storied city, she sounded young.

[worldbent]

Revachol. That’s right, you are Kim-san’s friend.

["Friend"? He isn’t entirely sure what the exact relationship is between these two, but he has seen a handful of interesting remarks shared between them.]

Kim-san told me that there were no ayakashi in his world, and yet. It seems the Sightless will always dismiss what they can’t understand with their own senses.

[horrifictie]

yep! kim's my best bud.

[ pay no mind to how they spatted on aerith's public post, it's all good fun. ]

and of course he told you that
kim is what i would call a "normal person"
in that he believes only in what he can perceive with his eyes
i've tried talking to him about the supra-natural before and he never bought into it
though i imagine being here has made him more open-minded against his will!

I hope Kim is reading this and grumbling somewhere

[worldbent]

Ahhh, the assumed understanding of normalcy. I understand what you mean, of course.

Because I grew up in a society where most of those around me had some ability to perceive the supernatural, or at least the understanding of their existence, I suppose I could count myself lucky.

We actually met in the Enma's processing, so you could say I had a hand in guiding him through this new world of perception.

Isn’t it fortunate that he had such an opportunity? But I am glad that he has someone such as you who is able to translate the concepts of my world into one you can understand.

Does that mean that you have an understanding of this realm, the "Pale"?

kim fuming over talking cities

[horrifictie]

whoaaa
that's so cool.
nobody believes in the supra-natural where im from!


well ok some do
but they are mostly weird hacks
and some of them really are that.

but wow you know about Pale?
im surprised.
kim hates talking about it.

wait til he hears about houses with feelings

[worldbent]

There are those types where I am from as well.

It is always so strange to see humans who desire so badly to see the terrifying things they are preserved from. Oh well. If they can make light of their freedom, let them.

Does he? I suppose it was in an effort to understand a common ground between our worlds. A space with a vast and far-reaching consciousness, is that about right?

[horrifictie]

something like that
i dont know very much about it myself on account of amnesia!
but from what i have been told:
it is rarefied past
transmitting and receiving

[worldbent]

[what]

Amnesia? Fascinating. I don't think I have spoken with an amnesiac before.

[He takes a longer few minutes to think about what exactly that description could mean, from context. Memory and anti-matter, Kim had called it. A place where men entered and forgot who they were.]

There is not a mortal place like that where I am from, but ayakashi spaces can sometimes have similar effects. I believe spending too much time in the Sanzu River may have a similar effect, due to the prevalence of souls.

Have you experienced it? Being in the Pale.

[horrifictie]

[ he imagines most haven't! he's happy to be a curiosity though. it appeals to his ego to be special. interesting about the sanzu river though... ]

no. or if i have, i do not recall.
the only people who go near pale are lorry drivers or those who travel between isolas on aerostatic for business or immigration purposes mainly.
it is advised to keep pale travel to a minimum due to radioactive effects on the mind.
those who travel in excess are liable to develop insanity.

[worldbent]

[Radioactive effects...? That explains a lot of unanswered questions, to Matoba's mind.]

I see. This Pale is a truly fascinating subject.

But you know, those who cannot, say that those who can perceive the supernatural are mad, as well. Do you think it is just a misunderstanding on the part of those who have not been bathed in it?

[horrifictie]

oh not a misunderstanding at all
i've met two women with extreme pale radiation
one is of the bourgeois ultra class
you would never guess her sickness
she is so rich that she can mask it

the other is a lorry driver
she lives more in memories than reality
sitting with a cigarette and living out lives that aren't her own
she likes it that way now

[worldbent]

The lorry driver. I think that I know someone like that as well.

[That someone is here, though.]

Our situations are not the same, but I think that it could be said that many of the oldest and wealthiest exorcist clans have their own, inescapable illnesses of sorts. It's the sort of thing that comes with history and not money, but the two often come together, don't they?

[horrifictie]

oh absolutely
the bourgeois are inbreds
they fuck their cousins to keep the bloodline pure

[worldbent]

[not the kind of illness he meant]

[but you know what, Harry isn’t wrong, so—]

Luckily I will be long in the grave by the time our blood runs that thin.

Or so I might hope. I haven’t been wed yet.

[horrifictie]

don't get married
and don't have children

[worldbent]

I'm afraid that's rather unavoidable when I am the head of such a clan. One might in fact say that the primary duty of a clanhead is to continue the bloodline, no?

Although perhaps you will not agree, since you don't seem to be a fan of the concept at its core.

[horrifictie]

let the bloodline end with you
a power move.

more seriously
it sounds like you will enter an arrangement for your clan?
that's a bit different than marrying for love

[worldbent]

Please. If I wanted to do that it would be far simpler than being childless.

[Free eye, anyone?]

But yes, that's correct.

A powerful daughter set to inherit from another clan, or from among one of the other houses the Matoba clan protects. This sort of thing is arranged neatly in advance. It's a very important business transaction for both sides, naturally.

[horrifictie]

a daughter? not a son?
how very feminist!