poly_chromatic | second reflection -- this is such a broken place; voice

Entry tags:

touhou project - shikieiki yamaxanadu

second reflection -- this is such a broken place; voice

...Well, that was not the most welcoming of experiences. The City's gods cast a net over the good and the evil alike, making immense sacrifice just to catch not only the true criminals, but also the repentant and the innocent. If this is a typical sample of the CIty's behavior, it is no wonder the place is in chaos and is hated by so many.

...My policy is usually one of non-interference. As a Yama, I am not to toy with the lives and actions of mortals. My place is at the end of the road, on the boundary of life and death. (...I sound like Yukari.) Still, here, my position as I knew it does not exist...so I must find something else. Still...I have not enough information about this place to determine my best course of action yet. I need to gather more information, and not just about the cruelty of the gods here.

I will understand what has happened to me, but I will not blindly accept it. I will do whatever I can, to assist the City in the ways that are right.

What I can do...remains to be seen. I only hope I can help to prevent the next catastrophe, or else intercept it.

How broken this City is.

(Filtered to Nobori)

(Her voice is calm, quiet, almost meditative. Not quite distant, but not empathetic, either.)

Nobori-san, did you escape with the rest of them?

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I did not intend to escape, but my partner and I was driven out by the throng of prisoners when I stepped out to see what was happening...

[His voice sounds heavy and tired.]

You sound like you need rest. Have you gotten any sleep?

A little. Do not be concerned, Shikieiki-sama. [It's not so much the lack of sleep as the idea that he won't be able to go home that's weighing down on him. There's some faint rustling of fabric in the silence before he speaks again:]

My brother was in the city for two days. [And he's suddenly changed the topic. To say that he's been one-track minded lately would be an understatement, but he seems to think this is relevant.]

[She pauses for a bit. Perhaps she should leave him to his thoughts...

No. Not now. He clearly finds this important, and wants to converse. And speaking to him here is ridding her of that ticking sound, just a little...what is that, and why is it there when the world is more quiet?]

It is good, that you were able to see him, even for a short while.

Edited 2013-05-03 15:33 (UTC)

Indeed, I was glad. [There's a smile, something like a light laugh, audible in his voice, but whether it's more happy or bitter is unclear.] I was so happy to see him again, that I let him believe we had only been separated briefly... he decided to let me show him around, but in doing so, I realized something: I didn't have any idea where one went to enjoy themselves in this City.

I was so focused on working and storing food and necessities, I failed to make the best of my time— of his time here...

Which brings us to the next station:

[His voice sounds determined now, almost commanding for its strength, but the wording is polite as always:] Shikieiki-sama, if I am henceforth bound to this place, I want to make the best of our shared time here. [For a request made even partially out of desperate loneliness, it sounds very bold:]

Shikieiki-sama, Will you join me in discovering the attractions this City has to offer? [~~I'm sure he's perfectly unaware that it sounds like he's asking her out.~~]

[Nobori can't see her immediate reaction, which is a very controlled but emphatic raise of her brows. Apply the usual conversion factor between Shikieiki's emotional display and everyone else's, and this would be equivalent to a wide-eyed smirk in a combination of amusement and surprise. Oh, sure, it's gone a second later, but the particular wording was just the perfect combination of strange and classic. It is amusing enough to pierce her voice just a bit.]

Of course, Nobori-san. Keep in mind, though, that I know very little of the City, and so...well, I will not have any advice on where we should go. Nor am I particularly experienced in what one does in such a place, having neither lived in a city nor traveled one with the company of another person.

[I will remain as I am, no matter what influences others may exert, she thinks, in a passing thought so small it is effectively subconscious.]

...And I would think that having me along would be a little strange to you, after our meeting at the prison. (Having someone stare into your soul must be a bit...well, unbalancing for a couple of people. In a situation where she wasn't herself, and was perhaps a mortal, or simply didn't have her position, she would have refrained from using the mirror on friends.]

[ooc: OH MY GOSH I CAN'T STOP LAUGHING. He's trying SO HARD. I want to give him a hug! (Also, they both have the Authoritative Voice thing. It's amusing.)

And yes. yes it does sound exactly like he's trying very adorkably to ask her out. I don't think she does any better in reply. They are the most stilted couple of folks ever. XD]

Edited 2013-05-03 17:43 (UTC)

It is no matter! We will judge the destinations on trial and error! [He says, undeterred. ~~Nobori, you neglected your duties yesterday too. Nobori, what are you doing?~~]

((He's giving it his absolute best! If this were video, I'd bet he would be pointing-and-calling too! xDD

Most adorkable, both of them! ♥))

[At the second point she brings up, he sounds more restrained:]

Then, allow me to judge your sincerity in my own, simple way, before I decide for myself whether or not your company is desirable. Please answer this: was it your intent, when you used that mirror, to humiliate and expose me? Or was that only an unavoidable outcome of your search for the truth?

[The answer is not difficult at all.]

I cannot change the atmosphere that the mirror provides, nor can I determine unquestionable truth in any other way. Were I to have a quieter, less -- frankly -- disturbing method, I would have used it. It has no less an effect on the living than the dead, and I have seen thousands of reactions to it. Only for a few is it desirable, as most spirits do not need to be shamed or frightened into cooperation for the process.

It was quite a debate in my mind, as to whether I should have done so or not, at the time. I was aware of the effect that it causes, combined with your already unfortunate situation...but at the same time, I will not keep the company of willful criminals, and I prefer to have as complete information about my associates as I need to assess their character. Also, with regards to the state of the prison, I wanted to know the trend of the inmates there. I discovered a number of innocents, and that informed me much about the ways of the so-called deities here.

All things considered, it was correct to do in order to know the facts. The additional effects were unnecessary for your case, and I would have prevented them had I been able.

Does that answer your question?

Edited 2013-05-03 18:36 (UTC)

[Indeed, it does!]

We will meet by the fountain, if now is an appropriate time.

[She needs no further confirmation.]

I will be there as soon as I can walk there. Give me...about ten minutes.

To the next station...

Depart!

Sha~n!

(ooc: http://tampered.dreamwidth.org/968440.html )

It's not hated by everyone.

I can help you with the information part, if you want.

So I see from the Network, but so far the prevailing opinion in the population to whom I have spoken, is that the City is too arbitrary and frightening to be a comfortable place to live. Still, I have not seen enough opinions to say that is a majority, I suppose.

I am not so sure what information I need first. Really, I just want to make sense of why anything is happening here, and that appears to be the most elusive of all.

Oh, no--I think most people do hate it, or at least want to go home. There're a handful of us who really like it here, though, even with the curses. We don't have anywhere else to go.

Can't help you there. There've been ideas, but I don't think many people are looking for the whys so much as they're looking for a way out. I don't know if it'll help, but this has some ideas. It's super outdated, though.

[It takes her a while to read, but then she replies.]

This is...very enlightening, although as you said, it appears somewhat outdated given the new deities here.

Most of the residents here are human, but are from so many different worlds...I wonder why it is that those worlds seem to prefer humans. I would expect completely different creatures.

And this explains the ticking noise and why it dims when I am near others. ...That is...intriguing, and disconcerting, considering that I spend quite a lot of time alone.

Yeah... like I said, no one's really into figuring the City out anymore, and most of us weren't even here for the stuff that guide talks about.

I never thought about that...

If you like animals, they help. I have two dogs and a fish; they keep the ticking muffled, at least. And maybe I'm crazy, but when I go for walks in Xanadu--that's the huge garden--it seems like it's quieter.

...It is so strange, that none of you wish to know more about the place that is mystifying and tormenting to you.

Hmm. I could certainly go to the garden, and I could at least passingly visit Reiuji-san in the temple. Still, I need to continue coordination with the police here to see if I can find a line of work.

Kind of. We have a lot of sciency people here, too; it's weird that they're not more into figuring the City out.

[Penny doesn't really care, herself. Her concerns lie elsewhere.]

You'll find something. Captain Rogers is a good guy.

It is good to hear an endorsement for him. I look forward to speaking with him.

Thank you for all your help, Penny. You are truly an asset to the City, and you have quite a selfless way of acting as far as I've seen you.

Good luck--although I don't think you'll need it.

Sure, not a problem. [Uh oh, what to do with a compliment?] Oh... thank you. I mean, I try.

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second reflection -- this is such a broken place; voice

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