[ people should stop dying first, that would greatly improve his mental health.
but he frowns right back and offers phoenix his phone so he can read the news clipping.
"A month after the disaster, the Harbinger building has remained closed to the public. This building is off limits and still under heavy repairs. Despite this, newspapers are still being written and are in circulation.
These prinnies first arrived with Pink Pig. They seemed to be some sort of servant, though when asked for more details they would only respond with “They are repaying their sins.” What sins those are were unclear at the time of questioning.
Pink Pig’s prinnies seem to spawn from the newspaper building. Though the hero is lost to us, the prinnies they brought to the world are still working to this day. Occasionally, they can be seen entering and exiting the newspaper building. While rumors are currently abound, none are confirmed. These prinnies may be the ones stocking the newspapers throughout the city. There has been some talk of the prinnies paying off their remaining debt, though when pressed they would not reveal any specific details. They maintain what secrecy Pink Pig asked of them."
and another letter:
"While the written word has power enough to shape reality, there seem to be some limitations. Something must be lost to attain something of equal value. If power is asked for, something must be sacrificed in turn. What luck. There are many heroes here to sacrifice, for plans they shall not understand. Their deaths shall be my fuel and with that fuel I will become empowered. May their worlds fall to me and burn under moonlight." ]
...does that sound familiar to you at all? Some of us were thinking that maybe all of these letters are happening in order to actually force reality and make us play the game.
Yup. [ poppping the 'p' a little because gods above this is annoying. but he sympathizes...it's a lot to think about. ] Puts a lot of context to why they're handwritten, if the written word is magical as well. But if that's true can't we just...I don't know, run these papers through a shredder and call the whole thing off?
...I think it would depend on how it was written and if the effects were already put into place. [ which is. annoying. ] I do wonder if it's possible to write our own words into reality instead to counterattack.
...fair enough. Maybe there is a way to undo everything that's been done but that requires more information than we have right now.
[ he tilts his head to that. ]
Do you think there's a reason they aren't sharing that information? I thought you guys were a team. [ it's mostly that...he wants to make sure it's not going to turn into (yet another) case of someone saying they want to help but it's for their own motives nobody knows about yet. ]
It's probably best to operate under the assumption that we can't undo it, for now. But we can't dismiss it entirely.
[ crosses his arms. ]
We are, and I do trust them. [ hmm. ] It's possible that they recognize the concept, but don't know much more about it than they've shared, or that they aren't sure if it's the exact same as what they know and don't want to give false impressions.
Like an added bonus rather than an expected outcome if it can work.
[ but that's fine. if phoenix trusts tiger then he can live with that. ]
Maybe. I think I can understand that, not wanting to give a false hope for something that could possibly not work or even backfire. With as many worlds as people come from, there's bound to be some overlap. I'm still open to trying just about everything I can, but I'm starting to run out of options myself.
Right. And so much of what we work off of are prophecies for the future. [ ... ] Then again shaping reality feels a little subjective doesn't it? Doesn't rewriting kind of fit into the idea of reshaping?
Oh. Yeah, it's...I can explain it if you really want, but it's basically something that predicts future events. Usually something major. And also usually something bad, but at least there's some loose interpretation to them. We never really know the true meaning until after events have happened. Will's father is the god of prophecy.
[ but okay. rewriting...reshaping...god. ]
Wonder if we could just cross out what's written on the pages we have and alter it that way. Like editing? If these things have already happened, but we just change them slightly, it would reroute the course of Oceanside's history wouldn't it?
[ coming from a sword whose mission is to protect the past to protect the future. usually he knows how things should go. ]
It... sounds possible. [ admittedly he seems the tiniest bit uncomfortable with it, if curious. ] We can certainly try it, if we can get our hands on that book.
Does anyone? [ idly. because all of the archives have been scrubbed and he's found that weird, too. but his expression softens a little and he looks at his hands, debating if he should bring up his next thought. ]
...that's all I really want, too, at this point. Even if it isn't their original home. If they can go somewhere they're happy or want to go, then...that's the ideal option. I haven't figured out how to make that possible yet is all.
Potentially the one who rewrote it all. So we may never be able to restore it to what it should be.
[ bummer. ]
Maybe that's something that this book could do, if we rewrite things how we like. [ ... ] That's probably another question for Tiger, though. All I can do is guess, and I'm not usually the one deciding what the right thing to do is, anyway.
Then I guess we focus on the future we want to see for this place when we leave it behind.
[ this sucks actually. but he frowns a little at that. ]
Okay but the thing is even if you aren't deciding what the "right thing" is, I trust you. [ pointblank. ] Not that I distrust Tiger but it's more...I don't know them well enough to know how much can be said. About everything I actually want and how to get there and what route we might be able to take now.
I am glad to hear that. [ see? he is charming. ] And I understand what you mean. I've been in the same boat before. I could try to relay what you want to say to Tiger for you, if you want... or we could go talk to them together. It might make them more comfortable to have me or one of the others there, same as you.
[ this icon is so cute i love you kanesan. anyway. ]
After this long, it'd be just a little sad if I didn't, right? But you've been straightforward with me and I appreciate that when everything else doesn't make a ton of sense. And I figured you'd get it. [ ...there's a curious noise though as he thinks that over. ] You think that'd help? I want to figure out the best way to solve this and start helping people line up the right pieces, but it's hard when we don't have a solid answer to why we should be doing things a certain way. I guess it comes down to that I don't want to make mistakes.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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but he frowns right back and offers phoenix his phone so he can read the news clipping.
"A month after the disaster, the Harbinger building has remained closed to the public. This building is off limits and still under heavy repairs. Despite this, newspapers are still being written and are in circulation.
These prinnies first arrived with Pink Pig. They seemed to be some sort of servant, though when asked for more details they would only respond with “They are repaying their sins.” What sins those are were unclear at the time of questioning.
Pink Pig’s prinnies seem to spawn from the newspaper building. Though the hero is lost to us, the prinnies they brought to the world are still working to this day. Occasionally, they can be seen entering and exiting the newspaper building. While rumors are currently abound, none are confirmed. These prinnies may be the ones stocking the newspapers throughout the city. There has been some talk of the prinnies paying off their remaining debt, though when pressed they would not reveal any specific details. They maintain what secrecy Pink Pig asked of them."
and another letter:
"While the written word has power enough to shape reality, there seem to be some limitations. Something must be lost to attain something of equal value. If power is asked for, something must be sacrificed in turn. What luck. There are many heroes here to sacrifice, for plans they shall not understand. Their deaths shall be my fuel and with that fuel I will become empowered. May their worlds fall to me and burn under moonlight." ]
It's...news, at least.
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after a moment, his brow furrows, and he reads one part aloud, thoughtful. ]
"While the written word has power enough to shape reality..."
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[ hateful. he winces a bit like he's getting a headache. ]
Maybe it's reading too much into it. But you might be on the right track, with that theory.
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[ but what does he know? he's not a sage. ]
I wonder if this is why we were supposed to find the book.
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...I actually was going to ask you how much you knew about this book anyway.
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[ just to clarify. maybe it is possible, but he's not the one to ask. ]
I don't know much. Tiger has insisted that we find it, but hasn't told us why we need it.
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[ he tilts his head to that. ]
Do you think there's a reason they aren't sharing that information? I thought you guys were a team. [ it's mostly that...he wants to make sure it's not going to turn into (yet another) case of someone saying they want to help but it's for their own motives nobody knows about yet. ]
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[ crosses his arms. ]
We are, and I do trust them. [ hmm. ] It's possible that they recognize the concept, but don't know much more about it than they've shared, or that they aren't sure if it's the exact same as what they know and don't want to give false impressions.
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[ but that's fine. if phoenix trusts tiger then he can live with that. ]
Maybe. I think I can understand that, not wanting to give a false hope for something that could possibly not work or even backfire. With as many worlds as people come from, there's bound to be some overlap. I'm still open to trying just about everything I can, but I'm starting to run out of options myself.
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There's no way to "shape reality" in my world, but there are ways to rewrite history. I wouldn't count just anything out.
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[ he nods. ]
It sounds like it should. It's just altering what's already there.
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[ but okay. rewriting...reshaping...god. ]
Wonder if we could just cross out what's written on the pages we have and alter it that way. Like editing? If these things have already happened, but we just change them slightly, it would reroute the course of Oceanside's history wouldn't it?
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[ coming from a sword whose mission is to protect the past to protect the future. usually he knows how things should go. ]
It... sounds possible. [ admittedly he seems the tiniest bit uncomfortable with it, if curious. ] We can certainly try it, if we can get our hands on that book.
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[ but he seems to pick up on that shift in attitude, and he tilts his head slightly. ]
...if you had a choice, Phoenix, what would you do different than that?
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I think I would just like to ensure that everyone has a home to return to, if they want one.
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...that's all I really want, too, at this point. Even if it isn't their original home. If they can go somewhere they're happy or want to go, then...that's the ideal option. I haven't figured out how to make that possible yet is all.
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[ bummer. ]
Maybe that's something that this book could do, if we rewrite things how we like. [ ... ] That's probably another question for Tiger, though. All I can do is guess, and I'm not usually the one deciding what the right thing to do is, anyway.
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[ this sucks actually. but he frowns a little at that. ]
Okay but the thing is even if you aren't deciding what the "right thing" is, I trust you. [ pointblank. ] Not that I distrust Tiger but it's more...I don't know them well enough to know how much can be said. About everything I actually want and how to get there and what route we might be able to take now.
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[ ...he smiles. ]
I am glad to hear that. [ see? he is charming. ] And I understand what you mean. I've been in the same boat before. I could try to relay what you want to say to Tiger for you, if you want... or we could go talk to them together. It might make them more comfortable to have me or one of the others there, same as you.
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After this long, it'd be just a little sad if I didn't, right? But you've been straightforward with me and I appreciate that when everything else doesn't make a ton of sense. And I figured you'd get it. [ ...there's a curious noise though as he thinks that over. ] You think that'd help? I want to figure out the best way to solve this and start helping people line up the right pieces, but it's hard when we don't have a solid answer to why we should be doing things a certain way. I guess it comes down to that I don't want to make mistakes.
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