tabularasa_rp | 006 - Connecting Lines, Connecting Lives

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006 - Connecting Lines, Connecting Lives

Connecting Lines, Connecting Lives New Imprints ▲ Comments The Ground Shakes
It begins unremarkably enough, with the light tremors of the ground so small they might easily go unnoticed, or else dismissed as the movement of some creature nearby. As time goes on, however, those little tremors begin to grow in both strength and duration, the length of time shortening between each one. To begin with only small, light, unsecured objects are rattled loose by the rumbling of the ground, but as the tremors grow in strength there is a growing danger of much larger things being moved.

The realm’s clear lack of understanding of how things work cannot be relied upon in such a situation. If the tremors have grown strong enough to throw all the books of Hammerhead to the ground and throw over all the clothes rails and capsule machines and furniture in the Academy, then what if they grow strong enough to move the heavy blanket of snow atop Mount Silver? What if they grow strong enough to damage the caverns within?

Then there is the question of how, or why, the realm has made the land shake. It must surely have picked up the idea of an earthquake from someone, right? An answer to the question is not immediately forthcoming, but should one stay low to the ground and listen, they might well hear the muffled, distorted sound of screaming.

Creature Chaos
As the rumbling and shaking continues, it is clear to see that the local wildlife has been disturbed, and they seem remarkably active. Critters can be seen running and flying to and fro, and any who go out to investigate may find themselves the center of attention. Brushboys may paint arrows on the ground in an effort to lead them somewhere, or bluurgobos might actively offer rides, or the flying cat-like creatures will excitedly circle someone before attempting to lead them somewhere. Going along with them will lead to one of two places:

The meaty, pulsating, cavernous tunnels of Mementos shudder and convulse in a way quite unlike before, and closer inspection will quickly reveal why. The flesh has been cut and torn, hacked apart, leaving gaping and bleeding wounds to spill over the subway tracks. Whichever critter has brought someone here excitedly gestures towards the wounds, and as it does a giant and painful shudder goes through the tunnels and shakes the earth. All those earthquakes… could this be the source?

The road to the Hammerlocke Citadel Ruins are as long as winding as ever, and precarious with the risk of an earthquake dislodging snow and rock from the mountainside. The animal that has taken the lead is on a mission, however, as unclear as that mission might be. On arriving, it turns its attention to a group of the spiky, bear-headed beasts that are lazing about as though the land is not currently shaking and quaking around them, and tries to draw their attention. Clearly, these bear heads are expected to do something, and they aren’t doing it.

First Words
Though the tremors have finally stopped, they have left a significant change to the World in their wake. Where the ground above was once flat and untouched, there now lay cracks and fissures that glow with a strange, but enchantingly warm light. There doesn’t seem to be a single area that has been left untouched by them - though the number of cracks are denser in some places than others, it’s difficult to find a place completely devoid of them. Could this be the world’s attempt at trying to heal itself?

If all of that wasn’t enough to warrant investigation, the sound of whispers that appear to be coming from they might do the trick. Upon closer inspection, however, it becomes apparent that the whispers aren’t coming from the lights, but from inside your own head. Focus a little more, and some of the voices may sound familiar…

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Believe in Me, Because I Don't Believe in Anything
Parsee was easily found, at any time after the New Years Party, at the Shrine. Even after Melinoe's disappearance, she was just busily sweeping around with a very old looking broom, or pounding on a Taiko drum that had seen better years. If you caught her mid-task, you might hear her whispering 'there, you happy? Shut up for a bit, would ya?' to her various tools. The spiritually attuned, or anyone who'd talked to her probably knew that there were several tsukumogami, awakened tools and musical instruments in the shrine complex, being kept busy by her.

She kept everything clean, and if anyone came to worship, she'd either holler for Viridi or listen to their prayers. A little sign said 'leave the offerings on the altar and show your prayer to the local spirit.' It was better than her eating the prayers.

But what was weird was that, when she didn't think anyone was looking? Parsee seemed to be smiling. Not much. Not broadly. But she was smiling. While people were aware she was a vengeful spirit, there'd been a lot of attempts to treat her differently, to suggest she could be different. And though she hadn't necessarily noticed it herself, something might have slowly begun to change.

Tremors
Greaaaaaat. Parsee was gripping the nearest tree for support and shouting at the Void anywhere that she could seem to find hints of it. "Keep it together you!" She was still, apparently, convinced that the Void itself was a person on some level who could be convinced, coaxed, cajoled and reasoned with.

Either way, as things collapsed around her, she gritted her teeth and looked over at whoever she saw nearest to her. "The hell is going on this time?"

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?!?
Parsee was inside of the Wall Market, staring at the old 'palace' of Don Corneo, not for the first time. As she looked up at the structure, muttering something about how it should really be torn down, but not doing anything about it for the ten-thousandth time, she heard a noise to her right. A can was kicked, and then there it was. Gah, that Nug. The terror of Wall Market.

"Ugh, you ugly bastard. Go on, leave me alone. What do you want anyway? I'm not here for eggs," she said, fending off an egg that it picked up and cast out of the way. She was about to have some serious words with it when suddenly, it let out a sound and was surrounded by a nimbus of light as it came in contact with errant strands of mana mist having floated down to the Market. And then, as the light surrounded it... something amazing happened!

When the light faded, a fully grown bluurgobos was standing there. It let out a wark, charged and barreled right past her, sending the spirit sprawling to the ground with a squawk of her own. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON AROUND HERE?!?" she shouted as the myth of the ghost of Wall Market continued to its next evolution.

[Bizarrely, Viridi has been tame lately. Ever since Melinoe's departure, she has been far less... annoying in passing to the other spirit. She might possibly... be... sad...?

Viridi still sets up the shrine every day and keeps Mel's corner exactly the same as it was before. She doesn't exactly expect visitors to worship. More just to stop by if they were bored.]

...You look happy.

[She announces one day while popping out from a box in a corner as Parsee sweeps.]

[Parsee could be a troll, but she didn't need to press with this one. And Melinoe disappearing impacted them both, especially since the shrine complex still reflected a lot of Mel's nature. So... she'd been playing somewhat nice lately. Maybe a mutual understanding?

Glancing over when she popped out, she leaned with the broom, patting it once to sooth it.]

Do I? ... I don't feel annoyed these days as much? But I think I'm getting complacent is all. Waiting for the rug to get pulled out from under me.

Didn't your shrine just turn into a different shrine and you had a huge fit? What else are you imagining will happen? Your shrine turning into a megamall?

[no viridi that's what makes you throw a huge fit]

You are being less snappy lately. You know what I think?

You're doing the thing.

Edited 2021-01-20 04:32 (UTC)

A... wah... wait, you mean a giant market. Right. It already kind of is, so I'd just have more crappy neighbors to deal with. [She grunted.]

I'm doing what thing? Gah! You can be soooo vague sometimes, Viridi. What do you think I'm doing?

The thing we were talking about!

[Viridi gives a satisfied nod.]

You're turning into a spirit of... I don't know. What's a neutral between jealousy and like, caring? That feeling you get where your friend gets the promotion you wanted but you like them enough to be happy for them but then you go home and drink a lot?

You're thinking of generosity or something. I... don't think it's working quite that way. Trust me. I'm not feeling that magnanimous these days. More ... possessive and supportive?

[There was a moment of thought and she frowned.]

Maybe it's tied to the marriage thing. They worshiped me over that, so if anything's changing it might be fidelity instead of separation. Unity instead of breaking up.

[And Hera was definitely a possessive, possessive woman when you pissed her off.]

Not generosity. Ugh, there's probably some German word for it, never mind.

So details aside, you agree? Does that still make you feel awkward and uncertain?

After being dropped in a world so unfamiliar, it was no wonder that Shouyou would take note of the shrine that so reminded him of home. Though he had passed by once or twice before, this was the first time finding someone else here.

Drawn to the sound of the taiko drum, Shouyou kept quiet until Parsee finished, simply soaking the familiar beats in. Once she stopped, he clapped--more quietly than he would in a less sacred area, but with just as much enthusiasm as ever.

"That's so cool." Shouyou beamed at her. "Do you play here all the time?"

On the one hand, the shrine itself? It was exactly like the one alongside the bridge into Uji. With the exception of the goofy little kitch kiosk for 'Hashihime-chan.' On the other, it was sitting atop a complex that was very greco-roman in nature, so it kind of had a bit of a mixed, other-worldly 'shrine complex' sort of feel to it. But there were definitely a lot of old traditions of home going on here.

Blinking, she turned and caught sight of him, the clapping catching her attention. "Oh... you're new," she said, coughing once into her hand. "It's my shrine in part, so yeah. I give her a good drumming now and again. To keep her appeased." Yes, she was kind of talking about the drum as if it were a person.

"Did you arrive recently?" It was hard to predict these thing. She was looking Shouyou over quietly, an eyebrow briefly raised in curiosity.

"Yeahhhh, I guess you could say that. Maybe a few weeks?" He laughed, sheepish. "It's kinda hard to keep track of the time, when it's light out all the time!"

Since she didn't seem opposed to it, Shouyou ambled closer, eyes flicking over the instrument with interest. It hadn't escaped his attention, the way she was talking about it just then. "What do you mean 'to keep her appeased'? Does she get mad if you don't play her for a long time or something?"

"Yeah, time passes normally now, but we don't have a good gauge for days or weeks," she admitted. Just getting time locally to pass normally for seconds and hours had involved so much shouting at a water clock to behave.

In the distance, said water clock made a 'tonk' sound. "Yeah, that's exactly what I mean. She's alive, like the broom over there. They're uh... do you know what a Tsukumogami is?" He looked Japanese but she wasn't sure if he was the sort who was aware of old myths. "They're basically tools that are old enough to wake up. But they can't really talk, so the just cause trouble if you don't treat them respectfully or use them."

"Oh...I've heard of them, but this is my first time seeing one."

Shouyou isn't the most spiritual guy ever. Aside from the little habits built up as a result of living in Japan, he hardly thinks about the supernatural. Well, before he got dropped here, that is. Now, he finds himself believing in a whole lot more than he used to.

Thinking of the various creatures he's seen already, he eyes the drum and the broom, with trepidation. "What kind of trouble are we talking about?"

"Where I come from, all the spirits were being forgotten, so we went underground and into a little valley, so we could have our thing, and humans have their thing." She grunted and shrugged. "You wouldn't have seen them too much if ever."

"Well... as long as they're not teaming up? Pranks. Like the broom'll probably trip you if you disrespect it. The Drum wake me up with weird noises if I'm sleeping. That sort of thing." She didn't add that they could be dangerous if they worked together, but that was only occasionally.

If he's honest, spirituality hadn't mattered much to him. It just hadn't held much of his attention, especially once he developed his tunnel vision for everything volleyball related. Something that didn't concern him, that he could brush off as simply folktales. Even so, Shouyou feels a tug at his chest, feeling oddly guilty as she explains.

"But that's...really sad." Some of the enthusiasm's bled out, leaving behind a frown instead of a smile. "Can that sort of thing happen here, too?"

No matter how he looks at it, being forgotten sounds incredibly lonely.

She sat down next to the drum and reached over for the broom, setting it down on her lap. "Well, like everything here in the Void, the rule aren't being obeyed unless it brought them here," she admitted with a shrug. "Back home, it took a hundred years of loving use and honor for a tool to wake up. And then they had to be forgotten and mistreated for a while. Some of them are just whiny but it does get lonely I suppose."

She was less sympathetic. But that was because, like most youkai, they were just noisy in her book. "These ones are pretty squeaky wheels so I don't think any of them are getting ignored right now. Any I find I bring here. It's a shrine, so they seem happy." Because working in a shrine was pretty honored work for a spirit.

"Name's Parsee... you're new right?"

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006 - Connecting Lines, Connecting Lives

Parsee Mizuhashi | Touhou Project | OTA

Shrine

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