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[recollecters]

Hello, everyone! As you've probably noticed, we've been having a few problems - I mentioned earlier that something got knocked out of balance, and we had to recalibrate, but in a few days we should be able to drop the emergency measures. Please be aware that there is an incoming storm, class four. General orders for that kind of thing are to report to management for any known threats and follow instructions, but so far what's known is "that might be a little annoying" and "hope it isn't". Theoretically it'll probably be related to the holiday, I think, because a large group of souls focused through the needle of a pin on one thing can sort of shape a thing around them. That's sort of a really inaccurate way to put it on the technical side of things, but I think it's the easiest way to understand it! At any rate, we'll know more once we're in the thick of things. Please take care as usual; resources aren't exactly what some of you seem to think they are, and we had to expend rather more than usual in the past month or so to keep things with a few of you steady. Joanne Wiseman Technician 2nd class Retrspec Incorporated Per the mod plotting post, you may use this post to obtain one of this month's freebies! This month's freebie can be earned by turning in a thread on this post that has 5 or more consecutive comments from you with someone new. We define someone new as someone new to the game, or simply someone your character has never tagged before. Please feel free to use this post as a network mingle. Every toplevel can be considered a new post, and threadjacking is permitted. No NPC response will be given. Usernames are the character's full real AU names, not aliases or chosen nicknames or usernames, and seemed to have filled themselves in; nothing characters do can change or obscure their names currently.

Comments

[livingimpaired]

That feels more confusing than the vague message about storms. But I shall accept that as one of the great mysteries of the world. I'm but a ramen shop owner and not someone who is going to uncover any sort of great truth in the world. But you might, Sakura, if you feel curious enough.

[ And there he goes. He always wonders about how he should treat the two sisters. With Rin, he finds it better to coddle the one that has not been coddled. With Sakura, he has been musing over helping her become less like glass and become something more. But everything that he does, even this encouragement, is going a little against what Tohsaka wants. And so he just does a soft-touch for now, musing over if he should even do that much. ]

The dome is the newest oddity, then?

[imaginex]

[There's a pause on her end, uncertain. It's not that she lacks curiosity, but she's never felt herself smart or brave or anything enough to go searching for answers. She'd say as much to her peers.

But Kei is an adult. Instinctively she feels the press and pull to say whatever she think will please him.]

Well... I did go down into the tunnels.

[And found horror, but. Well, he doesn't need to know that.

They came along with the dome. There were train cars down there, and ghosts.

[livingimpaired]

Did you? And returned unharmed?

[ Hm. ] You did say you are fine,
but being "fine" and "unharmed" are two different things. I am fine, after all, but my mind is whirling as I learn more about the world I did and did not know.

[ So the oddities came with, hm? ] Ghosts?

[imaginex]

[... He knows how to ask the right questions. Gonna have to watch out for that.]

I got scrapped up once, but that was due to my own clumsiness, I admit.

And yes, ghosts, in the underground train station. My friend couldn't see them for some reason, but they were all dressed in strange outfits? I think from different periods in this country's history.

When I asked them where they were going, they said they were waiting to take the train.

[livingimpaired]

[ He muses over her response. ]

Were you frightened?

[imaginex]

No, not at all. They were very pleasant ghosts.

[livingimpaired]

I see.
I must admit I would not know what I would do if I saw a ghost.
Pleasant to speak to or not.
Was it dark down in those tunnels?
Cluttered?
Yet you still walked up to them to ask a question, not knowing if they were "pleasant."

As I said before, you have the means to uncover the mysteries of this world, but only as much as your curiosity will take you, Sakura.

Anyway, did you ever understood what it meant? That they were waiting for the train?

[imaginex]

Me? Oh no, I could never...

I mean, I don't have the skills for something that grand. I was only curious to see what was down there, that's all.

But yes, it was quite dark in some areas... but other places were lit up. The train cars were, for some reason.

And the ghosts were stuck in time, if that makes sense? Or that's what it seemed like. They didn't realize the train would never come for them and just kept shopping.

[She sends off those texts, only to pause and then immediately shoot off another one]

Oh! They did show me something strange. There was an office with a lot of pamphlets of different cities, but some of them weren't of this Earth.

[livingimpaired]

Did it make you sad to know that they would be waiting forever? Did you tell them that they could never go home? Or did you decide to let them keep believing that one day the train would come? Or did you do nothing?

I will tell you now that there is no right answer to those last three questions. Neither one is kinder than the other. Neither one is more cruel than the other. So do not feel guilty regardless of what you did or didn't do.

Some not of this Earth? I'll touch on that in a moment. [ The answer to these questions first. ]

[imaginex]

[... And even still, there's a moment where Sakura recoils from her phone as if stung.]

No, I didn't tell them the truth. I just wished them a good day.

It seemed kinder to them, and I wasn't sure they'd believe me even if they gave the truth.

[livingimpaired]

As I said, Sakura, there is no cruelty in any of the options that I gave you.

If you told them the truth, indeed, they may not have believed you. Or you may have come to find out that they knew all along there would be no train, but thank you for trying to stop their wait. In the end, all people must save themselves. That goes for the living and the dead.

You felt kindness in your heart when you spoke to them, yes? You felt it in what you wanted to say to them as you left, too? Even if you would never speak to them again, you wanted to wish them something good? So long as you felt these things, you did your best and did it with kindness.

[imaginex]

Yes, I just didn't want to hurt them.

[She latches onto the words, eating them like praise, and feels herself calm a little.]

They seemed happy being down there. They were happy when I left, too.

[So... she did good, right? Yes, of course]

[livingimpaired]

You felt they had been hurt enough?

[ Tohsaka-senpai, am I being cruel to your daughter? If I am honest, there is no kindness in my heart. However, there is no cruelty there either. I think only of moral obligations. Social obligations. What is common sense to do in a situation. What I am asking does not affect any of these three categories that causes me to temper my actions.

Would it be common sense to not ask your daughter these questions when it seems like she is uncertain herself? If she does not have the means to ask them aloud, someone has to ask them for her, is that not so? I ask you like you are an angel on my shoulder, but you are not that. You are neither angel nor demon, but human. Humans know what evil is and resists it, and for that, they are much better suited to ask these questions... even if you are not here. ]

[imaginex]

Well... I don't know how they met their ends.

But if they had happiness in their afterlife, I have no right to take that away from them, right?

[livingimpaired]

That is a completely different problem, unfortunately, Sakura.
I was not down in the tunnels and so I cannot answer that one completely for you.
I have never met any spirit and so my knowledge on that is equally lacking.
But I feel I should tell you why I cannot answer that question rather than say it is a problem I can't answer.
What you're saying is that you have no right to speak the truth to the happy dead.
That is different than knowing that your actions were kind because you had kindness in your heart. You see?

I do not know if it would have made them unhappy. I do not know if it would rob them of their happiness. And because nothing was said to them, you also do not know if they would have felt unhappy. So, there is no way to answer that question. All I can tell you is what you did what kind. I cannot tell you what you did was within or not within your rights.

[imaginex]

[She needs a moment to digest that before she can even answer, feeling her relief drop sharply like a stone. It's not that Kei is being cruel to her, but that... she isn't quite used to the truth painted in such a way.]

Yes, I understand.

At best I need to have faith that my decision was right instead of assuming it was true.

[livingimpaired]

Yes.
In the end, this is your decision.
I can tell you with certainty that it was done with kindness.
You have to tell yourself it was correct.
In some things, unfortunately, you cannot say that something was or wasn't in your right to do. Because that is making an excuse for why you made your decision.
It's painting it that you had no control, but if you were without fear and of calm heart filled with kindness, you had all the control.
So believe in yourself, Sakura.

[imaginex]

[Because that is making an excuse for why you made your decision

...]

Thank you. Of course I'll try.

I really do appreciate your advice.

[It's like a sermon, almost, though she couldn't express why that comparison pops so readily into her mind]

[livingimpaired]

You're welcome.
I'm glad I can offer you something in these trying times.
I'm grateful to the information that you gave me and so I'm happy to give even a little bit of advice back to you.

[imaginex]

Oh no, it's really no trouble! I'm glad to help.

You're apart of this app too, so please let me know if there's anything I can do.

Things do get a little... strange, sometimes.

[livingimpaired]

You can come to me with your troubles if you have them.
And I will do what I can for you.
That sounds like I am doing more than what you are doing, but that's not true.
What I'm asking is ultimately selfish and self-serving.
You can think about your answer.
Please don't just agree to it, but truly think about it.

Now, what was that about aliens?

[imaginex]

Oh... I admit, I don't know how offering me assistance could be selfish...

But I will think about it, that I can promise.

And the aliens thing is... strange. Some people here don't believe it. But according to the ghosts and the people running this app, we have the souls of people who existed on other worlds, and we's slowly regaining the memories and abilities of our past lives.

[1/2] here comes a monologue

[livingimpaired]

Allow me to explain so you when you are thinking you do not make a mistake in your decision by being misinformed by me.

I am saying that I am showing a self-important attitude. There will come a time when no one will be able to help you with your problem, not even yourself. Yet I am asking you to think of me like I can help you. In short, it could very well be wasting your time in asking anyone for help, but I am asking if you will waste your time on the belief I COULD.

It is selfish as an adult to believe that I should be privvy to all your problems and so I will reword and say, please think of me to help you from time to time. That is the "anything" you can let me do for you. Because in the end, I cannot do much except be a responsible adult now and again.

It is asking you to allow me not to be useless. And while it may benefit you, it may also, as I said, waste your time in coming to find I can do nothing but comfort and not offer solutions. Comforting is good and I am not speaking poorly about it since I am offering food in these trying times, but comfort shouldn't be all a person gives another.

So that is why I ask you to think on it and decide what is best for you versus what would make me content.

[livingimpaired]

And so what you are saying is that the aliens are us. Interesting.

[imaginex]

[Ah... yes, when broken down in such a way, Sakura can see where the threads of selfishness might be present. Even still, she can't find fault with hoping to be singled out in someone's thoughts, if only so you can help them in some way.

After all, she's. much the same. in hoping to be more to people than just useless. It's how she's felt for much of her life, and so...]

I understand. As I said, I can at least promise to think about your offer and make my decision from there. But regardless of if it's selfish or not, I still appreciate that you would make the offer in the first place.


... But yes, supposedly we're aliens. I don't know if I believe that, but I have had strange things happen to me since coming onto the app.