public channel | day 67

[dontpokethat]

((OOC: Since Ginko and Tanyuu are both going to be talking in here, Ginko’s voice is indicated in green and Tanyuu’s is purple for readability.

For more details on the plot, please look at the OOC post!))

Hey, guys. Sorry to interrupt the camping trip, but we’ve got something of a problem.

You might have noticed some odd-looking flowers popping up around our campsites; those aren’t native to this world. They’re a type of mushi that have found their way here.

[And now that Ginko has a semi-captive audience--] Specifically, they’re kaoriyoroboki; these mushi blur the lines between people’s minds while they sleep, allowing them to experience and share each other’s dreams. Their presence allows people to sleep more peacefully, as well, which some of you may have noticed.

Unfortunately, long-term exposure to kaoriyoroboki while you sleep will cause the borders between your minds to blur more and more, until your identities and memories start bleeding together irreparably. Tanyuu and I are working on keeping that from happening, but the mushi purge isn’t quite ready yet.

[No one can see it, but rest assured that Tanyuu is shaking her head fondly at GInko’s rambling. Her brother...] It shouldn’t take more than a few days to gather everything we need, but in the meantime try to avoid napping too much. Symptoms usually only start appearing after a week or so, but let us know if you start to feel confused or misremember things.

Comments

[scientificist]

[Either one sounds awful, but it's worth having the specification for note-taking purposes.] Is there anything preventing the, layman from simply uprooting and destroying them? They're plants, after all.

I will do that the moment I'm no longer, required in the med tent. Strange requires minding, apparently. He's flammable now.

[fourthscribe]

[Insert a quick guide to where Ginko and Tanyuu's tents are because I'm too lazy to bullshit that part, whoop whoop!]

You can come by anytime, Ginko and I will be around in case any unforseen trouble pops up. And please do--I know she's busy, but if she can spare the time to get those for us it could be useful.

[fourthscribe]

Hmm...the simplest answer would be 'from our world'. More specifically they are born from a river of life-energy that exists both within the earth of our home and in a plane separate from it. In that sense, they are the simplest and purest form of life possible. That's part of why mushi react with the physical world in the way that they do--the energy they are composed of is incredibly potent, and mushi do not inherently have the will to direct it.

==> action

[spaghettimonster]

Okay... See you then!

[Handwavium, the stuff DWRP runs on. In that spirit, it's maybe five minutes before a skeleton arrives, bounding through the bramble.]

Hello, uh, Tanyuu! I am here, and ready for that private talk, whenever.

[mylastchance]

So they just act on instinct.

[Like bugs then, or some smaller animals. Still, for them to be able to do so much and not have the intelligence to put it to greater use.]

Are they useful in anyway?

[dontpokethat]

Of course. They're a type of organism native to my and Tanyuu's world; they can resemble bacteria, animals, or plants, like these ones, but they're actually something else entirely. They're made up mostly of life force, more so than physical matter the way most living things are, so they can affect their surroundings in ways other living things can't.

[He can say so much more, but that's a start.]

[reflash]

Oh. I was wondering what those were, they've been around the carnival, haven't they? I assumed they were some form of demon. [And with that explanation, Yukio's still classing them as demonic.]

If you're in need of herbs to exorcise the mushi, I have a collection in the medical tent that might have some of what you need.

[dontpokethat]

Well, no, they could be pulled up. But they would grow back away; because of their nature, they don't work quite like normal plants.

...Flammable. [Boy he doesn't like the sound of that.] Right, definitely keep an eye on him. Just let me know when you can talk.

[dontpokethat]

They do show up around the grounds, yes. I can see why you'd assume them to be demons, but mushi are their own class of organism.

I'd appreciate that! I'll come by to check later. [And, even if they don't have what he needs for the mushi purge, he'd like to take a look at the assortment of herbs available, anyway.]

[reflash]

If there's anything in particular you need, I may be able to acquire it for you. [Shiemi and Nee are here, which means that they can get any herbs they need.]

[haides]

I am a god. (He hasn't done a thing to hide that, except most cannot see him in his truest form. Everyone's opinion of death varies, you see.) Is the danger likely to lead to anyone's demise?

[fourthscribe]

Several of them can be, actually. There is one kind of mushi called uro which burrows holes in space--certain silk-spinners capture them within coccoons, and they will travel between that coccoon and another wound from the same thread, which travelling mushishi carry with them. Uro take anything in the same 'room' with them, so if a letter is put inside the coccoon it will eventually be delivered to the mushishi in question--which is useful, since one is never sure where to send a letter the normal way so that it would reach them.

tag order Tanyuu > Ginko > Papyrus!

[fourthscribe]

Oh! Papyrus, hello!

[She definitely wasn't expecting Papyrus to show up so quickly--but the sooner they can speak about this the better, and she sets the herbs she had been preparing aside before slithering her way over.]

I'm sorry to call you over so abruptly, but we're concerned this infestation might interact with your existing infection.

[dontpokethat]

That'd be appreciated; we've been checking around the woods, since this place does seem to have some plants in common with my and Tanyuu's world. But we'll let you know if it takes too much longer.

[dontpokethat]

I see. [Probably not the kind of 'god' Ginko is used to, he supposes.]

No, but some may consider a gradual loss of identity worse. [Like Ginko, for example.]

[scientificist]

A shame... I'll let you know.

[dontpokethat]

[Ginko glances up from his own gathering with a lift of his ears before standing up and moving over to join them. He gives a small nod, but doesn't speak for the moment, waiting instead for Papyrus's reply.]

[spaghettimonster]

Ohhh. Erm.

[Papyrus' smile goes stiff as he takes in her words, and their attentive quiet. It's a little bit of a shock. He so rarely thinks about that infestation - what with his sleep habits, and the regular treatment, it hardly ever causes anything. But... they'd been clear that it would never entirely go away.]

Interact... how? I'm not contagious, am I...?

[haides]

(Hades is...very much himself. There is no god like him even in his pantheon.)

Is it a loss or a transformation? Hardly anyone remains stagnant.

this tag came out so long for ginko, good job hades???

[dontpokethat]

[The words "Oh, for fucks' sake" have not actually left Ginko's mouth, but they might as well have, echoed in his tone with every word.]

Well, I suppose that's a matter of interpretation, but, personally? I would call the complete dissolution of individual identities into an undifferentiated mass a loss on the part of everyone involved.

Brought to its conclusion, this will not be a matter of getting to experience others' memories and thoughts and then return to yourself, and it will not be anything like the way people's identities develop naturally. The idea of sharing dreams seeming intriguing to you, personally, does not give you the right to endanger your co-workers' mental health.

he wins.

[haides]

(Oh. He touched a nerve. Hades reclines back and rests a rat on his chest, smiling patiently. Vent, Ginko. He doesn't mind.)

I am but one danger. (Does that make it better? More acceptable? Absolutely not.) The mental health of my...co-workers...is forever in peril every day they survive. That being said, mixing a mortal with the wisdom of a god seems a rare cruelty.

[dontpokethat]

You shouldn't be a danger. And the fact that we're already in danger only adds to that.

[Sorry, Hades, he is in no mood for discussing the inherent perils of being alive, maybe another time.]

Mm. That's one way of looking at it.

[If it'll keep Hades from sleeping until this is fixed, sure.]

[haides]

That cannot be helped if slumber is a sword and our dreams the serrated edge.

(It's all relative to him. He's as old as dirt.)

We tested a mortal. We brought him into our realm and gave him immortality. He has often sought death because of it.

[dontpokethat]

Maybe not. But this, we should be able to handle, as long as nobody decides to prioritize their curiosity over safety.

That's not particularly surprising. Most people aren't suited to something like that.

[As passive-aggressive as he might be inclined to be about 'the wisdom of a god' in this instance, he doesn't actually consider Hades to be wrong about the impact something like that could have on a human. It would be hard not to be aware of the potential repercussions after having seen what could happen to humans that were simply put into the position of acting as gods.]

[haides]

I cannot force a dream - if I dream at all. Slumbering too would need to be forced for me. I was curious how far you were willing to go to defend your fellow man.

(He is the worst, Ginko, but at least he admits it?)

We did it for Zeus.