un: nines | "story time"

[twoaffirmations]

The native humans requested that we write a story for our trip up to see the Sound Eaters. We couldn't agree on anything, so we wrote separate ones.

I'm not really a writer, but... Actually, this is the first time I've had to write something that wasn't a report.

A child was born, a blade placed in his hand.

"Fight for us," his parents said.

He was happy to.

"When you're finished, you can see us," they promised.

But no matter how much he fought, he was never finished. The enemy was infinite in number, without thought or feeling.

No matter how fruitless it felt, he fought.

His parents' voices never seemed to come to him when he needed them most. They were hollow and distant. No matter how much he loved them...

He never felt any in return.

Fighting was lonely.

His life lacked a purpose outside of it, and as the satisfaction of it was stripped away layer by layer, he found himself an empty shell.

There was only so much he could do on his own. There was only so many distractions he could find.

There was only so much.

The day he got a partner was like being born anew.

She was beautiful and cool, but she was stubborn too.

No matter how hard he tried to connect with her, she always seemed to keep him away. At arm's length he admired her.

Together, they spent their time fighting.

Together, they did inconsequential things.

If it was with her, he would do anything. Even if his feelings weren't returned, that was okay.

As long as he could spend time with her, he was happy.

But one day he realized she wasn't sent to end his loneliness.

She was to immortalize it.

Through the boredom and curiosity that was spurred ever onward by his isolation, he'd done something he shouldn't have. His parents were angry with him, and she was to be their solution.

Even knowing the inevitable. Even knowing how it would turn out...

He stayed with her, because without her...

His life was meaningless.

This is "Fuwa-chan's" writing. I'm actually kind of impressed.

Many thousands of years ago lived a poor merchant with a rich heart. Year after year, he bought the same meager goods and traveled the same hard desert road, with the same tired camels in the same caravan he had traveled with his whole life. Even though he spent his entire life traveling, his world was really very small. And every night, his dreams were tormented by thoughts of the endless blue sky, which had no roads and no walls. One night, instead of dreaming, Saeed left his caravan and gave his wish to the moon and stars. "Before this moon is born again, let me make all my dreams come true! Let me travel the world and find all its treasures."

Just the sight of his own pitiful wares made him sick at heart. But once Saeed had sold them, he decided to buy something new, something he had never bought before. Perhaps if he bought things that were truly grand, then he could at last satisfy his longing for change. Although it took every last dirham he had, and his friends and family told him that he was a fool, Saeed bought a colorful carpet. Surely some wealthy man would shower him in gold for it!

But when he unrolled it that night to admire its pattern, he found that it had been wrapped tightly around a beaten and tarnished old oil lamp. Thinking that even this might be worth something, Saeed tried to polish it. Imagine his surprise when instead of oil, a genie spilled out! The carpet danced for joy to see that it had been reunited with its old friend, and all at once, Saeed knew his wish had been granted without ever saying a word. What dreams could he make come true with three more?

"I wish to fill my life with wealth and adventure from across the world." Saeed told the genie.

"But why search for it when I could grant you all the world's treasure right now?" The genie asked.

"After all this time earning my living, now I want to earn my life." Said Saeed. What good was a life of wealth and idleness if he hadn't seen the world and satisfied his curiosity to his heart's content? So the genie blessed Saeed with the power to sniff out treasure like a hound tracks a rabbit, and the three friends traveled the world for many years, seeking excitement and adventure while they gathered priceless treasures.

One day, Saeed told the genie "I wish to have my one true love beside me." For he had learned that love was the greatest treasure of all.

"But Master, I can't make anyone fall in love." Said the genie, who was sure he was asking for the impossible.

"What good is love bought instead of earned? Lead me to the one I'm meant to be with, and I will win her heart." Saeed promised. And so the genie granted Saeed extraordinary luck, until they met a beautiful woman named Isra, with hair darker than the night and eyes that shone brighter than the stars. He knew in his heart that she was the one who would complete him, but she was very sick. If he could concoct a potion that would heal her, then and only then would her father grant him her hand in marriage. Although it took many long nights of searching, Saeed brewed a potion out of magical powders and herbs he had found, and restored Isra to perfect health. Touched by his courage and devotion, Isra gave her heart to him, and the three friends became four.

Together, they spent many happy years, and Saeed satisfied his every desire as he became the wealthiest man in the world. Eventually, he grew old, and realized only one wish remained in his heart. He wanted to grant the genie freedom, just like the genie had given it to him. They made a promise together that underneath the full moon, he would wish for the genie's freedom, just like he had wished for his own so many years ago.

But wealthy men have many enemies. Not a week after that promise thieves forced their way into their home deep in the desert, and cruelly cut down Isra and Saeed. Even the genie was unable to take human life, or bring them back from the dead, so it seemed all was lost. Unable to bear the thought of these thieves defiling everything he had worked his entire life to build and grieving that he couldn't keep his promise with the genie, Saeed made his last wish. He wished to protect everything he loved from evil from now until the end of time.

The genie granted his wish this time without question. With a vengeful roar that shook the earth Saeed disappeared in a flash of light. That light surrounded the thieves, and grew and grew until it became a cave that could hold all the treasure Saeed had gathered over his long life. As Saeed screamed in grief and rage, lava poured out from the depths of the cave, and consumed the thieves in an instant. All that remained of him was his protective and loving spirit, and all that remained of Isra, his greatest treasure, was a shining gold scarab. Heartbroken, she flew off in two pieces, to reward those who were brave and cunning enough to make her whole again by leading them back to her husband.

But even if they earned her respect and found this cave of wonders, they still needed to impress Saeed and brave his curse. Only a true diamond in the rough, a pure soul whose real worth lay deep within, could ever hope to touch his heart enough to reach his oldest and dearest friends. Saeed and the genie fell into a deep sleep to await adventurers seeking the fabulous treasure that lay within, but the carpet could only watch, and hope that any who were brave enough to enter were also good-hearted enough to be able to escape.

The End

Comments

action tho

[a2brutus]

[Some time after the campfire stories, A2 approaches 9S. Specifically going for him when he's away from 2B or anyone else.

She signs.]

How long have you known?

[twoaffirmations]

[A2 will find him on the outskirts of the camp, checking the network on his device and occasionally looking up to survey their surroundings. That's when he sees her approaching him, and he tenses on reflex.]

You're gonna have to be more specific than that.

[a2brutus]

[She stops, just a little ways from him after she sees him tense.] Your story. It's not a story at all. And calm down, I'm not about to attack.

un: kdanvers

[iisupergirlii]

These are beautiful.

[they're not the happy pick-me-up that Kara particularly wanted, but they were both very impressive. Heck, even Snapper Carr would have liked them, she thinks.]

un: nines

[twoaffirmations]

[A human called what he wrote "beautiful"...

It was so strange he could barely parse it. A compliment he's never once received on anything he's ever done. He didn't deserve such praise for what amounted to meaningless work, and yet he felt incredibly proud to receive it.]

Thank you, Ma'am! I didn't think so myself, but I'm happy to hear it...

[iisupergirlii]

[Kara's smile is lit up by the light of her device, a quiet one, tired but still there.]

I'm just glad it's a story and not true. It's really good but really sad.

[Kara is a great person who uses words in a good way.]

un: rugman

[gimmesometassel]

Thank you!

[Come to the campfirelanterns, Kara. In person, the stories Carpet tells are probably much more cheerful, and more full of things like the daring exploits he and his masters have done, or folk tales from the Agrabah region.]

[iisupergirlii]

You're welcome! Do you think anyone could ever enter the cave of wonders?

[ what? Kara's jonesing for a sequel! ]

network *and* action FITE ME

[fortheflowers]

[Reading 9S' story leaves 6O feeling sad. She knows the truth behind the words, and in light of knowing that 9S' story is not exactly fictional, she finds herself wondering if the second story is likewise something of a biography of Fuwa-chan? Impulsively, she replies right away as she finishes, wishing to confirm!]

Fuwa-chan,
Did that all really happen?

[It's hard for her to concentrate on much for a while after reading these, though, and she finds herself thinking back on all the messages from the Commander she's sent to 2B, ordering her to cut 9S' curiosity short. And... for what? If what A2 had told her was true... then... for what?

So after a while she seeks 9S out. When she finds him, she's hesitant and shifts a bit, making a few false starts with her hands before she finally signs:]

I'm sorry, 9-S.

[6O's eyes are a little blurred, and there are faint tracks down her cheeks; she was crying earlier, but she isn't now.]

un: rugman

[gimmesometassel]

It did! That was my last master before Aladdin found us in the cave.

[Even if it is autobiographical, the reply doesn't look too broken up over it, at least.]

[fortheflowers]

I see! I'm sorry you lost precious friends, but I'm glad someone new came! Is Aladdin a good master?

[twoaffirmations]

[The apology catches him by surprise, and he has to wonder...just how much did 6O know? Was it only him left in the dark? He doubts 6O gave any orders herself, even if she might have relayed the message.

He has a false start of his own.]

Y-you don't have to apologize. I'm not mad, I just didn't know what else to write about.

[fortheflowers]

[She shakes her head.]

Not meaningless.

[6O points at him and bites her lip.]

You've never been meaningless.

[But a bit of a smile creeps out here.] Honestly, I'm kind of jealous of the way 2B looks at you!

un: werther ((I AM LATE))

[imitationsoul]

Both of these sound intensely autobiographical.

Of course, literature is not limited to fictional accounts at all and often biographical work is just as if not more interesting.

Still, that's a lot of oversharing.

un: nines

[twoaffirmations]

[9S doubted the creativity of a sentient carpet, but he found it just as hard to believe there was a whole truth in carpet's story.

He's surprised a human unfamiliar with his world saw through him so easily. It's kind of embarrassing. He may have written about himself, but it's not because he wanted to share it. He didn't think anyone would take it seriously.]

I can't speak for "Fuwa-chan", but what makes you think they're autobiographical?

[imitationsoul]

Getting the carpet out of the way with first, it's obviously a story about a carpet that is sentient and unless there is a whole carpet culture with its own myths out there......

Well, let's say it's very specific.

The same goes for yours, it is very specific yet it evokes the feeling that there is some prior knowledge the reader needs to have before being able to understand it. That can be a deliberate narrative tool, but you said you're a beginner. So...

[gimmesometassel]

Nyness said his world doesn't really have stories and they just gather information instead. So since we were supposed to work together I thought we should probably write about the same thing! But we couldn't write together about things he's experienced since I've never been to his world. So since he wrote from experience I thought I should too!

[Was he supposed to say/admit to all that? Probably not. But he's trying so hard to be a team player! And he, at least, isn't embarrassed to admit that this is all from his own life--even though he literally made himself a plot device an extremely minor character in his own damn story.]

un: nines

[twoaffirmations]

Uhhh, I never said that.

[imitationsoul]

[ I'm texting a carpet is a thought that very vividly runs through Miach's head three times before she can banish the resident bewilderment enough to compose a reply. ]

In the end, your stories didn't wind up having much in common anyway. I suppose that goes to show how different all our realities really are - and how hard to reconcile.

cw: purrusu | locked to 9S

[beguiledcard]

They're both impressively written.

Did yours actually happen?

[twoaffirmations]

[It feels like this human is consistently seeing right through him... It's annoying, but he also can't help but feel a little humbled.]

Not exactly. It's just something I heard.

[beguiledcard]

I see...

I have to admit that I admire him a lot for fighting through all of that.

un: luvblanc

[lowkeycrazy]

People leave. It's a fact of life.

[twoaffirmations]

Well, yeah...

/Disney intensifies

[gimmesometassel]

That's true. But as long as you keep them in your heart they're never really gone! That way you're never alone.

[Says the rug who was left alone for ten thousand years.]

Remembering them helps you find more people too, whether they come into your life or you come into theirs!