9S <YoRHa No.9 Type S> (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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quietplace2018-02-02 10:03 pm
twoaffirmations) wrote in quietplace2018-02-02 10:03 pm
un: nines | "story time"
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.
This is "Fuwa-chan's" writing. I'm actually kind of impressed.
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
un: werther ((I AM LATE))
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
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?
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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...
un: nines [PRIVATE]
Meeting her here, tonight...
He felt inspired.
As much as he'd like to, he's found that deleting his problems isn't the solution, so he privates their thread instead.]
Seriously? Just because I'm a beginner...
The humans asked me to write a story for our expedition. I was only doing my job.
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But don't get me wrong, it's not a literary criticism at all. It was an interesting piece.
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I see. Please, don't tell anyone else... I could get in a lot of trouble if certain people were to find out back home.
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You said you don't talk to them. Do the others?
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Not really... I mean, the Commander probably does.
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[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 devicean extremely minor character in his own damn story.]un: nines
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[Have a screenshot of this thread from 9S' inbox, he's kind of confused RN.]
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[He's very hung up on semantics here, just to weasel his way out of Carpet being right.]
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[Congratulations 9S, you've confused him into submission. He's still not really clear on the difference here, but he's never gathered data before, and he doesn't know how to fight on the internet, so he's just going to assume you know what you're talking about.]
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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.
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[ It's the first time Miach finds herself typing out an emoji since coming here. The text medium has finally put her at a loss on how to convey the ominous smile she'd like to be wearing in real life here. ]
It's fascinating for sure. Between all of us here, we have an incredibly high accumulation of information. 'Common knowledge' is a very subjective term as no knowledge is ever truly common, but we combine the 'common knowledge' of dozens of different universes among us.
Simple people have never interested me, but this is the most interesting constellation of them that I've ever encountered.
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[He personally finds pretty much everyone interesting, to be honest--everyone has their own experiences and stories. If Miach is bored by people, then she must have met a lot of people and had a lot of experiences! That sounds pretty incredible to him.]
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Where I come from, everyone is merely a product of their circumstances. It's an unbelievably conformist society in which one person hardly differs from the other.
I am sure this is the case for many other worlds as well, but through individuals produced by such circumstances, I can learn about alternative structures.
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Maybe it was a good thing you came here then!