001 ☼ video; un: ginko

[tenthousandmiles]

[So he's been given to understand this "network" is something like a bulletin board, except people can contact each other in real time, a bit like sending letters through the uro passageways but even faster. Honestly, he's kind of fascinated by the whole thing, but it's still a bit overwhelming, even if the notion of different worlds and planes of existence isn't entirely foreign to him. Hence ... why the video feed is a bit overly zoomed in, and starts out upside down before he realizes his mistake and rights it.]

Ah, it seems some of the creatures from my world followed me through the portal. If you're capable of seeing them, you might have noticed what seem to be ghosts or phantasms floating around--they're called mushi.

They're not sapient, and most are harmless, but some can cause trouble, so if you feel suddenly unwell or notice anyone exhibiting unusual behavior, don't hesitate to contact me. My name is Ginko. I am a mushi-shi, which means handling such incidents was my livelihood before now.

[There's a brief pause. He's not really great at this whole "meet and greet" thing, considering he never really stays in one place long enough for that to be necessary, but...now that he's gotten the business part of this out of the way there are a few things he's curious about.]

Has anyone seen the portal that brings us here? I've heard myths and legends about portals to alternate worlds, but I've never actually seen one.

I'd also like to learn more about these devices, and how they work. Where I’m from, we still communicate through letters, so this is truly astonishing to me. I could tell you some stories about my home, in exchange.

[ooc: Canon never really specifies what makes some people able to see mushi and others not. Believing in or being aware of spirits etc or having a connection to nature in some way probably helps, but honestly feel free to assume your character is able to see them, if that's something you're interested in! They look vaguely like this]

Comments

ITS OK

[hellshot]

Don't think it's much of an issue anymore. At least for now. Who knows if it'll happen again in the future. [Vague.]

Don't know if there's any precautions you can take against the thing, either. It brings everyone and everything into this world after all. 'Avoiding' influence with it probably isn't something you can do without vast knowledge of how the damn thing even works.

[He raises his arms up in a wide shrug, dark eyes rolling up with a noncommital 'who knows' kind of expression.]

If it's 'archives' you want--[Old fashioned way of saying it.]--There is a library in town.

[tenthousandmiles]

I see.

[That makes visiting it perhaps a bit more complicated, but that doesn't mean he won't take a calculated risk or two when he knows more about the portal.]

Thank you. Can you give me directions, then?

[hellshot]

[He doesn't waste too much more time with idle prattle, thumbing over his communicator to send a map over to Ginko. It trails a red line from the Housing quarters to where the ''Archives'' are located cleanly. He expects the Mushi-shi to be able to follow them easily enough.]

Tell me what kind of 'unusual behaviors' these Mushi can have.

Negative things?

Are they dangerous?

[tenthousandmiles]

[Bless you, Reaper. He's probably gonna be spending a bunch of time in there now.]

Some of them can be, though most are harmless. The more light it gives off, the weaker it is, for example.

As for behaviors...I don't know specifically all the kinds of mushi that came in with me, and we'd be here a very long time if I tried to recount every possibility that exists.

Try to keep an eye out for changes in those close to you, is all I can say. Things that don't seem to have a logical explanation, in particular.

[hellshot]

[Gross, but fine. Just don't compliment him to his face. He's all sorts of allergic to that.]

Sounds like an entire alien race. So long as they're not dangerous, won't find too much reason to worry.

[A low chuckle escapes him, a cloud of black fog escaping from between his teeth as he does so.]

I doubt there's many of them that could affect me, but I'll keep an eye out.

[tenthousandmiles]

[wtf is an alien....he's 2 ancient for this. nobody has even thought about traveling to the stars yet, let alone the idea of sentient life out there.

But Ginko's actually way more interested in the second thing Reaper said--not to mention that eerie black smoke there--so he'll focus on that for now.]

...You aren't human?

[The smoke looks eerily, he realizes after a moment, like the sanekuimushi he'd seen in the Path of Thorns. But they didn't typically linger in a body after consuming its soul....so maybe this is something else.]

[hellshot]

Was born human. Stayed human for about 30 years. Then something happened.

Not sure what you'd call it, but definitely far divorced from anything living.

Can't say for sure what caused it. I wasn't there.

All I know is one minute I was burning to death.

Next, I was ... [He gestures. To his form, and whatever the hell you'd call this.]

[tenthousandmiles]

[Well, then. That's intriguing. Ginko's looking over the man with obvious interest now, green eye sharp and inquisitive. Reaper probably isn't from his own world, but it would be arrogant of him to assume that mushi only ever existed were in the world he was familiar with--especially when there were such phenomena as the Oomagadoki.]

Hmm. There have been cases, in my own world, of a mushi coming to take on a dying creature as a host, thereby saving its life.

[Clearly, Ginko still sees Reaper as "alive", whatever form his body has taken now.]

I'm familiar with one kind in particular that is known to enter the body of drowning victims, for instance...your situation might be similar.

[Or it might not be. It's hard to say.]

I only arrived with a few of my records on mushi with me, but I could look through them, if you would like.

[hellshot]

Can't say I've heard of these damn Mushi things before. They'd be a known phenomena if they existed back home.

[But on the same page... he raises a hand with a curious crook of his eyebrow.]

...But I've been irritated with my own body's biology since I woke up like this. I'll look, on curiosity's sake alone.

Sooner I figure out what this shit is, exactly, the sooner I can figure out if it's fixable.

[tenthousandmiles]

Most aren't able to perceive mushi. If your village didn't have many people with the ability, you might not have heard of them.

["your village" look he's... not figured out everything that's all different and weird here okay, people live in villages, that's how it works]

...But I'll do my best to help. If you want to meet me somewhere and tell me more about the changes you've experienced since the incident, I'll check against what records I have, and what I remember of the mushi I've experienced in the past.

[hellshot]

...Village.

Can't say that I've ever been to a place as small as that in years.

[Given he's so far into the future that 1/5th the population of people were actually Omnics. That aside...]

You wanted to go to the library. Usually the place you study is there.

Could give you about an hour of my time.

[Just an hour. He's not that generous with hanging out with strangers.]

[tenthousandmiles]

[He'd ask as opposed to what, but it's far from the most important part of this conversation. He can read up on it on his own later.]

That would work. Should I meet you there?