driftfleet | voice;

Entry tags:

voice;

Who: Doudanuki & everyboooooody rock your-- wait no
Broadcast: Yes
Action: SS Caprine
When: Oct 9

[Voice to Caprine]
[Well... that was that then. Kai was gone, Ezri Dax was gone, Bones was gone, so now he was the last member of the crew that was around when he first arrived. He'd feared things would come to pass like this, but as soon as he saw that his quarters had moved from his own small bunk to the larger captain's quarters, he had to accept his fate.

And so he sent out a shipwide broadcast.]

...So this is Doudanuki Masakuni and apparently I'm your new captain. [Can you hear the enthusiasm in his voice? It's about as lively as a dead fish] So I'm gonna need a first mate. I don't plan on disappearin' anytime soon, but havin' someone around to help would be... [Well] helpful. Especially 'cause some of you are new.

And in case you're wonderin', I'm not human, so if you got human stuff you need help with, I ain't the one to do it. [a beat] Sorry.

[Voice: OPEN]
[Speeeeaking of.]

For people who knew them, Ezri Dax and Kai Gracen have both returned. Hopefully, they're safe and sorry for the late announcement, but... [Well, a planet was blowing up.

He clears his throat.] Things got busy.

Anyone got any tips on how to be a captain? Especially tips for a non-human who has to take care of a bunch of humans now?

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[Spirit of an object? How does that work? Does that mean it possessed an object a long time ago and forgot what its virtue was? Justice has heard that can happen.]

I cannot say that I have ever heard of a sword spirit before, but I have heard of spirits who become trapped in inanimate objects. It is not an enviable fate, as I understand it. How were you given your own body?

[Justice is getting better at explaining what he is. Many people need a primer.] Spirits like myself dwell in the Fade, where mortals go to dream and pass through in death. Most of us avoid the mortal realm, and we all have our virtue to which we aspire. [Guess what his is. Just guess.] I arrived in the mortal world only when a demon of pride's careless blood magic pushed me through the Veil, and I was trapped in a mortal's corpse.

[....gross. Dude, you're in a corpse. That can't be sanitary.]

My Saniwa - they're like sages, I guess. There are a lot of them and they're all fightin' for the time government to stop the war, so they give parts of their power to pull our spirits out of our vessels and give us a human form. Where I'm from, there are a lot of different spirits - youkai, demons, tsukumogami, nature spirits, and a lot more. I'm just one of 'em.

[That said, it's interesting to hear about how spirits work wherever this guy is from. The Fade sounds like the underworld except for the dream part, and demons? Interesting indeed.]

But now you're still trapped, huh? Is that how they got you here even though you don't have a physical body?

I was pulled here without the corpse I inhabited. Somehow, this place gave me my own physical form when I should have had none. [So no, he's not in a corpse anymore. Thank your lucky stars, because that smell can't be washed out.] I have heard mention of at least one spirit where I come from having created its own physical form, but I have never heard of this before and I would not know how it did it.

So spirits in your world fight on behalf of mortals? And you're a regular part of their armies? [Demons and spirits fighting in mortal conflicts isn't exactly unheard of, but Justice can't imagine there being more than maybe one or two working for a given side without the use of blood magic, and he especially can't imagine average mortals just accepting spirits and demons as a natural part of their armies.]

[Um. Holy shit? That's significant to Doudanuki in so many ways.]

They manifested you a physical body?

[How? How did they get that power?]

Is it an original form? A copy of something else?

[He'll answer the other questions later, but right now that information is super important to him. If they can manifest a physical form out of nothing then they have a power like the Saniwa trapped somewhere here.]

I do not know what it is. [It's... actually a little disturbing how little he understands how this has happened. He's constantly fighting a lurking sense of dread that there's a catch he doesn't know about yet, or that the body will fail and he will be left to be driven mad by the mortal realm he is no longer equipped to process.] I can control how I appear. I do not need to eat, drink, or sleep. It functions somewhat as though I am what I would be in the Fade, except I am more contained and I do not fall apart in the physical realm.

If it is true that another spirit has done this alone, then perhaps giving me a body was only a matter of triggering a process I was already capable of undergoing. Perhaps the creatures here created a body whole cloth for me, and I am trapped in it so perfectly that I am not aware that I am trapped. I do not know. [But all of these things are pretty disturbing thoughts.]

[So not quite like the Saniwa's powers. It's a malleable form, close to a spirit, but physical. That is actually really interesting to him for once.

Still, it has to be disturbing for a spirit that isn't used to having a physical form at all. Tsukumogami had a hard time adjusting to a human body, but they were spirits meant to inhabit a physical form so it wasn't a huge leap for them. He can only imagine how strange it must be going from being formless and complete to being jammed inside a body.]

Hn...the things the Atroma can do are really disturbing, but you don't feel any sort of corruption happening, right? Would you be able to recognize it if it happened?

[Because the swords sure as hell can tell.]

I am not corrupted.

[Justice's voice is suddenly sharp and hard. Clearly, a nerve has been touched.

The edge almost immediately leaves his voice again, but he still sounds displeased with the topic. He doesn't mean to snap every time this topic is brought up, but it's the one thing that makes him defensive without fail.] I would recognize it, as would everyone around me.

[And he's ready to tear his own mind apart to destroy any hint of corruption that may ever be there.]

[Whoa, that hit a nerve. To be fair, it would hit a nerve with Doudanuki, too. He's seen what happens when sword spirits corrupt and it isn't pretty.]

Alright, good to know. I haven't felt anything like that here either, so whatever they do, it's at least a pure summoning.

[He frowns though. If the Atroma are able to summon pure spirits...What does that mean for all of them? Was he really from a Citadel? Was he manifested here and just had memories of a past Citadel in his head?

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Doudanuki runs a hand through his hair.]

Didn't mean to offend - it's just somethin' we spirits gotta think about, right? It happens to tsukumogami, too.

You do not have to concern yourself about that with me. [He doesn't really know what causes spirits to turn into demons, but from what he's seen, he thinks that it happens because of a spirit's own moral failing. Thus, asking him if he's corrupted is almost a personal attack.

But while he's still ruffled, he doesn't hold it against the sword spirit. Spirits do need to consider these things when dealing with other spirits.]

Corruption happens in your world because of incorrect summonings? [Maybe that's also something that happens in his world, but honestly, he's not sure. He knows that spirits who get summoned to the mortal world against their will often become demons, but he does not know why.]

[If Justice says it isn't a problem then he's going to believe him. He isn't one to push on something touchy to another spirit. Plus he's ready to just believe that he can trust him. Spirits don't often go around lying.

Instead, he just nods and continues on.]

It can - if the summoner is pulling us into the world for the wrong reasons. Or if we're abused or mistreated. I've heard of some tsukumogami going wrong when that happens too much.

[Or if their purpose is twisted.]

Good to know I won't have to worry 'bout that with you.

I do not know all the circumstances that lead to corruption of spirits in my world. The common pattern is that when a spirit values its desires more than its virtue, then it is lost. Sometimes they lose themselves simply by being forced into the world of mortals when they do not expect it.

But I am dedicated to my virtue and I have entered the mortal world without going mad. There is no danger of corruption. [At least he thinks so, but he's got a nice thick layer of denial protecting him from ever having to consider the possibility that he may not be in complete control of this and maybe he'll become a demon anyway because he doesn't understand what makes them happen. Denial is great that way.]

Well then, you've passed the only two big tests you had, so you're probably just fine.

[Since he doesn't seem like the sort to go rogue over his desires. He seems more like the straight steel arrow, unbending and loosed toward a single purpose. Doudanuki can appreciate that.]

So, what do I call you? Justice?

[After his virtue...?]

If you need something to call me, then Justice is acceptable.

[Spirits in Justice's world literally don't have names. They're just called their virtues if someone needs to address them. Justice has only heard of one spirit who took a mortal name--two now that he's met this one.]

Do spirits often take names where you are from?

[Justice then. That's easy enough to remember.]

Not all of 'em. Sword spirits are....unusual because the swords we live in were given names by the humans who made them. So we adopted them as our names when we manifested. But a futon tsukumogami doesn't have one, and while a lantern tsukumogami is called a name by humans, it's more like a genre than a proper name like we swords get.

On the other hand, most of 'em never manifest like we do, so I wouldn't know if they got their own names. We don't really talk to one another.

That, at least, is familiar. [Spirits aren't super chatty with each other in the Fade, either. Sometimes they'll stumble onto each other, and maybe they'll even work together if their virtues are compatible, but spirits aren't exactly going to go around making small talk.] Do all spirits in your world come from objects?

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