thefarshore | Deux ♔ Heaven’s BBS ♔ Video

[ I. Sparkling Knight ]

Posted: June 21
From: Anonymous

[ It’s the most peculiar thing. Without anyone’s willing it, or any clicks on the thread topic, a window pops up on the BBS of its own accord.

At first, there’s just static. Then, a countdown, grainy and jittery on the screen:

Followed by…darkness. Pure, unadulterated darkness, for several seconds more. The darkness lingers, undisturbed and silent, for several seconds, and is interrupted only by - a voice. It’s not yelling, it’s not whispering. It’s simply speaking, as if you and it are sharing an intimate moment together. It’s a sultry, deep voice. Regal, too. ]

Stellar nurseries. Cradles in the darkness of forsaken galaxies. Nestled to their bosom, a single gleam is born.

[ A flicker of golden light flashes in the center of the screen, then twinkles out. ]

To this world deprived of true radiance - appearing, lo, now on stage.

[ A trail of purple sparkles and rose petals streams through the darkness. ]

A new era dawns.

[ Lights up! Music up, immediately - the ringing of bells, the sounding of trumpets.

And the show begins. ]

Watch on YouTube

[ Lyrics are here. ]

[ When the performance is finished, the lights go down again, replaced by a sign written in ornate letters, with a sunburst in the corner: CELEPARA TALENT AGENCY, by SHIKYOIN HIBIKI. NOW SCOUTING.

And then the video switches itself off. But don’t worry. As Hibiki's very first boon to the world as a god, it's listed on a message board.

You can watch it as many times as you want. ]

[ II. Private to Natsuru, Felicia, & Maria - From Apollo ]

[ Hibiki’s sitting at a desk with a laurel pattern on a door behind her. She’s got her crown of golden laurels tucked behind her ears, too, except instead of wearing her usual purple jacket and trousers, she’s wearing a business suit. ]

Senou Natsuru. Felicia. [ A pause. ] Maria Cadenzavna Eve.

I have something to discuss with all of you. Please accept my invitation.

[ And Hibiki sends along a little attachment. It’s a purple envelope with a pink heart on it that shows you a fancy invitation if you click on it. Apparently she wants you all to stop by this afternoon.

Also, since the “paper” the invitation appears on is monogrammed, it looks like Hibiki took the time to program this herself. ]

I await your presence.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

That's no lie. What got you into performing in the first place?

[Maybe understanding why others did things would help him understand why he likes to fight so much.]

[(It won't. Dust's situation is so bizarre he'll never guess it.)]

Are you a reporter?

[ Don't those usually introduce themselves?

Hibiki can't think of any other reason to be asked that question. The world is full of people who only care about themselves, after all. Curiosity without an ulterior motive doesn't exist. ]

I'm not sure I'd make a good one. [What with the 'being dead' and 'being a Warmblood' things and all.] Sorry. I'm just curious.

[ Drawn to her light, then. Hibiki makes a deliberate show of, well, deliberating so he'll understand just how big of a treat it is when she decides to reply. ]

I was attracted to it. A world of only beautiful ideals.

[ A world of lies that's honest about being a lie. Where, strangely, those honest lies ring more truly than the falsehoods spun by those treading the floorboards of the stage called "the world"....

...the perfectly honest answer would be that she was scouted and she thought it was funny, but that's dull. ] You felt it too, didn't you? That same admiration.

[ Otherwise you wouldn't have been moved to comment. ]

[Dust completely misses the point of that deliberate deliberating, in an orbit that has yet to be affected by the gravitational waves of Hibiki's ego.]

[Still, that question awakens a little cynicism in him, stemming from a source he doesn't know.]

I can understand the appeal, yes. What was it like when you actually joined that world, though?

That's a rather specific question.

[ She doesn't follow. What's your aim? ]

Maybe it is. It seems like it couldn't be as flawless and beautiful in reality as it looked from the outside. [Nothing really is. Nothing's as perfect or simple as all that.] I guess I just wonder what it's like to reach your dream and discover its reality.

[ Oh, that's the angle. Hibiki sniffs, amused. ] "The world is full of lies and falsehoods", hm?

[ A familiar train of thought. But, fine, she'll indulge him, this is funny. Hibiki smiles reassuringly. ]

It's real. That sparkling paradise - truly exists.

[ PriPara, for the record. That thing you're looking for is called PriPara. There isn't one here, since this world is a heathen wasteland abandoned by its own gods, but that's okay.

Hibiki will fix that. Ultimately. ]

Being here must be the real letdown, then. [Dust doesn't need to know her thoughts to echo them. The Far Shore is a mess without question; it doesn't take any keen insight to appreciate that. Gods might have it easier, but not all that much.]

[ Hibiki shrugs, touching her forehead. ] In some aspects. Still, only one person here thus far has been a natural sentence ender user.....

[ That's a major point in this place's favor! ]

A -- what?

[Dust knows all of those words individually, but put together in that fashion he can't make heads or tails of them.]

[ ...there is no hope for some people.

Hibiki gives herself a moment. ]

The only thing I know of that ends a sentence is punctuation... and all the silent judgment in the world isn't going to expand my knowledge, you know.

....You've lived a fortunate life.

[ A brief moment of silence more for imagining it. ]

Like a fruit hanging unspoiled in the garden of innocence.

Two problems there. I don't remember that life, and I died -- apparently at a reasonably young age.

[Seriously, Hibiki?]

[ You can't expect her to waste valuable brain space contemplating something as dreary as half the people here being dead! That's a stupid thing to even have to take into consideration anyway!

...But, fine. It is what it is. And her point still stands. ]

Then there is some knowledge you're best never regaining.

Pay it no heed.

Deux ♔ Heaven’s BBS ♔ Video

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