thefarshore | Heaven's BBS

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Heaven's BBS | Text

Posted: July 15
From: Anon

Here’s a question for you all: what do you think about death?

Considering the recent murders, I’d say it’s something to think about, isn’t it?

It truly brings in the question of whether or not death plays a relevant role here. People seem to be able to come back to life, but seems to go from god to shinki or even shinki to god. Regardless of the reason for the change in reversal, it seems that one element in particular remains missing: memories.

I’m curious as to why memories seem to be the important element in deciding between a god and a shinki aside from the obvious.

So, here’s another question: how many of you were previously shinki who became a god? If you don’t remember your time as a shinki, would you want those memories back?

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That's what I think, too.

[He looks over at her from where he's on his phone. There's a slight frown on his face.]

But it does leave more questions than answers unfortunately. If the old gods and shinki are unaffected, then why is it so frequent with the new ones?

I'd say fantasy would be overrated, but considering where we are, it is a possibility nonetheless.

And since it's linked, the killer might be tracking this now, too.

I don't. I've never run into the other one before, but at least there's identity for one of the victims.

I try my best to be.

[He can be an ass, okay.

But if you actually ask, he might tell you.]

Well...

[She pauses, struggling with how to put her thoughts into words.]

Perhaps... perhaps it's like trying to patch up a wall, but all your bricks are different shapes and sizes. And they don't necessarily match the holes in the wall either. And you're trying to fit everything together, but sometimes a brick falls out and you have to find a better place for it...

[After another pause she stops and shakes her head.]

I'm sorry. I'm not explaining this very well. I just mean that perhaps it's because they're trying to fit us into roles we weren't meant for.

The link is just theoretical, but any sensible murderer would be watching public discussions of his or her actions.

[Probably his actions; violent criminals in general and knife murderers specifically skew male, but without evidence Scully doesn't like to predispose herself to a solution.]

Luckily, you're anonymous. I'll be careful.

[He takes in her words, eye narrowing in thought.

It makes sense, but even so, it's a bit confusing for him in the long run.]

It won't be long before the entire system crashes down if that's the case, though.

[Forcing people into roles is never a good sign.

Through their link, Cardia might feel just even the briefest worry because in the long run, he doesn't want anything bad happening to her.]

Depends which older god is overseeing it. Some are at least less obstinate about giving us information than others.

I've seen it mentioned that coming back as the same thing after dying still means you lose your memories. It might be the price for the trouble of being brought back, because I know with the older gods it relies on how many followers they had when they died, and shinki probably don't come back at all. So having a cost to it would make sense.

Not unless they're too confident in their abilities.

Partially why I chose to be anonymous.

But can you really trust any of them?

One hell of a cost in that case. It makes me wonder if gods who were previously shinki would be able to regain memories too as time passes, much like how shinki slowly regain some memories of their own.

I didn't say they were trustworthy. But even if you can't trust them, you can trust the fact that they'll want to save their own hides.

Maybe. I haven't heard of it happening yet, but I doubt it's impossible. It would help if we even knew how shinki regained memories.

Aiming an older god to be the next victim--Heaven will never be prepared for that.

[But wait, it makes him recall the torn pages in some of the books he's seen in the library.]

Even if we did know, there's no telling what we could even do with that information. It can almost be a system similar to how random items would suddenly appear in our rooms.

[Yes, that could be a subtle hint about Yuto and his padlock necklace, but also in general since it seems to have happened before.]

They probably think nobody would dare, despite the fact that there's already whoever was behind the fires to deal with.

That happens to both gods and shinki, but it being from the same source would make sense. There'd have to be a limit to how many powers here can do things like reach across worlds or suppress and return memories that easily.

I did say sensible.

For my own protection, I'll avoid agreeing to meet you in a dark forest.

Fires and murders; it seems that these things usually happens when there's a crowd. But I don't want to assume they're related incidents either.

It'd be good if there's a way for us to be able to test that limit. Nothing is free and even that source may find itself eventually drained in the long run.

Good call. I would hope it'd be common sense not to meet in dark forests; it just makes it seem like a bad horror film.

Not just a horror movie, but the part of the movie where everyone yells, "Don't go in there!" at the screen.

In any case, if you find anything interesting, you know who I am. Let me know.

Without memories, it can be argued, that a shinki might be more loyal; more dependent upon their god. I do not agree with the method, but I have seen it play out well when fully embraced.

As for your first question, I do my best not to think about death. I used to long for it - to be with my family - but now that I have chosen to live, I know all I can do is defend myself and my shinki to the best of my abilities. To dwell on the inevitable - whether I am immortal or not - makes little sense to me.

I'd call this too obvious to be related to the fires, or too direct. The ones behind the fires have been trying to keep themselves unnoticed, and it's much easier to slip up and get yourself caught during something like a murder than setting a fire.

If it's someone within the Heavens, they'd have to be some kind of outlier, given how much the older gods and shinki seem to hate the idea of shinki getting memories back. So chances are they don't know who or what it is, or if they do it's something they can't access to stop it.

I've been thinking about checking out something related to all of this, actually.

Oooooh someone is covering all the bases. Or trying too!

Hey Anon-kun,
Would you pay your memories to come back to life if you died?

No, a new God does not remember their time as a shinki, if time there was.

For myself, I could not prize my possession of memories from time spent in this world over and above the loss that one branded shinki must endure. If memories must be taken, such a loss is more awkward than truly disquieting, and the consequences are comparatively harmless. What I can say for certain is that my last memories of my own world are entirely benign. I am quite certain I have a home to return to.

Please excuse my desire for privacy. I cannot be certain how much I might say is safe to reveal in public. I do not wish any companions from my own world to read my words here, and be endangered by them.

an existence without knowing the truth is hardly worth living, wouldn't you agree?

Death is the destruction of a living vessel, nothing more. The only important part is where the attached "soul" goes afterwards.

There's at least one former-shinki who remembers their time in that state. However, it's difficult to gather any information on that topic since we can't confirm what happened to those other shinki when they vanished from this world. It's already a known fact that dying in this world erases memories regardless of whether it's a god or a shinki, so death is still a possible explanation.

Death is like anything else in this world-- it changes according to circumstances. A death at the end of a life well-lived is nothing to scared of--rather, to be rejoiced over, because it's the point where the tired vessel of the body has performed its job and the soul inside can find peace. Murder's inexcusable, though. Self-defense is circumstantial, but not murder!

A shinki is supposed to guide their god or goddess, correct? To teach them morality? Human morality?

[She hasn't forgotten Orihime's words to her, that, as someone who wasn't human, she might be the one supposed to learn of her goddess instead.]

Perhaps memories would get in the way of that. I know what I believe is right and wrong, but I don't know why I believe that. All I can do is trust myself... perhaps they're afraid that, if we had our memories, we wouldn't be able to trust ourselves quite so... blindly. They may fear our uncertainty?

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