Video ☆ Spirits Fearing Ghosts

[minogame]

( The video is normal enough! Urashima props his phone up so it's at a good angle and holds up a poster for everyone to see. )

Look! There's going to be a lot of haunted houses in this park soon! Everyone should go! It looks like a lot of fun!

( And he sets the poster down next to Kamekichi, his always sleeping turtle. Right now, she appears to have a cooling washcloth on her shell. It's hot, guys. Summer is here. Someone get this turtle to a cool pond. )

Hmm... you know, it's that time of year, too! Isn't that fun? Maybe we can tell each other ghost stories! I'll start, I'll start!

Have you ever heard of tsukumogami? They're spirits that live in "things." I think the scariest one is Boroboroton! Boroboroton is an angry futon spirit. If you don't take care of your futon, it'll come to life, throw you out of bed, and cover your face. Isn't that scary? So you should take care of your things before they get angry!

( He isn't very good at this ghost story thing and he has twenty more stories just like this one. )

What do you think?

For those interested, this is a mini prelude for my upcoming player plot so check it out!

Comments

[tadanokusuriuri]

[He's quiet for a moment, tilting his head ever so slightly to the side.]

...The spirit of your futon?

[minogame]

Not just mine! And not just futons! But all spirits. If you don't believe in Boroboroton, you won't believe in any of the others.

[tadanokusuriuri]

[The Medicine Seller sighs, his long fingertips tapping gently for a moment. He has a lot of thoughts about this, wherever they come from, and they're... surprisingly complex, but also simple, in a way.]

This world -- the Near Shore and the Far -- is filled with spirits. As numberless as gods, or as humans.

[To him, that's a matter of fact, not of belief.]

And in all things, there is an interconnectedness. A spirit that's near to humanity, or to divinity, may take on some of its nature, for better or for worse. In that way, the small and simple spirit embodied in an object might grow, over time, into something that humans can recognize as "alive".

It's not unusual, particularly.

[minogame]

( Surprisingly complex but also simple. Urashima has always been a simple spirit but when it comes to spirits, he seems to understand a little more. Urashima is quiet, listening intently as this man speaks. He understands easily without missing a beat, )

Hmm... ( He hums. He doesn't really think too much about what's being said (there's a nagging feeling in his head telling him he shouldn't) but he nods. ) I think so too.

But you know! Even if we're here in heaven, we haven't seen all of the spirits yet. There are a lot of missing gods and a lot of things that don't make a lot of sense! Some might say because you can't see them, they aren't real but maybe it's just not the right time to see them yet.

A lot of people think Boroboroton is silly... Do you think that's sad? He's been mistreated for a hundred years and now that he's able to let others know he can feel, people don't want to believe in him! No one will take Boroboroton seriously...

[tadanokusuriuri]

Even children learn better than to think only the things they've seen before exist.

I think... that it's good to listen to what he has to say. If you have a use for someone, it's only right to consider their feelings, too, or you have no right to complain when they lose their temper.

[minogame]

Well, whether they believe or not, I hope they don't fall asleep on him!

( But this is a different conversation than the ones he's had so far and despite his naive and simple nature,
he seems to be following everything easily, )

Hmm... like shinki~?

( It's rhetorical. Of course it's just like shinki. The tools of gods aren't all that different from the kami of tools. )

[tadanokusuriuri]

Hmmm.

Well... We are tools, too.

Are we not?

[minogame]

( Nodding. )

But you shouldn't think we're just tools. That's dangerous, mister. We're people now too!

[tadanokusuriuri]

...Of course.

[Most people a little bit more so than him, but whatever.]

And a tool is only as useful as the hands that hold it. So we should remember that, too.