[siren sound] EMERGENCY MEETING [open infopost]

[prince_of_beasts]

WHO: Everyone
WHAT: Crewmate Passenger emergency meeting re: possessions
WHERE: Library
WARNINGS: None to start
NOTES: IC compilation of information on the possessions happening this month. Discussing knowledge and ways to protect each other. Coping, maladaptive or otherwise, with revelations from October 1st. Open opportunity to get caught up/looped in if your character hasn't had the chance!

And, catch-all for library as an ongoing safe haven for the rest of the month.




SETUP

As news of the possessions spread, as the scale of the crisis starts to become clearer, Dimitri drops into a state some might describe as manic. A couple weeks ago, he learned he's never going home, and nothing he ever knew he was has any meaning. Now he has a goal, a purpose, a strikingly familiar enemy, and he latches onto it with all the determination of a lifeline. Which means making sure as many people as possible know what's happening, and building ways to protect themselves and each other.

On the fourteenth, after hearing about Giles, Dimitri messages everyone he knows; fliers on blank notebook paper in shaky marker handwriting crop up around the ship. EMERGENCY MEETING RE: ASSAULTS AND POSSESSIONS - INFORMATION POSTED IN LIBRARY


SO HERE'S THE DEAL
Dimitri doesn't have a binder. He does have a set of notebooks from Sundries. They're laid out on the same table as the binder, open, because they hurt Dimitri's eyes to look at too long. Each one has a heading in black marker.

The handwriting is Darcy's. The flimsy paper defeated Dimitri's attempts to wrangle it.

WHAT WE KNOW

SAFETY PROTOCOL

KNOWN POSSESSIONS

And one last sheet of paper, torn free and taped to the desk, with a short list of names and cabin numbers:
VOLUNTEER DEFENSE AND PATROL


STRATEGY MEETING
As with the last infosession, there's not really a coherent meeting. On a ship this big, with the chaos ongoing, it's too difficult to organize that many passengers. But people will be coming and going; there will be chances to strategize and coordinate.

And of course, the library's open and defended for the rest of the month. Dimitri's hauled down a few trays from the buffet of anything that's tolerable at room temperature. Getting chased and need to bolt? Possessor or possessed, no violence in the library.

Comments

[winepouring]

[ Shi Qingxuan isn't a fighter - anyone who looks at him hard enough can tell that much - but there is one thing he's good for! Palamedes already has room wards covered, so he leaves that part out, but beyond that...

In neat, precise letters: ]

Shi Qingxuan - Cabin 126 - Available to create wearable protection charms to ward away ghosts or warn of their presence. Can provide spiritual protection, too.

[konpeito_aji]

[Cool cool, Nobunaga waits for the crowd to thin to find Shi. This beats asking the gods/esses (he's oblivious that Shi Quingxuan is also a god, good job Nobunaga).]

Can you assess how much a soul has been devoured by demons too? [Asking for a friend. The friend is himself.]

[winepouring]

[ Uh.

That takes Shi Qingxuan aback. Tentatively: ]

Did this happen before or after the possessions started...?

[konpeito_aji]

[Grins! It's a good question, he should have seen it coming!] Before. Before coming here at all. The possessions are ghosts, not demons, no?

I didn't think I had a soul at all, but it's how we're anchored by the Captain, so I must.

[winepouring]

Yeah, that's why I didn't get it. If there were demons mixed in with the ghosts, you'd have more to worry about than just parts of your soul getting eaten...

[ Like, say, the rest of you getting eaten. ]

Anyway, of course you have a soul, but I guess if you lost part of it, that would make a lot of sense. Have you felt sick or like you're not yourself for a while?

[konpeito_aji]

[How is that an OF COURSE?!]

[Although he's thinking this may truly be something that just isn't universal across alternate timelines, universes, and the rest.]

[And just pinches between his brows in thought.] Not since my father died. I was 13. My baby sister was truly just a baby then. I haven't seen her since she was old enough to get married. She and the others wanted to stop me from losing myself, but fighting the Ikkou Ikki, [Ehhhhh they're a dumb cult that no one has ever heard of, so he probably doesn't need to worry, right?] They believed I lost my soul to demons. The Demon King of 6th Heaven. [Waits to see if that means... literally anything to others.] It's a Buddhist thing. [As Nobunaga "understands" it.] It wouldn't be a new thing. But if I truly have a soul. [WHICH he almost doubts.] Then it stands to reason, all the warnings I ignored mean something after all.

[winepouring]

[ Oh, yeah, Nobunaga had talked a bit about this before... Shi Qingxuan was more than a little drunk at the time, so he doesn't remember it clearly, but at least he's totally sober now.

Shi Qingxuan, of all people, is perfectly aware of Buddhism and Buddhist teachings, so he stands here, listening... ]

Well, it's not impossible to lose some of your soul. [ He starts to explain casually. ] Even losing your entire soul doesn't mean you'd die right away, but you wouldn't really be okay either. Both your mind and body would be affected even if just a little of your soul left you.

But even if you did lose parts of it back then, I don't think even the Captain would be able to get them back for you now... Even an incomplete soul must mean something to him.

[ Yeah... He'll go with that. ]

What kinds of warnings did you get before?

1/2

[konpeito_aji]

[Nobunaga arches an eyebrow.] I have no intentions to restore my past, even if it's missing pieces. And certainly not to rely on the Captain's whims for anything. I'm more worried about what's left being used up, and becoming like the ghosts.

2/2 cw tldr in brackets: genocide + detached PTSD + religious/cult programming

[konpeito_aji]

[As for warnings... Does he need to recite 3 decades+ of religious indoctrination?]

[Okay, the very VERY short version...]

[His face goes blank for a bit.]

[Kennyo's warnings were the strongest in his mind. Nobunaga's own takeaway was that hatred was the one weapon he'd never use. Ever. But he remembered the pleas. Not to raise the Demon King with the blood sacrifices. That humans weren't innately cold. The days after Crichton's death were the coldest he'd felt in years. So much of his time on the Serena Eterna he'd reverted to his childish enthusiasm for novelty, the things that had earned him the reputation as the Fool of Owari long before the Demon King. The things he reveled in that were normally banned by the monks for its lack of austerity, loving the luxuries, loving life, that had since gone cold by the Demon King he'd become had been fired up with new excitement, but after Crichton's fall, Nobunaga took a hard hit to it, realizing then how much Crichton had let him, enabled him to feel free enough to be like that once again.]

[It's about connections to humans, isn't it? Even what Kennyo wanted or didn't want from Nobunaga or others. Probably. It's hard for Nobunaga to say, since he murdered the monk in the blaze with the rest of the Ikkou Ikki cult.]

[What kind of warnings?]

[Before Kennyo how many others with warnings had there been? Not to farm hatred, not even of himself. But what else could he do? He couldn't control how others felt. Only maneuver around their plays. Warnings that seeing it as a game, even if he still didn't believe a single life should be wasted, was still going to turn him into the Demon King. Lose his soul, or himself. Isn't that what Oichi once warned too? And he sent her away. So she wouldn't lose herself, even if it meant risking himself.]

[Mitsuhide and Kichou. How many fights with Kichou had there been? Were they only disagreements? What was the totality of them, or individual words? What was said specifically about Demon King things? Nobunaga's soul, his essence? Kichou didn't really care about that side, did he? What was the disagreement about then? They both wanted the castes destroyed, was it just that Kichou thought Nobunaga wasn't strong enough? Hard enough? How to best preserve lives... Because even if souls did exist, what good was it if the lives were lost? Lives definitely exist, so why waste them for the sake of something that might not have? Finding out that souls exist... Does it even change that? What would Kichou tell him now? Nobuanga doesn't know, truly wholly doesn't. That was the thing he liked most about Kichou. He was impossible for Oda to predict.]

[Mitsuhide... Still believed in the dream of the new era. One no longer ruled by Demon Kings. But he warned too of going too dark. Mitsuhide was in charge of Nobunaga's fatal plan. To kill him if Nobunaga truly went against the dream of the better era. So if we suppose that Nobunaga's soul was in the process of being corrupted, eaten away, then when it was fully gone Mitsuhide was the one in charge of ending it and furthering the true ambition to see Hideyoshi and Ieyasu empowered. Nobunaga had wanted to be free to see the world, to travel to explore. That isn't very Demon King-ly he supposes. Demon Kings are tyrants, after all. And seeking freedom of others isn't very Demon King-ly either.]

[So then what did Demon King mean? Which part of him was Demon-devoured-corrupted, and which part was not? Before souls revelation; he'd assumed being the Demon King of 6th Heaven meant defeating the others. Letting himself be hated by all, so long as it got the job done. His mission, his dream was completed, wasn't it? A miscalculation on behalf of the Captain, Nobunaga said, because now Nobunaga was free.]

[But Kennyo's words echo again, what kind of world was one ruled by grief and seething anger, resentment, and hatred?]

[Nobunaga's nearly overwhelming himself with trying to adequately express an answer of any kind to this.]

[During such times, his default is to let others tell him what it means. Not to tell them. It's part of his difficulty on Eterna. Adapting to no one being from his time, circumstances, understanding the depths of the meanings, knowing how much was shallow or not even the tip of an iceberg.]

[Nobunaga has never been wholly "okay." Even as a child, he was a product of war, born and raised to be a general to best all millennia of generals before him. Born into the castes and desperately seeking to break them.]

[He wants to answer the question, desperately. But he can't. There's too many warnings. Literal decades of religious teachings that amounted to "Don't be yourself." It's too wrapped up in his entirety. Don't be arrogant, conceited, proud, domineering, commanding. Be humble. Be respectful. Be polite. Be quiet, not loud. Don't draw attention. Be obedient. Follow the lines, stay in the lines, reinforce the lines. Obey, obey, obey. Only eat one meal of rice and tea a day. Don't enjoy anything. Don't go to circuses. Dances are for the sake of gods, not humans. No sins allowed. What's a sin? Everything. Don't enjoy. No luxuries. Art, music, color. Color. How long was everything pure grey? Black and white. Tao. Wabi sabi. Accept flaws. -- Even now his kneejerk reflex is fuck that. Didn't these things eat away at his soul? If one enjoys these things, luxuries, the material plane beyond spirituality, then one loses their soul?] What is the price of ultimate power?

[One's soul, is it not?]

There are nearly no actions I have ever taken I have not been told would result in me becoming the Demon King of 6th Heaven. Warring with gods has been my course of action since childhood. [This is NOT proud arrogance, it's detached, icy. What is there to be proud of? He should be ashamed, shouldn't he? That is what the monks would have said is the only way to preserve whatever little shreds remain of his corrupted soul. Kennyo's words, "There is no human live without some warmth in their heart. If someone exists with a heart of ice... it is only because they have frozen it themselves!" -- Which just went to show, Nobunaga was letting himself become less than human. The Demon King of 6th Heaven, by the abbot's followers' own decree. Their blood sacrifice to give him power. So the fact that he isn't ashamed goes to show, he's a demon king, who let his soul be eaten by huge measures for the sake of the power to change the world.]

I cannot pretend I don't want to become a ghost. I cannot reverse course either. Even if I haven't killed once on this ship yet, [... Yet.] if it was as simple as not killing, then the monks and I would never have warred at all.

I don't seek redemption. [There's no redemption for demon kings. But that souls exist... It's fine if he's never reincarnated. Any of him. It's fine that he failed all 6 heavens tests of purity. But right now, right here... Pollux wants to offer the passengers hope. Nobunaga's normal reflexes are for freedom. Weren't they in agreement on it?]

[Gods damn he hates fighting himself. Freeing others from the Captain, is that just freeing people from other Demon Kings in essence? Or is it more difficult still? Acting to save the Captain's soul too? He's not the right -entity- whatever he is, for this job. But isn't that the story of everything? He's the only one for it somehow. The only one crazy and damned enough.]

But I do need guidance on future course. I'm sorry, I know that doesn't explain much.

[winepouring]

[ Some things don't change in a person. Not after years and years, not after being crushed by life, not after knowing that it's not always the right thing to do.

His sympathy is like that. It's part of his nature, something that can't be changed no matter the weights pressed upon him and no matter how irredeemable other people might see the one who's caught his sympathy.

It's totally pointless to try to help someone at this stage, and yet, he really can't not... ]

Well, not killing people is already a pretty good start. Everyone who's here is a person, too. Even if they'll come back afterwards, they still feel pain...

[ His own voice is sad as he relays this, as if caught in his own memories. ]

I don't know what it's like to become a Demon King, but if people say that anything you do will make you become one, then what's the point? [ Now it's bitterness seeping into his voice. ] At the same time, those people aren't here anymore, and there sure aren't any heavens here, either. I can tell that you're still human, even if you don't have all of your soul.

[ Spoiler: He can't actually tell how much of his soul is missing, but he is pretty certain he's just a human! ]

[konpeito_aji]

I'm more worried about their friends. [That's just old habits. But true.]

[Nobunaga nods at the "What's the point?" and that those people and the castes of heavens aren't here. Yeah, fuck those losers. They're gone, and he's still around! DWI.]

What? How can you tell? [That he's still human.]

[winepouring]

Because it's obvious. [ So he says, very bluntly. ]

What I mean is, there are demons born from humans and humans that become evil ghosts [ which can also be "demons" in some translations, ahem ] after they die, but you're not really either. You're just human. Humans do terrible things all the time, and they're still human. Things that aren't human won't really look or act the same as normal humans, though. Since you do, it's safe to say that you're still human.

[konpeito_aji]

Soka.

[A head tilt. Right. So it's just the same as Masamune being the one-eyed dragon. Not LITERALLY. Shingen Takeda is the Tiger in the same way Nobuhide was the Owari Tiger. Just titles. And even Kenshin Uesagi is the God of War only in name. Because Gods are... not created by monks anyway.]

[But:]

I don't want to be a ghost. How do I--

[Ugh, even asking that is impossibly difficult.]

[His mind reels away from the question like it's poisonous or fire. Desperately trying to latch onto something else to focus on.]

[Anguish, in pure anguish, he asks in a quiet sorrowful tone that has none of his reflexive demon king posturing for once:]

Do we know how much the ghosts had to endure before they reached that? Can they still be saved or what's to stop us from reaching that ourselves?

[Is this his first encounter with true fear? He's been afraid before, but always with a plan of attack strategy.]

[skaikru]

( ah, so — more uses than just being a buddy and ferrying coconuts around. this demands some follow-up. the ship may be falling apart and ghosts running rampant but clarke's in the middle of a dissociative episode feeling pretty calm in the pits of chaos. so when she approaches shi qingxuan, it's with an air of someone coming up to your cafe table and asking if this seat's taken. )

Can I take you up on one of those?

[winepouring]

[ Ah, Clarke, his coconut buddy! Maybe it's because she's acting so calm, but Shi Qingxuan doesn't look so tense, either, when she comes up to talk. ]

Yeah! Here, I made some already just in case.

[ He takes a few from a little bag. An intricate set of symbols is drawn along the length of the paper (helpfully sourced from the gift shop!) in a rusty red...ink... (definitely not from the gift shop!) ]

You just need to keep it on you to stay safe. If an evil ghost tries to come near you, it'll burn up and protect you before the ghost can even think of trying to get the drop on you.

[skaikru]

( rusty...red...ink...?

oh shit is this a blood sigil? she's instantly all the more intrigued, and when reaching out to take the slips of paper, clarke's oddly gentle with how she handles them. intermittently stares at the script, but occasionally casting a curious glance up at shi qingxuan. )

Protect how? Like a barrier ward? ( or something a little more.......aggressive? )

[winepouring]

[ Congratulations, Clarke, you are now the proud owner of four (4) charms freshly drawn in Shi Qingxuan's own blood! The lines are all flowy and floaty, elongated characters, extra strokes, markings that only have symbolic meaning... While everything here is in English, if there are words on the paper, they're not easy to decipher. ]

Not exactly. It's more like when they get too close, the ghost and the talisman will both light on fire. It doesn't hurt living people, but it sure won't feel good for any evil ghosts or demons around.

[ He keeps reiterating the need for a malicious nature; it would be bad if the few normal ghosts on board fell victim by mistake, after all. ]

You can keep those ones. Having more than one on you won't hurt; it just means more chances to protect you.

[skaikru]

( she is filled to the brim with a fascination and reverence that isn't... entirely... normal. and a little hard to contain in the moment, as she scans the sigil slips like she means to memorize them and not like she gets to take these home and recreate the design in her steady growing notebook of borrowed spells. after a beat, though, clarke snaps out of it and redirects to the issue on hand. yes, they're dealing with a rash of possessions and vengeful, violent ghosts. protection is key. )

These are really, really great. Thank you.

( then don't mind this chaos gremlin immediately folding one up and shoving it into her shirt, anchored in her bra strap. )

But I just need one. I can give these ( loosely shakes the other three still in hand ) to my friends. Actually, I'm happy to help pass out as many as you have.

[winepouring]

[ ...Yeah, that's a pretty intense interest in his talismans. But, if he were in the same position, he can't say he'd be much different; different types of magic are cool, and he would love to learn different spells from different places. It's okay, Clarke, you have a kindred spirit!

Upon hearing that she'll pass out more, though, Shi Qingxuan's face lights up. ]

You'd do that? Thanks. Here, [ He pulls a few more from his bag, saving some for anyone else at the meeting who may ask, ] I'll make more later; if we're both giving them out, then even more people will be protected.

[ There's only genuine gratitude here. He's only known Clarke this long, but he thinks she's great! ]

Do you use magic, too?

[ Her interest has his interest. ]

[skaikru]

( hey, it's okay to be a lil' intense over something that could save your life in the future, right? it's normal, this is totally normal. besides, they'd have to actually survive this month if she ever hoped to get any real mileage outta studying this new type of sigil — no circle, no repeating symbols around the edges, no moon component, looks like it could be layered with more vaguely letter-shaped characters (are those a's or pi symbols?), no eyeball sketches... stop, clarke — that's for later.

also: thinks she's great, yeah? start the countdown clock to inevitable disappointment.

she nods along in the vein of getting any sort of protection to as many people as possible, while also about to voice aloud the prospect of using the talismans as an offensive measure; go around, hold it up to people at random, see what burns and how hotly. but is sidelined by the question, and has to due grace to look a little embarrassed. ah, failed at subtlety on this end, did she? )

No. ( that's technically a lie, anyone can do sigil magic here, and she's proved that several times over. ) Magic wasn't a thing where I come from. It's definitely been one of the biggest culture shocks since waking up here.

( though please also consider: arthur c. clarke's third law, any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. she was born among the stars, after all. )

[winepouring]

[ There are some assumptions Clarke is making, some that Shi Qingxuan would have to burst her bubble on—but what Shi Qingxuan doesn't know can't hurt Clarke's enthusiasm.

But, ah, hearing that magic didn't exist where she came from... It doesn't surprise him, but it is sad, and Shi Qingxuan's gaze turns sympathetic. Even everyone in worlds with magic, not everyone can actually use it. No wonder she's so interested in magic now! ]

Yeah, I can imagine. This whole place was a huge culture shock for me, too. There were things I hadn't even imagined before I got here. That's what made meeting everyone so fun.

[skaikru]

( assumptions and mistakes! two things clarke griffin makes exceptionally well.

she doesn't outright wince when he utters the word fun but there is a definite flicker to the light of enthusiasm in her eyes. that seems like quite a stretch of the definition of fun, and no one has been able to argue enough to convince her otherwise. nothing here is fun, nice, or cool in the long run — just a bunch of trappings and set dressing on what'll eventually be their grave ten times over before becoming their final resting place. she's never said nice to meet you without a hint of sarcasm, and leans towards judging everyone who insists they can make the serena eterna their home.

but... that's not exactly what shi qingxuan was saying, right? and even clarke has to admit she's exceptionally glad for a few people she'd managed to meet here. different worlds, different times, different timelines — they never would have known each other any other way. )

...Other than people, what's your favorite thing here?

[winepouring]

[ Even in Shi Qingxuan's obliviousness when he first arrived, not having experienced anything that bad, he hadn't considered the ship a nice place one could call home.

Now with much more experience, his eyes dim, the earlier radiance from talking about magic disappearing. Maybe Shi Qingxuan would say his next favorite thing is the alcohol or the food, all those fun things that he also liked about visiting new places, but honestly? ]

Other than the people, I hate it here. [ It's a total tonal shift, not light and happy, just cold and bitter. ] This place is terrible. Even if things are nice now and then, it never stays that way. That's why I want to do everything I can to help everyone who's trapped here.

[ His fingers fidget where he has them cupped against his stomach, nails scraping over the tip of one of his fingertips. It's as smooth as it had always been, no healing cuts or lingering scars, but his fingers still twitch all the same. ]

[sabigoe]

[ Fio goes through the notes, attempting to read the information that she's capable of reading. She gives up in frustration when the words are too complex. Next, she goes over the list of possessed passengers, she looks through quietly, staring for a long time as if to burn those names into memory.

Eventually she moves on, finding Shi Qingxuan's note that advertises his services. She lifts her head, checking to see if he's nearby. She puts on a hopeful smile when she sees him, covering up her worry. ]

Ohhh... you're giving out charms?

[winepouring]

[ It is a very worrying situation, especially when you're a kid... But, Shi Qingxuan puts on his best cheerful and hopeful face when he sees Fio. ]

Yeah! They're protection charms. I don't know how many bad ghosts are around, but it's good to stay safe.

[ He reaches into a bag and pulls out a small stack of paper talismans. The paper is from the gift shop, and the rusty red ink is from...Shi Qingxuan. There are intricate symbols drawn on them, but if they're a familiar language, it isn't immediately obvious. ]

One should be enough to keep anything bad away, but if you want to take more, I made a lot.