[ hello, bad and naughty children, we have been gathered here today to repent for our sins. though here is, admittedly, one of the booths in the French restaurant, with tea set out for everyone. there are even blankets to get snug in and little tea sandwiches for easy snacking. ]
Hey, sorry to ambush you all like this. I just needed to make sure of a couple things about the chapel.
[ Ludger flips thru the pages of a colorful diary as he speaks. ]
Do you remember what the priest sounded like? Like, his diction, his word choice, things like that. And about the tapestries... Have you seen the shimmer in the one with the praying person anywhere else?
Hey, sorry to ambush you all like this. I just needed to make sure of a couple things about the chapel.
[ Ludger flips thru the pages of a colorful diary as he speaks. ]
Do you remember what the priest sounded like? Like, his diction, his word choice, things like that. And about the tapestries... Have you seen the shimmer in the one with the praying person anywhere else?
Edited 2025-11-20 15:50 (UTC)
[Cantarella's snack sandwiches and drinks are untouched by her hand for right now. She's resting her chin in her hand.]
When I returned to the chapel to take a closer look, I didn't have the good fortune of sitting through his sermon once again.
[Probably for the better, though, since she was the one snooping around the front of the house and going through what might very well have been the priest's things.]
I can't speak to specifics, but he was young and encouraging. With such a nonspecific audience for his message, I even wonder...if he might have been speaking to us? I don't know if the journal I found was his or not.
When I returned to the chapel to take a closer look, I didn't have the good fortune of sitting through his sermon once again.
[Probably for the better, though, since she was the one snooping around the front of the house and going through what might very well have been the priest's things.]
I can't speak to specifics, but he was young and encouraging. With such a nonspecific audience for his message, I even wonder...if he might have been speaking to us? I don't know if the journal I found was his or not.
high fives shay because i too am waiting on a bit of stuff
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shortsuits
2025-11-20 05:38 pm (UTC)(link)
[a message to them, huh? that’s certainly food for thought. for now though, he’ll answer what he can of Ludger’s questions before they get too sidetracked by following that line of reasoning.]
I don’t have much to add besides what was already mentioned, but there was some emphasis on health as they were going through the prayers and songs.
[which like. there was already talk of disease, so probably not that odd for that to come up.]
As for the tapestry… As a matter of fact, I have. I had another look at it this week, and the shimmering of the star was similar to the hands that took Giyuu and Yuki, down to the black backdrop.
I don’t have much to add besides what was already mentioned, but there was some emphasis on health as they were going through the prayers and songs.
[which like. there was already talk of disease, so probably not that odd for that to come up.]
As for the tapestry… As a matter of fact, I have. I had another look at it this week, and the shimmering of the star was similar to the hands that took Giyuu and Yuki, down to the black backdrop.
Edited (minor addition) 2025-11-20 17:41 (UTC)
3 way h5 bc guess who is also waiting for a bit of clarification...!
chromatized
2025-11-20 06:16 pm (UTC)(link)
[ at Wazy's comment, Ludger looks up sharply ]
The hands? I thought it was the same as the shimmer that left Lynne.
[ HM. they can circle back to speculation, agreed. Ludger needs to present his own findings. ]
The shimmer in the tapestry is also at the museum, in the plaque. There wasn't any writing on it, but with the way this place messes with our senses, I can't say that won't change. Also, um...
[ how to say this... ]
I haven't seen the inside of the place, so I could be wrong. But I think the museum is more of a mausoleum, if you catch my drift. I heard scratching, knocking, and wailing coming from inside the walls. And when I asked if the priest was in there, I heard someone say, "Who's askin'?" before Siffrin and I had to leave.
The hands? I thought it was the same as the shimmer that left Lynne.
[ HM. they can circle back to speculation, agreed. Ludger needs to present his own findings. ]
The shimmer in the tapestry is also at the museum, in the plaque. There wasn't any writing on it, but with the way this place messes with our senses, I can't say that won't change. Also, um...
[ how to say this... ]
I haven't seen the inside of the place, so I could be wrong. But I think the museum is more of a mausoleum, if you catch my drift. I heard scratching, knocking, and wailing coming from inside the walls. And when I asked if the priest was in there, I heard someone say, "Who's askin'?" before Siffrin and I had to leave.
Is there any reason it couldn't be both? If the hands that emerged from the darkness were claiming—or reclaiming—something, they might share similar qualities.
... Given the disarray in the chapel itself, I don't know that the tapestry has been there the entire time the building stood. Rather, it may have been added to the ruins afterward. So much of the rest is collapsing or destroyed, and the holy texts seem opposed to its iconography.
[Cantarella's eyes and mouth have the makings of a deep frown, though it seems even this is exacerbating the pain located around her head and throat.
The news of the museum (which, why have they all started calling it that with no entry and no reasoning?) only tucks her expression deeper. Luckily the timey wimey means that Julius has posted his findings in the lobby by now, soperhaps they all saw them on the way over.]
We've only the transcript, but the newest audio file unearthed in the library was transcribed...as a rather rough voice. Having heard neither voice, I'm not prepared to draw any conclusions, but they may be adjacent.
... Given the disarray in the chapel itself, I don't know that the tapestry has been there the entire time the building stood. Rather, it may have been added to the ruins afterward. So much of the rest is collapsing or destroyed, and the holy texts seem opposed to its iconography.
[Cantarella's eyes and mouth have the makings of a deep frown, though it seems even this is exacerbating the pain located around her head and throat.
The news of the museum (which, why have they all started calling it that with no entry and no reasoning?) only tucks her expression deeper. Luckily the timey wimey means that Julius has posted his findings in the lobby by now, soperhaps they all saw them on the way over.]
We've only the transcript, but the newest audio file unearthed in the library was transcribed...as a rather rough voice. Having heard neither voice, I'm not prepared to draw any conclusions, but they may be adjacent.
[He nods at both Ludger and Cantarella.]
The hands and whatever had been with Lynne seemed to made up of something similar, even if they took different forms.
I also agree that there are some tapestries that may have been newer additions. The fabric used for one of them seemed to be of better quality than the others that were more worn-down.
[But besides that...]
I think it's worth checking back on the plaque another time, though. This week, the tapestry I couldn't see last time was visible to me, and depicted three scenes with an indistinct figure. In the first two, they were giving a person either a toy or coins, respectively, and the last showed them reviving a dead field. Needless to say, I assume that's supposed to be our wish-granting entity that the others spoke about when they returned to their little trip through memory lane.
The hands and whatever had been with Lynne seemed to made up of something similar, even if they took different forms.
I also agree that there are some tapestries that may have been newer additions. The fabric used for one of them seemed to be of better quality than the others that were more worn-down.
[But besides that...]
I think it's worth checking back on the plaque another time, though. This week, the tapestry I couldn't see last time was visible to me, and depicted three scenes with an indistinct figure. In the first two, they were giving a person either a toy or coins, respectively, and the last showed them reviving a dead field. Needless to say, I assume that's supposed to be our wish-granting entity that the others spoke about when they returned to their little trip through memory lane.
i should've set this thing on wednesday midnight good lord
chromatized
2025-11-21 04:10 am (UTC)(link)
Sure, I can check it again.
[ he'll even jot down a note in his diary! ]
I wonder... The woman Nozomi talked about, Henrietta? She was sick, but when she made a wish to the Wish Giver, it turned her into a monster instead. That sounds like what we've got happening here. On the other hand, the monster that the girl - Izumo? - was talking about has the power to revive things - it just has to kill them all first. I guess I could see a relation, but they sound like completely different entities to me.
[ not to mention she literally said that their illness situation had nothing to do with her. maybe she was right? ]
Maybe whoever is experimenting on Izumo is doing it in response to something going wrong with the Wish Giver. But to keep people in the dark, they've combined the two into one, exaggerating the powers of the original Wish Giver and covering up the existence of the Kamiki family. I mean, it's kind of a leap to go from giving coins and trinkets out to wishers to reviving the dead.
[ he'll even jot down a note in his diary! ]
I wonder... The woman Nozomi talked about, Henrietta? She was sick, but when she made a wish to the Wish Giver, it turned her into a monster instead. That sounds like what we've got happening here. On the other hand, the monster that the girl - Izumo? - was talking about has the power to revive things - it just has to kill them all first. I guess I could see a relation, but they sound like completely different entities to me.
[ not to mention she literally said that their illness situation had nothing to do with her. maybe she was right? ]
Maybe whoever is experimenting on Izumo is doing it in response to something going wrong with the Wish Giver. But to keep people in the dark, they've combined the two into one, exaggerating the powers of the original Wish Giver and covering up the existence of the Kamiki family. I mean, it's kind of a leap to go from giving coins and trinkets out to wishers to reviving the dead.
Edited (clarification) 2025-11-21 04:21 (UTC)
Every creature we have seen is different. So is every wish.
Not that I think you're incorrect, but is it not possible...that each payment is as unique as the desires that birthed it? Nothing has been given by the well without proper payment. The box, either, but at least you have to play the games to earn those tickets. [What if the clown box is good because it rewards hard work and labor?]
There is a cycle at play here, and I wonder if that cycle itself...is a payment for something that was wished.
[She's gonna pull out her two (two) books as well, one of them the purple journal she mentioned at the meeting and the other a Bible. Okay, not a bible, but some kind of very holy book.]
As this verse says, "For wishes cannot be granted, and are desires that Mankind must attain himself through work and perseverance. In the same way wishes cannot be granted, there is non who can grant a wish. Blasphemous is the Man who believes such falsehoods."
Not that I think you're incorrect, but is it not possible...that each payment is as unique as the desires that birthed it? Nothing has been given by the well without proper payment. The box, either, but at least you have to play the games to earn those tickets. [What if the clown box is good because it rewards hard work and labor?]
There is a cycle at play here, and I wonder if that cycle itself...is a payment for something that was wished.
[She's gonna pull out her two (two) books as well, one of them the purple journal she mentioned at the meeting and the other a Bible. Okay, not a bible, but some kind of very holy book.]
As this verse says, "For wishes cannot be granted, and are desires that Mankind must attain himself through work and perseverance. In the same way wishes cannot be granted, there is non who can grant a wish. Blasphemous is the Man who believes such falsehoods."
Payment, huh... Well, we've already had two people taken apart by those hands, and human sacrifices aren't all that uncommon as a concept. If that's the price to grant a wish, I could see why a church would frown on people treating it like some convenient miracle.
[Of course, there's plenty of other reasons not to rely on a magical wish-granting system, so maybe that's reading too far into it, but.]
But if we're supposing the Wish Giver started out benevolent and only started turning those wishes into curses afterwards, then something must have made it that way. Although, it's also possible that those transformations are a legitimate means of granting the wisher's desires.
[Of course, there's plenty of other reasons not to rely on a magical wish-granting system, so maybe that's reading too far into it, but.]
But if we're supposing the Wish Giver started out benevolent and only started turning those wishes into curses afterwards, then something must have made it that way. Although, it's also possible that those transformations are a legitimate means of granting the wisher's desires.
... It's not quite lining up in my head. If the wishes are being granted by transforming people, and they are then paid for by taking the person whose wish was granted... Then why do we even need to find them? They'll just vanish after a few days. And for that matter, why does someone else wake up at the same time as the person who made a wish?
[ does it cost two lives to grant a single wish...? but somehow that doesn't feel right to him, so he tries his hand at outlining the cycle again. ]
The hands are made of the shimmer that seems tied to some kind of wish granting entity. That shimmer ends up in the people who wish. As payment for their wish possibly being granted, they kill someone. Afterwards, they get taken away by the hands, and the shimmer returns to... somewhere? Maybe the hands, or maybe it jumps to the next wish maker to start all over again? And why even take the wishers away...?
[ with a sigh, his head thunks on the top of the booth's table. his head hurts, and it's not just because of the fun letter effects. ]
If we're payment as part of some cycle, then doesn't that mean an even bigger wish has already been made?
[ does it cost two lives to grant a single wish...? but somehow that doesn't feel right to him, so he tries his hand at outlining the cycle again. ]
The hands are made of the shimmer that seems tied to some kind of wish granting entity. That shimmer ends up in the people who wish. As payment for their wish possibly being granted, they kill someone. Afterwards, they get taken away by the hands, and the shimmer returns to... somewhere? Maybe the hands, or maybe it jumps to the next wish maker to start all over again? And why even take the wishers away...?
[ with a sigh, his head thunks on the top of the booth's table. his head hurts, and it's not just because of the fun letter effects. ]
If we're payment as part of some cycle, then doesn't that mean an even bigger wish has already been made?
Edited 2025-11-22 04:02 (UTC)
[ knock knock, guys and gal, it's book club time again! albeit an emergency meeting - it's ok if you haven't got any new books to present.
once they are released from the obligation of the town hall, Ludger hunts Wazy and Cantarella down like a bloodhound, and (figuratively) hauls them to the infirmary. he takes a moment to shut the door firmly behind him, and check for anyone lingering behind curtains or under beds. after confirming it's just them (and maybe Fran) present... ]
I'm the one who saved Lynne last week.
[ and he holds out a single folded sheet of paper for them to read. ]
I don't get how it works entirely, but I can cure a person that's transformed. I... think it only works on one person though. I wanted to save Yuki and Lynne, but...
[ ... ]
... Maybe I was too indecisive. And- after everything that's been happening, I figured I needed to tell someone.
[ his gaze flickers away, thinking about the calls for trust and information. thinking about his own hesitation and hypocrisy. ]
You can ask me whatever you want, though I can't guarantee I'll have an answer. Just... keep this to yourselves? Or at least, don't let anyone know that I'm the one with this ability.
once they are released from the obligation of the town hall, Ludger hunts Wazy and Cantarella down like a bloodhound, and (figuratively) hauls them to the infirmary. he takes a moment to shut the door firmly behind him, and check for anyone lingering behind curtains or under beds. after confirming it's just them (and maybe Fran) present... ]
I'm the one who saved Lynne last week.
[ and he holds out a single folded sheet of paper for them to read. ]
I don't get how it works entirely, but I can cure a person that's transformed. I... think it only works on one person though. I wanted to save Yuki and Lynne, but...
[ ... ]
... Maybe I was too indecisive. And- after everything that's been happening, I figured I needed to tell someone.
[ his gaze flickers away, thinking about the calls for trust and information. thinking about his own hesitation and hypocrisy. ]
You can ask me whatever you want, though I can't guarantee I'll have an answer. Just... keep this to yourselves? Or at least, don't let anyone know that I'm the one with this ability.
[Of all the things he expected after the town hall, this wasn't quite it. He'd initially wondered if there was going to be more theory sharing going on, but after seeing Ludger's insistence on complete privacy, that idea was starting to seem less likely.
He looks down at the paper and takes a moment to read it over, letting the implications roll around in his head. There's a lot that could be asked, but he'll start with this.]
I don't mind, but... What exactly did you need to do to cure Lynne? This doesn't seem to come with a set of instructions.
He looks down at the paper and takes a moment to read it over, letting the implications roll around in his head. There's a lot that could be asked, but he'll start with this.]
I don't mind, but... What exactly did you need to do to cure Lynne? This doesn't seem to come with a set of instructions.
Well, I didn't do anything special, if that's what you mean. No rituals, no magic words.
[ he pauses before continuing slowly, feeling for the words to describe what happened ]
I just... I was thinking, and wishing, to save them. Lynne or Yuki, Lynne and Yuki - because I wanted to save the monster. And something... let me, I guess.
[ he pauses before continuing slowly, feeling for the words to describe what happened ]
I just... I was thinking, and wishing, to save them. Lynne or Yuki, Lynne and Yuki - because I wanted to save the monster. And something... let me, I guess.
[Cantarella also gives it a read, taking quite a while, perhaps even reading it twice, before she joins the conversation.]
And only after someone has lost themselves to transformation? While that's the worst case scenario, I'm glad that Lynne could be helped. ...Do you have any concern at all about your desire being granted with seemingly no consequence?
And only after someone has lost themselves to transformation? While that's the worst case scenario, I'm glad that Lynne could be helped. ...Do you have any concern at all about your desire being granted with seemingly no consequence?
[ well, he's glad Cantarella mentioned it so he wouldn't have to bring it up cold........ ]
... Part of whatever was in Lynne - the shimmering darkness that left her - is in me now.
... Part of whatever was in Lynne - the shimmering darkness that left her - is in me now.
Edited 2025-11-24 03:31 (UTC)
... Fran and Y'shtola are keeping an eye on me. There haven't been any changes so far but...
[ surely it's just a matter of time. ]
[ surely it's just a matter of time. ]
So rather than curing her, it just shifted the infection to a different host.
[Sighs!]
Did they say how long it takes before the transformation sets in?
[Sighs!]
Did they say how long it takes before the transformation sets in?
It's not clear. Fran said my current level of exposure should leave me stable, but if I accumulate more of that stuff-
[ he shrugs, what can you do? ]
The main sign that I've reached a critical point will be a change in my behavior. I'm hoping that if they keep monitoring me each week, they'll be able to catch it before then.
[ he shrugs, what can you do? ]
The main sign that I've reached a critical point will be a change in my behavior. I'm hoping that if they keep monitoring me each week, they'll be able to catch it before then.
... I asked Fran not to give me any treatments, so he'd have access to unaltered samples.
[ yeah ]
[ yeah ]
And if they do, they can buy you some time with that treatment of theirs... or keep you away from the rest of the group, at the very least.
[but accumulate, huh.]
You said it only works on one person, but that's only because you tried it on both of them at the same time. [but.] If you knew someone else was infected, would you try it again?
[but accumulate, huh.]
You said it only works on one person, but that's only because you tried it on both of them at the same time. [but.] If you knew someone else was infected, would you try it again?
[ he laces his fingers together, staring down at his hands. mentally, he goes over his, admittedly, haphazard check list. his own infection, confirmed. treatment steps, agreed to. other infections...
he looks up, smiling faintly. ]
... Yeah. If I knew someone was infected after we finished an investigation - I'd do it again.
he looks up, smiling faintly. ]
... Yeah. If I knew someone was infected after we finished an investigation - I'd do it again.
[ Ludger blinks, slightly startled by Cantarella's information. ]
Oh, you didn't have to - well. That does sound useful.
[ he's floundering a bit. ]
Will... Are you going to save it for investigations? It'd be handy then. But I bet Fran and his helper would appreciate it too.
Oh, you didn't have to - well. That does sound useful.
[ he's floundering a bit. ]
Will... Are you going to save it for investigations? It'd be handy then. But I bet Fran and his helper would appreciate it too.
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