[ His company is enough...he is enough? It's still so unexpected, but he likes to hear it, likes to be worth her time, when he knows just how valuable a currency it is.
Even if she says she needs nothing else, he's more than happy to answer her question, to tell her anything she wants to know. It might help him, too, to talk about Minato more, to make sure he's not the only person here who knows him, remembers him. ]
Mm. He was someone...very dear to me. [ That doesn't even feel like enough to illustrate just how important Minato is to him, but how could words ever hope to cover it? ] I fear what what he has to go do, what he's going to face...is something he won't be able to overcome.
[ Because it's Nyx, and Ryoji knows better than anyone, anyone, just how insurmountable a foe that Nyx, the end of all things, is. ]
It sounds like he's gonna try anyway though, if you're putting it like that. It's hard to know what the future holds when we can't see it.
[ they can ask LILITH, certainly, and she's been tempted
but her impatience embarrasses her; it's like wanting to skip a chapter to see if there's a happy ending. what if there isn't? it pauses her hand every time the thought passes her mind. malkuth has faith in the others to hold out -- she knows they're strong, that they're capable beyond measure, but she still worries. every time she looks at yesod and netzach she worries. ]
[ He is going to try anyway; that had always been Minato's chosen path, no matter how Ryoji had implored him to take his life instead. To give him the chance to live peacefully to the end, rather than full of fear and heartache.
Ryoji's gaze grows distant, as his fingers still against the cover of the book in his lap. ]
...Every part of me insists that he doesn't. To forestall the end that Nyx will bring is...unimaginable to me. It's the outcome I've always known would come to pass, as assured as seeing the future itself, and yet...
[ He pauses, traitorous words hanging from his lips. Does he want the end to come? It doesn't matter. What he wants has never mattered, but he never had a heart to want before. ]
...I can't help but...hope the outcome is different. I don't know that it's possible that it can be, but if anyone could pull it off...it would be him.
[ an inevitable end. but if anyone could divert it, then it would be him. that's more than enough belief for it to happen then. that's more than enough doubt against the "unimaginable". at least, for her it is.
malkuth reaches out to lay her hand on his, squeezing gently. that's the answer she was hoping for. ]
Then he definitely can. Your faith means more than you think, no matter how slim that chance is -- even if it's just one in a million, it's not zero and it's not impossible. Even the unimaginable happens.
[ that's why people use the word. they couldn't imagine it, but someone else could -- and they did it, for better and worse. many things are unimaginable in her world. they happen anyway. as long as someone has the will to see it done, then it happens. ]
It's natural to worry. That's part of being human. It's natural to doubt too, or be scared of what feels insurmountable in your eyes... but plenty of people have "defied the odds" or "escaped death" before. I don't know how he might stop the end of all, but humanity has a way of surprising itself.
[ It could happen, and while he's here...all he can do is hope, isn't it? Hope can be a dangerous thing, for how it breaks down when the inevitable comes to pass, but if there's one thing he'll always wish to do with the human part of his heart, it's believe in Minato. Believe in SEES.
...He can allow himself this. For now. For as long as his faith means something, as Malkuth says. ]
You're right. I don't need to look any further than myself to see that.
[ He is, after all, something impossible. Something that should not be, and yet is. Beneath her hand, his own turns to press their palms together. ]
Even if he can deny fate, I worry...about what it would cost. Maybe I sealed his fate long ago... [ A shake of his head. ] Well. It won't do to get caught up on what-ifs now. Better I treasure the time we spent together, instead.
[ for a being of death, ryoji's hand is warm and firm. he exists as something, someone far more than a concept, than the personification of the end of times. malkuth knows this for certain: he is a person like anyone else despite his circumstances, and she won't forget that nor the feel of their palms together.
her hand shifts to better hold his, squeezing gently. ]
That's right. So tell me about your favorite memories, and I'll keep them safe on this floor too.
[ because she'd like to add ryoji's history to the ones she's curated so far, because he's dear to her and that makes his memories of this person dear as well. ]
[ It means more than he knows how to express, that his memories matter to more than just him. That they matter to her, too, and not only so she can learn about someone that meant the world to Ryoji. It’s so she can learn about him, too.
Maybe in sharing, he can learn about himself more, too. ]
I’d hardly know where to start. I’ve had so many wonderful memories, even in my brief time…whether we were just hanging out after school, or doing homework, or when we took our class trip…I think I could appreciate them all the more, for how brief the time was.
It might sound a little strange, but…I think those everyday, mundane memories are the ones that mean the most.
[ They’re the ones that taught him the most about what it means to be human. ]
It's not strange at all. I think the same, actually-- especially when I was getting to used to being human again, moments like that were and still are indispensable and irreplaceable to me. I'd be upset if I ever lost them.
[ the way she did before, the way march has. ]
I don't think life needs to be full of grand things, or that our memories need to be these momentous occasions that society agrees should be written down. It's why they ask you to "stop and smell the roses", right?
[ to slow down and see that there's small things that make life worthwhile, to take happiness and respite where one can... in her experience, anyway, as someone who's done her fair share of running around without a moment's pause. ]
[ "Stop and smell the roses"...it's not a phrase he's heard before, in his limited experience, but he likes it, the notion that it's most important to stop and take your time, that it's more about the journey, than the destination. The more he thinks about it, the more that feels fitting for him — even if death awaits all living creatures at the end...he's never wanted anyone to rush to greet him. They should enjoy all those precious little moments, all the mundanity that life has to offer.
Now he has that chance for himself, too. It wouldn't do for death to have regrets, after all. ]
What do you think it would be like? If that were the kind of memories that humanity took note of. If history books and travelers' tales were all full of moments spent "stopping to smell the roses"?
[ At the very least, wouldn't it be better if equal value was placed on all kinds of records, momentous or otherwise? ]
[ what would they be like... she leans back, humming thoughtfully. ]
I think on the outside, they'd be boring. Day to day life isn't exciting for most people. But there's bits and pieces... the way someone writes, how they describe something... that speaks to the kind of person they are, and brings color to a black and white page.
[ ... surely she's got one such in here-- malkuth stands, stepping around the shelf briefly before handing him a book titled simply: book of a novice fixer.
inside, most of it is gibberish. in fact, most of the library tends to be until filled out -- pages of nonsense and odd, cryptic lettering until the knowledge that ought to belong there is found. malkuth's is more or less filled out, but there's still plenty yet to learn. among the various pages of what a Fixer is, someone who works for an Office after being granted a licence by the Hana Association, is one that stands out.
[ She says that day-to-day life isn't exciting, but Ryoji would beg to differ — then again, he's something of a unique case himself. Yet even if day-to-day life weren't still new and novel to him, he likes to think that wouldn't change. That he'd still be able to easily appreciate such moments, and learning about them.
So its with great interest that he takes the record that Malkuth offers him, cracking it open and finding a page that he can actually read, and it is just that — nothing special, on the surface, but for how much it can tell him about a person he's never met, how much they care about their sister... ]
It's remarkable. I wish I could meet them... [ A slight chuckle. He'd say that about anyone. ] Thank you for showing this to me. I wonder...if I should start keeping a record like this.
[ He doesn't know who would stand to benefit from it, but even if it's only for himself, he thinks he'd enjoy it. ]
[ without hesitation, without a trace of uncertainty in her smile. ]
Books like these are to me what photographs are to March: they're physical proof of a person's existence, [ more than ryoji would know,
and it occurs to malkuth that he's someone she doesn't want to know the truth, pausing her train of thought as she processes that, and quickly finishes her sentence, ] so they're really, really important to me. I think everyone should keep a record like this, actually. Even if it's nothing more than a few sentences at a time.
[ though she's yet to put it to practice herself. soon. ]
[ Then…if she thinks it would be a worthwhile idea, then that’s really all there is to it. He needs no further convincing, and if she needs a little push herself– ]
Imagine how much richer the world would be if everyone did keep a record like this. Do you keep one, Malkuth? Would you share it with me?
[ He doesn’t really think that might be too invasive of a request, even if everyone’s emotions aren’t quite the open book that his are. Innermost thoughts are the ones most important to share, aren’t they?
That’s assuming she keeps a journal or something like that in the first place. Regardless, he can see the tremendous value in both written and photographic records. Personal records, that so easily illustrate what it means to be human. ]
I have something kind of like that, but it's more of an observation log than a personal one. I use it to keep track of the people I've met, their names, likes, dislikes, birthdays... the sort of attitudes they have, how dangerous they might be, any particular habits I've noticed -- things like that. It's a hold over from an old job of mine, though I wasn't the one who sorted the information.
[ collected and made use of it more than anything. it's still something quite personal though, every name one she won't forget and notations of things important or relevant in her mind that defined the person she was getting to know, and malkuth tilts her head. hmm. ]
I think I could show you it. But I wouldn't show you your page -- that's cheating.
[ Not only is that the sort of thin he'd love to see, it's the sort of thing he'd love a copy of, but then it'd really be cheating, like copying her homework in his efforts to make friends. He tends to remember those sort of things well enough on his own, but the idea of writing it down also lends some permanence to it.
In any event, he brightens, nodding swiftly and rising to his feet as if she's going to take him to read it right this very moment. ]
I'd love to see it, then! Don't worry — I won't try to peek at my own record.
[ Then he'll make sure to drop by, and to not forget — but as with all those details that Malkuth makes note of, Ryoji doesn't easily let things slip his mind, so it's as good as done.
Gladly led along by the wrist, Ryoji's smile comes bright and earnest, and he nods. ]
I'd love to see them. Anything and everything you have to show me. Just lead the way.
[ He could spend an age here, and not grow tired of it. ]
As long as it cheers you up even a little, I'd show you anything you'd ask. Almost.
[ since he's cheered her before, since they're friends, since she likes the way he smiles.
nonetheless, the first stairwell they traverse shifts the warm hues of amber into dark amethyst instead, malkuth pausing a moment as she peeks into the next floor -- like she thought, alone -- and exhaling a soft apology to yesod for not showing him first as she leads ryoji through the door. ]
This is... the Floor of Technological Sciences. Where I handle the history of the City, my coworker handles the contributions humanity's made in the inorganic sense. Manmade improvements that manipulate the world around us, and... of course, the disimprovements [ ????? ] as well. It's all a little higher learning for me, but I always like to listen to him talk about it! He makes it easy to understand.
[ she drifts to the wide window, not so unlike the ones in their room. outside is a magnificent cityscape, though she's quick to clear any thought about it: ]
This isn't the City we live in, just so you know. It's a view still within the Library. But it's definitely closer to what it looks like than what it doesn't, and... it really doesn't look that different than any other, huh?
[ Technological sciences, a concept that instinctively reminds him of the work of the Kirijo Group, and just so slightly, as they enter this new floor, a crease forms in Ryoji's brow. Of course, the pursuit of knowledge and science is not intrinsically negative, far from it. He can only hope that the advancements that her coworker documents don't involve the kind of experimentation the Kirijo Group did.
The allure of its majesty is easy to understand, though. The sight of the cityscape is breathtaking. ]
Than any other city? I don't know about that. It still seems pretty special to me.
[ Because it's where she's from, and that's all her City needs to be special, to set it apart. ]
What sort of things get documented here? What if an idea is simply...too dangerous to keep a record of?
Well, we do have those... the patents that each Wing runs on aren't really written down, they're kept safe in A and nowhere else. That goes for most technology related to it, too -- U Corp has stasis boxes for preservation of food, for example, among other things, and... T Corp stores time. But no one really knows how it works, and there's no written document for it.
[ better that way, given what Singularities are. as for what is stored here... malkuth tilts her head in thought. ]
... I think there's Workshop designs for weaponry and stuff, along with more practical appliances...? I don't know, I never really asked.
[ hmmm. maybe dams...? machines that manipulate the world around them? if only yesod knew. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Even if she says she needs nothing else, he's more than happy to answer her question, to tell her anything she wants to know. It might help him, too, to talk about Minato more, to make sure he's not the only person here who knows him, remembers him. ]
Mm. He was someone...very dear to me. [ That doesn't even feel like enough to illustrate just how important Minato is to him, but how could words ever hope to cover it? ] I fear what what he has to go do, what he's going to face...is something he won't be able to overcome.
[ Because it's Nyx, and Ryoji knows better than anyone, anyone, just how insurmountable a foe that Nyx, the end of all things, is. ]
no subject
[ they can ask LILITH, certainly, and she's been tempted
but her impatience embarrasses her; it's like wanting to skip a chapter to see if there's a happy ending. what if there isn't? it pauses her hand every time the thought passes her mind. malkuth has faith in the others to hold out -- she knows they're strong, that they're capable beyond measure, but she still worries. every time she looks at yesod and netzach she worries. ]
But do you think he has no chance at all?
no subject
Ryoji's gaze grows distant, as his fingers still against the cover of the book in his lap. ]
...Every part of me insists that he doesn't. To forestall the end that Nyx will bring is...unimaginable to me. It's the outcome I've always known would come to pass, as assured as seeing the future itself, and yet...
[ He pauses, traitorous words hanging from his lips. Does he want the end to come? It doesn't matter. What he wants has never mattered, but he never had a heart to want before. ]
...I can't help but...hope the outcome is different. I don't know that it's possible that it can be, but if anyone could pull it off...it would be him.
no subject
malkuth reaches out to lay her hand on his, squeezing gently. that's the answer she was hoping for. ]
Then he definitely can. Your faith means more than you think, no matter how slim that chance is -- even if it's just one in a million, it's not zero and it's not impossible. Even the unimaginable happens.
[ that's why people use the word. they couldn't imagine it, but someone else could -- and they did it, for better and worse. many things are unimaginable in her world. they happen anyway. as long as someone has the will to see it done, then it happens. ]
It's natural to worry. That's part of being human. It's natural to doubt too, or be scared of what feels insurmountable in your eyes... but plenty of people have "defied the odds" or "escaped death" before. I don't know how he might stop the end of all, but humanity has a way of surprising itself.
no subject
...He can allow himself this. For now. For as long as his faith means something, as Malkuth says. ]
You're right. I don't need to look any further than myself to see that.
[ He is, after all, something impossible. Something that should not be, and yet is. Beneath her hand, his own turns to press their palms together. ]
Even if he can deny fate, I worry...about what it would cost. Maybe I sealed his fate long ago... [ A shake of his head. ] Well. It won't do to get caught up on what-ifs now. Better I treasure the time we spent together, instead.
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her hand shifts to better hold his, squeezing gently. ]
That's right. So tell me about your favorite memories, and I'll keep them safe on this floor too.
[ because she'd like to add ryoji's history to the ones she's curated so far, because he's dear to her and that makes his memories of this person dear as well. ]
no subject
Maybe in sharing, he can learn about himself more, too. ]
I’d hardly know where to start. I’ve had so many wonderful memories, even in my brief time…whether we were just hanging out after school, or doing homework, or when we took our class trip…I think I could appreciate them all the more, for how brief the time was.
It might sound a little strange, but…I think those everyday, mundane memories are the ones that mean the most.
[ They’re the ones that taught him the most about what it means to be human. ]
no subject
[ the way she did before, the way march has. ]
I don't think life needs to be full of grand things, or that our memories need to be these momentous occasions that society agrees should be written down. It's why they ask you to "stop and smell the roses", right?
[ to slow down and see that there's small things that make life worthwhile, to take happiness and respite where one can... in her experience, anyway, as someone who's done her fair share of running around without a moment's pause. ]
no subject
Now he has that chance for himself, too. It wouldn't do for death to have regrets, after all. ]
What do you think it would be like? If that were the kind of memories that humanity took note of. If history books and travelers' tales were all full of moments spent "stopping to smell the roses"?
[ At the very least, wouldn't it be better if equal value was placed on all kinds of records, momentous or otherwise? ]
no subject
I think on the outside, they'd be boring. Day to day life isn't exciting for most people. But there's bits and pieces... the way someone writes, how they describe something... that speaks to the kind of person they are, and brings color to a black and white page.
[ ... surely she's got one such in here-- malkuth stands, stepping around the shelf briefly before handing him a book titled simply: book of a novice fixer.
inside, most of it is gibberish. in fact, most of the library tends to be until filled out -- pages of nonsense and odd, cryptic lettering until the knowledge that ought to belong there is found. malkuth's is more or less filled out, but there's still plenty yet to learn. among the various pages of what a Fixer is, someone who works for an Office after being granted a licence by the Hana Association, is one that stands out.
> read finn's page ]
Something more like that, I think.
no subject
So its with great interest that he takes the record that Malkuth offers him, cracking it open and finding a page that he can actually read, and it is just that — nothing special, on the surface, but for how much it can tell him about a person he's never met, how much they care about their sister... ]
It's remarkable. I wish I could meet them... [ A slight chuckle. He'd say that about anyone. ] Thank you for showing this to me. I wonder...if I should start keeping a record like this.
[ He doesn't know who would stand to benefit from it, but even if it's only for himself, he thinks he'd enjoy it. ]
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[ without hesitation, without a trace of uncertainty in her smile. ]
Books like these are to me what photographs are to March: they're physical proof of a person's existence, [ more than ryoji would know,
and it occurs to malkuth that he's someone she doesn't want to know the truth, pausing her train of thought as she processes that, and quickly finishes her sentence, ] so they're really, really important to me. I think everyone should keep a record like this, actually. Even if it's nothing more than a few sentences at a time.
[ though she's yet to put it to practice herself. soon. ]
no subject
Imagine how much richer the world would be if everyone did keep a record like this. Do you keep one, Malkuth? Would you share it with me?
[ He doesn’t really think that might be too invasive of a request, even if everyone’s emotions aren’t quite the open book that his are. Innermost thoughts are the ones most important to share, aren’t they?
That’s assuming she keeps a journal or something like that in the first place. Regardless, he can see the tremendous value in both written and photographic records. Personal records, that so easily illustrate what it means to be human. ]
no subject
I have something kind of like that, but it's more of an observation log than a personal one. I use it to keep track of the people I've met, their names, likes, dislikes, birthdays... the sort of attitudes they have, how dangerous they might be, any particular habits I've noticed -- things like that. It's a hold over from an old job of mine, though I wasn't the one who sorted the information.
[ collected and made use of it more than anything. it's still something quite personal though, every name one she won't forget and notations of things important or relevant in her mind that defined the person she was getting to know, and malkuth tilts her head. hmm. ]
I think I could show you it. But I wouldn't show you your page -- that's cheating.
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In any event, he brightens, nodding swiftly and rising to his feet as if she's going to take him to read it right this very moment. ]
I'd love to see it, then! Don't worry — I won't try to peek at my own record.
[ Even if he is very curious what's on it. ]
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You'll have to drop by my room if you'd like to see it! I don't have the same copy here, it's full of different things I can show you then, too.
[ but maybe she can start showing him the other floors... thoughtful. malkuth'll stand after a moment, sliding her hand down to hold his. ]
But there are still plenty of things I can show you now, like my other layermates' floors. At least that.
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Gladly led along by the wrist, Ryoji's smile comes bright and earnest, and he nods. ]
I'd love to see them. Anything and everything you have to show me. Just lead the way.
[ He could spend an age here, and not grow tired of it. ]
no subject
[ since he's cheered her before, since they're friends, since she likes the way he smiles.
nonetheless, the first stairwell they traverse shifts the warm hues of amber into dark amethyst instead, malkuth pausing a moment as she peeks into the next floor -- like she thought, alone -- and exhaling a soft apology to yesod for not showing him first as she leads ryoji through the door. ]
This is... the Floor of Technological Sciences. Where I handle the history of the City, my coworker handles the contributions humanity's made in the inorganic sense. Manmade improvements that manipulate the world around us, and... of course, the disimprovements [ ????? ] as well. It's all a little higher learning for me, but I always like to listen to him talk about it! He makes it easy to understand.
[ she drifts to the wide window, not so unlike the ones in their room. outside is a magnificent cityscape, though she's quick to clear any thought about it: ]
This isn't the City we live in, just so you know. It's a view still within the Library. But it's definitely closer to what it looks like than what it doesn't, and... it really doesn't look that different than any other, huh?
no subject
The allure of its majesty is easy to understand, though. The sight of the cityscape is breathtaking. ]
Than any other city? I don't know about that. It still seems pretty special to me.
[ Because it's where she's from, and that's all her City needs to be special, to set it apart. ]
What sort of things get documented here? What if an idea is simply...too dangerous to keep a record of?
no subject
[ better that way, given what Singularities are. as for what is stored here... malkuth tilts her head in thought. ]
... I think there's Workshop designs for weaponry and stuff, along with more practical appliances...? I don't know, I never really asked.
[ hmmm. maybe dams...? machines that manipulate the world around them? if only yesod knew. ]