for insinning

[selfconcept]

Gay baby jail #2.

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[selfconcept]

The person who brought me in? Well, who knows... if word gets out that you know, whoever that is might try to kill you too.

[ Though he's honestly not worried. He thinks Sinclair is smart. ]

You already know at least three of the five. They explicitly mentioned it in the meeting. You can assume that by the data drain ability, they have allied themselves with Lily for whatever reason.

[insinning]

...so someone who isn't you that is pretty violent.

[ Is Hien joking? Can Hien joke? Sinclair is a serious boy though and will take it seriously.

How many people were like that in the game? Only two people tried PKing him on purpose here and there was only one left in the game still.

Did that mean.

Hm. Baseless speculation was baseless until he had something to confirm that with]

...Misteaks, Leviathan and Uta. Misteaks was the first to meet Lily. Uta was one of the later ones.... but Mithrun must have met Lily too. But he was arguing with Makoto near the end there...

[selfconcept]

[ He sighs. ]

Makoto has the kind of personality that enables argument with him.

[ Don't say that you can deny that, Sinclair. You know it's true. ]

But I can confirm that unless there was a seventh, Mithrun is not included in the group of six that we talked about earlier.

[insinning]

Ah...well... [ He's going to avoid answering that because he's only ever wanted to run away when Makoto is concerned] He had a weird marking on his face too though but I was too far away to get a good look.

[ Some kind of pattern? Frowning]

They were arguing over a 'he' but the only 'he' Mithrun seems concerned about now is Lily.

[selfconcept]

Hm? Those are wavemarks. Wavemarks were a design choice based on your elemental typing when you were creating characters in the beginning and have the option to buy in the shop.

That said, you should ask Mithrun about that directly. Whatever deal they make is none of my business.

[insinning]

I remember that.

[why put it there of all places?

But Mithrun ...]

...Mithrun can't answer my questions anymore. He...changed after the meeting.

[selfconcept]

[ Hien shrugs. ]

What do you mean about him changing?

[insinning]

We were talking after the meeting. Then, it happened like it did when he told me about Harald Hoerwick and Zelkova's brother...DV. Lily.

["Why am I telling you this?" Mithrun never hid this level of information before. So Sinclair had reminded himn.

Fidgeting as he thinks ]

He was in the middle of telling me that he thinks the Wave is coming. That everything that's happening with him, all the changes to him, are sign of the winds changing. He thinks that any time he mentions he spoke to Lily, he loses another memory.

[And a pause]

And then he stopped and... changed. Told me he couldn't love me...then told me thank you. With a smile, like he was wearing his awful armor that took him back to his younger self. Weird, right?

[selfconcept]

Oh.

[ Dear lord. What does he even say to this even though he asked— ]

Sorry for your loss.

[ Sinclair made it sound like they were dating?? ]

[insinning]

...my loss?

[ Blankly. And then, he replays those words in his head and

nope.

NOPE]

It's not like that.

[selfconcept]

Uh-huh.

[ Anyway. ]

I can confirm that Lily can curse people, or something like that. I've been cursed by him. I don't know if it's the same kind, however.

[insinning]

[ He's too tired to argue on that part]

You've been cursed as well?

[It went badly, huh? And Hien rejected what Lily wanted]

...what does your curse do?

[selfconcept]

I am gradually losing parts of myself to the point that I will become a blank slate.

[ He scoffs. It's laughable and he hates it so much, and the small laugh masks how absurd he feels about it. ]

I'm sure some people would like that as opposed to how I am now.

[insinning]

[ah. A sick feeling settles in his stomach, the distress visible on his face]

... even so, there are a lot of people who wouldn't. To lose parts of yourself...[ah. ] Mithrun's curse was memory related but, different. But it's similar in how he's slowly becoming a blank slate--

[ He pauses, his brow furrowing even further]

...would Zelkova be able to stop it? If we're all just 'data' now, then...there must be some way to reverse it. For both of you.

[selfconcept]

[ Hien hates himself, but he wouldn't let go of his identity for anything. It's all he has that's strictly his now in a way that matters.

But now that is being taken away. It's ridiculous. ]

Maybe it's just right for me, to be born with nothing. To be alive with nothing. The name isn't even mine and my body has been long severed.

I don't think he can do anything about it, but hey, here's a fun thought: what if someone data drains Lily?

1/2

[insinning]

Even if you were born that way, that name is yours. All names are important. Our memories, everything... they're all interwoven

[ Hani's words echo in his head loud and clear. Sinclair just looks upset. Angry. Anger with no one to direct it to]

2/2

[insinning]

[ And that pulls Sinclair right up. Data drain Lily?]

...I imagine the sense of 'self' Lily has would be...erased? They're not human so they don't need a core for protection against data drain but...

What kind of character did Lily have when you met him?

[selfconcept]

Lily is just data that came to life. Data, nonetheless. I'm not sure what you mean by "what character Lily had" though.

[ Honestly, he wouldn't know if this would even work, but he's pretty sure Lily has some failsafe against it. Why else would he give them out to troubled teenagers and lonely idols? ]

But you're right. All those things that make me as myself will be gone eventually. That's why I couldn't stand Lily's ideology and rejected it. This world is fucked, but at least I can face it head-on instead of relying on some fantasy utopian escapism bullshit. Sounds like a cult, and this is the perfect environment to foster one.

[ He sighs. Can Sinclair hear the disappointment in his voice, because it might as well be resounding. ]

Names are something people can rip away from you. I've had that happen to me. That's why "Hyunjung Kang" has been dead since years ago. Now I'm a nameless existence, borrowing a name that isn't even mine to begin with.

Don't let that happen to you, Vogel—Emil Sinclair.

[insinning]

When Lily spoke to me, he came across as a child - a really bratty ten year old. One minute it was offering salvation, the next minute it was blowing raspberries at me. I was wondering if the programming - the AI - could adapt depending on the input. If it could instantly recognise what would be most effective on us, and modify its approach based on that.

[ It was a program of course. Hien rejecting the program and Sinclair pushing back when he did prove one thing though: Lily was not an omniscient AI]

...it really was the cult of Lily between those three. And...

[ Mithrun. Sinclair studies Hien and wishes he could do... anything.]

I wont. I wont let him take my names away from me... they're important to me, and they're important to the people around me.

[ Emil. Vogel. Sinclair . He holds Hani's words fiercely to his chest]

[selfconcept]

[ Seeing Sinclair's determination despite the helpless situation is honestly inspiring. Motivating. Hien wants to do the same, but his determination lies elsewhere. ]

... I still remember our first interaction here.

[ Because Sinclair kept interacting with Hien. It keeps his memories of Sinclair alive, for at least a while longer. His memories with Fandaniel were already starting to fade. Perhaps it's because he favors Sinclair more? He's not sure. ]

You've grown since then.

[ He walks up to Sinclair, mummyhead and all, and gently pats his head.

It's a nice headpat--the kind that you get to show affection for someone who's close to you, like a younger sibling. It's also the kind you receive from people who tell you that you did well, a good job. From how he is now, Hien has never felt close to anybody except one person and even then, it's a little complicated. The feeling is foreign when receiving, but it isn't when he's giving.

He feels like he's always wanted to do this, in some way. But he also knows that he always wanted someone to tell him the same thing--that he wasn't a mistake. That it's okay to be here. That it's fine to simply exist without being used as a tool nor a scapegoat. That he's wanted--

But he keeps his taciturn face behind the bandages and withdraws his hand. ]

[insinning]

... I remember too.

[ Ah. A headpat. He reaches up to touch his head in surprise. His chest aches, and he wishes he could help Hien the way Hien has helped him so many times over. He's being treated like a child but it feels right somehow]

...I didn't know 'Hyunjung Kang'. But I know Hien. Everything you've done has meaning. You're important.

[How should he put it...]

It wasn't your job to help me when we first met. It wasn't your job to keep Mithrun's body safe from people who would do terrible things for fun. It wasn't your job to help me vent after either. That was all you. I don't want you to disappear. I want 'Hien' to keep existing as he is.

[selfconcept]

... I do too, even if I hated "Hien", who squandered a second chance... because he could no longer be bothered to try for people.

[ But that's clearly wrong, seeing as he had done some things for people. He never corrected anyone if they were wrong either. He just took the blame because he's used to it. He let people get mad at him, even if it was something he couldn't control.

But it doesn't matter now. ]

You would never know "Hyunjung Kang" regardless. No matter how rich you are, or how good your private investigator is... he's faded from existence. He's been unpersoned--a mistake that's been erased.

And out of it all comes "NoName", who's never been allowed to own anything in his life.

[ ... ]

It's too late, so I'd rather you focus on something you can actually do.

[insinning]

[Sinclair shakes his head]

...even if you say that, this isn't something I can let go either. There must be a way to keep your sense of self together for as long as you can. Mithrun was using our inbox messages to remember some things. Maybe...

[Sinclair breathes out slowly and frowns. But one thing at a time, bit by bit]

If Lily is a rogue AI that was born at the same time as Zelkova...what does Lily really want? Is he intending on recreating the events outlined in the poem? Or is that already set into the game's programming?

[selfconcept]

... I wish I could tell you, but I don't know the answers for those questions. If it was set in the programming, I have been none the wiser. They can do things that the head admin can't, so... that's that.

[ ... ]

I already looked through my logs and messages. I'm recording whatever is left of my memories too, but when I read them, I don't remember. It seems that some of you have your memories replaced, but I just have gaps in my memories. I don't remember what I did for the past two years before the beta test. Nothing that I read will return my memories to me.

[insinning]

[Ah]

...so it's gone that far for you. That...seems like what happened to Mithrun too. But, closer. He doesn't remember any of our conversations outside of Fragment. Like, he's only meant to exist 'here'. [It makes Sinclair sick]

...what do you remember then?