prismatica | (no subject)

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The Ware Wolf Shop has a two item limit per month, even if you have enough Chroma for more. How does anyone decide what to buy? I know I want one orb to get one of my books that Caster asked for, and I know I want to have another orb for some of my coworkers' works... But how am I meant to choose just one? Even if I can get more later, I find it hard to say whether Kyouka's works are a higher priority than Dazai's or Chuuya's or Yosano's or Kunikida's or - well, I could go on. And that's just limiting myself to buying the orbs and limiting what I could summon to books. I could use advice? Or opinions about Japanese literature, if you have those.

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Time. From 1942 to the late 2010s. You might know Journey to the West in particular - it's an account of the monk Xuanzang who traveled to western regions in order to retrieve Buddhist sacred texts. He is accompanied by three disciples - the monkey king Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie the half-pig, and Sha Wujing the sand monster - who protect him on his dangerous journey.

Fascinating. Such a thing is unusual in your world, or no?

The framework of a story about journeys to retrieve objects of various kinds, yes. Not this one in particular, though to hear of it leads this one to wishing to read such a thing. Fascinating to have any number of demon-like entities traveling with and protecting a monk, considering the history between such on my world.

[ HE LOVES JOURNEY TO THE WEST! Why does it have to be a Ming dynasty work that in no way is recogniseable to his world, where dynasties don't exist, where China doesn't exist, just the concepts and core beliefs that come out of a certain modern-historical fantasy version of his birth country's popular culture.

1942... has this guy watched any film adaptations of.....................

Wait.

Math. He does math. He can do math, and remembers an anonymous conversation, and.............................................

Is this dual personality guy?! ]

[is it. who knows.]

Unusual, but I'm not the only person to be transmigrated this way. There's at least a few dozen in my library. If only the library had works from home here. But I suppose trying to fit in notable literature from all of the worlds we hail from would be difficult, even if they were easier to access.

[ even if it is, he won't! be able to say anything! also this guy wouldn't know! this is definitely not the fight happy half of his personality...

... why are all transmigrators complicated people... from one transmigrator to another, is there any answer for it? ]

What an interesting way of phrasing such. A few dozen of those who would have been in your library who have likewise transmigrated, or that you all happen to be contained within a library in this future time?

One does miss seeing those works... though along those lines, if one did procure one of these summoning orbs, would you be amendable to using such to summon the book you referenced? In my understanding, that which exists in your world might be summoned, but that which does not will not.

[ in other words... he can't summon it, though actually, he might be able to since he was originally from Earth... he can't test that out though! he just can't! ]

[writers are weird, maybe?]

Both of those are correct statements. It's not that I'm unwilling to summon it - it's a wonderful piece of literature - it's just that it's so far down my list of priorities for books to summon that it would take at least a year to get to it. If not longer.

[ ... this is true. mystery is now solved! ]

Then all those you know are... from novels, or no. Created novels? The timing only makes sense if it relates to the one who wrote it, not to the subjects written about.

Ah, so no requests taken at this time. It's understandable.

[ still sadly disappointing. he wonders if he'll ever see works from his first home again... and kind of suspects not. waves goodbye to the literature he grew up with! ]

Writers, but you might say physical copies of their books acted something like a catalyst for the transmigration. I'm sorry to disappoint.

How delightfully strange. Writers summoned through the catalyst of their own written word.

So it is, and so it shall be. Asking never hurts.

[ hoping is what causes hurts, when he thinks about it. ]

They do say that writers put some of themselves into their work.

Some far more than they realise.

[ rip, airplane bro ]

Usually, it isn't meant so literally.

[ Airplane Bro would agree! ]

What have you made of two worlds form such a different time than the one you wrote in? Or is that a presumption of inaccuracy on my part... it seems in my world hundreds of years might pass without the world drastically changing, meanwhile here I've heard more stories indicating the opposite is true. Even what little history of Lunatia we have indicates changes within two hundred years that would be striking in my home.

Even during my first lifetime, the world was changing noticeably. Coming back seventy years later? It was almost as foreign to me as Lunatia is to Earth.

[Even though he was in the same country, the same city - so much had changed that he might well say that Lunatia and modern Earth are closer than modern Earth and the Earth he remembers.]

I can only imagine. How have you been adapting to this place? It's not recogniseable to me in any aspect beyond parts of Caihong, personally.

While it has taken some getting used to, the many kind and friendly people I've met have helped my adjustment.

[Also some people who aren't kind. Or friendly. Or either kind or friendly, and yet Atsushi's still gotten a writer crush on them.]

I imagine that would be true anywhere.

Perhaps. That may carry greater faith in people than I find myself inclined toward, but this one confesses to witnessing enough lapses in intelligence, emotional or otherwise, to not take it for granted.

[ hey, it takes all types, and hearts are bigger than assholes. or. or something?! ]

There are certainly cruel people wherever you go as well, but I would like to believe that they're usually outnumbered.

[ sure, outnumbered by the indifferent! ........ why is he feeling so pessimistic about this anyway? ]

Or at the very least, not those one must spend time with unless by choice.

[ or imprisonment, he guesses, but yeah ]

[does he need a hug... or to talk...]

True as well. I don't willingly surround myself with cruel people.

[ maybe being transmigrated into a scum villain and having to deal with that has... a lot to do with this........................ hey, author, what would you do if a reader of yours was transmigrated into your novel along with you, and left to embody one of the mob villains, just like you were? ]

Which is why I hope you find yourself able to ask those people you do surround yourself with for assistance in your self-assigned task.

[...invite them over for tea?]

When you put it like that, I really don't have any counterargument.

[ Something stronger. Time to get drunk with the author whose story you're trapped inside! ]

Logic might not weigh heavy when it comes to emotion, but at least you have it on your side, too.

It's better than being so deep into emotion that you don't recognize what the logic is. Thankfully, I haven't been that bad in a while... I think?

Both extremes have their failings, in the end.

Moderation in all things, including moderation.