nine paintings burned

[thehangedrose]

[Well, this is a voice which hasn't been heard over the journals in a while.]

[The whole fool business has made Garry quite wary- after all, it reminded him too much of the time when he started acting like a different person back home due to the maddening influence of the dolls in the art gallery, not to mention that fake version of himself that populated his own nightmare and terrorized people in the castle.]

[But, well, now it's over. He can go back to thinking about the holidays and his friends instead, but a few questions have been sticking stubbornly to the back of his mind like glue, and he can't quite shake them off so easily. So he begins to speak, hesitant but curious as to what people would say.]

You know...back home, there's a really famous artist called Guertena. I don't really know how many people here have heard of him, what with the "coming from different worlds" thing and all, but he's a pretty big name where I come from.

But um, anyways...I just remembered something I read that he wrote. I don't recall the exact words, but...he said something like "It is said that spirits dwell in objects in which people put their feelings...therefore I will try to immerse myself in my work, to try to impart my own spirit into my creations."

[There's a pause.]

I mean, it does sound like something that an eccentric artist would say, but...the whole point is that it was true. He somehow did manage to make his own paintings and sculptures come to life...

[He drifts off awkwardly, before clearing his throat and continuing.]

What I'm trying to say is...is that possible? Putting yourself into your own work so you could sort of...live forever, I mean. I'm no expert on magic, but how and why would you do something like that? Living forever as an object must be a horrible fate, indeed...but maybe it's better than dying, in a way.

If you could live forever by putting your own spirit into something, would you? Just food for thought, I suppose.


[The Once-ler]

[And he's about to close the journal and end it at that, but there is another issue that has been nagging at him for a while. A girlfriend-related issue, actually.]

Can we...talk? There's something I want to discuss with you.

Comments

[persequor]

No.

[thehangedrose]

[Oh. It's you.]

Do you mind if I ask why?

[courageous_wit]

Don't even suggest that. [her voice is a bit harsh but she can't help it. This is not a very comfortable subject]

[thehangedrose]

Huh? Why not? I-I mean, it's just something I read, so...I wasn't really suggesting it.

[GUESS WHO DOESN'T KNOW ABOUT HORCRUXES yes this guy]

Garry

[whichwayyoulean]

So long as you don't want to talk about creepy living-in-artwork related subjects, sure.

The Once-ler

[thehangedrose]

No, no, I'm not going to talk about that.

[A deep breath. BE A MAN, GARRY, YOU CAN DO THIS, COME ON.]

...It's about Rapunzel.

Written- anonymously

[wilder]

[Zelos doesn't dare put his name to this, since ahahah secrets he rather not reveal to the general public even if his castmates can guess who it is]

Don't even think about it. Tying your soul to an object is a fate worse than death.

dictated

[thehangedrose]

[Oh, well, this is the second person who really seems to be against the whole "soul in objects" thing. Not that he disagrees, but still, it seems like such an extreme reaction, he can't help but be curious.]

Oh, um...I know it would be pretty extreme to do something like that, but is it really that bad?

dicpotatomatoed

[not_mafia]

Living forever as an object?

[He mulls over this for a few moments.]

That sounds kind of sad, doesn't it?

dictahakunamatated

[thehangedrose]

Yeah, it really does...hence why I'm wondering why someone would even go as far as to do something like that.

[cheerupemoborg]

I can tell you now, no, it is not better than dying.

[thehangedrose]

What, have you experienced something like that for yourself?

[heal_theworld]

...No, that is not a good idea, and it never will be. Don't even think about it. The dead should stay dead.

[Trust her, she knows.]

[thehangedrose]

I'm not thinking about it, I just...ugh, I'm just wondering why someone would got to all that effort in the first place if it's really that bad.

[inafadingcrown]

It has been done. [And they are currently trying to destroy that object.] It should not have been.

I will add also that there are costs to an eternal life; it is something best left to those born to it, I think.

[thehangedrose]

Why shouldn't it have been?

And what are the costs, exactly? I mean, what exactly are the downsides to living forever?

[magicus]

Living forever as anything probably isn't as good a fate as it sounds. I imagine it'd get very boring after the first few hundred years. [ And lonely. ]

Why are you so curious?

[thehangedrose]

Well, yes, but...I was just curious because that was proably the only explanation I got for why the place was like that in the first place. Why would someone do something like that and create such a dangerous area which does nothing but hurt other people...?

[theabjectauthor]

Well, it is often said that authors and artists live on through their works, though it is very rarely meant in the literal sense you've described, sir.

Personally, I think it could have quite a terrible learning curve, especially since a great many works of art do not have opposable thumbs or olfactory senses.

[thehangedrose]

[That gets a slight chuckle.] Yes, I see how that could be a problem, but...the odd thing was, was that I'm not entirely sure Guertena really "lived" as a painting.

It wasn't like I ever spoke to him or anything. It was like his works were alive on their own accord. Like, it wasn't as much as his spirit living through them as just the things coming alive, really...

[radiantwingedone]

There are anima formula, usually used for sentinels and various defense measures. It is not the putting of one's self into things, clearly...

And perhaps it is not precisely the same, as it is not a work of art, but the Children of the Full Moon did something close. I do not know if they are still aware, but the act of "putting themselves in something" required all of their deaths.

[ And his world is still here, and more or less safe. ]

[thehangedrose]

Anima formula? How does that work?

All their deaths?? W-what...why would they do that?

[heliotroping]

...No.

Immortality is a terrible fate.

[thehangedrose]

So I've heard...

Though, it does seem like many people are actually familiar with it, which worries me.

[psych0p0mps]

that doesnt sound like a fun way to live
i mean you wouldnt be able to move or talk or anything right
thats not really like being alive at all

[thehangedrose]

Yeah...and imagine, you couldn't talk to your friends or family like that, just stuck for all eternity.

It's...it's a really sad fate, I think.