savetheearth | Entry #A-4: "Ante" [February 21, Text]

Entry #A-4: "Ante" [February 21, Text]

Though the police and the Blood Keys obviously represent a threat to many numbered individuals, I have a question about organized religion, and what pulses might mean when framed within certain philosophical contexts. No matter how natural it might feel, if there really is another being nudging its way into an existing consciousness, changing a person's aptitudes, physical attributes and even their personality... there have to be at least a few churches that would consider that demonic possession, right? Has anyone tried to reconcile what's happening with influential religious practices, and do we have any resources for assisting anyone who might wind up the subject of an attempted exorcism? Those still happen today, they can be extremely dangerous, and I'm concerned about the possibility of frightened numbered people seeking out such assistance, or being subjected to it by their families and communities. Thinking you're crazy is one thing, but sincerely believing that the devil is wielding you as an instrument is another entirely. Probably not something that the FAQ page can successfully assuage, for the most tenaciously convinced.

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Great. That's something I never even thought about. My family isn't religious, at least. Still leaves other people if they see anything, though.

[And he even uses one of his abilities semi-frequently because it's useful. He tries to be careful about it, but . . .]

Don't beat yourself up over it, Toushirou. It's a valid question, but not an obvious one. Though extreme religious practices are waning in this modern era, they're probably stronger than ever in the places and minds they still exist in. It's harmless enough when it's one or two men shouting at strangers on street corners, but when there's an organized element, I confess that I worry.

Not beating myself up about it. [Just how he talks sometimes when he isn't depressed.]

Of course they'd have to be able to actually catch me first. [Which. Is actually a tall order for normals if he has a mind to get away.]

The strong probably don't have anything to worry about until all else have fallen, but the weak... primarily the children sans superhuman abilities, are the ones I worry about. Especially the ones who still trust their religious parents explicitly and would actually believe them, if they said they were possessed by the devil. Such people do, unfortunately, exist...

That's true. At the least, all of the younger kids that I know of have some abilities, but I can't say I know what their families would think of all this.

There are obviously outliers, but I think that most parents love their children and have an innate desire to protect them. The odd exploiter or cannibal, here or there, is not to be the standard stick for measuring others against.

The problem comes when they think exorcisms or whatever is protecting them.

Fear is such a powerful motivator. One that demands a powerful response, something like a God...

[A pause here, a stray thought enterting his mind that he figures he might as well put out there.]

Almost makes me wonder if, in the place or time or whatever my "other" is from, people knew about them, would pray for or ask for their help.

[Context? What context? He knows little enough of the overall world his "other" comes from or how it works, anyway.]

For "them?" For gods? Is that what you're referring to?

My other was apparently a death god. They purified souls that had gone corrupt.

[Not such a stretch to think people could have looked to them for help from those Hollow creatures that would run about. If they were a danger to them, anyway. He's not sure if they were dangerous to living people or not.]

[There's a slightly longer pause than one would usually be accustomed to getting when conversing with someone as focused and meticulous as L.]

Something about what you just said triggered a very peculiar echo. "Shinigami?" It would be that in Japanese, wouldn't it? 「しにがみ？」

[...]

That would be the word, yeah. And I don't know how to read the Japanese characters. [Learning the language, but with romanized writing only.]

I had four semesters. I'm pretty good with Hiragana... I'm holding a photograph of a suicide note written in it.

What does it say about about shinigami in particular?

The first letter of each line spells it out... it has nothing to do with the main message, but I don't think it's a coincidence. I noticed it immediately.

Sure doesn't seem like a coincidence.

[He's not sure what to make of all that without further context, really.]

Not sure what the significance would be, overall. Near as I can tell, we were only supposed to deal with things after they were dead.

[There's one unfortunate memory where he's dealing with a living person in an unpleasant way, but he doesn't talk about that one much.]

If this person killed himself, he was definitely dead... and since the note appears to be written in blood on a.... maybe a prison wall? I assume he succeeded. This must be from another one of my cases. I suppose I might have solved at least one in Japan.

Maybe hoping we'd cleanse his soul or something.

But if it's from a case you solved and the guy was in prison because of you, why would you have a picture of a prison suicide note from him? That seems backwards.

I guess he might have been in prison because of me. I did echo back a pair of handcuffs... but I think that missing people were my primary concern. Primarily missing children; that's just how it feels.

[And how he wants it to be. God, how he wants it.]

What happens to a soul after it's cleansed? What makes a soul need that in the first place?

[What, you don't wanna put killers away, L?]

Which still doesn't explain getting a photo of a prison suicide note unless it said something about being responsible for something like that.

I'm not totally sure what happens after. But staying in the living world too long after death eventually causes so much despair that they mutate and try to feed on other souls.

... I guess if suicide is involved, there's a ton of despair to work with in the first place.

[Whaaaat? What kind of detective would rather put away a killer than save a child's life? ~~sob~~]

I... suppose there would be a lot of despair involved, yes. You probably don't remember being a Shinigami in that kind of detail, yet, anyway.

[~~Hey, now. In theory that can overlap!~~]

What I remember of it is the purification "process" if you can call it that, that they were organized in a military, and I held rank. But yeah, that's about it.

[~~Oh yeah definitely but there will come a day where the interesting killer gets preference over the lost child. And that will be a sad day.~~]

What's the "purification process" actually like? Do you know what rank you held?

Part of the mutation a corrupted soul goes through is to gain a bone mask over their heads. The "process" is cutting that in half. Kind of a one-shot deal, there. [Proof that purification is destined to be a painful process no matter if you subscribe to real-world religious practices, or stuff that sounds like it comes out of anime.]

I was a captain.