Audience: Mahito

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Comments

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Like what? Maybe there's a different kind of artform you can try out to keep busy while we're here and when you run out of yarn.

[touchups]

Different kinds of sculptures!

[This is a terrible demon joke.]

But with yarn, I only know how to make bracelets and hair ties and things like that. I wouldn't mind trying out some other stuff, though. I've heard watercoloring is fun?

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[hate that.]

Watercolor is fun. So's fingerpainting if you're into that kind of thing. [messes...] Pottery? But we don't have a wheel here or anything.

[hmmmm....]

I mostly draw or do cute graphics on my computer.

[touchups]

[FAIR!!]

Oh... I've never tried that, either! [Well. If fingerpainting with blood doesn't... count... ANYWAY, it's fine, he's distracted by the mention of their passion for graphic design.]

What kind of stuff do you draw? Can I see some of it?

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Would you want to? It's kinda cheesy! [but they obviously care about it and don't really mind.]

[touchups]

[Lust is cute... can't wait to find out they're actually a serial killer robot or something]

Yeah, I do! [He does in fact seem to be pretty intrigued by it. SHOW HIM THE ART!!] If you don't mind sharing and all.

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[:)]

Sure! [give them a second to reach into their pocket and pull out a phone? it looks like a pink cell phone, and they power it on to flip through things. it's a lot of cutesy graphics like this of various things like cats, flowers, buildings, etc.]

Simple, but cute.

[touchups]

[i aki am just sitting here looking at this and losing my shit WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE.....

Mahito on the other hand is perfectly content to watch as they flip through their phone, enjoying the images as they go by.]

That's a good style! Totally the kind of thing you'd see in like, advertisements and stuff in Shibuya.

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[i'm crying come back at endgame.

but! yeah! cute!]

Yeah, exactly! It's all stuff I use for my videos on my streaming channel so I have to keep a certain style to match.

[touchups]

[im so afraid

Mahito is just vibing though, as he always is and always will be. God bless.]

Hey! Do you have any of your videos here? Like, access to 'em? I wanna see one.

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[rude.]

...yeah! Yeah, I think I have a few on my phone? Let me see...

[give them a moment to click around...before handing this pink-ass cell phone to him and hitting play.]

This one's pretty goofy, but it has my art in it!

[touchups]

[i still can't believe this

WHAT THE FUCK IS EVEN HAPPENING HERE oh my god. Good thing Mahito is just here to vibe and consume weird content. He's a 4chan gijinka, he's seen much weirder shit in his short cursed life.]

Oh! That's you? You've got a cute face. I like these, too! [Pointing to her fuckin cat ear whatever the hell these are. PART OF HEADPHONES?? Mahito probably knows but i aki don't. ANYWAY...]

This is some high-energy stuff, huh? --Eh? [WHY IS THIS CREATURE BACK. WHAT IS IT. WHAT'S THIS. She's getting abducted for the views...

Mahito watches with a sort of perplexed interest as this? Bizarre story?? Unfolds??? He's quiet, brow knitting together every so often. He also seems pretty amused at parts, though. Like the explosion. Wow. ANYWAY WHEN THAT'S DONE he'll hand her pink-ass cell phone back over!]

--Huh... A little more niche than I expected! But I can definitely see why it'd catch on.

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[IT'S A LOT YEAH and she just kind of shrugs!]

Aw, thank you! It was kind of a filler episode when I was still uploading weekly. I was just trying to get my name out there.

[scrolling, scrolling...] Oh wait, I should have shown you this one! We talked about urban legends and stuff before, right?

[she will click play on something less weird.]

Just ignore the weird glitch at the end. [mahito shouldn't have asked because now he has to suffer.]

[touchups]

[YOU SAY THAT LIKE HE'S GOING TO BE SUFFERING. He's just fussing absently with the yarn as he leans over to watch now...

Unsurprisingly, he's more avidly interested in this one. God. Hate that!! He really seems to enjoy the story itself, and even interjects at one point with:]

You're a pretty good story-teller! [Before he goes back to listening, propping his chin up with his free hand. He also looks vaguely intrigued by the glitches because of course he does!! But he won't address those first. Instead, he's just pointing at the carousel's final shot with a little nod.]

This is the kind of place a curse would be born in.

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[that's true, i stand corrected. she smiles though from under the hood, holding her phone so that he can keep watching.]

That doesn't surprise me. That was the place the first of the new Cyclops killings happened.

[touchups]

[Once it's done, he'll lean back, picking up where he left off with his bracelet making but still keeping his eyes on her.]

Oh! See, even a strong urban legend would be enough, hah. But if it's the source of a death or a real human's misery, that's even better.

[For. Birthing curses but he doesn't clarify and instead just sounds like a serial killer which he essentially is anyway so it's fine.]

Serial killing case where the victims lose an eye, I'm guessing?

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You think? That's so crazy! I know we've talked about it before but it's always fascinating to think about what it takes to make a curse.

[she's like vaguely aware of what he means. she puts her phone down to keep working on her own bracelet.]

But yeah, that's right. I did a short segment about the old case, too, before the new ones started up. It started six years ago when four young women were killed. Their corpses were found in the Akikawa Valley. The killer signed a letter that they sent to the media with the name Cyclops. That's the real reason they were called the Cyclops killings.

Up until recently, the culprit was still at large, too.

[touchups]

Yup! As long as even one human is directing their strong negative feelings toward a source, that's all it takes. Urban legends can get pretty powerful since it's always tons of people believing the same thing, but real fears like murder and death always hold more weight.

[A little nod! He is always so perfectly happy to explain this shit to her, god.]

Pretty gruesome, though. But you caught 'em? Was it the same killer, or were you guys looking at a copycat?

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And people tend to panic when they're in a group anyway, so that's even more stable for curse births...[cirths...]

It was the same guy! Or one of them, at least. It's really complicated to explain but Date figured it out in the end. It worked out.

[touchups]

[CIRTHS. ABSOLUTELY HATE THAT.]

Yep! Haha. Though, to be honest, sustained fear over a looong period of time will usually result in something more stable than a sudden burst of group panic.

[The more you know... about cirths. He'll nod along as she explains, though.]

--Is that the friend of yours? Who was in the wrong body or something?

[Look the lore he got was confusing BUT HE MADE AN EFFORT TO REMEMBER.]

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[you know i absolutely deleted this when i read cirths assuming it was some other cursed bullshit but no, it was my cursed bullshit.]

So like stories about the boogie man instead of just a jumpscare video. [also nodding along like this is a normal-ass conversation.

but ah!]

Yeah, that's him. A lot of it was really, really involved and I think only Date could've figured it all out anyway.

[touchups]

[LWMELAMFOMSFES YOU JUST SEE SOME CURSED SHIT AND AUTOMATICALLY ASSUME IT'S ME how dare

He'll nod, though! And thumbs up with his free hand.]

Yeah, exactly! Though the time might not always matter; it's mostly about the intensity of the feeling. If that merry-go-round story you told is really widely circulated, it probably gave birth to something based on it. Like a curse that looks like a headless kid! But the fear gathering there because of the serial killings - that'd make a more powerful curse, probably with a shape that's harder to predict. It might reflect components of the case itself, but it might not.

[Sometimes curses just look weird for no reason. God bless.]

He sounds really smart! Good thing you found him, huh? For a few reasons.

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[IT USUALLY IS YOU.]

Oh is that how it works? [she hums to herself.] Do you know what caused your birth, then? Or was it all a part of something greater?

[mahito might have told her before, but it's worth asking again.]

I guess he's okay. [shut up, lust.] But he's really important. Now I just have to make sure he stays with us and doesn't leave again.

[touchups]

[THESE LIES........

Anyway, another nod! YEP THAT'S HOW IT WORKS. Curses! Wild shit. He also can't remember if she's asked before so this is fine.]

Yeah, I do! Humans don't just fear urban legends and murders, right? They're also afraid of bigger things. The oceans, the forests, the earth and all that they can do... [A smile! For a brief moment, something in his expression seems ancient. Not the withered and wise kind, but like a goddamn cornfield cthulhian cryptid.] I was born from the fear and hatred that humanity harbors toward itself. Not any particular instance of one human cursing another, or wishing they'd die, or fearing for their life, or feeling angry enough to kill, or killing just because - but all of them.

[Y...YAY. The embodiment of humanity's worst, at your service. Well, at least it probably gives more insight on exactly why he thinks about humans the way he does, beyond just being a curse.

But his brief moment of being a true cryptid is over! His smile and tone are back to usual as he carries on.]

Sounds like the kinda thing someone really close to another person but trying to deny it would saaay. [SING-SONG TEASING. THE SHIT.] I'm sure you can do it, though!

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[buries in the dirt.]

Ohh...that's why your profile doesn't have an age. You're really old. [DON'T. JUST SAY IT LIKE THAT?] But isn't that just like...I dunno, an ouroboros of curses? You were born because of cursed energy, but cursed energy is what makes curses be born.

[there's a slight laugh though. it's terrible because she's still not happy he killed luca? but also, like, mahito is weird and fascinating in his own way.]

It's what Date would say about me, too. [which isn't true, and her tone seems to say that as well.] We'll see! I've still got stuff to do here for you guys before anything else.