text | un: mazd

[mazd]

Something that's on my mind right now is how one goes about choosing a username. Of course I've chosen one and so has everyone else, but simple observation can't always tell you why someone chose something or what it means. A significant chunk of the population appears to be using their own names and that at least is self-evident - it's their name so of course they'd want to use it! This doesn't account for people who may be using aliases in order to mislead others, which is always a possibility. But the ones that are of more interest and that take more thought are the names that aren't just names. Little phrases or words mashed together...why were those things significant to that person? I can't help but wonder about it.

While observation can absolutely give you a window into someone else's point of view it can never be as good a view as the one you can get simply by knocking on the front door and asking. So I really do want to ask. But is that sort of knowledge something to be given freely? Maybe some of it is private, but also there could be a more fun way to learn than just asking, right?

If you'd like to volunteer the information, please do so. Otherwise...would anyone like to play a game with me? I know there's several going on right now from looking but I don't mind if it's just a few people. I'm just in the mood for something a little more involved than telling a lie and hiding it in the underbrush of truth.

Recently some students were passing by playing a game they called 20 questions. The concept is fascinatingly simple but can get complex depending on how devious your opponent is. You have to think of an object and your partner can only ask yes or no questions to discover what it is. Given our different points of origin, however, we should refine what could count as an object, no?

So, for the purposes of this game please consider the "object" to be "the reason you chose your username and the true meaning of it" or "an animal found in this world". If you're unsure if an animal exists here, there seem to be lists of them at the Guilds alongside our potential powers as creatures we may eventually be able to transform into, as well as an available bestiary. Just specify if you're thinking of your username or an animal. Then players (possibly just me) will ask you questions that can only be answered with "yes" or "no"...if they go over 20, they lose. Apparently the consequences for losing can be quite dramatic among the student body but that seems a bit much to me. Instead I'll tell you something interesting if you win or I lose, okay?

And of course you're free to guess the meaning of my own username using the question framework. That said, those of you who know the true meaning behind it already are obligated to assume I'm thinking of an animal instead. In those circumstances I'm going to include animals from back home, too.

As I said you're free to play with one another, too, but I mostly just wanted to try it out myself. For some reason the students were too nervous to play with me...but you wouldn't mind doing just one round, right? Even just one person would be okay.

Comments

[lonesummit]

The characters are 地心 and while each may refer to a single word, together they refer to a single concept which my username is based around.

[mazd]

That one's concept would read as...the earth's core?

[lonesummit]

That's correct. So you can read Liyue script, it seems.

[mazd]

I read many different scripts across Teyvat. Living near the Akademiya gives one a certain advantage, however.

Were you blessed with a geo vision?

[lonesummit]

[Now is where he has to make a hard decision. To lie about his identity or not? He hasn't needed to yet, since the only people from Teyvat he's met already know.]

I have a geo vision, yes.

[It's a fake, but he does have one! Most can't tell anyway. It isn't like he needs one.]

[mazd]

[ boys why u be like this ]

Was that wording on purpose?

[lonesummit]

[Boys are liars, sorry]

There is always some degree of purpose to a wording choice, is there not? Perhaps I simply do not think of it as a blessing.

[mazd]

That wasn't a yes or no answer, Dixin.

[lonesummit]

So it wasn't!

Some answers are more complex than a simple yes or no. Surely, someone close to the Academiya would understand. I could simplify the answer to a 'yes', but your question was twofold- Do I have a geo vision? Yes. But was I blessed with it?

[mazd]

Rather than twofold, it was wording crafted to elucidate a specific answer...or lack of one. Your username intrigues me, but I have yet to determine whether or not any of my hypotheses are true or false. The only way to shine light on a dark path without any guidance is to leave breadcrumbs of fireflies at every turn.

Still, it has to be a yes or no, or the game isn't being played properly. I can't ask anything that would require a different sentiment, such as how you acquired a vision, but neither can you diverge from those answers until I've found the truth. (Unless you stop playing, of course.)

Let's see...

Is Dixin more than simply a reference to your Geo powers?

[lonesummit]

I see! This is a new game to me, after all. Very well then, I will strive to answer with concrete 'yes' or 'no', even when the answer should have more nuance.

Yes, it is.

[mazd]

Does it refer to you yourself?

[lonesummit]

Yes, it does.

[mazd]

Hm, I see. Just two more questions, I think.

Have you ever been in a place of leadership in a large scale battle?

[lonesummit]

[Unfortunately, he is not enough of a gremlin to lie outright. ALAS.

Well, he supposes it isn't like he was secretive in Reverie. And he could simply deny it once he is back in Liyue as some sort of trick of dimensions if anyone else says anything.]

Yes, I have.

[mazd]

This is a fairy tale.

Once upon a time, there was a kingdom made up of animals. It wasn't a peaceful kingdom. The birds didn't get along with the cats and the mice couldn't stand the lizards and so on and so forth...each different animal clan thought they knew best, and they didn't like how the others did things. They all wanted to be in charge of how the kingdom was run because they simply couldn't tolerate how any of the others did it.

As with any conflict, it was the smaller souls who suffered for it. Bee's wings were torn off, snail's shells were cracked...few of the animals paid it any mind.

And as with any conflict, eventually it came to an end. Of all the animal kingdom, a few clans rose to prominence. There were the big cats, lions. A family of foxes. A solitary lizard. Some minks. A pack of dogs. A school of fish. And inexplicably, a butterfly, because all of the animals loved the flowers in the kingdom and they knew that they needed a keeper.

These prominent families had their own parcels of the land and peoples. Each of them still wanted to do things their own way, you see, but they also decided to meet with one another every so often and keep up friendly relations.

For many, many years representatives of the clans would meet. Eventually, like all things, this came to an end. The foxes wouldn't leave their den. The lions hibernated through all the long seasons. The butterfly couldn't leave the garden alone. The lizard roamed about the kingdom, but rarely did any of the clans meet. They heard stories of one another on occasion or would run into one another.

The years, as years do, had changed them. The lions woke when spring came...the foxes left their den...the lizard was no longer alone. The butterfly could no longer remember the faces from that time long past, but it changed, too, as all things do.

There isn't yet an ending written to the story. I like to think that someday all the animals will meet and play games together, in the next samsara if not this one. It's nice for things to have happier endings, I think.

My final question is: do you know where to find the butterfly?

[lonesummit]

[Now.

Zhongli is no stranger to telling a story like this in order to teach someone something, or to ask something that cannot be asked directly. But he is usually the one telling it, and so knows the hidden meaning.

He supposes that if he simplifies it down to 'yes' or 'no', and simply takes it at face value though...]

This is a harder one.

I'll go with 'yes', even if I may not be privy to all of the factors.

[mazd]

[ It's an Archon thing. Nahida assumes he got the message, but why she didn't just lock the convo...

Well, riddles are a thing she enjoys. ]

Then it's my win!

[lonesummit]

It is indeed!

Would you like to think of an animal for me to guess? Haha, I am not as good at these sorts of things, but then who could be, Mazd?

[mazd]

I will think of an animal from home, then. Please proceed!

You may call me Nahida.

[lonesummit]

It is a pleasure, Nahida. You can call me Zhongli.

Is this animal one with fur?

[mazd]

It is not.