sevenhorrors | (no subject)

Who: Anyone who wants to learn the lore first hand
When: During dinner hours
Where: The cafeteria
What: Zuo Le tells anyone who wants to know what happens when you give a ghost your real name
Warnings: None

[ There is some embarrassment that comes with seemingly being the first chump to accidentally give up your real name, and because the consequences of Zuo Le's actions were a lot less dire than they could have been it does take him a few days of hemming and hawing to decide how he wants to fess up to his own foolishness if he does at all. It's not as if anyone else is out there just casually dropping their real name just because they were distracted when someone asks for one.

At least, he's assuming no one is...

But what happened with Anzen as well as the appearance of more ghosts throughout the school means it would be irresponsible of him to not say anything. People need to properly understand the risks, because he does not imagine most of what lurks in these halls will be as benignly self-serving as the creatures he foolishly spoke his name in front of.

It still takes a good fifteen minutes into the dinner hour for Zuo Le to psych himself up enough to walk towards the middle of the room, hesitate before gracefully hopping up onto the bench of one of the tables and loudly clearing his throat. ]

I do not want to take up too much of your time, but I wanted to make you all aware of the risks that come with uttering your real name allowed.

[ Are people looking at him? Surely people are looking at him right now. Zuo Le shuts his eyes, his cheeks getting a tinge of pink to them as he pushes on. ]

I... made the mistake myself recently.

[ Fucking cringe...... ]

And it seems that those who know it have a troubling amount of influence over the named person.

[ He'll open his eyes back up, and look around at whoever is listening, lips pressed together as he waits for the inevitable questions. ]

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What? No!

[ A pause, because it's not like they tested it. ]

I'm sure she probably can't...

[ He is, of course, wrong. ]

[PROBABLY huh...]

Has she tried?

She hasn't...

[ And asking someone to test out something like that is......... ]

Right... Testing it could be dangerous too if someone overheard. But for safety's sake, you should assume she can.

[ It's an unsettling thought in a different way. He knows he should be treating the nekomata as more dangerous than they appear, but so far they haven't asked anything particularly unpleasant from him.

Nei herself also hasn't done anything more than been a little snappy, but a person having that kind of control over him makes him uneasier still. Surely she wouldn't misuse it if she does...? ]

I understand.

Mm.

...but hey. It can be hard to remember a name you've only heard once. With all luck, maybe she'll forget it.

[ He grimaces at that. As nice as the thought is... ]

It's not a very long name.

[ Which doesn't mean she remembered it, but it also means it's not that hard to remember after hearing it only once. The nekomata sure did. ]

Ah.

[that’s unfortunate…]

You won’t be the only person to give your name on accident. I’ve been trying to avoid, like, asking anybody for a name or phrasing things like “You can call me so-and-so” instead of “I’M so-and-so,” but. It’s a question we’re all used to and it’s basically had the same answer for years.

[ It's kind of her to consider that, because that's exactly what happened to him, yeah... Though he does look troubled by her assessment here. ]

I was hoping that knowing the exact consequences might keep there from being anyone else that actually makes this mistake.

[ Though he knows even with the knowledge, it's easy to slip up. ]

I'm going to be way more careful now, that's for sure.

I'm glad to hear it.

[ If he can at least put one more person on higher alert, then it wasn't all for nothing. ]