Guide of the Nile (Kalon #500 - DNP)

[Yugi]

Welcome to the interview section of the form. Masika will try his absolute best to answer any and all questions you have for him. Feel free to use the question index below to see all of the questions.

The number indicates post number; the single word next to it is the topic; the questions below are questions that are asked in that post.

Question index
1. Music
You sing right? What types of songs do you sing? What music do you like?
2. Happiness
What is your idea of perfect happiness? Have you felt true happiness?
3. Love
Have you experienced love? Do you like the idea of love? Are you in love?
4. Dreaming
Do you dream? What type of dreams do you have? Nightmares?
5. Exploration
Where would you like to go? Where have you gone?
6. Regrets
What is your largest regret? Do you like having regrets?
7. Relationships
Do you have any relationships at the moment?
8. Occupation
What job would you like to have? Do you like acting as a guide? How do you protect yourself as a guide?
9. Change
Was change easy? What would you change about yourself if you could?

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↠ Dining Hall

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↠ Beaten Up Book
↠ Interviews

[Yugi]

You sing right?

"Yes, that is correct. I often sing when I'm at home, although, on a handful of occasions, I have been known to sing to those who use my guide services to keep them entertained. Singing is a way for me to actively convey my emotions, thoughts, feelings, memories, and much more. Through the use of my voice, I find that I am able to relax myself quicker and distract myself from negative thoughts.

However, that's not to say that I'm all that amazing at singing, of course! I don't have the best voice when it comes to singing, truly, but it's a fun hobby that I like to do in my spare time. It doesn't hurt anyone, or at least I hope it doesn't because my singing voice isn't completely terrible and off tune, so I enjoy it quite a bit."

What types of songs do you sing?

"Honestly, it can be pretty spontaneous at times, but since I know I'm terrible at coming up with lyrics, I try my best to sing songs that have been sung to me prior. Many of them are songs that my family sung to me when I had trouble sleeping, or if my behavior needed to be corrected.

Foreign travelers who depend on my guide services have also taught me songs from their native tongue. They're usually always kind to translate it for me too, so that way I can sing it myself if I wanted. Most of the songs are about the world itself; everyone who I guide knows and understands how much I appreciate learning about the world, so they always find a way to pay me back by providing me with knowledge about it."

What music do you like?

"I'm not at all picky with music anymore.

Before, I used to be... rude, for lack of a better term to describe it. I was overly judgmental, criticizing those that I deemed couldn't sing very harshly. I have snapped at beginner singers and hobbyists alike, insulting them, and, more than likely, caused them to give up their passion. Why? Because I stupidly believed that, if one cannot sing, one shouldn't sing at all. I was quite the one to talk, as I sang to myself often during my travels to keep myself busy. If my prior form were to encounter my own self, he would snap at me viciously too. I was a much worst singer back when I was alive as my songs and voice had no depth to it. It was something to just show off and be used as a tactic to woo others into loving me. Even though I'm still not the best at singing, my voice now has depth, at the very least more depth than before. I find myself putting my emotions into my voice in order for it to reflect my experiences. When people hear my songs, they often approach me in concern and ask if I need to be consoled. It's a nice way of meeting new people and making new friends now."

[Yugi]

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

"Perfect happiness? I'm not sure if it exists at all, but I would think it would be absolute peace. Having peace with yourself and inner demons would more than likely constitute for complete happiness. It's really difficult to be at peace with your past regrets that plague you constantly; even though people try to play it off as if they have a perfect life with no problems what so ever, they're very obviously lying.

In order to truly be at peace, one has to accept their own actions. Many people just tried to suppress them, or constantly distract from them by other means, such as purchasing lavish items or surrounding themselves with people they call friends. By doing this, they're not accepting their past or being responsible for prior actions. I mean, you've known plenty of people who are rich and popular, right? I'm certain that people like that still exist even today. Do you notice how, even though many people say that they've achieved complete happiness, they are usually not at all that happy? It's because they're using it to suppress feelings that should not be suppressed at all..."

Have you felt true happiness?

"Ah, no, not at all. I felt fake happiness plenty of times, using it to distract from how my life truly was and still is. I don't believe I will find true happiness soon, or at all for that matter. I'm known to cling onto the past, regardless of how much I want to let it go. With my current form and my cursed punishment, I'm prevented from moving on too.

I do find that I need this curse placed one me, however. I understand why I'm going through this and why my actions were bad, but it doesn't mean I accept it, at least not necessarily. I fear that, without the curse, I'll revert back to my past self. I don't want to experience such horrors again, and I certainly do not want others to experience it either. Even if this means that I have to give up true happiness, I'll gladly do it for everyone's sake."

[Yugi]

Have you experienced love?

“I truthfully haven’t experienced true love. I hate to admit it, but everyone that fell in love with me was forever in a one sided love. I never loved any of them back. Sure, I might have appreciated their presence and the fact that they actually truly liked me too, but the only thing that I wanted from them was physical items such as money, food, gold, and more. I was unbelievably greedy, and it’s embarrassing that it went on for all those years. I guess I also craved their affection, but not entirely how they wanted to give it to me. I wanted to be liked, yes, and I wanted to be noticed by others.

I didn’t want to suffer from unnecessary punishments given to me by village elders; my life as a youngster was so easy, fun, and happy, and I wanted to go back to those days. I wanted to be perceived as royalty once more, especially after being in multiple fights and spat at by angry, tired, jealous villagers… So, I did what I had to in order to keep up this pretend dream of mine, and I tried my best to make it a reality. When I pretended my way through life, those moments of happiness came back to me, and I felt whole once more even though my sister wasn’t at my side. Of course, looking back at it now, it was unbelievably stupid of me to believe that what I felt was actual love and happiness…”

Do you like the idea of love?

“The thought of loving others is a complicated idea for me. While my past self thought he experienced love and loved the idea of loving another person, I now realize that I’ve never really thought about the idea. I honestly don’t think I could ever love someone truly, at least not anymore. I would love to love someone back as much as they loved me, but due to this curse placed on my soul, I’m unable to do so.

On the same topic, the idea of marriage is also something I don’t truly like either. I don’t think I’ve ever want to get tied down to someone permanently, especially since my first experiences with it resulted in my death...”

Are you in love?

“Hah, I never once was in love, so is it really surprising that I’m still not? A few travelers have caught my attention, but because of the curse placed on me, if I were to pursue such a thing, I would ultimately be forced to pass on into the afterlife. I don’t think my feelings for them is necessarily love, either. I think it’s just my newfound appreciation for others being mistaken as romantic affection.”

[Yugi]

Do you dream? What type of dreams do you have?

“I do dream, surprisingly. Even though my periods of rest are clouded with nightmares, on occasion, I am known to dream peaceful dreams.

My dreams typically revolve around my travelers that I meet when I work my job. They provide me information about the world through giving me information about themselves. When I am lucky, I can go home and imagine myself traveling to that far off distant land they might be from. I dream about myself going from place to place, exploring the world, loving each and every moment of my traveling life.

Some of my dreams have me falling in love for the first time. I dream about a mysterious figure who I find lost and alone in the desert, only to find that they had been looking for me for all of these years, wondering if I was just a myth or a true being. When I first see them, I can feel this warm feeling inside my chest. I picture myself confessing my true love to them, even though we had just met. I guess it’s like how many others confessed their love for me… Perhaps this dream is actually a nightmare, but it’s never really progressed further than that.

I also have a constant dream about my finally apologizing to all those I’ve harmed. In the dream, I am able to talk to Neph and the others, as well as my parents and dearest sister. As I apologize thoroughly for my actions to each and every one of them, I can feel my body become lighter as I am able to drag my body out of the Nile River, allowing me to stand on the two legs I used to have before. I dream about righting all of my wrongs, and finally being able to restart my whole life back onto the solid land I once knew.”

Nightmares?

“Indeed, a majority of times that I find myself falling asleep, I am forced to wake up from nightmares that continuously plague me. To keep it short and simple, I am often met with remembering the day I drowned.

Another recurring nightmare that I experience quite often involves my twin sister. In the nightmare, she finds out that I completely gave up on her, something that I still feel terribly guilty for doing. I can hear her voice berating me constantly, criticising how I easily forgotten about her. She continues to chastise me about my current state of life, blaming me for all of the events that have happened.

‘Why did you let me go, Masika? Don’t you care about your dear sister?’ ‘Oh Masika, look at what you’ve done, you terrible monster!’ ‘Masika, you’re destroying your own self, just like how you destroyed our family and village.’

. . . It's dreadful to think about it.”

[Yugi]

Where would you like to go?

"It would be neat to travel the world, regardless of how far I'm allowed to go. I would like to explore the rest of Egypt before I explore anything else, though. I would like to finally see the ocean, as I have heard that it looks wondrous when it's a hot, sunny day and the sun's rays are reflecting off of its currents. Even though I've spent hundreds of years submerged in water, I do have a soft spot for sights like that.

Regarding actual places, perhaps Italy? I believe that's what it's called? I had one traveler describe what it's like, and I think it's truly interesting. I haven't seen anything like their description, and I was truly in a bit of a shock when they told me about it. Also, they notified me that place has delicious food, which is something I'm always down for.

Other places would have to be Alaska, since there's this weird thing called snow that falls down from the sky, which is apparently super pretty. Perhaps even this place called Vietnam? A traveler that I see fairly often has told me how gorgeous the scenery is. They also believe that I would be fairly interested in seeing how locals live, as some of them make their homes on large boats that float on top of the water. I think it sounds pretty surreal, but I would be more than happy to give each and every place a chance!"

Where have you gone?

"I haven't gone all that far. I've been in Egypt my whole life, and I've been constantly around the Nile River. It sounds pretty disappointing and boring, doesn't it? At least I've seen a majority of the Nile River, at least the parts that I always constantly travel through. I'm pretty sure no one else has seen what I've seen down here, aha!"

[Yugi]

What is your largest regret?

"To be quite honest, every single regret that I have is pretty big in terms of scale and what I've done. Basically, me playing pretend all throughout life by using other people and easily forgetting others who proved no use to me is the largest regret in life. Greed is really a terrible thing, and if I could go back in time to change it all... I honestly would. If I could knock some sense into my younger self, if I could have prevented my sister from being adopted out by my parents, I think I would be in a much better place instead of being forced to constantly live with these regrets stacked upon my shoulders. It's feels like the weight of the world is constantly on me. Regardless of what I do now, I can't ever remove this stain from my soul..."

Do you like having regrets?

"That's... quite an odd question. I don't think I've ever heard of that being asked to anyone before, but it does make quite a bit of sense, I will agree on that.

I suppose I do like having this constant regret plague my mind? I mean, it makes me rethink my actions, and I truly do believe that I wouldn't do anything like this again as long as this regret is stuck onto me. Knowing what I've done and how many people I hurt in the process of all of that, it makes me understand that what I did was wrong. On top of all that, I also have to live with this curse that constantly reminds me of the ill doings I've caused.

I guess, in the very end, if I were to have this regret lifted from me, I don't think I would be the same person as I am today. In all honesty, I like present day Masika rather than ugly, terrible past Masika. At least the present me is kind and generous, and people actually like me for who I am instead of liking me for the idea I projected with myself.

So... I suppose I do like having this regret...?"

[Yugi]

Do you have any relationships at the moment?

"Romantic relations? If so, no, not at all. I haven't come across anyone who I've felt romantic attraction to.

I do have quite a few friendships, however, as bizarre as that might sound. Here's a list of a few of them;"

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"This is Anku, a guardian of the under realm. I use to see her all the time when I was on my journey away from home; she often caught my eye due to all the golden jewelry and fancy clothing she would always wear when she was exploring. She likes to learn about the mortal realm, so she will often come to the surface of the upper world in order to study it. She is currently the one who supervises me and my actions. She's a bit more softhearted and lenient than the previous deities that kept a stern gaze towards me at all times. She's nice to converse with, but I must admit that she can be a bit creepy at times. Since she's from the under realm, her jokes aren't ones mortals would typically crack. She can come off as sadistic, but I can assure you she's nothing like that at all."
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"The next one is Keaton. We've only met a couple of times; he's apparently a big music star from where he's from. He's come to Egypt occasionally for these large events called concerts, where he will sing and play music for adoring fans. He's sang to me a couple of times in order to get me to feel more comfortable with singing around others. He's one of the sweetest people I've ever met during my lifetime, and he's very laid back and flexible. He kind of reminds me of the Nile River itself, since he will always just go with the flow, regardless of where it might take him. He's the person who help encouraged me to sing and to appreciate every song I am able to hear. I wished he could visit more. I really do miss his presence and the late nights we would spend together chatting and singing. Did I mention that his fruit drinks are also delectable too?"
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"This guy here is Lithe. He's actually a demon that I had the misfortune of meeting. Even though we're on even terms now, and he actually treats me like a normal being, he used to try to experiment with his magic on me a few times. For some odd reason, he wanted to tattoo souls of creatures onto my tail fin to see how everything would react. Thankfully, his fear of water kept him from going through with his obnoxious plans. I used to carry him across the Nile River all the time, although recently, he's been busy with under worldly duties. It's probably due to him continuously slacking off with his work. I would like to say that he's a swell guy, but it's quite obvious that not many people want to get along with him due to how mischievous he is. If you've never met him before, I caution you to avoid him."
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"This lovely gal is Taura. She is supposedly the protector of the grand ocean. We met when her close friend Umiko had to drop her off at a nearby village to look for a way to continue on with their journey. She's suffering from severe memory loss of her past life, saying that her knowledge and the legends about her contradict each other completely. We were able to spend a few weeks together, since they were both struggling with figuring out where to go next since clues about her history were stored here for some odd reason. She promised me that, when she is able to find herself completely, she would come back to see me once again as she is highly appreciative of those who guard her dear waters. I haven't seen her or the young brown viscet, Umiko, yet... I hope they're still safe."
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"This fellow here is Hone. He's a kind fellow who's suffered from a lot over the past years. He's what people call a defense attorney. He came to Egypt for a vacation one year since a majority of his friends are interested in Egyptian culture. He wanted to be able to take photos and get little trinkets for them, as he was unable to bring them along due to how much money it would have cost him. He depended on me as a guide constantly, even though he was more than surprised to see a walking, talking fish creature when we first met. We try our best to keep in touch; since he's close friends with Anku (he told me that it's a long story, so I spared him from telling me all the details), we're able to talk and send messages to each other. I would be more than happy to meet the rest of his friends, as it sounds like he has many of them."

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"These two Nile crocodiles are fairly close to me as well. They're technically my guardians; they're beings designated to watch over me and make sure that I'm doing well. However, they are also beings that report back to the deities with updates on my progress. You see, if I am to break the laws placed on me by the deities themselves, these two crocodiles have a way to contact them and notify them of my actions.

Even though we're unable to verbally communicate with each other, I do find myself still trying to speak with them. They're fairly strict creatures, but at the same time I've found them easily to interact with. They're not home at the moment; they're out hunting to fill their bellies since they're not too keen on my fruits and vegetables. Sometimes, when I'm craving meat, we'll go out and hunt fish here in the Nile. With our combined speed and agility, fishing can be a breeze if they're abundant and not being fished for that day. Due to how synchronize our fish hunting is now, it kind of feels like the three of us are one. It's a weird feeling, since people wouldn't usually connect with crocodiles, regardless of how cherished and honored they are. Because of my constant interaction with them, I can say with the greatest assurance that they are one of my favorite animals now.

The larger, pale crocodile is a female; I've named her Cleo due to how pretty she is. She acts as the main leader between the two, and she is highly protective of the greener crocodile. The smaller male crocodile has been dubbed as Sobek, mainly due to his looks and resembles to the God himself. It appears as if has gotten into many fights due to how many scars he has on his face and body, so I like to think that he was the leader of a crocodile militia."


"Oh? The wandering merchant you've met before? Yes, certainly she and I have a relationship with each other, but it's more of a business partnership in which we both depend on each other for guidance. Since she doesn't work at one single village, she tends to stick around me, as I am able to notify her of other wandering merchants or those interested in purchasing goods that she carries. I'll even go ahead and take her around on my boat in order to catch up with potential customers if that means that I can help her. She's a very kind and lovely person, indeed, so I don't mind her constant use of my services since she's always sweet enough to pay for my own food or to provide me stories about her journeys. We meet on a daily basis so she can teach me new things about the world. She's really good at doing that; apparently she used to be a teacher when she was younger, but unfortunate situations caused her to lose her job entirely.

Since I also believe in fate, I have a feeling that fate itself is what lead me to her. I met her a few years ago, back when she recently lost her job as a professor and was forced to peddle items that she found on the streets. When she felt like she had lost all hope, I approached her in hopes I could provide a possible remedy for her constantly falling tears. I offered my services to her, telling her that I would be more than happy to take her around the villages for free. During those first few months, she timidly asked me for help; I made sure to provide her with more effort from me by giving her items that I had found on the shoreline itself, like discarded vases and baskets for example. The effort we both put in was more than enough, as she was able to get back onto her feet in no time. Soon, she decided to learn new trades. She found that she excelled in jewelry making, so now she depends on that sole job to make most, if not all, of her income. Now, to pay me back, she wanted to make sure that I was happy, and that my wishes were granted. I told her that I didn't want anything, but she pleaded and was persistent in insisting that I must at least give her a chance to pay her respects for my gratitude. In keeping with her wishes, I visit her on a daily basis so she can teach me something new.

If you ever get the chance to see her again, I'm certain she would love to talk with you about your experience here. That necklace you're wearing around your neck is by her own excellent craftsmanship; I only provided the single seashell itself, and the rest was her complete doing and work. Besides, she'll surely be happy to meet new people and make new friends. Perhaps you both can teach each other a thing or two about your way of living."

[Yugi]

What job would you like to have?

"When I was younger, I always wanted to be a map maker. The thought of exploration and charting newly discovered land was so exciting to me, especially since so many people inside my village haven't seen anything outside of the walls. I thought I would be the first to introduce them to the outside world, aha!

When I grew older, I wanted to be a prince of some sort. I wanted to be able to rule over my own village and constantly protect them. I wanted to be rich and live in absolute comfort. I wanted everyone around me to look up to me and appreciate everything that I did for them. My past life was somewhat like that, only just a corrupted version of it.

Today, as much as I love my current 'job,' I would love to be a singer alongside my dear friend, Keaton. He always said that my voice shows potential and that he would love to go on tours with me. He's probably only saying it to be nice to me, but regardless, it would be a lot of fun to achieve my dream job. It would mean that I could also go out and explore the world, which is something that I've been wanting to do from day one of my life. Hopefully there's people out there who can truly teach someone like me how to actually sing."

Do you like acting as a guide?

"I do, truly. It's a lot of fun, and I love being able to meet new people. The stories of morality one can hear through acting as the Nile River's guide is astounding. It's made me realize that everyone that we meet has their own little life. While we may not see it or hear about it, these individuals live, survive, and thrive in this world. Everyone has their own struggles, their own history, and being given the chance to hear and learn about it is a wondrous thing. Many people are far too busy concerned with their own lives, which is completely understandable as life is hectic and unpredictable, but I believe that understanding and knowing that people are just like you and me is important when it comes to understanding life. It makes us feel complete and whole. Togetherness is a beautiful thing that we should all strive to achieve."

How do you protect yourself as a guide?

"Protect? As in defend against thieves and meddling spirits? Believe it or not, I'm actually not the best at defense myself. The best thing I can do is distract and flee, although there are some times on occasion that I'm known to actually do physical harm to a person. If a situation can be fixed with fleeing, I'll do that as it's usually the safest option for both me and the travelers that are depending on me as their guide.

If a situation requires me to get my hands dirty, then I certainly will. Before I would actually throw my whole body onto them, since this tail honestly weighs a ton once it's out of the water. I learned to quickly not do that, as I would be stranded on the shore line or I would be harmed from weapons that they were holding. Even though I'm immortal, I can still feel pain. Now, instead of putting myself in harms way stupidly like that, I've learned to be sneaky. The Nile River acts as a cover for me, allowing me to surprise even my wittiest opponents. Catching ankles is something that I'm fairly proficient at now after all these years of doing it; I'll go after them to drag them down to the depths of the river, only to release them and watch them panic. Depending on the severity of their actions, I may help them out to come back up to the surface. They either rethink their actions as they shiver from the cold river water, kneeling on the ground out of breath, or somehow run away out of sheer, intense fear. Either way works for me. Most of the time, they don't come back, unless they're that idiotic thieving group. And even then, their members start to drop the clan out of fear of facing me ever again.

I don't want to harm anyone, of course, especially not anymore. But if it means my people will be protected from those who are still afflicted with dangerous thoughts of greed, I will do my best to prevent harm done to them."

[Yugi]

Was change easy?

"Oddly, it was. I will admit, I did end up panicking when I found out what had happened. I thought there was a giant fish summoned by the deities to torture me or eat me, but it was just simply the fish tail that was attached to my body. I'm happy that I'm still 'alive,' since, let's face it, I'm not truly alive since I'm not able to die, nor do I need to do the things most mortals need to do. I'm also happy that I never have to worry about drowning ever again since I can permanently breathe underwater and above water, as long as a part of me is submerged in water at all times. I wasn't really close to anyone either, and a majority of people who lived in that village wanted me gone anyways due to how I acted towards all of them. I had plenty of other times where I was forced to live out on the streets, vulnerable to the unforgiving weather.

The most difficult part of the change was just getting used to swimming. Since I didn't know anything about swimming, I stumbled around quite a bit, even after being able to propel my body through the water when I was motivated by fear. It took a while to get use to how my tail moved, as well as how to move it in order to swim faster or slower. I think I spent about five months studying my own swimming techniques before I felt comfortable with it."

What would you change about yourself if you could?

"Oh my, there's quite a few things that I want to remove from me. The most obvious one would be my greed, but since it's not all that much a part of my life anymore, I guess it doesn't really count. The next one would be my past, but that's something that I want to actually keep, just in case I do end up repeating my past without the memory of all that had happened stuck to my mind.

I suppose it would have to be this tail. If I could be able to walk on land like how I used to, I would absolutely love it. As happy as I am to know that I'm immune to drowning, I want to be able to walk on two legs again. I want to be able to dance, run, skip, and so much more. With a fin, you have very limited movement. Certainly, you can perform amazing flips and stun your friends with underwater choreography, but it's not the same as having two legs. I love this fin, but I love my old, land loving legs even more. I would be even more happy if I had an ability to switch between the two; being able to walk on land with legs and swim in waters with my finned tail would make me the happiest."