泽芜君 (𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎 𝚋𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛). (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
calmness) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
ximilialog2022-02-13 05:04 pm
calmness) wrote in ximilialog2022-02-13 05:04 pm
[open] my soul is the color of ice and snow
CHARACTERS: lan xichen and YOU
LOCATION: around the ship
DATE: all after february 21st
CONTENT: simulation of cloud recess with totally not real rabbits that wear headbands, magical healing music, and a bit of sad time drinking. everything is about poorly coping.
WARNINGS: will update as i go, post-mission sadness ahead
time on the back hills (pets are forbidden)
[for an afternoon, those wishing to step into the simulation room will find it occupied and the scene before them as they step through the doors a pathway that leads them through a compound in the mountains. here winter turns to spring, blossoms bloom on trees still surrounded by sporadic piles of snow.
xichens them at the head of the path that leads them down past a waterfall and a pool, winding through the compound.] Come. Let me show you something.
[once on the way, xichen leads the two them through winding pathways and down a narrow path through a thick tree-line until they emerge on a grassy hill that is seems empty and covered in small patches of snow. the only notable thing there is a large rabbit-hutch standing under a tree, providing shade for the sunny field. xichen makes his way to the hutch, where he's left a basket full of vegetables -- carrots, lettuce, beets.
anyone approaching will soon realise that some of the white puffs of snow are not snow at all, but white rabbits of various sizes. some of them, surprisingly, wear a similar headband to the one xichen wears across his forehead.] Join me? [xichen calls over his shoulder, motioning them closer to the hutch.] They're friendly and easily won over, but I must warn you, they have a poor sense of boundaries. [he tips his head toward the basket of food, bribes for the rabbits.]
I used to take my nephew to this place after a difficult time. [he says after a while, in lieu of explanation for why he's created this particular vision for them all. rabbits are great for stress, you see. and that he equates some of you as needing the same soothing as a toddler once did.]
the song of clarity
[in the sunlight room, soft chords can be heard by anyone who passes through or wishes a moment of calm. xichen settles in a shady spot with his guqin, newly acquired and not quite tuned in the way he'd like. not that anyone unfamiliar could tell.
he sends a quick message to the network before he begins playing, a warning and also an invitation.] I am playing a song of Clarity the sunlight room, for those interested. If you have been feeling anxious or ill-at-ease, or unable to rest, the music is infused with Qi and will help ease your mind. I will play for anyone who needs it.
[the music floats through the room, the notes of the qin accompanied by sounds pulled forth by pale blue energy as he strikes each chord so it seems like he is accompanying himself with his flute. he has rested enough, slept most of the days since their return, that his energy levels are returning to their pre-mission state. not normal, no, but good enough that he can play. it helps too, serves as a distraction from the way things ended in scorpion's bend where the left a man to his seclusion.
that is a future xichen knows well, though he is pushing those exact thoughts out as he plays.
company is welcome and xichen plays the song all the way through regardless of when company joins him. as it comes to a close, he opens his eyes and looks at his companion.] Do you feel alright?
late nights musings and moping
[as it was for many, the mission was not an easy one for xichen. the conclusion, knowing that ford is left alone and the orb acted for its own entertainment leaves a hole in xichen's heart.
it makes anger boil in his chest, leaves him tossing and turning after exhaustion fades away. so instead of resting, he wanders the halls of the ship in the night. sometimes he is found on the observation deck, looking out at the stars with the corners of his lips pulled downward in a frown and brows creased in muted anger.
other times, deep in the night, he wanders to the kitchens and brews himself a cup of tea as he bends himself over a book that he is not truly reading. if pulled from his reading, he looks up at whatever poor soul enters the kitchen at this hour.] Would you like a cup? [there's still a good amount of tea in the pot next to him, a special blend from braccia for those who may recognize it. after a moment, he speaks again.] Or something stronger?
wild card!
[ooc: feel free to throw some variation of these my way or let me know if you'd like something else at grimm#9436 on discord or on plurk!]
LOCATION: around the ship
DATE: all after february 21st
CONTENT: simulation of cloud recess with totally not real rabbits that wear headbands, magical healing music, and a bit of sad time drinking. everything is about poorly coping.
WARNINGS: will update as i go, post-mission sadness ahead
time on the back hills (pets are forbidden)
[for an afternoon, those wishing to step into the simulation room will find it occupied and the scene before them as they step through the doors a pathway that leads them through a compound in the mountains. here winter turns to spring, blossoms bloom on trees still surrounded by sporadic piles of snow.
xichens them at the head of the path that leads them down past a waterfall and a pool, winding through the compound.] Come. Let me show you something.
[once on the way, xichen leads the two them through winding pathways and down a narrow path through a thick tree-line until they emerge on a grassy hill that is seems empty and covered in small patches of snow. the only notable thing there is a large rabbit-hutch standing under a tree, providing shade for the sunny field. xichen makes his way to the hutch, where he's left a basket full of vegetables -- carrots, lettuce, beets.
anyone approaching will soon realise that some of the white puffs of snow are not snow at all, but white rabbits of various sizes. some of them, surprisingly, wear a similar headband to the one xichen wears across his forehead.] Join me? [xichen calls over his shoulder, motioning them closer to the hutch.] They're friendly and easily won over, but I must warn you, they have a poor sense of boundaries. [he tips his head toward the basket of food, bribes for the rabbits.]
I used to take my nephew to this place after a difficult time. [he says after a while, in lieu of explanation for why he's created this particular vision for them all. rabbits are great for stress, you see. and that he equates some of you as needing the same soothing as a toddler once did.]
the song of clarity
[in the sunlight room, soft chords can be heard by anyone who passes through or wishes a moment of calm. xichen settles in a shady spot with his guqin, newly acquired and not quite tuned in the way he'd like. not that anyone unfamiliar could tell.
he sends a quick message to the network before he begins playing, a warning and also an invitation.] I am playing a song of Clarity the sunlight room, for those interested. If you have been feeling anxious or ill-at-ease, or unable to rest, the music is infused with Qi and will help ease your mind. I will play for anyone who needs it.
[the music floats through the room, the notes of the qin accompanied by sounds pulled forth by pale blue energy as he strikes each chord so it seems like he is accompanying himself with his flute. he has rested enough, slept most of the days since their return, that his energy levels are returning to their pre-mission state. not normal, no, but good enough that he can play. it helps too, serves as a distraction from the way things ended in scorpion's bend where the left a man to his seclusion.
that is a future xichen knows well, though he is pushing those exact thoughts out as he plays.
company is welcome and xichen plays the song all the way through regardless of when company joins him. as it comes to a close, he opens his eyes and looks at his companion.] Do you feel alright?
late nights musings and moping
[as it was for many, the mission was not an easy one for xichen. the conclusion, knowing that ford is left alone and the orb acted for its own entertainment leaves a hole in xichen's heart.
it makes anger boil in his chest, leaves him tossing and turning after exhaustion fades away. so instead of resting, he wanders the halls of the ship in the night. sometimes he is found on the observation deck, looking out at the stars with the corners of his lips pulled downward in a frown and brows creased in muted anger.
other times, deep in the night, he wanders to the kitchens and brews himself a cup of tea as he bends himself over a book that he is not truly reading. if pulled from his reading, he looks up at whatever poor soul enters the kitchen at this hour.] Would you like a cup? [there's still a good amount of tea in the pot next to him, a special blend from braccia for those who may recognize it. after a moment, he speaks again.] Or something stronger?
wild card!
[ooc: feel free to throw some variation of these my way or let me know if you'd like something else at grimm#9436 on discord or on plurk!]
no subject
[curious, still amused. he'll have to tease yzak about all this, given the hard time he gave him about not being untoward with his sister. he cannot help a soft chuckle then.]
no subject
after a hesitation:] Just him... Is there some protocol for it I don't know? Should I have not done that?
no subject
[he offers an apologetic smile, which doesn't quite temper his amusement but that is not at blue's expense as much as yzak's.] You see, such a practice is part of our marriage rites.
[his smile melds into something a bit more teasing.] During the mission, I had been teasing Yzak about his intentions with my sister... [he chuckles.]
no subject
Is that so... [his mouth twitches a bit, prompting him to lift a hand to mask it for a moment.] That must be why...I sensed him fluster so much before I even spoke a word...
no subject
It was only a jest on my part but I did mention it was a bit scandalous to live together unwed. [he had not seriously meant it, no, but it had drawn quite a flustered reaction.]
no subject
I don't entirely understand it, but...it must have something to do with...how many cling so fiercely to...one or two people alone, rather than others?
no subject
Ah. Is there not such a thing in your home? [he wonders then, what is common where blue comes from.]
no subject
I don't have much experience with it...personally.
no subject
curiosity gets the better of him.] By what standards?
Ah. [a gentle smile as he pets the rabbit wiggling in his lap. the white fluff ball seems less interested in him and slowly in moving over to where blue is, trying to push a sibling out of his lap to take its spot.] With marriage or all that leads to it? [he doesn't judge, is only curious to learn more about the other man. ]
no subject
My people and I... We're not able to engage with society as we are. We'd be caught and killed on-sight. So the goings-on of human ritual...we know it only peripherally, or...what lingers from what we remember before escape.
And those rituals...are not wholly theirs anymore. [his expression gets cloudy, grim.] It is the computer system which determines compatibility, worthiness for marriage, for children...for anything. The system determines where you belong, what you do...even what to think about.
All of it is tainted... All to ensure the complacency of the people. People who...no longer know they are being groomed to complacency. None of it matters to them...because they don't know any better.
no subject
[xichen takes a deep breath at that, shocked but also saddened as he thinks of what that means for those living in that world.
he wonders what happiness can be found in a system like that, so rigid and where things are predetermined. then realizes how much it mirrors his own, here so much is defined by where you are born and who you are. there is no computer doing the work there, no, but years of tradition that no one aims to break.
many, including himself, even fought to defend it. there is blood on his hands over that, staining them a deep red.] And are they happy in the system? Or does that not matter in the system most are in?
no subject
no subject
We are all limited to what we know, in the end, that is no different. [he reaches out for a rabbit who has settled by his side, pets between its ears.] These rabbits only know their meadow and are content with it.
no subject
You mean...the ones from your homeland. Your memory.
These...can they really know contentment? They are just figments. [...] Just like...those townsfolk. Their livestock.
no subject
[these are just a taste of it, a memory of something he misses and will not have unless he gives up on changing his regret.] If their creator says these are content, are they not content? [xichen shakes his head.] That was Ford's thinking, wasn't it?
no subject
Thank you, Lan Xichen.
no subject
[they all need it after all, regardless of what lies ahead.]