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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
not after the alcohol on scorpion's bend. or braccia for that matter, even if he had burned all of that off before it had hit him. he chuckles softly still and then nods as they raise their glasses, clinking them together.] I will be mindful of that.
[and he is as he takes a sip, nose still scrunching as he swallows.] Ah. Maybe not. I see what you mean by quite strong. [but at least he likes the taste, so that won't stop him. He looks at a glass, smile turning nostalgic for a moment before he takes another small sip.] The taste reminds me of a drink I had in Qinghe in my teenage years. [not quite the same, not close, but the smoothness of it. the memory feels like a lifetime ago, now.] It is much better than anything we have had the last few weeks.
no subject
Well, I did warn you.
[ But it looks like Xichen likes it, so that's good. Wouldn't be very hard for it to be better than whatever they've been having lately, but still. ]
I'm glad you like it. Whiskey tends to be kind of hit or miss. You either like it, or you hate it. It's definitely not for everyone, it even took me a while to acquire the taste for it.
no subject
a short while ago, he would have been speaking a bit louder already.] After Scorpion's Bend, it is quite pleasant. [many things are preferable to scorpion's bend, really. xichen lets out a soft sigh, shakes his head.] What is keeping you from sleep, Jim?
no subject
And no, it's not hard for it to be better than anything at Scorpion's Bend. But then even if they'd had the best whiskey Jim's ever tasted, the memory of the taste would have been soured once they learned about everything that happened there, and all the more so knowing what they left behind when they came back to the station. ]
Probably the same thing as you. [ He smiles tiredly, shrugging. ] Think a lot of people here are having a tough time falling asleep after that ordeal. Usually company helps me fall asleep, but Leonard's working, Finn's helping too, and I justβ didn't want to bother anyone else, I guess.
no subject
[logic does not make it easier, not when feelings are such a complicated thing.
he nods at jim's explanation. while he cannot personally relate now, he knows company is definitely a helpful thing. especially if it is someone close, someone who means something.] Leonard gave me medicine to help with insomnia before. Does it not help you? [then again, who is he to talk, when he is not taking it either.]
no subject
Not to mention the long-term consequences that they all might be headed towards by gathering all the orbs together in one place. ]
He would have been isolated regardless, even if we hadn't brought the orbs back with us, [ He says it out loud as much as he tells himself. ] His fate was sealed from the moment we broke that illusion. The orb was never going to let him have peace, after that.
It said as much; that its deal with Welford was that once the illusion was broken, he could never get it back, or have peace.
[ It sure held its end of the bargain, for all the unfairness that an uninformed deal like that implies.
He turns his glass on the table, the way he leans back on his chair nearly a tired, defeated slump. ]
Sometimes. But I like to avoid that kind of medication as much as I can. It tends to create a habit, that kind of thing.