[ Meh. He looks away from her delight, puffing out a breath he may or may not need in this place. But he does follow, rather than dawdling or going in a different direction. ]
A bowl of congee the size of your head, for starters. [ His voice is a deadpan, but it's not unpleasant, so he's at least in an agreeable enough mood. ] I was actually listening to your conversation with Lust, but did you talk to any of the other ones?
I talked to Sloth - they mentioned that I reminded them of "someone from home," so I guess they're not from around here. It kind of sounded like they've just been here longer than us.
[Congee, huh? They can probably find that in the vending machine. Hopefully there's not a line.
She holds up her hand and peeks at the mark on the back of it.]
It's a shame ours weren't there! I would have liked to talk to them, too, but apparently we'll get the chance to later.
[ There's a moment to mull over that, before he lets out a low hum of agreement. ]
I didn't get the feeling they were from here, either, so I guess that's a confirmation as much as any. We'll see how much they wind up knowing, from however much longer they've been in this place.
[ Because there's not much information, besides the tacit agreement all of them know happened. The details are fuzzy for everyone, though. ]
Apparently mine, Despair, isn't very social. [ sad trombone of irony ] You seemed to get along with Lust well enough, and Envy was alright. Did you catch anyone else with either of their marks, or yours for that matter?
I can't remember seeing anyone with Lust or Envy, but I did run into someone with Despair's mark... he's blond and kind of tall, and his name is Tamaki. He said he was planning to get married to someone named Haruhi soon.
[ty tagged me back with him introducing himself after i wrote this tag rip.]
I can see why I ended up with Gluttony... I'd kind of expected that for you, too. I didn't think you'd have Despair. [...] Ming-xiong, is everything okay?
Edited (where the fuck did that e come from.) 2021-02-08 05:07 (UTC)
I spoke with him. He didn't seem like someone that was despairing much, but I wasn't interested in talking to him for very long.
[ Too friendly. Also I'm not braving the captcha for Ty even if I love her. ]
You ending up with Gluttony isn't in the least bit surprising. [ It could probably be an insult, but of the apparent "sins," he can't say that any of the other ones really fit her. Lust is maybe the closest, but he can already hear her nervous stream of laughter if it really came down to it. ] Hm? Envy said we were paired with the Avatar that we would get along with best, and you can't lie and say I'm sociable. Maybe that's more the case.
[She could probably get along with any of the Avatars, herself, but if it's just based on who they'd get along with - someone who wasn't especially sociable could grab him just so they wouldn't have to talk much.
[ He sees the look, and for as often as he doesn't call her name - whether it's as He Xuan or Ming Yi - he sighs and looks at her, stopping in their path to breakfast. ]
[His arm is successfully captured! She smiles and leans into him. It's rare that he doesn't try to shake her off, so she'll absolutely take this where she can get it.]
I'll be fine! This is - it's just a lot of spending time with people, right? That's something I can do better than almost anyone!
Spending time with people in a way that is, ah, indulgent. I guess there's no one better for the job, considering.
[ It's a backhanded compliment if there ever was one, but it's. Still a compliment? I guess? And there's no attempt to shake her off, because apparently he's meant to be indulging in his despair - what better way than to go and eat his feelings while the object of his complicated feelings hangs all over him? ]
[She does love his company! And look, it's fine. He's not outright calling her a slut like Qi Rong would be within five minutes of her return if time is stopped, so she doesn't have to beat him up.]
It should be simple enough, I think. Spend time with people I like, do things I feel like doing, and help convince other people do what they want to do if they seem to be having a hard time with it.
[She has not yet realized there's a strong possibility that sex might be involved for anyone but the Lust crew, but it kind of seems like Aoi has them covered there? You go, Aoi.]
It almost feels like a vacation. I bet my brother would yell at me if he knew.
[ I'm not even going to feign at coy, as he veritably looks into the camera like he's on the Office at the mention of Shi Wudu. It's hundreds of years of acting and practice that have his expression remaining the same, frankly, as he resumes their path to the kitchen again. ]
Try not to tell him when we get back, then. Who knows, he might lose his head over it.
Sure, our secret. If he finds out about the situation and asks where you got whatever solution you receive from all the indulgence, then we can just say it was a spiritual tool that we found, or some incantation.
Considering what's coming up for him, he may be too distracted, anyways. He'll need to keep his head on straight during that.
[ He Xuan please stop dropping these jokes like this, what is she going to do when she goes back to Zhongguo and watches you rip his fucking head off. ]
[ As far as answers go, He Xuan gives her his usual noncommittal grunt to that one. It's mostly so he doesn't laugh incredulously, probably, but it's fine. ]
How would you want it to end, once you achieve your goal?
[she hasn't really given it that much thought, aside from - ]
...before it can hurt either you or His Highness. [...] You didn't have to agree to help me, you know. But you did. So... I don't want you to get hurt.
[Hence why she's here. There was a chance to end it before he could get hurt "helping her" - so, of course she took it.]
[ Yet again, it's probably the hundreds of years undercover work that keep him from laughing. There's a twitch in his eyebrows, and he slides a glance out of the corner of his eye at her, but otherwise - the hilarity of it hurting him is almost deafening in his own head. ]
I didn't have to, no. [ It was just easier that way, wasn't it? To keep tabs on her from up close like that? He Xuan has been indulging in his despair long before he wound up in this place, it seems, and here he is digging his hole deeper.
Anyway. He Xuan says we'll be fine, and Shi Qingxuan, who has never known a thing in her goddamn life, is reassured by that. She smiles.]
We will be.
[She'd really like for them to be. That's part of the whole reason she's here, though - to make sure that they are. (Why is he here? She really, really wants to know.)]
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A bowl of congee the size of your head, for starters. [ His voice is a deadpan, but it's not unpleasant, so he's at least in an agreeable enough mood. ] I was actually listening to your conversation with Lust, but did you talk to any of the other ones?
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[Congee, huh? They can probably find that in the vending machine. Hopefully there's not a line.
She holds up her hand and peeks at the mark on the back of it.]
It's a shame ours weren't there! I would have liked to talk to them, too, but apparently we'll get the chance to later.
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I didn't get the feeling they were from here, either, so I guess that's a confirmation as much as any. We'll see how much they wind up knowing, from however much longer they've been in this place.
[ Because there's not much information, besides the tacit agreement all of them know happened. The details are fuzzy for everyone, though. ]
Apparently mine, Despair, isn't very social. [ sad trombone of irony ] You seemed to get along with Lust well enough, and Envy was alright. Did you catch anyone else with either of their marks, or yours for that matter?
[ ... he doesn't care about finding his, tbh ]
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[ty tagged me back with him introducing himself after i wrote this tag rip.]
I can see why I ended up with Gluttony... I'd kind of expected that for you, too. I didn't think you'd have Despair. [...] Ming-xiong, is everything okay?
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[ Too friendly. Also I'm not braving the captcha for Ty even if I love her. ]
You ending up with Gluttony isn't in the least bit surprising. [ It could probably be an insult, but of the apparent "sins," he can't say that any of the other ones really fit her. Lust is maybe the closest, but he can already hear her nervous stream of laughter if it really came down to it. ] Hm? Envy said we were paired with the Avatar that we would get along with best, and you can't lie and say I'm sociable. Maybe that's more the case.
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[She could probably get along with any of the Avatars, herself, but if it's just based on who they'd get along with - someone who wasn't especially sociable could grab him just so they wouldn't have to talk much.
Still... if there is something more to it...
Yeah she can't help but look worried.]
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I'm fine, Qingxuan.
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[He doesn't often call her name; that actually gets her to stop. After a moment or two, she smiles and steps forward to link her arm with his.]
Well, if you're ever not fine, I'll try to help you be fine again.
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Careful that you don't take on too many burdens while you're here. You're not a god like this, so you can't spread yourself too thin.
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I'll be fine! This is - it's just a lot of spending time with people, right? That's something I can do better than almost anyone!
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[ It's a backhanded compliment if there ever was one, but it's. Still a compliment? I guess? And there's no attempt to shake her off, because apparently he's meant to be indulging in his despair - what better way than to go and eat his feelings while the object of his complicated feelings hangs all over him? ]
At least gluttony isn't something complicated.
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[She does love his company! And look, it's fine. He's not outright calling her a slut like Qi Rong would be within five minutes of her return if time is stopped, so she doesn't have to beat him up.]
It should be simple enough, I think. Spend time with people I like, do things I feel like doing, and help convince other people do what they want to do if they seem to be having a hard time with it.
[She has not yet realized there's a strong possibility that sex might be involved for anyone but the Lust crew, but it kind of seems like Aoi has them covered there? You go, Aoi.]
It almost feels like a vacation. I bet my brother would yell at me if he knew.
[...ha ha,]
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Try not to tell him when we get back, then. Who knows, he might lose his head over it.
[ HE XUAN, ]
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Probably!
He doesn't need to know, though. It can be our secret.
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[ However this winds up working out, anyways. ]
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[She wouldn't want to distract him from dealing with his heavenly calamity and all...]
He doesn't have to know. For all he knows, it lost interest in me after I ascended.
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[ He Xuan please stop dropping these jokes like this, what is she going to do when she goes back to Zhongguo and watches you rip his fucking head off. ]
Harder to catch a god, at least.
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It's not his problem to deal with, anyway. It's mine.
[Ha ha. Too bad he dealt with it already! Maybe things could have been different if Shi Wudu had just minded his own business.]
...I'm tired of running from it.
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How would you want it to end, once you achieve your goal?
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[she hasn't really given it that much thought, aside from - ]
...before it can hurt either you or His Highness. [...] You didn't have to agree to help me, you know. But you did. So... I don't want you to get hurt.
[Hence why she's here. There was a chance to end it before he could get hurt "helping her" - so, of course she took it.]
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I didn't have to, no. [ It was just easier that way, wasn't it? To keep tabs on her from up close like that? He Xuan has been indulging in his despair long before he wound up in this place, it seems, and here he is digging his hole deeper.
At least he has the shovel back. ] We'll be fine.
[ Will they? ]
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Anyway. He Xuan says we'll be fine, and Shi Qingxuan, who has never known a thing in her goddamn life, is reassured by that. She smiles.]
We will be.
[She'd really like for them to be. That's part of the whole reason she's here, though - to make sure that they are. (Why is he here? She really, really wants to know.)]