[ the last part gets him to laugh, bright with amusement. ] Yes, the “ruby of the sea”, so I’ve heard. A truly poetic plan.
[ however, it’s better than having no plan besides “uh retire I guess” maybe so. here we are.
After a brief moment of pause, though, he offers harrow a smile. ] Think of it like this. What could possibly be stranger than where we are right now? I’m not sure what will await you in another place, but I imagine it won’t contain cursed cake, or weekly murders with increasingly bizarre circumstances. Panther included.
If you made it here - [ and, in the sense of acceptance, perhaps, not just survival ] - then, I think the rest of all of these worlds will seem like child’s play, in comparison. And the people here are just as bizarre. In fact - at least for me, most people here are ten times as bizarre as anything I ever saw at home, but despite us all being rather odd and strangely indulgent, we’re all quite fond of you.
[ including himself. though without saying it Bc that’s gross he can’t have a real emotion except for the fondness harrow can certainly feel under that layer of playful ease. ]
[ stop perceiving him!!! his cool and manly exterior!!
there’s a pause. ]
...Not until recently. [ please perceive him less now, he’s looking out at the ocean. it hides absolutely nothing of his emotions, and they’re... complicated. warm, but unsure. guilty. denial like a brick wall, and then... something closer to lost.
. it’s so odd, for him to feel even remotely off of his footing, and this place keeps knocking him off of it. ] And not permanently, either.
... I think you’re right, that I would get bored. Can you see me settling down in the countryside? Opening a makeup shop, raising cattle? I had to do something similar undercover for a couple of years, and I almost couldn’t stand it - I did every mission I could possibly think of, even when I was supposed to be lying low.
Wrath told me she spent some time traveling, from world to world, before she came here. The idea... if my desire does come true, then it’s appealing.
But - even if it doesn’t need me, Great Liang is still my home. And there’s no other world I could ever love as much.
Ah. I suppose I'll always love the Ninth House, as well. But. . . as I said, even if I could go back there, I don't think I ought to. It will survive now, without me. If I went back, they would all. . . continue to think of me as their saviour, and let me do whatever I like.
[ after a moment, gu yun's eyes crinkle up at the corners, in an amused smile. it's less shitty than usual, fonder, a little wry. ]
Perhaps, should we find a way to do so, we could all go together for a little while. Who knows what sort of terrible trouble Molly and I would get up to on our own - and we certainly wouldn't let you do whatever you like. [ teasing: ] Heaven forbid, we visited a world and you locked yourself in a library.
[Aww. She takes the teasing well, laughing a little, even though there's that worry again.]
. . . I think he will want to see his friends again. But. I suppose, if I go someplace other than back to the Mithraeum, and if we aren't all betrayed and devoured here, I would likely go with him. So then - it could work. But you ought to ask him yourself. [Don't avoid that conversation by talking to her about it, idiot.]
And don't worry about libraries. Worry about crypts.
Please don't get us kicked off of some strange, bizarre planet because you insisted on touching bones.
[ can we joke about this instead of acknowledging anything else in this sentence. no, probably not. ]
It couldn't be right away, anyhow. I've my own affairs to take care of. Chang Geng is still young - it will be a few years before he's old enough to move to the palace and spend his life with his actual family.
[ ... ] It feels a bit silly, to dream so optimistically. How very indulgent, I think.
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[ however, it’s better than having no plan besides “uh retire I guess” maybe so. here we are.
After a brief moment of pause, though, he offers harrow a smile. ] Think of it like this. What could possibly be stranger than where we are right now? I’m not sure what will await you in another place, but I imagine it won’t contain cursed cake, or weekly murders with increasingly bizarre circumstances. Panther included.
If you made it here - [ and, in the sense of acceptance, perhaps, not just survival ] - then, I think the rest of all of these worlds will seem like child’s play, in comparison. And the people here are just as bizarre. In fact - at least for me, most people here are ten times as bizarre as anything I ever saw at home, but despite us all being rather odd and strangely indulgent, we’re all quite fond of you.
[ including himself. though without saying it Bc that’s gross he can’t have a real emotion except for the fondness harrow can certainly feel under that layer of playful ease. ]
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But it's all very sweet, and she likes hearing it and feeling it, too.]
That is very bizarre, now that you mention it.
What about you? Have you ever considered going elsewhere?
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there’s a pause. ]
...Not until recently. [ please perceive him less now, he’s looking out at the ocean. it hides absolutely nothing of his emotions, and they’re... complicated. warm, but unsure. guilty. denial like a brick wall, and then... something closer to lost.
. it’s so odd, for him to feel even remotely off of his footing, and this place keeps knocking him off of it. ] And not permanently, either.
... I think you’re right, that I would get bored. Can you see me settling down in the countryside? Opening a makeup shop, raising cattle? I had to do something similar undercover for a couple of years, and I almost couldn’t stand it - I did every mission I could possibly think of, even when I was supposed to be lying low.
Wrath told me she spent some time traveling, from world to world, before she came here. The idea... if my desire does come true, then it’s appealing.
But - even if it doesn’t need me, Great Liang is still my home. And there’s no other world I could ever love as much.
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I think it sounds nice, traveling for a while.
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Perhaps, should we find a way to do so, we could all go together for a little while. Who knows what sort of terrible trouble Molly and I would get up to on our own - and we certainly wouldn't let you do whatever you like. [ teasing: ] Heaven forbid, we visited a world and you locked yourself in a library.
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. . . I think he will want to see his friends again. But. I suppose, if I go someplace other than back to the Mithraeum, and if we aren't all betrayed and devoured here, I would likely go with him. So then - it could work. But you ought to ask him yourself. [Don't avoid that conversation by talking to her about it, idiot.]
And don't worry about libraries. Worry about crypts.
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[ can we joke about this instead of acknowledging anything else in this sentence. no, probably not. ]
It couldn't be right away, anyhow. I've my own affairs to take care of. Chang Geng is still young - it will be a few years before he's old enough to move to the palace and spend his life with his actual family.
[ ... ] It feels a bit silly, to dream so optimistically. How very indulgent, I think.
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[Petulant.]
It is all so wasteful and I don't believe in having pointless daydreams when there is work to be done.
[But it's kind of nice.]
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[ they've talked around it, anyway. it's. men are stupid, it's fine.
the last bit gets a little laugh, wry. ] Neither do I. We'll see how the week unfolds, won't we?