fracturarpg | [mingle] the space (january).

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[mingle] the space (january).

interim mingle

( WELCOME BACK, TRAVELERS. )

There's nothing but the clatter of train tracks, and the odd feeling of almost floating.

When you wake, it's hard to tell exactly what it is that you're missing - only that you are. There are pieces that aren't quite right, even if you're not sure where those pieces would normally be. Pieces of what, exactly....? Well, if you had to put a word to it, it would be - yourself, probably. Or did you get something back recently?

The place you've found yourself in is strange, certainly. It's probably worth exploring a bit. Though it just as easily seems that the only form of welcome or explanation that you have, comes from nothing more than a slab of marble. It might've changed since the last time you saw it.

You might have changed since the last time you saw yourself too - perhaps with a new emblem on your clothes, or a portrait on your skin.

There's no need to fret that much though. You've already gone through the ordeal once, and you might be able to see results from it. Even so, it's best that you don't get too comfortable, because there is still the unshakeable feeling:

There's still much more ahead of you.

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[Both arms loosen and drape by his sides instead. At first, he looks almost confused, but then he seems more bewildered than anything else. His mouth opens--shuts again, with a bit of a clack of teeth.]

That's... [Ridiculous, he wants to say, even if it isn't necessarily, but... currently... he's standing ankle-deep in snow in the middle of this wild ass place. So he really has nothing solid to compare ridiculous to in the end.] Nevermind.

Am I... dead?

[XIE LIAN LITERALLY SAID HE CAME BACK DOWN, BUT WHATEVER.]

[ ah. well! at least he's not freaking out. xie lian reaches up to scratch the tip of his own nose, a bit sheepish...

.......maybe he's a bit more freaked out than he seems. ] Nn, no. [ shaking his head! ] Not as far as I can tell, anyway. You're quite living, and if I'm here, I'm sure we both are.

[ he like functionally can't die so dw (?) ] Did you also awaken on that? [ . . . and then, with a smile like it's just a little exciting fun fact: ] I read it was called a train.

[Well, now he just feels incredibly stupid, but it's fine. Lowly, he clears his throat, fists one hand, and then turns in the snow to--he doesn't walk off so much as paces a few stomps down before turning around to come back.

When he stops, he glances up at the indicated train, brows furrowing. He's still trying to fucking piece together some kind of Xie sect, cultivating into ascension and... and falling...?! And this entire place?!]

...I'm dead. [It's said levelly with resignation while looking at the train. He's convinced.] We're both dead.

[ oh no. oh no, did he cause that. xie lian's not sure whether to laugh or cry, considering he's gotten himself into this situation and also now apparently given this cultivator an existential crisis???? he's forgotten what it's like to be freaked out by most things nowadays...

lifting his hands and trying to be comforting, he goes for a warm, inviting, kind tone. ] Ah--no, no, no, you certainly aren't! There's no way you could be. If we're both here...well, I, sort of, can't die? Not really? It's a bit complicated, but I was cursed once upon a time, and I've tested it more times than I can count.

[ not that he can remember who cursed him. that's weird. also by "testing" here we mean "gotten stabbed in many situations that should've ended in his death" ] By that logic, then, you simply have to be as alive as I am. See?

[ XIE LIAN, NOT HELPING. ]

[Immortality is a curse when you're always suffering.]

Even you can have limitations. We could both still be dead.

[Reaching up, he presses his fingers against the center of his chest. The worry abates. He's being stupid, he thinks, and probably very not Jiang-like in his anxiety. His parents definitely wouldn't be proud of him. He sighs raggedly. This is the equivalent of being rude to Jesus without knowing it.]

I apologize. [This time, he offers Xie Lian a short, respectful bow with his hands.] I am leader of Yunmeng's Jiang sect. I will find out what's happening.

That's very unlikely.

[ believe him. look he remembers. he spent 100 years buried in a coffin to chill himself out and did not die. also he was "trampled" to "death" once! still, he says so more serenely than concerned... the cultivator does bring up a good point, though, and xie lian taps his nose, thinking about it.

...oh, but he's apologizing? xie lian waves a hand - ] It's no worry. [ and realizes about five seconds later he

has no idea who yunmeng jiang are.

it's hard being old. xie lian smiles. ] Ah! I see. [ no he doesn't? ] Then, I hope it wouldn't trouble you if I came along? Much like you, I'd like to get to the bottom of this place, Sect Leader Jiang.

[Please don't crush his pride of being Yunmeng Jiang by not knowing who they are. Awful. Terrible.]

If you want. [A pause.] Don't get in the way. [Listen, he has to save a little of the Sandu Shengshou face. Strict, scary Sect Leader. That's him.

Slowly, he glances around them and realizes... he's going to have to think of where to start.]

Have you used the... train [??] much?

I'll do my best. [ xie lian will absolutely not get in the way at all. he's plenty humble, though, and willing to easily acquiesce to jiang cheng's giant yunmeng pride. . .

xie lian watches him look at the train, then shakes his head. ] Mnm. I only woke on it, and didn't do much beyond that... it's fascinating, isn't it? Like the biggest cart I've ever seen. Someone told me it moves around and around on a loop.

They do. I was following a few before to see where they begin and end. [Which is why he was apparently sword surfing along beside this one.] They're...

[This giant fucking... cart thing! Fascinating? Weird more like.] I've-- [Before he can start, there's a soft hiss from the train, and it startles him slightly. It seems it's ready to disembark from the stop.] Wait--! [The door slams shut, and he runs up to try to pry his fingers into it.

Alas, no luck. It starts rolling slowly down the tracks.]

Ah-! [ there it goes...

well. xie lian watches as the train starts to pull away, and peers around, a bit more fascinated by how it's moving than the fact that he's supposed to chase it before he properly moves to watch. ] Could we hop on top of it, or maybe behind? Then again, if it loops, maybe we should wait.

[NO, THEY'RE TRAIN.

Arggghh. Jiang Cheng hesitates for all of five seconds before the sword at his side comes zipping out again. Really, he thinks to get on and zoom off, but remembers he has a tag-along. So he reaches back and takes Xie Lian by the wrist.] You said you've done this before, right? Hurry up. [He makes it look easy stepping up onto the flat of the sword, of all things, and his grip is pretty strong when he hefts Xie Lian up on Sandu, too.

Time to surf after a train!]

[ oh, it's been so long since he's been on a sword!! xie lian looks mutedly delighted, and then lets out a brief squeak of surprise as he's suddenly being lifted up and placed on the sword itself. he's not a child...

luckily, xie lian balances easily, a cultivator before he was a god, and adjusts his weight so he doesn't go flying off of sandu before they zoom off. once jiang cheng takes off, xie lian's attention immediately moves away from the train, and he glances down at the weapon instead. ] The craftsmanship on this is lovely. Yunmeng Jiang must be a highly regarded clan, no? What's your sword's name?

[ he's a weapon nerd... when was the last time he got to hold a sword, banyue? he doesn't even remember. it's been too long. look at this thing. ]

[Xie Lian steps up, and the sword takes a very short, bobbing dip before leveling back out with the spiritual strength it needs for balance, and Jiang Cheng lets go of Xie Lian's arm.

Unfortunately, he doesn't give any warning when the sword just takes off after the train. It's fine.]

Sandu.

[Make what Xie Lian will on the discourse of that. Briefly, Jiang Cheng glances over his shoulder. His brows are knotted, but his eyes are somewhat surprised. He's not sure... if he's ever heard anyone else respect the integrity of his sword. Probably because he's a cactus.]

Yunmeng Jiang is one of the Four Great Sects.

[ luckily, years of training means xie lian isn't even rattled when jiang cheng takes off like that. this guy's got a lot of spiritual energy, and to wield this thing so well means he must be very strong indeed. he's totally unrattled, but absolutely impressed, and once they're moving, he squats down to properly examine the sword. ]

Hello, Sandu. [ it's probably a little weird to greet it by name but you know, that's just how xie lian rolls. he examines the hilt from where he's settled, and the craftsmanship of the metal... wow.... you're cool, jiang cheng...

speaking of being a cactus, xie lian feels like he may have just hit a pricker. "four great sects"? he has literally never heard of them.

he reckons if jiang cheng fucking yeets him off of this sword he can catch himself just fine. even without ruoye, he could probably do a backflip and land on the train or something. though he should probably stay out of trouble, so it's time to cover for himself. ] Eheh... [ shit ] Well, I've been more or less traveling around alone for the past... well, for a while. A... [ friend?!?! what do you even call """nan feng""" (who xie lian knows is in fact his former bodyguard pulling an Aggressive Tsundere on him but that's besides the point) ] Mm, a colleague of mine said that it was like I lived under a rock.

[ it's a good excuse for a daozhang, since they tend to be sort of weird anyway. ] Would you tell me more about it?

[By the time he looks over his shoulder again, Xie Lian is fucking gone. At least, Xie Lian has crouched down, and Jiang Cheng has to do a quick double-take to make sure his passenger hasn't disappeared into the ether.

Wow. Are daozhangs all like this?

He's almost embarrassed, and he looks away until they're closer to the tail end of the train. It has a very tiny end balcony with rails which should make a good place to stand without being stuck to the roof.]

I suppose there's plenty who live on mountains who don't know anything of the outside world. Are you really a monk?

[It sounds... slightly judgmental, but it also sounds kind of envious, too. He waves his hand back to try to get Xie Lian to stand. His other hand takes the support rail of the train when they're in range.] Go. [He'll follow once Xie Lian gets off. Then awkwardly make bad conversation.]

Something like that. [ he's a daozhang. really. he's definitely not a god. he's absolutely not eight hundred years old. (he's definitely pretty weird, though.) ] I guess I don't get out that much. I'd like to hear about it, though!

[ says the man who is more or less a hobo.

he realizes once they get within a safe jumping distance and returns to a standing position, hands folded behind his back. even a little before jiang cheng tells him to, he's already stepping forward, light as a feather as he hops off of the sword and lands gracefully on the back of the train, one foot, then the other. it's small enough that there's barely enough room for two, so he leans backwards to get the back door open, then steps through into the train enough for them both to enter, offering the other cultivator a smile. ]

Dao--

[Oh. The man just goes for it. Jiang Cheng doesn't even have time to try to wrangle Xie Lian over, the other man makes it look terribly graceful and easy. Hm. Definitely not a god or an eight hundred year old.]

About what, the sword or Yunmeng Jiang?

[Quickly, he steps after Xie Lian on to the balcony and, ducking just slight, inside. The sword swings carefully up and around, and he catches the hilt behind his back in his hand, making sure it's pointed out of the way until he can get in and sheathe it. Xie Lian wasn't wrong: it is a very nice sword. Sharp in its edges, details elegant.]

Either! Both would be nice, though. It seems like maybe I've missed out on a lot of things.[ ah, such nice swordsmanship, too! xie lian claps his hands together, pleased with this discovery. how nice! it's always good to meet good cultivators. and people who can really appreciate a nice sword. (like not in the way wei wuxian does.)

he steps out of the way to let mister purple powerwalk lead their examination of the train, too. after you, jiang cheng.... after you. ]

[Naturally, Jiang Cheng looks... skeptical, mostly because he's always rather sour regardless of how respectable he's trying his best to be. Unlike Wei Wuxian.

Xie Lian steps out of the way, and Jiang Cheng doesn't pause before he brushes by to lead. Hm. Seems he is rather use to doing this sort of thing, though maybe with other kinds of people than Xie Lian.]

Is there a reason you're so interested?

[His head swivels as he glances around the empty train car while they go. He had only stepped onto one other one. The mechanics were similar, but it looked very different.]

Mm. Like you said, I don't know very much.... [ and he's quite curious, to be perfectly honest, about what sort of cultivators maybe he didn't know about. there's something so strange about this place...beyond the "electricity" (what) and everything else.

xie lian scratches his cheek, his expression changing into a briefly sheepish smile. ] Is it that odd...? I don't mean to pry, sect leader. It's just been a long time since I've gotten to see a powerful cultivator, is all. This daozhang is behind the youth, I think.

[ xie lian you look 17 but go off i guess ]

It isn't odd, but it's suspicious. [If only because he doesn't know a damn thing about Xie Lian except name. But after a moment, he offers:] Sandu was given to me by my father.

[It's hard to tell what this may mean to Jiang Cheng. His lips don't exactly turn up into a fond smile, but they pull some at the corners. On the other hand, he doesn't frown like it's necessarily a bad thing.]

The Yunmeng Jiang sect's home is Lotus Pier. There's a large lotus lake and docks.

That's fair enough. I can tell you a bit about myself, in exchange, but it's not a very exciting story. [ it's actually an extremely exciting story but that's neither here nor there.

xie lian hums, tilting his head. cultivating sects and families...these two things go hand in hand. ] It sounds like a lovely place. I don't think I've ever traveled anywhere near--maybe it's a bit too far south.

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[mingle] the space (january).

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i choked

he suffers

that's the actual plot of mdzs: jc suffers

it's very true

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