He Xuan (θ΄Ίη) (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
esurientabyss) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
crescentview2023-01-01 07:31 pm
esurientabyss) wrote in crescentview2023-01-01 07:31 pm
Opening my eyes again in casted darkness... (January Catch-all)
πWho: He Xuan, and anyone else.
πWhat: Things happening; they're self-explanatory.
πWhen: January.
πWhere: Varies.
πWarnings: Kidnapping, mentions of suicide & forced induction into harems; involvement of violence/murder. Anything else that may occur will be added or adequately warned for in the thread. TGCF spoilers, but since this already deals with memories, that's a requirement, really.
i. gravitation
[ No matter where He Xuan finds himself, whereas it's on the beach or somewhere else, there seems to be some kind of nonsense afoot. Some...feline nonsense at that.
They're all congregating rudely around him and he is essentially helpless to their attacks (cuddles and piling around his feet.)
He practically glares at anyone who catches him in the midst of this. ]
What?
ii. displacement
[ Ghost kings do not get sick, not really. But it doesn't mean that coughing or sneezing is an impossibility for him.
It just so happens he had grabbed something spicy from a restaurant and for some reason found himself sneezing due to some kind of pepper and now he's in the middle of a lake. Soon enough, he's grumbling, extricating himself from the water. What a waste of food. ]
iii. uncharted waters
[ In addition to those, anyone is free to encounter someone who seems to, for all intents and purposes appear to look like He Xuan, and is essence definitely still him. Yet, his appearance clearly differs in subtle ways. His skin isn't so pale, and his ears are not so sharp and he appears a little lost. Feel free to run into him like this, though he will be scrutinizing most people, and there appears to be a sword at his hip, which his hand is hovering on the hilt of. ]
iv. wildcard
[ Self-explanatory...! Open to things that are also not necessarily the above. ]
If you would like to plot with me, I can be reached on plurk @ leyfi, discord @ seraphkingdhaos#8538 and my plotting comment will be here.
πWhat: Things happening; they're self-explanatory.
πWhen: January.
πWhere: Varies.
πWarnings: Kidnapping, mentions of suicide & forced induction into harems; involvement of violence/murder. Anything else that may occur will be added or adequately warned for in the thread. TGCF spoilers, but since this already deals with memories, that's a requirement, really.
i. gravitation
[ No matter where He Xuan finds himself, whereas it's on the beach or somewhere else, there seems to be some kind of nonsense afoot. Some...feline nonsense at that.
They're all congregating rudely around him and he is essentially helpless to their attacks (cuddles and piling around his feet.)
He practically glares at anyone who catches him in the midst of this. ]
What?
ii. displacement
[ Ghost kings do not get sick, not really. But it doesn't mean that coughing or sneezing is an impossibility for him.
It just so happens he had grabbed something spicy from a restaurant and for some reason found himself sneezing due to some kind of pepper and now he's in the middle of a lake. Soon enough, he's grumbling, extricating himself from the water. What a waste of food. ]
iii. uncharted waters
[ In addition to those, anyone is free to encounter someone who seems to, for all intents and purposes appear to look like He Xuan, and is essence definitely still him. Yet, his appearance clearly differs in subtle ways. His skin isn't so pale, and his ears are not so sharp and he appears a little lost. Feel free to run into him like this, though he will be scrutinizing most people, and there appears to be a sword at his hip, which his hand is hovering on the hilt of. ]
iv. wildcard
[ Self-explanatory...! Open to things that are also not necessarily the above. ]
If you would like to plot with me, I can be reached on plurk @ leyfi, discord @ seraphkingdhaos#8538 and my plotting comment will be here.
no subject
If they'd asked for revenge, I would've done it without a second thought. And not just for them. Because scum like that shouldn't be allowed to hurt anyone else.
[ And once they were all dead... without the promise he'd made to M-24, he would have been completely lost. All he'd known is how much they all wanted to live. Does He Xuan at least have that? ]
Then what? You're strong, aren't you? It shouldn't be hard for you. Aren't they already long dead? So I'm asking when you'll be satisfied.
[ Because this nightmare, He Xuan chopping down enemy after enemy with not even the slightest sign of a struggle, doesn't feel like satisfaction. It feels like being trapped in this moment with the blood still rising around them both. ]
no subject
[ But, his words trail off, because M-21 has more to say. He Xuan's eyes are cold and full of rage, but he does listen.
He doesn't have anything left. He couldn't protect a single loved one and in the waking world, his revenge has been claimed. Even the person he decided to shadow has...
Well, He Xuan has nothing to lose, suffice to say. ]
...Satisfied?
[ He asks softly, and at this time something the color of ink begins to come off of the ghost king, until it stands as his apparent shadow. When next he speaks, it's not He Xuan's voice, but clearly something else's. ]
I'll never be satisfied.
[ Then, from who knows where, a tidal wave of crimson red comes to join the river of blood that has been steadily rising, taking them both with it. It's not a pleasant sensation by the stretch of the imagination, but...
One thing is for certain. It's over.
M-21 will find himself waking up. He can choose to look for He Xuan if he wants (he will be found nearby the beach for simplicity's sake) or do whatever he pleases, but the guy has escaped the nightmare in tact. ]
no subject
Even if he weren't looking for the man specifically, he'd likely be inclined to run off the memory of that dream with the fresh night air. But he's not exactly surprised to see another silhouette on the beach. ]
...Hey.
no subject
However, what he has not anticipated is anyone else getting caught up in it. It shouldn't be possible unless it was some kind of curse he engineered or something. But, it happened.
He turns to face M-21 with a blank expression. ]
Why did you come?
[ He Xuan imagines it's not a random night-time walk. ]
no subject
Had a crappy dream. I'm walking it off.
[ His forehead furrows a little as he looks at He Xuan. If they really saw the same things, it seems stupid to ask if he's okay. But he doesn't know where else to start. ]
no subject
He Xuan himself isn't a great conversationalist either. But he will point out: ]
...My nightmare.
Let's hope you don't wander into another again.
[ He goes quiet for a moment at the thought. By now, perhaps two or three have found themselves in his nightmares. Maybe it's time he had brief chat with the goddess, if this is somehow her doing. He has no other leads, though he's not going to look forward to it. ]
no subject
[ M-21 has no shortage of bravado. But he can't quite blow that off because honestly... so does he. For plenty of reasons. ]
How long have you been having those?
[ "How long has it been since it happened?"
M-21's not a very tactile person, and he's pretty sure He Xuan isn't either. But he steps a little closer and kind of nods towards a spot in the sand where they can sit down. He wants He Xuan to talk properly with him. ]
no subject
...As long as I can rememberβsince I have been this way.
[ Since he has become a ghost king, he means.
He Xuan turns his head slightly when the other makes a quiet suggestion for them to sit. In this place, he has little places or opportunities to hide, and honestly, he's very...tired. He sees no point in resisting, and so he will sit down. ]
no subject
Long time, then. [ Since He Xuan hasn't made any bones about how old he is. M-21 rests his chin on his knee and looks out at the water rather than staring over at He Xuan. Easier to talk like this, he's pretty sure. ] That's how it happened?
no subject
As if they are far less impressive than either such things. He feels numb, cold.
He Xuan wonders at the futility of being here. ]
...How I took my revenge, you mean? Yes and no.
[ The nightmare contains embellishments that were not present at the time originally. Even in the nightmare he thinks things may have been a bit more...neater. There was an audience that did not stalk others who may have come upon the scene. Just a few people who hid in the shrubbery and whatnot.
People praised his actions when he died. In his hometown, there is a bloody festival where they reenact what he did, over and over again... ]
no subject
Those weird watchers or whatever. Those were part of the nightmare.
[ That's what makes sense to him, anyway. And the distorted landscapes, all of that. Unless that's really like where He Xuan is from.
He glances sidelong at him again, quietly measuring. "Since I have been this way"... He can't picture what He Xuan was like before. Was he happy, once? He must have been. People naturally were, he thinks. ]
...You don't regret it. [ A guess, again. If it were him... he doesn't think he would. ] But you still dream about it.
no subject
But nothing supernatural. [ ...No. That's not true. He forces out: ] Except the Reverend of Empty Words.
[ Of all the misfortune that has sprung itself right onto He Xuan, he can't ever say he was from such a twisted landscape. Not truly. But he will nod when the other states that he doesn't regret it, because that deduction is correct. ]
I dream about it likely because it's the last day I was human.
[ It was a turning point for him. ]
no subject
So the family He Xuan lost were human, too. ]
You're like me.
[ Maybe in a tiny way. But just like with Ellis, that spark of recognition kindles a sense of kinship in him. ]
What changed you? Was it that "Reverend of Empty Words"?
no subject
Up until now, there were a lot of things unnecessary to him. But, there is something about what the other man states that gathers his immediate attention. Enough for him to ask: ]
...What do you mean?
[ Pause. ]
Yes, it was. This Reverend of Empty Words was sent upon me by another who switched my fate. It is a creature that is able to turn your fears into reality, and bring misfortune to those you know.
no subject
[ His when he was no longer human, and He Xuan before he lost his humanity. Maybe it's not so alike. But M-21 thinks he can understand a little.
His brow furrows as he follows that explanation. He'd been expecting a transformation more like his own, or like an experiment turning a human infected. Not that He Xuan had been β what the hell can he call it other than haunted? ]
So everything that happened... was because someone sent a monster after you?
no subject
That's right.
The creature fed upon my fears, cursed anyone who was close to me to death, and then at the end, tried to consume my soul, but failed.
[ ...He Xuan hesitates here and leaves it at that for a moment. He's not going to say that now he and this creature are now one and the same because M-21 sure as hell doesn't need to know that. He is not hiding so much with his real self out here, but the last thing he wants is to run around saying this willy-nilly.
But it is at times like these he can't even begin to fathom why a goddess would bring a ghost king here. He could just ruin everything overnight before she'd be able to kill him. ]
A wretched god did that to me. And there are those in the Heavenly Court who knew, but didn't care. Not until I made sure to rip his head straight off of that god's shoulders.
no subject
He shifts just a little, enough to lean his shoulder briefly against He Xuan's. Neither of them are exactly touchy people, and the summer night is warm. Even so. ]
People. Gods. There's always plenty like that. They wouldn't care if it wasn't their problem. The people they step on to get what they want are just tools to them.
[ Maybe he should be more bothered about the decapitation thing, which he doesn't think is a figure of speech. But, honestly? It sounds deserved. ]
That reverend thing is gone. And the god, too. So now you're...
[ "Safe"? He kind of doubts that was something He Xuan had worried about in a long time. It explains a lot about the way he is, honestly. ]
no subject
The most that he does is simply glance over with an annoyed Look, but then gaze forward. As M-21 speaks, he listens, though at the rest, he doesn't say much of anything either, because quite frankly, he agrees. It's only at the next part he tenses. ]
Don't. [ ... ] It's not gone.
[ He Xuan rises back to his feet; one of these days he's going to learn to relax for more than five seconds. Though maybe not after a nightmare like that at the very beginning of the month. ]
But it's not a problem anymore. I'm heading back. You should do the same.
[ He thinks? M-21 said they were similar, in not being human. But it doesn't mean he can forego sleep. Still, he begins to make his way back to his farm. ]
no subject
He looks at the way He Xuan holds himself, unreadable as usual. If he's tired from all that, it's still impossible to tell. But M-21 isn't someone who likes being prodded when he's feeling vulnerable either. So he just gives He Xuan a nod, though he calls after him: ]
Hey. If you can't sleep, come by whenever. I got some good food recently. I'll make it for you.
[ He Xuan can stop in on his own terms or not, whenever. If he wants to save face doing so, M-21's instant ramen stash is a sacrifice he'll make for a friend. ]