Opening my eyes again in casted darkness... (January Catch-all)

[esurientabyss]

🌊Who: He Xuan, and anyone else.
🌊What: Things happening; they're self-explanatory.
🌊When: January.
🌊Where: Varies.
🌊Warnings: 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.

Comments

[esurientabyss]

[ Ellis...it's fine, He Xuan can educate him. ]

People with that kind of influence typically do as they like. Compared to one who is dirt poor. And by the time I could do anything about it, it was too late.

[ He lets that answer stand for itself. Ellis saw the scene of that nightmare; can't get anymore clear about that. ]

Yet, they had the power to ensure I was imprisoned instead of themselves for their crimes when I went to try to challenge them all.

[framestory]

[ Oh, hey that sounds like rich people and court cases.

Oh.

...

Ellis doesn't like this all of a sudden. ]

Did you ever get back at them after becoming what you are now?

[esurientabyss]

[ Yeah...not exactly a fun time, especially not for him, considering they did their best to ensure the conditions were barely any level of humane. In retrospect, he's not sure how he didn't die in that cell back then. But, as for the question, he does have an answer: ]

...Before I became what I am now, I managed to kill most of them.

The remaining one I finally managed to take care of centuries later.

[ So, yes and no. It took awhile, but he made it happen, and that is what matters. For the most part, anyway. ]

[framestory]

[ Yeah. Good for He Xuan, honestly. Ellis nods.

...

Wait. ]

So one of them wasn't human?

[esurientabyss]

[ Good catch, Ellis. ]

That's right. He was a god; one of those who resided in the Heavenly Court.

Though, he was never personally acquainted with the humans I took care of.

[ Not that the man needed to be, in order to switch his fate as he did. ]

[framestory]

Did it feel good to kill him?

[ He's very curious, because most of the time, vengeance doesn't feel good--is what he's seen here and there. ]

[esurientabyss]

There was a mild amount of satisfaction. But it didn't feel enough.

[ He Xuan felt empty afterwards. That sure is a indisputable fact.

When he killed those other people while he was alive...he doesn't recall how he felt. But the last kill, he had time to let the moment soak in.

Though, he doesn't regret killing any single one of them. That's true as well. ]

[framestory]

Did anything feel enough for you afterwards?

[ Ellis is starting to wonder if the perpetual eating might be a psychological thing. ]

[esurientabyss]

[ He Xuan considers the question. ]

Not much did. Even though I had no intention to simply be done with everything.

[ That part, he has always felt, perhaps. When he refused to let everything end when the Reverend went to claim what it thought to be its prize, when he went to gain more power, and then even after he achieved vengeance. He's struggled for so long, that when his time comes, he couldn't have let it be after what happened, when he felt nothing there to replace his hatred and anger.

So, it will be because after genuine satisfaction. Maybe when he sees what it's like to have something he cannot easily let go of...something more tangible than a grudge was. ]

[framestory]

What do you think about living life with a purpose? Not that I'm suggesting it to you, but I was wondering what you thought about it.

[ Totally not because it means anything to Ellis or anything. Naw. ]

[esurientabyss]

[ The irony of this line of conversation does not escape him. Not in the slightest. ]

...Someone here has suggested something like that to me. It's being considered.

[ Though considered is perhaps not exactly accurate; he doesn't think he can be satisfied without it, so it's going to be something he's aiming for. ]

[framestory]

[ Ellis tilts his head as he looks up at He Xuan. ]

Who?

[esurientabyss]

Tartaglia.

[ He Xuan sounds just a bit contemplative about it. ]

[framestory]

[ Tartaglia...? Who--Oh, right. Childe. The guy who goes by two names for some reasons. He never bothered to ask. ]

You look a little brighter.

[esurientabyss]

[ Glancing decidedly off to get a better look at the waves, as if that will help him... ]

Why are you saying something like that?

[ The conversation at the time gave him a lot to think about. Though...he can't say he liked how it ended either, but that was his fault. ]

[framestory]

Am I wrong? I think ghost kings can be brighter once in a while.

[ They seem like nice friends. ]

[esurientabyss]

...You're not wrong.

[ He Xuan supposes he's just learning how hopeless he is. But, ultimately, dealing with people personally...he hardly knows what to do with them. He's not good at this sort of thing. ]

[framestory]

He's really interesting. He says just about anything and I never get bored. If I could speak, I feel like we would have a conversation that would go on for hours.

[ He wonders if He Xuan feels the same. ]

[esurientabyss]

I can easily imagine you talking at length if you could.

[ Which reminds him he didn't have much opportunity to ask about his ability to speak or not, though it did confirm that he couldn't. But, going back a bit here... ]

It's the way Tartaglia speaks. He doesn't necessarily hold back much. Though that isn't to say that he's the type to spill everything on his mind. There's a certain energy he has that can draw you in.

[ He thinks his words are mostly spoken in a succinctly and no-nonsense manner, without any need for embellishments. But there is a sliver of fondness that does traitorously slip in. ]

[framestory]

Does it draw YOU in?

[ He's genuinely curious, because for someone like He Xuan who's lived for a long time, Ellis imagines that he has a wealth of experience that most people don't have here. And despite that, Childe would be able to manage pulling in He Xuan's interest? That would be really interesting. ]

[esurientabyss]

[ A wealth of experience, all except dealing with interacting personally with people. Always from a distance. Never close. Shi Qingxuan had been the only one, and even then, He Xuan was never the one to reach out.

All of this nonsense, going around as it is started out only for convenience's sake, and now look at him. ]

It does. Keep it to yourself.

[framestory]

[ Oh.

Oh my. Ellis's smile widens to a grin. ]

Promise. I won't even tell Gaku.

I think you two complement each other well. Seeing you two spar would be really cool too.

[esurientabyss]

...Good.

[ That he promised as much.

He Xuan hears the statement, and then recalls easily how things went at the lake. But, he also doesn't object to it either, even if he wonders if he could be suitable for anyone here. The comment about the spar generates an air of amusement, though. ]

You may think so. Though, it wouldn't be the kind of spar I would advise anyone to be near.

[ Which is to say, he does remember that the other wanted to fight him again. It'll probably happen. ]

[framestory]

Not even from afar? Your powers must affect such a wide range.

[ That's too bad, since he would have liked to watch. ]

[esurientabyss]

They do.

Back home, I carry a certain title, 'Black Water Sinking Ships' or other such variations.

[ And He Xuan has full mastery over his water abilities now. All things considered, since they're on an island, well.

He's not going to think of attempting anything so horrid. He actually likes a few people here now, after all. ]

So by 'afar' you may as well be elsewhere on the island.