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[sometimes you just run out of theories and shit to do - so you go through your closet and you come stumbling out. which is how soo-won is wandering out of his room wearing this - except he's not wearing the plate! thank god!
instead he's wearing those stupid shades, yeah.
he's probably going to literally run into xie lian because a bitch cannot see]
instead he's wearing those stupid shades, yeah.
he's probably going to literally run into xie lian because a bitch cannot see]
[ (somewhere, distantly, lili: geun tae hot)
i mean, this is about soo-won, so! xie lian is absolutely not paying attention where he's going, reading through the little profiles on his device now that he knows how to use it, which means he runs straight into soo-won's chest. ] -- Oof!
[ smooth. he stumbles back, bowing his head. ] My apologies- oh! [ oh!!!! oh! ] Won, hello. Can you.. are you alright with those?
i mean, this is about soo-won, so! xie lian is absolutely not paying attention where he's going, reading through the little profiles on his device now that he knows how to use it, which means he runs straight into soo-won's chest. ] -- Oof!
[ smooth. he stumbles back, bowing his head. ] My apologies- oh! [ oh!!!! oh! ] Won, hello. Can you.. are you alright with those?
[lili sucks]
Oh!
[soo-won will at least reach to steady xie lian because he feels bad, looking a bit sheepish]
Ah - yes, and no. Yes in the sense that they fit fine, but no that they're a bit of an obstacle. [he'll move to let the shades rest atop his head instead of in front of his eyes though] Are you alright?
Oh!
[soo-won will at least reach to steady xie lian because he feels bad, looking a bit sheepish]
Ah - yes, and no. Yes in the sense that they fit fine, but no that they're a bit of an obstacle. [he'll move to let the shades rest atop his head instead of in front of his eyes though] Are you alright?
I'm fine, I'm fine! No harm done. [ waving that off!!! ] It might not be so good to walk around with those on...they look a bit cumbersome. Ah - they still match quite nicely, though!
[ he's not sure why anyone would wear such things on their eyes, but, soo-won had been tickled by them in the gift shop, so. hey. to each their own, he's the last person to judge.
as he's watching him put the glasses properly up on his head, xie lian's eyes briefly flick down his clothes. they feel sort of familiar, in a distant way. ] ...Was that the clothing in your closet, as well?
[ he's not sure why anyone would wear such things on their eyes, but, soo-won had been tickled by them in the gift shop, so. hey. to each their own, he's the last person to judge.
as he's watching him put the glasses properly up on his head, xie lian's eyes briefly flick down his clothes. they feel sort of familiar, in a distant way. ] ...Was that the clothing in your closet, as well?
[yea he thinks it's very funny, so he went with it. that said he laughs a bit at the question]
Mm! It was the garb that I got to wear at a festival in Chi'shin, the capitol of the Earth Tribe.
It's rather dazzling, isn't it?
[and he'll proceed to swivel back and forth like a moron to demonstrate the swishy swishy of the fabric - but at least the stones around his neck catch light as he does]
Mm! It was the garb that I got to wear at a festival in Chi'shin, the capitol of the Earth Tribe.
It's rather dazzling, isn't it?
[and he'll proceed to swivel back and forth like a moron to demonstrate the swishy swishy of the fabric - but at least the stones around his neck catch light as he does]
It's lovely. What sort of festival was it? [ internally, xie lian is kind of impressed that soo-won was able to just change into that by himself. he can recall the days of similar festival garb from a very, very long time ago... and if you asked xie lian to dress himself in those clothes he wouldn't have even known where to start...
his compliment and praise is quite genuine! really, the clothes are pretty and very swishy. 10/10 woo woo you're very pretty. ]
his compliment and praise is quite genuine! really, the clothes are pretty and very swishy. 10/10 woo woo you're very pretty. ]
Ahaha, it was a series of War Games - meant to invoke the same feeling of pride and camaraderie since Geun-tae, the General of the Earth Tribe is a renowned warriors whose strength lauded in the times of King Joo-nam's reign.
[and he looks so pleased about it]
We got to see his gallant form in person! It was truly amazing!
[and he looks so pleased about it]
We got to see his gallant form in person! It was truly amazing!
Fufu, I got to participate, but I didn't do much but run around. [NOT UNTRUE] While I have some training, I don't truly match the expertise of our generals.
Lord Geun-tae's was a contest of strategy and wit! The Red Army against the White Army, where each member was denoted as King, Noble, or Commoner. Rules had different points assigned to each member, and Kings could not harm Commoners, Commoners could not harm Nobles, and Nobles could not harm their Kings. It was great fun to both participate and partake!
And Lord Geun-tae's victory resounded through Chi'shin, as he finished the very end of the game by himself! Amazing!
Lord Geun-tae's was a contest of strategy and wit! The Red Army against the White Army, where each member was denoted as King, Noble, or Commoner. Rules had different points assigned to each member, and Kings could not harm Commoners, Commoners could not harm Nobles, and Nobles could not harm their Kings. It was great fun to both participate and partake!
And Lord Geun-tae's victory resounded through Chi'shin, as he finished the very end of the game by himself! Amazing!
[ xie lian's eyes get wide and sparkly throughout this entire speech. ]
Simply incredible!! What kind of combat was he taking part in, was it swordfighting? Hand to hand? To win such a difficult battle by oneself is the sign of a true leader indeed!
[ fucking combat nerd ]
Simply incredible!! What kind of combat was he taking part in, was it swordfighting? Hand to hand? To win such a difficult battle by oneself is the sign of a true leader indeed!
[ fucking combat nerd ]
Wooden swords!
The goal was to break plates that would rest atop each person's head [and he'll tap the top of his head where the shutters are resting to demonstrate] which in and of itself requires great skill! After all, actually harming someone would lead to disqualification.
[CAN'T JUST GO ALL OUT AND KILL A MAN DURING WAR GAMES]
Lord Geun-tae was a sight to behold, and he wore gems like these!! [he pats the ones that rest around his neck] Fufu, they spiked in popularity after his victory and we had to fill many, many orders of them. He even wore a ponytail like this!
[WHICH IS WHY HIS HAIR IS IN A HIGH PONYTAIL TODAY, LIKE A FOOL]
The goal was to break plates that would rest atop each person's head [and he'll tap the top of his head where the shutters are resting to demonstrate] which in and of itself requires great skill! After all, actually harming someone would lead to disqualification.
[CAN'T JUST GO ALL OUT AND KILL A MAN DURING WAR GAMES]
Lord Geun-tae was a sight to behold, and he wore gems like these!! [he pats the ones that rest around his neck] Fufu, they spiked in popularity after his victory and we had to fill many, many orders of them. He even wore a ponytail like this!
[WHICH IS WHY HIS HAIR IS IN A HIGH PONYTAIL TODAY, LIKE A FOOL]
I see, I see... what truly remarkable swordsmanship, you're exactly right. I would love to see it for myself! I wish that such a festival existed in the lands that I'm from.
[ xie lian sounds delighted by this. what a fun practice! he'd like to try and do that, sometime. ] It sounds like you were quite lucky to experience such a thing. It must have brought in quite the profit for you as well, no?
[ xie lian sounds delighted by this. what a fun practice! he'd like to try and do that, sometime. ] It sounds like you were quite lucky to experience such a thing. It must have brought in quite the profit for you as well, no?
[soo-won's hanging out - outside! mostly he's leaning against a building, apparently lost in thought with his gaze primarily upward. following that gaze will bring it up to where a hawk seems to be circling overhead
though at the sound of footsteps he'll turn automatically toward their direction -
and offer up a smile]
Ah, Xie Lian. How're you faring after all of that?
though at the sound of footsteps he'll turn automatically toward their direction -
and offer up a smile]
Ah, Xie Lian. How're you faring after all of that?
Mm! My realm hardly even has magic - so it makes it a bit difficult to parse. Even still, I cannot find alternative reasonings, which make it difficult to deny.
[he'll be honest about it]
And it makes you think on the nature of memories, does it not?
[he'll be honest about it]
And it makes you think on the nature of memories, does it not?
People are made up of many different components. We carry our memories with us, the influences of our beloved people, and our heritages of blood. [his gaze flicks up to the hawk] What parts can you forget until you become someone that is no longer yourself?
Or will that moment never come, because regardless of memory, the nature of a person is always the same?
The me of right now will help without caring for whatever wish I'm promised - because the universe is at stake, and that is reason enough. Will the me of two weeks from now, if my memories are truly taken, be a different man?
[he turns back to xie lian, unflinching]
And that is only to selfishly think so, of my eighteen years of life, compared to your eight-hundred.
Or will that moment never come, because regardless of memory, the nature of a person is always the same?
The me of right now will help without caring for whatever wish I'm promised - because the universe is at stake, and that is reason enough. Will the me of two weeks from now, if my memories are truly taken, be a different man?
[he turns back to xie lian, unflinching]
And that is only to selfishly think so, of my eighteen years of life, compared to your eight-hundred.
[ What parts can you forget until you become someone that is no longer yourself?
that resonates with xie lian more than soo-won was probably intending it to. something flickers across his expression, just briefly, and xie lian looks up with him, towards the hawk. if he closes his eyes, he can imagine the black, black sky in yong'an all those years ago overhead, the bai wuxiang's terrors; he takes a deep breath, in, and out, and it just seems like a thoughtful pause, as he considers the statement.
his voice is calm. ] ...I do believe that you can forget things, and become a stranger to yourself.
[ his eyes open again, up at the sky, letting the light flood in. ] Under great duress, no matter who you are, or what you may define 'duress' as, terrible, ugly things can come out of us all, and we can lose sight of what makes us "us", especially when the very things that give us those definitions could be quite literally taken away. To be stripped of everything you've ever known can damage you to the point that it feels as if looking at your own reflection will show the face of a stranger.
...however, I think that losing sight of your nature is only temporary. You can be stripped down to your very core and left with nothing, but even with no memories or no things that make you you, you are still left with choices of what you want to do as you move forward - or if you choose not to move forward, at all. No one can take that from you.
In essence, that choice is what makes such loss of nature truly impossible. The reasons for it may change - perhaps your reasoning may change only to save yourself, instead of to help others - but ultimately, the choice that you make will define you more than the memories that you may lose.
[ xie lian turns his head back to look at soo-won properly; his expression shifts from more serious to something a little more sheepish. ] ...At least, that is as far as I believe.
that resonates with xie lian more than soo-won was probably intending it to. something flickers across his expression, just briefly, and xie lian looks up with him, towards the hawk. if he closes his eyes, he can imagine the black, black sky in yong'an all those years ago overhead, the bai wuxiang's terrors; he takes a deep breath, in, and out, and it just seems like a thoughtful pause, as he considers the statement.
his voice is calm. ] ...I do believe that you can forget things, and become a stranger to yourself.
[ his eyes open again, up at the sky, letting the light flood in. ] Under great duress, no matter who you are, or what you may define 'duress' as, terrible, ugly things can come out of us all, and we can lose sight of what makes us "us", especially when the very things that give us those definitions could be quite literally taken away. To be stripped of everything you've ever known can damage you to the point that it feels as if looking at your own reflection will show the face of a stranger.
...however, I think that losing sight of your nature is only temporary. You can be stripped down to your very core and left with nothing, but even with no memories or no things that make you you, you are still left with choices of what you want to do as you move forward - or if you choose not to move forward, at all. No one can take that from you.
In essence, that choice is what makes such loss of nature truly impossible. The reasons for it may change - perhaps your reasoning may change only to save yourself, instead of to help others - but ultimately, the choice that you make will define you more than the memories that you may lose.
[ xie lian turns his head back to look at soo-won properly; his expression shifts from more serious to something a little more sheepish. ] ...At least, that is as far as I believe.
[he wonders if that's true.
soo-won has no experience to match it against - since he was born, he had an idea of who he was meant to be, taught by his family and lineage. yet now he stands alone - and only his memories inform his intentions, his plans. should those be taken from him, what nature of person would he be?]
So you consider a person - whether they be human or spirit or other entity - to be separate from the cumulation of their experiences. That their reasoning for action may change, but those actions might still be the same even if they do not recognize themselves.
[he can't help but offer a smile that is combination curiosity and ruefulness - ]
Is that still truly a choice then? Or is it fate? Predetermined paths?
soo-won has no experience to match it against - since he was born, he had an idea of who he was meant to be, taught by his family and lineage. yet now he stands alone - and only his memories inform his intentions, his plans. should those be taken from him, what nature of person would he be?]
So you consider a person - whether they be human or spirit or other entity - to be separate from the cumulation of their experiences. That their reasoning for action may change, but those actions might still be the same even if they do not recognize themselves.
[he can't help but offer a smile that is combination curiosity and ruefulness - ]
Is that still truly a choice then? Or is it fate? Predetermined paths?
In some ways, yes. In some ways, no. I wouldn't say that their actions will always be the same - that rather, they may have to find their way back to who they were. They may misstep or stumble, or fail along the way. I don't believe that will be an easy journey, no matter what the situation is.
[ STOP TRIGGERING MY CHARACTER PLOT PHRASES
there's a pause. xie lian smiles, as soo-won asks his last question, and there's a flint to his eyes that looks determined, a countenance much more upright than the scrap-collecting weirdo that he's mostly seemed to be. the fierce eyes of a former prince, maybe, or - someone who has truly lived his eight centuries of life, and every up and down along the way. ]
Someone told me once that there was it was impossible to go against fate - that even when faced with a decision, you could only walk one of two paths. Either yes, or no.
I believe that if you don't like the paths that are predetermined for you, then you simply must take a third path, and forge one on your own away from the fate's designs.
[ once, xie lian had thought this to be his mantra. another time, he'd thought himself arrogant for ever believing it.
but after eight hundred years, xie lian has not regretted living by his own path. every mistake and every sorrow he has caused and experienced have been his own. ] Even now, after the centuries that I have lived, I still feel the same way.
[ STOP TRIGGERING MY CHARACTER PLOT PHRASES
there's a pause. xie lian smiles, as soo-won asks his last question, and there's a flint to his eyes that looks determined, a countenance much more upright than the scrap-collecting weirdo that he's mostly seemed to be. the fierce eyes of a former prince, maybe, or - someone who has truly lived his eight centuries of life, and every up and down along the way. ]
Someone told me once that there was it was impossible to go against fate - that even when faced with a decision, you could only walk one of two paths. Either yes, or no.
I believe that if you don't like the paths that are predetermined for you, then you simply must take a third path, and forge one on your own away from the fate's designs.
[ once, xie lian had thought this to be his mantra. another time, he'd thought himself arrogant for ever believing it.
but after eight hundred years, xie lian has not regretted living by his own path. every mistake and every sorrow he has caused and experienced have been his own. ] Even now, after the centuries that I have lived, I still feel the same way.
[soo-won is (almost) 19 but his mind is older - but ultimately he does find himself listening to this. it's less that he's set in his ways, or that it's hard to influence him - but when he asks questions of others, it's almost entirely because he wants to see their view of the world.
he always claimed to desire the will and strength of the people - and he knows that xie lian is not a normal person, given just how long he's lived - but he is, at the same time, someone who will never look away from someone else's truth.
and now he understands that xie lian is sharing something important with him. he offers a bit of a smile, understanding - ]
I believe that assessing situations, and forging paths based on what you discern, is ultimately the only thing that anyone can ever truly do.
It's interesting to hear your perspective - that someone may always come back to who it is that they, for a lack of better words, truly are.
[he tilts his head]
Given the future that may lay ahead of us - I hope that this perspective of yours bears fruit.
he always claimed to desire the will and strength of the people - and he knows that xie lian is not a normal person, given just how long he's lived - but he is, at the same time, someone who will never look away from someone else's truth.
and now he understands that xie lian is sharing something important with him. he offers a bit of a smile, understanding - ]
I believe that assessing situations, and forging paths based on what you discern, is ultimately the only thing that anyone can ever truly do.
It's interesting to hear your perspective - that someone may always come back to who it is that they, for a lack of better words, truly are.
[he tilts his head]
Given the future that may lay ahead of us - I hope that this perspective of yours bears fruit.
Only time will tell. I'm not much of an expert. [ xie lian gives him a sheepish smile, then, any of that seriousness fading away pretty quickly. he's not the best person in the world to give advice, considering.... anything. ]
What do you think, Won? Of your own question.
What do you think, Won? Of your own question.
I'm not sure.
[he'll be open about it, because it's very recent information, and he isn't the type to come to decisions quickly based on emotion or gut feeling]
I'm a bit different from other people, I'd think. Most of my life is rather simplified in the sense that my goals are easily articulated - it's perhaps something that my father taught me.
And so comes the question - will I change if I forget those goals, or will I change if I forget my father's influence?
There are many ways in which it's possible to lose sight of one's self, when you consider the whole of a person... and I think that one's choices, memories, and life path often shape their worldview.
Yet I do not want to think it hopeless enough that if we no longer have memories, then we are only shells - it's something I'd like to ask our guides about, given that they seem to no longer have their memories, but retained their personalities.
So that does give me some hope, if they're telling the truth.
[at the very least, he's not the type to deny what he sees and witnesses with his own eyes and ears. if the proof is right there in front of him, it's easier to understand.]
[he'll be open about it, because it's very recent information, and he isn't the type to come to decisions quickly based on emotion or gut feeling]
I'm a bit different from other people, I'd think. Most of my life is rather simplified in the sense that my goals are easily articulated - it's perhaps something that my father taught me.
And so comes the question - will I change if I forget those goals, or will I change if I forget my father's influence?
There are many ways in which it's possible to lose sight of one's self, when you consider the whole of a person... and I think that one's choices, memories, and life path often shape their worldview.
Yet I do not want to think it hopeless enough that if we no longer have memories, then we are only shells - it's something I'd like to ask our guides about, given that they seem to no longer have their memories, but retained their personalities.
So that does give me some hope, if they're telling the truth.
[at the very least, he's not the type to deny what he sees and witnesses with his own eyes and ears. if the proof is right there in front of him, it's easier to understand.]
[ wise words! those of someone with a good head on their shoulders. xie lian nods. ]
It seems as though we won't know much of anything until the process begins. It's best not to jump into it assuming the worst case scenario, which I'd like to avoid in the first place. I have no intentions of failing such an important task, if I can help it.
[ there's a beat, and then xie lian adds, sounding a touch wry. ] You know, I wish I had had some of your foresight, when I was your age...
It seems as though we won't know much of anything until the process begins. It's best not to jump into it assuming the worst case scenario, which I'd like to avoid in the first place. I have no intentions of failing such an important task, if I can help it.
[ there's a beat, and then xie lian adds, sounding a touch wry. ] You know, I wish I had had some of your foresight, when I was your age...
[the comment on his age just - manages to pull a laugh from soo-won, amused and gentle]
If I ever cross paths with your younger self, or if you happen to lose your way from your memories, I'll try to share what I can.
I'm afraid I've never known how to be anyone other than myself.
[foresighted, airheaded-ness, and all]
If I ever cross paths with your younger self, or if you happen to lose your way from your memories, I'll try to share what I can.
I'm afraid I've never known how to be anyone other than myself.
[foresighted, airheaded-ness, and all]
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