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Entry tags:
[OPEN] This is the existential crisis corner.
WHO: Lan Xichen (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
zewu_jun) & Anyone wanting to have a stress party
WHAT: Catch-all with event prompts
WHERE: any location
WHEN: between late July and the start of August
WARNINGS: TBA
i. Someone raided his closet. Again!
He wasn't ready for what the city had to offer him. It probably meant well, or that was what Lan Xichen was determined to believe, but the bank opening went from offering potential to terrible reveal when he opened the small box designated to him and saw what was inside. Lan Xichen is flipping through a handful of old pages with what appears to be sheet music written on them for anyone who might be familiar with ancient Chinese music, or just have a good enough eye to catch the repetition of characters on the pages. Flustered, he tries to fold up the pages and put them in a pocket for later, but of course the door would close and lock as soon as everyone was retrieving personal items. The message in the lockbox makes it clear that their "gifts" aren't free. Lan Xichen tries to keep a calm, impassive expression on his face, but the reappearance of those pages already has him growing pale and unsteady in the confined space. It's inevitable that he trips into someone as he tries to reach the sealed escape.
ii. Trying ice cream like the cool kids.
Living on a mountain under the strict rules of a sect founded in Buddhism, Lan Xichen has found that one of the most difficult challenges to adjust to so far has been the food. Obtaining it doesn't seem too difficult, but then he consistently finds that there are many dishes he just should not, as a proper Lan, consume. He's already broken the taboo several times over and the guilt is starting to build up. Still, he has to get along with local customs if he wants to survive, right? And thus Lan Xichen is in front of the counter of the ice cream parlor, seriously debating on what he should do next. He knows he really shouldn't try any of the confections, but the bright colors and friendly music from the jukebox are difficult to ignore. When he notices another patron, he turns to them for moral support.
"Ah, are you going to have some? Please, go right ahead."
This way he can watch someone else go first! It's definitely the best solution to his indecision.
[ooc: Taking this prompt from the second test drive meme with the ice cream flavor roulette. I like chocolate and rainbow sherbert for Lan Xichen, and I'm open to surprise interactions.]
iii. Possibly vandalism but we won't acknowledge that.
The city is nothing like the home Lan Xichen came from, but he still wants to behave with as much appropriate conduct as he can. And that means keeping his word, no matter how strange things get. So he does keep his word, using a fork he took from one of the restaurants, Lan Xichen can be found around the city, carving a magical array into various locations. On a wall in one of the apartment buildings or on the side of a tree in the park, he scratches out the design carefully, making sure each symbol and line fit the design he's carrying on a piece of paper. He even has a marker taken from a store that he's using to draw the pattern on less-malleable items such as plastic bowls or countertops. Occasionally he stops to reference his blueprint and compare his work to the template, frowning if the match doesn't quite fit.
"I wonder if anything has been uncovered yet? Perhaps we should have set traps."
iv. Doing homework because it's the Right Thing.
Lan Xichen still makes time each day to properly exercise and meditate. At the edge of dawn, if anyone happens to be awake or still awake, he can be found in the park, with a blanket neatly spread out under him so he can kneel on the grass and meditate. He does manage to sit perfectly still with his hands folded in his lap for some time, but eventually even Lan Xichen can't hold the same expression. He opens his eyes and frowns deeply.
"Are there really no other living things?"
He's asking himself, but in the stillness of that early morning, it sounds loud enough to be called out across the lawn.
Later in the day, he continues his routine to include exercise. Without a sword, he's resorted to a branch that was shed from one of the trees that Lan Xichen has cleaned and trimmed into a makeshift practice weapon. He goes through different martial arts forms, revisiting basics and trying to maneuver around the strangeness of his unbalanced stick, fighting invisible opponents as he tries to focus his power and raise the level just a bit more. The result so far has been unsuccessful, but he'd still going to try. When he's worn out, Lan Xichen sighs, wiping his forehead with disappointment.
"It feels numb. I wish there were better baths... or a cold pool? Perhaps that is what is lacking."
The spiritual deficit is starting to feel more frightening than annoying.
[ooc: Random encounters and other scenarios are welcome for interaction with Lan Xichen. If there's something you'd specifically like to plan out or try, let me know and we can start other things too.]
zewu_jun) & Anyone wanting to have a stress partyWHAT: Catch-all with event prompts
WHERE: any location
WHEN: between late July and the start of August
WARNINGS: TBA
i. Someone raided his closet. Again!
He wasn't ready for what the city had to offer him. It probably meant well, or that was what Lan Xichen was determined to believe, but the bank opening went from offering potential to terrible reveal when he opened the small box designated to him and saw what was inside. Lan Xichen is flipping through a handful of old pages with what appears to be sheet music written on them for anyone who might be familiar with ancient Chinese music, or just have a good enough eye to catch the repetition of characters on the pages. Flustered, he tries to fold up the pages and put them in a pocket for later, but of course the door would close and lock as soon as everyone was retrieving personal items. The message in the lockbox makes it clear that their "gifts" aren't free. Lan Xichen tries to keep a calm, impassive expression on his face, but the reappearance of those pages already has him growing pale and unsteady in the confined space. It's inevitable that he trips into someone as he tries to reach the sealed escape.
ii. Trying ice cream like the cool kids.
Living on a mountain under the strict rules of a sect founded in Buddhism, Lan Xichen has found that one of the most difficult challenges to adjust to so far has been the food. Obtaining it doesn't seem too difficult, but then he consistently finds that there are many dishes he just should not, as a proper Lan, consume. He's already broken the taboo several times over and the guilt is starting to build up. Still, he has to get along with local customs if he wants to survive, right? And thus Lan Xichen is in front of the counter of the ice cream parlor, seriously debating on what he should do next. He knows he really shouldn't try any of the confections, but the bright colors and friendly music from the jukebox are difficult to ignore. When he notices another patron, he turns to them for moral support.
"Ah, are you going to have some? Please, go right ahead."
This way he can watch someone else go first! It's definitely the best solution to his indecision.
[ooc: Taking this prompt from the second test drive meme with the ice cream flavor roulette. I like chocolate and rainbow sherbert for Lan Xichen, and I'm open to surprise interactions.]
iii. Possibly vandalism but we won't acknowledge that.
The city is nothing like the home Lan Xichen came from, but he still wants to behave with as much appropriate conduct as he can. And that means keeping his word, no matter how strange things get. So he does keep his word, using a fork he took from one of the restaurants, Lan Xichen can be found around the city, carving a magical array into various locations. On a wall in one of the apartment buildings or on the side of a tree in the park, he scratches out the design carefully, making sure each symbol and line fit the design he's carrying on a piece of paper. He even has a marker taken from a store that he's using to draw the pattern on less-malleable items such as plastic bowls or countertops. Occasionally he stops to reference his blueprint and compare his work to the template, frowning if the match doesn't quite fit.
"I wonder if anything has been uncovered yet? Perhaps we should have set traps."
iv. Doing homework because it's the Right Thing.
Lan Xichen still makes time each day to properly exercise and meditate. At the edge of dawn, if anyone happens to be awake or still awake, he can be found in the park, with a blanket neatly spread out under him so he can kneel on the grass and meditate. He does manage to sit perfectly still with his hands folded in his lap for some time, but eventually even Lan Xichen can't hold the same expression. He opens his eyes and frowns deeply.
"Are there really no other living things?"
He's asking himself, but in the stillness of that early morning, it sounds loud enough to be called out across the lawn.
Later in the day, he continues his routine to include exercise. Without a sword, he's resorted to a branch that was shed from one of the trees that Lan Xichen has cleaned and trimmed into a makeshift practice weapon. He goes through different martial arts forms, revisiting basics and trying to maneuver around the strangeness of his unbalanced stick, fighting invisible opponents as he tries to focus his power and raise the level just a bit more. The result so far has been unsuccessful, but he'd still going to try. When he's worn out, Lan Xichen sighs, wiping his forehead with disappointment.
"It feels numb. I wish there were better baths... or a cold pool? Perhaps that is what is lacking."
The spiritual deficit is starting to feel more frightening than annoying.
[ooc: Random encounters and other scenarios are welcome for interaction with Lan Xichen. If there's something you'd specifically like to plan out or try, let me know and we can start other things too.]
no subject
There are a lot of theories flying around. Some people think they were kidnapped by gods or entities, but if that were really true, wouldn't there be more obvious signs? Even though he put up multiple arrays and has been meditating daily, he hasn't felt any sign of spiritual powers coming from the city itself. Some of the people in town have their own abilities, but the life of the trees and air around them is lacking.
"It does not feel like a world where gods would dwell. I thought if there were any gods around, they might see these arrays and reveal themselves, but so far the city has remained quiet. I worry it really has been forgotten."
no subject
Runes, arrays, charms, things that involve any kind of intricacy are well beyond him, so he straightens up and shrugs unhelpfully.
"Can't say. I don't know much about gods."
He does look away from Lan Xichen and the wall he's been working on to look at the city at large though.
"But whatever is here? It might be better if it really did forget about us."
no subject
"Why do you think that? If we are forgotten, then doesn't that mean we won't be let out?"
Assuming they even were brought by gods, of course, but Lan Xichen can't claim to know anything about true immortals or their business either.
"I just think... perhaps we should try to find them. That way we can ask them directly what it is they want. If they can be found, that is."
no subject
Either way, both Broca and Lan Xichen are just guessing at the truth here, and while Lan Xichen is taking a trusting, optimistic view of this, Broca trends towards more jaded takes.
"If them paying attention isn't what's keeping us in, in the first place."
His assumption isn't that they're stuck until some higher power lets them go, but that they're stuck because some power refuses to do so.
"Dunno if we can find them either way."
no subject
"Do you think there is someone keeping us in? But if that's true, we should try even more to find answers. Maybe then we can ask them what they brought us for. Maybe they need our help."
Although Broca does have a point. It seems like the whatever presence might have chosen them doesn't necessarily want to be found, if such a presence existed. Maybe it was a mistake and no conscious person did exist. But in that case they might be completely forgotten and abandoned. He smiles with some concern.
"We all arrived here from our own worlds. It couldn't be an accident, could it?"
no subject
Still, he'd rather slip out of here without actually coming into any contact with whoever or whatever force happened to bring them here. It's why he hums uncertainly at the comment about them/it possibly needing their help.
He can agree with one thing for sure.
"It doesn't seem likely." There's almost no way at all that this is just some weird cosmic accident.