[ spins wheel... we're at the lighthouse! zhongli is circling the building itself, at least as best as possible, chin lifted upwards to take in the structure with curiosity. in one hand is his spear, point angled downwards - at rest, but prepared, just in case there's trouble to be found in bikini bottom. when he comes back around to the front and sees mizu, he perks just slightly and tilts his head. ]
Ah, Master Mizu. Come to take in the new stop on the rails?
It's quite... lively, yes. I'm used to festivals and performances, in Liyue Harbor, but there's a rise and fall to that like a breathing thing.
The, ah, arcade as Rich called it... is constant. Droning, I find.
[ he could only stay there for so long, before he found himself heading up here. the stairs get a thoughtful glance from him as well, considering it - at least we know lighthouses! ]
Japan... I would have guessed you were from Izanami, upon first glance.
[ nope, no familiarity. but he looks from mizu back up to the lighthouse thoughtfully. ]
It's possible. If there were ships, I imagine many of us would be trying to sail to the edge of this place and find a way out. The angels - or God themself, whoever they are - may have thought better of it.
... Huh. Izanami. Funny, that's a name I recognize.
[though they are very much talking about different things here.]
Perhaps god and their angels should have thought better about giving us a beach at all. I'm sure someone will be reckless enough to try swimming their way to the edge.
[ my tablet's autocorrect has fucking cursed me in so many threads that i've had to turn it off. inazuma you useless technology, which is fortunately still an actual japanese word. ]
Perhaps there are some similarities, then.
[ he's imagining a few people trying to swim to freedom... ]
Or attempt to build a raft of some kind. There are the supplies for it, if one were to look. I would rather we not discover whether we can still drown.
[ honestly rng choosing beach is wildly appropriate. zhongli can be found with polearm in hand, point angled downwards but grip tight and ready rather than absently loose like it had been for most of the week so far. he's walking the length of the beach and scanning it with brow furrowed, expression severe, like he's just - looking. for anything. where charlie was, any signs of a scuffle or struggle or fight or anything, but coming up short the entire way.
near the bonfire that they stayed at last night, he slows a bit, as if trying to see if anything is different from the moment that they'd woken up or not.
approach? he hasn't immediately registered that someone else is there with him, to be honest. ]
mizu takes a walk down the perimeter of the now entirely nonexistent wall. but of course, there's absolutely nothing to find there for now. so. bonfire time it is. hello, zhongli. just comes chill next to him, saying in lieu of a greeting--]
[ his eyes are scanning the area around the bonfire, fingers flexing on his weapon as he thinks, processing, trying to pinpoint a single difference. ]
And Ramiel's accidental message does not bode well for how things will proceed. When I said that I would rather we not test if we could die a second time... [ he meant it. especially for someone like charlie. ] Have you spoken with others about where they were?
And of their number, gentlemen of considerable strength. Both Mister Marcoh and Hawke were there but unable to break down the door that barred their exit, much like our unseen barrier.
[ frowning... not the fafo they wanted. ]
Yet no one stirred even the slightest during her journey.
It would be better if that wasn't the case. But I'm sure I don't need to tell you to be prepared for the worst. Something has clearly gone wrong, but as to how wrong...
[ hi mizu, your new bff (derogatory) zhongli here. he's got a tray with a tea set balanced on it in one hand, frowning a little as he comes to hunt down the chosen hiding place for licking wounds and nursing wounded pride. he's still not sorry about stopping the, as it turns out, needless mercy kill, but now it's more checking in on mizu now that all is said and done. ]
[sometimes... things happen... and you really need to mercy kill a twink.
zhongli can find mizu in the library! slowly becoming one with a pile of cushions, bloodied outfit swapped out for a clean set of clothes, and looking partially mummified. the left side of mizu's head has been bandaged up, with the eye carefully covered.
sits up with far more care than before, looking at him with the remaining eye. hi.]
[ at least it wound up being that you didn't have to!!
he huffs a mild chuckle, a little humorless, seeing the mummification process mizu's gone through. but he'll make his way over and set the tray down carefully, taking up the teapot with familiarity and going to pour a cup - it's this blend, loose leaf and calming/healing. he can't doctor them all like their healers, but he can at least do this. ]
You all went through quite the ordeal, it seems. I thought you could do with something that might help take some of the tension from your bodies after your treatments.
I'm no healer, but I at least know a few blends of tea that can help alleviate some troubles.
[ YOU NEED TO GO THE FUCK TO SLEEP or at least relax. have you ever relaxed in your life, mizu. ]
I have. You all went through quite the ordeal, though I've only gleaned bits and pieces of it - enough to know that you experienced something known to the Xianzhou Alliance.
... hm. [ also frowns. ] Perhaps from... Jiaoqiu, or perhaps other healers he worked alongside..? Do you recall how you were transported to such a domain?
Playing with peoples' lives... did you remember Heaven, or your life before death? Or were you so fully immersed upon waking that it was only you and the others?
[ comes back belatedly to this jfc. zhongli turns from... probably disembarking the train, as he was slow to leave once the teens that were clustered near him were taken care of. ]
Will you play it for me..? [ assuming that voice means... sound... ali explained how phones work to him well enough. ] I am familiar with morse code, as it was used during a... war, of sorts, in Teyvat. If Gamaliel didn't translate it for you.
Unfortunately not. Gamaliel was familiar enough to recognize it, but not familiar enough to understand its meaning. They found the fact that I received it alarming enough, though.
[zhongli gets to watch mizu vs techonology for a sec, before he gets to hear this! beep boop boop. i already OOC translated it ftr, it's just KNOCK KNOCK.]
Where could it have come from, if not from the angels or one of us..?
[ help me IS THIS THE DEAD? zhongli will watch mizu with sympathy, still learning the technology, himself, but will indicate to play it again after listening to it the first time. on the second listen... ]
I would hope that someone was not using a coded message to tell a joke, but I wouldn't dare rule it out completely. Hopefully it's more... someone actually knocking.
[wowie! imagine being powerful enough to write an actual starter during memshare week. anyway, they are both stuck in the funhouse for the long haul while one of mizu's memories plays over the mirrors, loud, chaotic — and then quiet.
mizu does not seem to be too terribly bothered over this memory, despite its awful start. once the old swordsmith showed up, there's only the smallest hint of a fond smile to be found on mizu's face.]
[ i've given up on writing actual starters during memshare week frankly. too powerful. too much.
but zhongli has a severe frown at the bullying that starts the memory - he didn't suffer it, himself, but he did put an end to more than one instance of it, and it never changes. children, adults, gods... bullies are all the same.
the meteor, though... this boon from the heavens, he can't help but think of it as a sign of fortune for a child that would become the swordsmaster next to him, now, as he watches the old man with keen curiosity. he seems to perk, hearing the sound the metal makes, judging it as the blind swordsmith does, and murmurs: ] A fine quality.
[ after that, he's silent. watching the rest play out. his irritation at the children shifts to something softer, and amused, as the memory begins to wind to an end in the mirrors. ]
[after three trials, zhongli would likely recognize that mizu's sword more or less makes the same noise as that chunk of space rock. an otherworldly, metallic sound.]
The steel refused to form for many years. By the time I was able to forge a sword from it, I had already become an adult.
[ getting off the stop to see candy land sure isn't what he expected, after having watched from the other side for the past few weeks. zhongli takes one look at the destruction and waste, and summons his polearm from thin air to hold onto as he had before their powers were given back. especially with the sounds that he hears every now and then.
running into mizu, he inclines his head slightly in greeting before looking out at the streets. ]
Certainly a change, here. Perhaps the most drastic, considering the other stops have, at least, still retained their general setting despite all of the destruction. Master Mizu, is it just me, or... do you hear that?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wk 0; monday
Ah, Master Mizu. Come to take in the new stop on the rails?
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Yes. [a glance. and then, thoughtfully:] It's more peaceful here, compared to the rest of the beach.
[why must everything be so loud and futuristic*
* to someone from the 17th century]
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The, ah, arcade as Rich called it... is constant. Droning, I find.
[ he could only stay there for so long, before he found himself heading up here. the stairs get a thoughtful glance from him as well, considering it - at least we know lighthouses! ]
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[though, looks at when the first western style lighthouse was built in japan.
well. follows his gaze and hums.]
Do you know what this tower is for?
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[ help. zhongli's got mizu here, at least, and just hums a noise of understanding. ]
A lighthouse, although it does not seem operational at the moment. I've not seen any ships at least, and no inclement weather to speak of.
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[not expecting him to know what that is, either. but that's fine.]
A lighthouse... But no ships and no light. [hums.] I see. I guess it was left here as a decoration.
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[ nope, no familiarity. but he looks from mizu back up to the lighthouse thoughtfully. ]
It's possible. If there were ships, I imagine many of us would be trying to sail to the edge of this place and find a way out. The angels - or God themself, whoever they are - may have thought better of it.
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... Huh. Izanami. Funny, that's a name I recognize.
[though they are very much talking about different things here.]
Perhaps god and their angels should have thought better about giving us a beach at all. I'm sure someone will be reckless enough to try swimming their way to the edge.
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Perhaps there are some similarities, then.
[ he's imagining a few people trying to swim to freedom... ]
Or attempt to build a raft of some kind. There are the supplies for it, if one were to look. I would rather we not discover whether we can still drown.
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Hah. [DEADPAN.] And yet, I get the feeling we'll find out whether we want to or not.
wk 0; friday
near the bonfire that they stayed at last night, he slows a bit, as if trying to see if anything is different from the moment that they'd woken up or not.
approach? he hasn't immediately registered that someone else is there with him, to be honest. ]
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mizu takes a walk down the perimeter of the now entirely nonexistent wall. but of course, there's absolutely nothing to find there for now. so. bonfire time it is. hello, zhongli. just comes chill next to him, saying in lieu of a greeting--]
Ill tidings.
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[ his eyes are scanning the area around the bonfire, fingers flexing on his weapon as he thinks, processing, trying to pinpoint a single difference. ]
And Ramiel's accidental message does not bode well for how things will proceed. When I said that I would rather we not test if we could die a second time... [ he meant it. especially for someone like charlie. ] Have you spoken with others about where they were?
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[now they've fucked around and found out.]
I've been told Charlie was in the showers, by more than one person. She traveled a long way to end up here.
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[ frowning... not the fafo they wanted. ]
Yet no one stirred even the slightest during her journey.
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[hmmm...]
They only claimed she was unresponsive when they found her. It's hard to say if no one else was awake with that vague of a description.
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[ ... mm. ]
I hope that her reason for crossing so much ground over the course of the night was not because another was on her trail.
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week one, tuesday.
blandly:]
Never a dull day in heaven... [DEROGATORY]
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No. I'd rather like a quiet day, I think, but I doubt we shall have one tomorrow.
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Have we ever had a quiet day?
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Last Tuesday, perhaps? [ this is a joke. ]
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Yes. I suppose no one has any idea where it came from yet?
wk 1; thursday
Master Mizu. Care for some tea?
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zhongli can find mizu in the library! slowly becoming one with a pile of cushions, bloodied outfit swapped out for a clean set of clothes, and looking partially mummified. the left side of mizu's head has been bandaged up, with the eye carefully covered.
sits up with far more care than before, looking at him with the remaining eye. hi.]
... Yes. Thank you.
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he huffs a mild chuckle, a little humorless, seeing the mummification process mizu's gone through. but he'll make his way over and set the tray down carefully, taking up the teapot with familiarity and going to pour a cup - it's this blend, loose leaf and calming/healing. he can't doctor them all like their healers, but he can at least do this. ]
You all went through quite the ordeal, it seems. I thought you could do with something that might help take some of the tension from your bodies after your treatments.
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[GO THE FUCK TO SLEEP TEA???? help me.]
Have you already seen the others?
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[ YOU NEED TO GO THE FUCK TO SLEEP or at least relax. have you ever relaxed in your life, mizu. ]
I have. You all went through quite the ordeal, though I've only gleaned bits and pieces of it - enough to know that you experienced something known to the Xianzhou Alliance.
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We did. We were healers in the middle of their war. [frowns.] ... The events we experienced seem to have take inspiration from someone else's life.
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... hm. [ also frowns. ] Perhaps from... Jiaoqiu, or perhaps other healers he worked alongside..? Do you recall how you were transported to such a domain?
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week one, sunday.
Zhongli, a moment?
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Of course. Yes, Master Mizu?
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Your phone. Has it done anything... strange today?
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Not that I am aware of. Did yours do something? [ brow furrowed. why does weird shit keep happening to you mizu?? ]
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Will you play it for me..? [ assuming that voice means... sound... ali explained how phones work to him well enough. ] I am familiar with morse code, as it was used during a... war, of sorts, in Teyvat. If Gamaliel didn't translate it for you.
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Unfortunately not. Gamaliel was familiar enough to recognize it, but not familiar enough to understand its meaning. They found the fact that I received it alarming enough, though.
[zhongli gets to watch mizu vs techonology for a sec, before he gets to hear this! beep boop boop. i already OOC translated it ftr, it's just KNOCK KNOCK.]
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[ help me IS THIS THE DEAD? zhongli will watch mizu with sympathy, still learning the technology, himself, but will indicate to play it again after listening to it the first time. on the second listen... ]
K-N-O-C-K, repeated. Knock knock.
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GAZES. already tired the moment he says knock knock.]
Like the joke?
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I would hope that someone was not using a coded message to tell a joke, but I wouldn't dare rule it out completely. Hopefully it's more... someone actually knocking.
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week three, monday.
mizu does not seem to be too terribly bothered over this memory, despite its awful start. once the old swordsmith showed up, there's only the smallest hint of a fond smile to be found on mizu's face.]
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but zhongli has a severe frown at the bullying that starts the memory - he didn't suffer it, himself, but he did put an end to more than one instance of it, and it never changes. children, adults, gods... bullies are all the same.
the meteor, though... this boon from the heavens, he can't help but think of it as a sign of fortune for a child that would become the swordsmaster next to him, now, as he watches the old man with keen curiosity. he seems to perk, hearing the sound the metal makes, judging it as the blind swordsmith does, and murmurs: ] A fine quality.
[ after that, he's silent. watching the rest play out. his irritation at the children shifts to something softer, and amused, as the memory begins to wind to an end in the mirrors. ]
... your future blade?
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[after three trials, zhongli would likely recognize that mizu's sword more or less makes the same noise as that chunk of space rock. an otherworldly, metallic sound.]
The steel refused to form for many years. By the time I was able to forge a sword from it, I had already become an adult.
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[ like it's a living thing - but, as the god of geo, he knows that to be the case sometimes. ]
But what a good, powerful blade that it became.
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I'm afraid I was unable to bring the steel to its full potential, however. This blade has been broken before.
wk 7; monday
running into mizu, he inclines his head slightly in greeting before looking out at the streets. ]
Certainly a change, here. Perhaps the most drastic, considering the other stops have, at least, still retained their general setting despite all of the destruction. Master Mizu, is it just me, or... do you hear that?
[ shambling, in the distance... ]
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[already reaching for a weapon, drawing the katana out from its sheathe. hm.]
Another last ditch effort from the entity to ruin our day. Be on your guard and get ready to run back to the train if necessary.
[slowly moving to approach the source of the shambling...]