[Open - Catch-all]

[cultivatingdisaster]

⌛ Who: Xie Lian
⌛ What: Just doing his thing.
⌛ When: Now.
⌛ Where: Several places.
⌛ Warnings: Unknown. Will edit if needed!



I: Scrap Collecting God Returns.

[This world became stranger and stranger, it seemed. It was only a blink of an eye since he was last there. He had returned home only to find himself within the same time loop and soon thrown back.

It was odd to say the least.

But now Xie Lian sat under the beautifully green leaves of a blossoming tree with a steamed bun in hand, contemplating his next move.

Beside him was a straw hat and a blade, a long and slender with a black mirrored finish. A silvery line ran through the centre of the blade. It seemed to hum with an old power. Xie Lian seemed not to notice, or care, as he bit happily into his bun.]


II: Is this scrap?

[Xie Lian, for all his years, was a surprisingly innocent soul. By way of his cultivation method he had avoided all worldly pleasures, drink and sexual encounters being the main. That didn't mean he was without knowledge!

So when he approached a shop to enquire if they had any scraps to offer him, he was surprised when he was offered what could only be called a phallus!]

Uhh this is... this isn't really what I was asking for...?

[But the elderly woman was already walking away from him, leaving Xie Lian stunned, holding a male shaped object in his hand, and blushing bright enough to put a tomato to shame.]


III: Feeling a certain kind of way.

[It had started off as a strange thought, at first. Just a mild urge that was easily pushed away.

But as the day went on, Xie Lian was undeniably in a bad spot.

There was something very wrong with himself and he knew it could only be caused by the strange world he now lived in. However what the cause was, he had no idea. All he knew was that it made him uncomfortable and, as strange as it would seem, craving of human company. He had just enough presence of mind to not go and attach himself to any old person, however, and instead found himself desperately attempting to make his way back home.

If he managed, he could barricade himself inside. Not that he thought for a second that might stop him should his urge grow in strength, but with luck...

Xie Lian took a shaky breath and wiped sweat from his brow.]

Why must this happen now... haha can anyone have worse luck than me?

Comments

[bythewaves]

Do you enjoy fishing yourself? [ Maglor offers ]

I would not object to company!

[cultivatingdisaster]

It can be relaxing.

[Xie Lian smiled. Truth was he didn't always catch what he wanted. Even something as simple as fishing could be clouded by his misfortune.]

I'd be happy to keep you company. And maybe you can tell me about that song you were singing?

[bythewaves]

Then you are welcome to come.

[ He smiles ]

Ah, that? It is one of the Hobbit's walking songs - specifically, it was written by one Master Bilbo Baggins, who was somewhat notorious for being a bit odd amongst his kinsfolk, but had a keen touch for rhyme.

[cultivatingdisaster]

A Hobbit walking song? And a Hobbit is a creature from your world?

[Having never heard of them before it was just a word. A creature who could sing songs. It was an interesting story. An odd creature, maybe it was odd because of its ability to sing in the tongue of the people? Xie Lian was fascinated hearing about other worlds so different from his own.]

[bythewaves]

Aye, they are. They are a little people, perhaps standing about half my height - hence the Westron name for them - "Halflings".

[ Maglor gestures about his waist ]

But they call themselves Hobbits, and that is what they prefer. They are a simple folk, farmers mostly! Who love best the comforts of home - a warm hole, a good meal, a drink and a good tale or two alongside a pipe. They don't much like us Big Folk, who they consider live far too exciting lives.

[ Which. Fair. ]

Master Baggins, however, is the Grandson of the Old Took, and the Tooks have always had what most Hobbits consider a Highly Disreputable and Suspicious Sense of Adventure.

[ And yes, he managed to convey capital letters for that ]

[cultivatingdisaster]

[Oh, so not creatures but people? Xie Lian felt silly for assuming, but his smile never faltered. He listened as attentively as always, doing his best to remember all of this information.]

They seem a peaceful people.

[And then he laughed. "Highly Disreputable and Suspicious Sense of Adventure", was it? A mouthful, but amusing nevertheless.]

Adventure would go against that peaceful, homebody nature, ah?

[bythewaves]

Very much so.

[ He agrees with a laugh ]

It's not unusual for folk even in my world to have never heard of Hobbits, let alone met one, as they seldom venture from their lands, and avoid strangers. To have a whole family who have a reputation for Adventures, and Travelling?

Scandalous!

[cultivatingdisaster]

[To live a quiet life, undisturbed by the world around them, it sounded very much like bliss to Xie Lian.

At least... maybe in the past. These days things were getting very muddied. Though his life in Nippon he had mostly kept to himself, it was still a great deal more social than he was used to.]

There has to be one in every family, I feel. The exception to the rule. But they sound like a wonderful people.

[bythewaves]

They are indeed.

[ Maglor hums, eyes going soft and fond in memory ]

They don't like Big Folk, but hospitality is almost built into their culture. There is no inn or pub with food and drink so good as a Hobbit one, and they will take in even someone so odd as I, provided one makes no trouble.

[cultivatingdisaster]

Are you considered odd where you're from?

[Xie Lian honestly looked surprised by that. Aside from the fact he was objectively a very attractive man, he seemed relatively normal. Which wasn't saying much, honestly. Xie Lian's ability to tell what was normal had failed him time and time again. He himself was considered an oddity at best. A blight at worst.]

[bythewaves]

[ Maglor laughs ]

Hobbits consider anyone who isn't a hobbit to be odd! Why, they consider some of their own Great Families to be odd!

[cultivatingdisaster]

Strangely I feel I can understand that way of thinking.

[He laughed right along with him. Xie Lian had the strangest desire to go and visit this world... He wondered if it was even possible?]

[bythewaves]

[ Xie Lian would doubtless enjoy visiting the Hobbits! ....Maybe not so much Maglor's earlier years. ]

Hah! Well, you might fit right in with them then - although you're a tad tall!

[cultivatingdisaster]

Is that so?

[Well that was unfortunate. There wasn't much he could do about his height but to kneel.]

We all have our faults.

[bythewaves]

Hobbits.

[ Maglor says cheerfully, and with a good deal of fondness ]

So do we all! And banging one's head on the doors and ceilings of hobbit holes is a known hazard for any Big Folk visiting.

[cultivatingdisaster]

Then that is just more reason for eating outside and enjoying the sunshine. Wouldn't you agree?

[He smiled up at Maglor, amused and quite delighted by the conversation. It was so interesting learning more about the world his friend was born from. So far removed from his own.]

But I have spent a time or two living in small caves and the like. Crouching to avoid brain damage is something I am very familiar with.

[bythewaves]

Oh, most definitely!

[ Maglor hums ]

Although when the winter storms close in, a roof over one's head, even a short one, is very welcome!

[ He laughs and then hums another brief snatch of verse ]

When winter first begins to bite
and stones crack in the frosty night,
when pools are black and trees are bare,
'tis evil in the Wild to fare.

There, that's another bit of Hobbit wisdom for you!

[cultivatingdisaster]

[Xie Lian listened attentively, the little poem was pretty to hear though the words seemed rather dark to his ears. Still he laughed and nodded along.]

You do make a very good point. Winters can be hard.

[And yet he had somehow survived them time and time again. He was used to the pain of cold by now, it didn't bother him in the slightest.]

There isn't much the body can't get used to over time.

[bythewaves]

In the Wild they can be. [ He agrees ] Or if they are long enough, and the harvest has been poor.

[ He shrugs ]

The folk of Eriador remember the Fell Winter, when many of them starved and sickness took more, and the Wolves came down out of the Wilds. It was a difficult time for many of us.

[ He laughs softly ]

Not much, perhaps so.

[cultivatingdisaster]

[Xie Lian nodded, remembering more than a few winters of the same. 800 years he had lived without much of a stable home. He never stayed in one place more than 6 months. He was lucky if they survived that long and didn't collapse around his head.

But there had been some rough winters. Some he would rather forget. And in many respects he had. Long lived as he was, some memories tended to fade away...]

Your world is a dangerous one, it sounds like? Or are these isolated events?

[bythewaves]

It can be, at times. [ He shrugs a little ]

Worse, of course, during times of war! But the Wilds are always perilous, if no less beautiful.

[cultivatingdisaster]

Is war common?

[Xie Lian looked a little concerned, curious. He wondered if there would ever be a world where there was peace and fighting was a thing of the past.]

[bythewaves]

[ He waggles his hand in an 'eh' gesture ]

That depends on what you consider common, I suppose. [ he says slowly ]

There are cycles, I suppose, of war and peace... it seems they run slower, of late, but that may be because I spend little time with Men, these days. Certainly, when we came to Middle-earth in the First Age, we came for war, and war we had, e'en with long stretches of quiet in between - the Long Peace lasted near 195 years. The Second Age too, had much conflict, but I would say the periods of quiet were longer. This Third Age has had few great battles to span across all of Middle-earth, so in that sense, there is more peace, but if Men are skirmishing amongst themselves I know not.

[cultivatingdisaster]

[Xie Lian had to admit that he has an ulterior motive on asking this question. And it was that he was genuinely curious about other worlds. The fact that Maglor was so forthcoming with information was a delight to him.

The art of war was not one that Xie Lian enjoyed, though fighting was. So he felt he could understand a great deal about a people by the way they fought.

And what he learned was that Maglor seemed to think himself separate from humans? Or his people's did, in much the same way as Heavenly Officials did. Wars happened in the Mortal Realms and they were to never involve themselves. However Xie Lian had found himself caught between warring nations on more than a few occasions through no fault of his own. Honestly.]

Peace is a beautiful thing and I hope you and your world enjoy it for a great many years to come.

Though I would like to ask a question that I am unsure would be offensive or not...

[bythewaves]

So do we also hope.

[ Maglor agrees ]

At the least, with Sauron overthrown... there should be no great wars, for a long while.

[ he doesn't deceive himself that the peace will endure forever - the Men of Harad and Khand have reasons to hate Gondor beyond being deceived. But ... for a little while, perhaps ]

Ask! [ He smiles ] I promise I will not be offended, my friend.