jikan_rpg | Catch-All

Entry tags:

Catch-All

⌛ Who: Prompto Argentum, Aerith Gainsborough, Duo Maxwell, Xie Lian, Rude and you, maybe?
⌛ What: Shenanigans. Permanent catch-all.
⌛ When: Anytime.
⌛ Where: All over.
⌛ Warnings: R. Language.

✽ Xie Lian

Cooking With Xie Lian

Busking Adventures

Event: Trial of the Soul

Event: Waterpark Waves

✽ Prompto Argentum

Chocochicks!

Travelling Cameraman

Event: Trial of the Soul

Event: Waterpark Waves

✽ Rude

Event: Trial of the Soul

Event: Waterpark Waves

✽ Duo Maxwell

Lovers Tiff [Closed to Wufei]

Event: Trial of the Soul

I Can Explain! [Closed To Wufei]

✽ Aerith Gainsborough

Rock Garden

Event: Trial of the Soul

Event: Waterpark Waves

Gems In The Making [Closed to Maglor]

[WILDCARD] Have another idea? Want to plot something out? Catch me on

JustAnotherUsername | Theo#4816 ]

CHARACTER INBOXES:
✦ Xie Lian Inbox
✦ Duo Maxwell Inbox
✦ Aerith Gainsborough Inbox
✦ Rude Inbox
✦ Prompto Argentum Inbox

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[The man strode forward and Xie Lian's expression never changed, nor did he move a muscle. It was a funny kind of question. One that was harder to answer than Xie Lian would care to admit. Not the least because he had left ego behind a long time ago. Boasting that he was strong just wasn't something he would do, not if it wasn't true.]

That would depends on the definitions of both... [He glanced around at the people milling about before he looked up at the man once more.] If you want to talk, maybe we could find somewhere a little quieter to do so?

[ Sephiroth could understand that. He inclined his head very slightly, indicating his acceptance of the offer. There was more to this man than met the eye and he did want to know about it. That he was willing to share was a refreshing surprise and one Sephiroth wouldn't take for granted. ]

Lead the way.

[It was a strange new world where no one actually knew him. There was no Heavenly Realm to speak of. The fact he was a God probably didn't mean much at all, not that he could honestly call himself one. Gods had followers and temples for them to make offerings and he had neither! So what did that make him?

Nothing much, if he was truly honest. And that didn't bother him in the slightest. He didn't think he was important or interesting at all.

But somehow things always seemed to happen around him, whether he liked it or not.]

Hm... This way should be good enough.

[Xie Lian reached up to place his straw hat upon his head and began walking away toward a quieter street. He knew there was a park in this area. Perhaps there was a place where they could sit and he could answer a few questions. It would be novel. Xie Lian spent the time walking to the park trying to decide whether he wanted to be honest and truthful or spin the same tales he always did to distract from the reality of his situation.]

[ Sephiroth let the other man guide him down a quiet street and to a park. There weren't many people here either, just what seemed to be acres of foliage in the middle of a residential district. They walked for a time until they came to a bridge overlooking a small pond and halfway across it a bench big enough for two. In the water below swarmed hungry koi fish looking for potential handouts. Sephiroth chose this place to sit, abruptly and without preamble. ]

Well?

[During the quiet of the walk Xie Lian had given himself time to think about his options. And by the time he had sat down by the stranger, he was ready with a smile.]

Lets start with this. My name is Xie Lian. And you are?

[Because if he was going to tell anyone the specifics of who he was, he wanted to know their name at the very least.]

[ Sephiroth let the name roll around in his mind. It didn't tell him anything except that this man wasn't from Nippon. ]

Sephiroth.

[ He was getting much better at introductions thanks to Aerith and knew to state his name promptly when asked for it. This still had the tang of the unusual but like everything else, it was starting to wear off after so much time away from home.

And he waited for more, because he'd done his part and answered the question. ]

[Sephiroth.

Xie Lian mouthed the name to himself but wanted to speak it out loud. The names he had heard in this world were so unlike the ones of his own that sometimes his tongue found it difficult to navigate them. This one, however, seemed that it would be fine. If he was careful enough.

And when his companion said nothing more, Xie Lian didn't know whether to laugh or cry. A poor conversationalist he had found himself it seemed. And so he started by lifting a hand to lightly tug at the silk around his neck. It shifted and slipped away to show the dark cursed shackle around his neck.]

For my sins I was punished. This cursed shackle seals my powers and only the Heavenly Emperor is capable of removing it.

And yet... [Here he smiles as he pulls the silk back to cover himself up.] I have wandered the land for over 800 years and have cultivated diligently. My strength is formidable for someone who was gifted a long life and a great deal of free time.

[Meaning when he wasn't busking or collecting scraps, Xie Lian was training. He was meditating. He was practising in ways that his other Heavenly Officials rarely did as they often felt no need to, once they had attained their position. Xie Lian rarely stopped. And so he was the master of many an art, his abilities were completely natural and not because of his Heavenly Power.]

So as I said, it would depend on your definition. By Heavenly standards I am weak. But by mortal standards I am strong. And by my standards... I am just myself.

[ Sephiroth was silent for a long time, but it was mainly because he had no idea what to say to that. It was one thing for Genesis to tell him that the goddess was real back home, another for Rawna and the rest of those so-called gods to toy with them all back in Havenwell, but this? Sephiroth had never met any supposed divine being for himself. He wasn't familiar with most of the jargon but intelligent enough to know with what he was dealing. He had...questions, but mostly this did explain a lot.

It also made Xie Lian very, very interesting... ]

I see, so even gods can be trapped by time.

[ Sephiroth looked at him then, really regarded him. ]

Where do you get your energy from?

[ If Xie Lian was anything like the gods from Havenwell, Sephiroth was tempted to kill him now. ]

Unfortunately, yes.

[Though, lets face it, Xie Lian had brought it all on himself. His banishments had been wholly justified and he had no one to blame but his own person. Which was why he wasn't bitter or angry about anything. In fact... by rights, on his current ascension he should have approached Jun Wu and had the Heavenly Emperor remove the cursed shackles from him.

But... Xie Lian had forgotten.

He cleared his throat then and smiled at the follow-up question.]

For the most part it is our own, but we do gain power and strength from our followers. From their prayers, offerings and the incense they burn. They become merits which in turn becomes wealth for the gods in question to build a greater following.

I do not have a merit to my name!

[He probably shouldn't have said that so cheerfully. Being poor was not something one should be happy about. But he had been that way for hundreds of years.]

I am a god with neither followers nor temples. No one is burning incense for me. So what power I strength I have currently is borne of my own cultivation, my own spiritual power. Though I can borrow the spiritual power of others to temporarily bolster my own. [And in doing so preform some godly feats!]

[ Since that was the case, Xie Lian was in the same boat as everyone else here and since he didn't harvest his energy from the kidnapped and unwilling Sephiroth let go of his former idea. For now. If he found out differently, he would act accordingly. He didn't think he was wrong though. Xie Lian struck him as an honest person.

Sephiroth's posture remained relaxed. ]

And what are you the god of?

Right now? Not much at all.

[Xie Lian tipped his head back to look up at the sky and issued a soft sigh. Just what was he the god of?]

Scrap. Probably.

I was a Martial God of the North. But after my banishment... well, that isn't true anymore.

Scrap.

[ Sephiroth's tone both made it a statement and showed just how impressed he was with that. But just in case he had misheard: ]

What do you mean?

[ He did subtly perk up a little bit at the term martial god though. ]

[Technically speaking he was still a Martial God. That was his path of cultivation. Martial arts was his love.

But he did give a soft laugh at the question.]

It was a way to make a living, living as an immortal, banished from the Heavenly Realm... what else could I do?

I could also be considered the God of Misfortune if you'd like. Some would say that I am.

[ Sephiroth gazed at Xie Lian for a moment and then, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world: ]

Fight.

[ It's what he would have done in the other man's situation and also technically what he was doing, albeit this could be construed as continuing to tread the path of his ever more complicated loyalties. ]

Fight?

[A little surprised sound and then a low laugh. Fight, he says. Isn't that what had brought him to this point in the first place?

How to explain...]

I am over 800 years old, Sephiroth. I fought long and hard at to start, but the more I fought the worse I made things. Like this, my impact on the world is lessened. I am happier living a simple life.

[At least that had how it used to be. The moment he had joined the world again that bad luck had followed him again, though somehow that luck hadn't really followed him here, and Xie Lian wondered about that...]

[ Sephiroth gazed at Xie Lian for a long time as he weighed his words before his own slowly emerged. ]

I understand.

[ He did. The other man didn't know it but this had touched a chord in Sephiroth that he hardly wanted to acknowledge, even to himself. His loyalties, his past, all were...complicated. He shifted on the bench as he dismissed the uncomfortable association back down into the depths of his subconscious where it belonged. There was something new to him though. The beginnings of respect was in his eyes and his tone when next he spoke. There weren't many worthy of such in his eyes but it seemed Xie Lian would be one of those few. ]

What will you do now?

[He could have gone into detail but he had only moments ago met this man. Telling him his entire life story would have taken a very long time... or maybe a painfully short one. While Xie Lian didn't often feel shame he did have many past regrets that he did not always enjoy remembering.

A lot of his past he had forgotten, until recently those memories had been brought back to the forefront. And now he was here in Nippon and he had not yet had the chance to find out just why his past had been stirred. Maybe once he returned?

Either way, it didn't much matter how that he was here and in this strange world.]

I will continue to move forward at my own pace. A friend told me to do that once. To carry on doing things my way, and so I will, until that way becomes impossible and I have to find a new path.

[He looked down at a hand, flexing his fingers for a moment before he smiled.]

I can make a home here for now. Continue on the Path I have chosen.

[ Sephiroth acknowledged that with a brief hum. ]

You have a good friend.

[ He could tell from that alone. The advice was sound and it spoke to Sephiroth as well. Odd, how much he resonated with this stranger, but Sephiroth didn't question it. He chose instead to tilt his head to the sun and experience a moment of peace there with the sun bathing them both. To others it might have looked as if he was listening for something and he was in a way. The water that passed underneath them both was softly murmuring. ]

He was a very good friend. My first in... a very long time.

[Hundreds of years in fact.

Xie Lian supposed he could blame his poor luck on that, but honestly he'd just never believed he deserved something as wonderful as a friend. He was constantly on the move, too. Living a poor, nomadic lifestyle didn't always make it easy to find friends who lasted.

And then he met San Lang.

San Lang who was actually a the Ghost King Crimson Rain Sought Flower. Hua Cheng. And who, for some reason, had found reason enough to stay by his side and help him.

Xie Lian missed him. He missed everyone and couldn't help wondering how everyone was doing...

But in the end he shook his head and glanced over, only to find Sephiroth gazing up at the sky. Curious he turned his own gaze up to the heavens. And wondered...]

Is there a Heavenly realm to this world? I wonder who I would ask...

[ Yet another point of similarity. Sephiroth chose to ignore this one though, even to himself. After all, it wasn't a very comfortable area of exploration for him.

He turned his gaze on the other man and said with some measure of seriousness: ]

I have yet to encounter any so-called gods here.

[ What Sephiroth meant by that and the words that actually came out of his mouth were most likely two different things. Xie Lian seemed benign enough and Sephiroth acknowledged that he was a god in his world. However, Sephiroth had come from a place called Aellyn where such supposed beings kidnapped and controlled offworlders, and thus Sephiroth didn't have a positive impression of such beings. Thankfully, this place was very different. ]

[There was no offence meant and there was none taken. At least, Xie Lian didn't think that Sephiroth was being deliberately rude. There were many people in his life who had, at least in the last several hundred years, been rather disparaging over his godly status. And even moreso after this third ascension.

After all. He was considered the 'Laughingstock of the Three Realms'. And he wished people had said words like that behind his back and out of earshot. They did not. Xie Lian heard every word.]

You have had bad experiences with Gods? Are they so different from your world?

[Xie Lian asked with genuine interest. Learning about the worlds of others was something he found very interesting since appearing in this one.]

Not on my world. Aellyn.

[ Sephiroth said it as if it explained everything. It took him a moment to realize it did not--such was only possible because of all Aerith had taught him over several years now. ]

I was...taken somewhere else before coming here.

[ There. That should do it. ]

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