tabularasa_rp | Let me Crawl Inside Your Veins (Wide Open)

"ACK! Nothing!" Fuck, she hadn't been paying attention and a stranger had managed to show up behind her. He probably hadn't even snuck with how pre-occupied she was with staring at the bar. The youkai fidgeted, and started to calm down a little before turning. "It's... it's fine. I just was away for a while. Wasn't sure if I was still welcome at the bar is all."

Because soooo much had changed in the last week, right Parsee?

Why would an inhabitant of the void not be welcome at the bar...? Unless Parsee has done some property destruction that Zhongli is not aware of, he doesn't think she would be rejected. Perhaps he could help make her feel more at ease.

"I see. I am sure you would not be turned down as a customer. Shall we go in?"

In this one's case, it was all in her head. She was actually on pretty decent terms with both Ren and Tifa, so she was certainly welcomed in. She just had gotten back and was, as always, struggling with wrapping her mind around the fact that people still wanted her around. It was an old habit that was hard for her to break.

His request made her blink and got a quick nod. If he was asking her in, she could follow at least. "Uh sure. Probably wouldn't get turned down, no. Why don't you lead the way. Name's Parsee. I'm at the shrine with Viridi down the path, by the bridge."

Viridi... was the one who started a fight with Zhongli over ley lines, but he doesn't evaluate people entirely based off the company they keep, so he doesn't show any reaction.

"I am Zhongli. It is a pleasure to meet you."

He opens the door to Heavenly Blanc - there's no one inside right now, but the lights are on and the jukebox is playing. They could probably sit down for awhile until the owners return.

Yeah, she wouldn't have disagreed about a lot of nasty things one could say about Viridi. She didn't mind sharing the company of people who annoyed the crap out of her, mostly because she privately annoyed returning the favor. Viridi was absolutely in that odd territory.

Making her way towards one of the booths after nodding to him, she relaxed into it as best she was able. "How long you been here? You don't act like you're completely new, but I don't always get out much." She was the sort who could easily just focus herself on whatever work she was doing so she didn't have to think too much about social interactions, so it didn't surprise her to miss newcomers.

"About two months. I tend to travel between places here, so it is rare for me to encounter another person."

It seems like Parsee has gotten over most of her apprehension, so Zhongli wouldn't bring that up anymore. He's come here enough times with Venti to know the layout of the bar well, so he pauses to look around before following Parsee.

"Would you like something to drink?" Is he going to just make some... maybe...

"Whiskey, neat." Yeah, she wasn't actually going to tell him not to make her a drink. It wasn't like there was a working economy and there seemed to be a never ending supply of alcohol that would only be tested if an Oni was present in this town, so why not help themselves? Besides, if there was any settling up, she'd handle that when Ren or Tifa got in.

"Yeah, if you're spending your time wandering in the wrong parts of this place, you won't have seen me. I keep to specific areas a lot of the time. I don't like leaving the bridge for long periods if I can help it. Viridi likes to redecorate." Which was so very very annoying. She couldn't begin to describe how annoying that was.

If there's one thing Zhongli is bad at handling, it's money. Good thing nothing here actually costs anything, because he would run up the Void's biggest debt if people started keeping count of anything.

"Oh? I see." He's not going to mention his dispute with Viridi just yet, moving to behind the bar so he can examine the various alcohol bottles. Living for so long lets him identify most drinks just by the smell and colour, even if they're unlabeled. "I heard her mention taking over the shrine. Do you share it with her?"

yeah, she used to literally charge pebbles for blessings. Definitely not a robust economy going in this place. They hadn't even gotten a real, proper bartering system going with how much junk just sort of appeared, had they? Oh well, she was in no hurry to push that out there.

"Ngh... we'll see about that. Little busy body's almost certainly taken over everything while I was gone. I'll have to remind her part of that's definitely mine," she muttered, resting her elbows on the bar. "You give her an inch and she will absolutely take a mile. We basically share it. Melinoe used to share it with us, but she's back home now, and hasn't reappeared."

A little busybody... Zhongli smiles, if only a little. He doesn't say anything, though - uncorking the bottle emanating the scent of whiskey and pouring a glass for Parsee. He places it in front of her before taking an adjacent seat. Now is not the occasion for drinking, and it'll probably take a while for him to brew any tea.

"People who leave here return home?" He's heard of that once or twice, but had not yet believed that. Unless... Parsee meant that she returned home and came here again. "And we do not know why?"

Raising her glass in a toast, she then took a sip and closed her eyes. It didn't do much for her here, but it was at least familiar to her. "That's what we generally assume. When it happened to me, just recently, I was back at home for a while. It didn't last forever, before I came back. Nobody's got any clue 'why' that one happens, and it irritates the heck out of me not to know." She'd rather it not happen at all.

"I see. Going home would be a better fate than being left in some other place... I would like to think that those who disappeared from here have returned."

It doesn't solve the problem of them being trapped here without any way to go back, that was for sure. Zhongli looks thoughtful.

"In your absence, the phenomena known as Ley Lines have appeared. These are magical hotspots that appear in certain places of the Void. Someone suggested that it may be possible to communicate with the world using these, since they appear to be able to transmit the thoughts of people here."

"You say that, but I'd actually take this place over Gensokyo just about any day of the week. There's a couple people I almost miss. Almost. But it's a shithole and a dive compare to the Void." Admittedly, she'd yield if asked that she was in the minority even though... "I could see a few reasons someone might not want to go back. I'm guessing you're not one of those."

"Ngh... they'd just showed up right before I left actually. But we hadn't really figured out what was going on there. Sounds like you guys have been figuring those out. They were disturbing, to say the least. I'm not huge on mental communication." There was a specific resident known for abusing it back in Gensokyo, so it made her nervous... even if she was too much of a gossip so she still used them.

Hmm, it was definitely possible that someone here didn't wish to go home due to their home being worse than the Void. Being worse than the Void is kind of a high bar to cross, though...

"It would pose problems if the thoughts of people were transmitted without their permission." Which definitely happened once or twice before people realized what the Ley Lines actually did. "But I do not believe anyone here truly malicious enough to exploit it."

Viridi was annoying, but she only wanted veneration and didn't plot anything outrightly evil.

Yeah, well, her life back home was absolutely not the most pleasant, so in a lot of ways this place was an improvement. Old Hell was sort of a cesspool, even t the best of times.

"Bad news there is that they probably will be, at least to start. This world always figures things out piecemeal. So, inevitably there's screw ups." She did not, however, make promises about exploitation. She knew Akechi, after all. "But it's been pretty consistent about eventually getting there if we whine about it enough. Things are burning properly again after all."

"Oh? Did you proposition the Void anywhere?"

He knew that the Void learned by observing, but they've always lacked a channel to directly ask it for anything. What he conceptualized was that it had a very slow recognition process, like sedimentation or accretion. Zhongli has a lot of time to wait, but most people here do not.

"Spent about a month convincing my water clock to tell time properly. It started floating more naturally not long after, so yeah... Guess you could say I did." There'd also been the whole thing about convincing fire to actually burn paper up.

"If you can show it what it's supposed to be doing, it seems to figure it out faster, but it still takes repetition. Kind of annoying, but I'm getting used to it."

Hm, so there wasn't a specific place. He takes note of that - a month is a very short time to him, so he could keep up with suggesting something basic and see if it takes effect.

Zhongli nods.

"I see. Thank you for the information." Filing it away for future plans... "It seems we are resigned to teaching the Void like how one would a child."

That's all his important questions, so Parsee can ask him more in return if she wants to.

"Yeah it's basically like working with a baby. They're figuring out the basics, but they're getting faster. We'll see how fast they get." The allusion was accurate enough if you asked her. It really was like a colossal child creating its own world.

"Anyone else missing?" Because honestly? That was the mot important thing for her right this instant.

"Two of the teenagers from Earth, I believe. Other than them, I am not aware."

Zhongli often spends his time alone and outside, so it's hard for him to keep tabs on the other residents. Except for Venti. They've known each other for too long to not gravitate together.

"Which two." She was suddenly in his face. Starring right into his eyes and quivering a little. She almost didn't need to ask. Part of her just kind of ... knew. And the expression she had said she wasn't going to be happy about the answer. She had a lot of pent up confusion about those two...

Zhongli looks thoughtful for a moment, before: "Their names were Shouyou Hinata and Hajime Iwaizumi." Rather ordinary kids they were, so they didn't quite attract Zhongli's attention. It seems like Parsee knew them a lot more.

"Oh... uh... sorry," she breathed a visible sigh of relief and took a step back, shaking a little. Her hand was going through her hair and she closed her eyes. "I know it's always possible someone I know well will disappear. I don't react well... I'm trying to work on it, but it's not easy. Sorry. I don't think I knew those two."

No, not Ren. Not Akechi... though that would come up soon enough.

Zhongli understands. It's always difficult when one loses a friend, especially since the nature of the Void meant that one would not know if they will ever return.

"I see. They seemed to be from a non-magical world. Perhaps it was better for them."

People who aren't accustomed to having magic tend to be vulnerable to its dangers. The Void is rather harmless, but it still caused potentially lethal phenomena.

It didn't help with how jealous or possessive she could be at times. That tended to exacerbate things more than a little when she was involved. But, for now, she was settling down.

"It'll be more normal, if that's their worry. I suppose people like me and I assume you know how to handle a little bit of weirdness now and again." That was putting it mildly in her case.

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pragmatism - 2021-03-07 15:10 (UTC) - Expand

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bridge_princess - 2021-03-07 17:14 (UTC) - Expand

Let me Crawl Inside Your Veins (Wide Open)

Re: heavenly blanc

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(Matt Foley being loud in the video linked)

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