[nie huaisang eventually wanders into the kitchen, because a man's got to eat even if he's mainly just looking for some kind of snack... he probably wandered over from the mess hall or something after noticing he wasn't here alone.
he opens his mouth to greet him-]
Are you leaving room for anyone else, or taking up space all day?
[-and groans, rubbing at his temples.]
I'm sorry-! I really can't help it, I just have to tell you that your taste in men is biased--
[he's probably like, in the kitchen/mess hall to get a snack or some tea-- just immediately yelping and throwing his hands up in the same gesture. what!!]
Wh- keep my head out of yours?! What are you--
[oh. hm. he frowns, brow knitting.]
Oh, don't worry, I'll just stay over here! That should be safe, shouldn't it?
[Probably not. Because today, you see, is the best day ever.
Like a lot of mornings (or, some mornings, anyway, you're rarely the one actually awake first), you’re shaking the shoulder of someone awake. She’s familiar, looking almost exactly like you - but her hair is shorter, her body more feminine, and also currently asleep.
“Is today the day?”
You grin back at her. You’ve brought the dankest breakfast imaginable - all the proper food groups: waffles AND pancakes, double carbs, eggs scrambled exactly the way they should be, bacon, french toast, a mimosa. You’ve outdone yourself, which is saying something considering you have a very long history of outdoing yourself constantly, every day.
“It’s today.”
The rest of the day is kind of a blur - it’s strangely empty on this planet, there’s no other souls here but the ones you know, but you don’t register that as strange at this point - you’re taking some truly dope naps, you’re pranking another of the crew, you’re blasting apart the DMV with some sickness fireballs — mostly, what you remember, is the laughter, the ease of it.
The next part comes more clearly into focus, because the smell of the special birthday turkey your aunt had taught you how to make sharpens it to a point. You’re sitting across the table from her - your reflection - and she’s smiling in a way that’s unlike her. It’s soft and gentle, instead of all fiery delight.
“You did good, Taako. I… here in a couple days, Barry and I are going to do something, and, I want you to be there for it. We’re— don’t freak out, promise me.”
You think you respond, but you don’t remember what you said. You just grip the (red) robe you’re wearing in your hands, twisting them tightly.
“We’re gonna become liches, Taako. And that sounds— that sounds way scarier than it actually is, but… we’re- we’re going to take our living essence, our… souls… and combine it with our magical essence and… we’re gonna become something… new. Something… something powerful. And… we’ll still be Barry and Lup, I’ll still inhabit my body— unless I’m killed— and then things are going to get a little spooky, and, it should stick. If we do this, the next cycle, we’re still liches. The— the risk is— it’s hard to combine your soul with raw power and keep your mind right. You need something keeping your feet on the ground. An… emotional anchor. And when I go all ghosty, I need to have things to remember to hold on to who I am. Today is… it’s gonna be one of those memories.”
You think you’re panicking now.
“Barry already gave me a day. And… I love him, Taako, with all of my heart, but you… I needed a day from you, because you are my heart. You know that, right?”
And it’s that. That’s the part that that seems the most in focus here. It rings in your head, and you grin and smile and joke-
“Well, lemme just say, bearing all that, I’m really happy I saved one last surprise: …this very large bottle of Grey Goose. I— now don’t— I know— it wasn’t too much, I conjured it, again, but it should still get the job done.”
But under the table, your legs are shaking so badly you’re scared you’re going to give yourself away, and your heart is pounding so loud you think she might be able to actually hear it, and you can't actually breathe, and that you might just die and not in a cool lich way—
[that's-- it's a lot, in multiple ways. he didn't know taako had a sibling at all, for one thing, but it's... there's a weird mix of emotions that well up in response to experiencing this, because it's something huaisang can sort of understand by virtue of being a sibling himself but also definitely can't.
he and his brother would do anything for each other, sure, but it was always different. they wouldn't have had something like this. so he's-- okay, not that he would ever admit it, he's jealous of that sort of connection, the kind that comes with that laughter and ease. mixed with what she says about her plans, about emotional anchors and keeping your mind right when combined with raw power (about you are my heart-
it just... it hits buttons he didn't really expect to be hit at whatever-o'-clock in the day. at any o'clock. it's over, and he blinks, and just-- quickly swipes a sleeve over his eyes and immediately pretends he absolutely did not have to do that.
breathe, he reminds himself, take just a second.]
Ah- I didn't realize you had... are you just very close in age, or were you born together?
[Taako recoils, pulling his hat down farther over his head, taking a second - he’s been remembering this one a lot recently, so it can’t be that much of a surprise, but something strikes him off about someone else being able to shed a tear about it.]
Oh, well, not a problem. Nothing to really, uh, succeed, on account of the whole poor orphan thing.
[SHRUG.]
I . . . I know you don’t know my backstory, but woof! What a loaded question. Yes and no? Kind of used to it, because I thought I was always alone, but then, surprise, I wasn’t!
[the mention of the poor orphan thing gets a curious tilt of his head, because he's not certain he'd have guessed-- but, well, he doesn't pry about that right now. he's more curious about the rest of it, and maybe also would rather talk more about taako before he inevitably gets memory doxxed himself, he Knows it's happening at some point.]
-that sounds like it would be worse than just being separated, really. Finding out you aren't and then being thrown into-- [a vague gesture around.] This entire mess.
It was a whole amnesia thing, very messy, hard to explain, but— Yeah. I agree, shit sucks! Think it’s extremely unfair I’ve had not one, not two, but three horrible murder based games! Thank for you understanding that, as always, Taako is the one hurt most by this.
but he can't go undoxxed forever, either-- and as soon as he's fetched a cup and set it on the counter, there it goes, their perspectives both shifting.]
[everything has been coming to a head, lately. the chief cultivator, jin guangyao, has finally (through your own efforts) been pinned as your brother's murderer. the pieces of his body have all been located and rejoined, save for the most important one-- you've been entrusted with the care of your brother's headless body, kept sealed to contain the resentful energy driving it mindlessly toward revenge.
you can understand the feeling. maybe you're a little jealous of how easy it must be to think of nothing else, to not have to balance a game board full of pieces that could tip over at any moment.
they never really expected you to find his head yourself. they're not going to see it coming when you let him loose again to go put an end to his murderer like he deserves to. but first, he has to be repaired, and you're putting every bit of care you have into your work to stitch his head back into place on his body, ignoring the needle when it pricks your thumb, ignoring your eyes when they sting and threaten to spill over. he doesn't look quite like he did when he was alive-- his skin is gray, his dark hair dull. but you still know this face so, so well.
you know he knows it's you too, because even a mindless fierce corpse recognizes their own bloodline. you know he won't understand anything you say, but you can hope that he does-- so you talk to him anyway. you say you know this isn't what he wanted for you. you know this isn't the path he'd have wanted you to take, and it's too underhanded to be one he'd take himself. would you be disappointed, da-ge, that i can't kill him with my own hands?
you remember him asking you a million times-- huaisang, where is your saber? and telling him a million times i don't know, i misplaced it, i left it in my room, i can't practice today! you ask him if he understands why. you ask him if he remembers the last time the two of you fought over it, before he died-- you never got a chance to make up. does he know you're sorry? does he know you realized then that something must be wrong? does he know how long you've spent trying to exact the only form of justice for it that you can?
does he know you would break every fucking thing for his sake, and does he know you don't regret the things you've done?
you aren't sure if you hope the answer is yes or no. you just keep sewing.
[boy, that's the mood, huh? nie huaisang isn't very eloquent about it either-- it's unpleasant to remember, never mind someone else seeing it. thanks, memshare, he hates it.]
Ah- you know, I think the tea I was looking for is over there, if you could just pass it over...
[hm. he just kind of taps his fingers on his folded arms for a second.]
Let me ask you something too. Curiosity for curiosity. What do you think of the idea that there's-- any other result, than what we've been given so far?
[Okay, fair question. Taako's expression kind of drops for a second, rolling his neck while he thinks it over.]
I-- I guess you don't know me, or haven't heard about what I did in the last game, but. I dunno. I'm not really a guy that's built to accept what's put in front of me. I don't like the meal I'll send it back to the, uh, chef. So, I'm not of fan of what's being served is what I'll say. There's got to be another way, and we just . . . haven't figured it out yet.
...I don't normally find that there's much to work with, beyond what one already has.
[a slight shake of his head, his arms remaining folded.]
No one has been willing to actually play this game. At two deaths per week, you understand what a long time we were looking at before finally being left with one team, don't you? Even if Purple Heart continued to be unlucky. Longer than any of us were ever trapped in our original games.
People from all three teams died, so I don't see how it would be a hint.
[any team could be down another person if he dies? it's fine.]
And I could, but it'd be just as easy to unintentionally take out my own. Sharing with people it wasn't intended to go to, directly poisoning people I didn't know were my teammates... well, and getting my hands on poison in the first place.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
W2, FRIDAY
he opens his mouth to greet him-]
Are you leaving room for anyone else, or taking up space all day?
[-and groans, rubbing at his temples.]
I'm sorry-! I really can't help it, I just have to tell you that your taste in men is biased--
Ugh.
no subject
[WHY ARE YOU ALL BEING SO RUDE.]
no subject
[fuck!]
--that's not an invitation, I swear!
no subject
Sounds like an invitation, my dude! What the hell!
no subject
[he's backing away, trying to scoot out of slapping range, fan held up like a makeshift shield. please don't, his face is too nice to be slapped!!]
no subject
Yeah, it is, when it’s been worn down by like three of you fucks!
no subject
It's hardly our fault that-- you can't control yourself-- no, that we're saying such things!
no subject
‘Least I know the things you’re saying aren’t necessarily truths from the bottom of your heart. Was really about to get my feeling hurt.
no subject
[at least he's no longer being chased, though he still doesn't look pleased about constantly talking shit. where anyone can hear it, anyway.]
Ah, did you stay anywhere last night-?
[he seems normal so far.]
WEEK 3 - MEMSHARE
If he's wandering anywhere close to Taako, he's trying to move away - holding his hands up in self-defense against! memories!]
Hey! Back off! And keep your head out of mine!
no subject
Wh- keep my head out of yours?! What are you--
[oh. hm. he frowns, brow knitting.]
Oh, don't worry, I'll just stay over here! That should be safe, shouldn't it?
[famous last words, probably.]
no subject
[Probably not. Because today, you see, is the best day ever.
Like a lot of mornings (or, some mornings, anyway, you're rarely the one actually awake first), you’re shaking the shoulder of someone awake. She’s familiar, looking almost exactly like you - but her hair is shorter, her body more feminine, and also currently asleep.
“Is today the day?”
You grin back at her. You’ve brought the dankest breakfast imaginable - all the proper food groups: waffles AND pancakes, double carbs, eggs scrambled exactly the way they should be, bacon, french toast, a mimosa. You’ve outdone yourself, which is saying something considering you have a very long history of outdoing yourself constantly, every day.
“It’s today.”
The rest of the day is kind of a blur - it’s strangely empty on this planet, there’s no other souls here but the ones you know, but you don’t register that as strange at this point - you’re taking some truly dope naps, you’re pranking another of the crew, you’re blasting apart the DMV with some sickness fireballs — mostly, what you remember, is the laughter, the ease of it.
The next part comes more clearly into focus, because the smell of the special birthday turkey your aunt had taught you how to make sharpens it to a point. You’re sitting across the table from her - your reflection - and she’s smiling in a way that’s unlike her. It’s soft and gentle, instead of all fiery delight.
“You did good, Taako. I… here in a couple days, Barry and I are going to do something, and, I want you to be there for it. We’re— don’t freak out, promise me.”
You think you respond, but you don’t remember what you said. You just grip the (red) robe you’re wearing in your hands, twisting them tightly.
“We’re gonna become liches, Taako. And that sounds— that sounds way scarier than it actually is, but… we’re- we’re going to take our living essence, our… souls… and combine it with our magical essence and… we’re gonna become something… new. Something… something powerful. And… we’ll still be Barry and Lup, I’ll still inhabit my body— unless I’m killed— and then things are going to get a little spooky, and, it should stick. If we do this, the next cycle, we’re still liches. The— the risk is— it’s hard to combine your soul with raw power and keep your mind right. You need something keeping your feet on the ground. An… emotional anchor. And when I go all ghosty, I need to have things to remember to hold on to who I am. Today is… it’s gonna be one of those memories.”
You think you’re panicking now.
“Barry already gave me a day. And… I love him, Taako, with all of my heart, but you… I needed a day from you, because you are my heart. You know that, right?”
And it’s that. That’s the part that that seems the most in focus here. It rings in your head, and you grin and smile and joke-
“Well, lemme just say, bearing all that, I’m really happy I saved one last surprise: …this very large bottle of Grey Goose. I— now don’t— I know— it wasn’t too much, I conjured it, again, but it should still get the job done.”
But under the table, your legs are shaking so badly you’re scared you’re going to give yourself away, and your heart is pounding so loud you think she might be able to actually hear it, and you can't actually breathe, and that you might just die and not in a cool lich way—
And then it’s over.]
no subject
he and his brother would do anything for each other, sure, but it was always different. they wouldn't have had something like this. so he's-- okay, not that he would ever admit it, he's jealous of that sort of connection, the kind that comes with that laughter and ease. mixed with what she says about her plans, about emotional anchors and keeping your mind right when combined with raw power (about you are my heart-
it just... it hits buttons he didn't really expect to be hit at whatever-o'-clock in the day. at any o'clock. it's over, and he blinks, and just-- quickly swipes a sleeve over his eyes and immediately pretends he absolutely did not have to do that.
breathe, he reminds himself, take just a second.]
Ah- I didn't realize you had... are you just very close in age, or were you born together?
[he doesn't know many twins, all right.]
no subject
Um. Twins. Yeah.
no subject
I see-- I never really knew any. Bad for lines of succession, that sort of thing.
[a slight pause, there. he busies himself digging through a cupboard.]
...is it strange for you, then? To be here alone.
no subject
[SHRUG.]
I . . . I know you don’t know my backstory, but woof! What a loaded question. Yes and no? Kind of used to it, because I thought I was always alone, but then, surprise, I wasn’t!
no subject
-that sounds like it would be worse than just being separated, really. Finding out you aren't and then being thrown into-- [a vague gesture around.] This entire mess.
no subject
no subject
[he's. skipping over that last part, sorry taako.
but he can't go undoxxed forever, either-- and as soon as he's fetched a cup and set it on the counter, there it goes, their perspectives both shifting.]
[everything has been coming to a head, lately. the chief cultivator, jin guangyao, has finally (through your own efforts) been pinned as your brother's murderer. the pieces of his body have all been located and rejoined, save for the most important one-- you've been entrusted with the care of your brother's headless body, kept sealed to contain the resentful energy driving it mindlessly toward revenge.
you can understand the feeling. maybe you're a little jealous of how easy it must be to think of nothing else, to not have to balance a game board full of pieces that could tip over at any moment.
they never really expected you to find his head yourself. they're not going to see it coming when you let him loose again to go put an end to his murderer like he deserves to. but first, he has to be repaired, and you're putting every bit of care you have into your work to stitch his head back into place on his body, ignoring the needle when it pricks your thumb, ignoring your eyes when they sting and threaten to spill over. he doesn't look quite like he did when he was alive-- his skin is gray, his dark hair dull. but you still know this face so, so well.
you know he knows it's you too, because even a mindless fierce corpse recognizes their own bloodline. you know he won't understand anything you say, but you can hope that he does-- so you talk to him anyway. you say you know this isn't what he wanted for you. you know this isn't the path he'd have wanted you to take, and it's too underhanded to be one he'd take himself. would you be disappointed, da-ge, that i can't kill him with my own hands?
you remember him asking you a million times-- huaisang, where is your saber? and telling him a million times i don't know, i misplaced it, i left it in my room, i can't practice today! you ask him if he understands why. you ask him if he remembers the last time the two of you fought over it, before he died-- you never got a chance to make up. does he know you're sorry? does he know you realized then that something must be wrong? does he know how long you've spent trying to exact the only form of justice for it that you can?
does he know you would break every fucking thing for his sake, and does he know you don't regret the things you've done?
you aren't sure if you hope the answer is yes or no. you just keep sewing.
soon, it's all going to be over.]
no subject
Uh.
no subject
Ah- you know, I think the tea I was looking for is over there, if you could just pass it over...
WEEK 3 - SAT POST TRIAL
Um. C-cool digs?
[smooth.]
no subject
[he says that very tiredly, though.]
no subject
[Moving to sit on the ground in front of the cell then? If NHS has enough energy to make wiseacre cracks, he's probably okay to talk then.]
Um. Can you answer why, or nah?
no subject
I can. But I wasn't lying when I told them that knowing won't help them learn a thing.
no subject
no subject
Let me ask you something too. Curiosity for curiosity. What do you think of the idea that there's-- any other result, than what we've been given so far?
no subject
I-- I guess you don't know me, or haven't heard about what I did in the last game, but. I dunno. I'm not really a guy that's built to accept what's put in front of me. I don't like the meal I'll send it back to the, uh, chef. So, I'm not of fan of what's being served is what I'll say. There's got to be another way, and we just . . . haven't figured it out yet.
no subject
[a slight shake of his head, his arms remaining folded.]
No one has been willing to actually play this game. At two deaths per week, you understand what a long time we were looking at before finally being left with one team, don't you? Even if Purple Heart continued to be unlucky. Longer than any of us were ever trapped in our original games.
no subject
[Hm.]
Time is the advantage we have though. If you wanted to figure out something else?
no subject
[he shrugs, winces when that turns out to hurt. fuck.]
But we'll be down another anyway, with me gone after tomorrow.
Time can be just as much a disadvantage, anyway. This will wear on people, given enough of it.
no subject
[Well. Maybe not.]
If you were gonna try for a large number at once, I'd go for a poisoning. Just a tip for next time!
no subject
[any team could be down another person if he dies? it's fine.]
And I could, but it'd be just as easy to unintentionally take out my own. Sharing with people it wasn't intended to go to, directly poisoning people I didn't know were my teammates... well, and getting my hands on poison in the first place.
no subject
[Hm.]
Though, that's true. Hey. So, why'd Percy attack Jason?
no subject
no subject
no subject