PC CATCHALL FOR XIE LIAN

[greatdeduction]

Comments

[greatdeduction]

Ah! Hello!

[He's so surprised he puts a whole hand through the tower and it partially collapses!]

.....Oh, dear.

[yueshen]

[ oh

oops. ]

Aha... erm, my apologies... I didn't mean to startle you.... [ this is a familiar scenario, actually. ] Your poor...was that a tower?

[greatdeduction]

Ah, come no, don't apologize. A sculpture like this is mean to fall, after all.

[And he nods, moving to build it up again.]

Yes, indeed! The tower in town. Would you like to help me build it up?

[yueshen]

[ ah... the corner of his mouth lifts, a little. ]

...Alright. [ and he will come sort of crouch in the sand! xie lian doesn't just plop down. san lang remains around his neck for now, eyeing sholmes's hare. ]

I've never built one of these out of sand, before, so I hope you'll forgive my ignorance on how.

[greatdeduction]

Oh, my dear boy, its elementary. Sand is a particulate substance that binds easily with water. All one needs to do is, well, add water and mold it to one's desires.

[Though he has obvioualy places some sticks within the structure to keep a framework in it.]

Have you ever been to a beach, before?

[yueshen]

I have, yes. I've done quite a bit of traveling.

[ even at this young age! but wow, this is a very neat activity from this definitely very normal man. xie lian squats down and frowns at his hands for a moment, before starting to build up a little sand pile? he's watching sholmes curiously. ]

And... I've built towers, but - well. There was a game I used to play, when I was much younger, that involved something quite similar, is all.

[greatdeduction]

You seem like the type, somehow. You seem like someone who would be restless staying in one spot. Not unlike myself! Haha!

[At least he's aware? Also wow I can mobile tag spell words.]

Oh? And what game is that?

[yueshen]

Mm.... something like that. It would depend on the spot, I suppose.

[ he smiles, though, and the look on xie lian's face shifts to something more nostalgic. ]

It was with golden foils. The goal was simply to build the tallest towers possible - the foils were very delicate, and it takes a very steady hand not to break the or destroy your tower on the spot. I liked it quite a bit when I was little.

[greatdeduction]

Golden foils, hm? Like sheets of paper?

[A hum, as he molds some sand into what looks to be a misshapen blob of one of the angels on the tower.]

That sounds like quite a game of patience and skill. Is there a reason you don't play it anymore? Surely age can't be a factor.

[yueshen]

Exactly.

[ oh... is this...well. maybe it's still in progress? he's working hard. xie lian will continue making his very tall tower piece. ]

-- And... well, I simply had other interests. Age is the factor, really, as I no longer had the time or interest to devote to it anymore.

[greatdeduction]

How sad. The follies of youth are so fleeting. Which is why I never try to lose sight of them, myself.

[A wink.]

But in the case of many adults, I assume it was the power of responsibility that put its iron foot down on such matters?

[yueshen]

Oh, no, not really. I chose to.

[ what is wrong with this child, actually ]

[greatdeduction]

...


[He looks almost appalled.]

You threw away your childhood for what? Just because?

[yueshen]

[ a smile, there, actually.]

Because, I started to learn how to cultivate, and I fell in love with it.

[greatdeduction]

[???]

[???????]

Crops?

[yueshen]

[ this joke never gets old

xie lian, however, is not sure whether to laugh or cry. ]

Ah, no, not quite. Cultivation is a form of martial arts - it is balancing your physical and mental state to a state of perfection through meditation and training.

[greatdeduction]

Martial arts, you say? That is an interesting term for it, but...the cultivation of one's body instead of a field of crops....hm. I suppose the logic is in order.

[He's nodding to himself.]

Is it difficult, this "cultivation"?

[yueshen]

It is, but - it is very achievable by anyone who works hard and trains hard!

[ xie lian nods, enthusiastic! he's starting to perk up even further, just talking about cultivation. what a fucking nerd. ] That's part of what makes it wonderful.

[greatdeduction]

You sound like a sincere fan, my dear fellow.

[Patting at the tower of sand.]

What's the goal of it all? To be the best "you" you can be?

[yueshen]

When you put it like that, I suppose so.

[ he's never thought of it that way before, but, sholmes has a point. he can't help it... martial arts are cool...

and, to the goal question, he says - ] For some, to cultivate to immortality. For others, to ascend to godhood. For even others, to show devotion to a god of some kind. I suppose it depends on the cultivator.

[greatdeduction]

Pardon? Godhood? You can do that through the training of the self?

[That sounds fake, but Sholmes will entertain the young man for now.]

And you? What sort of cultivator are you, in that regard?

[yueshen]

Yes, though, only a middle official.

[ like this is normal??????? anyway. he pauses where he's stacking up the tower even taller, glancing down at it, his expression softening.]

... I think, now to just put it to good use. And to help people with it, where I can.

[greatdeduction]

Ah. A hierarchy?

[Is what he assumes, in that descriptor.]

That's very noble of you. Though, martial arts assumes fighting...are you off fighting criminals for the sake of the innocent?

[yueshen]

Mm... detaining them, sometimes. Mostly not humans, however. Demons, or resentful spirits.

[ his expression tightens a little. ] Ghosts and curses.

[greatdeduction]

[...]

[He pauses. Irene looks up and her little hare nose twitches as she glances over at Xie Lian.]

That sounds quite dark, my dear fellow. Though...I simply can't help but imagining you grabbing a ghost by the neck and flinging it a hundred meters away! Like....hah! [PUNCHING THE AIR!!]