[ WE DID IT. now we harass pixi into destroying ikea furniture to build an actual treehouse. ]
Thanks. I might hide out here when I really don't feel like doing what we've been doing. [ let him have his decompression tree. both of you stop claiming the tree. ]
So...Liyue's at the base of the mountains? Nahida told me a little about Sumeru. [ and they both mentioned teyvat, so he's figured that out. ]
I will make sure nobody bothers you if you do. [she tells him, settling down in the branches. depending on how close he is she'll lean against him, because touch week.]
It is. It borders Sumeru, but I've never been. [she says, looking out over the city.] I only recently even visited Liyue Harbor.
[ the real w0 kill is us bc pixi murders us for asking. also help she is. so serious about it? he looks a little surprised by it, but he is not surprised by the way she leans against him for some reason. hm. weird. he settles and adjusts a little so she's more comfortable. ]
Don't worry too much. I can take care of it. [ but he doesn't linger on that. ] Tell me about Liyue Harbor? Must've been an important reason to visit if you left the mountains to go.
[shenhe isn't good at really... sensing how other people are feeling, or how their emotions work. but words help, and she remembers when people tell her things. hiding out is what she does when she's overwhelmed, so... if he needs space, she can make sure that he gets it.
she doesn't really do things for other people a lot, but she's trying to be a little better.]
It's a long story. [she says, closing her eyes.] Liyue was attacked by an ancient god, some time ago, and to stop the attack, the Tianquan sent her Jade Chamber as a projectile. It defeated the god, but it destroyed the structure.
My Master sent me to aid in the contest that was held to rebuild to Jade Chamber. I hadn't planned on getting heavily involved until I met the Traveler.
[ he appreciates that she doesn't pry further, really. like she just kind of gets what he's saying without him actually saying it, and that she so easily answers the question.
he's a little less surprised hearing about ancient gods and everything after talking to half the people here. but there's some stuff that makes sense, too. ]
So...the ruler of the nation threw her house at a god to save the her people, it broke, and you were sent to help out. Had you ever even met this...what'd you call it, Tianquan, before that? And who's the Traveler?
Yes. And... no, I had never met anybody in Liyue. [her voice is a little softer here.] It was the first time I had really spoken to another human.
[sure, she'd had brief conversations with bandits but for the most part - the only people she'd even known in her life were the adepti.]
The Traveler is an extraordinary woman. [uses lumine bc genshin's marketing team can't stop me from liking girls] She came to Liyue in search of her brother.
[she tucks her hair behind her ear.] She is the first friend I ever made.
[ so he gets that her master is maybe a different kind of god, but he's not going to ask entirely. that's shenhe's story to share if she wants. ]
Then that must've been kind of scary, actually. [ any new situation like that would be enough to unnerve a person. bless lumine though. he just accepts that this woman solely goes by a title considering vash the stampede and livio the doublefang are running around. ] She must be special if you're actually calling her a friend.
[ he doesn't know shenhe well, but...he can sort of guess they're similar in the way that they only sincerely throw out the word "friend" in serious situations. ]
[god jonas really is so normie but he's taking all this buckwild shit like a champ]
She is. [special, shenhe means. she thinks that maybe friend is a concept she'd like to reach for, but isn't always sure how to approach.
as for the rest:] A while. I had no interest in the competition - I was only there to deliver sigils, but I wanted to help the Traveler. So I did. She stayed for a while after the competition... we saw an opera together.
[ look sometimes you spend a whole night dealing with pissed off ghosts and getting possessed repeatedly and then turning around to wake up dead. eventually you just have to stop thinking about how fucking weird shit is. ]
It's not a bad thing to want to help a person, even if you aren't friends right away. It's...sort of a basis for making friends, I think? And it means becoming closer friends with people anyway. [ ...although. ] An opera?
she thinks about that, though. it's not a bad thing to help people - that's what yun jin said, sort of. that the fact that shenhe was thinking about trying meant that she was closer to being the person she wants to be than she thought.
she swings her legs gently back and forth in the air, slow.]
It was called The Divine Damsel of Devastation. The opera.
[ he doesn't rush her for whatever she's thinking, at least. ]
What was it about? [ maybe that's easier for her to answer. except, hm, wait. ] Maybe that part's less important. Sometimes you can see something you absolutely don't like watching or even really understand but still like it because of the company you're with.
It's fine. It's...pretty obvious we come from really, really different places. So it can't be that boring.
[ it's more that he thinks, for shenhe, this is a good thing for her to practice and do when surrounded by a lot of people that are new to her. mostly because he gets not wanting to always talk about things because it's possible other people won't care about hearing it. ]
it might help that shenhe is a pretty efficient storyteller. and she does need the practice - so while she doesn't get that's what he's doing for her, it is nice of him to do.]
A married couple was very happy together. One of them died, and the other, in a fit of madness, summoned an evil god to bring their loved one back to them. But the monster wanted more than they could give. And so it demanded children be sacrificed to it.
... To stop this evil calamity from destroying her village, a young girl rose with a sword, and soundly defeated the evil with her blade. It's supposed to be a story of a girl becoming a hero.
[ hm, well, this particular story does kind of catch his interest in a few ways even if he's keeping his everything pretty neutral while he listens to her. ]
Sounds like someone didn't read the fine print. [ terrible. ] And it also sounds like that wasn't the end of the story. What...happened to the girl after she killed the monster?
[she's been staring out over the city as she's recounted this - her expression is still serene, as usual.]
Oh, I don't know. I think the story said she was celebrated by the village. [she's not usually a very good liar, but this is easy enough to twist.] The moral was more about the courage of a normal person becoming something extraordinary for... hm, love, maybe.
At least, I think it was. I admit I'm still learning how this all works.
[ jonas doesn't think there's anything amiss about this, even though i do. ]
What, how love and courage and all of that works? Or how stories translate into things people are supposed to relate to? [ because she'd said she'd never met another human prior to going to liyue, so he figures it could be either or. ]
[ huh. she really is out here still learning about emotions isn't she. he's quiet again for a second to think that over. ]
I don't know if this is a good or a bad thing to hear, but there's a lot of people who still don't really get how it all works either. But it's still something you can learn.
[ if the question startles him, he doesn't really let that show. rather, he considers it because he's not so sure. ]
...you could say it's more...I'm unlearning certain things, and relearning them in a different way. Or I'm trying to. It's been. [ ...word choice. ] A process.
And now that we're here there's probably even more time for that process to...process. [ yeah. ] I don't know. Maybe it's not as important with what else is going on.
I think it is. [she looks out back at the city.] Master told me a long time ago that it's possible to attack more than one problem at once if you balance it right. If you don't, they split into very small problems that overwhelm you.
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It's at least a little like Liyue. [she says wryly.] You are welcome up here at any time.
[don't just claim the tree]
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Thanks. I might hide out here when I really don't feel like doing what we've been doing. [ let him have his decompression tree. both of you stop claiming the tree. ]
So...Liyue's at the base of the mountains? Nahida told me a little about Sumeru. [ and they both mentioned teyvat, so he's figured that out. ]
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I will make sure nobody bothers you if you do. [she tells him, settling down in the branches. depending on how close he is she'll lean against him, because touch week.]
It is. It borders Sumeru, but I've never been. [she says, looking out over the city.] I only recently even visited Liyue Harbor.
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Don't worry too much. I can take care of it. [ but he doesn't linger on that. ] Tell me about Liyue Harbor? Must've been an important reason to visit if you left the mountains to go.
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she doesn't really do things for other people a lot, but she's trying to be a little better.]
It's a long story. [she says, closing her eyes.] Liyue was attacked by an ancient god, some time ago, and to stop the attack, the Tianquan sent her Jade Chamber as a projectile. It defeated the god, but it destroyed the structure.
My Master sent me to aid in the contest that was held to rebuild to Jade Chamber. I hadn't planned on getting heavily involved until I met the Traveler.
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he's a little less surprised hearing about ancient gods and everything after talking to half the people here. but there's some stuff that makes sense, too. ]
So...the ruler of the nation threw her house at a god to save the her people, it broke, and you were sent to help out. Had you ever even met this...what'd you call it, Tianquan, before that? And who's the Traveler?
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[sure, she'd had brief conversations with bandits but for the most part - the only people she'd even known in her life were the adepti.]
The Traveler is an extraordinary woman. [uses lumine bc genshin's marketing team can't stop me from liking girls] She came to Liyue in search of her brother.
[she tucks her hair behind her ear.] She is the first friend I ever made.
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Then that must've been kind of scary, actually. [ any new situation like that would be enough to unnerve a person. bless lumine though. he just accepts that this woman solely goes by a title considering vash the stampede and livio the doublefang are running around. ] She must be special if you're actually calling her a friend.
[ he doesn't know shenhe well, but...he can sort of guess they're similar in the way that they only sincerely throw out the word "friend" in serious situations. ]
How long did she stay in Liyue with you?
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She is. [special, shenhe means. she thinks that maybe friend is a concept she'd like to reach for, but isn't always sure how to approach.
as for the rest:] A while. I had no interest in the competition - I was only there to deliver sigils, but I wanted to help the Traveler. So I did. She stayed for a while after the competition... we saw an opera together.
It was nice.
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It's not a bad thing to want to help a person, even if you aren't friends right away. It's...sort of a basis for making friends, I think? And it means becoming closer friends with people anyway. [ ...although. ] An opera?
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she thinks about that, though. it's not a bad thing to help people - that's what yun jin said, sort of. that the fact that shenhe was thinking about trying meant that she was closer to being the person she wants to be than she thought.
she swings her legs gently back and forth in the air, slow.]
It was called The Divine Damsel of Devastation. The opera.
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What was it about? [ maybe that's easier for her to answer. except, hm, wait. ] Maybe that part's less important. Sometimes you can see something you absolutely don't like watching or even really understand but still like it because of the company you're with.
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You're right. Company can make all the difference.
I don't mind telling you about it, though. It's a nice story. But I wouldn't want to bore you.
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but. ]
It's fine. It's...pretty obvious we come from really, really different places. So it can't be that boring.
[ it's more that he thinks, for shenhe, this is a good thing for her to practice and do when surrounded by a lot of people that are new to her. mostly because he gets not wanting to always talk about things because it's possible other people won't care about hearing it. ]
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it might help that shenhe is a pretty efficient storyteller. and she does need the practice - so while she doesn't get that's what he's doing for her, it is nice of him to do.]
A married couple was very happy together. One of them died, and the other, in a fit of madness, summoned an evil god to bring their loved one back to them. But the monster wanted more than they could give. And so it demanded children be sacrificed to it.
... To stop this evil calamity from destroying her village, a young girl rose with a sword, and soundly defeated the evil with her blade. It's supposed to be a story of a girl becoming a hero.
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Sounds like someone didn't read the fine print. [ terrible. ] And it also sounds like that wasn't the end of the story. What...happened to the girl after she killed the monster?
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Oh, I don't know. I think the story said she was celebrated by the village. [she's not usually a very good liar, but this is easy enough to twist.] The moral was more about the courage of a normal person becoming something extraordinary for... hm, love, maybe.
At least, I think it was. I admit I'm still learning how this all works.
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What, how love and courage and all of that works? Or how stories translate into things people are supposed to relate to? [ because she'd said she'd never met another human prior to going to liyue, so he figures it could be either or. ]
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It comes a little easier than it did before.
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I don't know if this is a good or a bad thing to hear, but there's a lot of people who still don't really get how it all works either. But it's still something you can learn.
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It's a relief, I think. [and then she glances at him.] Are you learning, as well?
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...you could say it's more...I'm unlearning certain things, and relearning them in a different way. Or I'm trying to. It's been. [ ...word choice. ] A process.
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Habits can be hard to break. It is a process.
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I will keep unlearning and learning if you do.
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