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.
I wouldn't say I disagree with your master. [ because he does think there's some truth to that. ] But I would say that sometimes finding that balance is almost harder than figuring out the problems in the first place.
[ thus sometimes you just go backwards without meaning to. ]
...we can only do our best. And when it gets too weird or unmanageable for whatever the problem is, at least we have...a...tree? [ he sort of grins like he realizes it's dumb to say it like that. ] You get it.
An alliance? [ he isn't so much surprised by the words but more by the words coming from shenhe. the competition's going to start soon, and it means they'll both have to be a little more secretive about things and on-point for their teams.
but, then again...there's still the fact that nothing says you can't help out another person sometimes as long as you do what you have to do. hysterically this is an alliance about a fucking tree of all things, but it's kind of a bigger thing than that in jonas's head. it's with that in mind that he takes her hand to shake on it. ]
Okay. Consider us an alliance to speak for the tree. Or whatever.
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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.
no subject
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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[ thus sometimes you just go backwards without meaning to. ]
...we can only do our best. And when it gets too weird or unmanageable for whatever the problem is, at least we have...a...tree? [ he sort of grins like he realizes it's dumb to say it like that. ] You get it.
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We do have a tree. [she holds out her hand to him.] You and I must make an alliance to make sure nothing happens to it in that case.
[ylfa told her about alliances and now she's All About Them]
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An alliance? [ he isn't so much surprised by the words but more by the words coming from shenhe. the competition's going to start soon, and it means they'll both have to be a little more secretive about things and on-point for their teams.
but, then again...there's still the fact that nothing says you can't help out another person sometimes as long as you do what you have to do. hysterically this is an alliance about a fucking tree of all things, but it's kind of a bigger thing than that in jonas's head. it's with that in mind that he takes her hand to shake on it. ]
Okay. Consider us an alliance to speak for the tree. Or whatever.