[ wherever they are playing starchess and there is a reflective surface, he gives claude a curious smile as he shuffles pieces back to starting position.
no wins for claude yet, but jing yuan thinks he'll be able to succeed in getting a game to a draw, before they leave heaven. (they're probably both projecting their plans intermittently which makes these games funnier, faster, and more exciting. speed chess to beat the thoughtshare.) ]
So, will you explain to me your relationship to Yves...?
And also, I'd avoid the chocolates from Shadowheart in the lobby, if I were you.
It does add some harmless excitement, which I believe benefits most of us.
[ Perhaps not Adolphe. otherwise yeah it is the waiting room for victims/expelled/recent cyoa returnees sprinkled in... it is not bad to have some normalcy in the guise of wanton gossip. ]
Mhm. You're both young, and Yves is very affectionate. I do not mean to patronize, it just doesn't seem uncommon from what I've observed.
[ love blooming... in the mg... anyway they can keep moving starchess pieces while chatting. ]
[ he watches claude's finger tap, before his gaze blinks upwards again. ]
...When you are in a position of authority, it can be quite difficult to form casual ties to others, much less serious ones.
But though this is not the ideal way to do it... [ dying, going to heaven, dying yet again, ] I hope it hasn't been a wholly unpleasant experience. Though companionship may not be something we can always choose for ourselves, I don't believe it is something we ought to be denied, either.
...I find myself quite glad, not to be General for a few weeks. Though at the same time, sometimes it is all I can think of. All that must be resolved, when I return.
Obviously, a lot of what happened here wasn't ideal. But it does still feel like a break from my "real" life. All this free time, and ability to socialize without worrying about rank or politics.
And yet we continue to play starchess in our spare time, not only out of enjoyment, but to keep our minds sharp for warfare. Is that not true?
[ The lives of too many hinge on our decisions.
there is no bitterness or resentment, here. he is just stating things as they are. ]
...But even my youth has spared me some of that responsibility. I was a Cloud Knight, but no one important.
I'm sorry that we differ in that way. It sounds as if you've had to carry a heavy mantle from an early age. ...It doesn't mean I'll take it easy on you.
I never said now. But I promise it won't take hundreds of years of practice. [ tch ] We should play shatranj sometime and you can see how much you'd be gloating then.
[ HE GOT DISTRACTED BECAUSE HE WANTS TO WIN
anyway ]
But you're right that it's a lot of responsibility. But it's what I wanted, so I can't complain. It's hard to gain anything without making sacrifices.
Mhm, I don't doubt you. I'd safely say you're the fastest to pick up this game, of those I've tried to teach.
[ simultaneously a genuine compliment and a tease/distraction tactic. it's amusing to see him so worked up... jing yuan is not above (harmless) emotional manipulation ]
I'd like to learn. There is nothing wrong with being humbled, now and then. [ gives him a FRIENDLY wink as he starts dismantling another one of claude's formations. there is plenty of time for claude to catch on and recover, at least. ]
...How noble of you, though I'd say you're still allowed a complaint or two. I don't imagine those sacrifices are enjoyable to make.
[ anyway! i'm sorry you're not going to understand this, but in a mirror somewhere the bg, a memory interrupts their match and conversation. ]
He was forced to reincarnate into someone else. He's gone.
...But his successor was eventually freed from the Shackling Prison.
[ there's a briefly projected image of a child. a hatchling vidyadhara, who had been kept in that same, lightless cell. condemned to suffer punishment for someone else's crimes. ]
Yes. That child was not allowed to leave the Shackling Prison for some time. It took many years of negotiation for his freedom.
[ sometimes you are imprisoned as an adult, and are tortured to death for your crimes... though "death" in this context means rebirth. so the reincarnated version of you grows up in captivity, essentially.
anyway. puts out paw for eventual memory when you're back... ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
W6 TUESDAY / void
no wins for claude yet, but jing yuan thinks he'll be able to succeed in getting a game to a draw, before they leave heaven. (they're probably both projecting their plans intermittently which makes these games funnier, faster, and more exciting. speed chess to beat the thoughtshare.) ]
So, will you explain to me your relationship to Yves...?
And also, I'd avoid the chocolates from Shadowheart in the lobby, if I were you.
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The question catches him off guard, but not in a defensive way. ]
Don't worry, I've already put myself on a diet. [ lol ] And I didn't think you'd be interested in gossip, Jing Yuan.
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You can say I've recently grown an appetite for it.
[ And, chess can only teach me so much about you. ]
—Ah, perhaps I should clarify there is no ulterior motive, here.
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Hard not to around here, right? [ Like, what else do they have to do.
Thinks about it a moment. ]
We're just friends. Though I suspect some people think otherwise.
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[ Perhaps not Adolphe. otherwise yeah it is the waiting room for victims/expelled/recent cyoa returnees sprinkled in... it is not bad to have some normalcy in the guise of wanton gossip. ]
Mhm. You're both young, and Yves is very affectionate. I do not mean to patronize, it just doesn't seem uncommon from what I've observed.
[ love blooming... in the mg... anyway they can keep moving starchess pieces while chatting. ]
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Tapping his finger against the table. ]
I don't think it's patronizin. [ ... ] Do you think my behaviour suggests otherwise?
[ Do I act like we're not just friends...? ]
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You do seem quite fond. But I understand fondness can be shown, and interpreted in different ways.
People will see what they choose to see. Or, what you allow them to see. No?
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[ Still tapping. ]
I'm just... new to it all, I guess. Having friends. Meeting people without a title and responsibility. I don't want to give anyone the wrong idea.
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...When you are in a position of authority, it can be quite difficult to form casual ties to others, much less serious ones.
But though this is not the ideal way to do it... [ dying, going to heaven, dying yet again, ] I hope it hasn't been a wholly unpleasant experience. Though companionship may not be something we can always choose for ourselves, I don't believe it is something we ought to be denied, either.
...I find myself quite glad, not to be General for a few weeks. Though at the same time, sometimes it is all I can think of. All that must be resolved, when I return.
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I'm much the same.
Obviously, a lot of what happened here wasn't ideal. But it does still feel like a break from my "real" life. All this free time, and ability to socialize without worrying about rank or politics.
It's not really something I've had before.
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[ The lives of too many hinge on our decisions.
there is no bitterness or resentment, here. he is just stating things as they are. ]
...But even my youth has spared me some of that responsibility. I was a Cloud Knight, but no one important.
I'm sorry that we differ in that way. It sounds as if you've had to carry a heavy mantle from an early age. ...It doesn't mean I'll take it easy on you.
[ he is driving claude into check again. ]
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You're playing to keep sharp, I just want to see you eat your pieces out of frustration when I crush you.
[ Sorry, he got heated suddenly. ]
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[ the vague thoughts of haha, the youths these days. ]
Go on then.
[ can he? can he crush him? ]
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[ HE GOT DISTRACTED BECAUSE HE WANTS TO WIN
anyway ]
But you're right that it's a lot of responsibility. But it's what I wanted, so I can't complain. It's hard to gain anything without making sacrifices.
[ For him, it's a personal life. ]
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[ simultaneously a genuine compliment and a tease/distraction tactic. it's amusing to see him so worked up... jing yuan is not above (harmless) emotional manipulation ]
I'd like to learn. There is nothing wrong with being humbled, now and then. [ gives him a FRIENDLY wink as he starts dismantling another one of claude's formations. there is plenty of time for claude to catch on and recover, at least. ]
...How noble of you, though I'd say you're still allowed a complaint or two. I don't imagine those sacrifices are enjoyable to make.
[ anyway! i'm sorry you're not going to understand this, but in a mirror somewhere the bg, a memory interrupts their match and conversation. ]
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He glances over at Jing Yuan. ]
How long ago was that?
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jing yuan is just watching the memory quietly, and he eventually blinks away. ]
...A very long time. But some memories are more stubborn than others.
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I see. What became of that friend?
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...But his successor was eventually freed from the Shackling Prison.
[ there's a briefly projected image of a child. a hatchling vidyadhara, who had been kept in that same, lightless cell. condemned to suffer punishment for someone else's crimes. ]
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They kept a child in that prison?
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[ sometimes you are imprisoned as an adult, and are tortured to death for your crimes... though "death" in this context means rebirth. so the reincarnated version of you grows up in captivity, essentially.
anyway. puts out paw for eventual memory when you're back... ]
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[ I WILL GIVE MEM he is so fascinated by this though... in a negative way ]
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[ isn't it always that way... the distaste is clear. ]
The Vidyadhara council wanted to use him for their own gain. However, they never will.
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[ ? ]
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I negotiated the terms of his release, after I became General. He was banished from the Luofu.
[ he'd still been only a teenager at the time. but it was either that, or staying in the shackling prison indefinitely. ]
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