WEEK THREE MINGLE

[potatomance]

ᯓ⭐ WEEK THREE MINGLE

Happy third week, lovebirds! Here's to hoping you're riding high on the wave of success of one whole pair being correct! Surely you must have an idea by now how to win this thing!

Probably?

The good news is that you're not going to have to find yourselves in any weird clothes this time around, except maybe that just leads to a strange sense of foreboding for a future scenario...? Who knows. You can't quite brace yourself for it this time.

But don't worry, it's not like there's nothing happening. On the contrary!

For the entirety of this week, you'll find yourself feeling... clingy. It's going to start feeling very strange if you're not leaning on someone, holding their hand, cuddling with them, sitting in their lap, stealing a kiss, or engaging in some other form of affectionate physical contact. And if it's someone you're already feeling fond of OR someone you actually can't stand, guess what?

That feeling is doubled!

You may realize this is an unusual feeling, but so what? Trying to ignore it is only going to make it feel stronger and do you really want to make yourselves feel miserable?

Shut up, masochists.

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[thefinalcontract]

[ :( ]

All these years and still not adept in figuring out the nature of truly repugnant humans...

[One could blame it on many things. He is a human from a place far more advanced than theirs. Things he talks about and even when they discussed his role in the world and how it compared to Cloud Retainer's... It was all done deceitfully and in a way they would not be able to parse. His demeanor and smooth assurances all made it sound different... One has to trust humans at their word but with his vocabulary beyond theirs in terms of general sciences and procedures... Perhaps it's little wonder they were deceived. But it stings nonetheless.]

Lucifer requires some consideration... Recent comments have put my thoughts in disarray and I could not parse them in that room full of... that.

[He takes a moment, turning the cup in his hands, watching the amber liquid within gleam in the moonlight.]

I did not wish to become the Geo Archon, you remember this. You knew me before those days. But after Guizhong... I do not seek for dominion but I cannot allow the common people to suffer. [That is what he told them all when he decided to step into the fray.] For if we did not defend ourselves we were going to be killed by those that desired the seat of Geo.

To protect the people who would one day become Liyue Harbor's people. To protect us... what was left of our family. It had to be done. I have grieved and lost a hundred times over. I have called upon great forces who have died or worse... But I can not imagine myself becoming so apathetic that I'd allow hundreds, thousands... millions of my people to simply perish.

But I also understand the threat of the sword pointed at your throat. And it may not be your own people but thousands of others from another place entirely. [He can't speak of it... Khaenri'ah. And how he and the other Archons, at the call of the Heavenly Principles, rained hellfire upon that nation until there was nothing left of them at all. And the price was far too great. The innocent loss of life and old friends both. Nothing was the same after Khaenri'ah. Nor can he claim to have been the same Rex Lapis that had left.] That aside... I have left the people of Liyue now. Knowing that they'd be alright and that Adeptus and mortal would work together to see the harbor safeguarded, yes. I'd have never have allowed things to progress as they had if I had truly any doubts. But I have left them all the same.

[And should the Heavenly Principles ever turn their ire onto the Harbor he'd defend it still. He knows he would. He thinks he would. Wants to believe he would...]

I spoke with Azhdaha not terribly long ago. His seal had started to weaken and a part of him led me back to him to make sure he remained locked away. We could not speak overlong, of course, but he reminded me of just how many more years I have to live. Thousands more, perhaps. If I am tired now... I am not that apathetic now, no, but what of later? If the Heavenly Principles awaken and learn that I have attempted to slip free of their shackles will they turn their ire onto us as they did with Fontaine and the other nations that have crossed them in the past?

I am not as long lived as Lucifer... But in these many millennia to come should a day comes when Liyue burns will I be inclined to do anything about it? Lucifer is attempting to improve and do better. [He glances at Cloud Retainer with a small smile.] A feat most worthy... One to be proud of. I have been trying to determine why we were not matched. Because at a glance it does seem perfect. The answer is perhaps... As Lucifer returns to reaching for his dreams I am on the decline. I don't have any particular dreams of my own. Even the wish... I can't think of a single use for it.

I have, after all, left the sky and heavens behind. And such a heavy stone will only bring down those attempting to ascend to greater heights.

[mechanideptus]

[ Xianyun sits and listens as the flood of his inner turmoil washes over them both. She's not surprised that he needs an ear, and she's more than happy to provide it. It's a familiar position for her, albeit not with Rex Lapis of all people; how many times has she listened to one of her disciples unload her troubles like this in an indirect request for guidance? More times than she can count.

As an added benefit, this allows her to focus on something that's not her simmering anger for a little while.

From what he says, she's able to piece together what it is about Lucifer that's set off this whole mood. He allowed his people to come under fire, and of course Zhongli has drawn parallels between that and the manner in which he has stepped down from his role as the Archon of Liyue.

Somehow, that revelation is both surprising and not. Luficer's sitaution and history are fraught, even with what little she knows of it, and... well, perhaps it's better to start there and work her way through the rest. ]

One wonders if Lucifer's sin was borne was despair, not apathy.

[ It's Pride, actually, but that's neither here nor there. ]

He said to one earlier this evening that he is responsible for all of the pain and evil in his world. Whether or not that is actually true, such a belief is a monstruous burden to carry. One can imagine a soul like his to simply shut down and remain guarded and detached from the happenings around him in response.

One sees how the burdens you carry as the Geo Archon affect you. The logic only follows that his burdens affect him as well.

[ She knows almost nothing of Khaenri'ah aside from the effects that the Cataclysm wrought on the rest of Teyvat. He is under contract to not speak of it, and honestly she wouldn't ask him to even if he could. Whatever happened there has left its mark on him, and she has no interest in reopening old wounds.

The name Azhdaha is not one she's heard for a long time. His fate was a tragic and unavoidable one, and she knows that it brought Zhongli no joy to have to seal him away. The loss was another weight set upon a heavy heart, and a terrible reminder that time comes for them all besides. When considering a future with someone so timeless, it's only natural that he comes to mind--especially after speaking again not so long ago. ]

Perhaps the fact that Lucifer is ascendent as your own godhood diminishes is not the incompatibility that you—or our hosts here—believe. Much has been spoken of "complementary opposites," and what better example of that concept is there than one soul soaring high while the other remains more grounded?

[ She gives him a warm smile and snakes her arm around his waist in an affectionate, hopefully comforting gesture. ]

One encourages you to think of yourself as a ballast rather than a sinking stone. He will need someone to keep him from flying too high too quickly, lest everything fall apart before it has a chance to fully come together.

One cannot think of a better person than you to be that ballast, old friend.

[thefinalcontract]

[Despair, hm? He's more familiar with that than apathy. He has felt it and felt it keenly. But it has only been the driving force to push forward. His empathy for the people, Adeptus and Gods around him driving him onward and to not give into it. If he had given into despair at Guizhong's death they all would have met their end. Or perhaps faced a fate more akin to the God of Salt's whose people attempted to save her the suffering that would surely have come had Gods and monsters descended on her small abode.

After Khaenri'ah he kept his head above water. One of the few who did. Barbatos went to sleep and Beelzebul locked herself away and Focalors set her stage. What is the state of his soul? Was stepping down his position in a most deceitful manner the same? Perhaps in some small ways... The wear and tear of a long lived life and the present and heavy exhaustion within. The loneliness that pangs every time he takes a sip of this very wine.

And even this retirement he's taken. While he does enjoy meandering around it does boil down to listening to old tales exaggerated and made up of old friends. He offers his small corrections when he can and offers debate where it makes sense to. But as this stretch of pretending to be human continues it finds itself being less fulfilling. Empty and devoid of purpose and now with a twinge of concern with the Hydro Sovereign regaining his footing within his realm. While it will not threaten Liyue it is a bridge he does not wish to cross. He is less than enthused about a trial over something he had to do to protect his own.

And this whole show that may throw his identity into the open and call him back to duties he had attempted to skirt from. The Heavenly Principles that watch on high will not take kindly to an Archon attempting to slip free, especially after the destruction of the Hydro throne.

It leaves a more uncertain future than ever. But there has been a shimmering glimmering hope in all this. A golden light that has been found here. Promising and warm... Something everlasting. Something that he does not wish to lose nor drag into the problems that will one day fall upon him.

Zhongli lets out a sigh, deep and heavy. Exhausted and weary. But he does meet her warm smile with a small one of his own. Her words have given him quite a bit to chew on. This conversation is missing the gentle melody of Streetward Rambler in the distance and Guizhong's encouragement to just: Go forth. It makes him long for their lost past. How wonderfully Lucifer would have fit in the with rest of them in their Guili Plains and mountain top homes. Nothing lasts forever, alas. Even mountains eventually topple and the sturdiest stones crumble to naught but dust.]

A ballast, is it? [He lifts a hand to run through the long tresses of her hair before settling at the back of her head so he can bring her in close for a gentle forehead kiss. Due to the effects they're still currently under. And due to the deep affection he has for her. It can be both up here high on the ramparts and away from prying eyes and ears.] Then that is what I shall attempt to be.

[Unseen support that no one thinks of save for those that already know it's place. Is that not what he is for Liyue still? For the friends that have withstood the test of time? For the Traveler and some of her treacherous quests? And now still with with these new connections. Such a load bearing stone he has become even in retirement... But the foundation of good relationships is the give and take. Should he start to sink, as he was presently, there will be someone to make sure it's not too far nor too deep. To remove the weight and carry it for a stint. He must be sure that is in place before allowing his heart to entwine any deeper with this dearest find from the show.

He allows a few moments of silence between them, holding her close and in a way that he hasn't done in an age.]

Before this is over.... Should one wish to push someone down the well I can be certain to seal it and have none be the wiser.