[ OPEN ] "would you calm down a little bit"

[blitzcheer]

Who: Tidus and You!
Where: All over! Armoury, standard coach, training gym, sports gym, and games car
When: Merriment 16 - 20
What: Supplies moving, setting up games and exercise equipment, watching that sports game Tidus is really into and also catching a case of home lifesickness!!
Warnings: Last prompt has connections to death/disappearing, but nothing to do with suicide or negative thoughts.

[ DAY 16 ; armoury car ]

"Heyyyy. Uh, so it looks like the train added the lockers I was hoping for. Since Light left, and Tobes's been gone for a while...," Tidus adds with a mutter, already not sounding that pleased, "--I'm puttin' everything from the supplies into them, 'kay? The healing, shields and weapons. There's a tablet with a list of what everything does and how to use 'em. It's voice-automated too.

So...yeah. That's it. See ya."

It's far from confident, the usual casual-sounding that's Tidus been heard over the ICP, but it's on par to whenever he talks about supplies. Lightning's leave already has his mood down, which is an evident sight to anyone who comes to the armoury, where he made the call (and then switched off, not interested in holding a conversation over the thing). There's nothing exciting going on: just suitcases on the ground with their lids open, the array of healing and weaponry waiting revealed inside that's to be stuffed away.

Maybe you come because of the announcement; maybe you're just passing by. You might hear a "shit!" hissed when one of the finger-sized bottles go rolling towards the other side of the carriage from where Tidus is. His movements are sluggish, and he wears an unguarded, doleful look, uncharacteristically quiet. Unless he notices anyone lingering, or just catches someone's eye -- then he'll pull on a smile, and give a simple "Hey."

Or, he's just taking a second to look at locker and its supplies once it's filled, his back to another locker, sitting on the floor. And you might hear him say-

"Hope you kick that god's ass, Light."

[ DAY 17 ; training gym - standard coach ]

( a: treadmills cw cw inigo don't look )

But he's being better by the next day, or seems to be. In the early morning he's in the training gym, pulling odd square containers out by a wall, with what appear to be bars curled around the sides. To anyone whose attention he gets, he offers cheerily: "Hey, how about a go on one of these?"

It takes some pressing in the right places, and then, the 'box' stars to unfold, turning rectangular while the bars raise - and it turns into what's essentially a treadmill.

"Ever seen one of these?"

Or, he could already be running on one, while the second sits there, a spare waiting to be used. Hop on! Tidus won't stop you.

( b: standard coach - blitzball )

There's a few close CR he might push to join him, but if you're friendly with Tidus and you happen to passing through, he might usher a hand, stop you from where you were going.

"Hey, hey! Wanna see me in a blitzball match?"

He's at a table, a device rolled out and a picture taking up the entire 'screen' and an energy drink open. There's footage similar to this to behold (note: without city destruction), with Tidus perhaps present an outfit like this, and his hair blond. Or, you might even get a chance to see him a year younger, in an outfit the same the rest of his team -- and with his hair a brown.

"Oh man!" He says through a laugh. "I can't believe it got video of me like this! This was when I was starting off!"

[ DAY 18 ; sports gym/games car ]

( attempt a: whomp whomp )

Tidus has got a plan. He's had a plan for a while, thanks to Roland, but now is the time to achieve it. It starts somewhere around morning to noon, after breakfast. There's notices slapped on the outside of the sports gym doors, written in fat felt.

'USING THE SPACE 2 MAKE A POOL'

'SWIMMING POOL INSIDE'
One on one side, one on the other. You might get to read them, before the troubles, or after. What are the troubles? That would happen to be when a sound like the equivalent of a bomb going off sounds from inside the gym, and before the doors can be opened from outside, they slam open from within - and water floods out into the hallway, possibly knocking anyone out there off their feet.

The good of the situation: the water is only knee-high deep on an adult. The bad of the situation: ...the car is flooded, welcoming any unsuspecting person who welcomes through the sports car (and thank goodness someone moved the transgate back out). Tidus can be found inside the car - that's impressive flooded from one end to another, in swimming shorts and coughing up water, while a blue pal is floating on the water the opposite end, wiggling and squeaking 'hiiigle!! piggle!!' desperately. ( But, they're only visible to those with a good heart/of good intentions. )

A plan may have not gone off right here.

( attempt a: dingdingdingding! )

"I've got a pool going in the gym for an hour or two! Come join me if you want!"

But by some miracle, they finally get it right. This pool doesn't take up the full length of the gym but one half of one side, away from the walls and about half the size going up from the ceiling. Tidus might be seen inside the water, or just enjoying floating above it; his blue pal nowhere but to seen, but for those who sense energy, may be able to discern there being entities with the water, that is otherwise nothing more than fresh, natural water.

Grab some shorts from the spa car, come and gawk, complain about the room being used up or whatever you like. Tidus dives into the water and reaches out of the 'wall' of the water, to a large trunk homing pieces of coral, breaking it off and bringing it into the bizarre pool - where it shatters into pieces, and the water wobbles...in delight??

[ DAY 19 ; sports gym - standard coach ]

( a: dance dance dance!! or shoot shoot shoot!! )

Oh no, he's in the sports gym again.

But don't worry, there's no water. This time, there's a holographic figure being projected from a round disk on the floor. About as defined as a wii fit trainer, they stand idle as Tidus - dressed appropriately - flicks through a screen of settings.

"Wanna give it a go with me?" Tidus offers, always happy for company. The dance difficulties he goes for are simple to follow, and there's the option of finding him with Inigo for company, if you want to up the potential for dumery. Two guys just doing repetitive dance moves, and if Tidus happens to catch you staring (though, he really needs to keep his eyes on the coach!), he'll grin and challenge, "Think you can keep up!?", in all his usual daring nature.

( Warning: if Inigo notices a girl/woman looking at him them, the possibility of him shrieking is 90%. )

But when isn't Tidus like that? Always up to something, and willing to include another. There's a new addition in the games carriage that Tidus has been having goes on, aiming to raise his highscore. Look at this wonderful gameplay.

( attempt b: 3am thoughts )

But there's more than only his usual buzzing energy going on with Tidus. He can be found in the standard coach on some of the later nights; another energy drink opened, indulging in a fizziness a guy like him shouldn't be so late. The tablet device sits on a simple stand, while his head rests in his folded arms, watching the blitzball footage.

To some, he just looks focused on whatever he's watching - intensely so. But if he happens to notice anyone come in (a 50/50 chance), he pauses the video, or just brings the device down -- like a guy trying to hide his shame, head turned towards the window, his face a warm pink. He might look back with a not-trying-to-appear-awkward "Hey" if he recognises the person - but otherwise, just, you know. Acting like he didn't do that!

Nothing weird about him, bro.

[ DAY 20 ; sports gym (late) ]

( note: prompt has some allusions to death, may involve talk related to it; nothing negative/suicidal! )

It's late again, and Tidus has something he wants to find out.

Why? There's a few reasons in his head. A few thoughts have been in his head, leading him into the sports gym, out of the way. He could go somewhere more private like the quiet car, but Tidus likes the sports car, spends most of his time in it. He likes the space and silence, as empty as it is right now.

He has a device on him, and he's counting down the time; his SCA on the floor next to him, in easy reach.

Counting how long it takes for his skin and the rest of him to start to discolour, shimmering into greens and blues; until it becomes see-through, until it gets to a point that it scares him, and he can't countdown any more and needs to grab his SCA again, all he can grab at that point.

But as late a time as Tidus picks to do his experiment, maybe he ends up not the only one there, caught with his eyes on the tablet device, ears not picking up on the doors farther away from him when they open.

Unless the person is particularly loud - then he'll reach for his SCA, and scramble to get it on quickly, the colours across his body fading as a more solid form returns.

[ OTHER DETAILS ]

[ Want to do any of the above but on different days? Treadmills, dance exercise, and gaming are available on any of them! Inigo can also be a 3rd person for dancing. Feel free to message me for any questions/plotting!! ]

Comments

[jingyeets]

Oh for the sake of—how many people was he going to have to lie by omission around if talking about how some humans are also cultivators and some humans are not and the worlds find both are important? Count is up to two, though he handles it with an eye roll of his own.

"The only things boring are really boring people, and people can be any species or powers or abilities at any strength and still be horribly boring. You're not boring." As if the accusation of boring is a personal affront. How dare things bore Jingyi. How dare people be insufferably boring.

He snorts once Tidus flops his hand over into his open palm, then tugs said hand sandwich closer, so he can bring his free hand up, pressing two fingers to the inside of Tidus's wrist.

"It'd make you more handsome," he says, more a distracted response to not getting 'cooler' in this context, "Isn't that obvious? Anyway, unless you end up with air or water affinities, you won't usually make things cooler."

You're welcome, Tidus, for not getting what you said but also roundaboutly getting what you said. Either way, his expression sets into one of concentration, and a small touch of warmth along with a blue sort of softened glow hums at Tidus's wrist. Jingyi's being very careful about what qi he's sharing, the thinnest trickle, because he can't assume Tidus has decent meridians, and if he ends up sending this energy through the circulatory system instead, he wants to to be gentle.

... So have a warm, gentle sensation circulating from his wrist that feels a little refreshing, a touch rejuvenating, since it's a literal controlled energy rush into Tidus's system. Unlike with certain healing parties here, pulling away hurts nothing (thankfully), but if Tidus doesn't decide this is too much, that sensation will circulate the whole of his body within a minute.

[blitzcheer]

Tidus has got to find a way to turn Jingyi's literal interpretations in everything he says off. Or just sit through it and let it go on until it stops, since he knows that 'You know what I mean' isn't actually going to work here.

And he wishes it would.

"Don't think I didn't hear the 'more' handsome," Tidus picks on instead, but his expression unchanged, watching Jingyi get to work; because we're not touching on that second example of misunderstandings at this exact moment.

There's qi sharing to be had, and it's not exactly an unwelcome experience. It's familiar, reminds Tidus of the magics of Spira, Yuna's healings and treatments. Little difference between the line of magic, life, and energy, and maybe this isn't what anyone needs done to them at late o'clock at night, but Tidus isn't going to be the one to think about that.

Instead, Tidus closes his eyes, as if getting as comfortable as possible. Though sleepy is the last thing it's making him feel. Thinking out loud, whether clever or dumb:

"Think you can put a booster like this in pill form?"

He's not being entirely serious, but also, what if.

[jingyeets]

Give him time, a little more than a month... okay, five weeks in, and cross cultural slang is slow going. He'll appreciate the wordplay once he knows, but until then, everyone gets to suffer together in literalism versus figurative language.

Jingyi snorts, a softer sound, at what Tidus decides to point out. While 'hot' is less mysterious, he did hear people explaining that to Thanatos when Rich was propositioning the train (he was not, Jingyi, please), he's just used to attractive people.

And ignoring the Su She's off the world. Worlds. Universes. Whatever.

"An observation," he says. He's pretty sure it's not an implication of anything else. He's also not thinking that amping someone up this late is good or bad: eventually, they all sleep, even if they're not trained (hah) to go down after an exact period of wakefulness, like he is.

"So you don't want to suck out my energy, you want to swallow it whole." Deadpan, though it ends up being a curious idea. He mulls it over, tsking his tongue. "I wonder... you probably could? Maybe ask Hanguang-jun."

[blitzcheer]

bro is it me or is the narration getting saucy, time to slap up a cw: r18 warning up there.

Which Tidus could take a stab at increasing, but there's names again, and didn't Jingyi say that one before? But give him a second, opening his eyes, a quizzical hold to his brow.

"Who's that? I don't think I've met them." Hanguang-jun? Hanguang? Nope, it's not clicking a face into his brain, even with the helpful dose of qi. "It's not a big deal anyway. ...but there was a woman here, she made candies with magic in 'em. We've still got a few."

Magical candies, qi candies. What can't people make with some 3AM inspiration?

cw: saucy narration not to be trusted

[jingyeets]

"He, right. None of you use his title... Lan Wangji. Our sect leader's younger brother." At least giving one more name to the several one might hear Lan Wangji called, and furthering the ongoing confusion of what any of them were called.

He's still worrying over the idea of pills that are simply qi-infused. The trick to it, he guesses, would be controlling the release, so the pill not only stores energy, but releases it in a safe, sane way. For this purpose. Jingyi glances to their hands and frowns, still trickling qi into Tidus.

"What do they do?" What about the candies is particularly magic? The question is more distracted than genuinely curious, but he's right back to puzzling over the pill idea. How the hell did they end up at qi-pills?

"Well, while you work on a solution, I can work on qi pills. If you'll test them out." Go on. Swallow his qi-pills. Apparently it'll even feel good? Hell if he knows, he's got zero experience in this very bizarre arena, but he's sincere about finding solutions. He'd hate being in Tidus's position. That powerlessness, that frustration, it'd drive him to more than his fair share of griping, and he's already a complainer.

[blitzcheer]

There's a small 'ohhh' as Jingyi uses the name, that a name he recognises. This has to be the oddest healing (healing? -equivalent) session he's had though; a guy shoving energy in his direction while they talk about the future pharmacy business of the train.

"They put a magical barrier around your body? Like...around your body. Not a shield kind of shape? For as long as you suck on them. So you don't want to crunch on them, or it stops. Hard to choke on them too."

Because he remembers asking Sakura about that, and that's clearly an important detail to remember. At least Jingyi isn't asking 'how do they work', even if the answer would be easy - but also, disappointing.

(Because he doesn't know.)

But as for their future product, with their hands joined and this...session going on, Tidus huffs, a sound of mirth. "Alright. We've got candy moulds you can use for them - they're heart-shaped." And that spreads the smile on his face, a ridiculousness that isn't lost on him.

"This is a cool trick, but I think you're making me want to go on a jog."

[jingyeets]

Hanguang-jun is why Jingyi is any good at this; Lans were not healers, per say, but they could manage this kind of direct energy transfer for aiding the efforts of healing. Or for assisting with spiritual conditions, even mental ones; Jingyi's more experienced with the physical and some minor spiritual side of things.

Imagining the physical shielding, he murmurs, "Kind of like what I could do in illusion. Or like our robes. They're charmed for resistance to injury and to stay clean, but it stops working with enough thrashing." Hence his lack of robes now, though he doesn't feel comfortable so much as resigned to lighter blue cargo pants and the purple hoodie. Such style, living the train provided uniform life.

"They're heart shaped?" Jingyi looks completely flummoxed at this announcement. Why in the world would someone shape things like that? He only blinks away from imagining why someone would have physiologically correct heart shaped whatevers to design candies, or qi-pills, when Tidus mentions wanting to jog.

"Oh, sorry." He turns that trickle of energy into a slow stop, pulling his fingers away and jumping his hand up to encourage Tidus to lift his in turn. "Though it was kind of what I'd had in mind when I headed this way. That or figuring out the stupid fighter dummies."

[blitzcheer]

Tidus's brow dips to the apparent bewilderment of heart candies, a confusion that doesn't get entirely fixed in his mind by the time they're speaking about jogs, and any 'figuring out that Jingyi is thinking about real anatomical hearts, who does that, what a weirdo!!' doesn't come to pass with the topics already shifting.

He'll have to blow his mind another time. For now - with their hands moved away, Tidus spreading out his fingers and giving hands and arms a wiggle, bending his neck left and right - there's talks of exercise, which raises his brow upward instead, a thought in mind.

"Did you ever use a treadmill back in the fake world? I got a couple from mine -- Zanarkand. You can run on the spot on 'em, you just need to fold them out and put in the settings you want! They're over in the training gym - I can show you how to use them!"

Which he sounds - and is! - delighted to do, to share the technology, an easier way to train that doesn't deal with corners. Though he spread his arms out, gesturing to the sports gym.

"--unless you like the idea of running in an empty gym."

Personally, Tidus would prefer it more if they were outside, on a track. Or anywhere outside.

[jingyeets]

Jingyi would claw at the walls of the train if it meant they'd have some reasonable, frequent outdoors time. Latch on and yowl like an angry cat, instead of a dragon, but no one needed roaring, that was just loud and unfortunate in enclosed spaces. Angry yowling would have had to do.

"Nah, just the poles," he says with a shrug, but he hefts himself upward with a soft grunt of exertion, his tail uncurling from its arc around Tidus as he stands, shaking itself off while he stretches his arms and goes up on his toes. "If you don't mind showing me, sounds no worse than running around in here. Though I could bounce off the walls," he says, musingly, arms falling back down to his sides, feet returning properly to the floor. "Might not want to bounce off these tread mills."

Interesting name. Not as interesting as being in unfettered freedom, but neither one of them had that, and Zanarkand—let him see what a land dreamed back from lost had for technology.

[blitzcheer]

The poles?

--The poles.

The mention of the poles throws off Tidus's ability to listen to the rest of Jingyi says; at least clearly, it all being shoved back to why he knows about the poles, who he talked about the poles, how Inigo say that Jingyi asked him or whatever the shit that was all about?!

"Uh, yeah-" Which is why when he does speak up, it's with a laugh or anything about bouncing off walls. Basic, but Tidus takes the time to press a button on the device he's been using, making the screen and its contents fade, one side 'unravel' as it slips back inwards to the metal bar that actually exists. Holographic technology, baby. Let him grab it and make it disappear, away into his arms band.

"It's easy; there's a few settings you can mess with, but you can start at a speed, then just press a button to make it faster or slower. Just to start off with."

Because he's very used to simplify newcomers, especially those not used to technology. Whatever Jingyi's level with it (but given who his family is...definitely the no-tech kind of guy).

[jingyeets]

It was Inigo's idea though accidentally sourced by Jingyi, who had an interesting tangle of ties to traditional sworddance forms and also, attended the university. Either way, nothing he worries over, aside from being glad none of his sect elders had seen him dancing.

It was less than proper, and sometimes a guy just wants to get away with breaking rules and not having to suffer the punishment for it. Sometimes!

"How fast does it go?" Now he looks curious, and curious in the manner of: "Am I supposed to catch up with it, or..."

They have technology!

... Because compasses count. Right? Also, swords! Steel swords! That's advanced!

[blitzcheer]

Swords and compasses never count, get on Tidus's dream tech level, Jingyi.

But it's fine, Tidus is used to telling less-technological savvy people about these things. So with the device disappeared into the arms band he wears around his wrist, he'll spread out his hands, a vague way of visualising the machine that doesn't help in the slightest.

"Imagine something you stand on, and under you it starts moving, right? It's just a strip; enough you can walk or start running, any of that. You're keeping up with it, yeah; you can set the speed, make it pause or tell it to just move when you move - depends on the kind of challenge you're looking for. You can even set it to go from a walk to a run - kinda forcing you to keep up with the workout, you know?"

Technology. But Tidus is standing with the last of that explanation, legs finally straightened. And more so, when Tidus does a quick lean to the left and right, just to wake up the muscles.

[jingyeets]

"... So the point is running in place. That never gets boring?"

He sounds as dubious as he looks, but he's also crossing his arms and waiting for Tidus to show him this mysterious technology for exercise. Maybe if it was also some kind of... visual? Experience? Was it really running in place and nothing else? Who walks. Walking isn't training unless one's recovering from injuries. Right?

Even more mystified, imagining a contextless floating strip of ground that moves in some folding way, racing underfoot and requiring the person standing on it to race as well. If only he recalled the sections of the illusion city that had similar sorts of extended moving sidewalks, he might better understand, but sadly he does not. He's way too tired to try and recall fake memories as more relevant than his lifetime of genuine ones.

[blitzcheer]

"It's exercise? You make your own fun by listening to music or radio. It depends on why you're using it!"

Also things Tidus is exasperatedly used to: every nitpick about technology and why it is the way it is!! Thanks, Inigo. With everything cleared up and Tidus standing, he walks out to the door, heading the way of the training gym. Maybe he'll use one of the transgates on the way, but for now, he's in the 'walk to places' kind of mood.

"Why do you go running? I mean, I like running when you're outside, that's fun," with all the visuals and breeze on your face, "but if you're just stuck inside, you can keep track of how far you run on a machine. Listening to music, no one in your way... it's just easy!"

[jingyeets]

Jingyi looks a touch exasperated when he sighs, but he aims it for overblown enough to be comedic, because he's resigned himself to this level of not knowing what the hell is being talked about. "Music, radio, I barely remember that second word from where we just were. Play music from what? Ask Sizhui to practice qin while I'm running? You say this like it's supposed to make sense, and it doesn't."

Not to someone who has no advanced technology, and for whom melodies carried spiritual power, but didn't self play.

Walking is fine by Jingyi, who does like the transgates: ironically, they have a talisman that wastes a lot of qi but achieves a similar effect. The transgates make more sense than the dishwashers.

"Exercise, routine, everything that's been messed up since being trapped in a series of metal chests flying through the Void. If I'm stuck inside back home, I... can't think of a time that'd happen where I wouldn't be required to kneel or be in seclusion or doing some other kind of holding punishment, so no idea. The people in the way here just means you have to think faster, move better, anticipate the random."

He shrugs, as if this is entirely normal for what most people would say about why they run, or what they know of constrained, indoor activities. Or how running the train is actually just a living obstacle course to learn from. Perpetually.

[blitzcheer]

Exasperation, meet exasperation, who can be as exaggerated in turn, a sigh to go with it! "I don't know what you know! Okay, you can listen to my music while we're here." He taps his SCA, raising it in view. "--but you can put music on this from the music car! We can do that another day, or Inigo can. He's more... your kinda music, probably. Less synthesisers, computer-added tunes."

'Old-fashioned' would be a word, but that doesn't seem fair, and it would make Inigo feel bad. But he's never found a word to use, so let's dance around it instead. Considering Jingyi's point of having extra people around being it's own training, but being indifferent.

"Depends on what you're getting out of it, in that case. Sure, that's good for reaction, but you don't want to get in the way of a game people are having. You'll throw them off, even if you're fine with it."

But then, what would be good in that instance? He considers it for a moment, before deciding:

"You could ask people to throw balls at you, if you wanna practice weaving and dodging."

Perfect.

[jingyeets]

Thinking on the cultural differences he tends to run into with Inigo, he's not sure their music is really the same either, but aside from lifting an eyebrow he holds off on pointing that out. Sure, they're both from less technological worlds with dragons present; they've both managed to confound each other in countless ways.

All of you heathens, making Lan Jingyi feel like an absent minded elder and a cultured crane among swans. What the hell.

"Didn't know that played things too." Most what he knows is the anchor function, given what he did in serving as one, but that's neither here nor there.

"Can't imagine people would be doing that in every carriage, let alone the two gyms, but point made. There's no such thing as order here beyond the forced room returns."

Also the most consistent thing about marking "days" when the concept was, as far as he could tell, lacking meaning on train.

The ball dodging earns a squint. "Are you making that up? Why does it sound like avoiding getting stoned?"

[blitzcheer]

There's a begrudging concession Tidus could make, at least about the amount of people playing sports at any given time. But he also doesn't want to grumble or fess up to it, so he can wallow in the misery of how many people prefer battle training compared to ball. Ugh!! He's surrounded by people who don't know the real concept of fun, or any.

Nor, apparently, the difference between a stone or ball, which is getting Jingyi a puzzled squint looking right back at him. "What? I mean, there's a game called 'Dodge Ball', but if you wanna practice reflexes in a sports gym, why not the balls? Are balls stones in your world?"

Wait. A beat. "...do you have balls where you're from?"

[jingyeets]

Jingyi squints right back at him.

"We have balls," he says, "Usually children's toys. Throwing them at people in large numbers isn't a thing, if we're doing reflex training you're throwing things way less friendly than a bamboo woven or bladder stuffed ball."

Which were two common sorts, but far from the only ones around. Not to mention balls came in various sizes and materials for various purposes, but the ones Tidus references have only a vague sort of sensibility to Jingyi.

"Throwing stones is more likely given rivers have a bunch on the banks, then you can see how far you skip them and stuff like that. Or have a senior taking that as a reason for reflex training, and you learn fast, when pebbles fly at you with qi behind them. Just like you hope the bruises heal fast."

He planted his hand on the panel to open the door out of this carriage into the space between it and the next, one of the more disorienting effects of moving carriage to carriage outside of the transgates.

[blitzcheer]

Bladder-stuffed ball? Gross. A thought that stays internal, not even much of a reaction of his face beyond a momentary raise of his eyebrows. But it sounds about right too, or what he'd expect from some other worlds. And at least they know what balls are, or that they're a thing.

Not all of them do. But since Jingyi opens the carriage door, he waits for him to go through it first, unless the guy gestures from him to do so; either way, waiting until they're through or walking through to continue on talking.

"Ow. But, okay, balls aren't that friendly either. But moving out of the way of balls for reflex training is what I used to do; ball games, they're big in other worlds, you know? Showing how good you can be, getting people excited! You can make a career out of it in some places."

But Jingyi... Tidus knows some about cultivation, some about their world. A maybe distorted view, where the memories of previous conversations aren't that clear. And he says asking in a slow, trying-to-be-careful voice:

"But your world... a guy told me about cultivation before. At least, I think it's your cultivation too? The core thing sounds familiar. He said that people...bring back people from the dead to fight for them, and people with cores are special. Does that sound familiar?"

[jingyeets]

He's still wrangling with what ball games look like, barely recalling one he's heard about with people not raised in sects (since really, there's whole swathes of interesting culture off the mountain and out of the cultivator realm spaces) when Tidus asks about something that makes Jingyi frown. Frown, look concerned, and also troubled.

"Yeah, only no, at the same time. Bringing back the dead? Depends on what you mean, it's not like... well. It's kind of like what this train does, only we don't have any demonic cultivator who can recreate your body, unharmed. Keeping a spirit, guiding or forcing it to do something else for you? Sure, there's stuff like that, most of it irresponsible and terrible. Wei-shizhang, Wei Wuxian, he's the only one I trust with any of it."

He waves his hand in front of him, like ushering bad thoughts away. Which he is, in a manner of speaking. "Golden cores are our dantians. In theory, sword cultivators have to have one in order to use our spiritual blades. We store energy there," he says, tapping on his breastbone. "Stronger cores can hold more, weaker ones less. It's not the only means of cultivation or whatever, but it's the most common one for the sects in our shared realms."

[blitzcheer]

"Oh." Oh. Tidus is a furrowed brow as he listens to Jingyi, attempting to reach further back into the conversation he first ever had about cores and cultivator, the image he got from it. A bit confusing, here and there, but not really too bad - he can get the idea of the cores, anyway.

"So, golden cores... you can do different things with them, depending how much qi you've got, and what you train it to do." There's a pause for a yes or no there, but then he goes back in his assumption; to what he originally thought cultivation to be. "But people who raise the dead, or... bring them back in their bodies and make them do things - that isn't usual? I don't know if the world you or your friends are from are the same as the guy who I talked to," he feels the need to add, clarify, whatever.

"--It could just be the same words, right? Cores and cultivators. Since it sounded like a big thing there."

[jingyeets]

"We're not from the same world," he says, haltingly. "I... don't know the extent of what's different." He hasn't asked. He should, maybe, but between the ages, the familiarity in faces, the lack of adoption with Wen Sizhui, Lan Jingyi has things he also just doesn't want to know until the people involved want to tell him. Besides, what's he supposed to ask about? How is he supposed to know what to ask after, to see what's changed?

"So the guy you talked to could be telling the truth for him and any number of the rest. Or he could be using the same words. I'm just saying where I'm from, you could raise spirits, spirits can possess people, you can control those people by controlling those spirits—just that we don't have a way to make a body that's died start walking again."

A disturbing thought in various ways, as they walk the length of the carriage. His tail goes from its small back and forth curling into a lash that smacks into an object in the way, unintentionally; Jingyi makes a small noise of swallowed surprise, glancing back to see what it was, then looking away again. Nothing happened.

"I know a lot of faces here, and that's reassuring... but they're not from my world. Not one."

[blitzcheer]

Ah. There's a moment where Tidus pauses in words and thoughts, until he tips his head in Jingyi's direction, a gaze that flits in his direction, however brief.

"Sorry," he says, and sincerely, with a certain weight to the word. "I get muddled up separating it in my head sometimes. There's people familiar with each other, and then you hear stuff unique to them, so you just-"

Here comes the hands closing together like a ball - a ball that's being mushed together. Stick terms that seem unique into their own holes, make connections.

"But-" But. They're crossing the garden carriage now, Jingyi's memorial stone in its place, the other few dotted stones of memorial, hanging nets with letters, all gathered in this one space.

"You know, everyone... when we had a Q&A with the train - where we got to ask questions--" because he realises, using informal language, probably not going to help Jingyi there, "--it told someone that none of us are from the same world. Even if we think we are, no one is. It's really...confusing? Like I guess, everyone's a little different, somehow. Another them."

Because sometimes, the difference between a person with the same face as one you know isn't them being a dragon on top of it. There wasn't any difference; none that either of them realised, except for the time since they last saw each other. It's one of those revelations Tidus tries not to think about, but always manages to slip in his thoughts.

[jingyeets]

Jingyi shrugs off the sorry, pairing it with a wave of his hand and a dismissive word.

"Not a big deal." It wasn't, for the most part. It was just walking into unseen barriers on mistakenly familiar ground, more jarring for Jingyi than people who were drawing logical associations.

The rest of what he says, neatly avoiding Jingyi's confusion over what a Que and Aye would be, leaves him feeling cold, annoyed, angry, and headached all at once. "What the hell is with this place being against logic?" He whines, but then he stops himself, and rubs his face here in this garden of lotuses, stones, benches, papercraft, and remembrance. "Let me... ugh. Okay. So we're all books pulled out of different libraries. The stories might be the same, or different because of, I don't know, a regional take, but only one page is pulled from each book. Each person we meet who knows us is knowing us from another novel entirely."

He holds up his hands, making a similar gesture to Tidus's with the ball earlier. Cramping all these individual papers together into a new binding, sewn into a haphazard whole.

"Worlds are too big for me to hold in my head. Books? I've been drowning in them since forever. Not to mention copying them..." Which is why this can make sense to him at all. Pages of the same precept exist in each written, bound form, but the way they're written, where they're stored, that changed. It didn't make it less of a headache, and Jingyi was now holding his head with one hand, scowling, but he did at least sort of get it.

"Tiiiduuuus." He whines his friend's name (congrats, you're a friend now), giving him a one squinted eye look. Is he going to try to break Jingyi's brain even more before they find whatever this treadmill was?