[ this is so unbelievably hua cheng like that he takes the straightforwardness of the proposal completely in stride, listening. the option for an out is reassuring, speaks to his own nature as somewhat elusive, and he hears her out entirely before making a decision.
that is to say, he inclines his head. ] I believe that's more than fair. I'll do my best to be of use.
Because I don't plan on using you like some tool or servant - I'm not looking for an attendant or a protector, so don't get any weird ideas. You don't even know anything about me, so there's no reason to want to serve me.
[even though she looks the part now, a noble's daughter with her gleaming hair ornament and silk robes. finally, she's a little regal again]
I'm not very strong, and I'm not very smart - but I don't give up and I'm not afraid of anything.
[ really, at this point, he could counteract that. he's learned that the lady lili is quite straightforward, headstrong, and commanding. that she's got presence. that she has a good head on her shoulders, and what seems to be a good, strong heart. all in all, lili is not a bad choice in terms of finding someone to serve, or to protect, and yin yu does his best in the service of others.
....but, he won't say so out loud. her brash honesty is refreshing, if exhausting, and there's just a twitch of a smile on his mouth before he nods in agreement. ] I will do my very best to.
[ lili, five minutes from now: help me build this chicken pen
but, before that, chewing over her last words, he has to wonder. ] Lady Lili, have you learned much in the ways of self defense?
[yea she's 100% going to ask about the chicken pen
she tilts her head at that though, wondering just how much she can actually claim in terms of learning.]
I'm not bad with a sword - I've been learning over the past two months or so. Someone on the bus taught me some new pressure points, and another one said they'd be willing to teach me how to punch.
I'm trained in many types of martial combat, and mastered the Yin sect style.
[ martial arts were kind of his thing. they still are, to a point. he still loves them. he's just not a fighting nut like SOME PEOPLE.. it is one of the things that he can perform a bit more than capably... of course, he's never been the best, but his hard working nature meant he kept going until it was mastered. ] In this situation, it is an invaluable skill to have.
... then would you teach me? I always want to learn more. I... am tired of waiting for others to protect me, or just letting other people get hurt on my behalf.
[a beat, and she frowns, her face heating up a bit]
Though it would make me feel better if you could ask something of me too. I think I'm asking a lot of you.
I'll teach you the best that I can. I'm not the best in my craft, but it should suffice--as long as you work hard, you can succeed.
[ he's no quan yizhen, nor any sort of superstar, but it's enough... he hopes, at least.
(it's been a long time, since he's had a pupil of any kind. what a rusty, old memory.)
as for the counter offer, he ends up giving a little smile in return. ] To be honest, being useful is a reward in and of itself. I know that isn't the answer you want to hear, but it is the one I have to give.
[it definitely isn't the answer that she wants - and so she frowns.]
... then I'll make sure we get out of here, and get back home. [where does all this confidence come from] If you want to be useful, I'll make sure to carve a path for all of us, and I won't accept anything else. I won't waver.
[that's as much as she can give in exchange in response to that - her good heart that only wants justice]
Then... tomorrow. If you wouldn't mind teaching me.
Then - I actually have a question for you. I don't really care about all the secrets that they're forcing us to comply with, but I can understand if you don't want to risk anything just yet.
But I've found that if you remove the scrunchie, you'll probably receive bodily harm. Shinobu and - uh, Giyuu? Suffered from that.
But if you tell someone your power and team, there's no immediate consequences, even though the directors have suggested that it is 'important' to keep in mind.
... at least so far. I'll let you know if I'm suddenly in horrible pain tomorrow.
Please, have a little concern for your own well being... [ PLEASE, FOR THIS HUMBLE SERVANT....JUST A LITTLE.
it's also concerning but somehow not even remotely surprising to know that it was tomioka and lady shinobu who received some form of bodily harm. best to check on that later. ]
[ he'd never argue with hua chengzhu, and he won't argue here, though there's a thought on his mind about compromising oneself in a situation where death is almost guaranteed to be on the line. it's fine. he'll just have to prevent that from happening. ]
Understood. [ but, it is indeed a noble pursuit. if not an incredibly worrying one. ] It will be unlikely that everyone here thinks the same way, however. [ unfortunately... she might be hard headed, but in this case, keeping secrets from each other doesn't end well. (coming from someone who is a professional secret keeper.) ]
... it'd be nice if they did, but I don't expect them to. And I can't blame them.
[at least she sounds sincere about that. lili lives her life one way, but as for others - ]
It's probably scary to be in this situation, and you'd want to take care of yourself no matter what. Sometimes your ideals don't match what your body and mouth actually do...
But as long as they're not hurting anyone, or doing anything stupid to risk an innocent life... I can't force anyone into anything.
[if there's anything she understands intimately, it's fear]
[ with a nod, the same polite fist in hand salute as always. ] I will. And you as well, Lady Lili. Please do inform me if you don't feel well tomorrow.
[ and don't hide it. you know, like some people who ended up super dead from poison :/ ....not that yin yu thinks lili would hide anything at all in the past two days that he's gotten to know her. ]
[ . . . interesting. she looks thoughtful about that before nodding]
Understood.
I've been asking people that question as well. Where I came from before this... the powers varied greatly, from harmless to incredibly harmful. However they were all posted.
Mmm. It's troubling that we've been asked to do so. [ to keep them secret, anyway, if it was so open somewhere else...
...it's concerning, in general. yin yu frowns. to be gifted such a thing... (cursed with such a thing?) he's starting to feel that the island experience he had may have been quite different than anything anyone else has been through. that's why it was a two week game, dear. ] We had no such abilities, and our natural ones had been taken as well.
[ not that he had any. either way: no amount of snooping will make these powers easy to find, and the unknown is worrying, more so than anything. ] ...Lady Lili, if you wouldn't mind, would you be willing to share an example or two?
I don't. Ookurikara could summon meteors out of the sky, I could summon any poison once each week, and Tsurumaru had the ability to make someone act stupid. [a beat] Or rather, like they weren't taking anything seriously.
We also had elemental powers - mine was ice. But I can't access that now...
[but she frowns]
Given how dangerous they can be, I suppose that's why I can't sit still until I know some idea of what's out there.
[ elemental powers... who would place ghost level powers on people who didn't know how to wield them? troubling was the right word. ]
I understand. [ this is one of the times that it would be nice to have access to literally any of the tools he has working under chengzhu; his sentinel butterflies would be exceedingly useful in listening in on conversations. alas, there's none of that, and so, working from ground zero seems to be the only way to go. ] ...I have no intentions of using my own, unless it is necessary to protect someone else.
[ when was the last time he had to rely on some sort of power for anything, anyway? it's all been locked up for so long, he's mostly as human as they come. ]
[lili thinks about that, pondering her own power for a moment]
... I don't like mine. While I can see its uses... the only reason why I'd ever tap into it would be if I'm absolutely certain that its use would be able to help all of us.
[but since it's not immediately lethal, she can't rule it out entirely]
I'm giving it a full week before I discern whether it's safe to share it... If it passes and it is, I'll tell you.
[ he's in the same boat. there's a fine line with this odd power between protecting someone important and hurting someone, and it will rely heavily on his own intuition in the future. he's not nearly impulsive enough just to try it out. not to mention, yin yu's never been the type to have to rely on any sort of enhancements to do much of anything, at least not in the past couple hundred years.
honestly, he'd prefer not to have something like this at all. just give him back his earth master shovel's powers, let him dig a hole back to china, jeez
anyway, lili's last piece is a levelheaded and fair assessment, indeed. he nods. ] I'll tell you mine then as well. [ since they're allies! besides, it may be of some use to lili, when they share them, and he doesn't mind that at all. ] I can't imagine things will stay quiet much longer.
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that is to say, he inclines his head. ] I believe that's more than fair. I'll do my best to be of use.
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I will, too.
Because I don't plan on using you like some tool or servant - I'm not looking for an attendant or a protector, so don't get any weird ideas. You don't even know anything about me, so there's no reason to want to serve me.
[even though she looks the part now, a noble's daughter with her gleaming hair ornament and silk robes. finally, she's a little regal again]
I'm not very strong, and I'm not very smart - but I don't give up and I'm not afraid of anything.
So... rely on me too.
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....but, he won't say so out loud. her brash honesty is refreshing, if exhausting, and there's just a twitch of a smile on his mouth before he nods in agreement. ] I will do my very best to.
[ lili, five minutes from now: help me build this chicken pen
but, before that, chewing over her last words, he has to wonder. ] Lady Lili, have you learned much in the ways of self defense?
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she tilts her head at that though, wondering just how much she can actually claim in terms of learning.]
I'm not bad with a sword - I've been learning over the past two months or so. Someone on the bus taught me some new pressure points, and another one said they'd be willing to teach me how to punch.
Do you know how to fight, too?
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[ martial arts were kind of his thing. they still are, to a point. he still loves them.
he's just not a fighting nut like SOME PEOPLE.. it is one of the things that he can perform a bit more than capably... of course, he's never been the best, but his hard working nature meant he kept going until it was mastered. ] In this situation, it is an invaluable skill to have.no subject
... then would you teach me? I always want to learn more. I... am tired of waiting for others to protect me, or just letting other people get hurt on my behalf.
[a beat, and she frowns, her face heating up a bit]
Though it would make me feel better if you could ask something of me too. I think I'm asking a lot of you.
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[ he's no quan yizhen, nor any sort of superstar, but it's enough... he hopes, at least.
(it's been a long time, since he's had a pupil of any kind. what a rusty, old memory.)
as for the counter offer, he ends up giving a little smile in return. ] To be honest, being useful is a reward in and of itself. I know that isn't the answer you want to hear, but it is the one I have to give.
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... then I'll make sure we get out of here, and get back home. [where does all this confidence come from] If you want to be useful, I'll make sure to carve a path for all of us, and I won't accept anything else. I won't waver.
[that's as much as she can give in exchange in response to that - her good heart that only wants justice]
Then... tomorrow. If you wouldn't mind teaching me.
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[ and lo, an agreement is made. ] Then, I believe we have a deal, Lady Lili.
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Then - I actually have a question for you. I don't really care about all the secrets that they're forcing us to comply with, but I can understand if you don't want to risk anything just yet.
But I've found that if you remove the scrunchie, you'll probably receive bodily harm. Shinobu and - uh, Giyuu? Suffered from that.
But if you tell someone your power and team, there's no immediate consequences, even though the directors have suggested that it is 'important' to keep in mind.
... at least so far. I'll let you know if I'm suddenly in horrible pain tomorrow.
[LILI,]
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Please, have a little concern for your own well being... [ PLEASE, FOR THIS HUMBLE SERVANT....JUST A LITTLE.
it's also concerning but somehow not even remotely surprising to know that it was tomioka and lady shinobu who received some form of bodily harm. best to check on that later. ]
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[she sucks sooooooo much
but also it's in these moments that she probably finally comes off as just a little bit regal]
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Understood. [ but, it is indeed a noble pursuit. if not an incredibly worrying one. ] It will be unlikely that everyone here thinks the same way, however. [ unfortunately... she might be hard headed, but in this case, keeping secrets from each other doesn't end well. (coming from someone who is a professional secret keeper.) ]
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[at least she sounds sincere about that. lili lives her life one way, but as for others - ]
It's probably scary to be in this situation, and you'd want to take care of yourself no matter what. Sometimes your ideals don't match what your body and mouth actually do...
But as long as they're not hurting anyone, or doing anything stupid to risk an innocent life... I can't force anyone into anything.
[if there's anything she understands intimately, it's fear]
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We can only control our own actions, inevitably. [ as long as you aren't, you know. cursed. let's not talk about that. ]
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... right. We'll see how it goes this week. So make sure that you take care of yourself.
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[ and don't hide it. you know, like some people who ended up super dead from poison :/ ....not that yin yu thinks lili would hide anything at all in the past two days that he's gotten to know her. ]
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[because she's already starting her demands, of course]
Would you say that your power is one that's inherently offensive? Could it hurt someone?
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...It would depend greatly on the actions of others. So, not inherently, no.
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Understood.
I've been asking people that question as well. Where I came from before this... the powers varied greatly, from harmless to incredibly harmful. However they were all posted.
Here, having them be hidden... I'm a bit uneasy.
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...it's concerning, in general. yin yu frowns. to be gifted such a thing... (cursed with such a thing?) he's starting to feel that the island experience he had may have been quite different than anything anyone else has been through.
that's why it was a two week game, dear.] We had no such abilities, and our natural ones had been taken as well.[ not that he had any. either way: no amount of snooping will make these powers easy to find, and the unknown is worrying, more so than anything. ] ...Lady Lili, if you wouldn't mind, would you be willing to share an example or two?
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We also had elemental powers - mine was ice. But I can't access that now...
[but she frowns]
Given how dangerous they can be, I suppose that's why I can't sit still until I know some idea of what's out there.
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I understand. [ this is one of the times that it would be nice to have access to literally any of the tools he has working under chengzhu; his sentinel butterflies would be exceedingly useful in listening in on conversations. alas, there's none of that, and so, working from ground zero seems to be the only way to go. ] ...I have no intentions of using my own, unless it is necessary to protect someone else.
[ when was the last time he had to rely on some sort of power for anything, anyway? it's all been locked up for so long, he's mostly as human as they come. ]
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... I don't like mine. While I can see its uses... the only reason why I'd ever tap into it would be if I'm absolutely certain that its use would be able to help all of us.
[but since it's not immediately lethal, she can't rule it out entirely]
I'm giving it a full week before I discern whether it's safe to share it... If it passes and it is, I'll tell you.
[because they're allies]
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honestly, he'd prefer not to have something like this at all. just give him back his earth master shovel's powers, let him dig a hole back to china, jeez
anyway, lili's last piece is a levelheaded and fair assessment, indeed. he nods. ] I'll tell you mine then as well. [ since they're allies! besides, it may be of some use to lili, when they share them, and he doesn't mind that at all. ] I can't imagine things will stay quiet much longer.
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