deercountry | Shen Yuan | November Catch-All

In the weeks preceeding this network post (published November 14) residents of Trench were troubled by small, metal faces start coming out of the woodwork. And stonework. And the furniture. Everywhere Shen Yuan had been, everywhere he held something in his hands and manipulated it in some way, wires sprouted up. The wires gradually evolved in almost organic fashion into circuit boards, which in turn became the faces. And then the faces began to talk.

"Greetings, User [static]. Thank you for choosing the System: Localized Edition! Error: insufficient context. Please describe your most important relationship so an informational baseline can be established."

Most people are quite naturally freaked out by these plainly unnatural phenomenon, and took to smashing the faces even before Outreach's advice hit the network. Some, however, find them intriguing. Or amusing. Or perhaps even helpful, if they listen long enough. Whatever the reason, not everyone has chosen to destroy these faces, and if an interested Sleeper looks carefully enough, they might find a face embedded in a garden wall or some private booth in a cafe, waiting and watching for its chance...to dispense some Relationship Advice.

Edited 2022-11-04 18:38 (UTC)

[Text post; user: Shen Yuan; invites sent to Nie Huiasang, Lan Xichen, and Jin Guangyao]

Okay guys, this might take a little explanation but I promise it will lead to good things.

In my home world, we enjoyed the use of an information and communications network similar to the one here in Trench, although it operated on different technology. But in addition to that, families and friend groups would often create secondary, private networks called 'group chats' in order to more easily pass on information specifically relevant to the group. For example an emergency alert could be sent out to your entire family at once, or on a lighter note you could send everyone you know a picture of a cute pigeon you saw in the street. For example here's a selfie I took the other day with Lan-gongzi:

[Posted: the aforementioned selfie; Shen Yuan is grinning mischieveously while Lan Xichen looks surprised and confused.]

I thought this might make it easier for the four of us to stay in touch with each other, and this way if any of you have any questions about Trench or other worlds you can ask me here, and this way everyone will get to see the answer! Just give it a try and let me know what you think, okay?

[ten minutes later this one:]

Not sure if this is a pigeon or a dove.

[it's a very nice bird silhouette! he should not be outside, he knows, it's dangerous outside, but he just wanted to feed the birds.]

...Than When Your Eyes Are Shut [Hallucinations + Sleeper Farm Plot, closed to CR]

Part I. All will be well. [Beginning of November]

It takes Shen Yuan longer than most to feel the effects of the November hallucinations. Isn't he already an old at managing his corruption levels, at keeping his mind and meridians clear, at ignoring or side-stepping information that might make him uneasy? Shen Yuan does not consider himself skilled in that final category, but that just goes to show how many skills ranks in it he really has. It's always there, working in the background, protecting his worldview from anything that might force it to change, to re-examine its assumptions.

And the assumption that he is safe here, that despite the city's hazards nothing will permanently harm him, that he'll never ever have to leave this place or return to the world from whence he came, is especially important to Shen Yuan's peace of mind.

So the first time he hears someone anxious whisper those words, "The Tower is weakening..." he sneers and thinks, 'Sounds fake, but okay,' and that settles that. He doesn't stop others from saying it -- though he does remind the other members of Duty's construction crew to focus on their jobs, not hearsay -- but those words will never pass through his lips. It's a lie, clearly; propaganda or a misunderstanding. The Tower is not weakening. It will not fall. And everything is going to be fine.

Part II. And all will be well. [Middle of November]

Taking a leave of absense from the construction crew is annoying, but Shen Yuan decides to look on the bright side. He's wanted to spend more time cultivating, hasn't he? And didn't he, just last month, have the idea to visit the other places of power in Trench, to meditate and try to bolster his qi with theirs? So isn't this really an opportunity, not a setback?

So he goes on a night hunt with Huaisang and the other two (though not even Never Mind's worry is enough to shake his belief that really, the Tower's going to be fine) and he meditates with Lan Xichen, and he explores the city. A few times he takes one or more of the other cultivators with him, but more and more he finds himself wanting to be alone. The hallucinations are...they're sure not getting any better, and it's getting increasingly hard to look his friends in the eye when gore and insects and strange, crawling plants slither out of their pores to peer back, but. It's fine. He won't give in. He just needs to tough it out. Just tough it out...

Part III. And m̵̖̓̚ą̶̖͋n̶̜͗̊͋͝n̵̯͚̥̆̔ẻ̸̟͒̅̾ṛ̸̭̬͆̾̓ͅ ̶̙̯̌͗̆̓o̷̲̟̒́̚f̵͍̞̮̓ ̴̻̖͋̋̊ṫ̴͚͍̐̇h̷̨͂̆̆͗į̵͇͕̃ṉ̷̰̍̋̏g̷̞̹̟̈́̓̀͝s̵͍̥̹̓͌ will be well. [Beginning of the end of November]

user: refined elegance posted to the Sword Wizards and Mike! group chat --

This blade requires assistance in Crenshaw! Shen Yuan sat down to meditate, and now we are being moved by strangers. I cannot wake him! Please, come at once.

[The location of the Pale Sanctuary is attached -- but no matter how much his friends hurry, by the time they arrive Shen Yuan and Xiu Ya will no longer be there.]

Sometimes you get a text in the middle of the night to come collect your friend who is, and he checks his omni once more and, yes, the word specifically used is 'tipsy'. Lan Xichen has some suspicions that may be an understatement and readies himself accordingly. It's always best to brace for the worst, and not have to be disappointed.

Shuoyue touches down just outside of The Red, and Xichen hops off, gesturing for the blade to return to its ornate sheath. When he enters, he finds Shen Yuan almost immediately in the lobby, and heads over to see just how hammered he got with Huaisang.

"Shen-gongzi," he greets, dipping his head a little in a more casual bow. "How are you?"

If Huaisang misses anything with particular clarity - or, like, willingness to admit it - about the world they as cultivators have left behind, it's banquets. He isn't a bad host (other cultivators are just bad guests) and he enjoys the uncomplicated goals of eat good food and have good drinks and not try to kill one another for at least a few hours.

(Usually. See: bad guests.)

Now, drinks with Shen Yuan is not a banquet by any stretch of the imagination, it's more on par with having drinks with friends at an inn (also the distant past and keenly missed, to be fair), but. Well. Huaisang will take any excuse.

So he has indeed wheedled his way into a private room at the Red, where a staff member will lead Shen Yuan when he arrives. The room is fundamentally a large booth surrounding a massive table for a larger party, but hey: he's good for it, for sure. He's insisted on finding decor more suited to Shen Yuan's clan colors instead of so much red, and he's had a simply egregious amount of snacks set out to complement the alcohol. (And he didn't know what some of them are, so is there really a plate of nachos sitting on the corner of the table? Yes.)

He's ready to bounce off the walls in anticipation of Drinks With Shen-ge when the guest of honor arrives, zipping over to cling onto Shen Yuan's arm and wave his fan at the rest of the room. Behold. "Look, look— isn't it something? And this one has requested privacy, so Shen-ge can relax in peace."

Getting Shen Yuan to awaken after Duty had rescued him from the Sleeper Farm had been tricky in and of itself. Now, Jin Guangyao and Lan Xichen were taking it in turns to gently pump spiritual energy back into him, and ensure that it flowed naturally between his meridians while he recovered.

It's Lan Xichen's turn today and he heads into the parlour after his morning meditations to check in on Shen Yuan.

The place the set up for him is quite cozy; a cot beside a window looking out into the gardens. There isn't much out there to see at the moment what with winter right around the corner, but they are still lovely regardless.

He taps his knuckles lightly against one of the folding screens that partition off the area so Shen Yuan can have a measure of privacy.

"Shen-gongzi? If you're decent, I'd like to come in."

Edited 2022-11-22 03:36 (UTC)

All Around Me Faces I See [Open]

Party-Cultivatin' in the Group Chat Tonight [Closed to CR]