On Golden Sands

[flangirl]

characters: anyone!
location: beacon, above the waterline
date/time: mostly an open post for everyone who didn't go to the station july 8 - 15th, but open for july in general!
content: a catchall and mingle (and idle hand-wringing for the rest of us)
warnings: the usual: mark your subject lines as needed

the open event post is a little daunting and full of top-levels for those who went undersea sailing, as it were. i figured i'd make a space off in a corner for anyone who wants to hit up other topside folks without wading (heh) through the event text - and also give space for threads before and after so as not to flood the event!

i'm turning off emails on this entry for my own sanity but i'll check periodically for toplevels and put up my own toplevel a little later in the day!

come on in, the not-the-water's fine!

Comments

[pure_havoc]

"Does he?" Cao Pi smiles slyly. "Other worlds. The good doctor does have quite the imagination. Or, perhaps, just a burning desire to revisit his own memories. It's fascinating, isn't it? I wonder how many centuries separate someone like me from someone like him."

[callada]

He downs another gulp of tasteless wine. "Dunno. A lot. I think he just misses home. It's like me missing the ocean. Being stuck on land for so long doesn't feel right."

The lake isn't the same as the sea. He could get by if it was at least a real ocean, he thinks - for as much as he does enjoy sailing, it isn't his lifeblood entirely the way it is for some. He'd be happy in a small, quiet, out of the way village on an island so long as he could still set sail now and then just for fun and a sense of adventure.

They're both stranded. He's said it before. Will belongs in the stars and it must feel alien to be so far beneath them for as long as he has been.

[pure_havoc]

"A feeling I cannot share, even if I understand," Cao Pi sighs. "I was never at home on the water, what little time I spent in my father's navy. But, I do grasp that we all have our own things we miss, our reasons for homesickness and longing."

Which is just more fuel for the downhearted mood. He can't help but think of what might have been, what might yet be. "I wonder if there is anything among the technology that would allow us to go back. Being alive while dead, eating and drinking, is already impossible, perhaps we could look for more impossibilities..."

At the very least, he'd kill for a chance to communicate, to say goodbye to those who matter. To maybe share some sorcery for killing that snake monster. Something, anything to atone for dying in such a useless tragedy.

[callada]

"I'm sure it's something people here have been working on. Seems like a lot of people would want to go back. But hell, doesn't mean it's impossible just because they haven't done it yet. We could go back and tell all our worlds about this place. Help them prepare."

But that seems like even more of a fantasy than the rest. Can they go back despite being dead? Is the fact that the lanterns can sustain a sort of non-life a feature of this world only, or independent of it? Would Law want to go back and finish what he started, or is it better if they stick together now and make a new life away from the world that despises Rosinante for the nature of his birth? Law must miss his friends dearly and if an opportunity to go back to them should arise, Rosinante would want him to be able to go - but what about Will and Mary?

With a sigh, he lights a cigarette and fixates on that instead. It tastes like nothing, too. Nothing is satisfying anymore.

[pure_havoc]

"Even to simply send messages..." Wistfully. One more farewell and I love you. Oh yeah and maybe watch out for more giant monsters, that's important too, good point Rosinante. Zihuan gulps down the rest of his wine and then takes a break, leaning his hands on the bar top. This magic wine hits hard but at least he knows - he tested it for science - that it also means he'll sleep good and deeply. Fucking flashbacks can go straight to hell.

"...anyway. You are right. It won't hurt to try. We have the luxury of what seems like eternity, so long as we don't kill off the only ones who can repair lanterns and work the portal."

[callada]

"Yeah. Kind of makes the idea of a lighthouse keeper feel unnecessary, doesn't it? If even one person who knows how to operate the portal can hide well enough, they can keep working, as long as the World Eaters don't find them."

Maybe. His mind is a little muddled right now. That can't be right, can it? Why have a lighthouse for hundreds of years with the resets if it just wasn't needed? Maybe it's just too hard right now to fully think all the consequences through. He looks at his glass, downs what's left of it, and pushes it toward the bottle for more.

"Someone oughta write instructions. Leave them at the lab in case they're ever needed."

[pure_havoc]

Cao Pi is all too happy to fulfill that request, inwardly feeling like he's the best host in the world for doing so, while he really just needs to slow down or he'll fall asleep before everyone who needs booze gets booze.

"Yes, that should be a thing," he admits off-hand, though he probably won't remember it without some help later. "Really, though. Has anyone asked Robin why there was a need for a lighthouse keeper? Aside from the resets. If her only purpose was to decide when to massacre an entire population and start over again...well. That is. Actually, rather horrible, poor child."

[callada]

"Yeah. Feel bad for her now. Almost enough to regret being angry." Almost. Logically, he understands what happened now, a whole year later, when he went with the others to the lighthouse but old emotions buried deep inside still flare up when he thinks about what a horrible waste it was, losing Five and Winters so quickly.

"If there was more of a reason, she never explained it. Much like a lot of other things," he grumbles into his glass.

[pure_havoc]

Almost is exactly it. Cao Pi can have unpleasant feelings for the situation but still not really want to talk to the kid.

"I haven't talked to her much," he admits, "if at all. Have you?"

[callada]

"Not in a while. Before the lighthouse collapsed, I spoke with her a few times. Seemed like a good idea considering the position she was in. I feel bad for her, mostly. I think she really wanted to do the right thing."

Just that she was in a really shitty position. Twenty years of having to massacre everyone periodically would drive anyone mad, so it's remarkable that she had stayed more or less sane through it all as far as he can tell.

"I wish she'd just come back to town. Makes me wonder if the spirits are holding her captive out there somehow and she just can't say it."

[pure_havoc]

"I know she contacted us, with the tablet," he remembers, "but that was before we left, before everything happened. I wasn't aware she wasn't planning to actually come to us." Spirits preventing her from joining the town, well, that's a possibility. However, she could also be lost, maybe. "There are so few of us left, and after the tragic incidents that put us here, we must all work together no matter what."

It's bold words, easy to say, especially while half-drunk. Things in general appear to be increasing in difficulty for those left. When he's sober later, Cao Pi will make a list of all the things he keeps saying they need to do. First and foremost, though, is probably calling a meeting after they see if their portal works and newcomers arrive. He opens his mouth to say something to that effect so that Rosinante can agree but a moment's lightheadedness makes him pause. "....ah. Perhaps I should slow down."

[callada]

"Stuff's strong," he agrees with a slow nod. Strong enough for him to be feeling it despite not drinking it all that quickly.

"Tastes funny though," he finally admits, as the alcohol convinces him it's safe to say at least that much. "Not just this, though. Everything."

[pure_havoc]

"Everything...?" It's a good thing he qualified it with that or Cao Pi might have gotten offended on his wine's behalf. He gestures vaguely with a twirl of his finger. "Something to do with...all that happened down there? I have had some lingering effects, myself, most likely thanks to the green-eyed spirits."

[callada]

"Yeah, I think so, or the world eater. Must've really gotten to me. Probably just need some time. It's weird, though, what they can do to your head."

Just a loss of taste, though, is all he's going to admit to even under the influence. Just a strange little thing that will surely go away on its own, which has nothing to do with a hunger for raw flesh and nothing else.

[pure_havoc]

No disagreement here. His brow furrows. "Did we manage to find anything that worked against their mind powers, down there? I don't recall exactly."

Boy that would be great. A weapon against World Eaters is one thing but god damnare they going to have issues every time they try to make progress if there's a green-eyes around every corner.

[callada]

"Yeah... thought I heard something about some magic potion."

The thought of magic still makes him cringe a little, more obviously right now than usual. Magic is real, he accepts that, but it's not especially satisfying as an answer.

"Not sure how well it worked. We'd have to track down the people who found those in the station and ask. Too bad there wasn't enough for everyone."

[pure_havoc]

His magnificent snort should say everything that needs to be said about magic. From the guy who has ice powers, yeah yeah, alternate universes are a bitch. "Oh, yes, I'm sure that will come in handy, if the person who was crafting it is dead and no one here can perform the same magic. Wonderful."

He said he was going to slow down but there he goes pouring another glass.

[callada]

Quickly deciding he's not to be outdone by someone two thirds his height, Rosinante downs what's in his glass and offers it for another refill. Easy to do when it's tasteless, that's for sure.

"Weaver's no magician. Guessing it was that guy with the long ears. Aar... something. Dunno if we even have magic people like that left now. Keep losing 'em."

[pure_havoc]

That's right, chug the powerful sleepy wine, Rosinante. Cao Pi obliges, managing not to spill a drop even if he's getting a little animated in his movements.

"I am not up to date on our current population, either. As long as I keep seeing familiar faces coming back, I tend to...forget, I suppose, that there were others."

It's terrible to admit but it's true. Out of sight, out of mind, save for maybe two or three souls who left a much stronger impression.

[callada]

"You forget?"

This time the frown is directed at Cao Pi rather than the wine. "Y'know, maybe people would take you more seriously as a leader if they thought you cared about them."

Okay, no, he says it before he hears it in his head and then clamps his mouth shut. It's a little too genuine for his liking. At least this is Cao Pi and not, say, an admiral from home, or his brother, or someone he has to speak more carefully around (or not speak at all, of course, in that one particular case).

[pure_havoc]

Cao Pi snorts another little chuckle, but doesn't elaborate on what it means. It could be a laugh at himself for slipping up, it could be denial that anyone should worry about feelings, or it could be a subtle admission that he doesn't care and isn't sorry. If nothing else he'll chalk it up to wine, which does make truth easy to tell.

"You think people don't take me seriously? Ah, if so...it matters little. I am not interested in being liked."

As long as they listen, which so far they do. Story of his life, really. He dismisses any concern with a little shrug.

[callada]

"Helps, though. This isn't some army you can rule. Nobody's getting paid to listen to you either."

This isn't really a road he wants to go down, though, so he just slumps lower in his seat and looks blankly at the wine. Maybe he should head back soon. Check on Law. Make sure nobody's tried to move him.

Another cigarette first, though - when did he even finish the last? It's getting hard to keep track. He fumbles the pack and it falls to the floor, and he stares dejectedly down at it for a long moment.

[pure_havoc]

Well, he's not wrong.

Cao Pi's eyes follow the flop as well, and then raise to his companion's face. "You should rest," he says with a slow shake of his head. "This wine is more valuable than it looks. I have never slept so soundly here in this nightmare world as I have after drinking it."

He'll stop short of literally bundling Rosinante off to bed but that staredown with the floor says a lot.

[callada]

"Gotta at least finish the glass." Right? Sure, it's an endless bottle of wine that he can't even find any enjoyment in tasting, but it still feels wrong to waste it. Early lessons learned and all.

The problem is he does want a cigarette, and in leaning down to try and retrieve the pack (which shouldn't be hard, the seats at the bar are not that high to him), he just falls straight out of his bar stool and onto the floor. That probably would have happened even if he wasn't drunk, but it's a struggle to get back into his seat, and he ends up kicking the stool over in the process.

[pure_havoc]

The whole floor show is a delight from Cao Pi's perspective, he can't help some rather undignified chuckles here and there, as each new development unfolds. The crash of the stool even makes him laugh loud enough that he has to catch it and pretend it was a cough. Nothing to see here, nope, it's all good.

"Ah. Do you...erm. Need a hand?"