pc catchall | superhell | zel

[engineers]

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week 0, tuesday

[engineers]

[ hello, zel! today lu bixing is... vibing in the computer lab. by which i mean, he's sitting cross legged on the floor and examining one of the computers with a critical eye.

noting someone else though, he leans back from where he's sitting and offers a cheerful smile. ]

Good morning. Finding the new locations alright?

[hardrocklife]

[Zelgadis is shrouded head-to-toe in white. He stops in the doorway when he sees there's someone in here, but at that greeting, decides he might as well come in.]

Yeah.

[His one visible eye gazes down at the computer.]

Ever seen devices like this before?

[engineers]

[ what a fashion icon

lu bixing makes a thoughtful noise, tilting his head to the side. ] Well, honestly? No, these are... archaic. Ancient Earth technology that they're saying is "state of the art".

[ ????????

fucking future nerd. he sighs, prodding at the computer's base. ] But, c'est la vie. We work with what we have. What about you?

[hardrocklife]

Archaic...?

[He shakes his head.]

They look fairly advanced compared to anything I've seen before. Where I'm from, it's rare to see machines of any kind, much less ones so small and complex.

Week 1, Saturday

[hardrocklife]

[Zelgadis somewhere outside on College Island, sitting on the ground with a shitty beer in hand and staring off distantly at the sea of lava before him. Seeing Lu Bixing nearby, he glances up, then gives a simple nod of acknowledgement. Enough to signal that he doesn't mind if he sticks around. This is a pretty good spot for sitting around angstily; he recommends it.]

[engineers]

[ god, yeah. sitting around angstily is a mood.

after a long moment, he'll come to drop down next to him. lu bixing's got...a weed.... in his hand... wow.... but otherwise seems to just be okay. he just looks very tired. ]

Hi, Zelgadis. What a mess, huh...?

[hardrocklife]

... Yeah.

Another narrow success, though it... doesn't really feel like one.

[glancing over. weed?]

week 2 monday

[engineers]

[ happy tuesday! today on the music store, zelgadis might hear the sound of

whatever this is and more specifically, this exact thing happening. that is to say, a grown ass man sliding across the floor in his socks.

ba-nananananana.....

he's dressed, at least? and when he turns around and spots zelgadis, he jumps like half a foot and drops whatever he was using to be a microphone, then squeaks - ] Zelgadis! [ and then clears his throat. ] Um, hi.

[hardrocklife]

Hi.

[he just... stands there for a moment.]

I can come back later.

[engineers]

[ we're just gonna

fight right through this ]

Nope! No, by all means, come on in. Sorry. Just - uh, reliving some stuff. Are you just exploring?

Week 3, Friday

[hardrocklife]

[On Friday, Zelgadis can be found sitting on the steps of the museum on Memory Lane. He's still wearing this drip from yesterday. There's a kitten with a blue ribbon around her neck running up and down the stairs, but Zel? He's just kind of staring out into the foggy distance.]

[engineers]

[ his drip is impeccable but his face is so sad.

lu bixing is on his way from making his rounds, and when he spots zel, he pauses, turns on his heel, and comes back around to him, squatting on the stairs in front of him to see if he can catch his eye. he's got something in his hands! ]

....Zelgadis? [ you in there, buddy... ]

[hardrocklife]

[Oh. He kinda snaps out of whatever distant headspace he was just in. He'll look up at Lu Bixing's face, and also at what's in his hands. Hello?]

-- Hm?

w4, tuesday

[engineers]

[ time to be nerdy in the garden

by which i mean, here's lu bixing! he's standing in the garden with his hands on his hips, looking up at a big, huge mushroom. when he spots zelgadis, though, he gives him a wave. ]

Hey, Zelgadis! Having fun exploring?

[hardrocklife]

[zelgadis glances over and nods to acknowledge him.

walking alongside him is a small black kitten with a blue ribbon. she runs right up to that mushroom and attempts to climb up the side of it.]

Not as much as she is.

[engineers]

[ cute... he watches this, putting a hand on his cheek. ]

Oh, cute... this world must seem impossible for her in comparison to the normal one, huh? We're as big as she is, on scale!

Week 5, Saturday

[hardrocklife]

[Well, it's the evening and Zelgadis couldn't even bring himself to go somewhere to drink. He's just out on a bench somewhere, looking absolutely hollow and miserable. A pile of black and blue flower petals are on the ground around his feet.

He glances up to see Lu Bixing, and he looks away again.]

You don't have to say anything. I've made a mess of things.

[engineers]

[ oh, well. this is one of those things where he's not sure if it's a good idea to approach, and for someone who is so confident and in control of his emotions, he hesitates for a long, long time.

and eventually, when he makes his way over, he does sit down, and talks like, almost at the same time as zelgadis - he has to stop himself, sucking a breath, but when he speaks up, he just says: ]

I'm so sorry. [ before anything else, because that's what he wants to say. nothing about zelgadis making a mess, no blame, no words of sacrifice, just a miserably genuine and honest apology, laden with the weight of the sheer suffering of the past two hours especially. ]

[hardrocklife]

[......

He wasn't expecting that. And in an instant, it just brings up a swelling of a whole lot of emotions he was only barely suppressing.]

Don't be an idiot.

[He finally says, but it sounds like he has to choke out the words.]

week 5 monday

[engineers]

[ this new location is bixing's favorite place, actually. at some point, if zelgadis happens to wander on the outside of the resort, on the slops and kind of near the kitchen, he might hear the crackle of a small fire.

something smells really good, out here, actually... if he rounds the corner, he'll see lu bixing! he's dressed appropriately in his trenchcoat, with a scarf from the little gift shop wrapped around his neck, and it looks like he has a pair of earmuffs perched on his head, and he's wearing a dog kigu under that.

but more importantly, he's sitting near the source of the little fire! ]

[hardrocklife]

[Sure, Zel's curious enough to wander over here. He's just wearing his normal cloak -- it seems he doesn't really need to bundle up for the cold. He stops to consider the dog kigu... then looks to the fire.

What smells so good......]

[engineers]

[ it's meat!!! it looks like he's barbecueing something from the kitchen, and when he spots zelgadis, he gives him a smile. he's got a whole little setup here, with a... he's using a harpoon as a spit. the likelihood he borrowed that from jingheng is high.

anyway ]

Hey, Zelgadis. Are you hungry?

week 6 sunday

[engineers]

[ happy sunday!! not. it sure was a day.

lu bixing is in the ice bar this evening. more specifically, he's laying down on the icy surface but near the fireplace, wrapped in several warm blankets, and he appears to be reading a book! the room smells faintly of coffee despite the drinks.

he looks up when someone comes in, and offers zelgadis a tired smile. ]

[hardrocklife]

[he stops to look at him... then, when it seems he's been noticed, offers a nod in response.]

What are you reading?

[engineers]

[ he holds the book up for him to see: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson. ]

A little science fiction from Ancient Earth. Thought I could use a little distraction. [ all things considered. this week sucks. ] You doing okay?