[ HELP OH NO this makes him laugh. he just, laughs? a startled little noise. ]
Thank you - I think that's the most sympathetic limerick I've ever heard?
[ they tend to be mean, after all! he nudges out the chair for him to come sit down. ] Did you lose the skill to talk normally, or are you just feeling poetic...?
Just rhyming couplets, that one. My limericks are mostly of the saucy variety.
[Well, that answers both questions! He heads over, taking the proffered chair and turning it around so that he can straddle it backwards and lean on the backrest, like the coolguy he is.]
T'were popular tavern fare, back before my untimely demise. I suppose I just felt in the mood.
[ what a nerd. the first part gets a laugh, though, warm. ]
Most limericks are. [ saucy. but he props a chin in his hand when he settles. ] But - I could see why! Did you do a lot of entertaining, before? You ought to teach Zhanlu some of your skills, he could really use it.
[ the image of someone like thancred being a bard, or maybe that he enjoys a warm welcome? it both seems about right. or maybe it's the sweetness of the last bit, which gives him an affectionate little quirk to the corner of his mouth. ]
It's a nice skill to have. Ask me to write you poetry in code and astrophysical motion - now that's easy. But rhymes and written word are beyond me no matter how much I like them.
All right, then: write poetry in code and astrophysical motion. Let's see your efforts.
[The thing that's wildest about this concept is that Thancred's closest relatable memory of a person who talks like this is, in fact, a two-fulm-tall rabbit with a squeaky voice who doesn't know what a tree is.
So basically, this should be interesting. Let's go, Codingway.]
Meanwhile, I'll start sorting out which of these drinks I'm to imbibe first, shall I?
As soon as I have a way to do so, I'd be happy to.
[ he sighs, a little playfully dramatic, as he taps one of his floating screens and then turns it to let thancred see. it's just reflecting the phone's functions. ] My own personal hell used to be a permanent loading screen, but now it's just a device with little function.
[ how is he supposed to write code in these conditions. how is he supposed to HACK in these conditions. tragic. heartbreaking.
anyway. he will pull up his lil notes app and start to tap away at his keyboard. in reverse through the screen, he lets thancred see the notes he's writing. - Participant #2, along with the day and time. ]
Feel free to pick whichever one you want. Just let me know your observations on how it tastes, to you in case it's like the Number Nine where it's different by person! And then we'll wait five minutes to see some general observations, and after that, I'll ask you a few questions to try and discern what's up. Sound good?
[thancred normal people don't know what the fuck a tomestone is BUT ANYWAY at least they know what a bar is, and that's his cue to find himself a drink.
And the dice say 1, which means right now his taste is running towards the Siren Song. Here we go!]
This one. The "Siren's Song".
[He takes a sip and considers, then hums a tone softly, like he's expecting it's going to do something to something to the quality of his voice.]
In my universe, we'd say computers, but I'd be fascinated to hear about what a tomestone is.
[ so genuinely. lu bixing... is a giant nerd. if that wasn't already blatantly clear and obvious, and his eyes even light up a little bit at the idea? nerdy. but with that, he sits back with his keyboard and starts to add to his notes. siren song, then. ]
Seems like a good choice for a bard. How's it taste?
the look on his face just says he wants to ask about a thousand questions about that, but lu bixing manages to suck down the curiosity before it gets way out of hand. hoo.
Anyway
he starts to write down notes as thancred is talking, thoughtfully tapping his fingertips on the floating keys. ]
Interesting. Okay. How do you feel? Just a basic description is fine. If you can tell what kind of alcohol might be in it, that helps, too!
...Well, I'm not finding myself irrepressibly attracted to you, so that's a start. Cane sugar...sea salt...spiced rum...orange peel...
[I have no idea if these ingredients are right but this is in fact the thing Thancred would get correctly and I'm not about to go ask the mods to give me a hard recipe so. Just. Let's assume he's getting these right, and goes on a little further.]
I'm not turning purple or something likewise absurd, am I? Not sprouting fins and gills?
[ what is this icon. anyway i think you're 100% correct and the mods cannot tell you you are wrong this is our city now. lu bixing nods along - thancred will see him taking notes on the ingredients as he goes, as well as any of the comments he makes.
he cranes his head around the screen properly to look - amused. ]
Nope. Not as far as I can tell, unless it's under your clothes. [ with a little laugh. ] We can check "turns you into a mer-person" off the list, I think.
[ they're onto something here. he tilts his head, like he's going to say no?
... and then pauses and does it? once? he also then like almost immediately eats shit because his depth perception is a nightmare and he catches the edge of the table so he doesn't fall, then looks at thancred, eyes a little wide. ]
[And that was really the whole point of being that needlessly specific, wasn't it — because they both kind of went to the same conclusion in their own ways, and the best way to test said conclusion would be something that the subject would be wildly unlikely to choose to do on their own, regardless.]
fascinating? he looks fascinated as he sits back down, and like. immediately starts typing, fingers flying over the keyboard. ]
That was a perfect test, Thancred - great choice. So, it allows you to give commands? I didn't feel particularly commanded, though, so maybe... maybe you become more influential? Like the song of a siren, drawing sailors in to their doom.
[ fascinating. he murmurs this to himself as he adds more?? ] I'll have to see how long it takes to wear off, too, so feel free to keep asking. [ this makes lu bixing laugh, and he grins at thancred from around the screen. ] I'm used to being my own test subject, so by all means.
You're in remarkably good spirits, considering my newly-identified capacity to — as you so eloquently put it — sing you to your doom.
[It really is curious that it doesn't seem to bother the other man; enough so that he's almost a little hesitant about proceeding with that invitation to keep giving direction. Almost.]
...Come over here and slap me as hard as you can across the face.
Well, I don't think you're going to make me do anything too dooming.
[ is what he starts to say, giving thancred a little bit of a smile> and then of course he goes ahead and gives that particular directive and he makes such a face. it's like. a puppy? like you just kicked a puppy? ]
You - seriously, you really want me to...
[ is what he at least can...say...in response? but he feels like he's just got to do it. he's got to. he does start to get up, at least, and looks down at his hand like D: ]
— No, I don't, actually, so do disregard that direction, after all.
[The fact that he says this almost immediately after LBX's protest suggests it's an outcome he might well have been anticipating all along. The fact that something relaxes in his shoulders as he settles in again also suggests he was ready and waiting to intercept the slap if it really did come.]
Well, then. It seems you can resist the compulsion, if it's to do something you find objectionable enough. That's not just reassuring to know; it's significant. Don't you agree?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Also surprise half a bell is in fact half an hour. They're bells like the chimes of a clock.]
Good tidings and a merry noon;
'Tis as I said — you've seen me soon.
But while I offer wishes well,
I have to say: you look like hell.
[THANCRED.]
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Thank you - I think that's the most sympathetic limerick I've ever heard?
[ they tend to be mean, after all! he nudges out the chair for him to come sit down. ] Did you lose the skill to talk normally, or are you just feeling poetic...?
no subject
[Well, that answers both questions! He heads over, taking the proffered chair and turning it around so that he can straddle it backwards and lean on the backrest, like the coolguy he is.]
T'were popular tavern fare, back before my untimely demise. I suppose I just felt in the mood.
no subject
Most limericks are. [ saucy. but he props a chin in his hand when he settles. ] But - I could see why! Did you do a lot of entertaining, before? You ought to teach Zhanlu some of your skills, he could really use it.
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[He seems to think a minute, and then adds: ]
In recent memory, I mostly used them to make a dear friend laugh.
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[ the image of someone like thancred being a bard, or maybe that he enjoys a warm welcome? it both seems about right. or maybe it's the sweetness of the last bit, which gives him an affectionate little quirk to the corner of his mouth. ]
It's a nice skill to have. Ask me to write you poetry in code and astrophysical motion - now that's easy. But rhymes and written word are beyond me no matter how much I like them.
no subject
[The thing that's wildest about this concept is that Thancred's closest relatable memory of a person who talks like this is, in fact, a two-fulm-tall rabbit with a squeaky voice who doesn't know what a tree is.
So basically, this should be interesting. Let's go, Codingway.]
Meanwhile, I'll start sorting out which of these drinks I'm to imbibe first, shall I?
no subject
[ he sighs, a little playfully dramatic, as he taps one of his floating screens and then turns it to let thancred see. it's just reflecting the phone's functions. ] My own personal hell used to be a permanent loading screen, but now it's just a device with little function.
[ how is he supposed to write code in these conditions. how is he supposed to HACK in these conditions. tragic. heartbreaking.
anyway. he will pull up his lil notes app and start to tap away at his keyboard. in reverse through the screen, he lets thancred see the notes he's writing. - Participant #2, along with the day and time. ]
Feel free to pick whichever one you want. Just let me know your observations on how it tastes, to you in case it's like the Number Nine where it's different by person! And then we'll wait five minutes to see some general observations, and after that, I'll ask you a few questions to try and discern what's up. Sound good?
no subject
[thancred normal people don't know what the fuck a tomestone is BUT ANYWAY at least they know what a bar is, and that's his cue to find himself a drink.
And the dice say 1, which means right now his taste is running towards the Siren Song. Here we go!]
This one. The "Siren's Song".
[He takes a sip and considers, then hums a tone softly, like he's expecting it's going to do something to something to the quality of his voice.]
no subject
[ so genuinely. lu bixing... is a giant nerd. if that wasn't already blatantly clear and obvious, and his eyes even light up a little bit at the idea? nerdy. but with that, he sits back with his keyboard and starts to add to his notes. siren song, then. ]
Seems like a good choice for a bard. How's it taste?
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[And yet they are presumably...smartphones. Based on what he's implying. So maybe that's a little concerning!
Meanwhile, though, he's testing the drink again, this time trying a bigger mouthful and swishing it on his tongue a little before swallowing.]
Curious. A fairly standard cocktail — balanced, hint of orange — but with a kick at the end reminiscent of seawater. Siren-like, I'd imagine.
no subject
the look on his face just says he wants to ask about a thousand questions about that, but lu bixing manages to suck down the curiosity before it gets way out of hand. hoo.
Anyway
he starts to write down notes as thancred is talking, thoughtfully tapping his fingertips on the floating keys. ]
Interesting. Okay. How do you feel? Just a basic description is fine. If you can tell what kind of alcohol might be in it, that helps, too!
no subject
...Well, I'm not finding myself irrepressibly attracted to you, so that's a start. Cane sugar...sea salt...spiced rum...orange peel...
[I have no idea if these ingredients are right but this is in fact the thing Thancred would get correctly and I'm not about to go ask the mods to give me a hard recipe so. Just. Let's assume he's getting these right, and goes on a little further.]
I'm not turning purple or something likewise absurd, am I? Not sprouting fins and gills?
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he cranes his head around the screen properly to look - amused. ]
Nope. Not as far as I can tell, unless it's under your clothes. [ with a little laugh. ] We can check "turns you into a mer-person" off the list, I think.
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[He cocks his head, though, and tries another sip of the drink.]
Please do refrain from comment if you're harboring opinions on that notion, by the way. I've no need of it.
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[
he just sort of agreed to that automatically without thinking about it? like. just agreed. lu bixing frowns, his fingers stopping on the keyboard. ]
....Huh. [ ... he begins typing a little more furiously ] Interesting.
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What? Don't just clam up without elaboration, out with it.
[He almost tacks an Urianger onto the end of that, purely on reflex, but stops himself just in time.]
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I just... huh. Thancred, tell me to do something.
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Get up and hop on one foot. Your left foot.
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... and then pauses and does it? once? he also then like almost immediately eats shit because his depth perception is a nightmare and he catches the edge of the table so he doesn't fall, then looks at thancred, eyes a little wide. ]
Whoa.
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...Well, then. That's certainly dangerous.
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fascinating? he looks fascinated as he sits back down, and like. immediately starts typing, fingers flying over the keyboard. ]
That was a perfect test, Thancred - great choice. So, it allows you to give commands? I didn't feel particularly commanded, though, so maybe... maybe you become more influential? Like the song of a siren, drawing sailors in to their doom.
[ fascinating. he murmurs this to himself as he adds more?? ] I'll have to see how long it takes to wear off, too, so feel free to keep asking. [ this makes lu bixing laugh, and he grins at thancred from around the screen. ] I'm used to being my own test subject, so by all means.
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[It really is curious that it doesn't seem to bother the other man; enough so that he's almost a little hesitant about proceeding with that invitation to keep giving direction. Almost.]
...Come over here and slap me as hard as you can across the face.
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[ is what he starts to say, giving thancred a little bit of a smile> and then of course he goes ahead and gives that particular directive and he makes such a face. it's like. a puppy? like you just kicked a puppy? ]
You - seriously, you really want me to...
[ is what he at least can...say...in response? but he feels like he's just got to do it. he's got to. he does start to get up, at least, and looks down at his hand like D: ]
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[The fact that he says this almost immediately after LBX's protest suggests it's an outcome he might well have been anticipating all along. The fact that something relaxes in his shoulders as he settles in again also suggests he was ready and waiting to intercept the slap if it really did come.]
Well, then. It seems you can resist the compulsion, if it's to do something you find objectionable enough. That's not just reassuring to know; it's significant. Don't you agree?
(no subject)