[I'm just going to assume that this is taking place after Thancred has gotten Rynlan settled and sleeping following the execution, so now he's just making his rounds checking on everyone as he is wont to do. He's walking a little more slowly than usual like he was doing something that overexerted his back a bit (he was), and he is conspicuously without Fairyfilia, who normally trails around with him these days but who at present is curiously absent.
Anyway, it's about time to check in on Bixing. Or subject himself to being checked on. Really it could go either way.
[ i hope thancred got railed and then came to walk around and say hi
anyway. bixing is in the ice bar, today! he's been banned from being out and about, but that seems to suit him okay - he's curled up and leaning against the ice wall, covered in several very cozy blankets, and is reading a book. his curly hair's tied up with a little rubber band off of his face in a stupid little pebbles flintstone ponytail, and he's chewing on the edge of a gel pen.
when the door pops open and its a familiar face, thancred gets a little smile in greeting, though, soft and worried. ]
[TRAGICALLY he's just an idiot with a bad habit of carrying his elf places when he should KNOW BETTER and not AGGRAVATE HIS OWN HEALING INJURIES but guess what! Tank Behavior!]
Sleeping, finally. It took a damned long time.
[Of note: he is not wearing his white gunbreaker's coat. Wonder where that could be.
On the upside, that means he's just in the black bodysuit that normally goes underneath it, which also unfortunately means there's quite the gunshow going on today. At least he's got sleeves, so it's not just nonexistent protection against the ice bar's chill.
He heads over, finding a place of his own nearby to sit and sinks down into it.]
He couldn't stand the quiet; it took a while before he was calm enough to drift off.
[ lu bixing tucks his bookmark into his book and shuts it as thancred comes over - he offers up some of the blankets, if he wants them, too. it's chilly in here.
beyond that, though, his brows knit together, concern writing across his face. ] Mm... with those whispers, I can only imagine. [ his own execution was less than pleasant, after all. poor rynlan. ] Sounds like he was lucky to have you there, though; I'm glad you managed to help him drift off.
He's told you, then — what they were? What that was?
[Because like. He's not going to go around telling Ryn's secrets to everyone and their mother, but there's a good chance LBX already knows, and if so — well.
There's some processing of all that baggage to be done, maybe, should a venue for it open up.]
Filbo didn't deserve any of that. Not the execution, that is — I'm speaking of all that which plagued him from before. He didn't deserve it. [...] I wish he could've believed all the people who clearly told him so.
[ he nods, to the first part. bixing's listening ear is as always wide open, and he's pretty close to rynlan, by this point, so. ]
I talked to him a little about it. [ therapist lu bixing. he worries a little at his cuff as thancred continues, too, quiet. ]
...and... I agree. It's... ultimately, it takes a lot to pull yourself out of that kind of a spiral, no matter how many hands are pulling at you to bring you up. It's never a fully forward path, either. Like walking on a broken cliff.
[ bixing's own experience with grief and depression certainly taught him that, too, so. filbo's words in particular struck a familiar, soft spot, the quiet muffled appearance of his own voice in the background like an echo chamber. ] It's hard. I don't know... I don't know if us leaving it be, and not finding him, would have been any better.
Mm. He didn't want me to stop talking to him. Truth be told, I didn't want to stop, either. He kept seeming to lose track of things, without that anchor. But he's got Suran'dor with him, and enough else to ground him should he wake up and not know where he is.
[And he'll be back there soon enough, himself. It's better that he gets away a little, too, or he's liable to fall into a black hole of worry and overprotective fretting, himself.]
To say nothing of the fact of, how would we reconcile that with what we've done to all the others who came before him? Lavi and Uriel's circumstances were no less tragic, and we sent them to their deaths. Could we really have spared him just because we all liked him? I would wager most of us were fond of Tuuri, too, and yet...
[ mmm... he nods, the worry pinching his brows further. ]
...The coat should help, too. [ something physical and familiar - he and rynlan have been over it, how to ground yourself in your senses, how to remind yourself of the world around you when you need to. ] I won't hold you too long, I promise.
[ bixing winces a little as he readjusts his position, gently folding his hands together. ]
...It's like Harrow said, in the end. We had to make a choice in a situation where choices were taken from us, as they always have been, here. Ultimately, it's about what we can live with - and if we can't live with it, then how we handle it as we go on. Time never stops its march forward. Not here, not at home, and not anywhere.
he makes a thoughtful noise after that silence - though at some point he tosses the edge of his blanket over to thancred if he's gonna park it for a while to chat, just for the sake of something fussy to do, and. ]
...mm. Harrowhark and I had a great plan that was pretty summarily ruined by the fact that Mephisto showed up dead on Friday morning. We didn't quite know it was him, yet, but... we'd been putting in the legwork to try and arrange everyone to vote for him, instead of who our culprits might have been. The best laid plans of mice and men, and all.
...He's a good guy, Filbo is. It was part of what made this case so heartbreaking.
[ cuddles!!! thancred can come over. bixing like exudes warm, like the sun. he can't really move too much but if thancred scooches in he accommodates him easily, leaning a little thankfully in for the body heat. warm.
and eventually, making a soft noise, of assent, he nods. ]
...I do. I figured it out during the injury check. It's part of why I got up to strip when it was my turn; I wanted to make sure I got a look. [ ... ] Sometimes a complicated and difficult question or case, as it turns out, has the simplest answer.
But... I stopped trying to follow it, as I think many others did. And by the time we locked onto Filbo, it was too late to say anything and bring the point to the forefront again.
...I think right now, we just need to focus on the party. That's going to be the most important thing. We're done with the trials now, with the party so close, so hopefully, it won't even matter.
[ he tilts his head a little to look at thancred - the corner of his mouth lifts, into a rueful smile. ]
[You know what the problem with daring him to do something about it is? It's that Thancred is here to take that dare. And also the fact that Ryn does the exact same thing and so he's just kind of primed for reflexive action when presented with someone demonstrating Fucking Elf™ behaviors.
Which is how LBX winds up smooched right smack dab on that stupid sparkly innocent smile.
Apparently that's what he's going to do about it — and he's already laughing even as he pulls away.]
All right, then, I take it back. We'll have nothing but smooth sailing from here on out, because you would have it be so.
[ do you know that lu bixing has never kissed anyone but lin jingheng in his entire life. ever. not once! at all! so this happens and it startles him so much that his entire face goes bright red and he is left gaping a little bit like an idiot before he even realizes what happened, like a dog suddenly stopped with its tail mid wag straight up in the air. it is a truly stupid face so thancred won this immediately. congratulations thancred. for once in his fucking life he is stunned absolutely silent.
and then afterward, very flustered, he manages to squeak out: ] Yes! Yes. Smooth sailing. Very smooth.
[ and then clears his throat
and then touches his fingers to his mouth like you can see the 404 blue screen error that happened?!?! he's so embarrassed. goodbye. useless virgin who isn't even remotely a virgin, actually. ]
[The saddest thing is, that's exactly the outcome he was gunning for: shut up on account of stunned stupid is one of the most effective uses of spontaneous kissing.
Anyway, after letting him suffer a minute, he gives Bixing a little nudge.]
You should be careful what you dish out, my friend. Someday someone will turn it back on you.
[ congratulations he's so flustered. bixing puts his face in his hands and leaves it there. he is red out to his ears. at least he does not seem upset. just very flustered like a big nerdy baby. ]
Thancred, you are the first person I've ever met that would just steal a kiss from me like that! Ever!
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
w6, sunday, post-execution
Anyway, it's about time to check in on Bixing. Or subject himself to being checked on. Really it could go either way.
HELLO SIR WHERE ARE YOU TODAY.]
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anyway. bixing is in the ice bar, today! he's been banned from being out and about, but that seems to suit him okay - he's curled up and leaning against the ice wall, covered in several very cozy blankets, and is reading a book. his curly hair's tied up with a little rubber band off of his face in a stupid little pebbles flintstone ponytail, and he's chewing on the edge of a gel pen.
when the door pops open and its a familiar face, thancred gets a little smile in greeting, though, soft and worried. ]
Thancred. [ hii ] How's Rynlan?
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Sleeping, finally. It took a damned long time.
[Of note: he is not wearing his white gunbreaker's coat. Wonder where that could be.
On the upside, that means he's just in the black bodysuit that normally goes underneath it, which also unfortunately means there's quite the gunshow going on today. At least he's got sleeves, so it's not just nonexistent protection against the ice bar's chill.
He heads over, finding a place of his own nearby to sit and sinks down into it.]
He couldn't stand the quiet; it took a while before he was calm enough to drift off.
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beyond that, though, his brows knit together, concern writing across his face. ] Mm... with those whispers, I can only imagine. [ his own execution was less than pleasant, after all. poor rynlan. ] Sounds like he was lucky to have you there, though; I'm glad you managed to help him drift off.
...How're you feeling, after all of that?
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[Because like. He's not going to go around telling Ryn's secrets to everyone and their mother, but there's a good chance LBX already knows, and if so — well.
There's some processing of all that baggage to be done, maybe, should a venue for it open up.]
Filbo didn't deserve any of that. Not the execution, that is — I'm speaking of all that which plagued him from before. He didn't deserve it. [...] I wish he could've believed all the people who clearly told him so.
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I talked to him a little about it. [ therapist lu bixing. he worries a little at his cuff as thancred continues, too, quiet. ]
...and... I agree. It's... ultimately, it takes a lot to pull yourself out of that kind of a spiral, no matter how many hands are pulling at you to bring you up. It's never a fully forward path, either. Like walking on a broken cliff.
[ bixing's own experience with grief and depression certainly taught him that, too, so. filbo's words in particular struck a familiar, soft spot, the quiet muffled appearance of his own voice in the background like an echo chamber. ] It's hard. I don't know... I don't know if us leaving it be, and not finding him, would have been any better.
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[And he'll be back there soon enough, himself. It's better that he gets away a little, too, or he's liable to fall into a black hole of worry and overprotective fretting, himself.]
To say nothing of the fact of, how would we reconcile that with what we've done to all the others who came before him? Lavi and Uriel's circumstances were no less tragic, and we sent them to their deaths. Could we really have spared him just because we all liked him? I would wager most of us were fond of Tuuri, too, and yet...
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...The coat should help, too. [ something physical and familiar - he and rynlan have been over it, how to ground yourself in your senses, how to remind yourself of the world around you when you need to. ] I won't hold you too long, I promise.
[ bixing winces a little as he readjusts his position, gently folding his hands together. ]
...It's like Harrow said, in the end. We had to make a choice in a situation where choices were taken from us, as they always have been, here. Ultimately, it's about what we can live with - and if we can't live with it, then how we handle it as we go on. Time never stops its march forward. Not here, not at home, and not anywhere.
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[For all his best efforts at keeping that matter-of-fact, a few traces of fondness still manage to sneak in anyway.]
...I know. 'Tis not for us to make those decisions of so-called worthiness.
[But. After a long and agonizing moment of silence, he adds: ]
I still wish it hadn't been him.
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he makes a thoughtful noise after that silence - though at some point he tosses the edge of his blanket over to thancred if he's gonna park it for a while to chat, just for the sake of something fussy to do, and. ]
...mm. Harrowhark and I had a great plan that was pretty summarily ruined by the fact that Mephisto showed up dead on Friday morning. We didn't quite know it was him, yet, but... we'd been putting in the legwork to try and arrange everyone to vote for him, instead of who our culprits might have been. The best laid plans of mice and men, and all.
...He's a good guy, Filbo is. It was part of what made this case so heartbreaking.
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[Under the blanket he goes! And it's still technically touch week, so guess what. Cuddle time.]
Do you?
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and eventually, making a soft noise, of assent, he nods. ]
...I do. I figured it out during the injury check. It's part of why I got up to strip when it was my turn; I wanted to make sure I got a look. [ ... ] Sometimes a complicated and difficult question or case, as it turns out, has the simplest answer.
But... I stopped trying to follow it, as I think many others did. And by the time we locked onto Filbo, it was too late to say anything and bring the point to the forefront again.
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[
I say, having just recalled that Ryn was godmodding Thancred to help with body check so he would've been right there to get a look at the knife.And that's all he'll say about that.]
Do you suppose there's anything to be done about it? Or do we simply leave it alone, unworthy of any further pursuit?
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[ he tilts his head a little to look at thancred - the corner of his mouth lifts, into a rueful smile. ]
Besides, you know me; less death, more solutions.
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[THANCRED.]
But that's a problem for tomorrow, I suppose.
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flicks him on the nose gently ]
Please don't jinx it.
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Did you really just —
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studies show that perhaps lu bixing is more of a little shit than people often think he is ]
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Which is how LBX winds up smooched right smack dab on that stupid sparkly innocent smile.
Apparently that's what he's going to do about it — and he's already laughing even as he pulls away.]
All right, then, I take it back. We'll have nothing but smooth sailing from here on out, because you would have it be so.
1/2
have you ever heard a grown ass man squeak ]
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and then afterward, very flustered, he manages to squeak out: ] Yes! Yes. Smooth sailing. Very smooth.
[ and then clears his throat
and then touches his fingers to his mouth like you can see the 404 blue screen error that happened?!?! he's so embarrassed. goodbye. useless virgin who isn't even remotely a virgin, actually. ]
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Anyway, after letting him suffer a minute, he gives Bixing a little nudge.]
You should be careful what you dish out, my friend. Someday someone will turn it back on you.
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Thancred, you are the first person I've ever met that would just steal a kiss from me like that! Ever!
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[NOW WHO'S FUCKING WITH WHO]
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You are definitely incorrigible.
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