TDM #5 - Paradesium [REPRINT]

[pumpkinhollow]

Pumpkin Hollow Gazette April Issue

[Find our plain text version here!] MOD NOTE: April's event for members will take place between April 12-25 and will impact the whole island. As such, any tags taking place here over that time will need to be back- or future-dated unless an alternative is discussed with a mod. Don't worry over the details of this too much--- time is soup, after all. Just something to be aware of. Thanks!

Pumpkin Hollow Gazette

4/2/24 | TDM #5 - Paradesium [REPRINT]
Content Warnings: individual CWs found per prompt in "Further Details"
Forecast: Very rainy! Chance of severe storms.

WELCOME TO PUMPKIN HOLLOW!

By Yorick Aberdeen

Apparently the ferryman needed a bigger boat!

ACROSS TOWN - Since June of 16:53, a steady stream of new arrivals to our sleepy little town has flowed in by ferry, emerging from the fog. And it seems this trend is due to continue, as this past March is on record the highest number of new residents in a single month!

We are incredibly grateful for all of you coming to our home and filling it with life once more, even though the dangers of our local curse have significantly increased since all of you began arriving. This reporter isn’t complaining--- additional harm to my own person notwithstanding!

If you are a new arrival, please report to Town Hall at your leisure so that we can help you find work and permanent lodging. Or don’t! The Oak & Iron is happy to rent you a room for as long as you need. Best of luck to all of you, and as we say in Pumpkin Hollow, may your lanterns always be lit!

CHARITY DRIVE ENCOURAGES CULTURAL EXCHANGE

By Cecil Gershwin Palmer

One of the charming toys created during last year's Doll Picnic.

FESTIVAL GREEN - Preparations are underway for the upcoming annual Doll Picnic. A charity event sponsored by the Artisan’s Guild, this picnic is an Anwyllic tradition that was brought to the island and continued with love. The first Doll Picnic was organized by Dame Meredith Idlewild of the town of Glyn Rhuthun on Kora’s Haven, with the toys being donated to the local children’s hospital after a massive landslide engulfed a local school.

The Artisan’s Guild has baskets of material available for making dolls, including fabric, yarn, stuffing, buttons, and the like. However, tradition states that sourcing materials from the natural world (for example, acorn husks to use as buttons or deadwood to carve for doll arms and legs) results in the toys being blessed by Serrenai, who will watch over the children who play with them. The toys will be donated to local children after the picnic, including those who are ill or whose families can only afford necessities.

Newcomers are explicitly invited to join in the making of toys, and the resulting picnic. As a personal note: the locals have never heard of a teddy bear before. This reporter expects to see several, as we introduce our traditions to their traditions.

PLANTING SEASON BEGINS!

By Yorick Aberdeen

After a difficult winter, the appearance of spring's sprouts lifts our spirits.

NORTHWEST HOLLOW - The spring thaw is in full swing! That means it’s time for our local farmers to begin planting. Town Hall is offering a small reward to any of our newest arrivals who would be interested in assisting with planting season for farms less than a year old.

Anyone fresh off the boat interested in making 100 Brass should seek out Eddie and Angel Kasbrak, Arthur Morgan, Cèsar Salazar, Mairi Miann, Ylva Wolfsdottir, or Muriel and offer assistance with tilling and planting. We look forward to rewarding you for your contributions!

HOT SPRINGS OPEN FOR RELAXATION

By Yorick Aberdeen

Photograph provided by the Safety Board!

CRANE'S RIDGE - After a recent earthquake opened up a hot spring on the lower portion of Crane’s Ridge, a small portion of the Pumpkin Hollow Damage Claims Assessment Corps has been working to get the area cleaned up and safe for use by the general public.

Following its recent approval for compliance by the Safety Board, we are pleased to announce that Porter’s Spring is now available for public enjoyment! It can be accessed by taking the train to the North Station or by following the central trail out of Northwest Hollow, though the Safety Board does not recommend making this journey on foot due to its proximity to Lake Sal-Co-Penn. Enjoy!

STRANGE CAVERNS DISCOVERED BENEATH CRANE’S RIDGE

By Yorick Aberdeen

A small glimpse into this world beneath our own.

CRANE RIDGE - In addition to the hot springs, the earthquake can also be credited for a major cave-in in our Crane’s Ridge mines. A large tunnel was completely buried in rubble by the inexplicable natural occurrence. For the past several months, our mining team has been chipping away at the cave-in to try and regain access to the blocked tunnels in the lower area of the mountain.

In one of these tunnels, however, the team discovered a shocking surprise as the rubble was removed! Apparently, just beyond the mine walls, there has been an entrance to Hepogaia--- a subterranean nation running below our own fair country and many others. It seems that this particular portion of Hepogaian territory is also trapped within the barrier. Brief attempts at scouting by the Safety Board have noted a plethora of subterranean wildlife, both familiar and unfamiliar. This incredible new environment, hiding just out of sight beneath our island, is so full of wonder and splendor that it has earned a fitting name--- “Paradesium.”

A recent ecology study and expedition run by Pumpkin Hollow’s own Dr. Elias Coldwood has redirected their efforts to this new location, but those interested in exploring and scouting out this fantastical new discovery independently are encouraged to pack thoughtfully and travel in groups of two or more! Any information obtained during excursions into Paradesium would be appreciated by the Pumpkin Hollow Board of Safety.

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Further Details...

Charity Drive

The Doll Picnic Charity Drive will run throughout the next two months during our TDM, and there will be an event later on involving posing the dolls for a picnic. Once a photo is taken, the children will be allowed to come picnic with their new toys and take them home after!

There is absolutely no way this could possibly go wrong. Absolutely no dollmakers will be jumpscared or attacked by possessed dolls. None at all. (Okay, maybe some of them. But it’s fine. It’s for a good cause.)

[Mod Note: you can just make a doll without it coming to life and trying to kick your ass, that part is optional. Also the dolls will be blessed at the picnic and rendered unable to attack children.]

Planting Season

Any brand-new characters will get 100B extra on their stipend if they submit an AC-length thread with one of the existing farmers on their first Activity Check! This will be available regardless of whether the character qualifies for normal bonuses, but can only be redeemed by those who app in.

For reference for new players, threads are considered AC-length if they are ten tags in length (meaning 5 of your own tags and 5 from your partner.)

Hot Springs

Porter’s Spring is a perfectly normal and safe hot spring! However, you can encounter any number of perils on your way there if you decide to travel on foot, allowing new players to revisit some of our earlier events.

Check out our bestiary (pending update to new format) for more information on creatures such as Brutoks, the River Walker, and the Pine Devil, or stumble on Lake Sal-Co-Penn for a nasty surprise! Brutoks may also steal personal items from spring-goers on occasion. Don’t chase after them alone unless you want to be turned into a tree!

The Tristitia

In addition to the creatures in the wild, in town after dark characters may also encounter the Tristitia, Pumpkin Hollow’s newest cryptid.

She is a wraith-like spirit which haunts the island. Wearing tattered black clothes and colored all in shades of gray, she appears as a woman who walks around weeping with a caved-in chest, covering her face with her hands. Harmless if given a wide berth, but if she is set off, she will take out her desire for empathy for her grief on her target. She does this by embracing them and drawing out their own grief and trauma, leaving the target catatonic before she fades away, temporarily assuaged.

Into Paradesium

Crystals, golden with light and raw magical energy, cast what looks like sunlight down into the cascading cave. For every foot lower that the ground curls down from the entrance, the trees stretch ever-higher, carrying the raucous cries of animals unlike the surface of Marrow Isle had ever heard.

A jungle, so lush with life, sprawls ahead of any brave enough to venture into it. But what is there to see?

For Paradesium specifically, the bestiary has received a significant update. Creatures featured in prompts have their links to the accounts by Dr. Coldwood and his team marked with stars for easy location.

Below are multiple prompts for some encounters to be had in the jungle, but feel free to create any of your own encounters with any of the creatures listed! If the descriptions are short, feel free to write the creatures' behaviors however makes sense.

Welcome to the Jungle

Swallowed by dense canopies and noise, the jungle is quick to swallow any who travel within it whole.

Eyes are quick to find you, however. Perching in the treetops are a variety of small wyverns in vibrant colors, heads tilting as they try to comprehend what you could be. They squawk, chatter, and some of the bolder ones draw closer - if you sit anything aside and leave it unattended for too long, some even bolder than that will pilfer it, taking the object into the trees to admire with its companions.

Reptilian hunters with bright, keen eyes, the Plommon, consider you with much of the same interest. This interest increases tenfold if you happen to feed them.

If the prying eyes are no bother, then the forest's bounty is ripe for tending and taking. Bananas hang off trees, colorful citrus fruits catch light on their waxy peels, and bulky cocoa beans are jostled by movement in the branches above them. Even the broad leaves of the plants prove extraordinarily useful, whether you're looking to come in and quickly leave, or intend to push further within.

Wherever you go, those curious eyes follow you. Perhaps even out of the cave, should your attempts to shoo an adventurous creature away. What an odd way to gain a new team member.

Down a Few Notches on the Food Chain

(CWs: Potential for death, gore, or animal death)

Unfortunately, not all can be pure bounty and new friends in a place like this.

With the cavern sprawling widely and massively, there are many significantly larger creatures in this space, and some seem to be keen to take up opportunity for new prey. As you explore, there's a new feeling of eyes upon you, and the silence that overtakes the surrounding trees spells nothing good to come.

Any one of the massive predators in the wood has you in it's sights.

Escape is difficult, but manageable, as is fighting back. Creatures can be challenged, and hides, bones, and other spoils can be claimed from them, should there be success! If not, this is a good opportunity for familiarization with the Death page.

The silkhide chimera specializes in persistence. The longer and further you go, the more exhausted you'll get. A break is an opportunity that it will be keen to take.

The greenstalker excels at ambushing and high-speed pursuit. At top speeds of 30MPH, your party will need strategy and skill on their side to keep this beast at bay. (Or, alternatively, a source of fire.)

The elephant raptor does neither of these - the beast's sheer length of reach does all it needs to. Water and mud soften the sounds of the gargantuan creature's approach. Stay alert, and be sure that you hear it before it's upon you.

Safe travels become more difficult to manage, the further in you go. Deep, rumbling snores tell you that there's a chance you're just getting to the greater threats this paradise has to offer...

Fragments of the Past

Through great distances traveled, this "uninhabited" cavern begins to show signs that may speak to that not having always been the case.

Ruins of homes, crumbled bricks and tiles, can be found at the deepest reaches of the cavern. These dilapidated buildings, though worn with time, tell a story: the people who left his place, one that could be identified as a stenholm to any familiar with dwarvish culture, did not leave it on good terms.

Essentials were clearly taken with them, as the ruins of this place lack tools or clothing. Valuables are still scattered throughout, however. Large objects with too much history to have been left behind by indifference dot the collapsing homes. Ritual circles still waft radiant energy from them.

In the remains of a temple, an altar stands, cracking with age and covered in plants as the cavern reclaims it. Old candle-stands have rusted with age, but still stand, undisturbed.

Just before the altar, folded onto its side (as best as one can be, when only pieces remain), lies a skeleton. The clothes are tattered remains of stained whites and dulled blues, and the wildlife have cleaned flesh from bones, but it's remained undisturbed by time.

There's a quiet sadness to this place that lingers, even with the people who inhabited it so long since lost.

Should you linger too long, however, there comes the distinct feeling of not being alone.

Clair de Lune

(CWs: Long-term isolation, extinction)

Golden eyes of a human face follow your every moment, and the moment you lock your gaze onto them, the face emerges from the darkness, partially covered by spilling dark hair.

What follows this face, however, is not a human face - but, rather, a feline body with sprawling, grey-flecked wings.

There's a long, tense silence, as it emerges fully. Standing easily at eight feet tall while on all fours, the size of this creature becomes more and more apparent as it emerges from the dark of the collapsed wind.

Unlike the other animals of the cavern, though, there seems to be an anxiousness to its look. The lion's chest rises and falls with short, nervous breaths.

And then, in a hushed, woman's voice, hoarse from disuse, it speaks.

"Who are you? Why have you come here?"

-------------------

The Sphinx is a new NPC available for characters to interact with, should they delve deep enough into the caverns to find the stenholm. She's wary of all the new faces, and tends to be somewhat flighty, but seems cautiously interested in what new humans being in Hepogaia have to offer. For the sort looking to understand this place, it's people, or intend to trade, she can be communed with.

To interact with her, comment on the TL provided from beastsofthehollow with her icon, and if the initial introduction isn't your speed, feel free to encounter her however you like!

IMPORTANT MOD NOTE

As of April 8th we are allowing characters under the age of 18 to apply to Pumpkin Hollow. As we begin to navigate how to approach the change, we ask that anyone posting a TDM toplevel after this date include their character's numerical age (or a general idea of their age) in the title of the comment. We may not stick with this strategy permanently, but for the time being it allows players to quickly gauge what interactions and relationship dynamics are appropriate to pursue with unfamiliar characters! Please bear with us while we experiment!

Comments

Shen Qingqiu (Yuan) | Existing Player | OTA

[xiaoxiuya]

First Day

Freshly-released from the mayor's office, a young man with Asian features and strikingly long, lovely black hair stares blankly across the square before slowly wandering over to a bench. His fine features seem oddly slack; his eyes stare at a distant point on the horizon.

It's so strange, so very strange. He's free now, if not in movements then at least in purpose. The danger he faced is over. So why does he feel so desolate?

The fair skin around his eyes begins to ever so slightly turn red -- but if someone speaks to him or sits on the bench he'll startle, gaze suddenly turning direct and alert while an obvious mask of serenity settles over his face. His right hand twitches, moving towards his belt, before it checks itself and returns to its mate, folded decorously in his lap. He smiles and says softly, "Please pardon me, I'm afraid I was wool-gathering. Were you speaking to me?"

[astrogator]

Arilanna Tayrey doesn't remember every face she saw on the Serena Eterna. Some of them she's making every effort to forget - but she'd know this one anywhere. A man she wishes she'd been able to do more for, who slipped away quickly, who she hoped had gone to peace and not the indefinite torture that was the fate of the disappeared on that nightmare ship.

'Citizen Shen!' It's what he'd told her to call him. 'Yes, yes I meant you. It's so good to see you. You look so well.' That wouldn't be difficult. When she'd first met him he'd been a ragged, bloody mess with a missing eye, and that ship hadn't exactly had advanced medical facilities.

She realises with a start that she must have looked just as bad, if not worse, when she died. Covered in bandages. Of course their second chance here is one they can begin with their bodies healed. It's only right. She gives him an encouraging smile as she stands before him, a young woman in bright blue coveralls, dark hair in a neat bun.

[xiaoxiuya]

Bwuh? Huh-wuh?

Shen Qingqiu stares for a moment, mouth falling slightly open. His fingers twitch again, flicking open a fan that simply isn't there.

Okay, keep calm. It's just a random stranger who thinks they know him, isn't he used to that by now? And with no System, he doesn't even have to play along anymore. He could say something honest and real for once, like 'sorry, whomst the fuck are you?' Okay, not that specifically, he doesn't want to be rude, but --

"Charmed, I'm sure," Shen Qingqiu says with a small smile. "I appreciate the welcome, but I'm afraid you have the advantage of me, miss. You seem to know my name already, but I can't seem to recall ever meeting you before."

[astrogator]

He doesn't remember her. Tayrey can't help that stab of disappointment when she hears it, but she tries to be rational. He could be from another timeline. He could have no memory of the Serena Eterna, and if that's the case, she's not going to remind him of it.

Or maybe, Tayrey, you're just not that memorable. It's also a possibility. One she won't take personally.

Instead she bows, and it's elegant enough, if on the swift and shallow side. He preferred that to a handshake, if she recalls correctly. 'Don't worry about it,' she assures him. 'It must be my mistake.' Hardly, when she clearly knew his name, but she hopes he'll let it go. 'I'm Lieutenant Arilanna Tayrey of the Tradelines. Peace and prosperity to you.'

[xiaoxiuya]

It's a strange and sudden reversal, and he has a feeling he's disappointed her. Which is a pity, but it simply can't be helped! He's sick to death of pretending he knows people he's never met before, and she's not even a character from PIDW that he can use his plot knowledge to cheat for!

"Peace and prosperity to you as well, Lieutenant," he says, imitating her well wishes and the bow, albeit while still seated. He is still her elder, after all. "As you said, this one is known by the family name Shen, courtesy name Qingqiu. But I think 'mister' would sound better so far as titles go, if you don't mind?" He smiles somewhat self-consciously. "Forgive me, but 'citizen' sounds just a little stuffy to my ears."

And he's definitely not going to go around asking to be called 'master' or 'peak lord' to people who wouldn't understand the cultural context, thanks!

[astrogator]

Although she never expects anyone to use her Tradeline greeting, it always makes her smile when someone does. It reminds her of home, of the best times when people were happy to have her ship turn up for trade.

'Citizen is the custom where I'm from,' she tells him, 'but of course if you don't care for it, I can leave it.' If she sounds a little doubtful, it's only because it was his own suggestion, before - but this Shen might be very different, she reminds herself. (Poor Tayrey, she has no idea just how different.) 'Are you settling in well enough here? This place can be a lot to adjust to.'

[xiaoxiuya]

"It's just a little odd when neither of us are a citizen of this polity," he points out, covering a teasing smile with the fingertips of one hand. "But never mind. What sort of world are you from, Lieutenant? Was it very different from this one?"

He disregards her question about his settling in as rhetorical. Obviously he's settling in perfectly well! He'll have his bearings and be acting just like one of the natives in no time, probably! Well, except for his hair. He'd rather not cut his hair...and it'd be nice to have clothes that were a little nicer...and if he can acquire a sword and some talisman paper and cinnabar from somewhere, that'd be just great...

[astrogator]

'We are all citizens of somewhere,' she counters. It has a significance, in her culture, all bound up with the Breakaway War and Charter rights and the ideals of the early colonists. Freedoms that she believes should be universal, but seem to be in short supply outside of her universe.

She lets it go, though. No need to fret over titles, and if she finds it too awkward she can always be Kisharin about it and call him Shen Qingqiu in full any time she needs to mention his name. Besides, he has just invited her to talk about home, and she never passes up that opportunity.

'My homeworld? It's called Cardalek. It's a Company-owned colony world, partially terraformed, with full climate control.' This detail she wouldn't ordinarily mention, but everyone else she has met here seems familiar with planetary seasons. 'My family are Company. My father's a director, and I grew up in the tallest Tower on Cardalek. It was wonderful. I never realised until... well, the technology here is lacking in comparison.' Real understatement there, Tayrey.

[xiaoxiuya]

Well, that's simply not true, thinks Shen Qingqiu, stateless person for six years running. But it's hardly worth quibbling about, especially on such a nice day when Ari is trying so hard to be friendly. He merely smiles and nods, encouraging her to talk about her own world, which is...

Okay, honestly, it's pretty horrifying! What is this, some kind of capitalist dystopia?? But he keeps that opinion to himself, confining his reaction to only a single elegantly-raised eyebrow. "The company is in charge of terraforming the planet? My, how impressive! How tall was -- no, it's silly to assume we use the same units of measurements, isn't it? How many levels were there to your Tower, do you recall?" Despite some of the freaky details, he is genuinely interested! This sounds like a science fiction world, which is a refreshing change of pace after living in a psuedo (very psuedo) historical fantasy novel for six years.

[maltesefalcon]

"At ease. I was trying to see if you're alright."

Yeah, it's a giant bird addressing him, but the tone in his voice is gentle, warm. Genuinely concerned. Oh, he saw the flinch toward the belt. Used to carrying a weapon, then. Used to hiding his discomfort, too.

"Just arrived?"

[xiaoxiuya]

Ohhhhhh my god.

Oh! My! God!

It's a giant bird!!! A giant talking bird!!!! This is. The coolest fucking shit. That Shen Qingqiu has seen in months! Holy fuck! Holy fuck, okay, okay. Don't be weird, now. Don't give the talking bird!!! any reason to leave.

(Talking bird!!!!)

He smiles slightly, face placid, utterly calm. "Oh dear, is it really that obvious?" He nods. "It's only been an hour or two, I think. Of course I'm glad not to be dead, but...I suppose I'm still taking it all in."

[maltesefalcon]

"I remember that feeling. If you'd like an escort to the Oak and Iron--or anywhere else--I'd be glad to help."

A friendly talking bird, even.

"Or if you have any questions. I've been here a few months, I'd be glad to answer what I'm able to."

[xiaoxiuya]

Does he want to go anywhere with the talking bird? Uh, yes??? Obviously???

Shen Qingqiu stands, dusting himself off slightly even though it hardly makes any difference to his plain, Western-style clothes. Ugh, fitted trousers. He did not miss you.

"That's very kind of you. I'd greatly appreciate a guide -- and perhaps you might tell me a little about yourself, sir? My name is Shen Qingqiu."

It's a little weird, on second thoughts, how easily that name still passes his lips. After all, he's not really Shen Qingqiu -- he never was. But it's the name he's been using for six years now, and the thought of reverting to Shen Yuan for some reason makes a drop of cold sweat trickle down his back. Probably just force of habit!

[maltesefalcon]

"My name is Cerrit Agrupnin. It's a pleasure to meet you, Shen."

Alright, someone will need to explain Chinese names and cultural standards to him, but he is trying to be polite.

"The Oak and Iron is the first stop, because that's where you'll be staying, until you find work."

[xiaoxiuya]

Oh, damn. He didn't think of that. Shen Qingqiu's smile turns every so slightly pained, although he doesn't say anything about it -- for now.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mister Agrupnin. What sort of work are you referring to? It was my impression that we transmigrators were brought here to lift some sort of curse."

Honestly he's a little nervous about it, not that he's going to say so! A curse that affects an entire town is serious business. You'd practically need a second dead town to power it...or the equivalent.

Side note: damn it feels weird to say the actual word 'transmigrator' out loud to someone who isn't Shang Qinghua. Weird, but good! Suck his dick, System!

[maltesefalcon]

“The work of lifting the curse is going to be long-term. In the meantime, we’re also trying to ensure the well-being of the local population. To put it into perspective, the town has lost so many people before the barrier that prevents people from dying went up, that it has homes to offer any ‘transmigrator’ who’s willing to work.”

That fact usually helps make the direness of the situation clear.

[xiaoxiuya]

"I see!" Again Shen Qingqiu's hands go through a series of small, aborted gestures -- reaching for a fan that isn't there, and then trying to tuck his hands into hanging sleeves that, guess what? Also aren't there? It's enough to make a man tear his hair out!

And then he notices that Agrupnin is watching him and grimaces slightly. "Please excuse me. I'm used to a rather different mode of dress. Do you happen to know which business sectors are still lacking? I'd like to help fill the gap, if I can." And if it's not too hard or dirty. Don't judge him, he was born with affluenza!

[amourtician]

Anzu may not be instinctively good with people, but by his late 40s, he's certainly learned to compensate enough; and the young man who just in the past quarter of an hour wandered down the street in a daze and then collapsed on a bench is conspicuously a fish out of water. Definitely no ibis hatched in a swamp, now foraging in the urban mileau. More of a falcon in a second-hand bookshop.

And Anzu's always been a meddler, especially when it comes to the well-being of delicate, spacey-looking men.

He comes over to the bench and sits down next to Shen Qingqiu, with enough space between them so the other man wouldn't feel crowded. He pulls out his cigarette case and proffers it to Shen Qingqiu … and then, when Shen Qingqiu startles from whatever vexing inner tableau has been mesmerising him, he smiles, not quite making eye-contact.

"That I were, sweetness. Smoke'st thee?" he says, flourishing the cigarette case again. "I'm afraid I carry not no mashkie, nor shnaps, so if such things thou need'st to revive, we'll have to head for the inn."

He leans back and crosses his legs at the ankles. His shoes have a marked heel to them—which fits with his trousers (fitted more in the Regency style, that is, only a little less tight than skinny jeans) and the lace cuffs peeking from the sleeves of his morning coat. Out of deference to local custom, he's wearing a tall hat; out of deference to his own preferences, he's wearing kohl eye-liner and blue-black lipstick.

And just briefly, he catches himself wondering what kind of first impression he's making. He and his husband are conspicuous here, and it's only because so many others are equally conspicuous that it's not been a major worry for him, except in these sudden bursts of a lingering self-consciousness, one last relic of his days at the tzar's court.

[xiaoxiuya]

The greeting and the stranger's mode of dress are strange to Shen Qingqiu's eyes; they seem a little...flamboyant? But what does he know, maybe the brightly-dressed man is another transmigrator? Maybe everyone dresses and talks like that on his world!

Put in that light, Shen Qingqiu is actually a little jealous of this guy, sticking to his normal cultural dress even though it makes him stand out so far! In fact, with the two of them sitting together like this, any curious eyes would naturally gravitate over to the stranger -- they might not even notice Shen Qingqiu's oddness at all! What a comforting thought. It brings a small, shy smile to Shen Qingqiu's face, and despite never having smoked once before in his life, he accepts the offered cigarette.

"Thank you," he says quietly. "I'm afraid my mind is lagging a little behind the rest of me. To go from the place I was, into this...It's quite the surprise."

[amourtician]

Anzu, finding that he's not brought his lighter, lights Shin Qingqiu's cigarette with a click of his fingers—showing off a little, in truth. Not overtly flirting—not until he's ascertained it'd be welcome, even theoretically—but definitely going out of his way, a little, to be charming.

"This place is strange, nu?" he says, and smiles. "And made all the stranger by the newcomers, if I'm being honest, darling. Heard'st thou the shpil? About the ah, chance to avert one's fate? Feh, I would rather be here, between life and the hereafter, but it never comforts to hear of one's own death. Okh, I should know! Though usually, the ones what fail to cross over, the ones I deal with myself, they stay in the realm they died in, and traverse not the multiverse."

[xiaoxiuya]

It's a lot of words to take in all at once, in an unfamiliar accent and cadence no less, but the little trick with the fire brings a small but delighted smile to his face. He listens carefully, taking a cautious little puff of the cigarette and stomping down on the urge to make a face. (Ew. Why do people like these again?)

"Mm, it's certainly rare," Shen Qingqiu says quietly, "Or at least that was my impression. But this is my second time suddenly waking up another world. The, hm, 'upper management' has been far more congenial this time at least, and of course I'm always happy to help those in need --" Yeah, right. Lay it on a little thicker, why don't you? "-- But I do find myself wondering how much help I can possibly be, with so many fine heroes preceding me."

Yeah he's a cultivator, but it's not like he's a very good one! The odds are he's just going to get in over and his head and embarrass himself, with no Liu Qingge around to save his ass either.

[amourtician]

Anzu raises an eyebrow at Shen Qingqiu's manner—the humbleness, there is something oddly familiar about it, but unplaceable. A vibe, though that's not a word Anzu himself would use. If an enthusiast of Arthurian romance were to meet Parsifal or Lancelot, the effect would be comparable.

The comment about upper management is odd, but he lets it slide for now. Maybe Shen Qingqiu has a particularly powerful employer, or maybe he's some kind of prophet. Truly, lately he's often had to quash the urge to interrogate people about their traditions and their expectations of how their idea of the divine would interact in the world. He's just very curious about how it works for other people, the ones who mostly don't get ten thousand pages of contradictory instructions and a sticky note saying, "have fun using the intellect granted to thee!"

So instead latches on to the most obvious point of objection—heroes.

"Well, darling," he says, with a smile, "others here, they may be fine heroes, but I, I am a mere physician, and one what has a local practice, too. Not one of the luminaries publishing in journals, nor a director of a university hospital. Merely a wrangler of newborns and the attendant of the dying and, nu. Were the circumstances here not highly unusual, I would be the attendant and help of those dead what can't quite cross over, but here ... things are different." A note of bitterness has crept into his voice. He takes professional umbrage at the lack of death on Marrow Isle.

[xiaoxiuya]

"But physician is a very worthy occupation!" Shen Qingqiu immediately protests. "Think of how many people still live, or live more comfortably, thanks to your efforts. Delivering a baby or healing the sick is no small thing, my friend. You shouldn't denigrate yourself so."

He sighs heavily. "As for the other thing...this curse worries me, I don't mind saying so out loud. I'm something of a scholar of such things -- purely academically, of course, although I have resolved a demonic infestation once or twice when nobody else was available -- but this is entirely unlike anything I've ever seen or heard of before. The power required to cast a spell of this size would be...astronomical. Certainly no mortal caster could manage it. And even then, where is it anchored? How is it being maintained?" He shakes his head, puffing pensively away at the cigarette so it won't rudely go to waste. "I'm not even sure where to start looking..."

fun fact: "obsessed" used to mean the same thing as "possessed"

[amourtician]

Anzu cocks his head, trying hard to control his expression, but for once, someone's stumbled on a combination of speaker and subject that renders it somewhat harder for him to mask, in any of the senses he's had to mask. The surprise is briefly but clearly evident on his face. He only just manages not to duck his head, but he can feel his face flushing.

"'Tis a necessary and useful occupation, yes," he says, and bites his lip. "Ahh, forgive me, darling. It's been my life's work for decades now, nu? It's easy for one to start viewing one's own calling as trivial or at least merely ... ah, humdrum." But he's flattered. He's proud of his profession, but it's the pride of one who fundamentally views it as a difficult vocation without glamour.

He drums his fingers on the bench, thinking. Shen Qingqiu's manner of talking is not fooling him—he's clearly talking to a knowledgeable and skilled exorcist, if not outright a fellow Koschey, one of the few who opt to skip most of the parts involving warm bodies and bodily fluids not yet dried or congealed, and focus on the more difficult parts, the parts what require sitting up with the obsessed, with the hag-ridden, with those whose families don't know if they should be saying MiSheberakh or sitting shivah. And with demons.

Anzu is not a fan of having to deal with demons. Demons are exactly like people, but both people and demons refuse to admit it, making everything twice as hard as it needs to be.

"Shin-daleten, ghosts, the dead and those what don't die when they're killed, they're all my jurisdiction, nu?" he eventually says. "In theory, at least. I've never dealt with anyone what could hold an entire town under a curse. I have dealt with those what could ensnare the population of a town or a town's genius loci, but ah," he sighs, heavily. "If this place has an indwelling spirit, I have not met them. Troubling, nu? This place may not work in a way I can understand."

I love this kind of fun fact XD

[xiaoxiuya]

"Would that my martial brother, Mu Qingfang, were here. Medicine is his specialty; I'm sure the two of you would have many interesting things to discuss."

It's both comforting and embarrassing to hear his own thoughts echoed by Anzu's mouth. Comforting because ah, here is clearly a real expert, someone whose thighs he can cling to in an emergency! Embarrassing because oh shit, here's somebody with the know-how to see right through him!! He'll have to be very careful not to overreach himself around Anzu; it would be terrible if somebody like this realized just how much of a faker Shen Qingqiu really is!

"That's the problem exactly," he calmly agrees. "How much of our knowledge still applies? If I start issuing demon-warding talismans, will they keep people and their homes safe? Or would it amount to nothing more than a waste of paper?" He frowns. "I've read of situations where the ancient scholars would deliberately summon a demon in order to test their techniques upon it, but such a move is always risky. One must take care not to call up that which they cannot put down."

[And a fun fact in return: in Chinese lit, "hugging the thighs" isn't a sexual move, but closer to the English idiom of "riding the coattails." It means to rely on someone stronger for protection or profit XD Of course, in Scum Villain it winds up taking on some innuendo anyway, since both of the "thigh-hugging" characters end up married to the man with the thighs!]