01 (Semi-Open) Jiang Cheng Catch-All and Overflow

[lotus_of_rage]

Who: Jiang Cheng and Various
When: Month of July
Where: Around
What: Intro Overflow and Various
Warnings: Does "Jiang Cheng" potentially count as a warning?



(overflow comments will be in individual comments)

Comments

Reynir

[lotus_of_rage]

[continued from here]

[Jiang Cheng couldn't help a smirk at the comment about his sword. He very much approved of people who thought weapons were interesting. Even more so when they were his]

It is common practice in my world. As we use your spiritual energy to fight, the weapons become very much a part of us so it is respectful to give them a name and refer to them as such.

[He could certainly see that swords were kind of a new thing to him and he decided to indulge him a bit, shifting to hold Sandu in both palms if he wanted to touch the sheath]

Do not draw it.

[It was his sword after all]

I am the sect leader of Yunmeng Jiang, one of the largest cultivation sects in my world.

[braidmage]

[ Reynir nods along; the practice may be foreign to him, but once Jiang Cheng explains the reasoning behind it, it makes easy sense. Tools are important, and ones that are used to channel magic or spiritual energy especially so. It's respectful, to give important things names. Therefore, there is a world where doing so is common.

He reaches out, gloved hands touching the sheath, very carefully. Maybe he ought to have named the stave he'd made for himself... Not that he can use it at the moment. ]

Ah!

[ A very unusual teen with a very adorable dog had explained to him (well, sort of explained) a little about all this, and Reynir reacts with the recognition and enthusiasm of someone who doesn't understand with any kind of depth: ]

So you are like a mage, and this sword is a part of how you do your magic- your, um. Cultivation.

[ And while he might not really understand what that means, exactly, he does know that being the leader of a sect is probably an impressive thing in any world. ]

It's very beautiful.

[ He doesn't know anything about swords, but this seems like a good one, to him. ]

[lotus_of_rage]

[Jiang Cheng certainly would have agreed with naming the staff. If it was important, then there was no harm in naming it even if it didn't have a spirit like the swords from their world did.

He tilted his head to the side at the sudden exclamation, unsure where it had come from until he continued]

In a way. I am a swordsman, but I use my spiritual energy to power some attacks and to use Zidian. There are other sects that use no physical weapons more often.

[He nodded his head once after he had commented, moving his sword back to hold it at his side again]

Do you have a weapon as well?

[braidmage]

[ Reynir nods, doing his best to fit this latest piece of information into the very incomplete and somewhat haphazard idea he has of the way that magic (he has too hard of a time thinking of it as anything else) works in the world that this man and a few others he's met seem to come from. It is definitely interesting that Jiang Cheng refers to himself as a swordsman, first. But apparently that might be a sect thing?

When Jiang Cheng asks if he has a weapon, Reynir opens his mouth quickly to answer, but then hesitates. ]

I – um, not really, though I guess that depends on what you call a weapon?

[ And Reynir reaches into the bag on his back and pulls out what is, essentially, a long and incredibly sturdy paintbrush, holding it out for Jiang Cheng to see in a similar manner that he just had with his sword, but with more embarrassment mixed into his pride. ]

I actually designed it myself. The way that people use – what you’d call spiritual energy, I guess, in my world, is by drawing runes. This is just – so I can paint them on any surfaces, across a really big area pretty quickly, if I need to make a barrier or whatever.

[ Reynir trails off, shrugging and adds: ]

It doesn’t work here, though. None of my magic does.

[lotus_of_rage]

[Jiang Cheng looked over when it was held out towards him. He was not at all surprised by it, studying it from a distance the way others would have studied other weapons, not reaching to touch since he had not asked and permission had not been given, the same as he would have treated another person's weapon back home.

He nodded as he finished explaining it]

We do similar things with runes. Talismans to create barriers or shields are quite common.

[Nope, he did not consider the paintbrush silly. A bit impractical in a sword fight, but not silly]

Nothing from our world works either. Sandu I can still use as a sword, but it does not have the same power behind it.

[braidmage]

[ Reynir tucks the stave away again, slinging his bag back over his shoulder. It is still something he's getting used to, the way people in Aefenglom just... believe him, about powers. Like they aren't just automatically making the assumption he is incompetent and helpless.

It's a nice change, for sure. ]

I'd only recently started to learn to use runes, back in my world. I keep this with me so I can practice, even if the magic doesn't work here. That way, when I go back, I won't be rusty.

[ It seems like sound enough logic to Reynir; dexterity with his brush is a matter of muscle memory, something he can develop even if he's too far away for his gods to hear and help him. ]

I'm sure once you go back, your power will return, too. And til then... even without spiritual energy, you've still got a sword, and that's pretty badass if you ask me.

[ Then, the idea just dawning on him: ]

Maybe I should get a sword, for while I'm here. As a backup.

[ That's a responsible reason, right? ]

[lotus_of_rage]

[Considering Jiang Cheng had to rely on people just believing his abilities as well, he might as well give others the same courtesy to not assume they couldn't do such things if they had all of their abilities]

That is a wise thing to do, practicing. Besides that, there might be a chance that it will prove to be useful here.

[He didn't like not having his abilities so being useful in some way was something that he could do. Practicing was useful at least]

And I'm sure you will have your abilities back when you return home. [At the comment about his sword, he couldn't help a smirk. Yes, it was badass]

Have you ever fought with a sword before?

[braidmage]

[ When Jiang Cheng asks if he's fought with a sword before, Reynir gives a cheerful little shake of his head. ]

Nope! I haven't fought much at all, to be honest.

[ And to be honest, he looks it. Reynir doesn't hold himself like someone who has been in many fights, and that plus how long it had taken him to catch on that he was being scammed at the ring toss both... well it all paints a picture of someone who is fairly harmless. ]

But I've won a couple speed-sheep-shearing contests in my village!

[ As if that is in any way indicative of the sort of skills that would be necessary to be a swordsman. It's fast, there are sharp edges, there's.... sort of an opponent, it's the same, right? ]

WuXian

[lotus_of_rage]

[Continued from here]

[He scoffed]

You really think that I would tell Jie about this? I already know what she would say if we told her that we stole carnival prizes from a vendor because he was ripping people off.

[She was not going to be pleased with that]

Unless you have a desire to cover your room in them, we should find others to give them to. I think I can recognize most of those who tried the game if they are still here.

[Yes, give them away. ...Except for one... or two...]

[weiward]

That sounds like a good idea.

[except for the two or three that he purposely shifts to one arm. look, sae might want one, and yanli too, and lan zhan's face would be too adorable when he sees the cute stuffed bunny!]

Where are you staying?

[lotus_of_rage]

[That was the same. He was figuring one for Yanli and perhaps one for Jin Ling. This one here kind of looked like a dog... he might like it. And WuXian had promised him the horse with the horn so he was going to hold him to that]

With Jie and Jin Zixuan.

[A grown man, living with his sister and her husband... at least for the moment]

[weiward]

...Well at least the food must be good.

[living with jin zixuan, tho. wei wuxian no longer wants to punch the man on sight, but he can see how awkward it might be to live with a married couple.]

You're welcome to stay with me and Lan Zhan. I do the cooking there.

[much better.]

[lotus_of_rage]

It is that. Jie always cooks the best food.

[Yeah... there was that. He didn't like living with his brother-in-law, but it was a small price to pay. Also living with him and Lan WangJi would basically be moving in with another married couple (even though he doesn't know that yet. And surely WuXian doesn't want to test if a house can explode just from angry tension]

Do you now? And no one has died?

[weiward]

Everyone who's tasted my cooking has called it unforgettable.

[basically. it made an impression, he knows that much.]

At least it's not bitter the way the food was back at Cloud Recesses. [now that, that makes him shudder.] Although it is vegetarian now.

[lotus_of_rage]

That's one way to describe it.

[He knows your cooking. It is unforgettable... everyone remembers how spicy it was!]

Hmm... that is good at least. Their food was not the most appetizing. And I suppose that is understandable you would be making more vegetarian food. A shame though for not have a decent pork rib.

[weiward]

Ahhh, don't remind me.

[he whines. his memories tell him that there as nothing more delicious than a pork rib, the meat falling off the bone after hours of being stewed with lotus roots. his tongue would probably still confirm it, it's only his stomach that would protest.]

Oh, right. Jiang Cheng, here.

[the promised stuffed horse with a horn, held out to him with a smile.]

I didn't forget.

Momo

[lotus_of_rage]

[Continued from here]

I'm sure. Those here do not seem to use the same terms. Someone of a similar age can be called a brother or sister even if they are completely unrelated. My sister is Jie, but he calls her shijie since she is his sister because of the sect, not by blood.

What is your world like? Is it like this one?

[As they neared the stalls where the food was cooking, he could smell the food and it was making him hungry. But he kept his features carefully schooled as he glanced at the offerings out of the corner of his eye]

[yesdoubt]

Yeah, if you do that in my world usually it's more a term of endearment and really casual. [He's done it as a joke once or twice, but it's not really a common thing nor something formalised.

The question makes him tilt his head back for a moment, as if considering how to explain.] Not really. If we're just talking about technology and building and stuff, this world would be a little over a hundred years behind mine, but my world also doesn't have magic at all, or monsters or anything like that. So we're reliant on technology and invention for everything, but with the magic here they've managed to put together some stuff that wouldn't have been around this long ago in my world. Like the Watches they give us when we arrive are pretty close to a kind of modern communicator I know from home, not anything from a hundred years ago. But other than those couple of outliers, being here is kinda like living in the past, just with magic thrown into the mix.

[lotus_of_rage]

Once one reaches majority age, referring to someone as brother or sister is considered casual and familiar. Below majority age, it is more common to with one's peers.

[He listened to the information, nodding his head when he finished] I see. So perhaps the opposite. I am unfamiliar with a lot of what is here, but when we are able to use our spiritual, we can do things similar to what those here with magic can do.

[yesdoubt]

I've heard a little bit about that from Zewu-jun, though it seems like being used to that made it a bit rough when he was starting to learn magic here. Being used to one thing and then getting kicked into a completely different system, I guess.

[Finally, he spots the stall he'd had in mind, and starts crossing over the path towards it. It's a simple enough setup that seems to be serving a few different soup and noodle dishes, with a bit of seating around the side so people don't have to try and carry it through the festival.]

Here's the place I was thinking of. Looks like they're not as busy as they were earlier. [Which is always a bonus for not having to fight for a seat.]

[lotus_of_rage]

It does seem to be different from what I have seen to how I know cultivation works so even it would make sense that even our best cultivators would have to figure out how to use it.

[His sister was not a strong cultivator, but she might be able to use the magic here better. Zewu-Jun was a strong cultivator though.

He glanced over at the indicated stall. It certainly smelled good even from the distance]

That is good.

[And he moved to get into line so that he could order the dish. Not fighting for a seat was good]

[yesdoubt]

Yeah, it seems to depend on the magic system people are coming from. Some look like they've had an easier time than others. [Cultivation might be its own distinct thing, but it is a particular system for channelling supernatural abilities, so Momo's kind of comparing it to the various other ones he's heard about here.

Momo joins the line behind the other man, checking his pockets briefly. He's brought a set amount of money considering the circumstances - not so little he needs to worry about spending, but little enough that it's not going to be a huge deal if someone tries to pickpocket him and he somehow misses it.]

Oh, since you're new, are you okay on cunes? I can cover you if you need. [Momo usually offers first and then if someone insists on making it a lend instead, he'll roll with it.]

[lotus_of_rage]

[It is a strange feeling for him, someone offering to pay for anything around him. Most people liked the fact that he could pay for them back home. One of the perks of being one of the largest sects in their world. But also the curse because people thought they could weasel stuff out of him (which usually didn't work).

So at the offer, he was silent for a long moment before answering] I suppose... I could use that, but I will pay you back.

[He was loath to have outstanding debts]

[yesdoubt]

Sure, if that's how you prefer. [Momo shrugs like he's happy to roll with it either way, but he knows some people are particular about keeping debts or even what they perceive as one. It's something he runs into pretty commonly when networking back home, and sometimes takes advantage of if he needs to pull a few strings with someone.

For now, since they're just about at the front of the line, Momo leans out to check the price board they have up and counts out the cunes to cover what they're charging for tantanmen.] That's actually a pretty good price...maybe they're expecting to rake in the customers since this doesn't seem to happen that often.

[He offers Jiang Cheng the few hundred cunes needed, which basically comes down to a few coins of different denominations.]

Nie Mingjue

[lotus_of_rage]

[Continued from here]

[Very rare. Jiang Cheng could probably count the number of times he remembered seeing Nie Mingjue smile if he really wanted to spend the time and effort. He didn't really have the desire to so he wasn't going to try] It is. It was the one thing that I always wished I could have given Jin Ling.

[Of course it took a strange world to do that]

Hmm... I suppose that was good then, the changes being manageable even if unfamiliar. Did you know in advance what transformation you were going to have?