[ Butterflies... Marcoh glances aside with a vague outline of a thought somewhere in the back of his head but it doesn't form into anything he remembers proper. Problem for later him, he supposes, if he remembers.
the list is what elysia had described earlier—a few specimens of butterflies that they'll need to get, and then more specifically the cocoons that they escape from. they're in the proper season for hatching, so it should be easy enough to collect.
they'll also need to collect some bulbs from the black lycoris noirges, which yves makes a little noise of understanding at.
and the final specimens are an assortment of other different flowers that they'll need to get from the root up. there are scribbles of notes that indicate what makes them unique, and one of them says: 'begins to emit light from dusk to dawn', which might sound a little bit familiar to marcoh ]
Oh, these should all be doable! Thanks! [ and because yves is also familiar with some of the researchers, ] Hey, isn't Stelle's birthday coming up? Let's pick her some flowers for her present too. What do you think?
[ always mixing personal with work.... the courrune way... ]
Edited (i forgot yves isn't really here) 2025-03-25 04:42 (UTC)
[ Oh that's very convenient. Marcoh will not remember this list perfectly off the top of his head but presumably he doesn't need to. He huffs a little as Yves just goes on and adds to their tasks but he's hardly going to stop him... that's their emotional support blorbo who does whatever the hell he wants... ]
[ marcoh is truly stuck as the hugo standee aka the other guy who has to watch yves just do whatever the fuck because he is randomly moved on their work requests to do extra tasks.
at the mention of the cake, he glances over to marcoh ]
Should we stop by the bakery for that, do you think? I suppose it can be something done a bit later.
But for now, I think this list looks great. We can start heading out as soon as everyone's ready!
[ the car is waiting. it will be a wild ride. but it is waiting,, ]
I don't see why not. Koharu makes good bread, and I think she would like making a cake too.
[ It's okay truly Marcoh is there to be muscle and take up negative space otherwise. They can get in to start clearing out their questlist for the day!!!
He's kind of like. OK? But he's a good boy he wears the seatbelt.
......
Has vague distant memories of himself being in the driver's seat of an orange Camaro... ]
[ jiaoqiu joins them from where he's finished cleaning up and locking up the courrune hq behind him, and briefly introduces himself to zhongli and says hello to firefly again. but off they go with their little party into the car! it is no orange camaro, but it is an adventure.
once again, they need to buckle up, and the driver starts driving way too fast. whoa!
—and in that moment, firefly might lock eyes with the driver from where she is in the backseat via the rear view mirror. she sees blood red eyes and an exhausted but determined gaze. someone's voice rings out to her, familiar: do you exist just to perish? is this where you will choose your death?
but the moment is gone. a bell chimes in her ears and she is back in that moment and no one has said a thing, as much as they are trying to stay in this car while it's flying.
marcoh is also just trying to exist—except for a moment, he is not in a car but on a train. he is leaving, because he's done something that he can't come back from. there's a place that he has to go, and someone that he has to see, but then there is scenery that catches his eye. a town sign: prehevil, haunting. the train stops.
except there was never a train, right? he blinks and they've made it to the outskirts of the island, as far as the car can make it since the roads no longer exist and now it's just natural terrain. forest and flowers await them as they return to their idyllic, lovely lives where they get to catch butterflies and collect flowers for the people they love while also fulfilling their work. wow! ]
[ Short tag order break because I'm logging off work so there's something for Mira to wake up to yippee
Singular YIKE as this car fucking TAKES OFF. Brother before he came to heaven the fastest thing he ever rode was a train from 1942, this is CRAZY. Though of course, that doesn't hold true here on this fucked up island of Arpechele -- there's always been modern cars, so he doesn't know why, for a second, he thinks of an old train, looking out the window at the zooming scenery, nothing but eastern Europa countryside for miles and miles, and travel is overrated, he thinks --
Then the thought is gone, kind of like when you're half-asleep and have a bizarre delirious thought, but fades like cotton candy in water the moment you come to. He can hardly even remember the context of it. Right back to being like oh Lord (Nondenominational) take the wheel. ]
Her eyes lock onto the driver's and for a moment she's throttled back into a different car. They're still doing something for work, as usual. If I were to die now, I would only be a weapon. I believe... I should die as a human.
A brief, fleeting thought. As ephemeral as a dream, theoretically. There's no reason to dwell on it, no reason to think it's important.
She can't find her way back to the thought, there's more important things to focus on at the moment.]
[ there is more important things to focus on at the moment! for example: the expanse of nature out in the outskirts of arpechele where the roads and civilization haven't reached. there are already fields of black lycoris flowers that greet them like an ocean of dark petals. they know to tread carefully, as accidentally harming one of those flowers can cause death—but at least they don't need to spend much time there.
instead, the forest holds most of what they're looking for and yves explains as much once they get out of the car. he shares that he can take over collecting the lycoris bulbs himself since he's got some old family secrets to help even though he doesn't explain what those secrets are. instead, the rest of them can focus on their other work of catching butterflies and finding flowers.
wow, what a lovely set up for a peaceful afternoon ]
She'll start trying to get the butterflies along with gathering up their abandoned cocoons. She'll leave most of the flower gathering to those who are better suited to flora. ]
[ Even if Yves has his fancy family secrets, Marcoh is going to tell him that anyway.
Anyway hehe yippee :) Not that Marcoh is good at butterflies nor flowers but he'll do his best... picking the ones that seem right according to the list... woohoo!!! ]
[ so cute! wow! as the two of them approach the field forest, they will be able to see a clearing where sunlight is drifting down and illuminating the spot. butterflies are calmly pollinating the exact flowers that they're looking for, whoa, so convenient.
zhongli will go along with firefly to take care of the butterflies then, offering her a very cute but efficient looking net that she can use to capture the ones that she needs. even still, he has a gentle smile on his face as their task today is truly based on keeping others alive and doing this as peacefully as possible ]
It's nice when field expeditions require such a gentle touch.
[ a little different from what firefly might recall—those distant booms of bombs and war. wait, why would she recall that? this is an isolated island. weird. still, a few of the butterflies she needs to collect flit in the air in front of them and she's free to begin her journey.
as for marcoh, he is free to join them on their butterfly expedition! jiaoqiu is still here, following along and taking inventory of what they might need. he'll point out the different flora to marcoh helpfully and offer out a spade so that the plants can be collected down to their root. he laughs to himself, ]
Some of these can be used for medicines and remedies to put into a stew. If it's not one on the list, do you suppose we might as well collect it?
It could be nice to bring to Euphausia, along with whatever you were meant to collect today.
[ She's been a weapon since the day she was born. No, that can't be true. She's always lived on this peaceful island, just a normal girl, doing her best to help people. This is the life she's always known.
The given net makes it easy to catch the butterflies they need. ]
It is. What a pleasant outing.
[ She'd be happy to do this sort of work every day. ]
[ OH JQ IS HERE. I THOUGHT WE LEFT HIS ASS BEHIND... ]
I don't see why not if you want to take some with you.
[ As he digs this spade deep into the earth, shoving it down with the sole of his shoe. Easy stuff, to get to the roots of a particular plant they need. ]
Something that looks nice for a bedside, maybe. Don't want to give her too many plants to suddenly have to take care of.
[ just a day catching butterflies and picking flowers with the people dear to her so that she can get ever closer to her goal of helping others. because she's firefly, and she is a normal girl, and she is going to do her very best to stay normal even in this country beloved by death.
and yet, as zhongli captures his own butterfly, he will bring forth a small container for them to fly into. firefly just needs to release her own butterfly into the case where it can rest and breathe until it's time for it to fulfill its purpose. the purpose. its purpose.
zhongli's voice is ever so slightly discordant when he speaks to her: ]
Will you choose to remain in this dream?
[ as for marcoh, jiaoqiu is here!! HE DIDN'T WANT TO BE LEFT BEHIND HE'S COURRUNE TOO NOW, FOR BETTER OR WORSE. THREE GUYS! but there's just a little laugh then ]
Something for her bedside, certainly, but also something to put into some soup to do some healing. I'm sure there's more to be done that the hospital can't manage. I can prepare a nice meal for all of us to partake. Us, Yves, Uruha, Euphausia, Venere...
[ and doesn't that sound nice? a loving evening with all the people that marcoh cares about, probably full of shenanigans and laughter and warmth. even in this island, they can find pockets of the love that makes life so worth living. one that comes from being a good man who makes good choices and gets to have that loyalty rewarded. jiaoqiu is thoughtful even as he crouches down to collect the roots, but then when he looks up at marcoh, his voice has an unsettling echo. ]
Is this the fantasy you want to keep?
[ time seems to stop, waiting for their answers. a sharp pain erupts in the back of their heads. is this the life they know? is this the life they deserve? ]
[ He's never been the guy who knows things, he always left that to Jiaoqiu. He's smart, he's reliable, ever-calm in the worst of situations -- not like him, dragged around by emotions like a wardog with a muzzle. What's that about? That's never been a concern as long as they've been in Arpechele. ]
What?
[ Disoriented at the sharp pain. What are you saying, what do you mean by that? Marcoh's never been the type to escape off to a fantasy, too ensnared in gritty reality, too bound by the immediacy of the things he has to do. ]
and then she is back to the task at hand, a normal girl doing normal things, in a normal life with a normal coworker waiting for her crush to normally notice her. it is an average life but it is a good one, and it is waiting for her. the butterfly escapes her net and enters the glass cage without fear, its wings floating gently to accompany its companion inside. zhongli will close the latch and ask, ]
Did you happen to hear me? I asked if any of these flowers might make a nice gift for Stelle, or if we should wait to find those that glow in the evening.
[ for marcoh, the pain also disappears. the world continues on. the flowers are uprooted and they are no longer connected with the earth. they lose some of that connection, but what is the purpose of something beautiful if not to be used? jiaoqiu's brow furrows when he looks back up at marcoh, voice returned to normal ]
Are you daydreaming, Marcoh?
Maybe I ought to get something prepared for you instead.
[ She watches the butterfly enter the cage. Trapped, but for a good cause, right? A righteous cause, to make relivers have emotions- that's worth anything. ]
Oh, um, sorry. I must not have heard you.
The ones that glow are the prettiest. I'd like to get those.
[ A little disoriented, but hardly anything for Jiaoqiu to worry about. He'll wash away that uncertainty with the task at hand. After all, he's got people waiting on him. ]
[ this world has always been normal. their days have always been lovely, and there's never been anything more awry than the smallest hiccup. tripping over a cobblestone but never enough to scrape a knee. a client running late but everything always turns out okay. there are ups and downs but mostly ups. and ups. and ups.
isn't that how life should be?
don't they deserve this? don't they?
zhongli smiles as he closes the butterfly entrapment then and let them resume their work. ]
Then I do believe we can stay a bit longer here. It might be nice to see them do as they're supposed to, and we've already passed enough time.
[ has the sun always been so low in the sky already? how convenient!
jiaoqiu tilts his head in a slightly concerned manner before offering a smile ]
If you insist. Though if there's anything ailing you, do make sure that you tell someone and that someone ought to be me. We're meant to look out for one another, aren't we?
[ light, teasing. but there are still more roots to pull. ]
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holyspirits) wrote2025-03-23 07:03 pm
no subject
She feels very certain she isn't usually the "face" of any particular operation, but even more reason to do a good job now.]
Good to see you too. I hope you've been well.
It feels a little strange being official like this... [But, anyway, they have a task to complete.]
We'll need to get everything on this list. [She'll show them the tablet and the list.] And if possible, some live specimens of these butterflies.
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Peering over Yves's shoulder at the list... ]
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the list is what elysia had described earlier—a few specimens of butterflies that they'll need to get, and then more specifically the cocoons that they escape from. they're in the proper season for hatching, so it should be easy enough to collect.
they'll also need to collect some bulbs from the black lycoris noirges, which yves makes a little noise of understanding at.
and the final specimens are an assortment of other different flowers that they'll need to get from the root up. there are scribbles of notes that indicate what makes them unique, and one of them says: 'begins to emit light from dusk to dawn', which might sound a little bit familiar to marcoh ]
Oh, these should all be doable! Thanks! [ and because yves is also familiar with some of the researchers, ] Hey, isn't Stelle's birthday coming up? Let's pick her some flowers for her present too. What do you think?
[ always mixing personal with work.... the courrune way... ]
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... I'd also like to get her a cake, if we have time to spare.
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at the mention of the cake, he glances over to marcoh ]
Should we stop by the bakery for that, do you think? I suppose it can be something done a bit later.
But for now, I think this list looks great. We can start heading out as soon as everyone's ready!
[ the car is waiting. it will be a wild ride. but it is waiting,, ]
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[The car is waiting.]
Make sure to buckle in.
[The speed on this thing.]
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[ It's okay truly Marcoh is there to be muscle and take up negative space otherwise. They can get in to start clearing out their questlist for the day!!!
He's kind of like. OK? But he's a good boy he wears the seatbelt.
......
Has vague distant memories of himself being in the driver's seat of an orange Camaro... ]
no subject
once again, they need to buckle up, and the driver starts driving way too fast. whoa!
—and in that moment, firefly might lock eyes with the driver from where she is in the backseat via the rear view mirror. she sees blood red eyes and an exhausted but determined gaze. someone's voice rings out to her, familiar: do you exist just to perish? is this where you will choose your death?
but the moment is gone. a bell chimes in her ears and she is back in that moment and no one has said a thing, as much as they are trying to stay in this car while it's flying.
marcoh is also just trying to exist—except for a moment, he is not in a car but on a train. he is leaving, because he's done something that he can't come back from. there's a place that he has to go, and someone that he has to see, but then there is scenery that catches his eye. a town sign: prehevil, haunting. the train stops.
except there was never a train, right? he blinks and they've made it to the outskirts of the island, as far as the car can make it since the roads no longer exist and now it's just natural terrain. forest and flowers await them as they return to their idyllic, lovely lives where they get to catch butterflies and collect flowers for the people they love while also fulfilling their work. wow! ]
no subject
Singular YIKE as this car fucking TAKES OFF. Brother before he came to heaven the fastest thing he ever rode was a train from 1942, this is CRAZY. Though of course, that doesn't hold true here on this fucked up island of Arpechele -- there's always been modern cars, so he doesn't know why, for a second, he thinks of an old train, looking out the window at the zooming scenery, nothing but eastern Europa countryside for miles and miles, and travel is overrated, he thinks --
Then the thought is gone, kind of like when you're half-asleep and have a bizarre delirious thought, but fades like cotton candy in water the moment you come to. He can hardly even remember the context of it. Right back to being like oh Lord (Nondenominational) take the wheel. ]
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Her eyes lock onto the driver's and for a moment she's throttled back into a different car. They're still doing something for work, as usual. If I were to die now, I would only be a weapon. I believe... I should die as a human.
A brief, fleeting thought. As ephemeral as a dream, theoretically. There's no reason to dwell on it, no reason to think it's important.
She can't find her way back to the thought, there's more important things to focus on at the moment.]
no subject
instead, the forest holds most of what they're looking for and yves explains as much once they get out of the car. he shares that he can take over collecting the lycoris bulbs himself since he's got some old family secrets to help even though he doesn't explain what those secrets are. instead, the rest of them can focus on their other work of catching butterflies and finding flowers.
wow, what a lovely set up for a peaceful afternoon ]
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She'll start trying to get the butterflies along with gathering up their abandoned cocoons. She'll leave most of the flower gathering to those who are better suited to flora. ]
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[ Even if Yves has his fancy family secrets, Marcoh is going to tell him that anyway.
Anyway hehe yippee :) Not that Marcoh is good at butterflies nor flowers but he'll do his best... picking the ones that seem right according to the list... woohoo!!! ]
no subject
zhongli will go along with firefly to take care of the butterflies then, offering her a very cute but efficient looking net that she can use to capture the ones that she needs. even still, he has a gentle smile on his face as their task today is truly based on keeping others alive and doing this as peacefully as possible ]
It's nice when field expeditions require such a gentle touch.
[ a little different from what firefly might recall—those distant booms of bombs and war. wait, why would she recall that? this is an isolated island. weird. still, a few of the butterflies she needs to collect flit in the air in front of them and she's free to begin her journey.
as for marcoh, he is free to join them on their butterfly expedition! jiaoqiu is still here, following along and taking inventory of what they might need. he'll point out the different flora to marcoh helpfully and offer out a spade so that the plants can be collected down to their root. he laughs to himself, ]
Some of these can be used for medicines and remedies to put into a stew. If it's not one on the list, do you suppose we might as well collect it?
It could be nice to bring to Euphausia, along with whatever you were meant to collect today.
no subject
The given net makes it easy to catch the butterflies they need. ]
It is. What a pleasant outing.
[ She'd be happy to do this sort of work every day. ]
no subject
I don't see why not if you want to take some with you.
[ As he digs this spade deep into the earth, shoving it down with the sole of his shoe. Easy stuff, to get to the roots of a particular plant they need. ]
Something that looks nice for a bedside, maybe. Don't want to give her too many plants to suddenly have to take care of.
no subject
and yet, as zhongli captures his own butterfly, he will bring forth a small container for them to fly into. firefly just needs to release her own butterfly into the case where it can rest and breathe until it's time for it to fulfill its purpose. the purpose. its purpose.
zhongli's voice is ever so slightly discordant when he speaks to her: ]
Will you choose to remain in this dream?
[ as for marcoh, jiaoqiu is here!! HE DIDN'T WANT TO BE LEFT BEHIND HE'S COURRUNE TOO NOW, FOR BETTER OR WORSE. THREE GUYS! but there's just a little laugh then ]
Something for her bedside, certainly, but also something to put into some soup to do some healing. I'm sure there's more to be done that the hospital can't manage. I can prepare a nice meal for all of us to partake. Us, Yves, Uruha, Euphausia, Venere...
[ and doesn't that sound nice? a loving evening with all the people that marcoh cares about, probably full of shenanigans and laughter and warmth. even in this island, they can find pockets of the love that makes life so worth living. one that comes from being a good man who makes good choices and gets to have that loyalty rewarded. jiaoqiu is thoughtful even as he crouches down to collect the roots, but then when he looks up at marcoh, his voice has an unsettling echo. ]
Is this the fantasy you want to keep?
[ time seems to stop, waiting for their answers. a sharp pain erupts in the back of their heads. is this the life they know? is this the life they deserve? ]
no subject
But does she deserve a dream like this? She wants it, but that's not the same thing, is it?
She waits, to see if the pain goes away, if the world begins to spin again.
Because in the end, we will wake up from our dreams. A beautiful dream isn't reality, delusions lift eventually. It can't be forever.
This is not her purpose. ]
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[ He's never been the guy who knows things, he always left that to Jiaoqiu. He's smart, he's reliable, ever-calm in the worst of situations -- not like him, dragged around by emotions like a wardog with a muzzle. What's that about? That's never been a concern as long as they've been in Arpechele. ]
What?
[ Disoriented at the sharp pain. What are you saying, what do you mean by that? Marcoh's never been the type to escape off to a fantasy, too ensnared in gritty reality, too bound by the immediacy of the things he has to do. ]
What fantasy...?
no subject
and then she is back to the task at hand, a normal girl doing normal things, in a normal life with a normal coworker waiting for her crush to normally notice her. it is an average life but it is a good one, and it is waiting for her. the butterfly escapes her net and enters the glass cage without fear, its wings floating gently to accompany its companion inside. zhongli will close the latch and ask, ]
Did you happen to hear me? I asked if any of these flowers might make a nice gift for Stelle, or if we should wait to find those that glow in the evening.
[ for marcoh, the pain also disappears. the world continues on. the flowers are uprooted and they are no longer connected with the earth. they lose some of that connection, but what is the purpose of something beautiful if not to be used? jiaoqiu's brow furrows when he looks back up at marcoh, voice returned to normal ]
Are you daydreaming, Marcoh?
Maybe I ought to get something prepared for you instead.
no subject
Oh, um, sorry. I must not have heard you.
The ones that glow are the prettiest. I'd like to get those.
[ This world has... always been normal? Right?
....
Right? ]
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[ A little disoriented, but hardly anything for Jiaoqiu to worry about. He'll wash away that uncertainty with the task at hand. After all, he's got people waiting on him. ]
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isn't that how life should be?
don't they deserve this? don't they?
zhongli smiles as he closes the butterfly entrapment then and let them resume their work. ]
Then I do believe we can stay a bit longer here. It might be nice to see them do as they're supposed to, and we've already passed enough time.
[ has the sun always been so low in the sky already? how convenient!
jiaoqiu tilts his head in a slightly concerned manner before offering a smile ]
If you insist. Though if there's anything ailing you, do make sure that you tell someone and that someone ought to be me. We're meant to look out for one another, aren't we?
[ light, teasing. but there are still more roots to pull. ]
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A question for another time. ]
Alright.
[ It'd be beautiful to see them glow, even for a short time... Even more reason to treasure these small moments. ]
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