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[brushoff]

"You've reached the inbox of one Dorian Gray. Don't forget to leave me a message. If you're interesting, I'll get back to you."

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[brushoff]

[ Oh......oh buddy. ]

Well, generally when you go on a date with someone, you take them to a place that you think they might like. You can also plan an event for them or do something nice. Like...say, making someone's favorite meal or taking them somewhere where they can do a hobby they enjoy.

[riseunparalleled]

[He wants to do this right! Crozier is important!]

Oh, I see. [He thinks on this for a moment.] Is it okay if you sometimes do something you’ve also done before? We’ve gone out on his ship and he’s told me about the stars and we went to see the ice… [Even with new context he doesn’t look back in any new light.] There are also new things I’d like to do with him! But I think he really likes going out on the ship…

[brushoff]

Xie Lian. You know that going out on his ship and seeing the ice could absolutely be interpreted as a date?

[riseunparalleled]

We saw the Northern Lights! [Nope, he doesn’t see it. There are reasons Crozier had to be explicit. Multiple times.] Hmm. I definitely can’t cook for him… [He doesn’t look anxious, but then, he never does. Still, very low key fretting is still fretting.]

[brushoff]

Take him to see the Northern Lights again, [ Dorian shrugs. ] Or a place in your world that you really like.

[riseunparalleled]

Home could be a little complicated... [He smiles.] The Norther Lights are a good idea. Thank you, Dorian.

[brushoff]

You're welcome, [ Dorian nods. ] Like I said, I'm here to help.

[riseunparalleled]

I suspect I'll trouble you again, so it's greatly appreciated.

[brushoff]

You know, I'm honestly a little surprise that you're so...new to this. You're older than I am!

[riseunparalleled]

When I was young, there was a certain pressure on me to get married [to a woman]. I wasn't interested so dedicated myself to other paths. And then I spent a long time in situations where it would've been unfair to really ever consider it.

[brushoff]

'Unfair' how?

[riseunparalleled]

I was always traveling, never had a place to stay or anything to give.

[brushoff]

Some people wouldn't mind that—not if they could travel with you.

[riseunparalleled]

Ah, well, the problem there is survival.

[brushoff]

People are more durable than you realize. They'd keep up. Crozier certainly can.

[riseunparalleled]

Not theirs, mostly. Mine. People generally got uncomfortable when I died in front of them, and I couldn't exactly explain.

[brushoff]

Oh.

[ pause ]

Yeeeeeah, I can see that. I lost a boyfriend that way. Died via mustard gas, popped in to see him a few years later, poor man almost lost his shit.

[riseunparalleled]

[He nods.]

Once someone has seen you crack your head open on rocks, or be crushed by a horse or stabbed in a tiger pit... they can get unsettled if you get up. Which is reasonable, especially considering the not uncommon troubles with ghosts, monsters and demons.

Luckily, I'm pretty good at playing dead. One time I was moving a little too much after falling off a cliff, so the people I'd been traveling with ended up dropping a number of rocks on me...

[brushoff]

On the other hand, if it's someone who you dislike who's shot you, stabbed you, or set you on fire, your charred, bloody corpse slowly getting back to it's feet and walking over to them can be fucking terrifying.

I've taken advantage of that to unsettle a few of my enemies.

[riseunparalleled]

Oh, that’s true. Though not something I need often. [His enemies are usually dead before he could get around to seeing their faces.]

It’s usually the wonders of nature and accidents that get me.

[brushoff]

I wish mine were the wonders of nature, [ Dorian grumbles. ] Mine is usually some sort of nasty horror movie monster or a psycho with a gun.

[riseunparalleled]

I've seen many astonishing things after falling into a mountain crevice. [And he means it, too.] I hadn't seen a gun until I arrived here.

[brushoff]

Oooh, that means you might get your first death by gunshot wound on the Barge! [ Dorian's voice is just BRIMMING WITH SARCASM as he teases, ] Lucky you.

[riseunparalleled]

[Xie Lian nods, expression serious in the way that it can get when he's teasing.] I might have the fortune to keep expanding my list of new experiences the Barge has given me. Not everyone gets the chance to claim that.

[brushoff]

Pity that all these new experiences would range from 'awful' to 'fucking terrible.'