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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]

Literally everybody?

[ says the immortal in a world full of people who aren't immortal. ]

I suppose it's easy to become jaded when you see the same shit happening over and over again.

[riseunparalleled]

It can be sad to witness such patterns repeat themselves [he doesn't think anyone would disagree with that, including plenty of non-immortals].

But you have far too kind a heart for me to say 'jaded' instead of simply, unfortunately, well acquainted with tragedy.

[brushoff]

[ There's a long pause as Dorian mulls that over. Eventually he continues with, ]

I'm not kind. But it's nice to be thought of that way.

[riseunparalleled]

I've seen you go out of your way to help people, to look after those who need it and to speak up in arguments about people's welling being.

I know many people who don't think they should be called kind. But acts of cruelty or indifference don't make kindness less true, just as kindness doesn't erase them.

[brushoff]

[ He can't help it. Dorian flushes a little before pointing out, ]

That's just...I mean, I was just doing my job. Nothing more.

[riseunparalleled]

Mm. Being willing to chance trusting people, who need someone to take the risk of faith; taking responsibility for your actions; freely offering advice...

It seems to be there are a lot of reasons you were chosen to do this job.

[brushoff]

Please stop complimenting me, [ grumbles the man who will happily talk himself up as a narcissist.

Yeah he'll say he's hot shit and he'll act like he's the most important person in the world, but it's different when someone says you're nice! ]

[riseunparalleled]

Is it a compliment if it's just saying what I've seen...? [Still, he's not without pity.]

Okay, you could chose to be nicer to people at times, but don't. Does that make it better? [He doesn't think there's anything wrong with the choice, but that still makes it neutral instead of complimentary.]

[brushoff]

Much, [ he sighs. ] I've got a reputation to uphold, after all.

[riseunparalleled]

A reputation for what?

[brushoff]

Being a poor influence. [ and being horny on main, but Dorian's pretty sure Xie Lian's pieced that part out already. ] Odd as it may be, I revel in it.

[riseunparalleled]

[Xie Lian grins at him.] Perhaps we were always destined for friendship, as I'm known as a very poor influence myself.

[brushoff]

True! But I think we're both poor influences in radically different ways.

[riseunparalleled]

Mm. [Xie Lian acknowledges this with a nod.] You probably get less complaints...

[brushoff]

Honestly, my biggest complaints are 'why are you like this' and 'stop doing that.'

[riseunparalleled]

One of the great philosophical questions, not bad. I just usually end up in situations where no one's happy.

[brushoff]

To be fair, most of my stories end in tragedy.

[riseunparalleled]

Mine are less tragedy and more people complaining. Ah, but tragedies often about where the story ends, so one of the inevitable parts of immortality.

[brushoff]

True. Everything dies—except us, of course.

[riseunparalleled]

[He nods.] Which can bring new ways to cut up the story into tragedy - or not. Death isn't so bad after a good life, or a person's achievements can outlast them. And then those achievements too can become long forgotten dust. Then it can become moments that matter, just the brief intersections with others lives...

[brushoff]

You say that death isn't so bad after a good life, but I'd beg to differ. I died once. And then I murdered three people so I could come back to life. And I doubt I'm the only one who would take that chance if it was given.

[riseunparalleled]

Ah, but that's from the view of the person who's died. [Perspective, as much as time, plays a part in what counts as a tragedy. Though, he also does have to ask,] ...Would you say that you had lived a good and full life, before dying...?

[brushoff]

I mean it was my life, [ he shrugs. ] It doesn't matter whether if it was good or full. It was just me.

[riseunparalleled]

It matters a little, if the question is whether or not someone would be satisfied with a good life...

[brushoff]

What matters was that I wanted to live. Satisfaction or whatever doesn't enter into the equation. I was a coward who didn't want to accept the choices I made, so I killed three people to get out of that situation.