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(I shouldn’t be doing this but…)
(bump)
The Crimson Lantern Festival | Chinese and Japanese Influenced Roleplay | Closed
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Ryuusei did his best to play it off like he was calm, though his tensed hands told a different story. He managed to keep his calm air as he looked at the surroundings, admiring them. The water was very calm and quite clear, allowing the eye to see halfway to the bottom, as much as the dimmed light revealed.
He looked at each of the buildings they passed by, listening to the judge's explanations in silence. The architecture of the buildings was quite simple, yet graceful and mystifying, a real delight to the eye. It made him wonder what it was like to live in such large mansions, with a lot of space and comfort.
"What are those?" he finally broke his silence, gesturing towards the preoccupied silhouettes in the distance.
(oh im here, dont worry, i just lose a crap ton of time writing cuz i get distracted a lot or keep changing my mind)
(Also, i've decided Ryuusei originally had brown hair, soon to turn white after he's healed or smth)
(Sweet! I'm here, I just don't really have much for Jennifer to be doing lol. Also if I'm offline for longer periods of time, it's not because I'm ignoring this, it's because I have classes)
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”Ah, those? Those are the spirits of the children who died before they reach the age of fifteen—“ the second judge turned back to answer before he gestured to Koki ”—as for the young lady here, she is special because we needed people to take in mythical spirits so that was why she did not need to be there” he turned back to face the children in the distance.
”As parents are considered great figures in our culture and these kids were not able to give anything back to them, they are punished by stacking rocks until they’re able to balance the rock to be three times their height. If they can do that before their time is over, they’ll be reborn again as human” the judge explained, waving his hand around nonchalantly.
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(Sweet! I'm here, I just don't really have much for Jennifer to be doing lol. Also if I'm offline for longer periods of time, it's not because I'm ignoring this, it's because I have classes)
(Noted)
(i smell child abuse lmao)
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(It is what it is XD)
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Koki frowned. "That's bullshit, first off. Of course, they weren't able to give anything back to them, they're kids!" She protested, her frown going bigger. "I wasn't able to give anything to my parents because I barely see them and I don't live with them!"
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”That’s how it has been since forever so no one could change it. I know, it’s unfair, but who’s to judge really… this is the afterworld after all, and I didn’t know you knew rude words kiddo” Chujiang sighed at first but giggled a bit at the last part. He teased the kid on the boat a bit, thinking it would be a great way to break the ice.
Kaito just eyed at the kids with pity. They did not deserve it at all but as the judge said, who was really to judge. He did not have the energy to talk much anymore, hopefully he’d be feeling better after the doctors have healed him.
They were now getting close to the other side of the river from where they came from.
Ryuusei frowned slightly, looking in the distance at those unfortunate souls whose rebirth depended on balancing some rocks. It seemed it wasn't just life that was unfair. Even here, in the afterlife, not everyone was equal.
He felt sorry for the poor children, but there was nothing he can do except pray for them to be able to complete their task in the near future
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Chujiang had noticed the facial expressions of everyone on the boat when he told them the sad truth the young spirits had to endure.
”A good thing though, Qinguang, whose court is closest to the kids come to help them a lot. He would also give them treats and play with them whenever he has the time. He has helped thousands, maybe ten or hundred thousands kids balance their rocks and gave them a second chance” the second judge claimed with a faded smile. It was nice looking back at how kind and friendly the first judge was when he wasn’t in his serious mode.
The boat was closing in against the shore and would soon be able to park by it.
(aww)
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(My first judge is an adorable lil’ bean when you really get to know him •^•)
(i alr lov him)
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(Then you’ll soon love him more)
The boy breathed a silent sigh of relief upon hearing there was hope for those children. At least they weren't left at the mercy of fate.
He eagerly waited for the boat to reach the shore, bolting out of it as soon as they stopped, nearly hugging the solid ground, happy to be out of the boat. The trip wasnt as bad as he had anticipated, but he still felt the need to stay on solid land for now.
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Koki huffed before giving in. "I suppose that's good." She grumbled, she hated being proven wrong. "So… How much longer til we're there?" She asked, changing the subject after sending a final look over to the kids.
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”Well uh—“ the second judge stared at Ryuusei, trying his best to keep his giggles silent ”—he just jumped so yeah, we’re here” the judge stated as he himself stood up and slowly walked off the boat onto the solid wooden platform.
Kaito soon followed, he looked a bit more refreshed than earlier. As he stepped onto land, he took a deep breath in then a loud exhalation that came with a sigh.
After calming down, Ryuusei stood up, dusting away some invisible dust off his already soiled clothes then walked back closer to the rest of the group, with a composed expression, as if his earlier actions had not happened. He looked back at the boat, then at the river, still finding it beautiful despite his nervousness.
He found himself closer to Kaito, who seemed to have regained some color (even tho he was dead). Despite the judge's lie regarding the pain of the soul transfer process, this guy had experienced it for real - none of the others had had the same problem.
"Is everything alright?" he asked politely, with a faint tone of concern in his voice
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Koki swung herself onto the platform with a small giggle, feeling a bit less grumpy now that she wasn't sick to her stomach. She turned to the judge, smiling a bit. "Oh, and to your remark earlier about my language. I'm Italian, it's very unlikely that you'll find an Italian with a clean mouth. Other than when our mouths are scrubbed with soap."
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Kaito turned to Ryuusei, the side of his cheek with the glowing character facing the man.
“I would assume so… even then, I still need a doctor” he gave a small sigh as he turned around to look at the building itself in surprise. It had looked bigger than when he was on the boat, his eyes were playing tricks on him weren’t they? He felt the urge to just head into the building to see the doctors but as manners go, he should wait for everyone to be ready first.
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The second judge gave a small giggle to the child. He looked warm for a dead man.
”There—“ he pointed to a faraway building which looked almost identical to the first court ”—that is the fifth court, Yanluo’s place. Let me tell you all a secret—“ he leaned a little closer to the group ”—not a lot of people like him, in fact, none of the other judges do” he laughed a bit at the end.
"Why is that?" the boy questioned, approaching the judge after looking at the faraway castle.
He had discovered a few remnants of the rope he had been tied with, still strangling one of his wrists. He tried removing it, but as wet as it was, the effort was futile, therefore decided to let it be, moving his attention to the information provided by the judge.
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"Okay… But like, why?" Koki raised her eyebrows, she hoped he wasn't mean. Then she would end up scolding the shit out of him, that was the most likely outcome that would happen if he was mean.
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”Well, he’s a rude and harsh person who is not extremely respectful of anyone. Anything to get him what he wants, he will do. He’s also a biased man who has a soft spot for children for some god forsaken reason. So whenever he has something to do with children, he’s a soft and patient man, in other times, don’t annoy him as that can get you a fast-pass to Hell” the second judge explained casually but with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
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Koki nodded. "Alright. So I'll be fine, y'all are on your own if you fuck up." She decided. That was a lie if they got into some sort of trouble she'd just cry or something to distract the judge from them.
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Kaito had his hands on his hips.
“‘A fast-pass to Hell’, thank you for the easy explanation good sir” the man raised a brow with a teasing smile when he spoke up.
”My pleasure” the judge replied with a smudged look on his face.
(I’ve gotta go~)
A rude and harsh person that was easy to annoy. Great. Ryuusei had met plenty of people like that back at home, they had been everywhere honestly, and he'd dealt with those enough times to know it was not good to challenge them.
Only, unlike the human world, instant or painful death had been replaced by a guaranteed one way trip to Hell if he did end up getting on the judge's bad side, so he better be careful.
"So, where are we going now?"
The working children and the reason they were doing what they were doing had caused Jennifer to go silent, but she couldn't help but chuckle at Koki's remark. For someone her age, she definitely had a bold streak. "Got it, stay on his good side," she said. Or just avoid the guy like the plague, whichever is more convenient at the time.