#❪ ⠀ 🐍 ⠀ ┆ exhale expel recast my tale. ╱ answered.

[possets]

@livingecho said : "They don't have much respect for you, do they?" ( DR. WHO STARTERS )

baizhu stared at the tea in his glass. he tipped it just enough that the edge of the bottom reunited with the small plate below with a gentle clink. then, he tipped it back the other way, to all appearances watching the red reflections scatter across the porcelain surface. at her words, he raised the cup with no appreciable shift in expression and brought the edge to his lips, sipping.

she wasn't wrong — merely pointing out the obvious, and he wondered if she meant that as a polite way to more or less ask him to leave. but, her dismissal still curdled in his gut. it was surprising. call it culture shock, but he had never been to a place where a doctor was looked at in such a way. however, the mix of emotions was less personal offense, and more so the awakening of a curiosity that he somehow knew the answer to would not be granted to him.

still, he raised his gaze from the cup to her, as if he would find an answer in her eyes.

"hm? they don't? i'm not good at picking up on such things," he said light and carefree despite himself. it was a lie, but he wasn't looking to stir the pot. he was there for knowledge.

"do they not care for the pursuit of medical advancement?" he laughed, "what about you?"

[possets]

@stelliferousduo said : "Dr. Baizhu! Here's the batch of Qingxin you asked for. I'm sorry it took a bit longer than expected to collect them. I might have underestimated just how steep the cliffs of Liyue can be." She admitted, all while smiling sheepishly and scratching the back of her head.

"Still, please let me know whenever I can help out to gather ingredients. I know you already have Qiqi assisting you as well, but the little girl shouldn't have to do everything by herself."

qingxin was notably difficult to get — it was by no means a rare flora, and could easily be found in abundance, but only at the peaks of liyue's mountains where the columns of rock flower like the lotus. for baizhu to retrieve them himself would be a punishing journey, and his body was seldom able to handle particularly arduous treks let alone scaling mountains that were tall enough to pierce the layer of clouds.

while qiqi was better at climbing, but her memory left her often forgetting what she was doing in the middle of her work, or occasionally she wouldn't return, leaving baizhu to look for her and sometimes find her wedged between rocks.

but, just as the traveler said, a little girl shouldn't have to do everything by herself. baizhu did often rely on buying such harder-to-get herbs from others. but, it was nice to have lumine's aid, as he trusted her to have an eye for quality that other vendors might have lacked.

"thank you, i do appreciate your assistance," he spoke genuine, gently taking the bundle and offering the array of white petals a cursory glance, "if you are exhausted from the journey, please feel free to stay for as long as you need."

climbing the mountains of liyue took a lot out of anyone, no matter how much of good health they were in. they were tall, steep — most practically completely vertical, a terrifying wonder of nature and creation.

"would you care for some food? tea? i have a blend that is great for rejuvenation."

[possets]

@feliisfortuna sent : C H O M P! ❛   mark -neck. :}c ( from. )

apparently, baizhu wasn't paying enough attention to kou for his liking, or maybe he would have opted to bully him like this regardless ( either seemed likely, to be frank ). the wanwen bookhouse had new arrivals of myth and history — and ancient medicine; there is always something to learn from the past. he became absorbed in what was supposed to be casual research the majority of the day: afternoon withered and twilight bloomed in its place, the harbor below the pharmacy steps painted in the rose - gold glory of sunset. changsheng had abandoned her post around his shoulders to slither to a counter where sun shined in warmly through a window, and napped beneath its beam.

it was then he became aware of hands traveling his body, sliding over whatever exposed skin they could find. it tickled, at first, but then warmed him very quickly, and baizhu felt his face flooding with rose.

"mm, just give me a moment longer, a-kou —" but then, a mouth tracing his neck, breath tickling him. his lips felt pleasant as always —

until they didn't. until teeth, wicked sharp, sank into the thin skin there. baizhu's body tensed, spine going straight and rigid, and something of a gasp ( half gasp, half moan, honestly ) was sucked into his throat, then quieted by his own mouth snapping shut as he tried to ride off the sting. if it was baizhu's attention he wanted, he certainly got it.

"behave," he hissed, although it came out more shameful than a scolding should, "what would my patients think if they saw teeth marks on me? hmm?"

although, he had such a reputation with them, he doubted their minds would ever wander to this.

[possets]

a doctor and a captain walk into the love booth, what happens who knows?

love is in the air.

89%

Your love is as strong as that between an owner and their pet! Unyielding in its loyalty and comfort, albeit with less than optimal odors.

" true love happens, apparently? "

[possets]

💗 extremely curious for tighnari ngl

love is in the air.

98%

Your love burns as hot as the sun, blazing through the vastness of space, and searing itself into your being.

" we do have quite a bit in common, don't we? "

[possets]

♡ a doctor searching for immortality and a bitch who can't die walk into a bar —

love is in the air.

A WHOPPING 0%.

a relationship might work out between Baizhu and Tara, but the chance is very small. A successful relationship is possible, but you both have to work on it. Do not sit back and think that it will all work out fine, because it might not be working out the way you wanted it to. Spend as much time with each other as possible. Again, the chance of this relationship working out is very small, so even when you do work hard on it, it still might not work out.

" m - maybe a bar is not the best place for us to meet. . . ? "

[possets]

baizhu show me ur baizhiddies

" i had top surgery a few months ago, sorry to disappoint. "

[possets]

@wiindblume sent : ❛ how  do  venomous  snakes  kill  their  prey  ?? ❜   .  .  . ❛  in  cold  blood  !!  ❜ ( i'm so sorry )

oh. wow. that was . . . a bit awful. baizhu forced a smile, a small laugh — dry as a cough, but it was the thought that counts, right? he could feel changsheng move around his shoulders, and his heart briefly barreled in his chest in fear of whatever she was going to say.

" what are you on about? " she scoffed, " don't quit your day job, bard. you'd make a poor jester! "

baizhu cleared his throat and quietly pleaded for her to be nice. she made an indignant sound, and wrapped herself tighter around baizhu to bury her face within the coils of her body.

" don't mind her, she is very old and her sense of humor accounts for her age, " he said, "i think your jokes are . . . fun! "

[possets]

💗 lmk the prescription doc

love is in the air.

91%

Your love burns as hot as the sun, blazing through the vastness of space, and searing itself into your being.

" evidently maybe i should prescribe you a nice night out for drinks, miss yelan? "

[possets]

💗 for funsies--

love is in the air.

5%

Sorry, but your love is as likely to bear fruit as a mango tree planted on an Antarctic glacier.

" well, not very promising for us, i'm afraid. "

[possets]

zombie wants chemistry rating

love is in the air.

19%

Your love is like that which a parent with a newborn baby feels for sleep – distant and beyond consideration

" ah. . . "

[possets]

@box-of-characters sent : Takumi: *stares at the snake* (ºᐞ º ^)))≫彡

changsheng, of course, only stared right back, at first saying nothing but only making an indignant sound. baizhu, on the other hand, could not temper down his laugh in time. a hand came to politely cover his lips, then moved to give a gentle stroke to the snake's chin.

" don't worry, changsheng's a good girl, " he assured — which only got a scoff from her in return at being goaded like a pet.

" has nobody taught you it's rude to stare! " changsheng finally piped up, forked tongue flicking from her mouth, " if i was still in my prime, i would have eaten you by now in a heartbeat! "

[possets]

@hyliacursed sent : ❛ You know, I don’t even want to ask what you did with it. I just want to say… nice work. ❜ ( accepting. )

the it they were talking about being the lone moblin that patrolled the field — and the what he did with it that they wished to not ask about, being disemboweling the creature's corpse to rob it of its innards postmortem. that had been baizhu's goal from the start, despite how uncharacteristically gruesome it was for him; in truth, it was something he did not enjoy, hovering over the body and slitting it open while it looks up at him with still - wet eyes. however, he had read that its guts do wonderfully for medicine — which he had already previously tested.

it wasn't as if the organs of another creature being used for medical purposes was at all unheard of, but the bones of hyrule offered little . . . alternatives to doing it himself, any place where he could simply buy the guts from those more iron - willed than he was, so that required him to get his hands dirty.

" is that praise? i'm honored, " he said with a tone deceptively light, " i am not so weak that i cannot handle a single moblin, though. at least not today. "

he then put a bottle filled to the brim with thick red liquid into their hands, smile as sweet and nonchalant as ever. inside the bottle rested medicine, still bitter but he did manage to slightly sweeten it with some flowers and berries he found around the wilds that he confirmed would not neutralize the medicinal properties any — he figured they would appreciate it if it felt a bit less like it was boring a hole in their throat on the way down.

" here. this potion should cure any minor ailment immediately — small wounds, aches, what - have - you. "

aside from the flowers and berries, however, the guts of that moblin were the bulk of that potion.

" . . . are you certain you do not want to ask? " he asked with just the slightest sly lilt in his words, " the process is actually quite interesting. "

[possets]

@feliisfortuna sent : ❛ can’t sleep? ❜ ( accepting. )

the week had been particularly rough. for the past few days, it seemed all baizhu sought from life was to drag himself and his animal exhaustion through the daylight hours until darkness eventually led him to bed and into another night of fractured sleep. and how quickly even sleep had abandoned him, its evaporation swift as a puddle gives itself to back to the sky. night fevers shook him from his sleep to sprint for thermometer and medicine.

through the darkness of the back room of the pharmacy where he slept, he heard kou's voice — did he let himself in? he supposed it didn't matter. he only hoped he wouldn't catch on to his labored breath and face flushed from fever.

" a-kou, so lovely to see you, " nonchalantly said, " i'm just having a bout of insomnia, is all. "

[possets]

@livingecho sent : ❛ The lone wanderer, searching the world. What’s he trying to find? Love? Absolution? ❜ ( accepting. )

weariness burned almost constantly in the soft marrow of his bones — as if baizhu hadn't slept in days, but in truth it felt all he'd done in the past few days was rest, barely any ground made — though he suddenly felt more weary than usual at her . . . romantic musing, for lack of a better description, of his character. he'd smother it with flawless civility, however, grinning as he idly stroked the soft belly - scales of the snake draped asleep on his shoulders. did he truly seem mysterious enough to be worth such a dramatic read?

" haha, nothing like that, really. if i'm fated for love, it will come when it is ready for me, " he laughed softly, feeling just the slightest twinge of embarrassment that crept up his spine at the mere thought.

as for absolution — the words to deny that as well lingered on the tip of his tongue, but were quickly swallowed back down his throat. in truth, couldn't this be considered a form of absolution? not of any sin, but for the absolution of those who died for nothing, for others, those who would. or perhaps he was overthinking this now. was that what she wanted? to pry?

" well, perhaps absolution is a way to put it, " he hummed, " but it's nothing too interesting or grand. i am just a doctor who wants to help others, nothing more. "

he laughed again, this time dripping with genuine humor at his own thoughts. " do you usually deal with the mysterious and brooding types, miss? "

[possets]

@dullweapons said : "Are you any good with a broadsword?"

despite his usually weak disposition, baizhu was far from incompetent and unable to fend for himself. if he were, he would have been a fool to travel to hyrule with no companion aside from a little girl — either a fool, or suicidal and wanting to go out in perhaps the most convoluted way possible. still, the monsters that lurked the bones of the kingdom seemed relentless. impossibly so. as if some darker force urged them on, fueled their blood-lust. baizhu's magic was slow, only good at a distance, and did not do well against large herds of them.

ray cadell so far had proven himself a gracious enough bodyguard. but even he must have felt that his ability to protect himself was lacking. changsheng had left her place from around his shoulders to accompany qiqi while she explored a nearby area, one that should have been relatively safe. baizhu and ray lingered around what once appeared to be a wall, now a ring of rubble. stabbed into the dry soil was a sword — its edges slowly succumbing to rust, but not yet unusable. ray asked if he were any good with broadswords.

"well, frankly . . . no," he admitted, an awkward laugh lilting his words as if shame had crept its way up his neck, "i have never been trained with a sword." to be fair, there had been no reason. he had only ever been a doctor.

he pulled the sword from the ground, and although it slid out with surprising ease, it felt heavy in his hand. even if he were to be shown the basics, his body would lack the stamina to put up much of a fight for very long. still, no harm in at least learning.

he took a stance, both hands firmly gripped on the handle.

"so? is my standing form at least okay?" he grinned, playful.