[Sunny is a good listener. His friends(?) from home have always said so.
[Xie Lian's story is difficult to listen to. The horrors he's faced are beyond all comprehension in a world like Sunny's. No one could be stabbed one hundred times, or buried for one hundred years, and have to continue living. Sometimes, even just waking up in the morning feels too insurmountable. Xie Lian has survived unthinkable things. Should he have been made to?
[Sunny doesn't interrupt. He weaves his hand through the bangs of Xie Lian's hair, runs his knuckles lightly over the man's soft, teary cheeks. It's terrible. It's all too terrible to imagine.]
Lian...[Sunny's voice is soft, but not quiet. He wants his friend to hear it - to latch onto what he can, and feel at ease. Sunny doesn't know if he can ease pain like Xie Lian's, but if he was going to try for anyone, it would be this man.]
cw: suicidal ideation allusions
[Xie Lian's story is difficult to listen to. The horrors he's faced are beyond all comprehension in a world like Sunny's. No one could be stabbed one hundred times, or buried for one hundred years, and have to continue living. Sometimes, even just waking up in the morning feels too insurmountable. Xie Lian has survived unthinkable things. Should he have been made to?
[Sunny doesn't interrupt. He weaves his hand through the bangs of Xie Lian's hair, runs his knuckles lightly over the man's soft, teary cheeks. It's terrible. It's all too terrible to imagine.]
Lian...[Sunny's voice is soft, but not quiet. He wants his friend to hear it - to latch onto what he can, and feel at ease. Sunny doesn't know if he can ease pain like Xie Lian's, but if he was going to try for anyone, it would be this man.]
I'm so sorry. You didn't...deserve that...
You're safe...here...with me...
You're...good. You are...