[ he's been staring at this screen for awhile because this is..... ??? creepy ??? even the username.. especially the username because haha who presently in ryslig would do such a thing? ]
[ it is a moment or two after he leaves, books upon architecture tucked within his arms, the persistent itch for wei wuxian's conversation more potent than not at all. ]
Wei Ying.
[ it is not unusual to wish to talk, he assures himself. there is reason for his contacting him. of course. ]
[ of course, being the idiot that he is he's certain he means all of this in the most platonic way possible. and he's definitely not more desperate to be the centre of attention than usual or anything. nah. ]
[ wei wuxian probably would have written a similar message sooner but he's had plenty to deal with. like personal monster issues. not that he intends to let on about that right here in black and white hahaha no sir. a n y w a y ! receiving this comes as a surprise! a pleasant one! this is new! ]
Me? Of course not! I'm too cute to eat anyway hehe. And what's this about a throne?
Ho ho ho! Your secret Santa gift recipient for this year is marco on the network.
His real name is, shockingly, Marco. Marco Evangelisti.
Please spend no more than 20 solars on a gift for Marco, and ensure he receives it on or before Christmas Day (December 25). If not, Santa Claus will come to your house and glare disappointedly through the windows until you cough up.
[ After getting the message from Hawkeye and the death threats that followed, here is Jiang Cheng back in Wei Wuxian's inbox, with a special gift just for him: he has figured out how to record audio messages. Just for him. ]
WEI WUXIAN! [ There comes the sweet robotic bellowing, which sounds even more tinny than when he is speaking at normal volume. There is also a high-pitched background noise. ] DO YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY! I DON'T CARE IF THE JIANG CHENG YOU KNOW WOULD PUT UP WITH THIS NONSENSE BUT I HAVE BETTER THINGS TO DO WITH MY TIME!
Wei Wuxian, I'd appreciate your assistance if you don't mind. Do you know a man by the name of Vinegar Doppio? It seems I've been tasked with finding a gift for him.
On the second day of the winter festival, Wuxian will find a pristine, dark blue gift bag by his door. It is covered with silver stars, and something inside is wrapped in white paper tied with silver and blue ribbons.
When he unties the ribbons, Wuxian will find the nicest bottle of sake 20 solars could compensate with out of the Lucky 38's stores - wholesale price, of course, so it's pretty nice - and a sake bottle and cup set. Tucked in alongside the paper is a hand-drawn and current map of Bavan and a note:
Get smashed on me, forget about the Fog for a day, and enjoy whatever you celebrate. Best wishes.
[On Christmas Eve, someone seems to have left a present at your apartment door! There's a box of monster-shaped cookies, a bottle of wine, and a woolen scarf in the color of your choice. The box holding everything has been wrapped in an attempt to distract from the fact that it's just a cardboard box and not a fancy gift basket.
...There also seems to be a voucher for a free eighteen-inch pizza at the bottom of the box, which can be redeemed at the pizza restaurant on the corner.
Attached is a handwritten note. It can be somewhat difficult to make out what it says due to how horrible the handwriting is, but if you squint and tilt your head, you can make out the following:]
happy holidays, from your superintendent ➼ hawkeye
[ if it should fall upon the same day as the holiday, it is more circumstance than not.
wrapped with sharp folds and in rich reds, wei wuxian will find a box. it is not in many ways sizable, but it too is not in many ways small. it is slim more so than not and shaking to deduce its contents will reveal no sound at all. it seems whoever left it was careful to prevent any such damage or clues, but unfolding the edges of the neat paper will reveal a similarly red package. and within that package, beneath the pale tissue paper that cushions what rests inside it, lies two flutes and a curious (smaller) container between them.
the flutes themselves are impeccably carved, sanded smooth and stained dark. the finger holes are spaced in such a way to accommodate wei wuxian's hands comfortably, but one bears no further details beyond the red tassel attached that appears hand strung. the other — the other has a small lotus motif carved nearest end, wrapped 'round with their accompanying leaves and long, curving stems.
if the smallest box is not left aside, wei wuxian will find a small, hand-carved rabbit. it sits upon its hind legs, its head lifted as though in question of the individual who now holds it. it is left in its natural, pale grain and has a lone, red ribbon tucked around its neck.
there is no note to accompany it. however, there are hints perhaps of lan wangji everywhere in what he has done with it. after all, who else is there who takes such time as this? ]
[Post cabin dranks, Wei Wuxian will find a package wrapped in paper with a tooth-achingly saccharine print of happy snowflakes and dancing snowmen - possibly he is the only person aside from Shen Qingqiu himself who will truly appreciate the majesty that is this godawful gift wrap.
Inside is a small plain journal from one of the local shops. Within, written in Shen Qingqiu's elegant calligraphy, is a dictionary of chatspeak and internet lingo; from the very basic abbreviations such as 'lol' and 'lmao' to slightly more advanced terms like 'yeet', though there's nothing too suspiciously specific in there. There's also a short appendix on common kaimojis and emoticons and how to type them.]
Wei Wuxian - I asked one of our fellow otherworlders for a few lessons in some of the more unusual terminology and phrases I've seen people use on the network. Apparently, colloquialisms such as these tend to be favored more by the youth; I'm sure you'll appreciate them more than an old man like myself.
[In other words, he wants to see just what kind of monster he'll create by placing such immense power in the hands of someone he can tell would be the ultimate memelord had he only been born in the modern age. And because Shen Qingqiu is also someone who understands the value in cold hard cash (but is also a cheapskate), there's a hongbao with 20 solar in there as well.]
[ home, he almost types. he hesitates to call it that. hesitates, for how should wei wuxian perceive it? there is no wish to ensnare him. not like that.
but, it's an innocent enough question nonetheless. ]
[ receiving the message makes him smile. it's probably a perfectly normal question but then he's still well aware that he did disappear there for a few days, so maybe it's in part because of that. why is he thinking about this so much? in any case, he's happy to get it. ]
Well, that depends!
In what? I could be in a lot of things, you know?
[ because a normal person could just say yes, or ask reasonable leading questions if he was really here for the information but that'd just make the conversation end faster.. ]
Wei Wuxian. I am not sure how to put this, but...is there a reason you know of why Lan Wangji would be asking after the state of my shidi's undergarments?
the world about them morphs at the whims of gods they have not fully met, but the replica that trots after lan wangji today is one that he holds precious. it wells ache and nostalgia in equal measure, though lan wangji holds no illusion that it is in whole benevolent.
not that experience should have to tell him, considering this one's origins. and yet — the trek back to the cabin is short. and it is shorter for all curious chatter that this wei wuxian carries on with him. and it is shorter, due to the energetic clip that lan wangji takes pace with if only for the length of his stride (he does not run — he need not have to).
and for all that wei wuxian bursts into the cabin, happily covets that baijiu lan wangji has placed in the circle of his arms, it is all on the table that this wei ying discards the stormy colored vessels and tumbles into the space of that lan zhan. fifteen and smiles full of teeth — brighter than anything that lan zhan had ever seen, it is a paltry replication of those days, dogeared in his memory and worn thin by his fingertips.
and yet, that wei ying sways and crows anyway. he ignores the harsher tilt of lan zhan's childish brows, the way his curled fists trembled even back then beneath the wide hem of his sleeves as wei ying leans so much closer in than anyone had ever had before then.
lan wangji! lan zhan! er-gege! you're here too? wei ying flits about his younger self, laughs a little with the shoulders and more with the mouth when that lan zhan follows him with a look far more cross than he would now give him. aiyo, don't look so glum about it! that er-gege gave me baijiu to take back to the other me, but he said — ah, wait, don't leave!
they're little shadows of themselves, lan wangji knows. they are temporary, but he sees the red shell of his own ears and the way that his young self's rebuffs are held under his tongue, his lips thin against the break of his own teeth as wei ying teases and torments and earnestly follows his heels like the mottled goslings along the shores of yunmeng.
lan wangji, this one that still idles in the doorjamb, takes a slower breath. he does not look to wei wuxian — his own wei ying — quite yet, but it is a near thing as he steps over the threshold, closes the door behind him.
in the background, those mimicries still chatter. at least, wei wuxian's does at a clip his own must be familiar with.
lan wangji glances up. ]
I will stow them elsewhere, [ he says, voice tinted only with the odd round edge it always houses for wei wuxian despite its lack of modulation. his brow pinches, only just, as he hears himself bite something back.
but, at least he is clear he is speaking of the baijiu. it is a poor distraction from the fact that there are others selves that exist in flesh, but at least it is practical. he knows that young one too will drink all that he can get and that the other too will find what hiding places his wei wuxian elects. ]
[ he hadn't said anything previously about what lan zhan would be returning to, but then what exactly could he have said?
while his lan wangji lingers in the doorway, wei wuxian watches the others, going all deathly still as he's capable of now aside from those telling tail twitches that happen with no input from him whatsoever.
he hasn't even properly taken in the things his younger self says and does, too preoccupied with having the younger version of lan zhan that lives in his mind just out there with no preamble.
surely there's a perfectly logical explanation for this. this place being what it is and what he's had to deal with and accept even before the Fog decided to also subject lan zhan to this as well, but not the one he'd known before that was his own age but instead this version of that person from a future that doesn't exist for him yet. that had been very confusing — which is a perfectly reasonable feeling to have — so of course, he had thought about the lan wangji from his youth, who had been a lot easier to predict and figure out. maybe that memory had also been viewed through the same lens as he views everything else from that time now, where everything seems brighter and even the things that might have seemed frustrating at the time only contribute to the nostalgia. there is a particular fondness for that memory because it's from a time where things were simple, and laughter was easier, and the same can be said for the lan zhan that dwells within it.
of his other self, he feels only the usual sort of embarrassment anyone feels when suddenly confronted with evidence of their own behaviour. he can't even say it's particularly childish behaviour because that would imply that he doesn't still have the same sense of humour. plus, it's hanguang-jun's version of him, which puts him in that awkward place again where he feels conflicted between knowing himself and trusting in lan zhan's impressions of things.
he does reach over to claim one of those vessels for himself gratefully, having sat here for too long having to try not to think of the implications of things, feeling entirely too powerful for this poor young lan zhan who flusters and blushes so easily. ]
Do you think he feels it if I drink? [ someone was going to have to acknowledge them, right? look, now it's an experiment. this is somehow his fault too, isn't it? ] Hehe, Lan Zhan, have you ever seen yourself drunk?
[ considering all things and all things that are to come, it is perhaps another kind of misery(?) to experience this drunk and childish representation of lan wangji: flushed pink at the tips of his pointed ears, swaying at the low table he'd carved. as he kneels on the floor pillow, there is a faint pucker to his brow as he drags his laptop closer to himself. he looks up, looks to the bed (where wei ying has ostensibly long since been buried by his own hand), looks to the doorway.
he blinks. presses his fingers against the keys. he will not remember any of this, just as he does not remember where wei wuxian went after the first draw from the wine bottle when they had settled back in - dried and warmed. ]
Wei ying
[ there is something oddly shy about it. contentious in all the ways lan wangji is, but he plucks out the letters so much slower than he usually does - drunk or not.
[ the person-shaped lump on the bed shifts at the sound of the alert and then is still again for a moment or two — in that place between sleeping and waking where he could have imagined it — but then he starts moving again, scooting closer to the edge of the bed. curious. his own laptop had ended up on the floor at some point, although at really no detriment to it at all considering how the things are made. but on the floor, it had stayed.
under the covers still, only about as much of him as necessary slithers out from underneath the blanket to stand the laptop up properly (as it had fallen backwards to rest on its lid) and look at the message. he leaves the device exactly where it is, simply hanging half off the bed instead. wei wuxian types right back without a thought; it's not like this is the first time they've been in the same room and typed to each other instead. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
un: qionglin
Young Master
Young Master
Young Master
1/2
<suibian> 2/2
<qionglin>
<suibian>
<qionglin>
<suibian>
(no subject)
<suibian>
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< bichen > slaps some greed on it
Wei Ying.
[ it is not unusual to wish to talk, he assures himself. there is reason for his contacting him. of course. ]
<suibian>
[ of course, being the idiot that he is he's certain he means all of this in the most platonic way possible. and he's definitely not more desperate to be the centre of attention than usual or anything. nah. ]
< bichen >
<suibian>
< bichen >
<suibian>
< bichen >
<suibian>
< bichen >
<suibian>
< bichen >
<suibian>
< bichen >
<suibian>
(no subject)
(no subject)
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(no subject)
backdated to November 27th
And yet in the end, he finds himself doing so anyway, even if it is with great reluctance. ]
Tell me you didn't get yourself chopped up and sold as venison stew. If you brought my family disgrace I will hang your antlers over my throne.
<suibian>
Me? Of course not! I'm too cute to eat anyway hehe. And what's this about a throne?
(no subject)
<suibian>
Re: <suibian>
(no subject)
(no subject)
<KrisKringle>
His real name is, shockingly, Marco. Marco Evangelisti.
Please spend no more than 20 solars on a gift for Marco, and ensure he receives it on or before Christmas Day (December 25). If not, Santa Claus will come to your house and glare disappointedly through the windows until you cough up.
Merry Winter-Holiday-Of-Your-Choice!
after the Secret Santa assignments
WEI WUXIAN! [ There comes the sweet robotic bellowing, which sounds even more tinny than when he is speaking at normal volume. There is also a high-pitched background noise. ] DO YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY! I DON'T CARE IF THE JIANG CHENG YOU KNOW WOULD PUT UP WITH THIS NONSENSE BUT I HAVE BETTER THINGS TO DO WITH MY TIME!
exactly what he's been waiting for....
Actually, there's a good chance he would have been even less happy about this than you.. [ that's just facts. ] What's that noise? It's hard to hear.
[ although the yelling helps even with that high-pitched noise in the background.. ]
Jiang Cheng, what are you doing that you're too busy to enjoy the season of giving?
(no subject)
( dec. 12, after assignments. )
[ that's it, that's the whole message. ]
<suibian>
[ he knows exactly what he's doing. .... except where it involves his very innocent, platonic heart emoji. ]
(no subject)
<suibian>
< bichen >
<suibian>
< bichen >
<suibian>
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
<XiuYa>
<suibian>
Maybe we should track him down.
[ nothing about this could possibly go wrong. ]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
<NeverAcorned> (Secret Santa)
When he unties the ribbons, Wuxian will find the nicest bottle of sake 20 solars could compensate with out of the Lucky 38's stores - wholesale price, of course, so it's pretty nice - and a sake bottle and cup set. Tucked in alongside the paper is a hand-drawn and current map of Bavan and a note:
Get smashed on me, forget about the Fog for a day, and enjoy whatever you celebrate. Best wishes.
no subject
...There also seems to be a voucher for a free eighteen-inch pizza at the bottom of the box, which can be redeemed at the pizza restaurant on the corner.
Attached is a handwritten note. It can be somewhat difficult to make out what it says due to how horrible the handwriting is, but if you squint and tilt your head, you can make out the following:]
happy holidays, from your superintendent
➼ hawkeye
gift???? gift!!!!
wrapped with sharp folds and in rich reds, wei wuxian will find a box. it is not in many ways sizable, but it too is not in many ways small. it is slim more so than not and shaking to deduce its contents will reveal no sound at all. it seems whoever left it was careful to prevent any such damage or clues, but unfolding the edges of the neat paper will reveal a similarly red package. and within that package, beneath the pale tissue paper that cushions what rests inside it, lies two flutes and a curious (smaller) container between them.
the flutes themselves are impeccably carved, sanded smooth and stained dark. the finger holes are spaced in such a way to accommodate wei wuxian's hands comfortably, but one bears no further details beyond the red tassel attached that appears hand strung. the other — the other has a small lotus motif carved nearest end, wrapped 'round with their accompanying leaves and long, curving stems.
if the smallest box is not left aside, wei wuxian will find a small, hand-carved rabbit. it sits upon its hind legs, its head lifted as though in question of the individual who now holds it. it is left in its natural, pale grain and has a lone, red ribbon tucked around its neck.
there is no note to accompany it. however, there are hints perhaps of lan wangji everywhere in what he has done with it. after all, who else is there who takes such time as this? ]
backdated to the 25th
Inside is a small plain journal from one of the local shops. Within, written in Shen Qingqiu's elegant calligraphy, is a dictionary of chatspeak and internet lingo; from the very basic abbreviations such as 'lol' and 'lmao' to slightly more advanced terms like 'yeet', though there's nothing too suspiciously specific in there. There's also a short appendix on common kaimojis and emoticons and how to type them.]
Wei Wuxian - I asked one of our fellow otherworlders for a few lessons in some of the more unusual terminology and phrases I've seen people use on the network. Apparently, colloquialisms such as these tend to be favored more by the youth; I'm sure you'll appreciate them more than an old man like myself.
[In other words, he wants to see just what kind of monster he'll create by placing such immense power in the hands of someone he can tell would be the ultimate memelord had he only been born in the modern age. And because Shen Qingqiu is also someone who understands the value in cold hard cash (but is also a cheapskate), there's a hongbao with 20 solar in there as well.]
( a few days after wwx's return. )
[ home, he almost types. he hesitates to call it that. hesitates, for how should wei wuxian perceive it? there is no wish to ensnare him. not like that.
but, it's an innocent enough question nonetheless. ]
no subject
Well, that depends!
In what? I could be in a lot of things, you know?
[ because a normal person could just say yes, or ask reasonable leading questions if he was really here for the information but that'd just make the conversation end faster.. ]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
<XiuYa>
<suibian>
(no subject)
<suibian>
<XiuYa>
<suibian>
<XiuYa>
<suibian>
<XiuYa>
<suibian>
<XiuYa>
< bichen > : the valentine's event
[ does he really need to tell him who drank the stores and why. ]
<suibian>
Considering it's a special occasion, one even you have to acknowledge the first time, and all!
[ and absolutely no other reasons haha. ]
(no subject)
<suibian>
(no subject)
valentine's event.
the world about them morphs at the whims of gods they have not fully met, but the replica that trots after lan wangji today is one that he holds precious. it wells ache and nostalgia in equal measure, though lan wangji holds no illusion that it is in whole benevolent.
not that experience should have to tell him, considering this one's origins. and yet — the trek back to the cabin is short. and it is shorter for all curious chatter that this wei wuxian carries on with him. and it is shorter, due to the energetic clip that lan wangji takes pace with if only for the length of his stride (he does not run — he need not have to).
and for all that wei wuxian bursts into the cabin, happily covets that baijiu lan wangji has placed in the circle of his arms, it is all on the table that this wei ying discards the stormy colored vessels and tumbles into the space of that lan zhan. fifteen and smiles full of teeth — brighter than anything that lan zhan had ever seen, it is a paltry replication of those days, dogeared in his memory and worn thin by his fingertips.
and yet, that wei ying sways and crows anyway. he ignores the harsher tilt of lan zhan's childish brows, the way his curled fists trembled even back then beneath the wide hem of his sleeves as wei ying leans so much closer in than anyone had ever had before then.
lan wangji! lan zhan! er-gege! you're here too? wei ying flits about his younger self, laughs a little with the shoulders and more with the mouth when that lan zhan follows him with a look far more cross than he would now give him. aiyo, don't look so glum about it! that er-gege gave me baijiu to take back to the other me, but he said — ah, wait, don't leave!
they're little shadows of themselves, lan wangji knows. they are temporary, but he sees the red shell of his own ears and the way that his young self's rebuffs are held under his tongue, his lips thin against the break of his own teeth as wei ying teases and torments and earnestly follows his heels like the mottled goslings along the shores of yunmeng.
lan wangji, this one that still idles in the doorjamb, takes a slower breath. he does not look to wei wuxian — his own wei ying — quite yet, but it is a near thing as he steps over the threshold, closes the door behind him.
in the background, those mimicries still chatter. at least, wei wuxian's does at a clip his own must be familiar with.
lan wangji glances up. ]
I will stow them elsewhere, [ he says, voice tinted only with the odd round edge it always houses for wei wuxian despite its lack of modulation. his brow pinches, only just, as he hears himself bite something back.
but, at least he is clear he is speaking of the baijiu. it is a poor distraction from the fact that there are others selves that exist in flesh, but at least it is practical. he knows that young one too will drink all that he can get and that the other too will find what hiding places his wei wuxian elects. ]
no subject
while his lan wangji lingers in the doorway, wei wuxian watches the others, going all deathly still as he's capable of now aside from those telling tail twitches that happen with no input from him whatsoever.
he hasn't even properly taken in the things his younger self says and does, too preoccupied with having the younger version of lan zhan that lives in his mind just out there with no preamble.
surely there's a perfectly logical explanation for this. this place being what it is and what he's had to deal with and accept even before the Fog decided to also subject lan zhan to this as well, but not the one he'd known before that was his own age but instead this version of that person from a future that doesn't exist for him yet. that had been very confusing — which is a perfectly reasonable feeling to have — so of course, he had thought about the lan wangji from his youth, who had been a lot easier to predict and figure out. maybe that memory had also been viewed through the same lens as he views everything else from that time now, where everything seems brighter and even the things that might have seemed frustrating at the time only contribute to the nostalgia. there is a particular fondness for that memory because it's from a time where things were simple, and laughter was easier, and the same can be said for the lan zhan that dwells within it.
of his other self, he feels only the usual sort of embarrassment anyone feels when suddenly confronted with evidence of their own behaviour. he can't even say it's particularly childish behaviour because that would imply that he doesn't still have the same sense of humour. plus, it's hanguang-jun's version of him, which puts him in that awkward place again where he feels conflicted between knowing himself and trusting in lan zhan's impressions of things.
he does reach over to claim one of those vessels for himself gratefully, having sat here for too long having to try not to think of the implications of things, feeling entirely too powerful for this poor young lan zhan who flusters and blushes so easily. ]
Do you think he feels it if I drink? [ someone was going to have to acknowledge them, right? look, now it's an experiment. this is somehow his fault too, isn't it? ] Hehe, Lan Zhan, have you ever seen yourself drunk?
(no subject)
< bichen >
he blinks. presses his fingers against the keys. he will not remember any of this, just as he does not remember where wei wuxian went after the first draw from the wine bottle when they had settled back in - dried and warmed. ]
Wei ying
[ there is something oddly shy about it. contentious in all the ways lan wangji is, but he plucks out the letters so much slower than he usually does - drunk or not.
today has been a lot. ]
<suibian>
under the covers still, only about as much of him as necessary slithers out from underneath the blanket to stand the laptop up properly (as it had fallen backwards to rest on its lid) and look at the message. he leaves the device exactly where it is, simply hanging half off the bed instead. wei wuxian types right back without a thought; it's not like this is the first time they've been in the same room and typed to each other instead. ]
lan zhan~☆
(no subject)
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(no subject)