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[eschewings]

// qinghe

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text; un: Wei Wuxian

[singlelogbridge]

[There's a lot that the two of them could talk about. A lot left unsaid, questions left unasked and unanswered. The weight of Wei Wuxian's life and death hang over them both like a shroud, but Huaisang had already made it clear that he has no interest in punishing him for his past.

And he's always been able to talk to Huaisang as a friend, about girls and porn and all the stupid things that mattered to them before the war. If Huaisang has no desire to live in the past, then Wei Wuxian sees no reason to treat him as anything but the friend he always was.

Also he just really needs to yell at someone who will understand why he's so thrilled.]

I discovered showers. Have you taken a shower? Nie-xiong, please take a shower, it's wonderful. They have some sort of piping system that filters water into the rooms at all times and the water is heated. I'm not sure how it works or where the water comes from but Nie-xiong, showers.

[eschewings]

[ the response comes after an hour of the initial message — as if he's read it, and then promptly done exactly as suggested. ]

Wei-xiong! I can't believe it took you this long to tell me! Ahhhh, I've wasted so much time when I could have been enjoying a hot shower instead...

I'm going to go take another one!

Action; 1 week post Giva mission

[singlelogbridge]

[There's an extremely harried knock on Huaisang's door sometime in the evening. When he opens it, he will find Wei Wuxian with an irritated expression on his face, holding up a talisman in his hand.}

Nie-xiong. [Why does he sound like that? Is that stress? Frustration? A desperate need to be told he's cool?]

Can you do this? [And then he slaps the talisman on his chest and immediately turns invisible. Sorry Huaisang, he's having a day. If Nie Huaisang can turn invisible now, he is flinging himself into the darkness of space.]

[eschewings]

Wei-xiong, what —

[ that's about as far as he gets before wei wuxian barrels on with his question and the demonstration that follows — which is quite impressive, actually! ]

E — eeehhhhh?? Wei-xiong, where did you go??!

[ he looks right, then left, then right again, then up towards the ceiling...

and forgets to answer the question entirely, but maybe his surprise is enough of an answer. ]

audio. un: 10-54

[construing]

[ the voice on the other end is SERIOUS. ] I have an important matter to discuss with you.

I…don't know about tea.

[ a crime. she knows. she is deeply apologetic over any offense she may have caused. ]

And I would like to surprise Wei Wuxian with a tea set. But I don't know how to identify a good set. Which is why I have come to you.

Help me, Nie Huaisang, you're my only hope.

audio;

[eschewings]

Gwen! [ there's a gasp of — well, not quite offense, but certainly something like horrified surprise, or incredulous dismay... and though the reference flies over his head entirely, he's 200% serious when he answers: ]

Ah, you are right... this is a matter of utmost seriousness. But you have come to the right person! There is no one who has a finer eye for the artistry that a tea set should be.

[ said in an entirely matter-of-fact tone, because it is true... but he adds, finally a laugh breaking through his voice, ] Gwen, you've just become my favourite person on this station.

text. un: 10-54

[construing]

Can I humbly request a cup of tea as soon as we're back?

〈 if she ever sees a pill again it'll be too soon. except she's on antidepressants. fuck. 〉

[eschewings]

[ OH is it ever a relief to hear from her. ]

Just tell me which kind!

Text: un Wei Wuxian [1 day before everything goes down]

[singlelogbridge]

[He might not know what's going down or when, but he knows something is coming, probably sooner rather than later. He knows where most of his friends are and how they're preparing, but there's one he hasn't spoken to yet, and so—]

tell me you're holed up somewhere with a sturdy door keeping yourself safe?

[eschewings]

[ he can't help but be touched that wei wuxian is actually checking up on him — it's sweet, and also exactly what he needs. as long as both wei wuxian and xichen-ge believe he needs to be hidden away from all battlefields, he's doing his job right. ]

Well, I'm not sure how sturdy the university doors are, but I think they'll hold in an emergency!

[ he figures the university is the last place anyone will fight in, so might as well stay at his office there. ]

[farr]

[ one morning on the station, on each orber's door, the following hand-written note (in fancy calligraphy) will be taped:


the orber can choose to attend or simply listen in to the meeting when it occurs, or they may ignore it altogether. ]

[construing]

〈 gwen fiddles with her teacup.

coming here had not been her intent. she wanted to get out before she did or said something she might regret. (again.) of course, living in a space station means she does not have many places to go. she was in the process of planning out the hammock to string up in a corner of the training room when she came across (would have crashed into if not for spider-sense) nie huaisang.

now she is seated at a table, legs folded beneath her, turning a teacup around and around while the steam forms shapes above the pale golden liquid. briefly, she wonders if one's fate can be divined in the gentle twisting of steam. 〉

[eschewings]

[ it hadn't been hard to spot that something was bothering her. nie huaisang had trained himself to be an exceptional reader of people — if there was one thing he was good at, it was people.

he, too, has a steaming cup in front of him, as he peers at her over his fan. ]

Ah, Gwen... I don't think you will find answers in the tea leaves. [ then, ] Do you want to talk about it?

[ it. whatever that is. ]

[farr]

[ yet another flyer ends up on every orber's door, evidently by the same culprit as last time, except now it's a more colorful display:


the back of the flyer features more details about the play and its characters, and soon enough, an announcement from rita herself goes public, giving more context about the event, which all can sign up for. ]

action;

[blackfire]

（ there is nothing else for it — he continues his routine.

he is in the training room, as he told huaisang, every morning. he has a regimented plan laid out for himself, and frequently trains until the callouses tear on his hands and bleed. he is wrapping a hand absently when there is the sense of a dead space in the air, and he cants his head so he can study the door over one shoulder.

then: ）

Huaisang.

[eschewings]

I know, I know, it's really a miracle that I made it, isn't it?

[ huaisang, standing there in his training robe, does something that's a sigh and a yawn at the same time. his fan is in his hand, waving lazily. ]

Right... please be merciful when this disciple inevitably fails at this!

un; mal (a misfire)

[tochnyy]

do i have a likable face?

[eschewings]

oh, unfortunately not! your nose is a bit too crooked, and your ears entirely too big. it gives you a bit of an untrustworthy look.

[ does he have any idea who he's talking to?

no. 😌 ]

text. un: 🕷️

[construing]

〈 a couple days after lan xichen has gone: 〉 Today feels like a corn dog day. Want some?

[eschewings]

[ it takes him some time to answer; since xichen-ge's departure, huaisang has been mainly by himself, occasionally playing xichen's xiao or painting. there's a particularly good painting of xichen and mingjue walking through the nie private gardens that's nearly ready. ]

Corn dogs? ... yes, why not.

christmas morning.

[construing]

〈 as soon as the door opens, huaisang is greeted by a a box wrapped in festive paper, hanging off a web stuck to the top of the frame. the message written on it reads only, 〉 Later, I demand matching looks. ♥

〈 the contents prove to be something she had specifically requested long before the christmas season rolled around. between missions and crises, she missed the moment to give it to him until now. all in all, she has to say the timing worked out.

because gwen has given to huaisang the gift of…a hair blinger. 〉

[construing]

〈 one pink half-tiefling, basket emitting a rustling sound under her arm, regards the full tiefling with amusement. 〉

So, just out of curiosity…have you left these woods ever?

[eschewings]

[ a shrug as huaisang waves his fan — of course he still has it with him. out there, it might seem weird, but the birds don't judge.

which is why birds are such good company. ]

Well, to get some wine out of the tavern, initially, but then I trained the crows to fetch me some, so...

mission pt1 (birdsbirdsbirds)

[blackfire]

（ he finds huaisang in the woods. birds perch in the low trees, their eyes following him as he approaches. it does not unnerve him — his partnership with crows came nearly two decades ago in his life, and they have been the most constant of his companions in life.

but huaisang has built a reputation here, for his bond with these creatures, and itachi has a problem. ）

Huaisang. A moment of your time?

（ he gently unwraps a small box he had carried in his hands, revealing a trio of baby birds with the first of their feathers just starting to come in, eyes only just recently opened. he is not quite certain what happened to their custodial parent, only that he had occasion to pass by the nest several times over the course of a few days, and had realized that they were no longer being fed or cared for, the chirping becoming markedly more weak in that time.

he can care for them — and has been, diligently rising every few hours to feed them and clean them. but he does not wish to acclimate them too much to human touch, and so. here he is. curious if a druid will have better insight into the situation than he himself is capable of. ）

They will be fledglings soon. Can you care for them?

[eschewings]

[ it is not a surprise, to see itachi — but it is more the topic on which he approaches, this time, that makes huaisang's eyes widen. he lets out a noise that is half dismay, half a cooing sound when seeing the baby birds. he's quick to flutter closer, his druid's robes a flurry as he comes to a stop next to itachi, bending down to get a look at the babies. ]

Oh, poor things! Hm, they're not in a terrible condition, that's good, but also not ideal... [ he clicks his tongue, barely even looking at itachi. ] No, well, I can, but it's not really a good idea... I should find them someone who can actually help them grow up as proper birds. Maybe A-zu, or A-hui...

[ he. he means some of the birds he's made friends with. ]

A few days after the return from Alydhion

[singlelogbridge]

Okay, if I showed up with my entire neck covered in love bites and didn't even try to conceal it, that would be weird right?

You'd notice and react, right???

Especially if I was someone like [Um] Lan Zhan or something, someone who isn't exactly big on touch!

[eschewings]

[ weirdly, there is no immediate response...... not even a non-immediate response.

well, it probably means huaisang is resting, taking a bath, eating good food, possibly painting? maybe left his earpiece on his bed in an effort not to be disturbed? surely that's it!

however, that very evening, when wei wuxian returns to his room, he will find a large scroll neatly resting against the door. when he unrolls it, he will find it is a wall scroll, calligraphy painted on it with strokes both precise and whimsical, something true artists would ooh and aah over — it is expertly done, supremely beautiful, an actual work of art fit to be displayed on the walls of any of the great sects.

or it would be, if it wasn't for the way the characters painted on it make for a poem written for this very occasion:

OVERJOYED, THIS VERY DAY
I CONGRATULATE MY GOOD FRIEND
ON (POSSIBLE) INTERCOURSE

😇 ]

text ↪ un: うちは (civawei day 7, late)

[blackfire]

Huaisang.

Where are you?

[eschewings]

Ah, Itachi, I'm really not in the mood for training right now!

[ but he does send him a ping of his location: in ciarv, on one of the platforms built into the trees. ]

delivery; before he left

[calmness]

a-sang —

may you succeed here. no one deserves more of a chance at a fuller-lived life than our da-ge.

if you remember the journey that takes you there, i hope you are able to do so living the sort of life he would have been proud of. because while there are few things i am as certain of as the continued pattern of the waves crashing into the seashore; it is that he lived proudly while he lived.

and he was proud of you.

in that world, i hope that you are able to stand with mingjue at your side and that whatever version of myself you meet there is a better elder brother to you than the one i have been. i hope there is a another place, where we can trust each other once again.

may you find your peace there.

delivery;

[blackfire]

（ huaisang will find a little covered dish outside his door sometime around breakfast. when opened, it contains three corndogs, kept carefully warm by a talisman that will no doubt be familiar.

The accompanying text says only: One of Gwen's favourites. ）

text ↪ un: うちは

[blackfire]

Huaisang.

（ this comes not too long after sizhui's memory — the only other person who could confirm or deny. ）

Does Wei Ying return, in your world?

（ not really beating around the bush here, huh? ）

[eschewings]

[ the answer comes after perhaps half an hour: ]

Yes, he does. Why do you ask?

Text

[singlelogbridge]

Nie-xiong, do you remember when we both first got here and I said I didn't want to know anything at all about the future? How I insisted you not tell me a single thing?

I've changed my mind.

Will you tell me? I want to know.

[eschewings]

[ ... huh. ]

Ah, Wei-xiong, "the future" is a very broad subject... you will have to be more specific than that.