The lantern is done. It's a momentous achievement; a culmination of all of Wei Wuxian's work since he first arrived at the inn...
And now it means he doesn't have a project to work on anymore. The agony!
He'll think of one soon enough. In the meantime, he's settled for sketching out an update to the Compass of Evil, whittling away at a block of wood Madam Bar provided him. If he has all the tools of a thousand worlds at his disposal, it should be no trouble at all to fine-tune the instrument.
And now it means he doesn't have a project to work on anymore. The agony!
He'll think of one soon enough. In the meantime, he's settled for sketching out an update to the Compass of Evil, whittling away at a block of wood Madam Bar provided him. If he has all the tools of a thousand worlds at his disposal, it should be no trouble at all to fine-tune the instrument.
[pfsb] happy halloween!
Oct. 19th, 2021 12:33 pmIt's that time of year again.
The inn is bustling. All manner of strange outfits have been donned (some more willingly than others). Lanterns flicker ominously in the corners, pumpkins stand sentry at either end of the bar, and every order comes complete with a handful of wrapped candies.
And -- if you're Wei Wuxian -- Madam Bar has also gifted you with an enormous array of tiny cakes, each one with a little candle stuck in its center. His second birthday at the inn has arrived, and he could not be more pleased.
(He's also wearing a red T-shirt that reads, simply, I'M THE CHAOS. Just like last year, he has set his mild confusion aside in favor of delight at the bounty Madam Bar has given him.)
The inn is bustling. All manner of strange outfits have been donned (some more willingly than others). Lanterns flicker ominously in the corners, pumpkins stand sentry at either end of the bar, and every order comes complete with a handful of wrapped candies.
And -- if you're Wei Wuxian -- Madam Bar has also gifted you with an enormous array of tiny cakes, each one with a little candle stuck in its center. His second birthday at the inn has arrived, and he could not be more pleased.
(He's also wearing a red T-shirt that reads, simply, I'M THE CHAOS. Just like last year, he has set his mild confusion aside in favor of delight at the bounty Madam Bar has given him.)
[pfsb] it's so FLUFFY
Jul. 8th, 2021 12:04 pmIn Wei Wuxian's defense, it isn't as if he forgot one should never eat free food unless it came from Madam Bar or the waitrats. It's simply that after nearly a year where he has -- only on occasion, mind you! -- accepted food and drink from strangers with no ill effects, he may have let his guard slip. Just a little.
Besides, he was so absorbed in his work that for all he knew, a waitrat had deposited the little bowl of animal-shaped desserts on his table. It wouldn't have been the first time he failed to notice one of them trying to get his attention.
So when he absently picked up a cracker to nibble on it as he worked through a particularly thorny set of talisman calculations --
Well.
The little black rabbit that now sits on the table, a red ribbon looped around one ear, just wants it emphatically known that this was not his fault.
Besides, he was so absorbed in his work that for all he knew, a waitrat had deposited the little bowl of animal-shaped desserts on his table. It wouldn't have been the first time he failed to notice one of them trying to get his attention.
So when he absently picked up a cracker to nibble on it as he worked through a particularly thorny set of talisman calculations --
Well.
The little black rabbit that now sits on the table, a red ribbon looped around one ear, just wants it emphatically known that this was not his fault.
Lan Zhan, he writes, I'm swimming in the lake! I love you -- Wei Ying. After a moment's thought, Wei Wuxian adds a smiley face to the bottom like Madam Bar so often does with her napkin notes.
It's unseasonably warm today, more early summer than late fall. The trees have dropped enough of their leaves that Wei Wuxian knows such days will depart for good soon enough. And frankly, if he stares at his latest iteration of the energy-revealing array much longer, his eyes will cross and stick that way. He needs to clear his head.
After leaving one copy of the note in their room and another with Madam Bar, he requests some swimming attire; she provides a black short-sleeved shirt much like the one he wore to London Above, the fabric smooth as silk but much stretchier, and loose red trousers that end just above his knees. A little revealing for a lake shared by many, perhaps, but they'll do.
He changes in the public washroom and walks to the shoreline. Stepping onto one of the larger rocks, he eyes the water with a smile.
Then he backs up, sprints forward to spring off the rock, and cannonballs into the lake with a loud whoop.
It's unseasonably warm today, more early summer than late fall. The trees have dropped enough of their leaves that Wei Wuxian knows such days will depart for good soon enough. And frankly, if he stares at his latest iteration of the energy-revealing array much longer, his eyes will cross and stick that way. He needs to clear his head.
After leaving one copy of the note in their room and another with Madam Bar, he requests some swimming attire; she provides a black short-sleeved shirt much like the one he wore to London Above, the fabric smooth as silk but much stretchier, and loose red trousers that end just above his knees. A little revealing for a lake shared by many, perhaps, but they'll do.
He changes in the public washroom and walks to the shoreline. Stepping onto one of the larger rocks, he eyes the water with a smile.
Then he backs up, sprints forward to spring off the rock, and cannonballs into the lake with a loud whoop.
Wei Wuxian's notes have long been a haphazard disaster, and it has reached a point where he knows he's circling a revelation, missing only one or two key parts, and said parts are probably lying half-forgotten in a notebook he thought he'd reserved for another project entirely. In theory, he is trying to dig through everything to organize it a little better.
In theory.
In practice, however, Wei Wuxian is staring out the window with his chin in his hand, and he hasn't touched the papers scattered across his table for about two hours. He's too busy smiling an absolutely foolish smile at nothing in particular.
It has been a very good couple of days.
In theory.
In practice, however, Wei Wuxian is staring out the window with his chin in his hand, and he hasn't touched the papers scattered across his table for about two hours. He's too busy smiling an absolutely foolish smile at nothing in particular.
It has been a very good couple of days.
The good news: the energy-revealing array works!
The bad news --
It's not bad news, he insists to himself. It just... is. It's a complication, a hole in the road, a little snare tripping him up. That's all. It doesn't have to be more. It might not even be in the first place, yes? He is dead, Lan Zhan is alive, of course seeing just how very alive would stir something in him. That's all it is.
Right?
Never mind that he's fairly certain if he placed the same array on Harrow, or Tom-gongzi, or Ingress, he would not have been struck the same way. That -- it's ridiculous, this is all ridiculous, and that's why he's out here by the lake, standing on a flat rock with another array of talismans fluttering in his hand.
The key is not just luring resentful energy from the forest, despite the suppression around the inn. It is how swiftly he can do it. During his coffee-fueled spree of work last night, he drew up some new lures that ought to work faster than a traditional set. Now he scatters them in a wide circle around his feet, gestures sharply, and sends a bolt of red energy into the yellow paper slips.
Silently, in his head, he begins to count. One... two... three...
At the count of thirteen, something boils at the forest's edge, dark and oily.
Wei Wuxian smiles and lifts his flute to meet it.
The bad news --
It's not bad news, he insists to himself. It just... is. It's a complication, a hole in the road, a little snare tripping him up. That's all. It doesn't have to be more. It might not even be in the first place, yes? He is dead, Lan Zhan is alive, of course seeing just how very alive would stir something in him. That's all it is.
Right?
Never mind that he's fairly certain if he placed the same array on Harrow, or Tom-gongzi, or Ingress, he would not have been struck the same way. That -- it's ridiculous, this is all ridiculous, and that's why he's out here by the lake, standing on a flat rock with another array of talismans fluttering in his hand.
The key is not just luring resentful energy from the forest, despite the suppression around the inn. It is how swiftly he can do it. During his coffee-fueled spree of work last night, he drew up some new lures that ought to work faster than a traditional set. Now he scatters them in a wide circle around his feet, gestures sharply, and sends a bolt of red energy into the yellow paper slips.
Silently, in his head, he begins to count. One... two... three...
At the count of thirteen, something boils at the forest's edge, dark and oily.
Wei Wuxian smiles and lifts his flute to meet it.
It is well past wǔ hour -- nearly noon, by the inn's reckoning -- when Wei Wuxian wakes back up to shuffle downstairs.
His robes are rumpled. He's secured his hair back in a simple, untidy ponytail, strands of hair ecaping from all sides. Muffling a yawn against the back of his hand, he bows to Madam Bar and asks for the strongest pot of tea she can provide -- he cannot sleep the whole day, after all, and he certainly must be awake for whenever Lan Zhan returns.
Not only does Madam Bar give him a pot of tea almost as big as his head, but it's accompanied by a hefty ceramic cup as large as two fists stacked together. Bold reds, greens, and golds swirl across one side to form an elegant wall of text: RISE AND SHINE, BITCHES.
He is still tired enough to find this absolutely hilarious, if his snickering is anything to go by.
His robes are rumpled. He's secured his hair back in a simple, untidy ponytail, strands of hair ecaping from all sides. Muffling a yawn against the back of his hand, he bows to Madam Bar and asks for the strongest pot of tea she can provide -- he cannot sleep the whole day, after all, and he certainly must be awake for whenever Lan Zhan returns.
Not only does Madam Bar give him a pot of tea almost as big as his head, but it's accompanied by a hefty ceramic cup as large as two fists stacked together. Bold reds, greens, and golds swirl across one side to form an elegant wall of text: RISE AND SHINE, BITCHES.
He is still tired enough to find this absolutely hilarious, if his snickering is anything to go by.
The latest idea that struck Wei Wuxian mid-lunch: if he combined one of the theoretical energy talismans with a paper doll, would that allow him to search the grounds for resentful energy without having to blanket the whole inn with talismans?
It seems like a sound idea! It won't replace the planned night hunt with Lan Zhan -- nor would he want it to -- but if he succeeds, it will be a fun experiment.
First, though: combining a paper doll with a simpler talisman. Which brings us to Wei Wuxian at a table underneath the Observation Window, not an inch left uncovered by his notes, scribbling onto a tiny cutout with a ballpoint pen Bar gave him. (What an invention!) He completes the last character with a flourish and waves his hand over the doll; it springs to its "feet," and, grinning, he directs it toward the empty cup perched precariously on a corner of the table.
It seems like a sound idea! It won't replace the planned night hunt with Lan Zhan -- nor would he want it to -- but if he succeeds, it will be a fun experiment.
First, though: combining a paper doll with a simpler talisman. Which brings us to Wei Wuxian at a table underneath the Observation Window, not an inch left uncovered by his notes, scribbling onto a tiny cutout with a ballpoint pen Bar gave him. (What an invention!) He completes the last character with a flourish and waves his hand over the doll; it springs to its "feet," and, grinning, he directs it toward the empty cup perched precariously on a corner of the table.
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