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Event Twenty-Five.
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And see the bonnets blue, And hear the bluebells ringing loud, I wish I could -- don't you? | |
Welcome to Awash's Twenty-fifth event log, everyone! Further information on this event can be found here at the OOC post. You are welcome to make your own logs and posts for this event! | |
t's another day, another month, and another time for people to show up in the well. You'd better go rescue them! Never mind the fact that you woke up with a flower in your hands.
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[ Slowly, he withdraws a fire talisman and bites his thumb. A few extra marks here and there, and it turns into... something different. He makes a hand seal and the talisman floats into the air, turns over a few times, and then settles itself on top of the other man's edelweiss bouquet. ]
It seems a shame to do this to such a pretty bunch of flowers, but you'll thank me for this.
[ The talisman lights up, and the blooms beneath it immediately fade and dry up. That.... that should help, right? ]
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He watches the flowers wilt and even though he feels pity for them, he also relaxes as the anxiety of being left alone dissipated...
He let Tianwen disappear in a soft flash of golden light, running his fingers over the dead blooms with a near silent sigh. What a waste.]
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He knew this feeling but...why was he feeling it right now. He clutched at his chest and looked away.]
You--you can leave now. [Please leave. (Even though a part of him couldn't help but thing please stay.)]
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Hey, hey, hey, what's the matter?
[ Wait—did killing the flowers have some evil effect on the bearer? ]
Give me those!
[ He reaches for the bouquet. He did this, so he ought to be the one to bear the consequences. ]
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He blushed as his head snapped back to this person's face and...he's really pretty.
Damn it.]
Nothing! Everything is fine!
[But his eyes widened when he reached for the flowers. There's no point holding them up, he was the shorter of the two so he moved the flowers behind him instead.]
No!
[It would defeat the purpose of taking the cursed flower off him if he just gives them back!]
Don't stand so close to me!
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Don't you know, when you insist on something so forcefully, it make people think the exact opposite is true?
[ He is, fortunately, utterly shameless and his reach is longer, so he steps right in, chest-to-chest with the man, as he reaches around and closes his fingers around the bouquet. ]
I'm resistant to malevolent energy, so you should just let go and give them to m—
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wow. ]
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Um. I'm... I'm Wei Wuxian. It's nice to meet you. What's your name?
[ What beautiful eyes he has...... ]
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So he didn't expect him to step closer to--to--]
How dare you--! [This close, there was no hiding the way his heart was beating out of control or the faint scent of haitang blossoms he always let off. Also, he is not letting go of that bouquet which also means he can't...move his arm away. Actually, with his arm like this and with the two of them this close isn't he effectively trapped?
The blush only gets worse, and he looks away.]
...let go.
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You smell nice.
[ He knows... he knows something is wrong. To feel this heart-fluttering sensation in response to a perfect stranger, does that make sense at all? He'd felt terrified after someone had given him the bouquet of edelweiss. And now, after killing the flowers with his talisman...
...ah.
With the man's head turned away, it's easy to lean down and whisper breathlessly in his ear: ]
Dead flowers... it's not what you'd give a lover. It's the opposite of what you'd give a lover. And yet...
[ He's trying to think straight, he's trying to work out what's going on, but his mind is utterly scrambled by the dizzying, heady scent of haitang flowers. ]
Kiss me. I love you.
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But even if it were real there's only so much of this he can take.
Chu Wanning's heart is big, but his face is thin, after all.]
Shameless!
[This close, there's little he can do but there's nothing stopping him from stomping on Wei Wuxian's toes hard before shoving at him, to create room so he can slap him.]
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Aaaaaah!
[ He backs up, lightfooted, out of slapping range. ]
My, how violent!
[ He grins. The person's face is charming, even when angry, he decides. Actually, anger probably makes it even more charming. If he actually liked this person, he'd tease the man incessantly. But while the memory of infatuation is powerful, the actual emotion has faded. ]
Is that how you treat everyone who loves you? Because I did, most ardently! Oh, but you're still holding that bouquet, which means you love me, too! Are you that kind of person, who hides their feelings? Girls don't like that! Frowning all the time, you'll get wrinkles, and you'll spend your life alone.
[ He's chattering, trying to think. If dead flowers, the kind of thing one would give to an enemy, produced intense feelings of love, then what must a lover's flower do? ]
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Wei Wuxian couldn't possibly know he'd hit a nerve. Or well, multiple nerves.
It certainly didn't help that the...infatuation made the words hurt more than it would even normally. It's there and gone, easily missed for how it was only in the eyes and for barely a second at that. Then it's replaced with a glare.]
No one was asking for your opinion! [He's always been alone, he reminded himself. He'd lived all these years like that and he could continue living like that forever.] And you didn't love me. That was the flowers.
[The only reason he could be so sure of the fact was that he didn't believe, even for a second, someone could ever be in love with him. But the knowledge that all these feelings he held were artificial didn't stop them from feeling real.]
If you're only going to spout useless drivel then get out!
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[ He touches his chest. ]
The feeling was sincere, even if it was caused by something! You shouldn't dismiss such feelings so easily! Especially since I know you're feeling them yourself, hahaha!
[ He glances around. Flowers are blooming everywhere. Sadly, there aren't any red ones that he can see, so he randomly picks something pretty, a bouquet of hydrangeas (pride). ]
Here, try holding these and see if you feel any different!
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That is, if you want them. I'm... I'm not sure they'll work. It's not like I really know what's going on.
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[He glares and snatches the flowers.]
Stop picking flowers! I didn't take that curse off you just for you to curse yourself again!
[And then, because pride has always been the one thing that kept him from being honest and saying these things...] Don't bother trying to do anything for someone like me.
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Someone like you?
[ He frowns, tapping his chin. Is this another effect of the flowers? He'd said he loved the man, which he didn't mean. But something like this—is it what the man really feels, just unmasked by the flower? He probes a little further, whilst still glancing for some other flower that might look suitable. ]
What kind of person is that?
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Normally, his expression would be frosty. He'd get angry because being angry was easier than being sad, because there was some dignity in being angry. Even in his most painful moments he'd never let himself show it, preferring to hide it behind a mask.
But somehow preserving his dignity and saving face didn't even cross his mind at the moment.
And so it's all there, the full force of his self-loathing written on his expression.]
A person's who's cold and aloof. More feared than respected. Someone with a terrible personality who's learned to take care of themselves because no one ever...ever--
[The word catches and he isn't even sure what he meant to say. No one ever stays. No one ever tries to understand. No one ever cares and keeps caring.]
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So, this must be the man's true feelings, which he would certainly keep hidden, under ordinary circumstances.
This... this is another trick of the town, opening up a person's heart for all to see. But, judging from what he's just heard, is that such a bad thing? He moves forwards, settling a hand on the man's shoulder. ]
Hey, hey, hey. I know lots of people who are cold and aloof, intimidating and solitary.
[ He leans in, softening his voice, as if he's confiding a secret. ]
People like that, I like them the most. Because I've found that cold exterior, it's a strongbox guarding a precious treasure: a tender heart with a wealth of feelings.
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But then his eyes go wide at the words as his heart hammers in his chest.
I like them the most.
No one had ever said anything like that to him before. Not like this. Normally he'd deny having a heart like that. A tender heart is a weak one and he couldn't afford to be weak.
But if he were being honest, what Wei Wuxian said was true. He's always hidden himself because that way he couldn't be hurt, couldn't be embarrassed.
To have someone say that...]
I-- [But he cut himself off. There were things he wanted to say, things that he knew weren't his true feelings because his feelings were being affected by the stupid cursed flowers.
He wanted to respond...but he wanted his response to be as sincere as this person's. (Assuming it wasn't also flower related...he could only hope it wasn't.)
He swallowed, then matching the soft tone being used, said,] Can you say that again...when this is over? ["This', being this whole flower business.
...though he was almost certainly going to avoid him once he's back to normal.]
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[ He reaches up, to gently brush a stray lock of hair from the man's face. ]
Unless....
[ He lets his voice trail off, with his eyes bright and brows raised. He lets the word hang in the air for a moment, before continuing. ]
...well, to see what I'm getting at, you've got to understand a bit more about how this place works. Old stories called fairy tales are important. The rules of fairy tales often apply to this village as well. And one of the most enduring themes of fairy tales, is that a loving kiss can break curses.
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[He has a lot of practice with that. But maybe not enough practice because he tenses and blushes when he's touched.
But then the subject of his actual feelings has never touched him like this...or suggested something like this.
He's listening carefully, never once suspecting where this line of thought was headed until it was actually said.
Even then, it took him a second to actually come to the conclusion.
He wouldn't dare suggest they--
He brought his free hand up to shove him.]
R-ridiculous! We're not in love!
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Ignore them?
[ There's a joke on the tip of his tongue; but given how quickly that answer came out, he thinks that is, perhaps, a little sad. As if this man already knows intimately the miseries of unrequited love. ]
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Pfff! You really are making me work at it! What a strongbox you are, that really was the right metaphor, hahaha! But if you insist, I'll.... touch the bouquet, too. If we're both touching it, then we'll both be in love, right? For the purposes of this curse, it should work. And then...
[ He steps forwards again, reaching to cup the side of the man's face, while simultaneously trying to brush his fingers down the man's arm, towards where he's clutching the dead bouquet. ]
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Not wanting to talk about it in the moment had nothing to do with pride and everything to do with not wanting to deal with the heartbreak of remembering his own experiences with impossibly unrequited love.
He doesn't get much of a chance to dwell on it anyway.]
I'm not...trying to make you work at anything. [Embarrassed by the fact that saying it like that makes it sound like he's seducing him when he...doesn't even know how to seduce anyone.
Nor would he do it!
Wei Wuxian's lucky that 'true love's kiss' isn't really a trope in Chinese fairytales because he'd get stuck on the 'true' part of it.
But as it is...the whole thing doesn't seem...unreasonable. There was a tremble in his hands and he looked away but he's not pulling away or shoving him back this time.]
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