March Catch-All

[alittlespicy]

WHO: Lan WangJi and open
WHERE: Around Chroma
WHEN: During the month
WHAT: After his rather. Emotional first day, WangJi is trying to get used to the town. Also, quest shenanigans.
WARNINGS: Probable references to body damage (disciplinary punishment that is somewhat heavy) and possibly reference to character death. Will add if any more show up.

Starters in comments. Tag in if you have an idea, or ping for discussing at kikibug13 Starters in prose but will match format.

Comments

open

[alittlespicy]

Lan WangJi had seen people sit with these black boxes outside, and open them, and press... things? And look at things on the upper part?

So he took his own and sat on a bench, trying to figure out what it was about.

After a few moments, he figured out the latch that made the lid pop open a little.

Ah!

[metastasizing]

[ ...He had just been passing by, hands in his pockets when he's noticed the man on the bench with his laptop. That's not out of the ordinary; it seems like many here use the network forum to communicate.

And yet the stranger to be greatly confused (befuddled?) by the laptop itself, as if he's never seen on in his life before. ]

....Uh.

[ Gonna just wave. ] Need help?

[alittlespicy]

[ WangJi looks up with a (very small) frustrated frown on his face. Considers the question for a moment. Then. ]

Probably. Do not know what this is.

[ And this takes effort to admit because it's the first time since he was probably in the single digits in age that he's ever run into something that he's completely ignorant about. ]

[metastasizing]

It's called a laptop, a type of computer. [ He'll walk over towards him, coming around the bench. ] Normally they can do a lot more things... but here it looks like the only two functions it has is to access the forum of this place and use a paint program. Kinda limited, aa.

[ Um. ]

You don't... have these things, where you're from?

[alittlespicy]

[ WangJi's focus is absolute, though he can still understand next to nothing. He will have to trust that he will find enough information to understand. Eventually.

For now, he forgoes the question 'what does a computer do' because obviously it's irrelevant, if his only does two things, though he will need to ask later. Instead, he goes with, ]

What is a forum?

[metastasizing]

[ Well that answers his question. Don’t mind if this complete stranger who wears the word “CELL” on his t-shirt goes ahead and explains what technology is! ] A forum.... Think of it like a meeting place for people to discuss things— like a judicial forum. [ Like how the spleen regulates the status of red blood cells! And if they don’t past the fitness test, they’re discarded. ] Or a business forum. [ Like how the thyroid gland might determine how much T3 and T4 the body might need. ]

But in this sense, it’s a term used to describe a virtual meeting place.

Here... [ If he can, he’ll demonstrate selecting the icon for the network, bringing his screen to the front page. ]

People write posts like that. And others respond to it. That’s a forum.

[queenofminiskirts]

[Kaoru spends a lot more time outdoors than she does normally. Mostly because it's boring otherwise! She still misses videogames and watching tv and all those other things she occupied her time with back home.

But being outside meant finding new adventures! Meeting new people! And that was always fun!

She doesn't actually recognize Lan Wangji since last time he'd been in Wei Wuxian's body. But that won't stop her from approaching him! She's walking this time since she doesn't make it a habit to fly around people who don't already know about her powers. And she basically just drops herself onto the bench right beside him.]

Having some trouble there? [She's assuming because he's dressed like Shen Qingqiu and the rest of them and she knows they're all from a 'computers haven't been invented yet' era.]

[alittlespicy]

[ He looks up at the familiar voice, and then slowly nods. ]

Saw people doing something with these. Do not know what?

[ And, after a moment. ]

You are not floating, now.

[queenofminiskirts]

Oh! You can use it to post on the forum and contact other people!

[The thing is, remembering who she used her powers around can be tricky here. It was simple back home because only people associated with Babel or Pandra knew her powers were strong enough for her to fly. But it's a lot less clear cut here.

And now, thanks to the whole body switch thing (from her end and from others) it's even harder because it's entirely possible someone had seen her fly without her knowing them at all.

So she spent a moment staring at him as she tried to figure out if she's actually met him or if he had met her while Rin or Shen Qingqiu had control over her body. Before she realized...she did talk to someone with this pattern of speaking before.]

Lan Wangji?

[alittlespicy]

Mn.

[ He nods, confirming her guess. Then his head tilts to one side. ]

I do not understand that sentence. Specifically, 'post on the forum.'

[queenofminiskirts]

[She looks him over in a way she probably wouldn't do with anyone else just because she's been curious as to what he actually looked like since their conversation! Then she grins.]

Oh, so you're Lan Wangji. [It doesn't even matter if he remembers that's exactly what she said when he introduced himself. She just personally thought it'd be funny so she said it. Also she'd have answered his earlier comment about her not floating right now but it's completely slipped her mind.

Though, oddly enough, even though she's not floating her hair is definitely moving like there's a gentle shoujo breeze...even if the air is still.]

The forum is...you've seen the community board, right? It's like that! Except instead of paper on a wooden board it's on the laptop. [She gestures at the thing he's holding.] And you can reply to other people who post on it. [She hopes that makes sense....she's already avoiding words like 'internet'.] You can also draw and write on it!

Body swap: Noctis

[alittlespicy]

It had been a few days. WangJi was still getting used to the town, but with the efforts that Wei Ying made, his moving around was at least somewhat easier, and he could explore.

He did not venture very far in the woods, but he did go in, because what his senses told him could not easily be given by anyone else. And because, sometimes, he needed to be alone, even if most round him was colorless and dangerous.

He was getting back to town from one of those, his feet steady on top of his sword which was flying just high enough to clear the shrubbery on the forest floor. Who needed paths when flying was an option?

[nascere]

[ Is that some guy flying up on his sword, of all things? He's met someone who told him that was possible, and he was pretty good at it, too. But actually seeing it baffles him.

He's coming back to the town with fish in tow when he spots him, and he squints. Huh, this one isn't quite the right colour -- Wuxian tended towards the darker colours, right? ]

Nice sword. [ He calls up. ]

[alittlespicy]

[ WangJi blinks down at the young man, then lowers the sword and lightly steps off it. ]

Bichen, [ he agrees. Cleaning anything that may be clinging to the nearly-translucent silver blade with a pulse of spiritual energy, he holds it to be seen - though he is somewhat unlikely to relinquish his hold.

Very Definitely not Wei WuXian. ]

[nascere]

[ What is a bichen? Is it the name of the sword? Noctis takes it in anyway, because that is super cool and he really needs to learn that trick. ]

You gotta teach me that.

[ Noctis is admiring the sword, coming a little closer but sensing the unspoken reluctance to release it, respecting the sentiment. ]

[alittlespicy]

[ WangJi considers the youth for a moment, but then he shakes his head slightly. ]

Requires... high level cultivation. You do not have - your body does not have.

[nascere]

A what?

[ Noctis blinks, baffled. ] My body needs to cultivate what?

[ Is it like a gross plant thing? ]

[espritdecorpse]

[ There’s a knock on the door of Lan Wangji’s colorless house in Bluo. Anyone who opens the door will find not a person standing there, but instead a wood-carved, mechanical rabbit. It has articulated joints, its whiskers quiver, and its ears move. It’s attracted to spiritual energy, and so will hop up and approach anyone possessed of such powers.

The creator of the rabbit is standing just out of sight. ]

[alittlespicy]

[ And the one who opens the door has so much of that. Besides, by now he is very aware how rabbits move, so - while the mechanical part is strange - he recognizes what he's seeing... and touching, soon enough, his hands taking the small thing even if he only can sense one living thing about it...

One person.

Long fingers resting on the wooden back, WangJi looks up. He doesn't try to look for him - he would only come when he is ready - but he does call. ]

Wei Ying?

[ Soft, and a little sad, and warm. ]

1/2

[espritdecorpse]

[ He’d contemplated trying to avoid Lan Wangji, but immediately dismissed the idea. This was too small a town, after all. He’d worried the man would try to fight him again, but considering the condition of his body..... he doubted Lan Wangji would come looking for a fight, anyway. So the rabbit is something of a peace offering, a reminder of more carefree days.

He expected to hear his name called in a monotone, perhaps laced with impatience or irritation. His little toy dismissed as “ridiculous,” or something like that. But this voice bereft of its edge... despite Maiden Maya’s ministrations, he must still be in a lot of pain. ]

[espritdecorpse]

[. Anyway, time to jump out and exclaim: ]

Here! I’m here! That’s me!

[ He’s all smiles and nonsense now, bounding up to Lan Wangji’s doorway, arms wide and eyes bright, his long ponytail bouncing. ]

Ah, but I guess you got used to the “new me” already! Hahahahaha!

[alittlespicy]

[ Enjoy the sight of your creation being... not petted, exactly, but held. Also if WangJi was being polite and concerned when they first met here, now the way he is looking at him is almost soft. As close as WangJi can get to it while his heart is both soaring because Wei Ying! Alive! and sinking because... well.

Everything else. ]

Mn. [ Then he steps slightly to the side. ]

Come in?

[ There is tea. Because of course there is tea. Even if he can't guarantee the quality - at all - there is tea. ]

1/3

[espritdecorpse]

A-aah?

[ He stops moving and gapes at Lan Wangji. He hadn't... expected to be invited in. He'd expected a dismissive remark or at the very least, a sharp, impatient exhalation. It's funny how, after all this time, he remembers the way the man's eyes move, how his brows subtly furrow and twitch, how his lips thin and go hard. But this... isn't the man he remembers at all. It's as if he's possessed.

Earlier, Lan Wangji hadn't known who he was, and so it made sense that his expressions might be different. But now...

Lan Zhan! Is it really you? Did someone steal your body again, were you that unlucky?

But as soon as he thinks these words to himself, he's uncertain. Who else calls him "Wei Ying"? ]

[espritdecorpse]

[ !!!!!!!! ]

[espritdecorpse]

[ Soft eyes, warm voice, inviting him in??? "Wei Ying"? There can only be one person! Pyra! He's laughing on the inside, so hard he wants to burst. If she's playing a joke on him, fine! He'll turn it right around on her!

His eyes light up and he smiles back even more warmly. ]

I'd love to! I can't think of anything I'd like better! Hahaha!

[ He strides inside, past "Lan Wangji," throwing a wink over his shoulder as he goes. ]