prismatica | Text: UN: lan.furen

[Why are you asking him!? Does he look--seem like someone who'd have a wife? Or be married at all!?

It's lucky this is over text because he would have said all of that before he remembered Taxian-Jun's assertion that, in fact he does become married at some point in the future eight years. In fact, he marries his disciple.

So his expression goes from furious to furiously blushing for a moment.

Excuse the delay in the reply as he takes a couple of minutes just to get his embarrassment under control. Why does he even need to do that when he's replying in text? That's just how he does things don't judge him.]

It'd be more accurate.

[Yes, after that pause he just decided not to answer those questions at all.

And yet...now he feels troubled. Compared to this person, he hasn't...been able to acknowledge his relationship with Mo Ran to anyone. Had only barely said anything about it and only when he'd been drunk and even then, he hadn't...named who it was he was in love with.

Should I not declare who I belong to?

He can't help but wonder...does it bother Mo Ran, that Chu Wanning couldn't be honest around other people...sometimes not even to Mo Ran about this? He was the sort of person who felt actions spoke louder than words and yet...]

How can you say such things so casually? Doesn't it bother you that anyone could read all this?

[So fussy, he had never cared for rules and expectations. At least not the ones that mattered so much. Which caring whether you were a woman or not was one of them. He had nothing to be ashamed about and had earned his right to shout his love to the heavens and earth.]

Not at all, let everyone know, I'm not ashamed or shy about it. My face is thick and if they don't like it or have a problem or want to start something with me I'll fight them with all I have. I want the world to know that I, Wei Wuxian, love Lan Wangji more than anyone else in the world, and that Lan Wangji loves Wei Wuxian more than anyone else in the world. That we belong to each other and are cultivation partners.

[Chu Wanning was not someone given to envy often. And yet...envy was the only word for the feeling making his chest tight.

While Chu Wanning could fight anyone who tried to start something with him the idea of declaring to everyone what his feelings were was...terrifying. Cutting out his own spirit core seemed less terrifying.

And to be so certain that he loved and was loved more than anyone in this world...how could he believe either of those things? Until Mo Ran, no one had ever loved him, no one had ever seen him as someone precious or been glad to have him. And he...he couldn't even say half of these things in the privacy of his own home let alone in public like this.]

How can you be so certain?

[Immediately after he sent it, he regretted it. The question seemed too fragile or maybe just like he's questioning Wei Wuxian. The latter would cause unfortunate misunderstandings but the former was unacceptable to Chu Wanning's thin face so he quickly sends a second one:]

Nevermind. Pretend I didn't ask.

[Too late it was asked and he was willing. Forget taking it back, allow him to explain, to tell and share!]

Because he stands with me through hardship and joy. He supports me even at my worst. He waited for me even when I died.... We went through so much, and almost missed each other, but fate found a way to fix it. I will never have doubts. Not anymore.

[How nice.]

[Except then he does a double take because....HOLD UP WHAT WAS THIS ABOUT DYING?]

You died?

I did, but now I have a second life to make up for my past mistakes.

How had you been brought back?

[Here he had to pause, it was an unfortunate situation]

A very unhappy person performed a sacrifice summon.

Edited 2020-03-12 01:55 (UTC)

[He knew enough about the risks behind the resurrection spell where he's from, familiar enough with the price of the Forbidden spells and souls to understand that the price for such a thing can't be anything but high.]

What happened to that person? What is the state of their soul?

It was returned to the earth.

[Even in the privacy of his apartment, his expression remains controlled and aloof...but there's no helping the flash of worry in his eyes.

Just as well, this is all happening over text.]

Would the summon have damnaged the soul? Will it be able to pass on and reincarnate properly?

I don't know... that sort of exchange it.... The price is high and his despair was deep.

[On his end, he shut his eyes and breathed in deeply. It was tragic...even more si because these sort of things seem to happen everywhere.

Then he opened his eyes again and there was a flint of steel there. Because he may be hopeless in everything else but cultivation was one area where he was confident in.]

Tell me everything you know about what he did.

[Perhaps things weren't unsalvageable. Maybe there was still a way to guarrantee tgat person could move on safely.

He was willing to try and see if anything could be done.]

The ritual itself uses the caster's body as payment, offering it up as a vessel to the spirit they are summoning. Generally, the spirit will be an evil spirit and usually, such things are done in a desperate need for revenge. When performing the ritual the caster is supposed to state what they wish the spirit to do. The spirit will then do those tasks and once completed obtain the body as their own. He drew the array properly but did not state what he needed. He also copied it from an incomplete page.

The array is also drawn in blood.... There was so much, that... he probably would not have lived if he had failed.

Once the ritual is finished the caster's soul leaves the mortal realm instantly. There is no lingering, it is an exchange. I'm not sure if he went back into the reincarnation cycle immediately, or... went to wherever I might have been.

As you can guess he was greatly abused and not of sound mind when he performed this....

[He reads every word carefully.]

To be so driven by despair and vengeance that they'd condemn their soul to the place where evil spirits lurk....though I will not condone such an action, if it is the result of great suffering then the blame cannot solely be put on his shoulders.

I would like to study the array if you could make me a copy. And know more about what happened to you that you could be considered an evil spirit...unless you were summoned simply because it the array was copied from an incomplete page.

[And this didn't work.

But then after a brief pause he added.]

If you do not wish to share it here I can tell you where to find me.

I do not blame him his anger, though, he asked for the wrong person. It isn't so much for evil spirits as for spirits that can not be contacted with other methods, and a means to bind them. I am not an evil spirit and I had not lingered in the world. Calling me was impossible outside such a drastic and forceful method.

[He had already moved on to pay for his sins.]

And I don't mind sharing though i can't say i can draw it perfectly from memory. Oh, and I was a deliberate target. Either through suggestion or assumption. I was quite vilified in my life, though I assure you most of the rumors were baseless and outright lies made to scare.

Even if it is imperfect, it's better than nothing.

[But also...]

Why were you villified?

[And then, realizing that this wasn't something he should be asking in public like this...also, like. No one should be sharing potentially dangerous arrays, however imperfect the drawing, over the network, probably!]

You can tell me in person. Just pluck the centre from the messenger haitang when it arrives.

[And then...no messages follow after not to clarify or to give an address or directions. Except after a few minutes, there's a golden haitang blossom made of spirtual energy floating over to him and it hovers in front of him. If he does pluck out the centre, there's a man's voice giving him instructions to an apartment, one of the ones new people are given because Chu Wanning has never bothered to move out.]

[It was quite unique, and he had to use all of his will power to not try and inspect how it all worked. He really wanted to study the method and see if he could recreate it. He could hold his curiosity though and ask how it was done later.

He carefully followed the instruction and had no opinions of the provided housing. He had never even moved into one and didn't particularly care that much about where he lived as long as those he cared about were around him.]

Hello?

[He knocked on the door.]

If you really want to know my story, I assure you, it's boring and unfun.

I would not have wasted my time asking if I didn't want to know. [Impatient and just a little annoyed sounding there. Then,] Come in.

[Since he's not in the habit of locking it, the door is pretty much always unlocked when he's home.

His voice is...not very expressive at the moment, calm and aloof and the man it belongs to matches it with cold phoenix eyes and thin lips that make him look severe (or gives him a terrible and perpetual case of resting bitch face depending on who is asking) and elegant white cultivations robes that contrast with his inky black hair tied up in a high pony tail. In looks, he is every inch the cultivation grandmaster he's famed for being back home.

...the rest of the apartment, however, doesn't fit this image at all.

For one, there were various machine parts on the floor, not enough to make walking difficult but only because his disciple had been by to clean. There's also a broken bowl on the ground, as if the person had dropped it then decided it was too much work to clean up afterwards. There was also what looked like a human shaped mecha standing near the kitchen doorway, still and imposing, without the tell-tale character of this place (covered in crystals and colourful). A magic tool and one probably meant for combat.

Scattered here and there are drawing of some sort of black armour, some of them seemed to have wings on them as well as notes. The papers, at least, he had the decency to put on the table...the couch, on top of the counter...places where they probably should not be but are safe from being stepped on.

There are also, if one looks in the direction of the kitchen, what appears to be dishes in the sink.

The only clean part of the apartment is a selection of blank paper on the table Chu Wanning is sitting at.]

Watch your step.

[He comes in not really bothered that much be the annoying voice. He was used to annoyed people. In fact, somehow seeing such a man with such an expression dressed in white is so familiar and so expected to be accompanied by annoyance that somehow it just makes perfect sense. A cultivator who wears all white will always be sour. That somehow was a truth of the world.

Well, maybe not one hundred percent truth, but truth enough.

As for the rest of the apartment, it all felt familiar as well, perhaps not the machines, but the mess? Definitely. It was the sort of mess he made when lost in thought, or by just being careless with himself. The way drawings and notes were all around, this was very similar to how he operated, and would still operate if he weren't cleaned up after.

What an interesting person! He wanted to know more about these creations.

Carefully walking through so as not to step on anything, he pauses a moment to read some of them and look at them closely. He had completely forgotten why he was here already.]

What are these? They look interesting. How do they work? What do they do?

[It's been a few months since he ended up here and yet he's still not used to people not being intimidated by him at first glance.

He didn't move from where he's sitting because that would be too much like retreating and he's too thin faced to do such a thing. But there's some tension in his shoulder, some sense of discomfort. Not unlike a cat that has just been met with an over enthusiastic puppy and is uncertain what to make of its energy and enthusiasm.

And yet, despite the complete lack of friendliness, he doesn't hesitate to answer. He's never been one for keeping these things secret and...as much as he doesn't know how to deal with people not being intimidated in his presence he's at least comfortable with this topic.]

They're armours from another world. Gu Zi Xi asked me to help maintain them. [Some of them had wings...but there was another that looked much bulkier and larger, as well as another that looked more like regular armour. All of them were black and mostly in a similar style. Though there were occasional papers with notes about magic tools or weapons the majority had to do with these armours. Clearly, they were what occupied most of his time and attention.]

They ran on something called ziliujin that can burn much hotter than coal and it can generate steam to power these armours. They've been modified to run on Chroma but the conversion rate was...terribly inefficient. [He scowled.] It's a work in progress to improve upon it. I thought I could use something similar to what I use for the Holy Night Guardians but every time I bring up learning to cultivate Zi Xi just gives me some kind of ridiculous reason and dodges the question!

[.......between talking about his projects and now complaining about Gu Yun he's also sort of forgotten what this meeting was for for a moment.]

Ziliujin? Well, these are quite amazing and I would love to meet this Gu Zi XI if he knows more about them.

[He definitely has to meet them. Such amazing tools! He felt inspired. Could he figure out something like this? Suddenly his few accomplishments felt like nothing. He needed to be more imaginative! Especially in a world without spirits, what did collecting spirits and finding spirits matter?]

Chroma is very hard to use in such a way I find. But is demichroma also not a good fit as a substitute?

[He scoffed.]

He would be more than happy to give you a demonstration. He'd probably take you flying in his Eagle Armour if you so much as hint at being interested in such a thing.

[He's exasperated, but there's a little note of fondness there as well. He's...to be honest, he's a little excited? There were very few people who specialized in building mechas and related subjects. And virtually none of them were in the same sect as him. Furthermore...most people wouldn't even talk near him let alone with him.

So he wants to converse! But he's a little clumsy with these things.

Which means...he doesn't look very friendly but he keeps the conversation going.]

Demichroma is less potent. With the amount we're paid as Moonknights it won't be enough to burn and... [The tips of his ears turn red before he turns away with a scowl.] That man is shameless so aquiring Chroma isn't as much a problem.

[But it was still a problem just because of what happens when Gu Yun starts running low on Chroma.]

[Thankfully Wei Wuxian was very practiced with talking enough for two people by this point, so keeping a conversation going, or working with little was hardly a problem. The standoffishness wasn't even worth worrying about.]

I would love that! Being in this world has introduced so many new and interesting things.

[Who would think such large tools that were people shaped, more or less, could be made!]

I heard chroma can be converted into demichroma, but I have yet to look into it for myself. I'm sure an exchange could be done simply through trade as well.

[He sighed a little. To thing the thing that was supposedly so valued and needed was the thing he felt he needed the least.]

Chroma is very easy to get, as long as you have friends or family or a lover it's in endless supply. And yet, it's so hard to use as an energy source, it's quite frustrating. Can basic spiritual power be used?

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

1/2

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject