text ; un: lan.sizhui

[lanofsizhui]

So, I heard today is Mother's day. Question and advice.

How to...how do you honor your mother? What should I do? I was thinking of getting flowers.

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un: thejinling

[inheritedpain]

[ ow, this hurts

this hurts real bad. ]


her shrine isn't here


but i can show you what i do normally.

[lanofsizhui]

[This is where their past with their mothers is on a similar cord]

My real mother. I don't remember her face. It was during the Sunshot campaign. Mother deserves a proper honor, don't you think?

Can you show me how to do it?

[inheritedpain]

[ The nameless, faceless woman who birthed Lan Sizhui.

The Wen, as he knows now. As he’s been told.

A part of him still recoils at the idea of honouring a Wen. Any Wen. But between Sizhui and Wen Qing and even Wen Ning, Jin Ling has been forced to come to a more nuanced appreciation of the sect.

He won’t deny Sizhui this. ]


yeah

i can

i will.

we will honour yours as i honour mine.

[lanofsizhui]

[Sizhui now remembers he's a Wen, but he's a Lan also. He returned home last week and just returned back yesterday. So the memories came rushing back almost like an instant.]

Okay, let's meet up. I got incense, so I'm going to get flowers.

[He'll text him the coordinates which is a flower shop in the city to get his flowers.]

[inheritedpain]

[ He texts a quick affirmative and then grabs Fairy and heads out. He’s been worried - he hasn’t heard from Sizhui in days, but his contact had stayed in his communicator the whole time, he he wasn’t sure if the other boy was okay or avoiding him or what.

He shows up at the flower shop frowning, Fairy at his side, and takes up a sentry position outside while he waits for Sizhui.

He is so deep in his own head that it takes him a second to see Sizhui approaching, just as Fairy happily bounds over to him. Jin Ling takes a breath and follows. ]

Have you been worrying about this for days? Is that why I haven’t seen you?

[ tsundere translation: hi are you okay i have been worried ]

[lanofsizhui]

[Sizhui was at the flower shop, browsing and making his selection and he came out with a bouquet of white lilies. Outside only to see Jin Ling with a serious expression. It has been a while since life has gotten busy since they have last spoken and he knows Jin Ling can be worried and get upset since it's not so long ago that their own people left this world and...they haven't returned back.]

Jin Ling, it's not that. It's...

[He just needs to explain. Holding up three fingers.]

I've been gone for three days? Just yesterday I returned back from our world. Even though three days has been gone, almost a year has passed for me.

[He's feeling a little sheepish sharing this. But unlike the others who are gone, at least he returned shortly.]

So now, I remember everything.

[inheritedpain]

[ Jin Ling halted, staring at Sizhui as he tried to process that information. A year?? In three days?? His lips parted, soundlessly, then snapped closed as he frowned, then finally opened again. ]

A year? That’s—

... that’s longer than me, I think. [ What a bizarre feeling, to suddenly be on the other side of the future divide. ]

I only remember up to - ah - when Wei Wuxian confronted my little uncle in Lanling. [ And the Jin Ling stabbed him. But they didn’t need to talk about that. ]

I’ve been told a bit about— what happens later, though.

[ He steps closer, frowning as he reaches out to brace a hand on Sizhui’s arm, as if to convince him that he was solid. ]

I thought you were just... avoiding me, or something. I’m glad you’re back.

[lanofsizhui]

When I came back, the scientists explained to me that I had been gone for three days. But for me, a year has passed. They said, I was sent back because I need to grow stronger to properly produce chroma.

[One year wasn't so much of a stretch. With a thoughtful look as they compare their timeline.]

Oh, I was there too. Perhaps a little beyond that. You were very guilty about it, but Senior Wei is fine, he turned out all right. That was my past. Coming from the future, I had seen Wei Wuxian and Hanguang-Jun departed from Cloud Recesses to go on a journey together.

[Once they're connected, there's a trickle of chroma exchanged between the both of them.]

You were worried? I'm sorry, I should have left a note. I wouldn't do that. [Then with sincerity] But that's what happened. Call it an accidental leave. I came back and I'm glad to see you and everyone too. I remember you, the other Sizhui, dad, Senior Wei, and everyone and what we did here.