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prismaticrap2019-11-07 11:37 pm
prismods) wrote in prismaticrap2019-11-07 11:37 pm
▶ TDM .009
You awaken amidst the darkness with only a faint light to greet you. Your body is hemmed in by shards of crystals, gently sparkling and possibly pricking your skin. The surrounding landscape is dyed in the pinks and purples of the dusk filled with crystals protruding from the ground, some as large as a skyscraper. Even the few shy moon creatures you find in the wild have strange crystal growths on their hides. This is far from home— perhaps a dream? You pinch your skin and slap your cheeks, yet nothing seems to do the trick. Searching for answers yields nothing but an endless expanse of purple dust as far as the eye can see. You have four options: one, panic; two, soil yourself; three, admire it all then soil yourself; or four, go into survival mode. Eventually, you’ll realize that you’re not alone.
After a day or two of living off the crystal wilderness, a group of people find you worse for wear. They are the gallant Moon Knights from the planet of Prismatica. After the strange phenomenon during the past months when scientists observed the sudden appearance of rainbow crystals in the sky, the government has been feverishly combing through the moon for more Moonblessed to be rescued. You’ll eventually be brought into Iris’s moon government center.
You all may have your usual inquiries — Where are we? Who are you? What's going on? Why did I inhale all those permanent markers in the third grade? — and the Prismals are almost too eager to answer. They tell you about their world and about the first appearance of the Moonblessed as the medical staff give you an examination to make sure you’re not carrying any viruses or biological hazards. If you react violently, you may be restrained and nerfed with a specialized neurotransmitting gun that releases a numbing agent through the top of your spine. Once the examinations are over, you’re informed that you will be provided accommodations on their planet during your stay.
While waiting for transport to be prepared, you may freely roam around the government center. Eventually you’re called back from exploring, escorted to the docks, and led onto a large transport vessel that makes frequent trips back and forth between the moons and the planet. Faces onboard vary from both old and new Moonblessed as well as the local Prismals. The next destination: Prismatica.
▶ Whip It Good
Iris Moon, Government Center (Arrival) and Planet Prismatica, City of Lunatia | top
Welcome to Prismatica’s hub, Lunatia, the city of your dreams! A bustling metropolis lush with bright lights, vibrant colors, luxuriant plant life, and all the conveniences of technology absent from your own world… It seems like paradise to all the uninitiated. After a quick tour of the city, new arrivals can find themselves getting cozy in their new homes.
▶ Night of the Living Dummy
City of Lunatia | top
The last vestiges of Geistnacht have officially passed and the first chilly autumn breeze ushers in the new season. The city is awash in giant piles of browning leaves that decorate every walkway.
▶ Bird is the Word
Level 2, Greatmoon Groves | top
As autumn paints Lunatia with its golden hues, pumpkin decorations and desserts are now in vogue. This is thanks to Chroma-infused pumpkin seeds, which allow them to rapidly grow in all sorts of sizes, shapes, and colors. The Moonblessed are invited to visit one of the largest pumpkin patches in the city housed within the Greatmoon Groves, where they can enjoy the sight of oversized, colorful neon and sparkling semi-phallic pumpkins, expertly carved to greet you with their buck-toothed smiles.
▶ Questions
If you have any questions regarding this test drive meme, please ask them in the Questions thread below.
▶ As a reminder, test drive memes are for new characters only. However, current players are more than welcome to use these prompts for their own posts in the IC communities, personal inboxes, catch-all posts, etc.!
▶ As our test drive memes are game canon, feel free to keep any threads that happen here as canon for your character should they be accepted.
Iris Moon, Government Center (Arrival) and Planet Prismatica, City of Lunatia | top
Welcome to Prismatica’s hub, Lunatia, the city of your dreams! A bustling metropolis lush with bright lights, vibrant colors, luxuriant plant life, and all the conveniences of technology absent from your own world… It seems like paradise to all the uninitiated. After a quick tour of the city, new arrivals can find themselves getting cozy in their new homes.
A Settle in your new home at Level 2 to find new roommates and say hello to your neighbors! City officials will give you directions to the designated districts across Level 2 and instruct you to pick out a unit. Each apartment complex has a different aesthetic, some may look cozy, some stylish, and some bizarre. The free accommodations have a basic living space that can only fit two or three people at most in one unit.
Starter Chromaspace furnishings are provided which can be controlled with the touch of a built-in panel. Examples are color-changing curtains, transforming sofa beds, cabinets turning into tables, etc. Customizing your apartment or moving out will have to wait until you earn more chroma. Until then, why don’t you check out your new neighborhood or explore the city levels? Maybe your new roommates or neighbors can give you a “hand” with allowance for dinner.
B At the Crystarium Moonports is a new family restaurant called Grapplebears, here to serve your favorite dishes from all around the galaxy at affordable prices! The menu ranges from the atomically hot and spicy Chamakshalan curry rice, delectable dragonsaur steak served with mashed space-tatoes, to the sweet and creamy Lunatian milkshakes that bring all the boys to the yard, all prepared by their handsome and huggable bear crew.
As you might have noticed, the restaurant staff is a ragtag group with members from planets unknown to both Prismals and Moonblessed. The waiters and waitresses in particular are tall, muscular, leather-clad bears who take your order by whipping you with a special riding crop that compels you to bark out your order — but only if you ask to be, of course! They might induce you to reveal other unrelated interests so make sure you’re not thinking about anything embarrassing!
If you chat up the staff or customers, you learn more about the restaurant’s origins. The bears say their planets* were also wiped by the Calamity hundreds of years ago, and life for them has been difficult for them since then…
*Further information about these planets is unavailable at this time.
▶ Night of the Living Dummy
City of Lunatia | top
The last vestiges of Geistnacht have officially passed and the first chilly autumn breeze ushers in the new season. The city is awash in giant piles of browning leaves that decorate every walkway.
A To deal with the mass collection of fallen leaves, many buildings across the city have been retrofitted with a new disposal system to help clean up. A sprawling network of automated vacuum tubes around the city will efficiently suck all those pesky leaves right up. While children love playing inside and using them to “teleport” around Lunatia, they have also been known to spontaneously suck up anyone who’s not too careful. You may find yourself falling on some hapless bystander on their afternoon walk, or crammed in a tube with your new neighbors. Lunar Scientia officials warn everyone to be careful of where you walk, else you might need to crawl your way to sweet freedom.
B A pop-up shop in Level 1 is attracting much of the locals' attention, run by a peddler who speaks in a low, elongated hiss and wears a hood over his face. He assures you that his face is of no consequence. What is more important is his selection of wares! In contrast to his cloaked, enigmatic appearance, his travel cart is a Barbie pink explosion of frills, hearts, glitter. He will tell all visitors he comes from the Valley of the Crimson Serpents, which Prismals and older Moonblessed arrivals find odd. Wasn’t the Sanguis moon uninhabitable?
Among the peddler’s wares are adorable, wide-eyed and heavily perfumed dolls in all sorts of clothes a child dreaming of rainbows and tea parties could ever ask for. Hug and squeeze a doll, and you will be greeted by a pre-recorded voice telling you how they’re your bestest friend ever. It’s like they were made for lovin’ you! But if you look away for one moment, you can almost swear you hear a snake’s hiss, its long tongue licking the shell of your ear… The next time you see the doll, its body will be in a slightly different position or location. Is it… following you? Fortunately, a minimal amount of moonlacing will make it leave you alone. You can wait it out too, but why would you?
Destroy a doll and it will later reappear wherever you are when you least expect it, good as new, but leaking from their porcelain heads is a strange pink, glitter-covered liquid. The peddler calls it the “love juice” giving the doll an extra dose of affection for you.
▶ Bird is the Word
Level 2, Greatmoon Groves | top
As autumn paints Lunatia with its golden hues, pumpkin decorations and desserts are now in vogue. This is thanks to Chroma-infused pumpkin seeds, which allow them to rapidly grow in all sorts of sizes, shapes, and colors. The Moonblessed are invited to visit one of the largest pumpkin patches in the city housed within the Greatmoon Groves, where they can enjoy the sight of oversized, colorful neon and sparkling semi-phallic pumpkins, expertly carved to greet you with their buck-toothed smiles.
A The pumpkin patch is full of toddler-sized creatures called hugbugs. When they are not tending to the pumpkins, they follow the Moonblessed around, requesting hugs and treats in exchange for their obedience.
Reward them and they will do simple errands for you and give you compliments. They will also be your personal hype men, talking up your strengths, talents, and physical assets to all those special someones you’re trying to impress. Once you earn their trust, they will be your friends for life!
Ignore them, hurt them, or bully them, and they will cry and place a curse upon you, reducing your self-esteem to nothing and magically forcing you to cry along with them. The effects of the curse may last for up to a week if you’re not careful! But how could you do such a thing? The hugbugs are sensitive and want somebody to love.
B If you manage to survive your encounter with the hugbugs, you are welcome to join in on the Prismal knitting group and enjoy creating your own fanciful scarf made of Galadrian thread, which is known for its bright, golden sheen and aromatic properties. Give it to a friend or wear it yourself, and you will notice a strange ability to attract animals and insects of all kinds. Live out your Disney Princess fantasy! Or a Hitchcockian nightmare. It’s all a matter of perspective as a whole flock of honking birds comes bounding towards you.
▶ Questions
If you have any questions regarding this test drive meme, please ask them in the Questions thread below.
▶ As a reminder, test drive memes are for new characters only. However, current players are more than welcome to use these prompts for their own posts in the IC communities, personal inboxes, catch-all posts, etc.!
▶ As our test drive memes are game canon, feel free to keep any threads that happen here as canon for your character should they be accepted.
no subject
[She pauses then, not sure exactly how into this she should go. Does he even care about the technicalities of it all? Is it weird to ramble about? She's already gotten started though, so she continues with a bit of an embarrassed look of someone aware they're talking too much about a topic no one cares about, but can't stop themselves anyhow. She at least won't go super technical into it--if he as that fascinated about the more 'simple' technology things, she's not sure he'd quite grasp things like brain chemicals and all that.] Coffee essentially blocks you from feeling tired, but that doesn't mean the tired feelings aren't still there. Once the coffee wears off, all the built-up tiredness comes flooding back all at once.
If you space it out through the day and drink water, or at least, don't drink a whole lot in one go, you'll probably be fine.
[It feels a little like needlessly lecturing him though and she feels self-conscious, pushing her hair behind her ear to answer his question]
Most places that sell tea will sell coffee too. And usually people eat something sweet with them, like cake or donuts. [A pause.] ...You probably haven't had donuts before, though, have you... [Donuts feel like a relatively 'new' food invention]
no subject
[it's not chemistry, exactly, but wei wuxian is a cultivator. understanding the human body is crucial to harnessing qi, and there are principles in cultivation that are analogous enough for him to come to the same conclusions all on his own. he understands the relationships between the elements, how water corrodes icon, how fire scorches the earth, how the air smells different during the prelude to a storm.
give him a chance to learn about chemistry. he'll be so fascinated with it.]
Say, Lady Kozukata. Since you've mentioned these places, let's visit such a tea shop. If it's not an inconvenience, I'd like to be your companion for the afternoon. [he sets his cup down, and loosens his body language to be cajoling, leaning close as if to conspire with the lady kozukata regarding mischief.] You can teach me about all the dishes and pastries that go well with which drink.
no subject
So she hums in acknowledgement, nodding, and then looks immediately surprised by the offer.] My... [Companion??
It's not that she isn't used to having friends no. Before arriving in this world many months ago she might've said 'no.' Had he visited her cafe, she would've hid in the back or behind the counter and let Hisoka deal with him, still too worried to talk to people, too scared of accidentally using her abilities on them and what she might find if she did.
Upon coming to this world, she's been forced to not only interact with people, but touch them too, or risk actually dying form lack of contact. It was a lot to get used to and even now she did the bare minimum when she could to get by, not wanting to be a bother or cause anyone trouble.
People talked to her now, went out of their way to do so sometimes even, and she still wasn't used to it. Some learned what she could do and avoided her, and she never really blamed them for that even if it stung. Sometimes people just didn't like her in general--she was rather gloomy and morbid and thought too much about death and dying, she'd been asked about her sorrowful looks too often to be anything but resigned to it by now.
But it's... nice. It's nice to have someone seem genuinely interested in hanging out with her and expressing that interest openly, without prompting from her.
Her fingers curl uncertainly into her palm and she looks at him quietly, leaning away slightly as he leans in] With me? [Well yeah, duh, Yuri, who else could he mean? Her ears turn red in embarrassment, but she nods.
She doesn't have anything else better to do. She glances towards her bag on the table that holds the camera in it, hesitating. It's not likely they'll actually run into, you know, spirits or anything, but it's her weapon and she feels odd going without it.]
You're the type who people have a hard time saying 'no' to. [But it's not said as a question, and not unkindly-- just a sort of exasperated, fond resignation as she moves to grab the bag and lead him out.]
no subject
[wei wuxian at least has the decency to look sheepish, because he has used his charm to gain favors from strangers and peers alike. he knows how he looks, and he knows that his standing within the yunmeng jiang clan places him in a unique position within the gentry. his charm has gotten him out of as many troubles as he's gotten into, to be sure, and lady kozukata rightly calls him out for it.
he's sure she means no offense by it, too.
wei wuxian makes to help her, to offer his arm to her, but in doing so his hand brushes against the strap of her bag and he's seized by an overwhelming sense of negative energy that he steps back, as if burned. it's both like and unlike what he's encountered thus far -like seeing a silhouette through clear crystal or class, the image refracted into something that balances itself on the line between strange and familiar.
she must be carrying an artifact, or a very powerful amulet of sorts.
he looks on to her worryingly.]
Lady Kozukata, do you have a weapon on you?
no subject
But he asks his question and once again he manages to startle her.
It's funny, a little, how she could hike up the mountain steeped in so much death and face down the spirits there without hardly batting an eye, and yet it's trying to interact with the living that constantly seems to surprise her.
Yuri looks down at her bag and shifts it, hesitating before she gently pulls out the camera. On the surface it looks rather ordinary, if old (by her standards, anyhow). But there's a distinctly ominous air to it, like a predator lying coiled in wait and ready to strike when one's guard was down.
Her gaze goes from it to Wei Wuxian, holding it carefully.] You could feel it...? Ah. Right, you did say you were a cultivator. It makes sense. [She looks down at it again.]
It's a weapon, yes. It's called the Camera Obscura--it's an exorcism tool. [Just an ordinary super-powerful exorcism tool nothing to see here.] I can't really explain all how a camera works even normally, but... It captures the images of spirits and the like and can weaken them. [Enough that she can dart in and use her ability to send the spirit on its way, at least. Ideally. It's never always that easy though, of course.]
So, unless you're secretly a ghost... There isn't too much for you to worry about. [Except, perhaps, the camera's owner.]
no subject
an exorcism tool. wei wuxian is familiar with their concept, even if this particular tool is foreign to him. grand master lan qiren had taught them about talismans and artifacts, along with the disciplines of the gusu lan sect, and for all that wei wuxian seems the irresponsible pupil he had paid attention. he has idle theories and ideas, all of which are better relegated to the realm of passing fancies.
demonic tools. to use their resentful energy against them would be a better use of their power, but wei wuxian understands the innate dangers present in dabbling with such ideas.
but here, in front of him, is proof that it is possible. the camera obscura reeks of negative energy, so much of it that wei wuxian could not untangle or identify the object's latent energy from the resentful energy it has been imbued with.
it's consumed so much of its qi, wei wuxian thinks. it's transformed the object into a powerful tool. ]
Lady Kozukata, if I may ask you a favor.
Will you show me how the Camera Obscura works?
1/2
It was fine, mostly, if you already had a strong spiritual power to begin with-- At least, that was Yuri's theory on it.
But Jin Ling had already raised his voice over it to her, had already planned to storm to Lan Wangji and demand a way to save her from herself. So she watches, and waits, and draws herself up a little in preparation as he begins to speak and--]
Ah?
no subject
[She feels a little--deflated. That's not really the way she expected this to go at all, as evidenced by the fact he's managed to get an actual emotional reaction out of her, her expression turning openly bewildered and surprised.]
It's-- [dangerous, she almost says, but she looks down at the camera and then back at him, remembering that he'd said he was a cultivator and all. So... Likely he'd be fine. Probably. She was fine, and it's not like just a couple of uses would do anything if he tried his hand at it.]
...I thought you wanted to visit a cafe... [Is her mumbled, weak defense, and she abandons it anyhow to nod.] But yes, it's fine. I don't mind, as long as you're careful when you handle it.
If it breaks, I don't really have the tools to fix it... [She shifts it, a bit nervously, before putting it back carefully into her bag. Her fingers brush against the couple books from home she has in there too and hesitates.]
...Mostly it just... helps me to weaken spirits enough that I can use my own powers on them to cleanse the spirit so it can move on, but... It might be a bit different to what you might usually do.
[jin ling had been quite horrified at just what her 'cleansing' involved, after all]
no subject
Better that you show me with your hands, I would say.
[ wei wuxian doesn't know its mechanisms, doesn't have the faintest idea how to use it. there are buttons and glass panes, and he assumes they can be operated quickly with ease, but there is a time for learning and a time for demonstration.
wei wuxian just prefers the latter to come first.
he takes a few steps back, readying himself for the weapon. how would it affect him? does it expend energy, funneling it into blasts of heat that sears through cloth and skin? would it instead reach for the soul directly, separating negative energy from a person's innate qi? wei wuxian would know what questions he'd like to ask once he's seen the weapon in action. ]
I'm ready, I think. Please take care of me, Lady Kozukata, we still have a date after!
no subject
Sure, Yuri knows that it won't actually harm him, again provided that he's not actually a spirit or something. But he doesn't. Yuri sighs deeply, before raising the camera. Predictably, she finds nothing in its viewfinder and after a second of hesitation she takes the picture.
Also predictably, there's no attack on Wei Wuxian. At this point in time he hasn't been tainted enough by anything for it to do so, but likely he'll be able to feel--Something. A pressure, a slightly disorienting flip-flopping feeling like when one goes over that first drop of a rollercoaster. The flash is probably more disorienting than anything else.
The picture in instantly produces is glanced at by Yuri, and then she does a doubletake, brow furrowing slightly. It's a fine photograph, more or less. Wei Wuxian's handsome features haven't been disturbed, but there's...
It looks like smoke, inky black, curling around the edges of the picture, creeping in towards Wei Wuxian in an ominous way that has Yuri's stomach tightening in uncertainty and unease.
A part of her thinks she shouldn't even bother showing it to him, but she steps closer to pass the photo along anyhow.] As I said, it shouldn't do anything if you're not a spirit. [A pause and she adds, her voice soft:] It's really me you should be more concerned about. My abilities work on the dead and the living. They're touch-activated for now, [for now] and I...
...There's no one around any longer who could really teach me, so it's a bit... Unpredictable...I can't control it very well. I could end up accidentally hurting you, so... [She trails off with a mumble, looking resigned to this, a lifetime of the bare minimum of physical contact.]
no subject
she's holding something out to him. wei wuxian meets her halfway, stepping forward and reaching for the slip of parchment that the camera obscura spat out. it's a marvelous device, if he can figure out how it works. perhaps he could imitate it, or make another version of it that's smaller, faster, sharper—
his ideas all come to a halt as he turns the parchment - strangely smooth on one side, and thin - over.
it's a portrait of himself. what strikes him first is the vividness of detail - the color, the accuracy, the lighting of the room, everything captured and framed down to a small square. wei wuxian spins on his heel, holding the portrait up to compare it with the room, and sure enough, the colors in the portrait are just as they appear in real life.
looking at the portrait is like looking into a mirror, with one's likeness frozen in absolute stillness. a shiver runs down wei wuxian's spine over it.
and then his blood runs cold, as he notices the dark tendrils of smoke creeping in from beyond the frame, as though reaching for him.
he'd seen the exact same smoke during the fight with the xuanwu of slaughter. ]
Lady Kozukata... [he looks at her in puzzlement, before lifting his head up and smiling at her apologetically.] It's truly a marvelous weapon. I'd like to learn more about it someday. Thank you for you accommodating me.
[he holds out his hand for her to take. he heard her clearly, when she said that her powers are touch-activated; it's no matter to him. what's more important is that he understands the implications of her ability, the loneliness that must have come with it, and so wei wuxian offers his hand to her without worry or concern. ]
Take my hand, my lady. I trust that the Lady Kozukata means me no harm. We'll walk through the doors together and be on our way.
no subject
(She won't remark on how it's kind of cute that he got so puzzled over it; she hadn't thought to warn him that by 'picture' she'd meant a literal snapshot in time. She hadn't used it much on anyone not from a modern time or who wasn't aware of what a camera could do. His bafflement and amazement over something that, to her, was so commonplace is terribly endearing).
There were special objects that could summon items from their homes; texts on the Camera, ancient though they may be, did still exist. She's sure she could find something on them.
But then Wei Wuxian is offering his hand and she stares at him helplessly again. Why did she keep running into these people who believed in her this much? A bit sullen, she tentatively takes his hand-- And immediately regrets the action.
It's probably a good thing that the trauma her mitori ability latches onto is something from so far back. The snapping of dogs' teeth against her (his) skin, fighting for a scrap of food barely fit enough for the dogs to eat anyhow, let alone such a small child. The desperation, the terror that claws at her (his) stomach as readily as the actual hunger there that spurs her (him) on.
hen the memory breaks and Yuri forcibly finds herself back in her own mind, it's dizzying. Her mind confuses the two; she's herself, but she's not, and it takes a moment for her to separate the threads there to untangle his memories from her own.
Immediately she tries to pull her hand back though, looking miserable and apologetic.] I'm sorry. I warned-- I tried to tell you-- [her voice sounds small to even her own ears. She had told and she had warned, but despite his insistence she immediately takes the blame. If she were more in control--
Well. It's not like it would matter. None of the priestesses had been quite in control of it either, carefully using veils to dull the abilities once it had progressed to only a look, a true glance. Still, she felt guilty for her own lack of control and the fact that he, too, would've had to relive that memory, brief though it may have been.]
no subject
dogs.
the smell of their rank breath against his face. the sharpness of their teeth dulled the slightest bit by threadbare clothes. the sound of their growls and barks ringing in wei wuxian's ears. the scraping sound of claws against clay and stone, as wild dogs roam the streets and compete with the homeless in search for food. the roughness of matted fur against his young hands as he fights them off for a chance to run. and against the darkness of his closed eyes, the clear shape of them against a moonlit night.
wei wuxian's whole body is shaking. he is eight again, with his heart in his throat, and an unrelenting hunger in his belly.
he doesn't throw up, but it's a small victory. the taste of bile is acrid against the flat of his tongue.]
Don't apologize, please. [he manages to croak out, his voice hoarse.] I had insisted.
[wei wuxian gets up on his feet but doesn't turn to face lady kozukata just yet, as he wipes his face with his sleeve and regroups. when he does, there's a paleness to his expression, but there is no sign of blame at all.]
You have a powerful ability, my lady. If there's anything I can do to help ease its burden, please tell me. You shouldn't have to suffer loneliness and pain on your own.
no subject
It was nice while it lasted, she thinks as he rises to his feet. When he looks at her she stares back for a moment before lowering her gaze, ashamed and resigned and expectant She can't cry--even in the space between her memories becoming her on once more, even no when she felt her heart aching anew with the fresh pain of rejection she was preparing herself for, she's still incapable of shedding tears.
Her heart breaks for entirely different reasons when he speaks up and she wonders how something so nice can feel so equally cruel. How can he still think to be nice, still think about helping her when all of this had happened?
Her gaze flies up, shocked and confused and his words twist in her mind with the words she'd accepted long ago. "In the end, I'm alone. And I'll end it all... alone."]
It-- [her voice cracks, her nails biting into her palms before she forces herself to straighten up and lift her chin somewhat, like this was some important declaration to make rather than the soft plead it actually was, for his own sake.]
You should...Do what you want. You don't have to try and spare my feelings or anything... If you never wanted anything to do with me again, or to never touch me again, it's fine, and I understand. It's not like I'm going to hold it against you.
[She slowly exhales and numbs herself.] It doesn't work every time. And after the first time, it's far less likely to happen again. But, the danger is always still there.
no subject
[wei wuxian takes a step forward, then stills as he considers himself, then determinedly takes another step, another, still another until he's level with her, mere inches away from her. he could reach out and touch her easily, could find his hands on her shoulders without any trouble; he doesn't make that move. he stands still, ever so close, not breaking through the liminal separation without permission.]
We don't always get a choice in the gifts we receive. We have what we have, and we have to make the most out of them. But they shouldn't be a reason to stop living. They shouldn't be a reason to seclude yourself, to separate yourself from the ones you love. Those things - they should be a choice, and one you should be willing to make only when it's necessary.
You only reminded me of my worst memories. They're my demons to fight, don't you think?
So let's fight them together, if you insist on bearing their weight, but please don't blame yourself for it.
[he holds out his hands, both of them this time, for her to take if she so chooses.]
Please don't be worried on my account. I'd still like to be your friend, if you'll have me.
no subject
It doesn't come of course. Instead Wei Wuxian is speaking to her like this, sincerely and earnestly and she doesn't know what to do with herself or how to respond for a long moment, just stunned.]
Wei Wuxian... [What is she supposed to do with him? What is anyone supposed to do with him?? Yuri's gaze falls to his hands and after another few seconds she finally reaches out to take it.
Nothing happens this time, just the little tingle of pleasure that comes from a little bit of moonlacing]
It really is impossible to say 'no' to you, you know. Maybe you're the one with the dangerous power to look out for here...
no subject
[ in the future, lady kozukata's words will ring so true that the air will scream from the weight of its veracity. but for now, wei wuxian is just a bright-eyed young man with the world waiting for his come-up, for which direction he'll take his singular talents and wit.
their second contact sparks honest joy, this time. wei wuxian would be a liar to say that he knew this second touching would be clean of any distress; he had braced himself for a repeat of the earlier disaster, the imprints of his memories still fresh on his skin. it doesn't come to that, however, and wei wuxian smiles at lady kozukata, genuinely pleased.
the first tendrils of chroma simmer around their joined hands, the energy tangible despite not being visible to the naked eye. it's a pleasant experience, wei wuxian decides, and he turns their hands so that they're holding each other properly, fingers threaded together. it's marvelous. wei wuxian is taken by the whole process, distracted by this method of cultivation - it's unheard of, to grow one's qi with another person, and if he could learn the principles of how to do this—
he's getting ahead of himself.
wei wuxian gently leads lady kozukata towards the door, excitement clear in his steps. ]
Now, to more coffee and other strange things! Let's explore the city together!
no subject
Her ears go from pink to red, the color beginning to creep down her face as she lets him lead momentarily. His enthusiasm is...Cute, though. Between Ouse and Jin Ling, Yuri's found that she rather enjoyed introducing people to the things she'd taken for granted in the modern world.
(She should probably be a little more sorry for introducing these guys to things like coffee too, but like. It's fine. Probably.)]
Here. This way. [Once they're outside she'll take the lead; the cafe she was thinking of was within walking distance, a small and cozy place that ground their own beans and made the baked goods in-house. It was a relief, honestly; while Yuri would've traversed much further for good coffee and tea and all, she would've dreaded it a lot more and probably gone a lot less if it meant dealing with crowded public transportation.
The streets, though not as immensely crowded right now like most large cities might've been, were still bad enough. Though Yuri walks with the confidence like she knows where she's going, she was quick to shy away from anyone walking by, almost unconsciously shifting and positioning herself to avoid even brushing against them by accident. Even walking hand in hand with Wei Wuxian she keeps an unconscious distance just enough to avoid also touching him beyond their clasped hands.
...Which takes her about halfway there to realize that they're still doing, and she looks down in surprise at that.]
...Ah. Are we going to do this the whole time...? [She doesn't sound particularly like she minds or wants him to stop, just curious if she should be expecting this to continue.]
i'll buff up next round wwx refuses to be anything but a moron
Yes, [he answers happily, moonlacing with her as he lets his affectionate nature take over. the chroma meter rises slowly, but steadily, which distracts wei wuxian for a moment - but then he's back to looking at lady kozukata, at the look of worry on her expression. he wants to reassure her that this is alright, that this is more than welcome, that wei wuxian of yunmeng is above all else honored and pleased to hold her hand - it's easier to just act, though, and so that's what wei wuxian does.
he acts - he takes the lead this time, walking backwards and expertly weaving them through the crowd as he does so.
wei wuxian can't help it; he winks at her.]
We still have a ways to go, don't we? I could get lost! You have to take care of me, my lady, I don't know much about this place. You wouldn't want to leave me out here, lost as a kitten, would you?
And anyway, look - we can touch without anything bad happening. I want this to last as long as it can. If I have to hold your hand for hours, I'll do it!