[ Jin Ling spent a while angrily wandering, halfway between angry and halfway between distraught. He didn't actually mean to come here. He'd been avoiding his Uncle's house ever since he'd walked in on him, but his Uncle... wasn't actually why he was here. He didn't want to admit to himself what he was looking for, but he was still singularly minded. ]
Wei Wuxian!
[ It sounded like a challenge called out as he let himself in, glancing at the lotus decorations on the walls. ]
I'm not going to search all over the city for you!!
[ wow... so loud, and it's so early! wait no it's mid-afternoon-- well, whatever, wei wuxian was trying to nap! and now someone is yelling! such a demanding voice too, who can this be? jiang cheng knows how to open the front door...
wei wuxian sighs, gets up and answers the yelling. he's not putting outer robes for this. ]
I'm right h— Oh.
You're not Jiang Cheng.
—Ah! You're the baby Jin! How did you know where I live?
[ suspicious. why would his brother do that, and for a jin junior too? anyway, that's not the important thing right now. ]
Yah, why are you interrogating me? You were yelling so loud I thought I woke up from my nap! And so what if I haven't eaten? It's too early to eat rice, and it'll be a waste to cook for just myself, anyway.
I look great no matter what I wear, so I suppose you'll just have to suffer. ...Why are you looking for me, though?
[ he loves jiang cheng. he really does, deeply, truly, with all his soul. but also: jiang cheng with friends is a giant ass-faced lie. is this child up to something? is he a secret jin guangshan baby?
hmmmMMMMMMM. ]
Are we getting food? [ wei wuxian asks brightly, mischief sparking in his eyes. ] Are you buying?
Is that so weird! [ He's starting to sound defensive, now, but... Not for his own sake. Why would it be so weird for his Uncle to have friends?? ] Jiu-- Jiang Cheng is great. We hang out all the time. You can just ask him if you want!
[ He crosses his arms, his face flushing a little. Agh. Maybe this was a mistake. ]
That's what I said, didn't I? But you have to get properly dressed. I'm not having you shaming me.
What's wrong with what I'm wearing? All the important parts are covered!
[ wei wuxian does disappear for a moment and returns with an outer robe pulled on, though, if unfastened. there, he's half-presentable. he even fixed his hair! ]
You're a very demanding baby Jin, has anyone told you that? Almost as bad as the peacock, even though you're much louder than he is.
But alright, my tiny junior, where are you taking me? Will there be alcohol?
[ He's gone mad. He's gone mad, and he's dragging around the youthful ghost of his uncle. He should just stab him. He should just stab him, again, and get it over with!! That would make more sense than staring down this man who was barely older than he was, calling him tiny, and just wanting his Uncle to look good and cool when they went out... Why was this so awful?
He stepped closer, tugging the left lapel of Wei Wuxian's robe over the right one to cover him properly. Sorry for the man handling, Wei Ying. ]
Who the hell is the peacock? [ Muttered a little darkly, so he would know exactly how insulted he was supposed to be right now. ]
I'm not tiny, and I'm not a baby! We should at least have the decency to look respectable in public! You're going to give people the wrong idea!
[ And then an aggravated sigh as he turned away. He didn't even bring Fairy, Wei Wuxian, you should be thanking him. ]
What, do you think I'm stupid? Of course there will be alcohol.
[ He's pretty sure he's the one of the two of them that needed it the most, and also the one that can't legally order it. Thanks in advance, Uncle. ]
[ jin ling's lucky wei wuxian is all too used to being manhandled.
these lanling jins, they really do act like little emperors, don't they? wei wuxian huffs dramatically behind jin ling, though he does fall in step behind the younger man all the same. his robes swish loudly as wei wuxian takes wide strides, a flash of leg occurring every now and again if jin ling pays attention. ]
How can you not know about the peacock, though? [ wei wuxian pipes up after a few steps; he can't help it, he just has to talk about the peacock. ] He's right there! All the time! In your Gilded Terrace!
He's even more bossy than you, too. You guys ought to be a little less proud from time to time.
[ Oh my god. Wei Wuxian, you look like a tramp, and Jin Ling can't do anything about it. He sees that leg!!
He scrunches his nose a little as he looks back at the other man. ]
Are you talking about my u-- [ Woops ] -- about Jin Guangyao? Because I don't think anyone could rightly call him a peacock. He's not that bossy! He's nice to everyone, even the servants!
[ He tsks under his breath. ]
How is acting respectable being proud. Your actions don't just reflect on you, you know! What would Ha-- [ Wait. Wait, does Wei Wuxian even know Lan Wangji this early?? Jin Ling doesn't even know??? He huffs. ] -- what would Jiang Cheng think?
He'd yell at me and fight with my clothes and then somehow we'd end up in the lake in Lotus Pier, because Yunmeng Jiang disciples don't do anything half-assed. And he still won't be able to keep my robes closed if I decided on it.
[he sounds so self-assured in proclaiming his affront to sensibilities and general decorum, but wei wuxian doesn't mean any offense with it. being known as a man who takes nothing seriously makes him... well, not a non-threat, per se, but someone not in consideration for the responsibilities of yunmeng jiang.
he wants to help, he really does, but he's also well-aware of the precariousness of his position within the sect, and how he bests jiang cheng in everything. madame yu has her reasons for distrusting wei wuxian's entire existence, and wei wuxian isn't so blind to not realize that there's truth to most of them.
wei wuxian frowns, though. he likes to think himself updated on the who's who of the cultivation world; he hasn't heard of that name before.]
[ He can’t help but picture Wei Wuxian and his Uncle fighting over his robes in a lake, and the concept fills him with such a desperate longing and loss that he can’t stand it. That Wei Wuxian and his uncle could have been so close, until it was all shattered. The childhood he could have had, the adulthood his Uncle could have had—
He grit his teeth and pushed it forcefully from his mind. Whatever. He had a chance now to make things right from the start.
When Wei Ying asks his question, though, Jin Ling turns to blink at him abruptly.
Oh. He’d forgotten. He didn’t really know the full story but he knew that Jin Guangyao hadn’t always had that name. ]
You seriously don’t know? He’s the sect leader, in my time. He was called Meng Yao, once.
Ah? Meng Yao? The Lanling Jin took him back after he left Qinghe, then, huh.
[still, there's a lot of questions that bear asking.]
If he's sect leader, then where is Jin Zixuan? Isn't he supposed to be the heir apparent? Did Sect Leader Jin Guangshan change his mind? Lady Jin can't have agreed to something like that so easily.
Wait, if he's from your time, but we've hunted together, then... you're from further ahead than I am! Jin Guangshan hasn't yet vacated his seat as Sect Leader by my reckoning, and Meng Yao, well, I don't know where he is, actually, but I can't imagine he'd have been fast-tracked given the politics of the cultivation world.
Little Jin, you're not telling me something. Who are you, really?
You're getting defensive, Little Jin. [wei wuxian points out, with more than a little concern coloring his voice.] And I'm sorry to hear about Jin Zixuan. He's not my favorite person, but he deserves to live a happy life hopefully far, far away from my sister. What happened? How did he die?
[ He can feel the rage and the grief rising up in him like a tidal wave, bile at the back of his throat. He gripped his sword so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. He couldn’t stand this. The casual way Wei Wuxian talked about wanting to keep his parents apart, the oh-so-innocent question into a death he caused.
He had promised - sworn - that he would not reveal what had happened, but being questioned like this was like driving knives into an old, festering wound. It took all his control not to just turn on the man and snap at him, yelling everything he wanted to.
But he couldn’t lose his Uncle. And as much as the man talked about how they were family, he knew he didn’t mean as much to Jiang Cheng as Wei Wuxian did, right now. He already knew who his uncle would chose, if he had to. He could feel the ghost of the man’s hand on his throat even now.
He let out a hard breath and looked away. ]
I wasn’t there. I was a baby.
I don’t know why he was killed. It never made any sense to me at all. So don’t ask me.
[contrary to popular belief, wei wuxian is not dense. he's perceptive, inconveniently so, and it doesn't escape him that little jin ling tenses like a tightly wound coil from the questions he's been asked. there's more to this than wei wuxian is seeing; of that he's sure. but he also knows not to push, and whatever is going on must be a lanling jin issue.
wei wuxian shouldn't pry, even when it's all he wants to do.]
I suppose I'll find out eventually. Being from a point in time way behind everyone else kinda sucks, let me tell you. No one tells me anything!
—Hey, Jin Ling. Can I ask just one thing? Just the one thing, and if you don't know you can tell me you don't know, but if you do, please be honest with me!
Imagine being from the future and everyone who should care about you doesn’t even know who you are. [ His tone is clipped, and he can’t help but keep the real note of sorrow out of it. Wei Wuxian doesn’t know how good he has it.
He pauses at the question, and it makes him feel weirdly... guilty. Like he never really thought about everything that Wei Wuxian missed out on, because of everything. ]
When I last saw you, it was with someone who would fight the entire world for you.
[ His voice had dropped, a little. He’s been working hard to only speak the truth, and he is. But he doesn’t want to rip hope away from Wei Wuxian. ]
I bet it's Jiang Cheng. Is it him? Do we fight for the Yunmeng Jiang together? Ah, we can't let the Gusu Lan have all the glory, what are we, stale fish?
[wei wuxian remains blissfully unaware, and that's just as well, isn't it? that he doesn't know what truly happens to him: dead, and so young, reviled by the whole cultivation world for unspeakable crimes.]
But hey, Little Jin, you can make new friends here, you know. If they don't remember you, then make them remember! Or just befriend them all over again, and show them you can be fun and interesting! Not everyone gets second chances. It's best not to waste them when you get them!
[ Jin Ling is not a Lan. And that means he really isn't able to hide the way his face twists - almost guilty at the first question. He looks away and huffs out a breath to try to calm himself.
He didn't know how to handle this. He wasn't prepared. ]
Wei Wuxian.
[ An almost solemn tone to his voice, as he tries to push the well-meaning pratter out of mind. ]
If you don't want to waste second chances, then fine. If you want to be friends - [ His voice got a little thick suddenly-- ] I -- I want that too.
But don't ask me about the future again. Don't ask me about what anyone is doing or what happens to them or what happens to you. There's no point.
If we're starting all over again then let's just - let's just do that, okay? We'll start from the beginning.
...You're a very serious and very strange kid, I gotta say. It's not a bad look on you, baby Jin.
[finally, finally, they get to what looks like a decent enough drinking establishment, and wei wuxian smiles brightly to the younger man as he pulls them both in. they're drinking, after all - wasn't that the whole point of getting dragged out of the apartment and into the streets of lunatia?
wei wuxian wastes no time in finding them a table and ordering drinks and finger food. he doesn't sit across jin ling, though, but rather sits next to him. he can't quite put his finger on why he thinks it's a good idea, because they're certainly not close enough to consider each other friends, but there's a weird... sadness? maybe? to the young man, and wei wuxian can't in good conscience let it be suffered alone.]
So, what really brought you to our doorstep? Did you need advice about a girl? Or a boy, maybe?
Do not call me baby. [ Huffed, before they enter the establishment.
He has no idea what to do with the proximity, no idea what to do with Wei Wuxian, and unable to admit that being here actually makes him... a little happy, in a weird way.
He fucking hates how Hanguang-Jun was right.
He flushes a little. ]
What, it's not enough to want to see you? [ Snapped a little annoyedly. ]
Who says it's about anything else! It's just - it's been a long day.
Doesn't mean there isn't a someone that's keeping your thoughts occupied. Are they pretty? Do they make your heartbeat stutter when you think about them?
[baby jin you better start drinking because wei wuxian is gonna be drinking a lot, and fast. and also draping himself against you, insouciant as anything.]
I know, I know, I'm handsome and charming and I'm so fun to have around, but I am also very wise in the matters of the heart. So - spill. How can your Senior Wei help you with your romance?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
action, after encounter with lan wangji
Wei Wuxian!
[ It sounded like a challenge called out as he let himself in, glancing at the lotus decorations on the walls. ]
I'm not going to search all over the city for you!!
[ Yeah, he probably would. ]
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wei wuxian sighs, gets up and answers the yelling. he's not putting outer robes for this. ]
I'm right h— Oh.
You're not Jiang Cheng.
—Ah! You're the baby Jin! How did you know where I live?
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[ He gives Wei Wuxian a once over. ]
Why aren't you dressed properly? Have you eaten?
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[ suspicious. why would his brother do that, and for a jin junior too? anyway, that's not the important thing right now. ]
Yah, why are you interrogating me? You were yelling so loud I thought I woke up from my nap! And so what if I haven't eaten? It's too early to eat rice, and it'll be a waste to cook for just myself, anyway.
I look great no matter what I wear, so I suppose you'll just have to suffer. ...Why are you looking for me, though?
Do you need money?
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Because you need to take care of yourself! [ He sounds annoyed and he sighs in frustration, walking over. ]
I have plenty of money!! Who asks something like that? [ He tsks loudly. ]
Your brother-- told me to look out for you. [ A COMPLETE... SEMI-COMPLETE LIE. ]
Come on then. We'll go get food.
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[ he loves jiang cheng. he really does, deeply, truly, with all his soul. but also: jiang cheng with friends is a giant ass-faced lie. is this child up to something? is he a secret jin guangshan baby?
hmmmMMMMMMM. ]
Are we getting food? [ wei wuxian asks brightly, mischief sparking in his eyes. ] Are you buying?
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[ He crosses his arms, his face flushing a little. Agh. Maybe this was a mistake. ]
That's what I said, didn't I? But you have to get properly dressed. I'm not having you shaming me.
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[ wei wuxian does disappear for a moment and returns with an outer robe pulled on, though, if unfastened. there, he's half-presentable. he even fixed his hair! ]
You're a very demanding baby Jin, has anyone told you that? Almost as bad as the peacock, even though you're much louder than he is.
But alright, my tiny junior, where are you taking me? Will there be alcohol?
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He stepped closer, tugging the left lapel of Wei Wuxian's robe over the right one to cover him properly. Sorry for the man handling, Wei Ying. ]
Who the hell is the peacock? [ Muttered a little darkly, so he would know exactly how insulted he was supposed to be right now. ]
I'm not tiny, and I'm not a baby! We should at least have the decency to look respectable in public! You're going to give people the wrong idea!
[ And then an aggravated sigh as he turned away. He didn't even bring Fairy, Wei Wuxian, you should be thanking him. ]
What, do you think I'm stupid? Of course there will be alcohol.
[ He's pretty sure he's the one of the two of them that needed it the most, and also the one that can't legally order it. Thanks in advance, Uncle. ]
Come on.
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these lanling jins, they really do act like little emperors, don't they? wei wuxian huffs dramatically behind jin ling, though he does fall in step behind the younger man all the same. his robes swish loudly as wei wuxian takes wide strides, a flash of leg occurring every now and again if jin ling pays attention. ]
How can you not know about the peacock, though? [ wei wuxian pipes up after a few steps; he can't help it, he just has to talk about the peacock. ] He's right there! All the time! In your Gilded Terrace!
He's even more bossy than you, too. You guys ought to be a little less proud from time to time.
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He scrunches his nose a little as he looks back at the other man. ]
Are you talking about my u-- [ Woops ] -- about Jin Guangyao? Because I don't think anyone could rightly call him a peacock. He's not that bossy! He's nice to everyone, even the servants!
[ He tsks under his breath. ]
How is acting respectable being proud. Your actions don't just reflect on you, you know! What would Ha-- [ Wait. Wait, does Wei Wuxian even know Lan Wangji this early?? Jin Ling doesn't even know??? He huffs. ] -- what would Jiang Cheng think?
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[he sounds so self-assured in proclaiming his affront to sensibilities and general decorum, but wei wuxian doesn't mean any offense with it. being known as a man who takes nothing seriously makes him... well, not a non-threat, per se, but someone not in consideration for the responsibilities of yunmeng jiang.
he wants to help, he really does, but he's also well-aware of the precariousness of his position within the sect, and how he bests jiang cheng in everything. madame yu has her reasons for distrusting wei wuxian's entire existence, and wei wuxian isn't so blind to not realize that there's truth to most of them.
wei wuxian frowns, though. he likes to think himself updated on the who's who of the cultivation world; he hasn't heard of that name before.]
Who's Jin Guangyao?
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He grit his teeth and pushed it forcefully from his mind. Whatever. He had a chance now to make things right from the start.
When Wei Ying asks his question, though, Jin Ling turns to blink at him abruptly.
Oh. He’d forgotten. He didn’t really know the full story but he knew that Jin Guangyao hadn’t always had that name. ]
You seriously don’t know? He’s the sect leader, in my time. He was called Meng Yao, once.
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[still, there's a lot of questions that bear asking.]
If he's sect leader, then where is Jin Zixuan? Isn't he supposed to be the heir apparent? Did Sect Leader Jin Guangshan change his mind? Lady Jin can't have agreed to something like that so easily.
Wait, if he's from your time, but we've hunted together, then... you're from further ahead than I am! Jin Guangshan hasn't yet vacated his seat as Sect Leader by my reckoning, and Meng Yao, well, I don't know where he is, actually, but I can't imagine he'd have been fast-tracked given the politics of the cultivation world.
Little Jin, you're not telling me something. Who are you, really?
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[ He grits the words out, unwilling, gravel between his teeth. ]
I told you, didn’t I? I’m at least sixteen years out from you. Maybe seventeen or eighteen. I’m not even born yet, at the age you are.
I told you who I am. I’m Jin Ling. You won’t remember the rest of the context, so what’s the point? Just forget it. We’re here now, aren’t we?
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He wasn't assassinated, was he?
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He had promised - sworn - that he would not reveal what had happened, but being questioned like this was like driving knives into an old, festering wound. It took all his control not to just turn on the man and snap at him, yelling everything he wanted to.
But he couldn’t lose his Uncle. And as much as the man talked about how they were family, he knew he didn’t mean as much to Jiang Cheng as Wei Wuxian did, right now. He already knew who his uncle would chose, if he had to. He could feel the ghost of the man’s hand on his throat even now.
He let out a hard breath and looked away. ]
I wasn’t there. I was a baby.
I don’t know why he was killed. It never made any sense to me at all. So don’t ask me.
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wei wuxian shouldn't pry, even when it's all he wants to do.]
I suppose I'll find out eventually. Being from a point in time way behind everyone else kinda sucks, let me tell you. No one tells me anything!
—Hey, Jin Ling. Can I ask just one thing? Just the one thing, and if you don't know you can tell me you don't know, but if you do, please be honest with me!
Do I get married?
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He pauses at the question, and it makes him feel weirdly... guilty. Like he never really thought about everything that Wei Wuxian missed out on, because of everything. ]
When I last saw you, it was with someone who would fight the entire world for you.
[ His voice had dropped, a little. He’s been working hard to only speak the truth, and he is. But he doesn’t want to rip hope away from Wei Wuxian. ]
So you aren’t alone.
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[wei wuxian remains blissfully unaware, and that's just as well, isn't it? that he doesn't know what truly happens to him: dead, and so young, reviled by the whole cultivation world for unspeakable crimes.]
But hey, Little Jin, you can make new friends here, you know. If they don't remember you, then make them remember! Or just befriend them all over again, and show them you can be fun and interesting! Not everyone gets second chances. It's best not to waste them when you get them!
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He didn't know how to handle this. He wasn't prepared. ]
Wei Wuxian.
[ An almost solemn tone to his voice, as he tries to push the well-meaning pratter out of mind. ]
If you don't want to waste second chances, then fine. If you want to be friends - [ His voice got a little thick suddenly-- ] I -- I want that too.
But don't ask me about the future again. Don't ask me about what anyone is doing or what happens to them or what happens to you. There's no point.
If we're starting all over again then let's just - let's just do that, okay? We'll start from the beginning.
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[finally, finally, they get to what looks like a decent enough drinking establishment, and wei wuxian smiles brightly to the younger man as he pulls them both in. they're drinking, after all - wasn't that the whole point of getting dragged out of the apartment and into the streets of lunatia?
wei wuxian wastes no time in finding them a table and ordering drinks and finger food. he doesn't sit across jin ling, though, but rather sits next to him. he can't quite put his finger on why he thinks it's a good idea, because they're certainly not close enough to consider each other friends, but there's a weird... sadness? maybe? to the young man, and wei wuxian can't in good conscience let it be suffered alone.]
So, what really brought you to our doorstep? Did you need advice about a girl? Or a boy, maybe?
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He has no idea what to do with the proximity, no idea what to do with Wei Wuxian, and unable to admit that being here actually makes him... a little happy, in a weird way.
He fucking hates how Hanguang-Jun was right.
He flushes a little. ]
What, it's not enough to want to see you? [ Snapped a little annoyedly. ]
Who says it's about anything else! It's just - it's been a long day.
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[baby jin you better start drinking because wei wuxian is gonna be drinking a lot, and fast. and also draping himself against you, insouciant as anything.]
I know, I know, I'm handsome and charming and I'm so fun to have around, but I am also very wise in the matters of the heart. So - spill. How can your Senior Wei help you with your romance?
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Why should I— who says I have any thoughts about romance!!
[ Probably the way he was so red and so hot he could set something on fire. ]
I don’t — it’s not about romance! Chroma is important, here, that’s all—
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