jigokulogs | (Open) March March March March March

Entry tags:

(Open) March March March March March

Who ⬤ Lan Wangji and YOU (in March)
What ⬤ March 2022 Substories & Lan Wangji's day in the life (in March)
When ⬤ March (March)
Where ⬤ Various locations (in March)
Content Warnings ⬤ Drug use for High Definition! Others will be added if they come up.

1. high definition (March 2022 substory #2)

1a. body blocked

[Lan Wangji does not prowl the streets. that word has connotations of hunting stealth, and while there's definitely something predatory about the way his sharp pale eyes take in everything in front of him, even in a city of fantastical yao there's nothing hidden about the way he contrasts with his background. he's a tall man dressed all in white, and he sweeps through the highly-saturated advertising in a shopping district in Tamamo territory like a spirit with a spotlight focused on himself.

his eyes are narrowed, as if in annoyance, and his face is blank as a statue's. the only acknowledgement he makes of the wares being offered on either side of him is a particularly intense glower whenever something especially racy catches his eye or waves to him from a window.

whatever his destination, he doesn't quite make it -- his stately progress is interrupted by someone inebriated stumbling directly into his path.]

--!

[Lan Wangji jerks aside just in time to avoid a collision and reaches to get a hand under the offender's elbow before they crash into him anyway and finish the job. it saves them from falling, but not from the fierce weight of his full attention when he glares down at them.]

...

Careless.

[do you witness this poor soul's misfortune and come to the rescue, or is the hapless Lost Soul you?]

1b. civic responsibility

[alternately, it's been several hours, and three or four blind or panicking clinical testers have caught Lan Wangji's attention. he's identified the source and dragged them all back to the gyokuto's drug testing headquarters location. Lan Wangji (tall, dignified, arguably surrounded with photoshop lens flare effects) is staring across a steel counter at the gyokuto with what appears to be a kind of high-octane Charged Bemusement. the gyokuto is gazing back at him with equal bemusement, but of a much more polite, clinical variety. I am waiting for all of this to make sense, her look seems to say, but I am a rabbit of science and willing to let the experiment play out. it must be emphasized that she is a rabbit.

you are presumably here perceiving this because you've come for your drugs or been dragged here through the streets. frankly, it is a weird staring contest to witness.]

...

Irresponsible. At least, guard those incapacitated.

[Is-This-A-Real-Doctor Rabbit does not seem to be following Lan Wangji's logic.

do you see his point? or has this straight-edged Dhaoists Gone Wild model wannabe interrupted your evening? has he been standing between you and your paid high to argue with a bunny for like, ten fucking minutes already?]

2. look at this sweet jacket (March 2022 substory #3)

[Lan Wangji is no stranger to resolving differences between humans, human spirits, and other creatures. there's a process to these things: in order to achieve the preferred outcome of liberating rather than destroying an an earthbound spirit, you need to convince it to go willingly. that means observing the evidence carefully and listening to what people say. eventually, the grudge or strong feeling at the bottom of the spirit's urge to cause mischief reveals itself, and you have something to work with when you return to lay down your demands.

in this case, he's observed the circumstances. he's heard the both sides of the story. and the answer is that everyone here is annoying.

by sheer force of personality and the tendency of others not to argue when he tells them to follow him and walks imperiously away, he's managed to get one of the hashihime and the man with the jacket to a neutral, non-bridge patch of waterfront to discuss the situation. but at this point he's listened to the man patronizingly explain to the hashihime three times over that she shouldn't be jealous of his jacket, because not everyone can wear them like he can. she has started repeating everything he says back to him in a higher voice, while making air quotes with her fingers, and while this feels understandable it is not helping. as an approach, it also just causes Jacket Guy to decide she doesn't get what he's saying, and restart his explanation.

Lan Wangji stares at the tableau in front of him with his hands tucked into his sleeves. he is a picture of majestic and intimidating calm. he has a headache and wishes deeply to throw them both into the river.

does anyone with a better command of words (or fewer inhibitions about river tossing) see this and care to come along and ~~help him out~~ ~~make his life worse~~ help him out?]

3. welcome to the Night Parade (March 2022 substory #4)

3a. this feels familiar

[obviously, booze is going to flow like water on the night of the Night Parade. just as obviously, those who want to be selling it at marked-up prices during the event don't want people slipping illicit BYOB goods through the checkpoints around their businesses.

Lan Wangji gives the latest enterprising would-be smuggler a flat stare across the box of decorations and other materials he's just examined. he tugs a piece of cloth away to reveal the shine of a bottle, not breaking eye contact. more boxes to check are stacked up next to him on either side, making it clear that this offense is just One More Fucking Thing in his evening. thanks.]

Alcohol is forbidden.

[do you care to comment from your own duties nearby, or are you a booze criminal?]

3b. something fishy

[like many Lost Souls barred from the Kappa's parade route have found, Lan Wangji hasn't found the explanations given for why the area is off limits very satisfying. he did climb to a higher vantage point one night to try to observe any illicit activities, but wasn't able to see much from there -- and he isn't unaware that stealth missions aren't his strong suit. with the rest of the Sukotu Alliance's tacit disapproval of doing anything that might sour relations with the Kappa hanging over his head, he's not inclined to push that route further on his own... but that doesn't mean he doesn't want to know what's going on.

he's decided to try to pry more into the cover story instead. what's so special about the city's utilities that the Kappa can use them for whatever they're doing, anyway? why would they be positioned in a way that makes them a good excuse here? are there actually vulnerabilities to guard, incidental or not?

unfortunately the only way to get information like deeds and records is to petition the city's administration, which they discourage by any means possible. which is why you can find Lan Wangji either glaring down a bored clerk in one of the lower floors of Kaigo no Bou, or tucked into a small eating-house with a window that faces the disputed part of the parade route. once in a while he'll look up and rest his eyes on the uninformative water of the river; then he'll return to filling out the stack of forms an inch thick in front of him.

the bureaucratic peanut gallery -- or the other seat of the booth -- is open.]

3c. on the heights

[of course, if you had been standing on the roof of a tall building to observe what you could of the Kappa activities on the same night as Lan Wangji proved great minds thought alike... you might have seen someone else on the skyline, doing the same thing as you nearby. uh oh! your new spy friend is dressed in white and if he steps out one more foot he's going to be really obvious.]

4. literally anything goes here

((respond with your own prompt, or hit me up by journal PM if you want me to write a specific starter for you! from fights to gambling dens to street theater to host clubs to more dangerous info gathering, there's an opportunity to meet Lan Wangji there and get judged for your life choices.

more event-related prompts available here.))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[a soft negative noise in response to that one.

can Wei Wuxian get up still, if he's helped?]

[yeah! the drug isn't really hampering his strength; it's just that he has to be steered to know where to put his feet, or indeed to go anywhere at all, at this point. his eyes also seem heavier, so at least this all seems promising for 'get him to pass out in a safe location without fuss.']

[he's being steered, then! back towards one of the seedier domains of the Sukotu Alliance, one of the places where the hapless newbies have had no choice but to stay. he throws their trash carefully away at the first public can he finds, of course; Lan Wangji would never add to the disrepute of even mean streets like these.

a few crowds of rowdier drunks than Wei Wuxian pass them by as they walk, making noise and calling out to them, but Lan Wangji's glare keeps them off as Wei Wuxian leans on his shoulder. Wei Wuxian can feel him straighten up further with the force of the glare a couple of times, like its full frost can only be felt when Lan Wangji's spine has turned to ice entirely.

he's still staying mostly quiet, whether Wei Wuxian talks or not. a quiet bunny, this one.]

[he mostly keeps pointing out shiny lights and objects around them, humming happily, and remarking on the sheer variety of bunnies this city has. isn't that weird, friend? I thought there was so much variety when I first got here, but maybe that was a trick, I wonder what else is a trick...

his thoughts are loose. his tongue has no filter. it would be so easy to pry a lot of answers out of him he wouldn't want to give, like this, if you were unscrupulous. thank goodness Bunguang-Jun is not, or perhaps alas, depending how you look at it.]

[if Lan Wangji was even the slightest bit more calculated in his actions, he might think, I could never. he would never trust me if he remembered me taking advantage.

of course, he isn't. so he doesn't even think of it. he could never; it would be wrong.

when they finally do get to his building, he'll do whatever it takes to gently encourage and help Wei Wuxian up the several floors of steps. the place he's staying itself, when revealed, is a brutally narrow 1R apartment, old and worn. the effect is a little improved in that there's almost nothing in it but a bed, a plain privacy screen , and a tiny side table with an incense burner, so it seems bigger than it is. the wood of the floor has been scrubbed and waxed until it glows.

the one window, with a tiny slice of view, hangs over the bed. Lan Wangji steers Wei Wuxian in that direction and coaxes him to sit down.]

[he sits, pats the bed curiously, seems to decide it's not as soft as a giant rabbit, and starts tugging Lan Wangji to sit next to him. there's very little strength to the tug, even if Lan Wangji wasn't physically stronger than Wei Wuxian by an order of magnitude anyway; he doesn't have to follow it unless he wants to.]

Edited 2022-03-20 22:37 (UTC)

[...he'll sit...

he feels helpless to resist anything that Wei Wuxian might want right now, to be honest. his death is so fresh. he seems so helpless like this; so willing to be silly. so young. it's the clearest sign that he's very fucked up at the moment. it's been a long time since Lan Wangji has seen Wei Wuxian let himself be vulnerable.]

Wei Ying.

Mmmmh.

[gets him positioned just so, which coincidentally lets the fading light through the window fall over his face at a very flattering angle. why did he even do that when he's not even perceiving Lan Wangji as a human being? who knows.

then flops sideways over his lap]

[Lan Wangji wants to freeze again. he probably should do something; react with shock, rearrange Wei Wuxian onto the pillow properly. but he's so tired and sad.

when he thinks about it, it's not like Wei Wuxian didn't lean against him, those nights in the cave in Yiling. it was only when he was too far from consciousness to resent Lan Wangji's presence, of course. Lan Wangji isn't unfamiliar with the concept that Wei Wuxian can be forced to accept intimacies and help and company he doesn't really want, when he's too far gone to push them away.]

...

[very soft, low and wretched:]

I am sorry.

[stretches out easily (he's so thin, he's so fucking thin, Lan Wangji can feel it through his robes where they're making contact, was probably doing so as he supported him the whole way here) and makes another thoughtful little noise, patting Lan Wangji's side casually]

Hmm? Why?

Should go. You would not wish this.

[he'll reach back for Wei Wuxian's hand; it's just as easy and familiar for his fingers to close lightly around that slender wrist. he can still feel the bones too-close under the skin, the sharp jut of the ulnar styloid, imprinted on his sense memory. it's a phantom pain, from a loss that bleeds like an amputated limb. he almost doesn't need to be holding it again in the real world.]

...

But I do not trust others here, either.

Edited 2022-03-21 03:07 (UTC)

[he doesn't jerk away exactly, but the drug hasn't dulled all his reflexes and reactions down to nothing. Lan Wangji has the couple of seconds it takes Wei Wuxian to register that someone's holding him near his wrist acupoint, and then he casually tugs his hand away, tucking both of them out of reach under his chest, like a cat]

I think...this is fine...?

[he didn't release Wei Wuxian's wrist instantly at first, but the instinct to try to hold on to some part of Wei Wuxian wouldn't stand up against real determination, so Wei Wuxian is able to pull free without too much trouble. he lets his hand fall to the bedclothes instead; lets his eyes close against the light and the odd unexpected blurriness of the room.

the rejection doesn't hurt less with Wei Wuxian's death and their new circumstances, he finds. it's just duller, like the bruise goes so deep it can't get worse at this point. he knows the shape of it too well.

he'll make a soft sound, not entirely voluntary, in the back of his throat. it's not agreement, but he doesn't move.]

[he might chase that another time, but he's no good at holding the thread of a conversation right now, and the room is warm, and he cannot figure out how to get vertical again.

they might sit in quiet for a little while, Wei Wuxian still lying over his legs while he works through that escalation of grief. he has not, at least, pulled away entirely.]

[Lan Wangji's voice is low and steady when it eventually comes again, soothingly deep and calm. that's neither by intention, nor facade. it's just him.]

Wei Ying should rest.

[that does seem easier than trying to figure out how to do anything else, tonight...]

Ah.

[there's a rustling of cloth. Wei Wuxian's new bunny friend doesn't kick him off his lap, but does reach to draw a blanket up over his shoulders, tucking him in warmly.]

[what a friendly, helpful bun. truly, he was lucky tonight.

it doesn't take much longer for his eyes to flutter closed and his breathing to slowly even out. his body knows what to do when it's sheltered, with its stomach full and its fears temporarily soothed, even if he doesn't.

the drugs ensure he sleeps much more deeply than he normally might -- he doesn't wake or resist when Lan Wangji gently moves him to sleep properly in the bed -- but he still does jerk awake screaming at some point in the early, early morning, utterly lost and panicked, prompting banging on the ceiling from disturbed neighbours in the building]

Edited 2022-03-21 04:19 (UTC)

[there's a hand on his shoulder, shaking him gently, and that calm, even voice in his ear again. it's a bit rougher with sleep and the urgency of the situation, but--]

Wei Ying.

[his eyes are wide, the pupils blood-red, though the telltale presence of resentful energy doesn't otherwise make itself known in the room.

his heart is still pounding. he...is still drugged; the lines between hallucination and reality still blurred. he stares over at the sort of the voice as his screams cut off, but his eyes flicker wildly to other parts of the room as well, where the patterns of moving lights through the window make the shadows move and reach.]

Edited 2022-03-21 04:43 (UTC)

Wei Ying.

[the hand squeezes his shoulder, hard -- not trying to hold him in place, just keep a point of contact. there's cold air on his skin where he thrashed out of his blankets, until they're tugged up around his shoulders again.]

You are awake.

[his hands grope, dreamlike, for talismans in his sleeves that have no current function. he scrambles in the blankets, not off the bed, just enough to put himself unsteadily between the (??rabbit?? is it a rabbit??) and the shadows, holding them up...

nothing happens. he makes a wounded, animal sound.]

[he hears a low exhale behind him. then Lan Wangji reaches up for the wall next to the bed, easy enough to touch in the narrow, narrow room. it's not hard to find what he's looking for, either.

he turns the lights on.]

[flinches outright when they blaze on, then cautiously lowers his hands, talismans fluttering over the sheets as they slide from his relaxing fingers.

the shadows are gone. there's nothing there? but he'd seen--he'd thought--he'd died, hadn't he? the knowledge is a primal slash of terror and fury even through the lingering drugged haze. he'd died, they'd all died, the dead ripping apart the dead...

he turns his face away. he looks towards the rabbit behind him.]

[he died. the rabbit can't change that it happened. the rabbit signed a contract to earn the right to see the pieces put back together again, but he is not someone who is capable of flinching away from the truth.

he knows what he just saw, too. he's put himself exactly where Wei Wuxian is sitting right now so many times, in the space between danger and someone else. for Wei Wuxian himself, often enough.

in an impulse that has absolutely nothing to do with conscious thought, rationality, or input from any parts of his brain that autonomously control his movements, his hand moves from the light switch to Wei Wuxian's face. he doesn't even try to touch it properly, but he does brush two knuckles gently along his cheekbone, just for a moment. his own nightmare would be easy enough to realize, if he just closed his eyes and didn't feel anything there.]

...

I am safe.

You should rest.

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