蓝湛 Lan Zhan | 蓝忘机 Lan Wangji (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
strikingchords) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
jigokulogs2022-04-03 02:30 pm
strikingchords) wrote in jigokulogs2022-04-03 02:30 pm
(Open) The Cruelest Month
Who ⬤ Lan Wangji and YOU (in April)
What ⬤ Night Parade fallout/catchall
When ⬤ throughout April
Where ⬤ Various locations
Content Warnings ⬤ Will be added as necessary!
1. food runners (April 2022 event #4B)
2. busking for spirits (April 2022 event follow-up, #6)
3. club life (April 2022 event follow-up, #1, #6)
3a. open
3b. closed to Sutoku Alliance
4. we love an open prompt
What ⬤ Night Parade fallout/catchall
When ⬤ throughout April
Where ⬤ Various locations
Content Warnings ⬤ Will be added as necessary!
1. food runners (April 2022 event #4B)
[before and after the assassination, food still has to get delivered. though he pointedly hasn't followed the kuidaore philosophy of the city, Lan Wangji has enough uses for money (and is unused enough to having to ration it) that it's worth earning more -- and because he's recently reacquired certain abilities, he sees no reason to limit himself to his feet or a motorbike. no, he's a cultivator who's regained his golden core, which means he can fly. if you've ever wanted to see a man carry food strapped to himself while riding a sword like a hoverboard, now is your chance.
finances aren't Lan Wangji's only motivation, either. before and during the festival, he’s also doing his best to keep his ear to the ground -- he’s making a point to deliver to the Kappa and anyone else who seems nervous or tense. sometimes, he'll even put some of that new lucre directly into delivering complementary meals to small gatherings, just for the excuse to see and hear more of the conversations happening within them.
after the assassination attempt, he’s doing the same, but now his goal is even more targeted: he's keeping a special eye out to learn the reactions of the other factions, or catch up with and reassure the Kappa who are unwilling to talk to anyone but Sutoku Alliance members.
are you a Tamamo restaurant worker, receiving your payment from the last order before giving him a new one? are you coming to your door to take your food, complimentary or not? or are you a fellow beast of burden, helping him deal with an large delivery to an equally large -- and potentially information-rich -- gathering?]
...
Here. Take this.
2. busking for spirits (April 2022 event follow-up, #6)
[in the few days immediately after the disaster, you may come across an odd sight near the city center. a man is sitting around some of the rubble still not cleared away with a traditional instrument on the ground in front of him, eyes closed, frowning.
he plucks a few notes that seem to tremble on the air. the hair at the back of your neck rises -– there something not just sound in those chords. they tug at something you can't quite explain; you feel it in your throat and behind your breastbone.
after moment, the man takes his fingers away and waits expectantly. what happens next has no immediate explanation –- all the strings on the instrument shiver at once, very softly, enough to create a helplessly muddled home of noise.
the man frowns deeper before he jerks his head up and notices you watching.]
Hm.
3. club life (April 2022 event follow-up, #1, #6)
3a. open
[later in April, Lan Wangji is still trying to find new connections with the events of the Night Parade... with the help of some connections he made along the way.
specifically, his performance among the festival's spectral cherry trees caught the interest of one of the more music-oriented club owners in a district controlled by the Sutoku Alliance. now Lan Wangji has been installed as a performance artist at a live music venue, one that specializes in a sophisticated, traditional flavor. the manager here had suspected that a smoking-hot man in hanfu, playing a seven-stringed zither under in front of a projection screen that showed drifting wind and flowers, would create exactly the kind of ambiance some customers would want. they might have been on to something.
Lan Wangji seems at peace with playing along, the gentle lighting softening his severe face. if you just wanted to listen to the music and feel calmer after these crazy weeks, it goes no further than this, and you might notice the song becoming even more peaceful as your food and drink show up.
but Lan Wangji and the club owner also have an understanding. you might wonder: is he close enough to that table full of faction higher-ups with serious expressions to overhear their conversation? are you?]
3b. closed to Sutoku Alliance
[this particular group appears to be from the Sutoku Alliance, and something about the seriousness of their conversation and the way they're sitting feels like business. they're leaned in close to each other, voices low. if you wait long enough for Lan Wangji's set to end, you'll see him lift his hands away from his guqin and watch them openly, eyes sharp.
after another few moments, he'll glance at you briefly, confirming that you're also part of the Alliance. then he'll rise to approach the table.]
4. we love an open prompt
((respond with your own prompt, or hit me up by journal PM if you want me to write a specific starter for you!
for further reference, my plotting comment can be found on the ooc post, some starters that go down specifically during the festival itself are available over this way, and Sutoku Alliance members can find Lan Wangji available forthe forbidden gossippost-Night Parade IC brainstorming here.))
no subject
Hm.
...
[Felix might wonder if he'll answer the question at all for a moment, but surprisingly enough, he does continue.]
A technique of my sect.
You are unfamiliar?
no subject
That's what he's thinking regardless, watching him carefully. Anyway, he'll wait a little impatiently and then when he receives a response with that follow-up question, Felix will nod. ]
Both with the technique and the instrument.
It even seems different than any normal musician's playing.
no subject
Felix's curiosity is interrupting him, but he's not sure that continuing to throw himself at this brick wall is even the best use of his limited reserves of spiritual energy. he rests his hands lightly on the strings to silence them. there's still a whisper of pale blue light around his fingers, as much a part of the fading hum of noise as the sound itself.
what a tiring last couple of days it's been.]
Mm.
[it's a slightly more affirmative noise this time. he recognizes the implied question, which in the normal course of things is no guarantee he'll answer it. but if any of the other Lost Souls are to be his allies -- and with the recent events, that's no surety either outside the Sutoku Alliance -- they should know some of what he can do.
he's not hiding it. and he's never picked up any ill intent off of Felix; he just doesn't make much effort to get along. relatable, honestly.]
What do you know of musical cultivation?
no subject
But, when Lan Wangji puts forth his inquiry, Felix's eyes flick back upwards to his general direction rather than at the fingers or instrument. ]
...Nothing.
I don't think I'm even familiar with 'cultivation'.
[ The way he says it, anyway. ]
no subject
how to define cultivation? he could describe his own, but certainly there's more kinds out there -- however frowned upon demonic cultivation may be. he doesn't necessarily approve of it himself, but...
especially considering why he's here, he can't really bring himself to discount it, even in the kind of simple explanation you'd give to a young child.]
Referring to energy. Usually, gathering qi to form a golden core.
Sometimes, other energies.
[ironically enough, what he doesn't have the energy to do is chase that rabbit down the hole farther right now. but he can answer the rest of the question, so maybe that's all right.]
Music is used in many Lan Sect techniques.
no subject
So you're from this "Lan Sect".
...Does cultivating with this 'qi' to make a 'golden core' help in fighting too?
[ As a swordsman, he can't help but be curious about that.
Even if Felix isn't exactly sure the man is a fighter of some sort, he'd still have the knowledge. ]
no subject
Both.
[he hasn't been carrying his sword and qin as regularly, up till now, but now that he has his core back he'll keep them both close -- and the sword at least will further answer Felix's question for him when he spots it. in the meantime...]
...
Courtesy name Lan Wangji.
no subject
Felix Hugo Fraldarius.
[ His eyes do, at this time, drift back over to the sword, and the interest rises by quite a decent amount as he wonders about its craftsmanship. ]
I never knew you used a blade. Probably for obvious reasons, but I figure that's why you're carrying one.
Who or what did you usually end up fighting back home?
no subject
[he begins moving to pack up his qin instead of playing further, for now -- he already has his answer. the spirits are not responding, or perhaps cannot respond. he can feel the crackle of spiritual energy in the air without even using any musical techniques, drowning out the influence of the individual entities moving through the air.
he doesn't think he'll be fighting many of what he thought about as ghosts in a land of the dead, except on a technicality.]
From the unrighteous, as well.
[and if sometimes that moniker very much included other cultivators... they'd made their choices.]
no subject
He watches the man start to pack up his instrument all the same. ]
Not like I've heard of yao before.
[ But maybe they were some kind of demon? ]
And what you were doing...why were you playing?