blackfire: (itachi003)
𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐨𝐦𝐛𝐮𝐜𝐡𝐚 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 ([personal profile] blackfire) wrote2021-10-16 07:50 pm
Entry tags:

ic inbox | ximilia

// うちは
TEXT • AUDIO • VIDEO • ACTION
XIMILIA
singlelogbridge: (35)

[personal profile] singlelogbridge 2022-04-03 09:59 pm (UTC)(link)
It's common where I'm from for people who are as skilled as you to also be proficient in music. "The four arts." [He waves a hand in the air, rolling his eyes and lifting his dizi for Itachi to see.]

Cultivation is only for the privileged, and so, cultivators must be refined. Proficient in music, art, calligraphy and all number of respectable hobbies. The gentry is the gentry no matter the world, I'm sure. Have you met Zewu-jun? Ah, that is Lan Xichen?

You've seen him, right? Elegant, refined. Looks like he's never tripped or cursed or done anything unpleasant in his whole life. [The laugh he lets out now has just a touch of derision.]

He plays the Xiao flute and his playing is renown for its skill. That's what a cultivator is supposed to be like.
singlelogbridge: (42)

[personal profile] singlelogbridge 2022-04-03 10:32 pm (UTC)(link)
[His eyes go wide for a moment before he breaks out into soft laughter.]

No, never. I was taken in by one of those gentry families. Fed, clothed, and trained. Given opportunities I never would have had without them. I owe them everything. They took me off of the street. I would have died a starving orphan and no one would have given two shits, just another starving poor kid. [The last part is said without any malice despite the brutal reality it presents. That was simply the way of the world. It was always a debt he could never ever repay. He couldn't have then and he certainly can't now. Probably they should have just left him to die.]

And because I wasn't one of them by blood, I had so much more freedom than so many of them. It was a good place to be. All of the privilege and half of the responsibility.

[But. But.]

But my differences made me see things in a way most of them didn't. Cultivators are supposed to serve the people. They're supposed to protect them. To stand for justice. What good is perfect calligraphy when a cultivator ignores those in need because their cases are too simple to bring them any glory? What does it matter how well someone plays the xiao if they won't stand up for the innocent when they need it most?

[He can feel the bitterness and anger rising to the surface at his own words and it feels good. He's been trying not to dwell on any of this since he'd arrived. How could he throw stones when he's the one responsible for so much death and loss? How could he possibly think to judge anyone else?

But he's angry. God he's so angry at the injustice of it all.
]
singlelogbridge: (24)

[personal profile] singlelogbridge 2022-04-04 02:13 am (UTC)(link)
Forgetting their duties, hmm? [There are so few in his life who'd ever agreed with him. Some played lip service to the concept and a rare few truly felt the same. Hearing Itachi's agreement and the simple sincerity with which he speaks makes something tighten in his chest and he has to look away, if only for a moment.]

There are four leading cultivation sects in my world. There were five, but one of the leaders went mad with power and the other four fought a war to stop him.

[He's quiet for a very long time as he recalls the events that followed the war. He doesn't really know why he's telling Itachi all of this, but it feels good, to share just a little bit. To give voice to the angry thing living inside of him.]

We won the war. [Despite the statement of victory, his voice is only hollow.] And in the aftermath, that mad man's people were gathered up and killed. First, his soldiers and spies. Brutal but necessary. Then his court. Maybe their loyalty never could have been trusted. And then...and then those four righteous clans—those refined cultivators in charge of protecting the innocent—they gathered every elderly man and woman, every craftsmen and doctor, every child who had the misfortune of stemming from that mad man's bloodline, and they slaughtered them.

[There were, he supposes, a few steps in between, but the end result was the same. Wei Wuxian closes his eyes and sees the bodies of the Dafan Wen hanging from the walls at Koi Tower. Has it already been a month? The memory feels so fresh still.]

Aiya, but I'm being unfair. [The amusement in his voice is far from sincere.] Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that one of those men had this done. One of them had no power to do anything about it at all. And the other two...the other two looked the other way.
singlelogbridge: (91)

[personal profile] singlelogbridge 2022-04-04 03:15 am (UTC)(link)
No, it isn't. [The agreement is quiet and Wei Wuxian feels suddenly so tired.

Indifference, Itachi says and he wonders. Maybe Nie Mingjue was indifferent or maybe he was just angry. Huaisang's brother was a good man but not a critical thinker, and he'd lost a father to Wen Ruohan. Wei Wuxian had not expected him to step in. Zewu-jun was not indifferent. He knows he wasn't. Couldn't have been. But he did not step in and Wei Wuxian doesn't know why. Maybe it's terrible that for this reason he holds Zewu-jun in greater contempt. He was the one who knew better and still he did nothing.

Oblivious to the nerve he has pressed on in his companion, he exhales and shakes his head, gathering himself and beginning to reassemble his mask. As they wander, he pushes open a door at random and once he assesses the forest pathway the door has revealed, he steps inside and holds the door for Itachi.

The pathway turns into a mountain hike and even knowing how impossible this should be, Wei Wuxian revels in the clear mountain air, tracking off of the path until they come across a crystalline waterfall that feeds into a small pool of clear blue water. He takes a deep breath and feels some of the gathered tension retreating back inside of him as he takes in the sight.

Eventually he speaks again after having remained silent for a long while.
]

I'm sorry. You didn't ask for that. It all feels so recent for me and being in this place surrounded by people who have no idea...it's nice but so strange.

You remind me of home in some ways. [He flashes Itachi a tired smile.] It makes it easy for me to get carried away.
singlelogbridge: (3)

[personal profile] singlelogbridge 2022-04-04 04:04 am (UTC)(link)
[He can't help it. Wei Wuxian snorts and then lets out a full bodied laugh. It's the first time he's sounded genuinely amused in a while.]

No you wouldn't, would you? [He chuckles some more under his breath and tosses his boots, immediately hiking his trousers and robes up before wading into the water up to his calves.]

Man, what I wouldn't give to see you interact with sect leader Yao—he's a minor sect leader, pompous, obnoxious. Thinks the world revolves around his every whim. He'd probably have a qi deviation on the spot if someone just walked out in the middle of conversation. [He laughs some more and then turns a bright smile back on Itachi.]

Well I'm glad I pass muster. You're a good conversation partner, Itachi-xiong. [Despite the teasing note, the words are sincere.]
singlelogbridge: (108)

[personal profile] singlelogbridge 2022-04-04 04:17 am (UTC)(link)
[This!! Guy!!!! Wei Wuxian's jaw falls open in an incredulous gaping look that does not hide his amusement, and he dips his hand into the water to send a wave of water in Itachi's direction.]

You! [Rude!!! He's so rude!!! Wei Wuxian loves it.]

So cruel to me Itachi-xiong!
singlelogbridge: (9)

[personal profile] singlelogbridge 2022-04-04 04:57 am (UTC)(link)
You should! I have so many feelings Itachi-xiong and I am very delicate, can't you tell? [The sulking words come with another wave of water and this time he wades closer, splashing more than once in indignation.]

And don't think I don't know you're not being sincere! Not even a little bit!

[This time he's getting a two handed splash.]
singlelogbridge: (72)

[personal profile] singlelogbridge 2022-04-05 10:13 pm (UTC)(link)
[What a fucking cheater. Wei Wuxian might be impressed if he weren't so busy being exasperated. Itachi is a menace. Why didn't anyone tell him he was a menace? Wei Wuxian balls up his robes and inner shirt and tosses them to shore and then submerges himself in the water completely. He resurfaces a moment later and swims the rest of the way to where Itachi is standing.

After treading water for a moment, he swims a circle around him all the while keeping his eyes on Itachi's feet and trying to figure out how exactly he's doing that. He's channeling qi, obviously, but how the water acts as a surface to support the qi is beyond him. Letting out a soft huff, he turns his gaze back up to him.
]

Then what word would you use to describe me? [Is the question he asks when he does finally speak, smirking and raising one eyebrow. He does not ask about how he's standing on the water. Wei Wuxian is going to figure it out himself or die not knowing.]
singlelogbridge: (104)

[personal profile] singlelogbridge 2022-04-06 03:59 am (UTC)(link)
[The smirk breaks open into full bodied laughter and Itachi will find Wei Wuxian unarmed in more ways than one. Despite his secrets, his laughter here—the easy joy and friendliness in it—is entirely sincere. It's easy to laugh around Itachi. Even with his restrained demeanor, Wei Wuxian sees traces of something more in him. Itachi is funny. He is kind. He's patient and for all that he insists they are not friends, he endures Wei Wuxian's antics with grace.]

Much more flattering than I expected. And certainly true. [It is not the first time he's been called as such or something similar in less flattering terms.]

You only have yourself to blame, Itachi-xiong. I find it very difficult to pull myself away from people I like.
singlelogbridge: (93)

[personal profile] singlelogbridge 2022-04-06 04:25 am (UTC)(link)
[He snickers again and then leans back in the water, floating lackadaisically on his back. Someone as observant as Itachi will probably notice that he's very comfortable in the water, moving in it like he's been doing it his whole life.]

I won't argue that one either. [He tilts his head then, curious] Do you swim?
singlelogbridge: (137)

[personal profile] singlelogbridge 2022-04-06 04:52 am (UTC)(link)
["Not recreationally" feels like it applies to most things Itachi does in life. Probably, except for secretly being petty and fooling everyone into believing he's not. Wei Wuxian is sure Itachi enjoys that recreationally all the time.]

It's always more fun to swim with other people. Come race me! I'm sure you'll win but maybe I'll make you work for it.
singlelogbridge: (153)

[personal profile] singlelogbridge 2022-04-06 11:56 pm (UTC)(link)
[Okay well. Damn. His eyes widen in surprise for a moment at Itachi's disrobing and then he shakes his head, snickering to himself. It's not strange even if it's not technically proper. They're both men. Beyond that, Itachi is, well. Wei Wuxian might not be interested in him or anyone at all, but he has eyes and Itachi is beautiful. In fact, Wei Wuxian can only think of one man more beautiful than him. That's not a very fair comparison though given Lan Wangji was a god among men.

Anyway.

Wei Wuxian watches him fold his clothes neatly into a pile and has to look away to keep from laughing hysterically. He's still laughing a little under his breath when he turns back.
]

Well, it's not very big so maybe we can make it a few laps. From here to the waterfall and back twice. We have to touch the wall at the fall. What do you think?

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