（ the reason kirigan thinks he can behave as such is because it has worked for him in the past. is he unaccustomed to facing men who are accustomed to such duplicity, or is his power and title enough to discourage people digging beneath the charming façade?
he reaches up, drags his fingers along the sharp line of his jaw, and then: ）
He is accustomed to being powerful. Not always — but long enough that he has grown to expect the stage it sets. You and I understand power in a way that permits us to look past the veil. That is all.
[Wei Wuxian nods in agreement at that assessment. It makes sense given what they know of him and how he's behaved with both of them. While there must be others here who've seen through his façade and have their suspicions about the man, he and Itachi also have the benefit of Mal and Alina's knowledge.]
I'm like him. [He admits, soft and quiet.] Not entirely, I know, but the anger he felt for his people...I know that feeling. I thought maybe that's why he slipped. Maybe the things he'd done had been in a moment of unthinking bitter anger and resentment and that's...I understand it.
I know what it is to live with mistakes that cost people their lives. But if he regretted what he did in creating the Fold...I couldn't see it. Not if his aim was my sympathy. [Not when Wei Wuxian would actively spurn sympathy for his mistakes and Kirigan courted it.]
The creation of the Fold was also some time ago, yes? It's entirely possible that in that time, he's buried the guilt and chosen to see it only as a necessary evil in his own mind. He is not so far removed from human that his emotions are indecipherable. People justify their own actions as a self-protective measure.
（ speaking from experience? haha, no, he would never try to justify himself in that way, nor has he ever shied away from the horrors wrought beneath his hands.
but he understands why one might be tempted to try. ）
Mmmm. [It's definitely a consideration, but not one that makes him feel any sympathy for the man.]
Maybe. [He's silent for a moment after that, lost in thought.]
I work better when I have someone to talk to. I think better. Especially about things like this. [Complicated and too close to home.] When it comes to him, I get too inside of my head. It's all too familiar.
[And there's a part of him now that he knows more of Kirigan's story, that wants to believe he's really like them. Someone with a past full of terrible choices. Someone with regret and pain, who would take it back if he could. Someone who was forced into those choices by terrible circumstances.]
（ he gives wei wuxian a sideways glance, head canted to one side. his eyes are dark, his expression fully neutral, yet there is an edge of tolerant fondness there few others have ever seen. ）
If that were the case, we would not be having this discussion. You are aware of where your own biases lay and are working through them with the tools available to you. If he were truly in your blindspot, we would not be having this discussion. You simply think he is, because you have the compassion and decency to hope there is another, rational reason to explain his behaviour. But you are not naive, Wei Wuxian.
[He lets out a soft snort, more a huff of breath than anything else, and looks away. There were several compliments in those words and his stomach swoops uncomfortably, unease gnawing at him that has nothing to do with the discussion and everything to do with the praise.
But if he makes a joke of it or denies it outright, he already knows Itachi will call it out, so he only shrugs in response and does his best to move past it.]
Maybe. I'm glad for the second opinion either way. [He lifts his eyes finally, smiling again.] Makes me sharper.
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he reaches up, drags his fingers along the sharp line of his jaw, and then: ）
He is accustomed to being powerful. Not always — but long enough that he has grown to expect the stage it sets. You and I understand power in a way that permits us to look past the veil. That is all.
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I'm like him. [He admits, soft and quiet.] Not entirely, I know, but the anger he felt for his people...I know that feeling. I thought maybe that's why he slipped. Maybe the things he'd done had been in a moment of unthinking bitter anger and resentment and that's...I understand it.
I know what it is to live with mistakes that cost people their lives. But if he regretted what he did in creating the Fold...I couldn't see it. Not if his aim was my sympathy. [Not when Wei Wuxian would actively spurn sympathy for his mistakes and Kirigan courted it.]
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（ speaking from experience? haha, no, he would never try to justify himself in that way, nor has he ever shied away from the horrors wrought beneath his hands.
but he understands why one might be tempted to try. ）
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Maybe. [He's silent for a moment after that, lost in thought.]
I work better when I have someone to talk to. I think better. Especially about things like this. [Complicated and too close to home.] When it comes to him, I get too inside of my head. It's all too familiar.
[And there's a part of him now that he knows more of Kirigan's story, that wants to believe he's really like them. Someone with a past full of terrible choices. Someone with regret and pain, who would take it back if he could. Someone who was forced into those choices by terrible circumstances.]
...I think he's in my blind spot.
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（ he gives wei wuxian a sideways glance, head canted to one side. his eyes are dark, his expression fully neutral, yet there is an edge of tolerant fondness there few others have ever seen. ）
If that were the case, we would not be having this discussion. You are aware of where your own biases lay and are working through them with the tools available to you. If he were truly in your blindspot, we would not be having this discussion. You simply think he is, because you have the compassion and decency to hope there is another, rational reason to explain his behaviour. But you are not naive, Wei Wuxian.
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But if he makes a joke of it or denies it outright, he already knows Itachi will call it out, so he only shrugs in response and does his best to move past it.]
Maybe. I'm glad for the second opinion either way. [He lifts his eyes finally, smiling again.] Makes me sharper.
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You're welcome.
（ he's hilarious. ）
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You're so annoying! [Grinning and shaking his head]
Alright, I don't want to think about that guy anymore. Spar with me?
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（ but he stands in one fluid gesture, and opens the program's control panel to summon a suite of weapons, obligingly. take your pick, wei wuxian. ）