homophonic ❆ wolfwood

[bindings]

wolfwood

Of course I missed you.

CODE

Comments

[bindings]

[this is so many comments i'm losing it]

You. [she says, tilting her head. the flower is... uh, like a park flower? let's say daffodil, and it's yellow. she pauses.] Is that wrong?

[the you're insecure on loop is stuck in my head i can't stand this. anyway, she's also a little insecure but mostly because she hasn't ever really done this before so she has no idea how to be romantic.]

[crucifer]

[ Harry Styles calls you insecure for 2 minutes ASMR. ]

I mean -- like, the occasion. I know they're for me.

[ The ridiculous thing is that that should be obvious and yet, Shenhe having to specify they were for him makes him weirdly uncertain. By Tuesday he's aware enough that it's this week's funky curse and he, frankly, hates it. ]

[bindings]

[she tilts her head.]

I've been told that when you care for someone you bring them gifts. [...] I suppose I don't have an occasion. I will remember that in the future.

[this is actually the one thing she's insecure about, which is not knowing mortal customs, help. she's also aware of the week's effect probably, but still.]

[crucifer]

Right.

[ Unfortunately I also made it so that insecurity makes him extra uncertain if this feeling is reciprocated because I thought it'd be funny and it's just how Wolfwood is anyway. ]

Thanks. Wanna go anywhere?

[bindings]

[help me wolfwood go to therapy challenge]

I'd like that, yes. [...] I'd like to show you Liyue. I think I have the hang of the virtual reality technology, by now.

[crucifer]

[ No.

But also everyone wants to show him their homes it's cute (it's like two people now) everyone. ]

Right. We've got that... thing, the tech room.

Yeah, you can show me.

[bindings]

[he deserves to see better worlds than no mans land tbh

there's just the smallest flicker of something happy on her face, and then she holds out a hand? take?]

[crucifer]

[ ...Yeah, he'll take it, while he tries not to think too hard about the little flicker of happiness. ]

[bindings]

[yay... hand holds... she is a little hesitant about it just because she's not sure she's doing it right.

but she will take him along to the vr place!]

If I can make it so that you can see the lanterns, I'd like that.

[crucifer]

[ At least Wolfwood knows how to hold a hand. Granted his default is like when you hold hands with kids rather than more intimate but he's letting Shenhe decide if that's good enough for now. ]

Right, I think you mentioned those. Who showed you how to use these things?

[bindings]

Setsu, but a few of the others helped.

[she doesn't seem to mind the handhold. she doesn't really know the difference? she's just happy to have this much, for someone who doesn't allow herself to have anything. it's a process, but she's trying.]

Have you used them yet?

[crucifer]

[ You are his babygirl... ]

Scholar wanted to show me a bit of his hometown, the whole Sumeru thing.

[ And presumably showed Wolfwood some ropes to get a glimpse of No Man's Land but the pc hasn't gotten there. ]

[bindings]

I've never been. To Sumeru, I mean.

[she'd ask normally, but she thinks she can figure out who he's talking about based on context clues.]

I'd like to see it... I wonder if Kaveh will show me. [a beat. and then she squeezes his hand and lets go for now so she can hand him one of the machines. she's a little clumsy with these, but it's fine.]

Here. I will - hm, I will try to show you the Lantern Rite. It is my favorite part of Liyue.

[crucifer]

[ Is it the VR headset, sometimes we get simulations but this one is just a VR room right... he doesn't really like the headsets, but it's almost like he purposefully smooths out his feathers in her presence and do as she asks. ]

I'm sure whatever you wanna show me is gonna be pretty.

[bindings]

[yeah it's a headset - she also isn't a huge fan of having it over her eyes, but she's putting up with it for now because she misses home.

she gently puts her hand on his arm.]

I hope you'll find it that way.

[and - she'll start the machine! again, clumsily, but she's doing her best.

liyue is a pretty place to begin with, all glowing and soft at night. green, and blue, near an ocean, with the mountains close behind. flowers grow everywhere along the streets, and the place itself smells like the ocean and street food. the weather is gentle, just a little bit of wind. it's even prettier with the lanterns that are floating across the sky.

next to him, shenhe lets out a little gasp, stepping forward. oh - it's... it's just like she remembers. and this time she's actually smiling.]

[crucifer]

[ Wow, that is actually -- breathtaking, in a way that's maybe familiar in some regards and still completely new in others. The architecture isn't something totally foreign, since he might see something like this in a place like the Juukei District, but the grassy mountains and the cool breeze, the lights and open space are new and a far cry from the industrial and cramped style that much of No Man's Land tends to be.

He blinks once, and turns his head -- heavy, and a little awkward with how the VR works over his head, slowing him in a way he dislikes, but he'll swallow that down too to pay attention here instead. ]

...It's pretty.

[bindings]

[she's absolutely delighted by the way this place looks. or, at least, she's delighted in the way she can be. her emotions are still a little hard to come by, but she's slowly opening up, letting herself feel it bit by bit.

... maybe it's nice that the ropes might not work after all.

she watches the lanterns rise, and reaches to take his hand again.]

Yes. [she agrees, a little breathless.] We should see if we can find our own to release.

[crucifer]

[ He stumbles a little awkwardly, trying to tread the line between reality and VR here, but he's nothing if not a quick learner. ]

Uh, right. So what do you do with them?

[bindings]

[it's fine it's a little awkward in general because she also doesn't know how to balance it yet, but it'll get easier. she looks around the virtual liyue, trying to find a stand where she can grab them... fake lanterns.]

You release them into the sky. They are meant to represent two things: the wishes of every person who sends them up, and a way to connect to those who have passed on.

[crucifer]

...

Right, I guess a little bit like lighting candles.

[ Not nearly as pretty as this lantern tradition though, and a lot less grim and somber when it's outside in such a place rather than indoors in a church before the altar. ]

And you do this yearly?

[bindings]

[a little nod, before she realizes he's probably not looking at her to see.]

Yes. Ah - well, I haven't, until recently. I participated during the last rite, because I had something to wish for.

[she holds his hand a little more tightly.]

Oh, but. Don't tell me your wish. I've been told that makes it not come true.

[crucifer]

...

Alright, I won't then. And I won't ask yours.

[ Even if he is curious, but at the same time, maybe he can conjure a picture based on what he knows of her. ]

[bindings]

[it might not be hard to guess, for her.

she brings them to a little counter in the virtual reality so that they can hold the lanterns, and send them up into the sky.]

On three, we let go of them, and they'll fly up over where the rest are.

[crucifer]

Okay.

[ He follows instructions carefully enough, like if he doesn't do this right, it's fuckin' OVER between them................. ]

[bindings]

[HELP he really is doing his best]

Alright. One, two...

[and - three, she says, and she gently dips the lantern in her hand down and then back up, letting go of it. it flutters, just a little, and then the wind catches it, sending it up into the sky. briefly, she closes her eyes.

it's maybe a little silly, but... she can make another wish, maybe. maybe that's okay.]