homophonic ❆ wolfwood

[bindings]

wolfwood

Of course I missed you.

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Comments

[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.]

[crucifer]

[ He mimicks her movements essentially exactly the same, blinking as he watches it go.

He glances aside at her afterwards, and then seeing she's in the middle of making a wish, mentally stutters and shuts his eyes to make one too. ]

[bindings]

[she finishes her wish - and then sort of laughs, a little huff of a sound as she catches him fumbling. it's weird to be the one who knows what she's doing, and to have someone else have to follow her lead. that really only ever happens in fights.

she turns to him, when she's finished.]

Good. [good job you did it]

[crucifer]

[ Silence you... don't perceive...

He feels kind of stupid when Shenhe just says the one word and it goes through him like a static shock, but not in a bad way for once. ]

It's a nice tradition. Wishes tend to come true?

[ In his version of religion, it's more that people pray than let loose lanterns, but the answering rate of that is pretty low. ]

[bindings]

I didn't have the chance to see if mine would, before I died.

[she says, but she doesn't sound bothered by this.]

But... I'd like to think, yes. They do.

[she's still holding his hand in the physical world, so she sort of gives it a little tug. they can walk through liyue in the virtual world. she wants him to experience this, the way he keeps bugging her to.]

[crucifer]

[ He's certainly willing to follow her and let her show him whatever the hell she wants about her world, every little thing she likes that she thinks is worth showing. ]

I don't know how much a simulation's worth, but let's see if mine comes true then.

[ Show him the famous foods she loves... ]

[bindings]

I hope that it does.

[she leads him through the city - it's not especially huge, the way video game cities usually aren't, but it's all similar architecture, built across three separate floors. the ground level places are where the food is, so that's where she stays, but he can probably see that on the second floor there are open roof tea shops and bookstores, with bridges that lead across either side.

according to the locations page you can smell and taste the food in these - so when she brings him to wanmin restaurant, he'll get a waft of spicy chicken and fish.]

This place is known for the Come and Get It.

[crucifer]

[ Sorry he's like, fairly caught up in the scenery and the pleasantry until she says that, at which point his attention does snap back but in a very 'huh???' way. ]

The what?

[bindings]

[a huff.]

That is the name of the dish. It's fish, tofu, rice, and meat, as well as whatever else the owner decides he'd like to put in that day. [she pauses, looking at him - she wants to let him look at the scenery more, honestly, before she distracts him with food.]