gu yun's expression shifts - for a moment, he's the marquis of order. ]
To make a base assumption based on someone's sin in this place is an idiot's game. [ his first statement is harsh, but, delivered as a cold fact - not to wrath, but rather to the people of this place in general. it's something he's been thinking since the very beginning. ] Especially with you all. I think some of the participants in this place see you all as merely 'Avatars' in the vision you present us in public - faceless, only deigned to be associated with a sin assigned to you by who knows what - and aren't willing to separate the fact that you aren't just figures brought here to help or hurt us, or what have you. Each of you have your own personalities, your own motivations, that we cannot claim to know, especially from sideways observance, or seeing you here and there in public, doing a job that we do not know. There is a marked difference between duty and person.
[ and wouldn't he know that, better than anyone?
sitting up more fully, he reaches for her cheek, pulling wrath's eyes back towards him, so she can see how serious his face is - how he means every word. ]
If someone would bother to speak to you, to try and know you, they wouldn't have thought along those lines for a second. To clinically consider the possibility of "someone with a great, powerful fire caused Grell's injuries" is one thing, but something that, upon even an ounce of further thought about who you are, should be set aside quickly as a possibility. Equating 'wrath' with 'I want to kill others', as if wrath and temper are things that can be so easily controlled - if anyone should associate you with anything of the like, it should be your flames, instead.
[ that's a place he can see it. fierce, sometimes uncontrollable - but life giving, life meaning, too. a fire is a blaze as much as it can be a hearth. ]
Anyone who only sees you for the mark on your hood, and uses that as a bias to color their perception of your every word or action for our time here, is a fool. [ periodt. ]
[ that expression of hers is impossible to miss. for a minute, gu yun meets her gaze, brows a bit furrowed, but... ultimately, he fumbles for what to say, what to keep that sad look off of her face. there's a beat where his thumb strokes her cheekbone, like she'd done to him just a few minutes before, but ultimately, he can't spit out ivory in the moments when he really needs it the most, so. ]
From me, or from all of us? Are you asking me for a list? I'll write you one. [ this comes out instead, though it's lacking the often gleeful edge to his teasing - a little softer, instead. ]
he makes a soft hum as his forehead's kissed, and settles again, dropping his hands away from her cheeks to lace them behind her back, instead. ] People buy poetry I write, so, I hope you'll prepare to be amazed!
[ a beat. ] Not that I ever see a damned coin of it. Tch.
[ stupid. maybe if he gets her to laugh she will stop being sad. ] Unless, of course, this loss of skill thing remains - in which case, I might write you something terribly unimpressive. I hope it doesn't, I'm rather tired of losing things I'm good at.
[she lets him lace his fingers behind her back, but just like, slides a bit so she can curl up against his side instead. she rests her head on his shoulder, and closes her eyes.]
That should be over soon, hopefully. [she hums.] If you write me something unimpressive you're going to have to make up for it all next week! So just keep that in mind.
[ we're snuggling now, it's cool. gu yun holds still as she gets comfortable, shifting enough to make sure there's all the space she wants, before he gently plunks his head on top of hers, and chuckles, the noise soft. ]
Well. I would hate to disappoint you. [ huff. that's a bit exaggerated in tone, but... he means it? wow. ] And I should hope so. I wasn't able to speak, Wrath. More than once. It was a travesty! [ ok there thats less sincere thats embarrassing ]
he lifts his head off of hers to bat his eyelashes at her. bat bat bat. ] Would you still enjoy my company, were I only something beautiful to look at?
he shifts again, resting his head on top of hers. ]
Well, luckily, I have experience in pretending to be mute, at least, so I couldn't quite be easily silenced. Just before I came here, I was undercover, pretending to be blind and deaf as a fragrance master.
it's wrath, he's not even going to bother to ask. as the blanket flops down, he sticks his hands under it so they won't be so freezing, though he'll shrug it off of his shoulders if it ends up there instead of his lap. ]
...anyway. A Fragrant Master [ please ignore that i spelled it wrong i had to go look it up ] is usually made blind and deaf as a child to be trained in the art of separating specific scents and creating certain types of incense and other goods, as well as appraising them. A good mix created by a fragrant master can sell for thousands of gold pieces, and make a business rich beyond its wildest dreams. To have one is to make your business legitimate.
I came upon a smuggling operation by chance [ the actual story behind why? extremely stupid. ] in Jiangbei's harbor, from the nation of Dong Ying - trying to sneak an important resource called ziliujin away from Great Liang disguised as a fragrance merchant selling tins of incense and scents to cover the smell. They were supposed to be meeting a bribed fragrant master at the harbor in order to pass inspection, so my soldiers kidnapped him, and I went in his place.
[it's fine it's not her if she's not making everybody around her go ???
what if she took one of his hands though. she wants to hold.]
What the fuck. [hold on, made blind and deaf as a child EXCUSE? the rest of the story is probably really great but she has a PROBLEM with this.] Wait, like - hold on. That's just a thing where kids are blinded and deafened? Gu Yun?
[ anyway. wrath can have his hand, yes! she already probably knows that it is very calloused, and his fingertips are a little cold again, but he laces his fingers with hers. warm... ]
Don't look at me like that, I don't like it either. From what I've heard, they're more likely to begin training when they're adults, but the rarest are the ones who've trained that long. I can't say that I know that much about it - I'm a soldier, not a fragrant master, and this was the first time I've ever had contact with one personally.
[ don't look at him for other people's bad decisions! ]
[she jitters, at this. she's trying to not get distracted, but the thought of children being subjected to something awful like this, the thought of being used for one purpose - it makes her angry, and... well, these days, she isn't very good at controlling her temper.
her hair curls and ashes at the tips, regrowing just to do it again, over and over, and she holds her breath, for a long, long moment.]
We should talk about something else. [she says finally, tense.]
[ glancing down, he finds where their hands are connected, and squeezes, once.
even up this close, his glass on his nose, gu yun can't really see her face that well, but - the soft glow of the embers at her hair and the cracks at her cheeks are easy to make out. the brightness helps. the light helps. being blind and deaf - that's a little too close to home for him, too. ]
...All of this is to say I felt rather ridiculous all week. I am a bit ashamed that you had to see me in such a state, on Monday. Do you know, I don't think I've been that drunk since I was a teenager? I tend to be a very shameless person, but even I'm embarrassed.
[ this is played up a bit, a gentle coaxing away from the topic at hand. ]
[ he grimaces, a little exaggerated, and does not point out wrath being very affectionate right now... this is private, so. he lets it happen, giving his fingers a wiggle. ]
I only remember about half of it, so I suppose you could tell me anything and I'd have to believe it true.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
gu yun's expression shifts - for a moment, he's the marquis of order. ]
To make a base assumption based on someone's sin in this place is an idiot's game. [ his first statement is harsh, but, delivered as a cold fact - not to wrath, but rather to the people of this place in general. it's something he's been thinking since the very beginning. ] Especially with you all. I think some of the participants in this place see you all as merely 'Avatars' in the vision you present us in public - faceless, only deigned to be associated with a sin assigned to you by who knows what - and aren't willing to separate the fact that you aren't just figures brought here to help or hurt us, or what have you. Each of you have your own personalities, your own motivations, that we cannot claim to know, especially from sideways observance, or seeing you here and there in public, doing a job that we do not know. There is a marked difference between duty and person.
[ and wouldn't he know that, better than anyone?
sitting up more fully, he reaches for her cheek, pulling wrath's eyes back towards him, so she can see how serious his face is - how he means every word. ]
If someone would bother to speak to you, to try and know you, they wouldn't have thought along those lines for a second. To clinically consider the possibility of "someone with a great, powerful fire caused Grell's injuries" is one thing, but something that, upon even an ounce of further thought about who you are, should be set aside quickly as a possibility. Equating 'wrath' with 'I want to kill others', as if wrath and temper are things that can be so easily controlled - if anyone should associate you with anything of the like, it should be your flames, instead.
[ that's a place he can see it. fierce, sometimes uncontrollable - but life giving, life meaning, too. a fire is a blaze as much as it can be a hearth. ]
Anyone who only sees you for the mark on your hood, and uses that as a bias to color their perception of your every word or action for our time here, is a fool. [ periodt. ]
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You're a sweetheart. [she says, finally, smiling. it's weak, but it's there.] Thank you.
[there's a lot she feels like she wants to say, but this can be enough for now.]
I wonder what I did to get such a positive review.
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From me, or from all of us? Are you asking me for a list? I'll write you one. [ this comes out instead, though it's lacking the often gleeful edge to his teasing - a little softer, instead. ]
no subject
Yeah, actually! Write me a list, poetry boy. Have it on my desk by Monday.
[... and she kisses his forehead, as well.]
no subject
gu yun will remember this
he makes a soft hum as his forehead's kissed, and settles again, dropping his hands away from her cheeks to lace them behind her back, instead. ] People buy poetry I write, so, I hope you'll prepare to be amazed!
[ a beat. ] Not that I ever see a damned coin of it. Tch.
[ stupid. maybe if he gets her to laugh she will stop being sad. ] Unless, of course, this loss of skill thing remains - in which case, I might write you something terribly unimpressive. I hope it doesn't, I'm rather tired of losing things I'm good at.
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That should be over soon, hopefully. [she hums.] If you write me something unimpressive you're going to have to make up for it all next week! So just keep that in mind.
no subject
Well. I would hate to disappoint you. [ huff. that's a bit exaggerated in tone, but... he means it? wow. ] And I should hope so. I wasn't able to speak, Wrath. More than once. It was a travesty! [ ok there thats less sincere thats embarrassing ]
no subject
Oh nooo. What a nightmare. [she says, teasing.] It's a good thing you're pretty. You don't have to be able to speak if you're pretty.
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he lifts his head off of hers to bat his eyelashes at her. bat bat bat. ] Would you still enjoy my company, were I only something beautiful to look at?
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Nope. I like the package deal. If you weren't a nerd, I wouldn't have any interest!
no subject
he shifts again, resting his head on top of hers. ]
Well, luckily, I have experience in pretending to be mute, at least, so I couldn't quite be easily silenced. Just before I came here, I was undercover, pretending to be blind and deaf as a fragrance master.
no subject
actually, she brings a hand up to snap, and a blanket appears and flops down over the two of them. good, yes.]
A - what? Like a perfume person? Like the ones at Fantasy Macy's?
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[ ...
it's wrath, he's not even going to bother to ask. as the blanket flops down, he sticks his hands under it so they won't be so freezing, though he'll shrug it off of his shoulders if it ends up there instead of his lap. ]
...anyway. A Fragrant Master [ please ignore that i spelled it wrong i had to go look it up ] is usually made blind and deaf as a child to be trained in the art of separating specific scents and creating certain types of incense and other goods, as well as appraising them. A good mix created by a fragrant master can sell for thousands of gold pieces, and make a business rich beyond its wildest dreams. To have one is to make your business legitimate.
I came upon a smuggling operation by chance [ the actual story behind why? extremely stupid. ] in Jiangbei's harbor, from the nation of Dong Ying - trying to sneak an important resource called ziliujin away from Great Liang disguised as a fragrance merchant selling tins of incense and scents to cover the smell. They were supposed to be meeting a bribed fragrant master at the harbor in order to pass inspection, so my soldiers kidnapped him, and I went in his place.
no subject
what if she took one of his hands though. she wants to hold.]
What the fuck. [hold on, made blind and deaf as a child EXCUSE? the rest of the story is probably really great but she has a PROBLEM with this.] Wait, like - hold on. That's just a thing where kids are blinded and deafened? Gu Yun?
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Don't look at me like that, I don't like it either. From what I've heard, they're more likely to begin training when they're adults, but the rarest are the ones who've trained that long. I can't say that I know that much about it - I'm a soldier, not a fragrant master, and this was the first time I've ever had contact with one personally.
[ don't look at him for other people's bad decisions! ]
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her hair curls and ashes at the tips, regrowing just to do it again, over and over, and she holds her breath, for a long, long moment.]
We should talk about something else. [she says finally, tense.]
no subject
[ glancing down, he finds where their hands are connected, and squeezes, once.
even up this close, his glass on his nose, gu yun can't really see her face that well, but - the soft glow of the embers at her hair and the cracks at her cheeks are easy to make out. the brightness helps. the light helps. being blind and deaf - that's a little too close to home for him, too. ]
...All of this is to say I felt rather ridiculous all week. I am a bit ashamed that you had to see me in such a state, on Monday. Do you know, I don't think I've been that drunk since I was a teenager? I tend to be a very shameless person, but even I'm embarrassed.
[ this is played up a bit, a gentle coaxing away from the topic at hand. ]
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Well, it wouldn't be the first time I've had to babysit a drunky. [she hums.] It was cute. Even if you were disgustingly PDA.
no subject
I only remember about half of it, so I suppose you could tell me anything and I'd have to believe it true.