Mm, mm. [NODDING AND WAVING HIS FREE HAND it's fine, it's fine.] Haha, any time I don't clean up after myself, I can practically hear Wen Qing yelling at me to get my act together! No way would I leave a mess for anyone else to deal with.
[Or rather, he never expects anyone else to deal with his messes?? She should have seen his cave...]
[THAT'S NOT A YES OR NO but he laughs after that complete non-answer anyway, finally scrubbing away the last of the blood. There, blood-free door.]
Medics are always fussy, I think! And cranky medics are even worse. If you come across them on a bad day, it's like walking right into the mouth of hell. Put away this! Tidy up that! Dumping all your things onto the ground just to give a stranger your bed... Terrible, right?
You're lucky, then! There's nothing worse than a nagging medic.
[Except maybe a weird necromancer?? God though wow, she really is doing her best here. A for effort, Beck.]
Anyway! I feel like she could find her way here somehow and beat me up for answering a question like that with a straightforward "yes", but it's more or less exactly that. Prickly people really are something else, aren't they?
[He sounds just as surprised, twirling on his heel and reclaiming his spot on the floor. He also scoops up his now definitely cold bowl of congee to keep eating it... He really lives like this, damn.]
That's lucky! I know far, far too many people who can't deal with someone being so direct. It's a charm point, though! Definitely endearing! Haha, actually-- The person I'm traveling with now denied being a friend of mine dozens of times when we were young. Maybe more! "We are not friends" - he'd say it just like that! So stuffy and stiff!
[Ah, what's life like when you aren't surrounded by tsuns? A mystery...]
Hah, he has, he has. He's had a lot of time, to be fair! It would be a little strange if he didn't, even if it would be hilarious to see him at his age giving me the same old "we aren't friends, not at all" run-around. I wouldn't mind having a few more that would be as straightforward as yours sound, though!
If Peach ever told me we weren't friends, I think I might actually cry.
[She doesn't quite laugh, but she does look amused, glancing at the floor.]
Annika and Lynn aren't really the type, either, even when we were younger. If someone said they weren't my friend, I probably would have just... backed off.
It does sound like a terrible thing to say when you put it like that. [That is literally exactly what he just said Lan Wangji said BUT SURE.]
Anyway, I think most people probably would. I was just an insufferable kid! [Said so cheerfully?!] You know, I really believed there wasn't a single soul in the world that actually disliked me back then.
Mmhm! We went to the same school together when we were teenagers and our business intersected quite often when we were young adults. [Messily, but he'll leave that out... Which is good because he doesn't leave the REST OUT WHICH HE REALLY SHOULD.]
And then, wouldn't you know? The day I was brought back to life, I ended up running into him again! The winds of fate are hard to keep up with, aren't they? We've been traveling together since then.
[beck as that sweaty guy in the college humor sketch]
Ah, brought back to life! I died for a bit. It was a big secret until recently but now that it's out and I've ended up here, I don't see a point in keeping quiet about it, you know?
By coming back eventually. [Obviously!!] Anyway, that part's not important! [WHY] The important part is Lan Zhan being hilariously himself at the worst possible times and places.
Death is death! There's not much to talk about. Also, I'm still not entirely sure why or how everything happened that led up to my being not dead, so there's not much to talk about there, either.
[Isn't this just
such a fun conversation Beck.
Aren't you having a good time with ol' Wei Wuxian.]
No one really likes talking about death anyway, you know? Even if it ended.
Well, I did spend a lot of time around dead people.
[It comes with the whole necromancer gig... Death still isn't simple but it sure is easier to simplify it when you're just in the trenches 24/7!!]
—If you'd rather I not bring up things like that anymore, I don't have to, either. Just so you know! Even non-cultivators get a little stressed out when you spend too much time talking about their spirit problems.
Before we left, there was this... message, I guess, over the PA system. A PA system is, like, a device that says words loud enough for everyone to hear.
[She tries to recall the exact wording, but this just her best approximation.]
Someone was talking about how... There were 33 a few weeks ago, but now there were only 12, because something or someone was hunting them down. And - isn't that about how many of us are here now?
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[Or rather, he never expects anyone else to deal with his messes?? She should have seen his cave...]
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Wen Qing... Is that one of your friends?
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[THAT'S NOT A YES OR NO but he laughs after that complete non-answer anyway, finally scrubbing away the last of the blood. There, blood-free door.]
Medics are always fussy, I think! And cranky medics are even worse. If you come across them on a bad day, it's like walking right into the mouth of hell. Put away this! Tidy up that! Dumping all your things onto the ground just to give a stranger your bed... Terrible, right?
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[gently tries to make the atmosphere in here less incredibly awkward through her forced jokes]
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[Except maybe a weird necromancer?? God though wow, she really is doing her best here. A for effort, Beck.]
Anyway! I feel like she could find her way here somehow and beat me up for answering a question like that with a straightforward "yes", but it's more or less exactly that. Prickly people really are something else, aren't they?
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[Somehow, through the surprise, her voice sounds almost amused as well.]
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[He sounds just as surprised, twirling on his heel and reclaiming his spot on the floor. He also scoops up his now definitely cold bowl of congee to keep eating it... He really lives like this, damn.]
That's lucky! I know far, far too many people who can't deal with someone being so direct. It's a charm point, though! Definitely endearing! Haha, actually-- The person I'm traveling with now denied being a friend of mine dozens of times when we were young. Maybe more! "We are not friends" - he'd say it just like that! So stuffy and stiff!
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[She smiles a little bit, sitting up on the bed.]
Did he grow out of it?
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Hah, he has, he has. He's had a lot of time, to be fair! It would be a little strange if he didn't, even if it would be hilarious to see him at his age giving me the same old "we aren't friends, not at all" run-around. I wouldn't mind having a few more that would be as straightforward as yours sound, though!
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[She doesn't quite laugh, but she does look amused, glancing at the floor.]
Annika and Lynn aren't really the type, either, even when we were younger. If someone said they weren't my friend, I probably would have just... backed off.
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It does sound like a terrible thing to say when you put it like that. [That is literally exactly what he just said Lan Wangji said BUT SURE.]
Anyway, I think most people probably would. I was just an insufferable kid! [Said so cheerfully?!] You know, I really believed there wasn't a single soul in the world that actually disliked me back then.
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[But, hm.]
You've known him for a while, even though it sounds like you moved around a bit?
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And then, wouldn't you know? The day I was brought back to life, I ended up running into him again! The winds of fate are hard to keep up with, aren't they? We've been traveling together since then.
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...When you were what?
[She's expecting him to be highkey strange at this point but somehow that exceeded her expectations!!]
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Ah, brought back to life! I died for a bit. It was a big secret until recently but now that it's out and I've ended up here, I don't see a point in keeping quiet about it, you know?
[THAT'S NOT THE PROBLEM.]
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[BAD?? INCREDIBLY BAD???]
How do you just die for a bit?
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[stares into the void]
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[Isn't this just
such a fun conversation Beck.
Aren't you having a good time with ol' Wei Wuxian.]
No one really likes talking about death anyway, you know? Even if it ended.
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You make it sound really simple.
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[It comes with the whole necromancer gig... Death still isn't simple but it sure is easier to simplify it when you're just in the trenches 24/7!!]
—If you'd rather I not bring up things like that anymore, I don't have to, either. Just so you know! Even non-cultivators get a little stressed out when you spend too much time talking about their spirit problems.
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[But, hm. That does bring her something else.]
Can I tell you something else? About - the room we were in. You have to promise not to tell anybody else just yet.
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[A nod! He does seem very sincere about it, at least. He also seems entirely sincere when he replies to her request for a promise:]
If that's what you'd like, I won't tell anyone unless you ask me to. You have my word. ...What is it?
[it's sadako isn't it]
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[She tries to recall the exact wording, but this just her best approximation.]
Someone was talking about how... There were 33 a few weeks ago, but now there were only 12, because something or someone was hunting them down. And - isn't that about how many of us are here now?
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There are - or at least that's how many entries there were in the shell-book, last I counted.
[Which, to be fair, was hours ago by now... But he can't imagine just one or two extra people would show up after the bulk of them already had.]
Do we have any idea what that someone or something was?
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