Catch-all [closed]

[wukuiyuxin]

🧙 WHO: Lan Wangji, Wei Wuxian, maybe others
⚔️️ WHAT: Teru Teru Bozu making, others as I make plans
🕒 WHEN: June
🗺️ WHERE: The inn
⚠️ WARNINGS: n/a

[Just closed prompts for now, but I'm open to plans!]

Comments

[raveyardpatriarch]

All joking around aside, this is clearly an edifying Lan Zhan-appropriate activity and he wishes he'd thought to suggest it himself, even if there's no way he could have predicted Lan Zhan focusing all his not inconsiderable seriousness on playing matchmaker for puppets and sprites (which is, frankly, very endearing). Ah well, if he isn't a genius in foresight he can be one in hindsight.

"If it's really so helpful you'd think there would be clearer instructions, though," he muses, now delicately manipulating paper into shape. "No guidelines on what sprites look for? Are we supposed to send our puppets off without any gifts and hope for the best? We don't even know which side we are!" These concerns have picked up steam and are verging on complaints, insincerely delivered but strident nonetheless. And sincerity notwithstanding, he could still make some tiny envelopes and parcels, right? Because it's the principle of the thing.

[wukuiyuxin]

Having puzzled over the best approach for this task himself, he can only silently agree with Wei Ying bemoaning the lack of clear instructions and guidelines. Perhaps the sprites' preferences in puppets are as varied as those of people and there are no common expectations for this ritual, but surely all recurring customs have certain rules? Can it really be enough to make a guess and hope for the best, as Wei Ying says? For all his earlier thoughts of participation having its own merit, the idea that he might make a puppet undesirable by some elusive standards still leaves him a little ill at ease.

Any insincerity in Wei Ying's concerns clearly remains either undetected or disregarded as Lan Wangji's brows knit together in a small frown as he goes on. "The task mentioned a gift basket left behind in gratitude following a wedding," he points out thoughtfully. So gifts are involved in the proceedings, but he isn't sure if reciprocity dictates they should also offer gifts with their puppets, or if the gift basket is left in thanks for the puppet and offering even more would leave the sprites in an awkward position. Are weddings always this complicated? And still Wei Ying finds another matter to raise a concern about.

Lan Wangji pauses his work again and looks up, earnestly questioning, "Does the side matter?" Surprisingly, he isn't overly knowledgeable on the matter of weddings, having only attended one or two ceremonies of inner disciples and leaving as soon as was permissible. But surely both sides would be under equal obligations and receive equal benefits.

[raveyardpatriarch]

Oh no, Lan Zhan is taking him seriously, that's his favorite thing! Acting like his questions deserve dedicated consideration from a Lan Zhan that is wholly in the moment, even when said questions are entirely frivolous. He almost feels bad, seeing that tiny frown, but not enough he doesn't have to hide a grin, focusing on forming pleats to give the little paperdoll a (hopefully) sprite-appeasing degree of volume. As far as he is concerned, of course there should be gifts; how could more gifts be wrong either way? Using gift-giving as a way to posture and jockey for social position seems wrong, for a wedding, no matter how common it may be.

"It doesn't matter for this, I suppose," he concedes, like someone's mother-in-law choosing to be gracious rather than judgmental. The lack of detailed instructions is fine, he will just power through both that and Lan Zhan making a point, it's fine. "We just wouldn't know which holidays the puppet would get to visit, if that were a real concern, which it better not be. Otherwise though it's just convenient-- puppet elopement! No tea, no games, no invitations, gifts in a basket. If there's liquor I'll take yours."

[wukuiyuxin]

While Lan Wangji had looked up to indicate his interest in the conversation, his interest is soon captured by the view instead. Wei Ying unusually focused on something, delicately folding the red paper with a smile on his lips as he expounds on wedding customs with enthusiasm. Once again it strikes him that he could watch him like this for the rest of his days and want for nothing, nourished and warmed by the feeling of affection and delight in his chest.

And all this silent admiring leaves him far too unprepared for Wei Ying's thoughtfulness. Remembering his abstinence and offering to make sure a potential gift does not go to waste in his stead. For a moment he stares quite helplessly, struck by the casual intimacy of implying a gift offered to him could just as well be accepted by Wei Ying, like they're-- But he cannot be caught staring and his gaze quickly drops down to the work in his own hands. His face feels flush but there is nothing he can do about that and so he steadfastly ignores it and busies himself with wrapping his paperdoll around the frame. And if some of his dampness-heavy hair obscures his face in the process he's just not going to bother with moving it out of the way for now.

After a slightly longer than usual moment of silence he muses, almost too tentatively, "We could still serve tea." He is now hotly aware that he's taken up talking about this as if they're jointly responsible for marrying off these puppets, but sending them off with no proper ceremony at all simply seems inappropriate. Perhaps the sprites have their own ceremony customs, but, well. Making an effort is never wrong.

[raveyardpatriarch]

Wei Wuxian is predictably oblivious to any turmoil on Lan Zhan's side of the table, having moved on from both his throw-away promise re: gifted liquor as well as puppet-pleats without so much as a backwards thought. The idea of making tiny red envelopes is, in his defense, both adorable and engaging. Lan Zhan's attention is near tangible when it is present but that is surely unremarkable, a function of how deliberate he is in all things; certainly he hasn't done anything deserving of censure, amazingly enough. Probably even objects feel the weight of it when that solemn attention turns their way except for the kettle, because that's just how Lan Zhan is all the time. It isn't like Wei Wuxian has said or done anything of note, just his usual stream of words in varying degrees of absurdity, to be engaged with or tuned out as circumstance requires.

Obliviousness notwithstanding, he's still aware of a need for delicacy in handling Lan Zhan's tentative participation in shenanigans (delightful). Positive reinforcement only! He takes the opportunity to watch Lan Zhan in turn, nodding encouragingly both for the suggestion and Lan Zhan's puppet building skills. (Which are of course stellar as everyone with any sense as well as Wei Wuxian would expect.) Is it fair to feel pride for being the one to experience all this, when it is essentially an accident? Probably, because he's definitely helping and not teasing at all.

"What, do we wait for a sprite to pour? You can't hold any mistakes against them, they're very small! Or is pouring our responsibility, too? See, it does matter. Just offering will have to be enough."