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[inheritedpain]

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Jin Ling ⬤ The Untamed
residential district ⬤ couch surfing hobo
moonblessing ⬤ iris

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acshuuuuuuun

[downswing]

[ Stretch of wan gold, winter's sun come early morning: the market crowds of the Lunatia Square, and still Wangji knows that cloth.

It creases, folds and layers exerted past the graceful fall of a robe that obeys form, more than bursts of boyish movement. Composure is not for the young. Disciples, his uncle no doubt endorses, do not belong in the dress of man, but fettered in tears of linen and tatters to enlighten the merits of need.

Not so, upheld in the house of Lanling Jin. White thread spells out the peony, a forgiving tell for the gaze that missed red spatter on the boy-thing's forehead. Young, Wangji reads, man's face but the cut of a child's eyes. They gave them swords when their days numbered so little. Bichen tasted of Wangji's grip as many years ago.

The market clouds, flurry of men passing under storm of neon glare. Light, sound, everything in this world, to excess — only the one deficit: a boy of Lanling Jin, travelling alone. Is a peacock still handsome, if he is not seen? Perhaps this is why his sect only journey by the dozen, given the chance. To bear each other's mirror, or witness, or the hat of their snivelling, treacherous —

Step weighed, Wangji bides the moment when enough of the crowd parts before him to cross it and present himself, barring the boy's path. The Jin have no taste and less spine for violence. Bichen rests easy this fine morning.

In one hand, a choice bundle of his brother's gift, ripe loquats. The other, tied neatly by greeting forms at his back. What could be more peaceful than — ]

Lanling Jin. [ Of Jin Guangyao, quickest to slither among toothed vermin. Disciple, burdened with the task to answer a senior, even of another house. ] Your master?

[ If there is none, the boy will need herding. There are enough of the Lan students here to procure him companionship, and Wen Ning to guard him, besides. ]

oh boy i'm sorry in advance

[inheritedpain]

[ Jin Ling was barely paying attention to where he was going, Fairy following ten feet behind him, making his way through the crowds with a generalized annoyance that they wouldn't simply part for him.

He almost didn't see Wangji until he nearly ran into him, coming up short and backing up a few steps, a look of surprise on his face. ]

Hanguang-ju-- [ He started the startled greeting automatically, before the the words that his senior spoke finally trickled understanding into his mind.

He just stared at him, for several seconds, the blood draining from his face as understanding dawned. Then it returned, with triple the fervour, tinting his entire face red enough that the mark on his forehead dimmed its brightness. ]

You don't know me. [ He sounded angry, and hurt - because he was. Because he'd played this dance, already, and because he hated it.

Because Hanguang-Jun had been his last and final hope in finally understanding what was going on. ]

You're just like them. You have no idea who I am. You don't remember a thing about me.

[ His lip curled and he thrust his sword out - Suihua - his expression still angry but his whole body somehow freezing up as if he was waiting to be pushed off a precipice. Go on, Wangji. Tell him who's sword that is. Tell him who it should belong to. ]

Action.

[sizhui]

[ It might take Sizhui like. Ten minutes before he realizes that there is an additional, familiar presence around the house. But not in the house, which makes him confused for a moment before he looks up.

He quietly packs up his sword and a cleaning and oiling kit in his qiankun sleeve, and leaps up to the eaves himself.

He doesn't ask, not yet, but he comes over to sit next to Jin Ling, shoulders brushing unless the other boy shifts away. ]

Re: Action.

[inheritedpain]

[ He couldn't bear to go inside, so here he is. Sitting on the roof like a thief in the night. He thinks of texting Sizhui to tell him that he's here, but there's a piece of him that's terrified the other Jin Ling is here, so he doesn't. He just sits, and tries to get his heart to stop racing in anger and grief and loneliness, gripping his sword. Fairy is down somewhere in the streets - released from her watch duty to give him a few minutes of thought to himself. She won't be far.

He's already wondering about leaving before he hears the rustle of fabric to announce Sizhui's presence, and he's not sure if he should feel ashamed or relieved. Either way, he doesn't move when the other boy sits down next to him, shoulders touching. If anything, he leans a fraction of an inch closer.

He glares down at his sword. ]

... I hate this place.

[ A muttered confession. ]

[consignation]

Jiang Cheng runs, desperate, through the streets.

His hand throbs, skin raw where Zidian was torn from his grasp, muscles aching and limbs trembling from burning through too much Chroma too fast with those brutal, merciless lashes from his mother's whip. He's never used Zidian at full power before, rarely found reason to use it at all in the months past. Sandu has found far more use, Wen blood belonging soaked into the earth⁠—

Wen Qing's calm visage fills his mind, her steady resolve the counterpoint to all that he is and ever will be. He stumbles, crashes to his knees, drags himself up still reeling.

He can still feel Zidian thrumming in his hand, sees it crack across his sister, his sister's back. Jin Ling's accusations ring through his mind, the words echo through his thoughts, they go on and on and on. He feels the truth of them now, the accusations cutting into him like blades, piercing him through, and through, and through.

How can he not kill Wei Wuxian when his own sister, his blood sister, second mother in his heart, suffers this way at his hand? Just one moment of grief, of hate, of carelessness and he⁠— He⁠—

He doesn't look where he's going, doesn't see Jin Ling in the path until he's within arm's reach. He could try to stop, but he doesn't, is too out of sorts, too wrong in his own skin, laid low, laid bare, Zidian's absence tearing open the wound of his mother's loss bloody.

It's supposed to protect him. It's supposed to protect him. Wei Wuxian promised to protect them.

He stumbles into Jin Ling, grips him like a drowning man to anything that might keep him from being dragged under. Words won't come, only his choked, ragged sobs. He falls to his knees, explaining nothing, white-knuckled grip tangled in the finery of Jin Ling's robes.

[inheritedpain]

He had opened his lips to greet his uncle as soon as he saw his familiar outline, but the word died on his tongue as soon as he caught tight of his face.

Jin Ling caught him, gaping in confusion and worry and trying to get him to stand upright.

"Uncle?? Uncle, what's wrong? Who hurt you??"

text | username: absterge

[downswing]

Absent Lanling Jin companions, we welcome you among disciples.





( DON'T BE IDLE YOU GOD DAMNED JIN SLOB )

Text

[inheritedpain]

[ Jin Ling just ... stares at his phone for a long long minute.

Sure, he was the only Lanling Jin junior here, but his uncle and his-

... Dads...?

Okay, so it was complicated but he wasn’t without teachers, even if they weren’t currently teaching him, and why on earth would Hanguang-Jun of all people— ]




what?

[ Yeah, still the rudest boy and text doesn’t help that. ]

text; un: sizhui

[sizhui]

So, tomorrow morning.

[inheritedpain]

yeah, I know

Hanguang-Jun refused to test me himself.

It’s fine, I’ll prove that he doesn’t need to treat me differently.

text backdated to the night jiang cheng seduced jin zixuan

[consignation]

[ he will keep sending these until he's responded to ]

ALING
TURN ON YOUR LOCATION
WHERE ARE YOU
COME BACK HERE THIS INSTANT
JIN LING
ANSWER ME
ANSWER YOUR UNCLE
I AM YOUR UNCLE
I WONT BE TREATED LIKE THIS
YOU SHOULDVE TAKEN ZIDIAN
INSTEAD OF SUIHUA
BECAUSE IM GONNA
JIN LING
IM COUNTING TO THREE
JIN LING

several hours later

[inheritedpain]

HE STOLE MY FATHER'S SWORD

text; the early morning after Jin Zixuan's post

[sizhui]

[ Sizhui has gone to bed at nine because that's... what Lans do.

So he has actually missed... this until the morning. When he should be getting ready for lessons with Hanguang-jun, but. He has to fire a text first. ]

Jin Ling? Where are you?

[inheritedpain]

[ It’s not an immediate reply - he wasn’t awake yet. Last night was a lot. But the gentle tone eventually rouses him.

Shit

Damn it

He’s late— ]

i’m coming

a present. —

[sterilize]

( as present as she is at the yunmeng brothers' household, she doesn't frequently see jin ling there. she means to hand him the gift directly as a sign of respect and genuine repentance, but their paths never fully cross and so she misses her chance. thus — whenever jin ling comes home, there's an unassuming gift box on the floor beside his bedroom door. the box itself is carved wood, hidden beneath and outer layer of red wrapping paper. once opened, there is a red packet with physical crystals of demichroma inside, and a small wooden figure of a dog that closely resembles fairy.

there's also two dry, pressed flowers, and a note:

In apology for my behavior.
Wen Qing. )

[inheritedpain]

[ It's a little while before he finds it, because he is stubborn and because he is nervous, so he doesn't go back to his Uncle's place very quickly.

When he does find it, he's glad he's alone, because he doesn't really know what to make of it. It's not that he hasn't gotten presents before - he's gotten so many that they rarely meant a thing. But it's the first present he's gotten since he got here. He hasn't actually accumulated any belongings - possibly in part because he keeps running the fuck away from everyone and that would be hampered by having to carry stuff around.

So he just sort of sits down on the floor with the box in his lap for a while, frowning at it for a long time. Eventually he opens it.

The wooden dog is the thing he picks up first, the thing he keeps holding as he goes through the rest of it, tightly squeezed in his palm. The demichroma in a red satchel feels like her trying to make up for New Years, which he fully believes she must. The flowers...

Jin Ling has always had a difficult time with flowers, thanks to his name. Orchids in particular. So for a second he's not sure if she's silently mocking him, with this. But...

He sighs to himself, putting everything but the dog back in the box.

He knows what this is. It's a peace offering. Meant to assuage his temper. He knows she was hardly fully responsible for the tension between them that night - knows his behaviour was just as bad - and the gift just makes him feel even worse for not having the grace to do something similar. Ugh.


So a few days later, he leaves a gift with his Uncle, to give to her. Wrapped in ivory and gold paper, it's a small, white, leather-bound journal. The pages are empty, but in the front page there is a pressed daisy. The card that comes with it says:

For new histories.
Jin Ling ]

[amidstsnow]

[the price that he paid for any advice was too high, but at least he's willing to follow the best (and most popular) piece that he received.]

jin ling. i'm sorry for what i did. can you forgive me?

[inheritedpain]

[ Ugh. He stares at the message for a while, furious. Of course he’s going to forgive him, but— ]

where are you

[ Apologize to his face!! ]

[resurging]

BABY JIN YOU'RE COMING WITH ME ON A MISSION

[inheritedpain]

STOP CALLING ME A BABY, YOU'RE THE BABY

what mission?? what are you doing??

PT 2 after the PARENTS REVELATION

[resurging]

baby jin. jin ling. nephew.

we need to talk.

[inheritedpain]

[ Oh.

Oh, damn it.




Oh he hates how mixed his feelings are right now. Is Jiang Cheng going to be mad at him?? ]


i told you not to call me baby

[ Focusing on the important shit here, clearly. ]

[consignation]

ing ln
jinh lk
alng
aling
wher
r u

[inheritedpain]

Uncle??? Are you okay?? I was getting dinner!

What happened? Did you hurt your hands? Where are you!!

Text; bc Jin Ling nEEDS IT

[onerous]

[It’s just a simple picture she sends, rather randomly.]

I was out grocery shopping when I saw him and it made me think of you. Cute, right?

Clearly you don’t know how easily he can make everything terrible

[inheritedpain]

[ Oh no, she’s cute. Oh no, it’s cute...

waIT ]

?????

Is he okay?? Is he on his own??? He’s just a puppy!! Where’s his mAsTER

text

[sizhui]

Jingyi is no longer here.

[ Because of course there is something else. ]

Text

[inheritedpain]

[ His heart seizes- upset for himself, of course, but more importantly upset for Sizhui. ]

i’m coming over where are you

at Hanguang-Jun’s?

open your window

sometime before baby jl

[amidstsnow]

[there is no preamble, just a picture of two birds randomly sent from your father.

maybe he's taken up a new hobby. photography? birdwatching??

maybe it was taken just moments before he shot them down with his new bow???]

[inheritedpain]

[ Jin Ling squints at the picture for a long time.

...

...

Is this a quest???? ]

am i supposed to go find them, now?

i can probably kill both of them with one shot if that's what you want

text. — at some point. un: wen.qing

[sterilize]

( it's a little out of the blue and certainly out of the ordinary for them, but there's a particular evening when wen qing, afflicted by her own thoughts, gathers up a game plan. she's not nearly as sneaky or full of tricks as some other people from their world, but she's steadfast and full of heart, and aware of some of the more ... delicate proceedings, surrounding her relationship both with jiang cheng, and jin zixuan.

most of them revolve around jin ling, naturally. so it's him who she goes to first. )

Young Master Jin.

There's a matter of great importance I have to discuss with you. Let me know when you have a free evening.

un: thejinling

[inheritedpain]

what is it

[ Oh right, he was trying to be Polite with her. He tries again. ]

My tuesday evening is free.

What do you want to discuss?

[resurging]

jin ling. baby jin. nephew child.

have you kissed anyone?

[inheritedpain]

[ WHERE WAS THIS ALL COMING FROM, TODAY ]

w

why!!

who cares if i've kissed anyone or not!

why are you asking me this

did my dad send you

text. — un: lightning

[imperio]

a-ling!
a thousand apologies if i didn't spell that right, my young master.
it's harry potter.
⚡️






have you ever heard of quidditch?

un: thejinling

[inheritedpain]

you
you don't have to call me young master!!! a-ling is fine


i



no i have no idea what a quidditch is

i can't even figure out how to say that word out loud

JIN LING MUST ALSO ENJOY XICHEN'S JOKE 1/2

[downswing]

'What says the death convict to a mannered governor?'

'Pardon.`

2/2

[downswing]

Manners ease the mannered.

And he wished reprieve.

[resurging]

jin ling, i come bearing sad news.

lan zhan thinks you're too young for him and he is respectfully declining your affections.

[inheritedpain]

what

[resurging]

jin ling i need your help and you have to promise me you will help because this is important

do not let jiang cheng out of the house until i get there

[inheritedpain]

you’re coming to visit??

done
i’ll go sit on him

Text;

[firebranding]

[He hasn’t even started and he regrets this so much. He remembers Jin LIng talking to the other Wei Wuxian, wanting proof, wanting answers. The other Wei Wuxian had given him some, but it hadn’t quite lined up with the truth as Guangyao knew it.

Perhaps it was just one of those differences between their worlds. Either way, he knew he couldn’t leave it at that.]

A-Ling, are you busy?

[inheritedpain]

Not if you need me, Uncle!

Where are you?

whatever i live here now

[resurging]

baby jin i'm moving in

please hide your dog

Yesssss good

[inheritedpain]

[ !!!!! ]

okay!! don’t worry about fairy!! you won’t see her and she won’t bother you!!

are you really coming back??

did everything go okay
is hanguang-jun coming too

text. — un: lightning, sometime later.

[imperio]

a-ling! are you busy tonight?
i have something to show you.

[inheritedpain]

i


you


you don't want to see me right now, trust me

sorry

after the horrible confession...

[ze_uwu_jun]

[ Xichen was going to give a few more hours before reaching out to check on Jin Rulan, but leaving his room to go make tea makes that rather redundant. Instead, he does go to brew the tea, moving nearly silently. If Jin Ling notices or acknowledges him, he will the return the greeting, of course, but if not, he will only come back with the tea. And something sweet, too, because...

Well. Upset adolescents. ]

The tea is ready.

[ He sets the tray down, but doesn't yet try to sit. In case his presence alone is enough to disrupt the fragile peace that this home can offer, in which case Xichen will remove himself. ]

[inheritedpain]

[ He tries his best to completely ignore Zewu-jun. He knows it's stupid and petty - knows it's reactionary - but the fact that his little uncle told him to talk to Xichen means that his stomach twists even thinking about it.

He didn't believe what he said when he claimed that knowing and not telling Jin Ling made Xichen just as bad as Jin Guangyao. But it was hard not to wonder why he hadn't said anything.

He looks miserably down at the tray, at the tea, without taking it. Just staring.

After a long moment: ]

You already knew. Didn't you.

Even while I was just -- a blind fool prancing around -- you already knew.