(Almost) Everything Is Comin' Up Chase [closed post]

[summerdude]

Magnus, triumphant, has finally managed to make some old bamboo sprout. With Drosera fed recently enough that she's not complaining of hunger and resting in her new favorite perch (lounging on his shoulder tucked right against his neck, her beak tangled in hair that is once again getting long), he sneaks it into the Mansion, hides it in a large gift-bag a closet gives him, and hangs it on Claudius and Galahad's doorknob with a quickly-jotted note that reads Claudius, What next? - MAGNUS CHASE.

Then, since he's already inside, he figures, why not wander around until he finds someone to talk to?

Comments

[lightbearinglord]

Considering that Lan Wangji's own language does not have the letters Magnus is using, it makes perfect sense to him that the sign for him would not use one of said letters. They are not at the Cloud Recesses; he is the only person here who wears a forehead ribbon. He repeats it again, and then the sign for Magnus' name. The gestures come more easily than he anticipated they might when he focuses on the meaning, like fingering positions on the qin that translate into chords.

[summerdude]

Oh. Magnus hadn't expected the total wave of feelings to crest over him at the sight of something that could easily be interpreted as Lan Wangji signing Magnus's dad but with an extra spicy flourish that makes it clear it's him who holds that role. He swallows, hard. "What do you most want to know how to say?" he asks, voice a little hoarse.

[lightbearinglord]

There is silence as Lan Wangji thinks about his response, returning both hands to his qin for now. The strings vibrate just lightly under his fingers, then settle. Names are useful, and endearing, but they can translate across languages in a way that most other words and phrases cannot. "I would like to know if someone is asking me for help. And I would like to know how to say I'm here in answer."

[summerdude]

"Okay," says Magnus. "I mean, the word for help is"-- he holds out one hand, flat, and puts his other hand in a fist with his thumb up, thumping the fist against his flat hand. "And helpless is," and he curls his lip, making a face as he brings his partially-curled hands up and down in an arc in front of him, fingers straight and separated. "The facial expression is part of the sign," he explains, and purses his lips. He hadn't really taught help to anyone here specifically, and now he's wondering why. "But you should also know that I taught Claudius and Galahad overwhelmed first," and then he walks Lan Wangji through the variations they both know: overwhelmed (positive), overwhelmed (negative), and too much.

Cognizant, thanks to Little John, of the fact that he tends to say too much at once, Magnus stops there, waiting to make sure Lan Wangji is still with him.

[lightbearinglord]

Lan Wangji watches all of these intently, committing them to memory. He lifts his hands again to recreate the sign Magnus demonstrated for help, to be certain that he knows it, and then pauses. There's something bordering on embarrassment at the edges of his voice as he says, "If facial expressions are important for this, that will be... difficult for me."

[summerdude]

"Will they?" Magnus asks, genuinely curious. He finds Lan Wangji pretty easy to read.

[lightbearinglord]

Lan Wangji gives Magnus a skeptical glance, in the form of both eyebrows quirking barely upward. "You have seen me. Most presume me cold and unfeeling because of my expression."

[summerdude]

Personally, Magnus is of the opinion that Lan Wangji is a warm and open kind of dude -- like, for example, his skepticism is written clearly all over his face right now -- and doesn't think much of people who don't give themselves the time to recognize that. "Huh," he says, doubtfully. He does recognize that, as with Galahad, Lan Wangji's facial expressions tend to be a little smaller, though, so he says, "Maybe Galahad might have advice, if you're worried about it," he says. "But I think you'll do alright."

[lightbearinglord]

This claim is difficult for Lan Wangji to believe, but he will not argue with Magnus. "Mn," he concedes. "How would I say Claudius' name?"

[summerdude]

"I don't know if he and Galahad have picked something," Magnus says, thoughtfully. "I can check. Mostly I just sign Hi, C."

[lightbearinglord]

"I will ask Claudius." There is no reason to give Magnus another task on Lan Wangji's behalf. "What else?"

[summerdude]

"You wanted to be able to say 'I'm here,'" Magnus says, and shows Lan Wangji the sign for I and the sign for here -- both the two-handed version and the single-handed version.

[lightbearinglord]

Immediately very focused, Lan Wangji repeats all of these signs, once and then again. This one is important to him. If he could say only one phrase to Wei Ying ever again, this might well be that phrase.

[summerdude]

At that point, Drosera decides she's done with Magnus waving his hands in her face; she bonks him with her closed beak. He immediately stops and strokes it, looking down fondly at her. "What's up, Hungry Baby?"

mama play??

Good thing Magnus brought toys! He takes one out of his backpack -- a little stuffed mouse. He dangles it, then tosses it so that she can stumble after it.

"You didn't give me The Talk early enough, Hanguang-jun," he jokes, and then blinks at himself. What the heck are you doing, bringing this up again, Chase... Oh well, he's pushed this sled down this hill, there's no stopping it now! "I ended up with a child."

[lightbearinglord]

With interest, Lan Wangji watches Magnus' interaction with Drosera. This occupies enough of his attention that a moment passes before he recalls the entirety of their ill-fated conversation in the kitchen. He shoots Magnus a single glance of tempered horror and then, with as much composure as he can, says, "Perhaps if I had known about condoms, I would have."

[summerdude]

Magnus stares at Lan Wangji for a moment and then splutters into laughter. "Dude," he says, appreciatively. "You're good at the, like, sniper dad jokes." Oh, gods, did he really say that? Okay, don't give any indication that you meant anything by it, Magnus! Totally casual conversation with an adult-shaped adult friend happening here, that's all!

[lightbearinglord]

Admittedly, Lan Wangji is a little bit pleased with himself to have made Magnus laugh. He tips his head infinitesimally to one side and asks, "What qualifies a joke as a sniper dad joke?"

[summerdude]

"Well, by sniper I mean it comes out of nowhere and hits me when I'm not expecting it," Magnus says. He's definitely not going to explain what an actual sniper is to a guy who, blessedly, probably has never heard of them before. "And a dad joke is, like," a joke a dad makes, right? "something that has a groan-worthy punchline. In a good way."

[lightbearinglord]

It is almost impossible to imagine Lan Wangji's own father making jokes of any kind -- but then, it is almost impossible to imagine him doing anything, considering that Lan Wangji did not know him at all. He nods, attentive. "You didn't groan," he points out. "You laughed."

[summerdude]

"Yeah, well, I find dad jokes funny," Magnus says, in tones of great confession. "Probably because I wasn't inundated by them as a kid."

[lightbearinglord]

"Nor was I," Lan Wangji says, almost dryly. If he and Lan Xichen had not been allowed those visits with his mother, he might have made it his entire childhood without ever hearing any adult laughter at all.

[summerdude]

"No?" Magnus realizes, then, that he's told Lan Wangji a lot about himself, but he knows comparatively little about Lan Wangji. Maybe that makes sense, in a weird parent-child sort of way, but it doesn't make a lot of sense in a friend sort of way. "I'd like to know more about how you grew up, if you're okay with sharing."

[lightbearinglord]

Although he very nearly invited the question, Lan Wangji is still somewhat surprised by it. He looks down at his hands, at the places where his fingertips meet Wangji's strings, and considers how much he would like to reveal. He wants to be honest with Magnus, but he also can barely tolerate the thought of speaking about his parents. "You know of the Cloud Recesses and its rules. When I was a child, there were three thousand of them. Xiongzhang and I were raised by our uncle. He was also our teacher."

[summerdude]

"What was that like?"

[lightbearinglord]

"Uncle is a renowned teacher of cultivation," Lan Wangji says. He's aware that this doesn't precisely answer the intent of Magnus' question, but he's also uncertain how else to answer. "I would be a poorer cultivator without his guidance."