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Sep. 26th, 2020 12:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Harrow is having a slow-motion argument with the Bar over breakfast. She wants water and a little bread, and the Bar does not agree that this is a breakfast.
She has rejected an omelet, a breakfast sandwich, and biscuits and gravy. The Bar is trying a bowl of porridge on her and she's considering it. (She hasn't noticed it has raisins in it yet.)
She has rejected an omelet, a breakfast sandwich, and biscuits and gravy. The Bar is trying a bowl of porridge on her and she's considering it. (She hasn't noticed it has raisins in it yet.)
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Date: 2020-10-02 03:18 pm (UTC)Realizing a beat later that Harrow may misinterpret this, he lifts his head enough to hook his chin over his folded arms, staring straight ahead. "I didn't say anything," he clarifies. "But I cannot. I behaved terribly and I am surprised he wants anything to do with me."
He's well aware of how melodramatic he's being -- he can only imagine the eye-rolling he would endure from Wen Qing, or even shijie, if they were here. (Though his sister would probably be far kinder about it.) But he can't bring himself to care.
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Date: 2020-10-02 03:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-10-02 03:36 pm (UTC)He puts his head back into his arms.
"And he pulled away from me when I took his hand, and I am certain he disapproved of how much I stared when I was drunk, and..."
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Date: 2020-10-02 03:37 pm (UTC)To be fair, he emptied a bottle in front of her once.
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Date: 2020-10-02 03:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-10-02 03:42 pm (UTC)"I doubt you have terminally damaged your prospects, although I admit you have taken a vital strike to your ego."
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Date: 2020-10-02 03:50 pm (UTC)"I suppose it will not kill me a second time," he mutters. "But what can I say? I cannot carry on like this every night for the rest of my afterlife. Do you think the rats will deliver to the forest if I decide to live there forever? Or the bottom of the lake?"
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Date: 2020-10-02 03:54 pm (UTC)The Bar transfers the bowl of porridge to in front of her; she side-eyes it.
"I have examined the path of duty and I find that it is incumbent on me to be your ally in this. So let us set aside self-pity and consider this matter seriously."
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Date: 2020-10-02 03:58 pm (UTC)"All right," he says with a tired sigh, pushing himself upright -- or mostly upright; his elbows stay firmly planted on the bar. Briefly, he follows her glance to the porridge. "...Is Madam Bar's food objectionable?"
Let no distraction go un-seized around Wei Wuxian.
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Date: 2020-10-02 04:12 pm (UTC)"First, let us consider the topic of competition. Do you have any noteworthy rivals in the lists of his affections?"
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Date: 2020-10-02 04:30 pm (UTC)And, of course, there is Harrow. But if Lan Zhan still has affections for her, he must certainly know by now they will not be returned.
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Date: 2020-10-02 04:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-10-02 05:03 pm (UTC)Funny how that has become a much bigger problem all of a sudden!
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Date: 2020-10-02 05:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-10-02 05:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-10-02 05:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-10-02 05:32 pm (UTC)He seems to be saying that quite a lot in this conversation, he thinks, and they have only been speaking for five minutes.
"It may not be? It would be unexpected for a cultivator of his standing to pursue men instead of women. That is all."
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Date: 2020-10-02 05:37 pm (UTC)"Well, that could be a issue, yes," she says calmly. "If he truly feels strongly about it. But no reason to make assumptions."
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Date: 2020-10-02 05:41 pm (UTC)There's an odd little spark of hope in his chest as he says that. No reason to make assumptions. He has made truly a lot of them in the last day, hasn't he? Not just in Lan Zhan's preferences, but in, well. Everything. His own actions, Lan Zhan's responses, a steadfast belief that he must know what the other man is thinking...
It might be a foolish hope. But it is more hope than he had a moment ago.
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Date: 2020-10-02 05:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-10-02 06:04 pm (UTC)He waves an apologetic hand, then tucks it back against his cheek.
"It is not an unheard-of thing in my world; only one that is not often spoken about. It's the providence of notorious gossipers, not polite company."
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Date: 2020-10-02 06:08 pm (UTC)"Perhaps I misunderstand--you are saying that it is a matter of prurient interest to...? Be so single-minded in your desires?" This seems to contradict what he said a moment ago.
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Date: 2020-10-02 06:13 pm (UTC)"How do you mean?"
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Date: 2020-10-02 06:17 pm (UTC)"No one would care if I married a man or a woman, although it would be taboo to marry a necromancer of another House. Indeed, most strictures around marriage have to do with House inheritance."
"I admit I am having trouble following what you are describing of your own world."
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Date: 2020-10-02 06:34 pm (UTC)He straightens up a little. (So to speak.)
"A sect leader would need to marry their opposite for the sake of an heir. That is the face they present to the world -- if they wish to have a relationship with another in private, that is their business, so long as it does not bring harm or disrespect to their family. Which is difficult," he adds, "but not impossible, I suppose. Anyway, some find the idea more scandalous than others, which is where the gossip comes in."
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