( OPEN ) MISSION 3.1 | time shifts, dreams fade, ripples blur the illusion

[soups]

CHARACTERS: Jiang Yanli & You
LOCATION: Jiang Yanli's Dreamscape
DATE: Throughout the mission
CONTENT: Having fallen into a deep sleep, Jiang Yanli's dreams and memories play out for others to see and take part in
WARNINGS: Possible violence, mentions of death, canon spoilers guaranteed to be mentioned. Look below for specific warnings for each memory.

⇢ LOTUS PIER: relatively tame, more nostalgic and wistful than traumatic
⇢ JIN CLAN CHAMBERS: a little more psychologically complicated; involves issues of loss of child (abstract) and abandoned motherhood
⇢ NIGHTLESS CITY: obvious death and undead yanli. totally lost in the dream sauce here. injury is highly likely.

If you want to talk out another memory to enjoy, PM me or hit me up at haseul!

Comments

[calmness]

[there is something jarring about hearing jin guangyao's name, a sharp blow and xichen cannot keep his face schooled behind a smile. instead he looks pained for a moment, before the expression falls into something sadder.

he shakes his head, tucking his arms behind his back as he stands straighter.] While much can be said for his capability, I am afraid that Jin-- Jin Guangyao is no longer leader of the the Jin sect.

[soups]

❰ this is certainly a new development to consider...and actually a blow to her own emotions as well. it's truly proof that the world has passed her by in extreme ways that she may never fully know.

but that was by her own design, after all. ❱

The details of such a shift aren't my business to know. I've forfeit that right. ❰ that doesn't change that she has a stake in the success of the jin clan, as it was where she belonged at her death and would be where her son resided. that is his uncle, and the gaze that jiang yanli levels lan xichen with is serious — she's asking many more questions with her eyes than she feels she's allowed to with her mouth. ❱ Do you believe this change to be for the better, or for theworse?

[calmness]

I would not lie if you wished to know but I ask... [he swallows, taking a deep breath.] I ask that not now. I do not wish to speak of it now.

[it is a selfish request, he realizes, and unlike him but perhaps that is enough to show that it is a more painful topic than any other they have touched. that jin guangyao is a tender topic.

he sees the seriousness in her eyes and offers a nod.] It is one for the better. For all of us. [and that is a painful truth.] And while he is young, young master Jin has many who are trustworthy to help in his new role.

[soups]

❰ she knows the way this will go just based on the tension that comes into lan xichen's face. when he confirms her suspicions, and jiang yanli offers him a curt nod. it tells her what she needs to, for the most part. that's the pain of a hard situation, of a loss or a fracture. she can't imagine that whatever happened was positive, though the details will be totally lost to her — until he decides the time is right. ❱

As long as that is the case, I'm content with that for now. There will be more than enough time to catch up the information I lack. ❰ a single finger strokes the smooth skin of her son's face. ❱ I only wish I had all that time to be here.

[calmness]

[he's grateful for that, for the reprieve as they venture too close to the edge of a wound that does not wish to close. it won't, he knows, until he takes the time to clean and tend to it. the time for that is not now, not in this dream space where jiang yanli holds her son.

he hopes she is not one to bear witness to it at all, to his healing and the mess that will inevitably come if he's here on this ship when it comes.]

There will be. [for all his obliviousness before, he will do his best to fill in the gaps he can. he glances at the mother and child again, takes a deep breath.] You have it right now, do not let me distract you from treasuring this much longer.

[the guilt behind his words does not bleed through. the memory is from months before meng yao's trickery steals this from her? weeks? days?]

[soups]

❰ she gives lan xichen a small smile before returning to her son, looking at his sleeping face with all the love her body can bear to produce. for as long as the dream lasts, it will be a happy one. it's easy enough to push all the thoughts about the jin clan and what befalls them out of her mind, as long as she knows that her son is safe and well cared for. ❱

You do not know the world it means to me, Zewu Jun, that you have told me the future of my son. I can be here in peace knowing that his path is one that has not yet ended.

❰ for as many mysteries as that future still holds, if she was told that she could know nothing further? she would be content. ❱

So I thank you for giving me whatever time I have left her to be equally peaceful.

[calmness]

I am glad I could give you that. [for all he has lost, jin rulan deserves happiness ahead of him too.

the world is safer for him now, even if a heavy title has fallen on his shoulders. even if for time to come, he will have to prove himself against the his uncle's crimes.

he offers her a bow, a gentle smile and then turns to allow her the precious time she deserves.]