Open | RIP Sebastian + catch all

[singlelogbridge]

CHARACTERS: Wei Wuxian, a giant dead crab, and you!
LOCATION: The kitchen/mess hall
DATE: September 17th
CONTENT: Eating crabs
WARNINGS: None at the moment



A

[The day after their return from Xrisora, Wei Wuxian can be found having taken over one of the stoves in the kitchen. Lying on the counter next to him are two crab legs—that is, two giant crab legs from a Titan Crab. How did he get them here? It is a mystery. Anyway, he’s taken over a part of the kitchen with his crab shenanigans and is slowly but surely beginning to cook one of the legs up. After a while, he makes the executive decision to freeze a leg and a half because there is absolutely no way they’ll be able to eat all of it.

Anyway, he is cooking so much crab.

At some point he is absolutely burning some of the crab. Maybe someone can supervise? Please come save the crab.]

B

[Somehow, most of the crab gets cooked without being burned or ruined in some other way, which means it is time to season it! Do you like your crab spicy? Obviously you do, why wouldn’t you? Who doesn’t like spice? Only crazy people, that’s who!

Thankfully, Wei Wuxian is friends with Itachi which means he’s aware that some people on the station can’t handle spice. This means that most of the crab is boring and only has some melted butter on it, and absolutely zero eye searing red flakes and spices.

Everyone should help themselves to crab. Their options are terrible, boring, (perfectly fine) normal crab, or delicious, stunning, wonderful (hope you didn’t need your tastebuds or your esophagus!) spicy crab.]

C
[And at some point, a text across the network.]

I’m making crab!

[That’s it, that’s the text, he doesn’t have time for this network nonsense, his pan is on fire!]

D

[Wildcard it! Crab related or other!]

Comments

[singlelogbridge]

I knew it. [He singsongs, tossing her a grin.] Dajie indeed. [There's just something about older sisters. She's nothing like Shijie, brash where she was quiet, larger than life, where Shijie was always stepping away from the spotlight, but there's a kind of feeling to her. Or maybe he's full of bullshit and feeling nostalgic thanks to the cooking.]

I have a younger brother as well. I bullied him into cooking for me once and it was terrible. [Granted they were still kids, but Never Again.] It sounds like yours is a much better chef than mine. How many siblings do you have?

[oiorpata]

[ she laughs, a little bit, through her mouthful of food. she truly does just have infinite big sister energy, on account of being older than literally everyone on earth. ]

Luckily I don't have to do much bullying. He's the one more likely to bully me out. [ she likes to be a pain in the ass, because nicky agitated in the kitchen is always funny to her. ] Three brothers. A sister now too.

[ nile, she supposes, will be a sister. is a sister. she already likes the woman a lot, but that sibling energy hasn't quite manifested the same way as her boys. ] You?

[singlelogbridge]

[That draws a laugh from him and a shake of his head at the bullying.]

A big family, [He says, and there's nothing but warmth in his voice.] I have one younger brother and, ah, I had an older sister. [Despite the past tense, the warm smile on his face doesn't fade. It's easier to talk about her now without hesitating or stumbling over his words. Easier to call them his siblings even if he knows he doesn't deserve to anymore.

He can't help it.]

My older sister had the patience of a saint, and my younger brother is an uncultured monster. I, of course, have never been anything but sweet and charming.

[oiorpata]

[ had. she was right, and she thinks of lykon immediately. she calls them all her siblings, but that's not wholly true - they're a family and they're more, but it's the easiest way to describe it. ]

It's just the right size. [ it grows, it shrinks, and somehow andy remains the only constant. ]

[ she grins and takes another impolite bite of the crab. ] I'm sure if I asked them they'd say the exact same thing.

[singlelogbridge]

Shijie would. My sister. [He grins.] Jiang Cheng wouldn't but he'd be lying, he can't be trusted.

[Despite the ease with which he can speak of Shijie, it's harder to talk about Jiang Cheng, and he finds his gut tightening at his mention. Is there anyone in the world he wronged so much as his younger brother?]

Is any of your family here? [It's a slim chance, he knows, but with Lan Xichen an Nie Huaisang here, he knows it isn't impossible.]

[oiorpata]

[ andy doesn't miss the subtle shift to his tone, but she knows all about those complications. lykon is dead, quỳnh is drowning, and the way she might talk about either of them differs - when she dares to bring them up at any rate. ]

All the boys, actually. [ she says it fondly. she'd been alone here initially, not terribly bothered as she was sure she would see them again eventually. she always does. ] Though it was just me for a while first, so there's no telling when anyone might appear.

[ she's not sure if he's hoping for either of his own siblings, or hoping they stay far away. ]

[singlelogbridge]

[He blinks, surprised for a moment before a gentle smile breaks open across is face.]

That must be nice then. Bet you never have to do your own cooking, hmm?

[After a moment passes, he speaks again, more tentative.] My sister was here for a time. Before me. She was still here when I arrived, but that was in Giva. I was in Taeum and she was in Sedorum, and then she was gone. [He smiles and shrugs, more to put Andy at ease about the admittance than because he actually feels it.]

There's really no predicting things here I suppose.

[oiorpata]

Trust me, even before he was here I was being far too lazy in the kitchen. Sometimes a good sandwich does the trick. [ a good and weird sandwich, but she'll leave that part out. ]

[ she doesn't miss the shifts in his tone, the way he seems to be speaking more to comfort her than he is being actually casual about it. just because he's being open enough doesn't mean she feels the need to press for details. ]

No, not really. People come and go without reason. I was in Sedorum. I wonder if I met her. [ she doesn't remember the name shijie, but there are people and names that slipped through her awareness, especially in her earlier days on board. ]

[singlelogbridge]

[His smile turns sincere at the mention of her laziness—a trait that he definitely understands where it concerns cooking despite his current endeavor—and then thinks back to his first mission in Giva.]

Her name is Jiang Yanli. [A sheepish smile.] I was adopted. Rosinante said she mostly stuck to a few people but...maybe you met her? [It's a strange thing to think of her here on her own. At least Zewu-jun was there for her from home.]

She might have spent time around Lan Xichen. We're all from the same world.

[oiorpata]

[ andy's memory is.. bad. she doesn't even realize she's been on board the station for about a year now, but she wracks through it anyway and after a few long moments, recognition does flash. ]

I ran into her when she was wearing pants for the first time. We didn't speak too much though. [ she smiles, because it was sort of cute. every girl deserves a pair of pants if they want some. ] Still your sister. My brothers and I don't share parents either.

[ one look at joe will prove that much. ]

[ more recognition hits her face and she takes another wholesome bite from the crab; her current plate is near empty now, but she has definitive plans to take more. ] I know Xichen. He's a friend. That explains your magic music.

[singlelogbridge]

[Wearing pants for the first time? A grin brightens his face and he laughs softly at the mental image. Shijie in pants? She must have been so out of sorts. He wonders if she hated them or liked them. The thought of it warms him and the warmth bleeds into his eyes and smile. He's grateful for the snippet of her time here. Grateful to know even this new small detail about her.]

Still family. [He affirms for both of them, though there's some question in his mind about his own siblings. Not because of the adoption though, and he keeps those doubts to himself. He knows he'll never be able to think of Shijie and Jiang Cheng as anything but his siblings.

At the mention of "magic music" he brightens and grins at her.] Ah, magic music! That's a new way of describing it. Everyone here calls it magic, but it isn't really magic. Spiritual power is something different. But you're right to draw the comparison. When I was figuring out how to do what I do, I drew inspiration from the Lan style of musical cultivation—the style that Lan Xichen practices.

[oiorpata]

[ there is something about watching his delight that makes her glad to have shared it, especially if he is as ill likely to see his sister again as it seems. ]

[ siblings doesn't quite encompass all that she and her boys are to each other, but it's the simplest explanation. 'still family' works even better. they've never really fit into rigid roles anyway. ]

[ but, for the most part, she follows along with what wu wexian says, putting what she's seen him do in a new context thanks to prior conversations. ] He explained cultivation to me, and I've seen him use his. I'm familiar enough with qi too, even though there's differences across our worlds. It definitely exists more as just a concept than an actual tool like it does for you. Hence the magic to me.

[singlelogbridge]

[He nods in understanding, recognizing why cultivation seems so much like magic to others. It doesn't bother him, but he does like to explain the difference if only just to make it known.]

That's what I've seen. Everyone here has qi, but it seems like the ability to refine it into spiritual qi isn't a familiar one to most. Refining spiritual energy requires a start at a young age, or else I'd teach others how to do it. [He isn't the best teacher for the job, what with the fact that he doesn't actually have spiritual energy anymore, but he'd taught it to his junior disciples for so long, it's not so hard even now.]

I'm working on Ziggy though. [He grins.] She's my star pupil.

[oiorpata]

I don't think I'd have the patience for it either. [ on top of the age thing, which extra amuses only herself for now. ] The kind of cultivation you do doesn't exist on my Earth, but I don't doubt it's teachable here.

[ her face softens at the mention of ziggy. ] She's come a long way on the axe front too.

[ yes. she is teaching the teenager to use an axe properly, but as far as andy's concerned, ziggy is learning to do it safely, and sixteen with a weapon was common a lot longer than people think! ]

[singlelogbridge]

[He'd known that Ziggy had many teachers here—that she was determined to hone any and all matter of skills in order to grow stronger—but he's never actually met another one of them and he brightens when he realizes Andy is one.]

Has she? I'm not surprised. Give her a few years and she'll end up surpassing all of us. [He laughs at that, not even a little concerned about her age. He went to war at sixteen. He'd been using weapons long before that. As far as he's concerned, Ziggy is in safe and capable hands with Andy.]

Do you have any other students here? I bet you're a great teacher. All of that big sister energy.

[oiorpata]

[ she's fairly certain her experience extends to her own youth, though she struggles to remember details given just how long ago her youth was. andy grins. ] She's very enthusiastic and very willing, which helps significantly. She's definitely going places.

[ given the nature of this place, isn't it better for ziggy to learn how to defend herself anyway? andy is sure plenty of people would step in without a second thought to help ziggy, but it doesn't mean there's always going to be a savior laying in wait. ]

[ for the other question, andy shrugs. ] I spar with others, sometimes, but Ziggy's the only active learner.

[singlelogbridge]

[He grins at the description of Ziggy and nods in agreement. He'd had several students in his lifetime, some motivated and some not, but Ziggy's different. Most of his students were a bit younger than her for one, but even then she was different. Despite her struggles, she was a more determined student than anyone else he'd ever met. Then again he supposed that made sense given what she was fighting for. His shidi didn't train in a time of war.

If they had, then maybe they'd still be alive.

Pushing that thought aside, he tilts his head in interest.] Oh? What kind of sparring do you do?

[oiorpata]

[ andy likes ziggy a lot too. she doesn't typically have students, not like wu wexian is thinking - teaching and fighting with her brothers is not the same as guiding ziggy through wielding an axe. but working with the girl did leave her open to the idea of helping others on board. it just hasn't really come up too often. ]

[ again she shrugs. ] Whatever people want to use. It seems to be mostly swords or hand-to-hand.

[ it's not that much of an exaggeration. she has familiarity with most weapons on board ximilia, even if they're slighter altered from forms she knows. ]

[singlelogbridge]

And your axe? [He remembers that from E23-b. He hadn't seen her wield it and they'd spoken briefly about her use of it sparring others. He doesn't remember if she'd said she used it here against anyone though.]

It's hard to forget such a beautiful weapon.

[oiorpata]

[ she half grins at the mention of her most favorite weapon of them all. she still mourns the fact that it's not always the most appropriate blade to take on a mission. ]

Most people don't know how to use one, and I don't need the practice, but it does come out, don't worry.

[singlelogbridge]

Was it a family specialty where you're from? [Given its rarity, he wouldn't be surprised that perhaps it had been passed down from one generation of her family to another. Or maybe she was lucky enough to have the only teacher who chose her to learn the art.]

[oiorpata]

[ there's a pause, where she shoves the rest of the crab into her mouth to give herself a few extra seconds to avoid answering. ]

Something like that. The axe was my mother's. [ somehow, admitting it was her mother's is easier than explaining the family specialty of wielding battle axes on the steppe has long since died out. ]

They're just not really common anymore, when I'm from. [ maybe moreso in his time, since he's from the same place as xichen. ] Do you know how to use one?

[singlelogbridge]

[He'd known when he asked it that the question had the chance of being too personal, so when she acknowledges it and quickly moves on, Wei Wuxian follows her lead. Everyone here is here for a reason, and asking anything having to do with someone's family is always risky.]

Nothing like that, no. Back home my specialty was the longbow and the sword, and I've been picking up a few other things here and there. [He grins.] I don't use a sword anymore and the bow isn't a great fit for all missions. Itachi is helping me train with throwing knives.

I've played around with them back home, but only a little. They weren't considered appropriate weapons. [He rolls his eyes.] Easy to conceal and all that. Unsportsmanlike. A weapon for assassins and thieves.

Because you know the gentry has always been the picture of righteousness and justice. [He grins and gives her a look that says 'What a load of bullshit.'] Anyway, I'm refining my techniques now so that I have a more compact weapon to use on missions.

[oiorpata]

[ she recognizes that he drops it, and it's a pleasant surprise. plenty of people might have pressed onward, especially given the rarity of axe use, but the fact that he doesn't leaves the window more open than it might have been otherwise. ]

[ andy remembers his aim and she nods approvingly at his skills, even the unsportsmanlike choices. ]

I like the composite bow more, even if they have gone a little out of style. [ she's biased, but any bow will do. ] The gentry are full of shit. [ it's fine, she'll say the quiet part out loud. ] Maybe they shouldn't do things worthy of assassination and they wouldn't have to worry about downplaying the usefulness of a knife. What about a gun? They're a little ahead of your time, but I've showed Xichen how to use one.

[singlelogbridge]

[That gets a loud laugh out of him and he grins up at her after he's finally stopped laughing.]

Have I mentioned that I really like you? Because I do. [He's made a career out of saying the quiet part out loud, unfortunately, it didn't end too well for him. Still, it's always so nice when he meets other people who aren't afraid to speak their minds.]

Itachi showed me the basics a few months back. I wasn't sure if I wanted to learn it or not. It's...it's different. [More efficient in a way that its easy use unsettled him, but he's been coming around to them lately.] Recently, I decided to start practicing.

Do you use them often?