week four | mingle

[marriagebroker]

Final week at the estate! Final week with your friends. Final week with your beaus. Time to make the most of it, everyone!

In fact, to celebrate this fact, today there is a cake. It's nothing special, just a nice little cake to enjoy with your morning coffee or throughout the day. Yay, cake!

And when Wei Wuxian arrives that morning, he is going to call out once again for everyone to join him, near the cake.

"Everyone, I have another announcement!"

Hell yeah, announcements.

Boom Boom Room | Dates | Property Damage
Truth Booth Voting | Match Ceremony Voting

Comments

[poans]

[He sees before him two paths.]

There is something I must do.

[One takes him back to the City, where wrongs brought about by his slothfulness must be righted. This is something he eventually wishes to do, but not without some forethought so as not to squander the new lease on life he's been granted. It's also much too risky to speak of it openly here.

As for the other . . .

He spends a moment studying Yingying's face, his eyes roaming to take in every detail from the individual strands of her hair to her fond gaze and the contours of her visage against the evening lighting. The delicate crease of her brow and charming curvature of her lips that contrast the innocent wonderment in her wide eyes . . . Recalling the resilient blooms on the dying wisteria, his hands close lightly around hers.]

Until then . . . if you will have me, I would like to stay by your side and enjoy the sights together.

[embellwish]

[ His hands close around hers, and for a moment, she really feels held, enveloped warmly in the words that follow. Pure-hearted and innocent as Yi Sang is in the realm of love, sometimes, it can be hard for her to gauge just how how far ahead he has a vision for them. There can be no doubt that he cares deeply... but what's equally obvious is that this is a new, uncharted territory for him, and as such, she never knows what kind of obstacles he may run into. Thus, it's a relief for him to say that, and her body language shows that, shoulders relaxing a little more, smile easing. ]

As long as "until then" doesn't mean you'll suddenly leave me one day....

[ ...That can't be what he means, right? Staying with her until leaving to do this mysterious "thing." Well, even if it were the case, she'll figure out a way to put a stop to it. After murmuring that lilting line, though, she tips forward to brush her lips against his, soft and fleeting as a petal blowing by, almost like she's purposefully looking to leave him wanting more. Maybe she'll think about giving him another kiss if he'll confirm he's not going to foolishly leave her behind. ]

If you return with me to the Bureau, there should be plenty that will interest you there. I live in a containment center for other people who have been infected by what was on the star, you see. A lot of research and work goes into keeping us well, and preventing more of the substance's spread...

[ Aside from the soldiers, there are legions of researchers and scholars all working together to try to stop the spread of the apocalypse. She's sure he could help a lot of people there... and work together with people towards a genuinely benevolent common goal. ]

But, before that — Odile invited me to spend my early recovery in her homeland.

[ Assuming the wish can even fix what's going on with her physical form and the wisteria. She meets his eyes curiously, already cognizant that the two are close — probably closer than Yingying is to Odile herself, even. She plays with his hands idly, lacing her fingers through them. ]

So, what do you think? Shall we see the sights there?

[poans]

[Like the brush of a velvety petal, the kiss is fleeting, yet precious all the same. Yi Sang watches her pull back, his lips tingling, before his smile softens at her audible concern.

Children roamed the streets on his way to his profession, searching for a plaything with which they might toy for the day. Over time, their numbers dwindled, taken away at a young age for work in the factories he'd designed to maximize productivity. Though paid handsomely for his blueprints, the thought has always weighed heavily on him. If he goes to the Bureau, he can help those like Yingying instead of abusing others for his own survival. He can continue to breathe and move on with someone beloved at his side.

It seems that Yingying, too, has resolved to do much the same. He closes his fingers around her hands, reciprocating her gesture with a twinkle in his dark eyes. While he would've stayed by her side either way, this is truly joyous news, indeed.]

I shan't leave. [This is a promise. His future business is important, but he knows now the folly of sacrificing a person to abandonment, however unintentional.] If Miss Odile does not mind another companion to wake up beside, I should gladly settle there with you.

[In fact, little would bring him greater joy. Odile is a dear fellow whom he respects and cares for deeply, and who has lost much. He's aware of her desire for companionable company. If she should allow it, he'd be happy to provide that with Yingying, whose soothing presence is sure to put her at ease.]

Will you be making a wish, then?

[embellwish]

[ Pleased that she got the answer out of him that she wanted, she obligingly leans forward again, kissing him more fully this time, firm and rewarding. She lingers for a few seconds, forehead pressed against his, and eyelashes fluttering against his cheek, before breaking away slowly, drawing out the cling of their lips — and perhaps mostly importantly, only retreating a few inches away. ]

Mm... I will.

[ She confirms for him, shuffling closer best she can with both her hands laced with his. Upon this revelation, she just wants to be close as she can, wrapped up by him, even. ]

I'd like to retrieve my physical body from the wisteria. [ As others have suggested, she could just wish for a new body altogether. But that would feel... wrong, to her, like casting off a part of her past. That, and, the tree might die for real without her connection to it. And she'd almost certainly lose her status as a Sinner. ] The wish might not be able to return it fully in tact, but as long as it's healthy enough...

[ ...Then that would be okay. Yi Sang had accepted the wisteria for what it was, charred and spindly, barely hanging on. However her form appears when it comes out of the trunk, he would still find beauty there, she thinks. And that's a love she won't ever take for granted. ]

You still have your own wish to think about, too.