"kafka. I Am A Nonhuman Entity With Years And Years Of Life Experience Under My Belt." There's A Brief

"kafka. i am a nonhuman entity with years and years of life experience under my belt." there's a brief pause, before he lifts a finger, before lowering it. "i have no idea what are good date spots."

@oficeandwind : "you do not perceive me."

"An IPC member and one of the stonehearts at that? Didn't expect anything less from you, darling nephew. Need your aunty to offer some dating spot recommendations?"

It had been an instinctive reaction for the traveler to seek the closest form of shelter as a sudden downpour began to fall from dark clouds that had appeared with little warning. Unfortunately for Kaminari, said 'shelter' had been the wide hat that the puppet so loved to wear. As Aether practically stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the wanderer, he gave Kami a sheepish grin, golden eyes somewhat pleading.

"I don't suppose I could convince you to share?" He knows what he's requesting is akin to asking Paimon to share her favorite food, but he can't help but hope that Kami might take some pity on him in the midst of this bit of bad weather.

If not - well, Aether would just have to make a run for it and hope he could find an alternative before he got TOO soaked.

he's not sure why the traveler enjoys his hat so much. for that matter, kami can't understand why ANYONE finds his hat so fascinating. surely they've all seen equally decorated hats? humans. they have strange fascinations with even stranger trinkets.

well, aether isn't exactly a human, but he still mingles among them well enough to PASS for one. kami offers himself no such similar luxuries. THOUGH, it's also probably why he feels a little more comfortable around aether. kami can relate to him just a touch more. not that kami feels comfortable overall ― the traveler is still a cautionary tale, a living reminder that kami still has a lot of amends to make. aether is wholly GOOD, someone kami could never fully be, or even WANTS to be.

the strange companionship they formed is nice though. if only that annoying floating creature calling herself paimon didn't try to insult him every two words. her lack of presence would make aether even more tolerable.

"you have the audacity," kami chides, no actual scorn in his words. "to try and cozy up to me, JUST to use my hat." TSK. with anyone else, the answer would be a hard no, and he'd get some mild amusement in watching them run for shelter. but perhaps because aether's been kind enough to him in the past, there's no real harm in returning the favor, even just a tiny one.

"fine, but only until it stops raining."

kaminari takes the hat off his head, and rests it atop aether's head. "also, if you even look like you're about to take off with it, i am revoking all hat privileges forever."

"so what I'M seeing right now is, hot bad, cold good, let's get more ice cubes?"

you bitch you didn’t follow me >:[ (i love u spank)

BITCH I WAS TALKING ABOUT REMAKING IN YOUR SERVER

(i love you too gem)

CHARACTER RELATIONSHIPS - XIAO

stares at header. that's it, that's the post.

.

In all seriousness, Chongyun has so much respect for Xiao. He considers Xiao a mentor of some sort, a mythical figure that Chongyun worships. Chongyun's drive to be the best exorcist in all of Liyue partially comes from his drive to emulate Xiao and all he does for Liyue. Xiao is hardworking and never tires, so Chongyun is also hard working and does tire out, but they hide it well. Or hope to hide it.

It would mean so much to Chongyun to get attention from Xiao that isn't disparaging remarks, although Chongyun does hope that Xiao might look on them with slightly more favor, on account of their yang energy and vision.

That said, the two canonically work with each other. Whether it's Xiao working with the clan generally, or if they have a personal relationship (which I believe they do!), their knowledge of each other and relationship to whatever extent is in the game, and Chongyun does respect and admire Xiao a great deal.

of everything for kaminari to react to, the phrase 'what would you sacrifice' is what jumps out the most. it's the single most infuriating line, and he's CHEWING on his fist to keep from saying anything until ren finishes explaining himself.

the anger is broiling though, leaving kami red-faced and barely able to contain himself by the time ren's done. honestly, he can tackle everything else after the fact, he is practically LEANING over the table, clenching his mug's handle far too tightly.

and the contents spill out. the table is flooding with hot green tea that spills over the edge, dripping onto the floor.

"what the fuck do you mean, you didn't think you had value?" he snarls, pointing a surprisingly steady finger in ren's direction. "you fucking had me, ren! i was there for you! i TRIED! i did everything i could to beat it through your stupid head that i cared about you. wasn't that good enough, or were you too wrapped up in your own misery?"

he pauses to take a breath, slamming his hand down in the spilled tea. "shit!" the still-hot tea burns, and the added liquid makes the slap sting more than it normally would. slumping back in his seat, he lets out a low groan of forced laughter. this is not at all going like he anticipated. of COURSE he still wants ren to stay. kami is not about to lose him again, and no amount of anger is going to allow him to watch ren slip through his fingers again.

"a misery i fucking share, by the way. your mother's a pile of shit, but in case you forgot, so was mine." he doesn't want to do any gloating about ren's admission. he's still too wrapped up in his anger. which, if he were to think harder, it'd be an anger born of worry and concern that he hadn't done ENOUGH to spare ren his feelings. "but fine. you thought the fatui were good enough, it's whatever. and you found shit out that caused you to fake your death and leave me in some wasteland-esque void or fog for six months."

even in anger, kami is not above dropping movie references. he wonders if ren will know what he's referring to. hopefully not ― give ren something to puzzle over for awhile.

"and i don't need your protection. if you're making moves to come back from the dead, you KNOW that's going to put me in danger too," he adds. though begrudgingly, ren DOES have a point. kami is safe as long as secrets remain exactly that. kami really doesn't want to be involved in whatever secrets have been uncovered, or are STILL secret. he's got his own issues in life without ren telling him everything. it's a hard line to walk down, but kami is willing to at least try. he's sure anyone else would kick ren to the curb and leave him to fend for himself to keep themselves safe.

perhaps kami's too selfish for that. perhaps he doesn't care about what happens after this. maybe this is some divine act of karma for disturbing the peace in the cemetary, twice now and committing even more vandalism. or perhaps life in general is just not wanting to give him any iota of PEACE. kami isn't sure, nor does he even care.

he gets up to get paper towels. "it doesn't matter anyway," he says, voice lowering back to a monotonous calm. "i'm not letting you go again. whatever shit you stepped in, we're family, and we help each other out, yeah?"

❝  green  tea  suits  me  just  fine. ❞   he  isn't  especially  picky  as  long  as  the  drink  in  question  is  BITTER  ENOUGH  for  his  liking.  (  coffee.  tea.  it  hardly  matters;  he  simply  defaults  to  the  latter  out  of  habit.  )  the  hacker  wastes  no  time  snatching  up  the  offered  mug  and  filling  it  with  steaming  water  from  the  kettle.  he  doesn't  speak  as  he  works  —  pretending  to  be  too  preoccupied  with  his  drink.  really,  kaminari  has  every  right  to  verbally  eviscerate  him  after  the  stunt  that  he  pulled.  to  throw  him  out.  to  cut  him  from  his  life  like  a  surgeon  meticulously  extracting  a  tumor.  initial  bump  in  the  road  notwithstanding...  all  things  considered,  his  cousin  seems  to  be  taking  this  surprisingly  well.  glad  that  he's  here,  he  even  says.  ren  just  barely  manages  to  keep  from  splashing  himself  with  hot  water  when  he  hears  that.

he  tosses  the  bags  of  tea  into  his  cup  and  knows  he  can  stall  no  longer.  he  wants  to  remain  standing  —  if  only  because  sitting  down  at  the  table  makes  him  feel  a  bit  like  an  animal  willingly  CORNERING  himself.  even  so,  even  despite  every  instinct  he  has  telling  him  not  to,  the  hacker  still  forces  himself  to  take  a  seat.  to  speak  like  this  implies  a  particular  sense  of  EQUALITY  —  and  he  owes  kaminari  that  much,  at  least.  ❝  i  know  you  didn't  do  anything  stupid. ❞  ren  gazes  down  at  his  drink,  absentmindedly  tugging  on  the  strings  to  stir  it.  ❝  do  you  really  believe  i  wasn't  keeping  an  eye  on  you  that  entire  time? ❞   such  an  admittance  may  sound  downright  unsettling  coming  from  anyone  else.  it  still  feels  a  bit  sickening  to  fashion  himself  a  guardian  angel  of  sorts  —  but  that  is  the  closest  COMPARISON  ren  can  possibly  think  of.  he  keeps  tabs  on  everyone  he  has  a  modicum  of  care  about.  which  is  to  say,  he  keeps  tabs  on  kaminari  —  and  occasionally  his  mother,  when  he  feels  like  TORTURING  himself.

a  soft  sigh.  fingers  curl  around  the  mug;  he  doesn't  drink  yet,  merely  soaking  in  the  warmth  as  it  bleeds  through  his  skin.  ❝  in  any  case ...  you  were  right  about  the  fatui.  a  little  too  right. ❞  the  hacker  hopes  his  cousin  enjoys  THAT  scrap  of  vindication  while  it  lasts.  ❝  i  don't  see  much  of  a  point  in  trying  to  justify  what's  already  been  done.  i  knew  they  were  bad  news ...  i  just  didn't  care. ❞  and  maybe  that  means  he  deserves  the  mess  that  he's  gone  and  gotten  himself  into.  he  certainly  deserves  the  chipped  headstone.   ❝  have  you  ever  considered  what  you  would  sacrifice  to  feel  like  your  life  has  a  PURPOSE?  to  cling  to  the  delusion  your  birth  had  actual  merit ...  and  that  you  were  more  than  just  the  culmination  of  someone  else's  regrets? ❞

well.  he  already  said  he  wasn't  interested  in  JUSTIFYING  himself.  either  kaminari  understands  or  he  doesn't  —  and  considering  their  family  history,  he  has  a  feeling  he  knows  precisely  where  he's  coming  from.

grip  then  tightens  harshly  on  his  cup;  the  hackers  knuckles  go  pale  and  bloodless  from  the  force.   ❝  the  fatui  were  worse  than  either  of  us  ever  imagined. ❞  ren  mutters,  his  voice  dipping  close  to  a  growl.  ❝  much  worse.  for  the  longest  time,  i  was  willing  to  be  an  accomplice  to  their  atrocities  for  the  sake  of  my  own  personal  benefit.  but  they ...  did  something  even  i  would  consider  absolutely  unforgivable. ❞  he  pauses,  as  if  mulling  over  his  next  words  very  carefully.  then,  ❝  ...  the  less  you  know  about  the  DETAILS,  the  safer  you'll  be.  this  is  the  kind  of  information  that  makes  people  who  know  it  disappear  —  and  they  don't  come  back. ❞