[sidereal - the dreaming]

[laughitoff]

[for MDZS AU plot-related shenanigans]

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[strikingchords]

[MOVES UNDER HIM, INCREASINGLY ALARMED]

[laughitoff]

[the last branch finally gives way just as Lan Wangji moves under him; Wei Wuxian is too scared to make a sound as he falls]

[strikingchords]

[ALARMED TOO; he leaps to catch him in his outstretched arms, rocking back hard and bracing himself to stick the landing]

[laughitoff]

[Wei Wuxian falls --

through him? into him? not solidly into his arms, certainly

the dream cracks like glass around them, falling away in shards--]

[strikingchords]

[braces himself further, straightening up. Wei Ying? Where--]

[laughitoff]

[there's a familiar, cheerful little ding! sound]

【Hidden encounter resolved. Unlocking objective. Would you like to activate the direct-action mode of your 「WISH」?】

[strikingchords]

[he doesn't answer directly, but his intention comes through clearly anyway. he wants to find Wei Ying]

[laughitoff]

[another ding!]

【Activation successful! In accordance w

f͝i̡͟n͝d̛͠͞ ̷ẃh̴͘a̧͏̧t'̛͢s ̨̛w͝r͢͜͜o͏ng͘
f͠i̴x ̀́͟į͘͜t̢͡
̕͢d̴̡ơ̶͝ ̵͟͡u̸s̡͢ à̀ ̀̕f͘a͡҉́v̡̧͠o̧̨͢r͡!̛҉̷

SCANNING DATA SCANNING DATA SCANNING DATA SCANNING DATA SCANNING

PLEASE IGNORE THE DISCOMFORT OF

My, what do we have here? Such strange little worlds inside your heads.】

[strikingchords]

[this is very unsettling and he doesn't like it]

[laughitoff]

[the dream-world comes back, in an altogether different shape.

he is in the dark, walls of rough wood pressed in all around him; someone is hyperventilating in the back of his head]

[strikingchords]

[he goes very still and controls his breathing, his rather telling first reaction to an unexpected situation. closes his eyes carefully and then opens them again, ascertaining that it's still dark, that he's still closed in...]

[laughitoff]

[nothing has changed, except that he is of course breathing more slowly and steadily]

[strikingchords]

["someone is hyperventilating in the back of his head" is not something he is familiar with. tries to isolate the sensation to figure out what the heck it is before doing anything else; reaches out his internal senses...]

[laughitoff]

[a foreign presence, riddled with the telltale distortions of resentful energy]

[strikingchords]

[goes still again, but internally this time. he's surprised.

Wei Ying.]

[laughitoff]

Lan Zhan? L-Lan Zhan, what--

[Wei Wuxian's struggling to control himself, at least, the moment he registers someone else is there]

[strikingchords]

[Not enough information to say.

he needs to be calm here, for Wei Wuxian's sake as much as his own. calm calm calm calm calm. he steadies himself further, immovable as stone.]

[laughitoff]

[calm; calm. it's hard to tell if what Lan Wangji is doing has the direct effect, but Wei Wuxian's terrified breathing slows too.]

[strikingchords]

[at least he knows he isn't making anything worse this way.

he waits a moment more for them to both settle, then reaches out to explore the rough wood walls with the pads of his fingers. is there anything that feels like a door or a panel to be pried away?]

[laughitoff]

[there is an inside seam between the walls around him and the panel on top of him; he is in a coffin, of course]

[strikingchords]

[OF COURSE???????????

unlatches the lid, if he can.]

[laughitoff]

[there is a beautiful blue sky above him, and swaying tree branches just visible past the coffin-edge. birdsong fills his ears. Wei Wuxian makes a faint despairing noise]

[strikingchords]

[hesitates. something about this feels wrong but Wei Wuxian's distress is more immediately important.]




Wei Ying.

[laughitoff]

Ah, I always end up back here . . .

[strikingchords]

[he sits up and looks around him, careful]