bang! crash! the lightning flashed!! -- that's another story, nevermind, anyway!

[qingxinling]

Jiang Wanyin sweeps along the shores of the lake, glowering. This is not his beloved Lotus Pier. These waters are cold, foreign, uninviting. Clearly there's been some trap: he's been distracted by duty in this hunt, and when he followed the slight tug in his chest, he ended up getting pulled into unfamiliar territory.

No matter. He draws himself to full height, letting cool arrogance slip down his shoulders and suffuse him. Sandu is naked in one hand; Zidian crackles in the other. He can handle whatever monsters may arrive.

Comments

[lightbearinglord]

Ah. It is not only one of those days. It is a day designed to force Lan Wangji to run the entire gamut of every emotion he can possibly feel. He could almost be resigned, but ice-cold disdain has washed away everything else.

He had meant to bring Wei Ying to the lake shore for a meditation under the willow tree, a favored spot of his, and then perhaps to entertain himself by tossing Wei Ying into the lake itself and affecting innocence. He stops dead, though, when he sees Jiang Wanyin, and his arm tightens around Wei Ying's waist, drawing him flush against Lan Wangji's side. He has nothing kind to say, so he says nothing, but his free hand drops to Bichen's hilt.

[peaklordshen]

...Holy shit.

It's not that it hadn't occurred to Shen Yuan that more people from CQL, or—what was the book called? grandmaster of something?—might show up here, but he'd assumed if they did it would be other Lans, or maybe even people who had been cut entirely from the story for censorship reasons, like Laertes had been from the Lion King. He'd never considered Jiang Cheng could show up here. He was like, the coolest guy in that whole show!! Come on, lightning whip that turns into a beautiful snake bracelet?? Plus he was, like, totally wronged by the narrative. In retrospect, of course he's shown up here, who could possibly deserve a second chance at happiness more??

He's so caught up in staring at Jiang Cheng actually wielding Zidian that he doesn't even say anything, just stopped dead by the edge of the lake.

[aflashbastard]

Crowley had escaped to the lake, hoping to not run into anyone new there -- but here we go again. "Er, hi," Crowley says, giving him a weak but hopeful nod. "You look like you can take care of yourself?"

[thepurpledanger]

Gu Xiang eyes the newcomer with deep suspicion. Purple robes ... whip ... general air of badassery ...

"Hey, shitstain!" she snarls as she stalks toward him. "Stop trying to steal my look!"

[sagramore]

"That's dramatic," Sagramore remarks. He's still leading his lame horse back to the stable, having gotten distracted for a while with Gertrude.

[sporesprouter]

"Moonshadows, so many new people here today." Tress approaches, looking curious if somewhat cautious. "Welcome. I know it's a strange place, but it's not usually dangerous, if that helps."

[protagonisthalo]

Luo Binghe's senses prickle. This cultivator radiates malicious intent. This is not a place that speaks the language of force—Luo Binghe learned that the hard way. He will gladly be the one to administer that lesson if needed. He approaches. "What is your intention, openly wielding your weapons in this place?"

[lanselos_du_lac]

Lancelot sees the flash of purple robes, out by the lake, and goes to investigate. He's wearing his sword, as he sometimes is when he's out wandering. As he gets closer, he recognizes that this man is dressed in similar fashion to Lan Wangji -- though he is clearly on guard, well-armed.

He rests his left-hand on the hilt of his sword, not ready to draw but an unsubtle reminder that the sword is there. He calls out, "Hail, sir! Are you in need of aid?"

[wickedwit]

Claudius sees a man bristling with hostile energy and weapons drawn, and his instinct is to go in the other direction. Unless the man is attractive. There's a reason why he let Enjolras show him how to shoot a musket. He just has to be at his most disarming, starting with a bow -- one closer to Lan Wangji's when he still respected the Peak Lord than the bows of Claudius's own court. "Well, welcome," he says. As he rises, he considers how thick he'd like to lay this on. "It's always a pleasure to meet a capable-looking man. Where might you be from?"