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[ Inigo seems just as baffled still when he's handed the ribbon. At least he's got enough of his mind together to untie it and see the embroidery on it, but even then said embroidery.. also confuses him for a moment.

It takes a second for the creature to register with him as an attempt at a dragon, but he can kind of see it once he realises that. Of course, if all dragons are like Jingyi where the other comes from, then it must be odd for him to try and imagine the sort of dragons from Inigo's world - since they are very different. Even the wyvern plush Inigo has in his room is very stylized... ]

No, it's-- [ He starts, quickly looking back up at the other. Trying to snap himself enough out of his stupor to actually talk and shake his head. ] I think it's.. kind of cute.

[ Maybe he shouldn't be calling an attempt at a dragon cute.

But it's too late now. He's already spoken his mind. ]

I'm not.. really used to ribbon wearing though. Can I just wear it anywhere I want? Or do I have to wear it the way you do? [ Usually Inigo would just go with the former, but the whole ribbon thing seems very important to Jingyi's culture, and Inigo sure doesn't want to insult it. Even if he's a little confused and surprised still. ]

( The 'kind of cute' gets a snort, Jingyi amused, because he has no illusions about the skills he doesn't have. For the most part, at least. He's sitting himself down when Inigo's asking about the how to's in ribbon wearing, and it takes him a moment to reflect that's kind of him, instead of the initial reaction, to think, why would I expect you to be anything like a Lan?

Because, he recalls to himself, no one knows what ribbon wearing is back home when they only meet on train. Which is why he can wave his hand and shake his head, letting his fingers come to rest briefly on the ribbon and embroidery on it, stretched across his forehead. )

Anywhere you want, this is more of a clan thing than anything most people do. Wearing it in your hair would be tough, ( he says, quirking a grin that shows just a hint of teeth, making a jest of it; ) but I don't know. Wear it as a bracer, or wherever and however makes sense for you. Just has to be on you for the protection charm to work.

( The other charms are for the ribbon, to let it last; he doesn't mention them offhand, not thinking they're as relevant. )

Oh. That's-- that's good.

[ There's visible relief on Inigo's face. Because sure, he would have worn it any way Jingyi would have wanted him to - out of respect for the other. But Inigo sure doesn't really like the idea of wearing the ribbon the way Jingyi always does - and if he can just wear it anywhere as long as it's somewhere on him, that makes matters a whole lot easier.

Especially since Inigo already has several ideas, just from that. He'll just have to pick one. ]

Not that your ribbon doesn't look great on you! [ Please, this is Inigo. Of course he's going to say that right away, like he's terrified he might accidentally offend a friend, just because he's a little awkward in the way he words things. ] It's just.. not a style I think I could pull off.

[ Which says more about him than about Jingyi, he likes to believe. ]

You know, with my short and unfilial hair.

[ At least that's very much a joking tone. Inigo doesn't mind his hair being made fun of when it's in such a way, really. Just a cultural difference. ]

... ( he just snorts, managing not to roll his eyes. ) Headribbons aren't fashion statements, don't worry.

( They're many other things, but he cannot think of anyone else he knows who isn't a Lan, as far as wearing headribbons goes. It's not common by any stretch of the imagination. )

You've got no idea how weird it's been getting used to short hair. I keep wanting to... fluff it. It looks so fluffy! So light! So less dramatic in a sudden windstorm!

( He pantomimes reaching out to ruffle Inigo's hair, though he doesn't. This is more jesting about cultural differences, but it's honest, too. )

Not to mention how many of you have shades other than blacks and browns and whites.

[ Bro, come on. Don't be a coward. Ruffle his hair. You can if you want to, you know..!!

Not that Inigo comments on that out loud. He's pretty sure that he's already asked for physical contact enough times to not want to seem totally desperate by adding that to it.. Even though "totally desperate" would be Inigo's middle name if he had a last one to begin with. ]

Oh, there's all sorts of hair colours in Ylisse. Or the neighbouring countries, for that matter. [ He instead opts to go with this as a thing to say.

He reaches a hand up, pulling at a short lock of his dark blue hair. ]

Though most people don't have blue hair-- or not this shade of blue, anyway. It's a colour that's passed down through the royal bloodline. They say even the great hero king Marth himself had hair this colour..! [ Is that excitement sneaking into Inigo's voice when he says that?

It sure is. ]

( Jingyi's hands behave, regardless, up until Inigo's holding one of his own locks, and then he scoots closer so he can simply card fingers through blue hair, because it's fun. He has a colour bias, but he's never seen hair like this, only fur in lighter shades for the most part, and the texture's fundamentally different. He should know, he works with fur every day, and short as Inigo's hair is, it still feels like hair. )

Soft...! So are you a direct line from this hero king Marth, or one of the side branches of the royal bloodline?

( Said nonchalantly, because that's the sort of logical conclusion he draws from it, as someone who does have phenotypical characteristics that run strong in bloodlines, direct or branch. (See: the shade of his blue fur.) Inigo being of a royal bloodline is news, but not contextually relevant: Jingyi's region of the world saw realms protected by cultivation sects who bargained and traded and cultivated relationships and finances as much as politics between other clans, great or small. Kings, emperors, anything of the kind? For history, and other realms. )

.. huh?

[ Give Inigo a moment to process that question, because he's initially not capable of doing so whatsoever. Instead he just finds himself staring at Jingyi while the other moves his hand through his hair like that, totally speechless in the moment.

It's just that it feels so nice. It's the kind of tender physical contact that Inigo lives for, and yet at the same time also dies at, because it's so much on his poor little heart. It's entirely because of this one thing that his heart currently feels like it's well on its way to beating itself right out of his chest. ]

I.. um..

[ By Naga, would it be weird to ask Jingyi to keep doing this.

Would it be weird!!! ]

F-Frederick always said that it was a direct line from father's side of the family.. I figure he would know best. [ He's the royal family's attendant, after all. ] And it's true that my older sister does have an enormous resemblance to the hero king.

( Sheer not saying stop earns Inigo a bit more time, Jingyi genuine in his fascination. No one, not even the children, had hair this short, not from five onward, and it moves so easily, doesn't require the extensive finger combing everyone's hair does back home. )

Can't tell if that means he was remarkably beautiful, or she is remarkably handsome.

( Something like a joke, since he doesn't think there's much of a difference either way. )

Do you know who you take after?

( He wonders how much of Inigo's short hair he can pull back... or if he could do tight, small enough braids to actually braid if back off his face. A curious thought of such obvious whim he doesn't bother asking it, instead letting his gaze drift from watching his fingers play with blue locks of hair to meeting Inigo's gaze, aware of it being on him the whole time. Kind of inevitable, sitting this way. )

As far as your looks.

( A number of the Lan orphans had known, through second cousins and such things. Others hadn't, which might be part of why Jingyi had picked out Sizhui as his especial friend when he'd joined them, Hanguang-jun and Wei-shizhang's son, adopted from the remnants of the Wens. Sizhui hadn't known what his birth parents had looked like either. )

[ Oh gosh, he's still getting more of this hairplay. Inigo will gladly keep sitting here, as still as he can be with this giddy excitement in his stomach over getting his hair played with like that, and instead consider Jingyi's question.

.. as well as he can while being distracted, anyway. ]

Mother always said I look a lot like father. [ Inigo pauses for a moment. He smiles, though perhaps with an edge of something faintly sad in it. Not too sad, though. It feels like Jingyi had it worse than him in that department, so he's determined to be strong here. ] But.. I'm not so sure about that. I was still very young when she said that, you know? A lot could have changed over the years.

[ It didn't. Inigo still looks like his father could have been his older brother instead - but with how little selfconfidence Inigo has and how strained his relationship with his father is, he'd never acknowledge that. ]

Mm, not sure if it does or doesn't, really.

( since no one's chiding over inappropriate amount of time spent playing with hair, Jingyi mentally shrugs and figures he's got a bit more leeway. part of it he figures is Inigo's enjoying physical contact, part of it is he's not sure Inigo always knows how to say no, for his own sake or anyone else's. )

Who we do or don't look like, we're still ourselves. I guess in that way, it never really matters. People like to cross lines though, from what I've seen. Or, you look just like so and so, no wonder you act like this, or why don't you act like that, when you do look like whoever it is. Guess it's a benefit to being orphaned too young to remember otherwise, and with no one around to remember either.

( There are no comparisons, and he sounds so... settled with that, as if it's factual and true and generally doesn't bother him. Because he is, because it doesn't, because the world is cruel and he's always known that, and accepting it doesn't mean he gives up on anything, either. )

... yeah.

[ It's a quiet answer.

And along with that answer, Inigo definitely is starting to actually lean into the hand that's playing with his hair now - giving a nonverbal answer as to what's going on here. He really does like it, and since it seems like Jingyi is fine with doing this much, Inigo figures - hopes, desperately - that the other doesn't mind him getting a little more comfortable with it in turn too. Just letting it show, rather than keeping it to himself. ]

I guess.. there's benefits and negatives to both. [ Inigo can't say he would have prefered to be orphaned-- though he could see quite a few benefits with it compared to his own situation.

But he wouldn't trade his memories of his mother for the world, no matter how much they hurt. ]

Being compared to your parents.. It can really suck. Especially when there's so much to live up to. [ He hums, and then frowns. ] Not that I'm saying you have it good, necessarily. Or easy.

[ There's negatives to it too, after all. Some that Inigo knows he himself might not even be able to imagine. ]

But it does seem kind of nice to not have that pressure on your shoulders.

( it's turning into a slow mental shift toward hah, he's had rabbits do this before, and also when you're working through someone's fur, since longer hair combing is more of a tradition, and more something only done for the ill or a spouse or a child. Short hair is whole new, undefined, and permanently unclassed territory, so more amused and indulgent than anything else, he'll keep playing with Inigo's until he finally gets tired of it.

As far as family expectations... )

Just different things. Sizhui has a different pressure than I do, until our sect leader either marries or formally adopts. His father's sect heir by technicality, and he's been raised as heir to an heir, stuff like that. Not anything I have to worry about. And if I want to disappoint anyone, I've got all sect elders, on top of my sect leader and my best friend's parents. Who are definitely the most skilled cultivators in all our realms.

( He snorts, and finally gives in to trying... to do tiny braids with Inigo's hair. )

I'm sure it'll surprise you to hear I'm probably the most punished junior of my generation, and I think the generation above and below me too.

[ Inigo lets out an amused little breath. It sounds sort of content at the same time too - the same way a pet might sound content when you give it pets in just the right spot. ]

Wow, I'm so surprised. The guy who never bothers to hide his opinion in absolutely any situation gets punished the most? [ No, that's certainly not a surprise. Though Inigo doesn't think it's a bad quality, really. It's what makes Jingyi Jingyi, when it comes down to it.

After all, it's the first thing Inigo would name about the other when being asked to describe him. It feels like an integral part of him. ]

Though you do seem pretty good at sticking to rules otherwise. [ LIKE THE WEIRD 'NO ROMANCE BEFORE MARRIAGE' THING.. ] Do they just hate people backtalking them that much..?

( these tiny braids are happening, almost like tiny French braids if jingyi even had the concept of that name. the styling, sure. less so a specific name, here as he's prettifying pet inigo.

he snorts, then frowns, mostly to himself. )

I follow the rules that make sense to me. Not the ones that don't. As far as backtalking... I can tell it's different for people here, but you don't talk back to your elders where I'm from. It's unfilial, it's disrespectful, and if you're doing it you better have a reason other than not simply liking them. Otherwise you know you'll get punished.

( this is the state of things, and the reality for him. technically even here. )

Writing hundreds of copies of rules, going without meals to reflect, physical endurance holding a position kneeling or in handstands for hours, beatings with discipline rods... depends on what you did for how severe, but it's all fairly normal.

( for him, personally, for the Lans in general, for the sects and the culture her comes from. )

Not whippings. That's... that takes a lot. Though it's not unheard of.

[ Every single day Jingyi's world only seems weirder and weirder to Inigo.

He's not even sure that he's ever heard of anything quite like it. He's met so many people on the train, heard about so many different worlds.. but Jingyi's has just all these weird intricacies that fit together to form the oddest world possible.

Sure, it's not like backtalking wouldn't be rude in Inigo's world either, but that's just.. social norms, rather than it having anything to do with filiality.

It's something he considers as he sits there for a moment in silence, letting Jingyi still work on his hair. ]

Beating kids is already.. a lot, you know.

[ Inigo is pretty sure his mother never would have stood for something like that.

And yes, yes, he's well aware that in his world kids that age are instead sent out to war, but that's different, clearly. ]

( there are slips of hair escaping as he does this, but it's a nice, silly focus, and he is so determined he'll make this work, even if these are indeed very small french braids to hold in place with the length of inigo's hair. )

You make it sound like we go around beating up kids. It's not like that.

( since degrees are up to the enforcer, and he was hardly a walking bruiseball growing up, aside from what he gave himself simply living. most his were endurance based... he truly can't see why this is a lot, having lived it himself. he always knew the consequences to what he choose to do, and if he was caught. )

I'm from a martial arts clan. We don't practise or condone violence for the sake of violence. We believe in clear consequences for actions knowingly taken. If you're not clever enough to keep from getting caught, you know exactly what'll happen. It's not a surprise.

I know, but...

[ Inigo's voice trails off. He doesn't want to question something when it's clearly such a normal thing in Jingyi's world, judging by the way the other speaks of it - but it still doesn't quite sit right with him all the same.

It's not like Inigo has never been scolded before in his life, but he remembers most of that just being verbal. (And even that was already bad enough for a guy who does as badly with any remotely negative words as Inigo, his feelings bruising like peaches.) Physical punishment in any way just seems.. weird. ]

I don't know. [ He finally says, the mood seeming to dip a little. It sounds a little contradictory with that 'I know' from a moment ago, but this is more an 'I don't know what to say' kind of admission. He doesn't pull away from Jingyi, letting the other still braid his hair like that, but Inigo stares down at the tips of his shoes. ] I guess it's since our worlds are so different.

[ No one thought of punishing any kids anymore when things got really bad, during that hell Inigo lived through for years. Everyone had to watch people suffer and die - and sometimes those people were just kids.

It taught Inigo a lot about the preciousness of life, and the importance of being kind and gentle with other people. ]

( Irony, in the end, that a world ending was better in its understandings of kindness and gentleness... than whole other worlds, who knew kindness and gentleness in different, but familiar still, forms. )

Mm. Cultures are enough. We could be from the same world, and still have big differences in that, right? The things we believe, the ways we act. Between cultivators and normal mortals, there's already a big difference. Between groups of cultivators, big differences. Between places sharing nothing?

( he's starting on a second braid there, Inigo. the first is holding fairly well for now, though without being bound together, it'll shake out soon enough. )

It's a miracle we can relate at all.

[ A miracle.

Maybe Jingyi is right. After all, when their universal translating system is taken away, most of them can't even understand what the other is trying to say. And even when they can understand each other verbally, there's still so many customs and ideas that are unique to each world..

It's kind of dizzying.

At least Inigo is sitting up straight now he's seriously thinking about things, though he's still just letting the other guy play with his hair as much as he wants. ]

I don't like thinking about that too hard. [ He finally says, his voice gentle. He's staring ahead instead of looking over at Jingyi. ]

Not that our differences are bad, or that our uniqueness isn't good, but.. on the other hand, it feels a little lonely. Thinking about whether anyone at all out there would ever truly understand all of me..

( there are now two rows of tight little braids slowly fraying back into Inigo's usual hair style. Jingyi listens... and he wonders, what does being fully known mean to someone afraid of what that loss would be?

Kindly for the moment, he doesn't ask. )

No one can fully know another person. For good or ill, but I don't think that's lonely. Open yourself up, form those bonds, and you might find the people who see you for who you really are. See you clearer than you see yourself.

( instead of setting into a third row of tiny, tight braids, he gives Inigo's shoulder a squeeze. )

Or you might not. Kinda think being known like that means being aware of what you can lose, and wanting it anyway.

( he does not, frankly, think Inigo can actually handle that. nor does he think Inigo's alone in that. far from it, even in the relatively small numbers of their overall crew: barely a village worth of people. )

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