Wen Ning / Wen Qionglin / The Ghost General (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
deadwenwalking) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
aefenglom2021-01-28 10:01 pm
deadwenwalking) wrote in aefenglom2021-01-28 10:01 pm
un: qionglin
Name: Wen Ning
Date: leneur 28
Format: video
[Wen Ning, when he appears, has his hands clasped in his lap. He seems, perhaps, a bit twitchier than usual. The stutter is nothing out of the ordinary, though even that is more frequent than it should be.]
H-hello?
[Video is so awkward. This would have been so much easier over text.]
Um. So, uh. M-my name is Wen Ning. I'm a witch. I... I know some of my fellow witches have, ah, animal companions? Familiars? I wanted to know what... how you decided what was right for you. A-am I supposed to... have a gut feeling? Will I just know? O-or is there anything even to know...
[He glances around nervously, as though he can feel the judgmental gazes of everyone over the network.]
Thank you, in... in advance.
Date: leneur 28
Format: video
[Wen Ning, when he appears, has his hands clasped in his lap. He seems, perhaps, a bit twitchier than usual. The stutter is nothing out of the ordinary, though even that is more frequent than it should be.]
H-hello?
[Video is so awkward. This would have been so much easier over text.]
Um. So, uh. M-my name is Wen Ning. I'm a witch. I... I know some of my fellow witches have, ah, animal companions? Familiars? I wanted to know what... how you decided what was right for you. A-am I supposed to... have a gut feeling? Will I just know? O-or is there anything even to know...
[He glances around nervously, as though he can feel the judgmental gazes of everyone over the network.]
Thank you, in... in advance.
voice; un: styx
[video is awkward, isn't it? it's why Styx is using voice despite Wen Ning's own stylistic choice here, still not having recovered from recording a video of his own for the network earlier in the month. it does nothing to dampen his enthusiastic tone - nor does it stop him from having at the unused camera, unbeknownst to the man he's addressing.
...that part's probably for the best.]
Uh, dunno how helpful 'm gonna be - was gonna take a familiar but then I got a bond before I needed to? But I didn't really think too much about it...I got pets, so I was just gonna match up with them.
[although he had been wondering if that was strictly safe, considering Charon was a fish...he hadn't wanted to overwhelm the poor little guy.]
Figure, like, long as they like you it should be cool, you know? Same as with a real bond.
no subject
[It's why he's asking about a familiar in the first place. He would like to delay exploding as long as possible.]
Nor have I ever had any pets. I d-didn't think it would be as... as simple as that.
no subject
Haha, right? Kinda feels like it should be way more complicated...but uh, really don't think it is. Just gotta figure out some good vows 'nd you're set!
[there is absolutely no requirement for writing a set if vows to say to a fucking cat, but no one has actually told Styx this. that's the problem with someone disseminating information who never had a reason to double-check most of it with a person in authority...or possessing more brain cells.]
Maybe if you hit up one of the pet shops around here you'll find somebody you think's cute, 'nd then the words'll just come to you. Get it all done at once, you know?
no subject
[Oh dear. He knows there's some sort of vow involved with bonding to another witch or monster, but he didn't think there was one needed to bond with an animal. Somehow that sounds even more complicated, as the animal won't be able to tell him if he's getting it wrong.
What if he says the wrong thing and it doesn't work?]
M-maybe. I'll... have to consider that...
no subject
You got any animals you really like, dude? Like, if you had the money for anything what would you wanna get?
no subject
[He fiddles his thumbs, hands still clasped, eyes down at his lap.]
I'm... concerned I won't take care of it right. Th-that I might accidentally hurt it somehow.
no subject
Hey, dude, you don't gotta worry. 'm not gonna say it's real easy or nothing, 'cause it's not, but that don't mean you shouldn't try! If you're already thinking about that stuff it means you're gonna be real good about figuring out what they need.
'Sides, look at me -
[ah, wait. Styx is halfway through smiling by the time he realizes that the video hasn't magically gone on; there's the sound of quiet fumbling for a moment or two, and then - damn, that's one hell of a large dude grinning bashfully on the feed now.]
Uh, ok, now look at me! 'm real big, right? 'nd I got the same problem you do...but 'm still doing pretty ok. They're not scared of me or nothing!
[and they wouldn't feel that way if they weren't being taken care of properly, right? it had to be.]
So if a dumbass like me can do it, you're definitely gonna kill it. [uh-] I mean, um, do real good at it.
no subject
It's true that he's not as physically strong here as he was in their world, and he won't lose control of any resentful energy inside of him. No, that's been replaced with a different energy entirely, something that threatens to burst free of him all the same.]
I-if you say so... Though I'm still not sure where to start. At the very least it can't be a dog.
[Wen Ning doesn't have any problem with dogs, but Wei Wuxian is terrified of them.]
no subject
That's a good start, though! You're already doing great, dude.
[even if it was a 'no', that was still a point they could jump off of. the big guy makes a thoughtful noise, chewing on his lower lip as he contemplates their options.]
...you like music?
no subject
[He's surrounded by musicians in his world, and he likes what they play... but he's heard some of the music people enjoy here and it isn't quite the same.
He also doesn't see how this relates to the subject at hand.]
Why do you ask?
no subject
Should see if you wanna get a bird, then! 's all kinds 'nd sizes so you could get a real fucking big on that you don't gotta be scared of.
[because to the drummer a gigantic fucking bird isn't frightening at all. ok, buddy. but! their lovely songs aren't the only reason he's thought to suggest this, as-]
There's some kinds you can even teach to talk, you know?
[and that, he thinks, might be ideal for a familiar. a partner that could tell you what's on its mind, after a fashion...pretty cool.]
no subject
The suggestion gets Styx an uncomfortable look and a slight frown.]
That... sounds interesting.
[He doesn't want to be rude.]
But. I-I'm not sure that sort of bird is for me. [At the very least he's not shutting down the idea of birds entirely.]
no subject
the good news is that Styx is so used to be rejected or wrong that he's virtually impossible to offend. he simply nods as he listens to the increasingly nervous man, taking in this feedback and tabulating it accordingly in his tiny brain.]
Mm, makes sense! Everybody's got their own stuff they like...'nd you can teach the ones that just sing tricks too, so not like you're missing out.
[because this is obviously someone who wants to teach a parakeet to tuck itself into a doll bed.]
no subject
Have you worked with many birds?
My friends have, ah. Flying rabbits.
no subject
[as much as Styx loves to gush about Ymir (and, boy, can he wax poetic about either of his bandmates) the mention of actual flying rabbits is just too arresting to even finish a basic explanation of his own personal bird experience. it's probably a bad idea given how skittish this dude is, but he can't stop himself from leaning into the camera with a fascinated twinkle to his eyes.]
Thought that was just pigs that could do that!
[that's - but - ...you know what, never mind.]
no subject
[Wen Ning visibly leans back, even though it's just an image on a screen.]
Rabbits in my world don't fly either. They're just... something they got here. [They started with two and they've had a litter, so who knows how many they'll end up with.]
no subject
No shit? That's so killer, I've never seen them around! Are the wings, like, furry the way the rest of them are..?
[he kind of wants to ask if it's possible to acquire some for himself, but...bird and rabbit are both "on the menu" items for cats and somehow he doubts he'd be able to keep his from following its nature. it's hard enough to keep a teleporting cat out of a room if it's really determined.]
no subject
[Wen Ning doesn't even know where Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji acquired said animals. He hasn't asked. There are enough weird things about this place that it wasn't high on his list of priorities.]
Like normal rabbits with normal bird wings attached somehow.
no subject
[there are indeed a great number of weird things in this world! and Styx happens to be fascinated by every single one of them, more intensely the weirder the phenomena is. he seems absolutely thrilled to find that these bunnies have little baby birdie wings, because how cute must that be? maybe they even do little gliding hops whenever they're super happy...
it does beg a question, however, and his cheerful demeanor gradually shifts back to inquisitive with a tilt of his massive head.]
You ever think of getting one of those as a familiar? Uh, you know, since they're from your friends 'nd all.
no subject
[As in - once he made this post.]
I-it's a possibility. One of those would definitely make a very cute familiar.
[It might be a handful. He can imagine a little creature like that would be. But it's not fair to judge all these animals before he's even tried to work with them.]
no subject
[the truth is that Styx has never known anyone with a rabbit...or a pet of any kind, really. his bandmates didn't technically own any and anyone he'd ever been allowed to hang around before that had never been interested in divulging personal details to an oaf like him.]
You like cute shit?
[despite the coarse language there's no judgement in the drummer's voice - only open curiosity, as a matter of fact, and an eager tilt to his smile.]
no subject
I-it depends? I'm not opposed to it...
[He doesn't go seeking out adorable things, but he does enjoy coming across them. Animals are simply something he hasn't had the luxury of thinking of as something he could potentially have in his care. He supposes he's looked after a child before. That might be close enough...]