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 Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2023 3:39 pm
Kaifeng was a bit out of sorts as he left the house and headed out to meet Selenga. Not that Kaifeng intended to be out of sorts, but……well.
Unfortunately, he’d spent most of the day feeling varying degrees of “out of sorts,” alternately burying his face in Huanxi’s shoulder and fussing around with him musically, desperately trying to ignore any ping! noises or vibrations from his phone because maybe they’d be something serious, but most of them had not been. Eventually, he’d remembered that he could mute notifications off Instagram, which had helped somewhat, but not having the notifications shoved in his face hadn’t taken away the awareness of what people were probably saying in his comments section for the post in question.
If people had simply been offended about something he’d said, that almost would’ve been easier to deal with. Liánlí wouldn’t have enjoyed having accidentally offended anybody in his audience. He never did, not least because he did take such things seriously. Having to reflect on what he’d said and why it had hurt people, then make a genuine apology—trying, in the process, to avoid as many clichés of the Youtuber Apology™ as he could, because nobody liked Youtuber Apologies™ and nobody believed Youtuber Apologies™, and frankly, they should not have because most Youtuber Apologies™ were pretty blatantly full of s**t.……
Sure, it would have sucked to go through all that and to know, all the while, that there was a possibility of not having his apology ultimately accepted, or needing to do more before people could accept it. Still, the situation wouldn’t have made his head spin as much as the one he’d accidentally created for himself today.
Everything had started going down the weird path when Liánlí had gone to the gym with Huanxi. Feeling possibly a bit too much in his good feels, Liánlí had posted a sweaty mirror selfie after he’d finished his workout, and listen, if Huanxi had been in the photo with him, he’d totally get the reaction? As much as Liánlí preferred Huan-ge having the freedom to completely be himself instead of needing to hide for other people’s comfort, his human glamour was every bit as gorgeous as his natural shape.
But Huan-ge had been on the other side of the room when Liánlí had snapped the picture that he’d tossed up on his insta—with a completely throwaway caption at that, nothing snappy or clever, just lyrics from the last song he’d had playing on his earbuds: 🎵 snacks is life and life’s delicious / i’ll dance it off to mind my fitness 🎵.
And yet, notifications had been blowing up Liánlí’s phone almost immediately since he’d hit the post button, with all kinds of heart eyes, and drooling emojis, and comments wondering when he’d entered his rippling pectorals era.……
Liánlí honestly didn’t think his pectorals were that rippling? Not that he didn’t know that he’d seen results from hitting the gym regularly for several months—and, moreover, letting Hayden boss him around about what he had to do, in the interests of being less physically flimsy as a magical knight—but, like……this all felt kinda sorta excessive? People other than Huanxi getting up in his comments to call him a regulation hottie and generally act like the selfie had been meant as a thirst trap instead of Liánlí just feeling kinda cute.……
At least he and Ming-er had planned to go up to Selenga’s Wonder together tonight. That would definitely get Liánlí away from his phone and the impulse to check it even after muting notifs because they made him feel so deeply flustered. Liánlí’s phone probably didn’t even get reception up on Ida, or at least he really hoped that it didn’t.
As Kaifeng rocked up to the spot in the park where he and Selenga were supposed to meet, he tried to banish those thoughts. None of that. Putting on an eager smile as he leaned against the tree—the sort of eagerness that came from determination to make this trip as special and positive for Selenga as all of Kaifeng’s visits to his own Wonder had been for him—Kaifeng hummed a spritely tune with something menacing around the edges, trying to keep his self-soothing noise from getting too loud, the way that Michel-ge had warned him about: Wait, I’ve got a better plan to catch this big, red, lobster-man! Let’s pop him in a boiling pot and when he’s done, we’ll butter him up. Kidnap the Sandy Claws, throw him in a box. Bury him for ninety years, then see if he talks.…
Maybe not something that most people considered seasonally appropriate after Halloween, but that was okay. They were allowed to be wrong. Anyway, it kept Kaifeng calm as he waited for his cousin-in-law to show up, and that was the important part.
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Posted: Mon Jan 01, 2024 3:08 am
Truly, Selenga only had to listen for Kaifeng's silly humming to know he was approaching. Didn't really need the aura. He chuckled a bit and turned to see him, grinning and reaching out for him. He still felt nervous about visiting his Wonder, but with Kaifeng by his side, he felt as though he could handle it. He wished he could bring Qiye, but he didn't want to risk taking his civilian wifesband out to space. "Hey," he said. "Are you ready?"
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Posted: Mon Jan 01, 2024 3:18 am
Catching Selenga in a good mood put Kaifeng right in one, too. Sure, he had assorted Liánlí Problems lingering in the back of his mind, but……well. He sort of got the sense that December 25th Brunch had been a bit rougher on Ming-er than it had been on everybody else. He didn’t know why, much less begin to understand anything, but……Ming-er had seemed so tense and ill-at-ease, like maybe something he’d eaten wasn’t agreeing with him.
(Liánlí and Qiye had tried to make plenty of things that could be widely shared, including some of everyone’s favorites. So, Ming-er had had his favorites, but maybe something that Hayden liked hadn’t gone down easily for him?)
Putting those thoughts aside, though—because Selenga was smiling today, and Kaifeng loved to see it—Kaifeng nodded. “Absolutely,” he said. “Honored to be making this trip with you, cousin.”
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Posted: Mon Jan 01, 2024 3:39 am
Selenga gripped Kaifeng's shoulder at that. "Thank you," he said. "Hold on tight, cousin." A blink. And they were there. A large, beautiful home braced itself against the riverbank, with a walkway that went high up and over across the river to a second half of the home on the other riverbank, and Selenga peered at the spot they were in—it seemed like they were right up against the headwater. It made sense, for the protector of this land to live right at the very source of the river. Other homes dotted the banks as he glanced down—on either side of the river. Bridges, both just above the river itself, seemed to be every hundred yards down the river that he could see. There was certainly more to explore further down, but... Well, what interested him at the moment was what was clearly the home of the previous Selenga. Even if he disliked the extreme flaunt of wealth it seemed to be. "It's beautiful here," he said as he made his way to the front door (one of the front doors?) of the home. And there, in the foyer, stood a ghost. Selenga shrieked. "Don't go making all that racket," the ghost snapped, glaring at him. "And—oh, dear gods, what is he doing here?" The ghost pointed accusingly at Kaifeng, lips curled in a sneer.
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Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2024 1:41 pm
Considering the pretty wide variety among Knights out there in the universe, Kaifeng assumed that they all had some pretty vastly different Wonders as well, and he wasn’t sure what to expect from Selenga’s. Had he known more about Ida as a planet, maybe he might’ve had some ideas, but as they materialized at the river’s edge, Kaifeng found himself awestruck by everything he saw. In the distance around the riverbank, lush greenery and flowers seemed to spill everywhere, at once idyllic and almost like the “after” picture of some long post-apocalyptic world. That sprawl seemed a bit at-odds with the gleaming bridges and the gilded surfaces of the Selenga Knight’s former home, but in a way that left Kaifeng wide-eyed and slack-mouthed in astonishment and reverence.
So wowed by everything was he, Kaifeng didn’t even notice the ghost standing in the foyer. Not until Selenga shrieked. Without needing to think about it, Kaifeng pulled his weapon and stepped in front of his cousin. Why the ghost was pointing and sneering at him specifically, Kaifeng didn’t know, but it didn’t matter. Maybe it wasn’t his job to keep the dead of Selenga—unless anyone who’d died here had ever been taken to Saturn and buried at Kaifeng, they fell well and truly outside Kaifeng’s jurisdiction—but he had promised Qiye that he and Selenga would look out for each other, and if that meant protecting Selenga from some inexplicable ghost, standing there robes that didn’t look entirely unlike Selenga’s? Then, so be it.
“I’m here by personal invitation of the Knight of Selenga,” Kaifeng told the ghost, furrowing his brow and keeping his voice deathly serious (but inside, he felt giddy-bubbly like Diet Coke and Mentos over getting to use his Serious Knight Voice). Tilting his head, he considered the details of the ghost’s appearance: long, golden hair with some vibrant green in the fringe up front; warm brown skin that looked like he’d worked long hours tending the river but also like he’d been blessed with wealth; ears atop his head that looked like a fox’s, which currently matched his sneer by going rigid while pointing down and back (something Kaifeng had, as Liánlí, watched foxes do in videos on Youtube before).
Keeping up his Serious Knight Voice, Kaifeng told the ghost, “Kaifeng of Saturn. And seeing as my dear cousin clearly didn’t invite you to his Wonder, I’m gonna have to ask who you are and what you think you’re doing here.”
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Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2024 2:47 pm
Selenga winced when Kaifeng jumped to his defense so immediately—but in fairness, it wasn't as though he had a useful weapon yet, and... The ghost responded before he could say anything. "My name is Qí Yáolán Kaifeng. I know exactly who you are," he said snootily. "You might only be the reincarnation of Xingyi, but you still have his rotten soul." "Excuse me," Selenga gasped, flabbergasted and offended. "You're excused," Qí Yáolán scowled. "Why have you invited that trash to our Wonder?" "Uh, because he's my friend, a*****e," Selenga snarked. "Friends? With Kaifeng? Do you have any idea who he—" "He is one of my friends, and cousin to the lovely person I married," Selenga said with a scowl that matched Yáolán 's.
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Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2024 4:39 pm
“Yeah! And Xingyi’s soul was not rotten,” Kaifeng added, easily chiming in to stick up for his cousin-in-law and the person his starseed had been in his past life.
Insulting Xingyi like that didn’t only insult Xingyi himself and Liánlí Who Was Now Kaifeng, but also Huanxi, who wasn’t here right now. Had Huan-ge been here, maybe he would have recognized this jerk in Selenga’s Wonder, and been able to explain what he was on about (not to mention defending both the man he’d loved and himself for having loved Xingyi when this Qí Yáolán a*****e thought so little of him). Who the Hell was this weird, prissy, unfriendly cat of a ghost, and where did he get off acting like he owned this place that was supposed to be Selenga’s? Did literally anybody ******** ask?
“Listen,” Kaifeng said, standing his ground because he had to stick up for Xingyi (and by logical extension, Huan-ge), “I get that Xingyi had a lot of problems in his life and some of them were very serious? But he was a fierce and dedicated Knight of Saturn. He took his duties seriously, he did everything he could do for both the dead entrusted to his care and the people they left behind, he always fought for what was right, trying to protect those who couldn’t protect themselves. Xingyi gave so much of himself to his work that he felt guilty for giving his own parents special observances after they died. The Knight of Kaifeng was supposed to bite down on everything and always treat all the souls buried in his fields the same. But his parents wound up there, so how could he do that to them? He near tore himself apart over people with attitudes like yours, telling him he wasn’t good enough because he committed the alleged sin of honoring his parents when they died.”
A very petty and childish part of Liánlí-Kaifeng wanted to spit, just to show the ghost of Qí Yáolán how little regard the 21st century’s Kaifeng had for the opinions of anyone who would talk about Xingyi in the way that Qí Yáolán did. It was like Selenga had said about Zhìháo before: without Xingyi, Liánlí-Kaifeng wouldn’t have been here now.
Glancing over his shoulder at Selenga, Kaifeng sighed. “Sorry, Leng-Leng. I would’ve warned you about this, but this has literally never happened to me at my Wonder.”
Frankly, he would’ve loved for something like this to happen at the fields and tower of Kaifeng. It didn’t sound at all possible, since Liánlí-Kaifeng had the same starseed as Xingyi and he really wouldn’t begin to know how you could project the person a starseed used to be so you could talk to them. But now that Kaifeng thought about it—
“Anyway, what are you talking about ‘our’ wonder,” he said. “This is Selenga’s Wonder.”
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Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2024 11:50 pm
Qí Yáolán rolled his eyes as Kaifeng went on some mini-rant he could not possibly care less about. "Did I say anything about his parents?" he asked sarcastically, huffing. "Same as ever, assuming words are being said when they damn well weren't. Try opening your ears and hear what's there and not what you imagine!" Selenga did not comment on that, because.... Well, there was a point to be made there, even if it was being said by a jackass. Still. "Yes, do tell, who are you?" he echoed Kaifeng, giving Kaifeng a shrug in response—if it never happened to Kaifeng, he was fine with that. He'd figure out this new thing. "I was the Selenga that came before you," Qí Yáolán said, nodding to Selenga. "You are my many-times great grandson." Selenga went completely speechless, except for a small squeak of shock. "Unfortunate that we've lost the ears and tail of our kind," Qí Yáolán mused, looking Selenga over. "And you're rather small of a Knight—are you eating enough?" Selenga's blood ran cold. "And," the ghost continued, blithely ignoring that Selenga hadn't said anything, "What do you mean you've married Kaifeng's cousin?"
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Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2024 8:27 pm
“Hey, if you want to insult my predecessor, haven’t I got a right to defend him,” Kaifeng pointed out. “I said the thing about his parents as evidence of how seriously his took his duties as the Knight of Kaifeng: he took them so seriously that he tore himself apart with guilt over honoring their memories, because giving his own parents any personal attention supposedly went against what it meant to be the Knight of Kaifeng, like I *told* you. So, why don’t you try listening, old man?”
Honestly, it was exactly like talking to Huang Zhiming, and Kaifeng meant that comparison in the most insulting, derogatory way possible. Not that Leng-Leng’s alleged ancestor would have appreciated the insult nor what it meant to be compared to such a miserable, useless old fool as Huang Zhiming. But Kaifeng knew what sort of insult he was throwing at Qí Yáolán from within the privacy of his own head, and that was what mattered. Well, that and the fact that a bunch of How To Act Right Around People genes had apparently filtered into the Selenga bloodline in the thousand-year drift from Qí Yáolán to Lian Ming-er.
“Anyway,” Kaifeng picked up with a huff, “don’t underestimate Leng-Leng over his size and his delicate appearance. He’s agile, spirited, hardworking. He can fight just as well as anybody else. And so what if he’s married to my cousin? The two of them are really good together!”
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Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2024 11:33 am
Qí Yáolán scowled at Kaifeng. Before his ancestor could go onto another tirade, Selenga jumped in, hands on his hips. "Say something about my spouse and you'll wish you'd died fully a thousand years ago," he said threateningly. "Xie's the best person I've ever met in this entire universe and I will not stand for whatever bullshit is about to come out of your mouth just because xie's related to Kaifeng." Qí Yáolán stared at Selenga for a moment, then smiled a bit, bowing his head. "Good," he said, suddenly much more pleasant. "You do have some measure of integrity. Despite keeping unsavory company." "Call Kaifeng unsavory company one more time and I'll follow through on my threat," Selenga said coldly. "I'll do whatever it takes to erase you. I'm the one with Selenga's starseed now. This place is my responsibility. Not yours, you long dead old fart." Qí Yáolán huffed a little at that, tilting his head. "Well, I never." Ugh, this guy reminded Selenga of when he was younger and a much bigger a*****e, except this guy hardly seemed like he'd grown up despite clearly having gotten to an older age before Chaos killed him. "What are you hanging around for, anyway?" he finally asked, trying to calm down. "I'm meant to give you advice. Help you with your struggles, that sort of thing. For some reason... I never moved on," he explained, ears twitching downward with sadness. "I stayed here. I had hoped to be reincarnated with my love, yet..." And, despite all of Qí Yáolán's hostility, Selenga... understood. He felt bad for the previous Knight of Selenga—what must it be like, trapped here for seemingly eternity, with no hope of ever seeing your lover again? No wonder he went a bit mad with grief and wanting to protect this place perhaps even more deeply than he had in life. "I'm sorry," Selenga said quietly. "Maybe I can help you move on... Once I become a Knight." "Well, you'll need your signet ring," Qí Yáolán said. "We'll think about that sort of thing once you stay alive long enough to make it there, hm?" Aaaand good feelings gone, Selenga really disliked this guy.
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Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2024 12:29 pm
“Awwww,” escaped Kaifeng’s lips unbidden, hearing Qí Yáolán’s whole story (or at least the parts of it that the old man had seen fit to tell right now).
Not that the sympathy welling up in Kaifeng’s chest over it all really did anything to make him less annoyed with Qí Yáolán in general, but……well. Considering everything between Kaifeng and Huan-ge—considering how Liánlí was the reincarnation of Huan-ge’s lost love, and how quickly their souls had fallen back into each other (due in no small part to Liánlí totally misinterpreting how married Xīngyì-ge and Huan-ge had actually been), and how he had so easily gone from getting by perfectly fine on his own (romantically speaking) to feeling like so much of his universe would’ve fallen apart if he hadn’t had Huan-ge with him or hadn’t been able to trust that Huan-ge would catch him if he should fall—considering all of that, it was hard for Liánlí-Kaifeng not to sympathize here.
Plus……maybe Qí Yáolán’s spirit wasn’t one of those Kaifeng had been charged to care for, but as annoying and elitist as he clearly was, he was a soul who hadn’t been allowed to move on properly. As Kaifeng lowered his weapon with a sigh, he couldn’t help but feel some kind of responsibility for this jerk.
“Don’t worry too much about Leng-Leng making it to a full Knight,” he said earnestly. “He’s brave. He’s noble. He really cares about people and about wanting to do right with the power he’s been entrusted as a Knight. Plus, whatever you think of me or of Xingyi? Our zhiyin, Leng-Leng, and I all look out for each other. We’ll make sure Leng-Leng makes it to full Knight so he can help you move on and get you reincarnated with your beloved.”
He huffed softly and glanced around the room. “Speaking of Leng-Leng’s signet ring, though? Where might two enterprising young Knights find that for him?”
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Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2024 2:36 pm
One of Qí Yáolán's ears flicked a bit at hearing the aww, but he made no further comment, not wanting to piss either of them off again. He suppressed anything else in favor of answering the actual important question. "You'll find it in the family side of the home, across the river," he said, gesturing upstairs in the direction the overpass was. "I tried to keep my Knight duties and my family duties separate, but I died with it on over there, holding..." He trailed off, clearing his throat and clearly ignoring the way his ears dropped and tail curled gently between his legs. "Don't be shocked if you see a skeleton. Or maybe we've crumbled to dust by now." Goosebumps rose across Selenga's flesh at the ominous warning, but he nodded, thanking Qí Yáolán and hurrying up to the overpass and through it. Indeed, what he found was a skeleton, laying in what was clearly a living area, with children's toys scattered about. And... in that skeleton's arms laid a much smaller ********," Selenga whispered, dropping to his knees and tearing up. How many children had Qí Yáolán had? This was probably the youngest one, or else he wouldn't exist... But... this was overwhelming. The proof of a war.
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Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2024 7:52 pm
Even with the warning of what he and Selenga would find over in the living area, the sight of the skeletons made Kaifeng startle. Stopped in his tracks, he drank in the sight of them—of the two skeletons clinging to each other with the toys scattered all around, and the ring gleaming on the larger skeleton’s finger—and he struggled not to join Selenga on the floor. That Kaifeng stayed standing didn’t mean he didn’t care, not at all. Coming to Selenga’s side, he only hesitated in reaching out for his cousin’s shoulder because he wanted to give Selenga the chance to refuse the touch or not.
But……even if this was not his Wonder, even if these dead were not his to care for, Kaifeng was a Knight of Saturn, the planet of death. Under the circumstances, with no one else present to handle the task, didn’t it fall to him to ensure that Qí Yáolán’s remains and those of his son were treated properly?
“‘The radiance of Buddha’s light extends throughout the world,’” Kaifeng intoned when he could not call to mind any sutras he’d ever heard recited for the dead. He wasn’t sure that this selection from the Huayan sutra was the most appropriate thing that he could’ve come up with for the situation before him? But of everything he’d been reading in his free time lately, it certainly wasn’t the worst choice, either. “‘The Buddha’s freedom cannot be measured. It fills the cosmos and all space.… In all atoms of all lands, Buddha enters, each and every one.… In each atom are many oceans of worlds, their locations each different, all beautifully pure. Thus does infinity enter into one’ yet allow each to remain distinct.… ‘In each atom are innumerable lights pervading the lands of the ten directions, all showing the Buddhas’ enlightenment.… While their essential nature neither comes nor goes, by their own power they pervade the worlds.’”
For several moments, Kaifeng let the passage hang in the air between them. Then, with a sigh, he stepped forward and crouched down.
“I’m gonna go back across the river real quick, Leng-Leng,” he said as he gently wriggled the ring off of Qí Yáolán’s skeletal finger. As he came back and curled Selenga’s hand around the ring, he explained, “Gonna ask your predecessor where I might find a shovel. And if he might prefer anywhere in particular along the grounds for his and his son’s final resting place—if that’s okay with you.”
Kaifeng nodded slowly, more for himself than Selenga. “It’s not my Wonder, so I don’t want to act without your permission and his. But helping you care for your ancestors is one of my duties—as a Knight of Saturn and as your family.”
Even given the existence of starseeds and whatever Lady Cosmos did to make the reincarnation cycle work, people’s mortal remains were important. Needed to be handled with the utmost care.genovianprince Credit where it’s due: Kaifeng’s translation of the Huayan sutra comes from Chün-fang Yü’s Chinese Buddhism: A Thematic History (2020, University of Hawaii Press), with a slight alteration to one line that’s meant to be reflective of Kaifeng remembering the spirit of the passage but not the exact wording.
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Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2024 12:43 pm
Selenga reached up to grip Kaifeng's hand when it came over his shoulder, letting him slip away when Kaifeng moved forward to get the ring for him. He took it without really looking at it, focused on the figures before him. Wrapped up in multiple layers of clothing and blankets, it seemed, and a little fox-like doll tucked between the two of his ancestors who laid here. His heart squeezed painfully. "Thanks, Kaifeng. You... have my permission. Do what you need. I'm sure he'll appreciate it, even if it is from you," Selenga said with a choked sounding little laugh. "I think I need to just sit here for a minute..."
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Posted: Sun Jan 28, 2024 2:08 pm
“That makes sense, Leng-Leng,” Kaifeng told him softly. “Take as much time as you need.”
With that said and one last, gentle squeeze of Selenga’s shoulder, Kaifeng didn’t delay in getting back across the river. As much as Qí Yáolán had irritated him at first, he gave himself a moment for a deep, nerve-steadying breath, then re-entered the home as respectfully as he could. Considering what had happened here and everyone whom the line of Selenga had lost when their Wonder had first fallen, Kaifeng didn’t want to disrupt anything more than his presence likely already did.
When he approached the ghost of Selenga’s ancestor once more, Kaifeng raised his hands. He pressed one’s fist into the other’s palm, and greeted Qí Yáolán with a bow at the shoulders.
“Qí-lǎojiàng,” he said, simply and earnestly, “if you’d be amenable, I would be honored to lay your and your son’s remains to rest. Is there anywhere that might serve best as a place for it? And if I receive lǎojiàng’s permission for this, is there somewhere I might find a shovel to work with?”genovianprince_ The binome that Kaifeng is using here, 老匠 lǎojiàng, is technically one that he’s come up with on his own, combining 老 lǎo, meaning “old, aged, elderly; venerable” [usually, it conveys a sense of age and venerable status; it can be used sarcastically or ironically, but with this character, you find a strong semantic association between someone’s age and how much respect they deserve, so unless they’re really flouting some other standards of behavior, you might prefer to look for a different age-related character to mock them. Moot point, though, since Kaifeng is using it sincerely] with 匠 jiàng, meaning “craftsman, artisan; master” [of incidental relevance, the character is often seen used in a binome for “gardener, florist”—花匠 huājiàng, lit. “flower craftsman”—and words for both “gardener” and “artisan; master” can be used euphemistically to mean “teacher,” depending on the context].
The whole binome is also a soundalike for a different lǎojiàng, 老將, which is used to mean “old general” in military contexts or used more figuratively used to mean “veteran, old-timer [non-derogatory, usually], experienced person.” It’s also the name of the commander-in-chief piece in xiangqi.
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