Anachronism stew I.

[undead_radish_seller]

Bar has her moods. So, when Wen Ning walked up to her this evening, coming in from a great day at home distributing the bounties from Milliways (A-Jing is so happy with her new pink dress, twirling and jumping as any teenage girl has the right to), he asked the bar to surprise him. Expecting spicy food or something.

Instead, he got a small glass of Atlantean, a bowl of popcorn, and a tablet computer set up in Chinese.

Because of that, the bar now contains exactly one (1) fierce corpse who is hanging from the rafters by his knees, watching 'Queer Eye' and eating popcorn upside-down without snarfing any of it in the wrong direction.



tinytag: wen ning
[[OOC: This post is brought to you by the mun's workday from hell.]]

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[little_pieces_of_time]

There is a smoll photographer-in-training in the bar. She is beginning to wonder if she'll need a photo album for all of the photographs she's taking in Milliways, to keep here while she is at home for fear of having to try and explain them.

She isn't that good with photo-manipulation software, even if they weren't poloroids. But she wouldn't blame anyone for thinking the image of the pale man in black, hanging upside down from the rafters with this hair streaming below him while he watches a show on his tablet and munches popcorn, is a hoax.

~*FLASH*~ goes the camera.

[undead_radish_seller]

Wen Ning is startled and drops a handful of popcorn; some of it may even hit the photographer.

"Meep!" he squeals. "Erm, I mean, is that indoor fireworks?"

[little_pieces_of_time]

"Oh!" Max startles slightly in response to the sudden shower of popcorn, quickly removing the two or three pieces that had ended up in her hair. "Sorry - Oh, um, no. It's a camera. I saw you... hanging out, and it made such a good image, I just wanted to..." No, Max, pay attention. Details. Don't look at the tablet, look at how he's dressed. He didn't recognize a camera flash. Start from the beginning.

"...Cameras are devices that can record the image of whatever's in front of them, like a painter making a painting, but near instantly. It makes a photograph, one of these," she says, taking the little square of photo-paper that is spit out of her camera, "and the image shows up on it after a little while."

[undead_radish_seller]

Wen Ning cranes his neck to try and look at it, making his hair swish in interesting ways.

"Can I see? Pretty please?"

He's quite relaxed, hanging out like that, with none of his usual awkwardness. But Max won't know that.

[little_pieces_of_time]

The ease of such requests, and the difficulty saying yes to them, always catches her off-guard. But she really does need to practice.

"Um, of course," she says, fully possessed of all of her usual awkwardness. Max passes the developing photo - still mostly grey, but with some details filtering in. "It'll take a little while to develop - for the image to show up - though."

[undead_radish_seller]

"The picture is painting itself!" Wen Ning exclaims. "And it shows me, hanging around here and watching the story-scroll theatre!"

[little_pieces_of_time]

Max can't help but smile at that. "Yep! It'll keep getting clearer and the colors will come in, over the next few minutes."

"I hope it turns out well - I've been practicing around Milliways, even though I can't exactly take the photos home."

She'd like to avoid all the questions they would raise.

"'Story-scroll theatre'? The tablet?"

[undead_radish_seller]

"It's like a story scroll where you see the story take place one thing after the other within the borders of a rectangle you can take with you," Wen Ning explains cheerfully. "And like theatre in that the people talk and move. I just picked at random which play I wanted to see, and this is about some followers of the rabbit god who are very generous to some unhappy people while making very funny comments, and in the end everybody cries and is happy at the same time, and the unhappy person had their life turned around by their generosity. They do it again and again, I don't know why, but it's fun to watch."

[little_pieces_of_time]

"I suppose story-scroll theatre makes sense then," she grins, catching the logo. "And Queer Eye is such a great feel-good show. The audience gets to see the positive impact they make on people's lives, and gets the benefit of their good advice, too."

Though....

"'Followers of the rabbit god'?" she can't help but giggle a little. What?

[undead_radish_seller]

Wen Ning dangles, and giggles. "I feel good watching it, yes!" he says. "And I don't know why they have to be followers of the rabbit god to do that. No idea? It makes no sense? But perhaps Tu'er Shen asks of his followers to be generous to unhappy people as a kind of worship? I don't know. I don't know any followers of the rabbit god that I know of. Of course I know some, I just don't know."

Pause.

"I need another cup of that drink. Perhaps it makes sense then. Being given good food and new clothes and told that your suffering is over, and seeing your sister happy again is a very good feeling, though. Happened to us, too."

[little_pieces_of_time]

"Any god that encourages generosity and kindness to the unhappy would have my support, I suppose," she chuckles, still unsure. "I don't know of any rabbit god, though. At least, Queer Eye in my world doesn't mention a rabbit god?"

Who knows how it goes, in other worlds?

[undead_radish_seller]

"It does," Wen Ning insists. "It says they all are! And that's why they are so generous and kind, just as Hanguang-jun is to us. That's not to say Hanguang-jun is a follower of the rabbit god, or any of the others that help us -- Abe no Seimei, Zenigata-quianbei or Doctor Lecter. Well, they might be, or some of them, but I don't know! Well, Jiangguang-guniang can't be, she's a lady. Well, she might be a follower of whatever goddess is in charge of women loving women, I just don't know! And I don't even know if there is such a goddess, but there should be, don't you think?"

[little_pieces_of_time]

Max is having difficulty following. The show says they follow a god? A god only men can follow, and then only some men? But for women there might be a goddess for...

"Oh!" her expression clears, only to be muddled by a blush among the freckles dusting her cheeks and nose. "I mean.. yes, there should be!"

"I didn't... put together that 'follower of the rabbit god' meant... not straight. Not attracted to people of a different gender."

[undead_radish_seller]

"Yes, that's what Tu'er Shen is in charge of," Wen Ning says. "And if he tells his followers to be generous to unhappy people like us, then I'm grateful to him, too, even though I'm not his follower."

Pause.

"I don't like anybody that way. I'm a fierce corpse. But I really do like that drink Bar gave me!"

[little_pieces_of_time]

"That's not too unusual, either - there are folks who don't like anybody that way," she nods. "Just like... there are people who are attracted to others regardless of their gender, too."

Max knows this in her heart, but isn't sure she's ready to talk about it with someone she just met, who is...

"A fierce corpse?"

[undead_radish_seller]

"Yes," Wen Ning says. "I was dead, mostly, but Wei-gongzi fixed me."

[little_pieces_of_time]

"Oh!"

Oh.

"...I'm glad he was able to fix that. And that people have been able to help."

He seems like a perfectly nice person - it's good he's still around so he can hang upside down and watch Queer Eye.

"I'm Max, by the way. Max Caulfield."

[undead_radish_seller]

Wen Ning hops to the ground with half a somersault, long black hair streaming behind him, robes flying.

Then, he puts his hands together in an elegant semicircle, bows to her, and says, "I'm Wen Ning, courtesy name Wen Qionglin, knows as Gui Jiangjun, the Ghost General."

[little_pieces_of_time]

"Woah." How do people do that, and make it look so effortless? It's so stellar, and Max is half-awed and half-jealous.

"...Good to meet you, Wen Ning," she replies, not sure if she should curtsey or something similar in response, "or do you prefer Wen Qionglin or Gui Jiangjun?" Just in case!

[undead_radish_seller]

"Wen Ning," Wen Ning says. "I never really grew into my courtesy name. Now that I'm down here, I can get another drink. Do you want one, too?"

[little_pieces_of_time]

"Sure!" she says, brightening. "You mentioned you liked the drink the Bar got you - what was it?"

[undead_radish_seller]

"It's called Atlantean," Wen Ning says with a big smile.

[little_pieces_of_time]

"Atlantean? I've not heard of it," she admits, with a shaky little chuckle. "But I'll try just about anything once."

[undead_radish_seller]

Wen Ning cheerfully rolls up to the bar and orders two glasses of Atlantean.

Two glasses appear; one is the size of an ordinary shot glass and clearly labelled 'Wen Ning', the other is about as big as a thimble, and has the name 'Max Caulfield' engraved on it in tiny letters.

"Huh," Wen Ning says.

[little_pieces_of_time]

"Uh," echoes Max, looking at the tiny cup with her name engraved in tinier letters. The amount of liquid it holds could be measured in individual drops.

"Is it that strong? Maybe I shouldn't."

[undead_radish_seller]

"Maybe it gave you just enough that you can take it, which is why I get more," Wen Ning muses. "I'm a fierce corpse and don't get drunk that easily. It tastes like heaven."

He lifts his glass with both hands and takes a tiny sip.

"Ahhh!"

He smiles widely.