ellipsanet | {Video; UN: scraps}

[ Understanding, if perhaps not as sharp, is clear on this dragon's face. ]

Loss is difficult no matter how temporary it may be.

{Runyu is...familiar (in the sense that Xie Lian knows he is speaking to a fellow deity).}

I keep losing him. Is it me? Am I doing something wrong?

[ Runyu shakes his head just a little, gaze lowering slightly as he senses echoes of pain and loss. ]

This world is a marvel, this is true. However...just as we are brought here without much warning, we can just as easily be taken away.

{There is truth in that. Xie Lian can't live in his emotions - it isn't good for him or anyone else.}

...you're right. I suppose I am feeling sorry for myself. What a waste of time!

My best advice, if you are interested in it, is to live in the moment as best you can. Which is easier said than done, I know.

When I arrived, the only companion that came with me is my Dream Beast. He can eat dreams and help you sleep. The worst the dream is, the happier he is to eat it as he knows it helps people rest. If you would like his assistance, let me know?

I need to create good moments, then, so I can forget -

What does he look like? {Is he cute?} He is as helpful as his Master. Tell me, Lord Runyu, are you lonely in Heaven?

I always was. I was lonely on Earth too. But when I met him, it was like all of my pain was washed away.

[ In answer, Runyu turns the feed to show the little antlered beast, who promptly coos and wiggles it's tail in hello. ]

I have always been alone, with my Dream Beast. I couldn't afford to trust anyone completely, aside from my brother - who had his own problems.

[ Runyu doesn't turn the feed back to his face, not yet. But his voice betrays a hint of his wistfulness at hearing Xie Lian's experience with Hua Cheng. ]

You found your soulmate. I'm glad.

{Ah. Xie Lian softens immediately and smiles for the cutie. A dream-eater... He has never met one of those!}

Your soulmate exists. If mine does, everyone has one, I'm sure of it.

{His smile grows and he fills his mind with warm memories of his San Lang's mischief and undeniable love.}

I sometimes think I dreamed him up. But I'm not that creative nor would I even dare to imagine someone following me for eight centuries!

[ A puff of a chuckle and the Dream Beast playfully hops forward, flexible antlers waving this way and that with the creature's mood. ]

I may have met them here. At the very least, I have found two who accept me just as I am.

[ Of anyone he's met, Xiao Xingchen and Xue Yang are the closest to feeling like they could genuinely be his than anyone else. He just can't help but doubt it, just a little. ]

Trust that he exists.

{Aw! Xie Lian grabs a pen to draw a picture of the little fawn. He has been working on his art!}

Two! {He pauses - mid-sketch - and smiles slowly.} I think if I met another San Lang, my heart would explode.

{How does Runyu have time to do anything else in the day? ~~Everyone pounces on their lovers at every available moment, right? Right?~~}

He is my dearest believer.

[ The Dream Beast puffs his chest out, little tail wagging madly as he holds still to be ~~admired~~ sketched. ]

Mm. They are a bonded pair who have generously welcomed me to join them. And they can be a bit...much.

[ Xue Yang. ]

I wouldn't change them for the world.

[ Hidden though his face is now, he smiles quietly. ]

Hold that in your heart.

{Xie Lian smiles wider and feels the tightness in his chest ease. The Dream Beast is already helping him!}

Was that generosity on their part or were they both attracted to you?

{It seems more like the latter to him! Runyu is a beautiful god.}

I'm happy for you. Being a deity is...difficult. I can't believe I wanted it so bad when I was young.

[ The Dream Beast is good at what he does! Runyu is endlessly grateful for the small creature's endless loyalty and support.

The quiet stillness behind the screen at that question hints at surprise, then chagrin. ]

...You're right. It belittles their love to describe it so.

[ He's never thought of himself as beautiful, but his sweet loves tell him he is every day. ]

Oh? You were mortal? [ Hinting that Runyu...has never been mortal. ]

Perhaps your Heavens are different to mine. [ But it doesn't sound so. ]

{Xie Lian will do his best to sketch an admirable version of the Dream Beast. Then he wants to meet him in person. ~~He is still unsure about allowing the poor creature to eat his dreams. Some of them are surely poisonous! Or rotten.~~}

I didn't mean you were belittling them. It's just that love can't be given out easily; it is either felt or it isn't.

{He pauses on one of the Dream Beast's hooves, his pen scratching against parchment.}

I was. I was born a mortal and then I Ascended...ah...three times. {Once is usually enough!}

Were you not born mortal?

[ The Dream Beast will wear him down~ Just through pure cute! And pouts if denied the tasty treats that are bad dreams! ]

...I know that well, unfortunately. I was a fool.

[ Three times! Runyu marvels at this man. ]

No. When I was a child, I believed I'd been born a fish. That would have been...safer, for my mother. But I failed at hiding my horns, and eventually ran away and was discovered. The Heavenly Empress at the time knew exactly who and what I was and took me away.

{Yes, good. Xie Lian can't withstand those little pouts and hoof stamps!}

Being foolish is how everyone learns. Poor San Lang pursued me for so long and I was oblivious! Thankfully he has forgiven me.

{Blame Jun Wu for that.}

A fish...? {Can animals Ascend? He has never thought about it! There is the Rainmaster's bull.}

Dragons are special and powerful. I've noticed that love accomplishes more than hate. Your Heavenly Empress needs a lesson on that.

[ Ouch. Xie Lian's predicament hits faaar too close to home for Xue Yang's comfort. ]

...Just don't do what I did, hm? I went crazier and hurt a lot more people than I had before. In the end, it doesn't help.

{Xue Yang would know exactly how he feels. Exactly.}

Mm I've done that before. {He smiles, pained.} No, it doesn't. It just makes it worse.

I have to be patient and hope.

Edited 2026-01-15 03:22 (UTC)

[ Exactly. Unfortunately. ]

You probably shouldn't be alone. I found that's when I started to go really nuts and made things even worse.

Do you like chocolate? I can bring something over if you want.

{Tears spring into his eyes, embarrassing him. He turns his head, forcing himself to breathe once. Twice.}

...I do. You -

You're very kind.

[ Xue Yang nods sharply, once, determination settling over him. Sending a quite message to Xingchen and Runyu, he heads for the best way to get around. ]

Alright. Send me your address, I'll be there pretty quick.

[ Because even though he can't eat food anymore, he always has something sweet on him for someone else who might just need it.

He cracks a wry, slightly sharp half grin at being called kind. ]

...You're nice to say so.

{The address is sent, guiding Xue Yang to a cottage in Autumn surrounded by beautiful maple trees. A fox is out front, sniffing for bugs to play with, their fluffy tail perked.

The front door is open - to make things easier for Xue Yang - and Xie Lian is straightening some books inside. He is wearing a red robe that isn't tailored for him, but it brings him comfort.}

[ The cottage he's led to is cute! And surrounded by beauty. Spying the fox, Xue Yang immediately shifts from the owl he'd flown here as, to a white arctic fox. He trots up to the pretty fox and yips a greeting. But only briefly, as that door invites him in.

He's polite enough to transform back into human form, dusting off a bit of snow from the Winter segment he spends most of his time in. ]

Your home is beautiful. [ He chirps in lieu of a proper greeting. ]

{The red fox stares at Xue Yang and then hunkers down, ready to play! They even follow him into the cottage, talking happily in a fox babble as they run by Xie Lian.}

...you are Xue Yang? {He turns to his guest, ushering him over to some comfortable cushions.}

Thank you for coming by. {With red-rimmed eyes and dark circles, it's clear the god isn't feeling his best.}

[ He beams at the cute little fox. ] I'll play with you later, friend~ [ He promises the fox.

Raising his arms, he bows briefly to Xie Lian. ]

I am!

[ He's not going to say a word about those red eyes and dark circles. He'd been an absolute mess when Zichen had left. Not to mention how he'd been when Xingchen...Wrenching his mind from that memory, Xue Yang jauntily walks over to the offered seat and plops down before pulling out the small box of assorted chocolates. ]

Of course!

{The red fox yips excitedly and pounces on a toy bear in the next room. Xie Lian watches with a soft smile before returning Xue Yang's bow.}

If I remember correctly, you can't eat food or drink anything but water, correct? Or was that ice?

{He has both ice and water sitting in two pitchers (plus glasses) for Xue Yang. After seating himself, the red robes flaring out around him because they are simply too long, he gratefully accepts the chocolates.}

You didn't have to bring me anything.

I can have water and ice, yeah.

[ For Xingchen, making that choice was easy. To not worry about death parting them again...he'd make it every day - in a way, he does.

Xue Yang rolls his eyes, but the smile is gentle enough as he waves the niceties away. ]

I keep sweets on me for people who look like they might need it. Growing up, I never had much, so I promised myself to always have candy when I was able to get it.

{In that case, Xie Lian pours him a glass of ice water and offers it to him.}

Your type of immortality isn't one I know about, but it obviously works.

{Since his guest can't enjoy the chocolates too, he sets them away for later.}

Mm you remind me a little of San Lang. Ah...Hua Cheng, that is. In Xianle, I was a prince and he was an impoverished child.

[ Xue Yang smiles and accepts the glass, sipping it for a moment. ]

It's not one known in my world either. A-Chen...Daozhang Xiao Xingchen and I learned it here.

[ The smile fades as he listens, head tilted in thought. ]

It's not easy for people who grow up on the streets to trust those who grew up with everything. That means you're close to as special as A-Chen is.

[ The impish little grin hopefully lessens any sting - close to, because no one can be as special as Xingchen is to him. ]

{It's cute how biased Xue Yang is towards Xiao Xingchen. It's also entirely wonderful and Xie Lian won't correct him!}

He fell during a parade. I don't know if he was pushed or if he jumped... {Misery can persuade people to do awful things.} I caught him and took him into the palace. He had broken bones and contusions all over him. I put him in my bed and I wanted to keep him there with me, but...

The palace wasn't a peaceful or safe place for a child and I thought he had a home to go to.

It wasn't until after I Ascended that I learned even his mother had rejected him and that he was constantly beatened and bullied. I broke Heaven's law several times to help him, but I was...restrained. I hated it.

That's around the time I fell. I wanted to help my kingdom through war and a plague. I ran into him again - he had grown - and he refused to stop following me, no matter how dangerous.

...Do you want me to come over and help you out?

You are welcome. I'm sure the foxes would love to see you.

You will.

( Xie Lian helped him before. And now that he learnt what he had about "Lian"... )

... Hopefully. Provided the functionality of this place works similarly...

Though there might be some... discrepancies... ( Trailing off... )

You have a lot of faith in me. {He blinks and his cheeks warm at the insistence. Wolfram is a good man.}

What do you mean? Discrepancies?

( Is it really "faith"...?? ? Wolfram's... Conflicted too still but... )

... ( How can Wolfram put this in a way that won't -- cause... ~~hurt~~?? )

... For example... if he were to be and act exactly the same as he had been before you left.

( ... ) Or perhaps he might remember things you'd ""remember"" from being "here"... but there'd be subtle differences in the order and sequence... and types of some events, however personal they may be for you.

... But the person you 'return to'... is still definitely the one you knew.

( This time, Wolfram's sitting up much more properly in bed, hair in much nicer condition ~~before he gets too comfortable~~ and overall looking somewhat "healthier" for Wolfram. ~~Touch energy might have Helped Here too~~--
The necklace with a silver chain and an emerald green stone similar to the color of his eyes is lying out against his chest, and he's wearing the pink negligee--
~~the certain pouch meanwhile is still hidden~~ but overall he's much more "comfortable" than he was previously. The seasickness-esque 'symptoms' are completely gone,
And the comforter is pulled across his legs. )

... So you should -- hopefully -- definitely be able to meet them again ...

Just...

( ... Would Xie Lian be ready to face that...?? ? Wolfram thinks, at the other's experience level he 'should be' but... )

{His stomach drops once he understands what Wolfram is saying. Hua Cheng will forever be precious - irreplaceable - for him, yet if their memories are different...

That could hurt. Still. He wants him back. His features harden and he answers immediately, unwavering.}

Anywhere, anytime, I want to be with him. If he remembers me or not, if he remembers our love or not, I want to be with him. Only him.

{Any hurt that might arise won't change his opinion.}

( beat ) { and Wolfram has sat up straight again... }

That oath you just made. Run with it. To the farthest places of the land --

Or I suppose of 'Heaven'... if you must.

[ ... Though the entire Earth concept of 'Heaven' still means something different to a Mazoku like Wolfram entirely... ]

( The necklace again seems to glint in a certain way
just as Wolfram's own eyes glint into the camera when making the slightest shift )

Edited ({also too many gifs-} (link is from KKM Pt 2 end) {why are the canon Queers & heavily coded canon Queers like this~}) 2026-01-15 09:47 (UTC)

( Wolfram's expression had changed into a soft smile,
though there's an almost sort of cockiness back in voice as well-- )

If you can keep believing in that oath than

Surely-- ( beat. beat. b e a t )

( The first day back had been ... really difficult too but... but...
After questioning Yuuri on if anything Yuuri had dreamt resembled the vague descriptions Wolfram gave of "Somarium"...
and Yuuri almost stubbornly giving back a confused
"Wolf, I'm really, really sorry -- but please believe me when I say I don't remember having any dreams like those!"

... At first Wolfram had been angry. But it was a different type of anger than anything Wolfram had felt before.
He almost backed out completely on eating breakfast that morning too but...
... At least the first morning.

Wolfram and Yuuri had both been ~~over~~sleeping in a little surprisingly long that day -- Wolfram had even apparently missed out on his training session completely.
~~Yuuri too had missed out on his personal running practice~~
Gwendal, after clearly holding some frustration, had begrudgingly given both lighter duties that day, at least, not without insisting both be checked by Gisela first--
but being oddly insistent when it came to Wolfram, possibly even a bit moreso than he was for Yuuri.
And while Wolfram had naturally resisted a bit -- in the end, he begrudgingly went, and of course, Gisela didn't find absolutely anything "wrong".
Other than perhaps a small lack of appetite and a "bit of stress" so "Take it easy today while you can"...

But when Wolfram had seen Greta again for the 'first time' in part of almost an entire "year" ~~sans just shy a handful more months~~... )

( ... ~~In the end~~... It had been worth it to come back.
Greta had excitedly thrown herself full-body at Wolfram for a hug, { and leaving Yuuri sputtering } while expressing surprise at how long both had ""slept in"" that day, then trying to excitedly tell Wolfram all about this "really amazing" dream Greta had about her successfully fending off some type of group of 'monster's attacking the castle with the sword she had been practicing with -- upon Wolfram's earlier guidance -- since before Wolfram had left. Apparently in her dream she had been so surprisingly successful in her counter-attack ~~as a "Trap Lady"~~ that she hadn't even had time to try to find Wolfram or Yuuri after -- before immediately waking up.
~~But when she had described the monsters from the vague forms she recalled Wolfram couldn't quite place them the same in own memory...~~

The next surprising thing had been Yuuri suddenly choosing to drag Wolfram to the garden with him.
Yuuri had insistingly given an excuse of "wanting to check on the flowers" and he had but...
It had almost felt like Yuuri was hesitantly trying to show them to Wolfram instead --

-- The flowers had been exactly the same as they were before Wolfram had left, too.
None had withered down too far from the day before and even the weather last night had been "great"... it was somehow like a visual confirmation that
Wolfram was in the place where Wolfram should be, even if Yuuri didn't fully realize what he was showing Wolfram.

So Yuuri had spent part of the next two~ hours lugging a watering can around
and hitting every patch of flowers Yuuri could get his hands and the can near --
"Beautiful Wolfram"'s section had gotten an extra-good "SPLASH" that day and it'd likely do fine for numerous days to come.

... And it was a good thing, too, because Wolfram had near immediately crashed after by the next day.
But even then... Yuuri and Greta had stayed by his side almost the entire time
-- at least when Yuuri could manage still avoiding his kingly duties for the duration.
And when Yuuri wasn't there Greta definitely was. )

{ And the brief encounter with a certain person not long earlier flashes through his memory, too... }

"... Everything will definitely be all right."

( ... Somehow Wolfram's started finally wanting to try to believe in that, too. )

Edited ({also because Greta shares a certain seiyuu/voice actor with Syaoran from there shhh-....}) 2026-01-15 10:13 (UTC)

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un: Tribos

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Private Video (does he know yet about people possibly not keeping memories when they go back??)

Private Video (yes, more or less, but he hopes he can overcome that.)

-> {Private Video from here on} (That helps to know!!+but will keep in mind!) ;A;/

{Private Video}

1/? Wait for It~ (in which I make References upon References)

2/? (he's Somarium reminiscing but with Relevancy)

3/3 \o/