ᴛᴜʀʙᴏ ʜᴇᴀᴠᴇɴ ☁️ maomao

[dijun]

M

AOMAO

DENDRO

Comments

wknd 0; saturday

[dijun]

[ hello maomao. at the moment, zhongli can be found in his clothes from home again, surveying the clothes in the clothing store with mild fascination. a lot of these styles don't exist in teyvat, let alone liyue, so he can't help his curiosity. he has his chin in hand as he carefully moves the hangers along the rack with the other hand, eyebrows periodically twitching, or a frown showing. ]

My, how interesting...

[apoisoncary]

[ she's also in her clothes again, but it would be useful to have something else to wear. she is going to peek over to see what he's checking out ]

It seems there is a wide selection here. [ she knows someone who would love it if the rumors are true. ]

wk 0; monday

[dijun]

[ maomao will get to find zhongli at the stage today, examining the various instruments with a keen eye. he seems to be looking for familiar ones, although his gloved fingers do briefly brush across a few less familiar instruments, testing strings and pressing levers as he goes, trying to figure them out.

when he spots her, he gives her a small smile in greeting. ]

Another day of not quite recognizing everything, but there are some musical instruments available to us that we might know. Do you play, Miss Maomao?

[apoisoncary]

[ while initially the stage did earn her curiousity, watch him is more interesting. seeing which instrument he lingers or the way he checks them out. his age would give him the time to dabble in many hobbies, and it looks like music may be part of that.

at his question, maomao will shake her head ]

Granny would have liked it if I stuck to it, but I had no need to retain any of those lessons.

[ sometimes you forget or don't bother with things outside of your hyperfixation ]

Big sister Joka is skilled with the erhu. [ maomao will wait to see if he knows what that is ]

wk 0; friday

[dijun]

[ zhongli has largely been pacing every location that they have available, but especially the beach - considering that's where charlie was found - so maomao will be able to see him coming up from the beach and to the boardwalk. there's no... there's not a trail to follow, but he seems to be trying to find one, if the way he's scanning the place is anything to go by.

he has a tight, familiar grip on his polearm at the moment, as if prepared for a jumpscare as he goes. it's different from the more relaxed and loose hold he'd had throughout the week. ]

Miss Maomao... you're alright.

Re: wk 0; friday

[apoisoncary]

[ maomao has a similar idea! she will approach, but make sure to give him plenty of space in case he needs to swing ]

Have you noticed anything?

[ he doesn't need to worry about her ]

wk 0; sunday

[dijun]

[ Zhongli is distracted, once everything has been taken care of for jiaoqiu. he's actually in the kitchen at the moment, waiting for water to boil in an old-fashioned kettle on the stove and simply... staring into the wall above the stove, his hands absently resting on the handle for the oven below. his stance is still just as upright as usual, but his shoulders are still tense while he lets himself be lost to his own thoughts.

it's only when the kettle begins to whistle that he rouses from his thoughts and notices maomao, shaking his head and offering a small smile. ]

Tea? [ might as well offer some, as he reaches for the kettle, going to pour it into a porcelain teapot waiting on the counter. ] I thought it might be good to brew some, after that.

[apoisoncary]

[ she'll leave him to his thoughts as she merely observes, while also thinking over things. once he does notice, she will give a polite nod of her head. ]

We can have it with some snacks I made.

[ if he's feeling up to snacks ]

wk 1; monday

[dijun]

[ okok, to start. fit check and transformation check, just with ears.

rng is the morning/noon/evening/night, and you get... evening! happy halloween!

after having experienced christmas turning into valentines day, zhongli can't help his curiosity in coming back to the new neighborhood in the evening to see if anything changes then, too. to see all the romantic decorations replaced with spookier decor... he looks a little melancholic, picking up a little ghost sugar cookie as he assesses everything around them. but he smooths the expression over when he sees maomao is there, too. ]

A domain of everchanging festivities. This one is quite exciting, don't you think? I wonder what the shirts mean... I'm not familiar with this sort of custom.

[ looking across the way at the human skeletons. ]

I THOUGHT I HIT POST

[apoisoncary]

[ her own outfit! with the addition of a hole for the tail that's sticking out. she is very much what her name means... cat with her green ears.

maomao is also wearing a black ribbon on her wrist of her left bandaged arm. ]

It does keep things interesting and there's many more things to see and do.

[ Looking at the skeletons and trying to ignore how wrong the animal ones are ]

week 1, friday die day

[apoisoncary]

[ it's going to be the market and she will be invading his space fairly quickly. ]

Let me see your stomach.

[ she already has her hands on his shirt. he really needs to stop humoring her... ]

[dijun]

[ he pulls up short, probably going to check on her after roaming around to look for proof of what happened - but there she goes, being maomao.

his tail gives a quick lash at the lack of propriety, as well as all the other stressors, before he softly bats her hands. he's still wearing his curfew outfit so his shirt is tucked in, ma'am, please do not be doing this to him. ]

Please at least allow me to undress myself, Miss Maomao. [ tiredly. but he will untuck, and lift it, and the undershirt he has beneath it, to show her his stomach. ]

wk 1; saturday

[dijun]

[ somehow, it feels as if it was better for them to have caught jing yuan in the final moments of trial last week. having nearly two hours to deliberate, to stew on the emotions, made it so much more... volatile.

zhongli walks, because it helps him think, these days, and it means that he can check on the others. there's little to do when it comes to hawke, but... there are still those, outside of the containment of the church, that might need a listening ear or some company during these times. ]

... Miss Maomao. [ finding her, he'll change his course to join her. the asinine realization that he never joined the injury check occurs to him, but they were, well, rather preoccupied at the time. ]

[apoisoncary]

[ there is something interesting about how both the culprits are named for critters that can fly.

maomao is going to look at zhongli, and pause for a moment to weigh on if the needs to bolt or not. ]

Zhongli... are you taking a walk?

[ just going to pretend she has nothing to worry about. ]

wk 2; monday

[lilxuvia]

[ carrying on from the mingle, zhongli's ears perk up on either side of his head when maomao says food. he reaches up to wrap his little mits around her hand, chirruping. food? food??? ]

[apoisoncary]

[ that's a yes then! time to carry him away from the beautiful plants ]

I'm assuming meat is fine...

week 2, thursday

[apoisoncary]

[ have a pre-curfew text ]

will be with koharu
are you with firefly

[dijun]

I am visiting the other three, but will be on my way to join Miss Firefly shortly, yes.
Their condition worries me.

[dijun]

[ i almost put wk 4. jfc.

zhongli is casing out the meadow, the same as he has the past murders - as if the final resting place can tell them anything, when they're in a frozen state to preserve the scene - looking pensive. a little frustrated, too, if you know where to look in his posture.

but he does at least look up, hearing someone join him. seeing that it's maomao, he looks a little relieved to see that she's alright. ]

How were you and Miss Koharu, last night..? Joined by anyone?

[apoisoncary]

[ it just had to be the meadow again

putting her unease about this place to the side as she slowly approaches, but there is a tenseness to her movement. keeping her gaze on zhongli instead of the singing plants as she studies him for signs of distress. ]

Yves and his usual group were there as well. We stayed in the courtyard. As for Koharu, she was resting most of the night. Were you with anyone besides Firefly?

wk 2; saturday

[dijun]

[ stares out into the void... honestly zhongli is quiet, calm, but the tension from the end of trial is still rigid in his spine. his arms are folded behind his back as he tilts his head up, looking up at the unfamiliar stars of the night sky. it has no answers, and he doesn't expect there to be any.

but he looks up at them, anyways. maomao can come join him and he'll hum a noise to let her know he's aware that she's there. ]

[apoisoncary]

[ she is going to step up beside him and then carefully place a hand on his arm. she still isn't sure what's helpful in moment like these... ]

wk 3; tuesday

[dijun]

[ i'm going to drop us directly into memshare so that i can make sure we get everything taken care of. so whether they're in the funhouse or step through a doorway and find themselves there...

well, congrats! you've been chosen for a memory of stone (plus ending scene) for this one! if you want another one later on in the thread or the week i've GOT you, though i apologize that this is 20 minutes of genshin cutscenes. it's easier to watch than read because there's so much dialogue and lore i'm sorry.

please skip the fights and puzzle solving for my own sanity. video proper starts at 25 seconds in for the first one. ]

[apoisoncary]

[ maomao is going to patiently listen to every word as she watches the events unfold in the mirror. once it's finished, she will look at zhongli through the reflection of the mirror. there were some...telling sighs. knowing his age and what he is, he may have witnessed the events or heard first person accounts at the time of.

he can guess she will have some questions from the way her hand curls under her chin. ]

Who is Rex Lapis and Morax?

week 3, thursday

[apoisoncary]

are you busy

[ and then a second message comes in ]

you are reliable and steadfast. you would make the ideal partner for someone

[ compliment week ]

[dijun]

[ blinks rapidly at phone ]

Thank you, Miss Maomao. I will make sure to pay you a proper compliment to your face when next we see each other.
I am not, no. I've only just finished sitting with the four that returned today.

wk 7; monday

[dijun]

[ alright.

the moment that they got onto the polar express, zhongli threw up a shield around the both of them. because, by god, he's going to see the damn corgi car after maomao had written to him about it and he'd seen all of the joy that it brought everyone. it'll protect them from flying spells and violence, though he won't be surprised if he has to reup it at some point. ]

Lead the way, Maomao. I would like to see as much of this place as I can, before we're swept up in Judgement Day and whatever else that the Entity might be throwing at us.

[apoisoncary]

[ she almost wants to touch the shield ]

I suppose we should be content we got you all back, but it would have been better if we could show you this places.

[ rude of the entity to make one final mess before it's dealt with. she will lead the way as requested, but will offer her hand. ]

Do you need your hands free?

wk 7; endgame

[dijun]

[ we are... somewhere in the neighborhood? the gazebo, maybe, so that zhongli's easy to find for those that are coming and going through all of, well. this. there's a light, golden glow coming from his hands - and as part of his hands, as well - as he can be found manipulating geo energy quietly. his emotions are still distant enough to not really be there, but his thoughts are filled with shapes, and brief blips of peoples' words or faces as he works.

a bottle of osmanthus wine sits next to him, but no glass. so he's probably just been drinking from it directly while doing his task at the moment. on his lap is a velvet-lined box, with a few things in the bottom of it already. what they are isn't immediately apparent, but they're the same color as whatever is in his hands right now.

without looking up right away: ] The final day comes tomorrow. How are you feeling about it?

[ the light fades, and he deposits his work into the box - then looks up at maomao, offering her a small, fond smile. a little sad around the edges, but... still there for maomao. might be the last time they see each other, and he will miss her so sorely. he knows it. ]

[apoisoncary]

[ she will watch him work for a few moments, her own thoughts going mute. once he makes it known that he knows she is there, she will come closer and carefully place her hand on his shoulder before settling down to continue watching ]

I had a feeling we no longer would be seeing each other again, but getting confirmation has been more of a disappointment than I thought. How are you feeling about it?