[open post -- winged and once-winged insects]

[onthewillowsthere]

Galahad has collected every insect guide he could find in the mansion's library, and now he is camped out in a laboratory it seems to have created particularly for him and Susan -- the room has its own microscope, so that he can stop borrowing Claudius', and every single shelf is filled with glass habitats or mesh tents for keeping insects.

With his single-minded determination, he has filled many of them -- the tents house carefully potted foot-high milkweeds with tiny butterfly eggs affixed to their leaves, or potato plants he hopes will soon harbor potato beetles, or butterflies resting on the mesh. In the glass habitats there are millipedes, gleaming tenebrionid beetles, huge and bumbling scarabs, the dogbane leaf beetle Lancelot helped him capture, shiny blister beetles, leafhoppers in every shade of green, a pair of picasso bugs, an mantis he found in the greenhouse pretending to be an orchid flower.

Many of these insects stay only long enough to be identified and documented. Galahad and Susan between them take careful notes, make drawings, take pictures. When possible, they identify to species; more often, they identify genera or family, country of origin if they're lucky. Then they let their subjects go again. Neither of them has the time nor the inclination to feed and care for the immense diversity of insects living on the mansion's grounds. Potato beetles are one thing, but catching other tiny insects for the tiger beetles every morning is unsustainable. Galahad doesn't mind. Once he has a picture and the notes, the insect is saved, even if they don't see it again.

In the morning he trains with Lan Wangji, so it's an afternoon now when he's perched on a stool in front of the microscope, inspecting a chlaenius beetle to see whether it's possible to confirm a species. Unfortunately, these beetles are too fast and squirmy to put on a slide alive, so he's ethered it first. Now he's working diligently on his sketch, his pale head bowed as he studies the tiny body.

[Open especially to anyone who needs to be reassured that Galahad is back after the mod event and he's just fine now]

Comments

[lightbearinglord]

Immediately, Lan Wangji has some new objections to this game. How can a pink sphere overpower a trained swordsman in this way?

Further objections arise momentarily. He has some idea now of how to maneuver his character, but he is not practiced enough to do it well. He doesn't like the disconnect between the act of pressing these flimsy buttons and their result on the screen. He doesn't like the way the stage moves. In short, he is less completely lost than he was when Magnus first exhorted him to play, but he is still not good at this.

[summerdude]

"You're doing great, Hanguang-jun," says Magnus encouragingly, as Hanguang-jun gets knocked out again. "Way better than me."

[onthewillowsthere]

"When I roll, you should jump," Galahad explains. "We can practice."

[lightbearinglord]

"Mn," Lan Wangji says, solemn. "Let's." He is reasonably sure that he could master this with time; he is less sure that he cares to do so.

[onthewillowsthere]

Once again, Jigglypuff barrels towards Marth.

[lightbearinglord]

As cued, Lan Wangji directs his character to jump. The way these miniature fighters jump is objectively ridiculous -- there's a floatiness to it that shouldn't make sense. To a cultivator, it is surprisingly familiar. He doesn't mind it. Galahad is just as patient as him, and just as calm a teacher as they repeat the same series of moves again and again.

[onthewillowsthere]

When Lan Wangji becomes adept at jumping just at the right moment to avoid the roll, Galahad says, "Good." And then, to Magnus, "What are his special attacks?"

[summerdude]

"I only know Peach," Magnus stage-whispers to Galahad. "Um, uh, um, ....sword stuff?" He leans against Lan Wangji so he can point better. "You do specials by hitting B. The, um, the red button? And moving your little joystick thingy. And you do big attacks with the big button. A? Also with moving your joystick."

[lightbearinglord]

Lan Wangji has already independently reached those conclusions, but he doesn't tell Magnus that. He doesn't quite understand what differentiates a special attack from a big one. That doesn't seem important enough to pursue, either. "Attack me again," he suggests to Galahad.

[onthewillowsthere]

Galahad nods and launches Jigglypuff towards Marth again.

[lightbearinglord]

This time, it is a less pitiful showing. Lan Wangji has yet to commit these moves to the memory of his hands, but he is getting closer. Marth lands a handful of blows.

[summerdude]

"Good one, Hanguang-jun!" says Magnus. Maybe he can be a good cheerleader? Maybe that's his role here?

[onthewillowsthere]

"Good," Galahad says as well. He tries to say it as Lan Wangji himself does, when Galahad improves in training.

[lightbearinglord]

Their twinned encouragement is too charming to resist. Lan Wangji lightly nudges Magnus' shoulder with his own. "Thank you." He gazes grimly at the screen again. "Can this game be won? Or do you only play again and again?"

[summerdude]

"You go until you lose and then you can play again. With different characters, if you want."

[onthewillowsthere]

"We can stop after this."

[lightbearinglord]

He thinks about whether he wants to stop. He does, but he also hates to give up on anything at all. "Once more after this."

[summerdude]

As Magnus watches them go at it for another minute or two, something occurs to him. "We should try and make a backup," he says. "Of the videos."

[onthewillowsthere]

Galahad looks up. "SecUnit," he says immediately, thinking of its drones and its pledge to protect Claudius.

[lightbearinglord]

Lan Wangji, who is not close to skilled enough at this for multitasking, promptly loses the current round as he looks at Magnus. He's silent; he certainly doesn't know how to make additional copies of videos, but he does believe that SecUnit must know.

[summerdude]

"You guys keep playing," Magnus says. This -- asking another friend(?) for help with a situation -- is something he can do and be happy about doing. "Hanguang-jun, can I see the memory card? I'll bring it back."

[lightbearinglord]

"Mn." In barely a moment, he has set aside the controller entirely in pursuit of taking the memory card back from his qiankun pouch and passing it to Magnus.

[summerdude]

"Cool, thanks," says Magnus, taking it and rising from the couch. "When I come back, I expect a full accounting of just how much Hanguang-jun has learned." Then, 40% teasing, 60% earnest, he circles around the couch, dropping a kiss on the crown of each of their heads as he walks behind them.

[onthewillowsthere]

Galahad smiles, tipping his head back. "I will teach him everything."

[lightbearinglord]

Lan Wangji, startled -- but certainly not unhappy -- looks after Magnus as he goes, fondness warming his expression for a tiny moment. Reflexively, he touches one hand to the top of his head to ascertain whether his hair is still in place.