(open-ish) gentlemen, start your engines

[thesuspense]

WHO: Xue Yang, Zhou Zishu, Bai Mingyu, Wen Kexing, Wen Qing, technically Hatisse's ghost, anyone else to be added, this is open to anyone who could feasibly be around at any of these times and places for whatever reason, including just wandering into the make-up studio or wanting to tell Mingyu how pretty he looks.
WHEN: preparing for the catfishing, during the catfishing, after the catfishing
WHERE: not by Arha's bones, to distract him from them, duh
WHAT: dressing up Mingyu and changing his face up, preparing him for the role of Hatisse, eventually seeing the plan through and dealing with the aftermath of being possessed
WARNINGS: possession, probably language, likely blood, anything else to be added
ooc: This is a catch-all post for everything surrounding the catfishing plot, so feel free to just tag in as you see fit! I'm going to put up some headers, but add your own as necessary. I'll try to stay on top of what warnings and characters to add, but feel free to prod me about it on plurk (reineke), PM or at the plotting post.

Comments

criticising Lily Evans, I guess, damn, he sucks

[thesuspense]

"You can do that with anything?" Xue Yang is intrigued by the magic on display here, nothing comparable to any method of cultivation he has encountered before. He is impressed, not that he intends to show that too much, even as he looks at the dress that he is holding up for Lily, judging the little details that she's working on by now.

It is impressive, he supposes. There is no need to show her that. "Then why are you dressed like that?"

[lancifolium]

Waiting until she had gotten the flare of the skirt just right before she stopped moving her wand, Lily finally looked up and gave him an answer. "Almost anything," shifting her focus to the statue, Lily gave her wand a flick so that it rotated slowly, letting her get a view of the whole dress again.

Turning back to the dress she was on the verge of adding to the waist when he spoke again, making her pause and look at him oddly. "Are we going somewhere fancy?" In a potentially hostile situation with an army of ghosts, a pair of jeans and a shirt were perfectly suitable.

[thesuspense]

"...depends on how you feel about exorcisms." So, yes, there is a fair amount of ritual and pomp associated with it, but it isn't as if Xue Yang cares much for upholding those traditions outside of what is necessary, seeing no need to respect death more than he respects anything else, which is very little.

So, not fancy, maybe. He looks her over again, trying to make sense of what she is wearing. Naturally, it has little in common with what he is used to. "What's its purpose then? You barely have room to put anything."

Truthfully, by now be sounds less insulting and more genuinely curious. "I suppose you can undress quickly, at least."

[lancifolium]

"I think I'd rather hear about it afterward, and I'll be more help here." Apart from a few cryptic passages in a few old books in the library's restricted section, and an absolutely terrifying movie that had come out a few years back Lily's sphere of knowledge on exorcism was very small. However, if the movie was anything to go off of, she'd just as soon give it a miss.

Resuming her work, and adding to the waistline of the dress, embellishing it according to the etchings on the stone of the statue, she leaned back to admire her work before looking up at Xue Yang. "I don't need a lot of room." A pause, and then. "Flip the dress round please."

The remark about undressing quickly made her chuckle in surprise, raising a brow at him. "It hasn't really come up. Have you got room to carry much in your clothes?" She didn't think he looked especially road-ready either, but at least if she gave him a question to answer she would have time to work on the neckline at the back of the dress, shaping it how it was on the statue.

[thesuspense]

"Hasnt come up? What, you never undress? You look clean for that." Is it a modesty thing, talking as if taking off clothes was a foreign concept? Xue Yang questions it either way, while acquiescing to the request and turning the dress, his eyes inspecting the front as he does so. He lets out a sound that could be one of appreciation, then considers her question.

"Yah. Everything I have." He had never owned much, which helped, but still. "There's pockets. And sleeves."

He is not actually one to think about fashion much, but given current circumstances, it seems inevitable. "It's good for fighting, especially in the air. They tend to hit the fabric first."

[lancifolium]

"Of course I undress to bathe," though after witnessing what happened to Wei Wuxian and the bear, she'd stuck to using the scourgify charm on her clothing and herself instead. It wasn't exactly a pleasant soothing bath but it certainly had the same effect. The idea of being chased through camp naked by a bear was nothing short of an absolute nightmare. "I didn't time myself while I did, however."

Pausing to look back and forth between the statue and her handiwork on the copy Lily made a few slight adjustments, silently moving her wand to manipulate the fabric how she wanted it to go. When it was perfect she finally lowered her wand to answer, peering around the dress he held up to get a better look at his outfit.

"You can fight in the air?" Giving him a nod of approval - his outfit was pretty cool, she straightened and started working her way down the back of the dress.

[thesuspense]

"I can fight anywhere." Tilting his head to the side a little, Xue Yang considers those words, which are true without a doubt. Not just in theory, he knows that he has fought everywhere he's ever been, one way or another. "Guess most anyone can, if they have to. Or really want to."

He rolls his shoulders so they don't tire from holding the dress, moving it a little as he watches her work. Such peculiar kinds of cultivation here. He can feel her energy, but it's a difficult one to grasp entirely, which only makes it more fascinating. "What else can you do? It can't just be about clothes, or a seamstress would do just as well."

[lancifolium]

She considered trying to fight in the air, and even with a broom to help, it seemed impossibly dangerous. "I can't say I've ever really wanted to fight, terrain notwithstanding." If there was no choice Lily could be formidable in a battle, but on the whole, she was hardly the type to seek out violence or conflict.

"What else?" Adding some trim to the bottom of the dress she nibbled her lower lip thoughtfully, sitting up when she was finished. "I can," with a pop she disappeared from where she was sat, returning a moment later with a second popping sound. "Which feels awful but is very handy. What else can you do?"

Lily studied the dress while she waited for an answer, tilting her head from side to side. "Hold out the sleeves please," she stretched both her arms out, like a mummy from a classic horror movie might. "Like that."

[thesuspense]

"I'm good with death." Whatever that might mean so ominously, Xue Yang left it that that. However, given the exact nature of their current mission, it was at least slightly more appropriate, so maybe that was why he didn't feel the need to explain it too much. Especially since his mind was still on just what he'd seen her do. "It's not an illusion, is it? I felt your qi shift."

This was not like any kind of cultivation he was familiar with and a lot more interesting than dress design. Not that he didn't move his arms the way she showed, letting her do that work. "How did you learn?"

[lancifolium]

It was a terribly weighty thing to say and Lily's head tilted to the side, debating how she was meant to take it. She had already gathered Xue Yang seemed to have a penchant for provocative remarks, and it was almost endearing - like a cheeky little boy. "Is your home particularly brutal?" She supposed if he came from a place full of war he could have become

After making a few little adjustments and changes to the back of the dress's bodice Lily got back to her feet and stepped back, taking it all in and comparing it to the statue. "It wasn't an illusion, no - I just popped outside, and I learned in school. There's a handful of schools for magic where I come from, you learn nearly everything, transfiguration, potions, defending yourself against dark magic, arithmancy - if you enjoy maths."