( That... escalated far quicker in Bucky's estimate than even Lan Wangji had anticipated, slowly but surely blinking away the instinct to agree on principle.

No. No. Think. And sigh along — )

Another match of the game. ( A beat, then, patiently: ) Though bloodshed accepted.

( ...for the future, in the foregone accepted reality where this goldfish fails to accommodate Lan Wangji in a new and mysterious way. )