prontissimo | labyrinthum inbox

[Likewise, Alberto's luck is either blessed or cursed by Di Feisheng's easily obligated nature ~~and also he has some questions~~. It doesn't make this less of a terrible idea, but how chaotic can messaging even be.]

I hope your gifts were well matched in generosity. My subordinate thought I was being bribed, so consider them well received.

[ If only Di Feisheng could see Alberto's face light up when he puts two and two together and realizes who's just texted him. He wastes no time in responding. He's genuinely surprised Di Feisheng wrote to him, which, to someone like Alberto, seems maybe more personal than someone more accustomed to modern phones; he's definitely not blowing this chance to talk more with the coolest guy he's met here, though, wow! ~~No evidence for this inexplicable title, of course, those are just his vibes.~~ ]

Glad you liked it, Signore! Your welcome.
Not a bribe of course, HA... Someone just told me that's the kind of stuff you'd want.
Espresso is life-changing, RIGHT?

ô ô
cU°

(^ he's drinking. See it?)

[ ...As if the Christmas card weren't enough of a curse... The kid "draws" over text, too, apparently. ]

["Someone" sure did mention one of those things. Two, even; espresso isn't NOT a tonic of temporary physical advancement, technically. Alberto understood the assignment there, against all odds. A little scary to consider Alberto drinks it on the regular, quite possibly, but maybe explains some things.]

It's certainly powerful, though temperamental. Is it very hard to acquire?

[As for this latest "illustration," it warrants a solid span of contemplation-- regrettable. At least he isn't in it this time. That really was a curse on the entire household.]

I do see it.

No, I got it at the market. There are lots of different kinds too! But ALL of them are powerful haha

[ Well, Di Feisheng passed some sort of litmus test... Alberto's tickled he could recognize the face. That was one of his more experimental "writing-drawings," as he sometimes calls them. He's getting in practice. ]

ò ó
ᵕ d

[Privately Di Feisheng will maintain some skepticism about different kinds and strengths until proven wrong; the relation espresso has to the messes procured by Fang Duobing and favored by Li Lianhua (powerfully evil on an entirely different metric) seems distant at best, easily as disparate as any two grades of tea at least. It wasn't the more important question anyway. ~~Di Feisheng has made it to samsara and it turns out it's suspiciously like hobbies.~~]

Good, then the pot won't go to waste. What about the chocolate spread?

[This little illustration does not require as much scrutiny to decipher, but the simplicity is balanced by Di Feisheng subconsciously emulating the gesture to check his work.]

That one's easy.

Got that at the market too. You can put it on whatever you want. Cornetti, biscotti, bread, fruits... I tried it on pasta. Eh! It was OK.

9 9
–E@ ^

(What about that one?)

[ Di Feisheng brought this on himself... "That one's easy" was a challenge, whether he meant it to be or not. ]

[Hey but was it though. Was it OK. He doesn't need to care about food to know it probably was not.]

It was a good choice. If you find more things like that, I would be indebted to know.

[He really has to learn better about hubris some time. Not this time, but one in the future. It wasn't a challenge deliberately, just kind of as the background noise of Di Feisheng's operating.]

Not easy. Maybe he's being branded.

Oh sure Signore. We love food. And we love to cook! (Well mostly me but my friend helps)

[ Context into this kid's life comes just off-the-cuff like that... but then usually gets quickly swept over in favor of things like this: ]

Also, No. He's eating pasta. (But it's just OK haha!)
It's a fork with noodles twisted on it, See it now?

è é
-E@∆

[It's not entirely clear how some of that is relevant to what he said, but sure. Maybe he also wants to provide cooked food? But the OK noodles...]

Strange way to eat noodles. Could also be a pastry.

Ha! Could be.
You do one!

ò é
˘ d

^(winking)

[Di Feisheng at least is not in fact winking, but having his pastry interpretation validated instills some (misplaced) pride. ~~Qi brunch has been good for something after all.~~]

⼀⻈⺜⺜⺂

^(dao)

[This is. Deeply unnatural. And probably not a good effort.]

Bravissimo, Signore! Nice job

(What's dao?)

[ ...That "nice job" maybe seems less sincere now, but he still means it. In Alberto's book, there's a marginal difference between doing something well and doing it at all. Any job is a good job. Even if it's awful — maybe even especially if it's awful. And considering how Alberto cannot even begin to parse a face out of that attempt, with his very limited knowledge of swords, he's... being really generous with his celebrations, here. But, still, genuine. ]

[It seems they are talking at some kind of cursed cross-purposes. It also seems like some civilization somewhere invented drainage systems just so this kid would have a ditch to spawn in and crawl out of, thereby escaping normal education even more thoroughly than Di Feisheng himself. ~~u dont kno sword? ⚔️? clang clang?~~ Being genuine is wasted here. Di Feisheng is too scandalized.]

One of the four noble weapons. You must know weapons of some kind.

[Surely it will be recognizable now.]

Oh sure. I know lots of weapons.

[ No he doesn't ]

Is it like a harpoon?
Because of ⼀⻈⺜⺜⺂ that part

[ A second text follows quickly after. ]

Wait no!
It's a sword.
⼀⻈⺜⺜⺂
That's the handle thing. Right?

[ Alberto's turn to decipher things... At least whatever ditch he crawled out of afforded him this much knowledge. ]

I had a sword back home. It looked just like that!

[ D-Did it, though...? ]

[Real actual sigh of relief for this second message. He can at least pin it down to a blade weapon and not...a harpoon. Who thinks of a harpoon before even one of the eighteen weapons, much less one of the four? It wasn't that bad a little picture, just too generic to be his dao. As for the rest...somehow even Di Feisheng is having a doubt or three.]

That's the hand guard. I don't need that kind, but nothing else looked right.

Have you tried to get your sword back yet?

[If Di Feisheng knew how to use "suspicion quotes"...]

No, but it's really rusty so its fine. It was good when I needed it back home, I lived on an island, but if I need a sword again here I'd probably get a better one. I just found that one undersea.
I've got lots of knifes now anyway.
c≠≠•===⺂
>°'»'''<

[ There's... so much to unpack between the lines here. The knife and fish emotes are the least confusing parts of this message, probably. ]

[The worst thing is, that isn't a bad representation of a ring pommel dao. The second worst thing is more of a tie scenario. It's true that undersea does have weapons sometimes, though only idiots lose their swords just because they fall in the ocean and die. At least the harpoon makes sense now?]

The sword was for fish? For fighting fish?

HA! No.
I never tried that.
I mostly used it for firewood and to COOK fish...
Fish don't typically put up much of a fight.
(Crabs do though!)

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