#( i was trying to think about how the fatui cartographer fits into modern & this is what my brain spat out hmmm )

[erabundus]

???: Hey Ren! Long time, no talk!

he's  been  staring  at  the  text  for  the  past  ten  minutes,  eyes  narrowed  at  the  culprit.  who  is  this  clown?  the  streamer  hasn't  a  clue  —  evidently  no  one  IMPORTANT  enough  to  save  their  number.  the  chipper  attitude  grates  on  him  as  well,  and  he  has  half  a  mind  to  just  leave  them  on  read.  eventually,  curiosity  wins  out  over  common  sense  (  as  it  unfortunately  has  a  history  of  doing  )  and  his  fingers  sluggishly  move  to  type  an  UNENTHUSIASTIC  response.

𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐑: who is this??

the reply comes quickly enough to leave him with a sense of secondhand embarrassment.

???: Oh! You don't remember? ???: I guess that makes sense. It HAS been a while. ???: If I'm remembering right, you usually called me the Cartographer Guy? ???: ... you were drunk.

he  does  a  lot  of  stupid  shit  when  he's  drunk,  and  evidently  this  fool  is  one  of  them.

𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐑: doesn't ring any bells ???: We met at The Abyss? You know, the bar? 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐑: i'll take your word for it ???: I asked to stay the night and you kicked me out of your apartment before I was done getting dressed. ???: Your neighbor's dog chased me down the street -- it was so funny! ???: Or I'm assuming you thought so. I remember you laughing. ???: ... which is fine! In hindsight, it really was funny!

wait.  the  streamer  narrows  his  eyes.  he  does  remember  this  idiot,  now  that  he  thinks  about  it.  deep  in  the  haze  of  those  years  he  lost  to  DESPAIR  —  somewhere  between  regaining  the  nerve  to  leave  his  apartment  again  and  meeting ...  a  certain  person.  (  he's  not  going  to  think  about  him.  not  right  now  —  not  ever,  if  he  can  HELP  it.  )  at  what  point  did  he  ever  make  the  mistake  of  giving  him  his  NUMBER?  ren  can't  recall. he usually puts forth a deliberate effort to be quite stingy with even the barest scraps of personal information; he must have truly been out of it.

curiosity satisfied. he should just block him and be done with it ... but he's bored ( hurt, spiteful, angry ) enough to keep typing.

𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐑: why are you texting me? ???: So you DO remember! I had a feeling! ???: I'm in the area and I wanted to know if you were interested in getting drinks. :)

no  is  his  immediate  reaction  —  before  he  soon  finds  himself  thinking  better  of  it.  after  all,  what  does  he  have  to  lose?  (  beyond  suffering  the  tedium  of  social  interaction.  )  if  he's  lucky,  he  can  trick  this  fool  into  footing  the  bill  —  and  wouldn't  that  just  be  HILARIOUS?  maybe  he's  spiraling.  maybe  he  isn't  nearly  as  okay  as  he's  trying  to  delude  himself  into  thinking  he  is,  but  ren  would  know  better  than  anyone  stewing  in  his  own  MISERY  never  did  a  thing  to  solve  his  problems.  he  only  has  years  of  experience  to  prove  it.

before  he  AGREES,  he  thinks  he  should probably  make  it  a  point  to  set  boundaries.

𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐑: i'm not looking for anything. ???: Just as friends! Got it! I'd really like to get to know you better. ???: Is that a yes? 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐑: tonight. sure. i'm working this afternoon. ???: Tonight! I'll see you then! ???: Maybe you'll actually learn my name this time!

he doubts it.