#Rou Jin

[mehmetminded]

White and Black and Gold

(part 1)

By: MehmetMinded

Potential spoilers for Cradle and Beware of Chicken

[SECTOR 87]

[THE WAY]

A river of textured blue flowed from oasis to oasis in a desert of non-existence. Points of light dotted along it like berries on a bush. Though by no means common it is not unknown for travelers to encounter one another while traversing the winding maze of The Way Between Worlds. Like any road, bandits and brigands stalk the less controlled areas waiting for unwitting travelers to stumble into their trap. Some small subdomains were established by local powers as rest stops and safe houses for weary travelers to take shelter in. But now, the travelers had left the path, hiding themselves in the nearest worlds. The bandits pretended not to notice it; their traps unsprung. The safe houses closed their shutters and barred their doors, preparing for the worst.

For there was a predator swimming in the river.

~~~

Lindon was relieved the journey had been relatively uneventful so far. There had been a small group of Silverlords that ducked into a nearby iteration when they felt the brush of his authority, but that wasn’t his assignment. He had a patrol to make. Dross had sent a message back to The Grave and Yerin had been around to take the call. Lindon almost pitied the poor, outgunned Silverlords. Almost.

The Abaddon had been slowly reclaiming the territory lost during the Great Vroshir Incursion (as some in the Court had begun calling it), but they had yet to fully establish control over any sectors further out than sector 70. Even after all The Reapers’ hard work cleansing worlds of corruption there was still so much to be done. World after world had been overrun by Fiends. Chaotic manifestations of un-reality that slowly devoured worlds until they broke apart completely. Lindon had seen it happen. It was the consequence of their failure. Of his failure.

[You know, I might not be actively listening to your every thought at the moment, but I can tell when you’re ruminating.]

Lindon flinched slightly at the reproach. Dross was right. Ethan had sent him on this assignment specifically so that he would have time to “get your head on right again” as the man had said with a sad and knowing smile. The combat had helped get his mind off of it at least. This far outside Abaddon jurisdiction Fiends and Vroshir were a common problem.

Common, but far from the only problem. Unaffiliated local powers had established their own minor fiefs in the power vacuum left by the Abaddon retreat and not all had been amenable to their return. Lindon preferred to persuade when he could. Some hesitated out of fear for their people. The Abaddon had already abandoned them once after all. Lindon understood and left them for others to reason with; Mercy was better at that sort of thing anyway. Others were more self-interested. To these he would offer recruitment if Dross thought they were worth something to The Court… or an ultimatum if not.

Only one had continued to resist when faced with Lindon’s Authority. Only one demonstration had been needed. Lindon was relieved about that as well. As much as he enjoyed the rush of battle, he never enjoyed picking on the weak. That wasn’t a good reason to let them run around hurting those even weaker than they were, however. It was a sad necessity but it didn’t help his mood.

[At least you’re doing something good right? That must count for something!]

It did count, at least in Lindon’s view, but the tender spot in his heart still didn’t fade. He tried to distract himself by saving those who couldn’t save themselves. It was half the reason he had ascended in the first place after all. And yet.

Lindon was still contemplating when The Way transitioned from an endless sea of textured blue to a dusty dirt road and he found himself walking slowly through untended and overgrown fields. In the distance loomed a great fortress wall that wouldn’t have looked out of place on Cradle.

Whoever lives here knows what they’re doing, Lindon thought.

[Aaaaaaand has enough Authority to not just create a cordon around their world but impose their domain over The Way!]

Lindon had seen Suriel use a similar technique before he had ascended beyond the world of his birth, though she had restricted herself to a simple hunting lodge.

Shall we see if anyone’s home?

[After you!]

Lindon thought he heard a slight sadistic glee in Dross’ mental voice.

[I can’t wait to see the look on their face.]

~~~

Feng Yi First Emperor of the Crimson Phoenix Empire was having a very bad day.

He had spent the better part of a decade engaged in battle against a massive demon horde. Though he had been certain of victory from the beginning, by the end the constant combat had started to weigh on him. But the horde had been vanquished and the demons beaten back once again. Feng Yi had just retired to his chambers for some well deserved rest when he felt a tug on his domain. This wasn’t anything unusual. One of his subordinates had something that required his attention. He delayed his response a bit for just a few more minutes of rest but the tug became more urgent and he was forced into action.

He manifested in a pillar of flame, heralded by the cry of a great phoenix, at the edge of his domain where the tug had originated. There he was greeted by the sight of Jian Mu and the rest of her Guardian Forest, trembling, on their knees, bowing before a slightly bemused looking man with a chalk white arm.

“Who dares intrude on the domain of the Crimson Phoenix Emperor?!” Feng Yi demanded.

He released his hold on his qi, letting it storm out of him like a great bonfire and the sky of his domain was tinged orange with the fury of the rising sun. The man stood there, unfazed, by The Emperor’s might. He pressed his fists together in some strange parody of a martial solute and bowed politely. The angle wasn’t quite as deep as The Emperor was used to but not shallow enough that he could call it rude.

“Greetings your majesty. This one is Wei Shi Lindon Arelius, a representative of The Court of Seven.” The man said with not a hint of mockery in his voice. “I have come on behalf of my superiors to offer you our protection against the foes at your walls.”

Feng Yi felt a slight hiss, like air escaping an imperfect seal, and a bit of this mans might was revealed to him.

The sky of his domain went from the bright, radiant, orange of a sunrise to pitch back in an instant. A Dao greater than any he had before felt pressed against his inner world with the inevitability of a mountain. This man could tear his domain apart like rice paper and there would be nothing Feng Yi could do to stop him.  

As quickly as it had been opened, the seal was replaced. The pressure faded and the sky returned to its proper color. Emperor Feng Yi did not bow his head nor look away. He had long since determined that if he were to die he would look his end in the eye. Even so, he trembled. It had been a long time indeed since he had been so outclassed. Even the Great Demons that turned their eyes towards his home thought him too challenging to make a meal of and went to seek weaker prey. To this man he was a child before a tiger, and the man had never even risen from his bow.

“What-“ his voice failed him for the first time in millennia, “What would you have from us?”

Surely the man would want the power they kept, but what power did they have that could interest a being such as this?

“Only your assistance, your majesty.” The man said “The Court of Seven is attempting to reclaim the worlds that were lost to us so that we might protect the people who live there. Chaotic corruption claims worlds one after another and we would stand as your bulwark against them.”

The words were impossible, and yet the man spoke no lie. Feng Yi felt the man’s sincerity radiating out thought his intent. Truly, after so long, a savior had come. Feng Yi felt his millennia of exhaustion hit him all at once and he collapsed to his knees alongside his second in command.

“This Crimson Phoenix Empire and all the world pledges itself to The Court of Seven!” He said with relief. Maybe today wasn’t such a bad day after all.

The man cocked his head as though listening for something, then seemed to be struck with an idea.

“Excellent. I have relayed your pledge to my superiors. As I am simply a messenger I have no authority to entreat with you beyond this point. Another representative of the court will arrive at another time as our reach does not yet extend this far. This concludes our business on behalf of The Court.” The man said, though Feng Yi had been an emperor long enough to know that this wasn’t the end of things.

“If there is anything our Crimson Phoenix Empire can do to assist the Herald of The Heavens we will not hesitate to provide!” The Emperor declared.

“Well, it’s only a small matter, though you would have my gratitude.” The Herald said with a small smile.

~~~

Meimei and I were out walking the property line after the last big storm blew through. It wasn’t quite winter yet, but the north wind was making itself known. Some trees had fallen and damaged the fence in places so, with the harvest in and not much to do, we had decided to take a little stroll together. It was nice, just being able to spend an afternoon walking with my wife. Just another small joy of being a farmer in the middle of nowhere.

Defying the heavens: 0

Agriculture: 9,437

Still though, the work needed doing and Meimei and I made a great team. My wife was currently breaking down a fallen tree for firewood with her bare hands as I repaired the damage, infusing the fence with qi. When I had first built it I hadn’t nailed down qi infusion quite yet and it seemed like a big chore to replace it all at once, so I settled on working qi into my repairs instead. It’s not like anything was getting past Vajra anyways.

I was just having that thought when Meimei shot up straight, sniffing the air.

“Something big?” I asked, quirking an eyebrow at her.

“I’m not sure.” She said with concern, “It’s hard to pin down. It smells like… nothing.”

“How can ‘nothing’ have a smell?”

“I’m not sure. It just smells like… emptiness I suppose.”

You getting anything, shortstop? I mentally sent to Tianlan, my friend and benefactor.

Not much, but now that you mention it I’m feeling kind of uneasy, like there’s someone watching us. She replied, sounding nervous.

“Well, whatever it is, we’ll deal with it.” I said and both women nodded with resolve.

We continued working on the fence until dinner time, at which point we turned in for the day. Washy had taken to my tales of a “Pot Pie” with gusto and was eager to show us the fruits of his labor. Following a delicious meal and some time in good company another day in paradise came to an end as I closed my eyes.

Before I immediately opened them again to an annoyed looking Tianlan.

“Still buggin’ ya eh pipsqueak?” I said, receiving a smirk at my accent, before the short girl with golden cracks running over her skin sighed.

“I just can’t stop feeling like there’s something watching me!” She replied with a frown.

“Well, how about we take a look around?”

Tianlan’s look said ‘Like I haven’t already tried that, dumbass’ but eventually she sighed and nodded. So off we set, walking the edges of her domain. The boundaries looked really similar to the Mist Wall I had seen in the crystal. I should probably ask about that, but how am I supposed to tell one giant wall of mist from another? Maybe this was a completely different kind of wall that just so happened to also be made of mist! Then I would have brought up a sore subject for no reason and-

I was knocked out of my musings by a forehead cracking into my own.

“Hey! What was that for?” I muttered rubbing my poor skull, before turning to my friend.

Tianlan was glaring at a point in the mist wall. There was something though there. Maybe? It did look a bit darker now that I was paying attention. Regardless, Tianlan looked nervous so, doing my best impression of a royal guard, I propped my shovel on my shoulder and marched straight up to the wall before planting my feet, squaring my shoulders, and puffing out my chest.

“Hold trespasser!” I cried in my best attempt at Big D’s low voice, “Who dares violate the grounds of sacred Fa Ram!  

That got a giggle out of the cracked girl, releasing a bit of tension. I hadn’t actually been trying to get a response!

“Oh? Apologies for my intrusion. I had hoped to remain hidden a bit longer to learn of this place before I introduced myself.” Another voice replied from out in the mist. It sounded genuinely apologetic. And the formal diction reminded me just a bit of Brother Lu Ri.

Something began to coalesce out of the darkened mist as it slowly got closer. A man walked towards us. Could that even happen? Wasn’t this some kind of extra dimensional space inside Tianlan? Yet there he was! Stood just inside the mist, seeming to hesitate to cross over the boundary.

Tianlan seemed to be stuck between launching herself at him and fleeing in terror, so I decided I should take over introductions.

“We don’t get many outsiders around here!” I said to the guy.

I thought I caught a muttered “ever” from Tianlan but I couldn’t be sure. The stranger didn’t seem to notice at any rate.

“Ah, once again I apologize,” the man said “I haven’t manifested myself fully in your world yet as our records of this place are several thousand years out of date it would seem. I wanted to know more about your culture before I came down and accidentally made a mess of things.”

That was… a surprisingly reasonable explanation given the circumstances.

[Don’t let him fool you. He’s been delaying our decent for days to conduct ‘research’ as if this place isn’t almost exactly like where he came from.]

The voice had spoken directly into my brain. A lot like Tianlan did. It was really strange hearing a new voice in my head but I wouldn’t say it was shocking. Tianlan on the other hand looked incensed.

“Hey asshole! Who said you could fish around in his head!?” she shouted, marching towards the mist.

[Hey! Don’t compare me to human anatomy! They’re gross and full of fluids!] another voice replied, matching her tone for tone, as a small purple ball manifested itself over the man’s shoulder. It glared it’s singular eye at Tianlan and put small tentacle arms to what I could only assume were it’s hips.

The two devolved quickly into quibbling as the mysterious stranger and I gave each other an identical look of apology.

“Can I get you some breakfast?”

~~~

After Shen Yu, the others on the farm didn’t really seem phased when a strange man with black eyes and a white arm appeared in a flash of blue in the middle of our lawn. They looked at me and when I didn’t seem worried most shrugged and went back to their business.

“One more place for breakfast today Wa Shi!” I called to the dragon preparing breakfast in our kitchen.

You got it, Boss! The dragon replied, adding a few more eggs to his pan.

I walked towards the front of the house to greet the man standing politely at the edge of the veranda.

“Apologies again for my intrusion. My name is Wei Shi Lindon Arelius, though most just call me Lindon.” The man, Lindon, said with a bow. Now that I got a good look at him, we weren’t dissimilar, large build, broad shoulders, and dark shaggy hair. Though, where I looked like a well-muscled farm hand he looked much more… cultivator. Flawless skin, perfect posture, and an otherworldly presence that most cultivators had, like they could see your soul laid bare. That feeling was bunk most of the time, in my experience.

“No apologies needed, friend. Name's Rou Jin.” I replied, “You’re… not from around here, huh?”

Lindon gave me a strange look at that.

“No. I’m from… very far away.”

I tapped my nose and gave him what I hoped was a knowing smile.

“Me to.” I said with a wink, “Now, come in! Wa Shi should be about done with breakfast. You can eat a bit and tell us tales from ‘very far away."

Poor Lindon seemed a bit baffled as he let me usher him into my home.

Better luck next time, my hospitality jutsu is too powerful!

___________

Finally (cursedly) caught up with Beware of Chicken. I will channel my frustrations into making my blorbos talk to each other. This is my first shot at something more long form, hope it doesn't suck!

[immloveanime]

JIN-ROH

[talk-danmei-to-me]

The results are in and we have an official order for my Summer of Danmei reading and reacting:

Thanks to everyone who voted 💗 and feel free to send reccs for the books that you think should feature next season 😉

In the meantime, danmei has also cured my writer's block, so feel free to check out the 90s Yaoi/Danmei mash ups and canon compliant smutty one shots and angst I'm currently peddling on ao3:

I'm sure more fandoms will be added as the summer continues 😉

[poorwhayfairingstranger]

I've had an idea for an au rumbling around my mind for a while now.

I don't know how many of you have read or ever heard of Beware Of Chicken, but in the first chapter, the protagonist Jin Rou dies But is able to hold on to life by clinging on to an ancestral spirit from another realm. Essentially, using the spirit's energy to drag both of them back into his body, saving his cultivation. The spirit just so happens to be a Canadian farmer.

Basically, it's the original owner of the body.And the trans migrator sharing a body and whoever's experiencing the most intense emotions at any given time is the one controlling the body and when the Transmigrator wakes up the first time after they both come back to life in Jin Rou's Body, he freaks out because he knows the genre he knows the tropes.And decides to just nopes the hell out of the entire situation and Leaves the sect to go become a farmer in the most unimportant province in the entire Empire.

Gradually, over the course of years their souls gradually fuse into one. So by the end of the third book in the series, they're 1 person With the memories of both.

So now I want an alternate universe where. Sj and sy Get stuck together in the same body and Leave the sect as officially asuppose to Become A rogue cultivator and start studying Animals and Plants. Eventually meeting lb When he's assigned to a night hunt And some of the Older disciples Recognize him.

There's no system in this au So everyone just thinks he went a little bit insane after his key deviation And decided to just leave for his own sake. But it looks like He's doing much better Now that he's not the peak Lord anymore. Over the course of a few years and a lot of chance meetings lb Falls in love With the combined sjsy.

I think a lot of this story would be dedicated to the shen's dealing with their past traumas and Constantly arguing in their own head, but helping each other get Over there past and build a future they can actually live in.

[valkaryah]

人狼 JIN-ROH

[jaggedcliffs]

I'm hoping Shui Long Yin gives me some prime Luo Yunxi content, since after watching Till the End of the Moon, none of the other cdramas have scratched that itch

I've already expressed my feelings about Love is Sweet. I'm still surprised I made to halfway through, but that was the power of Jiang Jun

I only got about 9 episodes into Follow Your Heart before giving up because the drug smuggling story wasn't interesting enough, and renewing my IQIYI subscription wasn't worth watching wuxia cop Jiang Xinbai do wuxia cop things.

Now Ashes of Love finally gives me a Luo Yunxi character I enjoy with some excellent whumpy content, but this rec list wasn't kidding about the old-fashion love story between the leads. Fuckboy Xu Feng rejects the powerful women around him for a naïve woman who's easy to control, and somehow his bullying, negging, threats, and manipulations succeed in making her fall in love with him 🤮 Tragically, Jin Mi also abandons her goals and delightful personality midway through

I'm also not entirely sure why I'm supposed to care about Xu Feng when Run Yu is experiencing several types of trauma, remembering childhood trauma, and then realizing his own powerlessness to obtain justice as he is trapped in a corrupt, cruel, and unjust system (and must therefore gain for power).

[fae-of-the-wild]

Jin looks at the world he has woken up in and promptly goes:

And that brings me such joy.

[auncyen]

so despite idle musings I have not inflicted sickfic on Hikari (yet). But there is something idly tossing around in my head about post ch. 3 Hikari hearing about Rou's death through gossip around Wellgrove and having a moment of "I thought I held the shadow back enough. did I not? Did I NOT? How badly did I injure him I thought he wasn't injured too badly but it was night, maybe I missed something, he did run and I'm still not sure why"

he's like. trying to figure out a way to ask his companions how injured Rou was, but surreptitiously, because he does not want to draw anymore attention to the episode he was having in case questions start getting asked, and meanwhile the Shadow is gleeful to tell him that yes, of course he was the one responsible for Rou's death, doesn't he remember how eager he was to fight? to spill blood?

Basically Hikari fighting Rou under the shadow's influence and Rou later dying is very like Hikari fighting Jin Mei under the shadow's influence and Jin Mei later dying with the biggest difference we don't know when Hikari finds out Rou died/see any reaction over that. Like he's got to find out by the end of his chapter five, and at the end of his chapter five he'd probably be assured enough to just ask the other travelers if he was uncertain about the events of the night. If he found out sooner, though...

[kdram-chjh]

Cdrama: Practice Daughter (2024)

梅玉扇扯坏太子衣服，惹太子生气 | YOUKU COSTUME #南玉卿心 #PracticeDaughter #杨昊铭 #张淼怡 #shorts #youku #优酷

Watch this video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Z0dhxYM_OgY

[pctaldrunk]

the f4 of this blog tbh

[tewwor-moving]

slice of life scoop interaction call ( accepting ) — @xinxiins

Ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen…

A hand reaches for the next ring of flattened dough only to see a peculiar indentation in the middle. One that looks an awful like a indents of teeth to be exact. Brows furrow and lips are drawn into a frown, Yunseo looks down and sees the culprit at the table's edge.

There sits a flour muzzled creature; all innocent and pitiful. A low pathetic whine, emits from the dog. “No,” he says with a stern calmness that only makes the heart wrenching noise grow in volume. “Rou–” A small push with a his shin and light bark fires back. "You can't have any of the dumpling skin. You don't even like it anyways." Still his dog persists with a craning neck and light clack of teeth for another nibble.

"Sorry, can you take over? I'm going to feed her real quick—" Another attempt at the small discs and Yunseo finally gets up to usher the foster dog towards a food bowl across the room.

[kanene-yaaay]

Bunny Fields

Kanene's notes: Hi hi hiiiiii!!! Good afternoooooon!!!! The fic is finally here, let's goooo!! This is a gift for @squeaky-n-blushy for being absoluetly incredible and almost making me scream out loud w her comments and hcs and fics. Tu é um arraso, mana!

Warnings: There's a bit of animals tickling someone, not sure if it counts as warning but besides that, nothing more! Just a light cheer up tickles <3. Ticklish!Jin Ling and Ler!Shizui. Around 7.000 words.

[~*~]

Lan Shizui smiled. His eyes closed as the cold wind caressed his hair and filled his lungs, muscles immediately relaxing, making his usual straight posture falter just a bit. There was the rustling sound of the leaves and birds singing nearby to help the calm, relaxed atmosphere that fell over him and confirmed his growing suspicion that it was going to rain later after the sun set. There was still plenty of time to enjoy and spend on his favorite place, however. 

It took a few moments and no time at all for the feeling of something soft and fluffy graze his fingertips. 

Shizui bit back a joyful giggle. Restrain was difficult when he felt so at home like this, but he was no longer a tiny child squealing and gasping in wonder at each new joy, letting instead delight and contentment be shown in his small smiles and the happy dance of his heart and soul. 

As he opened his eyes, he was graced with the image of a small bunny hopping even closer, past his hand and right to his robes,  smelling them before lovingly chining it.

An indignant sound ressounded behind him and the young boy quickly put the bunny on his lap before it was scared away, again, petting it with care and offering a slice of cucumber in an appeasingly manner. From a nearby bush, another bunny moved and looked at him, nose twitching with the promise of food.

“Why do they keep coming only for you?!” Jin Ling complained indignantly, his new round of protests only coming to a halt when a pair of fluffy ears perked just about his right. 

His eyes zoned to them like an arrow to its target, robes twirling around him as he fastly turned to the animal’s direction and hastily offered the vegetable, one hand supporting him on the ground, keeping his expensive clothes away from the grass as the other stretched the farthest away as it was humanly possible in his attempt to attract the bunny. Initially it hopped a few inches away in a wary distance, making him have to stretch even more.

Even as impatience began nicking at his mind, Jin Ling kept his stance, until the bunny was back and staring at the food with interest, nose twitching and ears turned in his direction, its tiny mind clearly calculating the pros and cons of getting close to The Loud Human and having some free delicious snack or go back to its quiet safety but with no fresh snack. It was black with a big white spot on the base of his left ear and every time it moved the spot fluttered around as well. 

After a few moments passed, the bunny hopped close.

A surprised, sharp gasp came out from the leader of the Jin Sect and both boys held their breaths, watching as it stopped momentarily with his noise before coming closer and closer. The slice almost trembled on his fingertips with his barely contained excitement when the animal stopped in front of it.

An experimental nibble was taken. Pride and warmth began filling Jin Ling’s chest and he prepared to crawl in its direction, already imagining how soft and fluffy that fur would feel when he finally got to hold and pet-

A white blur passed like lightning under him, not even faltering or stopping its dash even with the loud surprised shout from the young boy as he fell on the ground with the scare. It simply continued its path and barreled on the black spotted bunny, hopping like crazy around it and then running away in all its glory and speed, quickly being followed by the first one with energy.

Jin Ling watched as they went away, his eyes narrowing when he saw something suspiciously green and round in one of the bunnies’ mouth, only then turning to look at his hand and realize that his fingers were holding onto nothing, the fresh treat being successfully stolen away.

He felt his entire face burning with the knowledge that he just had been outsmarted by a tiny and fast bunny.

He turned around and laid on the grass with his arms crossed, pout evident on his face and growing stronger as he heard Shizui’s quietly concealed giggles of amusement.

“Stupids rabbits!” 

Bunnies, actually, but the Lan didn’t think his friend would appreciate his correction at the moment.

Jin Ling stomped his feet once in frustration and for a moment the image of a small, round bunny wearing the yellow robes of the Jin sect and with a tiny red spot on his forehead, angrily stomping his feet on the grass flashed in Shizui’s mind, which didn’t really help him with the whole ‘not-laughing-at-your-friend’s-predicament’ thing. Jin Ling seemed to get even more energetic at this.

“That is why dogs are clearly superior! Even before being trained, Fairy already knew how to recognize a strong and trustful cultivator from a threat. Those rabbits are just scared of everything.”

Shizui did not point out who had just been scared by one of them not even a niàn ago, nor rolled his eyes at the other, knowing that even the half amused and half annoyed huff he let out in answer to his complains already tip toed the line of self control his sect was known and respected for.

“Do not bully the weak.”

“Weak?! Wasn’t you watching how it jumped on the other bunny and stole my treat? The only one bullying the weak here was it itself. Maybe you didn’t explain your rules to them well enough.”

Shizui felt his cheeks prickle with a small bound of heat. Since Jingyi told Jin Ling about his old habit of reciting the sect’s rules to the bunnies as a kid in order to better memorize them, the Jin haven’t left him alone until he showered said special place and bunnies to him (with Hanguang-Jun’s permission, of course).

Usually, and especially since becoming the First Disciple, Shizui shouldn’t engage in senseless banter. For a moment, he truly intended to ignore his friend’s clear provocation… but the need to defend his younger self was stronger. “They are good listeners.” 

“And clearly bad learners.” Jin Ling grumbled, watching with envious eyes the bunny on his lap and the couple more surrounding him before turning around sharply, only to find the pair of black and white still jumping around the grass, the slice of cucumber now nibbled to half and in the other’s rabbit mouth. 

He bit back a curse and turned to look at the sky. “Isn't it your obligation as the First Disciple to handle punishments? Go teach them something.”

A snort rang in the air and Jin Ling turned around just in time to see Shizui’s surprised smile for a flash before a long white sleeve ran to politely hide it.

“Maybe this one should ask shifu for some little brushes and paper? Before herding all of them to the Library Pavillion to copy the rules in handstands?” 

Only then Jin Ling realized the absurdity of his words, the mental image of a bunch of bunnies following Shizui in line with tiny brushes and books as students with bad behavior eased his frown and thawed his moping into amusement.

He didn’t smile, but also didn’t snark back and instead turned back to the clouds, enjoying the scenery. 

Soon enough his eyes began prickling with tiredness and he yawned, blinks getting slower and slower as the gray clouds continued to accumulate in the sky. Since becoming a Sect Leader, there was always something to do, some problems to resolve, a meeting to attend, emergencies that were of the utmost importance and needed his attention right now. Therefore, it was no surprise that his sleep became seriously affected by it, with little time to truly rest and even less time when his nightmares would leave him alone. It was rare to have… this. Time to just close his eyes and joy, to oblige his muscles to relax and let his mind drift away…

Something heavy lays on his robes and he jumps on the same spot with a shout, stopping himself from scrambling away when he sees that it was just Shizui by his side, now holding a bunny protectively against his chest as he petted it into calmness again.

“WHAT-” The bunny squirmed in the Lan’s hold and Shizui stared at him with a serious sharp gaze. Jin Ling frowned back, although his voice lowered, begrudgingly. He grabbed one more cucumber slice from the porch attached to his hip and offered to his friend to calm down the animal. Eventually, the bunny settled again on Shizui’s hold. “What do you think you were doing!”

Shizui watched him with such a neutral and unimpressed face that Jin Ling instectevely shivered with how similar to Hanguang-Jun he looked in that moment. In answer to this thought Jin Ling only scowled harder. If they are showing off their heritages he might as well prove his.

“Stay still.” With the corner of his eyes, he saw Jin Ling opening his mouth. “And be quiet.”

That only made his friend bristle even more, taking a deep breath in preparation for what could only be the start of a mix of threats, complaints and protests, so Shizui ran to lay the bunny again on his stomach, successfully shutting him up. 

Interrupting was against the rules, but technically he was just finishing his previous comment and Jin Ling hadn't started to talk yet, so, with a lighter tune, he quickly continued before the other found his words again. 

“They get easily scared with sudden noises and movements. We need to be careful.” 

Jin Ling didn’t bat an eye at him and his words, currently too focused on the bundle of fluff that hopped to his chest and sniffed his fingers when he offered his hand, letting him pet it without a fuzz.

He let out a soft gasp when the bunny lifted itself to its hinder legs and began cleaning its face. Shizui was pretty sure that no emergency or obligation in the entire cultivation world could convince Jin Ling to move a single muscle now, his entire form melting back on the grass, completely attentive simply only to the cute animal on him. 

Shizui could relate.

He watched the small smile blossoming on his friend’s expression and how clearer that made the heavy shadows under his eyes and his previous sour mood stood out.

Since he and lan Jingyi met Jin Ling, he had been energetic, grumpy and not afraid at all to speak his every thought in a way that Shizui could only wish to understand, going into dangers and ideas head first, defending what he believed with his entire being and bickering or even fighting with anyone who disagreed with him and tried to cross his path.

In those last months, however, it had been clear that the stress had been taking a toll on him. It was not as bad as the first seasons when his entire world came crashing down around him in a single night and he suddenly went from heir to leader of his sect. 

Yet, lately he was still clearly jumpier and easy to startle than normal. His presence had became even more scarce than previously during their usual night hunts, his remarks more painful and his regretting silence after those louder.

Each and every one of those details accumulated and flashed in front of Shizui’s eyes like flaring signals, asking without words for immediate support.

To see him now, taking it easy, being full of excitement and softness, it only made Shizui’s determination to keep cheering him up like this even stronger. Quickly, he turned around, gray eyes fastly jumping around the field in search of more bunnies to bury the other under.

There was nothing better for lighting someone’s mood than being under a pile of cuteness and fluffiness, of that he was sure.

He had just successfully coaxed two more bunnies on Jin Ling and had just turned around to attract a fourth one when a barely concealed giggle froze him on the spot.

Jin Ling tried to scrunch his neck, but stopped mid movement when the rabbit just shoved its nose even more on the spot. It had spotted his brilliant red ribbon and got closer, wanting to give it a few experimental nibbles before the human quickly maneuvered the fabric away, hiding it under his head and hair from the curious bunny. Now, very much likely in a petty show of revenge, the small ball of fluff began sniffing his neck non stop.

As soon as the uncharacteristic sound was stolen away by the wind, Jin Ling turned around with wide eyes to stare at Shizui’s back, hoping that he hadn’t listened to the most embarrassing giggle he just let out. 

(Look! He had been caught by surprise, ok? You try to contain your reactions when a stupid rabbit discovers your weakness and decides to start exploiting it as revenge for you trying to save its life!)

The Lan, however, seemed much concentrated to continue his mission of determinedly gathering more and more rabbits to absolutely submerge Jin Ling with them, for some reason. He would’ve sighed in relief if the moving ball of fur hadn’t just decided to start nuzzling right under his chin, resulting in a brand new round of giggles to bounce back and forth on his throat, being held back only by his lips being desperately pressed in a thin line. 

“You dumb animal,” the heir of the grandious Jin sect refused to acknowledge the slight tremble in his voice, whispering his words so Shiziu wouldn’t realize the predicament he is in. If he, or even worse, Jingyi discovered about him being ticklish he would have to kill them himself in order to not die from embarrassment. 

Besides, he was a sect leader, now. Sect Leaders simply were not ticklish. 

As if actively contradicting him, the little tickly sensations continued to assault his nerves. 

“Cut this off or I’ll break your legs!”

The rabbit continued being a rascal and ignored his warnings, pretty much like he himself when his uncle used that same threat with him, knowing he was all talk. 

He bristled indignantly at being ignored and quickly lifted his arms, scaring one of the bunnies left on his torso to the ground

The other flinched and looked at his arms with suspicion, not far from following the other’s lead.

Swallowing a loud squeak - because the stupid little demon on his shoulder decided that his ear looked very interesting and began nuzzling it too - he changed his path to pet the second little fluffy ball on his belly because he wasn’t actually so petty - different of some animals as it seems - to scare the rabbits Lan Shizui left under his care just because of a few accidental tickles. 

The animal quickly calmed down again and went dutifully back to search his robes for more snacks since the four slices of cucumber Jin Ling gave to it had already been devoured.

(What a greedy thing!)

It had just started to sniff his porch with curiosity when a tiny lick hit his neck and the one in yellow robes had to use all his self control to stop an honest squeal to leave from his mouth, transforming it into a yelp as his hands flew to grab the sneaky little rascal out of his shoulder. His cheeks burned from interrupting the silence with his uncontrolled reactions once again.

“I am going to roast you.” He brought the  big, round thing next to his face, right in front of his eyes so he could glare at it better.

Once again, he must not have put too much heat on his mumbled threat because the rabbit only squirmed on his hold, obliging the grumpy, frowing leader move his hands to better secure it, supporting the torso and bun, before it went right back to to excitedly licking his face.

With a protesting and dramatic disgusted sound, Jin Ling pulled it away from him and made a face, showing off his tongue in what he knew was a childish move, but after so much blatant disrespect, he didn’t care anymore.

“Stupid rabbit, I will start licking you back, see how you like it!”

“Do not bully the weak.”

“Shizui!” The surprised expression made clear that the Lan had been successful in his attempt to not be discovered watching such a cute scene with the corner of his eyes, smiling fondly with drops of exasperation. Jin Ling’s face was slightly red and contorted in a scoff. “Shut up!I am not bullying anyone, this… thing here is the one that started everything. He hates me!”

Both boys turned to look at the bunny, still sitting comfortably in the other’s careful hold and totally taking advantage of his distraction to chin his cheeks energetically. Shizui very carefully did not lift one dubious eyebrow when he turned to stare at his friend again, but for the way that Jin Ling jolted on the same place and made a face, eyes staring back in defiance, he must have realized his true feelings anyway.

The one in golden robes opened his mouth to say something - probably a snapping remark - but immediately choked, his mouth quickly clamping shut as his entire posture became stiff as a board.

“Jin Ling?” 

Said one looked at him with wide eyes, hands coming down to hurriedly drop the bunny in his hold back on his shoulders, which seemed to be trembling a little. His moves were forced and unnatural. 

Immediately looking around to find the reason for his friend’s sudden silence, Shiziu found his gaze being promptly captured by his torso, squirming around and almost dislodging the other bunny on his stomach, who kept its unrelenting digging on the porch tied on his belt, missing the target most of the time and giving the sides and stomach under it the treatment of the soft, stubborn paws, uncaring for how the torso under it kept trembling and shaking under it.

His eyes changed their focus now to Jin Ling’s arms that jerked to his midriff. That was the moment the bunny he had just decided to put down began delivering licks and nuzzles back again on his neck, now free from any restraints and enjoying the opportunity present with the best of its ability. 

Jin Ling's hands went up to his shoulder and then right back down, clearly not sure of each animal to take care of first, face getting even more red as the moments went by and the attack simply continued, lips pressed so firmly that they formed just a straight line on his expression, his cheeks starting to poof.

So it was true, Jin Ling definitely was…

Shizui tried to not smirk with mischievousness, doing his best to keep in mind and reflect in his body the sect’s rules. 

(Do not bully the weak.)

However, Jin Ling was a very strong companion, a capable cultivator and admirable leader. No other word could be more unfitting to describe him than ‘weak’. 

(Cherish your companions and friends. Value your family. Stay honest to your beliefs. Do not treat outsiders of the sect differently.)

He was here to help Jin Ling to relax and cheer up. If a new opportunity to do so presented itself so perfectly in front of him, it would be foolish to not acknowledge the benefits that resulted from it.

“Let me help you, then.” 

Jin Ling could almost breathe in relief when he felt the rabbit on his stomach being lifted away, taking care of half of his attack. With mind and arms now free from the uncertainty, he moved to move the other one as well.

The moment of peace was soon over, however, when nimbly fingers took over its place and began digging and scratching on his sides with much more skill and precision than the animal. 

He jolted with a squeal and the giggles that were already trapped on his throat spilled freely, seemingly to only encourage Shizui’s attack even more. The Lan focused in exploring every spot of sensitive skin, pinching and skittering everywhere those skillfully fingers could reach, finding the weakest spots and attacking them without mercy all while he kept evading without even a blink the clumsy dance of his own hands as they tried to stop him from his tickling and pulling the most embarrassing sounds from him.

A squeeze hit his hips and the initial giggly fit quickly grew to a loud laughter, his reactions seeing much harder to control when as soon as his barrier broke. With interest, Shizui’s hand latched on the spot, kneading the flesh and scribbling on the bone, very much satisfied with the answering guffaws that it resulted.

Such sensations spreaded like fire across his skin, a buzzing feeling that went from his hips to his entire torso in ticklish sparkles and funny tingles,  mixing with the soft feeling of soft and fluffy nuzzles on his neck like a unbearable dance that made his smile grow wider and his laughter stronger.

“No!” He tried to growl in protest, but it came out more like a whine as he held the other’s wrist in reflex, briefly pulling it away from his torso when another high pitched squeak scurried away from his lips. In a flash, his friend’s other free hand (where was the rabbit?) had been quick to jump to the rescue, diving under the captured one and latching on his torso with energy. Fingers hopping from rib to rib, playing on each bone like they were the strings of a guqin until he was more focused in scurrying to hug himself than to keep the hand secure in his hold, squirming at every prodding and vibrating that attacked the spaces in between them as if the was dutifully tuning an instrument. “D-do not! Shizui!! Whahahat are you doing?”

“Helping you.”

“You are not! C-cut it out!”

Shizui’s next words were drowned by a shriek as another cold thing touched his neck. With a foreboding sensation Jin Ling realized that the other rabbit had joined the first one next to his shoulder, also sniffing and chinning him in a horrible, revengeful attack.

(What had he even done to this one?!)

“Get out, leav-eek! Leave my ribbon alone!” His voice wobbled and his words were completely taken over by plenty of snickers and chuckles, eyes closed from how much he was smiling, the sensations exploding behind his eyelids like flares. “Why do you keep licking me!”

He tried to scrunch his neck again in a poor attempt of protection, not really being successful since the bunnies simply deviated their attention and buried their stupid fluffy bodies and their stupid tiny, pink noisy noses behind his ears with energy and obliging him to move his face away, by instinct, which, of course, only opened even more places for them to explore, more tittering snickers and protesting squeals filling the air.

“Maybe it’s because of your… sweet personality?” Shizui cringed internally, then deflated, somehow glad that his friend was very much occupied laughing his heart out to point his thoughts out. Jingyi was much better at puns. 

The fact that Jin Ling’s face still pulled into a frown, a quite weird one since there was a gigantic smile on his face, was still equally amusing, though.

“That was horrible! Bunnies do not eat sweets.”

“Fruits are sweet.”

“I am not a fruit!”

A twinkle appeared on Shizui’s gray eyes and for a moment he looked so much like Wei Wuxian that dangerous warnings began blasting on his mind. “Maybe they confused you with a red bayberry?”

Jin Ling felt his already blushing face be set ablaze with stronger flames. A series of offended and incoherent noises fell like a snowstorm from his mouth, legs starting to kick with giddy energy and his torso to more energetically twist away. The offending hands simply kept following him, although, no matter how much he turned this or that way, drumming quicker and stronger on his higher ribs for the trouble.

He prepared to string a completely cohesive and strong argument that may or not contain a few threats of breaking legs or imminent death when said worming fingers decided to climb and shove themselves in his armpits.

A shot cut across the air as Jin Ling arched his back. It took a few moments for him to realize that such inhuman sound had been his, especially as more and more shrieks continued to be fished from his lungs.

Shizui faltered for a couple of moments, surprised with his sudden stronger reaction, fingers stilling and trembling as he stopped himself from chuckling out loud in amusement at the reaction. Guffaws and snorts continued to fill the air and he gave the - as it seems - absurdly, awfully ticklish skin under his nails a quick, light series of scribbles.

Another screech left Jin Ling’s lips and he jumped on the same place, giddy, anticipatory giggling escaping from him even when the other stilled his fingers again. The first disciple of Gusu Lan felt his own mouth twitching into a grin. 

“Shizui!”

Humming in lieu of an answer, Shizui started once more his skittering, now trying to add some stronger pressure as he scratched every available patch of skin. He watched as Jin Ling’s legs began kicking again with a new kind of fervor, moves growing quicker and more frenetic the longer he went.

His eyes squinted a little bit in thought. Freeing one of his hands, he pulled one of Jin Ling’s arms upwards, ignoring the yelp (and more tittering) that this resulted.

Making his touch light and soft again - not unlike the quick tracing of brush on paper or the quick plucking of a guqin’ cords -, the Lan ran the tip of his fingers on his inner elbow, watching as the other  descended back to a hysterical snickering, kicks going from trashing to a steady pace of stomps.

(Lan Shizui tried to wash away all his smug thoughts of how hard it would be to hit such a sensitive place when wearing all the layers required by the mountains' weather. Such a pity the Jin’s golden robes weren’t as thick and numerous as Lan’s, truly.)

Then, with no warning he dived back to his pits, clawing them until another round of shrieking started anew together with, to his immense delight, energetic and quick kicks that continued to follow the speed of his tickling.

It was almost impossible to distinguish the red Vermillion’s mark in Jin Ling’s forehead with how red his entire face was. “Stop playihihihing!”

Jin Ling clasped his arms tight on his torso, trying to protect himself way too late and succeeding in only trapping his hands closer and looking one step closer of completely losing his mind.

“Get out of there!” But the rabbits also kept him let out the most embarrassing yelps and squeaks and Jin Ling no longer knew to whom his order was directed to.

“Lift your hands up and I will.”

The sect leader scoffed. It came out sounding like a snort. “I’m not falling for that!” 

With a sort of amusement, Shizui watched as his friend’s reactions began fluctuate once more, according to the kind of tickles he delivered, going from a hysterical, loud giggly fit when he wormed his hands a little down low and decided to poke and prod his higher ribs, - quickly jumping from one spot to other to hear those funny, lovely squeals that appeared each time Jin Ling was caught by surprise, - to an uncontrollable round of crackles and screeches when he decided to vibrate non stop on his pits, making him kick and squirm and arch his back with no real way to escape the ticklish feeling that flooded his nerves in a fun kind of electricity that would put Zidian to shame.

(May his uncle never hear this.)

It took several tánzhǐs before Jin Ling’s mind stopped screaming and the next words of the Head Disciple of Gusu Lan finally sank.

The fact that the rabbits finally got tired from (all the movement and decided to look for food somewhere else) messing and attacking him might have helped.

“Lying is forbidden in Cloud Recessess.” Shizui reminded, watching him with an unusual playful gleam that didn’t inspire a lot of confidence in his words.

But Jin Ling wasn’t a little, easily tricked kid anymore. He had grown up with plenty of… experience to know a trap when he saw one.

“You’re just going to-”  His voice disappeared in a loud squeal and he tried to give the boy in white robes an annoyed glare before it faded in the smile on his face, especially as Shizui continued to focus on that spot between his armpits and ribs, pulling more and more squealing laughter. 

However, he was the nephew of Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian, and no one could shut him up when he had something to say!

He took a breath and spilled everything before the other could stop him again.

“You’re only going to tickle me more!”

Instead of the surprised face of someone who was caught breaking his sect’s main rules by being a dirty liar, Shizui only smiled calmly at him.

“I assure you. If you put your hands up, I will not tickle your armpits anymore.”

Then, he kneaded on the flesh and digged his fingers, as if reminding him how absolutely unbearable and insufferable the tickling truly was, taking all the breath he had just gotten away in a wheezing crackle. “Which I can not promise if you keep me trapped here.”

For a while Jin Ling was too lost in laughter to concentrate, arms trying to go up only to go crashing right back down as the Lan just didn’t stop tickling him. 

The sadic Lan he called a friend continued to soften his touches to a light, maddening scribbling just after each attempt, only to go back to full on drumming  on his poor pits the moment he managed to lift his arms the tiniest bit, cutting off all his progress.

“Why are you doing this!”

“Doing what?”

“Tickling m-” He cuts himself just as his mind caught his words, again, he turns a (non effective) frown and a glare (without heat) to his friend, who now loses the battle against himself and begins to softly snicker.

Jin Ling frowns harder at how warm that makes him feel. It is still a funny image with all the smiling and laughing. “I already said I am not falling for that!”

“You only need to put your arms back up, Sect Leader Jin, and I will not tickle your armpits anymore.” His tune had… something. If it wasn’t Shizui, it would almost sound as if taunting.

Still, it made Jin Ling bristle and, with all the strength he could gather, shot both of his arms up at once. They shook and trembled with plenty of laughter frolicking across the grass, yet they were kept high up.

Shizui stopped immediately and Jin Ling waited, anticipation prickling on his skin, for the moment those tormenting fingers would go back to assaulting his pits. 

With wide eyes, he watches, instead, as the other simply pulls his hands away with a tranquil, almost knowing look in his face.

“Lying is forbidden in Cloud Recessess.” Shizui, once more, reminds him.

There is still… a kind of light in his eyes that keeps titters falling from the leader’s lips and a tingling to run across his nerves. 

A breeze of air passed through them, making the hair on his neck stand up and him to prepare for another attack. He quickly pulls his arms right back down and Shizui adjusts himself so he is sitting on his legs, watching Jin Ling as if he is as silly as the big smile that is still plastered on his face.

Jin Ling begins to relax.

That is when, in a beautiful, blurring and fast flash of white, two hands latch on his stomach and started clawing with energy, scratching any and everywhere, kneading up and down, spidering all around, scribbling and pitching from side to side.

“No, no, no! Not the tummy, not the tummy! Shiz-” Another high screech was out of his lungs, a surprised, belly laughter (ha-) following right after. His voice got completely taken over by the force of the sound, totally unrestrained and unstoppable.

Lan Yuan really couldn’t help it.

He kept on tickling, kept looking for the spots that brought the most high pitched reactions, the cutest sounds, the sensitive places that made him bang his fists on the ground and try to roll away from the ticklish touches only to feel sneaking fingers swiping across his spine and dancing on his back over and over again until he was back to pressing his back on the ground, kindly putting his stomach right back at his tickly attention again and again.

It took him three tries, but soon Jin Ling was able to pass coherent words in between his slow, giggly and continuous descent into madness.

“I already commanded you to stop!”

And, just like magic, the tickling actually stopped.

Jin Ling kept feeling the ghost of the scribbles and tickles jumping excitedly across his muscles and nerves. He hugged his belly and tried to squirm away, but a firm touch on his torso prevented him from doing so, pulling his attention back to his friend as he kept trying to reign all the snickers flowing from him. 

His smile dimmed a little when he realized that the other was frozen, as if stuck in a daze.

What was that about? Did he just get hit by a curse? Was someone approaching? Maybe Hanguang-Jun? Was that why he stopped all of a sudden? Jin Ling supported himself on his elbow and looked behind Sizhui, trying to see any hint of white robes, a guqin or Wei Wuxian. 

When nothing besides a bunch of bunnies and trees catches his eyes, he goes back to stare at his friend, brows furrowed in confusion.

“You didn’t.” Lan Sizhui replies, as if this explains something.

“What?”

He jolts on the place when his strong, watching gaze falls on him, looking determined. “You didn’t.”

He starts to smile, something bright and happy. Jin Ling squints his eyes.

“You didn’t ask me to stop.”

With a shock, this time the leader of the Jin Sect was the one who froze, eyes widening with realization, mind running across the moments since the attack began. He surely would… I mean, it wasn’t as if Jin Ling actually still liked… Shizui simply must have been confused!

The blush on his face grows darker and darker.

“That doesn't mean anything! Besides, I shouldn't even have to! I- I-” His tune is as squeaky as his laughter, words jumping out of his throat before he can think too much about it. 

Instead of giving up of whatever he was planning to do, however, Shizuis's face only continues to get fonder and fonder, transforming into something so utterly joyful and glad that it has Jin Ling stumbling to erase it before the other can start getting ideas. More sentences tumbles out of his mouth as his arms try to push him clumsily away. “You Lans shouldn’t even… We aren’t kids anymore!”

Shizui’s grin continues unchanging, shining in fondness and playfulness and Jin Ling continues to feel his neck getting progressively more and more hot.

“Animals still play as adults, especially bunnies.”

“What does that have to do with anything, we are not bunnies!”

“There is no age to have fun, A-Ling.”

Then his gray eyes got wide and panicked and the sudden change left Jin Ling so confused that, when the other hurriedly jumped in his direction, he only managed to defend himself in their wrestle battle for some moments before the mischievous hands were burrowing themselves once again on his armpits. Just the slight graze of the ticklish feeling was enough to turn his body into well cooked noodles until the other was able to bring him right back to the ground, kicking and laughing non stop as the drumming was right back.

“You said you wouldn’t tickle them anymore!”

His entire body shook with the peals of laughter, head being thrown back with the force of it. There was  nothing else his senses could feel except that it tickled. It really, really tickled, even more now that Shiziu seemed to catch on just how much he didn’t truly mind the playful attack at all.

There was still mercy in the world, as it seems, though. 

“That is true.” The digging stopped and Jin Ling barely had time to breath before his sides began to be attacked with some light and energetic spidering, rare pinches appearing here and there and making him buckle from one side to another with surprise. 

The sudden change caught him out of guard and his belly laughter to fall back to a series of his embarrassing snickery giggles. His shoulders hunched up and he pressed his face on them, trying to at least muffle a little bit of such undignified sounds.

Lan Shizui must have some kind of mind reader amulet with him because in the very next niàn the soft tickling went back to an unmerciful kneading that made him squeal and squirm uncontrollably until his face inevitably came out of its hiding place. He began kicking his legs with all his might, making the other one turn around to look at them with a critical eye.

“Very well.”

And, as if they just had an entire conversation and arrived to some sort of agreement, Lan Sizhui freed one of his hands to squeeze on his right knee, summoning a loud snort, more and more of them being successfully mixed with his now wheezing fit to Shizui's happy delight.  

The leader of the Jin Sect got stuck in a playful, tickly cycle of extending his legs in a poor and unsuccessful attempt to escape from the tickles, shaking them from a side to another since Shiziu discovered that scratching on the underside of his knees will get him wiggling and letting out an unending ‘eee’ sound and then getting his sides teased and scribbled on until he was a mess of giggles, pulling his legs up to another round of kicks only for his knee to receive even more squeezes.

Every step of the cycle kept being repeated over and over again, as thoroughly and carefully as possible, making him wheeze, yelp, squeal, snort (there was so, so much snorts, Jin Ling is never surviving this if Lan Jingyi ever finds out), snickers, guffaws and temporary barks of laughter that makes his shoulders bounce, his head to shake and his mind to go completely crazy with such a funny, unbearable sensation.

His core spinned and twirled with each moment, sending warmth and adrenaline across his every meridian, making every light touch, every poke and spidering much more ticklish than before. His smile is so big and there are so many memories of his childhood passing through his mind and he wants to pull and push the sensation away and…

And he giggles and giggles and giggles.

Finally, the tickling stops and Jin Ling just… melts on the grass. His mouth is still twisted in a smile longer after all his tittering and hammering heart calms down. Feeling so dizzy with adrenaline, giggly in joy and relaxed only highlights how much tense he was before. 

He closes his eyes and just stays there, catching his breath, enjoying the breeze and wondering if he should get his revenge right now or wait to first bribe Jingyi into spilling all of Shizui’s best tickle spots and then get him, perhaps even with his help.

When his eyes open, his friend is there, petting a bunny that got close with one hand and holding a porch with the other. Jin Ling moves to sit and glare when Shizui turns with a calm, happy face to offer him water.

He opens his mouth to say something - a promise, a threat, a complaint - but no words come out so he simply gets the poach and drinks the water greedily. 

Stupid noisy bunnies. 

Stupid attentive Lans.

“Are you feeling better?” 

Shizui at least has the sense of sounding a tad apologetic. As he should! Attacking someone (and a Sect Leader no less!) with such a… childish, unbecoming tactic. His uncle, Sect Leader Lan and not even Sect Leader Nie would be found fooling around like this in his place. Jin Ling almost bristles at him in answer.

The warmth and fact that he is the most relaxed he had been in days stops him. But still!

“What are you talking about?”

Shizui looks around and then at him, eyes catching his without fear or mockery and holding his gaze. They spend a moment like this until the other looks away with a soft sigh. 

“You seemed stressed, lately, so I-” 

(-thought to bring you to my safest space, where no worries can find you or matter.)

(-decided to tickle you until you looked and sounded so carefree that no problem would try to keep haunting your mind.)

(-remembered how easy and effortless it is to be playful around you.)

How silly would he sound should he say any of this. Words weren’t usually a problem for him and yet Shizui found himself not knowing exactly how to explain his motives.

“I wanted to show you the bunny fields. They’re always very effective to be calming and joyful.”

He decided to go with that.

“And since when do I need your help?” Jin Ling sniffed, “I am fine!”

Shizui blinked, stared at him, face showing no strong emotion. His eyes narrowed just the slightest bit.

He lifted one of his hands in a clawing motion.

“Wait! D-don’t! I just said that I am fine.” he made a noise between a scoff and a snickery sound. “Lying is prohibited here, isn’t it? As a sect leader, it would be unbecoming to disrespect your sect by not following them.” 

He crossed his arms and their eyes found themselves again. Without even meaning to, Jin Ling’s voice softened. “I am fine.” 

(Thank you.)

Shizui huffed, sounding both amused and relieved, smiling a little back. “Then I am glad.”

[talk-danmei-to-me]

In honour of me being on the penultimate tgcf book, to celebrate my 1 month anniversary of becoming a danmei blog and using my love of polls, I've decided to let tumblr decide the order I read and react to my Summer of Danmei!

(We all know my Wangxian obsessed ass is going to start MDZS the second I finish book 8)

(Highest percentages determine the order)

[mehmetminded]

I am rotating blorbos again.

Even more than Rou Jin, The Lord Magistrate is Beware of Chicken’s idea of a good man.

His entire life is bent to being the best leader for his people that he can be to the point that he isn’t even NAMED IN THE TEXT. He is smart and charismatic but also pragmatic and down to earth. He wants no fame or recognition beyond the gratitude of the people he has helped.

Even as his stoic façade is shown to the audience for what it is, it isn’t presented as a failing. We commiserate with the Lord Magistrate as he is dealing with these beings who could smear him against the wall with a breath. He does his best under some frankly absurd pressure.

He’s a slightly egotistical nervous wreck and BoC says THAT DOESN’T MATTER.

One of the primary themes of BoC is that actions speak louder than words. The Lord Magistrate isn’t a perfect person, but regardless of his reasons, he is working his ass off every day to make sure that the people in his care are safe and happy.

The fact that he has a praise kink doesn’t factor into it.

[valkaryah]

人狼 JIN-ROH

[str8aura-no-not-that-one]

finally reading Beware of Chicken and going through the very interesting experience of reading a satire of a genre i have no foreknowledge of. I'm picking up on the parts that are meant to be parody, and understanding in some semblance the original tropes, but the majority of the elements meant to be taken at face value by readers are completely lost on me.

Helping the process along somewhat is the fact that Jin Rou clearly shares DNA with a classic HiE/isekai fic anon; good-natured but immature, obsessed with Earth pop-culture and looking for a good time and entertainment over power or status. These recognizable elements make the book a lot more palatable than it might have been had it a more serious protagonist, or one equally ingrained in satire of Xianxia archetypes.