#THIS GOT SO LING

[acidsaladd]

incoming rant abt a possible ninjago atla au u have been warned

the gist of the au and what i have in me head is that lloyd is the next air avatar but for some reason the air nomads are skeptical/afraid of baby lloyd so misako takes lloyd and skidadles far away from the temple. because of this, lloyd grows up as a regular kid with no air benders around to teach him air bending And no knowledge that hes the avatar (and therefore that he can bend the other elements)

fast forward to when hes like 9?? 10? wu finds him, surprise ur actually the avatar its training time something something big spiritual evil that might be related to garm something something then wu Leaves and so the training bit falls onto the ninja. which. none of them is an airbender mind u and lloyd Still doesnt know airbending. so they teach him the other elements and Hope that he somehow learns air by proxy

i have a very small and not rlly thought out idea for what an equivalent of the aging tea could be but this is basically it in terms of bg and going forward its just ur usual avatar and ninja shenanigans

ok. now. i have a couple ideas for why the air nomads could be wary of lloyd. one is that they know garmadon is his dad and garm has been cursed by a Particularly Evil spirit and so they think evil dad equals evil son and they dont rlly wanna deal with that so they r like we must get rid of the child he will reincarnate either way its no biggie which,,, uhh yea lets not

the other one is that the nomads have discovered that lloyd is going to be the first avatar that is a direct decendant of the first ever avatar (the fsm) and so they want to like?? harness his power or smth idk.

(the only problem with these ideas is that it kinda relies ok the air nomads having kind of violent and evil solutions to problems so i stil. dont rlly know 😭)

the point is!! one way or another, misako starts seriously fearing for lloyds life and the fact that he might not ever have a choice over it as his own so she takes the baby and Runs.

[abt the fsm, raine lowkey gave me this idea entirely so shoutout raine hello but i was thinking that theres two of them. like. u have the FSM, the first ever avatar, all plwerful godly being. and then u have the dad, the f in fsm stands for Father, this guy is just wu and garms dad. i dint have much else thought out for him just. yea]

now. if i want to talk abt the possible aging tea equivalent i need to talk abt garm. soo augh idk abt garm but i think rhe gist of it is that hes been possessed/corrupted by a spirit bc of a deal he made or for messing with a spirit when he was researching things. the point is hes known as this being that brings chaos and stuff but then wu and misako reveal to lloyd like, thats ur dad actually, and misakos being researching ways to bring him back and lloyd stumbles on this research and decides (not so smartly) that if one qants their dad back one must do it himself so. he manages to contact the original spirit that garm annoyed

so they talk and the spirits like "well i Would give him back but he kinda made me lose my time and energy on him for like,, 4/5 years so unless u figure out a way to give me rhat time back i aint giving him to u" and lloyd goes bet take does from me no biggie

so then lloyd makes this deal not rlly knowing what hes doing and he goes back to the real world and suddenly he has a brand new dad and also abt two whole heads more in height woops

(this all happens post training arc starting so lloyd already knows the ninja and has been living with them for a while)

OK NINJA TIME

so ive been Rlly debating whether i should do the Usual thing and just stick em in the element rhat they have in the show. OR (and this is the idea im leaning more towards) i go with vibes. obviously the vibes are still informed and consider their element in the show

ok first kai and nya. i want them both to be fire nation buut idk if i should make them both firebenders or make them have their usual elements. i do wanna let nya be a waterbender, However since they do live in the fire nation (most likely in a more rural town far from the mainland) nya would be a waterbender that uses mostly firebending styles and techniques. i just have always found this type of mix and match they do with aang and zuko specifically SOO COOL i love it so im gifting that to nya

cole is an earthbender obvi. i havent rlly thought much abt cole bc i immediately decided he would stay an earthbender and didnt question him further.

NOW HEAR ME OUT HERE. i kinda rlly want to make jay earth kingdom and leave him as a non bender. why??? bc the Vibes man. i want to rlly focus on his engineering and tinkery side. i think he would still be rlly involved with bending and stuff and he tries to find different uses to bending outside of fighting. maybe him and cole are childhood friends and jay is always bugging cole to try some of his projects with coles bending.

and finally zane!! hes water tribe but i struggled to settle him on either tribe. i think the northern tribe could fit him in the future but i do think he's originally from the south. i feel like the south gives him more potential to be the specific brand of Peculiar that zane was in the beginning of the sbow. and since this is situated pre war, the southern water tribe would be bigger and better off than how we see them in atla so it would be cool to explore that

so im picturing him as the weird son of the local medic and whatever else dr julien gets up to . so maybe dr julien is teaching zane stuff and he gets Rlly Rlly good so they send him to a bigger settlement with better teachers and eventually he decides to leave the south pole to continue learning and stuff.

i do have ideas abt how wu gathers them together but ive ranted way too much so i will make another post on that if i remember to

[waitineedaname]

this is how edling confessions during the camping trip go

[zunaki]

Wangxian in public being disgustingly in love and the Juniors on a matchmaking mission

[0gata]

My gift for @saphkick !! This rlly pushed me out of my comfort zone (⁠人⁠ ⁠•͈⁠ᴗ⁠•͈⁠) normally I just draw a face and call it a day lolol

Bonus :]

Prompt under the cut:

[wrathyforest]

Today's performance with Wang Yifei, Zuo Yiping and Guo Hongxu <3 LC-mu knows how to resurrect me, my mental health is holding only thanks to them.

[shijiujun]

Mu Sheng: (♡´𓋰`♡)

— Love Game in Eastern Fantasy 永夜星河 (2024) | EP. 12

I AM UNWELL HE IS FALLING SO DAMN HARD THEY MAKE ME SO SICK WITH SWEETS AND EVERYTHING NICE HE IS SO FOND OF HER WTF

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Dishonourable Demonstration

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 41, part three

(Masterpost) (Pinboard)  (whole thing on AO3)

Warning! Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

Brotherhood of Man

Somehow, after the multi-layered shit sandwich of betrayal that happened in Nightless City, Lan Xichen manages to convince his two besties to swear brotherhood with him and each other. Lan Xichen's Polyamory 101 class apparently didn't tell him that forcing a vee to become a three-for-all is a bad idea. Nie Mingjue and Jin Guangyao are bonded by only two things: 1. loving Lan Xichen 2. hating each other.

Nie Mingjue is great at letting bygones be bygones, as we can tell as he glares all the way through Jin Guangyao's skull.

Next we jump to Lan Xichen and Jin Guangyao playing the song of clarity for Nie Mingjue, with Lan Xichen in a particularly sexy set of ultra-fancy robes.

NMJ keeps his eyes shut so he won't have to see the extreme eye fucking that's going on right in front of his salad.

Check out his cool candle holders, by the way.

I can't help but think...is this how Lan Xichen is spending his time while Lan Wangji is in forced seclusion? Lan Xichen didn't attack any elders, so there's no reason he shouldn't be enjoying himself, but he's gone all in on the fuckboy life while his brother is seriously struggling. The Lan brothers seem a lot less close after Wei Wuxian's death interlude and I wonder if this is part of the reason.

(More behind the cut!)

We take a tiny break from empathy during this section so that Lan Wangji can check Wei Wuxian's qi.

He does, and goes to play healing for him. He does not react like WWX is lacking a core, despite doing the magic wrist check that would tip him off if that were the case, so I add this to the pile of evidence that WWX 2.0 does have a (shitty) core in his new body.

I like this little scene because Lan Wangji is clearly worried, emotional, upset - he's doing his little sour-lemon frown and he's intensely focused on Wei Wuxian while he plays healing - but he's not trying to wake him, and he doesn't say anything about his own concerns once Wei Wuxian is awake.

Grown-up Lan Wangji is still not a fan of these unorthodox cultivation activities, but he respects WWX's choices and focuses on supporting him, not stopping him.

Play Misty For Me

Next, empathy shows us Jin Guangyao playing for Nie Mingjue in a 1-on-1 session in JinLintai. I guess this is like dialysis, where Nie Mingjue has to waste a shit ton of time going back and forth between home and JinLinTai to get cleansed.

It seems like Lan Xichen could have picked a better person to train in playing the song of clarity. I know Nie Huaisang's wussy core might make him a poor candidate, but surely there's someone in Qinghe who could do the job? Or send a series of Lan disciples in an exchange student arrangement? But Lan Xichen would rather force these guys to hang out together.

Lan Xichen may seem like he's being wilfully blind, or plain stupid, but I don't think that's what he's about. He's aware that both of these guys are, from a certain point of view, bad people. Nie Mingjue is driven by rage and a rigid sense of justice and social hierarchy; Jin Guangyao is consumed with self-interest and will use any means to achieve his ends.

Good guys Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji will also use any means to achieve their ends - attacking elders, raising the dead, and whatnot. What all four of these not-Lan Xichen people have in common is that they go to extremes, too high or too low, there ain't no in-betweens.

Out of the darkness, into the light Leaving the scene of the crime Either I'm wrong or I'm perfectly right Every time

Sorry, but Billy Joel is part of my cultural heritage as a Gen X person.

Lan Xichen embodies a combination of Confucian and Buddhist values, I think; he wants the people he cares about to chill the fuck out and find the middle way, and also to be truly brotherly toward each other. He tries to achieve this through gentle nagging and also by modeling the behavior he wants to see, creating opportunities for peace and balance. Unfortunately at the time Empathy is showing us, he's unware how extreme and unbalanced his own feelings for Jin Guangyao really are.

At some point, Jin Guangyao starts playing the altered version of the music, and we have a series of kind of weird cuts where 1. the Song of Fuck You is playing on the soundtrack while Lan Xichen is teaching Jin Guangyao 2. NMJ starts to hork up some blood in the 1-on-1 session but finishes horking in the trio session. I think this is meant to show that it was a progression.

Meet Me Outside

Empathy jumps ahead to Lan Xichen trying to warn Jin Guangyao about Nie Mingjue's declining temperament, saying that if it wasn't for JGY playing for him every day, it would be super bad, or words to that effect. He is interrupted by Nie Mingjue showing up to yell at Jin Guangyao. Was Nie Mingjue eavesdropping so that his head could recall this later in Empathy?

I'm inclined to see the dynamic among the three of them at this point through a lens of domestic violence. Lan Xichen stands by helplessly while Nie Mingjue makes it clear that he's in a rage and wants to take it out on Jin Guangyao; JGY calmly tells Lan Xichen to stay behind while he goes outside to take a beating. That's not just optics; Nie Mingjue attacks him the moment they're alone. The fact that NMJ is drunk on resentment is only partly the fault of Jin Guangyao's musical poison; a lot of it is his own choice to do saber cultivation.

Lan Xichen may remember similar interactions with his parents. He's certainly having a trauma reaction instead of stepping into this situation from a place of strength. He's protected Jin Guangyao from NMJ before without any difficulty, but the changes in NMJ's temperament and possibly the loss of Lan Wangji's companionship have put him in a weaker state of mind, it seems. And he himself may have been the target of Nie Mingjue's anger at times, too.

The Ragening

After dodging the first swing from Nie Mingjue, Jin Guangyao asks him why he's mad. The gist of NMJ's beef is this: Xue Yang escaped from the unclean realm. NMJ (correctly) blames JGY. Now Xue Yang is imprisoned by Jin Guangshan after a trial or something, in which Chang Ping retracted his earlier accusation. So they can't execute Xue Yang because there's no evidence against him. (Why can they imprison him for life with no evidence, then? Seems sketchy).

Nie Mingjue says that Xue Yang has a piece of Yin metal, and that's why Jin Guangshan is keeping him alive. JGY doesn't affirm or deny this, but he has to obey his dad, so he can't kill Xue Yang just to please Nie Mingjue.

Nie Mingjue tells him to stop doing that thing he does.

You Doing that thing you do Breakin' my heart into a million pieces Like you always do And you Don't mean to be cruel You never even knew about the heartache I've been going through

Jin Guangyao has to intuit what Nie Mingjue is talking about, which is apparently that JGY is being calculating and manipulative.

He proceeds to rip NMJ a new one for believing that everyone can be as rigteous as him when he has his noble birth and high cultivation to depend on. JGY points out that he himself doesn't have early cultivation training or a good family background to draw on. He also gives us a little bit of specific info about his position in the clan, saying that Jin Zixuan's death didn't give him a clear path; Jin Guangshan would rather bring back another bastard son than allow Jin Guangyao to succeed him.

Presumably he's talking about Mo Xuanyu. Before you feel sorry for JGY, remember that he caused Jin Zixuan's death specifically so he could claim his place in the line of succession.

Nie Mingjue says, dismissively, that he's only refusing to kill Xue Yang because he doesn't want to risk his position in the clan. Nie Mingjue says this like it's a bad thing: like Jin Guangyao, who he fired quite a while ago and totally doesn't work for him, should go against his father's express orders and kill a guy, without evidence, because Nie Mingjue thinks that would be more righteous. I gotta say, Nie Mingjue is a real piece of work.

Nie Mingjue acknowledges that he himself has killed a fuckton of people, but never for his own advancement. Jin Guangyao challenges him with words that have a little flavor of Wei Wuxian's way of thinking: did everyone you've killed deserve it? Are your standards fair?

Then he heads firmly back into villain territory by saying "sacrifices must be made for greatness" which has Nie Mingjue asking why he doesn't sacrifice himself, instead of killing other people? (Shades of WWX challenging Wen Zhuliu) Jin Guangyao replies with an emphatic nope, which inspires Nie Mingjue to kick him down the stairs and attribute his poor character to his mom's line of work, for not the first time. If I was in charge of Jinlintai, I would put a safety gate up there.

The bottom of these stairs is kind of an important place for Jin Guangyao; he's been kicked down them twice (that we know of) and each time he stood up 100% ready to kill the guy at the top of the stairs. Although he took a super long time to actually do it in the case of his dad, I'm pretty sure JGS's fate was sealed in that moment....just like Nie Mingjue's is sealed here.

Side note: In the show, JGY starts musically poisoning NMJ while they are still ostensibly getting along fine, whereas in the book he waits until NMJ has kicked him down the stairs and insulted his mom. CQL Jin Guangyao is just more forward-thinking, I guess.

After fixing his hat, Jin Guangyao walks up the stairs calmly explaining to Nie Mingjue how he fucked with the song of cleansing. This causes Nie Mingjue to qi deviate while the Department of Questionable Visual Effects messes around with extra copies of Jin Guangyao in AfterFX.

Not to be outdone, the Department of Questionable Practical Effects has loaded up the front of Nie Mingjue's torso with exploding blood squibs, because apparently that is how they interpret "all his meridians were broken." (We won't talk about the various non-cultivation-aware translations that say "all his veins were broken.")

Nie Huaisang shows up - running up all of the steps at Jinlintai. From where? Did he run from Qinghe? How did he know Nie Mingjue was in trouble? If Lan Xichen told him, why isn't he here too? Presumably he is still busy checking the guest list for the next conference, per JGY's request.

Jin Guangyao grabs Nie Huaisang and holds him out of harms way while vigorously pretending to be upset while Nie Mingjue points his saber at them. Nie Huaisang interprets this as NMJ not recognizing him (and if you've seen Fatal Journey, you know this is a fair interpretation) but it might be that he's pointing it at JGY to encourage him to let NHS go.

This Is The End

Next we see NMJ all tied up on a table in Jinlintai, with corpse poisoning marks on his neck. Someday I will learn exactly when these happen, what they mean, and how everyone who has them gets them, but today is not that day. (Remember when Wen Qing got them while WWX was playing angry flute at the rocks behind Qinghe, and then they went away when he stopped playing? And how this was never explained?) Xue Yang is walking around him with Baxia and half of the yin tiger seal. He can't control him without the whole seal so JGY says to kill him.

In case all of Xue Yang's behavior seems super random, it's actually not; his project is turning high-level cultivators into controllable fierce corpses. Where Wei Wuxian controlled his fierce corpse Wen Ning with kindness and turnips, Xue Yang uses fancy brain nails. With Nie Mingjue, he presumably hadn't developed the technique yet, which is why they can't subdue him to use him. And he failed to get the nails into Xiao Xingchen or Wei Wuxian's heads. So basically the entire project was a bust, given that he didn't deploy Wen Ning for anything, and Song Lan just followed him around an empty town. This is what happens when you get too attached to a particular creative vision.

Camera Operator: hey now!

Xue Yang uses Baxia to chop Nie Mingjue's head off, which has to piss Baxia off. Xue Yang says Nie Mingjue is finally obedient, which is only sort of true, since he'll be coming back for revenge in sword-spirit form in the live action, or in naked dismembered corpse form in every other version of the story.

Friendly Neighborhood Paperman

This murder causes Wei Wuxian to snap out of empathy back into his paperman body, and accidentally pull NMJ's head's eye covers off, revealing eyes that don't look a goddamn thing like actor Wang Yizhou's eyes, but this head has had a rough few years.

Jin Guangyao is right there in the storeroom with him; it's a good thing he didn't think to have one of his chats with NMJ's head during the 30 minutes WWX spent communing with it. He chases Paperman around slashing his sword through the furniture and knocking shit over.

Among JGY's many evil traits, perhaps the worst is the way he wastes storage space. Look at all these shelves with 2 or 3 books on them.

Paperman makes his way over to Suibian where it's displayed on a shelf, and hops onto its hilt while JGY watches. He smirks at WWX's failure to draw the sword, but eventually Paper WWX does draw it, surprising JGY. Suibian fights him remotely for a bit while WWX gets away and makes his way back to Lan Wangji.

Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji trade arm clasps while Wei Wuxian gives him a sitrep, and then they run off to find Nie Mingjue's head.

Because there is no limit to Wei Wuxian's sex appeal, Lan Wangji instantly beats up everyone who gets in his sweetie's way. Lan Xichen shows up, a little alarmed at the attacks on the guards but still on board with their plan.

Lan Xichen deploys his most dramatic stair-climbing flourish to show that he means business.

Eventually Jin Guangyao shows up, and they ask to see his secret chamber. Jin Guangyao tries to explain that it's not, like, a secret chamber any more if you let people come in and look at it.

Apparently there IS a limit to Jin Guangyao's sex appeal, because Lan Xichen puts his foot down for the very first time and tells him, not asks him, to open the room.

...while Wei Wuxian smirks like a kid whose sibling is the one getting yelled at for a change.

Before Jin Guangyao can answer, Su She shows up, saying it's not cool to demand entry to a clan leader's bed chamber, as if Lan Xichen didn't have his own embroidered bathrobe alredy hanging on a hook in there.

Lan Wangji and Su She greet each other nastily, and Wei Wuxian calls him out for copying Lan Wangji, which ends the episode.

Soundtrack: I Go To Extremes by Billy Joel, That Thing You Do from the movie That Thing You Do

Bonus: Liu Haikuan's beautiful hand

[gl-saveme]

Picking up wifey for rehearsals 🤭

[catboydan]

my very specific prediction for the upcoming AITA video: he'll open by explaining that last week on the gaming channel he had an 'AITA' moment himself [insert clips from the dan eye incident here]

then he'll lead into the vid by saying something like "and that inspired me to ask you all for your 'am I the hole' moments", and only then will he bring up that this time, he asked for specifically dating/love-related stories, leaving us to piece together that the intro is a dating/love related story via the maxim of relevance

[mccromy]

TGCF/SVSSS crossover in which Jun Wu transmigrates into the former CQM sect leader (let's pretend they look alike too) who died by botching a Heavenly Calamity and now Jun Wu wakes up in his body in the aftermath.

He realizes this world is very different from his own and then while he tries to figure out what actually happened, takes over sect leader duties. Which is very easy with his experience as Heavenly Emperor. Also, this sect has a peak filled with Ling Wens! :D (An Ding Peak) easy peasy.

He assists the disciple trials and takes notice of a malnourished boy, just at the age limit for starting cultivation, working diligently with the barest hint of desperation under an otherwise determined face. He invites him to Qiong Ding Peak, and while they perform the acceptance ceremony he asks his favorite question (2 men 1 cup.... lost in the desert)

And the boy instead of answering asks:

"Who are these men?"

Jun Wu hums.

"Does it matter?"

"Yes."

Jun Wu stares at him but the boy doesn't squirm or look away. The desperation suddenly stark.

"Would their identity change your answer?" The boy nods. "Very well, let's say you don't know either of them. You can't tell if they're rich or poor, neither is ugly, neither is handsome. You stand in front of them holding a cup filled with fresh water and the knowledge that if they don't drink from your cup they'll die. How would you fix this problem?" He smiles placidly as the boy thinks.

He doesn't think too long.

"I drink the cup."

Jun Wu is surprised, even the most selfish and entitled try to at least give the appearance of caring.

"Even if they died?"

"As long as I don't."

Jun Wu realized his mistake, this boy, dirty and thin as he was, was probably used to fighting for his food. Survival of the fittest and all that.

"Even if you knew one of them, what if they had a family? What would you do then?"

"I drink the cup."

"I see... Is there any scenario in which you don't drink the cup?" Jun Wu is amused enough he starts preparing the tea himself. He's already decided he'd take the boy in. He could do with someone unapologetically ruthless.

"If my brother is with me, I'd give him the cup."

Suddenly, Jun Wu doesn't like the boy anymore.

"I see. If one of the men in the desert is your brother, you'll give the cup to him, even if you die." Typical. Idealistic boys, who think they'll still know themselves at their worst.

"Yes, but I meant, if it's my brother, me, and two men in the desert, the cup goes to my brother."

"Hm."

He lets the tea steep, he's angry. He realized he might kill this boy if they keep talking. As he's about to dismiss him, acceptance ceremony be damned, the boy speaks again.

"And if there were a cup for each of us, then all would go to my brother."

Jun Wu stills. Then places a cup in front of the boy, pours tea, sits back.

"And why is that? only one cup would be enough to survive."

"To survive, yes, but he might still be thirsty after. Maybe he'd want to wash off some sweat, he's very fussy."

Ah, like Shi Wudu then. Jun Wu might have an useful piece in his hands after all.

The wicked always think that as long as they're acting on behalf of the truly virtuous, every action is justified and therefore merit no punishment. Everything goes, if it's to let the innocent remain ignorant.

It might've been fun had he not met this type before.

"Is he older or younger?"

"Younger."

"I see. And, if your brother wouldn't die from thirst, and you had five cups in your hand."

"Four would go to him, and one for me."

A bit more selfless than Shi Wudu. Which makes him a bit more boring. This boy probably wouldn't even try to strangle his brother before he was killed.

"And let the other two die?" The boy nods again, though now there's something his mannerisms are coated in embarrassment.

Well, since he already went down memory lane, Jun Wu simply must ask: "And if the price was to let a kingdom burn for getting that brother a cup of water even if he wouldn't die without it. Or let a kingdom thrive, while your brother stays as he is. What would you do?"

"Is my brother thirsty?"

"Yes."

"Then I'll give him the cup."

"He would not die."

"He would be thirsty."

Disappointing, this new disciple of his, but the boy might just live.

"Is your brother so righteous and kind that his life is worth more than the lives of the people of this kingdom?"

"My brother's life is worth two cups of rice, and as of late, a gold coin."

Jun Wu paused in confusion. What a horrible thing to say. Stated as a fact, hard as a stone. Is his brother's life not worth other's? How can he be so certain of the needed currency to bargain his brother's soul.

"And would he be happy? All those lives lost just for temporary comfort?"

"He wouldn't be happy."

With strong morals yet not worth enough to buy more than a few meals. At some point worth only two meals? What sort of contradictory creature is this boy related to?

"He would hate you for it."

"No, he wouldn't be happy either way. But if I did give him the water, he would not be sad. Just upset."

"Upset at the deaths?"

"Upset at all the smoke."

Jun Wu bursts out laughing. He laughs and laughs so hard he starts crying. The boy remains still as a statue, confused, scared.

And Jun Wu laughs, laughs as he wipes tears, laughs as he pours himself a cup and drinks, tea spilling on his robes. The boy quickly copies him, studies him as if to decide whether he's a threat or not.

Jun Wu forces himself to stop, his smile uncontrollably pulling at his skin.

Oh what a nasty, selfish child must this mysterious brother be. And yet, this soft spoken boy would doom hundreds for his ephemeral comfort.

"Where is that brother of yours? Was he at the disciple selection trial?"

The boy looks away for the first time, shakes his head.

"No... He's in a bad place. I need to go get him, this is why I need to become a cultivator, so I can help him."

"How noble, he needs rescue, hm?"

"Yes."

Jun Wu smiles, eyes gleaming.

"Then you're in the right place to achieve the power to do so. Welcome, Disciple Yue, to Qiong Ding. From now on you will refer to me as Shizun, and you'll work hard to do our sect proud."

The boy perked up, shoulders sagging in relief.

"Yes, Shizun."

"I see great promise in you, Yue Qi, and a good heart."

"Thank you, Shizun."

"It would be nothing less than tragic to see it break. Because of that, when you're ready, I'll go with you to retrieve your brother, and we'll find a place for him in our sect."

The boy's face illuminated, eyes wet and hopeful. His lower lip trembled, but he did not cry. Yue Qi took a deep breath, and then let it go. He regarded Jun Wu as if he knew the true identity of the man he was facing, as if he had been given the most marvellous of blessings.

"Shizun will help me save Xiao Jiu?"

Jun Wu nodded with a serene smile as the seed of worship was planted in the soul of such an unlucky boy.

Worship would not do it, not anymore. Worship was conditional to what miracles he could perform, and Jun Wu was no longer a god.

Love though. Love could bring down empires, change fates. Worship could never compare to love. Being worshipped wasn't enough.

"This Shizun swears. We'll rescue Xiao Jiu, Yue Qi."

Not likely, but who knows what the future holds.

"It all depends on you, my disciple. I have put all my faith in your hands. I know you won't disappoint your brother, and you won't disappoint me."

Yue Qi bowed as tears finally started pouring down his sweet, dirty face.

"Thank you, Shizun. This disciple promises to exceed Shizun's expectations." His voice wobbled but his speech was clear. Jun Wu rested a reassuring hand on the poor child's shoulder.

"I'm certain. I have been waiting a long time for a disciple like you,"

Jun Wu made the mistake of trying to mould Xie Lian to his image, and it ended with that boy proving Jun Wu rotten and weak.

Jun Wu would not try the same with Yue Qi. That was not what he truly wanted, what he actually needed.

He needed a ruthless, devout, unlucky, little tragedy of a boy who would never, ever leave.

Someone who could love nasty, rotten, selfish, creatures who only get upset at the smell of the bodies at their feet.

[waitineedaname]

I find it very funny that the only time ling and mei directly interact is at the very end and the only time they were ever in the same room together before the promised day is when ling has been freshly possessed. we already know mei gets a glance at greed and is like "is that the yao prince?? why is he here????" and I have to imagine it went similarly from ling's perspective. like he's still reeling from getting possessed on purpose, probably still getting his bearings in there, and he's just experienced potentially the worst twenty-four hours of his life, and then greed starts applauding a little girl's reunion with her panda and ling gets a look at her and is like "oh what the fuck."

[twistedappletree]

Qin Su & A-Ling 🌼

[maalidoesart]

mdzs bunnies!!! part 1

[xinyuehui]

LINK CLICK ★ 3rd Anniversary ★

Bonus: