#baiheng hsr

[itsemimi]

Even better 😋

[weilaverdui]

Angstober Day 18: But I Love You...

But I loved you - and you have no memories of this. But I loved you - yet now it turned to hatred. But I loved you - yet could not bid farewell. But I loved you - yet never gave my gift. But I loved you - and yet was the reason for ruin. Saying "But..." too many times - and sweet wine turns bitter and oaths turn void.

[soupserum]

SWMTBB [ 5 ]

after this chapter it gets better (figured out a better layout etc)

Yanqing lay on his bed, contemplating the recent events. Thankfully, the other three had quieted down, seemingly going to be interrogated by Zephyrus in a corner of their mind where he didn't have to pay attention to their bickering.

He really needed to do some research. Clearly these spirits- Baiheng, Yingxing and Dan Feng- were important to Jing Yuan in some form. They were contained within that shrine- but how important? Clearly nobody had cleaned it up, or made offerings in a long time. He also knew that the erosion process on the Luofu was significantly slower than on normal planets, due to the carefully maintained atmosphere and weather, he just didn't know how slow. 

How long had it been? It could've been anywhere from 800 to 100 years. Not to mention he had no idea what their relationship was! Perhaps they were close friends of Jing Yuan. But if that was the case, why was their shrine left to rot and become overgrown? Why were the spirits left to lay dormant? And…

Just… just how strong were these spirits in life, if they were able to hold on in dormancy for so long after death? He had only ever heard of a spirit hanging on for 500 years at most. And that was the spirit of a Marshal. Perhaps they had something else binding them here? Something relating to the circumstances of their death, and why their shrine was abandoned?

Ack, now his head hurts. This was all so annoying.

And he still had to do that fitting thing with Jing Yuan! And check out the new books that had been piling up on his desk! 

At least that feeling dragging him towards the shrine was gone. He hated that feeling. It reminded him of-

Of…

What did it remind him of?

Whatever, this didn't matter right now. It happened all the time, anyway. He didn't have the luxury to worry or whine about trains of thought suddenly being thrown off the rails. Was it just his imagination, or did the spirits arguing in his head suddenly get angrier?

-

Yanqing had never seen anything like this even in his wildest dreams. Jing Yuan was chattering on about something, but Yanqing wasn't listening, instead opting to stare wide-eyed at the looming buildings around them. There weren't a lot of people, probably due to Jing Yuan taking them through a less-traveled path so he wouldn't get overwhelmed. The few that were there quickly looked away after staring for a moment, and he noticed shining glimpses of armor ducking behind buildings or concealed underneath clothing.

Tsk. Good to know Jing Yuan hasn't turned soft after 800-something years. Dan Feng remarked. Baiheng scolded him in the corner of his mind.

Yanqing turned this new piece of information over in his head, clutching Jing Yuan's hand tight as they walked and he took in the surroundings. Sure, he had seen Xianzhou architecture at Jing Yuan's house, but… this was a real life city! A real life Xianzhou ship!

Everything felt like a dream… but he would not slip today! Zephyrus can nag all he wants, Yanqing was staying fully present for every bit of this!

They soon entered a building which he assumed was a tailor's ship. Then he was whisked around, put on a pedestal and measured practically everywhere. He… strangely was not afraid. Perhaps it was because of the four voices chattering away in the back of his head. Or Jing Yuan's protective presence in the corner of the room.

He decided it didn't really matter.

After they had finished taking his measurements, which he found unnecessary, (Why did they even need so many measurements? He had survived with just a piece of big cloth before!) he was taken to another room, in which there were so many different fabric rolls… 

It took him a reassuring glance from Jing Yuan to get him to finally go touch them. It freaked him out, honestly… There were so many different textures… It was overwhelming…

At least there wasn't anyone else in here. Just Jing Yuan, and he was typing something on the weird holo-pad he carried around. He had a feeling Jing Yuan wasn't actually doing any work, but he didn't really mind, too distracted with the fabric.

Ooh! Go for that one over there, the blue one, it's so soft, you'll love it! Baiheng insisted, and he went over. She was right. It was very soft. Reminded him of a flower petal. 

Ahh, I would have all my clothes made out of that before… You should choose that one! It's so nice! Baiheng said excitedly. Yingxing tried to quiet her to no avail.

Yanqing wanted to look at more fabrics, but he filed that one away for future reference.

That one was scratchy- reminded him of his own clothes. He didn't like that one. It was only Yingxing and Baiheng bickering that prevented him from panicking and having Zephyrus take over again.

That one had a weird feel to it, it caught on his fingers and made them feel weird. He didn't like that one either.

Too soft, too scratchy, too hard, too clingy… The fabric Baiheng recommended was getting more and more tempting. 

Around 10 minutes passed, and Yanqing decided all other fabrics were inferior to Baiheng's. He memorized the word underneath it, before walking over to Jing Yuan and tugging on his sleeve.

He pulled Jing Yuan over to the soft fabric, pointing at it, and-

"This one." Yanqing was almost as shocked as Jing Yuan when his scratchy voice, rough from disuse, made itself known. He hadn't even meant to say anything!

He was cut off from his wide-eyed panic when Jing Yuan… smiled. Sure, he had smiled before, but this one made him feel strangely warm. Happy, like he had done something good. 

He would always smile whenever we had done something good. Jing Yuan's smile doesn't feel like His, though. Zephyrus mused. Yanqing elected to ignore him in favor of clinging to the lingering warmth. He barely even noticed Jing Yuan call the seamstress over.

He was led outside, back to the room where he was measured, and Jing Yuan gave him a magazine. It was filled with several different patterns and colors. It overwhelmed him at first, but the other three were glad to guide him through it, Jing Yuan even offering opinions of his own at times.

In the end, he settled on a bird pattern, and several different shades of blue. He didn't know how to describe it, but he really liked the color blue. They never got to see it often before. It reminded him of the sky. He had always wanted to see the sky… to fly away among the clouds like a bird.

He hadn't ever seen a bird either, now that he thought about it.

You haven't- Baiheng started, before being abruptly cut off by Yingxing, who hissed something at her that he couldn't quite make out. There are usually a bunch of finches in Jing Yuan's garden. Not around this time of year, though. In a few months they'll be everywhere. Dan Feng informed them. He faintly heard Zephyrus scoff in disdain. Zephyrus hadn't been very talkative recently. Yanqing pondered this as Jing Yuan settled whatever the price was with the seamstress. He didn't care to listen to what they were saying- someone else probably was, anyway, so it didn't really matter. If it was important, he'd find out somehow.

They left the seamstress, walking back along the back roads they had taken before. This time, the hidden guards were less noticeable, and he only caught the glimpse of silver through the bushes a few times.

Though, he did see something purple and black duck into an alleyway, and disappear over the rooftop. He spared a few moments to wonder what it was, but decided to just assume it was one of the guards Jing Yuan had assigned that was particularly sloppy with their hiding skills.

That didn't look like any Cloud Knights I've seen. Baiheng mused.

You're going to scare him! Dan Feng scolded. It's been a long time, things have probably changed. Maybe they were part of a new squad.

Yanqing chose to believe Dan Feng, as he didn't really have the emotional capacity to worry about things like that right now, anyway. Zephyrus took care of that for him. He was exhausted, and as they returned to the house, he almost instantly settled into sleep.  Unfortunately for Yanqing, he had grown used to the feeling of eyes, and therefore did not notice the new pair gazing through his curtains.

guh interactions appreciated as always <3

[the-veil-roleplay]

Calling any and all Baiheng roleplayers. You have been cordially invited to The Veil, an 18+ Multifandom roleplay server.

We're looking for someone to play Baiheng, first come, first served. But don't worry! There's plenty of other opportunities for you to play other characters as you wait for your favorite to be dropped!

Hope to see you there!

Welcome to The Veil

Welcome to The Veil. You have been chosen just before the biggest mistake of your life to join others on a retribution path to return to your worlds. Do not worry, your friends and family are safe with your shadow doppleganger. If you have any questions you may reach out to Erebus, one of the few Voices of The Veil, on Cloud Mantle, our version of social media.

Cloud Mantle holds every sort of social media you would ever want or need. There is also a small area to ask questions to the Voices. At the moment only Erebus is able to answer you, but they will answer as soon as possible and honestly.

You should wake up or step in your own room where you will be staying for the rest of your time here in The Veil. Do try to be friendly with the other visitors of The Veil. Enjoy your time at The Veil.

The Veil is an 18+ Multifandom Roleplay server

https://discord.gg/uuSHDAN8ZZ

[generalsdiary]

Jing Yuan in hoyofair 2025 has me screaming and crying

[ohhnyoo]

You who once went by.

[miothle]

the high cloud quintet⚔️

[jingyuan-doodles]

The red that binds our fate

[cheseely]

high cloud quintet 💗

[r3nblade]

[zephyrine-gale]

high cloud quintet commission for jing yuan's va!

[minkyrats]

youve gotten so tall, yingxing. i cant reach your head anymore.

then i will kneel for you, baiheng.

...when did you get so small that kneeling wasnt enough for you to reach me?

[k9wa]

𑣲 RENEWAL. ft. DAN (F)HENG

⠀ — it is not he that is familiar to you, nor you to him.

⠀ OR

⠀ — time and reincarnation aren’t enough to ever make you truly forget each other.

⚠︎ angst if you squint, fluff, mild hsr spoilers? thank u to the high cloud quintet for having the most heart breaking lore, i listened to memory by toby fox on repeat while writing this.

dan heng wasn’t sure what to feel when his eyes met yours.

familiarity? no, that’s not possible. he’s never met you.

nostalgia? no, that too was not possible. he cannot name one person who your eyes could possibly remind him of.

…what was it? what was it that had left dan heng unable to will his gaze to move somewhere else? surely the intense eye contact was leaving you uncomfortable, even he was beginning to feel squirmy in his own skin as you stared back at him with an equal intensity.

dan heng can feel something in the deepest pit of his mind, leaking down and adding to the tense knot in his gut. 

yet, the feeling isn’t…unwelcome.

it’s warm. it’s akin to a comforting hand on his shoulder, or a small squeeze to his fingers. he could not, no matter how hard he tried, recall a time such a sensation had left him so utterly speechless. 

“dan heng?”

it’s welt’s voice that finally pulled him out of his trance, his eyes blinking rapidly a few times before he turned his head to look at the older man.

“sorry. what was that?”

dan heng shook his head as if to rid himself of the thoughts of you. what was your name again? yukong had just informed him. not that he was really listening, anyway.

the conversation between his crew and the sky-faring commissions helm master continued on, talk of stellarons and something about the cloud knight’s general. dan heng couldn’t seem to focus despite his efforts.

another voice calls out to him just before he can depart alongside caelus and march, however this time it is not the deep and rough voice of his companion, but one that is much sweeter, and seems to strike a chord somewhere within him.

“dan heng?”

he turns around and is once more met with your eyes. dan heng willed himself to blink and nod before he could be entranced by them once more.

“i apologize, but…”

you trailed off before you were able to get the words out of your mouth, and there you found yourself back in the odd silence the two of you had just broken out of.

“…have we met before?”

you asked, and it finally clicked with dan heng where he had seen only snippets and flashes of you before.

my dreams, he thought. the dreams that haunted him night in and night out, but would occasionally grant him just a glance of a peaceful memory.

“no. we haven’t.”

you’re an amicassador of the sky-fairing commission, one brought on board long after he was banned from the ship that you called home. your meeting at any point before now would have been impossible.

yet, his mind drifts to the occasional memory he has only when deep in slumber.

“yingxing gifted me this.”

he looks down at you, head in his lap as you pull a small jade coin out of your pocket, a fine “永” carefully carved into the surface.

“he has too much time on his hands now that jing yuan is growing.”

your chuckle is soothing to his ears, the sound like a balm applied directly to his soul.

your face is unclear, almost as if his eyes are unfocused. yet your voice is unmistakable.

“i don’t disagree.”

is all he responds, fingers idly pushing a few stray hairs behind your ear as he looks down at you. although he can’t see it, he can feel the grass he and you reside on, smell the pollen off the fresh flowers the breeze blows towards him, can feel the sun on his skin.

“you’re sure?” you question again, voice just as calming as he was sure he’d imagined until now.

“you just—“ you chuckle a bit, almost awkwardly. “—seem so familiar, is all.”

you try to approach the topic subtly, but you truly did know him. from your own dreams, the ones you had that woke you in a cold sweat from just how real and jarring they felt, regardless of whether they were mild or sweet in nature. they conjured such emotion in you.

“baiheng was telling me of reincarnation.”

you muse to him, sitting with one hand on the ground just over his crossed legs, leaving you leaning across him.

“do you believe in such a thing?”

“of course.”

he nods, hand naturally finding it’s place on your waist.

“don’t you?”

“i don’t think so.”

you reach your free hand out to play mindlessly with the silver trim of his robes.

“it’s a nice thought, though.”

dan feng can only hum quietly.

“some day,” he began, drawing your attention back up to his face. “after i reach my end, i’ll come back to find you.”

the small tug of his lips could only be described as a smirk, but it felt softer than that.

“to prove it to you.”

you tilt your head teasingly, brow cocked.

“how will you recognize me?” “I would know you blind.”

he can feel his chest warm as you smile at him.

“i’ll hold you to that.”

“sorry.” dan heng bowed his head lightly. 

“but we haven’t met before.”

he was being truthful, you hadn’t. it was your past lives that you two had been acquainted, had formed a bond so strong that it appeared to have transcended death itself.

dan heng did not wish to have dan feng’s deeds or past haunt him any more than they already do. the urge he felt to sit and talk with you, to perhaps hold your hand or touch your face would surely only lead him down a path he’d apparently gone down centuries ago.

“right.”

you nod at him, bowing yourself.

“sorry to keep you, it was nice to meet you.”

dan heng was released and regrouped with his crew, march and caelus bickering about something or the other and walking ahead of him. he decided to stay a bit further behind with welt.

his decision quickly regretted when welt gave him a knowing look, the lines on the older man’s forehead deepening as his eyebrows pushed together.

“you know them.”

“i know who they used to be. that’s all.”

welt can read the room well enough to know to end the topic there. dan heng had never enjoyed or been keen on talking of dan feng, and being back on the xianzhou alone had already left him with an unusual tension in his shoulders.

even as he walked away, moving up to engage in conversation with the sillier two of the quadrant, dan heng couldn’t shake you from his head. your smile, the way you held yourself as yukong introduced you, the small laugh that he had not expected would weave itself so deeply in his chest.

he kept walking on anyway. dan heng was not him.

⠀ 𑣲 MASTERLIST / GOT A REQUEST ?

[soupserum]

SWMTBB [ 4 ]

crossposted on ao3 as per usual

Yanqing felt like he was going crazy. Listen- it had to be his imagination. A trick of the light, or the wind, or Zephyrus getting to him and making him all paranoid. He was probably just stressed from everything that had been going on.

He still couldn't shake the feeling of eyes. No matter where he turned or where he hid, there were always those goddamn eyes! Everywhere! They were everywhere! Yanqing groaned in frustration, flopping back onto the bed from where he had been pacing.

I think you're getting too frustrated over this. There's nothing we can do, so why bother wasting energy on hallucinations?

"That's easy for you to say!" Yanqing shivered, cutting himself off as his spine prickled, goosebumps visible on his arms. "I hate this."

You only started getting all paranoid after you started visiting that shrine. Maybe the leftover energy there is affecting you.

"I- ugh. I guess that makes sense. It doesn't feel like just another qi sickness, though! I know what that feels like, and this isn't it."

I think you're so used to qi sickness, you don't even notice the other symptoms and only feel the paranoia.

Yanqing didn't bother responding. He wouldn't be able to convince Zephyrus, anyway.

…

He wanted to go see the shrine.

Okay, okay, it sounded like a bad idea when he thought it like that, but… Ugh. Maybe Zephyrus was right. Maybe he shouldn't go.

He thought back to the wind, to the ̶w̶h̶i̶s̶p̶e̶r̶s̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ leaves… It was terrifying. It was calling for him. He wanted to go back. To feel that presence, to hear those bells, to bring something new. He wanted to go-

Yanqing!

He jolted, sitting up straight and staring wide-eyed at the mirror, where Zephyrus stood with an unamused expression.

I've been talking to you for like 10 minutes now. Are you thinking about going back to that shrine? You're acting like the protagonist in a horror novel. Running back to the strange abandoned shrine where strange things happen that make you paranoid? Do you not see the problem in being drawn to it?

"I just- I-" Yanqing fumbled with his words.

You're being silly. We never would've even entertained this idea back there, and never even have gone back after the first time you saw it! It's only been how long, and you've already started running around like you're invincible. We don't know if we're going to be safe here or not.

Yanqing was silent for a moment, formulating his thoughts under Zephyrus' cold stare.

"...If Jing Yuan was going to hurt us, wouldn't he have done something already? I mean, there's probably very few people that know we're here. He's had a lot of time to show his true colors." …

"I don't think he wants to hurt us. Maybe we can relax a little bit, let your guard down-" Stop! You don't- we don't know that. Maybe he's safe, but better safe than sorry. If you get attached, you're going to get hurt! You've done this a thousand times before, and it's never been true! They've always wanted to hurt us!

"Those times- you know it wasn't my fault those times! You know what they were doing! Besides, it wasn't all of them. There was-" She might've been a fluke. You know as well as I do. Every single time you think it's just like one of your stupid fairytales, and every single time I have to pick up the pieces. 

"It's different this time! We're out of that place! This is different, this is the Luofu, they worship completely separate Aeons!" If a person is cruel, whichever Aeon they worship doesn't matter! You're being stupid, Ic-

"THAT'S NOT MY NAME!"

…

Yanqing didn't know when he had stood up, or why he had shouted at Zephyrus, who was standing stone-faced behind the glass. 

He was so tired of being afraid. Yanqing turned off the lights in the room and got in bed without another word. When he looked at the mirror again, Zephyrus was gone, and blessedly silent.

The footsteps leaving the door went unnoticed by both of them.

-

Jing Yuan seemed off today. Zephyrus was still quiet from their fight last night, so Yanqing couldn't ask him if he also noticed it. Jing Yuan kept throwing glances his way, like he was a stray cat who would flee at the slightest movement. Which was weird, because he stopped looking at him like that ages ago. What happened to change it?

After Jing Yuan left for work, Yanqing pushed that out of his mind. It didn't matter right now, and he had bigger things to worry about. Like the way the shadows were moving on the walls. If Zephyrus was here, he'd say something about him being paranoid, but he knew he wasn't paranoid!

He entered their room, sitting down at their desk and mentally preparing himself to try and fix his handwriting-

Where was the paper? He patted down the desk, searched everywhere within their room, but the paper & pencil had completely disappeared. He racked his memory for where he possibly could've left it- downstairs? Perhaps at the kitchen table, or the little table in the living room, where-

The shrine. 

He had left it at the shrine when he went to go offer incense.

He really did want to go back. It was very pretty there, anyway, overgrown like that with all the moss and the leaves and the vines and the flowers covering the shrine the wildflowers in all their pretty colors covered in all the moss and the green the slippery stones the daisies just like the white lilies just like his m-

…

Surely… surely nobody would notice if he took a few more sticks of incense down. Just a few. He needed to get the paper anyway, and it was rude to not bring an offering if he was already going over. 

It was fine. Just a quick visit and nothing more. Then he could go check out the bookshelves lining the hallway that he didn't have a chance to look at earlier. He hadn't been able to read a new book in ages.

Making up his mind, he opened the door and went downstairs, ignoring or avoiding every reflective surface he came across. Which was harder than you'd think, considering pictures and polished surfaces count too.

He picked out a different type of incense this time. Patchouli. He didn't know what that smelt like when burning, but it smelt good on the stick, and the name sounded pretty, so it was good enough. Pocketing the lighter and clutching the three sticks of incense in their hand, he returned to the path. It was strangely comforting, like he was returning home after a long absence. Maybe the thought of that should've made him uneasy, but he had always been the optimist.

The shrine sat there like it always had. He wondered, in the back of his mind, just how long it had been there. How many years, on this unchanging ship with these unchanging people?

He approached the altar to light the incense, hand reaching out for the forgotten paper as soon as the white was visible against the stones. He went to pocket the paper, quickly checking it for dirt stains-

He barely registered the paper fluttering to the ground and rejoining the pen. That- That had to have been Zephyrus playing a trick. Maybe he had possessed him when he wasn't paying attention? Or it could be Jing Yuan, trying to trick him into being paranoid so he can swoop in and save the day?

This- this couldn't be real- he had to be dreaming or- or something-

there was something tugging at the back of his mind- Zephyrus?- he can't breathe- no no no Zephyrus can't take over right now he's angry and upset- he wouldn't take over when he's that upset- what if it was the voices? he can't breathe- the things watching him- the things that wrote on the paper

he could feel himself being pulled backwards he can't breathe the void was so tempting-

nothing.

-

He couldn't leave ██████ alone for even a second. Aeons, of course this would happen. Zephyrus was going to give him such an earful when he calmed down from that panic attack.

In lieu of scolding ██████ he would just have to do some things he didn't have the chance to do earlier, when ██████ was too annoying to hand over control.

At this point, it was almost second nature to hide a food stash. There was so much food that he could take from the cabinets and hide in his little stashes, it was almost like a dream. Of course, he didn't just hide stashes in their room. There was another near the shrine ██████ loved so much. 

He was careful about it. Only a few pieces of food from each group, and he took from the back so it wouldn't be visible. The canned food was a different story. He took a lot of those, and he hid those in the spots near the shrine, hidden within the roots of abandoned trees.

When he was done, it was like nothing had ever happened! Jing Yuan would never notice, and hopefully ██████ would be none the wiser. It'd be hard to hide this important of a memory, but he'd hidden worse, so it would be fine. 

All that was left now was to wait for ██████ to wake up.

-

Nothing. It wasn't dark, because there was no light that would've made it dark. There was just nothing. It was peaceful. This was always the best part about letting Zephyrus take control-

Zephyrus took control!?

Well… that made sense, he guessed. Usually Zephyrus takes over when he has a panic attack. But this void didn't feel like the one he went to in the deep recesses of their shared mind. It felt different. Like instead of a nothingness created from him and Zephyrus' consciousnesses, it was created by a different set of consciousnesses.

He could barely bring himself to care, though. It was so quiet, so comforting. The endless loneliness. He could already feel himself drifting…

"Do you think he's awake yet?"

"Quiet, you idiot, you're going to scare him!-" Yanqing screamed at the top of his lungs, lashing out and getting as far away from the new presences as possible.

"Shit-" "Hey kid, it's okay, we aren't gonna hurt you!" One of the voices exclaimed, raising their hands in surrender.

Yanqing kept a safe distance, quickly scanning these people- three of them? A purple-haired foxian, seemingly female, white-haired… um… person, seemingly male, and a black-haired vidyadhara, also male. He did not trust these people. "Who the hell are you people?!" He insisted, trying to seem more intimidating than he probably was. Zephyrus was way better at that.

"We're, um." The vidyadhara began, before being cut off by the foxian.

"We're really sorry for scaring you! We were the spirits in the shrine you've been visiting. The gifts you've brought have helped us regain consciousness instead of just sleeping, and we wanted to talk to you for real, but, um, we ended up scaring you instead. Sorry…" "For the record, it was her idea." The white-haired person input.

Okay. He could work with this. They weren't spirit-sent assassins from back there. Just normal spirits. That he accidentally awoke. Ah, what did he get himself into… "And can I ask the name of the spirits I've accidentally awoken?" He inquired, putting as much wariness and disdain into his tone as he could. It didn't seem to be working. The foxian smiled at him. "My name is Baiheng."

interactions appreciated <3

[n4tsum1-san]

clearing my meme backlog

the rest are trailblazer memes bc they're genuinely one of my favorite main characters of all time

[hunterfromtheabyss]

now and then