#i did draw lwj's face but I hate how it turned out so....

[imperfectpompom]

“I’m sorry, Wei Ying... I know this is selfish - but just for tonight. Let me have this...”

((A Yuan is cuddled up to Lan Wangji’s injured back after the siege of the burial mounds and is gently pressing kisses into the fabric of the bandages. Lan Wangji is seen from behind in the first image, and from the side in the second. You cannot see Lan Wangji’s face, but his head is drooping and his hair is messy. A cloud reads ‘comfort’ above Lan Wangji’s head. ))

[asideoftrashplease]

all the time in the world (& i’ll spend it loving you)

The first time Lan Wangji had come to him, it had been a rainy day, just like this one. It had been pouring that morning when Lan Wangji had appeared out of the storm, drunk and drenched, grabbing him by the collar with shaking hands.

“How could you?” he had hissed. “How could you?”

Lan Wangji had lowered his head, letting out a sob. If there had been tears on his face that night, they had been lost in the rain.

“You killed him.”

  ---

Twitter refugee and I’m SO excited to be here and meet new people! Erm erm I don’t have much to contribute, but I’ve written this whole bunch of CANON-VERSE jiang cheng ficlets. Read it under the cut!

[The first chapter was written for the prompt: JC and LWJ have a standing once a month hook up that started during the years WWX was dead. At first, it was hate fucking, but it turned into feelings that they both ignored. After WWX returns, JC assumes the standing monthly hookup has stopped. Except cue one month after the temple events, LWJ shows up with WWX in tow.]

Sometime back, Chengxian antis and JC antis were flooding the tags on Twitter with hate which made everyone sad, so I opened prompts for Chengxian, Zhancheng, and Zhanchengxian ficlets, and wrote people a bunch of gift ficlets I’ve now dubbed... the #jiayou ficlets! Here’s one of them! For people who prefer to read things on the archive, it’s posted on Ao3 here.

---

He wakes as he always does; startled, sun in his eyes, with his heart pounding in his chest and his fingers clenched tight in the sheets.

Still as stone, he lies frozen in place as his heart slows.

Outside, he can hear muffled shouting, layered over the patter of rain, as the younger disciples play amidst the puddles. He can hear the slow scuff of slippers as the servants begin their day, heading to the river to draw water. He can even hear the distant sounds of horse wagons out in the city.

Yunmeng.

After a long moment, he eases himself slowly upright, muscles stiff from a whole night spent rigid. Unbidden, his eyes sweep over to the empty surface of his desk.

No letters have come for him overnight.

His heart trembles strangely in his chest.

He stands, and pushes the window forcefully open. A rainy morning; the first day of the sixth month. The rain seems to herald the coming monsoon, the seasonal wetness that he knows will last for the next two months. He stands there for a long moment, face turned up against the cool, gentle mists of the morning rain. Then, he closes his eyes.

No one is coming for him tonight.

His heart clenches painfully. Opening his eyes, he pulls the windows forcefully shut, and turns around to get ready for the day.

He doesn’t know what he’d been expecting.

---

The first time Lan Wangji had come to him, it had been a rainy day, just like this one. It had been pouring that morning when Lan Wangji had appeared out of the storm, drunk and drenched, grabbing him by the collar with shaking hands.

“How could you?” he had hissed. “How could you?”

Lan Wangji had lowered his head, letting out a sob. If there had been tears on his face that night, they had been lost in the rain.

“You killed him.”

The sex had hurt, that first time, scratching at each other, their wordless snarls hiding the hint of a sob as they sought to mask the pain, the grief, the tears.

“Did you want this with him?” Jiang Cheng had taunted, staring up at Lan Wangji. In the darkness, his golden eyes had gleamed like a cat’s in the light of the moon.

Jiang Cheng remembers how those eyes had flashed as Lan Wangji backhanded him. He remembers the dark bruise it had left in the morning. He remembers waking to those inscrutable golden eyes, and the gentle caress of gentle knuckles over his swollen cheek.

“Do you regret last night?” Jiang Cheng had asked in a murmur.

Lan Wangji’s brows had drawn together, eyes tracing the contours of that dark blemish.

“Yes,” he’d said.

---

On the first day of the next month, he had still returned.

---

It’s impossible to tell when he’d started loving Wei Wuxian. It feels like millennia that he’s spent tracing the memory of a familiar face, the laughter they’d shared, and the insults they’d traded. Sometimes, it feels like he’d always loved him.

When Wei Wuxian had been alive, Jiang Cheng always dreamt of their arguments, waking up sour and resentful. But after he had died, Jiang Cheng had dreamt only sweet dreams. He would dream of laughing together under lotus pads, of rosy sunsets over the river, stealing chickens and play-wrestling in the rain. He would dream of the ruby glint of sunset off the droplets in Wei Wuxian’s hair, drenched in rainwater and lakewater, the day he’d hauled Jiang Cheng up onto the dock and leaned over him, tipsy and laughing.

I want you, he’d whispered. I’ve never wanted a woman the way I want you.

In those dreams, Jiang Cheng had always smiled.

I want you too, he would whisper.

Those siren dreams always left him hollow in the mornings, waking in sunlight, with an emptiness in his heart where someone had once lived. He’s lived that memory a thousand ways in sleep, in every way except the way it had played in waking.

Don’t let A-Niang hear you talking like that, he had snapped. I’m not a cut-sleeve.

One day, about a year into those unsettling dreams, he’d woken with a name on his lips.

I loved him, he’d finally realized. I still do.

The realization had threatened to upend everything.

---

On the first day of the next month, Lan Wangji had appeared to him for the first time, drunk, and with fresh scars on his back. On the first day of every following month, he had returned like clockwork.

Gentle hands, gentle heart — the first night had been the only time he had ever hit Jiang Cheng.

“Wei Ying,” Lan Wangji had whispered, that second night, and Jiang Cheng’s eyes had flown open.

“I’m not him,” he’d said, and laughed, and laughed, and laughed.

They’d had each other thrice that night, Lan Wangji desperate and insatiable in a way he had never expected. His eyelids had trembled, capillaries delicate under the glass-like skin, as he gasped and whispered. When open, his eyes always seemed so far away, unseeing.

Others had always said that one picks up the mannerisms of those they spend the most time with. Jiang Cheng wonders what parts of Wei Wuxian Lan Wangji had seen in him.

In the aftermath, trembling and limping slightly, Lan Wangji had stood and pulled on his pants. Nestled half-asleep in the sheets, Jiang Cheng had opened his eyes.

“Stay the night,” he had murmured. “I don’t want to wake alone.”

Lan Wangji’s eyes had glinted, cat-like, in the night as he turned to look at Jiang Cheng. Such an unnatural color. Jiang Cheng had always found him a little uncanny because of it.

“Mn,” Lan Wangji had agreed — and slid back under the sheets.

---

The rain splatters against his bare skin as his body flows through the motions of the Yunmeng Jiang sword form. It has long been a discipline of his. Practicing the sword form is the first thing he does every morning, and the last thing he does at night before bed.

Still, today he finds himself a little less present than he would prefer, consumed by memories. He does not hear the approach of the disciple until the disciple is at the entrance of the courtyard.

“Sect Lead— ack!”

Jiang Cheng turns sharply away, hiding the scars on his chest, his greatest shame.

“Sorry, Sect Leader!” the boy squeaks. “A letter has come for you. I’ll put it on your desk.”

As the patter of small feet peter off into the distance, Jiang Cheng takes a deep breath, and swings his outer robe up and over his shoulders. Sheathing his sword, he hurries into his study. There’s a sealed letter on the table. He snatches it up.

Even before he opens it, however, his heart sinks. The seal is familiar, but not the one he’d been expecting. True enough, when he opens the letter, it is addressed from Sect Leader Yao, requesting help with a bridge that had collapsed in a flash flood.

He tosses the letter aside angrily.

Then, after a moment, he sits down, and tries to read it. There’s a stack of letters on his desk to be answered, and he generally likes to get that done before lunch. Today, however, the words slip like water through his mind, his eyes tracing over the brushstrokes again and again without processing.

Finally, he slams his hand down on the table, and stands.

It isn’t often that he succumbs to drink, but he thinks that today is a special occasion. Striding out into the courtyard, he draws his sword, and takes off into the sky.

---

He had not expected to fall in love with Lan Wangji.

Like flying through a drizzle, he’d realized too late that he’d flown into a storm. Somewhere along the way, without him ever noticing, the rainfall had intensified to the point that he could barely see, barely hear, but so preoccupied with getting to the places he had to be, he hadn’t noticed the change of weather.

“Lan— Wangji—“

Lan Wangji had kissed him on the lips, grinding their hips more firmly together. His breath had been so hot against Jiang Cheng’s ear that night, jagged with exertion.

“Jiang—” he had murmured, and then stiffened, grasping Jiang Cheng’s hips bruisingly hard as his hips stuttered.

Wetness bloomed between their bellies.

“Jiang Wanyin.”

Afterwards, they’d laid on their sides, facing each other in the darkness. He remembers vividly how Lan Wangji had looked then, a hand under his ear like a divine statue, eyes closed, expression as serene and austere as a cloudless sky. His other hand had been warm on Jiang Cheng’s wrist, his thumb drawing up and down absently as Jiang Cheng watched him, drinking him in for long minutes. Finally, sensing the eyes on him, he had opened his eyes questioningly.

Jiang Cheng remembers every second of the moments that followed, the calm in those lion’s eyes as he’d looked patiently back at Jiang Cheng. In that moment, Jiang Cheng had been so certain.

“Lan Wangji, I—" he’d begun.

That thumb on his wrist had continued to stroke, up and down, slow and soothing. Lan Wangji had just watched him, waiting, not saying a word.

“I—"

The words had caught in his throat. He’d been so certain in that moment that Lan Wangji returned his feelings, but still, those words had refused to be spoken.

I want you too.

“I’ll tell you next time,” he had finally whispered instead. “Next month.”

Lan Wangji had blinked, slow and inexorable.

“We have time,” he had said simply.

A week later, the familiar sounds of a dizi had rung out over the mountainside.

---

“Sect Leader,” the innkeeper murmurs, concerned. “Sect Leader, are you alright?”

“Another,” he slurs, reaching out to push his cup forward, but knocking it over instead. “Two more jars.”

After a moment, the innkeeper sighs, pulling the stool next to him out, and taking a seat instead.

“Sect Leader,” she sighs, laying her hand on his nape. “You are very drunk. I haven’t seen you this drunk since you were a boy.”

Since he was a boy, sneaking out to drink here, another's arm hooked companionably over his shoulder, and a too-loud, too-excited, too-drunk voice hollering in his ear.i

With the alcohol in his system, that’s enough to make him turn his face into the table.

“Oh, Sect Leader…” the innkeeper sighs, stroking his back as his breath hitches. “What happened to you?”

He hiccups, sniffing as his nose begins to run, breathing slow and open-mouthed against the table. Tears drip slowly from the tip of his nose, darkening the wood beneath him.

“I heard that Young Master Wei has returned,” the innkeeper guesses. “There were some cultivators here talking about it, but he hasn’t come back to say hello. Where is he?”

Jiang Cheng hiccups miserably.

“I yelled at him,” he mutters, “then he eloped.”

“Eloped?” the innkeeper repeats, bewildered, and then pauses. “I always thought… Young Master Wei always seemed very enamored with Sect Leader when he was a boy. Who—“

She trails off awkwardly.

“He eloped,” Jiang Cheng continues, “with the man I love.”

He sniffs once, hiccups, and then begins to sob. The hand on his back picks up, stroking a little more frantically now.

“Oh, Sect Leader,” the innkeeper sighs. “My poor child. My sweet boy.”

“I thought he loved me too,” Jiang Cheng chokes out, still face-down on the table.

“Young Master Wei?” the innkeeper asks gingerly. “Or err— what’s his name?”

“Both,” Jiang Cheng manages, the word tripping into a series of wracking sobs. The innkeeper coos sympathetically, continuing to stroke his back.

“Hi Auntie Li,” a hushed voice comes after a moment. “We’ll get him back to Lotus Pier. Don’t you worry.”

“Ah!” the innkeeper gasps, clearly recognizing the newcomers. “Oh, of course! Please!”

She stands, and makes herself scarce. Jiang Cheng looks up blearily at the dragging sound of wooden stools against the floor, just in time to see two tall figures seating themselves at the table opposite him. Through squinted eyes, Jiang Cheng can see that the taller one has a white band over his forehead, but is dressed in the raggedy garb of a traveling cultivator, hair pulled unfussily up into a high ponytail.

“You even look like him,” Jiang Cheng mutters miserably.

The other— looks vaguely familiar.

“And you— kinda look like that Mo Xuanyu guy,” Jiang Cheng continues, even more miserably, before letting his head fall back down to the table with a loud thunk. “Ow.”

The shorter of the two makes a hissing noise, lifting Jiang Cheng’s head gently back off the table, and brushing a hand gingerly over his forehead, which is already beginning to redden.

“Wow, Jiang Cheng,” he says, “you’re wasted.”

The taller sighs, standing and sliding his arms gently underneath Jiang Cheng’s body.

“Let’s get him home,” the man whispers.

The world falls away as he’s pulled up onto a strong, broad back.

---

When he wakes in the morning, sun in his eyes, the brightness sends a sharp stab of agony through his skull. He groans, turning sharply away from the window, only to collide with a scarred chest.

There’s a familiar brand burned into the skin.

He recoils, shooting backward, only to collide, less pleasantly, with a very bony chin.

“Ow! Fuck! Jiang Cheng!”

Clasping the back of his head, he hisses in pain, feeling another oncoming bruise. His forehead feels bruised too, and he vaguely remembers how that happened. Gods, he’d been so drunk.

“Obscenity is prohibited,” Lan Wangji murmurs, but there’s no bite in it. He guides Jiang Cheng forward, pressing him into his chest so he can check on Wei Wuxian’s chin. “No bruising.”

“No bruising?” Wei Wuxian warbles melodramatically. “No permanent disfigurement? I’m still pretty?”

“You are.”

Jiang Cheng turns over, and smashes his lips against Wei Wuxian’s.

Wei Wuxian lets out a muffled moan, and then tumbles them over till he’s perched over Jiang Cheng’s body. Jiang Cheng grasps the back of his robes, panting, taken abruptly back to their younger years. Lan Wangji had never tumbled Jiang Cheng around like this, always so controlled and careful.

“I’ve wanted you for so long,” Wei Wuxian murmurs, diving down to mouth along the side of his neck, pushing his collar open to get at his clavicle.

“I—“ Jiang Cheng begins, and closes his eyes tight, a tear squeezing out and running down into his hair. “I want you too.”

Wei Wuxian gasps, turning his face into Jiang Cheng’s shoulder.

“What if I wanted to be inside you?” he murmurs.

“Yes.”

“In your mouth?”

“Yes.”

“In your ass?”

“Yes.”

“In your life, until we’re both old and grey?”

Jiang Cheng’s voice chokes in his throat, so he just nods. Wei Wuxian kisses him fiercely on the lips again, once, twice, and again, before drawing back to look up at his husband.

“I can’t believe you got to have him before I did,” he whines. “I’ve wanted him since I was a kid, you know.”

“You can have him now, if he wants.”

Jiang Cheng gasps, hiding his face in Wei Wuxian’s shoulder. Too late, he realizes that he had spread his legs slightly with the motion. Wei Wuxian catches him by the knee before he can close them.

“Nuh uh,” he teases. “No takesies-backsies! I need to have you in all the ways Lan Zhan had you while I was gone. It’s just not fair!”

“That’s—“ Jiang Cheng begins, breath hitching as Wei Wuxian nuzzles into his neck, “going to take awhile.”

A hand covers his on Wei Wuxian’s back, tangling their fingers sweetly together. Jiang Cheng looks up in surprise to see Lan Wangji sitting up against the headboard, watching him patiently with those lion's eyes of his.

There’s a gentility in his eyes, in the upward curve of his lips, and in that moment Jiang Cheng knows— he knows.

“We have time,” Lan Wangji murmurs tenderly.

He leans down, kissing Jiang Cheng gently on the lips.

“We have all the time in the world.”

--- 

[For those who are ✨interested✨ there’s a chapter 2 available on Ao3 where WWX and LWJ dp JC LOVINGLY. I can’t post that here because NSFW ban, right? That’s still happening, right? But it’s available on Ao3 here! I hope you liked the fic, and! I’m hoping to post more from this series over the next few days? 🥺👉👈 I feel like a cat bringing offerings of dead birds...]

[franniebanana]

CQL Rewatch - Ep 13

Of course, the continuation of that great conversation, where Wei Wuxian offers to carry Lan Wangji out of genuine concern for his well-being, against Jiang Cheng’s protests. And what does Lan Wangji say after this gesture of goodwill? “Boring.” And he walks away! LWJ! No! Stop being so proud! I mean, but seriously, of course he was going to decline. Lan Wangji wouldn’t accept help unless he really needed it, which he does later, of course. I can’t really blame him, though. I don’t think I’d accept someone’s offer to carry me either. It would be kind of embarrassing for him, and he’s already looking pretty bad to the Wens. He undoubtedly doesn’t want to draw any more unnecessary attention to himself or to Wei Wuxian either.

Oh, my gosh, he looks so forlorn and hot here. Oh, by the way, the next two blog posts might just be me gushing over wangxian (either individually or as a couple), and I will not apologize for it. You should know what you’re getting by now.

Okay, but I didn’t really notice how Wei Wuxian was walking with him at the back, like keeping an eye on him, because Lan Wangji wouldn’t let him carry him. I like how Lan Wangji continues to be so standoffish towards him, but at the same time, he wants to be around him. And for Wei Wuxian, he has wanted to be around Lan Wangji for a while, and now he’s finally being allowed to do so. And they didn’t show it, but was Jiang Cheng on Wei Wuxian’s right side, or was he somewhere else? You’d think the two of them would really be sticking together (and they seem to be), but I always enjoy seeing the rift widening between Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng.

But getting back to the actual screencap, I can only imagine how Lan Wangji is feeling—he must feel utterly helpless: wounded, limping, needing to accept help for simple things like getting water. I know he’s not supposed to be proud, but we all have a little bit of pride in us, and his has got to be wounded right now. I also wonder if he notices how Jiang Cheng talks to Wei Wuxian and if he understands how he’s part of the wedge that’s between them. Jiang Cheng is really quick to blame just about everyone else for his own issues, and Lan Wangji doesn’t escape that either.

I have to admit, I’m not sure what’s really going on here—why Wei Wuxian looks so troubled, I mean. Maybe he’s feeling something bad is about to happen, maybe Lan Wangji is feeling it too. He was obviously compelled to do something to help find the cave, but in doing so, he’s potentially putting them all in danger. Again, though, we see Jiang Cheng just leaving Wei Wuxian behind, and then Wei Wuxian goes to help Lan Wangji. And I’m going to try and keep track of this from now on, but does Jiang Cheng ever initiate physical contact with Wei Wuxian (other than the hug in the episode where Wei Wuxian comes back after three months)? It seems like it’s always Wei Wuxian that’s putting his arm around him, leaning on him, etc. And on the contrary, we now see that Lan Wangji, who has known Wei Wuxian for somewhere around 18 months or so (maybe two years), doesn’t mind that physical contact at all—he doesn’t push Wei Wuxian away anymore. And not only that, he even initiates physical contact.

How did the two of them end up at the front of the pack? Seriously, Lan Wangji’s limping, and in the last scene, they were all the way at the back. Did Wen Chao decide to put Lan Wangji at the front as bait or something? Like, “well, he’s probably not gonna make it, anyway!” I’m not going to complain about getting to see more wangxian, but it’s a little weird.

Another thing. I’ve seen this episode quite a few times, now, and this is the first time I’ve realized that Nie Huaisang was actually missing. Every time, I completely forget about him. Completely. In my mind, it’s as if he doesn’t exist at all. XD

So, you know what’s great about this part? This is one of those situations where you, the audience, are sitting, watching this, thinking, “They could totally all gang up on that guy and win.” And then that’s what happens! It’s like, so gratifying as an audience member to see something like that actually happen. Because you are thinking, right, that the Good Guys™ have a lot of skilled fighters, while the Wens have, like, one (Core Melting Hand aka CMH). Wen Chao doesn’t ever actually fight, I don’t think—I’ll probably be proven wrong—and even if he does fight, he’s shit at it. So why not mutiny? Wen Chao is just screaming to be overthrown here, calling them all dogs, saying he’s the one who’s in charge.

Oh, he pissed.

But seriously: he’s pissed. Also, I could probably sustain myself on hearing him yell out, “Wei Ying!” I don’t think I’d need food or water. It would probably be considered a scientific miracle, or certainly an anomaly. Okay, but anyway. He’s just Wei Ying now forever. No “Wei Wuxian” for mister Lan Wangji. They are on a first name—given name—basis forever, baby. Jiang Cheng doesn’t even call him Wei Ying! What’s up with that? Jiang Yanli calls him A-Xian, which is very intimate, as if he’s her brother. Okay, maybe I’m being hard on Jiang Cheng. Alternatively, maybe I don’t really know how all these names work and none of this is a big deal at all. I’m open to either.

Ugh, I could not get a clear screenshot here, because Wei Wuxian doesn’t stop moving! So, sorry for the blurry boy. I wanted to capture how Lan Wangji is the first person to run (and I mean run, because he actually ran on his bum leg) to Wei Wuxian, helping him up, and, without words, make sure he’s okay. At this point, I’m pretty sure Lan Wangji’s leg really fucking hurts, yet he’s running to Wei Wuxian because of how worried he is. Do you know who’s not running? Can you guess?

Jiang Cheng’s first words are, “Shut it!” and then some garbage about how he thought Wei Wuxian had been eaten by monster and, so doing, had shamed the Jiang family. I understand the persona he’s trying to embody here: “I care, but I don’t want you to know it.” That’s fine and all, but we all know that Wei Wuxian isn’t high on Jiang Cheng’s list of people he cares about. I mean, Wei Wuxian is willing to die for Jiang Cheng, but I don’t think Jiang Cheng can say the same.

Um, I should give you all a fair warning that I’m going to continue to be harsh with Jiang Cheng. I love him as a character, but as kind of the asshole that he is. I’m going to compare him to Lan Wangji a lot because I believe we’re meant to. He’s a very selfish character and I’m not going to pretend that he isn’t. I like that there is a widening rift between him and Wei Wuxian, I like the tension and the angst. So, yeah, expect that.

I’ve always wondered here why Wei Wuxian doesn’t come to Mianmian’s defense. I believe it’s the same in the book. You know, when you’re used to the protagonist being the one who rushes to the aid of others, it’s weird to see them not do it. And it’s not that I don’t like it, but I’ve always wondered why. If Wei Wuxian had immediately come to her aid, Jiang Cheng still would have reason to blame him for causing trouble (he does it later, anyway). Maybe it was about pulling Lan Wangji in, creating that tension around him as well. For a second, it does look like Jiang Cheng puts his arm out to stop Wei Wuxian, so perhaps that has something to do with it as well—another reminder that the Jiang Clan is supposed to behave and not make any more trouble. But at this point, it really feels like a mutiny is imminent and it’s not as if Jiang Cheng doesn’t go along with it. Of course, he still blames Wei Wuxian (and Lan Wangji and Jin Zixuan) later.

This escalates quickly haha. I have to say, one of my favorite parts is when Wei Wuxian absolutely mops the floor with Wen Chao over the Wen Clan principles, and the looks on Wen Qing’s and CMH’s faces—priceless. And I was right. Wen Chao doesn’t fight at all. He watches everyone else get cut down, but does nothing himself. Honestly, after all the shit he does, it is not hard watching him kick the bucket later. He is the type of villain that you just love to hate and want to see lose. I don’t think there’s anyone out there stanning Wen Chao—if there is, good for you, you’re unique. His actor is probably one of the biggest offenders in the over-acting category as well.

But anyway, I wanted to say how this part is iconic Wei Wuxian: outwitting Wen Chao, not with the sword, but with his mind. Another reminder that Wei Wuxian is a smart cookie. He’s so clever and it’s fun to see Wen Chao trying to do the same mental gymnastics and failing miserably. I cannot get enough of Wei Wuxian’s condescending cackling either.

Jurassic Park, anyone? “Its vision is based on movement. It can’t see us if we don’t move.” Sorry, I love Jurassic Park and that’s what this part always reminds me of. And if you’re wondering, Lan Wangji would be Alan Grant and Wei Wuxian would be Ian Malcolm.

It’s really to see Jin Zixuan being a leader here, and he’s not just leading his own clan, but the other clans as well. It’s such a nice contrast between him and his father, who, is basically useless. It’s a shame, because if he’d survived, I think Jin Zixuan would have been a very good leader for life, on and off the battlefield. It’s too bad we never got to see that. It’s also nice to see all the heirs working together—like Jin Zixuan tag-teaming with Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng. And Wei Wuxian off doing his own thing, shooting Slaughter Tortoises in the eye and all that.

I love how Wei Wuxian goes to Mianmian here to try and cheer her up. While the other two are just kind of standing around, unsure of what to do, he immediately rushes to her side. I just find the whole moment sweet and funny: him trying to turn the situation around to make her say something to make him feel better, since he got wounded, and Mianmian just crying harder. He comes off as a little coquettish, but he really is just desperately trying to make her stop crying, which I think he just generally finds uncomfortable. He doesn’t like to see others in pain (I mean, unless that was the goal haha), so he acts kind of flirty here—like, “take care of me” with his pouty face.

Here’s the thing: I don’t think Lan Wangji was going to leave without Wei Wuxian, even if he hadn’t had to run back to save him from getting attacked by the Tortoise of Slaughter. He kept looking back at Wei Wuxian, wanting to make sure he was going to catch up to them, because he wasn’t going to get into that water without him. Now, I don’t think Jiang Cheng wanted to leave him behind either. He only left after Wei Wuxian commanded him to do so, but I think he was very torn. Although to us, this is a silly-looking CGI snake-tortoise, to them, this is a life or death situation. Leaving Wei Wuxian behind quite possibly means leaving him to die. If the monster doesn’t get him, the elements or starvation might. That is to say, it’s understandable that both Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng are unwilling to leave Wei Wuxian behind. Jiang Cheng is a strong swimmer, so he has no choice but to help the others. Lan Wangji is already injured, can’t do much by way of helping the others (since I don’t think he’s canonically a strong swimmer, so him rushing ahead would only be a selfish move), and obviously doesn’t want to leave Wei Wuxian alone. Of course, by returning to pull Wei Wuxian out of immediate danger, he gets himself even more wounded. Now, in addition to his leg being broken, he’s also got gashes all up his shin.

So, as it turns out, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji have potentially made the ultimate sacrifice here to that the others can escape to safety, and they’ve left Jiang Cheng in charge of coming back to rescue them.

As a side note, the Tortoise of Slaughter gives up on prey as easily as my cats do. XD

So, we start off this whole little arc with Lan Wangji being injured: his leg is broken and he’s trying desperately to be strong, push through, and not be vulnerable. He continues to fight back, perhaps even when he shouldn’t. And all of that has gotten him this: clawed up by the Tortoise of Slaughter, broken leg, trapped in a cave with little hope of escape. And not only that, but he’s trapped here with Wei Wuxian, who by now, he certainly has a thing for, even if he can’t put a name to the emotion and even if he struggles to admit it to himself. Right now is the most vulnerable he has ever been around Wei Wuxian, probably the most vulnerable he’s ever been around anyone outside of his family. And he is in pain, folks. This is definitely the most expression we’ve seen on Lan Wangji’s face since the opening scene (“Wei Ying!” off the cliff); Yibo does such a great job with those microexpressions that when he actually does really need to emote, it’s got quite an impact. And the voice actor is great too—you really can feel the pain (I forget to mention the voice actors, but they really are exceptional!!).

So, the headband. While overall, I don’t like that Wei Wuxian knows about the headband, in this case, I don’t mind what he does. In the book, he would unknowingly take the headband (against Lan Wangji’s protestations) and use it to help bind Lan Wangji’s leg, completely unaware of the connotations of even touching it. But CQL Wei Wuxian knows what it means to touch the headband—he knows who’s allowed to touch it and who isn’t: namely, he isn’t allowed to touch it. Wei Wuxian isn’t Lan Wangji’s spouse. Not only would this be incredibly rude and ill-mannered, but it would also be flirtatious. Wei Wuxian jokes about it: is it better to keep your headband or save your leg? Of course, Lan Wangji can’t deny that he does not want to lose his leg, so he allows Wei Wuxian to continue.

Wei Wuxian is great under pressure. He has a moment where he is freaking the fuck out—he’s scared. He’s never seen Lan Wangji like this. Lan Wangji has always been this unflappable pillar of strength, since they met, and now Lan Wangji is hurt really badly, shaking, contorted from the pain. You can tell that Wei Wuxian is already trying to think his way out of the situation. The first thing is to deal with Lan Wangji’s wound—their chances of survival are already bad, and if Lan Wangji’s leg gets infected, that’s it: he could die. So, he has his moment of panic and fear, and then he gets to work. And I actually took this particular screenshot because I like how he puts his hand on Lan Wangji’s leg in a gesture of comfort. I think he’s genuinely, incredibly worried about his friend.

Wei Wuxian is so concerned for Lan Wangji that he barely remembers that he, himself, is wounded too. He has a pretty bad burn on his chest (one that will never go away, mind you, because it’s a special branding iron. Actually, this is the weapon that JiaoJiao—sorry, I don’t remember her name and I’m too lazy right not to look it up—carries. It doesn’t have to be heated up in the fire, because it’s always hot, if I remember correctly). But luckily he has those herbs that Mianmian—oops, no, it’s Wen Ning in this—gave him. I don’t know why they changed that—we have plenty of Wen Ning, and I don’t know why we needed more in that moment….

But anyway, I really love how Wei Wuxian saved the energy-restoring pills specifically to give to Lan Wangji (because of his other injury, I assume), and is now lamenting that he lost them. And then he notices something—and sorry, this is one of my favorite parts in one of my favorite scenes in the entire MDZS/CQL universe.

So, this part. Wei Wuxian first tells Lan Wangji to take off his clothes, then he says he’ll take off his own. It’s all meant to, of course, horrify and embarrass Lan Wangji to the point that he’ll spit out the coagulated blood. That is to say, his intentions are very good and pure and all that. However, he does it in this very flirtatious manner, y’know, for better effect, but I think that part of him realizes here that it isn’t all made up. It’s not just teasing to get Lan Wangji to spit up some blood. After all, there are other ways to do that: Wen Qing does it to him later on just by hitting a pressure point.

The reason I say this is because of this look here (and subsequent expressions—I can’t screencap everything!). They are very close to each other right now, physically, I mean. Wei Wuxian has essentially been flirting and teasing Lan Wangji for the past minute or two, talking about getting naked—saying a lot of things that Lan Wangji would find scandalizing. And now that the blood has been spit out, Wei Wuxian finds himself very close to Lan Wangji, and I think he’s a little embarrassed. I think part of him feels something for Lan Wangji beyond just friendship, beyond two people who are sharing a near-death experience, who might never make it out of this cave alive. I think this moment gives him pause. In my movie, there’s be a “bathump” here. This is the kind of thing I’m talking about—that moment of, “Oh, shit, I’m feeling something here.” And then Lan Wangji thanks him, which makes Wei Wuxian even more uncomfortable, because he doesn’t like when people say that to him, but especially “your formal kind.” So he’ll accept thanks from other people, but not those who have a deep connection to him, not those who might have other emotions behind that thank you.

I really like how Lan Wangji is watching Wei Wuxian as he treats his wound. When I treat my daughter’s scratches and scrapes, she normally looks down at what I’m doing, watches me clean it, put a bandage on, etc. She never stares at me. I could see someone doing that, perhaps if they were afraid of blood—their natural reaction would then be to just look away. However, I doubt Lan Wangji is squeamish around blood—I highly doubt it. I doubt he’s really squeamish around anything—the guy is a rock most of the time (his only weakness is really Wei Wuxian, and I say weakness in the sense that if Wei Wuxian is threatened, Lan Wangji would do anything to help him). So, why does Lan Wangji fix his gaze on Wei Wuxian here? For starters, he trusts that Wei Wuxian knows what he’s doing, he trusts him to treat the wound gently, but effectively (and remember, there’s no reason why Lan Wangji can’t treat his own wound here, unless he’s that unstable and weak, which I doubt. I think he’s letting Wei Wuxian do it). But the other thing is that I think he’s looking at Wei Wuxian for comfort. I think that watching Wei Wuxian as he slowly, methodically applies the herbs to the wound is somehow reassuring for Lan Wangji—like, “I’m not alone. Wei Ying is with me. We’ll be all right.”

Did you hear something? Yeah, that was me screaming. I’m still screaming. I’ve been screaming since the first time I came across this. Let’s unpack a little. First of all, Lan Wangji can be famously quoted as saying, “I don’t touch other people.” Okay, well, we know that’s true. He doesn’t touch other people, except for Wei Wuxian, who he’s grabbed several times by now. But let’s cut him some slack—maybe he meant he doesn’t touch other people skin-to-skin. Okay, well, he did just grab Wei Wuxian’s wrist, and now he’s rubbing his fingers on the wound on Wei Wuxian’s chest. So, it’s one thing to touch someone’s hand or arm—these are things some of us used to do on a daily basis. But touching someone’s chest is…intimate, to say the least. And yes, I know he’s got a wound there. Duh. I don’t think Lan Wangji is going to make a habit of rubbing Wei Wuxian’s chest for no reason (right now, haha, post MDZS is another story). But the fact remains that touching someone’s chest—male or female—is a sign of intimacy. The other thing I want to talk about is how Lan Wangji took herbs that were meant for him and gave them to Wei Wuxian. Wei Wuxian treating Lan Wangji is a selfless act, especially knowing how burns can so easily become infected—there’s no blood to push out the bacteria, so that’s one of the reasons why bad burns are so serious. By the same token, Lan Wangji giving up some to help Wei Wuxian is also selfless. My point: they protect each other. They want one another to survive, they want to stay together. They don’t want to be alone. Wei Wuxian points out that this is the longest conversation he’s had with Lan Wangji—Lan Wangji is opening up to him. Xichen says later that Wangji won’t say anything if he doesn’t want to, even if you were to ask him. This means that everything Lan Wangji says here he wants to say. He feels close enough to Wei Wuxian to open up to him about private and painful things.

Ugh, I LOVE THIS SCENE.

This look. Okay, just humor me here. Wei Wuxian makes the stupid assumption that Lan Wangji likes Mianmian, and that’s why he gets angry and annoyed here. And Lan Wangji gives him a look that says, “Are you kidding me?” I made that rated G, folks. If we are meant to take these two men as just friends, how in the world am I to interpret this? Lan Wangji is exasperated because why would he ever be interested in anyone? And clearly he’s just meant to have a bosom friend, and that’s it? I mean, seriously, what am I supposed to think? Because from where I’m sitting, even if I hadn’t read the book, this look is like, “Are you kidding me? I’m telling you not to flirt unless you mean it? I’m telling you not to be rash? Can’t you tell that I feel something else for you?”

I wanted to talk about this line: “So you know she’ll remember you forever.” Lan Wangji is annoyed. I think he’s annoyed that Wei Wuxian is so rash to risk his life for Mianmian and he’s annoyed that Wei Wuxian doesn’t seem to take it seriously—for Wei Wuxian, he brushes it off as that he did something brave for a pretty girl, and now she’ll always think of him fondly. Lan Wangji is angry here because he obviously doesn’t want Wei Wuxian to be so rash with his life—he cares about Wei Wuxian and doesn’t want him to die ffs.

And then, “Don’t flirt with someone if you don’t mean it.” Wei Wuxian, “Well, I didn’t flirt with you.” Aside from the fact that I disagree wholeheartedly with that statement (Wei Wuxian has been flirting with Lan Wangji for quite some time, now), this little exchange says a lot. Why is it so easy for Wei Wuxian to risk his life for someone who he barely knows? Why is it so easy for him to brush it off? Why is it so easy for him to flirt with people he doesn’t care about? I mean, he’s flirtatious with Mianmian mostly to make her feel better and make light of the situation, and to let her know that he doesn’t blame her for what happened. In Lan Wangji’s mind, though, Wei Wuxian has been flirting with him and now—what? He didn’t mean any of that either? Was everything just a game to him? By the end Lan Wangji just gets frustrated with Wei Wuxian, calling the conversation “meaningless.” It’s meaningless because Wei Wuxian is obviously oblivious to Lan Wangji’s heart to the point that it’s like talking to a brick wall. He doesn’t understand his feelings and he doesn’t understand why he’s upset—he doesn’t understand.

And after revealing what happened at the Cloud Recesses, again leaving himself even more vulnerable, Lan Wangji falls asleep. I don’t have much to say here, other than Wei Wuxian should feel pretty special that Lan Wangji trusts him enough to confide in him, to even shed tears in front of him. And this is just a really tender moment, getting to see how Wei Wuxian looks at Lan Wangji when he’s not aware, covering him with his clothes so he won’t get cold. It’s very sweet.

Other episodes: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |

[neverdoingmuch]

now hear me out,,, an au where lan wangji is an editor who works for an erotica publisher and wei wuxian is essentially chuck tingle. (also lwj writes romance novels on the side)

wei wuxian didn’t plan to write erotica he wants to make that really clear, he was actually studying like biomed or something equally “oh wow my parents can brag to the other parents about this”

but, as frequently happens in wwx’s life, he got drunk with nhs, like really drunk and they woke up the next morning with a laptop on the floor beside them and loose paper strewn everywhere

they don’t really remember what they were doing or thinking last night but they’ve both drawn a bunch of really shitty and weird porn (the less said about the anthropomorphic version of wen chao’s pet turtle the better) and wei wuxian has like 20,000 words of an erotica story on his laptop

when he starts reading it, at first he’s like haha what the fuck this is so weird but then it turned out to be really good??? and nhs blushed at some of the ~sexy~ scenes so that’s how wwx knew he was writing the good stuff

anyway they’re sitting there, eating their hangover food and wei wuxian goes so uh my story was good right? and nhs is like yeah it was, top stuff i would buy it and wei wuxian goes what if i actually wrote it,,, haha just kidding,,,,, unless?

and in his defence he doesn’t actually write anything for the story for another like three months but then he finds himself in the middle of exam season and he’s like fuck it stress relief let’s write some erotica

he finishes the book and his exams (which he does well in but whatever) and then spends his summer holidays editing the book

when he comes back, he slaps down a paper copy on nhs’ desk and is like i finished it. nhs, thinking he meant his latest lab write up, opens it up to a random page and starts reading it out loud which was a Mistake

he trails off mid-sentence, and whips around to glare at wwx with all the wrath he can muster. it’s raunchy nhs says and just read it wwx tells him so nhs does

like 2 hours later nhs turns to him and says if it wasnt for you and the librarian staring at me the whole time i definitely would’ve felt something and wwx is like so it’s good? and nhs is like fuck yeah it is but i dont get what you want from me?

pretty much wwx passed out after exams, slept for like 20 hours and then woke up and went i should publish this and decided that nhs should draw the cover art.

nhs agrees of course and a month later wwx self-publishes bc there’s no way he can walk into a publishing house with his porn and not just combust on the spot and he decides to go by the name yiling patriarch

wwx clicks the final button to upload the fic and nhs just toasts him and goes yknow what,, this is the closest you’ve ever gotten to having sex and i’m proud of you

wei wuxian is the man who guarded his first kiss for the first twenty years of his life for someone special,,,, wwx definitely wants his first time to be special and there’s no way he’s putting out for someone he doesn’t think is important & despite having dated before, he’s never gotten close enough to someone to go yeah let’s do it so our boy is still a virgin

so wwx’s entire erotica writing inspiration comes from porn, nhs’ way too in-depth answers as to how his latest date went and uh more porn

wwx blusters about a bit bc how is he meant to respond to that and nhs is like maybe you’ll finally move on from reading those trashy romance novels and read something more exciting and wwx is like how dare you call them trashy!! hanguang-jun is a master of the romance novels!! he understands the heart in a way that no other person has ever!! 

and nhs just chugs a bunch of wine and is like yeah hon okay, do you still blush when the main characters hold hands? and wwx is like no! of course not! (it’s a lie, he blushes a lot)

so nothing really happens with the book at first and wwx forgets about it for the most part but then he wakes up one morning and he’s got an extra like RMB 1000 (i dont actually know much about currency so it’s roughly $200 if my quick interneting is legit)

wwx is like wtf? and once he finds out it’s from his novel he’s doubly like wtf? but then he finds out that someone had purchased his book and did a dramatic reading on youtube bc wwx decided that regular erotica was boring and decided to make it satirical or whatever and people loved it??

he’s got nothing better to do so he just goes hm yeah remember that Author i dated who had an “incredible idea that would absolutely amaze The Critics and helped explore his own convoluted mind” let’s make something of that and he writes another book kinda mocking that idea in a very horny way.

he publishes it and someone writes a review of his two books on their blog and now he’s actually starting to get popular - he’s got more money from those two books than he did by working at the local cafe for the whole week

wwx is poor and broke and semi-disowned anyway by this point so he goes fuck it and spends every moment he’s not studying writing erotica. 

he publishes another like five books by the time the year is out (i know the maths isnt working here but this is a book world where wwx can just do that via the power of loneliness and friends who egg you on)

also?? he varies his books. some of them are porn parody things a la chuck tingle and some of them are genuine porn and one book was just him writing a recipe book but making it sound as horny as possible

by the time he’s published his like 8th book or so he starts getting reviews that are critiquing his book and most of them boil down to the fact that he needs an editor or something 

he ends up asking nhs for help and he’s like oh sweet my brother’s boyfriend works for a publisher who does that sort of thing

cloud recesses actually specialises in erotica and i hate the idea that lqr has spent years reading and editing erotica but sacrifices must be made

(side note that i know nothing about the writing or publishing process so pls don’t judge me too harshly)

wwx goes in with his latest manuscript and ends up arriving like ten minutes late, he rushes into the room sweaty and hot, takes one look at the guy sitting on the other side of the desk, flushes an even brighter red and runs back out of the room. he checks the plaque on the door and walks back in slowly and goes hm i didnt expect you to be so hot

cue lan wangji

lwj has always enjoyed being an editor. what do editor do specifically? idk? edit? regardless, he enjoys it. 

while most of the time he’s happy working from this side of things he also likes writing

lwj fucks. he deserves it tbh. but, while he’s had a tonne of one night stands and fuckbuddies, he’s never actually dated someone. so the fact that he’s writing romance novels under the pseudonym hanguang-jun makes his friend jzx laugh a lot

he tried writing porn once and he just couldn’t do it. it was always too clinical or vague and lacked any actual passion bc he was always going oh okay mc sucks a dick but the guy i slept with last week was like a 6.4/10 when it came to sucking dick so maybe mc should also be bad at it or whatever and it just ends up falling apart,,,, but romance he can do

as an editor lwj has pretty high standards for good erotica but he’s really found himself enjoying yiling patriarch’s work even though he’s clearly just been editing himself so when the guy sent cloud recesses an email asking whether they’d be interested in his latest book lwj was ecstatic. 

he also didnt expect wwx to be so hot

anyway,,, we now get to enjoy a week of lwj thinking that wwx is super hot but even more annoying and then him deciding that annoying is hot and now wwx is just absolutely amazing and wwx is just panicking the entire time 

i want my publisher to rail me so hard wwx texts nhs and nhs just responds has he read the bdsm scene with the alien who has a tentacle dick and a knot yet? and wwx is like no??? nhs just goes shame, it will give him so ideas for if you ever grow a backbone and just ask him out

they publish one book together and nothing happened between them the entire time other than yearning and horniness,, of the heart and body. 

when wwx realises this means that he won’t get to see lwj again he immediately writes a new book and like a month later he’s back in lwj’s office, lying on his couch while whining about the cafeteria prices at university

lwj is very enamoured by the fact that wwx is writing erotica and studying biomed bc wow

they do this for like another three books and wwx’s eroticas evolve from here’s a dinosaur man fucking a politician while a mary sue watches on to be like here’s a dinosaur man with black hair and golden eyes and a stern look to his face fucking a politician while a mary sue watches on

and hanguang-jun’s latest book?? i dont want to say that this au’s version of wangxian is hanguang-jun finally finding inspiration to write porn (his muse is wwx of course) and writing the most amazing porn with feelings and plot novel ever,, but it is. 

wwx read it five times in the first week and when nhs finally tried to read it he was like uhhh wwx are you a narcissist, the love interest is exactly like you? and wwx is like ??? no???? he’s nothing like me??

anyway one day wwx gets called into lxc’s office and lxc is like so i’ve read your latest book (not the dinosaur man, a serious one with like normal people and not overly humorous thank fuck but still full of lwj yearning) and wwx is like okay? and lxc goes yes, see i was worried that you didn’t care very much for my brother but after reading your book i’m not so sure and wwx gets the weirdest shovel talk ever which is interspersed with like compliments for his porn writing skills

anyway lxc accidentally mentions that lwj writes books too and before he can take it back wwx is like who??? and lxc is like are you fucking stupid?? you told lwj to his face that you loved his books,,, he broke his theme of tender romance to write kinky sex with a character that’s a lot like you and wwx is like .,,,,,,,,, hanguang-jun??? HANGUANG-JUN???!!

lxc barely manages to confirm it before wwx is sprinting out of his office and across to find lwj.

regretfully for everyone else, lwj is in the lobby so thirty people get to hear it when wwx comes in and shouts LAN ZHAN!! back then, i really wanted write porn about you! ... i think i have actually? but i want to write porn about you and i want to be able to do the research to make it accurate! and i also want to go on dates and hold hands and feed each other food! and i love you a lot! 

lwj is dying inside bc his brother’s bf is there, his uncle is currently waiting for the elevators and a whole bunch of staff are also there but also wwx likes him??? dinosaur man was lwj??

he goes over and they make out for a really long time right there in the middle of the lobby but no one wants to get between them when they’ve been pining for so long

after that they start dating and they do all the romantic stuff but also,, let’s just say that the next book wwx publishes is a lot more creative than all of his previous books

and they become some writing power couple with horniness of the heart and body and sometimes wwx will be like hey lwj i don’t really know how the logistics of this sex scene will work and lwj will be like we could try it out ourselves? and wwx just pats him on the head and is like im sorry but you dont have enough dicks for it to work ),: better luck next time

[smiting-finger]

I tripped and I fell and this HP AU came out

So I was chatting to @silverink58​ about the beautiful original picture of Professor LWJ, and they were saying that when they picked up the prompt for the inktober exchange, they were hoping to read Hogwarts student!LWJ, 

And I thought “oh how delightful, maybe I’ll think about that idea later”, and then that “later” became “now” and what I’m saying is they shouldn’t have let me download the google docs app onto my phone, because I clearly cannot be trusted.

@silverink58​ this is for you, lol. Thanks for naming “Little Apple” :’D.

He almost doesn’t see it: a flutter of black fabric, the edge of a student robe before it slips away out of sight. But he catches the movement from the corner of his eye, and pure reflex has Lan Zhan drawing his wand to fire off a quick body-bind curse.

There's a muffled noise of surprise, abruptly cut off, and then the thump of a body hitting the floor.

When Lan Zhan turns the corner, it’s to the sight of Wei Wuxian, lying face-down on the ground.

“It’s after curfew,” Lan Zhan says, turning him over with a quick Levitation spell. “You should be inside your dormitory.”

Dark eyes glare indignantly up at him. Calmly holding Wei Wuxian’s gaze, Lan Zhan lifts the curse.

“Report for detention tomorrow,” he says, as Wei Wuxian sits up and pointedly rubs the small pink spot on his forehead.

“Lan Zhaaaan,” Wei Wuxian complains, giving the edge of Lan Zhan’s robe a beseeching tug. Lan Zhan feels his own lips thin at the over-familiarity of both the form of address and the physical contact. 

“Don’t be like that! Let me off just this once? Think of the five wonderful years we’ve spent together as potions partners!”

“Just last week, you exploded our cauldron,” Lan Zhan reminds him flatly, and Wei Wuxian grins.

“Oh come on! Let’s not harp on about petty things like that,” he says, pushing himself up onto his feet. He shakes out his robes. “You wanted to know what would happen if we added the xiezhi horn, too, just admit it.”

Lan Zhan doesn’t dignify this with a response, and simply meets Wei Wuxian’s gaze and holds it.

He is a Lan of Gusu.

He would never admit to such a thing.

Wei Wuxian pouts, reaches out a hand and uses two fingers to give Lan Zhan’s sleeve a pleading tug.

Lan Zhan sighs. 

After five years of being a detention hall regular, if Wei Wuxian was going to learn anything from writing lines, he would've done it already.

“Return to your dormitory,” he says, and Wei Wuxian smiles brightly.

“Yup, sure thing, absolutely,” he chirps, nodding in enthusiastic agreement.

He doesn’t move.

Lan Zhan looks at him expectantly.

Wei Wuxian blinks back at him with wide eyes.

Lan Zhan continues to wait.

It’s Wei Wuxian’s turn to sigh.

“Okay, fine,” he says, shoulders slumping in defeat as he turns back to his original direction and beckons for Lan Zhan to follow. 

“There’s just something I have to do first - I swear it’s important. You can come with me to see, if you want.”

-

It’s a … bird.

A hatchling, almost completely featherless, that Wei Wuxian has hidden in a corner of one of the lesser-used greenhouses, and has been coming to feed every four hours.

It’s also, Lan Zhan thinks, staring blankly at its oversized head, squat little body, gangly legs and stumpy wings, really-

“Don’t stare at it like that just because it’s ugly!” Wei Wuxian hisses, turning from pouring whatever paste he’s made down the bird’s throat to swat Lan Zhan admonishingly on the arm. “You’ll hurt its feelings!”

“You just called it ugly,” Lan Zhan feels the need to point out. “But I’m the one who’s hurting its feelings?”

“Well, it’s just a baby,” Wei Wuxian replies reasonably. “It doesn’t understand anything that’s not bird-language yet.”

“It doesn’t understand anything but bird-language,” Lan Zhan repeats disbelievingly, “but it’s offended by stares?” 

Wei Wuxian nods gravely. 

“Everyone knows that body language is universal,” he claims loftily and Lan Zhan suppresses the desire to roll his eyes.

-

“You can’t keep coming every four hours,” Lan Zhan says, after the bird curls up and goes to sleep underneath a heating charm and Wei Wuxian’s threadbare toy demiguise (“What? I didn’t know if Jiang Cheng and I were going to be in the same dorm, and I was scared of getting lonely at night! I was eleven!”).

“Well, I’m going to have to,” Wei Wuxian replies carelessly, and shrugs. “Or it’ll die.”

“Its parents?” Lan Zhan asks and Wei Wuxian shrugs again.

“Didn’t seem to have any,” he says, quietly getting up and beckoning wordlessly for Lan Zhan to follow. “I waited an hour to see if one of them would come back, but nothing did, and it was crying, so.”

The moon is full and bright, providing ample light to guide their way back to the dormitories even now that all the lights have been put out.

“I did some reading in the library,” Wei Wuxian says around a yawn. “As it gets bigger, feedings will get less frequent. I don’t know what kind of bird it is, but it should only be like this for a couple of weeks, at most.”

Even for a couple of weeks, it’s not sustainable, Lan Zhan thinks when Wei Wuxian begins to list into his shoulder as they walk. He’ll have to leave halfway through every meal and risk getting caught by the other Prefects at night. He won’t be able to get enough sleep, which will affect his classwork, and, in turn, his learning, his grades, his disciplinary record-

“You can’t keep this up for that long,” Lan Zhan states firmly.

Wuxian groans. “I told you, Lan Zhan, I can’t just let it-”

“I’ll help you,” he says.

“You’ll - wait, really?”

-

They name it Little Apple because Wuxian says he's no fun.

("We should call it Little Ginseng, because that's what it looks like - bald and lumpy."

"...No.")

When it gets big enough to have a personality beyond eating and sleeping, Little Apple is surprisingly sweet. It loves: cuddles, being hand-fed and chasing after a love-knot tassel that Wuxian charmed to dance around in front of it.

It hates: eating by itself, being left alone for too long, cats (after Headboy Jin Guangyao's familiar somehow gets into the greenhouse and they have a very near miss), and Lan Zhan and Wuxian arguing.

It absolutely refuses to go to bed without being personally tucked in.

Soon, it starts to grow feathers; brown and grey patches of down sprouting all over its body, enough that they can stop renewing the heating charm.

It doesn't get less ugly.

("As its mother, even I think it's hideous. We should've called it Little Dustball, but it's too late now ")

They do, however, become very fond of it nonetheless.

("Hey, Lan Zhan, look, we learned manners today!"

Wuxian bows to Little Apple, who bobs its head unsteadily in return.

"-Lan Zhan, what's happening to your face? Lan Zhan? Lan Zhan, is that a smile?!")

-

They get caught.

"Wei Wuxian I expected no better of," his uncle growls after the greenhouse doors fly open to reveal his thunderous expression. "But Wangji, you are a prefect. I am deeply disappointed in you, sneaking off to the greenhouses at night to-"

Little Apple squawks. 

(Although its adult plumage has started to come in, there is no colour pattern that Lan Zhan can see; it has three red feathers on this wing, two on that one, small tufts of white in a patch on its belly and a scattering of green along its back.

“It’s … really not going to get better, is it?” Wuxian asks, sounding like he doesn’t know if he should laugh or cry.)

Lan Qiren stares.

-

"It's so…" his uncle says, still staring down at Little Apple, who squawks again and stares right back. "Ug-"

“Don’t listen to him, Little Apple!” Wuxian cries, hastily covering Little Apple’s ears with his hands. “It’s what’s on the inside that counts!”

-

And then one day Lan Zhan walks into the greenhouse and realises that Little Apple is ugly no longer.

Its wings are in fact red and black; red coverts edged with a line of striking black primaries and secondaries. A small plume of blue curls back off its forehead in a proud crest. The feathers on its back and shoulders are a shimmering emerald green, in some areas even tipped with gold, its belly is a soft pearlescent white, and its tail feathers are starting to lengthen into an impressive train.

Beside him, Wei Ying gasps and places a hand against his mouth, evidently coming to the same realisation. 

“Lan Zhan,” he says, deeply moved. “Our son is beautiful.”

-

It still can’t fly, though.

“I wonder if I should get my sword,” Wei Ying says, after an afternoon of running around flapping his arms has yielded no results beyond Little Apple having the time of its life chasing a new, human-sized tassel around the grounds like a particularly speedy chicken. 

He flops backwards onto the grass. Little Apple promptly jumps on top of his chest and starts to preen his hair.

"Or what if I flapped my arms and you Levitated me," Wei Ying wonders, squinting thoughtfully. With a lazy wave of his wand, he Levitates Little Apple, who squawks angrily in protest until it's brought back within range of his ponytail.

Lan Zhan takes the opportunity to re-tie the bandage on his wrist, and can’t help but hiss slightly when he has to unstick it from his burnt skin. It’s not a serious injury - a small graze from a ricocheted spell he’d been hit with between classes, while stopping an altercation in the hallway - but he hasn’t had the time to visit the infirmary to have it healed yet.

When he looks up, Little Apple is right in front of him, staring up with glistening eyes.

“Aw,” Wei Ying says, propping himself up on one elbow and looking enchanted.  “Look, Lan Zhan, he’s sad that his daddy’s hurt!”

Little Apple rests his face on Lan Zhan’s wrist for a moment, then sits back up and gives a self-satisfied squawk.

Lan Zhan looks down and finds that his wrist is fully healed.

“Huh,” Wei Ying says.

-

It turns out that they don’t need to worry about the flying, because the following week, Little Apple, eye caught by a firefly, simply spreads its wings, pushes off Wei Ying’s arm and takes off after it.

“Well,” Wei Ying begins after a moment of stunned silence. “I-”

Then Little Apple’s tail promptly bursts into flames and blazes a bright trail across the night sky.

“LAN ZHAN,” Wei Ying screeches, grabbing hold of Lan Zhan’s arm and shaking it. 

“LAN ZHAN, OUR SON IS A PHOENIX!”

-

There’s no keeping Little Apple in the greenhouse after that. It comes and goes as it pleases with the blessing of even Lan Zhan’s uncle, who is kept mollified by the fact that Little Apple is a phoenix, as well as the steady supply of tears and feathers for the school. 

Both Lan Zhan and Wei Ying take to leaving their bedroom windows ajar so that Little Apple can come in to roost at night when it returns, which it always does.

Until, one day, it doesn’t.

-

The next month, the Ministry announces that the Wizarding world is at war.

(And then, on a random morning after WWX comes back, there’s a tapping at the window of their shared bedroom, Lan Zhan gets up to investigate, and----!)

[i-like-plan-m]

Lán Zhan has a fatal case of Hanahaki desease. He hides it from everyone while resigning himself to dying, and tries to get his affairs in order by the time he dies. Plot twist: Lwj’s father died by that same illness and Lan Qiren immediately recognizes the symptoms. He tries to do his best to help his nephew by matchmaking lwj and wwx together into confessing their love for each other.

this prompt made me laugh, thank you anon

Ao3: break the silence with these beating hearts

His brother had been a man of many virtues. The problem was that he had just as many faults, and improving most of them went ignored in favor of attending to those virtues. 

Which left Lan Qiren to watch his brother destroy himself, and then to deal with the consequences of his actions. Alone. He took on Qingheng-Jun’s responsibilities. His duties. Even his sons.

Resentment would have been an easy path to take. He might have even learned to hate his brother, had it not been for his nephews. They were a joy he had never expected, one he hadn’t earned, and yet his all the same. 

He raised them. Taught many of their lessons himself, occasionally even shirking his own duties when they were younger just to spend more time watching their little faces light up every time they accomplished something, every time they received a word of praise. 

The point was, Lan Qiren knew his nephews better than anyone else in the universe. 

So he took one look at A-Zhan and knew something was wrong. His nephew was utterly unreadable to the rest of the world, expressionless and emotionless to anyone who didn’t know better. Who didn’t know what to look for. 

Lan Qiren did. He paused in the doorway of the library, frozen in place as he took in his nephew’s unsteady hand, the tight lines around his eyes. The way he held himself like one wrong move would shatter him apart.

He watched in silent horror as a cough wracked Lan Zhan’s body. As his nephew coughed something up into his hand, closing it too fast for Lan Qiren to see what it was, and then carefully dab any drops of blood with a red-stained handkerchief. 

Lan Qiren didn’t need to see any more to know this curse— the Hanahaki Disease was a vicious, low-minded curse that killed with horrific slowness, drawing out the person’s pain and anguish. His own brother had died from it; there was no one more capable of recognizing the signs than Lan Qiren.

He backed away, heart pounding, throat tight, and went to find A-Huan. 

Lan Huan took the news as expected; an ink pot splashed over when he shot to his feet, spilling a pool of darkness over the scattered white papers on his desk. His face was pale, mouth drawn tight, and he looked at Lan Qiren with eyes that begged for answers. 

He had none to give. But he would not let his nephew succumb to such a fate, so he gestured for Lan Huan to follow him and returned to the library. 

Lan Zhan had not moved. He looked up when they entered and greeted them appropriately, setting aside this brush to blink at them both expectantly. 

“A-Zhan,” Lan Huan said, dismayed. He knelt beside his brother with tears in his eyes. Lan Qiren watched Lan Zhan stiffen in realization. “Why didn’t you say something?” 

“I am fine.” Lan Zhan would not meet either of their eyes. His breathing was shallow, his mouth stained red. 

“You are not,” Lan Qiren said harshly. Lan Zhan stared intently at the desk and did not respond. “You are dying, and I will not allow it.” As though he had any say in it.

One should not speak with arrogance. One should not speak harshly to others. Lan Qiren cared little for the rules he was breaking-- and those he was sure to break in the future, it it meant saving his nephew. 

“Who is it, Lan Zhan?” Lan Huan asked, carefully holding one of Lan Zhan’s hands between his own. 

“Irrelevant,” Lan Zhan bit out. “He does not feel the same.” 

He would damn well change his mind, or he’d find himself at the business end of Lan Qiren’s sword, he thought furiously. 

“Have you asked him?” Lan Huan asked gently. “How do you know for sure?” 

Lan Zhan was silent. It gave Lan Qiren an ember of hope, that his nephew hadn’t received any confirmation that he would die painfully from the curse of unrequited love. 

“Who is it?” Lan Qiren asked. 

Lan Zhan refused to answer, but Lan Huan gave his brother a knowing look. 

“Lan Huan? Do you know who it is?” Lan Qiren stared intently at his nephews.

“Lan Zhan,” Lan Huan said softly. Prompting. 

Lan Zhan did not answer… but his eyes flicked to the open window when raucous laughter burst through it as Lan Qiren’s resident headache sprinted past with the furious Jiang boy hot on his heels. Lan Zhan lowered his eyes quickly, but they’d both noticed his diverted attention. 

Oh no. Oh no. 

Lan Qiren sat down before he fell over from sheer horrified despair. Lan Huan bit the inside of his cheeks in a clear attempt to stave off a laugh; Lan Qiren was so thoroughly gripped by dread he didn’t even bother scolding him. 

Lan Qiren dropped his head into his hands. “It’s Wei Wuxian, isn’t it?” He asked in a defeated tone. Lan Zhan set his jaw, looking especially mulish, but his silence was answer enough. 

“I believe you are correct, Uncle,” Lan Huan said. He patted his brother’s hand, cheerfully unbothered when Lan Zhan snatched his hand back and ducked his head to hide his cherry-red ears. 

“Lan Zhan, I raised you better than this,” Lan Qiren said, dismayed. “How did this happen? How could you have fallen in love with that utterly untamed boy?” 

Lan Zhan frowned. “Wei Ying is an honorable, smart, and strong cultivator. He would be a worthy match for anyone.” 

There was an ominous crash somewhere outside, followed by a loud whoop and more running feet. Lan Qiren stared at Lan Zhan incredulously. Lan Zhan stared unblinking back at him like he hadn’t heard a thing. 

“Don’t forget lively,” Lan Huan added helpfully after a long moment of silence inside the library. Outside the library there were more sounds of imminent chaos, undoubtedly caused by the reprobate his nephew was apparently in love with. 

Well. He was already having a bad day. 

“Fine. If accepting Wei Wuxian into our sect means saving your life, I will… welcome him as family,” he choked out. Lan Huan looked between them with a wide smile like he was proud of them. Lan Qiren didn’t even have the energy to frown disapprovingly at him. 

“Wei Ying does not feel the same,” Lan Zhan insisted. “I will go into seclusion—“ 

Lan Qiren slammed a hand on the table, cutting him short. “Absolutely not.” This argument he would not lose; his nephew would not walk the same dark path as his father. 

“Lan Zhan,” Lan Huan said. “Why don’t you try talking to him?” 

Lan Zhan looked mortified at the very thought. Heavens above, it was looking more and more as though Lan Qiren would have to do all the work here. What heinous act had he committed in a past life to deserve this? 

Any doubts or misgivings he had evaporated the moment Lan Zhan began coughing again, struggling to breathe past the petals forcing their way out of his lungs. Lan Huan rested a hand on his back and fed him spiritual energy, visibly concerned as blood splattered over the desk with a few shredded flower petals. 

His nephew only looked frustrated at the ruined papers now decorated with splashes of red. He crumpled the petals in his hand and shoved them out of sight before turning his focus back to his work, ignoring them both when they stood and moved to the door to discuss the situation. 

“How should we proceed?” Lan Huan asked, casting a worried glance back at Lan Zhan. “We can’t force anyone to love against their will.” 

“He is already infatuated with Lan Zhan,” Lan Qiren griped. “Hardly a giant step to love, though we might have to shove the realization down his throat before he gets a clue.” 

“What do you suggest? Finding a way for them to spend time together?” 

“That should be easy enough,” Lan Qiren said dryly, reaching abruptly out the door and snatching Wei Wuxian by the collar as he dashed by, yanking him to a stop. Wei Wuxian looked between them with wide, guilty eyes. 

“Ah ha,” he laughed nervously. “Hi, Master Lan, Zewu-Jun. I didn’t realize you were…” 

“Close enough to hear you crashing through Cloud Recesses like a herd of elephants?” Lan Qiren scowled at him. “Go sit with Wangji. You can copy the rules on decorum and respect ten times over.” 

Lan Zhan looked up sharply and stared at him, looking deeply betrayed. 

“Ten times?!” Wei Wuxian squawked. “But that will take me weeks!” 

Exactly, Lan Qiren thought with reluctant satisfaction. “You should have thought about that before being such a nuisance. Now go.” 

He and Lan Huan watched as Wei Wuxian stumbled across the room, throwing himself down across from Lan Zhan to complain about unfair punishments. 

“There. That should do it..” Lan Qiren watched Lan Zhan bat Wei Ying’s hands away from his meticulous work and hiss, “Behave.” 

“I will start investigating who might have cursed Lan Zhan in the first place,” Lan Huan suggested, smiling indulgently as a playful Wei Ying and incensed Lan Zhan had a brief tug-of-war over Lan Zhan’s papers. 

Lan Qiren pressed two fingers to his forehead in a vain attempt to stave off a migraine. “And I will find more reasons for those two to spend time together,” he said, resigned. “Heavens help us both.” 

“Heavens help the person who cursed Lan Zhan,” Lan Huan corrected, a hard light in his eyes as he left the library. Lan Qiren watched him go, proud of the man he’d become. 

He was proud of the other one, too, just appalled at his taste in significant others. 

There was nothing he could do now but accept it, he thought grimly, and set off to plan a matchmaking scheme to save his nephew. 

[sheron-c]

XiSang Fic Recs

I haven’t seen any rec lists floating about, so for the XiSang Week 2020 challenge - Day 7 - Free choice, I wanted to create a rec list of my personal favourites for Nie Huaisang/Lan Xichen ship. There’s actually a lot of stories that are great and I don’t want to duplicate the entire ship tag, so these are just the top 10 that I found super enjoyable: 1.  My Heart is a Saber by peskyjellyfish (~11k)

Summary: Huaisang is on his way to Xinglu Ridge when he gets sidetracked. Rec: This is the fic that gave me everything I wanted to read about them post-canon. Nie Huaisang is angry and damaged, Lan Xichen is hurt and curious, and they find the kind of hope in despair that can only be found together. 2.  come and find me (lying in the bed i made) by ImaginationCake  @demonic-cultivar​ (~22k)

Summary: After Jin Guangyao dies, Nie Huaisang is ready to enjoy his life free from the burden of revenge plots and subterfuge. But his decisions have resulted in a deep guilt that he can't shake, and he struggles to stay afloat with no one left to support him. To top it off, he finds himself tangled up in politics that he really couldn't care less about.What he does care about is Lan Xichen's opinion of him, but Lan Xichen won't even look at him anymore. Nie Huaisang can only hope that his life doesn't get any worse. Rec: The fic that got me into this ship! ♡ I did of course come to AO3 looking for more NHS & LXC content immediately after watching the Untamed. After seeing that ending scene with their conversation on the Temple’s steps I wanted more, but I wasn’t sure it was a romantic ship for me until I read this story. It’s got everything, a kidnapping, a rescue and a bad case of feelings :D 3.  A Skilled Tactician is the Jewel of a Kingdom by Hypatia3 (~50k, WIP) Summary: During the Sunshot Campaign, Nie Huaisang wants to help despite his terrible sword skills. But there are other things he's good at, and nobody can say his mind is weak. But nobody has to know.After all, he wants to go back to his life of general uselessness after the war is over, and Nie Mingjue would never allow it if he saw a single sign of competence from him.But this has consequences that he didn't expect. Rec: One of the absolute best stories in this fandom when it comes to Nie Huaisang’s characterization -- he’s clever and yet so very Huaisang, in such a believable way that *hands* I can’t explain how much satisfaction I get out of reading and rereading this story. Honourable mention:  A Decisive Victory by Hypatia3 (~24k, WIP) Summary: When Jin Guangyao acts against the Nie Sect a little earlier, Nie Huaisang ends up in over his head as acting sect leader. But he has a responsibility and a duty to his sect. His brother is counting on him until he recovers.Or Nie Huaisang loses his temper, starts a war, and impresses a lot of people along the way. Rec: This is not marked XiSang, and is a divergence from the earlier Tactician story (around chapter 7) but it’s such fun to read and Huaisang’s interactions with Lan Xichen are top notch, so I can’t help mentioning it here.

4.  from tomb to tomb by @the-pretzel​  (~16k)

Summary: It's a lot easier to get truth out of someone, even one with a very good reason to lie, when they're drunk. Or, five times Nie Huaisang was drunk and once it was Lan Xichen's turn instead. Rec: Written to capture moments over the years during the course of the show, as Lan Xichen and Nie Huaisang dance around each other, this story is absolutely beautiful and vivid. I can still see the scenes of the story pop up in my head like drawings, of Lan Xichen walking in on semi-hungover Nie Huaisang and the sheer tension between them enough to keep you breathlessly reading.

Honourable mention:  when i'm reborn by @the-pretzel (~1.1k)

Summary:  Nie Huaisang's daemon settles the day he finds out what Jin Guangyao has done. (His Dark Materials fusion) Rec: A very short, very lovely daemon AU, which I’m definitely reading as XiSang :)

5.  What I had to do by @ibijau​ (~20k) Summary:  After three years in seclusion, Lan Xichen gets an unexpected guest he would rather have avoided. Yet when he learns that Nie Huaisang is dying from a curse, he is forced to confront his guilt toward Jin Guangyao's fate and the people his sworn brother hurt. Rec: I’d say this is a fandom classic, so you’ve probably read it already :D But, one of my favourite things about this story is the way it captures Nie Huaisang running away from emotions, and Lan Xichen being selfless when it comes to those he cares about. 6.  gather jewels from graveyards by LuckyDiceKirby (~15k) Summary: Nie Huaisang stole happiness from Lan Xichen. He stole peace. If he could just see him, and see for himself exactly what he’s done, and know—that will be enough. Then he’ll be able to paint again, and his hands won’t shake as he does it, and he’ll remember why he ever in his life bothered to put brush to ink to paper. After all, a man should have to live with his mistakes. There is no other way to learn from them. His brother believed that. Rec: One of the first stories I read for this ship and so well done! This is one where Nie Huaisang feels very guilty, and who doesn’t enjoy reading that? Nie Huaisang comes to the Hanshi to make amends, and doesn’t go away when Lan Xichen won’t see him.

7.  When the world is cold (I will feel a glow) by @marsdiogenes (~3k)

Summary: Xichen is trying very hard to get his crush to notice him, but gallery curator Nie Huaisang has a job to do and would appreciate it if Lan Xichen's beautiful face would stop for a moment so he can focus. Mingjue just wants to have a nice, quiet family dinner and for everyone to respect his efforts.

Rec: I don’t normally go for Modern AUs for this ship, but this was so fun and sexy! Also Nie Mingjue’s knowing reaction is :3 8.  to embrace doubt by fensandmarshes, Fleetling, idendreams, medievalfantasyqueen, space_enjolras, sxnshot (blasphemyincarnate)

Summary: Five times people thought they understood Nie Huaisang + one time someone admitted they didn’t - a collaborative, semi-chronological character study of Nie Huaisang through other characters’ eyes. Rec: Okay, it’s technically not marked shippy, but you tell me that someone who thinks about Nie Huaisang the way Lan Xichen does in this story, in the chapter that’s from his pov can possibly not love him, and I won’t believe it. The lyrical prose is the best description in a paragraph I’ve ever read of Nie Huaisang.

9.  Love of my life, I hate you by Ibijau (~126k) Summary:  With Qishan Wen growing ever more powerful and menacing, QInghe Nie and Gusu Lan decide to cement a firm alliance between their sects through a marriage between their children. Lan Xichen and Nie Huaisang are less than thrilled to learn this, but nobody is asking for their opinion anyway Rec: At first, I wasn’t sold on Lan Xichen being so thoughtless in his treatment of Nie Huaisang as a child and mostly wanted to smack him, but damn if the later events don’t make up for it, make him grow up, and turn the tables around. :D This story is utterly satisfying to read, like one of those novels that give your Id everything you want, eventually. I love slow burn and this is that in spades! So much fun, I’ve re-read parts of it multiple times already.

Honourable mention: Ibijau has so many interesting XiSang stories, like the one where Jin Rusong survives and Nie Huaisang ends up raising him (Second Chances For First Time Villains), and the one where Lan Wangji and Nie Huaisang, both in love with someone else, make a marriage match and solve crimes together ( We can light a match and burn it down), the god!LXC AU, and many others. Check them out! And finally,

10.  Chapter 95: LXC finds out about JGY and tells NHS,  from MDZS short fics by nirejseki ( @robininthelabyrinth) (~1k) Summary:  In that AU where LXC pretends to be LWJ and discovers NMJ's head, what if he went on a quest to put the body of his old friend together and along the way accidentally ran into NHS who's on the same mission. And they realize the other knows! Rec: Nirejseki writes a lot of great Nie brothers content, and this is one short story that can arguably turn into XiSang in the future. The possibilities of this AU make it so exciting, I had to include it on the list even though NHS and LXC only talk and nothing else happens.  ...Okay, that was more than ten fics here, but can you blame me? 😍 I love these two together. And with the XiSang week running we have so much new stuff!

[besanii]

hello! first of all, let me just say that i love your writing !! second, i was reading shattered mirrors (bc that verse owns me thanks) and in the nightmare fic, wwx mentions a water prison, which sounds super terrifying and interesting so I guess my question is does wwx have a fear of water because of it? If so, does LWJ know? -C

[from here (#21) and here (#28)]

“Xian-er, my dear, a moment of your time.”

He feels Lan Wangji stiffen beside him when Wang Dafu wanders over to their table partway through the festivities. The other guests are in various states of inebriation and growing rowdy, although Wei Wuxian suspects they are behaving themselves more so than usual today. Usually around this time he would be excusing himself for some fresh air to escape the noise, but there had been little chance of it with Lan Wangji beside him, still as a statue, preventing his exit.

Wang Dafu bows to Lan Wangji.

“Er-wangye, may I perhaps be so bold as to borrow a moment of Xian-er’s time?” he asks. “I would like to have a word with him in private.”

Lan Wangji does not move. Wang Dafu starts to sweat under his stony gaze, glancing around for assistance without causing a scene. Eventually, Wei Wuxian takes pity on him and rises to his feet with an easy laugh.

“Of course, Wang-daren,” he says. “Shall we adjourn to your delightful little garden? I am afraid I have been terrible company tonight and should excuse myself before I displease Er-wangye any further.”

The cup in Lan Wangji’s hand hits the table top with a loud thud that catches the attention of everyone in their immediate vicinity. Within a second, everyone stops what they are doing to bow in the wake of his anger, cowering further when Lan Wangji rises to his feet. He ignores Wang Dafu completely and turns to Wei Wuxian with the same stony gaze.

Wei Wuxian hesitates, keeping his head bowed.

“Wangye…” he says, “if I have indeed displeased you—”

“You have not,” Lan Wangji interrupts him to say. 

His tone, however, is flat and abrupt. It has been a very long time since Wei Wuxian has heard this tone directed at him and it shocks him more than he would like to admit; he keeps his hands tucked into his wide sleeves, hidden beneath the silk veil he has yet to remove, unable to stop the way they tremble at the thought of Lan Wangji angry because of him.

“Raise your head,” Lan Wangji tells him. When Wei Wuxian hesitates to obey, Lan Wangji sighs. “W—Xian-er.”

The name sounds foreign on his lips—sounds wrong. He finds himself hating it, hating the sound of it, in that instant. But the moment passes and he raises his head, all smiles and good humour once again.

“Yes, Wangye?”

“I will join you in the gardens,” Lan Wangji says. “I also find myself in need of some fresh air.”

–

There is a large pond in the middle of the garden, which Wang Dafu boasts took months to create. It is deep, he says, deep and wide enough for them to be able to take a small boat around the perimeter and allow them some privacy.

Lan Wangji stays a ways behind to give them a semblance of privacy, watching as Wang Dafu leads Wei Wuxian to the water’s edge with a simpering, doting smile on his lips. Wei Wuxian responds in kind, with a hand on his arms, puncturing holes in Lan Wangji’s lungs with each whispered word and soft laugh that floats back into his ear. He forces himself to watch, even though he is too far away to hear what they are saying; each passing second burns bitterly in the back of his throat.

“Wangye,” a servant says quietly from behind him. “Would you like to take a seat in the pavilion to wait for the master?”

“No, I will wait here,” Lan Wangji says. “You may leave.”

“Yes, Wangye.”

He watches Wei Wuxian shiver just as the boat is pulling close to the shore, and Wang Dafu coos and fawns over him before he is striding off, calling for Mo Xuanyu to bring an extra cloak for his master. Wei Wuxian watches him go, his hands falling to his side, no longer shivering, the playfulness gone from his gait. Turning away from the water, he looks to a spot to Lan Wangji’s left and raises his voice.

“You can come out now,” he says.

A young woman, no more than twenty, charges out from behind a tree. One of Wang Dafu’s concubines, Lan Wangji realises, from the fine silks and gold ornaments in her hair.

“Liu-furen,” Wei Wuxian says. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

“You bitch,” she hisses. “I know what you’re here for! You have your greedy little eyes on my husband. You think that parading yourself around like the shameless thing you are will get you out of your miserable little life? It won’t be that easy. Not if I have anything to say about it.”

Wei Wuxian laughs, but it is not the soft, breathy laugh from before; instead, it is sharp and mocking, cutting through the woman’s fury like a sharp knife.

“Pardon me, Liu-furen,” he says. “I wasn’t aware you had any say. Did you not serve Wang-furen as a maid before you climbed into bed with her husband? And you dare to lecture me on being shameless?”

She gapes at him for a moment, to stunned to speak. In the next moment, she raises her hand and slaps Wei Wuxian across the face, nearly dislodging his veil. Wei Wuxian does not retaliate, fixing the veil around his head to disguise how he raises his hand to still Lan Wangji’s furious step forward.

“Xian-er thanks Liu-furen for her guidance,” he says coldly. “I must remind you that I am here at Wang-daren’s personal invitation. What do you think your husband will say if he found out how you treat his guests?”

“I am his wife,” she says haughtily, but there is a trace of nervousness in her tone. “He would not believe the words of a slut over mine.”

“Pardon me, Liu-furen, but you are a concubine,” he reminds her. “And the lowest ranking one too. I would really advise you to worry about yourself first, rather than picking needless fights with me.”

She grabs his arm roughly to prevent him from leaving. The force of the motion has him stumbling backwards and crashing into her, causing both of them to lose balance and slip on the wet grass by the edge of the pond. She shrieks as she falls, and claws at him in a desperate attempt to regain balance. The ensuing struggle knocks his weimao to the ground and his long hair spills over his shoulder.

Lan Wangji, who had already started moving the moment he saw her lay her hand on him, gets there in time to catch Wei Wuxian by the waist, hauling him away from the water’s edge. The motion dislodges her hands in the process; she tumbles into the water with a scream, followed by a loud splash. He pays her no mind, attention already on Wei Wuxian, who has gone deathly still.

“Wei Ying?” he says softly. “Are you alright?”

Tremors start to run over his body, small and barely noticeable at first, rapidly building in intensity until he collapses in Lan Wangji’s arms, his legs giving out from beneath him. His breath comes in choked, dragging gasps, terrifying similar to the way his attacker gasps and struggles in the water behind them, and he claws at his throat frantically trying to draw breath.

“Wei Ying!” He takes hold of Wei Wuxian’s face between his hands and presses their foreheads together. “Wei Ying, focus on me. Listen to me. You have to breathe. With me. Listen to me. Breathe.”

Servants and guests alike have come out at the sound of the commotion, shouting for help. Someone fishes Wang Dafu’s concubine out of the water, spluttering and crying, but Lan Wangji does not concern himself with anything other than Wei Wuxian. He holds him close, keeps their foreheads pressed together so he can feel his breath against his lips, deep and slow, until he subconsciously starts to mimic the pattern. After a few deep breaths, his body begins to relax little by little. The colour returns to his cheeks and the eerie blankness fades from his eyes.

“Lan Zhan?” he rasps, muddled and confused. “Where—?”

“Shh, you’re fine,” Lan Wangji tells him. “You’re safe. I’ve got you.”

People are starting to crowd around them, shouting questions and clamouring to get a better look. Wei Wuxian flinches at the noise and ducks his head; Lan Wangji grabs the fallen weimao from the ground and places back over his head before sweeping him up into his arms. A startled gasp sounds from beneath the veil as shaking hands grasp the front of his robes tightly. Wang Dafu bursts out from the crowd as he is about to leave, wild-eyed and panting.

“Wangye!” he gasps, falling to his knees. “Please forgive my concubine for her offense! I will see to it that she is punished for her transgressions!”

“I am not the one you should be apologising to,” Lan Wangji says, his voice quiet and cold as ice. “This woman will receive fifty slaps across the face and confinement to the ancestral shrine for reckless endangerment of a guest of her husband’s house and failure to observe proper etiquette as befitting a concubine of her station. Wang Dafu shall receive fifty lashes and withholding of six month’s salary for the endangerment of a guest of his house as a result of his failure to enforce proper conduct within your household. Report to the Ministry of Justice at dawn.”

He adjusts his arms so Wei Wuxian is tucked securely in his arms, his head leaning against his shoulder beneath the weimao, and strides past the crowd without a backward glance.

Notes:

Liu-furen (六夫人) - Sixth Madam, or “sixth wife”

// buy me a ko-fi //

Master Post is here

[chrisemrysfics]

After my post on Wangxian and unconditional love, among other things, I realized I forgot all about a source of unconditional love for Wei Wuxian: the Wen siblings and remnants.

Here is the thing: first, Wei Wuxian had a few years with his parents, he barely has memories, yet he remember the sense of happiness, joy, and the love of his parents, both for each other, and for him.

Then, he lose them, and faces the streets. And then he’s picked by Jiang Fengmian, and brought “home”... and right away there’s an issue with Jiang Cheng and puppies. Yu Ziyuan also shows displeasure.

Jiang Yanli shows care for him, while Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian make peace, however, from here on, Wei Wuxian is under constant disapproval by Yu Ziyuan.

And I believe Wei Wuxian is not blind to Jiang Cheng being hurt by what his mother says, and the apparent not-care his father shows. But he says it and I believe he’s right: Jiang Fengmian is lenient toward Wei Wuxian because Wei Wuxian is not his son. What appears as indulgence, is simply that he doesn’t care all that much past what Wei Wuxian is bringing to the clan.

He doesn’t seek his safety: he could have chosen to make Wei Wuxian stay to Lotus Pier rather than let him go to Nightless City, but he didn’t. He even said “he can choose”, which make him wash his hands of responsibility and make Wei Wuxian own up to his own fate. And his last words to me nailed the confirmation: he doesn’t give any word of care, he only echo what Yu Ziyuan said: protect my children.

Wei Wuxian grew up knowing he’ll be scorned by Yu Ziyuan regardless of whether or not he’s truly at fault, and knowing Jiang Fengmian doesn’t really care, as long as he’s around, he let him do what we want, knowing Wei Wuxian is loyal to the Jiang and to his children. Jiang Cheng express it awkwardly, but his attempts at “taming” Wei Wuxian “hero complex” is that he recognizes no one else is trying to stop him from harming himself (including his father). However, because Jiang Cheng let himself be influenced, he doesn’t show unconditional love, Wei Wuxian knows he cares, but Wei Wuxian also recognize Jiang Cheng doesn’t understand him.

This leave only Jiang Yanli that he can be himself with. We understand he feels safe with her, to show his true self, that he know he’ll be love without condition, because it is to her, and only her, he asked such a thing as “why does someone like someone else”. And that’s why his hesitancy to tell her anything about the three months disappearance is so heart-breaking, and she can be seen being worried still: for the first time, he doesn’t tell her.

And this shows how he views himself. For the first time, he thinks there is finally something that might be the one think Jiang Yanli won’t accept. That he’s become something that finally is where she draws the line. No one else before her truly showed any unconditional love, and he’s terrified what will happen if he let her see who he has become.

And it explain why he push away Lan Wangji: he knows Lan Wangji values are righteous, to Wei Wuxian, if Lan Wangji disapprove of him, it means he’s something that cannot approved of. Which then reinforce the idea that he cannot show Jiang Yanli what he’s become.

In the end, he’s traumatized, and scared to be rejected by the two people he cared for the most. He knew he felt pulled to Lan Wangji, he cared for him, he knew in his heart he valued him, just like he values Jiang Yanli. If he allowed himself to be vulnerable, and he got rejected, it would break him. So he didn’t take the risk.

All of that to arrive to the Wen siblings.

And the important thing I realized is that it never was a question of owing each other anything.

Wei Wuxian met Wen Ning, and showed kindness to him, which is pretty clear Wen Ning rarely, if ever, received, outside of his sister and the branch of their family. Its enough for Wen Ning to want to come when he hears about Lotus Pier, and willing to help them.

When Wen Qing enters the scene, she knows the risks, but there is a vital factor that made her decide to let them stay hidden and recover: her brother. Yes, she is a healer, however, it was risky to allow this, except, this was someone who inspired loyalty in her brother, someone who treated her brother well. Someone with a brother that was hurt.

Then, Wei Wuxian asks her to do the surgery, and she refuses. She knows what this will mean, and the thing is, I do end up thinking he’s not blind to how he’s been treated. He had to develop his own moral compass because either he’s scorned no matter if he’s at fault or not, or he’s “indulged”, or he’s not understood. He cares, and he sees himself as owing everything to the Jiang, but I feel like he knows how it can sound like. Wen Qing refuses because she isn’t certain he truly realize what he is asking, or she questions how willing he is, past any conditioning. But he insists, and she sees something that let her know that he does know what he is asking for.

Ultimately, Wei Wuxian is still misunderstood when people think his choice is because he’s been conditioned: yes, of course, we can understand someone shouldn’t have to sacrifice himself, that they shouldn’t have to “pay back” in such a manner... except no one asked. No one forced him to do this. He looked at his brother, and decided he didn’t want to see him like this. Wen Qing refusing meant he had the occasion to rethink his choice. He still chose.

That’s why they also speak of not owing anything to each other: Wen Qing chose to help them, and Wei Wuxian chose to go through the transplant. They understand the risks they took for each other, they had each other life in the other hands (if WWX and JC are seen, its death for WQ, if WQ fails, its death for WWX).

And that’s why they don’t seek each other, they owe nothing to each other, understand where they stand in the war, and trust each other has continued to follow the path of their heart. Wen Qing didn’t betray her values as a healer, nor did Wei Wuxian betray his own values.

However, Wen Qing ended up desperate, and there was only one person she knew had values she could trust: Wei Wuxian. She knows what she is asking out of him, but just like she didn’t leave Wei Wuxian and his brother to their own fate, Wei Wuxian would not leave her and her brother to their own fate. Just like he chose for the transplant, she knew Wei Wuxian would choose what is true to his heart.

And so they end up in Burial Mounds, Wei Wuxian once more doing a sacrifice, yet it is done out of his own choice, the refusal to betray his own values (be it that it was the care for his brother back then, or the protection of innocent now). And here is the thing: Wen Qing knows about Wei Wuxian’s core.

And the Wen Remnants are well placed to fear him, distrust him, be unkind to him, but they don’t. More than that, they welcome him as family. He becomes family to them, and they become family to him. No one judges him, they all see him, and none of them disapprove of him, and they care for him.

To me, Wei Wuxian only ever had two things that were truly his: his demonic cultivation, and the Wen Remnants as family.

He says it himself: he owes spiritual cultivation to the Jiang. But demonic cultivation? He chose to not die, to resist, to survive, to return, to continue following his own values, and developed his own tools for it. He saw the scorn of others, but knew his heart, and stayed true to it. Everything “bad” about him was his trauma, not his cultivation (proven as to how he is, after his death and return).

And the Wen Remnants, they became his family. The Jiang siblings are his family of adoption, but the Wens were the family he, himself, adopted. They were to him what the Jiang Clan was to JC: the people he would protect, the one he placed first.

If JC and/or JYL had no one else to turn to, WWX would have protected them too. But JC had a whole sect, and JYL was part of it. More than that, the best protection was to distance himself, the Wens already had a tainted reputation, like his own, but not his siblings (and same for LWJ). He couldn’t take that risk.

And the strength of his heart and values show when everything goes extremely bad: he accidentally kills JZX, he doesn’t manage to protect/save the Wen Siblings, and still he doesn’t outright slaughter everyone, he attacks after being provoked. He also stop when JYL show up, but because someone else tried to kill him, he sees her protect him and die to protect him... just like the Wen Siblings.

And he just effectively lost the last, and first, sibling who has loved him unconditionally. The Wen Siblings knew all about his lost core, while JYL knew about him in many ways. Loosing all three of them, effectively meant he lost the three people who knew him best and loved him without condition.

Is it so surprising that his psyche broke there? He went mad with grief, the trauma catching up to him. Then he finds himself conscious again, away from Nightless City, not knowing there is still one person who loves him.

And what does he decide to do? Break the seal. Now, I realized a thing: he didn’t die from breaking the first half. The accounts are confusing on purpose, but he himself is seen thinking about how he broke half of it, but didn’t have time to break the second before the Siege happened.

This means he knows how to do it without dying... or he was already half dead.

Then he looses the Wen Remnants, he’s Sieged by the whole cultivation world, including his own brother. There’s no Lan Wangji in sight, leaving him uncertain whether he doesn’t deserve to die in Lan Wangji eyes, or if he’s not even worthy of Lan Wangji being present. Or if its a last kindness, to not be part of the people who attack him.

But Wei Wuxian has lost everything, everyone, his own brother is here with hate and grief in his eyes, Wei Wuxian knows there is greed behind the Siege, and so he finishes what he started: he destroys the seal.

And to this day, I am still convinced there was no backlash, but rather, a last command, either conscious, or one he didn’t realize he made but born of how he was feeling.

However, because he never returned as a vengeful ghost, this make me consider that, for all his death was violent, he died with a peaceful heart.

He knew his own heart and values, and he followed them to his last breath. He knew the greed and blindness of the cultivation world, but what would he do? Kill them all? Be what they claimed he was? No. And then, to him, he caused the deaths of people he never wanted to: JZX and JYL. To someone who gave his core because he considered he owed it to the Jiang, what will he give, if he consider he owed to repay the deaths he caused?

He chose, died with peace in his heart because he followed it to his last breath.

And I wonder if the corpses “eating him” weren’t eating the resentment within him. That’s a whole other headcanon to develop.

But yes, all of this to say: the Wen Remnants were WWX family, the Wen Siblings became his siblings, and WWX remained true to his heart up until the end.

That’s why he didn’t return as a vengeful ghost, and why he was calm and level-headed when he returned. It also strongly imply his temper and so-called “lack of control” were due to his trauma. Yet, this just goes to show how strong willed he is, to both survive the Burial Mounds, and never loose himself, and show that he is truly the Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, because he never lost himself through it, and still mastered it.

[sheadre]

The Rogue Cultivator Part 1 (WWX x Reader x LWJ)

Summary: You’re a rogue cultivator who ran away from home because you were accused of a crime you’ve never committed. You find yourself at Burial Mounds and accidentally in the Yiling Patriarch’s bed. What happens?

Warning: mentions of sex, blood and violence

Word count: 2000+

You felt like your feet were about to fall off. You were traveling since months now and you felt exhausted. Your sword was on your side and the small bag you managed to pack was on your back as you climbed the mountain. This place was your last hope of escape. Your brother was trying to catch you because everyone thought you killed his fiancée. The truth was that the woman went suicidal instead of marrying your brother. Rumours said she was already in love with a fisherman’s son by the time your brother noticed her and started courting her. Of course, her family wanted her to marry into your family for the wealth and fame.

You tried to open your eyes again as exhaustion seemed to take over you but was unable to. Your body was so heavy and you felt like your soul was leaving it. The wind caught in your robes and pushed you to the ground before everything went black and unconsciousness took you over.

…

You heard faint rustling from your side. A hard surface was pushing against your back and you smelled the dry grass that filled your pillow. Some happy voices chatting away further from your spot as something wet and cold touched your forehead. You hissed in surprise and tried to sit up but was pushed back by a gentle hand.

“Stay put, please” the female voice added “please” reluctantly. You slowly opened one eye and then the other before you cleared your throat and tried to speak.

“W-where am I?” your voice sounded rough like it wasn’t used in ages.

“You should tell us why are you here in the first place” her voice grew cold and cautious. “You’re the one who was trespassing our territory.”

“I’m-I’m (Last Name) (Courtesy name)” you replied coughing. Your throat was so dry but it was like she knew what you needed. The woman handed you a cup of water, her delicate hands steadying it in yours. When you looked at her a second time, you noticed her lean features, her flawless skin, the deep brown eyes that held concern and cautiousness at the same time. Her lips were pursed as she watched you gulp the water carefully. “I came from Guihai (last name) shi… they’re looking me for something I haven’t done.”

“Oh, really? What are they accusing you with?” a male voice asked. It sounded… cold and hurt. You couldn’t look at the young man because turning your head was almost impossible with how much it hurt by just moving it a bit. You sighed with a pained smile on your lips.

“They think I killed my sister-in-law” you said. You had nothing left to fear for and at this point you considered just letting your brother execute you. You were tired, lost everything in seconds months before… you had no future to hope for.

“Did you?” the guy asked again his voice closer now. You felt resentful energy surrounding you choking you a little. You took a deep breath trying to calm yourself. Your father and mother were murdered by resentful energy… someone’s resentful energy.

“No” your voice was firm as you bit the word out. “I had nothing against her. She was just an unfortunate soul who had to marry my brother.”

“Then what happened to her?” he asked the resentful energy subsiding some. He was standing next to you, you could smell his scent.

“She committed suicide” you replied. “She hated my brother for he took her against her will, forced her into the marriage when she was already about to marry a fisherman. He practically took her from the wedding reception telling people that he had the right as the sect leader.”

You felt disgusted that you shared the same blood with him. How shameless he was to do such a thing! You spit his name out angrily but pain shot through your head making you hiss in pain.

“Aiya!” you grabbed your head and groaned in pain. Hands grabbed at you laying you back down carefully. His hands were large, his fingers slender but his face was what caught your attention. He was handsome… you thought you stopped finding others attractive since your first love rejected you. You thought you would never feel anything after him… but this guy… he was unique. Darkness took you again as you blinked.

…

It took you another day to completely gain consciousness. You felt like yourself again as you stretched and moved carefully on the bed. You looked around for the first time noticing it was a cave, not a room. The guy now sat at a fireplace tinkering with something. He was tall and lean; he was wearing black robes and his hair had a crimson red ribbon in it.

“Have anyone told you that staring at others is rude?” he asked without turning to you.

“Well, if the scenery is pretty, who could blame me?” you asked back jokingly. He straightened up his posture telling you he was not only surprised but flattered making you roll your eyes with a smirk. “Anyway… it is time for me to thank you for taking me in.”

“They’re looking for you” he said suddenly standing up and turning to you. You huffed in annoyance and stood up carefully.

“Then it is time for me to depart” you replied grabbing your sword and small bag.

“You don’t even want to stay? Hide?” his question made you laugh mirthlessly. Where could you hide? There was no place where your brother wouldn’t find you sooner or later. You would die a painful death but you could prevent innocent people getting caught in the middle.

“There’s no place for me to hide” you shook your head. “But what I can do is not letting innocent people get in between me and my brother. I don’t want to be responsible for their deaths.”

It sounded selfish and dismissive but you felt like he knew your motives, knew your true intentions. His brown eyes looked back at you with genuine concern and softness.

“He cannot break in here” his only reply reverberated in the cave. “You shouldn’t take too much burden on your own. Trust me, I know.”

“Then at least tell me your name if we’re going to be living under one roof” you smiled warmly at him.

…

Months passed in peace. You taught the young girls how to embroider clothes and helped Wen Qing out whenever she needed you to. You got along with everyone and helped them as much as you could. Wei Wuxian was tinkering with something which ended up exploding again. You coughed as you approached the cave with your heart in your throat. He managed to wound himself last time which you had to take care of for two weeks. He had no golden core which caused him to be more vulnerable.

“Don’t come inside! Stay out everyone!” his voice was distant.

“Wei Ying!” you cried out as you made your way through the fog coughing hard.

“I’m fine, I’m fine!” he replied coughing and a large black mass bumped into you tumbling both of you to the ground. You groaned as you held onto his black robes. Large hands squeezed your hips making you yelp in surprise and you felt something heavy resting on your chest, between your breasts. When you looked down you immediately went red in the face.

“When did you get so soft, (Last Name) guniang?” his voice rumbled through your stomach as his chest was pressed against it.

“Well… around thirteen or fourteen, girls start to develop certain curves naturally” you said trying to hint at where his face was resting. Wei Wuxian jumped up grinning sheepishly at you making you lift your eyebrows unamused. He helped you up on your feet avoiding your gaze. You waved around in the air with your hand to clear the air as the others ran inside concerned.

Wei Wuxian made everyone see that no one got hurt ushering them out. Meanwhile, you became overwhelmed with a strange feeling. Your pulse elevated, your heart pumping rapidly and your whole body felt hot. What exactly was Wei Wuxian experimenting with? A hand circled around your upper arm drawing your attention to a flushed Wei Wuxian.

“I told you to stay outside” his voice sounded husky. His usually brown eyes looked almost completely black, his lips parted, his nostrils flared. “You should… we should stay separated… the powder…”

“What were you tinkering with?” you asked irritated and nervous. You had a slight recognition of what it could be but you tried to deny those thoughts. Your eyes kept wandering to his plump lips just like his followed yours.

“A potion for the chicken… to ensure the eggs were fertilized” Wei Wuxian averted his gaze as the redness crept up on his neck to his face.

“An aphrodisiac?!” you cried out incredulously. You were trembling by then. You couldn’t deny your attraction to him but ever since you saw him interact with Lan Wangji who visited the Burial Mounds a couple weeks ago, you knew there could never be more than friendship between the two of you. Maybe this way… you could know how it would feel and then it would be easy to deny any feelings saying it was all the aphrodisiac. No… using him was out of the question. Wei Wuxian was your friend, your saviour who kindly took you in and let you stay. No… no… but he looked so enticing standing in front of you. You could smell him… feel his presence.

Suddenly the opening of the cave was closed off by something large drawing your attentions to it. Wen Qing’s voice came from over the barrier.

“We’ll quarantine you guys because there was something fishy with that fog, stay alive please!” your eyes widened. What the actual hell?! You weren’t horses because this was exactly like when horse breeders wanted their horses to have offspring.

“This is the worst idea, Wen Qing! Let us out or let (Last Name) (First Name) out! She needs to be away from me!” Wei Wuxian cried out desperation in his voice. Your heart sank at that. He must know what would happen if the two of you were closed in together for long… and he sounded like he dreaded it.

“Sorry, but we cannot risk getting infections or anything!” Wen Qing replied and you heard everyone quickly fled the scene. Wei Wuxian suddenly whirled around, looking at you with his eyebrows knitted together.

“(Name), please stay away from me… I have no clue what will happen if we…” he gulped as his eyes landed on your chest, his cheek turning pink. He screwed his eyes shut as he turned away and went into the other end of the room where Wen Wing liked to keep herbs. You watched him search the sack hurriedly. “You have to take these, every twelve hours… in case… we… um…”

“End up having sex?” you asked quirking an eyebrow. You were aware of the bright blush covering your cheeks and the tight feeling in your chest. You licked your lips as you watched him straighten up from his crouch and turn to you. You had no idea what came over you as you walked up to him. You took the herbs from his hand and bit out a chunk chewing before swallowing the sour tasting vegetables. His brown eyes flashed with arousal as he watched your Eve’s apple bob. “Is it so horrifying to imagine that happen? Are you disgusted? Are you repulsed by the idea?”

His lips parted at seeing your angry and hurt expression. You turned around to leave him alone as much as you could now that you were locked inside the cave. Thud. Wei Wuxian pulled you back into a hug, your back to his chest.

“I only thought about Lan Zhan like this… but you… you’re different (Name)” he breathed. Your heart throbbed in your chest knowing it was only the aphrodisiac speaking.

“Let me go, Wei Ying” you mumbled as you tried to get out of his hold but he only tightened it.

“The aphrodisiac is not meant to cloud our minds” he said. “It is to strengthen up the already existing.”

Your eyes widened, your hands falling to your sides. His arms loosened around you just to slide down your arms and hold onto your hands. Wei Ying pressed against you, lowering his head into the crook of your neck, his nose brushing your skin. “I dreamt of you before… never thought it would come true…”

Your breath hitched in your throat as his hands left yours and slid up your waist towards your breasts, cupping them through the fabric of your robes. You felt his lips press soft kisses on the skin of your neck. The heat inside your chest rising. “Would you become my wife?” Your breath hitched at his words. Wei Wuxian was the only one spinning in your head ever since you arrived to Burial Mounds. But were you ready to bond yourself to him forever? Were you ready to give everything to him? You turned around catching his gaze with yours and you knew. You were ready, even if he would leave you one day for someone else.

Your lips pressed against his in a soft, unsure kiss which he responded by deepening it and leading you. His hands were all over you, pulling you in, pushing you away, caressing every inch, worshipping you. Your bodies moved in sync on the furs covering the stone he used as bed. His muscles rippled under his porcelain skin as he moved, your pants filling the cave as pleasure took over your minds.

     Months later ~  

You were out of town looking for herbs when they left. When everything turned upside down. When Wei Wuxian went to fight the sects all alone. You arrived back to the Burial Mounds just to find it completely empty. By the time you reached Qishan, the battle already erupted. Bodies laid lifelessly on the ground; the crimson colour of their blood flowed like river. You saw Jiang Wanyin clutching on his sister’s corpse, crying hopelessly. Hanguang-Jun was fighting off attackers, most people didn’t even know who to attack.

It took you quite some time to find Wei Wuxian trying to gain control over the corpses but he was struggling. People just wanted the Stygian Tiger Seal but they had no idea what to do with it. Only knew that it could be powerful. Corpses attacked you too as you tried to make your way to Wei Ying. No one knew who you were or how could a female cultivator be so powerful as you practically cut down zombies without any effort, walking through the battlefield like it was a clearing in the forest. You had to protect your husband and if today was your last day, then you will happily die with him. Your conscience was clear. Your brother was trying to hunt you down with fabricated charges.

“Wei Ying!” you cried out as you saw him standing at the edge of the cliff. As you jumped after him to catch your husband, the memories of your few months together flashed before your eyes. Tears ran down your cheeks as your hand grasped his firmly. You gritted your teeth as you strained to keep him from falling into the abyss.

“A-(Name)” he breathed with a smile that held such sadness, such pain that broke your heart into another million pieces. You felt yourself slowly slide forward because he was always heavier than you. You cried out in pain from the strain but you were ready to fall after him while holding his hand. There was nothing for you to stay. However, a strong hand grabbed both of yours, pulling at them. You could smell the scent of sandalwood under the sweat and blood that filled your nostrils.

“Wei Ying!” Hanguang-Jun tried to pull him up with you but in vain. Jiang Cheng appeared out of nowhere and was about to strike down with his sword when your husband wrenched his hand out of your grip. It was like someone slowed the time down. Tears fell from your eyes as you watched him disappear beneath.

You had no idea how you got out of the battle or how you managed to get back to Burial Mounds. You crawled on your hands and knees into the cave leaving blood stains behind. You knew that you were about to die. Someone managed to stab you even if you only fended off corpses. You leaned your back against the stone bed the one you slept in with him. You heard rustling coming from the entrance but you had no energy to defend yourself.

“Y-you…” you heard the deep voice of Hanguang-Jun making your eyes widen in surprise. You never expected him to come after you.

“Han-Hanguang-Jun…” you spluttered out some blood as you looked up at him. His eyes looked back at you with such intensity you felt like you would burn alive from it.

“Who are you?!” he asked.

“There’s no time… please let me go” you mumbled as darkness took you. But it wasn’t cold as you expected. It was warm and welcoming.

><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><

You sat up gasping for air. You felt the soft fabric of bedding underneath your hands. Warm breeze hit your skin as it passed through the open window. The place was unfamiliar to you as you looked around. Soft footsteps approached, your head turning to see Hanguang-Jun stopping in front of you.

“Now we have time” he said quietly but his tone was firm. You smiled sadly up at him and nodded. Fate had different plans for you.

     End…?  

[giftwrappingpaper]

wangxian vampire au

featuring vampire hunter lwj and shitty vampire wwx

-----

It was supposed to be an ordinary, by-the-numbers hunt. With an illustrious monster hunting career under his belt, Lan Wangji hadn’t thought much of it when his guild forwarded him the typical rumors of a small village recently plagued with vampire attacks. There was even a potential location for its den in the form of a nearby manor, long abandoned since its last inhabitants were murdered a century ago.

His subsequent investigation into the rumors proved to be more concerning; not for fear of great violence, but rather the lack of it. An air of levity permeated the village and its inhabitants, as if it hadn’t been recently targeted by a dangerous beast. As if there weren’t villagers and cattle alike with telltale signs of a vampire bite who curiously, after closer inspection, only lost enough to fill a thimble.

And then there were the village folk themselves.

“You mean Wei Wuxian?” Nie Huaisang, a local artist, said in one of Lan Wangji’s cursory village interviews. “I’d ask if you didn’t hunt one of my most generous patrons, Hunter Lan. Just last week he’d paid my rent five times over!”

“Unfortunately,” Jiang Wanyin, the local sheriff, said when Lan Wangji asked if he was aware of the regional vampiric patronage going around. “His habit of throwing money around has been a pillar of this village’s economy for decades now. So we put up with the guy, despite him being both a vampire and annoying as all hell.”

“He hates blood,” Wen Qing, the village doctor, stated during Lan Wangji’s visit to the local clinic; he had been searching for the vampire’s victims in hopes of an interview, but found that none had even visited the clinic after being bitten. “Well, most types of blood. There are certain types he tolerates, but he’s picky enough that the vials I sometimes bring him are the only sustenance I know of that he can stomach.”

At that, an unconvinced Lan Wangji asked, “Why would a vampire so repulsed by blood —“ already a ludicrous concept “— bite two villagers and a cow in a single night?”

At this point, despite consistent testimony throughout each interview, he was still unwaveringly skeptical about the supposed character of this “Wei Wuxian.” For even though he made it a habit to see the best in people, the claims spouted by these villagers conflicted with every teaching Lan Wangji had stood for since leaving his mother’s womb.

Wen Qing rolled her eyes and supplied him with a fairly useless answer: “Why don’t you ask him yourself?” 

Miffed at what was turning out to be a rather unconventional hunt, Lan Wangji set out to do just that. He’d already been here for nearly a couple of days, and the traps he’d laid around the village border weren’t enough to entice the vampire to bite (ha). 

Blood bait, this time. Collecting blood samples from a few villagers as well as himself, he set up another set of traps, more sophisticated than the last, around the forest that surrounded the vampire’s manor instead of the village itself. Hopefully its close proximity would be enough to lure out the beast. No matter how blase the villagers — who were reacting to Lan Wangji’s preparations the way a mother would react to her child’s first piano recital — were in regards to a vampire in their vicinity, he knew he needed to dispose of it quickly before it began a killing spree.

A week passed. No success.

No matter. Unspoiled bait was the logical next course of action — so he called for the aid of local volunteers, and waited with the ensuing party of virgins at the village square throughout the night. 

A few hours in without a single vampire sighting, he began doubting the validity of the volunteers’ virginal status, but decided to nonetheless wait it out. The rising sun made Lan Wangji blink away the inherent fatigue of staying up all night, and the vampire still didn’t come.

Lan Wangji had never been met with such failure before. Fed up with standing idle, he decided that now was the time for action. Diving head-first into a possible vampire den was a risky move, but judging by the villagers’ tales of the vampire’s ineptitude, it lived alone and wouldn’t put much of a fight when faced head on. So when the sun was at its highest point in the sky, he barged into the manor with Bichen and his silver-tipped crossbow at the ready, expecting the worst.

He was met with nothing. As he crept around the manor, he deduced that it seemed more like the home of an eccentric than a mythical bloodsucking beast. Mountains of stuff lined the manor’s interior, ranging from artistically ambitious portraits to antique candelabras. Strewn across any available flat surface were schematics of half thought-out contraptions Lan Wangji could only imagine what their functions were. The parlour was the most uncluttered of the rooms, with a homely lounge area and a stocked liquor cabinet, its setup optimized to entertain at least a dozen guests.

What sort of vampire entertained guests?

Best not to dwell too much into it until the creature was dead. The lower floor was empty, so he made his way upstairs. As unoccupied as the floor below. Maybe he overlooked something outside? He could scout around the manor’s expansive gardens, of which there was a curiously thriving radish garden. But just as he was about to start another outside search, he heard a soft shuffle over his head and through the ceiling. 

Ah. There was an attic.

His patience long since fizzled out, Lan Wangji yet again forgoed a stealthy entrance. Once he spotted the ceiling attic door, he stomped his way up the pull-out staircase to face the target of by far the most frustrating hunts of his career.

As soon as he entered the attic and registered the scene before him, he took a moment for himself to stare.

Unlike the rest of the manor, the attic was in fact occupied; only, the man who occupied it stood stockstill against its darkest corner with a look of utter terror on his face. His body was awkwardly contorted in such a way that he was cast in shadow — in some places only a hair's breadth away from the thin beams of light that streamed through the uneven paneling of the attic’s outer wall, as well as its fully open window, effectively pinning him where he stood.

“Oh, thank everything that is holy,” the man, who is definitely a vampire, said with relief. “Please, good sir, could you please do me a favor and draw that curtain and plug those holes?”

Lan Wangji opened his mouth. Closed it. Then said, “You’re Wei Wuxian?” when really he should have dragged the beast out of the shadows and into the damning sunlight, because of course it was.

“How — oh, you’re the hunter everyone’s been warning me about!” was the vampire’s reply. The stiffness of its absurd posture slackened in surprise, but immediately straightened when its arm grazed the edge of sunlight. The barest hint of smoke sizzled from the contact.

Damn those villagers; really, Lan Wangji should’ve seen the betrayal coming. But before he could take further action, the vampire had the audacity to smile, fangs and all, at him, and say, “I was warned beforehand of your intentions, though I must say how surprised I am no one had thought to mention just how handsome you are.”

This was not the first time a target had tried flattery as a way to escape Lan Wangji’s sword. It was, however, the first time one had done so when in such a predicament: trapped into a corner of its own home by poor woodwork and an open window. 

Lan Wangji couldn’t help but feel a drop of pity at such a surprisingly human but nonetheless pathetic display.

He said to the beast, “I am not sure you should be commenting on my appearance right now, considering your…current predicament.”

The beast’s — Wei Wuxian — face fell. “I lost track of time!” he bemoaned. “I somehow fell asleep while cleaning my attic, and when I woke up...well.”

Suddenly, all the tales the villagers spun about the vampire’s ineptitude began to make sense.

“You attacked two people at the neighboring village,” Lan Wangji recounted, taking a step forward. “And a cow.”

“I was hungry.” Wei Wuxian wrinkled his nose; a far too human quirk. “Wen Qing hadn’t come by in a while so I decided to…but I barely even hurt them! They’re blood tasted way too gross, so I left after only having a sip.” He frowned, a guilty expression on his face. “I tried to get rid of the taste with cow’s blood, but then it looked at me with its huge cow eyes and started mooing really sadly, so I let the poor guy go.”

Never, throughout the entirety of Lan Wangji’s career, had he seen a more pitiful sight. It almost made him feel bad about killing him. However, strangely pathetic target aside, Lan Wangji had a job to do. 

He took another step. Even cast in shadow, he was close enough to see the telltale signs of Wei Wuxian’s vampiric nature: his pale pallor, his clawed hands, his red eyes. He could see Wei Wuxian’s face, too; which, a moment before, had been smiling at him. Protruding fangs aside, his smile was nice. As was his general appearance. If Wei Wuxian had been human, Lan Wangji would consider him handsome.

Wait. What?

Misinterpreting Lan Wangji’s approach, Wei Wuxian perked up — as much one could when frozen in a pose reminiscent of a ballerina mid-pirouette  — and said, his smile returning, “Ah, good. My muscles were just about to start to cramp.”

Maybe he was too distracted. Of course this bizarre interaction was preventing Lan Wangji from continuing his hunt, filling his mind with enough wayward thoughts to distract him. Did vampire arms usually bend that way? Did vampires usually have the capacity to be stupid enough to lose track of time and fall asleep next to an open window? Did vampires usually have smiles that seemed so kind?

Okay. No. Slow down.

Lan Wangji shook his head, as if that would help with much. “You seem convinced that I will help you,” he said, “despite knowing who I am, and why I am here.”

Wei Wuxian blinked at him. Vampires did not blink. Why the hell was he blinking. 

“You seem like a nice guy, if a bit intense,” he said. “At least, that’s what Wen Qing told me. And I already explained this whole misunderstanding. I’m certain you won’t find anyone in the village that’s actually mad at me for what happened.”

He was right — Lan Wangji hadn’t. “That doesn’t change the fact that my job is to kill beasts like you.”

“But I didn’t do anything?”

“That doesn’t —” Lan Wangji exhaled heavily through his nose. He shouldn’t be entertaining the thought of casting aside his duty for — what? An admittedly attractive vampire who was already entirely at his mercy? All vampires were considered, by human standards, attractive. This one was no different.

Belatedly, he realized that, at one point during what was turning out to be one of the strangest conversations of his life, Lan Wangji had strapped his crossbow to his back holster and unsheathed Bichen, his hand already off its hilt.

“Look,” Wei Wuxian said, voice frustratingly placating, “you seem a bit tense. Why don’t we go downstairs? Sit down and have a chat. Healthy discussion, moral debate, all that shit. Then you can decide if you still want to kill me based solely on preconceived notions of my species. I had some friends over last night and I still have food left if you’re hungry.”

Lan Wangji frowned.

“People food. Like, food that isn’t people, but for people to eat. Uh.” There was a nervous edge to his laugh. “Usually I’m more smooth than this? But I’m currently pinned to a wall, so. Help? Please?” 

All vampires had an innate ability to hypnotize; Lan Wangji’s last hunt was so good at it, he’d had to plug his ears with wool to escape its pull. He knew the heavy, paralyzing feel of a vampire exerting its will onto its prey.

Wei Wuxian was not doing that. Lan Wangji wasn’t even sure if he even could, given his current track record of vampiric competency. It just seemed like he was, in a clumsy, almost endearing way…

Asking Lan Wangji out to dinner?

With no small sense of how incomprehensibly inane this hunt has become, Lan Wangji walked to the window and drew the curtains closed.

-----

originally posted on twitter

[trensu]

Episode 49: The One with Too Much JGY and Not Enough Wangxian

Very little wangxiantics in this episode, guys, there’s like, VERY LITTLE wangxiantics

The fact that the show is bringing us down to breadcrumbs again is Homophobic 

But let’s get through this!

blah blah blah jgy acts all pathetic blah blah blah lxc engages jgy in a convo blah blah

lwj has to go in and be like, bro, please, don't talk to him

and wwx is like, yeah, you literally just told jc not to talk to him, follow your own advice dude 

lxc is like, hm, you make a good point...i shall continue talking to jgy regardless

jgy continues with his pity party speech and i continue not to care

BUT THEN LXC KNEELS DOWN TO SPEAK WITH JGY MORE INTIMATELY????

WTF LXC STOP THAT RIGHT NOW

lwj is like BRO

lxc is like I KNOW WHAT I'M DOING BRO

and i'm like DO YOU THO?

now he's going to question jgy and counting on him answering truthfully??

WHAT HAS HE DONE TO MAKE YOU THINK HE'LL DO ANYTHING BUT LIE, ZEWU JUN??

so we get a much less entertaining Q&A session accompanied by jgy's flashbacks 

(can we go back to lwj's drunken Q&A sesh? I’d much rather question drunk!lwj than sober!jgy)

the only point i had any actual sympathy was when jgy brings up qin su and her mom bc qin su and her mother deserved better

Ooh, lxc is getting super judgy about jgy killing jgs

This is where you draw the line, lxc?? c’mon.

i mean, judge him for how he did it, sure

there was no need to involve all those innocent women in the murder

but really, killing jgs was the only good act of public service jgy did

give credit where it's due, pal.

HELL YEAH IT'S BITCH-SLAP JGY TIME AGAIN

LOL EVEN WWX AND LWJ LOOK SURPRISED THAT LXC DID THAT

oh noooo lxc is asking about jzx and oh, wwx is PISSED

Wwx grabs the front of jgy's robes and hauls him up and yells in his face “WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO? SAY IT!”

cue flashback scene to jgy tricking jzx 

AND NOW MY BRATTY SON IS YANKING THE FRONT OF JGY'S ROBES SCREAMING WHY? WHY? TELL ME WHY DID YOU HAVE TO DO IT??

HIS VOICE IS ALL CRACKED AND HOARSE AND HE'S CRYING 

I WANT TO WRAP HIM UP IN BLANKETS AND COZY THINGS AND PROTECT HIM FROM ALL THE BAD THINGS IN THE WORLD

jl collapses to his knees and my beautiful sunshine boy falls to his side and scoops him into his arms 

BC WWX LOVES HIS BRATTY NEPHEW AND GOD DAMN IT, JL DESERVES HUGS AND AFFECTION

oh jgy was about to touch jl's face and i was like DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE I WILL CUT THAT HAND OFF YOU

but then he pulled away bc i am very fearsome actually wwx was glaring at him 

and ofc jgy can't have people being sympathetic to anyone NOT him so he's like, what about me, huh? you never ask why I personally had to suffer!

Cue another flashback in which JGS IS A FUCKING DOUCHEBAG 

I HOPE HE ROTS IN ANCIENT FANTASY CHINA HELL

HALF OF THE PROBLEMS WERE A RESULT OF HIM NOT BEING ABLE TO KEEP IT IN HIS FUCKING PANTS

ROBES

WHATEVER

ugh i hate jgy too

he's essentially telling jin ling that oh, i killed your father bc your grandfather was scum of the earth

AS IF JZX AND JL DESERVED TO SUFFER FOR JGS'S SINS

FUCK YOU JGY

suddenly jgy takes my bratty son hostage!!

wwx shouts "JIN LING" as he jerks towards his only nephew

BUT IT'S TOO LATE, jgy already has that garrote AROUND JL'S NECK

WIPE THAT SMUG SMIRK OFF YOUR FACE SU SHE

I WILL END YOU

god i need to stop threatening people, i have no ability to back it up

lol jc is like WWX YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO TAKE ALL HIS WEAPONS AWAY!!

and wwx is like I DID! 

siblings always find time to bicker, even in dire situations

lwj tells them that jgy hid the garrote inside his body 

bc lwj is smart and observant

but ewwww, the idea of yanking that gold string out of a vein squicks the hell out of me

yuckyuckyuck it makes my skin crawl

jgy tightens the string around my bratty son's neck and everyone freaks out, obvs 

oh jc loves his nephew so much! he's all like, if you need a hostage take me instead and leave jin ling alone!!

JC IS A GREAT UNCLE, JC LOVES HIS FAMILY SO MUCH, JC DESERVES TO RECONCILE WITH HIS BROTHER AND HAVE A LOVING HAPPY FAMILY

jgy is like, nah bc of Reasons

then my sunshine boy is like, hey aren't you forgetting smth jgy? what about your loyal lackey here?

but ss is an idiot and is like, don't worry about me boss!

and jgy is all, cool thx lackey

now lxc and jgy do some more chitchat i don't care about

suddenly there is ominous knocking on the doors AND A WILD LAN SIZHUI APPEARS!!!

He got chucked into the temple like the football lol

NOW WEN NING IS HERE! HE’S COVERED WITH RESENTFUL ENERGY, CARRYING BAXIA LIKE A BADASS

Dude, for real, wn looks so cool here

letting the tip of the saber scrape ominously against the stone ground and walking with slow measured steps

and baxia is freaking glowing

nhs calls him "brother" but i'm pretty sure he knows it's not nmj and just said it to freak jgy out

wwx ofc recognizes wen ning

AHHHHHH WWX IS DOING HIS EERIE WHISTLE AGAIN, I LOVE IT WHEN HE DOES THAT

SO COOL, WWX, SO COOL!!

his brow is all furrowed when he sees wn is not reacting and he starts to whistle more earnestly

wwx: what's happening? why is wn not listening to me? could it be...?

cut to lwj, looking all serious bc hey, this is actually a serious situation 

lwj: he is possessed by the blade spirit

wn roars and vaults over the distance between him and jgy with baxia raised high and it looks freaking AWESOME

lol we get a quick shot here of nhs panicking and ducking behind su she

jgy lets go of the gold string around jl's neck to flee from wn which gives wwx an opening

Wwx dives forward and wraps himself around jin ling

Then he twirls them to the side away from incoming baxia and crashes them both to the ground where they're safe

as this is happening, lwj sees his opening and draws bichen

we get a quick moment where wwx and jc are both fussing over jl, it’s super sweet!

AND THEN WE GET A SHOT OF JGY'S DISEMBODIED ARM 

THE CAMERA STARTS TO TILT UPWARDS 

WE SEE THE HEM OF LWJ'S PRISTINE WHITE ROBES FRAMED BY BICHEN 

BICHEN HAS RIVULETS OF BLOOD STREAMING DOWN THE BLADE

THE CAMERA CONTINUES TO TILT UPWARD UNTIL WE SEE LWJ STANDING TALL, FACE GRIM AND SERIOUS AND JUST OVERALL HOLDING HIMSELF IN AN IMPOSING BADASS WAY

wwx is looking at him like HOLY SHIT LWJ

Which is a totally reasonable reaction bc holy shit lwj

HA, now jgy only has one arm

I may not be able to follow up on my threats but it is gratifying to see lwj follow through for me lololol

gross, ss is all begging for medicine to help jgy

stfu ss, nobody likes either of you two

wn's blow struck the ground and cracked it before so now he's back up doing his steady creepy walk to finish what he was going to do

lwj's brow furrows and he sits himself down, cross-legged and summons his guqin

lol i love how he summons his instrument tbh

he just wooshes his flowy sleeves and his guqin glitters into existence

it looks very Magical Girl and i appreciate that

someone needs to draw lwj in a Magical Girl outfit IMMEDIATELY

lxc gets his flute out and our lan bros do a duet to chill out the angry sword spirit

LOL WEN NING JUST STEPS ON JGY'S CHOPPED OFF ARM

DO IT AGAIN WN 😆😆😆

let me just say, i'm really enjoying watching jgy and ss cower away from the oncoming wen ning

but oh noo! jl calls out for his evil uncle and draws wn's attention and wn tries to attack him

i guess baxia senses jgy's blood on jl's robes or smth? Idk, doesn’t matter

wwx tries to do some sort of spell to stop wn but it doesn't work and in a fit of panic he yells out “WEN QIONGLIN!”

thankfully this snaps wn out of it enough that he stops baxia like, one inch from my bratty son's face

the lan bros are still doing their Magic Music thing and wn is trying to reign in baxia but baxia's pissed off so everyone’s struggling 

wwx starts his whistling again and it's rattling Plot Device 3

lxc tries to stop wwx but lwj shakes his head at his brother like no, back off

wwx turns to look at lwj, lwj meets his eyes and gives him a single solemn nod

AND WWX SMILES AT HIM BC HIS SOULMATE BELIEVES IN HIS ABILITIES AND TRUSTS HIM!!!

this is the first legit proper wangxiantic moment in the whole episode, what the heck

GIVE ME MORE WANGXIAN AND LESS JGY, PLZ & THX

jc: wei wuxian!!

wwx turns to see his brother and jc FLINGS THE DEMON FLUTE AT WWX bc apparently he's been carrying chenqing around THIS WHOLE TIME??

wwx nods to him (and omg jc is helping him, this is good, this is a step in the right direction!!) and brings chenqing to his lips

we get a shot of lwj staring at wwx as wwx starts to play 

and the background music starts to get SUPER INTENSE and EXCITING as wwx plays

CHENQING STARTS TO OOZE THAT SMOKY RESENTFUL MAGIC STUFF

we get a shot of JC watching wwx play and this is the softest we've seen him look at his brother since he came back from the dead

he's looking at him like it's finally hitting him that wwx is back, his big brother is alive and here and protecting him and jin ling bc that's what family is supposed to do

AND IF I CAN’T HAVE WANGXIANTICS, I WILL ACCEPT YUNMENG BROS TIME AS RECOMPENSE

oooh, Plot Device 3 starts to zoom around and we get a fun bit of camera work so it seems like we're seeing everything from Plot Device 3's perspective

which is kind of adorable for some reason???

it's just zipping along and it sees wwx and wwx guides its attention to where wn is struggling to control baxia

wwx starts to walk, getting both baxia and Plot Device 3 to follow him further into the temple

lwj sees this happening and whooshes away his guqin and follows bc he's always going to follow wwx obvs

WWX IS SO AWESOME, I LOVE WATCHING HIM WORK

EVERYBODY IS STARING AT HIM IN AWE AS THEY SHOULD BE BC MY SUNSHINE BOY IS SKILLED AS HECK

he manages to get baxia into the coffin with nmj before he starts coughing up blood 

But before we can freak out about that, nhs scream in the background 

so everyone runs to check out what's happening there

nhs is all SS WHY'D YOU TRY TO KILL ME OMG MY LEG IS ALL CUT UP NOW, EVERYTHING IS AWFUL, HELP HELP

and ss is like BUT I DIDN'T, HE'S LYING!!!

lol baxia just leaps out of the coffin buries itself in ss's chest

AND THAT’S IT FOR SU SHE

good fucking riddance

But also baxia is nmj's saber

DID IT HEAR NHS AND BE LIKE, NO I CAN'T LET MY MASTER'S BELOVED LITTLE BROTHER GET HURT BY THIS USELESS NOBODY???

BAXIAAAAAA

WHAT A GOOD SABER YOU ARE *CRIES*

wwx starts up his demon flute again even tho baxia seems much more chill now that it has finally killed someone 

But let's watch wwx be a badass on the flute anyway

look at my sunshine boy go! 

look at him corral all that resentful energy!

love my sunshine boy

baxia is finally subdued and wwx lays it and Plot Device 3 in the coffin with nmj

he covers the coffin using some of his wicked awesome red magic stuff

but it's taking a lot out of him i guess bc he stumbles back and lwj is right there to catch him 

bc they're soulmates and they love each other 

aND GOD THE WAY THEY LOOK AT EACH OTHER HERE

JUST, UGH

EVERY TIME THEY LOOK AT EACH OTHER MY HEART GETS PALPITATIONS

And this is the only other wangxiantic moment in this episode, wtf show

cut to the next scene, everyone's patching up wounds and whatever

lol we can hear nhs whining like a baby bc omg it hurts it hurts, lxc be more gentle

and lxc is like, chill bro it's just a stab wound

nhs is like JUST a stab wound?? r u kidding me, i'm DYING!!

Which is exactly how i would react to a stab wound lol

now lxc is with jgy and he's like jgy if you do ONE more bad thing, i will definitely finally punish you mercilessly

then he starts checking out his armless shoulder bc lxc really is too good and not all that bright apparently

lol when wwx sees lxc tending to jgy's wounds and his face is like ugh i can't believe this guy

AND THIS IS WHEN WE GET THAT AMAZING AWESOME SHOT OF NHS'S FACE GOING ALL SERIOUS AND, LIKE, VENOMOUS

WE ONLY SEE PART OF HIS FACE, THE OTHER PART COVERED BY LXC'S OUT OF FOCUS FACE

AND NHS GLOWERS AT JGY

oh, my poor sunshine boy is wincing and holding a cloth to his STILL SLUGGISHLY BLEEDING NECK WOUND

SOMEBODY GIVE MY SUNSHINE BOY MEDICINE 

TAKE WHATEVER LXC GAVE TO JGY AND GIVE IT TO MY SUNSHINE BOY STAT

lsz is watching him very intently bc he's figuring out some things about himself and wwx that LWJ DIDN'T HAVE THE GOOD GRACE TO EXPLAIN TO EITHER OF THEM YET

lwj ofc has got his eyes glued on wwx bc, i mean, what else is there worth looking at in the Temple of Doom?

And i guess this counts as a wangxiantic too bc lsz is basically wangxian’s love child anyway!

lxc has the gall to ask nhs to hand him the medicine bottle to tend to FUCKING JGY'S (AKA HIS BIG BROTHER’S MURDERER) WOUNDS

GOD JUST LET JGY BLEED OUT AND DIE ALREADY

nhs is like sure! grabs the medicine bottle and hides it in his robes 

he makes a whole show out of rooting around in his robes to ‘find’ it and lxc goes to him to grab it or whatever so his back is turned to jgy

AND NHS, THAT CLEVER CLEVER BOY, USES THIS CHANCE

he makes a show of looking over lxc's shoulder and shouts LXC LOOK OUT!!

lxc grabs his sword and whirls around and stabs it right into jgy

and nhs is all stuttery and nervously saying how omg he saw jgy reach behind him and he thought he was gonna do something awful so he panicked

Then jgy finally sees nhs AND THAT'S WHERE THE EPISODE ENDS

So another episode with way too much plot stuff, yuck

I mean, we only got 3 actual wangxian moments?? 

What is that about, huh? THAT’S NOT EVERY GAY RIGHTS OF YOU, SHOW!

The next episode is THE LAST and we’re definitely getting wangxiantics there and i will definitely cry about it

Return to Masterpost

[satonthelotuspier]

🐰 Untamed Spring Fest 2020 🐰

Day 1 - April Fools - 1.2k

Lets open with some soft LWJ and A-Yuan feels from the Jiang Family AU. Added Wangxian for flavouring ofc.

A-Yuan’s April Fools

A-Yuan had a particularly happy smile on his face that morning at breakfast, so much so that Lan Wangji felt a small curl of answering smile touch his mouth.

“What is A-Yuan thinking about this morning?” he asked gently, and A-Yuan looked up with a wide-eyed gaze, like a cat who had been caught with it’s face in the milk.

“Nothing, baba” he said innocently, which was a sure sign he was planning something.

Lan Wangji wasn't particularly concerned though, A-Yuan was generally such a good boy his plans were never a thing to worry about. The only time he caused any problems was when he got overexcited, and acted without thinking, usually when it concerned Jin Ling, his cousin, who he doted on. And they weren’t bad problems to have, in Lan Wangji’s opinion.

His own upbringing had been quite strict, although he knew their Shufu had done the best he could for his two nephews, but he was glad his own son was allowed the freedom to be a child, and make silly choices and mistakes sometimes, in a supportive yet safe environment.

“Baba, am I still going to Jingyi’s tonight after school?”

“Yes, it’s all arranged, Jingyi's parents will pick you up from school, and we’ll come to collect you at seven. Be a good boy” Jingyi’s parent’s were distant relatives of Lan Qiren’s, and therefore Lan Wangji’s. It had been a coincidence that had re-sparked their acquaintance that their sons were both in the same school and age group.

“Of course, baba. Extra good” he pushed his chair back and took his crockery to the sink as he finished his breakfast, then dashed away, coming back a few minutes later with Lan Wangji’s briefcase and his own book bag, ready to leave.

A-Yuan chatted excitedly on the way to school about the Lego sets Lan Jingyi had promised to show him, and that they were going to build together. He did pause briefly as they pulled up to unbuckle himself and lean over to press a kiss against Lan Wangji’s cheek, before he dashed out of the car and over to where Jin Ling was waiting for him. Once Lan Wangji had ensured they were in school safely he went on to the bank.

***

He joined Lan Xichen in the conference room. His brother threw him a smile that he probably thought looked the same as ever, but Lan Wangji noted with quiet concern how his smiles had stopped reaching his eyes recently. Lan Xichen had been worrying a pen between his fingers but he placed it down on the highly polished surface as he saw Lan Wangji look at it.

“Did A-Yuan and A-Ling like the dinosaur books?” he asked, summoning the first genuine smile Lan Wangji had seen on his face in a while.

“Yes, thank you, brother. They spent all weekend on video call swapping facts about their favourites”

Lan Xichen was aware that A-Yuan, and his cousin Jin Ling’s new obsession was dinosaurs, therefore when he’d seen the books in the airport bookshop on the way back from Shanghai he hadn’t been able to resist buying copies for both of them. Although Lan Xichen had never met A-Ling he all but treated him like another nephew, knowing how close the two boys were and how similar their interests were, and therefore when he bought things like that for A-Yuan, an extra copy was also provided for A-Ling.

Jiang Yanli, Lan Wangji’s sister-in-law and A-Ling’s mother was almost turning feral trying to get Lan Wangji to convince his brother to come to dinner so they could thank him for his kindness.

That was just how Lan Xichen was though, thoughtful and kind.

Lan Wangji was beginning to hope he wasn’t being too kind for his own good in his own private life, however.

They were joined soon after by the rest of the board, and Lan Qiren began the meeting.

He pulled his papers out of his case and began sorting through them. He noted the thick drawing paper in the midst of them, and pulled it out, trying to keep it from the view of everyone else at the table.

It was written in A-Yuan’s studious yet still childish script.

Baba,

I was going to play an April Fools prank on you, but the papers you have for your meeting look so boring. So I cheered them up for you instead. Don’t fall asleep!

Love

A-Yuan.

He shuffled a little further into the pack to find his report on quarter 3 investment forecasts had many little rabbits drawn on in all the available white space, in shades white, black, brown and all colours between.

Actually A-Yuan was showing a lot of promise in his art, not that he wasn’t diligent in all his studies, but their baby was going to be artistically gifted, like Wei Wuxian.

He was also ridiculously kind and thoughtful, like his uncle Xichen, and there was a moment where Lan Wangji had to actually blink away tears at how soft it made him feel.

After a few moments he glanced up as he heard his name mentioned.

“Is that the Quarter 3 report?” Lan Qiren questioned and reached out a hand for it. It had been emailed out to all board members but Lan Qiren was very traditional and liked paper in his hand.

“I’m sorry uncle, this copy is annotated” Lan Xichen, who hated to sit down whilst presenting, had come to pass behind Lan Wangji in time to see what A-Yuan had sent for his father. “Give me a minute and we’ll get you a fresh copy” he sent a message from his tablet, and walked on, squeezing Wangji’s shoulder as he moved away.

The clean report appeared in minutes, and Lan Wangji gave his presentation, his copy with the bunnies his son had drawn for him, in what had started as an April Fool’s trick, safely tucked away in his briefcase.

***

Lan Wangji arrived home early that evening, just as Wei Ying came out of his studio.

He had been working with charcoal today as evidenced by the dark smear on his cheekbone. He also had a long, sugar-coated jelly hanging from his mouth.

“A-Yuan pranked you too?” Lan Wangji queried as he moved over to wrap his husband up in a tight hug.

“Mn” Wei Ying agreed, stealing Lan Wangji’s affirmative sound, “Sour jelly worms, want a bite?”

Actually no, Lan Wangji didn’t, but it was a very easy way to steal a kiss from his husband, who wouldn’t expect him to brave the sweet.

He liked keeping Wei Ying on his toes sometimes, though, as the other found it far too easy to do that to Lan Wangji as part of his natural disposition.

Lan Wangji took a bite of the jelly, then pressed his lips against Wei Ying’s, now unprotected by the candy, in a kiss Wei Ying definitely hadn’t anticipated.

After a few seconds of surprise Lan Wangji felt the mouth under his shape a delighted smile, then he was being kissed back in earnest as Wei Ying’s arms wrapped tightly around his neck, the citric taste of the sour coating on both their tongues.

[whyamistillwatchingtheseshows]

There is a song called Warrior by Beth Crowley and it’s increasingly becoming my favorite WangXian song even over A Thousand Years by Christina Perri. Warrior really captures that soulmate feeling, if not encompassing that inner turmoil Lan Zhan put up with 13-16 years. We all know that Lan Zhan is a warrior. There’s no doubt about it and while listening to this song it’s completely from his POV, except when we get to the chorus because that’s when it becomes synonymous. It becomes one or like a bridge between a past life and a new life. 

Verse 1

You fascinated me

Cloaked in shadows and secrecy

The beauty of a broken angel

Yes, so LZ is an angel too. We witnessed that through everyone’s gawking eyes at the entrance of his home, but then we see this man on the rooftop, breaking the rules. Tipping everything on its axis even more than NH’s tricks. Everything changes with the draw of a sword from the other pissed off angel. 

I ventured carefully

Afraid of what you thought I'd be

But pretty soon I was entangled

After the discovery and promise they made in the ice cave, Lan Zhan had to face the inevitable. He got roped into his games, in fact, starting some of those fights, and soon enough he was pining. He was falling in love and boy did that realization sink in as if he were smacked with bricks.

You take me by the hand

I question who I am

Basically, we zoom ahead in this war. Lan Zhan has always been questioning the moment he met Wei Ying. His feelings were already well out of hand, his doubts too...and either WWX was an oblivious idiot or a clever one who toyed with them...what’s the name of the song, Lan Zhan? WangXian. LZ will never know until later if WWX was ever aware of the name. But wait...we’re still in the past life...

Chorus

Teach me how to fight

I'll show you how to win

They’re equally matched, since they met. LZ’s big bro even takes pleasure in this. Someone his little bro can befriend, if not more the oh wise one already can see...but I venture to say this is what they taught each other though, a skilled partnership, a practiced dance, think of when they fought the Dancing Fairy, Turtle Cave, or even at the end when WWX made himself bait…

You're my mortal flaw

And I'm your fatal sin

Let me feel the sting

The pain

The burn

Under my skin

Put me to the test [WWX is and always will be LZ test. He can’t help it whether he gets punished for any of it later on...but that doesn’t matter. WWX has been missing 3 months.]

I'll prove that I'm strong

Won't let myself believe

Oh, no. He’s devolving. Oh no, I want this to be him, because I want him found. I want him safe. This devastation... This darkness that shrouds them as they get closer to whoever is taking out the Wen Clan posts. It can’t be. Oh, no, it is my love. He’s changing. I can feel it. Has everything changed? Well, at first he turned me away...

That what we feel is wrong

I finally see what

You knew was inside me

All along

That behind this soft exterior

Lies a warrior 

Truthfully he looks like a martyr and we do know in the live action there was second flute, but heaven knows if he just let LZ work the magic early on with calming music...or if everyone hadn’t been shunning him or if maybe he made different choices too...I’m all alone, who cares if I make this decision. How wrong you are implicit warrior....because there was one who wanted to keep a hold of the thread...

My memory refused

To separate the lies from truth

And search the past

My mind created

I kept on pushing through

Standing resolute with you

After this selfish move on his lover’s part, LWJ takes a stand at Burial Mounds and so...

In equal measure

Loved and hated

You take me by the hand

I'm seeing who I am

Chorus Repeat (Teach me how fight....I’ll show you how to win...)

Last Verse (New Beginning) 

 The pictures come to life

Wake in the dead of night

Open my eyes

I must be dreaming

Clutch my pillow tight

Think how many nights he played Inquiry before Sword Ghost/Wei Ying’s resurrection was put into action giving him bittersweet hope...

Brace myself for the fight

I've heard that seeing

Is believing

Now, you must go listen to the song. If I’ve biased your opinion hopefully it is for the best, because this song just screams SOULMATES, that whole we’ve become ONE, but not without fighting, not without TEACHING one another, always together as one...as

WARRIORS in love. 

[midshipmank]

i wanted LWJ with a motorcycle & somehow ended up with this librarian!LWJ & art student!WWX au

LWJ is a librarian at a public library 

WWX met LWJ when he returned some books 3 months late

LWJ looked at him all judgy like “these are 3 months late,” & WWX promptly became obsessed 

WWX is now a much more responsible library user, mostly because he’s there all the time

but listen he’s not great at focusing in the library, that’s why he doesn’t even use the one on campus. so now he’s his usual amount of restless + distracted by LWJ

trying to figure out how to make a move 

meanwhile LWJ is just like “do not throw crumpled pieces of paper through the air”

some of those crumpled pieces of paper are failed sketches of LWJ

one day WWX stays all the way to closing because LWJ PRETTY OKAY? also he has an art theory paper due pls don’t talk to him about it

so anyway he’s there when the library is closing & LWJ is like “leave”

so he goes :((( but he’s so late LWJ practically follows him out 

which 

is when WWX discovers that that pretty white & blue motorcycle that’s always parked out front?

that’s Lan Wangji’s 

he absolutely loses his mind

all of his friends know about his ridiculous librarian crush by now & they all make fun of him for it

but anyway, the poor boy has it bad

he’s like “A-Cheng, you don’t understand, he could step on me & i’d thank him. actually i think i need him to step on me.” 

JC is like “i did Not want to know that”

meanwhile WWX is bemoaning the fact that he ever became a responsible library user

“how am i supposed to interact with him. i can’t return books late anymore bc i’m always there! what would my excuse be? & he’s already explained how to use their database to me 3 times, i can’t keep looking this dumb” 

JYL is very gently like “maybe just ask him out?” 

“but he doesn’t like me! i committed library crimes! i have to get him to like me first!”

then WWX sees a flyer in the lobby asking for volunteers. there’s gonna be an event in the kids section! for some special reading day! who tf knows, WWX doesn’t care, the point is, he’s good with kids. that would probably be appealing to LWJ. right? right? WWX really doesn’t know. LWJ is so hard to read. on the one hand, he’s the most tight-laced & responsible person WWX has ever met. on the other, he has a very sexy motorcycle. WWX doesn’t know what to do with that

but okay he has a plan

he calls up WQ & goes “can i borrow A-Yuan”

he already babysits A-Yuan every week, so it’s not that weird right?

WQ is like “i stg WWX if you are going to use A-Yuan to attract hot guys like in that movie with the people who love dogs....”

& WWX is like “i would never use A-Yuan like a dog! WQ do you even know me!” 

he gets A-Yuan, barely

anyway, he gets to the library ready to read to a bunch of kids & gets side-eyed by a lot of parents, but he still has fun!!

LWJ is, unfortunately, not the librarian supervising the event, but he is reshelving when WWX is off reading duty & A-Yuan gets the zoomies

ie, zooms right into LWJ’s legs

LWJ is, surprisingly, good with kids. WWX may need to marry him. he somehow manages not to make a complete fool of himself after this revelation

in fact, after this interaction, WWX thinks he may actually have scored some points with LWJ. he’s elated

he’s building all these elaborate future schemes in his head when suddenly he gets a call from Auntie Yu

she wants to know why his grade in his art theory class has plummeted. 

oh right. that class. that class that’s taught by that professor who hates him & that he honestly can’t understand a word of & honestly he hates art theory, he’s good at art, why does he have to take theory too? 

Auntie Yu lets him know in no uncertain terms that if he doesn’t improve his grades by the end of the semester, she will stop supporting him—it’s bad enough that they let him go to art school after he flunked out of his business degree anyway 

so—fuck. fuck. 

WWX throws himself into the redo paper he manages to beg off LQR. he has 3 days & he’s gonna make them count 

the first day goes well, if by well you mean that he raids the art section of the library & works himself until closing & tries desperately not to look like he’s dying in front of LWJ

day 2 goes........similarly, except he falls asleep at his desk & doesn’t wake up until LWJ tells him the library is closing, which? wtf? LWJ usually wakes him up when he falls asleep in the library. WWX has been asleep for hours. 

& also he looks like a wreck, which is not cute

he flees from the library only to find that the bus is going..... going......... gone

fuck. he doesn’t have a car. 

he’s staring down the road after the bus, trying to figure out which friend with a car is available for him to call when he hears someone say “Wei Ying?” behind him

it’s Lan Zhan.

how mortifying. 

he tries to laugh off his situation, but LWJ gets this set expression on his face & says, “i will give you a ride home” 

& WWX is like kinda definitely freaking out because this was not how his first ride on LWJ’s sexy motorcycle was supposed to go. WWX had a plan. he was supposed to be flirtatious & ask LWJ about his bike & then LWJ would offer to give WWX a ride & they’d go all around the scenic parts of the city & when they stopped WWX would be all flustered & breathless & he’d wobble getting off the bike & maybe fall into LWJ & maybe—

okay so his plan was more like a daydream, but at the very least, he wasn’t supposed to look like he’d spent the last 48hrs out of the sun, drinking unhealthy amounts of shitty coffee, wearing a ratty hoodie & art-grimed jeans. like, they’re not even grimey in a cute way

but LWJ is insistent & WWX is weak, so somehow he ends up on the back of the bike wearing LWJ’s helmet with LWJ telling him to hold on tight

he’s half-convinced he’s fallen asleep on the bus stop bench & is dreaming the whole thing

but soon enough, it’s over & they’re stopped outside of WWX’s shitty student accommodations

he gets off & is trying to awkwardly thank LWJ when LWJ says, “you’ve seemed upset these past 2 days”

“ahaha, yeah, i’m just writing a paper”

“for an art theory class?”

WWX is like ????? but then he remembers that LWJ knows what books he checks out 

“yeah. it’s a redo actually. professor Lan hates me.” he forces a laugh. why did he say that. being hated by a professor is not cute, especially not to sexy librarian LWJ. 

“my uncle has high expectations,” LWJ says. 

WWX brain short circuits. 

“your uncle???” shit shit shit Lan Qiren is LWJ’s uncle! LWJ’s uncle hates him! he has no chance now! 

“mn.” 

WWX wants to die

LWJ looks considering, then says, “it is my day off tomorrow. if you would like, i can help you with the paper.”

WWX is already the least cute, most pathetic version of himself he’s ever been in his life. he says yes. 

so they meet up at the library the next day & WWX apologizes profusely for making LWJ come into work when it’s his day off. he promises LWJ endless free coffee from the coffeeshop he works at (even if he has to pay for it himself—he doesn’t tell LWJ that part). 

LWJ is way too nice to him & also manages to explain this school of art theory in a way that?? sort of?? makes sense?? though not in a way that makes WWX like it. but LWJ seems neutral about it, so at least he’s not trying to get WWX to agree with it. 

but anyway, WWX manages to pull a passable paper together & in the process LWJ reveals that he’s noticed WWX sketching in the library a lot more than WWX realized, and that he likes WWX’s art. 

WWX is lightheaded

he stares at LWJ for a while & LWJ looks at him & says, “Wei Ying. you should be typing.” 

WWX gets the paper done by 5pm somehow. somehow! he sends it off to LQR with a groan of relief. he’s so tired his bones are aching, but he looks over at LWJ, art theory & citation king, who of course always looks perfect & beautiful, & goes, “i could kiss you.” 

instead of “i don’t know how i’m ever going to thank you for this,” which is what he thought he was gonna say

LWJ’s eyes widen slightly & his ears go red. WWX wants to smack himself in the face. he wants to eat his words. he wants to crawl into a cramped dark place like a disgusting little mole & never see the sun again.

then LWJ says, “have dinner with me first.” 

WWX gapes at him. LWJ looks back, ears still red but eyes steady. 

“okay,” WWX squeaks. 

they go to dinner. WWX still feels like trash, but they end up having a rousing discussion about art & WWX learns all about when LWJ studied art history in undergrad & how he actually doesn’t like the kind of theory his uncle teaches (“but you’re too good to ever tell him that,” WWX teases. “....most of the time.” WWX laughs in delight.) 

LWJ reveals that he brought an extra helmet today, in case WWX needed a ride again. WWX is embarrassed & pleased & wants to marry LWJ again. feeling foolish, he leans into LWJ flirtatiously & suggests they go for a ride—just for the view. LWJ looks at him so long his knees turn to jelly. then LWJ says, “mn.” 

they make out on some scenic ridge somewhere

the end! 

other things about this au:

WWX does digital painting mostly, his ideal job is illustration/comics; he has a instagram/patreon he uses for art commissions (some of which are pornographic—LWJ catches him sketching in the library one day, early in this tableau. it does not go well.) 

his instagram/patreon is mostly anonymous. it’s not that he minds people knowing he draws explicit stuff sometimes, it’s that he doesn’t want Auntie Yu to find out 

he draws LWJ a lot

not explicitly

(at least not until he’s got a life model and LWJ’s consent)

he’s not at the library 24/7. he has a coffeeshop job, classes, studio time for non-digital art, A-Yuan, and friends. but he’s at the library a lot.

this is undergrad for WWX, but he’s non-trad. he flunked out of a soul-sucking business degree in his first go at undergrad & was on pretty shaky ground with the Jiang family for a while. then he sold some of his art & Auntie Yu said they would support him through art school if it was the only thing he was good at. kinda stung, but at least he doesn’t have to pay tuition.

he’s desperate to prove he can make it as an artist

when anyone asks LWJ about his bike, he says he got it because it allows him to weave around traffic. yes, there’s more to it than that, but no he won’t go into it. (this entire au formed because i found out WYB rides motorcycles professionally & went, “wow that’s hot.” we have no thoughts here.) 

WWX did not have to try to make LWJ like him. LWJ liked him. & while WWX might not have gotten his ideal first bike ride, you better believe LWJ got his. he daydreams about scooping WWX onto his bike & riding off into the sunset

[angstymdzsthoughts]

follow-up to my three part ask about WWX marrying JC in the Divorce AU, tried to keep the first ask short but I wanted to add to it and got carried away, plus y'all wanted LWJ to suffer so enjoy this mess: it wasn't long after WWX left the Cloud Recesses that the elders arranged a marriage for LWJ to a young woman who was a perfect Lan bride, "It's good you came to your senses, now it's time you found a wife." they said, LWJ agreed, still telling himself he didn't regret his decision. (1/9)

he had heard of WWX moving on and marrying JC and thought he'd be fine with it, fine with seeing WWX again, LWJ fell out of love with him and WWX had moved on, LWJ did too. or at least he thought he did until he had to visit Lotus Pier for a discussion conference. seeing WWX in the purple robes of Yunmeng Jiang lit a flame in him he thought burnt out months ago, he looked so happy, so unbelievably happy by JC's side welcoming their visitors. LWJ couldn't help but feel jealous. (2/9)

WWX's smile faltered briefly when he caught sight of LWJ but as soon as he noticed LSZ and LJY trailing behind him it returned brighter then it was before, the thought of how much WWX must miss being with them passed through LWJ's mind, LSZ and LJY perked up as soon as they saw WWX, moving off to the side of the room to give LWJ space to speak to Sect Leader Jiang. WWX quickly followed them and said his goodbyes to JC and LWJ, leaving JC with a kiss. (3/9)

LWJ's heart hurt watching WWX kiss JC as tenderly as he once kissed him before excusing himself, purple robes fluttering behind him and a sultry smirk on his face as he left to talk with the juniors, his hand never leaving JC's shoulder until he got too far away, no doubt pleased with himself for riling him up. JC greeted LWJ courteously, giving him a polite salute, drawing LWJ's gaze back to him, drawing him into Sect matters almost as if to take his mind off of WWX. (4/9)

he hated himself for not being able to get over WWX, he divorced him for a reason didn't he? but seeing WWX again made the doubts resurface and he began to deeply regret his decision. as the day wore on he kept getting more and more anxious, thinking of how badly he messed up, until finally he invited WWX to talk privately so he could admit his wrongs. WWX, to his surprise, agreed and led him to a quiet room, letting LWJ sit down before he took his own seat. (5/9)

"Hanguang-jun, what did you want to speak with me about?", before WWX could react LWJ had already grabbed his arm, telling him how much he missed him and regretted his decision before pulling him into a deep kiss. quickly recovering from the shock WWX struggled until LWJ pulled back to give him air "Lan Zha.. Hanguang-jun, we may have been married once, but it isn't appropriate to for you to do those things anymore, I love Jiang Cheng, I've moved on so please, be happy with your wife". (6/9)

LWJ kept holding onto WWX's arm, his strength making the bones beneath crack under the tight grip, WWX tried to pry his hand off but met little success and turned to pleading for LWJ to let him go instead, but LWJ refused and begged WWX for a second chance. all LWJ saw was a flash of purple lighting before Zidian finally retaliated against him and sent him flying through the wall, intent on getting rid of the one attacking it's master before they could do more damage to him. (7/9)

LWJ laid there stunned from Zidian as JC and a group of disciples ran over to see what happened. JC rushed to WWX's side upon seeing his rattled state and checked him for injuries, finding the injury to his arm and evidently putting two and two together. LWJ visibly flinched when JC turned towards him with murderous rage in his eyes, leaving WWX to some Jiang disciples before stomping over to him, JC grabbed LWJ by the hair and pulled him up before punching him square in the face. (8/9)

"How dare you.. do you think that just because you were once married to him that you own him? That you can do whatever you want to him even now?!" JC shook LWJ by his grip on his hair, making the other man wince in pain "DO YOU?!" JC reared his arm back to punch LWJ again, only for WWX to grab ahold of it to restrain him. WWX hushed JC's angry protests with soothing words until he finally let go of LWJ, only then did WWX finally turn to LWJ "Please Hanguang-jun, just leave". (9/9)