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yamuyamswirl · 2 years ago

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ᵀʰᵉ ⁿᵘᵐᵇᵉʳᵉᵈ ʰᵉʳᵒ || ᵀʰᵉ ᴾʳᵒᵐⁱˢᵉᵈ ᴺᵉᵛᵉʳˡᵃⁿᵈ ˣ ᴿᵉᵃᵈᵉʳ ˣ ᴮᴺᴴᴬ

Chapter 1: 「121045」

"Hi" - speech

'Hi' - thoughts

Hi - sounds

-------------------------

October 10th 2045

tik...tok...tik...tok

DING! DING! DING!

...

"Everyone, wake up! Or you'll be late for breakfast!"

You let out a displeased sound as you slowly wake up. You open your eye a wink but ultimately roll over to try to escape from the blinding morning light. Suddenly you hear a giggle and feel a bunch of weight on top of you. You don't even have to open your eyes to know who it is. She does this every morning.

"Come on (Y/N)!! It's morning! Wake up!" Emma tells you as cheerfully as ever

"5 more minutes." You mumble as you try to push your twin sister off of you. You may be twins but you still don't understand how she has this much energy this early in the morning.

A few seconds pass after the redhead gets off you before you hear the familiar sound of bed sheets getting ripped away from you. You get hit with a blast of the cold air that your blankets were sheltering you from and you violently shiver.

"Hey! Give those back! It's really cold y'know!" You shout, now mad, as you leap up from bed to retrieve your sheets. You hear a few snickers coming from the other kids as this whole scene plays out.

Emma just gives you a mischievous smile as she tosses you your bed sheets.

"Why you little-" you growl at Emma but before you could finish telling her off some of the younger kids approach Emma for help.

You sigh knowing that there's no use getting back in bed as you're already up.

From there you get ready like usual, help a few of the younger kids with their buttons and shoelaces, and watch a lot of the other kids run around. You hear Gilda fuss at some other kids for messing around but you ignore them.

'Another day of the same old things' is all you can think as you make your way down the hall into the dining area, telling everyone good morning as you pass them.

You start walking over to the kitchen area as a bunch of hungry and energetic kids run into the dining area. You watch in amusement as Emma runs in with Phil in her arms. You let out a small laugh as Thoma and Lani run right into Emma.

"hehehehe... Watch out... I'm going to eat you!" Is the last thing you hear Emma yell as you turn to peek into the kitchen.

"Good morning, (Y/N)." Both Norman and Ray tell you simultaneously as you step fully into the kitchen.

You grab a few baskets of food after Norman and Ray had exited the kitchen and walk out to set them on the tables. You walk out as Ray is teasing Emma about the amount of energy she has. You weren't really paying much attention, as this happens almost every day. That's when Emma gets your attention by shouting

"Hey (Y/N)! What do you think!? Do I act like a 5 year old?!"

"Sometimes" you reply, holding in a laugh.

"Meanie!" Emma tells back

"See! Even (Y/N) agree with me!" Ray says

Emma just sticks out her tongue as mama laughs at our antics and asks Emma for help.

You hear Emma go and complain to mama but you ignore them and go help set up the table with Norman, who has the food cart.

...

ding-a-ling...ding-a-ling...ding-a-ling...ding-a-ling...ding-a-ling

"Good morning, my dear children. Let's give thanks that all 39 of you siblings are able to live here happily, today, too... Thank you for the food."

"Thank you for the food."

You eat breakfast happily talking with your sister and best friends. Although you were getting tired of your pristine life you'd never get tired of these happy moments you shared with the people you loved.

You look down the table and see Mama feeding Conny who was, like always, holding her stuffed rabbit, little bunny. You smile as you watch the two. Today was Conny's last day at the orphanage we lived at. It was sad knowing I might never see her cute little face ever again but I was glad she was happy on her last day.

'I hope she's this happy in the outside world with her new family' you think as you resume your conversation with Emma, Ray, and Norman.

...

"Age 11, type 1. Answer each question within nine seconds. We will now begin."

bzzzzz....

tik tik tik tik tik tik tik tik tik

BZZZZZZZ...

You let out a deep breath as you look over and see Gilda flop onto her testing machine.

"Well, I think I got at least half!" Thoma loudly and confidently exclaims

"That much? Wow!" Mark replies as he stands up

"I'm jealous. I didn't get most of it." Conny pipes in, still holding little bunny.

"Are you all ready for the results?" Mama asks

We all wait in anticipation for mama to continue

"Norman. Ray. Emma. (Y/N). You four did an amazing job. You got all of them right! Perfect scores!" Mama continues with a huge smile on her face

"Yaaaayy!" Emma yells, pumping her arms up in victory while all of the other kids let out a surprised noise.

I smile, proud of myself for not breaking my perfect score streak. I look over to Ray and Norman to see their reactions but like always they don't have a reaction at all.

"Those four are different, huh?" One kid says aloud. Many other grunt in agreement

"Norman is a genius who has the best brains. And Ray, an intellect who can compete against Norman's genius. Emma has amazing athletic skills, and her learning ability allows her to stay close to the other three. Then there's (Y/N) whos also athletic but (Y/N) is best known for their really quick learning ability and how they can almost always pick up on any subject just with one lesson." Another kid points out

All the others continue talking but I can only focus on Don who seemingly gets more aggravated with every comment made about us. This goes on for about another 30 seconds before Don snaps and yells "Norman! I challenge you to a game of tag!"

'There he goes again, challenging people to a game of tag.' I think while snickering at Don's sudden outburst.

Don just glares at me and I put up my hands in defense

...

Everybody runs off in different directions towards the woods that surround our home. we were playing tag with Norman being it and we only had about 30 seconds to get into the woods, away from Norman.

"Run, run!" Some kids yell, very cheerfully.

I run off with Emma planning to hide until we're the last ones who haven't been caught.

...

Kids around Emma and I were getting caught left, right, and center. Despite this Emma and I were able to remain hidden and become the last two in the game. That's when Emma and I decide to sprint off to a new location.

It was completely quite other the sounds of the forest and Emma's and my feet thumping against the soft grass as we ran. That's when I heard another pair of footsteps. I look over to the direction from which the noise is coming from and sure enough, it's Norman. I smirk and speed up. It seems Emma had the same idea.

'Great minds think alike' I think with a smirk before going back to concentrating on running.

Now with Emma and I in the lead and Norman trailing us, we were sprinting through the forest with intentions of winning this game.

Through the trees

Jump over the cliff

By the stairs

Over the stream

Up into the giant tree

Yep. Into the giant tree. That's where Emma and I had hid. Norman was below us looking around for any signs of our presence. That's when Norman takes a step forwards and trips over a rock, slamming face first into the ground. Emma and I both make a sound of shock and we quickly jump down from the tree and rush to Norman's side.

"Norman!" Emma and I both call out in concern

That's when Norman looks up at us two and with a smile says

"I was pretending."

I let out a relieved breath I didn't even know I was holding

"No fair! I was worried about you!" Emma yells back with a face of anger, shock, and relief.

"I'm just glad you're okay. You gave me a heart attack. That looked like a pretty rough fall." I say with my hand on my heart feeling my accelerated heartbeat.

Norman gives me an apologetic look before telling Emma

"Emma, your weakness is that you're nice."

After that he tags Emma and turns to me and says

"And (Y/N), you too. You're too nice for your own good sometimes."

I give him a fake pouty face as he tags me and shakes his head smiling at my pathetic attempt to make him feel bad.

...

thump thump thump thump

Emma bangs her fist on the ground as she complains about losing.

"He caught me again! Why? So frustrating!"

Emma gives one final hard punch to the ground before deflating onto the grass.

I'm laying on top of Emma, reading a book Ray lent me, mostly ignoring my sister's whining.

"Question." Ray states blatantly, successfully getting everyone's attention.

"What does Norman have that you don't?" Ray continues

"Hmmmm.... The ability to plan ahead? Calmness? Overwhelming intelligence?" Emma replies, confused.

"Maturity." I pipe in

"Hey!" Emma exclaims while reaching back to flick me.

Heh...

Ray rolls his eyes and Norman just smiles like usual

"Strategy." Ray again blatantly states.

"If it's about simple physical ability, you and (Y/N) have the upper hand."

Ray continues explaining while he closes and puts down his book

"But Norman is strong right here."

Ray points to his head indicating he's talking about the brain.

"Yeah... Like no other." I say, sighing knowing there's nobody as smart as Norman at the house.

Ray keeps talking.

"You're playing tag. It's a game where you compete with stragey."

"A simple game of tag?" Emma asks Ray

"It's like chess, but using your entire body." Ray replies

"Isn't that right, Norman?" Ray turns and ask Norman for confirmation.

"Yeah." Norman agrees

"But your a better tactician than me, Ray." Norman continues with

"You overestimate me." Ray replies slightly aggravated as he turned back to face Emma.

"Reading the enemy's moves, huh?" Emma and I say at the exact same time.

Emma and I look at each other before bursting out laughing. Ray just sighs and Norman joins in laughing.

"But we're not even close when it comes to Mom." Norman says after we all finish laughing

"That's true! We've never beaten her at chess." Emma points out, giggling at the end.

Norman and I let out a little snicker as Ray maintains his usual emotionless expression.

"NORMAN!" a voice, that I recognize as Don's, shouts

Ray jumps at the sudden noise but looks over at Don who's farther down the hill that the tree were sitting under is located on.

"I want a rematch! Next game, everyone will be "It" except you!" Don yells out loud for everyone to hear

I sit up, getting off of Emma, to look down at Don who is totally serious.

"Whoa!" Emma yells

'This sould be fun' I think putting on a close eyed smile

Norman sits up straighter seemingly ready to take on the challenge.

...

I'm searching for Norman in the woods with Emma, like always. I'm rarely ever not with Emma. Emma doesn't mind my clinginess though in fact, she love it.

Emma and I approach the low fence in the middle of the woods. We both come to a stop simply staring at it for a few seconds. Emma then taps my arm to get my attention. When I look up at her she's looking over at something. I looked past her and see Norman also staring at the fence like we were moments before. Norman looks over at us with a neutral expression and is met with our own neutral expressions. Emma approaches Norman and touches him on the shoulder. During this time not a word was exchanged and both Emma and Norman's faces stay the same. I just watched keeping my same expression seemingly in a trance. There's a few seconds of silence before

"You caught me." Norman says, as he starts to smile.

Norman and Emma turn their attention back to the fence as I ran over to their sides.

"You can't go there, no matter what." Emma says just repeating what mama always tells us

"Yeah, Mom is always telling us that." I say

"The gate and the fence deep in the first are dangerous." Norman adds as Emma approaches the fence with her hand stretched out in front of her

"That's obviously a lie." Ray suddenly butts in

I let out a loud surprised squeak when Ray speaks up.

"Pfffff...." Ray holds back laughing at my reaction.

I turn red from embarrassment and slight anger

I give Ray a glare but I quickly turn my attention to Norman as he speaks up.

"What do you mean?" Norman inquires

"Well just look at it... What part of this is dangerous? The fence is low, and I don't see anything threatening." Ray points out

"But if mom is telling us that" Emma protests back

"You really love mom, after all." Ray says rather quietly, looking away from us

I don't know why but that kind of set me off so I grab Emma's hand defensively and start to tell of Ray

"But everyone-" I shout

That's when another voice cuts in

"Hey! Are you sure you guys are playing tag?" Don says running over towards the four of us

Nat and Phil approach from behind as Gilda, Conny, and little bunny approach from the side.

"Oh, is the game over already?" Gilda asks as she walks over towards everybody else.

"We should call it a day. If we're late, Mom will be worried." Norman suggest

There's a comfortable silence for a few seconds before Don speaks up

"We'll eventually leave this place, huh?" He says looking around at the trees and plants

"This is an orphanage. Of course we'll leave eventually." Nat reminds Don

"Before we turn 12." Nat adds on

"You know what?" Gilda suddenly says, catching everyone's attention so she can continue to speak

"We don't receive letters from anyone." She continues with

"Letters?" Emma asks

"Gilda is right though." I say putting my hand on Emma's shoulder

"Yeah! After they leave the House, no one writes us." Gilda says mostly aimed at Emma

"I'm sure they're being considerate to their foster parents." Norman says trying to provide a reason for the absence of letters

"But we've all been together ever since we were born!" Don shoots back

"Even if we're not related by blood, we're truer siblings than most! Well expect Emma and (Y/N)" Don says, kind of upset. Although he mumbled that last part about Emma and I

"They must be having so much fun everyday that they've forgotten about the House." Gilda says, obviously jealous.

"Then that's fine, right? I'm happy for them." Emma replies

I notice Norman eyes soften as he smile at Emma

"I want to go outside, too!" Gilda yells, throwing a mini temper tantrum

"What would you do outside?" Nat asks Gilda as he leans in, closer to Gilda's face in a mocking type of way

"Isn't it obvious? Get. New. Clothes!" Gilda shouts back, getting closer to Nat's face with every pause

Nat obviously didn't expect her to react like that because he backs away when Gilda gets in his face

"Not again." Don says seemingly tired of hearing Gilda rant about clothes

"I mean, come on!" Gilda shouts at Don getting more aggravated

Don also didn't expect Gilda to react like that as Don takes a step back when Gilda snaps at him.

"We only have this one uniform!" Gilda yells, sticking out her arms to draw attention to everyone's plain uniform

"I read in books that the outside world has so many different types of clothes! I want to wear them all!" Gilda says with fascination and awe.

'What a complete 180 degree turn in her emotions' I think, slightly startled

"I want to eat delicious food." Nat says simply

"I want to go on a date with a cute girl." Don says

"Geez, that was rude." Gilda says fussing at Don

"Oh, that's not what I meant..." Don says slightly apologetically

"I WANT TO SEE A TRAIN" Phil shouts excitedly

"That's a good one!" Don tells Phil, happily

I go over and ruffle Phil's hair

"I agree! Trains are awesome." I tell Phil, my hand still on his head

Phil looks up and gives me a huge smile and my heart practically melts.

I've always loved the little kids. Anybody could tell you that. If im not with Emma I'm always with one of the younger orphans spending time with them.

"What about you, Norman?" Emma asks, turning towards him.

Everybody looks over at Norman curiously.

"I want to go to different places and see things I've never seen before." Norman replies with soft eyes and a kind-hearted smile.

I can't help but smile too. Both Norman and Emma have really contagious smiles. I move back towards Ray to give myself more space

"Good idea! And you, Ray?" Emma says, turning towards Ray now

"Once I get outside, well, I'd have to survive first." Ray says

I give him a suspicious glance but he ignores it. Ray acts all weird anytime one of our siblings gets adopted.

"Such a downer... I want to make a bunch of new friends!" I say excitedly

"Me too! I want to have more friends like little bunny!" Conny says, still clutching her favorite stuffed bunny

"What about you, Emma?" I ask my sister

"Me?" Emma asks caught off guard by the sudden attention put on her

"You want to ride a giraffe, right?" Ray says, recalling the time Emma, Norman, Ray, and I went down to the gate when we were six

"Did I say that?" Emma asks while chuckling

"Well... I don't really want to leave. I want to stay here forever!" Emma says halfway seriously

"Hey, that's kind of unfair." Don says

"But I'm so happy now. Right?" Emma says just as bubbly as always

"Happy, huh?" Ray mumbles

Nobody else seem to hear Ray but me. This time I give him a worried look

"Of course! Aren't you happy, Ray?" I ask him quietly so nobody else can here

"Huh?.. Oh, yeah." Ray says not showing any emotion

I give him one last weird, worried, glance before returning my focus back to the conversation that's taking place.

"...I'll never forget about everyone." Conny says finishing a sentence I didn't hear the first part of

Gilda nods as Conny continues telling everyone about her plans for when she gets outside

"When I leave the House, I want to become a mother like mom."

"And then, I'll never abandon any children." Conny says proudly

"You love mom very much, don't you?" Emma asks Conny

"Yeah!" Conny replies cheerfully giving everyone a big close eyes smile as a slight breeze comes through, her hair blowing softly with it

...

"I'm slow, and I wasn't as smart as everyone, but even after I leave, I'll do my best." Conny says in her cute outfit.

It was now nighttime and time for Conny to go meet her foster parents. I'm really going to miss Conny. I only knew her for six short years but like all the other young children I had grown quite close to her. She was a bright and wonderful child who always had something nice to say about everyone and always tried her hardest. Don't get me wrong though I'm very happy for her and I hope that she has just as much fun in the outside world.

"I have little bunny so I'll be okay." Conny continues as she hold little bunny close

"Conny..." Don says sadly, looking down at the ground

Conny gives Don a smile but that quickly fades as a bunch of emotions hit Conny and she starts to cry, which in turn makes me start to cry.

"I don't want to leave anymore. I want to stay here!" Conny says suddenly, crying even more

"Conny... Conny!" Don says starting tear up as well as Emma

Distant crying can be heard as the front door closes

..... Silence

...

click click click click

Emma and I are walking into the dining area to clean.

click click click click

"CONNY! You're kidding me!" Emma yells

I violently jump at the sudden loud noise and look over to Emma who is running over to the table closest to the wall on the side where the door to the kitchen is. That's when I notice little bunny sitting on the table.

'oh no! What about Conny? She'll need little bunny!' I think, panicked

"Conny's already gone!" I faintly hear Gilda say

Emma grabs little bunny and looks over at me and silently asks what we should do. I shake my head indicating that I also don't know what to do. Emma then looks over at Gilda and asks her.

"There's still time." Ray cuts in, answering Emma's question.

Everyone looks at Ray expectantly.

"From the window, I saw the lights on the gate were still on." Ray says, explaining himself

"Mom isn't back yet either, so I don't think Conny has left yet." Ray continues, further explaining himself

"Let's hurry, Emma, (Y/N)." Norman says without a seconds hesitation

"Okay." Emma and I both reply

...

Emma, Norman, and I are running to the gate to try and deliver little bunny to Conny before she leaves.

...

We pause right in front of that gate wondering if we should really go inside. It's against the rules after all.

"You can't go near there, no matter what." Emma says, repeating mom once again

"I know. Let's all get scolded together, later." Norman says, looking at us and giving us a reassuring smile.

...

We peak around the corner and see nothing.

"Conny?" Emma calls out cautiously and curiously

We all step inside to further search for the girl.

step step step step

It was odly quiet

drip

It was quite dirty

Step step step step

Every step echoed ominously

drip

Nobody is around

step step step step

Not a word has been spoken

Drip

No signs of Conny

step step step step

Everything was unnaturally still

Drip

Dimly lit

step step step step

Everything is giant

... Quiet

"Is this the truck that will take Conny?" Emma ask out loud finally breaking the silence

I shrug to myself, still looking around

"Actually, I've never seen a vehicle before." Emma continues curiously checking out the truck

Drip

"No one's here." Norman comments

"Maybe she'll find it if we leave it in the back" Emma say, pointing to the back of the vehicle

Norman and I continue looking around

thump

Norman and I pause and turn towards Emma to see what the noise was.

Emma lets out a scared noise as she backs away from the truck with a purely terrified face.

"Norman... (N/N)..." Emma says breathlessly

You were now extremely worried not only by the look on Emma's face but more by the fact that Emma had called you (N/N). Emma only calls you that when something's wrong or when she's teasing you. Even the dumbest person alive could tell that Emma was not joking meaning something was terribly wrong. So, you follow Norman over to the back of the truck. As you reached the back you were a shaky, sweaty mess. You didn't know what had frightened Emma so bad. Almost every possibly of what could be behind that curtain ran through your mind. Norman gulps and moves the certain to the side to peer into the back of the truck.

Drip

You definitely didn't expect to see what you did. Every possibly but that specific one ran through your head. You didn't want to believe what you were seeing. It was a nightmare. It had to be. Right?

Nope. Not a nightmare. Right there in front of me was Conny. Dead. She had been murdered. There was a fully bloomed Vida flower pierced right through her heart.

"Is someone there?" A deep voice suddenly spoke out.

Everybody jumps and jerks towards the direction of the mysterious voice.

"Hey, did you hear a voice just now?" The deep voice asked who was probably another person in the room they were in.

The door suddenly creaked open. Norman and I bolted behind the truck. Emma started to but quickly grabbed little bunny, who was still on the floor, and joined us behind the truck.

"Probably your imagination" another, more gruff, mysterious voice says.

We all are breathing heavily but silently out of fear. That's when we were able to hear footsteps coming from the door opposite to the one that just opened. If somebody came out of that door they'd be able to see us behind the truck so Norman, thinking quick on his feet, signaled for us to get under the truck. That's what we did.

"If it was a stray cat, I would have caught it and ate it." The first mysterious voice said.

I normally would have been extremely grossed out but I was too terrified to form any coherent thoughts.

"You eat things like cats?" The gruffer voice asks, not necessarily disgusted, but more curious and probably weirded-out.

Two giant shadows pass by the truck as Emma and I peak out slightly from underneath the truck to look at the people talking. The things the voices were coming from where definitely not human. What we saw were these giant demons that'll haunt me forever. These demons we're tall, bulky, and had masks on. They also wielded spears of some sort. Emma lets out a surprised, muffled, noise as she takes in the creatures in front of us. Norman also lets out a variation of the same noise Emma did. My breathing just quickens. Norman lets out terrified little whines and Emma covers her mouth with her hands, while shaking her head, as one of these creatures grabs Conny's pale, limp, dead, body. I'm violently shaking with tears in the corners of my eyes pushing back the urge to vomit. One of the creature, who I now know has sharp teeth, sticks out its tongue towards Conny like it was trying to eat her. The one with the deep voice lets out a sinister laugh while saying

"It looks so delicious. Human flesh is the best."

Emma looks over at Norman who moves back slightly and just simply says

"No..."

Then one of the creatures set down a giant tank in front of us. It had blue liquid in it that was bubbling. The creature then threw Conny's, now naked, body into the tank.

"Damn! Can't I at least have a fingertip?" The deep voice says teasingly.

"You idiot. It's valuable merchandise." The thing with the gruff voice tells the other.

"It's not something the likes of us can have." The gruffer voice continues

"All of the human flesh produced on this farm are high quality meat intended for the rich." Says the gruff voice continuing to explain why the other demon can't have a taste of Conny.

Emma shakily takes her hand off of her mouth.

"Where's mom?" Emma quietly asks Norman

Norman quickly shushes her.

Norman and I peek from under the truck again as another demon enters the picture and the tank with Conny in it is lifted up to be taken away.

"Is the Gunpa done?" A demon in a robe asks the other two demons

"Mostly done, sir." The creature with the deep voice replies

This is the first time I got a good look at the things. I tune out what the demons are staying to focus on studying the demons. There is one with a robe holding a stack of papers. The thing is extremely tall and has a mask on. The said mask is seemingly made out of bone or a material similar. There are two horns on the top and it has two eye holes one on top of the other. It has extremely skinny arms and long bony fingers with fingernails that could probably pierced through your skin easily. I didn't focus back into what the demons were saying until the robed one said

"Isabella"

"Yes." Mama says

Emma, Norman, and I, all look over, now more than horrified, to where mama is.

"Make the preparations to pluck these four with full scores." The robed demon said.

At that moment I didn't care that I was one of the next ones that was going to be "adopted". All I cared about was mama. Was she really with them? Was she forced to work for them? Did she know what was happening to all "adopted" kids? My mind was going a million different directions but I knew I had to listen to what was being said.

"Understood" mama replied

Judging by the way the robe demon said 'pluck' us with the full scores and Mom still said she understood I'm assuming she knows exactly what goes on. There's also the fact that she prohibited us from coming to the gate. If she didn't know we were being killed and just thought we were getting adopted she most likely wouldn't have a problem with us coming to the gate. Then again she might just not want us to see the demons. What really sold it for me though was the fact that Conny's dead body was still in the tank right in front of Mama and she didn't react. I however, didn't have any more time to think as Norman dragged Emma and I out from the gate. From there we ran. We wanted to get back to the house as soon as possible but about halfway there Emma collapsed and Norman and I stopped to take a breath.

"Emma!" Both Norman and I called out as she collapsed

All of us were breathing heavily but despite that I couldn't seem to get a lot of air into my lungs. I felt like I was suffocating. I fell to the ground on my butt.

'What the hell...

what the hell??

Is this a nightmare?

It... has to be.

This isn't real.

There's no way this can be real.

Mama wouldn't do this.

Everything was normal up until we reached the gate.

That's why I can't believe what my eyes showed me...!'

I, once again, suppress the urge to puke.

'Just yesterday... I told Conny I would always be there for her.

I told her I know what's best, and we'll be together forever

Then why... ?

Why would someone do this...?

How could I be this helpless?

What did I do wrong?

This is my fault-!'

My swarming thoughts keep telling me everything I could have done to prevent this.

'Screw the House.

Screw mama

I just...lost my dear little sister

Someone who grew up with me

She's gone forever now.

Nothing I can do can bring her back.

This isn't some game where I can reset and try something different.

We only have once chance.

Now I'll carry this feeling with me until I die.

Nothing in my life is worth than hers...

She was only six!

And now...

I can never take it back.

Never.

Never....'

My train of thought is cut short by Emma letting out an emotionally distressed scream that echoed all throughout this cage that I now realize we're living in.

...

"Welcome back. How did it go?" Ray asks us as we return

Norman tenses while Emma and I are silent in the background.

"We didn't make it." Norman says in a flat voice

As we walk up the stairs I look back at Ray. As always, he's not expressing any emotions despite our weird behavior.

...

"Were we raised just to be eaten by something?" Emma asks Norman, still crying.

"Let's escape, Emma. We have to leave this place." Norman says

"Don't worry we. can do it." he continues

"You, (Y/N), me, and Ray. If it's the four of us..." says Norman, already starting to make a plan

"No. We have to bring everyone." I add in

"It might be impossible" Emma starts

"But (Y/N) is right. I can't just leave them here. Otherwise they'll definitely get killed." Emma continues with

"I don't want any more of my family to die." My redhead sister says though sobs

"Emma..." I whine as a hug her from the side, burying my face into her shoulder

"It's not impossible." Norman states confidently while patting Emma on her other shoulder

Norman then slides down from the bed and sits on the ground with Emma and I.

"It'll be okay. Let's run away. Together, with everyone." Norman says, looking at us giving his best smile

"B-But how? How will us kids run away from those monsters?" Emma asks Norman, doubtful we have a chance of escaping

'......tag!' it hits me

"Tag!" I say suddenly

"It'll be like playing tag. We use stragey." I elaborate

Emma looks at me, surprised.

"That's right. We'll find a way for all of us to survive" Norman tells Emma and I

Emma nods and gives a grunt of understandment.

"Sounds like a plan" I mumbled as a faint feeling of hope bubbles up in my stomach

'We can do this'

...

-------------------------

BNHA should come in around chapter 4.

#bnha #bnha x reader #crossover #crossover fanfiction #mha fanfiction #fanfic #fanfiction #tpn #tpn x reader #tpn emma

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bakingtherapy · 7 days ago

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Genshin Inspired Recipes #4 Xiangling: Plum Pie

Hello, every birdie. Today, the character that we are going to be inspired by is Xiangling (Shaang-ling).

Xiangling - She is a Pyro Character from Liyue. She is a very experimental chef, who was taught by her dad, who owns Wanmin Restaurant in the town of Liyue. She has a partner and crime when she is fighting named Guoba. He is a little orange panada-like creature, who happens to be the God of the Stove and Patron God of the soil.

Today’s recipe that I am going to be making is a Plum pie inspired by Guoba.

The recipe and the measurements will be in the description down below.

The ingredients that you will need are:

2 Pie crusts (I personally like Betty Crocker)

Flour

Salt

Shortening

Ice water

2 quarts, - this recipe is using Italian prune plums. Which are smaller than the plums I had. So I decreased the number of plums.

Sugar

Corn starch

Cinnamon

Nutmeg

Salt

Egg wash or water

The first thing you want to do is put together your pie crust. And if you buy your pie crust at the store, you can skip this part. It is totally okay.

For the pie crust: mix together your flour and salt. Cut in your shortening, using a pastry blender or two forks you want your crust to look like a bowl of small peas. Once you have gotten this far, you are going to add your ice cold water 1 tablespoon at a time tossing it with a fork or by hand. Once you can pick up the dough and it does not stick to the sides it is done. Roll the crust into a disk-like shape, wrap it with plastic wrap, and then place it in the freezer until you are ready.

Now onto the pie: You are going to start by removing the pits from the plums and quartering them. Depending on the size of your plums. The recipe uses Italian prune plums, which are smaller than the plums that I have.

In a separate bowl, you are going to mix together all of your dry ingredients. Then add them to the plums and mix well.

Get you pie crust out of the freezer. And roll it out to the desired size you need.

After you get the bottom layer on, you are going to preheat your oven to 400℉.

Put your filling in the pie crust and place your top layer on.

For me I wanted to go with a cute little character from Genshin. And so I drew out what parts of the pie crust I needed. It was really helpful for me to do this, and it came out really cute.

I will tell you a secret that has helped me, and not many people would really like it. But, I spray the pie tin before I put the bottom crust on. It just helps get it out a lot easier, and I don’t have to stand there yelling at the pie. (I swear I don't have anger issues 😂😂)

If you want a rich golden brown crust, you can use an egg wash. You can get the same result if you use your leftover ice water. Grab a pastry brush and work it in. You don’t want it to be drenched. Just slightly wet.

Bake your pie for about 40-50 minutes. And you can enjoy it slightly warm, or cold.

Everyone loved this pie. Not only was it cute as heck. But it also tasted really good. I had some funny responses to this pie.

Mom: “You are asking me if I like it? I am almost done.”

Dad: “Can you make the filling for Thanksgiving? Next to the cranberry sauce?” (we did not end up having this pie filling for Thanksgiving that year. But maybe this year?)

I personally thought that it tasted like a sour patch kid, and I liked sour patch kids.

(This pie is so cute. I love it.)

I hope that you liked this recipe. Feel free to check it out in the description down below.

Thank you for liking and following. See you in the next recipe.

Show the original author some 💖💖💖 Cottage Chronicles Blog

Show the original pie crust, author, some 💖💖💖 Betty Crocker

Here is a printable version of this recipe: on the blog

Printable version of this pie crust recipe: on the blog

Please consider supporting me through the following options:

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robbybirdy · 2 years ago

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23. Baking on a Budget Ft. Genshin Characters: Xiangling - Plum Pie

Hello, every birdie. Today, the character that we are going to be inspired by is Xiangling (Shaang-ling).

Today’s recipe that I am going to be making is a Plum pie inspired by Guoba.

The recipe and the measurements will be in the description down below.

The ingredients that you will need are:

2 Pie crusts (I personally like Betty Crocker)

Flour

Salt

Shortening

Ice water

2 quarts, - this recipe is using Italian prune plums. Which are smaller than the plums I had. So I decreased the number of plums.

Sugar

Corn starch

Cinnamon

Nutmeg

Salt

Egg wash or water

The first thing you want to do is put together your pie crust. And if you buy your pie crust at the store, you can skip this part. It is totally okay.

In a separate bowl, you are going to mix together all of your dry ingredients. Then add them to the plums and mix well.

Get you pie crust out of the freezer. And roll it out to the desired size you need.

After you get the bottom layer on, you are going to preheat your oven to 400℉.

Put your filling in the pie crust and place your top layer on.

For me I wanted to go with a cute little character from Genshin. And so I drew out what parts of the pie crust I needed. It was really helpful for me to do this, and it came out really cut.

Bake your pie for about 40-50 minutes. And you can enjoy it slightly warm, or cold.

Everyone loved this pie. Not only was it cute as heck. But it also tasted really good. I had some funny responses to this pie.

Mom: “You are asking me if I like it? I am almost done.”

Dad: “Can you make the filling for Thanksgiving? Next to the cranberry sauce?”

I personally thought that it tasted like a sour patch kid, and I liked sour patch kids.

I definitely will make this pie/filling again. But for the purposes of this series, I am going to find different pie recipes. But I will most likely be making this filling for Thanksgiving.

I hope that you liked this recipe. Feel free to check it out in the description down below.

Thank you for liking and following. See you in the next recipe.

Pinterest: Here

Recipe: here

When one art form doesn't work for you, mix it up. I was having such a hard time with cake art, but pie art was easier. Don't ever give up. Art is art no matter your medium.

#ts3 #simblr #ts3 simblr #baking #baking therapy #recipe #food #Genshin Impact #genshin impact #Xianling #Gouba #gouba

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vrishchikawrites · 3 years ago

Note

There was an idea I had seen on crossdressingdeath's tumblr where JC & WWX were having an argument and then JC tells WWX that LWJ should've died in Xuanwu cave. WWX snaps at him by saying that he had wanted JZX to die as well to which JL overhears that and results in a fallout between the uncle and nephew.

I thought that idea was amazing and I needed to see it written.

(I hope crossdressingdeath or op don't mind me writing this. As always, this prompt goes in a little different direction)

"He should've died and saved all of us the trouble!"

Jin Ling stops and frowns at his Uncle's sharp words. Tentatively, he peers around the corner to see Jiujiu scowling at Wei Wuxian, his eyes flashing and posture stubborn.

And Wei Wuxian...

Jin Ling shivers, eyes going wide.

He has never seen Wei Wuxian angry. He didn't even know the man was capable of anger.

Jin Ling resists the urge to take a step back and run because Wei Wuxian looks ready to kill. His red-tinted gaze is focused on Jiujiu and his expression is almost cruel.

A sneering smile, teeth bared like a demon on the verge of devouring its meal.

"You know, Jiang Cheng, the way you talk about Lan Zhan makes one thing very clear. You've now switched to projecting your insecurities onto him." Jin Ling winces and his uncle snarls, "It would serve you better if you followed his example instead."

"You!-" Jiujiu steps forward threateningly, Zidian sparkling in response to his anger, "How dare you?!"

"How dare I?" Wei Wuxian's tongue goes razer sharp, "Unlike you, I don't stay silent when someone attacks the people I love."

Jiujiu seems to understand something from that because laughs coldly, "I never loved you! You were a bane since the very beginning!"

"Good to know!" Wei Wuxian snaps back, "Because that gives me the freedom to shove some hard truths down your throat." He takes a step forward and for the first time, Jin Ling sees ice-cold resolve on Wei Wuxian's face.

It looks remarkably like Hanguang-jun's expression.

"You forget Lan Zhan wasn't the only one I saved that day, Jiang Cheng. Where would Jin Ling be if I hadn't saved Jin Zixuan? Wen Chao ordered his men to kill both Lan Zhan and Jin Zixuan. Did you care for Shijie's heart at all?"

"Shijie would've moved on." Jiujiu snaps and Jin Ling grows cold, "She would've had children with someone -!"

"Jiang Wanyin!" Wei Wuxian sounds just as horrified as Jin Ling feels.

"You killed Jin Zixuan! You hated him before that. Don't act high and mighty now." Jiujiu says but Jin Ling is just numb. He knows his parents died under complicated circumstances.

While he isn't entirely comfortable with Wei Wuxian's role in their death, he has learned to move on. He hasn't forgiven the man, not entirely, but-

'You're a lot like your father, prickly and sensitive. You also have his heart. He was proud but he had a good heart.' Wei Wuxian had laughed, 'And there's your mother's kindness hidden there, too. You have her capacity for love. Her generosity of spirit.

You are good.'

Wei Wuxian had been the only one to say he was like his parents. Everyone said he was like Jiujiu.

To hear the same man casually dismiss his existence hurt.

"I fully acknowledge my part in it but you don't get to turn this around! Have you no care for Jin Ling?" Wei Wuxian demands, his voice is stern and concerned. "What are you doing, Jiang Cheng? I hope you haven't said anything like this to Jin Ling! That boy is your nephew!"

Jiujiu snarls, "Of course, I care about him! But what about my mother? My father? All the people who paid with their lives because you provoked and distracted the Wens! Are they less valuable than Jin Ling?"

"Jiang Cheng," Wei Wuxian breathes, "Mind your words, what are you saying?"

"I'm right!" Jiang Wanyin says and Jin Ling covers his mouth shakily, "Who cares if Jin Zixuan died then? Who cares if Lan Wangji died? What's so important about them that you were willing to risk it all? If you only had kept your head down-"

"You cruel, cowardly fool."

There's complete silence and Jin Ling swallows.

"The Wens would've attacked regardless. They wanted to setup a supervisory office. They did it already in Qinghe!" Wei Wuxian starts pacing, "Think. Think for once in your life! War was on the horizon and our response was 'let them come to us, we'll fight'. It was arrogance itself to presume we wouldn't fail. We should've prepared, we should have come up with backup plans or evacuation plans! Something. But we did nothing and we paid the price."

"You-!"

"Don't! I am ashamed of you!" Wei Wuxian's tone is sharp and grave, "It is good that we're no longer martial brothers."

Jin Ling sucks a sharp breath and watches as Wei Wuxian spins around and walks away.

"Jin Ling deserves much better than you."

Jin Ling is too shaken to react as Wei Wuxian rounds the corner and spots him. He just looks up blankly as the man's expression goes from cold disgust to horror.

"Jin Ling,"

He sounds heartbroken, somehow. Jin Ling looks beyond Wei Wuxian to see Jiang Wanyin. The man had followed Wei Wuxian to shout some more, he supposes.

He looks shocked and dismayed too. There's perhaps a touch of regret in his expression.

He doesn't care.

He stares at them wordlessly and Wei Wuxian crouches before him, placing both his hands on his shoulders, "Jin Ling- how much-?"

"I heard enough to know Jiujiu thinks I'm replaceable." He says, eerily calm.

"Don't be stupid," Jiang Wanyin says, "I didn't-"

"Just stop talking." Wei Wuxian interrupts, rubbing his hands down Jin Ling's arms comfortingly. "Jin Ling, what do you need?" He asks, raising his hands to cup his face, "How can I help?"

Jin Ling appreciates that his- his mother's shidi- doesn't ask any stupid questions or offer empty reassurance.

He appreciates that Wei Wuxian doesn't say, 'He didn't mean it,' or 'don't misunderstand.'

Jiang Wanyin absolutely meant it.

"Baba?"

They all look to see the Hanguang-jun and Lan Sizhui walking towards them. The younger Lan is clearly concerned. Even the Hanguang-jun seems a bit suspicious, glancing from Jin Ling's face to his husband's and then to Jiang Wanyin.

"Wei Ying?"

"A moment, xingan," Wei Wuxian studies Jin Ling, "What do you need, nephew?"

Jiang Wanyin hisses but Jin Ling grabs hold of that word and embraces it, holding it close to his soul.

He can choose to dismiss him. Or he can choose to reach for the hand that is offered in compassion.

"I need Jiujiu to leave." He takes a deep breath, "And I don't want to see him until I'm ready."

"Jin Ling!"

"Very well, Lan Zhan, can you drag Jiang Cheng away for me? He's being an absolute brat."

The Hanguang-jun doesn't hesitate and Jin Ling refuses to pay attention to Jiang Wanyin's protests. He just stares into compassionate silver eyes.

Eyes that haven't looked away for a single moment.

He takes a deep breath, absorbs all of that focus, and steps forward.

The scent of sandalwood incense envelopes him as his uncle hugs him back.

Even now, he isn't alone.

He needs to focus on that.

#short prompts #wei wuxian #jin ling #anti jiang cheng

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agendratum · 3 years ago

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ok so

as usual after finishing an arc of mdzs my head is full, many thoughts. so let’s talk about the guanyin temple confrontation.

first thing that i kept paying attention to were actually the changes made in order to turn it into live-action. so in cql they had to make the gray-gray characters, the “there are no good or bad guys, just people and their circumstances” characters (unless you’re jgs, than yeah you’re a bad guy and everyone agrees on that actually) into slightly more black and white characters. by the end of cql we are lured into this fake sense of security, “haha, we know who the bad guy is!” (then a year passes and here you are, now a jgy apologist), by the end of mdzs, you just know that, well, decisions were made, unfortunate decisions, by many different people.

cql had to make wwx into a bit nicer version of himself. the good protagonist couldn’t lose control and accidentally kill a bunch of people, and then kill another bunch of people fully willingly, cause his sister just died and that was the last connection he had to the idea that something still matters in this world. no, out protagonist should be... like a little bit nicer than that. so they lifted some of that responsibility for atrocities off him, but they couldn’t just evaporate it, could they? they had to put it somewhere. they put it on jgy. after all he’s the big bad in the end of the story, well, the only surviving person from all people that could be considered big bads, he’s the one that “did every terrible deed imaginable”. he could take that responsibility, they had to make his grayness into a slightly darker shade anyway.

i am actually kinda surprised by how different my reaction to jgy was in mdzs. obviously, there is a year difference between me watching cql and me reading this part of mdzs, and over that year i changed my opinion on jgy 5 thousand times and joined the camp “actually meng yao deserves all the best things in the world”, but anyway. when i was watching cql i was like, oh my god, can someone just kill him already, before he does something bad again, before more bullcrap comes out of his mouth, and also stop yelling at this kid about all the “valid” reasons to why you killed his dad. in mdzs my reaction to jgy’s confessions was like, “huh. he has a point”.

now don’t get me wrong there, some shitty things were done, but the thing is, the things he did really made sense from his point of view, from this position and life experience he really had no other way to go. i especially was convinced by his reasoning to why he couldn’t cancel his engagement with qin su. not only he would suffer from this story, because he already went through so much to make this marriage possible, but also qin su’s parents and herself would most likely suffer, their public image would be destroyed, only jgs wouldn’t lose anything. and you could feel the hatred and bitterness he felt towards his father talking about this, and everyone in the temple could agree with that, because he “just forgot he made another child”, he didn’t even notice.

another interesting detail for me was lxc saying, “it’s not that i didn’t know that you did some of these things, it’s that i thought you had a good reason for doing them”. so yeah, a reminder, lxc isn’t blind and he isn’t an idiot. he trusted a person he thought he knew better than anyone else, and he believed in this person. the problem, i think, is that “a good reason” is different for lxc and for jgy. lxc would understand a righteous reason, doing something for the greater good. working for wen ruohan? that was explainable. they all were fighting in a war, fighting for the better, brighter future, and meng yao’s contribution to that future was immeasurable. what if he killed some people there? he had a good reason in lxc’s eyes. but meng yao had other good reasons in his life, some of these reasons lxc never had to deal with in his life. survival, for example, is one of them. meng yao’s early years were very different from lxc’s. not to say that lxc’s life was easy, but it was never truly unstable. meng yao had to learn how to survive in a world where no one wanted him. he lived with one dream, promised to him by his mother, a future where he wouldn’t have to suffer anymore, where he wouldn’t have to smile at people he hated, please every one of their desires so they wouldn’t harm him. and then he entered this life promised to him and he still had to survive, but now in a luxurious man-eats-man world of lanling jin.

meng yao’s life really was this unstoppable ball of snow rolling down the mountain, and every decision he made just made the ball bigger and it would just roll faster. there is even a moment where jgy accuses lxc of being naive. lxc isn’t really naive, of course, it was said in the heat of the moment, but it is a fact that lxc was never kicked down a staircase, never had to crawl back up, and the thing is, at the bottom of the staircase, there are other good reasons to do things.

and in a way lxc understood that jgy in his position really didn’t have any other choices, he just couldn’t find peace in this mindset. he kept repeated through that part, “and yet, and yet, you shouldn’t have done that, you should have...” and he never said what exactly jgy should have done. because lxc doesn’t know. jgy doesn’t know. no one knows. what choices were better? how could he fix all that and still survive? in a way, lxc saying that reminded me of wangxian farewell in the burial mounds. when lwj asks, “you really indent to keep going like this?” and wwx, who wished, who longed for another solution, for some way out, asked him, “what else can i do? what method can i choose to resolve this, not use this technique and still protect people i want to protect?” and lwj didn’t have an answer. lxc didn’t have an answer either.

another amazing thing about guanyin temple confrontation, is that it’s very heavily wwx’s pov. most on the novel is his pov of course, but there were a loot of his thoughts in this arc. and he was rather understanding towards jgy. not in a way “i agree with every reasoning behind every decision you made” but in a way “i understand that you had your reasons, but all of them will become irrelevant really soon, they already are, because the crowd will only remember you as a son of a whore who did every terrible deed imaginable, and all the good deeds will be forgotten”

now his thoughts on nhs, or who he suspected nhs to be, were way less nice. especially compared to live action, nhs didn’t make such an impression on me as he made through wwx’s thought process in the end of guanyin temple arc. of course, wwx is no sect leader yao, he is not the one to jump to conclusions, he just noticed that if you put some facts together, they actually start making a lot of sense, and formed a full picture. but he didn’t have any proof, so he kept it mostly to himself. yet he still thought for a moment about nhs as someone who didn’t care about collateral damage that much, who was ready to sacrifice lives of juniors, sect leaders, anyone, if it would add to jgy’s kill count and make his fall and destruction even more disastrous. not that those are not the things that happened in live action, but you know, when wwx put it all together like that in one paragraph, i really felt it. like, oof, dude it’s ROUGH. and not even jgy’s death was enough, as nhs basically admitted to stealing meng shi’s body and planning to repay jgy for what he did to nmj’s body. yikes

i mean i still support nhs in everything he does, but yikes

also side note, glad that the dead cats situation finally became clear for me. this whole year i was so confused about who left all these dead cats for juniors to find. i thought maybe xue yang did?? to lure wwx?? so apparently it was also nhs. good to know.

another detail, probably the last one my brain can generate for now, that pained me a great deal was my poor child jin ling. i already cried about some things related to him and this arc, but there was another little one in the very end here, after jgy died. jin ling realised, that there were now three people, wwx, wn and jgy, his little uncle, that were responsible for his parents’ death. people he had every right and reason to hate. all three of them. and yet he couldn’t hate any of them. he couldn’t avenge his parents, that died so long ago he couldn’t remember them, because all three people responsible for what happened, had something, some reasons, some circumstances, that made them really not the bad guys in jin ling’s life. and they all cared about him, protected him. how could he hate them? how could he not? and in this way this poor child repeats, unfortunately, his uncle’s curse. to have someone he wants to hate so much but just simply can’t. it warms my heart at least that jin ling has a much better support system than jc had when he had to live through that experience. so there is hope.

#not rereading this #ok that's a lit i'll for sure reread this later #lie*#yana reads mdzs #and writes long long long metas #meta #the untamed

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westiec · 3 years ago

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June 20: Happy Father's Day!

Modern diaspora AU where they're all on vacation together? Something like that...

Read on ao3

"Oh, careful, A-Ling! Lan Zhan, can you—"

"I've got him." Lan Zhan carefully steadies Jin Ling's little arm to make sure his blueberries all make it to the top of his father's pancakes, rather than scattered all over the kitchen floor.

"Thank you Uncle!" Jin Ling chirps.

"Of course," Lan Zhan tells him. "Is your Baba's plate ready?"

"Mmmm, no! Whipped cream!" Jin Ling yells. When Lan Zhan meets Jiang Yanli's eyes, she's stifling a laugh.

He nods seriously. "How much?"

"LOTS!" Naturally. Lan Zhan duly applies a generous dollop of whipped cream. He sincerely hopes Jin Zixuan likes his pancakes extra sweet. By the stove, Wen Yuan is waiting patiently for Jiang Yanli to slide the next batch of pancakes onto his plate. Lan Zhan is so proud of him.

"Uncle, if it's Father's Day, how come you're helping cook?" Jin Ling asks.

"I enjoy it," Lan Zhan answers.

"Fuqin never sleeps in late enough for breakfast in bed," A-Yuan adds conspiratorially, dusting Wei Ying’s plate with the cinnamon sugar he prefers.

Jiang Yanli laughs and pours another batch on the griddle. "There will be plenty for everyone, A-Ling." When they're ready, she hands him a plate. "Happy Father's Day to you too, Lan Zhan," she says.

"Thank you, Yanli-jie." Lan Zhan adds his pancakes to the tray.

"Can I carry it?" A-Yuan asks. "I'll be careful!"

Lan Zhan nods at their son, and together, they go wake up Wei Ying.

(Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang are gonna wake up in an hour and pout because nobody brought them pancakes. Perhaps Jin Ling will very seriously tell jiujiu that pancakes in bed are for FATHER'S Day, and Jiang Cheng will leap across the kitchen so Nie Huaisang doesn't finish the sentence, "Well, maybe I should get some then, because your jiujiu calls me—")

#PrideMonthSnippets Masterpost!

#PrideMonthSnippets #mdzs #the untamed #westie writes #wangxian #xuanli #sangcheng #family feels #jin ling #wen yuan #father's day #mdzs modern au

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bloody-bee-tea · 4 years ago

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Bell

Nie Huaisang has barely sat down when Jiang Cheng speaks.

“I’m ready to marry,” he says without warning and watches in amusement as Nie Huaisang fumbles with the tea pot.

Jiang Cheng decides not to mention the stain he leaves behind on the table.

“What the—uh, I mean, that’s great, Jiang-xiong,” Nie Huaisang finally manages to get out and then he shifts in his seat. “It’s just that—you’re great and all, and good looking of course, and everyone would be flattered, really, but I’m not?” he finishes weakly and Jiang Cheng hides his amused smile behind his cup of tea.

“I’m not speaking about you,” he eventually tells Nie Huaisang and it’s almost comical how he sags in relief.

“Then why the hell would you tell me this, Jiang-xiong, you nearly gave me a heart attack,” he wines and finally gets around to pouring himself a cup of tea. “What brought this on?”

“My Sect is stable for now and it feels like the right time to settle down,” Jiang Cheng tells him with a shrug. “A good alliance won’t hurt either, and my Elders are getting on my case about a marriage. I figured, why not.”

“And there’s someone you like?” Nie Huaisang wants to know and Jiang Cheng nods.

There’s even someone he loves.

“I still don’t see why you would tell me about this,” Nie Huaisang says after a moment and Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes.

“I’m looking for your approval,” Jiang Cheng says and gives Nie Huaisang enough time to widen his eyes in surprise before he goes on. “I wish to marry Nie Mingjue.”

“Oh,” Nie Huaisang whispers and suddenly he seems tense and sad and Jiang Cheng frowns.

This is not the reaction he expected.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Nie Huaisang lowly says and Jiang Cheng puts his cup down harder than he wanted to.

“So I’m good enough for you but not your brother? Is this an insult to you or to me? Didn’t you say anyone would be flattered? Are you lying to me now, Huaisang?” he demands to know and Nie Huaisang flinches before he hides behind his fan.

Jiang Cheng glares at him, because Nie Huaisang damn well knows how he thinks about that.

“Of course not, that’s not it,” Nie Huaisang nervously says. “It’s just—da-ge isn’t doing so well,” Nie Huaisang finally admits and that at least Jiang Cheng can understand.

Even if a pit of worry opens in his stomach at hearing that.

“What do you mean?” he prompts Nie Huaisang when he falls silent again and Nie Huaisang’s fan speeds up.

“His qi deviations—it’s getting worse,” Nie Huaisang admits.

Jiang Cheng has seen a few of them over the course of his friendship with Nie Huaisang, mostly because Nie Mingjue didn’t seem to think twice about leaving his Sect for days or weeks at a time, always deciding to join Nie Huaisang when he came by on one of his visits to Lotus Pier.

Jiang Cheng just didn’t think it was this serious, yet.

“Worse?”

Nie Huaisang nods.

“More regular and more violent. Even er-ge—he told me—I should prepare, he said,” Nie Huaisang brings out and Jiang Cheng frowns.

If even Lan Xichen no longer has hope that his playing is doing something, then it really must be serious. The guy is a notorious optimist and for him to be pessimistic about it—Jiang Cheng doesn’t like it.

“Yeah, well, I haven’t played for him yet,” Jiang Cheng decides on a whim but a plan is forming in his mind.

He will not allow Nie Mingjue to die before he turns thirty. There’s no way in hell that will happen.

“Jiang-xiong, what do you think to achieve if even er-ge can’t help anymore?” Nie Huaisang wants to know but there’s the tiniest bit of hope in his voice.

“Maybe Lan Xichen goes about this wrong,” Jiang Cheng decides, the plan taking more concrete shape.

It would make sense if Lan Xichen’s playing isn’t having the desired effect if what Jiang Cheng thinks is true.

“Can you even play the song?” Nie Huaisang asks and Jiang Cheng grins at him.

“No, but I know a master who might be willing to teach me.”

He’s not talking about Lan Xichen, they both know it, and Nie Huaisang’s eyes go wide.

“It’s impossible, Jiang-xiong,” he then says with a shake of his head. “Even if Lan Qiren would be willing to teach you one of their secret songs, are you even good enough to learn it? And why would you think that you have more success than er-ge?”

“You seem to forget what my Sect’s motto is,” Jiang Cheng tells him and takes another sip from his tea. “Attempting the impossible is literally what I do,” he says and that, at least shuts Nie Huaisang up.

Jiang Cheng guesses it’s mostly because they are sitting in what was a burned out husk just a year ago but is now again a bustling, thriving Sect.

No one imagined Jiang Cheng would be able to rebuild Lotus Pier like this and he proved them all wrong.

He’s going to prove them wrong about Nie Mingjue’s impending death as well.

~*~*~

“Sect Leader Jiang,” Lan Qiren greets him when Jiang Cheng enters the room.

“Teacher Lan Qiren,” he respectfully gives back and Lan Qiren waves him off in the same move he tells him to sit.

Jiang Cheng settles down and waits for Lan Qiren to pour them both some tea before he speaks. He did learn his lesson with Nie Huaisang, as amusing as that was.

“I intend to court Nie Mingjue,” Jiang Cheng says and just like Nie Huaisang, Lan Qiren jerks with his words.

Jiang Cheng would be offended that this is everyone’s first reaction, but honestly, he thinks it’s more amusing than anything.

“Why are you telling me this?” Lan Qiren wants to know after a moment and Jiang Cheng gives him a winning smile.

“I need help with the courting gift,” Jiang Cheng tells him and watches as Lan Qiren’s eyebrows go up.

“What do you intend to give him that you think I’m able to help?”

“I need the Song of Clarity,” Jiang Cheng says without beating around the bush and Lan Qiren freezes.

“That’s a Clan secret,” Lan Qiren reminds him and Jiang Cheng shrugs.

“I know, but I’m counting on the fact that you care too much to deny me this,” he says. “Nie Mingjue’s death would devastate Lan Xichen and you love your nephew too much to want that to happen.”

Lan Qiren regards him in silence for a long moment before he sighs.

“If you want to marry him, it would devastate you, too. And you already lost so many,” Lan Qiren says and Jiang Cheng is surprised enough by his words that he falls silent.

He doesn’t see why Lan Qiren would care about if it hurts him, but it’s nice to know that he does.

“Which is why I won’t let it happen. But I need to learn to play the song.”

“What makes you think that you can achieve what my nephew cannot?”

“No offense to your nephew, but I think he’s going about this wrong,” Jiang Cheng says with a shrug.

“Elaborate,” Lan Qiren says, but his voice doesn’t snap like it used to in the classroom when he was outraged and Jiang Cheng counts it as a win.

“Lan Xichen is a formidable musician, but outside of a fight he’s too soft. I haven’t heard him play for Nie Mingjue but I’m guessing he’s trying for a gentle, soothing approach. It won’t work.”

“Why not?”

“Have you known Nie Mingjue to be gentle and soothing?” Jiang Cheng shoots back and Lan Qiren frowns. “Even when he cares about someone he’s gruff about it, an undercurrent of anger always there. It’s just who he is,” Jiang Cheng says, because he has witnessed it enough times to know it to be true.

Nie Mingjue doesn’t care about anyone more than his brother and even with him he can’t be gentle and soft. It’s just not who Nie Mingjue is as a person, and that’s perfectly alright. But Lan Xichen is trying to appeal to that side of Nie Mingjue, so it’s no wonder he’s not making any progress.

“What is your plan, then?” Lan Qiren inquires. “To sit on him and force him to listen instead of having him meditate?”

“Yes,” Jiang Cheng bluntly says, because he guesses that’s the only way he’ll get Nie Mingjue to listen and it would be the most effective. “The song doesn’t have an effect because Nie Mingjue is not gentle and soft, there’s nothing the song could react with. If you play the song when he’s angry and ready for a fight—it might wield more of a result.”

“You gave this a lot of thought,” Lan Qiren muses but he hasn’t yet snapped at Jiang Cheng and that simply has to be a good sign.

“Of course I did. I didn’t just wake up yesterday and decided I would marry Nie Mingjue.”

That happened a few weeks back, but Lan Qiren doesn’t need to know about that.

“Can you even play the guqin?”

“I was raised as the heir to one of the five Great Sects. We all had to learn,” he says with a shrug.

“But can you?” Lan Qiren asks again, clearly not buying Jiang Cheng’s bullshit.

“I have a basic understanding of it,” Jiang Cheng finally relents and a cold shiver goes down his back when Lan Qiren smiles at him.

“The Song of Clarity is one of the more complicated ones,” he warns him but Jiang Cheng has never met a challenge he wouldn’t take.

How hard can it be, anyway.

~*~*~

It turns out the Song of Clarity is a fucking bitch to learn and Jiang Cheng hates the song with a passion. It’s unnecessary stupid and hard and just out to make Jiang Cheng trip up over seemingly innocent looking notes and if he never has to play it again it will be too soon.

But he learned it for a reason and he did not go through all of this pain and hassle to simply never play it again.

“You’re ready,” Lan Qiren says two weeks into his lessons. “You can play it for Nie Mingjue.”

“Thank you,” Jiang Cheng says, as he bows to Lan Qiren over his guqin.

“Did you send an official courtship letter yet?” Lan Qiren wants to know and he frowns when Jiang Cheng shakes his head.

“No. I talked to Huaisang, who told me not to marry his brother, because he’s bound to die soon. I doubt Nie Minjgue’s answer will be different at the moment, and I’m not accepting that. Huaisang did give me his blessing to try though, so there’s that.”

“I see,” Lan Qiren says and strokes his beard. “If Mingjue accepts, you send him here, for a talk.”

That makes Jiang Cheng freeze.

“A talk?”

“Jin Ling is too young to give Mingjue a fair warning as to what will happen to him if he makes you unhappy, so I’m going to step in.”

Jiang Cheng is unable to find his voice for the longest of times, because that he didn’t expect. He knows Lan Qiren has to like him at least a little bit, otherwise he would have kicked him out the moment Jiang Cheng barged in with his outrageous demand but this—this almost speaks of family.

“Thank you,” Jiang Cheng chokes out and when Lan Qiren smiles at him this time, it’s a soft thing.

“You’re very welcome, Wanyin. And now go and court that stubborn man.”

“I will,” Jiang Cheng says and gathers up his guqin. “I damn well will.”

~*~*~

Nie Mingjue is frowning at him when Jiang Cheng refuses to take a seat in the great hall.

“Why do you have to be so contrary today?” Nie Mingjue presses out and Jiang Cheng can see it, the unnatural anger, caused by the always threatening qi deviation.

He doesn’t like it, but he will damn well use it for his own gain here.

“I’m itching for a fight, can’t you see?” Jiang Cheng gives back and bares his teeth at Nie Mingjue. “Though I doubt you can take me today. I bet the anger makes you all sloppy,” Jiang Cheng teases him, fully aware of Nie Huaisang’s nervous flutter of his fan in the corner of the room and of Nie Mingjue’s narrowing eyes.

“What do you want, Wanyin?” Nie Mingjue snaps and for this Jiang Cheng softens his smile as much as he knows how to.

“I want to marry you,” he says and doesn’t let Nie Mingjue’s surprised gasp deter him. “But not if you’re going to make a widower out of me in the week after our wedding. So you’re going to endure me playing the most boring, difficult fucking song for you, or I will force you to.”

“Force me to,” Nie Mingjue repeats and gets up. “You think you can force me to listen to it?”

“Look at you,” Jiang Cheng scoffs, though his heart is beating quicker with the threat hanging over him. Nie Mingjue is a formidable warrior after all. “Your hands are already shaking. You can’t beat me.”

Jiang Cheng and Nie Mingjue have sparred a lot when he came to visit Lotus Pier and Jiang Cheng did win a few times, but it was too rare for this kind of confidence and Jiang Cheng knows it.

He is counting on the fact that Nie Mingjue really is too far gone already to put up much of a fight.

“Fuck you,” Nie Mingjue hisses but he reaches for Baxia.

“You can, if you win,” Jiang Cheng cheekily gives back. “If I win, I will sit on you and you will damn well listen to me play.”

~*~*~

The moment Nie Mingjue hits the ground, Jiang Cheng is on him, whipping out the guqin Lan Qiren gave him as he settles down on Nie Mingjue’s back.

Jiang Cheng makes himself heavier than he usually is—using one of the many talismans Wei Wuxian came up with back in the day—and Nie Mingjue struggles under him, cursing and yelling, hitting the ground and kicking his legs.

Jiang Cheng will never get a better opportunity than this.

He starts to play the Song of Clarity, his own emotions running high from the fight and from his worry for Nie Mingjue and he thinks it might just be okay like that.

Clearly Nie Mingjue doesn’t react to the gentleness with which Lan Xichen plays for him; maybe he needs to have this song played a bit more aggressively as well.

Nie Mingjue doesn’t stop his struggling throughout the whole song but Jiang Cheng isn’t deterred by that. When he ends it, he looks over his shoulder down at Nie Mingjue who is glaring at him.

“You need me to play it again?” Jiang Cheng challenges him and Nie Mingjue huffs.

“I hate that fucking song.”

“The feeling is mutual, but you’re not getting out of this the easy way. So what will it be?” he demands to know and Jiang Cheng startles when Nie Mingjue slaps the ground, apparently in anger before he sags.

“Play it again,” Nie Mingjue says and Jiang Cheng can’t fight the rush of happy satisfaction that runs through him.

So he plays the cursed song again and then one more time for good measure, though for that last one he allows Nie Mingjue to get up and go through forms with Baxia and when he finally, finally vanishes the guqin again, Nie Mingjue’s grip is steady and his eyes are clear.

“How the hell did you do that?” Nie Mingjue demands to know once he’s done with his form and Jiang Cheng gets up to stretch his legs.

He never really was one for sitting down.

“I played the song, same as everyone else,” he gives back but Nie Mingjue shakes his head.

“Yours is different.”

“Because I don’t try to soothe you with it. I don’t want to get rid of your anger or your gruffness. I want to get rid of the death that could follow it, so I play for that.”

“Is that why Xichen’s song doesn’t work?”

“Probably,” Jiang Cheng says with a shrug and then he startles when Nie Mingjue simply drops Baxia to the ground.

There’s a heart stopping moment where Jiang Cheng fears that he overdid it, or that he did something wrong, that Nie Mingjue is experiencing a qi deviation at that very moment, but before he can move and try to help in any way possible Nie Mingjue’s hands are on his face and Jiang Cheng is being pulled into a scorching kiss.

“I don’t know what you intend to give me for our wedding, but nothing can compete with this,” Nie Mingjue breathes out when they part and Jiang Cheng darts in to nibble on his lower lip.

“Try me,” he says and claims Nie Mingjue’s lips again, because he can and there is nothing else he wants to be doing at that moment.

Judging by how they just barely make it to Nie Mingjue’s room, the feeling is mutual.

(Jiang Cheng does have a better gift at the wedding; he modified the Yunmeng Jiang Clarity Bell in a way that allows it to resonate with Baxia, to clear away resentment and to replicate the effects of the so despised song without Jiang Cheng ever having to play it again. It turns out Nie Huaisang is the most grateful for that, actually, because he started to hate the song with a passion, too.)

Link to my ko-fi on the sidebar!

#bt writes #the untamed #mdzs #mingcheng #jiang cheng #nie mingjue #lan qiren #nie huaisang #fix it #song of clarity #cursing #getting together #courtship #humor #jc is not going to let nmj die of something as trivial as a goddamn qi deviation #just watch him

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littlesmartart · 4 years ago

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the next gen Jin Sibs from my Happy Timeline AU! I’ve spent quite a while trying to pull together their names, but I recently had to rethink some of them when I found out that apparently in ancient chinese culture naming your kid after someone was considered a big No No... (though this doesn’t mean there aren’t other... references... it’s just that some uncles are capable of subtlety, wei wuxian). I have Thoughts and headcanons about the circumstances of lots of these namings if people are interested in hearing them! the meanings of the names are what I understand from searching through various name sites and this very helpful post, so if they’re not quite right, please be kind ;_;

see names and a little bit about each one’s personality under the cut!

from l2r in age order we have -

Jin Ling (rise above) / Jin Rulan (like-orchid) - the canon boy! in this AU where he gets a chance to grow up with his parents and be a big brother, he’s still got a bit of a temper and is easily wound up, but he’s a lot less insecure and angry at the world. he takes his status as the oldest brother very seriously (Mingjue has a lot of conversations with him about The Responsibilities Of Being Da-ge when he’s little), and as much as he may complain about his siblings, the moment anyone else says a bad word about them he is immediately ready to throw down!

Jin Heng (persevering) / Jin Rubo (like-silks) - due to her chronic illness, Yanli had quite a few health complications during her pregnancy with A-Heng, meaning he arrived as quite a small and sickly baby - though he pulls through and grows into a healthy and happy child. he’s not strong enough to cultivate to quite the same level as his siblings, but with mentoring from his uncles Guangyao and Huaisang, he finds his strengths in diplomacy and the arts. everyone has great confidence in him as the next sect leader’s Second; with his calm and careful demeanour, he will nicely balance out his older brother’s more brash and outspoken nature.

Jin Xiu (fine/beautiful) / Jin Ruyue (like-jade) - the older twin and probably the most like their mother out of all the children. whilst she does enjoy archery and and swordwork and has a respectable golden core, she much prefers dancing, or swimming in the Lotus Pier lakes, or helping her aunt Qin Su in the Koi Tower gardens. there was a lot of pressure from the Jin side of the family for Yanli and Zixuan to get this pretty, mild-tempered, accomplished daughter betrothed, but they strongly resisted and have publicly announced that they will never pressure any of their children to marry.

Jin Lei (thunder) / Jin Ruyun (like-daylight) - the younger twin and the child out of the whole group who has most obviously inherited Yu genes. since the moment she came into the world, she has been loud and boisterous and very certain of her own mind. both girls, as the granddaughters of the Purple Spider, were offered several summers of tutelage from the women of Meishan Yu, and whilst both went to learn, A-Lei went on to take a whip and daggers as her favoured weapons. although nothing has been announced officially, it’s an open secret that, unless he winds up having his own kids, Jiang Cheng will offer her the position as both his heir and the heir to Zidian.

Jin Gui (dear/valuable) / Jin Ruquan (like-water) - A-Gui was born on the river between Yunmeng and Lanling, when they were travelling home and Yanli went into labour unexpectedly early. Zixuan tried to hurry them back, but she stopped him as the sounds and gentle rocking of the water were actually very soothing and helped calm her through what turned out to be a surprisingly fast birth. Yanli claims that being born so close to the water brought out the Jiang particularly strongly in this son, and he lives up to that with his mischievous, adventurous, and quick-witted nature - and no one is surprised by which uncle he seems to gravitate towards.

Jin Rong (honour/glory) / Jin Ruci (like-kindness) - with about ten years between him and his oldest brother, A-Rong is well and truly the baby of the family, the youngest of all of his many siblings and cousins. he’s very much doted upon and spoiled, but is a sweet-natured and kind little dreamer, who loves to collect stories and songs, and his uncle Xichen has high hopes for his musical skill.

#jin ling #jin rulan #afvsjh #the untamed

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shijiujun · 4 years ago

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Okay if y’all have read my top 2020 danmei list from a week or two back, you’ll know this is currently my favourite danmei (outside of Qi Wei Shang + 2ha hahaha), so here’s a proper, full rec!

- Part of Min’s ‘Why You Should Read’ Series -

Summary:

Ji Yan Ran is the Emperor’s brother and wields military power in the novel, and it starts with an object being stolen from the palace. Ji Yan Ran has to retrieve the item secretly, and so enlists the help of Feng Yu Sect’s Sect Master, Yun Yi Feng, who heads the martial arts world’s one and only information trading post. Yun Yi Feng does not deal in business that involves any royalty, but Jing Yan Ran offers him something he cannot refuse - the Blood Red Lingzhi, a rare and mystical herb that is rumoured to be able to treat his life-threatening condition.

Yun Yi Feng was used by his shifu when he was younger to test out all kinds of poisons and cures, and since then, his body flushes dangerously hot and cold frequently, with bouts of severe coughing fits in between. Throughout the first mission where he spends time with Ji Yan Ran searching for the stolen object, he allows Jing Yan Ran to take care of him. Their relationship is pretty flirty and touchy right off the bat, with Ji Yan Ran knowing really clearly that he wants to take care of Yun Yi Feng. When Yun Yi Feng goes anywhere without a coat, JYR always has one ready. He promises all his riches to him, even his mother hahaha (but that’s because he knows he deceived YYF with the Blood Red Lingzhi and is willing to give YYF everything else while also continuing to look for the lingzhi for him).

Of course, they have to uncover a plot and conspiracy against their enemies who are plotting to dethrone the Emperor, and also reveal the secrets of Yun Yi Feng’s birth.

Read:

Novel (Online) | Novel (Print) - Not Available | Novel Translations | Manhua

Characters:

1. 云倚风 Yun Yi Feng (right) - The revered Sect Master of Feng Yu Sect as his sect controls the flow and movement of information. People from all over buy information or hire the sect to help them get information, and is considered a neutral sect within the wuxia world. Very intelligent, a cool-headed strategist who also loves riches, whose eyes light up at the sight of treasures and money.

He was a child remnant of a war, and picked up by his shifu Gui Ci, who brought him to this island to live with other kids he picked up. His first few years were spent rather happily there, but then one day the man gave all the children bowls of what they thought was soup but ended up being poison because Gui Ci wanted to test out his new concoctions. At the end, only YYF survived after multiple ingestions of poisons and experimental cures. Because he was the ‘strongest’ out of all the other children, Gui Ci began testing out all sorts of poisons and cures on him after. If someone came to him after having been poisoned, Gui Ci would poison YYF in the same way as a test subject to use cures on, and only after they worked on YYF would he use them on the patient.

His shifu is considered a mad man, and the last straw was when he locked YYF up with several scorpions for a few days and YYF was the closest thing to death at that moment, and afterwards, realizing that he’d gone overboard, Gui Ci is more careful about poisoning him, allowing him to have a slightly more normal childhood, but because of this YYF’s body would flush hot and cold frequently and unbearably. He manages to escape from Gui Ci and sets up Feng Yu Sect.

He only has 5 years left to live if he doesn’t find the Blood Red Lingzhi, when he meets Ji Yan Ran and his request. After meeting JYR he realizes how sweet life is, to have someone who always thinks of him, who cares about his well-being, who wants to make him happy, who buys and gives him everything he wants. In the beginning he is unable to reciprocate knowing he’ll die soon, but they get together anyway after a close call, as JYR tries to find the Lingzhi for him.

He also loves to cook and play the zither, but is so bad at both!! He’s so terrible that every time he approaches the kitchen or the zither the servants themselves try to redirect him subtly and chase him away because they CANNOT stand his dishes or his music hahahaha.

2. 季燕然 Ji Yan Ran (left) - Army commander/general, and a prince. Close to the Emperor, who’s his older brother, and takes a liking to YYF the moment he meets him. He bluffs YYF, says that he has the Blood Red Lingzhi, and then realizing how much YYF needs it, he feels more guilty and guilty for lying to him, and once admitting it, he promises to do whatever it takes to find it for him.

He’s very smart as well, has eyes only for YYF and is willing to indulge him in every single whim he has. If YYF complains that he doesn’t have anything to wear (even in jest), JYR has the garment stores in the whole city send 10 outfits each for YYF to pick. And even though he hates YYF’s cooking and playing of the zither, he lets him do it anyway, fond but exasperated while everyone is staring daggers at him for not stopping YYF.

A few years ago, a close friend of his and the Emperor’s died, and JYR suspects that their father had something to do with it. It’s something that has been troubling him for many years and it’s a dilemma for him because he has to balance between questioning the Emperor but also trusting him and being a good brother/official to him, as clues keep pointing towards the Emperor and his father being involved in shady deals/decisions. His relationship with the Emperor, his brother, can be described as close, but of course even though they are close and trust each other to a good extent, there is still room for a tiny bit of doubt that both brothers are well aware of due to their positions, not that this affects their relationship.

Openly is affectionate to YYF in front of everyone, including his mother, who likes YYF alot as well. YYF once worried if the Emperor would oppose his relationship with him, but JYR said that their relationship should put the Emperor even more at ease, because the world and other officials would not recognize an Emperor who liked men and didn’t have any children, meaning that JYR becomes an even smaller threat to the throne.

3. 暮成雪 Mu Cheng Xue - An assassin who keeps popping up throughout the novel, and is a frenemy to YYF especially because he stole the cuteass snow leopard that was supposed to be YYF’s and refuses to return it. Not good nor bad, he does whatever he’s paid for.

4. 江凌飞 Jiang Ling Fei - JYR’s godbrother, who didn’t have a good childhood with no one to protect him in the Jiang family, one of the big wuxia families in the novel, as he had no parents and was technically brought up by his scheming uncles/cousins etc. He befriended JYR when they were younger and acknowledged JYR’s mother as his godmother because she was truly and genuinely good to him, and spends a large part of his days running in and out of the Jing manor. He’s JYR’s right hand man, but his dream is to be a bum wandering through different parts of the world, having fun whenever instead of being boggled down by duties to the Jiang family and other things.

Amazing Scenes:

YYF unceremoniously using JYR’s arm as a pillow while he’s talking

Basically YYF fainting and getting sick a lot and JYR always there to catch him ;-; To dote on him!!! Ahhhh my heart

Other Things I Like in the Novel:

The first time YYF plays the zither in the Jing manor, JYR’s mother, shaking, goes to JYR and asks, “Is Yun-er learning some evil cultivation music?”

YYF tends to go out to the markets and will buy back 2kg of flour for example, while all the servants shudder in the fear and cry in front of JYR, who can only sigh but indulge him

YYF’s favourite things include JYR’s mother taking his blankets out to soak up the sunlight in the day so he has fluffy, warmth-filled and fresh-smelling covers everyday to collapse into

JYR once asked YYF if it’s a good thing that he met him, and YYF says, “Of course it’s a good thing I met wangye, because of you, I now know that life can be sweet and warm too.”

YYF carves out what he thinks the Blood Red Lingzhi looks like based on some bogus description JYR gave him and because he’s so hopeful and happy about finally being able to have the lingzhi, he carves it out and wears it like a pendant, and everytime JYR sees it he wants to slap himself for being such a motherfucking asshole and deceiving this man

YYF keeps forgetting his cape/coat, so JYR always gives him his, but YYF keeps taking and not returning and on the fourth time it happens, YYF looks at JYR expectantly, and JYR says, “You’ve already taken three, this is my last one, I’m gonna freeze to death, left without a cape if I give you this one”

JYR always tempts YYF into doing things by giving him treasures, and jokingly promises YYF his army commander ring, which symbolizes his authority and power, and YYF unceremoniously takes it knowing what it is, and refuses to return it to him - After a few times this happens, JYR makes a replica of it so they matchy matchy ;-;

They travel South in a holiday for a few months after the first arc is wrapped up, knowing that YYF doesn’t have much time left to live, and every single day is painful for JYR as the time YYF spends conscious decreases day by day

YYF asks for some oil/salve to use as lube from the army camp’s physician, a night before JYR is due to go off for war, and the physician scolds the messenger for having the time to think about such thoughts, and when the messenger says it’s for YYF, physician is like “... oh. okay, here you go, give this to him” without another word HAHAHAHA

#a sword of frost #danmei #danmei recs #一剑霜寒 #min's why you should read #cnovel #i'm determined to complete 10 so bear with me yall!!!#hahahahhaa

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kimmyyang · 4 years ago

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210503 GJ & ZZH @ Warming Up Livestream

*Gong Jun arrived at the livestream first, but he still waited for Zhang Zhehan and told ZZH to introduce himself first.*

MC 1: It looks like you two are not nervous about the concert, you’re quite happy. GJ: When we did the rehearsal, there wasn’t any audience, so we weren’t nervous. MC 1: How about you Zhehan, are you nervous? ZZH: I try to talk less. GJ: Yes, Zhang laoshi taught me about singing is to talk less, so I can protect my throat. MC 2: Since you’re not talking, let’s sit quietly for 5 mins. Hahaha GJ: It’s you again. MC 2: Yes, it’s me again, this is the 3rd time we met. Let’s talk later. MC 2: What preparation did you do for the concert? MC 1: ZZH’s preparation is to talk less. MC 2: GJ, is that also your preparation? GJ: I’ve been listening and practicing every day. Our music director Wang laoshi flew to Xiamen especially for me, and he taught me some tips. MC 1: Do you feel that you have made a remarkable improvement?GJ: I don’t think I made a remarkable improvement. MC 1: Maybe you’re being humble, we will ask Zhang laoshi. ZZH: *thumbs up* MC 1: Zhang laoshi says you have made a remarkable improvement. MC 2: The concert is going to happen soon; can you say something supportive to each other? ZZH & GJ: * thumbs up * MC 2: Are you guys going to let us interview you or not? (the poor MCs hahaha) MC 2: Just amazing. MC 1: In the bullet comments, a lot of people have been saying that both of you should take care of yourselves during the rehearsal, concert, and work in the future. And have enough sleep. MC 2: Talking quietly is also okay because you guys will go on the stage soon, we can totally understand. MC 2: Can we briefly talk about… suddenly everyone is quiet. GJ: It’s ok, keep going. MC 2: In the SHL cast group chat, do you have a separate group chat for gaming or eating? MC 1: Zhang laoshi has a group chat for basketball, right? ZZH: *shakes head* MC 2: Zhang laoshi must have a sit quietly group chat. Hahaha GJ: Zhang laoshi has a golf group chat, right? ZZH: *shakes head* MC 2: Let’s guess today, whether Zhang laoshi will say another word or not in the livestream. Do you want to speak on behalf of Zhang laoshi? GJ: We have a big group chat which consists of all SHL casts. MC 2: So, you don’t have an individual group chat for eating or anything? GJ: We have big and small group chats, no individual group chat. MC 1: Big and small group chats, you’re so good at summarizing. MC 2: I heard that the team is organizing a variety show for the casts, what kind of variety show do you want? GJ: What variety show? MC 1: A variety show with all the actors, actresses in SHL. What kind of content do you want in the show? MC 2: Sitting quietly. GJ: Cultivating ourselves through mediation. ZZH: *nods and thumbs up* GJ: Just say something. ZZH: I agree with Gong laoshi. MC 1: He spoke!!! MC 2: We’ve guessed it, he spoke. He finally spoke. MC 1: Let’s see if there are any questions. MC 2: How many hours do you sleep these days? ZZH: 6 hours. GJ: Only 6 hours? I’m about the same. ZZH: I remember when I was filming an ad where I had to (pretend to) sleep on the bed. And I fell asleep on the bed. When the director says 3, 2, 1, start, they see that I’m not moving. MC 2: The director says that’s great acting! He looks like he’s really asleep. ZZH: He came up to me and say “zhehan laoshi, we’ve started”. GJ: When you start, you’re filming a sleeping scene. ZZH: Yeah, it’s a scene where I just woke up. MC 2: You must have done a great job. MC 1: Let’s play a quick game. MC 2: It’s quite simple, 60 seconds timer on the phone is set and you have to promote SHL concert when you’re holding the phone. You pass it on when you’ve finished. MC 1: For example, Zhang laoshi says “please come and watch, the concert is amazing” pass it on to Gong laoshi, Gong laoshi pass it back when he’s done. When the time is up, whoever is holding the phone will receive a punishment. GJ: That’s not difficult. MC 1: You’re looking down on our directors’ team. GJ: I will say it until the last second and pass it to you. MC 1: He can do the same thing to you. MC 2: He would put his thumbs up and pass it back to you. MC 1: You can start once you’re ready. ZZH: I'm

going to start. GJ: You need to speak! If you don’t speak, just give it to me. ZZH: I can speak. (he’s speaking so softly omg ;____;) GJ: Go on then. MC 1: Promote our concert. ZZH: I will promote our concert. Our SHL concert… you can hear Gong laoshi’s beautiful singing. GJ: You can’t repeat the same thing. ZZH: You can also hear him doing 相声 (crosstalk), GJ: Hehehehe ZZH: You can hear his laughing, you can see our SHL actor’s amazing performances, and you can hear Zhang Zhehan’s beautiful singing. Zhang Zhehan will be singing some songs. Uhhhh… which songs… GJ: You can’t do that! ZZH: Gu Meng… GJ: You’re cheating! ZZH: Wu Ti… GJ: Give it to me! ZZH: And… GJ: And… *attempts to grab the phone* ZZH: Shan He Ling. GJ: It’s not fair, you gave the phone to him first. ZZH: And… what songs will Gong laoshi sing… GJ: Stop saying and! ZZH: What songs will Gong laoshi sing… now I’ll give it to Gong laoshi to let him speak. GJ: You’re so shameless! MC 1: Time is up. I realized that Zhang laoshi wasn't speaking before because he's saving it for this segment. MC 2: He was holding back. MC 2: It doesn’t matter who wins or loses. The most important is to have a successful concert, we hope you two can take care of your throat and stay happy. MC 1: There are comments asking Gong laoshi to promote SHL concert. GJ: Of course, I must promote it. The person who just won the game must stay on the stage for 10 hours. This is the prize; he has to sing for 10 hours. MC 2: Great, let’s look forward to the 10 hours. GJ: Let’s see if Zhang laoshi will sing continuously for 10 hours.

Translation: KIMMYYANG

#shl #shl concert #word of honor #shan he ling #山河令 #gong jun #zheng zhehan #why did gj say his plan out loud like ????#looool even the mcs know that zzh will do the same thing to him #they're so cuteeee #helppp #someone recorded the entire part on wb #i don't know if i can upload the cut on here so i just type out the translations #my translations #word of honor concert #i can't - I'm going to start - on the same freaking line wtf??#I CAN'T GET*#omfg i've been awake since 7am and i can't type anymore #does tumblr hate me or what?? i can't edit that lineeeee

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life-rewritten · 4 years ago

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THE DIFFERENT FORMS OF HUACHENG; TGCF SEASON 1

TGCF just ended, and I just wanted to cry because I'm going to miss this show for a while until we're ready for season 2. Good news Season 2 has been announced and is in production so maybe end of this year? Hopefully? One can hope. Anyways because we're saying goodbye for a while, I decided to focus my review on Hua Cheng this time. The many ways he has shown up in Season 1, the many encounters he had with Xie Lian who doesn't even know how long he's been by his side, the many forms he used to stay and help Xie Lian. In TGCF, Hua Cheng's appearances in Xie Lian’s life is essential because of his constant devotion and ambition to ensure that Xie Lian is protected, safe and happy. Hua Cheng shows up each time to an oblivious Xie Lian who only has been introduced to the knowledge of one form of him, San Lang in season 1. But what about us the audience, we've seen Cheng as a child in the first episode, in the intro, we've seen him as San Lang, and we've also been introduced slightly to his natural form, the Hua Cheng Ghost King form. So let's look into it more, how has each state been connected to Xie Lian and what have we been shown or told so far about the building relationship between our ghost king and our god.

The Different Versions of Hua Cheng

So the first thing we need to break down is the similarities of each of his forms and their different meanings to his character dynamic and arc concerning his and Xie Lian's love story. So as mentioned before there are three different versions of him we're introduced to:

The Child: We see him in a desolated state, with bandages surrounding his face, blood and he's in tears looking forlorn at Xie Lian who also has given up on something throwing away his umbrella and face darkened and walking away, probably to a small shack. We also see this child more importantly connected to our story because he's the first version of Hua Cheng in our origin of these two's meeting. He's saved by Xie Lian who completely stuns him and gives him the meaning to life again. We see snippets of this version of him in flashbacks and in the opening intro because TGCF is a story that is planning to unveil the years of Hua Cheng's devotion to Xie Lian, the reasons, the actions made, and the consequences created from it in the past.

San Lang: Number two we get to see San Lang, he's the version we spend the most time within season 1, knowing and having suspicions that he's Hua Cheng. San Lang is a mortal and meant to be a teen; he's wise for his age, aloof, and sly. And he's made it an aim to accompany Xie Lian on his journey to getting followers again. There's more to San Lang that meets the eye, he has a convoluted back story (which is backshadowing the truth of his past) he tells Xie Lian, and he's very loyal and protective of Xie Lian. Xie Lian gets to become close to this version of Hua Cheng; this is the version he trusts the most and is the person who becomes someone he cares a lot about unconditionally.

Crimson Rain Sought Flower/ Ghost King the most dangerous and scariest and wealthy demon/devastation ghost in the story. Xie Lian is first warned away from him because the gods are not on good terms with him. But Xie Lian can't help but wonder if he's more than meets the eye because they meet under a blood rain as bride and groom. Hua Cheng shows up in his real form to guide Xie Lian to safety. This version shows up again in the Sinner's pit in the Banyue arc in episode 9. After San Lang jumps in a sacrificial move, Hua Cheng eliminates everybody ruthlessly in the Sinner's pit and shows up again to fight Pei Xu to protect Xie Lian in episode 11. This version is the real Hua Cheng, he has one eye, he is cold, ruthless, but also he's made it clear he wants to protect and is on the lookout for Xie Lian. By the end of season 1, Lian chooses to ignore the rumours and become close with him despite the warnings.

Age, Status, and Love; The growth of Hua Cheng

The first thing to notice about these versions of Hua Cheng is that they all have a way of shadowing how he's grown and his journey to Xie Lian. From a child who's naive and innocent and is traumatised by events in the world, to a teen who is not taken as seriously, is wiser and mature and able to fend for himself, to the Ghost King who is who he is at present, his real self after many years, who is now powerful, in control and older but also not alive.

And the second thing to notice is the difference of status and wealth depicted with his versions; as a child even though we aren't shown the details, we can see that he's not rich, he's dressed in rags, and he's bandaged poorly and looks like he has nothing. As San Lang, he's able to fend for himself and Xie Lian by collecting scraps and rebuilding their first place together, and with Ghost King, you can tell he's wealthy, he's dressed in the finest of robes, silver dangling from everywhere you look, and we know from Ling Wen; he's affluent. So another observation to notice.

The last thing to notice with these versions is the one common motif, Xie Lian. Xie Lian is also seen in different versions/ forms to us each time Hua Cheng shows up.

We see Xie Lian in the child's eyes as a prince; golden, lavish and beautiful, he's dressed in the finest attire but also we see that Lian is the person who flies to save this child from either falling or jumping to his end. (still, we can't be sure why he was falling),

But then with San Lang, Xie Lian is undercover as a mortal (though it's pretty apparent to guess he's not) without power, followers or any self-esteem (from his comments) and wealth. But with San Lang, Xie Lian is vulnerable and shown to be more lonely and filled with self-deprecation but is determined to protect everyone he comes across, which makes him more self-sacrificial.

As Ghost King, we see Xie Lian on a mission as a god, untrusting, capable, and very cunning and intuitive, he wears a mask (literally wearing a veil) of happiness, ease, but he's alert and ready to defend and knows how to avoid being caught by his enemies.

Unconditional Devotion; The Love of Hua Cheng

In all versions, Hua Cheng shows us that he has with Xie Lian some kind of devotion and love:

As a child: His eyes light up for the first time, he follows after him (inferred from the intro and episode 1) and watches helplessly as he can't do anything to protect him at that moment. You can feel the determination, the longing, and the urgency in each scene he's shown watching after Xie Lian as Xie Lian gives up on himself.

As San Lang: He guides and protects Xie Lian, he stays by his side loyally and prevents Xie Lian from getting into harm's way using information that he knows. You can feel that he knows how Xie Lian is self-sacrificial, and he's here to protect and keep Xie Lian from being puppeteered or played around by others.

As Ghost King: He is deadly when it comes to Xie Lian, he kills and destroys and doesn't waste time with others, he's also protective of where Xie Lian touches, he doesn't want him soiled by blood or anything ( using either an umbrella to protect him when they first meet, or cradling him to ensure his foot doesn't meet the ground). He's determined to get rid of anything that could hurt Xie Lian or make him suffer, and he does it through violence.

And even though Xie Lian doesn't have any recognition of who he is yet in his life, in every version Xie Lian has also shown protection and care for Hua Cheng unconditionally which is embedded in his personality.

He saves his life as the child, (just like he positively affects other children like Banyue who look up to him), he is determined to protect and make sure San Lang is safe. It terrifies him to think otherwise, and he accepts Hua Cheng unconditionally after realising who he is.

He also shows awe and intrigue with all things, Hua Cheng, whilst others call him terrifying Xie Lian says his name suits him because it's pretty when he sees his butterflies he's in awe and automatically wants to follow them because they make him feel at ease despite the fact that those butterflies can probably without his knowledge kill and maim. When he notices others may notice who Cheng is at the pit, he's worried but at ease to see him hidden as San Lang again, and he finally tells him; he doesn't care who he is because he's a friend.

Xie Lian; The Goal of Hua Cheng

For Xie Lian he's realised there's unconditional care and like and reliance for Hua Cheng, it's automatic and he can't stop feeling safe and at ease with him. Despite his first time meeting San Lang and being suspicious, it took him an ox ride to find out he liked and was intrigued by San Lang even if he was Hua Cheng. He liked how he spoke, he liked his wisdom, and he enjoyed spending time with him. It became natural to rely on his protection, his touch, and his information each journey they went on.

And with Hua Cheng in all his versions there's that unconditional need to protect, devotion and determination to stay by Xie Lian's side. After all, that's where this started, him being affected by Xie Lian saving his life. We can guess he took it literally and made it a reality, though now we wonder how he went from a human child to being dead yet a mighty ghost king.

In a way we see Hua Cheng show up and start making Xie Lian find reasons for living too. Not that it's apparent that he doesn't want to live; that he's full of self-loathing and self-sacrificial tendencies. Hua Cheng seemed to be as San Lang, one of the first people who showed Xie Lian unconditional loyalty and support despite not seeing himself as deserving of it. Hua Cheng may not be his reason for living, but Hua Cheng is his reason for why he gets to live; many times Hua Cheng's protection is to keep Xie Lian from being hurt; the snake scorpion venom, the Sinner's pit, the Pei Xu and snakes, the head on the ground filled with demonic energy and Xuan Ji. Hua Cheng shows up as groom the first time we see him, and he leads Xie Lian to protection to the place he needs to go to know what's going on with the brides. With his determination, experience (giving Xie Lian information) and power Hua Cheng protects and pushes Xie Lian to keep staying safe and alive knowing someone does not see him as worthless or a misfortune.

Ghost vs Human: The Disguise of Hua Cheng

It makes you wonder this need of why Hua Cheng does hide in many forms; why does he not make Xie Lian know that they've known each other for so long? why does he hide as San Lang and not his true form since Xie Lian doesn't know who he is, and why does he keep his true form out of sight from Xie Lian. He's determined to hide his natural form because showing it would lead to opportunities of weakness.

As we can see from just his child self Hua Cheng was determined to do something, to become more so he could be of help, payback Xie Lian for saving his life, and become his reason to live. So he probably can not let any weakness affect him; he probably has built up protection of himself so no one can reach him so that no one can reach Xie Lian. His aim is to be a safeguard for Xie Lian, an impenetrable, protective and robust protection. People seeing his real form is a lead way to vulnerability and weakness. Him protecting how he looks makes him even more of a scarier person to deal with because you don't know his real self or strength fully.

It also gives him a way to be by Xie Lian's side without anyone knowing his goals; he does this as San Lang, shows a different version of himself which is more acceptable and less conflicting to be by Xie Lian's side. A mortal can be seen as a worshiper, a friend and a helper. But a ghost king by a god side is more looked down upon. We see this when Fu Yao and Nan Feng try to uncover who he is. Xie Lian has been warned that he should stay away from Ghost King version, and maybe Hua Cheng also thinks that version should not be known, or seen or met. With how scary and dangerous he seems, (he's known for his harmful actions, he also took out his own eye as he puts it because of insanity, he has incredibly deadly weapons and he's someone heaven is terrified of). Hua Cheng may think Xie Lian won't give him a chance to know him. But of course, he discovers that Xie Lian doesn't care about that.

Ghost King: The Past of Hua Cheng

The different forms of Hua Cheng we see as the audience showcases other assets to his mindset, we've seen him weak, vulnerable, and lost without Xie Lian when he was a child, there was a time where he was the most scared of everything, a time where he probably had no control over whatever he wanted, a time where he was filled with despair and obliqueness, but Xie Lian showed up as a light, the same way Hua Cheng shows up in Xie Lian's life in season 1 as a guide, they both shift their mindsets and determination to be better and succeed.

That's why his growth to becoming Ghost King is fascinating; he's become the opposite of his childhood self, he's no longer mortal and human, ( as we see with his other two versions) he's seen as ruthless and cold to anyone who bothers him or Xie Lian. It's not an easy feat; it must have taken a lot of pain, and suffering to get to who he is, for him even to become a devastation he would have needed to be filled with resentful energy, this means that he also is someone full of grief and suffering as Xie Lian who hides his behind his mask of an easygoing and cheerful nature.

Hua Cheng hides his behind strength and power, they both have scars and secrets hidden needed to uncover to know why they have become this way, but one thing stays for sure, and that's that Xie Lian and Hua Cheng both become healing to each other from their past scars. Xie Lian becomes Hua Cheng's sole reason to live, devoting himself to Xie Lian is what's making him good and not broken. Xie Lian on the other hand, Cheng becomes someone who makes him want to accept himself, Hua Cheng is someone who becomes a healing presence to him, he's happier, comfortable and safer by his side, and he knows this. Hence, he lets himself be pulled to him, carried and protected by him, he's shocked by it, but you can see it affects him each time Hua Cheng does something to protect him as San Lang.

In a world where we are focusing on gods and demons and ghosts, Xie Lian and Hua Cheng seem oddly incompatible; the gods look down on the ghost kings because of their actions and because they're closer to evil or immoral actions. Xie Lian as a god is meant to be moral, just and higher than others, including mortals, and so being with the most powerful ghost king and slowly falling for him probably isn't a great idea. What matters now is how long these two have been near each other, how has both the journey of them affected the other, Hua Cheng is entirely devoted to Xie Lian even after his passing and resurrection as a ghost king, and that's interesting, he has been watching and keeping an eye on Xie Lian who's oblivious and has more things to focus on than that, Xie Lian has a past which he feels guilt, self-hatred and fear from, it's slowly being revealed, and it's fascinating to watch it.

Hua Cheng also has many interesting actions he's made that also need a reason or explanation, like why he has one eye, what made him become a ghost king, why he aimed for an attack at the gods, and his real purpose with Xie Lian? It's been an amazing time watching this season. I can't wait to find out more about these two's journey and love story. The undying loyalty and devotion to each other despite being so far apart for time is fascinating. I can't wait to see season 2.

#tgcf spoilers #tgcf #hualian #tian guan ci fu #heaven's official blessings #hua cheng #xie lian #mxtx #january #cwg

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ohmypreciousgirl · 4 years ago

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Xicheng Rec List

I compiled my favorite fics for @waterandsilver after they posted they were finally seeing the appeal of Xicheng. I volunteered to give them good fics to help them understand better the appeal of our ship! So, here we go!

Post-Canon Fics

A Bit of Ruthlessness 110,111 When Jiang Cheng hears that Lan Xichen went into seclusion following Jin Guangyao’s death, it’s almost as if he can see the grabby hands of a restless ghost, reaching out for something to keep him company. For something warm and living and devastated. And as history has proven time and time again, the Lans are perfect victims when it comes to giving in to ghosts.

Yeah, no. Not on Jiang Cheng’s fucking watch.

Moments of Clarity 5,201 Snapshots of Lan Huan's road to recovery with a helping hand from Sandu Shengshou. Companion piece from Jiang Cheng’s POV: A Present so Promising

Faith 8,109 [Part 1 of the The Provenance of Hope series] Lan Huan isn’t sure he’s ready for this. (or, Lan Huan and Jiang Cheng meet on a night hunt.)

Visiting Cloud Recesses 7,566 [Part 1 of the Visiting Cloud Recesses series] Since the sunshot campaign they haven't interacted a lot outside of sect business, but Jiang Cheng has always found the First Jade of Lan gracious and pleasant to be around. Especially in comparison to his younger brother, who would never smile at Jiang Cheng the way Lan Xichen is right now, as if he's genuinely happy to see him.

It's easier to let go (let me hold you) 24,464 Five times someone noticed something was wrong and the one time someone did something about it.

Carried on the wind 1,129 [Part 1 of the The courtship of Jiang Wanyin & Lan Xichen series] Lan Xichen’s voice is very soft when he says: “Today is the day our mother died.”

Overgrown 1,408 [Part 1 of the Coming home to you series] Jiang Cheng has better things to do than follow Lan Xichen around Lotus Pier, and yet here he is.

Regret 2,290 Lan Xichen is left standing in his garden, his garden of regret and shame and all the bad things Lan Xichen hates about himself, and suddenly he can’t stand it for one second longer.

A lovely name 3,146 [Part 1 of the Paws for thought series] Jiang Cheng doesn’t like the feeling of a curse sinking through his skin at the best of times, and now he’s a fucking cat, because Wei Wuxian thinks he’s hilarious. Well, he won’t find it so hilarious when Jiang Cheng changes back and breaks his legs.

Breaking Anew 20,389 There are different ways a person can break. It is a lesson Jiang Cheng will spend his life learning.

Under The Morning Sun 22,739 Jiang Cheng returns to Cloud Recesses to find peace and stability. Instead, he finds an unexpected romance with Lan Xichen. Sequel: Strength of Your Love

(nothing special) (something special) 4,950 Jiang Cheng and Lan Xichen both have jagged edges. But perhaps their broken pieces can fit together into something new. Sequel: won't you say you love me later

Come to Decide 2,381 [Part 1 of the Little Talks series] “This is why I lose sleep over you,” Jiang Cheng murmured. “You might think I’m pining for your touch or your voice or your gaze, but no - I’m just worrying about you being an idiot.”

Don't stop being rude 2,582 “The Hanshi,” Lan Jingyi suddenly says, effectively jolting Jiang Cheng out of his thoughts, and bowing again.

“Please talk some sense into Zewu-Jun.”

“Oh, that I will,” Jiang Cheng promises and when a tiny spark of fear enters Lan Jingyi’s eyes, he gives him his sweetest smile before he walks off.

“Oh gods, what have I done,” he hears Lan Jingyi mutter behind him, but he doesn’t try to stop him.

Clever boy.

Don't let him win 1,685 “What are you doing?” Jiang Cheng asks him, voice much softer now, and he’s quick to carefully rub some warmth back into Lan Xichen’s hands.

“You shouldn’t be here,” Lan Xichen whispers, the same thing he always says when Jiang Cheng forces his way into Lan Xichen’s seclusion, but Jiang Cheng couldn’t give less of a fuck about this.

“Well, neither should you,” he gives back, a well-rehearsed dance by now, and Lan Xichen’s mouth twists in that all too familiar way.

Good things about Yunmeng 3,343 Or, the one where Jiang Cheng attempts the impossible.

Love Is For Other People 3,704 It wasn’t that Jiang Cheng never thought about it. About love, that was.

Listless 1,787 When Jiang Cheng came up with his list, he knew that everyone else's would be different from his. It just hurts to find out again and again that he would never be the first.

And then there's Xichen.

twinkle of a bell 7,821 Jiang Cheng and Lan Huan meet at the abandoned village, looking for at least a glimpse of a new life.

Tread 1,647 “I’m going to take him with me,” Jiang Cheng says and even though Lan Xichen can’t see them, he can feel the tension in the air.

“No,” comes Wangji’s almost immediate answer, his voice leaving no room for argument.

Not that it ever stopped Jiang Cheng before.

these tears flowing down aren't a waste 2,002 “How do I confess my love to someone?” Jin Ling asks.

“Do I look like someone who has been in love?” Jiang Cheng questions back.

Through a Storm that Never Goes Away 32,948 For all of that, for his inherent complicitness in Jin Guangyao’s crimes, for trying to maintain impartiality until he had enough evidence, Lan Xichen could understand wanting him dead.

He could even understand if there were those who still felt the need to take some revenge for what Jin Guangyao did and were dissatisfied that he was dead. Lan Xichen might look like an acceptable target.

But to target Wangji as well...

I am cursed to love you (to the grave) 39,410 Jiang Cheng can't sleep.

The Comfort of You 24,904 [Part 1 of the The Belonging series] On the eve of Jin Ling's 20th birthday, Jiang Cheng and Lan Xichen take a step forward into a life that will forever be changed.

(Three years after the events of Guanyin Temple Lan Xichen asks a pivotal question of the man he's been falling in love with for the past year. Jiang Cheng has never really felt what he feels for Lan Xichen and falls apart in his hands. And that's okay.)

I Put You First 7,178 Lan Xichen gets a little jealous when the Other Boys thirst over Sect Leader Jiang. Luckily, Jiang Cheng only has eyes for one man.

Canon Era Fics

A Small Measure of Peace 122,790 With his brother in seclusion, Lan Xichen finds himself in temporary custody of his nephew with little to no expertise in the child-raising department. Uncertain and alone, Zewu-Jun is willing to do everything to be the person Yuan needs—even if it means inviting Sandu Shengshou to a playdate.

There's Hope for the Hopeless 11,791 Part of being Sect Leader means going to weddings, both those important to him and those that he is convinced to attend.

5 times Jiang Cheng went to a wedding + his own.

A good night's rest 1,795 [Part 1 of the Sing for me series] Jiang Cheng is standing at the end of the pier, clad in simple sleeping robes, and he’s walking up and down, bouncing a sniffling Jin Ling on his arm. And he is singing to the boy, his voice soft and low, but clear enough to ring out over the water and carry.

Lan Xichen stops dead in his tracks and keeps still, not wanting to disturb Jiang Cheng or upset Jin Ling again. The boy is clearly fighting sleep, but the steady movement of Jiang Cheng and his lullaby are doing wonders in dragging him to sleep anyway.

Beside You 6,624 [Part 1 of the Lan Furen series]

Jiang Cheng leaves Lotus Pier behind him, giving up his position, his family and his home to start a new life as a rogue cultivator. He can't quite make himself leave Yunmeng completely though, not just yet, and as he loiters on the outskirts he comes across Lan Xichen, evidently on the run.

Together, they fret for themselves, their loved ones and each other as the Wens and impending danger draws closer.

The Desperate Search Began 2,361 [Part 1 of the Some Day I'm Gonna Make You Mine series] It starts with a fight, Jin Zixun and Jiang Wanyin bumping heads over a battle plan. The Sunshot campaign will not slow for one brush of ego, but Jin Zixun has found himself outranked by a boy that he feels of no consequence compared to a member of the shining Jin sect.

When Nie Mingjue is present, or even Jin Zixuan, Jin Zixun keeps his counsel. He does not push. Sadly, the bruise to his ego will not appear to have forgotten that while he is a valued member of their war council, Jiang Wanyin is a sect leader now. The fact that he’s a boy younger than even Jin Zixuan, rankles.

Add that they are only witnessed by Lan Xichen and Jin Zixun becomes a discredit to Lanling Jin.

remember these words i say 4,133 “Please, allow me to fix this.” Lan Xichen finds himself asking, begging. It is for his own peace of mind, but it is also for Jiang Cheng and for Jin Ling, for the people of Lotus Pier who have watched their home burn and fought hard to build it back.

“I do not know how you could.” Jiang Cheng points out.

Lan Xichen nods in agreement. “I do not know either, now, but –” Wangji isn’t the only stubborn one in the family, “I will find a way.” He promises, determined.

fill the cracks in (with your light) 2,947 [Part 1 of the moments through the years series] Lan Xichen's voice doesn't have the usual light note in it when he asks, “What are we doing, Jiang Wanyin?”

Waxing Moon 1,925 [Part 1 of Soft] After Wei Wuxian was sent home from Cloud Recesses, Jiang Cheng realizes it's pretty lonely without him. Luckily, sulking on a rooftop leads to a new friendship.

Tipsy at best 2,458 Jiang Cheng tugs Nie Huaisang along, and they are stumbling more than walking, but in their inebriated state even that is funny.

They are snickering still when they suddenly see a figure in white appear at the end of the path.

“Uh-oh,” Jiang Cheng says, and it’s entirely too loud, but he’s still too drunk to care about that right now.

Nie Huaisang, on the other hand, seems to have sobered up, because his eyes take on a calculating glint behind his fan.

“Say, Jiang Cheng, what were your requirements for a partner again?” Nie Huaisang asks and it’s enough to make Jiang Cheng stop.

it all passes someday 13,638 A week before the anniversary of Wei Wuxian’s death, there was a commotion outside Lan Wangji’s house.

Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji over the years.

Punishment 5,415 [Part 1 of the The Rules of Living series] “33 lashes,” one of the Elders suddenly coldly says and Lan Xichen’s stomach turns over. “20 for his brother and 13 for daring to defy us,” he goes on and Lan Xichen bows his head in acceptance.

The same punishment Lan Wangji endured. Lan Xichen can do it, too.

And he manages, without a sound, like Lan Wangji, if only just barely.

#xicheng #the untamed #rec time #xicheng fic #jiang cheng #lan xichen

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tangledinmdzs · 4 years ago

Note

Hi it's me again :D

I have read the rules and am ready to make a request!

I would like to request something with the juniors about how they would comfort the reader that is not very good in cultivation and one day they find the reader crying and a lot of comfort please 🥺

I hope I did everything right, otherwise please let me know :'D

hey friend~

you’ve made a lovely request, don’t worry about it at all! sorry for getting to your request so late; it’s been a bit chaotic on my end, but things should be much better now :)

i hope you enjoy this little piece!

(p.s.: your profile pic is giving me life i love it so much haha)

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Lan Sizhui

the guqin strings are coarse, almost painful, when you flick your arm outwards towards the openness before you

for all of your effort,

you don’t even seen the smallest bit of spiritual energy spurt from your instrument

it had been the same result

for hours,

days,

almost a month (counting)

you hate how you can’t do it

your eyes fall back to the instrument

you feel anger at the strings for being too hard (at yourself for not being able to use them, get used to them)

and you knew that cultivation had never been easy but you didn’t think that it would be this hard either

perhaps, i am not meant to be a cultivator, you brain thinks, almost believes

and you slowly take your hands off from the stringboard

but suddenly, you’re surprised by a warm grasp landing on your wrist

you had been too busy staring at your instrument to realize that someone had come and sat down beside you

when you turn to the side, you find none other than your friend

you stare at Sizhui in muted surprise,

at his initiation, at the very action that he choose

at how close he was

“y/n,”

he says your name like a question

you see his eyes flicker around you face, reading everything that you felt was wrong shown there

“i’m not good at this,” you say, shakily, sadly

Sizhui shakes his head at you, brings your hands back to lay them on the string board

you’re quiet as his warm hands overlap yours

“let me help you,” Sizhui offers

can you help me?, you think but don’t say because you wonder if you would ever be a good cultivator with help from anyone,

“i’ll help you, y/n,” Sizhui reaffirms

he answers all the worries you don’t say

Lan Jingyi

Jingyi sighs from the awning, staring at you as you go through the motions of your sword

you had been practicing since the early morning, before the cock had even crowed

and now it was the late afternoon

and you still hadn’t stopped even when Jingyi came to remind you various times

you were so goddamn stubborn

Jingyi notices the way that your arm shakes when you finish the drill this time around and finally chooses to physically intervene

you’re breathing heavily as Jingyi comes up to you, feeling the heaviness of your limbs

though in your head, you know you can’t stop now, not when you’re so close to getting this right

you’re just about to raise your sword in front of you again when Jingyi’s hands wrap around your arms, keeping them at your sides

you blink up to Jingyi, staring at him unamused

“let me go,” you say, try to command

but your voice is soft, weary from all the hours that you’d spent today

“you need to take a break,” Jingyi reminds you and you just huff at him, manage to pry your arms out of his grasp

Jingyi sighs at you again,

“cultivation takes practice,” you say, almost monotonously and Jingyi stops you from starting again when he physically takes your sword away from you

you’re too tired to fight him for it, but you do glare at him,

“cultivation takes time, you need to give yourself time,”

“i don’t have time!” you burst out, angrily at him

because your parents had sent you to Gusu Lan to come back prepared to protect your clan, your sect, your home

and the days were getting close to your departure

and you still weren’t ready

“i’ve already taken too much time...” you breathe out and your eyes sting from your tired pain to the heavy burden that always followed you around

Jingyi sheathes your sword for you before coming close and taking your hands

he’s quiet when he pulls out a small piece of gauze (somehow prepared) and gentle as he wraps them around the few bleeding calluses on your palm

you pretend that the tears that drip out of your eyes are from the mild ache of your hands

Jingyi pretends too

Jin Ling

you duck, a bit haphazardly as a sharp knife is thrown at you

you don’t get a good footing when you land

but before you can so much as fix it a flurry of flaming talisman come flying your way

you manage your normal backflip, dodging the obstacles as intended, but after your final flip you don’t land on your feet

you fall hard onto your stomach, the dry dirt of the training grounds flying up to your face

you cough eyes tearing both from the pain and your frustration as you regain your breath from you fall

“you are not ready,”

you blink rapidly, pushing yourself up onto your knees to look up to your senior disciple,

“just give me some time, please-”

“you will not be strong enough to join the night hunt at the end of the week. if you try to come along all you’ll just be is a nuisance”

your senior had always been known for being brutally honest, you know this well

doesn’t mean that his words don’t hurt

your fists clench where they’re laid in your lap, your head bowed

you can’t look up to your senior, because you know that you will cry

and you don’t want him to see

he doesn’t bid you so much as a goodbye as he leaves, and you only really know of his departure once the shade of his shadow disappears

the sun beams down on you for a few long painful minutes

you’re too busy brewing in your own discouragement, worthlessness, to notice the entrance of another person

a shadow shades you once more

and you catch the yellow hems of long expensive robes

you don’t look up,

only when Jin Ling kneels down in front of you, taps your chin up to look at him, do you finally find his eyes

they stare at you

“your robes are all dirty,” Jin Ling simply says

and yea, no shit, you’d fallen

but somehow

those few words are enough to trigger the tears that you had been trying to hold in

Jin Ling had always been the one that made fun of you one way or another

never the comforter like your other three friend were

but this time,

at your rapid, hot tears

you’re surprised that he drags you into his arms, holds you close, even hushes you

and though he doesn’t say anything much

you feel better that you have his arms to cry into

Ouyang Zizhen

you don’t mean to react the way that you do

but maybe this was long time coming

because when your talisman disappears into the air without so much as a spark,

all the frustration from your failed studies,

your long worthless hours of practice

ignite and sputter just like the short flame of your talisman

but instead of puffing up into smoke instantly

your anger ignites

heavy, hot tears run down your cheeks and you can’t stop your sniffling even if you tried

you hiccup as your tears come out, getting louder and echoing (shamefully) in the middle of the training grounds

but before one of the senior disciples or any one could so much as scold you, warm light robes wrap around your shoulders, sheltering you

they lead you away from the looks of confusion, the rolls of eyes,

from everyone

your tears blur your vision so you feel grateful that your rescuer keeps a warm solid hold on your shoulder and even guides you to sit down when you’ve finally stopped

when you are sat on the wooden steps, your tears have mostly subsided, though you still hide your face in your folded arms

you hear the person take a seat beside you, and those familiar warm arms return to wrap around your shoulders again,

“don’t be sad over it y/n, everyone learns to cultivate at their own pace, you will be able to do it,”

Zizhen’s words are so warm, so easy to believe, so hopeful

but you’re behind everyone in the class, still unable to harness your qi for the right (or even long enough) amount of time-

“don’t think those thoughts that i know you’re thinking. you can be disappointed but you can’t give up,”

“but what if i can never cultivate...” you mumble, sadly, despondently

you feel the hand on your shoulder squeeze, a gentle reminder

“you will,

“you have me,”

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