#i like the idea of lwj slowly forgetting wwx's face

[cloudpalettes]

i reach my hand out to the scorching sun

[morifinwes]

Lauraa I finished all the fics, apart from decay (currently reading that now) and I love it sm! Especially the lip gloss one lmao the whole thing was so hilarious to me XD but also like the concept of lwj wearing lipgloss is >>> -yibobibo

@yibobibo then i'm going to rec you some more!! the lip gloss one was !!!!! ajsksks yes!! lwj wearing lipgloss is just so!! good!!

modern

this one is the painful one i talked about:

visitations by var_abelasan (12K, wip, divorced wangxian, post divorce, most of this is angst, uhm lowkey don't but also do want wangxian to end up together, it's messy, the jiangs & lans are shitty, wwx was in prison (brief mentions of that but it's kind of a major plot point), mxy & xy are the little brothers he never wanted but wwx picked them up anyways)

"Wei Ying-" Lan Zhan says, stutters, "I'm sorry." 

And now Wei Wuxian sees it, the red rimming Lan Zhan's eyes, the rumpled edges of his blazer. There is an old, familiar urge for him to reach over, to hold Lan Zhan's hand and smooth his hair, to tell him that everything will be fine. 

"We're all a bit sorry about this, I think," he says instead, and finds that he means it. For Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji and everyone else in that Guanyin temple, the pain must be unbearably fresh, like skin just flayed open. But Wei Wuxian's chest had been cracked open a long time ago, his wounds licked and cauterized and sewn shut over five long years - Ever hurting, but a dull, constant ache, "It's really alright, Lan Zhan."

 

Five years after being accused of corporate espionage and losing everything, the Guanyin Scandal breaks open and Wei Wuxian finds a familiar face at his door.

please don't let me be misunderstood by sysrae (3K, partly deaf!wwx, lwj notices, nobody else does though, idk wwx is like made out of fucking steel or some shit)

Lan Wangji has known Wei Ying for a fortnight, the first time he sees him get hit by a car.

light by redkosmos (10K, blind!lwj, which causes angst, but they manage it, best friends to lovers, fluff, lwj being insecure and feeling like a burden, college au kind of? but it doesn't matter too much)

The realization slowly dawns on him.

He can never again see the brightness of Wei Ying's eyes, the way they crescent when he smiles, never again see the rich black of his hair, the mess of it in the early mornings, never again see the beautiful tan of his skin, the beauty of the scars and marks adorned on it, how he wears his clothes, how it hugs his frame beautifully, how he looks like he's adorably swimming in cloth when he wears Lan Zhan's, and-

(Lan Zhan loses his vision in a car accident and learns to cope with it.)

don't leave me by trippinonskies (19K, brief very brief mention of lwj cheating, he doesn't but wwx is afraid lwj is cheating on him or just wants to break up with him, (he doesn't), marriage proposal, lwj acting distant = wwx's insecurities show up, fluff, angst and comfort)

Lan Zhan! Where are you lost today?” Wei Wuxian finally asks, at the end of his patience.

Lan Zhan looks a little guilty as he looks at Wei Wuxian, “Sorry, just a lot of work to deal with.”

Lie.

If there is one thing Lan Zhan can’t do, it’s lying. Especially to Wei Wuxian. But he doesn’t question Lan Zhan. He just accepts the reply, too scared to know that he is right. Too scared to know the truth.

// or where Lan Zhan is too hung up in planning the perfect proposal and ends up accidently ignoring Wei Wuxian making the other think that he wants to break up //

want you closer by xiaobucephalus ((3K, HORSES, only in the background tho, but wwx is an equestrian vet, which is so fucking valid bro, the lans own horses, a sick bunny, lwj the bunny parent!, super cute, dark bay throughoutbred chenqing is honestly so valid)

“Thank you,” Lan Zhan said, breathing a sigh of relief.

“Don’t thank me, Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying laughed again, his voice warming the chill of fear that had settled in his chest. “I’ve been looking for an excuse to get into your hutch for a while anyway.”

safe in your thoughts by anonymous (20K, it's a cherry magic au???? (i haven't watched it, but you have i think?), horny lwj but only for wwx (always for wwx))

Wei Wuxian learns three very important things on the night of his twenty-seventh birthday.

One, that Lan Wangji is ridiculously funny, which Wei Wuxian had known before but what Wei Wuxain hadn’t expected was Lan Wangji to be funny at his brother’s expense.

Two, that Wei Wuxian had finally gone mad, absolutely mental at the ripe age of twenty seven because nothing else would explain the third thing he had learnt.

Third, and the most unbelievable of the lot, that Lan Wangji wants to fuck him.

iura by yoo_im_finally_writing (1K, only added bcs op is right and wwx would've the cutest german accent, it's more fun if you understand german so hit me up if you want translations for the german sentences)

Wei Ying calls in the middle of the night to talk about German law, and Lan Zhan tries very hard not to fall asleep. Or at least, not to let Wei Ying notice he's falling asleep. (As best friends do.)

breathe in the air, the last of its kind by wereworm / @neverdoingmuch (27K, getting together, jealous!lwj, but also kind of supportive, brief mention of cheating bcs of miscommunication, no actual cheating tho, college au, lwj pov)

Following Wei Ying’s line of sight, Lan Wangji can barely prevent a smile from crossing his lips when he sees the short row of rabbit statuettes placed at the front of the display. Silver, with bright gems for eyes, they look elegant yet lively and animated.

“A-Yuan would love one of those,” Wei Ying murmurs, almost as if to himself.

Lan Wangji frowns; the rabbits, while cute, don’t seem like a suitable gift for Wei Ying’s A-Yuan.

...

It’s only when he glances back at the rabbits and notices what has been placed on display behind them, that the pieces fall into place. They’re engagement rings, there’s no doubt about it. Lan Wangji feels his heart sink – Wei Ying isn’t just dating A-Yuan, he wants to propose to him.

Or: the five times Lan Wangji thinks that A-Yuan is Wei Ying’s boyfriend and the one time he learns the truth.

paint smears on sunny days by snowshadowao3 / @angstsexual (53K, getting together, art teacher!wwx, single parent!lwj, they're rich if i remember right, wwx & lwj are both good with kids!!!, this is so good actually, fluff)

To say that he runs to his car would be incorrect, as he is a Lan, and running is both undignified and unnecessary unless in immediate danger. Nor does he slam his key into the ignition, or aggressively swerve around the cars on the freeway, or have a mild panic attack at the fact he is picking A-Yuan up late from school for the first time ever.

He comes close, though.

By the time he arrives, it’s 4:35PM, and he has imagined about fifty different worse-case scenarios. The door is partly open when he gets to it, a messy label of 104B—Art Room scrawled with chalk on a placard next to the faded wood. As he opens it fully, he expects to see a wailing, terrified child, or perhaps a scene of utter misery and betrayal.

What he finds is his son, hands covered in paint, being sung to by a beautiful, dark-haired stranger.

“Ducks live in the pond, yellow ducks, happy ducks!”

Lan Wangji stops in his tracks.

(Or: Falling in love with your son’s art teacher, in five parts)

no bunny compares by gusucloudbunny (4K, god this is cute, fluff)

“Lan Zhan!” Wei Wuxian cornered his friend one week before his birthday. “If you could have anything in the world, what would it be?”

Lan Wangji furrowed his brow at Wei Wuxian, not exactly sure how to answer that question in a truthful manner that didn’t involve confessing his undying love for his best friend.

Wei Wuxian is on a mission to get Lan Wangji the perfect gift for his birthday. What Wei Wuxian doesn't know is that the only thing Lan Wangji truly wants is him.

wei wuxian's week of realizing things by photojenny (12K, i have read this multiple times, i always forget what happens, idk why but my notes say it's good, the tags say drunkji makes an appearance and i'm always up for that)

"Lan Zhan, do you like Mianmian?" asked Wei Wuxian.

Lan Wangji blinked, and stared. It was not the first time Lan Wangji had questioned the perceptiveness of the boy he had a crush on. Wei Wuxian had been smart in the class they had taken together. Yet time and time again, Wei Wuxian had tested the old wisdom that there are no stupid questions.

---

Lan Wangji must figure out how to confess when Wei Wuxian is the most oblivious person he's ever met.

are you my wisdom tooth? because i'd like to take you out by yellowcarnations (1K, crack, fluff, lwj stop flirting with a stranger, even if he is your husband, drunkji but make it to max level)

Lan Zhan wakes up and he has no idea where he is.

There are bright lights and his jaw hurts, he doesn't who this man next to his bed is but oh he might be in love, maybe, probably, definitely.

–

based off that guy-forgets-who-his-wife-is-and-hits-on-her vid but its wangxian.

beep! goes his heart by wearing_tearing (3K, fluff, lwj is like "he, he likes me right? he likes me" and everyone is like "yes, yes he does")

“Wei Ying’s heart monitor,” Lan Wangji starts.

Wen Qing blinks at him. “Yes?”

“It beeps.”

“That’s… what they generally do, yes.”

“The beeps change,” Lan Wangji continues, “when others are around.”

*

Wei Ying’s heart only sings for Lan Wangji.

canon

obedient and bellicose by thunderwear (19K, lwj is cursed by the lan elders, they notice too late, fix-it fic kind of?, lqr being a good uncle and lxc is a good brother, wwx accidentally uses the curse but he doesn't know about it)

It took Lan Wangji a long time to realize he was cursed. Too long really, anyone else would have noticed so much sooner. The problem was, he liked following the rules.

Ella Enchanted AU that no one needed but I wanted.

hello my old heart, how have you been? by ravenditefairylights (10K, amnesia, fluff, wwx taking care of lwj, so much fluff and softness, angst too but not that much)

The issue is, Lan Wangji brings his thoughts back before they stray too far, that it is impossible for someone to be in his bed, unless Lan Wangji himself invited them. He has not. He would remember doing so, and besides, all his night clothes are still on and there is no headache to imply that he was inebriated last night. No, the situation is simple.

There is someone in Lan Wangji’s bed. It is impossible for anyone to be in Lan Wangji’s bed, and yet that doesn’t seem to have stopped the stranger.

or lan wangji wakes up, and wei ying is there. he doesn't understand how or why, and he can understand even less why his hallucination of wei ying is so insistent on bathing him, and braiding his hair, on holding him and fixing his clothes. why the hallucination of wei ying seems so happy to see him.

teach me the way by likeafox (58K, rogue cultivator!wwx, horny wangxian, lwj wants wwx to teach him how to be a good lover, ....wwx is a virgin, the porn is the plot, but there's less of it than i thought)

"I do not wish to leave my future spouse… dissatisfied with my intimate knowledge,” Lan Zhan says, very seriously. “I am hoping to find an instructor, to better prepare myself for such matters."

Wei Ying feels his mouth drop open. He's pretty sure the Second Jade of Lan just told him he's a virgin who wants to learn how to do sex good.

Rogue Cultivator Wei Wuxian is the stuff of local legends. Some of those legends are even true! The ones about his tremendous experience in bed, on the other hand, are not so true. Which becomes a problem when Lan Wangji, on the verge of an arranged marriage and worried he won’t know how to please his future spouse, enlists Wei Ying's help to teach him the art of love-making. Wei Ying's great at improvisation, though, and is pretty sure he's got this sex mentor thing under control. What could possibly go wrong

other aus

of god: my love unholy by tunnelodfawn (3K, tw blood / war, dark!lwj, god!wwx, kind of poetry)

Lan Zhan takes everything as a sign from his god. The blood staining his fingertips—a holy anointment. He sanctifies himself through blood. The strings of his guqin gleam red in the sun—a divine blessing. This is an instrument of destruction. A single note—a cry of power—and in this note the voice of his god unravels the earthly threads tethering man to earth.

The Yiling Patriarch blesses Lan Zhan with war. Wei Wuxian blesses Lan Zhan with agility. Wei Ying blesses Lan Zhan with love.

The base of the Yiling Patriarch’s shrine is the home of Lan Zhan’s knees. He worships. There is something of the blasphemous and the unholy in his prayers. He prays not for victory but for the sight of Wei Ying. Bless me with your presence, he begs.

Or, wherein, Lan Zhan bridges the gap between the mortal and the divine—the worshipper and the god—with blood.

the river and the sea by sasamelons / @sasamelons (7K, soulmate au, arranged marriage (wangxian with each other), they're both kind of dumb but i love it)

Lan Wangji gritted his teeth, wishing to just be left alone. "I am looking for my soulmate," he ground out.

"Oh."

It took Lan Wangji a few moments to realize that Wei Wuxian had stopped following him. When he looked back, the other boy seemed to be frozen to the spot, eyes wide and lips still parted. He quickly looked away when he saw Lan Wangji looking back. "I see. Well, have a good trip!"

--

At six years old, Lan Zhan met his soulmate on the streets of Yiling and promptly lost him again.

At sixteen years old, Lan Wangji met his betrothed and was determined not to like him.

[neverdoingmuch]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

cue lan wangji

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

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

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

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

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

he also didnt expect wwx to be so hot

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[i-like-plan-m]

So mxtx confirmed that wwx cultivates mxy vote back to the strength of his og one. Maybe one day him and lwj are training and wwx finally manages to beat him for the first time since getting his new body! Or wwx secretly cultivates it more and surprises lwj with how strong it is now! Either way lwj is definitely turned on by wwx beating him~

what!! i did not know that but makes me so happy 🥺[Posted to Ao3 here]

Lan Zhan walked the mountain path into the Cloud Recesses, tired from his travels but satisfied with the trip to Lanling, where Jin Ling had managed to look him squarely in the eye exactly twice during the week. An improvement, certainly, but still a source of bemusement for Lan Zhan. 

Why Jin Ling was so afraid of him he didn’t know; Wei Ying suggested it was his “absolutely terrifying resting bitch face,” but if that were the case then the actually insufferable sect leaders might leave him alone for once. 

Wei Ying would be delighted to hear his nephew had handled himself admirably at the conference of minor sects around Lanling. Lan Zhan had come in his capacity as Chief Cultivator to provide some level of extra authority and support, but also to hear the complaints and troubles the small sects faced. It had been Jin Ling’s idea, and one that bought him a great deal of goodwill from his neighbors. 

Now, though, Lan Zhan was going to go home, where his husband would be waiting for him. Where their home would be warm and lit with dozens of candles for light, the door left open in defiance of the descending cold to welcome him home. 

He had to pause, then, and take a breath. He was getting used to this fierce, almost painful feeling in his chest. Happiness was a foreign concept to him, and now it bled into every moment, brightened every day. It was overwhelming, sometimes, his heart full of hope and joy rather than anguish and grief.

Lan Zhan heard the sharp call of a whistle, and looked up to find the reason for his happiness standing on the rooftop, wearing white robes that made him look like a star descended from the sky, rays of moonlight cast lovingly across his features. 

“Wei Ying,” he said, a smile wrinkling the corners of his eyes. 

“Lan-er-gongzi,” Wei Ying said, and made Lan Zhan pause. Blink up at him in question. 

A smile spread across his husband’s face, sly and impish. Wei Ying lifted a hand to inspect the two bottles of Emperor’s Smile dangling from his grip. He shifted in place, and the sword in his hand caught the glint of moonlight with a bright flash. 

Lan Zhan’s breath caught, and he understood. 

This was an invitation. A repeat of history, of sorts, of a night that Lan Zhan would never forget. Except this one would be without the tragic ending-- one in which he would return to the jingshi with his husband, where they shared a life together. It took a moment for him to find his voice.

“Alcohol is forbidden in the Cloud Recesses,” he said sternly, and caught the flicker of delight across Wei Ying’s face when he realized Lan Zhan was going to play along. 

“Oh? What are you going to do about it?”

Lan Zhan leaped onto the rooftop, Bichen in hand. Wei Ying had been improving steadily as he cultivated Mo Xuanyu’s golden core, though he hadn’t been sparring with Lan Zhan often lately. He seemed to get frustrated with his inability to keep up, as though the limits of this new body were holding him back. 

This was an invitation, though, and not one Lan Zhan would ever turn down.

They stood on opposite sides of the rooftop, watching each other. Wei Ying’s playful smile softened at whatever he saw on Lan Zhan’s face. 

“Remember this, Lan Zhan?” He wiggled his eyebrows and waved the Emperor’s Smile tauntingly in the air. 

“I remember,” Lan Zhan said, and if his voice was thick with emotion neither of them mentioned it. 

“Oh? What happened next, then?” 

“We fought. You lost.” 

Wei Ying cocked his head. “Did I?”

“You did.” 

“Hm. That I don’t remember.” 

Lan Zhan’s mouth curved. “Convenient.” 

“Isn’t it?” Wei Ying agreed. “I do remember the bottle you smashed, though.”

“You told me to pay you back for it,” Lan Zhan said with fond remembrance of Wei Ying’s sheer audacity. “And then we fought.” 

“We did, didn’t we?” Wei Ying murmured. “You don’t seem so angry now, Lan Zhan. Think you can keep up?” 

Lan Zhan’s pulse quickened at the challenge in his husband’s voice, an automatic response to Wei Ying’s suggestive tone-- but also at the dare thrown at his feet, with the ceaseless moon as their only witness. 

It had been months since they’d last sparred. He looked forward to discovering Wei Ying’s progress. 

“Give me the bottles,” he said, drawing Bichen. 

Wei Ying grinned at him, sharp and defiant. “Come and take them.” 

Lan Zhan lunged. 

His husband had made more progress than he’d expected-- Wei Ying dodged the swing, twisted around on one foot with perfect balance, and danced away behind Lan Zhan’s back, all in the span of a few heartbeats. 

He’d always been fast, in this life and the previous. 

So was Lan Zhan. 

He followed Wei Ying across the rooftop with sharp focus, tracking the blindingly swift movements as Wei Ying darted in and out of reach, deflecting Lan Zhan’s advances with a still sheathed Suibian. 

“You’ve gotten slow in your old age, Lan Zhan!” He teased, and then squawked in outrage as the tip of Bichen slashed through the ties holding the two jars together. 

“What is your excuse?” Lan Zhan asked after catching the stray bottle in midair, silently delighted when Wei Ying threw his head back and laughed. 

“Alright, alright. I should stop messing around so much,” he said, grinning wide. “There’s a rule about that somewhere over there, right?” 

“Perhaps a few,” Lan Zhan said mildly; they both knew there were at least ten, and most of those were unsubtle references to Wei Ying’s past adventures at the Cloud Recesses. 

Wei Ying leaned down to set the bottle at his feet, patting it on the top like it was a pet. “You stay right there. I’ll be back in just a moment for you.” 

Lan Zhan’s pulse quickened as he slowly, pointedly drew Suibian from its sheath and set it aside. The blade glinted softly under the silver lights obscured by thin clouds from above, reflecting back onto Wei Ying’s face and casting shadows that made it hard to identify his features. 

For a moment, under the play of shadows across his face, he looked like that sixteen year old boy again, before the world had consumed everything he had, down to his very spirit. His face was his own again, long lost but never forgotten, and then Mo Xuanyu’s delicate features returned as the clouds passed. 

There was no disappointment. Lan Zhan had come to love this face as well. He would recognize any face that Wei Ying wore, because he knew and loved the spirit underneath better than his own.

Wei Ying gave him no warning. He moved like water, Yunmeng Jiang’s fluid sword style evident in every movement. Lan Zhan raised his sword in preparation, and met him halfway.

They clashed. Swords crossed. Eyes met. And Wei Ying winked before sending a burst of raw power into a sudden shove that sent Lan Zhan skidding backwards. 

Astonished, he stared at Wei Ying. Caught the determined expression on his husband’s face, and settled in for a real fight this time. If Wei Ying wanted a fight, Lan Zhan would give him one. It seemed as though Wei Ying had something to prove to Lan Zhan and, more importantly, himself. 

Few cultivators alive could match Lan Zhan’s brute strength and impossible reserves of stamina. Once, Wei Ying had been capable. Now, though, he wore Mo Xuanyu’s body, and it was smaller, with less muscle tone as his first body. 

But Wei Ying was quick and clever, and this body happened to also be young and flexible, unburdened by the aches and pains that had plagued him before his death. He’d clearly been training for some time; Lan Zhan could see significantly more muscle tone in his arms and legs, his training clearly paying off. 

They fought until they were both breathing hard, until the ring of clashing steel softened. They fought to a standstill, and when Suibian’s blade touched his throat just as Bichen’s stopped at Wei Ying’s, Lan Zhan pressed his free hand to Wei Ying’s abdomen and stared at him with wide, wet eyes. 

Wei Ying smiled. 

“Your core is…” Lan Zhan trailed off, too choked up to continue. 

“As strong as it ever was?” Wei Ying asked, lowering Suibian with a beaming smile. 

“How?” Lan Zhan asked helplessly, sliding Bichen into the sheath on his back so he could cup his hands around Wei Ying’s beloved face and rest their foreheads together. 

“I had to start from scratch,” Wei Ying said. “You know that.” Lan Zhan managed a nod. “Once the tiny baby Lans stopped outpacing me, I enlisted A-Yuan and Lan Jingyi’s help. Then Wen Ning, and finally Zewu-Jun.” 

“My brother?” Lan Zhan asked, wondering if this was why Lan Xichen had been smiling at him so often lately, like he knew something Lan Zhan didn’t. Clearly he had. 

“Yeah.” Wei Ying turned his head enough to press a kiss to Lan Zhan’s palm. “I wanted to surprise you, so I had to practice with someone on your level. With Wen Ning and Lan Xichen’s help, I figured out which way to hold a sword again, and then strengthened my golden core enough to make it actually matter.”

His golden core was strong again. The unspoken hung between them-- Lan Zhan would not outlive his husband by decades. Wei Ying had cultivated Mo Xuanyu’s underdeveloped core to incredible heights so Lan Zhan would never be alone like before, achieving the impossible once again. 

Happiness became joy, and Lan Zhan was helpless to do anything but kiss him, cloaked in moonlight and memories. 

...

LQR looking outside to see them chasing each other around on the rooftops: not this again. 

LXC watching w/ hearts in his eyes: it’s called romance, uncle

[izartn]

MDZS JGY fic promt

I’m thinking about Meng Yao/Jin Guangyao and I think I would love to read a fic of him snapping in the opposite direction of his desperate grab for power and respect from his shit father. We know, thanks to JGS gruesome murder that at some point, after already being a shitty human doing murdery things, JGY snapped hard and said: “if i’m gonna do the shitty things of running this sect i’ll do them for myself and fuck you to death”. Quite literally. 

So I’d like to imagine a world where he, like, not necessary becomes a much better person; I dunno about the JZX and WWX kill plot, or about NMJ. I think he’s very set in his auto-preservating self-beneficing ways, and if you don’t really work well with that part of his chara then he’s not JGY anymore. 

But instead of being, I’ll become the highest in the cultivation world, so i will be finally respected and listened to (uhm, didnt’ work especially well did it? they never let him forget his mother profession when it was his father who was the absolute worst) he decides that while cultivation is still something to aspire to -can’t forget about his mother dying dream, also longer life and health benefits + being a hero, doing the decent thing- he realises the cultivation sect system as it is horrible. 

He was in the middle of the war, he saw it from both sides. He then went to low to high but still a servant. And it’s always blood what counts. He sees what happens to his other bastard brothers, to WWX when he decides enough is enough, and how he himself is still treated by his Sect despite his intelligence and abilities. And instead of trying to take refuge in the system, he is a bit more self-aware or inquiring; maybe he is more idealistic in some ways? But still oh so bitter, and decides to destroy the system from within.

You know what? Do it so he still rises to Leader of the Jin Sect (without prostitutes murdering and necrophilia; he is now more on the side of the common, so maybe he gets the help of Sisi or someone he knows to aid him poison his father and after he gets them a nice reward and packs them to a new life in Japan or something. Or he simply uses another subtle method without intermediaries or with unaware ones, he is certainly able of doing that when he isnt being an ironic murderer shit.) because it’ll serve him, and to be the leader responsible of making sure the so estimated Jin blood is disposesed will make him smug pleased. To slowly gain power and bit by bit erase the division between the noble clans and people who learn simply bcs of talent, scouting youngsters witht the excuse of replenishing the clans after the war and quiting the idiots nobles from their spoiled positions. 

Hell you can even make LXC and NMJ (did he died before or after JGY becomes Sect Leader? Well if he is still alive, NHS doesn’t destroy him, but then WWX doesn’t come back. If he dies before, then the vengeance is still in play, but it’ll be even more fraughted bcs now JGY goals and methods are a lot more morally grey and watching WWX and LWJ confront that would be super interesting O-O), you can make them see those policies and be like, oh sure, that’s a good thing you’re doing A-yao. But also conflict with their positions in the nobility system, as time pases and JGY subtly passes more changes and brings to ruin those sect leaders more entrenched in the old ways and abusing of their people.

 Programs for literacy, for the spread of knowledge and the civil use of cultivation techniques with the excuse of avoiding beforehand the formation of ghosts and resentment appealing to the lazy nature of the rich while eliminating bit by bit the necessity of their existence, like boiling a frog, the creation of the watchtowers still fits nicely and we know in canon he faced oppposition there so here it’s more important still, even more so Su She I think, will be elated with this turn of events and even more loyal lmao if JGY sells it well and JGY sells his ideas really well. 

Maybe he helps XXC and SL bcs it’s in his interest they find success although he finds them naive; but JGY has a canon soft spot for people who treat him well regardless of his common born status, so. Maybe he intercedes with XY and convinces him to work with him taking out nobles reasonably (I bet XY will like that), and manages to avoid somehow XY elaborated revenge on SL and XXC? or executes him when he is too much of a wild card, but we know how that ended in canon... The best bet is making XY see on his own best interest to help in JGY vision but that’s well. almost crack fic lmao. 

OH! Maybe he finds XY before the massacre of the Chang clan bcs he is searching for someone to help him above table and gets to him by offering a more subtle but still suitable appropriate revenge with the pro bonus of getting to do the same to others after and access to WWX manuscripts. You know this has a much higher chance of working, let’s go with this scenario. So he keeps XY out of his father reach, when he is searching for someone to gain control of the stygian seal and wen ning. Yeah, this will appeal immensely to JGY xD

You know, and JGY being beloved by the people, and having more than a facade of being just or fair, but proving it although it isn't in the interest of the nobles. And as he is politics savvy, although with more effort he could certainly make it so he avoids assassinations or walking in a minefield like wwx etc. 

Depending on the NMJ situation... You could make it so NMJ doesn’t die and then they enter a stalemate of grudging respect bcs JGY wants more an ally in swaying people for his cause than his revenge, although he sure could make non lethal things to inconvenience NMJ lol. And NHS as sect leader wouldn’t have the same power to his decisions and reach, no matter if he is more manipulable; after all isn’t NHS a pampered noble in JGY eyes? Who could be sure if he even would follow JGY anyways... 

And you could give it different endings depending on the development of JGY: a success where he gets to the point were factually the sects aren’t bloods based anymore, just a few like the lan (those traditionalists lol) resisting an unavoidable wave of change taht comes for everybody, and the money doesn’t flow in their pockets like a river to the ocean but instead it goes back to the people. 

You could make it so it’s a partial success bcs JGY is still himself and does more than a few morally grey things that come to light with the NMJ murder reveal, but his changes linger and the common people plus others of the same ideal now trained and in process of being cultivators won’t let themselves be cowered by the awful nobility -another big conflict breeding, and maybe it won’t be successful but people have long memories and books and the new ideals of equality would spread regardless, so it would start again and again each time a bit better-. I think WWX POV in this case would be delicious omg, LXC conflict even more pointed. This would be, I think the more realistic and interesting to write take on the idea. Iand you now, I’m in favor of a novel setting and characterization, but to make it more painful, use the 16 gap of the show and nothing else (i haven’t see the show beyond the first episodes bcs i couldn’t take it lol)  so JGY has more time to make changes. 

You could make a downer ending (this I wouldn’t like lmao, but it’s there) so that shows the cruelty and inability of making changes to something so integrated and supported by itself, that JGY loses much to his revenge he takes more and more radical actions that come back to bit his ass with NMJ and JGS murder revelation. I think XY in here would be appropriate, in an antagonist role as in MDZS. But it still has an impact; JGY’s life, despite his faults was still more inspirational, made better impact than his canon self. Make it poetically tragic and a comment on the futility of trying to change society by oneself, but find beauty in the attempt itself which has created community, which will in the future do the true work of overthrowing the yokes of the high ups, educating and helping each other in their messy human lives.

All this ending, and JL conflict, who at this point has learnt much at his uncle JGY side, who has decided to (dunno about marrying QS and A-Song’s death. depending on your take and ending it’ll have different impact) go on with his labor bc he sees the good on it and swears to not be like the worst of JGY. A legacy he can reconcile with himself thanks too, to the experience of meeting WWX. JL is in a more fraught position with JC in this verse, I think, bc for one, he is more mature/not so spoiled and that would make JC glad, but his ideas are at the same time understable and anatema to JC who puts so much of his life on honoring the clan on making sure the Jiang carry on and his name isn’t forgotten but who recruited from nothing during the war. Who sees the danger in alienating the powers of the cultivation sects bc he saw what it did to WWX and he believes in protecting his own and to hell with the rest. 

So very interesting!!! 

You could spin so many takes from this, it’d be so fascinating and satisfying. I’d love to see the chara of JGY developed in this direction, bcs he has so much potential to waste it in so petty goals. His ambition is certainly big enough to believe he will damn well do a silent revolution well. 

Just, using the classics to argue for equality and education and a good life even if you’re a peasant, using the cultivation basis and its suppose use to better oneself and the world in making a point of avoiding wars and violent retribution (to the public, he’s still a bit of an hypocrit bcs it serves him well to have a stick with which to beat his enemies lmao) and instead use diplomacy and a sort of rehabilitation or service thing. Because those ideas are there, in the different clasics and schools of thought (not confucianism, not as much) it’s just that the nobles and high scholars were never interested and used them to argue for a sort of natural hierarchy were they’re in top. 

 Let JGY create a new school of thought, and LXC and others seeing the merit on it. JGY has the reach and the intelligence and the ability. 

The best revenge is living well and destroying the system which allowed the other to harm you, the ideas, the means. Create a fantasy fulfillment ^^

[a-very-fond-farewell]

The forbidden crack! Untamed prompts: 18/?

University AU: “Negative Space”

[ok so, self projection is a bitch, but I am petty to myself on a regular basis so it’s ok]

[title is from the Japanese concept “ma”, which Wikipedia describes as:

“a Japanese word which can be roughly translated as ‘gap’, ‘space’, ‘pause’ or ‘the space between two structural parts.’ In traditional Japanese arts and culture, ma is more carefully defined as the suggestion of an interval. It is best described as a consciousness of a sense of place, with the ‘intervals’ suggested often being more than simple gaps, instead focusing on the intention of a negative space in an art piece.

Ma is not necessarily an art concept created by compositional elements, such as the literal existence of a negative space. Instead, the intention is often to create the perception of an interval in the viewer experiencing the elements forming an art piece, making maless reliant on the existence of a gap, and more closely related to the perceived experience of a gap.

Ma has also been described as ‘an emptiness full of possibilities, like a promise yet to be fulfilled’, and as ‘the silence between the notes which make the music’.”

Fun fact: “ma” also means “but” in Italian, which is what usually follows whatever intrusive thought may plague my mind. Eg: “I may be useless now, BUT just you wait until I get some dopamine to get me through this shitty times.”]

*

Wei Ying never asked for much in his life. He’s content with cleaning classrooms and toilets and nobody can beat him at wiping the marble floors if he works hard enough. Granny Wen, his supervisor, is slightly impressed with his ability to make the wood shine for ages to come. His nephew Jin Ling sometimes comes to check on him when he’s done with senior classes or cram school in the evening, and together they sit down and listen to whatever his older friends in music production came up with during the day. Jiang Cheng occasionally would ask him to keep him company while he grades papers and they bitch about ZiXuan and his inability to dote on their sister. The cafeteria ladies are always nice to him and they give him extra congee because they worry for his questionable consumption of spice products.

He’s fine, really.

So why can’t he stop wandering over to the science building these days? Looking for a clean board to use, for an equation to finally solve? Even if in the end he just takes the chalk in hand and simply stares down at the inky surface in front of him, unable to write. His mind working on a software too advanced for the hardware that constitutes his brain.

Thirteen years. It has been already thirteen years and yet it feels like yesterday, or like it never happened at all. Like it has yet to be. Time blindness is a bitch to deal with, yet dyscalculia and ADHD makes a joke out of you when you love math on a visceral level... but you burned too bright too fast and now you function on no data and with an even shittier signal. Having a burnout at 23 should have taught him humility instead of pride, but Wei Ying has always worked out of spite and certain habits are difficult to forget.

Couldn’t put the number in the right order, switching digits left and right since he was young? Fine. Numbers were concepts anyway, entire civilizations working their magic without even knowing what ��zero” stood for. A brain steaming with a million ideas per second? Good. New connections brimming with ideas he could use to better the world.

It worked fine until he let himself down. Until he became a useless empty lighter, a wet match tossed out, carbon monoxide in the air.

Dropped out before finishing his very ambitious, highly dangerous for his psyche, thesis project. Aunt Yu never forgave him for that, not after paying for his advanced classes, not after trusting Uncle Jiang and supporting him despite his many flaws. What good is being first of your class every year, poster child of a teaching system done right, graduating bachelor at 21, if you can’t finish your master at 23 and get your PhD at 25 and start teaching by 27 and drive yourself insane in the process?

Wei Ying dropped out and didn’t finish his master, didn’t enroll in the teaching program, and let everyone down. His Uncle and Aunt looking down on him, whether out of pity or shame. Jiang Cheng may have been the one leaving him behind, but he used to be the one saying “you should have tried harder”. YanLi worrying over him when she should have focused on her career first. Jin Ling growing up with stories of his uncle “not being worth the money put into his education”, taught to not disappoint and make his family proud. The Jin side, that is.

And now the kid comes crawling in defeat to him instead of Jiang Cheng after bombing a test in high school. And they chat of what he would like to do and how much he likes sports and how much he despises the idea of getting a scholarship for that and being called stupid or something by his classmates. And he cries when he thinks Wei Ying cannot see him as he leaves the campus late at night.

Wei Ying didn’t even want to solve that impossible theorem he fixated on in his early twenties. His thesis project was inconsequential in the great scheme of things and his professor only wanted him to be his one trick pony in the end. No. Wei Ying wanted to teach math in elementary school, hell... even in kindergarten. He wanted to change the approach to the subject. Because numbers cannot be taught like language is and there are many ways to teach how to sum up digits and divide quantities and there are no rules on how to make sense of space either.

But how can he teach when even time eludes his senses?

Something that nobody can define, but certainly most perceive as linear... but not him. Not since his brain fried up in his attempt to function like a normal human being.

After thirteen years nothing has changed.

Until one day he hears something else aside from his usual intrusive thoughts and burdensome memories. A melody so quiet he almost mistakes it for the wind, coming from the music building.

He walks slowly, night surrounding him like the embrace of a friend as he makes his way to the traditional musical instruments room. The one where Jin Ling’s friends meet sometimes as they wait for the younger boy to join them. Wei Ying holds his breath as he spies through the gap of the door left ajar, neon light slicing his face like moonbeams as he peeks in and recognizes Jin Ling’s friends and another figure sitting on the ground, guqin on their knees.

But before he can lean in and breathe in the vibrant sounds all around, the door opens and music theory Professor Lan finds Wei Ying clutching his mop for dear life.

They said the man could see colors within the notes, that he despises language outside of his class or office and that only his brother, the history of art TA, could convince him to talk every now and then.

If numbers were created to measure space, Wei Ying firmly believed music had been invented to make sense of time and count its seconds in rhythm and notes, pauses and beats. Yet, time seems to stretch to a stop as the janitor focuses all of his attention on professor Lan’s stern face and his heart quickens its pace.

Wei Ying takes a rushed breath and dives right in with a weird sense of hope pumping in his veins. A small, timid voice whispering that life is not made to be atoned, but to move on and grow.

One step at a time.

“I’m Wei Ying, Professor Lan. May I listen while you play?”

Yes, maybe it will be enough just to let time flow at its pace.

Whatever rhythm that may be.

*

[some hcs down below]

WWX does not magically solve the math theorem. he may or may not help kids figure out how to use numbers on the long run tho. no, he will still work as a janitor and there’s nothing wrong with that.

yes, LWJ is autistic and stimms and finds WWX’s honesty soothing. yes, you can add your hcs on the matter. he has synesthesia, but more on the grapheme-color side of the deal than anything else and he sees certain letters/numbers/notes in different colors. people think he can see colors in music, but they misunderstood and thought he could recognize different hues while listening to music instead of reading it.

JC has grown since his uni years and doesn’t resent WWX anymore. he teaches astrophysics as a TA and doesn’t pressure his brother to pick his studies up anymore. WWX has mixed feelings about this: he feels he’s a lost cause, to the point not even his brother spurs him to best himself anymore, but he is grateful for the patience anyway.

LXC is the official LWJ translator of the campus along with their cousins SiZhui and JinGyi. he bonds with WWX and JC over how tired they are, seldom staring at flies roaming above them in the cafeteria bc none of them can even move. he lives on caffeine and regrets, but he’s getting better as he develops a love for his plant babies and tries to not let them die on a daily basis.

Wen Ning and Wen Qing are little overachievers and adrenaline junkies, hence their competitive streak on their way to their third master degree just for funsies. they scare people with how driven they are, but the juniors love them.

NMJ is the one to go to if you need to get away with murder, but JGY will actually be the one helping you dispose of the body. the fact that they both work in criminal law is somewhat both reassuring and disquieting. they hate each other and yet cannot stop hang out, they are close to 40 and need the rivalry to keep going anyway. nothing beats a good nemesis. not even sex. maybe.

NHS has failed his entrance exam to become a nurse too many times to count, but he is determined to see the end of it. even if he could potentially work in the family business, but he doesn’t know anything about managing an empire of bricks and he doesn’t care. if NMJ could run away, well, so can he.

MianMian is Wei Ying’s bestie and has the biggest crush on JGY’s sister A-Su the kindergarten teacher, but since they are childhood besties she doesn’t know how to approach her. she is Jin Ling’s idol and a certified boxer and refers to herself as a useless bisexual. Wei Ying boxes with her sometimes, she always win.

YanLi is an equestrian mum, but in the best way possible: she coaches children for shows and teaches them horses should be loved and feared equally and that if you want to shoot arrows from a running horse you should always, ALWAYS let go of the stirrups the moment the beast gets too unhinged to ride. JC fears her, WWX is only glad she didn’t train police dogs for a living.

ZiXuan actually loves his wife, but WWX and JC question his career choices and the fact that he’s a retired lawyer spending his family fortune while he’s a stay-at-home dad and does all the housework. WWX and JC believe he should give their sister a better life and work his ass off to deserve her, but he does make amazing rice cakes and keeps up with Jin Ling’s studies and is very supportive of his dreams.

A-Qing and Song Lan are siblings and sometimes bring JC food from the campus cafeteria where they both work at, while Xiao XingChen and his carer Xue Yang work with LXC for a project on accessibility for visually impaired visitors of the local museum. JC and LXC work to make Song Lan and Xiao XingChen fall for each other, but the youngsters are too protective to let them play matchmaker so easily.

[this is all for now. please, if you want, add your own headcanons!]

[thewickling]

WangXian+ wwx is an assassin whose mission is to kill Lan Wangji

I don't know if this counts as happy? But I tried!

Ideas:

WWX is hired to kill LWJ but on seeing LWJ feels like something is off and he ends up dropping the hit.

He runs into LWJ and LSZ a while later and both of them drag WWX home.

WWX finds out he is the missing adopted second son of the Jiang family.

Since WWX is declared dead, LWJ lies and says WWX is his boyfriend from overseas as they try to figure out 1. why he lost his memory and 2 why someone wants LWJ dead.

Wei Wuxian watched Lan Wangji through a scope. His finger off the trigger, not that it mattered he hadn’t loaded a bullet into the gun. 

Lan Wangji walked down the street, wearing slacks and a button up. His hands hands carefully carrying a case for his guqin. Two highschool students run up to him chirping excitedly despite the fact Lan Wangji maintained a stern expression and did not return the teasing.

Something about this hit smelled fishy. He had always been good at deluding himself. Telling himself stories about what he did until his memories lost clarity but that Lan Wangji was a good man who did not deserve death oddly felt like the truth. 

Lan Wangji had a sincere face. That never stopped Wei Wuxian before. Dozens of “good men” had skeletons in their closets. Lan Wangji, though, did not just look like a good man. The classical musician donated most of his money to charity. The amount of his salary that didn’t to paying for an overly modest lifestyle went to the family business.

A business that was suspiciously clean for its size. 

Wuxian wasn’t here to judge. Except following the clean-cut man with his scope, he wondered who could benefit from killing the second son of Cloud Recesses Inc. 

If someone wanted to tank the Cloud Recesses, it would be better to take out the Lan Xichen, the president, or Lan Qiren, the VP. So this hit had to be personal, most hits were.

Wei Wuxian always looked into his clients. You never wanted to work for someone who would turn tail and cause trouble. Or more idiotically be a rat for the government. Su She was neither of those things. A small-time company head of a shell company for the Jin family. The two had attended the same school for a short people before Su She had transferred out. 

Lowering his gun, he bit his lip.

Maybe he was getting soft if he was overthinking a hit so much? Maybe he should get out of the game before this softness got him killed. It wasn’t like he started killing people because he enjoyed it (not that he could remember why he started in the first place). Returning the deposit wasn’t difficult and he certainly had enough money stashed away to wash his hands clean. 

He never intended to meet Lan Wangji. Strange, he always had a problem recognizing faces but Lan Wangji’s stuck around his head. The phoenix eyes, straight nose, and proud mouth formed a handsome man. In another lifetime, he would have been a scholar with the elegance with which he moved. He should speak similarly, Wei Wuxian thought.

His delusion was shattered when he sat in a cafe, trying to figure out what he would do with his life now that turned a new leaf.

“Wei Ying!” 

He sipped his latte. The liquid went down wrong and he saw who was approaching him. 

“Wei Ying,” Lan Wangji repeated, pushing through the bustling cafe.

“Excuse me, do we know each other?” he smiled, plastering as much innocent as he could into his expression.

His expression clouded over. Searching for something in Wei Wuxian’s expression, his frown deepened. “Return with me.”

He jerked his head back. His throat still sore from the coughing. “What relationship do we share? Why would I go with you?”

“Baba!” The teenager he had seen with Lan Wangji the other day popped up. If Lan Wangji had a pure face, this teen had an innocent one. “Why did you run…”

His mouth dropped at the sight of Wei Wuxian.

“Return with me.” Lan Wangji repeated, reaching for Wei Wuxian’s hand.

He shifted back.

“You’re alive.” The teen threw himself at Wei Wuxian, giving him no option but to catch him. His embrace was tight and overly familiar but Wei Wuxian reflexively returned it. 

“What is going on?”

“Sizhui.”

The teen shifted around, reluctantly releasing Wei Wuxian. Red rimmed his eyes giving Wei Wuxian the impression this should have been an emotional reunion. His heart squeezed even though his brain drew a blank.

“My surname used to be Wen,” Sizhui said in way of explanation. 

“And?”

“My birth name is Yuan.”

Biting his lip, Wei Wuxian’s heart tightened more. His brain ran and ran without any connections made. 

His expression grew grave. His mouth trembling; he asked, “Do you recognize me?”

He shook his head slowly. The weight of Sizhui’s disappointment weighed down on his movement. 

“Return with us.” 

Lan Wangji successfully captured his wrist. If not for his confusion, Wei Wuxian could have easily dodged. It was that confusion mixed with curiosity that convinced him to follow the two home. 

Lan Wangji was 100% a second young master. His apartment was not the penthouse but it overlooked the city from above. The open-area was spacious and bright. 

Wei Wuxian sat on a white couch that matched the white walls. The coffee table in front of him was glass and instead of a TV mounted on the wall, there was a series of scrolls filled with calligraphy.

“So, Young Masters why am I here?” He smiled, angling his head to the side. 

Lan Sizhui’s eyes darted between Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian.

“When I was young, you sheltered my family,” he said, softly. “I remember you used to tell me if I stayed in the sun I would grow to be strong and tall. That if you planted me in the earth, you could grow me friends.”

“That doesn’t sound like me.”

Wei Wuxian had a bad memory but he couldn’t have forgotten rising a child could he? 

“What my relationship with?” He waved his hand in the direction of Lan Wangji.

“Everyone knows the two of you are like water and oil.”

He blinked. Certainly if he had seen a face as handsome as Lan Wangji’s he would have remembered it. 

“Wei Ying.” Lan Wangji stepped closer. His fingers grazed his cheek. “How is your memory so bad?”

“My mother always told me forget what you have—”

Lan Wangji followed along with him. “done for you and only keep in mind what others have done for you.”

“How do you know that?”

“You told me that,” Lan Wangji. Sitting down, he continued, “You left A-Yuan with me and said dangerous people were after you. Then you disappeared.”

Sizhui jumped in. “Jiang Cheng has been searching for you. Everyone thought you died. Where have you been?”

“Um… around.” Something unpleasant grew in his chest. If he had done as they said he had, then had he taken care of the danger yet? Would meeting with now bring the danger back to him.

He stood up. 

Wangji immediately blocked his path. Throwing his arms around Wuxian in the same boggling matter Sizhui had. His embrace was like a dying man holding onto driftwood. 

“I should leave.”

“No.”

Instead of being released, he was squeezed tighter. His face was forced into the crook of Lan Wangji’s collar. A clean, almost cleansing scent hit his nose. 

“Not allowed to leave.”

“What baba means is you should stay here. It is safe here. We can—”

“I came here to kill you,” he exclaimed, pushing Lan Wangji away. For a musician, he was strangely fit. His broad shoulders were firm against Wei Wuxian’s touch.

“Stay.” 

“Don’t you understand? Whoever you think I am, whatever connect I have to you, I am not that person anymore. I was hired to kill you.” 

“Stay.” 

“Young Master do you know how to speak?” He threw his hands in the air. “I am leaving and you have no right to st—”

“I do not care. Stay. Please.”

Somehow those words calmed  Wei Wuxian down. Something in the determination behind in tone broke his protests into shreds.

“That doesn’t change the fact that someone is going to hire someone else to kill you.”

“We can deal with that together, but first we should bring him to the doctor.”

The doctor gave Wei Wuxian a clean bill of health. Stepping out into the hallway, he saw Lan Wangji speaking to a nurse. He quickly found Sizhui and lowered his head.

“Are Lan Wangji and I a couple?”

Sizhui squeaked, drawing Lan Wangji’s attention. 

Covering his mouth, he pointed at Lan Sizhui: “be quiet”.

“No. Actually, no one knew the two of you were close. Uncle Xi and Granduncle Qi were surprised you left me with him or that he keeps trying to find you.”

Wei Wuxian frowned. If we aren’t lovers, why is he so determined to keep me by his side? Why did he lie and say I am his overseas boyfriend?

-

If they weren’t lovers before, Lan Wangji certainly treated Wei Wuxian like his spouse now. The innocent looking man was quite overbearing, demanding that they share a bed so that Wei Wuxian would not slip away at night. 

He rarely spoke but he always touched Wei Wuxian. A hand always rested on Wei Wuxian’s shoulder, the small of his back, on his waist. 

Wei Wuxian should have been offended after all of the two of them were men of the same stature but it felt nice. After living alone for the last decade or so, isolating himself from others due to his line of work, each subconscious touch was a treat. 

He wanted to be the person deserving of Lan Wangji’s protection or Lan Sizhui’s concern. 

He wasn’t worthy but he wanted to be. 

He couldn’t though until the men threatening Lan Wangji were gone. 

He knew what he had to do.

-

No one was supposed to be in Jin Guangyao’s office today. This was supposed to be a clean hit. Take out Jin Guangyao and then leave. 

Of course Jin Guangyao would try to escape after all of his crimes were revealed but why did he have Lan Xichen.

So why did Jin Ling suddenly appear and knock into Wei Wuxian?

Why did Xichen break free only for Jin Ling to be captured?

Why did things have to go wrong again?

Lan Xichen stared at Jin Guangyao. His eyes wide at the knife in his hand. The edge pointed at Jin Ling’s throat.

“Why?” his voice trembled.

“Why did I kill Nie Mingjue or why did I order someone to kill your brother?” His voice was proud despite the way the edge of that question quivered.

“I trusted you.”

“What was I supposed to do? The bastard son of a whore.” His mouth twisted. “Nie Mingjue held me under a microscope. Listening to him would have me killed or worse powerless.” 

“And your brother, if I knew he loved Wei Wuxian I would have made his disappearance better, so your family would have not suffered,” he sighed. “But I didn’t and he keep digging and digging and digging. He just got too close to the truth.”

“Uncle, it hurts.” Where Jin Guangyao’s knuckles met Jing Ling’s shoulder, it was white.

“Where is Lan Wangji anyway?” 

“Why are you asking me?”

Jin Guangyao cocked a brow. 

“I didn’t tell him I was coming here.”

“I see. I am going to leave now.”

“He’s your nephew.” Xichen shouted.

“I know. As long as everyone behaves, I’ll release him when I get out of the building.”

He edged to the door, forcing Jin Ling to open it. Before he stepped outside, a large vase came down on his head. Jin Guangyao hit the ground with a thud.

Lan Wangji rushed in followed by Jiang Cheng and Nie Huangsang. Gathering Wei Wuxian up in his arms, he clung to Wei Wuxian.

All the words that he resisted sharing before spilled from his lips. “Lan Zhan, I want to share a bed with you. I want to wake up in the morning to your meals. I love you. I love you.”

Lan Wangji froze. 

“I want to share a bed with you. I want to make your meals. I love you.” He repeated. 

-

Wei Wuxian’s memories slowly returned after Jin Guangyao’s arrest in bursts and lurches. All the times he teased Lan Zhan growing up. All the times he childish tried to draw the handsome man’s, then boy, attention. All the ways Lan Zhan seems unapproachable that made him want to approach even more. 

He also knew why he forgot. It made it easier to hunt down the people who wanted to harm A-Yuan if he tricked himself into believing he was an assassin rather than a rowdy second young master of the Jiang family. 

He repeated the lie so many times he must have hypnotized himself. He buried his memories of his adopted family deep along with his memories of being a spoiled brat. 

Turning his memories over now, he saw what his arrognant younger self did not. Lan Zhan paid him too much attention and he chased Lan Zhan unreasonably for two people who were like water and oil. They must have always been attracted to another but young to realize it. 

If it took looking at Lan Zhan like a stranger to realize the affection they had for another… it wasn’t that Wei Wuxian was grateful. It was a more complicated feeling than that. 

If he had realized he loved Lan Zhan sooner, he would have still given him A-Yuan. He would have ran and killed everyone that tried to wipe out all of the Wen family. As immoral as the majority of that family, the survivors were innocent and he had a debt to them to repay. 

He had Lan Zhan now and A-Yuan and the three of them formed a family he never thought he would have. He wasn’t worthy of Lan Zhan’s devotion but if he did no other good deed in his life, he would always try to be. 

[forlorninquiry]

[speaking of this hc:

so Lan Wangji is human, after all. For the same reasons that he used to paint his memory of his mother’s face (he was afraid to forget), he likely would have painted Wei Wuxian’s face at least a couple of times - but not in explicit detail. There’s an idea among some daoist paintings, I believe??, that the blank spaces of the canvas/medium are part of the painting, so I think Lan Wangji’s paintings (though nowhere near as good as his brother’s) are minimalist but still delicately expressive. 

Anyway, I don’t think he would have painted his memory of WWX much, because he would have to hide it with the rest of his poems and hidden things (it’s another HC that poems and songs he writes during his phases of grief and mourning are hidden away). He much prefers expressing himself through music and poetry - the irony, for someone of few words but yet it makes so much sense that given the time to construct his thoughts and put them to paper with ink he can be an open book. 

But essentially memory is a strange, fickle thing. I think it’s highly likely that even if LWJ wanted to keep a solid image of WWX’s face perfectly preserved in his memory, time eroded it slowly over the years. It probably was even a point of sorrow for him, because forgetting a loved one’s face can be distressing (I’ve had some personal experience with this lol as I imagine many people have). By the time he sees MXY, it sparks recognition very strongly in him, and though MXY’s features are somewhat similar enough to be considered almost identical, it’s the mannerisms of WWX’s that shine through MXY’s body that completes LWJ’s mental reconstruction of him. 

TL;DR: MXY looks similar enough to his eroded memory of WWX that the instant WWX’s mannerisms shine through it doesn’t even matter that they aren’t identical. To LWJ, it’s WWX now and even if there are moments where he has to readjust his cognition of WWX it doesn’t stop his feelings from surging back.]

[7redmoon]

#i like the idea of lwj slowly forgetting wwx's face #but still remembering his radiant smile

Oh my god op wow

i reach my hand out to the scorching sun