#my cats name is suibian

[loveshinesbrightly]

I've been playing stardew valley expanded with a mod to change Victor's name to Lan Zhan and it's been giving me so much joy 🥺 we are MARRIED and we have a BABY (A-Yuan)!!! I'm living out wangxian domestic fantasy rn 💞

[web-novel-polls]

[Link to submissions]

This would allow divine items and weapons, such as Taerang (a divine relic from LCF that turns into a gun), into the tournament. There wasn't a specific reason I made it cultivation weapons specifically - I just forgot most people aren't weird about weapons like me, and it might be a bit niche for just cultivation weapons. The submission deadline will likely be extended regardless, and if there's a clear winner to this poll, I may not wait till it's done.

Submissions & Dealer's Choice under the cut

(CW: suggestive language, spoilers)

Submissions

Xuan Su - Yue Qingyuan’s sword (SVSSS)

No propaganda submitted

Xuan Su is Yue Qingyuan’s iconic sword that is only drawn twice after he suffers from a qi deviation bonding his life force to Xuan Su. 

Zheng Yang - Luo Binghe’s sword (SVSSS)

Submission: Something about a childhood sword that was broken, then preserved, then restored, and in the end was the one that remained, instead of the more powerful one that brought only misery. 

Potential Dealer's Choice

(Submit these to make sure they make it in & add propaganda!)

2ha / the Husky and His White Cat Shizun

Jiangui / Ah! What the Hell

“There is only one person in this world who can open Ever-Yearning. This person is extremely important in your life; you must love this person dearly, and this person must also love you in return, and be wholly devoted to you.” - Ji Baihua regarding the Ever-Yearning box containing Jiangui

Mo Ran’s Holy weapon in his second life, Jiangui - which translates to “Ah! What the hell” due to Mo Ran accidentally exclaiming this when opening the Ever-Yearning box. 

Bu’gui [“No Return”] / Guilai [“To Return”]

“No Return… Affairs of the past upon vermillion bridge in emerald green; Another year goes but still you do not return.” - Chapter 81 

Bu’gui was Mo Ran’s sword in the original timeline that he received by bringing a plum blossom branch to an old dragon named Wangyue. He had Chu Wanning seal it until he could think of a name for it, and it was only named “No Return” after Chu Wanning’s death.

In the second lifetime, he received Jiangui instead, but Bu’gui appeared once more at Xuanyuan Pavilion and was auctioned off to the Rufeng Sect for 5 million; this time it was referred to as Guilai or “To Return.”

CWN - Tianwen, Jiu’ge, Huaisha (undecided)

Longcheng / Dragon City - Xue Meng’s sword

Since Xue Meng could not receive a holy weapon from Jincheng Lake, he used Longcheng, a high-quality scimitar from Taxue Palace. From what I remember, Mo Ran gifted him the Wangshu Crystal from the Carp Essence that was requested by Song Qiutong to help him cultivate/add to his sword, making it something similar to a “heavenly weapon.��

Xue Zhengyong’s fan

While this fan is never named, Xue Zhengyong’s fan is well-known due to the writing on it - “Xue is beautiful” (which faces others) and “others are ugly” (which faces him). It really is iconic

“Xue is beautiful, others are ugly.” - Chapter 31

MDZS

Suibian

Suibian is Wei Wuxian’s sword that sealed itself after his death. Its name translates to “Whatever” due to Wei Wuxian’s inability to think of a suitable name and telling Jiang Fengmian to name it “whatever.” This is, in my opinion, the funniest thing Jiang Fengmian has ever done in his life

Bichen

Yes, this is the sword Wei Wuxian stuck up his ass in the Incense Burner Extra. It’s also Lan Wangji’s main weapon that was included in the iconic “Lan Wangji calling Wei Wuxian his scene” where Wei Wuxian believes he’s pointing toward Bichen (Chapter 31). It’s a legend, and I would be doing a disservice to Jin Guangyao (who Bichen defeated in the first round of the Danmei Character Tournament) if I did not include it.

[words-writ-in-starlight]

Hi, I just found your blog (I love it) and as I was scrolling I noticed your tags for a Blue Sword AU and I just... please let me know if you ever write it, because now I want to see it

@indigo-night-wisp said: 

i would give you whatever you asked for if you wrote an untamed blue sword au

It ain’t a whole AU but here’s some headcanons, I’m appealing to my girlfriend’s better spirit because she’s Mad At Me about the Nie brothers thing.

Crown Prince Lan Wangji is heir to the throne of Damar, which would be fine (his elder brother, the king, is young, healthy, and strong in kelar) except that the Outlanders are really making themselves a presence and the Northerners are pushing south again under the leadership of their warlord Wen Ruohan.  It is not, strictly speaking, an ideal moment to be royalty in Damar, because those things are now at least partially his problem.  Lan Wangji is not, shall we say, a diplomat, but here he is anyway, in the Outlander fort, listening to the administrator, a young man named Meng Yao who is definitely in some kind of exile, do his best at Damarian.  Lan Wangji speaks perfectly fluent Outlander with only the faintest hint of an accent, but he doesn’t want to be here so he’s going to make everyone else as uncomfortable as he is.  If Lan Xichen has problems with his technique, he can come do diplomacy and leave Lan Wangji to shore up their defenses, which is what they usually do.  He would be at least slightly less annoyed if Lan Xichen had explained his change of plan.  But no.  

Wei Wuxian and his adoptive siblings were sent to Daria after the deaths of the Jiangs, mostly because...well, what else was anyone going to do with two noble children with excellent bloodlines and one ward of suspect breeding but intensely charming nature, during a politically unstable moment.  So the Queen sent them into the back of beyond to join everyone else she sent away for political reasons, including the remnants of the Jin family.  Jiang Cheng is at least in passably good standing with Song Lan, the general at the fort, but Wei Wuxian is “not suited for the army” or whatever, so he has a lot of time to kill.  This is how he comes to be out riding with Jiang Yanli in time to catch a glimpse of the Darian prince and his blazing golden eyes.

Xiao Xingchen, one of the King’s Riders, makes a few very straight-faced comments about the fact that Lan Wangji, of all people, has decided to kidnap the laughing Outlander boy, but hey, whatever, he’s been asked to do weirder in his time.  His shijie ran off and married an Outlander too, so, sure, if the prince is going to indulge in a bit of kelar-induced madness, that’s fine.  He insisted on coming, after all, when he was offered the chance to stay behind.  All Lan Xichen would say, with his familiar pleasantly noncommittal smile, was that Xiao Xingchen would be spending plenty of time in the desert soon.  Whatever that means.  Kelar-madness is going around, it seems.

Wei Wuxian gets kidnapped, which is not ideal.  He’s fairly sure that the entire camp thinks he’s been kidnapped as...maybe a concubine?  Unclear.  Especially unclear because the prince and his (secretly excellent, Wei Wuxian wishes he could see Meng Yao’s face) Homelander haven’t said more than five words strung together since the first night, when he said firmly that Wei Wuxian wouldn’t be hurt, nor mistreated, while in his care.  But the prince is beautiful, and the food is delicious, especially once Wei Wuxian learns enough of the language to ask for spicy food, and he’s given a horse, one of the magnificent Hill horses that Jin Zixuan always spoke of with such obvious envy, a stunning black mare who he dubs Chenqing and who flies across the sand beside the prince’s white stallion.  And the rest...well.  If the Hills seem to make themselves at home in his blood like an illness, if he can still sometimes taste the Water of Sight on his tongue when he swallows, if he dreams of his own voice shouting through gleaming blue light....  It is what it is.

(Lan Wangji watches the black flag of Wei Wuxian’s hair crack behind him as he leans down over his horse’s neck, as if he was born to it, as if he was crafted out of a desert wind and the brilliance of desert stars and given life with the breath of kelar that blazes in his eyes when he rages.  He names the loyal hunting cat that follows him around Suibian just to watch everyone scowl at him, and Lan Wangji tries to remember that it is unsuitable for a crown prince to be jealous of a cat.  Lan Wangji wonders, privately, if Lan Xichen has plans for their mother’s blue stone garden.)

After being drilled silly for six weeks at the hands of Xiao Xingchen--who is NOT nearly so easy-going as he led Wei Wuxian to believe, in fact, Wei Wuxian would like to register complaints--Wei Wuxian drifts through the laprun trials like a dream.  He utterly sweeps them, except for the tiny incident of clipping his final opponent’s lip when he took his mask.  Lan Wangji doesn’t say anything, just nods to him and dabs his fingers at the blood, and Wei Wuxian is swept away by his defeated opponents and the Riders.  Some of the other fighters are quite charming--a young woman named Mianmian insults him and compliments his horse in the same breath, and a young man named Nie Huaisang, who barely made it through the first melee round, cheerfully bemoans his murder at the hands of his brother, apparently a King’s Rider himself.  That night, just before the stimulant crash hits Wei Wuxian, there’s a banquet.  The nameless sword that unseals itself at his touch is the most beautiful thing he’s ever handled.

By the end of it all, Song Lan and Jiang Cheng have formally bailed on the Outlander fort, Song Lan gets made a King’s Rider (and marries Xiao Xingchen, but that happens later, after Xiao Xingchen recovers from his injuries), the filanon literally melt out of the woodwork to help handle the Northerners, led by Wen Qing and Wen Ning (long story, but suffice it to say that Northern blood mixes more gracefully with Damarian than you might think), Jin Zixuan and Jiang Yanli get married and become a major line of diplomatic connection between the Homeland and Damar, Lan Xichen maybe possibly has an affair with his most favored Rider and the Outlander administrator, and, of course:

Lan Wangji is waiting for Wei Wuxian, when he returns to the Damarian camp with every intention of turning himself in.  But he’s not just waiting, he’s standing there, with Wei Wuxian’s scarlet sash around his waist as if it belongs there, and Wei Wuxian is tumbling off Chenqing into his arms, and it turns out that, just maybe, Wei Wuxian is in love with this solemn Hill prince after all.

Wei Wuxian hears Jiang Cheng half-shout “Why are we cheering” over the roar of approval from the army, and then he hears Song Lan say ��Your brother’s going to marry the prince,” and then he doesn’t hear much at all because kissing Lan Wangji is vastly more interesting than Jiang Cheng’s meltdown.

[lianhuawu]

if you think wei wuxian is terrible at naming weapons just wait until you meet mo weiyu

[rosethornewrites]

Fic: a cup of sugar (one-shot)

Relationship: Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī & Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn

Characters: Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī, Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Pets, Mortality, Pre-Slash, Neighbors, Cats, Rabbits, Euthanasia, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Hurt/Comfort, Tea, POV Third Person, POV Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī

Summary: Late one night, a haggard-looking Wei Ying knocks on his neighbor’s door to ask for a favor.

AO3 link

————

Lan Zhan was headed for bed when there was a knock at his apartment door, and it froze him for a moment as he wondered who would visit at this time of night.

He had few friends, and all of them knew he was early to bed. His uncle and brother shared his sleep schedule, and either of them would have called before coming, particularly if there was an emergency.

The knock came again, and he noted the seeming hesitation in the knocking, as though the visitor doubted he would answer.

Ultimately, he put a robe on over his pajamas, hyperaware that they were the set with little bunnies on them, and opened the door just as his neighbor was turning away.

Lan Zhan knew the man, in passing, as friendly and loud and unbearably attractive, but tonight his face was pale, his eyes bloodshot, and the smile he attempted looked artificial and forced. Somehow he still looked beautiful.

“Hi,” Wei Ying said, his voice like a croak where it was normally smooth and boisterous, with a teasing lilt.

He wouldn’t call them friends, though a part of his traitor mind, the part that sounded like his late mother when she teased, whispered it was because he wanted to be more than friends. Even Huan-ge had teased him about his hottie neighbor.

He’d never seen him look so… Lan Zhan couldn’t even name how he looked, aside from like his world had collapsed, and he found himself inviting Wei Wuxian in and brewing tea before he could think better of it.

He had never before had his neighbor in his apartment. All prior interactions had been public—in the hallway, elevator, staircase, once at the local pet supply shop when they ran into each other…

Wei Ying was uncharacteristically quiet, waiting on the tea with downcast eyes, his fingers clenched in the sleeves of his hoodie.

“What is wrong?” he asked after pouring the tea.

The attempted smile faltered and turned watery, and Lan Zhan didn't know what to do.

“Ah, well, uh,” Wei Ying started, then sipped his tea as though trying to gain strength from it. “Oh… this is good.”

It was a high quality tea favored by his brother, a flowery orange pekoe from Yunnan that had a lovely chocolate note to it, one his brother especially favored when he was upset, which had led Lan Zhan to brew it. None of that was relevant to the conversation.

“You seem upset,” he said.

Wei Ying curled into himself slightly.

“It’s just, I don’t have anyone else to ask,” he started, and Wangji recalled what he knew of the man.

He was an orphan, like him, Lan Zhan recalled from past conversation, but had moved far away from his adoptive parents as soon as he was of age. He never said why, but from tidbits it sounded like they were never close.

“I have to, to…” he took a deep breath. “My cat stopped eating. His health kind of…”

He made a motion with his hand that indicated a downturn, and Lan Zhan thought immediately of his mother’s downturn and eventual death, his father’s disappearance shortly afterward, and learning the word “suicide” at the funeral that followed.

Suibian, he remembered the cat was named, a name so nonsensical that it stuck in his mind. Wei Ying doted on the animal, once even describing the cat tree he’d built himself to take up part of his living room.

His own rabbits had a hutch and play pen about the same size, and they’d had conversations about their pets on prior occasions, on how pets were wonderful companions.

“He’s been part of my life for so long and I just—I know it’s time, but I don’t know if I can handle… going alone, you know?”

Lan Zhan felt frozen, though he knew what Wei Ying was referring to. Suibian was to cross the rainbow bridge. A kindness, if the animal was ill and would not recover.

It seemed colossally unfair, knowing the other man, like him, lost his parents, but also that he didn’t have other family, or at least anyone he could rely on. Of course he would approach Lan Zhan, knowing he would understand.

“You have made the appointment?” he finally asked, and received a nod in return. “When?”

“Monday, just before noon,” Wei Ying whispered. “I spent most of my savings trying to help him bounce back, but…”

It gave him the weekend to say goodbye, but it would be Monday all too soon.

That was the difficult thing about pets, Lan Zhan knew. Unless one enjoyed longer-lived creatures like birds as pets, the pet would not have the lifespan humans enjoyed. The internet sometimes joked that humans were elves to their pets, but it was never funny when it came time.

His uncle had never allowed them pets, something he had later confessed was because Lan Zhan and Lan Huan had had enough loss in their young lives. Lan Zhan had adopted rabbits anyway, despite this knowledge.

“I know you’re busy and it’s awful of me to ask, and you can say no, I’ll understand,” Wei Ying babbled, as though expecting to be refused.

He expected rejection, and it broke Lan Zhan’s heart.

Neighbors, he remembered, often lended cups of sugar or eggs, and it cost him little to lend a shoulder to lean on. Truth be told, he was happy Wei Ying had come to him, trusted him with his grief.

“I will accompany you,” he said. “I can rearrange my work schedule.”

Wei Ying stared at him, silent, and then tears streaked down his face—only a couple, and then he smiled more genuinely, even if it was laced with pain.

“Thank you. That, that really helps a lot.”

His voice was soft and tired, and Lan Zhan wondered how long Suibian had been ill, how long he’d been providing palliative care. Wei Ying hadn’t mentioned an illness in their conversations, but he had the feeling he was the type to hide his hurts.

“I am happy to help,” he said sincerely, and refreshed Wei Ying’s tea. “If you need anything over the weekend, please don’t hesitate.”

Wei Ying nodded, cupping his palms around the mug of tea as though enjoying its warmth.

“Would you like to meet my rabbits?” he asked impulsively, and was pleased by the smile it illicited from his neighbor.

“I really would. And if you’d like to meet Suibian, before?”

“I can come visit tomorrow if you like. I’ll bring the tea.”

He walked to the hutch and brought out Bichen, who loved to be held and snuggled and would be a comfort in that, and placed him in Wei Ying’s lap upon returning to the kitchen.

“Wangji is already asleep and gets cranky when he’s tired, but Bichen loves to cuddle anytime.”

“Aw, did you name him because he’s all white?”

“Mn.”

Wei Ying cups the rabbit in his hand and brings him level with his face for Eskimo kisses, and it’s possibly the most adorable thing Lan Zhan has seen.

“Thanks, Lan Zhan.”

“No need,” he says, sincerely. “I will bring lunch tomorrow as well. You are grieving.”

He pours more tea, enjoying the way Wei Ying focuses on Bichen, rubbing him between the ears and cooing at him.

It was long past bedtime, and while he was tired, he wouldn’t begrudge this comfort. By the time Wei Ying left, looking a bit less haggard, it was nearly eleven, but it was time well spent comforting his neighbor.

Lan Zhan was sorry the shift in their relationship involved the death of a pet, but he was happy to grow closer to his neighbor.

He fell asleep making a mental grocery list for the morning, planning comfort food dishes to make for Wei Ying, nervous and excited as he tried to remember the chili sauce brand he had once mentioned as his favorite.

If he was planning multiple meals, that was between him and his dreams.

————

Written for catharsis. My cat, who has been my companion and emotional support animal for 18 years, has an appointment to cross the rainbow bridge Monday.

She’s been an extraordinarily healthy cat most of her life, hyperthyroidism notwithstanding. She got her first-ever UTI and I’ve spent over a thousand USD on that, arthritis medication, and then cold medication, switched her to wet food, everything.

Since Sunday she’s had trouble walking on her hindquarters and has had accidents (three sets of sheets alone last night) because she just can’t get to the litter box in time. She stopped being willing to eat a couple days ago, and today I had to admit the inevitable: she has no quality of life anymore, and if she, who was food-motivated her whole life, won’t eat, it’s because her system is shutting down.

She hasn’t purred for me in weeks. She loves me and snuggles me every night, but love won’t heal her. It hurts so badly to say goodbye, but it’s the kind and loving thing to do.

To be honest, she might not last to Monday.

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 05 (second part)

(Masterpost) (Continued from Episode 05 first part, over here)

Breaking News: Zewu-Jun Continues to be Handsome

Just. Look at that man. 

Water Ghost Field Trip

Lans Xichen and Wangji are going ghost hunting and the Yunmeng boys want in. For a simple "can we come?" conversation, a whole lot happens here. Lan Wangji uses his mouth to say he definitely does not want these boys to come while using the rest of his face to secretly beg his brother to invite them.

Corporate recruiter Wei Wuxian advocates for Wen Qing, talking up her skills, and then does the same for Wen Ning.  He pays careful attention to what everyone is good at, and advocates specifically based on their abilities. While Wen Ning makes heart eyes at him.  

That’s my future dark master

Wei Wuxian also promises to protect Wen Ning, which he ultimately does for the rest of his first life. Wen Qing gives both Jiang boys a genuine sweet smile, and dismantles another anti-WWX ward or two, while still being very protective of her brother's secret.

Lan Xichen says yes to everybody. Lan Xichen is that indulgent elder sibling who's just a bit too old to play with you after school, but will take you to the park when he isn't too busy with varsity and debate club. [OP mentally hugs her third older brother]

Back at the Inn

Fastidious local boy dislikes dust; plans to build house on corpse pile

They get to town and Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian check into a room together. LAN XICHEN WHAT ARE YOU DOING? Each of these boys came to this town with his own brother, but they are rooming together, how did this even happen?

(more after the cut)

Does this mean Lan Xichen and Jiang Cheng are rooming together? and if so are they going to have a hot but ultimately meaningless one-night stand while each pines for the person they truly desire? 

Wen Qing is rooming with her own brother, and the other hot girl cultivators stayed back in Gusu. Wen Qing never catches a break.

The innkeeper tells the Hardy Boys cultivators that there’s a shark ghosts in the lake and they’re going to have to close the beaches in the middle of July, oh dear. 

Lan Wangji takes a lingering look at one of the beds and then goes to sit at the desk. Wei Wuxian tries to chat with him, fails, and goes and lies down on the bed.  They’re not quite getting along yet but they’re moving in that direction, like when you bring a shelter cat home and introduce it to your established cat. Wei Wuxian is obviously the stray tabby in this metaphor, while Lan Wangji is one of those stuck-up Blue Russians. 

Physically they are setting the template for many of their future domestic interactions, in which in which Lan Wangji meditates or plays guqin at his desk while Wei Wuxian lays in bed recovering from his latest physical or spiritual injury. 

Walk from Dock to Dock

Instead of taking a boat from the dock directly outside the inn, the cultivators walk through a bunch of random countryside.  How does anyone around here sell their fish, if the lake isn’t next to the town?

Wei Wuxian chats with Lan Xichen, laying out his case for why all the recent weirdness is connected. Lan Wangji, who has been shut out of his brother’s thinking on all of this, listens super carefully. Lan Xichen straight up lies and says “nuh-uh” and then walks faster to get away, so Wei Wuxian tries grilling Lan Wangji instead.

At this point WWX reveals that he, terrifyingly, shares Lan Xichen’s ability to tell what Lan Wangji is thinking by looking at his face.

Lan Wangji distracts him by pouring out his wine. This isn't LWJ being puritanical; he's escaping from the conversation by using the power of pettiness.

This works perfectly, getting Wei Wuxian to completely drop the subject and allowing Lan Wangji to make a run for it.

Note: Lan Wangji may have just now made up the “No Liquor on Night Hunts” rule, because Wei Wuxian asks him “why don’t I know that?” and if anyone knows Lan Clan rules at this point, it’s Wei Wuxian. 

R-A-G-G M-O-P-P Rag Mop

They take a bunch of boats and all stand in the middles of the boats while they use magic, presumably, to move the boats and also to keep from falling the fuck over because you're not supposed to stand up in a boat, assholes.

Cue JAWS music.

Wei Wuxian cleverly spots a rag mop on Lan Wangji’s boat. I would like to know where the Department of Dubious Effects sources their goddamn nerve, because we are in Classic Doctor Who territory with these mop monsters.

Wei Wuxian is out here being impressive, and Lan Wangji is doing his good goddamnest to not be impressed, and to be a sulky bitch while he's at it. He rejects Wei Wuxian’s explanation for why he splashed water on his boat, and rejects this friendly shoulder bump, telling Wei Wuxian to stay away from him.

Look at how Wei Wuxian reacts to that. He is dangerously close to being done with Lan Wangji’s bullshit.

He is opening the fight playbook here. He takes a big ol’ step over the boundary that Lan Wangji just set, which means the first phase has begun.

Let’s take a moment to appreciate the not-at-all suggestive framing and prop placement in that shot.

Lan Xichen is amused at these two extremely deadly extremely horny youngsters getting ready to kill and/or make out with each other.

Suibian

Before this can turn into a fight, the water mops start attacking and Wei Wuxian gets to show off his sword skills. 

Wei Wuxian’s crazy high level of cultivation always makes Lan Wangji weak in the knees, which is part of why it’s so distressing for LWJ when WWX gives up the sword during the Sunshot campaign.  Cultivation is the heart of their romance, and while Dark Wei Ying is also a high-level cultivator, Lan Wangji isn’t ready to share his narrow path until much later. 

Lan Wangji is impressed enough to ask Wei Wuxian about his sword, and is rewarded with the most Wei Wuxian answer ever, as he explains why he named his sword “Whatever.” 

The important relationship being shown in this moment is not Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, but Wei Wuxian and Suibian. You can see how he loves it and it's like he's talking about his pet. 

And it loves him back, as we later learn. This comfortable symbiosis is part of what he gives up when he sacrifices his core.

Jiang Cheng gets injured by a seaweed mop and Dr. Wen hops over to help him and look at his leg, leaving Wen Ning alone in his boat. This doesn't actually cause a problem for Wen Ning because he's a very strong cultivator. 

Later, as the Ghost General, he's more formidable than any other fierce corpse out there, and he is harder for Xue Yang to control than Song Lan is. Which means he’s right now he’s probably one of the more powerful cultivators of his generation in spite of his youth and his wandering-soul problem. 

Dance of the Water Ghosts

Now things start to get dicey. Wen Ning notices the color of the water is wrong and Lan Wangji correctly deduces what the water ghosts are doing. Then Wei Wuxian correctly identifies the water demon. As a corporate teambuilding exercise this is going very well, but as a night hunt it is maybe a little more dangerous than expected. 

Lan Wangji says everyone needs to ride their swords and all of the actors fling their arms out in a T and pretend they’re not just standing there in front of the camera. It’s so fucking ridiculous I can’t even.

However, it’s even worse when they show them standing on the swords. It’s SO MUCH WORSE when they show them standing on the swords.

Back to Corporate Strengths Finder 2.0: Su She has no strengths, just weaknesses. Instead of riding his sword he wants to take one last swipe at a rag mop. He sends his sword into the water and it loses its bluetooth connection and he can't get it to come back out.

The entire group of Lan clan disciples hop up into the air on their swords and not one of them tries to help Su She, which is hilarious.  

Sweet baby Wen Ning, however, being a good lad, does go help him, and gets possessed, oops. 

Wei Wuxian grabs Wen Ning and flinches when he sees his white eyes, but hangs on to him. 

When Lan Wangji sees that Wei Wuxian is in danger he makes this face and goes and grabs him and Su She.

A hilarious midair conversation ensues, along with some relationship negotiation. Wangji is touch starved and aims to keep it that way. At least in public.

Lan Xichen fires up the battle flute and seals the water demon and oh my god how is he so elegant and beautiful?

What’s Wrong With The Baby

Wei Wuxian back at the Inn is checking on Wen Ning in a genuinely concerned way, having basically signed on as a co-elder sibling at this point, sensing that Wen Ning is broken. Wei Wuxian is friendly with everybody but he's particularly protective of anyone who's hurt.

Wen Qing shows up and tells him quite directly to get the fuck out, but he surprises her by understanding what's up with Wen Ning and making it clear that he's on her side as far as care for Wen Ning goes, while he still knows that she's up to something.

Giving Gifts to Girls, Yunmeng Brothers Style

Wei Wuxian: I deduced that your beloved brother has no personal firewall and can be possessed easily in spite of his high cultivation level, so I used my expertise to make a special talisman that can protect him from invasion by hostile entities. Here, even if you and I are sorta enemies I want him to have this. Also I’m going to throw in a casual acknowledgement of your professional expertise.

Jiang Cheng: I bought you a comb

Squeeze This

Wei Wuxian tosses an approximately testicle-sized loquat fruit to Lan Wangji and Lan Wangji catches it without looking, and an ENORMOUS romantic music cue swells up. 

Then he rejects it and throws it back. He doesn't, of course, just avoid catching it in the first place because that wouldn’t be elegant and pointed enough. In a later episode, when they begin travelling together, Wei Wuxian will announce his presence in this same way, throwing a loquat fruit at to Lan Wangji, who will catch it and keep it.

Wei Wuxian tosses the rejected loquat over to Jiang Cheng, who catches it, not realizing he is going to be Wei Wuxian’s second choice man in every instance from this point onward. 

Outtro

Soundtrack

Jaws music obvs

WuJi aka Wanxian which is playing constantly when they are in the library, presumably this is the sound in LWJ’s head

Lookin’ Out My Back Door by CCR

Nothing, from A Chorus Line

Rag Mop by the Ames Brothers (warning before you google it: this will give you a permanent earworm)

Writing prompt: Nie Huaisang and Jiang Cheng explore Gusu while WWX is stuck in the library  

Restless Rewatch Episode 06 is here!

[wreathedinscales]

It’s finished! :D

()

When he sees Wei Ying, Lan Xichen chokes on his tea.

Lan Wangji sends him a look.

"Young Master Wei!" Lan Xichen cries as Nie Mingjue slaps his back, "What a—wonderful surprise!"

Wei Ying laughs and salutes, though he's clearly as confused as every non-blood Lan in the room. "Thank you, Sect Leader Lan. It's, ah. Good to be back."

"Yes," Lan Xichen says, "Yes, very good! Wangji! You must be tired after your journey!"

It's the closest Xichen has come to outright dragging someone. Lan Wangji feels guilty about leaving Wei Ying alone, but it's only supposed to be a brief greeting to the other members of the war council before Wei Ying rests. Jiang Wanyin is with him, and he also has—

"Your pearl," Xichen whispers, "Wangji, what happened?"

Remembering Wei Ying's reticence about Jiang Wanyin, Lan Wangji says, "He needed my help."

It feels unnatural to keep things from Xichen. His brother notices, of course. However, instead of looking troubled, he smiles softly at Lan Wangji and asks, "I'll approach Sect Leader Jiang tomorrow about the contract."

"Contract?"

"Wangji, Uncle will be displeased if you elope."

"Elope?" Lan Wangji says, perhaps too loudly.

Lan Xichen turns slightly. "You gave him your pearl. Don't tell me you didn't tell Young Master Wei your intentions?"

"I...there is not...I did not..."

Lan Xichen's eyebrows climb. "Wangji?"

Lan Wangji barely restrains his tail from lashing out and twitching like a restless tiger. "Brother, I am not marrying Wei Ying."

...his brother looks confused. "Did he refuse?"

"I did not propose," Lan Wangji replies tightly.

"Why else would you hand over something so precious?"

"He needed my help," Lan Wangji helplessly repeats.

"Wangji." Xichen looks sympathetic. "Surely you—"

The scent hits before the knocking: spice, lotus, resentful dust. Wei Ying needs to rest, settle his energy. Yet here he is, calling Lan Wangji's name.

Lan Xichen sighs through his nose and fixes his smile. "Young Master Wei."

Wei Ying opens the door. In the light, what color Lan Wangji had thought he'd seen has drowned. He looks exhausted. Lan Wangji has to restrain his tail again.

"Zewu-Jun," Wei Ying says, "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt."

"Not at all," Xichen replies, "I was just leaving." He fixes Lan Wangji with a pointed stare. "Good night, Wangji."

Lan Wangji purses his lips and bows. "Brother."

Wei Ying slides into the room. "Lan Zhan," he says as soon as the door shuts, "can I ask you something?"

"Mn."

Wei Ying sits on Lan Wangji's bed despite the perfectly good table nearby. Lan Wangji does not mind. "What makes a pearl? A dragon's pearl." He presses a hand to his gut. "It feels different from a core, but there's no weight to it."

Lan Wangji takes two steps forward before he realizes it. "Did something go wrong?"

"No, no! It's." Wei Ying huffs, smiling. "Ah, Lan Zhan. That's the other thing." He rubs the back of his neck. "Jiang Cheng says I should kow-tow for your gift."

"No need."

Wei Ying jumps to his feet. "Well I should do something! Lan Zhan, you know what you've done for me." His throat bobs. "You know."

Lan Wangji averts his eyes. "There is no debt. Wei Ying needed help."

"You—! Lan Zhan!" Wei Ying pokes his chest with Suibian. "You're impossible. At least let me thank you properly."

"No need," Lan Wangji repeats.

Wei Ying sighs dramatically, plopping back on the bed. After a moment, he mumbles, "Though, you did undo all the work I put into harnessing resentment. So maybe I shouldn't thank you after all."

Lan Wangji glares at him, only to find a teasing smirk. Wei Ying points at his face. "See? You do want thanks!"

"No," Lan Wangji says, "And do not joke about resentful energy."

Wei Ying's nose scrunches. He looks so much like a rabbit.

Cautiously, Lan Wangji sits beside him. He considers. Then asks, very quietly, "Did they truly throw you into the Burial Mounds?"

Wei Ying's hands clench around his sword.

Lan Wangji's lungs seize. "Wei Ying—"

"Lan Zhan." Wei Ying's smile has turned brittle. "Whatever happened, happened." He looks at him. "Let's not go back."

A crackling noise draws their attention. With a start, Lan Wangji sees his fingernails curing into silver talons. He can't cover them fast enough.

"Whoa," Wei Ying says, "Does that happen a lot? I mean, I haven't seen it, but maybe because we've become so cloooose?"

For lack of a better option, Lan Wangji sits on his hands. "Ridiculous."

Wei Ying snickers, nudging their shoulders. "You didn't answer my question, you know. About the pearl. And what about the rest of it? See, I've been thinking. You said you didn't cultivate beyond the top, but how else could you be a dragon?"

Lan Wangji stares ahead.

"And the way Zewu-Jun reacted to me," Wei Ying continues, "He looked right at my core—or, your pearl. Like he could see it." He nudges again. "Lan Zhan. Are you both dragons?"

Lan Wangji keeps staring. Nie Huaisang's touch is apparent in this room by the tasteful tapestries and splashes of color.

Wei Ying blows out a breath, settling back on his hands. "The Twin Jades truly are paragons of cultivation! Only they didn't cultivate to scales, apparently. Which means..."

Perhaps if he says nothing, it will not count as revealing anything to Wei Ying. Can Lan Wangji be faulted if Wei Ying is clever?

Then Wei Ying's hand is on his thigh and Lan Wangji's mind goes embarrassingly silent.

"Don't worry, Lan Zhan. I won't tell." Wei Ying squeezes. "I promise."

There's a tearing sound. Wei Ying whips his head about for the source. Ears flaming, Lan Wangji carefully retracts his hands from underneath him. The linens do not survive regardless.

Wei Ying's lips contort. Lan Wangji stares at his full talons. Wei Ying snorts, tries to cover it with a cough. Thankfully, it means his hand retreats to cover his mouth.

"Energy," Lan Wangji says. Wei Ying makes a stiff, high-pitched noise. "A dragon's pearl is made of spiritual energy. But not the same as a human's. Our cores are different."

Wei Ying's laughter dissipates into interest. "Really? I can't tell."

"My human form is carefully structured," Lan Wangji replies. His talons finally sheathe. "We study our elders' constructions and imitate."

Wei Ying's eyes flick over him. "So...is this an illusion?" He pokes Lan Wangji. "Doesn't feel like one."

"Yes. And no."

"Ah, very straightforward. A good Lan answer!"

Lan Wangji scowls at him, making him laugh. "Illusion is not the proper word. But you can never see every aspect regardless of form."

"You're dragon and human? The perception of your core changes with you?"

"Mn."

"That's incredible! So you just—" Wei Ying makes an innocuous gesture. "Switch? Like clothes?"

Lan Wangji opens his mouth. Closes it. "There are texts that describe the process. You are not permitted to see them."

"No fun, Lan Zhan!"

"I have already spoken too much."

Wei Ying laughs. "Lan Zhan, you never speak too much. I like listening to you!"

Lan Wangji's throat works.

"...then, isn't a pearl just—another core? If it's made of spiritual energy?"

Again, Lan Wangji opens and closes his mouth. No one has ever described a pearl this way, but it would make sense: the time it takes to form, the material. But it still does not account for Lan Wangji's case.

As always, Wei Ying fills his silence. "So I guess I have something closer to dragon than human now. You're amazing, Lan Zhan."

Lan Wangji does not know how to respond.

Wei Ying shifts in his periphery. "Is that the only reason you did it? Because I didn't...because I needed help?"

Lan Wangji does not know how to respond.

Wei Ying leans closer. He's warmer than other humans. Because of Lan Wangji. "Lan Zhan. Can I ask you another question?"

"Mn."

"What does it usually mean when a dragon gives someone their pearl?"

For some reason, this makes Lan Wangji think of his brother's grin.

"...it is rare to cultivate a pearl," he replies, "Lan An is the only precedent to—this." He keeps his eyes carefully away from Wei Ying. "He gave a woman his pearl and told her it would grant her deepest wish. She wished to marry him. He used his pearl to make human bones. This is why we have two forms."

Wei Ying is very still.

Lan Wangji feels his scales scratching under his skin. It's as if the dragon, once seen, wishes to be seen all the time. Vain and reckless.

"One more question," Wei Ying murmurs. "Why did you give me your pearl?"

Lan Wangji swallows. "Seeing you...without your core. I could not bear it." He forces his head up. Wei Ying's eyes are wide. "You deserve to fly, Wei Ying."

Wei Ying kisses him. His hands are dry, cupping Lan Wangji's face, but his face and hair are soft. He is far too thin, hip bones jabbing Lan Wangji's fingers. He is still warm. He is still beautiful. Lan Wangji wants him closer.

Wei Ying makes a noise, whispers his name, but then they're back to kissing. Wei Ying climbs into his lap. Closer, closer. Lan Wangji's mind glides pleasantly somewhere above him. His eyes are stinging, he realizes, but he is happy. Very, very happy.

"Ah, Lan Zhan," Wei Ying gasps, tipping his head as Lan Wangji burrows against his throat, "What if someone comes in?"

Lan Wangji says "Let them" because his mind is still elsewhere.

Wei Ying chokes a laugh. "I don't mind being caught kissing, er-gege,"—what did he just call him— "but the tail?"

"Mn?"

Very reluctantly, Lan Wangji pulls off and looks over Wei Ying's shoulder.

His tail is indeed wrapped twice around them, clutching Wei Ying close. It's a pleasing sight. This way, Lan Wangji knows Wei Ying is safe. No blade can pierce his scales, certainly no shadow. What could be wrong with that?

Wei Ying's thumb presses gently on his cheekbone. "Your eyes. I didn't tell you. They're so pretty, Lan Zhan." Lan Zhan rumbles. "Ah, and that noise! So cute, like a cat. But you're trying to keep a secret, aren't you?"

But kissing is important. Lan Wangji likes to think he prioritizes well.

Wei Ying's little sigh into the next kiss is so lovely Lan Wangji's hands warp into paws. The dimensions in his flesh are melding. It is not painful. With Wei Ying like this, Lan Wangji thinks he will never feel pain again.

Thundersong finally tethers his mind. It speaks in his brother's voice. And there is his brother, clearing his throat, sending Wei Ying flailing—though not very much, as Lan Wangji's tail still holds him.

"Zewu-Jun!" Wei Ying cries, "Hello! We were just...ah."

"I take it your conversation went well?" Xichen asks.

"Yes," Lan Wangji replies. "Does Brother need something?"

He does not like Xichen's expression. "I only wanted to offer my congratulations. Sect Leader Jiang expressed his relief knowing you two will be officially wed. He is convinced you engage in indecent behavior."

"Indecent?" Wei Ying says.

"Wed?" Lan Wangji says.

"Wed?" Wei Ying shouts.

Xichen's smile is bland and insufferably smug. "There is still a war, of course, and rebuilding after that. But I trust you both can be patient."

Lan Wangji slowly unwinds his tail.

"Hard to think of a future after this war," Wei Ying says. He turns back to Lan Wangji. "But Lan Zhan, are you sure? You won't be able to back out of a marriage, you know."

The Twin Jades blink as one.

"Does Wei Ying have any objections?" Lan Wangji asks.

"No!" Wei Ying replies instantly, "No, no, Lan Zhan. Not when I know—no. I'm just making sure you don't."

Another blink.

Lan Wangji realizes Wei Ying is actually waiting for a response. "None."

Wei Ying grins, relieved. "Really?"

"Mn."

Wei Ying hugs him tight. "That's good, Lan Zhan. Because—I really like you, you know? Not because of what you did for me. Because you're—you're Lan Zhan."

The next "Mn" comes out slightly hoarse. Lan Wangji quickly gathers himself enough to reply, "Like Wei Ying."

"Really?"

Xichen looks mildly lost.

"Mn."

Wei Ying sighs and snuggles closer. Then jumps away completely with a, "But we can be patient! Right, Lan Zhan? You're the most patient person in the world, apart from my Shijie. And Zewu-Jun. We can do this!"

Lan Wangji places one hand over the other in his lap. "Mn."

They stare at each other.

"Right," Xichen says, "Young Master Wei, Sect Leader Jiang wishes to speak with you about this."

"Hah? Ah! Jiang Cheng is probably going to break my legs!" Wei Ying seems very excited about this. "Shijie is probably making a bunch of soup! She'll want you to have some, Lan Zhan! But later. I'll see you later, Lan Zhan! Zewu-Jun!"

He kisses Lan Wangji's cheek and nearly runs from the room.

At length, Xichen says, "Young Master Wei seems happy." His smile becomes more genuine. "As do you."

Lan Wangji is certain he is capable of more happiness. Most of him has been whisked off with Wei Ying's lips.

Xichen nods. "Congratulations, Wangji."

The halls tremble with "WEI WUXIAN!"

Lan Wangji smiles. "Thank you, Brother."

[cqlfic]

Open Windows and Bright Smiles

link to AO3 AUTHOR: RavenclawLoki T, 17686 words, 6/6

RELATIONSHIPS: Lan Wangji / Wei Wuxian BLURB: loosely-based rapunzel AU, lwj doesn’t leave the house much

SUMMARY:

Wei Wuxian’s smile returned tenfold. “Oh you can talk! Cool! So are these your pets? Do they have names? If they don’t, can I name them? I’m rather bad at naming things, at least my brother says so. But how is it my fault that he can’t appreciating me naming our cat Suibian? It's a perfect name!”

Lan Zhan was starting to worry Wei Wuxian might not be breathing with the rapidness of his speech. “They’re not pets.” Lan Zhan answered, leaning out more, fingers gripping the white edge of the window ledge. “But they have names.”

Or, Lan Zhan has been content with being alone as he did online college courses away from civilization. On a random day while his uncle was on one of his frequent trips out of the country, Lan Zhan is greeted by a beautiful boy full of sweet smiles and easy laughter who makes his life so much brighter.

very very very VERY vaguely based on the rapunzel fairy tale, lan qiren doesn’t let lan zhan leave the house much, because he loves him and is worried for him in his own way, thankfully wei ying shows up to help, fluff, first kiss, happy ending, a major character will get injured but he will be okay i promise, everything is going to be okay i promise, some angst, because wangxian doesn’t know the other likes them, alternate universe - modern setting, both fall hard and fast for each other but they are silly and oblivious, and doesn’t know the other likes them, forgive me, this is STUPID, BUT I AM STILL GONNA POST IT

[link to all bookmarks]

[princessmeril]

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24670552/chapters/59808088

Wei Wuxian’s smile returned tenfold. “Oh you can talk! Cool! So are these your pets? Do they have names? If they don’t, can I name them? I’m rather bad at naming things, at least my brother says so. But how is it my fault that he can’t appreciating me naming our cat Suibian? It’ a perfect name!”

Lan Zhan was starting to worry Wei Wuxian might not be breathing with the rapidness of his speech. “They’re not pets.” Lan Zhan answered, leaning out more, fingers gripping the white edge of the window ledge. “But they have names.”

Or, Lan Zhan has been content with being alone as he did online college courses away from civilization. On a random day while his uncle was on one of his frequent trips out of the country, Lan Zhan is greeted by a beautiful boy full of sweet smiles and easy laughter who makes his life so much brighter.

New chapter up!

[weisanren]

I was tagged by @baoshan-sanren & @xiuyaas thank you!! ^^

Rules: Answer 20 questions, then tag 20 bloggers you wanna know better

1. Name: nikolina

2. Nickname: nina

3. Zodiac sign: pisces

4. Height: 175 cm

5. Languages: croatian and english (i also studied german for 8 years in school but i am nowhere near fluent kskdjs)

6. Nationality: croatian

7. Favorite season: summer!!

8. Favorite flower: i don’t really have a favorite flower but primroses are pretty!!

9. Favorite scent: the smell of the sea

10. Favorite color: green and blue

11. Favorite animals: dogs and cats!!

12. Favorite fictional character: wei wuxian, kuroba kaito and percy jackson!!! (tbh i have a lot of favorites but these 3 have a special place in my heart)

13. Coffee, tea or hot chocolate: hot chocolate

14. Average hours of sleep: 6

15. Dog or cat: BOTH

16. Number of blankets you sleep with: 2

17. Dream trip: idk????

18. Blog established: this blog is almost 2 months old but i’ve been on tumblr for years now ksjdjgs (my old blog is in my bio)

19. Followers: 64 on this blog

20. Random fact: i have a dog and his name is loki 🥺

I tag @cqlwuji @thelichcookie @jollysailorswan @winter-mao-flower @grayiis @pineappland @bichen-suibian

[satonthelotuspier]

How Shall We Stop Dreams - Part 3

Would you like a (badly written) wangxian sword fight, and a first kiss? Would you like them in the same scene? Of course you would. Maybe.

First 2 parts should be available via the tag below, or it’s all on AO3 if you prefer to read over there.

He could feel the immense power infuse his body, tearing him apart from the inside, limb from limb, dragging his soul out of it’s mortal container; the pain was indescribable and all he could do was suffer it. He was unable to act, unable to do anything but just feel.

He lay broken on the ground, he had no one, everyone had left him, cold, alone, bitter and it was a searing pain through the chest. He could feel his heart freeze over and he was glad for the knowledge nothing would ever hurt him like this again; he wasn’t even sure he would survive this.

He felt the sword in his grasp sink through flesh, through bone and sinew and could only stare disbelievingly at his own hand clasped around the hilt as the blood ran down the shimmering blade and over his hand. He wept to know he’d been so wrong, yet he hadn’t wanted to strike.

Where his heart should beat was a gnawing emptiness, and he regretted. He had so much time to regret, the smiles he’s scorned, the hand’s he’d knocked away. The things he’d done to protect his heart had been for nothing, why had he sheltered something that would be ripped out anyway?

Wei Wuxian woke up covered in sweat. The nightmare had been more viscerally real than it ever had before and his stomach roiled in protest. He rolled out of bed just in time to be violently sick.

He heard Jiang Cheng moving, his concerned call of “Wei Wuxian” then the exclamation of disbelief.

He managed to look up once he’d finished retching, as Jiang Cheng lit a candle, “Jiang Cheng” he tried to get up to go to the other but his knees refused to support him for a moment.

“I’m fine, it’s fine” Jiang Cheng was trying to stem the blood flow from his nose. The front of his sleeping robe was already bathed in red.

“You can’t be fine, that’s not fine Jiang Cheng” he forced his legs to obey him and moved over to Jiang Cheng, “Pinch your nose and tip your head back” he took Jiang Cheng’s wrist and passed him some qi to help heal the blood vessels that had burst.

“Did you have a nightmare?” Jiang Cheng asked as the flow started to slow.

“Yes, you?”

“I did. Have you ever been sick before?”

“No. I take it you’ve had nosebleeds in the past” that would explain why Jiang Cheng had been so dismissive about it.

“Some, but never like this”

“Be still a moment” Wei Wuxian picked the candle up and held it closer to Jiang Cheng’s face. His left eye was shockingly bloodshot. He put the candle back. “Your eye has bled too, I’m going to get Wen Qing” he would have gotten up but Jiang Cheng caught his arm.

“Don’t, it’s all stopped now,” he took his hand away to demonstrate. “Leave it until tomorrow, or just leave it altogether; there’s nothing she can do now anyway”

He wanted to argue, but Jiang Cheng was a very stubborn man.

Eventually he accepted all he could do was give in, “Clean up and get some sleep then, we’ll have a quiet day tomorrow, you’ll need to rest”

“I have to record what happened first, Wen Qing wants us to make notes, remember?”

“Tomorrow will be soon enough”

***

The Lan Clan observed strict sleeping habits, they were to sleep at nine and wake at five. It was a deeply ingrained habit and Lan Wangji woke exactly on time, despite the disturbance of the night before.

He rose and noted his brother, while awake, seemed to be unwell. He crossed to the other side of the room.

“Xiongzhang?” he knelt next to the bed and touched the backs of his fingers to Lan Xichen’s forehead, before taking his wrist to test his qi flow.

His fair skin had an unnatural grey undertone this morning and his dark amber eyes were dark-ringed.

“Wangji” Lan Xichen passed a hand across his eyes as if to expel an image. “I’m fine” he tried to get up, but Lan Wangji halted him.

“Respect, Xiongzhang, but if you do not stay in bed I will write to Shufu to tell him you are not fit to continue. It will hurt nothing to take the day to recover” Lan Wangji saw a flash of temper in Lan Xichen’s eyes.

However, his response was even and reasonable, “As I seem to be too fatigued to argue then I agree” Lan Xichen laid back and closed his eyes, “Don’t think I will take you holding Shufu over my head with equanimity again, however, Wangji”

It was a measure of how exhausted Lan Xichen was that he was asleep in seconds.

***

Wei Wuxian was wide awake at dawn the morning after his nightmare; despite his advice to Jiang Cheng he didn’t sleep much himself. The nightmare had left his brain racing and him with an unshakable feeling of unease.

He was glad to see Jiang Cheng was still asleep though; he had promised him a quiet day and he would start that with leaving the house to ensure Jiang Cheng wasn’t disturbed.

He hummed quietly to himself as he walked through the virtually deserted Nightless City, it seemed to be just him and the birds at this time of the day.

He made his way out to the hot springs, thinking it was early enough he’d be able to enjoy a quiet soak without running into any of the people who would sour the experience for him.

He passed through a sunny clearing on the way and came across the icy Jade of Lan practising sword forms in the early morning.

Not that it seemed he needed to practice Wei Wuxian acknowledged to himself as he watched the other’s graceful and precise movements, one merging into the next with impressive speed.

He gave some thought to moving on and going to the hot springs as he’d originally planned, the man was rude and had made it abundantly clear on his first arrival to the Nightless City he didn’t mean to have anything to do with Wei Wuxian, but, like a cat who chose to sit on the lap of the person who hated it the most in the room, Wei Wuxian was a torment.

He moved into the clearing, applauding, “Beautiful, Lan er-gongzi” he cheered, and drew Suibian to deflect the incoming attack as the other turned on him.

“Wei Ying” there was a wealth of repressed anger in that use of his birth name and it sent a thrill through him; he had no idea why but that name on that tongue was just so right.

“How familiar of you, Lan er-gege, I thought Hanguang-jun was praised as a righteous and mannered gentleman. If you wanted a sparring partner you didn’t have to taunt me, you just had to ask” their swords clashed back and forth as he mocked the other.

“Ridiculous”

“Completely” Wei Wuxian agreed, sizing his opponent up as they danced back and forth along the clearing. They were roughly the same height so their relative reaches were similar. Lan Wangji was fast, accurate and had a much greater upper body strength. Wei Wuxian was faster, and extremely erratic, meaning every time Lan Wangji tried to control the bout with a set of strikes intended to drive the other in a certain direction or into a specific response Wei Wuxian scattered it on the wind by pulling out a completely different reaction. “You’re very good Hanguang-jun, my compliments”

Now he knew they were equally matched in skill Wei Wuxian accepted Lan Wangji would eventually gain victory due to his superior strength, therefore if he wanted to win it would have to be flashy and quick. Lucky that flashy and quick were his speciality.

He dropped his front foot as if he intended to lunge forward for a strike, but didn’t plant his weight, he cross stepped and moved to the side as Lan Wangji prepared to parry. He did lunge with Suibian then, expected to hold it close to Lan Wangji’s throat and take the victory. He hadn’t really accounted for the fact Lan Wangji hadn’t fought at his full quickness yet, and the parry he expected to fake Lan Wangji into making on thin air caught Suibian’s blade and drove it to the side. He felt the woosh of displacement and the cold air exuding from Lan Wangji’s sword against the hollow of his throat.

He looked down at the blade, then back up to the matching cold gaze of his opponent. It took a few moments for the fact he’d actually been outsmarted in the end to sink in, and he laughed heartily, “Well done, Lan er-gongzi. As expected Hanguang-jun is too much and outmatched this humble disciple”

“Wei Ying, you have never expected to be outmatched in your life” Lan Wangji lowered his sword, who’s name, Bichen, was engraved on the blade.

Well that was the truth; it seemed Lan Wangji had a very good grasp of his personality, or at least his prodigious self-confidence!

But he surely didn’t understand Lan Wangji’s personality, as he discovered when the other stepped close, caught hold of his chin and kissed him.

If he hadn’t expected to be outsmarted he certainly hadn’t expected to be kissed by the cool and aloof Hanguang-jun.

Lan Wangji’s lips were surprisingly warm, and he kissed firmly and possessively, as if staking a claim on Wei Wuxian. Wei Wuxian raised a hand to the other’s chest to, he thought, push him away, but it didn’t happen; there was just something so familiar about the feel of his mouth, of that scrape of teeth against his lower lip and the sharp nip as Lan Wangji pulled away.

Wei Wuxian sucked a breath in before exclaiming in angry confusion, “Lan Wangji! What do you think you’re doing?” he tried to pull his face free of the other’s grasp but Lan Wangji didn’t allow him to, he just examined Wei Wuxian’s features like he was committing them to memory.

“Lan Zhan” he said eventually.

“What?” Wei Wuxian asked, perplexed.

“Wei Ying, you call me Lan Zhan” he brushed a butterfly-soft touch against Wei Wuxian’s bruising lips before stepping back, turning and walking away.

Wei Wuxian locked his knees so they supported him until Lan Wangji was out of sight, before collapsing to sit on the ground, his fist tight around Suibian’s hilt like it was some talisman.

A forgotten talisman.

He should have poked Lan Wangji with it when the other grabbed him.

Who went around just kissing people after fighting with them? It was a stupid way to sword fight.

As a first kiss, it certainly wouldn’t have been one he chose. He touched his swelling lips softly, why had it seemed like he recognised the feeling of being kissed by the other man? Considering that it had been his first, and he had never met Lan Wangji before a week ago it made no sense.

He rubbed the back of his hand against his mouth then, annoyed, and yelled, “You’re a jerk, Lan Zhan” he doubted the other was still within earshot, but it made him feel a little better.

Wait. Lan Zhan. Lan Wangji had said you call me Lan Zhan.

Not you can call me Lan Zhan, but you call me Lan Zhan like their acquaintance was of years and not days. Days where Lan Wangji had ignored the existence of Wei Wuxian.

Maybe Lan Wangji was actually insane, suffering from hallucinations.

No.

Something to do with the nightmares they all suffered from?

But he hadn’t acted like he recognised Wei Wuxian when he first arrived at the Nightless City so that didn’t make sense either.

Wei Wuxian got up, re-sheathed Suibian and left the clearing. He was going to get some answers from the stoic Hanguang-jun, whether the other liked it or not.

***

He was marching back through the Nightless City intent on confrontation when he almost ran into the young Wen Sect member who had disappeared in front of him virtually on that first day.

Part of him wanted to march on past and find Lan Wangji, but he paused and greeted the other.

“I saw you in the market when we arrived in the Nightless City, I’m Wei Wuxian”

“Wen Ning. Wen Qionglin” the other seemed to correct himself and bowed, which Wei Wuxian halted with hands at his elbows, “Wei-gongzi is here because of the dreams?” Wen Ning seemed shy and unsure of himself.

“I am, I’m from Yunmeng. I came with my shidi. Are you one of the Wen Sect disciples suffering from nightmares too?”

Wen Ning nodded slightly.

“I haven’t seen you around, you must be about the same age as we are. We’ll probably night hunt tomorrow, or shoot kites. Come along, we have a nice, friendly group and you should get to know us. Tomorrow morning, promise me”

“I-I’ll ask my Jie” he promised quietly and Wei Wuxian patted him on the shoulder.

“That’s great, see you tomorrow Wen Ning”

***

Lan Wangji strode into their lodgings the turmoil in his heart carefully tamped down so it wouldn’t be obvious to Lan Xichen. Or at least so obvious he would comment upon it.

He admitted he hadn’t expected to find the Jiang Sect heir, looking pale and tired himself, sat beside Lan Xichen’s bed and holding a bowl of porridge for him to eat from.

“Xiongzhang, Jiang-gongzi” he bowed but waved Jiang Wanyin to stay in place. “Please”

“Now Lan er-gongzi is back I should leave” there was a slight flush on the younger man’s face as he got quickly to his feet, handed Lan Wangji the bowl of porridge and left as though chased by demons.

Lan Wangji glanced down at the bowl in his hand, then moved to sit on the stool the other man had just vacated.

But Lan Xichen sat up and took the bowl out of his hands with a click of his tongue; a completely out of character reaction for his brother who was obviously annoyed at being interrupted.

It was a miraculous recovery. Had his brother been playing a lame duck in front of the Jiang Sect heir for attention?

Lan Xichen’s colour did look a lot better than it had earlier that morning, and the dark circles around his eyes had faded a little.

Did his brother like Jiang Wanyin?

“Xiongzhang, I interrupted, I apologize”

Lan Xichen looked at him over the rim of his porridge bowl, “No need to make it sound as though I was practising villainous seduction” Lan Xichen commented.

Considering Lan Wangji had done no such thing his brother’s response was illuminating.

“I had gone to find Su Minshan and ask him to talk to the other sect’s disciples. If he asks the right questions at the right times I hope to find out if many people experienced nightmares last evening, and if so how many. I met Jiang-gongzi on the way back and he assisted me as the thought I looked ill” he put aside the empty bowl and folded his hands in his lap, “I confided that I’d slept badly last night due to bad dreams. Jiang-gongzi told me both he and his brother dreamed last evening too”

“So many experiencing them at precisely the same time is unlikely to be coincidence”

“Highly unlikely. We suspected the Wens were linked to the nightmares in some way, but to actually be causing them? We have to discover how” Lan Xichen agreed.

[princessmeril]

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24670552/chapters/59616298

Wei Wuxian’s smile returned tenfold. “Oh you can talk! Cool! So are these your pets? Do they have names? If they don’t, can I name them? I’m rather bad at naming things, at least my brother says so. But how is it my fault that he can’t appreciating me naming our cat Suibian? It’ a perfect name!”

Lan Zhan was starting to worry Wei Wuxian might not be breathing with the rapidness of his speech. “They’re not pets.” Lan Zhan answered, leaning out more, fingers gripping the white edge of the window ledge. “But they have names.”

Or, Lan Zhan has been content with being alone as he did online college courses away from civilization. One a random day while his uncle was on one of his frequent trips out of the country, Lan Zhan is greeted by a bright boy full of bright smiles and easy laughter who makes his life so much brighter.

A Wangxian Rapunzel AU!!

This is everything I never knew I needed.

[mojoflower]

I am SO OVERCOME, you don’t even know, omg, The Blue Sword is one of my favorite stories EVER, and I want 50k words of this please. But really, even just your headcanon and tags -- I kept your tags b/c MORE, eep -- are enough to make me happy for weeks.

Hi, I just found your blog (I love it) and as I was scrolling I noticed your tags for a Blue Sword AU and I just... please let me know if you ever write it, because now I want to see it

@indigo-night-wisp said: 

i would give you whatever you asked for if you wrote an untamed blue sword au

It ain’t a whole AU but here’s some headcanons, I’m appealing to my girlfriend’s better spirit because she’s Mad At Me about the Nie brothers thing.

Crown Prince Lan Wangji is heir to the throne of Damar, which would be fine (his elder brother, the king, is young, healthy, and strong in kelar) except that the Outlanders are really making themselves a presence and the Northerners are pushing south again under the leadership of their warlord Wen Ruohan.  It is not, strictly speaking, an ideal moment to be royalty in Damar, because those things are now at least partially his problem.  Lan Wangji is not, shall we say, a diplomat, but here he is anyway, in the Outlander fort, listening to the administrator, a young man named Meng Yao who is definitely in some kind of exile, do his best at Damarian.  Lan Wangji speaks perfectly fluent Outlander with only the faintest hint of an accent, but he doesn’t want to be here so he’s going to make everyone else as uncomfortable as he is.  If Lan Xichen has problems with his technique, he can come do diplomacy and leave Lan Wangji to shore up their defenses, which is what they usually do.  He would be at least slightly less annoyed if Lan Xichen had explained his change of plan.  But no.  

Wei Wuxian and his adoptive siblings were sent to Daria after the deaths of the Jiangs, mostly because...well, what else was anyone going to do with two noble children with excellent bloodlines and one ward of suspect breeding but intensely charming nature, during a politically unstable moment.  So the Queen sent them into the back of beyond to join everyone else she sent away for political reasons, including the remnants of the Jin family.  Jiang Cheng is at least in passably good standing with Song Lan, the general at the fort, but Wei Wuxian is “not suited for the army” or whatever, so he has a lot of time to kill.  This is how he comes to be out riding with Jiang Yanli in time to catch a glimpse of the Darian prince and his blazing golden eyes.

Xiao Xingchen, one of the King’s Riders, makes a few very straight-faced comments about the fact that Lan Wangji, of all people, has decided to kidnap the laughing Outlander boy, but hey, whatever, he’s been asked to do weirder in his time.  His shijie ran off and married an Outlander too, so, sure, if the prince is going to indulge in a bit of kelar-induced madness, that’s fine.  He insisted on coming, after all, when he was offered the chance to stay behind.  All Lan Xichen would say, with his familiar pleasantly noncommittal smile, was that Xiao Xingchen would be spending plenty of time in the desert soon.  Whatever that means.  Kelar-madness is going around, it seems.

Wei Wuxian gets kidnapped, which is not ideal.  He’s fairly sure that the entire camp thinks he’s been kidnapped as...maybe a concubine?  Unclear.  Especially unclear because the prince and his (secretly excellent, Wei Wuxian wishes he could see Meng Yao’s face) Homelander haven’t said more than five words strung together since the first night, when he said firmly that Wei Wuxian wouldn’t be hurt, nor mistreated, while in his care.  But the prince is beautiful, and the food is delicious, especially once Wei Wuxian learns enough of the language to ask for spicy food, and he’s given a horse, one of the magnificent Hill horses that Jin Zixuan always spoke of with such obvious envy, a stunning black mare who he dubs Chenqing and who flies across the sand beside the prince’s white stallion.  And the rest...well.  If the Hills seem to make themselves at home in his blood like an illness, if he can still sometimes taste the Water of Sight on his tongue when he swallows, if he dreams of his own voice shouting through gleaming blue light....  It is what it is.

(Lan Wangji watches the black flag of Wei Wuxian’s hair crack behind him as he leans down over his horse’s neck, as if he was born to it, as if he was crafted out of a desert wind and the brilliance of desert stars and given life with the breath of kelar that blazes in his eyes when he rages.  He names the loyal hunting cat that follows him around Suibian just to watch everyone scowl at him, and Lan Wangji tries to remember that it is unsuitable for a crown prince to be jealous of a cat.  Lan Wangji wonders, privately, if Lan Xichen has plans for their mother’s blue stone garden.)

After being drilled silly for six weeks at the hands of Xiao Xingchen--who is NOT nearly so easy-going as he led Wei Wuxian to believe, in fact, Wei Wuxian would like to register complaints--Wei Wuxian drifts through the laprun trials like a dream.  He utterly sweeps them, except for the tiny incident of clipping his final opponent’s lip when he took his mask.  Lan Wangji doesn’t say anything, just nods to him and dabs his fingers at the blood, and Wei Wuxian is swept away by his defeated opponents and the Riders.  Some of the other fighters are quite charming--a young woman named Mianmian insults him and compliments his horse in the same breath, and a young man named Nie Huaisang, who barely made it through the first melee round, cheerfully bemoans his murder at the hands of his brother, apparently a King’s Rider himself.  That night, just before the stimulant crash hits Wei Wuxian, there’s a banquet.  The nameless sword that unseals itself at his touch is the most beautiful thing he’s ever handled.

By the end of it all, Song Lan and Jiang Cheng have formally bailed on the Outlander fort, Song Lan gets made a King’s Rider (and marries Xiao Xingchen, but that happens later, after Xiao Xingchen recovers from his injuries), the filanon literally melt out of the woodwork to help handle the Northerners, led by Wen Qing and Wen Ning (long story, but suffice it to say that Northern blood mixes more gracefully with Damarian than you might think), Jin Zixuan and Jiang Yanli get married and become a major line of diplomatic connection between the Homeland and Damar, Lan Xichen maybe possibly has an affair with his most favored Rider and the Outlander administrator, and, of course:

Lan Wangji is waiting for Wei Wuxian, when he returns to the Damarian camp with every intention of turning himself in.  But he’s not just waiting, he’s standing there, with Wei Wuxian’s scarlet sash around his waist as if it belongs there, and Wei Wuxian is tumbling off Chenqing into his arms, and it turns out that, just maybe, Wei Wuxian is in love with this solemn Hill prince after all.

Wei Wuxian hears Jiang Cheng half-shout “Why are we cheering” over the roar of approval from the army, and then he hears Song Lan say “Your brother’s going to marry the prince,” and then he doesn’t hear much at all because kissing Lan Wangji is vastly more interesting than Jiang Cheng’s meltdown.

[aethersea]

#and then they get MARRIED and everyone is FINE and HAPPY and it's GOOD 

#things that didn't make it into this as central pieces because it was already getting pretty long #maybe jiang cheng and wen ning make out huh???? maybe they do????? or maybe jc and wq???? #JIANG CHENG KISSES A FILANON that's my point here 

#baoshan sanren is luthe and lan yi was aerin and when they pass through bssr's mountain it comes to light that xxc was raised there #and is sort of wwx's uncle by way of cangse sanren 

#why isn't the sword named suibian? #1) i couldn't do that to gonturan and 2) the idea of lwj being jealous of a cat named whatever was Too Fucking Funny 

#mianmian becomes a rider! obviously! nhs...does not. but that's okay he's happier as a scholar anyway. 

#wwx kind of steals a kid because one of the wen cousins dies defending the gate! #like he has permission but he does kind of steal a-yuan on his way home. #he's expecting to be banished! let him live! he was anticipating just being turned right back around #and the filanon already offered to take him in. so he agreed to take care of a kelar-rich kid a little bit. #this is how a filanon kid who lucked into a BIG kelar dose kind of becomes the heir to damar 

Hi, I just found your blog (I love it) and as I was scrolling I noticed your tags for a Blue Sword AU and I just... please let me know if you ever write it, because now I want to see it

@indigo-night-wisp said: 

i would give you whatever you asked for if you wrote an untamed blue sword au

It ain’t a whole AU but here’s some headcanons, I’m appealing to my girlfriend’s better spirit because she’s Mad At Me about the Nie brothers thing.

Crown Prince Lan Wangji is heir to the throne of Damar, which would be fine (his elder brother, the king, is young, healthy, and strong in kelar) except that the Outlanders are really making themselves a presence and the Northerners are pushing south again under the leadership of their warlord Wen Ruohan.  It is not, strictly speaking, an ideal moment to be royalty in Damar, because those things are now at least partially his problem.  Lan Wangji is not, shall we say, a diplomat, but here he is anyway, in the Outlander fort, listening to the administrator, a young man named Meng Yao who is definitely in some kind of exile, do his best at Damarian.  Lan Wangji speaks perfectly fluent Outlander with only the faintest hint of an accent, but he doesn’t want to be here so he’s going to make everyone else as uncomfortable as he is.  If Lan Xichen has problems with his technique, he can come do diplomacy and leave Lan Wangji to shore up their defenses, which is what they usually do.  He would be at least slightly less annoyed if Lan Xichen had explained his change of plan.  But no.  

Wei Wuxian and his adoptive siblings were sent to Daria after the deaths of the Jiangs, mostly because...well, what else was anyone going to do with two noble children with excellent bloodlines and one ward of suspect breeding but intensely charming nature, during a politically unstable moment.  So the Queen sent them into the back of beyond to join everyone else she sent away for political reasons, including the remnants of the Jin family.  Jiang Cheng is at least in passably good standing with Song Lan, the general at the fort, but Wei Wuxian is “not suited for the army” or whatever, so he has a lot of time to kill.  This is how he comes to be out riding with Jiang Yanli in time to catch a glimpse of the Darian prince and his blazing golden eyes.

Xiao Xingchen, one of the King’s Riders, makes a few very straight-faced comments about the fact that Lan Wangji, of all people, has decided to kidnap the laughing Outlander boy, but hey, whatever, he’s been asked to do weirder in his time.  His shijie ran off and married an Outlander too, so, sure, if the prince is going to indulge in a bit of kelar-induced madness, that’s fine.  He insisted on coming, after all, when he was offered the chance to stay behind.  All Lan Xichen would say, with his familiar pleasantly noncommittal smile, was that Xiao Xingchen would be spending plenty of time in the desert soon.  Whatever that means.  Kelar-madness is going around, it seems.

Wei Wuxian gets kidnapped, which is not ideal.  He’s fairly sure that the entire camp thinks he’s been kidnapped as...maybe a concubine?  Unclear.  Especially unclear because the prince and his (secretly excellent, Wei Wuxian wishes he could see Meng Yao’s face) Homelander haven’t said more than five words strung together since the first night, when he said firmly that Wei Wuxian wouldn’t be hurt, nor mistreated, while in his care.  But the prince is beautiful, and the food is delicious, especially once Wei Wuxian learns enough of the language to ask for spicy food, and he’s given a horse, one of the magnificent Hill horses that Jin Zixuan always spoke of with such obvious envy, a stunning black mare who he dubs Chenqing and who flies across the sand beside the prince’s white stallion.  And the rest...well.  If the Hills seem to make themselves at home in his blood like an illness, if he can still sometimes taste the Water of Sight on his tongue when he swallows, if he dreams of his own voice shouting through gleaming blue light....  It is what it is.

(Lan Wangji watches the black flag of Wei Wuxian’s hair crack behind him as he leans down over his horse’s neck, as if he was born to it, as if he was crafted out of a desert wind and the brilliance of desert stars and given life with the breath of kelar that blazes in his eyes when he rages.  He names the loyal hunting cat that follows him around Suibian just to watch everyone scowl at him, and Lan Wangji tries to remember that it is unsuitable for a crown prince to be jealous of a cat.  Lan Wangji wonders, privately, if Lan Xichen has plans for their mother’s blue stone garden.)

After being drilled silly for six weeks at the hands of Xiao Xingchen--who is NOT nearly so easy-going as he led Wei Wuxian to believe, in fact, Wei Wuxian would like to register complaints--Wei Wuxian drifts through the laprun trials like a dream.  He utterly sweeps them, except for the tiny incident of clipping his final opponent’s lip when he took his mask.  Lan Wangji doesn’t say anything, just nods to him and dabs his fingers at the blood, and Wei Wuxian is swept away by his defeated opponents and the Riders.  Some of the other fighters are quite charming--a young woman named Mianmian insults him and compliments his horse in the same breath, and a young man named Nie Huaisang, who barely made it through the first melee round, cheerfully bemoans his murder at the hands of his brother, apparently a King’s Rider himself.  That night, just before the stimulant crash hits Wei Wuxian, there’s a banquet.  The nameless sword that unseals itself at his touch is the most beautiful thing he’s ever handled.

By the end of it all, Song Lan and Jiang Cheng have formally bailed on the Outlander fort, Song Lan gets made a King’s Rider (and marries Xiao Xingchen, but that happens later, after Xiao Xingchen recovers from his injuries), the filanon literally melt out of the woodwork to help handle the Northerners, led by Wen Qing and Wen Ning (long story, but suffice it to say that Northern blood mixes more gracefully with Damarian than you might think), Jin Zixuan and Jiang Yanli get married and become a major line of diplomatic connection between the Homeland and Damar, Lan Xichen maybe possibly has an affair with his most favored Rider and the Outlander administrator, and, of course:

Lan Wangji is waiting for Wei Wuxian, when he returns to the Damarian camp with every intention of turning himself in.  But he’s not just waiting, he’s standing there, with Wei Wuxian’s scarlet sash around his waist as if it belongs there, and Wei Wuxian is tumbling off Chenqing into his arms, and it turns out that, just maybe, Wei Wuxian is in love with this solemn Hill prince after all.

Wei Wuxian hears Jiang Cheng half-shout “Why are we cheering” over the roar of approval from the army, and then he hears Song Lan say “Your brother’s going to marry the prince,” and then he doesn’t hear much at all because kissing Lan Wangji is vastly more interesting than Jiang Cheng’s meltdown.