#pier 33

[bobcronkphotography]

Alcatraz Island

San Francisco, California

Bob Cronk

[christiangeistdorfer]

PIERS COURAGE during the 1967 MONACO GRAND PRIX

[lavaridgexflannery]

// I'm officially calling anyone who role plays Piers from Pokemon other than gay, a unicorn. Not saying that those of you who rp him as gay is bad. Just sorta seems to be a very common thing.

[0p1er0]

Itsssss Origin's Mod Pier Aka Allay Pier!

(ye I made this skin)

Doodles under the cut!

[thesingletraveller]

To The Rock - Alcatraz with City Cruises

The Solo Scale: Fade into the crowd, go with the flow, and do what you like. There’s a whole day’s worth of activities at Alcatraz with the prison, the bird-watching, and the graffiti to be seen. With no one else to answer to, take your time and enjoy as much as you’d like. If you’re going to San Francisco, one of the main tourist destinations that everyone will tell you to visit is Alcatraz.…

[toviolet]

buildings for a little fishing village in my head 🎣 🏡 a regular house, a humble chapel, and a little mushroom house 🍄

[shanastoryteller]

happy halloween! i would love some more Lady Mo :D

a continuation of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

Now that both Lan Zhan and Jiang Cheng are frozen in place and staring at him like idiots, Wei Wuxian takes a step back levels a stern look at them, hoping that neither of them can tell that he'd been crying. "If you're quite done? I should send both of you to bed without supper. What were you thinking?"

Jiang Cheng says nothing, instead just staring at her in a way that's honestly a little unnerving.

He rounds onto Lan Xichen to get away from it, "And you! Just standing by and watching! What are all of you thinking? We're in the middle of an inter-clan nighthunt and banquet! Not even the middle! It's just begun and you're causing trouble."

He's scolding someone for getting into a fight at an inoportune time. Something has gone terribly wrong.

Oh, right. He's pregnant with Lan Zhan's baby. He's pregnant with a baby that Lan Zhan doesn't want. Everything is terrible and wrong.

No, he can't think like that. It's not fair to Lan Zhan.

"Come back with me to Lotus Pier," Jiang Cheng says abruptly, still with that strange look on his face. "I told you to believe in Lan Wangji and he's made a liar out of me." Both Lan brothers look startled at that. Jin Guangyao even raises an eyebrow. "The Jiang will take care of you. Have the child, don't, it doesn't matter. I said you'd be safe and you will be."

Oh, Jiang Cheng.

His heart seizes. His honorable, idiotic little brother. He wishes he could go over there and ruffle his hair and kiss his cheeks. "It's alright, Jiang Cheng. It's - it's not a problem. If Wangji does not want the child, we will not have the child. It's fine."

He feels like he's going to throw up and he hasn't even eaten anything.

"What?"

He turns, confused, to Lan Zhan who's looking at him in confusion and horror.

Wei Wuxian's eyebrows dip together and he echoes, "What?"

[loveydovey489]

Gaz is 100% the captains favourite. Right?

He’s been there since day ONE! Price is a cutie with all of his boys. But he’s so soft with gaz. When gaz gets all frustrated in MW1 about the rules of engagement. Price was so like.. quiet and he LISTENED. And then adoption!

Basically just plucked him from the police force to go do war crimes with him.

And again. In MW1 when they (spoiler) go to find hadir. And the building explodes. The little “clear your head son.” (I deadass think I’d start crying if price said that to me)

BUT! I think being the captain’s favourite is a blessing and a curse. Because.. like. You get silly captain price who can and WILL be your new dad. But he’s also brings you on the most DIFFICULT and DANGEROUS missions.

So far. In the MW franchise. Gaz has.

1. Been dragged into a war crimes (kidnapping a woman and child

2. Been in a building AS it exploded

3 single handedly taken down a whole pier of guards, with JUST throwing knife’s. (In a dumb wetsuit.)

4. Single handedly (well. Price was on overwatch) take down a cartel facility.

5. FALLEN OUT OF A HELICOPTER

6.been involved in a prison breakout

7. Had to drag his wounded captain to safety in a building (end of MW2)

(Etc. etc.)

Poor lad needs a break. I’m SURE price works him the hardest in training. It’s his way of showing love <33

[cheesec4kee]

hi lovely !! i loved your angsty fic with charles. i wondering if you could write a charles x reader based off the the song casual by chappell roan xx

much love

Is it casual now? ⸺ CL¹⁶ ୨୧

you’ve always wanted for it to be more, for it to be a serious relationship. you’ve dreamt of it, but it may be far from ever being serious. it seems like it’ll always just be labeled as ‘casual’.

[ warnings ! ] : gn reader, angst-ish ??, use of y/n like once not proofread

[ a/n ] : words cannot describe how HAPPY I was when I got this req omg, I was giggling n kicking my feet !! thank u sm for this req, I had so much fun writing this !! I hope you like it <33 I’m so sorry if it’s too short (reblogs very much appreciated !!)

⸺ angst under the cut

“remember baby, no attachment.”

his words would ring in your head, loud and clear. and you’d prefer to forget them, you’d very much prefer so. you would’ve much preferred that he never said those words at all, even.

you thought you’ve hit the jackpot, managing to even befriend the monegasque. he was a popular man, a good looking one at that— surrounded with women everywhere he went.

you felt foolish for thinking that the relationship would last, you felt foolish for thinking that he would think of you better. for thinking that he’d consider you as someone he couldn’t lose.

forming a relationship with Charles wasn’t exactly easy. you didn’t know what the two of you were. friends? partners? you were confused, to say the least. you’re still holding onto the relationship, despite hearing so many rumors— that you were just a ‘friend that he bangs on the couch’.

you’d remind yourself every day, every night that the two of you were never together, and never will be. we’re not together, you tried to remind yourself whenever you two kissed, and it hurt, it hurt knowing you weren’t his first priority. you would let the words bounce in your mind as he kissed your cheek, and your forehead occasionally— we’re not together, you’d remind.

and yet, he’ll still brag you to his friends at the pier, he’ll still take care of your needs, eating you out like a starved man in the passenger seat. is it really casual now?

he talks about you to his mom, and you would’ve taken that as a good sign, as his mom invited you to her house on Long Beach— but it pains you knowing that he’s not even committed to the relationship, that’s he’s not even seeking for it. he knows that he’s just using you, and he expects you to do the same— but you couldn’t bring yourself to do it. it pains you knowing that he’s talking about you to his mom only for the sake of keeping her happy that her son finally ‘found’ someone.

you’d find yourself dreaming about the two of you, thinking that maybe, just maybe, the two of you would have a shared apartment, decorating it accordingly together— make it feel like home.

and now the two of you are making out on the couch, your arms looped around his neck— his lips pressing onto yours, but his lips tasted bitter. feeling his body pressed against yours made you feel uncomfortable.

he trails down sloppy kisses to your neck, his hands roaming all over your body, finding their way to your hips.

you knew what would happen. the two of you would share an intimate moment, but as soon as it’s over— the two of you a panting and sweaty mess, it always will be “no attachment”.

and so before this would escalate any further, before you would be left with your heart aching— you mustered up the courage to ask him the question.

“..what are we?” you whispered, watching nervously as he lifts his head from your neck to look at you, his eyebrows raised in confusion and surprise on the sudden question.

“what?”

“you heard me.” you sighed, pulling your arms away from his neck, shifting slightly on the couch. the silence was deafening, you needed a answer.

“please. what’s our relationship?”

“you know what it is, y/n.” he sighs quietly, his hand cupping your face— his thumb caressing your cheek, a weak and bitter attempt to comfort you.

“no attachment, baby. it’s casual.”

“then get off of me.”

[christiangeistdorfer]

PIERS COURAGE at the 1970 BELGIAN GRAND PRIX

[jcs-singular-slut-strand]

do you have any favorite jiang cheng/chengxian episodes of the untamed? I'm a novel canon person, don't feel like watching the whole show, but I do want to see my faves in live action

Oh baby girl you have come to the right place

The Untamed doesn't have all that many of the chengxian book moments because it was focused alot more on getting around the wangxian censorship (by giving the teen chengxian relationship to wangxian) but it did make its own, and for that i am grateful. Most of my love for The Untamed lies in the fact that it was the first adaptation I saw and I like their faces.

IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER:

EPISODE 16! EPISODE 16! EPISODE 16!!!!!

This is the main burning of Lotus Pier episode and features The Strangle Scene as well as the love heart grass moment🫶 (+ overall angst)

Episode 18 (AKA the infamous Golden Core Transfer episode)

I mean. I could talk about the whole imagery of the scene with wei wuxian PUTTING THE BLINDFOLD OVER JIANG CHENGS EYES HIMSELF but this is not the time or place. Just trust it's incredible

Episode 10 (AKA the Shixiong 🙄🙄 episode)

Chengxian (+ lwj and nhs but whatever) go to Qinghe and they are SO INSYNC IT'S INSANE!!!! Plus Jiang Cheng smiles in this episode (and Wei Wuxian side hugs him whilst he's doing it)

Episode 13 (AKA the if you die I die episode)

Jiang Cheng being physically restrained and dragged out of the cave by Jin Zixuan to stop him from staying with Wei Wuxian. Need i say more

Episode 17 (AKA the these are OUR feelings episode)

Wei Wuxian is sooooo fucking distressed by the depth of Jiang Cheng's dispare and proceeds to not sleep trying to find a cure for the Golden Core melting

Episode 20 (AKA the reunion Episode)

Jiang Cheng (and lwj I guess 🙄🙄) FINALLY find Wei Wuxian

ONLY ADAPTION TO USE THE CHENGXIAN HUG FROM THE NOVEL‼️‼️‼️

Episode 23 (AKA the the start of Jiang Cheng devouring in his sect leader outfits)

Not really a chengxian episode but they are EATING these outfits UP

Episode 27 (AKA the babe are you mad at me episode)

This is probably one of the most chengxian episodes EVER!! The argument, the "Do you still not understand the situation we're in? Do I have to spell it out for you? If you're determined to protect them, then I won't be able to protect you"

EAHDHEUXJEDBDJWBD

Episode 28 (AKA the breakup episode)

The Fight. What more is there to say

Episode 33 (AKA The Episode)

Homoerotic shixiong "killing"

Episode 46 (AKA the reveal)

Ancestry Hall + Golden core reveal. Nothing much else to say.

EPISODE 49! EPISODE 49! EPISODE 49!!!!!!!

The "take care" and emo goodbye episode

THEY MAKE ME ILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! STOP LOOKING AT EACH OTHER LIKE THAT YOU'RE FREAKING EVERYONE ELSE OUT

EMO

[mxtxfanatic]

So I just did some math, and y’all got me fucked up. I’ve seen so much handwringing in this fandom about the age disparity between Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian’s body because “oh, lwj is soooooo much older than Mo Xuanyu, it ‘basically’ counts as a grooming that wwx was given such a young body and lwj is still attracted to him!”

It’s literally not true. Lan Wangji is around 33 at the start of the present-day plotline. Mo Xuanyu is 27. Y’all are so full of shit.

The math:

Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian are around the same age, give or take some months. They are 15/16 at the start of the Cloud Recesses arc, the discussion conference in Qishan happens less than two years later (16), the Wen indoctrination camp happens definitively when they are 17 (madam yu says so) a year later, then the Sunshot Campaign takes place 2 weeks after that with Lotus Pier’s fall. The war lasts for around a year or two, but wwx mentions he is 20 during the Phoenix Mountain hunt. This means he’s still 20 when he breaks the Wen remnants out of the labor camps 2 months later, and they abscond to the Burial Mounds. For Burial Mounds arc timeline, you have to go by A-Yuan/Lan Sizhui’s. A-Yuan is a teething toddler between one and two (jc deduces) in the Burial Mounds. He’s 15 at the start of the story 13 years later. The Burial Mounds settlement, therefore, lasts about a year. By the time of the siege, wwx should be 21 (again, give or take a few months). Thirteen years later, lwj is 33/34.

Mo Xuanyu, on the other hand, is given a definite age start. He is 14 when he is taken by Jin Guangshan back to Koi Tower. This happens after the siege but  before Nie Mingjue dies (Jin Guangyao mentions this in the chapt. 79 flashback during his argument with Nie Mingjue about Xue Yang), and Nie Mingjue dies a year after the first siege takes place. This would mean that Mo Xuanyu is 14 when the siege happens and, 13 years later, he would be 27 when he sacrifices his body to summon Wei Wuxian.

Mo Xuanyu is not some barely-legal young adult at the start of the story, and the age difference, besides, would be 7 years at most. The fact that this is regular discourse is embarrassing.

[gravehags]

the papas and the ghoulettes/ghouls at disneyland

nihil - grumpy old shit that his sons deposit on a bench on main street and abandon for the day. complains loudly to no one how he wishes seestor was there (she refused to come). somehow manages to end up with an enormous waffle cone and makes a kid cry.

primo - loves, loves, loves the people watching. is content to sit on a bench of his own (far, far away from nihil) soaking in the vibes. spends the rest of the day ambling around the park appreciating the variety of plants that are on display. loves the fantasyland dark rides.

secondo - loves the thrill rides in both parks but is especially fond of space mountain. wears a simple pair of black mickey ears all day and commands quite a presence at the carthay circle bar in california adventure (he loves good liquor and a good meal). has several tourists coming up to him for pictures because they mistake him for pitbull.

terzo - adores the energy of the place and like primo, loves to people watch. charms his way into club 33 and texts ridiculous and smug pictures of himself hanging out there to an outraged secondo all day. flirts heavily with the princesses in the most over the top romantic displays. can frequently be found vibing in the enchanted tiki room.

copia - this man is riding haunted mansion on repeat and loving every second of it. loves a good dole whip or a churro (anything sweet really) and will always laugh outrageously at all the skipper’s jokes on jungle cruise. manages to make multiple babies smile and laugh throughout the day, to the utter delight of their families. cries at the fireworks, always.

cumulus - she loves fantasyland - the dark rides, the music, the fairy tale vibes. can commonly be found riding the carousel looking stunning and singing along with the songs. cries openly at it’s a small world while dew and sunshine laugh affectionately. like copia, has a sweet tooth and will never say no to cotton candy. insists on the pack staying to watch the fireworks every night.

cirrus - easily the coolest person in the park, always at cumulus’ side. loves tomorrowland and galaxy’s edge - anything with a space theme really makes her smile. compiles a professional team to conquer smuggler’s run made up of mountain, rain, sunshine, and herself. will sip happily on a blue milk and definitely ends up buying a lightsaber.

sunshine - this girl is a toontown girl!! she loves the fun architecture and delights in meeting the characters (collects autographs too). she and swiss could ride runaway railway all day and the two of them love to annoy their fellow pack members by singing the song from the ride on repeat. will fucking demolish several tigger tails and spends the rest of the evening complaining about her upset tummy.

aurora - the pack princess? you know she’s hunting down her fellow princesses throughout the park - when she finds the other princess aurora she’s beside herself with glee and insists swiss and aether act as her personal photographers. her favorite ride is soarin’ and will absolutely be the kind of person to swing her legs while she’s flying through the air.

swiss - this ghoul insists on the pack all getting classic mickey ears with their names stitched on them and makes mountain take several group selfies with them all wearing them. incredibly competitive (and good) at the carnival games on pixar pier and passes out his stuffed animal trophies to the crowd of kids that comes to watch him.

dewdrop - like copia is a huge fan of the haunted mansion. will ride with a different pack member every time and point out different goofy ghosts while telling them “that’s you”. he learns how to play grim grinning ghosts on his guitar when they get home which delights phantom to no end. loves a good candy apple. will spin the teacup so hard on mad tea party with sunshine they makes phantom puke.

rain - he loves pirates of the caribbean, loves the damp air and the darkness and will happily ride it all afternoon. most likely to make friends with random cast members throughout the park which baffles mountain who asks “how do they all know you?” is a fun little beverage connoisseur but his favorite is the non alcoholic mint juleps they serve in new orleans square.

mountain - wears the oswald ears to make himself look even taller and can frequently be found looming over children and smiling benevolently at them. is the first to offer aurora a piggy back ride when her cute impractical shoes hurt her. loves grizzly river run and the entire grizzly peak area of california adventure (redwoods enjoy redwoods, naturally). his favorite ride is guardians of the galaxy: mission breakout.

aether - the organizer of the pack he has absolutely considered getting those leash backpacks for several of them. big man loves indiana jones and the temple of the forbidden eye and definitely ends up buying an indiana jones fedora. his favorite ride though is big thunder mountain and will always insist on sitting in the back (the best seats, naturally).

phantom - yet another haunted mansion super fan and gleefully drags aurora and dew into the shops to buy all the merch. loves his jack skellington mickey ears and the little magnetic zero he got to sit on his shoulder at all times. like sunshine, collects character autographs in a book and his favorites are dr. facilier and cinderella. gets really into pin collecting and trading.

[bunnies-and-blues]

─꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱─ slam dunk : a date with sannoh's ace

⸝⸝ tl;dr : sawakita eiji, and you ! general date headcanons for japan's #1 high school player <33

⸝⸝ note : thank uu @slamdunkhcs for requesting this ! and im sorry for taking this long to get to it T-T ; but i hope you enjoy regardless ! (also, tysm for ur character analysis on him, it helped me SO MUCH)

i'll preface this by saying that i know absolutely nothing about this man ; however, from what i've read about him, he seems genuinely fun and easy to be around, so i can summarize dates with him as : carefree

so i'm thinking arcade dates, afternoon walks, amusement parks !! and if you're available, an evening out at the pier or the fair, or food trips at the local food hub !! neon signs and laughing under the stars, all that jazz !

i don't think he'd generally plan dates, if that makes sense ? like, if he sees a place he'd like to go to or an activity he'd want to do with you, he'd let you know on a whim !! this doesn't mean that he doesn't put effort into dates (please i can see him paying for everything that you want ..), but i just personally think that he prefers dates wherein both of you can laugh freely and be yourselves .

he'd demolish you on arcade dates . no additional info needed. (he'd make it up to you though, don't worry !! he'll get you whatever arcade prize you want .. even if that means being broke in the end LMAO)

on the topic of carefree dates, may i present : HOUSE DATES ! movie marathons, with the scariest horror films and the lights turned all the way down; cooking dates, with flour everywhere and grins on both of your faces; just hanging out in general, idle chatter while you're cuddling; hell, sleepovers, if you can manage !

dates with him generally feel like a breath of fresh air, and in a way he treats it as such. i can see him giving you a call after a particularly hard training session, and you swear you hear the smile in his voice, the excitement building in his tone as he asks you out. his teammates tease him so much about it, but he doesn't care; he just wants you.

bottom line ? dawg he loves you so much. that's it, that's the post.

[jayujus]

JOAH (I LIKE YOU) - CHAPTER 33

— 33 : d-day

written ~ 0.8k + smau

"y/n? are you okay?" riki asks. he noticed that she was taking rather small bites of her food. "oh, yes! i'm fine, i was just thinking about something..." just then, she begins to eat bigger portions.

to be fair, riki was a bit disappointed with how the date was going. he tried to make a conversation every now and then but y/n gave really dry responses.

she notices his faltering expression, feeling bad for how awkward their night was. "uh, riki?" riki looks up from his plate. "i'm sorry i'm acting weird tonight,, i just feel really nervous.."

"no no it's fine, i get it. but you don't have to feel nervous! we've already hung out a lot." y/n smiles at his reassurance, but she was still in doubt.

"i know, it's just that this is different than all the other times we've went out. i feel that i'm making this awkward when it doesn't have to be."

"it's all good, really y/n. don't feel bad about it." he smiles to reassure her once more, to which she grins back at him.

"okay~" she responds in a playful tone.

"when we finish eating, i was wondering if you'd like to go on a walk at the pier?" without much hesitation, y/n agrees. "i would like that." he flashes a short smile at her.

__

the rest of the night was spent with riki by the pier. the two talked majority of the time— unlike at the restaurant. even when it was silent between the two, it wasn't awkward at all.

it was already late as is, but the more time riki spent with y/n, the more he didn't want to drive her back home.

so when they both decided it was getting too late, they agreed to now go home.

on their walk back to riki's car, "you look good when you're driving. very focused." y/n says. a blush creeps onto his face, flustered by her compliment. "all of a sudden?" she laughs at his shy response.

"yeah. i didn't even know you had your license."

"yeah,, i got it recently."

they both quickly hop in his car, creating some more small talk about little things that don't really seem to matter much.

__

once they arrive to y/n's house, riki offers to walk her to her front porch.

"i had a lot of fun today, riki." riki agrees. "i did too." y/n smiles at the taller boy brightly.

"okay- i'll get going then. by-"

"wait! no, y/n before you go inside can we talk for a few minutes? i have something to say." y/n hesitates for a short second, but she nods her head 'yes' anyways.

before riki begins to speak, he takes a deep breath, which makes y/n giggle at his sudden seriousness.

the two have known each other for many years, and those many years have been y/n pining over riki only. therefore, he never expected himself to be the one to make any final moves. especially when another person became a big obstacle for him to pursue anything with her.

but as he comes to think of it, he realizes that she is the only one he wants to be with, and that she is the only one he can see himself being with forever. that he wants to be her boyfriend.

so he tells her exactly that.

shocked, y/n quickly tries to think of something to say. she doesn't want him to think the silence is an answer. "i- i know it's a lot. so don't worry about answering right now. i just wanted to get it off my chest-" interrupted, riki feels a soft pair of lips on his. he immediately stiffens up but kisses back, still shocked with the sudden intimate contact.

y/n herself was a bit surprised with her own actions, but she didn't regret it.

a couple seconds later, she pulls away. "i want you to be my boyfriend." if it's not obvious enough already.

the boxy grin on riki's face makes y/n blush. he never fails to make her feel butterflies— even when she's the first to initiate skinship.

"riki you know i like you a lot, literally, the whole world knows how much i like you." y/n grabs his hand. "i've always wanted it to be just you." just by the tone of her voice, riki can feel how genuine she is.

he stayed silent for a little bit, soon leaning in and kissing her once more.

a short lived kiss, riki pulls away. the two stare at each other lovingly, and riki contemplates whether he should say anything else.

"i love you," and again, the butterflies came back.

"i love you too." she presses a peck on his lips, soon bidding each other good night.

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a/n ❀ : FINALLY omfg this is the longest ive gone without updating i had sm writers block and i was also so busyyy 😥 but i'm actually pretty happy with how this written part worked out bc im already insecure of my writing as is ㅠㅠ i didnt want to feel obligated to post but i rlly rlly wanted to.. also forgot the gc name oopsies😭

(closed) taglist ❀ : @forever-in-the-sky2 @wonqr @strwberrydinosaur @j-wyoung @alicesolengg @rikimylove @hehet-ateez @dneltrise @latriii @ocyeanicc @yumilovesloona @yourmyst4r @suvgs @telengraph @cha0thicpisces @nishik1 @str4wb3rryc0ww @noascats @captivq @calkai @rikizm @chaechae-23 @iea-tsand @beomgyusonlywife @kjrcrz @viagumi @lunavixia @neeneee @im-yn-suckers @b1ndignity @samvagejkflxhrt @darly6n @astrae4 @wonyoungsvirus @deadgirlwalking3 @kissezfornamjoon @lilacri @rikibsf @yanagisprettygf @sxftiell @heeheesang @tswisal1 @pkjay @yizhoutv @brrrkdslek @y0iy0i @shigamiryuk @231engene4ever @luvistqrzzz @hyuckscore

[shanastoryteller]

Happy Halloween!!! More Lady Mo? I love your writings!!

a continuation of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48

Lan Zhan doesn’t want their baby.

Not their baby, he forces himself to think through the blood pounding in his ears. This body doesn’t belong to him. He’s just borrowing it, and the child he’s carrying no more belongs to him than the body he’s wearing. It’s Lan Zhan’s baby. And he doesn’t want it.

For the first time, he’s grateful that Mo Xuanyu didn’t stick around. It’s breaking his heart, and the baby isn’t even his. This would have killed her.

Or maybe it wouldn’t have. She didn’t want to be a bride, maybe she didn’t want to be a mother either, and she and Lan Zhan would have just been in perfect agreement about any child they would have created, and what had to be done about it.

I’m sorry.

I never intended –

This is for the best.

He can complete the mission that Mo Xuanyu died to give him. He doesn’t have to try and stretch it out or leave Lan Zhan behind to raise a child alone. What a mess that would have been, for him to have the kid and leave it behind with a father that didn’t want him. He wouldn’t wish that on any child, especially his ow – especially any child he helped create. It would have just been another terrible, bitter legacy of his to leave behind, an unloved child and a disinterested father.

This is better. This is a good thing.

“Oh, Meimei.”

Wei Wuxian blinks and sees Jiang Yanli kneeling in front of him, rubbing her sleeve over his cheeks for some reason. They come away damp and it takes him raising a hand to his own face to realize he’s crying.

Stupid. There’s nothing to cry over. This is the best thing that could have happened. A baby makes things complicated. Now they can be simple.

“We’ll take care of you,” Jiang Yanli says, pulling him into her arms, and he lets her, because he’s weak and she’s his sister and he feels that familiar roll of nausea even though there’s nothing in his stomach to upset it. “Don’t worry. We’ll take care of everything. You won’t have to – you know, you barely got a chance to see Jin Tower the first time, you should stay past the cultivation conference. Or, hm, I know there’s, well there’s also Lotus Pier. You’ve never been have you? A-Cheng could escort you there and you could see the ponds. We can think of a reason. A-Yao will help.”

Most of what she’s saying doesn’t make any sense, but it’s so comforting to be held by her that he just goes with it. He looks over her shoulder, expecting to see Jiang Cheng awkwardly hovering in the doorway, but it’s empty.

It’s. Empty.

“Where’s Jiang Cheng?” he rasps, even though he thinks he already knows.

She stiffens, her voice taking on a tone that reminds him of Madame Yu. “He went to talk to Lan Wangji. He’ll be back.”

He remembers Jiang Cheng’s reaction when he thought that Lan Zhan had hurt him, and now here he is, crying, and even though it’s stupid, he’s, well, it’s easy to see how Jiang Cheng could look at him and think him hurt, even though it’s not his baby and it’s for the best. But he doesn’t know that.

“Shit,” he curses, pushing himself away and stumbling to his feet. “Oh, no, he’ll kill him.”

He’s spared against Lan Zhan and Jiang Cheng has his core in his chest. Maybe he can’t actually kill him, but blood will be spilled, and both of them are stubborn enough to keep at it until someone does die. Fuck.

Jiang Yanli shrugs, then winces, like she knows that wasn’t the appropriate response. In other circumstances, that would be enough to goad him to laughter, but now he just rushes for the door.

“Meimei!” she calls out, but Wei Wuxian ignores her.

He doesn’t get far, running into Jin Guangyao almost as soon as he steps into the hallway. His eyes flicker to Jiang Yanli behind him, his frown deepens, and then he looks Wei Wuxian up and down once, then does it again, except this time he stops at his stomach. “Ah.”

How does he do that? He’s so lucky they didn’t know each other during the war and that he didn’t know his sister at all, otherwise he would have been made the first time the two of them had a conversation. “Where’d they go?”

“Perhaps it’s best if we leave them to it,” he suggests.

Wei Wuxian stares. “Have you lost it? Jiang Cheng is pissed and he’s going to take that anger out on Wangji. How many more whip scars do you want him to have?”

Jin Guangyao presses his lips together. “He is A-Huan’s brother. In different circumstances, that would entitle him to my protection. But you’re my sister.”

The warmth rushes through him and causes his eyes to sting. It’s all borrowed, all a lie, because he’s not Mo Xuanyu, but his stupid heart is really doing a terrible job of remember that right now. “A-Yao, please.”

He sighs. “All right. Follow me.”