#silverstark

[heyholmesletsgo]

Out of context wips

Rules: Pick a bunch of your WIPs and summarize them as badly as possible, then ask your followers to vote on which one they'd be most likely to read. Multiple/all/none options are completely optional.

Tagged by @alectoperdita, thank you :D

Here are WIPs that have been languishing for up to three years, eek. Hoping this gets me to pick these up again soon!

Tagging @galauvant, @thesilversun, @apocrypha73, @snarkivistfic, @zaidnovi and @silverstark if you'd like!

[mxtxfanatic]

@silverstark and @justalurkingkitsune12 yeah I can see these readings, and it definitely merges well into the interaction after this quote where wwx comes back and lwj is asking all the questions about what he said and what he gave the women (because his first question was “what did you give them,” I read the “jealousy” coming in at the point where he sees wwx gifting the women rather than the beginning of the interaction as a whole).

I guess I was more thinking on how general fandom tends to discuss lwj’s “pettiness” or “jealousy,” either by making him out to be extremely controlling and violent or willing to derail wwx’s actions to wwx’s and his own detriment just to assuage his ego. When, as we look at the evidence, lwj is very much so subdued in even his negative feelings, and any outburst just comes across as… cute.

On second read, this scene where Wei Wuxian is speaking to the group of women while Lan Wangji kicks a rock:

Lan Wangji stared in Wei Wuxian’s direction from afar. He had waited for a long time, but Wei Wuxian didn’t look like he was returning anytime soon. He slowly looked down and kicked a small rock beside his foot.

The innocent rock was rolled around repeatedly for a long while.

—Chapt. 32: Morning Dew Part 5: “You were so wild last night, Hanguang Jun.” taming wangxian

reads more like boredom to me than pettiness or jealousy. This is like the little kid who’s waiting at the car door while their mom stops to talk to “just one more” acquaintance at the grocery store entrance.

[besanii]

Does Smugji sometimes wear that prize, either on his sword or on his person, to special occasions where he feels Wei Wuxian could use a reminder of that moment? Or does he keep it stashed away in his very neat, very Lan, and yet still dragony hoard? I like the thought of him displaying it like a knight at a joust displays his beloved's token of favor. To the blissfully in denial, it looks like a taunt. To the poor Jiang Chengs, it is a horny boast.

Extra 14: Matchmaking | previous parts here

[from Extra 12]

Wei Wuxian forces himself to sit and smile politely as the next suitor takes the seat opposite him at the table. He’s been here almost four hours now and the line doesn’t show any signs of shortening—in fact, he swears it’s growing. Beside him, Yu Ziyuan drums her fingers on the table to get his attention, before fixing him with a warning glare. He sighs.

“Hi, uh…” he squints. “Sorry, what’s your name again?”

“Su She,” his suitor replies with a smarmy little smile that sets Wei Wuxian’s teeth on edge. 

Ah. The Snake Tribe. That explains a lot. 

He cocks his head to the side and props his chin on one hand.

“How did you manage to get in here?” he asks, only half-curious to know. “I thought the Snake Tribe was cast from the Nine Heavens and not allowed back without summons.”

He bites back a yelp when Yu Ziyuan digs her nails into his thigh in warning. Across the table, Su She’s expression has darkened, but he remains committed to the smile on his face, even though it’s starting to look physically painful at this point. He’s got to hand it to him though—most people would have flipped out by now.

“I heard Xiao-dianxia likes music,” Su She says, changing the topic. “I have brought a copy of the rarest score in Moling’s collection as a gift to commemorate our first meeting.”

He lays a thin book on the table and pushes it towards Wei Wuxian, who barely spares it a glance before he sniffs.

“Moling’s collection?” he asks, raising his eyebrows. “You mean the ones you were cast out of the Nine Heavens for stealing?”

“Wei Wuxian!” Yu Ziyuan snaps. 

Su She’s face sours, his mouth twisted as though he’s eaten something particularly foul, but he remains seated. He must be really desperate for this to work if he’s still sitting here after Wei Wuxian’s insulted his tribe to his face twice. Unluckily for him, his very face makes Wei Wuxian’s teeth hurt and he’s not feeling very nice right now.

“Oh, did I hear incorrectly then?” he asks with feigned innocence, not even bothering to raise his chin from its perch on his hand. “That can’t be right. It was such a huge scandal not even a hundred years ago, even the common folk in Qing Qiu heard about it.”

Which is true. Everyone had been talking about it when it happened. How Su She of the Snake Tribe had stolen away copies of ancient texts from the Library Pavilion while he had been a guest and then took them back to his lair at Moling. Lan Qiren had flown into a rage that shook the Nine Heavens, and the entire Snake Tribe had subsequently been barred from entering their realm ever again. As for why it had happened in the first place, well…from the way Su She dressed all in white, to the way he styled his hair with a silver guan, it really wasn’t that hard to tell who he was trying to emulate.

Wei Wuxian wrinkles his nose at the thought. As if this lowly snake could ever hope to measure up to Lan Wangji’s magnificence!

Su She’s entire face has gone an ugly shade of puce and his shoulders are shaking in anger. Still, he stays put and plasters the smile to his face once again. 

“A misunderstanding, Xiao-dianxia,” he says through clenched teeth. It’s a wonder how they haven’t fallen out yet with how hard he’s grinding them together. “The volume I present to you today is one of my own personal collection. In fact, I could play—”

He chokes in mid-sentence, eyes bulging and hands scrabbling at his throat. Behind him, the long line of suitors still waiting for their chance to meet Wei Wuxian break out into surprised gasps as one-by-one they sink into low bows. 

"Er-dianxia,” they chorus.

“Huh?” Wei Wuxian says, confused. “Lan Zhan?”

Turning around in his seat, he’s met with the sight of Lan Wangji walking up behind him with a frosty expression on his handsome face, his amber eyes boring holes into Su She over Wei Wuxian’s shoulder. Yu Ziyuan snorts derisively, pulling Wei Wuxian to his feet so they can greet Lan Wangji.

“What brings you here, Lan-er-dianxia?” she asks. “Surely not to join the line of suitors?”

Lan Wangji returns greeting with clipped politeness.

“Yu Ziyuan-shangshen,” he says. “I am here to see if Wei Ying is ready to leave.”

“Leave?” Yu Ziyuan repeats, glaring at Wei Wuxian. “Where? He still has suitors to meet and events to attend. He will not be available for the next few days.”

Days?! Wei Wuxian wails internally. Lan Zhan, save me!

“Begging your pardon, Shangshen,” Lan Wangji says with another short bow. “I had previously promised to take Wei Ying to see Fan Yin Valley the next time it reopened its borders. Today just so happens to be the only day for the next one hundred years.”

Wei Wuxian perks up. Fan Yin Valley? Oh, he’s always wanted to go there! Lan Wangji is so terribly clever to think of it as an excuse.

Yu Ziyuan looks unimpressed at his sudden enthusiasm, and irritable at Lan Wangji’s interruption.

“He will need to wait until this appointment is over,” she says, gesturing at Su She, who is starting to go purple from trying to break free of Lan Wangji’s silencing charm.

Lan Wangji inclines his head.

“Of course,” he replies calmly. He walks around to Wei Wuxian’s other side and takes the remaining seat at the table. “I am happy to wait.”

Yu Ziyuan stares at him wordlessly for a moment, struggling to find a reason to get him to leave. Wei Wuxian rejoices when she eventually folds her arms and sits back with a huff, glaring at out at the empty air over Su She’s head. Lan Wangji pours himself a cup of tea nonchalantly, supremely unconcerned by the daggers being bored through the side of his head through Su She’s eyes. As he raises the cup to his lips, a flash of colour at his wrist catches Wei Wuxian’s attention.

“Hey, isn’t that—” he starts to say, reaching out to make a grab for it. Lan Wangji grabs his wrist in mid-air before he can make contact though. “Lan Zhan! What is that?”

Lan Wangji hums and presses Wei Wuxian’s hand on the table, curling his own fingers around his to hold them still.

“A trinket,” he says, and tightens his grip when he feels Wei Wuxian’s fingers twitch. “Be good.”

Wei Wuxian pouts. But he wants to see! 

He walks the fingers on his other hand slowly across his lap, inching towards Lan Wangji’s sleeve in tiny increments to avoid detection. His other hand is still pinned on the table while Lan Wangji casually sips his tea, but that’s okay. It’s not important. He just needs to get close enough to—

”Aha!” he shouts, pinching the edge of Lan Wangji’s sleeve and flipping it back over his wrist victoriously. “…Oh.”

There, wound neatly around Lan Wangji’s wrist and stretching down his forearm, is a very familiar red ribbon. It stands out against the plain white of Lan Wangji’s robes, a bright splash of colour that draws all eyes towards it; Wei Wuxian unconsciously reaches up to finger the matching ribbon in his own hair. 

Why is Lan Wangji wearing his ribbon around his wrist? And in public!

Yu Ziyuan’s eyes are closed, her brows pinched together as if to ward off a headache. For once, Wei Wuxian doesn’t blame her. He wants to know what’s happening too! Lan Wangji calmly sets his cup back on the table, turning to Wei Wuxian expectantly.

“Wei Ying, are you ready to go?” he asks, completely ignoring the way Wei Wuxian’s face is starting to resemble the ribbon on his wrist. “The borders will not remain open for long, so we must not delay.”

He gets to his feet without waiting for a reply, pulling Wei Wuxian up with him by their still-joined hands, and bows to Yu Ziyuan.

“Shangshen, I apologise for the disruption,” he says. “We will take our leave now.”

Yu Ziyuan nods stiffly, her lips pressed together in a thin line.

“Don’t think you’re getting out of this, Wei Wuxian,” she warns. “I am letting you go today out of respect for Lan-er-dianxia. But you will meet with every single one of your suitors when you return, do you hear me?”

Wei Wuxian bows his head.

“Yes, Yu-furen,” he mumbles reluctantly. Maybe he could convince Lan Wangji to let him stay in Fan Yin Valley for the next one, two hundred years until they all get tired of waiting for him and leave of their own accord. “Come on, Lan Zhan, let’s go!”

But Lan Wangji has turned instead to Su She, who looks about a second away from passing out, his mouth still sealed by the silencing charm.

“The Snake Tribe has been banished from the Nine Heavens,” he says, voice chilly. “Leave here at once. If you dare show your face here again, it will be taken as a declaration of war and treated accordingly.”

With that, he sweeps right past him with a wide-eyed Wei Wuxian in tow, the ribbon on his wrist on full display for the suitors still mingling around in the courtyard. They stare at the two of them with open-mouthed shock; Wei Wuxian gives them a cheeky little wave as they leave, and presses a little closer to Lan Wangji.

“Hey, Lan Zhan,” he whispers, tugging on his sleeve. “Are we really going to Fan Yin Valley? You’re not just saying that to get me out of this matchmaking thing right?”

“We’re going,” Lan Wangji assures him, smiling when Wei Wuxian hums happily and starts bouncing on his feet as they walk along the wide pathway. 

“Hey, Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian says as a sudden thought occurs to him. “Where did you get the ribbon from?”

Lan Wangji pauses in mid-step and turns. “You don’t remember?”

“Hmm…not really,” Wei Wuxian confesses, scratching his head. “Did I drop it somewhere? Why are you wearing it?”

One elegant eyebrow twitches.

“Think about it,” Lan Wangji tells him abruptly, and keeps walking.

“Hey!” Wei Wuxian protests, stumbling a couple of steps as he tries to keep up with the brisk pace. 

What the hell? Why’s he suddenly getting all annoyed? If he could remember, would he even bother asking?

But Lan Wangji just keeps walking without elaborating, though the tips of his ears look a little pink. Or maybe it’s just a trick of the light. Wei Wuxian puffs out his cheeks and tugs on his sleeve again, sidling closer to his side.

“Lan Zhan.“ No response. “Lan-er-dianxia. Lan-er-gege…look at me?” 

He beams when Lan Wangji finally spares him a glance out of the corner of his eye.

“Let’s take our time in Fan Yin Valley, okay?” he says. “You have to show me all the sights, and buy me all the food and souvenirs, okay? I don’t want to miss a single thing!”

He puts on his cutest expression, head tilted to the side, eyes wide and smile bright. It’s always worked on his parents and on Jiang Yanli, and from the way Lan Wangji’s expression softens, it works on him too. The hand still holding onto his tightens briefly as Lan Wangji hums, and Wei Wuxian’s heart skips a beat at the fondness in his voice.

“Whatever you want,” Lan Wangji says.

// buy me a ko-fi //

[drwcn]

A headcanon: WWX probably uses a bottle of Emperor's Smile as a flower-vase.

okay that vase is TRES AESTHETIC. i don’t blame him. 

[wangxianficrecs]

The Duet of Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian by SilverStark

The Duet of Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian

by SilverStark

T, 19k, wangxian

* Update: There is now a revision of this story called Unexpected Lullaby which is almost twice as long!*

Summary:  “Lan Zhan, have you considered?…Bunnies like to burrow in the ground often, and they have lots of babies. Maybe we’re doing it wrong.”

Lan Wangji considered that, lips pursed and eyes slightly narrowed. “No, that cannot be. You told me you gave birth to A-Yuan. Was I not right to trust you?”

--

WangXian dual cultivation baby featuring family conversations, light drama, and so much fluff. This story is complete: "Part 2" of the series is a set of drabbles I wrote to thank the readers of Duet. <3

My comments:  Lovely and engaging story in which wwx finds out he's pregnant, fears it won't last and so keeps it a secret, and then has an angst-filled misunderstanding with lwj that sends him off to Lotus Pier. Both our boys learn some important things about themselves and each other meanwhile, and wwx comes back to share his news.

Excerpt 1:  “Please.” Wei Ying grabbed one of his hands in both of his own. “Please tell me you were the one who sat down with our son and explained sex.”

“I had to, eventually,” Lan Wangji granted. “I needed to correct some misconceptions.”

Wei Wuxian clapped his hands in front of his face, nearly overwhelmed with delight at the prospect of hearing about Sizhui’s embarrassing childhood ideas. Lan Wangji looked at him coolly.

When Wei Wuxian could no longer stand the suspense, he prompted “Yes? Misconceptions about what?”

“Radish farming…”

Wei Wuxian lowered his hands in confusion.

“…and the similarities to child-rearing.”

Excerpt 2:  A passing Lan disciple stared at him with the blank face of Lan disapproval. Wei Wuxian gestured his chin at the baby in a way that could mean either ‘I apologize; I am a very stressed new father,’ or ‘I can do what I want, I just gave birth to Hanguang-Jun’s baby!’ The Lan disciple stared at the baby instead. Good. Lan Yu needed to get inured to Lan disapproval, fast.

mpreg, no a/b/o, family feels, magical pregnancy, dual cultivation, post canon, jiang siblings, brotherly feels, lan brothers, fluff, bunnies, established relationship, angst, misunderstandings, reconciliation, feels, @silverstark

(You may wish to REBLOG as a signal boost for this author if you like – or think others might like – this story.)

[luckymoonly]

@good-vs-evo yours isn't bad either!💜

Mine is very on brand 😂

Yes and they had hamster sex together

(It's for a prompt for the FQ gotcha)

Now tagging @violetgarlends , @cecropiacrown , @fengqingtrashgolbin, @silverstark , @mingguangsword and @nukaacola (If you feel like it, of course!💜)

Last Line

Rules: in a new post, show the last line you wrote (or drew) and tag as many people as there are words (or as many as you like).

Thank you for the tag @evolutionsbedingt!! <3

Currently working on a post-canon fix it fic for The Double!!

Lu Ji winces– that might cause Wen Ji’s injuries to reopen– they hadn't completely healed yet

Tagging (again, no obligation to do this): @habizuh-studios @astrowaffles @l7k-a @lianhuajing (time to get back on that grind!!) @hualianisms

[kurowrites]

silverstark Wait what if the person is also attractive and WWX has been trained to be flirty and non-confrontational so their interactions are a little ambiguous. Plus WWX hates being a burden and complaining about serious things, has probably listened to LWJ get scolded about the money fairly often...so you have that miscommunication/misunderstanding with LWJ too.

Well it doesn’t really matter if the person in question is attractive or not, WWX definitely flirts by impulse and doesn’t want to cause a ruckus at Cloud Recesses after the elders are already on his case. So at first, he’s trying to give a soft rejection without offending the other party, trying to gently argue them out of it. But as we all know, some people will just waltz all over that shit without a second thought. (And some people might find that all the more exciting, uwargh.)

So WWX starts to feel a little distressed. He doesn’t dare to outright offend the person, and considering LWJ has already done so much for him, it doesn’t even cross his mind that he really should ask him for help. And it’s not like LWJ ever claimed him as his. He can’t even use that as an excuse. So he figures that the best strategy here is to quietly comply, and resolve the issue once and for all without an uproar and more trouble for LWJ.

Which is how we end up with LWJ stepping in at the last moment, holding another asshole at swordpoint as he tries to explain the meaning of bodily autonomy to WWX and get him back into his robes. And WWX being horribly confused, because “it’s just sex, Lan Zhan, people do it all the time. I know how it’s done. It’s not a big deal.” And LWJ getting horribly frustated because this is exactly why I dropped a bunch of money on you, WWX, so you won’t ever have to be forced into such a situation.

Maybe one of them ends up near confessing to the other one, but in the confusion and distress of the situation, it doesn’t register at all?

[zhansww]

No he wouldn’t say ‘miss me later’ to gg. Mostly because he’d be the one calling gg lol. (Also look at that smile. He knows that that is a lil shit thing to say.)

hahahaha, I definitely second that. He had to keep up his 'cool guy' image there, and came up with something very fitting so he said it 😁😁

[sarah-yyy]

Top 5 teas/tisanes/blends?

this o’sulloc's coral island blend is one of my favourites (i’ve almost run out of stock from my last trip to korea T.T) (honourable mention: moonlight island, but i like the citrusy taste of coral island better)

wintermelon tea 

chrysanthemum tea (but only if there are goji berries involved as well)

i am very very fond of guihua (osmanthus) oolong

does........bubble tea count ahahahaha because i am one of Those Asians who cannot live without my bbt

(ask me for my top 5 anything)

[hiddenawayforme]

In the novel, Su She uses a talisman to disguise both his face and his sword. It’s a plot point because WWX notes it must be someone LWJ knows if they bothered to conceal their sword. The drama must have assumed no one would be as observant as you lol.

And I’m not even that observant lol. I only happened to notice it when I saw a gifset of the mirror room scene that included Su She’s sword and I went hmm...wait a minute...I know that sword. Before that, I assumed the show got around not using the novel’s talisman by giving Su She a different sword when he was disguised

Going to borrow my images from this post real quick:

versus 

But no, it’s the same sword

CQL Su She just darkens the hilt and pommel of his sword and that’s enough to prevent Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji from discovering his identity until he’s revealed as Jin Guangyao’s assistant at the Burial Mounds. And that reveal doesn’t have anything to do with his sword but rather hinges on the Lans being bitter about Su She stealing their musical techniques

As a treat, novel Su She can have some rights for actually bothering to disguise himself. But I’m also going to give CQL Su She those same rights for casually flaunting his identity in front of Hanguang-Jun without breaking a sweat

What a legend, waving his sword in Lan Wangji’s face several times both as himself (inside the mirror room, on the steps of the Jinlintai) and as the ghost-face man (inn room, Yi City) with no fear

[sweetlittlevampire]

silverstark  said:

Wei Wuxian will look at your art and lament, "My first boyfriend turned into the moon." and Nie Huaisang will say "That's rough, buddy," and Lan Wangji's gorgeous moonlike self will somehow remain in love with him.

@silverstark that’s a conversation I could totally see those two having, and that MoonJi will remain in love with Wei Wuxian is so tragic yet romantic, but just to clarify -

his first boyfriend?

Wei Ying. Dude. Friend. Pal. How many boyfriends did you exactly have in the span of your two lives???

[trensu]

Wait wait wait I must defend Wei Wuxian’s honor! The reason he stares at her is that she makes an incredulous/displeased face at him when their eyes meet initially. He is uncomfortable (shifty eyes) and curious. The second time, when Lan Wangji “catches” him, she had just flinched away from Wei Wuxian so he was staring after her like “what did I do?? :((“ Thus his immediate complaint to Lan Wangji “why is everyone looking at me like I danced around naked?” Meaning Qing Su. But poor Lan Zhan.

HOW DARE YOU IMPLY I WOULD EVER IMPUGN ON MY PRECIOUS SUNSHINE BOY’S HONOR!!! I WILL FIGHT YOU. 

lol jk jk, i don’t mean it. i have no ability to fight anyone XD XD XD

Okay, i’ll give you that the second time he def was more confused and hurt than anything else. BUT i still maintain that the first time he was looking at her more in awe and yeah maybe some discomfort BUT HAVE YOU EVER TRIED TO LOOK AT A PRETTY SOMEONE HEAD ON IRL? IT’S SUPER UNCOMFORTABLE. To this day, there’s this one receptionist at work that i cannot look in the eye bc she is just TOO PRETTY IT’S UNFAIR. 

And honestly? I think it’s alright if wwx looks. He’s a Chaotic Bi with functioning eyes and Qin Su has a sweet pretty face. And who DOESN’T like eye candy, right? Nothing wrong with admiring a pretty face.

Also, I love Lan Zhan but he needs to reel back that jealousy. JEALOUSY ISN’T ATTRACTIVE LAN ZHAN except for when it is, lol. YOU CAN’T GET MAD AT PEOPLE FOR LOOKING AT THE PRETTIEST SUNSHINE BOY IN THE WORLD. Although i do def get a kick out of his little bouts of jealousy bc he’s usually so composed and practically perfect, that the little petty streak of his just cracks me up.

I like to think that after Lan Zhan and Wei Ying finally for real get together, his bouts of jealousy become nearly nonexistent. The only reason he gets jealous right now is bc he thinks he can never have Wei Ying and it hurts to see him flirt with people who might end up having him. BUT he also trusts Wei Ying more than just about anything else in the world. So when Wei Ying tells him he loves him, that he’s his one and only. he believes him. And no amount of people’s wandering eyes or Wei Ying’s sunny smiles to others will ever make him doubt Wei Ying’s love for him.

[mxtxfanatic]

@silverstark and @mdzs-owns-my-ass-i-guess you both had similar comments about why wwx would know about this, which is basically that he was able to deduce this on his own, and yeah y’all are probably right. When I asked that, I completely forgot that corpse poisoning is already an in-universe thing, nevermind someone maliciously weaponizing it.

You have it here, folks:

Wei Wuxian said, “It’s difficult for a living corpse to form naturally. Usually these are created by people. This particular one is man-made.”…

…Although the teens didn’t blurt it out, a single clear sentence was etched on their faces, This person is definitely Wei! Wu! Xian!”

Wei Wuxian didn’t know if he should laugh or cry as he thought, I’ve never done anything like this!

–Chapt. 35: Foliage Part 3: The Paper Effigies Shop and Glutinous Rice Porridge, taming wangxian

Wei Wuxian has literally never created a living corpse. He then goes on to explain how emulators found it difficult to control regular corpses (because apparently only geniuses named Wei Wuxian can do that) and so devised a way to turn living people into corpses since they are easier to manipulate. Wei Wuxian neither created this nor incorporated it into his cultivation (though how he knows this exists is a mystery).

[ariaste]

Hello, question: are you taking drabble requests at all? If not, sorry to bother you and have a nice day and THANK YOU SO MUCH for “A Civil Combpaign” (“peigne” is “comb” in French. Fun fact). If you are...what about a Mulan AU where sect heir Jin Ling goes to war with a little alleged-dragon sassing/protecting him. The readers know this is a reincarnated Wei Wuxian who tells Jin Ling it’s okay to fight “Punch him. It’s how men say hello.”

I’m so glad you liked A Civil Combpaign, thank you so much! (It has a sequel!! A lot of people seem to miss the fact that it has a sequel so I just... wanna point that out.) Unfortunately I don’t really do drabble requests, though, sorry!! 

[besanii]

For the angsty alternative ending...I feel bad just saying this but, an archery scene. Wei Wuxian wants to practice archery because it's not too physically demanding but it's something he used to enjoy. Except one of Lan Wangji's political enemies uses the opportunity to try to assassinate Lan Wangji. Wei Wuxian sees the person turn their bow in his direction, and he steps in the path of the arrow.

(I re-purposed this idea for the Wei Ying arc cos I liked it a lot!)

“Huh, I always thought Gusu would be more…” Jiang Cheng looks around at the crowds of people mingling in the stands on either side of the tournament grounds as he searches for the right word. “Low-key?”

The turnout for the festivities had indeed exceeded Wei Wuxian’s expectations. There were people from all four allied kingdoms here to support their national representatives: he sees banners with the golden peonies of Lanling, the purple lotus of Yunmeng, the green beast of Qinghe and the blue clouds of Gusu fluttering overhead, celebrating centuries of allegiance and kinship amongst their peoples. It’s an impressive sight to see given that the Gusu Lan Imperial Family is renowned for their austerity.

“Well, it is the Discussion Conference,” Wei Wuxian says with a shrug. “It’s their chance to impress the people of the other kingdoms. You didn’t really think they lived in a monastery did you?”

“You’d know,” Jiang Cheng says with a snort. He nudges Wei Wuxian with his elbow. “You’ve been here almost half a year now—have you even thought about coming home? Or are you too busy chasing skirts around the kingdom to remember your own family?”

Wei Wuxian looks up from where he is inspecting the racks holding bows for the archery tournament and punches him in the arm, hard.

“For your information, I have been busy,” he says. “There are a lot of things I need to take care of here in Gusu, I won’t be back for a while.”

“Then why have I only been hearing about you and that Lan—”

Whatever it is he hears is lost in the sudden eruption of screaming from the stands. Both of them immediately draw their swords as they watch people fleeing the stands in droves, stumbling over each other in their haste to escape the armed, black-clad figures that have appeared amongst them, hacking and slashing surrounding civilians at random. Gusu soldiers in silver and blue spill out from all corners of the tournament grounds, some to direct the civilians to safety, others to do battle with the enemy, who seem to be multiplying in numbers quite rapidly. At the forefront of all of this is—

“Lan Zhan!”

Wei Wuxian leaps into the fray when he sees a man stumble and fall to the ground while carrying his daughter right in front of him, followed by the flash of a blade. He parries the sword away with one swift movement, and brings it across the attacker’s neck in the next, kicking the body as far away from the man and his daughter as possible.

“RUN!” he bellows at them. “Get out of here!”

He doesn’t wait to see if they’ve obeyed, already charging ahead to where Lan Wangji is at the thickest part of the action. He sees flashes of purple, of gold, of green in his peripheral vision as soldiers from all four kingdoms leap to the defence of the people; somewhere amongst them, he knows, Jiang Cheng is also fighting. But his mind is focused solely on Lan Wangji’s tall form, surrounded on all sides by those black-clad figures. He has to get to him.

An arrow flies past his head, narrowly missing his ear, and embeds itself into the shoulder of a nearby Lanling soldier, right between the plating. He goes down with a pained cry. More arrows start raining down on them and Wei Wuxian has to divert his attention to batting them away with his sword while he fights his way over to Lan Wangji.

“Lan Zhan!” he yells as soon as he gets close enough. “Where did they come from? How did they get in?”

“Caravans,” comes the single word reply. 

Wei Wuxian brings his sword down on another attacker’s neck and slices clean through to collar, sending blood spraying through the air like a fountain as he hits the artery. It gets all over his clothing, but he barely notices it.

“They’re not wearing armour,” he shouts over his shoulder. “And their faces are masked. But the fletching on their arrows is definitely—”

Lan Wangji grunts, and runs another enemy through. “Qishan.”

“Yeah,” Wei Wuxian agrees. “Qishan.”

Qishan Wen had always favoured archers, had prided themselves on it to the point where they had developed unique technology that made their bows stronger and their arrows swifter. Only very minute differences, but an equally keen archer would be able to tell the difference immediately—and Wei Wuxian was one of Yunmeng’s best.

He whirls around to parry an incoming attack on his right when he sees Lan Wangji stagger under the force of three attackers at once, holding them at bay with the length of his sword. He delivers a swift kick to his own attacker and hurries forward to help, slicing one of the men through the midsection and kicking the legs out of a second. He turns around to check on Lan Wangji and—

“Wei Ying!”

“Lan Zhan…” He looks down at the arrow embedded in his shoulder. “What…?”

And then the pain hits like an explosion and he stumbles back, gasping, one hand pressed beneath the jutting arrow. Lan Wangji is at his side in an instant, catching him around the waist to steady him, fending off attackers with his other arm. Wei Wuxian tries to lift his sword arm and curses.

“Don’t move!” Lan Wangji snaps. “We have to get you to safety.”

“No,” Wei Wuxian bites out. “I can still fight. This is nothing.”

He steps away from Lan Wangji, but it’s a struggle to even stand upright. His shoulder screams in pain as he lifts his sword and he tastes blood in his mouth where he’s bitten through his cheek to stop himself from crying out. Lan Wangji grabs him by the uninjured arm and pulls him back with a snarl.

“Wei Ying, stop this at once!” It’s the angriest Wei Wuxian has ever seen him; his eyes are wild, frantic, his jaw set in a tense lock. “We have to get you away!”

“Not until it’s over,” Wei Wuxian says stubbornly. “Not until—”

He’s moving before he even registers the glint of the arrow, shoving Lan Wangji away with his shoulder hard enough to send him stumbling sideways a few steps. It catches him in the same shoulder, right below the first, and this time the impact of it knocks him backwards. He digs in his heels to stop himself from sprawling on to his back, but darkness is already creeping on the edges of his vision, the ground is already rushing up to meet him—

“Wei Ying!”

// buy me a ko-fi //

Master Post is here

[chaoticbiwuxian]

For me it was the accurate advertising with that URL and that icon. Chaotic content? Check. Bisexual content? Check. Wei Wuxian, being both, either, or just being Wei Wuxian? Check.

no false advertisement here folks, just pure chaotic bisexual energy