#wolveshowlatnight

[bloody-bee-tea]

Boop

*le gasp* A Boop!

[sbrn10]

@wolveshowlatnight replied to your post “Cursed questions one has while reading HotD fic:...”:

In some lizards there is active selection of sperm by the females of the species, if that makes it better? Essentially, since they mate with every male, that wants to, the sperm of more distantly related males gets preferentially used for fertilization, rather than that of closer relatives.

​Hello, I hope you know that you are my favorite person of today.

[halffizzbin]

@wolveshowlatnight I very much cannot lol but I will do it anyway

I definitely failed at demonstrating the scale here btw. Pretend I just drew each one like this: •

[robininthelabyrinth]

This one's gonna take two asks, I'm incapable of making it more succinct. In Accurate description NHS said "I’m taking you back with me to the Nie sect when all this is over. If your parents want you back, they can come ask nicely.” Could we get that AU? And the Jiangs HAVE to ask nicely, because with the war on the horizon they can't risk alienating the Nies, but they are so bad at it? NHS's half assed plan to poach JC gets more and more solid the longer he has to watch this train wreck.(1/2)

How hard can it be to love your own flesh and blood? Even NMJ has stopped admonishing him for wanting to poach another sect's heir. What a political nightmare that would be. But JC is so relaxed with NHS's birds? And keeping up longer and longer when training with da-ge? And smiling more? And JYL said, she's never seen him so loose in the shoulders? NHS can make this work. JFM and YZY never valued JC anyway 

Part 2 of Accurate Description (necessary to read that first)

-

“Absolutely not,” was the first thing Nie Huaisang’s brother said when Nie Huaisang first raised the idea of kidnapping Jiang Cheng for his own good. “Absolutely fucking not.”

“Nie sect principle three,” Nie Huaisang said.

“Well, shit,” his brother said.

This was because Nie Huaisang’s brother is the best.

“I’ve gotten other people involved in this,” Nie Huaisang added helpfully.

“You’d better have,” his brother said. “I am not dealing with the fallout from this on my own.”

Nie Huaisang nodded happily. That was about what he’d expected.

A few moments later, his brother asked, “Why are we kidnapping him, anyway?”

-

“This is temporary,” Nie Mingjue said gruffly.

“Very temporary,” Jiang Cheng agreed, sounding stiff and awkward. “I don’t even know why I’m here.”

“You know exactly why you’re here,” Nie Huaisang objected. “I told you why!”

Jiang Cheng gave him a dirty look.

“Also I have no idea how da-ge got you here, but you’re staying,” Nie Huaisang said firmly. “For as long as it takes for your parents to show that they deserve you returning to them. You’re not getting a choice.”

Jiang Cheng’s face was turning red.

“That’s not the deal, Huaisang,” Nie Mingjue interjected. “Jiang Wanyin can return home at any time he wishes.”

Nie Huaisang glared, but his brother ignored him.

“He can also stay as long as he wishes,” he said, and this time it was Jiang Cheng’s turn to stare. “If you want others to respect him, you must first pay him the respect he deserves yourself. Now, I have to go, but Jiang Wanyin – know that our home is always open to you.”

He put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it, then ruffled Nie Huaisang’s hair, and left.

Jiang Cheng looked dazed.

Nie Huaisang smirked.

“…you said something about him giving out hugs?”

“Oh yeah,” Nie Huaisang said. “Great hugs.”

-

“I can’t believe you would betray me like this,” Nie Huaisang whined. “And after all I’ve done for you!”

“A little training’s not going to kill you,” Jiang Cheng said. “Come on already.”

“My brother put you up to this, didn’t he? You sold me out for a hug.”

“I sold you out for the opportunity to go on a proper night-hunt,” Jiang Cheng said. “Also, he said he was proud of the progress I’ve been making on my cultivation and sword training since I got here. And gave me a hug.”

Nie Huaisang grumbled but conceded that his brother was especially difficult to resist when he was in full big brother mode. If he wasn’t, Nie Huaisang wouldn’t have been nearly so willing to give up the neat new sword he’d found in the Xuanwu’s cave and store it down in their saber halls until his brother and Baxia could figure out how to suppress it - he hadn’t even realized it was full of resentful energy at first, and he still thought it was especially aesthetic.

“Besides, if you don’t practice something soon, he’ll come after you himself,” Jiang Cheng said. “Wouldn’t you rather train with me?”

“No. You’re just as crazy as he is.”

Jiang Cheng looked disturbingly complimented.

“I’ll come look at your birds later,” he offered.

“You’d do that anyway,” Nie Huaisang said. “You love my birds.”

Jiang Cheng did, too. Nearly as much as he loved all the feral cats that roamed the walls of the Unclean Realm, every single one of which seemed to have immediately pegged him as a soft touch and come nosing around for treats – Nie Huaisang had never seen Jiang Cheng look so calm and peaceful as when he had a cat under his palm.

It really put into perspective how stressed he looked the rest of the time.

“Oh, all right,” he groaned, and Jiang Cheng beamed. “Just know that I hate you.”

“Same to you, Nie-gongzi,” Jiang Cheng said, completely insincere. “Same to you.”

-

“You know, I’m surprised my parents haven’t shown up to demand me back yet,” Jiang Cheng said over lunch one day. “It’s not – it’s not a problem. It’s only – I thought – Mother at least –”

“Oh, they’re demanding all right,” Nie Huaisang sniggered.

“…Nie Huaisang, what have you done,” Jiang Cheng said.

“Conspired, that’s what,” Nie Mingjue said. “I don’t know if I should thank you for discovering my brother’s sole talent, namely for scheming and conspiracies, or to blame you for it, Wanyin – but you do have very loyal friends.”

Jiang Cheng blinked.

“Well, first your parents went to Lanling,” Nie Huaisang explained. “On account of Jin Zixuan and Mianmian very obviously sneaking food around and buying all sorts of things that you would like before smuggling them – very poorly and obviously, mind you – into Jinlin Tower, and of course they were also overheard talking about something that sounded an awful lot like ‘Wanyin’; everyone assumed they were hiding you. Turns out they weren’t, of course; it was just a stray dog they’d named something with similar tones. Not their fault everyone got the wrong idea!”

Jiang Cheng’s eye twitched.

“And then, of course, they went to Gusu, on account of Lan Wangji telling everyone you were his sworn brother –”

“His what?!”

“Well, close enough. On account of how you saved his life.”

“I did not!”

“I thought I heard something about how you carried him on your back as you fled from the Xuanwu’s cave and the Wen sect’s ambushes, when he was exhausted and could not walk,” Nie Mingjue said mildly, and Jiang Cheng spluttered. “Had I heard wrongly?”

“…well, no…but...”

“Of course, you weren’t at Gusu,” Nie Huaisang continued, ignoring them both. “Though there were some heavy implications for a little while that you’d gone off with Lan-gongzi –”

“Isn’t he missing?”

Nie Mingjue coughed and looked down at his plate.

“And none of you said anything?” Jiang Cheng asked, looking between them. “At any point? Did you just, what, not talk to them?”

“I have spoken with your parents several times since they have started looking for you,” Nie Mingjue said, and his voice was suddenly hot with roiling anger. “I have concluded that Huaisang had a point regarding the necessity of their learning how to ask for your return.”

Jiang Cheng blinked.

“Your parents are jerks,” Nie Huaisang volunteered. “And you deserve better.”

“Yes, thank you,” Jiang Cheng said, a little strangled. “I think I – got that.”

“Good.”

-

“It’s just, my jiejie –”

“Supports you being here. She sent you a care package. It’s in your room.”

“…Wei Wuxian –”

“Sent a note along with the package. Says to keep up the good work.”

“How did you even get something like that?!”

“I have my ways.”

-

Nie Huaisang was staring blankly at the wall when Jiang Cheng walked in and did a double take.

“Okay,” he said to Nie Mingjue, sitting patiently nearby with a letter in his hands. “You broke him. How?”

“He just discovered that he inadvertently saved a great deal of lives,” Nie Mingjue said. “As did you, by agreeing to come here.”

“I only agreed to come here because you lied and told me it was necessary to help defend my sect,” Jiang Cheng grumbled, clearly not meaning it.

Nie Huaisang let out a high-pitched and somewhat hysterical giggle.

“It was,” Nie MIngjue said solemnly, offering him the letter. “It appears that Wen Chao was given permission to attack and crush the Jiang sect, but has been delaying in anticipation of your return on account of wanting to deal with all of you at once. The delay allowed our spies time to discover his plans, and to carry warnings to your parents. They were thus able to fortify the Lotus Pier’s defenses against invasion, and to hold it off until aid could arrive – which they wouldn’t have managed if he’d attacked at once, as he would have if you’d been there.”

Jiang Cheng stared.

“Would you like to sit down and stare at the wall?” Nie Mingjue offered kindly.

“…yes please.”

-

“How’d you convince him to let me come here, anyway?” Jiang Cheng asked Nie Huaisang as he packed up his things. He was finally heading back to the Lotus Pier, albeit only long enough to collect soldiers and come back to join what they’d started calling the Sunshot Campaign – his parents had finally figured out where he was and sent word that had, in the view of the Nie, just barely qualified as sufficient to get some leeway.

Lan Wangji was waiting in the hallway to escort him there, and he’d sworn to Nie Huaisang that he would not allow either of Jiang Cheng’s parents to say anything untoward while they were there. He’d looked very serious while he said it, too, which pleased Nie Huaisang to no end and made Jiang Cheng look more than a bit nervous.

“You’re only asking that now?” Nie Huaisang asked, amused.

Jiang Cheng shrugged. “You going to tell me or not?”

“It was easy,” he said. “I just invoked Nie sect principle three.”

“…what’s that?”

“‘A fire burns all the same’,” Nie Huaisang said. “Variously interpreted as: ‘Treat your neighbor’s harm as your own’, ‘Do not stand idly by as your neighbor bleeds’, or ‘Indifference to evil is equivalent to evil’.”

Jiang Cheng stared.

“How about ‘if you see someone who needs you, you have an obligation to act’?”

Jiang Cheng blinked. “Okay,” he said. “And?”

“And what?”

“And what else did you say? You convinced him to literally kidnap the heir of another Great Sect; I can’t believe that you accomplished that simply by saying ‘hey principle three applies here, let’s do this’.”

“Maybe I did,” Nie Huaisang sniffed.

Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes. “Fine, keep your secrets. I’ll get them out of you one day.”

“Maybe you will,” Nie Huaisang said.

-

“Da-ge,” Nie Huaisang said. “If I wanted to keep Jiang Cheng permanently, what principle would I have to invoke for that?”

“Nineteen.”

“Nineteen?” Nie Huaisang frowned. “But, da-ge, principle nineteen is the one about marriage – oooooooh.”

[vassar177]

A prompt! For you! Qinghe's hunting/war dogs are famous for their ferocity and the iron will their handlers need. They are very particular about who they obey and NMJ takes a certain pride in training and breeding them. NMJ does not know how Sect Leader Jiang got into the kennels or what he did to turn the monster dogs into touchstarved puppies begging for belly rubs. He also did not know Sect Leader Jiang could smile like that.

Thank you! This was really interesting, and honestly, I might expand upon this later. Hope this is ok for now lol

Mingcheng - Qinghe’s Beasts

“Heel!”

Nie Mingjue’s voice booms across the training field as several hounds come to a halt, their handlers not far behind as they turn to him and rise in salute. 

Nie Mingjue scans the line: 10 of Qinghe’s newly appointed spiritual hounds and their handler’s stand before him, along with their senior trainer. He assesses them as he walks down the line, checking for any signs of irregularities, and is pleased by what he sees. 

Aside from a few scratches and some dirt, everyone is healthy and unharmed after returning from their most recent training expedition. He turns to the head handler, “Nie Huizhong, report.”

She salutes him once more before she details the previous week to him. He listens intently, knowing that what he hears from her will ultimately determine the fate of their youngests’ positions. 

“Overall, the training was completed successfully with little issue. I see no problem with promoting these trainees,” she finishes, bowing quickly and stepping back. 

He eyes the disciples one more, memorizing the faces of the few men and women before him that have not only proven themselves to Nie Huizhong, a hardass even stricter than he, but have also been accepted by Qinghe’s newest beasts.

He tries to keep his face neutral lest he gives anything away as he walks over to their First Hound. 

“What about you, Nie Jun,” he says to the beast standing before him, his eyebrow notching up as he questions, half-serious. “Do you think they’re ready?”

Nie Jun grunts lowly, tail wagging happily, and Nie Mingjue smiles, patting the hound’s head before he hears a small yip. Nie Jun never was one for head pats.

Nie Mingjue turns to the disciples, and pauses, prolonging the suspense because they’re still scared of him and he needs to take advantage of that before they turn out like all the rest. He can see Nie Huizhong trying to hold back a smile and he knows she’ll make fun of him for it later but he needs to take what he can get. 

After he’s waited an appropriately awkward amount of time, he clears his throat, alerting the disciples of his decision.

“It seems a celebration is in order.”

Immediately the disciples sag, tension seeping from their postures as years of work finally come to fruition.  

A smile spreads across Nie Mingjue’s face as he calls to the disciples, “Alright kids, go wash up and get outta my face. I don’t want to see you lot until the new moon.”

He watches as the realization that they get the next few days off spreads through the group, throwing looks back and forth between each other and then back at him. 

“Well?”

“Yessir!” Comes the shout in unison as Qinghe’s newest Beast Handlers bow.

As they walk out of the field, he can see them laughing and joking about, their loyal companions jogging alongside them as they pick up on the festive mood. 

“You know that you’re in charge of doing the final kennel checks now, right?” Nie Mingjue flinches as Nie Huizhong sidles up to him, Nie Jun not too far behind her. 

He had, in fact, realized that, but, “The kids deserve a break, don’t you think?”

Nie Huizhong hums lightly before patting him on the back and following the disciples. She waves back without looking back, “Good luck, then.”

-

Despite popular belief, Nie Mingjue doesn’t think doing kennel checks is all that bad. 

Mostly because he gets to spend time with the spiritual hounds free from threat, so often they only meet on hunts and in training, but also because it gives him time to just. Be. 

When he’s with the hounds, he doesn’t have to be Sect Leader Nie, he doesn’t have to be Da-ge. 

When they’re off the hunt, the hounds don’t expect anything from him, except maybe food and some pats if he’s lucky because they’re still picky creatures that change moods faster than Nie Huaisang changes clothes, but he loves them anyway. 

He has grown up with and even raised some of these beasts, they’re family at this point and he’ll be damned if they aren’t treated as such. 

He gathers all the materials needed before heading to the kennels, carrying buckets of food and brushes along with him, but he stops short when he sees light coming from the kennels.

He just sent the handlers off to the dining hall, and most of the senior handlers should be there with them. The kennels are a restricted access area so he’s not too concerned, but it does come as a surprise.

Walking forward, he toes open the doors, balancing the buckets in his arms as he moves in and places them on the ground. And he’s lucky he put them down because if he had been carrying them when he saw the scene in front of him, Nie Mingjue has no doubt that there would be food littering the floor. 

The first emotion to hit him is confusion because there is a bundle of purple peeking out amidst a pile of hounds. 

A cooing noise comes from the purple intruder and Nie Mingjue immediately recognizes it as the voice of Jiang Wanyin (and he would not have realized had he not heard the other with his nephew). 

And then it hits him that it’s Jiang Wanyin, and he had not informed him of any upcoming visits, nor had anyone informed him of his arrival. 

The confusion only continues to grow because not only had no one told him of the other’s arrival, but they also led him to the kennels, where he is now apparently surrounded by five of their biggest hounds, standing almost as tall as the Jiang Sect Leader himself. 

Nie Mingjue would be concerned for his safety, because they are still spiritual hounds, and they’re prideful like nobody’s business (there’s a reason it takes years to become a handler, and even then some just aren’t compatible with the beasts). 

He would be concerned, if it weren’t for the fact that Jiang Wanyin is obviously in no apparent danger, with his face shoved into the coat of Xiaohei, as he rubs the bellies of Dandan and Nie Heng.

Jiang Wanyin’s face emerges from the mass of fur that is Xiaohei and Nie Mingjue can feel his mouth drop, he can feel heat sear across his face.

Because Jiang Wanyin is smiling like he’s never seen before, eyes shining bright as he continues treating literal beasts like they’re nothing but puppies. Nie Heng surges forward, licking at the other’s face and Jiang Wanyin throws his head back, laughing in sheer joy as he’s covered in slobber. 

Apparently, Jiang Wanyin’s own canine teeth are slightly more pronounced than most because there they are, on full display, and Nie Mingjue had never noticed before but holy shit that’s cute. Why is that cute?

Nie Mingjue really should announce himself, but he can’t bring himself to break the scene in front of him. And as his heart starts to stutter the longer he watches, as a tightness begins to form in his throat, all he can think is--

“Oh, shit.”

+++

+++

Jiang Cheng’s love for dogs knows no bounds, and it’s reciprocated ! 

Thank you for reading! Stay safe, stay healthy!

[soldieronbarnes]

*peeks in with a prompt* for Malec, holding hands and one gets so flustered they forget how to think / speak until their hands are "free" again?

It’s not a big deal.

It’s not. 

There’s no reason to get flustered. None whatsoever. He - they - have done a lot more than this.

He looks at Magnus’ round, pink mouth and thinks: I kissed that mouth. I know the shape of it, the softness, the way his lips move under mine. I know what he tastes like.

He looks at Magnus’ neck and thinks: I know the feel of the tendons against my teeth. I know the taste of salt on his skin against my tongue. I know the noises he makes when you find the right spot. 

He looks at Magnus’ hands, deft and elegant and constantly in motion, and thinks: I know what it feels like when his fingers explore my skin. I know what they feel like when they bury themselves in my hair. I know the magic that springs from them. 

So it’s not a big deal.

Or at least it shouldn’t be. 

Still, he finds himself tongue-tied when Magnus slides his clever fingers in between his, tangles them together with a soft squeeze and an even softer smile. 

It’s not - it’s nothing racy, but it’s soft and casual and no - no statement, the way Alec has to admit their first kiss was; a huge fuck you to the Clave. There’s no urgent need behind it, no hormones clouding their judgement and spurring them on. Magnus, Alec knows, has been careful, almost overly cautious, about touching him in public, as if he were a spooked horse, always prepared to run if Magnus moves too quickly.

But this - this almost absentminded contact over the dinner table, no goal in mind except that he wants to and he can - for some reason, this is what does him in. The casualty, the trivial nature of it at its core - as if they’ve done this a thousand times, as if there’s nothing unusual about it, as if Magnus expects to still be doing this years, maybe decades, from now.

Alec stares at their hands, his pale skin against Magnus’ golden hues, and thinks about how it is that small gestures can be so big, mean so much. 

Silence falls between them, and Alec startles - it seems he missed his cue, lost track of the tale Magnus was spinning. He faces Magnus’ expectant eyes and blushes, but - as always, Magnus is there to help him bridge the gap. He’s noticed Alec’s fascination with their tangled hands, that much is clear - his smile softens even more, his eyes glistening with mischief  and affection, and his thumb caresses Alec’s skin as he launches into his next tall tale, giving Alec time to collect himself.

I love him, he thinks, wildly, madly. I love him. 

He bites back the words. It’s too early for - it’s too soon for anything. But he knows, suddenly, irrefutably, what his future will be,

If he can, he will never let go of Magnus’ hand. 

[luckyjak]

Not to be that ho, but are you really, truly sure that you HAVE to go to school? *glances at twin fic* Asking for science reasons.

Unfortunately, I’m a high school teacher whose livelihood depends on school, so unfortunately the answer is “but thou must,” but I’m glad you like the twin fic idea!

[artemis69]

wolveshowlatnight replied to your photoset “First of all, meet Zola! (his friends call him zozo, and everybody is...”

Good content.

[askfaustthesnake]

Are you venomous, Faust?

Nope~  Unless Asra cast spell

[swingsetindecember]

wolveshowlatnight replied to your post “tonight i’m making strawberry basil rhubarb peach pie with pear thyme...”

Pics? Pretty please?

mmmm pie and i dusted it with maple flakes 

[exhuastedpigeon]

I saw this and thought of you: bleep0bleep tumblr com/post/161874105295/paddysnuffles-zooophagous-g0dziiia

THAT POST IS THE SINGLE CUTEST THING I HAVE EVER SEEN

[bloody-bee-tea]

Have a fluffy thought for distraction: discussion conference at Cloud Recesses, sect leader Jiang has not returned to the talks after a break and no one can find him. Hours later someone goes to feed the bunnies and finds him in the meadow, covered in bunnies. Maybe he's asleep, maybe he's awake, either way he can't move because that would disturb the bunnies and you don't disturb animals that picked you as their seat :3 he lives in the meadow now.

A field of rabbits

Well it certainly distracted me into writing XD <3

When everyone files back into the conference room and Jiang Wanyin is nowhere to be seen, Nie Mingjue doesn’t immediately panic. 

This is the Cloud Recesses after all, and it’s highly unlikely that he got attacked or ran into some trouble here. After Wen Xu managed to burn the Cloud Recesses, they made sure that it’s one of the most fortified places right after the Unclean Realm and possibly Lotus Pier.

Jiang Wanyin might be a magnet for trouble, and he might look for fights more than anyone else Nie Mingjue knows except himelf, but the chances that he found either here are slim to none.

It’s much more likely that there was an emergency with his Sect that he has to deal with before he can come back to the conference. 

It happened before and it will happen again; after all, they are all Sect Leaders here and there are always issues the second in command can’t deal with on their own.

Nie Mingjue has the utmost understanding for that.

But when Lan Qiren steps into the room and frowns, before worry visibly clouds over his face that’s the moment unease makes itself known in Nie Mingjue’s belly.

If Jiang Wanyin had to deal with something else, then he would have notified Lan Qiren, there’s no doubt about that.

Jiang Wanyin has the utmost respect for Lan Qiren and he would never be late or miss a meeting intentionally, not without telling Lan Qiren or informing him otherwise.

But it doesn’t seem like Lan Qiren knows what happened to Jiang Wanyin either, and that’s cause to worry.

People are already starting to whisper about his absence and Nie Mingjue clenches his fist.

Jiang Wanyin has been leading his Sect for over three years now; bringing it back from the brink and restoring it to much of its former glory and still people are talking about him as if he’s a helpless teenager who doesn’t deserve their respect or fear.

Nie Mingjue hates it with every fibre of his being, because Jiang Wanyin has stepped up for his Sect in a way not many would have been able to and it itches him to snap at all of them.

It’s only Lan Qiren who catches his gaze that stops him.

“Sect Leader Jiang has been delayed by an important issue. He is requesting for Sect Leader Nie’s assistance, so if you would, please,” Lan Qiren says with a meaningful glance towards Nie Mingjue and Nie Mingjue nods his understanding.

Lan Qiren has no goddamn clue where Jiang Wanyin is and he wants him to look for him.

Nie Mingjue will more than gladly do that.

There is no real danger here that could have befallen Jiang Wanyin, but Nie Mingjue still worries.

He has never seen anyone with eye rings that deep or black, especially since Jiang Wanyin is otherwise almost deathly pale and the concern that he might have just dropped dead is a real one.

Jiang Wanyin is pushing himself far too hard.

Nie Mingjue asks every disciple he sees if they have seen Jiang Wanyin but he only gets vague answers in return.

It seems like Jiang Wanyin vanished like a shadow.

Nie Mingjue feels frustration rise in him when he makes his way through the entire Cloud Recesses with no sign of Jiang Wanyin.

“You think the rabbits will be mad that we didn’t feed them?” Nie Mingjue hears a disciple say suddenly and he frowns. 

“I think better the rabbits than Sect Leader Jiang,” another voice replies and before Nie Mingjue can inquire about what they mean, they are gone.

But he finally has a lead and so he follows the path that leads to the meadow with the rabbits.

He used to come here a lot with Lan Xichen when they were both younger and less burdened but ever since the Sunshot Campaign neither of them have the time for this anymore.

His feet still remember the path well though, and it’s not long before the first rabbits come into view.

The rabbits and a figure clad in purple.

Nie Mingjue breathes a little bit easier just for having found Jiang Wanyin but then it registers in his mind that Jiang Wanyin is splayed out on the ground, not moving or talking, and the worry comes back with a vengeance.

Nie Mingjue stealthily makes his way over to Jiang Wanyin, but as soon as he gets closer he realizes that Jiang Wanyin is breathing easily and deeply and he seems more relaxed than Nie Mingjue has ever seen him.

He just fell asleep then. That’s good.

Nie Mingjue has to bite back a smile when one of the startled rabbits makes its way back onto Jiang Wanyin’s stomach, where it promptly falls back asleep.

Nie Mingjue is unsure if the rabbits climbed on Jiang Wanyin and prevented him from leaving, causing him to fall asleep, or if Jiang Wanyin fell asleep and the rabbits claimed him as their bed, but it doesn’t really matter.

What matters is that Jiang Wanyin finally got some rest.

Nie Mingjue carefully sits down next to him, but of course Jiang Wanyin startles awake. It seems like the war and the stress are still too close.

“Relax,” Nie Mingjue lowly says, taking care not to startle the rabbits any more than Jiang Wanyin’s violent waking up did and Nie Mingjue watches fondly as the same rabbit as before makes its bed on Jiang Wanyin’s stomach yet again.

It seems to be a particularly good spot for sleeping.

“What are you doing here?” Jiang Wanyin asks him and his voice is rough enough to suggest that he at least slept for most of their break.

That’s good.

“Looking for you,” Nie Mingjue lowly gives back and puts a hand to Jiang Wanyin’s shoulder when he tries to get up. “Relax,” he says again and Jiang Wanyin does sink back into the grass, but there’s tension in his face now.

“The break is over,” he whispers, sounding horrified and Nie Mingjue nods.

“It is, but don’t worry. Lan Qiren has your back.”

“What did he say?” Jiang Wanyin asks as if he fears the answer.

“That there has been an important issue. You asked for my help, if you’re wondering,” Nie Mingjue says easily and then lays down on the grass as well. “And I like what you’re doing so I’ll join you.”

“Sect Leader Nie—” Jiang Wanyin starts but Nie Mingjue doesn’t let him speak.

“Mingjue. Nie Mingjue if you must,” he corrects him and then closes his eyes as the first curious rabbits start to explore him.

“I’m sorry,” Jiang Wanyin whispers after a long moment and Nie Mingjue blinks over to him.

“What for?”

“Missing the conference. Making you miss it, too. You can go back if you want to, and I’ll follow soon.”

Nie Mingjue eyes first the rabbit on his own stomach and then the numerous ones on Jiang Wanyin and raises an eyebrow at him.

“I don’t think either of us will. You don’t move if an animal has chosen you as their sleeping spot. It’s just not done. Believe me, I know. Huaisang has many birds who like to sit on me and you’re simply not allowed to disturb them. It’s an unwritten law,” Nie Mingjue tells him and reaches out for another rabbit to add it to the ones already on Jiang Wanyin.

“And would you look at that, another one chose you. You can leave even less now.”

Jiang Wanyin is staring at him with wide eyes and Nie Mingjue is absolutely unprepared to see tears well up in them.

It seems like Jiang Wanyin wasn’t prepared for that either if the panic in his eyes is any indication and Nie Mingjue does the only thing he can think of.

He plops a rabbit onto Jiang Wanyin’s face.

The rabbit doesn’t struggle like Nie Mingjue expected it to and instead stays on his face for long, long moments, and Jiang Wanyin doesn’t make a move to dislodge it either.

“I’m sorry,” Jiang Cheng finally croaks out again and Nie Mingjue sighs, before he crosses his arms behind his head.

“There is no need to be. You’re pushing yourself too hard. Lan Qiren and I worry. It’s good for you to take some time off and where better to do it than here. Lan Qiren will inform us if there’s anything important, but you should know how these things go by now. Sect Leader Yao will think he’s the most important man in the room until Jin Guangshan reminds him that he is in fact the most important man in the room and by then it will be evening. It’s not like we’re going to miss much.”

“True,” Jiang Wanyin says with a snort, which finally makes the rabbit move off his face.

There are no more tears in his eyes, but Jiang Wanyin seems bone-deep exhausted.

“Rest some more. I’ll make sure no one disturbs us,” Nie Mingjue lowly says and Jiang Wanyin closes his eyes with a sigh.

“I shouldn’t be this weak,” he mutters under his breath and Nie Mingjue rolls his eyes.

“You’re human,” he gives back. “And your body has needs. Sleep is one of them.”

“I don’t have time to sleep,” Jiang Wanyin whispers but he closes his eyes.

“You do now. So make the best of it,” Nie Mingjue advises him and he’s pretty sure Jiang Wanyin falls asleep before he even finishes talking.

Nie Mingjue stares at him for a moment longer—he didn’t quite realize that Jiang Wanyin was so tired that he would basically drift off in the middle of a conversation—but it’s not really a surprise, not with how exhausted he looks.

He watches Jiang Wanyin for a while, looking for any kind of movement, but he seems to be deep into sleep already and so Nie Mingjue turns his head back to look at the sky.

He’ll have to talk to Lan Qiren so they can figure out how to efficiently help Jiang Wanyin lessen the burden of leadership.

Jiang Wanyin is one of the good ones and it would be a shame to lose him to stress and sleep-deprivation this soon.

Nie Mingjue will make sure that he leads a healthier lifestyle than Lan Qiren and Nie Mingjue did back when they took over their respective Sects.

And the first step for that is to let Jiang Wanyin sleep in a field of rabbits. It seems like a good start.

Link to my ko-fi on the sidebar!

[ifeelbetterer]

wolveshowlatnight replied to your post: We are getting shockingly close to me actually...

This AU is brightening my dash delightfully! And you should definitely write it.

sweeeeet. if you guys want it, i can deliver. 

[robininthelabyrinth]

Nie!tiger AU, there was an ask you answered with JGY yelling "Catnip!". Could we get that with NMJ high and trying to groom JGY? And JGY finds himself surprisingly liking it? Finds it weirdly soothing or something? Just, like, love him into submission?

part of Tigers

“You did this to yourself,” Nie Huaisang said, standing at the doorway and idly fanning himself.

“I admit,” Jin Guangyao said with what little dignity he could gather up, “that I may have miscalculated.”

“In what sense?” Nie Huaisang asked, sounding honestly curious. “In the ‘drugging people is bad’ sense or in the ‘drugging da-ge in particular with something that you don’t know the effects of is unwise’ sense?”

Jin Guangyao hunched his shoulders, and Nie Huaisang laughed.

Nie Mingjue grumbled unhappily at all the hubbub and shamelessly licked Jin Guangyao’s cheek again.

“Stop that,” Jin Guangyao told him, and Nie Mingjue looked at him sadly as if he were being personally wronged. He was braiding Jin Guangyao’s hair again, rather than just petting him – catnip apparently made him extremely touchy-feely, and only sometimes incoherent – so Jin Guangyao knew he wasn’t as out of it as he might appear to be. Or, well, he assumed, since he also assumed Nie Mingjue would at some point get off of him, but maybe Nie Mingjue really was totally out of it and just braided people’s hair in his sleep.

Jin Guangyao would believe it at this point.

“Can I move, do you think?” he asked Nie Huaisang, cruelly ignoring Nie Mingjue’s increasingly sad looks that suggested that no one and nothing had ever hurt him as much as Jin Guangyao’s polite request that he stop licking him as an appropriate method of interpersonal grooming, except maybe someone showing up late with his dinner.

It would work better if he actually was a tiger right now. Jin Guangyao had a weakness for felines, but large men with lots of muscle and sad eyes…

Hmm, no, he had a weakness for those, too.  

“Have you ever seen a tiger chasing a ball?” Nie Huaisang replied, and – hmm. Point taken.

Best not to risk it.

Jin Guangyao looked down at his legs where an extremely large tiger was currently licking his paw, and the main reason he had no choice but to succumb to Nie Mingjue’s very earnest attempts to groom him. This particular tiger wasn’t quite the size of Great Uncle Lu, although it had a more prominent ruff, and it had strolled over and pinned Jin Guangyao down with a single paw while waiting for Nie Mingjue to get over the initial effect of the catnip and start in with the grooming.

“Would he chase me, like this?” he asked, not really meaning Nie Mingjue. He had his hands nearly wrist-deep in that magnificent ruff, petting, and the tiger was making pleased noises. “Even with the catnip?”

“Oh, yes, catnip can have an energizing effect as well as a calming one. Seems to depend on the cat. Or tiger, as it happens.”

“Aren’t you affected by it? Now that you’re…”

Nie Huaisang had had his own minor qi deviation not long ago, turning him into a very adorable ball of fluff that was also very recognizably a tiger. Apparently he’d had the first one during the middle stages of the war? No one was giving details, except maybe for Wei Wuxian’s oblique and unhelpful comment about eating someone – Jin Guangyao had never been more curious, but no one was talking.

“Alas, no,” Nie Huaisang said with a sigh, and came to sit down next to him. “One in five aren’t affected by catnip at all. I prefer honeysuckle instead.”

“…Huaisang, you always smell of honeysuckle. You use it as perfume.”

“No comment.”

“Huaisang.”

“Fine, fine, it’s a different type of honeysuckle. I’m also very fond of silver vine, but da-ge can take or leave that one. Everyone’s different. I see that you’re joining the family?”

Jin Guangyao blinked, surprised by the impromptu change in subject. “Because of the braids?” he hazarded, mostly because he couldn’t tell which braids Nie Mingjue was putting into his hair from the angle he was at and it seemed like something an extremely high Nie Mingjue might do.

“No,” Nie Huaisang said patiently. “Familial approval. Which I see that you have, given that you’re petting Father.”

Jin Guangyao’s hands froze.

“On his first visit down from the mountain, no less,” Nie Huaisang said. “He needed longer to heal, given what happened with his saber…we were worried that one of the other ancestors would have put him down as rabid. You made a comment about him at one point, didn’t you? Da-ge said.”

“Did he,” Jin Guangyao croaked.

Nie Huaisang burst out giggling. “You also helped kill his murderer, san-ge. Don’t be so worried. Have some honeysuckle; fair’s fair.”

“I’m pretty sure it won’t work on me,” Jin Guangyao said, abruptly relieved. He really had said some fairly awful things, on the basis that he’d never cared about speaking ill of the dead, and somehow it had never occurred to him that the basic fact about qi deviations turning Nie sect into tigers would apply to the immediate previous generation. It really should have occurred to him. “Sorry, Huaisang.”

“No, no, you’re right,” Nie Huaisang said, and produced something else. “Try this instead.”

The next day, Jin Guangyao decided that catnip, honeysuckle, and whatever it was that Nie Huaisnag had used on him were all officially off the table on account of him apparently having no resistance to it. He’d gotten very high and then had the munchies and sharing the munchies with a large tiger, the large tiger’s large human son and the large tiger’s small but no less voracious human son was an experience to be remembered, and not to be repeated.

…well.

Maybe sometimes.

[vassar177]

*appears on your doorstep cradling Qinghe's Beasts* Maybe some more? JC realising he's been caught and trying for dignity, but puppies. Or maybe one of the dangerous/unmanagable dogs getting out and everyone fearing an Incident(tm)?

Hello! For 12DoMC, I’ve only done the continuation to the first part, but you will definitely see more puppies in the future because I’ve literally named the dogs already. There’s no going back, I’ve named them all and given them personalities. 

Anyway, thank you for sending this in and I hope you enjoy it!

If you read it on AO3, please be aware this part starts in chapter 2!

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Twelve Days of Mingcheng - Day Three

Qinghe’s Beasts Pt. 2 - aka But Dogs

“Oh shit.”

The words ring through the kennel, piercing through Jiang Cheng’s bliss as he snaps his head in the direction they came from before freezing in mortification.

Nie Mingjue is standing at the entrance, surrounded by buckets of food and brushes. One hand is covering his mouth, eyes wide as if he didn’t mean to let the words escape the bounds of his mind.

Jiang Cheng, for his part, is waiting for the ground to swallow him whole.

Neither of them move.

Neither of them speak.

Completely oblivious to the awkward tension in the room, the fluffy black dog Jiang Cheng was previously shoving his face into decides that the lack of attention it is receiving is a crime and must be amended immediately.

One moment, Jiang Cheng is staring at the shell-shocked face of a fellow sect leader.

In the next, he can see Nie Mingjue’s hand drop as he takes a step forward before Jiang Cheng’s vision is turning sideways. A heavy weight is placed upon his chest and all he can see is black.

Jiang Cheng recognizes a few frantic shouts of “Xiaohei” muffled by the sheer amount of fur covering his ears and he thinks momentarily, “That name is really misleading...”

As Jiang Cheng lies on the floor, he realizes that this isn’t a bad way to go, getting suffocated by a dog, that is. In fact, he could probably go peacefully right now if it meant he didn’t have to explain to the other what he was doing.

Nie Mingjue is a good guy, right? If Jiang Cheng died he wouldn’t like, spread rumors and ruin his image as the cold and brutal Jiang sect leader, right?

No, he’d probably say something like, ‘Sect Leader Jiang lost his life valiantly’, or some shit like that, even though it’s a lie…

Well, it’s not like he can say the truth unless he wanted to explain why one of his pets killed a fellow sect leader. They just finished a war and Jiang Cheng isn’t sure his disciples would be strong enough to take down the Nie Sect, they’d probably just fly in blindly to defend their late sect leader’s honor or something…

Actually, wait.

Maybe the Jin Sect would support them? Probably. Jin Guangshan hates Nie Mingjue. If he could get rid of him then there’s no way he wouldn’t support Jiang Sect 2.0 (would they even still be the Jiang sect) in their endeavor to protect their legacy. All he would need to do is convince Jin Zixuan which shouldn't be too hard considering they're family by marriage and technically he should avenge him. 

But would he be so keen to enter another war? Jin Zixuan seems less power-hungry than his father but Jin Guangshan still has a hold on much of the happenings in the Fragrant Palace...

Regardless, if the Jin Sect got involved it would get messy because then the Lans would have to take a stance. And with the way Lan Xichen and Jin Guangyao have been lately after his formal adoption...it doesn’t seem like the Nie Sect would get much support there either.

Oh, shit. Jiang Cheng completely forgot about Wei Wuxian. That... would be an issue within an issue since he's on probation at the moment...

Damn it, how frustrating. Jiang Cheng really should have made a plan regarding the line of succession if he were to die and how to move on from it-

“- ah, wait. But if I die then I wouldn't get to see A-ling again-”

“What on earth are you talking about?”

Jiang Cheng blinks. And then he blinks again. Apparently, he doesn’t need to be worrying about death anymore.

While he was planning his own funeral procession, Nie Mingjue must have removed Xiaohei, because the only thing in Jiang Cheng’s line of sight is the other’s face and it’s a bit… too…

“-close!” He says, pushing the other away from him as he sits up and scuttles backward.

He doesn’t get very far though, the light brown dog he was petting before is right behind him, stopping all progress as it nuzzles into his undoubtedly ruined hair.

“Are you alright?” Nie Mingjue asks, eyebrows coming together as he moves closer to Jiang Cheng, who would very much appreciate it if the man remained at least a meter away so his face could cool off a bit.

He knows his entire body has to be flushed right now, which is only making the situation worse.

“I’m fine,” he squeaks, before coughing to clear his throat. “I’m fine,” he repeats, holding a hand up, hoping the other gets the message and stays away. Nie Mingjue doesn’t look like he believes him, but he doesn’t move forward either, so Jiang Cheng counts that as a small victory.

He takes a few breaths to calm himself, his heartbeat slowly returning to normal. Then he stands up, brushes off his robes, and bows in greeting to the other sect leader. “Sect Leader Nie, I hope you pardon the intrusion.”

Glancing down, because Nie Mingjue is still kneeling on the floor, Jiang Cheng notices the other is just staring blankly at him, confused. Jiang Cheng can’t even fault him for that.

He’d very much like to move on from the past five- ten?- minutes or so and the longer Nie Mingjue remains on the ground, the longer it’ll be before that happens. “Sect Leader Nie,” he says again, with just a touch of desperation coloring his voice.

That shocks Nie Mingjue into action. He stands up, and returns the bow, allowing Jiang Cheng to stand from his own before he opens his mouth as if preparing to ask a question.

The silence drags between the two of them for a moment before the other just sighs. “May I ask why Sect Leader Jiang is here? If I recall correctly, we did not have previous arrangements.”

Ah, Jiang Cheng thinks. Caught up in the euphoria of being surrounded by many dogs, and then the following embarrassment of being seen, he had completely forgotten that he was found in another sect, without permission at that.

A sect that is well known for not appreciating intruders.

Shit. How does one even explain themselves in this situation? He’s never been good at lying, but it doesn’t hurt to try, he supposes.

“A personal visit?”

“Try again,” Nie Mingjue flatly replies, and yeah, it makes sense why that one wouldn’t work. The dogs he was just playing with have now lined up behind their leader in deference (except for the light brown one still near his back, breathing happily onto his shoulder, for some reason). He needs to do better.

“Would you believe me if I said Nie Huaisang invited me?” He tries for a smile this time, but it comes out as forced as the chuckles that accompany it, and Xiaohei yips at him as if to call him out.

“I would,” Nie Mingjue answers immediately, looking entirely too calm for the situation. Jiang Cheng breaths out a sigh of relief. “Except for the fact that Huaisang isn’t here right now, and this is a restricted access area.”

Fuck.

Jiang Cheng glances from side to side, searching for any and all exits. Unfortunately, they’re all blocked, and Nie Mingjue must have seen him looking because when he glances back, the other has his arms crossed and is staring at him like he just caught something particularly amusing.

It seems he is out of options. To the wolves you go, Wei Wuxian, he thinks.

“Wei Wuxian,” he mutters reluctantly.

“Wei Wuxian?” Nie Mingjue repeats. He’s smirking and Jiang Cheng thinks it’s entirely unfair of him to look that composed while he’s trying to save his dignity.

This may violate that asshole's probation, but it's his fault for dragging Jiang Cheng into weird shit anyway. “He was working on a new talisman or something-”

“Yeah, okay, that makes sense.” Nie Mingjue interrupts, nodding to himself.

Jiang Cheng is left floundering once again, staring disbelievingly at the other. That’s it? All he had to say was ‘Wei Wuxian’ and he’s free? All suspicions removed? Well, shit he should have just started with-

“What was it for?”

Of course, it’s not that easy. Jiang Cheng tries to think back, “Something about bringing you what you want most in life… or something…”

“Hmm, but Sect Leader Jiang,” Nie Mingjue says, pausing for a moment, clearly trying to hold back a smile (Jiang Cheng is beginning to think the other man just enjoys fucking with him), “I was unaware you had such affection for our hounds.”

...And he’s flushed again. Realizing the implications of what he said, he coughs into his fist, eyes shaking as he laughs, rough and stilted. “Well, I guess I am a bit fond of dogs.”

“No need to be embarrassed,” Nie Mingjue reassures, but from the glint in his eyes, Jiang Cheng can tell that the man is absolutely enjoying how uncomfortable he’s making him. It seems there are more similarities between Nie Huaisang and Nie Mingjue than he had initially thought.

“You know,” Nie Mingjue begins, voice hinting at something Jiang Cheng can’t quite parse, “you’re welcome to visit them any time. As long as I’m there to supervise, of course.”

The smirk is back and Jiang Cheng’s face is in flames. Nie Mingjue is definitely fucking with him, one hundred percent, there’s no other explanation...but dogs.

Is Jiang Cheng willing to risk his pride just to see some puppies? He glances around the kennel once more, looking at all the dogs he could pet if he just withstood some embarrassment.

“Thank you. Yes, please,” he mumbles to the responding laughter of Nie Mingjue.

The distance between them shrinks as Nie Mingjue walks over to place a hand on his upper back, pushing him slightly forward. He leans over a bit to look at him, eyes shining and dimples displayed proudly, and Jiang Cheng can only stare dumbfounded. Who knew Nie Mingjue had dimples…

“I guess we’d better start the introductions then, hm?”

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And day three has been posted! Thank you for reading!!

[welshwoman1988]

It's imperative that you look at this: wolveshowlatnight(.)tumblr(.)com/post/168477679845/guilleobsessions-spokell-stiles-pestering - OSA, this is a very important post, I promise

Oh my Goddess!!!

Derek has just made it back to the house, finished with his run with the Pack and training his Betas how to fight while in their wolf forms, all set to take a small nap so that he’ll be rested up for when the rest of the Pack to come back from their assorted jobs...

He’s all settled in and just about to close his eyes when the bed starts shaking as a small form bounds over to where he’s laying.

*Derek, Derek, Derek! It’s snowing! Come out and play with me in the snow!*

Stiles yips once or twice, nearly tumbling over over his front paws as he makes it to where Derek is laying, pressing his snout against Derek’s cheek in a facsimile of a kiss.

Derek sighs and shifts so that his back is facing Stiles, hoping that the fox will give up on making him get up again, but all it does is make him start pouncing on Derek now...