#and i can tag the lan wangjis’ separately now <3 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

i-put-the-bi-in-suibian · 1 year

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I posted 1,649 times in 2022

46 posts created (3%)

1,603 posts reblogged (97%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@accio-victuuri

@zhansww

@mdzsartreblogs

@i-put-the-bi-in-suibian

@aheartfullofjolllly

I tagged 1,591 of my posts in 2022

Only 4% of my posts had no tags

#untamed cast - 793 posts

#the untamed - 664 posts

#wangxian - 569 posts

#mdzs - 459 posts

#xiao zhan - 455 posts

#fanart - 455 posts

#wang yibo - 353 posts

#lan wangji - 72 posts

#wei wuxian - 49 posts

#self rb - 26 posts

Longest Tag: 115 characters

#i thought i would have to drop out but then my weekend plans got cancelled so i§m churning out some last minute art

My Top Posts in 2022:

Happy Birthday Hanguang-Jun!

Just a little something for Lan Wangji’s birthday.

Unbetaed, explicit, post-canon, 1.2K

It doesn’t happen often that Lan Wangji’s obligations take him away from his husband and when it does happen it’s rarely for more than a few days. This time he’s been away for a little over a week. Wei Wuxian only let him go after he promised that he would return in time to celebrate his birthday.

The sun is going down by the time he arrives in Gusu, but it’s still the 23rd of January. Lan Wangji stops by the Cold Pond first to wash away the grime of long travel and to treat the minor wounds and scratches he gained because he doesn’t want his husband to worry about them.

He takes the walk to Jingshi slowly, enjoying the way coming home to his beloved warms him from the inside.

He enters without knocking and finds his husband placing food on the table. He can also see wrapped presents but he doesn’t pay them much attention because his husband straightens and grins happily at him.

“Hanguang-Jun!”

He’s dressed in nothing but his red underrobe, and his hair is down. Even after years of marriage, he takes Lan Wangji’s breath away.

With a few long strides, Lan Wangji crosses the space between them, basking in the brightness of his husband’s smile.

“You made it,” Wei Wuxian breathes out.

“Hm.”

He doesn’t say that he would never break that promise. He doesn’t say that he would fight armies and fly over mountains to get back to his Wei Ying in time. He doesn’t have to say anything. He knows that his husband understands.

He pushes Wei Wuxian’s hair off his shoulder and cups his cheek with his palm. Wei Wuxian leans into the touch. Lan Wangji loves how his touch seems to calm Wei Wuxian. He’s usually brimming with energy - like water skipping over stones in a rapid river. When Lan Wangji touches him it’s like scooping the water into his hands - it forms a cold pool in his palms, calm and ready for him to drink.

He drinks Wei Wuxian in now - with a slow gentle kiss.

“I missed you,” Wei Wuxian whispers against his lips.

“I missed Wei Ying,” Lan Wangji admits and kisses him again - deep and demanding.

The water slips between his fingers and returns to the untamed current.

Wei Wuxian wraps his arms around Lan Wangji’s neck, tugging at his hair and pulling him closer as if he can’t get enough of him.

After a moment of fumbling Lan Wangji manages to untie Wei Wuxian’s robe and slid his hands around his trim waist. Wei Wuxian’s skin is incredibly smooth and hot under his palms. It’s a pleasant surprise when Lan Wangji finds out that he’s not wearing any underpants.

“Shameless,” he mutters and squeezes his firm backside.

Wei Wuxian lets out an indignant huff and tugs at Lan Wangji’s clothes. Lan Wangji steps back and hurriedly unties his sash, knowing well that his husband won’t tolerate the separation for much longer. He manages to push his outer robes off his shoulders before Wei Wuxian presses himself close to him, rubbing his tender bits against the soft material of Lan Wangji’s inner robe. He gets the robe open while Lan Wangji kisses him. Pressing wet kisses to his collar bones, Wei Wuxian’s clever fingers find the waistband of Lan Wangji’s underpants and he pulls them down. Before the cloth hits the floor Wei Wuxian is on his knees.

“Wei Ying” he aims for a reproving tone but fails when he feels Wei Wuxian’s hot lips and tongue working him to hardness. He buries his fingers in Wei Wuxian’s silky hair. He feels no need to guide him - his husband knows perfectly well what he likes - but to anchor himself.

He closes his eyes and enjoys the pleasure his lover is giving so readily.

As much as he loves the wet warmth of Wei Wuxian’s mouth, this is not the way he wants to reach his fulfillment.

With great regret, he pulls Wei Wuxian’s head away and ignores his grunts as he hauls him to his feet. He offers consolation in a filthy kiss. Wei Wuxian is still wearing his red robe - opened and obscenely revealing his aroused state. The soft material brushes against Lan Wangji’s hands when he grabs Wei Wuxian’s buttocks and heaves him up. Wei Wuxian instinctively wraps his legs around Lan Wangji’s waist and with no more protest than a surprised squeal lets himself be carried to the bed.

He pulls Lan Wangji down on top of him the moment his back hits the mattress. They spent some time just kissing, their hands roaming around to become reacquainted with every detail of each other’s bodies.

A single touch tells Lan Wangji that his shameless husband has been touching himself while waiting for him. His hole is wet and puffy and Lan Wangji’s finger slides in easily. He adds oil generously, though, before he starts teasing Wei Wuxian with two fingers, enjoying the way his beloved first demands, then begs for him to exchange them for his cock. When he’s finally satisfied with Wei Ying’s desperate state, he enters him in one fluid motion.

They both become still then and enjoy the moment of connection in silence. In that endless moment, they are one creature, they share every breath, their hearts beat in sync. Then Wei Wuxian moans and squeezes Lan Wangji tightly to prompt him to move. Lan Wangji complies. He moves slowly and carefully, eliciting sweet sounds out of his husband that he muffles with sweet kisses. He keeps the languid rhythm until he feels like the fire growing inside him is going to burn him alive. He straightens then, getting a firm grip on Wei Wuxian’s hips, and starts pounding him vigorously, each thrust pushing a grunt out of Wei Ying’s kiss-swollen lips.

“Lan Zhan, you brute!” he cries out. “You are merciless to this weak little body! Do you think you can do whatever you please to your poor husband just because it’s your birthday?”

See the full post

36 notes - Posted January 23, 2022

I decided to continue the revisions of my Old Guard Xicheng AU. This fic has been sitting finished in my WIP folder for months. I don’t even understand why. As I’m working on it again, I’m realizing how much I LOVE this story. I hope this time I will finally be able to finish the revisions and have it betaed and posted.

37 notes - Posted March 19, 2022

Here’s my final piece for @mdzsrbb

Film Noir Wangxian

43 notes - Posted June 20, 2022

The Only Constant by Winglesss

Xicheng enemies to lovers AU inspired by the Old Guard movie

Summary: Jiang Cheng sees a young man get hit by a car. He watches as the kid lets out his last breath, then takes another. Jiang Cheng decides to take care of Jin Ling - the newbie immortal. He knows how hard it is to adjust even though the first time he died has been over a thousand years ago. He didn’t have anyone to help him back then. It doesn’t mean he’s been alone all those years. He has his archenemy, the only constant in his long life, Lan Xichen.

Excerpt:

“You are over a thousand years old? And you knew the guy all that time?” Jiang Cheng nods. "What do you do when you meet each other?" Jiang Cheng leans back in his chair and lights a cigarette. "We kill each other." Jin Ling's eyes widen. "Why?" Jiang Cheng shrugs. "That's what we do."

Read chapter 1 on AO3

45 notes - Posted April 9, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

My first piece for MDZS Reverse Big Bang 2022 right on time for Mermay 😂

Please read the companion fic A Fish Out Of Water by roseclaw.

Thank you so much @roseclaw for coming to my rescue and delivering such an amazing story. It was a pleasure to work with you.❤️

119 notes - Posted May 16, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

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eyes-of-mischief · 2 years

Text

weekly fic recs | 5

fandoms: aftg, aot, hq, tgcf, mdzs

aftg

Except When It's No by TheRainbowElectric

It doesn't make sense. Neil was fine. More than fine. He’s safe at home with Andrew, and this should be the best possible ending to one of Neil’s best days, but when Neil squeezes his eyes shut, all he can see is — Riko grinning with vicious pleasure as he slices Neil open. Riko’s eyes reflecting the glow of the lighter licking Neil’s skin. Riko laughing as a tattoo gun needle digs into Neil’s cheek. Riko, Riko, Riko, smothering and impossible to escape. Panic knifes through Neil as he yanks uselessly against the handcuffs. No, no, no — And then he’s saying it aloud, “No, no, no,” because there isn't a gag cutting into the sides of his mouth. Because Neil isn’t at Evermore. He’s at home with Andrew, who’s right there when Neil opens his eyes — only near the foot of the bed now, not touching Neil at all. Neil has long gotten used to reading the faint shades of emotion that pass for expressions on Andrew’s face. But never, not even in Andrew's medicated, manically expressive days, has Neil seen Andrew wear anything like his current look of horrified shock.

Neil agrees to try the handcuffs in bed. It goes badly. Cue angst and h/c.

flour petals, sugar stitches by ephemeralsky

“Thanks for coming with me,” she says, keeping her eyes trained in front of her.

“It is not like I had a choice in the matter,” Andrew says, blowing out a stream of smoke through his mouth.

Renee’s lips curl into a smile. “Maybe you’ll win our next sparring match and I’ll finally have to buy you ten cartons of Haagen-Dazs.”

“It cannot be worse than tagging along to a bridal boutique.”

“Maybe,” Renee allows, humor in her voice. “But what kind of man of honor would you be if you didn’t come with me to choose a dress?”

(or: Andrew is a baker, Renee is a bride-to-be, and Neil is a dressmaker)

aot

Professionalism by Mysecretfanmoments

Modern AU where Eren is a professional cuddler and Levi is his client. Submission for day 3 of EreRi week: Cuddling.

Enigma by Alias_InsertName

(mature)

Where their story begins underground and not separated by bars.

Levi and Eren met and fell in love years before the attack on Wall Maria.

The same story, another beginning.

haikyuu

daisy rings and frivolous things (i am deliriously in love with you) by gabstar

Akaashi Keiji is in love. Bokuto Koutarou is a star. Everyone on Fukurodani has a gambling problem.

feel like gold by Heronfem

In which Kenma is unapologetic and comfortable with who he is, Akaashi learns a lot about himself in a short period of time, Kuroo is wildly in love and an eternal survivor, and Bokuto remembers that love doesn't cure mental illness, but having a support system sure helps a lot.

Or, the one where 4 young men get together, and are helplessly, hopelessly, utterly in love despite everything.

mdzs

love some littler things by shipyrds

He doesn’t regret— no. Start over. He would do it again.

He thinks, sometimes, about how it had gone, when he cannot distract himself any longer with calligraphy exercises or trying to grow increasingly exotic plants behind the jingshi. He runs through the sequence of events again and again, wearing a groove in them, the way he had once recited the clan rules. — When the Wens come for Lotus Pier, Lan Wangji jumps in front of a blast intended for Wei Wuxian and loses his core.

bodies and other unfamiliar things by moonfrost_shash (sunkitten_shash)

(mature)

It was such a small, stupid thing, Wei Wuxian thought sometimes, but—he missed his body.

Sometimes—not always, but sometimes—maybe oftentimes—when Wei Wuxian looked in the mirror, he couldn't see himself. A face that wasn’t his own stared back at him, blinking along with him, and he felt an ache deep inside him to see himself once again.

Wei Wuxian, Who's That? by bumbledees

In which Wei Wuxian gets himself out of being Jin Sect enemy number one by becoming Lan Qiren's niece-in-law, and falls in love with Lan Wangji somewhere along the way.

tgcf

to the stars who listen by moonsteps

“San Lang,” says Xie Lian. “How long?”

Hua Cheng hums, but it falls flat. “How long what?”

“How long,” Xie Lian repeats, “have you had such dreams?”

(Or: Hua Cheng has nightmares. Xie Lian wakes up one morning and finds he can hear them.)

Something Like Soulmates by zacechild

While still the mortal Crown Prince of Xian Le, Xie Lian received a terrifying prediction about his future marriage: he was fated to live in the lap of luxury as the bride of a great and powerful demon, with strength enough to shake the foundations of Heaven itself!

Eight hundred years later, Hua Cheng--a great and powerful demon--threatens to storm Heaven with his demonic army if he's not given Xie Lian's hand in marriage within three days.

ten feet tall by parsnipit

“I wanted to be beautiful for Dianxia,” Hua Cheng admits quietly, ducking his head. “I wanted you to think I was beautiful.”

“I did. I do.” Dianxia’s fingers touch the line of his deathscar. “But ah, San Lang, you are really wise, aren’t you?”

“...Dianxia?”

“To voice your insecurities like this,” Dianxia explains, “where your gege can help you fight them. How clever of my San Lang!”

#look i wanna give you guys variety but let's be honest #all i've been reading the past week and a half is tgcf fics #weekly fic recs #aftg fic recs #aot fic recs #hq fic recs #mdzs fic recs #tgcf fic recs #no prompt

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jiangwanyinscatmom · 3 years

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[1/?] Sorry for venting. I just saw some bad takes that gave me a lot of feelings. Personally, JC stresses me out every time he comes on screen, but I don't mind it when JC fans say fan-typical things like how they like JC because he wears purple, or is grumpy, or they think he's hot, or that they ship x*ch*ng because the cql actors have nice jawlines. They're harmless, fun takes, and while I don't agree with some of them, I see where they're coming from

Hello there anon, vent away as that is what my blog is open for as I love/hate on Jiang Cheng as he is in the plot, as well as all of my beef with what has been done to him for the EN side of the fanbase! I am more than fine listening and engaging with the unsavory "unpopular" discussions of his canon behavior and this goes for anyone of course that needs an open play area. I'll try to engage with what you have sent point by point as succinctly as I can.

[2/?] (some of these are obviously crack, and I am a fan of a few problematic faves). But then there are stans that just have to put other characters down to make JC look good. Like, I think some fans take their freedom of interpretation for granted because most of these takes aren't even labeled 'headcanon,' 'ooc,' or 'crack' anymore. Stans feel that their interpretations are valid, and while they are, valid =/= canon, and they're treating these takes as canon, which becomes popular fanon.

I enjoy Jiang Cheng for what he is, however as I had said it took me another reread to get to my stance of him being the negative mirror to Lan Wangji's positive and my comfort with that for the story once I realized what purpose he served. He is only insofar tragic in regards to his circumstances, but it does not absolve him for what he is at his core (no pun, but I can make a very nice metaphor that even with a piece of Wei Wuxian in him he is still forever unable and unwilling to stand by him equally all while stagnating where as Lan Wangji is able to flourish, grow and mature with nothing of import left from Wei Wuxian in a technical sense). As for ships, I am a little dirty Xicheng whore for fun and can say there is a sense of entertainment for me making it work with two people where one is wildly ignorant and the other wildly rabid. But that is outside of what is established as canon in the work and I always try to keep the two strictly separate due to the skew fanon perpetuates.

3/?] And now, it's not clear what part of the fanon references canon JC or the canon events of mdzs. JC is an asshole; I don't like him as a person, but I do think that he's a complex character motivated by many issues (sup, YeeZY), which makes him fascinating to explore. Unfortunately, erasing his culpability also removes his agency. JC should be allowed to be an asshole character who makes his own decisions even if they're the wrong ones. He has made his own tragedy by constantly casting Wei Wuxian as the villain of his life.

Now thanks to you I will be using YeeZY to forever and now to acknowledge Madam Yu (this is your fault for the new tag). From a standing from storytelling I agree that he is complex in the Jianghu for MDZS. Where in the usual political intrigue of Wuxia, he would be the mustache twirling villain that is outright unforgivable in narration, it is by favor of Wei Wuxian's narration that has an early steeping of empathy for him. And he is not meant to be seen as ultimately sympathetic, the work builds up his hate against Wei Wuxian who tries to rationalize it all several times until he is finally unable to. Jiang Cheng is the antithesis to Lan Wangji and the false bait to get attached to in Wei Wuxian's first life. I will make the note their meeting in Yiling is lukewarm between both as they exchange nothing really in terms of conversation and all pleasantries are left in terms of Jiang Yanli for Wei Wuxian. By this point Wei Wuxian has already switched his yearnings of platonically wanting a part of Jiang Cheng's life, to subconscious romantic inclinations about Lan Wangji and the perceived loss of being in the other's life.

The very point of Jiang Cheng as the deconstruction, is that he has no passion in life despite his apparent exploits because he put a shadow to hang over himself as an excuse to say others think he is not good enough. He has no deeper motivations than pure selfishness by the end of the work and is pure frivolity that he has built up losing the meaning of his sect as a tradition. He had his agency (more than anyone I might add in the work due to his social position) that he used to build his reputation as a passive rich sect leader that has little to do with civilian problems.

4/?] And I think a JC, somehow, that realizes that he did something wrong and is working hard to change for the better and gain self-actualization to become that UWU best jiujiu the stans want him to be, who is ready to talk (not yell at) with WWX, apologize to him, and create a better, healthier relationship with him is a much more powerful reconciliation and happy ending than 'everyone is wrong and mean and they all apologize to JC, which magically gets rid of all his issues'.

He is forced out of culpability in reconciliation because simply put, his audience do not like the reality that relationships fray and dissolve with no further resolution other than we as adults both need to move on for safety and good health. It is not acceptable in real life and fiction is allowed to place that also in it's thematic relationships. He has a small, small spark of recognition at the end of the main story, however he himself seems to choose to ignore it, as change is hard and he has never taken to that well as was foreshadowed with his dogs and the idea of sharing a space with Wei Wuxian. To write this is an awful lot of work into his psyche which is not a nice place, he is a terrible being and downplaying that to make a sugar sweet person does not work instantaneously. He is the one responsible for the entire fallout with Wei Wuxian and he hysterically realizes that even as he tries to continue to blame Wei Wuxian.

The issue that I have with his current stan culture, is that they already view him as something he is not. They play at bicycle with all of the other protagonists that have positive traits that they strip as they see fit; Good affirming loving to children adult Lan Wangji, Self-sacrificing ultimately did it all for love and care Wei Wuxian, Hard exterior but softened to who they consider an annoyance Wen Qing, Loyal as partners in their exploits on the field and always have each others back Wen Ning. They even take Jin Guangyao's persona of playing damsel and using that as a positive to soften up Jiang Cheng into something he has never been for anyone for ships.

[5/5] Also, making WWX/WN/LWJ apologize just makes them look better than JC. Like, stans supposedly love JC, so they ahouldn't be lazy and work hard to give him actual character development. Again, I'm sorry for spamming your ask. It just really baffles me about where they get these 'hot' takes (All I'm going to say is that JC was ungrateful, and WN had a reason verbally dismantle him).

They see this, but, they will spin it in any way to excuse Jiang Cheng due to the story itself showing that he was in the wrong to everyone he flung accusations at and his hate. No one but him is at fault for his spite as he had gotten his revenge on the ones that had ruined Lotus Pier and killed his parents. His own resentment pitted him against good and well meaning people that he refused to help as he mimicked his mother's words about raising their heads higher out of goodness instead of keeping low and staying self-centered. There is the underlying criticism of taking individual arrogance as self-care at the cost of others. Each point that Wen Ning makes is exactly what Jiang Cheng himself knows as he hated Wei Wuxian for being something he could not be or even wanted to be. Jiang Cheng wants kindness but does not understand that kindness to others needs to be selfless and accept the hurt that can come with that in life. He encompasses the fall from the path of buddhist lifestyle, "The Three Poisons" to Wangxian's "Without Envy" at the stories end.

[6/5] P.S. I'm not saying I want reconciliation fics, but I just feel that if stans want JC to have a happy ending, then I think that he should actively work for it. I think it would be interesting to see what force of nature would push him through a character development because throwing a therapist at him would result in a murder.

"I'm not saying I want reconciliation fics, but I just feel that if stans want JC to have a happy ending, then I think that he should actively work for it."

They do not think he has to work for it, they say his tragedy is enough, while heaping accusations against Wei Wuxian and saying his own are not enough to absolve him. Something Wei Wuxian has never denied and told all present they are allowed to forever hate him for what he had done in the past, but that they need to find a way to live in a life that is always moving on. He learned that grudges do nothing once they are absolved and it leaves you with hate with nothing else to do with it once that object is gone. In terms of reconciliation, I do not ever think that either want anything other than a distant peaceful out of each other's life set up. Jiang Cheng does not need Wei Wuxian in his life to be satisfied and never has since he used him as the handicap to hide behind to stay angry and miserable. Being without that fallback opens the world far more for him to change than him ever interacting like an old friend with Wei Wuxian ever again, if he ever had the guts to do that.

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #jiang cheng #yeah I am using that tag block me if it upsets you #pokes this sorry for the length I tried #listen... only i am his trash queen

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jengarie · 3 years

Text

#showyourprocess !

From planning to posting, share your process for making creative content!

To continue supporting content makers, this tag game is meant to show the entire process of making creative content: this can be for any creation.

RULES — When your work is tagged, show the process of its creation from planning to posting, then tag up to 5 people with a specific link to one of their creative works you’d like to see the process of. Use the tag #showyourprocess so we can find yours!

Thank you, @rinielle for tagging me! She chose the piece above (original post), and oh boy this one was a whole ass rollercoaster ride! Unfortunately, I hadn't turned on the timelapse feature for this but I'll try to go through each part of the process as best as I can!

The photos I'm gonna upload are gonna be a mix of screenshots and literal photos of my screen, because I'm taking some of them from my updates to friends, since a lot of the steps got lost in my painting process.

But before that, let me tag some other amazing creators!

@dragonji: this gif art!

@candicewright: this yibo painting!

@wendashanren: this gifset!

@mylastbraincql: this gif!

I haven't been able to keep track of who's been tagged so apologies if you've already done this! Also, no pressure to do it at all if you would rather not! <3

Planning

Sometimes, I get an idea first and find reference photos to go with that idea. But for this one, I sought out a reference photo first, and built an idea on top of it!

After that, I roughly sketch out the base pose. Usually, this looks very messy, but it doesn't really matter as long as I understand which part goes where!

The idea for the background didn't really come until the creation process because I don't think I really planned this to be a full piece.

Creation

Sketching

Honestly, from this point on, it's more of trial and error.

So, I redid the the initial base pose—made it cleaner and a little bit more detailed. See: the added definition in their arm muscles, the rearrangement of Wei Wuxian's legs, and Lan Wangji's hand on Wei Wuxian's back. If you look at the second photo, I also changed the pose a bit midway—I tend to edit as I go sometimes when I change my mind. (For this, I thought, given the Lan arm strength, it would be better to make Lan Wangji look more at ease carrying Wei Wuxian. This gets covered by the robes anyway though, so it didn't matter much in the end.)

I also started adding details to the base! I usually start with the face and then the hair! I usually go for the clothes next, but I dreaded the robes in this piece so I guess that's why I ended up with a basic idea of what I wanted for the background instead LOL I also figured out how I want the final crop to look like, so I blocked out all the other areas with an extra layer!

Okay, onto the part that killed me like ten times: the robes. There are a lot of interactions between their robes here given their pose, and not to mention they also have layers upon layers on each of them! So, to maintain my sanity and to keep track of which part is which, I color coded them into the most colorful sketch I've ever made.

Another reason why I filled in each layer of robe with a solid block of color, is so that all the lines underneath gets covered. Without all of the colors, the actual outline actually looks like the one on the right. What a nightmare!

I also ignored the crop again for this part, because it's always better to draw past your borders, in case you decide to rotate or tilt or whatever your piece later on. I didn't do the feet anymore though, because that I was sure wouldn't show in the final piece anymore.

After that, I did the sketch one more time and then started adding the base colors. (I didn't have a screenshot of just the base colors, and the final CSP file is a nightmare so I copy pasted the layers into a new canvas to show you guys :') )

By the way, I drew their robes flowing this way, because I wanted it to frame the lower arch of the moon behind them for the composition. It was a little frustrating that I couldn't get Lan Wangji's robes a little higher because of Wei Wuxian's legs but I later filled in the empty space with his forehead ribbon anyway, so it all worked out in the end!

Painting

Because apparently, I was a masochist back then, I merged the base colors all into one layer and started adding shadows to the robes. (These days, I add shadows first and then, merge. It's much easier this way.)

And then, I started painting! Again, I did the face first and then the hair, before finally the robes. This was my first time painting side profiles and honestly it was quite a pain to figure out LOL but !!! I think I did a good job and I'm proud of how it turned out. I again used reference photos for this one but I can't link any because they were just several random Pinterest photos that I didn't save.

Another thing to note is that I use the mesh transform tool a lot, especially on faces. That's largely why Lan Wangji's face looks so different in the latter two!

And then I went with the robes. Somewhere along the way, I realized I didn't like how I planned to do Lan Wangji's sleeves and the flowy part of Wei Wuxian's robes and I... decided, with much dread, to do them over. So I sketched on top of the painted layers and redid the robes, again.

It was at this point that I decided to take a break from this piece because it was honestly very draining! I think it took about three weeks before I decided to open the file again and continue it.

When I did, I just finished painting the rest of the robes and their hands. The blue details on Lan Wangji's outer robes were painted on a separate layer that I put on Multiply. I probably did more adjustments to the face and hair and stuff, because my painting process is honestly a mess :')

Final Adjustments

I added some correction layers on certain areas to fix some of the colors. See: Lan Wangji's sleeve becoming much brighter and paler; Wei Wuxian's legs having less contrast. And then I merged all of the layers (excluding the background) and added a bit of blur. See: Wei Wuxian's ponytail; the entire lower part; the flowing forehead ribbon. My reasoning for this is so that most of the detail (and therefore the flow of the eye) goes to their faces and expressions!

And then, I put a blue Overlay layer on low opacity to make Wangxian blend better with the background, added a bit of shadow on the inside and the lower sections and added the glowing details for the added flair. I initially wanted sparkles and/or stars but they didn't turn out as well as this did. I also upped the contrast by a little for the entire piece!

Aaaand, that's it! In truth, I did a bit more color adjustments to the whole piece, but I was a dummy who forgot to turn them back on before posting so ... oh well.

Posting

Before posting, I upload it either on my spare private Twitter account or on a drafted Tumblr post so I can check the colors on my phone. This is because the colors on different devices can look very different, and I would at the very least want all my pieces to look nice on both of my devices!

And then, once I deem it satisfactory, I just try to think of a caption and post! Some artists wait for a certain time where most of their followers are active, but I didn't have a lot of MDZS followers at this point so it didn't really matter to me.

It still doesn't really; I haven't actually been able to figure out when my MDZS followers are awake even now.

#showyourprocess #mine #whew this was so long oops #but this piece took like #maybe 1.5 weeks sans the break i had to take #so !!#LOL #tag game

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suibianjie · 3 years

Photo

#ShowYourProcess, pt 2

Tagged by @inessencedevided for this gifset ❤ (you can see her post here)

From planning to posting, share your process for making creative content!

To continue supporting content makers, this tag game is meant to show the entire process of making creative content: this can be for any creation.

RULES: When your work is tagged, show the process of its creation from planning to posting, then tag 5 people with a specific link to one of their creative works you’d like to see the process of. Use the tag #showyourprocess so we can find yours!

This is a bit long so sticking the rest under the cut. (^ω~)

1. Planning

This set was actually part of a pair (with this Lan Wangji one) so most of the planning happened when I made that one. Basically, I knew I wanted a static central image surrounded by animation. I tried to pick a variety of scenes to show Wei Wuxian’s range of emotions, and wow was it hard to narrow it down to only 6.

For these kinds of gifsets, there’s actually two stages: creating the photomanip and then making the actual gif.

2. Creating

So here’s what I started off with for the photomanip:

The photo had Wei Wuxian on the right side of the image, so I extended the crop to put him closer to the center.

I used a layer mask to remove the background. It’s not a super precise mask but I know I can always come back later to refine it.

This is official (I think?) concept art of Lotus Pier, and I just added some Surface Blur + a hue/saturation adjustment layer to make it look smoother and more vibrant. The Lan Wangji set was very blue/green, so I wanted this one to be heavy on the warm colors.

Obviously the photo of Wei Wuxian didn’t match at all with the background. To change that, I first used to Camera Raw filter to change the overall temperature from cool to warm. A little Surface Blur was added on top to remove some of the film grain. After that I played with some adjustment layers until I was happy with the overall coloring.

Almost done! It didn’t quite have the visual pop I wanted, so I painted in some mist + more golden light to make that sunset really stand out. I also adjusted the shadows/highlighting (a separate layer set to Overlay or Soft Light + brush tool).

Phew, that’s stage 1 done! Now on to the actual gifset.

I always make a separate “planning” file for these types of sets to make sure the overall look is right:

Each segment of the photomanip gets cut and added to the corresponding gif. I often mock up what it looks like to make sure the masking is correct:

After that, I import video clips and create each separate gif. Here’s what gif #1 looks like after it’s been trimmed, cropped, and sharpened:

I wanted the overall gifset color to have those sunset colors, so each gif got a group of adjustment layers to make them more neutral. The section of the photomanip then gets added on top:

Repeat for the other gifs, add in the watermark, and then they’re ready to export!

3. Posting:

As always, I hold posts in drafts for at least a day or two and check for mistakes. I also look at it on both desktop and mobile to make sure any details/text don’t get lost.

Wow that was a lot. Hopefully it made sense! I already tagged people in my first #showyourprocess, but if anyone else would like to play please feel free to tell me!

(づ ◕‿◕ )づ

#showyourprocess #tag game #gif making #photoshop #tutorial #mystuff #mytutorial #wei wuxian #long post #fun fact: i originally was going to include more clips of WWX being just really sad and/or distraught but man i couldn't do it #he baby and when he sad i sad T_T #don't judge me lol

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inessencedevided · 3 years

Text

(You can find the set that this gif belongs to here 💙)

From planning to posting, share your process for making creative content!

To continue supporting content makers, this tag game is meant to show the entire process of making creative content: this can be for any creation.

I was tagged by @aheartfullofjolllly. thank you so much Pat! it was really fun to reflect about my own process 💗 You can find her post here and @lan-xichens' post that started it all here :)

Also thank you @huigusu 🥰 (who tagged me for my nie brothers set) I'll get to that one in a few days!

Now Pat gave me two sets to chose from to show my process, so obviously I chose the more complicated one :P

I only work in Photoshop CC 2018. I know that there are programs out there for easier cutting and sharpening but I have only just figured out how to do that in PS and I am too lazy to figure out any other programs right now xD

1. Idea and Planning

This set, like most of my sets with lyrics started with me reading the poem, clutching my heart and going "oh shit this fits my favourite characters!!". The idea actually started with me thinking that the first stanza of the poem would go really well with wwx during the burial mounds arc. Then I realized that the last stanza fits lwj better than him and from there came the idea to contrast the both of them next to each other. This is when I realized I wanted to do a dark-light contrast set, though I did not know that I would go with red and blue at that time. My idea in the beginning was just to do a black and white set

I was really impressed by how Pat said that she plans her sets around exact timestamps. Because I don't do that at all ^^ I just get ideas for which scenes would fit (in this case the wwx burial mounds scenes and lwj's kneeling and punishments scene) and then I watch the scenes to narrow them down.

Back when I made this set, I still used a screenrecorder (AceThinker Screen Grabber Pro to be precise. They have a test version that allows you to record up to 3 minutes) and recorded the scenes I needed from Netflix. This worked well enough but now I have the entire show saved on an external drive and it makes a world of difference when it comes to gif sharpness

Now, in this case I had to repeat this step once because when I was almost finished, I realized that I wanted a gif for the lwj corner but let's pretend I didn't do that and that's the way this gif was always going to look because otherwise this post will be way too long ^^

2. Creation

Short disclaimer: The creation process for this gifset was anything but linear. Multiple effects I used here were things I had never tried before. I just had a vague idea and tried to realize it through trial and error. So whenever I say "then I did xyz", it is implied that I ultimately went back to that step several times and changed stuff ^^

I started with the Wei Wuxian part of the gif. I usually use a frame rate of 0,06 (with some variation depending on gif length and size). I work in timeline so I converted all the layers to a smart layer. Then I resized the gif into a square, leaving big chunks of the gif empty (as can be seen below.) I flipped the gif horizontally, so he is looking inwards. This was simple because I felt it fitted the composition better. Then I imported the Lan Wangji part of the gif, again with a frame rate of 0,06. (Image 2)

After that I created a layer for masking in a separate PS document by rotating a square until it was point down (is that a rhombus?). I sized it to match my gif (540x540 pxl) and copied it over. (Image 3) a bit of masking magic and ta da! There's the basic layout (Image 4)

I put a layer of solid black behind wwx to get rid of the transparent bits (Image 5) and then started adding more white and black to both sides by adding solid whit and black layers that i put masks on and changed the opacity as i needed (Image 6)

("reading" direction: from the upper left to the lower right corner)

Then I fiddled with the colours a bit. The first thing I always do is using the curves layer to get more contrast. Then I use the colour balance tool and the selective colouring tool to get rid of that cql-typical cyan tint after that it's just trying to have it look "natural" while the colours still fit the overall scheme. This was difficult here because wei Wuxian’s side of the gif was very dark and when i turned up the saturation to see which colour dominated it was a very weird mixture of multiple colours. That's when i decided that I'd just go with red on his side, since lwj's side was already so blue and those to look great as contrasts.

After that just came a lot of fiddling with selective colour layers and brightness and contrast unti I has happy. There really wasn't much to it ^^. (Image 1)

After that I added the text. I knew I wanted the two lines to for a square of some kind. So I tried different fonds until I arrived at the one below. The two lines are in seperate layers so I could move them around and change the spacing between the letters until I was happy with the layout. I also changed the layer mode for the text to "difference" (is that what it's called in english? my PS is set to german sorry ^^), keeping their colour white. (Image 2)

I originally hadn't planned adding anything else but I felt like the gifs (plural because I switched between the gifs of this set) was still kind of empty and lacking, so I added the tear down the middle (a tutorial for that is either coming up later or already posted. I recently got an ask for this :)) (Image 3)

It still felt empty after that, so I tried different overlays. Okay no, first I wasted a lot of time on different free image sides but then I tried out different ones until I chose the one you can see in the finished gif. I liked that one because a) I felt the round shape was a nice contrast to all the straight lines already there and b) because once I applied a black and white filter to it and switched the layer setting to "difference" (again, i hope this is the correct translation) it looked a bit like a moon. (Gif at the top)

("reading" direction: from left to right)

And that's it! :)

Although in general, these gifs took so much fiddling! I went back and forth between them a lot and sometimes almost redid the entire thing because I had no idea what I was doing in the beginning and by the time I noticed an error, the only way to fix it was ti redo everything. So yeah, this set definitely is the the one that took me the longest out of all the ones I've posted so far.

3. Posting

I save all my gifs to my drafts first to see what they look like put together and to check if they look any different on mobile. Usually i do this several times and change stuff until I'm happd enough with it to hit post. Once i am happy enough, i can't hold back. Doesn't matter if it's at a time when nobody is online, i hit post 😅

And that's it!

Tagging:

@lanwuxiann for this gifset (I adore it so much. I've looked at it and read it severat times since you posted it and the poem just kills me every time!)

@suibianjie for this gifset (The combination of static images and gifs in your gifs is always absolutely perfect! This one is only my favourite of yours because the light coming from behind wwx is just so pretty!!! ^^)

@sweetlittlevampire for this piece (It was soooo hard to pick a piece of yours because I have so many favourites! But this one is just so out if this world, I want to know how you worked that magic :D)

@wei-gege for this set (sparkling shijie! 😭 that set is so incredibly beautiful! I love how you matched the colour of the overlay with her dress!)

@purplexedhuman for this set (your gifs are always incredible! I chise this one because it showcases both your colouring skills and some really intricate effects)

If any of you have already been tagged or don't have the time or energy for this, obviously no pressure to do this at all! 🥰

(btw, I originally tried to place the actual text of this under a "read more" cut but somehow it always messed with the order of the images, so this ended up as a rather long post. sorry!)

#showyourprocess #tag game #the untamed #sophie rambles #long post

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wangxianfics · 4 years

Note

Hiiiiiii!!!!!!! We all know that wwx is an oblivious gremlin when it comes to his feelings so have you ever come across any fics where he is aware of his feelings early on and isn’t as oblivious? It doesn’t matter what era or au or whatever! Thank you💙💙💙💙💙

Hi nonny!

Here goes our recs for “Not So Oblivious!WWX” :

This is a Love Song by brooklinegirl (20K, Explicit)

(Canon Divergence, Gusu School Days, Early!Wangxian, First Kiss, Feelings Realization, From the Beginning Onwards, Epic Romance)

Wei Wuxian and Lan Zhan, from beginning to end.

❤️ vinegar jug by dandelion_san (5K, General)

(Time Travel, LWJ meets LWJ, Older!LWJ, Jealous!LWJ, Smitten!WWX, Humor)

Wei Wuxian gains a taste of first love for the future Lan Wangji, following him like an adoring puppy. The present Lan Wangji chugs vinegar and tries his best not to kill his future self, or Jiang Cheng.

@dandelion-san

❤️ Pigtail Pulling by protos_metazu_izon (3+K, General)

(Gusu School Days, Teen Wangxian, Fluff, Humor, Beautiful!WWX, POV LWJ)

“Tell me I’m beautiful, Lan er-gege!”

“You are well aware you are beautiful,” Lan Wangji says.

Wei Wuxian trips over Jiang Wanyin and sends both of them to the ground in a tangle of limbs and bruises.

@stopaskingme

❤️ Romeo, oh! Romeo. Whyfore art thou-WEI WUXIAN?!?! by mondengel (1K, General)

(Gusu School Days, Teen!Wangxian, PDA, Humor)

WangXian happens a lot sooner and Lan Qiren is suffering.

@mondengel

Spark and Kindling by longleggedgit (7K, Mature)

(Canon Compliant, Post-Canon, Wangxian Evolution, Angst With a Happy Ending)

When they reached the water, Lan Wangji turned to face him, saying nothing.

“Oh, fine.” Wei Wuxian gave him an exasperated look—as if Lan Wangji were the unreasonable one—and kept walking, toward a stretch of boulders along a bend in the riverbank. “Will your delicate sensibilities remain unassaulted if I bathe over here?”

Lan Wangji merely waited. With a final eyeroll, Wei Wuxian disappeared around the bend, already untying his belt as he went.

“The Lan Clan is so prudish,” he said.

---

Moments in between that brought Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian together.

feed the fire in my soul by ShootMeDead (3+K, Mature)

(Canon Divergence, Gusu School Days, Secret Relationship, Secret Marriage)

Maybe, Wei Wuxian muses, he shouldn't have brought up Lan ancestors and traditions as references.

But Lan Wangji, Wei Wuxian learns, flushes so prettily when he was annoyed, his voice trembles just the teeniest amount when he was passionate, his hands curls into fists as he exercised his vaunted self-control when Wei Wuxian was being particularly obnoxious. And Wei Wuxian wants.

Aka, the one where wangxian gets together in Cloud Recesses, and this changes everything.

@burningsoprettily

Free Falling Forever by ShootMeDead (4+K, Teen)

(Canon Divergence, Humor, Protective Siblings, Gusu School Days, Teen!Wangxian, JYL Ships It)

Lan Wangji is infamous in the cultivation world. Wei Wuxian is a fan of the Twin Jades of Lan.

They meet for the first time in Cloud Recesses.

Or, pigtail pulling + mooning = wangxian.

[EXCERPT]

A sound closely resembling a squeak comes from Wei Wuxian as Lan Wangji glances at him. A disciple at the back snorts quietly.

@burningsoprettily

Marital Prospects by Vamillepudding (19K, General)

(Canon Divergence, Everyone Lives, Romantic Comedy, Misunderstandings)

Jin Ling's birth is the happiest occasion of Jin Zixuan's life. But every gold spoon has some rust: Wei Wuxian has taken up residence too. However, Jin Zixuan has a fool-proof plan to get Wei Wuxian out of his life for good: he's going to find him a spouse. And he's got the perfect person in mind: Nie Mingjue.

Lan Wangji has resigned himself to losing the love of his life without saying a word.

@vamillepudding

to arrive late is better than not to arrive at all by Moominmammashandbag (35K, Mature)

(Soulmates, Hanahaki Disease, Canon Divergence, Chronic Illness, Feelings Realization, LWJ says Fuck)

"Lan WangJi is not sure he can bear meeting with a matchmaker yet again, but at the same time, if he wasn’t going to care deeply about the person he was going to marry, he could just as well have settled for Wei Wuxian six years ago ." or, Lan WangJi goes to a Discussion Conference and his soulmate is there. His soulmate, whom he doesn't love.

I am lonely for you by protos_metazu_ison (11K, Teen)

(POV LWJ, Curses)

For as long as Lan Wangji has been alive, he has been ruled by the family curse. He knows he will doom the one he gives his heart to. It is the reason the only life he’s known is within the four walls of the Jingshi.

That is, until a stranger slings one leg over the wall; two jars of liquor dangling from his hand and calling out a tentative hello.

Modern AU

puzzle pieces by yuisaki (6+K, Teen)

(Modern AU, College AU, Roommates, Friends to Lovers, Seduction, Pining, Sharing Clothes, Getting Together, POV LWJ)

“Sorry, I, uh. Laundry day caught up to me before I could catch up with it. I saw this shirt left in the washer a few days ago, and—“ Wei Ying blinks up at Lan Zhan through dark eyelashes that he wants to kiss, maybe, and gives him an uncharacteristically hesitant smile. “Do you mind?”

I mind the fact that we are not married, Lan Zhan thinks.

Wei Ying keeps borrowing Lan Zhan’s clothes. It is only mildly driving him insane.

@yuisakii

felt this was by crowing (10K, Explicit)

(Modern AU, College AU, Friends With Benefits, Praise Kink, Best Friends, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together)

The dim light in the corridor isn't much better, Wei Ying can't see Lan Zhan's face at all. He forces himself to laugh, trying to lighten the mood. "Lan Zhan! You can not misunderstand. I did have a teeny, tiny crush on you but that was just in the beginning."

Lan Zhan's voice is small, barely audible. "In the beginning?"

And then, louder, "Wei Ying…...had a crush on me? I thought - your brother often says things to rile people up."

Wei Ying wants to sink into the floor at his own foolish oversight. Of course, Lan - Gossip is forbidden - Zhan wouldn't take a drunk person, let alone Jiang Cheng at his word.

With a sigh, he readies to lie in the grave of his own making. "Aiya, Lan Zhan, have you even looked at yourself? You were mean and hot. Of course, I was into that."

[Lan Zhan and Wei Ying stumble their way into a relationship]

My Land Beneath Me by longleggedgit (30K, Explicit)

(Modern AU, Best Friends, Pining, Friends To Lovers)

Wei Wuxian gets expelled from college and sent abroad in shame after getting caught up in a scandal. Lan Zhan follows him.

❤️ Tempo Rubato by Spodumene (108K, Explicit)

(Modern AU, High School AU, Persuasion AU, Teen!Wangxian, Separation, Depression, Miscommunication, Self-Harm, Reconciliation, Emotional Roller Coaster, Angst With a Happy Ending)

Tempo Rubato: Italian; Stolen Time; The musical practice of diverging from the unrelenting and gradual rhythm for a short period of time in a piece, allowing for solo freedom.

Lan Wangji starts high school in perfect step with the rhythm of his uncle's expectations and his duty to his family.

He doesn't quite stay that way.

@spodumene

❤️ Only Fools Rush In by mrsronweasley (28K, Explicit)

(Modern AU, Woke Up Married, Drunken Confessions, Mutual Pining, Getting Together, What Happens in Vegas etc etc, Smut With Feelings)

Lan Zhan watches as Wei Ying's eyes track down his body until… "Lan Zhan," he says quietly. "What is that on your finger?"

Lan Zhan frowns and looks down. "That," he says, then stops. Something cold trickles down the back of his neck. "That is a ring." His eyes automatically go to Wei Ying's left hand, where… "Wei Ying."

Wei Ying, being the brilliant man that he is, is already ahead of him. "Holy shit."

Lan Zhan clears his throat.

They are in Las Vegas. And now they have rings on their fingers.

There is only one explanation for this. One simple, idiotic, ridiculous explanation.

"We got fucking married?!"

also, check out our early!wangxian and notsooblivious!wwx tags for plenty other similar fics that didn’t make it to the list!

#Anonymous #ask #masterpost #notsooblivious!wwx #early!wangxian #teen!wangxian

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theleakypen · 3 years

Text

first lines: fic-writers meme

Rules: List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all!). See if there are any patterns. Choose your favourite opening line. Then tag 10 of your favourite authors!

I was tagged by @la-muerta! I've mostly been archiving my kissing fics on AO3 lately, so that's what these will be, probably. I'm going to skip the ones where the first line was given to me by another person, since those are not illustrative. I am also skipping my filks. XD

1. Terms of Care - in answer to the prompt: "wei wuxian & wen ning + forehead kisses"

“Ah, Wen Ning, come join me!” Wei Wuxian exclaimed, waving Wen Ning over to his spot in the bunny clearing.

2. Not To Be Alone - in answer to the prompt: "jiang cheng/song lan - hating separation"

“I was in shock still, and I said such awful things… So I’m looking for him now, to apologise. To say: traveling with you is better than traveling without you.”

3. This One's Spicy - in answer to the prompt: "lan jingyi/lan sizhui - yi city"

Lan Jingyi was still making elaborate disgusted faces, scraping his teeth over his tongue and the like.

4. fell through the cracks, but we're okay - in answer to the prompt: "oyzz/a-qing, au where they meet when they're both alive"

“Excuse me, are there any powerful people around here? Powerful people who cultivate?”

5. All This Burning Sexual Tension - in answer to the prompt: "wei wuxian/wen qing + laughter"

“Qing jiějiě!” Wei Wuxian shouts, bursting into the mess. “Jiang Cheng has brought it to my attention that we need to work out the unbearable sexual tension between us.”

6. In the Officers' Baths - in answer to the prompt: "mu nihuang/xia dong - something fun and not sad"

“Jùnzhǔ!”

7. in this great golden tower - in answer to the prompt: "qin su/wen qing, koi tower"

Qin Su has never asked xiǎo-Qing about her past.

8. sharp words, soft hands - in answer to the prompt: "chengxuan after like a big battle or something and one of them is hurt and the other one is worried and expressing it through getting snappy?"

Jin Zixuan opens his mouth to speak when Jiang Wanyin strides into his tent, but before he can say anything, the Jiang sect leader snaps, “Don’t bother. I saw exactly how it happened. You’d think someone raised in the great Lanling Jin sect would have learned a modicum of tactics.”

9. corpse kiss - in answer to the prompt: "how about wn/jzx with the prompt “qiongqi path”" (content warning: this one is noncon)

There was no longer a flute playing, but Wen Ning was still rushing toward Jin Zixuan like a hurricane in human form.

10. Closed Fist, Warm Mouth - in answer to the prompt: "xianxuan, in the middle of an argument"

It was lucky that Jin Zixuan had stomped away from his entourage as well as from the Jiang contingent, because it meant that there was no one to stop Wei Wuxian from throwing a punch this time.

11. Growing Things - in answer to the prompt: "lan sizhui & ouyang zizhen (my underappreciated boi!), growing things"

The Baling gardens were one of Lan Sizhui’s favorite places.

12. what's left when revenge is over - in answer to the prompt: "Sisi/Nie Huaisang post Guanyin temple"

“It’s done, then,” Sisi says, standing behind Nie Huaisang and beginning to take his hair down.

13. a good bruise - in answer to the prompt: "chengqing, jiang-furen wen qing. after training disciples"

They have been married for just over a year, but it still somehow seems scandalous to Wen Qing that she gets to be here, in Sect Master Jiang’s own personal quarters, as he gets ready for his post-training bath; that she gets to pull at the ties on his outer robes, skim her fingers along his collarbones to feel him shiver, help him shrug off each successive layer of clothes until all that’s left between her and his sweat-slick skin are her own clothes.

14. why the hell not - in answer to the prompt: "wwx/nhs, burial mounds. why the hell not"

“Nie xiong, what the hell are you doing here?”

15. Rivers and Lakes, Towns and Cities - a prequel of my Songxiao Middle Earth AU, where the Elf Xiao Xingchen meets the Human Song Lan after leaving Baoshan Sanren's mountain (which is, like, an Asian equivalent of Rivendell)

Baoshan Sanren always said that the world west of the Mountain was full of corruption and iniquity, that the Western Elves were liars to a one, and that the gods they called the Valar were betrayers.

16. A Hundred Beautiful Things - The Untamed (TV) fandom, Jiang Yanli/Nie Huaisang political marriage set after the Qishan indoctrination arc.

It was an adjustment, to be sure.

17. Taste You In My Core - 魔道祖师/Mo Dao Zu Shi novel fandom, Nie Huaisang/Xiao Xingchen monster4monster porn with Eldritch Xiao Xingchen and Beast Nie Huaisang.

“Are you all right, gōngzǐ?" the young man asks, and Nie Huaisang does his best not to laugh.

18. A Fruitful Correspondence - The Untamed (TV) fandom, Lan Wangji is forcibly befriended by Jiang Yanli (and by extension Jin Zixuan and Jiang Cheng) during the time that Wei Wuxian and the Wens are holed up in the Burial Mounds.

Lan Wangji’s plan upon attending the wedding between Jin Zixuan and Jiang Yanli is to put in the bare minimum of appearances and then go home at the earliest opportunity.

19. Bored - Leverage (!!) fandom, in Season 2, Episode 1, Parker mentioned stealing the Hope Diamond and then putting it back. This is the story of that heist.

Planning the heist still carries the same thrill as it always does: scoping out guard rotations, evaluating the schematics for their new security system (laughable, even with the increased bandwidth to support a greater number of security cameras), visiting the museum as a paying guest… Parker loves this part, and it’s good to stretch her muscles in this way, relying on no one but herself.

20. Best Friends for Best Friends - The Untamed/MDZS fandom (could go with either canon) fic for Jin Ling's birthday featuring the Juniors quartet and a whole litter of puppies - this is an archived threadfic that was cleaned up and then thrown on AO3.

Jin Ling totally forgot about the "no pets at Cloud Recesses" rule, okay?

I've noticed that I tend to like to start with some kind of dialogue most frequently; otherwise, something to establish the POV character's interiority. The big exception is the Middle Earth fic where I was emulating Tolkien's narrator, somewhat.

I think of these twenty, my favorite opening line is probably either 7 or 16. They're so sparse, but still set up a lot.

Tagging @hunxi-guilai, @iamwestiec, @bladedweaponsandswishycoats, @shadaras, @withbroombefore, @vyther15, @vivisextion if y'all wanna play! If not, no worries ofc :3

#long post #tag game #puck writes

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rosethornewrites · 3 years

Text

Fic: this body yet survives, ch. 6

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

Characters: Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī, Lán Huàn | Lán Xīchén, Lán Qǐrén, Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn, Jiāng Chéng | Jiāng Wǎnyín, Jiāng Yànlí

Additional Tags: No War AU, Recovery, Trauma, Dissociation, Courtship, Courting Rituals, Near Death Experiences, Attempted Murder, Eventual Happy Ending, Panic Attacks, Vomiting, Siblings, Protective Siblings, Soup, Triggers

Summary: The Jiang siblings and Wei Ying become sworn siblings, but it is a difficult day for Wei Ying.

Notes: See end

Parts 1 & 2

Chapter 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

AO3 link

-------------

The sworn brotherhood ceremony was held after Wei Ying’s music lesson late the next morning, attended by the whole of Cloud Recesses, as well as Madam Jin and Jin Zixuan. Xichen had done a phenomenal job preparing for it and the luncheon banquet that followed, making it look like a long-planned event rather than an idea broached just the day before.

Jiang Yanli had accompanied him this morning to wake Wei Ying, early for her, and had taken care of his hair herself, combing the night’s tangles out with the orange cinnamon hair oil Wangji had purchased for him in Caiyi, styling it as he had demonstrated, and tying his forehead ribbon on for him. They ate breakfast together, and she had walked with them to Wei Ying’s music lesson before excusing herself to prepare for the ceremony.

Wei Ying looked resplendent, dressed in the best of the white robes Wangji had given him, the white jade gentian guan and plum blossom hairstick shining in the late morning light, his hair and red ribbon moving in the breeze. Still, Wangji could see his discomfort in the slight shaking of his fingers, the way his smile seemed a bit forced, tight at the edges of his mouth, the way he tried not to look at the gathered crowd, as though he wasn’t ready to be the center of attention as he was.

His attention should have been on the ceremony, but instead he had eyes only for Wei Ying. He wished he could shield him from the crowd. But when his zhiji’s eyes sought his, he focused on sending him as much silent encouragement as he could. The effort won a grateful smile, and Wei Ying’s shoulders relaxed. Having something else to focus on seemed to help, too.

Fortunately, it didn’t impact the ceremony. Xichen stood to one side, murmuring soft instructions to ensure it went smoothly; xiongzhang had perhaps anticipated Wei Ying’s difficulties, and Wangji was grateful for his brother’s forethought.

Afterward, he was able to sit beside Wei Ying for the banquet, making sure he ate enough. His attention was largely on his siblings, not his food, so Wangji kept his bowl filled with foods he liked and occasionally reminded him to eat. He was grateful that Jiang Yanli, on Wei Ying’s other side, did the same.

“What will you call A-Li now?” Jin Zixuan asked Wei Ying eventually.

Though typically meals in the Cloud Recesses were eaten silently, guests were not forced to adhere, and Wangji would say nothing that might dissuade Wei Ying from speaking, not after so much silence.

Wei Ying froze a bit at the unexpected question. Jiang Yanli patted his hand.

“He’ll call me jiejie or a-jie, I expect,” she said, answering for him.

“Jiejie,” Wei Ying murmured, almost listening to how it sounded.

Jiang Yanli’s face lit up, clearly pleased to finally be his sworn sister, his jiejie, instead of his martial sister.

“Didi,” she said back. “Or maybe da-di, since A-Cheng is er-di.”

“I can’t believe I have to call him ge,” Jiang Wanyin muttered, but without any feeling.

Wei Ying took it as the teasing it was and smiled.

“I’m just gonna call you A-Cheng, so you can call me A-Xian like jiejie does.”

Jiang Wanyin tried to cover a smile under a scowl, but it was ineffective, and Wei Ying’s smile widened to become nearly as bright as it had been when he had come to Gusu the first time.

A crash, loud in the largely silent banquet, erased the smile, Wei Ying’s flinch almost violent at the sudden noise. That it was only a bowl dropped by a clumsy disciple didn’t matter—it left him cringing, almost huddling as close to under the low table as one could get, gripping Suibian so tightly his knuckles were a mottled white. The reaction was unexpected.

Wangji hovered uncertainly, afraid to touch him lest he make it worse. Jiang Yanli murmured in a soft soothing voice to him before pulling him close to her. She helped him calm his breathing by urging him to breathe with her, and averted a panic attack.

Even then, Wei Ying’s eyes darted toward the hall doors, looking instinctively for the danger his instincts insisted was there.

He had thought someone had smashed through the doors, Wangji realized. He had a horrible suspicion who Wei Ying had expected, and glanced at Jiang Wanyin, who looked frustrated and helpless. Jin Zixuan had one hand on his sword and was watching with concern.

“Sorry,” Wei Ying croaked.

“Hush, A-Xian,” Jiang Yanli murmured. “We don’t apologize for things that aren’t our fault.”

He nodded shakily.

Jiang Yanli looked at Wangji and seemed to understand what he was thinking, nodding shortly with pressed lips.

Wei Ying, even now, or perhaps especially now after swearing brotherhood with the Jiang siblings, expected Madam Yu to come to finish what she had started in Yunmeng. The fear was unwarranted, particularly surrounded by much of Gusu Lan, who would fight to protect him, even assuming she could get past the wards to enter Cloud Recesses to begin with. But fear was irrational, and after what he had experienced, it was easy to understand his panic.

The banquet was the first time they had joined the entire clan for a meal since the incident, and while previously Wei Ying would have complained of the silence during meals, even the unexpected clatter of dishes was too much for him.

“Wei Ying, would you like to leave?” he asked after a moment.

When his zhiji turned to him, he could see the effort it took him to keep his breathing calm in the clench of his jaw, in the light sweat that had broken out on his upper lip, in the wide gray eyes that struggled to focus on him.

But eventually they focused, as they had during the ceremony, and though Wei Ying’s nod was minute, it was clear getting away from the banquet hall was what he wanted.

A quick glance to Xichen and shufu told him they had noticed Wei Ying’s reaction to the noise. Xiongzhang nodded, and Wangji held out a hand for Wei Ying. His hand was clammy, his grip tight. They were, Wangji realized, altogether too far from the door for comfort, the door at the back of the room and the banquet celebrating the sworn siblings necessitating their presence at the front. That arrangement had been a mistake.

But they barely needed to speak of it to adjust to what was needed. Wei Ying tucked close to Wangji, and Jiang Cheng moved to his other side, as though to shield him. Jiang Yanli murmured something to Jin Zixuan, and he hurried to walk in front of them, Jiang Yanli behind Wei Ying, as though they were flanking him. He could feel a little tension ease from Wei Ying as he realized, as they moved and he was protected.

Outside, the others were able to give him space, and though he clung to Wangji’s arm, his grip on his hand loosened.

He knew from experience that Wei Ying often felt overheated and suffocated during these spells, but the cool mountain air of early evening seemed to help, his breathing easing as they walked. By the time they reached the quarters where his siblings were staying, he was either shivering lightly or trembling from emotion or exhaustion or both.

Jiang Yanli led them inside, had them sit around a small table, and brought a blanket to wrap around Wei Ying’s shoulders when he opted to share a side of the table with Wangji rather than separate.

“Xianxian didn’t eat enough,” she said softly. “But jiejie made soup just in case, and we have all the lovely foods from the betrothal gift to snack on, too. Would you like some?”

At Wei Ying’s nod, she moved to the kitchen area and returned with a tureen and bowls.

“I tried a new soup,” she told them. “Parsnips, mushrooms, water chestnuts, and pork ribs.”

Wei Ying took a sharp breath, tears in his eyes.

“Shi—” he started, then stopped. “Jiejie, you didn’t have to change your recipe for me.”

She set the tureen and bowls down and knelt beside him, cupping his cheek with her hand.

“A-Xian, jiejie will always take care of you. Whatever will help you. I can make new recipes for you.”

Jin Zixuan looked lost, unsurprisingly. Jiang Yanli could explain later.

“I’ll get your qiankun pouches when we take you back to your rooms,” Jiang Wanyin said gruffly. “I told you I’d go through them and get rid of the lotuses.”

Jin Zixuan closed his eyes, pained understanding flickering across his face; he, too, had been there when they were fighting to save Wei Ying beside the lotus-choked water, after all. Wangji had never spoken to him of that day, and likely never would, but he could see the tightening of the Jin heir’s jaw and remembered his anger in Caiyi the day before.

“I will make tea,” he said, standing and moving to the kitchen area.

At his sister’s attention, Wei Ying’s tremors worsened. Wangji knew it was from emotion rather than cold, but Jiang Yanli fussed with the blanket to draw it more securely around him as though it was just the cold, then turned to ladle some soup into a bowl for him.

By the time Jin Zixuan returned with a freshly brewed pot of tea, the soup was served. He poured tea for Jiang Yanli first, then Wei Ying, serving himself last.

She only had eyes for Wei Ying, watching him take the first bite of soup, waiting for his reaction. She looked concerned when a tear slipped down his cheek.

“A-Xian?”

“It’s good,” he whispered. “It’s really good. Better than good.”

Wangji could hear what was left unspoken, implied, that the lotus roots in the original recipe had likely made eating it difficult, despite it having previously been his favorite food. He had likely expected never to enjoy it again.

The flavor was slightly different, but the mild starch of the parsnips, the earthy taste of the mushrooms, and the crunch of the water chestnuts melded well with the salt of the pork ribs. There was a larger array of textures. She had used an array of mushrooms—wood ear, oyster, golden needle, and fragrant mushrooms—and each lent a different texture.

“He’s right,” Jiang Wanyin said. “It’s delicious. I think I like it better.”

“This is amazing, A-Li,” Jin Zixuan murmured in agreement.

Wangji contributed a nod, keeping to the no speech while eating rule.

Jiang Yanli smiled.

“See, Xianxian? You’re helping me make better recipes.”

He ducked his head, almost shy, and she reached forward to dab at his mouth with a napkin.

When they finished the soup, she brought out plates of osmanthus cakes and dried fruit for snacking, and peeled oranges. She kept pressing food into Wei Ying’s hand, and he’d obediently eat it. Orange slices, dried melon, dates, cakes. The lotus seeds that had been in one of the baskets were blessedly nowhere to be seen.

A discussion conference was upcoming in Qinghe, and Jin Zixuan asked Jiang Wanyin if he intended to attend. The mention of a discussion conference made Wei Ying tense, enough that they all noticed it and the Jin heir quickly shifted topics to Nie Huaisang’s latest visit to Koi Tower with his brother, during which he had supposedly captured a rare bird and then accidentally released it while Jin Guangshan was pontificating about something.

The bird had apparently defecated on Jin-zongzhu’s head before escaping out a window.

Wangji was well aware that this had occurred at the previous discussion conference in Lanling, at which time Wei Ying had been fading into himself, mentally separated from the world by his trauma. He had heard the story from xiongzhang, having stayed in Cloud Recesses with Wei Ying.

But it was a tale that seemed new to Wei Ying, who found it hilarious and laughed for nearly a minute when Jin Zixuan, seeing his amusement, took it upon himself to describe his father’s expression, then attempted a demonstration of it.

The ploy to distract was successful, something Wangji had thought Jin Zixuan too socially awkward to pull off, but he had been trying harder and it showed.

“I bet that was on purpose,” Wei Ying commented when he caught his breath. “It’s something Nie-xiong would do.”

“He winked at me, so it’s likely,” Jin Zixuan said dryly. “Right before he started crying hysterically over losing his bird.”

“He probably trained it to shit on Sect Leader Jin. I bet he trained it to return to his rooms, even,” Wei Ying said with a giggle.

That segued into a discussion about silly pranks Nie Huaisang had pulled over the years, some of which were news to Wangji. The conversation didn’t shift to the pranks of others, by design—it would be far too easy to talk about Wei Ying’s pranks, and the one that had occurred at the discussion conference in Yunmeng…

No, Nie Huaisang was a safe topic.

Eventually, Jiang Yanli excused herself to cook dinner, returning with several dishes that made use of the pork from the betrothal baskets, including more soup.

By the time night fell Wei Ying was wilting, relaxed, his stomach full, his exhaustion catching up with him. Though there was still an hour before curfew, escorting him back to his quarters now would give him time to bathe if he wanted.

Since Jin Zixuan and Jiang Yanli were courting and couldn’t be left alone together, the five of them walked together to Wei Ying’s quarters.

Wei Ying opened the door and stepped in, then froze, Suibian dropping from his hand and clattering to the floor. Wangji had only a moment to notice a floral scent before Wei Ying pushed past him and outside quickly, stumbling to his knees at the edge of the porch and retching into the foliage. Before he realized he’d moved, Wangji found himself beside him, and was able to prevent him from tumbling off the porch after the contents of his stomach.

“Wei Ying, what happened?”

“Lotuses,” he croaked, swaying dangerously. “On my desk.”

Wangji felt frozen, angry. He pulled Wei Ying close, heedless of the fact that there was sick on his robes. All that mattered was comforting him. He was shaking almost violently.

“A-Xuan, go find Lan Xichen and Lan Qiren. A-Cheng, stay here until they come.”

Jiang Yanli’s voice was clipped, angry. He heard Jin Zixuan hurry off. A moment later, she was on Wei Ying’s other side, fussing over him.

“Can you walk, A-Xian? Let’s get you to the healers.”

Wei Ying shook his head—Wangji knew he was shaking too much to walk, at the very least.

“I wasted your soup, jiejie,” he said apologetically.

“I’ll make you more later,” she promised, picking up his sword. “Lan-er-gongzi, can you carry him?”

Wangji nodded, and carefully lifted Wei Ying into his arms, carefully avoiding beaning him with Bichen’s hilt and hoping not to induce vertigo and further illness. He was still far too light. Wei Ying closed his eyes, holding onto the front of his robes with a weak grip, leaning his head against Wangji’s chest. He set a quick pace toward the infirmary.

He wondered if he should have been the one to stay and help shufu and xiongzhang investigate, but he was glad Jiang Yanli had allowed him to focus on Wei Ying.

“It said ‘Congratulations,’” Wei Ying murmured, his voice weak. “On the vase.”

It sounded as though he was excusing it as an honest mistake, an attempt to welcome him. But his trembling and the shakiness of his voice betrayed his fear.

“She— she wouldn’t know already, jiejie? Right?”

He was starting to panic, his breath coming in short pants, Wangji recognized, and he walked faster, lengthening his stride despite the fact that it left Jiang Yanli jogging to keep up.

“We didn’t send a note to a-die,” she said. “She couldn’t, A-Xian.”

“She said not to call you jiejie,” he slurred.

Jiang Yanli’s breath caught at that, and when Wangji glanced at her there were tears on her face. He guessed this was just one more thing Wei Ying had hidden from them.

“Wei Ying, breathe with me,” Wangji instructed him.

He kept his own breathing deep and even, and was gratified when Wei Ying tried to match it, tried to keep focus on Wangji. He met his gaze with his own, gold to silver, hoping it helped as it had during the ceremony. By the time they reached the infirmary, Wei Ying’s breathing was nearly normal.

His other symptoms were unalleviated—he could feel Wei Ying’s pulse rabbiting. Sweat freckled his face, and he was still shaking.

The healer on duty was one of those familiar with Wei Ying, having helped with his initial recovery, and she immediately removed his soiled outer robe, which gave Wangji the opportunity to remove his soiled outermost robe as well, and grabbed a small bottle. She placed a drop on her finger and dabbed it under Wei Ying’s nose, and the scent of oranges filled the air.

Oranges, Wangji remembered, could relieve stress and fearful thinking, and even alleviate panic attacks. And it would hopefully help overpower the smell of the lotuses, and perhaps keep Wei Ying from sinking further into the panic attack. The scent of lotuses could easily cause a flashback.

Worse was the risk of qi deviation as a result of his frenzied emotions, something the healers had mentioned he could be more susceptible to after his brush with it at Lotus Pier but hadn’t seemed real until now.

She quickly checked Wei Ying’s meridians, and her visible relief was a balm for Wangji’s worries. The healer led them to one of the smaller rooms in the infirmary, gestured toward the bed, and bustled off in a rush.

Wei Ying’s fist tightened in his robes when he lowered him to the bed, and the involuntary sound that ripped from his lips was so close to a whimper it tore at Wangji’s heart.

“I am here, Wei Ying. I will not leave you.”

He only let go of his robes when Wangji eased his hand into Wei Ying’s, letting him instead cling to that.

Jiang Yanli stepped to the other side of the bed, crouching close. She was still crying.

“I’m here, too, A-Xian. You’re safe. You’re in Cloud Recesses. You’re safe.”

Wei Ying turned his head toward her voice, and she stroked his cheek gently.

“Didi, you’re safe. No one will hurt you here.”

Tears tracked down Wei Ying’s face.

“Don’t go?” he asked, looking between them.

His voice was shaky and weak, his eyelids drooping, and Wangji knew he would sleep soon against his will, his body wrung out from the stress of the ceremony, the near panic attack at the banquet, the full panic attack with the lotuses, and how they triggered his trauma. Added to the fear, rational or not, that Yu Ziyuan would punish him for swearing brotherhood with Jiang Yanli and Jiang Wanyin, and it was a testament to Wei Ying’s strength that he hadn’t lapsed into a fading episode.

“We will stay,” Wangji assured him.

“Rest, A-Xian,” Jiang Yanli told him, placing Suibian beside him on the bed where he could reach it. “We’re here to protect you.”

He nodded, struggling to keep his eyes open anyway.

She took a seat on the bed beside him and carefully removed the guan to let his hair loose, untying both the red ribbon and the Gusu Lan ribbon. She gently tied the latter around Wei Ying’s wrist.

“There,” she said. “To remind you that you’re safe here. You’re a Lan disciple, and you’re protected.”

Wei Ying managed a weak smile—tremulous, but there.

“Thank you, jiejie,” he whispered.

That he had called her ‘jiejie’ despite fearing reprisal was a good sign, Wangji hoped.

Jiang Yanli smiled back, wiping the tears from his face with her sleeve and carding her fingers through his hair in a comforting motion.

She placed the guan, hairstick, and ribbon on the table near the bed. By the time she turned back, Wei Ying’s eyes were closed, and he had faded into sleep. She covered him with the blanket at the foot of the bed.

The healer returned shortly thereafter, carrying a tray with a basin and several vials. She sighed in relief.

“I didn’t want to give him a sedative unless it was absolutely necessary,” she said.

“He thinks he’s in danger,” Jiang Yanli told her, her voice sad. “That could have made it worse.”

The healer frowned.

“Lotuses were left in his room,” she clarified. “He… I found him beside a lotus pond.”

“Is he in danger?”

They had no answer for the healer, Wangji realized.

“Xiongzhang and shufu will investigate,” he said after a moment.

That seemed to satisfy the healer, and she set the tray on the table that held Wei Ying’s guan. The basin was filled with hot water, a heating talisman affixed, and the steam that rose from it smelled faintly of bergamot.

“He’s had a scare. I want him to stay overnight, just in case. I will arrange for bedding. I presume Jiang-gongzi will be coming?”

“He will,” Jiang Yanli confirmed. “May I use the water to wash my brother’s face? He was ill.”

The sheen of sweat on Wei Ying’s face still glinted in the candlelight, and Wangji realized the corners of his mouth had remnants of his lost dinner.

“Of course, Jiang-guniang.”

The healer bowed, then left the room. He thought he heard a murmur of ‘that poor child’ from the hallway, but he said nothing. The healer, at least, cared for Wei Ying’s well-being. He could not be certain that whoever left the vase of lotuses did not do so out of malice, and all of Gusu Lan was suspect until xiongzhang and shufu could confirm otherwise.

If he had to protect Wei Ying from his own people, Wangji would do so without hesitation.

Jiang Yanli’s hands were gentle when she wiped Wei Ying’s face, and he was so deeply asleep he didn’t stir. When she finished, she moved to the foot of the bed, lifting the blanket to remove his shoes before tucking it back around him.

Before long, Jiang Wanyin joined them, taking a seat by the foot of the bed between Wei Ying and the door, as though they were again flanking him to keep him protected, to keep him safe.

“They’re asking the servants,” the Jiang heir said after watching his brother for a bit. “Jin Zixuan is airing out his rooms. I lit incense before leaving, so that should help, too.”

“A-Xian can stay in our quarters tomorrow if he needs to,” Jiang Yanli said.

It was unfair, Wangji thought angrily, for Wei Ying to face this setback after finally getting his feet under him, after starting to recover in earnest.

They lapsed into silence, and Wangji focused on Wei Ying’s even breaths, using them to ground himself, to slip into a light meditation that nonetheless left him aware of his surroundings in case he needed to provide a defense.

He heard xiongzhang’s soft voice, talking to the healer, before he entered the room. Xichen offered a wan smile when Wangji opened his eyes. The Jiang siblings started to get to their feet but stopped when he held up a hand to stop them.

“We spoke to the servants. They received a note this morning informing them of the ceremony, and that lotuses might be appropriate as a celebratory gift. Shufu is looking further into this, but it may have been an innocent gesture.”

Jiang Wanyin looked irritated, but Jiang Yanli sighed.

“A-Xian thought as much, but then he… he also panicked that a-niang might have learned, that they might be a warning.”

“He’s too forgiving,” her brother muttered. “I’m not going back until a-die makes me. Not until I’m sure A-Xian’s safe.”

Xiongzhang nodded, looking tired.

“Understandable, Jiang-gongzi. You are welcome here. I also received a missive from Qishan that Wen-zongzhu will be visiting to discuss some trade details tomorrow, and he’s bringing Wen Qing. She can examine Wei-gongzi to make sure he’s suffered no ill effects.”

The Jiang siblings exchanged a look, twin troubled expressions on their faces.

“Because of the risk of qi deviation?” Jiang Yanli asked after a pregnant pause.

“Yes, though it’s unclear whether he is still at risk. She can check to make sure,” Xichen said. “The servants have been informed that no lotuses are to be in public locations, and especially not in Wei-gongzi’s quarters.”

“Or in our quarters,” Jiang Wanyin added. “He visits a lot, with a-jie cooking for him.”

“It is quieter there than in the dining hall,” Wangji added softly.

Xichen offered a smile that seemed sadder than the usual one that graced his face, looking at Wei Ying’s sleeping form with a soft sigh. He and shufu had warned that his journey to recovery would be long, and though Wangji had thought he understood at the time, he’d not expected this. He was fairly certain xiongzhang hadn’t expected it, either.

Perhaps not even Wei Ying had realized how badly he would be impacted by the sight and smell of lotuses, having avoided them for so long.

And likely so many emotional things had occurred in the past several days, and the stress had compounded the issue, making what had previously been endurable into a major trigger for his trauma.

“Of course,” Xichen said. “You will be brought bedding so you may spend the night here more comfortably. If anything else is needed, Wangji knows where to find me.”

“Please thank Lan-xiansheng for us, as well,” Jiang Yanli said respectfully.

The Jiang siblings rose, insisting this time on bowing to Xichen despite his obvious discomfort.

Not too long afterward, several servants arrived with bedding, and the three of them discussed sleeping arrangements. One of them, they decided, should be awake at all times, in case Wei Ying woke and needed comfort in the night, and Wangji volunteered for the first watch.

Truly, even though his body was accustomed to sleeping at hai shi, Wangji knew tonight sleep would be elusive.

------------

Wood ear mushrooms are amazing. My sister in law is from China and so I’ve had the opportunity to try a variety of dishes, and I love the ones she uses black fungus in. Yum! Also, fragrant mushrooms are shiitake mushrooms, and golden needle mushrooms are enoki. Since those are Japanese, I decided to use the translations of the Chinese names.

Anyway, no, this isn’t a real recipe as far as I know, but lotus root can be substituted by water chestnuts or parsnips (or daikon, though we know how Wei Wuxian feels about that), and since parsnips may have a milder flavor the mushrooms would potentially fix that, and maybe add back the nutritional value of lotus roots? I have sadly not had either recipe, though they both sound tasty af.

Research for this chapter included whether parsnips were in ancient China, mushrooms native to China, when and where lemons were first hybridized (which I then decided to change to orange and bergamot), and various symptoms of panic attacks (because although I sometimes get them everyone’s symptoms vary).

Didn’t expect the chapter to be this long, but I’m sure no one minds.

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whyamistillwatchingtheseshows · 4 years

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5 BL Male Characters I Love

Tagged by @negrowhat

1. Lan Wangji from the Untamed (which we only categorize as BL when technically it’s not but it is because of original source material but its not because of censorship but it is because of the actors Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo perfecting a peak level of pining, falling in love, and confession all through body language and stares...and perhaps a script that was delicately woven...even if lost in a bit of translation.)

Picking LWJ is me probably thinking more like “Choose Your Fighter.” That being said he’s probably my dream fantasy character. Full on, no joke. If I could be reincarnated into favorite characters, Lan Wangji would probably be my number one choice. Why you ask? Most people think of him as cold, unemotional, but honestly I think he’s so hypersensitive. It’s just not outwardly so like his equally hypersensitive husband. Wangji established himself as the fierce warrior with no voice, always finding the chaos, but soon enough, he found that voice. Found ways to be more expressive. Was it because of one man? Yes, probably, but either way I love this pining gay warrior.

2. Fighter from Why RU?

This boy, this character for me is the kind where I *hiss* and say stay away from me probably because at first he’s got that “fuck boy” attitude. Sort of like a mixture of seemingly arrogant with a dose of I’m sexy and I know it? Moving passed that (false judgment which actually now feels more descriptive of Tutor- he might be the fuck boy because I just thought of that scene where the basketball knocks shit out his hands and Fight’s trying to apologize and pick up his things and Tutor’s all like I can take care of myself, jumping on him for just being helpful...) Except somehow I find myself drawn to Fight. There’s something about him before he even talks to you (after you’ve made several wrong assumptions about this let’s just say stupidly good looking person), where you’re like yeah I’m already gone. What did you say? Oh, hi! You said hi. That’s cool. My name? Oh, I forgot my name...once you get passed that and actually get to know this character it’d make it far worse, because honestly I think it’s pretty clear that Fighter is unbelievably kind (+plus sweet, romantic, goofy) and for awhile there it looked like he was only kind to others (except Tutor when he had him alone) but he did in public spaces try to get him drinks and take care of him (thinking of that canteen scene where Tutor is so against the drink that Fight instead offers it up to Hwa). What I also like about Fighter is that he’s against confrontation unless he must go into defensive mode and if he does you better watch it.

3. Sun from Dark Blue Kiss (really thought I’d choose Mork)

It’s a close draw between the two of them, tbh. However, Sun might win the gauntlet because I feel more akin to him for some odd reason. Okay, so maybe it is both of them. So I’ll cheat on number 3 (sidenote did I already cheat on #2 because I talked an awful lot about Tutor too)?

They have that constant “fight me” attitude, sometimes in a playful way and sometimes (maybe mostly) aggressively, but then of course somehow they turn out to be a pile of squishy, gooey, mush like fresh baked choco chip cookie. Maybe a little crisp on the edges, but in the middle it’s that ooey gooey goodness.

4. King from My Engineer

What is the Forest/Plant King? Chaotic good? Who knows, but I think I fell for him because they did solid character development for such a silly show. There was build up and pay off even on an individual level despite the pairing, if that makes sense. I think it’s also safe to say he’s basically a pure soul and why would anyone ever want to harm him. Yet, as we saw his head cannot be put through anymore...plus, he’s got an immeasurable amount of patience to work with Ram’s choice of rarely talking.

5. Type from TharnType which is basically TharnType...

You know doing these and trying to separate them from their equally great partner is difficult. Thought I’d definitely go all WangXian with the first choice, however, I’m realizing it’s incredibly difficult to separate these two. They seem more glued to each other than FighterTutor. More emotionally and physically invested in the other than WangXian as well. I choose Type because he’s actually on a top 3 list in my head of characters that I feel most similar too. Somehow he makes it to the #3 spot on that list. Number 1 being Dean Winchester (from SPN) and #2 actually being #2 from this list. I think what gets me about Type is that same “fight me” attitude MorkSun have, and like them Type will go to town for the ones he loves. Yet of course, Type is also ooey gooey chocolate chip cookie goodness on the inside. He can be sweet, kind, romantic. After all, it’s still going to take him a lot of time to let go of his repressed anger and actually stop being so aggressive (though I think some of that hotheadedness ran in the family)!!

No one asked for long drawn out explanations, but if you thought I could be brief. I can’t so I’m probably more like Wei Wuxian, but I aspire to have the resolve of Lan Wangji. I want to also honorable mention Tang Yi, if not just to shout out History 3 Trapped as a kick ass show. There’s also Two from Theory of Love. Then there’s also Shin from 3 Will Be Free, or the poly throuple that is NeoShinMiw because that you cannot make me break up. Then there’s also Win from Until We Meet Again. This list could be longer than 5 because in all truthfulness every character from each show I’ve watched has a sort of pros and cons list in my head....

Tagging @lostinbl @this-solaris-life @flower-of-the-desert @romanceismycallingcard @musicdramalove @occasionally-writing

#the untamed #why r u the series #dark blue kiss #my engineer #tharntype

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hamburgergod · 4 years

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Quarantine Tag

thank you @ozonecologne for tagging me!! :D

Top 3 ships:

currently my brain is nothing but

Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, the untamed

and based on past passions

Dean and Cas, spn

Costis and Kamet, queen’s thief

Last movie you watched:

The Half of It on netflix!! It was really cute and also very relatable as a wlw who was born in Korea but moved to Canada as a kid

Reading:

The last physical book I read was Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik which was highly enjoyable!! My friend recced it knowing I’d like it and she was right!

The last book I actually read was Modao Zushi by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu, which the drama The Untamed is based on. I might potentially make a separate post about this later depending on how feisty i’m feeling/how much energy i have, but: I enjoyed the novel itself which was really fun and enjoyable especially because I already knew and loved the characters going in, and also because I knew going into it that it’s written under BL which comes with a certain set of expectations, tropes, characteristics, and elements involved with the genre (much like how you’d involve a certain set of expectations/tropes with a romcom or horror genre) so I went in fully prepared to power through potential encounters with any of the above. so if you:

plan on reading it and you’re not aware of these ongoing issues within the BL genre

and you’re not me who had an ongoing brain filter while reading and cherry-picked what I wanted out of the novel,

are triggered by mentions of rape, or explicit noncon/dubcob

I HIGHLY suggest you either read all the trigger warnings involved (I’m sure there’s a post out there about it) or just... like... feel free to talk to me about it so I can warn you properly.

What food are you craving right now:

god damn motherfucking oreos I’ve been craving them for a full month and still haven’t been able to get any of them

I’m tagging @hearthmistress @you-didnt @salsalahna @stitchingandwitching @jennilah @hellosaidthemoons-archives @princessniitza @minutia-r @clotpoleofthelord !! only if you want to, of course!!

#haven't done one of these in a long time! thanks for tagging me again :D #game response #went on a bit of a rant there but what else is new

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forerussake · 2 years

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I posted 1.068 times in 2021

129 posts created (12%)

939 posts reblogged (88%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 7.3 posts.

I added 2.149 tags in 2021

#the deeds that we shall queue - 667 posts

#tolkien - 492 posts

#artist appreciation - 415 posts

#reblog - 133 posts

#cql - 132 posts

#lotr - 98 posts

#rl - 72 posts

#mdzs - 47 posts

#lan wangji - 47 posts

#maglor - 46 posts

Longest Tag: 137 characters

#i’m a bit better now looking at those pictures helps somewhat but on the other hand it also makes me long even more for what i can’t have

My Top Posts in 2021

Fingolfin :)

120 notes • Posted 2021-06-17 20:56:46 GMT

Gondolin headcanons

1. The idea of the Houses originates from the trek across the Helcaraxë. Turgon’s followers were spread out in a thin line and Turgon couldn’t reach them all, so some people spontaneously started taking up the role of captains over smaller groups. These groups later became the Houses and the ‘captains’ their Lords.

2. Originally, Gondolin counted 6 Houses, the Houses of the Tree and the Pillar of Snow were later additions as the Sindarin popularion of the city grew, the Houses of the Mole and the White Wing would later make it 10

3. The Houses function as political and economic units within the city. Every citizen is part of one (if only for administrative purposes).

4. The House of the Pillar of Snow became a refuge for orphans after the Nirnaeth Arnoediad.

5. While Gondolin is theoretically a monarchy, in practice it functions more like an oligarchy. The city is ruled by majority vote by a Council made up of the Lords and the King. Turgon doesn’t have any more voting power than the Lords do, with the exception that he has a veto he can use “in extreme circumstances”. This last phrase isn’t actually very clearly defined by law, which causes problems later on.

6. While Turgon is technically the highest judge the Gondolindrim can appeal to, he doesn’t actually do much adjudicating. Most court cases are handled by the Lords and lower magistrates.

7. Gondolin is divided into districts based on the Houses. The Lords are the highest power in each district. They rule their own districts as they see fit in accordance with Gondolin law as written by the Council.

8. Because the districts are ruled individually they have developed very distinct architectural styles. The District of the Fountain has muted colours and many canals and elegant bridges. The District of the Golden Flower uses warmer tones, flower-patterned tiles, tons of mosaic. The District of the Tree is very garden-y: many large parks, very little tiled road infrastructure only where necessary.

9. While the Houses are pretty strictly separated this way there is actually a lot of interaction between them both for social and economic purposes. The city can’t run without any of them. There is actually a lot of intermarriage between the Houses too.

10. It is possible to live and/or work in the district of one House but be a part of another. Especially in the later years it’s actually pretty common, although it is a bit of an administrative nightmare.

11. The official state language of Gondolin is Quenya, but Sindarin quickly became the more prevalent language spoken in the streets.

139 notes • Posted 2021-01-29 11:04:14 GMT

Maglor and his baby brother Caranthir in Tirion. I have a headcanon that of all Maglor’s brothers Caranthir is the most gifted at and interested in music. Young Caranthir spent a lot of time listening to Maglor practicing :)

For day 2 and 4 of @feanorianweek 2021

150 notes • Posted 2021-03-19 20:18:13 GMT

I read Gil-galad as son of Orodreth, not because I dislike the idea of Fingon having a son, or because I think it’s more practical narrative-wise, none of that. I read him as the son of Orodreth because of the thematical implications of him being a descendant of Finarfin.

Because if he is a descendant of Finarfin, then the Silmarillion ends with someone from that line on the throne on either side of the sea.

If he is a descendant of Finarfin, then the people who were never supposed to rule have to bear the crown on either side of the sea.

If he is a descendant of Finarfin, his rule proves that Finarfin was right all along, that rash action is never the answer, that kindness goes a long way, that even the smallest persons, the forgotten son and the son of forgotten sons, can be kings one day.

And this son of forgotten sons is the longest-ruling high king on this side of the sea.

This son of forgotten sons has a descendant of Fingolfin at his right hand, but Elrond never picks up the crown even after Gil-galad’s death, so the line of kings end with him.

Gil-galad being the son of Orodreth is thematically meaningful because it brings a closure to the Silmarillion that any other readings of his parentage do not, and I think it’s too beautiful to ignore.

384 notes • Posted 2021-03-26 11:13:35 GMT

The Silmarillion is a book full of deep pain and indescribable loss. It is a story about cataclysmic conflict, about war and death and destruction. It is a story about destructive relationships and severed bonds. It is a story about what fear and desperation can lead people to do. But, it remains a Tolkien story, and so it is also a story about hope. It is a story about looking for the light when everything goes dark. It is a story about determination and love that knows no bounds. A story about not giving up in the face dangerous quests and seemingly unconquerable odds. It is a story of finding allies in the most unlikely places. It is a Tolkien story, and that means that hope is never truly lost, because sometimes if you feel like you’ve lost yourself, it’s really just taking a detour to finding the truest version of you. Aurë entuluva, the day will come again, you just have to keep moving long enough to see the sunrise.

603 notes • Posted 2021-04-21 12:18:46 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

#my 2021 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #:)

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heuheu-art · 3 years

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#ShowYourProcess

From planning to posting, share your process for making creative content!

To continue supporting content makers, this tag game is meant to show the entire process of making creative content: this can be for any creation.

RULES — When your work is tagged, show the process of its creation from planning to posting, then tag 5 people with a specific link to one of their creative works you’d like to see the process of. Use the tag #showyourprocess so we can find yours!

I was tagged by @alightbuthappypen whose own process post you can find here! I was tagged for this piece.

I’m not sure who has and hasn’t already done this and there’s no pressure to do so, but if you’re up for it I’d love to see

@sweetlittlevampire your process for these pieces

@modao18 your process for this piece

@yutaan your process for this piece

@sadfishkid your process for this piece

and @hawberries your process for these pieces!

1. Planning

I’d seen art of Lan Wangji branding himself and art of Wei Wuxian as a ghost during the 13/16 years, but never anything that combined the two, so I decided to fill that niche myself.

I tend to spend a lot of time thinking about what I want the piece to look like before I start drawing. Once I’ve spent far too much time doing that, I start sketching. I often take my own photo reference for poses and sometimes I won’t draw anything before I have these references, but for this piece I didn’t quite know how I wanted it to look yet, so I did a couple of initial sketches.

I initially visualised a scene immediately after the branding, Lan Wangji on his knees, hunched over in pain, with Wei Wuxian’s ghost looking horrified and pained at what he’d done. I imagined using some environmental storytelling - the iron still white hot, the empty jar of Emperor’s Smile - to inform the viewer of what was happening.

I eventually settled on a much more intimate framing. The scene also became much more ambiguous than what I initially planned. It could be Wei Wuxian’s ghost we’re seeing, but he could also be a figment of Lan Wangji’s imagination. Wei Wuxian is gripping Lan Wangji’s wrist, but is he trying to stop him or is he just holding onto the wrist with his own ribbon wrapped around it?

2. Creation

I draw everything with Paint Tool SAI and my little Wacom Intuos tablet that I’ve had for like 6 years now.

Once I have my photo references, I do the sketch, then the lineart.

These days, the next step is to give the piece value, i.e. put it in black and white. I then put colour on top of the greyscale. This wasn’t part of my process when I created this piece however, so I moved directly on to colour and shading.

I start with base colours first, putting every colour on a separate layer, i.e. one layer for “skin”, one layer for “hair”. It means I routinely end up with over 100 layers on my more ambitious pieces, but it makes it easier for me to alter colours quickly. It also makes the shading stage go a lot quicker.

Deciding exactly which colours to use is ... a lengthy process. This time has been cut down considerably now that I use values in my work. I went through a few different colour variants for this piece before eventually settling on something more vibrant.

The very final step is colouring the lineart. I always leave this part until I’m absolutely sure I won’t be altering the colours of the rest of the piece anymore.

3. Posting

I don’t post my art immediately, I usually try to wait a day so I can look at it with a critical eye and change anything that needs changing before it’s seen by anyone else. I use this time to look at the piece on different devices, i.e. my pc, my phone, to see how it looks on different screens. (Things tend to look a lot more vibrant on my phone, so I use that to judge whether the colours need to be toned down a little.) After I’m sure there’s nothing else that needs to be altered, I post it!

#showyourprocess

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rosethornewrites · 3 years

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Fic: the thread may stretch or tangle but it will never break, ch. 13

Additional Tags: Pre-Slash, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Secrets, Crying, Masks, Soulmates, Truth, Self-Esteem Issues, Regret, It was supposed to be a one-shot, Fix-It, Eventual Relationships, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, wwx needs a hug, Nightmares, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Filial Piety, Handfasting, Phobias, Sleeping Together, Fear, Panic Attacks, Love Confessions, Getting Together, First Kiss, Kissing, Boys Kissing, Family, and they were married, Bathing/Washing, Hair Braiding, Hair Brushing, Feels, Sex Education, Implied Sexual Content, First Time, Aftercare, Morning After, Afterglow, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Torture, Scars, Eventual Happy Ending, Hand Jobs

Summary: Wei Wuxian has a difficult start to the day, Lan Wangji learns something he didn't expect, and Wen Qing oversees a unique medical experiment.

Notes: Intended to get further in this, but was at a good stopping point and already over 3K words. We don’t know a whole lot about Wei Wuxian’s time with the Wen in Burial Mounds. While it’s unlikely he dealt with near-possession, the shift of Lan Wangji staying changed a lot of things. They could afford more crops, so he had to clear the resentment from more land. That combined with the emotional exhaustion from talking to Lan Xichen left him open. Unintended consequences.

AO3 link

Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12

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Wei Ying, when Lan Wangji wakes him for breakfast in the morning, is alarmingly withdrawn. His eyes are hazy, unfocused. He barely reacts when Lan Wangji places his bowl of breakfast in his hands, and ultimately he feeds him. It is a slow process, Wei Ying sometimes needing prompting.

If not for his reluctance to leave his husband alone in such a state, he would go looking for Wen Qing. Instead he focuses on feeding him and having him drink the medicine Wen Ning brought with breakfast.

By the time she arrives, Wei Ying has slipped back to sleep.

“It’s the pain, and probably one of his bad days on top of it,” she tells him when he asks.

Wei Ying, he learns, often sequesters himself from the others, sometimes not leaving the cave for several days. He spends that time feverishly inventing cultivation tools.

“It’s a distraction,” she says, sounding tired. “Whatever is going on in his mind, he’s trying to distract himself from it however he can—he’d probably numb himself with alcohol if we had it.”

Nightmares, Lan Wangji is certain, and the trauma of his experiences, perhaps his own lack of self-worth driving a need to be useful through his inventions.

If Wei Ying is suffering today, the pain prevents him from using his normal coping mechanisms. And Lan Wangji would rather he not use drinking as one—and he suspects Wen Qing feels similarly, as jifu has brewed more fruit wine.

Since they’re waiting for Wen Ning to return with the bathtub so the hot water can ease Wei Ying’s pain a bit before they try their musical acupuncture experiment, Wen Qing leads him to a nearby stone “table” covered in papers. They’re haphazard, scrawled half-ideas interrupted by new ones, occasional doodles, a true mess. There’s no organization even within one page, only a sort of jumble of thoughts in smeared ink.

Lan Wangji hates the idea that his husband’s mental state could mirror those pages on his bad days.

“He hasn’t had one of his bad days since you came,” she says, her tone approving. “You’re good for him. Yesterday was just… a lot.”

He can only nod in response; it had been difficult for him, as well, but Wei Ying had bared a secret he had not willingly told anyone, had made himself vulnerable—and at Lan Wangji’s request. Even had he not suffered the near-possession, today may have been a bad day for him regardless.

“I’ll put together a sachet for the bath, something to relax his muscles and ease the pain,” Wen Qing says. “Let him sleep until A-Ning gets back.”

He returns to Wei Ying’s side when she leaves. He is pale and still as he sleeps, his lips parted slightly as he breathes, his breath easy and calm. The dark circles under his eyes are still prominent, and Lan Wangji hopes it is a healing sleep.

Lan Wangji spends a shichen meditating beside Wei Ying while keeping attuned to him in case his sleep is disturbed. Wen Ning returns, carrying a large bathtub already filled as though it weighs nothing, and carefully sets it down without sloshing the water over.

“I cannot use t-talismans anymore,” the young man says, almost in apology. “Jiejie put a sachet in already. She said t-to only let him soak for a quarter shichen, then have him drink water.”

“Thank you, Wen Ning.”

He rises and bows, and Wen Ning makes a disgruntled sound.

“Y-you shouldn’t bow t-to me, Lan-er-gongzi!”

Lan Wangji shakes his head.

“You are helping my husband,” he says.

“I would help him anyway.”

“All the more reason to show you courtesy.”

Wen Ning seems to recognize Lan Wangji will not budge on this issue, and finally just nods.

“Jiejie said she would check on him in half a shichen, and to t-try the acupuncture idea.”

Lan Wangji has little choice but to accept Wen Ning’s bow before he leaves; protesting it would be hypocritical.

After affixing a warming talisman to the tub, he turns his focus back to Wei Ying. He tries to wake him pleasantly, with soft murmurs and touches, and after a few minutes rouses him enough to explain about the tub.

Wei Ying is barely able to help when Lan Wangji undresses him, only just awake. He frowns to find bruises on his skin that hadn’t been there the night before. He hoped Wen Qing would know what had caused them.

He knows his robes will just get wet, so he strips himself to his zhong yi trousers.

He doesn’t bother trying to get Wei Ying to walk once he is undressed, just scoops him into his arms and carries him to the tub. Wei Ying lets out a soft moan as Lan Wangji lowers him into the hot water and settles him, careful to keep his braided hair out of the water. Wei Ying grabs his arm before he can completely withdraw from the water.

“Stay?”

Lan Wangji can deny him nothing, so nods, settling beside the tub and holding Wei Ying’s hand under the water. The rising steam has an earthy mint aroma, and he hopes the bath and Wen Qing’s sachet of herbs are helping ease his pain.

“You’re always here for me,” Wei Ying murmurs, his voice distant, sleepy.

“I have not been before.”

He regrets that, seeing the pain his husband, his zhiji, has endured. He thinks perhaps it will always be a regret, having waited too long to support him.

Wei Ying frowns at him, his eyes hazy. He draws Lan Wangji’s hand to his chest over his healed brand scar, over his heart.

“You have. Here.”

“Wei Ying,” he breathes, overcome by the gesture.

“Like that. I heard you, the first time. When I was here.”

Lan Wangji frowns, confused. Wei Ying’s eyes slide shut and he sighs softly.

“I thought it was the end, when they dropped me here. All that resentful energy howling at me all around, asking if I wanted revenge. I was ready to give up and just… let it end. But I heard you call my name. Your voice. I wanted to try to see you again.”

Wei Ying’s voice is barely audible at the end, and after several breaths Lan Wangji realizes he’s fallen back to sleep. He feels raw, knowing this, knowing Wei Ying tried to survive for him, to return to him, just to see him, expecting to be hated for what he had to do to survive.

He curls closer to the tub and kisses the top of Wei Ying’s head, burying his face in his hair.

“I’m glad you did, Wei Ying,” he whispers. “I’m so glad you did.”

There is moisture in Wei Ying’s hair, and it takes a moment for Lan Wangji to realize it’s from his own tears. He has never doubted Wei Ying loves him, but the depth of his love is overwhelming, that Wei Ying refused to give up in the face of certain death for the chance to see him again. Even the spectre of Lan Wangji had comforted him in his lowest moment.

Lan Wangji simply holds his husband, as much as is possible separated by a wooden tub, and tries not to think. Tries not to wonder what might have happened had he not discovered Wei Ying’s secret, had he walked down the mountain and returned to Gusu as he had intended, had he left Wei Ying to suffer alone. Tries not to be angry with himself for having been so willing to abandon his husband for the sake of rules—what rule is worth more than Wei Ying?

Finally, he estimates it has been quarter shichen and he hooks an arm under Wei Ying’s knees, the other around his back, and lifts him out of the tub.

Wei Ying shivers in his arms, wrinkling his nose and letting out a whine at the chill of the air. Lan Wangji sets him on the embroidered blanket on the bed, wrapping him in it—the material will absorb the water, and he can hang it to dry later. Wei Ying’s features smooth over, and he stirs, murmuring his name.

“I am here, airen. I will not leave you.”

Never again, he promises. Every time he leaves Wei Ying, terrible things happen to him. He will defend him, care for him, and keep him safe.

Wei Ying smiles sleepily at him.

“Did they get a tub for popo, too?” he asks.

Lan Wangji wants to clutch him close, this man who cares so much for others and yet so little for himself, but instead he pets his hair and leans in to kiss him softly.

“I did not ask.”

Wei Ying huffs softly, turning his head into Lan Wangji’s touch.

“Hope they did. Bath was nice.”

He wonders if Wei Ying remembers what he said, his revelation, but he doesn’t address it. It does not need to be addressed. He knows now, and he will not forget.

“Wen Qing added an herb sachet. How is your pain?”

“Tolerable,” Wei Ying murmurs with a soft hum.

Lan Wangji knows that could just as easily mean it is intolerable, but Wei Ying won’t admit it even if that is the case. Regardless, he must be feeling at least slightly better than before the soak—he is more present now.

He remembers he was to have Wei Ying drink water and he pours a cup from a nearby ewer. He lifts Wei Ying into a sitting position and helps him drink, refilling the cup a couple of times until he’s sated.

“We will attempt that musical acupuncture cultivation idea when Wen Qing comes,” he says, easing him back down.

Wei Ying nods, but grimaces.

“Wei Ying?”

“Hate needles,” he murmurs. “That’s all.”

“I will be here with you.”

It is all Lan Wangji can promise, but when Wei Ying smiles softly at him, he hopes perhaps it is enough.

Lan Wangji makes sure Wei Ying is dry within the blanket, then helps him into his zhong yi trousers—reluctantly, after Wei Ying looks at him through long lowered lashes and asks if it’s time for their every day. Had they had the time for it, without the threat of Wen Qing walking in on them, he wouldn’t hesitate.

He does not hesitate to kiss him breathless, to hold him close, and he hopes it is enough for now.

He knows acupuncture will require Wei Ying to be mostly nude, so he only bothers him with the trousers for now, wrapping him back in the blanket and kissing him soundly.

He is just finishing with the belt over his outer robe when Wen Qing enters carrying a basket.

“You look better than this morning,” she tells Wei Ying bluntly, and he laughs softly.

“Your medicine and the herbal bath helped, Qing-jie.”

That elicits a smile from her, and she settles beside him on the bed.

“He has bruises.”

Lan Wangji pulls back the blanket to show her, and is relieved when she only nods.

“His muscles spasmed violently when he was fighting the possession. They’ll heal, but there was damage.”

She turns to Wei Ying.

“You made it worse for yourself, you know.”

Wei Ying looks away, frowning.

“I didn’t know if she would hurt A-Yuan. I couldn’t risk it.”

Wen Qing’s expression softens, but she still huffs at him irritably.

“And you wonder why he adopted you as his dad.”

She pulls a set of acupuncture needles from the basket, and if Wei Ying intended to protest her comment, he thinks better of it, eyeing the needles distrustfully.

“I want to work on your back first,” she tells him. “Since we don’t know the effects, we’ll start slow and be careful. You need to let us know if it hurts, Wei Wuxian.”

He nods, still eying the needles. Lan Wangji helps him turn over, pooling the blanket over his lower body and tucking it around him to give him at least some warmth. He holds Wei Ying’s hand, hoping to offer comfort as Wen Qing inserts her needles.

Wen Qing stays fairly quiet as she works, simply letting them know she’s targeting muscles rather than meridians for the first stage of the experiments, hoping to determine whether a directed distribution of qi will accelerate the healing process.

“I don’t want to try the meridians just yet,” she says eventually. “It may flush out the resentful energy, and I don’t know how that would affect you. It might make you feel better, but...”

Lan Wangji thinks perhaps he understands her recalcitrance; Wei Ying has been cultivating resentful energy for so long, flushing it out could be a shock to his system. And, living in Burial Mounds, surrounded by resentful energy, it could easily just make him more vulnerable.

He wishes he could take Wei Ying from here, take them all from here to a place less tainted by death. Perhaps that can eventually be accomplished, but for now he can do nothing.

“I can’t lose hold of it,” Wei Ying murmurs. “Not and control the seal.”

A chill washes through Lan Wangji at the reminder of the weapon, that terrible dark tool that had won the war for the cultivation world, while making Wei Ying a target for the power-hungry. Lan Wangji knows such a tool must be hard to control—even spiritual tools can harm the user when a wielder cannot keep control.

Wen Qing makes a face.

“I wish you’d destroy that awful thing.”

“Can’t. It’s a deterrent. And the backlash from destroying it would be pretty bad.”

Wei Ying sounds almost grieved, as though he would prefer to destroy it.

“If we could ward against the backlash?” Lan Wangji asks.

“It’s the only thing keeping us from being massacred at the moment,” Wei Ying says bitterly. “Otherwise I’d be all for it. The seal recognizes no master, and it’s too dangerous to exist.”

Lan Wangji frowns at the information, concerned. He wonders how much energy Wei Ying has been using to keep it under control—hasn’t, in fact, seen it since his arrival in Burial Mounds. He hopes his husband doesn’t carry it around with him.

Wen Qing finishes placing her needles and stands, and Lan Wangji squeezes Wei Ying’s hand before letting go to pull out his guqin.

He decides to start with a minor healing song, something not terribly invasive, instilling his qi into the notes. Wei Ying’s breathing quickens, and Lan Wangji tries to keep his attention on the music, reminding himself that Wen Qing is the one with medical expertise, is the one monitoring. And, he notices, is directing the spiritual energy into the acupuncture needles.

“Pain?” she asks.

“No,” Wei Ying says, his voice strained. “It’s… warm. Good.”

Lan Wangji lets out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding and turns his attention to the music, letting all his focus go to the task. Wei Ying is always cold, and he idly wonders if that’s what resentful energy feels like—cold. He remembers him shivering with fever in the cave after the battle with the Xuanwu, and wonders if that was more than fever, if perhaps that was in part the cold of the resentful energy from the sword.

Wen Qing eventually touches his shoulder, and he stills his strings. She gestures toward Wei Ying. At a glance, he can already see the bruising has faded. He takes Wei Ying’s hand again and finds his husband is sound asleep, his face utterly relaxed.

“I’d call that a success, at least tentatively,” Wen Qing comments.

She takes Wei Ying’s other wrist, clearly examining his meridians.

“It didn’t clear out much resentment, but that’s expected given we were targeting his muscles. It may have cleared out some of what’s seeped into his body, which would be good.”

“It’s seeped into his body?” Lan Wangji asks, trying not to be alarmed.

She nods, sighing, and begins the process of removing her needles.

“It’s damaging, of course. He doesn’t complain, but we try not to ask him to do too much. He’s probably in some level of pain constantly, and the possession made it worse. I hope this helps.”

Lan Wangji wishes he had known, but also knows there’s little he could have done if he had. Throughout the war, he had watched Wei Ying, taken in his increasingly pinched features, his tense posture, his temper. He had worried it was the resentful energy, and he finds it doesn’t make him happy to have been right. Wei Ying had felt he had to suffer it alone, and now remains quiet about his pain. Perhaps his constant pain contributes to his bad days, as well.

He can see the difference now, how his muscles are relaxed in a way they haven’t been even when Wei Ying slept.

“I think letting him sleep before another session is best,” Wen Qing comments as she removes the last of her needles. “It will allow us to see the impact later.”

He nods, and pulls the blanket up around Wei Ying’s shoulders, tucking it around him—even if the qi warmed him, it would be temporary.

Wen Qing placed the needles back in her basket and stood.

“If he’s up for another round in the afternoon, we’ll try it. I’ll sterilize these just in case.”

She bows, and Lan Wangji returns it as best as he can seated beside Wei Ying and holding his hand.

“I’ll send A-Ning with lunch later. Also, I think one of the aunties will be by to fit you for clothing.”

“Is there anything I can help with?” he asks, though he’s reluctant to leave Wei Ying.

Wen Qing quirks a smile.

“As I told you when you said you were staying, I want you to help Wei Wuxian. He needs your help more than we do.”

He nods, and she leaves, closing the curtains behind her.

Lan Wangji watches Wei Ying sleep for a long while before deciding he can perhaps help him in other ways. He leaves the alcove and returns with a sheaf of Wei Ying’s disorganized and messy notes, setting it on the table beside the bed. Within minutes he transforms the small table into a desk, fresh paper and ink ready for him to work.

At the very least, he can rewrite Wei Ying’s notes, using separate sheets of paper for the different ideas so he can work with them more easily. He has copied and rebound books for the library at Cloud Recesses, after all, and Wei Ying once complimented his calligraphy. Even now, the memory makes his ears heat, as it was very shortly followed by the porn incident.

Of course, they’ve done what was displayed in that book multiple times, so the memory is less embarrassing and more arousing.

With one last glance at Wei Ying peacefully slumbering next to him, he gets to work.

#the untamed #mo dao zu shi #mdzs #chen qing ling #CQL #my fanfiction #wangxian #untamed fanfiction #untamed fanfic #mdzs fanfic #mdzs fanfiction #cql fanfic #cql fanfiction #wei wuxian #wei ying #wen qing #wen ning #lan zhan #lan wangji

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