#qishan doodles

[theshenanijiang]

So I keep talking about my fanfics. I am going to post the first chapter of this one on Ao3 as soon as I have a little buffer of writing. But anyway, just a little doodle of Wei Wuxian as a prince in my fic. The premise is his parents are hosting a massive event for cultivators to compete for WWX hand. Hahaha. He hates it thanks. Yiling Wei are a powerful royal family (the Qishan Wen are another royal family). Wei Wuxian just wants to be seen and loved for himself. But his Chief of Wardrobe (Nie Huaisang) insists on dolling him up. And his personal guard (Jiang Cheng) is determined to keep him out of trouble. Can he get through this long event without losing his mind? What's going on with the Wen (Wen Ning) showing up to compete?

This is one of the many outfits I keep tormenting WWX and everyone else with. There will probably be more art as I continue on.

#wwx #digital art #my art #wei wuxian #fan art #fic working titled prince of wei #i'll probably change it as the mood strikes me

[emjayart]

I'm sooo jealous with people who can actually draw graphic-novel style doodle about chen qing ling, i mainly do fashion illustration and only God knows why i am so bad at drawing doodle. I know i can't doodling so attempted to draw this, and i have never, EVER, draw something like this and almost quit halfway

Boy aren't they a pain in the butt for me, they made me scratch my head too many times during the drawing process, almost quit when i drew Qinghe & Qishan then i was thinking "you have to finish it all! For NMJ, NHS, WRH,WC,WX ,WQ, WN Ah Yuan & Dafan Wen"

This is my first non-fashion related drawing and i am proud of it 🥰, *sigh my addiction towards the show is getting me worried 😂😂😂. I love all of them (tho i know my bias is Gusu, the simplest reason is i love their color Blue) well i better not talk abt my bias in the post 😅.

Hope you guys love it as much as I do as a fellow worshipper of Chen Qing Ling 💙💜💛🖤❤

#emiexjay_art #the untamed #chen qing ling #mo dao su zhi #the founder of diabolism #mdzs #mdzs live action #mdzs fanart #the grandmaster of demonic cultivation #fanart #the untamed art #gusu lan #yunmeng jiang #qinghe nie #qishan wen #symbol #doodle #drawing #drawinyourstyle #obsesion #addiction #illustation #illustart #mdzs art #lan wangji #wei wuxian #lan zhan #wei ying #hanguang jun #sigils

[ibijau]

Futures past pt1 / On AO3

Nie Huaisang, sitting cross legged on his bed, tilted his head. It was a rather warm early evening in spring, and he had been getting ready for bed, so he was wearing only his inner clothes, and his hair was done in quick and messy braids so they wouldn’t get tangled during the night. Since he hadn’t been expecting anyone save perhaps his brother, if Nie Mingjue felt in the mood to shout at him for skipping practice again, his room was an awful mess, the floor covered in copies of some prints he’d bought recently. Tasteful prints, at least, not that it would have shocked his visitor too much if it had been porn, he guessed.

“I think I should scream,” Nie Huaisang said without conviction.

“But you won’t because you’re too curious,” Nie Huaisang retorted.

At least, Nie Huaisang thought that was himself. The man who had suddenly appeared in the middle of his room had his eyes, his nose, his lips, his general shape of face, even if his jaw was much sharper. He dressed well, in the sort of ornate styles Nie Huaisang absolutely would do if his brother weren’t forcing him to be reasonable, had a gorgeous fan in his hand, and wore an elaborate guan in his hair, the perfect picture of a rich and refined scholar. He didn’t even bother carrying a sabre, which Nie Huaisang found very satisfying for some reason.

“I don’t have time to play games,” the older man announced, opening his fan with an elegant yet disdainful gesture that his younger self hoped to reproduce someday. He supposed he would, in time. “I am you, from the future. A little over twenty years, if you must know, and it is not a pretty sight here. Some people are going to make a mess of things and while I’ve done what was needed to right every wrong, I don’t see why I shouldn’t try to prevent those wrongs.”

Nie Huaisang hunched up, one elbow on his leg, his chin resting in the palm of his hand.

“I don’t think you’re me. I wouldn’t ever put that much effort into anything. Good try on the disguise though. It’s a bit rude you didn’t make me taller, but it is a good detail, it really sells it.”

The man threw him a disgusted look. “Sometimes, I understand why da-ge ended up like this,” he muttered. “I really was insufferable. Listen up. When you were seven, you stole da-ge’s favourite robes, the set he always wore to go to conferences. You thought they were the prettiest thing you’d ever seen, and you wanted to try them on and pretend you were, against all evidence, as great as da-ge. You wore them for less than an incense stick’s time before dropping ink on them. They were completely ruined, in spite of your efforts, so you just burned them.”

Nie Huaisang startled so badly he half fell on his side, before scrambling toward the back of his bed, suddenly terrified. That incident happened years before, and he’d never told anyone. Nie Mingjue had been furious for weeks. To that day, Nie Huaisang still didn’t know how he hadn’t been discovered… but it was something only he knew, something he’d never shared with anyone.

He stared at this cold, distant man in front of him, with his venomous eyes and disdainful air, and didn’t like what he saw. How could that be his future?

Guessing his thoughts, the man smiled.

“Da-ge dies in a few years,” he announced, startling Nie Huaisang again. “It’s tragic, and cruel, and we’re going to do everything we can to avoid it. You’re going to help, of course.”

So shocked he couldn’t breathe, Nie Huaisang weakly nodded.

It seemed impossible that his brother could ever die, least of all that he might die in the twenty years to come. He would have said the same of his father once, certainly, but his father was well into his sixties already, and anyway he was murdered so it was not the same.

Nie Huaisang gasped and grabbed his pillow, hugging it tight against his body for comfort, as if he weren’t already fifteen and far too old for that.

“When you say da-ge dies, you mean… he’s going to be killed by someone,” Nie Huaisang guessed, curling up on himself, hoping to be wrong.

The expression on the face of that man he would become softened.

“Maybe you’re not hopeless,” he said. “Maybe all I needed was a chance to do a little more… Yes, he’s going to be murdered. Or he would be murdered. We won’t let it happen. You won’t let it happen. I’m only here for a little time, it’s not easy to come here, but I’m hoping to return in a few months if all goes well.”

Something relaxed in Nie Huaisang’s shoulders. It seemed his brother’s death wasn’t something that would happen in the very near future then. That was a relief, when Nie Huaisang was about to leave home and go study for a year in the Cloud Recesses. From all the way down south, it would have been difficult to protect Nie Mingjue.

“So, what am I supposed to do then?” Nie Huaisang asked, still clutching his pillow. “You’d know I’m not much good at anything, so why aren’t you trying to warn da-ge directly? Oh, or am I the only one who can see you?”

“I’m… not sure if others can see me,” the man admitted, hiding behind his fan at that admission, exactly as Nie Huaisang did when embarrassed. “And I don’t have enough time to experiment. Besides, da-ge is so stubborn, he wouldn’t trust a stranger so easily. He can’t be blackmailed over a burned robe.”

“Rude!”

“That’s what you get for calling me short. Now come over here, grab something to write. I don’t want you to forget any of this, and I know how your memory is. Hurry!”

Nie Huaisang reluctantly let go of his pillow, and hopped down from the bed, grumbling the whole time. What was the point of being sent to the Cloud Recesses if he ended up becoming a man with such dreadful manners?

He grabbed a brush, hastily prepared some ink, and sat on the floor before looking up at his future self, waiting for instruction like a sullen child forced to listen in class.

“The first thing you need to know,” the man before him said, “is that there’s going to be a war with Qishan Wen.”

“Duh,” Nie Huaisang retorted, rolling his eyes. He wasn’t the brightest person in the world, but even he could guess as much. “Is that how da-ge dies?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. As if even Wen Ruohan could do anything to him!” his older self said, with a mix of disdain and pride. “Da-ge becomes a war hero, of course. But that war is what will eventually cause his death. Not that it matters yet, you have about two years and a half before the war starts, so…”

Nie Huaisang dropped his brush with a gasp, splattering ink over his sheet of paper.

“Two years? The war is in just two years?”

His older self clicked his tongue impatiently.

“Focus! This is irrelevant right now! What matters is taking measure so certain things don’t happen during that war. Now, the most important would be…”

He paused, looking down at Nie Huaisang. The longer he stared, the more annoyed the older man appeared. That look of frustration was one Nie Huaisang was quite used to, especially coming from his elders, but also sometimes from people of his own generation. He usually didn’t mind, though just a week before one kid half his age had looked at him like that over his posture during sabre practice, and that had stung a little, to be honest.

More often than not, people would accompany that exasperated stare with a ‘what will we do with you?’ and though his older self didn’t say the words, he was clearly thinking them.

“There’s a boy, living in Yunping City, named Meng Yao,” the man announced, before giving a number of details about that boy, such as the name of his mother, the address where he might be found, his age, his looks, and plenty other things. Nie Huaisang wrote it all down, and even doodled a very quick portrait based on that description, to which his older self nodded, looking nearly approving for a moment. Before Nie Huaisang could enjoy that, the man turned grim again. “You have to find this boy, and make sure he doesn’t join Lanling Jin. Do you understand? No matter what, Meng Yao cannot join Lanling Jin. If he does, there will be great risk to da-ge.”

There was an odd inflection on that cannot. Or at least, it was odd to hear it coming from himself, because it was the tone of voice people had when saying it’d be a shame if Wen Ruohan choked on his next meal, or if Jin Guangshan’s dick got chopped off by a demon on a Night Hunt.

But that Meng Yao was just a boy, just a few months older than Nie Huaisang himself. Even if he became a danger in later times, for now there was no way he could harm anyone. And even if he couldn’t join the Jin, there might be other sects, if he was so determined to be a cultivator. Maybe he could even be brought into Qinghe Nie, if he had real talent. Nie Mingjue didn’t care much what people’s origins were as long as they worked hard, though it was an opinion not everyone in the clan shared. It’d be a great way to kill two birds with one stone.

“Is he going to be a problem soon?” Nie Huaisang asked. “Only, it’s not like I can travel on my own, and Yunping City is pretty far from Gusu anyway, and…”

“A few weeks after your arrive, Jiang zongzhu invites Lan Qiren and his nephews to help him with a creature that causes problems near Yunping City,” his older self announced, lazily fanning himself. “I didn’t go, personally, but I’m sure you could find a way to go along. You’ll have to, it’s your best chance. Speaking of which…” he closed his fan with a sharp gesture and pinched the bridge of his nose with an exasperated sigh. “You have to get Lan Xichen to trust you in the future, so take this year in Gusu as a chance and become the best friend he’s ever had.”

Nie Huaisang nearly dropped his brush again and grimaced.

“Oh. Do I really have to? I mean, he’s so…”

He made a vague hand gesture, words failing him to describe Lan Xichen.

Lan Xichen wasn’t a bad person. That wasn’t it. He was, in fact, very good, everyone said so. He was smart, and polite, and well educated, and amazing with cultivation, and with martial arts, and… and he was just so boring. He was, without a doubt, the most boring person Nie Huaisang had ever met. He was always too careful when speaking, too serious, too perfect, too much exactly how grown ups thought boys their age should act. He was an old man’s idea of a young man. He was really, really boring and while Nie Huaisang was very glad his brother had at least one friend, he was very judgmental toward Nie Mingjue for having chosen such a person for a companion.

If his older self’s dark expression was anything to go by, Lan Xichen’s personality didn’t look like it improved much in the future.

“I wouldn’t do this if there was another choice,” the man said. “But if da-ge couldn’t properly burn bridges with san-ge, then it’s pointless to try driving him away from er-ge, they’re too close. So you’ll have to do what’s needed to save da-ge, and become friends with Lan Xichen. It is vital. We’re going to do what we can so da-ge doesn’t die, but if it still comes to pass, you’ll need allies and I suppose that’s at least one thing he might be good for. Let’s see if he really meant what he said that time,” Nie Huaisang’s future self muttered somberly. “I don’t expect anything to come of this, but it can’t hurt.”

“But I don’t want to be friends with him,” Nie Huaisang grumbled.

“Good, because he won’t be your friend,” the man retorted coldly. “Don’t get attached to him, he’s not worth it. But make sure to become someone he’ll fully trust. Make yourself dearer to him than even da-ge is. Nothing less than that will do.”

That sounded even more difficult and boring than actually becoming friends with Lan Xichen, Nie Huaisang thought. He pouted at the perspective of such a daunting task, wondering if he really loved his brother enough to put so much effort into saving him.

“I don’t even know how to become close to Lan gongzi!” he whined. “He doesn’t like anything interesting, he’s the most boring person in the world! How do I…”

“Figure it out!” his older self snapped. “Do you think I’d be here if I knew how to deal with him? Besides, I’m running out of time already. I’ll try to return to you a month after Qingming, when the spell has recharged. It should be before the Night Hunt in Yunping City, but you’ll need to have made progress with Lan Xichen already. Remember that we’re doing this for da-ge!”

Before Nie Huaisang could protest, the man standing before him suddenly disappeared, leaving no trace of his presence. It would have been easy to think it nothing but a dream, if not for that detailed list of information about that Meng Yao from Yunping City. Even like that, it really was unsettling, and Nie Huaisang stayed frozen in place for a long while, kneeling on the floor, staring at a list about a boy he was maybe supposed to kill. It seemed like complete madness, and maybe he should have ran to his brother, explained everything to him, except…

Except there had been such pain in his older self’s voice every time he spoke of Nie Mingjue, and his anger at having failed to protect their brother in his own life had been obvious. Something had happened there. Something he hadn’t even explained, Nie Huaisang suddenly realised. His older self hadn’t told him how their brother died, and how could he convince Nie Mingjue that he might be in danger when he didn’t even know who would strike him, or when?

It might be better to wait then. After all, Nie Huaisang’s older self had said that Nie Mingjue would be a great hero in a future war, and that war wouldn’t start for over two more years. Until then, Nie Huaisang might as well try to meet that Meng Yao when he had the chance, and he would also (he shivered in distaste) try to see what could be done about Lan Xichen. Having come to that conclusion, Nie Huaisang carefully folded the sheet of paper containing his notes about Meng Yao, and put it away. He then cleaned his brush, put some order around him, and finally went to sleep.

His last thought was that next time, when his older self returned, he would definitely ask more details about Nie Mingjue’s death.

-

In the days that followed that encounter with his future self, Nie Huaisang made efforts to be a better brother. He still wasn’t sure how much he believed about that encounter he’d had, but it certainly made him quite sentimental to realise that Nie Mingjue would die someday. It was clear that there would be a war soon after all, whether it happened when his future self said it would or not, and people certainly tended to die during conflicts.

So as he finished preparing for his rapidly approaching stay in Gusu, Nie Huaisang tried to fully enjoy his brother’s company and commit every moment spent together to memory, in case something happened.

A very noble sentiment, except his brother was a complete pain in the ass.

If Nie Huaisang hugged him, Nie Mingjue asked him what he’d broken this time, or what favour he was about to request. If Nie Huaisang suggested they spent more time together, Nie Mingjue just took him to the training grounds and forced him to practice the sabre, or even worse tried to spar with him, which was cruel and barbaric.

Nie Mingjue was the absolute worst person in the entire world, and while Nie Huaisang was still going to try his best to keep him alive, he wasn’t sure why.

Because Nie Mingjue was so unbearable and annoying and unable to appreciate his brother’s immense kindness, Nie Huaisang found it a relief of sorts when he finally left for the Cloud Recesses.

The trip itself was nothing memorable. Nie Huaisang spent most of it wishing he had a golden core so he could fly his sabre and go faster than this carriage, or trying to figure out how he was supposed to befriend the oh-so-boring Lan Xichen. By the time he and the disciple accompanying him reached Gusu, he still hadn’t found an answer to that problem. He would have to figure it out on the fly then.

The carriage was left at the foot of the mountain where the Cloud Recesses laid, and the long trek by foot started. Nie Huaisang, adverse to any unnecessary physical effort, found that he didn’t actually mind too much going up the mountain. The landscape was so exquisite there, every turn of the path revealing something worth painting. On the few occasions he’d been there before to accompany his brother at conferences, he’d always admired how Gusu Lan had found such an amazing place to live in, and promised himself he’d make the best of things if he ever got to come study there. He would have forgotten to bring his sabre if Nie Mingjue hadn’t packed it for him, but his luggage was full of paper of the highest quality, and it wouldn’t be used to take notes.

At the gate of the Cloud Recesses, Nie Huaisang and his brother’s disciple had to wait to be brought in. Because he was a somewhat more important guest than some of the other visiting disciples, Nie Huaisang was greeted by Lan Qiren in person, his eldest nephew in tow.

While Lan Qiren guided him inside and explained a number of rules he didn’t intend to follow, Nie Huaisang couldn’t help observing Lan Xichen with more attention than he’d ever done before. He was somewhat handsome, if you liked that sort. A little tall and gangly, though it was less jarring when he wasn’t hanging out with Nie Mingjue who was older and had fully finished growing. Nie Huaisang figured that hanging out with him would at least give him something nice to look at, even if he didn’t expect the two of them to ever find much to talk about.

“And this is where you will be staying,” Lan Qiren announced when they arrived in front of a small house. “We will let you get settled and rest from your trip. If you have any requests…”

“I’d love a tour of the Cloud Recesses!” Nie Huaisang said without thinking, then turned to look at Lan Xichen. “Lan gongzi, would you please give me a tour? I’m sure there’s no one who could do it better than you.”

Since they had never spoken much before, Nie Huaisang had of course expected that Lan Xichen would be a little surprised over such a request. But Lan Xichen wasn’t just surprised, he was shocked, his eyes opening wide and his face growing pale, as if Nie Huaisang had just grown a second head and announced he’d be feeding on the blood of infants. Lan Xichen’s polite smile even dropped for a moment, though of course it quickly returned. In a moment, he had regained perfect control of himself, but Nie Huaisang was still puzzled and entertained by that extreme reaction.

“I’m glad Nie gongzi thinks well of me,” Lan Xichen said calmly. “But I am sure I can find someone better suited to give you a tour.”

“But I want it to be you,” Nie Huaisang insisted, pretending not to notice the other Nie disciples glaring at him for already causing problems on his first day. “It’d be nice if it were you. Da-ge always says you’re so clever and knows so many things, so I really want you to be my guide.”

Lan Xichen appeared to hesitate. Nie Huaisang braced himself for rejection. He hadn’t expected to have his caprice granted anyway, and just wanted to throw it out there that he was going to be pestering Lan Xichen in the future. Then, to his surprise, the older boy nodded.

“Very well. I will give you a tour this afternoon, Nie gongzi,” Lan Xichen said. “I have no urgent obligations, and it is the least I can do for a friend’s relative. Unless shufu has objections?”

Lan Qiren had none. The Nie were left to settle down, promised lunch would be brought to them soon, and then Lan Xichen would come in the early afternoon to show Nie Huaisang around, while someone else would do the same for the other Nie disciples. It was a great plan, a great occasion for Nie Huaisang to gain Lan Xichen’s favour as instructed… and it sounded impossibly boring.

All too soon, the time for that tour came. Nie Huaisang, unhappy with their too simple accomodations and the unappealing meal they had been served, was not in a great mood when Lan Xichen knocked on the door. He had been in the Cloud Recesses less than half a day, and already the place disappointed him.

To his credit, Lan Xichen wasn’t a bad guide. He made sure to match his pace to Nie Huaisang’s as they walked, he had something to explain about nearly every building, and patiently repeated the most important rules of life in the Cloud Recesses which Nie Huaisang had ignored when Lan Qiren gave them. It was easier to listen to Lan Xichen than to Lan Qiren anyway, there was a certain warmth to his voice that his uncle simply lacked. Lan Xichen could probably have made a lecture sound like a conversation. It would have been a very lovely time, if Nie Huaisang had cared about any of that, which he didn’t. Everything in the Cloud Recesses was about cultivation and rules, which was nearly as boring as the Unclean Realm where everything was about cultivation and martial arts.

“And what do you do for fun here?” Nie Huaisang desperately asked after a while when Lan Xichen explained that a certain building was meant to enhance the effects of meditation.

“The library is that way,” Lan Xichen announced.

“Does it have anything fun, or is it only cultivation treaties?”

“We collect poetry and history treaties as well,” Lan Xichen said. “And music sheets, of course,” he added after a moment, looking uncomfortable. “I… are you much interested in music, Nie gongzi?”

Nie Huaisang shrugged. “No, but I guess it’s better than cultivation, as far as fun things go. I’m supposed to learn the guqin at some point, but it’s hard to find the time, and da-ge prefers that I focus on the sabre.”

“Qinghe Nie has traditionally been more focused on martial arts,” Lan Xichen noted. “Though since you are here, perhaps you might enjoy trying different things. You are here to learn after all.”

Nie Huaisang stared at the older boy with surprise. Up until then, Lan Xichen had never seemed to care what Nie Huaisang did or didn’t do, and he never contradicted Nie Mingjue whenever his friend complained about having a lazy little brother who wasn’t interested in the things he ought to have been interested in. Without being sure, Nie Huaisang suspected that Lan Xichen thought him a little stupid, and just not very skilled in general.

“Maybe it’s worth a try,” Nie Huaisang mused. “I do like music a lot. My father used to say I have a good ear for it. Not like da-ge. He wouldn’t know one melody from another even if his life depended on it!”

“Is that so,” Lan Xichen weakly replied, turning very pale, as if he might faint.

“Lan gongzi, are you unwell?”

“It’s nothing important,” Lan Xichen said, smiling again in that annoying manner of his. “Let’s continue walking. I think you really might like the library, and then… it wouldn’t be part of a normal tour, but would you like me to show you the way to the back hills if we have time? I remember your brother mentioning that you like birds, and there are many to be seen there.”

“That would be lovely,” Nie Huaisang agreed, surprised and delighted by that offer. It was likely that Nie Mingjue had just been complaining about that particular hobby of his, as he so often did, but if Lan Xichen had translated that into something positive, Nie Huaisang was glad. “Do you like birds as well, Lan gongzi?”

“I’ve never paid them much attention,” Lan Xichen admitted. “I suppose they are fine creatures.”

That, clearly, was all he had to say on the subject. It was a very boring answer, Nie Huaisang thought. But then, Lan Xichen really was a boring person, so that was no surprise. Nie Huaisang thus dropped the topic, and forced himself to pay some degree of attention as Lan Xichen resumed talking about the history of the Cloud Recesses.

At least, the library really did seem quite interesting, aside from all the cultivation texts. And since they actually managed to check the back hills for a little bit before dinner, Nie Huaisang had the pleasant surprise to find that there were a great many birds there, as well as plenty of spaces to explore, and quite a few vistas to paint.

Getting along with Lan Xichen was going to be so boring, but at least the rest of his stay could be turned into something quite fun.

#xisang #nie huaisang #lan xichen #mo dao zu shi #mdzs #double time travel #jau writes

[wifiwuxians]

ZhuliYu + music

Wen Zhuliu was back from Qishan for a little while, as Wen Ruohan had 'important business to attend to' which apparently required being as alone as humanly possible. It wouldn't be his first time visiting Lotus Pier, but it would be his first time bringing a plus one. He didn't mind much, the child was largely nonverbal, and his only real constant demand was to be carried on Wen Zhuliu's shoulders. At the end of the day, all that mattered was that he got to see Yu Ziyuan again. 

The waters surrounding Lotus Pier were exceptionally beautiful at this time of year, crystalline and covered in petals. Wen Zhuliu took in the sights like he was a child again, dipping his hand in the water and watching the fish swim around it- and still the lake was nothing compared to the beauty of his first love. 

Seeing Yu Ziyuan again after three years was a dream come true. She was every bit as elegant, every bit as unbending as she had been the day they met. He worried he wouldn't look the part, that she'd be underwhelmed by his presence, but when she offered him the slightest smile and had her little daughter bring him a plate of lotus seeds as a way to welcome him, he knew he had nothing to worry about. 

Now they sat in the living room, drinking tea and simply sitting in silence, enjoying one another's company as Jiang Yanli drew beside them. 

Or they would be sitting in silence if two little kids weren't blowing into xiao out in the courtyard, making a horrendous racket as they jumped around and tried to play a song. 

The sound broke the calm atmosphere, but the sight was heartwarming. Wen Zhuliu felt the corners of his lips curve up into a smile, even as Yu Ziyuan frowned slightly and called out to them.

"A-Cheng, don't blow so hard! Be more gentle, the noise is awful!" 

Jiang Cheng looked down at the instrument in his hands, crestfallen. He seemed ashamed of himself; it made something stir in Wen Zhuliu's chest, causing him to slowly reach out to take Yu Ziyuan's hand. 

"My lady, if I may. He's three," he spoke gently. "He's only having fun."

Yu Ziyuan was about to pull her hand away, dangerous lightning flashing in her eyes as she was touched, but slowly her gaze softened. He was right; she was being so harsh, but why? She turned her hand under his, allowing their palms to touch. It seemed to help relax her some.

Fortunately, Jiang Cheng's disappointment didn't last long. The red-cheeked child Wen Zhuliu had brought along was pulling his sleeve and breathing into his xiao again, letting out little toots with each huff and puff. This made the three-year-old's eyes light up, and within a few seconds he was back to playing his song. 

"That boy," Yu Ziyuan frowned as Wen Zhuliu squeezed her hand, "he doesn't say a word. What's wrong with him? He's five years old and the size of a radish!" 

"He was born sick," Wen Zhuliu nodded softly, their fingers intertwining. "It was good to get him away from Qishan, his older brother gives him a lot of trouble." 

"Well, as long as he's not getting my boy sick too," Yu Ziyuan smirked, running her thumb along Wen Zhuliu's hand. "You were a quiet boy, yourself." 

"And now I’m a quiet man," Wen Zhuliu looked down at their hands. He felt at peace with her, even with a noisy backdrop and a giggling child doodling on the floor. It actually added to the experience, making him feel at one with a calmer world. 

Yu Ziyuan placed her hand over theirs and burned his face into her memory, catching his eye and peering deep into his soul. She loved his silence, and he loved hers. 

Yet the xiao tooted on. 

"Let me get Jiang Fengmian," Yu Ziyuan managed a soft smile just as Jiang Yanli excitedly showed off her drawing of a sun. "He isn't half bad at playing music. Maybe he can turn this nightmare around."

Wen Zhuliu's cheeks heated up as he let her hand go. In that moment, he felt like he was once again a part of her family. 

#zhuliyu #yu ziyuan #wen zhuliu #this... i hope its ok :// #lqr #mdzs #tinyfic

[aeipathic]

lilac :   what was your muse’s childhood like ?   how has their upbringing affected them as they’ve aged ?  (Wen Ning)

botany headcanons || accepting || @ofwindsweptpines​

wen ning has very few memories of the earliest parts of his childhood: the few years of his life that were spent on dafan mountain with his parents and his sister, a normal child, a normal life. for him -- not unlike his cousin-to-be, in fact -- his life mostly starts with the recovery from an illness; it took him a long while to recover, as much as he was ever going to, from the attack on the goddess statue that drained his spiritual energy. from what his sister has told him, he knows that they spent a few weeks with their grandmother before being sent to life with a cousin in yiling. for those weeks he was, apparently, mostly unresponsive -- not unconscious, but rather listless, sitting blankly until prompted to do something.

his first clear memories, then, are in yiling. they spent a few years there, he and wen qing. she had begun to study medicine from the books kept in their cousin’s library. wen ning remembers quiet days in the garden, playing with dolls he’d made from twigs and grass, or hours spent in the library with his sister, doodling while she studied. there were a couple of boys who lived nearby who he sometimes tagged along with as they roamed the streets, but wen ning was nervous and quiet and tired easily, and so several times he found himself left behind, lost and confused when he realized he could no longer see where his companions had gone. after having to wander the town looking for him a few times, his cousin decided it would be best if he stayed in their home unless accompanied by a family member.

it was a quiet life, and wen ning himself was too young to wonder what was to become of him or what he wanted to be. as far as he knew, this would be his life forever.

and then his sister, when she was fifteen and wen ning ten, drew the attention of wen ruohan.

he had, their cousin explained, been seeking doctors, and their cousin had put forth wen qing’s name as a young healer-in-training with great potential. the next thing wen ning knew, they were moving to nightless city. it was a good thing, wen qing assured him. they would be given a place to stay and all the resources they needed, at the behest of sect leader wen. she would be able to study medicine properly, and wen ning would receive cultivation training with other boys his age. wen ning was scared of the change, but he trusted his sister, and she said it would be all right.

and, for a time, it seemed like it would be. they were given their own house, and their own servants to come by and bring food and attend to their needs. wen qing was allowed whatever resources she needed for her studies. wen ning learned how to use a sword. but nightless city was different from yiling. wen ning was still physically weaker than his peers, and, moreso, unusually sensitive to spiritual effects. he lagged behind the other disciples, and unlike the cheerful indifference of the yiling boys, these mocked him for it. he made no friends among the qishan wens. 

wen qing spent long hours studying, until the time came that wen ruohan asked for her personally, to evaluate her progress. wen ning spent the day waiting in their home, too full of anticipation to do much else. when wen qing returned, she said that wen ruohan had been impressed with her skills in acupuncture, and wished her to assist him personally. but she did not seem as happy as wen ning would have expected; there was a strange tension in her, but when wen ning asked after it, she only smoothed his hair and went to her room.

after that, wen qing spent much of her time in wen ruohan’s halls, and spoke very little of what she did there. she became stressed, more prone to telling wen ning off than she had been before. he sensed there was something she was afraid of that he did not know, but whatever it was, she refused to speak of it, so he did his best to do as she wanted, to reassure her, and sought for ways to cheer her up when she was at home. he even asked her to teach him some of her knowledge of medicines, knowing that she enjoyed teaching him, though he had very little of her natural aptitude for it.

in the meantime, he was largely ignored by the other wens, if not outright scorned. his skill with a sword was average. he had no particular spiritual techniques. the only skill in which he excelled -- and the only one that brought him real joy -- was archery, which did not tire him nearly as much as swordplay, and he had a ready eye for it. unfortunately, his nerves had grown so bad that he performed poorly whenever he knew his peers or the instructor were paying attention to him, and so few people in nightless city ever realized that, when alone, he could hit nearly whatever target he set his eyes on. he practiced on his own whenever he could, taking pride in this one thing that was his, even if nobody else knew it.

his was thus, for a time, a largely solitary existence, as he tried to keep from drawing the attention of other disciples as much as he could, and wen qing was so often at the palace of sun and flames. in fact, their visit to gusu seemed a great adventure to him, and, though his sister had warned him they must be careful there and would be mistrusted, wens as they were, he held out hope for the first time in years that maybe he would meet people his age who would actually want to be friends.

#ofwindsweptpines #; answered. #; for a thing of decay / you bloom and rage ( wen ning. ) #long post // #also kind of #; she had never lived / she had done nothing but endure ( wen qing. ) #she's in here too #USES THIS AS AN EXCUSE TO WRITE THEIR WHOLE BACKSTORY #idk if it even directly answers the question but listen it's fine #this took me forever to get around to finishing but shhh #you ever think about how if things were different wen ning might have run into a certain slightly older boy #on the streets of yiling #because i do

[enbyleighlines]

MDZS Modern AU Family Businesses

So in my au the five main clans would have family businesses which make the children fairly high-class

Jiang family:

Owns a family restaurant called Lotus Soup

Madam Yu runs the kitchen like a female Gordon Ramsey

Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli both go into the family business; Wei Wuxian their adopted brother still sucks at cooking and is forbidden from entering the Lotus Soup kitchen

Wei Wuxian was adopted into the family at the age of 8. His father had worked at Lotus Soup and was a good friend to Jiang Fengmian, but his mother was a journalist who did a lot of traveling, so when they got married, Wei Changse decided to travel with her. They died in a care accident (cliche I know) when Wei Wuxian was 6 and in a different country so it took two years for Jiang Fengmian to learn what had happened

Wei Wuxian decides to be a graphic designer instead. He’s been doodling macabre art from a young age, and eventually starts his own horror comic series

Lan family:

Owns the Pavillion Review, a literary magazine

Everyone in the family is a published author. Almost all of them publish nothing but nonfiction. Lan Wangji’s morher is the exception. She’s a poet. It was quite scandelous when she married into the family

Lan Wangji’s parents were actually in love this time around

Lan Wangji secretly writes poetry and only lets his mother and brother read it. He is very embarrassed about it

Around age 15 Lan Wangji suddenly starts writing a whole bunch of love poems for and about Wei Wuxian because he’s a hopeless romantic who doesn’t know else how to express his feelings. It’s the only poems he refuses to show anyone

Lan Wangji attends a prestigious college and gets into literary criticism just like his father, uncle, and brother, but he also starts publishing his poetry under a pseudonym

Jin family:

Own a law firm called Jin Brothers & Associates

They mainly do corporate law

Yes they’re vaguely corrupt; what did you expect?

Jin Guangshan has a bunch of kids out of wedlock and pays their moms to keep mum, but Madam Jin finds out anyway and bands together with the other moms so that the kids can grow up alongside their siblings

That said some of the children still want a relationship with their dad (Jin Zixuan and Meng Yao especially) even though they know he’s not a particularly good person

One of Jin Guangshan’s happiest clients is Mr. Qin, whose daughter Qin Su happens to also be one of Jin Guangshan’s illegitimate children

Nie family:

Own the Qinghe Hunting Lodge

It’s basically exactly what it sounds like

Nie Huaisang is a disappointment to the family because they’re a genderqueer vegetarian who would rather shoot animals with a camera

They’re also really into bird watching

Nie Mingjue loves his little sib anyway even if he doesn’t understand them

Nie Huaisang enters into the same art program as Wei Wuxian and the two of them become art buddies

Wen family:

Work in the Qishan Medical Center

Wen Ruohan is one of the main surgeons. He’s very good at what he does but also a super bad person who would happily recommend unnecessary procedures if it means more coin in his pocket

Wen Xu takes after his father

It’s a miracle that Wen Chao has not yet been sued for malpractice

Wen Qing is the most promising of the med students, but she clashes with Wen Ruohan over every decision he makes

Wen Ning tried to get into medical school but he didn’t have the nerve for it; so he transfers into the art program and becomes bffs with Wei Wuxian; he eventually goes into the comic book business with Wei Wuxian and helps him with the background art

#mo dao zu shi #long post #wangxian #mdzs modern au

[jc3b1]

i'll doodle wen qing, ha ha~

and maybe i might try coloring haha~ and maybe i'll do this ~ ? and that ~ ?

and it's now been 3 hours of my life drawing the best doctor in the wen clan of qishan

(≧◇≦)/// ♡

#wen qing #cql #mdzs #this scene is very tender #when everyone is making wishes and setting free lanterns #at first i thought she was frowning but she's wearing a very small smile #worrying about wen ning yet also relaxed and peaceful #thats the best type of worry. for older siblings anyway !! #perhaps also wq is also making a wish similar to wwx was #in her family's line of doctors #to heal even as she stands next to wen ruohan #im going to make myself sad with this nooo #it is love wq tender hours right now #(´•ω•｀)♡