#so it seems like he would want to distance himself from wu

[astarlightmonbebe]

curious about where they’re going with this…

#star stumbles #cdrama #star shots #a journey to love #ep 10 #since last ep we were told they are ‘close’ apparently #wondering if ltg is deliberately trying to build something up or nah #not sure what the reason is … #especially considering the toss up about ltg’s blood #so it seems like he would want to distance himself from wu #but who knows. he plays the long game #he looks so tired and frazzled here though

[one-flower-one-sword]

Hello, and thanks again for sharing your thoughts on my previous ask.

More random thoughts to share! : -D

At the end of the fight with Jun Wun, Xie Lian props up his bamboo hat to shield Jun Wu from the rain. That really stood out to me. Jun Wu tormented him for so long. Most people would spit on his body and burn it. Haha, maybe not all that, BUT, they wouldn't give him any sliver of kindness and that would be expected. Xie Lian doing so is just another tell of how much compassion he has for others, and it just blows me away. I couldn't help but see the parallels between what he did for Jun Wu there and the kindness the man with the bamboo hat showed him. I'm still thinking on this a bit, but...Xie Lian had people who loved him (Hua Cheng) and showed kindness to him (the man with the bamboo hat) even at his lowest. I wonder, even if unconsciously, if he wanted to provide some hope to Jun Wu that he can move forward past the worst part of himself. Not saying at all that Xie Lian wants to be part of that process, simply that once Jun Wu is no longer trying to actively harm him or others, he doesn't have any ill will to him. (but even that is over simplifying things - I'm sure Xie Lian could have bad days where he does). But that's my vague thought on this... Xie Lian is able to see the good in people even while not dismissing the bad they've done. To me, it seems he tries to nurture that as much as possible. What are your thoughts on that scene though? :) __________

Interestingly enough, Xie Lian has the hardest time with Qi Rong's personality. Qi Rong is mean-spirited, self-aggrandizing, and cruel as a child, and even more so as a ghost. By the time he's a wrath ghost and we see him facing off with Hua Cheng and Xie Lian, he's really quite pitiful. He can't even see how pathetic he is and it really comes off like a child begging for any attention he can get, even if it's bad attention. Xie Lian's feelings towards him are very complicated. I find it a little ironic and sad because it really does seem that if Qi Rong had had a much firmer and consistent hand in discipline, boundaries and love, that things could've been different for him. Maybe Xie Lian could have when they were young and both alive, but Xie Lian had so much going on himself and honestly, Xie Lian was still a child himself! The adults needed to step in at that time. And when Xie Lian is old enough, I think he's realized he just can't with Qi Rong. For whatever reason - history, personality, family dynamics he can't deal with Qi Rong in a compassionate way and so does what he can and keeps his distance (until present time run-ins start happening). And honestly, that's probably one of the few acts of self-care and boundaries Xie Lian set for himself. He knew his limits with Qi Rong. I do want to be clear that Qi Rong's actions are his own. He's hurt and killed many. He made his own poor choices and is responsible for that. I just think, if from the beginning, if he'd had someone who could be firm and compassionate, things could've been different for him. And potentially, if he'd met someone as a wrath with the patience and compassion to guide him, things could've been different...even if it took another 800 years! On the flip side, maybe Qi Rong did come across such a person but rejected it. We'll never know since it wasn't revealed in the book, but it's interesting to think about. Also, this is the first time I've thought about their relationship dynamics so I could totally be missing some things. What are your thoughts on their relationship dynamic? ------- On a more lighthearted note - one of the things I really love about the novel are all the many ways Xie Lian and Hua Cheng show their love and care for each other. Not just with big moments, but in little ways too with words and actions. There's so much material and every time I'm reminded of it, I just smile inside. I'm so happy for them! But one scene in particular that came to me was right after Xie Lian and "Ming Yi" help Shi Qingxuan escape the Heavenly Capital. They go back to Puqi Shrine and find Hua Cheng tidying up the place with essentially his shirt off. Xie Lian gets flustered and tells him to put his clothes back on and once he does, Xie Lian notices his collar is a little crooked and straightens it for him. Haha, I thought it was very sweet and definitely a "you're already married" moment. : ) Any favorite small moments you remember off the bat?

Thank you for your ask! I'm sorry it took me so long to reply after all (the funeral was last week, so as you can imagine the days leading up to and after it were quite stressful and draining). That said, let's get right into it :3 Gonna go through it from the top:

Xie Lian - His kindness and compassion really are admirable. It's why I find it so baffling when he's described as naive and/or arrogant by fans because that's not at all how the text portrays him. Throughout the story, he's the one willing to against the status quo - both in the human realm and in heaven - and to help the ones no one else cares about, no matter how much pain it results in for him personally. The trauma Jun Wu causes him almost makes him lose himself and then afterwards there's a long time where he blames himself and it's only through meeting Hua Cheng (again) that he gains back his confidence - and like you said, the final scene with Jun Wu shows in such an understated yet profound way that the core of who Xie Lian is has not changed at all: someone who believes that people deserve saving, that kindness is never in vain.

Qi Rong - I can't think of much else to add at the moment, but yeah just like you said, he might have turned out different had he had better parental guidance, but in the end the text is very firm that our choices are our own. I think it's also interesting that when people call Xie Lian naive and arrogant for wanting to save the common people and blame it on him being "spoiled and privileged", it's actually Qi Rong who demonstrates what happens when people born into privilege never question their status and instead do everything they can to take advantage of it and uphold it. Meanwhile Xie Lian even at seventeen was very critical of the power structures and morals that surrounded him and unlike Qi Rong didn't believe that he should be held to a different standard of justice than those "lower" than him. And it can't be chalked up to different guidance, since Xie Lian's views clashed repeatedly with those of his parents and his teachers.

Hualian - I absolutely adore all those small moments that showcast their relationship. Some of my favorites that immediately come to my mind are when they're in heaven and Mei Nianqing is explaining about Jun Wu's past and then inquiring about Xie Lian kissing Hua Cheng:

"Xie Lian could sense that he'd have a hard time swallowing whatever the state preceptor was about to tell him. He wanted to call for Hua Cheng, but before he could do so, Hua Cheng had already come to sit beside him." [...]

"When Xie Lian realized that Hua Cheng likely hadn't lived past eighteen, his fingers trembled. Hua Cheng reached out with one arm and gently covered Xie Lian's chilly hands, palm to back. Although their skin was equally icy, there was warmth where their hands touched." [...]

"Xie Lian had been desperately trying to stop the state preceptor from talking, but with no success. Covering his face, he silently shuffled behind Hua Cheng, who smiled and circled an arm around him as he raised his brows."

Hua Cheng's mere presence is such a source of comfort and safety for Xie Lian, it makes me so ;_; that he wanted him near for emotional support. And they're so tactile, so gentle with each other, always seeking to be close and to reassure and comfort each other through touch ;_;

I feel like I just rambled but I hope my answers managed to still be interesting and satisfying! Thank you for your ask, the distraction and interaction really helps rn <3

#answered asks #silver-cyn #xie lian #qi rong #hualian

[goldenheartstudios]

I wanna talk about Xiaolin Showdown's iconic betrayal scene

  Disclaimer: I would have said that this post has spoilers for the show.. but does it still count if this is a cartoon from 2003? I dunno

  Anyway, time to indulge into my hyperfixation once again

  You see, there are shows that do something which can be seen as an interesting twist for that era. It can be seen as something special, iconic, recognizable, because of the way it was presented and the idea that it brought up

  Even if there were shows who did that idea before, the show can still make it into something special that can bring a twist to its episodic structure it showed from the start

  For me, Xiaolin Showdown brought that special twist with its introduction with Mala Mala Jong

  For a show that seemed like an episodic lesson-of-the-week kind of cartoon, it showed its attention and care for continuity by telling us that they kept track of which Shen Gong Wu belonged to which, and by providing us a cool looking villain that was defeated in an interesting way

  And, well, what made this thing even more special was the introduction to the first arc of the series that brought a full-on twist to its episodic style, being also the first arc that needed a short recap at the start of the episodes

  The betrayal arc

  Which is something that I want to analyze

  First of all, what makes it interesting is the fact that Raimundo, a protagonist, willingly sided with the bad guys. No mind control, no corruption, and not even possession

  It was his choice to join Wuya, which made it on more impactful when he chose to do the right thing in the end

  Secondly, his betrayal is also interesting because it seems that what led to it was something simple, but you can actually go deeper into it

  If you think about it, its possibility was hinted from episode 5, and what led to the betrayal is a series of circumstances and motives

  Let me explain

  At the beginning of the show, each monk got their special episode, where they get to fight their own showdown and show more about themselves. Omi got episode 1, Clay got episode 2, Kimiko got episode 3, and Rai got episode 5 (episode 4 showed a Shen Gong Wu that was useful in defeating Mala Mala Jong)

  In his episode, Raimundo showed a desire to be active, ingenuity, arrogance, bravery, and most importantly, his reaction to failure: irritation, frustration, crossing his arms, deflective/defensive behavior, and closing himself off from others

  He’s the kind of person who avoids showing vulnerability by keeping a lot of his emotions inside and showing tendencies of self-isolation, especially when he’s experiencing failure. One thing to keep in mind is that he later on showed determination of proving himself only after Fung went to talk to him, who he helped him redirect his frustration and energy to something productive

  In episode 8 we get to see more of his bravery, heroism and even self-sacrificial tendencies, by facing the Sapphire Dragon on his own in order for his friends to have a chance to escape

  And aside from hints of his kindness and care throughout every episode (up till episode 11 at least), episode 9 clearly showed his care & brotherly behavior from his worry that he had towards Omi being lost in New York

  Although, episode 11 showed him being annoyed at both Kimiko & Clay, and how his frustration can lead to him wanting to distance himself from others

  All of these are important elements for the season finale

  Now let’s go to episode 12. The monks having to run away with their Shen Gong Wu is a direct conflict with Raimundo’s traits & beliefs: he hates staying still, he has a tendency to be heroic, he doesn’t like to feel defeat from the enemy and most importantly, he has a strong desire to protect others

  So him staying away from an enemy that he only heard how strong he is, an enemy that was endangering Fung & the other people from the temple, was not an option in his mind

  And just like in episode 8, he went to face the enemy alone in a desire to protect

  And naturally, he was punished by this

  Honestly, I really like this moment. In other shows, the character could have been appreciated, praised or even rewarded for this act of bravery (My Hero Academia being an example of that), because this is an heroic act, right? Because the character went to face an enemy, when others were running away and trying to think of a way to defeat it while people were in danger

  Here, this was not rewarded. It was rightfully seen as reckless, because being a hero is not just about acting. It’s about doing the right thing, it’s about knowing when it’s the best to act on instinct, and when it’s the best to take a moment and think on how you can help

  Intention is not enough, as you can have the best intentions and still endanger the ones close to you

  Master Fung was right not to reward him for this

  And naturally, Rai doesn’t understand the reason at this moment of time. Because in his perspective, having the heart of a hero is enough, having the bravery to act in times of crisis and help others is enough. He still has yet to learn that you have to first think of a plan before acting, that a hero needs to be brave and wise

  This situation is understandable on both sides. Master Fung sees the flaw in Raimundo’s act and doesn’t reward him for it in order to prevent it to become a habit, and Rai doesn’t yet understand what he was missing in his action and sees this as being unappreciated, as being a failure

  And just like episode 5, he reacts to this failure like the last time: deflection, frustration, and isolating himself from others

  As he walks off, Omi tells the others to leave him be, as this is Rai’s journey for self-reflection

  Which frankly, was a mistake on the other’s (particularly Omi’s) part

  And we know this because of episode 5. Because, Rai only worked on learning and bettering himself after Fung went to talk to him, otherwise he would have still been closed off from others. This showed that Raimundo needs someone to talk to him about the situation in this state, to provide him direction or to give him support. The fact that no one went to talk to him probably led to his thoughts and frustration intensify, which was a factor to his betrayal

  Honestly, if the other monks went to him and had a conversation like Fung did in episode 5, maybe he would have striven to become better and prove himself 

  But I don’t say this to imply that the other monks are at fault for this. They didn’t know that this is what Rai needed, they didn’t even know how to handle this situation (as Rai seemed to reject them when they tried to support him), and Omi genuinely thought that he needed to reflect on his actions alone

  (And they did go to talk with Rain when he left frustrated in episode 18, possibly showing that they learned from this instance)

  I would also like to think that Fung was aware of Rai’s isolation tendencies, which is part of the reason why he asked him to stay when the other monks were getting their new training. He probably didn’t want Rai to be alienated from the group, and this could have been an opportunity to get him motivated to become better, by reaching to his competitive nature

  But to be honest, this was a mistake on Fung’s part. Raimundo saw this as mockery instead of encouragement, and Fung should have gone to him or intervened when Omi (unintentionally) insulted him

  But I could also see that in Fung’s point of view, him trying to reach out or talk to Rai could have made things worse, because unlike episode 5, Fung was the reason why he felt like this. So Rai would have either not listened to whatever he said, or he would have taken it as negative

  Only his friends could have done something in this situation, but Omi already butchered it up, so what was left for Fung to do was to give him space. After all, Raimundo was not obligated to stay if he didn’t want to

  If you think about it, Fung is an interesting character, for being defined by action and inaction. The feeling that he gives me is that he’s someone who tries and wants to help, but he’s unable to, either because of circumstances or by personal beliefs

  And we do see how Fung’s beliefs contribute to Rai’s betrayal. After Raimundo gets more annoyed because of Omi’s comment, he decides to leave this unpleasant situation and go to a familiar place that he sees as a positive one: Rio

  We see how his tendency to close himself off causes distress in him. He doesn’t know what to do with his feelings, and his choice is to stay in a place all alone while searching for something to help him relax, in this case being Rio’s sight

  And this is when Wuya comes in

  I do want to comment that it’s possible for this place to be a recurrence for Raimundo, where he goes to relax or take his mind off of things. This could explain why Wuya was able to find him that fast, since she did go inside his mind

  Now, this moment of temptation seems pretty straight forward: Wuya offers him stuff he likes, and he chooses to betray his friends for that stuff. But from all we’ve seen so far, I would say that there was more to this temptation for Rai

  First of all, he’s all alone. His friends are not beside him, and he didn’t get any direction for his feelings. And as we’ve seen in episode 11, it is possible for him to emotionally distance himself from his friends when he’s frustrated or annoyed, so it would make sense that right now he’s at odds with them

  Second, he’s in clear distress. At this moment, he’s in search of an escape, for something that will make him get away from this unpleasant situation. So the offer of getting things that make him happy is even more tempting for the kid’s mind

  And third, which is the most important fact, he’s in search of appreciation. All of this was caused by the feeling of being unappreciated, so Wuya offering him this and talking to him likes she sees something in him seems like a glimpse of appreciation, of understanding

  And because of circumstances, this was enough to make Raimundo side with her

  But this was not an immediate decision, not at all. I actually think this decision was made after he got the Reversing Mirror

  Now, I do want to comment on the fact that he didn’t change his outfit in the showdown, which could be interpreted that he sided with Wuya at that time. But I don’t think that’s the case

  You see, the beauty of this show is that it has a lot of details and subtlety that can be interpreted however you want, or if you see them they come off as a nice reward. The outfit change in showdowns is one of them

  My personal interpretation is that it depends on the person’s perspective. On some occasions, if the person thinks that they need a special outfit for the showdown (example being some showdowns that are related with cold weather), then they will change into something fitting with what they have in mind. But otherwise, they will change into Xiaolin robes if they think (or feel) they’re on Xiaolin’s side

  In this case, Raimundo keeping his casual clothes shows that he was not on Xiaolin’s side. I would like to believe that he was unsure on whose side to be, and he decided that he will choose at the end of the showdown

  And well, I think Omi’s comment after the showdown helped him make a choice. That choice being Wuya’s side

  I don’t want to make it seem that Omi is the cause of this, because this was a matter of circumstances. With all of the other factors and conflicted emotions he’s been through, Omi’s remark made him realize that, at this moment, he doesn’t want to go through the trouble of proving himself to the others, while getting more annoyed and frustrated in the process

  He wanted to take the easy route that offered him an easier life

  And this route was Wuya’s side

  So yeah, this betrayal may look simple, but it’s a cause of circumstances, mistakes and a kid’s unhealthy coping mechanism, that being his tendency to close himself off from others

  Also, I want to make it clear that you can have other interpretations for this! You can see this moment however you want, and it can be different from the way I see it, which it’s valid and great! And honestly, I don’t think the show planned it to be something deep in the first place haha

  The fact that I can personally interpret it as something like this is one of the reasons why I love this show so much, and it’s why I seem to get back to thinking about this cartoon from 2003 so often

  So yeah, this was my ramble about Rai’s betrayal

#xiaolin showdown #gh rant #raimundo pedrosa #character analysis #I have too many thoughts about this cartoon in my silly little brain #And sometimes these thoughts need to go out somewhere which that somewhere is this blog #Also I’m always open to talk with other people about this show this is a fact

[yell0wsalt]

🔀 Your favorite pairing

This was a fun freebie! I decided to go with Irosami :)

****

Iroh ran his life with a set structure and routine. Work, gym, read, sleep, repeat. While he didn’t find anything necessarily wrong with what he was doing, there was something in it he felt… missing.  

One day he was sitting in the park, mulling over his thoughts over what it could be when his gym friend Bolin slid up next to him to drop a flyer in front of his face.

Literally.

Wordlessly, Iroh peeled it away to see what it had to say. 

Aunt Wu’s Museum of Illusions.

Looked like it was an immersive museum that had a bunch of exhibits for old and young alike. “Experience what you once thought was impossible and shape your own story,” so the tagline read. 

Bolin suggested checking this place out after hearing about it through the grapevine. It could be something interesting to do as a weekend activity.

Iroh thought the lot of it sounded like a bit much, but maybe getting out and trying something new could be what he needed. And so he agreed.

After paying an outrageous amount of money for the tickets, the two were in. The exhibits they went through were pretty interesting thus far, and Iroh was admittedly glad to have gotten out with his friend. Just as they were wrapping up, there was one final exhibit that seemed to garner the greatest attraction. 

Aunt Wu’s Painted Fortune.

Apparently it was one of those exhibits “you have to experience for yourself!”

Bolin was immediately excited and that meant both him and Iroh were going to check it out.

When it was Iroh’s turn, what he hadn’t expected was the exhibit to be nothing more than a full body-length frame. Iroh raised a wary eye being instructed to simply walk through. 

It was an empty frame, what was it going to do?

But when he did, he was transported to a dream world of watercolor. As if he had stepped into an actual painting. While he felt like himself, all of his surroundings were a conglomeration of bright shapes and colors he could vaguely make out. As if he were without his glasses. 

What he could make out was him being in an open field and a cabin in the distance. 

And so that’s the direction he took. 

Knocking on the front door, a woman opened the door for him. He was surprised to find someone else here and wanted to ask her so many questions. But every time he did, it would end in failure. She would move her mouth as if she were conversing with him, but her voice did not reach him. It was just as good as talking underwater.

Iroh didn’t get much of a chance to try and learn more about her, booted out of the realm he was in back to reality. He came from the exhibit stunned, but the image of the woman with raven hair and red lips stayed with him. 

The mystery ate at him. 

Was there anything to these dreams? Was the exhibit a fortune of some sort? What did it mean? 

He needed to find out. And so he visited the museum again. And again. And again. 

Each time he would have small encounters with this woman that built upon the one prior. Safe to say he was particularly invested in this person, and seeing who they could be.

Eventually with a certain level of concern, Bolin convinced Iroh to take a break from visiting the museum of illusions and go out to a bar instead. 

Iroh gave in and they got ready for the night.

Sliding up to the bar, Iroh ordered a drink to mindlessly swirl. He was disrupted from his thoughts by a velvety smooth voice on his left.

“Excuse me, is this seat taken?”

When he turned to tell them it’s free, he was momentarily stunned.

It was so familiar.

The raven hair and red painted lips.

They smiled at him in gratitude and the woman extended a friendly hand, which Iroh took into his own.

“Nice to meet you. Name’s Asami.”

🔀 and a pairing

#ficlet #iroh ii #asami sato #bolin #irosami

[haruhar-u]

The second chapter of the thing

a/n also written in February/March so different writing style

TWS for this chapter:

-Death of a parent

-mention of childbirth (not in detail)

-discussions of death

link to the first chapter

3am and I’m woken by a gentle tap on my head. I roll over to not y’know face the wall and see what or who the hell is prodding me. It’s Tian, he’s in tears and his hair is a mess.I get up and face him. “Hey, what happened?” I ask, sitting up then reaching out to smooth down his hair.  Screw my sleep schedule, Tian’s more important. 

“I wanna see my mom.” He mutters 

“This late?” I mean this has happened before, usually due to a terror revolving around his mom which he seems to get a lot. I always drive him since he doesn’t want to drive himself.

Tian nods. I grab 2 hoodies from the pile I had next to my bed. I put one on over what I wore to sleep and hand Tian the other, “It gets cold at night.”  

We then walk out to the car, I get into the driver’s seat and he gets into the front passenger’s seat. I drive about 10 minutes through the city at night, it was still quite busy, I suppose the saying ‘the city never sleeps at night’ is true. 

I pull up in the driveway of the cemetery and park the car. We get out and I follow him to his mom. It’s  about a 5 minute walk and we stop once we finally spot his mom, Guizhong Wu. He rested his head on the tombstone and started speaking to her in Mandarin. After I helped him light the incense stick as an offering to his mother. The tombstone was the cleanest one I’ve seen, there’s no moss growing on the stone and the grass around it is trim. He told me that when he was a child, his father banned him from visiting his mom, not even during the Qingming Festival which  I guess is like their version of Día de los Muertos. Even now he has to be careful to not bump into his dad here. He never told me why. 

A gentle breeze comes by and ruffles Tian’s hair and only his, I feel like that’s his mom letting him know she’s there. I make sure to keep my distance and give him some space. He gets up, bows three times to the grave and goes over to me. “We can go home now.” 

I nod and put my arm around him just cause I felt like hugging him but felt that’d be inappropriate right now. 

“Your hoodie smells like you.” He commented once we got into the car.

“Is that a good thing?”

“Mhm, I might steal it.” 

“Hey, can you tell me why your dad banned you from visiting your mom?” I’m scared this question may upset him and part of me thinks I’m stupid for asking but the other part of me knows I’ll understand him better if I know. 

“I’ll tell you later, can we go?” He says, avoiding my question. I think the part of me that thinks I’m stupid for asking is correct, stupid. 

I nod and start the car, “I’m going to stop by a 7/11 is that ok? My little sister is coming over soon and I wanna give her a lot of snacks”

Tian nods at me.

I put 7/11 in my  GPS and began to drive. Once we get there, I buy a whole load of snacks and instant noodles for Val for when she arrives from Australia in 2 weeks. I also buy a whole ton of snacks for Tian, as well as a slushie for him. I don’t want to have to take another fast-acting  insulin shot (already had to take one last night ), so nothing for myself. We don't care that it’s 5 am. Then we decide  to walk 20 minutes to Central Park to hang out. I don’t think we’re getting any sleep tonight, this isn’t our first all nighter so we’ll be fine!  

We sit on a bench near the Gapstow Bridge. Tian rests his head on my shoulder and I feel his hair brush up against my neck. The sky looks almost like a painting with the mixtures of pastel oranges and yellows with a touch of red and white fluffy clouds that look like something someone would take a bite out of. The sun peeks over the horizon, the reflection of the sun shows in the murky waters of the pond and the birds  start to come out and sing. I think I can hear a mockingbird among them, I really used to like birds when I was a kid, it was a stupid obsession really. 

I whistle the Mockingjay Whistle from the Hunger Games and  surprisingly a mockingbird whistles back. Tian looks up at me equally as surprised and I grin back at him. I didn’t expect a bird to whistle back. 

A little old lady walks by us and she smiles at us, “you two are a really cute couple.” 

Tian’s eyes widen and I awkwardly laugh “Oh, we’re not-“ she has already walked away. 

“Do we look like a couple?” Tian asks me

“I suppose so, but who really cares. As long as we both know it’s platonic” I shrug 

Tian nods then bites his lip, “I suppose you wanna know why my dad didn’t allow me to see my mom.” 

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.” I offer, I look directly at him.

Tian takes a deep breath, “He blames me for her death. So he basically sees me as a devil's spawn that’ll have to repay him for doing the bare minimum.” He blurts out. 

I wrinkle my brow, she died when he was just a baby, how the hell is this possible. 

“She died due to complications with childbirth from what I’ve heard. ” 

I put my hand onto his shoulder “Hey hey, it’s not your fault, you probably weren’t even an hour old. Your dad’s just delusional and wants someone to blame.” 

“I was never even allowed to celebrate my birthday…” Tian lets out a hollow laugh, “The birthday party you and Luka threw for me 2 years ago was actually the first time I celebrated it.” 

“Oh..” What am I supposed to say to that? ‘I’m sorry’, ‘I’m sorry this happened to you?’, ‘I hate your dad.’ Or just hug him. I decide to just hug him and not say anything. That’s the safe option, I would think. I pull him into a hug and hold him tightly, just like how I’d comfort my sister when she was younger.

Tian relaxes as he feels a lot less tense the moment I hug him. He doesn’t seem too upset about his dad. Sadly I think this means he’s used to how his father treats him. What kind of sick man would even treat his own son like that?

“He obviously never really cared about my hobbies or grades, I used to try to do really well when I was in elementary school to get his attention because I wondered why all the other kid’s dad’s loved them but mine doesn’t love me. When I got to high school, I just stopped trying and nearly failed and was almost held back a grade twice, so then I dropped out when I was 16.. And not many people are willing to hire a high school dropout.” He lets out a sigh, “I was kicked out when I was 18 and had to couch surf.” 

I blinked at him, taking a moment to process what he just told me. “How did you make enough money to go to the  concert where we met?”

 I was never really low on money (considering my parents send me money which is what I survive off of) as I grew up in a rich household and went to some fancy private school where the worst thing that happened to me were kids asking me to sing Despacito when it was popular because I speak fluent Spanish —the meaning of the song scared me as a kid— or when I realized I’m the heir to my family’s fortune, that’s weird to think about. I had everything I could ever ask for,a personal attendant and more as a child. My mom is the head of the Mexican embassy in Australia. My dad is a lawyer who immigrated with her. I have Australian citizenship because I was born there, Mexican citizenship because both my parents have one and American permanent residency. If you were to ask where I’m from I wouldn’t be able to answer. Honest

“I won a giveaway.” 

Now that I think of it none of us have a job since I rely on money sent from my parents, minus Luka , but he relies on his shop on Etsy anyway.  Luka usually tries to offer me discounts if I try to buy one of his paintings but I refuse the discount and pay full price. Ah, shit my mind is wandering again.

Tian laughs hollowly again, “the band’s all I have at this point.” 

“Then we have to get like famous and make loads of money!!” I declare, puffing out my chest and sitting up a little straighter.

This takes Tian aback. “You think we’re good enough?” 

I grin, “Of course, we’re the best band in the world!” 

“Really?” 

I laugh, “Perhaps an interpretative dance will make you understand better.” I say getting up from the bench and moving to stand directly in front of where he’s sitting. 

“Oh god, Micah please no.” Tian says while obviously laughing.

I start to play the air guitar or as I like to call it the air bass with as much energy as I have, “so you see this is us playing our instruments and just being ourselves,” then I start skipping around with my arms out, “and this will fans flocking towards us!” I sit back down next to him. I grin, “Does that explain my plan?” 

“I didn’t think you’d actually dance.” Tian pieces together while laughing uncontrollably. 

“Well I did, ha!” 

“How do you even think we can get famous?” Tian asks me once he stops laughing. 

“We do really well in performances and hope that we get lucky.” That’s  really all I could think of at the moment.

Tian looks at me and nods and I smile at him. Then I wrap my arm around his shoulder and pull him closer to me as his rests his head on my shoulder once more.

taglist: @xen-blank @krenenbaker @edith-is-apparently-a-cat @the-banana-0verlord

#ocs #my oc stuff #oc stuff #oc story #original novel #original character #my writing #idk what else to tag #anyway

[unforth]

Today I'm Thinking About...

...well, actually I've been thinking about this one for the last few days. We're on family vacation and I'm exhausted but whenever I get a minute and a little brain power I've been thinking about...

Hualian fantasy/soulmates AU, WARNINGS: manipulation, abuse, non-con, torture, kidnapping, permanent injury (read as: Jun Wu is involved, note that this starts as Jun Wu/Xie Lian)

(read more)

Xie Lian is living a rather pampered upper class life in fantasy ancient China (no cultivation and whatnot, folks are just rich/wealthy/possibly royalty, I haven't thought that part through that much), dreaming of his future life, what his soulmate might be like, all that loveliness, when everything goes wrong: he's abducted. Xie Lian never sees the person (he assumes man, because penis, though it's not like he was in a position to confirm their gender); they always wear white robes and a crying/laughing mask - even when they're hurting him and hurting him and hurting him, even when they've got him pinned down and are using his body while he screams and cries and begs them to stop, even when they are finally captured and Xie Lian is finally rescued.

And, oddly, from that rescue comes what he thinks (at the time) is a good enough turn to make the agony worth it, because he no sooner is saved when it turns out the leader of his rescuers is his soulmate. He's a handsome, dignified older man who shares the mark that Xie Lian must have manifested while he was unconscious - a curious pattern on each of their necks, shaded a color of blue so bright it seems to glow, especially in low light.

At first, Xie Lian is extremely happy with this match. Jun Wu is gentle with him, nursing him through his recovery, protecting him, soothing him when he has nightmares, holding him when he can't sleep, really he's a perfect, attentive, sweet husband. And Xie Lian, as vulnerable as he feels post-attack, is content to be doted upon.

Even when it means he doesn't really...go anywhere...ever...anymore. (It's better to stay home anyway - it's safer than in the outside world, where any stranger could be duplicitous.)

Even when his friends distance themselves and he's left with a social circle composed solely of his husband. (And if he misses Feng Xin and Mu Qing, well...he's tried to outreach to them, and they always make excuses, and then don't come, and...well, if they don't want to see him, that's okay. He won't force them. Even if their absence hurts.)

Even when sometimes Jun Wu pressures him into doing things he'd prefer not to. (After everything Jun Wu has done for Xie Lian, how ungrateful would he be if he wasn't willing to bend to give his husband the few things Jun Wu wants?)

Even when...

...and it's after several years of this that Xie Lian starts to notice that there are a lot of "even whens" and that there are a lot of times when Xie Lian gives and gets nothing back and that Mu Qing and Feng Xin seem interested in seeing him until the moment they meet Jun Wu's eyes and that Xie Lian is bored and...and...and...

...he's unhappy.

There. He's admitted it to himself. He's really unhappy, lonely, hurting, and yes, he loves Jun Wu, but he doesn't love how controlling he's become, doesn't love how their relationship has shifted over the years. Or maybe...maybe it's that Xie Lian has changed, and their relationship hasn't. Xie Lian doesn't need to be coddled any longer, doesn't want to be coddled any longer, and yet...

But after several attempts to broach the topic with Jun Wu, Xie Lian has gotten absolutely no where. Jun Wu won't hear him, and Xie Lian can't bring himself to be louder, more direct, more assertive.

Finally, after considering the problem alone for a long time, after failing at every attempt to force a change in how Jun Wu perceives him and treats him, Xie Lian hits on an idea.

What if, he suggests to his husband one day, Xie Lian started practicing martial arts again? He used to be an adept, but his wounds had left him unable to continue, and he'd never resumed the practice because...he wasn't even sure why anymore. And he wants to. He misses it. And it'd be some time with people who aren't Jun Wu, to go some place that isn't home, to interact as himself instead of as an appendage of his husband.

Well, maybe Xie Lian can't think why he didn't resume martial arts, but Jun Wu is full of reasons he thinks Xie Lian shouldn't. "It's too dangerous!" "I can't protect you when you're there!" "What if you get hurt?" "You know no amount of martial skill protected you from Bai Wuxiang..."

And five years ago, two years ago, last year, even a few months ago, Xie Lian might have left it at that. But he's stronger now, more confident in himself, more healed (and didn't he heal because of Jun Wu? Isn't he being awful, using all that goodness and energy Jun Wu poured into helping him recover and using it to make demands that will make Jun Wu unhappy?) and he wants to get out of the house, and so he puts his foot down. Insists. It won't be dangerous! It's his old training hall! Feng Xin and Mu Qing will be there, and so will other family guards and old friends. It'll be fine.

And, finally, with the air of one indulging a child, Jun Wu permits it: a few incense time a day, a few days a week, Jun Wu will escort Xie Lian to study martial arts again.

It's not enough, and far less than Xie Lian wanted, but at least it's something, and he can always do additional training at home. At first, Jun Wu not only escorts him but also stays the whole time, and everyone except the shizun avoids him, but after a few weeks it's more time than Jun Wu can spare, and Xie Lian has been careful - and it aches to feel how cautious he's being - and toed the line so that Jun Wu will have no reason to think anything untoward will happen while Xie Lian is there.

And so, finally, after so many years, Xie Lian has a few hours to himself, outside their shared house, and it's glorious. He'd recognized his displeasure, but the depths of it don't become apparent to him until he's alone and sparring with Feng Xin and he feels like he's come back to life. And his friends...at first their cautious, but slowly they become more personable again, and when they talk to him about what drove them away...

"We kept inviting you to stuff, but you always declined."

(What invitations? What declinations? Xie Lian saw none of that!)

"You made plans with us and then didn't show up!"

(What plans? When did Xie Lian ever miss an opportunity?)

"Jun Wu said that you..."

And isn't that what it always comes back to? As good as Xie Lian feels when he's at the training hall, he's starting to feel sick and uncomfortable at home, but he knows he can't let on to that - knows that if Jun Wu suspects for an instant that anything is amiss, he won't let Xie Lian go any longer.

And that Xie Lian is that scared of Jun Wu, that cautious of Jun Wu - that Jun Wu is that controlling and has that much power over him - that something so simple can make Xie Lian so happy and be taken away so easy - is the scariest part.

Xie Lian is really, really not okay.

Xie Lian really, really has no idea what to do about it.

As powerful as Jun Wu is? As rich? How could Xie Lian ever break free, and who would ever believe that he even needed to? To those on the outside, it's a fairy tale story, a dream ending, a perfect life. Poor little rich boy, coddled and loved so much he's unhappy? Boo hoo hoo. Mu Qing would probably smack him for even suggesting it, and even if he could get Feng Xin to listen, how could Feng Xin help? He's just a guard - a no one - he wasn't able to save Xie Lian from Bai Wuxiang (when Jun Wu was able to!) and Jun Wu is far more powerful (and dangerous, Xie Lian dares allow himself to think) and basically...it's hopeless.

But.

There is one glimmer of hope, one thing - one person - who keeps Xie Lian going to training, keeps him pretending, keeps him watching the narrow path between to gaping chasms rather than risk losing what little life he's managed to carve for himself.

His name is San Lang.

He's a young disciple at the training center, probably a decade younger than Xie Lian, barely of age, and oh...he's wonderful. Smart, funny, irreverent, and - in some ways best of all - unintimidateable. He's tall, his hair long and shimmery, one eye perpetually covered by bandages that he never explains and that never seem to hinder his martial skills. There's never a moment where he seems in awe of Jun Wu, never a moment when he stops himself from saying exactly what he thinks. He's also a fantastic martial artist, though he seems to be...basically no one aside from that. He's not powerful, not known, and even Mu Qing disdains him as beneath Xie Lian's company. None of that stops Xie Lian from spending time with him, though. Under the guise of teaching, they're together a lot, often one-on-one (or at least, as one-on-one as they can be, a pair sparring in a noisy room full of other people also sparring), and Xie Lian wouldn't trade those few minutes for anything.

What stands out to him most, as he reflects on their developing friendship, is a strange distinction he wonders if he's imagined. In his life, he's had many people who care for him - people who think he needs to be looked after, seen to, catered for - but he's never had anyone before San Lang who cared about him - wanted to hear what he thought, listened to what he said, laughed with him and for him instead of to indulge him. Even his closest friends can't compare, especially not with how strained their relationship is now. Xie Lian can't bring himself to explain that he did none of the things Feng Xin and Mu Qing think he did, can't face their condemnation of himself OR of Jun Wu should they really learn the truth; with San Lang, Xie Lian doesn't need to explain, doesn't need to face any hard truths. He can just...be. No ruined relationships heavy on his shoulders like the crumbling facades of an ancient buildings.

Just Xie Lian.

Just San Lang.

It's really wonderful.

And throws into stark relief how unwonderful Xie Lian's home life is. Especially because - despite early attempts to convince himself otherwise - things with Jun Wu are getting precipitously worse. What little control Xie Lian could exercise over his life is gone now - his ONLY leeway is training. What little attention Jun Wu paid when Xie Lian said "no" about something was gone now. And, weirdest of all, Jun Wu kept...hurting him? No, that wasn't exactly right. Considering how much pain Xie Lian had experienced in his life, calling the weird way Jun Wu kept clawing at Xie Lian's back, especially during sex, "hurting him" was a stretch, but...it DID hurt. And other times, even though he always used to prefer naked intimacy, now Jun Wu often had Xie Lian remain clothed, and he'd reach under Xie Lian's robes and claw at his back while fucking him ruthlessly - once leaving a bleeding rent, even.

But what could Xie Lian say? What could he do? He was trapped.

At least he got to see San Lang a few precious days.

And then he doesn't, because he can't - because Bai Wuxiang has returned. It's haunting glimpses at first, but when Xie Lian tells Jun Wu, Jun Wu tells him he's mistaken - confused - crazy - over-stressed. "Maybe martial arts IS too much for you," Jun Wu allows kindly, but Xie Lian refuses to stop going, refuses to give up himself now that he's carved out an iota of personhood again.

Somehow, he can't escape the feeling that his unwillingness to relent and give up isn't just related to Bai Wuxiang ultimately kidnapping him again - it's why Bai Wuxiang kidnaps him again. Thinking on that, wondering about it, trying to put together the scattered puzzle pieces and small suspicious he has, is his only escape from the renewed parade of awful that is being Bai Wuxiang's prisoner. While his memories of last time paint the experience as brutal, he doesn't think he's underplaying the past when he allows himself that it's even worse this time.

The knives are sharper.

The cuts are deeper.

The rape is rougher.

He hurts all over, and, when he thinks he can't hurt more, when he thinks things can't get worse, when Bai Wuxiang has him chained up, is using his body, is laughing maniacally while tugging at the cuts and whip-slices that criss-cross Xie Lian's back...it gets worse. Because, mid-coitus, Bai Wuxiang takes an heated iron and presses it to Xie Lian's flesh. He can hear the sickening sizzle of his own skin and muscle burning before he feels the excruciating pain, before he shrieks and shrieks and shrieks while Bai Wuxiang laughs and thrusts. It goes on forever, he thinks, before he finally, finally passes out.

And he wakes up at home.

And the same gut-wrenching horror he feels at being with Bai Wuxiang roils his stomach when he opens his eyes to be greeted by Jun Wu.

"I should have listened to you," Jun Wu says mournfully. "I won't make the same mistake again. I can't lose you. No more social events. No more strangers in our lives. No more martial--"

"No!" Xie Lian interrupts. If he loses that, he'll truly have lost everything.

They argue about it for the entire month Xie Lian is healing.

Mu Qing and Feng Xin try to visit three times that Xie Lian is aware of, maybe more that he's not aware of, and Jun Wu drives them away. Xie Lian is increasingly sure that his friends know something is Very Wrong, but there doesn't seem to be anything they can do about it.

Which makes it especially shocking when a deep, achingly familiar voice wakes Xie Lian from a mid-day nap while Jun Wu is off living the life he's completely cut Xie Lian off from.

"Xie Lian?"

It's San Lang.

"You can't be here." Panic has Xie Lian breathing so fast he's light-headed. What will Jun Wu do to San Lang if he finds him there? What will Bai Wuxiang do? What is the relationship between Jun Wu and Bai Wuxiang? Because Xie Lian can no longer believe it's a coincidence, no longer believe it's an accident...he knows Jun Wu too well now. And oh, he fears.

"Where else could I be when you're in danger?"

"Out of danger. Safe. Anywhere but here."

But of course San Lang ignores him, stays - but not in a controlling way, but rather in a gentle and patient one. He soothes Xie Lian, promises that his being there is safe, vows that Jun Wu won't find him or hurt him (as if that's something he could possibly prevent!), and...they talk. At first, it's about nothing, but slowly the topic spins around to what's happened. And while Xie Lian aches to finally pour out everything to someone OTHER than Jun Wu, longs to lay out his convoluted, ludicrous suspicions to San Lang, he doesn't.

Instead, he rolls onto his stomach and lifts his robe. San Lang spins around to avoid looking, but Xie Lian explains, "there are no mirrors in the house, and I need you to tell me something. What is on my back? What is there that would cause"--Jun Wu to hide that spot, to claw at it, he doesn't say--"Bai Wuxiang to try to burn it away?"

It takes a little coaxing to convince San Lang to actually look.

But when he does, he freezes, mouth slightly open, eyes wide.

"San Lang?"

"I'll kill him," San Lang vows.

"You mustn't!"

"What else could I possibly do in this situation?"

"What's there San Lang?"

Taking a deep breath, letting it go slowly, San Lang closes his eyes, turns around to show Xie Lian is back, and raises his own robes. Beside his spine, just above the waistband of the loose white underclothes he wears, is a tattoo - a soulmate mark - of a silver butterfly in flight. The ink shimmers when the light hits it, and Xie Lian finds himself reaching for it, barely stops himself before he touches inappropriately.

And it's while he's staring that he releases...that butterfly is in the same place on San Lang's body as the place on Xie Lian's body that Jun Wu kept abusing, that Bai Wuxiang branded over.

For a wild moment, elation floods Xie Lian at the thought that San Lang, San Lang, could be his soulmate! Yes, please, only him, always him, I'll do anything for even a single incense time in his company, I'll do anything for--

Then the elation evaporates, because of course San Lang can't be. Xie Lian already has a soulmate. He already has a tattoo. He already has a--

Dropping his robes once more, San Lang sits on the edge of the bed, his one eye overflowing with kindness and at least a couple tears.

"How could I do anything less to the man who's hurt my soulmate?" he says kindly. "When I was with you, I thought...but I knew it couldn't be, even though I'd manifested the mark. I wanted...I yearned for the impossible. But I misunderstood. It wasn't impossible, and it can be. The proof is there." He gestures at Xie Lian's back.

"What's there?"

"Mostly scar, now," allows San Lang. He reaches out, hesitates, hovers his hand near over Xie Lian's back, doesn't touch until Xie Lian gives a nod of approval. Their first touch outside of a practice ring, and Xie Lian can feel San Lang's hand shaking, revels in the warmth of the trail he traces. Closing his eyes, Xie Lian tries to determine the pattern San Lang is making...

...an oval...

...a second oval...

...a long stick-like shape with rounded ends...

...a butterfly.

"It's still there," San Lang murmurs. "I can still make it out, barely. He tried to destroy it, but he can't. He can't destroy you. He must hate that."

"He must hate me," mutters Xie Lian, and he knows it's true.

Not Bai Wuxiang - if there even ever was such a person as Bai Wuxiang.

Jun Wu.

And Xie Lian tells San Lang everything.

(and...I'm not gonna write more of this right now, in part because I haven't actually gotten further than this in my imaginings, in part because I just kinda don't feel like doing more rn. But I'll keep playing with it and see if I can't give it a satisfying conclusion. Even if I don't, you can assume San Lang is gonna leave barely enough of Jun Wu to fill a thimble, and then he'll give that thimble to Xie Lian and let Xie Lian deal the killing final blow, and that Hualian will ride off together into the sunset.)

#unforth writes #hualian #tgcf #given how these posts usually do i'm expecting maybe 3 people to read it #but oh well i had fun with it and it's nice to write literally anything again

[celestialmango]

1) Wondering about the genetic cocktail that would make Dino sun, moon and eclipse highly intelligent, if maybe illegally Afton (I guess the equivalent of Henry wu?) Or Vanny added human DNA to the mix? Not enough to really show physically or vocally, but maybe so that they were smart enough to follow more complicated commands if they had plans to use them much like the raptors, but didn't expect them to be as smart as they were? Hehe, with sun showing more friendly behaviour to reader, I can't

2) help but imagine him acting more cute or trying to engage with toys and other things to lure reader in. At least now reader won't have to sedate them for check ups and treatment, even if there's a big chance of being swallowed. In the breach version, hopefully dinos know to keep their distance from reader or they may end up as food. Eclipse's one was so sweet, saving all his keepers and visitors he could save, especially the kids. What a way to find out he had a crop XD ~Shy

🥭:It would have been Henry at Afton's suggestion, they did it to Eclipse first and big boy very harmless (unless angered), Afton didn't even want to try taking Eclipse because he seemed too docile for anything Afton had planned. Either way the cocktail I said before is just what the staff knows in that scenario. Also yes, Sun tried acting as cute as possible for a big scary dino while Moon just watched him act like a fool going "Sun, it's not gonna work Sun" while thinking of his own plan, eventually coming up with, okay, what if I act unconscious instead of asleep?

If not for the whole trapped or breakout thing Moon's plan would have worked, Sun would end up sedated and Reader would approach a seemingly unconscious Moon, Moon waiting to catch a whiff or hear whatever human the let in here speak, if it's not his keeper he'll keep up the act, best not let them find out he's just acting. It's when they get in front of his face that Moon can truly confirm or not, if it's confirmed that it's his keeper, his eyes snap open, he quickly rolls and stands looks around like he just woke up, looks down at reader, huffs like he's disinterested in them despite him not getting up to eat during his act so he is a bit hungry (he can handle that feeling though)

Then he just lays back down, blocking readers escape, with reader looking startled because this is supposed to be the extremely aggressive one out of the two. While in Moon's head if he acting like he's docile to them = they will be less scared of him = they will stop sedating him = he can nom them while during a check up he can trick them into making themselves easy prey then where there's no staff to stop him and no camera's to prove he did it. During his next few check-ups he lures them into trusting him, then after Sun has been taken care of and taken back to their enclosure,after he himself is taken care he's act like something is stuck in his teeth.

They check the outside see nothing, have him open mouth and see into it, they don't see anything, thinking it's too dark, keeper turns around and like a yoshi Moon quickly sticks his tongue to them, yanks reader back and before reader can even scream, nom. Now Moon has a squirmy reader in his stomach and he just lays down on his side to just bask in the moment...for three hours because he fell asleep, reader is still squirming now and then when they have the strength to. Moon wakes up blinks tiredly, then bleh, reader is now on the ground and in shock when they see the clock. Then they look as Moon who is basically stretching after a long nap, looks at the clock, back at Moon

Reader is now like "What the fuck just happened and how the hell was I in there so long without being harmed?" Because usually starts digesting stuff within twenty minutes, reader is caught between the thoughts of angry 'he fucking ate me' and 'holy shit he let me live' so is kinda just upset confusion, Moon just staring at them thinking it's possible he may have just broken them. Till he hears reader go "why?" And it sounds like he's laughing at them. Reader now thinking after Moon laughing that he wasn't actually just wanted to see their reaction to him nomming them for a few hour and thinks the reaction he got was fun.

Moon's gonna be so smug when he gets back to the enclosure because his plan worked and Sun's didn't. Like Sun will catch a glimpse of a slime coated reader before the door closes behind Moon.

Now as for the breakout, Reader is constantly smell like Sun and Moon's inside, completely soaked in that scent, smaller dinos know how the pair smells and one of the two is always lurking nearby supervising reader. (I totally forgot to mention Sun is a 'chases down food' predator and Moon is an ambush one) so yes they keep their distance except for the foolhardy ones that immediately get nommed, even the raptors won't go near those two, especially single Moon keeps ambushing raptors and yanking entire packs into his mouth as a meal.

As for Eclipse, yeah, really scary situation to find out he has a crop in.

#mango answers #🦖☀️🌕

[flowercrownjay]

the alliance- prologue

attached is the prologue of the alliance, a serpentine wars and beyond pre-canon ninjago fic. all the chapters are posted on my ao3, which is attached. i'm posting the entire prologue on here just for reach, but the other chapters will be posted on ao3 due to length issues.

Garmadon stood guard outside the monastery. The night was nearly over; the first rays of sunlight spilled over the horizon, turning the sky golden and deep red with colors. Wu watched from the armory, waiting for the last stars to disappear before coming outside.

“Brother,” Wu said, and his voice was hoarse from disuse. Garmadon turned around- the bags under his eyes had darkened. “I will take your watch now.”

“It’s about time.” His brother’s voice cracked. Garmadon came over, shoving his staff in Wu’s chest, not maliciously. “My legs are killing me.”

“As are mine,” Wu agreed, walking to the threshold of the monastery gates. “All of our legs hurt, Garmadon. But we must keep fighting.” 

Garmadon let out a sigh. “Of course,” he said, and met Wu’s eyes. For a moment Wu saw Garmadon’s eyes as a warm brown again, but the illusion faded. They were still red. “Of course, I know.”

“Then get some rest,” said Wu, turning away. He faced the sunrise, squinting against its blinding brilliance, and heard the echoes of Garmadon’s footsteps fade into the distance.

And for a moment Wu felt peaceful. He felt stable, calm like there was no war going on, no conflict raging in the fields below them. Immediately he regretted the feeling; how could he be peaceful when others were suffering? What gave Wu the right to even a minute’s peace, when so many other people had been in devastation for years?

For five years the people of Ninjago had lived in poverty, in desolation, as the snakes had plundered and pillaged their villages, and for five years Wu and Garmadon had been Ninjago’s sole protectors. But there were only so many people they could keep safe.

The snakes had taken the east first because they had known it would crumble faster. They had gone from the Serpentine Valley straight to the Desert of Doom, and then to Stiix, which had fallen in a matter of days. It had only taken six months to conquer the east. 

After that, they had gone to Primeval’s Eye, and the Wailing Alps. No one lived there, but the snakes had taken it for themselves. They took control of the center of Ninjago, and the eastern seaboard was utterly lost for whatever resistance there was. 

All of that had taken a year and a half. The west had proven significantly harder to topple, because of the sheer size and the geography separating it from the east. Wu’s resistance had been able to keep them out for three years, but the last of them had fallen Ouroboros last winter. Then, for a long time, the snakes stopped. 

It had been a red herring to throw Wu and his fighters off guard. Capturing Ouroboros had never been the goal- they had always wanted the western coastline for themselves, and a month and a half ago the serpentine had begun to press again. Wu and Garmadon hadn’t been able to stop them.

They’d been pushed back to the Corridor of Elders, but even together, the two of them had been no match for the five mighty Serpentine tribes. It was the Anacondrai that had defeated them at the end, and the Anacondrai that declared victory over the unmoving bodies of villagers.

Wu sighed, snapping himself out of his thoughts. There was no time to dwell on the past, not when there was so much work to be done. He glanced inside the monastery gates- Garmadon was sitting by the window of the armory, bent over a table with his back turned. He seemed to be writing a letter, and Wu already knew who it was for. 

Master Chen had abandoned the resistance ages ago, even before they had been defeated at Ouroboros. He was a coward. Wu knew that, and he knew Garmadon knew that as well. 

“He’s my master,” Garmadon would say every time Wu had confronted him about it. “I have to make sure he’s alright.” And Wu knew that was true as well. 

Garmadon turned in the window. He caught Wu’s eye and frowned, dark brow furrowing menacingly. He stood up, disappeared behind a wall, and a second later was standing on the front steps. “What are you looking at?” he asked, his voice rough with annoyance.

“Nothing, brother,” replied Wu, turning back around. 

Garmadon let out a loud huff of frustration as he drew closer, coming to stand by Wu on the stone steps in front of the gates. He was looking away from the mountain. “Last night I could hear their screams,” he said in a constricted voice. Despite the poison that ran through his brother’s veins, Wu knew there was still good in him.

“The villagers?” Wu asked, dreading to hear the answer he already knew come out of Garmadon’s mouth.

Garmadon didn’t say anything; he nodded. “We cannot continue to wait like this.” 

“The snakes will not take the city until they see us fall,” said Wu. “It’s us they want to see suffer.” 

Garmadon looked over at him. I think you know why, Wu thought. 

“We cannot let these people die,” Garmadon insisted, and Wu knew he was right.

“You and I don’t stand a chance alone.” 

“So we don’t fight alone,” Garmadon pressed. His red eyes brightened, and he turned, frown disappearing. “Do you remember Morro?” 

“Of course,” Wu said tightly; he did not want to think about Morro. That had been three years ago- why did Garmadon bring it up now?

“He was an Elemental Master,” Garmadon said. He grinned, and turned away, lost in thought. Wu frowned, waiting for him to go on. “There are others like him out there.” 

“Others like Morro?” Wu asked. “Yes, I know. But I don’t know who they are.” 

“Then we need to find them,” said Garmadon.

“For all we know, they could be dead already,” Wu tried. He didn’t want to train anyone else. 

“We won’t know unless we try.” Garmadon stepped closer to Wu, coming almost nose-to-nose with him. “We must do something, brother.” His voice was crackling with barely suppressed rage.

“You are right,” Wu said, closing his eyes. There was a long silence. “We leave at noon.”

#ninjago #serpentine war au #the alliance fic #my post #my art #writing #lord garmadon #sensei wu #ninjago fic #morro #but only a small mention

[maedre13]

TGCF fic recommendations

A rec list for my very special friend @heyheyheyhaveyouheardabout, but I think everyone should enjoy reading these!

The Bride Selection

Xie Lian held up the flyer, and squinted at it through the eye-holes of his mask. Beneath the words ‘Join the Selection! Be the Ghost King’s Bride!’ the sweeping eaves rendered in wobbly black ink matched the silhouette of the building in the distance. Paradise Manor. The Ghost King’s home.

...The Princess and the Pea retelling? Set before the events of the novel. The Ghost King of Paradise Manor is selecting a bride. Xie Lian doesn't really know what he's doing there.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/36000520/chapters/89742727

.

No Water Is Enough

Once, the emperor of heaven saw that his troublesome successor had what he had always desired so dearly. To teach him a priceless lesson, he took it for himself.

Hua Cheng faithfully serves the god who saved him as a child— the one he has worshiped for 800 years— the one to whom he gifted his ashes: The Heavenly Emperor, Jun Wu.

Xie Lian just wants his beloved back, no matter what it costs him.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/32270962/chapters/79986262

.

Heaven Official's Affair

Given the kind of husband Hua Cheng undoubtedly is, it's not a surprise that His Highness the Crown Prince of Xian Le has taken a lover. Or, actually, lovers. Two. Wei Chengmin, freshly ascended and only starting to learn his way around in Heaven, decides to become the lover number three, and vows to make his way up in the harem.

Or: a new god makes an assumption about Xie Lian, and it snowballs from there.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/28315635

.

The Thirty-Fourth

“His name is Hua Cheng?” Xie Lian can’t help but smile, touching the fingers that stranger held so gracefully. “It suits him!”

“Your highness,” chokes Feng Xin, his familiar voice made strange with pain. “That creature, he—”

“He?” Xie Lian prompts when Feng Xin falters.

“He fucking murdered Mu Qing!”

— 500 years ago, Hua Cheng challenged 35 gods with his ashes and their divinity on the line. 34 of those gods accepted.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/37224736/chapters/92874937

.

All’s Fair in Love and Crime

He Xuan shrugged. “Taizi Dianxia got there first.”

Hua Cheng stared at him. In less than a day, someone going by “His Highness the Crown Prince” had appeared out of thin air and taken over the biggest arms dealing operation in a hundred-mile radius? “Who the fuck is that?”

https://archiveofourown.org/works/37134196

.

The One Fallen From Grace

Hua Cheng has a crisis of faith as yet another of his birthdays approaches with Xie Lian getting worried and stressed while thinking of a gift. Like everything he does, Hua Cheng's crisis is unparalleled.

In fact, it nearly destroys everything. Including Xie Lian's heart.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31851736

.

a kind of guilt

“Alright, alright,” Xie Lian amends hastily, “but it’s just a little pinch. It can’t hurt that bad. It’s not any worse than what we sometimes do in bed, when you—”

“Gege!” Hua Cheng looks really aggrieved, now. “How can it be the same?”

“Because you’re doing what I want,” Xie Lian says, trying dutifully to ignore the heat creeping across his face. “Would it help if I ordered you? If San Lang didn’t have a choice?”

Vampire! Hua Cheng and Xie Lian are trapped and starving; the solution, to Xie Lian, seems obvious. Hua Cheng disagrees.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/34348333

.

Beginning; Anew

There’s a clash that leaves his ears ringing and body trembling as lightning bursts in the sky above him. It’s familiar, Xie Lian knows this feeling of empowerment running through his veins. The next time he blinks, he’s standing on marble floors, tainted with the dirt on his worn boots and Heaven meets his gaze with it’s perfect palaces full of luxuries and riches. The Crown-Prince of Xian Le has ascended for the fourth time, almost two centuries early. __

Xie Lian remembers falling asleep at his husband's side in their shared bed, but he wakes up to the familiar scent of rotting, dirt, and iron in a familiar coffin more than seven hundred years ago. His memories are a mess and he can't figure out how he landed in the past although he isn't entirely alone. Black Water Sinking Ships is there and while he can help fill in some of the blanks, the reality of their situation is grim and there doesn't seem to be a way back home.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/37041025/chapters/92421385

.

Be gay, do crimes

During his first banishment, Xie Lian learnt the concept of robbery. His second banishment has brought with it circumstances dire enough to occasionally go and do it. However, with being Xie Lian comes great misfortune to account for.

Or: one day, Xie Lian decides to rob a fancy manor in order to survive winter. What could possibly go wrong?

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21793258

.

Strictly business

He Xuan and Hua Cheng’s relationship was a business transaction. They exchanged favours and information, nothing more, nothing less. Precisely why they chose for said exchanges to take place during regular tuesday tea and brunch meetups was irrelevant.

It was just convenient! He Xuan would have asked for food anyway, so why not make it a lunch thing? Simple practicality. And if they gossiped (conferred, the much-feared demon kings did not gossip) about their personal going’s on, then that was also just business was it not? It’s important to maintain good relationships with people who are useful.

- He Xuan gives Xie Lian the shovel talk.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/30704891

#so many good fics out there I couldn't possibly list all of them here #tian guan ci fu #tgcf #heaven official's blessing #hualian #hua cheng #xie lian #fic recs #maedre13 #if i have listed any fics I did not review on I am terribly sorry I'd like you to know that i loved it

[baoshan-sanren]

qi ye and woh spoilers!

I’m glad that everyone’s FINALLY seen the “My soulmate? You don’t qualify.” scene because 1. major, sick burn, but also 2. oh boy, does it say some really fascinating (and by fascinating I mean sad) things about prince jin

this is gonna be some qi ye spoilers, but in tyk, prince jin is already an emperor, and he’s an emperor because jing beiyuan and zhou zishu (along with other 3-4 people who end up dead) put him there

helian yi’s (prince jin) ambition for the throne seems to have sprung entirely from a. being named crown prince on his father’s whim, and b. as a result in having two pretty fucking awful brothers whose ascension to the throne would have likely destroyed the empire, so right off the bat, he’s a fairly sympathetic character despite some of his more unlikeable traits

like, prince jin is, in fact, the least terrible choice out of all, and even jing beiyuan, who has been entangled with him for an entire lifetime already and knows all his flaws and failings, still understands that helian yi is the only viable choice for the emperor

but the thing is, prince jin had a soulmate, and it wasn’t zhou zishu

in jing beiyuan’s first lifetime, the two are inextricably, obsessively tied together, and are, in fact, destined to be entangled again and again across seven lifetimes (”karmic allocation with Helian Yi” are bai wuchang’s exact words)

but in his seventh lifetime (the word of honor/faraway wanderers lifetime), jing beiyuan just simply decided to nope right the fuck out 

he still puts prince jin on the throne because the other choices are still abysmal, but he keeps his distance. and although prince jin’s obsession with jing beiyuan still seems to follow a similar trajectory, there is a sense that in this lifetime, he is left incomplete by jing beiyuan’s intentional distance and absence

so right off the bat prince jin is a man whose “fated person” if you will, has decided to have absolutely nothing to do with him, going as far as to fake his own death in order to escape this “karmic allocation” and spend the rest of his life with a man (wu xi) he had chosen for himself 

jing beiyuan was, in fact, the only one who KNEW prince jin, and while we’re used to seeing this “knowing” as the end game (wenzhou, the four sages), the person who KNEW prince jin simply said “I don’t want this”

jing beiyuan may know prince jin, but in this lifetime, he does not allow prince jin to know him back 

and this is why I’m fucking in love with qi ye, but also, this is why that line “My soulmate? You don’t qualify.” is so goddamn sad because you know prince jin is wrong, that the person who was actually destined to be his soulmate decided that they don’t want to be, and he’s only latched on to zhou zishu to fill that gap with someone else

#山河令 #word of honor #七爷 #qi ye #woh spoilers #qi ye spoilers #meta #in conclusion prince jin is a dick #but he's also kind of sad

[stellartales]

zhongli ▪︎ glazed moon

pairing: zhongli x traveler!reader

genre(s): comfort + mild angst + fluff

summary: liyue harbor is once again preparing for another festival — the mid-autumn festival. but somehow she simply couldn't bring herself to join the others in the celebration. definitely not when her heart is aching in melancholy for her missing twin. — | m.list

background: this scenario takes place during the mid-autumn festival - as quoted from wikipedia - it is the second-most important holiday after Chinese New Year with a history dating back 3,000 years, when China's emperors worshipped the moon for bountiful harvests.[2] The celebration is called Chuseok (autumn eve) in Korea, Tsukimi (moon-viewing) in Japan and Tết Trung Thu (Mid-Autumn Festival) in Vietnam

this event celebrated by the chinese is usually spent eating mooncakes and drinking teas. lanterns are also an important aspect of this festival. unlike the yuanxiao fesitval or mingxiao festival (which is the fictional festival featuring best boy Xiao in GI) where lanterns are released into the sky, lanterns are hand-held. this is a festival i celebrate every year hence i'm familiar with it — feel free to read up about this on wiki!

a/n: don't mind me, this is just a random idea that popped in my head. i'm in the mood for some angsty stuff these days so just had to get it out. Flute version of 无羁 (Wu Ji) from the drama 'Untamed' was the song which inspired my angsty mood while typing this. pardon my errors (I may have missed them and i kinda wrote this on a spur sooooo yea)

Please do me a favor and reblog this. Thank youuuu ❤

the vitality of liyue harbor has always been astounding; an envy of the seven nations.

bright, bustling streets even in the darkness of nights was enough to show the nature of the city.

though, today it was a different kind of bustle. stores were already closed; even the nocturnal businesses that one would only see at night.

the moon had been bright and round the past few nights while the people busied themselves for another festival to come.

— the mid-autumn festival, an annual festival celebrated by the people of liyue or at least that was what zhongli explained yesterday when he extended an invitation to her to join him and others in moon-gazing today.

tonight, the moon shone bright and full in the clear dark sky, seemingly more so than the previous nights.

strategically rooted to the ground of a spacious balcony overlooking the gentle waves below, the stone tables were in a perfect spot beneath the brilliant moon.

colorful mooncakes of various flavors and teacups filled with steaming tea laid before her.

she sat at one of the round stone tables with some funeral parlor staff and of course, zhongli himself who has been rather busy ever since she arrived—

the cheerful chatters and laughter drew her eyes away from the empty seat beside her and to the tables across theirs.

his archon days were over, he said.

he was simply trying to experience a mundane life as 'zhongli' now, as the geo archon had put it when she expressed her surprise at his involvement with a festival fabricated by the mortals' minds.

and indeed—

her gaze idled on him.

— he was doing it too well.

illuminated by the golden glow the table lanterns emanated, the cordial and relaxed atmosphere was warmed by attentive eyes and smiling lips.

all on him.

apparently, some things never changed. whether he was rex lapis or zhongli, he carried an alluring elegance and charisma. clinging to every word and his occasional hand gestures, they were like moths drawn to a flame.

she could understand why; she liked hearing him talk. she would have gone over too, if not...if not for this weight on her heart.

it has been nearly a year since she was in teyvat looking for her twin. these few days in the harbor, the full moon was a constant reminder of how time has passed, and yet...

a heavy sigh escaped her. a longing gleam waned in her eyes as she lifted her gaze to the sky.

they used to talk and eat under a full moon just like this, a bitter ache clenched her heart.

her teeth sank into her lower lip as it trembled.

please...not now. her hands curled into shaking fists as she tried to hold back the tears threatening to leave her eyes.

not now. not at this party. she silently pleaded with herself, her squared shoulders shaking. it took all her willpower to not let the dam break.

but one managed to escape her anyway.

—shit.

she was up on her feet fast and slipped away from the party as subtly as she could.

stumbling out of the party half-blind with tears wasn't exactly the best situation to remember about the cloak meant to keep her warm on an autumn night.

luckily, she didn't end up falling off the stairs she currently sat on.

autumn in liyue was typically not cold, but tonight seemed especially so.

she shivered to the chilly breeze brushing against her back. goosebumps crawled across her skin, particularly on the areas her dress failed to protect against the cold.

she couldn't quite bring herself to go back for the cloak. not with the mess she was now.

the sight of the round moon above wavered in her vision as tears quietly trailed down her cheeks.

under the vast, seemingly endless night sky, she felt small...

— her knees were drawn closer to her chest, curled fingers digging into her dress.

...and extremely powerless.

where is he? why can't she find him? is he even in teyvat? Is he even...still alive? does he even exist anymore?

—a dreading sense of hopelessness echoed in her heart and summoned another wave of tears wavering her vision.

under this wide, endless sky and its luminous moon, she felt alone, truly alone in the presence of the joyous cacophony of laughter and playful yells coming from the festival she left behind.

a nasty voice prompted by the noise taunted her — of how no one would notice, even if she were to walk right out of liyue harbor right now.

drowning in harsh, relentless thoughts, she failed to notice the gaze of a pair of wise, golden eyes on her back, soft with concern.

long legs covered the distance between them in a quiet, graceful stride; the gentle clacks of his loafers whenever their heels hit the ground slipped past her notice too.

not even when he climbed down the steps to settle himself next to her, a step above hers.

not even the inevitable proximity between their bodies caused by the short stairs spacious for one but narrow for two.

only until his coat was off his shoulders and wrapped around hers—

"why the tears on the mid-autumn festival?"

—she jolted with a sharp gasp, her widening eyes snapping over to him.

the calm and prodding gaze that met hers was accompanied by the tender brush of his thumb across her left cheek, right under her tearing eye before switching over to her other.

"zh-zhongli?"

she stayed stunned, unsure she was feeling so because someone noticed she had left or was it because of this simple gesture.

zhongli has always been a mentor-like figure to her. his words, his wise gazes, the comforting pets he occasionally gave on her head and back had always reminded her of how she was a mere child in his eyes.

but tonight...this, nothing about the gentleness his hand or his eyes emanate felt normal. or was she just delirious?

the strange stutter of her heart caused by the hand on her face, the blush heating up her cheeks made her tear her gaze away from his, flustered.

zhongli let his hand drop back onto his knee, but his eyes stayed.

crossing her arms to hold onto his coat sitting on her shoulders, she thought hard to recall his question.

"i can't help thinking about my brother, that's all." she looked back at him, smiling.

a smile he thought reminded him of the moon when it was not yet full — a quiet light melancholic with vague sadness.

"don't worry about me, i'll be fine." she slipped a glance over her shoulder in the direction of the festival. "you should go back there, zhongli, they need you. what's mid-autumn festival for liyue without you?"

she moved to remove the coat from her shoulders, but a hand wrapped around her wrist stopped her.

"but what's mid-autumn festival without you, my dear friend?"

zhongli regarded her intently, his eyes boring into hers for a second before shifting to focus on his coat.

there was something else in his eyes when they return to hers; it came and went in a flicker. "...keep this on, it's chilly today."

"thanks..." she murmured, her shoulders sinking as she yet again returned her thoughts to her brother.

"aether..." the pain she guarded showed on her face. "will i ever be able to see him again?"

tears started to well up in her eyes once again.

"i'm sorry, zhongli, i'm so sorry..." a quiet sob broke through, "today is supposed to be about the mid-autumn festival, and yet...here you are, listening to me."

zhongli's mouth opened then snapped close.

he always knew what to say whenever she was in a pinch. however, it was tears this time, and he wasn't exactly sure about what he should do about his body's urge to extend his arms out to her.

he was already more than a thousand years old.

as the former geo archon, he was the immovable rock. emotions and impulses he used to hold within himself in his younger days were buried deep under the sands of time...or at least they should be.

so where did this come from? was this strange stir an inevitable part of being a mortal?

"you know what?"

her movement to rise from the spot beside him turned his head back to her.

resolute hardened the glint in her tearing eyes, "i don't want to hold you back any longer,"

her fingers curled into a shaky fist, nails digging into her palm.

"....the people need you. i-i think i should just go bac—"

his hand flew out before he could think any further; his body was faster than his thoughts this time.

her next breath puffed out of her, in surprise and bewilderment as her body was tugged and cocooned by a breathing warmth before she could understand what happened.

and when she did, her eyes flew wide.

cheek pressed against his neck, she found herself held to his chest. she could feel his chin atop her head and his arms around her.

he was beside her a moment ago, and now he was behind sharing the same step as her, broad enough to accommodate them. was she the one who moved? or did he?

she didn't know how but she couldn't find the energy to care —the scent of musk and lingering tea engulfing her was an alluring comfort that made her want to stop trying.

so warm. really, really warm.

and so was his voice. "...but you need me." a hand caressed the back of her head.

there was a pause before a feigned cough ensued. "i meant, this."

#genshin impact #zhongli x reader #zhongli imagines #genshin impact x reader #zhongli x you #zhongli x traveler #zhongli x lumine #zhonglumi

[morkofday]

Atlas: Enneagram + DMBJ Characters (3/?) ↳ Type Two: Zhang Qiling

"If something’s wrong you can count on me. You know I’ll take my heart clean apart, if it helps yours beat." x

@creatorsevents Recreate Your Creation: My old Enneagram + The Untamed -series x

for a person like zhang qiling who even himself doesn't know who he is, choosing a type was almost impossible. the laws of "typical humans" don't really apply to him, so to speak. but type two still seemed to fit the most as it describes the version of zhang qiling we see once he's allowed to be and do what he wants, mostly after the iron triangle has already retired.

type twos are decribed as caring, self-sacrificing and generous ppl. despite zhang qiling's various memory losses and ppl using him in his vulnerable state, he has not turned into complete stone. he saves those he considers innocent, tho he also lets go of those he doesn't see necessary to save. deep inside he is a caring person who will sacrifice for those he considers his. his ten years behind the bronze gate are a testimony of that.

in this sense, zhang qiling also has the bad tendencies of type twos as he often forgets about his own needs while focusing on others. as he hasn't been allowed to express his own wants and needs in his life, ignoring them has become easy. disconnecting from himself, he regards himself inhuman and a monster, which seem to connect to what is seen as type two's deepest fear – being unworthy of love:

"They [twos] believe they must always put others first and be loving and unselfish if they want to get love."

zhang qiling might not have been taken care of in his life but he still has this wish of being loved deep inside of him. his wish to not disappear even when his memories do seem to speak of this old fear. meanwhile, he is ready to hurt himself to protect those he doesn't want to be affected by his unnatural life.

zhang qiling's precense is, despite of this, a great comfort and inspiration to others:

"They [twos] enliven others with their appreciation and attention, helping people to see positive qualities in themselves that they had not previously recognized."

i feel like this decribes the relationship zhang qiling has with wu xie. it is also what zhang qiling means to pangzi as pangzi always trusts xiaoge's presence when in need, and it can be considered something that makes liu sang see zhang qiling as his idol despite not knowing him.

when it comes to the levels of development for type twos, it's hard to say anything as zhang qiling hasn't been able to cumulate all of his life experiences and change accordingly. i mostly pick up traits from the best levels as he shows empathy, care and generosity towards ppl he sees as important. he has not learned to take care of himself but i cannot recognize the manipulative, people-pleasing and selfish traits described on the lower levels for twos. he will not force ppl into loving him or feel bitter about their distance as he is most likely going to outlive them all and should stay in his solitude for their sake. is it altruism or his simple wish to redeem himself when he comes to help others either way?

when considering other types, i see some aspects of six and five in him. six is present in his sense of loyalty, five in his curiosity – tho i ponder if that curiosity exists simply as a wish to know or if it's just his desperation to learn what his past was like. another type i consider close to zhang qiling is type one with its selfcontrol and sense of purpose (tho, once again, i ponder if this is simply him speaking or the ancient duty installed to him). his wing i would put in type one too, naming him "servant".

what i consider his other half tho, is type four. type fours are invidualistic, honest, sometimes moody, and isolate themselves very often as they think that others don't understand them. they place a lot of weight on discovering who they are, and even if this is also tied to zhang qiling's horrible duty and what it has done to him, it's also the force that drives him forward. zhang qiling even has his "one connection to the world" to work as the miraculous rescuer fours often seek while trying to figure out what they hold inside of themselves. he wants to know who he is and be content with it.

#ceproject2 #dmbj #ultimate note #zhang qiling #xiaoge #countaspieceofme #dmbjenneagrams #if someone thought #that zql wouldn't be blue #then i hate to disappoint lol #also pingxie make pangzi so #it's kinda fitting hehe

[rosiehunterwolf]

stuck with you (through bright and blue)

Prompts: Protective

Word Count: 4,400

Characters: The squad

Timeline: Pre-movie movie!verse

Trigger Warnings: Manipulation, Toxic Friendship

Summary: Kai only wants two things: to protect Lloyd, and to give him the best birthday ever. Unfortunately, Lloyd seems hell-bent on making that as difficult as possible. Kai’s always prided himself on achieving the impossible, but dealing with human emotions is much more complicated than beating up Garmadon’s generals or shooting enemies with fire, as he quickly learns. Movie!verse

Read on FFN.net

Read on Ao3

Tumblr work under the cut

“Woah, it looks like a massacre in here.”

At the sound of Cole’s voice, Kai, Jay, Lloyd, and Zane looked up from the map they had sprawled out across the table. Red pen was everywhere, circling different buildings and connecting them with lines.

“We’re having trouble finding a venue for Lloyd’s party,” Zane explained.

Nya rolled her eyes. “It’s not that hard! Just pick somewhere!” She held a hand out, shaking her phone. “We have five days until his birthday. Most places require at least that many to book a reservation. If we don’t decide today, we’ll have nowhere to go.”

“We can’t just pick anywhere,” Kai insisted. “It has to be perfect!”

“Why don’t we just go to the arcade?”

“It’s always so busy there.”

“It’s a Wednesday night! How many people are going to be there?”

“Trust me,” Jay said, “It’s still busy. It always is.”

Cole peered at the map. “Why’d you cross off the movie theater? Isn’t there a new Starfarer movie Lloyd’s been wanting to see?”

Kai shook his head. “Tickets sold out in like five hours. By the time school was over and we got over there, they were all gone.”

Jay frowned, running his fingers along one of the major streets. “What’s your favorite restaurant, Lloyd?”

“A restaurant? Are you serious?” Cole laughed. “We’d get kicked out in ten minutes.”

“Why can’t we just do it at my place?” Lloyd murmured. “I don’t need anything big deal.”

Kai frowned. “Your apartment isn’t that big, Lloyd. And I don’t want to bother your mom with all the decorations and stuff.”

Lloyd shrugged, looking down. “It doesn’t need to be big.”

“If you really want something simple,” Nya said, “why don’t we just do it at the warehouse? It’ll just be us, but there’s lots of space.”

Zane nodded. “That space would suffice. We would just have to ask Master Wu.”

“That is, if you’re certain that’s what you want.” Nya looked at Lloyd closely. “You sure you don’t want to do anything else?”

Lloyd nodded.

“Positive, bud?” Kai pushed. “Because it’s your birthday. We don’t mind at all.”

“I’m fine,” Lloyd insisted, getting to his feet. “It’s just another day on the calendar. Don’t make such a big fuss.”

The ninja fell silent.

“Lloyd,” Nya murmured, “it is a big deal to us.”

“Sorry. I’m just tired. And I’ve got homework. I should go.”

“Lloyd, wait-”

The green ninja pulled away from Kai’s outstretched hand. “I’m fine, Kai. I just have to go. Call me if you need anything.”

---

When they went back to school on Monday, their teachers loaded them with assignments, and Kai didn’t have a spare minute to talk to Lloyd in their shared classes. He couldn’t even talk at lunch because Lloyd had to make up a test. He kept his eyes peeled for his friend every time he was in the hallways, but if there was one thing Lloyd was good at, it was not being seen.

At the end of the school day, Nya texted him to meet up near their lockers. He got there and found her huddled around her locker with Cole, Jay, and Zane.

Kai walked over to them. “What’s going on? Where’s Lloyd?”

“He said he’d catch up with us later, which is why now is the perfect time for party preparation,” Jay said, gesturing towards Nya, who had a fiercely determined look on her face and was tightly clutching a clipboard. “Apparently she’s been waiting her whole life for this.”

“Alright.” Nya looked up from her clipboard. “I’ve already got streamers and gift wrap at home. What about you guys?”

“I’ve got a banner ordered with his name on it,” Cole said. “And of course, the shark tablecloths-”

Jay blinked. “Sharks?”

“Yeah. He loves sharks.”

“No, no, no, you’ve got it all wrong! We’re getting the dragon ones! He loves dragons!”

“Well, yeah, duh, but he’d obviously like the shark one better.”

“Are you kidding? Sharks would remind him of his dad’s mechs!” “Yeah, well, dragons remind him of his mech, which also reminds him of fighting his dad.”

“Totally not the same, plus dragons are way cooler-”

“Okay, we’re going with the Starfarer ones, then,” Nya grumbled. “What about balloons? Who’s covering-”

“I have balloons,” Zane interrupted. “Two hundred and seventy-five of them.”

They gawked at him.

“Zane… why do you have so many balloons just lying around?” Jay asked.

“They are new! In the package! I can blow them up for Lloyd’s birthday party-”

“Shhhhh!” Four pairs of hands immediately pushed over his mouth, silencing him, even though they were the only ones in the very empty hallway.

“No one can find out,” Cole insisted. “This is Lloyd’s special day. We’re not about to let anyone ruin it.”

“Okay, so Zane’s got the balloons.” Nya ticked another item off the list. “What about the cake? I have most of the ingredients to make one at home, but I’m completely lacking the baking skills.”

Cole nodded. “I can bake a cake. What’s his favorite kind?”

“Lloyd likes that Funfetti one,” Kai murmured.

Cole’s nose wrinkled. “I’m not baking a box mix. I can get him the rainbow sprinkles, though, and make a homemade one.”

“Okay, sounds good. Jay, could you pick up some confetti before his birthday? And Zane, we need some fun paper plates.”

“Zane, you should get shark ones.”

“No, dragons!” “Zane will pick out whichever plates he likes,” Nya snapped.

“What about gifts?” Jay asked. “What are you guys getting?”

“I’m not telling you,” Nya yelped. “I have the best gift ever and I don’t want you stealing any ideas.”

“I’ve been setting aside pieces of my allowance for a month,” Cole grinned. “It’s gonna be sweet.”

Jay blinked at him expectantly, and Cole smirked. “I’m not telling you, either, blabbermouth.”

“Blabbermouth?” he yelped. “I can keep secrets perfectly fine, thank you.”

“Oh yeah? What about that time you nearly gave away all of our ninja identities?”

“Or-” Zane added, “when he and Lloyd were working on those surprise mech upgrades and he accidentally said something in front of Kai and Nya?”

“Oh, remember when he spoiled the finale of Cole’s favorite show?” Nya grinned. “Cole was pissed.”

“Okay, okay, so there were a few times,” Jay spluttered. “But those were a while ago! I have many more secrets that I have kept than I haven’t.”

Cole crossed his arms, smirking. “Name one.”

“Well, there was that one time, where I- hey!” He stopped, glaring at Cole. “You’re trying to trick me into telling you a secret!”

“And it very nearly worked. So no. You can’t know.”

Nya shrugged. “Sorry, Jay. He’s right. When you have a secret, you get nervous. And when you’re nervous, you talk. A lot. It would only be a matter of time before you spilled everything to Lloyd.”

“Fine,” Jay muttered. “Keep your secrets.”

Kai jumped slightly as Nya elbowed him, and she frowned. “You okay? You’ve been really quiet.”

Kai shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “Is it just me, or… did Lloyd seem like he doesn’t really want a birthday party?”

The others went quiet.

“We’re not going to not give him a party,” Nya insisted. “You know how he gets. He never wants anyone to make a fuss.” Her brow furrowed. “It’s like he still can’t get it into his skull that we care about him.”

“I mean, of course I want to, it’s just… we can’t force him to do anything he doesn’t want.” Kai bit his lip. “It’s been a rough past few months for him. I just want him to be happy.”

“We all do,” Cole agreed. “Lloyd deserves a night just about him, for once.”

Zane frowned. “But how are we supposed to give him the party that he wants if he won’t tell us what he wants?”

“Let me try to talk to him,” Kai said. “He might open up more if it’s just one of us there.”

---

Lloyd, in fact, did not want to talk.

He was more open during their classes the next day, and held casual conversation with him, but forcefully avoided the topic of his birthday whenever Kai brought it up.

He huffed with frustration. What kind of kid didn’t want to celebrate their birthday? He wished Lloyd would just tell him what was going on.

He wasn’t going to, though, so naturally, the next best thing was to follow him.

He wouldn’t call it spying- just finding another way of obtaining information when Lloyd refused to give it himself. Besides, he was doing this to help Lloyd, not to hurt him.

Kai jerked himself out of his thoughts as Lloyd nearly slipped from his view. He gritted his teeth, refocusing on him. Lloyd wasn’t an easy person to follow, either.

When he finally caught up to him, keeping a reasonable distance, of course, Lloyd was hovering near his locker. An unfamiliar, dark-haired kid was leaning against it, laughing at something as Lloyd smiled uneasily. Kai edged closer, his frown deepening.

“Where’s the spike head? And the rest of your gang?”

“Kai?” Lloyd shifted. “I dunno. He probably had homework and stuff to do.”

The guy shrugged. “I kind of found him annoying, anyway. You realize no one could ever get to you when your friends were around, right?”

“I guess that’s… kind of the point.”

“You can’t spend your whole life letting them protect you. If you block out any person who hurts you, you block out anyone who could potentially be a friend, too.” The guy smiled in a way that made Kai wanted to chuck himself between Lloyd and the guy.

“That’s… that’s the thing. No one wants to be nice to me.”

“Spare me the sob story,” the guy rolled his eyes. “I know your dad sucks, but at least you have one.”

Lloyd flinched. “Sorry.”

The guy laughed, putting a hand on his shoulder and shoving him. “Stop being so jumpy, will ya? No wonder kids pick on you, you’re as harmless as a flea.”

“What am I supposed to do?” Lloyd blinked. “I can’t hit them back, or I’ll be in more trouble than I already am.”

“You don’t need to hit them, just show them you’re not a total coward! Maybe if you actually listen to them instead of cringing away, things might change.”

“Listen to them? Are you saying they’re right?”

“What does it matter if they’re right? Look, Lloyd, you’ve already got it hard enough as it is, and you’re making everything more difficult. You’d be so much cooler if you actually hung out with important people and not the outcast-losers you’ve stationed yourself with.”

For the first time since the conversation had started, Lloyd appeared indignant. “They’re not- I mean, you’re not-”

The guy laughed. “See? You can’t even get a word out. You’re so pathetic. You don’t even need the fact that you’re Garmadon’s son to get picked on, you already got it all set up for the torment-”

Kai wasn’t aware of himself pushing forward, he just was, and suddenly he was gripping the guy by the collar of his shirt, a pair of wide, brown eyes staring fearfully up into his.

“Who do you think you are and what the hell are you doing?”

“I… um, I…” the guy swallowed, his throat running dry.

“You treating my best friend like a piece of shit?” Kai shook him. “Are you?”

“I’m sorry!” The guy squirmed. “I didn’t really mean it, we were just joking around, he says that kind of stuff to me all the time!”

“Really? Lloyd. Says that. You sure we’re talking about the same person? Because I do not take nicely to liars.”

The guy squirmed harder. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry! Just please let me go, I’ll never bother you again!” Kai shot him the fiercest glare he could muster. “You better not.” He stepped back, dropping the kid, and he took off like a bullet.

Turning back to Lloyd, he saw his friend was staring at the fleeing boy with wide, disbelieving eyes, but it quickly dissipated to anger as he turned to Kai. “What the heck did you do that for?”

Kai’s eyes widened. “I was protecting you? From a bully?” Lloyd’s eyes flashed, and Kai actually took a step back. “I don’t need you to protect me! I can fight my own battles!”

Before Kai could even say anything, Lloyd was storming down the hallway and disappearing around the corner.

Kai just stood there for a moment, in shock. What was that all about? Hadn’t he done the same thing for Lloyd a dozen times? Why would defending him ever be bad?

A buzz in his pocket interrupted his thoughts. Kai pulled out his phone to see a new message in the chat from his sister.

irondragonfangirl: how r things going with lloyd

MasterofFiyaaaaa: honestly? i think i made it worse

irondragonfangirl: well u better find a way to fix it soon because his bday’s TOMORROW

MasterofFiyaaaaa: yeah i’ll find a way through to him

MasterofFiyaaaaa: i just hope he listens

irondragonfangirl: don’t worry

irondragonfangirl: he will

irondragonfangirl: just make sure u remember to listen to him too

irondragonfangirl: i have a feeling we haven’t been doing that enough

irondragonfangirl: i feel terrible

MasterofFiyaaaaa: yeah me too

MasterofFiyaaaaa: we’ll make it up to him though

MasterofFiyaaaaa: right?

irondragonfangirl: sure as long as cole doesn’t burn this cake

irondragonfangirl: seriously y did we let him bake it

irondragonfangirl: if i dont respond in the next hour just assume his house burnt down and im dead

MasterofFiyaaaaa: can i have your motorcycle if you die

irondragonfangirl: shut up

---

Kai spent an hour looking for Lloyd after their confrontation, but he couldn’t find him anywhere, and Lloyd, unsurprisingly, hadn’t answered any of the twenty-some texts Kai had sent him, either. Eventually, he had to give up looking for him and resigned to speaking to him at school tomorrow.

His birthday.

In the first class they had together, Lloyd avoided looking at him, and Kai felt an ache in his chest. Today was his birthday. He knew things weren’t going to turn out like he had imagined, but he wanted them to at least be better than this.

Swallowing back his nerves, Kai walked over to him, where he was doodling something in his notebook.

Kai cleared his throat. “Um. Lloyd?”

Lloyd looked up, an expression flashing across his face that Kai couldn’t read, but he didn’t immediately leave or turn away from him, which Kai took as a good sign.

“Happy birthday, dude.”

Lloyd smiled tentatively back. “Thanks.”

Things didn’t go immediately back to normal after that- there was still a tension between them, and Lloyd wasn’t saying much more than a couple sentences at a time, firmly avoiding the topic of the previous day- but at least it was back to a level where Kai didn’t feel absolutely horrible for ruining his day. Lunch, at least, got a smile out of him- as well as a bunch of embarrassed blushing as Nya stabbed a candle into his brownie (they couldn’t actually light it, lighters weren’t allowed on campus) and they insisted on singing to him so off-key that Cole looked like he wanted to punch them.

When the last bell finally rang, Kai headed over to Lloyd’s locker, hoping they could talk now that there weren’t other kids around, but he wasn’t there.

Kai relented, pulling out his phone.

MasterofFiyaaaaa: Lloyd? i know youre upset but can we plz talk?

He held his breath, staring at the screen intensely, as if that would make Lloyd respond.

While he was waiting, a message from a group chat popped up.

irondragonfangirl: what’s taking so long jay, we need those decorations

jaybird123: eta 5 mins

jaybird123: i literally just left class how’d you get there so fast

jaybird123: wait you didn’t use the tunnels did you

irondragonfangirl: no me and cole are bringing the CAKE remember?

irondragonfangirl: im not taking that through the tunnel

irondragonfangirl: we didnt spend 3 hrs on that for it to get squished

irondragonfangirl: i told the nurse i wasn’t feeling well so i could go home early

irondragonfangirl: why didnt YOU take them

jaybird123: i couldn’t exactly discreetly smuggle all these decorations into my locker

jaybird123: mmm cake. is it good?

irondragonfangirl: don’t even THINK about it, that’s not until Lloyd gets here

jaybird123: but im hungryyyy

jaybird123: do i need to pick up anything for dinner?

rock’n’cole: nah it’s cool, we just found out lloyd’s favorite chinese restaurant, the Bamboo Dragon, delivers so we’re gonna order from there

jaybird123: my mouth is watering already

ZaneJulien:0xD;): Jay, you shouldn’t text while driving.

jaybird123: tell nya to get off my case then!

irondragonfangirl: exCUSE me zane you are supposed to be putting up those balloons right now why are YOU on your phone

ZaneJulien:0xD;): Why are you texting me? We are in the same room.

irondragonfangirl: why are YOU texting ME

rock’n’cole: would you guys just stop being dumb and come help me

irondragonfangirl: great now you got cole in on it too

rock’n’cole: would you two just GET OFF YOUR PHONES

Kai was interrupted from whatever turn the conversation was going to take next when he finally got another notification.

thegreendragon: ok. you know where i’ll be

Kai blinked, turning towards the doors and pushing through them, walking out onto the school lawn. The main feature was the football stadium, although there were other things as well- large trees, garden patches for the science classes, picnic tables for eating lunch outside, if the weather permitted. And- although the students were too old for recess, now- there was still a small swing set- a simple, rusty thing, with only two swings, but it served its purpose. Sitting on one of them, gently rocking, was Lloyd.

Kai made his way over, sitting down beside him in the other swing.

“So, uh… can we talk? About yesterday?”

Lloyd nodded, and Kai titled his head at him, trying to gauge his thoughts. “Who was that kid?”

Lloyd breathed out slowly. “His name is Brad. He was my best- and only- friend in elementary school, but we were separated when I moved away. Brad’s family just recently moved to Ninjago City, and I… I was hoping to reconnect with him.”

Kai ignored the twinge of jealousy at the words “best friends.” Lloyd was allowed to have other people than him in his life, and things had obviously changed since then, anyway.

“I’m sorry, Lloyd. I didn’t mean to interrupt anything, but from what I saw… Brad was being a jerk to you.”

Lloyd shifted uncomfortably. “Yeah, I… he’s changed since we were kids. The efforts at rekindling our friendship honestly aren’t going so well. That’s… that’s why I was in a bad mood. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. You were only trying to do something nice for me.” “Don’t worry about me. But this Brad kid… anyone who treats you like that doesn’t deserve to be your friend.”

“I know, I just…” Lloyd sighed, running his fingers through his hair. “I was so eager to make a friend other than you guys…” His eyes widened as he processed his own words. “Not there’s anything wrong with you guys, it’s just- I just wanted to actually earn someone who wasn’t friends with me because of a shared occupation.”

Kai elbowed him. “Hey. This whole ninja thing may be what got us introduced to each other, but we’re not friends with you because you’re one of the ninja. We’re your friends because we love you as a person. As Lloyd, not the green ninja.”

Lloyd sniffed, giving him a soft smile. “Thanks, Kai. I’m glad I have you to protect me.”

“You don’t need protection, but you’re stuck with me as a best friend, so you’re going to get it, anyway.”

Lloyd laughed. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

His phone buzzed, and he quickly checked it.

irondragonfangirl: the party’s all set up, now the only thing missing is lloyd. did you get to talk to him?

MasterofFiyaaaaa: yeah, we’re cool now. on our way

Kai turned back to Lloyd. “C’mon, green machine. Let’s go enjoy your birthday.”

Lloyd blinked at him. “Huh?”

“Your party, remember? The one Nya and the guys have spent the whole week planning? Or is there some other celebration I don’t know about?”

Lloyd shook his head. “No, no, it’s just- I thought I messed it all up.”

“Don’t worry, we got it under control.”

“Really?”

“This is our teammates you’re talking about! Stubborn as mules. They’re not giving up on you that easily.”

“I… thank you. Thank you guys.”

“You can tell them yourself. We’re going to this party, and we’re going to have fun!”

---

Kai had to admit, he was impressed with what the others had been able to pull off in such a short amount of time.

It was nothing huge or extravagant, but it was a nice little party, and Lloyd seemed to like it better like that, anyway.

They were barely through the doors of the warehouse when Jay was launching himself into Lloyd’s arms, pulling him into a tight hug, the others close behind.

“Happy birthday!” they cheered.

Lloyd hugged them back, laughing. “Thanks, guys, I didn’t- I didn’t expect all this!”

“Are you kidding?” Nya put her hands on her hips, grinning. “We’re pulling out all the stops for our baby bro.”

Lloyd’s smile briefly flickered to a scowl. “I’m not a baby.”

“To us, you always will be,” Kai said, slinging an arm around his shoulders and ruffling his hair. Lloyd squirmed away, although he was unable to hide the grin on his face.

“Wow, this place really looks different.” Lloyd gazed around at the warehouse with wide eyes. They had pushed aside training equipment to make room for tables and chairs, and green and gold streamers decorated the walls, adorned by multicolored balloons. Someone had plugged a gaming console into the TV, as well as a DVD player next to a box of DVDs- which must’ve been Jay’s, he was the only person Kai knew, apart from Master Wu, who even had DVDs anymore- because Kai still hadn’t been able to convince Master Wu to buy them Netflix on the warehouse’s TV, getting the TV there in the first place had been hard enough as it was. On the far end was a buffet table, filled with rice, chicken, dumplings, and other Chinese staples from the Bamboo Dragon- as well as a beautiful, heavily frosted cake in the center of it all. It was decorated with rainbow sprinkles, making it completely and uniquely Lloyd.

Lloyd’s eyes were on the cake too, his eyes wide. “Cole! It looks amazing! I never knew you were so good at making cakes!”

Cole shrugged, trying to hide his smile. “I’ve had some experience.”

“Hey! What makes you think Cole made it?” Nya sniffed.

Cole blinked. “I did.”

“Well, I helped.”

Cole snorted. “Don’t know if you could call it that. From my point of view, it seems like I was doing most of the work while you were busy texting your boo.”

Both Nya and Jay turned scarlet.

“I was not,” Nya spluttered. “I was making preparations for Lloyd’s party!” “Yeah, yeah, whatever you have to tell yourself.”

“Let’s not jump to conclusions too hastily,” Jay said, turning to walk over to the cake. “The true judge of quality will be how good it tastes.”

Nya stuck an arm in front of him. “Not so fast, mister! Dinner first.”

After laughing, playing games, and eating, they insisted on opening presents. Lloyd was all smiles and gratitude with each one, which ended up sparking a debate between the others about whose gift he liked best.

“He totally loved my gift!” “Nuh-uh! Did you see the way he smiled a little differently on mine?”

“Jay, you literally gave him a book. Why would he be excited about that?”

“Not just any book! A first edition Starfarer collector’s comic from when my parents were kids, and in mint condition, too!”

“Why would you want some dusty old comic when you could have the newest Starfarer video game?” Kai argued. “It took forever for me to find one of these, they were sold out everywhere.”

“Starfarer this, Starfarer that,” Cole sighed. “I don’t understand how he could possibly need any more Starfarer things. The record I engraved for him is way more personable and unique.”

“You guys are thinking about this all wrong! You should’ve gotten him a katana like me, something that he actually needs and uses.”

“Statistically, Lloyd spends more time drawing than any other hobby,” Zane said. “Which means my gift of an art book and new set of pencils is logically the best fit.”

“Clearly you guys all have it wrong in the head-”

“Guys, relax,” Lloyd laughed. “I loved all your gifts equally.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Jay… it means exactly what you think it means.”

“You can’t even pick one gift?”

Lloyd shook his head. “No way. These are all amazing. Thank you, guys. Really.” His gaze met Kai’s for a long beat. “For everything.”

“Of course. But, just to make things clear, you did like mine the most, right? You’re just saying you liked them equally, so that you didn’t make the others feel bad?”

Lloyd smacked his forehead as the others burst into protest again, and Kai shot him a sharp-edged grin. “I can do this all night.”

Eventually, Lloyd got them to stop bickering- the mention of cake got them all quiet pretty quickly- and after divvying it up, they went over to the couch and played the video game Kai had gotten him. He quickly lost track of time, but time didn’t matter. Even if it meant they would be tired for school the next day, seeing Lloyd like this- half sprawled over his teammates, brow scrunched in concentration as he mashed buttons on his controller, hints of frosting on his lips as he tried and failed miserably to bite back his laughter- it was worth it. He looked happier than Kai had seen him in weeks.

For that, he could even contain himself from bragging about how Lloyd obviously liked his gift best.

#ninjago #ninbingo #my fic #rosie writes #ninjago kai #lloyd garmadon #ninjago nya #jay walker #ninjago cole #ninjago zane #HAPPY BIRTHDAY GREEN BEAN #I LOVE YOU SO MUCH #XD guys i got so excited about lloyd's big day #maybe i have a bit of a problem but shhhhhhhh #hope this did him tribute #tlnm #thanks for reading! #reblogs and comments greatly appreciated!

[januaryisnotanartist]

Kiss. Breathe.

Fandom: DMBJ/Reunion: the Sound of the Providence/Lost Tomb Reboot

Pairing: Kan Jian/Liu Sang

Genre: Uuhhhh... it started as a thought on ‘doesn’t know he’s a Huli Jing!Liu Sang unaware he’s eating his boyfriend’s breath’ and evolved into Aspec? (I don’t know what the right label is for this) Liu Sang having feelings for Kan Jian

Warnings: Consent Under Emotional Duress (Not KanSang), general sex stuff? the closest I have ever come to writing smut, Liu Sang’s bad luck with partners

Word Count: 2,240 ish

-

It's not that Liu Sang is sex repulsed, he likes the idea of it just fine, even enjoys the self gratifying acts of it by himself, he just... prefers the kissing part of having a partner more.

At first he wonders if there's something wrong with him, because while he knows he likes men (or at least the masculine) more than the other options, his first boyfriend makes him feel like Liu Sang is failing somehow.

Like Liu Sang should be instigating sex almost from their first kiss.

He doesn't want to, he just wants to kiss and kiss and kiss. It feels so good. But his boyfriend’s hands inevitably wander, and he pulls away to chastise Liu Sang when Liu Sang tries to shrink away. His boyfriend eventually threatens to break up with him, so Liu Sang gives in to the whining and wheedling.

Liu Sang gets off, but it's lackluster, he's had more fun by himself. It's just so much less satisfying than kissing, especially since there had been no kissing. He feels disgusting afterwards, and he's never felt like that regarding sex. A week later and his boyfriend's broken up with him anyway and he still feels unclean.

It takes him a long tome to figure out why.

-

His second boyfriend is kinder, always makes a show of checking boundaries and never crossing Liu Sang's hard lines.

And it is a show, an empty display, an act.

His second boyfriend is a serial killer, and Liu Sang ends the relationship by putting a statuette in his boyfriend's skull before his boyfriend can put a knife in Liu Sang's stomach again.

-

Liu Sang has more boyfriends, none of them last long, but Liu Sang learns what he is and isn't willing to compromise on in regards to sex.

-

By the time Liu Sang meets Kan Jian, he's very jaded, he's inherently suspicious of every man he meets. Especially the ones who seem too good to be true.

Himbos aren't real, they're just a mythical perfect boyfriend.

Liu Sang's given up on finding one.

But Kan Jian...

Liu Sang studies him intensely during the time he's working for Wu Erbai, waiting for the crack in the façade. For that hint of meanness beneath the handsome exterior and sunshine personality.

It never comes.

Liu Sang wants.

He has to stuff fantasies of being held in Kan Jian's arm and kissed breathless down into the depths of his mind. They still have to work together, and someone as nice as Kan Jian is probably already spoken for.

-

Kan Jian is single, Liu Sang finds out, but he's had partners of various genders before. The problem for those partners was Kan Jian's loyalty to Wu Xie and the Wu family. The loyalty would always come first for Kan Jian, it was just how he was built.

Kan Jian could be on a job for weeks. His previous partners couldn't handle the distance.

Liu Sang wonders if he could. Wonders if he could be enough for Kan Jian.

If he tried with Kan Jian, and things didn't work out... Liu Sang was new to the Wu family by comparison. By comparison Liu Sang was basically an outsider. If they didn't work out, if it wasn't amicable, if they couldn't be friends again afterwards... Liu Sang would lose more than just another boyfriend.

-

Kan Jian is very tactile, Liu Sang notes. He likes to touch things.

Liu Sang tries to convince himself Kan Jian would probably have grabby hands during make-outs, they'd just ruin the kissing. Not dating him isn't a loss.

Liu Sang doesn't manage to fool himself. Kan Jian has very nice hands.

-

They're on a job together and the tomb collapses, because of course it does. They race a swarm of shibie to the other exit Liu Sang can hear, leaving burning flares behind them.

They make it back, Liu Sang and Kan Jian, a few of the other men, but not all of them.

The team is pulled back from the site to wait for reassessment of the job. Shibie are no laughing matter after all.

Kan Jian knocks on Liu Sang's hotel room door, and Liu sang opens it wearing only trousers, hair still slightly damp from the shower.

Liu Sang almost regrets not putting a shirt on as Kan Jian's eyes travel over Liu Sang's half naked body.

“Are you okay?” Kan Jian asks, and Liu Sang flushes slightly at the concern in his voice.

“Of course, I'm fine,” Liu Sang shrugs, and tries not to remember the sounds of people being eaten alive by thousands of bugs.

Kan Jian nods, “okay, that's good. I was just... you seemed a little not okay earlier, so I want-”

“Shut up and kiss me.”

Kan Jian stares at him for a long few heartbeats as Liu Sang realises he's said it out loud, and not just thought it very loudly this time. Kan Jian's shock melts into something else, and Liu Sang can't help but think of Kan Jian's birthday party, the awed look he'd gotten when he couldn't believe he'd been given a gift.

Liu Sang is screaming in his mind, panicking, because what has he done?! But Kan Jian steps forwards slowly, hands reaching to cradle Liu Sang's jaw gently so he can press their lips together.

It's been so long since Liu Sang has kissed anyone, he melts into Kan Jian, uses one hand to hold the back of Kan Jian's neck and tug him along gently as Liu Sang steps back into his room so he can close the door.

He tugs Kan Jian to the bed, wants to lay down with him and kiss him for hours until they both run out of breath. Liu Sang breaks the kiss only so he can climb onto the bed.

“Take your shoes off?” he invites Kan Jian, who nods and hurries to comply. Liu Sang watches as Kan Jian bends down, his hands unlace his boots just enough to force them off. His hands hadn't moved when they'd been on Liu sang. “You don't want to touch?”

Kan Jian looks up, startled, to see Liu Sang gently stroking his skin where Kan Jian's hands had been.

“But, you don't really like being touched?” Kan Jian replies, confusion wrinkling his brow. Liu Sang feels his heartbeat falter, a tiny shock that Kan Jian had noticed what no one else had. Even after so long, he still wasn't used to the sheer amount of physical contact he received while working with the Wu family.

“You can touch tonight,” Liu Sang says, “I'd like for you to touch tonight.”

Kan Jian's brows scrunch somehow even more, he frowns, bites his lips gently in thought and tilts his head slightly. Liu Sang knows this look, had seen it the first time they'd met, had seen it when he'd deigned to participate in group games and someone started making 'adjustments' to the rules.

Kan Jian was trying to understand the new rules.

“When we're kissing,” Liu Sang says, “you can touch me. Anywhere there's skin but no clothing, you can put your hands there.”

The enlightenment and relief on Kan Jian's face is immediate and almost radiant. He straightens and kicks his shoes and socks further away from the bed, grabs the bottom of his shirt and vest and pauses.

Liu Sang considers, then reaches out to help Kan Jian out of his top layers. While Kan Jian begins crawling onto the bed, Liu Sang scoots back, laying down on his side, patting the space in front of him to show Kan Jian where he should go.

Kan Jian takes his cue and stretches out right in front of Liu Sang, so close their breaths mingle between them.

They kiss again, wriggling slightly to adjust into more comfortable positions without stopping again. They move closer, Kan Jian's upper leg slipping between Liu Sang's and Liu Sang's leg slipping over Kan Jian's hips for stability.

Kan Jian uses one of his arms to prop himself up slightly, his other arm wrapping around Liu Sang, his hand sliding along the muscles of Liu Sang's back. Not grabbing, just stroking softly. Liu Sang's arms wrap part way around Kan Jian in return, holding him close. One of Liu Sang's thumbs sweeps slowly back and forth.

It's everything Liu Sang thought it would be, but somehow better.

And then Kan Jian presses his thigh up into Liu Sang, and Liu Sang freezes like he's been doused in ice water. Kan Jian leans back, breaking the kiss, confusion across his face as he looks down where their legs intertwine.

Liu Sang almost misses it over the too loud sound of his own terrified heartbeat, when Kan Jian returns his gaze to Liu Sang and asks “no?”

There's confusion in the tone, and Liu Sang isn't sure Kan Jian is even sure what he's asking. Liu Sang just shakes his head, wanting to curl in on himself, all his confidence flitting away.

Kan Jian's 'you're changing the rules and I'm confused' look is back.

“But... kissing is good?”

And Liu Sang's fear stumbles to a halt.

He's heard versions of that line before, but it had always been in the vein of “but you like kissing, so you should like this.” Kan Jian though, his tone, the way he fumbles slightly with the words, he meant “you don't like that, but you like kissing. Kissing is a Good activity. I got that part right... right?”

Liu Sang nods.

“Kissing is the best,” he confirms. Kan Jian's confusion gives way to relief and he leans back in to kiss Liu Sang. His leg doesn't press up again, and his hands don't wander where they aren't allowed, and they kiss and kiss and kiss until they're breathless and sleepy.

Liu Sang has never felt so satiated.

-

Months later, Kan Jian still hasn't complained that Liu Sang doesn't want sex, only kissing. It feels amazing, almost as amazing as kissing Kan Jian.

They have a date, and Liu Sang is arriving to Kan Jian's apartment almost an hour early. In his defense, Kan Jian has only just returned home from a job, and Liu Sang has desserts. He can hear Kan Jian in his apartment as soon as he steps off the elevator, removing his earplugs and seeking him out.

“Liu Sang. Liu Sang.”

Liu Sang stops in the middle of the hallway, flushing as the sound of his own name, and the accompanying noises, register. Liu Sang steels himself and fishes his copy of the key from his pocket.

He enters the apartment quietly, removing his shoes and putting the dessert box in the fridge. He follows the sound of Kan Jian's panting to the bedroom just in time to see Kan Jian spill over his own hand.

Liu Sang watches as Kan Jian's muscles, shiny with sweat, contract and relax. Kan Jian's hand continues to move over himself, slowing with each stroke until at last he stops, lying still but for the heavy breaths.

Liu Sang wants to cross the room, to press his lips to Kan Jian's and swallow his panting breaths. But he doesn't, because then they'll have to have The Conversation, Liu Sang will have to make offers, will have to try and-

He hears the startled fluttering of Kan Jian's heart, and Liu Sang's eyes flicker to Kan Jian's. Kan Jian's eyes are open, staring at Liu Sang, watching him watch Kan Jian.

“Sorry, I thought I had way more time?” Kan Jian reaches for a hand-towel on his bedside table and covers himself.

“I'm early,” Liu Sang replies, and doesn't move from the doorway. He opens his mouth, tries to say something, a dozen sentences dying on his tongue.

“You don't like sex,” Kan Jian says suddenly, “I don't want you to do thinks you don't like, so if I do this first, I won't make it uncomfortable for you when we're kissing.”

Liu Sang wants to cry, because how can any man be this perfect and actually exist.

“It's not that I hate it,” Liu Sang says, “I masturbate, I just... if I have a partner... I like the kissing more.”

“I like the kissing too,” Kan Jian tells him, “and I like you being happy, so I don't want to make you unhappy. Besides,” Kan Jian grins and holds up a hand, still smeared with his own release, “I have hands.”

And he looks so proud that Liu Sang can't help but laugh. Kan Jian drops his hand into his hand-towel covered lap and winces.

“Uhhh, I need to shower real quick,” he says and shuffles off his bed and scurries for his bathroom. Liu Sang tracks Kan Jian with his eyes, his gaze slipping over the curve of Kan Jian's naked ass and-

“I love you.”

Kan Jian stops and turns to Liu Sang, a delighted and amazed look on his face.

“I love you too.”

Liu Sang flushes as he realises he's said something out loud instead of just thinking it very loudly. Again.

“I'm going to go plate the desserts, we can nibble while we cook dinner.” Liu Sang retreats to the kitchen, leaving a effectively naked Kan Jian grinning in the bathroom door.

#dmbj #lost tomb reboot #reunion: the sound of the providence #liu sang #kan jian #kansang #smut lite?

[missfangirll]

If im not too late, I'd request anything for Beiyuan/Wu Xi. There are so few works out there for them :c

So, I wanted to write some XiYuan fluff and somehow ended up writing Dad!Beiyuan bonding with Chengling, Beiyuan thirsting after his husband and a sort-of-fix-it for WoH episode 36?? 😅

The plot follows the show, after episode 36, but their shared past in the novel (Qi Ye) did happen, if that makes sense? 😅 Sorry for the confusion.. The title is a Chinese poem called 蝶恋花 by Liu Yong.

Anyway, here's some XiYuan fluff/dad!Beiyuan/WoH fix-it? 😂😂

- - - - -

Fandom: Qi Ye, Word of Honor Rating: General Relationship: Wu Xi/Jing Beiyuan, Jing Beiyuan & Zhang Chengling Tags: Fluff, Bonding, Beiyuan thirsting after his husband, Fix-it of sorts Words: 2565 Summary: In an inn, Jing Beiyuan and Wu Xi, together with Zhang Chengling, await the return of Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing, who have run off to die on a mountain. Beiyuan has to care for Zishu's disciple, while being distracted by his husband.

Read on AO3

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Butterflies in Love with Flowers

Jing Beiyuan has plenty of practice waiting.

He has waited for sixty years at the Three-Life Stone, has waited for Helian Yi for six lifetimes. Has waited in the Imperial City for his schemes and machinations to bear fruit, has waited for Wu Xi. He has plenty of practice.

Which doesn’t mean, however, that he is a patient man.

Jing Beiyuan paces the inn room he shares with his husband, deliberately walking closely past Wu Xi who is sitting cross-legged at the low table reading, looking entirely unperturbed. Much to Jing Beiyuan’s dismay, that is to say, so he brushes Wu Xi’s back with the seam of his sleeve every time he walks by.

Wu Xi doesn’t react for a while, but after the sixth turn, without saying a word, he casually grabs Jing Beiyuan’s sleeve and, turning slightly, pulls him down in his lap, effectively trapping him there with both arms tightly around him.

Jing Beiyuan is a lot of things, but he's not an idiot, and he would never let an opportunity pass to cuddle his husband. With a deep sigh, he settles into the other’s embrace, leaning his head on Wu Xi’s broad chest.

“I am worried,” he admits eventually.

Stroking his hair soothingly, Wu Xi just hums in quiet understanding.

"I'm worried about the two idiots on the mountain," he adds, as if that wasn't obvious, and Wu Xi, as expected, doesn't reply. Jing Beiyuan continues, unbothered by his husband's lack of reaction. "I keep telling the little idiot," here he pauses to marvel at the fact that he distinguishes his companions merely by the grade of their idiocy, then sighs inwardly, "that his shifu and shishu are fine, that he should focus on his training in order to have something to show his shifu upon his return, but sometimes I…." He trails off, snuggling closer into the other's neck.

Zhang Chengling isn't coping well with the fact that both his mentors left with the intention to die on that mountain, albeit with different purposes in mind, and Jing Beiyuan has had to forcefully stop him from climbing that mountain himself, twice by now. For now he seems to have begrudgingly accepted his fate, although Jing Beiyuan can see his outbursts of anger for the fear they are.

He inhales deeply, willing his thoughts to calm down. All they have to do now is wait, wait for Zishu and his little maniac to return safely, and return they will, he has no doubts about it. He can’t, for Chengling’s sake.

A knock on the door interrupts the silent moment and with a groan, Jing Beiyuan clambers out of his husband’s lap to open the door, while said husband reaches for his abandoned book. The elderly innkeeper in front of him doesn’t spare a glance at Jing Beiyuan’s slightly ruffled hair, fiddling with the cap in his hands. At the other’s raised eyebrow, he bows so deep his forehead seems to touch his knees, and Jing Beiyuan has to bite back a grin.

“Yes?”, he asks magnanimously. The man shifts uncomfortably. “Your highness,” he begins, but Jing Beiyuan interrupts him with a hand on his shoulder. “I am certainly not worthy of such a noble title, my good man, just call me Lord Seventh, and speak freely. What bothers you?”

The other man bows again, not as low as before, but it still looks uncomfortable. “Your lordship,” he begins, and Jing Beiyuan sighs, hearing a slight huff of laughter from behind. Wu Xi knows of his resentment against his past life and the decorum it entailed. “Your lordship,” the man repeats, sounding increasingly desperate. “Your, umm.. The young master… He… The courtyard…” He doesn’t finish his sentence, but Jing Beiyuan has a vague idea of what he is trying to say, so he just nods and breezes past the innkeeper, who hastily shuts the door and scrambles to follow him.

From the inn’s inner courtyard he can already hear a dull thudding noise that grows louder as he approaches. In the yard, next to a small wooden shack, he finds the source of the noise: Zhang Chengling, gracelessly hitting the timber wall with a training sword, his face and back sweaty, his hair in disarray, his mouth a thin line. Jing Beiyuan nods to the innkeeper, who retreats to another building, then slowly approaches the boy, keeping his distance from the sword. Leaning on the wooden wall, he stays silent, observing Zishu’s disciple. The boy has grown a finger’s breadth over the last weeks, his body starting to stretch, his face about to lose the softness of childhood. He has seen a lot these past months, Jing Beiyuan muses, and feels infinite fondness for the little idiot.

Zhang Chengling has seen him, of course, but doesn’t make any move to stop his grim assault on the shack, so Jing Beiyuan says after a while, “You might want to use a real sword when you intend to put a hole in that thing.” His teasing doesn’t gain a reaction, however, the boy still hacking away at the wood. “Chengling,” he says after a while, softly, gently, “they will return.”

“I know,” comes the strained reply, but the beating doesn’t stop. The hits seem to grow less forceful, though, and Jing Beiyuan inches closer. “If Tian Chuang had succeeded,” he adds quietly, “we would know.” He looks directly at Chengling who stubbornly avoids his gaze, but his movements slow further, until he swings the sword like a flag bearer his banner in a parade. Jing Beiyuan carefully closes the distance, intercepting the last swing with his hand, gripping the wooden sword. He notices its shaking, and it’s only a heartbeat before Chengling collapses into his arms, letting go of the sword and wrapping both arms around him in a desperate embrace. Jing Beiyuan lowers the sword, then enfolds the boy in his arms, a hand on the back of his head, and lets him sob quietly into his shoulder.

“I miss them,” the boy snuffles into his robes, his face hidden. “Sometimes I dream about them, dead and cold, buried under all that snow and I…” He hiccups, then starts sobbing again. Jing Beiyuan breathes slowly. A few days after Zishu, and then the Ghost Valley Master, ascended the mountain, there had been news of an immense avalanche that had buried a large group of people, presumably the joined forces of the Window of Heaven and the Scorpion King. But nothing had reached them since, and all of them had grown restless, even Wu Xi, even though he would never admit to it.

A hand on the boy’s back, Jing Beiyuan rubs soothing circles. “Come with me,” he says at last, “Let’s go inside and have some tea, hm?” A nod, then Chengling takes a step back, sheepishly rubbing his red eyes. “‘m sorry,” he mumbles, but Jing Beiyuan just huffs. “Never be sorry for how you feel,” he admonishes gently, putting an arm around the boy’s shoulder, subtly scooping the wooden sword up with the other hand. “Let’s have some tea and sweets, what do you say?” Chengling sniffs again, then says with the hint of a smile, “Didn’t the Great Shaman explicitly forbid us to eat sweets before dinner?” Jing Beiyuan makes a carefree gesture, then, lowering his voice, adds in a conspiratorial tone, “We have to hide it, then,” which finally makes Chengling laugh. A lighter air around them, they stroll back to the room. (Wu Xi gives them a stern look as Jing Beiyuan retrieves a bag of sweets from his sleeve, but says nothing when they share some over tea, which Jing Beiyuan secretly finds endlessly endearing.)

⚘⚘

The next morning finds Jing Beiyuan on a bench in that same courtyard, at the other side this time, half hidden under a canopy hung with ivy. In the middle of the courtyard, illuminated by the rising sun, Wu Xi is practicing his martial arts.

Jing Beiyuan admires everything about his little venom. His honesty, his loyalty, his unrestrained emotions, but watching the other train always leaves him breathless and with a dry mouth. Wu Xi, in his usual black robes, is a sight to behold: Even under layers of cloth his broad shoulders are visible, his long black braids with the silver hairpiece, the moon mirrored in a clear lake at night. Wu Xi in his robes is a force to be reckoned with. Wu Xi without his robes, in just some black pants, is… Well. Enticing enough to make Jing Beiyuan leave the bed before sunrise and watch him train, even after being together for years and having seen his husband naked plenty of times. Still, watching him move through the forms is different. His skin glistens with sweat, making the light catch on his collarbones, his abs. His movements show a raw power, a graceful intensity that always reminds Jing Beiyuan of a large tiger. He moves silently, with deadly precision, as if he wanted to sneak up on a hidden assassin. He doesn’t use a weapon, but Jing Beiyuan knows how strong he is, how fast, and is pretty sure that a sword would only slow him down.

Distractedly petting the sable that is curled contentedly in his lap, Jing Beiyuan marvels at his husband, until Wu Xi ends his performance with a graceful vault, landing on his hands and feet like a large cat. His hair, tied back only with a simple black leather cord, falls over his face with the movement, his eyes like glimmering coals behind the black curtain. It reminds Jing Beiyuan of their early days, of the time Wu Xi wore a veil, and he himself a mask of another kind. Trying to hide the slight shiver, he smiles at his sweaty husband who now approaches him. Before he can say anything, Wu Xi steps between his knees, carefully scooping up the sable, then reaching down to cup the nape of Jing Beiyuan’s neck. With a hint of restrained power, he pulls him up and into a searing kiss. Smiling against his lips, Wu Xi whispers, “Room,” and Jing Beiyuan lets himself be pulled.

It’s still early enough in the morning that they don’t have to be overly cautious, so when they shed their respective robes - and pets, Wu Xi’s tiny green snake gets set in its cage, while the sable leaps nimbly away from the commotion - Jing Beiyuan can’t suppress a giggle at his husband’s eagerness.

“What brought this on?”, he asks, a little breathless, as the other’s teeth close over his pulse point. Wu Xi stills for a heartbeat, then bites down harder, licking over the spot, which elicits a shiver.

“You,” is the answer, and Jing Beiyuan pulls away a fraction to look at his husband with a raised eyebrow. “I can’t remember doing anything out of the ordinary,” he smirks, “whereas you were--”

“You watched,” Wu Xi breathes into his neck, leaning back in. With another giggle, Jing Beiyuan lets himself be pulled to the bed.

Later, when they lay under scrunched up covers, sated and sweaty and content, Jing Beiyuan nuzzles into Wu Xi’s chest, inhaling his sharp scent.

“Would you do that,” he asks eventually, his voice quiet. “Sacrifice your life, I mean. For me.”

“Yes,” is all Wu Xi answers, firm and without hesitation. “I would. I will. Everything.” His arms tighten around Jing Beiyuan. After a long silence, the latter says softly, “But what if I didn’t want that?” He turns slightly to look up. “What if I didn’t want a life that’s bought with yours?”

Wu Xi doesn’t meet his gaze as he replies, “I still would. I couldn’t bear the thought of being without you, Beiyuan. I’m a coward, but I couldn’t. I thought I’d lost you once, and I..” His voice breaks, and Jing Beiyuan reaches up to cup his face. “You’re not. I would like to say that I would react differently, but…” He shrugs with a wry smile. “I wouldn’t. If I could save your life by giving up mine, I would. I would, and then wait for you again at the Three-Life Stone, until you came to meet me. And maybe this time, you would be the one with white hair.” Snuggling closer, he trails a finger over the other’s chest, then places his hand on his sternum, feeling the unrestrained energy underneath. Wu Xi turns his head, then cups Jing Beiyuan’s cheek, meeting him in a slow, languid kiss.

“I love you,” he breathes against the other’s lips, “I have loved you for all your lifetimes and I will continue to love you in all that follow. Where you go, I’m going, Beiyuan.”

⚘⚘

It takes almost another month until Zishu and his little-, no, his giant idiot return. On a sunny afternoon, as if they had just been out for a stroll, they saunter casually into the inn’s dining room, and Jing Beiyuan almost drops his teacup, staring in disbelief. Before he can say anything, Zishu grins - he grins! - at him and plops down into the bench opposite him, Wen Kexing at his side. Jing Beiyuan notices in utter shock that the latter’s hair has gone completely white.

“Wha--,” he starts, but now the waiter has spotted them, hurrying over. Giving their, admittedly quite ragged, appearance a cautious once-over, he clears his throat, but Jing Beiyuan hurries to assuage him. “Whatever these gentlemen desire to eat,” he declares, probably with more grandeur than necessary, “they will receive.” The waiter hurries to nod his head like a turtle, but Zishu just shakes his head. “Just cold water,” he says, much to Jing Beiyuan’s and the waiter’s astonishment, but the latter immediately scrambles off to bring them their order.

Jing Beiyuan looks scrutinizingly at both of them, then says slowly, “Welcome back.” Zishu nods solemnly, taking Wen Kexing’s hand under the table. “Sorry it took so long,” he says quietly. Jing Beiyuan snorts. “You don’t have to apologise to me,” he gestures into the general direction of the inner courtyard, “but to your silly little disciple.” Zishu at least has the decency to flinch, looking uncomfortable. But it is Wen Kexing who speaks first. “How is he?”, he asks, and Jing Beiyuan notices the cautious fondness in his voice. Shrugging, he admits, “There are good days and bad.” After a pause, he adds, more quietly, “And good nights and bad.” Zishu nods, as if in agreement, and Jing Beiyuan’s curiosity wins over. “What happened?”, he asks animatedly, gesturing to the state of their robes, then Wen Kexing’s hair. “You were gone almost two months, and--”

Zishu interrupts him, sounding incredulous. “Two months?” He casts an uncertain glance at his companion who looks equally stunned. “Oh.” Inhaling slowly, he adds, “Well, I’d prefer to tell the story only once, so where is that useless disciple of mine?” Grinning, Jing Beiyuan gestures again to the inner courtyard. “Training.” Zishu gives him a skeptical look, then gets to his feet. Ignoring the waiter who just arrived with their order, he heads for the inner courtyard. Jing Beiyuan tilts his head a fraction, looking at Wen Kexing, both smiling slightly. Then, from outside, “SHIFU!”, and a dull thud, followed by another muffled “Shishu!”.

Smiling into his teacup, Jing Beiyuan closes his eyes. Some stories seem to have a happy ending after all.

#qi ye #lord seventh #七爷 #wu xi #jing beiyuan #xiyuan #otp: soulmates are stupid i love you on purpose #word of honor #a tale of the wanderers #faraway wanderers #wen kexing #zhou zishu #wenzhou #my writing #fanfic #fluff

[randomingoftherandomness]

Hi hi! May i ask for amnesiac zzs after he got captured by tian chuang?

The first person that he sees upon waking up in a clean bed and in clean clothes is a teary-eyed boy who keeps weeping and calling him ‘Shifu’ as if the title would disappear from his mouth if he doesn’t utilise it enough. The child looks happy enough to see him, so he doesn’t say anything and merely pats him on his head and asks him to please stop crying. 

There are two more men in the room with them; a pale-faced fellow dressed in black and holding an imposing staff meant to signify status, and a smiling, gentle character next to him that stands still and tall like a jade tree.

“Hello,” He greets them, blinking and taking them in. This seems to be the wrong response because the smiling man immediately frowns and steps forward. 

“Zishu, do you know who I am?” The man asks. Latching on to the name he had just been called, he rolls the syllables of it in his mind before looking back up to the man.

“No,” He shakes his head, worry percolating in his chest at the realisation that he genuinely doesn’t know who any of these people are nor does he know his own name. He doesn’t even know where he is. “Am I Zishu?”

--

The teary-eyed boy tends to him with a wobbling bottom lip that irks something deep in Zishu’s chest and at the same time, curls something fond and sweet too. 

Those red-rimmed eyes focus on his task of helping him with his ablutions, so while he is grateful for the help, Zishu really wishes the boy could stop looking so mournful and aggrieved like he had just lost his whole family.

No one would tell him what sort of person he was, much less how he had even gotten such wounds on his torso. Seven nails fused to his flesh coupled with the injuries on his shoulders and the whip marks is a lot for anyone to just accept that he got into a spot of trouble and must now rest up and focus on getting better.

The pale-faced fellow with the pinched corners of his lips had taken his pulse earlier and declared that whatever trauma he had gone through must have triggered a survival response from his body that resulted in temporary amnesia.

And that was the keyword here; temporary.

According to the fellow, he could regain every moment in his mind that he lost tomorrow or he could regain them in a year. It didn’t sound promising but it was something at least.

The boy, Chengling, wipes down his hands when they both hear the voice and hurried footsteps coming towards the door. “I need to see him!” Comes a very agitated voice. “You can’t keep me from him!”

“No one is keeping you from him, Master Wen, but you must calm yourself before going in. Zishu isn’t in any state to be excitable,” The voice of the smiling gentleman says smoothly and reasonable. 

Not that Zishu was paying any attention. He had stood up at the sound of the agitated person. That voice! He knows that voice!

How does he know that voice? He doesn’t know. All he does know is that his entire body seems to have been struck by lightning. His breath catches in his chest and when the door swings open, the man who enters first is the most beautiful man Zishu thinks he has ever seen.

Even with a memory that only began a shichen ago, somehow he thinks he knows this man; like there is this bone-deep assurance that if he was was around Zishu would never want or worry or have to fear anything. As if, should he even want it, the man would move mountains and oceans and wrangle the stars for him.

The man’s eyes meet his. Zishu smiles.

This man is attractive, yes. He has a face that poets would die to write about and yet, Zishu can’t find it in himself to say that this was why the man was attractive. Even with a defective memory, he knows that this is a good man. A flawed man. Someone he has chosen for himself and by some inexplicable reasoning, Zishu knows that even if he were to be lost into the netherworld, this man would traverse hellfires and brimstones to just be with him. 

Scarier still, Zishu thinks he would do the same for him.

“Ah Xu,” The man says on an exhale. The syllables sound too soft, too intimate for the light of day. Zishu steps forward. Body moving of its accord. 

“Da Wu said... It was amnesia,” The man crosses the room, stopping only when they were half a step away from each other. His eyes carefully caress him from head to toe, reaching out a hand for Zishu’s. “Ah Xu, do you know who I am?”

A sudden pain twists in his heart then at the despair and grief in the man’s words. He wants nothing more than to remember - even if the things he has done are all horrible things, he wants to remember them all - just to keep that pain from this man’s voice. 

“They said it’s temporary,” Zishu consoles, interlocking his fingers with the man’s, smiling at the first familiar thing he has felt since waking up. “It will come back.”

The man matches his smile then; a small and tremulous thing. Zishu closes the last distance between them and wraps his arms around him. “Do you want to tell me your name?”

“Tch, you don’t know a stranger’s name and you're still hugging them?” The man huffs against his ear but doesn’t remove himself from the embrace. 

Zishu smiles and laughs softly. “You’re one thing that seems to make sense. Somehow when I saw you, I knew you.”

The man stills in his arms and Zishu begins to worry anew if he had misspoken somehow when he feels the warm dampness spreading on his shoulder. Was this man related to Chengling?

Strong arms cage him against solid chest and the man mumbles, “Wen Kexing. My name is Wen Kexing and you call me Lao Wen, and you’re my Ah Xu.”

Ah, so they were lovers then. Somehow that fits a perfect little puzzle piece back into place for him. That’s good, ZIshu thinks. He managed to ensnare a beauty. Patting Lao Wen on his back, soothing him gently, he says, “Then you should stay with me now, hm? I don’t remember anything and so I will need to rely on you.”

Lao Wen sighs, nose bumping against the collar of his robes, breath tickling his neck. “Mn.”

#word of honor #wenzhou #wen kexing #zhou zishu #gab writes stuff #thanks for the prompt!