#this is just a hobby

[sincerelystranger]

this was in my WIP but it’s basically a snippet of the same universe as this short (which is basically some thoughts about an ArrangedMarriage!AU) 

---

The first thing Wangji notices when he enters the Jiangshi is that the room is cold.

The second thing is that Wei Wuxian is laid in his cot again – the thin, useless thing his uncle had insisted Wei Wuxian sleep on when they first married.

Wei Wuxian turns when he hears Wangji enter. His thin face lighting up with a smile. “Hanguang-jun, you’re back!” he says brightly. He moves to get up and Wangji can see the way his thin arms shake.

The pain in his chest is familiar by now, but it hurts nonetheless.

“No need to stand,” Wangji says, quickly walking over towards the cot.

Wei Wuxian is already sitting up, the thin blanket falling down from his shoulders. He smiles ruefully at Wangji. “Grandmaster Lan will berate me for not giving you a proper welcome,” he says, “but if Hanguang-jun is okay with it, I will welcome you back home from here.”

“You can welcome me back as you please,” Wangji says, kneeling down in front of Wei Wuxian. “I will not let uncle berate you.” He reaches to take a hand into his.

It’s cold.

There’s a slight trembling running through Wei Wuxian’s thin fingers. His skin, red where it’s spread paper thin across his knuckles, is cold to the touch.

“The Jiangshi is cold,” Wangji says, bringing the knuckles to his lips.

“It’s my fault, I’m sorry,” Wei Wuxian apologizes, shyly taking back his hand. This action would have been devastating to Wangji a few weeks ago. He would have taken it as a rejection. A sign that his advances were unwanted.

Now…

Well, Wangji knows better now. He knows the fault lies with him and the thousands of things he let be misunderstood.

Wangji takes Wei Wuxian’s hand in his again and rises to sit next to him. Pressing against him so that there is no space left between them. He brings Wei Wuxian’s hand into his lap and holds it. “Don’t apologize,” he says gently, “How could this be your fault? Did the disciples not come by this morning?”

Wei Wuxian stares down at where their hands are joined. The red flush on his cheeks now all the way up to his ears.

“It… it’s wasteful to heat up the entire Jiangshi just for me,” Wei Wuxian says. He turns his head up to look at Wangji, and gives him another bright smile. “Besides, the cold doesn’t bother me much. I’m sure you can call–“

Wangji bumps his head gently against Wei Wuxian’s forehead.

“Who told you it was wasteful?” he asks, his eyes closed in an attempt to control his anger. His anger isn’t meant for Wei Wuxian. He has to be careful not to let it show.

Wei Wuxian is quiet.

Wangji won’t force an answer out of him. He already has a hunch of who might’ve planted this poisonous thought inside of Wei Wuxian anyway.

He holds back a sigh and rises to stand, Wei Wuxian’s hand still firmly in his. “Come,” he says, “Let’s get you to our bed. Why is this cot back in our room? I thought I had gotten rid of it.”

Wei Wuxian gently pulls his hand away from Wangji’s grasp.

“I had it brought back in,” Wei Wuxian says, his eyes on the ground. He’s a poor liar, Wangji’s learned, and he feels a fool for realizing that so late. “What Grandmaster Lan said is correct. I did spend a lot of time in the Burial Mounds and I use demonic cultivation… it could negatively affect you, Wangji. I mean… I don’t think it will, but just to be safe, I think it’s better we use separate—“

Wangji slides his arm under Wei Wuxian’s legs and across his back and lifts Wei Wuxian off his cot.

“Hanguang-jun!” Wei Wuxian exclaims, “What are you doing!?”

“You’re my husband,” Wangji says, “I will not have you sleeping on a cot.”

He sits Wei Wuxian gently against the headboard and brings up the blanket to tuck it around Wei Wuxian’s waist. He walks to the closet to bring out his fur-lined robe and he drapes it across Wei Wuxian’s shoulders.

All the while, Wei Wuxian blinks up at him, as if he doesn’t quite recognize Wangji.

“But…” Wei Wuxian says, “But your uncle…”

It’s a sharp stab of guilt in his gut, the reminder that up until recently, Wangji had blindly followed his uncle’s orders. Believing his uncle’s guidance to be the best course of action for both him and Wei Wuxian.

Never in a million years had he imagined that his uncle could be so… wrong. But Wangji’s limited imagination almost cost him his husband – Wangji wouldn’t make that mistake again.

“My uncle is… wrong,” Wangji says, and the words feel foreign in his mouth. But he has to say them. He must. Wei Wuxian cannot be allowed to believe that Wangji shares his uncle’s opinions – not about his marriage, not about his circumstances, not about Wei Wuxian. He sits next to Wei Wuxian and takes his thin, trembling hand again. “From now on, you must remember this – you are my husband. You are someone I wished to marry.”

“—Yes, I know,” Wei Wuxian interrupts, “You married me because you wished to save the Wens, because you knew what was happening to them was unjust—“

“—No,” Wangji says sharply. “I married you because I wanted to.”

Silence falls between them.

“You are Hanguang-jun,” Wei Wuxian says after a long while, his voice so soft that it only just presses up against the silence.

Wangji hates this.

Hates this quiet, fragile thing Wei Wuxian has become.

And it’s his fault.

It’s all is fault.

And the knowledge that Wei Wuxian willingly let himself be broken down because he thought this was what Wangji wanted burns a hole in Wangji’s chest.

He pulls Wei Wuxian’s fingers to his lips. Presses a soft kiss against his knuckles.

“Husband,” he murmurs against pale fingers. He looks at Wei Wuxian expectantly.

Wei Wuxian keeps his gaze for a moment before tilting his head in question. “…Yes?” he asks.

“Husband,” Wangji says again. “Before I am Hanguang-jun, I am your husband, just as you are mine.”

Wei Wuxian drops his gaze to his lap, where his free hand is anxiously picking at the skin around his nails. They’re chapped and close to bleeding. “But I am the Yiling Patriarch,” Wei Wuxian says softly, his steady voice a stark contrast to his nervous fingers. “Being married to me only brings you pain and dishonor.”

If Wangji could, he would cut his heart out. He would cut his heart out and show Wei Wuxian exactly how much Wangji’s heart bled for him and only him. Show him how the inside of his chest has grown cavernous since meeting Wei Wuxian, constantly growing and rearranging itself to make room to house all the love Wangji has accumulated for this man.

There’s nothing he couldn’t do, if only Wei Wuxian would believe him.

He grabs Wei Wuxian’s free hand in his and pulls so that Wei Wuxian falls forward just a bit – just close enough so that Wangji can press a kiss against his brow.

“I am your husband, just as you are mine,” Wangji repeats softly. There are a million other things he wants to say, but anything he could say in that moment would only bring him to tears or potentially hurt Wei Wuxian, and he wants to do neither.

He presses another kiss against the side of Wei Wuxian’s face before he rises off the bed.

Wei Wuxian stares up at him a little dazedly, a bewildered expression on his face. It was an expression Wangji had seen often as of late. Like Wei Wuxian almost didn’t recognize the man standing in front of him. Like he might be a stranger.

And Wangji understands, even if the expression makes him feel a little embarrassed.

He knows that his attitude and actions towards his husband have changed dramatically in the past couple of weeks. And he’d be lying if he said that this newfound… forwardness of his came naturally to him. But he couldn’t stand one more day of Wei Wuxian believing that Wangji just… endured him. He couldn’t stand one more moment of Wei Wuxian thinking that Wangji didn’t want to be married to him. That Wangji didn’t… love him.

He turns in abrupt embarrassment, suddenly feeling shy about how much he feels for Wei Wuxian. He goes over to the door to pick up the basket he had brought with him.

It steadies him, the basket, and the knowledge of how much love this basket contains. How could he feel shy about his feelings when they couldn’t even compare to simple bowl of soup?

“What is this?” Wei Wuxian asks when Wangji brings the basket over to the bed.

Wangji doesn’t answer. He just places a small tray on Wei Wuxian’s lap.

“Oh, do you have a task for me?” Wei Wuxian asks, “A letter to write? A talisman to make? Let me get off the bed—“

Wangji gently presses down on the tray on Wei Wuxian’s lap to stop him. He taps once on the tray as a sign for Wei Wuxian to stay still, and miraculously, Wei Wuxian nods back in understanding.

It’s almost unfair how easily they understand each other in the little ways, but it gives Wangji faith that someday they’ll also be able to understand each other in the big ways.

The soup is still hot when Wangji opens the lid, curls of steam flying upward into the Jingshi. The aroma falls not far behind. The heavy, savory, warm smell of rich broth and tender meat.

In the moment, he finds he can’t seem to muster up the bravery to look at Wei Wuxian’s face.

He carefully ladles the soup into a bowl, making sure to get plenty of meat and vegetables. Under the guise of carefully placing the soup on the tray, he keeps his gaze down, away from Wei Wuxian’s face.

He’s not quite sure what he’s afraid of.

But this is how it always is with Wei Wuxian. He makes Wangji feel big and small in unimaginable ways. Makes a coward out of him with just a glance and in turns gives him enough strength to stand up to even his own uncle.

Wangji puts the lid back on the soup bowl and stands.

“Eat,” he says, “I’ll go start the fire.”

He turns to leave but the faintest tug at his sleeve stops him in his tracks.

“…Husband,” Wei Wuxian says, his voice small, “Would it be okay if we ate… together?”

Wangji clenches his fists so tightly that they tremble. His eyes burn with unshed tears and his throat aches.

In turns he hates himself – because how quickly could he forget that his husband hates to eat alone? – and in the same moment he’s overcome with gratitude towards his husband.

His husband.

His brave, Wei Wuxian.

So much better and braver than Wangji.

He feels Wei Wuxian’s fingers slip down off his sleeve, obviously taking Wangji’s silence for refusal. Wangji grabs them, before they fall too far and holds them tight.

“Of course,” he says.

He quickly ladles himself a bowl and sits down on the bed, finally – finally – mustering up the courage to gaze upon Wei Wuxian’s face.

What he finds there makes him wonder what he was so frightened of.

Wei Wuxian’s cheeks are tinged with pink. His eyes are bright and happy and there’s a genuine, if not a bit embarrassed, smile on his face that makes Wangji’s chest feel tight.

They begin to eat in silence, and it is Wangji who breaks it first.

“I learned how to make this soup today,” he says stiltedly. “Whenever you want it, tell me. If there are other things you like, tell me as well… I… would like to learn.”

Wei Wuxian is quiet for a long moment, and in every silent second, Wangji feels the pulling tide of embarrassment.

Just as he’s about to be pulled under, Wei Wuxian grabs his hand.

“Thank you,” Wei Wuxian breathes, smiling a smile so big that it threatens to split his face in two. “Lan Zhan, you are my greatest blessing. Thank you.”

The Jingshi is cold.

Wei Wuxian is thin.

Wangji is inadequate.

But in that moment, Wangji burns as hot as the summer sun.

#wangxian #mdzs #arranged marriage au #idk if this was even worth posting but whatevaaaaaaaaaaaaa :) #I kind of had an idea for another part to this but who knows :P #lowkey been feeling like everything i'm writing is trash nowadays but just gotta remind myself #this is just a hobby #no one is grading me or anything #i don't have to be perfect or even good #i just need to feed the soft animal of my desire (which is to see two fictional idiots be in love) #the untamed

[mals-oc-casinoau]

asks open for these losers!

go ham! They’ll all be waiting :)

[ characters you can ask:

Minthea 🌿

Lacy🕯️

CJ🍉

Angelina.👁️

maybe the cupbros? ]

// please no nsfw asks.

//also, proshippers and other people that are like that dni :). - 🦈

#idm if theres not that much asks #this is just a hobby #|| #casino cups #casino cups oc #oc blog #ask blog #ask us anything! #ask ocs #casino cups au #minthea #angelina #lacy #AJ #askcupsandcasinos

[eggbagelz]

The only thing stopping me from turning into a film blog is the fact that i draw so fucking much

#this is just a hobby #the drawing i mean. im planning to go into film i just draw for fun GDKDH #chattering

[manonamora-if]

you'll never amount to anything in this field. quit IF while you're at it.

LoL

#ask box #this is just a hobby #chile anon

[triaelf9]

I'm sure some people online could spend their time better

#comic #social commentary #social media #just looking at these ppl's replies to other accounts is just...wow #get a hobby #meme #funny

[readerconfused]

The other gods: Hades is the king of the dead, he is bad, he was definitely the one who did it all

Hades: hi guys, sorry for the tortuous path it takes to get to my house, would you like some pomegranate juice? A snack?

#That's my favorite uncle #“he was tricking the boys” let the man have a hobby #He just needs to stop this habit of kidnapping women it's starting to become a habit #percy jackon and the olympians #percy jackson and the olympians spoilers #pjo tv show #percy jackson #pjo series #pjo #hades pjo

[malacandrax]

On a splendid walk!

I finished making this guy, v inspired by @slocotion, old clown dolls, and Vanessa Stockard. I'm not sure what to call him, Timothy, maybe!

#just for me not for sale #I am not allowed to monetize other hobbies lol #see my next post for more abt making him #oofa doofa #ooak #ooak doll #mal crafts

[almostsweetangel]

NYT article abt goncharov has comments like 'what is the purpose of this film's existence these kids are just lying' motherfucker how do you think our ancestors survived. how do you think folklore formed. culture. music. art. PURPOSE????? do you think everything must be commodified? sold? weighed to be valued? has the rot in your soul spread so far you cannot find value in anything not spoken in numbers??? it's FUN. THAT'S WHY. THE PURPOSE IS THE ACT, THE MESSAGE IS THE MEDIUM, THE SYMBOL IS THE STORY. it brings people joy for its mere existence and that IS the point. existence is its purpose alone

#goncharov #not unreality an actual reaction to an actual comment on an article bc corporate journalism has decided to breach gonchcontainment #god i fucking hate people being like blah blah blah but what's the point of this thing SHUT THE FUCK UP #GO PICK UP A HOBBY YOU DROPPED BC YOU THOUGHT IT WAS TOO CRINGY FIND JOY IN IT OR SMTH AND MAYBE YOU'LL CALM DOWN #JUST BC YOUR CAPACITY FOR HAPPINESS DIED DOESN'T MEAN OURS DID #anyway back to regular gonchposting #shut up levi

[headcanonthings]

Tim: You know archaic Latin? Jason: I got bored with classical Latin. Tim: You know normal Latin? Jason: Yeah someone from my knitting club taught me. Tim: YOU HAVE A KNITTING CLUB? Jason: You don't know everything about me Replacement. Now do you want a sweater or a scarf?

#jason basically just asking tim to pick back up his stalking hobbie #incorrect quotes #incorrect dcu quotes #incorrect batman quotes #incorrect batfamily quotes #dcu #batman #batfamily #tim drake #red robin dc #jason todd #red hood

[idolomantises]

sometimes i forget i'm allowed to be indulgent. i'll make another female character and several lesbians and then think "Gosh i hope people dont mind 🥺" like hello? these are MY ocs, what the fuck am i saying.

#txt #monsters and girls is literally supposed to be a hobby series and here i am lamenting about how i have too many succubi #literally nobody has complained about me having too many succubi i just got in my own head LMAO #am i stupid!???

[naamah-beherit]

I'm begging y'all, put at least minimum care into how you present your fics to the public.

"idk man you name it im tired" as a title tells me you didn't care.

"This is STUPID" in the tags. Okay, I won't read it then.

"I don't know how to do tags" tells me you didn't bother taking one look at any page in the archive to see how others tag and use it as reference. Or, you know, you could have asked, too.

"idk if this is trash, bc I worte this in the middle of the night bc idrk" in the summary doesn't really encourage me to open the story.

3 lines of tags on a 4k monitor, none of which are actual searchable tags but a stream of consciousness about the author's sleeping habits and music preferences, tell me you don't know what your story is about if you can't give us 2-4 main tropes and themes. Also, this isn't tumblr, come on mate.

"I hate myself for this fic" okay? Why did you write it then if it brought you discomfort? Moreover, why did you post it???

"Why Did I Write This?" well, hobbies are about joy and fun, if writing doesn't make you happy then maybe it's time to look for something else to do in your free time? No point in making yourself miserable.

"The Author Regrets Everything" paired with more self-deprecating tags suggest I better not bother opening the fic because it clearly made the author miserable and why would I be miserable as well?

"killing myself rn" please get help.

0 additional tags is better than that. Writing and sharing fics should be an act of care, not anguish.

#fandom #fanfiction #I'm tired man #make hobbies fun again #“oooh but it's all just jokes” you say #that doesn't change the point #at all

[comradekatara]

2 kinds of grad students (both massive nerds)

#id in alt text #avatar the last airbender #atla #sokka #zuko #zukka #<- seems like i may as well tag it. considering #sokkaxzuko #(secretly this is sokkaxsuki tho. just look at sokka’s hoodie) #modern au #art #mart #if you’re wondering why there’s only one pile of graded papers it’s because sokka saved that paper for last #bc the handwriting was so illegible #(and zuko is responding even tho sokka isn’t talking abt his work bc he’s touchy. bc he knows he isn’t ocean vuong) #also before anyone’s like ‘shouldn’t sokka be the one writing poetry?’ YES sokka also writes poetry but it’s like. #silly little rhyming poems #he would never do an mfa art is a hobby to him and he thinks getting a degree in it is a waste of time #but he doesn’t tell this to zuko bc zuko wasted so much time suffering in undergrad trying to pursue a ‘respectable’ degree #so sokka’s just like ‘okay. well he deserves this’

[tacticalgrandma]

You know how Orin was posing as that love test dryad how long do you think she was there for. How many people did she give relationship advice to. How many couples do you think she broke up.

#i just think it’s great she has hobbies #orin the red #bg3

[thatonedudeinthecorner]

Sokka, trying to be more friendly to Zuko after becoming Aang’s firebending teacher: relax, guy, I like gay men

Zuko, sweating profusely: that’s nice but…I’m not gay

Sokka, who has been daydreaming about kissing him, KNOWING his fantasies were based off of some fact: [squinting] I don’t believe that

#memes #avatar #avatar the last airbender #atla #sokka #zuko #zukka #zukka memes #I just love this audio it’s so funny #relax I like gay men #Zuko aka mr gay gayman the gay man #im not gay #NO ONE IS GOING TO BELIEVE THAT ZUKO #I like to think that Sokka has like #cringey middle school anime drawings of him and Zuko kissing #he doodles in the middle of aangs bending lessons #in between hassling Zuko and being a general nuisance #he needs his hobbies #and I support them 100%

[lostlegendaerie]

there's something deeply gutting about being a writer right now. watching studio execs brag about starving people like you out of your very house just to not pay you anything above the pennies you currently make. watching some people cheer over AO3 being targeted for a DDOS attack. the complete lack of profitability of writing commissions or writing in general in transformative spaces, especially in contrast to fanart. the pivot of so many social media platforms to be video and image based near-exclusively.

I don't know. it just makes me sad to know that the hobby that kept me alive while growing up homeschooled with dial-up internet and local antenna TV... is only ever gonna be a side job with minimal engagement. I know this site is good about supporting libraries and the concept of books but, do me a favor? Reach out to a writer friend you know. Leave a comment on your last five read stories on your favorite website.

Tell us you care.

#maybe that's why I've been so stalled on my novel #I keep trying to convince myself there's a POINT to it #but I look at how BRUTAL the publishing industry is and how I can't even consistently break ten reblogs on writing I post here #and I just. it hurts. and I have other hobbies I could fall back on!!! I could do art and cosplay and cater to the immediate engagement!! #but writing is my LOVE and my PASSION and I just wish. I wish the current climate CARED about us #TALKED to us the way we talk to cosplayers and artists and the chocolate guy #UGH. Wednesday blues hitting me NASTY today

[thatbin]

cant believe we had to third wheel their boba date

#my number one hobby is just drawing them standing around #dan and phil #dnp #phanart #jart