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twilightarc-gm · 2 months

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hello :D can you tell me why you like chengxian?

A Non-Comprehensive Guide to Twi's Love of ChengXian

Yes I spent time making this edit. I love them and I'm not an artist so sue me.

Short Answer: I love these two self-sacrificing assholes and their aesthetics and I think they should kiss and get a happy ending for once. If MXTX doesn't want to do it, I'll write it instead! 😤

Long Answer: Click the Read More

"As long as we both live in this world, we'll meet sooner or later." -- Vol1 Chap6

👏 MDZS literally doesn't happen without Yunmeng Shuangjie, it doesn't happen without the huge sense of debt and love and envy and pride and duty that comprises everything about the relationship between Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng. They must meet because their stories are so wrapped up in each other that where one ends and the other begins is a blurred line at best.

MXTX put in so much work to separate these two for the happily ever after she wanted and if you think about it too much you start to wonder if the Wei Wuxian we grew to love with this story, that says this kind of line, is ever going to be really happy without Jiang Cheng in his life.

💗It's not incest, but the boys wish it was. I am half-joking about this, but also absolutely serious. The vague labels on their relationship is a very big part of the point!

They are very much the Shixiong/shidi(mei) xianxia/wuxia romance trope. The talented and wonderful shixiong. The shidi(mei) that adores their shixiong but can't be honest about it. Childhood friends to sweethearts. MXTX uses this trope and subverts it by not making it endgame or letting the story just end with the tragedy of the First Siege.

She uses the power of this trope to feed into everything in and around the secret of the Golden Core Transfer. It ends up affecting the entire cultivation world as the greatest token of love, of devotion, of sacrifice, of consequence, of dubious consent, of the crux of the very story itself... which is just incredibly powerful.

And the rest of MDZS flows from that.

He had always thought Jiang Cheng would be the one standing with him, and Lan Wangji against him. He'd never imagined that reality would be the complete opposite.

This is literally errata from vol1 official pg 262 and I swear it wasn't put in the first time because it feeds ChengXian too much. You say that Wei Wuxian thought Jiang Cheng would always be by his side? He couldn't imagine a world where that wasn't true?? That now he's in a reality where it's the opposite??? Omg???? Like this is the sum of the ChengXian tragedy right here because MXTX made a reality where they couldn't be together! 💔😭

Like LOOK!

“When you become the family head, I’ll be your subordinate. We’ll be just like our fathers. Who cares about the Twin Jades of Lan? Our Yunmeng has Twin Heroes! So—just shut up. Who said you’re not worthy of being family head? No one’s allowed to say that, not even you. Say it and you’re asking to get beat.” --Vol3 Chap12

You see for me it's about the strain between love and duty and all the points where those two cross.

My actual favorite romance trope is king/lionheart - lord/devoted - leader/subordinate - patron/agent - master/servant - 知己 (zhiji)

this relationship of knowing is one that is worth dying for

“So when Wei-gongzi returned to seek us out, my jiejie was reluctant to even attempt the procedure, at first. She warned him that writing an essay was one thing, but actually doing it was quite another. She wasn’t even confident she’d have a fifty percent chance of success.

“But Wei-gongzi kept pestering her. He said fifty percent was fine; the chances of success and failure were equal. Even if it didn’t work out and his core was wasted, he wasn’t worried about his future—but that wasn’t the case for Sect Leader Jiang. He was too competitive, too focused on what he stood to gain and lose in this aspect, since cultivation was his life. And if Sect Leader Jiang could only ever be an ordinary, mediocre person, his life would be over.” --Vol4 Chap19

Wei Wuxian was willing to risk his life on a 50% chance if it meant Jiang Cheng would Live. Yes yes Wei Wuxian's patent assholery here about how Jiang Cheng is so competitive etc, classic fooling himself. The point is that Jiang Cheng wouldn't be Jiang Cheng anymore and Wei Wuxian would rather die than experience that. Would rather cut himself apart than fail to protect his shidi.

Speaking of failures...

Perhaps there was this:

“I didn’t get caught by the Wen Clan because I insisted on returning to Lotus Pier to retrieve my parents’ bodies.

“When you went to buy rations in that small town during our escape, a group of Wen cultivators caught up to us.

“I noticed them early and left the spot where I’d been sitting to hide in a corner of the street. I didn’t get caught, but they were patrolling, and they would have surely bumped into you while you were getting us food.

“So I ran out and lured them away.” --Vol5 Chap22

Jiang Cheng never wanted Wei Wuxian to die, let alone die for him. He breaks down at the shrine coming to terms with what he will ultimately think of as his fault. We know this because when he feels at fault he doesn't speak of his good intentions. So, he distracts the Wen-dogs from Wei Wuxian > Gets caught and survives, broken > as far as he knows he's miraculously healed > only to find out that Wei Wuxian was taken by the Wen-dogs anyway 3 months later > Jiang Cheng never speaks of his failures, so will never say how lost his core in the first place > a war and 13 years later he finds out that not only did he fail to protect Wei Wuxian from Wen-dogs, but now also knows unequivocally that Wei Wuxian's descent into heretic cultivation was his fault... again.

As tears streamed down his face, he hissed through gritted teeth, “…Why…why didn’t you tell me?!”

And he begs to know why Wei Wuxian would do this!

“Consider it a repayment of my debt to the Jiangs,” Wei Wuxian added.

Jiang Cheng raised his head and looked at him with bloodshot eyes. “…To my father, my mother, my sister?” he asked in a hoarse voice.

Not him. Wei Wuxian won't admit it's for Jiang Cheng--the shidi he meant to protect as a good shixiong, the master he was meant to support, the heir and symbol of the clan and sect he loved so much he would readily lose a hand to protect.

The way Wei Wuxian tortures Wen Zhuliu by leaving him whole and standing while his charge Wen Chao is torn up bit by bit... The delicious parallels of -- you made me a failure, now see how you like it, watch the one you are meant to protect be torn asunder.

...

Hold on I need a moment...

...

How about some cute stuff?

Wei Wuxian waved him off and then hooked his arm around Jiang Cheng’s shoulders. -- Vol1 Chap4

He put his arm around Jiang Cheng’s shoulders and dragged him over to the veranda railings to sit down.

[...]

Jiang Cheng was quiet, but he seemed to have calmed down a little. Wei Wuxian put an arm around his shoulders again. --Vol3 Chap12

💗Wei Wuxian is always all over the person/s he likes and loves. Jiang Yanli might have been the first to carry Wei Wuxian but Jiang Cheng's were the first shoulders he chose to hang off of. Jiang Cheng stands so straight because he is used to bearing Wei Wuxian's weight! (Also he's of the gentry, and you can make arguments about a rod in places where the sun doesn't shine, but Wei Wuxian benefits regardless!)

Among all the kicks and shoves and rough housing and sparring, they are just so tactile.

Gif from this post.

… Jiang Cheng, walk slower, you’re gonna throw me off.”

Not only did Jiang Cheng want to throw Wei Wuxian off, but he practically wanted to bash his head into the ground to create a human crater. “So fussy even though I’m carrying you!”

“I didn’t tell you to carry me,” Wei Wuxian reasoned.

Jiang Cheng flew into a rage. “If I didn’t carry you, I think you’d hang out at their ancestral hall all day, rolling around on the floor. I can’t afford this embarrassment! Lan Wangji took fifty more strikes than you, but he walked away on his own, and you’re not embarrassed, pretending to be an invalid? I don’t want to carry you anymore. Get the hell off!”

“No, I’m wounded,” Wei Wuxian said. --Vol1 Chap4

💜 Yes I am bringing back this quote from my Jiang Cheng appreciation post.

Hnng, I am trying to be more concise, but like one of the things I also enjoy in romance is how two imperfect people choose to be together and that choice that they make is the gold and solder that fits the pieces together into art. Sure MDZS didn't want to go there even though that's where it started, but to me it will only ever be the story of Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian.

Honestly even Yi City arc is YMSJ | CX to me.

Song Lan = Jiang Cheng

Xiao Xingchen = Wei Wuxian

Baoshan Sanren is involved

Eyes = Golden Core

Baixue Temple = Yunmeng Jiang

GUILT

RUNNING AWAY

Xue Yang = Yuan Qi (Resentment) Modao/Guidao

CORRUPTION

A-Qing = lwj being obsessed with WWX and fighting his use of guidao like a-Qing is distrustful of XY and XXC being friends with him.

XXC kills SL = WWX kills JC (figuratively, JYL's death destroyed the last of the JC from their childhood and all the trust he had in WWX (you cannot tell me that WWX doesn't feel like he caused JYL's death (he couldn't control the corpse that hurt her, he didn't sense the sword coming for him and she had to protect him)))

XXC's suicide and shattered soul is thus my grounds for headcanon to what actually happened to WWX at the First Siege, just sayin'

...

Anyway that's a bunch of canon stuff how about the realm of fanfiction/art?

Meme Format Reasons Twi is unwell about ChengXian:

From this post (yes that's my same edit)

Art Commissioned (So Far, more on the way and some I can't share yet) for ChengXian:

Happy ChengXian with Wei Wuxian in Purple by @robinade

Supportive ChengXian in pretty clothes! by Sugar_Shoal

Some more points for consideration:

💗 Point 1: They can't be normal about each other, due in large part by the people who raised them being unable to be normal about them either.

💗 Point 2: Their opposing ideologies, duties, and priorities make for the best drama, but in a better narrative, would balance each other.

💗 Point 3: Martial sibling romance ➡ tragedy! They fought together! Thought the future would be them together always! Then everything in the narrative tears it apart and all they're left with are the ashes of their choices and the lies that buried them.

💗 Point 4: Every AU where they end up happy instead!! 😭 I can't wait for @twinclownsoflotuspiers next CX Happy Ending event! Thankfully there is also @omiixcx coming up this APR 21st-27th! 👀 Yes that was a promo and prod.

💜 Point 5: ChengXian Pros = Zongzhu-shidi getting to love and protect his shixiong fully and truly without restraint.

🖤 Point 6: XianCheng Pros = Overprotective shixiong merciless in his affections for his Zongzhu-shidi.

💗 Point 7: Ship them for tropes based on miscommunication, acts of service, there was only one bed, boundary issues, genderfuckery, soul bound by choice, bickering, bantering, finishing each other's sentences, married-divorced-never-were, childhood shenanigans, cutting oneself on the other and denying the blood ever was...

...

I am not even getting into the monster/monster-maker aspect, am I? They are both at the same time!

JC makes WWX a monster by being the recipient of the golden core and believing WWX has control of guidao so encourages its use.

WWX makes JC a monster by lying to him until their relationship is broken irrevocably at the Bloodbath and years after JC is known for hunting demonic cultivators.

If you want to get really dark with it, there's also the cannibalistic aspect. WWX becomes a part of JC with the transfer. JC unwittingly consumes WWX and his fortune. The golden core is in the lower dantian, the belly, behind and below the navel. The symbology..! XianCheng is really good for the more gothic themes of the ship.

Let's be real, the vibes are straight up Wuthering Heights in multiple facets. MXTX recently admitted to that novel was one she read so insert conspiracy theory red string board meme here!

...

I spend a lot of time readdressing the themes introduced with the YMSJ dynamic and are exacerbated by the golden core transfer and the way Wei Wuxian handles and fails to handle that situation. I like how destructive they are about each other. There's a lot of potential there to create something together as well, but they were never given the chance.

Ideally, after the Jiang parents were gone and not influencing them anymore, or if they aged up enough to just stand on their own—and Wei Wuxian has his cultivation intact... Well in that scenario they could have easily stayed the Twin Prides/Heroes of Yunmeng and they would have been so happy being in the home they both loved and making the most of their lives one step at a time and arguing the whole way.

...

That's what fanfiction is for! 💜💗🖤

Hey, you made it to the end! I hope that was entertaining at least there is so much going on with this ship sometimes my brain just goes brrrr about it, y'know? Take care! Happy CX thoughts to you!

#chengxian #jiang cheng #wei wuxian #twi posts

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starrywangxian · 4 months

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how the mdzs characters would sign off emails

inspired by this post and this post

Wei Wuxian: Thanks - I'll see myself out, Wei Wuxian

Lan Wangji: Sincelery, Lan Wangji, Hanguang-Jun, Cloud Recesses, Gusu Lan Sect... (he would include full titles and addresses etc.)

Lan Xichen: Many thanks! Lan Xichen, Zewu-Jun. (it's passive aggressive to other sect leaders but to lwj he adds emojis - yes he emails his brother shh)

Lan Sizhui: Have a nice day, Lan Sizhui! :)

Lan Jingyi: Never stop the grind, Lan Jingyi - P.S. Plz don't fail me Hanguang-jun :(

Lan Qiren: Regrettably, Lan Qiren.

Qingheng-jun: That's all, Qingheng-jun.

Madam Lan: Talk soon! (i recognise this is ironic... but i feel like she'd write something really casual and nice :))

Lan Yi: Okay then. (i feel like she'd be very straight to the point lmao)

Ouyang Zizhen: Fare thee well, Ouyang Zizhen! :)

Jiang Cheng: Please stop reading the email.

Jiang Fengmian: Stay tuned, Jiang Fengmian.

Yu Ziyuan: May the lord forgive your sins, Yu Ziyuan.

Jiang Yanli: Thanks again, Jiang Yanli! :) ...Don't cross me.

Wei Changze: Sent via smoke signals. Best, Wei Changze. (i feel like he'd also write a joke but treat it like a fact lmao)

Cangse Sanren: Sent from the future ;) Cangse Sanren! (i feel like she'd write a jokey and fun sign off <3)

Jin Guangyao: You're the best boss ever (lol jk), Lianfang-zun.

Jin Ling: don't care + didn't ask + L + ratio. jin ling.

Jin Zixuan: Lukewarm regards, Jin Zixuan.

Jin Guangshan: Ciao! Jin Guangshan. (he tries to be friendly and cool because he thinks everyone likes him but he's just annoying and everyone hates him)

Madam Jin: Thank you. (P.S. Please send any important sect-related emails to me, my husband is useless and doesn't do anything).

Jin Zixun: The best, Jin Zixun.

Qin Su: See you in hell, Qin Su.

Mo Xuanyu: So long and thanks for all the fish! Mo Xuanyu.

Nie Huaisang: Stay hydrated, queens! Nie Huaisang <3

Nie Mingjue: Over and Out, Chifeng-zun.

Wen Ruohan: May the Night bless you, signed Overlord Wen Ruohan.

Wen Ning: Apologies for existing :') Wen Qionglin

Wen Qing: Please don't contact me for 3-5 business days - kindest regards, Wen Qing, Head Physician.

Wen Chao: Mic drop, Wen Chao.

Wen Xu: Thanks, enjoy the hours you have left. Wen Xu.

Wen Zhuliu: Regards, Wen Zhuliu.

Wang Lingjiao: Live, laugh, love! Wang Lingjiao xoxox

Luo Qingyang: At a loss for words, Mianmian.

Xiao Xingchen: Live long and prosper, Xiao Xingchen!

Song Lan: May God be with you in these trying times, Song Zichen.

A-Qing: God's favourite child, A-Qing.

Xue Yang: YOur FrIendly NEIghBOur... XuE ChEngmEI.

Su She: Remember the name: Su Minshan.

Baoshan Sanren: That's it. Baoshan Sanren. (i feel like she'd be straight to the point too)

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wangxianficrecs · 5 months

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💙 A New Dynasty by One_eyed_God

💙 A New Dynasty

by One_eyed_God (@oneeyedoctogod)

M, WIP, Series, 72k, Background Wangxian

Summary: Wei Wuxian is well-known as a trouble-maker, someone who likes jokes and chaos. He promptly proves this by disappearing without a trace from the Cloud Recesses, in the middle of the Lectures. But when war is on the horizon and tensions boil over, can his actions really be summarized as a simple prank? Or, the unbelievable story of Wei Wuxian, time traveller, told from everyone's point of view but his. Kay's comments: I absolutely devoured this story, it was literally everything I loved! Wei Wuxian and the Wens being family (even in a literal sense!), Wei Wuxian being allowed to be a little bitter and leaving the Jiang Sect, various people reaping what they have sown and alternating POVs that just keep getting better and better. A story in which Wei Wuxian time-travels back to Cloud Recesses Study Arc after his death and decides to thoroughly clean up the Wen Sect before the war can even start. The Wangxian part is more in the background, but I really enjoyed it too. Also really loved Jiang Yanli/Lan Xichen! Excerpt: She looks back to his face, and wonders. Even if this boy isn’t telling the truth, even if his tale of this dark future is an illusion… The quick wits Wei Wuxian is demonstrating here, it could be enough to turn the tide. It’s enough to make her want to take back her forfeit, to do more than just accept the defeat. Maybe the blade isn’t quite touching her neck yet. “— and then if I tweak this radical here, I think I could make it so that our minds could fuse into one overpowered genius so that we could defeat Wen Ruohan by intimidating him with our big brain and you’re definitely not listening to me anymore, are you?” Wen Qing snaps her eyes back up to Wei Wuxian’s smiling face, feeling for some reason like a junior caught daydreaming during a lecture, then glances at Wen Ning who looks like he’s hiding a smile. “… Is it safe?” She asks, rather than acknowledge her distraction, or the reason for it.

series, pov alternating, pov wei wuxian, canon divergence, time travel, time travel fix-it, time travelling wei wuxian, pov outsider, wei wuxian is a wen, genius wei wuxian, jiang family dynamics, not jiang cheng friendly, sect leader wei wuxian, getting together, hurt/comfort, found family, families of choice, getting together, background wangxian, background jiang yanli/lan xichen

~*~

(Please REBLOG as a signal boost for this hard-working author if you like – or think others might like – this story.)

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hils79 · 8 months

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Hils Watches Mysterious Lotus Casebook - Ep 26

Li Lianhua, one of the most brave and brilliant minds of his generation: Yeah, this place is creepy. I'm out.

Very much enjoying Fang Duobing and Di Feisheng working together to protect Li Lianhua. I hope we get more of that.

Amazing work, all of you. A+

This really is the worst kept secret in the jianghu. I think Fango Duobing is the only one who doesn't know at this point

Oh my god is the wine made of people?

I was going to make a joke that Li Lianhua plays up being pathetic when he's got two big strong men there to protect him. But actually it's probably not far from the truth. How many times do you think he's had to stay awake, or at least on guard, for fear that someone might figure out his identity and come looking for him. Now he's with two people one of whom knows his identity and one who has sworn to protect him no matter what. It's actually safe for him to relax and get some sleep so he's going to do just that.

Oh my god. Fang Duobing offered Di Feisheng some bread and Di Feisheng took it! I'm crying.

AND THEN DI FEISHENG SHARED HIS WATER WITH FANG DUOBING. Are they in love now? Is that's what's happening here? MY HEART.

Look at those eyes. Has he learned the puppy eyes from Fang Duobing?

Why do I feel like Di Feisheng is about to ruin this romantic moment

Oh, shit, whatever they got drugged with has triggered his poison

How quickly Fang Duobing has gone from 'I'm not saving him!' to being genuinely worried about him

Of course Li Lianhua was just pretending to sleep and now he's going to fight a hoard of martial arts zombies by himself because his boyfriends both got drugged. Li Lianhua, that will kill you!

You don't normally mind

I know they needed to sort out their injuries because the zombies are attracted to the scent of blood, but the three of them seem remarkably unconcerned that Li Lianhua just got kidnapped by a zombie

Feeling Fine and Normal about this

Haha! He literally only got as far as saying the A of A-Fei's name and Di Feisheng did what Fang Duobing was going to ask him to do. I think this means they officially share a braincell now

This dude: Ohhhh! I didn't realise the three of you were together

You can see why he's the detective. Did the missing head give it away?

I love that Di Feisheng has just naturally taken on the role of leader while Li Lianhua is gone. He might not remember being the leader of his sect but instinctively that's who he is

We're in DMBJ territory again

Oh you know shit is real when the family name gets dropped

He's just a little dude who needs his two big strong boyfriends to help him up

#hils watches #hils watches mysterious lotus casebook #hils watches cdramas #mysterious lotus casebook #cdrama

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evilhasnever · 10 months

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I am on record disliking "centrist" LXC jokes, because they have been disproven by canon analysis already in better essays than I can manage right now, but I also don't buy "I can fix him" jokes!

Rather than "I can fix him" syndrome, LXC's attitude (towards everyone: his brother! his friends! his uncle!) reads to me as "I want to do good and make the best of our circumstances (within my power)". That means, for example, encouraging Wangji to make friends but still following sect rules when it comes to punishment. It means supporting his brilliant friend's ambition and making sure his angry friend doesn't kill him first.

None of those things include fixing, because I don't think he is under any illusion that Clarity will fix NMJ - he'd have to change his way of thinking, first, and LXC canonically has given up on this or never even entertained the thought (as shownfor example when he does not argue further in front of NMJ's mulish responses about JGY's abuse in Jinlintai, or when he has to concede to NMJ and other sect leaders clamoring for the Wen slaughter).

As for JGY? He does not need fixing, and LXC is the first to recognize that. His goals are worthy and his methods, well... are often the only ones available to him. So what he needs from LXC is just support and understanding, and tbh JGY gives back as much and more than he gets (as shown in canon with the rebuilding of CR, being his confidant, etc.) So LXC does not try to change him, because he believes in the man he is now and in his overarching goals being in line with the greater good.

Basically, LXC does not try to change JGY because he believes him to be right, and he does not try to change NMJ because he knows he won't listen. So I don't get where this headcanon of LXC as the "I can fix him" man comes from when he is just a decent guy who helps the people he cares about, supports his little brother's unwise decisions and protects him from repercussions, provides palliative musical therapy to his friend who is bound to die regardless, and is emotionally present for the man he loves even when he cannot do anything else but offer him a handkerchief in times of struggle.

Basically, "I can fix him" implies a naivete and a rejection of the reality of their circumstances that is in fact not in line with Lan Xichen's canonical diplomatic skills and emotional intelligence.

#shhh shiome #I know it's just a joke but listen #it can bleed into characterization as naive optimism and impractical expectations or even himbo reads #bane of my existence tbh #lan xichen #I wrote this instead of getting ready for work so take with a grain of salt #jgy apologism #I guess

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mdzs-owns-my-ass-i-guess · 11 months

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All grown up

Lan Wangji holds his husband close and whispers a final I love you in his hair, empty of any strength to protect him. Wei Wuxian responds in kind and burrows into Lan Wangji's chest, eyes squeezed shut. He can still tell the large, meteor-like burst of energy that's about to hit them is getting even closer now, burning bright and hot like a midnight sun. He doesn't want to think about it, doesn't want to think that even this second shot at life will not be any longer than the first has been.

Lan Wangji asks him to meet in the next life and he agrees, feels his husband shake at their impending death and cannot help grasping at his hands tighter than ever before, tears sliding down his face.

This is it.

The hit never comes.

There is a flurry of robes and then a high pitched sound, and suddenly there is someone shielding them both.

"A-Yuan...?"

Bright white spiritual energy shoots from his hands, shining powerful and relentless, stopping the deadly attack right in its tracks. The ball of energy hangs still in the air, struggling against its obstacle. Tendrils of dark, resentful energy snake around it from beneath the ground, wrapping themselves around it like vines. They can't see it, but his eyes burn red.

A flurry of talismans appears seemingly out of nowhere, and they burn a transparent dome around the two seniors as Jingyi finally emerges from deep within the forest.

"Hanguang-Jun! Senior Wei! Are you guys alright?"

"Mildly injured." Lan Wangji responds, somewhere between relief and wonder.

"How did you find us?" Wei Wuxian says, eyes never leaving Sizhui.

"We saw trouble and we figured that's where we'd find you." Jingyi replies, producing some more talismans that Wei Wuxian quickly recognize as some of his most advanced. "Sizhui, you holdin' up well?"

"Yes. Where's Jin Ling?"

Suihua flies through the horde of fierce corpses that's just been about to attack, drawn to the commotion. "I'm right here."

His three most powerful disciples follow and they begin drawing an intricate array as he sheathes his sword. "Da-jiu, I told you to stop making those 'I'm going to die jokes', or it would come bite you in the ass one of these days. It's called manifesting."

"Sect leader, the array is ready." one of the disciples says, "Power it up, please."

Jin Ling walks to the center of the array. "Sizhui. Step aside."

"I'm fine."

"I'm not arguing with you. Step aside or the blast will fry you alive."

Sizhui's eyes narrow, and the red in them shines deeper. "If I let go-"

A smile. "I got it. I'm not a sect leader for nothing."

"No, it's cause of the nepotism." Jingyi asks and everyone finds themselves breaking into a smile. Leave it to Jingyi to find time to roast his lifelong friend even in a situation like this. Sizhui does take a step back, but he can't find it in himself to release the resentful energy that's wrapped around the ball of energy.

Jin Ling doesn't reply to Jingyi's comment, though he mouths something obscene in return and closes his eyes to focus on the task at hand. The array comes alive with the qi of his golden core seconds later, and a burst of it runs through the ball of energy, tearing it apart into glittering bits of nothingness.

"Alright, it should be completely gone now." Jin Ling says, and flicks the long end of his ponytail over his shoulder, "Take that for nepotism."

Jingyi sticks his tongue out at him as he helps Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian up. Sizhui is quick to heal the few injuries on both of them, using the familiar healing cultivation techniques of his birth family's clan.

It isn't until they're both fine that his expression relaxes, the steely look in his eyes finally soft. "I am glad to see you are okay."

Lan Wangji nods, and so does Wei Wuxian. They're beyond words now, both of them. It's easy not to notice these things - but now they do. Their little ducklings aren't so little anymore.

"Did you manage to catch the bastard that did this?" Jingyi asks as the group now walks towards the camp the Jin sect set up for the night hunt.

"Find out that I did." comes the response. "Since this is my night hunt and he attacked us directly, I have to question him personally and see for a punishment."

Jingyi smiles, cat-like. "Oh, fun."

"But after I'm done, I can lend him back to the Lan sect for questioning."

"See that you do." Sizhui says, in a voice that's only a bit too dark, "Have him delivered to me personally."

They grow up so fast!

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #wangxian #lsz #ljy #jl #writing attempts #this has been eating my brain cells since this morning now i can finally be productive

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staunchen · 5 months

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so i was thinking about lan wangji and how he has this reputation of being righteous while also in my opinion acting like an asshole? like he acts very petty and is ready to pull his sword on people a lot and isn't really involved in politics even in a way that makes sense as a high ranking member of a sect? like the silencing spell on jin ling is uh. bad.

it's like lan wangji has scary dog privilege by virtue of his reputation and his brother and uncle who will wreck you if you do or say anything to/about him. except thats not right because theyre not scary dogs at all, they just protect him. it's like lan wangji is a scary dog and lan xichen and lan qiren smooth things over and stop him from doing something too awful and calm others down after lan wangji does something not too great. and i guess with the reputation for being righteous (second jade of lan) is enough to deter people from saying/doing things like "hey he's a dick" because dude that's hanguang-jun, what are you talking about???".

and the people he saves on night hunts or whatever are random civilians who don't interact with him enough to see him behave badly, and a cool and aloof powerful cultivator saving them gets a lot of leeway on account of being a famous powerful cultivator and also being someone who saved them from fierce corpses or spirits or healed their kid or grandparent or whatever. who cares if theyre quiet and kinda rude they saved their sister!!!!!

so when lan wangji is a dick to jin ling or fucks off from political stuff or is ready to pull his sword on jiang cheng in the jiang ancestral hall or whatever he's doing so with the reputation of hanguang-jun who saves people and also is supported by lan xichen (lan sect leader and brother) and lan qiren (former acting sect leader, uncle, teacher) and they are protective and dare i say overindulgent of lan wangji???? like bro you are a political figure whether you like it or not, your actions have effects on things besides your own direct personal circle. like the heir of gusu lan pulling a sword on sect leader jiang is fucking political incident whether or not theyre both being assholes or not. the adult heir of gusu lan using the lan silencing spell on the teenage heir of lanling jin is a political incident. not engaging with other sects politically, ever, says important things about your priorities and your influence both within the sect and without.

also like. what if something happened to gusu lan? like say lan xichen is injured, and lan qiren is also out of commission for some reason? that means lan wangji is acting sect leader. can you IMAGINE lan wangji as sect leader. imagine it. really visualize it. there's a lot of jokes about lan wangji being a petty bitch and people love it but imagine a petty bitch as a sect leader. the situation would blow up faster than lans get drunk on a glass of wine. like dude. so much stuff would be totally fucked.

anyway lan wangji as he is in mdzs would be a shit sect leader/chief cultivator/etc. he doesn't behave like he's intimately involved in the politics of his world (which he is) and may or may not have training in doing so - maybe he has training and just doesn't do it? which is also really bad, then he would know better and still not do it or help in any way.

#mdzs #meta #mdzs meta #yeah #it's rough #lan wangji #i mean dude is not diplomatic #could do a whole other thing on how lan qiren and lan xichen and nie mingjue are not great on not preparing lan wangji and nie huaisang #for political stuff #i deeply understand why #wanting to protect your younger loved on from shitty realities and keeping them safe and happy #but also they have responsibilities and they may/will fall on them eventually!#like nie huaisang will likely be sect leader someday! esp as nie mingjue's qi deviations get worse and worse post sunshot #i mean nie mingjue is aware and part of the whole thing is protecting him from their sect's damaging cultivation #and taking care of him #but it still isn't good for nie huaisang and nie sect as a whole #and in lan sect its like. lan wangji may not ever be sect leader but we've seen so much bullshit happen before and during sunshot especiall #and wanting to protect him esp after the shit in their childhood with their mom dying #but like. dude. you are doing your younger sibling/nephew/whatever no favors by not preparing them or teaching them what's up #they are in for a rude awakening because as we see with nie mingjue and nie huaisang you can't protect them forever #and people will make judgments and behave accordingly #sucks all around honestly

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robininthelabyrinth · 2 years

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@silentstep

LQR works hard to keep his smouldering passions restrained; LQR's brother is ace & doesn't understand the struggle at /all./

"Xiongzhang? Are you awake?"

It's fuck-o-clock in the morning, Qiren, let me live for once, Qingheng-jun whined in his head, but that wasn't the proper response from the Lan sect's proper gentleman heir, who never did anything he wasn't supposed to, not even wake up earlier than the prescribed time.

He cleared his throat and wiped his eyes, sitting up in bed. "Yes, Qiren? What is it?"

"I need punishment."

Of course he did. Sometimes he thought Lan Qiren loved the rules a little too much - but that was just his little brother's way. Stiff and rigid, even from a young age, and deeply distressed by things that didn't follow the patterns laid out for them...it probably had something to do with how awfully their father had treated him, just because of what had happened with their mother.

It was lucky that Qingheng-jun had managed to get his head out of his ass sometime in his mid-teenage years and realize how neglected his younger brother had been, stepping in to make sure he was reassigned to another family for raising, or else Lan Qiren might have turned out even weirder.

"What happened?" he asked, getting up and opening the door, leading Lan Qiren inside. "What rule do you think you broke this time?"

"Don't say it like that," Lan Qiren complained, but obediently started making tea anyway when put in front of the pot. "It makes it sound like you think I didn't really break them."

Qingheng-jun really didn't think he had, actually, so that was about right.

"Well?" he prompted.

Lan Qiren blushed. "It's...the one against promiscuity."

"Again?" Qingheng-jun rubbed his forehead. "Qiren, please, haven't we already discussed this? If you've had another wet dream -"

"It wasn't a dream this time."

"Fine, fine. Another crush -"

"I actually did something this time!"

Qingheng-jun blinked. "With another person? A real one?"

"Yes."

"Are you saying you actually had sex -"

"Xiongzhang!" Lan Qiren hissed, clearly mortified - from what, Qingheng-jun wasn't sure. It wasn't like he was too young to talk about such things; he was already a big boy of eighteen, which was only young in comparison to Qingheng-jun's near thirty. "Of course not! I haven't settled on my dao companion yet!"

"Then..."

"I just..." A furtive look. "Experimented."

Just hands and mouth then, Qingheng-jun interpreted. Such things were not forbidden, and plenty of Lan sect disciples indulged in such experimentation in their youth. Qingheng-jun hadn't personally done so, being wholly uninterested in sexual matters, but he'd heard enough about it (rather unwillingly) to make a guess.

"Why do you need punishment, then?" he asked, confused. "That's not against the rules."

"I...I just I think what I did still counts as a violation."

Qingheng-jun thought longingly of his bed. "What'd you do, then? Have a torrid threesome with Cangse Sanren and her beau?"

"...it was with Lao Nie and Wen Ruohan, actually."

Qingheng-jun's eye twitched, and all thoughts of bed disappeared. The rules said Do not lie, and Lan Qiren generally abided by the rules.

That was the only reason he didn't ask if his brother was joking about having apparently seduced two of Qingheng-jun's peers, sect leaders with a taste for conquering the sects around them.

Only the two most dangerous people in the cultivation world, that's all.

"That requires punishment, right?" Lan Qiren asked anxiously, wringing his hands the way Qingheng-jun was currently thinking of wringing his neck. "I mean, they seemed happy enough, but I think in terms of maintaining my own discipline -"

"Your punishment is going to be to stay in here without going anywhere until I can fix this," Qingheng-jun said. The twitching in his eye was getting worse. "If I can fix this. What were you thinking?"

"That's just it, xiongzhang! I don't think I was thinking!"

Qingheng-jun did not understand sexual urges at all. It made people so stupid!

He certainly wasn't going to make a mistake like that. If he ever did something like that, it'd be a logical decision, reasonable, stripped of emotion - a proper trade after a cost-benefit analysis. After all, without sexual impulse to lead him astray, how much could he really be risking, falling in love..?

#mdzs #qingheng-jun #lan qiren #alt headcanons #my fic #my fics #this one's like an actual ficlet

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absolmon · 4 months

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@tianyueary Is asking a series of questions and I'd like to collect all my answers together and explain them. TianYue is my favorite post canon pairing and I'm so excited for more content for them! Answers below the cut!

1. Who's more of a cuddler?

I think Yue Qingyuan is someone who desperately misses the casual touch he got as a nameless street kid surrounded by other street kids. He desperately wants to cuddle, but his position prevents him. Contrast with Tianlang Jun who probably doesn't have the instincts for cuddling on account of him being a demon. He loves to do it when initiated, but he never consciously thinks about it.

2. Who refuses to get up in the morning?

TLJ for sure! He's a hedonist to the bone, he'd never get up before he wants to. YQY has never had a good sleep schedule and he's to dedicated to lay in bed when he's needed.

3. Who's hair care routine is longer?

TLJ! He's much more vain then YQY and loves to try new things out with his hair. YQY is much more utilitarian.

4. Who has the better dog?

All! Dogs! Are! Good! Dogs! They totally need to do exposure therapy to get Liu Qingge and Zhuzhi Lang used to one another but they are both good boys.

5. Who's better at cooking?

I don't think TLJ knows how to cook, and I think YQY can cook simple dishes so he wins by default. No one ever craves YQY's cooking, but I don't think TLJ realizes that the only reason he hasn't gotten food poisoning is because he's a Heavenly Demon.

6. Who has the bigger wardrobe?

YQY has a closet full of official sect leader robes for every occasion, he uses it as another arm of diplomacy. TLJ on the other hand just wears whatever he comes across that he thinks looks cool, with ZZL compensating people stealthily behind him. He discards clothes just as quickly so usually he only really has the clothes on his back and whatever ZZL has stored away for emergencies.

7. Who's better at keeping surprises?

YQY is a secret keeper extraordinaire! He was willing to take his reasons for leaving Shen Jiu to the grave. TLJ can't keep a secret to save his life, he has no tact.

8. Who stays up later?

YQY! He totally overworks himself. TLJ is naturally nocturnal though, but he naps frequently.

9. Who has better handwriting?

YQY, he was trained super hard to have great handwriting to make up for the fact that when he came to Cang Qiong Mountain he could not read or write. TLJ is great at reading but he has a hard time writing human script.

10. Who is more likely to accidentally acquire a harem?

YQY is the Shen Yuan in this equation (the equation being that all ships in SVSSS are just iterations of Cumplane) so he has a large amount of people waiting for him to open up applications for spouses. TLJ I imagine actually has trauma from the Heavenly Demon expectation of having a large harem and I head canon that his sister died whilst trying to make a monster boy harem.

11. Who is more likely to seek comfort after a bad nightmare?

TLJ would totally try to be nonchalant about getting it but he'd cuddle up so quickly after a nightmare. YQY has long learned no one is going to care about his nightmares.

12. Who is the "he asked for no pickles" in the relationship?

YQY has made a career out of politely asking people to comply for the sake of others. He'd be so subtle about it but he wouldn't take no for an answer. TLJ would just go somewhere else and buy all their food to spite the other place then leave all the pickles from those meals on the doorstep of the first place.

13. Who said "I love you" first?

I think TLJ said it first but he played it off as a joke. He keeps quoting love confessions from his stories and plays but playing them off when YQY reacts with shock. YQY is the first one to actually say it and make it clear he means it.

14. Who made the first move?

TLJ for sure! He mostly did it for a reaction, but he keeps doing it because of the cute little micro expressions YQY makes about them.

15. Who plans more dates?

ZZL is the ultimate unappreciated wing snake. My poor boy needs to be paid for the shit he deals with.

16. Who's more romantic?

YQY is more romantic in a real sense. TLJ quotes things all the time but he doesn't really understand them. YQY will brush TLJ's hair out of his face and say how much he appreciates TLJ's honesty and that just makes TLJ turn into a demonic puddle.

Man this turned out long. There are still several polls going on @tianyueary and they've posted their prompts for TianYue week. Check them out!

#Grae Rumbles #SVSSS #TianYue #Hope This Is Okay To Just Drop On You Guys!

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gilbirda · 2 years

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Friendly neighborhood vigilante. Chapter 9

BatmanxDP crossover. JasonxJazz

NOW WITH ART! -> How Jazz looks like when she knocks on Jason’s door

Companion piece: Jason’s POV of the second half of this chapter.

Context note: Essence, mentioned here, was the daughter of the leader of the All Caste, a hidden sect of warriors that trained Jason in the time before he came back to Gotham as Red Hood. They had an intense relationship, but it ended when he chose his revenge over living with the All Caste.

[Read on AO3] [Read on FF.net]

Based on this post

First chapter || << Previous chapter || Next chapter >>

“You guys KISSED?”

Jason was very tempted to turn off the comms and just abandon his brother without further explanation.

“I need all the details!”

“No.”

“C’mon Little Wing!” He heard the wind rush and the sounds of his brother jumping around the rooftops. “I’m so invested in your love story, I need this!”

“There’s nothing to tell. Shut up.”

“But you have a date-date, right? Are you guys going out!?”

Telling his brother about the date thing had been a mistake, Jason decided. He thought it would shut him up at once about the stupid family dinner, but it backfired and now he was trying to interrogate him for details, instead of, you know, do their job.

“Yes, it’s a date. I refuse to keep talking about this.”

Dick complained a little more, but yielded, for now. At least he would stop insisting on the family dinner thing-

“By the way, dinner has been postponed.”

Fuck.

“B has been called for some urgent Justice League mission. I mean, officially it is still on for Friday, if the mission goes well then he’s supposed to be back Friday morning. But we all know that nothing is ever that easy.”

Did a god hate him? Did he offend a powerful entity so much that now it was out for his blood?

“So unofficially family dinner is next Friday, instead of this Friday.” By his pause, his brother knew exactly what he was doing. “And since you guys are going out-”

“Stop. I’m not going to dinner, she’s not going to dinner.” He stopped right where he was. If Dick was going to continue this he was leaving, favor or no favor. “I won’t expose her to this family’s bullshit. She doesn’t deserve-”

“We will be on our best behavior! I promise.”

“It's not about that!” Nightwing kept quiet, probably surprised by the intensity in his voice. “She’s too good for this family, too good for all the vigilante bullshit and the secrets and constipated old men that can’t accept the truth and too good for- for…”

“Too good for you?” The older man said in a soft voice. Jason hated it. He hated that he was treating him like he would crumble down or flee if he raised his voice.

(Would Jazz prefer someone capable of being this soft?)

“I’m not having this conversation with you.” He turned to leave.

Dick didn’t try to talk him down. “I think you are perfect for each other.” He said instead. “And I think she loves you.”

“What the fuck do you know? You haven’t talked to her.”

“Excuse me, I teach her gymnastics.”

Oh right. The Sunday gymnastic classes. She had talked excitedly about them and how cool her teacher was - how patient he was with students and cracked jokes when she faceplanted to make her feel better.

Yeah. He was adult enough to recognize he got a bit jealous, but never got the courage to say that her teacher was his older brother.

(Would she ask him to introduce them properly? No, it didn’t make sense to get jealous. If she wanted to date his brother she could have asked him out already at the classes.)

“You haven’t seen her with me.” He finally grumbled, annoyed by his irrational thoughts.

“But I’ve seen how she looks at you,” Jason scoffed at the reminder that everyone had been spying on their dates. “She always has this spark in her eye when she looks at you and only you. As if you were the only person in the room with her.”

“Smooth.” Dick had always this way with words, the fucker, that people found charming.

(Would Jazz prefer it if he were that good with his words? He asked her out with the most pathetic speech ever. He still can’t understand how she said yes.)

“I’m just telling the truth, Jaybird.”

Was it true? He wanted it to be true. Feeling wanted, like he felt when he was around her, was addictive. He replayed the kiss in his mind again, how she looked him in the eye and asked if that was what he wanted. He could believe desire, he could understand infatuation, he would agree with a crush - but love was much more complex than that.

He had never been in love, but he had felt something close to it once with Essence a long time ago. He had been younger and foolish, and she had given him her attention and touched him like she wanted him. In the end he chose his revenge above everything else and with time and perspective he knew what they experienced wasn’t actually love.

Again, Essence didn’t look at him like Jazz looked at him. Maybe Dick was onto something.

“Robbery in progress, guys. This one is close to Hood.” That was Tim’s voice, who was running comms today. He had connected with the main channel for this patrol only, and the usual buzz was annoying, but it was part of the deal with patrolling with Nightwing.

Neither continued the conversation while the situation was dealt with, or even after that. Dick even quit the jabs about Jazz and their relationship, instead choosing to tell him about what he had done with his life all these years. Jason asked something here or there, but his mind was far away.

Once he was home after patrol, around four in the morning, he stood in silence in his living room still in his suit. Here is where it happened, where he finally took the leap and landed in a relationship with his neighbor. He still didn’t know how it worked - logically, it made sense since both had flirted a lot and had met up plenty of times, their compatibility off the charts. It made sense in his mind, but his heart still couldn’t believe it was real.

Still…

He glanced at where she had been standing when he came back from cleaning the cut. He saw her eyes glow green for a split second, he was sure. How and why he had no idea, but it was an alarming item in the list of things that didn’t make sense about her.

Would she tell him her secrets? What kind of secrets were those? Was she a metahuman and was hiding from Batman? Metas weren’t welcomed in Gotham and people thought it was because Batman hated them, even if the truth was much simpler - would you fight a Jokerized Superman? A mind controlled Wonder Woman? Metas were vulnerable in Gotham and a potential danger.

Even if he explained this to her he wasn’t sure she would like it if he overstepped when she hadn’t shared her secret just yet.

He just… He had to trust her to come to him with the truth.

And then what? Would he show her his suit and confess about his other life? Tell her what he had to actually do on Thursday? That he couldn’t go on dates because he had people to kill, a drug operation to run, a whole bunch of Lieutenants to keep in line?

Would she be horrified? He would understand it if she did, even if it hurts.

Would she ask him to change? Would her love be conditional, after all? If she agreed to be with him at the price of giving up all of this, would he do it?

He shook his head. It was stupid to consider this. Also, he was jumping too ahead of the story, there was no need to lose his mind about something that could just never happen.

One step at a time - first he needed to go on a date with her that Friday. He was tempted to call her and move the date to next Friday out of spite, but then he’d have to explain why.

Whatever. He needed to change out of the suit, shower and then try to sleep.

The memory of the kiss passed through his mind again.

Try to sleep. ‘Try’ being the key word.

***

Jazz didn’t sleep. Maybe an hour or two, at most, because there was a moment just before sunrise where she didn’t remember falling asleep. It was a bit after she heard movement in Jason’s apartment, including the sound of the shower turning on. Patrol? Did he have patrol after dinner?

Oh dear, she hoped she didn’t hold him up for something important.

The thing is, she didn’t sleep. And coffee wasn’t a substitute for sleeping. So she went to work feeling like death and not really in the frame of mind to deal with whatever craziness the Asylum had in store for her.

Sleep deprived as she was, her mind was half rotating yesterday’s kiss and half panicking about her revelation in the bathroom after leaving his apartment.

There were two important sides fighting inside of her, one for each option she had to ponder.

First option: not date Jason. Dating required a lot of work, time, trust and dedication; and while she was a very dedicated person, and when she set her mind on it she could do an insane amount of work, she was aware that starting a relationship with a lie was unhealthy.

At best, she could damage whatever they had built, all the trust and companionship; at worst, she could get into Red Hood’s shit list and maybe Batman’s too, if Jason decided to put together all the clues on how weird she was and sold her out to the man.

Second option: date Jason. Neither said anything serious for the moment and they only said to try a date and see where it goes for them. There weren’t conversations about long term or compromise or revealing secrets. She could play by ear and sneakily find out if Jason knows about his liminality and maybe help him deal with it in exchange for his forgiveness for lying to him about herself.

Who knows, she may even get away with it since Red Hood was Danny’s favorite Gotham’s (anti)hero, so he wouldn’t be too mad about her getting distracted from her mission and revealing his secret.

It was around the time she had to go home, feeling like crying from exhaustion, that she decided that fuck it, she was going to date the man. Stand by what she said, date him, and slowly and carefully reveal that there was something different in her, that she knew about him, until he confronted her with the truth. And happily ever after.

Easy. Flawless plan.

Or maybe after a nap she could think of a better plan. Yes, a nap was a good idea.

She woke from her nap feeling well rested and maybe she dreamt about a certain neighbor and his arms around her, so that’s cool. Not really wanting to give up her dreams, she turned in her bed and looked out of the window, sighing when she saw it was already dark. She had some hours before her usual bedtime, and she could still try some yoga and see if it helped her sleep at a reasonable hour.

She was pondering the pros and cons of getting out of bed to make dinner when she heard it - the living room window was being opened. Her heart skipped a beat. Maybe it was Jason, well, Red Hood, coming to check on her? Maybe he wanted to confess about his identity before their date tomorrow?

The steps were silent, though, quieter than how Hood’s were that time she brought him to her apartment. So it wasn’t him.

Maybe a ghost?

Her ghost sense didn’t activate, but it didn’t work for halfas and liminals in general, so she didn’t trust it at all if it was Vlad or an unknown liminal.

Alright.

She quietly searched under her pillow for her staff, a modified version of the one her mother used. With a click of a button, the staff transformed from its compact form to the combat ready, full-length form.

Her steps were quieter than her intruder as she moved in the shadows, her training kicking in even after so long not needing this amount of stealth. It was like riding a bicycle. If she ever learned to ride one.

The stranger was also in the shadows and with his back to her, but she could see it was male, tall and not Jason. She didn’t hesitate, jumping at the stranger who decided to enter her apartment without permission and bonked him in the head with her staff before he could even turn around to see her.

He fell to the floor, completely out cold.

She sighed and re-contracted the staff, putting it on her kitchen table before crouching to turn around the body. Even with eyes adapted to the dark, she didn’t recognize the silhouette of who had tried to attack her in her own house until she saw his face.

Nightwing? What the heck?

Jazz groaned. Great, she had attacked one of the vigilantes. Amazing. Fantastic. First she puts a cream that could have done real damage to Red Hood, and now she has an unconscious known associate of Batman’s on her living room floor.

In her defense, people don’t usually sneak in girls' apartments at night without bad intentions. She was acting as any other woman living alone in Gotham would have done. That’s it. She was innocent!

Jazz watched the unconscious body at her feet for a moment, considering her options. What could she do now? Think logically, Jasmine.

She could wait until he woke up, but that meant: deal with having attacked him and how he would react, deal with what he wanted from her since he was in her apartment, and (potentially) deal with other bats or birds coming after her.

Or - she could throw him out of the window and let him sleep it off in the fire escape stairs. Outside was cold, and it felt cruel to just abandon him to the elements, but it was the safest option for her. She was trained and she had her favorite weapon at hand, but she had seen the crazy stuff the bats could do and she wasn’t sure she could fight one on one any of them.

Jazz tentatively kicked the vigilante’s side, jumping back in case he woke up.

He didn’t.

Also, she was starting to regret hitting him so hard and was thinking about placing him on her sofa and putting a blanket over him. Would he like tea? She couldn’t cook but she knew how to make tea, it was her only redeeming quality according to Danny. Not that he liked tea in general, but he said hers at least didn’t taste like burnt leaves.

Focus on the unconscious vigilante, Jazz.

There was a loud sound from Jason’s apartment, followed by a curse. He was still at home. Would he know what to do with an unconscious vigilante? She saw them standing together on the roof the other day, so they must at least know each other.

Was Red Hood friends with the bats? They were not enemies, since Batman stopped chasing after him, that’s for sure. She wanted to ask what was the story behind the cease fire.

But she couldn’t until he told her about his identity himself. Ugh! This was so annoying.

Focus.

Jason was at home. She could just walk over there and ask what to do in case you have a passed out vigilante at your home, you know, the usual. Or maybe she could ask him if he could come over real quick and help her with something?

Both options made her seem so suspicious, though. Even if he weren’t Red Hood and wasn’t trained to expect traps and such, a normal person wouldn’t just brush off something like that.

Okay. She could go there and explain the situation, ask if he wanted to help and then ask if he could come over to help with the situation.

Their kiss from yesterday flashed in her mind, the feeling of his lips on hers vivid in her memory.

She groaned into her hands. Not the moment for this, Jasmine. She had time for an existential crisis after dealing with Nightwing.

Bracing herself, she walked to the door and opened it, her eyes adapting to the bright hallway. It was easy, she only needed to drop completely unannounced and ask her neighbor, who was secretly a vigilante but she wasn’t supposed to know, to deal with a passed out Nightwing in her living room.

Wait, were they friends? Would he get angry at her for attacking a friend?

She was overthinking this. She just needed to go over there and ask.

Bracing herself again, Jazz stepped into the hallway-

What if Nightwing woke up while she was bothering her neighbor? What if he went to her apartment to snoop around and steal something? What if he came here to investigate her-

She did a one-eighty and marched back to the still unconscious vigilante. She had to carry him, there was no way he could be left alone in her apartment, no matter how brief her asking Jason for help would be.

Jazz hesitated. Carrying him wasn’t a problem for her - one of the perks of her liminality was the strength and she knew she could lift the man, no problem. It was that, well…

She blushed.

For the longest time, Jazz has had a crush on the hero. Since he started making headlines, she latched onto the celebrity hero like a teenager with a crush because she was a teenager with a crush. She had a brief career as a fanclub president for a moment there; but after a while she decided that she needed to “grow up” and ripped all her posters from the walls and stored them in a box. The box was still hidden in her childhood room’s closet, to never be seen by anybody.

And now she had the chance to touch him. It felt surreal. It also felt kinda wrong to feel her heart flutter as she knelt and grabbed the hero’s arm and leg to pull him into a fireman’s carry.

If only the people that wrote all that NightwingxReader fanfiction back in the day saw her now.

Jazz shook her head, thinking about her - uh, were they dating? Jason was her boyfriend, right? Ugh, they really needed to talk about that. Not now though, as she was going to carry a passed out man to his apartment.

Now feeling guilty for hitting the vigilante AND feeling weird for remembering her celebrity crush on him, Jazz marched back out and was soon ringing the doorbell of Jason’s place.

She heard his heavy steps approach the door and stop without asking who was there. He was probably looking at her through the peephole, so she smiled awkwardly at it.

“Hey.” Jazz shifted her grip on the man around her shoulders so she could secure him with one hand, using the other to wave.

Jason opened his door.

“Hello???” His eyes were of the unconscious vigilante instead of on her.

Good thing, because he wasn’t wearing a shirt and it was a bit distracting. She wasn’t expecting to see that today. Also, he had so many scars, that it was difficult for her to not stare.

“I can explain.”

His only response was to slowly blink and then start laughing. Jazz stood there awkwardly in the hallway, very aware of the absurdity of the situation, and very aware that Nightwing could wake up at any moment and she didn’t want it to be while he was on her person.

“Please, tell me what happened,” Jason finally said, stepping away from the door to let her and her cargo in, “and spare no detail.”

Relieved, she went into the apartment, vaguely remembering the comment about vampires and needing permission to enter. She was not a vampire, that was Vlad’s shtick, thank you very much.

“Wait, I need to take a photo.” He stopped her before she could let the vigilante down on the sofa.

“Why?”

“To remember this moment?” By his smirk as he grabbed the phone and opened the camera app, his motivations weren’t those exactly.

Yeah, these two were friends.

She weakly smiled at the camera, not really sure what she looked like after having a sleepless night, a horrible day at work and a nap. Her hair was probably all over the place.

“Ok. Explain.”

Jazz let the body drop on the sofa and sighed.

“Broke into my apartment. I got scared and just… hit him.”

Jason’s smile got bigger. “And he let you?”

“Um, he didn’t see me.”

“And you just hit him?”

“Yeah. Bonked him in the head.”

If Jazz had to describe the way he looked at her, she would use words like “heart eyes” and “lovesick”. She blushed and looked away, noticing the guns and the holsters on the kitchen island they had dinner in, ready to be strapped to his legs before going out and doing vigilante things.

She acted as if she didn’t see anything and turned back to Jason checking on Nightwing, poking him here and there.

“He seems fine to me.”

“I didn’t hit that hard,” he glanced at her with an eyebrow raised, as if he knew better. Had he seen her make unnatural displays of strength? She had been careful, or at least she had tried to. “Anyway, can you help me or not?”

He blinked slowly. “With what.”

Jazz narrowed her eyes. “About Nightwing?”

“You want me to get rid of the body?” He sounded confused but highly amused by the whole situation.

“What? No!”

“Because I can get rid of-”

“-m not dead.”

“Oh great, the princess awakens.”

“Shut up Jaybird.” He grumbled, trying to sit up on the sofa.

Alright. Ok. This is fine. Nightwing knew Jason out of his suit, and probably viceversa, but neither knew she knew.

It was time for her to go, before she made things worse.

"Okay, I see everything's fine, then." She laughed nervously, pointedly not looking at the costumed vigilante. "Thanks, Jay. See you tomorrow?"

"Huh-"

She didn't give him time to process the reality of the situation, kissing him on the cheek and patting his shoulder. Being this close, she noticed a big scar on his chest - one line from each shoulder to the sternum and then down all the way to his belly button. She didn’t comment on it, but stored the information for another moment where she wasn't running away from an awkward situation.

"Bye ~"

With that, she did a very familiar escape from Jason's apartment. Twice in less than twenty four hours, huh? What was it about Jason's place that made her run away like this?

As she closed the door, she glimpsed at the shirtless vigilante clearly wearing Red Hood's pants and glaring at Nightwing, who was looking at her. Maybe. He had those whiteout lenses, so it was difficult to discern.

Back safe and sound in her apartment, Jazz took a moment to breathe.

Ok. That was something that happened. She was ready for today to end, but was scared about what tomorrow had in store for her.

She prayed to anybody that listened for her date to be uneventful. Please. Just one good date. Was that too much to ask?

She realized too late that with her Fenton luck, she probably just jinxed herself.

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#danny phantom #batman dc #danny phantom fanfiction #jazz fenton #jasmine fenton #jason todd #jazz x jason #anger management ship #jazz/jason #dp x dc #dc x dp #batpham #friendly neighborhood vigilante #neighbors au #dpxdc

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trans-xianxian · 1 year

Text

I'm stilllll thinking about that post and like. I think something that ppl often forget about jin guangyao when trying to justify his actions is that he Was shown love and he Was shown kindness, but so many times he was the one sabotaging the positive relationships he had. you can't ignore the cruelty that he was shown especially in relation to his birth and social standing, that would be omitting both important parts of his character, and key parts of the themes of the story as a whole and parallels being made between jin guangyao and other characters that face similar circumstances, but we also cannot ignore the fact that even when jin guangyao was welcomed and shown love and given Power, he was still cruel

yes, members of the nie clan mistreated him, but nie mingjue and nie huaisang welcomed him in and loved him and treated him, for the most part, as an equal. and then, in his hunger for power, jin guangyao sets xue yang free, and kills the nie army commander when he catches him or mocks him for his birth or both. nie mingjue discovers what he's done, and he should punish him, it would not be unrealistic for nie mingjue to even kill him - whether you agree w those actions or not, they would not be out of place for the setting - but he Doesn't do that. he just tells jin guangyao to leave and never come back, a far kinder consequence for his actions than many other and more beloved characters would have given him. but jin guangyao Still feels the need to seek cruel and drawn out revenge, even after nie mingjue begrudgingly concedes to trust him again and become sworn brothers. nie mingjues actions were not perfect, and he was not always kind, but he was far more lenient and forgiving than most would have been, and jin guangyao returns this leniency with one of the cruelest and most violent deaths he can orchestrate

and jin guangyao is welcomed into the jin sect after killing wen ruohan, and he is not treated perfectly, no, still looked down upon in the whispers shared behind his back and his own father who merely uses him to do his bidding, but he is given power and he is given influence, and the second he is given the opportunity to enact that power and influence on other people, he takes it. jin guangyao, of all people, should know that others should not be punished by circumstance of their birth, that the disenfranchised should not be shown cruelty merely because it is easy, but he Still takes pleasure in torturing the innocent wen remnants. and it's not just to get into daddys good graces, to follow orders in order to climb the latter, jin guangyao Likes the feeling of having power over people who cannot fight back

but even being the sect leader of the most powerful cultivation sect is not enough for jin guangyao, no power is enough to sate him, and so he kills anybody who could get in his way or compromise his reputation, not matter how innocent they may be. and in the end jin guangyao Still claims being the victim of unjust cruelty to be the justifier of his actions, that he Deserved to harm and kill and take advantage of all of those people because he had been mistreated at different points of his life. no matter how much power he was given or how many people tried to welcome him in and show him love, to protect him from the unkindness of others, it was never enough

jin guangyao's parallels to wei wuxian are so clear, but the difference is is that wei wuxian is never given power, he is never forgiven by the world for walking his different path, and yet he Still chooses to be kind until the very end, when it is all finally too much, and he snaps

wei wuxian is not perfect, that is very much the point, but in so many ways he contrasts jin guangyaos unrelenting cruelty in the face of adversity. even through his mistakes and his quests for revenge and his loss of sanity, wei wuxian protects the weak, he never gives up his morals for power or status, and he remains, when he can, kind. there's that post that jokes about how the "it just made it kind" quote is not applicable to wei wuxian because he quite literally kills thousands of people, and it's true - when faced with unrelenting, undeserved persecution and unkindness and abuse, wei wuxian is pushed to do terrible things, but I can say with confidence and evidence that he still, somehow, remains kind

the story very clearly makes these parallels, wei wuxian and jin guangyao both react to their similar circumstances and the mistreatment they face because of those circumstances in different ways, and I do not think that it is a coincidence that in wei wuxians refusal to bend to gain power or the favor or others he is only shown more and more cruelty, but jin guangyao, who will do anything for power and anything for influence, is able to receive praise and respect. whether you like jin guangyao or not, no matter what you think of his actions and what you believe to be justifiable, you are not above paying attention the things that the story is trying to tell you

#obviously jgy has done more things but I can't go into every action he's ever made in one post 😭#there is also soooo mych to say abt the parallels between wwx and jgy and I have many thoughts about the themes and the morals #but this post is so long and all of that is only part of a point #but maybe one day #ghost posts #text #jgy #nmj #jgs #wwx #the untamed

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ninjakk · 2 years

Note

Hello. Your blog really amazing and I love it very much.!!!

Soo there is something which is bugging me for a while. When WWX is in Jiang sect and is given very horrible punishment for even littlest things. Where are the elders of the sects?? Why are they not interfering?? Are they afraid of authority of YZY as a sect madam??? There are not mentioned in the novel, correct me if i am wrong. Do they even exist in Jiang Sect or is that position not there in teaching of breaking restraints and freedom.

And Wei Changze was second in command of Sect leader. Doesn't anybody have any kind of lingering affection for him. And correct YZY when she is spewing hate about him.

The classism of this makes me want to cry and pull my hair.

Hi Anon,

Thank you for the sweet comments. It's lovely to hear my blog posts are appreciated 🥰

This is a hard one, because there isn't really that much to go in the novel that can outrightly answer your question as such. We can summarise what we do know, and come up with a plausible explanation - but it would be purely postulation of course.

With that in mind, let's have a look at what we can gather from the novel 😊

Firstly, the Jiang sect is one of the Five Four Great Sects. They are one of the most prominent sects in the MDZS universe, competing alongside other major sects such as the Jin, Lan and Nie sects (and of course the Wen sect prior to its annihilation). Even though the sect claims to be "unrestrained", there is still a sense of hierarchy within it. So I think it's safe to assume the Jiang sect does have some form of senior/elder structure, as well as numerous adults present within the sect. As the narrative is somewhat influenced by WWXs POV, it's most likely they are just unimportant to the story and have not had much of an impression on him.

So we've established there most likely are senior cultivators within the sect. Now let's look at a snapshot of what we know about Madam Yu:

Madam Yu came from the prominent MeishanYu Sect. She was ranked third in her clan, so was also called Third Lady Yu. In the cultivation world, she went by the name “Violet Spider”. Just bringing up the name could scare quite a few away. Ever since she was young, she’d had a cold personality and never came off as likeable when conversing with others.

Chapter 51 ExR

We are first introduced to Madam Yu in the above chapter, where the reader is given a clear indication of her personality. She is well known in the cultivation world and it sounds like she is feared by many. From the text, we can gather she is quite formidable and has a fiery temper to match! As such, MXTX is intentionally giving the impression of a very unapproachable woman. We get further evidence of this whenever we see her shout interact with others throughout the novel. She is very argumentative and unreasonable. It seems even her own husband and children can't make her ratiocinate when she is abusing WWX - only hindering or postponing her abuse instead.

I think the general impression we get from the novel, is that Madam Yu has a rather imposing presence at Lotus Pier and no one would dare stand up to her. There may well be people within the sect who want to help WWX and stop or at least impede the abuse he suffers, but they might be too frightened of Madam Yu's wrath to do anything about it. That being said, as we don't have proof either way - perhaps others in the sect have stuck up for WWX before, and we aren't aware of it. Although sadly I very much doubt it, Madam Yu's reputation alone makes me hesitant to think otherwise.

Madam Yu is the mistress of Lotus Pier. She sees herself as someone with almost unparalleled authority - so we can safely assume she most certainly commands the respect it deserves amongst those at the Jiang sect.

Madam Yu, “What am I doing here? What a joke that I am asked of such a thing! Sect Leader Jiang, do you still remember that I’m also the leader of Lotus Pier? Do you still remember that every inch of the earth here is my territory?...."

Chapter 56

With that in mind, who would dare oppose their sect leader or the mistress of their sect - especially one with such a volatile personality. If anyone dared to stand up against her, she would most likely kick them out for disrespecting her and her position, or punish them severely. Unfortunately Madam Yu's status awards her the right to punish the subordinates however she sees fit - even if we know it is completely unjustified and excessively cruel.

As for WWX's father WCZ, as far as I am aware, his status within the Jiang sect was referred to as JFMs "most loyal servant", not second in command of the sect. We also know WCZ was a cultivator, because he became cultivation partners with WWX's mother CSSR and left to travel the world together.

Both Jiang FengMian and his wife, Yu ZiYuan, were quite familiar with Wei WuXian’s parents. Despite this, Jiang FengMian never reminisced about his old friend in front of Wei WuXian and, moreover, Yu ZiYuan never spoke properly to Wei WuXian at all. It was lucky for him if she didn’t give him a few whips and send him to kneel in the ancestral hall so that he’d keep his distance from Jiang Cheng. Other people told him most of the things he knew about his parents. He really didn’t know much more than what everyone else knew.

Chapter 29

So we can see JFM does not mention WWX's parents in front of him - whether this is because he feels he might upset WWX or if there is another reason behind his lack of reminiscing, is of course all up for interpretation. But WWX does mention that "others" have spoken to him about his parents, which I think hints that some of the disciples from the sect might have spoken about WCZ, although it seems not very often. Perhaps others are worried they will upset WWX by mentioning his parents also. Or maybe there could be lingering feelings and animosity around WCZ leaving the sect. Unfortunately we don't really know much more with regards to WCZ, as he was only mentioned very briefly on a few fleeting occasions, so we can only speculate. Either way, even if others remembered WCZ fondly, I think the fear of going up against Madam Yu would definitely eclipse such feelings.

You're right Anon, the classism in the novel is both frustrating and incredibly tragic. It has to be said though, that although Madam Yu is very classist, it seems the sect itself was already so way before she even arrived. Given the fact that the Jiang sect already had servants and WCZs status is constantly brought up - it's evidently the case. It's quite telling that a lot of people in the fandom overlook WCZ was also a cultivator, and only remember him as JFMs servant. Tragically, even in death WCZ never escaped his status as a servant, which is surprising considering he died a free man and a rogue cultivator with no affiliations to a sect. Yes, he seemingly left the sect without any consequences. But the prejudice against him was so strong, so ingrained in society and the sect he left, that it was passed on to his own son in the end nevertheless.

MXTX has a constant theme of classism running throughout the novel. Overall it plays a major part in WWXs fall from "grace" and the crumbling of his very fragile and superficial status, that was bestowed upon him so easily and taken away even more so. Fortunately for WWX, he is a lot happier without such restraints and can live his life how he wants to, now that he is not bound by obligations and an ostensible status. WWX is free to live happily ever after, with his loving husband LWJ 💕

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #mdzs novel #wei wuxian #wei changze #madam yu #mdzs classism #jiang sect #anon ask #answered ask

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twistedappletree · 11 months

Text

TYPE: One-shot

JURISDICTION: It’s fluffy with a dash of light angst, your honor.

PAIRING: Jin Ling/Lan Sizhui (+ implied SangCheng)

SIDE CHARACTERS: Lan Jingyi, Ouyang Zizhen, Lan Wangji, Lan Xichen, Jiang Cheng, Nie Huaisang, Fairy

ELEMENTS: Hurt/comfort, drunken shenanigans, Lanling setting, canon universe, crush/light romance, gift-giving, tiny homage to wangxian at the end, Jin Ling being a worried little cutie who just wants to see Lan Sizhui smile~

{ Title inspired by ‘Love You (When You’re a Mess)’ by Jadudah }

•

Jin Ling wanted to go to him more than anything but the Lan brothers were too potent of a deterrent, even for his fiery, confrontational nature.

All he could do was watch Lan Sizhui listlessly trail behind his seniors like a ghost among the living. Seeing him this way was jarring compared to his usual bright, warm and present self—the Lan Sizhui with a smile made of light, the Lan Sizhui with every color of the world in his eyes.

•

In which Lan Sizhui is sad, Jin Ling drunkenly climbs a wall to make him feel better and both are left with a sweet reminder of each other’s affection.

{ AO3 }

🍁

The vibrant red maples of Jinlintai set fire to a spacious courtyard lined with modest archery targets, their vermillion bullseyes glowing in the morning light.

A single arrow pierced the quiet air, pinning a fluttering maple leaf at one of the target’s centers. Jin Ling lowered his bow as a blur of grey and white fur excitedly circled around his feet. He stared down at his spiritual dog, Fairy, and rolled his eyes at her enthusiasm.

“Really?” he asked, raising a disapproving brow. “Your standards are way too low. Just wait until I land a triple.”

Before he could ready his bow again, the peace of his morning training was interrupted by the soft voice of a timid servant.

“Young Master Jin,” the servant politely addressed, her head bowed and eyes downcast. “The boats have arrived.”

Jin Ling straightened and quickly secured his bow over his chest. He didn’t bother to recollect his arrows and zipped out of the courtyard like lightning, Fairy happily bounding after him and clearly under the impression that they were playing chase.

The Jin clan was hosting a sect meeting at Jinlintai today. It was the first time in weeks that Jin Ling would be seeing his friends again, and though he often found these meetings to be excruciatingly boring, the presence of his fellow disciples was enough to make them endurable.

He winded through halls and rushed past more servants before finally arriving in the main hall. His uncle, Sect Leader Jiang Cheng, was already seated and conversing with Nie Huaisang of the Nie clan.

They didn’t seem to notice him as he stealthily slipped closer to the entrance and found exactly what he was looking for.

Lan Jingyi and Ouyang Zizhen had already discovered each other among the crowd and were laughing playfully at each other’s jokes. Not wanting to appear eager, Jin Ling calmly approached them with a feigned apathetic look. “Already messing around, huh?”

Ouyang Zizhen turned towards him with a wide grin and Lan Jingyi flashed an impish smile. “Young Mistress Jin!” he exclaimed, purposefully loud enough for everyone to hear.

“A-Ling!” Ouyang Zizhen countered, his tone far less teasing.

“Too busy to meet us at the docks or what?” Lan Jingyi chided, sounding mildly offended.

Jin Ling crossed his arms over his chest and nodded towards his bow. “I was training. Unlike some people, I’m always getting a head start.”

Lan Jingyi sneered. “Oh yeah? How about my foot gets a head start up your a—“

Ouyang Zizhen slapped a hand over the Lan disciple’s mouth before he could finish his threat and nervously gestured towards the entrance. Jin Ling and Lan Jingyi turned to see two tall, slender figures entering the main hall side by side.

The Twin Jades of Lan moved gracefully like living statues, their heads held high—one maintaining a gentle smile and the other preserving a tranquil emotionless stare, cold as ice.

Following behind them was Lan Sizhui and Jin Ling’s stomach fluttered so involuntarily that he almost punched himself in the gut. The sensation didn’t last long, however, because the more he observed the handsome Lan boy, the more he could tell that something about him was horribly off.

Lan Sizhui was visibly trembling in what seemed like pain, as though it took every ounce of his strength and focus to maintain his posture. He hadn’t noticed anyone or anything around him because his eyes refused to leave the floor.

Jin Ling’s heart dropped. “What’s wrong with Sizhui?” he asked, turning to Lan Jingyi for answers.

Lan Jingyi frowned, staring solemnly at his best friend across the room. “He’s under some sort of constant surveillance after getting punished for breaking the rules.”

Jin Ling was at a complete loss for words. Punished? Breaking rules? Lan Sizhui? “…What?”

“My reaction exactly,” said Lan Jingyi. “One day, everything was fine. The next, I found Sizhui in the courtyard kneeling in front of the Old Man while getting lashed with the whip. All I know is that he climbed over the wall at night but that’s it. He’s been banned from talking to anyone.”

All the blood seemed to drain from Jin Ling’s body at the thought of Lan Sizhui getting whipped. “Is he okay?”

“Why are you even concerned?” Lan Jingyi questioned. “If it were me who got lashed, you’d be holding a banquet right now.”

Jin Ling smirked approvingly and pointed his chin. “Finally, we agree on something.”

Lan Jingyi blew his bangs out of his face and crossed his arms. “Anyway, the cold springs in the Cloud Recesses can speed up the healing process of injuries,” he revealed, “but Sizhui never went.”

Jin Ling glanced at Lan Sizhui again, smirk fading as the dejected Lan boy stood behind Hanguang-Jun and Zewu-Jun who acted as both his cage and shield from the bustling surroundings. Jin Ling knew how much the Twin Jades of Lan cared for their core disciple and he wondered if his ‘punishment’ to stay under their supervision was actually a means to comfort him.

Lan Sizhui never looked so small before, with his gentle eyes downcast and his right hand bashfully holding his left forearm. Traces of pain from his injuries came in occasional shivers and squints and the way he squeezed his arm to ground himself.

Jin Ling wanted to go to him more than anything but the Lan brothers were too potent of a deterrent, even for his fiery, confrontational nature.

“You might have a chance to talk to him later, A-Ling.”

Jin Ling looked back at Ouyang Zizhen and frowned but appreciated his optimism.

A playful arm slung around his shoulders as Lan Jingyi started tugging him to their seats. “Come on, Young Mistress. Believe it or not, Sizhui’s in good hands and tougher than he looks. Less moping, more sneaking liquor in the meeting!”

Jin Ling rolled his eyes, shrugging off Lan Jingyi’s arm. “Whatever, lightweight.”

“Psh! I’m just not a boring drunk like you.”

“W-wait, are we really gonna drink alcohol?” Ouyang Zizhen asked innocently, genuine worry in his voice.

Lan Jingyi shot him a mischievous grin as they took their seats and waited for the meeting to start. “You’ll live.”

•

The meeting droned on for hours, the only saving grace from boredom being the food, drink and playful jests of the disciples.

Only sect heirs and core disciples were allowed to attend these meetings, and as Jin Ling watched Lan Jingyi slam his fourth cup of ‘<i>water</i>’ with half-lidded eyes and a shameless grin wide as a crescent moon, he genuinely wondered how the seniors of the GusuLan sect decided he belonged among their cream of the crop.

Ouyang Zizhen held his liquor surprisingly well, showing no signs of drunkenness beyond a pleasant buzz. He remained fairly quiet with a content expression and had zero issues expressing himself coherently.

Jin Ling was definitely drunk but his tolerance was far higher than Lan Jingyi’s. He hadn’t listened to a word in the meeting, instead focusing on Lan Sizhui who sat behind the Twin Jades with his head bowed and his hands limply folded in his lap. Though he was obviously awake, his eyes had been closed since the meeting started.

Anger flashed across Jin Ling’s face. He wanted to pluck a plum from the bowl at his table and chuck it at Lan Sizhui’s head, scream at him to snap out of it but his genuine worry for the other stopped him from doing anything rash and ridiculous.

He thought if he stared at the Lan boy long enough, he might feel it and look back. He tried repeating his name in his mind as if they could telepathically communicate. He fidgeted, made weird movements, occasionally cleared his throat a little too loud—nothing worked.

Jin Ling slumped back and sighed, bangs falling like a curtain over his defeated eyes. Are you banned from looking at people too? Jin Ling thought. What happened, Sizhui? Just tell me…

As quickly as Jin Ling lost himself in thought, the meeting finally came to an end and everyone began heading to their rooms for the night. His head shot up and scanned the shuffling hall but Hanguang-Jun, Zewu-Jun and Lan Sizhui had already disappeared.

Even Fairy trotted off sometime during the meeting, cleverly saving herself from the monotony.

Jin Ling spotted his uncle hurrying away somewhere with Nie Huaisang, which he found odd, but he didn’t complain. One less pair of watchful eyes was a blessing in his current state. He could feel gravity fail him as he struggled to his feet, not realizing just how much he’d drank while staring at Lan Sizhui.

Lan Jingyi draped one arm around Jin Ling’s shoulders and the other around Ouyang Zizhen’s. “C’mon, Mistress Jin, the night’s still young. Let’s hang out in Zizhen’s room.”

Not in the mood to fight him, Jin Ling wordlessly allowed himself to be dragged out of the hall with Lan Jingyi happily sandwiched between him and Ouyang Zizhen.

•

“They’ve got him locked in a room now?!”

Jin Ling angrily paced back and forth in front of a soused Lan Jingyi and Ouyang Zizhen.

Ouyang Zizhen was on cloud nine, fiddling with an orchid he’d snatched from the sect meeting and Lan Jingyi was impishly egging Jin Ling on by agreeing with his frustrations.

“It’s tyranny,” Lan Jingyi claimed. “They won’t even let us talk to him! I can’t imagine Sizhui of all people doing something so bad that he’s even banned from what… talking?!”

Jin Ling glowered. He still believed there was more to it, that the esteemed Twin Jades of Lan were secluding him for a different reason—possibly even at Lan Sizhui’s own request. He just wanted to know why.

“I’m gonna go talk to him,” he said, courage burning like a wildfire in his amber eyes.

Ouyang Zizhen looked up from his orchid and Lan Jingyi buzzed with inebriated excitement. “Oh, this is gonna be good,” he chimed, leaning forward with growing interest. “What’s the plan, then? Breaking in? Kidnapping?”

Jin Ling glared down at him, unamused by his childish imagination. “I said I’m gonna talk to him, not commit a crime. And why would I have to break into a room in my own sect?”

Ouyang Zizhen shook his head and frowned. “If you go to his room, you might get caught by Hanguang-Jun or Zewu-Jun. I swear they can see through walls.”

Lan Jingyi snorted. “No kidding.”

“Then do you have any better ideas or are you just gonna tell me what not to do?” Jin Ling bit back, the impatience in his voice cutting the air like a knife.

Lan Jingyi and Ouyang Zizhen shared a knowing glance before staring back up at him with ominous smiles. Jin Ling could tell whatever scheme they’d conjured was likely the worst plan on earth but he was desperate.

The Lan clan would be heading back to Gusu first thing in the morning and Lan Sizhui hadn’t even acknowledged his existence. Something was terribly wrong and Jin Ling needed to know what it was before he went mad from overthinking.

“I’ve got an idea alright,” Lan Jingyi slurred. He staggered to his feet and confidently placed his hands on his hips. “Follow me.”

•

The three woozy disciples stood in one of Jinlintai’s many courtyards and stared up at a window glowing with lantern light. Though it wasn’t the highest room in the sect, it was elevated enough that one would certainly break bones if they fell from such a distance.

“You can’t be serious,” Jin Ling murmured through gritted teeth as he flatly stared up the wall, exasperation plastered across his face.

“We can always go back to your dumb idea of knocking on his door,” Lan Jingyi retorted. “Now that I think about it, seeing you get humiliated by Hanguang-Jun and ratted out to your uncle might actually be more entertaining than this.”

Ouyang Zizhen tried not to laugh while Jin Ling shot daggers at the annoyingly smug Lan disciple. He turned up his nose and straightened his posture before approaching the wall. He’d always been fairly decent at climbing and the wall seemed to have enough grooves to serve as hand and footholds.

Climbing while drunk was a new experience but if there was anything Jin Ling wasn’t afraid of, it was a challenge. “I’m going up,” he called behind him. “Keep watch.”

Ouyang Zizhen’s eyes sparkled with awe. Even Lan Jingyi seemed impressed by Jin Ling’s fearless initiative.

Jin Ling quickly made decent progress but the higher he got, the more he slowed down. The change in pace didn’t go unnoticed by his small audience.

“This is so romantic,” Ouyang Zizhen swooned as he watched Jin Ling awkwardly climb the wall below Lan Sizhui’s window.

Lan Jingyi snorted. “You have a weird sense of romance.”

Ouyang Zizhen lifted his brows and smiled. “Haven’t you ever heard of tales like this? The brave prince climbing the tower to rescue his beloved from their life of imprisonment!” He clasped his hands together as he spoke, eyes glistening like a lovelorn mistress.

“If Jin Ling is Lan Sizhui’s rescuer, he might want to hold his breath,” Lan Jingyi suggested, nudging Ouyang Zizhen’s arm with his elbow and pointing his chin up at the struggling Jin disciple. “His prince is about to fall on his ass.”

Ouyang Zizhen looked up at Jin Ling and frowned when he saw his feet repeatedly slipping against the wall’s surface. “A-Ling, be careful!”

His voice was way too loud and earned him a disapproving shove from Lan Jingyi. “Shhhh! Don’t you know Hanguang-Jun can hear a pin drop? You’re gonna get us all lashed too!”

“S-sorry,” Ouyang Zizhen pouted, shoulders dropping like a scolded child.

Lan Jingyi rolled his eyes and sighed. “Forget it. Just try to keep it down.”

Ouyang Zizhen nodded and didn’t repeat his mistake.

Jin Ling could hear the two disciples below him whispering but couldn’t make out what they were saying. He ignored them and continued his feat, the image of Lan Sizhui’s pained and deflated spirit at the sect meeting consuming his thoughts and encouraging his endurance.

He tried to picture Lan Sizhui breaking the Lan sect’s rules—perfectly poised, hopelessly respectful, model disciple Lan Sizhui.

You climbed that wall for something important, didn’t you? Jin Ling thought. The alcohol filled his head with light but the warmth in his chest wasn’t from drinking. I’m climbing this wall for something important, too.

Feeling unusually sentimental, Jin Ling smiled triumphantly as his hand finally reached the windowsill. Right when he was about to pull himself up and climb inside, every nerve in his body buzzed. His skin paled brighter than the moon as a familiar voice filled his ears.

“It meant a lot to you,” said Lan Wangji.

A brief pause, then another familiar voice.

“Yes,” Lan Sizhui replied softly. Jin Ling could swear his voice cracked.

“Sometimes things that mean a lot to us,” Lan Wangji began, “must be let go.”

He was obviously speaking from experience.

Lan Sizhui sniffed and a dull ache filled Jin Ling’s chest. Ache because Sizhui was upset. Ache because it sounded like he loved someone. Ache because Jin Ling’s limbs were on fire as he clung to the windowsill with his hands while his feet were braced against the wall. If he didn’t get into Lan Sizhui’s room quick, his muscles would give out and he’d fall.

He forced his eyes shut and focused as he listened to more of the conversation.

“It is almost nine,” Lan Wangji said. “Rest.”

“Yes, Hanguang-Jun. Thank you.”

Jin Ling’s eyes shot open at the sound of Sizhui’s bedroom door opening and closing. Not missing any chances, he barely lifted himself up before his arms started failing him. “Lan… Sizhui…” he called, voice strained.

Almost immediately, Lan Sizhui’s shocked and worried face popped out above him. For a split second, he didn’t care about his burning limbs because Lan Sizhui was finally looking at him. Sizhui, Jin Ling thought.

“Young Master Jin?!” Lan Sizhui exclaimed as quietly as his bewildered voice would allow. “What on earth—!”

Jin Ling frowned. “I’m gonna fall.”

Lan Sizhui’s panicked eyes went wide as saucers. He grabbed Jin Ling under his arms and yanked him over the windowsill with an almost inhuman strength before releasing the other disciple and stumbling back in pain.

The injuries on his back were obviously acting up from the exertion, which sent Jin Ling into a guilty frenzy. He scrambled over to where Lan Sizhui was sitting on the floor. “I-I’m sorry…! I’m sorry, this was stupid and I shouldn’t have come and—“

“Are you drunk?” Lan Sizhui asked, brows knitting at the smell of alcohol on Jin Ling’s breath.

“A little? So what? I can hold my liquor,” Jin Ling defended, his voice laced with offense. “I climbed all the way up here, Sizhui, I—“ He paused before lowering his voice. “I heard Hanguang-Jun.”

Lan Sizhui’s face drained of all color. “You… what did you hear?”

Jin Ling pondered for a moment, his thoughts fuzzy from intoxication. “Something about letting go?” He furrowed his brows and looked at the floor, trying not to think about the possibility of Lan Sizhui going through heartbreak. They were friends, after all. He would’ve told him if he liked someone… right?

“Sizhui,” Jin Ling said, looking the other boy directly in the eyes. “Are you okay?”

Warm light from the lanterns illuminating Lan Sizhui’s guest room cast the two boys in a soft, intimate glow. Gentle shadows danced between them as Lan Sizhui withdrew his hands into his lap and gave a weak smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I’ll be fine, Young Master Jin.”

“That’s not what I asked,” Jin Ling retorted. He leaned forward, scrunched his brows and blew air into his cheeks while searching Lan Sizhui’s expression for a different answer.

Lan Sizhui stared back at him with curiosity. He looked like a disgruntled pufferfish and it took everything in the Lan boy’s power not to laugh. Jin Ling, however, didn’t miss the slight upward curve of Lan Sizhui’s lips. His face softened at the sight.

“Young Master Jin, I know you want to ask about my punishment. You don’t need to pretend it’s about me.”

Jin Ling felt the ghost of a knife pierce through his chest and shrank back. The alcohol heightening his emotions really wasn’t helping. “Who says I’m pretending?”

He’d be lying if he said Lan Sizhui’s assumption didn’t hurt but he realized that whatever happened to him must have seriously tanked his confidence. Jin Ling couldn’t let his emotions ruin what he almost drunkenly fell off a wall for.

“Tell me if you’re okay or I won’t breathe.” Jin Ling put on another pufferfish face and actually held his breath, pinching his nose closed so he couldn’t cheat.

The second his face turned a hint of red, Lan Sizhui lunged forward and tore Jin Ling’s hand away from his nose. “Okay! I’ll tell you, but… you’ll laugh at me.”

Now it was getting interesting. Laugh? Why would he laugh? Was it really that funny? Then why did Lan Sizhui look like he was drowning in the pits of despair all evening? Jin Ling inhaled with relief. “I’ll try not to laugh, but if it’s actually funny…”

Lan Sizhui smiled nervously. “It’s just… a little embarrassing, is all.”

“Try me,” Jin Ling challenged.

Lan Sizhui fiddled with the tassel on his belt and nodded. “When I was a child and Senior Wei took care of my family and I in the Burial Mounds, I had a toy—a little tiger toy made by my grandmother.”

Warmth spread in Jin Ling’s chest while picturing a baby Lan Sizhui playing with his toys.

“It was left behind when our home was no longer safe but…” He paused and gave Jin Ling a sympathetic look before continuing. “My uncle, Wen Ning—he found it and gave it back to me.”

A small twitch tugged down the corners of Jin Ling’s mouth at the mention of The Ghost General but he stayed quiet and allowed Lan Sizhui to go on without interruption.

“I’ve kept it with me ever since, taken it everywhere… until a few nights ago when I accidentally dropped it over the wall of the Cloud Recesses during a perimeter check. I panicked and barely thought of the consequences before leaping after it.”

“After breaking one rule, I figured it didn’t matter much. I could probably find it and slip back in before curfew but I’d never been so wrong. I looked everywhere for it. Ripped through bushes, dug in the dirt, scoured the stream—it’s as if it never existed to begin with.”

Lan Sizhui winced in pain as he adjusted his position. His robes were loose enough at the neck that Jin Ling could see bandages. His hand almost reached to touch them but he quickly shook himself out of the sudden compulsion.

“Since it was too late for me to re-enter the Cloud Recesses, I searched and searched until I passed out from exhaustion. Oddly enough, I woke up in my own bed. I thought I might’ve dreamt everything but the toy was still gone and my clothes were stained with grass and dirt.”

“I barely had time to wake up and process anything before I was called to the courtyard and, well…” He gently touched the bandages beneath his clothes. “The rest tells itself.”

Jin Ling frowned at the bandages. “So… when Hanguang-Jun mentioned letting go…”

Lan Sizhui smiled and nodded, cheek’s slightly flushed with embarrassment. “He meant the tiger toy, yes.”

Clarity hit Jin Ling like a wave and he suddenly felt ridiculous for thinking Lan Sizhui and Hanguang-Jun had been talking about romance. He also felt relieved but he couldn’t pinpoint why—or, he just refused to admit the reason.

“They really lashed you for that?! That can’t be the worst thing a disciple’s ever done in the Cloud Recesses.” His thoughts immediately fixated on Wei Wuxian, having heard tales of his unbridled chaos during his studies in Gusu.

“It was only three lashes,” Lan Sizhui assured, acting as though just one lash was perfectly tolerable. The painful punishment of the GusuLan sect was widely known, even by those who’d never endured it. “One lash for venturing out at night, one lash for missing curfew and one lash for rising after five in the morning.”

Jin Ling was ready to rip his own hair out. “Rising after five?! You were exhausted!”

Noticing that Jin Ling seemed far more upset about his punishment than he was, Lan Sizhui passively waved his hands and smiled. “Young Master Jin, it really is no trouble. The embarrassment is far worse than the pain. Some things must be let go, after all.”

An unconvinced pout shadowed Jin Ling’s face but he was grateful Lan Sizhui trusted him enough to open up. Even more, he was smiling again—and this time, it reached his eyes. Jin Ling lost himself in the vision of Lan Sizhui’s soft skin in the lantern’s glow, his raven hair haloed in embers.

“Sizhui,” Jin Ling called quietly. “Jingyi told me the cold springs in Gusu have healing properties but you refused to use them?”

Lan Sizhui nodded and stared down at his hands. “I… felt like I deserved the punishment, so I chose to endure the results. It’s such a silly thing to break so many rules over, after all.”

He tried to laugh it off as a joke but Jin Ling wasn’t having it. “It’s not silly!”

“That’s nice of you to say, but—“

Jin Ling propelled forward and executed another pufferfish face, now fully aware that he could use it as a manipulation tactic to amuse Lan Sizhui.

And again, it worked flawlessly. Lan Sizhui’s face couldn’t help but brighten at the adorable sight of the young Jin disciple’s air-filled cheeks and Jin Ling’s eyes lit up as he basked in the satisfaction of being the Lan boy’s reason to smile. They sat together in comfortable silence for a minute before Lan Sizhui gave him an apologetic look.

“I’m sorry to say this,” he started, “but you should probably leave soon, Young Master Jin. I don’t want you to get in trouble for being here and I’m sure you’re tired.”

Broken out of his trance, Jin Ling suddenly remembered everything he’d done tonight. Got drunk at a sect meeting right under his senior’s noses. Climbed the walls of his own sect to break into Lan Sizhui’s guest room. Almost fell off in the process. Finally talked to Lan Sizhui. He yawned just thinking about it and Lan Sizhui flashed a fond and gentle grin, his suspicion confirmed.

Jin Ling awkwardly scrambled to his feet, the heaviness in his head making the room sway around him. Lan Sizhui took his time standing up to avoid any stress on his injuries. His mouth fell open when he saw Jin Ling walking back towards the window. “Young Master Jin?”

The other disciple turned to look at him with tired eyes. “Huh?”

“What are you doing?”

Jin Ling crossed his arms over his chest and huffed, sending his blunt bangs fluttering outward. “You told me to leave, so I’m leaving. What else would I be doing?”

A worried frown washed away Lan Sizhui’s sunny expression like rain. “You can’t climb back down, you’ll get hurt.” He invitingly held out his hand and curled his slender fingers towards himself. “Come. You can use the door, it’s fine.”

Like a dizzied moth to a flame, Jin Ling gravitated towards the pretty Lan boy in front of him. Lan Sizhui laughed in harmony with the flickering lanterns, melodic and sweet. “You’re much calmer when you’re drunk, Young Master Jin. Normally, you would’ve called me names or pushed me away by now.”

I can’t do that, I won’t do that, Jin Ling thought. He knit his brows and jerked his head to the side, refusing to show Lan Sizhui the unstoppable blush invading his cheeks. “Maybe you just haven’t annoyed me enough yet.”

Lan Sizhui chuckled as they walked to his bedroom door. “Ah, there he is. I was worried for a minute.”

Jin Ling’s cheeks burned even brighter. Lan Sizhui opened the door and peered into the hall. Once he was certain it was empty, he turned back to Jin Ling and frowned when the young disciple stumbled against the doorframe.

“Young Master Jin, I really should walk you back to your room—“

Jin Ling straightened immediately. “NO!”

Lan Sizhui paled at the volume of his voice and Jin Ling slapped his hands over his mouth. They stood in silence for a minute as they listened for any sign of stirring from the surrounding rooms. Luckily, no one seemed to have heard them.

Jin Ling didn’t mean his sudden shout as rejection. He just didn’t want Lan Sizhui to get into more trouble, especially on his behalf.

“Sorry,” Jin Ling whispered, his voice muffled by his hands.

Lan Sizhui sighed. Without warning, he reached up and gingerly plucked Jin Ling’s hands from his mouth causing the other boy to freeze. Jin Ling could hear his own heart pounding in his chest, his head, his stomach. It echoed throughout his body as Lan Sizhui’s gentle hands on his made his flushed face tingle.

“Psssst!”

Lan Sizhui whipped his head around and Jin Ling stood on the tips of his toes to peek over the taller boy’s shoulder. Hiding in a dark corner of the hall was Lan Jingyi and Ouyang Zizhen.

“Are you guys done yet?” Lan Jingyi whispered across the hall, somehow managing to make such a quiet voice sound irritated.

“D-done with what?!” Jin Ling stuttered, painfully misunderstanding his question as an accusation.

“Talking, what else?” Lan Jingyi hissed.

Ouyang Zizhen awkwardly waved at Lan Sizhui, giving him a friendly and comforting smile. Lan Sizhui smiled back while Jin Ling glared at the two juniors stuffed in the shadows.

“What are you even doing up here?” Jin Ling snapped.

“We thought you might’ve gotten caught by Hanguang-Jun or Zewu-Jun, so we came to check on you,” Ouyang Zizhen explained.

“Jingyi, Zizhen,” Lan Sizhui spoke. “Can you two make sure Young Master Jin gets to his room safely?”

Mortification shadowed Jin Ling’s face as he shrank back against the doorframe.

Before Ouyang Zizhen could politely reply, Lan Jingyi snorted wildly into his palm. “The Young Mistress needs an escort?”

“Jingyi,” Lan Sizhui repeated, his eyes narrowed and his voice unnervingly stern.

Jin Ling blinked up at him, not used to seeing Lan Sizhui’s assertive and protective side. The authority in his tone caused Lan Jingyi’s amusement to fade.

“Alright, alright,” Lan Jingyi mumbled. “We’ll take him back.”

“Thank you,” Lan Sizhui replied with genuine gratitude, his smile returning as though the unusual dominance that possessed him before had been exorcised from his body.

Jin Ling started walking towards the other two disciplines when Lan Sizhui stopped him. “Wait—before you go…” He pulled out a small perfume sachet from his sleeves and handed it to him. The sachet was white and embroidered with sky-blue clouds, just like the Lan sect’s forehead ribbon.

Jin Ling looked visibly confused. He took the sachet and studied it as though it were a curious artifact.

“It’ll help with any side effects of the liquor. Just keep it near you when you sleep or else it won’t work.”

Jin Ling’s lips parted to speak but his arm was unceremoniously grabbed by Lan Jingyi. “Young Mistress Jin, it’s almost nine and I’m not getting in trouble for you. Let’s go already.”

He ripped his arm out of Lan Jingyi’s grasp as he was forcefully pulled away from Lan Sizhui. He gave the other Lan boy one last glance before he, Lan Jingyi and Ouyang Zizhen clumsily stumbled down the hall, bantering as they went.

Lan Sizhui watched them leave and smiled. “Thank you, A-Ling.”

•

Despite Lan Jingyi and Ouyang Zizhen pestering him with questions about his time with Lan Sizhui, Jin Ling remained defiantly quiet on the trek back to his room.

Eventually, the two gave up and chatted amongst themselves while Jin Ling was lost in thought.

He mulled over every detail of Lan Sizhui’s story. He frowned at the reminder of the other boy’s lashings. He blushed at the realization that he wanted nothing more than to stay in Lan Sizhui’s room for the night. He marveled at the fact that thoughts like this would otherwise leave him irrationally flustered but the alcohol in his system sedated his temper.

Right now, his strongest feeling was perseverance as an idea sprung to life in his slowly sobering mind.

Once he was deposited safely into his room and said his goodbyes to Lan Jingyi and Ouyang Zizhen, he lit several lanterns and candles and hurried over to a trunk in the corner by his bed.

Fairy perked up from her own bed and wagged her tail after a night of patiently waiting for her master. She stuck her tongue out and observed him curiously as he rummaged through the trunk.

Jin Ling pulled out a generous stack of paper along with several ink pots and brushes and spread them out onto the floor. He worked tirelessly in the soft lantern light and flickering flames until every wick met its end and the room dimmed enough to surrender to the moonlight.

Satisfied with his work, Jin Ling sighed with exhaustion and clamored into his bed. He thought of Lan Sizhui and clutched the small perfume sachet against his chest.

Orange blossom and cedar wood permeated his dreams as he drifted off to sleep.

•

The docks of Jinlintai were bathed in the hazy glow of the rising sun where several guests of the Jin clan readied their boats to depart.

The Lan clan followed suit, Lan Sizhui still confined to the role of being Hanguang-Jun and Zewu-Jun’s shadow. Lan Jingyi and Ouyang Zizhen offered minimal help, too busy chatting with other sect disciples they’d somehow managed to befriend overnight.

Lan Sizhui placed his travel bag of belongings on their boat and turned to survey the gradually dispersing crowd as everyone said their goodbyes and boarded to set sail.

Jin Ling was nowhere to be seen.

Lan Sizhui’s eyes fell with his frown but he tried not to overthink. The young Jin disciple surely slept in after the bizarre and hectic night he’d endured before. Lan Sizhui took comfort in the fact that he was able to see and speak with him at least once before his journey back to the Cloud Recesses and did his best to push any insecurities to the back of his mind.

After seeing off Ouyang Zizhen, Lan Jingyi carelessly flopped into the boat after the contrasting grace of the Twin Jades’ perfectly postured strides. Lan Sizhui took one last look at Jinlintai before stepping onboard himself.

Right when he was about to push the boat away from the docks, he heard a familiar voice call his name. His head whipped up to see Jin Ling tearing down the steps of the docks in a wild hurricane of yellow robes and wind-swept hair.

He skidded to a stop in front of the Lan sect’s boat and panted, making his best effort to speak between heavy breaths. “Si… zhui… wait—“

Lan Jingyi stared at them with suspicion while Zewu-Jun’s brows raised in interest. Hanguang-Jun stood at Zewu-Jun’s side and simply observed the scene with his usual stoic demeanor.

Jin Ling finally caught his breath enough to look up at Lan Sizhui, who was even taller standing on the boat. The sunrise made his gentle eyes sparkle like amethyst geodes and his fair, glowing skin resembled warm starlight.

Feeling out of breath again at the angelic vision before him, Jin Ling inhaled and brought his hands up, shoving something towards Lan Sizhui.

Lan Sizhui’s eyes reluctantly left Jin Ling’s as they followed his movements and settled on the young Jin disciple’s outstretched hands.

The moment he saw what was cradled in his palms, his lips parted in pleasant surprise and his eyes glistened with emotion.

A carefully folded paper tiger stood proudly in Jin Ling’s hands. Its unevenly painted stripes and lopsided beady eyes made it obvious Jin Ling wasn’t much of a painter but the paper-folding was near perfect. Its shape was exactly like the tiger toy he’d lost. Even the design of its stripes were similar and Lan Sizhui wondered if Jin Ling had somehow seen the toy himself.

“I know it’s not the same, but…” Jin Ling didn’t know what else to say, his cheeks burning red as he furrowed his brow and looked off to the side.

Lan Sizhui carefully took the paper tiger into his own hands, handling it as though it were a baby bird. It was clear he didn’t know what to say either, both astonished and touched by the gift, but he tried to speak anyway. “Young Master Jin, I—“

Jin Ling shook his head. “Y-you don’t have to say anything. I know it’s awkward, just…” He mumbled something under his breath after a brief pause.

Lan Sizhui frowned, looking confused. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t hear—“

“Stay safe,” Jin Ling blurted, looking up at Lan Sizhui with a serious face that made his words seem more like a command.

Lan Sizhui raised his brows, the heat creeping into his cheeks turning them a pretty shade of rose. He gently hugged the paper tiger to his chest and nodded, his shining smile illuminating the world around him. “I’ll see you soon, A-Ling.”

Lan Sizhui immediately spun around and took a seat next to Lan Jingyi, blushing coyly from his own boldness and leaving Jin Ling stunned at the edge of the docks. On autopilot from shock, Jin Ling pushed the boat and reluctantly watched Lan Sizhui drift away from him.

Lan Jingyi peeked at the paper tiger in Lan Sizhui’s hands and scrunched his nose. “The hell is that supposed to b—“

He abruptly fell silent as the grave and turned to see Hanguang-Jun’s cold stare boring into him like a glacial spear. Lan Jingyi shrank back in his seat and dropped the subject.

Lan Sizhui was too engrossed with Jin Ling’s gift to notice the exchange beside him. He pet the paper tiger’s sides, its tail, its head, admiring how every fold and paint stroke was made for him.

At the edge of the docks, Jin Ling watched the Lan clan’s boat wade towards the horizon. Lan Sizhui’s perfume sachet hung at his waist and a gentle breeze whispered through the strands of his long, dark hair filling the air around him with orange blossom and cedar wood—the scent of his favorite person.

His features softened with a wave of bliss when he noticed Lan Sizhui looking back at him. He closed his amber eyes and smiled.

“See you soon, A-Yuan.”

{ 🖤 }

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