#DROWNEDICHOR SEMI HIATUS ────── a highly private and selective MULTI MUSE blog filled with only ORIGINAL CHARACTERS and mostly original lore with influences tagged in individual biographies. DEAD DOVE DO NOT EAT content can be found here. LOW TO MEDIUM activity, QUEUE running constantly during the week. I do MULTI PARA and NOVELLA length replies. MINORS AND PERSONALS DNI. run into the ground by BUNNY. 30+ and EST time zone. graphics created by @floragfx
#A STUDY IN ────── the acrid taste of honesty on your tongue. the language of loss and grief. the ghost of a lover lingering on the edges of your vision. the desire for what the past held for you. the knowledge that anger only takes and takes and takes. your epitaph that has faded to nothing while the world has continued to move on. that divine intervention always has a price. a soft kiss that leaves you bleeding onto the floor. the spill of vitriol that burns as deep as acid.
#THE LINKS ────── rules . muse list. mains/exclusives. open starters . memes . ooc . wanted connections . character headcanons. ko-fi . graphic blog .
#BLOG ROLL ────── @dragonspearl (main blog / historical fantasy based oc)
YI YI: A human with the power of healing, she took this as a sign that she was meant to do more than have just a mundane job. She's currently a trauma surgeon and she genuinely enjoys what she does. She's a soft and caring type and remembers every patient that she's ever treated. She also sees those people who are unable to go to the hospital, for whatever reason, outside of her apartment. FC: BAI LU
YU XIAO: Originally from 1000 years into the future where the world is on the verge of collapse and is nothing like the 21st century, she travelled back in the past to try and fix the world from before The Eternal Emperor took over and brought the world to the brink of nothingness. She’s currently suffering from a time travelling sickness and looking for her fellow time travel partner. FC: SUN ZHEN NI
ANDROMEDA: An alien from a different planet entirely, she’s an oracle on her now destroyed home planet that is highly revered by the people of the world there. She has the ability to see the future and past and is burdened by divine powers. She currently runs a little occult shop that helps her keep a sense of normalcy while hiding from those searching for her. FC: WANG CHU RAN
HAO RAN: A rare male siren, he is currently the protector and best friend to Aneira. He is helping her search for the whereabouts of her master that disappeared without a trace. He currently is a famous artist and enrolled in college as an art student. FC: LIU YU NING
ANEIRA: A minor water goddess and “fairy” that is on the search for her master who left without a trace and made her be the watcher of her realm, which she abandoned to search for her master in the end with Hao Ran. She is currently enrolled in college as a fashion design student and is the prodigy of a famous designer. FC: ZHU XUDAN.
LIAN XIN: A huli jing (nine-tailed fox) who was forced into what was supposed to be an "eternal sleep" after a deadly conflict with a rival clan thanks to dark magic. She's woken up now and made a pact with a wicked god in order to gain the powers to hunt down and kill those who have wronged her. FC: ZHAO LUSI.
ZHAO YI: An unassuming woman by day and a grim reaper by night, she was given a second chance at a half life when Death took pity on her after being murdered brutally. They allowed her to rise again so long as they helped them with collecting souls. FC: WANG YINGLU
ZHE YUAN: The eternal guardian and familiar of hell, they've earned a name for themselves as a killer of demons, immortals, and true Gods alike. They are a demon whose shapeshifting abilities and power has earned them both respect and fear. They are currently loyal to none. FC: LUO YUNXI
BARBIE: The daughter of a billionaire, she’s spent most as an oddball because of her ability to speak to and channel ghosts, which she is genuinely afraid of. Being the only daughter of a family of 3 older brothers, allows her a lot more freedom than she should have. So she spends her time partying to dampen her powers and risks being cut off by her parents for her bad habits. FC: LIN YUN
YI TIAN: If you ask the right people he is simply a man who runs a noodle shop almost by himself and prides himself on the quality of his food. If you ask the wrong people, he’s a very tired “retired” hitman who is just trying to live a normal life and not get dragged back into the dark underworld where he is famous for being one son of a bitch that you don’t want to have after you. FC: VIN ZHANG
SHI YU: The daughter of a well respected veteran reporter and a creative type mother, Shi Yu’s genius and drive have always been her biggest downfalls. After her mother was killed for the corruption her father exposed, she took it upon herself to figure out who exactly was responsible for the attack so she could expose the coverup. She’s currently forced to write fluff pieces after pissing off a few important politicians. That doesn’t deter her at all, for better or worse. FC: ZHANG RUONAN
XIAO FEI: She isn’t the pride and joy of her family but rather the only thing that they had. After failing to have children for years, she was born. However she wasn’t what they wished and so she’s spent her entire life forced to be a doll for her parents in order to inherit an empire she doesn’t care about. FC: LU YUXIAO
XING HUI: Having a serial killer as a father really sets you up for failure in life. Ever since he was 10 when his father was sentenced to death, he got used to the side eye glances that often accompanied him. He knew they were all wondering if he would be the same but Xing Hui was intent on showing the world he was worth something, despite his dad. He is currently working as a rookie prosecutor. FC: AO RUIPENG
XIN YUE: The "sibling" of Zhe Yuan and Jun Jie she was created at the beginning of time to protect the heavenly realm and to keep the balance between the three realms: heaven, mortal, and hell. She was created to be divine, kind, and caring. However, over the years she has begun to learn to harness the power of her anger and is know as the zealous protector of the heavenly realm but does not yet know just how anger can take and take and take. FC: DILRABA DILMURAT
JUN JIE: The "sibling" of Zhe Yuan and Xin Yue, he was created to look after and protect the mortal realm. However, he has grown pessimistic and depressed after seeing how the humans and immortals alike have become greedy and self-destructive. He is kind hearted and easily heart broken. He knows that it is his own fault and perhaps that is why he turns his eyes away to the corruption that has spread there. FC: QUAN YILUN
YI ZE: He grew up and got involved with the wrong crowd. This ultimately led him to get set up and take the fall for a crime that he did not commit. He has since gotten out and has set himself up with a job at a mechanic shop that is owned by one of his father's old friends. He is currently trying to keep his head down and live as normal a life as possible while actively engaging in hobby photography and videography for which he wants to go to school. FC: WANG ANYU
LI HUA: The beloved niece of a powerful clan leader, she's made a name for herself by being cunning, charming, manipulative, and intelligent. She was originally supposed to be married to a family friend but was offered up as the marriage candidate to a rival clan when her cousin, the original bride, ran off and got eloped with her lover. She was surprised but followed orders and is now tossed to the wolves of a family who dislikes her and distrusts her because of the deep seated hatred between the two families. FC: LU YUXIAO
YUE ZHOU: She was originally part of a clan of rare purple phoenix's whose very existence was of eternal love. When paired, they were incredibly close and when one died, so did the other....but Yuezhou never got to see what that meant. Her clan slowly died out due to the greed and corruption of both immortal and humans alike and she is the only survivor. She left her native ridge and instead walks amongst the humans as a matchmaker, using her powers and insight to help people find love. She is incredibly quiet and lonely but she pretends not to be with a bubbly exterior. FC: TIAN XIWEI
SHAO XIN: Before his current incarnation, he was known as a God of War in the Heavenly realm and he took his duties quite seriously, though he grew wary of warfare in general. He was ultimately killed by a rival and forced back into the cycle of reincarnation. Currently he is a mercenary who is quite tired but he's only good at fighting and that's what makes him money. So that's what he does. He does find a little amusement that he looks much younger than his age. FC: CHENG YI
WEN XI: She was a White Phoenix who was quite fond of the God of War, Shao Xin, a long time ago. He risked some of his life essence to give her both a human form and a name and she has been absurdly loyal to him ever since. She has watched over his every incarnation from the beginning and continues to do so now. She currently works as a "bodyguard" in order to keep up with him. She is forever loyal to the ones she loves / cares for. All she longs for is to live a normal life as a "human" and to make sure that Shao Xin's rivals for power cannot harm him again, in this life. FC: LI QIN
D R O W N E D I C H O R ────── a highly private and selective MULTI MUSE blog filled with ORIGINAL CHARACTERS and mostly original lore with MIXED MEDIA INFLUENCES. TRIGGERING CONTENT can be found here. GENERALLY LOW ACTIVITY. I do MULTI PARA and NOVELLA length replies. MINORS AND PERSONALS DNI. run into the ground by LAPIS. 30+ and EST time zone.
Just so everyone knows, I’ve archived this blog and can now be found on my new blog at @drownedichor which is a revamp of this blog with new characters. I’m still working on completing everything but if you’re interested in following, it’s still here!
Just so everyone knows, I’ve archived this blog and can now be found on my new blog at @drownedichor which is a revamp of this blog with new characters. I’m still working on completing everything but if you’re interested in following, it’s still here!
Just so everyone knows, I’ve archived this blog and can now be found on my new blog at @drownedichor which is a revamp of this blog with new characters. I’m still working on completing everything but if you’re interested in following, it’s still here!
"Upset?" The words were said in such a perfect tone of gentle shock that Jianyu surprised even himself. "Dearest. I would never be mad at you. Even deep at work, behind schedules and past my worst deadlines, you opening your heart to me in any way would never make me angry." It felt quite natural to say, even if it was almost laughable. He knew she had not cared. He was coming to learn that she was not the quiet type and had a bit of a mouth on her, which meant that if she was truly bothered, she would have absolutely said so. Both of them were currently playing a starring role in their little play and he was going to make sure he came out as the bigger star. He'd shine so bright, he'd blind her.
"I apologise for never thinking of that. My family was very business-oriented. My parents never ate together with the children... It is hard to notice warmth that you didn't know existed." Perhaps he was being a little too much, but he wasn't exactly lying. That was his truth, it just... didn't really matter. What did, though, was making Lian Xin hear it and perhaps feel something about it.
"I will make up for all the dinners I have abandoned you for." He promised. In fact, he intended to keep that promise - rather, to make it a threat. He'd count every single night since they got married and calculate just how many dinners they would have to eat together. He'd make sure not to allow her to miss a single one. This, however, meant they could not possibly divorce before the Promise was fulfilled. Right?
As their time ended, he got up energetically, thanking the therapist with a grateful smile and making a brief gesture to his assistant to complete the session payment. Then, without allowing his wife even a moment to think, he took her by the arm and started escorting her out. "It is better to start learning sooner than later, right?" He asked in a soft tone so that nobody could hear him. "You wish for proximity... I hope this is close enough, My Love?"
LIAN XIN ────── Was he trying to make her....feel bad for him? A cold family environment was only expected in the kind of life that they lived. Her own parents had been cold and distant.....but then they died and Lian Xin only had to worry about herself from then on. That was why she had gotten married to him in the first place.....though sometimes she does wonder. If her parents had been alive, would they have even let her go through this sham marriage with Jianyu? Would they have let her be trapped in this cycle of oddity and discomfort?
Maybe it doesn't matter......the dead don't offer their opinions.
The only people who offered their opinions or took advantage of the situation were people like Lian Xin and Jianyu....and look where that managed to get her. With an absurdly tall tag along that was quick to grab onto her so that she couldn't escape in the night like she'd wanted too. His movements insistent as he kept her close, their arms linked and she had to stop herself from huffing once again. "I should have known you were going to capitalize on this." She mutters, mostly to herself but she's not above saying it loud enough for him to hear her.
She liked to think she was beginning to understand his games. "Some would even say it was too close....but you don't listen to those people do you." She snarks, her voice quiet so that only he could hear her. Otherwise the two of them looked impeccable as they traversed the halls.....even if Jianyu was basically escorting his prisoner to where he wanted her to go. An unfortunate situation for the woman in question. "There's no one around, you don't have to call me that anymore." His love, how laughable. "Let me guess, we're going to get dinner?"
The movement of her hands, posing a small wall of flesh between them, put a small needle through Jianyu's brain, and he clicked his tongue in mild annoyance as Lian Xin was - consciously or unconsciously - trying to put some sort of barrier between them. This was not her choice to make, not as far as he was concerned, at least. His eyes moved to look at her fingers, wondering how much they'd take should he twist them slightly - just enough to make sure she'd pull them down.
The thoughts got broken up by her words as his attention was caught once more by the fighting tone of the woman. How had he not noticed her fiery personality before, he did not know. She was, however, turning out to be quite the fun surprise and an interesting piece in his collection. Every little interaction with her made Jianyu want to keep her as his own. Well, technically, she already was, but to keep her like that and to make her willing was the challenge.
"I am not above admitting I was wrong about you." He spoke, still making sure she was trapped and unable to move away. "And yes, in fact." His smile once again widened, warping his face to give an unsettling feeling. "I want to know more about you. I don't care that you are busy. If you've got things to do then we will do them together." Slowly, he finally moved back, instead catching her arm and entwining it with his tightly to the point of discomfort. "Lead the way, my Light. and I will follow you to the end of the universe."
LIAN XIN ────── There was something that was always deeply unsettling to her when he smiled like that. There was a tinge of insanity that lurked just beneath the surface, as if it needed only kindly to spark into a deadly inferno or waves large enough to drown her for eternity. She's been married to him for years but it was only recently that they saw different sides of one another. For Jianyu, that meant he was realizing that Lian Xin was easily irritated and quickly frustrated. For Lian Xin, that meant starting to see the depth of an obsession that came simply from being "his" possession. After all, that must have been what he thought of her.
Why else would he fight so hard for her? Against her? To keep her near and in his vicinity? It was so incredibly hard for her to read him and while she would not admit that to him, she had no issue admitting it to herself. He was dangerous in ways that she had not anticipated and she was ill equipped to handle them.
And so, despite her putting as much space as she could between them, he managed to get his way. Always. It was quite an annoying little habit of his.
"Admitting you were wrong? I'm surprised." She says, though perhaps not all the way surprised. He was a wild card who did what he wanted, when he wanted, regardless of what people thought. "What do you even want to know? It's been years, why do you care?" She asks this with a trademark sound of exasperation in her voice that only escalates to a small whimper when he tightens his grasp around her and she's forced to finally stand up to abate the feeling of discomfort that radiates all the way to her shoulder.
"Fine, fine." She relents, casting a glance back her desk before she lets out an annoyed huff. "I'm done for the night, are you happy?"
Ah... so she decided to be honest. In some ways, this was the best outcome he could have, and Jinayu wasn't about to hide that fact. A glimmer in his eyes showed up as he listened and etched her words into his mind. He'd return to them in the future, he knew it. For now, there were other things he needed to focus on.
He listened intently to every word falling from the woman's mouth. At this point in their failing marriage, he could feel that there was a current running through him. What started out as simple defiance was slowly transforming into something else. There was no denying the fact that he did not hide his reactions when he saw others steal her time from him. When they made her smile a little too wide and nod a little too eagerly. He'd note and count down all the offences up to the moment where he'd tally up the score and go to collect what had become due. No mercy.
As the woman reached out and pulled him closer, the man could not help but smile happily at the gesture. Even the words that fell from the lips could not ruin the joy he felt from having her pull him closer. She'd been so avoidant, so very much detached from him recently, it was gnawing at his brain. To finally have her attention like this felt both soothing to the soul and like a sugar rush to the brain.
"If that's what I need to do to get your attention, then believe I will kneel and grovel. I don't care what is needed, I will get what I want, and currently, what I want is you." The cheerful tone of his voice contrasted strongly with the serious expression on his face. His eyes were fixed on her cheeks as if they were trying to burn holes in the skin, leaving marks for everyone to see. His lips were tightly pressed into a line, and all the previous cheeriness on his face disappeared. "If you think that by trying ridicule you will somehow deter or annoy me into backing away, then... You are highly mistaken."
LIAN XIN ────── She could see the way his face lit up the moment she decided to drag him closer and she wanted to chuckle. He was truly such an enigma. At one time he wanted nothing to do with her. He would barely even look at her before dismissing her from his presence and would lose no sleep over it. When she'd first come into the marriage it had hurt her ego just a little bit but she had quickly gotten over it and over him. A marriage of convenience meant that only the names on the paper were important. The idea of them better than any physical capacity.
Yet whenever she finally decided she'd had enough and her influence was stable without him, she wanted to cut him out at the root. After all, the rot would take over there first and foremost if she didn't. Now look at him, practically begging for her attention in a way that was very...Jianyu. Still, he didn't seem to be above kneeling in front of her and that was an interesting tidbit that she would file away in her mind for later. "You'll stay on your knees for eternity then." She teases, her own grin just a bit sharp as his expression falls into something more stern.
There it was. That odd side of him that she couldn't read.
"Why do I have to be wanting to get you to leave me alone..?" Her voice is sugary as she carefully surveys his face with all the calculation and curiosity that he invoked within her. Her hand carefully skimming his jawline as she leans even closer to him so that her breath fanned softly against his lips. "How do you know if I'm serious or if I'm playing with you...? All I said was it just took me wanting to divorce you for you to thaw out.....the need in which you want me burns everything to ash." Her thumb swipes gently over his cheekbone as she cups his face between her hands.
She was so close to him in that moment, lips almost brushing over his own with every single word. She was teasing him, that much was for sure. He made it so easy sometimes and so hard others. "I'm not immune to everything....isn't that why you act like that? Because you want me to want you in return?"
This blog is currently being put onto INDEFINITE SEMI-HIATUS. I've got only a little bit of muse for like a few characters. I'm focusing more on Bao Yu @dragonspearl and a new oc blog for the time being because I have so much muse and more time to devote to single muses blogs than I do this multimuse. THAT BEING SAID, I will still reply to a few things here or there but I won't be doing much on this blog until I get inspired again. So, go follow me on my oc(s) !! I look forward to seeing you there if you aren't there already.
She thought he'd... Jianyu didn't know if he should laugh or hiss at her retort. Obviously, it was meant to provoke - the same as everything else she'd been doing to him recently - but it really got under his skin. A short breath in and a short breath out managed to steady his choked up throat so that he could force himself to smile again. She caught him, after all, completely red-handed, and he was afraid she'd realised what that meant.
Her hands brushing over the already forming bruises gave him an electrifying feeling as the tiny shots of pain confirmed he was being willingly touched by Lianxin. He didn't move, simply observing her digits, almost like a hypnotised sparrow watching a rattlesnake's performance. He could easily just look at that the entire day.
"If you dislike me attacking people who do not know their place, then I see two options." Slowly, still smiling, the man spoke. "You can either make sure they know they are overstepping..." Slowly, he straightened one finger, then another, "or you could just never leave my side, so there is no place for them to approach. In many ways - if you wish to save them, all you need to do is choose how you act."
Did he like hurting the other man? Not really. He didn't much care for violence. It wasn't about that. It was a means to an end really, and the most efficient one. "... you still just don't get it, I don't understand." He let out those words as a rhetorical remark, rather than something he expected her to respond to.
"I do not care for any man. Nobody bothers me. What bothers me is when anyone is trying to take what I want and what I have." He spoke those words out loud barely noting what that actually meant. "You're my wife. The only one who can look at you like that is me."
LIAN XIN ────── She is gentle with the way she brushes against the soft forming bruises that she finds, clearly displeased by the way that her eyebrows furrow together in the middle. A small wrinkle appearing between them before she slowly drags her eyes away from them and up to his smiling visage. There was just something about it that irritated her in that moment. He was reckless, that much she was beginning to learn about him. How else could she categorize him when he had assaulted that man for getting just a bit too friendly. She doesn't think he did it because she felt uncomfortable. She thinks he's done it because it irritated him how she was smiling at him while they were conversing.
So low and behold, perhaps surprisingly, perhaps not, she uses those soft brushes of her thumbs to press down hard onto the bruises just to see it hurt him a bit. "So your solution is to keep me caged like a pretty little song bird?" Because that's what he was doing -- in asserting himself in reminder that HE was HER husband and he didn't like the way she let other men get close to her. Though, she thinks, that is her prerogative. If she wants to flirt a little here or there, she can. It's almost always to further her agenda, which he has no privy information to. "So what you're saying to me now is that I am all you want.....because I am yours. Is that right?"
There is something scathing in her tone as she lets that hand go and her eyes glitter with annoyance and anger. "It seems you have some really big feelings." She says, mirth in her laughter as she lets his hand go. She carefully throws her hair over her shoulder as her hand moves to rest against his chest, pressing against him as she leans just barely against him. Her head has to be tilted back quite far because of his height difference and that only annoyed her more. "If I want to flirt with any man, I will. If it's in front of you, even better."
It's clear she's trying to taunt him, trying to irritate him as if to match her own way. Her hues flashing as she pushes herself away from him, resting her palms against the soft curve of her hips.
He noticed the way she did not move away. Not in fear, not in disgust. She just sat there, meeting his gaze, unmoved and calm. And he adored her for it. He didn't fully understand that shift in himself, nor did he wish to really be too introspective. At this point between them, Jianyu has decided he wasn't going to think too much and he'll just accept whatever change he was being subjected to as it came. It was easier that way. And it felt better.
"Am I?" Jianyu's voice trailed off as he thought about it for just a tiny bit. He leaned lower, trying to level his eyes with hers, but found that it was almost impossible so he knelt in front of her, pushing his legs between her knees. His arms rested on her sides, trapping the small woman in this untouching grip. "Hmm... There's a better question I want to ask before I answer yours."
The two of them had spoken throughout the last few months more than they had spoken during their entire marriage and the way Lianxin would always calmly react to everything he would do, the way she remained unmoved by his tendencies and almost provoking his worst instincts to kick in for her own amusement only made her become more and more interesting. From a girl that could easily just melt into a wall for all he cared, she turned into a radiant supernova, pulling him in every single time he so much as had a passing thought of her name.
"Tell me..." His left hand rose, and the man slowly allowed his two fingers to move along the spine of Lianxin's book to catch her digits and entangle them together. "You enjoy this power you have over me, don't you?" Jianyu asked. "Of course, I don't expect you to answer honestly but..." He played around with her fingers as if they were the ones that would give away Lianxin's hidden secrets. "I suppose I am a little obsessed with you, you made sure to get noticed by me, after all. So now you have to reap what you sowed."
LIAN XIN ────── She does not flinch nor move when he tries to capture his eyes. First in leaning over and then on finally kneeling...which is quite the sight. She can feel the way her body heats up from the inside out, though it doesn't show on her face. He looked.....very handsome like that, didn't he?
It's not as if she doesn't have eyes. Jianyu is a very attractive man, he always had been. Considering he was quite tall and broad, his voice rather smooth when he speaks, and his face was strong and handsome, she could have certainly done worse in the way of looks for her husband. The only thing that had bothered her before was how utterly uncaring he was that she existed in his general direction...at least until she had demanded a divorce. From there he's only grown more...unhinged, perhaps. He finally settled his eyes on her and it was as if he couldn't look away anymore.
She'd already clocked that before and every action he made since then only cemented the idea in her mind. Such as now, his body slotted between her legs and his arms trapping her against the rather expensive and comfortable couch. She wanted to ask why she should even humor his question but she doesn't. Instead her eyes sweep down to where his fingers had carefully touched her own. She doesn't answer, doesn't move, doesn't even act as if she's heard him. At least until she shifts her own hand to twine their fingers together before she yanks him just a bit. Hazel hues suddenly focusing on him as if he was the only thing she'd seen.
"I do enjoy the power I have over you." She answers after a moment, a smile curling up the sight of soft glossy tiers. Her head was only barely tilted to the side and caramel strands rustle over her shoulder at the movement. "I enjoy seeing the way her clench your jaw when other men talk to me. I like to see the way you look surprised whenever I don't act the way you thought I would...and I especially like the way your eyes get a little crazy when you look at me for too long."
She reaches out with her other hand and grasps his chin, pulling him just a bit closer to her as she tilts his head back just a bit. Her own hues glittering with mirth now, as if she found the whole thing hilarious. "All I did was ask for a divorce.......nothing special...and now look at you. Kneeling here in front of me, how pretty."
He'd observe the woman long enough to be able to tell what her inner reactions were so he did see an internal fight inside of her before she managed to play the role she set for herself once more. impressive. so strong, so stubborn. The joy of seeing and knowing what she was hiding was sweet enough to kill any irritation at the jab she pointed at him. Him? Lacking? Surely it was only because she didn't show to him before that there was any reason for him to be interested.
She was so good at playing the role of a neglected wife who'd cried in solitude. Had he not known she desperately wanted that divorce, he'd almost feel bad for putting her through such turmoil. But all of this was a show and she was the star. And his eyes were focused on her as if his pupils were to be her stage lights and needed to follow her everywhere to shine upon the beauty. Oh, she was fascinating.
"Ah..." The therapist who once again was furiously taking notes, looked at the woman with a noticeable amount of compassion. "Have you told your husband that you feel abandoned before?" Ah-- good question. Slowly, the man leaned, his face suddenly turning into a mixture of guilt and surprise. "Have you? I-- I know I have not been the most approachable but we do have our contacts... I... don't think I ever got a message like that from you?" He turned to the therapist. "I know I should have figured it out but, unfortunately, before my marriage I was always pretty much alone and eating in company meant... it was business." Jianyu waved his hands apologetically. "I was never used to this idea of company as being together... with the one you love."
The last words were spoken once more with his eyes turned to Lianxin, his gaze so intense as if he tried to burn holes in her own eyes. "Tonight? Dinner with just the two of us?" His smile was so wide, one could almost count his teeth. "My calendar is already empty. You have my entire evening and night, however much you will want me."
LIAN XIN ────── She feels a small sense of victory when the therapist goes back to writing her notes and that compassion slides over her face. It meant that her words were working in her favor and that, alone, was why she was so insistent in seeing a female therapist to begin with. No matter what he said, no matter how impartial, it was hard not to feel sympathy for the way that Lian Xin had set herself up in the eyes of the public. She was also quite good at this role as well and whenever things went her way, she was pleased by it. Not outwardly, no. She kept the same quietly sad look on her face but her eyes were glimmering just slightly.
At least, they were, until Jianyu managed to shove himself back into the narrative and she has to keep her jaw from clenching. For as good as she was at playing her role, he was just as exceptional at it. Acting as if he truly cared that she had been "miserable" at all. The idea of being repentant at the witching hour, when everything was ready to crash down, irritated her deep within her soul. He was as insistent about not getting a divorce as she was insistent that they should. Though why....? What was it that kept him so damn invested?
It certainly wasn't love. His last words almost making her physically gag at the thought of it. Love and the names Jianyu and Lian Xin did not belong in the same sentence, at all. "I was too afraid that you would...be upset about it." She says after a few moments, casting her glance down as she purposefully threads and unthreads her fingers together. "I just grew up with family eating together but....I understand if it was hard to think of me as family after we married." She offers, soft eyes glimmering a little as she looked at him then. The small smile on her face meant to see sad but there was a sense of victory there.
Though with the way he looked at her, she can't help but swallow just a little bit. It's almost as if he were looking through to her and she can't help the shiver that threatens to run up her spine. "S-Sure....a dinner between the two of us could be....nice." She didn't mean it and she doesn't think it came out that way, not with the way he startled her with his look. Suddenly she looks at her phone and she hums. "Ah, it looks like our time was up.....thank you so much for taking the time to see the two of us." She says to the therapist, her charm back on.
"Family." The word was spoken but it may as well have been spat out by Weilong as the tone of his voice dod not hide the anger, bitterness and contempt he had for the word. "Family is bestowed upon us with no choice, no reason, no say of our own. It is as much a blessing as it is a curse and more than rarely, the latter seems to be the dominant power." He wished that the concept didn't hold as much power over him as it did. He had no weak points - a benefit of being as self-destructive as he was - but one and it was the fact that family was still a sore point in his life. Perhaps it would always be one.
As he kept quiet, he looked at her sad features and a sudden feeling of heavy weight pressing against his chest made him uncomfortable. He wished he could tell her that she deserved not to think of them and their happiness, he wished he could tell her it didn't matter but... could he say that honestly? With how much of a mess he really was? It would be unfair.
"Quite..." he repeated, his eyes widening, his lips curling up in a smile. "quite sensitive to non-mortals, you say?" he repeated, trying not to laugh. Their discussion to this point was a serious one, so having her drop this bit of information during such a deep discussion accidentally popped the bubble of the heavy atmosphere between them. At least for the dragon.
Slowly, the man leaned back, propping himself on his elbows, lightly suggesting the girl join him. "I don't really know happiness. I don't really care as well, to be frank." He decided there was no point after all what had happened between them tonight to play a philosopher to a mortal with limited time in this life. "I just started taking one day at a time, myself. Happiness is a stupid concept and I think it pins us down. It's an ideal and ideals are there to be unachievable. So why bother at all? Take one day at a time. If you manage to laugh - the day was good. If you did not -- the next day you'll have another chance. This way, you survive better. Just think about the little things you want instead of grandiose ideas of peace, happiness and such."
He turned to face her. "For example. My plan today was to get drunk till I pass out and maybe find a pretty lady for the night. My plan worked - at least well enough. Perhaps we're not doing exactly what I had planned, but I am spending my night with a beautiful lady."
LI QIN ────── She can hear the mirth in his voice when he repeats her words back to her and she watches him before offering another small smile. As if she knows his secret now that she has given him a secret of her own. "I know when people aren't human.....though I'm still working between real people and ghosts." She admits, shrugging her shoulders just a little bit as if this were a normal and common place. Her parents had tried to beat it out of her, this inclination for the supernatural, but it didn't go anywhere. Perhaps that is why they were so adamant about selling her off to the first suitor who wanted her. After she left, she would no longer be their problem.
Still, even as she thinks this, she follows his lead and carefully finds herself laying back against the soft grass. She thinks it's nice down here with her face turned up to the vast endlessness of the world as the stars sparkle in the sky. Her hand carefully raising again as she closes one eye, letting her hands caress the moon as if she could pluck it from the sky. Would it be cold? Sapping all the warmth from her body? Or would it be warm, heating her up from the inside out for as long as she clutched it to her? "I don't think happiness is an ideal..." she murmurs, closing both of her eyes for a moment. "I think happiness is in those little things....and we can try and try again for it."
A small smile on her lips. "I like that thought, it sounds romantic." A small chuckle escapes her lips before she hears him moving, tilting her head to the side so that she could look him straight on. "Am I beautiful?" She asks, as if she had never heard that before in her life. Those soft hazel hues looking at him, really looking at him, even past the teasing. Then slowly she turns to her side, her hand coming down to from the moon to gently rest against his cheek before she offers a smile.
"I didn't have any plans, I did all this on a whim. Maybe there was a reason for that...and that's good enough for me. I think." She murmurs, careful before shifting to move her hand back. She doesn't want him to feel uncomfortable with her sudden closeness.
A tension of muscles shifted his body as he heard her speak. Buwei almost bit the inside of his cheek, fully unaware that he even could do so unintentionally. "D- don't call me that, please. Just use the name. I am no man's lord and I prefer not to be yours." He disliked the official language and between himself and Jiming he worked out a familiar system, now Li Hua was part of his family and as such he wanted her to join their little freedom zone. He was sure Jiming would accept that, once he told him about it.
It seemed she understood that as well on some level. Sharing a name was what family did and now, as his wife, she was his family and as such he wanted the familiarity. Otherwise, it would always feel like a spectacle and not anything genuine. He would never be able to fully open up to her if they kept that wall between them.
He chuckled at the girl's remark. There was no more freedom for him - nor for her, really. He could never just travel and spectate birds. He had duties, as the ruling Prince's brother, he had an entire schedule, he was readying himself for delegations that he would be sent on. There wasn't much he could do and there were many dreams he'd buried once Jiming rose in ranks after their father chose to retire. Maybe... maybe when he'd be old and do what their parents did, maybe then, but would he not be too old and frail to venture out at that time? To keep the dream felt naive and futile so why keep it?
"You are a very kind soul." He spoke, smiling at the girl, looking at how she encouraged him, even though he was sure she understood his predicament as much as he knew of it. "Do you... enjoy painting?" He knew ladies were taught painting even more than the men, and as such she was forced to perfect her techniques much more than he did. Her offering her skills did not mean she liked it, in his mind there was a risk she was offering a sacrifice just to humour and support him. "If you do, I would very much want to make sure you have time and all tools to be able to do so. And..." he paused for a moment, this time facing the woman's face directly, "I would love to see what art you make. Talent for the arts is something I respect above most." He noticed she was willing to cover for him. Taht remark was not left unnoticed but as she was still unliked among his people, he would never forgive himself for making her be the villain between the two. He'd much rather present himself as stubborn and spoiled should such a need arise.
LI HUA ────── It's almost instant, the way he reacts to her and she immediately looks apologetic to him. "I-I'm sorry....it's just a habit..." She admits, swiftly looking down to the book in her hands so that she did not have to look at him instead. She'd insisted that they used their names, had tried to bridge the gap that had been lingering between them, and then had managed to make him uncomfortable in the mean time. Despite her encouragement, it was so easy to lapse back into the formal language that is expected of her. After all, she'd never dare to be so familiar with anyone else but him. Her husband. "I prefer your name anyway...it's much nicer, I think."
She throws in her compliment, trying to fix her stumble from mere moments ago. The charm that was natural to her carefully coating her words as she offers a shy smile. Her fingers still gentle as they trace the beautiful lines that make up the birds she had never seen before now. "I don't want to just be kind.....I want the two of us to create memories." She starts carefully, glancing up at him under the soft ebony lashes as if she were shy. Perhaps she was, to say this aloud was quite....hard. Embarrassing, maybe? "We are....family now. The two of us. You are my husband and I am your wife....but I want that to mean something...."
Her words dripped with a truth that she did not really afford others. She often had to wear a mask with others, to protect herself and her interests....but she doesn't want that here. "Memories are important....they never fade. They are what makes life living in hard times....so for us....it is something I wish." She looks away then, back to the book, away from everything. "I do enjoy painting....I think it's nice and calming...you can convey so much with art." She murmurs, looking at him when he commands her attention and mentions wanting to see her art.
She stops for a few moments then, genuinely looking at him. Her eyes carefully taking in the slope of his jaw and the straight line of his nose before thinking that his eyes were pretty. "I....have some paintings with me that I brought from home....I'd like to show you...perhaps tomorrow..?"
LIAN XIN ────── She'd gotten only a moment of warning before Jianyu had come storming into her office as if he owned the space. He'd given her no indication that he would be showing up but perhaps she should have figured as much. She'd hardly given him a second thought that day, ignoring any attempts at communication because she had been quite busy for the entirety of the day. That and, truthfully, she just didn't feel the need to directly speak to him.
Which is exactly why she keeps her expression neutral as she finds herself looking up at his towering form. There is a kind of storming energy that effects his aura as those eyes seem as crazy as they'd ever been. Still, was she allowed to feel amused? Where his feral grin has dropped and his eyebrows have raised as if not expecting such an answer from her. It may have been barely a second before he fixed his expression but it made her feel quite pleased with herself. Something that shows in the way her eyes glimmer up at him, though her face remains blank.
The silence grows between them as she feels the familiar prickling sensation that follows his slow, methodical inventory of her. His eyes zeroing in and starting the slow descent all the way down before returning back to her again. His voice a deep caress in the extensive silence between them and his eyes endless pools of black. She's seen that look before, that crazy tinge that follows his words and she resists shuddering.
Instead she carefully pushes soft caramel locks behind her ear before crossing over her chest in an attempt to put space between them. Why was her heart beating so fast now? Could he see it on the delicate point of her throat? The way it throbbed in....what? Nervousness? Worry? Excitement? She doesn't know. "And you are now...what? Wanting to know more about me? Perhaps in a different moment, I'm awfully busy."
honestly, after a lot of thinking, I'm putting this blog on a semi-hiatus for right now. I've got a lot of muse for @dragonspearl right now and I feel like I need to get my shit together and get this blog together too before I write anything new. you will see me writing a little bit here and there with certain people. if you'd like to continue to write with me, please feel free to follow bao yu! there's so much I want to do with her and she has SO MANY verses!! also add me on discord (open to mutuals, just ask).
honestly, after a lot of thinking, I'm putting this blog on a semi-hiatus for right now. I've got a lot of muse for @dragonspearl right now and I feel like I need to get my shit together and get this blog together too before I write anything new. you will see me writing a little bit here and there with certain people. if you'd like to continue to write with me, please feel free to follow bao yu! there's so much I want to do with her and she has SO MANY verses!! also add me on discord (open to mutuals, just ask).
