chinese hanfu by 绛悠堂汉服

shark vs the universe

titsay
noise dept.
we're not kids anymore.
Show & Tell
Alisa U Zemlji Chuda
h
Monterey Bay Aquarium
d e v o n
No title available
$LAYYYTER

Kaledo Art
dirt enthusiast
Today's Document
Xuebing Du

#extradirty

Andulka
Cosmic Funnies

ellievsbear
"I'm Dorothy Gale from Kansas"

seen from Italy

seen from Argentina

seen from Malaysia

seen from Malaysia
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seen from United States
seen from Malaysia
seen from United States
seen from Türkiye
seen from United States

seen from Italy

seen from United States
seen from France
seen from United States

seen from Germany

seen from Malaysia
seen from Italy
seen from Lithuania

seen from United States
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@feiyancao
chinese hanfu by 绛悠堂汉服
rcvivalfan:
Anytime…
How stupid of him, to think a token gift would be enough. He had hoped he could leave it and the promise of a return and that it would simply be enough for her. That the idea he might walk through this door once he walked out of it tomorrow would be more than a stupid, empty promise meant to soothe what he knew was inevitable.
These thoughts drowned out her words of concern as he sat staring at the empty bowl before him, gaze once unfocused as he pushed the swelling negativity back down. not now. He willed it. Not here.
Eventually Xianhua’s concerned stare breaks through and he returns to the present.
I’m an idiot.
“I’m… A-hua, I’m so sorry…” That expectant smile, how pleased she was just now…. her current concern about any potential injuries. How could he think he could just get away with this?
“I came here because I wanted to leave you with a good memory… I’m an idiot. I thought maybe it’d be enough, but … you keep looking at me like that. H-how am I supposed to keep this up when you look at me like that!?”
Xianhua was always strong, always doing her best to keep everything together even when Ruan’s actions constantly put stress on what could be considered ‘proper’ for one of her upbringing to condone. How often had he lied about everything going on in his life just so she could believe he was doing alright?
He clenches his fists in his lap and draws a deep breath. If he doesn’t get it off his chest now he’ll never be able to rest.
“I don’t know how much longer I can control it. It’s swelling up and… I-I know it’ll consume me any day now. When it does I… well, I really don’t know what will happen to me. I suppose I’ll probably die, but it could be worse than that…”
{ ❀ } His sudden stillness in the wake of her inquiry struck her odd, something in the back of her senses prickling in alarm as he became visibly tense. Her smile faded, and when the words began to spill from his mouth her expression grew grave.
He came here to leave her a token. A lie to comfort her, to console her with some shred of hope that he would one day return, hale and whole and not on the verge of deviation as he was now. She couldn’t mistake the symptoms this far along. Then again, she knew this was a long time coming: her gentle urging to stray from his dark path wasn’t saving him from further deteriorating as much as she had once blindly hoped it would.
Was he trembling? He seemed unable to raise his eyes to her now. Was he buckling under the weight of all of this?
“A-Ruan.”
A sudden step forward and rustle of robes, and she was hugging him to her, her embrace still gentle, but somehow far more firm than any she had ever given before. The kind of embrace that held one fast, but in a way that conveyed safety, not captivity.
“I don’t care how much you’ve been lying to me, I’m just as much of a liar. I’ve been lying to myself all this time, thinking words here and there could keep you from straying further into danger. You’re at your brink, about to break and still you strove to come here to me... I won’t let you face this alone. Not anymore. You’re not going to die; I am going to help you and you will survive this!”
Her tone had broken her previous calm, emotion filling her words as she held him close. She could practically feel the roiling energies within him, the wild disarray that was tearing him apart inside as he struggled so desperately to keep it under control. Her grip tightened slightly, her spiritual energy seeping out, into him in gentle waves in an attempt to soothe and steady him.
“I... I don’t want to lose you.” Her words were strained, as if they had long been held back until this moment. “Every time you left, I held in the fear that it would be the last time I ever saw you. So please, just... stay with me. Stay with me and live.”
rcvivalfan:
As the shared song ends, Ruan gently runs fingers along the wood of the instrument in his hands.
“I seem to recall you told me ‘no’ many times back in the day.” He teases softly. Oh how he’d caused so much trouble for the young Lan lady; they weren’t even supposed to talk yet shared childish stubborness led to them breaking the rules of the Cloud Recesses many a time.
Those cherished days when he and Jin Yang would accept the blame for ‘bothering’ a female disciple and sit copying rules, Lan Xianhua sneaking to sit just outside the window and play for them to pass the time.
His warm smile brings light to his tired eyes and he makes no move to comment on her face , or the scar she was so conscious of.
How he wished to destroy the so-called parents who made her suffer so–
“As for this…” A gentle pat on the wood, “I’ll leave it here with you. Think of it as incentive for me to come visit a bit more often.” A small laugh follows his words as he rests the instrument across his lap. “What do you think?”
{ ❀ } Their song drew to a close on a soft and gentle note, and she too smiled at the recollection. “That is true, though really: how long was I ever really able to deny you?” She chuckled lightly as she lowered her dizi.
How often she had said ‘no’ indeed, but that was just her upbringing talking. Inevitably her curiosity and her own impetuous streak would get the better of her, and she would wind up running along with their plans. Even so far as to sneaking up to the pavilion to play for them beneath the window, or to smuggle them sweets when they were confined to those long hours of copying texts... those days had been so simple, so bright.
“I would like that very much, and you know you are always welcome here, anytime.” She nodded with enthusiasm after placing Youyi back upon the shelf.
“...Which reminds me, were you limping when you came in? Beside that, if you have any other hurts or aches, I can have a look for you. I’m not expecting patients today.”
*reminder*
just because i’m very slow with replies doesn’t mean i don’t care about our plot !!!
Song: Mirage of the Fall Album: River Artist: Jia Peng Fang
I can’t get enough of erhu music like this.
My, what beautiful blossoms we have this year. But look, this one’s late. But I’ll bet that when it blooms, it will be the most beautiful of all.
rcvivalfan:
At her remark he opens one eye and flashes a smile, bright despite the weariness of his features. As the verse concludes he gestures with one hand towards the nearby shelves. There’s a hint of his former mischievous self in the gesture, the yellow of the Jin sect uniform he once wore back then the only thing keeping the image from being perfect.
“Come now, I know it would sound much better with an accompaniment.” He urges.
His true intent shines through as he sits with ehru in hand. To play the song together was one thing, but for Xianhua to play properly it would be better to remove the cloth covering her features. To know her confidence still hurt from a wound that was his fault stung but there was little he could do for it.
Like it or not, Lia Ruan had to simply push his martial sister’s family to the back of his mind.
“You need not hide your smile from me, take off that silly veil and join me.”
{ ❀ } As he flashed her a bright smile, and spoke and gestured to the shelf, where her Youyi sat in a lovingly carved holder, Xianhua felt herself be even more moved. Her veil shifted as she let out a soft little laugh, the corners of her eyes pushed up as she smiled wide beneath it.
“How can I possibly say no to you?”
Her words carried a lovely sort of sweetness when she replied. Carefully placing her veil aside, she took Youyi from its stand and lifted the white wood flute to her lips, her blue eyes beaming at him.
Once he’d begin again, this time the dizi would sing alongside the string. Her posture relaxed as she played, as if any remaining stiffness had left her; borne away on the wings of the flute’s sound. The change in demeanor, however subtle, was something quite familiar to her martial brothers. After all, they knew best how free she felt when playing.
Of course, this time her playing sounded so much more mature than the playful trilling she did in their youth. This song was laden with much more feeling behind it, the affectionate sentiments of its composer much deeper and cherished now than they were in the years gone by.
But despite this difference, it was no less beautiful now, and no less her.
“How much do I have to pay for someone to hug me?”
She lets out a soft little laugh and does just that; gently wrapping her arms around him.
{ ❀ } “...You hardly need to pay someone for a hug, you know. You need only ask. There’s no shame in wanting someone to hold you, even if for a moment.”
Send a ‘💬’ to catch a glimpse of a memory my muse has.
I am no longer ( whole )
but, there is a L I G H T inside of me.
if i am breaking, then i will
shine through my c r a c k s.
and if i shatter on the floor,
even if my pieces cannot be reformed
at least i can be content
knowing i glowed bright enough
( if but for an instant )
to help you find your way
Plant of the Day
Tuesday 9 May 2017
Here the flowers of the deciduous climber Wisteria sinensis at Pashley Manor, East Sussex, U.K. have fortunately escaped a recent late spring frost and cascade down the house. They have even been joined by Clematis flowers.
Jill Raggett
who the hell gave you the right
to hurt me?
weiwuxiian:
Wei Wuxian snickers to the ground. ❝Tsk, tsk, tsk. You people from Gusu never change, do you? The hilarity: while the others overestimate us you couldn’t help but look down on us demonic cultivators.❞ He claps his hands in slow, controlled movements, loud and filling the silence of the second floor with its echoes. Was it sarcasm? Or honesty? It would have been too difficult to tell, Wei Wuxian was known for his ambiguous temperament that made him more terrifying than a tyrant such as the previous Wen Sect Leaders. A few had said they were seeing glimpses of Wen Ruohan in him, a silent, red flame burning within a pensive, polished shell, ready to sear any hands too foolish to keep its distance. ❝What do you think we are, Maiden Lan? What sort of sect leader would I be if a disciple dies under my watch without my knowledge?❞
A terrible one. The answer resounds in his head, like voices that accompanied him through those 3 months in the Burial Mountains. He knew the Lans usually meant well—knew they meant better than the Jins or the idle Nies—but he couldn’t help feeling the bitter resentment whenever he sees their floating white robes and silky blue ribbons. It’s not so much resentment… but a feeling of envy, for they reminded him that he once wore those white robes too, for a brief period of time. He raises a bottle to alcohol to his lips and empties its contents into his mouth, with not a single drop spilt to the ground.
Wei Wuxian thought, stunned for a moment how selfish he had become. These were rare times that he thought about himself, and not others. He slams the bottle back onto the table with a surprisingly soft thud. ❝You just want to see him, yea?❞ He slowly raises one finger, ❝One day. The corpses stationed at the base will gain you entry to Yiling, but only until nightfall.❞
{ ❀ } She weathered the verbal barrage surprisingly well. He could accuse her of condescension and hypocrisy as much as he liked, she didn’t care. If it made him feel better, then so be it. And while it kind of hurt to see such vitriol coming from someone she once knew as so unabashedly kind, Lan Xianhua knew better than to provoke a sleeping tiger, so she remained calm and collected when she next spoke.
“I do not think ill of you and yours in the least, Sect Leader Wei... but as a person who cares deeply for someone, and who knows the toll such a path takes on the body and the soul, I feel my worries are not wholly unfounded.” She spoke softly. “But by your words, I am glad I can trust you to look out for your disciples, which is more than can be said for many sects these days.”
A mote of cynicism colored her voice. She once took pride in her sect’s path of righteousness and virtue, but lately these cloud-adorned robes of hers seemed a binding shackle more than a mantle of honor. She paused to sip from her teacup, visibly unfazed by the thud of the bottle. His gaze was difficult to read, but his misty-grey eyes seemed clouded with many thoughts. At least, that is how it seemed to her. With the eyes of all the other sects upon him as they were, it would be a miracle if he was not troubled.
“I am most grateful to you.” She replied in thanks, inclining her head politely. “You have my word that I will not trespass any further than to see my dear martial brother, and that I will leave Yiling proper by nightfall.” Her words held no deception, and the fact she swore by her own merit, and not by her honor as a Lan, was telling.
//- chibi of Yiling Wei Sect verse Ruan. Really the only difference is he wears his hair up and an outer robe, he still has the same bright feminine fashion underneath.
I also decided to draw Fuxing as a bladed fan this time.
weiwuxiian:
The curtains were lifted with a set of motions too graceful to belong to the once unruly child that broke all of Lan Qiren’s flawless records. His black robes, too large for his slender form, were like a blanket of everlasting night flowing behind him. Wei Wuxian rolls back on the zabuton, fingers drumming in unspoken curiousity as he watches Xianhua with keen, misty-grey eyes that veiled the forefront of many stories unbeknownst to the world and its ignorance. Passively, a line thin formed on his lips between a frown and a smile, unambiguous and leaving its adversaries guessing the true intentions behind it. They won’t, for it was unsure whether Wei Wuxian himself knows what he feels currently at the moment, sans the numbness at the core of his heart situated in the midst of emotions like tidal waves surrounding his chest.
Was he… happy to see her? He could not deny nor could he admit that his times in the Cloud Recesses were the best times in these 20-years of his life. Giving Lan Qiren the largest headache the old man has ever experienced was only part of his achievement, his friendship with the other students were relationships that remained dear to his heart. To this day, Wei Wuxian finds that he was unable to forget them and that they come like distant dreams, memories of old long lost in the past, golden times that will never be again, haunting his days and night relentless. He wasn’t sure if that meant that he missed them.
He wanted to ask her how Lan Wangji was doing and making a joke about whether he cried because of their last parting, but resisted himself in the last moment when he remembered that they weren’t friends.
❝Well, A-Ruan is fine, if you’re concerned. Pray tell what did you expect, Maiden Lan? We in Yiling Wei don’t starve our people or force them to eat veggies, unlike Gusu Lan. Our routine is tough, though, but with four sects eyeing us behind our backs, I’m afraid we don’t have room for anyone else but elites.❞
{ ❀ } She followed him into the comfortably furnished room and seated herself with a quiet sort of grace that surely befitted a Lan disciple. However despite her demure poise, there was still that spark of something behind her eyes; a certain streak of defiance that ran with the passionate inner natures of quite a few of the Lan clan, much to the chagrin of the elders for sure. Of course, coming here at all could certainly be considered an act of defiance. And every time since the first. But her resolve had been further steeled by the sight of Lan Wangji returning from one such trip. It was hardly a secret he had traveled to Yiling, but despite his stoic and guarded nature, even she could sense he was troubled. And who wouldn’t be? If someone you cared about was descending deeper and deeper into the mire that was demonic cultivation? In this, she dared to think, she and Lan Wangji were perhaps similar.
But she certainly was not nearly as unreadable as the Second Jade of Lan, as she visibly was relieved to hear Lia Ruan was doing alright and it showed. “For the lack of his letters, Sect Leader Wei, I had feared something ill had befallen him.” She explained. “I understand. I do not mean to trespass when coming here, of course; and I do not wish to delve into matters you would keep from prying eyes. I simply came here to see if my martial brother was alive and well, and...”
Her voice died in her throat. And to what? Convince him to give up this path of cultivation and save himself? To come back to Gusu, to somewhere, anywhere else other than Yiling, if only to save him from a self-induced death sentence?
Gods, she was far too earnest, too honest for her own good. She redirected.
“...and make sure he isn’t killing himself.”
@feiyancao — PLOTTING CALL !!
He heard someone call his name, like an echo as soft as whispering wind. A treacherous former member of the Jiang Sect, his shadow leaves a harrowing sensation of both fear and hatred to those are disapproves of him. However, Wei Wuxian was fine to be left alone, he depends on the fear of others to leave him be, to allow him to roam the world a forlorn, dense shadow akin to a ghost. Yet, he is a sentimental man by nature: that voice was one he recalls back during his days in Gusu Lan. The Yiling Patriarch turns around, his eyes glaring but behind it veils mild curiousity and longing.
❝You. You came here… for what?❞ His voice had only flourished from boyhood, now a deep, velvety tune that suited his person more than the childish high-pitched tone he used to possess. Xianhua was a fellow classmates through and through ( he hasn’t forgotten yet ! ) but her presence brings him no good tidings, in fact, he could feel the headache slowly bubbling up his scalp as he tries to guess at why she’s here. ❝You came here to talk about Ruan, am I right?❞ head tilts up to a restaurant on the second floor, ❝Follow me up there if you want to.❞
{ ❀ } When she made this visit to Yiling Wei seeking her martial brother, Lan Xianhua had not expected to encounter the dreaded sect leader himself. How much things had changed from those days back in the Cloud Recesses. The boisterous prodigy of a classmate who once drew so much ire from old Lan Qiren... how far he had changed. Of course, they say hardship changes people. And Wei Wuxian had indeed been molded by the hardships that fate had thrown in his path.
But Xianhua knew enough to know there was more to it than just the fear and hatred people spoke of him with. It had been a long time, and inwardly she too was curious and a little happy to see him with her own eyes. Even if the cultivation world at large marked him a treacherous, dangerous cultivator, she hoped that somewhere inside, there must be even a shred of the earnest, noble-hearted person she once knew.
“That is indeed the reason, but I didn’t expect to meet you personally, Wei-xion-- Sect Leader Wei.” She quickly corrected herself, adopting a more formal address, given his station. She nodded at his direction, and followed him up the stairs. She noted how the people they passed glanced at them. It probably wasn’t too often they saw someone from another Sect, let alone one who wasn’t actively advocating against their leader. If her gaze caught theirs, she would give a gentle smile before looking forward again, following her former classmate to the upper floor.
quick, forehead kiss! Even if he needs to stand on his toes to do so... he'll take the initiative!
{ ❀ } She had just been minding her own business, looking over one of her medicinal books when she heard him move behind her. She thought nothing of it when he lingered beside her, perhaps he was curious to see what she was doing. But when he stretched up, clearing the few inches she had on him to place his lips to her forehead, she froze.
The normally placid look of the Lan cultivator all but shattered, the expression on her face hearkening back to the bashful girlhood of her youth. This much was obvious even with just her eyes showing, given the veil; and a sharp eye would probably catch the light tinge of pink in her features, too.
Who knew something as simple as a kiss would so easily unsettle so steady a woman?
“Ruan!? W-What brought this on?” She fumbled, before recovering her composure after nearly dropping her bookmark. Her veil rustled with the sigh that left her lips.
“I-Is there something you wanted? For while I appreciate it, I can assure you I do not have a fever…!”