蓝

do you have the patience to wait until your mud settles and the water is clear? lan wangji ; mo dao zu shi rp ; by skitty

[guqinquiry]

diziaster​:

　　WEI WUXIAN HIMSELF PROBABLY DOESN’T KNOW WHEN HE’S BEING SERIOUS. Whether the carrot was simply misshapen or if it had indeed grown as some abomination to the living, his offer would be genuinely the same, and it would bother him no more in either case.

　　“ There’s plenty! ”  He assures Wangji, ushering the other forward and then overtaking the lead himself.  “ Don’t our fields look like they’re flourishing, Lan Zhan? ”  He gestures to said fields, with greenery dotting the soil amidst this village surrounded by death and drear.

lan wangji is not looking at the fields when his lips form a tiny answer;  ❝ Yes. Flourishing. ❞

There’s a hushed title for the former Jiang disciple now----one that hints at respect, at least, alongside plenty of other less kind things. The wild hair, the stitched robes hinting at the vibrant sun symbol of the Wen clan. Sects have rallied behind less charismatic leaders before.

But flourishing is for carefully tended orchids and lotuses in a garden free of weeds, not whatever this wasteland is. There’s a sealed pavilion in Gusu...

His stare persists.

[guqinquiry]

diziaster​:

　　THERE’S ABSOLUTELY NONE, in the eyes of Wei Wuxian. He certainly has nothing against ‘ quiet pastimes, ’ he’s just not apt to enjoy them himself. Lan Zhan knows firsthand of his enjoyment of drawing. Respecting elders and practicing self-refinement, however…boring.

　　Wei Wuxian snorts at what finally comes out of the Lan’s mouth.  “ It most certainly is not. You have never experienced real fun. ”

this is why he’s dangerous,  lan zhan reflects. not because the taunts are likely to fracture his perfect self-control, but rather that there’s a little seed that finds itself planted. real fun? it asks, and wants to know more. unquestionably, the lan brothers have had a sheltered upbringing; his childhood memories aren’t full of laughter and games. as a young man, he’s a complete stranger to drinking, to flirtation, to games with cards and dice. on the whole, this is not a problem or something he finds upsetting, and without wei ying he’d have no cause to even think about it. 

yet wei ying is here. wei ying likes drinking and flirting and probably a hundred other forbidden things. he’s an authority on such matters more so than any other who has passed the boundary step of the cloud recesses. lan zhan has no interest in these matters for himself, but as a case study, is it not interesting to imagine him...?

the thought swirls uncomfortably in his mind, but what he says, as usual, is far simpler:  ❝ correct. there is no need to. ❞

[guqinquiry]

diziaster​:

　　WEI WUXIAN WAITS PATIENTLY FOR LAN ZHAN’S REPLY. There’s the inevitable silence, which Wei Wuxian has grown accustomed to, but eventually, the man who may as well be made of stone stirs and uses his voice. His response doesn’t evoke disappointment in Wei Wuxian; the answer is inconsequential, actually, for he’d insist either way, just as the Lan predicts.

　　“ Me? Well, I bit the head off of a demon carrot earlier, ”  He ponders thoughtfully, eyes shifted upwards as if the memory is playing out above him.  “ But I’ve still got the body left for a stew! Come, Lan Zhan, it won’t take long! ”

IT’S  NOT  EASY  TO  TELL,  sometimes, whether wei ying is serious or not;  jesting or serious, there’s never a lack of passion in his voice.  lan zhan looks on in bemusement and tries to work out what he means by demon carrot. likely as not it’s only a reference to the stunted things that come poking out of bone-ridden soil, but for a moment, he combats the urge to reach out and touch his shoulder in warning, to say be careful. 

instead, he nods his head in acknowledgement. stunted or demonic, he’ll eat any carrot given to him here, any stew prepared by those hands. 

❝ are you certain you have enough? ❞  he adds after a moment.  ❝ ... to spare? ❞ if anything, he should have brought something and offered it, knowing the conditions here. next time... next time, he’ll really try it. 

[guqinquiry]

diziaster​:

　　IT’S BY NO MEANS A WELCOMING PLACE; and yet, the attitude of its inhabitants are a stark contrast to their dreary surroundings. The puppy-like Wen Ning, his fiery sister constantly scolding Wei Wuxian, and the patriarch himself—ever aloof, ever unbothered. Judging only by the community there, it appears more to be a sun-lit farm in the countryside, rather than a barely-habitable village amidst death and misery.

　　As though he has a sixth sense, Wei Wuxian finds himself passing by and catching sight of the luxurious white robes and flowing hair of Lan Zhan. He stops in his tracks, gray eyes staring the man down, before he’s calling out at a volume much unneeded considering the lack of hustle and bustle of this place.

　　“ Hello, Lan Zhan! Have you come for more of my divine cooking? ”

        modest as ever.  the muscles of lan zhan’s face are unused to smiling, so by default the corners of his mouth turn downwards instead. the expression might be better suited for the burial mounds anyway; even barring the bone shards in the ground and the sinister reputation the land holds, who would be inspired to smile at the miserable situation of the cowering refugees? 

lan zhan is not looking at them, however. he’s looking at their leader, who seems to hold enough vitality to make up for the desolation here---a new sun around which the wen clan can orbit. 

❝  i’ve eaten already, ❞  he answers with a lie. passing through the village, it had been tempting to stop at one of the little shops or stalls for a steamed bun or a pancake, simple and inoffensive, to take the edge off of any impending hunger. wei ying is going to insist, though, and lan zhan won’t really refuse his hospitality.  ❝  ... have you? ❞

[guqinquiry]

studies show that i’m alive!

[guqinquiry]

༄        there are certain times during the year  when the village streets swell with people; changes in the season are usually at the root of it, and the celebrations and harvests that come with them. if pressed, wangji might be able to remember a few of the villagers’ faces --- a waiter at a restaurant, a distinctive shop owner, perhaps a bureaucrat. 

it’s quite rare, in other words, that anyone catches his eye, unless they stand out for peculiar reasons related to whatever grim business has invited the sect members into town in the first place. but this woman carries herself more like a noble than a villager, even bears an aura like someone trained in the cultivation arts, and wangji does not recognize her. 

it’s not cause for alarm; rogue cultivators are known to make their appearances, generally without detriment to anyone. but if she’s here on account of something other than celebrating crops pulled out of the earth, then isn’t there a good chance her business will coincide with wangji’s own? better to compare notes now than to blunder in each others’ way later.   

❝ may i join you? ❞  it’s a quiet request, and a little reticent in its delivery, as is his nature. 

                                                          @bodiesburnd​   |  ❖

[guqinquiry]

@diziaster​ ​

        it’s never entirely by coincidence  that wangji ends up near yiling --- but sometimes, he foregoes an excuse entirely. after all, he’s free to go where he pleases, and for the time being he has the good graces of the disgraced sect’s patriarch. 

the road feels oppressively dark on his approach, even at midday. twisted black trees strangled by vine play host to flocks of croaking carrion birds; out of the dirt, splintered bone sometimes emerges, jagged and dark. by any measure, this is a horrible place, and unfit for the living --- what exists here does so to kill and to scavenge, not to thrive. 

that is, until wangji passes something sprouting at the entrance, one of the only vibrant things in sight save for a crimson ribbon deeper afield. that’s his target, and his steps draw to a halt as he waits with his hand clasped firmly behind his back. 

[guqinquiry]

diziaster​:

　　IT’S ALMOST MEANINGLESS TO HIM. The safety of the rabbits has never truly been a concern; after all, he’d been ready to serve them up as dinner when Wangji had first declined them. Will that stop him from holding this over his head, however? Absolutely not.

　　“ You’re not asking very nicely, Lan Zhan. It’s not convincing me that you’ll do better this time. ”

        ah, but he’d said please.  lan zhan wasn’t raised on a farm, after all, and when it comes to necessary etiquette, who could rival him except his own older brother? the fact that he’s having to ask more than once is only because wei ying won’t listen to the initial request...! 

❝ why must i convince you? ❞  he challenges, his own stubbornness finally taking the rein.  ❝ if i lose them again, i’ll know not to ask you for help. ❞ ... except that conclusion is reached with a small touch of sadness. wei ying had ... he had proven to be an effective searcher, that’s all, and it would be a shame to be deprived of such a resource. 

[guqinquiry]

i was staggering my way through trying to translate thousand autumns earlier today and the descriptions of martial arts & cultivation in that novel are really beautiful, but it also has me thinking about the lan clan --- their founder was buddhist and it’s obviously influencing some of their conduct ( not eating meat, and there’s at least one reference to the buddha amitabha ) and the sect’s rules are very confucian in modeling a particular kind of behavior. so along with the daoist cultivation, they’re quite ... well-versed? but thousand autumns has this kind of integration of different philosophies as an innovative thing to do and i can see that being an attitude from the different sects towards the lan clan, too, and something that sets them apart from the others besides just “oh they’re strict on their disciples.” 

[guqinquiry]

wenghost​:

he tells himself that he won’t linger long,  adverse to the risk of causing further trouble.    wen ning knows his reputation precedes him,  and there is something about the serenity of this environment that leaves him staying out of the way,  out of direct vision unless in the cover of night.    he is nervous,  in the slight way that an unfeeling corpse could be.

because of this,  he startles visibly when  hanguang-jun  speaks to him,  the slight jolt of his wrists causing the chains there to clink.   a moment’s hesitation is all it takes before he is nodding slowly  /  once,  twice.    ‘’i do  …  but it’s been some time since this one has practiced.’’  an understatement,    ‘’why,  has something happened.’’

        there’s a reason it’s called a night hunt; the night, like the cover of earth, is cool and dark. a better environment for corpses than under the glaring vitality of the sun, in other words. it would’ve been unthinkable at one time that lan wangji would find himself speaking to a ghost like a friend, but it’s by no means the first transgression he’s ever made. 

❝ it would be a shame for the talent to be lost. ❞  well, a lot more than that has been lost, in fact --- lan zhan’s hasty glance to the side can probably pass for haughtiness, though it isn’t what prompts it.  ❝ ... sizhui would be willing to learn, if you thought yourself a capable tutor. ❞

[guqinquiry]

pavedwithcruelintentions​:

@guqinquiry

Dacian flipped through the pages as fast as he could, grateful Marie had left the book where only he could find it. It proved to be very useful for what he was going to do. He moves to the ritual circle, placing the book down in the center of the circle, with a small bag of items and moves quickly, placing candles in their respective places.

He was shaky as he lights each candle, calling upon each element to join the circle. He knew he didn't have much time. He sits in the center, calling Nebula over. The bird rests in his lap, as he lights the final candle in front of him. Then he begins the chant.

"Entends mes paroles et entends mon cri. Les dieux nous gardent en sécurité et nous transportent loin de ce tourment."

He continues to chant, as each element surrounds them. The smell of burning wood. The feeling of a crisp autumn breeze. The smell of rain. The smell of clean dirt and mud. And the most familiar scent.. to him.. chocolate cake. To any other person, it would be their favorite scent. Fire, Air, Water, Earth, Spirit.

The area changed quickly, but Dacian didn't stop until they were somewhere safe. Only then did he stop, his energy drained. Nebula nudges him, and he slumped, panting. Nebula hops up, nudging him again. He mumbles, feeling heavy, exhaustion setting in. Everything hurt and he felt nauseous. The candles had burned out at this point. "Nebula, va chercher de l'aide." He instructs, and the bird flies up, in search of the help he needed.

She spots a group of men in white, and dives, into the group, cawing. She lands on one of the men's shoulders, nudging him and taking flight again, circling overhead and trying to get his attention. She dives again, tugging on his robes with her talons.

        the mountain slopes in gusu are home to plenty of small villages. the fact that many of them are of little note or importance is in most ways a blessing; the people do not wish to attract attention, and the industries carry on quietly in the shade of the bamboo leaves. blacksmiths, stonecutters, farmers with chickens and pigs, and the occasional tea house or tavern. guling is one such village --- insignificant, until two months ago when men in the village began to go missing. a frantic messenger had come to report that he’d seen her, a village maiden who had suffered an accident and died. 

lan wangji brings a small group with him to investigate, expecting a relatively straightforward matter; they’ve reached the outermost buildings of guling village when the bird descends. a black bird like that brings few favorable thoughts to mind, and wangji nudges the disciples out of the way, his guard immediately raised. related to the ghost? maybe not --- but it bears investigating all the same.

perhaps it’s not smart to investigate alone, but it won’t do the sect any good to be seen veering off the path before they even talk to the villagers --- and besides, hanguang-jun is capable in his own right. waving the disciples on with the confidence that they’ll keep him updated, he sidesteps into the thicket, letting the raven show the way. 

at first, he thinks it’s one of the villagers lying in the undergrowth. the blade bichen unsheathes itself slightly at the potential sign of danger, but wangji does not draw it yet, even as he observes the strangeness of the person’s features. let them make the first move --- his reflexes are sharp enough to respond if they turn out to be dangerous, but it’s too soon to make such a call, and wangji refuses to be caught off guard by trying to be a negotiator. 

[guqinquiry]

i’ve been saying i’ll make a batch of icons for like a week and i need to work on that, but in the meantime if anyone is lurking and would like a starter, like this post and i’ll post one for us!

[megairea]

Drunk with the moon, a sage of dreams, Flower-bewitched,

Li Bai, from A Message to Menghao-Jan; The Jade Mountain: A Chinese Anthology (tr. by Witter Bynner)

[boysloves-stuff]

    wallpaper lan zhan! ✩

˒ ♥︎ or ↻ if u save

[guqinquiry]

diziaster​:

　　WEI WUXIAN HOLDS NO SUCH BURDENS, and is merely not in a rush. Perhaps some part of him knows what torture this is for the Lan, and as such, keeps him at an almost cruel level of calm.  “ Lan Zhan! ”  He calls, shifting both rabbits into one arm so that he can raise the other to wave.

　　“ I did, ”  He confirms, but tilts his body away in an almost protective manner when the other requests them.  “ Whaat, you were irresponsible enough to lose them in the first place, and now you’re demanding that I immediately hand them over? I gave these to you as a gift, you know, and I’m hurt that you would misplace them so easily. ”

        it stings more than it should --- to be called irresponsible. lan zhan can feel a rush of blood to his ears at the accusation, even if he thinks it’s meant in a teasing way ( but that is hard to tell, because no one typically teases hanguang-jun. ) he’s let the rabbits roam freely because it doesn’t seem fair to put a cage around them; would they be safer there? likely so, but he trusts them to know how to run and to hide and keep themselves out of trouble. 

❝ wei ying. ❞  he says the name like a warning. it is, although there’s a nonspecific threat behind it as of yet.  ❝ ... give them to me. ❞

[guqinquiry]

diziaster​:

　　—ERK. WEI WUXIAN’S SLY EXPRESSION CRUMBLES, replaced by overt shock. It’s a reasonable response, and completely in line with the Gusu clan’s ace.  “ I have tried them, ”  He fibs, fooling no one, and immediately continues on with his usual energy.

　　“ They’re all stifling and boring! There may as well be just one rule—no fun allowed! That would encompass all of them, surely! ”

        perhaps it would.  yet that would also imply that there is no enjoyment to be found in respecting elders and practicing self-refinement; it would forbid quiet and enjoyable pastimes like sitting and reading in the library, or plucking the strings of the guqin after twilight, or copying poetry with an ink brush ... 

lan zhan narrows his eyes; he has the feeling it would be wasted breath to try and explain all of this to ears that are determinedly unwilling to listen.  ❝ obeying custom is fun. ❞  ... as he knows it, anyway. 

[guqinquiry]

“manhua panels can’t hurt you” yes they sure can!