"is anyone else getting a little bit of a jadecest vibe?" Meeeee. I hate that, for unexplained reasons, this hellship skates along the back of my mind sometimes and then like an art happens and i get all weird and complicated. i don't ship it but like can't seem to exclude it either
look, it’s understandable. it’s the OVERWHELMING GOTHIQUE OF THE LANS.
like you see them initially and you’re like....they’re so dysfunctional & codependent in such subtle ways that have me 👀👀👀 ...like it’s elegant, it COULD pass for functional. and then you find out their mom is literally the madwoman in the attic and you lose your fucking mind. or i did anyways.
Wei Ying’s eyes wrinkled with the sincerity of his smile as he awaited an answer. A long beat passed between them, before…
“How boring”.
“Ugh?? Hey!!” Wei Ying’s face exploded in protest, but Lan Zhan was already walking away. He sighed, mind fast working on an alternative solution, before a grunt, followed by a soft thud, met his ears.
“Lan Zhan!!”
The crippled bundle of white robes kneeling on the ground before him was the last thing Wei Ying had wanted to see, and as fast as an eagle, he swooped in to make sure he’d be the only one to see it. Lan Zhan just had time to make a face of disgruntled horror, before he was hauled onto the back of the very man that, up until that point, he’d been expending an illogical amount of energy on avoiding.
Wei Ying, the most feared twin Jade of Gusu sprawled unwillingly on his back, grinned.
“There, that’s much better. Let’s go!” he said, and proceeded to walk towards where Jiang Cheng was still standing.
Wei Ying would be lying to the world and himself if he didn’t take great pleasure in the look of constipated shock that transformed Jiang Cheng’s face at the sight of Lan Wangji sprawled hazardously on his back.
“You!…”
But he grinned happily as he slowly walked past. The stomping footsteps a moment later indicated that his brother had reluctantly decided to follow, and he relaxed in relief before quietly pulling out a paper man and sending it towards Wen Qing. Lan Zhan was panting, noticeable against his back no matter how much the stubborn Lan tried to hide it, and Wei Ying knew they must find a place to rest as soon as possible.
*****
Lullaby
Sparks rose from the fire, casting an orange glow over the small clearing as Wei Wuxian threw fresh twigs upon it. It was the dead of night. A crescent moon hung high in the sky and reflected silvery light that caught the leaves of the forest and washed over a figure wrapped in white robes nestled beneath a blanket. Wei Wuxian smiled at the sleeping form, affectionately noting the ruffled state of normally impeccable hair and slightly askew headband.
He stood and made his way around the fire, quietly bending down to adjust the band into its previous position. Lan Zhan let out a soft huff, before rolling over and resettling on his side, blankets tangling around him. Wei Wuxian smiled, smoothing out a few strands of hair, before straightening and stretching his back until it popped. The night was long, but so far no dangers had disturbed their restful peace.
Throwing some more twigs onto the fire, he absentmindedly twirled his flute in hand, eyeing the tree line for any sign of enemies.
As the night wore on into the early hours of the morning, Wei Wuxian began to doze lightly against a rock. The stars twinkled brightly in the sky and background wildlife provided a soothing lullaby to which he found his eyes growing heavy, which is why he almost didn’t hear the first call of his name. Blinking his eyes open, Wei Wuxian turned his head to where Lan Zhan was still sleeping. He was quiet, showing no signs of awakening.
Wei Wuxian frowned, but rested back against the rock nonetheless.
“Wei Ying!”
The cry cut through the night air and startled Wei Wuxian into standing.
“Lan Zhan?”
He stumbled a few paces and landed with a thud on his knees.
“Lan Zhan!”
Reaching forward, he placed a hand on a white-cloaked shoulder and gave a small shake. For Lan Zhan to roll over in his sleep, face pulled into an expression of pure agony, was not what Wei Wuxian had expected.
“Wei Ying!” The sound was broken, Lan Zhan’s voice tight and strained in a way it never was, throat convulsing in a harsh swallow.
“Lan Zhan! Lan Zhan, what’s wrong?” He shook Lan Zhan again, but when all he did was gasp, eyes shifting wildly beneath the lids, Wei Wuxian began to desperately run his hands along the other cultivator’s body, searching for any sign of a wound, poison, anything. But there was nothing.
“Wei Ying. Wei Ying…come back.”
Wei Wuxian’s movements froze.
“Please, Wei Ying. Where are you? Come back. Wei Ying!”
All the colour drained from Wei Wuxian’s face and Lan Zhan began to sob. Choked tears shuddered through the stoic cultivator’s form as he cried, wet tears running down his pale face.
“Wei Ying!”
Wei Wuxian startled into action at the desperation of the call and reached forward to grab Lan Zhan’s face.
“Lan Zhan! Lan Zhan, it’s me. I’m here. I’m right here, Lan Zhan. I’m alive, see?” He picked up one of Lan Zhan’s prone hands and lifted it to his face, spreading the fingers across his cheek. “See? Lan Zhan.”
“Wei Ying!” Lan Zhan tossed wildly, his chest shuddering in choked gasps. A bead of sweat began to form on his forehead.
Wei Wuxian stared as Lan Zhan’s hand dropped from his grasp and clung to the sleeping mat below him. The night sounds had quietened around them, startled by Lan Zhan’s cries. A cool breeze washed over the clearing, and Wei Wuxian shivered. Swallowing back his panic at Lan Zhan’s sobbing form, his hand closed around his flute in reflex. He paused. Turning around, he stared down at the instrument tucked neatly in his belt, and blinked. Shifting his gaze back to Lan Zhan, his mind turned. Making a decision, he pulled Chenqing from his belt. Settling down on his knees, he lifted the flute to his lips.
The first few notes were tentative, long, undecided in their course, but after those notes sounded and left the wake of their echo in the clearing, the rest began to flow.
The sound of the flute floated through the trees, becoming caught up in the breeze and filling the air with a soft melody. Wei Wuxian closed his eyes, as that melody turned into a familiar lullaby.
The sobs slowly began to lessen, and when Wei Wuxian opened his eyes again, Lan Zhan’s face had smoothed out, form seizing its thrashing. Wei Wuxian relaxed with relief, and he took a breath, before continuing his soothing tune.
He went on for some time, and when the last notes of the lullaby were played, he pulled Chenqing from his lips and sighed.
Lan Zhan was quiet, his breath rising and falling in even intervals, and the soft sounds of the wildlife had returned.
Smiling, Wei Wuxian reached forward and gently wiped the drying tears away with his thumb.
“Oh, Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan. Just what have you been through these past years? You don’t have to hide it from me, y’know. I’m right here, and I’ll always be here, for as long as I can.”
He reached for Lan Zhan’s hands from where they were no longer clenched in the linen, and folded them against his chest as the Lan usually wanted. Pulling the blankets up, he tucked them in around his shoulders, before leaning forward and placing a light kiss against the headband on his forehead.
Leaning back, he gave the sleeping Lan a fond but sad look, before turning around and sprawling at his side, staying close until the birds started their song and the sun began to peak gently over the horizon.
THANKS. i now also have chengxian clueless brainrot
It works so well though? The ex stepbrother, known him for years thing. One person is silly and frivolous and oblivious and the other is pining and grumpy about it. The short term crush that ends in a disastrous and regrettable attempted seduction.
Also Wen Ning is absolutely the new friend that Wei Wuxian decides to make cooler.
so I'm biased bc I never found the main pairing (wangxian) compelling and instead threw all my attention upon chengxian, but I found the romance to be secondary in mdzs. like when I was reading it, the murder mystery was the main plot, so to speak, and the themes of the story (reputation, society, castes, et cetera, these are just the ones that came to mind first) were emphasized more than the romance.
most love stories have the romance in the spotlight. I'd say the most popular english example would be romeo and juliet. the tension between the two families and all those other subplots were important to the story, but the romance was central. without the romance, there wouldnt have been a 'plot', if that makes sense.
mdzs could still have been a great story even if you took wangxian out of the equation and just made them friends or whatever bc the romance was secondary.
It is entirely your fault that I'm about to binge Merlin while stuck in quarantine hell. It's been years but your posts have reminded me that Merthur were my origins.
girl I have no idea what my aesthetic is but here’s my best attempt:
📚💉🍰🐚❄️
edit: i asked my friend and this was her response:
🧐😒🩱🎩🎓🥇♟💎📚📚🕙
✨- which fictional character (book, show, or movie) do you relate to most?
I don’t rlly relate to fictional characters that much? like I find some hot and some disgusting, but I don’t see ‘myself’ in any of them. I recently watched Jennifer’s Body, and I rlly liked Jennifer’s character if that counts?
vanilla, absolutely. I only like strawberries as the fruit. for ice cream, drink flavouring, etc, I’d definitely pick vanilla over strawberry.
🎂- if you had 3 wishes, what would they be?
hm, I suppose right now it would be for the pandemic to end, to get good grades in my classes, and for the ppl in power to do sth abt climate change and global warming etc. so that the world isn’t fucked up in a few decades.
💫- what is your sun, moon, and rising sign?
I have no idea what my moon and rising sign is and I’m too lazy to use one of those birth chart calculators but my sun sign is capricorn.
thanks for asking, @yeetlinglaozus! I only logged on now, so I hope you weren’t waiting too long on my answer lmao.
