#I just think Jiang Man deserves a cute fun date

[peachykoii]

Happy Birthday, Jiang Man!

🎂🎁🎂

031922

[feuqueerfire]

When I Fly Towards You Live Blogging

Need something cute and fun and happy to wash away the DFF tragedies and decided to watch this after I saw a few Tiktoks on this last night. The Tiktoks made me want to watch + it has a really high rating on MDL. I've never watched a het CDrama before (Stay With Me was the only CDrama I've watched + 2 bromance shorts) and they tend to be really long but this one is around SWM length (24 eps w 35min runtime).

Also, I find the male lead's demeanor/way of carrying himself really attractive lol and the female lead is round-ish face girl with black hair and bangs like ah my weakness

Ep 1 (Mar 13)

Another ill-advised time to start a new show, I have so much homework etc to catch up on.

seems like they don't know each other from the beginning? but she's into him lol

her name: Zaizai

oh, her diary. found by the dude

who is this guy who got mistaken as Zhang Lurang supposed to be? are they all gonna get detention together or smth and meet again?

his name: Zhang Lurang

oh lmfaoo Lurang's friend borrowing his books

so this is a new school and they're in grade 10, so did Zaizai and jiang jia (?) transfer in? It feels like maybe high school starts in grade 10 (searched it up and yes). that's also why many people don't know each other yet ig? though there are apparently at least 9 classes per grade so makes sense to not know e/o anyway

oh, her wallet, not her diary

omg she thinks Lurang's name is Guran

I forgot the dubbing kills me

she's so cute, already daydreaming about her and Guran.

they're going to the military base... the tiktok wouldn't already happen would it? I thought it happened after they started dating already

this show is funny heh

pls okay Enough with the mismatched names cuz when other people get involved I become nervous

Cute so far and funny, I hope the name thing gets cleared up soon

Ep 2 (Mar 13)

they do keep meeting each other

pls Lurang just not correcting Zai when she calls him Guran

Zaizai is literally so bold omg volunteering to sign a song in front of everybody + dedicating it to the boy she likes (even if she doesn't know his real name lol)

pls Lurang smiling while looking at Zai wanting to sing with Guran while knowing she means him... menace but he is endeared

Guran is kinda annoying, I think Jiang deserves somebody a little less annoying

ah not him using the "Run if it's raining. Fool" like that she used on him in their 1st encounter at the beginning of ep 1

lowkey also into Jiang and Zai yuri

not into Guran and Lurang yaoi cuz Guran irritates me

Zai is so cute "You're here alone. Do you need me to protect you?" says the one who's afraid of the dark

okay I could get into Jiang and Guran enemies-to-lovers if Guran stops being annoying

Zaizai is sooo cute also hah Lurang following behind her when he'd realized that Zai was scared lol but his nonchalant act is fun

Oh, is the year already over? They're in grade 10 and 16 years old here, does it follow them for a couple years? I know they apparently get married at the end

Ep 3 (Mar 14)

nvm still grade 10

usually in a hetship i like it when the guy likes her more (and that probably is gonna end up being the case here too lol) but i love how bold and proactive Zai is here! Like following Lurang is one thing but she’s also not shy about the fact that she was trying to fit into his ideal type (ahh his smile when she’s crying into her braids) and last ep when she was saying she’ll protect him and this ep paying for Lurang with her bus card ahh it’s cute idk

and then her speaking up when the man was being creepy and when Lurang asks, her being like yeah I was scared but I knew you’d back me up! and then Lurang being the one who gets shy saying he wouldn’t back her up and her being like but you diddd hehe

Ep 4 (Mar 14)

i remember the edit where Lurang is a bit mean to Zaizai and tells her to be quiet had comments about Lurang's step(?)-mother, so yeah ig she doesn't treat him well and compares him to her younger son

ahh they're gonna tutor each other yess

her tugging on his short sleeve is crazy woah i love hetshipping <3

Okay, yknow what Enough! Stand up Zaizai, how are you down bad enough for a teenage boy that you let him finish your whole food? esp one that's meat, i'd offer the guy and be waffling down the rest. He should buy her something now

okayy she at least got him to agree to treat her to a meal later

and Zaizai got him to smile in front of her + also getting his WeChat so true

loll Lurang literally seeing in slow motion when she shows up in casual non-uniform clothes

oh Lurang calling her Su-laoshi (Teacher Su) killed me omg

I guess the Class 1 girl (Ye Zhenxin) will end up being a problem? The one who made fun of Zaizai for being from a non-key class and now also has to stay behind for basketball?

okay fine the boys can defend the girls from the bullies and show off by beating them in basketball

Ep 5 (Mar 14)

At least the Guran and Jiajia misunderstanding got cleared up

hehe rain and umbrella scene

umbrella scene hehe ofc

nooo is Zhenxin gonna accuse Zaizai of stealing the money? Because she saw her treating people to snacks + saw her leave Class 1?

ahh Lurang coming to her defense

plss Lurang seeing her pretend cry with her friends through the window but thinking Zaizai crying for real

glad it got finished quickly within the episode

Ep 6 (Mar 15)

aouuu Lurang waiting for her

plsss not Guran overhearing Jiang Jia telling his doctor dad about her hair loss but thinking she is deathly ill or smth and confessing every time he's wronged her T.T silly af

does Guran's doctor father kinda ship him and Jiang Jia lol

omg a roundabout way of the "MC has love interest running errands for them" trope

heh here's the scene from the edit of Zaizai getting caught by Lurang cheering for another student by calling him "handsome, jjayo!"

Ep 7 (Mar 15)

Ah, Zaizai realizing Lurang's habit of rubbing his neck when he's shy/lies heh

pls not Zaizai's homeroom teacher Mr. Lin being Lurang's uncle

I don't fully understand why Zaizai was so nervous like it's not like she's nervous about the fact that she was studying alone with a guy in his home because she was fine and eager to see Lurang's uncle. Is it because Zaizai thought that Mr. Lin wondered if the two of them were dating that one time before?

the dancing after the play, are they trying to sell me on Guran and Lurang yaoi?

Ep 8 (Mar 15)

omg poor Jiang Jia with a period stain on her skirt but at least the nice girl told her

prince Lurang... I want to be you but also you're attractive

ah Guran fr has a crush on Jiang Jia fr

and yet helping her by letting Qianyu know that she brought all that food for him ah

I'm way more into Guran and Jiang Jia now than I was in the beginning

The grandma telling Guan Fang (?) that he doesn't have to be the focus and the center to shine :(

Ep 9 (Mar 15)

ahh can Lurang or Zaizai just confess like they know they like each otherrrr just date already and I have no hopes of even getting a kiss bc the wedding kiss from the starting credits seems like an angle kiss

omg?! not Zaizai saying she saw Lurang with the kid and saw them in 10 years, that's a crazy thing to say but if you can say that, why can't you confess properly and start dating T.T

ah 2012, end of the world

alksdfj not Lurang purposely making Zaizai jealous heh

hmm okay but spending most of the time with the girl when he knows Zaizai is sad/insecure is >:(

not Lurang's brain turning off practically when in the room alone with Zaizai and leaving ASAP

glad that ended well

Ep 10 (Mar 15)

ohh Guan Fang seemingly easy-going and bullyable but not actually

pls Enough funny misunderstandings for Guran where he's accidentally seen as the hero, i'm just not somebody who can handle the joke being that somebody sees himself as better than he is

omg D: randomly a touching story amidst the jovial mood so far

Ep 11 (Mar 16)

ah, they're apart for a month for New Year's break and Lurang's going back home instead of living with his uncle

loll Zaizai's reaction to Suyang

The way every child is Zaizai's nemesis lmfao

not the gaggle of gossipping aunts and uncles

Started doing 1.25x this ep or the previous ep because 1x was taking a long time rip

Ep 12 (Mar 16)

pls i too initially thought Guran was hiding porn

Aw, ep 10 about Guan Fang and this ep about Guran feeling neglected by his doctor parents who are heroes to other patients but leave him alone.

Are we gonna get smth about Jiang Jia in ep 14? And then delve more into Lurang afterwards? and possibly some Zaizai too? I wonder when the part where Lurang tells Zaizai to be quiet and then she avoids him is gonna happen

Ep 13 (Mar 16)

Guran is so obvious in his crush on Jiang Jia loll

ahh Lurang being jealous thinking it was Su Zaizai righting the love letter to someone, I love jealous Lurang

ohh the jealousy during pull-ups, this was in the edits

Guran, ow "it's not like you'll ever be [Qianyu] anyway"

Ep 14 (Mar 16)

I've really liked thus far how supportive Guran has been in Jiang Jia's crush on Qianyu, like telling her to confess and helping her and encouraging her even though he obviously doesn't want to because he likes her. He just wants her to be brave and chase what she wants. It's a very kind thing to do I guess because like I'm used to fuckass Han Seojun (True Beauty) type characters who insist their their female friend date them and not leave her alone until she does

Y'know idk why I thought it was his step-mother? Feels like I saw it in the comments of a real but I think it's his bio mother maybe since Lurang lives with her teacher brother

now Guran gonna get got by Jiang Jia apparently crying when she didn't cry

"Turns out the sun and sunflower shine for each other" is so true like the connection immediately makes me think of the sunflower facing the sun always but indeed the sun is also shining brightly for the sunflower, not a one-way relationship

Ep 15 (Mar 17)

girl why are we Singing?

ah, grade 11 begins

ouch, Guran always having to help Jiang Jia with Qianyu or the other way around

"Report to me if you notice anything" girl

bro the way we're having problems about Lurang and Zaizai dating or liking each other or spending time together or whatever at school but these fuckers aren't even properly dating yet T.T

omg D: is this gonna be the start of Lurang telling Zaizai to be quiet but she's gonna be hurt?

aww poor Zaizai who was already facing the rumour that she's some girl who's bothering key-class-Lurang and now Lurang being rude to her

Ep 16 (Mar 17)

immediately started this new ep, which doesn't happen with this show usually because the eps tend to end well but i'm too into the angst rn, I've been looking forward to it since the edits

but Lurang's not the one who told them about the transfer D: T.T

and omg Lurang's so bad at speaking too

I'll guess that this guy is her cousin or smth?

lolll not him fueling the fire talking about how he didn't tell an annoying girl in the next class about his transfer

indeed he's her cousin

ahh Zaizai getting Lurang to act cute for her

So, Lurang's brother is younger than him but is gonna be doing grade 12 test even though he's in grade 11? i'm confused girl

oh I see, he's a 10th grade age in 12th grade

aghhh like I can understand Lurang's frustration esp since he's a teenager but also Luli is also just 16 and in a new place where he only knows his brother and is also the focus of gossip even though they're praising him T.T I hope they become closer or at least more friendly :(

bruh, call Lurang to let them know that Luli's been found

Oh man, the bias and favouritism is wayyyy too much fr

I can handle this much tragic backstory for a male love interest like it's sad but not like every tragedy piled on

Ep 17 (Mar 17)

aw he's really leaving for a year :(

I really don't fully get what the status of this relationship is cuz she's saying happy 1 year anniversary lol like they both know they're lowkey in a relationship but they just... don't Talk about it I guess?

Ep 18 (Mar 17)

plss not the girl thinking Zaizai edited the pic of her and Lurang lmfaoo but at least Zaizai's happy and excited knowing he doesn't accept gifts from girls or anything

"Let's not give up on our dreams for the other" so true

I read a comment that said the grandma will be okay so that's good

Ep 19 (Mar 18)

I'll be honest, it's kinda hard for me to keep picking up this show cuz I just wanna watch a BL with dubcon/weird/uncomfortable dynamics instead.

ah, so they're talking about Confessing now like girl I wish I knew why your situationship is like this

pls not Lurang being like hmm Su zaizai, act normal *nods nods*

plsss not her signalling by saying my parents want me to get married at 30, so much get engaged by 29, should meet my partner's parents by 28 and need to have dated 10 years for that, so I need to start dating at 18

this tarot reading lmfao

bruh not the Guran and Jiang Jia

ahh confession finally and a cute one too hehe

hug !!!

oof, Guran leaving fr

Ep 20 (Mar 18)

ahh that's not even a kiss but so true i'm giggling

omgg a kiss hehehe esp bc Lurang learned copy-and-paste

Doraemon reference

Ah, she said "Rang-rang, you're the best" and it sounds like ZB1 Zhang Hao's name

ahhh no way both Lurang and the senior tried to say "here" for Su Zaizai to cover for her absence byeee

but i do like it when either of them get jealous cuz it's like cute but not Too Much lol

This ep had the military scenes from the tiktok that I'd watched. Also had the fantasy of everybody finding out that the FL is dating the cool handsome ML which is fun, we love.

Ep 21 (Mar 18)

and Zaizai cleverly letting the senior know that she has a boyfriend

why is there no fucking music during their kiss scenes is it because of youtube? is there music on Viki?

Ah, there is indeed music in the Viki version, I'll just continue watching that one

hah paying rent for staying in Zaizai's heart via kisses

Okayyy now it's Lurang's turn to have somebody interested in him while perhaps Zaizai is a bit jealous hehe, though I hope this girl also ends up bowing out gracefully like Zaizai's senior and less like the catty girl from high school

smh the girls in these really are Very Meddling huh? i guess there's appeal in that too even if I'm not super into it

loll saw these moments in tiktoks too

I really like it when Lurang sometimes widens his eyes when looking at Zaizai in a teasing way

Zaizai's parents are sooo funny lol

Ep 22 (Mar 19)

"You match my bed so well" while sitting him on the bed and grabbing his face like this, oh Su Zaizai you get me

dang, we've gotten multiple kisses and an allusion to sex and they also live together, idk why I expected it to be more chaste. Ig since they started out in high school + literally didn't start Dating until graduation, I thought it'd remain that way. obviously it's still not hot and heavy or anything and the kissing scenes are just closed lips pressed together but still

Did Lurang just notice Jiang Jia and Guran tension or did Guran tell him?

i don't remember who this Wan Nan is unfortunately lmfao I thought the senior that Jiang Jia liked was the prince charming in Cinderella play but maybe not who knows

had to pause to scream a little at the boss touching Zaizai's hand/leg >:(

Let's kill this boss wtf

Ep 23 (Mar 19)

my poor Su Zaizai, I hate this evil boss man >:(

ah Guran having to be told by somebody else that Jiang Jia likes him while Jiang Jia also never made a move despite thinking that Guran probably maybe likes her

Ep 24 (Mar 19)

last ep

man I'm gonna stop being practical or thinking because the thought of Lurang buying a house By Himself for them to live in just gave me the ick like why...?

ahhh proposal so cuteee also interesting to see a proposal that's not "Will you marry me?" "Yes" "yay she said yes!" even though the beats are the same

oh, scandelous, Lurang opened like one shirt button and slipped the sleeve off of Zaizai's shoulder lol

ahhh the wedding cuteee

Su Zaizai angry face and then biting Luran's arm heh

oh they're having a baby

ahh, them in their school uniforms again from the last scene, sooo cute

Overall:

This isn't the show's fault at all but I think I'm just in the mood for a BL, so occasionally I'll think of just pausing the show to watch a BL in the middle lol or to go watch some BL edits (esp because I'm using this fluffy cuteness to try to get over Dead Friend Forever TeeWhite tragedy). This doesn't tend to happen when I'm actually watching the show because for more of the eps, I'm watching it like :D ^.^ :) :> happy smiles and giggles, so it's not the show's fault but rather me craving some yaoi cuz it took like a week to watch this lol

This was so cute, I liked the characters and their characterizations, I liked the friend group (more than I thought I would at first bc I was annoyed by Guran in the beginning), I liked their romance. I liked how they were mutually helping each other achieve their goals and paths in life. It was just cute. They had a 1 year long-distance thing in the middle where they were obviously sad but they got through it. I like that they trusted each other and liked each other and were nice to each other. Su Zaizai and Lurang, you're so cute!

Love that so much of this was them while in a relationship! Like they were in a "kinda relationship but we don't talk about it or define" for a while there during high school but even after officially becoming a couple after graduation, there are many eps of them in uni and at jobs and such. I love an established relationship situation and this delivered (want this for my BLs so bad). They got through situations together, no unnecessary breakup or terrible miscommunication, ah just feel good and cute but entertaining without becoming a bore.

It's just good and cute and endearing. Liked it. I don't necessarily think I'll think about them a whole lot, especially because everything is wrapped up so nicely, but I think the show did a lot of things well.

Rating: 6.5/10 [May 12, 2024 Update: Decreased by 0.5 stars when rerating shows I've watched in 2024: 7 -> 6.5]

Tiktoks - Before watching:

Saw this Tiktok edit while going through an account for TeeWhite (DFF) edits and

the most popular Tiktok of this show made me wanna watch

+ this one like omg idk why I’m so excited to see him get jealous/grovel I don’t know this man

Okay wait I saw this (pretend crush) on a reel before, I didn’t know this was from the same drama, no wonder the name seemed familiar.

[littlemdzsdump]

instantaneous gratification

or someone wishes for cuddles...

~

Lan Xichen had always known that his boyfriend hadn't ever been the most...cuddliest of boyfriends. He’d been good friends with Jiang Cheng for longer than they had been dating, and had known his family even longer than that! 

Yet, out of all the years that they had racked up together, the times that he’s even hugged Jiang Cheng could be counted between his two hands. 

Lan Xichen began dating the younger man, he knew what he was signing up for. 

Jiang Cheng was a tsundere cool boy ™, but the older Lan wasn’t going to lie to himself when he thought that there would be even a little bit of a change. 

They’ve only been dating a little over two years now; and if it weren’t for their activities in the bedroom, Lan Xichen would have to constantly remind himself that they weren’t just friends anymore.

It brings him to his current dilemma now, sat (nearly sprawled) on the sofa beside his boyfriend with no cuddles, whatsoever. Jiang Cheng sits beside him on the small dorm couch, eyes solely focused on his textbook. Sure, Lan Xichen knew that the younger man had a test coming up and they’ve never been super cuddly anyways. But—Lan Xichen changes his position on the couch—why couldn’t Jiang Cheng just pay attention to him.

Sometimes, Lan Xichen wonders if he is even jealous of his younger brother’s relationship. Though he dismisses that though quickly, not daring to hope for a relationship like theirs. He, personally, doesn’t feel like he has enough stamina for the dynamics of their relationship anyways.

At least they get cuddles, Lan Xichen thinks to himself. Most of the time when he’s seen Wei Wuxian with his younger brother there’s always some form of contact between them. Whether it be hand holding, lap sitting or even kissy faces (kissy faces!; Lan Xichen couldn’t believe it sometimes) 

Wangxian was known for their PDA.

The thought of cuddles elicits a sigh from the older man.

Lan Xichen’s too busy staring despondently towards the kitchen to notice Jiang Cheng look over at him. The younger man quickly looks back down to his notes when he sees that Lan Xichen stays quiet. There’s the thawp of the pages flipping for company instead of words. And only when Jiang Cheng hears another sigh for the third time in a row does he finally look over at Lan Xichen.

His eyes land on the older man sitting in a funny position, head leaning on his crossed arms on the back of the couch. Lan Xichen doesn’t even seem to be looking at anything in particular. Though his pout is hard to miss.

“Hey, anything new?” Jiang Cheng tries. But he’s just talking to the older man’s back at this point. For some odd reason, it seems that Jiang Cheng had suddenly become the victim to Lan Xichen’s cold shoulder. 

The younger male stares at the other man’s broad shoulders, thinking deeply about what he could have possibly done prior to deserve this kind of treatment. It wasn’t any special day today, Jiang Cheng would know. And he’s really just been stressing about his upcoming finals too much. Really, Jiang Cheng was at a very big loss.

And when Jiang Cheng hears the fifth sigh, it ends being a shared one between the two of them. At the sound of his sigh, Lan Xichen turns around from the couch to stare at his boyfriend. Jiang Cheng’s just happy that he’s finally got the older man’s attention.

“Are you making fun of me now?” Lan Xichen asks, sulky voice breaking through his usually calm demeanor. 

Definitely, not the way that I wanted his attention, Jiang Cheng thinks to himself before trying to form words to salvage the situation. 

“Of course not, but you’re making that face” Jiang Cheng replies, closing his textbook in his lap. (he’d done more than enough studying for now)

“What face?” Lan Xichen asks; Jiang Cheng can’t tell if his boyfriend is genuinely confused or just in denial.

“The face. The one you make when you want something,” Jiang Cheng replies with a smile that grows wider at Lan Xichen’s surprised spluttering. 

“What? No. I’m perfectly content” Lan Xichen quickly denies, even as his eyebrows are sort of knitted together in that cute way that Jiang Cheng always noticed.

“Really? Perfectly content people pout?” Jiang Cheng teases. A laugh bubbles out of him at Lan Xichen’s face, but it quickly quietens at the way that Lan Xichen sinks into the couch with another sigh again. Jiang Cheng tries to level his face into a more serious look. Perhaps...perhaps he’d made the older man misinterpret him somehow...or he was being insensitive-

“Why don’t you ever give me cuddles,” Lan Xichen mumbles out from beside him. Jiang Cheng quirks a disbelieving ear at him, followed by a ‘huh’ because he for sure didn’t hear what his boyfriend just said-

“I want cuddles,” Lan Xichen says and proceeds to nearly kick off Jiang Cheng’s (rather expensive) textbook and plop himself right where he is supposed to belong. Jiang Cheng gets a lapful of Lan Xichen’s legs and an armful of his boyfriend’s torso when he leans in to wrap his arms around Jiang Cheng’s neck. Jiang Cheng manages to stutter out a laugh at him, he still can’t believe this. Lan Xichen leans down, burying his nose into the juncture between Jiang Cheng’s neck and shoulders. Jiang Cheng’s hands come up to wrap around him naturally.

“If you wanted cuddles you could have just asked,” Jiang Cheng tells him, hand coming up to play with the short strands by the other man’s neck.

“Thought you didn’t like them so I didn’t want to,” Lan Xichen replies into Jiang Cheng’s skin. Jiang Cheng just shakes his head, presses a kiss against Lan Xichen’s temple and gets into a more comfortable position on the couch.

“I wouldn’t mind anything with you,” 

[trensu]

Episode 29: The One where WWX is the Grandmaster of Self-Loathing and It Kills Me

~THEIR SONG~ IS PLAYING IN THE BACKGROUND ALREADY

WHICH MEANS WE’RE STARTING THE EPISODE WITH QUALITY WANGXIANTICS

Actually the whole episode has High Quality wangxiantics and then it guts you with depressing feelings ahahaha 

bc apparently we’re not allowed to have nice things without Suffering™

So they’re sharing a meal at some meal-selling place in Yiling (idk guys, is it a winehouse? a teahouse?? An inn??? DOESN’T MATTER)

Lwj and wwx are sitting on either side of the table looking somber

I guess they’re feeling awkward maybe??

Idk why, it’s weird

A-Yuan starts frolicking around lwj and wwx gets all antsy about it

He’s all hey, stop bothering lan zhan, come here!

And A-Yuan is all like, NO, I DON’T WANNA and clambers oNTO LWJ’S LAP

IT’S TOO ADORABLE

Wwx starts to scold him but lwj is like NO NO, THIS IS FINE

Wwx teases a-yuan

He’s all, oh, i see how it is, you’ll just chuck me to the side for anyone who’s willing to buy you stuff, huh?

Like i said before, a-yuan is a smart cookie

Then a-yuan takes a seat and goes to town on a bowl of soup.

I understand, a-yuan, i love soup too.

And then he calls wwx to get his attention SO HE CAN SPOON-FEED HIM A BIT OF HIS SOUP AND IT’S TOO CUTE 

Wwx is like, oh, so you DO still love me!

Lwj watches this go down and then informs A-Yuan very somberly of the lan fam rule “no talking during meals”

That’s RIGHT

LWJ JUST DAD’D THE HECK OUT OF HIM

A-yuan continues to chow down on his food but definitely stops talking

Wwx is offended and aghast that a-yuan obeys lwj so easily and he complains to lwj that he has to repeat himself SEVERAL TIMES before a-yuan listens to him

Lwj: silence during meals. You too.

Wwx just smiles at the ridiculous rule and continues talking

Wwx: you haven’t changed one bit. 

Wwx: you know, i know my way around this town, i can be your tour guide!!

Lwj pointedly does not take him up on his offer AND I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHY, IT’S NOT LIKE HE DOESN’T WANT TO SPEND EVERY WAKING MOMENT WITH WWX ANYWAY

Wwx: lan zhan, you’re a terrible liar. You aren’t in town for me, are you?

And still lwj doesn’t respond??? 

IT’S BECAUSE OF THAT STUPID LAN FAM RULE, ISN’T IT??

TALK TO YOU SOULMATE, DAMN IT

WHO CARES IF YOU’RE HAVING A MEAL WHILE YOU’RE AT IT

Wwx: you know, i was gonna invite you over to my place but if you’re just gonna nag at me about my demonic cultivation and how i should meditate or whatever, then forget about it

Wwx: i can control myself! I don’t need anyone to save me.

Lwj: wei ying

Wwx: lan zhan, i finally bump into someone i know who doesn’t try to avoid me...it’s been a boring couple of months, why don’t you tell me about any big events happening?

Lwj: what do you mean by big events?

Wwx: idk, like if there’s any new clans or if any clans expanded or made new alliances...just chit chat! Anything is fine.

Lwj: a marriage

Wwx: a marriage? Which clans? 

he sounds so excited to get some juicy gossip here

It’s not gonna last long

Lwj: the jin clan and jiang clan

Wwx: do you mean my sister---Lady Jiang and Jin Zixuan?

Oh god it HURTS

He corrected himself when he called jyl his sister

BECAUSE HE’S NOT PART OF THEIR CLAN ANYMORE

And then he plasters on a smile TO HIDE HOW HURT HE IS THAT THIS IS ALL HAPPENING WITHOUT HIM and asks when the wedding will be

WHICH TURNS OUT TO BE TWO WEEKS AWAY

And his face iS ALL SAD AND HE’S STILL TRYING TO MUSTER UP SMILES 

He’s all, such a big event and jc didn’t even try to tell me about it!

Wwx: even if he told me about it, what could i do then? I defected officially and have no ties to them. What could i do if he had told me?

Wwx: *chugs wine*

Alcohol, wwx, we’ve talked about the alcohol thing. Please stop drinking.

LWJ CAN’T EVEN LOOK AT HIM RIGHT NOW BC HIS SOULMATE IS HURTING AND THERE’S NOTHING HE CAN DO TO MAKE IT BETTER

Wwx: lan zhan, what do you think about this marriage? Oh, right, you don’t care about this sort of thing.

Wwx: i know everyone says that my sister doesn’t deserve jzx, but in MY eyes, that peacock doesn’t deserve her! 

He slams down his wine jar and his voice gets all upset 

And little a-yuan reaches out and grabs wwx’s wrist TO COMFORT HIM, PRECIOUS DARLING BABY

Wwx: She deserves the best man in the world!! JC and i promised her a grand wedding that would be remembered forever!! No other wedding would compare!!

Wwx: and it doesn’t even matter because i won’t be able to go anyway.

AND HE HAS THE SADDEST SMILE ON HIS FACE 

Obviously he takes another swig of wine here because alcohol makes everything better in wwx’s book, which is a lie but since when does anyone listen to me

Lwj: wei ying

And lwj was about to say something else but they get interrupted by wwx’s home alarm talisman informing him that’s something going down in the burial mounds

So wwx grabs a-yuan and dashes out the door

Lwj is quick enough on his feet to remember to pay for the meal and grab a-yuan’s toys (very important, very important, it’s why a-yuan likes him right now) and then follows wwx

Wwx: lan zhan, why are you following us??

Lwj: wei ying, where’s your Magic Ghostbusting Sword?

Wwx: uhhhh...i forgot it at home?

Lol, lwj doesn’t even bother to respond to that. He just grabs a-yuan and runs with wwx all the way back to the burial mounds

OH NO, THERE’S RESENTFUL ENERGY EVERYWHERE BEATING PEOPLE UP AND MAKING A MESS OF THINGS

Holy crap, wwx does this really impressive Dramatic Twirl and magically slams the resentful energy away

HE’S SUCH A BADASS

IT’S ALL IN THE ~TWIRL~ BABY

Lwj hands a-yuan off to granny while wwx gets the low-down

Turns out Wen Ning sort of woke up but is not, like, all there or smth idk

It’s sad seeing wen ning all violent and mean like this when he’s such a gentle soul :(

ON THE PLUS SIDE, we get to see wwx and lwj work together to save him!!

Surprisingly, the flying here is not super cringey, it’s only mildly awful

LWJ HAS GOT HIS GUQIN OUT AND PROCEEDS TO GUQIN THE HECK OUT OF WEN NING

Also, i love how it kind of looks like he “powers up” his guqin attack by making that circular motion over the strings? The accompanying music from that motion really makes it seem like it’s charging up. I like it.

While lwj is guqin’ing wen ning to stay in one place, wwx goes ninja-fast and slaps like, ALL the talismans on wen ning and activates them simultaneously

And between the two of them, they manage to save wen ning from being a mindless zombie forever!! I mean, he’s still a zombie but he’s got his mind back! EVERYONE’S REALLY HAPPY, INCLUDING ME.

Wwx to wen ning: how are you feeling?

Wn: i feel like crying

LOL ME TOO WN THAT’S USUALLY HOW I FEEL LIKE WHEN PEOPLE ASK ME THAT

Wn: ...but i can’t

Oh.

I take back my lol

Not being able to cry when you want to is actually super depressing.

Lwj: you did it *is impressed*

Wwx: of course! I’m a man of my word. Hey, since you’re already here, why don’t you visit for a bit?

Cut to wwx and lwj walking into the cave that wwx calls home

Lwj: ...it’s called the demon-subdue palace?

Wwx: YEP! I named it myself!!

Wwx: now, i know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking it’s a terrible name, BUT THAT’S WHERE YOU’RE WRONG

Wwx: see, i know everyone thinks i’m, like, evil or whatever and this is the place i sleep most often. 

Wwx: a cave with a demonic man lying down in it all the time? Of course it should be called demon-subdue palace lololol

Me: *facepalm* stop….stop naming things, wwx.

Wwx: let me show you around!

I would like to point out that they walk past the ONE BED in the cave to start the tour

This ONE BED in this SPECIFIC CAVE has featured in many a wonderful fic! And should continue to feature in many more wonderful fics

Wwx: this here is my Blood Pool! It’s where i heal up and buff my stats, just like you have your Cold Spring! Except mine has water that smells like blood and comes out of that creepy giant stone face thing

Lwj looks rightfully concerned

And also, i am offended on his behalf that wwx would compare this creepy ass pool to the cold spring. How very dare.

Oh man, they’re about to have a Serious Conversation

BUT IT’S BETTER THAN THEIR LAST SERIOUS CONVERSATION

Because this time they actually talk things out

(see, lwj can learn from his mistakes!)

Lwj: wei ying...can you really control it?

Wwx: control what? Wen ning? Of course I can! Look at him, he’s all better!

Lwj: what if he loses himself again?

Wwx: i’m a pro at handling his rampages now. As long as i have Plot Device 2, nothing will happen to him!

Lwj: but what if something happens to you or Plot Device 2?

Wwx: it won’t

Lwj: how can you be sure?

Wwx: it won’t and it can’t!

Lwj: you want to keep it this way from now on?

Wwx: what’s wrong with that? Don’t underestimate this land! It’s bigger than YOUR land and the food here tastes better too!

Lwj: wei ying, you know what i mean

Wwx: lan zhan, i’m trying to avoid the topic and you keep talking about it!!

Then their Serious Conversation gets derailed bc wwx starts coughing. Which might not seem like a big deal but it is

Lwj: your injuries…

And here lwj grabs at wwx’s wrist but wwx yanks it back real fast

Bc the wrist is where they check for spiritual energy or smth and we all know wwx doesn’t have that anymore, since he GAVE UP HIS GOLDEN CORE

Wwx: no need. Why use spiritual energy for such a small wound. I can just sit here and let it heal on its own

LOL, WE’RE GETTING A FUN BIT HERE TO MAKE UP FOR ALL THAT SERIOUS STUFF BEFORE

Wen Qing walks in and is all, what, my badass doctor skills aren’t good enough for you? I could totally heal you

Wwx: what are you doing here interrupting my date with lwj. Are you done crying already?

Wq: i’ll make you cry

Wwx: pffft, yeah right

Wq: *goes and hits wwx in the back*

Wwx: *coughs up blood*

Yeahhh, i wouldn’t want to go toe-to-toe with wen qing unless she asked me to and then i would happily do whatever she wanted

Wwx: you’re so cruel! *swoons like some maiden*

Lwj: wei ying! *catches him all gallantly*

WWX YOU LITTLE FAKER, YOU JUST WANTED LWJ TO HOLD YOU

And we know this bc wen qing pulls out her Very Scary Medical Needles and wwx wisely RUNS AWAY even tho he was all “passed out” two seconds before

And after that fun bit, the show makes me sad about tea somehow. I don’t even like tea.

Wwx is all, wen ning, why are you serving our guest water?? How embarrassing, go get the tea!

And wen ning is all, but there’s no tea??

Then wwx is like, well we gotta get tea for next time we have guests

There’s a hella awkward pause

Wwx: that’s right, we won’t have any more guests…

THIS STUPID SHOW IS GIVING ME FEELINGS ABOUT TEA

MY ONE TEA OBSESSED FRIEND HAS BEEN TRYING TO MAKE ME FEEL STUFF FOR TEA FOR YEARS WITH NO SUCCESS

AND THIS, LIKE, TWO MINUTE SCENE MADE ME SAD ABOUT TEA

Anyway.

We cut to the next scene which has wwx walking lwj out of the burial mounds and we’re getting another Serious Conversation

Wwx: lan zhan, you asked me if i intended to keep things the way they are now. Tbh, i also would like to know what else i could do besides this.

Wwx: give up my crafty tricks and turn over Plot Device 2? What happens to the Wens? Do i turn them in? I can’t do that.

Wwx: i believe if you were me, you wouldn’t be able to do that either

WHY IS HE SUCH A GOOD PERSON. WWX IS BETTER THAN ALL THE OTHER CULTIVATORS PUT TOGETHER

Wwx: can anyone give me any better options? One where i can protect those i want to protect without using demonic cultivation?

He says this so passionately. HE JUST WANTS TO PROTECT PEOPLE. HE’S WILLING TO DO OTHER THINGS IF IT MEANS HE CAN STILL PROTECT PEOPLE BUT HE CAN’T!!! AND I AM DISTRESSED.

Lwj doesn’t say anything in response.

He knows wwx is right and there’s nothing he can do to make things better for him

Wwx: lan zhan, thank you for your company today. And thank you for telling me about my sister’s wedding

HE SAYS THIS WITHOUT LOOKING AT LWJ AND HE LOOKS LIKE EVERY WORD HIS HURTING HIM BECAUSE THEY’RE ALL WORDS HE’S USING TO SAY GOODBYE AND HE DOESN’T WANT TO SAY GOODBYE TO LWJ.

And before i can start crying, A-Yuan appears to make me feel better!!!

He’s latched onto lwj’s leg again (bc i mean, honestly, who wouldn’t??)

And he’s asking lwj to stay for dinner!!

Wwx: a-yuan come here. Lan zhan has his own food at home. He won’t be eating with us here.

A-yuan: but i heard a secret! I heard there was going to be lots of tasty food today!

Wwx scolds a-yuan for half a second before turning to look at lwj WITH THE MOST HOPEFUL EXPRESSION ON HIS FACE

HE WANTS LAN ZHAN TO STAY FOREVER FOR DINNER TOO

But for some unfathomable reason lwj looks at a-yuan and says that he is leaving.

WHY

YOU WANT TO STAY THERE TOO

WHY MUST YOU TWO MAKE THINGS SO DIFFICULT FOR ME YOURSELVES

Wwx gives this stiff, sharp nod like, yeah, of course of course, i knew that, this doesn’t kill me inside AT ALL

Lwj walks off and wwx + a-yuan make their way towards the burial mounds

A-yuan: will the rich man ever visit us again?

Wwx: what rich man?

A-yuan: the one from just now!

Wwx yoinks the toy butterfly from a-yuan’s hand here

Wwx: you really like him that much, don’t you?

And he holds the toy out of reach and teases him

A-yuan: give it back! He bought that for me

Wwx: no! I won’t give it back until you say i’m your favorite

And this entire adorable scene is being watched by lwj who is just a ways away 

I’d say he’s lurking like a creeper, but Hanguang-jun is too honorable and handsome to be called a creeper by anyone ever. 

BUT he is lurking. 

He looks all solemn

A-yuan tells wwx what he wants to hear and gets his toy back.

Unfortunately wwx’s distraction tactic didn’t work

A-yuan: so will the rich man come back or not?

Wwx: probably not

A-yuan: Why??

Wwx: there’s no reason why. In this world, everyone has their own paths to walk.

A-yuan: oooh

Lol, he nods like yeah, i totally understand what you’re telling me bc i’m a big kid who can know things. HOW CUTE!

AND HERE WE GET THAT QUOTE. THAT IMPORTANT ONE. THE ONE THAT IS LATER USED AS A PUBLIC LOVE CONFESSION.

Wwx: who needs the crowded, broad avenue? I’ll stick to my single-log bridge until it’s dark.

Lwj is still here, watching. And he hears wwx say this.

Lwj doesn’t turn to walk away for real until wwx and a-yuan are out of sight

HE WANTED TO SEE THEM FOR AS LONG AS HE COULD

I’M TOTALLY NOT TORN UP ABOUT THIS

I’M CHILL AND COLLECTED FOR REAL

Then we cut to wwx arriving back at the demon-subdue palace where there’s a surprise dinner party!! 

AND A-YUAN GETS SO ADORABLY EXCITED OVER THE ABUNDANCE OF FOOD, I LOVE IT SO MUCH i get excited about food too, a-yuan!!

This whole thing here is very sweet and this is when we really see wwx accept the wens as his family rather than as his moral obligation

As the @theuntamednarrator said, they gave him homemade liquor! That’s the one guaranteed way to our sunshine boy’s heart!!

It’s all super sweet, like i said, until wwx gets himself plastered. Then it takes a turn towards the Hella Depressing. 

I really want to skip over it because it really is HELLA DEPRESSING AND STILL MAKES ME LEGIT CRY ACTUAL TEARS EVERY TIME I WATCH IT 

but i can’t because it’s got some wangxiantics and this is a wangxiantics guide

So everyone at the dinner party drinks until they pass out, basically. 

Except for wen qing, who is completely sober, and wwx who is an alcoholic with an inhumanly high tolerance apparently

He’s all flushed and red-eyed tho

Wwx: wen qing, the first time i saw Lan Zhan was when i snuck Emperor’s Smile into the Cloud Recesses

He laughs here, remembering; it’s all cute here for a bit.

Wwx: it’s too bad you didn’t see his face, his stony face...but the emperor’s smile is really good. I wonder if i’ll ever get a chance to drink it again

And his entire demeanor changes here. He started out more or less cheerfully reminiscing about his first meeting with lwj but in that last bit his whole posture droops and he gets the saddest look on his face

Wen qing notices this, but is kind enough to pretend not to by focusing on wiping down that table.

Wwx: i’m a good for nothing

OH GOD

Wwx: i promised my sister i would help her hold the most splendid wedding in the world

FUCK, HERE COME MY TEARS

And wen qing fucking freezes here eVEN SHE KNOWS THIS IS GONNA HURT

Wwx: but now, i can’t even attend the wedding

Wwx: i’m completely useless, i am completely useless

SHIT, GOD DAMN IT, I DON’T FUCKING WANT TO CRY WHERE ARE THE GOD DAMN TISSUES 

Wwx: i am completely useless

HAVE MERCY, HAVE MERCY ON MY POOR HEART, JESUS FUCKING CHRIST

So while i’m fucking sobbing out every ounce of moisture in my body, we cut to the cloud recesses and we see lwj kneeling in front of a set of closed doors

(we’re not going to dwell too long on that because i’m already in fucking shambles from two seconds ago and i can’t handle any more Family-Related Sadness right now)

He’s on his knees, with his arms outstretched holding two long, heavy bamboo sticks

There are disciples scurrying around and avoiding the scene, like oh shit, better not get in the middle of that

Lwj’s head is ever so slightly bowed, still as a statue, and completely blankfaced

And we get ~their song~ BUT WITH VOCALS THIS TIME

THE FIRST TIME WE HEAR THE VOCALS WITHIN THE SHOW

YOU KNOW

THE VOCALS THAT ARE SUNG BY THE ACTORS PLAYING OUR BELOVED LWJ AND WWX???

YEAH

THOSE VOCALS

BECAUSE I WASN’T FEELING ENOUGH INTENSE EMOTION YET

The scene starts off in the daylight and we see him enduring this punishment 

HOURS go by bc it’s dark and there’s a good inch of snow accumulated around him by the time some random lan cultivator dismisses him

Lwj gets up GRACEFULLY (bc that is his default mode, i guess?? HOW??) and there’s a literal patch on the ground completely devoid of snow bc that’s how long and still he kneeled there for, holy shit.

And he walks away calmly

There’s no more wangxiantics in this episode

But show-runners decided they didn’t want to COMPLETELY DESTROY OUR SOULS just yet so they give us an anticlimactic but kind of cute ending to the episode 

We get to see that there are “yiling patriarch disciples” who are actually frauds in terrible cosplay trying to sell mediocre talismans at high prices

and wwx is all “who the heck are these guys, wait, i don’t actually care”

We get to see that the wens are slowly starting to prosper in their little corner of the burial mounds

Also, somebody built a shrine and left food offerings at the entrance to the burial mounds?? Which, hey, wwx doesn’t say no to free food and neither do i because what kind of crazy person turns down free food??

And, i mean, that’s basically it?? Like i said super anticlimactic

SO WHO ELSE HERE IS SITTING IN A PUDDLE OF TEARS NOW? ANYBODY?? ANYBODY???? PLEASE DON’T LEAVE ME CRYING BY MYSELF, THAT WOULD BE PATHETIC, I CAN’T HELP IT IF I HAVE A HEART FULL OF FEELINGS

Return to Masterpost

[bettydice]

(Planning the Day) To Meet You

Wangxian, Modern AU, Slow Burn, E-Rated

[Read on AO3]

Chapter 10

As far as love confessions go, Wei Wuxian has thoroughly fucked this one up.

1. He didn’t actually confess.

2. The man he wanted to confess to is currently sleeping, head resting on top of his dining table, after downing three shots, frowning hard at Wei Wuxian for thirty seconds, and announcing “Wei Ying. Tired. Good night.”

Wei Wuxian blames this on several things. First, Lan Zhan had shown up looking incredibly handsome. Sure, he’s always handsome, every second of every day, but today it was even worse. And he’d greeted Wei Wuxian with this barely there smile, radiating a fondness Wei Wuxian still isn’t used to having directed at him - so really, nobody can blame him for losing track of his plan for a minute or an hour.

The second thing is, maybe, that Wei Wuxian didn’t actually have a plan, per se. He knew he wanted to tell Lan Zhan “I’m in love with you, please be my boyfriend” without actually saying any of these words. Terribly uncreative and clichée, and not even the hint of a joke to counteract the sincerity? The thought alone is mortifying. So he decided to wing it, because the more he tried to think about what to say, the more his inner voice insisted that there were no words that could justify him burdening Lan Zhan with this embarrassingly huge mountain of feelings Wei Wuxian has been carrying around.

Which leads to the third thing, which is, according to Wen Qing, his “crippling self-worth issues”, and according to Jiejie his “disbelief that good things can happen to you”. Which… hm. Maybe there’s a kernel of truth somewhere, but also - hey!

He does think Lan Zhan can do better. Wei Wuxian is nothing but a messy ball of chaos, family issues, a criminal record because he was young and stupid and not yet the brilliant hacker he thought he was, abandonment issues and the occasional month or two of insomnia. And his Lan Zhan is just… so good.

A lock of hair has fallen across Lan Zhan’s face and moves every time Lan Zhan breathes out. Wei Wuxian smiles and gently tucks it behind Lan Zhan’s ear.

“Lan Zhan, what do you want me to do, when you’re this cute?”

Maybe Lan Zhan deserves better, but Wen Qing was also right when she said, brandishing a large kitchen knife (either for the vegetables or as a threat or both): “Lan Wangji surely deserves to voice his own opinion on the matter and if he wants to be with you, don’t deny him that just because you’re scared. And an idiot.”

Lan Zahn should have everything he wants in life, and if for some lucky reason this includes Wei Ying, he should do his best to make sure Lan Zahn doesn’t regret liking him.

So, he’ll confess and tell Lan Zhan that he, Wei Wuxian, is ready to commit to whatever level of commitment Lan Wangji is comfortable with. It’s the least he can do.

Well. First, Lan Zhan has to wake up from his drunken slumber.

“Lan Zhan.” Wei Wuxian softly strokes his cheek and then starts poking it, when there’s no reaction. “Lan Zhannnnnnnnnnn.”

Nope, nothing. Wei Wuxian sighs and pries the empty shot glass out of Lan Zhan’s fingers. Even like this, he’s devastatingly beautiful. Wei Wuxian takes a minute to admire this face he hasn’t been able to get out of his head since that first day at the library. And back then he didn’t even know yet, didn’t even know Lan Zhan could be gentle and caring and secretly funny and stubborn and hadn’t even seen him smile yet, corners of his mouth drawing up ever so slightly and putting anything Wei Wuxian might be carrying at the risk of falling to the ground, because he just. Can’t. Handle. It.

“What’s wrong with Lan Wangji?”

Wei Wuxian freezes and then slowly turns around to see Wen Ning staring at Lan Wangji, obviously concerned.

“Lan Zhan… may be a little drunk.”

“I was gone for no longer than thirty minutes.” Wen Ning comes over, stands next to Lan Zhan, and then pointedly looks at the tequila bottle on the table between them.

“It wasn’t my fault!” He may have opened the alcohol, but he didn’t tell Lan Zhan to drink it!

“Are you just going to leave him here?”

“A-Ning, this judgement in your voice is so unbecoming! What has Wen Qing been teaching you?” Wei Wuxian stands up and puts his arm through Wen Ning’s. “I was, of course, waiting for you! You’re so strong and tall and I’m merely a weak little computer wizard.”

Wen Ning, bless him, doesn’t even roll his eyes. He simply bends forward and carefully maneuvers Lan Zhan into a standing position.

Together, they somehow manage to drag-carry Lan Zhan into Wei Wuxian’s room and lay him down on the bed. Wei Wuxian takes off Lan Zhan’s slippers and arranges the pillow and blanket so Lan Zhan at least looks comfortable. Then he turns around to Wen Ning, who’s been hovering, clearly about to ask some annoying questions.

“So… did you… did you tell him? About your…?” Wen Ning gestures towards Wei Wuxian’s chest, possibly meaning his heart, which is endearing but also makes Wei Wuxian feel like a love-sick teenager. “Is that why he’s… like that?”

“I didn't quite get the opportunity to tell him, no. Also, why is everyone in this household so nosy?”

“I’m sorry. I thought it was okay to ask, because you’ve been talking to us about Lan Wangji non-stop for the past few weeks. I didn’t mean to pry.”

Wen Ning does his best hurt puppy face. Wei Wuxian knows he’s being toyed with while simultaneously being made fun of and he can’t help but laugh, because ah… shy little Wen Ning has come so far, he’s so proud!

“Fine, fine, don’t worry about it. Ask away, whatever.”

“Why were you even drinking? You don’t like tequila.”

That is indeed correct. Since Nie Huaisang’s 18th birthday party, Wei Wuxian cannot smell tequila anymore without having flashbacks of Jiang Cheng and him kneeling next to each other on the floor, vomiting into a bathtub. But the only other alcohol he could find was the beer in the fridge and that just hadn’t seemed like enough.

“A-Ning, I know you’re not the innocent little wallflower your sister thinks you are, so surely you’ve heard of the expression ‘liquid courage’, no? So, yes, maybe this gege of yours needed some courage tonight and yes, maybe I accidentally freaked out Lan Wangji somehow… but he ended up like that all by himself!”

They both turn around to Wei Wuxian’s bed, just in time to see Lan Wangji turn around on his stomach, his arm dragging across the bedside table and pushing Wei Wuxian’s alarm clock to the floor. That’s okay, he never uses it anyway.

“Good luck.” Wen Ning pats his arm and then leaves. Abandons him, basically. Rude. But it’s okay, he doesn’t need help or ‘luck’. Hopefully.

Wei Wuxian sighs, crouches down next to the bed, and gently rolls Lan Zhan on his back. Lan Zhan’s dark blue dress shirt is incredibly soft and shimmery, probably more expensive than all of Wei Wuxian’s clothes put together, and it’s already getting all wrinkly. Lan Zhan will surely be unhappy about that when he wakes up. Wei Wuxian can’t even offer to iron it for him, because they don’t own one.

“Lan Zhan, is it really okay such a person loves you? Someone with no means to straighten out a mess?”

Lan Zhan doesn’t reply, only huffs a little in his sleep.

“Stop being so cute, how many times do I have to tell you? Always trying to make me like you even more, attempting the impossible…” Wei Wuxian adjusts the blanket one last time and then gets up to fetch a bucket to put next to the bed. Just in case.

While Lan Wangji sleeps, Wei Wuxian plays a video game. It takes him a while to be able to focus on it though, because Lan Zhan is lying barely two feet away from him and he looks so soft. He’s also hesitant to put on his headphones, because what if Lan Zhan wakes up or makes cute noises???

However, Nie Huaisang assassinates him seven times in a row and Wei Wuxian cannot let that stand and spends about an hour showing Huaisang why Wei Wuxian’s necromancer would be ranked first on the server if he could actually be bothered chasing such dubious honours.

When Huaisang acknowledges his superiority by saying he’s ‘bored now’ and that he has ‘a hot date anyway’, Wei Wuxian stretches, takes off his headphones and treats himself to another look at Lan Zhan’s face. And almost has a heart attack, because Lan Zhan is sitting up and staring at him.

“Lan Zhan?”

Lan Zhan doesn’t say anything, only blinks slowly. Is he actually awake or doing some kind of sleepwalking or… sleepsitting? Wei Wuxian approaches the bed, Lan Zhan’s eyes never leaving his face, and then sits down on the bed, waving a hand in front of Lan Zhan’s face.

“Lan Zhan? Are you awake?”

“Mn.” Lan Zhan’s gaze is somehow simultaneously somewhere far away and intensely focused on Wei Wuxian. He’s still blinking as though his eyelids weigh several pounds.

“Alright… you can sleep more, if you want.”

“Water.”

“Yes, fantastic idea. Look at you, still so smart and practical, even when you’re drunk and sleepy. Wait here, I’ll get you some water.”

Wei Wuxian starts to get up, but Lan Zhan wraps his hands around his arm and drags him down onto the bed again.

“Wei Ying.” Is Lan Zhan… pouting? No, he is not allowed, that is too cute!

“Lan Zhan?”

“Water.”

“... Yes. I’m going to go and get some for you, okay? But first you have to let me go.”

“No.” Lan Zhan only tightens his hold. Oh fuck, he’s definitely pouting.

“Okay… but you’re thirsty?”

“Mn.”

“But I’m not allowed to get up?”

“Wei Ying.” Lan Zhan drags his hands down Wei Wuxian’s arm until he closes them around his hand.

“Right…” Luckily, Wei Wuxian has plenty of practice arguing with stubborn people who follow their own very special kind of logic, thanks to A-Yuan. “Lan Zhan, how about you keep holding on to Wei Ying then, and we both go to the kitchen to get water?”

“Mn.”

Wei Wuxian manages to get the blanket off of Lan Zhan’s legs and him into his slippers and on his feet without letting go of his hands and doesn’t even have to dislocate his shoulder to do so. Once he’s standing, Lan Zhan follows him obediently into the kitchen. He completely ignores his surroundings in favour of looking at Wei Wuxian’s face, so Wei Wuxian has to take extra care to avoid any of A-Yuan’s toys cluttering the floor.

In the kitchen, he awkwardly uses his free hand to pour Lan Zhan a tall glass of water and puts it on the counter in front of him. Lan Zhan does not pick it up.

“Lan Zhan… that’s for you.” Wei Wuxian points at the glass, then points at Lan Zhan’s face.

Lan Zhan looks down at their hands and shakes his head.

“I would hold the glass while you drink, but that would only end in a wet mess. So, you need to let me go so you can drink.”

Lan Zhan considers this for a second and then says: “Fuck.”

“Did you just swear???” This is truly the best day of Wei Wuxian’s life.

Lan Zhan lifts his chin in defiance, clearly ready to smite everyone who would dare tell him to stop swearing. Wei Wuxian… needs him to drink this water and then sober up immediately, so he can confess or whatever, and then make out with him for five hours straight. He can barely handle Lan Zhan on a normal day, but how is he even cuter when drunk? He’s cursing, because he doesn’t want to let go of Wei Wuxian’s hand to drink some water? Illegal!

“Lan Zhan… how about you keep holding on to me with one hand and use the other for drinking? Mhm? Is that a compromise you could get behind?”

Lan Wangji sighs, clearly agreeing to a great sacrifice, and finally drinks his water. Wei Wuxian makes him drink another glass and then leads him back to his room. Still only able to use one arm freely, he arranges the pillows and his blanket, so they can both sit cross-legged on the bed, while leaning comfortably against the wall.

“I didn’t know you cursed. How naughty!”

“All the time.” Lan Zhan looks at him as though he’s stupid.

“Whaaat, you do? But not in front of me? Should I take it personally?”

“Ah… Only in my head,” Lan Zhan frowns.

���I see… My Lan Zhan keeps a lot of things inside his head, hm?” Wei Wuxian uses his free hand to stroke Lan Zhan’s forehead until he stops frowning. Lan Zhan even closes his eyes and leans a little into his touch.

“Mn.”

“You can swear in front of me all you want. Let it all out.”

Lan Zhan opens his eyes after a while, looking somewhere into the distance and says emphatically: “Fuck.”

“Yes! Exactly! Fuck it up, Lan Zhan!” Wei Wuxian laughs happily. This is wonderful, Lan Zhan is wonderful.

“Fucking shitballs, “ Lan Zhan says, testing it out. The result seems to please him and he smiles.

“Amazing! I love it!” It’s also kinda hot and Wei Wuxian very much hopes Lan Zhan will keep this up in the future. The possibilities…

Lan Zhan spends some time simply smiling and muttering “Fuck” every few seconds, while Wei Wuxian tries really hard not to laugh. He wants to be supportive of this development, not ridicule it! When Lan Zhan seems to have gotten it out of his system, Wei Wuxian strokes his cheek to get his attention.

“Lan Zhan… you can tell me anything you want, you know? If there are things you’re tired of keeping inside, you can tell me. I will listen and keep your secrets.”

Lan Zhan turns his head and blinks a few times, until his focus is wholly on Wei Wuxian’s face again.

“Want to buy things for Wei Ying,” he whispers.

“... Huh?” What? Wei Wuxian didn’t expect these secrets to be about himself, but maybe he should have? He’d only wanted Lan Zhan to know he should feel comfortable opening up to him… This feels a bit like cheating, and he doesn’t want Lan Zhan to regret it in the morning. But knowing Lan Wangji wants to spend money is pretty harmless, as far as secrets go.

“Wanted to buy flip flops.” Lan Zhan is pouting and saying ‘flip flops’ in the most adorable way - this is a personal attack on Wei Wuxian’s heart!

“Ah… that’s terribly nice of you, but you really don’t have to! I know you probably feel bad because we clearly don’t have a lot of money here and -”

“No.” Lan Zhan scowls at him. “Want to take care of Wei Ying.”

“Oh… okay.” Wei Wuxian realises he cannot handle Lan Zhan’s earnestness any better when he’s drunk. It might be even harder now, because it’s completely unexpected. “Uhm… you’re very sweet, Lan Zhan.”

“Wei Ying is sweeter.” Lan Zhan miraculously lets go of Wei Wuxian’s hand, but only to grab Wei Wuxian’s face and pull him closer. “Fucking sweet.”

“Alright! We’re both sweeties! Got it!” Wei Wuxian must look and sound ridiculous, because Lan Zhan is kind of squeezing his face, squishing his cheeks and lips together.

“May I buy things for you?” Lan Zhan asks with such gravity, how could Wei Wuxian refuse him? How could he ever refuse him anything???

“Yes, yes, you may.”

Immediately, Lan Zhan looks terribly pleased, lets go of Wei Wuxian’s face and fishes his phone out of his pocket. Wait… is he literally going to buy something right now?

“Lan Zhan! What are you doing?”

He tries to grab Lan Zhan’s phone, but Lan Zhan only raises it high above his head, so Wei Wuxian can’t reach it anymore.

“Wei Ying said I’m allowed.”

“Wei Ying has done enough drunk shopping to know this is a bad idea! Give me your phone!”

Lan Zhan gives him his best “I’ll stare at you until you stop being an idiot” frown and Wei Wuxian sighs.

“You can buy me things tomorrow, alright? When you’re sober you can buy me flip flops, or whatever else you want, okay?”

Lan Zhan finally relents, lowers his arm and reluctantly lets Wei Wuxian take the phone from him. He puts the phone on the nightstand, leans back against the wall and suddenly… Lan Wangji turns around until he’s sitting with his back to Wei Wuxian and then leans back until his head is resting on Wei Wuxian’s lap. Oh? Oh.

“Hi?”

“Want to look at you.” Lan Zhan searches for Wei Wuxian’s hand and then presses it against his cheek. Wei Wuxian is still baffled by the fact he suddenly has a lapful of Lan Zhan, but not too baffled that he can’t indulge this drunk, earnest, adorable man and start stroking his cheek.

“I also want to look at you, so this works out nicely.”

“Mn. Like it when Wei Ying takes care of me.”

“Well, taking care of you is one of my favourite things, how convenient!”

“Mmh.” Lan Zhan smiles up at him, and Wei Wuxian really cannot believe this is his reality. These past few days he’s spent telling anyone who would listen, and even when they didn’t want to listen anymore, how he was suffering, because he was so in love with Lan Wangji, he didn’t know what to do with all these feelings and now it turns out he hadn’t even reached maximum feelings yet.

“Anything else you want to do I can help you with?”

“Mn.”

“Oh?”

“Kiss you.”

Wei Wuxian’s brain does the mental equivalent of running into a glass door. Fuck. How is he supposed to… ??!?!?!? Fuck.

“Arnhg… yes… uh, yes, we can do that.”

Lan Zhan’s smile deepens, both corners of his mouth curling up, oh no, help, he lifts his hand to Wei Wuxian’s neck and, oh shit! Wei Wuxian quickly grabs Lan Zhan’s wandering hand and pulls it down again.

“Tomorrow, we can also do that tomorrow. Or a later day. Whenever you want. Any day. Every day. Kissing is a-okay. Very welcome.”

Wei Wuxian keeps stroking Lan Zhan’s cheek, who looks disappointed, and he wants to laugh and cry, because Lan Zhan wants to kiss him. It’s not exactly a shock or a surprise but… if Wei Wuxian hadn’t been such a coward and confessed earlier and this whole tequila debacle didn’t happen, would they be kissing right now? But then he would have missed out on drunk Lan Zhan, which would have been a tragedy!

Meanwhile, drunk Lan Zhan continues to be a menace and turns his head slightly, so he can press a kiss to Wei Wuxian’s thumb.

“Want to fuck you.” And then he bites Wei Wuxian’s thumb.

If Wei Wuxian was holding something, he would have thrown it across the room. But the only thing he is holding is Lan Zhan, and he doesn’t think he could throw him, even if he tried.

“Fuck!”

“Mn.” Wei Wuxian’s thumb is still in Lan Zhan’s mouth.

“Well… yes, we can do that too! Ha… I mean, hell yes. But also, Lan Zhan, please have mercy on me!”

Lan Zhan stops biting him, thank fuck, though, well, it’s not like Wei Wuxian disliked it, but also this is not the time!

“Fucking hell, Lan Zhan…”

For a drunk person, Lan Zhan looks incredibly smug. Wei Wuxian closes his eyes for a few seconds, or minutes, trying to calm his heartbeat and hoping Lan Zhan will fall asleep again soon, so Wei Wuxian can get some rest.

When he opens his eyes, Lan Zhan is still looking at him, though he’s gone back to his slow blinking, which hopefully means he’s about to nod off.

“I hope you’re happy, you have accomplished what Huaisang’s assassin couldn’t, and completely defeated me.”

Lan Zhan hums, though it seems to be a sound of contentment, rather than understanding, and he takes Wei Wuxian’s hand and moves it until it lies on top of his head. Wei Wuxian smiles down at him and begins stroking his hair. Lan Zhan sighs happily, and the next time he blinks, his eyes stay closed.

“Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan… you should sleep sweetly, love. And when you wake up… we can start doing all the things you want to do.”

“Mhm.” Lan Zhan’s eyelids flutter and then he opens them under great strain.

“You can close your eyes, it’s okay.”

“Wei Ying.” Lan Zhan’s eyes are suddenly intense, despite the drunk and despite the sleepy. “Have to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“Wei Ying, I l-”

Wei Wuxian quickly puts his hand over Lan Zhan’s mouth, muffling the rest of the sentence.

“Shhh, gege quiet.”

Lan Zhan frowns, clearly unhappy.

“Another thing for tomorrow. Okay? Go sleep now, love, so we can get to tomorrow quicker.”

Wei Wuxian slowly lifts his hand from Lan Zhan’s mouth and puts it on Lan Zhan’s chest instead. Lan Zhan keeps staring at him, but his frown fades as Wei Wuxian continues stroking his hair. Eventually, he drifts off to sleep, hands holding on to Wei Wuxian’s hand again.

Wei Wuxian keeps stroking his hair and looking down at him for a long, long time. He can’t believe he is this lucky. Can’t believe Lan Zhan is here and wants him. Wants them to take care of each other. Ah, Wei Wuxian really wants to cry, but he doesn’t want to cry on Lan Zhan and there is not a fucking chance he is going to move now.

So he keeps smiling, which is nicer than crying anyway.

Tomorrow.

[bwaldorf]

If you're still doing "send me a character", Jiang Cheng or Nie Huaisang 😁

yes, i absolutely am! 😁 thank you, kendra 💕 

> JIANG CHENG

how i feel about this character

it was definitely ... a Journey with jiang cheng, as you well know. it’s partly bc of how he’s initially set up in the plot at the beginning vs then going back in the past and coming to understand his character more. i really started appreciating and loving him more in my 2nd rewatch. so while i’m still signing this man up for necessary therapy, i really appreciate the depth his character has and how despite his issues, he’s a good person who just can’t always show it super well hhhh

all the people i ship romantically with this character

huaisang .. idk when sangcheng grew on me this much but i actually really like them! they’d be a very cute couple

xichen .. im not HUGE on this ship. it’s a solid good one, but i’m not very personally attached to it

my non-romantic otp for this character

wei wuxian ... something about their bond specifically (in cql esp) REALLY gets my heart. they really deserved better, even though things didn’t end off terribly

yanli .. bc the yunmeng trio is actually something that can be so personal

huaisang ... even without looking at their dynamic through a shipping lens, they have such a fun friendship and i wish they interacted more in the present timeline </3

my unpopular opinion about this character

no idea if it’s unpopular but i honestly think cql’s jiang cheng is the best. (which is funny bc i used to really have a bone to pick with him in my first watch .. i still do but it’s different. more out of love than before) in my opinion (thus far anyways, since im still reading the novel) it’s the most nuanced depiction of his character. still lov him in the donghua and what i’ve read of the novel so far but cql jiang cheng is just .. chefs kiss. i just really love how you can tell despite his anger, he really really cares about his loved ones

one thing i wish would happen/had happened with this character in canon

a better reconciliation with wwx at the end :( it was really melancholic and im glad they got to Kinda talk things out but i wish it was different, even if him and wwx couldn’t be the twin heroes of yunmeng in the way that they originally envisioned

we talked about this, but it’d have been very amusing to me to see him on those blind-dates mxtx mentioned bc i wanna see why this man is flopping in his love life so bad

also would’ve loved to see jiang cheng (and lwj tbh) post-wwx death. in mdzs and/or cql, it just would’ve been heartwrenching but kinda touching to see him coming to terms with his part in that and also what led up to him keeping chenqing

im also curious as to whether or not he actually tortured people who practiced demonic cultivation or not. bc i remember seeing an interesting post on here once about how maybe he didn’t and it was kinda his way of trying to find out if wwx was still alive </3 

> NIE HUAISANG

how i feel about this character

absolutely loved huaisang from the jump! he’s an absolute sweetheart and such a good, loyal friend. i care him 🥺 i’d have loved him a lot just as he was but then seeing who he became post-nmj’s death .. golly! i think it just added a lot to the character that i really enjoy. his character development is an underrated one i think about a lot

all the people i ship romantically with this character

jiang cheng ... for the reasons mentioned above! friends to lovers is always a good, solid dynamic

wwx ... i don’t actively ship those two but i think if lwj wasn’t in the picture, i could’ve absolutely seen these two together maybe? 

my non-romantic otp for this character

nie mingjue ... i really enjoy their bond! (still gotta see the fatal journey which i know’ll probably solidify this for me even more) though nmj’s a lot stricter with him in mdzs, they really do have such a nice dynamic. nmj cares about him so much T_T and despite him being intimidated, i know nhs respects him a lot too

wwx .... YEP! y’all get it, im sure & i don’t need to explain. but i truly truly love those two a lot and the slight growth we see in their dynamic as well in the present. i.e. that fan scene where wwx genuinely compliments his interests rather than poking fun at it like he did in the past :’)

jiang cheng .. bc friendship <3 u get it and im too lazy to write more

meng yao ... now ... don’t persecute me. and this is very cql-centric but they were like brothers :( and even in mdzs, you can tell meng yao did care about him in his own way before shit went sideways. ofc #nhswasright at the end though but it’s just sad to think about what a better dynamic it could’ve been if things had been different

my unpopular opinion about this character

erm .. i don’t really have one! i just would like everyone to remember that despite him being silly and a bit stupid (complimentary) sometimes, he’s also super smart and perceptive. even if it isn’t always Book Smart, he’s still a very capable character. like ............. in terms of interpersonal perceptibility (idk if that makes sense, if not just roll with it), i think he’s quite comparable to wwx

one thing i wish would happen/had happened with this character in canon

would’ve been obsessed to see more of his #Plotting both during the plot of the present as well as in the years of wwx’s death. like i would’ve loved to see him really setting the gears into motion as well as figuring out jgy’s role in everything. like i think i just would’ve really loved to see WAY more from his pov. i get why we didn’t in cql/mdzs but god am i obsessed with seeing smart characters work

would’ve also been really into seeing him with his saber. not using it necessarily (though him trying to practice with nmj overseeing it would’ve also been neat) but having him grapple with the complicated nature of the nie clan cultivation would’ve been very cool

i love how a lot of this is just .. i wanna know how nhs’s mind works more. like the scene with jgy’s hat at the end of cql, i’d have been superrr into what he does post-canon. in mdzs i believe it seems like he was maybe vying for the chief cultivator position and i think it’s doable in cql too so I Would Like To See It

some of this stuff is probably covered in fatal journey so im very excited for that

also .. am curious as to whether nhs’s position as clan leader would’ve changed post-canon. like would he have shown how capable he is or let people still think he was just a pushover 

oh ALSO one more thing . where is nhs’s bird ... i think we all would like an update 

send me a character? ✨