#i think it is an incense burner

[fouryearsofshades]

qixiong shanqun by 纨绮汉服工作室

[lazycranberrydoodles]

THE THRILLING SEQUEL

credit to @parlerenfleurs for the idea lmao / follow for more wei ying shenanigans

[ecccentrick]

It's still strange to me that people view the incense burner extras as having actual non-con. That was role-playing, babeyyy. It's fine to dislike it, but I don't see the need to make it a moral thing as they were both into it and consenting. The C in CNC means Consensual for a reason.

[whileyoureinschoolidothisallday]

bruh the cutest thing happened. The first kids I got were these teenagers and one of them was SO excited to info dump about my costume it was ADORABLE.

I wish I could've seen what their costumes were but I can't see shit in this mask lmfao

[llycaons]

like when you have two characters in a romance chronically miscommunicate you kind of expect them to talk it out at some point or perhaps demonstate some kind of growth in that area but in the book someone else has to confess FOR one of the characters and then all they talk about is how much they love each other and none of the other very important shit that happened between them and im sorry I just think a work needs to address some of these very pressing interpersonal concerns beyond ‘no it was great I liked it because im in love with you” and “I’m so glad it was you who assaulted me that one time” and rape roleplay if it’s going to be seriously considered such a masterful handling and exploration of very serious issues

[satvruu]

ೀ how they hug you

rewritten and reposted of my hc set from my old blog @/star-puff! thank you to all my old dedications as well as my new ones @kurooppi @wyllsravengard for making my return to this fandom possible <3

feedback is very appreciated!

ft. yuuji, megumi, gojo, getou, nanami

itadori yuuji embraces you warmly, fondly, sunlight streaming through the window and scattering over your bare skin. it's someplace safe and comforting, enveloped in his arms like he's taken it upon himself to protect you from everything horrible in the world; he is your knight, he is your shield, your safe haven to escape to, no matter how many wounds he will endure in the process. ("yuuji," you whisper, a hand coming up to rest gently on his arm. he bleeds desperation. "i'm okay, i promise." yuuji squeezes you tighter, trembling, and you wonder what you can do to make it true for him, too.) he holds you for far too long for it to be anything casual, but you can't really complain about it anyway—it's better this than to witness the alternative. after all, what is the sun without a place to hold its warmth; what becomes of a hero when they fail to protect the things that matter most?

fushigurou megumi comes to you slow, steady, a ripple of water in the pond. you coax him out gently, holding your arms out before wrapping them around him. his breath hitches (always, no matter how many times he tries to hide it) and his body stiffens, arms frozen at his sides. but slowly, surely, your head buried in his chest, megumi's arms begin to wrap around you in a manner you can only describe as tender—as if you could break if he held onto you too tight. (truthfully, megumi thinks he's just afraid. the jujutsu world is a dangerous one, after all, even to those who only know of it by name. megumi has lost too many people, and you're the one person he can't afford to lose.) he flinches at the thought, pulling away. you draw yourself closer in him, instead. moonlight behind the clouds, you'd gladly hold onto this night forever if it meant megumi was by your side.

gojo satoru is known as many things—a child prodigy, the strongest, a boy-god making his presence known on the lowly earth, but to you, he is simply just obnoxious. satoru makes it a spectacle each time he sees you: hollering, gallivanting, draping himself over you with his long limbs and impossible-to-miss frame. you huff and complain and uselessly try to drag yourself away from him each time, but satoru hooks onto you and refuses to let you go, nuzzling his face into yours. (they're mine, the action screams, a blaring warning to anyone unfortunate enough to get caught in the collateral. you've been too caught up in your irritation of him to notice this, of course, and you're certainly not someone who would take the explicit meaning of it kindly, but satoru finds that he doesn't really care. not when he has more important things to attend to.) gojo satoru is many things, but the one thing he absolutely isn't is someone who can share.

getou suguru smells of sandalwood incense, a musky amber you think you could identify blind. sometimes, you think you remember a different suguru, a kinder suguru, one that had easier things to worry about, a brighter look in his eyes, an easier weight to his gait. if you think back far enough, you suppose it might have been because he had somebody else by his side to keep it that way, a brighter light shining next to him to keep the darkness at bay. (but that was a long time ago. now, suguru is the one left to be lit by the fire, stuck in the ashes of his own kin for a future little understand. you're not sure who is to blame for that anymore.) you're not the light that can save him—no one can be, not anymore. when suguru reaches out to you, rare vulnerability bubbling over in a way you can only describe as drowning—as crumbling—the only thing you can do is curl yourself next to him in the incense burner, smearing yourself in the ash.

nanami kento thinks you need this, especially after a long, hard day. the melting comes slow: his hands on your back, gentle pats and quiet whispers of comfort as he rests his chin on your head. and then comes everything else. his hands slot perfectly into the dip of your back, the small of your waist, thumbs rubbing small circles over the fabric of your clothes, and in the eyes of no one but yourselves, the two of you begin to sway back and forth to a quiet melody nanami begins to hum. you cling onto the fabric of his shirt, trying to memorie the smell of his cologne, the rumble of his voice, the warmth of his arms. (it's too much, to have a memory of a future that will inevitably happen. you almost want to cry. don't go, you want to say, a lump in your throat, wishing for the impossible. don't go.) and still, selfish as you are, nanami hugs you like you're slow dancing in the dark.

[felixandresims]

Hello Everyone:),

I am happy to announce Fayun Part 2. This Set consist of 23 Living and Dining Room items.

Seating: Lets start with a set of items that I have fallen in love with and wanted my sims to have, its sofas and an srmchair designed by Vincent van Duysen for Zara Home. Its a modern take on traditional linen sofas and in my head they mix really well with the tradional chinese items that I created. The sofas come in 18 different swatches and you have a 3tile version, a loveseat and an armchair

Slate tables: I think something that also fits the vibe quite well are two table made from 'Virtual :D' Slate to bring in another more natural and rough component. You will get a coffee and an end table version.

More Ming Dynasty: I created two dining tables, a console table, a shelf, a dining chair and a stool ( comes as table version too) and used my 'Ming Dynasty' book again as inspiration.

Lights: I found a beautiful Chinese Tea house and recreated their candelabras, I think they have something Buddhist about them and thought they fit quite well to my Set. Additionally I made a traditional floor light and hanging lights for all three wall heights.

Clutter: For the first time I actually made a sculpture completly from scratch, a little chinese Lion sitting on top of an incense burner, also something you could find in a tea house :) I made a lily and a physalis vase for autumn and a plate with tangerines.

Now on Early Access here

Public Release: December 2nd 2022

[2024-grimoire-challenge]

January Week 1

Welcome welcome to the 2024 Grimoire Challenge! Time to really get started everyone! This week will have a lot of stuff all jammed in. So buckle up, grab your grimoire and your supplies, and let’s get to work!

Monday

Name your book - this may seem silly and you definitely don’t need to name your book. Not properly at least. Other than “my grimoire” or “book of shadows” or what have you, which is totally fine. But some of us might feel the need to give it a proper title. “The Basil Grimoire” or “Hazel’s Handwritten Workings” something, anything, that ties the book to you and your craft. Make a title page! If you feel so inclined. If not, that’s fine too.

Definitions (New Page) - ritual and spell. Let’s define a few things. Make a page specifically for definitions, that we’ll add to through the challenge. Let’s start with a couple simple definitions. Define spell. And define ritual. Within the confines of magic, witchcraft and your practice. What is a spell? What is a ritual? What are the differences?

Study (herb) - Pick another herb from that list we made, and dig into the details. Make a page for it on its own, or add its info to another page! Whatever works for your craft. The questions to ask for these study prompts are going to continue to remain the same. Where did it come from, where does it grow, how does it grow, what are its mundane and practical uses. What are the myths and legends and stories surrounding the herb? What are its magical properties and why/ how do you think the other information you've learned about it have influenced its magical associations?

Tuesday

Outline/ index (New Page!) - it helped me a great deal to have an index or outline to my grimoire. I started this as a file on my computer as my grimoire grew and changed I could more easily manage it and rearrange it as I saw fit. Then eventually I could make it into a handwritten copy.

Study (gem) - Like our herb prompt, the gem prompts are going to always use the same outline and questions. Where does the gem come from? What is it used for in a practical and mundane sense? What are its physical properties? What are any myths, legends or stories? Where and how does it form? How does all of that relate to its magical correspondences and what does the herb mean to and for you in your craft?

Spellwriting 101 (New Page!) - make a new page dedicated to spellwriting. This is going to be one of those prompts that is focused on you and your craft. How do you write spells? How do you set them up? What components do you use? What is the format? How is it done? What does it require? From materials to timing and circumstances? Write it all out in your lab notebook. Make it a work in progress. Not all spells are going to work out the same or function the same as you perform them, but having a general layout and method helps to focus your practice.

Wednesday

Common tools - What are the common tools in your craft? That is, you don't need to have a list of every single tool ever used in witchcraft, just the tools that you use in yours. Both regularly and less regularly. What are they used for specifically? What purposes do they serve in the magical and practical sense? Are they ceremonial and symbolic or do they serve an actual physical purpose? (i.e. a wand used to direct energy serves many purposes, while an incense burner could literally just be that, an incense burner)

Year outline/ calendar - not everyone celebrates the same days, holidays or even the same holidays the same way. What are the special occasions and days in your calendar? Mark them and when the proper season/ holiday comes around, we can make pages dedicated to those days. This week this will simply be a list of these days, while later we will actually make pages for them individually. Think of it like the Wheel of the Year, Yule to Midsummer and so on. What days are important to you and your practice? Are they actual holidays? Or simply days of power like the full moon? Or is it simply days that are significant for other reasons, like the anniversary of the day you began practicing witchcraft?

Practical - tool usage - practice using your tools. For example if you use a wand. Practice using it to direct energies or whatever it is you utilize it for.

Thursday

Altar design/ work space (New Page!) - make a page dedicated to your altar and its setup. Why are things where they are? The reasoning can be simple as “that’s where it fits” or you can give it a more meaningful reason. Candles in front of or behind something to represent some purpose. Do you have items that represent the elements? Deities? Different sources of power or directionality? Different colors for different meanings? Why is your altar the way it is?

Practical - cleansing space - practice cleansing your space and tools. This is of course a physical and 'energetic' cleansing. Tidy it up, redecorate your space, clean the tools if they have dust or ash or anything on them. Sometimes it is good to have a clean start.

Friday

Personal practices - this is just a thought provoking prompt tied in with the Journal prompt below. What are some of your personal practices that you've brought into your witchcraft? Anything from little habits from your every day life to things brought from religion or family traditions. No matter how hard we try, we carry within us echoes of things not related to our practices into it. And that is totally okay. Recognizing them, acknowledging them, and truly incorporating them can be a huge step toward understanding ourselves, our beliefs and our practices all around.

Journal/ introspective/ meditations - Think about the above and write any of it down that you come to terms with. Self understanding is important in and outside of witchcraft.

Thank you all and I hope this week's prompts aren't too overwhelming! Stay tuned next week for the next set of prompts!

-Mod Hazel

[dottores]

SKINNY LOVE | IL DOTTORE

summary: a failed mission sets dottore off, just not in the way you might’ve expected--the doctor cares for no one but himself and his research, not even his own segments, so why was he so incensed at the fact that you were hurt?

warnings: no warnings, really, reader a bit anxious over just failing a mission and a small wound. just some hurt/comfort (??) with dottore. not rlly sure what to label it.

notes: man ik dottore isn't rlly the hurt/comfort man but i think i kept this rlly well in character im lowkey proud i even had tee n eris double check 4 me <3 i wrote this during my breakdown friday adfijaiosdfjia LMAO @tweris @dxlucs @7rkx @mxnjiros @hanmas @albedophoria @tokyometronetwork @manjiroscum @dynalite @niicevibe

wordcount: 1.5k

“You’re upset.”

You looked away at the statement--there was no sort of empathy or worry behind his words, it was a simple observation, a fact, nothing more, nothing less. He barely bothered to look at you as he spoke, engrossed with the vial in his hands. If you didn’t know any better, you would say he didn’t care at all. 

If you didn’t know any better.

He wouldn’t have acknowledged it at all if that were the case.

“I’m not,” you said after a moment, clearing your throat and smoothing your palms over your pants twice before picking at your cuticles, a nervous habit that you couldn’t seem to break. 

“... and now you are lying.”

You grit your teeth together, ignoring Dottore’s words as you became frustrated with one cuticle that would just not peel off. You let out a shaky breath, bringing your finger to your mouth, going to rip it off with your teeth instead, but a hand curled around your wrist before you could--grip firm and unmoving even as you tried to pull your hand away. 

Reluctantly, your gaze drew upward to where Dottore was now standing in front of you, staring down at you unamused and unimpressed. “What happened?” he asked again, and you noticed that he had placed the vial down, averting all of his attention to you as he waited for you to explain. 

And you wanted to explain, you really did, but you couldn’t. You couldn’t bring yourself to admit that you had failed the one mission that you had been given, not to Dottore. You were already trying to brace yourself for the punishment that would come from Pantalone at your failure. So you kept your mouth shut, turning your face away from him as you waited for him to lose interest and go back to his research.

You should have known better.

You felt two fingers grab your chin, not hard enough to bruise by any means but also not gently. Dottore turned your head back toward him, tilting your face up and forcing you to look at him. You kept your gaze averted but you could feel the way he was searching your face for answers, trying to piece together on his own what happened. Sometimes you really hated how smart he was. 

“Your mission went poorly,” Dottore finally spoke up--it was a statement but also a question, he was waiting for your reaction to see if he had deduced it correctly. And you couldn’t help the way your throat spasmed as you tried to swallow back the sob--you had never been one to handle failure well, ever since you were a kid. “I see.”

Dottore let go of your face and you snapped your head to the side, turning away as you tried to blink back the tears that were building too rapidly for you to control. He didn’t speak again as he moved back to his lab table, picking the vial back up and watching it absently before placing it on a burner. 

“What happened?” he questioned as he put away some of his tools, walking to the other side of the room where he had several other vials displayed.

Breathe in, breathe out.

“Pantalone sent me to the Natlan border--to Apavny--to pick up some materials for Sandrone. It was, um, supposed to be a simple mission, not even leaving the homeland-” your voice cracked, your hand went to your side as pain shot through your abdomen at the reminder. You noticed how Dottore was now looking at you sharply from the corner of his eye, waiting for you to continue--you tried to hide the way you were holding your side, “Natlan has been getting more aggressive, we knew that, I just didn’t think-”

“They attacked you,” there was an odd tone to his voice, tight and unfriendly, as he placed the final vial back in the burner and turned to look at you. You weren’t sure you had ever heard him take a tone other than the low drawl he usually spoke in. 

“They got the materials-” you tried to continue, confirming his suspicions that you had failed the mission, but apparently that hadn’t been what he was leading to.

“You’re hurt.”

You faltered as you forced yourself to look back up at him, catching the way his jaw was taut and the way his eyes were trained solely on you, waiting for you to speak but you weren’t sure what he wanted you to say. Instead, you only shook your head.

“It’s only a flesh wound,” you said quietly. “It’ll be-”

Your voice hung off when you noticed the livid expression that had crossed Dottore’s face, it was only for half a second but you had caught it and you couldn’t help the way you hesitated. He was angry? But why?

Dottore didn’t speak again, returning his attention to the lab table, and you noted that instead of moving to continue his research, he was now putting the vials and materials away. His movements were still as smooth and graceful as usual, but each time he shut one of his drawers, it was a bit harder than necessary, the bang nearly making you flinch.

Was he mad at you? You couldn’t tell and any question you might’ve had to ask him died on the tip of your tongue as soon as you opened your mouth to ask him. The moments he spent putting away his tools and materials were long and agonizing, an anxiety building in you that you had never felt before. Dottore wouldn’t hurt you, you knew that--he might not care for anybody but himself but he had always favored you the most of everyone within the Fatui, even above the other Harbingers and his own segments.

What if your failure ruined it? The disappointment enough reason for him to cast you aside? You had never understood why he favored you, you figured it was because he saw potential in you and now, with your failure, you-

You hadn’t even realized he had come to stand in front of you, lifting one hand to your jaw again to tilt your face up toward his. Your cheeks were wet, you hadn’t even realized you were crying and Dottore hated weakness, any sign or mention of it had him mocking and cruel. “I’m sor-” you tried to say, voice cracking despite your strongest attempts to keep it steady.

“You said this happened in Apavny?” he asked, voice low and quiet and tense, but the grip he had on your jaw was gentle this time--he was never gentle with you, not while he was training you, now while he was trying to teach you about his research, he was always cold and sharp and unforgiving.

You nodded as best you could with the grip on his jaw. 

“You did the best you could,” he said after a moment. “I’ll take care of it from here.”

You were at a loss for words as you stared up at him but Dottore didn’t linger. His hand dropped from your face, the cold expression returning as he turned to grab his cloak from where it was hanging several feet away, shrugging it on before fastening his mask on. 

“Dottore, they’re probably long gone,” you tried to tell him, taking a few steps toward him but you froze when he turned his head over his shoulder to look at you--you couldn’t see his eyes from behind his mask and it had always unnerved you because you could never how he was feeling.

He didn’t even bother to respond to you, pushing the doors to the lab open and leaving without another word, leaving you standing there reeling, trying to figure out what had just happened.

---

Hours later, he returned, blood still splattered on his cloak and face, the box of materials you had failed to retrieve snug in his arms. His lips were tight and flat, and his eyes were still covered by the mask, you couldn’t tell what he was thinking. 

He didn’t speak as he pushed the box into your own arms, not until he had already passed by you. “Bring it to Pantalone, tell him you retrieved it.”

Your mouth was dry as you stared down at the box, confused and trying to push away the rising emotions. You spun around to look at him but he didn’t even bother to look back as he walked back down the hall toward his lab.

“Dottore,” you called, watching as he paused midstep, waiting for you to continue. “Why?”

He didn’t answer, and you supposed you should have expected that. Instead, he waited for a moment before continuing down the hall, leaving your question hanging heavy in the air between the two of you as you stared down at the box with an oddly warm feeling in your chest, wondering what this all meant.

[vigilskeep]

why the kirkwall chantry is dedicated to hessarian, and why that gives us more than just a cooler name for it with a sexy accusatory nickname for anders in there somewhere: an illustrated guide!

(wait, wait, please remind me who hessarian even is, i hear you ask. hessarian was the tevinter archon who ordered andraste’s execution on the pyre. but struck with guilt at the last minute, he mercifully (i GUESS) killed andraste with a sword rather than let her suffer in the fire. he converted to andrastianism a decade later and took the rest of the imperium with him. he’s really popular in tevinter because, you know, he kind of improves their whole role in the story, and the chantry there likes to think he’s the most important disciple. you may recognise him from being one of the spirits in the urn of sacred ashes gauntlet, from the lore behind the blade of mercy gift for fenris, and the ‘blades of hessarian’ group on the storm coast in inquisition.)

okay, let’s first get the basics down: why do i think the kirkwall chantry is dedicated to hessarian? merrill, our glamorous tour guide to andrastian nonsense, is going to show us why

here’s merrill examing the architecture of the kirkwall chantry. and it’s covered in this guy!

how do we know this guy is hessarian? let’s compare it to some other, canonical andrastion depictions of the latecomer disciple. hessarian is typically depicted with some type of crown or headwear to demonstrate his status in tevinter, robes to denote him as a mage, a long beard probably also symbolic of tevinter culture at the time, and, of course, his blade of mercy. we can see all of these on the figure repeatedly shown in and outside the kirkwall chantry, as well as a certain similarity in the face to the other depictions.

here’s another variant of how the kirkwall chantry depicts the blade of mercy! these are Everywhere, including right over the doors.

and here’s more variants of the same figure inside. he’s carrying some kind of incense burner instead of a sword here, but it’s clearly the same face with the same crown and that classic hessarian beard. note his position of power flanking the enormous andraste figure.

so... why does that matter? isn’t it just a repeated asset?

no, it’s CRAZY actually. and here’s a couple reasons why!

(fascinated by genitivi’s word choice of glitzy mansions, btw.)

firstly, the kirkwall chantry’s dedication to hessarian’s figure is one of the biggest markers that it, along with the gallows and the darkspawn, is a legacy of tevinter. as i said, he’s the favourite there. kirkwall was once emerius under tevinter’s rule, and from the moment we see the weeping twins that welcome you into the city, we’re supposed to remember that the city of chains has not changed all that much. just as emerius’ prisons now incarcerate mages, its industry is now powered by refugees, and the worst parts of its lowtown hold elves probably just as they once did, its magisters’ estates continue to hold the most powerful voices in the city: in this case, that of the chantry and grand cleric elthina. the hessarian statues that demonstrate the chantry’s wealth and power are inarguably either tevinter made or at least made in their style, with such similarity to the statues of slaves that terrorise the gallows courtyard. hightown is no more free of that inheritance than the circle.

secondly, the focus on hessarian can’t be an accident in dragon age 2, a game obsessed with the mercy kill. “without an end, there can be no peace,” says flemeth. somebody has to kill wesley rather than watch him turn into a ghoul. anders has to kill karl. hawke possibly has to kill their other sibling if they catch the taint in the deep roads. varric can kill bartrand when he goes insane. killing the serial killer of elven children rather than letting his madness continue is one of the most universally approved decisions in the game. in her last words, leandra thanks you for ending the mage keeping her alive with twisted necromancy, even if, and especially because, it means the end of her suffering in death. merrill has to kill a possessed keeper marethari. many more can be killed for being “too dangerous” to live, like the blood mage idunna. orsino is slain by hawke after transforming into a monster he would never have wanted to be. there’s probably a dozen more examples i can think of. and of course, in one of the most game-defining decisions hawke has to make, there’s the option to kill anders after the destruction of the kirkwall chantry. merciful is not the word i would use for that, but it has certainly been framed that way. i suppose that’s the same as what i think of hessarian’s actions, isn’t it? (we’re focusing on the andrastian relevance here and not the godawful treatment of mentally ill people in this game, btw, although. yikes.)

“don’t compare yourself to andraste,” says sebastian to anders. he could try telling the game that. hawke gets cast into a lot of roles, but when anders believes they will kill him, he’s casting himself as the martyred andraste, dying to burn rebellion into the face of thedas, and hawke as his hessarian, quick with the merciful blade. i suppose it’s fitting that the kirkwall chantry should be consecrated in the image of its champion. and that the chantry covered in that image gets destroyed moments before hawke makes their choice, if they decide to make a different one. it’s also worth mentioning that meredith is a mimic of andraste, too, with her stolen crown, making anders and meredith obvious combatants for andraste’s legacy in the game. hawke doesn’t get much command of the narrative, but maybe they can at least dodge being anders’ hessarian, if they choose.

idk i think it’s really fucking cool and we should talk about it more, basically! there’s a lot of other angles to take. hessarian is such a fun lore figure to explore. for example, i didn’t even get into the prominence of an andrastian mage figure here, or that the blade of mercy is the symbol of the templar order and was invoked even earlier, in dao, as the “blade of mercy” by traumatised mages who desperately sought to be purified by the templars’ judgement.

also, i think ‘the chantry of hessarian’s mercy’ sounds good. maybe ‘the chantry of our lady’s spilled blood’? that could be sexy. whatever. i’m workshopping it

[piosplayhouse]

It is sort of interesting to read the comments on that cql v mdzs wangxian dynamics post to see so many people saying they don't like the idea of wangxian being soulmates without having been close friends first, but in my onion I do think them NOT being friends as teens functions majorly in the overarching themes of stolen youth/mistakes made in youth. Wangxian to me has always felt like an exploration of missed connections during times of uncertainty, and how you can reclaim the moments you missed out on as settled adults when the dust has blown over and you've both grown into yourselves (analysis of the incense burner extra from this pov actually made me appreciate it when I absolutely hated it before). Mdzs is hugely a story of regret, specifically in regretting how a character acted when they were younger/more reactionary/had less information than they do now when reflecting on that memory, and wangxian is a natural consequence of the optimism that regretting doesn't have to be forever + there's time to make new memories that are no less precious than ones you might have had had you never made mistakes

[wutheringskies]

Wangxian is that dynamic: Rant Post

I personally think Wangxian is one of the most complete, compelling and near-perfect dynamics to ever be written. Like, think about it. All of our favourite pairings generally include one T (Thinking-type) and one F (Feeling-type), or both Feeling types as they are easier to relate to.

But then you have Wangxian - an ISTJ and an ENTP. Such... annoying personality types.

You have Lan Wangji, who's going to fight your procrastination for you. The guy who's stability personified and Mr. He Is Indeed Better, and then you have Wei Wuxian, who's going to argue his mouth off than take a hint; a little too aware of just how great he is and constantly onto the search for new angles of discovery.

Generally, these sort of personalities are put into the background while an INFP (or whatever) find love. These are the cliche best friends. But never the main leads.

But look at Wangxian!

Look at them being so smart together, sharing the same values. Look at Lan Wangji showing his anger by frosty, cutting words (just a few) or worse... utter disregard for you. The guy's going to glare at you with such frosty chill or go out of his way to ignore you. You're not going to get to him, and it's going to PISS you off.

Then there's Wei Wuxian and it's like...are you getting to him? Or, is he getting to you?? If you argue with him too much about his alleged failure and arrogance and quirks, he's gonna tap into them, and make you feel unstable. He's going to wield his flaws like a blade at you. You're going to just want to avoid him and the snark that filters in through his sunny disposition.

And... look at Wangxian taking the "scientific way" to sex.

"What am I supposed to do?" / I cannot believe I'm asking Lan Zhan for sex advice.

"Relax." / To the point answers only.

Also in the Extra, when discussing their CNC kink they go all the way into the story of how they're going to scene:

"So I'll do this and you resist and then I'll do this."

"Sounds difficult."

"Okay, let's switch positions."

Like... perfection??? Like go, find yourself a partner who's equally as weird as you and have your happy ever after with them: accomplished.

Not just that but the aftermath of the bichen incense burner:

"I have never been treated like this before."

"Mn." (fond smile)

"I'll chop you if you do that again."

"Mn."

Like... how easy is it to communicate ? Without any fears, without any remnant feelings, without guilt - how easily they understand each other.

And not Wei Wuxian showing his love by gifting Lan Wangji a numerous weird things, and constantly talking about exactly what he loves about Lan Wangji. Not Lan Wangji doing every sort of act of service for Wei Wuxian (and Wei Wuxian allowing it), and being calm but not quiet with his words.

"It is as it is" - loving Wei Wuxian is a fact for Lan Wangji, backed up by his actions.

They never go out of their way to think of certain events differently. Perhaps, that's what takes them so much time and 2 life times to get together. Because, hell, it's obvious to us. But you're telling me Lan Wangji wouldn't stand up for anyone who's in the right and framed incorrectly? He totally would. Lan Zhan is just that nice. Similarly, Wei Wuxian is also just that nice.

He took a brand for Mianmian. He couldn't remember her for a minute afterwards. He saved Su She. Twice. He has no idea who Su She is. So, yes. He did a lot of things for Lan Wangji but what is he supposed to be?

I love how their relationship is built upon a pact of no apologies and no thanks. Loving each other isn't a duty, a responsibility or a debt. It is just natural. There's nothing to be repaid. There's only things to discover together.

You don't need to thank me because thanking means you recognize my effort as helping you, but you are not required to - as it is the nature of things. I will help you. You will help me. We will never measure who helps each other more. You don't need to apologize for your actions, because I trust that you will not do wrong unto me. Never by intention.

And, let's talk about how they gravitate towards each other ?? Lan Wangji sitting in Gusu thinking about Wei Wuxian and his lotus seeds and stems theory. Wei Wuxian sitting in Lotus Pier thinking of Lan Wangji. Analyzing every word the other has said, thinking back to all that they have done for each other, lingering not on the pain they have caused each other but the happiness, and you know, that they'll be able to talk about the pain, through the pain, because they are people rooted in the present.

I imagine just how insane it would be for Wei Wuxian, the no golden core until the age of 9 to head disciple to one of the strongest cores to the reason why Yunmeng Jiang win every night hunt event at Discussion Conferences, to lock swords with Lan Wangji and feel, "Ah, this is an equal. This is a new puzzle to be solved. This is a cabbage to be pricked (canon)."

And for Lan Wangji, who's equated insolence and disobedience with poor performance to suddenly come upon someone who appears larger than life, raking up answers and top spots in tests, and duelling as an equal yet never adhering to the rules, finding loopholes and shaking up Lan Wangji's whole dimension.

Another thing I really love is how Lan Wangji isn't, like, his uncle. Or his brother. He isn't his uncle in the ways that he allows himself to break rules when they don't align with the rules he considers superior - his moral calling. His hanguang-jun-ness. He absolutely loves rules; he does; and he loves his stability but he's not afraid to embrace change if it is required.

And, Lan Zhan just isn't his brother. He doesn't like you? Trust, you're gonna know. He thinks you're stupid? It's going to be translated across. He's not going to appease you, or make his presence or his wishes lesser to comfort you. He is his own person (which is so similar to how Wei Wuxian is; like poor boy was punished all the time for being himself, at Lotus Pier by Madam Yu, and yet he never downplayed his talents. He never bowed down.)

And I think it's obvious just how well Lan Wangji knows how worthless words can be if they're not followed with actions. Similarly for Wei Wuxian, he speaks a lot. But he does do what he speak. Protect Jiang Cheng? He will. Fight for Lotus Pier? He will. Protect the Wens? He will absolutely.

Thus, you see, as a couple they will never have to face those sorts of arguments where someone seriously states how they feel about A event but behaves differently when they can do something about it. As a couple they will never have to worry about the other not being themselves. Compromising is one thing - pretense is another. Wei Wuxian compromises and doesn't try to break rules. Understands that he's going to insult Lan Wangji's position by acting out. Lan Wangji compromises and breaks some rules for him. They both compromise and take care of each other's needs and habits to cohabitate together successfully, and at the same time, there's no pretense. No lying. No manipulation. No "I'm fine when I'm not."

Think of them going to night hunts together, with Wei Wuxian's easy brilliance and Lan Wangji's easy dependency. Like that guy, is strong and capable enough to protect Wei Ying. He knows that. Wei Ying knows that. The cultivation world knows that.

Think of how both of them are such healthy adults and loving to children. Lan Wangji isn't a cold dad and Wei Wuxian isn't an irresponsible one. They're both so very capable.

So, my point is - Wangxian is perfect. I will die on this ship.

[marshmallow-biscuit-blog]

I don't think people realize how much I love wizards in general. Like. My grandma chose ME to take care of her collection of wizards, dragons, and other mythical things. So many wizards lol. Like where I'm sitting I have her favorites out next to me on display where I draw and game. There's two shelves. On the bottom shelf, there's a music box wizard that's a royal blue with gold trims and stars, with a cane/staff, in a snow globe that sits on a castle. It's 50+ years old and still works! In front of that, there's two little wizards, one's very simplistic, but purple and sparkly. The other is blue and more detailed, and is holding an orb. Furthest away, there's another royal blue wizard, this time with a white coat trim, as well as an orb. He has a cane/staff. Top shelf has a wizard made out of silver, with a dragon, a cane/staff, and another orb. It was a thing to hold up candles. Anyways, grandma and I loved wizards dearly. She's the one who was browsing wizard stuff and found wizard101 and asked if I wanted to try it out. I don't want to risk knocking the stuff down trying to take photos, but these are the ones I was talking about. I took some pictures of them Sept of 2022 when I unboxed them again.

Here's some bonuses that aren't on display.

A personal favorite of mine, but I didn't want to risk it getting broken because it tips easy.

An incense burner.

I believe this was her first ever one. It was a candle, so it attracted dirt and hair really easy. That's why it's so dirty.

There was a dragon to go with that one lol. I've posted her whole fantasy collection before, but these ones meant the world to her.

[windvexer]

what part of your craft do you think looks the coolest? regardless of how powerful or helpful it is lol

Looks the coolest? Fun question :D

I'd definitely have to say the handicrafts.

I mean come on, he's so cool, right?

I really really enjoy creating things and I've made from scratch, or heavily modified, almost everything I use (exceptions being things like mortar and pestle or metal incense burners; these are things used to hold or make modified things).

Look at that. That's an orange doily over some cat bones, and that's weird, so I like it. I even made and enchanted the wick in the oil lamp :D

And look at this weird little dude! (I still haven't finished him yet):

I needed a Rosemary Guy, but the problem is that rosemary flakes really badly as it dries and I'd want to replace it. So I made him into a plant holder! I just think he's so cool.

So yeah I think that all the stuff I make looks really cool, making things is probably my favorite part of witchcraft in my life and it brings me so much joy ^-^

Thanks for sending this ask, thinking about all my little crafts has put me in a really good mood

(By the way I got the cast iron mortar and pestle from @upthewitchypunx 's shop and I really like it, I'd recommend one if you're looking to expand your toolset)