#truly one of the funniest people on this site

[aelswiths]

Everybody Loves Me by OneRepublic

For @jeynepoole

[artistnerd24]

….

Just heard the news and read the docs

…

I’m just truly speechless at this point. I have no clue what to say. QSMP has been my hyper fixation and love for almost 10 months now and for the past month it just seems like everything has been crushing down. I guess it’s a good thing I started distancing myself from it a month ago after Jaiden… now it kinda hurts less.

Admins, you guys have been some of the most funniest and amazing people out there. You have made my days and made me laugh and smile during some of the toughest times of my life. I hope you guys can go on to lead amazing lives, you deserve it :).

Thank you admins, thank you Quackity (Yes he did mess up but it’s not all his fault), and just in general, thank you QSMP and the fandom.

This fandom has helped me get much more proud of culture, got me to meet amazing fans and creators (especially great creators), gave me days of joy and laughter, lit my creative fuel on days I needed it most and so much more. I’m sorry if I’m doom-posting and saying bye too early but I would rather just rip the band-aid off and do it now before I completely realize this and start crying. Without Qsmp, I kind of have no other reason to stay on Tumblr anymore so unless we get any other news of the state of the server, this is probably my last written post and I’m probably either going to just silently reb;of from time to time or am going to leave this site. I’ve always just used Tumblr to interact with QSMPblr and find great fan arts and fan fics. Speaking of which, QSMPblr, I just want to say that you guys took me so quickly and made me feel so welcome and this is one of the nicest fandoms I’ve been in so for that I thank you and hope you guys can get through this and that we can all one day just be able to look back and appreciate the great times we had together :)

Well… bye then :3 (?)

[undiscloscd]

𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐘 𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐇𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐓𝐎 𝐌𝐘 𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐎𝐍𝐄!

ginger, my favorite person on this godforsaken site, the actual reason i'm still here - you can interpret that as you want, but you make it worthwhile! i'm so forever grateful for your friendship, you are one of the kindest, smartest, funniest and talented people i know and you truly deserve the best, so i hope today will be the best day ever <3 the mattia to my guenther, i love you forever and ever<3 @heavensorhells

[suuho]

Omg Kaz if you are too busy it's absolutely not obligatory but I was wondering if you could make a list of videos for getting to know got7? Like the one you made for pentagon! I don't know anything about got7 but I would like to and you always seem to have so many cool recommendations! Again only if you have the time and want to!! Thank you :-)

hi!!! i am not too busy! i'm aghase for life so i am very happy to help you out here, got7 is seriously one of the best groups ever, and one of the top 2 groups to come out of jyp. it's crazy that they got it so right twice in a row. 2pm are, like, the godfathers of got7, and it is actually pretty endearing to see that some of them are very close! junho considers jinyoung of got7 his dongsaeng and they are very good friends (as seen on junho's most recent i live alone appearance). more under the cut!

anyways. so, got7 are, in age order: mark (rapper, visual, american member), jayb (leader, main vocal), jackson (main rapper, face of the group, chinese member), jinyoung (lead vocal, dancer, visual, center, face of the group), youngjae (main vocal), bambam (rapper, thai member), yugyeom (main dancer, vocal, maknae).

the entire rap line of got7 is the international line or called the atk (amerithaikong) line, which is insane if you think about it. entire rap line (rap!!!!) made of some dudes who aren't even performing in their first language. that takes guts and talents. every member in the group has either produced or written songs for got7, jaebeom is their primary producer, but so are jinyoung and youngjae. yugyeom, too. jinyoung has been known to choreograph for the group, and vigilantly monitors their performances. bambam is the most fashion forward member and it is all over his body of work, which is so exciting.

jackson is jackson, like, that is literally jackson wang and if you open youtube and type in his name you will find tons of videos because he is really the face of the group and a very well established solo artist, too. here is his latest big single blow which is truly a serve, the earworm inducing 100 ways, and my personal favorite LMLY. here is jackson answering the web's most searched questions and his little stint on the late late show with james corden.

anyways, moving on.

got7 song association, elle; this is a very easy and breezy intro to who got7 is and their very own, personal brand of clownery.

got7 takes a friendship test, glamour; this is one of my favorite videos of got7, and my comfort video too. it is funny and sweet and you learn a lot about the members and their chemistry.

7 things you don't know about got7, mtv news; another easy and fun one.

Interview with people tv; probably their most iconic interview for a lot of hysterical reasons. this is 24 minutes long but not a single minute is wasted.

got7 hard carry season 2 & 2.5; so, the entirety of this was on got7's vlive channel but vlive has been eaten by weverse (fuck hybe, man) so here is a youtube playlist of some bits and pieces. this was the show that made me fall irrevocably in love with got7. season 2.5 is on youtube in its entirety, and i'm pretty sure if you look for season 2 on the usual sites, they might have uploaded it there.

got7's TMI lab, M2; what it says on the tin. the first episode is not subbed, so just start with the second. lots of fun nonsense here. got7 truly are variety idol royalty.

performances:

nanana mv; their latest comeback and the first after leaving jyp.

crash & burn, be original; yugyeom and jackson choreographed this. one of the coolest performances they have ever done.

crash & burn, music bank; they performed live here and i always include this in my recs because of youngjae's stunning live adlibs (at 3:00). he is on par with minjun of 2pm as the best vocalist jyp has ever had. it's truly bonkers.

you are van live; this is my favorite got7 title track and this is one of the best and funniest and realest things they have ever done. live performers.

never ever cooking live; they sing and decorate a cake. what is not to adore.

1° tape; their live performance of spinning top's 1°. one of the best songs in their entire discography, written by yugyeom. everyone is so stunning here, especially youngjae.

if you do, mbc music festival; iconic performance of an absolutely perfect track. they slowed it down in the first half but the performance does not suffer whatsoever.

just right comeback stage; their big breakthrough hit. like 2pm, rookie got7 were known for their intense martial arts choreography.

lullaby pyjama version; live in living color, baby! this song has insanely fun choreography.

AAA awards medley; the greatest to ever do it. absolute beasts.

poison, be original; this is just a great song with such clever choreography (by jinyoung, yugyeom and jackson), once again. there is one performance where jinyoung forgot his handkerchief.

runaway, 6th fanmeeting; the only time they performed the greatest track in their entire discography live. written and produced by jinyoung.

breath (written and produced by youngjae), you are, fan favorite page, encore, not by the moon, thursday, you calling my name (including yugyeom’s very own gashina moment)

on top of it all, the members all have solo careers. jaebeom has  released under his stage name jay b (including the breakdancing he was known for in got7) and his producer tag Def. yugyeom is at AOMG, which houses LeeHi and GRAY, and has released quite a bit solo stuff. his collab with gray, all your fault, is absolutely brilliant and required listening. bambam is at abyss now, the same label sunmi is at, and has shown the world that he is a true allrounder. he is now a fixed cast member of variety show master in the house.

youngjae is at sublime, the very same company handling all of jackson's korean releases, and i just want them to finally make jjap jjap project a real thing. here they both are on youngjae's radio show, best friend! youngjae starred in midnight sun (musical) last year, and he starred in so not worth it, netflix's first korean sitcom, and it is as delightful as it sounds. his solo music is very poppy and cool; here is sugar, his latest comeback. youngjae is such a special case because he only trained for a few months after he got into jyp, and then debuted straight off the bat as the main vocal. he won awards in high school for his singing and he made it a point to often perform fully live (occasionally blowing out his voice in the process, but hey, that's dedication.)

jinyoung is the most established actor in all of got7. he most recently starred in the second season of yumi's cells, and the tvn drama The Devil Judge (HUGE recommendation). he had a cameo in the first episode of reborn rich, and starred in he is psychometric and when my love blooms. he has just released his first solo album, but his first ever solo release dive is outstanding. perfect pop rock.

mark has released an entire solo album, including the singles last breath, my life, and lonely. those songs are so mind-bogglingly good, it is hard to comprehend that got7's most introverted member just came out of the gate swinging right away.

their best albums imo are: spinning top, call my name, 7 for 7, breath of love, and the entire flight log trilogy that has to be seen as a full body of work.

flight log is got7's own, lore heavy narrative (like bts' most beautiful moment), that starts with flight log: departure and corresponding title track fly, is continued by flight log: turbulence and iconic got7 banger hard carry, and ends with flight log: arrival and the incomparable never ever. jinyoung is the protagonist of the story, and it is all very, y'know. life and death. very tragic and beautiful.

ah, i think this is quite enough, sorry! i hope this can be of any help to you. thank you so much for that nice ask, i had a lot of fun compiling this. ♡

[ouroborosorder]

well, elon musk has instigated a rate limiter, meaning you can only see 600 tweets a day. this is easy to hit by accident, and certainly has nothing to do with the fact that he refused to pay the bills for server hosting and now the site runs like shit. so. twitter is definitively dead.

it's bittersweet, to be honest. like, yes, it was a hellhole of human misery structurally designed to isolate and exacerbate the worst of human behavior so that parts of your soul could be sold to marketers. but also like. we had some good times. i met some genuinely good friends who i cherish greatly. the 40-50 feral hogs day is truly one of the funniest days of my entire life.

i dunno. it's a net positive for the human heart, but i think this will genuinely collapse industries and hurt people more than it helps. we built a world reliant on twitter, and then the person who was most caught up in it decided to burn it all to the ground in one last act of... i guess defiance? If defiance can be purely accidental?

[starscelly]

uhhh 🫣 hi. 💌

AHH HELLO <3 !! ur literally one of my fav people to see in my notifs like. full stop. but also u always leave the the funniest tags and replies like im giggling every time?? idk how u do it?? and i think you’ve said u havent been watching/heavily following hockey for long which blows my mind bc ur knowledge abt it is actually INSANE for not being involved in it for long!!! like ur mind must be a sponge i feel like u know more abt them than i do a lot of the time!! and ik it sounds like a copout answer to compliment someone with “nice” but like youve genuinely created like? such a kind welcoming vibe? like i truly appreciate the energy u bring to this site. whenever we’re talking in replies or u tag me in smthn or add tags onto a post like. it just always comes off very genuinely sweet and real which i just. i love and value a lot!!! keep slaying and being funny as hell ily <3

[littlecornerinbrooklyn]

every 6 months or so I go check to see if one of the funniest ad copy mistakes is still live (across multiple SKU's) on a certain influencer's website and it's been honestly a delight each time because no one has caught it and I don't understand how!!!!

like it's on new products that they've launched since the last time I checked I just truly can't understand how this got past even two people's eyeballs without being flagged!

this site is truly riddled with inconsistencies and like...copy-editing is so widely available and SO worth the investment. Like why are some captions all lower-case too-cool-to-care millennial style while others blatantly are not! there are multiple discrepancies of .. vs ... like babes figure it out this is publicly viewable!

[semperama]

🙆‍♂️

Rissa, you are no doubt one of the funniest people on this webbed site!! I also think it's really thoughtful and amazing of you to put together all those Charles primers. I think it can be hard to get into F1 because it feels like there's SO much backstory you're missing, so it's really nice to have someone wade through all that information and put it in a digestible form for others. It's very generous of you to do that for people, especially because I know it takes so much time! Also, thank you for putting up with us hardcore Daniel stans even when we are truly deranged, haha. I'm so glad we're mutuals!!

[madasrabbits]

Hai🍓

Lev you are truly one of the funniest people on this damn site and you are one of my absolute faborite mutuals. im obsessed with ur mind fr

[queermania]

You are consistently one of the funniest/funnest people on this webbed site and most consistently get the most miserable people in your inbox and on your posts and I'm so sorry you have to deal with that

haha thank you <3 tbh most people who interact with me/my blog are very pleasant. there are some consistently annoying people but i think i've only ever been sent three messages that were truly upsetting and they weren't even aimed at me. it was more disturbing that someone thought it was an appropriate thing to say to anyone let alone to a stranger on the internet?? but truly the good outweighs the bad here

[leggerefiore]

Gossamer

cw: unhealthy relationships, demons, general horror

Demons were creatures of myth and legend. Often, they were used to frightened people into beliefs and prayers, or to explain illness of both the mind and body. Many feared the very idea of their existence and did everything within their personal power to keep them at bay. You, however, could only watch the two demons in your living room with affection. You summoned them by accident after a friend had dared you to do some 'totally real' ritual from a shock site. Your life was forfeit, you presumed as they truly appeared upon completion. Pearl white eyes with dark ink slits peered through your very being. Their very presence was ethereal, and you felt your mind crumble the longer you stared into those eyes. It was impossible to break the contact, though. A frigid wind surrounded you and consumed the innards of soul, freezing it and reshaping it. Your body no longer could bear the burden imposed by the demonic entities. The world faded into a void of night.

 You awoke unexpectedly. Shooting straight up, the bed around you was soon understood to be your own. Your bedroom greeted you kindly and you wondered if you had dreamt the whole scenario. That was until something shifted beside you. Ice swarmed through your blood as the creature beside you moved to enclose its arms around you. Instinct dictated as you landed on your feet and threw open the cheap wooden door of your bedroom. No sounds followed from behind, so you assumed that perhaps it saw no reason to stalk after you. Your apartment was absolutely glacial as you dashed into your living room. Why was it suddenly so cold? Your bed had been so pleasantly warm. You had no time to think about it as you ran for the front door. The time never came as your attempt became thwarted by the door fading into the wall. The only way to explain the action was, one moment an ugly birch door obscured your only hope of escape and in the next it was a part of the ugly cream white walls.

 Your body ran hot as your heart raced into overtime against the frigid air nipping away at your body. Was this hell? This must have been a punishment for daring to summon something unholy. The world around you was made to torture you. All you could do is weep at the madness while your mind created worse and worse scenes for your future. Then, the coolness faded into a gentle warmth. A lengthy form engulfed your own with loving coos. One of the demons held you against its airy body. The solidity of its form came across unsteady and if it squeezed too tightly you speculated you would sink into it. Everything about its presence calmed your worries and borne your mind anew. Then its smile spread across the face too wide, and its unworldly voice spoke to you, "I am Emmet."

Nothing made sense as you sat in its lap. The shows on television all were in some incongruous language that hurt your ears when you put in effort to recognize the distinct verbalizations. The visuals also were just out of your range of comprehension. Flashes of faces with contorted expressions into some sort of creature with six wings. Endless static. Emmet, as it introduced itself, laughed at the show like it was one of the funniest things. You did not understand how or why. Occasionally, the monotony was broken a by a kiss placed on your neck or stroke down your forearm. Then, as if it had never vanished in the first place, your front door returned to its rightful place in reality. The other demon entered soon after with bags of some unknown items and stared blankly at your status. It shut the door behind it as it returned to the wall. "Are they doing alright, brother?" its voice was unearthly as its brother yet somehow much louder. It echoed within your cage of bones and left many imprints as it went.

 Emmet petted your head like a dog and gave another discomfited grin. The teeth within the mouth were sharp and numerous, too many and perfectly white. "Their first response was to run away, Ingo. Is that not cruel?" its tone was strangely whiny, "I only went to give them a hug. The bonding must have frightened them." Ingo, the other brother, nodded. "I'd say so, it rendered them unconscious," he (suddenly 'it' felt as the wrong descriptor for him) placed the bags down on your kitchen counter. Emmet whispered inaudible words into your ear then placed a kiss to it. "Give them a few years to get adjusted to it. It will pass before any of us realize," Ingo began to unload his items and put them away into your cupboards. Groceries. How had he obtained them? You were focused on the wrong thing, you scolded yourself. Years, he specifically said years. How could he speak of years as though it was something akin to minutes? You needed to escape, but how could you leave?

 Life became odd and nonsensical. When you slept it was always dark and endless with visions of things that might have been recollections. When you ate the food tasted strongly, like someone had added too much of an ingredient yet it was impossible to pinpoint just what. When you simply sat still everything seemed to peel away around you and eyes felt as if they looked up at you from below your feet. The only time things felt anywhere near reasonable was with the twin demons. Both spent a large amount of their time with you. Usually, one was there with when the other had to leave. The few times you had been completely alone were maddening. You had begun screaming near instantly and everything hurt while something wanted desperately to be filled. Time failed logic and you spent what must have been days in that state. One twin always returned to hold you, however. Within their arms everything stopped for a moment. Then, before you knew it, you were back home in your own reality.

 You shot up and scanned your surroundings with disheartened eyes. The temperature felt regulated by a unit and your upstairs neighbour stomped around loudly. On your feet quickly, you ran into the bathroom to splash water on your face. Was that a dream? It could not have been. Everything felt authentic and tangible. The cold water hit your face and nothing about your home shifted. A single step was taken back from the sink before you began to bawl your eyes out on the cheap linoleum of your bathroom. This was reality; you were free. Pure, unbridled alleviation came in tsunami waves through your wrecked brain. You were going to call your friend and yell at them for putting you through that after you managed to calm down.

 As your hysterics settled down, you heart sunk. Footsteps approached the bathroom. No, no, no, no- You were home! This was reality! Emmet peered in from your bedroom with his eerie smile. He could not be here. He was not real. You wanted to scream, but your voice was caught in your throat. His strides were careful as stepped toward your shivering form. Cold, it was cold again. "Darling, the bond is sealed," his grin unsettling as always. "It is time to depart." There was no point in running- You did not want to go- Why? Why? Why?

 The memories still sent shivers down your spine. You leaned into Ingo's embrace for small comfort as he read some ancient tome. They had no idea you did not understand anything and just assumed you were like that in character. You obviously must have been a witch to have summoned such powerful demons with ease, they claimed. Ingo apologized many times for their failure to notice your discomfort. It was not often they dealt with humans, so your emotions did not reach them. Emmet cried about how they had essentially tortured you for years without even knowing it. The idea he had caused inexplicable pain onto his soulmate nearly sent him into a frenzy. Ingo calmed him down before your friend, likely elderly by now, got a terrifying demon on their front mat. Part of you did want him to go after them. Did they even know what they had done to you? It was extremely unlikely they ever had a smidgen of an idea. This tome was horribly boring, you had complained at the older demon. He shushed you and kept reading. Ironic, coming from him. Emmet had gone off on some unstated business (they always insisted you had no reason to involve yourself).

 You simply wondered what was for dinner that evening.

[moved-to-piersgender]

So yeah, the ayes have it, here's the story of how I first met Mettaton. Put under a cut for way, way too much discussion of silicone weiners and age inappropriate Google searches

So it's the year of our Lord 2015, and the game Undertale's been out for a few months. I don't have a Tumblr account, but I lurk there a fair bit, and so of course I hear a few things about it there and at school (I went to a charter school for nerds, it was pretty great actually). I knew there were skeletons and a fish lady, but nothing peaked my interest enough for me to go out of my way to play it.

What did interest me as a teenaged nascent monster-fucker was bypassing the houses' parental controls and googling things I shouldn't. One of these things was the wonderful world of fantasy d.ildos. Not even in an "ooh, titillating" way at first, but very much in a "damn, just what are people gonna make to put in thier holes next" kinda way. To put it simply, I was a prurient little freak. Of course B.ad Dragon was the first one I heard about, but that opened up the opportunity to ogle other silicone members other sites were selling through the forum they used to have, where discussions of just how good the dicks were at thier... function were had.

A lot of people talked about paying extra for custom prints so thier sex toys would better match whatever character they were lusting after the most. And one site (Frisky Beast) for a while specialized in robot dicks for the robot fuckers. And one person, of course, was paying over $100 to get one in the colors of an Undertale character, one who's name I hadn't heard through passive pop cultural absorption. She planned and bought a truly impressive disco stick of pink, silver, and black, and linked to her Tumblr where she discussed the ordering process and showed off pictures of it further. You could beat a cop to death with this magnificent beast, I'm telling you.

And the funniest part? I checked her Mettaton tag because I was curious about this character I hadn't heard of and what he looked like to inspire such lustful enthusiasm... and my takeaway from the pages and pages of Mettaton railing and getting railed on her blog was that he was way too feminine for my taste. It was only after actually playing the game myself in 2021 that I realized that she was completely right actually.

Damn I miss old Tumblr sometimes...

TLDR: So yeah, I found out about Mettaton's existence via a robot fucker paying a fair bit of money for his fucking massive cyber-schlong... it's exactly what he would want.

[eyoricka]

Pete’s assistant - Pete Davidson

Words: 2160

Warning: 2 curse words

Requested: yes

You had been Pete’s assistant for many years now. You had begun as an intern at NBC and that’s how you met Pete. The two of you immediately clicked, there was like a strange bond between you like you always knew each other or were meant to meet, to work together. So at the end of your internship, Pete asked you if you wanted to be his assistant, to help him with pretty much everything. He wasn’t famous enough to really have a publicist, so you also fill up this role. It was funny at first. Pete was nice to you, never asking for anything impossible to get. Contrary to many other celebs with their assistant, he treated you like his equal. Planning interviews was something you enjoyed, he was mostly in some presented by his friends, so it was pretty chill, and you learnt so much. You let Pete took charge of his social media presence, he was more than okay at it, was natural and able to create a connection with his fans.

However, at some point everything changed. Pete got way bigger, he was famous like really famous, not just known by SNL and stand-ups afficionados.  Things got out of hand quickly. You still liked to work for Pete, he was still adorable to you but handling negative comments, the infamous song about him, people reactions and the repercussions on his mental health was a nightmare. You had too much to think about: to make sure he was feeling okay or at least not too bad, to make sure he would sleep, eat, not take too much drugs, go to work, go outside, try to stop the continuous harassment… Pete hired a publicist to take some weight out of your shoulders and have someone who would focus only on his impacted public image. Even though, Pete was probably at rock bottom, it was nice to see that he would still be kind to you, trying to smile a bit when you were ding your best to cheer him up.

And this is how the problems began for you. You knew the rule number one of any assistant: never fall for your boss. But you couldn’t help it. You had always loved his personality however you never considered having feelings for him. However, seeing him hurt, fragile but still caring about his close circle, still trying his best everyday for people he loved, still being nice when he could easily be an ass and take the heartbreak as an excuse, was enough to make you acknowledged that maybe you wanted to be more than a friend to him.

You decided to keep your emotions for yourself. You didn’t want to make a fool of yourself or lose your job and friend for feelings that would never be reciprocated. To forget about them, you went on dates with several people, it was a failure. Every time you could stop yourself from comparing your date with Pete. Even if some people were funny enough, smart enough, kind enough, they were simply not enough. A date with them was pleasant but you couldn’t picture more, and it would be cruel to force a relationship with someone you didn’t have feelings for just to hide your current crush. So after some dates you gave up on the idea of finding someone for the moment and preferred to take time for yourself. As the year went on, you were the witness of Pete’s different and non-working relationships. You were happy for him, truly. He was able to move on which was great and he felt more like himself. But it still hurt to see him get far too involved in relations that were doomed to fail. He was too intense and passionate for his own good. You advised him to follow your example and take time for himself, to love himself and understand what he wanted, needed from a partner. Surprisingly, he did it and it did good on him.

A few months later, you were at a small gathering to celebrate Pete’s Netflix comedy special. The reviews were good, and the audience was following, it was great to watch Pete’s career on track to success, he would finally be recognized for his art. You were talking to Dave about the process of writing when you are down and how cathartic humor is. You glanced distractedly several times in Pete’s direction confident that you were discreet. As your drink was empty, you scanned the room to find the nearest bottle of a beverage you like. Your eyes met Colson’s ones and he grinned mischievously at you. You rose an eyebrow wondering why he looked like a devious elf and quickly manage to appease your thoughts, rationalizing that it was only Colson being his drunk and high self.  

As you made your way to the counter full of bottles to pour you a glass, you felt two hands clapped your shoulders. You turned promptly and faced Colson who was smirking even wider.

“What do you want?” You asked not surprised by his presence but cautious about what he was about to say.

“Well just to chat with a lovely assistant, it has been a while since we haven’t talk.” He replied sweetly, an innocent smile replacing his smirk and you understood fully well why so many girls were crazy about him.

“Cut the crap” You deadpanned, not in the mood for his banter.

“I still wonder why I try to sugarcoat things with you” he mumbled certainly more for himself. After some long seconds of silence, he let out in a charming voice: “Don’t you think that would be the perfect night?”

You weren’t sure of what he was implying. He liked flirting but you seriously doubt that he was since he would never cross that border, maybe he was just bored or wanted to tease you. You didn’t give him the satisfaction of an answer that would fuel his joust.

“You don’t ask me the perfect night for what?” He added kind of amused by your lack of reaction. “Well I will tell you anyway because else it wouldn’t be funny. So my dear don’t you think it would be the perfect night to admit your badly hidden feelings for you know who.”

You gulped at those words. You attempt to come back with a witty, chill repartee that would show that you were diverted by this non-sense and not knowing about what he was talking about, but your mind was blank. You were sure that tonight before sleeping while your mind would replay this scene, you would think of many clever replies.

“Still no answer, I bet that this time it is not for the same reason, right” Colson joked, and you cursed yourself.

“I just don’t understand what you mean” you eventually managed to say, cringing at this lame attempt to act cool.

“Your blushing cheeks and stiff body are telling the opposite” Nice even your own body was now betraying you.

“I get that you are bored Colson and even if it would probably be the funniest thing of your night, I don’t plan on becoming the biggest idiot of the party for your entertainment. I know Pete doesn’t like me and it is okay, you can’t control someone’s feelings and…”

“I hope you realize that you already are the biggest idiot of the night” He cut you “and Pete is too. I can’t get my head around the fact that you are both blind, incapable of seeing the way the other looks at you. Shshshsh don’t reply, don’t want to waste my time on hearing you tell me that I am lying, imagining stuffs, and complaining about my behavior, I‘ve already had this long speech from Pete. You can do whatever you want, go tell him or don’t but just know that you don’t risk much. And don’t count on him to come, he is sure he has no chance. So please have the balls for the both you.” He was about to leave you there with many contradictory thoughts filling your head when he leaned to whisper: “But really please do tell him tonight, I bet some bucks with John that you would be the brave one, don’t prove me wrong.”

You nudged him and he burst out of laughter as you showered him with imaginative curses. You decided to sit few minutes just to take time to reflect. You needed to process what you just heard. If indeed had feelings for you, things would change drastically. You felt yourself slowly but surely drifting into panic. A part of your brain was screaming that it was lies maybe because it was easier to accept than the truth. You had dreamt of this but it was a dream and you weren’t sure that you were ready for that right now. Intrusive thoughts were running in your head defeating your ounce of rationality and calm. One of your hand was clenched on your drink firmly and you closed your eyes while inhaling and exhaling to relax yourself. From the outside you certainly looked crazy but you didn’t care, it didn’t even crossed your mind.

You were so focused on your breath that you didn’t notice someone siting next to you and neither feel this person hand on yours. When you opened your eyes, you detect that you were no longer alone and the person with you was none other than Pete. He softly smiled at you and you felt like dying inside, this smile was enough to make you forget any doubts, anything, to appease. You smiled back at him kindly. He seemed to be struggling to say something and you took the lead.

“I guess that Colson talks to you too, huh?” You questioned, your voice was a bit shaking and you had eaten half of your words however you knew that he had understood you.

“Kind of” he stated and your next words died in your throat, you were losing your confidence. Those tow simple words held a clear message: yes we talk but no I don’t like you. “Actually, John did most of the talking” he joked or at least try to. He was also way to stress to really be funny.

You wanted to say something, to admit what was consuming you inside nevertheless you were scared, you refuse to be too blunt on this. You had to be subtle, to find a way to make him realize but without saying it, so if the feelings were not reciprocal it would not be too awkward.

“Colson mentioned a bet on us” You hid your reddening face behind your drink and casually take a sip or at least as casually as you can considering your current position.

“I heard about it too” His fingers were drumming against his tights in nervousness. “I am kind of bother by it you see.” You nodded, you felt crushed inside, of course he would be bothered, who would not be bothered to be shipped with someone they don’t have feelings for. You did everything you could to remain still and not crack, not now, not in front of him, of his friends. “I don’t really any of them to get this money like I guess I want them to be right, but I don’t like them betting on us”. You blinked several times not sure if you were on the same page. “I am not very clear, I am? Well obviously, I am not, I have never been very clear in those situations. Maybe clearer than now, because now what I am saying is a mess, well normally it is confused but understandable. And I am rambling right now and I don’t even know why. Maybe because it is intimidating, like we know each other for so long and what I am saying is that it is different.”  

He had lost you with his confused sentences, was he trying to reject you or the contrary. You wanted a certain answer, not an interpretation based on a wrong reading of the situation, actually you did not want this answer, you needed it. He was still digressing when you took the courage to interrupt him: “Pete please listen to me okay.” He shut up and looked at you in the eyes, sort of hanging of the words you would pronounce. “I like you Pete and not like I like Ricky or John, I mean not like a friend. Do you understand?”

There were few awfully long seconds of silence before you felt Pete’s forehead against yours and his hands on yours. “Fuck, you are a lot better at verbalizing this than I am” He smiled brightly, he was so beautiful when he was happy. “Can I kiss you?” He asked still quite unsure and you gently pressed your lips against his. It was a short and sweet kiss, the kind that promise wonderful tomorrows full of love, full of life.

[jasperwhitcock]

hello, ive noticed that my feed has been super dry lately even though I follow lots of people and i think it’s because a lot of fans have left tumblr :( and i follow people from different timezones so when I’m asleep my feed is full but when I’m awake it’s just *crickets* so can you please recommend me active twilight blogs, preferably who go by PST, please? im on tumblr 24/7 cause i need distractions lol also throwback to pre-midnight sun release when twilight tumblr was hella active and there was so much content :( i miss that

only the strong remain 💔 alright here is my twilight blog starter kit follow list. some of my fave blogs, the blogs i see most often on my dash, my bffs even if they’re on hiatus, etc. i’ll try to note their time zones if i’m sure of them bc if i’m wrong that’d be so embarrassing fhjshfjsf if u want to dm or reply w ur time zone i’ll update this post!

PST/MST: @paulxlahotee (wolfpack content, a cutie, will make u earrings that make u feel like a bad bitch) @the-golden-onion (a literal angel from heaven above i truly adore mads w my entire heart she got u on mike newton & mr. molina content) @cullen-collective (esme if smeyer wrote her to have a sense of humor and witty tongue. will take u under her wing and sing to u) @phil-dwyer-stan-account (hiatus but pls ask her astrology questions she will explain to u why u are the way that u are), @lemonadebottlecap (idek remember what it was but one of her tags made me LAUGH so much the other day), @edytheelizabethcullen (alex is the sweetest, u must follow),

CST: @howlonghaveyoubeenseventeen (JACOB/WOLFPACK CONTENT, truly EVERYBODY’S friend, the sweetest person, pls send her pics of cute dogs)

EST: @kaquiche (funny, friendly, twilight video editing QUEEN, will be ur bff in 2 seconds), @bellaskhakis (cursed content, a demon, my greatest enemy, ok i’m kidding she will be so sweet to u but once u get close she will roast tf out of u we are like sisters), @teamjacobthot (wolfpack content, dij is probably the coolest person u will meet on this site), @bellasredchevy (kae is the god of the renaissance idk what else to say besides that bc this is a proven fact i adore her & her witty humor), @inthemiddleofmymidnight (that’s my best friend she’s a real bad bitch i love kim not a single post fucking misses), @swanresidence (CUTIE, she got JOKES she been making me laugh so much in my dms), @leahclearwaterdefensesquad (LEAH CONTENT/wolfpack content, kate has my heart), @volturialice i will forever be in love w g she is the mother i never had, she is the sister everybody would want she is the friend that everybody deserves i don’t know a better person, alice/fanfic content), @bellas-dumptruck-ass (i will never not giggle at this url but elaine is sososo funny but also so smart, always making POINTS), @renegadepack (wolfpack content, aaron is a tru must follow)

GMT: i think they’re GMT if i’m wrong i am deleting this whole post and my own blog in embarrassment: @carllisle @notquitetwilight / @stillnotquitetwilight (literally the chaos twins that people headcanon emmett & bella to be, they are putting out the best & also maybe the most cursed content rn), @carlislesscarf (they keep my dash alive), @witchyangela / @incorrectwolfpack (a tru angel, wolfpack/angela content)

IDK THE TIME ZONE: @stregoni-benefici (also responsible for keeping my dash alive, a cutie w lots of esme/carlisle content), @iknowyouloveme-thanks (literally the funniest memes), @su-angelvicioso (if u want maria content look no further), @rosaalee alex & bri are a package deal so u must follow bri too, moodboard content), @ohyoudosmellgood (omg i just realized i think i need to dm u back we have literally been having the same conversation for like three months we suck, an angel, carlesme content), @influenzabella (if ur looking for active, i always see influenzabella on my dash!!!) as well as @rose-lily-hale (CST) @redeyedsaint @twilightofficial @khakiskirtslut @edwardssnail (EST) they give me something to look at daily i adore u all thank u for ur service, twilight veterans that were here before my time and ain’t going nowhere post midnight sun craze, post the end of the world: @panlight @edwardsvirginity

[ibijau]

Future Past pt17 / on AO3

After being dragged on a Night Hunt by Nie Mingjue, Lan Xichen ponders the choices in front of him

“And that’s when Sect Leader Yao fell face first into the bog,” Nie Mingjue finished with a grin.

Lan Xichen, who had been fighting not to react for most of the story, burst out laughing so hard he had to stop walking, before quickly pressing one hand to his mouth in a vain effort to silence himself.

“There, I knew I hadn’t lost my touch,” Nie Mingjue said with an even wider grin, and Lan Xichen was nearly overcome with how much he’d missed him.

Of course he only had himself to blame for that. During the past year, Nie Mingjue had reached out to him several times, inviting Lan Xichen to spend a week or two in the Unclean Realm to flee his uncle’s students, or else suggesting they go on a Night Hunt together. But every time, Lan Xichen had found plenty of excuses to refuse. They were all good excuses, and he’d been busy with his regular duties, and the copying of the library, and…

And good or not, excuses were just excuses. The honest trust was that Lan Xichen had, in fact, been avoiding his best friend. The lingering shame from that horrible future had been too much to bear. How could he have faced Nie Mingjue, knowing he would have failed him someday, knowing he’d sided with his murderer, knowing he’d allowed his precious brother to turn into a monster? Horrified by the terrible friend he would have become, Lan Xichen had tried to distance himself from Nie Mingjue.

It hadn’t worked. Nie Mingjue had been patient with him, until one day he wasn’t, and just dropped by the Cloud Recesses unannounced, warned Lan Qiren that he was borrowing his nephew, and took Lan Xichen on a Night Hunt before anyone could protest. That had been the previous afternoon, and since then Nie Mingjue had been on a quest to make Lan Xichen laugh.

They’d just arrived at the location where a demon bear was causing trouble, and finally Nie Mingjue’s effort had been rewarded.

Now that he was laughing, Lan Xichen felt a little stupid for trying so hard to stay serious. Even if in his memories of the future Nie Mingjue had become an angry man too short tempered to have fun with, in the present he was the funniest person Lan Xichen knew.

The most forgiving, too, because he wasn’t even angry that Lan Xichen had pushed him away for an entire year.

“You’ve gotten too stern,” Nie Mingjue just said while Lan Xichen laughed. “I need to scold your uncle for making you work too much. I also need to steal you more often.”

“I wouldn’t mind,” Lan Xichen replied, meaning it. He had been too serious since gaining those unwanted memories. Except for music lessons with Nie Huaisang, letters from Jiang Cheng, and a few chats with his brother, everything had felt dreary and stressful these last few months. “I’d wanted to act more maturely, but I suppose it’s important to have fun too.”

This prompted Nie Mingjue to make an annoyed noise.

“Huaisang told me the same thing last week,” he said in an aggravated tone. “That little brat…”

“I thought you wanted him to act more seriously?”

“I do, but not like that,” Nie Mingjue grumbled as he resumed walking. “He’s weird since he came back. First he ran off on his own, flying on his sabre…”

Lan Xichen winced. That hadn’t happened in his memory of another life. But at the same time, in that other life Nie Huaisang hadn’t gotten in nearly as much trouble, not during that first year in the Cloud Recesses at least. Lan Xichen couldn’t help feeling guilty about that, since it had to have been his fault for changing the normal course of events.

“Then when he comes back, he brings that orphan he found somewhere and demands that I let him join the sect!”

That was new as well.

“Did you agree?” Lan Xichen asked.

Nie Mingjue shrugged, and Lan Xichen had to bite his cheeks not to smile. So that was a yes. As expected, Nie Mingjue just didn’t know how to refuse his brother’s whims. It was comforting to know that this, at least, hadn’t changed.

“He’s obsessed with that kid,” Nie Mingjue explained. “Don’t know why. The boy is a damn pest, gets in fights all the time with everyone… but I guess he is clever, and he’s got potential. It’s just so weird to see Huaisang always asking about his progress. He’s never cared about any younger disciples before!”

“Maybe he brought you your future brother-in-law,” Lan Xichen teased.

“I don’t think so. The kid’s only about ten, I’d need to have a serious discussion with Huaisang if he was going after someone that young. Besides, doesn’t he already have a fling with that Lan disciple, what's his name… Su She, right?”

Hearing this, Lan Xichen’s good humour crumbled. Since Nie Huaisang had told him in Yunping City that there was nothing of the sort between himself and Su She, Lan Xichen had stopped thinking about it. But Nie Mingjue sounded quite sure of himself, so either Nie Huaisang had lied that time, or things had changed since then.

If so, Lan Xichen could only be happy for them, he supposed. After all he knew too well how loyal Su She could be toward those he cared about, and Nie Huaisang had passionately taken the defence of his friend on multiple occasions. They wouldn’t be the worst of matches, and if Lan Xichen felt any discomfort over that idea, it was only because of lingering memories of that future that would not be.

"Did I get it wrong?" Nie Mingjue asked when Lan Xichen remained silent too long. "I've just never heard that brat talk like that about anyone. Since he came back, it's all 'Su-xiong said this' about everything, except when it's 'Xichen-gege said that', so I figured you might know something”

He paused for a moment, looking concerned. Lan Xichen glanced around, in case Nie Mingjue had heard a noise, or noticed anything about that demon bear they were after, but everything seemed quiet.

“That Su She, what sort of a person is he?” Nie Mingjue suddenly asked with a grim expression. “Huaisang really is enthusiastic about that boy, but he’s mentioned that his ‘Su-xiong’ has a temper, and… he failed the exams even though both you and your uncle wrote that he’s been studying a lot. It's almost like he did it on purpose. And he’s so nervous since he came back, but he won’t say why.”

“Su She is not a bad person,” Lan Xichen replied, and it still startled him that he meant it. Something of the man he would have become lingered in Lan Xichen that was still suspicious of what Su She would have done, but in the end it was unfair to judge him on something that hadn’t happened yet. “He’s not the most popular junior in the sect, but he’s hardworking and very dedicated to his friendship with Huaisang. If they do have that sort of relationship…”

He hesitated for a second. The idea remained startlingly unpleasant, but he refused to linger on that.

“If it’s like that, then I think Huaisang could do a lot worse.”

Tension immediately drained from Nie Mingjue’s body, who smiled at his friend.

“That’s a relief. I've been really… did you hear that?"

Lan Xichen gave one short nod, his hand resting on his sword. The cracking noise they'd both heard was followed by more, then a series of low grunts. 

The demon bear had been found. 

 -

 The Night Hunt went well, not that Lan Xichen ever doubted it. He vaguely recalled that even in the other future they’d hunted that demon bear, and though he hadn’t remembered the details, he knew it had gone very well over there too. 

With their job done, Nie Mingjue and him warned the local magistrate that the threat had been handled before heading to a local inn to eat and relax for a moment. They both had a lot of work waiting for them at home, but Night Hunting together was always a chance to escape that for a time, and to pretend they were just two ordinary young men as careless as others their age. They usually went to the site of the Night Hunt quickly, aware that lives might be at stake, and then took several days to come home, travelling together as far as they could before separating. It felt like a bit of innocent mischief, and Lan Xichen loved it. 

The inn they ended up in was pleasant enough, though Lan Xichen’s standards were not very high at that moment. As long as he was safe from the bitter winter cold, with some warm tea, and decent enough food, he was satisfied. Still, it was a pleasant bonus to discover that there was a musician at the inn that day, playing on his flute whatever songs people requested as long as they dropped a few coins. The man was decently skilled, and some of the songs were nice enough that Lan Xichen wouldn’t have minded learning them.

To Lan Xichen’s surprise, Nie Mingjue too was paying attention to the performer. It struck him as quite odd, since his friend had little taste for songs unless they were weapons to use in battle.

“If that melody is one you like, I can ask for its name and try to learn it,” Lan Xichen offered after a moment, a little excited for a chance to please his friend. “It would not be a problem.”

The suggestion startled Nie Mingjue who tore his eyes from the performer, and seemed a little embarrassed to have been caught staring.

“That’s very generous of you, but I was just… thinking about Huaisang,” he admitted. “He’s really obsessed with music lately. Even raided our library in search of pieces to learn. I’m trying to understand what’s so great about that. At least with painting I can see if it’s good or not, and his birds force him to be responsible, but music… I’m really out of my depth with that, and I hate that I don’t know how to support him.”

Nie Mingjue sighed, as if it truly wounded him that his brother would have a passion so foreign to his own interests. Perhaps it did. Lan Xichen, whose tastes were so similar to his brother’s in most things, couldn’t imagine what it would be like to love so much someone so different from one’s self.

"Is he actually any good?” Nie Mingjue then asked. “he sounds great to me, but that's not saying much. Every musician sounds good to me. But some of the elders have said they're impressed by his skill, and said they’d like him to play sometimes when we have guests to entertain. They might just be polite." 

"Did he borrow a guqin from someone to continue practicing?" Lan Xichen asked, still surprised by the enthusiasm Nie Huaisang showed for music.

"Worse, he bought his own," Nie Mingjue explained, rolling his eyes. "That brat! He used up half his allowance for the year on that. I’ve warned him not to beg for money in six months when he has nothing to use for his trips to Gusu, he needs to learn not to overspend like that."

Lan Xichen froze, and for a second nearly fell into breathless panic. It was a stupid thing to worry about, compared to everything else he had changed, but… 

But in that other life too he'd gone on that Night Hunt with Nie Mingjue, who had then complained that his brother had spent a fortune on a series of exquisite fans, and even had made the same threat about not giving him more funds (which he still had done when Nie Huaisang had written to beg for money down the line). It had been the starting point of Nie Huaisang's collection, a collection that he'd continued working on for the rest of his life, no matter what else changed. 

Even that very last time Lan Xichen had met Nie Huaisang in that other life, after every lie had been revealed, even as he spilled all of his hatred for a man he'd grown to despise, Nie Huaisang had been flaunting a brand new fan, painted by a famous artist. 

Fans had appeared to be Nie Huaisang’s last joy left after he'd lost everything else, and if Lan Xichen had taken that from him… 

"You know," Nie Mingjue said, "whether he's good or not, I'm grateful you decided to teach him. He's so damn nervous all the time these days, but playing seems to calm him. So I was wondering if you might continue with the lessons?”

“Really?”

Nie Mingjue shrugged with affected indifference. 

“If that brat is finally interested in something I can pretend is related to cultivation… " he grumbled." I’m not asking you to teach him any Lan songs," he quickly added," but I wouldn’t mind if some of our elders thought that. If you have time, of course. It’s gonna be a rough year for you, with the students you have coming this time."

Lan Xichen wrinkled his nose at the thought. The year promised to be intense indeed. He hadn’t yet decided what to do about that Wei Wuxian person who would play such a role in his brother's life, sometimes for the better, often for the worse. In his memories of the future, the man he’d become had eventually accepted that Wei Wuxian was Lan Wangji’s true love, sharing with him a bond so strong that not even death had severed it. 

But Lan Xichen as he currently was couldn’t help thinking about all the pain and hardship that love had cost his brother, and he wasn’t sure if that was quite worth it. For all that he’d supported the acquaintance when it had started in that other life, Lan Xichen now wanted to prevent his brother from falling in love with that person. Surely it would be better if Lan Wangji didn't suffer like that. 

“I don’t mind continuing the lessons,” Lan Xichen said, who had already been planning for that anyway. “He’s quite good, and he actually could learn some of our songs, if he set his mind to it. Besides, he’s good company, we’ve had some good fun.”

Not to mention Nie Huaisang might be able to help with whatever Lan Xichen decided to do regarding Wei Wuxian, since they would become good friends. He might give a hand in preventing Lan Wangji from meeting that boy, or give a hint in the right direction if Lan Xichen decide to help that little romance.

“So that’s why you’ve been ignoring me then,” Nie Mingjue replied dryly. “A prettier friend who makes you laugh and calls you cute nicknames… I'm ditched so easily. Truly tragic.”

It was a joke. 

Having been friends with him for this many years, Lan Xichen knew how Nie Mingjue joked, as deadpan as his brother was dramatic, but this time the teasing hit a little too close to home. Lan Xichen hurriedly grabbed his friend’s hands and squeezed them tight. For a moment he found himself fighting to breathe, for which Nie Mingjue threw him a concerned look.

“I would never betray you,” Lan Xichen managed to wheeze out. “I swear! You… You are my friend, the person I trust the most, the person who knows me best. I would never choose someone else over you!”

Not again, anyway.

Not while knowing what the cost of it might be.

Of course even in that other future he’d thought he’d been acting for Nie Mingjue’s good. He’d thought he was helping. He had trusted Jin Guangyao's sweet words, trusted the power of Cleansing, trusted… 

Nie Mingjue freed one of his hands, and leaned closer to rub circles on Lan Xichen's back, encouraging him to breathe. It was Lan Xichen's worst attack since the night he awoke with memories not quite his own. Panic and guilt mixed together, closing his throat tighter so no air could get to his lungs. It lasted long enough that Lan Xichen wondered if it might be possible for him to die like this. 

Just as soon as that idea hit him, his body's desperate need for air became stronger than the power of his memories, and he was able to take one shaky breath. He gasped and coughed, all too aware of the eyes of other patrons on him, while Nie Mingjue continued rubbing his back. 

"Wipe your face," Nie Mingjue gently ordered when his friend had calmed down, handing him a napkin. "Do you need to go out for some fresh air, or do you prefer to sit?" 

"Sit," Lan Xichen replied in a raspy voice as he dried his tears. "Sorry. It happens sometimes. It looks worse than it is."

Nie Mingjue said nothing. A fresh pot of tea was ordered, which soothed Lan Xichen's poor throat and warmed him up again. He still felt a little fragile, but put on a smile to hide it. This, in turn, only made Nie Mingjue frown. 

"Your uncle told me he was worried about your health when I saw him some weeks ago, but I didn't realise it was this bad."

"My health is fine," Lan Xichen protested. After one sharp look from his friend, he continued: "It really isn't that bad. I've been a little anxious, that's all. It's hard not to be in the current climate." His voice dropped to a whisper. "Haven't the Wen just absorbed another sect?" 

Nie Mingjue grimly nodded. The leader of a sect had just died, and Wen Ruohan had promptly married his youngest son to the man's daughter and claimed the whole sect. It was not something they could openly discuss, but the issue was serious and should have distracted Nie Mingjue from the panic attack he'd witnessed. 

It did not quite work. 

"Your uncle too mentioned something about that when I saw him. He used to be pretty sure nothing would happen, but lately he's been keeping me updated on that sort of news." 

Lan Xichen hesitated. His plan regarding the war, so far, had been to stay out of things. The Sunshot campaign appeared to him like a terrible thing that could not, should not be avoided, like a great fire that would allow for a healthier regrowth. Perhaps he might have hoped to lessen the damage, but ultimately nothing less than a war could rid them of Wen Ruohan. 

That plan to allow for the war to unfold naturally was countered by two things. 

The first was that Lan Xichen had already changed the way it would happen. If everything went as he hoped, Meng Yao would never become a spy amidst the Wens, something which had been crucial to their victory (or something that had appeared to be so to the man Lan Xichen had become; he was ever so fond of that Meng Yao, perhaps the memories of that dark future were tainted by that). It was after all unlikely that the Jiangs would ever give Meng Yao any help to join Lanling Jin, his first step toward spying on Wen Ruohan… and that was supposing Meng Yao even survived long enough to take part in the war, when most of Yunmeng Jiang was fated to be slaughtered.

And this was the second issue with Lan Xichen’s initial plan. He had, from the start, been uncomfortable with allowing the slaughter of the Lotus Pier to happen, even when it would someday become agreed that nothing less than this attack on a Great Sect could have convinced the cultivation world to finally rebel against the Wens. But just because people in the future found ways to justify that disaster didn’t make it right to do nothing to avoid it. Lan Xichen was taking measures to protect his sect, wasn’t it his responsibility to also help others?

Having been cursed with that knowledge, wasn’t it his duty to…

“Breathe,” Nie Mingjue said, his hand on Lan Xichen’s shoulder once more. “Slowly, breathe in, breathe out. There you go.”

Lan Xichen obeyed, and managed to avoid another attack, though only narrowly, and only because the fear of the Sunshot Campaign was his alone. The man he would have become had made his peace with the horror witnessed during that time, but Lan Xichen himself was overcome by terror every time he thought about what was to come.

It was a burden too heavy for his shoulders alone, and he alone couldn’t have done much to prevent that dark future from coming to pass, at least where that war was concerned.

So perhaps he needed to not do it alone. What good had secrets done to Jin Guangyao, to Nie Huaisang, in that future that would not be? It had turned them into monsters, bitter and too willing to hurt others, and for what? Jin Guangyao had lost everything, Nie Huaisang had become isolated from everyone who had ever cared about him, and all just because they wanted to be in control, because they thought nobody around them was worthy of being told the truth.

Lan Xichen refused to become like them

“Mingjue-xiong, do you trust me?” he asked when he had calmed down again, and breathing wasn’t such a struggle.

“You wouldn’t be my friend if I didn’t trust you,” came the answer, honest and earnest and so painful that Lan Xichen thought panic would seize him again over that underserved trust.

But this time he managed to keep his calm, either because he was too exhausted to panic again, or because his mind saw this as a chance to right some of the wrong he would have caused in the future.

“I have something to tell you,” Lan Xichen said as he stood up. “But we’ll need to be somewhere more private. It’s going to sound completely crazy to you, but… you need to know.”

Nie Mingjue looked worried but quietly stood up as well. They left the inn together and took flight, making their sword rise high in the sky, where no one might spy on them without their notice.

“So, here is what happened,” Lan Xichen explained when he felt he could do it safely. “Around this time last year, I had a vision…”

He wouldn’t, couldn’t say everything, because it would have been too cruel to plague Nie Mingjue with the knowledge of his own early death, to tell him how loss and rage would turn his beloved brother into a man he might have despised. But the rest, the Wen’s exactions, the war that loomed over them… this Lan Xichen shared with more details than he’d ever given to Lan Qiren. Nie Mingjue listened, first with astonishment, then with concern, eventually with anger. 

"Are you sure?" Nie Mingjue asked when Lan Xichen had finished a quick tale of what was to come. 

"I know it's odd, and I won't blame you if you find it impossible to believe." 

Nie Mingjue did not reply right away, a deep frown creasing his forehead. 

"You've already had proof, and you're sure of it. That's good enough for me. Now let's find a quiet place to talk about this. I'll need you to tell me everything you remember about the Wen's forces, so I can start preparing." 

Lan Xichen felt breathless again, but this time it was gratitude overwhelming him. He'd forgotten how good Nie Mingjue was. Those last few months had spoiled so much, souring old memories, but there had been such great times before that. There would be even more, in this new life, this new chance they'd been given. 

This time, he swore to himself, he would be worthy of that affection.