#phage writes

((Thank you so much for the request! I received another in my Ask Box and I'll get to that one as soon as I can! Here's a hair care scene, but I can't write anything without some kind of conflict XD I hope you like it @xiaokuer-schmetterling =D))

It was supposed to be a simple night hunt. Solve the mystery of the elusive siren who put those who stayed out after midnight under their spell, commanding them to do whatever they wanted until the sun rose. At first, it was simple thievery. When the village banded together in an attempt to track down the one responsible, they all fell victim to their spell, nearly destroying their livelihoods. 

While the night hunt sounded dangerous, the young disciples looked at their Wei-gongzi who merely laughed at the distressed villagers. 

“You don’t understand! If one of you becomes their victim, you’ll destroy what’s left of our village!”

“If you don’t trust the experts, why call them in the first place?” Wei Wuxian asked with a big grin, watching the man’s shoulders tense even more. “We’ll resolve this tonight.”

Wei Ying, of course, wasn’t wrong. As soon as midnight rang, he pressed Chenqing to his lips and played the melody of his soul - Wangxian. A soothing melody, one that comforted Sizhui and the others. But underneath that tone was a vocal, one so eerie it gave them goosebumps. 

Wei Wuxian simply started walking forward, playing flawlessly. The siren’s powers only worked when it was the only sound clouding their victim’s mind. So naturally, it targeted Wei Ying, the disciples quickly stepping in. 

One thing led to another, and by the time the sun started to rise, the Yiling Laozu was covered from head to toe in mud, sap, and something that smelled so putrid he really didn’t want to know what it was. 

Expect the unexpected. They always followed that motto, but nothing could’ve prepared them for an owl to suddenly grow and attack him. If the disciples stepped in to help, they’d release the siren, and without Wei-gongzi’s flute, they’d fall under its control. 

Not like he was in any real danger. He’s definitely faced worse. Having taken care of the creature, he walked up to the disciples, watching their restraint nearly breaking. 

“Haha, laugh if you want. This proves that you have to expect even the most unexpected things!” He wasn’t really in the mood to lecture them that much. After sealing the siren in a mirror, they headed to the inn where Wei Ying grumpily requested a bath. 

That didn’t seem to help. No matter how much he tried scrubbing the gunk and junk out of his hair, it refused to leave, like a red stain on white parchment. It was absolutely infuriating. 

After an hour, he gave up, refusing the leave the water in hopes it would eventually leave. A knock on the door made him inwardly groan, not feeling like dealing with anyone right now. 

“Wei-gongzi, they’re serving breakfast. Would you like anything?”

Normally he wasn’t awake after ending the night hunt so late, but Sizhui knew him too well. That boy, their son, was sharp and intuitive. 

“I’ll pass, but thanks.”

“Do… you need anything?”

This boy - he loved him so much. “The finest hair products they have. I’ll pay you back!”

Time passed, and without realizing it, he dozed off. Dangerous and reckless, he could’ve drowned, he heard Hanguang-jun lightly scold him. He couldn't help it though. Without his husband, he didn’t know what to do with himself. Would his old body's hair have done this? What if it never came out? How could Lan Zhan still love him?

“Wei Ying,” his husband’s melodious voice grounded him, along with those long fingers combing through his wet hair. “Are you awake?”

The darkness surrounding his mind instantly melted away as he opened his silver eyes and slowly sat up. He was still in the tub, but his skin wasn’t wrinkly and gross. His husband must’ve taken him out for a bit and changed the water before putting him back in. A warmth settled into his heart, one that made him smile with true, genuine love and joy. 

“Lan Zhan!” He happily cried, leaning forward to press their lips together. It was short and sweet, forcing a whine from Wei Ying when his husband pulled back so soon. 

“You are hurt.”

Hurt? Was he talking about his hair? No, those golden eyes rested upon his shoulders, prompting him to lightly brush his fingers against one of them - only to flinch away from the sting. 

Right, the owl’s claws sunk into his shoulders. With all the crap he was covered in, it was no wonder he nor the disciples realized it. 

“Okay, in my defense, who thought that stupid annoying owl was a fucking huge yao.” The villagers hadn’t even mentioned it, and with his foul mood, he forgot to ask about it. “The resentment was sealed until it changed into its true form. Way more formidable than that siren.” 

Those golden eyes narrowed in both anger and concern, unable to tear themselves away from the scabbed over marks. The glare made Wei Ying’s own expression soften, unable to help himself from reaching up and cradling his husband’s face. 

“I am here, I am safe,” he quietly reassured, pressing their foreheads together. “I’m not leaving without you, Lan Zhan, Lan Wangji, Hanguang-jun, my husband. I promise.” Their lips crashed together, the kiss urgent and all absorbing. They kissed until their lips were red and nearly swollen, especially Wei Ying’s. 

As they took a moment to catch their breaths, Lan Zhan’s fingers once more threaded through Wei Ying’s hair, easily getting caught and tangled in all the crap that practically glued his strands together. The reminder made him whine, pulling Lan Zhan closer to the tub so he could bury his face into his shoulder. 

“Lan Zhannn, I’m hideous now. I can’t be caught with you in public or I’ll taint your reputation even more!”

“Wei Ying never tainted my reputation. Even if you had, I would not have cared.” He pulled his fingers out and tried running them through a different section of his hair, failing as they quickly got caught up in the yarn-ball mess. 

“I’ll never get to enjoy your hands running through my hair eitherrrrr,” he continued to whine like a child. In the back of his mind, he could hear Yanli asking him how old he was. 

“Sizhui informed me, so I’ve come prepared.”

His heart fluttered again. “Our boy is something else,” he happily sighed, feeling more warmth envelop his chest. “Hanguang-jun raised him to be such a gentleman.”

“We raised him,” Lan Zhan clarified, uncapping a bottle and pouring the contents in his hands. Wei Ying couldn’t help but snort, leaning back into the tub as to avoid his husband from getting all soapy too. Normally he’d relish the idea, but not with the crud stuck in his hair. 

“I think I taught him how to be everything but a gentleman.”

“Wei Ying taught him how to be a child. That is what he needed back then.” 

Huh, he never thought about it like that. It really put a few things into perspective for him. Back then, they didn’t have much, yet they managed to find happiness in the smallest of things. 

A soft hum left his lips as Lan Zhan started lathering his hair with the new shampoo that smelled like minty lemons with hints of other pleasant scents. His strong, slender fingers squeezed his hair together as he lathered it in, attempting to force it between the cracks and crevices of the crap in his hair. It felt nice and relaxing, especially when he started to deeply massage his scalp. A soft moan left his lips as his eyes fluttered closed, feeling his body fully relax. The sound made those hands hesitate for a moment before regaining their momentum, taking extra care not to get any in his eyes or ears. 

All good things come to an end, this being no exception. Using a spare ribbon to tie his hair into a bun so it could soak, his husband dipped his hands into the water, to which Wei Ying immediately captured. Without hesitation he pressed soft kisses to each knuckle, terribly grateful for his soulmate’s dedication and unyielding love. 

“I’m glad you’re here, Lan Zhan.”

“Mn, me too.” He wasn’t supposed to come. While it was hard to be separated for long periods of time, they were getting better at it, even if it hurt. After this night hunt they were supposed to head over to a village suffering from illusions caused by an unknown force, to which Lan Zhan would meet up with them after their first investigation. 

Sizhui no doubt sent for him earlier due to the stupid owl attack. 

Turning his hand over, Lan Zhan felt for his meridians, transferring some spiritual power to aid in healing the wounds on his shoulders. By now Wei Ying knew better than to argue. He let it happen, catching his reflection in the bathwater and snorting. 

While his hair was done up in a bun, it reminded him of a little apple on his head. Back in the day when he used to share baths with Jiang Cheng, they’d often mess up each other’s hair using the shampoo and conditioner to make all crazy shapes. 

With his free hand he reached up and carefully pulled on pieces of the hair in the bun, shaping the hair into a little crude bunny. 

“Lan Zhan Lan Zhan, it’s a bunny!” He laughed, prompting those golden eyes to open and peek up at the messed up bun. A hint of a smile crossed his face, making Wei Ying nearly melt. 

He needed more of that. 

Pinching around, he made it look like a mouse. “Look look! It’s like a smaller bunny.” It didn’t look too different from the bunny, but the longer tail was the dead giveaway to what he was trying to make. Watching his husband’s reactions only egged him on, horribly constructing other animals that eventually ruined the integrity of the bun. Not that it mattered, it gave Wei Ying full reign to his soapy hair, shaping it into everything he could imagine. 

“Duck, mountain, crown-!” He went on and on, giggling like he was a child again. The small glimmering light in those golden eyes spoke volumes, revealing Lan Zhan’s never done this before. Eventually his hands let go of Wei Ying’s wrist to move and form the hair into shapes himself. Because this was his first time, guessing was extremely hard, but he didn’t seem to mind, not when it made Wei Ying laugh harder each time. 

Like before, all good things must come to an end. Lan Zhan dutifully started to rinse his hair, his fingers actually gliding through the strands this time. There were a few times they struggled against a stubborn batch, but thankfully the shampoo was powerful and washed it all away. 

Out of the tub, Wei Ying sat in Lan Zhan’s lap, sighing happily as his husband carefully combed his hair. With how tangled it was, he started with the ends, slowly making his way up. When it got to the point of being knot-free, he continued to brush it, knowing how much Wei Ying loved the sensation. 

“Better?” Lan Wangji quietly asked, pressing a soft kiss on the top of his head. Wei Ying buried his face further into his shoulder, making it harder to brush his hair. He no longer cared, he just wanted to sleep against his beloved. 

“Lan Zhan… if that was permanently in my hair, would you still love me?” He whispered quietly, a little shame twisted in his tone. 

Lan Zhan set the brush down before pushing Wei Ying into the bed, kissing him lovingly on the lips. Their fingers slowly threaded together, squeezing each other so fondly their hearts ached. 

Pulling away, his husband pressed a soft kiss to his forehead, tip of the nose, both cheeks, then his chin. Now wasn’t the time for sexual advances, as much as they both loved to uphold “everyday means everyday.”

Instead he rolled onto his back, pulling Wei Ying on top of himself. “I love you in any and every way I can get you, in this life, and all our future ones.”

Tears gathered in his silver eyes, unable to help himself from burying his face into his soulmate’s chest. 

“You too. I will always love you, my Lan Zhan.”

A modern Wangxian au where someone framed Wei Ying, making it look like he was responsible for a big fire(explosion) at a Christmas Party that all major companies were invited to. Yanli was severely injured, but okay.

Since then, Wei Ying hid in the shadows, trying to find who or what organization was behind it. Everyone assumed he ran away, not wanting to face punishment.

Years later, Lan Zhan, an on-duty (undercover) officer tracked a suspicious person to a museum. Just as chaos breaks out, someone slams into him, knocking them both down. It's a woman with ankle-length auburn hair and a face full of makeup. Her eyes are honey-comb in color, but her expression is full of shock.

She looks familiar.

Heart-achingly familiar.

Instead of chasing after the suspect (at this point the fire alarm is going off, proof that someone set it off to escape as water is spraying from the sprinklers), he instead chases after this woman who's now running away from him. She kicks her heels off, even so, Lan Zhan should've been able to catch her. There's only been one person he hadn't been able to catch.

Finally he catches the woman, mainly because her feet are now bleeding from the streets. He pins her to the wall, makeup half washed off from the sprinklers, wet hair sliding off, revealing a wig.

They're both out of breath, exhausted, yet Lan Zhan pulls the wig off, seeing long dark brown hair in a flattened bun.

"Lan Zhan, who knew you'd turn out to be so pervy?"

That voice - his entire soul froze in disbelief.

Wei Ying. This was without a doubt Wei Ying, the one he had fallen in love with, the one who had falsely been blamed, the one who went missing eight years back. His cheeks were sunken in, an obvious sign of lack of nutrition.

And his voice, so recognizable, yet so much softer and lighter than before.

"Wei-" Said man pressed a finger to his lips, glancing nervously around them.

"They're probably listening. Would a strong, strapping man like you escort this feeble maiden home?" Lan Zhan rose an eyebrow in disbelief, only making Wei Ying smirk more. "It's the least you can do for making me lose my shoes!"

.... there was so much he wanted to say, so much he wanted to comment on, but Wei Wuxian was very intelligent. If he said someone might be listening, he was probably right.

"Apologies. I mistook you for someone else." Not a lie. He didn't know who this was when he gave chase.

Without hesitation he swept Wei Ying into his arms, carrying him bridal style. A deep (adorable) red stained those pale cheeks as those eyes fluttered in disbelief, revealing a little bit of his natural silver eyes now that his contacts were slightly askew.

"A-ah, you don't have to carry me! Put me down!"

"No," he simply said, tightening his grip when he felt the other squirm. "I am doing as you asked. I'm escorting the feeble maiden who shouldn't be on her feet."

Lan Zhan follows Wei Ying's instructions, driving him to a shady looking bar that's three stories high. Normally he would assume his friend just wanted to drink, but this felt different.

They enter through the back, the kitchen staff looking up at them in shock. Wei Ying let his hair loose, waving to everyone and - was he using sign language?!

The employees sign back, looking both worried and relieved.

Eventually Wei Ying whispered "there's stairs to the left," and he carried him up to what looked like a large living room. Someone was playing a piano, a walking stick propped up against the wall near him, and a child slept peacefully on the couch. Wei Ying motioned for him to go up the next set of stairs, leading him to a small den that had been transformed into a room.

"When did you learn sign language?"

"Ahahaha, well, there's a lot you don't know about me, Lan Zhan." And it was true. All around the room were Styrofoam heads sporting different kinds of wigs, both male and female. Dozens of non-prescription contacts boxes were tossed all over. Clothes were thrown haphazardly in one of the corners, forcing them both to sit on the bed. This obviously wasn't Wei Ying's first time wearing a disguise.

"I saw a suspicious person go through an employees only door the day of the party, and instead of saying something, I ran after them. They noticed and ran, which made me give chase. He ran by the kitchen and hit a switch, and everything went black"

"Why didn't you tell that to the police?"

Wei Ying blinked up at him with a sad smile. "You think I didn't?" Lan Zhan didn't understand. The responding officers were good friends of theirs, people who have been friends with their family since they were little. They knew Wei Ying. Might not have been fond of him, but knew he would never do such a thing. Yet Wei Ying wouldn't lie about this either.

"They nearly killed me, Lan Zhan. They hunted me down, even used their damned hell hounds. They wanted me dead so they could pin the whole blame on me without further investigation. That's when I met them, my new family."

Wen Qing and Wen Ning were out shopping when someone tried to rob a now blind Wen Ning. Unable to stand by, Wei Ying swooped in and stopped them. After that, they kept running into each other. Eventually he learned the Wens had been at the same Christmas Party and Wen Ning had suffered a nasty head injury, resulting in blindness. Hearing he was searching for the one responsible, they teamed up.

From there, they gathered their savings and bought this rundown building, turning it into a bar. It brought them business and income without the attention. They also got to chose their hours. Most of then Wens who stayed with them had disabilities such as being mute, blind, or deaf.

"It's... been a long time since I've had a long conversation like this." Wen Qing was fine, however she was hardly home, always taking shifts at the hospital to give them a steady income when the bar was slow.

Lan Zhan, against Wei Ying's protests, helps clean and wrap his feet, agreeing to work together to find the one responsible and clear his name.

"He knows I'm on his trail. He's planning something, something big. We can't let him succeed this time."

And so Lan Zhan escorts a beautiful woman around town, one who's mute (which is so ironic since Lan Zhan couldn't get him to shut up when they were growing up), and when Wei Ying feels mischievous, he arrives at meet up locations in a different wig and a completely different kind of outfit, giggling as people start spreading rumors that Lan Zhan has turned into a player.

When they retire for the night, snuggled warmly and lovingly into each other's arms, the book begins to glow. E-ming and Ruoye notice it, but can do nothing against the sprinkling dust that puts them to sleep. Not even Hualian wake up as it pulls them into a very deep slumber.

Sort of like a sleeping beauty or snow white sleep, however their soulmate is also under the same spell. The vengeful spirit is filled with glee and gloats around Ghost City. At first no one believes him until he destroys Hua Cheng's thrown at the Gambler's Den and he doesn't show up to kill 'the trash.' The spirit expects fear and cowardice, but is met with hostility instead. Ghost City bands together and capture the unruly spirit, hurting him in the process. The vengeful spirit doesn't understand. Why do they stand behind a supreme ghost king and disgraced trash god?

"Hua-chengzhu gave us a place to live and thrive while the humans and gods want us all to die. Grand-Uncle always helps and supports us, but more important he makes Chengzhu happy!!"

Despite the explanation, the vengeful spirit is still confused. They're all brainwashed, he thinks, and laughs in their faces when he tells them there's no safe way to wake them up. Forcing them might fracture their minds and soul, and none of them want to take that risk.

So they try other things, like making food they know they love hoping the smell will wake them up. They surround them with flowers they know they love too. They don't want the Heavens to get involved, knowing Chengzhu would decapitate them for letting the gods see him like this, but also know he'd never want His Highness to be in danger. So they set a time limit. If they can't wake them up within a month, they will reach out for help.

Maybe only they themselves can wake each other up by realizing they're in a dream. In their dream they're together and magnificently happy.

Nothing bad ever happens, which is how they start getting suspicious.

It'd be even funnier if Miyano, who was being teased for his height, finds an area where the maze was trampled on and finds the way out first

Merry Christmas @merento-mori I’m your secret Santa with @natsume-ss!! I hope you enjoy and have a very happy and warm Christmas!

Title: Warmth

Miya has the power to bring inanimate objects to life and Sasaki has super strength. Sasaki thinks his power is lame (and scary, hurting his sis), but Miya's excitement gives him a new outlook

"Lame?! There's so much good you can do with super strength!" 

Or like maybe "It might sound cliché but super strength is one of the best ones to have!" Miya excitingly beamed, that gleeful glitter in his beautiful eyes making Sasaki blush. No one's ever been this excited about his powers before, he wasn't sure what to do with himself.

"You can do anything with it, like save people!" Miyano leaned in closer, his mind racing with the different possibilities. Sasaki felt his breath catch in his throat, the temptation to get closer a little overwhelming.

Covering his mouth with his hand, he let out a meek "uh hu" as he avoided eye contact. It was odd, after all these years of being angry and ashamed of his powers, for once he felt like super strength wasn't all that bad. Not when Miyano kept explaining in such fondness all his favorite manga and comic heroes who did so much with their strength.

"-so cool! I wish I had your power!" He laughed, his smile so bright it chased all the darkness away. It took everything he hand not to reach out and cuff the other's soft cheek or touch him in some way. Why did he feel this way?

"I donno Miya-chan, your power's pretty cool. Bringing anything to life? Mine are lame in comparison."

The way the other's face reddened as he looked away made his own face burn deeper, unconsciously inching closer, their fingers almost touching. "I-I wouldn't say that," Miya mumbled, finally glancing back at Sasaki.

"They're unique, but they're not useful. I can't save someone like you can, I can barely lift the boxes of books in the library. If I can't use my powers to help people, then they're... kind of useless, you know?"

Miyano jumped feeling the larger hand take his own, their eyes finally meeting again. Instead of fondness there was slight anger in those alluring gray eyes. "They're not Miya, they reflect who you are." Carefully, cautiously, Sasaki started to raise their hands up, studying them as if they were at a museum. "You can cheer someone up when they're sad, give someone something they need without having to leave, and scare people off who are out to harm others-" there was so much good Miya could do with his powers, they were special and unique, just like himself. How could he possibly show Miya just how incredible he is.

I can imagine Sasaki being terrified of himself and his powers, especially after hurting his sister, like, he could've easily killed her by accident and he's so scared to touch anyone, especially Miyano, but Miya's the first person he's compelled to touch, and it hurts not touching him. So Miya teaches him that he's not a threat, that he'd never hurt him, that he trusts him, and "for someone with super strength, you're very gentle." 

Miya's powers can bring any object to life, and he can hear their chaotic thoughts and sometimes they listen to what he wants and sometimes they don't. It doesn't last too long either, and when they become inanimate, he can feel if they've been "hurt" or "crushed" and not. Imagine him bringing his plushies to life, his manga and anime ones it'd be so cute, or like Sasaki's sulking on the couch or bed and Miya makes one of the stuffed animals go over and give him a hug or a "kiss." OR Miya sees him sulking and being depressed from outside the classroom or outside his window, and he makes the stuffed animal do that and instantly Sasaki gets up all excited because that means Miya's close by~ 

And if you want angst/drama, Miya's powers interest someone, or a gang or something, and they want Miya to help them with something like a robbery or such, cause his powers can go way behind what he uses them for, which are "party tricks" which Sasaki and the others  try to keep them away from Miya.

And, naturally, Sasaki’s strength helping and protecting Miya hehe

Just a few thoughts I had today~

Xie Lian has a history of being a rebellious Prince, after all. His father makes him sit in the haul (or wherever they put prisoners) until the voyage is over. Unfortunately, Qi Rong had planned a coop, and murdered the King and Queen. Xie Lian hears the ruckus and tries to get out, but feels excessively weak when he stands. Qi Rong poisoned his food and water, and enters just as he’s about to fall unconscious mocking his “beloved” cousin.  But Xie Lian survives, having an immunity to many poisons, but he’s very weak. Being alive shocks Qi Rong, but decides to publicly humiliates him infront of his whole kingdom, then lets him hang over a large cliff that sits above the roaring ocean, which is a punishment the most cruel criminals face. He wants him to rot and die there (after having him severely beat and the people throw things at him)

Qi Rong, of course, lies and tells his people the Xie Lian slaughtered the King and Queen to become the next ruler. While most don’t believe this, Qi Rong is backed by corrupted officials. Everyone who dared speak out against the crown prince had been slaughtered before the voyage, which doesn’t help Xie Lian’s case. Then a horrible pandemic breaks out, patient zero being someone on board the ship, and Qi Rong says the gods decided to punish everyone thanks to Xie Lian sparing the mermaid’s life

While all this goes on, Hua Cheng hears the gossip and races to find him, blaming himself (realizing that the kid he met so long ago was Xie Lian. Maybe Xie Lian gave him one of his ruby red earrings, and only now remembered seeing his savoir wearing the other). By the time he finally finds the island, he sees it engulfed in flames. And high above, bloodied and unmoving, is Xie Lian, still strung over the ocean, far too high for him to reach. 

Maybe he finds a way to be able to transform between a mermaid and human? I’m usually not one for mermaid au’s but this got me lasudfsf he doesn’t even have to be a mermaid too, maybe a type of fae, and they caught him in the forest. Regardless, the image of teen Hua Cheng staring up at a hanging Xie Lian, seeing his bloodied hardly moving form that was left to rot is nice~ All should fear his wrath aushdf

Worried, San Lang goes to visit him, only to get attacked in the parking lot by a masked assailant. He easily deals with them and fears for Xie Lian, nearly knocking his door down. Seeing him with a cut on his cheek, Xie Lian falls into anguish, begging for his forgiveness as he finally admits he has a stalker, one that’s been around for a long time, always hurting, threatening, and has even killed people who dared get close to him. He never meant to get close to San Lang, but after being alone for so, so long, he’s come to miss the company of another, of being able to speak to someone, to be listened to, of hearing comforting words directed at him, and soft touches (what are those?). The more they hung out, fate making them cross paths, the more selfish Xie Lian became. Thanks to San Lang, he learned how simple it is to be happy. Due to his selfishness though, no matter how mutual it was, San Lang was now being targeted. In his car, his own home, his work (the CEO of the Gambler’s Den)