#zinhuan

THE KNIGHT AND THE MOTH / ACCEPTING .

THE GHOST KING WISHES TO SNARL ; they want to tear the world apart at its seams . they are still so , so young . compared to teng-she and bai xi , immortals who were already long grown by the time that wei was brought to kunlun clutching at the gods’ green robes , face dirty and mouth bloody . they are young , and they are lonely , and sometimes , they regret what they did . the wheel of reincarnation , being forced to watch the god he loves be muddied by all the turmoil that is humanity . and then , of course , there are the hells , and the hungry souls that tremble when they passes them . WEI FEELS SO TERRIBLY UNLOVED ; lacking god , lacking brother , lacking a soul .

❛   you had already expressed your displeasure before .   ❜ when wei went against kunlun’s own wishes and threw him into the wheel of reincarnation . oh , none of the immortals were happy with him . they still are not . perhaps wei should feel indebted , that these two still feel the need to speak to him about anything but hell bureaucracy . bai xi does it , at least , with a touch more kindness than teng - she’s immediate refusal . yet , wei understands they would have never received anything less . it is why they have approached in the first place , because that part of kunlun , that touch of soul which battles against the eternal hunger in wei’s chest , TELLS HIM IT IS WRONG .

Finally, Yang Jian breathed in, and smiled with no one looking. This was the final step of his plan in becoming the next god of war. Then, he could grow an army. Then, vengeance.

A second later and he was in his study, penning a letter to the first friend he made in the heavenly realm. Wan Fei, when you return, I would have gone to a trial in the mortal realm. Don't be sad, and don't cause any trouble, I wanted this. I hope that you are having fun, and continue to live well. All the joy I cannot have, I give to you. Yang Jian set the letter on a stand, sealed by a translucent water bubble, which will not open until the letter sensed Wan Fei's cultivation and flies to her.

THE KNIGHT AND THE MOTH / ACCEPTING .

SHEN JIAN SIGHS SOFTLY , chin balanced on the palm of a calloused hand . the days have been long , and she had arrived back in the capital only the night prior , after spending weeks on the southern border . while the tai shi emperor brought peace and prosperity to the lands , that did not mean that local uprisings and trouble never arose . now , especially , with the young prince growing up , there was some unrest and whispers across the nation . people did not like change ; unpredictability meant the loss of safety . especially after the kind years brought on by the new emperor , all were unhappy with the thought that , soon , he would go . even if chang geng was clear about his intentions to act as regent , there was no shortage of ministers who still attempted to convince him otherwise , and even offered their beautiful daughters in hopes of establishing a proper court . therefore , shen jian had been patrolling the borders with marshal gu for several months , learning from his how best to manage the soldiers , how to construct proper reports , how to . . . her head swam with it all . she had always been better at battle , rather than bureaucracy.

it is no wonder her tired legs carry her to yun qian's quiet courtyard upon her arrival back . her books had been her solace among the winter months . as embarrassing as gu zixi said it was , shen jian loved the story of his exploits of the final battle . although it was now more than a few years old , she could not help but remember it fondly . after all , it is what brought her to him , and even more , what introduced her to yun qian and her brilliant hand .

{♚ x the salty af munday meme x}

Mildly annoying... There was a time, like... Years ago, on a different character, where I was writing with this one muse and in literally every thread they were trying to steer things towards smut. Despite, y'know, me not really looking to write smut? And making that very clear in my rules? Idk man, it wasn't super serious or anything, but definitely enough to have me going 'bro, pls chill' lmao

Upon hearing a faint grunt coming from the side, Jingshu lifted her gaze to look at Ling Zhou, who it seemed was just coming to his senses."I would advise against getting up just yet. I dare not imagine what sort of trouble young sir must have gotten yourself into. The local folks do not carry with themselves weapons able to cut with such precision, your injury is from a sword designed to cut through bones like they're but a bamboo stick..." She had allowed herself the indecency of applying medicine to and dressing up his shoulder wound while he remained unconscious. It was but an amateur's work a physician would surely frown upon seeing but still the best he could hope for in the middle of nowhere.

He was incredibly lucky. Had she not sent her bird companion to scout the roads ahead to ensure the safest route and instead chose her usual path to the city, the unconscious man would surely become fodder for the local wild beasts. "If it is the coin you are worried for, I have paid for the two nights at this inn, there is no need for haste."

"Hey, listen, I'm a clown by trade, I need to be loud. My job is to click the buttons and yell at my screen all day long!" It's technically true, but his neighbour knocked on his door at three in the morning and he wasn't even streaming. Instead, he's been playing the horror game recommended to him by his friend and not taking the jumpscares all that well.

One of such scary moments resulted in him tossing the controller across the room and hitting his head against the wall, which might have been what woke her up. Now, he stood in his front door in shrimp-patterned sweatpants and a ghostface t-shirt, rubbing the back of his head. The ruffled up hairstyle contributed to an overall pathetic sight. "So unless you can pay up my rent for me, I can't exactly... stop, you know?"

"Hey, hey, hey. Focus, you're... dissociating again." Ji Xinzi brought her hand up to her friend's face and snapped her fingers in front of the other's eyes. Zhu Jinhuan had that worrying look about her that Xinzi knew all too well. She had that same look about her when she had returned to school one day to have discovered her father having completely torn their apartment apart. Confusion, mixed with helplessness. She looked vulnerable; a fragile porcelain doll left in the hands of an irresponsible child, all roughed up.

Xinzi's but a breath away from hugging her but she's afraid she'd break down with her then, instead of serving as a support line. "You've been through worse and survived, no? Should you need a place to stay, I think I have a spare blanket somewhere around here." She did not get up but looked around her one room apartment. While there wasn't enough place for two people, her friend wasn't in a position to make demands. "You'll just need to get used to taking cold showers, but I make great coffee, so mornings with me might be worth it," she added, trying to cheer Jinhuan up a little bit.

Yueji found it quite difficult to connect with her former classmates from acting school. Not that she disliked them, really, not at all, it was just that her newfound work was not something people understood. After all, she was still an actress but... different. Her face was never her own, and people would never really recognise her unless they were actually into the details of how their favourite characters get animated. It was always a set of awkward questions.

Still, seated at the cafe in front of her cute junior Lu Mengran, she felt quite happy that she'd reached out. It was nice to see a familiar face and one that maybe could understand that it wasn't always about being instantly noticeable. She leaned over her iced coffee and smiled once again at her friend. "It's been a couple of years, how have you been doing? I haven't really had time to watch anything, but I hope work has been treating you well?"