Night Escape

✨ MXTX’s boys Polaroids ✨

Something I love about WWX is that he never regrets saving the Wens. The strength of his conviction is just…inspiring.

And it’s not that he just accepts what happened in his first life. We see several moments where he’s sarcastic or otherwise recognizes the hypocrisy of the sects. We see others when he recalls the pain he endured. Even after his resurrection, he’s still not okay with how the sects treated him then and still treat him now.

It’s also not that he’s just not the type to regret his decisions. I think that’s part of it, but we saw in his conversation with JC about the core transfer that he had to persuade himself he was okay with it. He is a person who looks forward rather than backwards, but that’s a deliberate action as well as a natural perspective.

“But, let the self judge the right and the wrong, let others decide to praise or to blame, let gains and losses remain uncommented on.”

This is a hard philosophy to hold to! When someone has encountered a major loss, it’s pretty natural to wish it hadn’t happened or think about what they could have done differently. And WWX lost terribly, but he never thinks he shouldn’t have saved the Wens. He told us that whether he won or lost didn’t matter because he knew what the right thing to do was, and his resolution was put to the test, but he kept it.

It’s especially impressive because for almost the entire story, he doesn’t even know that A-Yuan survived. He goes through the story thinking he only managed to save Wen Ning, who still suffered terribly. But he never thinks that his sacrifice was in vain, and therefore it was meaningless. It wasn’t meaningless to do the right thing, even if it didn’t work out. This kind of conviction is just…really impressive.

Modern AU - Tax Time, or Gentleman in the Streets, Freak in the (Excel) Sheets

Lan Wangji is an IRS auditor, recently transferred to the city. He’s sent to audit Lotus Piers Shipping after a few red flags were raised in their tax filings, his first audit in this city. When he arrives, he finds absolute chaos and gets annoyed about how little organization there is and how long it takes the receptionist to find the documents he needs. And then when he finds out there’s evidence of embezzlement and fraud…

Let’s just say he and Wei Wuxian don’t have the best of all meetings. It gets even worse when Jiang Cheng jumps in and blows up about it all because hey don’t talk to my brother like that, and brother why are you so stupid to fuck up the taxes like that.

(This involves LWJ using increasingly specific tax statutes and IRS internal rulings and the Jiang boys are just like…. Dude… touch grass…)

So Lan Wangji tells them everything they need to redo and what documents they need before giving them notice that he’ll be back in 90 days to go back over everything and if things aren’t like they were represented to the government and/or there hasn’t been an amended return filed things will not go well.

Meanwhile, LWJ and WWX keep bumping into each other… or rather LWJ keeps seeing WWX whenever he goes out into the city. Co-op owned farmers market? WWX haggling with old grannies and flirting with everyone as Wen Ning and Wen Yuan follow around behind him. Soup kitchen volunteer? WWX is kept on coffee refill duty, with Granny Wen and Uncle Four keeping a close eye on him to make sure he stays there.

Eventually LWJ is like. Sir, stalking me will not help your case. And WWX loses it laughing. LWJ has no idea how to deal with it so he just. Leaves his shopping basket in the middle of the Aldi to sit in his car and contemplate all the life choices that lead him here.

(Lots of internal screaming about the situation. Hot man is bad at tax and adulting is not the situation LWJ ever thought he’d be attracted to but here we are.)

Eventually it comes out that WWX and JC are essentially rebuilding Lotus Pier from the ground up after a family tragedy burned everything down and killed the rest of the family. So basically one business major with only two years of experience and one community college drop out with loads of customer service experience are trying to make a come back, despite other big corporations trying to make a move into their business.

(Looking at you Golden Carp Transport. Lots of shady there, and yet…)

The Wens were also left homeless from the fire, a huge, sprawling family from the northern part of the city, so WWX has essentially brought all of his second family in to help work it.

LWJ has a lightbulb moment and is like o. I fucked up. Hot man is bad at tax, but good at people.

JC is surprised when the Tax Man Cometh again, this time barging in, dropping a giant, color coded, tabbed, highlighted, and very detailed binder on his desk at 6 am, and being like. Here’s all the deductions to take, credits to take, and btw a list of clientele that are stuck in with Golden Carp hint hint nudge nudge, new customers do I have to literally hit you over the head with this or do you get it

JC, after his initial gtfo of my office moment, is like. Wait. What did my brother do to make you do this? What dirt does he have on you? Because pretty sure blackmailing a government official is very very illegal and legalities have not stopped him before.

LWJ has an immediate oh fuck, I’m being perceived moment and is just like. Tell your brother I did this and I will make you the most miserable of all people. And just … fucks off.

JC just groans and is like. How does my brother find these people? And gets to work.

When the 90 days are up, a different Lan comes by all smiley and tells them their refilling has been accepted and very well done on it. Meanwhile, WWX, who has very much been ‘Notice me Senpai’ every time he sees LWJ is like. What?

And LX gives him an updated version of, why does my brother like you again? He’s risking his employment for this?

So ofc the next time WWX sees LWJ he’s just like. I like you, I love you even though you’re a numbers nerd, please come home with me. And LWJ vows to make JC miserable, but later, after he shows WWX that he’s a freak both in excel sheets and in the bed sheets.

(This would involve a lot of math and accounting puns that WWX spent hours at work looking up on Google and trying out on the Lotus Pier accountant, who is just like. Sir. I’m trying to close the month and reconcile, I can’t read your brothers handwriting is this a 5 or an 8, please take your bad stand up else where.)

Night meeting sketch

-Xie Lian looks so good in this- 🦋🌼

Hua Cheng trying to rope Xie Lian into play fighting cause thats what couples do right, its fun and cute and a great chance to roll around and maybe a way to get a lil frisky

Xie Lian insists that no, he wont do it, he doesnt want to accidentally hurt his husband or break something, thats so irresponsible, San Lang, fighting is no joke, i used to be a martial god, you know this

But Hua Cheng insists and pouts and acts all cute and pathetic like gege please 🥺 just a little bit, for me?

And Xie Lian cant say no to his San Lang of course so it starts all cute and playful until Xie Lian's instincts kick in and he pins Hua Cheng down, hands above his head and a bit too much strength and Hua Cheng turns as red as his robes and bursts into butterflies immediately because he did not expect to be manhandled like that and like it so much

To be loved by a god. 🌸

suguru's bday

prompt for @/shiraayasha on twitter for the juniors quartet g4g here, thanks so much!