high cloud disaster ot3 shit

[lifeban]

just gonna put the actual starters in top-levels, i know myself

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[subcutaneous]

You’re missing out, Dan Heng. He has a great ass.

[is he enjoying this? can his face even show enjoyment? we just don’t know.]

[lifeban]

I'm about to find out!!

[lionsleeps]

[Ok. He was about to give Blade a few deaths as a romantic present, but Dan Heng's embarrassment is kind of cute...

They reach the dock and Jing Yuan's personal skiff, and as he's about to get inside he turns and gives Dan Heng the absolute most shitheaded catface smile possible.]

Oh? And here I thought you remembered it from the last life. There's quite a few such memories to choose from.

[subcutaneous]

[setting dan heng down. but also sneaking in a good ass grope.]

If you remember, that one Mid-Autumn festival where I fell off the docks because he wore that blue hanfu. The one with the cranes.

[lifeban]

It's been a long time, after all, so I wasn't counting those...

[glARES. at them each in turn. thwapping blade's calf with his tail for grabbiness. and bully.]

And then you were soaking wet, which did not help matters.

[lionsleeps]

Ah, that time...

[Everything was so happy, then. They'd all laughed easily and loved easily...

Anyway once he's got them in the skiff he's setting off for an out-of-the-way agricultral zone.]

You may have guessed, but the majority of my wardrobe at the time was chosen with your reactions in mind. You were both such proud and lofty figures... There was always a sense of power in being able to disarm you.

[subcutaneous]

[blade, as usual, insinuates himself into dan heng’s personal space, and moves to wrap his arms around the other man’s waist from behind, like a murderous limpet.

he also stays quiet, miraculously, because he is currently ????? at jing yuan actually doing things? like that back then?? for him??? he understood doing it for dan feng but the realm of yingxing’s arrogance lay in craftsmanship, not in his attractiveness.]

[lifeban]

You've always been so indirect.

[sighs.

and just. sits in blade's lap. he knows he's not getting away.]

[lionsleeps]

That's because I've always been a bit of a coward. But I use it to my advantage, so I'm not ashamed of it.

[He saves up his bravery for when obsessive planning doesn't work, and then uses it all at once to do shit like deliberately getting stabbed.

Or overcoming centuries of hurt to allow these two bozos back into his life and also his pants.]

[subcutaneous]

What you did with the Lord Ravager. [he has words to say about that but he’s having a time articulating them because the thought of jing yuan deliberately taking a fatal hit and leaving him alone because dan feng already left him made his brain cells rebel.] Wasn’t being a coward.

[maybe that’s a compliment? An insult? An observation?]

[lifeban]

[welp. yep. keeping his fucking mouth shut, there! as the one who let himself get manipulated into stabbing their man.]

[lionsleeps]

[There's a brief pause, in which he doesn't breathe. Then he chuckles softly, choosing to ignore the spike of guilt and just smile.]

Perhaps not. But it was worth making the exception. That bravery was a small price for the lives of my people. And for yours.

[subcutaneous]

[that implied he had planned it, like everything jing yuan did, and it hurt.

blade makes a quiet sound, buries his face into dan heng’s hair. his grip tightens viciously.]

Did you want to die.

[lifeban]

[yeah he is staying. stone silent. still.]

[lionsleeps]

If I'd wanted to die, I would have died.

[It's an answer he hopes is satisfying, and it's not a lie, but it does glide right past all the nuance of the real truth.

It isn't that he wanted to die. It's just that he considered it an acceptable outcome. He's very old, after all. Death is preferable to the ticking time bomb in his body. But he's glad not to have given Dan Heng that kind of memory.]

[subcutaneous]

If you want to die I’ll kill you myself.

[it’s a concession- for now.]

[lifeban]

[wow he is so glad neither of these bastards is wearing a bracer right now.

just going to play bodypillow right now. and try not to have a breakdown.]

[lionsleeps]

Will you?

[Jing Yuan laughs again, but this one sounds nothing but exhausted.]

Then I know who to call when time runs out for this old fool.

[It sure us convenient that they're pulling up to the dock of this artificially rural area. It's one of those places that reminds one that a Xianzhou ship is large enough to contain planets. There are billions of people who must be fed, and so places like this exist.

This particular area simulates a mountain tea farm. When the skiff opens, the scent is heavenly.]

[subcutaneous]

Don’t bother. I’ll be there anyway.

[he’s not saying but he is planning several home invasions because jing yuan’s home security system is shit and maybe probably between scripts he can find time to fix it or something.

dan heng will always be his frozen northern star but jing yuan - if he let himself think about it - could be the sun of the solar system he’d been cast away into.

he gets out first. he has zero appreciation for the smell, and he holds out his hand to help dan heng off.]

[lifeban]

[he hates them both.

he loves them both. that is the real problem.

taking blade's hand and hopping off the skiff, then turning to do the same for their driver. he closes his eyes and relishes the scent, at least, as a distraction.]

[lionsleeps]

[He takes Dan Heng's hand without hesitating, but that means Dan Heng gets a clear view of the way Jing Yuan is looking at Blade right now.

There's heartache there, and uncertainty, but more than anything is a sort of tired relief and a warm and deep affection. He won't address what Blade said, but he's trusting in it, and it makes him so much less afraid of what's to come in a not-so-distant future. If it comes to that, Blade's sword will be a welcome release.

He tears his eyes away after a moment, to smile gently at Dan Heng and pat his head.]

Thank you. We need only walk a short distance. I have a place here for when I wish to escape my staff for awhile.

[subcutaneous]

[he lets go of dan heng to fold his arms over his chest- ignoring that some gremlin had unbuttoned it- and takes up the rear of their little parade silently. ]

[lifeban]

[More Cleavage Good. no regrets on that specific front.

accepting the headpat with a muted flush, and a wry twist to his mouth.]

Some things never change.

[he remembers how much dodging his attendants dan feng had to do.]

[lionsleeps]

It is an unavoidable symptom of the malady called leadership.

[Also, it's funny when he comes back and they're all in a tizzy.

Jing Yuan's secret hideout turns out to be just up the hill from the dock. It's a tiny but well-built and charming cottage, with a garden in bloom, a little fish pond, and a perhaps excessive number of bird feeders. Inside it's quaint, comfortable, everything soft and cozy and with a soothing, natural kind of beauty. A great place for a solitary visitor to recharge.

As soon as they're in, Jing Yuan turns to smile playfully, hands folded behind him, head and body listing to the side in a way that is calculated to be as cute and enticing as possible.]

Now. Can you last a few more steps to the bedroom, or are you feeling a little more... primal?

1/2

[subcutaneous]

[why are there so many aeons-damned bird feeders. is this the secret base of your bird spy army. he fucking knew it. all of jing yuan’s birds were agents of the state.]