time for an h/c comment fest!

[xparrot]

The last couple of days have been rough on my writing (for dumb annoying reasons, why don't we come installed with a "will not be bothered by this thing" button?)

So! In the hopes of getting me to write something, and because this is what I'm feeling most wobbly about: it's time for hurt/comfort comment-fic!

Leave me a prompt/request for h/c, any hurt or any comfort, short or long as you want -- if it's character-specific, Guardian WeiLan please, that's all I'm in the mood to write; if that's not your thing then please leave a more general prompt! I don't promise to write anything (nor do I promise to write an actual commentfic and not some 10K-word monster, knowing me) but I would love any inspiration.

And if one of the prompts happens to tickle your fancy, please post your own comment fic (art, etc!) here (any fandoms, any characters) -- the more h/c the merrier!


The fills! \o/
(as of Nov. 23)

The Sundial goes full Equivalent Exchange. by frith_in_thorns
aftermath of torture by xparrot
Shen Wei is having trouble focusing (and how!) by xparrot
Hypothermia and cuddling for warmth (or: Shen Wei Is The Least Reliable Narrator) by yue_ix
Shen Wei has a weird allergic reaction by frith_in_thorns
Nightmares (and knives) by xparrot
Shen Wei suddenly has the power to hear people's dreams by naye
Fanart: Scars by yue_ix
Comfort tea & hypothermia by marycrawford
Wings, the kind that stay inside until they tear their way out by frith_in_thorns
Scars (AU fic for yue_ix's art) by xparrot
Dragged away screaming by marycrawford
Shen Wei thinking he's minorly hurt, but it's actually a lot worse by wintersoldier77
Zhao Yunlan has a literal healing cock by xparrot
Shen Wei thinking he's only minorly hurt, take 2 by rlyqueer
winter has come by extrapenguin
Shen Wei accidentally (or not) ingests poison meant for Zhao Yunlan by xparrot
muffled screams by duckwhatduck
Like a snowglobe by frith_in_thorns

Comments

[marycrawford]

Zhao Yunlan is the last one. The last one left, after the others — all his friends, all of his team — were dragged away screaming. And in some microscopic way, he can still feel some satisfaction that he is the last one, that nobody else was left alive to see this nightmare play out. That nobody else has to witness this.

Especially not Shen Wei. Shen Wei is safe, on the other side of time and space, locked away in a pocket of no-time that Ye Zun can’t access, and all the Holy Tools are there with him. They came to his hand when he called; they will hear him when he asks them for help, surely. Shen Wei will find a way to make time itself his ally, to undo this.

Zhao Yunlan just hopes that Shen Wei isn’t seeing any of this, that he hasn’t had to watch their teammates be devoured one by one while Ye Zun went through a whole arc of histrionic rage and came out the other side to a mirror-smooth calm. It’s the calm of an ocean that suddenly drops far below ebb, and Zhao Yunlan has no illusions. All he can do is play for time.

They’re sitting at a low table together, Ye Zun and he, in a poisonous parody of courtship, and the rice wine keeps appearing in front of him. The knives, the whips, the chains, those have all vanished, as have all of Zhao Yunlan’s wounds, though he can still feel them—the stage has been set for a different play, though he already knows the ending.

Zhao Yunlan drinks steadily, jug after jug, and even though he can’t seem to get drunk, his mind remains blank, empty. It has to. He can’t afford to let himself feel. When Shen Wei returns, when his team is recovered, then he will unlock his heart, but not now. He used to say that he didn’t have a heart, or that it was a cold ember. No heat, no fire. It might have been true, once, but maybe he’s always been a liar.

Ye Zun keeps giving him annoyed, petulant looks, like he expected more entertainment; he’s like a cat batting at a mouse that has stopped moving. “What does my brother see in you?” he asks, head on one side, gazing up coyly at Zhao Yunlan’s mouth. “I can’t imagine being attracted to someone like you.” He shudders delicately. “So unevolved. Frankly, it’s obscene.”

Zhao Yunlan drains another jug, tosses it away. “Is it?”

Ye Zun trails a hand over his arm, and Zhao Yunlan sets his teeth in his lower lip, doesn’t pull away. “No powers at all,” Ye Zun sighs. “A little foolish courage, and nothing else. What match could you ever be for my brother? It’s like seeing a man make a fool of his dog. Does he let you sleep on his bed? Does he give you treats when you’ve been good, does he keep your cage nice and clean?”

That hits closer to home than Ye Zun can possibly know. It’s a struggle to keep his gaze empty, to keep his body pliant and relaxed.

Ye Zun’s long fingers are just as beautiful as Shen Wei’s, but his nails are bitten, and the edges scratch Zhao Yunlan’s neck as Ye Zun casually wraps his hands around his throat. “A wide collar, perhaps, for my dog,” Ye Zun says thoughtfully. “One that shocks you if you’re insolent—not enough to kill you, just enough to shake your legs out from under you, leave you trembling on the floor…” He licks his lips, slowly, his pink tongue darting out. “I would like that, I think. Would you like that, Xiao Lan?”

Fingers press into his throat when he doesn’t answer, hard enough to cut off his air. “I’ve been so nice to you, and you’ve been nothing but rude and selfish,” Ye Zun complains. “I suppose it’s my brother’s fault for not training you properly. You don’t know the pleasures of obedience.”

Zhao Yunlan gasps for air when Ye Zun finally releases him, not because he wants to live, but because his body has ideas of its own: animal instincts for survival. Smiling, Ye Zun pours more rice wine into his cup, then sets the cup on the floor and gestures at it. “Would you like another drink, my pet?”

When Zhao Yunlan still doesn’t respond, Ye Zun kicks the table away, smashes the last jug of wine. The shard of pottery that remains in his hand is very sharp.

Zhao Yunlan already begged him for mercy, for an easy death for his friends; he has nothing left to beg for. He slouches on his elbows, staring up at Ye Zun with as much bored ease as he possibly can, and then past his shoulder.

It’s lightning fast, too fast for even Ye Zun to react — one moment Zhao Yunlan is staring at the way the air seems to be folding in on itself, and then a familiar hand reaches through and yanks him inside.

Displaced air, pressure — his ears pop — and he finds himself inside a field of stars.

Not that he has any attention left for the galaxies that spiral past. All he can see is Shen Wei, right there, holding on to him, his eyes wide and shockingly wet. “Zhao Yunlan—”

“This wasn’t the plan,” Zhao Yunlan says, speaking fast, before Shen Wei can start saying he’s sorry, because he can’t bear to hear that right now. “I was distracting him—you can’t leave him alone, he’s more dangerous when he has nobody to distract him—”

“Please,” Shen Wei says, gripping his shoulders, a careful gentle grip, as if he knows how many bruises and stab wounds still echo under Zhao Yunlan’s skin. “The Tools were asking for you — you can find a road back through time, I’m sure of it. You can find a solution, but I can’t—forgive me—” His breath hitches, and he closes his eyes for a moment, wetness spiking his eyelashes.

Zhao Yunlan stares at him. Fuck. “You were watching. Weren’t you.”

Shen Wei nods. “I’m not strong enough,” he says, his voice just a little ragged, which is like hearing someone else scream their throat raw. “I’m sorry. I know what we planned, but I can’t let him touch you— I can’t—”

Zhao Yunlan reaches out and strokes his hair, letting the silk strands slip through his fingers. Just because he can, and because he knows how much Shen Wei likes it. A simple caress, because that’s all his heart has room for, all that he can bear to feel. “You don’t always have to be the strong one,” he says. “Did I ever tell you that?”

Shen Wei nods, again. “You did.” He turns his head, lets his cheek rest against Zhao Yunlan’s hand. “You will.” His breath steadies, slows to a more familiar rhythm. “You always have.”

Zhao Yunlan keeps stroking his hair, stepping in closer and leaning his forehead against Shen Wei’s, breathing in sync. “I always have,” he says, very softly. “I always will.”

[naye]

I AM SHAKING?!!

Wow. I read this and - and now I am shaking, this is so intense - brilliant! - good and awful? I love that there is hope, that it's horrifying but not the end of everything, and it's so perfectly wrenching in how it is destroying Zhao Yunlan and how he keeps holding himself together because he must. Because they can still win. Because there is Shen Wei.

...stroking Shen Wei's hair.

Shen Wei nods, again. “You did.” He turns his head, lets his cheek rest against Zhao Yunlan’s hand. “You will.” His breath steadies, slows to a more familiar rhythm. “You always have.”
Those words, that TENDERNESS I am so incredibly undone.

Sorry I just.

Yeah.

Wow.

[marycrawford]

Thanks so much for your comment, I really appreciate it!

Heck yeah they can still win, and um. They're still together? Um. I feel vaguely guilty for unleashing more hurt than comfort, but sometimes that's where the late night takes me.

[xparrot]

Ahhhhh what a terrible agonizing plan. Ye Zun, who knows just where to slide the knife so it hurts the worst, and Zhao Yunlan has hope but even for him it's such a small ember to keep burning...and then Shen Wei, who just can't anymore.

“You don’t always have to be the strong one,” he says. “Did I ever tell you that?”

Oh...oh both of them. They're so good at the mutual heartbreak and repair both...

[marycrawford]

I know, I'm sorry! Things...will probably get better? Thanks so much for commenting!

[umadoshi]

That. That was a lot. My heart's all achy.

[marycrawford]

I'm going to use my comments to apologize to everyone today. :D Thanks, and also sorry? There will be more comfort later, for both of them, I hope.

[yue_ix]

This is wonderful and soul destroying. There's so much peeking under each sentences, and it hurts so well. Thank you!!

[marycrawford]

Aw you are so kind, thanks so much!

[frith_in_thorns]

Oh gosh, this is so painful! (I love it though!) Shen Wei unable to bear Zhao Yunlan being a plaything of Ye Zun like that, and then obviously crushed by his "failure". And Zhao Yunlan at the start, all alone under such dreadful circumstances.

Are you planning on continuing this? Because it's an AMAZING premise (and of course I'm desperate for a happy ending for them now)!

[marycrawford]

Aw man thanks so much for asking! I want a happy ending for them TOO, and was thinking that I might...continue and/or cannibalize this, so I haven't put it up on AO3 or anything? The disadvantage of this whole "no setup, let the id fly free" thing is that I don't actually know what happens next, or what their plan even was, I just wanted them to suffer. :cough:

[naye]

OOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I would say I am sitting patiently on my hands but actually I am making grabby motions at this?

Just. You know. If you were wondering if anyone else was interested.

(SO INTERESTED.)

[marycrawford]

That is DEFINITELY motivational, thank you!

It doesn't feel right to leave them hanging in no-space, after all... I just have two other stories in progress that really should get finished first, but there's no harm in having things waiting on a back burner. I just hope this one will magically accrue a plot that makes sense. :D

[naye]

Wishing you the best of luck in percolating a plot for this on the back burner, and you know. If you ever want to post more snippets to get encouragement... I am desperate for anything you might have. :D

[marycrawford]

Aw thank you so much for the encouragement!

I might post snippets for the brush_and_lantern roundup thing, but I'll have to think about it - I have a hangup about posting too much of a story while I'm writing it, it starts to feel like I'm skipping hurdles to get to the getting-feedback phase and it messes up the still-writing phase.

(This is totally my own personal hangup though, I love seeing other people's quotes and Sunday Snippets and whatnot.)

[xparrot]

!!! Two other stories! \o/

But yes I second the vote for hoping this stone gathers some plot-moss while it's sitting instead of rolling along; I'd love to see how it plays out...(and how they win at the end!!)

[sheron]

This was wonderful. I just love the way they cling to each other in the end.