[Open RP Post]

[afterthemoment]

If you'd like to thread with Wei Wuxian outside of any games or memes, here's a place to do it! If there's a prompt or idea you have in mind, feel free to toss it at me. If a thread's going to be NSFW or contain triggering subjects, please mark it in the subject line. Other than that, go wild! Texts, emails, and other formats besides prose or action tags are welcome!

ETA: NSFW threads within, some not explicitly marked.

Comments

[afterthemoment]

Beautiful, loving, and loyal Lan Zhan. Whatever he did to earn such devotion from this man eludes Wei Ying. It's taking every bit of his strength not to give in and just let him have his way yet again.

"I know you would and that's the problem, Lan Zhan. You shouldn't. I'm not worth it."

But the words don't ring quite as true for Wei Ying as they would've when they first met at the school. Back when his adoptive mother had cast him aside rather than fight for him and the rest of his family. Letters from his adopted sister, the occasional call from the youth who'd once been his brother and best friend, and monetary gifts from his adopted father, hadn't been enough to ease the sting of abandonment.

Meeting and being with Lan Zhan had. Their relationship had made him a better person than he'd been, given him a home and support when he'd no longer had any.

Now Wei Ying does start to cry, silent, shaking sobs.

He'd had it all. He'd had everthing he should've wanted. But Wei Ying had still reached for more and ruined everything.

"Don't make me do this. Please. Just let me go."

[abstains]

You are worth it, Wei Ying." His voice is firmer here, his hand lifting Wei Ying's chin, fingers wiping those tears away. "But you ask too much to ask me to stand by and do nothing while you walk into something that may mean I never see you again. You can't ask me to do something that's impossible for me."

His hands move, frame Wei Ying's face before he leans down to kiss him, desperation and love fueling the kiss as he deepens it, one hand sliding into the other man's hair.

"I will not leave your side. Do not ask me this again." When he finally pulls back from the kiss.

[afterthemoment]

Once again, Wei Ying's tried words.

Once again, words have failed.

Once again, Wei Ying has no choice but to use force.

But at least, they had one last kiss goodbye before the end.

Wei Ying closes his eyes, expression pained, before he opens them again. There's sorrow in them but also renewed determination. He's been in this embrace enough times to know that he doesn't have the physical strength to break it on his own.

Psychic strength on the other hand...

Spectral hands of telekinetic force and shadow, invisible in the darkness surrounding them, grip Lan Zhan's arms, exerting intense pressure in the limited space between in an attempt to pry him off. In all the years they've known each other, not once has Wei Ying ever turned his powers on him in this way, and he'd never, ever wanted to. Especially not after killing so many people with them in the past three weeks but it's the only defense he has left.

But this one. This one Wei Ying doesn't want to harm, this one he wants to protect. This one he's far more careful with.

[abstains]

It doesn't register at first for a few shocked moments, his expression betraying every emotion he's feeling when those hands take hold and pull him away, Wangji starting to fight them as soon as it connects, his hands reaching for Wei Ying, his voice hoarse.

"Wei Ying, I...let me go! You can't do this! Don't..." Don't leave me, don't go where I can't find you. He wants to say but his throat closes up, choking on the words he can't say. And he's powerless down here, against this attack because unlike Wei Ying, his powers require light to be functional.

"Please!" He doesn't know if he's said out loud or if the cry is inside of him at the moment but he needs Wei Ying to listen, to hear him.

[afterthemoment]

"I'm not going anywhere. This is the end of the line for me but it doesn't have to be for you. You still have a life to go back to, Lan Zhan. Mine ended three weeks ago when I killed those men."

It's hard to talk and maintain control of the shadows keeping Lan Zhan immobile. The past three weeks have given him more practical experience with using his powers than years in a NSO classroom had. Whether it'd been a problem with the teachers or the the student, it doesn't matter now.

What does matter is getting Lan Zhan out of here alive and in one piece and with that intent in mind, Wei Ying directs the shadows to begin carrying him toward the residential district. Of all places in the Last Ward, it might be the safest for him to be until he can leave this place. The corporate police in the area are untrusworthy but the metahumans down here look after and take care of their own. They won't let him come to harm, even if another private security team from the Central Ward comes after him.

"....I'm sorry for this, Lan Zhan. For all of this."

Wei Ying's voice sounds entirely too calm and cool, given the panic it's exhibited before he'd started using his power.

[abstains]

Ge's never felt this powerless in his life, struggling against Wei Ying's power, growing more frantic as they move. "I don't have anything without you there beside me!" His eyes are locked on Wei Ying's face, his hands trying to yank at the darkness holding him alll but immobile and pulling him backwards.

"...I love you... don't do this.. They're not going to let you go if they see this! You have to let me help you. I'm the only one who can..."

[afterthemoment]

They're attracting notice now. It's only natural, given the situation appears to be a dangerous metahuman holding his struggling lover hostage. As lawless as the Underground may be, attracting attention at all is dangerous when someone's on the run wih armed pursuers on their trail.

But Wei Ying's not quite himself when he uses his power this often or extensively. He stares blankly at Lan Zhan, stonefaced with dilated pupils. He's already losing awareness of time, his detachment from their surroundings growing.

The more Lan Zhan fights to free himself, the more the hands tighten their grip.

"....Lan Zhan, who told you where to find me? I didn't think to ask before."

There's an unsettling edge to his voice, an underlying hint of instability. Human minds were not meant to endure a connection this strong to darkness.

[abstains]

The question made him freeze if only for a moment. "Wei Ying, I came here to bring you home. To fix this." Because Wangji was the only one capable of getting through to him when he was scared like he'd known Wei Ying would be.

But this isn't his Wei Ying, the tone of his voice, the question, it's wrong. It's all wrong and he's trying even harder to rip himself free.

"You have to stop, it's... You're not yourself, Wei Ying. Let the power go and come back to me! Let me help you!"

[afterthemoment]

"What can you possibly do to help me?" Wei Ying shouts harshly, feeling something clench in the pit of his stomach, turning his face away to blink away a sudden fresh sheen of tears.

"My life is over! They won't stop until I'm dead! Do you think I wanted to drag you down here with me? I wanted you safe! That's why I ran!"

First, the perception of time. Now his emotional control is going next. Next will be hallucinations and potential violence if he's not stopped.

"Instead, you came here! Don't you realize what you've done? You've brought them right to me! Where are they!? They're already here, aren't they!?"

Wei Ying suddenly whirls around, peering suspiciously at an anxious passerby. But as he does so, his focus on maintaining the grip on Lan Zhan suffers, weakening the hold. If he struggles again and pushes through, he might be able to break free this time.

[abstains]

"They're not here, Wei Ying!" He finally manages to break free, footsteps carrying him to the other man arms wrapping around him from behind, lips against his hair.

"..Please listen to me. Let the power go. Do this one thing for me and we can talk again. You need to let it go, Wei Ying.

Nobody here is going to hurt you. So, please....stop." It's almost begging at this point, his voice shaking as he tries to reach him. The real Wei Ying, not the person he is right now.

"I know you didn't want to hurt anyone. You don't want to hurt anyone..."

cw: somewhat graphic gun violence

[afterthemoment]

It's a twist of fate too cruel for words.

Still, caught in the grip of his power's madness and unable to fully process what's happening, Wei Ying struggles to break free of Lan Zhan's grip, lurching violently to the left.

The sharp crack of a gunshot comes out of nowhere.

The bullet pierces the back of the left side of Wei Ying's head and travels right on through. Blood, skull fragments, brain matter, and bits of hair go flying as the young man collapses like a rag doll in Lan Zhan's arms, his grip on the shadows of the Underground broken by force.

Re: cw: somewhat graphic gun violence

[abstains]

It didn't connect, one minute his arms around his partner, trying to plead with him to let go and then a spray of warmth over his face, the body he's holding going limp and Wangji sinks down with him, his arms still around Wei Ying as he looks down at his face, his fingers reaching to stroke his cheek.

"...Wei Ying.." It's soft, shaky, his eyes widening slowly as what just happened sinks in. The noise of the gunshot, Wei Ying in his arms unmoving and his voice cracks this time.

"Wei Ying, please..open your eyes. I need you to look at me."

[afterthemoment]

Heavy booted footsteps approach the pair from behind, their owner some kind of armed bounty hunter decked out with body armor.

Miraculously, if anything about this situation could be considered a miracle, Wei Ying's eyelids to flutter open a fraction, eyes unseeing, his face slack. But he manages to turn his cheekly slightly into Lan Zhan's hand.

The foosteps stop just behind them.

"Subject is alive but incapacitated. Awaiting further orders," says an emotionless, genderless, and mechanical voice.

[abstains]

Wei Ying opening his eyes even that much is something and it's a moment before he's moving to stand, adjusting his hold so Wei Ying's head on his shoulder, his arms supporting the other man before he turns to walk back toward the entrance.

Toward the light so he can heal this, so he can do something to bring him back, to help him and his eyes are blazing with light as he moves, steps purposeful, daring anyone to come near them.

"Stay with me, I can fix this." Lips brush his forehead as he steps out into the light, fingers moving to the wound once he can access his powers again.

[afterthemoment]

The damage is extensive as a shot through the head would be but the healing seems to be having a slight effect. At least, Wei Ying's eyes shift slightly toward Lan Zhan is some vague semblance of alertness.

"Lan Zhan," he whispers so quietly, the name slurring together. The left of the brain is where the speech and language functions are located, after all. That he can speak at all is a positive sign.

"I'm sorry..."

[abstains]

"..No, I.. This is my fault. I didn't .. I should have protected you." His voice is shaking as he sinks to the ground, his hand still working on the wound, his head turning to look Wei Ying in the eye.

"...Don't leave me, Wei Ying. I can't... I need you to stay with me. Just hold on, I'm trying to fix it. I love you..."

[afterthemoment]

"I love you..."

Wei Ying's eyes drift closed again, tears trickling out of the corners, and then comes one last slurred whisper.

"Not your fault... Mine."

His body slumps as he falls completely unconscious. In the distance, those heavy marching footsteps can be heard approaching again. The bounty hunter steps just out of the dark and into the light, rifle in hand. He raises it, cocks it, and gets ready to aim it directly at the still faintly, moving chest of Wei Ying.

[abstains]

"No..." His voice cracks again, and he adds more power to the healing, "Wei Ying..please..." Because this isn't how it ends. It can't be. And until he hears those footsteps, his entire focus is on the man in his arms.

But when he hears them, he turns his eyes gold eyes blazing as he attacks, light blasts heading directly for the bounty hunter and his expression gone cold.

DISCLAIMER: I HAVE NO CLUE WTF I'M DOING WITH LXC. ALSO CW: DISMEMBERMENT

[pureasjade]

The bounty hunter, under the impression the subject's lover was merely a human given his vulnerability in the Underground, is taken off guard by the attacks. They knock the rifle from his hands, bullet firing off into the sky. Undeterred and seasoned at fighting metahumans, he pulls out a handgun and fires it twice at Lan Zhan.

It turns out to be the last thing the bounty hunter ever does.

"Wangji, look out!"

There's a flash as a blur of white trenchoat and black hair as a figure leaps down from one of the gothic buildings close by out of nowhere, which what appears to be a sword forged of pure, bluish white light in his hands. Without mercy or sound, Lan Xichen slices the man's arms off like cutting through both like sticks of butter, the limbs flopping uselessly to the ground.

The bounty hunter soon follows, completely in shock. There's no blood, the wound cauterized on contact.

Once the threat to his brother has been eliminated, Xichen strides as quickly over to the couple as he can.

"Tell me what happened while I take a look at him," he orders, gently but firmly pushing Wanji aside to make room for himself.

Re: DISCLAIMER: I HAVE NO CLUE WTF I'M DOING WITH LXC

[abstains]

"...Brother." His voice is faint, even if he's not letting go of Wei Ying, just shifting his hold to pull him closer, his eyes flashing for a moment before he lets them close slowly.

"...I want to take him home."

[pureasjade]

"Wangji."

Of course, he knows. When Wei Wuxian had been enrolled as a student at their school, he'd even encouraged it. It'd been the first time he'd ever seen his asocial sibling really show an interest in getting to know anyone else, even if he couldn't express it.

But the situation with Wei Wuxian has changed. He's no longer simply his brother's lover. Now he's a dangerous metahuman wanted for multiple homicides. He just doesn't know much protection the NSO will be able to give him in light of these charges.

He knows that he can't say that right now, though, not when his brother's barely hanging on at the edge of despair. Xichen nods after a moment.

"...Fine. Carry him. I'll prepare a portal for us and do what I can."

He rises, walks ahead to a clear spot, and proceeds to start absorbing the light shining off of neon signs, pulling it and weaving it into a shimmering doorway.

[abstains]

"...Thank you, Brother." It's barely audible as he moves to his feet, cradling Wei Ying to his chest and joins him before moving through the doorway. When he's on the other side, he goes dead still, gold eyes taking in his surroundings before he turns back to look at the portal, hold tightening on Wei Ying and tension in every line of his body.

he's already failed to protect Wei Ying once, he's not making that mistake again.

[pureasjade]

Once they're on the other side, Xichen hurriedly closes the portal, and starts giving directions to the medical staff to prepare a gurney, notify the trauma unit that they had a critical patient coming in.

"Everything about this one stays in house. No one is to know he is here. Understand?"

Once his orders have been given and a gurney is wheeled toward them, Xichen turns to his brother.

"Wangji. You have to let him go for now. The doctors need time and space to work with him. I will oversee them myself. Right now, you need to find a room and rest."

[abstains]

"...I'll watch over him, Brother. I ....this is my fault." His grip tightens on Wei Ying for a moment before he moves, gently placing him on the gurney, fingers smoothing his hair.

"...I want to be there."

[pureasjade]

The longer Wei Wuxian goes without medical attention, the worse his prospects become. Finally, Xichen simply grips his brother's shoulders, holding him firmly in place while the medics quickly wheel their new patient away for treatment.

"Wangji. You will be. I promise I will come get you as soon they are finished. I need you to trust them. To trust me."

Then a long pause and earnest stare at his little brother's face.

"...There is a waiting room near to where he'll be. Come with me and I'll sit with you until there's word on his condition."