Larkspur 🪷

@larkspur-9

she/her | 30s 🖤🩶🤍💜 mostly fluff and shenanigans 🪷 wangxian have taken full possession of my brain, but jiang cheng has my heart. | pfp: @mishkayustina archiveofourown.org/users/larkspur_9

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Larkspur 🪷@larkspur-9· 23h

I am so sad to be heading home and back to real life. Mentally, I am still admiring the view of the lighthouse from my bedroom window.

A photo taken through a window on a cloudy day. A forty-foot-tall lighthouse is just outside.

A photo taken out a bedroom window at night. White half-window curtains hang from the middle of the window down, leaving the top half of the window uncovered. From the angle visible from the bed, the green light of the lighthouse is visible right outside the top half of the window.

Larkspur 🪷@larkspur-9· 1d

It gives me so much joy that Stormy and I finished and posted this chapter of lighthouse fic from an operational lighthouse. If only we could write all our chapters at lighthouses from now on.

A photo taken from the water of a forty-foot-tall lighthouse next to a white lighthouse keeper’s house. In the foreground, rocks run along the shore of the island. In the background, the sun is setting over pine trees.

A forty-foot-tall lighthouse lit up on a foggy night. The fog is catching wide beams of light, which shoot out in every direction. The light looks teal in this photo, but in real life was green.

Larkspur 🪷@larkspur-9· 2d

Chapter 10 is here! Brought to you from a week of writing sessions at an actual lighthouse! ghosts of all things that are ⚓️ a wangxian pirate AU ⚓️ (former) lighthouse keeper LWJ ⚓️ pirate captain WWX ⚓️ the inherent eroticism of the waltz

ghosts of all things that are

The shore was bare save for the black rocks worn smooth from the ocean’s beatings. But as Lan Wangji looked, he noticed an unfamiliar shape, a bundle of what might be wayward seaweed—except for the splash of red, vibrant and alarming and clear. He removed the spyglass from its case on the wall, extended its silver frame, and peered through to confirm what his rabbiting heart had already concluded.

[Lan Wangji lives a solitary life as a lighthouse keeper. One day, a pirate washes up on his shore.]

Teen
No Archive Warnings Apply
M/M

Fandoms: The Untamed, MDZS

Ship: Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian

Characters: Wen Ning, Wen Qing, Luo Qingyang, Lan Xichen, Lan Qiren, Baoshan Sanren, Wen Yuan, Jiang Cheng, Jiang Yanli, Wen Chao, Lan Wangji, Wei Wuxian

Additional Tags:
Alternate Universe - Pirate
Alternate Universe - Fantasy
Steampunk
Lighthouse Keeper LWJ
Pirate WWX
Slow Burn
Ghosts
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Angst and Romance
Aftermath of Violence
Lots of plot
Mutual Pining
Eventual Declarations of Love
POV Alternating
Hurt/Comfort
Identity Porn
Canon-Typical Violence

Words: 51,827
Chapters: 10/13

Larkspur 🪷@larkspur-9· 5d

I was planning to spend the first day of this writer’s retreat working on one of my many WIPs, but naturally I spent it starting a new fic instead. Oops

Wei Wuxian frowns. “Am I hurt?” A stupid question, probably. He’s in a hospital bed. Of course he’s hurt.
There’s a pressure—the guy clutching Wei Wuxian’s hand in both of his. He has been the whole time, Wei Wuxian thinks. It’s a little weird, maybe, a stranger holding his hand, but it’s also kind of comforting, so he doesn’t say anything.
“Your ankle is broken,” the guy says. “And you hit your head. It was—” The guy swallows convulsively. “Dr. Wen was worried about the swelling, but it has gone down now. Wei Ying. It’s been two days.”
“Oh.” This guy seems really upset. Like, more upset than you’d get about a stranger. And he knows Wei Wuxian’s name, and…well, he’s sitting here to begin with, isn’t he? He wouldn’t be sitting here if he were a stranger. “Sorry, um, I don’t… Um. We’ve met, I take it?”
The guy’s expression goes slack, his hands tensing on Wei Wuxian’s. They stare at each other in silence for one heartbeat, two, three, the beeping of the monitor seeming a little louder each time.
“You don’t know me?” the guy asks, voice tight.
“Sorry, no.”
“Wei Ying. What year is it?”
“Um. Twenty…thirteen?”
A muscle jumps in the guy’s jaw, and he releases Wei Wuxian’s hand. Silently, he presses the call button on the side of the bed.
“So…not twenty thirteen?”

Larkspur 🪷@larkspur-9· Jul 8

I’m rereading A Blade by Your Side, and it remains my gold standard of arranged marriage AUs. I just love this fic so much! If you haven’t read it and you like arranged marriage and/or imperial court AUs, you should go read it now! And then yell about it with me! archiveofourown.org/works/573510...

A Blade By Your Side
athena_crikey

Summary:

In the end, it had been the Yiling Patriarch’s stratagems and his fierce fighting which had turned the tide of the war. He had killed both Wen Ruohan’s sons, and floored the traitor so that Meng Yao could strike the final blow. His status as the strongest warrior on the field had been undeniable.

Thus, the offer extended to him by the Lan court. Take his place as the Emperor’s consort, the only one permitted to lay hands upon the Emperor, the only one to share his bed with him while he sleeps, unaware and vulnerable. His last, best line of defense.

Or: Forced by his court to accept a consort, Lan Wangji is certain he has seen enough of the so-called Yiling Patriarch to know what he's getting: an uncouth ruffian. Slowly, he begins to realise that even an emperor's assumptions can be misplaced.

Larkspur 🪷@larkspur-9· Jul 6

A month and a half later, I finally hung the puzzle!

A seven-thousand piece puzzle in a four foot by six foot wooden frame with chestnut finish, hanging over a table and chairs. The puzzle image is six tall, thin scenes inside different color frames that suggest a row of portals opening into this six places. An orange portal leads to a fall scene with an orange tree in the foreground. A yellow portal leads to a desert scene with a large tortoise in front of some sand dunes, with dragons and steampunk airships flying overhead. A green portal leads to a mountain river with more dragons and some hot air balloons in the sky. A blue portal leads to a beach with more dragons and airships in the sky, and underwater some pink and orange fish. A lavender portal leads to a snowy scene with winged cats tucked in a cave under the snow. A purple portal leads to a nighttime scene of a garden pond next to some cool buildings, with two moons in the sky, one crescent and one full. The wall the puzzle is hanging on is wallpapered in a mottled green paper, with a border along the ceiling patterned with leaves and strawberries.

Larkspur 🪷@larkspur-9· Jul 4

Oh, okay, makes total sense that you would intentionally design your BEGINNER embroidery kits with instructions that don't match the image, so beginners who don't know what they're doing can enjoy the opportunity to be creative and figure it out on their own. Sure. This was totally a human choice.

a direct message from the Etsy seller:

Hi there. I am so sorry for the confusion. I completely understand why you would be concerned when the instructions seem to differ from the visual look of the piece.

Our embroidery kits are designed to be creative projects, and the instructions are provided as a guide to help you achieve the overall look of the finished piece. Sometimes, the specific stitch names or thread suggestions in the manual can appear a little different from the final artistic effect shown in the image. You are more than welcome to use whichever stitch you feel most comfortable with, or that best recreates the texture you see in the picture, as many of our customers enjoy personalising their stitching to get the best result.

Larkspur 🪷@larkspur-9· Jul 3

I’m not an embroidery expert (having learned all of two stitches and watched a bunch of YouTube videos about several more) but I am…dubious about the instructions in my new kit.

Part of a page of instructions from an embroidery kit. The embroidered scene includes rolling hills of grass in sage green and muted pink, some little bushes with pink flowers, and a cherry blossom tree. Almost every section is indicated as using the outline stitch, even though they’re a bunch of different textures and the stitches in the picture look more like satin stitch or long and short stitch. A line pointing to the flowers on the tree says to use satin stitch for those, but they look more like French knots.

Another section of the embroidery kit instructions, with a card holding a numbered selection of embroidery floss. One instruction at the top of the page says to use satin stitch in color number 1, which is dark brown, to make white flowers that appear to actually be French knots

Larkspur 🪷@larkspur-9· Jul 2

Got a few clearly AI-written/bot comments on my fics basically regurgitating my fic summary text, and it sure is a bummer to have the momentary excitement of a long comment only to realize that it’s not from a person

Squidgeworld comment:
I really loved the way this felt like a set of lived in bonus moments especially the Lan Qiren perspective where you show him quietly imagining a different path for his family it added so much depth without needing big drama. The little slice with Lan Xichen realizing he now has two brothers to deal with was also so perfectly mischievous and funny in such a subtle way.
How did you decide which side character POV moments to include in these extras and was there one scene you debated cutting because it felt too extra or too soft for the collection?

Squidgeworld comment:
I really enjoyed the way this feels like a full spectrum of their dynamic across different AUs especially the Ink day where calligrapher Lan Qiren and tattoo artist Wei Ying bounce off each other it’s such a clever way to show their tension turning into understanding over time. The threadfic format also gives everything a really lively, almost conversational energy that makes each version of them feel distinct but still connected.
Which of the days did you have the most fun writing and did any of the AU setups surprise you by how naturally the friendship developed in them?

Squidgeworld comment:
I really liked the emotional intensity in that moment where Wei Wuxian is holding himself together by sheer force of will and feels like hell fly apart a thousand little pieces set adrift it captures his teenage overwhelm so vividly while still keeping everything grounded in the situation. The mix of curse related hospital urgency with the very human almost mortifying family discovery also makes the whole setup feel both chaotic and really relatable in a funny way.
Did you always plan for Lan Qiren to be such a central emotional pressure point in this AU or did his role grow as you explored how Wei Wuxian would react to the situation?

Larkspur 🪷@larkspur-9· Jun 22

I’m experimenting with how to embroider a moss texture, and experiment #1 turned out kind of perfect? I was expecting way more trial and error in this process

Yellow fabric in an embroidery hoop. A section about two inches wide and one inch tall is covered in a cluster of French knots in five different shades of mossy green

Larkspur 🪷@larkspur-9· May 31

Got all my flagstones in! I’m going to wait until after it rains to transplant some moss, so for now my weekend project is complete! And I am so happy with how it turned out!

A flagstone path leading from a wooden picket fence gate, along a walkway between a chain link fence and a brown wooden porch, then curving to the side where it meets a little stone tile landing at the bottom of the porch steps. The flagstones are now all set into the dirt, which is still slightly damp from being hosed down after everything was placed.

Larkspur 🪷@larkspur-9· May 31

I was trying to wait for a before and after but I just really want to share my progress, so here’s a before and middle of my flagstone path! More work to do tomorrow to get the stones properly set, fill in some dirt between them, and attempt to transplant some moss from the other end of the yard.

A walkway between a brown wooden porch and a chain link fence that, at the near end, curves around toward the steps on the back of the porch. There are four square stone tiles at the bottom of the porch steps. At the far end of the walkway, a picket fence gate leads to a driveway. The walkway is all patchy grass with some clumps of weeds, and there’s a slightly overgrown bush next to the porch steps.

The same walkway between the porch and the fence. The grass and weeds have all been dug out, and gray flagstones are sitting on the dirt arranged in a path leading from the driveway gate to six square stone tiles at the bottom of the porch steps. The bush next to the steps has been pruned back a bit. There are little mounds of dirt along the sides of the path, ready to be filled into the gaps between flagstones.

Larkspur 🪷@larkspur-9· May 23

Back on my timelapse bullshit

Larkspur 🪷@larkspur-9· May 11

Not ms paint, but my shitty stick figure sketch vs. what the phenomenal @mishkayustina.bsky.social made of it

Weird little sketch drawn in pen on ruled notebook paper, of a stick figure sitting cross-legged in front of a bunch of shapes and squiggles and a few goofy attempts at plants. Some of the shapes and squiggles are labeled “magic light,” “clothes hanging,” “open folding door,” and “row of potted plants along the floor.”

Beautiful art of dark academia Lan Wangji sitting in front of his open close, where his collection of poisonous plants is on display beneath a glowing magical orb.

Larkspur 🪷@larkspur-9· May 11

I’m a woodworker now! I built a giant frame for my giant puzzle!

A 4 foot by 6 foot picture frame made of light unfinished wood, lying on a big sheet of cardboard on the floor, with a strap clamp wrapped around the outside to hold all the corners together while the glue dries.

Larkspur 🪷@larkspur-9· Apr 29

never have I ever (another round) 🍻 modern AU 🍻 Wei Ying is being weird 🍻 Lan Zhan is freaking out 🍻 everyone is hungover 🍻 chapter 4/5, rated T

This was, perhaps, Lan Zhan’s least favorite part of the game. He cleared his throat. “Never have I ever had a pet.”

There was a general uproar at that, horror and sympathy that Lan Zhan had had such a deprived childhood, while around the circle everyone took a sip of their drink. But Wei Ying, who would normally be celebrating Lan Zhan’s pathetic talent for making the whole group drink, was watching Jiang Cheng with a small, concerned frown. Far too late, Lan Zhan realized his mistake. Of course pets were a sore subject between them. Of course he should have said something, anything else.

Jiang Cheng scowled, shooting a stormy look at Lan Zhan and then zeroing in on Wei Ying, eyes narrowing. When the chatter about pets died down, he spoke up, his voice hard and sharp. “Never have I ever been in love with anyone in this room.”

[A game of Never Have I Ever goes slightly off the rails, and a night of drunken shenanigans ensues.]

Teen
No Archive Warnings Apply
M/M

Fandoms: The Untamed, MDZS

Ship: Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian

Characters:
Lan Wangji, | Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng, Wen Qing, Qin Su, Mianmian, Wen Ning, Nie Huaisang

Additional Tags:
Alternate Universe - Modern Setting
Drunk Lan Zhan | Lan Wangji
Mutual Pining
Getting Together
background Wen Qing/Qin Su

Words: 13,502
Chapters: 4/5

Larkspur 🪷@larkspur-9· Apr 25

All right, friends. I need to get some serious writing done this weekend, so I’m trying a trick I’ve seen suggested before—giving myself clear and obvious permission to write bad 😆

New Scrivener document
Title: chapter 4
Underlined header at the top of the otherwise blank page: The Shitty Draft

Larkspur 🪷@larkspur-9· Apr 17

So glad Word ruined their once-functional grammar check by incorporating AI into it. This doesn’t make my life harder at all. Whatever would we do without suggestions like this.

Screenshot from Microsoft Word’s grammar check:
Grammar
Possible Word Choice Error

Three large crows were perched on a thick branch, looking down at them. [The word “crows” is highlighted in blue to indicate an error.]

Consider:
crowds
troops, bunches, throngs

Larkspur 🪷@larkspur-9· Apr 16

Love that even my friend who doesn’t go here can’t avoid being infected by my brain rot.

Discord messages

Friend:
Found you a new fic idea
Screenshot of a social media post: just watched a reel of a couple who had a kiss cam at their wedding and after showing a few couples on it, the last duo of people were two guys who weren't dating yet but the newlyweds had been trying to set up for a long time and THEY KISSED AND NOW I HAVE TO WRITE THIS FIC

Larkspur:
Amazing
I'm trying to decide whose wedding it would be Who stages a whole elaborate kiss cam at their wedding just to matchmake someone
LXC. It's LXC
He's gonna get his brother a boyfriend or die trying

Friend:
Lol, thats exactly who I was thinking when I sent it to you

Larkspur 🪷@larkspur-9· Apr 10

It is finished!

The finished 7000-piece puzzle. The image is six tall, thin scenes inside different color frames that suggest a row of portals opening into this six places. An orange portal leads to a fall scene with an orange tree in the foreground, and in the distance a few dragons flying over a castle. A yellow portal leads to a desert scene with a large tortoise in front of some sand dunes, with more dragons, a Pegasus, and a steampunk airship flying overhead. A green portal leads to a mountain river with more dragons and some hot air balloons in the sky. A blue portal leads to a beach with yet more dragons, more airships, some sailboats, another distant castle, and underwater some pink and orange fish. A lavender portal leads to a snowy scene with winged cats tucked in a cave under the snow, and also more dragons in the sky. A purple portal leads to a nighttime scene of a garden pond next to some cool buildings. Oddly, there don’t seem to be any dragons in this last one, but there are two moons, one crescent and one full. The completed puzzle is four feet tall and six feet long.

Larkspur 🪷@larkspur-9· Apr 9

I’m a little sad I’m almost done, but also very excited to see it finished!

The second half of the puzzle, almost finished. The blue portal with the beach scene only has a handful of pieces missing. The lavender portal with the winter scene has a few more pieces missing than the first one, but still not many. And on the right side there’s now the final portal, a dark purple frame around a nighttime scene. There are two moons in the night sky, and trees with bare branches, the top half of the scene pretty much complete. In the middle, some buildings are partially put together, and there are big gaps all through the bottom of the scene.

Larkspur 🪷@larkspur-9· Apr 5

I should probably stop staying up so late puzzling

The puzzle now with two of the portals in progress. The blue portal with the beach scene is almost complete, with just a couple of little areas left to be filled in. The second portal is a lavender frame around a winter scene. In the middle, snowy hills and pine trees are pretty much complete. At the top, several dragons fly through the sky, with a couple small sections of sky still to be filled in. The bottom third is a big empty space inside the frame, which will be tomorrow’s puzzling adventure.

Larkspur 🪷@larkspur-9· Apr 3

Puzzle progress!

A partially assembled puzzle on some sheets of posterboard on the floor. This one is the fourth of the six portals in the puzzle, about a foot wide and four feet tall, with a blue frame that’s almost completely assembled. Most of the inside still needs to be filled in, but there are some small sections in place: near the bottom, pink and orange fish underwater; across the middle, a row of sailboats; in the sky, some birds and dragons and airships. Two more pieces of posterboard nearby have piles of sorted pieces.

Larkspur 🪷@larkspur-9· Apr 2

Do we still do WIP Wednesday? Because I actually have a WIP Wednesday for once! Making slow but steady progress on lighthouse fic, now with more pirate shenanigans!

"She might not be entirely happy to see me. I may have...stolen some things last time I was here?"
"You stole from Pirate Queen Baoshan Sanren."
"Little bit, yeah."
"And now you think she will help us. The ruthless pirate queen you stole from."
"I think I can talk her around? She's got a soft spot for a lovable scamp."
"And do you know one of those?"
"Wow, hurtful, Lan Zhan."

Larkspur 🪷@larkspur-9· Mar 28

It’s finally time! I’m starting the second half! A few minutes into sorting, and I’m already regretting my life choices. Sorting 3500 puzzle pieces is such a slog

A large bag of puzzle pieces with four pieces of posterboard spread out on the floor around it. There are a few tiny piles of puzzle pieces on each posterboard.

Larkspur 🪷@larkspur-9· Mar 7

I finished the first half!

The fully assembled first half of the Ravensburger Six Portals puzzle, currently about three feet wide and four feet tall. The image is three tall, thin scenes inside different color frames that suggest a row of portals opening into three places. An orange portal leads to a fall scene with an orange tree and flowers in the foreground, and in the distance a few dragons flying over a castle. A gold portal leads to a desert scene with a large tortoise in front of some sand dunes, with more dragons, a Pegasus, and a steampunk airship flying overhead. A green portal leads to a mountain river with more dragons and some hot air balloons in the sky. The right edge of the puzzle is unfinished jigsaw pieces where the other half of the puzzle will be attached.

Larkspur 🪷@larkspur-9· Mar 2

I am maybe a little sore from how much time I’ve spent sitting on the floor this weekend, but I am making very good puzzle progress! I’m mad that I have to go back to work tomorrow and can’t just keep working on the puzzle

A partially assembled puzzle on two pieces of foam board on the floor. It’s the first of the six portals in the puzzle, about a foot wide and four feet tall, with an orange frame around a fall scene. There are some flowers and a tree with red and orange leaves, and a castle in the distance, all put together almost completely. There are some sections of grass and one big area in front of the castle that are still missing pieces. Three of the edges are straight, but the right edge is unfinished jigsaw puzzle waiting for the next portal to be added. Next to the puzzle there’s a poster folded in half to show what three of the six portals look like. Two more pieces of posterboard nearby have piles of pieces sorted for the next two portals.

Larkspur 🪷@larkspur-9· Feb 27

No matter how many pieces I sort, somehow the bag doesn’t seem to get any emptier 😩

Four pieces of posterboard spread out on a pink rug, with piles of puzzle pieces arranged on each board. In the middle is a plastic bag that still looks incredibly full of puzzle pieces that need to be sorted.

Larkspur 🪷@larkspur-9· Feb 26

It’s called Six Portals. Honestly, it’s more like two 3500 piece puzzles that connect to each other, because it comes with the two halves in separate bags. This company has a bunch of giant puzzles. (I had to talk myself down from getting an 18k one, because that was way too ambitious 😆)

The box for a Ravensburger 7000 piece puzzle. The image is six tall, thin scenes inside different color frames that suggest a row of portals opening into this six places. An orange portal leads to a fall scene with an orange tree in the foreground, and in the distance a few dragons flying over a castle. A yellow portal leads to a desert scene with a large tortoise in front of some sand dunes, with more dragons, a Pegasus, and a steampunk airship flying overhead. A green portal leads to a mountain river with more dragons and some hot air balloons in the sky. A blue portal leads to a beach with yet more dragons, more airships, some sailboats, and another distant castle. A lavender portal leads to a snowy scene with winged cats tucked in a cave under the snow, and also more dragons in the sky. A purple portal leads to a nighttime scene of a garden pond next to some cool buildings. Oddly, there don’t seem to be any dragons in this last one, but there are two moons, one crescent and one full.

Larkspur 🪷@larkspur-9· Feb 23

And I’ve been tracking the amount of snow based on my little ginkgo biloba. (It occurs to me now that this method would have been more effective if I’d measured the height of the tree before the snow started…)