@cerbykerby: me: *thinks about game of thr*...

me: *thinks about game of thr*nes for 0.0001 seconds*

brain: what if wwx with his three wardragons suibian, chenqing, and yinhufu

suibian is a friend-sized brown dragon with brassy accents. he's loyal and would follow wwx to the ends of the earth, but he would also toss wwx off of his back for one(1) potato chip.

wwx: *trusts suibian to come after him into the waterborne abyss*

also wwx, whenever he catches suibian eating human food:

suibian has a specially modified brass saddle that wwx made himself that allows him to stand up, twist around, and do other crazy stunts while in flight.

chenqing is a bigger dark grey dragon, about as tall as a two-story building, with red accents. he has a distinct roar that sometimes sound like the trill of a dizi. he is singularly obedient to wwx and will ignore all dragons aside from yinhufu and lwj's wangji.

he also has a black saddle, albeit simpler than the one on suibian. a single red tassel hangs from either side, with a jade ring on each.

other dragons are nervous of his red eyes.

yinhufu is a massive jet-black dragon the size of a mountain. he bears no saddle. ghostly green fire glow in his eyes. and unlike other dragons, he doesn't vocalize at all. he doesn't call, chirp, roar, or purr.

he just kills.

out of wwx's three dragons, yinhufu shows the least concern for morality and loyalty. he's interested only in as much bloodshed as possible and will allow whomever can promise him the most destruction and has the willpower to handle him to ride him.

hhhh wwx riding chengqing into battle against the wens, and when the battle seems to drag on without end, he give a single, long, sharp whistle.

there's no incoming roar to alert the wens. the only warning they get is the sun disappearing behind yinhufu's wings.

lwj is very worried about wwx handling yinhufu. the dragon seems completely uninterested in anything but bloodshed. it's not a companion. it is barely even a mount; it has no saddle. it is solely a weapon—a weapon that lwj fears is detrimental to wwx.

most of all, what worries lwj is that yinhufu shows no loyalty; the dragon follows wwx merely because wwx promises the most deaths. loyalty in dragons is crucial to ensuring that they cannot be controlled by others.

all it would take is someone who can promise more bloodshed.

lwj is less worried about chenqing. chenqing's devotion to wwx is so strong that sometimes lwj himself is jealous. chenqing is usually curled around wwx's bed and only lifts his head at lwj's arrival to check and see if wangji is nearby. if not, he huffs and goes back to sleep.

when wwx dies, he takes yinhufu with him. the sects find the massive dragon somehow split in two, dead in the burial mounds.

there's a mad dash for the yllz's possessions. jc gets to chenqing first and fiercely defends him from the other sects cultivators.

everyone thinks that jc wants to personally execute wwx's dragon. instead, jc keeps chenqing in the modified dungeons beneath lotus pier and feeds him.

chenqing is ever loyal to his master and will never allow another rider. it takes him weeks to accept food.

jc, on the edge of insanity: look at this huge, fresh fish that my cultivators SPENT LITERAL HOURS catching. doesn't it look tasty?? don't you want to eat??

chenqing: ur not my daddy

jc: OH MY GOD U DUMB BEAST YOU'RE GOING TO STARVE. JUST EAT IT

chenqing: no. ur not my dad. 😤

wwx is a little disappointed when he wakes up in mxy's body to find out that mxy, despite having received some cultivation training, evidently was never given a dragon to raise. ideally, dragons age with their masters to form unbreakable bonds. there would be no dragon for mxy.

ah, well. perhaps it's not wwx's fate to be a dragon's master. his own dragons probably don't recognize him anymore, after thirteen years apart and wwx now in a different body.

((narrator's voice: they do, in fact, still remember and recognize him 🥹🥹🥹))

lwj's arrival at the mo manor is announced by a distinctive roar from wangji flying overhead that temporarily immobilizes the ghost arm.

bichen is bigger now, having had 13 years to grow since wwx saw him last, but he is still small enough to serve as lwj's main strike dragon.

lwj and his dragons have had thirty years to bond and grow together, and it shows in the way they seem to intuitively know his commands. bichen certainly knows how to carry lwj as if he were a heavenly prince.

wwx nopes out of there real quick.

it takes wwx longer than he would have liked to escape. he can't help it; lwj typically sweeps the ground with bichen while wangji circles far up overhead, ready to strike from above the moment his master commands it of him. wwx had to stick to the shadows to avoid detection.

such effort to stay hidden turns out all for naught. lwj, his disciples, and his dragons follow the ghost arm to the mountain. a battle ensues. wwx is forced to summon wen ning.

wwx: *plays wangxian on flute to calm wn*

lwj:

bichen:

wangji: oh my god it's this fucking guy

things are different from what wwx remembers. he can't recall when bichen has ever been so patient with him; the dragon doesn't even lunge at him after catching him trying to escape for the umpteenth time. instead, the dragon just gently—but insistently—nudges wwx back to bed.

what wwx finds most bizarre is that wangji is oddly intolerant of him. sure, wangji is mostly a war dragon and specializes in aiding cultivator field work, but he is both old enough and loyal enough to lwj that he should have no issues acting as a mount.

wwx has distinct memories of little a-yuan going for rides on both bichen and wangji. he remembers wangji being a very gentle and considerate mount. so why the heck is he suddenly so against wwx riding him? and why does wangji, specifically, keep shaking wwx off near lwj??

lwj: wangji, wei ying has no mount. could you carry him?

wangji: no

lwj: thank—oh. are you alright?

wangji: no

lwj: what's wrong?

wangji: i refuse to be ridden by that man so long as there is space for him on bichen in front of you

lwj:

wangji: seeya in the skies

omg the junior disciples all have their own dragons but they're only the size of ponies and can't carry more than just their masters. wangji is the bigger of lwj's dragons so whenever the disciples need rescuing, he just swoops down and lets them climb onto him 🥺🥺🥺

oyzz, lsz, and ljy's liddol dragons all get scooped up in wangji's claws where they sort of dangle during flight as suihua flies behind. suihua used to belong to jzx and is as big as bichen, but he's no war dragon capable of carrying a lot, so he grudgingly accepts the help.

in a little bit of canon divergence: wangxian and the gang encounter yinhufu's resurrected form in yi city. he's a horrifying mish-mash of half of his original body and half of whatever xue yang tried to salvage of the rest of him. there are holes in one wing. bones show through.

his wings do not match up very well so he's constantly veering off to the side, but it helps him circle around in the skies above yi city, trapping occupants and preventing any cultivators from flying up and leaving.

wwx, upon seeing yinhufu after thinking that he destroyed the dragon for good:

oh man paperman wwx discovers suibian chained in jgy's secret dungeon chamber. he thinks he's too small for suibian to notice, but the dragon perks up the moment he detects wwx's soul.

he leaps to his feet, chains rattling, and begins chirruping happily.

and loudly.

suibian is very much 🥹🥹🥹 'i knew u would come back for me. i always knew u would,' and he's straining at his chains to try and reach paperxian. paperxian can see where his scales have been rubbed raw from over a decade of imprisonment.

unfortunately, suibian's calls have attracted attention. paperxian has to leave him behind and escape back to his body. it nearly kills him to hear suibian crying after him as paperxian makes his escape.

when wwx, lwj, and lxc break into the chamber later, suibian is gone.

suibian's disappearance doesn't last for long; right in the midst of jgy seeding doubt among the watching cultivators about lwj's and wwx's motives, suibian suddenly appears. he bounds over to wwx, chirping with relief, and wraps himself around wwx protectively.

the cultivators:

lxc:

lwj:

wwx:

jgy: 🙂

suibian: 🥹👉👈 have i done something wrong?

they barely make it out. lwj calls his dragons, but—he will later discover—they are being restrained by jgy's goons in the stables provided for guests' dragons. after wwx gets stabbed, suibian picks both wwx and lwj up and flies them out of there.

being caged and away from his master for over a decade has stunted suibian's growth, and he is hardly bigger than he was when wwx was a teen. he struggles to fly and carry both wwx and lwj. his wings are weak from lack of use.

but! he is determined! he will save his master!

wwx, waking up to suibian's nudging: urghnnhghh

suibian: OH YOU'RE ALIVE 😭😭💕 I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO HAVE TO WAIT ANOTHER DECADE TO SEE YOU

wwx: where are we?

suibian: ... the cloud recesses

wwx:

wwx: why did you take us here

suibian: i panicked 🥹

wwx wakes up to an… interesting situation.

the last impression suibian had of lwj was back when a teenaged lwj was constantly spurning wwx and/or ignoring him. as far as suibian is concerned, that relationship hasn't changed.

so when lwj tries to tend to wwx, suibian gets MAD.

just because suibian recognizes the cloud recesses as a safe place doesn't mean he wants THIS uptight asshole anywhere near his master! no! he demands a proper doctor to tend to his master! anyone but THIS vile excuse of a man—HEY NO YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO CARESS MASTER'S FACE—

wwx wakes to an odd sort of stand-off. he's in lwj's jingshi bed, but the bed has been moved under a window so that suibian can poke his neck through and rest his head on the mattress as he guards wwx.

the window has splintered under the strain of suibian trying to get closer.

when suibian notices that wwx is awake, he lets loose an excited and relieved litany of chirps and purrs. he nudges wwx enthusiastically, but carefully—ever mindful of his wounds.

suibian's purrs soon turn into growls when lwj steps into the room with a tray full of food.

lwj is tired of this whole battle with suibian, especially since he knows the dragon loves wwx too. suibian is also covered in wounds and hasn't eaten for days—yet he is still so protective that lwj approaching wwx to tend to him is a whole challenge itself.

a corner of a nearby courtyard is covered in ash because bichen and wangji (who eventually broke free of jgy's goons and flew back to the cloud recesses on their own) tried to coax suibian into leaving wwx's side to eat and have his wounds treated. that dragon is DIFFICULT.

"Hey!" wwx bops suibian's snout firmly with his hand. suibian squeaks in surprise. "Is that any way to speak to Hanguang-Jun? Apologize immediately."

suibian stops growling and grudgingly lowers his head to the bed. it's as much of an apology as he's willing to offer.

as lwj sits on the bed and starts unloading the food tray, wwx looks suibian over. he frowns when he sees the raw wound caused by the collar.

"Foolish boy. Did you forget to take care of yourself?" wwx pushes at suibian's head. "Go find Wangji and Bichen for treatment."

suibian makes a protesting grumbling sound.

"I'll be fine." wwx scratches under suibian's chin, which elicits a content purr from him. "Be good, okay? I'll heal faster if you heal along with me. Once you're all treated, I'll give you more scritches. Alright?"

suibian makes another protesting grumbling sound, but obediently pulls back out of the window after giving wwx a loving lick over his entire face and a contemptuous snort in lwj's direction.

wwx winces when he sees the window's damaged state. "Sorry. I'll—I'll fix it myself."

lwj decides not to tell him about the burnt courtyard. "No need," he says. "It is a minor matter. It was more important that he remain by your side."

wwx sighs and lies back down on the bed. "I've really worried him this time," he muses.

lwj stirs a bowl of chicken congee. "Any mount would be worried about their master."

"Not like him. Not like this." wwx makes a face. "Did you notice? He didn't once look at the food you brought me. He loves food. He loves stealing *my* food. But he didn't even glance at it."

turns out, when wwx and suibian have finally healed enough, suibian has gone from stealing wwx's food to stealing *lwj's* food. the dragon has zero shame or remorse for waltzing directly up to lwj and snatching whatever is on his plate away. not even wwx's scolding deters him.

luckily, lwj has a simple solution. suibian's medicine is bitter and the dragon is picky, so lwj starts hiding the medicine in his steamed buns and rice. when he pretends to sit down to eat it, suibian snatches his food and gulps it down as fast as he can.

suibian starts to suspect something is up when wwx stops scolding him for stealing lwj's food. one day, suibian carefully breaks open the steamed buns with his teeth—

—and immediately reels in horror. oh, the bitterness! the disgusting taste! he has been tricked! bamboozled!!

wwx laughs loudly as suibian whines and paws at his own tongue. "That's what you get for stealing Hanguang-Jun's food! Now maybe you'll mind your manners."

suibian cannot believe this. betrayal? by his own master?? unbelievable. unacceptable.

he sulks for an afternoon.

eventually, suibian warms up to lwj—mostly because he sees lwj caring for wwx and wwx draping himself all over lwj and lwj not pushing him away. it also helps a lot that bichen treats suibian a lot nicer than he remembers.

bichen: *gently blows warm air across the new bandage on suibian's collar wound*

suibian: whAT ARE YOU DOING

bichen: soothing your wound

suibian:

suibian: you're showing me AFFECTION? and showing CONCERN? and TOLERANCE? gross

suibian: do it again pls

for size reference, suibian can fit inside the jingshi easily. bichen can also fit, but he would be uncomfortable. and there is no way wangji would fit inside the jingshi.

is suibian a little miffed that he's still friend-sized when other dragons his age are big?? yes. 😤

usually the 'sword' dragons are the ones who stay close to their masters while the bigger 'spiritual weapon' dragons idle in the skies above, awaiting command. however, while wwx and lwj move on to yunping, both wangji and bichen take it upon themselves to force suibian to fly.

suibian is VERY mad about it. he wants to remain close to master! to protect him! it has been over a decade; let suibian resume his duty!

but no. bichen keeps pushing him to fly. and when suibian refuses, wangji comes over and just launches him into the sky.

wangji: you're flying

suibian: NO

wangji: yes. you haven't flown in over a decade. your wing muscles need to be built up again. and you need to be able to carry both of our masters

suibian: I DON'T NEED TO—wait why both

wangji: you'll understand soon enough *yeets him*

their little flying session doesn't last long; wangji and bichen are summoned urgently by lwj. when they arrive, they're alarmed to find lwj running on his own towards the guanyin temple, with wwx nowhere in sight.

of course, nobody's more alarmed than suibian.

suibian is even MORE alarmed when he sniffs lwj and smells wwx all over him.

that. is. SUSPICIOUS. why the heck does lwj smell so much like wwx?? and why is there so much dried sweat?? clearly lwj has done something to wwx and suibian doesn't like it.

before suibian can eat lwj for his crimes, bichen and wangji sort of sandwich suibian in between their bodies and carry him along with them. he's smaller than them, so he has no choice or say in the matter. he just screams the whole way there in protest.

jgy: please sit tight, young master wei. your hanguang-jun should be here any minute—

[*distant but approaching sound of angry-upset dragon wailing*]

jgy:

wwx: hey don't look at me, you're the one who had him for the last thirteen years

of course, jgy is prepared; there are many sword and weapon dragons outside of the guanyin temple, but none of them dare step foot into the temple—not while jgy's dragon hensheng is inside, coiled around their riders, scales sharp and ready to slice anyone in half.

the dragons are agitated. they're used to fighting in open spaces. the guanyin temple is too small, and they can neither see nor smell their masters. the juniors' sword dragons are so stressed that they start squabbling amongst each other.

wangji lands near them, the earth shaking under his weight. immediately, the juniors' dragons stop bickering and guiltily separate from each other, heads bowed.

inside the temple, jgy tilts his head as the ground shakes. "Your Hanguang-Jun is here," he says to wwx.

of course, lwj seals his spiritual energy away when jgy tells him go. doing so temporarily cuts off his contact with his dragons.

wangji is displeased. bichen is annoyed. suibian is losing his goddamn mind because his mASTER IS IN THERE AND NOBODY IS HELPING HIM 😭

suibian: AAAAA 😭😭😭 WHAT DO I DOOOO?? MASTER IS IN THERE AND I CAN'T HELP HIM AND--

wwx, loud enough to be heard from inside the temple: LAN ZHAN, BACK THEN, I-I REALLY WANTED TO SLEEP WITH YOU!

wangji:

bichen:

suibian: what the fuck