#(but never told wei ying the name)

[the-marathon-continues-nip]

I read a lot of wangxian fanfic, and in some modern aus

1. lan zhan never confesses to Wei ying, and keeps his feelings secret while

2. Wei ying has a ton of Real Heavy shit going on

*but when they do get together* it's because

3. Wei ying does the confessing and then apologizes for not knowing lan zhans feelings earlier

like whyyyyy cant my boy Wei Ying get a declaration of feelings that isn't from lan zhan's dick, sheesh😥

[wangxianficrecs]

Rewind 2024 - Part I

WangxianFicRecs - Rewind 2024

Part one of our favourite stories published in 2024. If you also want to give a shout-out to a story, submit an ask and we will share it in an upcoming post featuring Follower Recs and Proud Author Spotlights.

~*~

much sweeter than

by mellowflicker

T, 3k, Wangxian | Kay's Rec

Summary: Lan Wangji gets married knowing one thing: his husband is his equal.

~*~

Day 4: Time Travel

by UseMyMuse (@museywrites)

G, 1k, Wangxian | Kay's Rec

Part of Musey's Lanuary 2024

Summary: Lan Sizhui knows his parents are happy, but he wants to fix things so they never had to suffer. Against his better judgement, he goes back in time, though he isn't sure if things will turn out the way he expected.

~*~

old wounds, like hidden ghosts

by wordsonpage (@ronniexian)

T, 2k, Wangxian | Kay's Rec

Summary: "Wei Ying, Wei Ying, you are a menace." "Oh, yeah," Wei Wuxian plays along. "And what are you gonna do about it, Hanguang-jun?" "Perhaps I should leave you." - Lan Wangji is possessed by a vengeful spirit during a night hunt. It takes Wei Wuxian a long, painful moment to notice. (my accidental darkji threadfic, cleaned)

~*~

my name on your lips

by kopicanai

T, 2k, Wangxian | Kay's Rec

Summary: To the mortals, he is Hanguang-jun. To the other gods, he is Lan Wangji. To Wei Wuxian, he is simply Lan Zhan. A Chinese gods AU

~*~

Changed for the Better

by tigerlilly3224

M, 4k, Wangxian | Kay's Rec

Summary: “T-They have busy lives. It’s hard for them to step away.” Wei Wuxian didn’t usually stutter. He was tripping over his words. Trying to justify the accusations faster than his mouth can form the sounds. His brain brought up the long prepared list of why the Jiang’s did and always would come first. Lan Wangji narrowed his gaze. “You lower your own worth for their sake. You told me you wrote wrong answers on assignments so you wouldn't get a better grade than Jiang Cheng. You are your own person Wei Ying and you live as if you take up too much space. I want -“ {aka. college roommates wangxian learn to navigate their lives and heal each other along the way ✨🫶} ** on page panic attack, past referenced/implied emotional child abuse & neglect // rating due to topics both mentioned & implied but there is no spice here just feels

~*~

Having one soulmate in this life is enough

by secretninjagirl (@shawoloser)

M, 1k, Wangxian | Kay's Rec

Summary: “Wei Ying, come to bed,” he says. His eyes are still so soft, and his voice is so warm. “Yes,” Wei Wuxian says, wondering if his voice sounds as unsteady as he feels. He doesn’t know what this means, but he’s powerless to resist his soulmate. He will take whatever Lan Wangji is willing to give him. ------ A "missing scene" of sorts from episode 43 of The Untamed. The pan out over the Jingshi with their song playing felt very much to me like a subtextual sex scene. So I wrote that hypothetical scene.

~*~

🔒 For good

by apathyinreverie (@apathyinreverie)

M, 6k, Wangxian & Xiyao | Kay's Rec

Summary: Wangji should have seen this coming. (Kind of mafia AU. Where the Jins are their usual treacherous selves but Wei Ying is perfectly capable of getting revenge. Which they absolutely deserve. For having made his Lan Zhan so much as frown.)

~*~

🔒 Bright the Day We Met

by ereshai (@ereshai)

G, 1k, Wangxian | Kay's Rec

Summary: Xichen wasn’t even sure Wangji was open to finding his soulmate. The mechanism of soulmate matching was inexact and open to misinterpretation. It was very frustrating. Wangji had always preferred certainty.

~*~

💙 Lay my body down

by tawaen

M, 54k, Wangxian | Kay's Rec

Summary: One of the fragments of Wei Wuxian's soul, splintered during the first siege of the Burial Mounds, uses the energy released by the Yin Tiger Tally and flees backwards through time to another moment where Wei Wuxian was close to death – after the fall of Lotus Pier, at the hands of Jiang Wanyin. Knowing how his first life will end, Wei Wuxian decides to hide his survival, and leave the cultivation world behind.

~*~

The White Jade Hairpin

by YilingSani (@yiling-sani)

G, 1k, Wangxian | Kay's Rec

Summary: Happy Birthday, dear Hanguang-Jun!

~*~

Tell Me To Stay

by YilingSani (@yiling-sani)

G, 14k, Wangxian | Kay's Rec

Summary: With heavy steps, Wei Ying walks back to the living room and plops down on the sofa again. His silver eyes travel around the room for a while, mind flooded by memories of sunny mornings, meals and cosy evenings together and all the surfaces they fucked each other on. Then they stop at the door of Lan Zhan's study. If he walked out right now... If Lan Zhan walked out right now and spoke to him, Wei Ying would throw the backpack away, hold his boyfriend close and never let him go. He begs. He begs it would happen. He begs Lan Zhan to somehow feel how much on the edge Wei Ying is balancing right now. "Please," he whispers - the tightening feeling in his throat is slowly choking him while the silver eyes threaten to fill with tears. "Please, Lan Zhan."

~*~

Heart of hearts

by apathyinreverie (@apathyinreverie)

M, WIP, Series, 40k, Wangxian | Kay's Rec

Summary: It won't be until several days later that Wangji will know to be grateful for Jiang Wanyin’s insistence to split up in their search. (Or, JC and LWJ spend those months searching separately and LWJ ends up finding Wei Ying a little earlier. Wei Ying who doesn’t remember anything beyond his own name. So, LWJ takes his chance and takes Wei Ying home. To Gusu.)

~*~

💙🔒 your heart is mine to fortify

by sunflowersfield

G, 2k, Wangxian | Kay's Rec

Summary: A few mornings later, Wei Ying stares up at his ceiling and listens to the wind blowing through the willow tree outside his window. It is 4:15 a.m. and he is wide awake once more. For a while, the howling wind is the only sound he hears, and then, there is movement from somewhere below him. The opening and closing of cabinet doors. Light footsteps tapping on a hardwood floor. The clanging of metal against glass. Lan Zhan has arrived at the bakery. Wei Ying allows himself to be swept away by the symphony of sounds that Lan Zhan unknowingly creates as he begins his day. His breathing slows, and his body relaxes bit by bit. He imagines that he is listening to a lullaby written just for him. And just like a lullaby, the symphony guides him back to sleep. Or: Wei Ying lives in the apartment above Lan Zhan's bakery. Or part 2: Wei Ying learns how to accept Lan Zhan's help.

~*~

Brand New Moves

by tawaen

T, 7k, Wangxian | Kay's Rec

Summary: In the most ambitious heist ever planned, Team Rocket attempts to steal two legendary Pokémon – one from the Burial Mounds Gym Leader, Wei Ying; and one from the Snow White Pavilion Gym Leader, Lan Zhan. These two former rivals are paired up to battle against one another for the first time since becoming Gym Leaders! Will they be able to defeat Team Rocket? Or will they loose their composure and their Pokémon? (Just joking, Wei Ying and Lan Zhan never even notice Team Rocket. They only have eyes for each other!)

~*~

marital customs

by shijieswife

M, WIP, 2k, Wangxian | Kay's Rec

Summary: Cangse, with the growing up on a mountain under the hand of an immortal cultivator who had not descended in several hundred years, often has not a clue, about a single one of the customs down the mountain. She has very little idea of customs, or respect for them, despite her decades living down from the mountain. And this, unlike other things, is something Changze has no experience in either - the art of dealing with suitors for your first born child’s hand.

~*~

(Please REBLOG as a signal boost for these hard-working authors if you like – or think others might like – these stories.)

[only10th]

Todays thoughts!

Wangxian meeting at the mall, single mom wwx shopping for some clothes with his little radish.

Wei Ying had gone to the mall cause he needed to buy a nice outfit for a date he did not want to go to, but of course his shijie was the one to set it up for him. Something about being time for him to put himself out there, find someone to take care of him as much as he takes care of his son. He, of course, insisted that he was fine fairing on his own. If anything, the reason why Wei Ying didn't want to date at all is more of finding someone that would put the same love and dedication to A-Yuan as he does.

And he knows, from experience, that's hard if not impossible to find.

So cut to a very stressed and distracted Wei Ying looking through clothes while his son played hide and seek in the racks of clothes. He'd been making sure to see A-Yuan popping his head out through the clothesline with a bright smile that matches his own, every so often calling out to him if he noticed he was taking too long to pop out. At least one of them was having fun. This was the third clothing store he visited, and the frustration of not finding anything remotely nice, or something that matched his style, was taking its toll. At the end, he sighs with exasperation. He'll just have to call his sister and tell her that he's sick, or something.

"A-Yuan, come out. We're leaving." There's no response, "A-Yuan, did you hear me?"

His brows dip with concern, it did get too quiet at some point. The giggling and the scraping of the hangers had come to a stop without him noticing. "Mister, if you're playing a joke on your poor A-Niang we won't get ice cream." He mumbles as he looks through the rack, moving the clothes around in mild panic. A-Yuan is nowhere to be found.

Wei Ying is practically panicking at this point, frantically searching for his son, practically yelling his name. He's on the verge of tears as he passes the rows and rows of racks and fixtures. All logic and reason are thrown out the window. There's no way.. there's no way he lost A-Yuan. He's always paid attention, always told him to stay by his side no matter what. What the hell is he going to do? The worst scenarios start crossing through his mind, but he keeps searching. A-Yuan knows to stay put if he ever gets separated from Wei Ying, he knows to not talk to strangers but he's only a toddler. Anything can happen.

“A-Yuan! Where are you?!” Wei Ying calls as he jogs through the store.

~~~~

Cut to A-Yuan staring wide eye at a tall guy with honey eyes. They're both having a staring contest at this point. That’s not his A-Nian, A-Yuan thinks to himself.

"Hello?" Lan Zhan says with caution. When did this child get here?

The child pursed his lips, slowly retreating into the rack with blue sweaters he was browsing through. "I-I’m not supposed to talk to strangers."

Lan Zhan blinks, staying quiet before nodding in approval. The toddler's parents are smart. He should probably alert security, he looks around in search of security or a staff member. As soon as he spots someone, he starts to walk away to try and get their attention but a small hand takes a tight grip on his light cream trousers.

"W-Wait! Mister— My a-niang told me to stay put if I ever get separated... A-niang will find me soon. Please, don't go."

Scared pleading eyes stare at him, the man seems to think through it for a moment. The smart thing to do would be to report the missing child. But at the same time, he's not sure how he would handle the situation if the toddler were to start crying.

"Alright.” He agrees with a nod. Though, the toddler doesn't let go of his trousers for a moment. At least he looks somewhat more calm. "We'll wait for your mother together."

Not a moment later, Wei Ying runs past them, yelling A-Yuan's name. At first, Lan Zhan looks at him with confusion. The child didn't say anything about his dad looking for him, so instinctively he shields and conceals the toddler. You can never be too safe, he knows people can put any sort of act just to take a child away. However, the toddler scrambled past Lan Zhan's legs and shouts, “A-Niang!"

Wei Ying skids to a stop, whipping his head towards the sound of his son's voice. Relief floods through his body as he falls to his knees and hugs his toddler, so glad that he's safe and sound. At first he doesn't notice the man who had stayed with his son because he's too busy peppering kisses to A-Yuan's chubby cheeks and mumbling "Don't ever scare me like that again!" And “We've talked about this, don't leave my side."

While this exchange is happening, Lan Zhan Is just thinking. The man... that drop dead gorgeous man was the toddler's mother?

A-Yuan clings to Wei Ying's neck, rubbing his face on his cheek, “A-Yuan is sorry, A-niang. Please don't be mad."

The puppy eyes win Wei Ying over and he can't be mad anymore. Silver eyes quickly scan his child, making sure there’s no injuries. He hugs his little radish once more, only then is when he notices the man watching the whole scene, and he can tell he's kinda not knowing what to do with himself.

"Um... can I help you?" Wei Ying asks a little defensive while hugging his son closer.

Before the man can utter an answer, A-Yuan beams with excitement. “That gege helped A-Yuan wait for A-niang!"

“Oh. Is that so?" He says, silver eyes softening and shoulders letting the tension leave.

"Mn. My name is Lan Zhan." He introduced himself and woah, how could Wei Ying not notice how handsome this man was.

“Thank you, Lan Zhan, for keeping an eye on my son. I really don't know how to repay you…”

"A-niang, is this the gege you're meeting later?" The toddler looked at Lan Zhan with hopeful eyes. "Gege taking my a-niang to dinner?"

Wei Ying quickly gets all embarrassed, cheeks flushed red like the ribbon holding his long hair in a ponytail. “Aiya, aiya! Stop bothering the nice gege! I'm sure he has many things to do."

"But!” A-Yuan begins to protest with a pout.

"No buts." Wei Ying picks A-Yuan in his arms, letting some of his weight rest on his hip. Silver eyes meet honey ones. “Thank you, again. I-I gotta get going."

And Lan Zhan can only watch the pair walking away, saying something about "I told you to call me a-niang at home and baba out here." And "I'm never leaving you out of my sight again. You gave me a heart attack.”

He’s sure he hears the child, A-Yuan, mumble “But I like that gege…”

Lan Zhan turns around, shaking his head before continuing his shopping. His chest aches a bit cause he just met the most beautiful man he has ever laid eyes on... It's childish, but he can't help but quietly sulk because he was in fact thinking of asking him out but... it looks like someone had beaten him to it. Wait, he didn't even get his name. He sulks even more.

~~~~~

Back in Wei Ying's home, he was getting ready for his date. It shouldn't be too late to cancel, right?

“You look dashing!” His sister compliments with a soft clap. “Come now, don’t make that face.”

“Jie, I don’t know this man… What if he doesn’t like A-Yuan? What if he’s secretly an asshole?” Anxiety was clear in his voice, though it was quickly soothed when Jiang Yanli walked over and fixed the collar of his burgundy button up.

“You doubt your A-Jie will pick a good man for you?” She teases with a thin eyebrow raising in question.

“Not you… I don’t trust A-Sang.” He side-eyes his friend, who is sitting on the couch making faces to his baby nephew. “Are you sure it’s not too late to cancel?”

“A-Ying, you need this. I promise it’ll be good for you.” His sister reassures, gently patting his shoulders. She smiles softly at her younger brother. “I want you to be happy.”

“I am happy.” He reassures her

She chuckles, patting the top of his hand. “You know what I mean. YingYing, are you sure you don’t want me to watch over A-Yuan?”

“Nuh-huh, if I’m meeting this guy then he’s meeting a-yuan too. If he doesn’t love him then I won’t even give him a chance!”

“A-Ying.”

“I’ve made up my mind, Jie. Now, tell me A-Yuan doesn’t look like the most adorable gentleman you’ve ever seen.” Wei Ying coos as his son walks into the living room wearing a t-shirt with the print of a tuxedo. He picks him up and peppers his cheeks with many kisses.

Soon, they’re both arriving at the restaurant. At least the guy he’s meeting has good taste. Before they step in, Wei Ying sets down his son, going through the motions of fixing his clothes. “If you don’t like the guy, we’ll leave as soon as you want, okay? No one can pull my attention from my little radish.”

A-Yuan nods, and with that they both walked into the bustling restaurant. Wei Ying couldn’t help but to feel irritated at bit his sister and best friend. What the hell did Nei Huaisang mean that I’ll know when I see him? Would’ve been better if he just showed me a picture. He thinks to himself while rolling his eyes. Though, he couldn’t deny he was extremely nervous to meet this mystery guy that he had been set up with.

“A-Niang, look! It’s the nice gege from earlier!”

Wei Ying is quick to follow his son’s line of sight, and there he was. Lan Zhan sat at a tsks closer to the window, dressed up in a light blue suit with a light cream shirt. He knew Lan Zhan was handsome, but to see him in a suit? How the sleeves seemed hug his arms just tight enough to let you know the man works out. Before he knew it, Wei Ying was being tugged towards Lan Zhan’s table. “Hey, hey! Baobei let’s not bother the nice gege, he’s probably waiting for someone.” He tried to whisper, tugging his son the other way but they were already spotted.

“Gege! Hi gege!” A-Yuan chimes as Lan Zhan stands from his chair. Was he always this tall?

“Hi, Lan Zhan. What a coincidence! A-Are you here by yourself, or…”

He can see golden eyes scanning him up and down before landing back on his face. He can’t help but shift in place at the intensity of Lan Zhan’s gaze. “I am waiting for someone.” Lan Zhan responds quietly, gaze still on Wei Ying.

“Oh… Me too!” He’s quick to add before chuckling, “Well, you already knew that… A-Are you waiting for a date?”

Lan Zhan seems to consider his answer, and Wei Ying can’t help but to find it amusing at how deflated and defeated the other looks when he responds with a quiet “Yes.”

Wei Ying laughs once more, “Not really looking forward to it? I get it, my sister and best friend set me up for mine. I don’t even know who I’m supposed to meet! Can you believe they refused to give me his name? Or even show me a picture? They really took the definition of ‘blind date’ way too serious.”

Lan Zhan stares at him wide eye, and for a moment Wei Ying thinks he said something wrong. “No offense to whoever you’re meeting, of course! I bet they’re—“

“Wei Ying?” Lan Zhan takes a step closer towards him, but he doesn’t see himself taking a step back.

Brows furrow, “Yeah? Do… Do I have something on my face?”

“I’m meeting with Wei Ying… You are Wei Ying.”

The father can only look at the other in bewilderment, was… was Lan Zhan his blind date? No, this was to good to be true. A guy like Lan Zhan… he could have anyone, the man looked like a god! “Who set you up?” He decided to ask, if he’s says ut was Nei Huaisang then he really was having a date with Lan Zhan. There were no other Wei Ying’s around, not that he knows of.

Wei Ying can tell Lan Zhan is having the same train of thought. “My brother… He was convinced by a family friend that I should… attempt to meet new people.”

“Was it Nie Huaisang? Oh my god! That asshole set everything up!” Wei Ying exclaims once Lan Zhan confirms his suspicions, hands brushing the already messy bangs from his face, a loud laugh echoing through the restaurant. He winced, tho, when people enjoying their food shoot a glare at him. “I can’t believe this…Wait, if you knew my name, why didn’t you say anything earlier.”

Lan Zhan pressed his lips together before answering. “You did not give me your name.”

“Oh— I… Huh, I was really distracted. It would’ve made things easier for the both of us, huh?” Wei Ying smiles at him. “Well… mind if we join you, then? My treat, since you were my hero earlier and I must repay your kindness and patience!”

“Are we having dinner with the nice gege??” A-Yuan suddenly chimes, wide eyes darting between the two adults. Wei Ying smiles as he ruffles his hair.

“We sure are!”

“I knew it! The Nice gege is taking my a-niang for dinner!” The toddler soon clings to Lan Zhan’s leg, which caught him off guard.

“Aiya, A-Yuan! Where are your manners?” Wei Ying chides playfully, attempting to pull his son back to his side.

“I do not mind.” Lan Zhan responds with a smile ghosting over his lips.

The three of them sit at the table. Wei Ying talks away about anything and everything, and Lan Zhan pays full attention to every single word, attention unflinching. It especially melts his heart when Lan Zhan gives the same type of attention to A-Yuan, listening with much seriousness to all the stories he has to tell. He looks at both of them with so much fondness that he feels his heart bursting at the seams. Yeah… it was good he decided to not cancel the date.

[stiltonbasket]

prompt for the fem!wwx au: what about the fallout of jyl's broken engagement?

On the morning of Wei Wuxian's first day back at Lotus Pier, she wakes to the sound of raised voices in the audience room.

Squinting against the light, she stumbles out of bed and opens the sliding door to the corridor outside, where she finds Jiang Cheng hovering on the threshold of his own doorway with his arms folded over his chest.

"What's wrong?" she yawns, rubbing her eyes. "Is it bad news?"

"Bad news for Mother," Jiang Cheng mutters. "Fuqin just told her about A-Jie's engagement."

Wei Wuxian feels as if someone had thrown cold water over her. In the midst of her private delight that Shijie's betrothal had ended, she had not thought of how Madam Yu would take the news: and now, both she and Jiang Cheng are about to find out.

"Did Jiang-shushu tell Auntie that I..."

Jiang Cheng shakes his head. "No. I don't think it would have made much of a difference, but Father didn't say a word."

They tiptoe across the narrow bridge between the family compound and the audience chamber, hardly daring to breathe; and then, like a firework bursting on a dark, still night, they hear Madam Yu's shrill voice rising over Jiang Fengmian's.

"Who will she marry now?" she shouts. "Ouyang-zongzhu has no children, and all the other men in the Jin clan take after Jin Guangshan. How can I let her go to Lanling without Yuyan's protection?"

"I thought perhaps Lan Xichen might—"

"I knew it. You've had your eye on him since the year Zixuan was born, but that boy will do no good to any woman as a husband!" shrieks Madam Yu. "He has had no one but Nie Mingjue in his eyes since he was a child. What will become of our daughter now, Jiang Fengmian? Zixuan was the only man who might have suited her, the only one—and now, just because he complained about the betrothal, you—"

She takes in a great, heaving breath, and Wei Wuxian hears the thud of her heeled boots striking the floor.

"And now, thanks to you," she chokes, "I will have to watch as Wei Ying marries Lan Wangji—" Wei Wuxian winces, "—and as she becomes mother to the next Lan-zongzhu, whilst my child must settle for the heir to some backwater clan in Changlun, or a commoner—"

Jiang-shushu sighs.

"If I had not broken Yanli's engagement," he says quietly, "then you would have had to watch A-Ying live as she ought to do, in comfort and plenty with a husband who cares for her dearly, while our daughter lived in a gilded prison with a man who has made no secret of the fact that the very mention of her name is a burden to him. You would have watched A-Ying's children growing up without a care in the world, and A-Ying adored by the whole of Gusu Lan as she deserves—and all the while, our daughter, who used to weep whenever she trod on an insect in the path, she—"

He sounds as if he might burst into tears. "Could you bear it, Ziyuan? Can you bear to think of A-Li's children, growing up in Koi Tower, and hearing some relation from the branch clan saying that their father would never have wed their mother if their nainai had not forced him to accept her? Can you bear to think of our granddaughters watching Zixuan treating A-Li unkindly, and entering their own wedded homes with the belief that that same unkindness was due to them?"

Yu Ziyuan falters for a moment. "Yuyan would never let Zixuan treat Yanli that way. I have often thought that she loves A-Li more than she loves him."

"Then you are a fool," Jiang Fengmian says wearily. "Quan Yuyan might be your sworn sister, but she is Jin Zixuan's mother before all else. She knows that A-Li will be filial to her husband, and her in-laws, and she knows no other maiden would make a better mother for her grandchildren. Do you truly think that she would let A-Li go, if the choice was left to her?"

"I—"

"What does it matter if Quan Yuyan can ensure that A-Li is treated well?" Jiang-shushu asks. "Jin Zixuan does not want her, and she knows it. For the love of heaven, the entire Jianghu knows it—so how could you even think of asking to A-Li waste her life with him?"

Madam Yu must have opened her mouth to say something, but Jiang Fengmian cuts her off before she can make a sound.

"It does not matter if A-Li likes him. In fact, that makes matters worse," he says brusquely. "If she marries him, she will not leave him, no matter how unhappy he might make her. And I would rather keep her here unmarried all her life than watch her in pain.

"And then there is Jin Guangshan," Jiang-shushu continues, now sounding faintly ill. "I will not speak of my fears regarding him, but you are a woman, Ziyuan. Ought you not to understand them better than I?"

Madam Yu is silent for a long while.

"If you had such thoughts," she hisses at last, sounding very much like Zidian usually does in the midst of strangling a particularly fierce yaoguai, "then you ought to have spoken sooner, so that we could have found a better match before Yanli came of age."

"I made my thoughts known the year Jin-zongzhu tried to lay his hands on Li Shuai," Jiang Fengmian replies. "You were convinced that I was wrong, because A-Shuai was too young to understand what he might have done to her; but I know what I saw, and you still refused to change your mind."

A moment later, he turns and walks out of the room. Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng exchange panicked glances before jumping off the footbridge to keep from being noticed; and after Madam Yu stalks off in the other direction, Wei Wuxian drags herself out of the shallow water under the bridge and makes a beeline for Jiang Yanli's room.

"Wait for me!" Jiang Cheng yelps, before cursing under his breath. "Wei Wuxian, for heaven's sake—"

But she does not slow her pace until she reaches her sister's bedroom and slams the door behind her, startling Jiang Yanli out of what must have been (judging by the look on her face) a very peaceful sleep.

"I'm glad you're not going to marry that stupid peacock," Wei Wuxian blurts out, the instant Jiang Yanli opens her eyes. "You deserve better, Shijie. Your husband ought to be the most honorable man in the world, and I won't stand for less."

Her sister's mouth twitches. "I'm glad you think so," she says mirthfully, reaching out to stroke Wei Wuxian's wet hair. "Who should it be, then?"

Wei Wuxian gulps.

"What about Lan Zhan?" she asks. "You could marry him instead of me, couldn't you?"

Jiang Yanli bursts out laughing.

"A-Xian," she gasps, "when we left Gusu, didn't you say that I ought to have a husband who loved me just as much as Third Shidi loves Li Shuai?"

"Well, yes."

"Then how could you possibly imagine that I might want to marry Lan Wangji?"

"But Lan Zhan is the best junzi in the world, in all ways. I'm certain of it," Wei Wuxian insists, ignoring the sudden ache in her chest. "He loves all things that are good and true, so why wouldn't he love you? I mean, he treats me well, and I make him carry my packages at the market and chase me all over Lufeng to keep dogs away while I'm running errands. I'm sure he'd treat you a hundred times better."

Her sister leans forward and rests her brow against Wei Wuxian's.

"A-Ying?"

"Hm?"

"You're a very silly girl, and I love you very much," she says tenderly. "Now go take a warm bath, or you'll catch cold."

Puzzled, Wei Wuxian drips her way out into the corridor and back into her own bedroom, where she finds a damp Jiang Cheng lying flat on his back on the rug under her window.

"No more peacock," he sighs, propping himself up on his elbows. "You know, I almost feel sorry for him."

"What? Why?"

"Because A-Jie could have made him the happiest man in the world, if he'd only given her a chance."

"I suppose so," Wei Wuxian says reluctantly. "But, Jiang Cheng—who do you suppose Shijie will marry now?"

Jiang Cheng puts his face in his hands.

"Not Lan Wangji, definitely," he mutters. "Did you really ask A-Jie if she wanted to take your place as Madam Lan?"

"Of course I did. Didn't you hear me?"

He looks at her in disbelief. "Really?"

Wei Wuxian nods.

"Lan Wangji has the patience of a bodhisattva," Jiang Cheng groans. "When it's time for your wedding, Wei Wuxian, I am going to laugh. Just wait and see."

[s2pdoktopus]

OwO

Jiang Cheng in Seclusion

Jiang Cheng: *squeezes his belly where his golden core is with a pained expression*

Jiang Xie: *watches him with furrowed brows*

...

Jiang Xie: *in the kitchen, talking to the head cook* Ayi, about A-Die...

...

Jiang Cheng: Hao Fei, this is the fifth day you've given me congee.

Hao Fei: I'm sorry if the food is not to your liking, Sect Leader, but young mistress Jiang had insisted that you only eat food that can help with your upset stomach.

Jiang Cheng: I don't have an upset stomach.

Hao Fei: Perhaps if Sect Leader communicated this with his daughter, he wouldn't have to endure four days of eating bland food.

Jiang Cheng: Are you telling me how to handle my kid?

Hao Fei: Xiao-Xie has been running around with the three trouble makers looking for the person responsible for your seclusion, sect leader. I heard she reached out to Jin Rulan and asked him to, and I quote "use his sect leader powers" to find a perpetrator.

Jiang Cheng: Nosy brats.

Hao Fei: I wouldn't dare ask sect leader why he chose to lock himself up in his room but I expected our sect leader, whom raised his home from the ashes while caring for his nephew after losing his family to be strong enough to be there for his children, especially at a time like this.

Jiang Cheng: ... *eats his food* Tell Jin Ling to bring his cousin home immediately. Otherwise I'll go to Carp tower myself and break their legs.

Hao Fei: Right away, Sect leader.

----

Bofu

Jiang Xie: A-DIEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!! (slams to Jiang Cheng's legs)

Jiang Cheng: *sigh* A-Xie, what did I say about running by the docks?

Jiang Xie: You never told me you have a big brother!

Jiang Cheng: I didn't?

Jiang Xie: You do! A-Ling called him Dajiu which makes him my Dajiu too!

Jiang Cheng: Bofu, your Bofu. And who's Da-jiu?!

Jiang Xie: Senior Mo! *Gasp* but doesn't that mean that insect really happened in our family???

Jiang Cheng: In...sect...? You mean incest? Where do you even learn these?

Jiang Xie: Do not change the topic, A-Die! You have a brother and you never told me!

Jiang Cheng: I... did have a brother.

Jiang Xie: hmph!

Jiang Cheng: But I don't have one anymore. It's complicated.

Jiang Xie: Is it that "you'll get it when you're older" thing?

Jiang Cheng: ... yes.

Jiang Xie: But Senior Mo was your brother?

Jiang Cheng: No?

Jiang Xie: No?

Jiang Cheng: Senior Mo... is possessed by my brother. No, Zidian can't make him leave.

Jiang Xie: Oh... is that bad? What about Senior Mo?

Jiang Cheng: I don't know. (I don't care either.)

Jiang Xie: *nods* But what should I call him now A-die? He's like, Senior Mo and your brother at the same time!

Jiang Cheng: Jin Ling will be annoyed if refer Wei- his DaJiu with respect before you do to him.

Jiang Xie: A-Ling is A-Ling. Senior Mo is your brother, I want to leave a good impression!

Jiang Cheng: Brat. (You already left a horrible impression I'm sure.) I don't know how you should address him.

Jiang Xie: It's complicated. (Nods sagely)

Jiang Cheng: It's complicated. But you can just ask him how he wants to be called and do as he says to make it simpler.

Jiang Xie: Oh! You truly are wise, A-Die! I'll go ask him!

Jiang Cheng: Brat. Wait. Wei Wuxian and Jin Ling are here?!

Wei Wuxian: Ah, Xiao-Xie, to what do I owe a visit?

Jiang Xie: Senior Mo, can I call you Bofu?

(Jin Ling in the background: *offended gasp*)

Wei Wuxian: ... YES OF COURSE! I'd be honored-(Glows)

Wei Wuxian: But, Ah... wouldn't your A-die mind?

Jiang Xie: A-die said I should ask you.

Wei Wuxian: *Glows even brighter*

Jiang Xie: A-Die?

Jiang Cheng: What is it this time?

Jiang Xie: If Senior Mo-

Jiang Cheng: Wei. His, my brother's name is Wei Ying. Courtesy name Wuxian.

Jiang Xie: If Senior Wei is my Bofu, doesn't that make Hanguang Jun my shenshen?

Jiang Cheng: (torn between accepting Lan Wangji as family and how funny it would be if his daughter calls him shenshen) Maybe. Ask your uncle how to address him.

Jiang Cheng: Wei Wuxian allowed my kid to call him uncle. What does this mean????

Wei Wuxian: Jiang Cheng allowed his kid to call me uncle. What does this mean????

Jiang Xie: A-die! a-Die! Did you know that Bofu has a son?

Jiang Cheng: A... WHAT???

Jiang Xie: A son!

Jiang Cheng: A son?

Jiang Xie: *nods* isn't that great? Our family doubled in just a year!

Jiang Cheng: Wei Wuxian.

Wei Wuxian: Yes, A-Cheng?

Jiang Cheng: If I learn one more life altering secret about the family from one of my kids again, consider this fledgling bridge we've been building broken.

---

Dad's

Jiang Xie: A-Ling, A-Ling why are you sad?

Jin Ling: Nothing, I just-

Jiang Xie: Just?

Jin Ling: I just wish I have parents too.

Jiang Xie: We have A-die.

Jin Ling: He's your A-die. Mine is...

Jiang Xie: (contemplates) (with determination) A-Ling, swear brotherhood with me.

Jin Ling: Huh? Why? And what does that have to do with anything.

Jiang Xie: (brightly) If you're my brother then my A-die is your A-die too!

Jin ling: I'm not replacing my father.

Jiang Xie: yeah you're just getting two fathers now. Your Baba and my A-die.

Jin Ling: that's not how it works.

Jiang Xie: It is too! My brother should naturally my father's son too, no?

Jin Ling: that's not- sighs

Jiang Xie: well?

Jin Ling: (hugs Jiang Xie) I'll think about it, thanks A-Xie.

Jiang Xie: (hugs Jin Ling back)

----

During a Cultivation conference

Jiang Xie: *looks at Lan Wangji, cowers behind Jiang Cheng a bit* A-Die? Why is Hanguang Jun always mad at you?

Jin Ling: *winces and drinks his tea*

Jiang Cheng: ... He's not mad at me.

Jin Ling: *spits his tea* jiujiu?!!

Jiang Cheng: he looks at nearly everyone the same way. He's just born with that face, no need to put meaning on his stares.

Jiang Xie: *looks at Lan Wangji again* oh, you're right.

Jin Ling: he's no-

Jiang Cheng: Sect Leader Jin, if you're so eager to correct my words, I'm sure you wouldn't mind educating my daughter for the next hour or until her curious mind is satisfied.

Jin Ling: ah, *looks at Jiang Xie's eager eyes* of course, sect leader Jiang is right, the chief cultivator does look at everyone the same way.

---

Christmas (kind of)

Jiang Cheng: 'To make it clear, this wasn't my idea. A Senior Disciple came to me one day. "Sect Leader, how about we do something to boost the juniors' morale?" The proposition was thus: We tell the children that if they work their hardest, some of them will be given the chance to have their wish granted by some magic man, or something, Jiang Cheng isn't pivy with the details other than the magical wish grantor is actually just him using the magic of money. It was supposed to be a one time thing but it was a very effective motivator so it became a tradition.

In this year's conferences the Yunmeng Jiang Sect continued to rank among the top in competitions. And now, Jiang Cheng has to complete his end of the bargain.

Jiang Cheng: Next time someone asks to be whipped by Zidian, I'm going to do it so hard no one will ever ask for it ever again. *Picks up a letter separate from the stack* Xiao Xie has been loud but otherwise good this year. Maybe I'll give her something she wants

Xie's letter: I wish to have a Didi.

Jiang Cheng: I thought she already moved on from that... Jin Ling performed very well in the last archery competition. He's A-Jie's son so he's technically Yunmeng Jiang by blood. *Picks up Jin Ling's letter* why is it heavy?

Jin Ling's Letter: I wish Jiujiu and Wei Wuxian to reconcile.

Jiang Cheng: that brat, he should learn to mind his own business- *a gold drops from the letter* is he bribing me?!?!

Jiang Cheng: *massages his temple* picks up a letter from the pile. Yu Meilai, *nods* she more or less carried the sect during those competitions. She deserves to-

Yu Meilai: On behalf of lotus Pier, I humbly ask our wish grantor a torture dungeon. With-

Jiang Cheng: *puts it back in the pile. Picks another letter.* Ah, XinXue. She has been very good with the new Shimei and shidi, I'll try my best to-

XinXue's letter: I wish all demonic cultivators a slow agonizing death

Jiang Cheng: Ah, that's impossible. Even for Sandu Sengshou. I mean, I would attempt it but that would but the sect in danger considering who the chief cultivator's husband is. Yes. That's why I can't do it. I can but I can't. Sorry XinXue. *Picks up a different letter* Please for the love of every deity protecting lotus Pier, let this be something I can actually grant. *Read the letter

Jiang Lian: Our sect Leader works too hard, I wish him a day or two of rest.

Jiang Cheng: Jiang Lian has always been my favorite.

(Jiang Cheng slept soundly that night and then the next.)

---

Inheritance

[mdzs-fics]

Xiao-Ying of the Third Refugee Village by abCEE

AU - Canon Divergence 1 chapter (complete) 31k words

Tingshan is a place headed by the He Clan where the Sect Leader is He Su, a kind and righteous man. Tingshan accepted refugees and assisted in building villages for them funded by the other sects by means of contributions. Tingshan-He is one of those smaller sects that were less devastated due to isolationism and territory location.

As the war went on, he was found by He Meixiu, Sect Leader He Su’s grandmother. He passed out from exhaustion due to overworking just to assist the non-combatants as they tried to find a safe place to stay and away from where the battles were going on.

He Meixiu or known as Xiu-nainai wanted to take him as her ward. He showcased intelligence, capability, and adaptability that Xiu-nainai liked. She taught him a lot of things that he could apply to help the civilians. He declined the offer of being her ward and she respected his decision.

Xiu-nainai helped him settle in Tingshan after the war and eventually find a home in the Third Refugee Village.

He is now a teacher who focuses on teaching how to read, write, and improve their vocabulary. He prepares herbs in the apothecary and occasionally lends a hand as a medic if needed.

Only a few people know about his past, about what happened to him seven years ago. They tried talking to him about returning to the path made for him but he would just smile and shake his head.

“I am better off as a civilian,” he’ll tell them.

During the war, he was known as Xiao-Ying, and the people he met began to call him this way and eventually thought that Xiao was his family name. He never corrected them and would just smile and greet them back.

“Xiao-Ying is here!”

Xiao-Ying of the Third Refugee Village begins a year after the three-year Sunshot Campaign ends. Five refugee villages were built in Tingshan providing a place for people to recover. The story begins here, where Lan Wangji visits the villages as part of the aid the Gusu-Lan sect is providing. Learning that Third Refugee Village has established a school, he is granted permission to go there and observe. Through an open window he observes a class being taught by a beautiful man.

That man is Xiao-Ying [xiao as in 'little', ying as in 'baby]. We learn that Xiao-Ying aided non-combatants during the war, rescuing and providing assistance to war refugees. He now teaches and assists the apothecary and clinic in Third Village.

What follows is a sweet story told through visits and other events as Lan Zhan and Xiao … no, Wei Ying learn more about each other and fall in love.

The reveals are satisfying, to say the least. Be aware that this is indeed an alternate universe. The only major beat from canon involves a cave and a Xuanwu of Slaughter, which ends much differently.

[rosethornewrites]

Fic: the thread may stretch or tangle but it will never break, ch. 27

Relationships: Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī & Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn, Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī & Wēn Qíng, Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī/Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn, Jiāng Chéng | Jiāng Wǎnyín & Jiāng Yànlí & Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn, Lán Huàn | Lán Xīchén & Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī

Characters: Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī, Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn, Wēn Qíng, Wēn Níng | Wēn Qiónglín, Granny Wēn, Lán Yuàn | Lán Sīzhuī, Wēn Remnants, , Fourth Uncle, Lán Huàn | Lán Xīchén, Jiang Yanli, Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin, Original Characters, Niè Míngjué, Niè Huáisāng, Niè Zōnghuī, Jīn Zǐxuān

Additional Tags: Pre-Slash, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Secrets, Crying, Masks, Soulmates, Truth, Self-Esteem Issues, Regret, It was supposed to be a one-shot, Fix-It, Eventual Relationships, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, wwx needs a hug, Nightmares, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Filial Piety, Handfasting, Phobias, Sleeping Together, Fear, Panic Attacks, Love Confessions, Getting Together, First Kiss, Kissing, Boys Kissing, Family, and they were married, Bathing/Washing, Hair Braiding, Hair Brushing, Feels, Sex Education, Implied Sexual Content, First Time, Aftercare, Morning After, Afterglow, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Torture, Scars, Eventual Happy Ending, Hand Jobs, Chronic Pain, Biting, Conversations, Self-Sacrifice, POV Third Person, POV Lan WangJi, Bugs & Insects, Adoption, Ancestors, Ancestor Veneration, Golden Core Reveal, Top Lan Wangji | Lan Zhan/Bottom Wei Wuxian | Wei Ying, First Time Blow Jobs, Multiple Orgasms, Switching, sex-related injury, Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī Stays at the Burial Mounds, Lán Yuàn | Lán Sīzhuī is a Wèi, Good Sibling Jiāng Chéng | Jiāng Wǎnyín, Dissociation, Burial Mounds Settlement Days, Disability, Scheming Niè Huáisāng, Disabled Character, somnophilia

Summaries: Wei Wuxian starts to fulfill the yuefu.

Notes: See end of each chapter

AO3 link

Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25-6

---------------

The booth is large enough for Wei Qing to see patients, Wei Ning to brew medicine and keep food warm, and for Wei Ying, Lan Wangji, and A-Yuan to stay toward the back. A-Yuan plays quietly with his toys, and Wei Ying works on his notes about invention ideas, specifically told he can do no experiments here by Wei Qing. 

“We don’t need to scare folks off with explosions,” she says wryly. 

Wei Ying squawks indignantly but doesn’t argue, instead focusing on getting his ideas on paper. Lan Wangji oscillates between meditation and transcribing his notes into something more orderly. 

Her patients range from people with headaches, to women who have their moon or are pregnant, to people with more serious conditions. Wei Qing is kept busy, and by extension Wei Ning is as well. Brewing medicine is a meticulous process and if Wei Ying distracts him, Wei Qing glares at him, so he generally stays distracted in Yiling.

They continue Wei Ying’s musical acupuncture treatments every morning before they leave the Burial Mounds and when they return in the evening. At times, the brighter and warmer sun in Yiling leads his husband to drowse, and he’s happy to lend him a shoulder to nap on. 

Over a week passes before one of the street children, one who seems to be newer to the street, less wary, allows Wei Qing to examine him and give him medicine and salve for a particularly nasty-looking dog bite on his leg, hidden beneath his tattered robes, which makes Wei Ying shudder in empathy. He rolls up his zhong yi trousers and shows the boy his bite scars. 

“I was on the streets here in Yiling, too, for a long time,” he tells the kid, who looks awed. 

He’s maybe four years old, close to A-Yuan’s age, maybe a bit older. The boy eventually gives them the name Zhi. The inflection could have multiple characters, one meaning will or determination, another meaning wisdom, and still another meaning essence, though it’s doubtful he knows which one. 

It takes another week, during which A-Zhi stays near their booth and plays with A-Yuan much of the day while eating multiple meals, before they offer to take him home with them in the evening, explaining they live in the Burial Mounds. 

“What about the Yiling Laozu?” the boy asks in a whisper. “Is he going to eat me?”

“Aiya, if I was going to eat you, I would have already,” Wei Ying says softly. “And I haven’t eaten A-Yuan either.”

The boy bolts, leaving a distraught Wei Ying in his wake, but he returns the next day, a bit shy, but still staying close. When they ask if he’d like to come with them that evening, he bravely nods, following them up the mountain until he tires and joins Wei Ying and A-Yuan in the cart. 

“You’re not ugly, though,” A-Zhi says thoughtfully on the way. “Yiling Laozu pictures are ugly.”

Wei Ying huffs, and Lan Wangji answers for him. 

“The pictures are lies. Wei Ying is very beautiful.”

That gets a bashful whine from Wei Ying, especially when A-Zhi and A-Yuan agree. 

“Many lies are told about Wei Ying,” he tells the boy seriously. “Gossip is often wrong.”

A-Zhi is doted upon by the aunties and uncles, spoiled by Popo, fed plenty, and given a nice place to sleep with Popo and A-Yuan. When he comes with them to Yiling the next morning he is dressed in fresh, clean robes sewn from the bolts of fabric they had dyed green with bamboo leaves. One of the aunties, Qiuyue-ayi, sewed it in expectation of this development, having heard nightly from Wei Ying talking at dinner each night, giving them all anticipation—she is already working on more. A-Yuan happily calls him Zhi-gege.

“You don’t have to come to Yiling with us,” Wei Qing tells the boy.

“I want to play with A-Yuan,” A-Zhi says shyly, “and show I’m not eaten.”

He is clearly a bright child, potentially forced to mature beyond his years by his brief time on the streets as Wei Ying was. They don’t ask him how he wound up there, at Wei Ying’s insistence. 

“He’ll tell us if he wants to, Lan Zhan. Let it be his decision.”

Eventually, when he’s ready, they learn his father was killed by soldiers, likely Wen in the Sunshot Campaign, and his mother died of illness not too long ago, leaving him with no one and nowhere to go. 

They find the street children staying closer during the day and eating their fill after A-Zhi joins them, and slowly they add two more coming with them to the Burial Mounds. 

Aside from A-Zhi, who apparently imprinted on Wei Ying when they shared scars from dog bites, the other two gravitate toward the aunties and uncles. Lan Wangji cannot help but be relieved, as he is not certain they can effectively parent so many children. 

One, a little girl of about seven who suddenly joins them partway home one evening and introduces herself as A-Mei, mostly stays at the Burial Mounds during the day as well instead of following them into Yiling. She sticks close to Qiuyue-ayi, who presents her with a little dress made from the purple-dyed fabric and brushes her hair once she’s bathed. Wei Ying spends the next day at their booth whittling a rabbit hair pin, which she takes shyly with a happy little giggle. She largely stays close to Qiuyue-ayi and only goes back to town with them once. 

A slightly older boy, maybe eight or nine, A-Tao, identifies the character of his name as “like the tree,” which is good information to have because it could also mean pottery or cleanse. He spends several days hanging close to their booth before coming to the Burial Mounds, then mostly stays there and watches the farming and does little chores, like bringing water to those tending the crops, and is roundly spoiled by Popo with food. He’s understandably wary, shying away from them, and they let him sleep in Jifu’s old hut so he can be alone. 

“None of their stories are likely happy,” Wei Ying says softly after they’ve bathed and gone to bed to bask in the afterglow. 

Lan Wangji knows this, but Wei Ying is in part thinking aloud, which he is quite used to, so he only shifts to bring him closer. He knows also that this is forcing Wei Ying to relive a painful time in his life, but he hopes it brings a sense of catharsis. He is saving children from the very circumstances he was in as a child. 

“Even if they had happy lives before, those lives are gone now.”

“We will make new happy lives for them,” Lan Wangji promises, and is pleased when this seems to make Wei Ying settle. 

When Min Cenxi next visits with more supplies she is delighted, and she comes with disciple uniforms and other clothing in child sizes. She introduces herself as their da-shijie and fields questions about Lotus Pier. 

“We’ll teach you to swim, because there are a lot of lakes. And I’m sure Wei Wuxian will plant you with the lotuses so you’ll grow big and strong.”

A-Tao and A-Mei giggle at the idea, while A-Yuan insists it works and even gives siblings to a rapt A-Zhi.

By this time the children know they’ll be going to Lotus Pier eventually, but A-Mei is distraught upon learning Qiuyue-ayi will leave with Min Cenxi and insists on accompanying her, something easily accommodated. 

“Honestly, da-shixiong, I’m not surprised you’re already bringing that poem to life,” she says, which is how they learn that she’s heard it in Yunmeng already. “You’ve always been good with kids. Now for the lotuses.”

She gives him several varieties that Jiang Wanyin sent with her, meaning a pond will have to be built. Lan Wangji is about to resign himself to going without his husband to Yiling daily to protect Wei Qing until he’s succeeded when she reveals that two senior disciples will be staying to accompany her and help around the community. So he will be able to help with the process of growing lotuses after all. 

The disciples will serve as further protection for their little settlement, as well, and Lan Wangji nods his thanks. While the Jin haven’t acted, there is no guarantee they won’t. 

The children look adorable in their little Jiang sect disciple uniforms, A-Mei in her blue practice-appropriate dress, A-Zhi and A-Tao in purple hanfu. There are even several lotus guan for the boys to wear, and A-Tao can’t stop touching his when Popo puts his hair in a proper crown. 

Wei Ying starts building the pond for the lotuses near the cave entrance, between the entrance to the great hall and the Demon-Slaughtering Cave. He is helped by Lan Wangji, who insists he isn’t bothered by a little dirt, and a thrilled A-Yuan and A-Zhi, for whom digging is great fun getting dirty—not in their disciple uniforms, but what have been relegated as play clothes. A-Tao joins in when the Wei uncles insist on helping, and A-Mei just watches them as though judging them all, her countenance similar to Wei Qing’s. Even some of the visiting disciples help out. Popo brings out lunch for them all, cooked by some of the aunties, and they enjoy a small meal of noodles, mushrooms, and pork. 

By the end of Min Cenxi’s stay, the pond has been built and filled with water by Wei Ning, who simply fills a bathtub in the stream several times to do so, and the lotus seeds have been planted. The excuse to celebrate is a welcome one, so a larger meal is cooked, and Min Cenxi brings out some Lotus Breeze. 

Wei Ying asks A-Mei if she remembers her surname, or if she would like to take Wei or Jiang as her surname, and she wants the same surname as Qiuyue-ayi. A-Zhi wants to be a Wei as well, as soon as he hears she’ll be one, but when they ask A-Tao if he remembers his surname, he clams up. 

“If it’s Wen, that’s what we used to be,” Wei Qing tells him bluntly, and then has a crying little boy clinging to her. 

It’s a sad story—his parents pushing him out the back door of the farmhouse, telling him to run to the woods as gold-clad cultivators approached their farm, having heard terrifying rumors of what happened to people named Wen. They took his parents, likely to a labor camp, and burned the farm and slaughtered the animals needlessly, leaving the carcasses to rot. The poor child has wandered from town to town since, terrified someone will realize he’s a Wen and turn him in. 

Lan Wangji can’t help but wonder if other street children have similar stories, their lives ruined by the war and its aftermath. He wonders if the yuefu will draw them to Yiling.

“You’re our tang-di,” Wei Qing tells him, “and it’s up to you, but our surname is Wei now.”

And so they hold an adoption ceremony for all three children, bringing them into the family officially. Wei Ying takes great joy in introducing them to his parents, and explaining to their tablets why he is doing so, asking for their blessing. A-Yuan adorably insists they’re all his siblings, something A-Zhi enthusiastically agrees to. A-Mei shyly offers to be his tang-jie instead, and A-Tao shrugs at the idea, too worn down from crying to make a decision. Likely he will be their tang-ge. 

In the aftermath, A-Tao takes to sleeping with the aunties and uncles in the larger building, happy to have rediscovered distant family, trusting finally that he will not be turned out, and the Jiang disciples are able to take Jifu’s hut instead of sleeping in the great hall, and the uncles get started on building a second bed for them so they don’t have to trade off or share. They try to protest that it’s unnecessary, but the uncles insist, having worked on making small beds for the children so they don’t have to share with an adult unless they want to for comfort. 

A-Mei thanks Wei Ying, calling him gege, and he suggests she can call him Xian-gege.

“A-Yuan called me that before he started calling me A-Die,” he tells her.

“Okay, Xian-gege. You’re coming to Lotus Pier later?”

“Of course.”

She gives him a hug, brief and shy, and then runs to Qiuyue-ayi. 

A few days after Min Cenxi leaves with two of the remnants and the newly-named Wei Mei, several Nie disciples arrive with Nie Zonghui to night hunt the resentful creatures of the Burial Mounds beyond the wards. To start the arduous process of clearing them, with the hope of eventually cleansing them entirely. 

The Nie disciples have clearly been briefed on the situation, and they cook a feast out of a boar they slew on the way, while Wei Ning makes side dishes using supplies they provide. By the time the meal is finished, the children are stained liberally with grease and drowsing happily, likely soon to be bursting with energy and ready to run it off. 

Though they don’t want for meat anymore, such a meal goes a long way in rebuilding strength for the previously malnourished, and is thus welcome. Lan Wangji and Popo join forces to bully Wei Ying into eating enough, and A-Zhi mimics A-Yuan when he feeds Wei Ying from his bowl, too. Wei Ying puts on an exaggerated pout, but eats what he’s given by their children. 

“I know how to feed myself, you know.”

“Are you sure? I thought Xianxian was three,” Popo teases, and Wei Ying laughs. 

They also come with gifts of toys for the children, clearly acquainted with the poem, along with more practical gifts like better tools for farming and woodworking. They pass on a letter from Nie Huaisang, in which he tells them of his success with the yuefu and where it is currently released—Gusu, Yiling, Yunmeng, and Qinghe, carefully avoiding Lanling for now, though it will undoubtedly travel by word of mouth at some point.  

I don’t want Jin Guangshan time to notice it yet. He might scoff, but Jin Guangyao knows the power of such things. 

A cautious, intelligent approach that again reminds him that Nie Huaisang isn’t the know-nothing fop he pretends to be. Lan Wangji reminds himself to never play weiqi with him. 

While the Nie disciples conduct their Burial Mounds night hunt within the warded-off areas, Wei Ying and Lan Wangji rejoin Wei Qing in her daily trips to Yiling, along with A-Yuan and A-Zhi. To their surprise, the street kids seem pleased to see them, showing more interest in hanging around the stall, with new faces appearing for the free food. 

That night two more, a pair of orphaned brothers about A-Tao’s age, named A-Yun, for cloud, and A-Heng, for persistent, join their ranks on the trip back to the settlement, admitting they’d heard the yuefu while loitering outside a wine house in another town, then traveled to Yiling. Already its reach has brought results. 

“Will you really adopt us?” A-Yun asks, wary but hopeful. 

“If you’d like, or you can take the Jiang name when we go to Lotus Pier,” Wei Ying says seriously. ”If you become Weis, you’ll have plenty of aunties and uncles and a popo to dote on you, plus you’d have A-Yuan and A-Zhi as your didimen, if you want.”

“You need not decide immediately,” Lan Wangji adds, knowing the boys may want time to make a decision. “And you may take the Wei name without regarding us as parents if you prefer.”

“Planting with the radishes worked!” A-Yuan crows happily. 

This requires explanation to the other boys, and leaves A-Zhi awed and A-Yun and A-Heng amused. 

The two murmur between themselves the rest of the way home, and Lan Wangji makes no effort to listen in, allowing them their privacy.

The boys recognize one of the uncles as soon as they get to the Burial Mounds, one of the few not from Wei Qing’s branch. It winds up being a family reunion, if a bittersweet one because Bai-shushu confirms their parents died—their mother on the march to the labor camp, and their father taken by the smiling man and never returned. Like A-Tao and A-Mei, they’ll become cousins to A-Yuan and A-Zhi through Bai-shushu. 

“They did a good job, staying together and taking care of each other,” Wei Qing says, watching the boys as they cry tears of grief and joy. 

“And now they have more family to take care of them,” Wei Ying says, smiling softly. “The yuefu is bringing Wen children here, and may bring any Wen in hiding to us as well.”

“If not, it will still bring hope to them,” Lan Wangji adds. 

Wei Qing and Lan Wangji treat Wei Ying’s back before dinner, then wake him so he can eat. Afterward, they help get the children ready for bed and Lan Wangji organizes the mess of notes Wei Ying brought back from town that he has worked on while idle. 

The Nie disciples camp in the great hall, boisterous about the successful night hunt, which involved fierce corpses and several yao. They leave the next day after breakfast with a letter Wei Ying has written for Nie Huaisang, letting him know of their progress. 

The next day is not one of Wei Ying’s good days, so after his morning musical healing session, Lan Wangji lets him sleep instead of waking him to go to town with Wei Qing. He’s had a nice series of good days, so she isn’t worried, telling him to simply let him rest. So Lan Wangji spends the day working on sorting his recent notes and fielding A-Yuan and A-Zhi when they come together to check on “A-Die.”

“Baba takes care of A-Die,” A-Yuan tells A-Zhi, who nods seriously, letting his new brother explain everything to him. “Diedie sleeps after music and needles.”

They are not disruptive, so Lan Wangji entertains their questions and even shows them how to write their names, fascinating them, and eventually Popo comes to collect them. 

By the time Wei Ying wakes, Wei Qing and Wei Ning have returned from town with three children, two girls and a boy. When they leave the cave, they find the lotuses sprouting and are in time to stop A-Yuan from pulling one out. 

They are well on their way to fulfilling the yuefu. 

—————

Getting a new PCP this month and I have a long Covid appointment to see if they think I have it. I just want answers, you know?

Many thanks to adrian_kres, who also writes amazing fics, for being my awesome beta reader throughout this fic.

A-Zhi is named with the character for will, 志, pinyin zhì. Or at least this is the character Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji will decide upon.

A-Mei is named 美, pinyin měi, which means beautiful. Not demon or dark, I promise. Amusingly, apparently meimei, or little sister, sometimes uses this character. I can just imagine someone calling her Mei-meimei with all three characters the same. Or at least Wei Wuxian teasing. 

Qiuyue is named 秋月, pinyin qiūyuè, which means autumn moon. 

A-Tao is named using the character for peach tree, 桃, pinyin táo, the wood of which in Taoism is considered to repel evil spirits. He knows the meaning of his name and doesn’t need one chosen for him. 

A-Yun uses the character for cloud, 云, pinyin yún, and A-Heng uses the character for constant or persistent, 恒, pinyin héng. 

Bai means cypress/cedar tree, 柏, pinyin bǎi. 

I should specify that these aren’t going to be major characters (except maybe A-Zhi) but it felt awkward not to name them. This is largely so we can see how quickly their numbers grow with the children coming to trust them and even learning of a benevolent war-hero Yiling Laozu adopting and taking care of children and traveling to get in on the deal. Especially Wen children. Kind of an interlude chapter. 

ayi = auntie

da-shixiong = first elder martial brother

didimen = plural of didi, little brothers

gege = older brother

popo = grandmother 

da-shijie = first elder martial sister 

shushu = uncle

tang-di = younger male cousin

tang-ge = older male cousin

tang-jie = older female cousin

yuefu = a style of narrative poetry that basically borrows from Chinese folk song traditions—the Ballad of Mulan is an example

zhong yi = undergarments (shirt and trousers)

[disgracefulthings]

Someone has asked me to recommend some fics, I don't think this is what they meant, but here is a list of my favorite fanfiction I have read over the years

Harry Potter

Text Talk

merlywhirls

Summary:

Sirius is in boarding school, Remus is in hospital, and they don't know each other until Sirius texts the wrong number.

My thoughts: I don't know if there is a wolfstar shipper who hasn't read this story, but it is amazing. A majority of the story is told through text messages, which is a real creative choice and I absolutely believed the author pulled it off!

I Know Not, and I Cannot Know; Yet I Live and I Love

billowsandsmoke

Summary:

Severus Snape has his emotions in check. He knows that he experiences anger and self-loathing and a bitter yearning, and that he rarely deviates from that spectrum… Until the first-year Luna Lovegood arrives to his class wearing a wreath of baby’s breath. Over the next six years, an odd friendship grows between the two, and Snape is not sure how he feels about any of it.

My thoughts: A fanfiction that explores the relationship between a student and a teacher that doesn't make it romantic??? Hallelujah, never thought I would see the day. Not gonna lie, this is my favorite fanfiction of all time. While I like Snape in the original story, he doesn't develop as a character, like, at all. Which is why I can see why people don't like him, but this story gives him some development, and his relationship with Luna is absolutely heartwarming. And to those fans who think Harry got over his abuse of Snape too fast, I recommend this to you. Not sure you know, but Snape fucking dies in the book (spoilers, I know), and the author makes sure to give Harry some development too. Bring tissues, because you're gonna cry.

The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation

we'll get him falling for a stranger (or a catfish)

sweetlolixo

Summary:

Lan Wangji: Yingying? Lan Wangji: Are you busy with class? Lan Wangji: Won’t disturb you if that’s the case. Lan Wangji: (´• ω •`) Wei Ying wants to cry. What jock uses kaomojis? Ever? Or, Wei Ying is hired by a client to catfish Lan Wangji online, as a hot girl, for revenge. Except, Lan Wangji is not the playboy jock he expected...

My thoughts: This is a pure fluffy and hilarious story. If you like it when characters face consequences for their actions, then probably skip this because people do a whole lotta shit and completely get away with it (except Su She, but fuck Su She)

how to fall in love with a catfish: a guide by wei wuxian (disaster rat)

bwyn, Yuisaki

Summary:

A new plan hatches in Wei Wuxian’s head. If this nocturnal, bottom-feeding, slimy, invasive mudcat posing as a beautiful actor thinks he can sway Wei Wuxian with animal pictures and a sob story and an unbelievably stilted way of texting with still no dick pictures in the first five minutes of conversation, he has another thing coming. Wei Wuxian’s got it, alright, he has this in the fucking bag. Wei Wuxian plots to expose a catfish using strategic memes and turtle pictures while wiggling his way out of family dinner. Lan Wangji just wants companions.

My thoughts: Another catfishing story?!?! Except not really because Wei Wuxian has issues. Not gonna lie, I've only read this once, but god damn, did it destroy me. I don't reread it because I don't like it, but because I'm afraid of feeling all those emotions again. You know how I said the last story has no consequences, well this one has all of them. Watch Wei Wuxian as he slowly destroys his life, before finally putting himself back together and allowing himself to accept love. Another story you will need tissues for.

A Corpse Called By Name

jaemyun

Summary:

A continuation of zombie drabble! She loses her brother in a hoard of the undead. She finds a corpse wearing his face in a convenience store. The corpse calls her name.

My thoughts: I hate zombie movies, but I am absolutely fine with zombie fics. The story starts like how all good Wei Wuxian stories start: with him fucking dying. Watch a dead man build a family and slowing piece himself back together (metaphorically, he isn't falling apart due to decay)

Scum Villain Self Saving System

Bros before... well everything I guess

Icannotthinkofapenname

Summary:

Shen Yuan tried not to think of his original family too often, his parents, his brothers, and sister… Nope. Done with that train of thought. He’s Shen Qingqiu now. This was a new life, and he has a new family to look after. Sometimes a family consists of 12 martial sibilings and a whole lot of disciples. Just a buncha fluff of Shen Qingqiu, Shang Qinghua, their martial sibilings and the kids. Shenanigans ensue.

My thoughts: Another purely fluffy fic, though I have to mention something I really like about it. You see, I have a bit of a pet peeve when canon divergence fanfiction basically follow all of the important plot points from the original story. This story does that, but it doesn't do the scenes in full and only really mentions that it happened, and I think it's great. I don't need to read about Sha Hualing's demon invasion for the 50th time, let's move on and get to the things that matter! Like Shang Qinghua in wedding robes. Also there's a lot of platonic cumplane, which I could never get enough of.

Recovery

Moonsheen

Summary:

Luo Binghe returns to Cang Qiong Mountain with a grievously injured Shen Qingqiu. The trouble is, it's the wrong Shen Qingqiu. AKA The original Shen Qingqiu gets a happy ending, whether he likes it or not.

My thoughts: There aren't many fanfictions I have found that depict Shen Jiu in all his cruel glory. People usually sand him down, like, 'oh, he didn't actually give Luo Binghe his cultivation notebook, that was Ming Fan', or, 'he was more neglectful than monstrous'. I don't mind these interpretations of Shen Jiu, but I feel like stories are more rewarding when you try to heal the man at his scummiest. Recovery is a multi part serious that slowly shows Shen Jiu recover (see what I did there??) from what Bingge has done to him, while also finally finding happiness with Yue Qingyuan.

We Are Not Wise

Boomchick, Suzoomie

Summary:

When Shen Qingqiu drew Shen Yuan’s soul sword, it felt like being burned from the inside out. The fire wasn’t cruel, but it was still fire—hot and destructive, searing the softest pieces of him.   When Binghe’s fingers touch the hilt, he is ready for pain. Transmigrated into a version of Proud Immortal Demon Way where cultivators manifest their own souls into spiritual weapons, Shen Yuan finds himself sort of kind of…accidentally blackmailing Shen Qingqiu into taking him on as a disciple before Luo Binghe joins the sect. That should give Shen Yuan plenty of opportunities to make sure nothing goes wrong for his favorite protagonist, right? RIGHT!? A story of twists, turns, hope, despair, and soul swords. Written for the Bingqiu Reverse Minibang 2023, illustrated and conceptualized by the incredible Suzu!

My thoughts: The last fic has Shen Jiu healing arc, this one has his father arc. Another story you need tissues for, and for multiple chapters, my god is it hard to read and cry at the same time. Another really good premise that was knocked out of the park by the authors.

pride is not the word I'm looking for

Tossawary

Summary:

Shang Qinghua goes to take a self-indulgent peek at his baby protagonist son and gets a kick to the shrivelled heart for his troubles. He gave up on changing the story years ago! Yet he finds himself helping his protagonist son's adoptive mother anyway. Just this one change won't matter too much, right? One little change leads to more. Shang Qinghua never meant to care, but he becomes invested in making sure that his new family survives the looming plot. With the changes to the world cascading around him, with his position as a traitor pulling him between his sect and a certain ice demon, and with the protagonist growing up so quickly, how is one displaced author meant to ensure that everything turns out all right? A Pre-Canon to Canon Divergence story.

My thoughts: I'm gonna be honest, this is the only story on here that I have not finished. I struggle with reading fics that are 400k words long (and by struggle I mean I don't finish them), but this is a story I come back to and reread (and attempt to finish), mostly for one arc. There is a part of the story where Shang Qinghua help look for Luo Jiahui's (Luo Binghe's mom) missing sister, and it is without a doubt the best arc I have ever read in fanfiction. If you are like me and don't like long fanfiction, I still recommend reading this story at least up to that arc, you wont regret it. I also have to say this is my favorite interpretation of Luo Binghe's mom.

Servant to a Different King

Tossawary

Summary:

As the head disciple of An Ding Peak, Shang Qinghua threw the plot out the window and abandoned his sect, and now he enjoys a luxurious life as Tianlang-Jun and Su Xiyan's most treasured and trusted advisor, as the happy couple rules over the Demon Realm together with iron fists. He has everything a transmigrator could want. Unfortunately, there's only so long that the Imperial Advisor can continue to avoid another of Tianlang-Jun's favorite underlings: Mobei-Jun, the new Northern King. An attempt on Shang Qinghua's life inside the Underground Palace itself forces him back into the company of the demon who was once destined to kill his character - and who also once promised to kill him if they ever met again.

My thoughts: Another Tossawary story! This time Shang Qinghua saves Luo Binghe's mom (wait didn't that happen in the last one?) and dad (ok, so it's different). A Moshang focus story where Shang Qinghua tries to avoid having an awkward (and possibly deadly) conversation with Mobei-Jun, which becomes an impossible task because he is now his personal guard. I love the cocenpt of having Shang Qinghua work under Tianlang-Jun, and the interactions between those two are always hilarious.

YuGiOh

An Apocalypse Means Nothing Because You Are The World In Which I Live

sitabethel

Summary:

When an old tomb-keeper steals the Millennium Tome in order to raise the dead, the gods are forced to send Atem back to the world of the living to end the crisis; however, Bakura doesn't trust him to save Marik, so the thief finds his own way back. Meanwhile, the goddess Isis makes a deal with a certain dark entity, offering him a soul in exchange for his services.

My thoughts: Ok, it's been many years since I have last read this story, but I still have to add it to my recommendations because of how batshit insane it is. This is a zombie apocalypses story taking place in yugioh, the story where everything is solved by card games. Do you know how they stop the zombie outbreak? CARD GAMES! Like holy shit, this story is crazy, but it's also on brand. I used to be into thiefshipping and other yugioh ships, so if you're like that then I definitely recommend this one.

Annnddd those are my recommendations. Feel free to judge my taste, but I will unapologetically love these stories till the day I die.

[rmoonberry]

cw: dead, blood, angst.

Even though Cangse Sanren was able to call her with the bell, it was too late. Finding her dead body covered in blood, Li Yue burst into tears, hugging her beloved shimei.

Before leaving the heavenly mountain, Li Yue, the first disciple of the heavenly fox, Baoshan Sanren, gave to Xinyue a bell. "If you ever need me, just stir the bell. It doesn't matter where you're, I'll go find you,"

Xinyue laughed "Now I have six tails, Shijie! I will be fine, but do not blame me if I call you just to bother you" Li Yue looked at his shimei with an soft smile and her heart beating fast.

Her feelings overflowed, but never told them out loud. Xinyue, now known as Cangse Sanren, called her to tell her about the man she fell in love, when she married according to the foxes traditions, when she became pregnant and when she had her baby.

The bell broke and Cangse Sanren waited. It only needed a couple of minutes to arrive and Li Yue was always happy to see her Shimei and her family. Seeing her happy relieved her heart. Li Yue always went to her on each occasion, giving her a new bell every time the previous one broke

The last time Cangse Sanren used the bell, Li Yue hoped to see her shimei's smile, the husband's voice and her little nephew's laugh. What she saw, on the other hand, was a massacre. Bodies scattered throughout the forest and a strong smell of blood.

Li Yue saw Cangse Sanren lying on a tree with a hole in her stomach. Her husband was a few meters away, without moving, also covered with blood. She was frozen, thinking that it should be a nightmare. Cangse Sanren's hand fell and a golden bell rolled away and broke into thousands of pieces.

Yue hugged her Shimei and cried, cried and swore to take revenge. She knew the name of the clan who did this, probably in looking for fox tails. She wanted to go there and freeze everything. Her eyer glowing in a icy blue. It was only a sob that make her stop.

Within Cangse Sanren's tails, there was her baby, Wei Ying, snuggled against himself, with his eyes strongly closed and accelerated breathing. Yue took it in my arms and cried. The little kit was burning in a fever. Cssr had probably not called her to ask for help but for her kit.

Forgetting her revenge for a moment, Yue took the baby with her, promising in silence that she would protect him with her life.

end

[mxtxfanatic]

I know that YunmengJiang and GusuLan seem to emphasise on courtesy names but what about LanlingJin, QingheNie and QishanWen? From the Wen clan i am only aware of WN having a courtesy name but for the Nies?? I have no idea. I read somewhere that the Jin use generational names instead like 'Zi' for JZX's generation and 'Guang' for JGS' generation. I would love to know your thoughts and how canon supports them about the naming conventions of clans!

P.S. When we talk about eligible bachelors of a generation and people born in the same generation, what do we mean? like how many years apart can people be born to be considered as the same generation??

I think it’s safe to assume that all the boys and men in the story have courtesy names even if we are never told them. We know the Lan have courtesy names because of Lan Wangji, Lan Xichen, and Lan Sizhui, but we never learn the birth names for Lan Qiren or Lan Jingyi despite knowing they must have one. We know Jin Ling’s courtesy name is Rulan, which is what includes the new generational character, but if that is the case, that would mean that we do not know the birth names of Jin Rusong, Jin Zixuan, or Jin Zixun. And we don’t know anything about the QingheNie courtesy/birth names at all. I think ultimately that whether or not we know both names of each character doesn’t matter because the names we are shown are given for a storytelling purpose. They are vehicles of information, such as Jin Guangshao giving Meng Yao a “Guang” name to show how much he rejects Jin Guangyao as an heir, or finding out Lan Sizhui’s birth name is “Yuan” to foreshadow his connection to little A-Yuan, or Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji calling each other “Wei Ying” and “Lan Zhan” to denote intimacy. The details of the naming conventions matter less than what the names we are told have to tell us about the characters, themselves.

Idk how many years apart a “generation” is considered in China, but in America, the generational cutoff is 20 years. A person who’s been on the workforce as a legal adult for 10 years could be of the same generation as someone who just started their senior year in high school. There’s a 4-year difference between me and one of my younger brothers, but he’s a zoomer and I’m a millennial. Generational divides are kinda fake, but the way “generation” is being used in those two phrases is not the same.

“Bachelors of their generation”—generation is being used to denote the peer group, so that “everyone born in this x amount of years” categorization, but in the story, this is just the generation of the clan heirs (and Nie Mingjue who took over early) who are all only a few years apart from each other in age, anyways.

“People born in the same generation”—if this was referring back to the Jin naming conventions, then this is a different “generation” categorization which goes by your placement of birth on your family tree. For instance: your grandparents are one generation, your mom and her siblings are the second generation, and you and your siblings and cousins are the third. Your mom and your mom’s sister are still of the same generation even if there is a 30-year age gap between them, because they are both your grandparents’ direct children. Your mom will never be of her nephew’s generation even if they were born in the same year, because your mother is a direct child of your grandparents while her nephew is the grandchild. Age or birth year won’t ever change those placements.

[rayan12sworld]

🧡Come Around and Stay

By:trippednfell

Summary:

Lan Wangji is a trauma surgeon single father with way too many things on his plate. Wei Wuxian is a computer genius who moonlights as a music teacher and loves musicals. They meet when Lan Wangji is late picking up his son from school.

Turns out there's more than one type of trauma, and some types are easier to fix than others. It will take a lot of patience, support, found family, and love but they'll get there in the end.

Chapter:35/35

Words:160,555

Status:completed

world changed, all at once, with no fanfare or warning. Oh, thought Lan Wangji. So that’s what it means to fall in love. He expected it to take longer. But it was so brief - one heartbeat he didn’t know he loved Wei Ying, and then in the next beat he knew he did. It was a tipping point - the moment of anticipation, the electric silence before the lightning strike, the arresting moment right before a scalpel slices into skin, the last desperate inhale before a kiss. He fell in an instant and everything changed and it seemed so incredibly unfair that nothing else seemed to mark the moment - Wei Wuxian still sat on the couch, A-Yuan excitedly pointed at something on the screen - Look, Xian-gege! It’s the lantern her Mom and Dad made!, Lan Xichen still washed dishes in the kitchen, Nie Mingjue spoke on the phone. All of them continued their own lives as if Lan Wangji’s life had not irrevocably changed in this one beat of his heart

~~

And if it wasn’t bad enough - you have Lans protecting you now. It has been made very clear, in the social circles, that no one by the name of Jiang or Jin is to talk to you unless you initiate it.” Wei Wuxian turned to look at him. “What? You’re making that up.” He had to be. There was no way that was true. Jiang Cheng shook his head. “Oh I’m not, trust me. The Jins were disinvited from the Lunar New Year gathering because you were going to be there. And a week before the party, Lan Xichen had a lunch meeting with Father where it was insinuated, quite politely mind you, that if we ran into you at the party it would be best if we did not try to approach you.” Wei Wuxian felt his mouth drop open. He just stared, like an absolute cliche of a shocked person. Completely speechless. “And after you left the party with Lan Wangji and your son, I had to be cornered by Nie Fucking Huaisang and very calmly told that if I ever laid another hand on you I would disappear and my parents would have to mourn for decades without laying me to rest because my body would never be found.” Wei Wuxian took a moment to process. “A-Yuan is not my son,” he said. And it was easily the most ridiculous response. Of all the things to object to, he called Jiang Cheng out on calling A-Yuan his? “Sure,” Jiang Cheng snorted. “He runs to you and clings to you after being chased even though his father is literally standing right next to you, but he’s not yours.”

I don't read modern fiction alot but I definitely liked this one so much💕. It's about healing trauma and family

Only wounds from survivors are allowed to scar,” he said. “They are proof you are a fighter. They’re proof you are strong. They are as beautiful as every other part of you.”

~~

“You made a space for me?” he said. His voice shook, but Lan Wangji responded by holding him even tighter. “I’ve carved space for you in my heart already, what is a room in my home compared to that?”

~~

He would hold him. He would hold him forever if he asked. So you love me? How long had he wanted him to ask a question like that? To give him the opening he craved, to tell him exactly how he felt? How could he have doubted it? Lan Wangji felt like his love for Wei Wuxian sang out in every action, every word, every look, every single thing he did.

[wangxianficrecs]

A Brother's Choice by Admiranda

A Brother's Choice

by Admiranda (@admirableadmiranda)

M, 8k, Wen Ning & Wei Wuxian

Summary: Once upon a time, there was a genius and his friend, who thought more fondly of each other than friend could cover, although they had yet to admit it to each other. The genius, thinking wistfully on days when they were younger, had been struck by an idea then. After some experimentation he had created a talisman that essentially created a door to another time, where one longing to see a long lost face could go and see that person again, and return back at the end. After all, he was not interested in reliving those long, painful years even if he could change some things for the better. Once had been more than enough. He offered it to his dear friend first, thinking of a young woman who had inspired and sheltered them both in times of turmoil “Wen Ning, you could see your sister again! You should get the chance first, then you can tell me if it's safe for me and Lan Zhan to use it as well.” So he had taken the chance, to wander back many many years, to when they were children, and the world was simpler. But he didn't tell Wei Wuxian of all of his plans back in this time. Kay's comments: This story was much darker than I expected when I started reading it! Wen Ning travels back in time and decides to change Wei Wuxian's life for the better and he won't let anyone get into his way, neither animals nor humans... I actually really liked how it explored Wen Ning's dedication to his goal and how he won't let anything get in his way and his and Wei Wuxian's relationship as brother. Little A-Ying was extremely adorable as well (though he has seen some shit). Excerpt: Wei-gongzi hadn't told him how timid he must have been on the street, there was almost none of the confidence he associated with his friend. “They were going to hurt you, so I stopped them.” he said, keeping his voice slow and mellow. A shiver racked his friend's small body and he reconsidered a little as to whether the stammering was from nervousness. “Are you cold?” The boy nodded, his eyes wary and hopeful. He did his best to smile, but it was hard to move those muscles on his face enough to make it comforting. “My cloak is very strong and warm, it will help,” he knelt down slowly and shook the gathering snow off of it. Wei Ying nodded, but hung back still, looking over him as he made up his mind on what to do. He searched his memory for the bits of his past that Wei-gongzi would sometimes let slip here and there, never all at once, but like scattered pearls on the ocean floor, easy to miss if you weren't listening closely. “It's okay A-Ying, I want to help.” At the sound of his name, Wei Ying lit up like the sunrise, a child's version of the smile he was used to spreading across his face. “Did you know my parents?” he asked even as he came forwards to be wrapped up in the cloak. Immediately Wen Ning was aware of how little it was just to do that, but he hadn't thought about all the things he would need to make sure that a little Wei-gongzi would need before he decided on the best place to leave him.

pov wen ning, canon divergence, time travel, time travel fix-it, time travelling wen ninbg, minor character death, burial mounds ensemble as family, post-canon, pre-canon, blood and violence, families of choice, wei wuxian isn't adopted by the jiangs, wei wuxian & wen ning & wen qing, yiling siblings, animal death, dark wen ning, murder

~*~

(Please REBLOG as a signal boost for this hard-working author if you like – or think others might like – this story.)

[mdzs-owns-my-ass-i-guess]

Gone

Based off this post I made in 2021

Wei Ying never believed people who said they knew they were dying. It seemed ridiculous - how could someone know they're dying if they've never died before? How could they recognize the signs? How could they feel that they were approaching death if they've never experienced it until that point?

There was an old lady that lived at the very border of Lotus Pier. Wei Ying forgot her name - he seemed to forget most things lately - but he could remember calling her "Granny Liu". She had a tall loquat tree in her garden and she always let Wei Ying take as many as he wanted when they became ripe, telling him all sorts of stories from her youth as he ate some underneath the shade.

One day, she became ill, bed-ridden, and when Wei Ying wished her to get well soon after a visit, she told him she wouldn't get better this time because she was dying. Wei Ying asked her how did she know, but she only patted his head and said that he wouldn't understand for a long, long time.

He understands now. And, strangely, he misses Granny Liu. He hasn't thought about her for so long, he can barely remember her face, her voice... will anybody ever remember him with the same fondness he remembers that old lady?

It's difficult to explain - if he could speak properly, Wei Ying doubts he would be able to articulate how he's feeling, and how he knows he's going to die soon. He feels both heavy and light, both fearsome and peaceful, revolted and resigned. He's in pain, he can still feel it, but it's becoming more and more muted, like a loud noise he's getting further and further away from.

He knows he's not alone. He wishes he was, but he's not, someone is relentlessly feeding his barren meridians and absent core a steady stream of spiritual energy. It does nothing but offer him a brief warmth inside, but the qi has nowhere to go and so it disperses into the nothingness that now rests where Wei Ying's golden core used to be.

Lan Zhan is there with him. Wei Ying can no longer see much, just vague shapes and colors, but he knows Lan Zhan, could recognize him out of a hundred - and he knows Lan Zhan is telling him something, something important, something soft and vulnerable. But Wei Ying can't hear much either, he feels distant and disconnected, like he's sinking into a deep well and he's starting to lose sight of the exit.

Lan Zhan can't be here when he's dying. Lan Zhan is beautiful and elegant and otherworldly and respectable - he can't be here, not with someone like Wei Ying, not with someone who's going to be devoured by resentful energy the very moment his soul leaves his body. It'll be a horrible, traumatizing and disgusting thing to witness. Lan Zhan doesn't need to be there when it happens.

He can only hope he's pushing Lan Zhan away. He doesn't really register whether he does it or how he's doing it. Maybe he's saying something, he thinks he feels his lips moving - but he doesn't know what, and everything is getting more and more distant and out of focus. His body feels heavy, filled with lead, his lungs an immense weight in his chest, and he feels tears on his face, hot, but he doesn't know whose they are. Are they his own? Is Lan Zhan crying?

Wei Ying feels a bit of warmth at some point. It's not much, and it's different from what he felt when Lan Zhan gave him spiritual energy. He's being held, Wei Ying finally understands, pulls the realization from out of his muddled mind like it's a piece of gold. Lan Zhan is holding him, and maybe he's crying, and he's telling Wei Ying something again, with more desperation, holding one of his hands so tightly it almost hurts, and he's shaking.

Wei Ying wants him to go away but never let go; to stay because he's starting to grow so cold and so scared, but to leave because he's going to be haunted by this forever. He wants to hold onto Lan Zhan too, wants him to know all of these things, contradictory as they may be - and he wants to thank Lan Zhan and apologize to him and tell him all sorts of things he's only now realizing. But he's tired and it hurts and he wants to sleep, sleep like he did when he was little, in his mother's arms, motionless and peaceful.

He hears, far away, shouting - angry, indistinct. Lan Zhan shouts back, he's almost hysterical with it, and his hold on Wei Ying tightens. Wei Ying loves him but he doesn't know, neither of them do, he wishes he could know and tell him - but he can only will the hand Lan Zhan holds so tightly to twitch, a movement so simple but so draining that Wei Ying feels like he's pouring all that he has, all that he is, into it.

Lan Zhan says something, reacts somehow - but Wei Ying doesn't feel it anymore. He feels his parents' loving hugs and sees them ride on their donkey, he feels shijie put lotus seeds in his hands and sees her smile, he hears his friends call him "da-shixiong!", hears Jiang Cheng laugh as they jump into the lake. He feels Wen Qing flick his forehead and sees Wen Ning smile and he smiles too because it doesn't hurt anymore, it really doesn't, and he wants to tell Lan Zhan too, wants to see him smile just once, just this once-

He's gone before he hears Lan Zhan shouting for him to wait, please, don't go yet, I love you, I'm sorry, don't leave me!

He's gone before he hears the gut-wrenching scream, and he's gone before he sees the miserable anger that Lan Wangji nearly kills 33 Lan elders with.

He's gone before he knows he's loved.

He's just gone.

[toomanyplotbunnies-sendhelp]

Hello and welcome to Day 6 of "Let's Explore My Plot Bunnies"

Today, I wanna explore a Mo Dao Zu Shi fic idea that started because of another fic.

I started reading "Cultivation Chat Group - Scum Villain Edition" by shorimochi on AO3 (link here) a week ago. I have never heard of "Cultivation Chat Group" as a novel at all before this, so I checked the novel updates synopsis before I read the fic.

My brain, my wonderful but annoying brain, just went, "Ya know, this is the type of bullshit Wei Wuxian would get himself into in a Modern AU where Cultivation is some secret/legend" after reading the synopsis.

From there, it turned into a Modern AU + College AU + Cultivation is a secret that normal people don't know about AU + Wei Wuxian can see Ghosts AU + Reicarnation without memory (yet) (on Wei Wuxian's side) AU (Basically, everyone is an immortal in the chat group but Wei Wuxian, who is still a normal-ish human)

So, I present to you:

"Cultivation Chat Group - Wei Wuxian Edition" (title in working)

(Attempt at) Summary:

Wei Ying has always been a very... weird child. Despite being in the top students in his class, he is almost always absent-minded and not that interested in studying. Despite being a charming and sociable child, he always seems to keep himself back from forming closer bonds with his classmates. Despite being a seemingly well-adjusted child, many would see him talking and laughing at the air - which did sprout some spooky rumors about him.

Wei Ying, however, would say that he is quite content with his life - thank you very much. Sure, he sometimes sees things that many can't (and most times, he helps the little souls? spirits? pass on peacefully even if it did cause him troubles), but it's not that bad.

He is currently in his 1st year of university and aiming for a foreign language degree. He has friends (who have yet to be driven away by his "weird behavior," as others have told him). All in all, life is good.

And then, one day, he gets an invitation to a chat group. A chat group that he only intended to enter just to tell them that whoever sent the invitation got the wrong person. But he misses the timing... several times over.

Wei Ying gives up and decides that even if he is in this chat group, since they will realize soon they got the wrong person, he will just not interact at all.

(It's not like he wants to interact with them either. Especially since they seem to be into some role play thing with "cultivation", "cores"," and "corpses" (which wtf!?? Should he call the police?) and "spiritual weapons."

.... Yeah, no. He is definitely never interacting with these crazy people.)

"Let's just ignore this, and it will go away."

Final last words, Wei Ying.

Some small details:

WWX's name in the chat will be "Yiling Laozu," which is a silly nickname he uses on sites so that his friends don't recognize him. The name comes from "Yiling," which is the name of the street he lived on when he was young. "Laozu" is just something that WWX felt it was right to add - don't ask him why, he couldn't tell you.

WWX takes classes for 3 languages: Chinese, English, and Korean (he had to deal with spirits of tourists who didn't know English or Chinese and only Korean.. it was a headache and a half). WWX wants to learn as many languages as possible (at least to conversation level) so that he won't have to do miming or drawings to communicate with the spirits. (Just because you die in China, it doesn't mean you can fluently speak chinese in death - unfortunately)

He fully believes everyone in the chat group has some screws loose.

But he still ends up interacting with them (irl) because he found 4 children (more like 3 kids with manners and 1 with a short fuse) wandering around in the city while loudly talking about their "cultivation mission" or something. WWX doesn't want the kids to be attacked by some drunk bastard on the street because they are spewing bullshit so he decides to become their babysitter for a day. ("It's gonna be easy." - yeah about that)

What WWX is not aware of is that the "Junior Quartet" he met were not the first people from the chat group he met in real life. Some of those members attend his university and share classes with him.

The Reincarnation AU think I mentioned basically means "WWX has lived once before, which is why a lot of the cultivation stuff he reads in the chat he feel like he understands. In his previous life, WWX became something akin to an omen of death since he was always seen controlling resentful energy. He was never part of the Jiang Clan but grew up in Yiling and ended up staying at the Burial Grounds later on. He and LWJ crossed blades a lot in that life since they were on opposite sides when it came to the correct path of cultivation: LWJ said resentful energy is bad; WWX said resentful energy is natural and still energy and that if it wasn't a natural energy of the world, nature and heaven itself would revolt against it. In the end, WWX died from an ambush led by the other clans against him since he was seen as a heretic."

Just to be sure I mention it: in his past life WWX was never called "Yiling Laozu" so no one in the chat group knows who he is supposed to be (yet).

LWJ mourned WWX's death. Despite going down that path, WWX never killed without reason. LWJ met him a few times before he realized that he was using resentment in his cultivation, so LWJ saw a WWX who was incredibly kind, warm, and, surprisingly, childish. When he learned of his cultivation, LWJ was merely worried for his health.

This is why when LWJ sees Wei Ying again in the modern time, he is very much looking to help and protect Wei Ying this time around.

LWJ, seeing Wei Ying again at University: You are just as beautiful as the day I lost you.

WWX: What?

LWJ: What?

This is about all I have for this one right now. So, what do you guys think?

Honestly, this, for me, was fun to think about. The act of bringing cultivation into the modern world where technology reigns supreme is very funny since I can tell you right now Lan Qiren doesn't know how to operate a phone at all, and I feel like car rides make him nauseous.

Well, I hope you enjoyed my ramblings and also please check out both the fic that started all this and the novel if you haven't yet. (They are both good and soo funny).

Till next time,

- TooManyPlotBunnies-Send Help

[redrandomposts]

(part 1 here)

at night, it became hard to sleep for lan zhan. his mind kept thinking about wei ying—and the awkward end of the last dream.

if lan zhan fell asleep, he would see wei ying. the boy in rags, who had greeted him with a bright smile and asked for his name. who seemed very, very excitable. there is no doubt wei ying would talk a lot, and the very thought of socializing sent lan zhan into a panic.

lan zhan cursed his mind for putting him through such uncomfortable things. he couldn't avoid it as it hit nine, no matter how desperate he was.

in the back hills, lan zhan wasn't able to escape in time. wei ying had found him at once.

"lan zhan!" wei ying yelled, waving his hand and running towards him. how many rules did he break at the sight of lan zhan? "it's me, wei ying!"

why does he need to reaffirm his name?"...mn."

"im glad you remember me! i thought you hadnt heard me when i told you my name."

how could lan zhan forget the most embarrassing moment of his life? "...remembered."

"wow! do you know where we are? its so cool here!"

this one was easy to answer. "cloud recesses."

"i know! mother told me about here, its a place on the mountains where there are thousands of rules!"

it was so much more, but, "mn."

"how do you live with so much rules? what rules are there? how are there so many rules?"

"..." his uncle would answer that correctly.

"is it because of the rules that you don't speak a lot? oh my god, am i breaking a rule right now?"

"many." speaking above a reapectable tone, excessing use of words, dirty clothes that don't cover enough, not enough clothes...

"aah! they won't kick me out, will they?!"

how can they kick him out? "dream."

"...oh. it is a dream! what am i worrying about? lan zhan, you are super cool!"

"..." was that another rule broken?

this continued for what felt like hours. lan zhan had never spoken so much.

unfortunately, this was not a one-time thing. the next nights wei ying would say everything and anything, ask so many questions.

after a week, lan zhan would eagerly wait for night to come. he would study so he could answer more and more of wei ying's questions.

"lan zhan..." wei ying was crying when lan zhan next saw him.

[museywrites]

Xiantober 2023 - Day 7: Biker!Xian

Word Count: 957 Pairing: Wangxian Tags: Biker Wei Ying, Bunny keeper Lan Zhan

The rev of his bike gave Wei Ying the greatest feeling in the world. It stood for so much. For an escape, for speed, for freedom. There was nothing he loved more than hitting the long winding roads leading out of the city in the middle of the night, enjoying the way the wind whipped around him. 

A way to just get away from his life, from his problems. 

Tonight was one such night. Riding through the dark, barely lit streets that he knew like the back of his hand. It was liberating. It was home. 

He had gotten in trouble at work again, and he just wanted to get away. So, as soon as he had the chance, he hopped on his bike and drove out of the city. Was he going a little too fast? 

Yes. 

Was he prepared for someone to be counting in the middle of the street in the middle of nowhere? 

No. 

So when his headlight reflected off of the pure white and pale blue of someone’s clothes in the middle of the street, Wei Ying had to slam on the breaks, his bike swerving off of the road and into the bushes. With the impact, Wei Ying flew over the handlebars and straight into a thick, dense pile of underbrush. 

The man from the road stood quickly, holding something small in his hands ands he hurried over. “Are you okay?!” 

“Am I okay?! What the hell were you doing in the middle of the road, in the middle of the night?!” Wei Ying sat up, completely covered in twigs and leaves. He had lucked out, that was for sure. He could have ended up with broken bones or worse. Thankfully he just had a sore shoulder. 

“I am so sorry. My rabbit got out of his hutch and I was chasing him. I had just managed to grab him when you showed up.” The man explained, carefully lifting the small white bundle of fluff in his arms.

Wei Ying wanted to scold him, but he couldn’t really blame him. He himself would have done the same if he had a pet. So instead, he just sighed and pulled his helmet off, letting his messy hair fall into place as he finally looked up at the man. 

Gorgeous dark hair, shimmering golden eyes, perfect, jade skin. He was stunning. 

“Are you certain you’re alright?” He asked once more when Wei Ying didn’t answer, holding his rabbit a little closer. 

He sighed before nodding and rubbing the back of his head. “Yeah… I’m fine…” He forced himself up and shifted over to grab his bike, making sure the vehicle was okay and undamaged. “It was partially my fault anyways, I shouldn’t have been speeding.” His shoulders sagged in relief when he saw his motorcycle was unharmed. 

“Still, please allow me to make it up to you. My home is not far from here, you can come for a cup of tea? I’m sure that accident rattled your nerves, and you can make sure you have no injuries.” 

Wei Ying was about to decline, but something told him he should agree, so he did. 

The man, Lan Zhan, as Wei Ying learned his name to be, led him back to his home not far from the road. It was a cozy little thing surrounded by woods with a large fenced-in area that was for a few fuzz balls. 

Lan Zhan explained that he had moved out here after inheriting the home from his late mother, and the large yard that came with it was perfect for raising rabbits, which he was quite fond of. Wei Ying had never been overly fond of the little fuzz balls, but after seeing the way Lan Zhan interacted with them, he decided they were quite cute. 

Or maybe it was Lan Zhan, but he wasn’t going to admit that yet. 

He was served tea and Lan Zhan insisted he removed his jacket so he could check for any injuries, and Wei Ying couldn’t deny that those strong, careful fingers gliding over his arms and back felt nice. 

Though the lingering touches were gone far too soon as Lan Zhan deemed him clear of any physical, external injuries. 

The pair sat for several hours, talking about everything and anything as the time ticked by without either noticing. They lost themselves in each other’s company, learning about one another as if that was the only thing that mattered. 

Wei Ying had been reluctant to leave that night, but he promised to visit soon. 

And he did.

Every weekend he would drive his motorcycle to that cozy house in the middle of nowhere and sit with Lan Zhan for hours. 

Every weekend turned to every other day, and every other day turned into Wei Ying staying there more often than not. 

When Lan Zhan was comfortable enough, Wei Ying took him for a drive on his bike and he loved the way Lan Zhan took to the feeling of the wind in his hair, though he very quietly reminded Wei Ying to be careful. 

Eventually, Wei Ying’s riding became minimal. He no longer needed an escape from the hellish life of the city as he moved in with Lan Zhan, spending most days curled up against Lan Zhan’s broad chest or working as a free-lance coder from the cozy comfort of their middle-of-nowhere home. 

They still took rides occasionally, but they were much less stress-relief and more for the joy of the moment. 

Wei Ying knew he would be forever grateful for that late night ride through those winding roads where he nearly crashed into the most gorgeous man in the world. 

They still laugh about it to this day.