#I like how he cares about him so much and Jin Ling is just yelling at him it is so cute

[fionnalovesanimeboysandholo]

Jin Ling crying because of his parents and Wei Wuxian walking up to him and comforting him got me 💔

[anulithots]

Hi, can I ask your top 3 favorite characters from Link Click? And why you love them? Also your top 5 favorite moments from the series?

As shiguang shipper, what do you think are Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang's greatest personality strengths and weaknesses? Why? What do you love about their dynamic? Thanks if you want to answer.....

(Last one, are you surprised with that plot twist in s2? Can it enter your top 5 fav plot twist ever from any media?)

TOP THREE FAVORITES!

Cheng Xiaoshi - craves a childhood he lost (so real), empathetic and one of the empathetic characters that is done soooo well with all of the dives paralleling his character and exploring it, canonically likes cooking and makes sure LU Guang and him don’t survive on ramen noodles alone (+ Lu Guang’s bio things says he likes gourmet food sooooooooooo)

The silly and the way he stays hopeful and doesn’t accept finalities because of what happened to his parents and how he trusts and relies on others.

How he tries his best to fix the past and can adapt to the situation, predict how people will act, and is hyper-observant, but he doesn’t act on this ability because of how much he trusts Lu Guang and he cares about Qiao LIng so much and immediately cares about every case he hears about because of his empathy.

(Headcannon that he doesn’t watch the news after the earthquake, hence why he didn’t know about Emma despite it being all over the news)

Lu Guang - mystery boi. Cares about Cheng Xiaoshi sooo much and the way he relies on the future, on rules and on control and will freak out whenever the future becomes uncertain, a rule breaks, or things fall out of his control.

The way he’s shy about being in public but will not hesitate to yell at a police officer if it concerns CXS. How he reads all keeps himself learned and tells others (CXS) to do the same like it will fix all their problems (keep him less immature). The way that he has the trust of both CXS and Qiao LIng because of the way he acts. The way that one might look at him and think ‘oh the serious levelheaded one’ but NOPE. He lightly teases CXS constantly (whereas CXS is overdramatic about his teasing) and again, goes feral at times, as you do.

The fact that he creates rules and tries so hard to keep everting under control and no one the wiser but this is time. This is reality. He’s fraying at the seams.

Qiao LIng - will not hesitate to beat up her brother or lawyer for her brother if the situation calls for it. An incident she had no control over (Doudou’s kidnapping) stuck with her and caused so much turmoil that she went to university somewhere else and tried to escape her lack of decisions, regretting it the entire time (so real).

Compared to the rest of the trio, she’s the levelheaded one, and she has the most real takes on the weirdness of shiguang (’I thought you two were doing some ritual with the photos!’) and the way she’s the one who talked to, comforted, and connected with Wu Xia, Doudou’s father, CXS(multiple times), and Li Tianshi.

Her friendship with Xu Shanshan (’calling her beautiful all the time’) along with Xu Shanshan saying that she has to take care of Qiao Ling… QIao LIng is more like her brother than she admits. Also her (and Lu Guang’s… and CXS’s obsession with Boba tea alkfkajsdf)

the trioooooo

… just five… moments... sigh okay okay /pos

When CXS got angry at Qian Jin but was restrained, then Qiao LIng SLAPPED HIM AND IT WAS WONDEROUS (should’ve beat him up tbh but alas the paperwork)

The little moments in episode two. Especially where Cheng Xiaoshi says ‘just because you see no hope doesn’t mean there is none’ and Lu Guang SMILES

CHENG XIAOSHI’S SPEACH TO EMMA WITH KEEP IN MIND PLAYING THEN THE TITLE CARD SAYS ‘when there is light, once can photograph’ AND IT’S A MASTERPEICE I”VE SEEN IT A MILLION TIMES AND I LOVE IT SO MUCH

In season two where Qiao Ling connects to Li Tianxi via telling a story about her younger self and CXS, who she calls her LITTLE BROTHER AAAAAAAAAAAA

SIgh okay okay so like… all of episodes six, seven, and ten where Lu Guang is overprotective of CXS OKAY BUT IN PATICULAR - where Lu Guang notices that CXS is getting anxious about Xu Shanshan’s disappearance and tells Qiao Ling to keep him safe. Just how the calm and collected Lu Guang gets angry and frustrated when things don’t go according to plan and it puts CXS or those he cares about in danger. It shows a lot about his character

(Then of course there’s episode 5 where it’s just done in a masterful way with the earthquake scene and s2ep1 where CXS flashbacks to all the moments with Lu Guang and…)

Shiguang shipping + strengths and weaknesses

I have some thoughts I need to write down about their dynamic so that first if you don’t mind! (I’ll probably somewhat answer it here but aklfaklsdjf analysisssss)

(Also QPR shiguang is peak ahem ahem thank you /pos )

Okay so CXS is an optimist and looks for the best, for solace to fix the past he lost, and he views that Lu Guang loses hope too easily (I think, still formulating the thoughts on this one) which causes him to act on his own in episode 9 (when he goes back in time and witnesses Emma getting strangled.)

But okay the moment at the end here where he realizes Lu Guang only did all this to protect him because he does tend to get too emotional about things and ruin the past in his longing for a perfect one (which leads Lu Guang not to tell CXS things because he thinks that CXS is an ‘unpredictable variable’ and wishes to protect him from himself.

Which is nice of him but still. CXS is competent he just trusts others more than he trusts himself), where he asks Lu Guang what he should do as he curls up in painful defeat, which parallels where he says he’s afraid of being alone and in the dark in episode 5?

It’s link click and I kajdsfklasjdflkj

So CXS then sees what Lu Guang sees, that he can’t fix the past no matter how much he tries. Which is a painful thing, but to be honest, it’s something he needed… or not… it’s a nuanced growth that isn’t good nor bad (and CXS’s view on this will probably change when he finds out that Lu Guang went back in tiem to save him ).

BEcause CXS accepts now that while he cannot change the past, the future will surely change because of what he does, then he accepts that he cannot change Li Tianxi’s past. Okay so trusts and weaknesses with Shiguang is that they do trust each other and care for each other’s well-being… but the care for each other’s wellbeing causes them to not trust the other as much…. okay that made no sense here we go

SO CXS completely and totally trusts Lu Guang (at first trusting that he knows best - he said this in ep 3 I think - while also fighting with himself with his desire to fix the past, constantly questioning Lu Guang if things will really turn out okay, and in turn, reassuring himself that he doesn’t need to be swept up by his emotions.) which lessens after episode 5 - which was a risk on Lu Guang’s part and he did not want CXS to find out about the earthquake but alas - which then returns back to a different sort of trust (The ‘I understand now that you tried to protect me from myself because no matter what I try I cannot fix the past, so now I’ll hope for the future like you told me’)

Whereas the reason Lu Guang likes CXS is for his naivety, his innocent hope that everything will be okay, and for that reason Lu Guang attempts to keep CXS’s own faults from hurting him, along with the reality of the past and its hardships.

(Hence all of the ‘and remember that you cannot change the past and you’ll have to face the results of this’). THEN it’s BECAUSE of this overprotectiveness that drives CXS to think that Lu Guang gave up too easily (see episode 10 where Xu Shanshan is kidnapped. Lu Guang told QIao ling to keep CXS’s phone away from him and keep him at the shop to calm down)

OKAY so that’s all I got for now in this brain dump. LIsten to BishaJAWS. Thank you for the ask!

[sillygoofyqueer]

Caught up on losing hope and Four? You asshole (affectionate)?? You made me cry for several reasons?? (I’m only half exaggerating but tbh you got me pretty damn close) wwx being taken care of and getting emotional abt it?? Running away and having a panic attack??? HUALIAN CAMEO?!?? Tbh it’d be a little funny if they became consistent cameo characters who give advice to the disaster that is wangxian. Also you spoil me with all this good writing istg. Like, what else do I read?? It’s hard to find well written fics Four >:/! Also Jin ling crying over Wu Ming??? I was in my room yelling “you would help him escape but he doesn’t want you to because he thinks you’ll hate him!! :(!! (And you actually might…)”. Also jgy catching on?? Hello??? What’s he gonna do with that? Idk whether to hope he does nothing with it and brushes it off or that he’s an evil little asshole and uses it against both of them. I am a bit curious as to what Jiang cheng is going to think about all this. Same with Lan Xichen because in canon he denies it but he can’t really do that here because there’s PHYSICAL EVIDENCE. Or maybe he will deny it because jgy is a good liar. But yea. As per usual I wish I could give you more kudos and please remember to TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF :/

Wrestling you into the biggest hug ever right now, aight?? BIGGEST hug ever. You can't cry, 'cause then I'll cry and I won't be able to work on Losing Hope 😨���, and nobody wants that. Hey, there's so much going on, maybe Hualian do just randomly pop up throughout the fic and are like, "don't forget, communication is key!" or "always wear red if you want to look badass" and then just vanish, leaving everyone like "???" I'm going to think about this so much now... You are so sweet oh my golly gosh, PLEAASE THERE ARE OTHER FICS THAT ARE BETTER THAN MINE (I've been reading them instead of working on losing hope, but you can't prove that)- ((my current favourite is Grimoire)). You flatter me, now I'm violently sobbing. AGAIN. This really can't be good for me, I can't cry this much. Jin Ling just wants his Wu Ming to come back! He surely could have helped his friend escape, because he cares about his friend more than anything Xiao-Shushu could say about him! No matter what he had done, there has to be a reason for it, or else he would have scared Jin Ling off, right? I think the real question is, how could he recognise Wu Ming if he were to see him on the streets? I think that is one of the biggest fears for Jin Ling, and I can't WAIT to get into that. Jin Guangyao catching on about possible communication between Jin Ling and Wei Wuxian could not be a good thing. I wonder what on earth he could do with all of this information...nothing bad, right? He's too good for that, right? :] Jiang Cheng and Lan Xichen are definitely in an interesting situation in all of this, because Jiang Cheng has no idea what's going on - why on earth is Jin Ling crying? He simply has to do something about this, he has to fucking find who has made his nephew cry and kill them chat to them about why they think it's a good idea to insult Jin Ling. My favourite thing about this AU (of sorts) is that while Lan Xichen does know that Lan Wangji is madly in love with Wei Wuxian (due to being told by his brother, they can talk about these things because ✨communication✨), he doesn't know HOW madly in love with Wei Wuxian his brother actually is, because there was no confrontation after the Nightless City Massacre. For all Lan Xichen knows, Lan Wangji has moved on from Wei Wuxian because he has no idea how down bad Lan Wangji is for this chaotic controversial man of the cultivation world. This is a little ramble away from what you actually pointed out, but I think it genuinely actually helps out with it. As you've said, there's physical evidence of how Wei Wuxian's been treated by Jin Guangyao and the Jin Clan. PLUS!! Lan Xichen in canon could be seen as biased AWAY from Wei Wuxian because of how he's treated his brother (this is just me rambling at this point), meaning he would be less likely to feel sympathy and want to help Wei Wuxian even for his brother. In this world, there isn't this bias away from Wei Wuxian! Could that help with convincing him of what Jin Guangyao has done? We'll damn well see, or my name isn't Four.

[llycaons]

ep41 (2/2): cleansing really is that beautiful

jgy is really good at turning his genuinely unfortunate circumstances into sympathy points to skirt around responsibility. I do feel bad for him, I do understand his position. but he's not the only person here without power, and he's certainly only looking out for his own skin

and like nmj says, he's doing all this - crying and lying and manipulating - because he wants to keep a high social position. no other reason. and he admits it!

I find this argument so funny. like in fairness it's similar to the one that wwx brings up later but wwx and wn actually died and in wwx's minds, paid for their crimes already. jgy never did, and hearing him whine 'oh my god, I just killed a few people, are you're STILL bringing it up now???' is pretty funny

good point, jgy! nmj isn't entirely a bastion of flawless justice himself, but 1. he actually tries because he cares about it and 2. this conversation is about your crimes and diverting will not save you from him

oh, so poetic! so dramatic! look at that face!

OH DAMN!!!!!! CRIMSON PEAK MASTER COMEBACK

oh this is a good scene. correct response to 'their lives aren't worth as much as mine!' and a perfect example for people who genuinely think jgy is some hero of the working class. sorry, guys. he's only in it for himself and he;ll step on as many poor and margnalized people as he needs to in the process

bad manners, nmj :(

this was so cunty of him

idk I feel like there could have been a better translation for this

POINTING AT JGY!!! wow so yeah jgy is murdering him for no reason other than 'he kicked me out of the clan for killing his commander and yelled at me a lot :(' you would crumble into dust if you encountered a quarter of the hardships of the wens

holding baxia like that....

oh my god he's so off the rails

ohhh it that suibian I see 👀

okay this looks stupid but but it's my firm belief that this is proof wwx has at least a shadow of a golde core in his new body otherwise HOW COULD BE DO THAT

hiii sexy

it's so cute how he pulls himself up each step like that. he's so tiny!

and then all tucked out and flopping onto lwj's hand <3

so full of personality was this paperman that I forgot wwx had a real body to return to and I jumped when he reappeared on the screen. muppet effect

shoutout to lxc for trusting and believing his brother for this. you know if the situations were reversed lwj would glare him down for daring to suggest wwx was untrustworthy. and he'd be right but it's nice that lxc is so supportive

jin ling isn't easily intimidated, which is funny bc he keeps asking these perfectly reasonable questions like 'why are you trying to get into my uncle's bedchambers at night' and 'what is going on' and ignoring him/glaring at him doesn't work at all

oh you douchebag

I think su she's villainy is a bit dumb and jealousy is a weak and judgemental trait for a villain to even have but this shot makes him look like such a tool idc

personal highlights: I'm tired and I don't care much for nmj and jgy's situationship so let's make this short and sweet

meng yao's water carriers

meng yao's very smooth glide into a standing bow

meng yao's beautiful silver and white robes

meng yao deflecting questions about his intentions with "I'm just glad I...met...you 🥺'

nmj's side-eye to jgy during their brotherhood swearing-in

jgy's blatant and purposeful flirting

"I only killed a few people, can you PLEASE stop bringing it up still 🙄'

nmj yelling ASSHOLE and kicking jgy down the steps for saying he's better and more deserving than other people

sexy sexy suibian ♥

paperman!wwx going WHEW and flopping down onto lwj's hand very cute

[grewlikefancyflowers]

JC’s deeply rooted resentment of WWX, JFM’s parenting, and the inevitability of the falling out of the ‘Yunmeng bros’.

In discussion of the breakdown of JC and WWX’s relationship, their falling out is often regarded as a mutual failing on both sides to properly communicate and maintain their relationship. I’m making the case here that their falling out was a foregone conclusion from the start, and in no part due to the actions of Wei Wuxian.

This is because YZY has instilled in JC the idea that JFM dislikes him, something he believes before WWX arrives in Lotus Pier, JC already feels inferior, thus as soon as potential competition for JFM’s attention comes along in the form of WWX, JC resents him, believes JFM prefers him, and looks for reasons to justify this. 

Summarising their very first interactions - from chapter 71 - WWX arrives at LP, sees JC with his puppies and is so terrified that he refuses to come down from JFM’s arms the entire day. The second day, JFM gives JC’s puppies away.

Now, I would like to think that no one seriously believes that this is an act of favouritism, but I have seen this case being made so I just want to make clear that WWX is obviously traumatised by his previous interactions with dogs. After trying for a whole day to comfort WWX, with no success, JFM does not exactly have any other choice than to give the puppies away, WWX cannot be expected to live in constant terror in the place that is supposed to be his home.

Consequently, ‘This angered Jiang Cheng so much that he threw a big tantrum. No matter how much Jiang FengMian comforted him gently, telling him that they should ‘be good friends’, he refused to talk to Wei WuXian.’

JC’s reaction is fairly understandable for an 8 year old. JFM comforts JC, and does not treat him callously or dismiss him, however it takes several days until JC will even talk to WWX.

When JC does start to warm up to him, JFM thinks it’d be a good idea for them to have a sleepover, JC is on the ‘verge of agreeing’ to this, which JFM is overjoyed by - so much so that he picks WWX up.

This is not an example of favouritism, JFM doesn't repeatedly give affection to WWX and not JC, he holds him twice - the first instance being purely because WWX was too terrified to leave his arms, the second being this one. These are the only two times where JFM is described as being affectionate towards WWX, JC is still in the lead on this count. But JC interprets this as JFM preferring WWX.

This results in the JC shutting WWX out at night.

At that time, Wei WuXian didn’t know what Jiang Cheng was mad about at all. After a pause, he replied, “I didn’t steal anything. It’s Uncle Jiang who told me to sleep with you.”

Hearing that he was still bringing up his father, almost as if he was purposely showing off, Jiang Cheng’s eyes reddened as he yelled, “Go away! If I see you again, I’ll call a bunch of dogs to bite you!”

This is the important part - JC sees WWX in the worst possible light, and rarely thinks of WWX as a person outside of how he directly impacts JC - he concludes that WWX is purposefully antagonising him, this is a trend that continues well into adulthood.

Then, when WWX flees LP after JC threatens him with dogs, JYL tells JC to find people to help search for him. However,

‘If any other disciple or servant learned about this and told Jiang FengMian, after Jiang FengMian knew how he threw Wei WuXian’s sheets out and made him hurt his leg, Jiang FengMian would definitely dislike him even more. This was also why he only dared chase after them alone and didn’t get anyone else.’

JC has obviously behaved wrongly here, and JFM would be right to scold him for it, but JC interprets this as JFM disliking him. We haven’t seen anything to suggest that JFM actually dislikes JC, he always treats him quite gently, actually. But JC is already at the conclusion that JFM dislikes him, and twists events to suit this - if his dad scolds him for misbehaving, it’s because he dislikes him. This pattern repeats after the Xuanwu Cave arc too.

This is because Madam Yu has ingrained into him the idea that JFM dislikes him, because he’s her son. This has nothing to do with WWX - because both her and JC already believe that JFM dislikes JC prior to WWX’s arrival -  she only sees him as additional fuel to use.

The only other person who mentions JFM supposedly treating WWX better than JC is JZX. I’m sure it's a coincidence that he’s the son of YZY’s best friend.

‘“Doesn’t he treat you better than treating his own child or something?”’

Note the ‘or something’, - JZX doesn’t seem to know this with certainty - he’s repeating what others have said, despite having visited Lotus Pier several times (as stated in ch.69), JZX hasn’t seen evidence for himself that JFM prefers WWX.

‘“Maybe I should’ve let you hit him, while I stand aside and watch. This way, Uncle Jiang might not need to come. Oh well, I really couldn’t hold back!”’

We know that WWX doesn’t see JFM as favouring him - so what does he mean by this? Well, LQR has had it out for WWX from the moment they met, and has already sent a letter to JFM complaining of his behaviour - at this point WWX doesn’t know that this results in them breaking the JZX/JYL engagement either, so he’s probably purely thinking that LQR summoned JFM to CR to discuss WWX’s repeated offenses. JC hasn’t done anything to invoke LQR’s ire (or rather, he’s gotten away with everything he has done), so WWX thinks that if JC fought JZX, it would not have been treated so seriously, compared to WWX, who has repeatedly misbehaved.

Contrary to fanon interpretation, WWX is not oblivious to other people’s feelings, he’s very empathetic, and additionally understands JC very well. He doesn’t see how JC is feeling here, because JC’s feelings are just so illogical...

‘Although it was only Wei WuXian’s casual words, he held mixed feelings, because he knew that this wasn’t a lie.

Jiang FengMian had never hurried to another sect in one day for anything related to him, no matter if the issue was good or bad, large or small.

Never.’

Once again, JC’s at the conclusion that JFM dislikes him, he twists events to support this. He’s looking at this scenario very strangely - JFM didn’t rush to CR because he likes WWX, he was called there by LQR, to discuss JYL’s engagement with JZX. Secondly, we’re never given any examples of scenarios where JC does anything to warrant JFM rushing over. As far as we know, they never even stay with other sects. Knowing JC’s personality, his dislike of doing anything to rock the boat, it’s extremely unlikely that he’s ever done anything to warrant JFM rushing over like this. Moreover, it’s a bizarre thing to be jealous of, WWX is in trouble, he’s not on the receiving end of positive attention from JFM. 

JC’s flawed reasoning is once again illustrated after the Xuanwu Cave arc...

‘Jiang Cheng’s expression was complicated after he had finished listening.’

This is Jiang Cheng’s reaction after WWX credits LWJ with killing the tortoise of slaughter - this is before JFM congratulates him. Before JFM says anything, JC is purely resentful about WWX having done something heroic, more so, resentful that WWX is willingly to let LWJ take most of the credit - he’s annoyed about this, most likely feeling that WWX is rubbing in his face that he doesn’t need the recognition that JC so desperately craves.

‘Jiang FengMian nodded and said, “You did well.”

Killing a giant 400-year-old beast at only 17 was way beyond what one would call ‘doing well.’’

JFM knows about JC’s… issues, he knows how he’ll react to WWX’s receiving recognition, he likely purposefully downplays his praise to avoid upsetting him. (Who’s really being favouritised? Lol)

But, even to this, JC reacts badly, he lashes out at WWX, once more interpreting him in the worst possible way.

‘Jiang Cheng hissed, “Too fucking bad, then. You shouldn’t have been so damn stubborn and you shouldn’t have cared so damn much about such a trivial thing. If you’d never moved in the first place –”’

JC’s response is to basically tell him the entire incident was his fault. Which is objectively not true - WWX only gets involved in the conflict after it has already started, and then he acts deliberately to try to end it, rather than impulsively fighting. He also starts to say that WWX should have left their allies - LWJ and JZX - to die. This is where JFM cuts him off, and tells him it’s not appropriate to say such things - he’s not scolding him harshly, JC is not being unfairly treated here, he’s done wrong, and JFM is trying to teach him why, you know, parenting. But JC, and YZY, take this to mean JFM dislikes JC.

JFM tries to teach JC about the Jiang sect’s motto once more - this is of course, not just about the motto, but about the values that JFM wants to instill in him, as a parent.

This is where Madam Yu arrives.

“Yes, he doesn’t understand, but what does it matter, as long as Wei Ying understands?!”

Of course, what she says is nonsensical, it does matter to JFM that JC understands the motto, that’s why he’s trying to teach him. If he did not care, he would have given in already.

This is further supported...

‘Jiang Cheng’s appearance and temperament all resembled his mother’s. Jiang FengMian guided him from childhood, but no matter how much he tried, he still couldn’t change his son’s nature. As such, it always seemed like he disliked his son.’

JFM has never been dismissive of JC just because he’s YZY’s son, he’s always tried to teach him, but JC always had his mother’s nature - YZY’s nature being harsh, standoffish, foul tempered, with no care for others - Note that is says it ‘seems’ like he dislikes his son, solely because he’s trying to teach him to be a better person. He has good reason for doing so - as a kid, JC never had friends, he doesn’t seem to as an adult either, he only has Jin Ling, whom he pushes away with his foul temper. JFM was just trying to raise JC to being an even-tempered person, capable of functioning in society, which is kind of what parents are supposed to do. But once more, this is taken as dislike.

Note that during JC’s outburst, every single thing JC claims about what JFM thinks of him, he’s parroting what YZY has said, none of these points have any actual evidence.

The next point to consider is how JC blames WWX for the fall of LP, despite it objectively not being his fault - JC knows this too.

‘In his heart, Jiang Cheng knew clearly that back in the cave of the Xuanwu of Slaughter at Dusk-Creek Mountain, even if Wei WuXian hadn’t saved Lan WangJi, the Wen Sect would have found some reason to come over sooner or later’

Even if WWX’s actions did prompt the Wens to act sooner than they otherwise might have - coming sooner or later would have made no difference at all because YZY outright stated she had no intention of preparing for an attack, even after WWX suggests they should, and JFM was still going to the Wens asking for their swords back - they were still uselessly trying to suck up to the Wens, thinking it would save them.

Despite knowing deep down that WWX was not to blame - he still uses it to fuel his resentment of WWX, because the resentment was there from the beginning, the only uncertainty is the means he uses to justify it.

During the ancestral hall confrontation - he uses this excuse again.

‘Jiang Cheng responded contemptuously, “You really are forgetful. What’s called a shameful person? Let me remind you. Just because you decided to be a hero and save this Second Young Master Lan, the entire Lotus Pier including my father and mother was buried. If this wasn’t enough, after the first time, you still want a second time, even wanting to save Wen-dogs and implicating my sister and her husband, how noble of you. Even nobler, you are so magnanimous to bring these two to Lotus Pier. Allowing the Wen-dog to stand at the front of my gates and letting Second Young Master Lan offer joss sticks, purely trying to antagonize me.’

Obviously, WWX did none of these things to antagonise JC, in fact he was going through a complex emotional journey of realising that he has feelings for LWJ, and that LWJ probably has feelings for him too, he doesn’t go to the ancestral shrine to mess around - he’s ‘introducing’ LWJ to JFM, YZY, and JYL, because he’s thinking about marrying him.

The problem is, JC never really sees WWX as a person, WWX has always been more of a concept - someone to compare himself to, the reason his father doesn’t like him, the reason his mother uses to berate him. It doesn’t occur to JC that WWX is a person outside of what he is to JC, and he is therefore incapable of empathising with what WWX might be feeling right now, instead the only possible conclusion is that he’s antagonising JC.

He follows the same line of thinking when WWX defects with the Wens. JC knows what he and WWX owe them, in fact JC owes them, far, far more than what WWX does - it was his parents whose bodies Wen Ning retrieved, and it was him who WN had to rescue from LP. But JC thinks, he can get away with not paying this debt, so why should he? JC is selfish, he doesn’t understand why WWX would want to help others when he doesn’t have to, so JC concludes, this is WWX showing off, ‘playing the hero’. 

Because from the moment they met, JC has never tried to know WWX for who he is, whatever WWX does, JC interprets in a negative light - when WWX tries to get LWJ’s attention, (despite it being painstakingly obvious that WWX has a crush on him) JC concludes that WWX is messing around foolishly, without reason (parroting the untrue things YZY says about WWX always seeking trouble). When WWX wants to help people, he’s playing the hero, one upping JC. JC only ever thinks of WWX in relation to himself - when WWX disappears for three months, JC’s immediate complaint is that WWX kept him waiting, that he’s put JC out by making him search for him. You could argue that JC was just worried about WWX, and not able to express it - and on some level that’s true. But there’s a very intentional contrast between how LWJ and JC react to WWX’s return - LWJ is worried about WWX, about how his cultivation method is affecting him, moreover, WWX is very clearly not himself. JC, however, does not care for that - he only sees WWX, and modao, as a tool for killing Wens.

It takes almost nothing for JGS to manipulate JC into turning against WWX in ch.73 - he readily believes every negative thing JGS says about WWX, despite being called out directly for lying by LWJ. JGS talks as if he is a servant who has forgotten his place, unlike JYL, JC does not defend him. He refuses to speak up for him - he claims that no one will - yet LWJ and MianMian did. JC didn’t turn on WWX because it was impossible for him to speak up - he was living proof that WQ and WN did not support the Wen sect in the war, he drops him the moment he can because he’s resented him from the beginning.

Another interesting tidbit about JC just fundamentally not understanding who WWX is as a person, is that he only blames LWJ for the Xuanwu Cave incident - not JZX, despite him behaving no differently to how LWJ does. This is probably because he realises WWX’s fixation on LWJ, and supposes that this is the reason that WWX got involved in the conflict. But of course, WWX would have done something whether it was solely JZX, or just a random person.

Taking all this into account, it seems almost inevitable that WWX and JC would fall out eventually, because JC was, from the start, looking for reasons to dislike WWX, he turns against him at the first opportunity he got. For the ‘Yunmeng bros’ to have a healthy relationship, JC would simply have to fix his entire personality.

JC is unable to see WWX as a person, right up until the very end of the novel - when he recalls how he impulsively put himself at risk in order to save WWX. Finally, for the first time, JC is able to understand why WWX stood up for others in Xuanwu Cave, why he helped the Wens, because JC did the same thing, put himself on the line for WWX, probably the only time JC has ever acted so selflessly. And this is why he lets him go, he lets go of the things he blamed WWX for. For the first time, he is able to empathise with WWX, he understands that WWX was never ‘playing the hero’, seeking praise or recognition, he understands that WWX helps people purely because he feels in the moment that it’s the right thing to do. This is what enables him to finally let go of WWX.

I’m always a bit baffled when people claim mxtx never gave JC a happy ending, because this is his happy ending - him being able to realise that WWX never wronged him - when he finally lets go of this, he can live freely. 

[sincerelystranger]

It’s a strange feeling to learn something new about a person you thought you knew everything about, and the newness leaves a strange taste in Jiang Cheng’s mouth, a faintly uncomfortable feeling in his gut.

It’s not anything major – not really anyway – and it shouldn’t bother him so much but���

But…

But the thing is…

Wei Wuxian lies.

He lies a lot.

And his lies are about stupid things – like that he’s fine when he’s obviously not, and that he’s forgotten something when he hasn’t, and…

Well, he lies.

And it’s surprising to Jiang Cheng, because he always thought that Wei Wuxian was basically incapable of lying. Incapable of just saying nice shit to smooth things over. Incapable of hiding his feelings at the expense of someone else’s pride. Incapable of just saying some stupid white lie when some idiot in charge asked him something.

Incapable.

Now, Jiang Cheng realizes that Wei Wuxian wasn’t incapable, he was just unwilling.

And maybe it’s because of this new face – younger and stranger and just a little bit familiar – or maybe it’s because Jiang Cheng is older now, and maybe just a little bit wiser, but it’s easier to read Wei Wuxian now.

Easier to see the slight downturn of his lips before he gives a fake smile. Easier to notice the strange, tired nervousness in his eyes as he checks to see if his lies have been believed.

Easier.

Easier to see, but not any easier to understand.

“So you just randomly decided to come to Lotus Pier,” he asks slowly, his eyes carefully tracking every nervous tick of Wei Wuxian’s brow.

“Yeah,” Wei Wuxian smiles, scrunching up his nose as if he’s being mischievous. “Can I stay, oh great Sect leader Jiang?”

He’s so obviously unhappy that it makes Jiang Cheng’s jaw ache.

“I promise I won’t stay long. Maybe just a week. And I’ll be quiet. You’ll barely know I’m here!”

“Shut up,” Jiang Cheng sighs, stepping to the side to let Wei Wuxian in through the gate. “Since when have you needed my permission to stay here.”

“Your kindness knows no bounds, great Sect Leader Jiang,” Wei Wuxian says, bowing obnoxiously as he slides his way past Jiang Cheng.

“It knows bounds and I’m sure you’ll test them,” Jiang Cheng replies, kicking at Wei Wuxian’s knees as he follows him inside.

Wei Wuxian hums as he walks and excitedly waves to disciples he knows.

To anyone else, he probably looks careless and happy, but Jiang Cheng knows better.

He can see the tense set of his shoulders, the forced bounce in his steps, the fake lift of his lips and the way his smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes.

His stupid brother is miserable and it’s obvious. Achingly so.

It makes something clench tightly in Jiang Cheng’s stomach. A strange, stuffy feeling in his chest. It’s…

Irritating.

“You know where your room is,” he says, wanting to quickly part from Wei Wuxian before this irritation grows into something bigger. “Should I expect your stupid husband to be here soon?”

That Lan-er will know how to handle a sad Wei Wuxian. And, historically speaking, wherever Wei Wuxian goes, Lan-er is soon to follow. There’s no way he’d let Wei Wuxian just hang out in Lotus Pier by himself for a week.

Wei Wuxian stumbles over his own feet at the mention of the Lan-er.

“Ah, Lan Zhan?” he asks, a weak smile on his face.

Strange.

“He’s not coming.”

Very strange.

Jiang Cheng feels a strange nervousness join the irritation in his stomach. If the Lan-er isn’t coming, then…

Then Jiang Cheng is going to have to…

“Well whatever, whatever,” he says hurriedly, turning away to walk towards the main hall. “Do whatever you want.”

It’s not Jiang Cheng’s problem and Jiang Cheng doesn’t care.

He doesn’t.

So what if his stupid brother is stupidly sad? What if it has something to do with his equally stupid husband? Who cares?

Not Jiang Cheng.

Yep.

Jiang Cheng does not care at all.

---

Jiang Cheng successfully spends the whole day not caring about his stupid sad brother and his stupid sad marital problems.

He eats lunch and even dinner with Wei Wuxian and pretends to fall for his stupid ‘I’m totally fine and super happy’ façade. Wei Wuxian is obviously putting in a lot of effort to appear normal. It’s basically a kindness to go along with it.

It is.

Anyway, it isn’t Jiang Cheng’s problem and Jiang Cheng doesn’t care.

So when his head disciple catches him as he’s walking back to his room after dinner and tells him that Hanguang-jun has checked in to a local inn by the piers, Jiang Cheng just waves him off.

Not his problem. He doesn’t care.

He doesn’t care.

Except…

Except it’s very rude of the Lan-er to come to Lotus Pier and not pay respects to the sect leader. Jiang Cheng should probably go and set him straight.

Yeah.

---

Lan-er looks an absolute mess as he opens the door for Jiang Cheng.

His hair is perfect, of course, and his clothes are perfect, of course, and his expression is the same placid expression he always wears, but he looks a mess.

It’s just something about his aura.

He’s obviously torn up about something.

Or maybe Jiang Cheng is projecting – whatever.

“Very rude to come all the way to Lotus Pier without paying respects to the sect leader, don’t you think?” Jiang Cheng asks as he walks into the room. “Even more disrespectful to disregard my hospitality and choose to stay in an inn instead of Lotus Pier.” He sits down at the table and considers whether or not the Lan-er would take offense if he orders some wine.

Lan-er takes a seat across from him, his expression betraying no emotion other than what might be slight annoyance. “Wei Ying wishes to be… alone.” Lan-er’s voice does something strange as he says alone and his brow twitches just bit and it does something strange to his face – it makes him look… like he might be seconds away from bursting into tears.

Fuck Lan-er’s feelings. Jiang Cheng yells for some wine.

“Did he say that? Because he hasn’t really been alone since he’s come here,” Jiang Cheng says, pouring some wine into his cup. “He spent all day with the disciples and he ate lunch and dinner with me.”

Lan-er’s face does something strange again, and he almost – almost – sighs.

“So what you really mean is Wei Wuxian told you not to follow him to Lotus Pier, right?”

Lan-er doesn’t answer but his silence is answer enough for Jiang Cheng. He downs his cup of wine.

This really isn’t his problem. 

“What the fuck did you do?” Jiang Cheng asks, and his voice comes out angrier than he means it to.

He’s not angry.

Well…

He shouldn’t be angry.

Because this isn’t his problem… but…

He slams his cup down on the table. “I know that fucking idiot – I can’t think of a thing in this world you could do to make him angry with you, so whatever you did must be pretty bad,” he says. 

He can feel hot anger growing in his stomach with every word that comes out of his mouth. His idiot brother thinks that the Lan-er is the best thing since music was first created. The Lan-er could probably tell his stupid brother to cut his hands off and Wei Wuxian would probably do it happily. If Wei Wuxian is upset with the Lan-er…

Upset enough to leave…

Jiang Cheng has to let go of the cup in his hand or risk it shattering. He’s so angry his fingers shake.

“I will personally escort you out of Yunmeng unless you tell me what you did,” he threatens lowly.

Lan-er just looks down at the table and if Jiang Cheng didn’t know better – if Jiang Cheng didn’t know that this was the man who stood against the world with Wei Wuxian – then he would assume that Lan-er didn’t care.

But Jiang Cheng knows better.

The Lan-er has to care. He has to.

He came all the way to Yunmeng and checked into this small inn by the water because he… because he cares.

The Lan-er doesn’t sigh, but he breathes deeply before he opens his mouth.

“I…” he closes his mouth again, his brow furrowing just the slightest bit in frustration. He looks up, and for the first time since Jiang Cheng entered the room, he meets Jiang Cheng’s eyes. “I can’t seem to stop… grieving.”

Jiang Cheng feels the anger in his body leave him in a sudden gush. Confusion rushing in to replace it.

Jiang Cheng just stares at Lan-er.

Lan-er stares back.

Grieving.

Grieving?

What does Lan-er have to grieve?

Jiang Cheng refills his cup with wine and breaks eye contact with the Lan-er. He drinks his wine slowly and breathes. He needs to handle this… carefully. The Lan-er is obviously going through something.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” he asks finally.

Lan-er looks back down to the table and something about his expression lets Jiang Cheng know that Lan-er totally regrets admitting anything to Jiang Cheng. He thinks Jiang Cheng is a fucking idiot. Which isn’t fair because it’s the Lan-er who isn’t making any fucking sense.

Jiang Cheng takes a breath and tries to ask the question again – even more carefully.

“What the fuck, or who the fuck are you grieving? And why is Wei Wuxian upset about it?”

Great job. Jiang Cheng is really good at this. All those years mediating shit for Jin Ling have really paid off.

Lan-er closes his eyes for a moment and breathes out slowly. He opens them and looks back up to meet Jiang Cheng’s gaze.

“I can’t seem to stop grieving Wei Ying,” he says slowly, his gaze steady, his words sure. He says it like it should make sense.

Jiang Cheng fills his cup again and looks at Lan-er in concern. “Wei Wuxian is alive,” he says earnestly, because maybe the Lan-er is going through some mental breakdown. “He’s annoying the shit out of me at Lotus Pier.”

Lan-er shakes his head just the slightest bit. “I understand Wei Ying is alive,” he says, “but… I grieved for him for so long and… and I can’t seem to stop.”

Ah.

Jiang Cheng thinks he can… understand… a little bit.

“You mean you’re scared?” he asks quietly.

Lan-er grimaces just a little, as if Jiang Cheng’s words hit a little too close to home and he nods.

“Wei Ying says it makes him feel lonely. He says that perhaps I’m more in love with his memory than…”

This is so not Jiang Cheng’s problem and way above Jiang Cheng’s pay grade. He doesn’t… Jin Ling’s problems never prepared him for this.

He drinks his cup of wine slowly, to buy some time and to gather some liquid courage.

“Well,” he starts, waving his cup towards Lan-er like it might offer up some answers, “You know, he’s an idiot.”

Lan-er’s expression shutters close. “Wei Ying is not an idiot,” he says tersely.

“He is,” Jiang Cheng replies firmly. “He’s an idiot for sure. And that idiot is at Lotus Pier right now, miserable as hell, because he thinks he might be the reason you might be even a little bit unhappy.”

Lan-er looks up at Jiang Cheng again.

“That idiot is stupidly in love with you. You know that, right?” Jiang Cheng asks. “Knowing him, he’s probably preparing himself to leave you so you can find some greater happiness or something.”

Lan-er’s brows furrow together. “There is no greater happiness than Wei Ying,” he says seriously, as if that isn’t the grossest thing Jiang Cheng has ever heard.

“Don’t tell me that,” Jiang Cheng says with a roll of his eyes, “Go tell Wei Wuxian that!”

“Wei Ying said he wants to be alone,” Lan-er says dejectedly.

Jiang Cheng sighs and refills his cup. He’s well on his way to tipsy now and his tolerance for stupidity is going down with every sip of wine.

“You know he lies, right?” Jiang Cheng asks, “He lies like… all the fucking time.”

Lan-er just stares at him as if Jiang Cheng is speaking in another language.

It’s almost funny.

“He says he’s okay when he’s obviously not, he smiles when he doesn’t feel like smiling,” Jiang Cheng says as examples, “Oh! And you probably didn’t even know he noticed you were grieving until he just blew up about it, right?”

Lan-er nods slowly.

“You get it now? Your stupid husband lies.”

“My husband is not stupid,” Lan-er says.

Jiang Cheng waves it off with his cup of wine, “Yeah, yeah, whatever. What I mean is that Wei Wuxian lied about wanting to be alone. He doesn’t want to be alone – trust me.”

Lan-er just stares at Jiang Cheng, and Jiang Cheng might just be imagining it but it looks like there’s some sort of hopeful light in Lan-er’s eyes – like he might be desperately wanting to believe Jiang Cheng.

He should believe Jiang Cheng. Jiang Cheng is right.

“But I can’t stop grieving,” Lan-er says softly, the hopeful light in his eyes dying.

“Of course you can’t stop grieving,” Jiang Cheng says, and he’s almost done with his bottle of wine at this point. This conversation needs to be over before his wine is done.

Lan-er looks at Jiang Cheng in question. Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes. Wei Wuxian and his husband owe Jiang Cheng so much for this. So. Much

“You love him,” Jiang Cheng says slowly, “You probably love him more than you did twenty years ago. More than you did last year, right?”

Lan-er nods.

“So of course you can’t stop grieving,” Jiang Cheng says, “You’ve already experienced what it’s like to lose him. You can’t stop grieving because your heart is just trying to prepare itself for the worst possible outcome.”

Lan-er lifts a hand to hold over his heart. He doesn’t say anything but he doesn’t look quite convinced.

“Look, your grieving is probably keeping mementos and writing shit down about Wei Wuxian and just trying your best to remember him, right? Trying your best to keep as much of him as you can?”

Lan-er nods slowly, as if he’s a little bit suspicious of how Jiang Cheng might know this. “Did Wei Ying…?”

Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes again. He’s all out of wine and patience. “No,” he says, “that idiot hasn’t said a word to me about your little problem.” He stands then and walks over to the corner where a small satchel is – all the Lan-er brought with him to Yunmeng. “You can’t stop grieving him because you’re so stupidly in love with him that the thought of losing him scares you to fucking death.”

He picks up the satchel and throws it to Lan-er who, annoyingly enough, catches it easily. “Spare my idiot brother a night of misery. Come to Lotus Pier.”

Jiang Cheng walks out the inn, not even bothering to look back to see if the Lan-er will follow. He’s done all he can. If the idiot in white still chooses to stay at the inn, well… Jiang Cheng will chase him out of Yunmeng tomorrow.

---

Lan-er catches up to him about midway to Lotus Pier. He’s quiet and Jiang Cheng feels perfectly content to keep the silence. He feels warm and light from the wine and the night is cool and clear. He feels…

“How did you know the reason for my grieving?” Lan-er says suddenly. It’s unlike him to break the silence first. He must really want to know.

Jiang Cheng has half a mind not to tell him. He sort of wants to keep this to himself. But maybe it’s the wine or the clear night or just his general good mood but…

“I grieve Jin Ling,” he admits lightly. “He was the only family I had after I lost everyone. He was just a little baby; you know? But I was constantly terrified of losing him. Even now, I still have the clothes he used to wear when he was a toddler. I have the first bow I gave him. The first shoes he wore when he could first walk. I remember, I used to just stare at him because I was afraid I might forget what he looked like.”

He doesn’t look at Lan-er as he admits this. And it’s strange to admit this to Lan-er of all people. But… Lan-er can keep a secret – Jiang Cheng knows this. Maybe that’s why he feels safe to admit it.

“Luckily, Jin Ling isn’t a fucking idiot like my brother,” he says, “Jin Ling just thinks I’m a sentimental uncle.”

Lan-er doesn’t say anything in response, but Jiang Cheng finds he doesn’t care.

It’s a strange feeling to learn something new about someone he thought he knew all about, even stranger to learn that someone he thought infallible shares the same fears as him.

It’s… strange.

But under the cool clear skies of Yunmeng, he feels strangely close to Lan-er.

Strange.

[bloody-bee-tea]

Worry

Jiang Cheng sighs and leans closer to Nie Mingjue when Wei Wuxian goes off on one of his tangents again.

It’s good to see his brother again—he has been rather busy now that he and Lan Wangji adopted A-Yuan—but this is one of the things Jiang Cheng didn’t miss.

He can already feel his headache forming.

“Relax,” Nie Mingjue whispers and rubs his thumb over the fleshy part between Jiang Cheng’s thumb and index finger. Jiang Cheng isn’t sure if it’s really doing anything for him, but the steady motion and the knowledge that Nie Mingjue is right there next to him do wonders to relax him.

Jiang Cheng mostly tunes Wei Wuxian and his babbling out, but he pays a bit more attention when Wei Wuxian leans over the table.

“What are we going to do?” Wei Wuxian asks and Jiang Cheng frowns because he has no clue what Wei Wuxian is talking about.

“About what?” he asks, relishing the look of surprise on Wei Wuxian’s face.

“You didn’t even listen!”

Nie Mingjue chuckles softly at Jiang Cheng’s side and it causes Jiang Cheng to smile.

“No, I didn’t. I almost never do,” he says, mostly just to rile Wei Wuxian up and it works beautifully.

“You!” It seems like Wei Wuxian is having trouble finding his words and Jiang Cheng takes the opportunity to turn his head and press a kiss to Nie Mingjue’s cheek, just because he can.

“I was talking about family dinner! What are we going to do about family dinner?”

Jiang Cheng is still missing crucial information here, mostly about why this family dinner would need any special actions, but he decides he simply doesn’t care.

“I’m bringing Mingjue. No matter what has you this worried, I guess it’s going to be overshadowed by that,” Jiang Cheng easily tells him and Nie Mingjue sighs.

They have talked about this already and Nie Mingjue agreed to come to dinner this time, even though he wasn’t happy about it.

Jiang Cheng isn’t happy about it either, if he’s being honest, but Nie Mingjue has to meet his parents at least once and Jiang Cheng prefers if he can decide when and where. At least family dinner has a set end time, so it will be over before either of them even knows it.

“You what?” Wei Wuxian shrieks. “You want to bring your sugar daddy to family dinner? Are you insane?”

“Shut the fuck up,” Jiang Cheng hisses back, because how dare Wei Wuxian call Nie Mingjue his sugar daddy. If anyone is behaving like a sugar baby, then it’s Wei Wuxian. And he’s not afraid to say so.

“If anyone is behaving like a kept man, it’s you, with how much your boyfriend is spoiling you,” Jiang Cheng grumbles, which only adds to Wei Wuxian’s outrage.

“Fiancé!” he almost yells and Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes and nudges his shoulder against Nie Mingjue’s.

“Can you believe this guy?” he fake whispers over to him. “He didn’t know he was in love with him for thirteen years and now he gets all offended.”

Nie Mingjue makes a little noise in response and it’s enough to make Jiang Cheng frown.

“You okay?” he asks, concerned at Nie Mingjue’s reaction.

“Sure. It’s my turn to pay, right?” Nie Mingjue asks, reaching for his wallet and Jiang Cheng’s frown deepens.

“I can pay, too, no problem,” he gives back, but before he can get his own wallet Nie Mingjue has his already on the table.

“See, I tell you,” Wei Wuxian says as he leans over the table. “Sugar daddy.”

“We have a standing agreement to switch,” Jiang Cheng says and pinches the bridge of his nose. “I am pulling my own weight in this unlike other people,” he says with a meaningful look at Wei Wuxian.

“But I’m poor,” Wei Wuxian wails.

“And your fiancé is paying for you,” Jiang Cheng says. “Tell me again how that is not a sugar daddy?”

“Well at least we have the sex to make it work, too,” Wei Wuxian says, suddenly completely unconcerned and Jiang Cheng has had enough.

“Mingjue, you ready to leave?” he wants to know, getting up and dragging Nie Mingjue up behind him without really waiting for his answer.

Jiang Cheng is not even sure if Nie Mingjue paid yet, but for all that he cares, Wei Wuxian can take this bill. Would serve him right, too.

“Hey, you alright?” Jiang Cheng asks Nie Mingjue again when they are outside of the coffee shop and Nie Mingjue is still uncharacteristically quiet.

“Sure,” he easily gives back, but Jiang Cheng spots some tension in the lines around his eyes and in the way he holds his shoulders and it worries him.

“You sure?”

“Let’s just go home,” Nie Mingjue sighs and Jiang Cheng thinks that it’s maybe just a Wei Wuxian induced headache.

Those are usually unavoidable and Jiang Cheng would completely understand if Nie Mingjue succumbed to one as well today. Wei Wuxian was especially grating this meeting, and his flippant comment about their relationship was just the tip of the iceberg really.

“Okay,” Jiang Cheng agrees and decides to do something nice for Nie Mingjue once they are home, like a massage or something.

Nie Mingjue deserves it, but especially today. It can’t have helped that he had to go in to work before this meeting even though it’s supposed to be their week off.

The ride home is quiet which worries Jiang Cheng if he’s being honest, because Nie Mingjue is a chatty driver. At the very least he sings along to the songs on the radio and he’s not even doing that, so either his headache is really bad or he must be pretty upset over something.

“I love you,” Jiang Cheng says and reaches for Nie Mingjue’s hand.

He doesn’t want to ask again if everything is alright—clearly Nie Mingjue doesn’t want to talk about it right now—and he figures this is the next best thing he can do.

“Love you, too,” Nie Mingjue mumbles but even that sounds lacklustre and a tiny spark of worry settles in Jiang Cheng’s gut.

He doesn’t bring it up again, though, because he figures the car is not the best place to get a man as stubborn as Nie Mingjue to talk, and so he keeps quiet until they are in their apartment.

“Okay, my soul, I love you, and usually I respect your need for silence but something is wrong and I need you to tell me, please,” he says as soon as Nie Mingjue has his shoes off and Jiang Cheng closes the door behind them.

“Nothing is wrong,” Nie Mingjue mutters, but he’s not meeting Jiang Cheng’s eyes and if that wouldn’t be a dead giveaway that something is so very wrong, then the way he keeps his shoulders up would be.

“That’s bullshit and you know it,” Jiang Cheng gives back, and marches off into the living-room.

“Is it because of Wei Wuxian? Or because of dinner with my parents?”

“It’s not—” Nie Mingjue starts and then trails off so Jiang Cheng must have gotten decently close with his guess.

“You don’t have to meet my parents if you don’t want to, you know that, right? Just say the word and we’ll cancel. It’ll be a disaster anyway and I am in no rush to do that,” Jiang Cheng says with a shrug, because he couldn’t care less if his parents get to know Nie Mingjue.

The people Jiang Cheng cares about and who care about him already met Nie Mingjue and that’s all that matters.

Jin Ling loves Nie Mingjue and what else could Jiang Cheng wish for, really.

“You would just cancel,” Nie Mingjue says but his voice sounds off.

“If you want to, yes,” Jiang Cheng says but he narrows his eyes at Nie Mingjue. “Is it the dinner that is upsetting you?”

“I’m not upset,” Nie Mingjue snaps and it’s so obviously not true that Jiang Cheng huffs out a laugh.

“Please, my soul, you’re so upset. Just tell me why, so I can fix it. If it was Wei Wuxian, I’m gonna fight him for you, promise.”

Nie Mingjue works his jaw a few times, and Jiang Cheng knows it to be a sign that Nie Mingjue is fighting with himself and whether to say something or not so he keeps quiet and let’s Nie Mingjue work it out for himself.

“Wei Wuxian—what he said—it’s not true, right?” Nie Mingjue eventually asks and his voice sounds small in a way that it hasn’t in a long time and Jiang Cheng immediately gets up and hugs him.

“What’s not true?” Jiang Cheng asks, once he has Nie Mingjue in his arms and he can still feel the underlying tension in Nie Mingjue, so he presses a kiss to his throat for good measure, too.

“The thing about—that we’re—that I’m your sugar daddy,” Nie Mingjue gets out with much difficulty and Jiang Cheng freezes, which of course is the exact wrong thing to do, because Nie Mingjue pushes his arms off and steps out of range.

“It’s just—he is kind of right. You’re not poor, by no means, but since you decided to stand on your own feet money has been a bit tight for you and when we go out to eat, it’s usually me that pays. You moved into my apartment and I know you offered to pay rent and I refused but—”

“But know that he said it, you’re doubting,” Jiang Cheng finishes and brushes his hand over his face. “Fuck, Wei Wuxian,” he mutters.

Jiang Cheng doesn’t even know which of Nie Mingjue’s points he wants to argue first and so it takes him too long to answer.

“I didn’t think he was right,” Nie Mingjue dejectedly says and Jiang Cheng vehemently shakes his head.

“I love you!” is the first thing he says, because he thinks that’s the most important, but Nie Mingjue shrugs.

“And for what? My money? It’s not like there’s much else going on for me, with how brutish and angry I am. I know I’m a workaholic and Huaisang will always come first for me, so what is there really for you to like?”

“That’s some absolute bullshit,” Jiang Cheng spits out and steps close to Nie Mingjue to take his hand into his. “You are amazing and gentle and compassionate. Hell, if push comes to shove, I’d put A-Ling first, too, and it’s just one of the things I love about you. We’re family people. You’re a workaholic, yes, but you love what you do and your employees love you in return, so how mad about it can I really be? And you’re not brutish and angry. You’re one of the biggest softies I have ever known! Hell, just yesterday you cried when we saw a baby bunny in the park, how is that not the most adorable thing ever?” Jiang Cheng says and ducks his head far enough to catch Nie Mingjue’s eyes.

“Stop it,” he mutters, clearly embarrassed and Jiang Cheng shakes his head.

“No. Not until you believe me. You are not my sugar daddy, that’s not the kind of relationship we have. We have a committed, romantic relationship, okay?” Jiang Cheng says and he geos warm just thinking about how much he loves this man, no matter how stupid he’s being at the moment.

“But the money—” Nie Mingjue says and Jiang Cheng stops him with a squeeze of his hands.

“If it really bothers you this much you should have said. I can pay rent. We can divide the costs for groceries and eating out, if it makes you happy. I know I’m no longer quite as loaded as you are, but I can pay for my own stuff. You just have to say so.”

“I don’t want you to pay for your own stuff,” Nie Mingjue says with a sigh. “I like taking care of you.”

“Okay. Then let’s just figure out where the line is for you and we’ll work around that, okay?”

“The line is your brother speaking without thinking,” Nie Mingjue grumbles which makes Jiang Cheng laugh.

“Yeah, he’s quite the idiot,” Jiang Cheng easily agrees, though he does have to admit that he breathes easier, now that Nie Mingjue seems more relaxed again.

He hates it when his soul gets all lost in his head, and while it’s been happening less and less recently, it’s still far too often for Jiang Cheng’s taste.

“Seriously, if anyone has that kind of relationship, it’s them,” Jiang Cheng goes on and steps closer to Nie Mingjue again, so that he can hug him again. “Have you seen Wei Wuxian with a wallet in the past year?”

“But they are getting married,” Nie Mingjue whispers. “That’s different.”

Jiang Cheng is silent for a moment, his ear over Nie Mingjue’s heart, just listening to its steady beating for a short time and then he pulls back enough to look at Nie Mingjue.

“I would marry you, too,” he then says and tries not to think about the vague plans he already had about a ring.

Nie Mingjue goes stiff with surprise.

“You would?”

“Of course. I love you. I don’t just say that, you know. I do. I love you so much, and I want this; you and our life. We can marry.”

“That’s not a very romantic proposal,” Nie Mingjue says, but Jiang Cheng spots the tears in his eyes and he knows that this means a lot to Nie Mingjue.

“Well, it’s not like I was planning on proposing today. I don’t even have rings yet,” Jiang Cheng mutters and then the breath is knocked out of him when Nie Mingjue crushes him to his chest.

“Yet?” he asks, clearly hopeful and Jiang Cheng squeezes him back just as hard.

“Yet,” he confirms. “It’s not like I have concrete plans yet, I just wanted to look. But I do want that, eventually, with you. And if you’re still worried, we’ll make it sooner rather than later, no worries.”

Nie Mingjue presses a kiss to Jiang Cheng’s hair and Jiang Cheng knows him well enough to know that he’s crying. It’s one of the things he loves so much about him. Nie Mingjue emotes so hard and so often and he always genuinely means it, too. It’s absolutely endearing.

“One worry,” Nie Mingjue says after a few minutes, and he sounds composed enough. “I am not meeting your parents for the first time and tell them we got engaged.”

It startles a laugh out of Jiang Cheng and he pulls away so he can double over more freely.

“I can see why you’d be worried about that,” he agrees when he gets himself back under control. “So the proposal will have to wait until after dinner.” Jiang Cheng grins up at Nie Mingjue, who seems better now.

Less tense and more happy.

“Alright,” he agrees, a soft smile on his face.

“Come here now,” Jiang Cheng says, deciding that after this they deserve a good cuddle on the couch.

He pushes Nie Mingjue down, before he snuggles up to him, their legs tangled together and Jiang Cheng’s ear over Nie Mingjue’s heart again.

“But seriously, if the rent or money thing worries you, just say so,” Jiang Cheng says, almost as an afterthought, because he doesn’t want Nie Mingjue to worry.

He can damn well pay for himself, it’s not a problem at all, and if Jiang Cheng is being honest he didn’t even notice the pattern they fell into. Maybe it is time to change things up a little.

“No, it’s not a worry,” Nie Mingjue denies. “It’s just—”

“Wei Wuxian got into your head a little bit,” Jiang Cheng finishes for him, because he knows the feeling.

Wei Wuxian never thinks twice before he says anything, but his words have a tendency to hit where it hurts the most and where people are most vulnerable. He doesn’t mean it, and Jiang Cheng doubts he even knows he’s doing it, but it’s a problem.

“Yes,” Nie Mingjue sighs and slides his hand into Jiang Chen’s hair. “He did.”

“Stupid Wei Wuxian,” Jiang Cheng grumbles and turns just far enough to be able to press a kiss to Nie Mingjue’s chest. “We don’t have that kind of relationship, there’s nothing to worry about,” he says again, just to make sure that Nie Mingjue understands.

“Alright,” he easily enough agrees and Jiang Cheng even believes that he does.

“Talk to me if you get worried about that again. About anything, really,” Jiang Cheng slurs, sleep suddenly tugging at him and it doesn’t help that Nie Mingjue’s heartbeat is a steady rhythm in his ear.

“I will, my heart,” Nie Mingjue whispers and the last thing Jiang Cheng knows is that he presses a kiss to the top of his head.

Tomorrow, he’ll invite Nie Mingjue to dinner, just to drive the point home, Jiang Cheng decides and then falls asleep with a content smile on his lips.

Link to my ko-fi on the sidebar!

[darkandstormyart]

Xicheng fic recs

(figured i might make a list of my own)

(to be expanded as i dig out more treasure/remember stuff)

in no particular order:

Deep as the Yearning Night by FreckledStarKnight

“At first, it was pure chance. The second time was accidental. And the third time? Well, they say the third time’s the charm, after all. Lan Xichen discovers that Jiang Wanyin sings beautifully and is immediately enamored by it. His pursuit of Jiang Wanyin’s secret talent leads to a discovery and a series of events that he did not anticipate at all. Not that he’s complaining, of course. He got what he came for and more. Or, how two sect leaders get together through the song called love. CQL-verse.“

post-seclusion lxc

trying to get jc to sing

bonus lxc & jin ling feels i hadn’t considered before

cute

Always use protection by hesselives

“In which Lan Wangji attempts to hire a new bodyguard for his older brother, a well-known traveling exorcist. Jiang Wanyin doesn’t even make his carefully considered list of Top Ten Candidates, and yet here he is.

Lots of wandering in the countryside, distant yelling, and mildly inconvenient spirits.”

bodyguard au

honestly just really intersting worldbuilding

Rewrite the stars by Arashii

“Five great kingdoms have been fighting for years and when the kingdom of Yunmeng is destroyed, the Crown Prince Jiang Cheng vanishes.In Gusu, Lan Xichen makes an offer impossible for Jiang Cheng to refuse. His life or revenge? There’s only one option and Jiang Cheng swears loyalty to the man he hated the most his whole life, the Crown Prince of Gusu, Lan Xichen himself.Written for XiChengFest2020 - Day 4“

ROYALTY AU ROYALTY AU

enemies to lovers!

flashbacks! i love flashbacks so much ohmygod

No paths are bound by Arashii

“In seclusion, Lan Huan has the support of a ghost no one has seen since the massacre of Yunmeng Jiang. His feelings start changing with the often visits and conversations they share. Before Lan Huan can confess though, he ascends, leaving everything and everyone behind him.

Two hundred years later, back to the Human Realm and without powers, the Martial God Zewu-Jun has a mission to uphold. His Heavenly Calamity started. The clues are little and the support comes in the most unexpected form, the current Ghost King: Sandu Shengshou. Now they need to stick together to contain a menace that is slowly growing.“

TGCF AU TGCF AU

ghost king jiang cheng come on

doesn’t follow tgcf plot, just the setup so no spoilers

jiang cheng gets the dogs and the xichen he deserves

once upon a dream by cafedeolla

“Xicheng soulmate AU

An au where your dreams are small snippets of your soulmate’s day. They’d show small things like buying coffee, reading a book, or hanging out with people from their perspective.

The problem was that people always have expectations and Jiang Cheng knows he always falls short of them. Time and time again.“

soulmate au, but being soulmates is more a problem than a solution

misunderstandingssss all over the place

now with a squel (in progress?)

Lan Furen series by jagaimocchi

“Jiang Cheng leaves Lotus Pier before the Wen Internment Camp and before the destruction of his home. When he meets Lan Xichen on the run from the Wens after the burning of Cloud Recesses, his plan to live a peaceful life away from cultivation sects is quickly derailed. Now, free to make his own choices, he cannot find it in himself to leave the other man's side.

With love, patience and time, Jiang Cheng finds his own happiness and peace with his past.“

have you ever wanted a fic where jiang cheng peaces out from home in search for a better life, bc he’s Had Enough??? jags got you covered

adorable xicheng

good uncle-dad-figure Lan Qiren

ongoing <3

Just around the riverbend by JungleJelly

“One day.

Jiang Cheng just wanted one day of peace and quiet, away from home, away from his responsibilities, away from his idiot brother and his nutcases of a mother and father. Just a few hours alone — him and a boat and nothing else.

Clearly, that was too much to ask for.”

now with a new story in the series which is adorable too!!!

mermaid!lxc need i say more?

Bad ideas (where they lead) by JungleJelly

“Jiang Cheng is a busy man. Fortunately, he is also a huge pushover when it comes to his sister, so when she recommends that he start doing yoga, he agrees pretty easily.Featuring Lan Xichen in yoga pants, Jiang Cheng’s inability to handle a crush, and, perhaps most importantly, a big fluffy dog.“

done for 2020 MXTX MiniBang

yoga instructor Lan Xichen

Jiang Cheng is: struggling with a crush on the yoga guy from youtube & very angry about that

If there’s a price for rotten judgement by TheWanderingHeart

“All Jiang Cheng wants to do is, well... his job, really. Other than that? Keep the city safe, keep his nephew alive, keep his sanity intact (if possible).

So when his brother calls with unexpected news, he knows all of that is about to fly out of the window.

***

[Every instinct is telling him don’t ask, you don’t want to know. By this point, Nie HuaiSang has scooted closer to listen. Jiang Cheng takes a steadying breath and pulls out his antacids. “What did you do?”]”

superhero au, come on

jc just trying to do his job in peace

(he can’t)

i love it so much oh my god *sobs*

The Form of Boneless Ice by TheWanderingHeart

“Mythical beasts have long ago been driven to extinction by the gentry — hunted for sport, but more importantly for their magical cores. Since then, there remains only one creature that has never been caught. The Jiang’s retreated a long time ago. Abandoning land altogether, they sought safety where the humans could not reach.It all comes to a head though, purely by chance. (Or is it by fate that a spontaneous decision allows for them to meet? If fate were a rock!) Jiang Cheng suddenly finds his whole life balanced on the head of a pin — on the flimsy promise of a human boy. In his opinion, things cannot possibly get worse!(But then they do when the Wens decide it’s finally time to search for the elusive merpeople, and suddenly nowhere is safe.)“

there she goes again, with another beautiful xicheng story full of awwww and mythology

actually one of the first xicheng fics i read

i chose it because there were mermaids

painfully accurate takes on Jiang family dynamics

kids! lots of kids!

Let me Slytherin to Your Heart by TheWanderingHeart

“Jiang Cheng never thought he'd return to Hogwarts, but in hindsight, he probably should have known that someday he would.With his nephew about to start school, he reluctantly takes his good friend's bad parenting? career? advice and ends up tumbling head-first back into the madness that he hoped he'd left behind... and rediscovering some feelings he thought he'd left behind too.“

Harry Potter au!

just really fecking cute

lots of snakes

[I am not going to link all of Jo’s fics, though I probably could, just my 3 favourites. UOSB is there by default]

Talent Hunt Crew Finds Angry Guy Shouting On College Campus, Recruits Him For Vocal Projection Abilities by oh_fudgecakes

“Jiang Cheng, resident Angry Guy and heir to a conglomerate empire, has never been the apple of his father’s eye. Quashed under the shadow of his brilliant brother, the music prodigy Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng sees his chance to turn things around when he is recruited by the All-Stars Lan Talent Hunt. One problem: he can’t sing to save his goddamn life.As he struggles to develop his nascent singing abilities, Jiang Cheng finds himself sucked into the whirlwind drama of reality TV, helped along by his adoring siblings, his irritable vocal coach Wen Qing, and strangely enough, the unfairly attractive host of the All-Stars Lan Talent Hunt, Lan Xichen. Somewhere in the glare of the stage lights and an unexpected first love, Jiang Cheng stumbles upon the thing he was searching for all along: the courage to dream — and to attempt the impossible.“

done for 2019 MXTX Big Bang

uuuuuuuuuuh i might have cried maybe

heartwarming? painful at times? lots of family love?

slowburn xicheng being lovely

The Provenence of Hope series by velithya

“A chance meeting on a night hunt sets a course of events into motion that will change everything. Featuring Xicheng getting together, recovery for Lan Xichen, healing for Jiang Cheng, and always, always, hope.“

got everything. feels. hope. love. ~~healing~~

A Small Measure of Peace by Sandstone112

“With his brother in seclusion, Lan Xichen finds himself in temporary custody of his nephew with little to no expertise in the child-raising department. Uncertain and alone, Zewu-Jun is willing to do everything to be the person Yuan needs—even if it means inviting Sandu Shengshou to a playdate.“

a loooot of adorable family times with jc and lxc taking care of their nephews

good grandpa lqr!

canon but fixed and less painful

🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋if you wish to avoid scurvy:🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋

Some day I’m gonna make you mine series by locketofyourhair

xicheng getting together through the years

friends with benefits but the real benefits are the friends we made along the way

Take me over (take me tonight) by velithya

jiang cheng has a tattoo and lan xichen doesn’t stand a chance

i'd be the sweet feeling of release (mankind now dreams of) by piyo13

two bros, chilling in a cave, no feet apart because they don’t want to lose their cultivation powers what are you gonna do

haven’t read yet and shame on me, but AM GONNA:

Upon Our Silver Bridge by TheWanderingHeart obviously

““When the path ignites a soul, there's no remaining in place. The foot touches ground, but not for long.” ― Hakim Sanai

**

Lan Xichen's sorrows have caught the attention of something. Unlike the adventures and foes they have faced before, there is no obvious enemy here to defeat. If this is the same thing they thought had taken Nie Mingjue's life, then he believes it is fated for him to die as well. Nothing can stop the black fire when it wants to burn.Jiang Cheng is sure his part in this is over. Wei Wuxian is back, his grand adventure concluded, and he'd never been at the centre of it anyway. So what does it matter what happens to him in the end? Slowly, he will come to realise that there will always be a battle to fight, a story to tell, a choice to make, and there is no such thing as an end to anything.“

it was difficult to do things in 2020 and few i regret not doing more than not reading uosb yet :’(

i will tho

Emergency Help Wanted by piyo13

“EMERGENCY HELP WANTED I lied when I got my job. I told them I had a kid so I could leave early from work to pick him up from daycare, take him to doctor's appointments, and occasionally miss a day when he's sick. Long story short, I'm in too deep. I didn't think it through. Looking to rent a kid for bring your child to work day. Must be a boy ages four to six, longish dark hair, likes soccer. Must also be artistic as the macaroni noodle paintings I made seem a little advanced for his age. Also, I will pay extra for someone willing to play the role of husband when dropping him off. He's a prosecuting attorney who often brings his work home. Message me for further details. Serious inquiries only.“

Running Our Hands Through Embers by MarvelousMar

“If asked, Jiang Cheng would compare falling in love with Lan Xichen to a moth inevitably drawn to a flame.It burned.***In which Jiang Cheng discovers that even death can't help him escape from his trauma, so he embarks on a quest to save the people he loves, fix what he can, make the love of his life fall for him, and maybe, somewhere along the way, do a little bit of healing.”

The Beginner’s Guide to Moving On by InvincibleMel

gone from ao3, but i think there’s a link with a pdf going around

[tangledinmdzs]

Your writing is wonderful and you are amazing! *Muah* everything is chef's kiss.

Could this wonderful person write drunk juniors, who been taken care by reader, confessing to reader?

I love your acc. It's addictive and worthy of getting addicted.

ahh

aw! you're much too kind. thank you for reading~

and yes i wouldn't mind doing this request at all, let's try this out!

i’ve written the opposite of this before, that you can read here

cheers~

*＊✿❀　❀✿＊*

Lan Sizhui

the two of you are sitting in the park lot, under his apartment complex,

you’ve done your good duty of his friend by driving him home, 

but he’s making your life hard

because he isn’t getting out of the car,

“Sizhui, I have work tomorrow,” you tell him, hope to get some logic into him 

Sizhui isn’t a lightweight by any means

but growing up in a family with strict alcohol protocols (? is that what you call it?)

Sizhui hasn’t had that much experience

there are some drinks that he downs fine and others that wipe his ass

the bourbon shot thing that he had at the party a few hours ago, fell into the latter category

“y/nnnnnn, y/nnn, my y/n,” Sizhui sing songs, thrashing around in the passenger seat beside you

he’s so drunk, you think to yourself as you stare at the way his head leans on the seat belt, one he doesn’t want to take off

“Sizhui, let me unbuckle you, i’ll even walk you up,” you persuade and Sizhui actually shouts at you, objects like a five year old even though he’s 25

“no! staying here! with y/n!” Sizhui demands and you sigh at him, 

but you can’t even be mad, because he’s so loud and cute unlike his natural quiet personality

“A-Yuan, be a good boy and let me unbuckle you, okay?” you try to convince and lean over the console to unbuckle him

before you hand can get any close to his seat belt,

his hands are on your face

squishing your cheeks together,

“A-Yuan?” you manage to get out, though it’s probably incoherent with how squished your cheeks are between his hands

Sizhui smiles, hums at you, the red on his cheeks high

“pretty y/n, you’re the prettiest person i’ve ever met in my entire life,” Sizhui tells you and you wanna snort at him but your face is still in the mercy of his hands 

“t-tha-n- chu-” you try to say but stop short when Sizhui literally begins to lean in,

his lips are puckered out

he’s trying to kiss you

and he very well might!

you want to lean back on instinct, but Sizui’s got his hands on your face holding tight and he’s getting in close-

and there’s a small oof, from the man in front of you

the seatbelt that he had so adamantly tried not to take off,

limits him a millimeter from meeting your lips

Lan Jingyi

Jingyi hiccups as you both walk, swaying down the hallway to his apartment

it’s truly a miracle that you managed to even get him home, considering how simply wasted your best friend was 

“y-y/n,” Jingyi hiccups your name, when you lean him against the side of the his door 

you roll your eyes at him, and simply hold your hand out to him, 

“i’m dropping you inside, then i’m going home,” you tell him and Jingyi simply hiccups again, stares at you and then smiles sleepily 

“hmm,” Jingyi hums, almost as if teasing you and you let out a tired sigh (because this dude had been heavy to drag up the five flights to his apartment) 

and you just begin to pat down his jeans and pockets for his keys, because really you didn’t have time for his games

Jingyi giggles here and chuckles there, wherever your hands land on him, moving from his back pockets all the way up his chest 

“Jingyi, don’t tell me you forgot, your keys,” you’re really speaking to yourself at this rate, because Jingyi looks too out of it to even be processing anything that you are saying anyways

“didn’t forget, have them, right here” Jingyi says sleepily and pats the chest pocket on his jean jacket

“god, why didn’t you just tell me earlier-” you grumble 

your reach out to his jacket only for your wrist to be grabbed

suddenly, swiftly you’re turned, your back slamming into the space that JIngyi had been standing in, your hands tugged to a hold against the wall

you widen your eyes at JIngyi,

this close, practically nose to nose, you can really smell the alcohol around him 

“would you leave me after?” Jingyi asks you, solemn, sleepy 

“it’s your apartment, Jingyi” you breathe out because the air between you two had always been friends

flirty, teasing but friendly

friends

“can’t you stay?” Jingyi’ asks, and you stare at him

there’s a pause in between the both of you where you’re trying to read what his hazy eyes on yours might mean

“stay with me,” Jingyi repeats

you stare deeply at him, wondering if you can

if you should

Jin Ling

Jin Ling is not pretty when he is drunk

he is a sad, mopey, angry drunk 

luckily, he’s grown up to have a good hold with liquor

whether that be from experience or genes, you won’t know 

honestly you’d only seen him drunk on a handful of occasions

tonight, sat with him in the his newly moved in apartment, 

city ambiance behind you both in the late night

you’re seeing him again in this weird drunk state that he usually hides from you 

even though you both have been friends for years

“y/n,” Jin Ling starts, solemn, serious, deep drunk voice that he always has whenever he’s reached his limit

you hum at him, 

you’re pretty sober, opting for something fruit and light, not really having much alcohol 

you were really here to keep him company, because the trend tends to be that Jin Ling likes to vent when he’s drunk 

“you know, there’s someone that i like so much. i’ve liked them for...for some time. a long time...but i don’t think they’ll ever know,” Jin Ling admits to you 

and you hum, because it’s the same person that he talks about every time he’s drunk, 

“well, i mean, if you never tell them, they’re never going to know. so you’re really the one holding yourself back,” you say, a bit coldly 

because he always talks about this mystery person

“i’ve told them! more than once, but they still don’t get it, they’re so stupid,” Jin Ling says, takes a nice chug of his beer can and then crushes it

you huff out a funny laugh at his way of showcasing strength, taking a lip sip from your fruity mix 

“A-Ling you’re not the most direct person i’ve ever met. maybe it’s because you’ve been talking in circles with them,” you say, because leave it to Jin Ling to make someone misunderstand 

you’re about to take another sip from your cup when hands grab your shoulders, 

you’re turned roughly to face Jin Ling, scowling quickly after the surprise settles in your chest,

“dude! i could have spilled my drink-”

“i like you!” Jin Ling practically yells at you 

you look at him like he’s grown two heads; because he’s drunk, so drunk and so not sober

“i like you so much more than you’ll ever know. i think i love you y/n,”

his voice is so deep, so solemn and so serious 

he’s so drunk, you think as you stare at his flushed cheeks, tussled hair

you wish that he wasn’t

Ouyang Zizhen

you click your tongue at the sight of Zizhen, 

your friend had never had always been a lightweight 

but he still insisted on coming along to events like this, 

and then sprawling out to sleep at the bar, 

like he was now

softly snoring away as other patrons laughed behind their hands

you roll your eyes and push down the embarrassment as you do your best to get Zizhen awake and out of here,

because this place was really out of both of your depths if you were being completely honest

(you didn’t even drink)

“Zizhen, hey, Zizhen,” you call to him, pushing at his shoulder

you get to watch Zizhen slowly smack his lips before he turns to the other side of his arm to get comfortable 

“oh my goodness, Zizhen, please, get up,” you’re pleading to him, because you’re always responsible for him when it comes to things like this-

you feel a tug on your arm, 

you turn to look at Zizhen, blinking up at you from where he’s lying in his hands,

“you awake yet bud? i’m going to get a water bottle to sober you up a bit and then we better head out” you tell him, moving to do just that when you feel your arm tugged again

you turn to him, give him a looked (one of mild annoyance) and then move to leave 

the third tug on your arm has you sprawling down onto the table beside him,

luckily you don’t hit your head, as you land solidly on Zizhen’s outstretched arm

“can you stay a little longer? like this?” Zizhen sleepily, drunkenly asks you 

you blink at him, never having seen him at such an angle, 

sleepy profile and hazy eyed

“we...we should get going,” you tell him, though your voice is a lot more gentle than you wanted it to be

Zizhen hums at you, closes his eyes again

you watch him, can’t bring yourself to wake him again

his warm palm thrums against your wrist, 

where he still holds it

[agendratum]

ok so

as usual after finishing an arc of mdzs my head is full, many thoughts. so let’s talk about the guanyin temple confrontation.

first thing that i kept paying attention to were actually the changes made in order to turn it into live-action. so in cql they had to make the gray-gray characters, the “there are no good or bad guys, just people and their circumstances” characters (unless you’re jgs, than yeah you’re a bad guy and everyone agrees on that actually) into slightly more black and white characters. by the end of cql we are lured into this fake sense of security, “haha, we know who the bad guy is!” (then a year passes and here you are, now a jgy apologist), by the end of mdzs, you just know that, well, decisions were made, unfortunate decisions, by many different people. 

cql had to make wwx into a bit nicer version of himself. the good protagonist couldn’t lose control and accidentally kill a bunch of people, and then kill another bunch of people fully willingly, cause his sister just died and that was the last connection he had to the idea that something still matters in this world. no, out protagonist should be... like a little bit nicer than that. so they lifted some of that responsibility for atrocities off him, but they couldn’t just evaporate it, could they? they had to put it somewhere. they put it on jgy. after all he’s the big bad in the end of the story, well, the only surviving person from all people that could be considered big bads, he’s the one that “did every terrible deed imaginable”. he could take that responsibility, they had to make his grayness into a slightly darker shade anyway.

i am actually kinda surprised by how different my reaction to jgy was in mdzs. obviously, there is a year difference between me watching cql and me reading this part of mdzs, and over that year i changed my opinion on jgy 5 thousand times and joined the camp “actually meng yao deserves all the best things in the world”, but anyway. when i was watching cql i was like, oh my god, can someone just kill him already, before he does something bad again, before more bullcrap comes out of his mouth, and also stop yelling at this kid about all the “valid” reasons to why you killed his dad. in mdzs my reaction to jgy’s confessions was like, “huh. he has a point”.

now don’t get me wrong there, some shitty things were done, but the thing is, the things he did really made sense from his point of view, from this position and life experience he really had no other way to go. i especially was convinced by his reasoning to why he couldn’t cancel his engagement with qin su. not only he would suffer from this story, because he already went through so much to make this marriage possible, but also qin su’s parents and herself would most likely suffer, their public image would be destroyed, only jgs wouldn’t lose anything. and you could feel the hatred and bitterness he felt towards his father talking about this, and everyone in the temple could agree with that, because he “just forgot he made another child”, he didn’t even notice.

another interesting detail for me was lxc saying, “it’s not that i didn’t know that you did some of these things, it’s that i thought you had a good reason for doing them”. so yeah, a reminder, lxc isn’t blind and he isn’t an idiot. he trusted a person he thought he knew better than anyone else, and he believed in this person. the problem, i think, is that “a good reason” is different for lxc and for jgy. lxc would understand a righteous reason, doing something for the greater good. working for wen ruohan? that was explainable. they all were fighting in a war, fighting for the better, brighter future, and meng yao’s contribution to that future was immeasurable. what if he killed some people there? he had a good reason in lxc’s eyes. but meng yao had other good reasons in his life, some of these reasons lxc never had to deal with in his life. survival, for example, is one of them. meng yao’s early years were very different from lxc’s. not to say that lxc’s life was easy, but it was never truly unstable. meng yao had to learn how to survive in a world where no one wanted him. he lived with one dream, promised to him by his mother, a future where he wouldn’t have to suffer anymore, where he wouldn’t have to smile at people he hated, please every one of their desires so they wouldn’t harm him. and then he entered this life promised to him and he still had to survive, but now in a luxurious man-eats-man world of lanling jin.

meng yao’s life really was this unstoppable ball of snow rolling down the mountain, and every decision he made just made the ball bigger and it would just roll faster. there is even a moment where jgy accuses lxc of being naive. lxc isn’t really naive, of course, it was said in the heat of the moment, but it is a fact that lxc was never kicked down a staircase, never had to crawl back up, and the thing is, at the bottom of the staircase, there are other good reasons to do things.

and in a way lxc understood that jgy in his position really didn’t have any other choices, he just couldn’t find peace in this mindset. he kept repeated through that part, “and yet, and yet, you shouldn’t have done that, you should have...” and he never said what exactly jgy should have done. because lxc doesn’t know. jgy doesn’t know. no one knows. what choices were better? how could he fix all that and still survive? in a way, lxc saying that reminded me of wangxian farewell in the burial mounds. when lwj asks, “you really indent to keep going like this?” and wwx, who wished, who longed for another solution, for some way out, asked him, “what else can i do? what method can i choose to resolve this, not use this technique and still protect people i want to protect?” and lwj didn’t have an answer. lxc didn’t have an answer either.

another amazing thing about guanyin temple confrontation, is that it’s very heavily wwx’s pov. most on the novel is his pov of course, but there were a loot of his thoughts in this arc. and he was rather understanding towards jgy. not in a way “i agree with every reasoning behind every decision you made” but in a way “i understand that you had your reasons, but all of them will become irrelevant really soon, they already are, because the crowd will only remember you as a son of a whore who did every terrible deed imaginable, and all the good deeds will be forgotten” 

now his thoughts on nhs, or who he suspected nhs to be, were way less nice. especially compared to live action, nhs didn’t make such an impression on me as he made through wwx’s thought process in the end of guanyin temple arc. of course, wwx is no sect leader yao, he is not the one to jump to conclusions, he just noticed that if you put some facts together, they actually start making a lot of sense, and formed a full picture. but he didn’t have any proof, so he kept it mostly to himself. yet he still thought for a moment about nhs as someone who didn’t care about collateral damage that much, who was ready to sacrifice lives of juniors, sect leaders, anyone, if it would add to jgy’s kill count and make his fall and destruction even more disastrous. not that those are not the things that happened in live action, but you know, when wwx put it all together like that in one paragraph, i really felt it. like, oof, dude it’s ROUGH. and not even jgy’s death was enough, as nhs basically admitted to stealing meng shi’s body and planning to repay jgy for what he did to nmj’s body. yikes

i mean i still support nhs in everything he does, but yikes

also side note, glad that the dead cats situation finally became clear for me. this whole year i was so confused about who left all these dead cats for juniors to find. i thought maybe xue yang did?? to lure wwx?? so apparently it was also nhs. good to know.

another detail, probably the last one my brain can generate for now, that pained me a great deal was my poor child jin ling. i already cried about some things related to him and this arc, but there was another little one in the very end here, after jgy died. jin ling realised, that there were now three people, wwx, wn and jgy, his little uncle, that were responsible for his parents’ death. people he had every right and reason to hate. all three of them. and yet he couldn’t hate any of them. he couldn’t avenge his parents, that died so long ago he couldn’t remember them, because all three people responsible for what happened, had something, some reasons, some circumstances, that made them really not the bad guys in jin ling’s life. and they all cared about him, protected him. how could he hate them? how could he not? and in this way this poor child repeats, unfortunately, his uncle’s curse. to have someone he wants to hate so much but just simply can’t. it warms my heart at least that jin ling has a much better support system than jc had when he had to live through that experience. so there is hope.

[ancientstone]

Random Untamed Alchemist Thoughts: Post-We-Got-Our-Bodies-Back Edition

Masterpost

I dunno I just have a lot of thoughts about Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng’s lives once they get their bodies back (minus a leg).

~

Wei Wuxian is discharged from hospital within two weeks. Jiang Cheng stays there for four months, and is only let out by his extremely displeased doctor because:

a) They know Wei Wuxian will be on his brother like a hawk if he so much as sneezes.

b) They promise to go straight to the Lans and stay there and rest.

c) Staying in hospital is doing little to help Jiang Cheng mentally, making him feel like he’s making no progress when he is. They’re not meeting the delicate balance between pushing him to get better (rehabilitation, learning to walk, move, care for himself again) and taking things slow (letting his body aclimatise, introducing it to germs , putting on weight). Getting outside, albeit in a wheelchair (which you will stay in!), interacting with the world, and living in familiar surroundings will help with that.

(It’s not because he keeps yelling, though. It took exactly two seconds for the hospital staff to realise it’s all hot air to cover concern and insecurities. They’re professionals for a reason.)

It also reassures them than the Lans are all medically qualified.

~

Speaking of the Lan house, Lan Qiren secretly cries is pleased to see them and immediately ushers them inside to rest because why didn’t they call ahead?? We would’ve picked you up from the station! Have you eaten? Boys, put some tea on!

Lan Sizhui is overjoyed to have his Dad #2 home (and home for good!) and instantly recognises Jiang Cheng, though he mirrors Lan Wangji’s concern and fussing over how tired they both look. He offers them one of his blankets. It’s very cute.

Jin Ling (who got shipped off to stay with the Lans when things began going down in Central to be away from the fighting - something I was planning on mentioning in a Lan Sizhui Edition #2 that I never got around to making) takes a little longer to realise who Jiang Cheng is. He’s known the giant armour all his life, so for it to suddenly be gone in replace of this scrawny, pale, sickly-looking man is a bit of a shock. But as soon as his uncle opens his mouth and says, “What’re you staring at, brat?” in that not-actually-mean way of his, Jin Ling’s eyes light up, and he clings to his uncle’s hand in awe.

Jiang Cheng near bawls his eyes out when Wei Wuxian tuts, scoops up their nephew, and plonks him down onto his brother’s lap. This is the first time, ever, that Jiang Cheng gets to properly hold Jin Ling. He’s amazed at how soft the little boy’s hair is.

Lan Sizhui ends up on Wei Wuxian’s lap, and the four of them get chatting together on the couch, and Lan Xichen, Lan Wangji, and Lan Qiren all near collapse in the doorway because they cannot even fathom the amount of feelings they have right now.

~

For once, the Lans’ bland taste in food is welcome, as Jiang Cheng is still on a very strict diet.

Wei Wuxian sneaks Jin Ling some spices and makes the boy go bright red.

~

The first time Wei Wuxian tries to cook for his brother, he damn near burns his tongue off, both from temperature and spice.

~

Wei Wuxian is absolutely incapable of remembering that he needs to be careful with his arm. Because he had automail, he never had to fully adjust to being without it - Most of the time his hand was still there, albeit made of metal. 

So for months after, he’s constantly straining it, swinging it around, and near breaking it, because he forgets it’s now flesh and bone and needing rehabilitation. He also keeps picking up hot things and then jumping thirty feet in surprise when it burns his fingers. 

For months, the Lan house is filled with:

“Wei Ying.” 

“Wei. Ying.”

“Wei Ying!”

~

Later, when he’s back to full health, Jiang Cheng gets a series of tattoos, identical to the images his family used to paint on the armour. 

He has: Jin Ling’s drawing of Fairy on his ankle, Lan Sizhui’s butterfly behind his knee, Wei Wuxian’s flute on his shoulder blade, a lotus for their sister over his heart, and the purple snake, which goes from his wrist to his elbow on his right arm, the head resting on the back of his hand.

~

The first time Wei Wuxian finally feels settled, realising that everything is over and he’s got his brother’s body back and that they’re all okay, is during a random sunny afternoon.

He is sat on the porch next to Jiang Cheng, watching Jin Ling and Lan Sizhui play with Butterfly the Rabbit and Fairy under the supervision of Lan Wangji. Over at the table, Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen are drinking tea and exchanging thoughts on a new book of automail techniques.

Jiang Cheng, who, despite the warmth of the sun, has a blanket over his legs, dozes off, leaning against Wei Wuxian’s shoulder. 

Wei Wuxian smiles, shuffles closer, and wraps his new arm around his brother. 

There’s not a single cloud in the sky.

~

[oddishblossom]

Hi.....if you don't mind me asking, can I ask your top 5 favorite characters from MDZS? And your top 5 (or top 3) favorite moments from the novel or the drama? Sorry if you've answered this question before....Thanks....

Hey there! I always love talking about mdzs so I don’t mind answering this! ☺️ I’ve never really ranked them before so I had to give it some thought lol. There’s sooo many characters I adore in this series, but if I could only choose five I think it would be:

1. Wei Wuxian (my beloved)

2. Jiang Cheng

3. Jin Ling

4. Lan Wangji

5. Xue Yang

Now, as for my favorite scenes (｡◕‿◕｡). It was so hard to narrow it down to only five! So I added an honorable mention :) The scene where wwx was going through nie mingjue’s memories and gets all happy when he sees lwj is just so adorable. I can’t remember if this was in the book or only the manhua but i’m including it anyway ೕ(˃̵ᴗ˂̵ ๑)

I’m going to put my top 5 book scenes under a read more because it may get a little long (It’s mainly me yelling about wangxian. I’ve also added some edits I made for the scenes that got adapted in the manhua) 💖

#5: WWX hanging onto LWJ’S forehead ribbon after they escape the Burial Mounds. It’s just a quiet moment between these two as they sit on a boat. But idk I just remember being so fond of it. How they’re not even alone but lwj straight up does not care if wwx holds onto his ribbon. He just holds him in his arms, takes his ribbon off, and lets wwx sleep 🥺 (Also the juniors’ reactions to wangxian was hilarious. They’re on the boat like “should we go…?”)

#4: When WWX climbs up the tree he used to hide in and jumps onto LWJ’S arms. Otherwise known as the “If he catches me, I’ll…” scene. Wwx is showing lwj around lotus pier and he climbs up this tree. Wwx once broke his leg falling from that tree, but when he looks down and sees lwj waiting for him… Ugh, it’s just so sweet how he jumps, fully trusting that lwj will catch him 🥺💖

#3: Literally everything that happened in the Xuanwu Cave!!! If I were to list everything I liked about this scene I would never shut up lmao. There’s just something about narrowly escaping death with your crush and spending a week taking care of each other in a cave that gets to me you know? ☺️❤️❤️❤️

#2 This one takes place shortly after the yi city arc (like chapter 40 something). The scene where LWJ gets drunk and WWX chases him. Okay. Okay. Okay. I’ve probably mentioned this scene before but I have to mention it again because this is THE scene. This was the one that pushed mdzs from “a really enjoyable story” to “holy shit i love this book”. I don’t have the words to properly describe how much I love this scene! Wangxian are chasing each other around their room and both of them are so flirty. And lwj knocking himself out because wwx was too tempting was hilarious. I wish I could just include the whole scene but sadly there’s an image limit on posts lol

#1 : And my favorite is the guanyin temple confession from chapter 100 ❤️❤️❤️. Only the book and the audio drama have this one, so I have no pretty images to show. BUT WHAT A SCENE!! It’s the most wonderful conclusion to this story! And it’s wonderful because it starts out in a bad place. lwj and wwx had a fallout, both of them thinking their feelings were unrequited, and were separated. then wwx is captured, and before either of them get to actually confess to each other it’s taken from them. a frustrated lxc and a mocking jgy intervene and tell wwx how obvious it is that lwj has feelings for him. and there’s this short moment where you feel gutted because lwj has just arrived and he must be feeling terrified and exposed. ppl have written metas comparing this to outing someone for being gay and i couldn’t help but feel the same way. i think jgy, our villain, must see it as another wound to rub salt in, another person to kick down, and that surely wwx will be disgusted with lwj. but wwx decides to loudly proclaim, in front of everyone, EXACTLY how he feels for lwj in one of the most honest and heartwarming confession scenes ever. truly the most wonderful payoff to such an amazing book 🥺❤️

[featherfur]

I’m going to try and make sense with this so bear with me: I think a lot of untapped angst potential in fic is the reality of Jiang Cheng being the older one now and visibly more mature because Wei Wuxian died at 20? 19? And he wasn’t exactly maturing in the ghost realm during that considering he doesn’t remember it. Now he’s definitely matured via trauma but that’s not the same thing. And now they’re 16x on the wrong wave length.

Under the read more because uh, I go into detail

Now put Jiang Cheng in the same room as Wei Wuxian and they’re both 12, atleast in the beginning. But Jiang Cheng had his previously homicidal insane brother show up right next to his nephew after insulting his mom (who’s death he inadvertently led too) so JC (for me atleast) can be forgiven a bit for not being happy and wanting to kick his ass and thinking he may still be insane because an Okay Wei Wuxian Would Not Insult Shijie or His Nephew. Especially since JC not only didn’t tell the entire world that his brother was back, left him with Jin Ling, only yelled at him a bit and scared him via dog and— (I’m going to shut up here because that isn’t my point but man I could go on). JC had a lot of issues and he yells at Wei Wuxian to the point one wants to offer him a cough drop.

But post Temple JC? Who watched him walk away sadly and knows that Wei Wuxian is no longer unstable and thinks he doesn’t want to be his brother anymore? That’s so much wonderful angst because that means Wei Wuxian will not be greeted by Jiang Cheng his Shidi anymore.

He will be met with Sect Leader Jiang who clawed his way up from nothing but a baby in his right, a stack of spreadsheets on his left and the most feral disciples around that he has to protect. This Sect Leader who doesn’t have time to go around hunting Wei Wuxian down to harass him. Sect Leader Jiang who barely even greets Wei Wuxian when he visits because he has shit to do. He has audits and taxes and those damn merchants are complaining, he has to up the wages of the seamstresses that make the robes of his sect with so many protection talismans and find a way to convince Sect Leader Ouyang to stop fine-ing the caravans that deliver the goods. He has to organize the celebrations and make sure everyone’s safe during flooding season. That’s not even counting how he has to train and monitor his disciples and night hunts and the political hellscape!

But Wei Wuxian!! He doesn’t know that. He doesn’t know everything that Jiang Cheng has been taking care of or that he’s just seriously that busy. He thinks he’s being ignored and pushed away and mocked when Jiang Cheng walks by with a quick “Master Wei” and runs off! Because how could Jiang Cheng treat him like that when Wei Wuxian is clearly trying to reconnect. Every offer of night hunting his declined unless it was planned then already and when they do get together Jiang Cheng ignores him! Why is Wei Wuxian even trying!? What’s the point of Jiang Cheng can’t stand him but why can’t he stop trying either??

Meanwhile during those hunts Jiang Cheng is trying to keep an eye on his brother, his twelve disciples, Jin Ling and his entourage, Wei Wuxian’s Lan ducklings, that random Ouyang kid who apparently imprinted on Jin Ling, figure out what they’re hunting, mentally running the math for the cost of the inns for all of them, going through each of the attending Jiang disciples’ personal likes and deciding on whether to buy their favorite snacks or something else as a ‘thank you for not dying’ as has become accidental custom, trying to figure out if it’s weird to get Jin Ling and his friends something nice (CLEARLY he has to get the Ouyang kid something, he apparently has no other friends considering how often he’s just hanging around Lotus pier whenever Jin Ling swings by), and trying to think of he has any other disciples night hunting within a 50 mile radius he should fly out to check on before he sleeps!

Clearly Wei Wuxian just doesn’t care about the Jiang sect and wants to just be annoying but Jiang Cheng is busy! Cant he see that Jiang Cheng is only available on Mondays and Tuesdays during the odd months and Wednesday through Saturday on the even? It’s very clear when Jiang Cheng has time! Why can’t his brother just respect that not everyone has the free time to do whatever the hell they want? Is he flaunting it?!? How dare he!

It’s a giant mess and it only gets worse because Jiang Cheng is diplomatic, he knows how to bow his head when he’s overpowered (though he rarely is nowadays) or when the outcome isn’t worth it. So he doesn’t want to start a fight with Lan Wangji and from there the entire Lan Sect! He’s been holding his tongue for years he can keep doing it, especially if his brother’s happiness is on the line. He can ignore Lan Wangji being rude, he can ignore the dark looks, hell if he thinks Wei Wuxian’s position is threatened at the LAN’s he’ll even play real fucking nice so that Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen won’t do anything to his brother. He did it for Yanli he’ll do it now. (Also added bonus of now Sizhui has started to warm up to him and so he has to be extra polite so his new nephew doesn’t hate him and his free nephew [Jingyi] doesn’t light a building on fire in revenge for someone looking at Hanguang-Jun wrong). He might have snapped at Hanguang-Jun when shit was going down but now Lan Xichen is in seclusion and Jiang Cheng can’t piss odd Lan Wangji no matter how much he wants to chuck a beehive at his head

But Wei Wuxian doesn’t it take it that way! He just sees his brother suddenly calling him Master Wei and won’t interact with him during meetings or before or after and he’s acting so cold towards Lan Zhan! He’s staring right through his brother in law and keeps acting like he doesn’t exist and the only time in the last month Jiang Cheng sought him out was!! To ask!! If he!! COULD HIRE WEI WUXIAN?!? NOT EVEN TO SAY HI OR CHECK ON HIM OR FINALLY ANSWER HIS LETTERS BUT TO ASK HIM TO CREATE TALISMANS FOR THEIR CLOTHES! (Of course he said yes though because hey money and it’s actually fun chatting with the seamstresses) but that’s all his shidi cares about?? What Wei Wuxian can do for him? He doesn’t care about Wei Wuxian at all! Why does Jiang Cheng keep hating him, he thought they were atleast neutral but he keeps going further and further away!!! Wei Wuxian is hurting and his little brother wants nothing to do with him!

Neither of them are IN the wrong but they’re both wrong.

It takes until someone, probably Lan Xichen or Nie Huiasang, points out that “Wei Wuxian… He’s not your shidi anymore, he’s your Sect Leader well a Sect Leader… he’s a Sect Leader to one of the biggest Sects, he’s busy it’s tax season. I wouldn’t want to interact with anyone either.”

Meanwhile Jin Ling or a random slightly more insane then the rest Jiang disciple interrupts Jiang Cheng’s lunch to go “Okay you’re making this worse on literally everyone, Wei Wuxian is clearly trying to make this work why are you being mean? He’s trying!” (Or much more polite for the disciple)

They have to meet up and actually talk things through and honestly *that* only works because Lan Xichen grabs them both by their metaphorical ears and sits them down because “I would like my brother in law, both of them, to stop crying to me because they can’t talk. So now we’re going to learn to communicate and if either of you makes this weird I WILL just start fluting my way out of it and you’ll feel bad.” (Actually he just sits them down together while and he and Jiang Cheng have to go over payments for the next batch of trades and Wei Wuxian passes out on Jiang Cheng halfway through and when he wakes up he swears to never bother him on a work day because that was the worst moment of his life and they end up repairing enough to start the trek to being brothers again

[llycaons]

okay SO modern au the first chapter was about wwx moving back to his hometown after leaving the LP company and it was all fine and normal and I skimmed it and hit the second chapter, which was just an author's summary of everything that happened afterwards, but where it got really good was the end notes. I bolded some lines for emphasis

if you are a Jiang Cheng fan, SKIP THE END NOTES. i personally don't like him, not at all, and I rly hate how the fandom has painted him out to be this sweet tsundere who "actually really cares deep down inside". imo, and after reading through the entire novel and watching cql, the donghua, and reading the manhua again, every version just seems to really validate my thought that Jiang Cheng is actually a really terrible person.

[fic summary]

im gonna expand on my thoughts on Jiang Cheng. every fic I come across in Fanon, every art work, paints Jiang Cheng out to be this adorable, hurting, sad ball of fluff. wtf in canon, he's literally the opposite of this. he lashes out at people randomly, and even if that is his own way of showing affection, he's 35-40 years old. he's an adult. he should have realized, long ago that being angry and bitter and taking it out on people like lwj and wwx is behavior that he could have excused when he was a child, but as soon as he crossed the threshold into 18-20 years old he should have GOTTEN HIS SHIT TOGETHER. I rly rly hate how everyone blames everything on madam yu abusing him, or Jiang Yanli's death. and people really seem to love pushing the blame onto wwx. ??? let wwx be angry at Jiang Cheng. im not saying its not valid to like characters you like. but I think Jiang Cheng getting painted out to be gentle and kind and loving hidden under a shell of loneliness is such BS. I think that its not only wwx and Jin Ling who suffered from Jiang Cheng's harsh words. to a certain extent, if you look at the way jyl behaves around him, he hurt her too. she was always so careful to be gentle with her brothers because she loved them, she loved them so much and she just wanted them to be happy, and she always held their family together through everything, and Jiang Cheng always brushed off her efforts or took it as granted. the only time he ever really shows genuine concern for her health was when he was using it against wwx and telling wwx it was his fault. now I think at the end of the book, he might be moving slowly towards change. I like how at the end he's starting to finally realize that he can also be at fault for some things, instead of pushing the blame onto wwx always. and Jiang Cheng does love wwx. I know that. he does show it, when he led the soldiers away. I think that was a great thing for him to do, but its really one of the only times in canon when he ever does something that sacrifices himself for someone else. it's not his duty to sacrifice himself to help wwx like wwx does for him, and he certainly doesn't have to, and it's not very healthy to think that way, but it's also really the only instance that he ever puts someone else before himself. every other time he's yelling at wwx that its his fault. in cql it kinda gets dumbed down a lot. I like cql jc much more than I like novel jc, bc novel jc makes himself seem the victim. I don't think its intentional, but it kind of comes off as incredibly manipulative, in the same way Jin Guangyao does it. while jgy was intentional in his manipulation, I think jc is just much more like his parents than he should be. jc's breakdown at guanyin temple is sort of proof. he reveals that he's always thought of himself as the victim bc "what was I supposed to do, you left me, I needed you and you left me to fuck off to burial mounds, they're not your family im your family" this only serves to further gaslight wwx, because he knows. he knows wwx blames himself. what in the fresh fuck would saying all this accomplish except for the sole purpose of making wwx feel worse about himself? why did he never once stand up for wwx? it makes me so mad? it seems like before wwx died, in the last year or so before his death jc really tried his best to be the biggest asshole. wwx was practically invincible. if he'd supported his brother, they would've been stronger in the eyes of the sects, not weaker. he always preaches to wwx about how family is more important than the wens, but not once did he stick up for his family. even when jzx was rude to jyl, he didn't defend her, and even if he agreed with wwx when wwx insulted jzx he still had to go and yell at him for it. im not saying wwx was innocent or that it was fully jc's fault, btw.

I don't even rly care abt it bc that's just character design and that's just how it is. why I had to write all this and seem like a petty hater is because the way Fanon portrays him-it's like they get rid of all his bad parts. they place him on a pedestal and say "he's hurting, poor little jc needs a hug" that makes me kind of angry. no one ever acknowledges or calls him out on it, but I see plenty of people make jl and jc mad at wwx for "not supporting him enough" when wwx literally never ever did anything to hurt Jiang Cheng, and Jiang Cheng has done NOTHING but try to intentionally hurt wwx with his words. he literally psychologically abuses him with the dogs and no one acknowledges it and it makes me so sad for wwx.

what a breath of fresh air to read this, no joke. their point about jyl is super interesting too

Just read a weird one where the structure was all over the place but in the author notes they wrote a whole essay about much they dislike jc and how annoyed they are at the way the fandom treats him and I gotta copy it out bc I'm sitting in the corner cheering lmao like 99% of fic authors are like 'ohhh poor baby jc he just needs a hug he had it worse than anyone else wwx can ONLY be happy with him and everything he did was justified 🥺' but its just not the case... when I get to a computer. you all will see

[robininthelabyrinth]

Associates - Part 2 - ao3, pt 1

“What’s this I hear about you getting up in Nie Huaisang’s face?” Jiang Cheng demanded the instant Wei Wuxian reached the front door of the inn. The tone was so familiar, so usual for him – irritated yet fond despite himself – that it took a moment for Wei Wuxian to realize that the question wasn’t anything like what he was expecting.

Not least of all because he wasn’t expecting Jiang Cheng to be there in the first place.

“What?” he said blankly, and then – “Wait, did you not put it together yet? He’s the one that planned the whole thing with Jin Guangyao –”

“Yes, I know that,” Jiang Cheng said impatiently. “Still, don’t associate with evil? Who the fuck are you to say something like that to anyone, least of all to him?”

Wei Wuxian crossed his arms in front of himself, his shoulders going up to his ears. “You still think I’m evil, then?”

“No, I think you’re a fucking brat, but also that if you were schemed against then you certainly didn’t make it hard for them to do it,” Jiang Cheng said, crossing his own arms and glaring. “Or was all the arrogance and insulting people and throwing the first punch when they came at you at the Qiongqi Path and throwing arrows at people at the Nightless City and deliberately setting up cultivators to murder each other before jumping off a cliff all things that Jin Guangyao made you do, too?”

Wei Wuxian winced.

“I have other examples,” Jiang Cheng said pointedly. “Anyway, come inside, I’ll buy you some wine, if you call what this stupid inn serves wine.”

“I wasn’t planning on staying here,” Wei Wuxian lied.

“It’s the only inn in a half-day walk,” Jiang Cheng said impatiently. “It’s also about to rain, and you already gave the innkeeper’s son your donkey to take to the stable. Will you come inside already? I’m not going to bite.”

Wei Wuxian allowed himself to be convinced by this faultless logic. “You came about the water demons, too?”

“I don’t think they’re water demons,” Jiang Cheng grumbled. “I checked the river, it’s fine, so it must be something similar leaving the same sort of traces…waiter! Service now, if it’s not too much to ask!”

The wine was passable, if barely, but the food served with it was filling in just the right way.

“This seems out of the way for you,” Wei Wuxian commented. He’d been traveling randomly as a rogue cultivator for months and months now, the way he always dreamed of doing, and he spent the entire time wondering why it felt empty; he suspected it was the same reason he turned sharply to look any time he saw white out of the corner of his eye, but he wasn’t quite willing to admit it out loud yet. If he did, he’d have to face up to the fact that there was nothing stopping him from turning his feet and Lil’ Apple’s hooves back towards Gusu and the Cloud Recesses and Lan Wangji, and if he did that he was pretty sure he wouldn’t be leaving again so quickly.

“I heard you were in the area,” Jiang Cheng said, which made Wei Wuxian feel warm inside. “I wanted to yell at you.”

Wei Wuxian burst out laughing.

Jiang Cheng really must have forgiven him, he thought, unable to resist smiling. Jiang Cheng yelled at those he loved and ignored those he hated – it was when Jiang Cheng didn’t look at you that you should worry, and when he looked at you and was silent…that was the worst of all.

“I did,” Jiang Cheng grumbled. “Seriously. Nie Huaisang. What were you thinking?”

“Are you saying that what he did wasn’t evil?” Wei Wuxian asked.

“I’m saying I would have done the same thing if it was you or jiejie,” Jiang Cheng said, looking down at his jar of wine. “Are you saying you wouldn’t?”

Wei Wuxian hesitated. If it had been Jiang Cheng that had been poisoned by his own anger, by someone he trusted – betrayed into dying in just the way he’d feared most – and it was possible, wasn’t it? Jiang Cheng had trusted Jin Guangyao - he’d raised Jin Ling alongside him, never suspecting…

“Don’t answer that,” Jiang Cheng said quickly, just as Wei Wuxian said, “I would have.”

Jiang Cheng looked at him, surprised.

“Probably not in the same way,” Wei Wuxian clarified. “I would have avenged you, but I wouldn’t have – he put so many people in danger, what he did, the way he did it. He put Jin Ling in danger.”

“Jin Ling put Jin Ling in danger,” Jiang Cheng said. “As he always does. You have no idea the trouble magnet that brat is. And as for Nie Huaisang…you’re being unfair.”

“Am I?”

“Yes. He’s not like you, the you that you used to be. He’s weak. He’s not good at doing things. He’s not powerful, he’s not a genius; he had to learn everything the hard way…anyway, not everyone’s you, willing to gamble everything on trying to do the ‘right thing’. He had a sect to take care of.”

Just like me, Jiang Cheng didn’t say, but Wei Wuxian heard it anyway. And in the end, all the bravado and recklessness of his last life – it had been the right thing to do, but all he’d won for the Wen sect was another year or so of living in fear before they’d walked willingly to their deaths into the hands of the Jin sect on his behalf. In the end, only A-Yuan had been truly saved, and even that was only because of Lan Wangji’s intervention.

Wei Wuxian didn’t regret his actions, but maybe if he could go back in time, he might’ve done things a little differently. He might’ve been more restrained in his actions, been more cautious, less willing to get into fights, less willing to allow his terrible reputation to spread without bothering to correct it – he might have been a little more thoughtful about all the obligations that so suddenly had settled on his shoulders.

Thought about the ones that had been there all along, invisible.

“And Mo Xuanyu?” Wei Wuxian asked, still unwilling to give up so easily. “Put aside leading us all on a wild goose chase, risking all our lives at the Burial Mounds –”

“Something which brought to light a hidden threat, or did you think Su She would just volunteer himself?”

“Putting that aside, Mo Xuanyu died to bring me back. Is that nothing?”

“Yes,” Jiang Cheng said flatly. “A man’s life is his own. Nie Huaisang might’ve paid someone to tell stories about you, but he didn’t take a knife to Mo Xuanyu’s bones; Mo Xuanyu did that. If you really want to start talking about the subject of indirect blame for other people’s death…”

“Fair point,” Wei Wuxian said begrudgingly. “Fine. Perhaps I was being harsh.”

“You were,” Jiang Cheng agreed. “Not to mention stupid and short-sighted, again. Do you know he’s taken to referring to you by name?”

Wei Wuxian frowned. “So what?”

Jiang Cheng glared at him, but he also put some extra meat in Wei Wuxian’s bowl. “So, he’s been calling you Wei-xiong since the Cloud Recesses, even after you got famous as the Yiling Patriarch, even after you were dead and your name black as coal, and now, now he calls you Wei Wuxian? Because he thinks you hate him? Even if you just wanted to be a jackass, is he really someone you want to make your enemy?”

Wei Wuxian did not want Nie Huaisang as his enemy.

He never really wanted anyone as his enemy, not really – excluding maybe Wen Chao, Wang Lingjiao, and Wen Zhuliu, who deserved it – but least of all did he want his enemy to be Nie Huaisang as he last saw him: blank-eyed and tired, older than he should be, the smile on his face as smooth and insincere as anything that Jin Guangyao had ever tried; the dagger in the dark finally brought out to the light.

Anyone who could smile like that after having pulled off a years-long plot that led the entire cultivation world around by the nose –

No, Wei Wuxian did not want Nie Huaisang as his enemy.

“Surely enemy is a strong word for a bit of formality,” he said, but Jiang Cheng gave him a look and he had to admit even to himself that he didn’t believe it. Nie Huaisang was overly intimate with everyone he could be, and he’d never heard of him stepping back after he’d established the closer level; he even called Jin Guangyao san-ge until the very moment of his death. Maybe he still did. “Well, shit.”

“Exactly,” Jiang Cheng said.

“How do you even know about that?” Wei Wuxian asked. It’d only been the three of them at that conversation – him and Lan Wangji and Nie Huaisang – and Lan Wangji wasn’t a gossip.

“Nie Huaisang,” Jiang Cheng said promptly, as he’d expected. “He wanted to let me know that there were no hard feelings if I decided to break treaty with him.”

“If you – what?” Wei Wuxian stared at him. “Break treaty? All the trade routes and boundary lines and – and everything, all the connections between the Nie sect and the Jiang sect…why in the world would you ever break treaty? Why would he even suggest that?”

“Because of you, obviously,” Jiang Cheng said. “He was there for the whole – you know – when we had it all out at the temple. He knows the whole story, he knows how much I owe you; if you decided to come tell me what you told him in Hanguang-jun’s presence, do not associate with evil –”

“I wouldn’t!” Wei Wuxian protested. He’d been ‘evil’ before, the one who was shunned and rejected by all; he’d never go around riling people up to exclude another the way he’d been excluded.

Jiang Cheng shrugged. “You wouldn’t do it deliberately, but you also said to his face that you wouldn’t associate with him. Do you know how that sounds? Association is association, even by proxy. He figured we’d make up eventually, and then that’s Yunmeng Jiang and Lanling Jin both against him, since Jin Ling tends to follow my lead and likes you, and of course there’s you and Lan Wangji…”

Leaving only Qinghe Nie out in the cold, alone and isolated.

Do not associate with evil.

Yeah, Wei Wuxian could see the problem. He wouldn’t even have to lead the charge himself the way Jin Guangshan had against him; he would just need to hint at his disapproval, and he had enough sway with enough of the right people that they might change their actions just to please him, and then where would Nie Huaisang be?

Offering not to take it personally when Jiang Cheng turned his back on him even though they’d been friends ever since their days at the Cloud Recesses, apparently.

Wei Wuxian had by this point teamed up enough with the junior troop to have heard the stories from Jin Ling and the others to piece together how the time when he’d been dead must had gone. Nie Huaisang might have relied heavily on his brother’s two sworn brothers to run his sect and keep his position, but he’d always been very friendly with Jiang Cheng, and it’d been his unstinting support (brainless support, the juniors had said on automatic before realizing that they had no idea if it was brainless or not) that had helped Jiang Cheng keep pace with the others, to not get left out.

Yeah, fine. Wei Wuxian was, perhaps, being something of a dick. He got that.

“Are we?” he asked instead of conceding, because ‘sorry’ had always been something he’d needed to build up to. “Going to make up eventually?”

“Of course we are,” Jiang Cheng said. “You literally came back from the dead, and then we got stuck in a temple with a villain that helpfully explained all of our problems to us in the process of nearly killing us. If that’s not a sign from the heavens that we’re going to get over this eventually, what is?”

Wei Wuxian had to give him that one. “All right,” he said. “Good.”

“Good,” Jiang Cheng said, shoulders relaxing a little when Wei Wuxian didn’t rebuff him. “Why are you here, anyway?”

“What do you mean? The water demons – or, well, not water demons –”

���No, I mean, why are you…you know, wandering around everywhere,” Jiang Cheng said. “I would’ve figured you’d be at the Cloud Recesses.”

“I probably will be, eventually,” Wei Wuxian said, admitting it for the first time to himself as well. “But I need some time to stretch my legs, get the wanderlust out. Be without burdens for a little while. And then, when I’m clear about – a lot of things, then I’ll go back to him.”

“I figured as much,” Jiang Cheng said. He looked a little uncomfortable, like he wanted to say something, but was thinking better of it. “Well, you’re always welcome to come by the Lotus Pier. Obviously.”

It wasn’t obvious at all, and Wei Wuxian was so glad to hear it that his heart hurt in his chest.

“I will,” he said, swallowing down his questions about what Jiang Cheng had been about to say. It couldn’t have been that important, anyway. “I will. Promise.”

“Good.”

“Want to tell me about the not-water demons you’ve been investigating?” Wei Wuxian suggested.

Jiang Cheng looked incredibly relieved to have the feelings part of the conversation over with. “Yes, of course,” he said. “I started by checking out the area where they’ve been reporting the disappearances –”

(Much later, Wei Wuxian will ask Jiang Cheng why didn’t you tell me that Lan Zhan was drowning! and Jiang Cheng will say I thought you knew! Wei Wuxian will shout of course I didn’t know and you let him get wrangled up by Nie Huaisang and Jiang Cheng will say sorry I thought you knew how to take a hint or did you leave your brain behind in the afterlife and Wei Wuxian will seriously consider punching him.

But that was later.)

[lanwangjisnow]

Melting Ice

Lan Wangji x reader ( Part 5)

The night at Mo mansion Wei Wuxian saw Hanguang- Jun arrived just in the moment to defend his disciples. Wei Wuxian had to run away before getting caught, but Hanguang – Jun had already suspected it could be Wei Ying. He saw Lan Wangji was staring at the darkness as he was secretly watching him from far behind. Then there was a person approached Lan Wangji. "Senior Y/N" young disciples chanted. You were glad to see Lan Wangji and all disciples were safe.

"Y/N" Wei Wuxian whispered "you are still at Cloud Recesses. It's good to see you. Hope we can meet again" he smiled to himself.

"Hanguang-Jun" you called Lan Wangji. He turned around and walked away with you.

After Lan Wangi finally brought Wei Wuxian back to Gusu he did not forget to run behind you. When you were petting rabbits he hugged you from back, giving you a heart attack. "Y/N" he purred. "Wei Ying!" you panicked ( note that - you were the only other person who knew he was real Wei Wuxian and not Mo Xuanyu after Lan Wangji and Lan Xichen then) Wei Wuxian laughed but did not release you. "Are you not happy to see me after many years? No. I'm not letting you go"

"Wei Ying, I missed you so much but..." You sighed. It wasn't that you were not happy to see him but you did not want a new rumor to add up to the ongoing list. Then, there heard some noises and Wei Wuxain dropped his hug. Less than a couple of minutes Lan Sizhui and some young disciples came.

"We can't hug because of them? " Wei Wuxian pointed young disciples with a pouty face. You were so embarrassed when young disciples were confused and said, "I'm going to the library" because you wanted to run away from the situation but Wei Wuxian immediately wanted to follow you. "I'm coming too" he said and about to touch your hand but Lan Jingyi interfered.

"Are you crazy? "he yelled at Wei Wuxain" You shouldn't be so close to Senior Y/N"

Wei Wuxian smirked. "Ah! what made you think so?"

"because Hanguang- Jun..." Lan Jingyi stepped front and was about to bluster but Lan Sizhui dragged Lan Jingyi back. "Apologize for our behavior, Senior Mo". He bowed and you tried to melt the tension by saying "Sizhui, do not be late for lunch and take everyone with you", despite you were flushing after hearing about Lan Wangji.

"Senior Y/N, we will go now" Lan Sizhui bowed you and turned to Wei Wuxain "Senior Mo, we are more than happy to escort you"

Lan Jingyi rolled his eyes. He was not delighted to walk with Wei Wuxian anywhere. Wei Wuxian could not reject the kind invitation of Lan Sizhui. He looked at you and you nodded approving the suggestion. "Y/N, will you come too?"

"I'll be there soon" you smiled before leaving the group.

Wei Wuxian was half disappointed that you did not join them, but left with Lan Sizhui. However, you could not meet him at dining hall as Wei Wuxian was then ready go to Qinghe with Lan Wangji and you met them before the exit of the Cloud Recesses instead.

"Hanguang-Jun, I'm coming with you two"

Hanguang-Jun shook his head sightly "stay".

"No' you said sternly. Wei Wuxian giggled "feisty huh?" Actually he enjoyed how you rejected Hanguang-Jun's order. Lan Wangji did not say anything but for Wei Wuxian's surprise, Lan Wangji helped you to getting on the back of a pony, and took reins of both his horse and your pony as you were no good at riding on your own.

The journey did not end at Qinghe and it went further. Everywhere Lan Wangji was in constant anxiousness that you might get hurt and made you stay at comfortable inns until he dealt with dangerous places. (exactly, he was spoiling you).

One night when you were at Qiting Tavern, you were suddenly called by Wei Wuxian. When you ran to him there was drunken Lan Wangji besides him trying to stand steady. With an absent mind Lan Wangji looked at you and passing both you and Wei Wuxain made his way to bed. Wei Wuxian looked at you and you looked at him.

"Where's he been? "You asked worriedly.

“Lan Zhan! Lan Zhan! Lan Zhan! He is very stubborn" Wei Wuxian shook his head with hands on his hips. Next, he narrated you the story of from Lan Wangji trying to give him hens to where he called you. You giggled. You knew Lan Wangji could be a baby, sometimes when he was drunk.

After bidding goodnight to Wei Wuxian, you returned to your room, but before you could fall asleep, your eyes widened as Lan Wangji came to your bed staggering. He just plonked on small bed and started cuddling. "Y/N" he cooed and snuggled closer.

"Lan Zhan" you smiled as you found him had fallen asleep while hugging you.

At Yi City Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxain had met the juniors and together they came to Tanzhou at night. Out of all shops Lan Sizhui's eyes caught a toy store where there were paper butterflies. Even though Jin Ling insulted him for fancying toys, he could not resist buying a paper toy just like the one he got in his childhood.

You saw how dearly he was holding the butterfly and could not resist buying another for him. Lan Sizhui overjoyed and for a second he forgot Gasu rules, and threw arms around you. He has grown up taller than you but still hugging you as if he was a child. "Senior Y/N"

"Is Senior Y/N his mother? They don't look related? Anyway, Senior Y/N is spoiling him. May be that's why he is behaving like a kid after all" Jin Ling mocked.

"Yes, Senior Y/N is his mother and Hangunag-Jun is his father, and they do what they want. Do you have more questions?" Lan Jingyi retorted shutting Jin Ling's mouth.

You left the Sizhui with his friends and went to the inn where Lan Wangji told you to wait that day. On the other hand, it took a while for Lan Wangji to talk with Lan Xichen and to deal with bickering juniors at downstairs before reaching you. The juniors saw he was carrying liquor upstairs but there was something else in his other hand too. After he left Jin Jingyi suddenly realized what it was and dropped the pieced of the meat he was eating his for the second time.

"Wasn't that a jade rabbit?"

Lan Sizhui coughed.

When Lan Wangji walked in to the room, you and Wei Wuxain were having a chat. Wei Wuxain through this journey was thinking what kind of a relationship that you and Lan Wangji were having. The rumors were unavoidable, and he heard from random men that Hanguang-Jun and you were a couple, and you must have must have fed him with a love portion on him or he would never be fell for you. Then Wei Wuxian did not hesitated to reply with answers outwitting them and emphasizing how cute you were. Anyway, since he returned he felt that he was having serious feelings for you, even though he was been his usual flirty self earlier . Wei Wuxain wondered, if you felt the same sometimes or if you had mixed feelings and trying to replace his care with Lan Wangji's."Lan Zhan!" Wei Wuxian was glad to see Lan Wangji with liquor and grabbed it quickly from Lan Wangji before pouring it to his mouth. "I missed good times" he said while drinking.

"Y/N, did you have dinner?" Lan Wangji asked.

"No, we were waiting for you"

" Okay, then let's all have dinner" Wei Wuxain cheered up and grabbed Lan Wangji's arm by one hand and yours by the other, dragging you both downstairs. When you all sat, Lan Wangji was next to you and Wei Wuxian was the opposite. The juniors were still having dinner while food was serving for you.

"Y/N, shall we have a walk afterwards?" Wei Wuxain asked after some time. You immediately looked at Lan Wangji. He was listening but poured tea to your cup instead of saying something.

"Ah! Lan Zhan, can come with us too" you said trying to not make Lan Wangji provoke.

"Nah! Hanguang-Jun and I walked so many miles together how about us alone? We have many things to catch up" Wei Wuxian pouted.

Suddenly, you felt someone's arm was touching yours and you had not realized that Lan Wangji was moving closer until his arm was glued to yours. The whole hall was silent watching the scene.

"Senior Mo, isn't it late now?" you mumbled.

"Are you shy for me? Cute" Wei Wuxian laughed warmly.

From behind you felt, Lan Wangj's chest and the juniors gasped as it was new to them to see clinginess of Hanguang-Jun as he had never done that in public. In spite of all, Wei Wuxain was still messing with Lan Wangji.

"It's up to you to decide. I wish you meet me in the garden" He said blowing you a kiss. Lan Wangji thumped the table with his tea cup and stood up. Fuming, he climbed upstairs.

Wei Wuxian smirked. "Y/N, maybe I'm helping you if you are into Hanguang-Jun or may be helping you to decide" He was not even slightly affected by Lan Wangji's reaction while everyone else were terrified and muttered to you.

You did not care what it meant as you were busy chasing Lan Wangji. " Lan Zhan! " You caught Lan Wangji's hand and he shook it off instantly while walking straight to his room. " Lan Zhan! Please don't go" You begged but he was not even looking at you. " Lan Zhan" you hugged Lan Wangji.

"Why are you mad with me?"

“You like him flirting with you?" he said trying to pull you off from him. "No" you cried holding his waist tight burring your face in his robes" No, I LOVE YOU . Hanguang- Jun, Lan Zhan, Lan Wangji... I only need you" you cried.

Lan Wangji pulled you off and lifted you up with in blink and connected his lip with you. He kissed you hungrily even though, Lan Wangji always used to kiss you tenderly until now. You tied your legs around his waist and hands around Lan Wangji's neck. It took only a second for him to close the door and pin you against the wall before peppering kisses on your neck.

You pulled off Lan Wangji's forehead ribbion and accidently knocked off a jug next to you while doing that. Right at the moment Lan Sizhui, Lan Jingyi and Ouyang Zizhen were walking to your room passing by Lan Wangji's room as Lan Sizhui was concerned about you after what happened in at dinner.

They heard the noise of the glass and looked at each other. "Is there some trouble?" they thought rushing towards the door but before they enter Wei Wuxian ran into them. "I'll go first. Everyone stay behind" but he did not go in either as he lightly heard your moans, when he was too close to the door. He smirked besides the little disappointment in his heart. It was no longer unclear for Wei Wuxian who you loved the most.

"Let's go Hanguang-Jun is fine. Also don't go to Senior Y/N's room to disturb." He said to impatient juniors.

"but Senior Mo..." Lan Sizhui was still worried.

"Ah not now. Ask Hanguang-Jun about it in the morning perhaps. Tssk didn't I save you all from being poisoned? Listen to me then" Wei Wuxian winked.

Finally, "go go " Wei Wuxian had to chase them away on his own when the young disciples were yet staring at him.