#da-ge's big naturals

[3cosmicfrogs]

i'm just having a silly goofy time smushing my barbies together in new and interesting ways.

[apothecaryscript]

Halloween Visual Special Video / 薬屋のひとりごと　ハロウィンビジュアル　スペシャル動画

Please note that the English lines are just my translation.

壬氏「ハッピーハロウィン！ハロウィンは楽しんでいるか？」

Jinshi “Happī Harowin! Harowin-wa tanoshinde-iruka?”

Jinshi “Happy Halloween! Are you enjoying Halloween?”

猫猫（げっ！面倒な奴に見つかってしまった…）

Maomao (Ge! Mendona yatsuni mitsukatte-shimatta…)

Maomao (Oh no! I was found by a troublesome person…)

猫猫「ごきげんよう、壬氏様。ハッピーハロウィン。玉葉様や翡翠宮の皆さんがとても乗り気でしたので断れず…そもそもこの催し、なぜこんな格好をする必要が？」

Maomao “Gokigen-yo, Jinshi-sama. Happī Harowin. Gyokuyo-samaya Hisui-Kyuno minasanga totemo noriki-deshita-node kotowarezu… Somo-somo kono moyooshi, naze konna kakko’o suru hitsuyoga?”

Maomao “Greetings, Master Jinshi. Happy Halloween. Lady Gyokuyou and everyone at the Jade Pavilion were really keen, so I couldn’t refuse… Anyway, why do I need to dress like this for this event?”

壬氏「死者の霊に仲間だと思わせて、自分の身を守る為…らしいぞ。理由は何であろうと、皆楽しんでいるようだから、いいではないか」

Jinshi “Shishano reini nakama-dato omo-wasete, jibunno mi’o mamoru-tame…rashiizo. Riyuwa nande aroto, mina tanoshinde-iruyo-dakara, ii-dewa naika.”

Jinshi “Apparently, it’s to make the spirits of the dead think we’re their friends, so that we can protect ourselves. Whatever the reason, everyone seems to be having fun, so why not?”

猫猫「そこですねー。それにしても、さすが壬氏様。九尾の狐とは、とてもお似合いです」

Maomao “Soko desuneee. Soreni-shitemo, sasuga Jinshi-sama. Kyubino Kitsune-towa, totemo oniai desu.”

Maomao “That’s it. Anyway, as expected of Master Jinshi, you really suit the nine-tailed fox.”

猫猫（人を惑わせて喰らう… こいつにぴったりだな）

Maomao (Hito’o mado-wasete kurau… Koitsuni pittari dana.)

Maomao (Confuses people and then eats them… that suits him perfectly.)

壬氏「お前…それは褒めてないだろ…。まあいい。薬屋、仕事だ。高順をおどかしに行くぞぅ。褒美はこいつでどうだ？」

Jinshi “Omae…sorewa homete-nai-daro… Maa, ii. Kusuriya, shigoto-da. Gaoshun’o odokashini ikuzo. Hobiwa koitsude doda?”

Jinshi “Hey… that’s not a compliment… But whatever, here’s a job, Apothecary. We’re going to surprise Gaoshun. How about this as a reward?”

猫猫「はっ！お安い御用です！喜んで！」

Maomao “Ha! Oyasui goyo desu! Yorokonde!”

Maomao “Yes, certainly! With pleasure!”

壬氏「フフン、それでは行くぞ！トリック・オア・トリート！」

Jinshi “Fufun, sore-dewa ikuzo! Torikku oa torīto!”

Jinshi “Now then, let’s go! Trick or treat!”

―――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

「面倒な(めんどうな/Mendo-na)」「面倒くさい(めんどうくさい、めんどくさい/Mendo-kusai): troublesome, annoying, bothersome

「催し(もよおし/Moyooshi)」: event (Recently, we often use “イベント(Ibento)” rather than “催し”.

「さすが（流石/Sasuga）」: We use this word when someone did a great job or got great result as expected, with a nuance of “I knew it!” This is a compliment given to someone who is known to be excellent.

「九尾の狐(きゅうびのきつね/Kyubino kitsune)」: Fox monsters with nine tails from China

「惑わせる(まどわせる/Mado-waseru)」: confuse, lead astray, mislead

「喰らう、食らう(くらう/Kurau)」: The meaning is the same as “eat,” but it is used when monsters or evil things eat. Or it can be a slang when you are attacked （攻撃を食らう/こうげきをくらう/Kogeki’o kurau）, or poisoned (毒を食らう/どくをくらう/Doku’o kurau) in a battle or something.

「おどかす(脅かす/Odokasu)」: surprise, scare, frighten, threaten (At this scene, it’s almost same as 「驚かす(おどろかす/odorokasu)」.)

「お安い御用(おやすいごよう/Oyasui goyo)」: It’s easy task, No problem, No sweat. (When you really accept to do something asked by someone.)

「喜んで！(よろこんで/Yorokonde)」: With pleasure!

「トリック・オア・トリート！」: Trick or treat!  When you hear it, you may feel strange because of its pronunciation of Japanese people. It’s the same for us, too, and maybe most Japanese don’t understand when native English speakers say “Trick or treat!”. Most Japanese people, including myself, aren’t good at hearing natural English pronunciation. That’s because there are big differences in pronunciation between English and Japanese, and we pronounce each Hiragana or Katakana very clearly.

[rocketturtle4]

Some wild musings on the ways the terms for older and younger siblings are the same and different between Thai, Korean, Taiwanese and (to a lesser extent) Japanese shows.

(Please note these are uniformed observational musings typed so my brain will shush and also cause it’s a heatwave right now and I can’t sleep - Australia Problems.)

Okay the mix of shows I am watching right now have got my brain spinning around the ways the terms for older sibling and younger sibling as romantic and non-romantic terms are the same and different across these four countries (based on their depiction in shows, primarily but not exclusively BL shows so like --- no accuracy is guaranteed)

(Please note I use the terms “older sibling” and “younger sibling” throughout this post with the full awareness that these terms in all the languages have broader implications – heck I’m talking about the broader implications – it’s just an easy way to keep track)

What started this spiral was twofold

The use of didi by robot boy in Anti-rest to denote himself as “younger brother” despite the romantic/possessive nature of their relationship

The use of “ge” vs “da-ge” in Unknown and the fact I have seen da-ge translated as brother, first brother and big brother and I really want to know what the da prefix actually means since ge is brother they also use da as a prefix to the general term for “uncle” in H3: MODC (yes I am watching MODC, Yes I know, No I don’t get myself either).

SO MUSINGS

Lets start with Thai!

Thai is interesting because their older sibling term (Phi) and their younger sibling term (Nong) are both gender neutral and widly used, but calling someone Phi can have romantic connotations but calling someone Nong…can’t, (or well rarely/never does).

The BL boys seem to use “Phi Nong gan” as a way of denying romantic relationships, “we’re just brothers” – it’s platonic.

So “Phi” is potentially romantic but Nong isn’t.

However Phi is also casual to use (as in people can use it even with strangers) so there is both intimacy, politeness and casualness all tied up. It’s not formal but calling someone Phi is not necessarily intimate.

Next up Korea!

I find the Korean terms utterly fascinating since they have four different terms for older sibling, all of which gender both the speaker and the recipient: Unni (Y girl to O girl), Noona (Y boy to O girl), Oppa (Y girl to O boy) and Hyung (Y boy to O boy). (Y = Younger, O = Older).

All of these terms seem to be equivalent but some are used more freely than others

Calling someone older sibling in Korean seems to be a mix of intimate and respectful, it inherently acknowledges the age differential that is important in Korean society, sometimes people use the term straight away, especially Oppa, other times (more often) it’s something that is built too, or offered as a progression of comfort/intimacy in the relationship.

Korean, interestingly has one term for younger sibling, dongsaeng, and (like nong) this term is gender neutral to both speaker and recipient. It, like Nong, seems to never get used in a romantic context and, again like Nong, being denoted “dongsaeng” seems to be something to be actively mad about/avoidant of if you have a romantic interest in your “older sibling.”

Also Oppa is interesting since the term is also occasionally used in both Thai and Taiwan and seems to simply denote “Handsome/Dateable boy” in these languaes, without gendering the speaker. (Presumably this is the result of Korean romances being primarily younger girl to older boy so the use of Oppa was most commonly the term for the male leads and this got picked up).

Quickly Japan.

Japan doesn’t seem to use sibling terms to denote romantic relationships at all, in anime (but not what I’ve seen of live action so far) the terms for older sibling are used with strangers (much like Phi) but this is primarily by children and again anime so... (is anime a less reliable representative of normal speaking than BL do we think? Maybe it depends on the anime…or the BL).

Terms include:

Aniki (older sibling) – gender neutral of both speaker and recipient, rarely used in anime, seems to only be used with actual relatives in live action.

Ototo (Younger sibling) – opposite of aniki (also maybe only younger brother, unsure)

Onii-san (or other suffixes) - older brother

Onee-san (or other suffixes) – older sister

And Now Taiwan (and China)

Taiwan is interesting because “ge” is brother but their language seems to come with prefixes that change what kind of brother term it is. I’m only just starting to follow (read: hear) the terms but for example in Unknown right now Lili calls her brothers “ge” but Zhiyuan calls his brother “da-ge” and Lili uses “da-ge” when talking about their oldest brother with Zhiyuan. Yet all these terms are just translated as brother

Meanwhile in MODC, Hao Ting keeps calling Bo Xiangs older man “Uncle” and Boxiang keeps correcting him to “Big brother” but both words (uncle and brother) seem to be using the Da prefix so I think Da may be like… additionally respectful maybe…or formal, it doesn’t seem to be respectful when Haoting uses it lol? So I am thinking “Da” must mean oldest/first or something similar.

If The Untamed is to be believed “Da-ge” is first brother and “er-ge” is second brother but idk for sure

Then we come to my spiral thoughts, because the younger brother term here is “didi” as far as I know, but unlike nong or dongsaeng this term doesn’t seem to automatically denote the younger person to “only a brother (read: platonic).” Our young robot boy in anti-reset being the current example, but not the only. I’ve not heard an older boy denote a younger boy as “only a brother” (nong/dongseang) in Chinese so far using “didi’, though maybe that’s a sign I need to watch even more Taiwanese BL…

Anyway, that’s all for now, sleep is calling.

(I would like to reiterate I know nothing and have looked nothing up, this is literally a random English speakers eyes and ears and that’s it, all thoughts welcome, if anything is blatantly wrong, or worse offensive, feel free to let me know)

[fortune-maiden]

While I contemplate dubious life choices, consider:

MXTX Charas in Warriors Orochi 3

For the uninitiated, WO3 is a xover game between Koei Tecmo's 2 big Warriors series: Dynasty Warriors (the 3 kingdoms one) and Samurai Warriors (the sengoku one). And also a bunch of other characters from mythology and other Koei franchises. And Joan of Arc. The very basic plot is Orochi has thrown the multiverse into a blender and everyone teams up to defeat him.

In the third game, this takes the form of the world ending, and the last few survivors joining forces with Princess Kaguya to travel back in time, get the band back together, and set right what once went wrong.

In order to give its absurdly large cast (~150) some time in the spotlight, aside from the main plot stages, there are a bunch of side stages where various characters go off to have their own little adventure, allowing for a lot of fun combinations of characters and a lot of banter during the stages themselves. (And base camp conversations which are especially addicting to unlock)

And I just think it would be fun to have the MXTX characters join in on that whether it's just an mxtx xover or if they get to meet and hand out with the rest of the musou cast

And also I put a lot of time into thinking up Musou-style weapons and stages for at least the MDZS cast xD

WWX is summoned in his original body (possibly without timeskip memories), and MXY gets summoned in his original body which results in a lot of awkwardness for people who are used to WWX in his body and especially those who have never seen WWX's original form. MXY really does not want to be here but is also excited to meet WWX

3zun features a very reluctant alliance between NMJ (who is summoned from before JGY kills him) and JGY (who is from after he kills NMJ but before Guanyin temple. LXC is in the same boat). They have managed to put their differences aside for now on account of the world ending.

3zun's stage features NMJ dying to save the other two :D

The Redux version features JGY saving him which is what allows the truce

NHS has been missing since the whole thing began, which naturally worries NMJ a lot. His side stage involves him and another character or 2 (possibly from other series) going to find him. They find that NHS has been doing a decently okay job defending a castle under siege

NHS is in his headshaker era but subdued because Da-ge is alive again and his emotions are a bit of a mess because of this. He still plays up the act in front of JGY though, out of habit.

The time headaches are part of the fun :D

Also NHS' weapon is either his fan or bird, Maria Renard style

Jin Ling finally gets to meet his parents! :D

They are perfectly accepting of their son suddenly being ~15 years old

Meanwhile post-timeskip JC gets to reunite with his parents and the whole thing feels very awkward

Madam Yu spends her first two camp conversations still in tiger mother mode. But in the last one finally reveals how proud she is of JC

JFM is also going to reconcile with his son because JIANG CHENG DESERVES NICE THINGS!

Whatever stage Feng Xin gets recruited on will prominently feature Liu Mingyan, Jiang Yanli, and Wang Lingjiao. For Reasons.

Not sure who would be the best fit for the final 3 who live to see the end of the world but I'm thinking Shang Qinghua, Jiang Cheng, and Quan Yizhen maybe? (idk who's filling the time machine role of Princess Kaguya yet... something something there's a door in heaven somewhere.)

If this is an xover with the rest of musou, Nie Huaisang & Liu Shan are best friends and I don't take criticism.

[gnomeicecream]

Da ge big natural

da-ge is stressed,,,

[stiltonbasket]

nhs is desperately calling his da-ge to figure out how to deal with a highly caffeinated 7-year-old with a big chip on her shoulder? nmj: take her to the park. or the natural history museum and watch her fight with the docents.

Jueying, running on her uncle's extra-strong coffee: Shushu, I want to fight!

NHS, sweating: I'm going to take you out for a run and point you at Jiang Cheng.

[dragoncityinteriordesign]

The good Deputy Chief’s promo pic made me wonder: Where are everyone else’s photos staged?

Zhao Yunlan: On his desk, of course. He seems to have moved his computer monitor, presumably because his lack of ass kept knocking it over.

Shen Wei: He’s over in the corner of the main room with all the clocks, in one of the armchairs that nobody ever sits in. He is also wearing no socks and his least attractive shirt. Someone please come take him home, Black-Cloaked Envoys only do this when they are very distressed.

Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan: They’re posed in front of the Dragon City map, presumably where the Dragon City map usually is in the SID main room. They just dragged over the couch that’s usually at the center table.

Zhu Hong: She’s up the steps over behind Da Qing’s desk. You can see the foosball table in the distance behind her.

Lin Jing: At one of the lab tables, but not his usual desk. I do not believe for a moment that he is a man who would actually think out problems on a chalkboard. Those are just to impress people.

Wang Zheng: She’s in Zhao Yunlan’s office, over in the corner, probably cleaning it up once he’s gone home for the day.

Sang Zan: The library, naturally! Most of the spines are unreadable, but they have him right in front of two upside-down copies of that fake version of On the Origin of Species and a somewhat pointed Wild Animals in Captivity.

Guo Changcheng: He is, perplexingly, somewhere that doesn’t actually exist in the show itself. The little side-by-side cabinet he’s in front of is over against the wall by the main room’s windows, and the snail lamp is usually found on Da Qing’s desk. The iron bird in the white wood frame and the globe-on-a-stick statue, however, as far as I’ve seen, are nowhere to be found in the SID building.

Chu Shuzhi: Location first. He is staring, somewhat hilariously, into the reflective side of the two-way mirror that looks into the interrogation room; you can see the grate and the fire extinguisher reflected behind him. Okay, good job paying attention to that -- now let’s talk about how Lao Chu’s initial design was just mind-blowingly gay-coded. He’s still got his black sleeveless shirt and black(-ish) pants, but instead of his big black coat and pashmina, we are treated to the bare-armed sight of him in a black leather vest? with rivets down the back?? and a chain hanging from one of the pockets??? You know the censors took one look at that and went, nope, that man is clearly a homosexual, tone it down. ...I don’t know if buzzing his hair even shorter and giving him Zorro detailing is as much toning it down as it is toning it vaguely sideways, but you know what? I can’t complain.

Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan (again): Oh my god you two are sitting on Chu-ge’s desk. You are being gay right on top of his desk. He already has Lin Jing’s annoying little fidget molecule to deal with, and now you are being gay on his desk. Go to gay hell jail.

[littlesmartart]

How do you think leverage AU JC would feel about suddenly having three parental figures? Especially when NHS acts like this is completely normal and just puts on the helpless little brother act on even thicker?

I realise in the actual Leverage Show they very much have a parents/kids dynamic, but in this Leverage AU they're all close enough in age that for Jiang Cheng it's more like having three older brothers than parents. as you said, Huaisang just jumps into the dynamic like IT'S FREE BROTHER, but Jiang Cheng starts out pretty emotionally closed off and it takes him a long while to relax into the situation. he already has one annoying big brother! he doesn't want any more!!!!

re: Mingjue, Jiang Cheng knows he's a super-badass and highly competent, so he respects him from the start, but Mingjue pretty much immediately lumps JC into the same Must Protect Baby Brother category as Huaisang, which JC does not enjoy so much. he can fucking take care of himself okay!!! he does warm up to him though, especially when Mingjue offers to teach him more self defense stuff, and sees that Huaisang and JC are able to handle themselves in a crisis. and we all know that Mingjue is Ultimate Da-ge, so... it's sort of inevitable.

re: Xichen, he's probably the one Jiang Cheng starts out liking most - Xichen is naturally very concerned about the emotional and psychological wellbeing of the group, and he's both the most genuinely personable and the least control-freak-y out of 3zun, so he gives the younger two more space, even if he mother-hens them quite a bit. when Xichen leaves the team to do some soul-searching it definitely activates a whole BUNCH of JC's abandonment issues, so when Xichen gets back it takes a loooooong while before JC is willing to be emotionally open with him again.

re: Meng Yao, he's the one Jiang Cheng finds it easiest to be around - at first - as he is the only person in this stupid team that seems to be able to keep things professional, unlike everyone else just diving into a found family. Meng Yao doesn't want to talk about feelings, Meng Yao doesn't want to discuss his tragic backstory, Meng Yao doesn't want to bond with him, he just want to get the job done, and what a fucking relief! generally, he struggles to get a good read on Meng Yao, so is always faintly suspicious that he's being manipulated, but as they get to know each other better and JC gets glimpses of Meng Yao's vulnerable spots, he learns to see Meng Yao's emotional tells and realises the man isn't REMOTELY anything like the cool, calm, professional HBIC he wants to be perceived as.

all in all, naturally he winds up angrily accepting them as his overbearing big brothers, but it definitely takes a good while before he's willing to accept the dynamic

[robininthelabyrinth]

Prompt: NMJ gets caught in a time loop that makes him repeatedly relive the day Meng Yao leaves for Langya, until he realizes that it's a bad idea and stops him from going?

Time Loop - ao3

Nie Mingjue opened his eyes in the morning and sat up with a yawn, mind already racing ahead to his tasks for the day: getting in some morning saber practice, working on a giant pile of sect business and even more giant pile of work related to the war, making time to write a letter scolding Nie Huaisang (for what, yet to be determined, but inevitable – if he didn’t, Nie Huaisang would complain of neglect), trying to find a replacement deputy (or seven) to do the work Meng Yao did now that he’d headed off to the Jin sect…

There was a lot to do, and even less time to do it in – and moping about it would only make it build up even more. Nie Mingjue sighed and swung his legs to the side, intending to get up and get started right away.

He stopped as soon as he saw the calendar on his desk.

It was the wrong date.

Now, there were two possible reasons for this. The first was, of course, that he’d simply forgotten to mark the day as completed on his calendar yesterday evening, even though that was generally the very last thing he did before bed and longstanding habit had trained him to have trouble falling asleep if he didn’t do it.

They said forgetfulness was one of the first signs of mental decline.

Easy enough to check, though.

He got up and walked to the tent door, cracking it open. “Hey, you,” Nie Mingjue said to one of the guards going by on patrol. “Where’s Meng Yao?”

“I believe at this hour, Viceroy Meng would be checking over the supplies,” the guard said. “Would you like me to call him?”

“Mm,” Nie Mingjue said, because that wasn’t definitive; the guard didn’t know for certain, and he might just be making an assumption based on past precedent. “What about Lan Xichen?”

“Sect Leader Lan hasn’t yet arrived – I believe he’s due in for later today, closer to noon. Did you want –”

“No, I don’t want anything,” Nie Mingjue said, deeply relieved to have identified that he had not, in fact, forgotten to fill out his calendar. “I’m stuck in a time loop.”

“…ah,” the guard said, looking taken aback – he must be new to Qinghe, like many of the cultivators in the army. Like Meng Yao, for that matter. “Is that…bad?”

“No, it’s fantastic. I’m going back to sleep. No one is to bother me all day.”

“But – Sect Leader Lan –”

“Meng Yao can host him,” Nie Mingjue decided. He’d write out Meng Yao’s recommendation letter, put a big red mark on the calendar right now just to make sure he didn’t forget, and go back to sleep for the entire day like he hadn’t done in what must be literal years. “Like I said: don’t bother me.”

-

Nie Mingjue opened his eyes in the morning and sat up with a yawn. He looked at his calendar.

No big red mark.

“Fantastic,” he said, and went back to bed.

-

He slept for four days.

-

“Sect Leader Nie?” Meng Yao said, poking his head in. “Sect Leader Lan is – I’m sorry, are you painting?”

“I haven’t had time for it in ages,” Nie Mingjue said, scowling at the paper. “You know, I thought he was just trying to get out of practice, but actually Huaisang’s right. It really does require quite a lot of dexterity.”

Meng Yao opened his mouth, then closed it again.

After a few more moments, he asked, voice very cautious, “Are you painting a battlefield map?”

Nie Mingjue stopped, appalled. “Is that what it looks like?” he asked. “I was trying for a beaver. You know, the small furry swimming mammal from Xinjiang.”

“No, it looks like a beaver,” Meng Yao said, though now Nie Mingjue wasn’t sure if he believed him or not. “I just thought it might be some sort of – code. Maybe.”

Nie Mingjue conceded that this made sense, given what he was normally like. “No, no code,” he said. “Just a beaver. Thought it’d make for a funny fan painting to give to Huaisang.”

“I see,” Meng Yao said, and seemed to struggle internally for a moment.

“Is this about Xichen’s visit?” Nie Mingjue asked. “You can just show him around yourself if you like. I’ll see him tomorrow, should it ever come.”

“…right,” Meng Yao said. “I’ll – do that.”

“If you want a recommendation to leave to join the Jin sect, you can pick it up on the desk on your way out,” Nie Mingjue said, already turning back to his painting. “Have fun, good luck, kill Wen-dogs. The usual.”

Meng Yao didn’t say anything, just bowed. His expression was very strange.

-

Turned out that painting was a lot harder to accomplish when your supposed ‘friends’ kept trying to spring unwanted and unnecessary medical interventions on you.

Ugh.

-

Actually, that Song of Clarity shit from round 13 seemed really helpful? He’d have to look more into that.

-

Apparently, reading novels was even more concerning than painting.

What, like he wasn’t allowed to have hobbies? What else were time loops for if not to catch a break, damnit?

-

“Oh all right,” Nie Mingjue said, holding up his hands in surrender. “I’ll fix the time loop.”

“You’d better,” Nie Huaisang said, rubbing his eyes and yawning. “What in the world did you do to freak them out at the crack of dawn such that they flew all the way to get me and back before it reset?”

“Uh,” Nie Mingjue said. “Nothing.”

“Did it involve sex?”

“No comment.”

“Did you forget that they’d reset when you woke up?”

“No comment.”

“Just fix the damn time loop, da-ge.”

“That sounds like someone who is not getting a beaver fan.”

“…beaver? Fan? For me? Wait, did you paint it? Da-ge! I want it! No, don’t go to sleep, I want to keep -”

-

“Please sit down,” Nie Mingjue said to Lan Xichen and Meng Yao. “I’m going to need your help on a strategic question of great importance.”

“Anything we can do to help, of course,” Lan Xichen said, and Meng Yao nodded.

“I’m always at your service, Sect Leader,” he said.

“Good,” Nie Mingjue said. “Now – what do you know about time loops?”

-

It took about five days, but he finally managed to figure out how to word the explanation so that it only took as long as a cup of tea to explain and got them to believe him without immediately deciding that he was insane. At that point, they were able to finally start seriously brainstorming solutions.

“We just need to figure out what it is that went wrong and fix it?” Meng Yao asked, sounding dubious. “What is considered ‘wrong’ in this context?”

“Things resulting in massive amounts of death, usually? Sometimes your own.” Nie Mingjue shrugged. “It’s a matter of fate, a natural opportunity to avert disaster; you only encounter one when you’re very lucky. Otherwise do you think my father would’ve died the way he did?”

“…an excellent point,” Lan Xichen said, grimacing. “Very well, let’s make a list of all the things you did, play out the possible consequences to see which ones could potentially result in disaster, and then you can try to change them one at a time.”

“Worth a shot,” Nie Mingjue said.

-

“Good morning, Sect Leader,” Meng Yao said, saluting. “What do you need me for this early? Sect Leader Lan has not yet arrived.”

“I need to talk to you about your future,” Nie Mingjue said. “And what you hope to get out of it.”

Meng Yao straightened his back and blinked owlishly, looking wary. “What do you mean, Sect Leader?”

“You want to go rejoin the Jin sect, don’t you? To earn a position with your father?”

Meng Yao blanched. “Sect Leader –”

“It’s a perfectly reasonable ambition to have,” Nie Mingjue assured him. “Unfortunately, I don’t think a letter of recommendation from me will cut it. I’m too young, and one of his rivals; Jin Guangshan doesn’t give me face – and what will you do if he sidelines you and puts you under someone awful to suppress all your achievements? Wouldn’t it be as good as throwing away your life, ruining your best chance for success?”

Meng Yao frowned. Nie Mingjue was pleased to see it was having an impact: he’d consulted Meng Yao the day before on precisely what wording to use, since his own versions were having no luck.

“I have no objection to your ultimate goal,” Nie Mingjue said. “But we’re going to need to be a bit more clever about it. When Xichen gets here, we’ll put our heads together and think about what we can do to make it impossible for your father to reject you. How does that sound?”

Meng Yao swallowed. “Thank you, Sect Leader,” he said, his voice low and sounding, if anything, a little touched. “I – appreciate it.”

“Good,” Nie Mingjue said, and put a red mark on his calendar. “Also, there’s another issue to discuss involving yourself and Xichen –”

-

Nie Mingjue opened his eyes in the morning and sat up with a yawn. He looked at his calendar.

There was a big red mark.

“Oh good,” he said, and turned around and laid back down.

“What’s good?” Lan Xichen muttered into his collarbone. “Mmm, A-Jue, no, don’t lie down. It’s time to get up.”

“It is not,” Meng Yao said from the other side. “It’s time to sleep in.”

“Listen to Meng Yao,” Nie Mingjue said, settling his arms around him. “The world can wait a little more.”

“It really can’t, though,” Meng Yao said with a sigh, rubbing his eyes and starting to sit up, which was obviously the wrong move. “We’re in the middle of a war, and we all have important things to do today.”

“That’s true,” Nie Mingjue said, a little reluctantly. “I owe Huaisang a beaver.”

Meng Yao blinked.

Lan Xichen blinked.

“…it’s a long story.”

[giraffeter]

Characters in The Untamed, Ranked by the Extent to Which They Are “This Fucking Guy”

Sect Leader Yao: The ultimate This Fucking Guy. Chock full of opinions and all of them are bad. Couldn’t mind his own business if his own business was on fire. Also robs my terrible son Ouyang Zizhen of his rightful title of Worst Wig, which is rude and unnecessary. 10/10.

Su She: This Fucking Guy to such an extent that nobody knows his real name. I was shocked, upon rewatch, to learn that the other guy LWJ saves from the Waterborne Abyss and the guy who gives them up to the Wens were the same guy, and that guy was Su She. Only possible response to him is “who?” followed closely by “oh, THIS fucking guy.” So upset by his TFG status he does a bunch of murders about it. 10/10.

Wen Chao/Wen Ruohan/Wen Xu (tie): Could be chill about being villains but instead they’re all “bluh, bluh” about it like they’re a bunch of fucking Draculas. Nobody likes a try-hard, guys. 10/10.

Jin Guangshan: Can’t keep it in his pants; only person to achieve the title of This Fucking Guy literally as well as figuratively.  10/10.

Xue Yang: Look, he’s my emotional support sociopath too, and it’s very sexy of him, but imagine trying to have a conversation with him.  Such an edgelord he’ll stab a potato at you. People are constantly rolling their eyes as soon as his back is turned. 9/10.

Jin Zixun: Ugh. 9/10.

Lan Wangji: Listen, I love him, he is my favorite character, but you must admit that Lan Wangji is not exactly easy to get along with, and has no compunctions about being actively unpleasant to you if he doesn’t like you. I imagine meeting with him as Chief Cultivator being super stressful, even though he’s generally a pretty fair person, because the risk of being obliterated by a look of Icy Disdain is high. Su She is already launching a 20-minute rant about how he should be higher on this list. 7/10.

Wei Wuxian: I know. I KNOW. But my darling boy is a LOT. You can’t tell me the Lan disciples weren’t going “This Fucking Guy” during his class clownery. He and LWJ are constantly doing horny wrist grabs and staring at each other for a full minute of time, right in front of everyone’s salad. In the scene where the angry mob confronts him, they might as well be chanting “This! Fucking! Guy! This! Fucking! Guy!” Most of this is not his fault but he’d be exhausting to be around. Then again, so am I. 7/10.

Nie Huaisang: Nie Huaisang WANTS to be This Fucking Guy. Nie Huaisang is ACTIVELY TRYING to be This Fucking Guy. Nie Huaisang is angry he’s not higher up on this list but he’s just too Babie for me to give him more than a 7/10.

Jin Guangyao: “What?” you say. “How dare! Villainry!” But this is not a list of Who is a Bad Person, it’s a list of Who is This Fucking Guy, and JGY has spent too much of his life in positions where he can’t be This Fucking Guy indiscriminately. His dad and Nie Mingjue both think he’s TFG for their own reasons, but to people in general? Customer Service Smile all the way, baybee. Points off for all the murdering, though. 6/10.

Xiao Xingchen and Song Lan (tie): Happy to swoop in for some dramatic swashbuckling, completely uninterested in doing any of the ensuing administrative work. Like those people who only want to work on the fun part of the group project and then make the rest of the group do the rest. Would never say it, but deffo think they’re better than you. 6/10.

Jiang Cheng: Unless you are a demonic cultivator he’s torturing to death for complicated emotional reasons or his estranged brother-in-law, Jiang Cheng keeps his TFG tendencies more or less in check. 6/10 mostly for his behavior toward Lan Wangji specifically.

Lan Qiren: The actual literal Fun Police. Only reason he’s not higher on this list is because he never goes anywhere so most people aren’t exposed to his TFG-ness. 5/10.

Jin Zixuan: The flashback portion of The Untamed is, in a sense, the story of Jin Zixuan’s journey from This Fucking Guy to Wife Guy (and then Dead Guy 😬) Averaging out to a 5/10.

Nie Mingjue: We all know how I feel about da-ge, but man does Nie Mingjue think he’s right about everything. He’s willing to listen to arguments to the contrary and change his opinion based on new information, which is cool and better than a lot of people, but he really thinks he’s got it all figured out and has spent pretty much 0 time unpacking that. 5/10.

Lan Xichen: He’s like that guy in high school who’s like super hot and a big jock and smart and student body president and you can’t even hate him because he’s also really nice?? And somehow all that combines to make him, just a little bit, This Fucking Guy. 4/10.

Wen Ning: A baby. A precious baby. However, I am almost positive that his cousins referred to him as This Fucking Guy on occasion in between being Draculas. 2/10.

The Juniors: I don’t think it’s fair to rate the juniors on their This Fucking Guy-ness, because all teens inherently have a soupçon of TFG — it’s natural. N/A, with the exception of:

Lan Sizhui: Best boy. Number one best boy. -1000000/10.

Previously: Sect Leaders by How Likely Their Disciples Are to Accidentally Call them “Dad.”

[vrishchikawrites]

Some Nie Huaisang and Wei Wuxian friendship please?

Like wwx was the first person to understand that Nie Huaisang was a "useless" young master only on purpose.

You can choose if :

Post cannon?

Cannon divergence?

Cannon divergence: where he's a better friend so he makes him joint he Nie clan? Or something? who knows?

You can also choose if Lan Wangji and Nie Huaisang are friends.

(Imagine NHS-WWX-LWJ are buddies since cloud recesses days and go forth, lol. Canon divergence from the point of JC denouncing WWX)

“Listen to me for once!”

Nie Huaisang didn't mean to shout, not really. It is never a good idea to shout at his da-ge because it only provokes anger in return. But Wei-xiong is in danger and no one is helping. Nie Huaisang may be a useless cultivator in many people’s eyes but he refuses to be a useless friend.

The desperation in his stone catches da-ge’s attention and his older brother looks at him with a severe frown, “That boy is cultivating the ghostly path, Huaisang! Even his sect leader distrusts him!”

“Exactly! Da-ge, I’m not stupid, no matter how much you like to believe I am-”

“I don’t!”

Huaisang ignores him, “I know Wei-xiong. He may be mischievous but he’s not evil. If you don’t believe me, ask Lan Wangji! You can trust his word, yes? If you can’t trust your own brother’s.”

“Watch your tone,” Nie Mingjue growls, “You have earned every bit of my suspicion, Huaisang. Don’t pretend otherwise.” Huaisang winces, “I’m not dismissing your concerns but I need more than just your instincts to intervene. Do you have anything more than ‘i know him, da-ge’?” His brother asks and arches a brow.

Huaisang takes a deep breath and collects his thoughts. Hundreds of little observations, pieces of a puzzle too scattered, swirl around in his mind. He has held these pieces close to this heart for years, knowing that it would’ve been disastrous to reveal them during the war. But Nie Huiasang can no longer afford to be silent. Every time he hears someone spitting out his best friend’s name like a curse, something in him burns.

Wei Wuxian is so genuinely good-natured, he will accept everyone as they are. Wei Wuxian is always willing to step between an enemy and a friend, ready to take the blow of them.

There are few people in cultivation as honorable and compassionate as Wei-xiong and Nie Huaisang doesn’t want to see that light diminish.

Da-ge is silent, as though sensing Huaisang’s turmoil.

He straightens and tucks his fan away, meeting his older brother’s gaze head-on, without hesitation. That is enough for da-ge to frown and gesture towards an empty seat. Huaisang quickly goes about making tea as he speaks, “Please be patient with me, da-ge,” He begs, “Let me explain the full picture so you can see what I see. All of this may seem like speculation, but I have proof, circumstantial, but proof nonetheless.”

Nie Mingjue’s expression is now serious and placid, like he’s fully willing to listen to what his brother has to say.

“You… you don’t know, Wei-xiong. He cherished his cultivation, da-ge,” He explains, “It is no accident or act of fate that he was so good at it - good enough to even challenge Lan Wangji. He did the work to get there; he was brilliant but he was also incredibly hardworking. His cultivation was the result of years of refinement. Suibian was his constant companion and he wielded it like it was his soul.”

His brother is still because he’s not stupid.

“Is it not strange that we hear rumors of Wei Wuxian being captured by Wen Chao- by Wen Zhuliu - and see him return with a new cultivation that doesn’t require a Golden Core?”

His da-ge is definitely paying attention now.

“But is it not stranger that the Wens claim they had taken Jiang Wanyin’s core, only for Jiang-zongzhu to come back stronger? His cultivation is so refined and powerful, he is now a force to be reckoned with. Is it not strange, da-ge, that a man that couldn’t push his core even after years of diligent training managed to strengthen so significantly in a matter of months?”

“What are you saying, Huaisang?”

“I’m saying that Wei Wuxian doesn’t have a Golden Core. He hasn’t had it for the entire duration of the war. He lost it during or before those three months he was missing. I’m saying those rumors about him being tossed into the Burial Mounds are likely to be true. I’m saying that Wei-xiong is exactly the kind of person who would use word games to make people believe otherwise. He’s also the kind of person who would do everything in his power to protect his martial siblings.”

Nie Mingue looks stunned, “He walked into war without his Golden Core?”

“I am absolutely certain he did.”

Nie Mingjue stares at his brother, “But you… don’t believe Wen Zhuliu took his core.”

Huaisang hesitates, “This is where I hesitate, da-ge. My instincts tell me it's not that simple. I have known both Wei-xiong and Jiang-zongzhu for a long time. We lived in close quarters and I may not be a good cultivator, but that doesn’t mean I miss small details. Jiang Wanyin feels just as powerful as Wei-xiong did, back then.”

“And you believe that’s impossible?” Da-ge arches a skeptical brow, “You, by your own admission, don’t like him.”

“Wen Qing nearly published a paper on Golden Core transfer. Wen Ning rescued Jiang Wanyin from Wen Chao’s grasp.” He takes a deep breath, “Wei Wuxian just gave up everything to repay a debt that Jiang Wanyin admitted he owed.” Nie Huaisang doesn’t know everything, but he has had years to figure out enough.

Suddenly, all the skepticism leaves his older brother’s face.

“Let’s speak with Lan Wangji.”

---

Wangji-xiong takes it like a blow to his chest.

Huaisang sees him flinch and he sees Xichen-ge step forward in concern, “Wangji...” Xichen-ge looks like he doesn’t know what to say and how to reassure his brother.

Huaisang may consider Wei Wuxian his best friend, but he firmly believes that no one cares for him more than Lan Wangji.

The Hanguang-jun believes him. That's clear from his expression.

Wangji-xiong has likely been aware of those scattered puzzle pieces as well. He just hadn’t put them together until now.

“This is all speculation,” Xichen-ge tries to interject, “There may not be any need to worry, Wangji.”

“Wei Ying’s heart hasn’t changed.”

Xichen-ge stills and Huaisang watches as icy resolve settles on Wangji-xiong’s face, “I’ll bring him.”

“Wangji-”

“Wangji begs your pardon, xiongzhang,” The Hanguang-jun turns around and walks swiftly towards the door. He offers no other word or explanation.

“Huaisang,” Xichen-ge’s voice is displeased, “You should have come to me with this first. Wangji is… attached to Wei-gongzi.”

Surprisingly, it is da-ge who intervenes.

“If you can give Meng Yao the benefit of the doubt, you can extend the same courtesy to Huaisang and Wangji’s friend, Xichen.” Nie Mingjue is scowling, “We have more reason to fault his character than Wei-gongzi’s.”

It is probably the harshest thing da-ge has ever said to Xichen-ge and it shows. The First Jade visibly calms himself and nods graciously, but there’s a glint of displeasure in his eyes. Jin Guangyao has been a bone of contention between da-ge and Xichen-ge for several months now. Huaisang should probably look into the matter a little more but Wei-xiong’s situation demands all of his attention.

Now that Jiang Wanyin announced Wei Wuxian’s defection to the entire cultivation world, he’s a free agent with a powerful ability and an even more powerful tool. With the Jins and their successful rumor-mongering, Huaisang fears they don’t have much time. Jin Guangshan has already driven a wedge between Jiang Wanyin and Wei Wuxian. How much more can they accomplish if Huaisang doesn’t intervene somehow?

---

Wangji-xiong doesn’t return with Wei Wuxian. He brings Wen Qing and wears an expression of outright fury on his usually stoic face.

“I transferred his Golden Core into Jiang Wanyin.” Wen Qing declares with a straight back and a steady glare. She looks right into da-ge’s eyes, “I helped Jiang Wanyin recover from his captivity and then agreed to perform the procedure.”

Huaisang sits down as his worst fear is confirmed.

He had hoped… he had desperately hoped he had been wrong but as Wen Qing goes on to describe everything, explaining how the procedure worked and what Wei-xiong had to endure for his martial brother’s sake, he becomes certain she is telling the truth.

And this is exactly what Wei Wuxian would do. It would be too far-fetched and outrageous for anyone else, but Wei-xiong- his capacity for self-sacrifice has always worried Huaisang and Lan Wangji.

“Where is he?” Nie Mingjue demands, “Did you leave him in the Burial Grounds? In his state?”

“Wei Ying refuses to come,” Lan Wangji says, his expression pale and tight, “He must keep the resentful spirits at bay and protect the Wens. There’s a child among them, barely two years old.”

Xichen-ge sucks in a breath, closing his eyes in dismay.

“He’s injured.” Wangji-xiong continues, “He was gutted by Jiang Wanyin in a staged fight.” Huaisang looks up sharply, “He hasn’t healed and yet persists to place himself at risk.”

“Wangji, we will help him,” Xichen-ge assures, “I apologize for not understanding the situation, but now we know and we will help him.”

“So they fought to spare the Jiang Sect,” Huaisang speculates with a frown, “But… why not just tell us? Surely Jiang-zongzhu knows he just had to mention his debt to you, Wen-guniang.”

“We have misunderstood Jiang Wanyin’s character greatly.” That is a big condemnation coming from the Hanguang-jun himself. Huaisang is certain that Wangji-xiong isn’t inclined to be charitable now. Jiang Wanyin did hurt Wei Wuxian seriously, after all.

“He won’t move until we do something to help the Wens.” Huaisang concludes, opening his fan in a snap and waving it furiously, “Because he’s just that stubborn. If he owes Wen-guniang and Wen-gongzi a debt, nothing is going to move him, not even Wangji-xiong.”

“I have never been able to move him.” Lan Wangji says icily and it seems like they’re feeding off each other’s ire.

Really, Wei-xiong is so frustrating to deal with sometimes. He doesn’t know how Lan Wangji handles being in love with him, Huaisang already feels nauseous. Wei Wuxian is in such a precarious position now that if they don’t act fast, he would…

He would likely be imprisoned or killed.

“Let’s offer the Wens some protection then.” Nie Huaisang says.

“Huaisang,” Da-ge warns, “It’s not that simple.”

“Why not?” He demands, turning towards his brother and Lan Xichen, “Will the Jins retaliate? If both Lans and Nies stand together on the matter, what will they do? The Wens don’t need to be free, they need to be safe and healthy. We can keep them contained in a small farming village, forbid cultivation and absorb any children into one of our clans. Let’s take Wei-xiong into the Nie clan and let the Wens settle in the northern reaches. The area is fairly remote and life will be hard but safe, better than the Burial Mounds at any rate!”

He doesn’t know what kind of expression he has on his face but da-ge looks faintly amused, “You’ll take on the Jins?”

“If I have to!”

“He means that much to you?”

Huaisang swallows and thinks of days spent in merriment and comfort. Of a friendly arm tossed around his shoulder and a laughing voice dragging him into all sorts of mischief. He thinks of warm silver eyes that never looked down at him and nods, “Yes, he does.”

Wei-xiong has always helped him and treated him with respect. It is time for him to return the favor.

---

It is a near miracle that everything works out as planned. Well, almost everything. No one is pleased when the Lans and Nies band together to take over the Wen remnants. Fortunately, the Jiangs don’t have any room to object. Da-ge doesn't hesitate to reveal that Jiang Wanyin owes Wen Ning his life. Jiang Wanyin's honor is called into question but he suffers no other consequence for his dishonesty. Nie Huaisang doesn’t care but he notices how it guts Wei-xiong.

Apparently, when Wei-xiong and Jiang Wanyin agreed to part ways, Jiang-zongzhu only needed to say Wei Wuxian had left the Jiangs. There was no need to outright state that his sect brother had betrayed the entire cultivation world!

Either Jiang-zonghzu is incredibly naive or he deliberately placed Wei Wuxian in a difficult position without his knowledge.

Either way, Nie Huaisang is content to see that relationship severed. In his humble opinion, he makes a much better martial brother. And Wei-xiong could certainly benefit from being under the thumb of someone as protective as da-ge. He’s entirely too willing to place himself in harm’s way!

Humming under his breath and happy that everything turned out according to plan, Nie Huaisang turns around the corner and pauses. He quickly takes a few steps back until he’s out of sight. Peeking cautiously around the corner, he hides a grin behind his fan as he sees Wei-xiong fall off a tree and right into Lan Wangji’s arms.

Huaisang bites back a laugh when Wei Wuxian stays in place, arms around Lan Wangji shoulders and eyes peering up at the Second Jade.

He had been suspicious about them since Lan Wangji all but dragged Wei Wuxian to the Unclean Realm. His best friend arrived with flushed cheeks and suspiciously red lips but everyone pointedly ignored it, too eager to avoid that particular mess.

He smiles, chuckling under his breath when Wangji-xiong pulls Wei Wuxian closer and dips his head.

Turning around, he starts walking away, leaving the lovers to their business.

Besides, da-ge would want to know about this.

[jaimebluesq]

Hi! I just saw your post about the requests/suggestions :D

I often find myself wondering "What if NMJ and NHS were born at the same day (much like JGY and JZX), and were the same age during the story? Would their relationship change? Would they still have the same friends? Would their role in the sect change as well?"

(Of course, if you're interested in writing it, you don't need to answer all those questions and it could simply be about the "twins'" shenanigans haha)

Thank you for sending me this!

Their relationship would definitely be different. A big part of their canon dynamic as I see it is the fact that NMJ is much older (I'm not sure what canon says, but my headcanon is 6 years apart), and because of their parents' deaths, pretty much had to raise NHS, being both brother and parent to him. So if they're born on the same day, that dynamic is completely removed - they can just be brothers.

So how would this affect things?

Nie Bros

Well, NMJ would have huge changes. The one thing that isn't a concern is his role as Sect Leader - not only does NHS have no interest, but being the son of Daddy Nie's concubine solidifies NMJ as the heir. But their having been raised together from the very beginning could still solidify a strong friendship between them - I imagine NHS' mother might have encouraged him to be the person to help NMJ remember what it's like to be a kid (because he's usually all work/no play). So NMJ will have someone at his side who supports his younger side, who reminds him to relax and to make friends and that there is more to life than work and leading his sect. Also NMJ would be able to step away more having a brother of equal age to temporarily manage things in his absences. The conclusion is that NMJ would be a little more relaxed and easygoing, and may not have as much Big Da-ge Energy as in canon - though he might be more frustrated with his brother's unwillingness to train/take responsibility because NHS won't be *baby*, he'll be *my lazy brother*.

NMJ would also no longer be known far and wide as Da-ge - NHS will still call him that on occasion, usually when he doesn't want to do something and wants to emphasize NMJ should do it because he's older. (NHS: Age before beauty, Da-ge! NMJ: Enough with the Da-ge, I'm five minutes older. NHS: That's still older, old man, now let me rest in peace :p)

NHS as well would have some differences because, as no longer the 'baby' of the family, I don't think he'd be spoiled QUITE as much, and probably wouldn't be allowed to get away with as much as he does. There would probably be expectations that he would eventually be NMJ's 2nd, his right-hand-man, and he'd try to get out of those as much as possible, but he'd be seen less as NMJ's natural successor and heir because he'd be encouraging NMJ to find a wife, pushing him to have a life outside of work.

Canon Events

So the big thing in my head that would be affected by all of this is the canon timeline because... *drumroll*... With our Director Nie and Sect Leader Nie being the same age when their father dies, I fully imagine them to put their heads together to avenge their father as soon as they can figure out how to succeed. They would be 15/16 when their father dies of qi deviation because of Wen Ruohan, so def. old enough to plan out revenge. We all know what happens when NHS loses someone he loves, after all, and NMJ will no longer be preoccupied with raising his baby brother, and instead can dedicated time and brainpower to taking down WRH.

I would like to think they can succeed - NHS would be more likely to try and find a 'dishonourable' method of revenge - that might actually bring conflict between them, the method of revenge and whether it's worth it - but I think their relationship would be solid enough to work through it (or at least to forgive each other in the end).

So yeah, WRH keels over in his soup one day or something and the Sunshot Campaign never happens.

Other Relationships

So... we know there are only so many characters mentioned by name in canon (hell, the Nie Bros are the only Nie mentioned at all until Fatal Journey was filmed), but from what we can see, there aren't many contemporaries to the boys. LXC would be closest at a few years younger (my headcanon is 3 years diff), but the rest of the young masters and mistresses of their generation seem to be younger. This means we won't have our One Braincell Trio (*cries*), though NHS might want to adopt JC and WWX as baby brothers.

That's all I can think of right now, but this is a fascinating idea - I'm tempted to try and write something small to get a feel for it.

Thank you again!!!

[heymeowmao]

some translations from the 5/24 Heroes cast live-stream, not too detailed.

- doing character introductions - mzy requesting bgm with an air of ~mystery~ lyn: !! I didn't know I was in charge of it! I'm sorry!! I was unprepared. /plays a rock song/ mzy: ????? that’s not what I wanted.

- baron just chilling and eating watermelon, about to make a toast with a jar of hot sauce (which he later changed to arizona iced tea XD)

- lyn is now in charge of all sound effects for the stream

- during self introduction lyn: if I said I was in charge of visuals, you wouldn't laugh at me, right? baron: /claps/ lyn: why are you laughing though??? zsx: you started laughing yourself, first!

- made a group name for themselves, zsx: reading the group name off the script (it includes each of their names, idk) mzy: you’re looking at the script WAY too obviously lyn: I know you’re looking at the script, and I understand, I do- but... mzy: yes! make it less obvious  lyn: be more natural. you’re an actor, don’t forget. zsx: no~ I don’t have anything around me~ you’ve misunderstood me!! - lyn tries to get someone else (baron, mzy) to come up with a different name mzy: I think this one is good, because that’s what’s written in my script, too lyn: y’all are too lazy. no fun. you can’t TRY to think of another?

--

- listening test: they’re given a line from the script, and need to see if they can remember the lines that come before/after lyn: we can’t remember. it’s been more than a year since we shot this drama, how could we remember??

- in the drama there’s a part where Wen Rou meets a storyteller and asks them to include her two friends into her story; this sort of actually happened in real life, as ycy went to an amusement park and found a sugar-writer. she asked them if they could also write out the names of her two colleagues (zsx & lyn), and they asked her, “who are they?” XD but she was able to get them written, in the end. lyn: I just wanted to ask, though. are we really just only “colleagues” to you? ycy: /fist bumps/ my bros~ lyn: thank you, chaoyue. next time you can remember to include baron and mzy. 

- continuing & concluding the game host: it felt like da-ge was coasting? lyn: no! de-ge was very serious. host: he was listening closely? baron: /nods/

--

-re-enacting some scenes

scene 1: where ycy & mzy’s characters compliment each other; re-enacted with the three bros - zsx: liu-gege~  lyn: be more normal!! zsx: liu-dage! your singing sounds so nice! amazing, like the birdsong from the mountains~~ -  lyn: su mengzhen-dage, you’re the most overbearing person I’ve met in the jianghu. I want to be you, but one day, I will replace you. baron: ~don’t say that~ - baron: and I have to compliment one of the guys? lyn: you can compliment the girls, too! if you do that, then people can’t blame me for what happens in the drama next.  baron: what do you mean? lyn: they’ll understand what kind of person you are. that you care more about the girls and treat me with a little less care. -  - lyn wants to make the two girls compliment the guys, baron flips it: what type of animal would you describe us as? ycy: zsx looks like... baron: a zebra. (bc of zsx’s shirt, lol) ycy: like a doggy... your eyes are very big, so maybe a chihuahua? mzy: don’t you think his eyes are big and droopy, and kind of makes you want to hurt him? ycy: I don’t want to hurt him at all! lyn: that’s what you get for having big eyes. zsx: I want to be a wolf! ycy: you have to draw an upwards curving eyeliner to make yourself look more like a wolf. zsx: ok! I’ll draw it for you next time! ycy: you want to look like a wolf, is that it? then, I think you look like a husky! zsx: /head in hands/ host: she just refuses to say you look like a wolf.  lyn: looks like a wolf, but on the inside is a dummy. just like a husky. that’s already being plenty generous. what about me- what do you think I am? ycy: I think ning-ge looks a little more like a wolf! lyn: :D! zsx: !! D: he looks like a giraffe, come on! ycy: da-ge, I think... he looks like a panther! baron: ^o^V - lyn asks mzy what she thinks mzy: does it have to be an animal? lyn: anything’s fine- you can liken us to cars if you want. mzy: I feel like da-ge’s a chameleon! because he seems really amazing! lyn: what’s so amazing about a chameleon? mzy: if people want to hurt them, they can’t. they just seem really cool. zsx: if people want to hurt me they can, but they can’t kill him?? lyn: you’re just an 2ha, face it. mzy: ning-ge is like.... like an eagle... because I’ve watched some of his streams and he likes to stay up at night. mzy: zeng-ge is like a doggy. zsx: I can’t stream any longer! lyn: how can you be an actor with such a weak heart?  mzy: zeng-ge just seems like a very gentle animal lyn: yes, because he will give people the impression that he is very gentle and kind; interacting with him, you’ll feel the same ycy: how about a deer, then? lyn: isn’t a deer you?  ycy: ! I’m an ostrich!

scene 2: su mengzhen’s scene, from the house of falling drizzle, or w/e it’s called - they take turns re-enacting with different dialects baron: gives mzy 99 points for her performance, where he gave lyn 10 points lyn: why does she get 99 points when I got 10?! there’s something going on between you two!!

--

plays a game: what can you find in the OOO? (they just have to name things commonly seen/found in the location, following the rhythm of the game) - ycy lagged out and had to re-enter the stream, but that put her last in the lineup lyn: you’re now last in line, do you have any thoughts about that? if you’re unhappy, tell us so we can all go out then come back in (to rearrange the order of the windows). ycy: no, I don’t care about the rankings lyn: /asks the host if he could leave and rejoin the stream, so ycy isn’t last/ - moves on bc it’s too hard to keep the beat with six different people streaming in

-- 

- picked some comments out of those who commented on the episodes yesterday, so they can share and comment (seems like two comments for each character? -ish) lyn: are they disses? or are they the kind comments? host: interesting ones, there are no critical ones here. lyn: but /I’ve/ prepared some. let’s have a taste of sweetness from the host first and then I’ll provide the slaps in the face for later.

lyn: if you had to compare ycy to a fruit, she’d be a watermelon? ycy: why am I a watermelon?? oh wait- hold on. I remember he told me he hates eating watermelon. but you said /I/ was a watermelon. zsx: I don’t eat it. mzy: yes, he never eats it. ycy: you don’t eat watermelon, but you think I’m a watermelon?? D:

zsx: a lot of people who watch traditional wuxia dramas are looking for the element where the male lead goes on a journey and matures/improves along the way. but this story isn’t really like that, wang xiaoshi is more of on a journey of emotional maturity (rather than physical/in terms of skills). I hope people can see that he isn’t that naive, and that he actually has his own opinions of the world. I hope the viewers can give him a little more time and be patient- use the first 8 episodes to understand the world and you’ll be able to see where the beauty of our drama lies. host: please continue to watch the drama, this is just the beginning. lyn: the later episodes, I swear- mzy: don’t just look at the first few episodes and think everyone gets along in a nice world, the later episodes are going to be REALLY... not good.

- ycy lagged out and was last in line again, lyn exited and re-entered the stream without saying anything, so he put himself last :’)

- the next comment was abt wen rou setting off the fireworks lyn: that scene really moved me, you know? the part where she said, “you guys can hold on in there, I’ll watch the fireworks outside for you.” She lifted her head and cried with a smile on her face. I was really touched. I thought, “wow, wen rou is the best.” Also, I was singing the bgm. everyone: LOL lyn: it was me AND zsx. XD

- next comment abt the scene where lei chun’s scarf was blown away in the wind and bai choufei caught it lyn: she was standing, waiting for her boat and the wind blew her scarf away. I happened to catch it but then the wind blew it away again. how strong do you think that wind must have been?? mzy: it wasn’t blown away by the wind, wasn’t it a fishing line?  lyn: ...yes, of course. during the filming process there was a fishing line to pull the scarf away. host: it was described really beautifully but meng-jie just pulled us back into reality XD zsx: liu  yuning- there are some things you can’t hold on to no matter how much you try. you need to learn how to let things go.

- next comment abt bcf and his blades lyn: I feel like I’m opening packages. - mzy lagged out and was last, ning-ge exits and re-enters the stream again so he’s last

- comment abt su mengzhen drinking his medicine, it looked like it was hot baron: it was quite hot, yes. in the later episodes- yuning knows- my sickness got a lot more “realistic”, the thing was I really had shang huo. lyn: later on he had to take medicine before we started to shoot. he wasn’t faking his sickness, he really was sick. host: only you would have the guts to say that. lyn: of course, or else why would I be here? I didn’t come to me a celebrity, I came to reveal their secrets.

- comment: if su mengzhen had insurance the company would go bankrupt (bc he gets hurt a lot) baron: next time I won’t buy insurance, then. save you the trouble. lyn: no, you still have to. mzy: he’s sick so he had to spit a lot of blood. baron: I think I had to spit the most. It was sweet (the taste). zsx/lyn: yeah, our crew really pulled out all the stops with the fake blood. lyn: we didn’t have to eat lunch because we would be swallowing about three cups worth of fake blood each take

- comment abt lei chun falling for wen rou’s charms mzy: the actress is ycy! who can resist?? - comment abt lei chun killing a man mzy: it was after I had tricked the three of them to sleep- lyn: you didn’t trick us, you drugged us mzy: of course I tricked you- tricked you BY drugging you. Do you think I was smiling at you because I wanted to??? lyn: omg, she’s scary. - lyn’s trying to hype up mzy’s character, but mzy is like: but this was in the script, though? shouldn’t you have known about it already?; lyn: >.<;;

--

- plays a game with their surname; overlapping the surname (in this case: zeng, chen, yang, meng, liu // wang, su, wen, lei, bai) to the last character of a proverb/saying

lyn: /to baron/ if you really want to eat cake, I’ll buy you a piece!! you’ve been chewing on that fork all night!! baron: I was eating watermelon. 

- it’s difficult for zsx’s “zeng” - host comes up with “与日俱增“ - ycy laughed herself out of frame and lyn was trying hard to keep it together - bc this is this is a homophone to “宇日俱曾” < xiao yuliang and zeng shunxi’s cp name

-- 

- moves on to a drawing game: draw out the hero in your heart.

- about zsx’s - (lyn) there were five people, whose identities are not important >.> ; they get hit by lightning and then only one is left

- about ycy’s - (mzy) this must be the Sixth Half Hall and the Hall of Drizzling Rain, right?

- about lyn’s - drew the three bros? ?? baron: the one with the longest hair is you, and then according to your own logic, the other two people don’t matter so you just randomly drew them. zsx: why do I only have two hairs?? lyn: actually, I didn’t draw the two of you at all. mzy: they’re all himself!

- about mzy’s: ycy: is that a ufo? mzy: I drew “阳光洒满大地” (sun shining upon the earth) ycy: is it me? mzy: of course, babe~ ycy: /shy/ mzy: I hope that for the people that were living in that era, or the people of the past or the people who are living in the present- that all results are for the best. In my heart every person is a hero and I hope that wherever they are there will be sun shining on them.

- about baron’s: a drawing of pikachu... with the word “HERO” written out next to it... the pikachu is holding a knife. - host asks lyn what he thinks lyn: I think that in da-ge’s heart we are all his 数码宝贝 (that’s Digimon, bro..). we are all his baby. lyn: da-ge, what does it mean? you have to tell us otherwise the viewers won’t be able to sleep at night. baron: I don’t know either, it’s just the first thing that came to mind. maybe it reminds me of wang xiao shi? zsx: da-ge, I’m a wolf! host: lol, he’s still thinking about being a wolf. baron: isn’t pikachu better than a wolf? zsx: maybe he’s a little too cute? lyn: the eyes are the same (pikachu’s and zsx’s)

--

- ending comments - ycy: I hope you all can watch our drama. I know there are some parts we still need to mature but I hope you will give us your support. thank you. - lyn: thank you to everyone who is watching Heroes and thanks to Tencent. and the thing I want to say next is to my co-stars: after this drama finishes airing and with all these friends’ support, we’re sure to be popular. I just want to remind you to be a good person and not to overindulge yourself and get slack. - baron: thank you for all your support for Heroes. I think that- other than the five of us that you can see- the director and crew and the other actors that you aren’t seeing right now have really put their all into this drama, and I hope you can see that. I think this drama was made with sincerity. I think you’ll all be able to see a different side of all of us through this drama. The Director really used his own methods to take care of everyone. I hope you can stay tuned. - mzy: I hope you can all give Heroes lots of support. Throughout the filming process I could see all the effort everyone put into this drama and I working with them made me happy. I really learned a lot. Also, I hope people can patiently watch the drama- each character is really detailed and you can really see the growth of each character from beginning until the end.  - zsx: I just wanted to say- some people may be wondering why we’ve been working so hard to promote this drama; we really started pushing for this drama a long time ago. We spent every penny of the budget on its production, on its creation. The director, production, and actors all feel strongly for this drama and we’re all trying our best to get more and more people to see it. I hope that all the viewers can spend a little more time to just really look at all the details that went into this- it won’t disappoint you. I hope everyone can continue to give us your support. Thank you.

[bloody-bee-tea]

Clean

1) me writing about ace!jc again? more likely than you think

2) I asked my friend to give me ten word prompts per month, so I stay in the habit of writing fic regularly and "Clean" was the first prompt yes it's just mostly me trying to find a way out of coming up with titles

Jiang Cheng is feeling good. Great even, with Nie Mingjue as a solid weight on top of him, slowly leaving a trail of kisses down Jiang Cheng’s neck and it is so damn good.

Until Nie Mingjue’s hand moves from Jiang Cheng’s side lower and lower, and then everything is suddenly not good anymore as Jiang Cheng is being flooded with a sense of unease.

“Stop,” Jiang Cheng breathes out, reaching out to catch Nie Mingjue’s wrist in his hand and to his credit Nie Mingjue does immediately stop. “I’m not—I can’t—” Jiang Cheng stumbles over the sentence, but Nie Mingjue only hums low in his throat.

“Alright,” he easily says, as if it’s not strange at all that Jiang Cheng still isn’t ready for more and he puts his hand back on Jiang Cheng’s side.

Jiang Cheng likes how big it is there, how it easily spans around his ribcage, but he realizes he’s just trying to distract himself.

“Do you want to stop or do you want to go back to kissing?” Nie Mingjue asks him, clearly noticing that Jiang Cheng is still tense and Jiang Cheng forces himself to relax.

“The kissing was nice,” he whispers and gets a wicked smile in return, right before Nie Mingjue dives in again.

“Then let’s just keep doing that,” Nie Mingjue says between kisses and Jiang Cheng would really love to fall back into that, to simply stop thinking and go back to enjoying this, but he can’t.

His mind is whirring and he’s so angry with himself that he can barely bring himself to reciprocate and of course Nie Mingjue notices.

“Wanyin,” he eventually whispers against Jiang Cheng’s lips and Jiang Cheng groans before he slams his head into the pillow once.

“I’m so sorry,” he gets out, incredibly mad at himself for ruining the mood yet again but Nie Mingjue shakes his head.

“There’s nothing to be sorry for,” he easily tells him. “If you’re not ready, then you’re not ready.”

He says it as if there’s nothing wrong with it, as if there’s nothing wrong with the fact that Jiang Cheng still can’t allow more than kissing even after months of dating and he doesn’t understand where Nie Mingjue takes all this patience from.

“Stop thinking about it,” Nie Mingjue advises him and presses a kiss to the hinge of Jiang Cheng’s jaw. “There’s nothing to think about. If it doesn’t feel right, then it’s not the time.”

“How can you just say that?” Jiang Cheng wants to know, as he puts his hands on his face. “Why are you so okay with that?”

“Because I love you and I want you to be comfortable?” Nie Mingjue gives back, though it’s not really a question, Jiang Cheng knows that.

“I love you, too. I’m sorry that I’m not ready yet.”

“My heart,” Nie Mingjue sighs and drops kisses all over Jiang Cheng’s face. “What did I tell you before?”

“That there’s nothing to be sorry about,” Jiang Cheng dutifully replies, but he starts to doubt that with every week that passes where he can’t allow Nie Mingjue to go further than the kissing.

“Then stop saying it,” Nie Mingjue says with a small smile and gathers Jiang Cheng up in his arms. “You wanna cuddle or you wanna do something else?” he asks, clearly completely content to let Jiang Cheng set the pace of whatever they will do next and Jiang Cheng turns in his arms until he can hide his face in Nie Mingjue’s chest.

“Cuddle,” he mumbles and he feels Nie Mingjue’s chuckle more than he hears it.

“Who would have guessed,” Nie Mingjue teasingly says and presses a kiss to Jiang Cheng’s head, before he relaxes.

He does seem to be happy enough to simply lay there with Jiang Cheng but it takes Jiang Cheng a long time to push his guilty conscience aside so that he can relax as well. Nie Mingjue tells him again and again that it is fine that he’s not ready for sex yet, but the more he says it the more it feels unfair to Nie Mingjue.

Jiang Cheng just isn’t sure what the right solution to this is.

~*~*~

“Fuck,” Jiang Cheng whispers, his eyes still glued to the screen. “Fuck,” he says with more vehemence when the words don’t change and he puts his head into his hands.

He only came to google to see if there was something wrong with him for not being able to sleep with Nie Mingjue. He did not expect to have to readjust his sexuality.

But Jiang Cheng has read several different entries on asexuality now and the more he read the more he felt that it fit.

And it is the worst thing, in his eyes.

How is he ever going to explain that to Nie Mingjue? How will he ever tell him that he will never, ever sleep with him?

Jiang Cheng can already imagine how it will turn out—with Nie Mingjue regretfully, but determinedly breaking up with him, because a man has needs, right, and if Jiang Cheng can’t meet them, then what would keep Nie Mingjue ever by his side?

“Fuck,” Jiang Cheng says again, just because he can and because he feels like the situation really requires it and then he reaches for his phone.

Only to hesitate over his contacts.

Who is he going to call? Wei Wuxian will no doubt make fun of him, however good natured it would be and Jiang Cheng is not ready for that. And Nie Huaisang is the last person he can tell about this because for all that they are best friends Nie Mingjue is his da-ge.

If Nie Huaisang thinks this will hurt Nie Mingjue in any way, he will tell him, before Jiang Cheng can even dial Nie Mingjue’s number to tell him himself.

No, those two are definitely out.

That leaves Jiang Cheng with only one option, and even though he really doesn’t want to discuss any sexual topics with his sister, he presses the call button.

“A-Cheng,” Jiang Yanli greets him warmly and it brings tears to Jiang Cheng’s eyes that he can’t even explain himself.

“A-jie,” he gets out, and he knows that his tone immediately worries her.

“What happened?” she softly asks and Jiang Cheng takes a few deep breaths before he straightens up in his chair.

“Nie Mingjue is going to break up with me,” he says, because that much he is sure about by now, but it hurts to say the words out loud.

“Why would he do that?” Jiang Yanli asks and Jiang Cheng loves her for not immediately saying that Nie Mingjue would never do that.

“Because I’m not going to sleep with him,” Jiang Cheng whispers and he crumbles again, hunching in on himself because it hurts so damn much to even think about losing Nie Mingjue over this.

“If you’re not ready and he’s going to demand you sleep with him anyway, then it’s better if you break up,” Jiang Yanli carefully says and Jiang Cheng chokes out a laugh.

“I’m never going to be ready,” he admits and then he tells her all about his descend into google hell and what he found out about asexuality.

There’s a beat of silence from here when he is done but then she says: “It doesn’t really change anything, A-Cheng. If you don’t want to sleep with him and he’s going to demand it anyway, then it’s still better if you break up. But you have to come clean to him about this.”

Jiang Cheng blinks at that, because how can he just deny Nie Mingjue of that if it’s such an integral part of any relationship, but before he can say so Jiang Yanli goes on.

“If he loves you, he will respect your sexuality.”

“But wouldn’t that mean I should respect his sexuality as well?” Jiang Cheng asks, because it doesn’t make sense if it’s one-sided.

“You both have to respect the other. It’s just—there are ways for him to relieve himself, right? It’s different for you; you shouldn’t have to do something that makes you uncomfortable like this only to make him happy.”

“I don’t—isn’t a relationship about compromise?” Jiang Cheng asks, because he’s sure that if he tells Nie Mingjue outright that it’s never going to happen, he’ll walk away from him.

“Usually, yes. But sometimes you have to set some hard limits, especially if it makes you feel like this.”

“Did you set hard limits with that peacock of yours?” Jiang Cheng asks and it startles a laugh out of Jiang Yanli.

“Yes, I did, actually. And it took him a while to accept them, but it’s working for us. It’s worth a try, A-Cheng,” Jiang Yanli says and Jiang Cheng is tempted to ask what those limits are, but he bites his tongue.

He doesn’t need to know everything about his sister’s relationship with Jin Zixuan.

“What if he breaks up with me over this?” Jiang Cheng asks, his voice small, because he doesn’t even want to imagine it.

“Then he wasn’t right for you. A-Cheng, think about it. Do you want to force yourself to sleep with him just to keep him by your side? How would it make you feel to know that only the promise of sex would keep him with you?”

“Like shit,” Jiang Cheng whispers and pinches the bridge of his nose. “You’re right.”

“Your a-jie is always right,” Jiang Yanli teasingly says. “Go talk to him. And then tell me how it went, okay?”

“Alright. Thank you,” Jiang Cheng sincerely says and by now he’s glad that he called his sister.

She definitely had better advice than Wei Wuxian, that’s for sure. It still doesn’t do anything to resolve the ball of nerves in his stomach, but Jiang Cheng guesses that’s something he has to deal with himself.

And he knows that will only go away once he laid it all out for Nie Mingjue.

~*~*~

Jiang Cheng is nervous, but he’s also ready. He has a whole speech prepared and some links ready on his phone, should Nie Mingjue have some questions, and most of all he decided to really tell Nie Mingjue that it’s never going to happen.

Better to just manage those expectations from the start.

“My heart,” Nie Mingjue suddenly says, startling Jiang Cheng out of his frantic pacing and Jiang Cheng has to admit to himself that he might not be as ready as he thought he was. “What’s going on?” Nie Mingjue asks him and Jiang Cheng is ashamed to find that he’s shaking.

He loves Nie Mingjue. He’s not sure he can watch him walk away.

“Won’t you talk to me?” Nie Mingjue prompts him gently when Jiang Cheng continues to stay silent and it overthrows the carefully laid plan in Jiang Cheng’s mind.

“I’m asexual and I’m not going to sleep with you,” he blurts out and then simply stares at Nie Mingjue, panic crawling up his throat.

“I—okay,” Nie Mingjue says with a small frown and it’s enough to prompt Jiang Cheng into a lengthy explanation, his phone at the ready.

When he’s done, Nie Mingjue doesn’t seem as confused or as put out about this as Jiang Cheng had expected and Nie Mingjue must have read that right off his face.

“I actually knew about half of what you just explained to me,” Nie Mingjue says with a small shrug and when Jiang Cheng frowns at him, he huffs out a slight laugh. “Do you really think Huaisang’s orientation can be described in a simple term like bi? Have you known Huaisang to be that straight forward?” Nie Mingjue asks him and Jiang Cheng remembers with a start that of course Nie Huaisang would have come out to his brother.

It was stupid of Jiang Cheng to think that he’d be the first to explain the finer details of romantic and sexual orientation to Nie Mingjue.

“Okay, but—what does that mean for us?” Jiang Cheng asks, the uncertainty eating away at him, but he tries to reassure himself that it’s a good sign that Nie Mingjue didn’t immediately get up and leave.

Though that little bit of hope might crush him later, because there’s still the chance that Nie Mingjue will walk out on him.

“That we’re not going to have sex,” Nie Mingjue carefully says, clearly unsure of his answer and Jiang Cheng shakes his head.

“But we’re in a relationship.”

“Yeah, so?”

“Doesn’t that mean it’s expected?” Jiang Cheng asks, and he knows he’s digging his own grave here, but he can’t help himself.

“You have a relationship with your brother. And with mine, for that matter. Do you have sex with them?” Nie Mingjue asks him with a teasing smile.

“Ew, gross,” Jiang Cheng immediately says and he relaxes slightly when Nie Mingjue laughs at that.

“See? It’s not required.”

“But it’s different for you, isn’t it? We’re in a romantic relationship.”

“Exactly, my heart,” Nie Mingjue says and holds his hand out for Jiang Cheng. “A romantic relationship. From what I understood, that is still very much the case, is it not?”

“Yes, of course,” Jiang Cheng immediately says and presses a small kiss to the corner of Nie Mingjue’s mouth. “I love you.”

“So the romance part of that romantic relationship is covered. I don’t know what you’re so worried about.”

“About—that you—don’t you have needs?” Jiang Cheng finally blurts out and Nie Mingjue levels him with a look.

“I can take care of my physical needs on my own,” he tells him. “And for my romantic needs I have you, don’t I?”

Jiang Cheng can do nothing but stare at Nie Mingjue, because he didn’t think it would be that easy. That Nie Mingjue would be that understanding.

“You expected me to break up with you over this,” Nie Mingjue finally says with a small nod and Jiang Cheng winces.

“I was afraid of that possibility?” he unsurely gives back and Nie Mingjue sighs.

“Wanyin, no offense, but if our relationship was only built on the expectation of sex I would have left a long time ago,” Nie Mingjue bluntly says and Jiang Cheng jerks, even though he knows it’s true.

He left Nie Mingjue hanging for months before he found out about his orientation after all.

“But since I love you, that expectation is really not everything to me.”

“I love you, too,” Jiang Cheng gives back and leans in to kiss Nie Mingjue.

“So I guess kissing is not off the table,” Nie Mingjue says and teasingly nibbles on Jiang Cheng’s lower lip.

“No, it’s not,” Jiang Cheng replies with a smile and Nie Mingjue nods.

“But hands above the waist, right?”

“I—yes,” Jiang Cheng says, still a little hesitant to set his boundaries like this, but Nie Mingjue only smiles reassuringly at him.

“Cuddling?”

“Still very much on the table,” Jiang Cheng decisively says because it’s one of his favourite things to do with Nie Mingjue.

“Thought so,” Nie Mingjue laughs and then tugs Jiang Cheng right on top of him, before he tips them over on the couch. “Gonna get to that right away then.”

“What a hardship,” Jiang Cheng deadpans and snuggles deeper into Nie Mingjue’s arms. “Thank you for not leaving me,” he whispers once he feels comfortable and Nie Mingjue sighs but he presses a lingering kiss to Jiang Cheng’s head.

“Thank you for being brave and telling me,” Nie Mingjue gives back instead of reassuring Jiang Cheng that he would never and if Jiang Cheng is honest, this is much better.

He never does well with promises, after all, and so this means more to him.

Jiang Cheng tries to get even closer to Nie Mingjue, who tightens his arms around him in response, and really, this is the best feeling in the world.

Who even needs sex when they have Nie Mingjue to hold them like this.

Link to my ko-fi on the sidebar!

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 18, second part

(Masterpost) (Other Canary Stuff) (Previous Post)

Warning: Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

Hey OP where’s the funny header gif for this post? Sorry, it was murdered by an angst demon and the framing of these shots.

My Found Family Came to Find Me

Continuing our flashback from last time, we see Baby Wei Ying up a tree, refusing to come down because he's afraid there are dogs. Eventually he falls out of the tree, like a dumbass a child, and Yanli tries but fails to catch him. 

Unlike his grownup counterpart, Baby Wei Ying doesn't pretend he's unhurt when he is hurt. I'd like to put the change at Yu Ziyuan's door, but actually he admits to being hurt during his Gusu summer - he mimics Lan Zhan's stoicism when they're getting beaten, but it doesn't come naturally to him, and he whines a lot afterwards. 

By the time of the Animatronic Dog incident, however, he's laughing off obvious injuries that have secret trauma behind them. By the time he comes back, coreless, from the burial mounds, he won't confide in anyone about his hurts any more, except possibly Wen Qing.

Yanli carries Wei Ying, in a sequence that will be echoed much later in his life when Lan Zhan carries him (gifset here). While they head back, she tells him that Jiang Cheng has a bad temper and to ignore whatever mean things he says. This will also be echoed in the future, when Wei Wuxian says it to Lan Zhan after their argument with Jiang Cheng in the shrine.

Yanli also explains that Jiang Cheng loved his dogs and that he's been very sad since Jiang Fengmian sent them away, demonstrating once again that Jiang Fengmian is a terrible father. Yanli says that Jiang Cheng will be happy to have a friend with him, though. This kind of makes Wei Wuxian's role in Jiang Cheng's life "replacement dog."

Jiang Cheng, after getting over this particular snit, got worried about Wei Wuxian and woke up Yanli to find him, and then went wandering around in the dark like a dumbass a child, and is banged up and crying when the other two find him. Yanli encourages him to apologize to Wei Wuxian and he does, which will not happen again until the very end of the show.  

They all smile and laugh together, as Wei Ying looks to Yanli to guide him through the insanity that his life has suddenly become. 

(more behind the cut!)

They head back to Lotus Pier in a sweet montage of walking and smiling together, with Jiang Cheng carrying the world's most beautiful candle holder with the world's most wind-resistant candle in it, to light their way back. Back in the present day for a brief moment, Jiang Cheng pretends to sleep and listens to his sister insisting that the three of them should always stay together, while a single tear rolls down the side of his face.

Soup is Love, Chapter 1 of 1000

Then we head to the past again. In Jiang Cheng & Wei Ying's now-shared room, Wei Ying sits on the bed trying to figure out how to deal with his grumpy new roommate.

Wei Ying is unsure what to do when confronted with pajama game this strong. Tiny Jiang Cheng is already a fashion king. 

Then he tells Jiang Cheng he's not going to narc him out to the clan leader, since it was his own fault that he hurt his leg. This is all Jiang Cheng needs to hear to decide Wei Ying is all right, and he says that he will help Wei Ying chase away dogs in the future.  In fact, Wei Wuxian will protect Jiang Cheng from punishment basically forever, while Jiang Cheng will continue to threaten Wei Wuxian with dogs...forever.

They shake hands on their new understanding and then jump up and down laughing, Wei Ying's leg being all better now, apparently.  When Yanli arrives (carrying a tray of...can you guess? I'll let you guess), they stop jumping. Wei Ying dives in to give Jiang Cheng a little tickle/embrace in an adorable moment that would have me saying "oh, my ovaries!" if I hadn't surgically sent my ovaries to hell a few years ago.

Yanli introduces Wei Ying to the emotional and gustatorial miracle that is her lotus and ribs soup. He hesitates a long time before tucking in because he's so unused to being fed.

Consent? I Don’t Even Know Her

The flashback wraps up with Yanli conked out on the table from the drugs in the incense burner, while Wei Wuxian, who is somehow unaffected despite sitting almost as close to the smoke as she was, checks on her. Jiang Cheng and his Uggs period-appropriate sock thingies get out of bed to come stand with Wei Wuxian, and have feelings about sending Yanli away after she JUST said she doesn't want to be parted from them.

Wei Wuxian: If she didn't want us to do this, she shouldn't have signed that blanket consent-to-medical-treatment form.   Jiang Cheng: Wen Qing made me sign one of those plus a durable power of attorney, is that bad?

This episode is all about people overriding each others' agency and making massively important decisions without the consent of the people who will be affected. But in a feudal context, it's not a violation, no matter how it feels to the person being controlled. In feudal life, your body belongs to your lord -- your sect leader, in the world of CQL. Jiang Yanli and Jiang Cheng's choices are overridden by their clan leader's final command to Wei Wuxian.  Wei Wuxian's core is arguably Jiang Fengmian's property--Wei Wuxian certainly sees it that way, just as his hand was Yu Ziyuan's to take if she wished.  

The brothers tenderly tuck Yanli into bed in the rolly cart and hand her off to Song Lan. They talk about how important it is to get her to Lanling and that she's probably going to be mad, as they thank Song Lan for helping them. 

Yanli listens while she sleeps and, in what is becoming a trademark Jiang move, lets a single tear roll down the side of her face. Jiang Cheng points out that Yanli never gets mad at Wei Wuxian and Wei Wuxian is like, true dat.

How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?

Song Lan is always so emotional about every damn thing, I love him. Here he's like OH GOD NO DON'T FORMALLY THANK ME! STOP!!!

Then he starts to ask Wei Wuxian to pass a message to Song Xingchen for him, but then decides not to say anything, making it super obvious that they fought and aren't together. 

Wei Wuxian reacts to this with confusion and distress, probably because he doesn't want to imagine ever having a breakup with his own soulmate. Which he soon will be having.  But possibly he's just upset that his OTP broke up.

After Song Lan takes off, Jiang Cheng gives Wen Qing a rude & perfunctory thank-you bow, turning away before she can return it. Wei Wuxian tells her not to take it to heart - basically everyone who deals with Jiang Cheng gets a version of the "ignore what he says" speech. She says she understands and that in his place she would have behaved worse, which is so totally not true.  

Then she asks Wei Wuxian if he's sure about the core transfer (not in so many words, because the script is being kind of being vague about it, without actually hiding what's happening). His reply pretty much encapsulates the whole Wei Wuxian experience.

Then he and Jiang Cheng walk off, with Jiang Cheng giving us a rear view that had me googling Wang Zhuocheng's fashion shoots to determine if that wagon he's draggin’ is really as delightful as this belt makes it look. Alas, there is not a wealth of photographic evidence for this research, as compared to, for example, photos of Xiao Zhan's outstanding ass.

Wen Qing and Wen Ning see them off, with Wen Qing wishing they valued their lives more. Although, what she and Wen Ning are doing is massive treason, so their lives will be pretty much forfeit if they're caught, so...

The Sunshot Campaign of Like 60 Dudes

Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng walk up the mountain for the whole beginning of the Sunshot campaign, which...okay. Maybe it's like Dunkirk or The Witcher where they intercut stuff that is happening in different timeframes, which is one of my least favorite new film style thingies.

You know, for a guy Wei Wuxian constantly calls "peacock," Jin Ziyuan really doesn't wear a lot of adornment; just some subtle metalwork on his belt with no dangly bits at all, and a single reasonably-sized hair crown. Compared to the extremely fancy Lan Wangji he's almost plain. We already know that Wei Wuxian is a massive hypocrite when it comes to his idea of a perfect boy, however.

So, this is the Lanling Jin army, which consists of literally 60 guys, including the ones on the stairs and Jin Zixuan and Douchebag Dad. How are they going to fight a war with this tiny group? Why do they have such a big plaza? Hasn't anybody on this production learned CGI cloning?

That’s better.

Nie Mingjue and his best bitch Baxia make quick work of the 4 Wen guys who were assigned to hold the Unclean Realm. 

Hello, Daddy Da-Ge!

Squeeee, it's Lan Wangji! He's taking back Cloud Recesses! Ooooohhh we've missed you Lan Wangji.

Look guys he's here! Look how beautiful he is. He's looking at the gate of cloud recesses and thinking thoughts that Lan Xichen or Wei Wuxian could probably see in his bewitching eyes if they were here to see him, which they aren't. But at least he is here!

....and now he's gone again. *cries*

Hares On The Mountains

Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian continue roaming prettily around this pretty mountainside. The locations in this show are such eye candy. 

Young laddies they run like hares on the mountains Young laddies they run like hares on the mountains  Young laddies they run like hares on the mountains  If I was a young lass I’d soon go a hunting

Jiang Cheng starts to have doubts about the whole Baoshan Sanren thing. Wei Wuxian's reply pretty much encapsulates the whole Wei Wuxian experience.  

Then we have just the tenderest blindfolding scene, (more gifs here), which is fodder for your ChengXian dreams, if you have those.

Here's a good place for a sidebar about what is and isn't incest. Whee! In the CDrama context, relationships tend to be more clearly defined than in western media. The mechanism of confession & acceptance means that people either are or are not in a romantic relationship, with few grey areas. So a character can literally say "we grew up as brother and sister, but now we are dating" and when someone looks startled they just say "there's no blood relation" and everyone is like "cool cool" and that's the new definition of the relationship.

For a strong example of this, the extremely wonderful Go Ahead is about a contemporary family in which a girl and two boys, who are not blood relatives, are all raised together, and call each other brother and sister. When they become adults, they and everyone around them expect the girl (now a woman) to marry one of the two men who have been her brothers, while whichever one she doesn't choose will carry on as her sibling. It's treated as the most natural, logical thing in the world; the only question is whether she wants to make that transition, and with whom.

Looked at through this lens, Wei Wuxian's relationships with his adoptive siblings have just as much potential to turn into romances as his relationships with his friends do, and there's nothing creepy about it. As such you can expect my meta to always get into ChengXian moments without treating it as a wrong or forbidden love. Hopeless, of course, because Jiang Cheng is such a prick the power of WangXian is stronger, but that's a different matter.

What is wrong is wearing this fantastic hat & veil combination when the most fashionable person on the mountain is blindfolded and can't see it.

In the course of this blindfolded encounter with Wen Qing, Jiang Cheng gets to kneel before a powerful woman, be led along by a length of silk that's placed in his hand, and then knocked the fuck out and operated on. He'll wake up in a hotel room in a tub full of ice with "we took your kidney" written on the mirror in lipstick, and he'll love every minute of it.  

Soundtrack: 1. Still Fighting it, by Ben Folds 2. Hares on the Mountain, by Steeleye Span

Writing Prompt: The NEXT time somebody blindfolds Jiang Cheng

[artsy-alice]

never been a natural (all i do is try) mdzs | sangcheng | 5.9k | fluff | complete extra scenes from "a loving kind of boy"

“Nie Huaisang.” The gruff voice calls, and they both turn to see Nie Mingjue standing by the driver’s side of the car, frowning with his eyes narrowed at them. “What are you doing?”

Jiang Cheng quickly takes his hands off Nie Huaisang, although with the other basically hanging off of him, his hands just end up… hovering. Wait, why did he do it, anyway? It’s not like he’s touching Nie Mingjue’s precious little brother anywhere inappropriate! It’s a hug! Friends hug everytime. Nie Huaisang hugs everyone everytime!

Case in point: “Hugging my best friend, Da-ge.” Nie Huaisang answers, all innocence and big eyes. “Welcoming him to Qinghe.”

Or:Jiang Cheng Learns Physical Affection

Read it here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25615345

~*~

P.S. sorry, no new art and comics just yet! i am focusing on finishing my commissions and then i’ll be home free, u guys! WEE!

the series so far: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | ★