#does nmj go straight to jgy?

[comehereduck]

The Sanrio collab with Junji Ito has reminded me the Tomie was also chopped to pieces like Nie Mingjue, so what if instead of becoming a fierce corpse like normal, his pieces also regenerate into more da-ges

[thatswhatsushesaid]

i have been obsessing over this extremely short moment post-sunshot campaign for weeks now trying to put together a lengthier post about it, but i think the screenshots themselves arranged chronologically speak for themselves. so i will just post them and then talk about the framing, because i’m insane about it.

just about everyone else on this side of the banquet hall within the scorching sun palace is looking towards jin guangshan as he speaks—everyone except for:

1) jin guangyao, who is staring straight ahead with a startlingly flat and resigned expression on his face, despite being seated in a position of honour beside his brother, and

2) nie huaisang, who is obviously TRYING to pay attention, but his attention keeps wandering between looking at nie mingjue, and looking at jin guangyao

(also he gets no further commentary/acknowledgement from me but look at jin zixun back there just lounging in his seat like a smug spoiled brat. ugh. step on legos forever jin zixun.)

the camera shifts its focus while jgs keeps talking to zero in on jgy’s expression. this deliberately highlights and provides us the chance to see his expression in more detail. and it is so hard to discern what he is feeling specifically beyond “not great,” but what stands out for me is: he isn’t wearing his usual polite, customer service mask, the one he managed to keep in place both during the introductory sequence at the cloud recesses in the face of so much mockery from the jiang sect disciples.

so what is that expression? what is going on in his head that he can’t play the part that he’s perfect for years now, when he has supposedly almost achieved everything he ever dreamed of accomplishing for himself and his mother? i mean, i have my suspicions of course, because we know what is going to happen very soon.

and then—

—the focus of this scene changes, drawing our attention away from jin guangyao towards nie huaisang where he’s seated just behind nie mingjue. because nie huaisang is not paying attention to jgs’s speech or watching his da-ge. unlike everyone else in this banquet hall in this moment, nie huaisang is looking at jin guangyao, observing him in this moment where his polite mien has failed him, and god what i wouldn’t give to know what is going through his head!! because:

1) i don’t for a moment believe nmj told nhs the details of what transpired between him and jgy during their confrontation in the scorching sun palace. i don’t think he did this as a favour to jgy or to lxc, either. imo this decision would be consistent with nmj shutting down any discussion of what caused him to exile meng yao from the unclean realm back in… uhhh, episode 10?? when nhs, wwx and jc all converge in the unclean realm throne room to ask about meng yao’s fate. (yeah it was episode 10.) anyway for all we know this is the first time nhs has seen his old body guard/babysitter since he watched meng yao totter feebly into the wild blue yonder all those months ago, and now here he is seated in a place of honour between jin zixuan and his da-ge, looking perhaps even more miserable than he did while bleeding from a giant sword wound in his chest. it is entirely consistent with nhs’s character to be like ‘???? what is up with this??’ but not even he is bold enough to ask jgy what is up in the middle of this banquet, not with da-ge right there.

2) his expression is ALSO harder to read than it would have been when they were last together!! but there are clearly gears and cogs shifting and ticking and whirring behind his eyes, and the fact that the framing calls attention to nhs noticing jgy in this moment when it’s quite clear no one else does is one of many hints the show is dropping for us that nhs is more than just a lackadaisical and absent-minded second son. he notices things that no one else does—but, as with jgy, we are left to guessing as to what he is thinking, and what conclusions he is drawing.

well okay it looks like i managed to write a lot of words down about this after all!! go me.

[thebiscuiteternal]

For the writing jam: perhaps Nie Mingjue interacting with post-canon Lan Xichen or Nie Huaisang? Could be some time travel fuckery or like a scenario where they meet in a sort of state like dream. How would he react? Would NMJ know how different they are while they pretend as if they're still fine? Do they tell them about JGY?Depending on if this NMJ was before or after the Sunshot Campaign, it'd be a really interesting to see you write it!

So... you might regret this, because you've given me the perfect opportunity to resurrect a very old, very evil idea.

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

He can tell something is off as soon as he opens his eyes.

When he sits up, the sheets feel... older than he can remember. Stiff, as if the bed had been made and then left for a very long time.

Like they were the first time he'd forced himself to move into the room after Fuqin's death.

But this is his room, with the desk he'd moved from his old one, and Baxia's stand beside the-

Wait.

Baxia isn't there.

Where-

This better not be some prank by his brother, he thinks as he gets out of bed. He's been in even less of a mood for putting up with Huaisang's childish nonsense since the war ended than he had been before.

As he walks into the hall, he registers that it's... oddly quiet.

They'd been busy with sending out building crews to damaged villages and re-stocking supplies for winter and a thousand other things-

-so why is it so quiet?

He opens the door to one of the porch hallways, but what he sees only adds to his confusion.

There are people bustling about, going about their tasks, but not only can he not hear anything that's going on, he has never seen a good number of them before, even though they wear the colors of the sect and he had been the one to initiate the new members and staff.

Shaking his head, he spots a face he does recognize when their sect's resident pharmacist approaches, but she never so much as looks up from her lists in response to his call.

As she walks past, he sees the silver streak in her hair.

What is going on?

He decides he should find his brother. Even if Huaisang doesn't know what's happening either, it's better that they not be separated until they do.

He turns to head for the aviary that he constantly has to drag Huaisang out of, but doesn't make it more than a few steps before a prickling chill goes up his spine.

No... not there.

His instincts, for some reason, instead pull him towards the main hall.

Crossing the open main grounds, he notices other things that are... different. Things that could easily be chalked up to just the repairs that had to be made because of the war, but...

When he shoves open one of the great doors, he's hit with a blast of air that's positively frigid, cutting through his summer clothing like the worst of their winter gales. It passes with the same speed, leaving a chill settled in the air that only ratchets up his unease.

For a moment, he's relieved to see a familiar white-robed back, but as he gets closer, he pauses.

Xichen looks... old.

His face is still smooth and unlined, his hair still full and black, but his eyes...

Guilt and pain and weariness make him look aged in ways that aren't showing in the rest of him. He doesn't stand as straight as he did the last time they'd been in the same room, as if the weight of those same emotions is bowing him a little. His mouth is pressed into a thin line as if he's holding back tears.

Why is he-? What could possibly make him look like this, when just days before, he'd been almost radiant as a result of the sworn brotherhood ceremony?

For the first time since he woke up, he hears the click of footsteps on stone, and when he turns around-

"Huaisang?" he asks, stunned and disbelieving at the sight of the man in front of him.

Because it is Huaisang, and yet he has changed even more than Xichen has. Gone is his bright-eyed and round-cheeked brother in robes with ink and paint-stained sleeves, and instead-

Like Zhang Min before, Huaisang never even notices his presence, and when his brother stalks right through him, he suddenly gets it.

He's dead.

He's... he's dead and it's been long enough that-

The oppressively silent argument makes his insides twist to watch, Xichen's aching pleading and Huaisang's icy venom -the source of the chill in the room, he is now sure- making him feel like he might drop to his knees to vomit.

Never... Never has he seen Huaisang like this, thin and pale, practically gaunt, spitting words like needles held behind his tongue until they're at the perfect angle to wound.

He was wrong.

He has to be.

That can't be his brother.

That can't be his brother.

He stares numbly at the guan and ribbon in his hair, at the clothing that more resembles his own than that Huaisang had always preferred, and he wonders...

He wonders...

His health problems have been increasing exponentially since the war had begun, but especially since what had happened in the throne room of the Nightless City. He knows he doesn't have much more than a decade at the absolute most before he will completely lose himself to Baxia.

Had his health been worse than he'd believed? Had Huaisang become like this as a result of having the sect dumped on him before he was ready?

Or... worse... had... had he made his brother this way, the saber spirit driving him to similarly drive Huaisang too hard to be prepared?

He doesn't know.

He doesn't know-

He snaps awake.

He is back in his room again, but now it's... right.

It's the way it should be.

It's the room he fell asleep in the night before, rather than the aged, musty, almost grave-like room he'd been in. He can feel Baxia thrumming in her stand, just where he always puts her at night.

He remembers having woken up from that same nightmare before.

Once... three times... maybe more.

Always that same chill, that same argument he can't hear, that same-

He sits up and rakes a hand through his hair to ground himself and fight back a wave of nausea as it all floods back to him.

"Zongzhu?"

He jolts in surprise, then blinks at the servant who was standing just inside the door.

"Yes?" he asks, then has to clear the roughness out of his throat with a cough before adding "What is it?"

"Lan-zongzhu has arrived for your lunch meeting, as scheduled."

"Lunch?" He looks over at the window and sees that the sun is indeed high. How long had he been stuck in that nightmare, to have slept this late?

Rubbing his eyes, then his temples, he pulls back the bedding and gets up. "Please give him my apologies for not being ready. I will be there shortly."

"Of course," the man says as he bows, then leaves.

He makes short work of getting ready, not bothering to go with the elaborate sect leader braids since this is mostly an informal meeting.

As he heads towards the hall he usually recieves his- oldest friend in, he can't help himself from looking through one of the aviary windows.

His brother, as usual, is there, this time tending to an injury on one of their small falcons under the curious observation of its handler.

Huaisang laughs at something the handler says, and he feels his heart clench as his mind involuntarily overlays that happy image with the memory of the Huaisang with his metaphorical claws and fangs bared.

He keeps walking.

"There you are!" Xichen says, smile warm and eyes sparkling with amusement as he enters the hall. "I hear you actually slept in for once in your life."

He suddenly sees those eyes go dim, that smile vanish- then he shakes his head slightly and suddenly Xichen is himself again. "I suppose it had to happen eventually," he says as he sits down. "What was it you wanted to talk about?"

"I hope it wasn't an imposition, but I discussed a little bit of your condition with Shufu. Not the matter of the saber spirits," Xichen quickly clarifies. "Just that you'd been having some troubles with qi regulation as a result of all the fighting. He agrees with me that we might be able to ease the worst of it with spiritual music."

He frowns. He has never been a fan of "borrowing" from other sects, and if this is something that would have to be done on a repeated basis, then he would be the one imposing.

Then the image of the Huaisang from his nightmare flickers through his mind again. If spiritual music really could help-

"Mingjue-xiong?"

He shudders, then swallows. "Sorry. Would you mind telling me more about it?"

[fincalinde]

omg tennis is perfect and i love how this extends to the rest of the cast so thanks for the detailed response! if you don't mind making it longer... what's the deal with jgy's one (1) slam? and how does he feel about doubles?

No problem, thanks for the ask since it gave me the opportunity to ramble about tennis and Xiyao.

The way I have this outlined, the entire AU is larger than just their tennis careers, which means their careers are analogous to their Sunshot experiences rather than the entire novel. I'll talk about JGY's one slam and touch on his doubles career too.

JGY's slam is obviously a stand in for the climax of the Sunshot campaign. However, at the start of his career he's coming from nowhere, having taught himself mostly by watching others and training with ridiculous if not always effective dedication. His mother used all the money she had to try to get him a good tennis education, but that really just extended to buying equipment and the occasional lesson. As in canon, he's a prodigy whose development is held back by a lack of resources but who develops his own style by synthesising various different techniques.

He's too short to have a formidable serve, so his playing style is a bit like Diego Schwartzman at his peak i.e. clay his best surface, stellar return game, hits winners from defensive positions. But he also has amazing hands and good touch at the net. Just fantastic at disguised drop shots and disguised shots in general. He reaches a number of finals but not a slam final, and hasn't won any singles tournaments. Wins some minor doubles tournaments with NMJ, like 250 level and maybe also a 500, and then NMJ catches him colluding with the Wens to rig games for money at the Challenger level.

NMJ considers JGY dead to him after this and JGY ends up playing doubles mostly with other players who went to the Wen training academy and are still part of that circle. His ranking is as high as it's ever been, but still no slam and no reasonable expectation of one. Anyway, I won't go into more detail, but suffice to say that by the time we get to the equivalent of the endpoint of the Sunshot Campaign, NMJ is as close as he's ever been to finally beating WRH in a slam final because only JGY stands in his way at the semifinal.

Except NMJ is carrying an injury and this is his worst surface and JGY's best, so JGY exploits said injury and wins the match. Obviously everyone expects JGY to have expended all his energy taking down NMJ and thinks he'll get flattened in the final, but instead JGY comes out fresh as a daisy and beats WRH in straight sets, taking match point with a lob worthy of 2015 Davis Cup final Andy Murray. Right after this match is when WRH finds out that Someone Anonymous has whistleblown the entire illicit Wen betting operation and there's a huge scandal in which JGY comes out smelling like roses.

After this, JGY steps back from singles and has much more success in doubles with LXC, mostly because it's a conscious and deliberate move to keep that FO win shining bright in people's minds rather than let them see him not replicate that success. Doubles with LXC is both a move to build a popular brand and also just a thing they really enjoy doing together. At this point LXC is probably the only male top tenner who regularly plays doubles. LXC is also the first doubles partner JGY has who actually respects his abilities as a player and doesn't make snide comments about carrying JGY with his serve. Instead LXC waxes lyrical about JGY on the return and they win, like, everything together.

JGY retires from playing relatively young and ends up director of the FO because I refuse to let realism interfere with my fantasy. He is so good at his job that the FO becomes the most diplomatic and gracious and progressive of all four slams RIP to Mauresmo but he's different. He basically becomes a leading light in tennis despite the haters, and is instrumental in providing greater financial support and resources for lower ranked players plus ploughing funding into grassroots tennis.

[runespoor7]

Per the ask game, chengyao?

tl;dr version: it's one of my notps. (welcome to the salt mines -_-)

Don't Ship It

Why don't you ship it?

tl;dr: i am uncomfortable when jc isn't about wwx, and jgy's taste is better than jc

I never read the situation with JL as co-parenting, so that's one basis of the ship right out, and l can't see why JGY would burden himself with JC or what would attract him to JC. Like... JGY likes people who trust him and people who are good people and who think he's a good person and people who aren't the emotional equivalent of a landmine field on fire. JGY can have either LXC or SMS and I'm pretty sure he's been over the "I can change him" stage ever since NMJ. There is absolutely nothing about JC that I think JGY would be remotely interested in. (I also think JGY post incest-reveal is so deeply traumatized that the entire range of romantic and sexual emotions becomes a no-go for him, with no exceptions.)

I also don't see JC as willing or able to extend feelings for people outside his sect post-WWX's death. People betray you and then they die. Outsiders to the sect will demand the most horrific sacrifices. I also think he didn't like JGY giving JL Fairy at all (I think it's completely possible to think he was grateful for it, I just like my JC entirely unable to let go of WWX), because that put him in a position where he must break a resolution or take his nephew's dog away. (I also find it hard to believe that JC doesn't know about the bullying at Jinlintai and hmmm. don't think it makes him think favorably on JGY. Rusong's death can also result in no positive appreciation of JC for the care JGY takes with JL's safety.)

So basically I'm not into JC having positive relationships with people that aren't WWX, I don't see them catching feelings, and I think both of them are wayyyyy too conscious of the power of gossip to consider sex together (if I thought there was an attraction, which I don't. I don't think JGY finds JC's volatilenesse attractive).

Also I'm a huge wimp and I want JC to only get manipulated and fucked over by WWX. (🥺) Together they're not unpleasant in ways I find fun.

What would have made you like it?

I could get behind the version of the ship where JGY gets a hate-crush on JC because 1)he's projecting his negative NMJ feelings after NMJ's death and JC is conveniently irascible and inconvenient, and/or 2)he's convinced that WWX was JC's half-brother and that colors all of his vision of what JC did or didn't do.

Does he think JC was being incestuous about WWX? (and then he wasn't punished for it. how unfair that he got off unscathed when JGY must carry the weight forever!!!)

Does he share LWJ's opinion that JC used WWX and then got rid of him when WWX became more an impediment than a help? (something that JGY when he's honest with himself - rarely - does know he did, but that he tries to pretend he didn't and can easily dislike JC for. this is why he's besties with LXC. LXC thinks he's Good. JGY likes being Good. JC is all kinds of a repulsive mirror.)

A version where it's requited isn't about WWX enough for me on JC's part, though.

Oh, in a version of canon where JGS wasn't Like That and JGY is thus severely less messed-up (and the WWX+Wens situation isn't as dire as in canon) might have had them carry on a casual-ish discreet relationship while JYL is visiting JZX. Or maybe it's a version where JGY never ended up torturing for WRH. Something that would make him a bit softer at that stage, and have JC a bit less single-focused on WWX. It might escalate and the relationship might deepen if something something JGS causes worse problems, against JGY, etc.

Alternatively, this is less straight-up shipping, but I love the idea that JC and JGY had an UnderstandingTM about JL not having accidents in Jinlintai so long as JC didn't do anything stupid, such as marrying, and that JC honestly did think JGY was going to wait until JL was closer to twenty before JGY started making active moves against JL. And it hurt JC's feelings when Guanyin Temple happened.

Despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it?

Extremely fucked up people and I'm happy that fans of the two characters seem to be having fun with it!

[llycaons]

ep10: and then there's THIS asshole

THAT BITCH. sitting on roofs is wangxian's thing!

xxc looking SHARP. the very very obvious exposition here is so funny

see I don't even think the fans are exaggerating when they talk about him being a kinky bitch I think it's heavily implied in the canon text

SO DRAMATIC LMAO

oh! people write xxc and sl as traveling together but actually before this scene they were doing their own thing and just knew each other as friends

aww, younger jc had some principles after all. along with hopes and dreams. the ability to empathize with other human beings. a chance at getting married someday

they keep talking about xy being so young but wwx and co. are only like 16 here and xy is clearly around their age so??? how young could he possibly be. he was younger in the novels but the timeframe is different anyway

WHY IS HE TIED UP LIKE THAT

LOVE this response. it could be him saying "I have no shame and you can't scare with with your implications because I don't care about my reputation' OR it could mean 'I'm already gay and everyone knows it, you bitch. your move'

huaisang they are literally surrounded by corpses. why do you think

wwx latching onto this and them smiling SO big at lwj...jc getting mad at him...ough

side note I think that we can assume that he's at peace with his sexuality and any resistance he has to being into lwj is much more about his hangups around commitment and being loved, and about his embarrassment over being attracted to someone so strict and unfun (and maybe also he feels like he's not allowed to want/have things in his precarious role in the family and therefore ruins his own opportunities reflexively)

lwj I think does have some internalized homophobia to work through but a lot of HIS resistance is related to feeling shame over having desires/emotions esp romantic/sexual ones (father issues, also maybe his upbringing and personality too) and also embarrassment that he likes someone as wild and unconventional as wwx. anyway

nhs waxing poetic about handsome gentlemen for the second time in two episodes and people still write him as straight?

wwx looks so fucking miserable watching xxc walk away with no more info on his mom and jc SEES that oughhh

BIG SEXY IS HERE!!!!! I am of course referring to both nmj and baxia but I couldn't get a good pic of baxia and there's a limit on the number of images per post anyway

jc and wwx looking so pleased at the praise is ADORABLE. I actually think a fun hc is that nmj is the reason wwx knows he's into dudes

also, nmj being the ONLY person to call lwj 'wangji'! he's such a big brother...

oh shit I forgot this. wwx is the one to save xy's life here! honestly this was for the best. despite all the horrible things xy did later, I don't think it would have been okay if nmj personally killed a defenseless man in cold blood just because he was angry

WHAT A DICK I know I just said killing xy in cold blood out of a personal sense of anger would be bad but honestly I don't even begrudge jgy for taking his chance and murdering this guy

he's also SO stupid for letting prejudice and his ego get in the way of doing his job and carrying out his SECT LEADER'S orders

iirc this is literally the only time jgy and wwx are alone in a scene together and it's just a very polite exchange and wwx thanks him for all his hard work while everyone else is feasting after the commander was a dick to him aww. flash forward 20 years and wwx is like 'I never hurt you! Why did you ruin my life!" and jgy was like 'well SOMEONE was going to and it may as well have been me!' insane

this line is more romantic than "'l'll sleep on your roof tonight" imo

ah the gentle longing of first love, unceremoniously doused in the cold water of the realities of war. one of the more background tragedies of this show

OH FUCK THERE'S WZL!!!!! MY GUY!!!!! IN THE CORNER!!!!

fun fact: apparently this is a very famous shooting location and it's used in a ton of cdramas

despite this action I don't think he genuinely cares about nmj, honestly. appreciated, almost certainly. but I don't think he truly respected or cared about many people. it's just that he could see his death right there in nmj's eyes and this choice was a last-ditch gambit to preserve his own life by risking it in the most performative way possible

isn't it wild that wen chao and jiang cheng have the same advice for wwx which is: stop interfering in the affairs of other clans?

even the ego-blinded wen chao can tell that wwx is into lwj

honestly wwx's crush just makes me so sad in this arc. so delicate and new and he's so young and so many terrible things will happen

see I think lxc valuing jgy and publicly supporting him and praising him earned him one of the only spots on the list of people jgy genuinely cares about. I don't think he respects him, at least not enough to not use him to murder his friend, but I will argue that jgy feels genuine affection for lxc and BELIEVES he never hurt him/never wanted to hurt him. this dialogue is mental, it's not a performance

this is also why jgy/lxc is more emotionally true to me than either of them with nmj (even tho I obviously don't support it or thinks jgy would be a good romantic partner), sorry nielan fans I appreciate your perspective but I think this is the more textually supported one, even if it ends much worse

jgy is so fascinating to me like the way he'll twist himself into whatever he needs to in order to survive. he defends himself saying 'he said horrible things to me and beat me' then 'he insulted my mother' then 'he took credit for my accomplishments' and each one seeming to flow naturally to the next as nmj rejected those reasons…very interesting that nmj criticizes jgy for wanting praise and credit, contrasting characters like lwj, who are widely praised for not caring about credit or glory

this last shot of nmj IS haunting tho. jgy may not have cared about him but I think nmj really cared about and trusted jgy, and this betrayal of someone who values justice and loyalty was very hard to take

personal highlights:

wwx comparing himself and lwj to xxc/sl

nhs complimenting xxc and sl in a gay way

wzl in his first appearance!!

wen chao noticing how much wwx likes lwj, which is kind of horrifying but also it's a good measure of just how obvious he is and people do not talk about wwx being hopelessly in love enough

[stiricidewrites]

All the Things We’ll Leave Behind: ch 38, pt 4

Previously

~

As for what his mate would do where jzxuan’s safety was concerned… lwj had no idea. He thought that he might be liable to kill anyone who harmed his friend, and he knew jgy would do worse—worse how, lwj wasn’t going to contemplate too hard. What would wwx do, though? As much as the man’s potential reaction to his own injury was a mystery, any reaction in regard to jzxuan’s was even more so.

Another puzzle piece caught his eye as he reached the bottom again, shinning gold against the lake bed. Across the top, the number for their station was etched into the wood, and nearby, a green piece with another number sat. lwj’s fingers brushed the second piece first, eyes scanning the area for a place to stash it—and anyone watching him, although everyone appeared to be ascending at the moment—before landing on an awkwardly shaped rock. As much as he wasn’t about to interfere with someone physically, what with the risk of drowning, injury or simply starting a grudge he had no need for, he wasn’t above tucking his opponent's pieces out of sight.

At least, he wasn’t after the stern lecture about what constituted fair play in these events that his brother-in-law had given him. Apparently, it had been extremely obvious to everyone that he was likely to compete as straightforwardly as possible, rather than do anything nefarious, even if such things often fell within the rules. While his brother was of a similar opinion that he could win without interfering in anyone else’s game, jgy, nmj and jzxuan had ganged up to set them straight.

They each had good arguments, although in the end, it was jzxuan who had convinced him to play the game at more of a middle ground. “It’s part of the game, though. It’s like playing a board game and saying you won’t pick up cards or roll again because it isn’t fair to the other players who luck hasn’t blessed. It’s just the rules, and you should honour them as they were designed.”

The other alpha could certainly be convincing and articulate when he wanted to be, although the doe eyes and pout had probably contributed to how easily he had accepted the man’s argument as well. Still, no whacking swimmers over the head—not unless they attacked him first, anyways—but he would steal items, block opponent’s paths and perform any other interference that seemed to be written into the challenge.

lwj still wasn’t sure how he felt about that aspect of the event, but if it meant he could keep jzxun from winning any challenges they shared…

[r95irth]

Mythical beast AU - Part 2

Lan Wangji the moon bunny-dragon big sized no matter what he does UU

Lan Xichen the moon bunny-dragon, ends up tiny sized naturally (he can grow bigger but it requires an effort out of him)

Wei Wuxian - Raven

Jin Guangyao - Fennec Fox

Little info about the AU : it's very rare for a cultivator to have two forms, even with mixed blood. You have to be one hell of a cultivator to do that + you have to be happy. If you are miserable then you lose your ability to shift entirely and you're stuck in the last form you've chosen (if you're stuck in your animal form, you might lose your human mind with time)

Here it is a happy fix-it AU on top of everything else, So Xiyao is happy, Wangxian is happy, and everyone got the animal form they like.

But if we were in canon...

Yeah first WWX would have lost his ability to shift alongside his core. LWJ after loosing WWX would have been his ability to shift too, but remained human because he has A-Yuan to look after. And Well, if canon goes on, NMJ would have lost his mind and gone feral in his animal form because of the saber curse/ family curse. JGY would be dead, and LXC once he entered seclusion would have slowly turned into a bunny and lost his human mind, wandering as a bunny forever

BUT THIS IS NOT THE CASE HERE :D (how? I'm not sure yet. JWY probably realized whose core was inside him when he tried to shift after the war and became a raven, so no lie possible. WWX probably regrew a core because attempt the impossible. As for Xiyao, i'd straight up change the story with LXC first turning into a dragon when NMJ kicked JGY down the stair and going like "yeah nope" and flying away with the tiny fennec in his mouth. IDK yet. This story is very low on my To-write-list, let's finish the Jiaoren AU and Burning Roofs first, ok?)

Mythical beast AU - Part 1

Mama Lan was a moon rabbit, Papa Lan and the Lan clan in general are dragons. Thus, Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji should be able to shift into both. IN THEORY....

Next part is drafted shall arrive later this week x)

(Poor Lan Wangji wants to be a rabbit)

[gloriousmonsters]

Do you think it would be interesting if XY could make JGY go apeshit (or even just witness it)? You've mentioned that idea a few times wrt their relationship but I'm curious about it actually happening.

just rediscovered this and. thinking about it I think XY did get to witness JGY Losing It at least once, and he's clearly having the time of his life while it's happening--JGY killing his dad. It's way nastier and more extravagant than anything else JGY does in the series, comes straight from the heart (rather than being partially motivated just by Job Reasons, like NMJ's death was) and while it's not impulsive, still carries the feeling of just-snapped rage that JGY clearly experienced when he first heard his father dismissing him.

And XY gets to help!! He not only gets to watch A-Yao arrange a man getting fucked to death, which is awesome to start with, he gets to kick JGS in the face and tie him up and then presumably run around killing people afterward. Top-tier enrichment.

I think that's really the only OTT moment that Xue Yang gets to be there for, and... I feel like it's really the closest you can ever get to what Xue Yang would define as the Going Off Your Rocker that he'd recommend for JGY; i.e. don't worry about whether it's proportional or correct or any of that stupid bullshit, just take revenge, have fun and be yourself! JGY is simply not made to go at odds w/society in the way XY is. The times where we see him enact the most hands-on violence otherwise it's either just his job (torturer for WRH) or for a very societally approved reason (wiping out that sect/clan in retaliation for Rusong's death). You can read him differently, but for me JGY is someone who'd far rather have revenge by rising to the top and making everyone who ever badmouthed him just sick with how good he is at the job, vs. cutting out their tongues on the spot. XY doesn't really comprehend that kind of delayed gratification.

And like... just take a glance at their backstories. XY has always been living moment to moment, taking what might come as quickly as he can; JGY, despite having an unstable and harsh background, continually being told that there's going to be more for him, that he has to achieve more, that he can and must achieve a proper position one day. Of course the way they conduct themselves, the way they interact with violence, and the things that make them happy are quite different.

So yeah--while I think to some extent XY never stops prodding JGY to loosen up a little, just like JGY will never stop occasionally suggesting he control himself a little better, unless you change something really major neither of them is going to prevail too hard on the other. JGY wants to be a villain with good publicity, XY has never conceived of a future where he and society weren't at odds so he doesn't give much of a fuck, somewhere in the middle is SMS keeping an uneasy balance between wannabe hero and serial killer, and--like at the conclusion of VF--they head their different ways with something akin to mutual respect.

[leatherbookmarking]

sits.

a curse/plot imperative hits nmj and makes him invisible (inaudible, untouchable, etc, etc) while he’s in jinlintai. he’s convinced it’s somehow jgy’s doing, so he sets to find him and make him remove it, except, of course, shouting your san-di into anything is a bit difficult when he acts as if he can’t see or hear you -- the gall, the--oh fuck and walks right through you, as if you were a ghost?! fucked up. really fucked up, alright. and he can’t summon baxia to like, cleave the bastard in half, so he settles on following him everywhere, determined to discover the way to uncurse himself (because it’s clearly jgy, cmon). and also all the atrocities and plots jgy is undoubtedly up to when no one’s looking.

he finds... things, oh that he does. and stuff. such as: what jin guangshan looks like after a merry night with the girls (jgy came to wake him up). or: how jin guangshan behaves with a barely awake girl who passed out last night, and how long it takes for jgy to politely persuade him to perhaps get up and go have breakfast, or madame jin might be cross with him. or: how jin guangshan snorts and pushes his son away, sending him straight into what looks and smells like a puddle of vomit, for some reason. etc, etc

during those very educating hours, nmj does get an answer to the immediate question of why does he allow that to happen to him?!, and the one to provide it is no one else than madame jin, who never wastes a chance to remind jgy that he’s a disgusting bastard, this is not his home, and one wrong step can send him back down those stairs, so watch your place. she’s not the only one to voice her thoughts in this manner, because a couple of cousins also always has something to say. eventually he also learns to recognize the less obvious signs of someone’s contempt -- jgy sometimes does that soulless smile or clenches his jaw and nmj initially doesn’t know why, that person didn’t say anything hateful, and then he learns to notice the facial expressions, the tone of voice, even the backhanded compliments. tl;dr jinlintai is hell, what the fuck, nmj would have beheaded half of those bastards and jgy just keeps on smiling--

i mean he does find the corpses too, okay. he does find them because jgy has to pay a-yang a visit. like this is a thing that happens,

BUT ALSO he witnesses his meeting with sect leader su -- oh his name’s minshan, whatever -- who seems to be... aware of everything that happens to jgy and fucking furious about it, and also something something society. this su minshan notices that jgy has been slapped this day, and looks as if he’s boiling inside for a moment, and then he Snaps, which -- judging by jgy’s face -- isn’t his first time.

nmj finds out about a lot of interesting things after that? such as jgy doesn’t have any place to leave for, and if he “doesn’t like it” at jinlintai, he might as well just hang himself, it’ll be quicker that way; how his sworn brothers must think they’re so great and noble but how can they be any of these if jgy doesn’t feel he can ask them for help; how jin guangshan may be his father but it doesn’t excuse him deliberately putting jgy to the most humiliating, dirty and atrocious tasks, and ordering him to kill nie mingjue is honestly too much, what, can’t he kill him himself, this old, pathetic worm? does he have to send his son? and to nie mingjue, who regards him as lower than an insect, as if it wasn’t him who saved his ungrateful ass, etc etc? it’s a very enlightening evening for nie mingjue, in short

of course sms uses slightly gentler words; but jgy tells him off for that anyway, but at this point nmj... sails off a little, needing time to... (gestures) this ALL

and like. how it ends is honestly not as important as the EXPERIENCE, like LEARN A LITTLE, NIE MINGJUE. nmj is a character that, i feel, hasn’t really been robbed of his agency and power as others have (jgy being jgy, wwx and jc losing their cores, lxc losing his home and family etcetc).

like yes, he’s been living with the looming threat of losing his mind to saber brain, but being so possessed by rage and killing intent that you explode, killing everyone around you is slightly different flavour of hell than being aware that anyone could kill you anytime and no one would care! or notice.

so all the scenarios where he loses a lot of his power -- for example his golden core, i think i had an idea like that on twt, rip in pieces -- and can witness, first or second hand, what it’s like to be jgy or jgy-adjacent, are. good. crunchy. juicy and umami. yknow?

so, does he get uncursed? does he decide to help jgy, now seeing him in a different light? does he See, and feel bad about his black-and-white views? or does he simply -- march into xy’s merry little workshop when jgy is there, drag him out and execute him in front of everyone? who knows, it could be a very interesting fic i’m not going to write, but also, hngggghhh i am sorry for saying this and i love da-ge, his firm titties and his sexey moustache to Bits, but -- yesss nmj can get brought down a peg or seven from time to time. as a treat (for me).

also, it was all sms

[thatswhatsushesaid]

Honestly the empathy sequence makes NMJ kinda strike me as an entitled/abusive parental figure. Maybe I'm just drawing paralels that aren't there, but:

Feeling entitled to JGY's time and attention? He interrupts his conversations with LXC (twice, I think), one of said times because he was eavesdropping on them AND got angry about JGY expressing fear to LXC IN PRIVATE

Not letting JGY explain himself/ not listening when he tries. At the point of the staircase scene NMJ has been poisoned to hell and back by baxia, but I do believe it's not just that. He sees his moral code as absolute certainty and his inflexible nature makes it that he doesn't take well to deviance from that. Aka has to get his way or gets Angry

I think NMJ was an absolute idiot to let JGY ppay clarity for hin after the staircase thing! That draws more into the paralel because abusive people often hurt others and then act like nothing happened, as if their target doesn't have the right to be upset (see again: qi deviating over JGY expressing fear to LXC). NMJ does this to a degree that paints him as almost oblivious imo

I actually do quite like NMJ but he's. So many shades of fucked up, Christ alive

i am going to proceed cautiously here for several reasons, but primarily because:

i have been drawn into the "is nmj an evil abuser" discourse once before on discord (in defence of da-ge, believe it or not) and i Did Not Enjoy It At All, Actually, and

while i think the behaviour described above absolutely qualifies as abusive, nmj's intentions also matter, and i don't think what nmj is trying to do can be boiled down to simply exerting coercive control over jgy. initially on the hejian front when he eavesdrops on meng yao and lan xichen, he wants to help him; the second time he eavesdrops, it's because he straight up views jgy as a threat, and decides to kill him because of it.

imo their dynamic is dysfunctional and toxic and is a powder keg set to explode essentially from the moment nmj sees meng yao killing the jin commander on the langya front, but i think calling it abusive is an over-simplification of what is going on between them.

that said, i do think there is a character in the novel canon who nmj repeatedly tries to exert coercive control over, who is fully and unquestionably under his authority and influence, and who he treats with wildly vacillating levels of either patience or explosive anger depending on the canon point, and that character is nie huaisang.

[xiyao-feels]

Finally got around to writing down some thoughts on the differences between Empathy and the original—per scene and then a general reflection.

Episode 10

(episode 10 differences)

Going through this chronologically, our first comparison is the captain encounter. Honestly I think NMJ was straight-up inventing most of this—even aside from the sheer absurdity of MY, what, smuggling XY out of prison, bringing him into the middle of everything (he runs into the Captain and friend AND WWX!), XY…just going back into prison…well, anyway, putting all that aside—the Captain's questions here seem like NMJ's preoccupations, not the Captain's. The Captain is hugely contemptuous of MY, but he's not, like, obsessed with his innermost heart, you know? "You're lying! I just saw that. You were talking. Tell me honestly. What's your ulterior motive?"—that's NMJ, not the Captain at all. Plus there's the way the Captain grabs MY basically the exact same way NMJ does. 

Next up there's MY telling NHS he's going to go check on XY—minor phrasing differences aside, one thing that's interesting is we don't get all of MY's reaction/decision before he tells NHS in Empathy, just the tail end:

Ahhhh, now, the bit where NMJ sees MY stab the captain! You can see here the beginning of a pattern of Empathy erasing the Wen. MY throwing himself in front of the blade to save NMJ is removed, of course, but so is NMJ fighting WZL, as he was before going to the prison in episode 10; in the Empathy he's just kind of standing there. And then sees MY, uh, creepily pick up a sword??? And follows him??? Instead of hearing that XY's escaped and running to the prison because of that, which is of course what happened in episode 10. (So XY is erased some in this scene, too; even when it comes to MY's excuses, he says It wasn't me, but we don't get to 'Xue Yang killed him', as we do in the original.)

Some other points of interest here… Of course the expression NMJ sees on MY as MY kills the captain is only shown in Empathy. Interestingly, also, while MY is quite clearly terrified at NMJ's approach in both, in episode 10 it's presented immediately, while in the Empathy he has a beat before he starts reacting that way.

The last scene—NMJ confronting MY and kicking him out of Qinghe. In the Empathy, we start with MY having been thrown onto the floor, rolling—but this isn't there in episode 10, and to be honest I think it probably didn't actually happen. First, while I can see NMJ throwing MY onto the floor, I don't actually think he'd throw him quite that hard at this point in time? And it's also got a lot of visual echoes of JGY rolling down the stairs; I think he's projecting backwards. Of course, it still takes MY longer to recover in episode 10; Empathy consistently minimizes the physical harm done to MY.

So the conversation is interesting because it's really just two different conversations in the Empathy vs episode 10. In episode 10, MY leads with the Captain's abuse of him, and he's clear that it's habitual, ongoing, long-term. In Empathy, he leads with the Captain releasing XY, /adds in/ that the Captain wanted to kill him (that's not there in episode 10!), and absolutely skips over and minimizes the abuse: the beatings aren't mentioned, the credit-stealing isn't mentioned, the insulting and humiliating… even the 'Every time' is removed from before the 'he humiliated my mother', making it seem like this was a one-off provocation instead of habitual. NMJ's somewhat unhinged rant about MY's motives, including the would you have killed everyone at the cave if I hadn't helped you, is also Empathy-only (and then when MY starts to reply NMJ is like, Don't lie to me! and MY shuts up, suggesting perhaps that a denial would have been lying, which may be part of why people think this is a remotely reasonable assertion).

Some other interesting things—in episode 10, we see NMJ lift his sabre and then lower it, unable to go through with it; in Empathy, we don't see that at all—in general I think there's less of a sense that he's struggling with his decision, in Empathy, it's more just like He Is Doing The Righteous Justice. Fascinatingly we also don't see him put Baxia away in Empathy—I think he must because we see a scene where he already had, in episode 10, but we don't actually see it. We also don't see MY, injured, get up and thank NMJ and walk out, or indeed NMJ's conflicted gaze after him; the scene cuts off too soon.

Episode 22

(episode 22 differences)

There's only one scene for episode 22: the WRH, NMJ, and MY scene, inside Sun Palace. Right off the bat, we have the Wen erasure again; the episode 22 scene starts with WRH directly addressing NMJ and tormenting him and his Nie cultivators, whereas the Empathy one only starts when MY walks in. (Although interestingly MY addresses WRH as xiandu, while he doesn't seem to say anything with his bow in episode 22).

This one is an interesting scene because there's relatively little overlap? In the episode 10 scenes, you mostly saw different versions of the same events; in this one there's some of that, but there are also large chunks of time that are only in episode 22 or only in Empathy. Most of the MY-interacting-with-NMJ is only in Empathy, including, yes, the damn sabre touch. But we do have the beginning of MY talking to NMJ in both. MY's expression is different in Episode 22 vs Empathy—it's a little hard to capture in a still, but it's a lot more, mmm, simpering-mockery in the Empathy version?

Ah, one detail that's interesting—so, in CQL—which is to say in Empathy because we don't see this sequence at all in Episode 22—when that Nie cultivator calls the place 'a den of Wen' he uses 温/温氏, for Wen, and then when people are insulting MY in this scene they're using 走狗. But in MDZS all of those are actually 温狗, Wen-dog. Which is definitely more directly disrespectful to WRH than the 走狗 insults, but I feel like in general CQL doesn't use 温狗 a lot, while in MDZS it's all over the place—so while it's an interesting detail I'm not sure it's suggestive for Empathy in particular. Hmmm.

We return to things being shown in both Empathy and Episode 22 with NMJ shoving MY back. In Empathy, we only see MY stagger a little, while in episode 22 it's quite considerable—again, Empathy's tendency to minimize the physical damage MY suffers.

And then MY kicks NMJ in return! Okay this is actually fascinating, because in Empathy, it looks like this totally wipes NMJ out, and the scene stops here. But that isn't at all what happened! He's knocked onto his back, yes, BUT he recovers and comes up and shoves MY hard enough he goes flying: 

He gets up and goes to attack MY, and would probably have killed him if WRH hadn't interfered. Which, don't get me wrong, is entirely reasonable of him given his understanding of the situation but it is not at all the impression you'd get from Empathy. If anything NMJ's collapse in the Empathy after MY kicks him looks like the collapse he has after WRH finishes with him, in episode 22. And MY saying How dare you be so rude in front of Clan Leader Wen when he kicks NMJ is also removed—the whole sequence here is really another example of the removal of the Wen from the Empathy scenes. 

Incidentally, MY didn't actually kill all the Nie cultivators, in this scene. If you look while MY is flying back, at least one of them is still alive:

And then you can see all four are dead while NMJ's attacking WRH:

But MY has been on the floor recovering from NMJ's attack, so he definitely didn't kill the at least one and quite probably two who are still alive.

WRH asks MY if NMJ killed Wen Xu question; you have MY staying quite noticeably silent, which I think is still meant to be understood as MY saving NMJ's life. I guess they changed it because the MDZS version really doesn't work with the flow of events as happens in CQL? For the record, in MDZS MY answers yes, but then immediately suggests that they torture him instead of killing him immediately, and then once WRH isn't set on killing him immediately, kills WRH on the spot and starts lugging NMJ's unconscious body out of there. So there's no WWX for distraction, and Sunshot's army definitely isn't right outside, there's only LXC he sent a message to and who hasn't quite shown up yet—so in MDZS he's taking a bigger risk, and more unambiguously saving NMJ's life and winning them the war. Which is not, to be clear, to in any way minimize CQL MY's astonishing bravery and achievements.

Episode 23

(episode 23 differences)

So in both we start with LXC holding NMJ and looking down at him. In episode 23, when NMJ sees MY, we see LXC see and notice his reaction and /then/ look over at MY in concern, whereas in Empathy we don't get that moment—it just goes to both of them looking at MY.

NMJ demands his sabre back, and in both MY complies, though in the Empathy one he takes a beat longer and looks more worried about it. In the original, MY also has "Let me explain" which is dropped from the Empathy.

In both we have NMJ attacking MY with Baxia, and trying to get past Shuoyue—in the Empathy it's a bit shorter, though, and we also lose LXC asking NMJ what he's doing this for. I think that goes with cutting LXC seeing NMJ react before he looks over at MY, above; the effect is to make NMJ's response seem more obvious/natural, when in fact LXC is pretty baffled by it at the time.

"he became the Wen's underling and had been helping the tyrant at Nevernight!"—the language on 'became the Wen's underling' is actually different in episode 23 vs Empathy. In episode 23, you have 原来投靠了温氏; in Empathy, though, it's 原来是做了走狗. Note the 走狗 as earlier!

Okay, and now the big one: LXC giving NMJ reasons they should trust MY/not kill him. Empathy cuts most of this. It keeps that MY is the one who sent the map, but it drops: that the reason LXC is here today is because MY sent him a message; that MY was the one who schemed to get WRH's guard down, and then /killed him/; that MY was the one who saved LXC's life after CR burned; and that MY independently approached WRH to spy on him and has been sending LXC letters the whole time. /That's really not trivial. That's a lot to cut./

I wonder if this has any relation to the common idea that LXC did not in fact have a lot of very good reasons to trust JGY.

(Incidentally it's after the MY killed WRH reveal, in episode 23, that NMJ lowers his blade.)

...also. so. In episode 23 LXC asks MY, you know, didn't he already tell NMJ about all this (a question which makes a lot more sense in MDZS, where NMJ has already woken up before LXC joins them, but I just run with it), and MY says, you saw it ZWJ, even if I had he wouldn't have believed me. And NMJ—again it's kind of hard to capture in a still, but he pretty much reacts like he thinks that's ridiculous and MY is just making excuses/being manipulative?

And then of course that gets erased from the Empathy, as well as as just mentioned most of the reasons LXC actually gave. So. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Oh, this also means it cuts what I'm pretty sure is the first on-screen use of A-Yao—it does show up later in the Empathy version of this scene, so I don't think that's hugely significant, but just as a note.

Then there's MY kneeling in preparation for apology, which is in both Empathy and episode 23. The Empathy cuts make it seem like he kneels pretty much right after NMJ lowers his blade, though, and we don't get to see him making the deliberate choice to step out if LXC's protection to kneel—again, I think it makes LXC seem more understanding of NMJ than he actually is here.

The apology proper is only in Empathy; honestly it mostly seems fairly reasonable to me, although it does mean you only hear LXC saying "But I believe, when he was doing such things, deep in his heart he must have been…" after the version that cuts most of his reasons for believing that. In terms of actual changes, I wonder if LXC reacted more quickly/strongly to the bit where it looks like NMJ is actually going to kill MY? It's definitely more understated than his previous reactions, and it would fit with the other changes made.

Last scene: the oath. At this point I think it's fairly well-known that NMJ looking at JGY, and LXC turning his head to look at them both, is only in Empathy—there's also, maybe?, a small change to the text; in episode 23, "Both God and people will be furious with us" is 天人共怒, but in Empathy it's 天人共戮. I say maybe because—on the one hand, the subs definitely use a different character, and it's in both the YT subs and the Netflix subs even though those aren't always 100% identical, but while I'm not usually checking the audio for this I did here because it's just the one character and the audio pretty much sounds the same to me? (ep 23) (Empathy) Could just be my ear, or a mistake on the subs' part or the audio part, who knows.

Overview

Looking at all the changes together, a few patterns emerge.

First, people who are doing damage who aren't JGY—the Wen, XY—tend to get minimized or erased from the narrative. Similarly and to some extent as a result, the harm caused by JGY is exaggerated; also similarly, the good that JGY does is also minimized or erased. Meanwhile, the damage done /to/ JGY is minimized—both the environment of abuse he suffered at Qinghe, and the physical harm done to him, which he usually recovers from much more quickly in Empathy (even when the attack itself is made stronger as, unusually, it is in the confrontation where NMJ kicks MY out of Qinghe). Finally MY is made more manipulative than he necessarily is; while I'm not saying he's never being manipulative, NMJ understands his expressions of weakness as /purely/ manipulative and inherently false, when in fact the weakness MY expresses is very real, however calculated, or not!, its expression may be.

Honestly—in this JGY who does way more harm and way less good than he actually does, who is more powerful and experiences less damage than he actually does, who is never actually weak but only acting that way to manipulate people? I feel like I'm seeing a lot of where popular takes on JGY come from.

[fincalinde]

tennis AU fiend back again - i was wondering whether you had any thoughts about what the scores are for the matches jgy has against nmj and wrh when he wins the FO

That's it, I've officially made a tag for this AU.

I do indeed have thoughts on the scoreline! Make way, make way for more tennis rambles. This is how JGY lifts the Coupe des Mousquetaires.

Jin Guangyao d. Nie Mingjue - semifinal

No one can deny that Nie Mingjue comes into this match in bad shape. He's carrying a couple of injuries and dropped sets to players he'd usually beat in straights. But this is a grudge match for him—the tournament where his father's career ended with a humiliating defeat to WRH. NMJ's father never won RG. NMJ has also never won RG—yet.

JGY, meanwhile, is in the form of his life thanks to his affiliation with the Wen agency juggernaut. It doesn't matter. No one thinks he has a chance even against a NMJ who's below his best, and at first it looks like they're right.

Set 1 - 7-6 (7-5)

JGY manages to hang onto his serve by the narrowest of margins. He doesn't get a single break point on NMJ's serve until the tiebreak when he snaffles the crucial mini-break by forcing an error off NMJ's backhand. He takes his first set point with an absolute classic of a disguised dropshot that NMJ can't get to in time. The crowd are excited mostly because they're surprised this match might be remotely competitive.

NMJ smashes his racket. He doesn't get a warning for racket abuse.

Analogous to NMJ's assault on the Wen in the latter stages of the war culminating in the moment when JGY reveals himself as being in WRH's employ.

Set 2 - 7-6 (7-5) 6-2

JGY sends NMJ running back and forth, using his insider knowledge of NMJ's chronic injuries to his advantage and giving NMJ very little opportunity to unleash his forehand. NMJ just can't slide well on the clay—that level of flexibility has never been his strong point, and all the quick turns and being dragged crosscourt are taking a toll. The crowd are confused but there's not really a sense of doubt that NMJ will break back and take this set to restore order. Some people are starting to get behind JGY because regardless of MDZS canon it is a science fact that tennis fans enjoy a good upset and NMJ is more respected than beloved.

NMJ takes a medical time out during the change of ends at 2-5 just after being broken for the second time, and JGY serves out to love, taking his first set point with a rare ace.

Analogous to JGY's taunting of NMJ including handling Baxia and referring to his father's death.

Set 3 - 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 0-6

Normal service is resumed. NMJ is absolutely furious about being two sets to love down against Meng Yao of all people and he takes a bathroom break that's a couple of minutes over the maximum time allowed. The umpire doesn't penalise this and the crowd don't express disapproval either.

NMJ finds his forehand and blows JGY off the court as one would expect. The third set is over in twenty-six minutes. A lot of NMJ's shots are body shots, intentionally hit directly at JGY so he has to dodge at the same time as attempting to return. Several make contact. Set point is a forehand down the line JGY has no hope of getting near.

Analogous to NMJ attacking JGY and striking him.

Set 4 - 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 0-6 6-0

JGY has remained composed and smiling throughout the match, even applauding NMJ's good play at times. Now he's dropped the smile that disguises the intensity of his focus and after an epic battle with multiple deuces he breaks NMJ's serve.

Then he does it again. The crowd cannot believe this is happening. In contrast to the lighting-fast bagel of the third, this is the longest and most precarious and difficult bagel in the history of the sport. It lasts longer than most sets that go to 7-5. Nevertheless, NMJ does not win a game, and when JGY takes his seventh match point with a favourable netcord he looks over to the debentures where WRH is watching and applauding.

Analogous to JGY kicking NMJ and continuing to assault and berate him until WRH takes over.

Jin Guangyao d. Wen Ruohan - final

This one doesn't need much of a set by set breakdown because it's in straights and it's over sooner than anyone can imagine, 6-4, 6-2, 6-1. JGY plays absolutely out of his skin and he's almost as surprised as everyone else not just that he wins but that he does it swiftly and in some style. We are talking 2019 Wimbledon final Halep level of play here. Absolutely eviscerating a legend of the sport.

First set - JGY breaks WRH at 4-4 then serves out. Second set - at 2-2, JGY wins the next four games. Third set - JGY wins four games on the trot to make it eight games in a row, drops one game on WRH's serve then closes out by holding and breaking WRH again. Championship point is the Murray-worthy lob that leaves WRH totally wrong-footed.

The crowd are shell-shocked but also going absolutely wild. JGY has gone from being that upstart who ruined the NMJ-WRH showdown everyone wanted, the one whose presence in the final has turned it into a procession for WRH, to immediate superstar.

Analogous to the suddenness of JGY killing WRH who is most definitely not expecting it, then revealing he's a spy and a war hero.

Bonus LXC

Naturally LXC attends both matches, the former ostensibly to support NMJ, though when JGY wins he goes to find him after the on court interview so he can congratulate him. After congratulating JGY and showing his support, he goes to commiserate with NMJ and spends an inordinate amount of time patiently rebutting NMJ's accusations of poor sportsmanship and corruption etc.

During the final he's in JGY's box and seems to be the only person on the planet who isn't surprised when JGY wins. He and JGY are confirmed to be entering the doubles at Wimbledon.

[cqlfeels]

3zun for the ship meme?

Love how I am Known™️

falls asleep on the couch: I don't think NMJ would be opposed to it but I still think JGY wins by virtue of working for just five more minutes for three hours straight

makes friends with the neighbors: Xiyao are Very Polite And Unknowable, NMJ is very scary but can manage an actual relationship with a given neighbor if they have something in common, which isn't common but it's not unheard of

is the adventurous eater: Congratulations NMJ on both losing and winning this one simultaneously! Will eat anything, will not like or dislike anything in particular. It's Just Food™️. Actually now that I'm thinking about it LXC might actually be more interested in unique food exclusively for the intellectual-interpersonal challenge of finding out something that Gets A Reaction.

hogs the covers at night: JGY hogs the covers, NMJ kicks the covers off the bed. Sometimes that works out really well, sometimes it... doesn't. Alas LXC is a Lan and therefore sleeps through it all

forgets to do the dishes: NMJ but not because he's a bad roommate or anything. It just legit doesn't occur to him that's an issue. LXC saves the day through the powers of chore boards!

tries to surprise their partner more often: I don't know that he's necessarily trying to surprise anyone, but NMJ forgets every meaningful date and tries to feed you something you're allergic to, but he also buys you a car because he's overheard you complain about taking the bus like twice and that's. That's not. Not something anyone was expecting.

leaves dirty laundry on the floor: NMJ and no, the chore board doesn't help because that's not technically a chore and if it's not written down it Does Not Exist

stays up til 2 AM reading: No one if NMJ has a say in it, which he doesn't. LXC can be persuaded to side with him on his quest, though!

sings in the shower: Eh. LXC wouldn't want to disturb, JGY is too self-conscious, NMJ's showers last like two minutes.

takes the selfies: Still probably LXC, and NMJ needs more convincing than JGY to even join because he just doesn't see the point

plans date night: Team effort! NMJ decides the general idea they're going for, JGY researches an ungodly amount of info and LXC narrows it down to like two or three options for them to pick. It's all very smooth. However spontaneous dates are destined to end in failure because good luck coordinating all their preferences without thinking in advance.

[robininthelabyrinth]

Prompt: JGY gets a little careless and puts too much power in the altered son of clarity, NMJ snaps earlier than in canon but does not die, NHS is there when he’s playing and is affected by the song which causes him to show some signs of early Qi deviation which makes him realize what happened, NHS snaps but knows that in the future his brother (when he wakes up) is going to be there for him :)

When Nie Huaisang was fourteen and fresh off his first visit to the Cloud Recesses, he’d joked, in a way that wasn’t really joking at all, that his brother should hurry up, get married, and have children to have an opportunity to raise someone who wasn’t a constant failure.

His brother, who’d scolded him for an hour about how he could have possibly have failed to learn something the one place in the world where physical activity wasn’t required for cultivation, blinked owlishly at him.

“What on earth are you talking about?” he’d asked. “I can’t have children; if I do, the sect won’t go to you.”

That was the first time Nie Huaisang realized that his brother didn’t see him as heir by default, the way he’d always sort of assumed – a vessel for maintaining their father’s bloodline, but little more than a stand-in to keep some of their more avaricious cousins away.

“Why me?” he’d asked after a bit of processing and a rather great deal of yelling. “You know I’m a good-for-nothing – you even found a way to let me go somewhere to learn to cultivate through art, and I couldn’t even do that. Why me?”

Nie Mingjue had shrugged helplessly. “You keep your temper,” he said. “I’ve never see any one of us that could do that, before you, and I want that. Besides, even if you stay good-for-nothing for the rest of your life, your children don’t have to be.”

It was things like that, his brother’s so-obvious affection and even awe at how Nie Huaisang seemed to have escape their family curse, that made Nie Huaisang pause and bite his tongue every time he felt like losing his temper in the few times when it did happen, though it was rare enough an occasion for it to be notable.

Perhaps what was why, when his brother burned his fans after having deemed them nothing more than a distraction, Nie Huaisang didn’t scream at him and run away crying the way he really, really wanted to.

Nie Huaisang will forever be happy he didn’t.

Because if he did, he might have missed the way his brother staggered, after, the way his lips were redder than usual with blood, his eyes bloodshot, the way he turned on Jin Guangyao and reached towards him with an angry hand that turned instead into something beseeching, asking unconsciously for help even as he raged onwards.

The signs of an impending qi deviation were subtle, understated, easily missed, even – no, especially by – the person suffering from the effects; they would be too lost in their rage to notice it, suppress the effect instinctively, think nothing of it, but the deviation would still be there, lingering underneath, and the next time there would be no suppressing it.

No stopping it.

It was very easy to miss the signs of a subtle qi deviation, even if you were a Nie taught to look for it from birth, but Nie Huaisang had had it branded on his mind from long ago, those terrible six months, and he would never forget.

“Da-ge!” he cried out, forgetting everything about his fans, which no matter how precious would never be as precious as his brother, and he ran forward, meaning to help.

He wasn’t expecting Jin Guangyao to catch him and hold him back. “You know you shouldn’t challenge your brother when he’s angry –”

A delay now would be worse than useless; it might even be fatal. Nie Huaisang drove his elbow back into Jin Guangyao’s belly, and his foot down on his instep, and he broke free and dove straight at his brother.

His brother didn’t even have time to shout at him – if he even would, since he seemed pretty shocked by Nie Huaisang’s unusual aggressiveness – before Nie Huaisang’s fingers drove into his chest, sealing his brother’s qi away in a sudden snap.

It was a heavy-handed way to do it, childish and crude. He wouldn’t be able to do it if his brother wasn’t letting him, if his brother didn’t trust him, but he did.

Sealing qi during a qi deviation was dangerous, and Nie Mingjue spit up blood at once; Nie Huaisang saw the horrified realization in his eyes, the understanding.

He reached out again, and Nie Huaisang took his hand, feeling his brother squeeze his hand, their little reminder of the trust they had in each other, even as he toppled and fell. Nie Huaisang barely managed to slow his fall, catching his brother’s weight using his shoulder and bracing his legs; actually catching him was totally impossible.

“Huaisang?” Jin Guangyao’s voice came. “What have you done...?”

“I saved his life,” Nie Huaisang said, kneeling next to his brother. He felt numb, but his mind had never been clearer. “I think. Get the medics, san-ge, as soon as possible. Please!”

Jin Guangyao left.

Nie Mingjue’s consciousness was fading fast, but he wasn’t quite gone yet; he frowned a little up at Nie Huaisang, blood bubbling over on his lips as he breathed. “Not – urgent.”

It wasn’t, really. Once the deviation was sealed along with the qi, Nie Mingjue would pass out from the strain, but his life would be preserved, and the qi deviation could be treated in a leisurely fashion – it would probably have to be. Qi deviations were taken extremely seriously among the Nie sect; his brother would probably be out of commission for months.

“He held me back,” Nie Huaisang said. He squeezed his brother’s hand. Trust me, he meant. “Meng Yao wouldn’t have, but san-ge…he should have known better.”

“Protect –”

“No, da-ge. You were doing better before he starting coming. And every time he comes, he makes you angry – he should know better. He was Meng Yao; he knows better.”

The awareness was seeping out of Nie Mingjue’s eyes, but he nodded, a barely-there motion of consent, and he closed his eyes.

It would be a long time before he opened them again – but he would, and that was important

Nie Huaisang was going to figure out what had caused his brother’s far-too-early qi deviation, and if he even suspected that Jin Guangyao had something to do with it, his brother would wake up down one sworn brother.

He would make sure of it.

[scaredysap]

Hi sorry to bother you but I wanted to ask your opinion on the way Mingjue sometimes is characterized. Idk it bugs me soO bad when some people narrow him down to the -aggresive for no reason- guy when I just don't see it? Ofc he's flawed and is often harsh, his condition making it worse, but mostly he's had pretty valid reasons to react the way he has with everything JGY did.

Despite that, he's sometimes painted like the bad guy while Jgy like the poor little mew mew who happened to kill someone here and there...

I just think it's unfair because he's just? A nice guy when it comes down to it? Like he cares about common people, tries to do the right thing even if he sometimes fails, feels one thing and cries

Idk maybe I'm biased because he's one of my faves. I'd love to hear what you think on this though 👀💞

Ah, the dilemma of Big Bad Da-ge, my age old enemy. Now I see you mentioning him crying so I'm going to assume you come from/are referring to The Untamed canon. In which case: yeah, absolutely, I do not see the interpretation of Nie Mingjue as someone who is just always aggressive and angry for no reason.

The first time we meet him he istantaneously raises the self esteem of half the younger generation by complimenting them, then he casts fair judgement on Xue Yang in favour of keeping him imprisoned until he confesses where the Yin Iron is and also clearly trusts Meng Yao to keep this very important prisoner where he needs to be. So from the get-go we see a leader who is well loved by his people and outsiders and willing to listen when others point out good strategic decisions. AND later he also Lan Xichen in the middle of a war despite the fact that he refuses to tell NMJ who the spy is.

Now, when does NMJ start getting angry consistently? After finding one of his closest advisors frigging stab one of his own allies with a smile on his face. and then said advisor goes on to act as a secret spy and kill some more of NMJ's men. and then he gets promoted. you can see why that would rub someone the wrong way.

So Jin Guangyao isn't in a good light as far as NMJ is concerned and then the guy goes and consistlently keeps up the meek and diligent, harmless facade that NMJ has already seen through. And it gets on NMJ's nerves because deep down he is a straight-forward man, he probably doesn't appreciate JGY pretending like it's all bygones. And this is also when he starts having signs of qi deviation, to the point where LXC gets concerned and suggests playing a secret song of feeling to stave off his death. In novel canon I think JGY started by playing the right song and switched to the corrupted one later but in CQL he was always playing Turmoil, out to kill NMJ, even before the Stairs Incident.

All of this to say: I think boiling NMJ down to a dull, angry man is doing a great disservice to both him and the relationship he has with JGY. It is undeniable that NMJ tends to miss the intricacies of politics and societal pressure that JGY suffers from, mostly due to the fact that being sect heir and naturally talented, NMJ never had to deal with that sort of behavior. It is definitely a fault but not one that I think makes murdering him a warranted reaction.

I think if LXC errs too much on the side of assuming people are good, NMJ errs on assuming that people are fair. That if you just explain the situation, if you just work hard enough, you will be recognised. That if you told your tyrannical father why keeping a mass murderer like XY alive is a bad idea, said father would give you a fair shot at explaining and listen.

By the end of his life, NMJ could not have been in a good enough mental state to really think clearly so in CQL!canon I don't really hold his kicking JGY against him. I need to re-read the novel but that situation is different.

I am absolutely biased, I won't deny it. But in the end the thing that makes me believe that despite everything NMJ really was a good man not entirely controlled by his anger, is the fact that Nie Huaisang did everything he did to avenge him and give him peace. It was the filial thing to do but I don't think you go that far to avenge someone who was always looking down on people for not meeting his standards and raging all the time.