#i get lwj so well and why he fell for wwx

[lavender-phoenix-flames]

Wei wuxian: the protagonist of all time

One of the many things I love about wei wuxian is that how great of a protagonist he is (quite a long post) :

Wei wuxian is introduced as a villian that gets resurrected but as the story progresses we see that he is actually a naturally heroic person, who did his best to do the right thing and survive the unfair, unjust and classist system.

He is very self aware, confident, charming, charismatic, handsome and competent. He has a very healthy self esteem, high emotional intelligence and he is a renowned genius, a prodigy. He is also amazingly observant, perceptive, a logic driven person, a quick thinker. He is so calculated in everything he does and reasonable too. He isn't impulsive or reckless rather he thinks all his actions through, considers the consequences and then takes action. He isn't oblivious either (anyone who thinks otherwise go read the book again).

Above mentioned traits are something you don't usually find in protagonists that often and it's refreshing to see a character so greatly skilled and intelligent in all ways yet so humble, sweet, kind, free spirited, full of life and selfless (selfless not self sacrificing). Usually any other character with his level of greatness would have been arrogant about it, but wwx is different. He has not only attempted the impossible but successfully achieved it, not once but multiple times, yet he knew his limits and shortcomings well, even when he was the strongest he never thought himself invincible/omnipotent, he never thought anyone above or below him.

He is so misunderstood both by the world he lives in and the fandom. Being orphaned at a young age, surviving living on the streets, being raised in a abusive household, scapegoated, backed into the farthest corner, having being into worst of situations, where his beliefs, his own life and life of his loved ones are threatened, having limited options where it is either forsake yourself or other innocent ones, he chooses the former. It isn't self sacrificial if he didn't have any other option, cuz other option is just betrayal of his self and morals.

And at the end he is just as human as any of us if not more. He has his flaws, his trauma, his sufferings, his dark days and moments where he wasn't himself but he never let it hold him back, dictate his life. He seeked revenge on those who wronged him, even in his darkest days he knew the limits of violence he can commit. Never regretted any of his actions, if he did he moved on quickly.

At the end there really isn't anyone like him, he isn't perfect but he is ideal, he is someone who we should learn from and strive to be. For me this is how an ideal protagonists should be, not only is he lovable, admirable, and deserving of immense respect, he is someone we can all be, it isn't impossible.

[acequinz]

Okay after a few more rounds of reading JC fics I am ready to choose my favourite JC ships.

1. SangCheng- JC is thriving and happy and retains his positive character while dealing with Huisang antics also he has enough space to be rough and tsundere without damage.

2. ChengYao- co parenting brought them closer or made them hate each other until they fell in love. I like when they fight for Jin Ling affection but then end up sharing affection with each other. Absolutely adorable!!! Not enough fics, I need more!!!!!

3. ChengNing- pain!!! Just pain!!! Also I have seen some interesting takes on their relationship before, again not enough fics for it. But I did like the few I read. This was also my first ship I came up with for JC because.

Notp for him.

1. XiCheng- not gonna lie I have always been a little iffy on it, since the first few fics I read where on twt for it and they didn't have tags so I got very upset by the end of it- HE WOULD NOT SAY OR DO THAT!

And sorry but after that barely any fic could make them work for me.

2. WangCheng- no serious reason I just don't think there's anyone but WWX for LWJ. I am fine with it if WWX is involved but even that doesn't exactly make me love it. I do get annoyed with it at times as well. Idk why...

Oh by the way this isn't a testament of skills of any shipper or fic writer. Just the way I vibe with ships. Not a personal attack either if anyone ships these ships.

I have just been having fun jumping around and shipping characters here and there and reading fics so I thought I would post about it.

[llycaons]

‘wwx fell first lwj fell harder’ YESSSS so true thats how i always interpreted it too. and it fits so well in cql and is so good compared to the novel’s

WWX FELL FIRST LWJ FELL HARDER SCHOLARS!!!! TO ME!!!!!

literally that was exactly how I read it first watching the show. like, wwx def fell hard and lwj def fell pretty early, but in my mind lwj avoided his feelings for a while whereas wwx was almost immediately like 'oh I like him!!! I need him to be close to me in any way possible can we at least be friends please please please' and then everything afterwards just grew from that initial affection and attraction even tho a lot of lwj's behavior annoyed him early on he clearly had a very strong fondness for and interest in lwj even when lwj refused to reciprocate. MEANWHILE lwj thought he was hot and that distracted him all the time at school and he inches his way into genuinely liking wwx but most of the time it's big reality-shifting moments for him like (when he's watching wwx effortlessly lie to nhs) 'oh he's smart and can take things seriously' and then the classic lantern scene like 'OH I'M IN LOVE FOREVER'

I CAN actually see why people like the trajectory of the romance of the novel. I don't like it so much, because I think it's boring and overwrought and cliched and rushed, but the drama and tension and massive shift in perspective for them is itself a compelling storyline for a lot of people. but I'm going to be loyal to cql all the way, and I really like cql wwx knowing himself so welland wx knowing each other so well, and all that kept them apart beside general immaturity was all the war and death and violence and political circumstances. it adds a nail-biting restraint and simmering tension to every single one of their interactions, because if they both know how the other feels but chooses not to act on it because of the situation - well, isn't that something! and it's gratifying for both of them in the same way postcanon as well, rather than lwj getting what he wanted after pining for over a decade and wwx on day 5 of realizing he was in love

[stiricidewrites]

The Damage You Do: ch 26, pt 5

Previously

~

nhs’s subs knew what they were getting into, often coming from families distantly related to the groups—those who hadn’t fit the normal, mob life, or who had grown up in mob controlled areas. nhs also recruited from more common s*x workers, helping them get clean and offering them more profitable and sustainable—not to mention safer—work.

And therapy—nhs was big on getting his employees into therapy, never batting an eye if they chose to leave his employment as part of their treatment.

“The Sangsang I know,” lwj suddenly said, wondering if wwx had also been referring to nhs—which would potentially explain why the little bastard had suddenly disappeared on him, when they would know full well lwj should be in the market for a new sub—“is an extremely kind person. Even if I do not know what we are to each other, they are always willing to help me, and those important to me. They are, however, frustrating.”

wwx laughed slightly, although there was something strained in his voice. “Ah~ it’s good to have a kind acquaintance, even if they are frustrating. Ah… they? Is your kinda-sorta friend a girl or a boy?”

Oh, so that was it. The Sangsang wwx knew was almost certainly nhs, and wwx was poking around, trying to see how his dom felt about their gender.

“Neither,” lwj said, amusement buzzing through him when the other man visibly relaxed. “They consider themself something in between.”

“Oh~ I see, I see. I know someone like that as well. They often have problems getting people to respect their pronouns.” wwx nodded against the ground, and lwj’s mouth twitched at how absurd he looked, ass up and free with fingers inside it as they discussed gender politics.

It was cute and silly, and lwj had missed this sort of dynamic in his arrangements. So many of his subs had leaned into seriousness. Even those who nhs had assured him had a reputation for being fun often fell away into strained seriousness quite quickly. He was just too confident and intimidating, many of them had told nhs. Eventually, he had just given up on requesting fun subs. Subs who were naturally more serious and remained so, even under the oppression that apparently was his personality, were infinitely better than those who broke under it.

“My… kinda-sorta friend,” lwj said, repeating wwx’s word choice back to the man, “has had similar problems. The world we live in is not often friendly to people like us.”

“The gays, the queers and everyone in between?” wwx asked, voice soft and knowing and holding more than a little frustration. “People are just… difficult. And old school without a valid reason. Although! One of the people I know who is, like, almost accepting of Ni— my friend’s gender is actually pretty damn old. He’s a weirdo, though.” wwx’s finger’s idly tapped over the yoga mat, his ass wiggling in adorable thought.

“Oh?” lwj asked, curious about whom the other man could possibly be referring to. Granted, his sub could know more than one person who was genderqueer, but the small slip—the moment he had nearly said the person’s name—all but confirmed he was still thinking of nhs. As far as lwj knew, virtually everyone over a certain age in their world had found nhs’s gender difficult to accept. Had wwx been vaguer, he might have assumed he was referring to the Smoking Flower. However, his sub had said “He’s a weirdo”…

[layzeal]

What are some of the things that are ace codesd abt wwx? I don’t hear much abt and and am curious!

HIII, okay so as always, "coded" isn't really the right word since it implies authorial intent, but i often use it anyway bc who cares it's my blog. just know i don't think wwx is actually canonically supposed to be demi, it's just a headcanon from silly ol' me!

i do have a #demi-wwx tag you can check if u'd like too hehe

now, what makes wwx come off as SO incredibly acespec/demisexual for me is his approach to... well, relationships in his first life. he's a flirt! he likes teasing people! he likes watching them blush! he likes getting a reaction! but as lwj questions him in the xuanwu cave about, it all seems like very much a game to him, something he does without actual intention, unaware of the torment he might be putting others (lwj) through

i often see people say that wwx didn't date or that wangxian didnt get together in his first life because "they had other things going on" and "there was no time", but that's not only innacurate to post-sunshot, it genuinely comes off to me as if wwx simply has no romantic or sexual interest in anyone at all. granted, he has an eye for pretty things and people, and is VERY vocal about whenever he finds others beautiful. lwj is a common target, but far from the only one!

basically, for as loud as flirty as he can be, we know that's never really genuine. there's no second-intentions or desire in his words (hell, he had even been saving first first kiss for twenty years!!), even when it comes to lwj. and the way we know it is by comparing it all to how he acts, thinks and feels after he's ACTUALLY experiencing attraction for the first time!

but what does have to do with him being demi? and what makes, in my mind, wwx so much more demi coded than lwj for example, whose entire romantic arc is only falling in love with one person?

well, that would be that despite the way it's been romanticized, demisexuality has nothing to do with "only falling in love once". devotion isn't acespec exclusive, choosing to love a single person in your life isn't acespec exclusive. demisexuality is simply a term to describe the specific conditions a relationship might need for an asexual person to experience attraction. those conditions? a strong emotional bond (which is why so many demi ppl are described as "only being able to fall in love with your best friend")

and to me, that's what sells wwx as demisexual the most. he's had so many friends, classmates, xiongdi, and all sorts of companions in his life, but none of them were particularly... emotionally fulfilling. other than perhaps shijie, who he saw more like a mother and sister, there was no one else who he could truly lean on and trust, open up, and be vulnerable with. for many people, that's not a barrier that gets in the way of developing romantic or sexual interest in someone at all, and that's great!! (we see it with lwj himself, who spent so many of his teenage years frustrated for liking wwx and had to slowly realize why that wasn't shameful or a bad thing. lwj's attraction not only came before there was any significant bond between them, it directly blocked it from forming earlier due to lwj's constant avoidance of wwx!)

but for demi people, and for wei wuxian, it is a barrier. it's almost comical just how fast and deeply wwx fell in love with lwj once he opened up to him. it is the most visible in wwx's second life, but i do find there are inklings here and there to it in his first, especially after wwx and lwj get to spend some pleasant time together (ie. post-phoenix mountain and post-yiling date with a-yuan)

but it really does become the most obvious after the yi city arc (drunkji 2 my belovedddd). by that point, their friendship and closeness was already solid, and wwx is already crushing HARD, but isn't quite aware of it yet. it isn't until post-jinlitai stab (and his flashback to his and lwj's youth, how they fell apart and how lwj was only ever worried for him) that he starts pondering if these feelings might be... more than just fondness. and boy do i eat it UUUUUP

it wasn't until wei wuxian got that reassurance of trust and closeness that his feelings truly started to develop. i genuinely cannot imagine a wei wuxian who falls in love with someone who he genuinely believes hates him, and it's actually something i believe stopped wwx from developing deep feelings for lwj in his first life. we know how much all his rejections and their disagreements hurt wwx, and in the back of his mind, he always thought lwj disapproved of him, maybe even disliked him. there was no trust, and it smothered any small, warm little inkling of romantic love from sparking into a flame

so when wwx finds himself with a lwj who is indulgent, who wants to be close, who protects him, comforts him, listens to him, and won't ever let him fall... well, you can't blame him for daydreaming about a calm farm life by his side, or being embarrassed for acting so shameless while still pretending to be mxy, or wishing from the bottom of his heart that even if lwj doesn't love him back, he'll still stay next to him

he only ever wanted lwj to be his friend, and now he's the closest and most intimate one he's ever had. and he treats him so well... all the barriers have fallen, how could wei wuxian not fall too?

(and i didnt rly get into it but this all applies to physical attraction as well! wwx behaves and sees lwj's beauty through two different lenses in his first and second life, and wwx himself noticed the difference from when he could see lwj's nakedness back then without batting an eye VS now. it's hilarious, endearing, and EXTREMELY relatable!!)

[robininthelabyrinth]

WWX doesn’t get there fast enough and LWJ gives in to the pressure to drink with Jin Zixun. LWJ gets drunk and WREAKS HAVOC on Koi tower.

ao3

Untamed verse

“I feel like we haven’t really had a chance to catch up,” Nie Mingjue said to Lan Xichen, who nodded. “A few stolen moments during war aren’t exactly the same.”

“They definitely are not,” Lan Xichen agreed, and lifted his wine in a salute to Nie Mingjue, who returned it at once. “You can’t possibly compare the chaos of the battlefield with the calm and sedate atmosphere of a discussion conference.”

Something very large and undoubtedly extremely expensive fell over with a gigantic crash.

They both took another sip of their wine instead of wincing.

“How is your uncle doing?” Nie Mingjue asked. “Well, I hope? I trust he’s on the way to recovery?”

“He’s doing better. The doctors say he’ll bear the marks the rest of his life, but – which of us won’t? But still, he’s much better.”

There was a great deal of shouting. Much of it sounded panicked.

A set of guards in Jin sect gold rushed by, swords drawn.

“I’m glad to hear it,” Nie Mingjue said. “He did an excellent job during the war. Didn’t he always say that he was a poor swordfighter?”

Lan Xichen smiled. “He taught both myself and Wangji the foundation of all we know. Did you really believe him?”

“Not really. Still, he seemed so certain…”

“Ah, that’s shufu for you. He compares himself to our father, I think, though I wish he wouldn’t.”

Nie Mingjue nodded knowledgably. He’d heard the story, the real story, as very few others had; he knew why Lan Xichen was not more proud of his father, with his supposed genius for cultivation and the sword. There was a reason he and his brother had been raised by their uncle, after all, and why their uncle was justly proud of what he had accomplished. Who did not know the reputation of the Twin Jades of Lan…?

“None of us can escape our pasts,” he said, then paused to refill their bowls as another loud crash sounded, this time accompanied by a series of yelps. “But we can move beyond them, I think. You must come to visit the Unclean Realm sometime soon.”

“And you the Cloud Recesses. There is a lot to rebuild, but we’ve made some progress –”

“He’s on the ceiling!” someone shouted. “Watch out!”

Nie Mingjue firmly disciplined his eyes and lips, which threatened to curve into a smile. “I’d like to hear about the progress you’ve made. I assume your Wall of Discipline is still intact, at least?”

“Oh yes,” Lan Xichen said. He was also trying his best to maintain a calm demeanor, but Nie Mingjue thought he could see bits of humor stealing out around the edges. “Stone doesn’t burn, after all, and I think even Wen Xu thought it a bit of a waste to use spiritual energy to try to destroy it…not that we wouldn’t have rebuilt that as well, of course. Our family rules are our foundation and our guide.”

“Mm, indeed. There’s so many important rules there.”

Lan Xichen blinked a few times to dispel the smile that threatened. “There certainly are. Are you thinking of any in particular?”

Another crash.

Several yells.

“Where did he even find chickens?!”

“No,” Nie Mingjue said, his shoulders starting to shake. “None come to mind…”

Lan Xichen broke first, putting his hand over his eyes.

“Not even,” he said drolly, “the one against consuming alcohol?”

That made Nie Mingjue crack in turn, throwing his head back and laughing.

“I see your brother suffers from the family curse,” he said cheerfully. “With any luck, it’s just the one about wine and not doomed love.”

“If we’re lucky, yes. And it’s not really a family curse –”

“Xichen, if I hadn’t taught you that alcohol-numbing trick, you’d be playing a serenade to the moon right now. And it’s the middle of the day.”

“…you have a slight point.” Lan Xichen smiled at him. “Only very slight.”

Nie Mingjue smiled back, and handed him another bowl of wine. “It’s a pity you’re too busy focusing on that very tricky spell to be able to go help corral him.”

“Why would I?” Lan Xichen asked unconcernedly. “Jin Zixun wanted him to drink, he drank, the rest of it is on his own head.”

“I would have thought you’d make an effort,” Nie Mingjue said, his own humor fading, “for Meng Yao’s sake, if nothing else.”

Lan Xichen studied him, then sighed. “I do wish you’d get along again,” he said. “You were such good friends…”

“That was then.”

“And now you’re brothers. Isn’t that worth something?”

Nie Mingjue huffed. “When he shows any sign of actually wanting to do the right thing, rather than the politically beneficial one, maybe,” he said acidly. “I’m trying, Xichen. Don’t push.”

“Very well, I won’t…anyway, haven’t you considered that maybe I’m not helping for a different reason than mere spite?”

“Oh?” Nie Mingjue tried to think of what it might be. “Distracting attention from Wei Wuxian? Or…to him?”

Lan Wangji had a pretty obvious thing for Wei Wuxian, and judging by the way the latter man was currently allowing Lan Wangji to cart him around like a rescued damsel in distress (while laughing his head off the entire time), it might not be entirely unrequited. Lan Xichen always had a bit of a romantic streak.

“No, that’s just a side benefit,” Lan Xichen said. “It’s much simpler than that.”

Something flashed by them at high speed – a blur of white robes, with a big black lump tossed over his shoulder like a bag of potatoes, while the bag himself was cheerfully blowing kisses at their pursuers and yelling helpful things like “Alas! I’d answer your questions but I’m being kidnapped!” and “I promise to write after we finish eloping!”

Moments later, dozens of gold-clad guards gave chase.

“Oh?” Nie Mingjue asked. His face hurt from smiling too hard. “What is it, then?”

Lan Xichen leaned forward confidentially, and Nie Mingjue leaned forward to catch his words.

“Even if I were to help,” he whispered, “I have no confidence in actually being able to stop him. And wouldn’t that be embarrassing?”

Nie Mingjue burst out laughing.

“Only shufu can stop him when he gets like this, and only sometimes. What hope do I have?”

“A very good point,” Nie Mingjue said. “Are you at least going to go keep your brother from getting married while he can’t remember what he’s doing?”

Lan Xichen gave a deep sigh. “Oh, I suppose so. By chance, I don’t suppose you’ve got a matchmaker handy…?”

“By chance, Huaisang knows how to do the calculations, and I’m a respected senior,” Nie Mingjue said. “Trying to lock them down before they have a chance to get out of it?”

“No, no. Just…making it clear that it’s an option, that’s all.”

[ninjakk]

When WWX met WN - Where LWJs jealousy for him stems from?

We know WWX met WN the day of the archery competition, during the Qishan Discussion Conference. This is the same day WWX saw LWJ again, after a year of pining for him - which I covered in a previous post here.

So, we can safely assume, judging from the fact WWX entered the arena just after he had seen LWJ, the scene below is set just prior to him being absolutely stunned at LWJ looking positively ravishing in the red uniform they were all wearing.

So let's dive straight into the scene where WWX meets WN.

Chapter 59

On that day, before the archery competition began, he was strolling around the Nightless City alone. As he strolled, he passed through a small garden and suddenly heard the sound of a bowstring vibrating from in front of him. Wei WuXian brushed through the leaves and branches. He saw a boy stand there, dressed in white, soft fabric. He drew a bow in the direction of a target before him and let go. The side of the boy’s face seemed to be quite handsome. His drawing posture was both standard and beautiful. On the target, feathered arrows had already thickly dotted the red center. This arrow had hit the center as well. None had been off the center. Wei WuXian exclaimed, “Bravo!” After the boy shot the arrow, he took out a new arrow from the quiver behind him. Head lowered; he was about to set it onto his bow as he suddenly heard an unfamiliar voice from toward the side. Surprised, his hands quivered and his arrow fell to the ground. Wei WuXian walked out from behind the garden, grinning, “Which of Wen Sect’s young masters are you? Well, well, beautiful, your shots are amazing. I haven’t seen anyone from your sect with such good…” Before he could finish, the boy had already disappeared, leaving behind him his bow and arrows. Wei WuXian was speechless. He felt his chin, Am I really so charming? So charming that I scared him away? He didn’t take the matter seriously either. He just thought that he saw something cool as he returned to the square.

This scene always brings a little smile to my face. WWX is so sweet and kind, he'll pay anyone a compliment if it is warranted. He loves to encourage people and he's actually very nurturing - which we see time and time again in later scenes with A-Yuan and the juniors.

It's quite a funny scene, with WN running away all flustered. Poor WWX, if men keep running away from him, he's going to get a complex! My favourite part of this scene is at the end when WWX thinks he's so charming that people just cannot bear it - it's just hilarious. Funnily enough, this is not what he thinks when LWJ does something similar in the not too distant future. This is because he's actually quite insecure about how LWJ sees him - after all, he's the object of his subconscious affections.

The competition was almost starting. Over on the Wen Sect’s side, there was much clamour. Wei WuXian asked Jiang Cheng, “How could they make such a fuss over their Discussion Conference? They have something going on every single day. What’s happening today?” Jiang Cheng, “What do you think? The spots are limited.They’re fighting over the people to let into the arena.” After a pause, he continued with disdain, “These Wen Sect’s… archery skills are the same level of bad. Wouldn't it be the same no matter who goes? What difference would be fighting over it make?” Wen Chao shouted from the side, “Another one! Another one, we’re still short one! The last one!” Amid the crowd beside him, the white-clothed boy was also there. Looking left and right, he finally raised his hand. But his hand wasn’t raised tall enough. He didn’t dare shout his name like the others did either. After a while of pushing around, somebody finally noticed him, musing, “QiongLin? You want to participate as well?” The boy called 'QiongLin' nodded his head. Somebody else laughed, “I haven’t even seen you pick up a bow. Why do you want to participate?! Don’t waste the spot.” Wen QiongLin seemed as if he wanted to protest for himself. The person said, “Alright, alright. Don’t be so curious. The rank is recorded. If you go up there and lose your own face it wouldn't be my problem.” Wei WuXian, Lose face? If anyone in the QishanWen Sect could find some face for you all, he’d be the one.

The Wen sect are making quite a big scene, we can imagine that a lot of the disciples waiting to enter the hunting grounds are watching from afar and wondering what is going on. LWJ is probably nearby as well.. so let's bear that in mind.

"Wei WuXian wasn’t too pleased. He raised his voice, “Who said that he’s never picked up a bow? He has, and his archery is quite good!” Everyone looked at him, somewhat surprised. They then turned to look at the boy. Wen QiongLin’s face was rather pale to begin with. Because of how everyone’s eyes centered on him, it immediately became bright red. Those pitch-black eyes stared at Wei WuXian. Wei WuXian walked over, hands behind his back, “Back then, weren’t you doing quite well in the garden?” Wen Chao turned around as well, doubting, “Really? You? Good at archery? Why haven’t I ever heard of this?” Wen QiongLin’s voice was low, “… I… I only startedpracticing recently…” His voice was not only low but also staggering. It sounded as if it could be stopped at any moment, and it was indeed often stopped. Wen Chao interrupted impatiently, “Alright, there’s a target over there. Quickly shoot an arrow for us to see. If it’s good then go, if it’s not good then don’t.”

WWX can't stand to watch WC being rude to WN after he had summoned up the guts to put himself forward. As he's witnessed, WNs archery skills are actually very good, so he interjects, vouching for WN.

Now.. as I said before, LWJ is most likely amongst the crowd waiting to enter the arena. LWJ is always very well aware of WWX if he is nearby - so it's safe to assume he had seen WWX prior. If not, he certainly would have heard WWX speaking up for WN. You can almost imagine LWJs cold glare homing in on the boy who is getting praise and attention off WWX!

The area around Wen QiongLin was immediately emptied. The hand that he clutched the arrow with tightened as he looked around, seemingly looking for help. Watching how unconfident he looked, Wei WuXian patted his shoulder, “Relax. Just do as you did before.” Wen QiongLin looked at him gratefully. With a deep breath, he drew his bow. Unfortunately, with the draw of the bow, Wei WuXian shook his head secretly, Uh-oh. It was likely that Wen QiongLin had never shot an arrow in front of other people. He was shaking all the way from his arm to his fingertips. The arrow flew out. It didn’t even land on the target. The Wen Sect’s people that watched from aside all laughed mockingly, “How is this good?!” “I can shoot better than this with my eyes closed.” “Okay, okay, stop wasting time. Let’s quickly pick somebody to enter the arena!

If LWJ was watching the scene from the crowd - he'd have seen WWX get closer to WN and put his hand on his shoulder, encouraging the mystery boy. LWJ probably also noticed that, according to an earlier description, WN is 'quite handsome'. He's been pining for WWX for a year and the first time he sees him again, he's acting friendly with a handsome boy. We know it doesn't mean anything, but if LWJ did indeed see this, jealousy would have surely sprouted within him - just as it does later in the novel when WWX is paying others attention. You can't really blame him either, yes it's all innocent, but he's a teenager with a huge crush and conflicting hormones waging war in his body!

Red seeped through Wen QiongLin’s face to even the bottom of his ears. There was no need for others to beckon him away; he fled self-consciously. Wei WuXian chased after him, “Hey, don’t run! Uh… QiongLin-xiong right? Why are you running?” Hearing his name called from behind him, Wen QiongLin finally stopped. Head hanging low, he turned around. It seemed as though shame rippled from his head to his toes as he stammered, “… I’m sorry.” Wei WuXian mused, “Why are you telling me you’re sorry?” Wen QiongLin replied with guilt, “You… You recommended me… but I made you lose face…” Wei WuXian, “How did it make me lose face? You haven’t really shot in front other people, have you? You were nervous?” Wen QiongLin nodded. Wei WuXian continued, “Have some confidence. Let me tell you the truth—you shoot better than everyone in your sect. Out of all of the disciples whom I’ve seen, no more than three people are better in archery than you.”

I find WWXs last comment about there only being three people better at archery than WN very interesting. Since the reader is already aware who placed 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th in the forthcoming competition - he's most likely referencing them. For reference, in case anyone has forgotten:

Chapter 51

In the end, after the calculations, the four with the best results were Wei WuXian, Lan XiChen, Jin ZiXuan, and Lan WangJi. If it weren’t for having to leave early, Lan WangJi could’ve done even better.

LWJ placed 4th, but according to WWX, he could have done even better if he'd not left the competition early - placing him higher than JZX. So it's highly likely he's stating WN is only marginally less skilled than himself, LXC and LWJ. Interesting, considering WWX claims a few short moments later (in chapter 45)... He hasn't thought about LWJ in some time! Which we knew was a lie anyway, but wow.. WWX you little liar! And I guess, if you wanted to really read into the above - you could also say that he has even contradicted himself further. He states, 'of all the disciples I've seen..' so, is this also him admitting he'd already seen LWJ prior to the start of Chapter 45, where he is gawping at LWJ's good looks? He's he been watching him practice as well? Just an interesting thought!

Anyway, I digress! Back to jealous LWJ.

So if LWJ has witnessed all of the above, which he most likely did - he would have saw WWX running after the WN. If he wasn't a little bit jealous of the attention he was giving WN before, be probably was now. I don't want to make LWJ sound pretty, because he's far from that. He is just a boy with a huge crush! And who didn't act a bit irrational regarding anything involving their crush at that age. Let's not forget, he was most likely well aware WWX would be attending the conference. LWJ was probably a potent cocktail of nerves, excitement and longing, in anticipation of catching a glimpse of WWX at the week-long event.

With that in mind... Try re-reading chapter 45 and notice how LWJ is acting. He's not seen WWX in a year. Yes, he finds it hard to talk to his crush - but he's not normally that rude to him really. He won't even look at him. Possibly because, he's jealous..?

You can find the chapter I'm referring to in my blog post on the archery competition, if you want to re-read it in full along with analysis. Or if you want to check it out for yourself, it's chapter 45.

Finally...

Silly headcanon... LWJ is even witness to WWX praising WNs archery skills while hiding in the bushes stalking him from afar! 🤣 No wonder he has a thing about WN and pushes him when drunk 🤣😱 Jealous LWJ is adorable ❤️

[neverdoingmuch]

i would die for the post-canon lqr and wwx dynamic of them becoming close family through extreme acts of pettiness that aren’t even petty. lwj wakes up one morning to find wwx not in bed beside him and usually he would think ‘oh he pulled another all-nighter /: i’ll have to make him take a nap later’ or whatever but last night they definitely fell asleep together. fortunately, he only has a moment to be like i have been abandoned most cruelly, most unjustly before wwx bursts into the jingshi, covered in flour and his hair all disarray. and lwj is like ??? where have you been?? and wwx turns to him and he’s like lan zhan look i’ve made steamed buns for your uncle! his favourite sort! lwj is like that’s nice but why? also how do you know that? (even lwj doesn’t know what his uncle’s favourite type of buns are)

wwx looks him dead in the eye and is like well the other day when your uncle and i had our weekly tea i was telling him about a theory i was working on and then the next day he gave me a book from his personal library that was honestly really helpful and i’m so annoyed at him for doing that so i’m making him his favourite snack as revenge. and lwj has many questions,,, but mainly he’s wondering when his uncle and wwx started having tea together with a dash of how did he find out what his uncle’s favourite sort of buns are,,, but wwx’s already running off and lwj is just left alone in the jingshi to get ready for his day, abandoned most cruelly,,, like three hours later he sees his uncle reading some reports while eating wwx’s buns and every time lqr takes a bite he sends the bun a betrayed look like he can’t forgive the fact that they taste good. 

and honestly,, that’s all i want,, wwx and lqr being like yes (: we have brunch together every tuesday and we know each other’s favourite foods and things the other person would like and i look forward to talking to him but obviously we don’t like each other and lxc is like uh okay (: that sounds about right (: while lwj is just glad that his family is warming up to wwx. 

[whumpbby]

I got my thoughts in order and now the story is that during the night hunt WWX followed LWJ as he does and, naturally, JC followed WWX to make sure that he won't cause problems, and together they stumbled upon a shallow grave in a forest.

The night hunt was organised, because local girls kept disappearing. They found the girls too - well, what was left of them anyway.

Lan Wangji went on to preform Inquiry and got the ghost online - she was evasive and rude and didn't want to listen, it was a struggle to keep her in place and it would be probably best if Wangji asked brother to help - but then WWX came in with his distracting presence and the ghost in question got even more rowdy. Wangji struggled to keep her in place and then Wei Wuxian went to check on the bodies and the ghost struggled free to attack him, and it was only Jiang Wanyin's stepping in between them that saved the troublesome boy from being hurt. The three of them stood back to back, ready to defend themselves, but the ghost seemed to have disappeared. It was safe to move.

Except then Jiang Wanyin went down like a sack of bricks and wouldn't wake up. Uh-oh. His pulse was alright and his meridians okay, he just wouldn't wake up. Uh-oh.

Wei Ying put him on his back and together the three of them returned to CR on foot. (Could probably fly, but WWX wasn't strong enough yet to carry another person by himself and he wouldn't trust his shidi to Wangji, nothing personal, Lan Zhan, really, he would be very grumpy if he woke up on someone else's back).

WWX gets LWJ to promise not to tell anyone about their adventure (the Yunmeng boys weren't supposed to be out) and Wangji agreed only because it was kinda his fault for getting distracted by Wei Ying and Jiang Wanyin looked to be in good enough shape. He promised himself to visit in the morning to check on him and went to bed.

WWX tucked his shidi in and settled in for a long night of waiting for JC to regain his consciousness. (He wasn't worried, nope, not at all, Jiang Cheng was a strong cultivator for his age and no shitty ghost was going to lay him out for long!) If course, he fell asleep before the morning and woke up to someone walking around the room.

Cracking one eye, he noticed it was JC, up and moving, great. Even better, JC didn't notice him waking up and every opportunity was good to scare the shit out of his shidi, so WWX waited for the perfect moment and...wait. What was A-Cheng actually doing? His hair was down (he hated his hair being down) Why was he taking his pants off? And pulling his tunic open? And why in front of a mirror?? And —touching himself?! And giggling?!?

Uh-Oh!

Oh, this is a silly midnight-hour idea, but...

During the Gusu Arc, say, the students go on a night hunt and Jiang Cheng gets possessed by a strong spirit.

The problem is that the spirit belongs to a former prostitute that had a gripe with cultivators when alive and she will leave the body only after she gets to fuck all five Most Wanted Bachelors.

Jiang Cheng, being one of them, can just masturbate and that's enough.

But what about other four??

[stiricidewrites]

The Damage You Do: ch 22, pt 5

Previously

~

wwx shook off his weird ass mood and popped up. He smiled brightly down at the other man and extended a hand, making an exaggerated move to pull him up when their hands wrapped around each other. He fell, laughing, back into lwj’s chest when the man simply stood. “Ah~ Mr. Lan is too heavy!” he half-complained, half-complimented. All that weight was height, muscle and fat in all the right places, after all.

lwj hummed, pulling wwx along towards the door. He didn’t open it, instead turning towards a closet and finding a way too large coat for wwx. It practically swallowed him up when he slipped it on. “I messaged my cousin,” his dom said, straightening the collar of the coat for wwx and doing up each of the buttons in what was a way too intimate gesture—which was objectively ridiculous! Why the fuck did some things still manage to seem too intimate, even when you’d already had a thousand little moments of sex and softness together? Stupid. Nonsensical. Also, true.

“Lan Haoran coming to get me?” wwx asked, pushing the closet door open further when he noticed a floor length mirror attached to the back. He looked cute, tiny in the too big clothes. This much be what girls were talking about, when they talked about how clothes stolen from their boyfriends were the best.

lwj wasn’t his boyfriend, though.

lwj was… his employer.

wwx drooped a little as he closed the closet door, just in time to catch lwj glaring at the door when whoever was out there knocked again, a little harder—a little more aggressively—than before. “Is that your cousin?”

“It is not,” lwj said, sounding somewhere between tired and annoyed.

“Oh~” wwx sighed, eyeing up the door. “Ah—” Another knock, more impatient than the first two, cut wwx’s attempt to ask when they’d see each other again off. “Should you…?”

lwj sighed, looking back towards him like he would much rather not. It was an amusing look, one he didn’t imagine his dom wore often. Put out and annoyed, and like he was about to face something he couldn’t get out, even though he very, very much wanted to.

The other man reached forward, holding the handle of the door like he was mentally preparing himself, and wwx had to fight down a laugh. Big, bad mob boss afraid of—

wwx’s smile dropped as the door opened, revealing a very attractive man. He wasn’t as attractive as lwj—not even close—but he couldn’t stop an image of the two of them together from sliding through his head.

No, that was crazy. There was no way some random hookup was showing up at his dom’s house now, of all times. Even if he was… well, there was no way lwj was getting it up for anyone else today—not for a while anyways. So he was about to be highly disappointed, if this was a booty call.

[righteousinadversity]

Gui Dao - A Brilliant Subversion

Gui Dao is set up as evil, corrupting cultivation from the beginning, and it is a very deliberate misdirection.

I have spoken before about how Gui Dao is not harmful, about how the popular fanon of recasting it as the main issue that led to Wei Wuxian's downfall completely dismisses the extreme trauma and stress Wei Wuxian went through and so on.

And while CQL is a major factor for why this fanon is popular, everywhere, I think another reason is that Resentment, or Gui Dao, is set up as what caused Wei Wuxian's downfall.

For much of the novel, in fact, right up to the Second Siege where we get the Burial Mounds arc flashback, the novel gives a heavy impression of the story being about a hero who fell, committed crimes, and the present timeline is his redemption arc, or him realizing his own faults and becoming better, his second chance, what have you.

But it is not.

Because he cultivates the Demon Path, Wei WuXian’s powers had backfired and he was ripped to pieces.

This proves that one can only cultivate by following the right path. Using these dishonest practices would only seem beneficial at first glance. Look, what happened in the end? Not even a whole corpse was left of him.

I think we all know that a lot of the opinions about WWX in the prologue is, well, utter nonsense. However, the prologue does give us the general belief of the public, and certain facts as well, regarding the Siege, it is simply that it does not give the whole story.

The storyline of the present is very much in a mystery setting. What did WWX do? Why did he do them? What the hell is that arm? Who's the guy he's running from?

Something MXTX does a lot in MDZS is 'showing without telling' and she kicks it up a notch by telling us, almost the exact opposite.

So we are meant to realise from the moment the prologue describes WWX as a vengeful monster and WWX wakes up with no desire whatsoever for the same, that this book is not going to be a straightforward one. MXTX uses this in multiple other instances, like WWX's optimistic and devil-may-care attitude in the face of being hurt, LWJ's care for WWX, JC's claim that he can't protect WWX (What bullshit) when he absolutely could have and was morally obligated to, and so on.

A lot of fanon spawn from the telling, which is disproved by the showing, but people simply... disregard it? Don't see it?

Anyway. Moving on.

JC's first scene and the consequent Dafan mountain scenes also tell us that Resentful Cultivation was what led Wei Wuxian to his downfall and to becoming the monster he was described to be, especially when we pair it with his comment in the CR arc. But, like in the Mo Manor, it also shows us that the same cultivation is being used to save the junior ducklings, who apparently are always in close proximity to imminent death.

And in a similar vein, also shows us, that while JC does hold resentment for demonic cultivators, it is not because WWX became a demonic cultivator that he killed him, in fact, JC wants to kill and torture demonic cultivators because they could be WWX, and he'd rather torture a thousand suspects than letting the tiny possibility of WWX live happen. His hatred is centred around WWX, not the cultivation.

Jiang Cheng spoke grimly, “Break his legs? Haven’t I told you? If you see this sort of evil and crooked practice, kill the cultivator and feed him to your dogs!”

He thought that, after so many years, no matter how much hatred Jiang Cheng had held for him, it would have disappeared long ago. He didn’t expect that not only did it not disappear, it became richer as if it was a jar of aged alcohol. At the present time, his hatred had grown to affect even people who cultivated like him!

Jiang Cheng warned, “That’s enough. It’s fine if you talk about it, but don’t actually walk such a crooked path.” (CR arc)

When you reread, these are especially scenes I hardcore side-eyed, because JC had no issue, none whatsoever, with WWX's cultivation path when it benefited him, and the YMJ. And even then, it was his jealousy and general selfishness which leads him to abandon WWX, as opposed to hatred for the Cultivation path.

Now, regarding Gui Dao itself, we get this, said by WWX, as a response to JL thinking that MXY has fallen to demonic cultivation.

Although the cultivation method that he used in the past was often criticized and, in the long term, it harmed the cultivator’s health, it could be mastered quickly. It was also especially attractive because there were no limitations as to the cultivator’s spiritual powers or talent, making it so that there were always people who secretly practised it to find a shortcut.

Basically, this goes in with the general belief held by the cultivation world about Gui Dao. That it's easy, its a shortcut, its harmful blah blah blah, which when you look at their fear about WWX, and WWX specifically wielding that power really sounds like a bad case of sour grapes, and for multiple reasons. (I'd be more willing to care if the cultivation world wasn't openly using WWX's inventions based on the same, so-called, crooked path to aid their night hunts, but here we are.)

1) Gui Dao does not affect someone's health. WWX's health is not good at all when he came back from the BMs, or even during the Burial Mound arc, but that's not because of Resentful cultivation. It's called Malnutrition! And PTSD! 2) This is specifically framed as what JL believes, and JL whose uncle JC goes around dragging back anyone who he suspects for a demonic cultivator, and also because to JL's knowledge, WWX, the grandmaster of the Gui dao, killed his parents. He doesn't have reason to believe it as any good, which he outright says after Yi City.

Finally, Gui Dao is never once shown as being easy, and even Xue Yang the only one we actually see use the same cultivation, is not up to the same level as WWX, even with WWX's personal notes. It seems easy when WWX does it, certainly, but well, again, grandmaster. Also, about the Yiling Laozu imitators, while they are mentioned around 3 times, we never hear about any of these so-called imitators doing anything significant. So WWX's level of control of Gui Dao is not an easy thing.

Now, coming to the CR Arc.

“The essence of exorcising demons and annihilating ghosts is to liberate! You do not study the methods of liberation, and even think about increasing their energy of resentment! You reverse the natural order, and ignore ethics and morality!”

“Then, let me ask you again! How do you make sure that the resentful energy only listens to you and does not harm others?”

Lan QiRen raged, “If you thought of it, the cultivation world would not allow your existence! Get out!”

Hello, foreshadowing. Again, here, Gui Dao is implied to be the very reason why WWX eventually becomes the enemy of the world. Here, WWX is not theorizing or actually thinking of inventing Gui Dao, he saw that LQR was being prejudiced and biased towards him, and he says the things he knows will outrage LQR and his stubborn belief in orthodoxy or whatever the hell he is going on about.

(Also side note, that Resentful Cultivation does not, in fact, reverse the natural order. WWX states it as an alternative to suppression, which doesn't really fix the problem, or elimination, which calls for, well, literally eliminating the soul)

That, being said, a very, very important piece to note, is this response WWX gives to JC, in the prior mentioned comment about resentful cultivation.

Wei WuXian smiled, “Why would I leave the nice, broad road, and walk on a single-plank bridge on a dark, narrow river instead? If it really is that easy, people would have already walked on it."

Again, this points to the fact that Gui Dao isn't something to be invented on a whim, or something easily learned.

It is meant to make us question, of course, why WWX invented Gui Dao in the end?

There is, of course, the whole issue with the Nie Cultivation and its similarity to Gui Dao, and how it causes qi deviation, and while I would love to explore that, this is not the post for that.

Basically, Nie Cultivation causes unreasonable tempers and qi deviation and has since they were established. Gui Dao is never shown to cause these things, especially in the present timeline when WWX is not carrying the weight of the world and the horrific traumas constantly.

Anyway, its similarity does give the impression that it was what happened to WWX; that his cultivation drove him to a murder spree. That he fundamentally changed after his return from the Burial Mounds.

For example, WWX's scene in Empathy, where he is furious at JZX. This seems uncalled for, but when we get the background of the whole soup incident, much later, it makes far, far more sense.

Then the Burial Mounds arc. I have written about how this arc subverts every assumption we make up to that point, but it also subverts what the novel has insinuated from the beginning, that WWX was corrupted by Resentful Energy.

WWX uses resentful energy to save the Wens, to protect them from the world that would see them dead. He uses Gui Dao to protect himself from an ambush of 300 archers who specifically weakened him with the intention to kill him. He uses Gui Dao in a battle declared by the sects on the innocents he protected.

WWX was never corrupted. His heart did not change with resentful cultivation. Wei Wuxian's story is not a redemption arc. He has always been morally good, and the events people held up as his crimes were the victor's side of a brutal killing of innocents.

What resentful cultivation is, is a powerful, powerful tool that the sects salivated over or used and then denounced as heresy. It is not even like the Nie Sabres, that drives someone to irrational tempers and certain death. The wielder decides its nature, like normal cultivation. It certainly is not the reason for WWX's downfall. That would be the entirety of the sects, the classism, JGS, JGY and JC's absolute bs and so on.

I firmly, firmly believe that MDZS is a novel you have to reread. There are so many nuances we miss in the first read, because a lot of the information comes in fragments, and quite literally with regards to WWX's past.

When you talk about Gui Dao, please note that WWX uses Gui Dao consistently in the present timeline, and he does not ever, ever, ever become 'corrupted by it'. He never once is even driven to take revenge on the people who killed him! Instead, he is there, saving them from certain death, because his heart has never changed. The Burial Mounds and the War made him harsher during the Sunshot, and the World turned on him afterwards, and he continued to do what he believed was right in his heart.

Gui Dao is insinuated as WWX's downfall, the corrupted form of cultivation that turned a brilliant young man into an irredeemable villain. But then, it goes on to say, he was never a villain, and the reason for his downfall was his adherence to his morals in a corrupted society, not the corruption of the morals themselves.

[angstymdzsthoughts]

Failed bethrodal JC w F!LWJ

LWJ liked WWX bcs he wasn't trying to court her. Wwx genuinely saw her as a very accomplished cultivator whom he liked to spend time with. When JWY tells him to stay away from LWJ, wwx gets offended that JWY would think that wwx would make a move on his fiance, but he gets even more mad bcs JC acts like there's an engagement when LWJ told wwx fairly clearly she had no interest in JWY ( and JWY hadn't put in much effort either, hebjust assumed the engagement would go through)

Wwx calls him out on it and LWJ hears. JC makes a comment on how they'll get married anyway, it's not like their wishes matter, to which LWJ storms out of the bushes, punches him and kidnaps wwx

Chaos ensues. The Jiangs are offended bvs of the punch, the Lans are insulted period and NHS is the only one asking the important question of where are they?

Lan Wangji really hadn't been looking for Wei Wuxian. She just so happened to be walking past the place she knew Wei Wuxian liked to relax after classes. She certainly hadn't been hoping to steal a moment alone with him.

Unfortunately all of her not-wishes withered away and died when she heard Jiang Wanyin's voice.

"Wei Wuxian!" he scolded. "Do you want to anger my mother?"

She absolutely did not like the groaning sound Wei Wuxian made in reply. Honest.

"Of course not, Jiang Cheng! No man is foolish enough to wish for that!"

"Then why do you keep flirting with Maiden Lan? You know my mother has plans involving that girl- your pointless flirting is just going to paint a target on your back!"

Ah, yes. Uncle and the elders had never hidden the fact that Madam Yu of YunmengJiang had been pushing for an arranged marriage between she and Jiang Wanyin for many years. Uncle said that she had passed the point of rude ages ago and Great Uncle said that Jiang Fengmian needed to gain control of his household before it fell apart. Brother had warned her about being alone with Jiang Wanyin, just to be safe, and she was happy that the boy seemed entirely disinterested in her.

"But Madam Yu has been trying to arrange something since we were kids. Do you really think the Lans will suddenly give in after all this time?"

Jiang Wanyin scoffed. "Do you not remember what sect we come from, Wei Wuxian? Maiden Lan will one day be my fiance, so stop all your useless flirting before it gets you in trouble."

Lan Wangji didn't stop herself from rolling her eyes. There was no one around to see anyway. Her uncle would have to be in his grave before such an engagement happened, and then the Jiang would have to fight her brother into submission too.

"Don't try to sound too happy about it," Wei Wuxian snarked. "You don't even sound like you want the engagement to happen."

"What? You think I want an ice statue like Maiden Lan to be my wife? Ha!"

Lan Wangji had heard worse. Such a little insult didn't hurt at all compared to some of the other things boys and girls had said about her. It really, truly didn't effect her at all. Not even a little bit.

The anger in Wei Wuxian's voice surprised her though. "Jiang Cheng! Don't talk about Lan Zhan like that!"

Jiang Cheng snapped back, thrown off at his brothers sudden anger. "What's wrong with you?! It's not like I'm wrong! Lan Wangji is pretty but she may as well be made out of jade! I doubt she even has emotions! Who would want that for a wife?"

"I would...!"

Lan Wangji was moving before the happiness in her chest had even reached its peak. I would... He said I would! Wei Wuxian wanted her to be his wife! She didn't hesitate to grab his wrist and make him follow her. Her clan would see her tying her ribbon around his wrist as a declaration of intent to marry. She will take him to the main hall and ensure they have witnesses before tying her ribbon to his wrist. There would be no doubt of her intentions that way.

"M-Maiden Lan?!" Jiang Wanyin squawked. "Wait- Wait hold on, what do you think you-"

She isn't certain if Jiang Wanyin was trying to grab her wrist or Wei Wuxian's, but she would not tolerate any form of delay with her plans right now. The crunch of the boys nose under her fist was shockingly satisfying. So was the rush of blood that followed.

[vrishchikawrites]

I'm currently finishing the ubtamed but I was wondering why JC or LWJ didn't take a stand. From what I see, both of them didn't take a stand but JC usually gets more hate for that. However, wouldn't it make sense that JC couldn't hell considering his lack of political influence?

Ignoring LWJ for now because those two aren't even in the same plane of existance. JC has, canonically,

1. Attempted to strangle WWX. Twice.

2. Thrown a fit when WWX saved people.

3. Discouraged WWX from saving people. Or attempted to and failed miserably.

4. Been both classist and homophobic.

5. Hid the fact that he owes Wen Qing and Wen Ning a life-debt and a debt of honor.

6. Let irritation and jealousy compromise his judgement.

7. Stabbed WWX until his guts fell out in a staged fight.

8. Declared WWX the enemy of cultivation world instead of just saying he defected, as they agreed before.

9. Seen a child and a few old people in the BM settlement and led a deadly siege against the settlement anyway.

As for JC and YMJ's circumstances:

1. LP was well on its way to recovery with new cultivators and a good reputation even before WWX defected

2. That reputation and popularity is absolutely because WWX is so terrifyingly powerful, everyone wants in on it.

3. LP didn't burn down like Cloud Recesses did. In fact, Wens left it nearly intact. CR was still under repairs well after WWX died.

4. He had enough political influence. He would have even more influence if he didn't, like an absolute dumbass, throw away the nuclear deterrent.

5. JGS was absolutely driving a wedge between him and WWX, it was so apparent that even a blind person would've been able to see.

6. Him throwing away his little nuclear deterrent actually helped JGS become more powerful. Affection and respect aside, it is an absolute dumbass move to let your most powerful asset walk away.

7. Political influence doesn't pop out of thin air. That would've been the absolute perfect time to establish his political power by, ya know, not letting JGS mess with his ego and brain. What would they do? Attack? With what army? JGS didn't have the balls to go against WWX until he engineered a situation where Lans and Nies were weakened and provoked to the skies.

8. WWX and his little settlement were peacefully exisiting for at least two years and the cultivation world didn't bother to do anything about it. Just what were Jins gonna do if WWX remained in YMJ or JC pulled his big boy pants on and acknowledged a debt?

Finally, to LWJ.

JC is a sect leader of a recovered sect. LWJ is a sect heir with elders, sect leader, and an uncle above him. JC doesn't have to deal with any of these things. Yeah, LXC coddles LWJ and LQR considers him a prized little cabbage, but they have no attachment to WWX or debt owed to the Wens.

They are absolutely not equals in terms of political power, especially not then. It is very likely that LWJ did say something to his brother and uncle and it was discarded but that is speculation. My comments about LWJ's lack of action during the BM days isn't about him not standing up against the cultivation world. It has more to do with what he could've done to help WWX and the Wens on a personal level. That's it.

When it comes to culpability and responsibility, JC comes of worse.

You're comparing a murderer attacking with a knife to a bystander witness.

Finally, The Untamed butchered the story. This is me being bored enough to correct erroneous takes from CQL and a fandom strangely obssessed with a canon antagonist. Take it how you will.

You can find all of this in the novel, btw.

[robininthelabyrinth]

Hi! This is for the prompts: LWJ and WWX get together at Cloud Recesses but it’s a secret. When it does come out tho, probably due to WWX mischief some how. JC comes to the conclusion that LWJ has managed to ‘defile WWXs honor’ and now JC has no choice but to fight on behalf of his big brother, who clearly has been wronged.

Honor, Defended - ao3

Untamed

1

“What are they doing,” Jiang Cheng said, voice strangled, eyes staring.

Nie Huaisang stood up on his toes and squinted over his new friend’s shoulder. “Fighting?”

It looked like fighting.

“No.”

Not fighting? In that case, at least by Nie sect standards, that meant –

“Flirting?”

Jiang Cheng growled, which meant Nie Huaisang’s guess was right. “I’m going to kill the rotten bastard in white! I bet he waited until Wei Wuxian was alone just for this. How dare he take advantage of my – of Wei Wuxian!”

“I mean, I don’t know about that? They seem about tied,” Nie Huaisang said, making a mental note – not that many people could match up against Lan Wangji, especially when he was in a you-are-breaking-the-rules sort of snit. “Each one’s giving as good as the other gets, if you know what I mean…I’m talking about fighting!” He added hastily, seeing Jiang Cheng’s expression. “Just the fighting! And hey, maybe the Lan sect doesn’t flirt through fighting?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Jiang Cheng said. “All cultivation sects flirt through fighting.”

Damnit, Nie Huaisang thought to himself with a sigh. That means I’m going to have to train with saber after all if I’m going to get somewhere here, doesn’t it? Well, at least da-ge will be pleased…

“Are you going to interrupt?” he asked, hiding his face behind his fan. “If fighting is flirting…”

As expected, Jiang Cheng choked. “Not all fighting is flirting!” he hissed. “But that most certainly is!”

Nie Huaisang didn’t understand fighting, so he just shrugged.

“Why don’t you confront him later?” he suggested, but Jiang Cheng shook his head, his features already settling into a mulish expression that had no right to look as attractive as it was. “All right, I see I can’t convince you. Good luck defending your brother’s honor, then?”

-

2

“If Lan Wangji doesn’t stop flirting with Wei Wuxian in class, I’m going to do something violent,” Jiang Cheng said.

“Okay, now I know you’re delusional,” Nie Huaisang said. “But still very pretty. Oh, I’m torn…actually no, I think I’m fine. I mean, what cultivator do I know that isn’t a bit delusional?”

“Can you stop talking nonsense and focus on how we’re going to split them up?” Jiang Cheng demanded irritably. Really, it was no wonder that Nie Huaisang’s best attempts at flirting were going nowhere. Jiang Cheng was thick.

In many appealing ways. Mm.

Damn his bad taste.

“Well, I think first you have to start by reversing your statement until it resembles the truth a bit more,” Nie Huaisang said, trying to be practical. “It’s Wei-xiong that’s flirting with Lan-er-gongzi, not the other way around.”

“He’s just like that!”

“A giant flirt, you mean?”

“Sociable,” Jiang Cheng insisted with the sort of blindly loyal stubbornness that was sadly very, very appealing to those surnamed Nie. Mouthwatering, even.

“Right,” Nie Huaisang said, dabbing at his mouth with his sleeve to make sure he wasn’t drooling. “I see. All right, I’ll help you. I’ll even promise to find a way to break them up for good, guaranteed – but first you have to meet one condition.”

Jiang Cheng arched his eyebrows, looking unwillingly intrigued. “Name it.”

“You have to come up with one way in which Lan-er-gongzi has been flirting with Wei Wuxian that isn’t ‘he existed being pretty in his general direction’.”

Jiang Cheng opened his mouth.

Nie Huaisang waited.

“…maybe he should consider being less pretty,” Jiang Cheng grumbled.

Nie Huaisang patted him on the shoulder, then left his hand on his shoulder because why not.

“We’ve all thought that about him over the years,” he said. “Better luck next time.”

3

“You’re supposed to be helping me preserve my brother’s honor!” Jiang Cheng hissed at Nie Huaisang, who had made absolutely no promises of that sort without giant loopholes that he could walk right out of. “Not – encouragingthis!”

“I didn’t! I just helped Wei-gongzi play a tiny little prank –”

“With pornography!”

“Tasteful erotic art,” Nie Huaisang corrected.

“With cutsleeve pornography!”

“Cutsleeve tasteful erotic art.”

“Nie Huaisang! You’re missing the point!”

“Am I?” Nie Huaisang asked thoughtfully, tapping his fan against his lips. “I don’t know, I’m not sure I am. Can you explain what the point is again?”

Jiang Cheng threw his hands up into the air. “Listen, it was bad enough when Wei Wuxian got thrown out of Teacher Lan’s classes and had to go copy rules in the Library Pavilion for a month; that’s disgraceful and loses face for our sect, but at least his personal honor was preserved –”

Bad scholarship was, in fact, not an impediment to having personal honor. Nie Huaisang knew this fact forwards, backwards, and intimately.

“But then Teacher Lan fell for Lan Wangji’s tricks and decided to assign him to supervise copying –”

“Lan-er-gongzi has tricks? That’s news to me.”

“…well, either way, they got cooped up there in that room, together, alone, for – for weeks!”

“Hasn’t Lan-er-gongzi been using the muting spell on Wei-xiong most of that time?”

“No, eventually Wei Wuxian learned his lesson and now he shuts himself up whenever he sees him starting up the spell, he complains to me and shijie about it constantly every night,” Jiang Cheng said, grumbling. “Stop interrupting me!”

“Sorry. Go ahead.”

“Anyway, if that wasn’t enough, you’re now encouragingthis debacle by setting up a prank that involves Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji, and cutsleeve pornography.”

“I did,” Nie Huaisang agreed. “And it’s tasteful erotic art, Jiang-xiong.”

“Why do you keep insisting on that?” Jiang Cheng snapped. “Isn’t it the same thing?”

“No,” Nie Huaisang said patiently. “Because I also have pornography, and it’s a lot less tasteful.”

Jiang Cheng stopped, utterly distracted from his previous rant. “...you do?”

“Mm. Want to see?”

-

4

“Lan Zhan! Lan Zhan, wait for me, I want to talk to you – I need you! See, for whatever reason, I can’t find Jiang Cheng anywhere. Can you help me look –”

Nie Huaisang shut his window before Jiang Cheng could overhear and get distracted.

They were busy.

-

5

“All right,” Nie Huaisang said. “I admit it, you’re right.”

Jiang Cheng looked at him. “…you do?”

“I do.”

“Right about…what?”

“About the flirting, and Lan Wangji having tricks,” Nie Huaisang said, nodding wisely. “See, the Lan sect take their rules about their forehead ribbons very seriously. It’s parents, children, and lovers only. So if you ran into Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji entangled on the path near the back mountain, both of them soaking wet, with Lan Wangji’s forehead ribbon wrapped around their wrists…why, that’s practically an elopement!”

Jiang Cheng, predictably, turned purple. “He eloped with my – I’m going to kill him!”

“Have fun with that,” Nie Huaisang said happily, and watched as Jiang Cheng drew his sword and charged, shouting something.

Wei Wuxian attempted to defend their conduct, except apparently their conduct involved finding the ghost of a Lan sect ancestor –

“Did you bow?” Nie Huaisang asked, very unhelpfully. “Both of you? So you’d say you’ve made your bows to the older generation? Have you bowed to heaven and earth yet, too?”

Lan Wangji gave him a death glare, but maybe he should have thought of that before writing to Nie Huaisang’s brother disclosing details about Nie Huaisang’s love life.

“I’m going to kill you!” Jiang Cheng roared.

Nie Huaisang smiled over his fan at Lan Wangji and gave a jaunty little wave.

-

+1

A few days earlier

“Wait, so, you’re actually together?” Nie Huaisang asked, and Lan Wangji nodded. They were having tea together the way they always did at the middle of the week, a tradition started long ago when their brothers were visiting and being utterly intolerable. Even their long-standing fight with each other would be put aside for mid-week tea. “Well done!”

Lan Wangji’s ears turned a little red. “Mm.” After a few moments, he added, “Mm.”

“No, no, I don’t think you need to worry,” Nie Huaisang said. “He may seem flighty, but he’s very loyal…the Jiang sect might object, though. They can be a bit tetchy about these things.”

Arched eyebrows.

“What do you mean, how would I know? Have you somehow missedthat I’ve been trying to snag Jiang Cheng all summer? There are more things in this world than Wei Wuxian’s waistline, shapely as it may be.”

Eyes narrowing.

“…don’t you dare tell my brother!”

A smirk, not that anyone else – excluding Lan Xichen – would know.

“I don’t care about your ‘appropriate conduct’! If you tell my brother that I’m dating instead of studying, I’ll find a way to make your life miserable, too! Just you wait!”

[drwcn]

《 Without Envy 》 storyboard 9 - concubine/sleeper agent!wwx & prince!lwj [Master List], you should also have read [6] [6.2]

Lan Qiren coming to visit Hanguang-fu effectively put an end to Wei Wuxian's time as Lan Wangji's servant. He wanted to send Wei Wuxian back to Jiang-fu, but luckily, Jiang Yanli interfered.

Jiang Yanli has been slowly recovering since her drug-induced miscarriage, and while Wei Wuxian had slowed her progress with sedatives, he's been careful to keep an eye on her intake to make sure Jin Ziyan hasn't been messing with her again. As well, with Wei Wuxian occupying Lan Wangji's time and keeping the Jiang family in his good graces, Jiang Yanli had the time she needed to recover fully without needing to push herself to entertain Lan Wangji for favour.

“妾身见过太师，给太师请安。” “阿离啊，听说你小产后一直身体不好，这下着雨，你怎么来了。起身吧, 孩子。” “承蒙太师与陛下惦记，殿下垂怜，阿离的身子已经大好了。阿羡本是妾身院里的，是妾身的陪嫁，一直都安分守己，对王府对殿下忠心不二。是妾身无用，身子一直不见好才让阿羡到王爷身边侍奉。刚见阿羡被太师训斥，相比是阿离平日里管教无方，无心顶撞了太师。有什么过错，都是妾身的错，还请太师责罚。” ~translate~ Jiang Yanli dipped into a proper curtsey, kneeling before Lan Qiren, "This humble concubine greets Taishi. I pray that you've been well." "A-Li, I've heard that you've not been well since your miscarriage. It's raining today, what troubled you to come? Rise, child." Lan Qiren's stance softened upon seeing Jiang Yanli. His late sister-in-law had no daughters, and so often summoned the daughters of nobles into court to dote on and mentor as her own. Jiang Yanli, gentle and proper, has long been known to be a favorite of the late empress. She may not be the greatest beauty in her generation, but was second to none when it came to etiquette and grace. "Thanks be to His Majesty and taishi for remembering, and thanks to dianxia's for his care, my health is much improved now. A-Xian was once a member of my court, my peijia. I've always known him to be obedient and conscious of his place, and loyal to wangye and this princely manor. It is only on account of my poor health that he's been summoned to serve at wangye's side. Earlier, I heard Taishi chastising him; surely it must be A-Li's fault for failing to teaching him propriety and thus causing his unintended offence. The fault is with A-Li, and so I humbly submit myself to your discipline, taishi." Lan Qiren sighed. He did not wish to stir up trouble over a servant. If Jiang Yanli was willing to stand up for this Wei Wuxian, then he must have his uses. At the very least, he'll be a confidant for Jiang Yanli against Jin Ziyan. Lan Qiren so hoped that one day Wangji would choose the Jiang girl as his legal spouse and secure his marriage once and for all. If sparing one lowly servant was the price then so be it. "Very well, A-Li. Since the servant is yours, then his training and discipline shall be your responsible. He is unsuited to serve at the prince's side. It is good that you have recovered; Wangji should not be without a caring partner."

And so, Wei Wuxian returned to Jiang Yanli's side as a servant. Lan Wangji had to watch him go and could not interfere. The next several days was depressing for both of them on multiple fronts.

Xue Yang was very unimpressed:

"So you're tell me that you got to spend quality time with Lan Wangji for months and then... didn't get anywhere?" "I was getting there okay? How was I supposed to know his stupid uncle was gonna barge in like some nosey busybody and ruin everything!? I haven't seen Lan Zhan in days..." I miss him. How horrifyingly embarrassing. He probably forgot me already. "Don't tell me you actually miss him??? That you - barf - fell for him? Whatever happened to standards??!" "You watch your mouth, Xue Chengmei! I'm still your shixiong! And I have standards; Lan Zhan is...very good." Xue Yang: ( ˘︹˘ ) whatever.

Lan Wangji, the sulky boy that he is, brooded for days until Lan Xichen finally sought him out for some good ol' brotherly heart to heart.

"I hear Uncle took away your shiny new toy." "Wei Ying is not a toy." "Wei Ying is it?" Lan Xichen wiggled his eyebrows. "Ah, didi, you have to think a little more creatively. So your Wei Ying has gone back to his mistress, but is his mistress not your concubine? Jiang-furen is still unpregnant, I might add. Visit her. Then surely you'll get to see him." Lan Wangji grimaced. The thought has occurred to him, but the idea of bedding anyone not Wei Ying is intolerable. "Yes, Yanli is lovely, but I'd rather not...you know..." His brother was too polite to roll his eyes. "You've done it before, Wangji." "I would not have had to, if xiongzhang simply did his duty." Lan Wangji bit back icily, and instantly regretted it. Lan Xichen's eyes widened, his cheerful-teasing expression stuttering and crumbling in seconds. "Yes...yes that's true." "My sincerest apologies, huangxiong - no - bixia." Lan Wangji rose to his feet and then bowed down deeply. "I forgot my place. I accept any punishment." Lan Xichen sighed and extended a forgiving hand to pardon him. "Not necessary, Wangji. You're right. I haven't done my duty for Gusu." He pulled the younger man to sit beside him again. "You are doing this in my stead, stepping up where I have let the country down. I should not make light of your sacrifice. The matter of a harem is inevitably complicated, which is why I never cared for one. Neither did Father. His harem had always been sparse, and his first empress was not one of his choosing. When she died in childbirth and our unborn sibling along with her, he elevated our mother's rank to Empress and visited no one else henceforth." "Mother was never popular with the ministers for that reason." "Yes. They suspected that she had something to do with...well, in any case I imagine they were quite relieved when she passed." Lan Xichen shook his head. "The harem is not a happy place, Wangji. You were born after Mother was already Empress, you would not have remembered a time when she was consort. But I do. Like you, your concubines did not get to choose their fate. The fault, ultimately, lies with me." "Huangxiong -" "It's true, Wangji. The fault is mine." Lan Xichen patted him on the arm placatingly. "You cannot love them, and clever as they are, I don't think your concubines would expect you to. However, you can ensure their happiness in other ways. Jiang-furen seems the kind to very much want a child of her own. It will make the rest of her life in your harem more bearable."

After some deliberation, Lan Wangji went back to his routine of visiting different concubines regularly, but never more than just sharing a bed-space. With the exception of Jiang Yanli. Lan Wangji could see it in her eyes; she knew who he really wanted, but those words never needed to be said aloud. Jiang Yanli was kind to him, and he was kind to her in return. All things considered, it wasn't awful being with someone who wasn't your preferred, but who knew you for yourself and shared your struggles.

"Dianxia, you must've heard, that before I married into your wangfu, I was betrothed to Jin Zixuan." She mentioned one evening over a game of weiqi. Of all his concubines (which he has 4) and friends (which he has few), Jiang Yanli's skill on the weiqi board was unparalleled. Lan Wangji half wondered how the Marquis and Marchioness of Yunmeng could have buried this talented daughter of theirs under the shadow of their son for so many years. "Yes I am aware." "I loved him." "...." For a minute Lan Wangji did not know how to reply. He stared at the chessboard. Jiang Yanli's black pieces had surrounded his white ones and forced them into a corner. "Why are you telling me this?" "Your court, my clan: we are their creatures." Jiang Yanli 's smile was knowing. "I am not A-Xian; I can see what he cannot." "Which is?" "You've fallen for each other. Completely. He denies it, heaven knows why." Jiang Yanli took a delicate sip of tea. Fleetingly, Lan Wangji imagined that if he could not have Wei Ying, if he were forced to take a legal wife to make empress, that she would make a magnificent one. "Father loved Mother. Loved her as a wife even when she was only a consort -" "And his love spurred the hate of the royal court." "They blamed her for his loving a woman more than his country, as though she should have persuaded him to love her less. I do not want the same to happen to Wei Ying." "Nor I." "Huangshu says I would need a legal spouse one day, someone virtuous and from a strong pureblood family." "Is that what dianxia wants?" "I want it to be Wei Ying, though I know it to be impossible. Barring that, I'd want to keep him safe in the harem, the size of which will only grow after I succeed the throne." "For that, dianxia will need a spouse who will reign over the harem as you rule over the country." Lan Wangji contemplated his choices and the options available to him. After some time, he placed the white piece he fiddled between his fingers back into the bamboo bowl, conceding that he'd lost this round. Jiang Yanli waited patiently for him to come to terms with the offer she already knew he would make. He wondered how long ago she had foreseen this moment, whilst simultaneously realizing that if his uncle had any idea just how intelligent she truly was, he would not be so quick to suggest her as a candidate for princess consort. A weak emperor and a strong empress never boded well for the stability of the realm. This was dangerous waters Lan Wangji was wading into, but he knew beyond doubt that the only way to survive was to keep straight ahead. He had no other path to take, none which maximally balanced what he wanted with what he needed. Jiang Yanli was his only solution, his only ally. "Huangxiong suggested that we have a child together." He finally said, staring her squarely in the eyes. "You and I can agree that the son of Gusu Lan and Yunmeng Jiang would certainly be a strong contender amongst his brothers." "She could be a daughter." "Then I'd cherish her more. A child and a crown - would they make you happy, Yanli?" "If I said yes?" "Then they're yours." Jiang Yanli smiled.

Two months after Wei Wuxian was dismissed from Lan Wangji's service and the prince began visiting Jiang Yanli, good new was delivered to Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan. The message was this: Hanguang-wang's Jiang-furen was with child yet again.

[tanoraqui]

There actually are enough good fics about postcanon tentative reforging of assorted pairs and even the whole of the Gusu Summer School No Brain Cell Trio to satisfy my niche itch, so pls enjoy these stray snippets of a fic I don't have to write:

Nothing would've happened if the cultivation conference wasn't at Cloud Recesses. But it was, Cloud Recesses with its pale stone and gracefully winding walkways and too many memories, including Lan Xichen sitting the whole thing out in seclusion somewhere... If it'd been at the Unclean Realm, Nie Huaisang would've been busy and if it'd been at Carp Tower the memories only would've been manageably bad, and if it was Lotus Pier or one of many smaller sects, it would've been...fine. Just fine.

But it was Cloud Recesses this year, this first conference since Jin Guangyao's downfall, and specifically it was half past ten at night, and Nie Huaisang was wandering the elegant pathways with a mostly full jar of wine in one hand. The previous jar, now entirely empty, had been left back in his room. He was a Nie, so he was only half as drunk as he'd always used to pretend at these things - but at least twice as drunk as he'd ever actually been.

After da-ge's death, of course. Before that, he used to get plenty drunk. Playfully drunk. With friends.

It would be a terrible idea for him to go appear on Lan Xichen's doorstep. Neither of them was ready for that yet.

So he appeared on Jiang Cheng's.

[ . . . ]

"Fine." Nie Huaisang pouted and turned. "I'll go ask Wei-xiong - "

And Jiang Cheng was easy, he was so easy, he'd always been easy, the only new thing is the faintest edge of wariness to his fury -

He grabbed Nie Huaisang's elbow in a flash and snapped, "Ugh, fine, I'll go - but I'm holding the wine."

Nie Huaisang laughed and handed it over. Jiang Cheng immediately took a deep swig.

[ . . . ]

It must've been a quiet night at the Jingshi. Wei Wuxian's sleeping robes didn't look the least bit hastily pulled on, and his lips were only the slightest bit red and puffy.

[ . . . ]

[for the record, this takes place in a book-show postcanon fusion wherein immediately post-Guanyin Temple, WWX and LWJ ran off to fuck in the bushes at least once a day for as long as possible, but in their absence, various sect leaders voted that Lan Wangji should be Chief Cultivator now, and alas some messenger caught up with them about six months into their honeymoon. Definitely caught them in flagrante delicto. Tragic for all. I’d probably communicate all this hereish somehow. It was definitely NHS who finally tipped someone off on how to actually find them.]

[ . . . ]

"Yes, yes, I'm coming," Wei Wuxian said, with a lidded look at Nie Huaisang, and Nie Huaisang burst into a giggles because the two most unequivocally lethal people he knew were afraid to leave each other alone with him, and it was satisfying to be recognized but also what's he going to do, personally? Cry at them? It'd taken him years to destroy Jin Guangyao, and at this point it'd take him months, if not years again to re-destroy the Yiling Patriarch, much less Sandu Shengshou. Especially when they both kept doing things like watching each others backs while pretending they weren't.

[ . . . ]

"Of course we need more!" Wei Wuxian declared. "This isn't even Emperor's Smile!"

[ . . . ]

"It's just a rat or something," Jiang Cheng scoffed.

"So?!" Wei Wuxian cried grandly. "Are we not noble cultivators? Is it not our duty to investigate this woman's complaint, and to slay whatever monster plagues her good inn’s wonderful cellar, whether deathly or monstrous or rodential it be?" He turned to Nie Huaisang and begged, "Help me out, Nie-xiong. You agree with me, right?"

Nie Huaisang clutched his cup against his chest, eyes wide, and shook his head in sharp jerks. "I don't know! I don't know!"

Wei Wuxian laughed and elbowed him in the side.

[ . . . ]

[while waiting for Wei Wuxian to send some sort of signal]

"You know I don't bear any grudge against Jin Ling, right?"

Jiang Cheng's impatient glare snapped to him, darkening with threat; his hand shifted on Sandu's hilt toward a drawing position. "What?"

"I don't bear any sort of grudge against Jin Ling," Nie Huaisang repeated, holding only the last jar of Emperor's Smile. "That's why you've been side-eyeing me all night, right? All conference." He took another sip (it really was the best!) and added recklessly, "If I wanted Jin Ling dead and disgraced, or all Carp Tower burned to ash, they already would be."

Sandu slid an inch out of its scabbard and Nie Huaisang watch it with fascinated curiosity. From a greater distance, he wondered if that was entirely healthy.

"What about Lotus Pier?" Jiang Cheng asked abruptly.

It took Nie Huaisang a blinking moment to focus on him.

"What about Lotus Pier?"

Jiang Cheng sat beside him on the cold earth and yanked the jar out of his hands, cruelly before Nie Huaisang could take another sip.

"Where's your grand terrible vengeance against me and mine? I get it, but if you're being honest for once right now, you could at least tell me when it's going to hit, and how."

"What?" Nie Huaisang pushed himself against his tree trunk, genuinely confused. "Why would i have a terrible vengeance planned against you?"

"I benefitted from Nie Mingjue's death, didn't I?" Jiang Cheng took another swig of wine of his own, and swung the jar illustratively. "My disciples have hunted in your territory while you 'weren't paying attention.' I absolutely fleeced you in that trade deal four years ago. And I worked with that bastard as much as anyone but Lan Xichen, especially on those damn watchtowers, and you broke him. So when's it my turn?" He pointed at Nie Huaisang, finger only wavering slightly. “If you fuck with Jin Ling, Wei Wuxian, or my sect, I will fuck you back.”

"You- oh, gimme that. Gimme. Gimme!" Nie Huaisang leaned forward and tried to grab the wine jar, and more importantly whined until Jiang Cheng handed it to him.

He stared at it for a moment, thrust it back and ordered, “Drink,” without letting it go, and once Jiang Cheng had dutifully tilted it back, pulled it back and slugged down the last swallows. He needed more alcohol for this much honesty, and so did Jiang Cheng.

He set the jar down very carefully, because the ground seemed to be moving, and leaned forward with even more care. He enunciated clearly, “Everyone fleeced me, and hunted in my territory, and I acsh- ass- let them. Why would I expect you to go looking for trouble with Jin Guangyao, when he had your heart locked in a box in his treasure room?”

Jiang Cheng, who was a respected master of all five arts but probably hadn’t actually read poetry for fun since an instructor had officially declared him as such, and who was himself at least a full wine jar in, squinted in angry confusion.

Nie Huaisang rolled his eyes. “He had final say over where and how Jin Ling spent his time, and could’ve tried to poison him against you. What would you have even have done if I had come complaining?”

Jiang Cheng’s face only fell further, with the very sort of drunken moroseness Nie Huaisang was out here to avoid.

Nie Huaisang attempted to swap him sharply. He failed on both the swap and the sharpness. 

“Stoppit! Stop thinking you’re not useful! You weren’t! I needed to pry er-ge away from him and for that only Lan Wangji would work, and I needed someone to watch his back through thick and deadly thin, and to be so disruptive that even Meng Yao couldn’t...circle, sneaky, planning...”

They were waiting for the pulse of a light talisman from the other tunnel entrance, half a mile away. There was a small but very bright explosion. laced with resentful as well as spiritual energy.

“Motherfucker!” Jiang Cheng cursed, leaping to his feet and drawing Sandu in one hideously coordinated motion. 

“Just Lan Wangji, I think,” Nie Huaisang said, because Nie Mingjue himself couldn’t have stopped him. He groped for his own weapons - fan, check; wine jar - 

“Oh no!” 

“What?”  Jiang Cheng snapped, as he bent and dragged Nie Huaisang to his feet with one hand. (Hideously coordinated. Sword people, honestly...)

“He’s going to be so mad that we finished the wine without him!”

[ . . . ]

[three grown-ass men, two sect leaders and one Yiling Patriarch, flying at high speed through Caiyi Town on one sword, all screaming. Nie Huaisang is clinging to Wei Wuxian; Wei Wuxian is flinging to Jiang Cheng, a little bit to Nie Huaisang, and most importantly to a chicken, Jiang Cheng is flying the sword. There is a bedsheet draped over all of them from where they ran into a laundry line. It’s 2am. Again I say, all are screaming]

[ . . . ]

[it probably wasn’t a rat - not just one, at least. Wei Wuxian does something incredibly clever, possibly including a creative use of that bedsheet; Jiang Cheng singlehandedly defeats something in combat, probably after he and Wei Wuxian shove each other out of the way of blows without either of them acknowledging it. Nie Huaisang shoves them both under cover and then with perfect professionalism tells whoever came to check on the ruckus that they handled the problem exactly as planned with absolutely no involvement of alcohol, and the Chief Cultivator will foot the bill for the unfortunately absolutely necessary property damage. Overall, they did handle the problem, but the local cryptid they were chasing will only have its reputation swelled and its continued existence assumed by all locals. it is possible that they themselves made this cryptid up two decades ago, but idk how heavy-handed we want to be.]

[ . . . ]

Nie Huaisang was leaning heavily on Wei Wuxian by the time they got back to the guest quarters. He could hold his alcohol, he was a goddamn Nie, and frankly he’d had it adrenalined out of him at least twice this evening. But he’d also had rather a lot, and he didn’t have Jiang Cheng’s golden core or Wei Wuxian’s blithe lack of sleep schedule. 

“I missed this,” he admitted, head on Wei Wuxian’s (Mo Xuanyu’s) shoulder while Jiang Cheng opened the door.

Wei Wuxian leaned his head on Nie Huaisang’s. “Me too.”

“You’re both fucking annoying,” Jiang Cheng grouched, which meant, Me too.

Wei Wuxian stripped off Nie Huaisang’s muddy outer robe and tucked him into bed, and Jiang Cheng poured a glass of water from the pitcher by the door, drank it, poured another, scowled at Wei Wuxian for a moment, and set it on the bedside table. Wei Wuxian glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, finished with Nie Huaisang and started backing out of the room.

Nie Huaisang sat up more or less abruptly. “Both of you have got to stop that bullshit. I miss my brothers, okay? I’d I had a second chance...” He sagged back down with the plural, and flung an arm over his damp eyes. There was a glimmer in the sky; it’d be morning by Lan standards soon. “I fucking miss them.”

“...Ah,” said Wei Wuxian, who always spoke even when he didn’t know what to say.

“Yeah,” Jiang Cheng said abruptly, and, “Drink your fucking water.” And the door slammed behind him as he walked out.

[...a few lines of dialogue later...]

“Seriously, you can go.” Nie Huaisang flicked a few tired fingers in dismissal.

“Are you sure?” Wei Wuxian added with an audible smirk, “Because if I stay up for another half hour, I can wake Lan Zhan with a morning...big ol’...loving...”

Nie Huaisang finally adjusted his arm to crack one eye up at him.

“People usually cut me off before I get that far,” Wei Wuxian admitted.

[ . . . a bit more dialogue and the end.]