#i should do one for nieyao too actually

[dying-suffering-french-stalkers]

inspired by @wouldgaysexfixthem and by @queenofattolia's post (and @socialjusticebard's tags):

[least-carpet]

You've explained JGY's relationship with LXC and QS as remote and closed off because they are "Good" (please excuse my clumsy paraphrasing). Do you think the inverse of this dynamic extents to Xue Yang? Do you think he would be more open or casual with him because he is very much "Not Good" and cannot judge him? Do you think they were friends?

Anon, I opened this while very tired, got super excited about it, fell asleep, and promptly forgot it existed. Sorry!

So, the answer is yes and no. I do think that Xue Yang and Jin Guangyao were kind of friends, and that Xue Yang certainly liked Jin Guangyao about as much as he ever liked anyone before Xiao Xingchen. But I think the dynamic between them was quite similar in its own way to Jin Guangyao's other relationships, where Jin Guangyao carefully shows very specific parts of himself and hides other ones, in this case because Xue Yang is generally kind of a loose cannon and requires Handling. So it's not that Xue Yang got a more complete picture of Jin Guangyao, just a different one.

On the other hand, it must have been a relief for Jin Guangyao to just be able to be honest about all the crimes, since Xue Yang won't judge him for those. But Jin Guangyao himself doesn't agree with what Xue Yang values, so his lack of judgment isn't deeply meaningful, I don't think. Jin Guangyao wants to be good and to be loved by good people. Xue Yang can't give that to him. Xue Yang at least can understand the pain of being treated like you're disposable, and the resentment that engenders, but that only goes so far, I think.

I wonder if that made the loss of the relationship with Nie Mingjue so ugly—because Nie Mingjue is powerful and righteous¹, and he did actually think very highly of Jin Guangyao at one time, and then Jin Guangyao lost his approval because Nie Mingjue Perceived the Crimes. Gotta wonder how that played into Jin Guangyao's relationships later. (Note that this in no way stopped him from committing the crimes, just made him very determined to hide them.) (Also, should have kept him with you, Nie Mingjue! You could have had a right hand who balanced out all of your weaknesses, and he could have had an authority figure who valued him and wouldn't ask him to commit increasingly wretched acts!²)

1. I know people have mixed feelings about Nie Mingjue's virtue but, like, compare him to Jin Guangshan or Wen Ruohan. He's not a liar, he's not power-hungry, he pursues justice. He goes a little too hard sometimes, and, okay, his cultivation practice makes him doomed to a violent death, but he's not skipping meetings to spend time in brothels! Dude is trying!

2. Apropos of nothing, nieyao is also about Jin Guangyao's daddy issues. Sorry, I'll stop now.

[adhdo5]

A thing that bothers me about postcanon Xiyaos is that they tend to want to be fixit Xiyaos and in the process not only make it weird but also erase a lot of the appeal of postcanon Xiyao in general. Like I understand why people want to write LXC as purely regretful and oh how I could have killed that guy he was all that mattered in the world but like. He wasn't?

Sorry to say this but as much as Xiyao-Wangxian parallels real and the world and universe a lot of the tragedy is in how Xiyao were never ever going to be able to prioritize like Wangxian were bc Xiyao cannot extricate what they want personally from what they want ideologically. And just saying that JGY's death undoes this in LXC is a) boring b) untrue to the character and c) honestly kind of cringe from a moral evaluation perspective? Yes the thing is in the narrative of MDZS the kind of priorities Xiyao have are futile, because MDZS is about the futility and arrogance of those priorities, and that's why Xiyao are never going to survive MDZS,– and I would certainly say they're misguided and mixed up with awful obligation nonsense, but they're not in fact bad priorities or stupid considerations to have on a grander scale and something focusing on resolving those issues has to expand from MDZS's themes and answer not "what if they simply went Wangxian 2 about it" but "given that they are not and can never be Wangxian and Wangxian happy ending doesn't work for them what kind of story DOES Xiyao happy ending happen in"

And first thing second: a lot of these answers tend to do the thing where their answer is "Xiyao at age 20 was Xiyao happy ending" which is again not only a boring answer but kind of a shitty one! First of all no the fuck it wasn't, otherwise they wouldn't have done all that; second of all Oh so you claim you want a-Yao happy ending and forgive him all his crimes but the only form you want him in is one that in some sense hasn't committed what you perceived as the worst of his crimes yet? The only form you want him in is Meng Yao who does your laundry and cries about needing your support and is only relieved, not angry, not resentful, who's powerless and Yet To Be Corrupted? You want him untainted and want a medal for having a different perception of what "tainted" means? That's what killed him the first time around! Nothing has changed! Xichen-ge, look out!

Fuck that shit!!! Reckon with his crimes! Reckon with the fact that LXC has genuine reason to distrust him and vice versa! They have genuine moral differences and circumstantial disparities and personal-moral grievances with each other no shallower than Nieyao do! Give Jin Guangyao his power and reckon with the things he did for and with it and figure out how they're going to live with that!! You wanna be a Jin Guangyao apologist? START APOLOGIZING

And fucking frankly Lan Xichen has some damn apologizing to do too!! A thing not enough of this talks about is how privilege-blind he is and how he never actually understands JGY's circumstances or the depth of his plight; MDZS if fucking anything asks us to sit with the fact that the world they live in is so cruel as to make those motives to do genuinely horrible inexcusable things legitimate by asking NMJ and LXC to sit with that and both NMJ and LXC fail to do so in turn bc they can't accept that about their society (and tragically even as he is proof positive of that neither can JGY!!!!!!)!!!!!

And the fixation on pre-Crimes Meng Yao is honestly just kind of fucked! It's such an unhinged idea that you should chase not just the lover but the shape of the love you had when you were literally barely out of your teens as life-defining! Not to overestimate LXC's ability to Get Over It, because I do believe that he kind of never does, but it's just so miserable both on the ~kinda fetishizing this dubiously extant Innocence (ew!!!) front but also on the front of like , and you're going to make this too into an obligation for a character defined and crushed by his obligations, and assume this obligation eclipses literally everything and everyone else he cares about??? Miserable! Amatonormative! Literal decades have passed and you're going to say all that character development for both of them didn't happen? For the sake of The One nonsense? I know we're writing fic for a novel where the main couple are Like That and again I'm writing this whole thing because frankly I like postcanon Xiyao I am attached and I am rooting for postcanon Xiyao to get together very easily!! But even Wangxian are absolutely changed by the 20 years and they are resolving ! The problems ! That prevented them from having a relationship before ! It's a whole thing whatever whatever

TL;DR: You are all so amatonormative + make Lan Xichen worse + free my man JGY he did all that shit but free him anyway + in MY postcanon TGCFlike they're divorced

[lgbtlunaverse]

3zun data analysis part 2 electric boogaloo

So in my first post on 3zun data analysis I said I manually excluded all non-3zun ships in the 3zun tag to figure out how many of them were actually centered around 3zun.

So that's... actually not how i first went about that. Instead, I decided to, one after the other, include each 2-out-of-3zun ship, and then manually exclude every relationship not contained in 3zun. (leaving te other 2-out-of-3zun ships alone) Then, I'd figure out how many of these fics were exclusively tagged the ship I included, how many included only one of the other 2 ships, and how many included all 3, which would allow me to calculate how many 3zun fics in total had 2-out-of-3zun ships included but no other side pairings, which, upon being added to the otp:true fics, should give me the total number of 3zun fics exclusively focused on 3zun.

"Wow! That seems really inefficient" yes! But it did give me more information for this post. Because with these numbers, I can somewhat crudely estimate what 2-out-of-3zun pairing tends to get more narrative focus within 3zun fics.

Here are the results, data collected on march 18th 2024:

There are 196 3zun fics tagged with xiyao and no non-3zun relationships. Of these, 151 are also tagged nieyao, and 137 are tagged nielan.

Coincidentally, nieyao has the same number, also 196, 151 of wich are also tagged xiyao, but only 117 are tagged nielan.

Then there are 159 3zun fics tagged nielan with no non-3zun pairings, with 137 of them also being tagged xiyao and 117 nieyao. (I hope you've all noticed those numbers matching up!)

by the way, here are the raw stats in just the plain vanilla 3zun tag, no filters, for how many fics are tagged with the different ot2s.

Also, this has nothing to do with anything, but for nielan and xiyao i mostly had to filter out relatively normal side pairings, a few crossovers with mxtx's other works or different danmei, nothing too weird. But the nieyao tag had THIS

JESUS/JUDAS??? IN MY NIEYAO?? It's more likely than you think!!

Anyway, to the complicated numbers! Selecting for all 3 after excluding everything else gives you 112 fics.

With these numbers you can now calculate some really fun stuff. Taking the fics tagged with both xiyao and nieyao (151) and subtracting the fics tagging all 3 (112) you get the number of 3zun fics that are only tagged as xiyao and nieyao, excluding nielan. In this case: 39

"Couldn't you just exclude nielan on ao3" you have to understand I like doing things the hard way.

Doing this gives:

Fics tagged nieyao and xiyao but not nielan: 39

Fics tagged xiyao and nielan but not nieyao: 25

Fics tagged nieyao and nielan but not xiyao: 5

Generally tagging 2 ot2 pairings in an ot3 signals that either the relationship is a V and the excluded ship are not together, or that- even if they're a triad- the excluded ship doesn't feature in the narrative much. As you can see, xiyao is by far the least likely to be excluded here.

Now doing some more math (or, if you're normal, clicking a few extra times on ao3) will give you the fics exclusively tagged with one ot2 pairing besides 3zun. Generally that means that this relationship is the narrative focus, even if all of 3zun are together.

And these results actually surprised me.

Fics exclusively tagged xiyao: 196 - 112 - 39 - 25 = 20

Fics exclusively tagged nielan: 159 - 112- 25 - 5 = 17

Fics exclusively tagged nieyao: 196 - 112 - 39 - 5 = 40

I checked the answers by actually filtering on ao3 (making all my work redundant) and uh. Yeah. I had expected that, with xiyao being the least likely to be excluded, the most commonly tagged ship in 3zun overall, and simply the most popular ship, they'd be first here too.

And yet, not only does nieyao have more fics, it has more than nielan and xiyao combined. Despite having less fics in total than either of the other 2!

Out of interest, I repeated the experiment without manually excluding all the unrelated ships.

Basically, for each 2-out-of-3zun ship, I only filtered out the two other ships. This data will give us the same insight into narrative focus, just without excluding all other non 3zun rleated side pairings.

This time I just included one ship, and excluded the other 2-out-of-3zun ships. (the hard math comes later)

Doing this gives:

3zun fics only tagged xiyao: 45

3zun fics only tagged nielan: 33

3zun fics only tagged nieyao: 59

It's a less drastic difference, but nieyao still come out on top!!

What this means, I think, is that people with nieyao as their absolute favorite side of the triangle are a lot more likely to write 3zun fics than those for whom the same is true for nielan or xiyao.

That is to say: Someone who likes all 3zun pairings equally is more likely to write 3zun where the pairings all share narrative balance. And if you really really really love xiyao, and think nieyao and nielan are pretty ok but you don't go crazy over them, you're a lot more likely to just write a solo xiyao fic than you are a xiyao-focused 3zun fic. Idem ditto for nielan. But if nieyao is your absolute fave, you wanna put those guys in a throuple anyway.

What I'm saying is I think nieyaoists are the subfandom of triangular desire. Which... *looks at my own mutuals*... is the least surprising thing i've ever said.

Anyway! I didn't stop there! I wanted to see which pairings were more likely to get tagged together again. I also decided to make things even harder for myself!

Instead of filtering one ship at a time and seeing how many of each of the others were tagged alongside it, like i did last time, I only gave myself a few figures to calculate it manually: The overall number of tags each had in the 3zun tag (348, 328, and 284, as pictured above) the afformentioned data about exclusively tagged fics, and the number of fics tagged with all three 2-out-of-3zun ships (175)

Rather than a simple subtraction, I had to... Well i'm just gonna let y'all look at my notes app. I wanna stress that i could have looked all of this up in minutes and in fact did later to check my answers! No time was saved! A lot was wasted!

But I like number so 👉👈

Tldr:

Fics tagged xiyao and nieyao but not nielan: 73

Fics tagged xiyao and nielan but not nieyao: 55

Fics tagged nieyao and nielan but not xiyao: 21

Once again, similar but slightly less drastic results.

With this I can only come to one conclusion: the fandom likes to joke about 3zun being a love triangle with xichen in the middle. But looking at these numbers? The real center is jiggy. Everything revolves around a-yao, baby!.

[eleanorfenyxwrites]

WIP Wednesday Things-I'm-Working-On Thursday

(once again it's after midnight so I'm actually technically posting this on 'fuck-it's-already-Friday' but you know what? I don't care lol)

Back on Jin Guangyao's birthday I thought about writing something in the Modern Sunshot AU universe (I really just can't stop thinking about pre-fic Nieyao in that AU, they're so important to me T-T) so I started to write what I thought was going to be another shameless excuse to write emotional smut for them, but then I lost interest about 1000 words in and decided meh. So I abandoned this idea but here's what exists of it anyway, might as well put it out into the world (completely unedited tho so be warned haha)

--//--

Meng Yao’s general opinion of birthdays is…neutral, at best. He’s never really had the time for them, nor really the inclination to celebrate them after Meng Shi had died. She used to push him to do something for them, either bake him a little cake or some cookies or something for them to share after dinner. She’d make him something nice, something that took more time than she probably should have spent for something trivial, but it had at least made the day kind of special even if he didn’t have any friends to celebrate with like the rest of the kids he saw.

His first birthday after her death had been the day he’d gone to confront his father and ask for his support, and it had been the day he’d learned his father’s house has a long, luxurious, marble staircase that’s quite painful to be thrown down.

He doesn’t celebrate his birthdays anymore, and would honestly like to forget he even has one in the first place.

The good thing about being wildly unpopular at work is that no one seems to think twice about the fact that he’s been working for Nie Mingjue for years and never once has the non-occasion registered with any of his coworkers. Meng Yao is polite and efficient, but that doesn’t translate to popularity, or anyone deciding they’re curious about his life, and Meng Yao would really like to keep things that way.

Still — as much as he wishes the day could be just like any other, his head for details simply will not let him ever forget, which inevitably means he’s also incapable of forgetting why he has every reason to detest late February, even more so than the fact that everyone hates February.

Meng Yao just keeps his head down and works like usual through the day — a Monday this year, which somehow feels like it’s adding insult to injury. He’s swamped all day long with phone calls, emails, the usual, plus unexpected interruptions in the form of everyone within a three-floor radius, it seems, dropping in to lay a new task or tidbit of information at his feet. Meng Yao takes it all in stride, arranging appointments and meetings and setting reminder after reminder to ensure there’s not a single deadline missed.

By the end of the day he feels wrung out, emotionally and physically drained, but he does his best to hide it as the office empties out in a steady trickle outside his half-open door.

“Yao-ge!” Nie Huaisang calls from his office down the hall. Meng Yao isn’t really sure why Nie Huaisang has decided to adopt him as some sort of elder brother figure when Meng Yao is fairly certain they’re of a similar age, but his stupid traitorously soft heart lifts a little every time Nie Huaisang calls for him so familiarly, and he can’t quite bring himself to tell the other man to stop.

“What is it, Huaisang?” he calls back, still a bit too uncertain of his standing with the Nie brothers to attempt using a nickname in response.

“Da-ge said if I leave I have to bring him some dinner since he’s working late, do you want some, too?”

Meng Yao begins meticulously closing every tab he has open before he can think twice about it (or the headache beginning to bloom behind his eyebrows).

“Yes please, thank you,” he calls back on autopilot. His hands are steady as he snaps his planner shut to tuck neatly down into his bag at his feet.

Nie Huaisang says something about Thai food that Meng Yao doesn’t listen to all that closely. He continues tidying and straightening his already-immaculate desk until he hears Nie Huaisang’s lazy shuffling footsteps heading for the elevator, and only then does Meng Yao slide his chair back and get to his feet with a crisp tug on the hem of his sweater to straighten it.

The only verb that really captures the energy with which he approaches Nie Mingjue’s office is ‘march’. Meng Yao marches to Nie Mingjue’s office with a distinct purpose, and it only takes one glance from Nie Mingjue for Meng Yao to see he understands what’s about to happen.

Meng Yao is exhausted and slightly miserable, and when Nie Mingjue shoves his chair back just enough Meng Yao once again marches across the distance between them to settle himself in Nie Mingjue’s lap as if he belongs there. The edge of the desk digs into his ass and Nie Mingjue has to hold him up by the waist as he readjusts his legs so his knees aren’t digging into the arms of Nie Mingjue’s very nice (if creaky) leather chair, and Meng Yao feels the stupid pointless ridiculous ache in his chest that this awful day always gives him finally start to recede.

“A-Yao —?”

Meng Yao shakes his head quickly and leans in to capture Nie Mingjue’s lips with his own, startled by the way his eyes start to sting at the thought of Nie Mingjue asking him if he’s alright. He doesn’t want to think, he doesn’t want to do or be anything except a little selfish. People do that on their birthdays, don’t they? Claim special privileges, ask for things that they want but don’t really need, demand to be taken care of? Meng Yao can’t really do any of that, but he already knows Nie Mingjue likes this much at least, so it’s not so bad to want it, is it?

He’s pretty sure birthday sex is a thing, and if it’s not then he’ll be that little bit selfish and want it anyway. Nie Mingjue’s hands wrap nearly all the way around his waist when he finally gets with the program, so Meng Yao rewards him with a sharp nip that instantly coaxes him into docility in a way that would likely surprise anyone else who knows him. Only Meng Yao gets to see that tough, unyielding, bullheaded Nie Mingjue is so easy to push down into somewhere soft and pliable.

[truly-morgan]

[Monster & the beast]

NieYao | Mo Dao Zu Shi Cross-Over AU idea 25-06-2021

[#mingyao monster & the beast AU]

nmj is a demon/monster living somewhat peacefully in his forest. He's what most humans would call scary and ugly, hence why they always run away from him since he's very big and menacing compared to them (also why some try to come to hunt him only to back off when they realised just how large and strong he actually is).

Otherwise, it is peaceful in the forest, most other creature leaves him alone and he can easily find food around the forest.

There's no one else like him (maybe nhs got taken away because he looked somehow human enough, so someone "saved" him from the monster in the forest and nmj was never able to find him back, hopefully, he was treated well).

He did feel lonely at times, but he also knew all he would get from trying to reach out to people would be fear. Then one day, as he wanders around the forest to pass the time, he stumbles on a group of people surrounding and overpowering a man. He feels like he shouldn't get involved in the situation, but hearing the man making pained noises he can't help but act, saving him.

jgy is a man travelling around, finding and selling valuable herbs and treasures. He may or may not be running from trouble of his past, but despite being somewhat pursued he still lives life easily and without trouble, he simply doesn't attach himself to anyone.

then one day he needs some help to cross this dense forest, where it could take a long time without someone to shoot the shortcuts, so he does accept the help of these fellows who generously suggested their help (not without a piece obviously).

and then jgy realises they might /not/ be taking him where he really wants to go, each of them casually flashing weapons and how strong they are, taking great interest in the things he carries (which could get a lot of money too) This is how he ends up with them finally making their move, although jgy does try to fight back, they are a bit too much for him to handles correctly.

This is when nmj enters the game. saving him.

jgy isn't scared by him (to nmj surprise) and is instead rather friendly with him, treating him as if he was any other human. He ends up explaining his situation as he prepares to try and find his way through the forest (wouldn't be the first time he got lost somewhere).

but nmj ends up stopping him, actually guiding him on his journey to the town he's trying to reach.

It's refreshing and nice, to have someone who so casually talks to him, as if nothing was wrong. nmj ends up growing pretty fond of jgy on their couple of days of travelling.

When they finally reach the town, nmj wants to keep going with him, yet jgy says he should stay in his forest, where it is safe and no one (or nearly no one) will bother him. Plus, it would be hard for him to travel with him without being noticed.

But then nmj says he can hide in shadows! So he could always hide in jgy shadow if needed!

jgy ends up accepting since it is actually pleasing to travel with nmj (and teasing him by flirting is really funny, it so easy to fluster the large monster). and so they travel some more like this, going from place to place, never staying for long at the same place.

nmj is slowly falling in love with jgy, something he never did. While jgy suspects he might be getting too attached to nmj, something he never allowed himself.

but how could he not when he enjoys nmj company so much?

Eventually, things about what jgy did in the past do reach him, which he did think nmj would leave him ("I am sure jgy did what he did because of reason" he is told). I don't have any really built plot for that part, I just want monster!NMJ and traveller!JGY to travel around the world and fall in love with each other lajnfkjh

maybe jgy had to do some criminal stuff and fled, and now it pursuing him. Maybe he's not fully human himself. who knows

Original

[jaimebluesq]

Okay, Jaime, I have my request! (I have 10, actually, but I'm leaving this one now 😆). I wrote this, but I want YOUR version bc... it's YOU sjksjsksj: Sangcheng and Nieyao living in the same house, other people (you choose who) say each couple should get their own house, but they just don't feel like living apart. They reach a point of annoyance with their friends saying this over and over that one of the four just finally goes ape and let it all out!

All right, here's my take on it - my boy didn't quite go ape-shit but he did do what he does best. I hope you like!

~~~

Nie Huaisang's belly felt full after an evening of barbecue steak and homemade macaroni salad. Most of their guests had left once the sun had set, but the most important people in his life remained behind, enjoying the night sky under strings of patio lanterns.

“My feet hurt,” he pouted, lifting a bare foot and slipping it into his live-in-boyfriend's lap. “Jiang-xiong, give me a foot rub?”

“Why do you always stick your smelly feet in my lap?” Jiang Cheng protested even as he began rubbing at Nie Huaisang's ankle.

“You like my smelly feet in your lap,” he murmured contentedly.

“Considering Da-ge was the one cooking all afternoon at the fire,” Meng Yao spoke up from his spot in a rattan chair, his hand running idly through the head of hair in his own lap, “perhaps he's the one who should be getting the foot rub.”

Nie Mingjue snorted while staying still enough to keep Meng Yao's fingers in his hair. “Does that mean you're willing to give me one later?”

“... I would be happy to pay for a full-body massage and pedicure at my favourite spa,” Meng Yao replied with his patented customer service grin.

Jiang Yanli giggled, having evidently had one too many glasses of prosecco. “A-Cheng, is that how you pay your keep? Offering foot massages?”

“I hope not,” Wei Wuxian countered. “Not unless you want him to break your legs. And they're definitely not keeping him around for his winning personality.”

Jiang Cheng grabbed a nearby cushion and threw it at Wei Wuxian's head. It would have hit had Lan Wangji's hand not grabbed it mid-air, then tucked it under Wei Wuxian's head to keep his husband comfortable.

“I'm certain everyone has their own quirks and things they bring to the home,” Lan Xichen said, ever the peacemaker.

“I still don't understand why some of you haven't moved out yet.” Jin Zixuan replaced his wife's glass of prosecco with ginger ale, hoping she wouldn't notice. “I couldn't imagine living with my family at your age.”

“For the first time in my life,” Wei Wuxian said, “I actually agree with the peacock.”

Jiang Cheng groaned. “Now you're sounding like Mom.”

“And if I'm agreeing with her, you know something is wrong,” Wei Wuxian said officiously. “Come on, you can't tell me the four of you actually like living in each others' laps all the time.”

“A-Xian, behave,” Jiang Yanli partially slurred.

“You've said it yourself!” Wei Wuxian gave her a betrayed look – perhaps he'd had a few too many drinks as well.

“Behind closed doors,” she stage-whispered.

“This is ridiculous,” Jiang Cheng grumped.

“Like, don't any of you actually want some privacy?” Wei Wuxian continued, not willing to let this one go. “I can't imagine anyone else being in our house when we pa-pa-pa."

“Your whole neighbourhood hears whenever you pa-pa-pa,” Jiang Cheng countered.

Lan Wangji's lips turned up just the slightest at the corners.

Nie Huaisang lifted his glass of wildberry cooler, using it to point at his friend. “That is why we invested in excellent soundproofing, Wei-xiong.”

“And why I make them live in the basement,” Nie Mingjue continued.

“It's nice and cool in the summer, too,” Nie Huaisang grinned. “And I don't get woken up by the sun.”

Jin Zixuan wrinkled his nose. “It still sounds crowded. What benefit is there?”

“Well,” Meng Yao offered, “whenever A-Jue and I have car trouble, Jiang Cheng takes care of that for us.”

“Meng Yao handles all of our expenses,” Jiang Cheng explained, “and our taxes.”

“And makes sure we get to appointments on time,” Nie Huaisang added. “And Da-ge cooks and does all the house repairs.”

Wei Wuxian finished his glass of beer in time to begin laughing. “And what about you, Nie-xiong? What the hell do you bring to this arrangement?”

“Isn't it obvious?” Nie Huaisang countered. “I force everyone to relax and take it easy before they have an aneurysm from working themselves sick.”

Wei Wuxian looked about to laugh even more, but stopped when Nie Mingjue, Meng Yao, and Jiang Cheng all nodded in agreement.

“I still think the arrangement is ridiculous,” Jin Zixuan muttered.

Meng Yao let out a loud sigh and placed his glass of merlot on a nearby table. The moment the glass hit the metal, Nie Mingjue, Jiang Cheng, and Nie Huaisang all lifted their heads to look at him.

“I can understand your confusion, brother dearest,” Meng Yao began, a deceptively calm look on his face, “considering your own in-laws want to murder you in your sleep. Have you ever had a good night's sleep while visiting the Jiang home?”

Jin Zixuan shut his mouth with a snap and Wei Wuxian began snorting.

“And as for you, Wei Wuxian,” Meng Yao continued, “are you actually confused and concerned about our living situation, or is it that you simply can't think of an inoffensive way to ask if our sleeping arrangements switch up from time to time? That is what you've been tempted to ask, is it not?”

Wei Wuxian's eyes opened wide and he looked from Jiang Yanli to Lan Wangji, both of whom shook their heads as if to say I didn't tell him.

“So,” Meng Yao concluded, “ are we really going to ruin a lovely evening with this kind of nonsense? If so, I might need to ask some people to leave. Otherwise... would anyone like some cake?”

“I would,” Lan Xichen replied quickly. “Perhaps I could help.”

Meng Yao nodded and stood up, receiving a final loving look from Nie Mingjue before he led Lan Xichen to the kitchen. Together they collected the cake from the fridge and a handful of plates and forks. “You were rather silent during the discussion, Xichen-ge.”

Lan Xichen shrugged. “I believe I'm the only one with the opposite point of view.”

“How so?”

“You know I appreciate living alone, having my own space and nobody making demands upon my time,” Lan Xichen began. “But I will admit to feeling lonely from time to time. I admire how the four of you have made things work. You're all quite different in your own ways, but somehow you compliment each other. We should all be so happy.”

Meng Yao smiled and tried to ignore the choked up feeling in his chest. It was times like these he remembered just how much he appreciated having a friend like Lan Xichen. He opened his mouth to make some sort of reply-

“-It was just a joke!!!” Wei Wuxian shouted.

“Wei Wuxian!!! I'm going to break your fucking legs!!!” Jiang Cheng roared.

“Why don't we settle this the old fashioned way,” Nie Huaisang piped up. “I'll get the kiddie pool and the baby oil and you two take your shirts off-”

“Not in my back yard!” Nie Mingjue shouted.

“He didn't mean you, A-Li,” Jin Zixuan hissed. “Please put your shirt back down.”

Meng Yao traded a look with Lan Xichen and they both had a good laugh. When they returned to the back yard, it was in complete chaos, but Meng Yao couldn't deny that he loved everyone there, and that despite their various attitudes and biases and combative personalities... he wouldn't have them any other way.

“Though I will say,” Lan Xichen whispered into Meng Yao's ear, “I have wondered the same thing as Wei Wuxian. On occasion.”

Meng Yao shot him a glare. Lan Xichen simply smiled apologetically and carried the cake out onto the backyard's picnic table.

[guqin-and-flute]

nieyao or 3zun + prompt 64 with cat!baxia

64. “I think your cat wants to kill me.” [This got way away from me WHOOPS]

“So. This date is going fantastically. Do I make top 10?”

Meng Yao huffed a short, polite laugh through his nose at Mingjue’s rueful question. “Being nursed back to health by a handsome man is certainly adding back points lost in the cat attack,” he replied, and some of the frustrated dread bled from the ball in Mingjue’s chest. “I really could do this myself, you know,” he added.  

Mingjue sighed. “Yeah, well, since it was my cat attack, I feel like I need to make reparations. I’ve also taken First Aid more times than I can count and cat scratches can get really nasty.” 

If this were a one of the sappy romcoms Huaisang loved so much, standing at the sink together as he tended to the 2 gashes scoring down Meng Yao’s forearm with several antiseptic soaked cotton balls had the potential to be romantic. Except Mingjue had never liked those movies and he just felt like a fucking asshole who owned an unruly animal.

He had met Meng Yao at the grocery store. Mingjue had looked up from his phone at the sound of a sharp voice--a middle aged business man was snapping at a young man in front of him in line; "Fucking Christ, you're going to hold up everyone."

"You can go ahead of me if you'd like--"

"There's a whole line of people here! We all have places to go!"

The man being yelled at--(the very attractive man with round, dark eyes, he noted)--had grimaced placatingly, as the cashier was saying, "We can hold his groceries while he goes out, sir, you won't have to wait."

A the business man threw his hands into the air in disgust, Mingjue had slid his phone into his back pocket and interrupted in his 'is this guy bothering you' voice; "What's the problem?"

3 pairs of eyes had darted to him immediately and gone wide. The very good looking man had tensed completely, eyes darting to the door in a way that looked involuntary--and well, Mingjue had been struck by the completely overwhelming urge to tuck him back behind him and make this asshole between them shit his pants in fear. And anyone else that made him look that scared, for that matter. "I'm sorry," the scared, attractive, adorable, fragile-looking, harassed young man had said a tight smile, "I forgot my wallet in my car, we can just--"

"Here," Mingjue slid out his credit card handed it--pointedly--over Mr. Business-Asshole's head to the cashier. "I'll cover it. You know what," he had added, fixing the quickly wilting dickhead with his best 'I-can-bench-press-you-and-then-feed-you-your-own-esophagus-no-problem' stare, "Why don't you get the nice lady behind me, too. Once this guy is done running for the biggest jackass award. I'll wait."

And, you know, weirdly enough, Mr. Asshole had actually left the line, red faced and without his shitty little protein shakes. As the cashier bit back a grin and rung up the card, the harassed young man--who was even prettier up close, holy hell, it made his lower back sweat--had tried to insist that it wasn't necessary, that really, he had the money, he could just go get it, he appreciated it but didn't need Mingjue to put himself out. Mingjue had just shrugged and held out his hand. "It's the principle of the thing. Nie Mingjue."

The man had opened his mouth, looked down at his hand; then, he had smiled and holy goddamn fucking shitballs he had dimples. Shaking it firmly in a hand that was soft and cool and slim, he had said, "Then...thank you. Meng Yao. I'll have to pay you back. Do you have a cash app?"

"Don't bother."

"I insist."

"You can buy me dinner sometime, then," Mingjue's mouth had decided to say without permission, but luckily he agreed with the idea and so had been quite pleased to see Meng Yao's ears go pink.

"...That sounds fair," he replied, finally, those lovely dimples returning.

The cashier had cleared their throat, brightly. "Do you by chance have our loyalty card?"

They agreed on a first date in a public restaurant where they could verify that the other wasn’t some sort of serial killer. It had even been a nice one that Meng Yao had insisted on where they had also shared a bottle of wine and interesting conversation. Meng Yao was exceedingly smart and easy to talk to--the perfect conversational partner with a knack for solving many of the problems that Mingjue hadn't even realized he complained about. In return, he had made his attraction quite clear and Meng Yao had ducked his head.

"I'll have you know that I don't go home with anyone on the first date," he had said carefully, eyes on his fingertip as he ran it around the rim of his wineglass. "It's a personal rule of mine. I wouldn't want you to get the wrong impression."

"That's fine with me," Mingjue shrugged. "If you're up for it, I'll wait for as many dates outlasts your rule, 'cause I grill a mean steak."

Those dimples came back and he had sat back in his chair, voice light as he asked, "Oh? Won't you get bored?"

Mingjue had snorted and finished off his glass. "Just because I'd like to sleep with you doesn't mean I don't also want to get to know you, you know."

Mingjue was just getting to know the guy, so he couldn't be sure, but that answer seemed to please him.

The night of the cat disaster was the 4th on their run of dates--Mingjue had shooed Huaisang over to Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng’s house for the night and invited Meng Yao over via text for dinner and a movie and also the option of sex, if he wanted. 

Apparently, the bluntness had made Meng Yao laugh. Mingjue had texted back that he preferred honesty in all things and could handle a ‘no, thanks’ with plenty maturity. Meng Yao had replied, ‘I’m sure you can,’ which, he had very keenly noticed, was not a ‘no, thanks.’

Dinner had gone great--homemade meals always seemed to impress--and they had been preparing to split a chocolate lava cake in front of a shitty action movie they had both agreed on with the understanding that neither of them minded missing anything if they decided fooling around was more interesting.

But now, there was blood everywhere--on the dishes in the sink, on the towel they had hastily staunched it with, on the countertop and the mood was ruined because his giant, grumpy ass cat had decided to savage his date as they were cleaning up the table. Baxia had sniffed his leg suspiciously when he first came in, flinching away as he knelt down to offer his fingers. Then, she had fixed him with a glare, hissed, and turned around and stalked away, fluffy gray tail held high--which, for her, was practically a warm welcome. She had her boys--Huaisang and Mingjue--and hated pretty much everyone else (except for Wei Wuxian's older sister Jiang Yanli when she had dropped him off to hang out with Huaisang when his license got suspended. Which had happened a few times, now).

Everything had been fine with her while they ate--she had even spent it under the table, rubbing up against Mingjue's legs, staring up at Meng Yao without making so much as a peep. It was when they had risen that disaster struck. She had hopped up onto Meng Yao's chair and decided to take personal offense to his existence with absolutely no warning at all when he passed by with his hands full of silverware.

Now, Meng Yao’s long fingers curled into a fist as the cotton passed over a particularly deep part of the slice, though his face remained calm, so Mingjue winced for him. "Sorry. I swear, she's never done this before, I don't know what the hell her problem is."

Meng Yao shook his head, smile pressed and polite as he said, "Really, it's fine." He shifted on his feet to lean his hip against the cupboards and, immediately, Mingjue seized his elbows. 

“Are you dizzy?”

The other man had stiffened at the sudden movement, staring up at him. Then, he blinked and smiled, shaking his head. “No, I'm alright.”

Mingjue eyed him suspiciously. “You’re sure?”

He laughed. “I’m not going into shock, if that’s what you’re worried about. I’ve had much worse, trust me. I’m not going to pass out.”

Mingjue remained unconvinced. Instead of arguing further, he simply lifted him by the waist to sit on the island across from the sink for lack of a chair. Meng Yao let out the beginning of a squeak, hands automatically flashing up to bunch in the front of his shirt for balance. He blinked down at Mingjue, then the ground, then back at him, eyes wide and nostrils flared. Mingjue couldn't tell if it was annoyance, horniness, or a combination of both--and that was all well and good except that he was still bleeding and he knew from experience what a bitch blood was to get out of clothing. So he just pulled Meng Yao's arm out again and went back to work, asking, "So what was the 'much worse'?"

"Pardon?"

"You said you knew you're not going to pass out because you've had 'much worse'. What's the story there?"

"Ah. No story. I broke my arm. Compound fracture. I stayed awake the whole time, so a cat scratch is fairly minor, in comparison."

Mingjue hissed in through his teeth reflexively in sympathy and scanned him. Either he healed fantastically or the scar was higher up on his arms, under the soft cream sweater sleeves that were rolled up to his elbows--luckily, they had been rolled up before the attack and had escaped blood thus far. "Fuck. How'd that happen?"

"Fell down some stairs."

Mingjue raised an eyebrow at the stark explanation. "Well, maybe you shouldn't fall down stairs. Ever thought of that?"

Meng Yao smiled thinly down at him, dark eyes glinting in the fluorescent lights. "Mm. I'll have to keep that in mind." The dimples he searched for avidly were there, faintly, and Mingjue found himself wanting to nibble on them.

They hadn't done much else besides a kiss goodnight in the shadows near the entrance to the parking garages of their dates, because Mingjue was being good and keeping his hands above the belt. And he should probably figure out whether or not this date was going to have the eject button pressed, first. There was blood everywhere, still.

"Why all the First Aid classes?" Meng Yao asked suddenly, keeping his arm extended out even as Mingjue released him to rummage for the antibacterial spray. "Was it because your demon cat kept attacking people?"

Mingjue barked out a laugh and sprayed down his arm--Meng Yao didn't flinch. "At first, it was for lifeguarding, every summer since I was 16 until I graduated college. Now, I take refresher courses because I run a martial arts studio and shit can get real real fast, especially with newbies who try to fuck around." Tearing open the packet of sterilized gauze with his teeth so he could still hold his arm, he situated it and held it with a gentle thumb. "Tape or gauze wrap?"

Meng Yao shrugged. "I have no preference. Surprise me."

Gauze wrap it was. It would hurt less than pulling tape off his arm later. Meng Yao watched him finish up quietly, ankles linked, posture straight and proper even sitting on a kitchen counter. On impulse, Mingjue lifted his now bandaged arm and kissed the skin of his wrist, just below where the gauze stopped and got a slight shiver for his trouble. He looked up at him, then, an angle he was not used to but was definitely enjoying. "This has been a piss poor date. I really am sorry."

"The dinner was lovely before it ended in bloodshed, I promise," Meng Yao assured him, smiling. Then, it grew a little sly and he leaned in, slowly, stretching his arms out over Mingjue's shoulders to link behind his neck. "Although, you could always kiss it better."

Well, there was no possible way to misinterpret that particular invitation and he heartily took it, snugging Meng Yao up against him with hands on his hips and devouring him just as indulgently as he would the forgotten lava cake cooling on the stove top. He hummed in appreciation as Meng Yao's arms wrapped tighter, his thighs squeezing around his hips as he kissed back with just as much enthusiasm. He tasted like the dry wine they had finished the meal with.

All at once, though, Meng Yao froze, hands stilling in his hair. Before Mingjue had time to be confused, he whispered against his mouth, "I think your cat wants to kill me," eyes fixed on something over Mingjue's shoulder.

Mingjue craned his neck around to find Baxia perched on the counter next to the sink, tail swishing, gaze locked with Meng Yao, ears flicked out to the sides. She let out a low, quiet growl.

"Oh, for fucks sake," Mingjue growled back. "That's it. You're going in Huaisang's room for the night."

[cqlfeels]

nieyao for the meme

Disaster couple! Yay!

falls asleep on the couch: Listen, it's still gonna be JGY. It's not unheard of for NMJ to do it too but... Let's just say if they're both equally about to crash, NMJ gets up and heads to bed and JGY gets up and heads to the kitchen for more coffee

makes friends with the neighbors: Once again, JGY is nice to everybody but befriends nobody and NMJ doesn't give a damn what the neighbors think but is actually open to friendship if it happens by chance

is the adventurous eater: Neither, but JGY has spent an embarrassing amount of time trying to figure out what on earth NMJ actually likes to eat and may or may not still resent it a bit that he's actually failed to find out anything concrete. It doesn't occur to him that if neither of them cares, it doesn't matter whether he ever finds out anything. In his mind he's failing at something he should be good at and it bothers him

hogs the covers at night: I maintain what I said on my 3zun answer: JGY hogs the covers, NMJ kicks them off the bed. Toss a coin to see if this makes them feel like they Complete Each Other™️ or Need A Divorce At 3AM™️.

forgets to do the dishes: NMJ. My 3zun answer to this was a chore board, but without LXC, JGY probably just ends up doing most of the chores. And I don't think he'd mind it at all unless there was something else bothering him, in which case Doing All The Dishes Is Everything That Is Wrong With His Life

tries to surprise their partner more often: Neither? Not intentionally anyway

leaves dirty laundry on the floor: I mean, you know I'm gonna say NMJ. Sorry Chifeng-zun!

stays up til 2 AM reading: NMJ is perfectly capable of staying up all night for work, for all kind of emergencies or even just to keep somebody company, but given the choice, he'd rather wake up much earlier than sleep much later. "JGY's understanding of healthy sleep habits seems to be a work in progress" is the theme of this ask game so you know what I'll say about him.

sings in the shower: ....NHS who let himself in because he has two separate copies of the keys to the house, but don't tell nieyao that because they both think he just has one and it's for emergencies only

takes the selfies: Neither but they look annoyingly great in photos for people who don't practice it

plans date night: JGY is objectively better at this and it's an actual highlight of his week. May or may not spend all the date planning the next date according to the reactions this one is getting.

[prewar-james]

3zun Month, Nieyao Week: Pre-Arranged Relationship and Birthday, rated G, 1k

(read on AO3)

"Happy birthday, Mingjue!!" The little group toasts and down their drinks. 

Mingjue follows them and, though he isn't much of a fan of alcohol, he can admit he's having fun. The bar Mingjue's friends decided to take him to for his birthday is far enough from their college campus that it's not considered a student bar, so the crowd is a little more diverse than what they're used to. Mingjue thinks it’s a little silly that they decided to take him out to a bar like it's the first time he's going out or something, which it isn't, but oh well. Still, it's nice to spend time with them outside of classes or basketball practice, since it's not often he has the time, what with work and Huaisang and all. It helps that they're paying for him, too.

He is listening to Zhang Ming, one of the guys from his team, rambling about something, types of beer maybe? He's clearly a little tipsy already, when from behind him Mingjue hears someone call his name.

"Mingjue!"

Being the closest to the counter, and with the music playing so loud, Mingjue is the only one who seems to have noticed a bartender calling and waving him over. Telling the others he's going to get more drinks, he walks over to the bar.

As he approaches, trying to identify who called him, the light gets a little better and Mingjue gets to have a proper look, feeling a bit struck by lightning as he takes in the sight.

The bartender is short, maybe coming up to Mingjue’s shoulder at most, and strikingly beautiful, with big eyes and lashes for days. He looks young, too, younger than Mingjue at least, and he seems slightly put off by something, but his smile, though a little strained, stays in place.

Mingjue smiles back at him, hoping it conveys his confusion, which only increases when the bartender takes his hand over the counter and laces their fingers.

"This man wanted to meet my boyfriend," the bartender says and points with his free hand to a guy Mingjue hadn't even noticed standing by his side.

Thankfully, it only takes a second for Mingjue to understand what's going on. He straightens up to his full height and turns to the guy with a look he hopes is intimidating enough.

"That's me. What do you want?"

The guy takes a tiny step back, but rolls his eyes and scoffs. "I don't buy it."

Mingjue feels the hold on his hand tighten with apprehension and tries to reassure the bartender by squeezing back lightly.

"It doesn't matter if you don't buy it, what matters is that you should fucking stop bothering my boyfriend. Piss off."

The guy huffs, but finally turns and stomps away.

As soon as he's out of sight, the bartender breathes out and lets Mingjue's hand go, and he is surprised to find himself missing the warmth.

"Oh my god, thank you, I'm so sorry I-"

"It's okay! It's okay," Mingjue reassures him. "I'm glad I could help. Are you alright?"

"Yes, I..." he fiddles with his clothes, still clearly shaken by whatever that was. "I'm used to it."

Mingjue frowns, but tries to lighten the mood with a joke. "Are you also used to grabbing random guys’ hands and declaring them your boyfriends?" 

It clearly backfires, as the guy gets an even more panicked look on his face. "Holy shit, that was so rude of me! I'm really sorry-"

"I'm joking! I'm joking, sorry, it's really okay, I didn't mind. It was fun!"

The guy lets out a relieved sigh. "Well, then... Let me thank you properly. The next round is on the house."

"No need," Mingjue tries to tell him, but he already starts pouring the shots, shaking his head dismissively. 

As he waits, Mingjue tries and fails to not get too distracted by the hands expertly moving in front of him. He leans his forearms on the counter, not wanting to come on too strong but unwilling to waste the chance to talk more with the cutest guy he’s seen all night.

"I'd introduce myself, but you already know my name, right?"

The corner of the bartender's mouth quirks up. "Your friends aren't exactly a quiet group," he explains. "Happy birthday, by the way."

"Thank you..."

"Meng Yao."

"Meng Yao..." the name rolls off Mingjue's tongue smoothly. "You have a beautiful name. It fits you."

Meng Yao deliberately slows down his movements but doesn't look up from the glasses, but Mingjue can see his shy smile. Internally, he does a little celebratory dance while trying to come up with something else to say. Before the silence turns awkward, Meng Yao speaks up.

"Actually... Can I ask for another favor?" He still doesn't look him in the eyes as he asks. Mingjue nods, smiling curiously. "Can you walk me out? My shift will be over soon and that guy might be waiting outside."

Meng Yao looks up from under his lashes, and Mingjue feels the moment his irrational heart decides he will never deny this man anything.

"Of course."

Meng Yao gives him a relieved smile. "Thank you, really. I'll call for you when I'm leaving, okay?"

Mingjue agrees and excuses himself to get the drinks back to his table, and only gets slightly more razing from the guys than he expected.

"Da-gege~~!” Li hua exclaims playfully as the full tray is set on the table. “Did you sweet talk that pretty bartender into giving you free drinks?!"

"No," Mingjue responds with a smug smile. "He offered."

The resulting chorus of whistles and impressed laughs and "Get it, da-ge!" resounds around the room.

"Will you calm down, oh my god," Mingjue laughs with them.

When Meng Yao catches his eyes again some time later, Mingjue slips away from the table quietly, not wanting to draw any more attention to himself.

"Are you ready to go?"

Meng Yao grabs his bag from under the counter and dimples at him, making Mingjue's heart skip a beat. "Yes, thanks again."

"You know, you could stick around? We could talk a bit more, I'd introduce you to the rest of the guys..." Mingjue says, hopeful.

Meng Yao gives him an apologetic smile as they start walking to the door. It feels genuine, even if Mingjue doesn't know him enough to tell for sure.

"I want to, but I can't, I really need to go home."

"Let me give you my number, then." He must sound a little desperate, he knows, but he can't help it. "... In case you need an emergency boyfriend again," Mingjue finishes lamely as they step outside.

Mingjue releases a breath he didn't know he was holding when Meng Yao laughs and nods at his request, blushing lightly. As they walk the small distance to his car, Meng Yao fishes his phone out of his bag and hands it to Mingjue, who saves his contact as "Nie Mingjue (emergency bf)" and gives it back. It gives Mingjue a funny feeling, seeing Meng Yao giggle when he sees it.

"You know, I might take you up on that."

"I wouldn't offer if I didn't plan on coming through." Mingjue dimples right back at him. 

Meng Yao looks at his face, considering, then takes a step closer. "What if I needed an emergency boyfriend right now?" he asks, voice lowered. "That guy might still be watching, we have to make it look real."

They both know the guy is definitely not seeing them, but it doesn't stop Mingjue from placing one hand on the side of Meng Yao's face and tilting it up slightly, enjoying the way his gaze goes from his eyes to his mouth a few times.

"Do you think a kiss would convince him?"

Meng Yao nods and his eyes flutter shut as Mingjue leans down to seal their lips. It's a chaste, exploring kiss, and it tastes like the beginning of something. Mingjue doesn't stop himself from stroking a thumb over Meng Yao's cheek, lingering where he knows a dimple appears when he feels Meng Yao smiling into the kiss.

They part not long after, with mirrored dazed grins, unwilling to let go of each other.

"I really have to go," Meng Yao sighs and Mingjue takes his hands away, clenching them at his sides to keep from reaching out again.

Meng Yao gets in the car and closes the door, but before leaving he lowers the window and calls out of it. "Thanks again for... everything." He starts the car. "I'll call you!" and takes off.

The sky is beautiful, Mingjue notices as he grins stupidly at it, another part of a wonderful birthday.

[ibijau]

24 or 15 for NieYao?

Went for 15:  Medieval AU - Person A’s father chose Person B, also it’s the law

“I won't accept this!” Nie Mingjue barked.

Jin Guangyao barely refrained a shiver at the sight of his former employer's anger. He had thought he was safe from this, now that he had finally been accepted in his home, now that his father had recognised him and given him a courtesy name, and yet...

It was Jin Guangyao's own fault, of course. If he hadn't hinted to Lan Xichen that his father might be more willing to welcome him into Lanling Jin if he knew about his good deeds, they wouldn't be in this mess. Of course Jin Guangyao had known that Jin Guangshan would try to take advantage of such a situation, and he'd vaguely known as well that cultivators had laws of their own on some matters, but he hadn't expected this.

This meaning: Jin Guangyao hadn't expected that his father would gather all available sect leaders right after the surrender of the last surviving Wens, ostensibly to celebrate their victory, only to announce that since Jin Guangyao had saved the life of Nie Mingjue, and according to ancient traditions, he, Jin Guangshan, was now demanding that a union take place between Jin Guangyao and Nie Mingjue.

“But you have a life debt toward my son, don't you?” Jin Guangshan asked, all too innocently. “And seeing as he is not of age yet...”

Jin Guangyao saw Nie Mingjue flinch and glare at him.

He had lied about this too, of course. He'd hope he would be taken more seriously if he professed to be over twenty, when he hadn't quite reached that age yet.

“It falls to me to demand that debts toward him be repaid,” Jin Guangshan continued, looking every bit the concerned father. Even Jin Guangyao might have fallen for it, if he hadn't known better. “Besides, it is tradition. I know the Wens had tried to put this to an end because it went against their purposes, but isn't the point of being rid of them to return the cultivation world to normal?”

There were a few nods here and there among the assembled sect leaders. Mostly among those who, as Jin Guangyao was starting to learn, were attached to Lanling Jin through loyalties old and new. Sect Leader Qin in particular seemed eager to see Jin Guangyao married off like this, even though he must have known bringing that particular rule back would be a double edged sword for him. Jin Guangyao had saved his daughter's life during his brief stint as a Jin soldier, he could have so easily made a similar demand about Qin Su... except it wouldn't suit Jin Guangshan's plans, of course, so the lovely Qin Su was safe.

Unlike Jin Guangyao, who felt nearly faint with terror at the sight of Nie Mingjue's growing anger.

But if this was what his father wanted from him... and now that he'd been recognised, Jin Guangshan wouldn't actually let him die, would he?

He could do this.

He would do this.

Putting on his most polite smile, and angling himself so his distress would be seen by Lan Xichen and a few other influential sect leaders, Jin Guangyao stepped forward and bowed to his father.

“I appreciate Father's concern over my rights,” he said. “But perhaps this is too much to ask. Perhaps even Nie zongzhu finds that the Wen clan did some things rights, and not all their decrees should be repelled. Isn't it so, Nie zongzhu?” Jin Guangyao added, turning toward Nie Mingjue.

It took all of his self control not run in fear. If he hadn't been a cultivator, Jin Guangyao would have fainted from the pressure of Nie Mingjue's rageful aura.

For a brief moment, Jin Guangyao resented his father for putting him through this. Nie Mingjue hated him enough already, but if they were forced to be married, if they had to be living side by side, then his loathing would surely go out of hand. What was Jin Guangyao even supposed to do once they were married? Was he supposed to be scheming in favour of that match at all in the first place? Or was this just to irritate Nie Mingjue and show others that he couldn't be trusted with politics, regardless of how the offered match ended up? His father hadn't warned him any more than he had warned Nie Mingjue, dumping this on both of them, in public, and unlike Nie Mingjue, Jin Guangyao simply couldn't throw a tantrum over this, not when his position was still fragile.

It was all the more fragile because Nie Mingjue had dirt on him, of course. Nie Mingjue had never told anyone yet about the Jin captain that Jin Guangyao had murdered, and of course Jin Guangyao himself had kept that incident a secret from everyone. Even Lan Xichen didn't know. Neither did Jin Guangshan, obviously. If his father were to know, if his friend were to know, if the cultivation world were to know...

With a few words, Nie Mingjue could ruin everything he had worked for, and why wouldn't he? They had never been particularly close to begin with, and so Nie Mingjue had no reason to hesitate before throwing him to the wolves. His father would never forgive him for making him lose face, and Jin Guangyao would...

“Fine,” Nie Mingjue barked. “I won't have it said Qinghe Nie doesn't respect traditions.”

Jin Guangyao flinched and stared at the other man in disbelief. Surely he hadn't just said...

“Since I am the one owing a life debt, I will marry into my saviour's sect,” Nie Mingjue added, glaring at Jin Guangshan. “Decide for a day and let me know. In the meanwhile, I'll organise things to hand over Qinghe Nie to my brother, and to prepare to move to Carp Tower.”

Jin Guangyao nearly fainted on the spot, while next to him his father suddenly turned very pale as he realised that he would get more than he'd bargained for.

This was going to be a mess, and Jin Guangyao wondered if it was too late to return to Yunping City and resume work as a bookkeeper.

[wwjgyd]

AU of the day: Su She and Lan Xichen cooperate to help Jin Guangyao (I’m just shoving some of these posts into the queue) This one actually has the beginning written, so notes under the cut are only for the parts that happen after the fic https://archiveofourown.org/works/31011974

Fun Fact: I saw this prompt for the rarepairfest and since I had the idea for this AU already before I was not sure if I had submitted this prompt and forgotten I did or if someone else just had the same excellent taste and the only way to find out was quickly writing a fill while internally screaming.

This makes him more stubborn, telling LXC he should ask JGY directly. So LXC is like „I already tried“, (MS surprised LXC doesnt know much either and asks him, cz part of the reason he didn’t bug Jiggy more was assuming he has someone else as confidant aka LXC, but of course he’s not going to admit that.) MS smug about LXCs assumption that Jiggy could’ve told him smth/trust him more; calling LXC out on how he’s going behind LFZ back, no wonder JGY doesn’t trust him. Is not gonna admit his surprise at LXC assuming them to be close enough either, but wants to hear it from LXC so he’s „what makes you think I know more than you“ cue LXC telling MS about how Jiggy said he’s loyal (but making it sound a bit nicer than it was actually said) ) What would make LXC assume Suyao are close tho? LXC brought up the awkward topic with JGY who pointed out how loyal/dedicated MS is to him and that this means JGY can keep him on a leash. JGY words it meaner than it actually is to appease LXC.

(MS pretending he knows more, might allude to the breakdown, being like „ But yes, you are indeed right/observant he really seems very/unusually distressed, lately, the other day…“ intentionally doesn’t continue, making it look like he accidentally spilled smth he shouldn’t, teasing LXC with the thought of that Suyao might be closer than Xiyao+ rubbing it in that unlike LXC he’s totally respecting LFZs privacy/wish to not tell other ppl)

They agree on it’d be best to keep Nieyao apart, assuming this to be the main problem LXC tells Jiggy he’ll handle that(tell NMJ to back off). Also means LXC has to admit making a mistake, Suchen bonding, Minshan seeing a Lan brother as more human, not the perfect ideal. Should feel gleeful but it just feels bad. MS does indeed forget to address his demands again that day.

good development, Suchen meeting up again discussing the results and how at first they think they solved the problem, by keeping Nieyao apart. Maybe even celebrating it a bit, drinking together MS, being „u drink?“ but this time it’s more cheeky.

Jiggy makes unannounced surprise visit at Moling Su(was gonna ask MS for helping with the JGS-murder) catching LXC and MS „conspiring“, so upon his question how it comes not only LXC is there but they seem to be enjoying themselves(JGY decides to delay asking MS, he’s still in the early planning phase + trying to assess if MS is trustworthy enough, he doesn’t wanna blackmail him over the hole curse cz he knows MS might lash out instead), LXC hastily brings up they’ve decided on reconciling (reminding Minshan of his ridiculous demands) It’s just an excuse but by that time they have genuinely bonded and could seriously consider about becoming amicable again. Jiggy leaving saying it’s not that important, he just happened to pass by (obvious lie cz then he wouldn’t have come in person unannounced)

Suchen ending up in the classic we had to quickly hide in a space thats too small so we are squished together now

Tips off Suchen that smth is still off. Minshan asks LXC if he had already asked QS, reminding him he’s noticed smths off between QS and JGY They try to pinpoint since when, conclude the wedding wondering what could’ve gone wrong. Speculation that RS isn’t Jiggys son, might’ve „found out“ she’s not a virgin cz they do correctly pin down RS birth date indicates she was already preggo, or that Jgy just married her because of that and his behavior being more off since the birth off Rusong cz they think he’s not Jiggys son (wild speculation cz neither of them knows she’s already preggo from Jiggy before, and it’s not like they could guess the reason)

One of them does adress the matter with Jiggy(MS most likely to be blunt and stupid enough for that) and while they think they are asking JGY about if he suspects his wife cheating, it’s phrased vaguely enough so JGY thinks MS knows that it’s incest, and cz uncomfortable topic Jiggy just vaguely replies à la“ oh you know, idk how you found out…“

so he’s like „if he already knows might as well help me kill my dad“, misunderstanding leads to confusion and Jiggy horrified when he accidentally tells MS about the incest, cz it’s only then MS is like „wait what (I thought she cheated on you)“ (if Jiggy didn’t assume MS knew he wouldn’t have told him)

Jiggy asks MS for assistance killing JGS. MS does not tell LXC, but LXC can tell smth is off but confronts MS about it instead of JGY(he’s the easier target and more likely to crack under the pressure(that’s what LXC thinks) ) but MS is just „I know what’s up but I can’t tell you, I promised LFZ, pls don’t get involved in this). By that point the first official steps for reconciliation have been taken.

[xiyao-feels]

new tu and xiyao fan from earlier. i searched ao3 as per your suggestion and there's only 500 or so fics for them. :( however, i do have a legit question - what are the differences between mdzs and tu (i've never read the latter). and if you want expand on nieyao (or xiyao) please feel free! i love reading meta! one of the few reasons i miss old school fandom spaces lol. thank you!! :D

Hmmm, I see about eight hundred if I limit to English? But I take your point! But that was just as a way to start; once you do find an author you like, you can look at their bookmarks, for example. (Also I'm not sure if you're familiar with the AO3, but if not, sorting by kudos when doing a general search is a way to get stuff that at least lots of people thought was good. I'm not saying it's perfect, but when you're starting in a fandom it can be better than the default by-date-updated.)

Also I'll take the opportunity to plug my absolute favourite xiyao author, roquen. I didn't mention them last time because they haven't I believe written a post-canon fixit, and you should know that they're mostly sticking to MDZS instead of CQL canon, although with some sprinkling of CQL elements and characterization. Some particular favourites of mine include their AtLA AU and their Sunshot/on the run fics (both series with a couple of short fics), their what you might call a mid-temple hopeful fix-it (divergence where LWJ strikes to kill and LXC takes the blow), the baby LXC fic ("Lan Xichen reverts to being a fifteen-year-old junior, and immediately gets an epic crush on Lianfang-zun"; disclaimer that I was fairly involved with the creation of this one but it's GREAT) and, of course, above all, their gigantic canon fix-it verse, it's worth it every time. It's SO GOOD and the characterization is fantastic and the prose is excellent and UGH. It's so good!!!!! Disclaimer that the second fic in the series, which is the main work, is still WIP, but roquen updates regularly and there are only a couple of chapters left; if you're still wary of WIPs, I'd at least recommend the first fic, which stands alone and is brilliant in its own right.

As to the differences between MDZS and CQL…ho boy. There are quite a few, both major and minor, and I'm by no means familar with all of them—especially the ones that don't involve 3zun, lol. I tried to google around but unfortunately the ones I found tended to be either short or, if more in-depth, contain inaccuracies about JGY/LXC—I think people tend to be more interested in the Wangxian, and then this stuff goes by the wayside. The wiki can be a good source for differences for specific incidents, and although I think it's not always accurate it /does/ usually cite chapter or episode, which can be pretty helpful. 

This, by hualiann, looks like a good overview, though I'd add that JYL, WQ and WN didn't study at Cloud Recesses in the novel and that more generally MDZS has a lot of actual undead.

In general my advice is to take things people say about the novel with a large grain of salt, myself included. And about CQL, too! I have no idea if this is you but when I joined the fandom, if people asserted stuff about CQL I tended to just kind of take it as fact—oh, I thought, I must have misremembered! My memory is pretty terrible, and honestly there was absolutely stuff I did misremember. But also sometimes other people misremember, or fanon gets taken as canon, and then there's stuff like—I mean, I'm certainly not going to blame people for not realizing that "JGY conspired with XY at the Unclean Realm" is a lot more uncertain than you might guess at first, especially if they're more Wangxian focused which most people in the fandom are, but I'm still not going to present it as straight-up fact. (veliseraptor has a recent post examining this here which I would very much recommend).

Honestly I think I'd recommend reading the MDZS NMJ Empathy flashback—chapters 48, 49, and the beginning of 50. That gets you a lot of the JGY, LXC and NMJ backstory, and then you can compare for yourself! I'm also going to recommend Mercy's thread, here, listing common fanons about MDZS (I will add to the list, since it's a bugbear of mine, the idea that LXC recognized NMJ's fierce corpse by his abs).

Okay with all that out of the way, and in no particular order, Sun's extremely idiosyncratic and particularly- aka mostly JGY-focused differences list:

-In MDZS, LXC doesn't become Sect Leader until the burning of Cloud Recesses by the Wen, when his father is injured and then succumbs to his wounds. In CQL, he's Sect Leader from the beginning of the show, his father having apparently died not too long before the show started.

-In MDZS, MY wasn't working for the Nie at all before the beginning of Sunshot; he joined the Nie forces just after Sunshot began. NMJ didn't instantly promote him to be his deputy when he's telling at the Nie men for bad-mouthing him; it takes a few more encounters and/or battles with the Wen (after which MY clears the battlefield and helps the commoners).

-In MDZS, xiyao's first meeting happens when LXC is on the run with the Lan books after the burning of Cloud Recesses. We don't see it happen on the page, and we don't know any details of that time beyond, like, MY helped LXC.

-NMJ willingly sends MY away from the Nie, with a letter of recommendation for JGS, after, uh, an extended overhearing of a conversation between MY and LXC wherein MY's desire to be recognized by his father and gain a proper place in the Jin, the opportunity offered for that by JGS recruiting talent at Langya, and the possible difficulty of obtaining permission from NMJ are all established. 

-NMJ sees MY stabbing a /Jin/ captain, at Langya, after he goes looking for MY. Rather than taking a blow for NMJ, MY stabs himself, faking suicide, then immobilizes NMJ (who's trying to save his life) and flees. This is because NMJ wants MY to go turn himself in for killing the captain; MY thinks they'll kill him, while NMJ says that if the captain has actually been mistreating MY as MY said, MY won't be killed. Personally I think that all the evidence suggests that MY is right, and NMJ is blind to the effects of his position to the extent it's a not insignificant moral failure.

-Okay, so, you know how in CQL MY stabs WRH while he's distracted with WWX, outside on the steps with the Sunshot alliance right outside? In /MDZS/, they're in the Sun Palace, WWX isn't anywhere near the place, he does it to save NMJ's life, and then he starts lugging NMJ's unconscious body out of the palace. And then NMJ comes to consciousness amd demands his sabre and tries to kill him. He likely only survives because of NMJ's wounds, and if LXC hadn't shown up (responding to a message MY sent for aid for NMJ) NMJ might easily have killed him. If you want a more in-depth analysis, I take a close look here in my response to someone's, er, imaginative interpretation of NMJ and JGY's relationship in MDZS.

-In CQL, NMJ's qi deviation happens at the stairs incident. In MDZS, it happens later, when he overhears JGY being upset to LXC about how NMJ treated him at the stairs, and, overcome with rage that JGY would dare (arguably in combination with being polite and pleasant to NMJ's face, although the last time he was confrontational to NMJ's face NMJ kicked him down the stairs and tried to kill him so), he kicks open the door and tries to kill him. He also kills several people as he's qi deviating (seeing them as JGY—while in CQL he also sees several JGYs they seem to be just illusions), and injures NHS.

-In MDZS, NMJ sets fire to all of NHS' nice things. I don't think we're told either way in CQL, although it's worth noting that in MDZS this happens after the stairs (and before JGY starts playing for him again). (I think they do something in FJ?? But I don't take FJ as canon for CQL; see confusion-and-more's post here).

-In CQL, JGY suggests to NMJ that he's always played the corrupted Clarity for him (though granted this is in Empathy, so it's hard to say for sure if this is what he actually said, but in any case it's the only version we're given). In MDZS, it's strongly indicated that JGY only started playing Turmoil for NMJ /after/ the stairs—there's a variety of evidence, but I think the most objective is that WWX, who in MDZS Empathy can literally feel NMJ's anger, actually observes it working beforehand:

Since [JGY started playing for NMJ], Jin GuangYao would travel from Lanling to Qinghe every few days, playing Sound of Lucidity to help quell Nie MingJue rage. He tried his hardest, without speaking even a single word of complaint. Sound of Lucidity was indeed effective. Wei WuXian could clearly feel that the hostile energy within Nie MingJue was being suppressed.

(Exiled Rebels translation, ch. 49)

And then the next scene is the stairs incident, so.

-In general, the degree to which JGY's position is completely awful is played down in CQL. confusion-and-more talks about it a bit here; I'd also note that some of JGY's dialogue defending himself is removed ( “Some trivial achievements?” He spoke in a shaking voice, “…What do you mean, some trivial achievements? ChiFeng-Zun, do you know how much work I put into such trivial achievements? How much I suffered? Glory? Without the handful of glory I have nothing!”, for example), we don't hear about his mother at the guqin scene, the temple flashback where his mother is dragged naked outside by a client and he's kicked down the brothel stairs is eliminated, etc etc.

-There is absolutely no second flutist in MDZS; also JGY tells us in the temple that QS was already pregnant before he found out about the incest. I think even in CQL it's questionable whether he actually intended to kill Zixuan (see this whole conversation), and significant unveiling or no CQL never actually says QS wasn't pregnant before their marriage so I tend to go with that too, but certainly it's easy to walk away with the impression that he definitely did both deliberately, especially if you aren't familiar with the novel.

-(In general, I think CQL JGY is a lot more sympathetic than most people think once you look closely, but he's also very much set up to look upon a more casual watching as Villain, so.)

-In CQL it's All A-Yao All The Time but in MDZS we see LXC calling him san-di after the sworn brotherhood, and then it's back to A-Yao in the present day (see my last addition on this chain here).

-In MDZS, JGY doesn't shove JL out of the way of the incoming attack.

-The LXC lifting JGY out of his bow thing is from CQL

-The watchtowers! Oh /man/ the watchtowers. God the watchtowers are so much. Uh, confusion-and-more has a post about how much they're mentioned in MDZS vs CQL here, and see my last addition to this thread for an argument that the watchtowers were indeed a force for good. God. Twelve hundred watchtowers. He must have saved so many lives...

-confusion-and-more's watchtower post also reminds me that CQL has the Guanyin temple giving out medicine, while MDZS does not

-The episode 23 scene where Sect Leaders Jin, Nie, and Lan agree to spare some of the Wen doesn't exist in MDZS (though I'll take the opportunity to observe that I disagree with popular interpretations of that scene, see point three here).

-In MDZS NMJ's fierce corpse is literally trying to kill JGY, there's no saber spirit. And like, it's been trying to kill JGY for a long damn time, that's why JGY dismembered him.

-The XY plotline—in MDZS, JGY recommends a young XY (who at thay point has a reputation but is not known to have committed any massacres) as a Jin cultivator, as part of an effort by JGS to recreate the Yin Tiger Seal. JGS has multiple people trying, but most of them aren't getting anywhere and XY is getting furthest. It's during this time that XY kills the Chang clan, and is discovered as guilty by XXC, who brings up the evidence at a conference happening in Lanling; the Jin are stalling, MMJ gets angry and shows up, he almost kills XY on the spot and gives JGS a lecture such that he's forced to relent and sentence XY to death (and incidentally scares JGY, imho quite seriously, while he's at it). Then JGS turns it into life imprisonment once NMJ has left, and then NMJ is extremely angry and attacks JGY at the stairs. (Ch. 30 and 118)

-I mentioned before but I'll add it here too: in CQL JGY asks LXC to stay and die with him, and LXC agrees.

-The CQL ending in general is...hmmm. Despite having most of the elements which complicate MDZS' ending (JL is in a terrible position!), it kind of presents as...happy ending all is fixed now? In MDZS I think it's presented as—more complicated, even though Wangxian do very much get their happy ending.

-Also LWJ is a lot less. uh. Okay, so in CQL he's more Mr Morality, and in MDZS it's much more Wei Ying Right Or Wrong. Also, he doesn't become Chief Cultivator in MDZS! I think that's my least favourite change, because it's like...LWJ hates politics, hates compromise, and never attends the cultivation conferences. At least one of 'this is going to be a major diisaster' and 'LWJ is going to have to go through some significant shifts in his worldview and approach' are going to have to happen, but that's not the vibe CQL gives off at all, and I think it really works against some of the major themes of the text :/

-OH RIGHT I knew I was forgetting something—in MDZS MXY's revenge is focused solely on the Mo; JGY is not part of the curse.

Okay I don't want to go too much on about xiyao or nieyao, because this is already quite long and I don't want you to be waiting forever, but broadly although I certainly think NMJ cares about JGY a great deal it seems to be about his competence and potential; he doesn't really seem to, like, actually like who he is as a person. JGY, meanwhile, is at first very grateful to and then increasingly exasperated by and very much fucking terrified of NMJ, but...well, he doesn't seem to be into him or interested in spending time with him for the sake of it or etc etc.

On the other hand—xiyao. Man, xiyao!!!! They just—they get each other so fast, they're /partners/, they work together so well, they like and they respect each other, they're both like—LXC and MS are on their own tier for JGY, LWJ and JGY are on their own tier for LXC, they're for each other in a way neither is for anyone else, they care a lot about the same things—it's not perfect overlap, obviously, but it's more overlap I think than either has with anyone else, they—invest, they're builders, JGY was planning the watchtowers project from way back and although I have no doubt he was driving it LXC was with him and!!!! ugh!!!!! xiyao are REALLY GREAT, okay.

[vespertineflora]

3zun Combo Fics

XiYao

we're alone in the dark E, During Canon, Classroom Sex, 4.6k It's the first time Jin Guangyao has had the chance to use the jade token Lan Xichen had given him for free passage in and out of the Cloud Recesses, and it's during this first late evening visit that Jin Guangyao discovers that Lan Xichen has been having fantasies about him for far longer than he ever could have guessed--and that Lan Xichen is very eager to act on one such fantasy.

your love is all i can think about E, During Canon/AU, Love Letters/Sneaking Around, 10.4k After Lan Xichen finally goes all the way with Jin Guangyao in the aftermath of the Sunshot Campaign, responsibility forces the two apart for far longer than either of them care for. When they finally get to see each other again after three long months, having to sit through hours of a discussion conference when the love of his life is just across the room is more than the poor, sexually pent up Lan Xichen can bear, especially as Jin Guangyao seems to realize he likes the effect he's having on him.

in your warmth i forget how cold it can be E, During Canon, Cold Weather Coziness, 3.3k After a long day of traveling in unexpectedly heavy snowfall, Jin Guangyao arrives in the Cloud Recesses and needs Lan Xichen to warm him up.

rest with me a while E, During Canon, Fluff/Smut, 3.8k The day of the Phoenix Mountain Hunt is a stressful one for Jin Guangyao; Lan Xichen can see how tense he is from just a glance. His offer to help Jin Guangyao with his preparations has been turned down more than once, so Lan Xichen isn't sure what he can possibly do to help him... until he realizes there might be one way he might be able to add a bright spot to Jin Guangyao's day. no angels could beckon me back M, During Canon, Post-Coital Cuddling/Confessions, 1.6k What he had with Lan Xichen should have been enough; Jin Guangyao hadn't intended to confess his feelings, and he certainly hadn't meant for them to be confessed like this.

bare your heart to me E, During Canon, Smut and Hurt/Comfort, 9.5k It's impossible for Lan Xichen to say when he first takes notice of it, but a strange exchange one night makes him realize something rather concerning: he hasn't seen Jin Guangyao's naked body in nearly a year. The realization leads to Lan Xichen chasing after the answer to this mystery, ultimately uncovering a painful truth about the daily horrors of Jin Guangyao's life in Carp Tower.

Daylight Can Be So Violent (series) (in progress, but all pieces are functional one shots) if i told you what i’ve become E, During Canon, Confessions/First Times, 13.7k (pt 1) It's Lan Xichen's first visit to Lanling since Jin Guangyao's ascent to the position of Chief Cultivator the previous month, and with everything he's been through recently, he's perhaps tenser than he otherwise would be, spending a peaceful evening with his dearest friend. Luckily, Jin Guangyao has some ideas about the best ways to relieve stress.

heaven help me (i need to make this right) E, During Canon, Light Bondage, 8k (pt 2) The last few months have been... more than Lan Xichen could have ever hoped for. The reconstruction of the Cloud Recesses is complete, which means his uncle is in a good mood. His brother is healed, moving around and spending time with A-Yuan. And his relationship with Jin Guangyao... well, to put it simply, Lan Xichen couldn't be much happier--though Jin Guangyao has no shortage of ideas for them. It's during one of his regular visits to Lanling that Jin Guangyao suggests they... try doing things a different way.

and i'd do anything E, During Canon, Candle Wax/Praise Kink, 4.7k (pt 3) "Do you trust me?" It was that question, and Lan Xichen's resounding yes, that had landed him here, his wrists tied to the bed posts above his head, silk scarf wrapped lovingly around his eyes, his chest heaving with every hard breath, his cock dripping precum in a sticky pool against his stomach, and drips of wax in various stages of hardness scattered all across his skin.

if there was nowhere to land (i wouldn’t be scared at all) T, During Canon, 5+1fic/angst, 10.7k Meng Yao hasn't lead an easy life. He's been pushed around, beaten, and taken advantage of for nearly as long as he can remember... Falling down stairs is one of the worst things he's been through, and he's fallen more times than anyone should have to. OR Five times someone makes Meng Yao fall down a staircase, and one time someone saves him from falling.

they call me underneath M, Post-Canon, Grief/Mourning, 4.2k Lan Xichen never intended to visit the cemetery where his sworn brothers were interred together, but now that he's here, he can't make himself leave without at least trying.

a fine time to regret T, During Canon, Grief/Comfort, 2.3k As it turned out, even knowing Jin Rusong was going to die didn't give Jin Guangyao the chance to prepare himself for it.

NieYao

hold on to what we are T, During Canon, Fluff, 1.9k Meng Yao is dedicated to working harder than ever as the Sunshot Campaign is ramping up, but Nie Mingjue wants him to come to bed.

if you need it, then i need it (and only we'll know) E, During Canon, Sex Pollen, 13.1k Meng Yao and Nie Mingjue are on what they assume to be a normal scouting mission into Wen territory--but the day is turned on its head when they get a bit too close to some strange looking plants that release a thick cloud of pollen as they approach. By the time they make it back to camp, they're both already feeling the effects, and the camp's doctor has some mixed news to share. The bad news? The pollen will lead to a deadly qi deviation if left untreated. The good news? They know how to treat it! Now it's just up to Meng Yao and Nie Mingjue to act on it (and on the feelings they've been secretly harboring for one another for months).

when it comes time to rest my head E, Canon Divergent, Hurt/Comfort, 20.8k When Nie Mingjue spots the freshly bloodied handkerchief Jin Guangyao accidentally drops, his first sickening conclusion is that he's just caught him in the middle of some nefarious deed--but Nie Mingjue investigates further, and instead uncovers a series of injuries across Jin Guangyao's body that tell a much more heart-wrenching tale than the one Nie Mingjue first suspected. Can Nie Mingjue earn back enough of Jin Guangyao's trust to get him to accept the help he so clearly needs? Can he convince Jin Guangyao... to come back to Qinghe with him? i need your broken promises E, Canon Divergent, Werecat!JGY, 11.7k The night Meng Yao is promoted to be Nie Mingjue's deputy, he makes two requests: to be left alone on the night of the full moon, and to not be asked why he needs to be left alone. Nie Mingjue is extremely curious about this odd appeal, but he honors it regardless. Years later, when Nie Mingjue proposes, Meng Yao repeats his requests as the only stipulations for their marriage, and Nie Mingjue once again promises to let Meng Yao keep his secret... until he realizes that perhaps the secret isn't as well kept as he once thought, and he confronts Meng Yao to learn the truth.

the day bleeds into nightfall T, During Canon, Angst and Romance, 2.5k When Wen Chao attacks the Unclean Realm, Meng Yao rushes to release Xue Yang, and Nie Mingjue catches him stabbing his general. Nie Mingjue might have thought he was doing Meng Yao a mercy when he banished him... but Meng Yao isn't sure he agrees.

love me hard oh, love me right E, Modern AU, Rule 63 PWP, 2k Sometimes Meng Yao just needs to be gently dommed by her girlfriend until she cries, and you know what? That's valid.

the love held in her hands E, Modern Fantasy AU, Rule 63/Fairy!MY, 3k When Nie Mingjue's tiny fairy girlfriend asks to be fingered, Nie Mingjue immediately considers it to be a bad idea... but when her search for something more appropriately-sized drags on too long, she decides to give in to Meng Yao's impatient demands.

NieLan

the common tongue of your loving me E, Modern AU, 69ing, 3.7k Lan Huan and Nie Mingjue have been dating for almost two years now, but Nie Mingjue is always coming up with ways for him and his beau to have some new sort of fun in the bedroom. (Submission for NieLan Month 2020, Day 22 Desperation/Beauty/Awe. This is also the 69th fic I've uploaded to my AO3 account haha)

3zun

home is where my love waits E, Modern AU, Sexted Pics & DP, 5.1k Meng Yao is out of town on business for the weekend and Lan Huan and Nie Mingjue have the brilliant idea to send their absent boyfriend some spicy material to keep him warm while he's away (and definitely not because teasing him is very fun). When Meng Yao gets back to his hotel room at night to discover the proverbial feast, he's both very turned on and very frustrated to be so far away--but luckily for Meng Yao, they have more than adequate plans to make up for their teasing once he gets home.

i’ve had no love like your love E, Modern AU, happy birthday jgy!3some, 9.2k It's Meng Yao's birthday, and after working all day, he travels to Nie Mingjue's place in a swiftly escalating winter storm, where a night of warm wine and even warmer company awaits... Nie Mingjue and a tipsy Lan Huan have a delightful plan in place on just how they can warm him up.

how could i ask for more E, Modern Genderbend AU, CNC Roleplay, 14.3k When Meng Yao and Nie Mingjue ask Lan Huan what she wants for her birthday, they strongly imply it can be a sexual favor. Lan Huan asks for so little in the bedroom; she always seems content to just join in whatever activities her girlfriends partake in and never makes specific requests for herself. Of course, when Lan Huan actually indulges their suggestion, the last thing they expect from her is a detailed, written fantasy that she hands to them with an entirely red face... But if such a thing is what Lan Huan wants, Meng Yao and Nie Mingjue will make sure to give her exactly what she's asking for. Written for Whumptober 2020, Theme No 6. PLEASE… (“Get it Out” | No More | “Stop, please”).

there’s a hole in my soul (can you fill it?) E, Modern AU, Hurt/Comfort & Panic Attacks, 6.2k Meng Yao and Nie Mingjue were exes... until Lan Xichen fell in love with both of them and they decided to set aside their differences for his sake. When they're all together, life is bliss--but Meng Yao's relationship with Nie Mingjue is strained at best, and he notices early on in this reconciliation that the only time Nie Mingjue seems willing to hold him or be affectionate with him is after they have sex. Meng Yao has learned that, on the rare nights and weekends when Lan Xichen is away and he needs affection, that having sex with Nie Mingjue is the quickest and easiest way to get it. Lan Xichen just so happens to be out of town after Meng Yao has a particularly bad day at work. He needs the comfort more than ever, but when he tries to get it from Nie Mingjue the only way he knows how, it doesn't go the way he plans.

in my arms you’re safe and sound T, Vampire AU, Hurt/Comfort & Feeding, 2.9k Jin Guangyao is a dhampir who is fully turned when his father accepts him into the family--but Jin Guangshan treats him terribly, and when Nie Mingjue begins to realize how far this mistreatment goes, he drags Jin Guangyao off for a conversation which quickly escalates into an emotional shouting match that results in Nie Mingjue deciding that Jin Guangyao needs to be removed from Carp Tower immediately. Lan Xichen finds them just in time for the three sworn brothers to head together back to Qinghe, where Lan Xichen personally discovers one of the many awful things Jin Guangshan has done to hurt Jin Guangyao.

how were we to know E, Canon Divergent, MAJOR HURT/comfort, 12.9k (check AO3 for warnings on this one!) After the Sunshot Campaign, Meng Yao took Lan Xichen's offer to come live with him in the Cloud Recesses, sparking the beginning of their romantic relationship--which in turn uncovered their individual romantic histories with Nie Mingjue, and led to a shared romantic present with him. In the years since, the three have been in love and quite happy with their shared arrangement. However, eventual grief lingered at the back of their thoughts; they all knew the effect the saber spirit was gradually having on Nie Mingjue's mind and on his temperament, causing more frequent and more violent outbursts... Though none of them could have guessed the particular sort of violence it would lead Nie Mingjue to commit one night alone with Meng Yao.

when you are lost and i am gone M, Canon Divergent, Character Death, 2k When Lan Xichen had received the letter from Meng Yao, he'd left the camp at once to meet him in the forest outside of Nightless City, but even still, he arrives a second too late to do anything but watch as one of his friends cuts down the other. a light on the other side M, Modern AU, JGY-centric, 2.6k As a child, Meng Yao had only ever met his father in passing, as he had a family of his own and wanted little to do with the child that resulted from his affair with Meng Yao's mother. But when Meng Shi passed away tragically, 13 year old Meng Yao was sent to live with his father, spending the rest of his teen years in a living hell until he was able to escape... A few years later, another affair and another tragedy brought infant Mo Xuanyu into the Jin household and Meng Yao returned to keep him safe from the fate he'd suffered himself. Life there is awful, though not nearly as bad as it was before, as Meng Yao spends most of his time alone caring for Mo Xuanyu. However, a few months into his return, Meng Yao is presented with a unique opportunity when, late one night, he finds Jin Guangshan collapsed on the floor of his office.

[wandering-bitch]

Annotations on Falling in Love with Love (Again) pt 2

Falling in Love with Love (Again) is my 3zun cinderella fixit. here are some sick notes on chapters 5-8. there are spoilers obviously (god the notion of my shit needing a spoiler warning haha)

ch 5: love’s a game I can play

nie mingjue is smart and anyone who thinks otherwise can die mad about it

i hate go/weiqi so much bc of Terrible Boring Boyfriend Reasons so the fact that i researched it for this fic means a lot. nmj better fucking love me after all this

im just a sneaky terrible polyam bitch who wants to make another sneaky terrible polyam bitch happy and give him a nice life

i say this, as though im not ALSO constantly planning to kill him with tension

lxc: perhaps u’ll indulge me; nmj + my: yes of course whatever u want king

lxc begging for help playing games is one of the most galaxy brained things ive ever come up with

lxc isn’t normally thirsty or flirty but with his boyfriends??? playful flirt extraordinaire. 

ch 6 the half-sister’s lament

look this chapter title is the funniest fucking thing i’ve ever written. 

it’s ~*murder time*~

qin su for mvp

ppl keep saying i have the best qin su take which is great and flattering but honestly it’s just that i have any qin su take

more ppl should write qin su with me

actually im gonna talk about qin su for a second

from canon we know a small handful of things:

she doesn’t care about heritage/birth

she pursued meng yao

she’s got a nice face

from this we can deduce a few things

she’s a fucking comerade

she’s smart enough to attract meng yao

she’s thirsty as hell

and therefore

she’s good, i love her, she deserves little a crime as a treat

happy polyam feels!!!!

and here we are, the core of the fic, the strike of the clock at midnight....... the murder

meng yao thinking through like ten layers of shit while murdering someone is SUCH a mood. not the murder part but like. u’ve got what ur doing, ur commentary on what ur doing, what ur actually thinking about while doing shit, commentary on what ur thinking about,  plans for what to do next, and of course the part of your brain that’s laughing at you for having so many lines of commentary going on

sometimes u gotta murder a man who’s trying to assault you or your sibling. 

u see, the other emotional core of this fic is Qin Su Rights

More seriously:

the only thing that makes meng yao better in this fic, the Major Change TM, is qin su meeting him + making him realize that jin guangshan’s validation isn’t worth it

i mean it doesn’t happen immediately but like

our start + midpoint + eventual end are going to center around meng yao’s created family with qin su

ch 7 Glad to be Back In My Own Little Corner

starting from the top again we hang out in koi tower

word of god: jin zixuan knows that meng yao is is brother, but doesn’t know 1. if meng yao knows or 2. if meng yao wants to talk about it. so he’s being as nice + caring as possible to his brother. but also he’s just the most awkward creatur on the planet

writing jin guangshan is annoying and i probably have made him more dumb than i could have but like. i think he’s good at short-term planning + being a coward, but he’s not as good at the Game as he thinks he is

“this is fine” big mood meng yao

ch 8 Seriously Thinking of Retreating

awwww yeahhhh the Tension chapter

this ch was hard to write, not bc like emotions or whatever, but bc i don’t have as good a handle on the xiyao dynamic. lan xichen is such a good man and when with him, meng yao wants to be a good man, too

(i mean, unless it’s later in canon and lan xichen’s goodness makes jin guangyao want to appear as good as possible, while also continuing to control him)

(i live for toxic xiyao and nieyao and 3zun just as much as i live for happy healthy 3zun/xiyao/nieyao/nielan)

first we have some absolute saccharine bullshit!! but it’s meng yao so of course he’s afraid that everything will fall apart

back in the present, we have some more Qin Su rights! supporting our sibling who’s going through some Trauma, helping her get some sick sect leader ass, making dumb jokes. love 4 qin su and nothing else

then we see lan xichen being bitter, as he deserves. it sucks to talk to someone who broke your heart so soon after. i spied my ex in a crowded lush six months? a year? after she dumped me and i immediately ran powerwalked out and went to the craft store to feel better

what i’m saying is that lan xichen is stronger than me

“i don’t know what you want me to say to that” “neither do i” hurts so much i love it

tbh??? “It should have hurt more, but he just felt still. this was an acceptable ending” is. also something im proud of

i can’t feel my own soft romantic content but i CAN feel my own Tension Content

[baijingshen]

@chordbound​ sent: Motor - Our muses having sex in a car – modern nieyao B) [NSFW]

          They were just going to talk BUSINESS, that was the plan, the whole intention behind this meeting. Maybe Nie Mingjue is lying to himself a little bit when he thinks that - but it really doesn’t fucking matter what his intentions were at any point of the night when Meng Yao is sitting in his lap, grinding down on his already growing erection and whispering sweet obscenities into his ear. He could be saying just about anything; when they’re together like this the sound of his voice alone is enough to get Mingjue’s blood pumping. His hands are roaming, stroking over the smooth fabric of Yao’s shirt and feeling the heat of his skin underneath it. It makes him want to tear it off, just rip it to shreds and ravage him.. but that’s not so simple.

     “Back,” Mingjue grunts as he breaks away from kissing Yao for a moment, deciding, after hitting his knee on the steering wheel - twice - and his hand on the gear shift, that doing this in the driver’s seat is simply IMPOSSIBLE. Meng Yao says something that sounds suspiciously like ‘bossy’ but complies regardless, demonstrating a noteworthy flexibility by climbing out of Mingjue’s lap and into the back of the car through the gap between the driver and the passenger seat without any trouble. Nie Mingjue only considers following suit for a second before he decides that he is too old for this and gets out of the car through the driver’s door to join Meng Yao on the backseat the old-fashioned way.

He’s over him in a heartbeat, pressing him down into the leather seats with the weight of his own body, their lips back to kissing HUNGRILY, like they’ve both been craving this for months. (It hasn’t been months, but weeks. What else but intense longing could make them behave like horny teenagers, getting it on in a car in the relative darkness of the company’s underground carpark?) Meng Yao’s hands are moving over Mingjue’s body nimbly, loosening his tie and unbuttoning his shirt, pulling it from his pants after opening the button there too. Mingjue is far less elegant about it, just tears Yao’s shirt open after failing to open the last few buttons without looking down. It earns him a scolding look and a sigh but he only counters it with an unusually mischievous smile.      “I’ll buy you a new one,” he whispers against Meng Yao’s lips and for a moment he feels the other’s hand on his arm tighten. “I can buy my own shirts, Mr. Nie,” Yao says and a shiver runs down Mingjue’s spine at the way he addresses him. Meng Yao is doing it on purpose and he knows exactly what it does to him. Nie Mingjue is sure of that, mostly because he’s heard his first name from Yao’s lips before - albeit gasped and barely intelligible. (A good memory.)

Meng Yao’s hands are in his hair, his lips on his jaw, and Mingjue tries to get out of his pants, at least partially, bumping into the driver’s seat with his elbow and into the door behind him with his foot. A frustrated groan escapes him that makes Yao pause for a moment and look up.      “Something wrong?” he asks and Mingjue swears the look on his face is the same one he’s seen there whenever a point of disagreement comes up in the negotiations and Yao goes straight into fixing it mode. It’s equally as entertaining as it is impressive. “I’m too big,” he explains, pushing himself up a bit by resting his hands next to Yao’s body. The look on Meng Yao’s face turns into a lewd smile. “I’ve found you to fit quite perfectly, Nie Mingjue..” he says with the voice of an angel and Mingjue’s cheeks heat up with a blush that the darkness inside the car luckily swallows.

     “For the car,” he explains even though he has no doubt that Meng Yao understood exactly what he meant. “Oh.. we could--” Yao starts but Mingjue doesn’t let him finish. Moving one arm under his body he pulls him against his chest while shifting from hovering horizontally into sitting on the backseat the way it was actually designed, with Yao in his lap.      “Much better.” Nie Mingjue takes a moment to admire the man sitting on him, his mussed up hair and his big dark eyes that catch the glow of a faint light outside the car. He’s so beautiful it makes Mingjue’s heart roar with love and desire and an ugly violent need, somewhere deep down, to POSSESS him. He shouldn’t feel this way. This can’t be more than what it is now; a string of stupidly careless meetings somewhere in the dark, a temporary weakness, an indulgence. And yet.. to think that this is going to end and he won’t be allowed to touch Meng Yao anymore.. it makes Mingjue’s heart sting.

     “What are you looking at?” Meng Yao asks, his hand brushing over Mingjue’s cheek, thumb stroking over his lower lip. Mingjue opens his mouth and takes it between his lips for a moment, brushing his tongue against the tip. Everything I ever wanted, Mingjue thinks and, “You,” he says. Meng Yao smiles and withdraws his hand as he leans in. The kiss they share is sweeter than the ones who came before, slower and gentler somehow, but the heat and desperation returns to their touches not long after. Mingjue’s hands tug at Meng Yao’s pants until he lifts off his lap to slip out of them (and his underwear), pushing them down his legs until he can get one of them free. As tempting as it is to sit back and watch the show, Nie Mingjue uses the time to push his own pants down to his knees, finally freeing his cock, which is achingly hard by now. Meng Yao seems PLEASED by the sight, judging by the smile that flashes over his face as he moves back on Mingjue’s lap, not quite sitting down yet but being close enough their bodies touch and draw a gasp from him.

He seems to consider teasing Mingjue for a second, his hand reaching between them to curl around him and give him a few slow strokes, but it’s apparent he doesn’t have the patience for it anymore either. Remembering something, he reaches for his discarded pants and produces a bottle of lube that brings back memories of their last encounter.      “Planned ahead?” Nie Mingjue asks and Meng Yao shoots him a look that implies he, too, is thinking of last time. Yao shuffles closer, his knees on the seat next to Mingjue’s thighs, and pours some lube onto his palm. Mingjue notices some of it dribbling onto the leather between his legs but can’t find it in himself to care. His mouth goes a little dry when he watches Yao’s fingers, slick with lube, move between his legs and push inside him without any hesitation. It’s not the first time they do this and realistically neither one of them has the patience to draw this out, but Mingjue can’t help feel a light pang of disappointment over the fact that he won’t get to watch Meng Yao prepare himself properly. It’s just his fingers pushing in and out a few times before his hand withdraws and wraps around Mingjue’s dick instead, the gel nice and warm from Yao’s hand as he spreads it on him. (His treatment is equally short, Meng Yao’s impatience quite palpable.)

The hand is wiped clean on Mingjue’s shirt - some kind of payback he assumes - and then finally - Meng Yao sinks down on him and Mingjue’s head falls back against the car seat. He stays still until he’s bottomed out, Yao’s thighs flat on his, but his hands move to his hip and ever so slightly pull him down more. Meng Yao is hot and tight and the way he arches his back is driving Mingjue crazy. He’s not sure if Yao actually needs the time he takes before he moves or if he’s doing it just to TORTURE him, but it’s all he can do to stay still and wait. When Yao finally moves again it draws a breathy curse from Nie Mingjue’s lips.

     They move at a steady but fast pace right away, the car moving comically beneath them, but neither of them care. Mingjue’s fingers dig into the soft flesh at Yao’s hip, pulling every time he comes down to thrust up a little harder. He’s not the one who sets the pace but it gives him some semblance of control - not that he NEEDS it. Meng Yao’s hands grab the edge of the backrest behind Mingjue, fingers digging into the leather as he holds on for better leverage, riding him hard enough it takes both their breath away. The air is filled with their gasps and the sound of skin on skin, the windows of the car fogging up around them. If anyone walked by them in this moment there would be no doubt about what’s going on inside, but that thought is not a conscious one in Mingjue’s head at this moment.

He doesn’t need long to feel hot white pleasure building inside him, every time Meng Yao sinks down on him bringing him closer to the edge, but he barely pays attention to himself. He’s mesmerized watching Yao move in his lap, the way his body moves and his muscles tighten, seeing the little crease on his forehead that forms when he closes his eyes with that look of concentration on his face that he gets when he’s chasing his own pleasure like this, fucking himself on Mingjue’s cock as determinedly as he does everything else. It’s almost better than reaching his own climax, watching Yao lose his composure for a moment and his movements lose rhythm when Mingjue’s hand slips between them and curls around him, giving him a few rough dry strokes, just enough to push him over. His back arches and the sweetest sound comes over his lips as he spills himself all over Mingjue’s stomach and chest, clenching down around him involuntarily.

     “Fuck..” Mingjue groans, his hand moving back to Yao’s hip. If it were anyone else he’d expect them to slow down now, float on their own high, but Meng Yao is not anyone else. He only takes a moment to collect himself before he picks up where he left off, riding him as if he didn’t just come, and Mingjue finds himself lost in thoughts about HOW LONG Yao could keep going like this, when he’s gripped by his own orgasm that hits him like a train. His hands pull Yao down as he thrusts up one last time, a low moan on his lips as he comes. It feels better than it should to come inside Meng Yao and Mingjue is aware that he is going to have to make up for it somehow.

They’re both left panting and slowly coming down from their high, Mingjue’s heartbeat beginning to normalize again. Meng Yao falls forward against him and Mingjue’s arms warp around his back. He places a few kisses on his neck, tasting a bit of salt on his skin.      “Maybe.. some day I’ll actually get to have you in my bed.”