#just like Jin Guangyao became the new wei wuxian Nie Huaisang became the new Jin Guangyao

[the-girl-with-too-many-ideas]

Does anyone else get the feeling that at their core, all of mxtx's works are about cycles of abuses.

[naehja]

Because of a failed expriment, Wei Wuxian meets others versions of himself who have been adopted by other sects and who have more of less differents lifes. He must help them to return to their own universe but learns interesting things about them.

So our WWX has to deal with:

- A Nie!Wei Wuxian, adopted by the Nie Sect at 5 (gave his Golden Core to Huaisang, was sworn brother with Jin Zuxian), knows Lan Zhan since he's 6. Was called Nie Ying and then Nie Wuxian until he does defection to save the Wen Survivors. And then the next actions are the same. Jin Zixuan dies, Jiang Yanli dies, Lan Wangji save A-Yuan but let the boy know his uncles. Wei Wuxian is brought back by Mo Xuanyu like in canon. He hate Jin Guangyao with passion for what he did to Mingjue during the war and what he did after, killing him with the music who should have helped him. In this universe Miánmián marry Mingjue so Huaisang and Wei Wuxian have a niece and a nephew (twins born 6 months before Mingjue's death). He knows what Huaisang did but said nothing because he's just proud of his brother. Nie Huaisang is a lot stronger in this universe.

- A Jin! Wei Wuxian has been found at 7 by Jin Zixuan. Wei Wuxian becomes a strong cultivator, a pride in his sect. He sees Jin Zixuan as his brother and loves to tease him. He knows Jin Zixuan feelings about Jiang Yanli and being forced to marry and help him to getting to know her better. He goes to help the Jiang when Lotus Piers is attacked by the Wen. Then he's captured and throw in the burial mounds. Following that, the events are the same than in canon. The incident on Qiongqi Path is even worse since Zixuan was Wei Wuxian's brother and this death broke him. Yanli doesn't die. And so Wei Wuxian is brought back by Mo Xuanyu 13 years later. He's very protective of Jin Ling and feel even more bad about Jin Zixuan dead. He hates Jin Guangyao with a burning rage when he learns the truth.

- A Lan!Wei Wuxian, adopted at 5 by Lan Qiren. He never lost his Golden Core and is renowned for his inventions. He never touched demonic cultivation and is married with Lan Zhan for years. He's sworn brother with Huaisang and Zixuan. He's the only Wei Wuxian to still have his old body. He didn't have to learn demonic cultivation and create a lot of things during the war who helped to win. When he has decided to save the Wen Survivors, he asks Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen to come with him. Since he's sworn brother wirh Jin Zixuan, he's still Jin Ling uncle. Nie Mingjue never died because Wei Wuxian was visiting Huaisang one day and heard Jin Guangyao playing the "song of clarity" and was like "wait something is wrong about it". And so Jin Guangyao was discovered to poisonning Mingjue with dangerous music and has had to face consequences. Mo Xuanyu never died because Zixuan and Yanli decided to literally adopt this new little brother. Lan!Wei Wuxian is the only one to not die and be bring back to life or to lose his golden core.

It's just funny to imagine that all the Wei Wuxian became good friend/brother/sworn brother with Jin Zuxian, except the canon!one who more or less dislikes him.

Also all the Wuxian are in love with Lan Zhan. They're soulmates.

Feel free to write it if you are inspired =)

[unforth]

I know the prevailing theory is that Nie Huaisang showed Mo Xuanyu the manuscript but...

...Jin Guangyao is the one who knows and shares (or at least claims) that Mo Xuanyu saw it. How would he know, if it was Nie Huaisang who showed him?

What if Jin Guangyao put the idea of resurrecting Wei Wuxian into Mo Xuanyu's head originally? Mo Xuanyu was useless to him and also...

There is only one other illegitimate son of Jin Guangshan's canonically introduced. While he likely had other bastards, it could reasonably be assumed this means Mo Xuanyu. And, if the implication here is that he'd pick someone else but not Jin Guangyao, but when Mo Xuanyu is disqualified then he does pick Jin Guangyao... maybe he DIDN'T have other sons, just daughters.

And if Jin Guangshan brought Mo Xuanyu to Lanling to be his successor, passing over Jin Guangyao... doesn't that out the "he made advances" thing in a new light, and doesn't it put Jin Guangyao being the one who knows Mo Xuanyu was looking at the sacrifice/resurrection manuscript in a new light?

There's a lot of ways this could be interpreted and ways these pieces could add up, but I'm going with...

Jin Guangyao recognized how childhood abuse had left Mo Xuanyu mentally unwell. He also knew Jin Guangshan wanted Mo Xuanyu to inherit. He figured out Mo Xuanyu was gay (or invented it whole, we never actually find out if he was actually gay, just that everyone believed him to be, in the "usually what everyone believes is bullshit" book), and used that to get him disinherited, leaving Jin Guangyao as the last inheritor. At the same time, he noted Mo Xuanyu's darker tendencies and he as trying to figure out the Yin Tiger Tally with Xue Yang, so he planted the seeds that Mo Xuanyu could resurrect Wei Wuxian. Had this happened in Lanling, it could potentially have been really helpful to getting power; Wei Wuxian doesn't have much of any reason to distrust Jin Guangyao if the main plot doesn't happen, and we know Xue Yang is incredibly capable of charming the socks off people who don't know he's a monster. And they both believe Wei Wuxian is swayable by flattery (whether that's true or not, they clearly think so) so if they butter him up and he only knows what he knew from his first life, this plan could even have worked.

But then other plans and events overtook this plan - Xue Yang being driven from Lanling, Jin Guangshan's death, Nie Mingjue's death - so it became unnecessary, and then Mo Xuanyu was just an annoyance and a reminder that Jin Guangshan would have put this little loser above Jin Guangyao - so he's sent back to Mo Manor and, well, comes up with his own plan to use what he's learned to get revenge his own way.

The "Nie Huaisang set up Mo Xuanyu" thing has never sat great with me and never seemed well supported by canon to me, even though it's the standard accepted explanation, and idk, spotting these two panels while reading the manhua today got me thinking.

That said, I can't recall the implication that Jin Guangshan was looking to make Mo Xuanyu his heir being in the book. That would weaken all this.

But. Yeah. Alternative explanation for Mo Xuanyu's entire thing (while still leaving Nie Huaisang somewhere in the background since how else did the arm end up at Mo Manor?)...idk. I feel like this is about has solid and supported explanation as "Nie Huaisang showed him the sacrifice ritual."

Thoughts?

[solomontoaster]

Just Leave A Comment Fest

Right, so I thought it would be fun to make a rec list of all the great fics I commented on during @justleaveacommentfest . I didn't have a ton of time to read fic this week, not just because of Ao3 going down, but I did my best! For fics that were multi-chapter I commented on every chapter.

July 10, Old/New:

New (published 7/8/2023, updated 7/11/2023) — Near Misses, Wishes by Underthebluerain | T | The Witcher | Jaskier/Radovid

Even if they don't fully realize it, Jaskier and Radovid's story is one of near misses.

Old (published 2/15/2013) — In the Hay by Hammocker | T | The Witcher | Jasker & Geralt

The night is too cold for Dandelion, but traveling with your closest friend has its perks.

July 11, <2k words:

1,917 words — Equal to Law by cyparissuscried | T | The Terror | Sophia Cracroft/Thomas Hartnell

Tom, she thinks. She could write a whole play with his name alone. He would be embarrassed of it and hide his face in the front of her kirtle at its premiere and she would not make fun, because that is the very reason for writing a play of his name. Tom. Thomas. Tom. Thomas. Tom. Thomas. Tom.

918 words — untitled (ghosts) by grahamgore | T | The Terror | Francis Crozier/James Clark Ross

It's 1854. Francis finally visits the Abbey at Aston Abbots.

July 12, AUs:

Soulmate AU — a grove without a name by stiltonbasket | G | MDZS/The Untamed | Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian

Wei Wuxian was ten years old when he first began wearing mourning for his dead soulmate. Eight years later, he meets Lan Wangji. (Or, the one where a soulmate bond goes silent and shatters during the Sunshot Campaign, but Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji were always meant to be.)

Daemon AU — You're the Demon I Know by maely1234 | T | MDZS/The Untamed | Gen, Nie Huaisang

Nie Huaisang has spent nearly a decade working and planning and scheming, his daemon A-Zhi at his side. But while he may have survived Jin Guangyao's plans, dragging his hated enemy down in the process, he hadn't prepared for after. Left floundering without his quest for vengeance guiding him, Nie Huaisang navigates what it is he wants from life. Follows from the second siege of the burial mounds onwards.

July 13, Rarepair/Platonic:

Rarepair (12 fics) — all known effects of time and absence by robokittens | T | The Terror | John Irving/William Malcolm

My Dear Malcolm,— When next you receive post from me it will be in a batch, all post-marked from the Sandwich Islands and all beginning with a longing for your company.

Platonic — Lost Brothers by FormlessVoidbeast | M | Mad Max: Fury Road | Capable & Nux

Capable had brothers. She’d held them in her arms, and whispered their names in their ears over and over in hopes that they would remember who they were. (No War Pup ever remembered who they were by the time they were a War Boy)

July 14, Something New:

New Fandom — Frankenstein

we face the night by hilaryfaye | E | Creature/Elizabeth Lavenza

I no longer claim to know why Victor said that I died that night. I believed once that I knew him, likely better than anyone in the world, but after that night we became strangers to each other in a way that we could not repair. Did he believe he was shielding his father and brother from a greater horror? Was it truly easier to face the notion of me dead, than me lost to him? Better a martyr, perhaps, than a saint defiled.

let them come and tear us free (we are bound eternally) by hilaryfaye | E | Creature/Elizabeth Lavenza/Victor Frankenstein

Victor speaks of me too kindly. I know this. He paints me as a saint because it is easier for him, I think. He imagines that he can make for himself a childhood that was innocent and guiltless, myself an angel found in humility. It is not true, of course.

[pocketsizedowls]

The following is a possible timeline of Jiang Cheng's romantic (?) endeavors:

He meets Wei Wuxian when he was a toddler. Since Wei Wuxian is a little older and a little taller, Jiang Cheng thinks he's kind of cool, even if he's also a toddler. A few years later Wei Wuxian comes to live at Lotus Pier full-time. They start sharing a room and it takes only about a month for Jiang Cheng to realize that Wei Wuxian, who he now sees as a brother, is a fucking idiot.

Wei Wuxian follows Jiang Cheng to the Cloud Recesses when they are 15 and they meet Nie Huaisang, who is timid but mischievous. Nie Huaisang runs an illegal pornography distribution business without ever getting caught, not even after Wei Wuxian gets booted from Gusu and Lan Qiren grows eyes on the back of his head. It piques Jiang Cheng's interest. Nie Huaisang kisses Jiang Cheng on the last day of school before skipping away to Qinghe.

In The Untamed, Jiang Cheng meets Wen Qing around this time as well. He grew up watching Jiang Yanli pine after the peacock and, after making a list of qualities that he would like for the future Madam Jiang to have, he thinks Wen Qing is a good choice for courtship. She's smart and pretty, just like his jiejie. His mom will probably like her, which is... preferable. Either way, Jiang Cheng courts Wen Qing by bringing her a comb he bought at Caiyi Town, just like Yanli says he should. He leaves the encounter feeling proud of himself.

The romantic (?) side plots of Jiang Cheng's life take a pause for the next 5ish years because he's busy trying not to die. Lotus Pier burns, the Sunshot Campaign goes by, and good news! He succeeds in not dying. Bad news! Every other Jiang didn't. So, he spends the next 10 years after that recovering from not-dying. Understandably, it put a slight damper on his mood and now, he's been blacklisted from every matchmaker in the country! Oh well. He's got his hands full anyways, with a nephew to raise and a sect to rebuild, yada yada yada.

Soon enough, Jiang Cheng forgets all about his youthful naivete and teenage follies. Growing up has a way of hardening your soul and rewiring your memories, so he spends most of his days as Sect Leader Jiang overworking until he feels absolutely nothing. Raising Jin Ling brings some light into his life, of course, but he's a Jin, not a Jiang. He doesn't get to spend all his time at Lotus Pier, no matter how much Jiang Cheng would secretly love that. In a matter of years, chasing down demonic cultivators became his only source of dopamine. It's an incredibly self-indulgent thing. He investigates every smoke trail, every rumor, and every crudely-drawn Yiling Patriarch poster with the intention of destroying Wei Wuxian the moment he comes back. He tells himself he doesn't miss him but finds himself pausing the witch hunt every year on October 31st, Wei Wuxian's birthday.

At the Guanyin Temple, Jiang Cheng, Lan Wangji, and the new-returned Wei Wuxian take down Jin Guangyao with help of a dubiously-intact Nie Mingjue and dubiously-intentioned Nie Huaisang. Jiang Cheng returns to Lotus Pier with his (?) golden core feeling lopsided in his dantian, only to receive a wedding invitation barely a few months later from Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji. He wonders for a second if they intend to make amends...? Then he banishes the thought as soon as it comes.

He attends the wedding only to save face for the Jiang Sect because people would surely talk if he doesn't show. He escapes the festivities by the time the banquet starts and walks right into Lan Xichen on his way out of the Cloud Recesses.

"Zewu-jun," he says, "aren't you supposed to be in seclusion?"

Lan Xichen smiles. "Yes."

"Then why are you out here?"

"My brother is getting married," Lan Xichen says, "why shouldn't I be here?"

"If you're truly here for the wedding," sighs Jiang Cheng, "then go inside? Pat your brother on the back? Eat a piece of cake?"

Lan Xichen's smile wobbles, but Jiang Cheng doesn't let up. He's not stupid. Sure, Lan Xichen is in seclusion, which means his time is his own and he can do anything he wants, but Lan Sect would definitely be alarmed to find their sect leader grimly wandering the grounds of the Cloud Recesses on a celebratory night. So.

"Well?" Jiang Cheng asks, pointed.

Lan Xichen's expression darkens. Jiang Cheng thinks anger is a good look on.

"Sect Leader Jiang," Lan Xichen starts, eerily peacefully, "you tell me to go inside, to congratulate my brother, and to eat. But did you do any of those things? It's barely nightfall and you look about ready to leave Gusu. With no Lan disciple walking you to the gates, however, you resemble a student sneaking out of class. Here at the Cloud Recesses, that crime is worthy of 20 lashes. Would you like to explain your behavior?"

Under any other circumstance, Jiang Cheng would lash out against this kind of condescension, but Lan Xichen is swaying under the moonlight like a reed. The sight of the strong, courteous Lan Xichen at his lowest unlocks something inside Jiang Cheng, a rough-around-the-edges feeling associated with flashes of memories that he can no longer fully remember. A shared bedroom. A kiss at school. A comb wrapped in cloth. A bowl of pork rib and lotus soup delivered to the front lines of war. A bloodied hairpin tucked in a purple waist stash. A declaration of love under the watchful gaze of dangerous enemies.

The feeling threatens to knock him over, but this is Jiang Cheng we're talking about. Naturally, he tucks the strange feeling back inside the box where it came from and locks it once again with the key. Meanwhile, he offers to walk Lan Xichen to the banquet. He says to him: I'll stay with you if you want. I'll even eat a piece of cake with you. Lan Xichen declines--thank goodness--so they make their way toward the Hanshi instead.

"What do you want to do now," Jiang Cheng asks when they make it to Lan Xichen's residence. He hovers at the dorm frame like a teenage boy trying his best not to intrude, leaning on one foot and then the other.

Lan Xichen considers Jiang Cheng's words for a moment and says, "I don't know. It's been a while since I had company, so please," He leaves the door wide open, gesturing inside the Hanshi, "come on in. Make yourself at home."

Jiang Cheng takes a ginger step across the threshold.

[thebiscuiteternal]

Would it be a good time for another idea roundup post?

It'll be a good distraction from stress, so sure:

I've been introduced to a manhwa called "The Crow's Prince", and god if it isn't perfectly ripe for a sangcheng AU. Featuring: Nie Huaisang: The modern-day zookeeper who winds up isekai'd into a crow in a strange fantasy land and becomes the animal companion of Jiang Cheng: The grouchy but well-meaning prince who is a late bloomer to the royal magic and has to face down a challenge for the throne from Wen Chao: The spoiled-brat prince who wants to be emperor just so he can make everyone do whatever he pleases. Gained his magic early, but isn't very impressive at it. Also featuring: Wei Wuxian as the grouchy prince's magician friend, who was the protagonist of the original game the fantasy world seems to be based on. I haven't figured out who would be the knight character yet, because no one in their gen really matches up.

Nie Mingjue as the poor bastard who recently went viral after discovering that workouts aren't considered foreplay for everyone and he's unwittingly had an exercise fetish his entire life.

New Headcanon: As funny as it is to think Jin Zixuan is a himbo about everything, I like to think he's actually pretty sharp about finances... mostly due to his continued state of horror at dear old dad's attempts to teach him him the "family business" of screwing everyone else over. He and his new half-brother can bond over the nightmare that is the sect's "banquets, bribes, and bumping off" expenditure account.

For the first three years after Nie Huaisang became sect leader, guard presence around him had to be tripled. Not because of monsters or assassins, though... no one was expecting his grief to be catnip for yanderes.

Comedy of lectures-age Wei Wuxian accidentally messing up an experiment to see into the future and catching a glimpse of either mid-revenge or post-canon Nie Huaisang. Lacking the context as to why Huaisang is Like That, he gets it in his head that he'll just have to keep Nie-xiong from "turning evil" by keeping track of him all the time! Much to the dismay of Jiang Cheng, Lan Wangji, and Nie Huaisang himself, who is a little frightened by the sudden intensity and pretty sure that Lan Wangji will kill him if Wei Wuxian doesn't back off.

Jin Guangyao discovers that Nie Huaisang has been frequenting a brothel and becomes that sort of angry (because Nie Huaisang should know better) where trying to hide it starts making all his emotions kind of brittle and snappish... at least until he finds out why. Namely: Nie Huaisang isn't sleeping with the girls, he's been paying them to critique his work and/or supply new ideas.

[drwcn]

follow up to [post] exploring the crack au if lwj was a girl 

〒▽〒 ps im not trying to erase canon lwj representation, not at all, wangxian is mm in all my other fics, this is just stupid fun

in a ceteris paribus situation aka all other things staying equal: 

1) Lan Wangji 100% still has a resting bitch face, which probably would get her a couple of “Lan-er-guniang 美若天仙 (beautiful as an immortal/goddess) but would benefit from smiling more” comments but nobody is that desperate to die yet so, she’s spared. But damn... imagine the sheer number of thirsty boys who’d try to secure a marriage with LWJ. None of them is good enough for Wangji as far as Lan Xichen is concerned. Okay - maybe in Lan Xichen’s opinion, Nie Mingjue is good enough, but he couldn’t be less interested. I see her as I see Huaisang, Xichen please. 

2) Everything interaction between Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian in Wei Wuxian’s first life is now 500% more scandalous. 

Exhibit A) Their first meeting at the gates; Jiang Cheng immediately felt his spidey senses tingling.  —“You’d sooner have immortals flying out of your ass than get with someone like her. The second jade of Gusu? The pearl in old man Lan’s eyes? C’mon.”  —“Shut up, A-Cheng.” —“Uh-huh.”  —“Also, she’s not that pretty. Her brother Zewu-jun is much better. There’s a reason he’s ranked first.” WWX is still a disaster bi.  — “LMAO, you? Zewu-jun? Please.” 

Exhibit B) Just because LWJ is a girl does not mean WWX grew more brain cells. 

WWX, straight up to Lan Qiren’s face, “Lan-meimei and I - we’re zhiji.” (he means it like we’re kindred spirits, peas of a pod, etc)  LWJ: *does not deny* Lan Xichen: ⚆_⚆ Lan Qiren: ಠ╭╮ಠ

Exhibit C) Lan Wangji getting drunk the first time. Wei Wuxian knew he crossed a line the minute he invited Lan-er-guniang for a drink. Really, WWX, even for you, this is inappropriate. When Lan Wangji fell face first onto the table, Wei Wuxian knew, he fucked up. “Hey....hey...Lan....Lan...-er-guniang,” He poked her. “Don’t...don’t sleep here! You can’t sleep here! If your Uncle finds out or if Jiang-shushu finds out...they’ll skin me alive and then...and then they’ll make me marry you! I don’t want to marry you; you don’t talk and I’m too young!” 

WWX, being a dipshit, “Hey Lan Zhan, call me Wei-gege.”  LWJ, drunk as fuck, “Wei..gege.”  WWX *((( heart )))* ??? 

Exhibit D) The Cold Pond. Okay, so I don’t think Zewu-jun would sabotage his sister’s virtue by sending a stupid teenage boy her way while she’s bathing, but doesn’t mean Su She is above all that. Wei “I didn’t see anything I swear!” Wuxian. Lan “I will gouge out your eyes.” Wangji. Somehow they still end up in the cave. Maybe WWX got in the water after LWJ got out and got sucked into the vortex and LWJ heard the commotion, turned around, saw WWX had disappeared. “Wei Ying?!” A panicked LWJ jumps back into the pond, “Stop fooling around, come out!” 

Jiang Cheng and Wen Qing 👀👀 when LWJ and WWX fall out of the cave together. Also the fact that Lan-er-guniang and Wei-gongzi went missing, together, for two days. Who knows what could’ve happened. I mean anything really. I mean... that’s gotta stir the pot a little were it not for the Yin Iron stealing everyone’s attention away from this bit of juicy scandal. 

Oh the whole story... so much to work with, so little time. 

3) Because Lan Wangji is a girl, now suddenly there’s a high ranking member of the Lan Clan who can host the girls at Cloud Recesses. I mean, Mianmian, Jiang Yanli, Wen Qing, Lan Wangji - SISTERLY FRIENDSHIP. Other than Mianmian, none of the girls are really talkers which suits Lan Wangji perfectly. Even Mianmian’s chatter is endearing.

4) Lan Wangji is absolutely still a powerhouse during the Sunshot Campaign. The inherent aesthetics of fem!lwj telling the Wen goons to “kneel” - no one will deprive me of this.  Also she will still cut off your arm if you cross her - Xue Yang and Jin Guangyao ya better watch out still. 

I am TORN between two options: Lan Wangji tol and kickass or Lan Wangji smol and kickass. On one hand, the aesthetics of willowy elf-like LWJ, on the other hand, 5′2′’ of whoop ass who can and will throw an unconscious wwx over her shoulder firewoman-style and toll him to safety.  

And amongst other things: 

A) Lan Wangji still becomes Chief Cultivator, because excuse me who else is left to clean up this mess? Jiang “Short-fuse” Wanyin? Nie “I won’t do what I’m not intended to do” Huaisang? Jin “13 year-old” Ling? Or Sect Leader Yao?  Technically, being a woman means that she was never Lan Xichen’s heir, but at the end of it, it’s not like Gusu Lan is left with a lot of choices.  Just the poetic justice of Gusu Lan pleading for Lan Wangji to come back when she fully intends to 隐居山野 (retreat into the mountains) with the resurrected WWX.

Lan Wangji being Chief Cultivator would echo Lan Yi’s tenure and rectify the fact that Gusu Lan’s only female head of family “failed”. Lan Yi had to face a mountain of prejudice because she was woman; someone has to say “up yours” to that. A woman as not only the sect master of Gusu Lan but the Chief Cultivator? Love that for Gusu Lans. (⌐■_■) ☞ ☞

B) Because of ~ sexism ~ I wonder if Lan Wangji would get titled “Hanguang” at all even after the Sunshot Campaign. Even Lan Yi, the SL Lan of her time didn’t have a title. Chances are LWJ won’t either. (Note: Violet Spider is not a title, it’s a moniker). So — say after the way Lan Wangji is still just “Lan-er-guniang”, and she does not obtain the title “Han Guang” until after she leaves Cloud Recesses and become rogue. (srsly how did they come up with these titles in canon, did gusu lan just look at 21 year old lwj and be like yah he’s lord light bearer *cue trevor noah stand up joke* why do you call yourself “great” britain? isn’t that a bit presumptuous? shouldn’t you go around doing good things and then let other people come to the conclusion: oh britain look how great you are? same logic with lwj.) 

Lan Wangji, a Jade of Gusu or a nameless rogue, still goes where trouble is, helping those who need it. After laying low for a year or two to heal, Lan Wangji began night hunting. Donned neck to ankle in white silk and tulle, and a weimao (wide brimmed veil hat) obscuring her face, she became known to the people as Hanguang Sanren, the lightbearing wanderer. Gusu’s highest power probably has some idea who she is - or at least they can guess - but the vast majority of people don’t. 

C) Lan Sizhui raised by rogue Lan Wangji as his mum would be different. Still cultured, respectful, but definitely with an air of keeping others at arm’s length. 

For instance, grown-up Sizhui running interference and saving a cohort of gentry disciples on joint hunts.

Jingyi: 这人谁呀？Who is this guy? Zizhen: 多谢兄台搭救之恩，小可看您眼生，敢问兄台尊姓大名，何门何派，改日当登门拜访. Many thanks for saving us. I don’t believe we’ve met, pray tell what is your name and sect, so we may visit at a later time to thank you for tonight. Sizhui: 在下无门无姓 ，单名思追 。举手之劳不足挂齿 ，怎敢劳烦各位名门子弟答谢。My name is Sizhui, belonging to no family and to no sect. As for tonight - I only did what anyone would; it bears no mentioning and requires no thanks. Jin Ling: 你这人，看你工力不凡，想和你交个朋友，可你怎么遮遮掩掩的。Hey you, we see you’re a talented cultivator and want to make your acquaintance. Why are you so dodge-y? Zizhen：金陵 — Jing Ling - Sizhui: 若是有缘，还会相见。告辞。If it’s fated, we will meet again. Farewell.  

Later:  Jingyi: 思。追。 思追谁？Si. Zhui. To recollect and long for whom?  Sizhui: 母亲的一位故人. Someone from Mother’s past.  Jingyi: 你父亲？...Your father?  Sizhui: 我不知。I don’t know. 

I thought about how cute it would be if sizhui and jin ling knew each other but guys...Jiang Cheng literally thinks he killed Sizhui’s biological father. Like he literally thinks he orphaned Sizhui before Sizhui is even born. And Lan Wangji would never accept anything from Jiang Wanyin, not that it would stop Jiang Wanyin from trying. 

A package of books here, a new robe for Sizhui there. Lan Wangji doesn’t know how Jiang Cheng keeps finding her. She and Sizhui are nomadic.  

D) The inevitable conversation after wwx is revived. 

You know what would be funnier than Jiang Cheng thinking Sizhui is a wangxian baby is if Lan Qiren thinks Sizhui is a wangxian baby. 

[inessencedevided]

What your favourite mdzs/cql ship says about you

So, by absolutely nobody's request I made a shitpost based on Eldena Doubleca5t’s awesome youtube videos. I included the link to the channel in the source because this post won’t show up if i put it here. Go give her videos a watch and then read this post in her voice because I swear to you it'll be a 100% funnier

Also, these are absolutely NOT to be taken seriously. I was just procrastinating by taking the piss out of these characters. I’m not here to start any ship wars. I don’t even have a legit opinion on over half these ships ^^ (though I DID jokingly include why I ship some of these. You can guess which)

Lan Wangji / Wei Wuxian (cql)

You’re always a slut for period dramas.

Lan Wangji / Wei Wuxian (novel)

You’re always a slut for the exact OPPOSITE of period dramas, which is sexual tension culminating in kinky consensual dub-con sex and copious amounts of pda.

Nie Mingjue / Lan Xichen

Your ideal high-school romance is jock/nerd.

Lan Xichen / Jin Guangyao

You’re a firm believer in the inherent eroticism of devotion, deception and despair.

Wei Wuxian / Mo Xuanyu

You were looking at that tumblr memes about fucking your clone and thought “Mhh ...”

Wei Wuxian / Wen Ning

You don’t understand people who say they wouldn’t date their best friend. Like, aren’t you best friends for a reason?

Wen Ning / Wei Wuxian / Lan Wangji

You either just wanted good things for Wei Wuxian (and really who wouldn’t?) OR you’re just ... really horny.

Luo Qingyang / Jiang Yanli

You read mdzs and watched cql and each time a woman was in a scene you just thought “Aren’t you tired of being nice? Don't you just want to go ape shit?”

Wen Ning / Jiang Cheng

You are YuBin. (there’s a post on his Weibo. it’s brilliant)

Wei Wuxian / Xue Yang

You have a secret necrophilia kink that you won’t admit to under threat of torture.

Wei Wuxian / Wen Qing

You want a girlfriend who not only can kick your ass, but will do so upon request.

Wen Qing / Jiang Cheng

You are a firm believer in 👏 men 👏 getting 👏 pegged.

Baoshan-Sanren / Lan Yi

You are a lesbian who loves MILFs

Jin Zixuan / Jiang Yanli

You’re ideal relationship dynamic is sitcom-wife/sitcom-dad

Lan Wangji / Jin Zixuan

Your ideal date involves awkward silence and stilted conversation.

Wei Wuxian / Jiang Cheng

You're really into sibling incest, but manage to pretend that you're not.

Ouyang Zizhen / Jin Ling

You're always a slut for grumpy “tough” boys who go soft for one ☝️ man.

Wen Qing / Jiang Yanli

Your ideal relationship dynamic is just girls bein’ friends, gals bein’ pals.

Jiang Fengmian / Yu Ziyuan

This is just the same joke as Wen Qing / Jiang Cheng  but you also have a strong fondness for MILFs

Lan Sizhui / Jin Ling

You got your start in online fandom shipping drarry.

Lan Sizhui / Ouyang Zizhen

You love soft boys (too good for this world, too pure) so much that one day you were like, “Hey! You know what’s better than one soft boy? Two soft boys!”

Lan Jingyi / Jin Ling

You're a firm believer in the inherent eroticism of being bullied.

Lan Sizhui / Lan Jingyi

That’s just the same joke as Wei Wuxian / Jiang Cheng, but you just can’t with all their trauma.

Song Lan / Xiao Xingchen

You don't understand why anyone would care about a couple with a canonical happy ending when there’s a worst-timeline-au parallel ship right there.

Song Lan / Xiao Xingchen / Xue Yang

Based on my experience with this side of the fandom you‘re either into hardcore psychological horror or fluff so sweet it’s cotton-candy and there is no in-between.

Xue Yang / Xiao Xingchen 

That’s just the same joke as Song Lan / Xiao Xingchen / Xue Yang, but you never forgave Song Lan.

Cangse Sanren / Wei Chanze

You're a firm believer in keeping things ☝️ canon and keeping things ✌️ wholesome.

Yu Ziyuan / Cangse-Sanren

You love the dynamic of teenage Wangxian, but you’re also a lesbian.

Jin Guangyao / Xue Yang

You were absolutely fucking thrilled when be gay do crime became the hot new meme.

Jing Guangyao / Su She

You’re a firm believerin the inherent eroticism of class-solidarity.

Luo Qingyang / Wen Qing

Honestly, this is just the same joke as Luo Qingyang / Jiang Yanli, but you’re also into girls out-topping each other.

Madam Lan / Cangse Sanren

You just want good things for Madam Lan and really, who wouldn't?

Wei Wuxian / Jiang Yanli

That's just the same joke as Wei Wuxian / Jiang Cheng BUT you're also heterosexual. 

Nie Mingjue / Jin Guangyao

Your new favourite meme is that exchange that's like "go fuck yourself!" - "fuck me yourself, you coward!"

Nie Mingjue / Lan Xichen / Jin Guangyao

You are a firm believer in the inherent eroticism of failed conflict negotiations and unsolved moral dilemmata.

Nie Huaisang / Wei Wuxian

You're ideal date involves wacky hijinks after which PAIN ensues.

Lan Xichen / Nie Huaisang

You are a firm believer in the inherent eroticism of shared trauma.

Lan Xichen / Jiang Cheng

You are a firm believer in the inherent eroticism of shared trauma AND working through it together.

Wen Ruohan / Lan Qiren

I can’t say for sure that you wanna fuck dads, but you definetly want to fuck father figures.

Luo Qingyang / Luo Qingyang's husband

You’re always a slut for characters who are in dire need of more screantime.

Lan Wangji / Jiang Cheng

You don't understand why anyone would care about a happy marriage when there's an unstable love/hate relationship to fuck around with.

Luo Qingyang / Lan Wangji

You ... are Wei Wuxian

[robininthelabyrinth]

Prompt - Nie Mingjue's temper is already not great at the Phoenix hunt, so when they haul out men and women, some who look a great deal more like frightened peasants than cultivators he snaps, this is not how you treat POWs, it turns into a riot/battle and Jiang Cheng has had enough of kowtowing to the Jin and he and the new Jiang sect members and Wei Wuxian all rally to Nie Mingjue, does anyone else? Where to the Lan fall? Was nie mingjue's snap directly at jgy or more in general?

ao3

Nie Mingjue was, probably for the first time in his life, tired of fighting.

He’d fought in secret against the Wen sect for years, thanklessly defending the other sects that had refused to even acknowledge Wen Ruohan’s actions for years on end, and yet it had not prepared him for the brutality that was open warfare, for the difficulty of being the general of the entire Sunshot Campaign, for the burden of knowing that so many lives depended on him and him alone. He’d fought battle after battle, won tremendous victories, and yet the last hope had seemed out of reach – he’d eventually resorted to a desperate stratagem that had gone wrong – he had been tortured, mocked, his men killed – and at the moment of when all seemed lost, he was saved.

Saved…only to realize that it was Meng Yao being credited with it, with being their spy, and Lan Xichen had not told him.

He’d limped back to his camp, but they’d chased after him, and the news of what Meng Yao had done got out – not really a surprise; given the man’s ambitions, if someone else hadn’t spread it he would have done it himself – and in the end, politics had meant that there really hadn’t been much of a choice about swearing sworn brotherhood with the two of them, binding them together in life and death, not unless he wanted to risk another war.

Nie Mingjue very, very much did not want another war.

He had still not fully recovered from his injuries by the time the Jin sect had set up a celebration in the Nightless City, with Jin Guangshan using Nie Mingjue’s refusal to take on any of Wen Ruohan’s ridiculous trappings as an excuse to all but name himself Chief Cultivator in the man’s place. Nie Mingjue knew he should have protested then, but he was tired, his sect in need of rebuilding – they had been the ones bearing the brunt of the war, as they always had, and the only reason they were not the worst off of the Great Sects was because of what the Wens had done to the Cloud Recesses and the Lotus Pier – and he’d never really wanted personal advancement, anyway.

After what had happened with his father, he’d had a lifetime’s worth of being promoted.

Besides, as part and parcel of their self-granted promotion, the Jin sect had promised to take care of the worst of the clean-up, including dealing with the prisoners of war, and that had seemed fine, even a good result. After spending half his life doing things for other people, Nie Mingjue would return home to focus on that which matter most to him, and for once someone else would take the lead in caring for the rest of the world.

It wasn’t like the Jin sect couldn’t afford a few more mouths to feed. 

It wasn’t like their coffers were anywhere near empty, or that they needed to rebuild; it wasn’t as though they’d ever stopped trade with Qishan or actually led in a major battle or - he should stop thinking about it before he became angry. 

He’d been angry for so long. It would be nice to stop for a while.

Of course, it felt as though he’d barely settled in back at home before he was being summoned for yet another celebration hosted by the Jin sect, this time at Phoenix Mountain. A hunt, no less, and it was so pointedly designed as the sort of thing that the Nie sect favored that it would have been impossible to turn down the invitation. Not to mention, the invitation had oh-so-casually mentioned that Jin Guangyao, his sworn brother, would be the one in charge of setting up the hunt, meaning that any disruption or failure cause damage not only to his own reputation but to Nie Mingjue and Lan Xichen’s, for having sworn with him.

Jin Guangshan would either have his day in the sun or a reason to tear everyone else down - a win-win situation for him, lose-lose for everyone else.

Fucking politics.

Still, there wasn’t anything for it. They had to go, so they went.

Nie Mingjue felt himself drifting back into that disconnected state that had allowed him to survive years of discussion conferences hosted by his father’s murderer. It was a strange sort of state, that allowed him to do the things he had to do to support his sect while feeling as though the world was separated from him by a window through which he watched everything happen. Anything that occurred beyond that window – all sounds and sights and even emotional reactions – was dulled or even muted; he could look Wen Ruohan right in the eye and think to himself of how much he longed to slaughter the man where he stood for his crimes, look at Jiang Fengmian smiling quite sincerely at Wen Ruohan and Lan Qiren bowing to him as if he was a man worthy of respect, as if they weren’t hypocrites that took Wen Ruohan’s money in trade and said apologetically that there wasn’t anything anyone could prove about Nie Mingjue’s father’s death, and yet, no matter how much he hated them all, his body would do nothing. 

He would drink tea, and nod, and he would not breach etiquette, he would not bring war down on his sect’s head, he would do nothing.

Sitting in a place of honor at Phoenix Mountain felt much the same: yet another burden to bear, a torment that he could only hope passed quickly.

(It wasn’t healthy, but then again, what was? His entire life was grist for the mill that was his sect’s well-being, shortened by excessive cultivation and stress and endless rage, and knowing it didn’t change anything.)

He saw in the corner of his eye the way his little brother’s eyes flickered to him and then frown – he’d never liked it when Nie Mingjue went quiet and passive, knowing how alien the feeling was to him, knowing through fellow-feeling what it felt like, though perhaps he was wondering why the state had come upon him now again when Wen Ruohan was already dead and gone, even though it had never really just been about Wen Ruohan. 

Perhaps because of that fellow-feeling, Nie Huaisang found a conversational interlude hat allowed him to slide over a little closer than politeness dictated, casually putting a hand on Nie Mingjue’s arm as if to beg for something. He knew that Nie Mingjue took comfort in the touch, in the reminder that with his saber at his side and his brother within arms’ reach, Nie Mingjue felt as thought he had everything he valued most in this rotten world close enough that he could try to protect it.

And then the Jin sect – using Jin Guangyao as their mouthpiece, though whether it was because of his skillful silver tongue or simply because they didn’t think he was worth anything more than that, only he would know – announced that they would kick off the hunt with some entertainment.

Nie Mingjue lifted his cup of tea to his lips, feeling pained, and his eyes briefly met with Lan Qiren’s across the hall, no longer in the place of the sect leader but slightly behind, his expression making clear that the same thought was on both their minds – anything but the prostitutes again.

(Surely Jin Guangyao had a bit more self-respect than that…?)

When a bunch of people in chains were marched out, Nie Mingjue had only enough presence of mind to be briefly relieved that the presence of mixed genders meant that they were probably not prostitutes – Lanling Jin abided by rules relating to birth gender and sexuality that seemed nearly as strict as the rules they were always criticizing Gusu Lan over, and according to them no one ever switched or was misaligned or deviated at all, which frankly seemed more than a little bizarre and unbelievable – and then uncomfortable because, well, they were in chains. Weren’t they supposed to be done with war?

And then Jin Guangyao started announcing the rules of some sort of ridiculous archery contest that the younger generation would engage in, and for a moment that seemed almost a relief as well – as a sect leader, Nie Mingjue was excluded from the younger generation despite being only a few years older than the rest of them, and of course there was no point in expecting his brother to participate in any competition of martial skill, and so for a moment it seemed as though this could be another part of this torturous endless experience that he could just tune out.

Indeed, that he was obligated to tune out. No matter how idiotic it was, whatever it was, whatever he thought about it (and he wouldn’t like it, he knew he wouldn’t like it, he’d never liked anything Wen Ruohan – no, that Jin Guangshan, insofar as there was that much of a difference – he’d never liked anything Jin Guangshan had set up in nearly ten years of working together, and odds were good that he wouldn’t like this), Nie Mingjue still had to think first of his sect and the consequences of making a fuss, and that meant he didn’t. He didn’t want a war, and so he had to be polite, restrained, quiet, no matter what he thought.

It wasn’t that hard to simply pull back even further. Nie Mingjue had been suppressing righteousness in favor of etiquette at these horrible conferences for such a long time that it came naturally to him, the way all bad habits did.

Only this time he’d brought Nie Huaisang with him, which he’d always resisted before, and his brother’s hand tightened on his arm to the point of pain.

Nie Mingjue’s first thought, stupidly enough, was to be pleased by the discovery that Nie Huaisang actually had some arm muscle underneath all those prissy frills he favored. His second was concern that Nie Huaisang had suddenly taken ill – with admittedly a bit of hopefulness that perhaps it would be something they could use as an excuse to leave early, as long as it wasn’t that serious – but when he turned to look at him his brother didn’t seem sick.

He seemed – angry?

Not Huaisang, Nie Mingjue thought, heart abruptly seized with an ancient fear. He knew perfectly well what he’d gotten himself into when it came to the saber spirits, had accepted years ago that he would die young, die early, die horribly and alone with nothing but his rage, but that was not going to be Nie Huaisang’s fate, not if he had anything to say about it. 

The fear curdled in his chest, and it felt as though a crack appeared on the window that shielded him from all sensation, all pain and desperation forced far away.

No one was talking, other than Jin Guangyao droning on and on about whatever the new entertainment was – Nie Mingjue had stopped paying attention long ago – and so he couldn’t ask Nie Huaisang what was wrong, but he looked at him and furrowed his brow, trying to convey the question silence.

Nie Huaisang caught the glance and understood, and his mouth moved, shaping silent sounds – it’s an execution, they’re going to kill them –

What?

Baxia, lying by his side as she always did during these meetings, shifted a little, her rage nudging against Nie Mingjue’s mind as it always did – sometimes he thought she hated these meetings as much as he did, other times he was sure of it – and the crack in the window got a little wider, let in a little more light and color and sound, and Nie Mingjue found a thread of willpower to force himself to listen to what the entertainment Jin Guangyao was proposing actually was.

He replayed the words in his mind, turned to look at the people in chains – Wen sect, apparently, and though he couldn’t tell on sight whether they were civilians or cultivators, that didn’t matter. Not even criminals were executed like this, by standing at a distance and waiting to die, not even able to hope for an expert aiming to kill quickly and cleanly, but through a misplaced arrow that could strike them anywhere, cause them a lingering and painful death…this was supposed to be a game?

This was meant to be their entertainment?

The window between Nie Mingjue and the world shattered.

And suddenly all he felt was rage.

“What,” Nie Mingjue said, even as Jin Zixuan got up with a set expression on his face to accept a bow from his servant, “are you doing?”

Jin Zixuan paused, looking puzzled – and no surprise, since Nie Mingjue hadn’t said anything beyond the most mundane greetings when he first arrived. “Sect Leader Nie..?”

Nie Mingjue rose to his feet, his brother’s hand falling off of his arm as if he’d shaken him off like a dog. “What are you doing?” he demanded, louder this time. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

“Da-ge –” Jin Guangyao said, an obvious hint, a reminder of their relationship – Nie Mingjue was the one bound by it, the older brother responsible for setting a good example, and for all that Jin Guangyao was supposed to listen to him and follow his lead Nie Mingjue had never seen a hint that he’d ever planned to do so – but Nie Mingjue didn’t listen to him.

He was angry.

It felt good to be angry – a clean anger, a righteous anger, anger at injustice being perpetrated right before his eyes.

(Something so poisonous as rage shouldn’t feel this good.)

“This is an abomination,” he said, a touch of the battlefield in his voice so that it would be audible throughout the hall, would spread far and wide for all to hear. “Those are people you’re putting on the line.”

There was a moment of awkward silence.

Jin Zixun, Jin Guangshan’s nephew, broke it with an abrupt laugh. “Sect Leader Nie,” he said, pretending to smile, “surely you don’t think so little of us to suggest that my cousin would miss –”

“I don’t care even if he does strike true,” Nie Mingjue snapped. “You do not play with the lives of men.”

“Hardly men,” a minor sect leader, closely affiliated with the Jin sect, said. Sect Leader Qin, if Nie Mingjue placed him right. “Perhaps you did not hear, Chifeng-zun –” It was always his title they used when they wanted to avoid calling him sect leader, when they were trying to make a point about how young and angry and foolish they thought he was. “– but those are Wen-dogs.”

“I don’t care who or what they are,” Nie Mingjue shouted, and now he had fallen back into his body, back into the battlefield, because this was a battlefield; it was only that he had allowed himself – through tiredness or shock or a desire for peace – to forget it for a moment. “Is this not a celebration of peace, the end of war? If they are criminals, sentence them; if they are condemned, execute them with a sword. Even a rabid beast deserves to be put down cleanly, not to be used as target practice by children for the entertainment of others!”

There was movement in the crowd, multiple people shifting from one side to the other, the audience abruptly uncomfortable when faced not only with a gory spectacle but their own complicity in it.

“Sect Leader Nie, calm yourself,” Jin Guangshan said. His voice was stern, irritatingly condescending – as if he thought that styling himself as Chief Cultivator gave him the right to act as if he were Nie Mingjue’s father. “You go too far for proper etiquette; will you not give any face to me, as your host? Naturally, if you have a complaint, I will hear it –”

“I don’t recall the moment I yielded to your authority in matters of ethics, Sect Leader Jin,” Nie Mingjue snapped. “Please, feel free to remind me – the last I recall it, you were the one begging me for assistance.”

“Sect Leader Nie!” Jin Guangshan shouted, rising to his feet with his face starting to purple.

Nie Mingjue saw the furious glance he sent at a frantic Jin Guangyao – control him already! – and it makes his own rage surge even higher. It was not that he didn’t know that his sworn brother was being used as leverage against him, but to have it shoved right into his face like that, to think that they thought that etiquette and brotherhood would be sufficient to make him complaisant – to allow Jin Guangyao to run roughshod over his morality – to think that it had nearly worked –

“Sect Leaders, please.” That was Lan Xichen, standing up as well, his hands outstretched. “Is this not meant to be a celebration of peace?”

For a moment, Nie Mingjue thought he was standing up for his sake, supporting him in decrying what was happening in front of them – something he despised as much as Nie Mingjue did, that much was obvious from his stance – but then his eyes flicked from Nie Mingjue to Jin Guangyao as well, silently beseeching Nie Mingjue to remember how his actions could hurt Jin Guangyao’s standing, and Nie Mingjue felt cold.

So much for brotherhood, it seemed. How much was he supposed to bear on behalf of Jin Guangyao without receiving anything in return?

He turned his face away.

If the Nie sect had to make this stand alone, so be it. Even if it meant war, war against the rest of the cultivation world, war that would be ruinous to his sect...

There was no choice. The Nie sect stood for refusing to tolerate evil; to do any less would be to throw off the traditions of his ancestors more wholly than Nie Huaisang’s refusal to train the saber had ever been. Even on a personal level, he had long criticized others who stood quiet when evil was happening, and he  would not let himself become the hypocrite that so many others had been. 

Nie Mingjue had never before willingly backed away from doing the right thing, the righteous thing, simply because it was hard to do – he would not start now.

“It seems strange that a celebration of peace would begin with death.” That was Jiang Cheng standing up as well, the fourth of the Great Sects. His sister had once been engaged to Jin Zixuan, and she had been invited to the hunt as Madame Jin’s special guest – popular thought had it that the Jin sect would snap her up soon enough, allying with the last remaining sect, and leaving anyone who opposed them to stand alone. But even if that was the plan, it hadn’t happened yet, and Jiang Cheng was putting his voice on Nie Mingjue’s side – Nie Mingjue would have to find a way to repay him for his support later. “Weren’t the Wen sect supposed to be resettled somewhere peaceful? Or was the news I received incorrect?”

“The innocent branch members and civilians were of course resettled,” Jin Guangyao said, and his smile was strained – or was it? Was it actual concern, or some sort of show? Nie Mingjue could never tell with him, not now that he knew how easily the snake changed its skin. “These however are war criminals, sentenced to execution in the manner of our choosing. I hope you all understand: their deaths are in no way comparable to their crimes –”

You would know, having participated in so many of them, Nie Mingjue thought, and levelled a glare at his youngest sworn brother to remind him of that fact. It briefly interrupted the smooth flow of words, making them catch in Jin Guangyao’s throat; at least he had that much shame.

“Can I see?” Nie Huaisang asked in the brief interval, his high voice just as carrying as Nie Mingjue’s shouting – all those music and singing lessons had clearly been worth something.

“See what?” Jin Zixun sneered, stepping forward – and interesting that it was him that did so, while Jin Zixuan, the heir, remained still and silent. His expression was frosty, but he hadn’t yet spoken up in his own father’s defense; hardly filial, but given such a father it was difficult to see what else he could do. “See their crimes? Do you want a list, or for us to drag out their victims to testify? Is this how little your Nie sect thinks of our Jin sect?”

A strong effort on Jin Zixun’s part – it put the burden on them to prove that these were not evildoers and criminals who deserved what was coming to them, made the issue their rudeness and lack of etiquette, made it seem as if they were the ones looking down on everyone.

But for all that Nie Mingjue despaired of Nie Huaisang’s skill at arms, he had never doubted his skill with words.

“You misunderstand me,” Nie Huaisang laughed nervously, hiding his face behind his fan in a gesture of shyness – he made it look as though he were being bullied by Jin Zixun, rather than debating him. “I just meant, well, they’re criminals, right? They must be truly impressive cultivators to fight against the brave soldiers of our Sunshot Campaign…could we see their strength?”

Nie Mingjue knew a cue when he heard one. “Such strength must be considerable to deserve such a fate,” he said scornfully. “Even Wen Ruohan, who killed hundreds, was merely cut down, rather than tormented in the same manner he tortured so many of our cultivators…Or do you think to emulate him in this manner as well?”

“How dare you?!” Jin Guangshan was florid with rage – as if rage would ever stop a Nie. “You come to my home and accuse me with no basis –”

“I do accuse you!” Nie Mingjue shouted, letting his voice trample down Jin Guangshan’s. “But by your own acts you are condemned, by your own callousness and indifference. So much Nie blood was shed to stop Wen Ruohan from running rampant over us all – I would die rather than have spent that blood to buy us nothing more than the same dominion in a different color!”

And then everyone was talking at once, shouting, yelling, and Nie Mingjue took the opportunity to turn on his heel and stride over to Lan Xichen, standing there looking lost. Lan Wangji was beside him, only a step behind, and he caught Nie Mingjue’s eyes as he came over and nodded – he, at least, was with Nie Mingjue in this, and his support gave Nie Mingjue more confidence in what he was about to do. What he had to do.

“Will you abide by your Lan sect’s values and stand with me in this?” he asked Lan Xichen in a low, clipped tone. “Or was my oath of brotherhood only worth the benefits it could get for Meng Yao?”

“Da-ge!” Lan Xichen exclaimed, looking horrified. “Don’t think that, please. Of course I stand with you in this – what they were planning for the Wen sect members goes beyond bad taste and into the horrific.”

He hadn’t meant it the way Nie Mingjue had taken it, then. It must have only been Jin Guangyao’s pleading looks that had led him to take a stand the wrong way, seeking peace and friendship over justice.

“One should not look away from righteousness simply because it would be easier,” Lan Wangji added smoothly, sounding almost as though he were agreeing with his brother and not subtly scolding him. He saluted Nie Mingjue. “You have our full support, regardless of who is on the other side.”

Nie Mingjue continued to look at Lan Xichen who hesitated – no doubt thinking of the tough position they’d just put Jin Guangyao into – but in the end he nodded.

That was fine. Okay, no, it wasn’t fine, but right now he needed Lan Xichen’s support, regardless of his level of enthusiasm; the rest could be dealt with later.

He turned again and went to Jiang Cheng – Wei Wuxian was there as well, having appeared at some point, and he was vociferously yelling at some minor sect leaders. In Nie Mingjue’s favor, at least.

“Sect Leader Nie,” Wei Wuxian said, turning to him before Nie Mingjue could say anything to Jiang Cheng – not that he really need to confirm his support, given the public display from earlier, but it was only polite to come convey his thanks. “There’s something else you should know. I’ve heard some things about the innocent members Wen sect that were supposedly ‘resettled’ – and what’s been happening to them…”

Nie Mingjue glanced at Jin Guangshan, still shouting, and did a quick calculation. “Take Lan Wangji and go check it out at once,” he ordered. “They were supposed to be resettled by the Qiongqi Path. If Sect Leader Jin has been treating these ones so cruelly as this…I’m willing to believe anything right now. But whatever it is, make sure it’s both of you that see it with your own eyes, to make it harder to doubt your words.”

Wei Wuxian saluted him and headed towards Lan Wangji without even seeking approval from his sect leader. Nie Mingjue abruptly felt awkward and looked at Jiang Cheng, but the other man nodded his agreement before he could apologize for commandeering Wei Wuxian as if the other man was still his subordinate.

“At least he listens to you,” Jiang Cheng said, a rueful smile on this face. “Can I convince you to talk some sense into him when all this is done..? I must admit I wasn’t expecting another war so soon.”

“I had hoped we wouldn’t see one for another generation,” Nie Mingjue admitted. “I still hope we can avoid it – it depends on how the smaller sects fall out, and how determined the Jin sect is to dominate the rest, rather than willing to accept equality. But no matter how it goes, we can’t turn our faces away from injustice.”

“Agreed,” Jiang Cheng said with a sigh. “I think we have the better of the argument, and hopefully it sways the rest of them. But have you considered what happens if we win?”

“What do you mean?”

“Sect Leader Jin has been setting himself up as Chief Cultivator. After something like this, even if there’s no actual fighting, that’ll be impossible. You need respect to lead. So who will it be?”

Nie Mingjue experienced a brief moment of horror at the thought of having to take it himself – but no. It was a reasonable solution, of course, but it would also taint the whole thing. It would make his decision to stand up into a tawdry political play, designed to increase his power, rather than a genuine outburst of offended principle.

He might have proposed Lan Xichen as a compromise – he would have, even a shichen earlier. But after that display of weakness from earlier, however brief, he feared that it would somehow end up with Jin Guangyao (and Jin Guangshan behind him) pulling the strings from behind the scenes, using Lan virtue as a cover for their iniquity…no, that wouldn’t do at all.

The only other option was –

Well.

Nie Mingjue had thought to himself that he needed to do something to pay Jiang Cheng back for his support earlier, hadn’t he?

(And at worst, he’d owe him yet another favor.)

Nie Mingjue put his hand on Jiang Cheng’s shoulder. “You have my full support,” he said solemnly, and ignored the sudden look of panic on Jiang Cheng’s face. “Think it over before you say no.”

Being Chief Cultivator would do more to restore the Jiang sect to prosperity than anything else Jiang Cheng might do, and he’d put that together himself sooner or later even if the idea of that much responsibility had to be fairly terrible. But before they could decide things like that, they needed to win.

One more fight.

He could do that much.

[ibijau]

Persuasion AU pt7 / On AO3

In spite of how serious the task at hand was, the Night Hunt started as a very joyous occasion. Lan Xichen himself, although a little grim at first, quickly got swept up in the good cheer of people reuniting with those they loved, all of them expressing affection in their own way.

The juniors were without a doubt the most outwardly joyful, and none quite as much as Wen Yuan and Jin Ling. It gave Lan Xichen sincere pleasure to see his nephew so happy, and how excited Wen Yuan was to introduce all his new friends to the boy he liked. Jin Ling for his part appeared a little less assured at first, even as he introduced Ouyang Zizhen, an old friend he’d invited to join them because his sect lived quite near. Poor Jin Ling appeared a little worried upon seeing that Wen Yuan had become close to so many others, and in particular he seemed quite suspicious of Lan Jingyi. But when it became clear that Wen Yuan only saw the Lan juniors as relatives, and that Lan Jingyi’s affections were otherwise engaged, Jin Ling relaxed at last and took part more actively in the general good cheer.

The mood among the adults was somewhat different. Even though they had reconciled some years before, there still remained some tensions between Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng due to the former’s decision to abandon their sect and fight in a war that did not concern him. But for the most, that betrayal had been forgiven, and Lan Xichen had the surprise of learning that during the last part of the war, after Jiang Cheng became sect leader, Yunmeng Jiang had secretly offered support to Qinghe Nie. It had needed to remain a secret, because of Yunmeng Jiang’s alliance to Lanling Jin, who while proclaiming to be just as neutral as Gusu Lan, had also given every sign that it hoped for a victory of Qishan Wen, and was rumoured to have given secret support of its own to that side.

Having kept his involvement secret, Jiang Cheng was able to maintain a decent relationship with the sect into which his sister had married. But he was aware not everyone could do the same, and so as they all headed where the fierce corpses should be hiding, Jiang Cheng warned Nie Huaisang that someone from Lanling Jin was meant to come find them and bring Jin Ling home right at the end of the Night Hunt, because his nephew was expected to attend a series of internal lectures at home.

“I can’t be sure who will come, but Jin Zixuan is busy lately, so it will probably be Jin Guangyao.”

“Then I will do my best to leave quickly when we’re done here,” Nie Huaisang replied coldly. “Thank you for the warning. Now, let’s decide how we will deal with those fierce corpses.”

The matter was thoroughly discussed, and it was decided they would separate in several groups in an attempt to encircle the fierce corpses. The juniors of Gusu Lan and Yunmeng Jiang alike were disappointed to learn they would all be supervised by adults during the whole Night Hunt, though the former were less open about their annoyance than the latter. The Jiang juniors only stopped protesting when Jiang Cheng threatened to send them home, after which they meekly agreed to stay with him and the few more experienced cultivators who had come with him. As for the Lan juniors, after a moment of displeasure, they were all delighted when they understood they would get to see Lan Wangji in action, and Wei Wuxian too. A third group of the Nie cultivator would also help encircle the fierce corpses.

Lan Xichen, at first, thought that he would follow his brother. But Lan Wangji suggested that he should go with the strongest of the juniors as a fourth, smaller group. They would catch any fierce corpses that might escape the main assault, and be ready to help if either of the other groups encountered any difficulties. It was a sensible plan, and Lan Xichen had regained some of his former skill thanks to frequent sparrings with his brother, but he still wasn’t sure he was quite up to the task. But before he could object to the plan, Nie Huaisang had intervened, offering to go with that group as well since he claimed he would be of little use elsewhere. Considering that Lan Jingyi was to be among those juniors whom Lan Xichen was meant to supervise, it came as no surprise, but as a great displeasure. And yet Lan Xichen would not ruin his young cousin’s chance for more time with Nie Huaisang. It would have been too unkind. So he swallowed his objections, and with a smile agreed to that plan.

Theirs was truly a small group. Aside from Nie Huaisang and Lan Jingyi, there would be only Wen Yuan, Jin Ling, his friend Ouyang Zizhen, and two youths from Yunmeng Jiang. As they set out into the woods together, Wen Yuan and Jin Ling soon started to fall behind, smiling and whispering together about something that most likely had nothing to do with the Night Hunt. Lan Xichen found them too sweet to scold them, especially once it became clear that they were still paying attention to their surroundings. The two young people from Yunmeng were soon engaged in a similar manner, making Lan Xichen wonder if his duty was to supervise or act as a chaperone. Guessing that Nie Huaisang and Lan Jingyi would probably appreciate some privacy as well, Lan Xichen fell into step with Ouyang Zizhen, the only person left for him to chat with.

The boy was sweet enough, if a little prone to bouts of lyricism. Lan Xichen would not have minded talking with him, but before half a shichen had passed, Nie Huaisang joined them and suggested that Lan Jingyi seemed to have some interest in local birds which Ouyang Zizhen, being a local himself, might help him with. Ouyang Zizhen was only too happy to oblige and quickly went to join a very disappointed looking Lan Jingyi, immediately starting to explain what he could about birds, a topic on which he appeared to have some knowledge.

"It's nice to be off the Burial Mound, isn't it?" Nie Huaisang said then, startling Lan Xichen. "I appreciate Wei Wuxian's effort, and his goal is a commendable one, but I'm never fully at ease over there."

For a moment, Lan Xichen found himself at a loss for words, unsure that Nie Huaisang was even talking to him. But there was nobody else near enough, and Nie Huaisang was looking at him with an expectant expression, waiting for an answer.

"It is not the most pleasant place I've ever visited," Lan Xichen mildly agreed, fearing to give offence if he said the truth about how oppressive the Burial Mounds felt at times, especially whenever the weather turned cloudy.

"It certainly isn’t,” Nie Huaisang said with a grimace. “But I suppose you start at a disadvantage. Compared to the Cloud Recesses, what home wouldn't be found lacking? It is a pity that this will always be your basis for comparison. No matter where you go for a visit, you must always think that your own home is better. I know my own visit there has ruined me in that regard. No matter where I am, I often find myself wishing I could be in Gusu instead."

"The effect of nostalgia perhaps,” Lan Xichen awkwardly remarked. “When you were there, you often spoke of leaving." 

"We all make mistakes in our youth, Lan gongzi. Just because I once resented the Cloud Recesses doesn't mean I cannot long for them now."

"I am certainly in no position to scold others for the choices they made as young men."

Nie Huaisang faltered, making Lan Xichen fear that he had once again made a mistake in alluding to their shared past. He thought he couldn’t be blamed for it though, not when it was Nie Huaisang himself who had first mentioned the Cloud Recesses and his time there. But Nie Huaisang soon recovered, and even smiled in that same impish way he used to do.

"The issue for you,” Nie Huaisang said, “I believe, is that you were trying to not act as a young man. Lan gongzi used to be so serious. Lan gongzi still is, I suppose, and perhaps regrets even those few moments of joy he allowed himself." 

"I regret many things. The joy I felt, and the circumstances that caused it, are not among those, nor the friends I made back then. I only wish I had known how to retain those friends, who now must think so poorly of me for the way I treated them.”

“Hm. However angry they were once, your friends too have grown older,” Nie Huaisang pointed out, “and hopefully a little wiser. They might understand now what they couldn’t accept back then. Perhaps Lan gongzi should try to reach out, and see what happens. Supposing you do still miss those friends of yours, of course. If you do not… I am sure they are wise enough to understand that, too.”

Lan Xichen could only stare, too startled by that offer to find his words. Nie Huaisang, far from being offended by that silence, smiled at him with nearly the same hopeful warmth he used to possess, before heartbreak and war changed him. Had they been alone, Lan Xichen might have presumed too much and said something silly, and thus betrayed just how much he still felt for Nie Huaisang.

But they were not alone, and Lan Jingyi was getting tired of being ignored. He had chatted with Ouyang Zizhen up until then, waiting for Nie Huaisang to come and joke with him as he normally did. But with Nie Huaisang’s attention directed elsewhere, with Wen Yuan busy laughing softly at whatever Jin Ling is whispering to him, and with Ouyang Zizhen not being quite the companion he wanted, Lan Jingyi lost patience at last. After proclaiming that this Night Hunt was horribly boring, he announced his intention to find some of those fierce corpses already and deal with them. Having said so he sprung forward before anyone could think of stopping him, leaving them all behind.

Lan Xichen sighed, disappointed but not surprised. Considering how much Lan Jingyi had been enjoying Nie Huaisang’s attention, how could he not react like this once that attention was removed from him, however briefly? Still, Lan Xichen would need to scold his cousin later, and to remind him that their sect’s rules on conduct and self-control were to be applied even away from home. Love was no excuse for misbehaviour.

But love certainly was not easily dismissed, and just as he would need to scold later, Lan Xichen couldn’t resist being kind now.

“Nie gongzi, could you go after him?” Lan Xichen asked. “I don’t want him to stay alone when there could be danger around.

“Wei Wuxian did say those fierce corpses were no joke,” Nie Huaisang replied, looking rather nervous suddenly. “Between us, you are the better cultivator, and the one better able to protect your cousin if any creatures should attack.”

“Whatever skill I once had, everything I’ve heard about you shows you have probably surpassed me in cultivation,” Lan Xichen sincerely said. “I entrust my cousin to you. Besides, I fear he’s not going to listen to me if I go find him.”

“And yet I think it would be wiser for you to go,” Nie Huaisang insisted. “I doubt I could be of much help, should trouble arise.”

Such reluctance surprised Lan Xichen, nearly as much as it had surprised him for Nie Huaisang to come talk to him, when Lan Jingyi had been there, waiting only to be flirted with. It seemed unlikely that those two had had a falling out of any sort, because  Lan Xichen was certain his young cousin would have come running to him if there had been any argument, seeking either comfort or support. But it still couldn’t be denied that Nie Huaisang no longer seemed interested in spending time with Lan Jingyi, that instead he appeared in a mood to favour Lan Xichen’s company. It made little sense, after everything that had passed between them, and yet Lan Xichen still felt flattered at that renewed attention.

More than flattered, Lan Xichen felt hopeful. And yet that hope was quickly followed by a sense of guilt, knowing what heartbreak it would cause his poor cousin if Nie Huaisang were to change his target. Lan Jingyi did not deserve such pain, while Lan Xichen was not sure he would deserve such luck either.

A piercing scream coming from further ahead put an end to those interrogations. Lan Xichen, who had recognised the voice as being Lan Jingyi’s, ordered the other boys to be careful and to follow him as he ran toward the danger. Before they had gone very far, in a denser, darker part of the woods, they found Lan Jingyi who had become frozen from terror as a group of fierce corpses surrounded him. Lan Jingyi had his sword in one hand, a talisman in the other, and yet appeared too scared to move at all. The fierce corpses, initially frightened by his weapon, eventually understood that he paused no threat to them and the tallest among them launched himself at Lan Jingyi, clawing at his throat and making the young man collapse among sprays of red.

Before Lan Jingyi had finished falling, Lan Xichen had attacked the fierce corpse who had harmed his cousin and easily dispatched him. He then moved on to the next target, as fearless and efficient as he had been in his youth, while shouting for his companions to help him. The others, shocked at first by the sight of Lan Jingyi’s blood, sprang into action. Strong as they were, none of the fierce corpses were a match in the end, even though Lan Xichen had been the only adult fighting, Nie Huaisang instead rushed to Lan Jingyi’s side to try and make sure he wouldn’t bleed to death.

As soon as the fight was over, Lan Xichen came to kneel by his cousin and checked the wound. He soon asserted that while it might not be deadly, it was still serious enough that Lan Jingyi might die if he didn’t receive the necessary treatment. In fact, it surprised him that all Nie Huaisang had done was to tear off parts of his sleeves to press against the wounds left by the claws, when sharing spiritual energy to prevent the blood from flowing too freely would have been much more efficient.

“Will he die?” Wen Yuan asked weakly, not daring to do more than glance at his cousin, while Jin Ling took his hand to comfort him. “Bofu, you can save him, can’t you?”

Lan Xichen felt less than certain, but assured his nephew that he would do everything in his power to save Lan Jingyi. In the meanwhile, he asked Jin Ling and Wen Yuan to see if they could find either Wei Wuxian or Jiang Cheng to warn them of what had happened. When the boys had left, he tasked Ouyang Zizhen and the two Jiang disciples with checking if there were any more fierce corpses nearby, giving them strict orders not to provoke them if they found any, but to return and warn him if they came close.

With everyone thus dispatched, save for Nie Huaisang who was still pressing blood stained silk to Lan Jingyi’s throat, Lan Xichen could turn his full attention to his cousin. While it puzzled him why Nie Huaisang still wouldn’t use spiritual energy to help the boy, Lan Xichen made no remarks, assuming there had to be a good reason for it. As for himself, he couldn’t see any reasons why he shouldn’t do it, and thus took the boy’s hand and proceeded to let his energy slowly trinkle into him to stabilise him. 

Before very, long Lan Xichen felt another flow of spiritual energy go into Lan Jingyi beside his own, just as a hand damp from blood covered his, offering some comfort and support. Lan Xichen startled, not just because of that unexpected touch, but because of the energy he now felt flowing alongside his.

It was obvious from the first moment that Nie Huaisang’s spiritual energy was not as strong as that of a regular cultivator, just as had been the case in his youth. Lan Xichen looked up from the wound and toward Nie Huaisang’s face, only to find him staring right back at him. In an instant, Lan Xichen realised two things. 

First, that Nie Huaisang, always a weak cultivator, who had despaired so much of his inability to form a golden core at the appropriate age, who even as a boy had tried to hide what he considered an embarrassing secret, who pretended among his peers that his core had merely been late to form and told the truth only to Lan Xichen so there would be no lies between them, had a cultivation so weak as to make it a possibility that he still didn’t have a golden core, and a certainty it was a particularly frail one if he had formed it.

Secondly, Lan Xichen realised that Nie Huaisang still trusted him with this fact.

Had the situation not been so dire, had he not been so worried for his young cousin, Lan Xichen’s mind would have jumped to a thousand conclusions. Even like this, his heart was racing between his ribs from more than mere fear, and a hope he had tried to keep buried all day started burning anew, brighter than it had ever done before.

No words passed between them. No words could have sufficed. But until help arrived, Lan Xichen felt that hand on his, and the warmth of that trust, both keeping him grounded as they worked together to keep Lan Jingyi alive.

[antebunny]

Field Trips with Wei Wuxian 3

Summer in Lotus Pier

(post-SSC) in an effort to restore his reputation and run away from responsibilities, Wei Wuxian agrees to spend three months in each sect. A continuation of this series.

-

Summer rolls in hot and sweltering to Lotus Pier, intolerable to nearly anyone who’s not a Yunmeng native. Shimmering heat waves roll across the calm waters, sneaking past the wood paneling of Lotus Hall, painted white with beautiful purple lotuses splashed across the middle.

Inside Lotus Hall sit Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli, gathered around a table with piles of paper spread across it. Their violet and lavender sleeves trail across the wood, and Jiang Yanli absently brushes a lock of hair that fell over her shoulder back.

“This is more work than he’s done in the past year,” Jiang Cheng mutters.

In his hands he holds a detailed, if unorganized, training plan for the new Jiang juniors. Wei Wuxian has written suggestions for night hunts, and diagrams for sword forms and footwork. Jiang Cheng has been bugging him about training them for the better part of a year, since he’s uncomfortable with ordering Wei Wuxian to do something, but accustomed to yelling at him, yet it seems the moment he was gone Wei Wuxian suddenly found time to help remotely.

“Look at this!” Jiang Cheng says incredulously, waving one of Wei Wuxian’s letters in his sister’s face. “He says he’s looking forward to teaching the kids when he gets back! Where was this Wei Wuxian all of last year?”

“Maybe a break was all A-Xian needed,” Jiang Yanli suggests.

Jiang Cheng scowls and puts the letter down. He almost asks why he can’t have a break, why Jiang Yanli didn’t suggest that he go on a nine-month vacation, but he already knows why. He’s the sect leader, for one, and Wei Wuxian is the one who needs to restore his reputation, not Jiang Cheng.

And it seems that Wei Wuxian is working hard on that. Besides the piles of notes on disciple training (and sect politics. If Wei Wuxian were here, Jiang Cheng would yell at him for daring to suggest he needs help, but since he’s not Jiang Cheng can admit that he really does appreciate them), and Wei Wuxian’s personal letters (in a rare vulnerable moment at the end of his most recent letter, which Jiang Cheng is considering hanging up on his wall, Wei Wuxian admits that he’s been recovering from “a lot of things,” and the change of pace has helped him pick up Suibian again), there’s a letter from Nie Mingjue.

“What do you think of Sect Leader Nie’s offer?” Jiang Cheng asks reluctantly.

Jiang Yanli breaks out into a wide smile. “I think it’s a great idea,” she says, just like Jiang Cheng had expected.

Jiang Cheng looks back down at the letter. There, in Sect Leader Nie’s bold handwriting, is a proposal for a sworn brotherhood between Sect Leader Nie’s younger brother, Jiang Cheng, and Wei Wuxian. Sect Leader Nie doesn’t talk about his personal feelings about Wei Wuxian, but clearly Wei Wuxian won him over if he’s proposing this. Everyone knows how much Sect Leader Nie adores his little brother. Jiang Cheng could certainly tell, from how Nie Huaisang acted back at the Cloud Recesses.

He’s not sure how he feels about being sworn brothers with Nie Huaisang. They’re friends, sure, but they’re not brothers the way Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian are. Brothers that have bled and cried together. But then, Nie Mingjue plainly wrote in his letter that the sworn brotherhood would be political in nature. It would give the Jiangs strong ties to another great sect, at a time when Nie Mingjue’s sworn brotherhood and the broken engagement between Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan has cut the Jiangs out. Nie Huaisang is the heir to the Nies, after all, whereas Jin Guangyao is behind Jin Zixun. And the most important reason to Jiang Cheng, the one he doesn’t want to think about because–

“It would finally let us call A-Xian our brother in public,” Jiang Yanli continues, still smiling, and Jiang Cheng’s stomach does little flips.

Their mother had forbidden Wei Wuxian from even entertaining such notions, after all. And their father hadn’t pushed the issue, content as always to let the resentment fester where it couldn’t touch him. Jiang Cheng wonders at his father, sometimes, that he would take Wei Wuxian in but not officially adopt him, that he would treat him better than his own son but fail to protect Wei Wuxian from his wife’s violent temper, that he would rescue Wei Wuxian from the streets in a benevolent act of kindness to his departed friends, but expect service in return.

Jiang Cheng tries not to think about it, as it does no good when both his parents are dead, nor do such thoughts make a filial son. But he can’t help but think of how his parents would react now, if they knew he was considering becoming sworn brothers with Wei Wuxian. His mother would be incandescent with rage, that much Jiang Cheng knew, but would his father be proud? His father, who had never bothered to adopt Wei Wuxian but always liked him better than Jiang Cheng anyway? Is Jiang Cheng an unfilial son if he simply chooses not to care?

He’s so glad that Nie Mingjue already thought of that.

“Sect Leader Nie says that A-Xian and Nie Huaisang became as close as brothers during his visit,” Jiang Yanli says, watching Jiang Cheng’s face do funny things without comment.

He feels irrational jealousy at that, just the thought that he might have to share Wei Wuxian with another brother. Even though Nie Huaisang would be his sworn brother too, and he knows it’s just for politics anyway; they’re closer to casual friends than the brotherhood Nie Mingjue claims.

“But of course it wouldn’t do to have Nie Huaisang and Wei Wuxian become sworn brothers alone,” Jiang Yanli concludes, eyes twinkling with mischief.

“And three is a good number,” Jiang Cheng croaks. He clears his throat. “Well. If you think it’s a good idea. Then I suppose.” He hesitates. “Can you write to him about it?”

“Why don’t we wait to tell him?” Jiang Yanli suggests.

Jiang Cheng frowns. “Why? Wouldn’t it give him more security, dealing with the Lans and the Jins?”

Jiang Yanli bites her lip. “I want to surprise him,” she admits. “I just can’t think of a better welcome home present, and don’t you think he’d rather have the ceremony in Lotus Pier?”

“I guess,” Jiang Cheng says, relenting. He rather does like the idea of welcoming Wei Wuxian back to Lotus Pier with a sworn brotherhood, even if he’d rather die a painful death than admit so to Wei Wuxian’s face.

Jiang Cheng shoves Nie Mingjue’s proposal across the table. He’ll have to respond to Sect Leader Nie later, and explain his and Jiang Yanli’s plan, but not right now. Right now, he sits and ponders how strange it is that he’s been brothers in all but blood with Wei Wuxian for the majority of his life, but only now does he feel the urgent need to make it officially so. Suddenly, half a year for Wei Wuxian to return feels like an eon.

“Well,” Jiang Cheng says, determined to get one last belligerent comment in, “the Lans better treat him well.”

-

Wei Wuxian’s stay in the Cloud Recesses starts to go wrong from the very hour he arrives there.

[rockabelle]

Things to consider:

In the temple, Jin Guangyao points out that that it was the Jin clan that helped the Cloud Recesses to rebuild. 

That got me thinking. Most of the Jiang disciples were killed when Lotus Pier was destroyed. The Lan, though the Cloud Recesses suffered significant damage and losses, were not brought to the brink of annihilation the way the Jiang were. 

The Jiang would have needed a lot of aid from the other sects, both during and after the Sunshot Campaign, to survive and rebuild. And who would be giving that aid? The Lan needed aid themselves. The Nie did some of the heaviest fighting during Sunshot, what with the Lan and Jiang being weakened and the Jin only somewhat participating (not to mention their proximity to the Wen sect), so they were licking their own wounds. 

The Jin rose in prominence after Sunshot precisely because they didn’t invest much in it until the very end, and then they swooped in and took credit for victory because of Meng Yao’s (Sorry, Jin Guangyao’s) actions as a spy and the beheader of Wen Ruohan. The Jin were already known as being the wealthiest sect even before Sunshot, and then they played both sides of the war and lost little, while still probably getting spoils. Afterwards, this left them at the top of the cultivation world as far as resources, stability, and military power.

The Jin already had a connection to the Jiang because of the friendship that had existed between the Madames Jiang and Jin, and the engagement that had been between their children. Bringing the engagement back and getting Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan married was a significant move. It made good sense for the Jiang, who were extremely vulnerable and would very much benefit from having such a tie and thus being under the protection of the wealthy and powerful Jin sect. As great as it would have been for Jiang Yanli to stay and help her brother rebuild, this was probably the best way she could help their sect (and be protected herself, from Jiang Cheng’s point of view). 

Through Jin Guangyao, the Jin had connections to both the Lan and the Nie- he literally saved Lan Xichen’s life when the man was fleeing from the Wen attack on the Cloud Recesses, and then he saved Nie Mingjue’s life when the latter was captured by Wen Ruohan. These connections were solidified when the three of them swore brotherhood and became the “Venerated Triad.”

The Jin gained a strong relationship with the Jiang through marriage, and a history as an ally and benefactor to the Jiang in their hour of need. The Jin not only had the advantage in their trade partnership and whatever role they had in giving aid to the Jiang, but Jiang Yanli, and then Jin Ling, were essentially hostages for good Jiang behavior. 

All of which is to say, when Jiang Cheng asked Wen Qing why she didn’t come to him for help, and she was like, would you have helped me regardless of anything else? What could you have done?- she wasn’t castigating him. She was pointing out what they both already knew: his hands were tied. He could not have helped her. 

(Even Wei Wuxian knew that, which was at least partly why he did not come to Jiang Cheng, either, when he decided to get Wen Ning’s location from Jin Zixun. He didn’t tell Jiang Cheng what he was going to do and he didn’t try to work through Jiang Cheng’s authority. He ignored him, his own sect leader, entirely. It made Jiang Cheng, already at a disadvantage as the youngest and most inexperienced sect leader, look really bad that his right-hand man/terrifying demonic cultivator underling did this and Jiang Cheng couldn’t control him. But it also made Jiang Cheng look innocent, made it clear that he was uninvolved in what Wei Wuxian was doing and did not endorse his actions.)

The previous time Jiang Cheng and Wen Qing had met, she had told him that they were even and he didn’t owe her anything. He insisted on giving her the comb, anyway, as the symbol of a favor that he was willing to give her and she could cash in if she wanted. Of course, it was also a symbol of unspoken romantic feelings, but that was not something that was ever explicit between them. When Wen Qing returned the comb, it was not meant to be a slap in the face. She was saying, again, “You don’t owe me any favors. You bear no responsibility for me.” 

It also symbolized letting go of the old hope for a romantic relationship, yes. Jiang Cheng and Wen Qing were pulled apart at every turn by their responsibilities to their sects. The final time they met was just the culmination.

Both Wei Wuxian and Wen Qing severed their connections with Jiang Cheng on the same day and for the same reason- to protect him and his sect. Wei Wuxian did this by asking that Jiang Cheng expel him from the Jiang sect, and Wen Qing by returning the comb and releasing him from any obligation to her. They knew he could not protect them and they could only endanger him, so they pushed him away. 

What could Jiang Cheng possibly have done when Wei Wuxian came to accuse the sects after the Wen remnants sacrificed themselves? The situation was even worse than before. Was he supposed to turn his precious remaining disciples against the other sects? Oppose the sect that had his sister and nephew even at that very moment? Destroy the alliances that kept his sect alive? 

And for what? A hopeless, apparently unjust fight to save the person who had killed disciples from almost every sect? Who had killed the Jin sect heir and made Jiang Yanli a widow and Jin Ling fatherless? And then Wei Wuxian made it all too easy for the sects to fight him at the end by acting unhinged and using zombies/his powers against them. Let’s be honest, here: he killed a lot of cultivators who probably didn’t deserve it.

There was nothing Jiang Cheng could have done, not without abandoning or dooming his sect.

After Jin Zixuan and Jiang Yanli were dead, Jin Guangyao disposed of his remaining relatives to solidify his position. Except for Jin Ling. Jin Ling had a better claim to Jin leadership than he did, why did Jin Guangyao allow him to live?

Simple. As long as Jin Ling was alive, Jin Guangyao had Jiang Cheng by the balls. 

By this time, Jin Guangyao’s connections to the other great sects all ran through himself. He had a very close friendship with Lan Xichen, who along with trusting him and being easily manipulated and willing to ignore his suspicions of any wrongdoing, was also quick in defending Jin Guangyao and thus lending him the shield of the First Jade’s excellent reputation. He was a great help in keeping Nie Mingjue under control. When Jin Guangyao finally got rid of Mingjue, he already had claws deep in the new Nie sect leader. He had a longstanding friendly, older brother/mentor relationship with Huaisang, who was incompetent, weak, and had a reputation for uselessness. Nie Huaisang made it even easier by relying on his san-ge for everything. Jin Guangyao honestly believed himself to have more control over Nie affairs than he even wanted. (Fucking brilliant misdirection, Nie Huaisang)

Under Jiang Cheng’s leadership, Yunmeng flourished and became strong again. Jiang Cheng himself became a force to be reckoned with as he grew in experience and confidence. But Jin Guangyao kept a firm hold over him through Jin Ling. Jin Ling was the only family that Jiang Cheng had, and he made his devotion to his nephew very clear to everyone. In their patriarchal world, authority was passed down through the father’s side. Since Jin Ling’s father was Jin, the Jin clan had ultimate claim on Jin Ling. He belonged to the Jin clan, not the Jiang clan, and he was the Jin heir. They might be expected to graciously allow Jiang Cheng to be involved in Jin Ling’s life, but the amount of time the boy was allowed to stay in Lotus Pier, for example, was under their control. Jin Ling’s life was in Jin Guangyao’s hands, and there was little Jiang Cheng could do to control what happened to Jin Ling when he was at Koi Tower.

Jin Guangyao could use Jin Ling to manipulate Jiang Cheng in all kinds of ways, and he could also use him to unknowingly provide information on the Jiang. 

Obviously, a lot of things are not being addressed in all this word vomit, but these are just thoughts I’ve been having when I see blame being put on Jiang Cheng for not “doing more” to protect Wei Wuxian or Wen Qing or Jin Ling, especially when folks assume that because Jiang Cheng was a sect leader, that meant he had more control over the situation. In reality, Jiang Cheng’s position curtailed his freedom very much, and made it impossible for him to do the sorts of things that characters with less authority/responsibility could. 

It also makes it easier to understand Jiang Cheng’s point of view. Because to him, Wei Wuxian should have been in much the same position as Jiang Cheng was, if he really meant to help his brother bear the burden of their sect. Wei Wuxian shouldn’t have felt “free” to act on behalf of the Wen remnants, either; not if he was serious when he told Jiang Cheng to depend on him. 

[razberryyum]

So you’re done with The Untamed and want more, what now?

Reposting this since I’ve updated it with new info/links. Again, I entered the fandom via The Untamed so I’m by no means a MDZS expert, just tried my best gathering all the resources I can which I hope will help some new Untamed/MDZS fan out there. If you spot any errors, don’t yell at me, just let me know and I’ll correct it as best I can, especially for any future reposts.

READ THE NOVEL

Read the original web novel the show was based on: The Untamed (aka “CQL” or “Chen Qing Ling”) was adapted from the BL web novel, Mo Dao Zu Shi (aka ”MDZS” or Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation) by author Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (”MXTX”). Yes the novel came first, CQL is only an adaptation. In the novel, you get the uncensored romance of Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, where they are canonically married and living happily ever after. The novel goes full into R18 territory so please tread carefully.

All four volumes of the novel can be purchased from the original publishing site, JJWXC. The site’s in chinese but here’s a tutorial on how to navigate it and purchase the books:  JJWXC Tutorial Link.

There’s also the option of purchasing the physical copies from Yesasia which might be easier but it’s also more expensive since they’re the middle man: Yesasia MDZS Link

It would be wonderful if you can support MXTX-laoshi by actually buying the books, especially since the cover art is so beautiful and the extra chapter volumes come with a lot of awesome extra goodies, but of course there’s also the option of reading the fan translations graciously provided by the Exiled Rebels Scanlations team at their site:  

They translated all the novels including the bonus chapters in their own free time and are providing the fanslations for free so please give them some love for all their hard work.  

WATCH THE ANIME (aka “Donghua” in Chinese)

Watch the anime based on the novel: The donghua was released before The Untamed. Two seasons are already available (23 eps total) with a third season in production and a special chibi version of the donghua in production as well. The Eng-subbed donghua can be seen using the WeTV app or on Youtube:  YT MDZS Donghua Playlist

Grant it, the donghua is even more censored than The Untamed, but the donghua team still managed to sneak in some easter eggs (f.e. WangXian naked bathing scene in the cold springs from the novel...in The Untamed they were fully clothed) and more importantly, the animation is just gorgeous so it’s absolutely worth a watch despite the censorship. 

READ THE MANGA (aka “Manhua” in Chinese)

Read the manhua which is ongoing and is being officially translated by WeComics, available on their app for free. Search under the name “Mo Dao Zu Shi”.

Unfortunately, the official translations are more than 20 chaps behind the raws and there have been complaints about the quality of the translations in the past, but I believe they’re starting to improve so since they’re official, it’s always better to support the official source.

The raw untranslated manhua can be found on the Kuaikanmanhua app. Other than being in Chinese, some of the chapters (f.e. the most recent ones) are behind a paywall, but here’s a tutorial on how to purchase the chapters, provided by @chiharuzushi on Twitter:  Kuaikanmanhua Tutorial

The chapters are quite cheap...I purchase 1000 KK coins for 10 rmb ($0.14) and each chapter is only 68 KK coins so even if we end up with 500 chapters it’ll still be...er...quite cheap overall (don’t make me do the actual math). The most painful part is figuring out how to set up the Kuaikanmanhua account, but otherwise, if you can read Chinese or know enough of the story by now that you don’t really need to read the words, the manhua is definitely worth reading because it’s less censored than The Untamed and the donghua. 

LISTEN TO THE AUDIO DRAMA

Listen to the audio drama, which is at this point the most faithful and LEAST censored adaptation of the novel we will probably ever get! Wei Ying’s voice actor in The Untamed is the voice actor for his audio drama counterpart. (Yes, almost everyone in The Untamed is dubbed by a voice actor, EXCEPT for Nie Huaisang. Ji Li, the actor for NHS, was the only one who used his own voice. Lan Zhan in The Untamed shares the same voice actor as his character in the donghua). 

Each episode art of the audio drama is AMAZING. Google Translate works well on the site, you’d want to see the listeners’ comments cuz they’re just adorable and hilarious.

Official links on Maoer FM:

Season 1: Maoer FM S1 Link

Season 2: Maoer FM S2 Link

Season 3: Maoer FM S3 Link

The audio drama was supervised by MXTX-laoshi, the author of the novel, so a lot of love and care went into the production, and it shows. The audio drama is behind a paywall but I remember it’s relatively inexpensive. Here’s the tutorial on how to purchase the audio drama from the Maoer FM site:  Maoer FM Tutorial Link

Ngl, it was tough at first navigating all that, Google translate helped, but once I figured it out, it was all so worth it because in addition to the MDZS, the site houses a lot of other wonderful audio dramas. There are also MDZS fan songs on the site that are near professional quality and oh so good.

Suibian Subs have kindly translated the episodes and their translations are available here:  Suibian Subs MDZS Audio Drama

Show them some love too for translating the episodes, but please if you can, purchase the episodes so you can support the audio drama team which have done an amazing job.

There’s even a Japanese audio drama which the Chinese AD team helped spearhead, available on the MIMI FM app. Here’s a tutorial on how to purchase the eps (half of the first season is out): MIMI FM Tutorial

It’s in Japanese but just follow the pictures. I’m hoping that the Japanese audio drama will end up being the MOST uncensored version of MDZS since Japanese BL dramas are not afraid (and allowed) to go all the way to R18. XD

MORE THE UNTAMED CONTENT

Lastly, if you’re just thirsting for more Untamed content, there are two spin-off movies you can watch. The first one, The Living Dead, is kind of centered on Wen Ning and Sizhui post-CQL. 

The second one, Fatal Journey, is focused on the Nie brothers, Nie Mingjue and Nie Huaisang, with a cameo by Jin Guangyao. It takes place prior to Wei Ying’s return from the dead.

Of the two movies, I definitely recommend Fatal Journey more. Both movies are available on the iQiyi app, which offers a one month free trial for first members. Each month afterwards for VIP is $6.99.

You can also go on the WeTV app for even more Untamed extras: WeTV put out a special edition cut of the show which tightened up the story AND features the original ending that was intended before censorship forced the production team to come up with the more ambiguous one we saw in its original run. It was a simple matter of rearranging certain scenes and getting rid of the separation part, but imho it really made all the difference to the ending.

There’s a ton of behind-the-scene cuteness that you can watch and also concerts with the cast in Thailand and Nanjing. VIP subscription to the WeTV app is $5.99/month and the Nanjing concert is for rent for 3 months at about the same price.  

The show also put out two official soundtracks, one for the vocals and one for the score. Both are available on Amazon and iTunes. For Amazon though, you can search under “The Untamed” but they did this weird thing where the vocals one is listed as “The Untamed (Chinoiserie Music Album)” (wtf) while the score is just listed as “The Untamed (Original Soundtrack)”.

Finally, most of the male members of the cast took part in a fan meet and greet at the start of the show, before it became hugely popular. The entire meet and greet is available on youtube subbed: The Untamed Fan Meeting

That’s it for The Untamed and MDZS. If you end up liking the novel enough to want to read more by the same author, MXTX-laoshi has also written two other BL novels, The Scum Villain Self-Saving System (aka “SVSSS” or “Scum Villain”) and Heaven’s Official Blessing (aka “TGCF” after its Chinese title). Both have been fully translated by fans (but always try to buy the original if you have the means, as a way to support the author!): 

SVSSS Translation: BC Novels Link

TGCF Translation chaps 1 - 24:  Sakhyulations Link

TGCF Translation chaps 25 - End: Suika & Rynn Link

As with reading any BL novel (aka “danmei novel” for Chinese BL books), please heed the warnings and if it’s not your cup of tea, just exit out of the page and move on with your life. No big deal, right? 

Anyway, hope all this info dump helps someone! If you’re brand spanking new to this fandom, welcome, and I’m so jealous of you! Would love to relive stepping into the world of MDZS/MXTX/danmei novels all over again since I feel like I’m already running out of stuff to read and I’m beginning to panic a little. 

Happy watching/reading/listening!  

[fightingbymoonlight]

MXTX Hunger Games Day 1

"Lan Wangji, Wei Wuxian, Jin Guangyao, and Qi rong away from the Cornucopia."

I like to imagine that Wangxian are just holding hands the whole time XD.

"Mobei-Jun retrieves a trident from inside the cornucopia"

Honey, you have Ice powers, just freeze the river.

"Wen Qing grabs a backpack and retreats."

Smart woman

"Song Lan rips a mace out of Lan Xichen's hands."

5 seconds in and Song Lan chooses violence, I am both surprised and approve.

"Ling Wen grabs a backpack, not realizing it is empty."

Oh my God, XD. You already suffer enough in canon with the mountains of paperwork.

"Xiao Xingchen runs into the cornucopia and hides."

You know, this is my fault for putting a blind man in the Hunger Games.

"Mu Qing,Hua Cheng, Shi Qingxuan, Liu Qingge, Sha Hualing, Feng Xin, Jin Ling, Ning Yingying, Pei Ming, and Nie Huaisang all run away from the Cornucopia."

This all feels canon in a very "fuck this shit, I'm out" way. (Except for Hua Cheng, he's just finding a nice place for him and Xie Lian to rest and plan things out.)

"Xue Yang finds a canteen full of water."

I'm very proud of Xue Yang for not committing murder the second it became allowed. That shows a lot of restraint on his part. XD

"Jiang Yanli finds a bow, some arrows, and a quiver."

"Liu Mingyan finds a bag full of explosives."

Goddam the women are going to grab up all the tools, men, step up your game.

"Yue Qingyuan snatches a bottle of alcohol and a rag."

Meanwhile, sugar-gege is going to spend his last days getting white- girl-wasted.

"Luo Binghe, Jun Wu, and Shang Qinghua get into a fight. Luo Binghe triumphantly kills them both."

First of all, Luo Binghe deciding that he will kill everyone, so no one would hurt his shizun is somehow the most in character decision this simulator could come up with. Second of all, Jun Wu, it's what you deserve. And GODDAMN POOR HAMSTER COULDN'T EVEN LAST A SECOND. XD. Death to the author has a whole new meaning.

"Wen Ning grabs a shovel."

Poor Wen Ning, just trying to clean up the slaughter he just witnessed.

"He Xuan and Xie Lian retrieve a trident from inside the cornucopia."

Given how many tridents are being handed out I'm assuming they're near an ocean.

"Shen Qingqiu snaps Shen Jiu's neck."

I shouldn't find this as funny as I do, the husbands who murder together stay together. (Given that Shen Yuan wanted to castrate Shen Jiu, for abusing Luo Binghe, when he was reading PIDW I shouldn't be surprised.)

"Jiang Cheng, Nie Mingjue, Lan Sizhui, and Mianmian run away from the Cornucopia."

[scaredysap]

The (extensive) MDZS Pacific Rim AU - Pt 1/?

First things first, for those who may not know: What is Pacific Rim? From Wikipedia: “The film is set in the future, when Earth is at war with the Kaiju, colossal sea monsters which have emerged from an interdimensional portal on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. To combat the monsters, humanity unites to create the Jaegers, gigantic humanoid mechas, each controlled by two co-pilots whose minds are joined by a mental link.” ← this is called ‘drifting’ and it requires the pilots to be perfectly in sync with each other, on the same wavelength (be it romantic, platonic or out of being family, anything goes; it’s the power of human unity)

The Jaegers are stored and launched from giant military compounds called the Shatterdomes, which house living quarters, labs to study Kaiju Science, training grounds and much more. 

The kaiju themselves are extremely deadly and unpredictable, seeming to have no correlation in how they look like /one might have wings, the other might have tentacles, you never know).

The kaiju invasion has been going for a long time, starting in 2015 and ending (in the movie) in 2026. It is a war of endurance and humanity’s resources are running low. Thus some have decided to redirect funds from the Jaeger program to the construction of an Anti-Kaiju Wall along the Pacific coasts to protect the in-land settlements.

That said, let’s go into an overview of all the major characters into this AU

GUSU LAN

Lan Qiren: Marshall of the Shatterdome, directs the whole operation with a tight grip and strict rules.

Lan Xichen: renowned pilot, partnered first with Lan Wangji and then Nie Mingjue; candidate for the position of Marshall.

Lan Wangji: renowned pilot, partnered with Lan Xichen (and eventually Wei Wuxian); had to be demoted for a time due to acting against PPDC orders, acted as training instructor instead.

Lan Sizhui: pilot trainee, has a knack for K-Science.

Lan Jingyi: pilot trainee, looking to be partnered with Lan Sizhui.

YUNMENG JIANG 

Jiang Fengmian: head of Jaeger deployment and transportation; he coordinates with Mission Control to organise the fleet of transport vehicles.

Yu Ziyuan: teacher at the Jaeger Academy, with a focus on physical training; known for her harsh and relentless method, she is harsh in the choice of who makes it past the first cut.

Jiang Yanli: HR/Ambassador between the Shatterdomes and the Anti-Kaiju Wall, she’s a diplomatic genius.

Wei Wuxian: Jaeger Technician and mechanic, partly responsible for the switch from nuclear-powered to digital Jaegers (Mark-3 to Mark-4); he started a study on how to bring the raw power of the nuclear core into the new models.

Jiang Cheng: started out as a helicopter pilot to deploy Jaegers, later became training instructor, stationed at the Shatterdome to keep every soldier in top shape.

LANLING JIN 

Jin Guangshan: CEO of a world-class construction company, one of the main investors in the Anti-Kaiju Wall project.

Jin Zixuan: son and soon to be heir of the Jin company; notably confident in the viability of the Wall project as a better alternative to the costly Jaeger program.

Jin Guangyao: JGS’s illegitimate son, started as a Jaeger technician, moved into communications; he eventually got recognised as part of the Jin family and joined the company as his father’s assistant.

Mo Xuanyu: another illegitimate son, he lived most of his life in the Shatterdome and picked up bits of J-Tech and K-Science knowledge; he got claimed by JGS but eventually he was driven out again due to a scandal, returning to the Shatterdome.

Jin Ling: started out as a pilot trainee but just was not suited to it; he moved to the Jaeger Tech program and found his calling there; also a skilled helicopter pilot.

QINGHE NIE 

Nie Mingjue: legendary Jaeger pilot (active 2015-2021), originally partnered with Nie Zonghui, then with Lan Xichen; known for being the only pilot to ever get a kaiju kill on his own after NZH was killed in action.

Nie Zonghui: renowned pilot, able to operate two Jaeger arms at once, giving his and NMJ’s Jaeger three upper limbs; cousin to NMJ and NHS. Killed in action (2019)

Nie Huaisang: Shatterdome technician, specifically in the LOCCENT Mission Control, essentially providing communication and data about kaiju attacks between the Shatterdome and the active Jaegers.

QISHAN WEN 

Wen Ruohan: K-Science expert, specializes in biology and chemistry; secret head of the market smuggling kaiju parts.

Wen Qing: renowned doctor in many fields, ranging from medical to K-Science (cryptozoologist); the latter got her into the Shatterdome as head of the research department, despite preferring to work in the medical field.

Wen Ning: joined WQ in the Shatterdome, most often works as a Hazmat Officer to neutralize the toxicity of kaiju blood; he also has decent knowledge about other types of long-term threats to humans, such as radiation.

[xiyao-feels]

Nie//yao (MDZS)

So NMJ/JGY is actually getting two versions, because my read on them is wildly different for MDZS vs CQL.

In MDZS I...don't ship it? I mean, there just doesn't seem to be to be anything there at all of a romantic or sexual nature. It's not that they don't care about each other, they clearly do, but it's in a way that is...NMJ as substitute father, JGY as substitute brother, and heavily, heavily inflected by their (current and then former) relationship as superior and subordinate.

Putting this behind a cut because a) it's me explaining at breath length with quotes why I don't think they have a romantic or sexual relationship and I don't want people to have to see that unless they want and b) accordingly it is REALLY LONG and I also don't want to clutter people's dashes, so.

Actually backing up a step, I don't see MDZS NMJ as being attracted to anyone, that's not really specific to JGY. I tend to read him as aspec, tbh. So theoretically he could have romantic feelings about JGY without being attracted to him—I think he may have some quasi-romantic feelings for LXC, though I don't think he conceptualizes it that way—but... honestly, it's not really clear to me that he even likes JGY as a person.

I'm not saying he doesn't like JGY! He clearly does, at least before MY tricks him and flees. But it doesn't seem to have anything to do with MY's personality, as opposed to like—MY being really competent and conducting himself well.

Some quotes about what exactly NMJ values about JGY:

'Nie MingJue interrupted him, “I promoted you not because I wanted you to give back anything out of gratitude. I simply thought that you should stay in this position, since you are capable enough and your conduct is to my liking. If you really want to pay me back, just kill a few more of those Wen-dogs on the battlefield!”'

'After [Meng Yao] left [for Langya], Nie MingJue switched to another deputy. Wei WuXian, however, felt that the new one was always a few beats slower. Meng Yao was an unusually clever talent. He could understand what wasn’t said, and perform to the best with the simplest orders. He was efficient and never slacked. Anyone used to him wouldn’t be able to refrain from comparing him with others.'

'Nie MingJue was never close to people. He rarely opened up to anyone. Though he finally managed to obtain a competent, trustworthy subordinate, whose character and capabilities he approved, he found that the subordinate’s true colors were nothing like what he had thought they were. It was only natural that his reaction was so extreme.'

'Wei WuXian had once found it strange as well. Ever since Meng Yao betrayed the QingheNie Sect, the relationship between Nie MingJue and him hadn’t been the same as before. Then why did they later become sworn brothers? From his observations, aside from how Lan XiChen brought it up, having always hoped that the two would reconcile, the most important factor was probably the gratitude of saving his life and writing the letters. To be precise, in his past battles, he had more-or-less depended on the information that Meng Yao sent over through Lan XiChen. He still thought that Jin GuangYao was a talented person whom one would rarely come upon, and intended on leading him back onto the right path. However, Jin GuangYao wasn’t his subordinate anymore. Only after they became sworn brothers would he have the status and the position to urge Jin GuangYao, like how he disciplined his younger brother, Nie HuaiSang.'

Jin GuangYao spoke with dejection, “But, Brother, didn’t you hear what he said in the oath? Every sentence meant something more. ‘Face a thousand accusing fingers, be torn from limb to limb’—this was clearly a warning for me. I… I’ve never heard of such an oath before.”

Lan XiChen replied in a gentle voice, “He said ‘if one were to think otherwise’. Do you think otherwise? If not, then why should you worry over it so much?"

Jin GuangYao, “I don’t, but Brother has already decided that I do, so what can I do?”

Lan XiChen, “He has always cherished your talent, hoping that you would choose the right path.”

You might notice a recurring theme here: there's a lot of focus JGY's competence and conduct. But anything about who JGY is as a person? Not so much.

They clearly had a good superior/subordinate relationship going on, albeit one in which NMJ was missing a lot of context (see just behave well and show people up, plus the you're missing a solid foundation thing). But it does seem to be basically professional. WWX describes them as conversing "peaceably, even impressively" in contrast to "his future self, always being scolded by Nie MingJue" and "those jokes of how 'LianFang-Zun fled whenever he heard that ChiFeng-Zun arrived,'" and.... that's kind of it. The closest we get to them as friends is them talking together with LXC after NMJ tells MY he will give him a letter of recommendation and send him to his father; as WWX describes it, "The three chatted back and forth, at times serious, yet at times light. The conversation was much more relaxed than when they had been in the living room. Listening to their chatter, Wei WuXian often wanted to get a word in as well, yet he was unable to do so."

That's definitely not nothing! But it's also the most we ever get, only shows up the once, and is explicitly contrasted with their conversation from earlier. Moreover, I'm pretty sure LXC's presence is a necessary part of things; NMJ tends to respond differently to LXC than to other people (even just earlier in this chapter, we're told that while "Nie MingJue had never been one for humour," "in front of Lan XiChen his expression eased"), and WWX explicitly notes LXC's conversation skills in the context of this conversation: "At this point in time, their relationship really isn't bad. Zewu-Jun is actually quite good at holding conversations, so why is Lan Zhan so bad at it?"

In addition, I'd say that looking at the early part of that conversation is quite telling; while LXC and MY are sitting together as equals, MY stand up at once the moment NMJ interrupts, and doesn't sit even after NMJ tells him to do so (I think he probably does take a seat at some point, but the narrative doesn't actually tell us when). Moreover, MY seems to be worried that NMJ will be offended by a possible lack of gratitude on MY's part ("Sect Leader Nie, if you heard everything, then you should've also heard me say that..."), and the only objection he expresses to leaving is precisely that he owes NMJ a debt of gratitude, not anything to do with, like, missing him. To me all the evidence suggests that while they had a close relationship, it was not a /personal/ relationship, but fundamentally one of superior and subordinate.

(For a close read of the scene where NMJ, LXC and MY are talking together, I highly recommend @confusion-and-more's post here)

Moving on, let's look at after JGY becomes JGY. They don't seem to particularly spend time together with each other, certainly not for the sake of it. There's a brief moment at the Flower Banquet where NMJ asks JGY why he's wasting his time with XY (who has not at this point in time committed his crime, he just has a reputation), but after JGY makes his excuse and scurries away, NMJ turns away and doesn't seem to seek him out or even pay him any particular attention for the rest of the scene; he only shows up once more, and that's following WWX. (And although JGY-as-replacement-NHS would be a post all on its own, I do think it's interesting to note that the exchange about XY is immediately followed by LXC and LWJ coming over, described in a way that highlights both their impressiveness and their status at brothers—their Twin Jade-ness, one might say.) During the guqin scene, NMJ only speaks once, and it's to address LXC—to protest the inappropriateness of LXC leaking exclusive Lan techniques. When JGY shows up to play the guqin for him the first time, NMJ asks JGY "what did you come here for," which suggests that NMJ is not generally expecting JGY to come by without a specific, concrete reason. The closest they ever seem to get after JGY becomes JGY is during these guqin-playing sessions, and as WWX describes it, "when playing the guqin, the way that the two conversed and got along even had a hint of the peace they had before they fell out"—which is certainly better than there being no peace at all, but which I think suggests there's still at least some tension, given that it's only a "hint."

Now, NMJ certainly cares about JGY, both in the sense of desiring his well-being, at first, and absolutely in the sense of being emotionally invested in him—even after his death, as a fierce corpse his only desire is to kill Jin Guangyao. But while they had a close superior-subordinate relationship—certainly NMJ seems to have felt close to MY—at no point was it a close personal relationship, and I don't think that NMJ even liked JGY (or MY, I'm using the name expansively) as a person, let alone was in love with him.

But mostly so far I've been focusing in NMJ's feelings. What about JGY? Is /he/ in love with NMJ?

Once again, I just don't read him that way. This isn't to say he didn't care for NMJ—he absolutely did! He goes to quite significant lengths to save his life from WRH in the Sun Palace, including quite a lot of risk to MY himself—I analyze that in a lot more depth in the first part of my post here, if you're interested, though I will also note now that he specifically sent for LXC to help NMJ. (You'll have to scroll down some; I'm responding to someone else's post.) Afterwards, he kneels to NMJ and apologizes, I think sincerely, for hurting him and for invoking his pain about his father's death. He certainly conceives of himself as owing a debt of gratitude to NMJ for recognizing him, and he's so overcome when NMJ offers to send him to his father with a letter of recommendation, saying that he didn't promote MY so that MY would owe him, that he quite remarkably can't even find words. NMJ meant a lot to him, and so did NMJ's not defining him in terms of his birth—until he did, of course, at the stairs kick incident. But as far as I can tell, there's nothing to suggest he has /romantic feelings/ for NMJ, and frankly—how can I put this—it does not at all surprise me that JGY isn't in love with someone with a violent temper who is noted at least twice to react to people explaining themselves when he is angry with even more anger, and that's even without the thing where he nearly killed JGY on multiple occasions and called him the son of a prostitute.

No, I think JGY's emotional journey with NMJ goes through three stages: first, he's deeply grateful to him and respects him a great deal, although he's also aware of NMJ's lack of awareness of certain social realities (see: the teacup scene, NMJ yelling at the other Nie cultivators about their treatment of MY and telling MY not to worry as long as his conduct is upright); second, after Sun Palace, still gratitude and respect but also a mounting frustration with his lack of awareness of the implications of JGY's social position and his hypocrisy re: acceptable violence; finally, after the stairs kick when NMJ kicks him down the stairs, almost kills him, and tells him what else can be expected from the son of a prostitute, he is completely done with NMJ, but is still very much scared of him. The gratitude, I've discussed; the frustration, I think is fairly obvious in the speech he gives back to NMJ at the stairs. But I think the fear is often undervalued, so I'm going to pull a bunch of quotes again:

Meng Yao shrunk immediately after his previous outburst. Watching Baxia slash toward him, he sprinted off at once, scared lifeless. Of the two, one striked with madness and the other fled with madness. Both staggered, still soaked in blood. In such amusing circumstances, as Wei WuXian chopped at the future Chief Cultivator, in his heart he split his sides laughing. He thought that if not for how Nie MingJue was under heavy injuries and lacked spiritual power, Meng Yao would probably have been dead already.

Baxia’s strikes were so menacing that Shuoyue had to unsheath. Lan XiChen stopped him, half to support his figure and half to block his attacks, “MingJue-xiong, calm down! Why bother?”

Nie MingJue, “Why don’t you ask what he did?!”

Lan XiChen turned around to look at Meng Yao, his face was full of terror. He stammered as if he didn’t dare speak.

Nie MingJue remained silent, while Baxia and Shuoyue continued. Meng Yao took a glimpse at the glares from the clashes of the saber and the sword, his gaze full of fear. After a while, however, he still took a step forward. He kneeled to Nie MingJue.

A moment later, Nie MingJue still raised his saber. Lan XiChen, “MingJue-xiong!”

Meng Yao shut his eyes. Lan XiChen also tightened his grip on Shuoyue, “Please excuse…”

Before he could finish his sentence, the silver light of the blade slashed down violently, onto a boulder on the side.

Meng Yao flinched from the thunder of the boulder splitting apart. Looking over, he saw that it had been sliced into two halves, from the top to the bottom.

Jin GuangYao nodded. Xue Yang had been infamous ever since he was young. Wei WuXian clearly felt Nie MingJue’s brows knit even tighter. He spoke, “Why are you wasting your time with such a person?”

Jin GuangYao, “The LanlingJin Sect recruited him.”

He didn’t dare to protest any further. Excuse being that he needed to care for the guests, he scurried to the other side.

[part of his speech to NMJ at the stairs] You think that I should be afraid of nothing? Well I'm afraid of everything, even other people!

Within the temple, three people called Nie MingJue’s corpse ‘Brother’ but the three tones were drastically different. Jin GuangYao’s face was full of a drowning fear. His entire body began to shiver. No matter dead or alive, the person Jin GuangYao was most scared of was none but this sworn brother of his whose temper tolerated no evil. As his body shivered, his hands shivered as well, and the bloody guqin string he clutched tightly in his hand also began to shiver.

Clenching his teeth, Jin GuangYao struck a few acupoints of his arm. Amidst the dizziness that came from a loss of blood, he suddenly saw Nie MingJue walk a step towards him, his eyes locked on him. He was immediately half-dead with fear.

Collapsed beside Lan XiChen, Jin GuangYao saw this scene as well. Whether because the bleeding and the pain intensified at his arm and stomach or from some other reason, the glisten of tears could be seen in his eyes. But before he had a chance to catch his breath or lick his wounds, Nie MingJue turned around after he pulled his fist back and stared hungrily in his direction.

The harsh, stern expression on his rigid face held a sense of judgement that was no different from before he died. Even his tears had been scared away as Jin GuangYao turned to Lan XiChen for help, his voice trembling, “Brother…”

I think the stuff with, you know, handling NMJ's fierce corpse and hanging onto his head is often viewed as evidence of JGY's continued emotional investment in NMJ, but... I don't really think so? First of all, NMJ's fierce corpse is completely obsessed with killing JGY. I'll spare you another round of quotes on that because this is already ridiculously long and because it's not at all subtle—it's all over the temple chapters, take a look! And second of all—well, there's ways of getting information from a corpse. In this case, NMJ's resentful energy is so strong that without the protection of his body, papernan WWX is actually sucked into NMJ's memories against his will! Sure, maybe no one would risk it, and maybe no one who risked it would survive, but especially given that NMJ's fierce corpse is completely obsessed with killing JGY, that's a heck of a risk to take. And look at the description of the protections around NMJ's head:

Suddenly, Wei WuXian noticed that one of the shelves were blocked by a curtain. The curtain was covered in sinister, blood-red runes. It was a talisman of forbiddance, one of extreme power.

Jin GuangYao walked over and lifted the curtain.

For a split second, Wei WuXian thought that he had been exposed. After the faint firelight made its way through the curtain, he found that he was enveloped in a shadow. A circular object just happened to be in front of him.

Jin GuangYao stood still, as though he was staring into the eyes of whatever was inside this shelf.

After a moment, he spoke, “Were you the one looking at me?"

Of course, there couldn’t be any response. He was silent for a while, then let down the curtain.

Wei WuXian quietly attached himself to the object. Cold and hard, it seemed to be a helmet. He then turned to the front. As he had expected, he saw a pallid face. The one who sealed the head wanted it to see nothing, hear nothing, speak nothing, and so incantations had been crowded onto the waxen skin. The eyes, the ears, and the mouth were all sealed tightly shut.

There's containment, it's suppressed to all hell and back, and JGY quite justifiably expects it to be murderously obsessed with him, but to me it doesn't suggest a reciprocal obsession—just more fear.

I'll also note that as a strategy for containing the information about his own involvement it's a very successful operation! It failed in the end /eventually/, but the failure needed:

someone who could successfully break into his private treasure room and escape without being caught

who could also perform Empathy or a similar tecnnique on NMJ's head and survive it

who could successfully recreate from memory the altered Empathy song

whom LXC would be willing to listen to

That's a heck of a tall order!

As to being done with NMJ after the stairs, well, listen to what he says to LXC:

Jin GuangYao spoke with dejection, “But, Brother, didn’t you hear what he said in the oath? Every sentence meant something more. ‘Face a thousand accusing fingers, be torn from limb to limb’—this was clearly a warning for me. I… I’ve never heard of such an oath before.”

[...]

Jin GuangYao, “It’s not that I don’t know what’s right and what’s wrong, but that sometimes I really can’t help. Nowadays, I have it bad no matter which side I’m on. I have to ensure that I’m on everyone’s good sides. I wouldn’t care if it were someone else, but have I mistreated our eldest brother in any way? Brother, you heard as well. What did he call me?”

[...]

Jin GuangYao was almost sobbing, “If he could say such a thing when he was angry, then just how does he think of me on a daily basis? Is it that because I couldn’t choose my background, because my mother couldn’t choose her fate, I’ll have to be humiliated by others throughout my whole life? If so, then how is Brother different from the people who look down on me? No matter what I do, in the end, just a sentence and I’m ‘the son of a prostitute’.”

And then of course there's what he says to LXC, in his speech to him at the end: "You, on the other hand, ZeWu-Jun, Sect Leader Lan, are as intolerant of me as Nie MingJue—you refuse to spare me even a single breath of life!"

So—wow, this got very long—I don't ship them, and although I think they have very much mattered emotionally to each other, I don't really see them as ever having been in love with or attracted to each other.

A couple of end notes:

In MDZS, NMJ isn't the first (non-MS) person who recognizes MY's worth, although he is the first person to promote him; by the time NMJ promotes MY MY has already met, rescued, and exchanged intimate confidences with LXC, who respects him greatly and thinks he is highly talented (see again the conversation in Hejian which NMJ overhears/eavedrops on).

I've seen people talk about them not understanding each other, but while NMJ certainly doesn't understand JGY, it's not at all obvious that the reverse is true; he generally seems to understand him pretty well. I think he has two surprises overall: first, that he wasn't expecting NMJ to say he didn't promote MY so MY would owe him, and volunteer to send him to his father with a letter of recommendation—and second, he wasn't expecting NMJ, who for all his flaws did seem to ignore JGY's background in good ways as well as bad, to call him the son of a prostitute.

I definitely don't read the coffin at the end as romantic. Or I mean, uh, there's the romance of an obsessive stalker-murderer finally getting his victim, and that's not nothing (unironically; look, I'm a Hannibal fan), but I don't think it's usually what people mean. This is a shitty end for JGY, part of how thoroughly he loses and is destroyed. I think to some extent it might be that he doesn't want LXC to be the one who killed him, and to some extent it's an act of defiance—now that he has nothing to lose, not even his life, he's going to go out fighting. I would expand on this but this post is ridiculously long and I have way too many quotes, maybe I'll do it in a separate post later on—but if you look at the description of it in the text, plus the subsequent description of it in the coffin...yeah. JGY didn't want to die, he didn't want to be engaged in a mutually destructive thing with NMJ; he wanted to leave NMJ behind in the past, and move on. It's not, for him any kind of fulfillment, is my read.

All quotes are taken from the Exiled Rebels translation: ch 48-50 for everything about NMJ and JGY's past relationship, ch. 47 for the description of JGY's containment measures for NMJ's head, and ch. 106-108 for the quotes about JGY's fear of NMJ's fierce corpse. The description of JGY going into the coffin is at the end of 108 if you want to have a look, and there's more in 109 and 110 about the difficulty of sealing NMJ's fierce corpse/its power and violence.