#meaning he is likely in some kind of Jiang Purple.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Flower Empowered.

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[grapestones]

Hey uh 👉👈 what fo you think Jin Ling's main soul trait is (undertale reference) 👉👈

Like. I have some idea. I think Jiang Cheng's is perseverance (and not just because of the purple color lmao) but Jin Ling is harder to set, especially since we still don't know what the red soul is and whether there's a gold soul or something (cause I mean, we already have yellow)

I'm mostly struggling because I think he's kind, reckless and idk, he's trying not to get stuck in the past. He loves his friends and family very much and would do so much for them. He's pretty brave, isn't he? But I'm mostly trying to decide between two: kindness and justice. That is, if I don't make the red soul's trait love. But then again, I'm unsure cause of love and kindness being similar but also... not? Then again, the same thing could be said about bravery and justice. Maybe.

Anyway

[llycaons]

by request of my esteemed mutual @monky I've collected a choice selection of bad porn tidbits from this exhaustively long, 80% smut get-together series Everyday and Always by alliterationhor. I don't know how to emphasize how purple this prose is. expect way too many adjectives, a lot of passive voice, and a lot of repetition. it's decently characterized and the language flows uniquely so it's not all bad. enjoy

Wei Wuxian supposed that it should not come as a surprise that Lan Wangji was just as quiet in bed as he was otherwise. But that did make it difficult to determine whether or not Lan Wangji liked what he was doing. Perhaps it was necessary to take a different approach to acquire more precise information.

this made me laugh. it's exactly what I would imagine novel wwx doing, maybe in a better series

...

“Ridiculous.” “Ha ha ha ha ha!” Wei Wuxian threw his head back as laughter burst from his mouth.

this isn't terrible, just awkward

The sight was so obscene and so beautiful and Lan Wangji was absolutely captivated by the wanton rise and fall of those hips fucking his cock into Lan Wangji’s hand.

see there's a lot of telling in this, rather than showing. there's a fair amount of showing too, tbh, and I actually kind of liked ch1 because they really did nail the atmosphere and their character dynamic. but the longer the series went on, the more generic and bland the scenes got. and there really is so much of this language. like oh tell me again how it felt so good and they're so happy 🙄

“Yes, Lan Zhan …” The words flowed from his mouth with a deep moan. “… more …”

passive voice, very common in this fic

Wei Wuxian panted as he looked at the ceiling, feeling limp and exhausted and absolutely amazed and brimming with such an unbelievable sense of satisfaction.

...

and the intense heat where their skins touched felt so impossibly amazing it was difficult to believe it was real.

see above. sometimes just telling us is fine but it's not the same as using creative or interesting language

But soon the kisses deepened into a deliciously decadent connection of open mouths and slippery tongues and heavy breaths

no comment. just look at that adjective use

“Lan Zhan.” Wei Wuxian’s voice was dark and deadly. “Who was it?” “Who? What do you mean?” “This isn’t your fist time, right?” he accused, the words brimming with a furious jealousy. “Tell me who it was because they have to die.” Lan Wangji shook his head, not understanding the abrupt lunacy of the topic. “What are—?” Wei Wuxian’s insides erupted into a panic. Lan Wangji was still fond of this person? Protecting this person? Oh no, what if Jiang Cheng was right and it was Mo Xuanyu? He couldn’t kill Mo Xuanyu, Mo Xuanyu was already dead!

well-characterized except for this, maybe

A wide, warm grin curved the crimson coloured shape of Wei Wuxian’s lips

THIS. I've wanted to mention this line for ages. bc like...what?

Soft kisses continued to fall on Wei Wuxian’s skin as an erotic symphony of moans rose from his mouth and rippled through the air around them.

see here we are again with the passive voice. it makes the scene awkward and feel disconnected from the actual characters. saying 'that skin' or 'those lips' have the same effect

“… tell me, Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian murmured, his voice a compelling current of the purest desire.

...

Both nipples received soft, wet kisses and a few teasing licks until they became hard points under the amorous attention.

passive voice AND overuse of heavyhanded adjectives

His eyes fluttered closed as those sinful lips dropped slow kisses down the muscled plane of his stomach, and a quiet groan left his mouth when those lustful lips kissed along the length of his erection above the fabric of the trousers

all the same issues + repetitive

Soft kisses fell like raindrops on that succulent skin,

I just think skin should not be described as 'succulent'

The erotic words plucked with precision at Lan Wangji’s nerves

...some alliteration, I guess?

He silenced that beautiful, vulgar mouth with his own and pushed that beautiful, wicked body down onto the bed beneath his own.

both too much repetition and not enough. awkward

“Yes …!” Wei Wuxian whimpered, as he felt the hot splash of Lan Wangji’s semen against his insides.

this was a terrible mental image. I have read a lot of porn at this point and a lot of it has been bad, but little as been as unappealing as this line. also don't call it semen 😭

While they kissed and kissed, the moans pouring from Wei Wuxian’s mouth grew louder... Wei Wuxian gave a muffled cry of pleasure into Lan Wangji’s devoted mouth.

...

When he confessed, Lan Wangji had thought that if he was somehow fortunate enough for Wei Wuxian to accept his feelings and allow Lan Wangji to remain by his side, then perhaps Wei Wuxian would also accept his touch and his kisses, in carefully measured amounts

no grammar issues, but another characterization problem. lwj would not expect wwx to tolerate his kisses if wwx does't feel the same way, and lwj wouldn't want that anyway. this kind of goes against the plot of ch1, but there's no way lwj would pursue intimacy with wwx unless he KNEW wwx felt the same way as he did. he's too all-or-nothing to be comfortable just taking scraps if wwx wasn't as devoted as him

“You are not too sore?” Lan Wangji questioned in a quiet voice, keeping the touch of his fingers light as they circled the still-squishy hole

'questioned' is repetitive and unnecessary. also don't call it squishy 😭

“I want you inside me, Er-gege,” he continued, biting his lips on a seductive smile as he stared into the dark brown depths of Lan Wangji’s eyes. “… please, I want you to fuck me with your magnificent cock!”

this was a little embarrassing to read

The deep groan of delight that rose from the back of Lan Wangji’s throat as Wei Wuxian’s hand began to stroke his cock was a divinely debauched sound that made Wei Wuxian ache for more.

adding 'divinely debauched' to my daily vocabulary

his body had no trouble relaxing into the subtle sting of being penetrated by the large length of this cock.

...

a wicked grin curving the red shape of his mouth

...

felt the hot splash of semen against his insides

😨 AGAIN???

Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian teased, pouting sweetly. “At a time like this, shouldn’t you call me something else?”

of the handful of words this author uses way too much, 'sweetly' is one of them

“Mn,” Lan Wangji answered, gently stroking the skin under his hands. “Dangerous.”

another nitpick. whose skin? obviously it's wwx's, but since it's so rarely specified there's constant mental images of the characters we know in this scene with a plethora of disembodies lips, skin, cheeks, faces, necks, backs, etc.

a soft kiss anointed the crimson-coloured shape of Lan Wangji’s mouth.

this author and the crismon shape of people's mouths...

a golden light gilded the edge of the window frame.

this is just a nitpick but if something is being gilded then by definition the thing doing the gilding is golden. repetitive

and finally, the original posted line

he loved Lan Wangji’s angelic face gazing up at him as if he was some kind of angel.

well I suppose it got the message across

[aurora077]

The Value of Recognition- Chapter 5

Chapter 5 - The Gift

Shao Jianguo was a good man in life. He’d led a simple existence, helping where he could as a rogue cultivator, until he met his wife and they had their family and settled down. He wanted to help too by joining the Sunshot Campaign but his need for his family to be safe won over his commanders orders to stay with his regiment and as he snuck out to find the Jiang contingency he was caught and killed. 

He wanted to see his wife but especially his child one last time and tell them that he was sorry. But he couldn’t find them. And it was too late anyway to provide them with a good life. What he could do was save those other children whose parents left them alone to play without considering the danger they were in– they were at war for crying out loud!-- so he took it upon himself to rescue them. But he was a spirit and one with a lot of regrets, which led to him becoming unwittingly resentful, and though he never harmed the children, he was still a malignant spirit who would not hesitate to harm those who tried to rescue them, who he considered as a danger. This led to him being chased by several cultivators.

And when he was about to be captured by those cultivators, he noticed something strange. There was a profound sense of sadness amongst some of them. While he would normally have been inclined to help, his spirit was bogged down with resentment by that time (which was why he was able to sense the negative feelings within them in the first place). So his idea of helping was to give them a ‘gift’.

But they’d been spread out by that point and he could only choose one at random to receive this gift. The one in blue was in his line of sight as the one in yellow was the one behind him, trapping him in the pouch, so he aimed his wishes specifically at him. He didn’t expect the one in purple to intervene, though he wasn’t unhappy with the outcome. That one was the saddest of all. He could use Shao Jianguo’s gift the most.

“What ‘gift’?” the qin-playing cultivator kept asking, “Mister Shao, please tell me, what was your gift? What was it supposed to do? Is it permanent?”

“Well of course it should be permanent! I meant to reunite you with your family after all,” chuckled the spirit.

Lan Sizhui lost his composure for a moment, letting out a slightly distressed whimper.

“A-Yuan what is it?” said Wei Wuxian, grasping his shoulder tightly. Everyone’s faces had paled at what they assumed was terrible news.

But Lan Sizhui just shook his head and pulled himself together.

“What do you mean reunite me with my family? How would turning me into a child help with that?”

Sect Leader Jiang turning into a toddler did not really seem like it aligned with that goal.

“I was simply going to return you to your family, in the afterlife. Isn’t that why you were sad? All of you had such strong sorrow. I understand it. I too miss my family dearly. I wish I could reunite with them. My greatest gift to you would be to help you return to them. The purple cultivator seemed even more hurt than I could ever imagine. It is a blessing for him to return to his family. Truly I did mean to help you but I am not sorry it was him instead.”

“So in other words, you meant to kill me?” Lan Sizhui asked.

“Well when you put it like that it sounds bad now doesn’t it? I meant to help!” 

“If you meant to kill then why has Sect Leader Jiang turned into a child?”

“Who?” “Sect Leader Jiang. The purple cultivator you hit instead of me. The one whose regiment you meant to join before you were killed.”

The spirit was shocked, but his tone turned understanding.

“It was Sect Leader Jiang that I hit? No wonder his emotions were that strong. I am sorry that Lotus Pier has lost their leader again, but isn’t it a kindness? Of all people he should get to be with his family again. They’re all gone you know? The Wens killed them all,” he said sadly. He was a spirit stuck in the past. He was buried, but now that his soul had been released his last memories were his reality, despite the war being long over. The feelings aroused by the massacre of the Jiang Sect were fresh in his mind. The horror and disbelief of hearing that a great sect had been eliminated in one day. Seeing the Wens patrolling, terrorising the citizens of Yunmeng. They were dark days. He felt a little sorry to be ending the Jiang line, but he also felt that it was a kindness for that poor boy who had lost everything except a sister and a shixiong.

“Mr. Shao, you seem to be under the impression that Sect Leader Jiang is dead, but he is not. As I mentioned before, he has merely been turned into a child. Tell me how to reverse it, please.” Lan Sizhui was terribly shaken by what the spirit had been saying but the important thing was to figure out how to help Sect Leader Jiang. He would deal with his feelings later.

But Shao Jianguo had no idea what to do. His ‘gift’ was meant to put the afflicted one into a deep sleep where they would relive their happiest memories with their family and the yearning they would feel to go back would help their soul to pass on to the next world easily while they slept so that they could reunite with them once again.

He really did mean it as a kindness. But he was also a resentful spirit and his idea of kindness was a bit warped. His gift was actually a curse meant to kill. Softly… gently… but kill nonetheless.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

A-Cheng was excited to show his new geges his home. Jiejie had shown him a beautiful patch of lotuses just yesterday and they had played with the fishies that came around a particularly huge one. A-Cheng even got to feed the fish while sitting on it!

But why couldn’t he find them?

He saw other lotuses and eagerly pointed them out, but the pretty patch with the very big one that could hold A-Cheng’s weight was nowhere to be found.

“What’s wrong?” Zizhen asked him, noticing his expression that kept intermittently changing to a frown in between his happy chatter.

“A-Cheng can’t find the big lotus,” he said unhappily, “It was here yesterday!”

“Maybe it moved,” suggested Lan Jingyi, at a loss as to how to explain why the lotus wasn’t there.

“Silly gege, lotuses don’t move!” frowned A-Cheng.

Jin Ling shot him a disbelieving look. Really Jingyi? Did you think the lotus got up and walked away?! Isn’t it obvious the reason why the lotus isn’t there?!

Jingyi’s eyes widened. Ah he was such an idiot! 

He laughed sheepishly when A-Cheng looked at him oddly, “Ah yes this gege was just being silly.”

“Maybe the kitchen aunties harvested it to make lotus tea,” Jin Ling said, trying to give a more logical explanation.

And it seemed to work, A-Cheng looked contemplative and decided that it made sense.

“Let’s go to the kitchens then! We can ask the kitchen aunties and get them to give us snacks!” he said cheerfully.

“Good idea!” said Lan Jingyi, eager to gloss over his blunder and get free snacks to boot.

A-Cheng wanted to walk like a big boy but he’d been running around for a good while with them to show them the different lakes and the flowers etc. and his little legs were starting to tire, but he was afraid to annoy the gege’s so he valiantly tried to keep up with them on their way to the kitchens.

He was holding Jin Ling’s hand but they weren’t accustomed to having to accommodate for children’s pace and so were unintentionally moving a bit too fast, what with their longer legs and all.

Eventually he tripped up and fell. He wasn’t injured but the shock of it and the fear that he bothered them by not being able to keep up had his eyes welling up again.

He was sniffling and wasn’t very loud but obviously his cries were noticeable. 

“Oh no jiujiu!”

Jin Ling picked him up and checked his hands and knees. Seeing the little hands turning red from the impact Jin Ling hastily blew on them as the toddler’s tears fell hotly down his face.

“See, it’s okay, you’re okay!” he said to A-Cheng, “Gege will blow the booboo away!” 

He blew on the toddler’s hands a few more times and cuddled him.

Jin Ling didn’t have much experience with kids but that was what Jiang Cheng used to do when he was very small and had accidents. Of course Jiang Cheng also used qi to help heal any real wounds and little Jin Ling thought his jiujiu was the coolest because he could make injuries go away like magic!

But for things like this when he wasn’t really hurt it was just the shock of falling or the pain of impact etc that would cause upset and this was Jiang Cheng’s signature move.

After a few minutes of Jin Ling’s cuddling, when his tears petered out, the little Jiang Cheng said, “Gege knows how to blow away booboos like jiejie!” And he looked at Jin Ling pleasantly surprised.

Oh.

Jin Ling hadn’t known…

Jiang Cheng had never told him that his mother used to do that too. Well, honestly people didn’t talk much about his parents other than how good they both were etc.

Jiang Cheng in a rare mood would tell him stories of when they were younger, but obviously most of them starred Wei Wuxian which was a topic he couldn’t bring up to a young Jin Ling, so it was very limited information that he could share with him growing up anyway.

A bit choked up, Jin Ling said, “Gege learned from his jiujiu.”

“The jiujiu that looks like A-Cheng?”

“That’s right.”

“Flower-gege’s jiujiu must be smart then, like my jiejie!”

“Mm, just like your jiejie.”

Jin Ling felt his eyes sting. 

(Ouyang Zizhen shed a tear in the background for him.)

Not wanting mini jiujiu to think it was his fault again for making someone cry he fought off the tears and threw A-Cheng once in the air and caught him again, making him shriek in surprise and delight (as a distraction). 

“Now that the booboo is gone let’s go get snacks from the kitchen aunties. Can gege carry you?”

This gege was becoming his favourite so the child quickly agreed to be carried (plus his legs were tired.)

Xoxoxooxoxoxox

When Sizhui relayed the spirit’s words the room became sombre. If the spirit himself didn’t intend for the curse to work this way, then they were really at a loss. It wasn’t designed to do this so they couldn’t know how to fix it. Of course the intention was death so if it had worked like intended then there would be no fixing it at all. 

Now there was a chance, but a very small one as they had no idea as to how to go about fixing the problem when they didn’t even know how it truly came about.

Though there was one detail that the spirit had mentioned that might be useful and it was the fact that the curse had been meant specifically for Lan Sizhui. Maybe that was why Sect Leader Jiang had not just died.

“It’s a silver lining,” Wei Wuxian said, his voice strangely hoarse.

“Curses that were meant for specific people can go awry if cast on a different target. In this case Jiang Cheng has a higher cultivation than Sizhui and he interrupted the curse from reaching its target so it malfunctioned. Or at least that’s the best guess I can make at the moment.”

Since the ghost would not be of any more assistance, they sealed him back in the spirit trapping pouch and SIC Pan went on to debrief the sect.

He sent some disciples to River’s end to try and find Shao Jianguo’s remains, and another set went out to Yunping and environs to look for any clue of his family.

Healer Zhang went off to the infirmary to prepare any medication she could think of that they might need in future now that the sect leader was a child with no core. 

“Well I guess it’s a good thing that his plans were interrupted,” Wei Wuxian said softly. 

They all knew that if that curse had hit Lan Sizhui like it was intended to do, that he more than likely would have been dead. The spirit was an old one and his resentment had been partially directed towards Lan Sizhui’s biological family. It would have been a double whammy. 

“I just wish it hadn’t hit Sect Leader Jiang,” Sizhui said, still feeling terribly guilty. Wen Ning squeezed his shoulder lightly as support. 

Wei Wuxian shook his head a bit. “Jiang Cheng is strong, he will come back from this…. Even… even if we have to raise him again, he will be okay.” 

Nobody mentioned Wei Wuxian’s wobbly voice.

[ravensilversea]

I posted 6,685 times in 2022

That's 4,832 more posts than 2021!

91 posts created (1%)

6,594 posts reblogged (99%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@phoenixyfriend

@chaoticpanenergy

@thevastnessof

@blackkatmagic

@ceiaofsilence

I tagged 2,861 of my posts in 2022

#star wars - 1,005 posts

#taggy thing - 248 posts

#the untamed - 217 posts

#khr - 178 posts

#tolkien - 159 posts

#obi-wan kenobi - 153 posts

#lotr - 119 posts

#wei wuxian - 96 posts

#good omens - 94 posts

#jiang cheng - 82 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#because the computers were in public areas of the house and my parents could see if i was on a site they hadn’t given me permission to be on

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

‘Sup guys, the person I was watching Grimm with is out of town, so I can’t watch the last season at the moment. However, it’s still kind of eating my brain, so y’all get a ramble:

So like, here’s the thing about Sean Renard’s actions in like the second half of season 5...they just feel off to me. Like, this guy arranged for a goddamn royal to be assassinated because said royal did the show’s equivalent of touching a hair on Nick’s head. And to be perfectly honest, I really think it would have actually been to Sean’s benefit to have Eric alive because that’s when shit really started to hit the fan.

And also like... if the guy wanted power... the throne’s right fucking there?? Dude’s a literal royal bastard and has already proven himself willing to deal with his “family” when necessary (at some point, they have to run out of legitimate heirs), but no, he’s quite content to be police captain. A police captain with a pet Grimm- like JFC he goes out of his goddamn way to have Nick more or less trust him for literal years and he’s clearly invested in Nick A) sticking around, B) being on his side, and C) being a Grimm.

Then season 5 hits, and don’t get me wrong, Sean’s a shady bastard. If there had been a clear build-up to him being Black Claw from the get-go, I would have bought it and been A-OK with it. But the whole set-up really seemed like him going, “Someone set me up to do their dirty work, so I’m going to dig a little deeper and find out what they’re up to” and then getting WAY in over his head. And then I guess feeling like he had to double down?? Because he felt his people were in danger?? (”Sean Renard doesn’t take sides” YOU’RE RIGHT BUT HE DOES HAVE PEOPLE AND YOU ARE ONE OF THEM *cue me ugly crying over that*)

IDK, I feel like if they actually wanted him to be a/the villain, the season finale wouldn’t have essentially been a return to the status quo ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

13 notes - Posted June 8, 2022

#4

A Successful Resurrection (Allegedly)

Summary: Verde is a necromancer (allegedly; he has the degree but has never managed to actually resurrect anybody), and Skull should be dead. It's been months since Verde attempted to resurrect Skull, and a belated resurrection has never been heard of. Yet, Skull is somehow dripping dirt across Verde's floors and eating his cereal.

Verde is… confused.

“Wow, you have like, nothing to eat. When was the last time you went grocery shopping?”

Skull de Mort… should be dead. None of Verde’s attempts at necromantic resurrection have succeeded in bringing even a zombie or skeleton minion to life, much less a fully resurrected, walking, talking person. Nevermind the fact that it’s been months since he made the attempt, and a belated resurrection has never been heard of.

Ao3

Though, Verde pushes his glasses up his nose, this could be his chance to get published, assuming he can replicate the feat or at least definitively prove it happened.

Skull closes the fridge with a loud sigh and proceeds to rifle through Verde’s cupboards. A shower of dirt falls from his outlandishly purple hair as he tilts his head back and stands up on tip-toes to see. “Honestly man, there’s no way you can live like this. Necromancer means raiser of the dead, not secretly dead.” Another small shower of dirt- Verde twitches- as Skull tilts his head to the side. “Are you like a vampire? A vampire necromancer? Because that would be super cool.”

He pulls a box of cereal from the cupboard and starts eating straight from the box with his dirt covered hand. Verde will throw the entire box away the millisecond Skull’s done. There are so many potential contaminants in his house right now, including Skull. “Why,” he asks for the second time since Skull showed up on his doorstep aggressively ringing the doorbell, “are you here exactly?”

“Oh! Right!” Skull sets the cereal box down on the island and munches on what’s in his hand for a moment. “So like, digging your way out of six feet of dirt plus a partially decomposed coffin sucks right? Also, I’m mildly insulted that you couldn’t bury me in something more expensive then just plywood.”

“I did not bury you, nor was the coffin made of plywood,” Verde says. He tries to casually take the cereal box, but Skull grabs it again.

“Right…” Skull looks him up and down a bit dubiously, which Verde supposes is fair. “Anyway, when I got out, I figured there was really only one or two explanations for why I was presumably dead and buried and now suddenly alive and personally unburied. Judging by the distinct lack of desire for brains, I concluded it must have been necromancy.”

There are so many logical fallacies in that statement, Verde isn’t quite sure where to begin unpacking it. The cereal box once more evades his attempts.

“So I looked up local necromancers, and low and behold, you’re the only one in town!” Skull beams and holds his arms out like he’s presenting something. Verde takes the opportunity to throw the cereal box in the trash. Skull blinks. “Whatcha do that for? It’s perfectly good cereal.”

“Not after you put your grubby hands in it. No. Do not dig it out of the trash.” Verde smacks the hand that had begun to reach down. “You,” he says, pointing a finger in Skull’s face, “will go upstairs, third door on the left, and take a shower. I will lend you some clean clothes, burn the ones you are currently wearing, and then we will both go shopping for groceries and clothing for you.”

The grin that spreads across Skull’s face can only be described as ‘sly’. “Aw, so you do care, Mr. Necromancer sir.”

“That’s Dr. Necromancer sir to you,” Verde pushes his glasses up his nose again. “And you are my ticket to being published in several necromantic science journals. It is only logical I keep you in acceptable condition while I investigate the cause of your belated resurrection.”

“Wait a minute! Belated?!”

“Yes, yes, it has been months since I attempted to resurrect you, Mr. De Mort. Now, please, shower before you continue to spread contamination throughout my house. I have several delicate experiments that may have adverse reactions to graveyard dirt.”

Skull gulps and looks rather a bit paler under all the dirt and grime, but he shuffles off to take a shower without any more complaint. Verde takes it as a win.

He turns and faces the mess in his kitchen with a sigh. Perhaps he should hire a maid.

14 notes - Posted October 19, 2022

#3

[Image description: The “Corporate would like to tell find the difference between these two pictures” meme. One reads: How Jonathan Harker writes his travel journal. The other reads: How my grandmother wrote her travel journal. The woman in the next panel is labeled “Me”. /End ID]

17 notes - Posted May 6, 2022

#2

This week I learned that there are mummies hanging on the walls of the Palermo catacombs, and ngl, I kind of want to make it Squalo's problem. Just Xanxus dragging him down there because "It's a shortcut" or something and not entirely understanding why Squalo's so freaked out about it. Or maybe it was on purpose and he's enjoying how freaked out Squalo is

18 notes - Posted September 5, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Bram Stoker really did know just enough about how Southerners speak to get Quincey into the ballpark, but also had literally no actual idea about the subject at the same time. And tbh, I’m not sure what’s more disconcerting: The fact it’s not quite right or the fact the South has sounded like that for over a 100 years

53 notes - Posted May 24, 2022

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[korpikorppi]

The Untamed costumes extra:

Someone else's clothes

Ok. I will be making a proper costume post at some point for these robes, but something just clicked and got stuck in my head so I had to get it out.

What I'm talking about is this set of robes Wei Wuxian wears during the time he and the Jiang siblings are hiding in the Yiling Supervisory Office after the massacre of Lotus Pier:

This outfit has been bugging me for some time, because it seems... off. Firstly, this is the only time we see Wei Wuxian wearing the Jiang purple. Purple that does not really sit very well with the rest of the outfit. Secondly, despite the colour of the robes (black with some red accents), the outfit is Definitely Not Wei Wuxian in style. I mean, the cape? The heavy pleating and the sheer excess of fabric? It doesn't sit right with what Wei Wuxian typically wears. He might wear many layers, but they are always more sleek in style than this. And thirdly, talking about sitting right, the robes do not somehow sit right on him, they more like just hang on him (off him?), like they would be somewhat too large, too wide for him and had just been gathered in with the belt:

So, I'm pretty sure Wei Wuxian is wearing someone else's clothes, but whose? Wen Ning would be the most likely one, but this set does not seem like something he would have, not even for formal occasions.

But today while making the latest collage post it just clicked. Who is the other person who typically wears black (and red) and who seems to like wearing capes? Yes. This guy:

The robes Wei Wuxian is wearing, or at least the outermost vest and cape combo, are pretty much exactly in Wen Zhuliu's style! I mean, just look:

And considering the difference in Wei Wuxian's and Wen Zhuliu's build, that is how Wen Zhuliu's robes would sit on Wei Wuxian. Wouldn't it?

But how in hell would Wei Wuxian end up wearing Wen Zhuliu's robes? It's not likely that Wen Zhuliu just decided to stash his spare robes in Yiling, after all. I think the answer is here:

Jiang Cheng's robes were pretty much ruined during his captivity, and by the time Wei Wuxian arrived at Lotus Pier to rescue Jiang Cheng, his clothes must have been pretty ripe after everything he'd gone through while wearing them.

So I can well see Wen Ning, being the considerate and capable cinnamon roll that he is, going to look for and pack some clothes for them while waiting for the drugged wine to take effect. Finding clothes for Jiang Cheng, including some sets of purple underwear, but failing to find clothes for Wei Wuxian. And then, knowing where Wen Zhuliu was bunking, going and raiding his wardrobe to get Wei Wuxian something in black (because of course Wei Wuxian needs something in black!).

So now I'm stuck with the headcanon that the outfit Wei Wuxian wears in Yiling (and when he goes to the golden core transfer!) is a mishmash of Jiang underwear and sash (Jiang Cheng's underwear?) and Wen Zhuliu's Sunday robes. Help. Though there is a kind of weird poetry to that...

[robininthelabyrinth]

Prompt: Wei Wuxian has achieved time travel! He's gonna fix so many broken things. Unfortunately, WWX has miscalculated a teensy tiny variable and instead of arriving in his original 15yo body in Lotus Pier, he's crash landed in MXY's tiny 7~8yo body at Mo Manor. But no problem, he can fix this if he can just find his real body. (Meanwhile, Yunmeng Jiang's head disciple is acting the wrong kind of childish, aka, Mo Xuanyu is having the weirdest day of his young life.)

Switcheroo - ao3

Mo Xuanyu thought that this Wei Wuxian person whose body he’d stolen must have been a really interesting person, mostly because he’d been here for three days so far and nobody’d noticed the switch yet.

Possibly it had to do with the fact that Mo Xuanyu still wasn’t exactly sure how he’d stolen the body – he’d just gone to sleep in the shed, same as always, and then he’d woken up in the softest bed he’d ever encountered in his life…no, softer than even his dreams! He’d thought it over and concluded that he must have died from cold out in the shed, turned into a fierce ghost out of resentment, grown powerful (somehow), then stolen some rich young master’s body when they weren’t paying close enough attention and, once he’d possessed the body, promptly lost all his memory of being a ghost.

It seemed like the only logical course of events.

He was very sorry about it, though. Wei Wuxian seemed like a nice, if very unusual person.

The first day, Mo Xuanyu had barely even noticed the body-switch, being quite so enamored of the soft bed he was in – he’d refused to get out of bed at all, declaring that he was going to lie in and sleep for a century or more, and the people who’d come to the door to get him didn’t beat him or anything over it, but rather just laughed or rolled their eyes and then left him to it. Luckily, at the time, he’d just assumed he was dead or something and proceeded to ignore everything in favor of napping.

He only acknowledged that he was alive later in the afternoon, when his stomach started growling – it seemed like a very unlikely thing for a dead man’s stomach to do.

Mo Xuanyu had by that point figured out that he wasn’t himself anymore, which was fine since he didn’t much like himself; he’d also figured out, through looking himself over, that he was old now. At least fifteen or sixteen, which was twice the age he last remembered himself being. That was fine, too, though: being older meant that he was stronger and faster and would be better able to handle it when people wanted to beat him or something. Most importantly, though, it meant he was old enough to enter the kitchen on his own!

Mo Xuanyu already knew that he wasn’t allowed to eat at the main table, being only the bastard son of the younger daughter, and the cook back at home was a fierce woman who didn’t allow anyone under the age of ten into her kitchen; as a result, he had to wait for his mother to bring him back some food, and it was always cold and not quite enough. Now, though, since he was older, he figured he might as well try to go to the kitchen and fill his belly that way.

Luckily, while his current body’s house was much bigger than the Mo house, all houses were generally built along the same lines, so it wasn’t hard to find the kitchen. Everyone there laughed when he showed up, even though he’d tried to be very quiet and sneak in and then screwed it up by tripping over his own feet – it seemed like everyone thought he was doing it on purpose to be funny – and then the cooks gave him a meal of his own that was hot and fresh and wonderful.

He'd wolfed it down.

“Honestly, Wei Wuxian, you eat like a hungry ghost, you’d think the Jiang clan starves you,” one of them scolded him, but with a smile, and from that Mo Xuanyu learned that the rich young master was called Wei Wuxian and that he lived with the Jiang clan. The different surnames confused him a little, but he didn’t dare ask any questions about it, so he just stuffed his mouth and pretended that was the reason he couldn’t answer.

No one questioned it.

No one questioned it when he went wandering all around instead of doing whatever chores or duties he’d been assigned, either. Someone had actually seen him hovering by a door and asked him to bring back a pheasant when he returned, so out of lack of better options he’d headed outside to try to go find one.

He had a pretty good time walking around the forest, then remembered what he’d been asked and chased the pheasants for a while, without success . Fortunately, he then got lucky and stumbled over an old snare that had three pheasants caught inside, so he’d picked up the whole box and carted it back home.

“Three,” one of the boys in purple-blue marveled as he saw Mo Xuanyu walking towards the kitchen. “You know, people say that the birds around the Lotus Pier have gotten too smart to be caught easily, but look at our da-shixiong; he makes it look easy!”

From this, Mo Xuanyu could figure out that Wei Wuxian was (apparently!) part of a cultivator clan, apparently located at a place called the Lotus Pier, and that he was the oldest or at least head disciple, to boot. He knew all about cultivator clans from his mother, since apparently his father had been a sect leader, and that meant he knew enough to call the other boy ‘shidi’ as he passed, making the other boy beam happily.

It also meant that when he chanced a guess and called the young woman in a pretty pink dress who waved at him ‘shijie’, she smiled and nodded, which meant to him that he’d done the right thing.

“I heard you slept even more of the morning away than usual,” she told him, but didn’t seem too upset about it. “I bet that means you’ll be skipping dinner and staying up all night, hmm?”

Mo Xuanyu had no intention of skipping dinner if it was anything like what the kitchens had given him earlier, actually, but while he was still trying to figure out a way to say that, she said, leaning in close to whisper, “It’s probably a good idea, anyway – Mother and Father are fighting again. Just go to the kitchens to grab something…I promise I’ll make it up to you with some soup tomorrow, pork ribs and lotus roots, your favorite. All right?”

“Shijie, you’re the best,” Mo Xuanyu said effusively, willing to die for her at once, and she laughed and tousled his hair.

“I am,” she said, looking happy. “And if my little A-Xian stays good and obedient, I may even feed him.”

She did, too, the next day when he finally tore himself out of the beautiful wonderful soft bed and went to go find her. She’d made him soup, just as he’d promised, and laughed and laughed for some reason: apparently, she interpreted him being quiet and not talking too much as his efforts to be ‘good and obedient’, which was apparently so out of the ordinary as to be a deliberate joke.

From this, Mo Xuanyu concluded that the young master he’d possessed, Wei Wuxian, was a jackass.

Well, perhaps that was a bit harsh. Arrogant and self-centered, talented and brave and probably brilliant, definitely charming and maybe even kind, but also spoiled and inclined to step on other people to get where he wanted to go, if Mo Xuanyu had to guess – why else would everyone constantly react as if him not being obnoxious was the world’s biggest stunt?

No one seemed to expect anything of him at all: he didn’t do any chores, and no one batted an eyelid; he didn’t go where he was told, and everyone just sighed…at one point the sect leader himself came and patted him on the head, scolding him in a joking tone that he hadn’t seen him leading any of the training the way he was supposed to – but when Mo Xuanyu quailed, he’d burst out laughing, telling ‘Wei Wuxian’ to stop pretending to be a scared little rabbit, that it was fine if he’d gotten distracted by some clever new invention or whatever, that someone else would handle it, that he should take as long as he needed.

Mo Xuanyu had pasted a great big smile on his face through force of effort and agreed cheerfully.

The sect leader had accepted it.

Probably a jackass, but clearly a beloved one, Mo Xuanyu thought to himself as he packed up clothing and a few small treasures that no one would miss, a little wistful. The scare of the whole encounter had put things in perspective – he wasn’t going to be able to keep up this sort of façade for long. In fact, he was shocked he’d managed it so long already; surely, no matter how many pranks this Wei Wuxian played, no matter how childishly he behaved, surely someone should’ve noticed that he was actually an eight-year-old masquerading as a sixteen-year-old?

Mo Xuanyu couldn’t decide whether it was sad that no one paid too much attention or something that this Wei Wuxian fellow had brought down on his own head by being so consistently annoying.

Either way, there was nothing for it – he was going to have to leave.

Now that part was really sad: he’d never in his life had such good food, or such a soft bed, or even so many people that just seemed plain old happy to see him as since he’d arrived in this place. But he wasn’t the one all those things were for; he was just a sad ghost possessing a person, and if he stayed, the cultivators would eventually figure out something was wrong and exorcise him.

Probably violently.

Mo Xuanyu probably deserved it, too, but despite that he wasn’t willing.

So he packed up what he could and headed out.

He got all the way to the gate before a new purple-clad disciple – about his age, if he had to guess, and holding a pack like he’d just come back from a trip, with a scowl on his face – called out for Wei Wuxian.

Mo Xuanyu waved a little, hoping that that would be enough.

For the first time, it wasn’t.

The boy’s face settled into an even deeper scowl.

“Hey, what’s wrong with you?” he demanded. “Wei Wuxian! You’re acting all weird – hey! Where are you going?”

Mo Xuanyu was running away, obviously. He wasn’t about to get tied up and exorcised, no thank you.

He didn’t think he’d make it, but it was still worth trying.

Sure enough, the purple-clad boy who was probably called Jiang Cheng, based on what everyone was calling out as they ran by, got tired of running and jumped on his sword, and there was no way Mo Xuanyu would be able to outrun a sword, not even if he tried as fast as he –

Someone picked him up.

It wasn’t Jiang Cheng.

Mo Xuanyu turned his head and stared.

It must be some sort of yao, he thought. Humans were definitely not that pretty.

“Lan Wangji!” Jiang Cheng howled. “What are you even doing in the Lotus Pier?! Put my shixiong down!”

The rescuer, Lan Wangji, frowned a little at Mo Xuanyu.

Mo Xuanyu didn’t know exactly what expression he ought to be making in return, and was a bit too dazed to even dare to guess. He’d just noticed that they were flying – flying! on a sword! – and he was clutching onto this Lan Wangji’s shoulders for dear life.

“You are not Wei Ying,” Lan Wangji said. His voice sounded very definitive.

“Uh,” Mo Xuanyu said. “Sorry? Please don’t drop me.”

“I will not. What is your name?”

“Mo Xuanyu,” Mo Xuanyu admitted, and Lan Wangji’s eyes widened as if that meant something to him – except it couldn’t, of course, because Mo Xuanyu was sure he’d never met anyone even remotely like this Lan Wangji fellow in his life. “I don’t remember taking his body. I’m sorry. Can you not exorcise me? I don’t want to die.”

Lan Wangji was silent for a long moment.

He was still flying very fast, and Jiang Cheng was still following, shouting out curses and demands that he stop, not that Lan Wangji was listening.

“There will be no exorcism,” he finally said, and Mo Xuanyu exhaled in relief. “We will, however, fix this.”

“…we?”

“Wei Ying and myself.”

Mo Xuanyu nodded. That sounded more likely than anyone relying on his participation.

“Where are we going?” he asked. Jiang Cheng was falling further and further behind.

“Mo Village.”

Mo Xuanyu tensed up at once.

“You will not be left there,” Lan Wangji clarified, and – how did he know that Mo Xuanyu didn’t want to be left there? “But we must collect Wei Ying, who I suspect is currently in your body.”

“In my…I’m still alive?”

Lan Wangji was quiet again, and then said, “Yes. And you will remain so.”

That was reassuring, mostly.

“Okay,” Mo Xuanyu said, and found that he mostly felt relieved. He’d be very happy to have his normal body back again, if possible, especially if he didn’t have to stay in Mo Village…“Wait, if I don’t have to stay there, where will I go? I don’t have anywhere else to go, unless my father comes back for me. He's a sect leader –”

“He will not, and even if he did, you should not go with him. Once Wei Ying returns to his body, you will be able to stay at the Lotus Pier. If you do not wish to stay there, I will bring you back to the Cloud Recesses – that is my home – instead.”

“Oh,” Mo Xuanyu said, feeling bewildered. That was an awfully nice offer, even if Lan Wangji was feeling guilty about Wei Wuxian stealing his body by accident – which seemed like what had happened here rather than Mo Xuanyu being the one who did the stealing. Maybe he should go with Lan Wangji instead, he seemed much more responsible than Wei Wuxian was, rushing over to rescue him and explain things instead of throwing him into a body and leaving him all alone in a strange place. But on the other hand… “Is the Cloud Recesses…I mean…no offense, but…does it have…”

“Yes?”

“Does it have soft beds, too? And – and hot food?”

Mo Xuanyu didn’t need much, not really. He looked eagerly at Lan Wangji, who had an odd expression on his face briefly before wiping it back to neutral and nodding in confirmation.

“Okay,” Mo Xuanyu said, and curled up in Lan Wangji’s arms. “Then I’ll stay with you. You can take care of me.”

“I will,” Lan Wangji said, sounding strangely serious. “In return for the gift you last gave me – I will.”

[bloody-bee-tea]

Have a fluffy thought for distraction: discussion conference at Cloud Recesses, sect leader Jiang has not returned to the talks after a break and no one can find him. Hours later someone goes to feed the bunnies and finds him in the meadow, covered in bunnies. Maybe he's asleep, maybe he's awake, either way he can't move because that would disturb the bunnies and you don't disturb animals that picked you as their seat :3 he lives in the meadow now.

A field of rabbits

Well it certainly distracted me into writing XD <3

When everyone files back into the conference room and Jiang Wanyin is nowhere to be seen, Nie Mingjue doesn’t immediately panic. 

This is the Cloud Recesses after all, and it’s highly unlikely that he got attacked or ran into some trouble here. After Wen Xu managed to burn the Cloud Recesses, they made sure that it’s one of the most fortified places right after the Unclean Realm and possibly Lotus Pier.

Jiang Wanyin might be a magnet for trouble, and he might look for fights more than anyone else Nie Mingjue knows except himelf, but the chances that he found either here are slim to none.

It’s much more likely that there was an emergency with his Sect that he has to deal with before he can come back to the conference. 

It happened before and it will happen again; after all, they are all Sect Leaders here and there are always issues the second in command can’t deal with on their own.

Nie Mingjue has the utmost understanding for that.

But when Lan Qiren steps into the room and frowns, before worry visibly clouds over his face that’s the moment unease makes itself known in Nie Mingjue’s belly.

If Jiang Wanyin had to deal with something else, then he would have notified Lan Qiren, there’s no doubt about that.

Jiang Wanyin has the utmost respect for Lan Qiren and he would never be late or miss a meeting intentionally, not without telling Lan Qiren or informing him otherwise.

But it doesn’t seem like Lan Qiren knows what happened to Jiang Wanyin either, and that’s cause to worry.

People are already starting to whisper about his absence and Nie Mingjue clenches his fist.

Jiang Wanyin has been leading his Sect for over three years now; bringing it back from the brink and restoring it to much of its former glory and still people are talking about him as if he’s a helpless teenager who doesn’t deserve their respect or fear.

Nie Mingjue hates it with every fibre of his being, because Jiang Wanyin has stepped up for his Sect in a way not many would have been able to and it itches him to snap at all of them.

It’s only Lan Qiren who catches his gaze that stops him.

“Sect Leader Jiang has been delayed by an important issue. He is requesting for Sect Leader Nie’s assistance, so if you would, please,” Lan Qiren says with a meaningful glance towards Nie Mingjue and Nie Mingjue nods his understanding.

Lan Qiren has no goddamn clue where Jiang Wanyin is and he wants him to look for him.

Nie Mingjue will more than gladly do that.

There is no real danger here that could have befallen Jiang Wanyin, but Nie Mingjue still worries.

He has never seen anyone with eye rings that deep or black, especially since Jiang Wanyin is otherwise almost deathly pale and the concern that he might have just dropped dead is a real one.

Jiang Wanyin is pushing himself far too hard.

Nie Mingjue asks every disciple he sees if they have seen Jiang Wanyin but he only gets vague answers in return.

It seems like Jiang Wanyin vanished like a shadow.

Nie Mingjue feels frustration rise in him when he makes his way through the entire Cloud Recesses with no sign of Jiang Wanyin.

“You think the rabbits will be mad that we didn’t feed them?” Nie Mingjue hears a disciple say suddenly and he frowns. 

“I think better the rabbits than Sect Leader Jiang,” another voice replies and before Nie Mingjue can inquire about what they mean, they are gone.

But he finally has a lead and so he follows the path that leads to the meadow with the rabbits.

He used to come here a lot with Lan Xichen when they were both younger and less burdened but ever since the Sunshot Campaign neither of them have the time for this anymore.

His feet still remember the path well though, and it’s not long before the first rabbits come into view.

The rabbits and a figure clad in purple.

Nie Mingjue breathes a little bit easier just for having found Jiang Wanyin but then it registers in his mind that Jiang Wanyin is splayed out on the ground, not moving or talking, and the worry comes back with a vengeance.

Nie Mingjue stealthily makes his way over to Jiang Wanyin, but as soon as he gets closer he realizes that Jiang Wanyin is breathing easily and deeply and he seems more relaxed than Nie Mingjue has ever seen him.

He just fell asleep then. That’s good.

Nie Mingjue has to bite back a smile when one of the startled rabbits makes its way back onto Jiang Wanyin’s stomach, where it promptly falls back asleep.

Nie Mingjue is unsure if the rabbits climbed on Jiang Wanyin and prevented him from leaving, causing him to fall asleep, or if Jiang Wanyin fell asleep and the rabbits claimed him as their bed, but it doesn’t really matter.

What matters is that Jiang Wanyin finally got some rest.

Nie Mingjue carefully sits down next to him, but of course Jiang Wanyin startles awake. It seems like the war and the stress are still too close.

“Relax,” Nie Mingjue lowly says, taking care not to startle the rabbits any more than Jiang Wanyin’s violent waking up did and Nie Mingjue watches fondly as the same rabbit as before makes its bed on Jiang Wanyin’s stomach yet again.

It seems to be a particularly good spot for sleeping.

“What are you doing here?” Jiang Wanyin asks him and his voice is rough enough to suggest that he at least slept for most of their break.

That’s good.

“Looking for you,” Nie Mingjue lowly gives back and puts a hand to Jiang Wanyin’s shoulder when he tries to get up. “Relax,” he says again and Jiang Wanyin does sink back into the grass, but there’s tension in his face now.

“The break is over,” he whispers, sounding horrified and Nie Mingjue nods.

“It is, but don’t worry. Lan Qiren has your back.”

“What did he say?” Jiang Wanyin asks as if he fears the answer.

“That there has been an important issue. You asked for my help, if you’re wondering,” Nie Mingjue says easily and then lays down on the grass as well. “And I like what you’re doing so I’ll join you.”

“Sect Leader Nie—” Jiang Wanyin starts but Nie Mingjue doesn’t let him speak.

“Mingjue. Nie Mingjue if you must,” he corrects him and then closes his eyes as the first curious rabbits start to explore him.

“I’m sorry,” Jiang Wanyin whispers after a long moment and Nie Mingjue blinks over to him.

“What for?”

“Missing the conference. Making you miss it, too. You can go back if you want to, and I’ll follow soon.”

Nie Mingjue eyes first the rabbit on his own stomach and then the numerous ones on Jiang Wanyin and raises an eyebrow at him.

“I don’t think either of us will. You don’t move if an animal has chosen you as their sleeping spot. It’s just not done. Believe me, I know. Huaisang has many birds who like to sit on me and you’re simply not allowed to disturb them. It’s an unwritten law,” Nie Mingjue tells him and reaches out for another rabbit to add it to the ones already on Jiang Wanyin.

“And would you look at that, another one chose you. You can leave even less now.”

Jiang Wanyin is staring at him with wide eyes and Nie Mingjue is absolutely unprepared to see tears well up in them.

It seems like Jiang Wanyin wasn’t prepared for that either if the panic in his eyes is any indication and Nie Mingjue does the only thing he can think of.

He plops a rabbit onto Jiang Wanyin’s face.

The rabbit doesn’t struggle like Nie Mingjue expected it to and instead stays on his face for long, long moments, and Jiang Wanyin doesn’t make a move to dislodge it either.

“I’m sorry,” Jiang Cheng finally croaks out again and Nie Mingjue sighs, before he crosses his arms behind his head.

“There is no need to be. You’re pushing yourself too hard. Lan Qiren and I worry. It’s good for you to take some time off and where better to do it than here. Lan Qiren will inform us if there’s anything important, but you should know how these things go by now. Sect Leader Yao will think he’s the most important man in the room until Jin Guangshan reminds him that he is in fact the most important man in the room and by then it will be evening. It’s not like we’re going to miss much.”

“True,” Jiang Wanyin says with a snort, which finally makes the rabbit move off his face.

There are no more tears in his eyes, but Jiang Wanyin seems bone-deep exhausted.

“Rest some more. I’ll make sure no one disturbs us,” Nie Mingjue lowly says and Jiang Wanyin closes his eyes with a sigh.

“I shouldn’t be this weak,” he mutters under his breath and Nie Mingjue rolls his eyes.

“You’re human,” he gives back. “And your body has needs. Sleep is one of them.”

“I don’t have time to sleep,” Jiang Wanyin whispers but he closes his eyes.

“You do now. So make the best of it,” Nie Mingjue advises him and he’s pretty sure Jiang Wanyin falls asleep before he even finishes talking.

Nie Mingjue stares at him for a moment longer—he didn’t quite realize that Jiang Wanyin was so tired that he would basically drift off in the middle of a conversation—but it’s not really a surprise, not with how exhausted he looks.

He watches Jiang Wanyin for a while, looking for any kind of movement, but he seems to be deep into sleep already and so Nie Mingjue turns his head back to look at the sky.

He’ll have to talk to Lan Qiren so they can figure out how to efficiently help Jiang Wanyin lessen the burden of leadership.

Jiang Wanyin is one of the good ones and it would be a shame to lose him to stress and sleep-deprivation this soon.

Nie Mingjue will make sure that he leads a healthier lifestyle than Lan Qiren and Nie Mingjue did back when they took over their respective Sects.

And the first step for that is to let Jiang Wanyin sleep in a field of rabbits. It seems like a good start.

Link to my ko-fi on the sidebar!

[vvienne]

XICHENG FIC RECS

hold my hands by Snooze (Chiruka)

Transplanting a core into a new person isn’t without repercussions. One year after the events at Guanyin Temple, Jiang Cheng found himself once again faced with the possibility of losing everything he had. Reconciling with his brother, learning to let Jin Ling go, and dealing with his blooming emotions toward the First Jade of Gusu — will Jiang Cheng accomplish what he wants before time runs out?

it all passes someday by screamlet

A week before the anniversary of Wei Wuxian’s death, there was a commotion outside Lan Wangji’s house.

*

Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji over the years.

The Unlikely Expression of Love by manamune

When everything has settled, when everyone else has moved on with their lives and their friends, Jiang Cheng has a realization which shouldn’t actually be a surprise:

He’s lonely.

Indigo, lavender, and violet (I don't wanna be red) by ohwhatevrewhatevr

It, in the pale colors of the late morning, is the closest to perfect Jiang Cheng will ever reach. He strokes Lan XiChen's hair and presses a light kiss to where his ribbon and hair meet. The sky is a pale blue, and the pastels of flowers and clouds are spread out through the window, a brilliant world waiting for them, them in the gentian house, safe from stronger breezes - there is the clutter of birds fluttering and chirping outside. It is a warm, perfect, spring morning.

Jiang Cheng and Lan XiChen have been together for an year. In which, no one ever really gets over things, Jiang Cheng has the misfortune of interacting with his brother, the juniors help out with the proposal, and there's a marriage.

Altitude by starknjarvis 

When Jin Ling lures Jiang Cheng to the Cloud Recesses under false pretenses, he finds himself out of place among this new family Wei Wuxian has formed.

Lan Xichen, at least, seems pleased to have his company.

Perhaps there is still a chance for Jiang Cheng to make amends and move forward.

[Modao Zushi Online] GLITCH REPORT: My Brother Got Chased Down And %$@*$&@ By Gusu Dungeon Boss??? by oh_fudgecakes

Modao Zushi Online is a virtual reality MMORPG. Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian are top ranking players in its new server, currently tied with their arch-nemesis from their previous server, Wen Chao. In an attempt to defeat him, they take on the Gusu Dungeon Boss, Zewu-jun, to win the reward of a legendary weapon. Ever the cheat, Wei Wuxian tries to take advantage of a glitch to defeat the seemingly undefeatable boss. It backfires. Jiang Cheng gets fucked by a boss monster.

He can't get enough.

Meanwhile, Lan Xichen, the unwitting staff member in charge of controlling Zewu-jun, absolutely did not sign up to be pulled into a secret virtual reality fling with a player. Mod Ji, who has to deal with Wei Wuxian's incessant glitch reporting of his brother's sex life, is long-suffering.

Mulberry by xxdz

Jiang Cheng grits his teeth and pushes harder. He feels like torn silk, the embroidery needle sinking in again and again and again; patiently, desperately, endlessly trying to make something beautiful out of something broken.

Jiang Cheng builds his sect, learns embroidery, and raises his nephew.

we can raise a little family by lanyon

“Well, brother,” says Wei Wuxian, leaning against the outside of Jiang Cheng’s chambers. “I had heard that you and Xichen went on a night hunt and came back with a baby, which is not the order I’d choose to do things in…”

In which Jiang Cheng and Lan Xichen acquire a baby of unknown origin, and are the very last to know what it means.

Beyond the Impossible by Silverine

Summoned by Lan Qiren, Jiang Wanyin goes to the Cloud Recesses to drop his nephew Jin Ling, expecting to discuss relevant matters with his old master. Instead, he's asked to take with him no other than Sect Leader Lan himself, all the way back to Lotus Pier. If the reason why he accepted such an outrageous task is indeed a mystery, he's about to be surprised by how this entire trip, their encounters, and his warm company, suddenly feel fated.

Incrementally by xxdz

Jiang Cheng is trapped in a day on repeat where he begins by waking in Zewu Jun’s bed at dawn and ends by dying painfully at dusk.

It’s getting very irritating, and he has the sneaking suspicion that his chances to solve his own murder are rapidly running out. Soon, his death will be much more permanent.

All in all, worst birthday ever.

Audience of One by WinterDreams

“Then let an established star go first,” Lan Xichen interrupts again before Lan Wangji can give a stubborn reply. Both men twist toward Lan Xichen, and he smiles at Wei Wuxian’s tilted head. “If I publicly date a man for awhile first, your engagement shouldn’t receive as much backlash.”

Or, that AU where everyone is famous in some way or another, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji have been dating in private for years, and Lan Xichen and Jiang Cheng pretend to date publicly for their brothers' sake.

A Bit of Ruthlessness by jirluvien

When Jiang Cheng hears that Lan Xichen went into seclusion following Jin Guangyao’s death, it’s almost as if he can see the grabby hands of a restless ghost, reaching out for something to keep him company. For something warm and living and devastated. And as history has proved time and time again, the Lans are perfect victims when it comes to giving in to ghosts.Yeah, no. Not on Jiang Cheng’s fucking watch.A story about grief, determination, unexpected friendships, abandoned watchtowers, and letters. So many letters.

All Tied Up In You by Clearpearls

Yet again, the night had come to this:

Jiang Cheng on the floor, kneeling, Zidian wrapped around his wrists.

Alone.

Thank You, and I'm Sorry by Hamliet

Jin GuangYao might be dead, but his story is not. Taking advantage of the chaos he instigated, someone makes an attempt on the life of the young new leader of the Jin Sect. When Jiang Cheng takes Jin Ling to the Cloud Recesses to have him study while he attempts to work with Wei WuXian and his husband Lan WangJi to eliminate the threat, he encounters a mourning Lan XiChen, lovestruck teenagers, and a persistent corpse--and both pairs of brothers find themselves struggling to move on.

saturn's rings (don't be a heartbreaker) by iskendaris

Set after the seige of burial mounds, Yunmeng rebuilds as they hold the first Discussion Conference at Lotus Pier. Sometimes the night is a gift, a refuge for loneliness. "So stern, Sect Leader Jiang," Lan Xichen murmured, "So glacial... What will it take to melt that icy exterior? What can I say?"

"Nothing. There's nothing you can say or offer."

reciprocity by jukeboxhound

There’s a pause before Lan Xichen says, in a tone that’s a little more neutral, “I would like to paint on you.”

“…What?”

“Of course, if you say ‘yes’ but then change your mind at any point, for any reason, you need only say so and I will stop immediately,” he adds.

Well, silver lining: Jiang Cheng is feeling much more awake than he was a moment ago.

Talent Hunt Crew Finds Angry Guy Shouting On College Campus, Recruits Him For Vocal Projection Abilities by oh_fudgecakes

Jiang Cheng, resident Angry Guy and heir to a conglomerate empire, has never been the apple of his father’s eye. Quashed under the shadow of his brilliant brother, the music prodigy Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng sees his chance to turn things around when he is recruited by the All-Stars Lan Talent Hunt. One problem: he can’t sing to save his goddamn life.

As he struggles to develop his nascent singing abilities, Jiang Cheng finds himself sucked into the whirlwind drama of reality TV, helped along by his adoring siblings, his irritable vocal coach Wen Qing, and strangely enough, the unfairly attractive host of the All-Stars Lan Talent Hunt, Lan Xichen. Somewhere in the glare of the stage lights and an unexpected first love, Jiang Cheng stumbles upon the thing he was searching for all along: the courage to dream — and to attempt the impossible.

Marginal Costs by ohwhatevrewhatevr

“You think you know what you want, Er-Ge,” A-Yao says. “But you should consider what you’re willing to give first,” he says wryly, taking Lan XiChen’s chess piece with slim, skilled fingers.

Lan XiChen looks up at A-Yao’s concentrated expression and the hint of contentment on his face that he is special enough to be allowed to see.

“It’s not just one decision, but the lead up to many more. One decision decides what else you’re going to have to pay, and each time you have to ask yourself, ignoring the sunk costs, if this time it’s worth it as well.”

When his sworn brother looks up at him with those clear, amber eyes, waiting, Lan XiChen feels the pull and gives in: he asks.

“Are you happy being in love?”

(First half is two sad sworn brothers talking, internally mourning how unfortunate their other sworn brother’s death was :/ and second half is when a mopey boy in blue meets an angsty boy in purple whilst chasing a demonic cultivator, and a lil bit of sexy dual cultivation happens.)

Somewhat Tender by theherocomplex

There is no defense against kindness; it has always undone him.

I didn't expect you to be lonely (too) by bettydice (BettyKnight)

Jiang Cheng's life is a mess, he's a mess, and he doesn't miss his brother at all. So when his sister gifts him ten sessions with a massage therapist, who turns out to be someone he was crushing on for a hot minute as a teenager and is still as hot as ever... yeah, that might as well happen. It won't have to mean anything.

This feels intimate to Jiang Cheng in a way that's probably very inappropriate and maybe even pathetic. Nobody touches him like this, right where he’s hurt the most. There's no one who handles him so gently, so carefully.

It's the gentleness that's his undoing, he thinks. He would be able to deal better with it if it was painful.

Life for Rent by yodasyoyo

“Yeah well. You’re not taking me seriously. This guy is my soulmate!”

“Soulmate.” Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes. “Whatever.”

“Just because you don’t believe in them—”

“I believe in them!” Jiang Cheng says. “I’ve never denied they exist.”

“Just last week you said that it was an evolutionary quirk that had been used by greetings card companies, movie makers, and corporations to exploit lonely and vulnerable people.”

“And I stand by it! That doesn’t mean that soulmates aren’t real. Just incredibly unlikely and probably pointless.

-

Or:

Xicheng vs Soulmates. Fight!

Halfway Around the World by theherocomplex

Normally, Jiang Cheng would be seething, jaw clenched tight, if someone sounded like that while they were talking, but — Lan Xichen has the trick of always making you feel like you're in on the joke, whatever the joke is. That you're laughing together.

Whelmed by yodasyoyo

For months now Jiang Cheng’s been idly fantasizing about how it would be if something were to come between Wei Ying and Lan Zhan. Mostly those daydreams have been simple enough — they break up (probably because Lan Zhan is boring or Wei Ying is annoying), Wei Ying is sad for a couple of days (Jiang Cheng’s willing to allow some space for feelings, he isn't a total monster), but then Wei Ying realizes he’s better off, he gets over it, and Jiang Cheng gets his brother back.

Unfortunately the fantasy version of events has only proven partially true, so far. They've broken up. Wei Ying has been sad.

Now weeks have passed, though — and Wei Ying is still sad, every. Single. Day.

It’s like Jiang Cheng's stuck in a looping GIF, and it’s driving him insane.

Or:

Jiang Cheng plots, Lan Huan pines, and, unfortunately for Lan Qiren, Wangxian are inevitable.

[tangledinmdzs]

May I please see a headcanon where the reader's in a love triangle between JC and WWX?

this was on my mind for the longest time

i’d love to write this

here’s to you~

*＊✿❀　❀✿＊*

for brothers that they were

Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian, usually, didn’t like the same things

since elementary school, where Jiang Cheng loved his purple bracelet and Wei Ying his red hair ribbon

in middle school, where Wei Ying began to join the school band and Jiang Cheng leading friends in games by the playground

to high school where Jiang Cheng’s sportsmanship translated to being a great soccer captain, while Wei Ying pursued theater and art,

Jiang Cheng and Wei Ying were opposites in the best way

and their points of interests usually never overlapped

which is why

Wei Wuxian is dumbfounded now

when he sees the unmistakable profile of your smiling face as he walks up to you and his brother, 

i’m gonna introduce you to someone who’s really important to me,

Jiang Cheng had told him yesterday, mysteriously 

and it wasn’t hard to tell that he had a crush

and Wei Wuxian had smiled, dropping his own, me too,

he hadn’t excepted to see you

the same person that he’d been meaning to introduce to Jiang Cheng as his own

for the first time, something small twists in his chest at the sight of Jiang Cheng teasing you 

and your small punch in retaliation

when Wei Ying quietly walks up to the two of you, he luckily sees your own recognition,

“y/n, this is-”

“Wei Wuxian! yes, we’re in the same drama club on campus. i didn’t know that you two were brothers?” you interrupt Jiang Cheng excitedly, smiling at Wei Wuxian just as brightly as before 

“that we are,” Wei Wuxian can’t help but say and you laugh

“you know Jiang Cheng through...?” Wei Wuxian asks, curiosity getting the best of him

 “oh we’re in the same photography elective, he doesn’t know how to use the camera,” you tease, smiling as you all begin walking towards a shop in the food court

Wei Wuxian shoots a disbelieving look at his younger brother,

because Jiang Cheng had been taking pictures since sophomore year of high school, of course he knows how to use a camera 

“oh the other day, didn’t you want to meet up too? if you both just said that we’d all be hanging out, that’d would easier right? no need for all the mysteriousness,” you comment, looking between the two brothers as you all stand on line 

when you turn away to look at the menu, 

you don’t see the looks that both brothers end up giving each other

Jiang Cheng stares at his brother, 

surprised, not quite hurt, but something else brewing in his eyes

Wei Wuxian stares back,

a quiet kind of seriousness, some sort of disbelief and something more there

and then there’s you

unknowingly, wrapped up in the middle

[featherfur]

Meng Yao should have been around when Jiang Cheng was running around with his head cut off trying to make disciples out of rogues and convince everyone to get started on the war. I just think he’d see this, probably manic, idiot who needs help and is 100% willing to be bossed around and who really doesn’t care about Meng Yao station in life because he’s just fucking desperate and wants to die but can’t because Yanli and just go “actually I’m interested”. Because Jiang Cheng would riot if he knew Meng Yao wanted to go back to his dad, and well Jiang Cheng is very pathetic when he thinks he’s being left behind (“You’re leaving me for the Jin just like Shijie? Tears and loud words for you! Tears and loud words dor a thousand years!”)

And Meng Yao would have a spot in Lotus Pier where he is VERY clearly wanted, he probably doesn’t become sworn brothers with anyone (or LXC and NMJ realize that no one needs to give the Jin any more influence and become sworn brothers with Jiang Cheng) unless it’s Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian (unfortunately WWX will still probably be killed or hunted at the very least but atleast Qin Su is alive? Maybe having MY around will help calm JC into the fact that LWJ wants to bang his brother and help him so JC can convince WWX to let LWJ atleast play for him, then maybe WWX can accidentally let slip about him already destroying one half and LWJ can help destroy the other half… Dunno if the Wen Remnants survive either sorry, honestly I don’t know if anyone can stop JGS in the long run)

So there’s two ways this goes: (under read more I have Thoughts)

Meng Yao DOES go to the Jin Sect still because JC gets wanting your Dad’s Approval even when he’s a dick AND he protects Yanli who immediately adopted him when JC showed up to the war with him. Without being stuck between a Rock and a Hard place (sorry NMJ not everyone is a annoyingly stubborn with their morals as you and MY is being hurt :( leave him alone :(( ) MY is able to continue being pressured without breaking and even though JGS keeps trying to get him to manipulate JC, MY won’t and won’t manipulate NMJ either and every time he goes to Lotus Pier to ‘look into’ the Jiang Sect he actually just spends the week being plied with children and listening to Jiang Cheng explain the fashion industry Again and talk about silks vs cashmeres vs wool so he just gets a vacay and is more prepared to stand up against his dad.

Also JC and Yanli catch on pretty quick to Madam Jin abusing MY because they were there after Madam Yu would hurt WWX and they know the signs of trying to hide the pain and Yanli suddenly starts Show Up whenever Madam Jin tries anything because that is her Didi now and she will protect him and if anyone ELSE tries to mess with him she will rip them apart like when Jin Zixun tries to bother WWX.

JGS does eventually manage to frame something on WWX but MY intervenes immediately by telling JC the truth and without the ‘did my kinda insane PTSD ridden brother so this?” Panic thoughts JC gets his people and is waiting for the force of Jin and smaller sects, with his two sworn brothers on either side. Because yeah NMJ absolutely hates the Wen but can he really ignore LXC and JC? Plus NHS on the side? He’s only there to protect WWX, anyone else can get fucked and even then he’s only protecting WWX because JC asked him too because NMJ thinks WWX sucks for choosing the wens because he’s very much of the one track ‘the wens suck’ mind. MY pretends he has no idea what’s going on but he does summon Jin Zixuan on ‘accident’ who shows up, annoyed he had to leave his kid, and is like “are we really going to accuse Nie Mingjue, known Wen hater, of protecting Wei Wuxian and lying about his innocence? Because his sword is the same size as my body and I’d rather Not”

(okay he’s more polite and subtle but that’s the gist) somehow Jin Guangshan dies, I’m voting Yanli poisoned him because I think Meng Yao is 100% willing at this point to simply take the abuse because Jiang Cheng and Lan Xichen aren’t essentially telling him to murder his father and that he’s stupid for not holding harder to his morals (sorry NMJ,,, you just,, I love you but MY is hurting and he’s not as stabby as you) NMJ is still very much crankily telling him his dad sucks whenever they meet but Jiang Cheng gets all sparkly whenever MY is around because MY will say he’s Doing Good, so there’s only so much room before JC start just biting anyone who even looks at MY wrong. (NMJ says he’s proud of JC once and JC just starts crying and NMJ UnderstandsTM why MY won’t leave him alone)

But Yanli has to be the one to kill him because MY wouldn’t because he’s a filial son and probably hasn’t lost his hope he will be Loved, Jin Zixuan wouldn’t because he’s like the only one in the entire show not down with murder, Madam Jin is not about to give up the power and money that comes from being the wife of Jin Guangshan even if JZX would take care of her because Yanli clearly is willing to rip everyone apart who fucks with her family and unlike Jiang Cheng is willing to change the status quo, and if JGS dies on a hunt they’ll blame WWX so Yanli just poisons him slowly and he dies from ‘illness’. JZX takes power, Meng Yao is told he’s amazing twelve times a day because JZX can do busy work and argue against anyone but he cannot have a small talk conversation to save his life. Life continues peacefully, Jiang Cheng keeps kidnapping JZX’s advisor because he misses him. Meng Yao knows how to control literally every single great sect but he’s busy chasing down his nephews and helping Jiang Cheng avoid marriage offers to do anything.

Once Jin Guangshan died, LXC and MY both swooped in to have the Wen Remnants moved somewhere else to ‘civilize’ them (using LXC’s own words here) and WWX is very much caught between Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji arguing over who he’s going home with and he’s honestly never felt more Loved TM. WWX spends six months to break the rest of the tiger rally under the grumpy/watchful eye of NMJ who still isn’t happy anyone from the Wen’s is still alive but he’s weak to puppy eyes and also when he’s being strong armed by his sworn brothers, MY, and NHS (though he still keeps an eye on the actual cultivators, he’s pretty much forgotten the rest of the Wen Remnants exist he just cares about the ones who know how to use a sword). Wangxian happens, idk how I’m voting for a wild Jingyi another orphan decides that he wants to meet the Purple Angry Man and body slams into WWX’s legs trying to get to the Purple man and LWJ catches him and it’s a full on romantic moment of staring into each other’s eyes while Jiang Cheng makes disgusted noises and Meng Yao pats his hand and just tells him to accept it.

Or Meng Yao stays in Lotus Pier because Jiang Cheng has problems and Meng Yao loves a messy loudmouth aggressive bitch with a secret heart of gold. Also Jiang Cheng is the exact kind of Demi-aroace dummy to not realize Meng Yao has a crush on LXC and keeps sending him over to Cloud Recesses to help with trade or something and MY gets to hang out with his crush constantly.

MY is Jiang Cheng’s personal advisor since WWX is currently refusing to process his trauma and staying in a very traumatic place. MY does try to help but WWX doesn’t trust him and probably only half trusts him around JC, BUT MY is very good with kids and helps work with JC on how to slip WWX supplies while negotiating directly with Nie and Lan without Jin glaring over him this time, and Jin Zixuan is more than happy to help when he can because again he’s just like the only one with modern morals and wants Lotus Pier to be strong since if all the sects fall then well the fucking demons/ghosts they hunt will eat them. So WWX is slowly atleast not ready to kill him, Meng Yao finds out WWX already destroyed half the Tiger Tally and tries to get him to let NMJ and LXC help him destroy it further (because that ties the three sects closer and so WWX won’t just stab someone if someone isn’t happy about the Wen’s existing)

Yanli poisons Jin Guangshan again because I think that’s the best way for him to go, Meng Yao does grieve but also that lasts for three minutes before Jiang Cheng shows up with some children he found in Yunmeng and Meng Yao needs to explain to him again that just because the kid latches on doesn’t mean you can take them home. But with JGS out of the way it’s a lot easier to strong arm NMJ into letting the Lan take the remnants (JC and NMJ still aren’t happy about it but NMJ can’t fight the three other sects and JC is getting his brother back and he’ll take the Wen living if that means WWX is too) and WWX returns to Lotus Pier. The truth of the golden core comes out probably via WWX having a flashback or panic attack or something (or that one theory of Yanli knowing,,,) words happen, WWX storms off to find LWJ.

Meng Yao wonders why he likes messy cry babies but still helps out Jiang Cheng because they’re technically brother in laws and also because he really does care about him. Wangxian happens and now Jiang Cheng is really pissed but WWX also said he wasn’t going to just up and leave so they’re on a rotating system but honestly everyone’s just waiting for them to move permanently to Lotus Pier because Lan Wangji has this giant hole in his heart for kids who love Wei Wuxian and Lotus Pier is filled with kids who are Jiang and therefore are insane ans love WWX.

Personally I think this one is the least likely but it sounds very nice right?

[littlesmartart]

the next gen Jin Sibs from my Happy Timeline AU! I’ve spent quite a while trying to pull together their names, but I recently had to rethink some of them when I found out that apparently in ancient chinese culture naming your kid after someone was considered a big No No... (though this doesn’t mean there aren’t other... references... it’s just that some uncles are capable of subtlety, wei wuxian). I have Thoughts and headcanons about the circumstances of lots of these namings if people are interested in hearing them! the meanings of the names are what I understand from searching through various name sites and this very helpful post, so if they’re not quite right, please be kind ;_;

see names and a little bit about each one’s personality under the cut!

from l2r in age order we have - 

Jin Ling (rise above) / Jin Rulan (like-orchid) - the canon boy! in this AU where he gets a chance to grow up with his parents and be a big brother, he’s still got a bit of a temper and is easily wound up, but he’s a lot less insecure and angry at the world. he takes his status as the oldest brother very seriously (Mingjue has a lot of conversations with him about The Responsibilities Of Being Da-ge when he’s little), and as much as he may complain about his siblings, the moment anyone else says a bad word about them he is immediately ready to throw down! 

Jin Heng (persevering) / Jin Rubo (like-silks) - due to her chronic illness, Yanli had quite a few health complications during her pregnancy with A-Heng, meaning he arrived as quite a small and sickly baby - though he pulls through and grows into a healthy and happy child. he’s not strong enough to cultivate to quite the same level as his siblings, but with mentoring from his uncles Guangyao and Huaisang, he finds his strengths in diplomacy and the arts. everyone has great confidence in him as the next sect leader’s Second; with his calm and careful demeanour, he will nicely balance out his older brother’s more brash and outspoken nature. 

Jin Xiu (fine/beautiful) / Jin Ruyue (like-jade) - the older twin and probably the most like their mother out of all the children. whilst she does enjoy archery and and swordwork and has a respectable golden core, she much prefers dancing, or swimming in the Lotus Pier lakes, or helping her aunt Qin Su in the Koi Tower gardens. there was a lot of pressure from the Jin side of the family for Yanli and Zixuan to get this pretty, mild-tempered, accomplished daughter betrothed, but they strongly resisted and have publicly announced that they will never pressure any of their children to marry. 

Jin Lei (thunder) / Jin Ruyun (like-daylight) - the younger twin and the child out of the whole group who has most obviously inherited Yu genes. since the moment she came into the world, she has been loud and boisterous and very certain of her own mind. both girls, as the granddaughters of the Purple Spider, were offered several summers of tutelage from the women of Meishan Yu, and whilst both went to learn, A-Lei went on to take a whip and daggers as her favoured weapons. although nothing has been announced officially, it’s an open secret that, unless he winds up having his own kids, Jiang Cheng will offer her the position as both his heir and the heir to Zidian. 

Jin Gui (dear/valuable) / Jin Ruquan (like-water) - A-Gui was born on the river between Yunmeng and Lanling, when they were travelling home and Yanli went into labour unexpectedly early. Zixuan tried to hurry them back, but she stopped him as the sounds and gentle rocking of the water were actually very soothing and helped calm her through what turned out to be a surprisingly fast birth. Yanli claims that being born so close to the water brought out the Jiang particularly strongly in this son, and he lives up to that with his mischievous, adventurous, and quick-witted nature - and no one is surprised by which uncle he seems to gravitate towards.

Jin Rong (honour/glory) / Jin Ruci (like-kindness) - with about ten years between him and his oldest brother, A-Rong is well and truly the baby of the family, the youngest of all of his many siblings and cousins. he’s very much doted upon and spoiled, but is a sweet-natured and kind little dreamer, who loves to collect stories and songs, and his uncle Xichen has high hopes for his musical skill.  

[defractum]

Modern LWJ + WWX flowershop (with the juniors if you can please!)

So LWJ is the quiet florist in a quiet florist shop, with his two assistants, Sizhui and Jingyi who are, respectively, slightly less quiet and much less quiet

It's a bit of a miracle that the shop is quiet, because he's about two doors down from an entrance to a major station and in the middle of the city, so he gets a lot of businesspeople getting flowers on their way home or people swinging by on their way to the office for a work event or coworker birthday

WWX is a customer who whirls in and asks breathlessly for something 'pink and purple but like, not romantic'. He points to one of the pre-arranged bouquets up at the front (mostly arranged by Sizhui and Jingyi at the beginning of the day so they can get some practice in arrangements when there's no customer waiting impatiently) and says, 'like that, but bigger'

LWJ usually hates people who are in a rush, because they think he can just throw a bunch of things in together and wrap it up, but this man seems more like he just exudes excess energy. He hops from foot to foot, and occasionally asks for a bit more greenery.

(LWJ secretly loves people who ask for more greenery. Most people ask for more colours, more flowers, and he has to bite his tongue before telling them that the greenery is what makes the colours pop, it's there for a reason, and – anyway. He just likes the balance of greenery, okay.)

He has a very nice smile when he waves and leaves but mostly LWJ forgets him, because he was only one of many customers in his working day.

Except then WWX becomes a semi-frequent customer. And he always asks for something 'like this, but bigger'. The colours change, although pink and purple make a frequent appearance. There's no order to his appearances, sometimes once a fortnight, sometimes three times in the same week.

The shop is no longer quiet when he is here – he chats away, even though LWJ barely responds. He tells LWJ about his job (social media and PR), his flat (small), his lunch (usually spicy) and his sister (dating some knobhead). He starts paying by card, and Lan Wangji looks down to see his name: Wei Ying

LWJ wonders vaguely if all this effort is for a new relationship, and if so, how long he can sustain the flower giving. They're not cheap. He's kind of a bit sad about the relationship thing, because Wei Ying is pretty and charming and flirty, but also if it keeps WWX coming in so that they can have their mostly one-sided conversations, he will take it.

He starts doing all of Wei Wuxian's orders himself. The bigger the bouquet, the harder it becomes to arrange and keep it from looking like a mash of flowers; Sizhui could barely see around the last one. LWJ is the most experienced in the shop, after all. (This is what he tells himself. Sizhui and Jingyi are both completely capable of filling the order.)

Wei Wuxian loves it. He says that Lan Wangji has 'magic fingers'. LWJ's brain is possibly melting.  

Another time, WWX asks how much a sprig of baby's breath was. The shop doesn't normally sell it by itself, and especially not a sprig at a time. LWJ names some arbitrary number. WWX buys the baby's breath and tucks it behind LWJ's ear and then just walks out like LWJ's not in danger of a heart attack.

One day, Wei Wuxian comes in and asks for something 'obnoxiously big'. He says it with an obnoxiously big smile, which quickly disappears when he hastens to reassure Lan Wangji: "Not that your arrangements are obnoxious. They're beautiful. But I need this to be intimidatingly big."

LWJ reaches for the gladioli and Wei Wuxian shakes his head. "No, more like..." He looks around, and finally points at the sunflowers, which hit Lan Wangji around shoulder height. "You have a delivery service, right?"

Lan Wangji has Jingyi on a bike attached to a cart, which is almost the same thing.

He creates an enormous arrangement, the likes of which he normally doesn't get to do apart from corporate arrangements and those certainly don't feature sunflowers, which is yellow at the top and ombres down into a dark orange at the bottom. There's plenty of greenery.

Jingyi is almost scared to touch it.

The delivery is for a Jiang Yanli at a media production company about ten minutes away, for 12:55pm which is oddly specific, and Lan Wangji pointedly does not pump Jingyi for any details he can provide the moment he gets back. He's better than that. Plus, if he waits ten minutes, Jingyi will start telling them anyway.

He's wrong – he only has to wait five minutes. Jingyi is close to vibrating out of his skin. Jiang Yanli turns out to be a rather plain young woman whose face lights up when she gets flowers, apparently. Jingyi had got to witness it twice, because he was the first of two deliveries of flowers.

The other bouquet was also very big, but definitely not as big as his. It had been delivered by a tall businessman, who had nearly dashed it to the floor when he saw Jingyi there, teetering behind his mountain of flowers. He'd snapped something like 'for the last time, Wei Wuxian!', shoved his bouquet at Jiang Yanli, and run away.

Jingyi had helpfully offered to stay and help her get the flowers into some vases, and give her some advice on keeping the bouquets fresh for longer, and if he conveniently asked about the other bouquet, well, he was just making small talk, right?

Jiang Yanli is Wei Ying's sister, it seems. (Lan Wangji exhales from where he's not-eavesdropping behind the bench.) The runaway man is her boyfriend, who also works in the same place that her brother does. For months, Wei Ying has been eyeing up the times the boyfriend has tried to buy her flowers, and then got her a bigger bouquet in the same day. Neither of the men have actually said anything about it, they've just been passively aggressively buying progressively bigger bouquets.

(Jiang Yanli is of the opinion that this is mostly harmless, especially since her other brother keeps talking about breaking the boyfriend's legs. Plus, she loves flowers.)

Jingyi looks delighted to be part of a flower-arrangement themed family feud. LWJ wonders if he could start ordering in some varieties of floral branches. They don't really use them for personal bouquets, but he's always wanted to expand his skill set. They would be really tall.

The next time WWX comes in, LWJ asks, "How big?"

"Ah, no," says WWX sheepishly. "We've mutually decided to stop it now."

LWJ feels kind of distraught about that. He's got used to seeing WWX frequently and hearing his updates on his life.

WWX is oblivious to this: "My sister thought it was gorgeous – thanks for that by the way – but she had a really hard time getting it home. I forgot about that. So I'm just here for one last, normal sized bouquet to say sorry." He grabs one of the pre-arranged ones, and LWJ is disappointed that he won't even get his normal dose of WWX chatter on what is probably his last visit.

"Well," LWJ manages to say as he rings him up, "we'll miss you." That's an appropriate customer service thing to say, right?

WWX laughs: "Me too, I enjoyed this, but I'll be honest, my wallet probably won't."

And then he waves and walks out of LWJ's life forever.

No, obviously not, that would be awful. That's what LWJ thinks though, and he's left staring at the door as it swings closed behind WWX and then keeps staring at it long after it stills, and yet is somehow still surprised when it flings back open three minutes later and Wei Wuxian bursts through it again.

"Hey, so, I've been thinking – or was literally just thinking, same thing – that since I'm gonna have all this extra money now, it means I can probably do other things. Like go out to dinner or something."

LWJ blinks. Good for him.

"You know, if you'd like to. Sometime." WWX is looking up at him through his eyelashes.

Oh.

(Out of the corner of his eye, LWJ can see Sizhui and Jingyi are frantically flashing thumbs up at him.)

WWX's smile fades as LWJ stares at him uncomprehendingly. No, that can't happen. LWJ turns, starts frantically looking through his flower buckets, pawing through them until he finds what he wants, and turns back. WWX mostly looks confused now. LWJ leans over the counter, banging his elbow on the table as he does so, and clumsily tucks a sprig of baby's breath behind WWX's ear.

"Yes," Lan Wangji says breathlessly, "That would be nice. Sometime. Any time."

[llycaons]

ep6: oh shit, there’s women in this show!

the fact that nhs knocks with a secret code. lmao

every single time I see this scene I have the same thought and its ‘jc tells wwx to stop being gay for alcohol’ because that’s what wwx is doing here metaphorically

I LOVE when they’re all scrambling here and wwx crosses his legs and fixes his hair

mind-control talisman must be insanely powerful to work on lwj so it must have some kind of constraints, like it’s not a total mind control, the subject has to be caught off-guard, etc. I like to think wwx realized how unethical it was after this and destroyed it but it’s a very strong magic spell to just drop and never mention again (LIKE TIME-STOPPING)

cut-sleeve? is this an intentional nod? it seems deliberate enough. is wwx in-universe testing the waters? he seems to think lwj is straight later on

THIS SHOT. SO CUTE

how he says wife...

I think lwj def knows he’s gay he’s just resigned to being alone for life because he can’t fathom being allowed to marry anyone but a woman and he doesn’t want to do that obviously. also he’s isolated bc of the autism and reputation... god, this scene is so sad

I didn’t realize this happened so early in the series! it’s so cute!

wcz is wearing jiang purple

this kid is SO well cast, he looks so similar to wwx esp around the eyes

lwj’s posture is killing me he is so fucking funny drunk

this set is SO pretty

this scene REALLY jumped out to me on my first watch - wwx sees lwj not bend and is determined to match him. not to be outdone

HE IMMEDIATELY STARTS PLAYING UP HIS WOUNDS WHEN THEY MEET WITH LXC. god wwx is such a delight

aww, lxc. nobody else would talk about him to his mother. this is so kind bc obviously it means a lot to him

actually I think wwx is perfectly within his rights to be annoyed that lqr treats him differently based on something his mom did. come on, lxc!

SHOE FLYING AWAY. THERE IT GOES. LOVE THAT MOMENT

at this point I think wwx has a crush but he also just wants to be friends so if lwj isn’t interested in him that way (and at this point he def thinks lwj is straight)  he still wants to hang out. I don’t think he expects his feelings to be very strong and in fact, in the future I read him as avoidant and scared of his feelings precisely because they’re more powerful than he knows what to do with. but for now it’s just a crush that he thinks he’s okay with not going anywhere as long as they get to hang out

lwj’s hair is so pretty here. this shot of wwx does make me laugh

hm. this means nothing to me. they’re not at a point yet where it means anything to them either and it was done just to protect wwx so *shrug*

wwx sheepishly getting off the ancestral table and then makinh gestures to dust it off is so fucking funny he has so much personality and charm

ik this is supposed to be a romantic moment but the guy looks so head empty. nothing going on behind those eyes. what do they brits say? gormless? he’s gormless

that post like ‘he becomes excited and deferential at the sight of a lesbian’ very true.

lwj doesn’t interact with many women throughout the show but he’s always very polite to them. probably still misogynistic, as every man is in this series is, but arguably less so than wwx (calls jl a mistress to demean him) and jc (has that stupid list of ideal wife qualities, genuinely tried to marry wq away from her family). he clearly respects ly a lot as his elder and I would love to have seen more interactions between him and other women.

heyyy demon subdue palace

ly being the only female leader of a very conservative and patriarchal sect is so fascinating honestly. would love to see more of her

also the rabbits with headbands might be dumb, but I think they’re cute

every single thing ly says also applies to wwx. the show hitting you over the head with parallels: DO YOU SEE HOW WWX AND LAN YI ARE SIMILAR. DO YOU SEE IT?!

I fucking love parallels. they made those women lesbians together

personal highlights:

lwj slouched over when drunk

wwx playing up his wounds when they see lxc

that shoe flying into the pond

wwx making a show of dusting off the table he was sitting on

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 16 part one

(Masterpost of All the Recaps)  (Canary’s Pinboard)

Warning: Spoilers for All 50 Episodes

All righty, this one is going to be a laff riot...not. Let's do it.

The first half of this episode is like a beautifully executed standalone tragedy, while also threading together all sorts of themes and paying off all sorts of relationship building that's happened in the previous episodes. My hat is off to the writers, while I also shake a fist at them for making me cry an unreasonable amount.

We’re Sailing on a Strange Boat

The episode starts right off absolutely DESTROYING me with the Yunmeng brothers holding hands, fingers interlaced, in the first of many hand-touching moments that punctuate the episode.

Jiang Cheng has to be pretty far gone to accept this degree of comfort and tenderness. I think, from their positions, he is also holding Yanli's hand out of the camera's view. 

Zidian finally lets the trio go, and they immediately turn the boat around and head back to Lotus Pier. Wei Wuxian gets the clever idea to turn the benches into makeshift oars but nobody gets the clever idea to use magic to push the boat like they do literally every other time they are in a boat. 

Their emotional need to go back to Lotus Pier is understandable, but they are being disobedient and irresponsible by doing it. Jiang Cheng is the future of the clan, and should not risk his life, particularly after his mother chose to sacrifice herself to protect him and after both of his parents told him to go hide with his sister and personal bodyguard brother. 

On the other hand, Jiang Fengmian, as clan leader, probably had a duty to go into hiding himself rather than go home to die romantically, so his authority is questionable at this point. Anyway, this is the Jiang Clan, they get to kind of do what they want, except when that pisses Jiang Cheng off.

Lotus Pier Massacre

Back at Lotus Pier, the Wens are kicking Jiang ass. The fight choreography is pretty good, taking full advantage of walkways, railings, pools, and other features of the environment. 

Using the set this way always makes fights feel more kinetic and real, as opposed to simply sparring in an open area. 

(more after the cut)

Yu Ziyuan is fighting adequately with a sword, having given her preferred weapon to her son.  She's clearly been at it for a while, and is tiring; the Wen soldiers are starting to land more and more sword blows but no critical hits yet.

Wen Zhuliu is kicking ass and possibly melting cores, although we don't see him do it to anybody yet. Later we'll hear from Jiang Cheng that he crushed the cores of his parents, but it's not clear when that happens.

Sixth young master replays Jiang Fengmian's entire archery lesson in his head while he waits, and waits, for Wen Zhuliu to finish strangling a dude the right moment to shoot an arrow at Wen Zhuliu. 

Homicidal tart Wang Lingjiao notices him lining up a shot, strolls over, and stabs him in the back while he's still thinking about what Jiang Fengmian said. One could wish that JFM's archery lessons weren't quite so wordy. 

Wang Linjao normally doesn't carry a sword because of her low spiritual power, but apparently can use one just fine when she's killing kids.

If you start feeling like this episode is unreasonably painful, just think of it as building up calluses so you can handle Yi City when the time comes.

Jiang Fengmian to the Rescue

Jiang Fengmian shows up very far past the nick of time, although he is not actually useful, so it's questionable whether arriving earlier would have helped. But his wife is glad to see him.

Netflix subtitles say that Jiang Fengmian calls Yu Ziyuan "My Lady!" which sounds courtly and romantic in English. His actual words are "San Niangzi" which hunxi-gullai breaks out here.  I might render this as "lady wife!" rather than "my lady" but I don't think English really has a perfect equivalent.

Jiang Fengmian sails across the courtyard, knocking down a few Wen soldiers and becoming a young, slender man in the process.

I mean, come on, that stunt double does not look like a boxy middle-aged man from any angle.

The Dying Bit

The episode splits up the big death scene for dramatic effect but I'm recapping it all together to keep things simple.

Within moments of arriving, Jiang Fengmian gets shanked by Wen Zhuliu like Scatman Crothers in The Shining (or Groundskeeper Willie in The Shinning).

Wen Zhuliu stops a Wen soldier from finishing JFM off, just so that a different Wen soldier can deliver the killing blow from the back, which is kinda harsh. With all this spin-fighting there is probably not an implication of cowardice when someone dies from a stab in the back, but still. Too rude, Wen Zhuliu.

Yu Ziyuan sees Jiang Fengmian fall, and after having a moment of sorrow and despair, she stabs herself in the heart, falls down, crawls to him and interlaces her hand with his. He revives just enough to give her hand a squeeze and say "San Niangzi" one last time before dying. 

She dies next, with a smile on her face at the end. The soundtrack plays that amazing "horribly emotional death scene" music that isn't one of the tracks available on the OST, argh. This same music appears at the end of Xue Yang's story.  

Of the many things I love about the Untamed, the complexity of all the minor characters is possibly my favorite. These two people suck at parenting, and suck at being married, and ultimately suck at protecting and leading their clan, making stupid, selfish choices at every step of the building conflict. 

And then they have this incredibly romantic death scene, in which they both face the inevitability of failure, and find comfort in failing together. Yet their death scene is totally in keeping with who we know them to be, and who they are to each other; the drama doesn't cheat by making them ideal lovers or great people at the end. But they have a great, great moment.

Jiang Yanli, waiting in the woods while her brothers are presumably running toward Lotus Pier, drops her lotus pendant, which is made of the loudest jade ever discovered, and it breaks with a crash.  

Yanli, who is a well educated young lady, knows a moment of doomy symbolism when she sees it.

Jiang Yanli: Who put a giant rock out here in the woods? What are the odds I’d drop my pendant directly on it? 

It’s all Over Except for the Crying, Running and Choking

The brothers climb up on the roof and are shocked to see nothing but Wen soldiers and piled up Jiang corpses... 

...including one child who is either about to become a zombie or who is being played by a young actor who can't control their curiosity, judging by the way this eye is sneakily opened while the camera is running.

There's a moment where Jiang Cheng is saying they must have spared his parents, they must be okay, where Wei Wuxian's face is just...wow. You can see right here the gulf in life experience between these two. 

Wen Zhuliu roams around looking troubled while searching for more people to kill. He’s an interesting villain; someone who believes his loyalty to his boss makes him a good guy, but knows his boss is a bad guy. 

Then we are treated to a hell of a camera move, where it tracks over Yu Ziyuan and Jiang Fengmian together on the floor, heroic in death and still holding hands, and then sweeps up to show their killers sitting on the lotus throne. 

The dead couple were at odds for their whole lives together, while the evil people who killed them are acting like devoted lovebirds. It's a stunning shot and a terrific thematic contrast. When Wei Wuxian eventually comes to take his vengeance, he will spend some time turning Wen Chao and Wang Lingjiao against each other, before ending them. 

The camera shows us JC's reaction, then shows his mother, then WWX’s reaction, then JF; each reacting to the death of the person who loved them. Some folks may feel that Jiang Fengmian actually did love Jiang Cheng but was just bad at showing it. But Jiang Cheng doesn't think so, and I don't think it's a given that parents love their children.

Side note: Macroexpression king Wang Zhuocheng is able to open his eyes so far that a giant strip of white shows above his irises, and keep them like that, which is quite a trick. Try it yourself.

Meanwhile Wang Lingjiao and Wen Chao gossip about YZY and JFM's bad marriage. Wen Chao admires YZY's beauty, and Wang Lingjiao insults her character, and announces that she's going to stab YZY's body a few extra times. Jiang Cheng briefly faints at this, taking a page from Wei Wuxian's book, and rolls off the roof. 

Run Run Away

Both young men run, and run, and run away from Lotus Pier while Wen Chao and Wang Lingjiao mistreat the bodies of Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan 

The stabbing happens off camera, because it's ok to stab a live child on camera, but not a dead adult. (As always, there are cultural reasons for "what's ok" in any country, and I'm not saying anybody's wrong about these choices). 

Wen Chao follows this up with pouring a cup of wine across their faces. He does this in the style of a libation for the dead, but as a desecration, combining mistreatment of bodies with profaning a ceremonial rite. In a world where ghosts are real and have sharp fingernails, this is deeply, deeply stupid.

Yu Ziyuan’s actress Zhang Jingtong is able to have liquid poured INTO HER EAR without flinching. Mad props.

The brothers eventually finish running and arrive in a field with an extreme purple photo filter on it. Which I've done my best to remove for these gifs, with variable results. 

Jiang Cheng wants to turn around and go back to Lotus Pier. He says he wants to retrieve his parents’ bodies and to take revenge, but he's devastated and it seems likely he just wants to die with everyone else.  

Wei Wuxian pleads with Jiang Cheng to calm down and stay safe, while Jiang Cheng gives himself over to anger and shock as the brothers shout at each other.

Punching and running ensues, and Wei Wuxian tries to hold his brother back, grabbing him around the shoulders him in a gesture that painfully echoes the many hugs he's given over the years. 

This time Jiang Cheng doesn't just push him off. He turns around and chokes his brother for nearly a full minute, while screaming at him and blaming him. 

Just as when Madame Yu beat him, Wei Wuxian doesn't fight back; he pulls on Jiang Cheng's wrists but doesn't hit him or try to break his hold.

Finally Jiang Cheng lets him go, and cries out for everyone he's lost, while Wei Wuxian weeps silently next to him. Eventually they fall asleep in the grass together, their bodies curled up in the form of a heart. 

Damn, this episode really brings it.

Side Note: during their argument, Wei Wuxian says, among other things, that "revenge is a dish best served cold," according to subtitles. It's a French saying from the 1800s so it's probably not precisely what Wei Wuxian is saying. More importantly, as a longtime Star Trek fan I can't help but hear James Kirk yelling "KHAN!!!!!" whenever I encounter that phrase.

There’s Got To Be A Morning After

When they wake up in the morning, Jiang Cheng is still in his feelings, but now his feelings have moved along to despair, from anger.

I feel bad for noticing how handsome they both look in this scene. Let's all feel bad about this together.

Jiang Cheng is free to have this level of emotional breakdown because Wei Wuxian is there keeping his own shit together and focusing on what matters.

When Jiang Cheng refuses to get up, Wei Wuxian reminds him, very, very gently, that they have a sister, who has waited all night to know what happened.

At this, Jiang Cheng gets up, but won't look at Wei Wuxian, continuing to blame him for everybody else's actions, as he walks onward to find Yanli.

Wei Wuxian follows, hurt and bereft, as he gets to work internalizing everything that he's being accused of. This is good practice for his future as a widely reviled bogeyman.

Part two will be slightly less awful! Coming soon!

[amedetoiles]

@suibian-chenqing​ ME TOOOO!!! It is my ultimate endgame in any version of cql/mdzs. Just Lotus Pier in some way, shape, or form being the home where everyone returns to.

So please consider a universe where everyone makes better choices, has healthier conflict resolution skills à la conversations over soup, and lives happily ever after. Hear me out:

We all know that the chaotic Jiang disciples are the unsung heroes of the story, always merrily dragging their grumpy grape sect leader from danger and picking up after his dramatically discarded capes across various parts of the country.

What if after that staged fight while Jiang Cheng angrily copes with brozilla wedding planning (they hear him crying yelling multiple times at all the notebooks full of wedding ideas Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng have jotted down over the years), they decide that this is just not conducive to the happiness of their two favorite Young Masters?

Or equally important, the continuation of their beloved tradition of monthly Lotus Pier lake parties. A Jiang pool party without their resident chaos king and undisputed champion for the highest caliber splash swan dives? This Will Not Stand!

Obviously it is their Duty and their Right as the protectors and purveyors of Jiang culture for a few of them to secretly stow away while Jiang Cheng is having an epic meltdown over fabric.

“800 thread count? Are you out of your goddamn minds? My only sister, and you expect us to throw her a wedding with disgraceful eight hundred thread count fabric?! Do we Jiangs look like barbarians to you?!”

The Jiang disciples go to Yiling, rush up the Burial Mounds, and shout very convincingly, “Da-shixiong! Da-shixiong! Zongzhu, he – he –”

Wei Wuxian, war-torn, living with ten thousand ghosts, and constantly on edge, panics immediately, jumps to the absolute worst conclusion, and doesn’t even clarify before he rushes down the mountain because oh god, oh god, no, not again, didn’t he leave so his siblings would be safe, didn’t he promise to keep Jiang Cheng safe?????

Wen Qing warily agrees to come along because they clearly now have this well-established ongoing unspoken agreement to constantly save each other’s little brothers.

If the Jiang disciples have caught Jiang Cheng brooding over a pretty redwood comb wrapped in a silk handkerchief more than once, then they don’t say anything. Just share silent looks of glee when no one is watching.

By the time they reach Lotus Pier, Wei Wuxian has worked himself up into such a state of frenzy that he bursts through the doors of Lotus Pier like a black thundercloud of overprotective fury and worry, screaming, “JIANG CHENG! JIANG CHENG!”

.... Jiang Cheng is sitting on the floor of the Sword Hall, surrounded by a mountain of square fabric samples, with bits of thread stuck in his hair, totally gobsmacked at the sight of his windswept big brother.

Wei Wuxian, still panicked, falls to the floor in front of him, grabs Jiang Cheng by the arms before he can even react, and frantically checks him over. “Are you okay? Are you hurt? What happened – I thought –”

Jiang Cheng stares at him. Wei Wuxian blinks. The Jiang disciples have all conveniently disappeared.

Behind them, Wen Qing heaves a big sigh, slow and long through pursed lips. She bows respectfully, says “I will be outside,” and gets the fuck out of there.

There is a tense silence. Wei Wuxian realizes he’s been tricked, but he is so overcome with relief after all that soul-crushing fear that he doesn’t even get mad, just sags forward with his face in Jiang Cheng’s chest as the adrenaline leaves him all at once. He pretends he’s not shaking.

Jiang Cheng doesn’t know if he wants to shove Wei Wuxian away, hug him back, or wrap him in as many blankets as he can possibly find until a-jie comes home. He does none of those, just demands, half-strangled, half-something-like-worry, “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“They said – I thought you were in trouble or – or –”

[long pause] “You – came all the way here shouting like a possessed lunatic because you thought I was in trouble?”

Wei Wuxian hunches a little defensively and starts to move away. “Of course I did.” He makes sure to add, with emphasis, “Idiot.”

It doesn’t matter if Jiang Cheng can’t make up his mind because apparently his hands can, and they grip both of Wei Wuxian’s elbows to keep his brother from pulling away. They stare at one another.

”You said you didn’t want anything to do with the Jiang sect.”

Wei Wuxian looks away, grumbling. “How else was I supposed to keep you and shijie safe? Besides, you’re the one who stabbed me.” He is very pouty about this.

Jiang Cheng, immediately incensed and indignant, shouts, “You broke my arm! I had to be in a cast for a whole month!”

An almost smile flashes over Wei Wuxian’s face. “Hey, it was only your left arm. You were still able to write.”

Jiang Cheng glares at him and shoves his shoulder. Wei Wuxian instinctively shoves him back. They stare. Wei Wuxian scrubs his face tiredly with his hands. Jiang Cheng has to push away the urge to motherhen with blankets again.

He says, “I never asked you to protect me.”

Wei Wuxian gives him a look. “I don’t need to be asked.”

Jiang Cheng grits his teeth. “I don’t want you to protect me, idiot.”

Wei Wuxian heaves a very resigned sigh. “Then what do you want?”

Several answers come up, all too serious and too revealing without the support of a-jie’s soup and copious amount of alcohol. So Jiang Cheng just throws a handful of fabric samples at Wei Wuxian’s face. “Help me pick through these until a-jie comes home. You should have fucking heard Jin Zixuan’s suggestions last week. If we let the peacock plan a-jie’s wedding, it’s going to be an absolute disaster.”

Wei Wuxian’s smile this time is real and genuine and lasts the entire afternoon of bickering over fabric squares until Jiang Yanli rushes into the pavilion with many Jiang disciples in tow and hugs both her brothers for the first time in months. They manage to not horribly cry all over each other.

Jiang Yanli insists Wen Qing has dinner with them. There’s plenty of soup after all. Jiang Cheng is awkwardly stiff and doesn’t look Wen Qing in the eye the entire time, and Wei Wuxian pokes him repeatedly with silent  what the hell is wrong with you.

They talk about growing turnips, purifying rice wine, that the scariest thing about Wen Ning is his ability to create a disturbingly large variety of dishes from turnips, and how Wei Wuxian has essentially adopted baby A-Yuan as his own.

Later, Jiang Yanli tells Wen Qing, with a smile, her eyes alight like a flame, that she will take care of it. Wen Qing has no idea what this means. Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian share a look as only little brothers with intimate knowledge of their big sister’s stubbornness could and wisely choose to remain silent.

Jiang Yanli enlists the help of both Jin Zixuan and Madam Jin and somehow does indeed take care of it.

Many back door conversations occur between Jiang, Jin, Lan, and Nie sects. Jin Zixuan is the sole Jin representative. Nie Mingjue is initially leery but comes at the behest of Huaisang and Xichen.

At some point, Wen Ning tells Wei Wuxian that if they are going to do this, then it’s best if they have no more secrets. Wei Wuxian glares and tries to pretend that he has no idea what he is talking about, but neither Jiang Yanli nor Jiang Cheng allow Wei Wuxian to run away this time.

There is an emotional golden core reveal, followed by an equally emotional I didn’t go back for their bodies, with lots of shouting, shoving, crying, and clinging. In the aftermath, the Jiang siblings form an even stronger co-dependent unit around each other.

Jiang Yanli coordinates with Lan Xichen (and a begrudgingly cooperative Jiang Cheng) to bring Lan Wangji to Lotus Pier to help Wei Wuxian control his powers. Wangxian are desperately cute, and Jiang Cheng makes pointed gagging sounds whenever he’s around them that leads to several incidents of lake shoving, an excitable gaggle of Jiang disciples swan diving into the water after them, and a very, very confused Lan.

In the end, Wei Wuxian refuses to hand over the Stygian Tiger Seal to any of the sects, but he does agree to destroy it if Wen Qing, Wen Ning, and the remaining Wens are granted clemency and allowed to live freely without persecution. Jiang, Lan, and Nie sects agree.

Jin Guangshan tries to make an uproar, but in a surprising turn of events, Jin Guangyao (grateful for Jiang Yanli’s non-judgmental kindness over the past year) reveals all of his father’s treacherous secrets, including ordering the slaughter of Wen civilians, pardoning and releasing Xue Yang, and purposefully fueling the mob against Wei Wuxian to acquire the seal for himself. Jin Guangshan is shamed, sentenced, and dies imprisoned some months later.

Jin Zixuan formally recognizes his newly renamed brother Jin Ziyao.

Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian decide that their sister is even scarier than they had believed.

The Wens leave the Burial Mounds and build a small village together in Yiling where they branch into farming non-turnip crops much to the delight of Wei Wuxian. Jiang disciples are dispatched to help with the construction of several buildings, including one extremely beautiful apothecary. Jiang Cheng is seen in Yiling fairly regularly.

Jin Zixun, the most vocal opponent against the pardons for Wei Wuxian and the Wens, tragically falls off a cliff one day. Sect Leader Yao tries to pin it on Wei Wuxian, but Jiang Cheng shuts him down with scathing ferocity.

Someone also puts a Silencing Spell on Sect Leader Yao and keeps it going. Every Lan swears it was not them and thus cannot remove the spell. It lasts for two glorious months. Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji get along disturbingly well from that point on.

Wei Wuxian is there when Jiang Yanli gets married in a magnificent splendor of red and gold. He is there to see Jin Ling born, to watch Jiang Cheng tie a purple bell to their nephew’s robes, and to gift little A-Ling a bracelet on his first month birthday. He is there to watch Jiang Cheng rebuild their sect with unending grit, respect, and loyalty. He is there to see Jin Ling and A-Yuan grow up underneath a sky he helped clear, loved and adored by all the different parts of their family. And some years after he and Lan Wangji are happily married, Wei Wuxian is there when his little brother dons red robes and bows to the heavens, to the earth, and to a woman with a redwood comb in her hair whose life became entwined with theirs so very long ago.