#mingjue is NOT a good brother to him to be clear but he is the absolute rock and foundation

[thatswhatsushesaid]

happy sunday!! time to remember how small and alone and frightened and scared nie huaisang looks while held captive in qishan!

specifically, that moment when he finds out qinghe has been taken by the qishan wen, and asks that sentient sphincter muscle wen chao, "what happened to my big brother?!"

and wen chao just smiles at him and says, "what do you think?"

anyway it low key broke my heart!! someone give huaisang a hug 🥺

[drama--universe]

Five Chickens (Part 2)

Pairing: Untamed Juniors x fem!reader

Word Count: 1.5k words

Part 1

Taglist: @bryonyashleysworld, @yuki-snow-cry & @harrystylesfan2686.

A/N Not really a story, more like some compilation of moments with them. Hope it's to everyone's liking :)

"How about your uncle?" "You're crazy." Jin Ling scoffed at you and you whined as you let your head fall back against the wooden frame before leaning it sideways to lay on Jingyi's leg instead.

"Wuxian-ge would say yes..." Sizhui commented as he looked up from his book and slid back slightly, making Zizhen jump slightly as he was leaning against Sizhui's legs. You nodded in acknowledgement before turning around and whacking Jin Ling, who flinched before whacking you back.

"Him and my brother would totally love it!" You laughed softly before looking at Zizhen interrupted the conversation. "I honestly don't think this is a good idea..." He said and you sighed before nodding, leaning your head back and shrugging.

"Alright then... Chicken~" You teased and Zizhen turned red before crossing his arms with a pout while Sizhui tried to calm the atmosphere slightly.

"So you want to move my murder to my other uncle? Because that I can kind of agree to..." "That's my brother, kind of like him." You stated and Jin Ling groaned at you, cursing softly at the disagreement.

"Does your family not have problems?" He continued and you scoffed at him, looking up from Jingyi's leg.

"Oh, we have many problems... I mean, parents dead, Mingjue-ge dead and the Huaisang-ge is barely holding our clan together when he can do so much better. Honestly, not that different from you, huh?" You gave him a wink and Jin Ling rolled his eyes, pillow thrown your way that you skillfully dodged.

"Same here." Sizhui commented and Jingyi quickly thew in a word as well with a smile, which made all of you turn to Zizhen. His eyes widened and he quickly shook his head at you.

"Mine's fine." "Eh, you'll get there." You commented, which earned you a hit to your head from Jingyi. "Don't curse him." You giggled at him before picking at your skirt.

"So... I'll ask?"

"What on earth is that?" The shock was clear in Zizhen's voice and the rest was seemingly just as shocked. You looked at the animal beside you before looking back at the rest.

"I have no clue! But look how cute!" You crouched down and took ahold of the beast's head and smushing it together with a large grin on your face.

"That is a predator." Sizhui commented as he got closer, pulling you away from the animal. You whined, making grabbing hands towards the animal and it was quick to follow you with careful steps. Sizhui paused and let go of you, letting you sit on the ground while the large animal came closer to you and sat down in front of you.

"Where did you find that tiger?" Jin Ling asked, making you turn your head before turning back to the supposed tiger. "So you're just a big kitty, huh?" You smiled as the cat purred at you while Jin Ling rolled his eyes, sighing loudly at you.

"How do you not know what a tiger is?" "I didn't study animals, I studied sabers and murder cases." You answered as you scratched the top of the tigers head.

"What's a good name for-" Leaning down slightly to check before continuing. "-guy?" You asked, looking back to the rest.

"Pudding!" Jingyi jumped in as he got closer, kneeling down and petting the animal as well. He was delighted when the animal purred again, pushing his head closer before flinching when he heard someone else approach.

"Oh, kitty~" Wuxian's voice rang out as he ran over, leaving a shocked Lan Zhan and Jiang Cheng. You just greeted the man with a happy smile before introducing him to Pudding, choosing that the name was just perfect for the tiger.

"So dogs are a no for that guy, but a murderous tiger is okay?" Jiang Cheng commented and you could hear someone laugh, assuming it was Jin Ling.

The library was empty except for the five of you, supposedly studying and yet failing so miserably. Well, you were anyway, the rest was doing fine. Instead you were staring at Sizhui, who was reading his work again while chewing on his fingernails. As if he sensed your gaze, he looked up at you before pulling his hand down with wide eyes.

"Is something wrong?" He asked and you chuckled, placing your chin in your hands with a grin.

"You're so cute it's distracting me." You laughed as you watched Sizhui go red, something that you a so loved to see.

"That's a good one." Jingyi commented and you scoffed. "What, going to use it on a Lan? They'll have a stroke." You joked and Jingyi shrugged as he closed the scroll that he was reading.

"Would be funny to watch." "You'd get whipped for that." Jin Ling pointed out with a raise of his eyebrows and you shook your hand at that statement. "They stopped that, remember? It's writing now." "That's so much worse." Jin Ling commented and you shrugged at him before looking at Sizhui again, who had opted to hide his face in his hands.

"Now that nobody's studying! I have an idea!" You said and everyone looked at you before Zizhen spoke up.

"That's dangerous." He said and you scoffed at him, throwing your pencil at him.

"Oh, shush."

"I can believe you just walked off!" Sizhui and Zizhen were shocked, Jin Ling disappointed and Jingyi was cackling. You were just confused.

"Yes? I walked away mid-conversation, so what? They were boring me to death and my survival instincts kicked in." You gave a shrug as you bit off the last piece from the fruit skewer before chewing on the stick itself out of habit.

"She's the mother of the sect leader! She's more important than you think?!" "I have Pudding." You smiled as you entered your room, the four boys pilling in after you. You sat yourself down and giggled again.

"I think she had smoke coming out of her ears, heh." You giggled to yourself as Jingyi sat next to you and Jin Ling on your other side. Jingyi leaned in slightly to whisper in your ear.

"You're the first who dared to do that." He said and you turned your head with a surprised look before smiling proudly. "Yeah, survival instinct my ass. It was nice knowing you." Jin Ling said and you laid your head down on his shoulder.

"Make sure everyone cries on my funeral?" You ask and Jin Ling nods, patting your hand that rested on his lap. You smiled and closed your eyes before sighing softly.

"Do you think she'll actually kill me?" You opened your eyes again to look at Sizhui, who shrugged.

"I think you're doomed."

Walking around, you tried to ignore the whispers as you held on to Jingyi's and Sizhui's arms, the other two not present at the moment. You didn't feel like talking, not after everything that went down at the temple. Someone you trusted and regarded as a brother killed your biological brother and your second brother had know this for years. Who would feel okay after all that, because you definitely didn't.

"Is she dating them or something?" A voice rang through as you walked to your room, but everyone ignored the comment as you continued. You barely registered entering your room or sitting down, not even when you were being wrapped in your sheets did it register. You felt numb, but that comment kept ringing in your head.

"Now, I know I should be in shock and all... but does everyone think that I'm dating you?" You asked, which made both boys freeze in their spots before bursting into laughter.

"Now that's a problem we can't avoid." Jingyi commented and you shrugged at him, not really minding it.

"You call it a problem. I call it a solution. Guess who won't get marriage proposals?" You gave a tired smile and Jingyi scoffed before sitting down beside you on the bed, pulling you down to lay down. Sizhui soon joined you and it was then that your walls broke down. Tears started streaming down your face as you clung to both of them, not being able to stop the waterfalls. They didn't seem to care for the wet spot on their clothes as they comforted you and when the two others arrived, Jin Ling just as teary as you, they just joined into the pile. You felt slightly better when you were not the only one crying, but even if you were it would be okay with your friends around you.

The adults later found you all huddled up together, clinging to each other while you slept. Their little chicks.

[rarepears]

Nie Huaisang, Lan Xichen, Jin Guangyao, and Nie Mingjue all reincarnate together into PIDW, and become disciples around the same time as Luo Binghe.

The drama of this is of course enhanced by the facts that NMJ & JGY died "early," but NHS & LXC lived to the end of their natural lives as cultivators, and so some of their perspectives and opinions on events have naturally changed with age. (tfw the passage of time renders you unfamiliar to your once-loved ones)

Eventually they talk about their feelings and reconcile and such, and this ends up derailing the plot of PIDW severely as the rest of the PIDW characters confusedly observe quite possibly the weirdest disciples Cang Qiong's ever seen

NMJ on Bai Zhan, with no clue what's going on because he died first and NHS & LXC haven't told him anything

NHS on An Ding, thoroughly enjoying what's pretty much a vacation to him at this point and possibly running an interpeak illicit goods market (definitely not to distract himself from any of the emotions having NMJ & JGY alive and nearby would be causing him, Everything Is Fine) I haven't decided if he'd get involved with the whole og!SQH and MBJ situation tho

LXC on Qiong Ding, because I feel like he'd see himself in Yue Qingyuan and lowkey hate him for it and I think that could be interesting

JGY on Qing Jing, because he's the objectively the funniest/most interesting character to throw into the mess that is SJ and LBH. The way I imagine it, he's doing the most direct derailing of the plot, because he mostly accidentally gets right in the middle of the thing that is going on between those two

I feel like as I wrote this it became more serious than I originally intended so just know that I'm mentally picturing this like a fic that's interspersed with outsider POV of the 4 of them being completely deranged about eachother

(Also I'd feel bad taking away LXC's brother so LWJ and WWX + friends are busy doing hot girl shit being rogue cultivators. I think WWX should be a half demon so he gets to keep the cultivation and steal some of LBH's protagonist energy. If this was a fic then the rest of the Untamed gang would be perfect to use for side characters during off-peak missions)

*grabs popcorn and sits down to hear more*

Nie Huaisang is having too much fun waiting the two idiots called his shizun and shizun's poorly kept secret of a boyfriend go flailing around on these terribly unromantic dates BUT THE TWO WERE TRYING SO HARD that it was cute. He wonders if he should do something to help the poor idiots out... Should he?

Maybe he should...

(Watch Shang Qinghua and Mobei Jun suddenly have a number of sex pollen accidents over the next few months....)

Lan Xichen would be an old man and a good voice of reason for Yue Qingyuan. Although he's head disciple and a very good one at that (if only because his Big Brother instincts can't be held back and he MUST interfere to help prevent history repeating once more), Lan Xichen has made it very clear that he would never accept becoming sect leader.

Also don't forget Liu Mingyan in the background writing about a 4 person sex orgy. At least, that's her personal theory for why there's so much UNRESOLVED TENSION between these four sus male disciples. And also, because it's fun.

It's even funner when you consider that Nie Mingjue is out of the loop of Cang Qiong stuff even on Bai Zhan because he tags along on so many of Liu Qingge's missions that he's probably spending like 8 months of the year outside of the sect.

(Nie Huaisang gets "assigned" to missions that happen to take place near Nie Mingjue's hunts.)

Meng Yao is Meng Yao and he still craves the approval of Male Authority Figures That Could be his dad. Also Meng Yao still likes to climb up the social hierarchy and power. AKA Luo Binghe growing mushrooms in the corner at seeing ANOTHER QING JING disciple THE SAME AGE AS HIM being given SO MUCH ATTENTION AND APPROVAL by shizun.

Luo Binghe develops a complex over Meng Yao of course.

(Shen Jiu approves of Meng Yao because he understands these characters very well and know how to manipulate (cough kill or injury them physically or mentally) them easily. Plus Meng Yao is actually competent.)

[More in #Nie Huaisang Lan Xichen Meng Yao and Nie Mingjue reincarnate into PIDW and are Cang Qiong disciples at the same time as Luo Binghe is AU

[khattikeri]

at no point does the mdzs novel consider nie huaisang morally grey. just because he gets away with what he did doesn't mean the story condones his actions or considers him a good person.

the only thing separating nie huaisang from the majority of the supporting cast's upper class hypocrisy (read: jiang cheng, nie mingjue, lan xichen, jin guangyao, jin zixuan etc.) is the fact that huaisang doesn't genuinely believe that what he does is righteous or justified.

huaisang knows what he did wasn't "right". he knows he used his own class and power to make his brother's murderer fall from grace and suffer tenfold. he's the only one who doesn't have an excuse or some inherent reason on hand when he's questioned.

part of it is because he's trying to avoid actually getting anything pinned on himself, but nie huaisang never once actually tells wei wuxian at the end of the book that jin guangyao deserved what happened, or that whoever did orchestrate everything "must've had a good reason".

nie mingjue, jin guangyao himself, jin zixuan, and jiang cheng would've said the former if they were in huaisang's position. the latter is lan xichen's go-to answer for these sorts of things.

some readers may think this is morally grey of nie huaisang, or that his circumstances were complex -- and while i personally disagree, my point here is that the BOOK lumps him in with all his other gentry peers. he is deeply entrenched in society’s cruel game of politics and cyclical rumors.

the book considers exactly none of those people as truly good. the book is very clear about what it considers right and wrong, and it very clearly slots huaisang with his manipulative proxy revenge scheme into the latter category.

[hannigramislife]

for my own gratification bc i just ran into nie mingjue hate in the wild, would you mind making a post that defends my poor good boy? he worked so hard and got gaslit to shit before getting murdered terribly ;; literally everyone sat there telling him "youre being too harsh" and he's just responding appropriately. like yeah, if you witness a murder, ya kinda got to do something about that as a clan leader. its kinda your responsibility, even when you care about the person who did the murdering. he was also a really young when he took on the role of clan leader and idk, it just made me rlly sad to see people dunk on him cuz wtf he's literally just trying his best in an impossible situation WHILE being perpetually fucked over by his clan's own traditional cultivation cuz now the stronger he is as a leader, the closer he is to going literally insane and dying bc of it. (mingjue did nothing wrong i will die on this hill) ((sorry for going on a tirade, im just sad and defensive of my good boy rn))

Oh no! I'm so sorry you had to go through Nie Mingjue hate! Truly tragic. I went through that once when in the beginning of me reading the books, when I still had no proper opinions, and never again.

I'm more than willing to make a post about Nie Mingjue! I'm always down to talk about Nie Mingjue tbh, he's my heart and love and if I were to have been given the opportunity to be his right hand person, I would have simply never betrayed his trust and married him. Rip Jin Guangyao but I'm different.

Anyways, I, huhhh, actually think you?? Covered it all??? Pretty much?? Yet I will talk about it. This will be long and non-coherent, because I don't have the books rn to find quotes in them and honestly, I could write essays on Nie Mingjue either way.

Nie Mingjue is a central piece of the narrative, despite the limited amount of appearances he made, and the fact that he wasn't close to the main characters at all. The entire second part of the plot revolves around him- it happened because of him. His murder is a tragedy; literally, by greek standards, man has Cassandra Curse all over him, so I don't get how people can tell me, confidently, that his death was warranted. I've been told the man had asked for it, and this has mostly been by Jin Guangyao apologists.

So let me make something real fucking clear.

Nie Mingjue did not deserve to die. Let's get that out of the way, anyone can fight me on that. Nie Mingjue had more good qualities than half the people in this fucking story, despite his flaws. After his father was brutally murdered when Mingjue was only in his teens, Nie Mingjue stepped up as clan leader. We can only speculate the hardships that await someone leading a clan at such an early age. Yet, political challenges weren't the only thing he had to battle; Nie Mingjue knew about his clan's harmful cultivation, and he knew he was going to die young. So what did he do? His best. Literally his best, always. He was always giving 100% of his abilities, because that's who he was.

Let's talk about who Nie Mingjue was, shall we?

When Jin Guangyao, still Meng Yao then, describes Nie Mingjue, he finds himself perplexed, because Nie Mingjue isn't like other men. He is not frivolous, and he has no vices; Meng Yao describes how Nie Mingjue never showed an interest in arts, or alcohol, or women. All he did was train, and fight the Wens during the war. It shows that he had a one-track mind from the start, and has got a strict discipline; yet this strictly disciplined man, leader of a clan that prizes strength, continuously indulges his lazy and undisciplined half-brother, his one and only heir, despite not understanding his interests. We gather, pretty quickly, that Nie Mingjue is a bleeding heart for his brother, and for the ones he loves in general. We see the same softer side displayed in the presence of Lan Xichen, and of course, for some time, Meng Yao.

People seem to think Nie Mingjue took Meng Yao's betrayal too harshly. As if somehow seeing a man he thought to have been just and honest commit premeditated murder, then cover it up, was something he was just supposed to get over. To this day, I can't believe how Lan Xichen was so understanding of it. But not only did Nie Mingjue catch him in a cowardly act - Meng Yao proceeds to manipulate him, using the fact that Nie Mingjue cared about him, to stab him in the back. Or front, however it happened. I get that Meng Yao was in a difficult position, that he suffered at the Jins, that he felt backed in a corner; but Nie Mingjue was a man that had extended his help to Meng Yao before, and even then, he went to find Meng Yao in righteous fury, ready to help him again. To Nie Mingjue, the idea that Meng Yao "had no other choice" but to kill - to kill in the manner he did - it could have been nothing but a betrayal.

One thing that I personally highly respected Nie Mingjue for was the fact that he did not judge Meng Yao for his background. This is not up for debate; Nie Mingjue stood up for him, quite publicly, quite vocally, when Meng Yao was being insulted over it. And not only that, but he promoted Meng Yao to be his right hand man, just like that. Because he's impulsive, and to prove a point, but it was still huge of him to do. Not even Lan Xichen would have done that - In a society built on power dynamics between social classes, Nie Mingjue was one of the few characters who did not let that define his actions. It wasn't because he was born privileged (though he was) but because he he didn't let anything other than his judgment direct his actions. Nie Mingjue also never shied away from anything; if it had to be done, he did it, no matter the cost.

Nie Mingjue was decisive, and had an iron will. When Meng Yao killed the Nie disciples in Qishan, he wanted to kill Meng Yao. Meng Yao told him, paraphrasing, that "don't you understand that if I hadn't done that, it would have been your corpse up there?" and Wei Wuxian takes it to mean "Translation: I saved you so you can't kill me, because that would mean you're in the wrong." So Nie Mingjue hesitated for a second, then said: "Fine! I'll kill you, and then take my own life!" And the only reason he didn't, was because Lan Xichen was there. Otherwise, Nie Mingjue would have killed his former friend, then followed him to whatever afterlife awaited.

Nie Mingjue is often portrayed like he doesn't understand stuff, like he's stupid, simply because of his black and white sense of morality. That's not correct: Nie Mingjue understands motive, but he doesn't accept the ends justifying the means. Scratch that, he doesn't accept or justify either, if they're unjust. The murder of the Jin commander, the murder of the Nie disciples, not executing Xue Yang - how can Nie Mingjue possibly understand Meng Yao's decisions, when Nie Mingjue would rather die, any day, than live thanks to vile actions?

And then, Nie Mingjue starts falling into qi-deviation. We know that it affected his temper the most, and his judgement. I don't understand how it works, really, so I don't know by the end how much was Nie Mingjue and how much was the mess that the spirit made of him - maybe a combination of the two. But what is certain, is that the rapid qi deviation changed him.

But I could write a hundred more pages on him, meticulously going over every single scene he has ever appeared in, because I find him that interesting. I find him the most interesting, and the most appealing character, because in a story where the navigation of the cultivation world's complex politics and hierarchies with tact and diplomacy is crucial, Nie Mingjue stands uncompromising in his principles, choosing duty and honor over anything else, even when it's hard.

[adhdo5]

I do think Jin Guangyao genuinely liked Nie Huaisang. Like he did in fact help NHS for all those years, in Guanyin temple he specifically comments with concern for his wellbeing/comfort in a way he doesn't do explicitly for anyone else other than LXC! He liked that guy!

And like . JGY considers NHS deeply annoying yes but in many ways he's so much less of a liability than his brother had been and certainly less of a danger. He does still resent NHS for all he's been given, that all including himself, but he's always been a little endeared to NHS's antics as much as how spoiled NHS is grates at him sometimes, and the fact that NHS treats LXC the same makes it– it's nice, even, to be held in high regards like that? When he had been Meng Yao he hadn't been able to shake the implication that it was the affection NHS would show to a bird or a toy but seeing it now, and seeing it when NHS genuinely needs their help, and seeing it directed at LXC in equal measure, it's clear it's just the love NHS is used to receiving, and it even dulls the bitterness of the entitlement of that past relationship in retrospect

And NHS is scatterbrained and unmotivated and airheaded and lazy - sometimes JGY thinks he's intentionally slacking off or feeding nonsense rumors because he doesn't understand the gravity of his position, and sometimes the unbecoming jealousy of all NHS has always had for granted including him rears its head – but over the years he makes some progress. Like how he eventually did form his core (barely), like he eventually did pass summer camp (barely), he's slowly coming into his meager own as a sect leader. JGY knows NHS has enough charisma and smarts to pull it off if he applies himself, and he'll eventually be a good trade for how much influence in Qinghe this gives JGY and LXC, and they've enough goodwill between them to tide it over for now

They've known each other for years, after all, and they have a rapport, and LXC loves him, and the companionship is nice. JGY is glad he gets to stay friendly with him, is glad he gets to keep this from Qinghe, is a little viciously smug about having taken Nie Mingjue's idiot baby brother for his own too. He's glad NHS is too careless to have ever even started to notice or suspect – NHS has never been wrathful, but he did love his da-ge, and it would certainly lose JGY that regard, and that would be a shame even though he doubts NHS would really manage any retribution that who Jin Guangyao is now can't mitigate

And especially the fact that their relationship is mostly the same despite their social positions changing so and the fact that NHS has always been one of the people who had also touched him willingly with some regularity and the fact that NHS has little love for such things as propriety – in some ways it feels like this too is and always has been one of his rare relationships that didn't let itself be defined by JGY's status. And as much as stuff like Su Minshan's glowing regard for Lianfang-zun is nice, having relationships like this – with LXC, with QS, with NHS – it's nice in a different way. Even if he has to keep secrets to keep this, he has this love, he's deserved it, he's always deserved it. The class disparity was overcome... he won... his mother was right...

[hard cut to NHS smacking a mosquito with his fan]

[pod-together]

Pod-Together Day 2 Reveals 2024

coal-fire heart (The Great Silkie of Sule Skerry - Anonymous (Song)) written by Aether, performed by Beryllinthranox Summary: The sea was the perfect wind-roughened blue, the kind that made her want to take a deep breath and step over the rail and into the deep.

Today’s Top Story: An End to the Plagues? [text, audio] (Good Omens (TV)) written by BookGirlFan, performed by 1happydaiz Summary: “Good morning, and welcome to Ancient Egypt News. Our top story this morning, the Israelites, and the plagues they have brought on our nation. This morning, families all across the capital have woken to the news their eldest son has died during the night. Abubakar, our man on the ground, coming to us live from the streets with more.”

Convergence (Stray Kids (Band)) written by Chanlixbolt, performed by InterstellarBlue Summary: con·ver·gence /kənˈvərj(ə)ns/ noun noun: convergence; noun: convergency Convergence is when two or more things come together to form a new whole, Chan finally gets out of his head about his feelings, and Hyunjin and Jeongin start wooing him with utter enthusiasm.

Gritty Thoughts (Men's Hockey RPF) written by FandomisOhana, performed by eafay70 Summary: Thoughts on Gritty!

That's not how it happened! (Shadowhunters (TV)) written by Hagar, performed by kittona Summary: In which Magnus tells a story to Jace and Clary's kids - and everyone has opinions.

That Clear and Simple Path (Merrily We Roll Along - Sondheim/Furth) written by klb, ShakespeareStoleMyURL, and rockinhamburger, performed by horchatapods, elledubs, klb, and ShakespeareStoleMyURL Summary: Three phone calls, the night (and then the day) after Frank's party. A podfic musical.

Dirt Cake. Because Why Not? (One Piece (Anime & Manga)) written by ScarletSorceress, performed by stereden Summary: Thatch really thought he'd learned his lesson about Ace and 'cakes'. Mainly that, if Ace wanted him to bake a cake, it would never be a normal cake. The first one had pork in it. The second was an actual war crime. Now the third one...had dirt in it? What occasion could Ace possibly plan for that required a dirt cake??? Well, Thatch was just going to have to make it to find out. Yay...

Dare Me to Tell You the Truth (Hacks (TV 2021)) written by schwanenkoenigin, performed by wilfriede0815 Summary: Ava desperately wants to get Deborah to play Truth or Dare with her. Deborah tries to resist.

just the rules of the game and the rules are the first to go [text, audio] (魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù) written by unitaryexectheory, performed by Gavilan Summary: "A'Yu, A'Yu..." Nie Huaisang sighed."Not even my own sect brothers call me Nie-zongzhu." He pouted, but Mo Xuanyu didn't speak, looking guarded. "The only Nie-zongzhu was my brother and Nie Mingjue's dead." "That must have been very hard for you." Mo Xuanyu said blandly. Nie Huaisang gave a little acknowledging giggle, feeling disgust and pleasure at how Mo Xuanyu glazed past Da-ge's name. It's good. This is good, he reminded himself. So, Nie Huaisang smiled, gently placing the cup onto Mo Xuanyu's hands. The skin of his wrists and hands was a shade lighter than Nie Huaisang's own, clutching the cup lightly.

When We Meet Again (Star Wars: Jedi: Fallen Order Series (Video Games), Star Wars - All Media Types) written by xazz, performed by Ceewelsh Summary: Bode made good plans but there was a saying that even the best plans didn’t survive first contact. He’d expected he would have more time. He didn’t expect the plan to start to fall apart at his first meeting with Cal Kestis.

The Hospital [text, audio] (The Hotel (Podcast)) written by zombified_queer, performed by tipsy_kitty Summary: The Manager, Owner, and Lobby Boy have to deal with the repetition of Madam Hotel’s very tragic accident.

[i-will-cry-you-a-river]

Like all things in Nie Huaisang's life, it started with Da-ge.

When killing Jin Guangyao and causing the heartbreak of Lan Xichen didn't help, didn't bring back his Da-ge nor gave him happiness or peace, at least - he tried something else.

The thing about sacrificing one, and alienating the other source of his to demonic cultivation was that it made everything way harder than it should have been - but he was always a resourceful little demon. Just as easily as he defeated the mastermind behind the murder of his Da-ge, he found himself back in time, when Jin Guangyao was still called Meng Yao and Da-ge was still a living, lovely little ball of rage and fierceness.

It was a strange experience, to be older than his brave and strong and talented Da-ge, but... he would always be his spoiled little didi. It wouldn't take long to get back to being the pampered little Second Master of Qinghe. Except...

He couldn't allow himself to be that lazy and shallow as he was. His Da-ge would. Not. Die. Not under his watch.

He was ready to kill Jin Guangyao, before the man could lay even a finger (or a faulty note) on his brother, but-

The man he met at the first time he opened his eyes in his past - in his new present -, was Meng Yao. His favorite non-Da-ge person, his friend, his first (second, if he wanted to be honest) crush. Da-ge's deputy, whose presence was essential in the daily lives of Qinghe. Nie Huaisang's plans changed in the minute he heard his A-Yao's soft words of concern.

"Is Second Master okay? Should I call for the healer?"

It was real.

Ever since he realized who killed his beloved brother, he questioned everything he knew about Meng Yao. He questioned his care, his love, his friendliness. But it was all real. His A-Yao really cared about him.

Maybe not Jin Guangyao. But Meng Yao did. And that care was what saved him.

"No, it's okay! It was just a quick dizziness, but everything is good now. And how many times more should I tell you that it's A-Sang?! A-Sang! A-Yao is so cruel to his A-Sang," he pouted, and the helpless adoration in the other man's eyes was so clear to him now that he didn't understand how past him had failed to notice it.

"Once more, probably," Meng Yao sassed, his tiny smile and cute little dimples hidden behind his sleeves.

"So cruel..." Nie Huaisang muttered, hiding his own smile behind a fan.

"Sect Leader sent me to tell you to get ready for the arrival of Young Master Lan," A-Yao said, taking Nie Huaisang's hairbrush in his hand to tame the unruly hair, and the younger boy allowed it, deep in his thoughts.

Meng Yao had to stay. Qinghe couldn't afford losing him right now, Jin Guangshan didn't deserve him, Nie Mingjue needed him at least until after the war, and Nie Huaisang... well, he wanted him. But in the past, as soon as Meng Yao had a better option, he took it, be it the adoration of Lan Xichen, the acceptance of Jin Guangshan or the opportunity to become Sect Leader. Meng Yao would do everything to be as close to power as he could, to be acknowledged and respected.

Nie Huaisang couldn't give that to him. He was just the heir, and saving Nie Mingjue was the whole reason for doing the whole time travel thing. He was not powerful enough. On the other hand, he would never allow Nie Mingjue to fall for Meng Yao, as his brother would never survive that relationship. Allowing Jin Guangshan to accept Meng Yao into the Jin Sect was absolutely out of the question. But-

But.

Hm.

That might work.

Lan Xichen had fallen for Meng Yao before. It was inevitable, but it was not enough. They would never do anything with their feelings; Xichen-ge was too Lan for anything, and Meng Yao would always feel inferior. And just the two of them... that would not guarantee Nie Mingjue's survival. (Hah! On the contrary, it would make the whole murder easier.) But!

But...

Lan Xichen always had a soft spot for Nie Huaisang. With some carefully timed helpless tears, some grateful hugs that last longer than appropriate, some flattering words and carefully cultivated image of being soft and sweet and just spicy enough to not be seen as a younger brother, it would be so easy to seduce the First Jade.

A-Yao already adored him, and if he had the means, the opportunity and the incentive to have Nie Huaisang as his, he would take it. Before, he never started anything with Huaisang because being the husband of the Second Young Master was not attractive enough. But being the spouse of the heir of Qinghe AND the heir - soon-to-be Sect Leader - of Lan was a completely different thing. Having connections to not one but two of the Big Sects, being Consort Lan, the husband of a man who would be indulgent to all of his manipulations and power games would be a temptation not even Meng Yao could resist.

Jing Guangshan had to die soon, though. It would be a shame to kill his not-yet-husband because he thought it was a good idea to suck up to his walking sexually transmitted disease of a father.

[untamedmetablogiguess]

finally got around to watching Fatal Journey and honestly the most devastating part of it is not how it gives us adorable baby Nie brothers ( though that does hurt), nor how it makes Huaisang accidentally implicated in the music poisoning (though that hurts, too) - it’s how it deepens Huaisang’s character from merely a harmless pleasure-seeker to a genuinely good person.

the version of Huaisang we see in the show proper isn’t particularly interested in being moral! He’s not a BAD person, he doesn’t want to hurt anybody, but neither does he particularly care to be GOOD. he leaves that, like all the tough parts of life, to his da-ge to take care of. Surely Mingjue is righteous enough for both of them! Huaisang’s no good in a fight- surely he’d just get in the way! Huaisang’s tragedy, originally, is his descent from a lovable goofball, a harmless fop, a perpetual baby brother, into a hardened, ruthless, desperately lonely man hellbent on revenge no matter how many people he has to destroy on the way. And that’s a pretty good tragedy!

but with the material introduced in Fatal Journey, Huaisang appears to be a genuinely good person- a much better person than anyone ever gave him credit for. He sees something he believes is morally reprehensible being done by the people he loves and respects- especially his brother, who is regarded as a paragon of righteousness in their society- and he stands up and says ‘no.’ I don’t think ANYONE else does that, at least where we can see it. WWX’s whole DEAL is doing the right thing in the face of people who have waaay more power than him (Wens, Jins….), but he’s never put in this specific situation because the people he loves and respects aren’t the ones doing morally reprehensible things! The closest parallel we see is maybe LWJ fighting the Lan elders in defense of WWX, but that is much less a principled stance based on moral virtue and much more an act of tremendous personal love and sacrifice. He’s not doing it because it’s there right thing to do, he’s doing it because he loves WWX and doesn’t CARE whether that’s right or wrong anymore.

NHS is put in a fairly unique position where he is directly exposed to some of the basest hypocrisy of the cultivation world, and instead of saying ‘well, da-ge’s doing it so it must be okay, I guess it's not really that bad,” he says ‘No, this is unacceptable.’ He says ‘You’re better than this. WE are better than this. We HAVE to be better than this.’ He is not, ultimately, able to change anything about it, because he doesn’t have that kind of power, but he SAYS it, he makes it clear, directly to NMJ’s face, that he is disappointed in him, and ashamed of what he is doing, and he thinks it’s wrong.

and the fall from THAT, from someone who argues that exploiting the corpses of the dead is wrong EVEN if those people were criminals, into someone who would deliberately desecrate the body of a woman he KNOWS is innocent because it’s the best way he can think of to hurt the person he wants to hurt, a person for whom the ends justify any and all means, and who ignores or disregards the collateral damage of any other lives destroyed - that’s SO MUCH WORSE. That hurts SO much more.

[wangxianficrecs]

'cause it's worth the sacrifice to finally be strong by MichelleFeather

‘cause it’s worth the sacrifice to finally be strong

by MichelleFeather

G, 4k, Wangxian

Summary: "Why does no one believe you both are in a relationship with each other?" he asked over dinner, Lan Huan not in attendance. Lan Zhan and Wei Ying shared a glance filled with years of that exact same question - along with the rage, anger, sadness, and acceptance that came with such a thought. Wei Ying swirled his drink around with his straw, the ice softly clinking against the clear glass. "They don't believe us. That's the only conclusion we've ever been able to come to Uncle." he responded, hesitantly looking up at the elder. "Uncle, you and the Wen siblings are the only people who believe Wei Ying and I are together, that we are married. Brother has always said we were best friends, soulmates, then immediately offered to arrange dates for me." ------------------------------------------------ Reverse trope: "instead of fake dating, everyone is convinced that you aren't actually dating" Kay's comments: I'm actually really fond of the trope that no one believes it that two people are actually dating, but unfortunately, we have so few stories, which made me even happier to stumble upon this one. Very well done story where no one apart from Lan Qiren and the Wen siblings actually believe that Wangxian are dating. Some of it is due to homophobia, some of it disbelief and my heart aches for them. Luckily, Lan Qiren is actually really supportive in this story and looks out for them, urging them to cut people out of their life who don't accept their relationship even after five years of marriage. Bonus point for surprisingly decent person Jin Zixuan. Excerpt: But this evening in particular, Lan Qiren was supposed to be at his Saturday night book club, he was supposed to not be back until close to 9pm. So, when the front door opened at 7:30pm, and had a straight view into the living room - where Wei Ying was perched on Lan Zhan’s lap, hands tangled in his hair - well, Lan Qiren wasn’t the happiest person in the world. Wei Ying still has nightmares of that moment, of being caught with his shirt hanging off his body, Lan Zhan’s hands palming and cupping his ass through his sweatpants, his own hands alternating between cupping Lan Zhan’s face and tugging him closer by his hair. After the initial anger had subsided, after they had gotten all their clothes back on, Lan Qiren told them to sit at the table - where they would continue to sit in silence for almost 30 minutes. “How long has this been going on?” Wei Ying could feel Lan Zhan’s hand tightly grasping his underneath the table. “Four years today, Uncle.” Wei Ying could tell that Lan Qiren had been expecting a much different answer, perhaps a more recent one, rather than four years. It had almost been as shocking to Wei Ying that they had managed to keep their relationship a secret from everyone for as long as they had. The simple fact that it was Lan Zhan’s uncle that discovered their relationship first seemed like a bad omen to him at the time - not knowing that the man would come to be one of their greatest supporters from there on out.

pov wei wuxian, modern setting, modern no powers, established relationship, good uncle lan qiren, good person jin zixuan, lan xichen/jin guangyao/nie mingjue, 3zun, married lan wangji/wei wuxian, adopted lan sizhui, jiang family bashing, lan xichen tries, homophobia, families of choice, friends to lvoers, supportive lan qiren, marriage

~*~

(Please REBLOG as a signal boost for this hard-working author if you like – or think others might like – this story.)

[3cosmicfrogs]

for the ask game: naybe an AU where LXC is not on the stairs at thaf JGY/NMJ confrontatiom but baxia Got Attached so she refuses to be like. Slammed down?? And nieyao js now awkwarsly staring at each other, because whay is happening

hmmmmm you propose an interesting scenario.... i guess this could fit into the More Sentient Baxia AU that Woob and i have fever-dreamed up? in that case, five headcanons of what would happen if baxia got Attached:

baxia does not want to kill the Searching-Wanting-Waiting-Watching Human. she likes him, he gives nice skritches. and he always surrounds himself with a delicious aura of almost-evil that she just itches to sink her teeth into and rip away from him... Plus, her master clearly likes him too, he just needs her to show him!

baxia has seen into her human's heart and decided that he needs to get laid, immediately. She will take the necessary steps to make this happen, because she is a Good Sabre! now that she's saved the Searching-Wanting-Waiting-Watching Human, she only needs to find a way to make her intentions clear to the Floating-Calming-Softly-Quietly Human... her best course of action is clearly to start hovering in his peripheral vision from what she is sure is her most seductive angle.

Misunderstandings! Misunderstandings everywhere! naturally, because they are grown adults, mingjue and meng yao cannot possibly have a conversation about this. they will continue to Agonise separately and entirely unproductively while Xichen looks on and sighs. All the while everyone is being terrorised by baxia. Eventually someone breaks (my bet is on xichen) and demands to know exactly what is going on?! and if you think the resulting argument anything is but a sarcastic word-duel you'd be wrong! again, because nieyao are mature, grown-ass adults about this who can totally handle their feelings.

"are you upset you couldn't follow through, da-ge?" "I swear this has never happened before! I usually perform just fine!" "that's alright, mingjue-xiong, maybe you were just stressed?" "yes, there's no reason to be embarassed, da-ge." "a-yao is right, i'm sure this sort of thing happens all the time...?" "well did it ever happen to either of you?!" "...no." "whatever! let's try again then, i'm sure i'll manage this time!" <- this conversation will be overheard by an outside character of your choosing (nhs perhaps?) to Maximum Comedic Effect.

When the Issues Are Being Resolved, mingjue is faced with the absolutely mortifying ordeal of explaining to his increasingly incredulous sworn brothers that yes, nie sabres do in fact sometimes talk to their masters, of course this is normal what are you talking about, and also his magical bloodthirsty weapon has decided that he really really needs a romantic relationship and picked xichen and meng yao. yes she's been tormenting him. they can try a relationship he supposes, just to satisfy the Magical Bloodthirsty Weapon of course, no feelings will arise surely, and if nothing comes of it she will back off. this is entirely unaided by huaisang, who keeps orchestrating bed shortages and feeding the three of them aphrodisiacs because he is convinced that his brother is suffering from erectile dysfunction.

I'm not very good at making coherent plots or headcanons as you can see, but i thrive in crack treated seriously, and so this is what this will be.

[naehja]

Prompt:

5 times where JGY tried to seduce LXC during the 10 years following NMJ's death, but failed. Either LXC knew and pretend to not because he wasn't interested (still in grief), either he was blind/ignorant about it and was seeing JGY just as a good friend.

Probably more the second one, he was too kind to pretend that he wasn't seeing JGY's feelings and wouldn't have let him hope for years if he knew.

LXC is a pure Lan, falling in love only one time in his life and this someone was Mingjue. (JGY knew about NMJ and LXC's relationship and that's one of the reasons for why he killed NMJ).

+1 time where JGY has LXC in his power. And is clear with his feelings this time. "you are mine now Er-Ge. Don't worry, i'll not hurt you, or your brother, if you don't make trouble. Even if you can't do anything, of course!" but everyone came (WWX, LWJ, JC, NHS) and LXC avoids something terrible. Thank to our favorite couple WangXian.

Ideas: - Jin Guangyao touches Lan Xichen's hair, shoulder and cheek, acting like if everything was going to be ok (for him). He takes advantage that LXC can't defend himself, with his spiritual power sealed. - JGY implies that he was going to take LXC with him while running away. - LWJ is a very protective little brother. - NHS and WWX are pissed by the way JGY act toward LXC. - LXC is angry because of the whole situation, the revelations and the lies. - JGY says "what this barbarian had that I have not Er-Ge? Why giving yourself to him and not to me?" He can even be more crude in his words because he knows he lost and wants to hurt the man that he couldn't have. - JGY has really moved his hand behind LXC's back, trying to take him as hostage in a desesparate attempt (so NHS has not lied).

[jaimebluesq]

Dage prompt! Modern AU, NHS brings JC home officially as his boyfriend. Dage likes him, he's clearly dependable and obviously in love with NHS. But he's still gonna make him sweat a little (and then maybe buy him a beer).

Thank you for the prompt! Always love a protective Da-ge. I hope you enjoy!

~ ~ ~

Nie Mingjue had been in the laundry room when his brother came through the front door – without knocking, as usual – and the first he heard from his brother’s new boyfriend was a string of curse words whispered sharply. Nie Mingjue had been a step away from running to the kitchen to get his most impressive meat cleaver... but when he poked his head into the hallway, he paused at what he actually saw. A tall young man (but not as tall as Nie Mingjue) was helping Nie Huaisang out of his jacket, even holding his hand out expectantly to take a hat and scarf, and when the curses restarted, Nie Mingjue discovered that they were about how Nie Huaisang had ‘forgotten’ his gloves again.

Something Nie Mingjue had reminded his brother about his entire life.

When Nie Mingjue came out to greet them, he was properly introduced to Jiang Cheng. The young man made a quick bow – proper, respectful – and though he looked a little nervous, he was not overly fearful.

So far so good – he was already a sight better than Nie Huaisang’s last three significant others.

Over dinner, he found out Jiang Cheng was a veterinarian – good money, loved animals – and had met Nie Huaisang when his pet budgie had fallen sick (it had been a minor infection, and the bird had survived to twitter again). When Nie Mingjue asked his brother about what he’d been doing lately, Nie Huaisang began to talk about a painting he’d been working on, and Jiang Cheng immediately pulled out his phone to bring up a photo of it – supportive of Nie Huaisang’s hobbies, proud of his work. And when Nie Mingjue started teasing his brother about never going to the gym, at first Jiang Cheng had joined in – apparently he’d been trying to get Nie Huaisang to join him for a yoga class – but the moment Nie Huaisang looked genuinely affected by their teasing, Jiang Cheng stopped, took his boyfriend’s hand, and changed the subject.

For once, Nie Huaisang had brought home a date that Nie Mingjue was hard pressed to find fault with.

But that didn’t mean Jiang Cheng was completely off the hook.

After dinner was finished, Nie Huaisang pulled Jiang Cheng up to help clear the table of dishes. As they began filling the sink with water, Nie Huaisang announced he needed to make a stop in the men’s room – and then he looked meaningfully, and warningly, at Nie Mingjue. He shrugged innocently at his baby brother, then waved him off. The moment Nie Huaisang was out of sight, however, Nie Mingjue stood up and walked over to the fridge.

“You don’t mind if I do some prep for tomorrow’s dinner while you work on the dishes, do you?” he asked Jiang Cheng as he took out a rack of ribs he’d pulled out to defrost that morning.

“Of course not,” Jiang Cheng replied, gently sliding dishes into the soapy water. “Let me know if I’m in your way, or if I can help.”

“I will.” He opened a drawer and pulled out his favourite meat cleaver – it sat in his hand like an extension of his arm. He placed the rack just so, then brought the cleaver down with a bang to separate a mass of bone and cartilage.

Jiang Cheng jumped at the noise and looked over; his hand paused mid-way to reaching for a scrubber.

Nie Mingjue was gratified to see a slight shake in the hand.

“Did my Didi mention how our parents died when we were really young?” he asked ‘casually’ as he noisily chopped to separate the meat between two ribs. Jiang Cheng nodded; his throat bobbed. “For all these years, we’ve been each other’s only family.” Another rib separated. “Sure he’s my baby brother, but I practically raised him, too. That means something, don’t you think?”

“Y-yes, sir.”

“And A-Sang hasn’t always had the best taste in partners.” He chopped through another mass of cartilage. “There was this one little asshole he dated in secondary school. Thought he could pressure him into doing something he wasn’t ready for.” He sliced out several more ribs with strength and efficiency. “Sure, I’m lucky the little brat never pressed charges – I think he claimed that a bear attacked him – but even if he had, it would have been worth it. Because nobody – and I mean nobody – hurts my Didi and lives to tell about it.”

He slammed the cleaver down into the butcher block so hard that it stuck into the wood. Nie Mingjue let it go and reached for a nearby cloth to wipe his hands off. He looked up at Jiang Cheng, who had yet to look away from the knife, and tilted his chin, waiting for a response.

“Da-ge, what are you doing?”

Nie Mingjue looked to the kitchen door where his brother had just returned to glare at him.

“A-Cheng, did he try to scare you? He acts tough, but he’s just a big teddy bear.” Nie Huaisang walked over to the sink and affectionately bumped his hip into Jiang Cheng’s, then picked up a towel.

It had been ages since Nie Mingjue had watched his brother help with the dishes without half an hour of cajoling and a bribe or two.

“It’s all right,” Jiang Cheng replied, giving Nie Mingjue a nod. “Nothing worse than anything I’ve said to A-Jie’s boyfriends.”

Nie Huaisang lifted an eyebrow in his boyfriend’s direction. “You threatened to make Jin Zixuan a eunuch and feed his balls to the neighbour’s dog.”

Jiang Cheng scrubbed at a plate with a satisfied grin. “And I’d do it again.”

Nie Huaisang rolled his eyes and took the plate from his boyfriend to dry.

Nie Mingjue watched them, a fond smile on his face.

Okay, Didi – this one’s all right.

[thebiscuiteternal]

I have no idea how coherent this will be because I am still in borderline Sickness Stupid Mode, but for today's "Things I Will Probably Never Write," we have "Nie Mingjue is forced into an unwinnable choice between his brother and his sect and Nie Huaisang takes the choice from him to spare them both (some of) the misery."

So, during all the cleanup and rebuilding post-Sunshot, it becomes apparent that there is a growing problem in the Nie sect.

All of the rogue cultivators and refugee-from-destroyed-small-sect cultivators and regular soldiers hold a huge disdain for Nie Huaisang, and they aren't particularly shy about it. They signed on under the battle charisma of Nie Mingjue, and even if Huaisang wasn't entirely idle during the war (most people saw him at one point or another helping the infirmary and food tents, for example, and some of them were even treated or fed by him), the idea of this coddled little puffball ever giving them orders is a big fat No Fucking Thanks.

The spreading disgruntlement isn't curbed by the seniors and elders who'd always been with the sect, as they've never been particularly happy with Nie Mingjue's insistence on keeping his brother as heir either.

And eventually, the grumbling becomes a snap. Someone or several someones tries to incapacitate Nie Huaisang enough that he'd no longer be able to take up the sect leader mantle.

Naturally, Nie Mingjue is incensed, and when the person or ringleaders are caught, they have to be punished.

But he's not oblivious, and it quickly becomes clear to him that they have a lot more support amongst the sect than he would have thought, severely complicating the situation.

Nie Huaisang isn't oblivious either. If the punishment is too harsh; if his brother seems to be choosing him over the will of the sect on the whole, they could be looking at a succession crisis, or even open rebellion. If the punishment is light, but he doesn't remove Huaisang from his position, that will only make the attempts bolder until he has to fully pick a side. If he does remove Huaisang from his position, then no matter how harsh a punishment he chooses, there will be those who see it as capitulating.

If he does this-

If he does that-

If, if, if-

Huaisang knows that no matter what his brother chooses to do, there will be severely negative side effects, but that the worst will come from siding with him.

(He knows he isn't strong enough to have to stand and hear his brother cast him aside.)

Well... it's not like he wanted to be in line for the sect position, and everyone expects him to be a coward anyway.

So he spends a full night writing instructions to a handful of trusted servants on how to sell or release the aviary inhabitants, which of his things to sell, etc.

He packs a few paintings that will make good advertisements of his ability, a few more that will sell quickly, and some trinkets and such that will also fetch good prices. He packs the money he'd earned off his last book just before the war started, some food from the kitchen and the plainest, most unnoticeable robes he owns.

Then, just before dawn, he finishes a letter to his brother, fetches Zhihua alone out of all the birds, and slips out of one of the secret gates that's no longer manned now that the war is over.

He doesn't really have an idea of where he's going, other than it would be best if he doesn't go near any sect seats. Too many political complications if he were to be found. Maybe some seaside town? He could actually learn to fish, and his abilities would do well among tourists...

No matter where he goes, this way, his brother won't be backed into a corner any more. No matter what he chooses to do with the ringleaders, he'll have to pick another heir, so no one can say he's still coddling Huaisang from the sect's perception of his behavior.

---

To say Nie Mingjue is unhappy to find his brother's goodbye letter is an understatement. At first, he takes it as Nie Huaisang avoiding duties and consequences again, but as he re-reads it, he starts to understand Huaisang's intent to spare him from a no-win situation.

Which doesn't make him any less unhappy.

Especially not when he gets to the line about never having to practice saber again. He's sure Huaisang intended that as a joke, trying to lighten the severity of what's just happened, but all it does is remind Mingjue that his own frequent expressions of annoyance and exasperation with his brother's idle personality probably contributed to exacerbating the situation.

He can't let himself resent the sect, but he can resent his brat of a brother for never shaping up and himself for not doing better at making Huaisang do so. It all comes down to that. Really. Nothing else.

Getting up and getting dressed, he goes to speak with the elders about what punishments would be appropriate for the disciples being held in the cells and a list of cousins who are close enough to the main bloodline to be acceptably eligible, and never says a word to any of them about Huaisang.

Later, he will go speak with the servants Huaisang chose and give them their assignments, but only for the birds. He does not mention any of the instructions about selling Huaisang's possessions.

Then after that, he will take Baxia out to the coldest side of the mountain, away from the walls of the Unclean Realms, and spend the rest of the day venting the grief and rage and resentment tied up in his guts.

Then he will go back to running the sect and pretend nothing is amiss until Huaisang's next letter arrives.

[rosethornewrites]

Fic: illuminate the world

Relationship: Jiāng Yànlí/Jīn Zǐxuān

Characters: Jīn Zǐxuān, Jiang Yanli, Lan Yuan | Lan Sizhui, Wēn Níng | Wēn Qiónglín, Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin, Wēn Qíng, Lan Huan | Lan Xichen, Nie Huaisang, Nie Mingjue

Additional Tags: Introspection, Jīn Zǐxuān Tries, Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn Protection Squad, Ethics, Mentioned Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī, Mentioned Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn, Life Debt, Repaying Debt, Mentioned Mèng Yáo | Jīn Guāngyáo, Cultivation Sect Politics, Honor, POV Jīn Zǐxuān, POV Third Person, Podfic Welcome

Summary: After the events of chapter 24, Jin Zixuan must consider the request to swear siblinghood and the entire situation, including the actions of his own clan.

Notes: See end

First fic: the thread may stretch or tangle but it will never break

Second fic: Honor Good People

AO3 link

———————

Jin Zixuan wasn’t unaware that he was kept in the dark about certain things; too many conversations had stuttered to a halt when he entered rooms for him to be ignorant of that reality. He’d always told himself he didn’t want to know what his father was up to, having learned unpleasantly at a young age about his father’s more salacious inclinations.

But standing in the Burial Mounds between his wife and the sentient fierce corpse of a man who had died by his clan’s hands, watching a toddler melt down in abject terror at the sight of his zhushazhi, screaming for Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji—calling them Diedie and Baba, with implications he wasn’t able to immediately comprehend—he couldn’t ignore the signs he’d been seeing in the months since the war.

He could only let A-Li wipe the mark of his clan away, hoping in vain that it would calm the child, and then let himself be ushered away by his xiao jiuzi as the man who was his jiuzi tried to comfort the boy, only to be greeted by the sight of civilians and the elderly in a clearing with some ramshackle huts.

Koi Tower had always been a place where one had to watch their step, and he’d spent a lot of his childhood learning not to show his emotions or trust anyone through bad experiences, but he hadn’t thought it could sink to the level of throwing children, civilians, and the elderly into labor camps for no crime but their family name.

He wished the corruption of his clan stopped there, but he met a woman who showed him a peony branded on her body as Mianmian would have had a sun burned into her face if not for Wei Wuxian, and heard tales that turn his stomach about the callous treatment and deaths of all children but the little boy who was rightly terrified of him—a little boy who was apparently his zhizi through A-Li, the adopted son of Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji who as it turned out were married.

If that were all, it would have been easier to handle, but then Jiang Wanyin told him exactly how far Wei Wuxian would go for family, that he’d found a way to give him his own jindan after his was melted by Wen Zhuliu… and had not intended to tell him, instead resigned to suffering silently and becoming the enemy of the jianghu repaying Wen—Wei, rather, now Wei—Qing and Wei Ning for sheltering them and performing the surgery by saving their family. Or he would have, had Lan Wangji not discovered the truth and decided he would not stand for it, instead confessing they’d somehow been married since they were fifteen, which confusingly he hadn’t told Wei Wuxian until he determined it could be used to protect him and…

“They’re disgustingly in love,” Jiang Wanyin muttered, shaking his head, “and I guess it didn’t even occur to my idiot brother that was why he was obsessed with Lan Wangji.”

“They are also not quiet about it at all, so now there are silencing talismans engraved on the cave wall that get activated every evening,” Wei Qing added.

She had rejoined them in time to explain the core transfer after finishing a session of musical healing cultivation on Wei Wuxian, something she and Lan Wangji had invented.

And that was significantly more than Jin Zixuan wanted to know, ever, about his jiuzi—thinking about his surgically-removed jindan was hard enough, and Wei Qing had blessedly not gone into much detail but his imagination was enough—but he didn’t dare protest under the circumstances.

“I would prefer not to know certain things about my brother,” Lan Xichen said, blessedly, and the discussion moved on.

So Wei Wuxian’s act of liberating the labor camp and all that had followed was due to a life debt for rescuing Jiang Wanyin—Jin Zixuan had to reconsider his view of Wei Ning as timid given that he’d drugged Wen Chao and his men to do so—sheltering them following the razing of Lotus Pier, and performing the transplant surgery. Which, according to Jiang Wanyin, was at least in part because he felt he owed a debt to the Jiangs, which turned his stomach because he could see A-Yao feeling he had to do whatever their father wanted out of a perception of owing the Jin for finally recognizing him. Wei Wuxian had felt he owed his very jindan, though Jin Zixuan was certain from seeing him defend his siblings it was also a measure of the depth of his love for them.

Wei Ning’s actions, arguably treason, had been prompted by Wei Wuxian simply being kind to him, which was amazing in and of itself and made clear his values.

Jiang Wanyin and A-Li, upon learning of this debt, had decided to also shoulder the burden with him, as had Lan Wangji in marrying him.

Nie Huaisang believed he should also shoulder some of the burden because of his own life debt—Wei Ning had helped him escape from the Wen indoctrination after the rest of them had been left for dead at Muxi Mountain. Otherwise he would have been a valuable prisoner to keep Chifeng-Zun out of the war effort.

The argument, which was somewhat tenuous if only because it required he agree, was that he too owed a life debt through A-Li because she had been sheltered along with her brothers, and thus the eight of them should swear siblinghood. Jin Zixuan saw no need to disagree, as without them his wife may not have survived, and that was enough for him.

“A-Li’s debt is my debt,” he said as soon as Jiang Wanyin paused to take a breath.

Given that this likely went against his father’s wishes, his decision could be unfilial, but life debts transcended that in his eyes.

The bright hope that his words sparked in those gathered around him, A-Li’s like the sun, only confirmed he’d made the right decision. Even Zewu-Jun and Chifeng-Zun.

Jin Zixuan abruptly realized why—Fuqin couldn’t move openly against Wei Wuxian if he was his heir’s sworn brother, and so he and these refugees would gain more protection.

He didn’t regret the decision. Perhaps it was the fact that he had grown up seeing and trying to ignore the rot at Jinlin Tai and couldn’t deny that he could absolutely believe that it had sunk so low as to do the things that had been done at that labor camp, could believe his own cousin Jin Zixun would sell women from the camp to brothels, and could still see little Wei Yuan wailing in abject terror at the sight of his zhushazhi every time he closed his eyes that made it easier to dismiss any doubts he might have.

Wei Wuxian was a war hero whose ill treatment since the war was distasteful, and it disgusted him that his clan was violating its own motto through vilifying him—darkening rather than illuminating the world. Jin Zixuan had stood in battle with him during the Sunshot Campaign and now knew more of the price he had paid to help them win it. Further, he had done his utmost to protect A-Li from him when he was an absolute boor.

Becoming his sworn brother would be an honor and the right thing to do.

More importantly A-Li loved her brother and wanted to protect him, wanted him home so he could heal.

That was enough for him.

———————

Nie Huaisang’s already started on the propaganda, as you can see, pushing his tale of Wen Ning letting him escape. I’m not sure Nie Mingjue completely believes him, but under the circumstances he’s not going to question it. But are there hints of the Headshaker in his rewriting the narrative to suit his needs?

The Jin clan motto is “opening the doors toward wisdom and aspiration; illuminating the world with the vermilion light,” which is referred to in the title.

Glossary:

baba = dad (informal)

diedie = dad (informal)

fuqin = father (formal)

jindan = golden core

jiuzi - wife’s younger brother

xiao jiuzi - wife’s youngest brother

zhizi - younger brother’s son, can apparently also refer to wife’s younger brother’s son?

zhushazhi - zhusha is cinnabar, and with zhi it becomes cinnabar mole

[allthelittlecreepycrawlies]

Arranged marriage. NHS is going to get married to some good match girl they've found for him, and coming out as cut-sleeve won't save him from this fate. So he stages his own kidnapping and hires a mercenary who kidnaps him all in red attire on his wedding day. The kidnapper he hired turns out to be MY, who became a mix of wandering cultivator + mercenary after being kicked out of the unclean realm, and NHS first secret love. (You can make MY go to do the deed dressed in red too)

Once they'd finished practically binding him into his robes, the servants had left the changing room, meaning there was nothing Nie Huaisang could do except sit and stare despondently at the lanterns as they burned through their store of incense.

His wife to be was pretty; he could accept that in an aesthetic sense. She was kind, with a cute laugh; up until the betrothal had been announced, they'd been good friends.

But the idea of marrying, of sleeping with anyone besides Yao-ge her made him very glad he hadn't eaten over the past two days.

No matter how much everyone wrote it off as pre-wedding jitters -the more charitable ones- or him just being an obstinate brat -everyone else- he just couldn't deal with this.

Even just the night before, he'd gotten in a huge fight with his brother about it, as Da-ge continued to never give him a straight answer why it had to be him to continue the family bloodline, when even an idiot who knew nothing about gentry would figure the sect leader doing it himself made more sense.

They hadn't spoken to each other at all during the final preparations.

He had become so desperate to get out of this that at one point he'd even attempted to arrange a very public disappearance. A fake death, even. But as upset and angry as he was with his brother, he hadn't been able to go through with that, and had sent word to the facilitator to just call it off and keep the money for their trouble.

Fuck. It wasn't even time for the ceremony yet, and he was so tired that his vision was-

-wait.

He quickly tried to stand up, only to sway on his feet and topple to the side.

Hands caught him before he could hit the floor, and he caught sight of a blurry red theater mask as he was scooped up.

"Wha... what's..." he slurred, only to be shushed.

"Just sleep," crooned a voice that he never thought he'd hear again was familiar, even through the haze caused by the drugged incense. "I'll take care of everything."

---

To say that the Unclean Realms was caught off guard was an understatement.

No one had expected that there would be someone who actually wanted to steal would be so audacious as to steal the second son on his wedding day.

And yet a masked figure in red, the young master over one shoulder and a whip in his other hand, had practically exploded out of the window of the sealed changing room and swung down to the courtyard, before splitting off into a dozen illusions to keep the guards guessing as they scattered to and over the walls.

Nie Mingjue was the first to spot the real one, for all the good it did him. The thief was surprisingly fast on their feet and agile, even carrying his unconscious brother. At the same time, it was clear that neither side wanted to risk hurting Huaisang, which gave the stranger more of an advantage with a whip than it gave him with a saber.

Baxia was sent flying, and with that first chance to escape laid out, they took it. By the time Nie Mingjue had called her back to his hand, they had disappeared with the same quickness they had appeared, and had taken his brother with them.

And now there was an even bigger mess to deal with.