#mostly from jin and jun themselves

[blackhakumen]

Mini Fanfic #1246: The Most Intense, Awkward Family Reunion Ever. (Tekken)

12:45 p.m. at Leroy's Suite..........

'Doorbell Rings'

Sugar: (Barking at the Ringing Door in Front of Her)

Leroy: Shimmer down in there, girl, I'm coming! (Walks Out of the Kitchen and Straight to the Door) Gonna have me burn the turkey if you keep this.

Leroy opens the door in front of him, revealing to be Wang's student, Ling Xiaoyu, and her two boyfriends, Jin and Hwoarang, carrying their respective containers of meals in their hands.

JinHwoaXio: Happy Thanksgiving, Leroy!

Sugar: (Happily Barls at the Trio as She Lays Herself Down on her Back)

Xiaoyu: (Smiles Brightly at Sugar as She Crouches Herself Down and Gives Her Belly Rubs) And Happy Thanksgiving to good girl like, Sugar~ Yes you are~

Leroy: (Smiles at the Trio) 'Bout time y'all made it here. I was afraid you gotten yourselves lost or somethin'. (Walks Back to the Kitchen with Everyone Else Following Behind)

Jin: (Closes the Door Behind Him) We had more of a traffic problem if anything.

Hwoarang: (Rolls his Eyes in Annoyance) Don't even get me started on those wack jobs behind the wheels. I know they want meet back with their folks and all, but would it kill any of them not to drive around all deranged for once!?

Jin: Hm. Funny. Their recklessness on the road remains me of a certain biker we know in this very room.

Hwoarang: ('Scoffs') Get real. My driving skills aren't nearly as batshit insane as those jerkwads.

Xiaoyu: (Gives Hwoarang a Bit of a Stern Pout) Hwooo, do we need to have another talk about all of speeding tickets you've received for the last three years straight?

Jin: (Raises his Eyebrow at his Boyfriend) And how we have to help pay most of them for you?

Hwoarang: (Puts his Food Container Down on the Dining Table While Sighing in Defeat) No..........

Leroy: (Chuckles Lightly) I knew I made the right call inviting you three lovebirds. It'll be less chummy this holiday around.

Hwoarang: How chummy are we talking here?

Leroy: Getting invited to private rich gatherings chummy. ('Sigh') Kept losing hours upon hours of my life going there, but their food are pretty good to say the least.

Jin: (Simply Nodded at Leroy) We're grateful to be here regardless, Leroy. It's been a long time since I have a proper Thanksgiving Dinner myself.

Leroy: Really now? And I take it was during the time your mother was around?

Jin: (Simply Nodded) Correct. We didn't have many close relatives back then, so it would only be the two of us celebrating the holidays together. (Frowns a Bit) Until the night I had to leave her behind to fend our home from Orge.....

Xiaoyu: Oh Jinny~ (Hugs her Boyfriend's Arm) You will always have my condolences.

Leroy: (Takes his Hat Off From his Head and Lowers it Down a Bit) Ours as well, boy.

Sugar: ('Whimpers')

Hwoarang: Your mom seems like one hell of a woman to try and fight a monster like him off.

Leroy: Even more so considering she had to deal with Kazuya of all people, before you were even born

Jin: (Simply Nodded in Agreement) Yeah. She's one of a kind.

'Doorbell Rings'

Hwoarang: You invited more guests here, pops?

Leroy: No one besides you three- (Turns to Xiao) Unless that Panda friend of yours followed you here.

Xiaoyu: (Shakes her Head) No, Panda already went out of town to visit her family for the weekend. She sent me a picture and everything. (Shows the Boys a Picture of Panda Waving Hello on her Phone)

Jin: I'll see who's at the door. You three get everything situated in the meantime. (Walks Outs of the Room)

Leroy: You don't have to tell me twice. Let's get cooking, y'all. (Heads to the Stove)

Xiaoyu: (Gidding Herself Up with Excitement) I can't wait for you all to try out my peach cobbler and turkey styled meat buns!~

Hwoarang: You mentioning them alone has my mouth watering already........

As the rest gang preparing for the holiday feast, Jin makes his way to the suite's door as he said he would. Upon opening it however, his eyes begins to slowly widens at the middle aged woman with long black hair, standing right in front of him, giving him the most sweetest smile she could muster.

She may not look familiar to some, but her face alone was more than enough for him to recognize who that is within seconds. The woman who was once assumed missing, or at the worst, dead, a few years prior as well as the one responsible for giving him the power he needs to help save his world from utter chaos and destruction.......Jun Kazama.

Jun: Hi, Jin. Long time, no see~

Jin: (Almost at a Loss For Words) Mother....(Shakes his Head a Bit) It can't be. Is that really you?

Jun: (Gently Grabs Hold of Jin's Other Hand) It is, sweetie. I'm here now. (A Single Tear Fell Down From her Eyes) I promise I won't ever leave you from this world again.

Jin: Mother..... (Eyes Starts Watering Up a Bit) I-

???????: Will would you look at that.

Jin eyes starts to widen up once more as he notices another familiar face walking over to the door outside with an evil smirk on hs face. The last person he ever wanted to see again, let alone on a family oriented holiday such as this, his father, Kazuya Mishima.

Kazuya: Crying over your mother already? You're even more spineless than I thought you would be, boy-

Before he could finish his sentence completely, Kazuya felt a strong, hard hitting punch striked on his forehead by his own son, who now has a darkened glare in his eyes that could scare the toughest fighters in the universe off.

Jun: (Eyes Widened in Complete Shock at What is Happening in Front of Her Right Now) Jin!!

Kazuya: (Unfazed by the Punch Itself) Nice to see you too.

Jin: Leave.

Kazuya: On a fine holiday such as this.

Jin: Leave.

Kazuya: Come now. Is that really any way to treat your own guest and father?

Jin: Don't care. You're nothing to me. Get the hell out.

Jun: (Lowers her Son Fist From her Husband's Forehead) Jin, calm down, please. Your father is not a threat. Not anymore.

Jin: (Turns Back to Jun, Softening his Glare in the Process) How can you be certain of that, mother? For all we know, he could be scheming something without any of us even noticing.

Kazuya: (Crosses his Arms While Shrugging) I mean, I would if I'm at my office right now....

Jun: (Gives her Husband a Quick Glare) Kazu! (Turns Back to Her Son With Reassirance in her Eyes) I will keep him in check from tis day forward. Trust me.

Xiaoyu: Jin! (Walks Out of the Kitchen) Is everything okay over- ('GASPS') (Angrily Points at Kazuya) YOU!

Kazuya: (Raises an Eyebrow at Xiaoyu) Can I help yo-OOF!

Kazuya suddenly felt a fierce palm strike to the gut, delivered by Ling Xiaoyu, as it causes him to push back a bit.

Kazuya: (Bends his Upper Body Down and Holds Onto his Damaged Stomach in Pain) Insolent......

Xiaoyu: (Harshly Glares at Jin's Deviless Father) You have five seconds to walk out of this premise and never return or SO HELP ME- (Suddenly Gasps as She Finally Notices Jun Presence Before Helping Behind Her Boyfriend's Back) Jin- (Shyly Points at Jun) I-Is that-

Jin: ('Sigh') Yes, Xiao, this is my mother, Jun. (Turns Back to Jun) Mother, this my girlfriend, Ling Xiaoyu.

Jun: (Happily Greets Xiao) Hello.

Xiaoyu: Uhh- (Comes Out of Jin's Back and Greets Jun Back with a Nervous Smile on her Face) H-Hi, ma'am, my name is Ling Xiaoyu. I'm a martial artist, a student of the late Wang Jinrei, a-and despite everything, I am a firm believer that your son is a very good boi!!~

'A Bit of Silence'

Jin: (Gives his Girlfriend a Deadpinned Look on his Face) Really, Xiao?

Xiaoyu: (Pouts at Jin) I'm nervous outta my mind here, cut me some slack!!~

Jun: (Giggles Softly) I agree, Xiao, My Jinny Bear is a very good boi indeed~ (Playfully Pulls on her Son's Cheek)

Jin: (Sighs While Blushing in Embarrassment) Mother, please refrain from doing this in front of my-

Xiaoyu: (Starts Pulling on Jin's Other Cheek Eoth a Loving Smile on her Face as Well) The goodest, most sweetest boi in the world!~

Jin: ('Sighs in Defeat') Girlfriend.........

Kazuya: (Rolls his Eyes in Boredom) Another waste of time.

Hwoarang: (Walks Out of the Kitchen) Hey, what's the hold up over here- (Eyes Starts to Widened Before It Turns into a Direct Glare, Straught at Kazuya Himself) You motherfucker.

Kazuya: (Raises an Eyebrowat Hwoarang in a Bit of a Curious Manner) Hey, aren't you Baek's stude-

Kazuya suddenly gets kicked in the chest by Hwoarang, so hard that it sent his back flying towards a nearby wall behind him, bounce off it, and then fall back down on his knees.

Kazuya: ('Groans in Pain and Annoyance') All. Of my HATE!!

Hwoarang: Damn right. (Starts Walking Towards Kazuya While Cracking Both his Knuckles) And I'mma send you flying out of the building in the next five seconds if you don't get the hell up out here real quick.

Jun: (Quickly Got Behind of Kazuya While Giving Hwoarang a Motherly Glare) I will let you do no such thing, young man!

Hwoarang: Stand aside, lady! He's- Wait a second. (Starts Recognizing Who The Lady in Front of Him is) Mrs. Kazama? You're alive!?

Jun: (Giggles Softly) In the flesh, dear. You're Baek's student, yes? I hope he's doing well these days.

Hwoarang: Uh- (Starts Calming Himself Down While Rubbing the Back of his Head Back and Forth) Yeah. He is. I mean, he's at the hospital at the moment, but he's doing better these days, so don't worry! ('Groans') Where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself: I'm Hwoarang, Master Baek's #1 student, motorcyclist, the boyfriend of Xiao and that idiot son of yours-

Jin: (Rolls his Eyes at his Boyfriend) As if you are any wiser....

Hwoarang: (Glares at Jin) Don't start with me today, smartass. (Crosses his Arms While Turning Away All Pompous Like) I happened to be the Most Wisest Man on this Very Planet. My students said so.

Jin: Pretty sure that's their way of sucking up to you, thanks to your lack of discipline.

Hwoarang: (Turns Back to Jin Woth a More Comical Glare) Don't tell me how to do my teaching job!

Xiaoyu: (Immediately Got Between Both her Boyfriends) Enough already! You BOTH are idiots. (Smiles Brightly) Whom I love very much~

Xiaoyu kisses Jin and Hwoarang's cheeks one by one before hugging both their arms. This, in turn, cause the two boys to blush while turning away a bit.

Jun: (Watching and Gushing Over the Trio Couple's Cute Banter With One Another) Isn't this wonderful, dear? Our baby has two partners to cherish and love~

Kazuya: (Gets Himself Back Up on his Own Two Feet) And they're both equally as much of nuisances as he is.....

Leroy: (Walks Out of the Kitchen) Alright, what the hell is going on in here- (Notices a Familiar Outside his Door) Oh, it's Kazuya. (Walks Over to his Bedroom) Hang on, y'all, I'll get my shotgun.

Jun: ('Sigh') Enough with the violent threats already, please.

Leroy: (Immediately Stops Moving as He Turns to See The Source of the Familiar Voice) As I live in breathe. (Smiles Brightly) Jun! (Walks Over to Greet Jin's Mother) Welcome back to the land of the living, girl, how you been?

Jun: (Happily Hugs an Old Friend of Hers) I've been doing wonderfully so far, Mr. Smith. It's still a lot to get used to, coming back to world after all this time....

Leroy: I'm sure you'll be able to get used to it overtime. It'll be like you never left at all. As a token of that, I can finally ask you this: What in the ever living hell do you see in that man to begin with? (Points at Kazuya Who is Flipping him Off Now)

Xiaoyu: (Frowns Firmly at the Woman as Well) That's what we've been wondering as well, ma'am.

Hwoarang: (Raises an Eyebrow at Jun) You are aware of all the heinous crap he pulled in the past, right? Cause I am MORE than willing to run them down to you.

Jin: (Glares at his Father) As do I.

Jun: ('Sigh') No need to do any of that, boys. I am fully aware of all the actions he has done and I do not condone any of them whatsoever. (Gives Her Baby Boy a Motherly Glare) I also don't condone what you've done in the past as well, Jin Kazama.

Jin: (Eyes Widened in Genuine Fear at What his Mother Is About to Scold Him On) Oh no.......

Jun: I understand that you want to get rid of that cursed devil gene out of you, but it shouldn't be the cost of putting our entire world into great ruins and putting yourself in grave danger as well.

Hwoarang: She is not wrong there, man.

Leroy: (Simply Nodded in Agreement) Mmhmm.

Xiaoyu: (Lays the Side of Her Head on Jin's Arm) That was really reckless of you to do, Jin.....

Jin: ('Sighs Heavily') I know. I'm sorry. (Kiss the Top of Xiao's Head Before Turning Back ti his Parents) I take it father told you about all of that?

Jun was about to say something until Kazuya chimes in on the conversation.

Kazuya: That I did! (Gives his Son an Evil, Cocky Grin on his Face) Not the innocent angel you think you are, huh you mistake of a br-

Jun quickly turns back to her husband with a silent, but fierce Death Glare in her eyes, shutting the former devil breed up completely.

Jun: (Sighs Once More as She Turns Back to Jin) Anyways, yes. He has told me about that incident. And it concerned me greatly. (Frowns Sadly) It also made me regret sending you to Heihachi even more.....

Jin: Mother, you were far too preoccupied fighting off Orge and protecting our home to think anything through that night. Not to mention that he was the only relative available at the time.

Jun: That might be true on both fronts, but I still knew exactly what kind of man he was beforehand and I apologize greatly for that, my son.

Kazuya: ('Sigh') And speaking of which.....We found out that- (Takes a Very Deep Breath as He Tries to Refrain From Blowong Up the Entire Suite with his Anger Alone) Heihachi out and alive somewhere......

Jin: (Eyes Widened I Shock of This News)

HwoaXio: (Eyes Collectively Widened as Well in Complete Shock and Disbelief) WHAAAAAAT!?

Leroy: (Couldn't Believe What He's Hearing Himself) That old, crusted son of a bitch didn't die in that active volcano after all!?

Kazuya: (Rolls his Eyes in Pure Annoyance and Frustration) Apparently not. He still as convinning and punchable as he always been since the last we've seen him.

Jin starts taking a very deep breath himself as well. Hearing that Heihachi is alive again should be more than enough to crash out, but after the battle and war he won against his father months, he became a changed man since. Never again will he let his anger and frustrations take back to the path of pure destruction, especially when he now has people in his life that he's more than willing to protect at all cost.

Xiaoyu: (Grab Hold of Jin's Hand Wothna Worried Look on her Face) Jin?

Hwoarang: (Place his Hand on Jin's Shoulder, Worried as Well) You gonna be alright, man?

Jin: Yeah. And as soon as I have enough strength to get rid of him for good, I'll be set for life.

Xiaoyu: (Gives Jin a Reassuring, Determined Look in her Face Along with Hwoarang and Leroy) Then we'll have your back on this.

Hwoarang: Always.

Jun: I'll help out too. It's the least I can do for letting go out in this cruel world.

Kazuya: ('Tch') Count me out. The only person is gonna kill that old man is me alone. (Turns Away From Everyone) No one else!

Jin looks around at everyone, with the exception of Kazuya, staring at him, ready to help and support him every step of the way going forward. This is a good feeling, the most good he ever had in his entire life in fact, and it was more than enough for our redeemed hero to accept their assistance by giving them a single nod alone.

Jin: Thank you. All of you. (Looks Back at Kazuya, Still Sulking in the Mid Distance Before Turning Back to his Mother a Few Seconds Later) Dp you truly still love that man, mother?

Jun: (Simply and Very Confidently Nodded) Yes, I very much do. I know it may be foolish of me to do, let alone helping him better himself after everything he has done in past and again, I do not nor will I evef condone any of it....(Let's Out a Sigh) But I know that deep down there's at least a tiny bit of decency within that black heart of his and I know for a fact that he still loves very much, after all this years- (Smiles Lovingly at her Husband) Just as much as I love him too.

Jun's words of hope and love hit Kazuya like a truck. To think a woman as foolish as her would believe in him that much after everything he put her and their son through.....It's a nice, warm feeling, it's not something he like nor he will ever get used to completely, but it's not something he hates either.

Kazuya: Jun......(Slowly Turns Back Jun....) I- (Only to Be Greeted by Jin's Darkened Glare Instead) ('Groans in Annoyance') What now, brat!?

Jin: If you ever break my mother's heart or dare try to harm her in anyway, shape or form, I'll kill you. Simple as that.

Xiaoyu: (Walks Up to Kazuya With a Darkened Glare of her Own) And if you ever try and hurt Jin as well, I will PERSONALLY erase you AND the entire Mishima Bloodline out of this world with my own two hands, DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME!?

Hwoarang: (Eyes Widened and Taken Aback by How Threatening his Girlfriend Is) ........Damn, Xiao, brutal much?

Leroy: Nah, let your girl cook on that one. (Lowers His Shades Down a Bit While Glaring at Kazuya Himself) Better yet, I'll help make sure your evil ass get sent straight to hell for good if you ever cross those lines.

Hwoarang: (Grabs his Chin While Thinking of a Warning Speech to Give to Kazuya) Hmmm......(Snaps his Fingers) Got it! (Points at Kazuya With a Glare in his Face) Hurt anyone in this room and I'll have my foot go straight up your ass!

Everyone in the room slowly turns their heads to Hwoarang, most of which (his lovers and Leroy) are giving him their respective deadpinned looks on each of their faces.

Hwoarang: What? That's was the only warning speech I thought of giving him!

Xiaoyu: (Gently Grabs Hold of Hwoarang's Hand and Pats It) Just leave the intimation tactics to.us next time, okay sweetie? (Kiss the Top.of Hwoarang's Hand)

Hwoarang: (Blushes Before Scoffing in Defeat) Whatever.

'DING'

Sugar: 'WOOF WOOF!"

Leroy: Ohp. The turkey's finally done. Time to get this dinner started now, people! (Walks Over to the Kitchen) Jun, you and your husband wanna join in as well?

Jun: (Happily Nodded) We love to, Mr. Smith, thank you.

Kazuya: And if I don't want to?

Leroy: (Stops Walking and Lowers his Shades Down at Kazuya Again) Then you can stay in that hallway and starve for all I care. (Continues his Walk to the Kitchen) Doesn't hurt my feelings one bit.

Kazuya: (Hears his Stomach Growling Before Groaning in Defeat) Forget it. (Finally Walks in the Room and Making his Way Straight to the Kitchen) The food in here better be worth my time.

Hwoarang: (Makes his Way to the Kitchen With his Arms Behind the Back of his Head) 'Bout time! I'm already starving by the minute.

Xiaoyu: (Follows Behind Hwoarang) Try not to eat it all up from the rest of us, alright Hwo? And don't forget your table manners! We're still guests here.

Hwoarang: Yeah, yeah.

Jin smirks at two of his lovers walking away before suddenly feeling his mother holding onto his arm.

Jin: (Turns to Jun) Something the matter?

Jun: No. Everything's fine. I just wanted to thank you for understanding and being patient with me.(Turns Away From Jin, Worried) I know you still don't trust your father completely.

Jin: I don't and I'm not certain that I ever will. (Looks Down at his Mother With a Small, Genuine Smile on his Face) But I do trust you. Always have. And as long as you continue to be safe and happy, that's all it really matters to me in the long run.

Jun: (Heart Begins to Melt in Genuine Happiness as She Hugs Her Son's Arm as Tears Starts Coming Down her Eyes) ('Sniff') Thank you. I miss you so much, Jin.

Jin: (Rest The Side of His Head on Top of Jun's) I miss you too, mother. Happy Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving To One and All!!

@thelexhex

@bestpony666

@tampire

@ma-lemons

@decibelcoatl

[kristailine]

On Kazuya's and Jun's Love Languages

I really love this ship with all my heart like I think I shipped them way before I have known what shipping meant. It's so frustrating that we really don't know much about their relationship and dynamic in canon but I can't help but wonder what they would've been like as a couple >.<

For me, personally, I really do think that Kazuya and Jun are both suckers on Quality Time. I feel like once they felt their attraction to the other, they kept longing to be in each other's presence, and at first Kaz was probably like "I just have to know more about her because she's mysterious." and shit like that like hunny, just say you're crushing on her 😩

Jun probably thought the same like "I need to be in his presence because of the darkness that surrounds him." Just say he's hot and you wanna date him, girl.

When they do hang out together, they make the most out of their time and just really let themselves get lost in the moment. It probably also supports that no matter how short the KOIFT 2 was, it was enough quality time for them to bond with each other enough for them to fall in love or get closer to one another or however viewers wanna interpret it (as we wait for tk8 to confirm wth happened between them in tk2).

Kazuya's secondary love language - I think I'm leaning mostly on Acts of Service. He probably isn't aware because he just thinks he's doing people a favor, but unconsciously, it's his way to show that he cares about the people he values. Like that man helped Bruce seek refuge after the plane crash and fake his death so he doesn't get caught by interpol. Hell he even granted Anna her request of being put in cryo sleep.

Doing acts of service to express his love for Jun was probably the most convenient and easiest way he could ever express how much he cares about her. Other love languages are just too explicit so he mostly tries to reason to himself that 'he's just doing Jun a favor' but it's probably him doing his best to get the message across that he truly values her so he's willing to do such things for her.

I can just imagine Jun having a bad day, and Kaz, being the man that he is who sucks with speaking comforting words and probably never initiated physical affection to anyone, gets up from his seat and goes "I'll show you some of the floras in the Mishima Estate garden since you love ecology so much." and then hopes she'll feel better. "I'll go get Lee to fix those papers you need for your work." or maybe even when they're sparring, Kazuya would always be the one to get her a bottle of water and a towel to wipe her sweat off with, since Jun is probably out of breath and needs more time to recover.

Jun's secondary love language - Words of Affirmation. Have ya'll just seen the sappiest ass shit she says to Kazuya in her tk8 intros and outros and even in Tekken Motion Picture like girlie has a helluva lot to say and she is so valid so let her speak 🗣️

Tekken Bloodline (tho non canon ugh) also kinda portrays Jun being comforting with words with the way she talks to Jin after his encounter with the bullies. Jun is seen as having some kind of profound sense of wisdom which enables her to empathize and feel people due to her being psychic and also spending most of her time during childhood getting in touch with nature. So I think with that, she always has the right words to say, and she knows exactly how to put into words how much she cares for a person. Plus she's an INFJ (lol).

Kazuya probably wouldn't have let her in his life had Jun not said the right words upon meeting him. Kazuya being in such a powerful position during TK2 had him surrounded with people who only spoke of deceit and lies to get to his good side and all that, and seeing how genuine Jun was with her words and how much it deeply soothed some of his inner wounds may have deepened the way he saw her. Thus, they became closer.

I do like to think that even though Jun is good with her words, she never really got the guts to outright say I love you to Kazuya 😩 I think she be too shy and bashful for that but argh with a little bit more of delulu to the ship, maybe I can convince myself that she did. Objectively speaking really, I don't think she could ever have said it during TK2.

Honorable mentions to Jun's secondary love language - Physical touch. Like idkkkkk, probably just me but I think I got it from somewhere that her tk8 outro literal translation kinda says she wants to snuggle up to Kazuya, and that is just so sweet 😩 im crying

Just a few two cents on them really :>>

[craftercat]

I know it isn’t common for southern dynasties to reconquer the north but what reasons do you think were the primary cause behind Eastern Jin’s inability to reconquer the north?

Political intrigue, mostly. The Eastern Jin was actually successful when they got themselves together and launched invasions of the north.

They were able to defeat Former Qin under Fu Jian, in a famous campaign involving the Battle of Fei River. As well, Liu Yu was able to conquer Southern Yan and Later Qin, and even defeated Northern Wei. Murong Chao and Yao Hong weren't very good and leading unstable states, but Tuoba Si was far from mediocre in terms of ability and Northern Wei was more stable than Southern Yan or Later Qin.

Liu Yu's only stain is that he lost Chang'an to Helian Bobo, but I think that the only way he could feasibly defend Chang'an was to make it his top priority, and at that point he was already thinking about usurping the throne. Due to this, he wasn't willing to do so and instead focused on gathering his power in Jiankang. He left his 10 year old son in Chang'an to ensure Chang'an's loyalty, but the people he left in charge started murdering each other and Helian Bobo took advantage of that to invade.

The problem with Eastern Jin was that they often descended into internal instability. First they had Wang Dun, then Su Jun, then the Huan family, then Liu Yu. And after the first few their emperors tended to be young or incompetent or both. The Southern dynasties had the same problem with both clan members and non-clan members. And with internal problems, they had to prioritise those over expansion.

[sunnyuto]

There's arguments to be made for both options, given the information we know.

On one hand, everyone is terrified of Yu Ziyuan and she very clearly has just as much power as Jiang Fengmian and is respected as a formidable cultivator rather than just a homemaker, mother, and lady of the house. We never see the Jiangs holding court, but it seems apparent from their characterizations that Madame Yu is granted just as much political power as Jiang Fengmian and just as much say in the functions and decisions of the Yunmeng Jiang clan.

On the other hand, the Lan clan, arguably the clan with the least gender division given that they're the only clan we know of having had a female sect leader, has the dark and dirty secret of their former sect leader having kidnapped his wife and locked her in the Jingshi to die.

On the third hand, while Wen Chao isn't sect leader at any point, he does poise himself as the leader of the Wen forces and in charge of the supervisory offices, specifically the one Yunmeng. We see him and Wang Lingjiao sitting on the throne together frequently, but it's also very evident from their interactions that she is mostly an accessory and has no true political power beyond her ability to rile him up in her defense roughly 60% of the time.

The Nie clan does not at any point in the canon timeline have a sect leader with a wife, so it's impossible to say what they might do. The only detail I can pick up on, which may entirely be just a choice of the drama's set design department and have nothing to do with the actual story, is that Nie Mingjue's throne is the only one that fits just one person - the Jiang, Jin, and Wen thrones all fit two and the Lan is a seat at a table on a riser rather than a throne.

All that said, Jin Guangyao is by far the only one that seems to actually openly care for and respect his wife. The Jin and Jiang relationships are strained at best (although we do see from their death scene that Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan do care for each other internally), Wen Chao may care for Wang Lingjiao superficially but certainly does not respect her and ultimately abandons her, and don't even get me started on Qingheng-jun and Madame Lan.

I wish we had gotten some better scenes of Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan after they were married that showed how they presented themselves in these formal situations - it would be very interesting to compare how the two children of Jin Guangshan interact with their wives, especially given how differently they grew up and their respective relationships with their father.

One detail that I find endlessly fascinating is the contrast between how Madame Jin and Qin Su are treated by their respective husbands--not in their personal lives, but politically.

When everyone gathers for the Phoenix Mountain Hunt, Jin Guangshan enters at the head of the procession. Madame Jin follows several paces behind, next to Jiang Yanli.

When they sit to watch the archery competition, Madame Jin sits off to the side next to Jiang Yanli.

Granted, any reasonable person would rather sit by Jiang Yanli than Jin Guangshan if given the option, and we know that the Jin parents don't like each other overmuch. However, this pattern continues when everyone adjourns to the conference hall for food and discussion.

That throne is the size of a park bench and here's Jin Guangshan, taking up the entire thing like he's the biggest douche on public transit. Madame Jin, meanwhile, is nowhere to be found.

By contrast, the first time we see Qin Su, she's entering the conference hall arm-in-arm with Jin Guangyao.

And then they both go and sit on the throne beside each other, and both greet the conference attendees.

We don't see any other married sect leaders holding court like this, so I don't think we have an in-universe baseline for Normal Political Couple Behavior. What's going on? It's either:

1.) Jin Guangyao is breaking with tradition by having his wife to preside over formal events alongside him. (Which is unusual if so! After all, the Qin clan isn't especially high-ranking, so it's not like he'd need to confer special privileges to maintain favor. Is he doing it out of guilt, because he's convinced himself that power is worth enduring messed-up personal situations, so this is an attempt to make it up to her? Is it simply that he values her judgment and is gonna be BRAZEN about it out of spite because fuck all that "eDucaTeD wOmEn aRE tRoUbLe" shit? Both? Something else?)

2.) Wives of sect leaders traditionally do preside over events alongside their husbands like Qin Su is, and Jin Guangshan is the one who broke with tradition by shutting his wife out of everything. (Which, if so, would add some new aspects to Madame Jin's hostility towards Jin Guangyao. Her husband blatantly has no respect for her, unashamedly has a reputation as the jianghu's preeminent womanizer, and blames her for his behavior so she's the butt of every sexist joke in the jianghu that isn't about Yu Ziyuan. And now common-born bastard gets to have more voice and presence in sect politics than she does? Are you for real right now?)

Either way, I am intrigued!

[grewlikefancyflowers]

I'm sure other people will discuss it as well, but when you're done with volume two could you say your problems with it? I'm considering whether or not to get it.

sure ! this is mostly nitpicky grumblings, and i haven't read the yi city or nmj empathy flashbacks (aside from the parts where wwx/lwj appear or are mentioned) & i don't plan to any time soon.

(also sorry these are all screenshots but you can't copy/paste from ibooks and i don't wanna type these out 😅)

that/those—why is he switching between singular and plural ?? and the word 'cosmetics' seems out of place in the setting. it's sound very modern and corporate

i think this is a misuse of this saying. wwx here is making sure the juniors will follow his orders in yi city. giving an inch/taking a mile is used when like, a guest overstays their welcome, or when you offer someone a little of your food and they help themselves to as much as they like. basically, person a makes a small concession and person b takes advantage of the situation to gain more than was initially given. it’s very negative and doesn't fit what is happening in this situation imo.

two problems with this

1 is tense. the juniors are burning paper money on someone's doorstep as wx are speaking—why is it 'didn't' rather than 'don't' ??

2, lwj speaks 'blandly' but 7s for some reason chose to emphasise 'you' with italics. not only does it contradict itself, but it is not hanguang jun's style to speak with such inflection. it sounds weirdly accusatory too. this is how exr and fyy translated it,

‘Lan WangJi replied in an indifferent tone, “You can stop them.”’ (exr)

‘“You can stop them,” Lan Wangji replied with indifference.’ (fyy)

i really like this line for lots of reasons and i feel like 7s did it completely wrong.

weird mix of chinese and english terms of address

i am. pretty unhappy with this.

7s have translated 鬼道 and 邪魔歪道 interchangeably as ‘demonic path/cultivation’ so the fact that in this exchange jingyi uses the proper, neutral, term for wwx’s cultivation, whereas jin ling does not, is lost. this issue was present in vol 1 too.

from exr, ‘Lan JingYi joined in as well, “Why are you being so angry about it? SiZhui did not say that Wei WuXian should not have been killed. He just said that not everyone who cultivates the ghost path is the same type of person as Xue Yang. Did you have to throw things? I did not get to eat that one yet…”’

(*throws rotten fruit at seven seas* why did you do this)

uhh, they probably shoulda gone for younger uncle here?

jin ling alternates between using chinese and english terms of address...

what does this even mean, 7s?

fanyiyi—‘“Hey, kid! What do you mean by ‘messing around with other men?’ I’m not like that! Forehead ribbon? What’s the meaning of the Gusu Lan Clan’s forehead ribbon?”’

[absolutebl]

BL’s Top 10 Most Deserving Unresolved

Pairs who didn’t get to complete their character’s arcs so I would like to see them just play the same roles in order to end the darn series properly. Or maybe an expanded version of the original? Or a spin off. Just... more of the same. 

In other words, i just love these characters.

Gu Hai & Bai Luo Yin - Addicted Heroin (China) I think it would be hard to call yourself a BL fan and not be sad about what happened to this show. Do we want it resolved? Of course we do. Will it happen? NEVER. But the wanting springs eternal. (Speaking of spring, should we talk about what was done to At a Distance, Spring is Green? no, probably not.) 

AePete - Love By Chance & A Chance At Love (Thailand) We just want to see them get back together. We all know it will never happen. We also know if it did MAME would royally fuck it up. But we still want it, okay? 

Jae Sung & Min Gyu - A First Love Story (Korea) Don’t sleep on Strongberry, they’re doing the gay god’s work. And while these two microfilms HOLD as a BL, I still want them as a full on 16 ep series. I am DIEING for Korea to do a full length BL that tackles military service. I know it’s a touchy subject, but can you imagine? Would Jae Sung be out about their relationship while he’s serving? (Probably not, but that’s so against his personality, but then what happens when his unit finds out?) How about Min Gyu in university? Would he pretend he had a LDR with a “girlfriend?” Look, the complexities of the closet under these circumstance write themselves and it would be so good. These two could carry something like it, and Korea would love depicting the tortured pining of a BL where the couple spends most of the drama apart. That’s right up their ally. I think it would be wonderful. 

Mark & OuWen - Love is Science? (Taiwan)  This is kinda a cheat since actually this BL B-plot resolved perfectly, but still I don’t know a single person who watched this series that doesn’t want the spin off that is Mark, OuWen, and Joanna going through pregnancy and raising a baby together. That’s it. That’s what we want. You can add a lesbian sub plot if you like. But mostly we just want three queers and a baby. 

Yuan Zong & Xia Yao - Advance Bravely (China)  Tell me a better pairing than deadly ex-special forces soldier bodyguard and the flirty spoiled rich kid of his dreams. No, seriously, I’ll wait. Sadly I’ll be waiting forever. But ho boy did we want to see these two get together. Sadly, they kinda did, they just weren't allowed to. I mean come on, they cuddled naked in bed playing video games. That v gay, China. Why can’t we just see the real footage from that scene? And what’s WITH that ending? *grumbles* 

Lee Jun Jae & Takuya - The Lover (Korea)  They were so cute and had so much chemistry but Korea wouldn’t even let them dead fish kiss (things have changed since 2015, although not THAT much). How about just showing us what happened when Jun Jae traveled to Japan. Can they not just DATE? Fine just send Lee Jae Joon to Japan and let them film the second half. 

Tang Yi & Shao Fei - HIStory 3: Trapped (Taiwan)  What HAPPENED NEXT? How long did Tang Yi go to prison for? What happened when he got out? Just a little spin off would be fine. Or a wedding episode. Jake & Chris would do it in a heartbeat. Come on HIStory franchise, you can give us a true HEA. Just this once? Pretty please? 

Kohei & Taiichi - Silhouette of Your Voice AKA Hidamari ga Kikoeru (Japan)  OMG do Kohei and Taiichi actually end up a couple or not? (Of course if you’ve read the manga you know the answer, but still.) Just SHOW IT TO US. 

Bbomb & Jin (also Keam & Ball) - Nitiman (Thailand) The victim of lockdown among other things, this Thai BL university pulp just felt cut off. We want the 2 more episodes we never got, and we are all sad about their loss, because it’s painfully obvious. 

Lan Wang Ji & Wei Wu Xian - The Untamed (China)  Get them back together in wedded bliss. Nuff said. 

How fitting that this list starts and ends with Chinese shows. 

More like this?

Top 10 BLs without an HEA still worth watching & the 3 that will wreck you

TOP 10 BL PAIRS + What They Should Play Next 

(source) 

[simpingforclaudette]

Warrior Headcanons | part 1

HEADCANON THEME: relationship & fluff

INCLUDES: Ah Sahm, Ah Toy, Young Jun, Hong & Li Yong 

(male pronouns for Hong’s love interest since he’s been explicitely said to be gay)

friendly reminder that this post is just a compilation of my thoughts and opinions. feel free to disagree with me but be respectful about it.

____________________________________________________________

Ah Sahm

Ah Sahm doesn’t need much in a relationship. he just likes having someone willing to listen to him rambling about his day while playing with his hair in bed;

he loves intimacy and silence. as much as he enjoys drinking and partying with his fellow Hop Wei members, he defintely prefers spending time with his significant other somewhere where they can have honest talks together just by themselves;

he’s very much into hand holding and likes to stroke his partner’s thighs with his hand. it’s nothing sexual, he just finds the fact that they’re sitting right next to him comforting;

Ah Sahm likes to kiss his partner on the cheeks and the forehead when they’re in public;

he likes having his jawline, neck and cheeks kissed. he also loves it when his significant other leans in to whisper something in his ear;

being spooned by someone else is his secret craving;

Ah Sahm puts a lot of trust in his partner. he knows they can take care of themselves and only gets jealous when they actively push his buttons.

Ah Toy

Ah Toy is very much protective of her significant other - not in an unhealthy manner but she definitely tends to become agressive when she feels that they might be threatened;

what she loves the most in her relationship with another person is how they make her feel safe (although she never talks about it explicitely); 

she likes to show her affection by squeezing her partner’s hand with hers, fixing their hair, stroking their cheeks, whispering compliments in their ear and wrapping her arm around their waist. she does that mostly in private, when the brothel is closed or almost empty;

when they’re in her bedroom, Ah Toy becomes a lot more touchy;

she really enjoys dressing and undressing her significant other, it gives her the opportunity to shower them with even more compliments (she both loves and hates it when they do the same with her);

Ah Toy loves kissing her partner on the lips and their wrists and she loves being kissed on those very same spots;

she loves to lay face to face with her significant other in bed, just looking at them until they fall asleep or get up to prepare themselves for the day.

Young Jun

Young Jun is all about fun. he loves a partner who challenges him. roasting the shit out of him, for example, is a good way to earn his affection;

unlike most of the cast, Young Jin is definitely more open with his affection towards his partner when they’re in public. he mainly does that because it’s a way to show off his power, how he’s not afraid of the other tongs coming after his significant other because he’s confident in being capable and there to protect them;

his demonstrations of affection revolve around him covering his partner’s shoulders with his jacket and putting his arm around them;

he likes kissing with his tongue. with him, quick pecks can easily become full on makeout sessions and it doesn’t matter if he and his partner are in public;

Young Jun enjoys being hugged from behind. he likes it when his significant other kisses his shoulders and lets their head rest against them;

Young Jun is surprisingly careful when it comes to his partner’s boundaries. he always makes sure everything he does to them is fine and he’s quick to apologize and correct himself if they feel uncomfortable.

Hong

Hong, just like Young Jun, is all about having a good time. he could talk and make jokes with his boyfriend in bed all day long if he didn’t have responsibilities to attend to;

he never thinks too much about the future of his relationships. they usually never last for long since he loves exploring and getting to know multiple people. he splits up from his lovers in good terms most of the time;

Hong is the embodiment of positivity. he always has words of encouragement for his significant others and frequently tells them to be proud of themselves;

Hong loves to hold his boyfriend’s hands in his and play with his hair. he also enjoys hearing him talk about his day and rent from time to time. he’s always there to listen to him;

he spends most of his time with his boyfriend in private, but if someone happens to find them and be hostile towards them, Hong never hesitates to resort to violence to deal with them (he kind of likes to flex on his martial arts skills).

Li Yong

Li Yong is always present for his lover. when he’s not attending to his duties as Mai Ling’s bodyguard, he’s going to dedicate his entire free time to his partner, making sure they don’t need anything;

his partner just talking to him is enough to make his day. he loves hearing their voice and seeing the expressions on their face as they talk;

he doesn’t need much from his significant other. he’s all about protecting and cherishing them as much as he can. all he expects in return is honesty;

Li Yong is a bit more reserved when it comes to demonstation of affection in public. but when they’re in private, he’s very fond of hugging his lover from behind while kissing the back of their neck. he’s also fond of kisses on the back of the hand, the cheeks and the forehead;

he feels the constant need to spoon his significant other when they’re lying in bed together.

[demonsfate]

That's literally what my brother and I did LMAO, we watched it, started trashing on it when we began realizing it was going sour, and we had some drinks lol!

The problem with Bloodline is that it even fails as an anime imo. It's generic (to those who said Bloodline makes Jin a better character ... it just made him a generic anime protag with some anger issues, I guess) But like, to put it quickly without writing a book, the biggest problems with Bloodline was:

Poor characterization (Jin suffered most from this, why does Heihachi have a generic sensei voice, Kazuya being presented as Always Most Evil Guy Ever, Xiao was alright but def had some problems)

Poor handling of intended messages (Not to use the word "preachy" but the way it handled pacifism was executed so terribly. Except for Obvious Bad Guy Heihachi, nobody truly challenged Jun's / Jin's point of view on pacifism. Maybe Nina did? But I honestly don't remember. Plus there were other issues with how they handled pacifism, to the point they're saying you can't feel happy about your abusers getting a little hurt lmao)

Exposition / failing to show and not tell. (For example, Heihachi telling Jin he has the devil gene when that's something he could've found out on his own - like in the game. Did Heihachi also tell Jin he killed Kazuya? Again, exposition)

Poor pacing (Seemed to stick too long on Jin's life in Yakushima, and then it rushes through the tournament to the point where most of the tournament's battles happened off screen. It would've been very satisfying to watch Paul actually beat Kuma lmao. I understand this was a 6 episode series, but I still felt they could've handled pacing better)

The funny thing is DJ's horns look cool 'cos they're big but if you really think about them - they also make no sense! XD Now this is just a nitpick of mine, but it's def something I noticed when watching the show!!

Devil's horns in the game protrude OUT, meanwhile in the show, they point down. The issue with this is if Devil was to simply move his head down, chin to sternum then he'd easily stab himself. (Even in the top pic, he looks very close to stabbing himself!!)

Rams' horns may curl down, but as you can see - they still go back up where they end.

And animals that do have horns which point down - they're so far away from their actual skull / head, and they're very spread apart, it would be impossible for them to actually stab themselves.

So... I always thought it was interesting that they designed Devil's horns like that, and a part of me wonders why lol!

The things I did like in Bloodline was...

Jin, Xiao, and Hwoa's moments. Even if they were slightly ruined by Jin often feeling ooc, it's still fun to watch.

Paul. Somehow Bloodline, a show that isn't even well written, understands how to write Paul more than the games do

Intentional or not, Heihachi had some funny moments.

Mostly unintentional, but the serie in general had some LOL moments

Despite Jin being ooc, he was a "better" kind of ooc than Tekken 6 ooc Jin.

And despite the pacifist message being poorly handled, I liked Jun's characterization fine in it, too.

Alright! @littledancingphoenix and I got through Bloodline! There’s time I'll never get back. 🤣🤣

General consensus? It's just fun to trash on with some friends and some drinks.

It's stupid, generic anime shit and it's not even worhy of the name Tekken.

Devil Jin was pretty cool, though.

Liked his eyes, his wings and those big ass ram horns.

But we're done.

We're watching the Motion Picture next weekend to get it out of our thoughts.

[jgkttfv]

yandere profile BTS| hyung line

All types from the masterlist were invented by me, because this is how I see the characters of fanfiction.

The text contains immoral materials. If you don't like it, then leave the page and don't read!

English is not my native language!

Jin:

Dominant — 60%

Submissive — 40%

Type — king

From childhood, he was used to getting everything at the click of his fingers: children's toys, things of other people or themselves. There were no obstacles for him, even his parents indulged his desires and could not do anything, because Jin is their only and long-awaited son. From childhood he used to see himself as a king and others as his slaves.

Jin, therefore, expects from you the fulfillment of his desires, as well as complete obedience and worship to him as God. Your relationship is built on the principle of "master-slave", so Kim allows physical violence.

He always needs a reason to punish you, so he will look for him. Broke a vase? Accidentally sneezed when he thought you didn't love him?Wearing a pink dress instead of a hot pink one? — it all leads to punishment, mainly in the sexual sense. However, he is never cruel and knows when to stop. Jin will not beat or fuck you until he loses consciousness, after all, he is thе king — they must be noble.

For your own good and his happiness, you should always say how you love him, that you belong only to him.

Namjoon:

Dominant - 90%

Submissive - 10%

Type - daddy

Namjoon is the person who is madly in love with your body and once again does not want to harm it, but no one canceled the punishment. It will not be difficult for Kim to put you in the basement and starve you once again if you try to escape or somehow refuse him.

Namjoon, unlike Jin, will not seek an excuse to punish you. He has a set of rules, for violation of which punishment will follow. Initially, you thought the rules were easy, but they got more complicated if you broke them more than two times.

After all, the tattoos on your body speak for themselves: his face and the inscription "the property of Kim Nam Joon" are painted on all the caviar.

In order not to anger Jun again and not run into trouble, you just need to kiss him every morning and evening, as well as conduct small talk with him (Kim Nam Joon is a very smart guy, so you have a lot of boring interesting and informative books that you you can read)

Yoongi:

Dominant - 40%

Submissive - 60%

Type - mafia

Min Yoongi is the type of yandere who gets whatever he wants with almost no effort. This is the type that everyone fears and respects, because he is always unpredictable. He does not tolerate disobedience and excessive talkativeness, so you better close your mouth once again and follow his freaking orders.

His work noticeably affects your relationship: excessive detachment and rudeness, a desire to control your actions, loneliness. Anyone else said it was awful, but not you. Joy overwhelms you when Min does not come home again and remains in his office.

Yoongi is the only one who doesn't like physical strength, it is easier for him to publicly humiliate and silence you than to spend his free time whipping or something worse. Mostly he is very passive because of his work, so you will have to take care of him, as well as do absolutely all the chores around the house, because he will not tolerate strangers walking in his place.

The usual breakfast in bed or ironing his shirt before leaving will delight Yoongi more than declarations of love and kisses. So for him to be happy, he just needs to be caring.

Hoseok:

Dominant - 80%

Submissive - 20%

Type - killer

Jung Hoseok is used to seeing himself as God, because he is subject to the life of innocent people. Only he decides to keep alive or kill. Although, rarely did anyone manage to save their lives, but you were an exception. You are the complete opposite of him, so innocent and stupid. Also, your age helped save your life, but in return you had to give up your freedom.

Hoseok spends most of his time at home, I’ll say he’s very irritable, so you need to be careful not to provoke him. It is advisable to adapt to Hoseok's mood and behave like a small copy of him (however, do not overdo it, he does not appreciate showing off)

It is also important for Hoseok to remind you who is in charge of your relationship and who you belong to. Initially, he will hang you with a personalized collar with his initials and make you sit on his knees next to him, but then a spanking will be used.

Since you got to him at a fairly young age (16-17 years old), Hoseok will not beat or fuck you. Most likely, he will take on the role of a father and will raise you until you come of age. However, once you become an adult, beware.

For his happiness, you just need to strengthen your life.

[silverflame2724]

Happy Prompt (if you feel like it): WWX being the genius/ex first disciple of great scet that he is realizes they can't sustain the Burial Mounds. So he comes up with a Plan to make them all dissappear. Knowing how important lineage is so them, he asks them to give up the Wen name and take up Wei. (The wens are mostly common folk who just want to live so they agree). He the proceeds to hide them among other clans. People who have met and remember all the good young master Wie always did. He hides them among the Jiang and Nie. (I always head cannon that part of WWX'S flirty reputation comes from him helping women who are in bad situations/ NHS somehow finds out/knows and begins to help him. I figure theyhad to get several Lan women out. Mama Lans ghost helps?). JC knows but ignores it, they aren't WENS anymore, so his pride can leave it be. I'm not sure if A'yuan would still end up with Lan Zhan? But then WWX, WN, and WQ all fake thier deaths and go travel as rogue cultivators. But now WWX has all these living and dead people praying to/for him as the patron Saint of lost causes? And he accidentally becomes an immortal without realizing it? To the absolute fond disgust of WQ, of course. Anyway, I figure old Jin perv still pulls his bullshit at a discussion conference and between NHS, JYL, and LWJ? They somehow clear everyone's nsme. And then newly immortal WWX rocks up in there (to the horror of the Lan Elders who now have to face thier own bullshit/ hypocrisy) and lives happily ever after.

I think I read a prompt or a fic somewhere with the concept of the Wens hiding in plain sight.

________________________

The thought came to him out of nowhere. 

It had been a peaceful day with the Wens as he farmed, invented and tinkered with various incomplete contraptions when Wei Wuxian was struck with a thought: they could not continue like this.

Wei Wuxian wasn’t an idiot. He knew that they couldn’t sustain themselves in the Burial Mounds. Their crops hardly prospered, one by one the more elderly individuals of the Wens got sick and died, the resentful energy messed with everyone’s temperament, the cultivators never stopped trying to break his wards.....the list went on and on.

He had to come up with a plan. He thought they could live here for a time, but that was just wishful thinking. 

With this in mind, he takes the next few days to come up with a concrete plan.

...............................

The first task, and perhaps the most important one, is to ask the Wens to give up the Wen name. It would be easier from then on.

As he presented this suggestion, he was surprised by how readily they agreed. He knew how important lineage was to them, so the rapidness of them giving up their name was shocking. 

“Would you......take up my name?” Wei Wuxian asked quietly. 

The Wens were silent before cheering. Wei Wuxian didn’t know how to react to this. The Wens told him that they were more than happy to accept his name since they were his family. 

Wei Wuxian held back the tears and laughed happily instead as he went on to tell him the next plan of action: hiding them in plan sight.

Various people from various clans owed him favors and remembered the good in him, as they were more than happy to take on the refugees he hid away now that they were no longer Wens.

They had to do this quietly and slowly though. It would be suspicious if a large group of people suddenly left Yiling all at once. So Wei Wuxian took each of them to different places. Some of them went back to their original homes, some went to the Nie, some to the Yao, some to the Ouyang clan. 

He even sends some to the small village of women who he helped run away from their horrible home situations.

It was a little tricky with Nie, but Nie Huaisang pulls through and Nie Mingjue suspects nothing.

He sends some to the Jiang and Jiang Cheng grudgingly accepts them, knowing that they are no longer Wen. 

And for A’ Yuan.......He sends A’ Yuan to Lan Zhan, who is familiar with A’ Yuan. Wei Wuxian sends a letter to Lan Zhan asking him to meet and instead of appearing, A’ Yuan is there in his stead. The letter to Lan Zhan details what to do with A’ Yuan and to hide his identity.

Wei Wuxian trusts that Lan Zhan would take his suggestion and tell his brother and uncle that A’ Yuan was a child that Lan Zhan was asked to take care of by a dying mother.

Wei Wuxian watches from afar as Lan Zhan takes A’ Yuan away and takes the last step in ensuring that the cultivation world forgets him: He fakes his, Wen Qing’s and Wen Ning’s deaths. There’s enough corpses in the Burial Mounds and ones with their physique to replace the Wens and him. He gossips to the town that he’s going to destroy his weapon, the Seal, and subsequently fakes an explosion of resentment, quickly disappearing with the Wen siblings to a random direction. 

He always thought how nice it would be to be like his parents and be rogue cultivators. He guesses that he’ll find out now.

..................................

Years pass and Wei Wuxian makes decent salary by taking care of monsters in the area. Wen Qing is a doctor, of course, and Wen Ning becomes her assistant.  

They move to a little village near Dongying and settle down there. The people there a little more open to demonic cultivation and dark arts and don’t bat an eye at Wei Wuxian using such means. 

Wei Wuxian invents more contraptions, selling them under a false name in towns far away from Dongying.

One day, on a chance night hunt near Yunmeng, Wei Wuxian hears whispers and gossip about Nie Huaisang, Lan Wangji and Jiang Yanli clearing his name and capturing the actual people responsible. 

He’s happy to hear this. Overjoyed. But that doesn’t mean he’ll gladly return to the cultivation world. He’s had enough of that life. 

He walks around town for a bit longer, catching bits of gossip here and there. As explores the town, wine jug in hand, he nearly chokes around a mouthful of wine as he sees a small shrine encasing a statue of his likeness. What.....the hell??

He quickly asks around and finds out that people are praying to him for protection. Wei Wuxian squirms a little at this, glad he’s wearing a weimao to cover his face. 

All of this...praying makes him uncomfortable. Not long ago, people were spitting on his name and now he’s suddenly become some sort of Patron for protection? The change is remarkable and cements Wei Wuxian’s decision to firmly stay out of the cultivation world. 

People’s opinions change like a tide and Wei Wuxian doesn’t want to stick around long enough for them to switch back. He sighs, disposing of his empty jug, and leaves the town.

.......

Surprisingly, that’s not the end of the changes. 

He got careless on a night hunt and ends up with the claw of a yaoguai piercing him all the way through his stomach. When the yaoguai pulled out its claw, though......Wei Wuxian healed quickly. Too quickly.

He recovers from the shock at this and finishes off the yao.

What just happened?

.

.

A quick trip to Wen Qing answered everything.

“Congratulations.” Wen Qing says dryly. “You’re an immortal.”

“........What.”

Wen Qing sighs, “From what you told me, you healed unnaturally quickly, right?”

Wei Wuxian nods. 

“There have only been records of immortals recovering that quickly. Even Wen Ruohan healed slower than you did.”

“But I don’t have a core???”

“You do. Sort of.” Wen Qing replies. “I’m actually surprised you haven’t you felt it.”

“.....” I mean, I did think it was odd that I didn’t freeze to death in the winter or die of hunger when money became tight over these years, but I thought those were side effects of demonic cultivation! Wei Wuxian quickly goes through the motions of feeling for his core, willing the surge of hope he felt down. 

And he......didn’t feel a core. He felt more of a large mass of energy congregated in his dantian.

Wei Wuxian is glad that he is sitting down right now because he feels very faint.  “But.....this......how?” 

“Hmm. Well, from what I’ve been hearing, you’ve become some sort of Patron Saint?” Wei Wuxian nods. “It’s rare, but cultivators can gain power from prayers. Take Wen Ruohan for example.”

“He became powerful through the same means?”

“Yes. Well, his people believed him to be all powerful, not so much as what people are praying to you. As the Sunshot alliance chipped down on his people, so too did they chip down on Wen Ruohan’s power.”

“So if people stop praying to me, I’ll stop being immortal.”

“Yes and no. Right now, there’s just a mass of energy concentrated there. It’s basically unrefined energy. All you have to do is refine that power into a core and cultivate normally. Otherwise, yes. You will lose this power as soon as people stop praying to you.”

“I see.......”

Wen Qing raises an eyebrow and brandishes her needles. “What are you doing just sitting here? Go and cultivate!”

“Aiya, Qing-jie! I’m in shock here, give me a moment to absorb this all!”

“I have patients to see! Get your ass to your room and cultivate!”

“Are you my mom or something?”

Wen Qing’s expression turns thunderous.

Wei Wuxian didn’t want to provoke her any further despite wanting to banter more and left to his room.

..................................

“You should visit your siblings.” Wen Qing says one day. “And Hanguang-Jun. I want to hear about how A’ Yuan is doing.”

“Where did this come from?”

“Wei Wuxian.” Wen Qing says patiently. “It’s been over a decade. Your name and our name has long since been cleared. People no longer hate you. And.....they miss you. Your siblings have commemorated the day you “died” and go into mourning for that day. Hanguang-Jun is a little subtler but he wears a mourning sash now.”

“They’ll be better off without me.”

“Says who?”

“The rest of the world.” Wei Wuxian says weakly.

“And why should you care for their opinion? You never seemed to mind it.”

“Ummm.....Lan Zhan hates me? Jiang Cheng might resent me? And Shij---Jiang-guniang---the Young Madam Jin has a life already.”

“First, if Hanguang-Jun hates you, why would he frequently glare at people who badmouthed you?”

“Because he’s a good person. How do you know this anyway?”

“I have friends. Try again. Hanguang-Jun is a famously reticent person. Would he do this for every person?”

“.........I don’t know.”

“The answer is no.”

Wei Wuxian pouts.

Wen Qing then begins to tell him how Jiang Cheng frequently takes demonic cultivators back with him in hopes that one of them would be Wei Wuxian and even added Wei Wuxian back to the Jiang sect register. Jiang Yanli smiles while ruthlessly talking people into apologizing every time she hears something bad said about Wei Wuxian.

She even lectures him on his feelings towards Lan Wangji, that he would entrust A’ Yuan to him.

Wen Qing closes off her speech with threats of her needles if Wei Wuxian doesn’t get his ass over there.

“There’s a Discussion Conference at Lotus Pier. Wei Wuxian, wait till they’re done and go meet them.”

Wei Wuxian, sufficiently threatened, hightails it back to what was his home.

.......

Wei Wuxian also decidedly forgets that he was supposed to wait for the Conference to end. Well, he had assumed that they would be done considering the empty state of the area in front of the conference room and stupidly bursts through the door to a room full of people.

Wei Wuxian blinks, “Uhh......”

“Wei Wuxian?!”

“Wei Ying?!”

“A’ Xian?!”

Wei Wuxian tittered from side to side, “Hello, all! I bet you thought I was dead! Well, you guessed wrong! Hahaha......”

..............................

Lan Wangji did not know what this time’s discussion conference would be like. He expected Jin Guangshan to try and subtly slander Wei Ying. He expected Jiang Yanli, Jiang Wanyin and himself to stand up for Wei Ying, as he was unable to do before Wei Ying died.

But he certainly didn’t expect Wei Ying, who he thought was dead, burst into the room.

Everyone was silent as soon as they heard Wei Ying speak, but soon burst into a cacophony of noise.

Continuing the Discussion Conference was futile after that and it was quickly closed. Lan Wangji watched Wei Ying be surrounded by many people, some crying, some happily angry, some exasperated and he couldn’t help his reaction after seeing him once again.

He rushes forward and hugs him.

“Wha--Lan Zhan?”

“You’re alive.” Lan Wangji breathes, voice full of wonder. “You’re alive.”

Wei Ying’s arms come up around him and Lan Wangji feels the strong heart beat through their robes. His elders yell at him for his shamelessness and he comes back to himself, embarrassed at his lack of control.

“Aww, Lan Zhan! I’m so glad you missed me!”

“Mn. Missed Wei Ying a lot.”

A slight blush rose to Wei Ying’s cheeks and he laughed, a little shy. Lan Wangji couldn’t help his response to hearing his laugh again after so, so long. He kissed him.

The crowd gasped around them and Lan Wangji pulled back quickly, wanting the ground to swallow him up. But then......Wei Ying kissed him back.

“Aiya, Lan Zhan. How bold of you! To steal a kiss from me in public!” He giggles, not seeming mad at all and even pressing forward, tangling his fingers in his forehead ribbon.

Lan Wangji’s breath stutters at the gesture.

“You’d better take responsibility!”

Is Wei Ying asking what I think he’s asking? “Responsibility?”

“Yes! You took a kiss from me in public! It looks like I can’t marry anymore.”

“Will marry Wei Ying.” Lan Wangji replies, voice hoarse, ignoring the cries of outrage from his elders, the angry shouts from Jiang Wanyin, and the smirks from Jiang Yanli and his brother. “Will take responsibility.”

“I hope that isn’t the only reason.”

This is his chance to come clean. Lan Wangji already told himself that he wouldn’t hold himself back if he met Wei Ying again. “Like Wei Ying. Love Wei Ying.”

Wei Ying laughs brightly. “I like Lan Zhan too. Now, you’ll finally admit we’re close?”

Lan Wangji ignores everyone, eyes only on Wei Ying as they should have always been, “Mn. Let’s get married.”

___________________________

I feel like Lan Wangji may be a bit OOC......hmm. Well, whatever. I finally got this done and with that, I think I’ve cleared all the prompts I haven’t answered, so asks will open up again!

Hope you all enjoyed this!

[hanahinatahana]

May Currently Watching/ Recently Finished

Not Me- Completed. OffGun winning everytime! Loved that this drama featured a completely new character setting of vigilantes for good. Acting? Their asses off across the board. I could also see that Off has improved. Chemistry? Most definitely! OffGun kisses are always done really well but it was also about how the characters were able to slowly grow closer and help each other grow. Plot twists? Yup! And some really knocked me on my ass. A really good drama that may have a place in my favorites from this year.

Business Proposal- Completed. Lots of fun and laughs but the last few moments felt a bit flat to me. Overall, had a great time watching this one.

Fox's Summer 1 &2-Currently Watching. I finished the first part with ease and moved to the second. On episode 8 of the second season, but I'm getting really annoyed with the Cheng Ze's adoptive mother and Yan Shu's mother. Both are stubborn and never listen to the truth people tell them if it doesn't fit the "truth" they want to create into reality. Also, not interested in Jin Yun and Jun Yao getting together.

Cutie Pie- Currently Watching. Finished episode 10. Zee is hot and NuNew is cute both as themselves and as their respective characters Lian and Kuea. I've really enjoyed their interactions and moments throughout the show, even though it happened pretty quickly. Unfortunately, I don't really like any of the other characters. Yi and Khondiao are kinda weird. At first Yi was intimidating and cold, and it gave me red flags how scard Khondiao seemed. Then when Yi tried getting to know more about Khondiao, it was odd that he had no idea what KD's interests were and it was awkward watching them do the whole skate park scene. The next thing they suddenly kissed, and now all is forgiven and they're in love and lust? Nah doesn't work for me. Also, the last pairing Syn and Nuea, bore me. Nuea was all about Kuea and just switched up to Syn and I'm not really buying that either. This show has a problem with rushing through or completely ommiting the emotional moments that would make the cute/sexy moments make sense. Just have to watch the last two episodes. Hopefully it'll be mostly LianKuea, cause I'm tired.

Secret Crush On You- Completed. My favorite show of 2022 so far. Hilarious. Outrageous. Cute. Sexy, and more. I have had the most fun and feels watching the episodes each week and have watched some more than once. The group of Som Daisy Jao and Toh is just so precious. When one cries, they all cry. Neua's crew is cool too. Also, the second and third couples were actually cute and fun to watch. I didn't feel the urge to skip every moment spent away from the main couple. A rarity for me. I've seen the actor Seng that plays Toh during a vlog and I have to give him props for embodying such an awkward and cutesy character.

Star In My Mind- Currently Watching. Finished episode 6 yesterday. DaoNuea and KlabKluen and frustrating me. Communication skills are terrible and they both keep letting other people pull them in different directions. There are 2 episodes left, I hope they can get to a place of understanding. I was liking this show up to episode 4. Now I'm kinda bored and mostly annoyed. I'll probably wait for both episodes to air so I can finish this show in one sitting and be done with it. Depending on the ending I may or may not check out Sky In Your Heart.

[neuxue]

Hi, neuxue......If you don't mind me asking, who are your favorite “villains” (or antagonists) in MXTX works? Whether it’s a final boss like Jun Wu or more of a side character like Xue Yang. (Whether you want to do a ranking or just write out in no particular order)...Sorry if you've answered this question before....

If I don't mind??? If I don't mind? Please, my friend, you give me an opportunity to talk about favourite villains and I am yours for as long as you'll listen.

Not going to attempt to order them so we'll just go by story:

CQL

Xue Yang - characters who don't realise what they want, or that they've found a way to have it, until the moment when they destroy it!! Who destroy it because on some level they don't truly believe they can have it at all, and because it's easier to lose something when you can convince yourself you were always going to, and that it was your own choice. The whole time-bomb of Yi City just wrecks me.

I'm also generally here for his brand of competence and mercuriality - the knife-edged playfulness that doesn't quite mask a deeper darkness, the tendency to dance just a little too close to the edge with the particular carefree abandon of one who cannot imagine living beyond youth.

Finally... oh man do I even want to try to articulate this? So, he has several traits that often get used as a shorthand for not just ‘evil’ but ‘inherently evil’. Which... frustrates me. But with Xue Yang... yes, he's cast as a villain and yes he loses everything and yes he dies alone and unmourned... but there's a sense of 'it didn't have to go this way'. If the cart driver had been kinder; if his capability had been put to some use other than ‘weapon’. Or that moment in Yi City where he seems to delight just as much in cheating at a silly game of choosing sticks as he does in tricking Xiao Xingchen into killing people. This idea that there could have been another path. (And also, via Yi City, that he is not... inherently unlovable). His story ends in tragedy, but it’s not framed, at least the way I (choose to) read it, as ‘your story can only end in tragedy, because of the way you are’. It gives the option to read it as ‘you are not inherently monstrous’.

(Which then almost feeds back into the tragedy of the first point, because it’s only there in a kind of meta sense: Xue Yang himself? only ever receives the you are a weapon, you are a monster, that is all you can be side of it. Oh man okay I’ll stop here before I get pulled into a whole essay on this because suddenly I want to).

Jin Guangyao - I love a schemer! I love a pragmatist! I love ruthless competence beneath an inscrutable smile! I love characters who will tolerate nothing less than absolute perfection in themselves because they have learned the hard way that it’s the only possible way to survive. Characters who are not exempt from their own ruthlessness, their own cost-benefit analysis. Characters who have learned from their world that happiness must be sacrificed at the altar of survival, and who will do so with heartbreak but without hesitation when necessary. The only way is forward; to look back is to fail, but the irony is they can still never outrun their pasts.

Also he’s another one where there’s such a sense of it didn’t have to end this way. So many points at which things could have been different, so many alternate versions in which his capability could have been channelled towards a different goal, if the goal carved into his bones didn’t have to be survive, in a world that will try to make that impossible. 

I love villains and antagonists of all stripes and moralities, but in this instance what I love is a character who doesn’t want to be a villain, doesn’t want their hands stained with blood, doesn’t want to hurt those they love... but they do not see a choice. 

Wen Zhuliu - he’s highly competent and wears fingerless gloves; what more do you want from me?

Honestly though, he fascinates me. In part it’s the fact that we just don’t get much interiority to him, and only one exchange of dialogue that really suggests his motives, but we also get these little moments, that collectively build this sense of a kind of... lawful neutral, I suppose? Not even villain-by-necessity so much as villain-by-...debt? loyalty? But he also so clearly has such a strong sense of honour, and I just love trying to reconcile all of those pieces into a cohesive whole. 

The other thing that really gets me about him is his extraordinary power and how it’s regarded - especially when juxtaposed with Wei Wuxian’s. In both cases you have a single individual who holds a terrifying and mostly unique power that threatens or pushes the boundaries of their whole society and world. Wei Wuxian commands ghosts without a sword; Wen Zhuliu can extinguish someone’s power with his hands. But, crucially, the difference between them seems to be... that Wei Wuxian is a wildcard; Wen Zhuliu is leashed. And so I have to wonder once again at the strength of that leash, and at what would happen if Wen Zhuliu, like Wei Wuxian, decided to rebel. And in that whole question lives in this really interesting space of... what is it people truly fear? The power? The wielder? That person’s ability to choose? The uncertainty of what they will choose? The possibility of them realising they can?

***

TGCF

He Xuan - I mean the theme here obviously is competence, and He Xuan has a killer aesthetic to go with it, but mostly it’s just... the way his whole character is an exploration of revenge, and the line between vengeance and justice, and the question inherent in the irony of... throwing away the very thing you wanted vengeance for, in order to exact that vengeance.

(And also the whole cycle-of-revenge in doing unto another what was once done unto you, in the process of exacting that vengeance).

I’m just. Unbelievably here for a good betrayal story, and this one has it all! The intimacy! The self-betrayal! The emptiness and hunger!

And while with Xue Yang I love that moment of realising what he wants, or what he’s losing, only in the moment when he destroys it... with He Xuan what I love is that he goes into this, in so many ways, knowing what he’s doing. This is not spontaneity; this is the ultimate premeditation. He knows what he has, in his guise as a heavenly official. He knows, intimately, the person he is betraying. He has given great thought to the how of that betrayal. 

(Is it worth it, in the end?)

(After all, he’s still here)

Bai Wuxiang - one of the dynamics that will wreck me pretty much every time is what I like to call ‘intimate enemies’. Enemies-to-lovers can fit under that umbrella, but it’s a broader umbrella than just that. The idea of characters who (either one-sided or reciprocally) know each other so deeply, and can wield that knowledge to wound. The awful gentleness and precision of holding a knife to the core of someone’s identity. 

That, plus the identity fuckery in general. The way Bai Wuxiang frames himself as Xie Lian’s mirror, and the way he then reflects and warps and tugs at those pieces of Xie Lian’s self and name and will, trying to shape them in his image, but so gently. The way he talks to Xie Lian! The way he strokes his hair as he stabs him! It’s just so much, okay!

So yeah, a lot of it is that I’m just very into the highkey fucked-up dynamic he has with Xie Lian. But also Bai Wuxiang’s own story hits me in a kind of... if you’ll forgive a Wheel of Time reference: betrayer-of-hope betrayed-by-hope kind of way. That he tried so hard once, only for it to fall to ruin in his hands, and now he watches another try (and fail!) as he once did. And the way he seems to, in trying to mould Xie Lian’s present to his own past, be searching for a kind of... vindication? A confirmation of that inevitability? That of course he failed, that he could never have succeeded, because this is the nature of humanity, and it is not worth saving, and so his attempts weren’t failure. 

But the thing with that is: it’s a lose-lose situation. If he succeeds and Xie Lian fails, yes, it gives him that sense of ‘there was never another way, and no point trying to find one’ but is that really... winning? Is finding vindication in despair truly a success? And yet if he fails and Xie Lian succeeds, then does that not also feel like a sword to the heart: that it wasn’t inevitable, and that means he has to come to terms with his own failure and the heartbreak it wrought?

[drivingsideways]

Melo is My Nature Review

Well, as usual, I’m late to the party! I picked up 2019′s Melo is my Nature/ Be Melodramatic with some trepidation since I was (am!) still smarting a bit from the disappointment that’s Hospital Playlist S2, and I wasn’t quite ready for another. 

I’m so glad I gave it a chance! While it isn’t a “perfect” series- in the nature of the world *sigh*- its combination of quirky, clever, self-aware humour and heartfelt performances won me over from the first episode. 

More thoughts under the cut (along with some spoilers)

I’m very fond of ensemble dramas that love their characters, and “Melo is my Nature” does that very well. Perhaps a little too well, to the point that you feel the writers letting themselves be more than a little indulgent during the middle stretch of the episodes. But I can’t complain too much, because yes, I know the feeling!  “Side characters” that refuse to stay in the lane and take over the narrative are also my favourites, as a writer and a viewer. I loved, loved, loved Lee Joo-bin as the flighty-but-amazingly-smart Lee So-min; that felt like such a delightful  clap-back against the prevailing sentiment that often goes against young, successful women and the ridiculous levels of expectations of them, in how they need to perform gender and  femininity and smartness. I loved that (like Emma! There’s a lot of Jane in this series!) the writers managed to make her likeable even though they never disregard her flaws or its consequences.

 Another performance/ character that I totally adored was Baek Ji-won as Jeong Hye-jeong, the industry maven who may be (?) a nod to Kim Eun-sook, I suppose! I was afraid at some point that they’d just trash her character, by making her a little too ridiculous in an unkind way, but I found some of the loveliest scenes involved her- like the one where she tells Jin-joo to do the work, but not be too successful. In the end, there was a love and fondness for her, a genuine empathy, that really was core to what made this show so successful. 

Shout out also to two of the weirdest characters I’ve watched, but thoroughly loved- Heo Joon-seok as Director Dong-gi & Lee Ji-min as Nutritionist (?) Da-mi. I absolutely adored that the only wedding in this series is between these two, and they do it in a completely predictably-unusual way. 

Re: the “main” characters, I loved all of them without exception, though some more than the others :) One of the things I love about the show is how real and present the three female leads feel; they feel like whole, entire people rather than caricatures of them, even when the show reaches almost unusual levels of quirky. I love that a through-line of the narrative is how important women’s labour is- to themselves. The work they do, which is acknowledged as a part of their identity rather than just something they do to pay bills (though of course there’s acknowledgement of that aspect too!),  their hunger to do it well and for it to matter- all of that is portrayed in a way that’s charming  but still taken very seriously. And the way you know that its taken seriously is in the things they focus on- how Oh Jin-joo struggles to write alone, and how Han-joo’s learning to be someone’s mentor while struggling with her own insecurities, and how lost Eun-jung feels, when work which was supposed to give her purpose fails her in a time of crisis, and how unmoored she feels without it. 

Re: the romance- I’m someone predisposed to dislike heterosexual romance, especially at the present moment, so it’s always with a great deal of hesitation that I start watching shows that I know have a large romance component. It’s always a bit of a coin toss for me whether the show will end up making me hate the romance or just about tolerate it. I rarely expect to *like * it.  So “Melo is my Nature” was a pleasant surprise!  This is  one of the few series where I felt the writers put in the work to sell the “main romance” of the show. You get to know the Oh Jin-joo and Beom-soo in sharply etched sketches before they move into the romance part (with a lot of tongue-in-cheek meta humour about the formulaic nature of tv romances). I genuinely felt that thrill of  “oh this could go platonic or romantic and I would like either” slowly ease into “oh my god these two are MEANT TO BE”, because the Romance is clearly in the all the ways they are NOT meant to be, but also, very, very definitely are. DELICIOUS. Just my cup of Jane Austen in a different context/ time.

Through most of the show though, my heart was divided between two characters- Jeon Yeo-bin’s stellar Eun-jung and Han Ji-eun’s pitch perfect Han-joo. Jeon Yeo-bin brought edginess, dark humour and a deep, almost- inconsolable grief to Eun-jung. Some of the stand out scenes of the entire series are hers: the moment where she watches herself on video talking to an imaginary person, and the moment she breaks down in front of the psych after talking about her mother. Watching this show, it really felt like- oh, she’s a star. Consider me sold on her for life (though, no, I will not watch Vincenzo unless there’s a Hong Cha-young supercut out there, in which case, please put it in my eyeballs now)

Han Ji-eun, imho, actually pulled off the toughest performance, because I think Han-joo’s strength of character is so often concealed by her “silliness” (in a similar vein to So-min’s), and that often makes her someone you’d overlook or not take seriously.  But god, she broke my heart, from the scene in the first episode where she’s sitting alone at a table after a rough day and watching her horrible ex live his best life to the hilarious and excruciating  “Oppa” scene, to the one where her kid is quite unconsciously cruel to her in the way kids can be. I was disappointed in the way they dropped the “reveal” about whom she’s dating in the last episode- not that I wanted her to be in an romance with Jae-hoon, god, NO- but it felt quite clunky.  This is one of the two complaints I have with the show. 

The second one is that starting from the middle, episodes began to noticeably feel like scenes/ sketches spliced together. Each scene is, within itself, perfectly written and performed, but the seams between the stories began to show. I felt one of the main reasons was that Eun-jung’s trauma tonally felt like it belonged in another show, but instead it had to get stitched into the mostly happy/ frothy storylines of the other characters. Sure, we had Hae-joon and his girlfriend’s terrible relationship, but the show had an easier time integrating that by way of Han-joo.

That said, I love how clever this show is! I love that it loves its own cleverness and can’t resist the urge to show it off- from all the meta references, in-universe jokes, and oh, that entire episode devoted to farting, complete with a song about it,  which I think maybe my fave episode of the series. A great look at the place of performance in intimate relationships (and how the women bear the burden of it more than the men), but coming at it from a place of compassion and humour rather than anger. Love that choice, for the show and us! 

I think @rain-hat mentioned in a comment here or twitter that Melo feels like a part of a triangle of shows along with Run On and Search : WWW.  I’m inclined to swap out Run On for Rookie Historian, or huh, maybe change the triangle for a quadrangle? Rookie Historian dares to imagine a past where our protagonist is (mostly) unshackled by the patriarchy and in the “modern” ending to its main heterosexual romance, reminds us that people have always found ways to find joy and thrive outside the rigid bounds of society. Search: WWW goes about it in the opposite direction- placing us in a present/future where the patriarchy doesn’t  and hasn’t ever mattered. Melo, I think, doesn’t quite do that, but in common with both these shows, it refuses to focus on the trauma of living under such structural violence, and instead talks about how we all (irrespective of gender) can find a way to remain unbroken by it. And while both Search:WWW and Melo do well at queer-platonic relationships as an alternate to the heterosexual project, it’s Run On, I think, which goes furthest there- firstly because though ostensibly structured around a het romance, that romance turns out to be falling in love with yourself/ loving yourself;  secondly because it’s most explicitly queer in the choices that the characters make and the lives that they choose for themselves- Min-joo & May are each others darlings and will be for life, Yeong-hwa and Ki Seon-gyeom are allowed a tenderness in their friendship that feels like an explicit repudiation of toxic masculinity, and of course, you have May being asexual, but not aromantic, and Goh Ye-jun’s whole arc of accepting himself as a gay man, and finding acceptance of that identity from others. 

Anyway! tl;dr would recommend (and have recommended!) Melo is my Nature to anyone fond of women, clever story telling and also ridiculously happy songs.

[ashayatreldai]

His Face - Fic

Find this on AO3 or read it here.

Among Su She’s effects is found a bundle of sketches of Hanguang Jun, which inspires a lifetime of exchanges between Wei Wuxian and his husband.

***

Wei Wuxian yawned, barely remembering to cover his mouth with the back of his hand. It wasn’t as though Lan Wangji minded; he still marveled at his husband’s calm acceptance of his less than perfect behavior. And it wasn’t as if he were really tired. They’d been back in Cloud Recesses only a handful of days and most of that time Wei Wuxian had been able to rest, to wander the back hill, to play with the rabbits, to tease Sizhui and Jingyi, to play Chenqing to the birds and the rainbows the sun cast in the light mists of Gusu’s waterfalls. No, he supposed. He yawned because he was warm, well-fed, secure and safe, and in the best company a person could desire, let alone have all to himself.

Lan Wangji sat on the other side of the desk, and in spite of the hour was still working through the backlog of mail which had accumulated in his absence.

“What’s this?” A bundle of papers caught Wei Wuxian’s eye, and on impulse he reached and drew them out of the stack.

Lan Wangji looked up. “After the events at Gyanyin Temple, members of the Lan Clan disposed of the bodies, sealed the coffin in which Red Blade Master and Jin Guangyao are buried, and otherwise put the site in order. Among these activities, Su She’s body was searched and his personal effects catalogued. A quiankun pouch was found, containing an assortment of items. This bundle of papers was also in the pouch. I assume it was forwarded to me because I am the subject.”

Wei Wuxian leafed through the pages. It was a collection of sketches in a variety of media, all of Hanguang Jun’s face, mostly sketches of his eyes. They weren’t half bad: the artist had captured the micro-expressions which concealed everything but hid nothing of Hanguang Jun’s thoughts. But as he examined the pile, he experienced an increasing sensation of wrongness.

“I wonder what he was trying to capture. I mean, here’s ice, here’s anger. I think this one is arrogance or being haughty; and this one has to be indifference. And this,” he huffed out with a half smile, “has got to be ‘you are the scum beneath my shoe’.” That was a micro-expression Wei Wuxian had seen often on Lan Wangji’s face when they were young, as he kept poking and prodding until the carefully cultivated mask his friend wore finally slipped. He spread out the pictures, his eyes searching for the clues he knew he’d find. “Why would he want to draw these things and exclude others? I know a lot of people are afraid of you, Lan Zhan, because you look cold and imperturbable. But anyone who knows you and watches closely can see that there’s so much more to you than that.”

“Su She was cast out of the Lan Clan because he betrayed our secrets to Wen Xu. He was known for being desirous of imitating me – poorly. We can only speculate as to his motivations otherwise,” Lan Wangji commented quietly.

“Mmmm,” Wei Wuxian agreed. “He hated you, but he also idolized you. Who’s to say what came first? Whatever,” he said, shaking his head. “The fact he captured your eyes with these strong antagonistic expressions suggests he hated himself, and perhaps wanted to make you the one who hated him in his own mind. It’s easier to hate someone than to live with the pain of feeling rejected or not even noticed.”

“I never hated Su She.”

“No, I don’t think I’ve ever known you to hate anyone, Hanguang Jun.” Wei Wuxian felt a surge of protective affection for this dear man. “Not even those who deserve it. Su She unfairly judged you and didn’t know you at all. Still, when you think about what people say about me, the scary deranged Yiling Patriarch, anything’s possible in terms of what people do to themselves to justify hatred. Blargh!” He made claws with his hands and pulled a terrifying crazy Yiling Laozu face.

“Wei Ying.” There was amusement dancing in Lan Wangji’s eyes. “You do not scare me.”

Sometimes Lan Wangji could abruptly light a fuse in Wei Wuxian and leave him smoking. He laughed and crawled around to Lan Wangji’s side of the table, climbing into his lap to sit with one leg either side of Lan Wangji’s waist. His husband’s hands came up to support his lower back. He put both hands loosely around Lan Wangji’s neck.

Lan Wangi had removed his silver coronet and tendrils of hair that usually were wound up to hold the headpiece in place trailed either side of his face, making him look softer and younger and so much more vulnerable.

For some time they sat simply looking at each other. Wei Wuxian took in the flawless face, reaching one hand to trace Lan Wangi’s eyebrow, feeling the soft hairs brush beneath his fingerpads. He gently followed the line of an eyelash, delighting in the butterfly kiss as his husband blinked. Out over the swell of zygomatic bone, cupping around his perfectly shaped ear – he really was like exquisitely carved jade, warm, living, and here. He cupped Lan Wangji’s cheek, his thumb finding the hollow between nose and lip and the soft breath of life it held. And those lips, now quirked in a loving bow.

He pulled himself up to kiss the forehead ribbon, to plant gentle brushes of his lips over all the places he’d touched. When he came to Lan Wangji’s mouth, he finally let go, giving all his worship as they joined tongues, teeth, desire, losing themselves in each other.

They released the kiss, and held each other, Wei Wuxian’s head on Lan Wangji’s shoulder. Between them energy sizzled – it would be sated later, but it was sufficient for now to enjoy the beatitude of the moment, the closeness, words unnecessary to communicate the depth of heart each held for the other.

***

Wei Wuxian was traveling. His absence itched acutely just under Lan Wangji’s skin, a constant worry. He rued the duty which pinned him in his current dual roles: Chief Cultivator and Acting Sect Leader, keeping him grounded at Cloud Recesses instead of off night hunting with his husband.

It was necessary, he knew, for Wei Wuxian to move; the whole man was a study in movement, in ceaseless energy. He knew the staid and stable pattern of life at Cloud Recesses felt like a box to Wei Ying, and while he could endure for a season, he needed more than what life in Gusu offered, even with rabbits and a back hill to wander for hours.

But oh, he missed him. And he worried too: who would defend him when he had so little sense of self-preservation?

This journey, Wei Wuxian had set off to attempt to mend things with Jiang Cheng before making his way up to Lanling to see Jin Ling. One of the highest values for the Lan was family, and Lan Wangji understood the deep need his husband had for those connections – had encouraged it.

It was just as well Wei Wuxian had mastered the butterfly talisman (and enhanced it). Morning and night he would wait for the silvery wings to alight with Wei Wuxian’s messages of love and thought to whisper through his qi. Sometimes they were profound, poetry. Sometimes playful; sometimes just a kiss. Lan Wangji came to depend on those messages, and on being able to send some back himself: I love you, I miss you, come home soon.

He sighed. This morning had grown tedious. Today was the end of the accounting period for Clan matters, and while there was staff to manage the minutiae of bookkeeping, as Acting Clan Leader LanWangji was examining the records before tomorrow’s visit from the auditor. Not for the first time he lamented his brother’s seclusion, necessary though it was. Dealing with finances was the part of the role that least appealed to Lan Wangji; he felt a headache brewing and was contemplating taking a break when there was a knock on the door.

“Hanguang Jun, mail has arrived,” the disciple said, handing him a bundle.

“Thank you. Please ask the kitchen to send me some lunch,” he requested, taking the pile.

The disciple departed, and he began to sort the items: those about Clan matters, those for the Chief Cultivator. One letter stood out, a simple scroll tied with a red thread. Putting all the other mail aside he carefully opened the scroll and took a breath.

It was an ink painting of his eyes, creased ever so slightly in an expression of amusement. On his brow the forehead ribbon glinted silver, his hair loosely framing his cheeks. He instantly recognized the artist, tracing a finger over the brush strokes as if that touch could unite him with the hand that had made them.

“Wei Ying,” he said, infinite fondness filling him.

Throughout the rest of the day he kept the picture on his desk, glancing at it from time to time. And when it was time to turn his attention to other things, he gently placed the picture in his sleeve to take back to the jingshi.

Every couple of days another picture would arrive. This too became something Lan Wangji expected, an important and significant marker in his day, each picture a symbol that he was one day closer to seeing, holding, touching, tasting Wei Wuxian again.

***

300 years later

Clan Leader Lan Shuoxiao had come to the Forbidden Room in the Library Pavilion seeking a book she’d known had been here years earlier. Back then she’d been a mischievous girl seeking a way to prank Shufu, and she vividly remembered the green cover. Lan filing methods hadn’t changed in hundreds of years, so that wretched book had to be here somewhere.

She moved a pile of dusty scrolls, cursing under her breath when she knocked a stack of bamboo books which went tumbling over the floor. Patience, she told herself strictly. Breathe and control.

Feeling a little more composed, she bent to restore the mess to order. A red cover caught her eye on one of the lower shelves. She’d not seen that before, and she was sure she’d have recognized it if she had. It was quite distinct, a deep red, tied shut with of all things a Clan ribbon.

Intrigued, she opened the volume, carefully untying the ribbon and leafing through the pages. Page after page were pictures of a handsome man’s eyes: crinkled in delight, weeping with sorrow, dancing with affection, on and on they went. Sometimes the whole of the man’s lovely face was shown: in some he wore the elaborate silver coronet her ancestors had favored, in others his long tresses floated around his face, and the artist had clearly captured a treasured, private, and vulnerable moment.

Around half way through the volume the pictures changed: a spritely young man in black, his underrobe a vivid red (the same colour as the cover of the book, as it happened – and she wondered whether it was indeed cut from the same cloth), a red ribbon in his hair, holding a black dizi. This array of pictures had a different hand, a more understated eye which captured the young man’s energetic aura, as well as pensive moments – the youth had clearly been to hell and back, and Lan Shuoxiao could almost feel the immense love with which the person who’d drawn these pictures had made each stroke.

There were so many! Page sized varied: a compendium gathered together of odd scraps. The last page bore an inscription:

In loving memory of my parents, Lan Zhan, Lan Wangji, Hanguang Jun, and Wei Ying, Wei Wuxian, Yiling Laozu. The true faces of both, in their own hands. Love letters sent to dearest him who was, alas, away. Lan Yuan, Lan Sizhui, Chief Cultivator.

Clan Leader Lan Shuoxiao’s heart thumped wildly in her chest. Clan records declared Hanguang Jun’s partner’s name to have been Lan Ying, Lan Wuxian. How had they never made the connection before that “Lan Wuxian” was in fact the infamous Yiling Patriarch? Given that the two had Lan Yuan, Lan Sizhui’s name inscribed under theirs as offspring, Lan Shuoxiao and many others had assumed Lan Wuxian to be female.

She looked closely again at one of the pictures of the young man in black and red. He didn’t look like the evil dictator of legend. He looked mischievous and full of life, an impression caught in the laughing smile, and so… youthful.

Not that demonic cultivation was these days the issue it had been for her ancestors; these days cultivation was emphasized to be about harnessing the yin of negative energy and the yang of positive energy, holding them in balance and using each appropriately. She doubted the people who had so feared and hated the Yiling Patriarch would be able to recognize as righteous the way all cultivators now practiced as a matter of course.

As for Hanguang Jun… She flicked back to a picture in which his whole upper body had been captured as he played guqin, a study of someone completely caught up and focused on the music, almost in ecstasy. Another private moment revealing something about the essence of the man. He was so beautiful, captivating. And such a contrast from all the other images she’d ever seen of him. Hanguang Jun had a reputation even now, 150 years after he had Ascended, for being cold, somewhat forbidding, distant, just, merciful and benevolent, untouchable, unrivalled in almost all fields. That was how he appeared at the Gate of Gusu, carved of jade, opposite his brother, Zewu Jun, the famous Twin Jades of Gusu Lan now its guardians, their representations inscribed and infused with talismans and ward tethers. Rumor was that no evil could come to Cloud Recesses as long as the Twin Jades stood at the gates. How was anyone to reconcile that formidable image with this? This picture of a very human, vulnerable, gentle man, who was clearly so very much loved by the artist who drew him.

Lan Shuoxiao found herself on the edge of tears. It felt like an injustice, looking at these intimate sketches, that history had forgotten Wei Wuxian as little more than a footnote. And that the righteous Hanguang Jun had been immortalized as a stiff, cold and distant deity rather than someone’s beloved whose heart beat wildly in his chest in longing, and whose blood was warm and red and thrummed with reciprocated affection. She wondered how they had found one another, wondered about the history in which they must have been caught up: how did it affect them? What trials had they passed through before they finally found their way to each other’s arms?

She reverently closed the volume, her original mission in coming here put aside. Thoughtfully, she collected up the scrolls and bamboo books and reordered them, and then closed the Forbidden Room.

***

Several months later a new scene was depicted on the climbing path around the residences of Gusu: a beautiful, crowned Lan sat cross-legged in the back hill meadow, covered in a blanket of rabbits. His loving gaze was fixed on the figure opposite him under a peach tree in full bloom, who was standing and playing a dizi. The legend beneath read: Hanguang Jun and his cultivation partner Yiling Laozu, Lan Wuxian.

 FIN

[bloody-bee-tea]

JC Love Month 2020 Day 2

Power and Pride

Day 2 of JC Love Month brings some fluff where the kids (mostly JL) tell JC that they admire him a whole lot, and even WWX is not exempt from that. Thankfully, that admiration goes both way. 

Jiang Cheng isn’t quite sure how he came to feel like an outsider in his own home, but it’s happening, and his otherwise empty table is probably playing a big part in it.

Especially compared to the cramped one, where Wei Wuxian and his gaggle of ducklings are seated.

It’s not often that Wei Wuxian brings them around after a night hunt, but they were close to Lotus Pier and Wei Wuxian at least knows that Jiang Cheng would skin him alive if he did a job in Jiang Cheng’s territory and then didn’t even have the good grace to drop by.

It’s just a bonus that he brought the kids with him, because Jiang Cheng would never admit it, but he missed Jin Ling. It’s not often that he gets to see him anymore, not with how he’s now Sect Leader himself, and it’s good to see that Jin Ling still takes the time to do something educational but at the same time gets to spend an night with his friends.

And it only stings the tiniest bit that Jin Ling didn’t come to visit Lotus Pier before, but Jiang Cheng pushes that thought far, far away. It’s important for Jin Ling to spend some time with people his age, and not just his family.

There’s an especially loud laugh from Wei Wuxian to something Lan Jingyi said and Jiang Cheng almost feels the urge to go over there and sit with them instead of a few tables further away, but he guesses he would ruin the mood.

He’s not pleasant company, he knows it, and he would hate to ruin the good mood of the kids. They deserve some time to celebrate after their successful night hunt.

So Jiang Cheng sits alone with his tea, and keeps half an ear on the rambunctious group. It has to be enough.

“So, let’s say,” Wei Wuxian’s voice carries over and Jiang Cheng might listen in a bit more closely at that, because he still remembers that tone of voice and it promises mischief.

“Let’s say what, Senior Wei?” Ouyang Zizhen asks, leaning expectantly over the table.

“Let’s say you’d have to choose the most powerful cultivator,” Wei Wuxian says, a laugh playing around his mouth. “Who would you choose?”

“Easy,” Lan Jingyi immediately says and Jiang Cheng has to hide his snort in his tea.

He would always bet his entire fortune on the loudmouthed Lan to be the first to answer a question.

“Zewu-Jun,” Lan Jingyi then says, full of conviction, though he only gets surprised glances at that.

“Why him?” Wei Wuxian wants to know, and Jiang Cheng is unsure if he has a higher goal in mind with this question or if he is just playing around with them.

“Because he’s ranked first, of course,” Lan Jingyi confidently says, and Jiang Cheng has to admit it’s solid reasoning.

Zewu-Jun is still ranked first, despite the fact that he went into seclusion, and the list is not only about looks. It’s also about the level of cultivation after all, so Lan Jingyi made the easy, obvious choice.

“But I don’t think he’s the most powerful,” Lan Sizhui carefully says, clearly trying to not offend his friend and while Jiang Cheng admires the effort, he thinks it’s entirely impossible to offend Lan Jingyi.

“Then who do you think, huh?” Lan Jingyi wants to know, clearly more curious than offended and Lan Sizhui shrugs.

“Hanguang-Jun,” he says, very predictably if you ask Jiang Cheng.

Not that anyone seems to be even thinking of Jiang Cheng.

“How come?” Wei Wuxian questions and then he gets that dreamy look on his face that Jiang Cheng learned to abhor so much. “I mean, you’re right of course, there is no one with more power in this world than my Lan Zhan, but explain it?”

“No one with more power over your already limited awareness, maybe,” Jin Ling mutters under his breath and Jiang Cheng almost chokes on his tea when Wei Wuxian lets out an enraged yell.

There’s chaos for a while at the other table, because it seems like the kids are entirely too comfortable to roast Wei Wuxian over his sickeningly sweet feelings for Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng is very content to stay out of that train wreck.

They do settle down eventually, and they even get back on track with the question.

“It should be kind of obvious,” Lan Sizhui says finally. “He is the Chief Cultivator after all, and that means he holds the most powerful position.”

It’s just as solid reasoning as Lan Jingyi’s pick had been but Ouyang Zizhen shakes his head.

“You all got it wrong,” he says and leans a little bit closer to them as if he’s going to tell them a secret. “The most powerful cultivator is of course the Ghost General!”

“He doesn’t even count!” Lan Jingyi cries out. “He’s a ferocious corpse, and not a cultivator anymore!”

“But you have to admit that he is more powerful than both of your picks,” Ouyang Zizhen says and Jiang Cheng forces to unclench his hand.

He is still repairing his relationship with Wei Wuxian, he gave up entirely on every reaching anything but polite distance with Lan Wangji, but he will probably forever have some animosity for Wen Ning.

In the very darkest hours of the night Jiang Cheng can admit that it’s unfair to hate Wen Ning like that, that he wasn’t wrong about what he said to Jiang Cheng during that cursed reveal of just whose golden core is inside of Jiang Cheng, but that is only in the dead of the night.

During the day, Jiang Cheng reserves the right to still be fucking mad at Wen Ning for accusing him like that when it was him, Wen Qing and Wei Wuxian who decided to go along with the medical procedure without even so much as asking Jiang Cheng about it.

It doesn’t change the fact that Wen Ning is a rather powerful being and Jiang Cheng would hate to have to go up against him if he’s really furious. Jiang Cheng is aware enough of his own strength to know that it would be a damn difficult fight; and he couldn’t even confidently say that he’d win.

“You all don’t know anything,” Jin Ling suddenly speaks up, and Jiang Cheng is moderately curious, he’s not going to lie about that.

Jin Ling doesn’t like Lan Wangji—Jiang Cheng is more than aware that it’s his fault—but he admires Zewu-Jun and he is starting to build something of a friendship with Wen Ning, so Jiang Cheng is honestly curious to hear who Jin Ling thinks of as the most powerful cultivator.

Not to mention that Wei Wuxian is sitting right there, and for all that Jiang Cheng wishes it would be different, he doubts that there is anyone who could match Wei Wuxian at his Yiling Patriarch high.

“Who is it then?” Lan Jingyi asks, chin stubbornly set and Jin Ling glares at him.

“The most powerful cultivator is of course my jiu-jiu,” Jin Ling says, absolute certainty in his voice and everyone goes very quiet as they dart glances at Jiang Cheng.

“Why do you think so?” Wei Wuxian asks yet again, but his voice is soft in a way that Jiang Cheng can hardly stand and he has half a mind just getting up and fleeing.

But then Jin Ling turns around to him and pins him with his look and Jiang Cheng stays right where he is.

He didn’t know his nephew had already perfected that glare.

“Because he survived,” Jin Ling says. “Because he lost his parents and his home, and then his siblings. He had a destroyed Sect and a tiny baby to look after and he did it,” Jin Ling says and Jiang Cheng can’t hold his gaze any longer, but Jin Ling mercilessly goes on.

“He rebuild his Sect; and not only that, but he made it the most powerful of the Great Four. He raised the kid, that wasn’t even his own, and all the while he still managed to get the respect of the people he leads.”

“Jin Ling, you are my pride and joy, but would you please shut the fuck up?” Jiang Cheng bites out, feeling just a little bit choked up, but no one is listening to him.

“And he did it all without his own golden core,” Wei Wuxian chimes in, voice still so horribly soft, “because he even survived losing it.”

“He did a decent job at raising the little mistress, too,” Lan Jingyi says and even though Jin Ling turns to glare at him, it’s clearly meant as very high praise.

“He doesn’t just have the respect of his people,” Lan Sizhui suddenly says and shrinks in on himself, just a little bit when Jiang Cheng starts to glare at him.

It’s still not enough to shut them all up, but Jiang Cheng has to try at least.

“They adore him; they love him so much, all of them, and it’s so easy to see, too.”

Jiang Cheng doesn’t think it’s easy to see at all, but Ouyang Zizhen speaks before Jiang Cheng can get a word in otherwise.

“Oh, yeah, did you see how they all practically light up when he walks through the market? And they all give him samples of their stuff for free, too, and not because they are afraid of him or they want to show off. They just genuinely want to show him their appreciation!”

“Ah, but that’s not a new thing,” Wei Wuxian says and smiles slightly. “People always fell over themselves to make Jiang Cheng smile.”

“That’s not true,” Jiang Cheng says, because he remembers the times he and Wei Wuxian went to the market.

The people fell all over themselves to please Wei Wuxian, not him.

“Don’t be stupid,” Jin Ling bites out, and Jiang Cheng is taken aback at how mad he suddenly seems. “Do you even know how often people ask me where you are when I go to the market alone? No one cares about me, they only want to see you. I bet it was the same with Wei Wuxian.”

“He’s right,” Wei Wuxian nods immediately. “I couldn’t take two steps without people crowding me in, asking where their favourite was.”

“Shut up!” Jiang Cheng gets out, though he’s aware that he’s blushing bright red.

He knows he has the respect of his people, but their love? He never dared to hope for that.

“So, yes. My jiu-jiu is the most powerful, because he survived all kinds of tragedies and still came out on top.”

“You’re right,” Lan Jingyi nods and then everyone is suddenly agreeing with Jin Ling.

Much to Jiang Cheng’s embarrassment.

“Shut up, all of you,” he snaps out, “you’re all wrong.”

“Get over here then, and tell us why,” Wei Wuxian very eagerly says and winks him over.

The kids make space for him immediately, and they are all looking expectantly at Jiang Cheng, too, so really. What else can he do but go over there and join them.

He refuses to think about the warm, fluttering feeling in his chest at the thought that he gets included in this.

“Tell us who you think is the most powerful,” Wei Wuxian says, excited like a little kid, and when he leans forward, Jiang Cheng pushes him away with a hand to his face.

“Hey,” Wei Wuxian protest, but the kids all laugh and even Jiang Cheng has to bite back a smile.

“If you think I’m going to name you, you’re mistaken,” he tells Wei Wuxian who gives him an almost devastating pout.

“But I was so powerful back in the day,” Wei Wuxian whines and Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes.

“And then you died, so really, how powerful can you be?” he wants to know. “And don’t even get me started on the fact that you made it back, because you had nothing to do with that! That was all Mo Xuanyu.”

Jiang Cheng is aware that the kids are staring at him and Wei Wuxian and it occurs to Jiang Cheng that they have never seen them banter like this.

Like they used to do before everything went to shit, and it gives Jiang Cheng hope that they can repair their relationship.

“But who else could it be?” Wei Wuxian whines as he slumps over the table and Jiang Cheng flips his forehead.

“Sect Leader Yao, of course,” Jiang Cheng says, smug as anything when he sees dropped jaws all around the table and then he laughs.

“No, no, you have to explain,” Jin Ling suddenly says and Jiang Cheng calms down just long enough to do so.

“Think about it. He’s mediocre at best but he’s still around. It’s been almost twenty years and he still aggravates everyone at the Cultivation Conferences. No one killed him yet and he still didn’t die. Clearly, he is more powerful than any of us.”

“That’s right,” Wei Wuxian gasps. “He survived the Sunshot Campaign, and I remember he was amongst those who called for my blood, too.”

“And then he survived all of Jin Guangyao’s scheming, and every fight that happened since,” Jiang Cheng adds and it’s only then that Jin Ling smacks his arm.

“Stop this, you hate Sect Leader Yao, you would never vote for him,” Jin Ling says and Jiang Cheng has half a mind to ruffle his hair.

“But I mean it!” Jiang Cheng says but now Wei Wuxian also caught on to the fact that he was just fucking with them, and he narrows his eyes at Jiang Cheng.

“No. Tell us the truth.”

“Fine,” Jiang Cheng says and rolls his eyes at him, mostly so that he doesn’t have to look when he says his next words. “I always thought that my brother was the most powerful,” he mutters and this time the silence that falls over the table is a very expectant one.

When Jiang Cheng finally does lift his gaze again, he sees that all of the kids are looking at Wei Wuxian instead of him, and so Jiang Cheng does the same.

“A-Cheng,” Wei Wuxian says and Jiang Cheng is startled to see tears in his eyes. “I love you, too,” Wei Wuxian cries out and then throws himself over the table to hug Jiang Cheng.

“Let go of me, you gremlin,” Jiang Cheng complaints, but he doesn’t push Wei Wuxian away as hard as he maybe could.

“I always thought my brother was the strongest, too,” Wei Wuxian then mutters and Jiang Cheng has to close his eyes against the sting of tears.

“Ah, fuck,” Jiang Cheng whispers.

“No swear words at the table,” Jin Ling says, clearly out of habit but also way too late, and Jiang Cheng is thankful for it, because it breaks the weird tension.

“There,” Ouyang Zizhen says with great satisfaction. “He did a very good job raising the little mistress.”

It sets off a new round of roughhousing, this time between the kids, mostly, and Jiang Cheng takes the break to compose himself again.

But when he catches Wei Wuxian’s still somewhat misty eyes over the table, he figures it’s not entirely necessary to be his usually grumpy self.

He can let loose a little bit, with his family around.

Link to my ko-fi on the sidebar!

[pbaintthetb]

quick fic

wrote this because i need to write but lack motivation, and I’m not posting it because it’s not neatly wrapped up but anyway

“I’m here to see the Sect Leader,” Xichen tells the Nie disciples who greet him at the gates. He’s greeted with a nod and a fond eye roll, his presence here is not unfamiliar, frequently coming to drag poor little A-Sang out of trouble.

(How much of that had always been a lie? How much had these disciples known it was a lie. Is it all an act? All of them?)

“He’ll meet you in his office,” one of the disciples tells him pleasantly, “Feel free to wait for him there.” In the corner of his eye he can notices a flurry of green, but he nods and walks the familiar path.

A-Sang, A-Yao. It’s too late for Da-ge, Mingjue is gone, and it’s like a gaping hole in his chest, but maybe he can stop the rest of the tragic story playing itself out again. Stop Huaisang from ruining himself.

“Er-ge?” Huaisang says warily as he enters the office to find Xichen standing there. His fan is up over his mouth and his eyes are wide, but this is just how Huaisang had looked in the temple, and it sends eerie chills down Xichen’s spine.

His silly, foolish, lazy, idle little brother is none of those things. At least not anymore, but maybe Xichen can restore it. Now that he’s looking for it, now that he knows it’s there, he can see it in Huaisang’s eyes. A certain sharpness, warily tracking him.

Or maybe Xichen’s imagining it, so desperate for it to be there, for there to be a sign of everything Huaisang was and will be (won’t be, Xichen will fix it) again. But if even A-Yao had never noticed...

There is no point in wasting more time, so he swallows everything down and lays his cards out on the table. Mingjue had always valued forthrightness and honesty and had tried to instill those in Huaisang. Huaisang had hated Jin Guangyao because he had lied. Honestly should work, it has to.

“I know what you’re planning, A-Sang,” Xichen says, doesn’t whisper it, says it bravely and solidly so his confidence doesn’t abandon him. He needs to do this properly, needs to save as much of his brothers as he can. He can’t watch themselves tear themselves apart once more.

“Planning?” Huaisang says after a short pause, “I don’t know what you’re talking about? I really don’t know. I promise Er-ge! What do you mean?”

It was one thing to listen to Huaisang’s frantic denials and confusion when he had thought it real. It had been almost endearing, if sometimes a little worrying or irritating. Now, when he knows it has so much falseness in it, it sends a trickle of ice down his spine. He resists the urge to shudder, but maybe not enough because Huaisang’s eyes go wider still.

Xichen reminds himself that his sword is at his hip and his erhu hangs on his other side. Then he mentally prods himself, because why does his brain think he’d need protection from Huaisang? No matter what, Huaisang, his da-ge’s didi, would never hurt him. And, not to be rude, but Huaisang never had a particualry  strong core.

He shakes himself to get over the silliness and takes the plunge.

“I know about Da-ge and what you’re planning with A-Yao. How you want to destroy him, make sure he could never come back and-” He doesn’t finish his thought before Huaisang interjects.

“Er-ge? Are you okay, what about Da-ge? I don’t know what  you mean?”

“No, Huaisang.” He blocks off once more, he won’t play this game now. He fell for it before, in the temple, and A-Yao had died. He had done unforgivable things, but he hasn’t necessarily done them all yet this time. Maybe he can be saved, and he didn’t deserve to die.

“I have,” he pauses, “certain knowledge, Huaisang. I have seen, some things.” He swallows, and sees Huaisang watching him like a hawk over his fan, but his brow furrowed to keep up the illusion of confusion. A-Yao had said he’d never see through Huaisang’s mask, but Huaisang is still early in his game, and Xichen knows, he thinks he might now.

“San-ge led to Da-ge’s death.” Xichen tells the other man, as though  Huaisang doesn’t already know. “And I know you want to destroy him for it.”

There is no response, just the feeling that every inch of him is being measured and none of it is being deemed good enough.

“But why would San-ge hurt Da-ge?” Huaisang asks him eventually, voice trembling- and was Xichen too early? Has he ruined everything? Would Huaisang never have come for A-Yao? Or maybe this is right, and they can talk it over, and get justice together and without utterly destroying A-Yao in the process.

“Their relationship was very strained by the end,” Xichen acknowledges heavily. It didn’t make it right, but it made it make sense in hindsight. “I think San-ge...” he trails off, unsure how to continue. He shakes his head, this isn’t the point anyway.

“I know what you’re going to do, Huaisang. I’ve seen it. You’re going to trick him, and trap him and kill him. But you’re smart- no, I’ve seen that too. If we work together we could help him.” He swallows, “please, A-Sang.”

There’s an odd laugh.

“The way you talk, Er-ge. You make it sound as if you’re from the future,” Huaisang chuckles lightly again, and it is an absurd thought.

Xichen nods.

“Oh,” Huaisang tells him, ugly and flat, fan snapping shut to reveal a very displeased expression. “So tell me, Zewu-jun, did it hurt, what I did to him?”

Xichen gapes, he hadn’t expected this, at least not this fast.

“I’m not an idiot-” Xichen knows that now, “And I’m guessing, despite everything. Despite probably knowing more than me about what that bastard had done, you’ve still come to me first? He murdered my brother, and you’ve come to me to tell me to stop?!” Huaisang’s voice is full of venom, but no louder than a hiss.

The smaller man stands up loudly and clumsily, knee banging into a desk as he does so.

“Leave, Xichen,” Huaisang tells him, full of anger and rage. Xichen doesn’t know how it went so wrong so fast. “I thought you just didn’t know, and that was damning- but this?” Huaisang spits, such an unrefined action for such a carefully composed and elegant man.

“Huaisang,” Xichen says a little warningly himself, “I don’t think you want to challenge me either. A-Yao needs to be brought to justice, but you want isn’t justice. It’s barely revenge- it’s blood thirsty vengeance and I cannot condone it.”

He thins his lips, deciding whether to say his next sentence as Huaisang glowers at him, knuckles whitening around his fan. He needs to save as much of A-Yao as he can, it’s clear Huaisang is mostly gone, but maybe saving A-Yao will help save A-Sang.

“You don’t want the Lan as an enemy, Huaisang. My reputation is far better than yours, I could say all kind of things and they wouldn’t be lies. Please, leave him alone, let me deal with him.” It only feels a little wrong on his tongue, Xichen can live with it.

He’s met with a spluttering laugh from Huaisang, but his eyes are so very firm and steady and hard. Huaisang really is like Mingjue, but not in sharing honesty.

“If you tell anybody about this, about the Headshaker plotting, Zewu-jun, you think anyone will believe you? The only person who would is Jin Guangyao, and then you’ve signed my death warrant as well. Do you want this on your conscience? Can you live with the deaths of both my and Da-ge on your head?

Xichen steps back, his mind screaming at him, and Huaisang takes that as an opportunity to move around his desk and slither up to his side.

“Come back to me with his head, or don’t come back at all, Er-ge.” Huaisang strides back to his desk. “After all, I think we’ve established that I really don’t need you. Maybe I’ll drip all kinds of poison about you into people’s ears. I’m a terrible gossip, and just really don’t know how to hold my drink after all. Someone really ought to stop Sect Leader Nie from spending so much time in Taverns.”

Xichen suddenly has the nasty feeling that he’s walked into a snake’s den. That he really, should never have come.

“But that won’t be you,” Huaisang continues, “Seeing that you don’t like me anymore? Or do you? In which case then I’m still so useless, and not scheming.” Huasiang throws him a clearly false beam, and Xichen just wants out.

“Nice talking with you, Er-ge, now I’m fed up of watching you squirm.”

Xichen leaves as quickly as he can, not taking his eyes of Huaisang, who locks eye contact the whole time Xichen backs out of the door. He doesn’t even try to lay on a threat or impress for Huaisang not to go after A-Yao once more. He’s said all he can say to Huaisang. Now he’s stuck here, in the past with the sick feeling he’s made everything worse.

“The Sect Leader’s a real character, isn’t he?” one of the Nie disciples on the door comments with a slight laugh as Xichen focuses on not looking like he’s stumbling out. “Can really drive you up the wall.”

Xichen looks at him, and can see nothing but friendliness and banter.

“Well-meaning, but dumb,” the woman on the other side comments. The two disciples laugh together again.

“don’t worry, Zewu-jun, I don’t think he knows what he’s doing.” They snort.

Xichen looks at them both, tries to see if it’s a facade, if it’s real or-

He draws himself up, “You should show your Sect Leader some more respect,” he intones seriously. “The-”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Xichen is interrupted, “We respect Sect Leader Nie. He at least knows when he’s got an enemy in front of him. He’s not totally useless.”

Xichen swallows. He’s not quite sure how. But the only thing he’s certain of is that he’s made everything worse. So much worse.