#so he has to join Wei Wuxian’s team

[illuminchim]

MDZS Kingsman AU.

Is Wen Ning third wheeling? Yes, of course… someone save him

[lgbtlunaverse]

I'm a little bit insane about how in novel canon the whole xiyao ending where Jin Guangyao wants to die with Xichen, who accepts, which then makes jgy change his mind and pushes him away at the last second isn't actually explicit. A lot of adaptations chose to make it so but in the novel this is all VERY up for interpretation.

Here's what actually happens in the text: Lan xichen stabs jgy, jgy moves away from lan xichen, xichen follows him, wwx realizes jgy is about to open the coffin and calls "watch out!" to lan xichen. Jgy unseals nmj, pushes xichen away, nmj kills jgy and they are both dragged into the coffin which is sealed again.

Here's what wei wuxian, our narrator, thinks is happening: Jin Guangyao wanted to lead lan xichen to his death out of revenge for stabbing him. Lan Xichen, unaware, simply followed Jin Guangyao to try and stop him from getting away. Wei wuxian's warning came too late, but Jin Guangyao- for an unknown reason- changed his mind at the last second and pushed lan xichen out of danger before lan xichen had any idea of what was going on.

Here's what most fans as well as the teams behind several adpatations think is happening: Jin Guangyao leads Xichen to nmj's coffin to die with him, Xichen accepts, because of this acceptance, proof xichen still cares for him, Jin Guangyao pushes him out of harm's way. Wei Wuxian just doesn't get that gay people who aren't him or Lan Wangji exist.

Here's what ALSO MIGHT BE HAPPENING: Jin guangyao wants to die in a different way than he is currently dying. Maybe he's afraid of what'll happen to his body after his death like he was scared for his mother's, maybe he wants to confront nmj one last time now that there's nothing more for him to lose, maybe - if he can't take her body with him- he'd at least like his final resting place to be where he buried his mother. Lan Xichen thinks he's trying to get away and follows but Jin Guangyao, who despite everything doesn't want him to die, pushes him away. Xichen doesn't know what happened until it's already happened. What he would've wanted if he had known remains up in the air.

Or, alternatively: Jin Guangyao's reasons are as above, but unbeknowst to Wei Wuxian, Xichen DOES know what jgy is about to do and either misinterprets this as an invitation to all die together, or inidividually decides he, too, is done, and wants to join his sworn brothers in the grave. To Jin Guangyao this has nothing to do with Lan Xichen, and he still doesn't want him to die, so he pushes him away against Lan Xichen's wishes.

Every single one of these interpretations is unhinged and they are all supported by the original text. It's like a choose your own adventure of tragic gay endings.

[hulijingemperor2]

Lan zhan: Jingyi, are you serious?

Wei wuxian: are you being blackmailed? Do you need a hitman or something.

Jingyi: no I don't. I just find he's cool.

Wei wuxian: so who's gonna be pregnant. You or him?

Jingyi: Wei Qianbei!!!! Don't ask me that!!

Wei wuxian: you're Huangdi's son. You got to make heirs.

Lan zhan: but with someone from Moling Su, Wei Ying.

Wei wuxian: I get your point. But I think its funny.

Lan zhan: weird behavior.

Jingyi: Hanguang Jun, I will never let you down! I'm weird if you say so, but u think I'm in love.

Wei wuxian: do you say that to all your hulijing gfs?

Jingyi: no-o. I'm getting late for my date. Hehehehehehhe. *runs off*

Xichen: aw, I love love. But I think the Su sect is still salty.

We're not salty at all.

.

Meanwhile....

Su she: Su Fengge, congrats. I'll kind of let it slide, since he's Huangdi's son.

Su Fengge: thanks Su shushu. 

Yao: I hope you two are compatible. Knowing the history of Lans and Sus.

Su Fengge: *nervous* y.....yes. Huangdi. Can anyone ever have  a rivalry under your rule.

*kneels* Huangdi.

Yao: why are you so shy in front of me?

Su Fengge: Moling Su has so much respect and devotion for you. And I'm feeling as if I'm meeting a deity.

Su she: that's why he's the best.

Not because he's my relative. It's becsuse of his manners and skill.

Yao: very delightful.

Su Fengge: Su Zongzhu follows your policy of cultivators being ranked in accordance to their skill and behavior, and not their birth.

May I kiss your hand?

Yao: how charming. You may. *stretches out hand* Su Fengge we're basically family.

Su Fengge: *kisses hand* ok Huangdi.

I'm honoured to be considered your family.

Yao: Minshan, Su yin. Millions of Moling Su members and residents are all like this?

Su she: yes Huangdi.

Suyin: they're ready to pour out their hearts for you.

Yao: *amused*

Su Fengge, stop kneeling.

Xue yang: Jiggy, you know you have everyone in a chokehold. Stop acting oblivious.

Mo xuanyu: you're everyone's beloved emperor.

Yao: I'm so happy to hear that. And yes I do know. It's just that I love the adoration, and I always love to hear from my people.

Mo xuanyu: awww.

Xue yang: is Lan zhan still here? I want to harass him.

Suyin: same 

Su she: let's go bully him! Fengge, want to join?

Su Fengge: sorry Su shushu, I got a date.

Su she: ooooo.

Mo xuanyu: thanks for giving us fuel!! We're gonna tell Lan zhan that you're pregnant eith Jingyi's child!

Fengge: WHAT????? DONT DO THAT!!

Yao: before you four get badly beaten, I would like to mention that Lan zhan won't fall for it. In the Imperial family, Rusong must have a child before his siblings. He's the eldest.

Mo xuanyu: shit.

Su she: You're right. 

Fengge: duhhh.

Xue yang: I still want to harass him!

Yao: just don't get your ass whooped.

Team d: we won't, Huangdi.

~~~~

Cloud Pavillon 📍 (Jingyi's residence)

Jingyi: well this is my mansion. I asked them it in Gusu aesthetics.

Fengge: that's why it's ugly.

Jingyi: this is the best thing you have ever seen. Admit it.

We're behind closed doors. We can be enemies now.

Fengge: more like Frenemies.

Jingyi: I kind of like that.

Fengge: so i got to stay here? With you? Since we're still pranking captain stone face and Bichen butt.

Jingyi: *gasps* don't call them that.

And yes, the mansion is big enough for both of us.

Fengge: can I get a Moling Su sect corner. And I would like to make a shrine for Huangdi and Su shushu.

Jingyi: yea yea, you can do the one with Huangdi diedie.

Fengge: ok!! Huangdi is our God actually.

Jingyi: that's cool!

Well as a Meng Dianxia, I think I can give you an ok to put an appreciation shrine of Su xiandu. He's chief cultivator after all.

But my Lan soul can't.

Fengge: that's still fab, haha.

Jingyi: I broke up with my gfs by the way.

Fengge: good.

Jingyi: I need some food.

Fengge: same.

Jingyi: where's my butler.

See, I'm a classy person.

Fengge: uhuh.

Do you eat, like bland food?

Jingyi: no. Oh come on, I'm a Dianxia now. And even before that, I used to eat meat, and drink wine!

Fengge: *gasps* scandalous Lan. Breaking all the rules.

But that's cool. *bats the end of Jingyi's headband away* ugh! Keep your headband to yourself.

Jingyi: omg! Omg! Omg!! You're not supposed to touch my headband!

Fengge: dude, it's just a piece of string. It's not that deep.

Jingyi: it's a sacred symbol. Only significant others and relatives can touch it!

Fengge: You're starting to sound like Lan Qiren.

Jingyi: *gasps* you take that back!

He's very lame, old and grumpy *pouts*

Fengge: *laughing* you detest Qiren?

Jingyi: yea. He keeps cranking my style. I'm so glad I finished studies there, however I'm still a Lan at heart. I'm the lord of Gusu now, thanks to A-Die. May become their ruler one day.

Fengge: huh. So you're gonna depose Hanguang Jun?

Jingyi: nooo. Him and Wei qianbei can live a quiet life.

Fengge: other than that. I met the emperor today. He's so glorious all the time. I got to kiss his hand!!!! Ahhh!

And Su shushu congratulated me on hooking up with you!

What's going on with your side?

Jingyi: Well Wei Qianbei thought I needed a hitman. And Hanguang Jun is still dumbfounded.

Fengge: lame.

~~

On the other side~

A-qing: Meng Furen, can you give me a makeover. I want to surprise Rusong.

Qin Su: awwww. Of course I'll give you a makeover.

A-qing: thank you.

Qin Su: I'll make you sparkle!

Bicao, get the rest of staff.

Bicao: sure Huanghou.

Qin Su: sit here. Have you ever tried wearing gold?

A-qing: no.

Qin Su: I was going to gift you a gold outfit, since you're pretty much family, and you make Rusong happy.

A-qing: aw thank you, Meng Furen.

*Attendants arrive*

Qin Su: have you done a spa day?

A-qing: only once with team dimple.

Qin Su: ahaha. Well you'll experience a spa day from my maids today.

A-qing: oh waw!

Attendants: *giving them facials and brush their hair*

A-qing: this is so relaxing.

Qin Su: ahh, yes it is.

*doing manicures*

A-qing: what do you do as an empress? Do you have free time? Do you just sit there and look pretty? Um....make children??

Qin Su: not only that. My job is to support Huangdi, and take away his stress. Stand by his side.

Yes I'm pretty much idolized by women, but that's just the fun of it. Huangdi and I would discuss on certain topics for the betterment of the empire.

A-qing: ohh. I don't think I have the intellect to run an empire. Alongside Rusong. Do I need to take an exam?

Qin Su: A-qing you're very intelligent. And it's what you think is best for everyone.

A-qing: were you scared when you married Huangdi?

Qin Su: no. But I was shy at first. Everything was like a lesson, however I picked up fast.

Don't worry, I can always help you, when you become Huanghou.

A-qing: thank you.

How is Taihua Gongzhu? And where is she?

Qin su: She's going great. My little diva is growing up.

She's with her private preschool tutor.

A-qing: awww. I heard that she has fancy tastes

Qin su: oh yes. Well she's a Gongzhu, so.

A-qing: that's so cute.

An hour later, after a few finishing touches~~~

She looked liked this.

(Yep~ this is A-qing's actress 🌟)

A-qing: *looking in the mirror* I look so unnoticeable. Omg.

But how am I to walk in all this cloth?

Qin Su: You can't rush with them. And maybe try wearing heels.

A-qing: heels?? I can't walk in heels to save my life.

Qin Su: Don't worry. I'll get you some comfy wedge heels.

A-qing: ah.

Qin Su: it may become popular if you wear them.

Once I wore a type of embroidered sash, and everyone started calling it the Su stole.

Aqing; omg really?? Well i heard that you are a  trendsetter.

Qin Su: yup. Us Meng ladies are. Your time will come. Then Hua and Xiaoyu's time.

Actually everyone is in love with the Mengs, and especially the emperor and princes. You know, there's a thing called the Mengfluence.

Aqing: Mengfluence! I like that.

Qin Su: You must  it's very superior.

Now how do you think you look? Do you like it?

A-qing: absolutely gorgeous!! I want actually want to dress like this everyday.

Qin Su: aw.

Songsong would definitely love your little makeover.

You're very pretty.

A-qing: thank you! Gosh, this thing must  cost a fortune.

Qin Su: nah, it's just half a million. No big deal. Us Mengs are very wealthy.

A-qing: and the Qins are wealthy too!

Qin su: mhm.

A-qing: you make me look like a princess, which I'm much far from.

Qin Su: You are, silly. See how adorable you are!

Now, go find Rusong. Your maids will assist you with your outfit.

Go seduce my son.

A-qing: *gasps* Huanghou.

Qin Su: well that's your duty, Xue Wangfei.

A-qing: *blush*

Qin Su: tell me if you like the shoes!!

~~~~

A-qing: team d, team d, how do i look?!

Mo xuanyu: awwwwww like a princess!

Su she: you look lovely.

Xue yang: who are you?

Su she: xue yang!

Xue yang: scolding me won't help me!

A-qing: xue yang! Are you blind? I'm A-qing!

Xue yang: A-qing?! Wow. You look so.....so...feminine.

A-qing: what's that supposed to mean?

Xue yang: I'm just surprised to see you look this rich. Omg. You look like a very successful thief.

A-qing: I can and will still beat you up.

Xue yang: I was teasing you, kid.

You look stunning. Are those diamond earrings?

A-qing: yea. They're Nainai's....I mean taihou's

Xue yang: ayyyy simp. You're calling her Nainai. Omg.

A-qing: she gave it to Huanghou, and Huanghou gave it to me.

Xue yang: look who knows about jewel history.

Mo xuanyu: Miss Meng and Qin Huanghou have the best jewelry collection pieces.

Su she: always.

Xue yang: oh, so you're wearing family heirlooms.

Someone's in the family now.

Yao: A-qing. You look beautiful.

I'm happy that you and A-Su were bonding.

A-qing: thank you, emps!

Yao: team dimple, don't delay her. She got to meet A-Song.

A-qing: Do you hear that, team d.

.

Rusong: *practicing his guqin*

A-qing: Rusong. *tries to run.

Rusong: *looks up* Aqing. *walked over to her.* you look so beautiful. *kisses*

A-qing: I'm so glad you like my makeover. I think I'll continue dressing like this. Since you love them.

And I love the style too.

Xue yang said that I look like a successful thief.

Rusong: *laughing* a successful thief?! Noo. *wraps his arms around her* you look like my Wangfei.

Lemme guess, A-niang gave you a makeover.

A-qing: yep.

Rusong: I see.

A-qing: i feel so happy in your arms again. Will you ever marry me?

Rusong: of course. I was thinking of proposing some time. You'll be surprised.

A-qing: *squeals* I can't wait!

But you know the answer is yes.

Rusong: *makes his guqin disappear* come, let's go take a stroll.

A-qing: let's go! *hugs arm*

Rusong, where's your  assistant, Kohaku.

Rusong: he's doing some filing in Yunping.

Aqing: ahh.

Rusong: yea. Things are going great.

And Kohaku is brilliant, as always.

A-qing: I know you and Huangdi cherish your staff. It's so amazing.

Rusong: well we must. They're working very hard.

A-qing: mm. Rusong, I learnt about Mengfluence.

Rusong: that's so good! You got to know about Mengfluence.

We're the most influential family in the Jianghu. Us and the Jins. Well We're all related after all.

A-qing: so I have to be a diva

Rusong: haha, not really.

Or maybe you can.

Xiaobao: *hugging Huaien's arm* Song gege!! Taizi gege! Hiii!

Rusong: oh hi. What are you two up too?

Huaien: I arranged a surprise date for him.

Xiaobao: isn't he a sweetheart.

Rusong: aww that's so cute. Have fun you two

Xiaobao: thank youu!

Rusong: Remember, we're heading to Yunping tomorrow, with Jingyi.

Xiaobao: mhm. And I figured out what to wear already. My staff is so helpful.

Rusong: they always are.

Xiaobao: I just lay on my bed while I eat sushi, and they pick it out for me.

Rusong: *laughing* what a diva. But same.

Xiaobao: speaking of diva. A-qing, you look gorgeous!! And so glittery.

A-qing: thank you!! Xiaobao.

Xiaobao: getting into that future empress role, huh.

A-qing: trying, lol.

Rusong: she'll be fine.

Huaien: you and Rusong gege make a cute couple.

A-qing: aww. Yes we do!

Xiaobao: would you think ouyang Zizhen become jealous.

Rusong: pfft no!

Not when I'm building my harem.

Xiaobao: ahh. Huaien, can i have a harem? *grinning mischievously*

Huaien: no.

Xiaobao: but Huaien, you'll be my trophy wife. I promise.

Huaien: well.....that still sounds good. And I know everyone is in love with your cute little dimples.

Xiaobao: mhm. I'm a Meng so!

Huaien: *kisses* you're mine.

Xiaobao: yes yes I am.

[lgbtqmanga]

New Releases Sep. 10, 2024

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi (manhua) vol. 7 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu 

The mysterious corpse that Wei Wuxian has been investigating has finally been pieced back together, all save its most crucial part–the head. Yet even with the head missing, the evidence points inevitably in a single direction. To uncover the full truth, Wei Wuxian joins a delegation headed for Golden Carp Tower. There, a gathering of prominent cultivators is taking place. Yet for some reason, everyone in the Tower’s ruling clan harbors great animosity towards him…! Just what did the previous owner of his body do to earn so much resentment?

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Taishin has moved to Tokyo from his hometown of Fukuoka in order to reunite with Takara, a stranger who had consoled him in his grief the year prior. However, despite finally getting a chance to express his gratitude to Takara at college, he is given the cold shoulder! But Taishin, undeterred, decides to pursue Takara anyway, and Takara finds himself becoming more and more enchanted by Taishin’s straightforward and earnest gaze.

There’s No Freaking Way I'll Be Your Lover! Unless… (novel) vol. 5 by Teren Mikami

Amaori Renako is walking on sunshine. Everything’s gonna be totally great forever! The End. Except the story’s not quite over. It turns out dating’s harder than she thought. Plus, she’s got that strange text from Koto Satsuki to reckon with. How on earth did things turn out like this? For now, Renako resolves to spend time with both Sena Ajisai and Oduka Mai while preparing to battle the Quintet’s rivals in an inter-class athletics competition basketball game! Welcome to season two of There’s No Freaking Way I’ll Be Your Lover! Unless…, where becoming lovers is only just the beginning!

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It’s been three months since the absolutely ordinary and plain office worker, Hashimoto, started going out with his boss, Shirase, and they’re reaching their first-month anniversary of moving in together. After the miracle discovery that “his online friend turned out to be his real-life boss,” Hashimoto and Shirase had quite the tumultuous start. But after a bunch of misunderstandings, the two are finally together…yet, their days are far from romantic when all they do are play video games and eat together! Getting worried, Hashimoto decides to try leveling up their relationship! But what do you do when your boyfriend’s successful, older, and super hot…?!

[madtomedgar]

How Untamed Characters Behave on the PTA

everyone is wrong except me sorry :)

Wei Wuxian: rarely shows up to meetings, but chaperones and sponsors all the field trips. encourages trips that are... maybe not age appropriate. like maybe the 3rd graders shouldn’t be touring the smelting plant and participating in demos? nah it’s totally educational!

Jiang Cheng: “I’m his uncle, any last words >:[” He is there to advocate for Jin Ling and anything Jin Ling cares about, and that’s IT. He’s the reason the 7th grade math teacher got let go (was mean to Jin Ling), the reason that there are now eight (8) mandatory anti-bullying trainings per year (people were being mean to Jin Ling), and the reason there is all new shiny soccer (sorry, football) equipment when they actually really need some new art supplies and an additional special ed instructor (Jin Ling loves soccer). He also is the volunteer assistant coach and is one of Those sport dads. Insufferable. Ruins the games for everyone. Jin Ling MUST be first string, best position, but if Jin Ling plays badly (he’s ok but not like... the best) Jiang Cheng WILL yell at both him and the ref until he gets kicked out. This happens every game.

Jiang Yanli: sweet but ineffective. Really likes running bake sales. Enjoys chaperoning field trips but only the ones that are lower impact. Has a mini van even though she only has one (1) child.

Jiang Fengmian: Only joined because he needed the social points for something else. Never shows up and forgets he’s even on it. Sends a nice check once a year.

Madam Yu: Kind of like Jiang Cheng only she is 100% about this being a feeder school for ivies, because this is what she demands of her kids. A force to be reckoned with because this is the one socially acceptable outlet for her... everything. She puts all her energy to stamping out “wastes of time and money” like the theater club so she can expand AP offerings and SAT prep classes.

Jin Zixuan: like Jiang Fengmian but he shows up to the bake sales to support Yanli and mans the concession stand for sports once a year. Very much “that’s my boy!” regardless of whether the team is winning because isn’t the point that they have fun? (no, says Jiang Cheng. This isn’t tag. The point is to win).

Jin Guangyao: The best person to have on the PTA because he is the ONLY person who understands that all the students do better when all the students do better. He pushes for things that will improve the school for all, like free lunch and reduced class sizes across the board, making sure funding is fairly distributed between all programs, etc. He is a joy to work with and surprisingly effective for being so darn nice. Helps with the fundraising but doesn’t chaperone field trips of man concessions or volunteer coach. Does supervise some of the nerdier clubs (chess, econ, quizbowl (do they still have that?))

Madam Jin: oh boy. So like. take the worst things about Jiang Cheng and the worst things about Madam Yu and combine them. She is the reason the (racist and classist) G&T program exists, and, unlike Madam Yu, whose children are in it because she will personally murder them if they don’t score high enough, she threatened and bribed so that Jin Zixuan would ONLY be in G&T classes even though he is like a B/C student. Also paid someone to take the SAT for him. Chaperones the school dances and is like a heat seeking missile if the couples are getting too close. Lobbies against sex ed classes. Lobbied for insane football funding because her precious golden boy was the quarterback.

Jin Guangshan: Like Fengmian except occasionally he’ll show up to go “cougar hunting” just to piss off his wife and writes checks to get Zixuan preference on the regular.

Qin Su: Sweet, easy to work with, backs up Jin Guangyao on everything. Takes the minutes. Also chaperones the dances but is chill. Refs for the sports taken less seriously.

Lan Qiren: like Madam Yu, thinks academics is the point of school. Why do we have all of these frivolities like sports and theater club. Surprisingly involved. Chaperones the overnight field trips which is The Worst because it is Impossible to have fun now.

Lan Wangji: So like. You would think his priority here would be Sizhui. But his priority quickly became Ruin Jiang Cheng’s Life and so he basically exists to be hotter than you, more correct than you, and to block anything Jiang Cheng wants. He coaches something like cross country or track and has a cult following among the student body. Does not do bakesales or concessions but does chaperone field trips.

Wen Ruohan: made a big push to take the school charter and lost, had to move out of town because stuff got too weird.

Meng Shi: All the other people gossip about her because she misses a lot of meetings, her car, when she has one, is old and busted, and she doesn’t donate to the shool (she does but it’s like. $20). But she does show up, and she does advocate for things like after school study help and running the buses late so Meng Yao can actually like. go to after school study help, and for the school library to stock project supplies for free so Meng Yao doesn’t get lower grades because they couldn’t go to fucking Michaels for his assigned craft project, things like that. She brings store-bought stuff to the bake sales because their oven doesn’t work.

Xiao Xingchen: lol jokes on you Xiao Xingchen is an anarchist hippy who doesn’t believe in socializing children. A-Qing is “““““homeschooled”““““ by which we mean... yeah she’s not learning much sorry.

Wang Lingjiao: I know she doesn’t have kids but I don’t care ok. She shows up JUST to ruin madam yu’s life. She chaperones dances and the kids buy weed from her behind the gym. Brought laxative cookies to a meeting for Madam Yu and didn’t realize this was illegal until the cops showed up. Her public defender is trying to explain that “but it was funny tho” is not actually a legal defense.

[sentienceisoverrated]

Thank you for that MDZS post! It was a breath of fresh air!

MDZS tumblr has its own sects dedicated to different characters. They all have each other blocked but they also can't stop making snide comments about each other... and I'm here like... I wanted to discuss MDZS and read impassioned meta,not RP inter-sect conflicts??

You're so right about the fact that these characters are put in impossible situations,on purpose. That is the joy of the story! The Jiang Cheng & Wei Wuxian relationship can't be fixed and it's meant to be that way and to hurt. On some days I relate to Jiang Cheng,who did his duty and rebuilt his clan,but betrayed his life debt to the Wens and WWX(he should not have done that!!). And on other days I relate to Wei Wuxian,who followed his principles and protected the Wen remnants at the cost of everything else,but also who tricked and lied to his brother by giving him a core he never asked for(he should not have done that!!). I can get angry on behalf of each of them. But I can also resent each of them. Which other story will fill me up so well with so many various conflicting emotions? Is that not why we're reading or consuming media? To feel?

Instead this place is like a sports competition now. Team JC or Team WWX or Team JGY. There is no fun in that.

Thank you anon!

I joined this fandom a few months ago after watching The Untamed and honestly I thought I was missing something with all those posts. After watching the animation and reading the books, I was even more confused.

People tend to pick favourites and defend them at all costs, and with a story like mdzs, I guess that also means hating on the characters that hurt them (which is literally every character). It bothered me, because when people hate others they often look past the things they can’t control, and after seeing so many of those posts, I just felt the need to raise a neutral stance.

You’re right, Tumblr does seem to have its own sects, but I’m glad someone out there agrees with me. ^.^

[unforth]

Okiedokie as requested brief synopses for things to watch next.

In all of these, the named characters are the main ship. All of these are canon m/m in the source material, and all have happy endings in the source material (but not always in the adaptations!) Most are also available in English as manhua. Some have official English translations of the books, as well.

Mo Dao Zu Shi/The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation/The Untamed: universally beloathed raiser of the dead Wei Wuxian dies to general acclaim but utmost distress of his approx. three friends. About 15 years later he is resurrected the body of a twink everyone hated for being gay. When one of those three friends, Lan Wangji, finds him in this new body, Wei Wuxian decides his best bet to try to avoid detection is to play gay chicken. This does not work as planned. (Note: much angstier than I'm making it sound. Trigger warnings for mcd, graphic violence and gore, and others that don't apply to the animated version. The Untamed is the live-action adaptation.)

Scum Villain's Self-Saving System: "Proud Immortal Demon Way" fandom anti Shen Yuan dies and is transmigrated into the PIDW world, a harem webnovel which he detested (but read all of and writes massive hate-filled comments about)...and specifically he is in the body of the main villain of the early part of the story. Determined to survive, but constrained by The System that docks him points if he acts OOC - and he dies again if he hits zero points - Shen Yuan tries to curry favor with the protagonist Luo Binghe and other characters who might be able to protect him so he doesn't befall the "original flavor's" fate. (Trigger warnings for violence, more for the book.)

Thousand Autumns: a nigh-saintly daoist Shen Qiao loses a fight so badly that he's nearly killed and left blind and with scant cultivation abilities. Worse, he has amnesia! This provides the perfect opening for Yan Wushi, leader of an evil cultivation clan, to try to turn Shen Qiao from the path of righteousness to that of darkness and thereby prove his personal belief that no one is actually good and that wickedness is the true nature of all humans. However, Shen Qiao proves much less biddable than he expects. (Iirc the only tw applicable to the available season is harm to children and starvation, and maybe implied sexual violence.)

Tianbao Fuyao Lu/Legend of Exorcism: young half-demon Kong Hongjun is happy living with his adopted demon dads, until he receives a summons to serve in the Exorcism Department to fight demons in the capital. Thus, he sets out into the mortal world accompanied by a carp demon and goes to join the Department. However, mortals consider all demons to be evil (if they believe they exist at all!) and Li Jinglong - newly appointed young leader of the Department - is a mortal...and the capital is being over run by demons aiming to take over the Empire! (Trigger warnings...not many? That I can think of? I've only seen s1 tho, there are 2 seasons, and I haven't read the book for this one. Note that it's set in the same verse as another series that has 1 season, Dinghai Fusheng Records. I've read the book for that but haven't found a good streaming source for the show so haven't watched it yet. Neither is needed to understand the other, both function as stand alone and take place hundreds of years apart).

Bonus 1: Lie Huo Jiao Chou/Drowning Sorrows in Raging Fire. I'm watching this currently! I haven't read the book yet so I don't know the overall context/premise but what I know so far is: young fire...creature?... Xuan Ji gets duped into running the Aftermath Response Team for the government organization that deals with supernatural incidents. Though he's been told it's not a very active position, he's called to duty almost immediately to deal with what appears to be a minor encounter between some hikers and a sentient tree...but turns out to have been the partial summoning of a demon Sheng Lingyuan. But who IS Sheng Lingyuan, and what will he do when his summoning is complete? (Tw it's kinda dark overall - lots of dead random people - but nothing specific in the half-dozen episodes I've watched so far.)

Bonus 2: Can Ci Pin/The Defective. I haven't watched or read it yet but now that I have Crunchyroll it's up next. All I know is that it's science fiction and the main ship is Lu Bixing x ...shit, uh, Lin something? Lin Jinsheng? Something like that. I know the ship name is Lulin. 🤣 and the one surnamed Lin has a twin sister.

Bonus 3: Dinghai Fusheng Records: I haven't found the donghua streaming yet but I've read the book and comic and I know s1 exists. Assuming it follows the book, the premise is that the last exorcist in the world, bearer of the Heart Lamp Chen Xing leaves the mountain where his adopted father (now deceased) raised him and goes into the world to seek his true protector, the person who will stand by him and fight to make sure that evil doesn't win while Chen Xing tries to bring magic back into the world so there can be exorcists again. And he finds him! Except Xiang Shu isn't the shining perfect warrior he expects...he's in jail, nearly starved to death, in a city about to fall in a siege...oh, and he hates Chen Xing. (Trigger warnings for the early parts...mostly violence? Depending how far it gets, death of a child.)

Bonus 4: Tian Ya Ke, adapted to live action as Word of Honor: not available as a donghua. Word of Honor is a loose live-action adaptation of Tian Ya Ke/Faraway Wanderers. Zhou Zishu has led the Window of Heaven, a spy/assassination organization, for the emperor for years, but he's lost everyone he cares about and he wants out so he impales himself with nails that will kill him within three years and forces the Emperor to let him leave. Wandering as a drunk hobo afterwards, he catches the eye of Wen Kexing, a mysterious man who has phenomenal but unconventional martial arts in a style even Zhou Zishu can't identify for sure. He's probably up to no good, but that is so NOT Zhou Zishu's problem. But, despite his determination not to get involved, Zhou Zishu ends up netted into the mess, saddled with an orphan he has to escort to safety, and persistently followed by the stubborn, too-slick-for-anyone's-good Wen Kexing. All he wanted was to drink himself to death in a quiet retirement, damn it! (Tw: mcd, graphic violence.)

Bonus 5: Zhenhun/Guardian: another with a live-action only. Zhao Yunlan leads the Special Investigations Department, the government office tasked with dealing with the incursion of human-like creatures with superpowers (they're ghosts in the book. But censorship). During his depts. latest case, investigating a murder on a college campus, he comes across Professor Shen Wei, who seems over-interested and also...oddly familiar? And if that was all, Zhao Yunlan wouldn't pay much mind, but then his next case ends up involving Shen Wei...and his next...and his suspicions grow. Who IS Shen Wei, and why do supernatural things keep happening around him? (TW for the show is mcd, graphic violence, probably others I'm not remembering.)

Bonus 6: Tian Guan Ci Fu/Heaven Official's Blessing: I know the whole point is that you just watched it, but on the off chance this post spreads I figure a synopsis might help people. Pathetic fallen god Xie Lian manages, through his remarkable cultivation, to ascend to godhood for the third time, but in so doing he accidentally destroys two heavenly palaces. Broke but needing to repay the money for what he damaged, he accepts a mission from the Heavenly Emperor to investigate a murderous ghost who targets brides. While doing so, he meets a strange glowing butterfly and a man in red who seems to control it, and many more of them. The other gods tell him this is Hua Cheng, one of the four evilest ghosts in the world. But is Hua Cheng really a force of devastation in the world? And why does Xie Lian think those glowing butterflies are...actually kind of cute? (Tw: nothing major for s1, minor character death I guess? Definitely more for the books.)

Happy watching!!

Ok finished S1 of Heaven Official's Blessing

Really enjoyed it. I think... I kinda get why people jumped on the ships.

Will keep exploring for sure.

[connectjump]

okay modern-day au with the MDZS characters, but make it a ghost-hunter au because it's been rattling around in my head for a while.

the unlikely four-man squad starting: wwx, jc, nhs, and lwj.

wei wuxian -

the unofficial leader of the group made it after a night of drinking and eating snacks with jc & nhs where he brought it up and they all went "sure why not".

wwx is the dude who always has something funny to say and jc is always ready to throw a response that others will quote or make fan art of.

makes a lot of equipment since he likes making things, and tinkering with whatever they do own to make it even better.

even better meaning it'll annoy the living hell out of jc.

is a bit of a spirit magnet. this is both good, and dangerous due to nhs's sensitivity to spirits.

he picks the places that the group will go to and is always ready to drop extra history of the place at the worst time.

aka the things, a ghost or demon might have done to a living person.

wwx : SO! it was in this very room that this one dude died [very horrible death]. jc is very much on the side of team, "stop talking before you freak out nhs anymore than he already is."

may or may not have talked lwj into joining their group. he may or may not also tease lwj any chance he gets.

jiang cheng -

jc is the voice of reason on the team. for every three ideas wwx has, jc has four ready in response of why, no, and absolutely not.

in charge of finding places to stay, and finding local shops in the area to interview folks.

probably hates the sound of the spirit box.

jc very much seemed the one whose not so easily startled when something happens, and usually has a logical explanation to keep himself and others calm.

jc can repel spirits to a small degree, the zone is about a 5mm radius around his person and those near him are safe and unaffected by the spirits. he isn't aware of this skill.

the designated driver of the group. can read a map, but uses the GPS that was gifted to him.

He's also the one who comments on the layout of everywhere they visit because if nobody is going to mention how POORLY thought out these old haunted buildings are. he will bring it up.

"these blueprints fucking suck. i would come back to haunt this place and the son of a bitch who made it if i died here." - jc

nie huaisang -

nhs joined the group because what's more fun than doing something with your friends after doing things you do not want to do.

poor nhs.

nhs is very much the sort of guy in the group who is like "i know a guy, who knows a guy and that guy knows something really interesting about this place."

wwx and jc never ask how nhs knows people or the more cryptic things about the building because nhs's only response was "the ghosts told me" in the most serious voice and they've been too scared to bring the question up again.

how and what nhs knows can be for nhs to know only.

wishes that he wasn't the one left alone in an area all by himself without the lights on, a mag light, a radio, and a spirit box.

spirits like the little guy, but nhs does not care much for them.

the one who's the most sensitive to spirits. but lwj is helping him with training to better resist the push & pull from spirits.

lwj and nhs are an unlikely duo when working together and outside of ghost hunting. the two know one another prior to ghost hunting due to their families, but never really interacted much more than was needed of them.

lan wangji -

the fourth member of the group! a surprising addition to the ones who know him and a fan favorite.

lwj is good with the equipment that they use and watching cameras when at base camp.

his family has knowledge of spirits, how to handle them, bring them peace, and help them crossover.

lwj makes sure that the group is well-protected and safe if the location is truly dangerous to them. wwx is always happy to show off whatever little charm (sometimes a little rabbit is often doodled on the charms!!) or a talisman lwj has made for the group.

he helps to round the group out, and fans enjoy how monotone he sounds and how unaffected he seems by the supernatural occurrences happening.

lwj is often paired with wwx when the group splits up into pairs. fans seem to enjoy their interactions, especially seeing how close the two of them become since lwj is very much still lwj.

lwj finds himself impressed with the group as a whole, everyone works well with one another, and their personalities mesh well.

when on break from ghost hunting wwx gifts lwj two rabbits, he will often post pictures of them online or send pictures of them into the ghost hunting group chat. the rabbits are spoiled rotten, most of it is lwj, but jc is also the next biggest spoiler of the rabbits with wwx and nhs being tied.

[admirableadmiranda]

Less of a rant and more of a quibble, there’s so much information dumped into Nie Mingjue’s flashback that it’s easy to miss things here and there.

I had a couple thoughts on Nie Mingjue’s motivations on joining 3Zun and how really this was a brotherhood destined to fail.

Recently I’ve seen several takes suggesting that he was manipulated into joining up with Lan Xichen and Jin Guangyao because they wanted to get to get a third sect leader on their side and raise up Jin Guangyao, or pressured by Lan Xichen to forgive the unforgivable. Which... there is some of the latter in there; Lan Xichen has a very strong blindspot for Jin Guangyao and tends to believe his first impression is correct and not re-examine it until he has to do that. I’m not here to talk about Lan Xichen though, there’s more than enough of that going around.

The first take is incorrect. Nie Mingjue not only knew exactly what he was doing, but he was not some innocent pressured into joining and giving up his morals by a devious tag team of wily manipulators. He got into it to do exactly what people accuse Lan Xichen of doing. Pressuring people to do exactly what he wants. It’s not even subtle or hidden. It’s baldly stated in the text.

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

Chapter 49: Guile, ExR translation.

There we have it. Nie Mingjue joins 3Zun of his own free will to pressure Jin Guangyao into doing what he wants and acting on what he sees as the right path. Which as he told Jin Guangyao before involves killing himself.

And before people get into defending him, remember that he thinks the right path is executing everyone who is a Wen, but also being in your face and aggressive. He is not an arbiter of justice who remains fair, he is a blatant hypocrite who enjoys having the power to pressure people into acting black and white. There is a reason why the Jin sect keeps manipulating the Lan through banquets and Jin Guangyao’s schmoozing and donating to help them rebuild Cloud Recesses, yet does nothing about Nie Mingjue till he starts insisting they assassinate Xue Yang. He’s already an ally of theirs in all the ways that matter.

Not a single sect leader in the past is innocent. That includes Nie Mingjue. So keep that in mind when examining 3Zun. He’s in it for his own agenda from the beginning.

[demoiselledefortune]

AU idea we brainstormed with @runespoor7 and vermillon (not on tumblr) that ends with zhanchengxian and xiyao. Still a work in progress because some of us didn't like some of the turns towards the end but so far we've got:

Meng Yao joins Yunmeng Jiang as a teenager, and becomes the Seventh Shidi of Yunmeng Jiang.

He gets along well with both Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng.

He survives the slaughter of Lotus Pier by promptly joining with the Wen sect, and helps Wen Ning and Wei Wuxian rescue Jiang Cheng. He starts spying among the Wen for the Jang Sect very early this way.

Lan Xichen, without Meng Yao to help him, loses his Golden Core and spends the war in captivity among the Wen. He meets Meng Yao during this time and they bond to some extent.

After the war, Meng Yao becomes Jin Guangyao and swears Brotherhood with Jiang Cheng (in order to keep an eye on Wei Wuxian) and Lan Wangji (the current Lan sect leader who illustrated himself during the war who also wants to keep an eye on Wei Wuxian). The Nie sect is isolated.

Jin Guangyao mediates between Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji in order to get the Tiger Seal more easily; and they both team up to be more active to “help” Wei Wuxian (who takes it as a betrayal). Wei Wuxian flees to the Nie, to complain to Nie Huaisang.

Jin Guangyao figures out about the Golden Core transfer because he has access to a lot of the clues. He decides to use this information to help out Wen Qing and Wen Ning in exchange for their cooperation to help Lan Xichen. Lan Xichen believes it’s a medical  treatment developed by the Wen. Wen Qing is publicly redeemed for her role in healing Lan Xichen but under the cover of the Jin sect who grabs all the merit for it..

When Lan Wangji tells Jiang Cheng about the miraculous healing of his brother, Jiang Cheng figures out that Wen Qing was involved in his Golden Core restoration but not necessarily that Wei Wuxian sacrificed his own. He goes to talk to Wen Qing, who admits the truth to Jiang Cheng.

Jiang Cheng has a nervous breakdown. Lan Wangji followed him but missed the reveal. They confront Wei Wuxian and that’s when Lan Wangji understands what happened. Tears and ship zhanchengxian happen.

After he threatens Wen Ning one time too many, Wen Qingl kills Jin Guangshan with the help of Xue Yang who realized he has a lot to learn from him. 

Jin Guangyao and Lan Xichen are in love as long as Lan Xichen doesn’t think too hard about where his core comes from.

Happy ending!

[robininthelabyrinth]

Prompt: what if jc was lxc's age (and jyl maybe 2 or 3 years older) and wwx was lwj's/nhs' age when he was brought to lotus pier? (Or anything that involves a much bigger age gap bw the jiang sibs and wwx - where wwx is babey)

Untamed

“You know what,” Jiang Cheng said to his sister, who looked at him. “I’ve changed my mind. I’m not marrying a woman.”

Jiang Yanli’s lips started twitching uncontrollably and she hid her smile behind her sleeve. “Oh?”

“Nope. I’m going to marry Chifeng-zun.”

“On the basis of…?”

“If you take two adult men in charge of two Great Sects,” Jiang Cheng said, doing his utmost best to keep a straight face, “with all the power we can generate between us, we might – maybe – have a chance at disciplining our baby brothers.”

Jiang Yanli burst out laughing.

“There, there. It’s all right,” he said, grinning, reaching out to pat her on the shoulder. “You can join us if you’d like. There’s enough room in Qinghe for two wives.”

“We are not both running away to Qinghe,” she said, giggling. “A-Cheng!”

“What? I think it’s a great idea. If our parents want us back, they can negotiate with Chifeng-zun for it – may they have more luck than they had with the whole medicinal herb debacle.”

“A-Cheng, I am officially tabling this idea,” Jiang Yanli said, still snorting. “Older sibling privilege.”

“I let you out of the womb first as a matter of courtesy,” Jiang Cheng sniffed. “And now you use it against me? A-Li, how could you?”

“Call me jiejie! It doesn’t matter how much older, a few shichen or a few years, older is still older.”

“You probably elbowed me with those sharp pointy things you have on your arms. Weapons of war.”

“Older is older!” she sang. “Now tell me, what did A-Xian do this time?”

“Would you like it in chronological order, or in order of severity? I can also group it by theme, if you prefer.”

“Oh no,” Jiang Yanli said, covering her eyes. “Oh no.”

“And the chief-most theme,” Jiang Cheng said, continuing anyway, “is still called Lan Wangji.”

“Oh no!”

“He has the worst crush,” Jiang Cheng said, shaking his head with endless amusement. “And he just – refuses to admit it. ‘Nooooo, shixiong, we’re just friends, he can’t even stand me most of the time, he’s always trying to get me in trouble, but sometimes he lets me sit next to him and spend time with him and he’s so handsome and I really just want to make him laugh –’”

“We have,” Jiang Yanli said thoughtfully, “raised an idiot.”

“He was fine when we got him,” Jiang Cheng disagreed. “We have spoiled an idiot.”

“This is true. Maybe we should go form a mutual complaining society with Chifeng-zun; isn’t his little brother also an idiot?”

“Oh, you have no idea,” Jiang Cheng said. “Worse: they’ve teamed up. Nie Huaisang buys Wei Wuxian porn now.”

“Oh no…”

“In return for help cheating on his tests!”

“Oh no!”

“So that’s why I’m going to marry Chifeng-zun,” Jiang Cheng concluded. “Our parents may be disappointed by my decision, but with our powers combined, we might be able to save the world from our respective younger idiots.”

“Maybe,” she said, and shook her head. “A-Cheng – about our parents…”

Jiang Cheng shook his head as well, echoing her action but more in denial. It wasn’t anyone’s fault that she took after their father and he took after their mother, that she was born a shichen prior to midnight and he a shichen after and their personalities completely different as a result; it was no one’s fault that their parents didn’t get along, with their mother disdaining what she perceived as Jiang Yanli’s passiveness and lack of passion and their father despising Jiang Cheng’ prickly temper and difficulty communicating his affection without scolding.

It certainly wasn’t Wei Wuxian’s fault for being younger and more brilliant, talented at everything he did and with just the sort of personality their father liked best – the combination of his former best friend and the girl he’d once thought of marrying – and that he’d always made that preference very clear to everyone, even to their mother who often worried that her husband would dispossess her children in favor of his foundling and who lashed out at everyone in response.

That had hurt – hurt a lot, even, and Jiang Cheng was soft and sensitive underneath all his defensive layers, but any time he got angry over it he would look at Wei Wuxian, their little A-Xian, baby Xianxian, who adored his older siblings more than anything and was adored in return, and he forced himself to get over it. He was old enough, by the time Wei Wuxian arrived, to know to whom the blame really belonged.

“I spoke with Nie Huaisang while I was at the Cloud Recesses,” Jiang Cheng said in an undertone, one reserved just for his sister. “He’s asked me to pass along a message to his brother, the next time I go night-hunting, about the whole debacle – he’s so terribly apologetic, you understand, he couldn’t wait for the post – if we get to Qinghe by tomorrow, Chifeng-zun will be able to get to Gusu in time to intervene before our father does something wretched like cancel your engagement and take A-Xian home early from his studies.”

“The engagement I wouldn’t mind,” she remarked. “If Jin Zixuan feels so strongly about it that he’d get into a fistfight with A-Xian, it’s better not to marry, no matter what our mother might think. But on no account is A-Xian to be sent home early! He needs his education!”

Unsaid was everything else he needed, things he could get better at the Cloud Recesses than anywhere else.

“Then we go?”

“We go,” she agreed. Between the two of them, Jiang Cheng had more talent at cultivation, but she was steadier, even in her overall mediocrity: when the two of them flew on a sword together, they could make it much further and faster than anyone expected.

Qinghe wasn’t really close enough for a quick jaunt – they flew all night without stopping – but Chifeng-zun was amendable to their scheme, jumping at once onto his saber and making his way straight to Gusu. A waste of spiritual energy all around, really, but far faster than their father would move, with his Sect Leader’s dignity and retinue, rushing to the Cloud Recesses to save his precious little Wei Wuxian from having any connections in life that weren’t to the Jiang sect, and the Jiang sect alone. 

And never mind how much he needed those connections: needed to have friends his own age, needed to have more time with that crush of his, needed independence and freedom and everything the Jiang sect supposedly stood for - needed for them to support him and act as the foundation beneath his feet, rather than the chains tying him down to earth.

Chifeng-zun – who was only a few years older than they were – was really a very understanding person, getting the problem at once and immediately agreeing with their view on things. Perhaps there really was something to be said about the difference in generations…

“Let me show you to rooms where you can rest,” Chifeng-zun’s aide said, a slender young man with a polite smile on his face as he saluted. “I’ll arrange for refreshments as well.”

“We hate to trouble you, but in all honesty you are a lifesaver,” Jiang Yanli said to him warmly, and he unexpectedly flushed red at the cheeks. “A-Cheng, let’s follow this handsome young man and rest a while before we return to the Lotus Pier.”

The young man was blushing.

“What’s your name?” Jiang Cheng asked, and the blush faded away at once as the man paled a little: it would be one he expected them to recognize, then, and not in a good way.

“This one is Meng Yao,” he said, and saluted again even though he’d already saluted once before, and Jiang Yanli’s eyes flickered to Jiang Cheng’s very briefly before she caught his arms and raised him up.

“I’ve heard of you. Smart and talented enough to get Chifeng-zun’s attention, even so far as becoming his personal deputy - you must be brilliant. Truly, you deserve a better father,” she told him, and he stared up at her, dumbstruck.

“Don’t mind her,” Jiang Cheng said. “She’s trying out this new thing in which she says everything she feels without thinking first.”

She elbowed him. “And isn’t it your fault?” she asked snappishly. “You’re the one who needs to speak your mind more; I’m just modeling good behavior!”

If she’d been older than him – really older, rather than just a few shichen – maybe she would have held her tongue more and played the role of the peacekeeper, trying to protect him from his father’s indifference the way she had tried to when they were both younger, just as he had tried to distract his mother from her with his hard-fought accomplishments. It wasn’t until they had little Wei Wuxian to spoil and care for, a joint task that required both of their attention, that they realized that splitting their forces like that was pointless and self-defeating: it wasn’t actually helping that Jiang Yanli suppressed so much of her spirit until she felt like little more than a reflective mirror with no content, nor that Jiang Cheng nearly worked himself to death trying to prove that he was worthy of his father’s love and respect that he would never receive, and it never would.

So they stopped.

They were trying very hard to stop, anyway.

“You’re very kind,” Meng Yao murmured, and led them to their rooms.

The moment he closed the door behind him, Jiang Yanli turned to Jiang Cheng and said, “I’ve changed my mind about your plan – we can run away to Qinghe. You marry Chifeng-zun, and I’ll marry that charming boy out there.”

There was an audible thudding sound from the corridor outside, as if someone had accidentally walked into a wall, and they both grinned at each other.

“Mother would kill you,” he warned her in an undertone.

“And being married to someone who disdains me enough to fight over my worthlessness in public wouldn’t?” she retorted, smiling even though her expression was tinged with pain: if she had one ambition in life, it was to never become their mother. “The marriage agreement might have been forged by our mothers, but the text of it says ‘the Jin sect leader’s son to the Jiang sect leader’s daughter’. Why can’t I marry him?”

“He hasn’t been acknowledged.”

“Only technically. Everyone knows he’s the real deal, or else his father wouldn’t have made such a fuss about it.”

“But –”

“Anyway, he must be a good man, or Chifeng-zun wouldn’t have promoted him.”

“I don’t know about that,” Jiang Cheng said. “Chifeng-zun doesn’t have the sense of self-preservation the heavens bestowed on a lemming.”

There was a vaguely audible snort from outside their door. It seemed Meng Yao, at least, had the good sense not to leave guests in his house unattended, and no discrimination against the very useful business of listening at doors.

He also had a sense of humor, which was good given Jiang Yanli’s newfound ambitions in his regard.

“Yes, well, I wasn’t saying I’d elope with him tomorrow or anything,” she sniffed, eyes dancing. “Give him some time to prove himself to me.”

Jiang Cheng couldn’t help but smile back. “That’s true,” he said, raising his voice a little. “At Chifeng-zun’s side, he’ll be able to make a name for himself until the whispers all say that his father was an idiot for keeping him away.”

“And if even that doesn’t work, I’ll marry him in and make him help me run the Jiang sect,” she said cheerfully. “Who needs Lanling Jin?”

“Wait, since when are you inheriting the Jiang sect?”

“I’m older! And anyway, aren’t you marrying Chifeng-zun? That means you’ll be away helping run his sect, and that leaves an opening at home for me.”

“…huh. Good point.”

“Maybe you can just swap places with Meng Yao,” she said, starting to giggle again. “And we can all see how long it takes anyone to notice…”

“Our parents might not,” Jiang Cheng said dryly. “But Chifeng-zun would. If only because I have my sights set on his bed, and I don’t think Meng Yao does.”

“You don’t know that; everyone wants Chifeng-zun. Maybe you have competition.”

“Better to have competition than be oblivious. Do you want to hear the whole story about A-Xian and Lan Wangji’s tragic mutual pining disaster? Xichen-xiong told me all the details he’s been leaving out of his letters.”

“Tell me everything!”

[germy-yy]

MXTX football/futsal/soccer AU

I’ve been a goalkeeper for 1 quarter and idk how to drop properly so my arms and knees are a lovely magenta. Mxtx football/futsal AU!  Luo Binghe would be your typical “star” player. He’s a striker (protagonist and all) but is really good in the other roles. He absolutely RUNS OVER those who are physically weaker than him. His kicks are so fucking painful too. He’s like “ah, I better keep the ball far from the goal as much as possible so that shizun doesn’t have to worry”.  Shen Qingqiu/Shen Yuan would be a defender or a goalkeeper. He’s nimble (ehe) to jump towards the ball (read: out the window). One second he’s on the other side of the goal, the next he’s right in front of you and has tackled the ball. As a goalkeeper, he’s screaming the mantra “YOU WILL NOT FUCKING SCORE IN MY GOAL FUCKER” in his head so he doesn’t hesitate to take a ball to the face. He’s also a slippery defender where he’s running towards you and passes the ball back to his teammates in the field. I think he’s lanky so he has long legs to steal the ball away from your feet.  Lan Wangji’s kicks are so fucking painful. Like, no goalkeeper or any player really has never not gotten a bruise from him. Someone even blacked out because they did heading with one of the balls LWJ kicked. Someone fell over when the intercepted a ball he kicked. Idk what role he would be though I am leaning towards striker.  Wei Wuxian would be a goalkeeper. Absolute menace because he flails his arms around trying to mock the opponent and can slide his enter body in front of the goal area. He has a lot of bruises since he’s teammates with LWJ and during training, they do kick-ins (the one where all the players kick the ball and the goalkeeper must intercept it). Though that’s not the only reason why he has “bruises”. (”WY why do you have purple spots on your neck?? Do you intercept the balls with your neck or something?? LWJ, did you play as goalkeeper too today?? You shouldn’t catch the ball with your neck, you know.”) Wei Wuxian slides towards the ball when the opponent is RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE GOAL and hugs the ball, sliding between the enemy’s legs, and making them fall over LMAO.  Hua Cheng is a defender. His gege ran across the field and he isn’t wasting all the effort! Very reliable defender. He steals the ball away from the opponent and is able to make the ball fly all across the field to XL. He rams into opponents (without extending his arms, of course. They were just too...weak compared to his bulk). Like. He literally runs them over and sends them flying when he stops the ball while they’re dribbling with it. He wears an eyepatch and has a medical certificate deeming him suitable to play.  Xie Lian is a striker!! Him and LBH do long shots and it’s a beautiful sight to watch them passing the ball towards each other. Like. they pass the ball to each other from opposite sides of the field. He’s a fast runner and during corner kicks, he runs away from the opponent and is awesome at making openings for his teammates to pass it to him. Since his luck sucks ass, in recent years, he became susceptible to rolling ball kick-ins, hand balls, and hitting the post of a goal instead of scoring.  Extra: 

Shang Qinghua joined the team but doesn’t have much experience. It would look good on college applications. He plays as defender.  SQQ: GET THE FUCK OUTTA THE WAY I CAN’T SEE THE BALL AIRPLANE!!! SQH doesn’t take it personally and when he finds out he’s blocking SQQ’s view, whenever he’s defender and the ball is coming towards them, he’s like: SQH: bro can you see the ball??  love him fr  Also, do you call the sport Football or Soccer? 

[thelandswemadeofpaper]

Good to Evil

Evil Former Friend

Broken Bird

Fallen Hero

Fallen Angel

Deceptive Disciple

Rival Turned Evil/Rival Final Boss

Revenge Through Corruption

Minion Manipulated into Villainy

Les Collaborateurs

Corrupt Church (or any Former Good Organization/group)

Then Let Me Be Evil

More than Mind Control/Not Brainwashed

Being Tortured Makes You Evil

Create Your Own Villain

The Corruption

With Great Power Comes Great Insanity (Abilities? Experiment? Object? Political Power?)

A More 'Mystical' Reason? Reincarnation? Magical Sickness or Injury? Dark Corruption? Vessel? 'Magical' Position? Transformation? Supernatural Deal?

Drunk on the Dark Side

Became Their Own Antithesis

Despair Event Horizon 

Love Makes You Evil (Obssession? Betrayed? Rejected? Seduced by the Dark Side? Lost Lenore?)

Go Mad from the Revelation (the opposite variation is a reveal that makes the villain help you or turn sides)

A Pupil of Mine Until He Turned to Evil

Temporarily a Villain

Knight Templar

Peer Pressure Makes You Evil

He Who Fights Monsters

Hidden Villain Reveal

In Between

Neutral No Longer

True Colors

Heel Realization

Going Native

Moral Pragmatist

Falsely Reformed Villain

Came Back Wrong 

Becoming the Mask

Well-Intentioned Extremist

Face/Heel Double-Turn

Literal Change of Heart

Ignorant Minion

Rivals Team-Up

Post-Mortem Conversion

Reforged into a Minion

Forced Transformation

Brainwashed and Crazy

Face–Monster Turn

Heel–Face Brainwashing

Freak Out

Madness

Fake Defector

Predator Turned Protector

Amnesiac Villain Joins the Heroes

The person has Heel/Face Turn and their friend follow.

Creating your Own Rival (this one is Intentional. For a thrill seeker? death seeker?)

A Manipulative Bastard 'turns' one Hero character into a 'Villain', giving him a excuse to kill/betray/use/usurp said Hero or convince other people to do so.

Forced into Evil/Trapped in Villainy (maybe you are in a faction since childhood, its a family things or you are just a soldier).

Antagonists that are too young, pawns most likely manipulated against the Heroes.

That characters that start to mess with the wrong things (dark magic?) and wrong people, maybe even with good intentions (they could be just trying to help, but seeking good things the the bad way in a wrong place)

Good all Along/Not Evil, just Misunderstud (the villain had a good reason to rebel? They are just pretending to be the enemy? The ghost/monster/mysterious or divine being was secretely helping or trying to help? Working with the Evil Empire because of self-preservation? Some situation like Te Fiti? Or even Wei Wuxian?)

I love when there a 'Evil Folk/Race' and the hero character ends up spending time with them and finds out its bullshit and they are good (not perfect, sure) people. How? Infiltration? They saved him? Or can just be a 'Evil' Person, you were send to kill him maybe? Then him/her decided to adopt you into their found family. And reveal because you were most likely hidding you identity. Or one of the Hero Team was one all the time.

And now needs to convince the people they aren't bad?

Changelings in MLP, HTTYD's Dragons, Wildlings in Asoiaf are good examples

Related Tropes

Army of Child Soldiers

Bring Them Around

Pretends to be Evil/Good all Along

Neutrality Backlash

Identity Breakdown

Tomato in the Mirror

Morality Pet

Redemption Rejection

Rejected Apology

Villain Decay

Heel–Face Door-Slam

Hazy-Feel Turn

Heel–Face Revolving Door

Villain with Good Publicity/Hero with Bad Publicity

My Master, Right or Wrong

Blind Loyalty

Second Chance

Villain Has a Point

Freudian Excuse

Hidden Heart of Gold

Misery Builds Character

Cynicism Catalyst

Pretend to Be Brainwashed

Smaller Silly Villain Become Dangerous

Bootlicker (can be friendly, romantic or servant, change sides as long it suits him, generally joins the winning side)

One's Trash is Another Treasure: one side don't wanted them (abandoned? exiled? rejected?), the other end up getting them

The child of a enemy begin given a second change to prove themselves good and to not be killed.

Evil to Good

The Atoner

Love Redeems

Conspiracy Redemption

Evil Redeemed in a Can

Face Realization

Befriending the Enemy

Break the Haughty

Create Your Own Hero

Copied the Morals, Too

Heel–Face Return

Heel–Face Town

Mook–Face Turn

Heel–Face Reincarnation

Heel–Race Turn

Power of Trust

Redemption Equals Affliction

Redemption Equals Death/Death Equals Redemption/Redemption Earns Life

Redemption Quest

Siding with the Suffering

Deliver Us from Evil

Heritage Face Turn

"They Still Belong to Us" Lecture

Trauma Conga Line

Defeat Means Respect

Your Tradition Is Not Mine

Sudden Principled Stand

Reformed Criminal/Former Villain

Reformed, but Not Tamed

[littlesmartart]

Leverage AU thoughts

okay so I wanted to keep the worldbuilding for the AU in that specific photoset relatively short for the sake of how the post worked, but I've seen a lot of questions in the tags so here is some more information for you all, under the cut because it got LONG:

MORALITY: okay so I called this the "(sort of) Leverage AU" because it basically flips the Leverage concept of "criminals work together with one non-criminal for the greater good" into "one criminal persuades a bunch of non-criminals that law =/= morality and that sometimes to make sure the bad guys get justice you have to work around legality". Obviously some people are easier to persuade than others (Huaisang has always been pretty ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ about the law, but before he joins the team he insists all of his crimes have been Theoretical, and besides, pirating movies isn't real crime, da-ge, god), and some of them are a little troubled by it but have their own reasons for joining (Mingjue has a LOT of issues with it, but joins to protect Huaisang for That One Job, and then stays with the insistence that a. they don't kill anyone, b. they don't involve anyone who doesn't super deserve it, and c. that their goal is always to get evidence so the mark can be convicted and the mark is always handed over to the appropriate authorities at the end of the job. he has a little more moral flexibility than canon Mingjue because of his Complicated Past He Wants To Atone For, but he still has an incredibly strong internal moral code that he absolutely will not violate. Jiang Cheng cares more about the law in principle, rather than personally, and as soon as he sees that they can get Justice that the law can't, he's sold). Xichen has the hardest time of it; he jumps into the first job without protest because Meng Yao asks (and Meng Yao never ever asks for anything, so it... it must be important, right? And Jin Guangshan definitely deserves it). After that he has a lot of internal struggling going on, and he's usually the one in the team trying to steer them towards legal means, and going through the "correct" channels. He probably has a breakdown about it at the end of a season and spends the next season Travelling To Find Himself. He winds up coming back to the team when, on one of his travels, he watches a family he's staying with lose everything after being targeted by a conman, but because of a dirty police chief the evidence is destroyed. They refuse to take his money when he tries to help, and he realises that they only way to get them justice... is to call in the team. That's not to say he is 100% cool with everything from then on, and he definitely draws the line at certain criminal acts (stealing for the fun of it he is not okay with, for example, and he gives a Hard No on the suggestion of trying White Rabbit) but for the most part he accepts the concept of what they do as being for the greater good.

GRIFTER XICHEN: yeah it's ridiculous and implausible but hear me out... that just makes it better. Because this man is terrible at improv and can only lie when he's in character (you see that means it's not lying then, it's just ACTING) and doesn't drink and absolutely will not seduce a mark past the level of general flirting... and yet he's somehow a wildly successful grifter??? How??? I'll tell you how: he's so fucking handsome and kind and charming and cultured that pretty much everyone who meets him just... melts a little bit and, with some coaxing, gives him whatever he needs. IT'S LIKE A FREAKIN SUPERPOWER and it's absolutely ridiculous. With the added bonus that he's juuust famous enough that the average person might kind of think he looks familiar, which means he's very good at coming across like he totally belongs wherever he's seen. Of course he works here, he's been here for months... don't you recognise him?

NO WOMEN ON THE TEAM: look, in Meng Yao's defence, when he put together this team he thought it would only be for one job, he wasn't trying to future-proof it! But yes, it can sometimes be an issue if they don't have time to plan ahead, and he and Huaisang - as the most stereotypically feminine members of the team, and by far the best liars - will usually take on any female roles they need if they're in a pinch and can't call in outside help, although all of them are ready to take on roles of different genders if need be (female roles are actually the only way to persuade Huaisang to grift, and he has an extensive shoe collection for such roles that he likes to expand by billing to the company account... Meng Yao is deeply unimpressed by this).

OTHER CHARACTERS: when Meng Yao started this, he worked very very hard to keep his siblings and the rest of his family out of it, to keep them all away from any fallout in case it went wrong (and also to stop any pesky Moral Issues from getting in the way). When that was over and they started taking regular cases, he relaxed the rule a little - Mianmian will sometimes step in to help if she can be sold on how bad the person is they're taking down, Zonghui can be relied upon if they need extra muscle, and Wen Qing is their go-to Ask No Questions doctor. Wei Wuxian frequently gets roped in to consult, as, if you give him six packs of hot chips, ten cans of monster, twelve hours, and a laptop, he can become a specialist in almost anything. Jiang Cheng was very very resistant towards the idea of his brother being allowed in the team, even just as a consultant, but the MOMENT Wei Wuxian was given any access to Shenanigans there was no fucking stopping him. In the later jobs Qin Su accidentally gets pulled into one of the cons and turns out to be a WAY better grifter than anyone could have imagined, so she winds up on the "ally call list". Meng Yao is both perturbed and proud, but absolutely draws the line at teenage Mo Xuanyu being allowed to help.

PAIRINGS: flipping the "two parents + three kids" dynamic in Leverage, this AU has 3zun and Sangcheng - so "three gege + two didi". Xiyao have a One That Got Away sort of past, and Xichen joins the team SPECIFICALLY because Meng Yao expresses emotional vulnerability by asking for help fOr OnCe In HiS fUcKiNg LiFe. Nielan dated when they were teens, and are happy to be reunited, but Mingjue refuses to rekindle a romantic relationship until Xiyao sort their shit out because it's obvious to anyone with eyes how hung up on Meng Yao Xichen is. Nieyao have a certain amount of "I'll work with you towards a common cause but that doesn't mean I have to like you" vibe, but veeery slooowlyyy wind up bonding over doing stuff they're not proud of for something they were so sure was a worthy cause at the time, but now they just feel jaded and used (there's a lot of arguments along the lines of "oh, so my corporate espionage is worse than what you did in spec ops... because the military says that what you did was legal. RIGHT. OKAY. SURE."). After several years of will-they-won't-they struggle, 3zun do get together, and everyone is very relieved. As for Sangcheng... it starts off as Huaisang just flirting kind of obnoxiously with Jiang Cheng, who rolls his eyes and snarks back, and then naturally Huaisang winds up catching feelings and is like [meme voice] Haha, I'm In Danger! He is unwilling to act on his feelings because he doesn't believe that Jiang Cheng likes him that way, and continues to believe that right up until the day Jiang Cheng snaps, and grabs him and kisses him, and is like "if I didn't actually like you flirting with me I would have punched you in the face years ago" and Huaisang is like "huh. Yeah that's probably true."

[bifilthatonthatseson]

Jiang Cheng timeloop AU, Chapter Four

AO3 link

Jiang Cheng wakes up to the familiar view of the ceiling above his bed. For a few moments he can only breathe, in and out, forcing a control over his body that he cannot over his mind.

Then he gets up, dresses, writes a note for Jiang Xinyi, and leaves the room.

He has walked the length and breadth of Lotus Pier so many times since the rebuilding, unable to stop mentally cataloguing all the places it has changed, all the work that still remains to be done. In the last few not-days, he has run through it in a panic, strengthened its wards, and defended its borders. All of that is now undone, existing nowhere but his own memory.

Jiang Cheng walks now with no purpose at all. For what is possibly the first time in his life, he does not make mental lists of improvements and repairs as he goes. What would be the point? Anything he sets in motion now will disappear tomorrow. There is nothing he can accomplish, no work that can be done. Instead, he finds himself seeing all the spaces he has rebuilt as if for the first time: the delicate carvings curling above the doorways, the replanted lotus ponds growing lush and strong, the silk hangings he had bargained viciously to replace wafting gently in the breeze from the river. Yesterday he had almost set off a talisman that would have blown all of this hard-won progress to bits, and he can’t even bring himself to regret it.

In the end, his feet carry him to his mother’s pavilion. He always finds his way here when he needs to think. His father had rarely set foot here: it had been entirely the territory of the Madam of Lotus Pier. But when he was a child, his mother had welcomed him here. Even as a teenager, he had taken tea with her on those rare afternoons in which she was pleased with him. His fondest memories of his mother all take place in this wooden frame, as they sat and watched the lotuses and were almost content.

Madam Yu had hated Wei Wuxian. She never stopped hating him, never saw him as anything but a cuckoo in the nest, lying in wait to usurp her only son’s place. When Wei Wuxian had left the Jiang clan to protect the remnants of the Wen sect, part of Jiang Cheng couldn’t help but think: well, you were wrong about that, mother. How could Wei Wuxian have coveted Jiang Cheng’s place if he was going to just up and leave?

But he has walked every inch of Lotus Pier and is still not ready to think about Wei Wuxian. Instead, he thinks of his father. His father who never had a kind word for him, yet loved and praised Wei Wuxian openly. What would his father think of Wei Wuxian’s absence? Would he condemn Wei Wuxian for it, or only Jiang Cheng for driving his brother away?

A small cough interrupts his fruitless speculation. He turns to see Jiang Xinyi bowing at the entrance to the pavilion. “Excuse me, Sect Leader.”

Jiang Cheng waves off the bow, then raises an inquisitive eyebrow. Most uncharacteristically, she hesitates. “If I might speak for a moment?” His second eyebrow raises to join the first, and he gestures for her to sit, pretending he feels no relief at the excuse to put off thinking about Wei Wuxian a little longer.

“I have dispatched a senior team to go over and strengthen the outer walls, as you requested,” she begins. “I have also sent Liu Yuchen to Lanling to guard Jiang Yanli.”

Jiang Cheng stares her down. She would never have come out here just to tell him that she had successfully carried out his orders. They both know she is far too competent for that to be in doubt.

“Many of our disciples have expressed their concerns,” she settles on at last. She meets his eyes directly, stare for stare. “They are concerns that I share.”

“Share them, then,” he says curtly. He had seen the first time he announced they would not attend the pledge conference that his disciples were uneasy. Anyone would be, at an abrupt change of plans with no explanation forthcoming. No one had approached him then. He wonders what is different about this time.

She hesitates again. Jiang Cheng’s stomach clenches, tension clawing at his gut and up his neck and shoulders. “Sect Leader - when you fought with Wei Wuxian. Did you truly intend for him to leave for good?”

He very nearly gapes at her. He had expected questions about their decision to remain in Lotus Pier, or about their official stance on the Wens. His jaw clenches involuntarily, and he has to deliberately unlock it to reply. “Why do you ask?”

“Because many sect members believe otherwise,” she says, frankly and astonishingly. “Many were deeply uncomfortable that we would attend a pledge conference designed to declare war against him. They considered his absence more - temporary. When you announced we were going, it caused a certain amount of consternation. Now, we aren’t attending after all.” She spreads her hands and raises one shoulder in a minute shrug. “I hoped I could clear matters up with you before speaking with them again.”

Jiang Cheng stares at his head disciple, mind racing. He has been justly repaid for refusing to think about Wei Wuxian.

Because of course it had been temporary. He had believed that, believed it with all his heart and no small touch of desperation. He had sat with Wei Wuxian and Jiang Yanli and griped about his broken arm, thinking the entire time it’s just for now, just until this dies down.

He just hadn’t realized that his disciples thought so, too.

Jiang Cheng’s head aches. When A-Jie had died, ripped apart by Wei Wuxian’s fierce corpses - it had all seemed so obvious, then, that Wei Wuxian no longer cared about Yunmeng Jiang at all. That as much as Jiang Cheng had privately regarded Wei Wuxian’s banishment as a temporary fiction designed to protect the sect, Wei Wuxian himself had meant it. If Wei Wuxian could attack A-Jie, could cut her down and all the Jiang disciples protecting her, then he could not possibly consider himself part of Jiang Cheng's sect.

But then Lotus Pier had been attacked, and Wei Wuxian had come. With no official ties left, when he was more in danger coming than not, he had come for the Jiang, just as he had come for the Wen.

One thing is certain: he absolutely cannot tell even half of this to Jiang Xinyi.

“You can tell them -”

But what can she tell them? What can he afford to say that won’t make him lose face, that won’t give his enemies yet another weapon to wield against him?

That last thought gives him pause. He turns it over in his mind, considering. Last time, the gathered leaders of the Great Sects had all but told him they did not believe in Wei Wuxian’s banishment. Even without hearing the truth from his own lips, they had raised armies against him. What more harm could possibly be done?

“Any rumors that Wei Wuxian’s banishment might be temporary could have serious adverse consequences for the sect,” he says slowly. He meets her eyes. “I would be very displeased to hear such rumors discussed outside the walls of Lotus Pier.”

Jiang Xinyi’s eyes shine. “Outside the walls?” she confirms. Jiang Cheng nods. She stands and bows. “I will make sure everyone understands, Sect Leader.”

She hurries off, leaving Jiang Cheng alone once more with his whirling thoughts.

Wei Wuxian had come. Wei Wuxian had escaped the battlefield alive, almost certainly taken away by Lan Wangji, and had still managed to come fight for Yunmeng Jiang when Jiang Cheng needed him. He had to have subdued Lan Wangji, too, to have come alone. Probably Lan Wangji would have tried to stop him.

The thought he has been fighting all day blooms within his mind, fully grown. He had expected Wei Wuxian to be there. Even as he ordered Jiang Xinyi to evacuate the civilians, he had believed, somewhere below the level of conscious thought, that his brother would come. Jiang Cheng is a fool because each time Wei Wuxian promised that this time he’d be at training, this time he’d be home before dark, this time he’d come to the council meeting, Jiang Cheng had believed him. Even in the face of all the evidence to the contrary, he had believed it, every time. It hurt like tripping on a stair in the dark, every time he was proved wrong.

But this time, he had been right.

Jiang Cheng spends the rest of the day in his mother’s pavilion, leaving only once the sun begins to descend in the sky. He takes supper with his disciples and pretends he doesn’t notice the feeling of lightness in the room, the relief that weighs down the usual jokes, making them land too heavily.

When the first few disciples begin to push back from the tables, Jiang Cheng stands. “All of you should check your equipment and prepare for a fight,” he says. “We may have unpleasant company tonight. All patrols, check in regularly and call out at any approach.” He strides out to his study, ignoring any questions that he might be asked.

When the messenger arrives again, Jiang Cheng is ready.

This time, he doesn’t rush. He stops to give orders for the evacuation, redirects a few disciples running the wrong way, and even stops by his room for a brief moment to rearrange his robes for maximum effect. He has time. Jin Guangshan won’t want to move while there is still the potential for grandstanding.

When he at last stands at the top of the viewing platforms, looking down over the gathered forces, the conversation begins much the same as last time. Jiang Cheng finds he has far less patience for it.

“Wei Wuxian is not here. He was banished,” Jiang Cheng says flatly, cutting Jin Guangshan off mid-flow.

“With all due respect, Sect Leader Jiang- '' begins Jin Guangyao.

Jiang Cheng interrupts him. “If you don’t believe me, you are welcome to conduct a search yourself. Any sect leader or sect representative is welcome to enter, so long as they swear to cause no harm to my disciples.”

This unexpected announcement causes a stir among the minor sects, but Jin Guangshan only scoffs. “You think we would give you hostages?” he demands. “Surely you do not believe us to be so foolish and shortsighted.”

Jiang Cheng stares down at him, letting his face go flat and hard. “You have already insulted me by questioning my honesty once. I suggest you not do it a third time. I swear on all my ancestors that you may enter and leave unharmed, provided you do no harm to me and mine. I give you leave to discuss my offer.” With that, he ducks down and descends from the platform, just low enough that he isn’t visible over the wall.

His second disciple is nearly vibrating with questions next to him. Jiang Cheng holds up a finger - wait - and smiles when the cacophony breaks out behind him. “Stalling,” he answers that questioning look. “Jiang Xinyi is leading the evacuation. The longer they argue about our offer, the more time she has.” His second disciple grins back at him, and then all the Jiang disciples around the gate sit down more comfortably.

At last the argument seems complete, and someone hails the gate. Jiang Cheng wastes more time gesturing a disciple to his feet to “take a message for Sect Leader Jiang.” When he deems it has been long enough, he gets to his feet and comes back into view.

“Well? Do you accept my hospitality?”

“Hospitality cannot be accepted on these terms.” Lan Xichen steps forward. “A member of your sect has offered intolerable insult. He has killed cultivators from nearly every sect represented here. We cannot accept your offer to enter your grounds as long as he remains free to continue his unprovoked attacks.”

“As I have already told you, Wei Wuxian is not here. He is no longer a member of the Yunmeng Jiang sect.” Jiang Cheng knows it’s useless, but he has to try. It goes over about as well as it had the last time. When all the protestations have died away, he gathers himself up and sets his face into as hard and forbidding an expression as he can muster.

“I see,” he says, sweeping his eyes across the gathered forces as if he can meet every sect leader’s gaze. “Is this the righteousness of the cultivation world, then? What assurances can I offer that will be believed? I have yet to hear of any charges brought against me or anyone in my sect, yet you demand I surrender to your justice. I see that the so-called great sect leaders have no respect for those they regard as lesser. And yet - the Jiang are not so lesser as all that. If we were, you would not come in such force as to shame your own sense of honor. Are you another Wen Ruohan, taking what you want at the point of a sword?”

Sect Leader Jin goes almost purple with rage. Jiang Cheng delights in the fact that some of the minor sect leaders look uncomfortable, and Sect Leader Nie’s face has gone wooden. “Sect Leader Jiang! Mind your words! Your insults will not stand!”

“Since you seem determined to go to war with my sect regardless of what I say, I hardly see why it is necessary not to insult you.” It’s wildly freeing, to say the things he has always thought but refused to say aloud. It doesn’t matter anymore. He has worried for so long about saying the right thing, whatever it would take for Yunmeng Jiang to be safe. But now - no matter what he does, the consequences will be erased tomorrow. It doesn’t matter if he offers vital insult to anyone. It doesn’t matter if he stops shoving all his feelings down his throat in an attempt to accept the place in the world Jin Guangshan wants to assign him. He can do anything he wants.

He wonders, briefly, if this is how Wei Wuxian feels all the time.

Then he sees a rustle of movement on the rooftops and smiles in spite of himself. He has stalled long enough.

“Can someone explain to me why all the righteous sect leaders are attacking another sect who has done nothing to provoke it?” comes his brother’s voice. Everyone spins around, and Jiang Cheng takes the opportunity to study his brother. He looks terrible, again: wounded in a different place this time, but once again bandaged with what he is now absolutely sure are Lan Wangji’s robes. “Oh, I remember - that’s one of your favorite activities, murdering innocents.”

Wei Wuxian waves at the crowd from the top of a nearby roof. “Are you satisfied that Jiang Cheng is not hiding me behind his skirts now?”

“The Yiling Patriarch!” Sect Leader Yao yells, sounding both offended and terrified at once. Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes, then has to suppress a roil of both warmth and nausea as Wei Wuxian does the exact same thing.

The situation devolves from there. This time, Jiang Cheng does not hesitate to provide backup for Wei Wuxian’s ghosts. His archers rain down death from above as ghosts harry the enemy cultivators on all sides. As soon as there is an opening large enough, Jiang Cheng signals the archers to stop, then leads a charge through the gates.

Jiang Cheng wonders if he should worry that he feels nothing as he slices through men who had once been his allies. Well. If they had wanted to stay allies, they should not have attacked his sect. Jiang Cheng can cut down threats to Lotus Pier without a qualm. He can pay for it in the afterlife if that is what the gods require, but he can’t imagine his ancestors, especially his mother, would ever be displeased. Perhaps his father, the peacemaker, would be, but peace hasn’t been his to make for a long time.

For a few long moments, things actually seem to be going well. Jiang Cheng wonders if he has finally found a way through this. Who would have thought that the secret to not dying today would be to mouth off to all the most powerful leaders of the cultivation world?

He should never have thought that. That’s when it all starts to go wrong.

Wei Wuxian has been playing endlessly, not even reaching for his sword. But all at once, the eerie sound stutters. Jiang Cheng looks for him in a panic.

Wei Wuxian’s lips are bleeding. His face is grey, his eyes bloodshot. The resentful energy that always encircles him now looks as if it is swallowing him whole. Black smoke ripples all around him, pouring from the end of his flute, encircling his head. He looks no more alive than one of his angry ghosts.

As Jiang Cheng watches, Wei Wuxian chokes. The flute stops. The corpses begin to move erratically, out of control.

His stomach drops. He has seen this too many times before.

This time, though, Wei Wuxian plunges a hand into his own robes and pulls out the Stygian Tiger Seal.

It’s like a switch has been pulled. All the cultivators stop fighting Jiang disciples and lunge for the seal instead.

The battlefield descends into chaos. Jiang Cheng has seen this before, on the very first version of the day. He is just as disgusted now as he was then. Cultivators are cutting each other down to reach the seal, all of them wreathed in resentful energy, unable to see the way it envelops them all, cutting off reason and sense. Wei Wuxian raises it high above his head -

The amulet explodes. Before Jiang Cheng’s eyes, the leading lights of the world begin to scramble for its pieces. But he has eyes only for Wei Wuxian, whose body is bent backwards like a bow, grotesquely bent over in a way no living body can sustain for long. The whirling black energy is surrounding him now, moving faster and faster, pouring into his body through his mouth, his ears, his eyes.

How can he hold it all? Jiang Cheng wonders with a kind of dim horror. Where can all that energy go?

It can’t go anywhere, it becomes clear in a moment. Wei Wuxian lurches upright, takes a step - then bursts into pieces.

There is remarkably little blood. That detail stays with Jiang Cheng, later. It’s almost as if the resentful energy has already eaten all that is living about him away. Instead, the pieces of his brother’s body dissolve as if they have already become part of the resentful energy itself.

He watches as cultivator after cultivator lunges after the pieces of yin iron, only to be killed by the next one who comes up from behind.

He never sees who takes him down. He’s glad of it.

***

The next day, Jiang Cheng wakes up and sinks to his knees beside the bed. He presses his hands together and breathes, slowly, trying to stave off the creeping horrors. He can’t think. For a series of horrible moments, he can’t process anything beyond the sight of his brother’s face, dissolving. He digs his nails into his palms, grounding himself in the pain.

So. His brother will come and fight for Lotus Pier, if it is threatened. He can’t talk the sect leaders out of attacking. Perhaps someone with a more subtle tongue than he could manage it, but Jiang Cheng doesn’t think so. No one brings an army they don’t intend to use.

Well then. Jiang Cheng unclenches his hands and drags them meditatively along his arms, up and down, deep in thought.

He can’t let his sister die. He can’t let his brother die. He can’t refuse to attend the pledge conference and thereby let his whole sect die.  The entire situation seems utterly hopeless.

But he has been utterly hopeless before. He has rebuilt Lotus Pier and recruited dozens of disciples when all he had to offer was a burnt out mess. What this needs is work.

Jiang Cheng may not be a genius like Wei Wuxian, but he knows how to work. He knows that sometimes you don’t learn except by practicing over and over, shoring up all the places where you are weak, all the places where you fail.

He opens the door before his head disciple can knock. “We’re going to Lanling,” he says.

“Sect Leader?” Jiang Xinyi asks. What she means is: what the fuck would we go to Lanling for? She also means: why would we take ourselves to that hellhole if we don’t have to?

“Lanling,” Jiang Cheng repeats, then shuts the door.

First things first. Sometime this afternoon, his sister will escape Koi Tower and run to a battlefield that will kill her. Today his job is to figure out why, who is helping her, and how to stop her. He doesn’t know what he’s going to do tomorrow. He’ll figure it out when he gets there.

It’s just like rebuilding Lotus Pier. He had no idea what to do then, either. It was too big, too much of a mess to even contemplate all at once. So he picked one thing at a time. He would rebuild one section of the piers today. He would negotiate with one merchant for essential supplies today. He would write three letters to neighboring sects to reestablish diplomatic ties today. And slowly, slowly, Lotus Pier had climbed back out of the mud.

He will climb his way out of this too.

[sincerelystranger]

author: the high school track&field AU that no one asked for

---

Lan Zhan likes to run.

He likes the simplicity of it. He likes the control.

From the depth of his breath to the length of his stride – whether he wins or loses, it’s really up to him and him alone.

Lan Zhan likes that.

He watches the track as he slows down from his cool down.

If pressed, Lan Zhan would admit that he likes the natural terrain of cross country over the strange rubber of the track, but he’s beginning to find that track has certain other appeals.

It’s fun to watch the other athletes, for one.

His brother on the pole vault, for example. The calm focus in his eyes as he runs. The graceful arc of his body as he flies above the bar. The split second of pure ecstasy that Lan Zhan can see on his brother’s face when he knows he’s made the jump – Lan Zhan never knew his brother could make that sort of expression. It makes him wonder what else he doesn’t know about his brother.

It’s fun to watch the sprinters as well. Everyone running on the track are called runners, but the type of running the sprinters do is foreign to Lan Zhan.

For Lan Zhan, running is like water. There’s rhythm – a smoothness – to it. For Lan Zhan, running is something to get lost in.

Not for the sprinters though. There is something violent about the way they run. The way the shoot out from the start and torpedo through the finish. There’s no time to get lost.

If Lan Zhan’s way of running is about holding onto control, sprinting is about losing it.

Lan Zhan watches Jiang Cheng tear down the track.

Jiang Cheng is the fastest sprinter in their school – probably in their entire prefecture actually. He holds the school records in the 100m and 200m and if sprinting if violence, there is no one more destructive than Jiang Cheng.

Lan Zhan’s a bit disgusted by it, really, if he thinks about it. Sometimes, he wonders why Jiang Cheng runs at all. As Lan Zhan sees it, there’s no joy in Jiang Cheng’s running. Even when he wins he seems dissatisfied.

So the mysteries of the track – the joy it brings his brother and the obvious dissatisfaction it brings Jiang Cheng – they are all part of the appeal that Lan Zhan is beginning to find.

The biggest mystery though…

The one Lan Zhan would never admit wondering about, even if pressed…

Lan Zhan squats down and stretches one leg forward. He tilts his head slightly towards his shoulder. From this angle, he can see his biggest mystery from the corner of his eye.

Wei Ying.

The boys’ cross country coach spent all of second year trying to convince Wei Ying to join the cross country team to no avail. Wei Ying said that long runs bore him.

Aside from Jiang Cheng, Wei Ying holds the fastest 100m and 200m times, but anything longer than 200m Jiang Cheng can’t even compete. (Sometimes Lan Zhan thinks that maybe that that’s why Jiang Cheng is always so dissatisfied.)

Lan Zhan knows Wei Ying doesn’t even like the sprints – he won’t run them unless someone is injured.

Wei Ying likes to run the 800m the best, and his time is so fast that the Olympic team recruits often come watch him.

Lan Zhan always likes to watch Wei Ying cross the finish line. He’ll come to the meet hours ahead of his race time just to watch Wei Ying.

Wei Ying sails through the end, the other runners far behind him, and when he crosses the finish, he always lets his arms swing back a little as he glides through.

It’s… beautiful.

If Lan Zhan was a little more stupid, he might admit that Wei Wuxian almost looks like he has wings in that moment. (He might admit that Wei Wuxian looks a little angelic - but he’s not stupid).

Lan Zhan knows more about Wei Wuxian than he’s comfortable admitting to, and it doesn’t help that Wei Wuxian probably only barely knows Lan Zhan even exists.

It doesn’t matter… Lan Zhan wouldn’t know what to do if Wei Wuxian noticed him anyway.  

He brings his leg back in and turns to stretch the other side. He turns his head and keeps looking at Wei Wuxian from the corner of his eye.

Wei Wuxian is laughing brightly. Talking and laughing with the other mid-range runners.

He’s always surrounded by people. Always bright and happy and having fun… and that’s why he’s Lan Zhan’s biggest mystery.

Because the way Wei Wuxian runs is very…

Lonely.

Wei Wuxian’s steps are light and his strides are long and his breathing is always under control. But he doesn’t seem lost like Lan Zhan.

Or…

Maybe he’s lost, but he’s lost in a different way than Lan Zhan.

Running is a quiet place for Lan Zhan. An easy question with an easy answer. The one place Lan Zhan can’t be found lacking in effort or ambition or any other strange standard his uncle’s set for him.

It doesn’t seem to be a quiet place for Wei Ying.

Maybe Lan Zhan doesn’t know as much as he thinks he knows about Wei Ying, or maybe he’s seeing things that aren’t there, but when Lan Zhan watches Wei Ying run…

It looks like he’s searching for something.

(As beautiful as Wei Ying is when he crosses the finish line, he doesn’t smile when he wins either.)

Lan Zhan stands as Wei Ying walks past him.

He knows it’s silly, but he feels himself hold his breath a little – stand a little bit straighter. He does his best not to let his eyes follow Wei Ying as he walks past.

He would be mortified if Wei Ying found out that Lan Zhan paid him any attention at all.

Lan Zhan stays that way for a few seconds as Wei Ying walks farther and farther away from him. The shoulder that Wei Ying walked past feels a little bit hotter than the rest of his body. There’s a strange tingling in his back at the thought that maybe Wei Ying might have looked back at him.

He feels foolish, but also strangely satisfied with himself. It feels like a little achievement that he’s gone another day without letting Wei Ying know that Lan Zhan... knows anything about him at all.

It’s maybe creepy and strange but hiding his creepy and strangeness feels like an achievement so Lan Zhan decides to be satisfied with that.

He starts walking towards the bleachers to wait for his brother to finish practice, when he feels a hand on his shoulder.

“Lan Zhan!”

Lan Zhan turns, quickly brushing the hand off his shoulder before looking at the face of his assailant.

He knows it’s not possible, but his heart feels like its stopped in his chest.

“Ow,” Wei Ying says shaking the hand that Lan Zhan slapped away. “No – don’t apologize. It’s my fault, I surprised you.”

Lan Zhan hadn’t made any movement or sound close to an apology at all but…

“It’s Lan Zhan, right?” Wei Ying asks, his brows furrowing at Lan Zhan’s continued silence.

“Mn,” Lan Zhan finally says with a nod. He feels a little bit panicked. He feels like maybe Wei Ying read his mind and came to ask him to stop stalking him so much. He feels like if he gives any more information Wei Ying might find out everything and…!!!

“I’m Wei Ying!” Wei Ying says brightly, uselessly - because could there be anyone in the entire school that could possibly not know him? – “We’re actually in the same year, but I’m in class 3.”

Lan Zhan just nods again, because this still feels dangerous and he doesn’t want to give any more information than he has to.

Wei Ying doesn’t seem at all put off by Lan Zhan’s continued silence. “Me and some of the other guys on the team were going to go to the pool hall to hang out after – I just wanted to see if you would want to come with us.”

It’s too much.

It’s really too much.

Wei Ying knowing his name is too much. Wei Ying saying his name is too much. Wei Ying inviting him out is too much.

Lan Zhan really…

Lan Zhan takes a step back. “Mid-term exams are next week and the pool hall is an improper place for runners to… hang out at… there’s too much smoke.”

Wei Ying’s eyes go a little big and round at Lan Zhan’s answer.

Lan Zhan wants to hide in a hole. He feels like the biggest loser in the world and oh gods, Wei Ying is going to think he’s the biggest xueba in the planet. Wei Ying is probably regretting even trying to talk to Lan Zhan. He probably regrets even knowing Lan Zhan’s name. Oh gods…

Wei Ying is quiet for a few seconds…

And then suddenly…

He breaks out in a huge smile and he… laughs…

Lan Zhan feels embarrassment crash over him in waves. He moves to walk past Wei Ying. He doesn’t want to be laughed at – even if the person laughing at him is beautiful and fast and…

“Oh please don’t get it wrong,” Wei Ying says, quickly grabbing Lan Zhan’s wrist so he can’t walk any further. His words are still decorated with laughter. As much as Lan Zhan hates it, he can’t help but find it… charming. “I’m not laughing at you – promise. I’m not!”

Lan Zhan doesn’t move. He doesn’t make any noise. He looks at Wei Ying’s face out from the corner of his eye and he finds that Wei Ying’s face is open and honest…

“I didn’t… say anything funny,” Lan Zhan says.

“Yeah,” Wei Ying agrees warmly, “But it was funnier because I knew you didn’t mean to be funny.”

The waves of embarrassment ebb a bit.

“What was so funny?” Lan Zhan asks.

Wei Ying scrunches his nose a little, as he shrugs his shoulder to one side. “I can’t really explain it,” he says, “It’s just funny to hear someone my age saying that something is improper.”

Lan Zhan tries (and fails) not to stare at the way Wei Ying’s nose scrunches. It’s cuter than Lan Zhan ever imagined and Lan Zhan wants to… save it to his memory…

He shakes his head a little to clear his mind and he pulls his hand away from Wei Ying’s.

“That’s… boring,” Lan Zhan says.

Wei Ying smiles widely again. His eyes are prettier up close, Lan Zhan thinks. “I’ll find something fun next time,” Wei Ying says, “I’ll find a proper place to hang out so you have to hang out with me then, okay?”

He’s off before Lan Zhan can even respond.

Lan Zhan watches him as he runs towards his waiting group of friends. He feels little bit like he might’ve been run over by a truck. He feels more tired from this short interaction than he did from his practice.

He watches Wei Ying runs through the exit and out of the track.

Wei Ying crosses the threshold like it’s a finish line.

Both his arms swing back a little, his head tilts up slightly.

Lan Zhan knows it’s not possible, but his heart stops in his chest.