#this is what I mean from now on whenever I say jiang cheng is a grape

[en-d-d]

So, this is my first post, so hello everyone! I don't really know how to properly navigate this platform just yet, but I'm sure I will figure it out, so please bear with me.

Having said that, unfortunately, I've come here today to rant a little on social media about things that make me borderline insane just from listening to. Most specifically, from MTXT's works. (Because if I ever see another wrong characterization for those fictional people I've became very attached to, I'm actually going to go mad.)

(This is not meant to be an attack of any sorts, I'm just a teenager on social media pulling my nerves into writing because who knows, maybe I can finally be at peace then.)

Let's start then!

Xie Lian is not owo small cutie or sum, and if I hear that one time... my man may be short, but he could fight off almost anyone, just thanos clapping people out of existence. He's also very insane and very horny about the Calamity attached to his hip. My guy is pretty smart and also just kinda gives patient auntie vibes (you know, that auntie that can see beyond everyone's bull but choses not to).

And if I already started with TGCF, may as well continue with it. Hua Cheng is a switch and you can't convince me otherwise. (If his Dianxia wanted to top, he would be as elated as he would be if Dianxia wanted to bottom. My man doesn't care.)

Luo Binge being referred as a white lotus and people not knowing what it means ("In Chinese internet novels, the term "white lotus" refers to a character who appears innocent, naive, and pure on the surface but uses this reputation to backstab, blame, or sling mud on others.") (I believe maybe people confuse this with the other meanings of the white lotus, like, actually naive or pure in character, but those are obliviously not what they mean in the chinese novels)

Shen Yuan is Kim Dokja, but chinese (or maybe KD is SY but korean)

Lan Wangji did not like Wei Wuxian despite him being 'evil', he loved him exactly because he isn't evil. I can't stress this enough. If wwx was a actually bad person, lwj would not hesitate to cut his head off and be done with the matter. Whenever I see someone saying something about him liking wwx even if he's evil, I'm slowly loosing my mind, bcz no, lwj is not such a shallow person, to be attracted to someone based purely on looks (and we do know this bcz he loves wwx in mxy's body just as much as he loved him in his original body.)

Now, we're moving into a territory I like exploring. I just want to start this off saying that I don't like Jiang Wanyin. I just don't care very much about him and I find him annoying as a person. With that being said, I'm a little miffed with fellow jc dislikers bcz they sometimes invent some things up about him or such shenanigans. Like. Man, you do not need to invent things to hate abt him, there are already plenty of them. I'm pretty unbiased when it comes to actual judgements about others. I will protect someone if the points made about them is incorrect as much as I will point out every thing they actually did bad.

And the next point is still abt jc (wow, what a surprise) just bcz, honest to god, a lot of his fans are straight up annoying. I've said it. A lot of y'all are hella annoying. (Not to say that there exist a lor of annoying fans for other characters, it's just that jc has a very high number of them) Some of the ones I don't find bad are those that like him just becouse of how bad of a person he is. I can respect that. What I can't respect is another owo he's innocent and traumatized and a tsundere and everything is wwx's fault owo jc fan. Fam, did we read the same book, or has media really rotten our colective brain that much??

(I believe I have more comments on this jc topic, but my brain is starting to hurt.)

And the last one is Wei Wuxian, probably the most controversial character in all of MTXT's novels. First of all, I have to be clear about this, but in all of this post, I'm purely referring to the characters from the books, not the other adaptations. This is important, bcz the adaptations further skewed wwx's image in the fandom.

I have saved him for least because of just how much things tick me off in this fandom when discussing wwx in special.

Disclaimer that I sincerely believe that you should enjoy and do art and fanfiction of characters however you want. If you want wwx to be, idk, a demon that terrorizes people and breaks lwj's heart and then jc comes and saves the situation from the evil patriarch and then french kisses Lan Xichen, then go ahead, idc (Unless you say he's owo, you have no excuse that would allow you to do that unless you're a child, and if you are, then you shouldn't even be here). But I draw the line when people lie about canon characterizations.

And there is just so much misconceptions on wwx's character that I would need an essay just to compose a list of them. They range from huge details that somehow miss people like how their neurons miss firing, to small details, like his handwriting (I believe the novel said it was cursive, not messy, like how almost all the fandom has apparently mutually agreed on. Do corect me if I'm wrong on this, some things are lost from translation to translation)

I will be discussing just some of them here. Maybe I will do another post where I go in more detail, we will see.

ADHD Wei Wuxian. The people that believe wwx has ADHD should probably reread the novel, bcz that characterization comes mostly from CQL. In the novel, wwx is a very chill guy that can stay in one place perfectly fine. I will not go into more details, just read the novel.

Wei Wuxian is the reason for the Jiang's collapse. Bull statement, everytime I see it, well, I go a little more insane. If you know a little politics, you would realize the Jiangs were next on the list for sure. Why, you would ask. The Lans already burnt themselves to the ground. The Nies have a fortress for a sect. The Jins are almost-not-exactly allies with the Wens. Now, guess who is the most unfavorably positioned gentry sect (lakes are not a good strategic spot), with lax protection (how did the Wens just march in like that like what) and a little too carele leader (Jiang Fenmiang really thought the Wens will give them back the swords after that whole disaster that was the indoctrination? Really??). Oh! I think I know who it is! And maybe you guessed it too. Glad we're on the same page.

Now, wwx being the reason why jc lost his core. Very many people already came to their own conclusion on why jc gave himself up. Brotherly affection, suicidal thoughts or just straight up idiocy. Whatever you believe, it's fine with me (but I do have a brother and I can assure you, wwx and jc never really seemed like brothers to me. They are a little too far to the left to be considered brothers, but this is my opinion, take it however you will). So, was it wwx's fault?

We're finally getting into the juicy stuff. The blame game. I hate it with my being, still, as long as I'm in fandoms, I must persist. My answer is yes & no. Did wwx deliberately made it so jc would be captured? Of course not. Did it still happened? Unfortunately, yes. To go deeper, we will look a little at fate. There are some things that are outside of our control. As much as we prepare, some things will still blow us over. So the definite answer is no. Jc made the decision to be seen by the Wens. It might sound callous , but the decisions you make are yours, even if you protect someone's life or not. Wwx did not ask to be protected. In conclusions, it's not his fault.

And that is a very good statement to make, seeing as we got to the core transfer. People often criticize wwx for giving non-consensualy his core to jc. I always thought it as a weird thing to hate him about, but whatever, I still shall address it. I will start with an exemple. If you loved someone very much, and they would die if they don't get, idk, a new arm (maybe think of something less inconspicuous, but you understand the ideea) they would die. You are the single person that can do it. But you're sure that if someone told your loved one that you would give it, they would refuze it. Are you still going to give your arm? Will you let your loved one die? Knowing that you can help?

And for those that say jc was not on the brink of death. He was suicidal. He would not have resisted a week with the shame of inferiority plus all the trauma that the Lotus Pier massacre was, combined. 'Regaining' his core might have actually made him feel better, like he beat the odds, like he has another chance. That's also why wwx never told him he gave him his core. Bcz he knew jc would not take it easy, finding out that all his accomplishments were thanks to wwx's sacrifice. Because jc has a big ego that's clearly evident through the story.

Anyways, let's continue.

Ghostly Cultivation. It's more popularity used the Demonic Cultivation term, but they are not the same think for Christ's sake. Modao Zushi does mean The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, however the title is for click bait. In the actual novel, I believe wwx talks abt ghostly cultivation, not demonic. It was probably lost in translations.

I don't think I need to explain how wwx needed guidao to escape the Burial Mounds, so at least half of my job is already done. Now I go into dangerous territory however, bcz guidao is not expended upon. Still, I would rather listen to wwx when it's about, you know, the path he himself created?

To explain my stance, we would need to go deeper into the novel's points. A novel can have multiple themes, ranging from obvious ones, like love, family, to obscure ones, like, the importance of standing up for oneself (not the best exemple, but I believe y'all understand what I mean).

I'm someone that loves thinking abt MDZS. It's my dearest. So, I tend to analyze it pretty often. And the themes I usually get are things like 'the danger of hearsay and mob mentality', 'the importance of standing true to your ideals', 'the inherit unpredictability of life' and so on, and so on.

Anyways, what does that have to do with guidao? Well, everything, I believe. The MDZS world has a mentality resembling that of the curent China. Or well, the China of when MXTX wrote the novel. If you know some history, I believe you can connect the similarities. What does that mean then?

Wwx is someone that does not fallow the path set by the ancestors. He creates his own. When the cultivators see that, they are revolted. Becouse everything that strays from the 'right' path must surely be evil. And so, after Wen Ruohan, the Jins paint him as the new anarchist, and the rest is history.

Now, I would actually love to continue, but I've been typing nonstop for hours now, I need to stop. I will continue my points in another post, bcz I still have a lot of them.

Thanks for reading, and have a wonderful day 💐

[weiwuxianismybae]

My fandom pet peeves

Lan Wangji’s dislike of Jiang Wanyin

So, I dived back into the world of fanfiction and was quickly reminded of all the fanon things I hate. Starting with Lan Wangji’s unreasonable dislike of Jiang Cheng. In order to promote "Wei Wuxian's little brother Jiang Cheng", Lan Wangji's very good reasons to hate Jiang Cheng are reduced to some petty, stupid bs like "He [LWJ] didn't like how often Jiang Cheng hit Wei Wuxian." And later on we get this gem: "After some time LWJ understood that violence is JC's way of showing affection." Like, wtf? If my younger sibling (and I have one) showed their affection through violence, I wouldn't see it as love, but as abuse, 'cause that's what it is. And I'm not talking about the normal sibling fighting because that's not what Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng's relationship is. I mean, just reread the Cloud Recesses Study arc. The only thing Jiang Cheng seems to know is how to belittle and criticise Wei Wuxian. I'm not gonna lie, I found some of the remarks quite funny (I'm a passive aggressive bitch myself), but when that's the only thing that comes out of Jiang Cheng's mouth, it really starts to eat at you. I deeply respect Wei Wuxian's ability to not take it seriously. And when Lan Wangji’s actual grievances with Jiang Cheng are stated, we get the "but he [JC] still loved his brother" nonsense. Lan Wangji’s real reasons to dislike Jiang Cheng are as follows: abandoning Wei Wuxian, being the prime reason and catalyst of Wei Wuxian's death, spreading hateful rumours about Wei Wuxian (who else could have been the source of "WWX is responsible for Jiang Clan's massacre" if not the only surviver, besides Wei Wuxian, of the said massacre?), and hunting down the so-called demonic cultivators because "what if that's actually Wei Wuxian." I commend Lan Wangji’s restraint, because if it had been me, I would have long since punched that guy in the nose. And I absolutely love Lan Wangji’s attitude of "I won't look at you; I won't speak to you. Sizhui, you may speak on my behave."

"Lans only love once"

Please tell me I'm not the only one who gets toothache whenever I read this. When I came across it for the first time, I didn’t think much of it. Like, at first, I thought it was cute, but then it started grinding on my nerves. Why? Because it diminishes Lan Wangji’s love, trust and devotion to Wei Wuxian to a mere fate thing that is beyond your control. He is already being reduced to some block of ice (by the mob in mdzs and the fandom), and now you also simplify such an important part to his character. Like, where did this even come from? Yes, we have the famous Lan "I will leave this world, because my love is no longer in it" An and Lan Wangji, but that's it when it comes to die-hard romantics in the Lan Clan. The story of Qingheng-jun and Madam Lan is not really romantic (I'm not gonna speculate on what there was and wasn't between them because Lan Xichen telling Wei Wuxian about his parents had a different purpose, namely, to esteblish Lan Wangji as someone who doesn't just listen to what his elders have to say, but as someone who seeks to understand and then judge the reasoning by his own moral beliefs). And that's it. So where is "Lans only love once" coming from??

So why did I write all of this? Well, I'm just tired of seeing this over and over again. Aren't we all so creative? Come up with new head-canons (so that I have more things to criticise /jk) or stick to canon characteristics. Please.

[jcs-singular-slut-strand]

jiang cheng truthers indeed, but i'm here for the soft ask game!

2. what’s your feel-good movie?

3. what’s your favorite candle scent? (send me all candle scents you've ever seen actually. i'm curious, now.)

11. what’s your ideal date?

16. compliment the person who sent you this number. (i'm always down to complementing me <3)

20. what do you want most in the world right now?

21. if you could tell your past self one thing, what would it be?

25. what’s the best personal gift someone could give you (playlist, homemade card, etc.

27. which character would you want to be?

30. what reminds you of home (doesn’t have to mean house… just things that remind you of the feeling of home)?

(honestly speaking i was tempted to copy paste the whole thing her, but i restrained myself. the world should thank me ;) )

2) feel good film

Divergent probably. The book is better, especially when it came to the character depth of Tris and the dauntless born initiates who just got introduced in the second film when they actually played significant roles in the first book, but I still love it very much and I re watch it a lot

3) favourite candle scent

1000% clean cotton. I love the smell of clean cotton. I watched the untamed for the first time in either 2020 or 2021 I genuinely do not remember, and I used to light a candle whenever I watched it on my laptop but I genuinely cannot for the life of me recall the name or the scent

11) ideal date

The other person follows me as we go all about the city and I explain to you the history and even if you already knew it you keep your fucking trap shut and listen again. You also let me explain all about the children's book I read when I was wee that is set in my city and I drag you to all the places that are relevant to the story. Then you can choose where we eat. And then when we're there, you let me tell you all about my collection of historical and normal fashion books.

16) compliment the person who sent you this

I think you're amazing, truly. You're supportive and have amazing opinions (meaning we agree a lot lmao). I admire your confidence and individuality, and also your desire to stand up for what you believe is right

20) what do you want the most in the world right now?

I want to make things?? Like writing and staring in plays and television series. But also I want very badly to be a lawyer, like my dad, and prosecute as many rapists as humanly possible.

21) if you could tell your past self anything, what would it be?

Stop posting on your snapchat story, no one gives a single fuck. Also don't cut your hair

25) best personal gift someone could give you?

For my birthday this year my best friend got me a bracelet that has the evenstar from lord of the rings on it. That made me really happy

27) Which characer would you want to be?

I would say Jiang Cheng but do I??? Cause I mean his life has been an absolute shitshow. Idk if I could manage it or hold up as "well" as he has

30) what reminds you of home?

There's a river right outside of my house, runs all down the side of it including under my bedroom window. Whenever I'm away I find it hard to get to sleep at first because I can't here the water. So whenever I'm staying somewhere or I'm just somewhere that has a large body of water next to it and I can here it I'm reminded of home

[sillygoofyqueer]

The Untamed review: Episode Five!!!!!

long intro les gooo

Why do father and father have to fight??

Hahaha, he smiles so cheekily whenever he sees Wangji

He dusted off his sleeve for him, 100% boyfriend material

"let me tell you something, I heard something-" *gets fucking snatched by his boyfriend*

off to the library pavilion I guess

So peaceful, just wait

Haha, look at how Wei Wuxian is sat

(Three minutes in and I'm distracted by ice cream)

Wei Wuxian just looks tired and bored hahs

What is this man doing, his back must be in so much pain

The little sigh and the head in his handdddd, he's just as in love, neither of them even realise

Wei Wuxian, what are you planning

You're just complimenting him now

HAHA THE FULL ON GLARE

"you can call me the same!!!" Oh, Lan Wangji wants to

He doesn't hate you, he's just gay and can't admit it

You're so pathetic, Wuxian, I love it

You sneaky little bastard

Don't place the blame on him, you gremlin

FUCK, MORE WRITING

He's so sincere leave him slone

He'd love to see you kneel WHO SAID THAT. WHO THE HELL SAID THAT?!?

His silly little giggle, and then the crying of not being able to speak

WEN NING MY SON.

WEN QING MY DAUGHTER.

BOTH WENS I LOVE YOU SO SO MUCH. SHE HAS SO MUCH PRESSURE ON HER.

They're such good siblings

Wen Ning, you little guy 😔 WHAT'S WRONG WITH HIM?!?!!

Let them just be happy, they deserve it

Bro's reading while Wuxian is giggling and having the time of his life. Don't think I'd didn't see that little glance, Wangji, hehehe

THE SMILE AAAUUUGHHH

He drew something for you, LOOK AT IT

The little glance in his direction!!!

Sobbing, they're in love, they're in love.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA THEY KEPT IT IN

Lan Wangji looks ready to pop a blood vessel

"outside, then we'll duel" "Haha! No."

He's so fucking dramatic, I love him so

EXCUSE MEEEE???? DID YOU JUST..... CURSE????

He is literally just about to go feral. Boutta cry.

Nie Huaisang and Wei Wuxian are such besties.

Jiang Cheng is such a brother

Hahahaha, "did you say my name" "I ain't no snitch"

Jiang Cheng does not want to be involved

EYO SMOKE????

Nie Huaisang is sooo knowledgeable

Bro's flicking his nose to get thoughts

Nahhh, Wangji is so ready to pop a vessel. And Xichen's grin at his name hahaha.

Just you wait buddy boy. Just you wait.

SU SHE CAN SUCK MY DIIIICK. He's fine for now though.

Oooooh, Caiyi town!!!

You ain't ready for that level of responsibility, Su She

They're soooo serious

You're not my jiejie????

Jiang Cheng grinning when Wen Qing notices him hehehe

"I'm here too 🥺"

YANLI ARE YOU OKAY??? ARE YOU GOING TO BE A HOMOSEXUAL WITH WEN QING

That's right, they're a family too

Wen Qing is getting both the Jiangs my god

Hehehehehe, you're sneaks

WEN QING IS WITH THEM!!!!!

Lan Wangji, you want him there

Lan Xichen is literally setting them up

THAT'S RIGHT, WEI WUXIAN, STAND UP FOR QING!!!!

WEI WUXIAN, YOU ARE LITERALLY THE BEST. YOU ARE LITERALLY COLLECTING PEOPLE AT THIS POINT HAHAHA

Lan Xichen, you sweetheart

"why'd you let him come? 😔" "You looked like you wanted him to come" XICHEN YOU ARE IN CHARGE OF OUR SHIP, GUARD IT WELL

"don't you want them to come?" Literal silence from Wangji

Wuxian and Wangji hahaha

Don't be mean to hiiimmmmm, he's giving you lore

"Eating humans??? Not my water spirits"

The ships sinking??? BLACK WATER SINKING SHIPS??? False alarm, wrong show 😔

The way he rushes over to chat to Lan Wangji

"you're so boring 😔😔😔😔" he's like a stroppy child. I'd sleep

IT'S BEHIND YOU, oh, he's gone

Bro is literally drinking on a case, he has no chill

Wen Qing, you're so suspicious right now

Jiang Cheng, in kind terms, is telling Wuxian to shut up

Bro, stop offering him alcohol

Now Lan Xichen is acting suspicious and even Lan Wangji picked up on it

HAHAAHAHAHA WANGJI WHAT THE FUCK HAHAHAHAHAAAA

I'd be so pissed if someone did that with my alcohol.

Bit misty, innit?

Y'all are the scariest things in the mist

Wei Wuxian, you mustn't look so eager around Wangji, it's not a good look on you

The Wens just chilling in a boat together

Wuxian, my lord!!! You saved him!!

Show offffff

He looks so proud of himself, and he immediately doesn't want to upset Wangji

SHOULDER BUMP, THAT'S FUCKING ADORABLE

Stop it with your lack of gayness, it's not fooling anyone

Ewwwww, what the fuck is that seaweed

Kill it with fire

"what's the name of the sword?" "Whatever" I love that you're trying, Wangji

HE JUST EXPLAINED IT, IT'S NOT HIS FAULT

The fog thickens

Wen Ning you're so pretty

Fucking seaweed AGAIN

JIANG CHENG WAS HURT 😔

Wen Qing so willing to help. Awwwwwwhhh.

I understand why people ship them now, it made no sense from the book perspective

Wen Qing you're so pretty

I love how Wen Ning immediately pulled his sword out

"what's good, y'all?"

EW, SEAWEED

Shit, the seaweed is smart

They're all on high alert now

I didn't even know that water ghosts did that

HAHA, THERE GOES YOUR SWORD

Someone help Su She, he's hopeless

WEN NING WHY ARE YOUR EYES CLOSED LMAO

WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH WEN NING YALL????

Woah, Wangji so smart and strong ☺️🤭

"just hold my hand" "nuh uh" they're gay

Xichen, you're the baddest bitch around

What's wrong with my son??? Is Wen Ning okay???

He's just checking up on him

Awwwww, Wuxian, you're sooo sweet

He's such a lil guy, he's so helpful

What's wrong with my baby???

Awwwwwwwwwhhhhhhhh, I'm sobbing, bonding moment

Jiang Cheng aw, what you looking for...ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT QING??? YOU SLY DOG

Wei Wuxian snacking hehehe

Wen Ning is such a little guy, look at him pointing

Wangji said that Wuxian had a point to Xichen, he's such a little simp

Nice catch, such a waste though

JIANG CHENG'S LITTLE SMILE!!!!!!

DID WANGJI JUST BUY ALCOHOL, OR WAS IT WANGJI?????

[trans-yllz]

3, 17, 26, 30!!

3. how you feel about your current WIP

positively I would say!! I love to write about wei wuxian as we can tell from the 28.6k words and counting, but I do often find myself wanting to Also write from jiang chengs pov whenever he's in a scene lmao so that's been a struggle. I've also become writers blocked w this fic even tho the end is so close and I have so many more fun scenes I want to write/have started writing... I think I took a break and then just sort of lost wei wuxians voice and need to rewatch at least a teeny bit before I get back to writing in earnest, but it's summer, which means summer camp, which means all I do is go to work, sleep, and work on those damn tarot cards 😭

17. talk about your writing and editing process

oh god it's truly the least efficient and personally helpful one possible. I don't make outlines. I'm trying to make a "graphic novel" right now and am Struggling to make a real actual helpful outline. my """outline""" for my current fic is a list of a series of events I Maybe want to happen in a loose order I'm not particularly attached to. I just start writing sentences I think are good in the notes app of my phone, and then once there are enough of them, I put them in order in a google doc and try to string them together coherently. I don't finish fics before I post the first chapter which is obvious by the nearly half a year gap between now (chapter three of my current fic still unfinished) and when I posted chapter two. I Do edit while I write which I know is the devil talking but I can't help it. when I'm writing a chapter, every time I come back to it no matter how short the break was (hours, days, weeks), I read through everything thats written so far and edit it, then once everything is Done I go back and edit it again, and then I do that another time, and then by then I'm so sick of it I don't want to look at it anymore so I post it

26. are you able to write with other people around?

I am and often do!! I go to local coffee shops a lot to write/do art because when I go to a location for a specific purpose it forces me to actually do the thing, but I have to have headphones in and music on or else I get distracted, but I can't listen to music with english lyrics when I write so I have a special playlist for it 😭😭😭

30. share a fic you’re especially proud of

I already answered this one w a different fic hehe but you know what, everyone also go read no charming smile to violet eyes, my 28.6k words and counting love letter to wei wuxian

[professionaltrashsstuff]

Thank you @orion-flux for the inspiration

[jiangwanyinscatmom]

One take I have seen most to protect JC from his actions was the "he had to think about his reputation! WWX didn't care, so it is aal his fault!"

Now, the context we have is a hypocritical and aristocrtic like society, and people are confusing MDZS for those "villainess isekai" mangas/manhwas/manhuas, where the MC has somehow has to fit and fight through the political drama with poise and wit (whenever is actually smart or just stupid plot armor MC). Unfortunately, MDZS is not that kind of media. WWX didn't seem interested in fitting nor wanting to involve himself into that world, he is the "stupid commoner borne" who failed because failed to fit, because he had the worst reputation one could fear to have, and yet he "dared" to defy those norms and act how he believed (and was) right to do, but somehow had to fit into the court drama. Dunno if this rant is making any sense BUT STILL-

But people didn't get the point: WWX is not the hero of a rom-com court drama where he has to fake or do whatever complicated scheme, he was straightforward on his actions (reason why I love him so much as a main character), why do people think he was stupid for simply not complying? Wasn't being rebellious against standards and high society something to be praised once? Then why insult him, call him arrogant and too full of himself when he effectively does that? Because they see through him that being the black sheep is not that "cool" or whatever? I dunno.

Hope this rant of mine made sense, I kinda got nervous while typing, so I hope what I said makes sense ^^''

Awww don't be nervous anon! My inbox is there for anyone who needs to rant and vent away at times! I know it can be hard to put such things out there with your name on it and having at least somewhere to have is immensely helpful.

What is interesting is that we do get this line in regards to why Jiang Cheng did as he did without exactly... thinking of what this can do to Wei Wuxian:

These past few years, Jiang Cheng consistently had been working through the day until late dark. That day, just as he decided to rest early, he had to rush to Jinlintai without stop through the night, due to the shocking incident. He'd already been quelling his anger for some time. Yet due to his natural pride, he was even more incensed having to apologize to others. When he heard Nie Mingjue mention the hardship his sect faced before, hatred sprouted within him. That hate was not just for everyone within the room, but also Wei Wuxian.

Jiang Cheng does as he always has, says things he shouldn't and inaction that hurts someone without caring about the consequences that can't be fixed. He is only thinking of the burden that makes him upset and chooses to punish Wei Wuxian, by not really sticking up all that much in his defense and Jin Guangyao and Jin Guangshan manipulate that very easily unfortunately.

As Jiang Fengmian tried to warn him, "A-Cheng, there are some things that can’t be said even if you're dissatisfied... when you say them even now, it means that you still don’t understand the motto of the Jiang Sect, that you still don’t…”

That you still don't realize the blessings that you have towards people that do care and love you, that they don't find it troublesome to want to keep you protected and happy. Do the same for them as well without masking it with cruelty.

[vrishchikawrites]

Post-post-post cannon Wangxian being completely in love in the cloud recessess as teenagers who time travelled back to their own 16-17 year old bodies on accident.

In love. Wangxian are in love. In love. Just smooph and fluff.

Like they're effortlessly in love. (No matter how much Jiang Cheng yells and ties to control Wei Wuxian, Wei Wuxian casually refuses to hear any of it, as he'd been ignoring Jiang Cheng's homophobia and hate forever by the time they both came back by accident. )

Also wwx doesn't hide his genius and every one around him is like senpai *heart eyes* (honestly he's almost forgotten how to hide his effortless genius.)

(Just FYI, don't have to include this: this Wei Wuxian has long since come to terms with all his war and Sunshot and Shiji related trauma— just FYI.)

I just want to read as much of the smooph, smushy fluff and love you can stomach writing please.

Extra points if you can show them both just effortlessly and absentmindedly flirting.

(You don't have to incude this, but: They just take like a weekend off and go raze the main Wen family to the ground casually— back late with Starbucks— "We were night hunting. What do you mean the Wen family died? So sad. We feel so bad. Don't we feel bad?" " Mm. Feel bad.")

Thank you so much for existing in this fandom. I love your fics. I love you. 💖

Xichen is proud of his brother but he can't deny that he is sometimes concerned for him as well. Wangji is a dedicated and accomplished disciple but he is isolated from his peers. Xichen has friends and confidants but Wangji is simply content to be by himself.

That is concerning, even for a Lan.

He had hopes that incoming disciples would manage to shake him up a little but that hope didn't last long. Year after year, Wangji continued to remain aloof, not expressing any interest in the disciples.

But something has changed this year. Xichen didn't even know what was going on until a few weeks into the introduction of the guest disciples.

He spots them by chance. Young Master Wei is cheerfully waving at a vendor, his smile wide and bright, ensnaring the old woman's entire attention.

Wangji is right by him, Bichen in one hand but the other…

The other is placed on the small of Wei-gongzi's back.

Xichen watches as they move on from the vendor. He sees how Wangji seems to shield Wei-gongzi from the crowd, angling his body slightly to ensure his companion can walk freely.

It is a gesture of protectiveness. It is a gesture of possession.

Xichen studies their body language carefully. Wangji seems content to follow Wei-gongzi around, his expression closed but gentle. There are no frosty glares or pursed lips. His brother, for once, looks entirely relaxed. Everything about him is loose and easy underneath all of his Lan elegance. His shoulders slope gently, his spine isn't as rigid, and his walk is steady.

The First Jade has never seen his brother look so settled.

Wei Wuxian seems happy too, his smile incandescent and lovely. Almost as tall as Wangji, the boy is the very antithesis of his brother. While Wangji is sedate and content, Wei Wuxian is nearly bursting with energy and joy. His silver eyes sparkle in the sunlight and his long hair sways with every movement of his body.

Xichen's heart softens at the glimpse of such open beauty. There's certainly something alluring about Young Master Wei. He seems to suffuse his surroundings with happiness.

There's something in the air around them.

Despite his lively mind wandering from one stall to another, Wei-gongzi always finds his way back to Wangji, looking at him with a hopeful smile and a cheerful comment.

His brother's expression is unfamiliar to him. Wangji looks like his entire world is smiling up at him.

'Is this love?' He wonders to himself as he watches his brother gently pull Wei-gongzi out of a running child's way. He doesn't miss how the touch lingers, fingers curling slightly around the slender wrist before pulling away.

There are many eyes following Wangji and his friend, and all of them have indulgent expressions. The people of Caiyi town have seen Wangji since he was a child. They know him and his nature well enough.

Xichen suspects they're just as happy to see Wangji roaming the markets leisurely as a pretty butterfly flutters around him.

"Is that Lan Wangji?" Nei Mingjue observes, stepping up beside him.

Xichen nods, "And his friend, Wei Wuxian."

"Hm," his friend says, "I've been hearing that name a lot recently. They say the only reason Jin Zuxian beat him in the rankings is because of his looks."

Xichen chuckles at Mingjue's tone, "Ah, Da-ge, you must hate that."

His friend rolls his eyes, taking a sip of his tea. "How do looks matter when you're facing down Fierce Corpses?"

"From what shufu says, Young Master Wei is Wangji's equal in many ways." Shufu had been wary at first, wondering what sort of chaos the son of Cangse Sanren would bring to Cloud Recesses. So far, Wei Wuxian has proven to be a mischievous but brilliant student. "He challenges shufu in class. They end up having loud, angry debates," Xichen chuckles because he knows his uncle, despite all appearances, loves being stimulated, "He mentions the boy often." There's a comment about Wei Wuxian almost every time he has tea with his uncle.

He looks at the two younger master's thoughtfully, "I didn't expect this."

"Are they courting?" Nei Mingjue asks bluntly, "Because your little brother is acting like a husband already."

Xichen stills and looks at the pair again. That is what's off about their body language. They move around each other confidently, not like a young couple in fresh blooms of love.

There are no tentative glances, awkward touches, and hyperawareness. Wangji touches Wei Wuxian like it is his right. Like he is confident that his touch is welcome and desired.

For a moment, he feels a pang of worry. Xichen looks at Wei Wuxian, studying him carefully to see if there's any sign of strain or distress.

He finds nothing. Wei-gongzi responds to every gesture of affection like a flower blooming under the Sun.

"Ah." He realizes, "You think…?"

"Strong bonds form quickly between cultivators with matching potential." Nei Mingjue observes, "It wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility. Your brother looks a little too enamored for this to be a teenage fancy."

Well, isn't this an interesting development?

---

"Your hair looks nice," Nie Huaisang says, hiding a smile behind his fan. Wei-xiong always looks good but there's something particularly radiant about him now. He seems to stand a bit taller, carry himself with a bit more confidence. His gestures seem stronger, somehow carrying more authority than before.

But the hair intrigues him. There's a glittering silver hairpiece in it and the strands of ebony are tied up in a neat style.

Neater than Wei-xiong's usual style. While Huaisang is certain Wei-xiong is perfectly capable of making himself as elegant as the Jades of Lan, he usually doesn't bother.

This was done by someone else's careful, loving, hand.

Jiang Yanli isn't at Cloud Recesses and Jiang Cheng would rather burn his own hands than show even an ounce of love towards his shixiong - something pricks when he thinks about that.

So there's someone else, someone willing to comb Wei-xiong's hair until every strand is glossy and straight, before tying it up with a silver and jade pin that looks expensive.

Wei-xiong is courting- no, he corrects himself, watching his friend wave enthusiastically at Lan Wangji, 'Wei-xiong is being courted.'

Wangji-xiong bows to his brother and walks towards Wei-xiong, his gaze softer than usual. His friend is smiling widely and immediately dissolves into excited chatter. Wangji-xiong doesn't seem bothered, just nodding occasionally and watching with indulgent patience.

There's something entirely lovely about the way Wangji-xiong's eyes remain fixed on Wei Wuxian's face. It is like nothing else is more important to him than Wei-xiong's smile and cheerful voice.

Standing together in the courtyard, both clad in white and glowing under the warm light of the morning sun, they look stunning. Huaisang's romantic heart sighs at the sight.

"What is he doing?" Jiang Wanyin hisses and Huaisang looks at him, startled by his icy tone, "I can't believe he's making a nuisance of himself again!"

"Jiang-gongzi-"

"Wei Wuxian! What are you doing, messing around?"

The loud voice catches almost everyone's attention. Wei-xiong looks over his shoulder and Wangji-xiong's expression turns frosty, all warmth draining from it immediately.

"Aiya, Jiang Cheng," Wei-xiong grins but it doesn't have that sheepish, placating quality that Huaisang had seen before, on those rare occasions he visited Lotus Pier with his da-ge. This grin was full of confidence and almost... dismissal. "Why are you angry now?"

Was that tone... mocking?

Huaisang's lips twitch as Jiang-gongzi swells further with rage, "Wei Wuxian! How can you be so shameless? Imposing yourself on Lan Wangji, always trying to distract him. Think of our sect's reputation for once!"

"Do not speak for me." Wangji-xiong's voice is icy and it cuts Jiang-gongzi's rant short immediately, "Wei Ying is free to seek me out whenever he wishes. No one may stop him."

And that seems to be that. Wei-xiong laughs and Wangji-xiong guides him away gently like he's someone delicate and not the strongest cultivator of their generation.

But, Huaisang muses, even strong people deserve gentleness.

---

"Da-shixiong! Show us that one again," A Jiang disciple demands and Wangji looks up from his work. He has clear sight of the training ground from where he's sitting. Wei Ying is standing in the middle, surrounded by a few Jiang and Lan disciples.

They're all looking at him in adoration.

Wangji feels a flood of amusement and sets his work aside, content to take a small break. It is always a treat to see his husband in his element; teaching people and nurturing young minds. They may be back in their teenage bodies, but their soul is much older.

Wei Ying, with his natural ability to charm juniors and his hard-earned wisdom, is the perfect teacher.

"It is amusing to see you so smitten," Wangji looks up to see his brother smiling at him, "Wei-gongzi must be very special, yes?"

His brother probably aims to fluster him, he is so fond of teasing Wangji. But Wangji had been Wei Ying's husband for more than a decade before an accident sent them back in time. He is no longer flustered or overwhelmed by his feelings. "Very special," He agrees, unable to help glancing back at his beloved, "Very lovely."

Xichen chuckles, "He is indeed lovely." His expression turns sly, "Do I need to speak with Uncle? Betrothal negotiations may be complicated in this case."

Wangji remains unphased, "You may," He says calmly, much to his brother's surprise, "Wei Ying will marry into the Lans. Give no concession to the Jiangs. He is just their Head Disciple, not the part of the family."

"Wangji," His brother breathes, "You're that invested?"

"Un. Will marry Wei Ying. Give him a better life. A life of dignity, freedom, and respect. Free of unnecessary debt that no one should foist on a child."

That is enough for Xichen to understand. His gaze turns solemn and he looks at Wei Ying carefully, "If that is what you wish, brother, you will have it."

---

Wangji feels his heart still when he steps into the library pavilion. He gazes at the scene before him, feeling the stiff formality of his expression melt away.

Wei Ying is beautiful, sitting there and reading peacefully. The evening sunlight envelopes him, giving him an ethereal glow. He traces his husband's features, feeling something akin to desperate love. It has been so since he saw this face and this body. Mo Xuanyu didn't lack beauty and Wei Ying's radiant personality had only added to it.

But this is Wei Ying's true body.

Helplessly drawn, he steps forward. "Xingan."

Wei Ying looks up, startled to hear such an endearment aloud. Immediately, his face is aglow with a pretty blush even as he laughs teasingly, "Lan Zhan! Don't be so bold!"

He walks towards Wei Ying and settles down by him, closer than truly appropriate but this is his husband. "Research?"

Wei Ying smiles, drawing Wangji's attention to his lips. There's no one in the library so Wangji permits himself the touch, reaching forward to gently caress them, "Such beauty." He whispers.

Wei Ying blushes again, "Er-gege," He protests, "Have mercy on my heart."

His fingers slide under Wei Ying's jaw, drawing him in gently. His husband is sweet and compliant as Wangji kisses him, an innocent brush of lips and nothing more. "My Wei Ying." His voice is low, heated in ways Wei Ying recognizes. He watches as those enchanting silver eyes brighten with passion.

His Wei Ying buries his warm face in his neck with a moan of protest, "Mercy, husband. You're so cruel to tease me like this when you can't take me to bed."

It is indeed a challenge to not have their 'everyday' but Wangji can be patient. Xiongzhang is already working on it.

For now, he is content.

They sit like that for a long time, Wei Ying leaning against him, trusting and calm. No one disturbs them and Xichen only stops by once, smiling knowingly in their direction and pointedly ignoring Wangji's restraining hand around Wei Ying's waist, stopping him from pulling away.

They spend the rest of the evening exchanging soft murmurs and softer kisses.

Nothing will stand in their way this time.

[robininthelabyrinth]

Hi! This is for the prompts: LWJ and WWX get together at Cloud Recesses but it’s a secret. When it does come out tho, probably due to WWX mischief some how. JC comes to the conclusion that LWJ has managed to ‘defile WWXs honor’ and now JC has no choice but to fight on behalf of his big brother, who clearly has been wronged.

Honor, Defended - ao3

Untamed

1

“What are they doing,” Jiang Cheng said, voice strangled, eyes staring.

Nie Huaisang stood up on his toes and squinted over his new friend’s shoulder. “Fighting?”

It looked like fighting.

“No.”

Not fighting? In that case, at least by Nie sect standards, that meant –

“Flirting?”

Jiang Cheng growled, which meant Nie Huaisang’s guess was right. “I’m going to kill the rotten bastard in white! I bet he waited until Wei Wuxian was alone just for this. How dare he take advantage of my – of Wei Wuxian!”

“I mean, I don’t know about that? They seem about tied,” Nie Huaisang said, making a mental note – not that many people could match up against Lan Wangji, especially when he was in a you-are-breaking-the-rules sort of snit. “Each one’s giving as good as the other gets, if you know what I mean…I’m talking about fighting!” He added hastily, seeing Jiang Cheng’s expression. “Just the fighting! And hey, maybe the Lan sect doesn’t flirt through fighting?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Jiang Cheng said. “All cultivation sects flirt through fighting.”

Damnit, Nie Huaisang thought to himself with a sigh. That means I’m going to have to train with saber after all if I’m going to get somewhere here, doesn’t it? Well, at least da-ge will be pleased…

“Are you going to interrupt?” he asked, hiding his face behind his fan. “If fighting is flirting…”

As expected, Jiang Cheng choked. “Not all fighting is flirting!” he hissed. “But that most certainly is!”

Nie Huaisang didn’t understand fighting, so he just shrugged.

“Why don’t you confront him later?” he suggested, but Jiang Cheng shook his head, his features already settling into a mulish expression that had no right to look as attractive as it was. “All right, I see I can’t convince you. Good luck defending your brother’s honor, then?”

-

2

“If Lan Wangji doesn’t stop flirting with Wei Wuxian in class, I’m going to do something violent,” Jiang Cheng said.

“Okay, now I know you’re delusional,” Nie Huaisang said. “But still very pretty. Oh, I’m torn…actually no, I think I’m fine. I mean, what cultivator do I know that isn’t a bit delusional?”

“Can you stop talking nonsense and focus on how we’re going to split them up?” Jiang Cheng demanded irritably. Really, it was no wonder that Nie Huaisang’s best attempts at flirting were going nowhere. Jiang Cheng was thick.

In many appealing ways. Mm.

Damn his bad taste.

“Well, I think first you have to start by reversing your statement until it resembles the truth a bit more,” Nie Huaisang said, trying to be practical. “It’s Wei-xiong that’s flirting with Lan-er-gongzi, not the other way around.”

“He’s just like that!”

“A giant flirt, you mean?”

“Sociable,” Jiang Cheng insisted with the sort of blindly loyal stubbornness that was sadly very, very appealing to those surnamed Nie. Mouthwatering, even.

“Right,” Nie Huaisang said, dabbing at his mouth with his sleeve to make sure he wasn’t drooling. “I see. All right, I’ll help you. I’ll even promise to find a way to break them up for good, guaranteed – but first you have to meet one condition.”

Jiang Cheng arched his eyebrows, looking unwillingly intrigued. “Name it.”

“You have to come up with one way in which Lan-er-gongzi has been flirting with Wei Wuxian that isn’t ‘he existed being pretty in his general direction’.”

Jiang Cheng opened his mouth.

Nie Huaisang waited.

“…maybe he should consider being less pretty,” Jiang Cheng grumbled.

Nie Huaisang patted him on the shoulder, then left his hand on his shoulder because why not.

“We’ve all thought that about him over the years,” he said. “Better luck next time.”

3

“You’re supposed to be helping me preserve my brother’s honor!” Jiang Cheng hissed at Nie Huaisang, who had made absolutely no promises of that sort without giant loopholes that he could walk right out of. “Not – encouragingthis!”

“I didn’t! I just helped Wei-gongzi play a tiny little prank –”

“With pornography!”

“Tasteful erotic art,” Nie Huaisang corrected.

“With cutsleeve pornography!”

“Cutsleeve tasteful erotic art.”

“Nie Huaisang! You’re missing the point!”

“Am I?” Nie Huaisang asked thoughtfully, tapping his fan against his lips. “I don’t know, I’m not sure I am. Can you explain what the point is again?”

Jiang Cheng threw his hands up into the air. “Listen, it was bad enough when Wei Wuxian got thrown out of Teacher Lan’s classes and had to go copy rules in the Library Pavilion for a month; that’s disgraceful and loses face for our sect, but at least his personal honor was preserved –”

Bad scholarship was, in fact, not an impediment to having personal honor. Nie Huaisang knew this fact forwards, backwards, and intimately.

“But then Teacher Lan fell for Lan Wangji’s tricks and decided to assign him to supervise copying –”

“Lan-er-gongzi has tricks? That’s news to me.”

“…well, either way, they got cooped up there in that room, together, alone, for – for weeks!”

“Hasn’t Lan-er-gongzi been using the muting spell on Wei-xiong most of that time?”

“No, eventually Wei Wuxian learned his lesson and now he shuts himself up whenever he sees him starting up the spell, he complains to me and shijie about it constantly every night,” Jiang Cheng said, grumbling. “Stop interrupting me!”

“Sorry. Go ahead.”

“Anyway, if that wasn’t enough, you’re now encouragingthis debacle by setting up a prank that involves Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji, and cutsleeve pornography.”

“I did,” Nie Huaisang agreed. “And it’s tasteful erotic art, Jiang-xiong.”

“Why do you keep insisting on that?” Jiang Cheng snapped. “Isn’t it the same thing?”

“No,” Nie Huaisang said patiently. “Because I also have pornography, and it’s a lot less tasteful.”

Jiang Cheng stopped, utterly distracted from his previous rant. “...you do?”

“Mm. Want to see?”

-

4

“Lan Zhan! Lan Zhan, wait for me, I want to talk to you – I need you! See, for whatever reason, I can’t find Jiang Cheng anywhere. Can you help me look –”

Nie Huaisang shut his window before Jiang Cheng could overhear and get distracted.

They were busy.

-

5

“All right,” Nie Huaisang said. “I admit it, you’re right.”

Jiang Cheng looked at him. “…you do?”

“I do.”

“Right about…what?”

“About the flirting, and Lan Wangji having tricks,” Nie Huaisang said, nodding wisely. “See, the Lan sect take their rules about their forehead ribbons very seriously. It’s parents, children, and lovers only. So if you ran into Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji entangled on the path near the back mountain, both of them soaking wet, with Lan Wangji’s forehead ribbon wrapped around their wrists…why, that’s practically an elopement!”

Jiang Cheng, predictably, turned purple. “He eloped with my – I’m going to kill him!”

“Have fun with that,” Nie Huaisang said happily, and watched as Jiang Cheng drew his sword and charged, shouting something.

Wei Wuxian attempted to defend their conduct, except apparently their conduct involved finding the ghost of a Lan sect ancestor –

“Did you bow?” Nie Huaisang asked, very unhelpfully. “Both of you? So you’d say you’ve made your bows to the older generation? Have you bowed to heaven and earth yet, too?”

Lan Wangji gave him a death glare, but maybe he should have thought of that before writing to Nie Huaisang’s brother disclosing details about Nie Huaisang’s love life.

“I’m going to kill you!” Jiang Cheng roared.

Nie Huaisang smiled over his fan at Lan Wangji and gave a jaunty little wave.

-

+1

A few days earlier

“Wait, so, you’re actually together?” Nie Huaisang asked, and Lan Wangji nodded. They were having tea together the way they always did at the middle of the week, a tradition started long ago when their brothers were visiting and being utterly intolerable. Even their long-standing fight with each other would be put aside for mid-week tea. “Well done!”

Lan Wangji’s ears turned a little red. “Mm.” After a few moments, he added, “Mm.”

“No, no, I don’t think you need to worry,” Nie Huaisang said. “He may seem flighty, but he’s very loyal…the Jiang sect might object, though. They can be a bit tetchy about these things.”

Arched eyebrows.

“What do you mean, how would I know? Have you somehow missedthat I’ve been trying to snag Jiang Cheng all summer? There are more things in this world than Wei Wuxian’s waistline, shapely as it may be.”

Eyes narrowing.

“…don’t you dare tell my brother!”

A smirk, not that anyone else – excluding Lan Xichen – would know.

“I don’t care about your ‘appropriate conduct’! If you tell my brother that I’m dating instead of studying, I’ll find a way to make your life miserable, too! Just you wait!”

[featherfur]

A New Way to Announce an Engagement

Silence at Lotus Pier is never a good thing. Neither is a suddenly very nervous nephew. Putting them together means Jiang Cheng is in for a hell of a surprise.

Characters: Jiang Cheng, Jin Ling Warnings: Implied Jin Ling x Lan Jingyi, Cursing, Mention of an OC Words: 1.5k

Tea with Jin Ling that didn’t involve paperwork or other Sect Leaders was a rare gift that Jiang Cheng normally held dear to his heart.

It should have been a perfect day. Fairy was curled beside her master, tail thumping every now and then whenever someone walked past their room. The tea was Jin Ling’s favorite blend, a little on the bitter side but without a horrible aftertaste that Jin Guangyao had always preferred. It wasn’t quiet the sweltering heat of midsummer, a little humid but nothing bad. The lake was peaceful and quiet, only the occasional sound of footsteps to disrupt the frogs croaking.

Which was the problem.

Lotus Pier was never quiet.

Jiang Cheng swallowed down his glass of tea, glancing at the side window and then back towards his nephew. At twenty three, his nephew looked more and more like a fully grown man who now stood taller than Jiang Cheng himself. Yet, right now he looked like a guilty eight year old who just got caught in the mud trying to catch frogs with the Yunmeng kids in town. He kept stroking his left wrist anxiously and Jiang Cheng was not sure he wanted to know what was being planned.

“Have you spoken to Li Caihong recently?” Jiang Cheng asked slowly, watching Jin Ling’s face run through various shades of red. That menace of Jiang Cheng’s was definitely in on this, whatever it was. He didn’t know how, why, or what was going on, but she was definitely involved and Jin Ling was a lot easier to break than she was.

“No, why would I be talking with one of your disciples?” Jin Ling said stubbornly, staring into his tea cup. Sixteen years of living with Jin Guangyao and seven with Wei Wuxian popping around, and Jin Ling couldn’t figure out how to lie decently?

Clearly Jiang Cheng still had a lot to teach him. If Jin Ling couldn’t lie to him about whatever bullshit he was in on, how was he supposed to lie to Sect Leader Yao’s face about being busy and not available to talk?

“Hmm… Strange, I believe she was the one who met you at the gate? You may remember because you were tackled by her and Jiang Yusen… Your cousin? The one you got mad at me for saying isn’t actually your cousin?”

Jin Ling immediately spilled his tea with a yelp, turning his head to check that the door behind him was closed.

“Don’t say that Jiujiu! He’s my Biao-di! What if he heard you, why would you make him cry?” Jin Ling looked so offended at Jiang Cheng’s words that Jiang Cheng was honestly taken aback. Of all things for Jin Ling to get up in arms about!

“He’s fifteen he shouldn’t be crying over the fact that he’s not your cousin. You’ve been spending way too much time with Wei Wuxian, you don’t know how bloodlines work anymore. His dad was adopted into the Jiang sect, not into my bloodline. He’s not my kid and he’s not--”

Jin Ling’s lips were pressed together to keep a laugh from escaping and Jiang Cheng realized he’d fallen directly into his trap.

Maybe Jin Ling did pick up some skills from the snakes of the Jin Sect. The only lesson Jiang Cheng was going to teach this brat was that no matter how old he was, Jiang Cheng could still toss him in the lake.

“You little shit! What the hell are you and Li Caihong planning? I swear to god if it’s something fucking stupid I’m kicking her out of the sect and you can deal with her.” Jiang Cheng snapped, feeling rather vindicated when Jin Ling looked horrified at having the nineteen year old prior street rat and Wei-Wuxian-level menace running around his sect.

“I’m not planning anything, Jiujiu, why are you so suspicious-”

They both fell silent as the building they were in shuddered.

Jiang Cheng’s eyes slid closed, fingers pressed against the top of his nose. He loved his nephew, he did, he was sure of it. He loved his sect, of course they were annoying but he loved them very very much. He was grateful for their existence and he’d never want them gone...

He kept repeating that to himself, certain that if he said it enough then he could keep himself from committing murder.

“What. The. Fuck.” Jiang Cheng growled, mostly to himself as Jin Ling shrunk into his seat to pretend he wasn’t there. He stood with a flourish, carefully avoiding Fairy’s suddenly thumping tail, and marched out of the room.

He glared out over his home, looking for the source of the racket and found it almost immediately. He definitely should have known that if Jin Ling was visiting, Wei Wuxian wouldn’t be far behind and neither would Lan Jingyi. Neither of which should be anywhere near Li Caihong for the sanity of everyone in a 50 li radius. None of them had braincells on a good day, adding them together somehow managed to make them even more idiotic.

“No wait Jiujiu-” Jin Ling yelped, scrambling after him with a rather concerning crash of the teacup against the floor.

He swerved around his uncle in a mess of golden robes, arms held out to stop him. His only advantage was his height and that was actually rather helpful and left his uncle scowling glare directed at him instead of whatever was going on at the water’s edge.

“A-Ling… Did I just see Lan Jingyi missing his headband and in Li Caihong’s pink Yunmeng Jiang robes?” Jiang Cheng growled, squaring his shoulders to make himself look more stern than he actually felt.

Oh they were in trouble, they were all in trouble. Even the Jiang Seniors who didn’t intervene were in trouble. But the ten seconds glance of Lan Jingyi’s face blackened with soot and Li Caihong covered in algae took more than a little edge off of his anger. No need to let Jin Ling know that though.

Jin Ling glanced over his shoulder, cheeks adorably red and Jiang Cheng missed the days he could squeeze them. By the time his nephew had turned back around, Jiang Cheng recognized the stubborn set to his jaw and-

“Do not even think about lying to me, a-Ling. I raised you better than that.” Jiang Cheng snapped and Jin Ling gave in immediately.

“.... Jingyi wanted to blow up a boat.” Jin Ling mumbled, looking appropriately abashed as he flicked his eyes up at his uncle.

“I’m sorry… He wanted to do what?” Jiang Cheng hissed, staring at his nephew with wide eyes. What in the hell was his twenty-three year old nephew thinking?

Jin Ling shuffled, lips pressed shut stubbornly before it all came blurting out like he’d been holding it back for hours.

“He wanted to blow up a boat! Sect Leader Lan said no but Wei Wuxian said you wouldn’t mind but we couldn’t get caught not being Jiang or else you’d yell at us and Caihong-meimei said she’d let us borrow some robes. And I had to keep Jingyi’s headband safe because you know it’s a big deal and that it would give him away.”

For a moment Jiang Cheng couldn’t do anything more than stare at his nephew and wonder where he had gone wrong in his life. He was disowning everyone and moving to the mountains for some peace and fucking quiet.

Then the irritation came rushing back.

“I’m going to yell either way! What the fuck is wrong with all of you?!? And where is his Lan headband? If you lost it you’re telling Teacher Lan.”

The relief that had started to spread on Jin Ling’s face at no longer having to hide the truth was wiped away with a dark red flush of embarrassment. It was so reminiscent of Jin Zixuan whenever Yanli would flirt with him that Jiang Cheng almost couldn’t breathe.

“Wait hang on… you said you were keeping the headband? Why would you be… a-Ling, why exactly did you come visit suddenly today?” Jiang Cheng said, curiosity making his voice soften momentarily. There was no way Jin Ling was…

Jin Ling’s left hand suddenly disappeared, tucking it behind his back as he gave an I-dunno noise and shrugged his shoulders. When Jiang Cheng tilted his head after the arm, Jin Ling managed to get even more impressively red and stubbornly held up his head, jaw straight out and hid the arm even moreso.

Well… That was one way to keep Jiang Cheng from being angry.

“... I won’t kill Jingyi… The rest of them are fair game.” Jiang Cheng said, pinching the bridge of his nose to try and lower the headache that was building as Wei Wuxian’s cackle reached his ears.

Jin Ling looked relieved, both hands reaching out to grab Jiang Cheng’s other sleeve like he was a child again. His eyes were bright with excitement, nearly vibrating where he stood with happiness.

“Thank you Jiujiu!”

“Yeah yeah, I want a fucking wedding. If you even think about eloping like Wei Wuxian I will disown you. Now. I have a few bodies to prepare for a funeral.” He cleared his throat with a gentle shake of his hand to remove Jin Ling and stepped around his nephew. “Wei fucking Wuxian! Li Caihong! Don’t think I don’t see you, Cai Bolin!”

Jin Ling watched with a smile, turning to Fairy whose tail was thumping the floorboards rapidly.

“Caihong-meimei was right. That really did get him to accept the engagement faster than expected…” Jin Ling turned to watch Wei Wuxian body slam Jiang Cheng and Jingyi in the lake, the juniors around them scattering at Jiang Cheng’s screeching. “Probably should have told him before the explosion like the original plan though…”

[jaimebluesq]

Okay, Jaime, I have my request! (I have 10, actually, but I'm leaving this one now 😆). I wrote this, but I want YOUR version bc... it's YOU sjksjsksj: Sangcheng and Nieyao living in the same house, other people (you choose who) say each couple should get their own house, but they just don't feel like living apart. They reach a point of annoyance with their friends saying this over and over that one of the four just finally goes ape and let it all out!

All right, here's my take on it - my boy didn't quite go ape-shit but he did do what he does best. I hope you like!

~~~

Nie Huaisang's belly felt full after an evening of barbecue steak and homemade macaroni salad. Most of their guests had left once the sun had set, but the most important people in his life remained behind, enjoying the night sky under strings of patio lanterns.

“My feet hurt,” he pouted, lifting a bare foot and slipping it into his live-in-boyfriend's lap. “Jiang-xiong, give me a foot rub?”

“Why do you always stick your smelly feet in my lap?” Jiang Cheng protested even as he began rubbing at Nie Huaisang's ankle.

“You like my smelly feet in your lap,” he murmured contentedly.

“Considering Da-ge was the one cooking all afternoon at the fire,” Meng Yao spoke up from his spot in a rattan chair, his hand running idly through the head of hair in his own lap, “perhaps he's the one who should be getting the foot rub.”

Nie Mingjue snorted while staying still enough to keep Meng Yao's fingers in his hair. “Does that mean you're willing to give me one later?”

“... I would be happy to pay for a full-body massage and pedicure at my favourite spa,” Meng Yao replied with his patented customer service grin.

Jiang Yanli giggled, having evidently had one too many glasses of prosecco. “A-Cheng, is that how you pay your keep? Offering foot massages?”

“I hope not,” Wei Wuxian countered. “Not unless you want him to break your legs. And they're definitely not keeping him around for his winning personality.”

Jiang Cheng grabbed a nearby cushion and threw it at Wei Wuxian's head. It would have hit had Lan Wangji's hand not grabbed it mid-air, then tucked it under Wei Wuxian's head to keep his husband comfortable.

“I'm certain everyone has their own quirks and things they bring to the home,” Lan Xichen said, ever the peacemaker.

“I still don't understand why some of you haven't moved out yet.” Jin Zixuan replaced his wife's glass of prosecco with ginger ale, hoping she wouldn't notice. “I couldn't imagine living with my family at your age.”

“For the first time in my life,” Wei Wuxian said, “I actually agree with the peacock.”

Jiang Cheng groaned. “Now you're sounding like Mom.”

“And if I'm agreeing with her, you know something is wrong,” Wei Wuxian said officiously. “Come on, you can't tell me the four of you actually like living in each others' laps all the time.”

“A-Xian, behave,” Jiang Yanli partially slurred.

“You've said it yourself!” Wei Wuxian gave her a betrayed look – perhaps he'd had a few too many drinks as well.

“Behind closed doors,” she stage-whispered.

“This is ridiculous,” Jiang Cheng grumped.

“Like, don't any of you actually want some privacy?” Wei Wuxian continued, not willing to let this one go. “I can't imagine anyone else being in our house when we pa-pa-pa."

“Your whole neighbourhood hears whenever you pa-pa-pa,” Jiang Cheng countered.

Lan Wangji's lips turned up just the slightest at the corners.

Nie Huaisang lifted his glass of wildberry cooler, using it to point at his friend. “That is why we invested in excellent soundproofing, Wei-xiong.”

“And why I make them live in the basement,” Nie Mingjue continued.

“It's nice and cool in the summer, too,” Nie Huaisang grinned. “And I don't get woken up by the sun.”

Jin Zixuan wrinkled his nose. “It still sounds crowded. What benefit is there?”

“Well,” Meng Yao offered, “whenever A-Jue and I have car trouble, Jiang Cheng takes care of that for us.”

“Meng Yao handles all of our expenses,” Jiang Cheng explained, “and our taxes.”

“And makes sure we get to appointments on time,” Nie Huaisang added. “And Da-ge cooks and does all the house repairs.”

Wei Wuxian finished his glass of beer in time to begin laughing. “And what about you, Nie-xiong? What the hell do you bring to this arrangement?”

“Isn't it obvious?” Nie Huaisang countered. “I force everyone to relax and take it easy before they have an aneurysm from working themselves sick.”

Wei Wuxian looked about to laugh even more, but stopped when Nie Mingjue, Meng Yao, and Jiang Cheng all nodded in agreement.

“I still think the arrangement is ridiculous,” Jin Zixuan muttered.

Meng Yao let out a loud sigh and placed his glass of merlot on a nearby table. The moment the glass hit the metal, Nie Mingjue, Jiang Cheng, and Nie Huaisang all lifted their heads to look at him.

“I can understand your confusion, brother dearest,” Meng Yao began, a deceptively calm look on his face, “considering your own in-laws want to murder you in your sleep. Have you ever had a good night's sleep while visiting the Jiang home?”

Jin Zixuan shut his mouth with a snap and Wei Wuxian began snorting.

“And as for you, Wei Wuxian,” Meng Yao continued, “are you actually confused and concerned about our living situation, or is it that you simply can't think of an inoffensive way to ask if our sleeping arrangements switch up from time to time? That is what you've been tempted to ask, is it not?”

Wei Wuxian's eyes opened wide and he looked from Jiang Yanli to Lan Wangji, both of whom shook their heads as if to say I didn't tell him.

“So,” Meng Yao concluded, “ are we really going to ruin a lovely evening with this kind of nonsense? If so, I might need to ask some people to leave. Otherwise... would anyone like some cake?”

“I would,” Lan Xichen replied quickly. “Perhaps I could help.”

Meng Yao nodded and stood up, receiving a final loving look from Nie Mingjue before he led Lan Xichen to the kitchen. Together they collected the cake from the fridge and a handful of plates and forks. “You were rather silent during the discussion, Xichen-ge.”

Lan Xichen shrugged. “I believe I'm the only one with the opposite point of view.”

“How so?”

“You know I appreciate living alone, having my own space and nobody making demands upon my time,” Lan Xichen began. “But I will admit to feeling lonely from time to time. I admire how the four of you have made things work. You're all quite different in your own ways, but somehow you compliment each other. We should all be so happy.”

Meng Yao smiled and tried to ignore the choked up feeling in his chest. It was times like these he remembered just how much he appreciated having a friend like Lan Xichen. He opened his mouth to make some sort of reply-

“-It was just a joke!!!” Wei Wuxian shouted.

“Wei Wuxian!!! I'm going to break your fucking legs!!!” Jiang Cheng roared.

“Why don't we settle this the old fashioned way,” Nie Huaisang piped up. “I'll get the kiddie pool and the baby oil and you two take your shirts off-”

“Not in my back yard!” Nie Mingjue shouted.

“He didn't mean you, A-Li,” Jin Zixuan hissed. “Please put your shirt back down.”

Meng Yao traded a look with Lan Xichen and they both had a good laugh. When they returned to the back yard, it was in complete chaos, but Meng Yao couldn't deny that he loved everyone there, and that despite their various attitudes and biases and combative personalities... he wouldn't have them any other way.

“Though I will say,” Lan Xichen whispered into Meng Yao's ear, “I have wondered the same thing as Wei Wuxian. On occasion.”

Meng Yao shot him a glare. Lan Xichen simply smiled apologetically and carried the cake out onto the backyard's picnic table.

[plan-d-to-i]

Plan, what is wrong with these people:

I'm not out here on the Yu Ziyuan defense squad. But it's really frustrating when her flawed character doesn't get consideration in the fandom? Like I'm not trying to say that YZY isn't abusive, buuuut consider that in text WWX says she never really hurt him, and how shocked JC was when she started whipping him with zidian? And how if she'd really laid into WWX with zidian he wouldn't have been able to walk for a month, except obviously he totally could?

Of course with our modern lens we can point to things and say hey that's abuse, hey that's emotional abuse, etc, even while recognizing that there is a different context in the setting of the book

Like people never heard of adrenaline? It literally says how excruciating it was for him. WWX was throwing into the Burial Mounds and survived. What do you even say to something like this?

haha We're probably not supposed to talk about adrenaline, that's just "our modern lens". I mean what's wrong with them is first of all they're in denial: "Like I'm not trying to say that YZY isn't abusive, buuuut" lol ... k

WWX never holds onto grudges... it's kind of his whole thing in the novel?

Lan WangJi glanced at him, who seemed to forget all past pain as soon as the wounds had healed.

and

Wei WuXian knew that ‘for once’ referred to how his memory was good for once. He couldn’t help but smile, “Don’t always be so angry about it. It was my fault in the past, alright? Besides, my terrible memory should be accredited to my mom.”

Wei WuXian propped his arm on Lil’ Apple’s head, spinning Chenqing in his hand, “My mom said you have to remember the things others do for you, not the things you do for others. Only when people don’t hold so much in their hearts would they finally feel free.”

This was one of the only things he remembered about his parents.

The last mention of YZY in the story is actually the flashback in the extras where she whips WWX and jc shrugs it off like it's an everyday occurrence. The frequency of her whippings is supported by another passage in the story quoted below. WWX is also not able to stop himself from bemoaning his treatment as unfair. He knows. Word of it had spread all the way to Gusu. He just doesn't want to pin his life around resentment and grievances.

"Jiang Fengmian and his wife were both close acquaintances of his mother and father, but Jiang Fengmian had never reminisced about his old friend in front of Wei Wuxian, and Jiang Fengmian’s wife, Yu Ziyuan, had never been interested in having a conversation with him at all. If she didn’t whip him a few times and tell him to get out, kneel at the ancestral shrine, and keep far away from Jiang Cheng, he already considered that pretty good." (28)

"Madam Yu was even angrier, “How dare you run! Come back right now and kneel!” As she spoke, she let loose her whip with a flip of her wrist. Wei WuXian felt a searing pain slash across his back. He loudly exclaimed, “Ow!” And almost tripped on the ground."

...

Wei WuXian finally relaxed. Exerting force, he rowed the boat a couple of times. He could still feel some pain in his back, so he tossed the paddles to someone else, sat down, and felt the stinging piece of flesh, “How unfair. Let’s talk about this logically. Clearly no one was clothed, but why am I the only one to get reprimanded? Why am I the only one to get hit?”

Jiang Cheng, “Because you hurt the eye the most with no clothes on, for sure.” (Lotus Pod Extra)

Yes... jc seems shocked, appalled and overflowing with concern.

[Wei Wuxian] felt his back, covered in scars both old and new, and still couldn’t hold back the question he’d be thinking about, “How awfully unfair. Why is it that I’m the only one who gets beaten up, whenever something happens?”

Why do people think it's a flex to try so hard to understand and justify behavior that should be instinctively repulsive?

[tangledinmdzs]

what to say - mdzs characters hcs

what arguing with these sect leaders will be like

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Lan Xichen

this probably won’t happen a lot 

but disagreements happen 

and they tend to happen when Lan Xichen either

makes decisions on your behalf

or thinks that he knows what’s best for you 

“you know how much attending this conference will mean to me,” you start the moment that he gets back from his meetings for the night

and your confrontation about him declining the invitation to the cultivation conference was long time coming

he’d just thought that you’d wait a bit, like idk maybe tomorrow morning to talk about it

since today had been long enough,

“there will be other conferences that we will be invited to,” Lan XIchen answers, ignores your irritated huff as he changes into his sleeping robes

“none that will have all the best swordsman and cultivators as this one,”

“the venue is not safe, dangerous,” Lan Xichen tells you, turning around to meet your annoyed glare,

“i can handle myself perfectly fine,”

“i don’t feel comfortable putting you in harms way,”

“i won’t be-”

“who knows y/n? i don’t want to take that chance,” Lan Xichen suddenly interrupts,

maybe it’s because he’d been using all of his energy today to be amicable among the older haughty sect leaders in his meetings 

maybe he hadn’t had time to catch a breath all day

but when Lan Xichen snaps at you like that, your mouth clamps shut 

you think he doesn’t believe in your cultivation skills

Xichen just doesn’t want to risk you getting hurt

and you stomp over to the bed, laying close to the wall your back turned to him

though you both start with your backs turned to one another,

by the morning

you aren’t surprised to find yourself waking up in his arms

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Nie Mingjue

arguing with Mingjue not a fun time

when you and him argue with loud voices, 

it’s enough for everyone at the Unclean Realm to hear

and it’s not a shouting match but it’s close to one

but these sort of fights happen pretty often

considering it always boils down to you trying to get him to relax and not overwork himself 

and really the shouting and such isn’t ever serious

serious fights with him

look like low voices,

dark eyes

talking to you where he stands at his clan’s chair and you are standing in the middle of the hall

eyes brimming with tears

Nie Mingjue would not argue with you (seriously) in a loud and brash way

he would be assertive

and solemn

and cold

“your aid is not needed,” 

“how can you say that?” you want to shout at him,

because he was going to go on a night hunt in your old sect’s territory, to fight one of the most ruthless demons 

and he wouldn’t let you come along

“you will stay here, as you always did on night hunts,”

“no one knows the geography of that place better than me, i’ve lived there more than half of my life, mingjue-”

won’t listen to you,

would try to walk out of an argument with you 

but you don’t let him,

“you need me on this,” you tell him, grabbing his arm when he’s trying to leave the main hall

mingjue turns to you, a heavy sigh 

“i need you safe,”

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Jiang Cheng

fighting with Jiang Cheng is never fun

it’s loud

Jiang Cheng’s natural disposition was already someone with a very limited patience

so when you and him don’t get along on an idea

it doesn’t take long for it to become a shouting match

fighting with Jiang Cheng is not pretty,

and usually leads to fumed stomping off,

or sleeping with your backs facing one another for a night or two

the little fights are like that

big fights with JIang Cheng don’t tend to happen

but when they do

they are the ones that turn into screaming and pure anger, loss to reason

and there’s really only one thing that can stop them

when Jiang Cheng hears your hiccuping tears after he throws something to the ground, 

it makes him calm himself down immediately

because no matter what it was that he did,

the worse thing he could ever do,

was make you cry

“y/n,” Jiang Cheng calls your name, lowly spinning around just to watch you try to muffle your tears in your robes

and it’s enough for him to take the first steps,

put down his guard first,

“i’m sorry, I was angry, i’m sorry” Jiang Cheng apologizes 

reaches out to hold you when you let him,

and he vows that he won’t ever let you shed tears over him again 

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Jin Guangyao

whenever you and Meng Yao are on different sides of something, it feels as if adds into an invisible rift or boundary ready to swallow you up with it

i have the feeling he’d tend to be a passive aggressive 

like if there was something that you both disagreed on then he’d just push it aside 

the good thing about that was that there wasn’t any fighting per say

the bad thing about that was it gave room for problems and disagreements to build up

so when it comes exploding out of Meng Yao one day while you’re both trying to finish your dinner together

you are 

not surprised at all

but you’re probably a lot more amicable, 

and more straight forward than he is 

you’ve always been more direct than him

and in times when disagreements boiled down to what was happening right now

your direct nature, was needed

and with all the problems and underlying grudges laid out,

with Meng Yao beside you,

you both stick the pieces back together

[angstymdzsthoughts]

A-Yuan is Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian's son AU! - Jin Ling

"But I don't understand!" Jin Ling yells, frustrated, "Jiu Jiu is your real father! Lotus Pier should be your home! I know the Lan raised you, but that doesn't mean you can't reunite with Jiu Jiu now that everyone knows the truth and knows that Wei- that Wei Wuxian isn't evil anymore! Jiu Jiu won't say it but I know he wants both of you back home with him! You're family, and family should stay together!"

"Oh, give it a rest, Young Mistress", Jingyi threw up his hands. They'd been on this night hunt for barely two hours and Jin Ling had been whining about the same thing almost the entire time. He hadn't stopped trying to convince Sizhui to go to Lotus Pier ever since the truth of his parentage was revealed. Sizhui had smiled gently whenever Jin Ling tried to bring it up and politely refuted every time, but Jingyi had already been over it exactly twenty minutes into the nighthunt. He didn't have an endless wellspring of patience like Sizhui. 

Only it seemed neither did Sizhui. He was moving to get on his sword and Jingyi realised with some amount of disbelief that his best friend, the perfect polite heir of the Lans (so suck it Sect Leader Jiang, everyone knows you abandoned him), was actually about to fly off in the middle of a conversation with an actual Sect Leader (still surprising even if the Sect Leader in question was just the Young Mistress). 

"Hey! Where are you going! You can't just fly away from this. I am talking to you, Sizhui!"

Sizhui raised his arm, palm outward in the universal motion for "Stop", and Jin Ling immediately shut up. 

When Sizhui spoke, his tone was glacial, and it actually reminded Jingyi of the few times he'd been present when Hanguang-jun deigned to speak to Sect Leader Jiang.

"Number One, my 'real' father is Hanguang-jun, Lan Wangji, honoured Second Master of the Lan Sect. My father is the man who fed me, clothed me, raised me, protected me, taught me and loved me all these years. My father is the man who defended my mother and my family when the cultivation world's greedy, corrupt and the cowardly-" Sizhui bit down on the last word, leaving little doubt who exactly he was referring to, "- turned their backs on us and later had the gall to murder us for their wrongs."

"Number Two, I belong to the Gusu Lan Sect. It may not be the first home I ever had, but it is the one I remember. It is the only home I was given that was not destroyed. It is the place where I grew up, safe, protected, knowing that I was accepted and that I belonged. And I will never recognise any other Sect as my home."

"Number Three, my mother- " Jin Ling flinched as Sizhui's stare somehow became sharper, "- is not and has never been 'evil'. He has been persecuted, he has been taken advantage of, he has ben discarded and betrayed and slandered. But none of those things are a reflection on the honourable person that he is and the rightful things he has always strived to do."

At the chastened look on Jin Ling's face, Sizhui finally softened infinitesimally, and Jingyi watching, let out a breath he didn't realise he had been holding. 

"Onto number four... you are right. Family should be together." Jin Ling looked up hopefully, but the next words Sizhui spoke dashed his expectations almost immediately, "I am blessed that both my parents, Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian, have been returned to me, and I believe our family will stay together. This happiness is the least that my parents have earned, and I as their son, will never allow anything or anyone to disrupt it."

Sizhui stepped onto his sword, and Jingyi scrambled to follow. It seemed like nothing was going to save this nighthunt from being officially over. To be honest, it had been doomed the moment Jin Ling came with his misguided idea to speak for Jiang Wanyin in front of Lan Sizhui.

"Oh, and Sect Leader Jin," Sizhui said finally, back to his unruffled politeness, "Number Five." Sizhui was smiling again, but there was a viciousness to his eyes, and a bite to his words that made clear his real feelings, "I don't give a fuck what Jiang Wanyin wants."

 #phew #let sizhui say fuck, please #it's always the quiet ones #that deserve a chance to go apeshit #ayuan would like everyone to know that it is lan sizhui NOT jiang sizhui

[shanastoryteller]

Wen Qing says yes because all she can think of is the consequences if she doesn’t.

She probably should have spent some time considering what, exactly, the consequences of saying yes would be.

~

Wei Wuxian wants to go back to the banquet and shake Jin Zixun until the information they need falls out, but Wen Qing knows that’s a terrible idea, knows that he shouldn’t be helping her at all but he definitely shouldn’t stand in front of the whole cultivation world and threaten the Jin family for her. He asks one of the servants instead, something she wouldn’t have thought to do, but he insists that servants know everything and after a hefty bribe he’s telling them what they need to know and even turns a blind eye when they take a horse that’s been left unattended.

She’s skinny on a good day and she hasn’t seen a good day in a long time. Wei Wuxian didn’t used to be this thin, this breakable, but he is now, and she tells herself it’s a good thing because the one horse is easily able to carry both of them. He sits behind her even though he takes the reigns and she leans back into him because she’s been holding herself up for so long and she’s tired and he’s helping her, something no one has been willing to in – ever, really. She thinks she could almost count his ribs against her back and thinks if she’s alive tomorrow she’ll give him a lecture about eating properly without a golden core to nourish him.

They arrive just as a guard is raising a broken flag pole above his head to skewer A-Ning.

Wei Wuxian stops him, using a talisman to bind the man’s wrist to his own and jerking him away from her brother. Who is alive, and whole, and does not have a pole through his stomach. She’s crying when she holds him and Wei Wuxian stands between them and everyone else and looks at the guards and her people and says, “I have an idea. It’s a bad idea.”

“Your ideas usually are,” she says, but she’s still shaking at having her little brother back in her arms so it doesn’t come out as acerbic as she intended.

~

It is a terrible idea. She doesn’t have to agree to it.

She does.

They go to the nearest temple in Lanling because they need witnesses for this. The monks are confused and frightened but bear witness as she bows three times to Wei Wuxian and is bowed to three times in return.

She is exhausted and scared and is still unconvinced that she’ll live to see the sunrise, but Wei Wuxian had helped her when she hadn’t asked and saved her brother and wouldn’t let the guards stop them from leading her family from the work camp, so she marries him.

~

They go back to Koi Tower. It’s terrifying but Jiang disciples meet them and look askance at all the rest of them but don’t hesitate to obey Wei Wuxian. They surround them as they walk and if they have opinions about being told to guard traitorous Wen, they don’t voice them. Maybe the fact that they’re guarding Wei Wuxian too is enough.

They enter the banquet hall and everything is silent. She doesn’t know how to read the look on everyone’s faces and she doesn’t try. Instead she stands by Wei Wuxian’s side and does what she does best – she doesn’t flinch.

“Wei Wuxian!” Jin Guangshan shouts, appalled. “What is the meaning of this?”

“Sect Leader Jin,” he says, offhand, casual, as if having his hall filled with Wen is a perfectly ordinary occurrence. “You’re so good at throwing parties. I was hoping you would throw one for me.”

Jin Guangshan’s eyes narrow. “Why would we throw a party?”

“Well, it is my wedding day,” he says, and holds out his hand. Wen Qing places her hand in his, lets his other hand settle warm and proprietary at the small of her back. “My wife, Wen Qing. We were just married at the temple in Lanling. Feel free to question the monks if you don’t believe me.”

The silence breaks, everyone shouting now, and A-Yuan’s cry cuts through all of them.

She hadn’t known that Wei Wuxian had any experience with children, but he turns automatically, opening his arms, and Granny barely hesitates before placing A-Yuan into them. After all, if they can’t trust Wei Wuxian, they’re all dead anyway.

A-Yuan, astonishingly, quiets instantly as Wei Wuxian bounces him in his arms, settling his head on his shoulder and sticking his thumb in his mouth.

“You,” Wen Qing turns, sees Jiang Cheng looking between them, and she could probably read the look on his face but she doesn’t want to. “He’s your – you have a – was it when we, after Lotus Pier?”

She and Wei Wuxian glance at each other, and maybe this marriage will work out, because that one glance contains a whole conversation of things they can’t say. The timeline almost works. A-Yuan likely was conceived sometime around the fall of Lotus Pier. If there is a child, Wei Wuxian’s actions become more understandable, seem less like an act of war and something closer to what they really are, an act of love.

She could have, she supposes, laid with Wei Wuxian and gotten pregnant and bore a child in the years since they’ve seen each other. She didn’t, but the only ones who know that are either dead or just as desperate as she is for this to work.

Or. Well.

Jiang Yanli’s face is easier to look at, even as it does something complicated then smooths. She was there and awake while they all recovered with her and Wen Ning. She knows that she and Wei Wuxian didn’t have any sort of epic romance, or even a quick tryst, during that time. Wei Wuxian was so obsessively focused on helping his brother that the idea he’d have paused long enough for sex when he hadn’t for sleep or food is ridiculous. But Jiang Yanli meets her gaze then pointedly lowers her eyes and something like relief trickles down Wen Qing’s spine.

Wei Wuxian looks around the hall and if he hesitates over Lan Wangji, that’s a conversation for them to have later, if there is a later.

“Sect Leader Jiang,” Wei Wuxian says quietly, formally, and Jiang Cheng nearly flinches before catching himself. “Meet my son. Wei Yuan.” He lets that echo through the hall and then says, “I could not leave him, nor the woman who bore him, nor the family that raised him when I remained in ignorance.”

She lowers his gaze as if in shame, for having a child out of marriage, for keeping that child from his father, but mostly she can’t stand to see the look at Jiang Cheng’s face any longer.

~

There is intense debate among the clans. The Lan and surprisingly even the Nie vote against the Jin and agree for the Wen to be released to the custody of the Jiang rather than the Jin. What’s the difference between one great clan and the other, after all, and Jiang Cheng fights for this, fights for them, and Wen Qing knows he’s really fighting for Wei Wuxian. Their marriage makes things too complicated, like they’d hoped. A-Yuan makes things too complicated, and everyone in the hall mostly seems to want to go back to drinking. There is some poorly hidden sentiment that if Wei Wuxian wants a war bride he should be entitled to her, for his contribution to the war, perhaps, and Wen Qing hates these people. They do not call her and her family tribute but they imply it easily enough.

If the price of the lives of her family is her pride, that’s fine. She abandoned that a long time ago.

~

“You have been good for him,” Jiang Yanli tells her a month after they’ve moved into Lotus Pier, a month of being the wife to Wei Wuxian and the mother to the now Wei Yuan. She doesn’t do a particularly good job at either of these roles, she thinks, but Wei Wuxian makes a good husband and a good father and it was his idea but she can’t help but feel guilty, can’t help but think she stole for herself and her family what was meant for someone else.

Her sister in law’s words aren’t wrong, however. She doesn’t let Wei Wuxian drink so much anymore and forces him to eat. She’s there in his bed when he gasps awke from nightmares and when he can do nothing more but clutch his chest and weep. She gets the story of the Burial Mounds from him, eventually, and she doesn’t know how to heal that kind of trauma, but she holds him when he cries and thinks even if she can’t be a proper wife, she can do this, and she heals the damage demonic cultivation does to his meridians, and it seems like such little things, comparatively, but it helps.

She’s offers up the excuse that demonic cultivation makes using his sword difficult and people stop asking him to carry it. A-Ning sticks to Wei Wuxian’s side when she can’t, looking faintly sad whenever Wei Wuxian makes an unhealthy choice, which is even more effective than her scolding, although not as effective as getting A-Yuan to place his chubby hand on Wei Wuxian’s cheek and go, “Baba no.”

Without so many nightmares, with having people around he can talk to freely, with no one pestering him about his sword, Wei Wuxian shoulders all the responsibilities of first disciple and brother of the clan leader, something he apparently hadn’t been able to do before.

She knows what the rumors say. Those that had been against her and her family being set free, relatively speaking, are now patting themselves on the back. Clearly the fearsome Yiling Patriarch has been cowed by marriage. His bastard son, who he loved enough at first sight to legitimize, has softened his sharp edges.

Wen Qing knows that’s all bullshit and Jiang Yanli does too, but.

He is better.

Jiang Cheng can’t seem to decide between being relieved and grateful at having his brother back and resentful that it took Wen Qing to bring it about and – whatever his feelings about her are, and her marriage to his brother are, which she doesn’t know because she refuses to acknowledge them.  

“I’m glad,” she says quietly.

Her sister in law squeezes her hand, and Wen Qing squeezes back, and if this isn’t exactly the life she wanted, well. It’s a life. That’s more than she thought she’d have.

She has a loving husband and an adorable son and living, healthy family. There is nothing for her to complain about.

Just because it all feels stolen, just because it all feels like something she never should have been given, doesn’t make it less good, doesn’t make it less hers.

~

Wen Qing knows that Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji are in love with each other because she has two functioning eyes. She’s known that since she was a teenager in Cloud Recesses.

She had not wanted to come between them. She hadn’t planned on it. This all hadn’t even been her idea.

She’s guilty enough about it that she ignores her own feelings.

At first, she doesn’t have any, not really. Then it hadn’t been right.

She’s never felt greedy before. She doesn’t like it but she doesn’t know how to stop it.

~

They’ve been married for over a year the first time Wei Wuxian kisses her.

They’ve been married nearly two years the first time Wei Wuxian kisses Lan Wangji.

Something settles in her then, relief burrowing into her bones. Lan Wangji comes to her after, a combination of desirously happy and mortified, and bows to her and looks her in the eye when he tells her that he’s in love with her husband.

“I know,” she says kindly, “he’s easy to love.” She pauses, then says, “I do not mind. If it’s you.”

His lips part, and she holds the place that should be his, married to Wei Wuxian, but.

She can share, if he can. Even if it can’t be official, on paper, she and Wen Ning can bear witness to him and Wei Wuxian bowing to each other and maybe she’ll finally be able to breath when she can give back some of what she stole.

~

There are rumors about the three of them.

They don’t listen to them.

A-Yuan calls Lan Wangji his father and no one corrects him and that’s good enough for her, really.

It’s a good life, and it’s hers, and she’s glad of it.  

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed, Episode 26, part two

(Masterpost) (Other Canary Stuff)

Warning! Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

Content note: This episode has a lot of lightning, but this post does not have lightning flashes--I’m using mostly stills for those parts, or I’ve snipped out the unfriendly frames before giffing.

Qing-Jie

Having successfully ruined Jin Guangshan’s party plan to get the Yin Tiger seal, Wei Wuxian dashes off to tell Wen Qing where her brother is. She hops up to hit the road with him, but then sorta-faints because she’s starving. In a rare moment of tenderness between these two, he catches her and gently sits her down again. 

Normally they’re busy out-toughing each other, both before and after this moment, but right now Wen Qing is openly vulnerable. Wei Wuxian responds to that, predictably, with all of his kindness and with his usual slew of unwise, impossible-to-keep promises.

As she eats the bread he’s brought her--a parallel to an important piece of bread in his early life--he says they have to believe in Wen Ning’s survival. Cut to: Wen Ning, not surviving. 

I mean, yes, yes, he’s only mostly dead, but he’s never going to be fully alive again, so.  

24 Hour Party People

Back at the party, Jin Guangyao, deliberately, I think, goes to offer his pops a drink while his pops is still super furious and looking for someone to take it out on. The servant lady is like, better you than me, pal, and helps JGY get his drink ready. Pops, predictably, knocks the drink onto Jin Guangyao.

(more behind the cut)

Lan Xichen is standing by with a hanky and a face full of worry. Lan Xichen is so Lanny that he thinks JGY needs to go change clothes after getting clear alcohol spilled on him, rather than just letting it evaporate and smelling pleasantly of booze for the rest of the evening like a normal party guest. 

JGY launches into a criticism of Wei Wuxian, which Lan Wangji listens to very carefully, frowning. Lan Xichen, Nie Huasang and Jiang Cheng listen as well, and don’t speak up. 

A Clear Conscience

Then Lan Wangji *literally* steps out of his brother’s shadow, and speaks in defense of Wei Wuxian. This right here is Lan Wangji’s turning point, as far as I’m concerned. Xichen is gazing at JGY, totally on board with JGY’s spin of the situation, and his shadow falls away from Lan Wangji’s face as LWJ steps forward.

Lan Wangji says, isn’t what WWX said true? JGY puts on his customer service smile and says that the truth isn’t something you’re supposed to go around saying out loud. 

I’d like to say this is what’s wrong with cultivator society but this is really a universal human thing; every society has rules about upsetting the social order, and they are very frequently at odds with basic compassion and morality. 

Nie Huaisang and Jiang Cheng stay silent but Lan Xichen goes and throws Wei Wuxian under the bus carriage, saying his character has changed. 

Lan Wangji nods decisively at this, and bows to Lan Xichen, silently asking permission to follow Wei Wuxian. Lan Xichen grants permission, telling Lan Wangji to do his best. Lan Xichen probably thinks he and Lan Wangji are in agreement, in this moment, but that nod of Lan Wangji’s was nothing of the kind.

That nod was Lan Wangji agreeing with himself; he is going to try to bring Wei Wuxian back but he is also going to listen to him.  Meanwhile Lan Xichen is tying himself in knots to appease Jin Guangyao. The divergence between the brothers will just grow, from this point onwards.

Lan Wangji leaves to go follow his boyfriend conscience, while Jiang Cheng continues to silently listen to the commentary of others, and gets so mad he crushes a wine cup.

It Was A Dark and Stormy Night.

Wen Qing and Wei Wuxian arrive at the prison camp, and the first person they encounter is Granny, with a defaced Wen Banner in her hand and Wen Yuan on her back. 

Whenever I read a meta or a fic that talks about how the juniors are so sweet partly because they are “untouched by the war” I want to point to this moment. A-Yuan endures an absolute truckload of war trauma by the time he’s four years old, and while Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji both deserve a lot of credit for saving him at great risk to themselves, Granny and Uncle Four are the first heroes of A-Yuan’s story. His kind, mellow personality has a lot in common with theirs. 

This is followed by an eternity of Wen Qing running around asking if anyone’s seen her brother. Eventually Wei Wuxian gets tired of this and gathers the guards together, threatening them with Chenqing. 

He doesn’t need to play it; just holding it up has every Jin dude instantly kneeling and scared. 

The guards send him and Wen Qing go to a giant field of corpses, where Wen Qing runs around checking to see if any of them is her brother. Wei Wuxian starts off kind of detached and angry, but eventually snaps out of it, tucks away his flute and starts helping her to search. 

Wen Qing finds Wen Ning, mostly-dead with a lure flag speared into his belly. Wei Wuxian grimly takes in the situation from across the field of corpses. 

When he arrives at Wen Qing’s side he sees this talisman in Wen Ning’s hand. 

This is the talisman that Wei Wuxian made for Wen Ning back in Gusu summer school, before the war. It’s the one that Wen Ning was wearing at his waist when they met up after the massacre of Lotus Pier. It’s supposed to literally protect Wen Ning from having his spiritual consciousness snatched, as well as being a symbol of Wei Wuxian’s sense of responsibility for, and affection for, Wen Ning. 

Wei Wuxian, understandably, loses his shit at this point. Less understandably, he is about to decide that the best way to express his sorrow and rage is to re-animate the corpse of his friend, right in front of the corpse’s sister. Like, seriously, dude. Dude. 

Ghost General

This super-questionable decision leads to one of the most badass sequences in the show, which is unfortunately chock full of lightning flashes, so not everyone can watch it. Wei Wuxian and his flute and swirls of resentful energy come marching out of the darkness of the corpse field, back to the guards. 

The guards have decided to slaughter all of the prisoners and then run away, which would be a good plan except they should really have skipped right to the running away part of things. When Wei Wuxian accuses them of killing the prisoner in the corpse field, they claim that the Wens have a habit of falling off of a hill and dying. Wei Wuxian can relate. 

At this point Wei Wuxian summons up Wen Ning 2.0, ultra badass edition, who comes flying through the air with his odd, straight-armed fighting stance and cool solid-black eyes and rock-and-roll hair. 

Soundtrack: *Four Sticks*

Wen Ning proceeds to whale on the guards and scare the shit out of his relatives.

Then Wen Qing shows up and begs Wei Wuxian to stop. She explains that Wen Ning is only mostly dead. Like, if he was fully dead would she be okay with this? 

Wei Wuxian tries to reel Wen Ning in and realizes that he is not actually in control of Wen Ning. Ok, see, right from the first day of Wen Ning 2.0, WWX is aware that his control is iffy. Why does he think he’s going to be able to control him later? 

Anyway, this is where we learn Wen Ning’s grown-up name is Wen Qionglin. Wei Wuxian yells this name, and Wen Ning looks up like a cat hearing the “food noise,” and then proceeds to get control of himself. 

This is such a nice symbolic moment, that will be replayed later in the temple, when Wen Ning saves Jin Ling from Baxia. 

Wen Ning has a remote-code-execution OS vulnerability throughout the story; his soul is at risk of being stolen, and he is magically controlled by Wei Wuxian, Xue Yang, Su She, and Baxia.  Meanwhile Wen Qing, Wei Wuxian, and random kids on the street mostly treat him as a child, despite his clear adult capabilities. Wen Ning’s journey in The Untamed is at least partly about asserting his full adulthood, and his ability to overcome magical control is directly connected to that journey.  

After getting Wen Ning to chill, Wei Wuxian calls the floating resentful energy back into his own body, which looks about as comfortable as swallowing a burp. 

On the plus side, apparently resentful energy keeps your hair dry even when it’s raining.

Wei Wuxian should take a page from the guards’ book and slaughter all the Jin witnesses to this situation, but he decides to be the better person and let them live. They go running off down the road, where they encounter Lan Wangji and give him the 411, saying that Wei Wuxian resurrected dead people.

Meanwhile Wei Wuxian collects Wen Qing--half-fainted, again, in an echo of the start of their journey--and collects the Dafan Mountain Wen group, who are hiding, wisely. When they see Wen Ning, Uncle Four and some others start to freak out, but Wei Wuxian tells them that fierce corpses are cool, and they all grab horses and mount up.

Where Are You Going?

Lan Wangji is waiting for them, nonconfrontationally indulging in some visual poetry while he waits. 

In a show where every prop is exquisitely, carefully designed to enhance our understanding character, his Gusu-toned umbrella reveals surprising red and yellow threads woven in, right above his eye line as he looks at Wei Wuxian. 

Wei Wuxian speaks first, saying “you came to stop me?” Lan Wangji doesn’t answer, but asks him where he’s going. Then Lan Wangji warns him that he’s about to abandon orthodoxy forever, if he follows through. 

Wei Wuxian challenges this idea of orthodoxy, asking if Lan Wangji remembers the promise they made together, back in Gusu. It’s worth noting that they both appear to think of it as a co-promise, even though Lan Wangji didn’t speak aloud at the time. 

The conversation will continue in the next episode, because what’s better than a rainy romantic cliffhanger?

Soundtrack: Four Sticks by Led Zeppelin