#this plus jiang cheng's problems with saying no to his loved ones and I think we can make this v-shaped situation happen

[least-carpet]

If you're still doing the fake fic meme?

post-canon, it's not necrophilia if the fierce corpse consents, developing relationship, jc has two h--

Oooh, anon, if Jiang Cheng has two hands, he can h*ld h*nds with both Wen siblings at the same time!!

While subduing the Jin Elders at Jinlintai, Jiang Cheng finds Wen Qing stashed in a little room, but, unfortunately, this time she's kind of dead—the Jin did actually execute her. But they also gave her body to Xue Yang for experimentation, and so there's now one more sentient fierce corpse wandering the earth. She's very unhappy about the situation but she's had a lot of time to think about how to fix it, and, yep, once again, it's dual cultivation. Jiang-zongzhu has a very strong core and a vested interest in Wen Qing reducing the number of fierce corpses. They can make this work.

Of course, this creates a new problem for Jiang Cheng, because he can't fuck without catching feelings, and if it doesn't work in a year's time, Wen Qing has made him promise to put her to rest. And if it does, she wants her brother to be taken care of, too...

[winepresswrath]

Its the jiao jiao anon again .

You keep giving me great pairings. Tell me everything how su she (Shang Qinghua) transmigrate and how will fuck jiang cheng. Is he still an author ? What was his intention with this kinda book?

I think he is still a writer but not the actual author of mdzs. He's a relatively casual fan who admires the vision and winces in sympathy every time drama gets kicked off. This is why you don't try, mdzs author! You give the people what they want and take their money. He's originally planning on keeping his head down and learning just enough cultivation from the Lan to make his life easier than it otherwise would be, then getting an urgent letter from his sick mother right before the Wen are scheduled to attack, but alas, his wandering not-cultivator dumpling sabbatical puts him directly in Jiang Cheng's path while he's frantically running for help after leaving Wei Wuxian in the Xuanwu cave. And the thing is he's still kind of reflexively haughty when he needs something? So pathetic and vulnerable. So cute. What could possibly be the harm in giving him a ride? The Wen aren't scheduled to attack Lotus Pier for ages. He can be on a ship to Dongyin by that time!

Anyway no good deed goes unpunished because Jiang Fengmian does as a general rule believe in giving credit and naming names. He should have fucking known. Now Wen Chao has a grudge against him and he's running around under a fake name wracking up credit for things he did (while trying to run away) and things he did not do (sometimes even when you have a massive army and the most powerful cultivator in the world on your side, things go wrong! He's not responsible for every problem with Wen supply lines. He's responsible for exactly one cart blowing up, and he was just trying for a distraction so he could sneak onto a ship. It didn't work and the harbour is kind of a no-go zone for him now). He comes up with a new plan: find Huaisang and use his shitty unwanted heroic reputation and talent for creative pornography to worm his way into the young master's guard, where he can get some writing done far from the front lines. Unfortunately, he once again stumbles across Jiang Cheng, who is tragically trying to rebuild his sect and searching for a missing shixiong. Shang Qinghua is still a logistics guy, because he was doing grunt work for the Lan and also I feel like that's the shape any transmigration setting is going to bend into around him. Jiang Cheng is so grateful to see a familiar face. He knows the value of a good spreadsheet. His eyes are so pretty when he's trying not to cry. The Jiang aren't in a great place during the war, but Shang Qinghua knows the sect makes it through and he doesn't remember any Jiang disciples being asked to heroically sacrifice themselves after Lotus Pier falls. Plus the food is better and there's plenty of room at the top! A veritable power vacuum. To say nothing of all the empty space in Jiang Cheng's personal life when almost everyone he loves dies and leaves him alone! Anyway this is the story of how Shang Qinghua accidentally paints a series of targets on his back, unnecessarily involves himself in the plot, and overcomplicates his life because being a sucker for a pretty face and a bad personality is even more integral to his character than underappreciated grunt work. Probably he manages to save Yanli, at least. He's not interested in being a stepfather! That's a lot of work. Wei Wuxian barely notices he exists until either he saves everyone or the second life roles around, depending on how ambitious and/or motivated Shang Qinghua is feeling. Then he hates him passionately, but it's too late. They probably eventually reach some kind of begrudging peace.

[lansplaining]

About how wwx is the 'problem' in the yunmeng bros reconciliation I completely agree and that's why I think wangxian works so well in canon : none of wwx's past actions have hurt personally lwj, so wwx doesn't feel very guilty. Wangxian is true love but there's a canon where wwx performs the core's transfer on lwj plus lxc died at nightless city plus lqr died during the war = so now lwj is a lonely sect leader = lwj loves wwx in every universe! but I really don't know how in this they can have their happy ending

GOD this is such a great point.

i've been working on a long meta that has accidentally taken a year because i was waiting for all of the 7 seas translation to come out about the difference between the show's "In a person's life he needs to learn to say two things-- thank you, and sorry" vs the book's "Between you and me there is no need for thank you and sorry" and I think you've actually just nailed it?

one of the things that typifies MXTX love interests is that they're simply willing to go farther for one another than anyone else in that person's life. this always feels especially clear in TGCF: mu qing and feng xin trample well past the boundaries any normal person would hold when it comes to standing by xie lian, but at the end of the day, things simply go too far and they have to go (and even then, intend to come back!!)-- whereas hua cheng literally never gives up, even in death. it is a level of devotion that xie lian is lucky to have, but not actually something that can be expected of most people, which is something i feel the narrative acknowledges.

the same thing can be said of jiang cheng and lan wangji in regards to wei wuxian, or even the contrast between wangxian and xiyao. jiang cheng takes his support of wei wuxian as far as he possibly can, and much farther than the wider world realizes-- and frankly, much farther than even wei wuxian realizes (why do you think he still had chenqing a) at all or b) literally in his pocket you absolute goober). lan wangji is able to go much farther, partly because of his personality but partly because of the pure luck and happenstance of his social position. he isn't constrained by the same things jiang cheng is, he doesn't have the same demands to balance. and, of course, he doesn't share the complex familial baggage and all the other history that leads to wei wuxian and jiang cheng hurting each other so much.

maybe "between you and me, there's no need for thank you and sorry" isn't really a "moral" (for lack of a better word) in the same way as CQL's thank you and sorry, but just a statement of fact, and an acknowledgement of coincidence and luck. they share a history that means they don't need to thank or apologize the way they both do to others in their lives, and that's part of what makes the relationship feel so good and so special.

CQL would need to change this because of the changes they made to the pacing of wangxian's relationship. because they are able to recognize and partially acknowledge how they feel about each other much earlier, they actually are able to hurt one another with the same depth as jiang cheng and wei wuxian. this means that it's now got to be a relationship where such apologies are necessary-- though as you say, not with as much lingering guilt as there would be with something like a core transfer. the words have to be said (and thus a new "moral" about what those phrases mean), but all that's needed are words: there's no permanently lingering baggage to weigh down the relationship forever and make it, as you suggest and as i totally agree, impossible.

[marquisguyun]

mdzs/cql ask meme: 1, 2, 6, 12, 25 :)))

1. which adaptations have you seen/watched? which one do you like best and why?

I’ve watched both the donghua and CQL (and read the book and some of the manhua). I’m not sure if I have a definitive answer to which visual adaptation is better? The donghua is gorgeous, especially all the demonic cultivation in the third season (plus it was my first mdzs adaptation, my first danmei of any kind actually). I do really enjoy CQL tho, and there are things I like and dislike about both adaptations. That answer is a total cop out but it’s also the truth 😂

2. top 5 favorite characters? what specifically do you like about each one?

Okay so I thought I had this, no problem, and then I counted again and realized I had six characters lmao... I’m not doing this in order bc that’s too many decisions to deal with

1. Wei Wuxian - What can I say, I love a tragic hero! I am intrigued by how smart he is (inventing demonic cultivation, lure flags, etc) but also how he makes mistakes and does some really fucked up stuff even tho he has good intentions. A great complex character!

2. Lan Wangji - I mean who doesn't like Hanguang-jun? He's a badass and a romantic, plus he's stubborn as shit. I really appreciate his relationships with the juniors. I also think his whole teenage angst about liking wwx is fantastic, and also him being super horny and dominant... I am a fan of novel dynamics for wangxian's sex life lol

3. Xue Yang & Xiao Xingchen - I am a slut for a good tragedy and for messed up characters! Plus I love identity porn. Yi City and XueXiao were basically tailored to my personal taste.

4. Lan Sizhui - He's just a good boy! And I like the added complexity of his identity.

5. Jiang Cheng - Honestly it took me a little while to latch onto him as hard, but he grew on me steadily. I originally mostly thought about him in relation to WWX, but damn he's been through a lot! Raising his nephew and running his sect on his own after he's lost everything? Really fucking sad and angry about it? That's good shit!

Also want to note that I like all of these characters in all adaptations, but their actors all did a fantastic job in cql and really added to my love for the characters, especially Wang Haoxuan as Xue Yang and Wang Zuocheng as Jiang Cheng!

6. unpopular opinions?

1. I don’t hate Jiang Cheng or Lan Qiren? those can be pretty unpopular opinions

2. I’m a white American and my reading of danmei is definitely colored by my different experiences/worldview... I try to be aware of that as much as I can be and to read meta by Chinese disaspora (EDIT: I wrote this like a year ago and idk where I was going with this, but I think I was trying to say something about how I try to make sure my opinions aren't culturally insensitive? Bc some of the takes you see definitely are)

12. do you like any other of mxtx's works? is mdzs your first of hers or did you watch/read the others first?

It’s less obvious on tumblr bc there’s less content I come across compared to twt but your girl is a Scum Villain main lmao (EDIT: That was written a year ago when I started answering this ask. One of the advantages to twt's whole mess is that there's more scum villain content on tumblr now!!)

That said, I have read all three MXTX novels, watched all three donghuas, watched CQL, and read at least part of all three manhuas (rip sv manhua)

my order of watching/reading (with some overlap) was something like: watched mdzs donghua s1-2 >>> read mdzs novel >>> watched cql >>> started scumbag system >>> started heaven official’s blessing donghua >>> read scum villain >>> read what little there is of the sv manhua >>> waited several months?? and then read tgcf >>> dabbled with mdzs and tgcf manhuas >>> watched mdzs donghua s3

25. queer headcanons? 

- I definitely see Wei Wuxian as bi, altho I can understand reading him as a gay man who isn’t actually attracted at all to the women he flirts with - On the other hand, 90% of the time I see Lan Wangji as gay. The other 10% is me going “but what if Wei Ying was a girl tho”

I don’t think I have a lot of definitive non canon queer headcanons for mdzs honestly? There are definitely ones I enjoy and ones I don’t really see, but a lot of times I’m just happy to be taken along for the ride of other people’s headcanons for a fic or meta. Here are a few I’ve enjoyed:

- Asexual Jiang Cheng - Bisexual Jiang Fengmian (in love with Wei Changze) - Trans headcanons/AUs for various characters

[amynchan]

Am I going to write this? Probably not. That's why it's going here!

TW! DEATH!

Anyhoot, here we go!

.../.../.../

Jiang Cheng sent to an AU where he’s happy. Could be magic, could be a curse, but he's fully immersed in this universe and believes it to be the only one.  His dad respects his decisions (or at least is able to empathize with his reasoning), his mom is proud of him because he’s able to inspire loyalty and strength, Wei Wuxian is his right hand man, and Jiang Yanli and the peacock are still alive, and Jin Ling is always excited to see him.  He’s a sect leader still, and he’s not alone.

He stays there, content for a while, until the little things start.

It’s Jin Ling, first of all, that begins to shatter the illusion.  He calls Jiang Cheng er-jiu, and it’s…  not right.  But whatever, he can disregard that for Jin Ling’s smile and safety.  “Er-jiu is the strongest!  Er-jiu will keep me safe forever!”

He checks in with Jiang Yanli, and he asks if she’s happy.  He notes her patience with him whenever he does this, check in.  She used to be exasperated, just a little, with him.  It was always his cue to stop, but it just…  isn’t here.  When he asks if her husband treats her well, she doesn’t get defensive of him.  “Yes, he does, A-Cheng.”  He’s a little confused, and he asks why she isn’t defending him.  It’s nice not to fight with family, but it’s weird.  She laughs and says that he’s always loved her, and she knows that he doesn’t hate A-Xuan anymore.  Jiang Cheng says that he’ll start up again if any harm comes to her, and she looks him, dead in the eye with a reassurance that’s almost… chilling in its certainty, and says “Oh, A-Cheng.  I’ll never be hurt again.”

That’s when he runs into his mother.  He thinks she’ll give him the dose of reality that he needs to be strong for his sister’s family, which is acting Very Weird.  He doesn’t get it.  Instead, it’s honeyed words of praise.  Obviously A-Li feels safer around him.  He’s done a great job keeping this family safe.  Zidian sits on her finger, and it doesn’t crackle or betray anything but warmth.  His father runs into them, first presses a kiss into his wife’s hair, which she accepts with a smile, and asks what’s wrong.  Jiang Cheng is uncertain about exposing his fears, for what feels like the first time, but he spills the offness.  Jiang Fengmian reflects Jiang Cheng’s concerns in his own words, and Jiang Cheng is happy, again, that he’s being heard.  His father’s advice is to make sure that the sect is running well since Jiang Cheng likes to fix problems, and there are always at least a few small fires to put out around Sect related business.  Makes a casual line of Jiang Cheng putting out every fire in Lotus Pier, and the thought of fire plus Lotus Pier erases any sense of ease Jiang Cheng might have had.

Still, he’s a filial son, so he thanks his parents and goes to the office.  He has vague memories of Jiang Fengmian showing him around, giving him an organization system, and helping him get started.  He’s always grateful for the guidance, even if the system is slightly different under his rule.  He just found some ways that worked better, and every difference noted has been warmly received, understood, and supported by his father.

Wei Wuxian is already there, napping.  The first bit of normalcy sets his heart at ease, and Jiang Cheng complains loudly about second-in-commands who don’t do any work.  Wei Wuxian wakes and whines about that, and they’re soon in a wrestling match.  Wei Wuxian gets him in a headlock easily, and Jiang Cheng’s heart eases.  Something about having his brother here is like a balm on his troubled soul.

The two of them then get to work, bickering back and forth and sharing ideas.  Some of Wei Wuxian’s ideas are good, and he praises some of Jiang Cheng’s ideas in turn.

But no matter how at ease he feels…  there’s something…  off.

He knows that he managed to convince mother and father to give Wei Wuxian purple robes years ago.  Under his own leadership, he’s simply rewarding good representation of the Sect.

“You’ll shame our sect!”

Undying loyalty.

“I never asked for this!”  “You’d choose the—over us?”

Striking genius.

“You idiot!”

Fierce protection.

“You killed—!”

Wei Wuxian waves his hand in front of Jiang Cheng’s face, and Jiang Cheng even though he’s normally the person to let sleeping dogs lie…

“Wei Wuxian, are you happy here?”

The question catches Wei Wuxian off-guard, but he goes on to say that he is.  When pressed why, he talks about all of Jiang Cheng’s fondest memories.  Stealing lotus pods, shooting kites, the festivals, the spicy food, the family.

This should be reassuring, but it’s not.  Jiang Cheng gets a feeling of wrong, wrong, wrong the more Wei Wuxian talks.  Finally, he snaps, and he expects a fight.

When the fight goes out of Wei Wuxian’s sails, when he just lets Jiang Cheng say what he wants, Jiang Cheng runs cold.

Wei Wuxian would never let him win like that.  Not if he wasn’t hurting.

Other things fall into place, or they try to.  Jiang Cheng, stubborn and selfish creature that he is, tries to deny it.  Tries, tries, tries, tries.

It comes full circle to Jin Ling again.

Jiang Cheng asks when the heir of the Jin Sect has to go back to Carp Tower.  Jin Ling looks at him with wide, innocent eyes, and says “never.  Jin Ling gets to stay with Er-jiu.”

What about friends?  Responsibility?

Jin Ling shakes his head.  “No.  Just family.  Just A-Niang and er-jiu and dai-jiu and—”

Denial, when attacked so acutely, is such a flimsy thing.

It’s not real.  None of it is.  Jin Ling is a Sect Leader whose sole purpose in the past two years has been to keep Jiang Cheng out of Jin Sect business.  It’s only proper, and it’s the way the world works.  Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan are dead.  Yu Ziyuan and Jiang Fengmian, both of whom never showed the level of empathy and understanding that he desperately wanted, are dead.  Wei Wuxian left, happier elsewhere, and will not return.

Jiang Cheng can only watch as the paradise he’s been a part of for…days?  Weeks?  Fractures around him.  It fractures, fissures, cracks against his will.

He wakes.

He’s in the Jiang Sect medical wing, alone.  Again, Jin Ling has his own sect to run, the rest of his blood family is dead, and Wei Wuxian is gone.  There is no one to be happy he exists now.

His wounds have been reopened.  The emotional wounds that have never truly healed are open and bleeding afresh.  His dissatisfaction comes back to him, and his hurt does in droves.  He can only scream.

When the head healer comes back for her hourly check in, it’s to find the body of their Sect Leader, blood coming from every opening in his face.  It’s a qi deviation.

There are some who could survive having such happiness taken from them without any support.  There are even some who could survive it in the face of attack.  What makes those people special are people like Jiang Cheng.

The ones who, when faced with a future filled with reminders of how unnecessary, unneeded, unwanted they are, cannot.

[bloody-bee-tea]

Sweat

Jiang Cheng knows that it’s a risky move to show up to this office party with Nie Mingjue in tow, but then again it’s not like he cares. Much.

He had tried to introduce Nie Mingjue to his parents countless times, but they always shot him down, citing that they don’t have time for things like this. So Jiang Cheng never got to introduce them.

But the invitation to the party had said he could bring a plus one. It didn’t specify any further than this and Jiang Cheng had waved the invitation at Nie Mingjue, who of course hadn’t gotten one of his own.

Jiang Fengmian wanted to cut a deal with Jin Corp. and everyone knew that Jin Guangshan didn’t make deals when the Nies were involved. So Nie Security hadn’t gotten an invitation at all.

Jiang Cheng is aware that his father will be furious with him for bringing Nie Mingjue but he will be going in his capacity as Jiang Cheng’s boyfriend. It won’t be work related. And it isn’t either of their fault if Jiang Fengmian wants to make a deal with the slimiest bastard in their business.

Jiang Cheng is going to give his dad a metaphorical fuck you by bringing Nie Mingjue.

At least that had been the theory. Now that they are actually at the party, Jiang Cheng is getting pretty damn nervous again, sweat clinging to his temples and back.

“It’ll be alright,” Nie Mingjue whispers and pulls him close with a hand on his hip. “I’m right here.”

Jiang Cheng doesn’t say that that is part of the problem and instead leans into the contact. He has to admit that it does feel pretty nice to not be alone for once.

“Until someone steals you away and then where will I be?” Jiang Cheng grumbles, mostly just to be contrary, because he does feel better this close to Nie Mingjue.

“I hope you’ll be on your way to save me,” Nie Mingjue gives back and brushes a kiss over Jiang Cheng’s temple. “Since work is not what I’m here for. Look, there’s Wei Wuxian,” he then tries to distract Jiang Cheng and he has to admit that it works reasonably well.

Wei Wuxian drags Lan Wangji over to them as well and Jiang Cheng is sure that Lan Xichen is mingling somewhere, too, so there are at least four friendly faces around. Five, if you count Jin Zixuan and with how hard he’s trying lately with Jiang Yanli, Jiang Cheng is inclined to count him.

Jiang Cheng tries to follow along with Wei Wuxian’s excited chatter about his newest project, but his nerves are getting the better of him once he catches sight of Jiang Fengmian and so most what Wei Wuxian says flies right over Jiang Cheng’s head.

“Uh-oh, here he comes,” Nie Mingjue mutters and steps that little bit closer to Jiang Cheng, making sure that he knows he’s there and he’s supporting him.

Wei Wuxian throws a wide-eyed look over his shoulder before he turns the same wide eyes on Jiang Cheng and Jiang Cheng sighs.

“Go,” he tells him, secretly a little bit relieved that Wei Wuxian wants to remove himself from this situation and Wei Wuxian is gone faster than Jiang Cheng can blink.

Speaking to Jiang Fengmian is never pleasant, but it’s always worse when Wei Wuxian is present. It seem like the sheer existence of Wei Wuxian makes Jiang Fengmian forget that Jiang Cheng even exists and no matter how much time passes or how many therapy sessions Jiang Cheng goes to, it never stops hurting.

Nie Mingjue puts a steadying hand to the small of Jiang Cheng’s back and presses another kiss to his temple where anyone can see and Jiang Cheng loves him for how little Nie Mingjue minds all that family drama that comes with dating him.

It had been one of his big worries when they started dating, but Nie Mingjue seemingly never cared beyond hating how it always hurt Jiang Cheng and that more than anything helped Jiang Cheng to seek out help and to realize that this isn’t normal.

It isn’t normal how he tenses more and more the closer his father gets. It isn’t normal how his heart starts to beat faster when Jiang Fengmian’s eyes fall on him. And it’s certainly not normal how Jiang Cheng starts to shake when clear displeasure clouds over Jiang Fengmian’s face.

“What is the meaning of this?” he asks once he reached them and he’s not even looking at Jiang Cheng anymore.

All of Jiang Fengmian’s attention is on Nie Mingjue.

“What a surprise to see here, Mingjue,” he says and Nie Mingjue tenses with the address.

Jiang Cheng knows that Nie Mingjue hates how overly familiar Jiang Fengmian and Jin Guangshan get whenever they talk to him and so he leans just a little bit more back into Nie Mingjue’s hand.

“Fengmian,” Nie Mingjue gives back, his voice pleasant, though his jaw is clenched. “I’m here with Wanyin.”

“Wanyin,” Jiang Fengmian repeats and turns to look at Jiang Cheng as if this was the first time he noticed him next to Nie Mingjue. “You should be mingling with the Jins.”

“I should be showing my boyfriend around,” Jiang Cheng gives back, hating how there’s the tiniest shake to his voice.

“Your boyfriend,” Jiang Fengmian repeats and looks back at Nie Mingjue. “You’re colluding with the Nies?”

“I am dating a Nie,” Jiang Cheng says, forcing himself to remain calm and collected. “Which you would know if you had ever taken the time to meet my boyfriend.”

“Ah, you know how it is,” Jiang Fengmian says and Jiang Cheng hates that tone of voice, especially when it’s aimed at him. “I am a busy man and who knows how long this fling of yours will last. There’s no need to introduce us when this is bound to end sooner rather than later. I mean, Mingjue is a busy man himself. You shouldn’t hog his attention.”

It’s a reprimand that Jiang Cheng has heard several times before, in different contexts, but it still cuts him deeply. Deeply enough that he can’t even find his voice and it only worsens his mood, because he should be able to defend his boyfriend and their relationship from his own father.

“Enough about this now,” Jiang Fengmian decides as if Jiang Cheng had actually managed to say anything. “Mingjue, about that contract—” Jiang Fengmian says, his attention completely on Nie Mingjue already, and Jiang Cheng has to bite back some tears.

“I am not here for work,” Nie Mingjue bites out and takes Jiang Cheng’s hand in his. “I am here as a plus one to my boyfriend. If you really do want to talk about the contract, you should make an appointment with my secretary.”

Jiang Fengmian blinks, clearly surprised by Nie Mingjue’s firm rebuke and Nie Mingjue takes that opportunity to drag Jiang Cheng away from him.

“I know he’s your dad, but I seriously hate him,” Nie Mingjue mutters once they are out of earshot and Jiang Cheng laughs wetly.

He hates his dad sometimes, too, but he can’t bring himself to say that.

“I’m glad you’re here with me,” Jiang Cheng says, slinging his arms around Nie Mingjue’s middle and just breathing for a few moments.

“Even though I just made it more difficult for you?” Nie Mingjue wants to know, but he squeezes Jiang Cheng back.

“He would have found something to criticise me over anyway,” Jiang Cheng mutters. “It’s easier to endure when you’re there.”

“I’m not leaving you out of my sight tonight,” Nie Mingjue promises him and Jiang Cheng is just about to breathe in relief when the severe clicking of heels announces the arrival of Yu Ziyuan.

“Oh, fuck,” Jiang Cheng whispers and moves away from Nie Mingjue only to come face to face with his clearly disapproving mother.

“Is this how we make business deals now? Whoring yourself out?” she asks, clearly not caring at all who hears her and Jiang Cheng is quick to shake his head.

“Mother, this is my boyfriend, Nie Mingjue. We’ve been dating for a while,” he rushes out, hopes to salvage this situation somehow and he has to admit that he wasn’t prepared for the surprised look on her face.

“Boyfriend,” she repeats. “The boyfriend you have been trying to introduce to us several times?”

Ah, so at least she noticed his attempts.

“Yes,” Jiang Cheng meekly gives back and Nie Mingjue holds his hand out.

“Nie Mingjue, a pleasure to make your acquaintance, finally,” he says with a small smile and Yu Ziyuan only hesitates a second before she takes his hand.

“I wasn’t aware my son was dating you,” she says and Jiang Cheng flinches.

He had told her, several times actually, but of course she didn’t listen to him. She listens more to him than Jiang Fengmian, but it is still not a lot.

“I am,” Jiang Cheng says, trying to sound surer than he feels, and he can’t read the glint in his mother’s eyes at all.

There is a very long silence before Yu Ziyuan speaks again.

“If you hurt him, I will ruin you,” she says and then turns around to leave in the same manner in which she arrived.

“Was she talking to me or to you?” Jiang Cheng asks, once his mother vanishes from his sight and Nie Mingjue sighs.

“I think she actually meant me,” he gives back and then pulls Jiang Cheng into a kiss. “That actually went better than expected,” he mumbles against Jiang Cheng’s lips and Jiang Cheng has to agree.

He has anticipated his father’s disinterest in his boyfriend, so even while that had still hurt, it wasn’t unexpected. But his mother is always a little bit of a wild card and Jiang Cheng never knows what to expect with her.

“Come on, after this I need something to drink,” Nie Mingjue says once they part and Jiang Cheng couldn’t agree more.

They mingle for a bit afterwards, speaking to Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen, and even Jin Zixuan for a while before they retreat back into a relatively quiet corner.

“This wasn’t so bad so far,” Nie Mingjue says with a sigh and leans against the wall. “Being your arm candy certainly has its perks.”

“Like what?” Jiang Cheng snorts but he has to admit that having Nie Mingjue here did wonders to relax him.

“Like being able to simply walk away if someone starts to talk business to me,” Nie Mingjue gives back and threads their fingers together. “And I get to admire you all evening, so that’s a definite plus.”

“Shut up,” Jiang Cheng hisses, but he can already feel how he turns red.

“Never,” Nie Mingjue whispers and kisses Jiang Cheng’s burning cheek.

“You’re an idiot,” Jiang Cheng tells him, aiming for stern but of course he softens immediately when Nie Mingjue looks expectantly at him. “And I love you.”

“I love you, too,” is the immediate response he gets and Jiang Cheng didn’t know how nice it was to never having to wonder or wait for those words.

Nie Mingjue always makes very sure that Jiang Cheng knows just how much he’s loved.

“What the fuck is your father’s problem?” Nie Mingjue mutters suddenly, breaking Jiang Cheng out of his pleasant thoughts and he leans around Nie Mingjue to see better.

“Fuck, he had something to drink,” Jiang Cheng whispers under his breath, because Jiang Fengmian is never a pleasant person to be around—at least not if you are name Jiang Cheng—but it only ever gets worse when he had something to drink.

“I’ve got this,” Nie Mingjue decides and hands Jiang Cheng his empty glass. “Get me some more, would you?”

Jiang Cheng works his jaw a few times, but when Nie Mingjue nudges him into the opposite direction of his father he sighs. “Fine.”

Nie Mingjue gives him a winning smile before he turns around to meet Jiang Fengmian halfway and Jiang Cheng can’t help it. He knows that no matter what’s going to happen it will hurt him, but he simply has to know.

He doesn’t leave to get them new drinks.

“Mingjue, what a nice surprise,” Jiang Fengmian says, just a tad too loudly and Jiang Cheng winces. “What brings you here?”

“We already talked today,” Nie Mingjue reminds him, his hands clenching at his side.

“Oh, did we? Remind me again, then,” Jiang Fengmian says, his voice now a little bit more appropriate and he leans into Nie Mingjue’s space. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here with your son. You know, because we’re dating?” Nie Mingjue tells him and Jiang Cheng knows what’s going to happen a split second before his father opens his mouth.

It feels like someone reached inside his chest and tore his heart out.

“Wei Wuxian? I thought he is with that Lan boy?” Jiang Fengmian says and Jiang Cheng sees how Nie Mingjue freezes.

Jiang Cheng has trouble breathing himself, but he keeps his eyes fixed on Nie Mingjue, because it’s the only safe place to look at right now.

“You piece of shit,” Nie Mingjue mutters, and before Jiang Cheng or anyone else can react, he moves.

Between one blink an the next Jiang Fengmian is on the ground, clearly knocked out cold, and Nie Mingjue is shaking out his hand as he turns around and looks for Jiang Cheng.

“Fuck, you heard,” are the first words out of Nie Mingjue’s mouth, before he rushes up to Jiang Cheng to crush him to his chest.

“You punched him,” Jiang Cheng mutters, blinking several times, because it doesn’t make sense.

His father is in on the ground and people are staring at them, but it doesn’t make sense.

“Of course I did!”

“You just punched him,” Jiang Cheng repeats and it’s only the arrival of his mother that prevents him from breaking down into hysterical laughter.

“What is going on here? Wanyin, an explanation!”

“Your husband forgot who his actual son is,” Nie Mingjue hisses at her, not letting go of Jiang Cheng and clearly not going to apologize for his actions.

“Ma’am, do you want us to call the police?” a security guard suddenly asks and Jiang Cheng tenses in Nie Mingjue’s arms.

He will not allow Nie Mingjue to get punished for this.

Jiang Cheng is about to tell his mother that when she waves them away.

“That won’t be necessary,” she says. “I think it was deserved,” she then adds, much more quietly, before she turns to the room at large. “It seems like my dear husband had a little bit too much to drink and he slipped in a rather unfortunate way,” she calls out. “Please don’t be worried and continue to enjoy the party.”

Jiang Cheng stares at her, his mouth open and it’s only when she turns back around to him and Nie Mingjue that he gets a little bit of control back.

“I think you should leave now,” she says, and Jiang Cheng isn’t sure she ever heard her sound so soft. “Well done,” she adds and pats Nie Mingjue’s arm before she goes to deal with the situation at large.

“What the hell just happened,” Jiang Cheng mutters, but he allows Nie Mingjue to pull him away from his father and from this party.

It’s only when the cold night air hits him that he starts to realize what just happened.

“You punched my father because he was an asshole to me,” Jiang Cheng whispers and Nie Mingjue grimaces.

“Well. I would do it again,” he declares as if Jiang Cheng was about to tell him to not do that again. “He deserved it.”

“He did,” Jiang Cheng agrees and then steps close to Nie Mingjue. “You punched my father for me,” he repeats and Nie Mingjue frowns.

“I can’t tell if you’re angry right now,” Nie Mingjue admits, but he puts his hands on Jiang Cheng’s hips.

“I am in absolute awe of you and I love you so much,” Jiang Cheng tells him and leans in for a biting kiss. “And I think you should take me home now.”

“Oh, so that’s how it is? Me punching your father is doing it for you?” Nie Mingjue teases him, but he starts dragging him towards their car.

“Hell, yes,” Jiang Cheng breathes out, because no one has taken such a stance for him.

“Good to know,” Nie Mingjue says. “But I’d still rather not make it a habit.”

“I think the memory will serve me well, too,” Jiang Cheng says and before Nie Mingjue can get into the car, Jiang Cheng crowds him against the side of it, tucking his face into his neck. “Seriously, thank you.”

“My heart, I love you and no one gets to behave like that when it comes to you,” Nie Mingjue says and puts his arms around Jiang Cheng. “No thanks needed.”

“Oh, I’m gonna thank you,” Jiang Cheng says with a suggestive waggle of his eyebrow and Nie Mingjue barks out a laugh.

“Alright,” he says and then they scramble into the car.

It’s a quiet ride home, despite everything, but Jiang Cheng keeps a hold of Nie Mingjue’s hand and he has to admit that he has never felt so loved before.

And he will make sure Nie Mingjue knows how much he appreciates his actions.

Link to my ko-fi on the sidebar!

[featherfur]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[robininthelabyrinth]

If you write more for the NM/LW/WWX fic I would lose my entire mind

part 1, part 2

“You know that I was joking, right?” Nie Mingjue asked his younger brother, feeling a little bemused.

He’d only meant to tease a little: it hadn’t taken much time in Wei Wuxian’s presence to realize that the man was inclined towards physical contact with others that often blurred (or simply ignored) the line of propriety, so finding him having clambered into Lan Wangji’s lap to win an argument hadn’t been really a surprise – and neither was Lan Wangji’s reaction, which was to act as though Nie Mingjue had walked in on the two of them engaged in adultery.

Ah, the Lan sect and their rules.

Nie Mingjue was very bad at teasing, actually, a fact Nie Huaisang never failed to mock him over; he had very early on in life perfected an expression that revealed nothing and had somewhere along the line forgotten how to do anything else with his face, and so people invariably took him to have no sense of humor at all when that wasn’t the case at all.

He wasn’t sure if this counted as another instance of that.

Wei Wuxian was so enthusiastic about the idea, too – talking about how convenient it would be (for what?), the political benefits they would derive (never specified), and how it solved all the problems (there had been problems?) – and Lan Wangji was just bright red all the time, stealing glances underneath his lashes, and –

To be perfectly honest, Nie Mingjue had no idea how this had all happened.

Oh, the beginning had been clear enough. Nie Mingjue had never actually seriously considered the question of marriage, having always planned to leave the sect to his younger brother – no matter how Nie Huaisang protested, Nie Mingjue was determined that it would go to him in time, and to his children thereafter, and perhaps at last his ancestor’s line would no longer be afflicted with their hereditary rage which was only in part due to their cultivation style.

Since he didn’t intend to have children, he didn’t intend to marry – his choices were his own, and not something he would impose on a woman – and that had been that, at least until Jiang Cheng had burst in through his door with an ancient contract in hand.

A cutsleeve marriage hadn’t ever occurred to him as an option, but Jiang Cheng had been desperate, all but throwing himself down on his knees to ask that Nie Mingjue consider the proposal as the only means to save his shixiong and his sect, plus a political bargain besides.

It had seemed as decent an option as any. The love match between the Jin heir and the Jiang daughter was extremely convenient for the Jin sect; this would be a good way to balance things out, and keep the inexperienced and still healing Jiang sect from becoming mere weapons in the hands of Lanling Jin.

After thinking it over, Nie Mingjue had expressed his consent, agreed to handle all the arrangements, and then gone to tell Nie Huaisang about it.

“Are you sure about this?” Nie Huaisang had asked, oddly solemn and intense. “What about – the other parts of marriage?”

“Sex, you mean?” he’d replied. He’d faced up years ago to the fact that Nie Huaisang was an unusually avid collector (and a purveyor, at this point) of erotic art, and who even knew where he’d gotten the taste for it; it was easier to just be blunt and straightforward about this sort of thing than try to dance around the subject. “I’m willing to follow his lead. Sect Leader Jiang said he was agreeable, but that could be just to the political aspect; if he prefers not to be in my bed, I can find relief elsewhere.”

“And if he does want to be in your bed?”

“Then I’ll bed him,” Nie Mingjue had said, not really seeing the issue. His tastes had always been as straightforward as he was, without discrimination by gender or even overly much by appearance; if they liked him, and he liked them, it was good enough for him – why bother thinking it over any more than that? “He seemed lively enough.”

Nie Huaisang had sighed. “Yes, he’s lively all right; more importantly, he’s competent, and that’s been your thing since forever. But that’s not – a marriage isn’t just sex. I know what you’re like, da-ge, better than anyone: when you’re sincere, you’re sincere, and nothing can be done about it. I’d even assumed, once, that you would end up marrying – well, never mind. The question remains: even if you’re indifferent now, what happens if you fall in love?”

“Then I’d be in love with my husband?” Nie Mingjue had hazarded. “That doesn’t seem like a problem?”

Nie Huaisang had groaned, declared Nie Mingjue ‘a useless good-for-nothing when it comes to romance’, and agreed to handle all aspects of the marriage going forward.

And now –

“Oh, yes, I know you were joking when you said that,” Nie Huaisang said, tapping his fan to his lips the way he did when he was scheming something. It was usually something stupid (how to get out of responsibilities, how to get something he wanted, how to pull a truly amazing prank on someone he disliked) but in all actuality Nie Mingjue’s brother was incredibly smart, endlessly stubborn, and highly capable, no matter how he tried to hide his light under a bushel. There was a reason Nie Mingjue wanted their sect to go to him. “But the question is – are you?”

Nie Mingjue stared at him. “What?”

“You don’t have to be joking,” Nie Huaisang said. “You could marry them both. It’s not as if our treasury couldn’t afford the dowries, especially after all our victories in the war.”

“But there isn’t any reason for it. We already have a connection to the Lan sect – I’m sworn brothers with their sect leader!”

“Yes,” Nie Huaisang said patiently. “There is no political benefit to it whatsoever. You could still do it.”

Nie Mingjue opened his mouth, then closed it, and then finally shot Nie Huaisang a look that asked him to explain.

“Wei-xiong and Lan-er-gongzi are both extremely desirable,” Nie Huaisang said. “They’re brilliant cultivators, incredibly smart, incredibly powerful, highly principled – Wei-xiong had the integrity to stand up for the Wen remnants even against the entire cultivation world, Lan-er-gongzi has always acted for the greater good without any doubt or reservation. There’s a reason they’re ranked so highly in the list of young masters.”

He leaned back in his seat, shifting over and starting to idly fan himself.  

“Take Lan-er-gongzi: he’s one of the most technically skilled cultivators of my generation, whether in music, sword, archery, or otherwise; there’s isn’t one of the six arts in which he’s lacking, and he’s already known for always being where the chaos is, no matter how little fame it may bring him. Wei-xiong, in turn, is among the most creative cultivators alive, inventing not only an entire new path of cultivation but a myriad of inventions that have proven helpful to all– the spirit attraction flag, the compass of evil, just to name two – and he’s shared them openly, without the slightest inclination to keep them back for his own sect over others. In short, both of them have qualities you greatly admire in people.”

Nie Mingjue nodded. There was nothing wrong with Nie Huaisang’s analysis, excepting only his omission that they had both been fierce advocates of his war against the Wens, both having made significant contributions both on their own merits and through their advocacy – without the two of them, the war might not yet have been won.

For Nie Mingjue, whose filial duty to his father demanded Wen blood, that was a strong mark in their favor.

“Based on what you’re telling me,” Nie Huaisang continued, “for whatever reason, both of them seem to be interested in you. You’re one of the few people who can reliably read Lan expressions: if you tell me Lan Wangji isn’t opposed to the idea, it’s all but saying that he’s fiercely in favor of it. Wei Wuxian hasn’t been even remotely shy about how much he likes the concept. So that brings me to my question: do you want them?”

Nie Mingjue opened his mouth, only to find a fan on his lips, silencing him.

“I want you to think about this seriously, da-ge,” Nie Huaisang said. “If you’re really determined for me to be the next Sect Leader Nie, you’ll eventually have to listen to me, so start now. For once in your life, don’t think about the sect. Don’t think about me. Don’t think about anything. No considerations, no benefits and disadvantages, nothing at all. Just close your eyes, think about the two of them, think about the fact that you can have them if you want them, and then tell me – do you want them?”

[franniebanana]

CQL Rewatch - Ep 28

Note: I will be critical of Jiang Cheng in these posts. If you can’t handle that, please feel free to scroll on.

Sorry this write-up is so late. I had a migraine that lasted for a few days, and I didn't want to do anything.

So, we're finally here. The big showdown between Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian--they're finally talking, and Jiang Cheng is letting it all out. He starts off strong, leading with this: "you've pushed me to my limits." So, first of all, it's Wei Wuxian's fault that the other clans are pestering Jiang Cheng, as if this is an intentional act on Wei Wuxian's part to cause Jiang Cheng trouble. Obviously absurd--Wei Wuxian doesn't want to cause the Jiang Clan any more harm than they've already been through. That is the very reason why he took the surviving Wens away to a secluded area that no one else would try and enter.

Next Jiang Cheng pleads with Wei Wuxian to come back to Lotus Pier and turn in all the Wens. Yes, turning them in means they'll all be executed, but at least Wei Wuxian can come back into the fold and, most importantly, Jiang Cheng won't have to deal with him being a black sheep anymore. And what they don't really understand at this point is that if it's not the Wens, it's someone else. Someone always has to take the blame for whatever evil is occurring in the world. If Wei Wuxian were to turn the Wens in, they would undoubtedly be executed, but I don't think for one second that they wouldn't hold Wei Wuxian accountable as well, even if he were the one to turn them in himself. For one thing, they are still convinced he took piece of Yin Iron that Xue Yang had, and they don't trust him when he says (repeatedly) that he did not get it from there. Bottom line, there's always going to be a scapegoat, and we know that--we see it happen again and again in this story.

Last thing about this little scene so far: Defenders of the Wen Clan are going against the mainstream. No one will speak up for them. No one will speak up for Wei Wuxian, in particular. Jiang Cheng is pretty much giving Wei Wuxian an ultimatum: if you don't turn them in, it's over--you're out of the Jiang Clan. No one will take him in at this point, not even the Yunmeng Jiangs. Yes, Jiang Cheng is torn up about this. He wants Wei Wuxian on his side--at his side. He doesn't like the idea that Wei Wuxian's loyalty has switched from himself to these Wen remnants who are as good as dead. But here's the thing: there are still people who will speak up for him. Lan Wangji will. To a certain extent, Jiang Yanli will as well, but no one will really put much stock in what she says. When she and Jiang Cheng visit so that she can show her wedding attire to Wei Wuxian, they keep hidden--they don't want anyone to see them there. Lan Wangji, on the other hand, makes no effort to hide himself. He even calls attention to himself at the tea house when he gets pissed off at all the people gossiping about Wei Wuxian. He's really the only one who is truly on Wei Wuxian's side right now.

Heartbreakingly, Wei Wuxian tells Jiang Cheng to leave. He's the one who supplies the idea that he defected, and proposes that they stage a fight to make it believable. And I can't sit here and fault Jiang Cheng for giving this ultimatum. He's a clan leader--his priority is whatever will better his clan, and right now, Wei Wuxian is a detriment. He tries to convince Wei Wuxian, over and over, to abandon the Wens, but Wei Wuxian can't--he won't. He can't abandon them when they've done so much for him, and he can't abandon them when they've been so wronged. The people he is protecting have done nothing wrong, other than have the wrong surname. Jiang Cheng never really tries to understand that or fight for that. He knows that these people are not dangerous, yet he just goes along with the other clans.

In the end, Jiang Cheng kind of makes it about himself and his inferiority complex with Wei Wuxian. Wei Wuxian wants to be a hero, wants to be the best, he knows the Jiang discipline better than even Jiang Cheng. It's sad that it always comes back to this, despite how many times Wei Wuxian argues with it. Jiang Cheng just cannot get over not being better than Wei Wuxian, and what I find most frustrating is that that issue isn't Wei Wuxian's. It's not Wei Wuxian's problem at all. It is wholly Jiang Cheng's problem, but he behaves as if Wei Wuxian owes him something--as if he ought to do something about it. But there's nothing for him to do. Jiang Cheng just needs to get over his issues and himself.

Can you imagine how shitty Wei Wuxian must feel right now? The person he was raised like a brother to just told him he wouldn't be able to defend him anymore and essentially forced him to defect. He's leading and trying to protect a group of individuals whom the rest of the dominating clans want dead and, by extension, they probably want him dead as well. But despite this, he's doing his best to make everyone else feel better. He puts on a smile, a chipper attitude, and tries to comfort them all. He gives extra fruit to A-Yuan, then he goes to try and cheer Wen Qing up. This is the kind of person he is. And it takes a lot to break him. Think of what he's gone through! Gah!! He's so amazing, I love him!!!! Lan Wangji is my absolute fave, but it did take me a while to warm up to him. I was immediately enchanted with Wei Wuxian, and the more you know about him, the more you love him, I feel.

That fucking comb! Seriously! When will it end! I don't want to see that thing ever again!!! I'm a little irrational about the comb, but it's just really annoying to me, okay? I mean, I feel bad for the guy. He keeps trying and hoping to get a girlfriend, but it's just not happening. Wen Qing probably should have made it clear a long time ago that she had no intention of being his wife, though, and then maybe we could have ditched this subplot a long time ago as well. But the other thing is, if Jiang Cheng cares about Wen Qing so much, why is he so willing to let her be executed? It just...doesn't really make much sense that he can't even admit what his feelings are to even Wei Wuxian.

I love how Wen Qing hasn't said a word in this scene yet. Wei Wuxian is just talking and talking and talking, sort of having a dialogue with her, anticipating what she's thinking. I don't remember being this amused the first time I watched it, but it's quite funny now. Charming, as well. When I get annoyed at what the showrunners tried to do, having Wen Qing and Wei Wuxian be in a romantic relationship, I'm going to think of this scene, and the other moments where I really appreciate their platonic relationship.

Adorable! So adorable, I almost can't stand it! This part is so cute, and I swear, Jin Zixuan has never looked better. There's something about him being disheveled and maybe not having as much makeup on his face, plus the addition of the dirt and mud, that makes him really attractive and cute haha.

"I know this is not Lotus Pier, but I'm willing to build another Lotus Pier for you." Ugly sobbing ensues.

I just love them!!! <3 <3 <3

Just Lan Wangji quietly seething with rage over here. Seriously, these gossips! The funny thing is, they're all terrified of what Wei Wuxian will do, yet they sit in here and gossip about him, as if they'd ever be brave enough to stand up to him.

Favorite wangxian scene alert! I love this scene. So much. So so much. Everything from Lan Wangji's panicked expression to the way Wei Wuxian stifles his laughter, to the look on Lan Wangji's face when he hears his name being called (and recognizes whose voice it is) to Wei Wuxian's genuine smile when he and Lan Wangji make eye contact. It's genuine happiness that Wei Wuxian feels--not the forced cheerfulness that he puts on around Wen Qing. He's so glad that someone has come to see him that isn't Jiang Cheng or someone else who wants him dead. It's a friend--finally a friend.

Oh, my gosh--look at him! He's delighted! He's so happy!! When is the last time we've seen our boy actually happy? It feels like it's been forever! And my little wangxian heart soars, knowing that it's Lan Wangji that makes him feel this way. But really, it couldn't be anyone else, could it?

Indulge me. Just look at them.

Look. Look! Love! It's love!

I have so many feelings about this part, but I can't even talk about it. I just love these scenes of Lan Wangji's visit to Yiling so much. Beginning to end, it's one of my favorite parts of the series. There's such a range of emotions from joy to sadness to bitterness to love--it has everything. And seeing the beginning of their little family warms my heart: A-Yuan warming up to Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian being indignant about it. It's such an emotional time for the both of them, seeing each other for the first time in months, especially after all that has happened between them. If Lan Wangji hadn't come here, maybe they never would have seen each other again. Wei Wuxian certainly can't go to the Cloud Recesses to see him. Ugh, I have a lot of feelings, but that's to be continued, because of a strange episode break (as per usual).

Another kind of shorter post! This episode was just a lot of Jiang Cheng being dramatic about evicting Wei Wuxian, which is entertaining and all, but there’s not a whole lot to say. And then Wen Qing kind of has the exact same conversation with Wei Wuxian, which, again, not a lot to say there either. This episode was just me waiting impatiently for the wangxian part at the end to be quite honest.

Other episodes: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | Or just check out the #CQL Rewatch hashtag

[amedetoiles]

A meta rant about Yunmeng bros and reconciliation that nobody asked for: I was yelling about this yesterday in the replies with @goblinish but I’m still mad about it lol

I don’t understand the rhetoric that Wei Wuxian reconciling with Jiang Cheng and returning to Lotus Pier is them going back to the way things were and/or Wei Wuxian sacrificing again for Jiang Cheng’s sake or vice versa. That their relationship was toxic and should be left in the past. I’m sorry, but why?

There is a difference between having unhealthy trauma-induced coping mechanisms with internalized insecurities due to truly awful circumstances and genuinely wanting to hurt and treat each other like shit. There is a difference between letting go of toxic and purposefully manipulative relationships (i.e XY and XXC), and both of them choosing and wanting to be brothers again outside of the clusterfuck that is abusive parents, war, genocide, politics, and oh, death. Neither of them asked the other to sacrifice for them. Neither of them wanted that!

The problem was never about not having genuine love and deep loyalty to each other. They loved each other so much! That love is what drove each of them into making the ultimate sacrifices that they made. While their inability to communicate and express that love was certainly harmful, it doesn’t mean the emotion and relationship itself was unhealthy. That was never the problem.

I get that at the end of the novel Wei Wuxian frolics off into the sunset with his beloved, and they travel the world together chasing chaos and helping the poor, raising their son and their collection of adopted juniors. That’s beautiful! It’s romantic! They both absolutely deserve it! But Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji individually are much more than their love story. They have homes. They have families. People and traditions and worlds which have shaped who they are and who they came to be.

Wei Wuxian grew up in Lotus Pier. It built him. His sister and his brother were the first places where he learned the warmth of family, of love, of safety, of support. In perhaps one of his most heartbreaking admissions, he mutters under his breath and says he wants to go back to Lotus Pier even in his dreams. He is so terribly overjoyed when Jiang Cheng invites him into the throne room. To say that Wei Wuxian never felt like he belonged in Yunmeng Jiang or that he doesn’t want to come back is, in my opinion, an incorrect interpretation. When we have so many examples of all the ways in which he loved his family and his sect, and yes, the heartbreaking lengths which he was willing to go to in order to protect them. Sure, a lot of that was intermixed with unhealthy notions of duty and obligation, but it doesn’t erase the love. It doesn’t make it less real or less important to him and who he is.

I am not saying they don’t need time apart. They absolutely do. Wei Wuxian has a hell of a lot he needs to process, and I, for one, am immeasurably glad to see him wander off on his own at the drama’s ending. For the first time since he was fifteen-years-old, Wei Wuxian has a chance to breathe – to decide who he wants to be and what he wants this life, this second chance, to be. Jiang Cheng, too, needs to come to grips with everything that he has learned. He’s finally gotten the answer he has wanted for over two decades. It doesn’t fix everything, and there’s a whole new set of regrets now that he has to work through, but he can finally stop hating himself for trusting and loving his brother. He has lived like an open wound for 13/16 years, and he deserves a fucking nap, ok.

But why, why, should they not get to have each other back? Why should they continue on this stupid farce that they don’t miss each other instead of growing some goddamn balls and talking to each other? Why is the automatic happy ending Wei Wuxian marrying into Gusu Lan Sect and living for the rest of forever in Gusu as his home? He can have multiple homes! It’s a magical world where they have flying swords! They can fucking commute!

There’s no reason why these two shouldn’t get to have each other again. They deserve to learn, to grow, to heal and rebuild to something new, something better than what they had. It won’t be easy, but they should get to try! They should get to have it! They fucking deserve to have it! They want it even if they’re being stubborn Twin Idiots. (Plus, I think you are all underestimating the sheer power of our trouble magnet Jin Ling, courtesy name Jin Rulan, and the various ways in which he constantly throws himself into danger.) Jiang Yanli taught her two little brothers the meaning of love, of forgiveness, of compassion and of understanding. With everything that she imbued into them, how can these two not find their way back to each other?

A man can have his soulmate, his adopted son, his emotional support zombie, his nephew, his duckling juniors, and his little brother. A grape can have his sect, his chaotic disciples, his nephew, his nephew’s annoying friends, his adopted nephew, and his older brother. (This isn’t that post, but a chaotic gremlin, an angry grape, and a mastermind thespian can also rebuild their childhood friendship, just saying.) Happiness isn’t in a single direction.

tl;dr Wei Wuxian’s and Jiang Cheng’s happy endings include each other. Fight me.

[aethel]

MDZS/Untamed fic recs

Since I’m in danger of wandering off to another fandom, here are some recs I’ve collected so far:

Wangxian

Strange Darling, fic by etymologyplayground. Explores what Song Lan/Xiao Xingchen mean to Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji.

Habits of Defiance by Feynite. It's a WIP, but I think stands on its own. Explores Alpha/Alpha attraction in an A/B/O world.

all the modern AUs by detectorist, including and there was only one tent

Let's Play Pretend and Live Our Lives by Tassos. Modern AU where Wei Wuxian forgot to tell everyone he was adopting a child and tries to bluff his way through it; Lan Wangji ups the stakes. Pretend husbands, very ridiculous :)

Nothing But Trouble by brooklinegirl. Modern AU with fake dating. Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian with side Jiang Cheng/Wen Qing. On your rich breathing by Petra. Psychic wolves AU. Lan Wangji bonds with Wei Wuxian's wolf after he dies. of all the hands by typefortydeductions. Canon divergent AU with arranged marriage for diplomacy reasons. Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian. tell me your whole life by phnelt. Cyberpunk noir AU. Android Wei Wuxian/hacker Lan Wangji.

i’ll be your girl by plonk. Modern AU, miscommunication, cross-dressing, happy ending. The "extras" companion piece is also very cute.

baby let's take the long way home by plonk. Modern academic AU. Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian are academic archnemeses until Wei Wuxian gets pregnant and Lan Wangji drives him 6 hours to get an abortion. They fall in love! My favorite line is from Wei Wuxian, during sex with Lan Wangji, saying "I'm so fucking glad I got an abortion." I hope that you will come and meet me by feyburner. Post-Untamed-canon, Wei Wuxian returns to Cloud Recesses. Bed sharing and other delightfulness! I've been listening to the podfic by exmanhater to fall asleep. Other sleep aids in the Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian bed sharing podfic genre: hunters seeking solid ground, and You, Asleep and Dreaming.

this river runs to you by sundiscus. Modern fantasy AU with cultivators. Wei Wuxian is on probation, Lan Wangji is secretly a dragon, nobody dies, much pining and angst. So good! So far there are two podfics, one by argentumlupine and one by Rhea314.

In Case You Should Ever Ask by phnelt, plus sequel from Lan Wangji's POV. Modern AU in which Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian are still cultivators (a secret identity). They go undercover at a fetish party for cultivation purposes, but not really. Mianmian, Nie Huaisang, and Wen Qing as Wei Wuxian's kinkster friends who are concerned about him was possibly my favorite part of the fic, followed by Lan Wangji discovering a creative way of satisfying Wei Wuxian's kink. wear me out by plonk. Not!fic modern AU where Wei Wuxian is a soccer player and Lan Wangji is a former child actor/fashion something intern. Very cute! when I look over my shoulder by cafecliche. Modern AU fusion with some horror film I haven't seen? Lan Wangji is an exorcist, and Wei Wuxian is a medium. Wei Wuxian overexerts himself, so Lan Wangji takes him home. A most excellent and creepy use of Mo Xuanyu!

happy not knowing by plonk. Lan Xichen is aggressively clueless about the nature of Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian's relationship.

live from new york by varnes. Everyone is a writer on SNL. So good! So fun!

a ghost is just a memory you haven't met yet by ThirtySixSaveFiles. Modern AU with super creepy haunted library :) All Caught Up by brooklinegirl. Post-canon Untamed verse where inexplicably Lan Zhan hasn’t noticed that his feelings for Wei Wuxian are not platonic, but the fake betrothal plot clues him in. to dwell inside a body by typefortydeductions. Modern AU series, BDSM, genderfluid Wei Ying.

Like You Mean It by CoatWrites. WangXian, Modern AU, asexual!Wei Ying. Love Is More Than Telling Me You Want It by phnelt. omega!Wei Wuxian/alpha!Lan Wangji. They have sex in the first chapter, but it takes 100K words to communicate their feelings! A most-people-live AU, with unjust gendered A/B/O dynamic social expectations to boot.

Clear Through the Long Night by mistresscurvy. Wei Wuxian/Lan Wangji. Pining while sleeping together.

Always Knew You Were Magical by jeyhawk. Modern cultivators AU, with bed sharing.

flourish, full-flowered by lazulisong. Novel-canon, but with A/B/O.

The Last Three Feet, podfic by knight_tracer, fic by etymologyplayground. bunnies, Lan juniors, and lunch.

The Simplest Way Forward by harriet_vane. Modern AU, we-have-to-get-married-for-citizenship, kidfic.

i don't wanna lose you (hope it never ends) by annemari, podficced by exmanhater. The Untamed, Wei Wuxian/Lan Wangji, sickfic, 2 hours

Resolutions series by incendir. Various POVs, Wei Wuxian’s obliviousness is trauma-related, angst, happy endings, attempted sexual assault in one of the later stories.

Rule 63 Wangxian femslash

if your body's into me by plonk. Modern cultivator AU Gimme shelter by 74243. Modern A/B/O AU.

a history of the body, by northofallmusic, podfic by Thimblerig. Modern AU where Wei Ying has hip problems from an old injury and Lan Zhan pines. Then they use Lan Zhan's sex toys. say all that you're feeling by phnelt. Modern urban lesbian community AU.

wake up all in tangles by la_dissonance. A Rule 63 remix of varnes' live from New York, the SNL AU, except Lan Wangji says I love you before Wei Wuxian ruins it so Wei Wuxian freaks out about the I love you instead.

hush now by astronicht. Always-a-girl modern academic AU. Wangxian.

And they were roommates... by harriet_vane. Modern always-a-girl AU. I read this before I started watching the show (I started watching the show because I read this).

Non-Wangxian

a compromising position by verity. Lan Jingyi/Jiang Cheng (!!). Hilarious Lan Jingyi POV. 

A Civil Combpaign by Ariaste. post-canon Jin Rulan/Lan Sizhui, with combs.

Misdirection by feenwitch. Some kind of fantasy spy agency AU. Lan Jingyi/Lan Sizhui/Ouyang Zizhen/Jin Ling

throughline by lunatea. Modern setting, everyone is detectives or forensics experts. Wen Ning/Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian. 

Revealing That You Can't Forget Me by phnelt. Nie Huaisang is at loose ends without revenge to plan, so he takes up a hobby writing porn.  

Marry for Love by tuesday. Jiang Yanli/Nie Huaisang. Time travel fixit.

the final cut by Wildehack (tyleet). Mò Xuányǔ/Niè Huáisāng. For when you want to be emotionally devastated past bedtime and cry yourself to sleep.

the height of summer by la_dissonance. Post-canon Wen Ning/Wei Wuxian/Lan Wangji, very sweet. Wen Ning has a secret admirer.

anyway, here's wuji by kakikaeru. Post-Untamed canon Lan Jingyi POV, featuring Lan Jingyi/Lan Sizhui. Sequel is ok, jiujiu: Jin Ling POV, Jin Ling/Ouyang Zizhen.

Four Days in Lanling by halotolerant. Jiang Cheng/Nie Huaisang.

Untamed RPF

bring your secrets to me and I'll drink them all down by ThirtySixSaveFiles. Untamed RPF magic AU. Features a creepy magic house and otherworldly problem solver Wang Yibo/human Xiao Zhan.

you can take my heart (and hold it together) by ThirtySixSaveFiles. Wang Yibo/Xiao Zhan. Wang Yibo is a robot/spaceship AI. A little bit Ancillary Justice-y

Sexting Chicken: It's More Likely Than You'd Think by la_dissonance. Untamed RPF. Wang Yibo/Xiao Zhan

you're the reason that i just can't concentrate by gdgdbaby. Wang Yibo/Xiao Zhan

[zhuilingyizhen]

Tsundre Jin Ling who has no idea how to deal with his feelings for his (only) 3 friends

Side Note: Wow this ended up long- & thank you anon!! I really loved this ask.

At first he thinks that he’s supposed to feel like that towards all his friends. I mean, the three juniors are the only expieriences with friendship he’s had so far. So of course he loves likes them! Thankfully, he’s not as oblivious as Jingyi or as self-sacrificing as Sizhui. He is possibly more afflicted with dumb bitch disease than Zizhen, though. Very, very possibly.

But once the feelings of “I wanna hold his hand.” and “How would it feel to kiss him?” and “I never noticed how attractive he is.” start settling in, he realises two things. One, he’s a cutsleeve, and two, holy shit he’s in love with his friends.

There’s some major problems with this revelation. Of the 4 juniors, barely one and a half of them can healthily express their feelings, and I can guarantee that Jin Ling is not a part of that minority, being the tsundere he is. His mommy/daddy issues (rather, the lack of having living parents) also play a part in his not being able to successfully process or display his feelings. Plus, he’s not stupid just blind. He only has three friends. He’s in love with all three of them. In the scenario that they all reject his feelings and decide leave him, he would be alone again.

Imagine how he’d feel. Though his parents both left, that was due to their deaths, not them wanting to leave (though there is the fact that his mother was willing to give up her life for her brother possibly knowing that she would be leaving her son behind, but even then her main concern at the time was her brother’s life so it isn’t exactly a fair comparison and oops I’m rambling-). Jin Ling wouldn’t be able to live with himself knowing that his only friends (the ones that he loved & cared about) had willingly left him. Not that they would ever do that, but he doesn’t know that yet.

Another problem with his feelings is that he really doesn’t have anyone to talk to. The only parental figures in his life are his three uncles (JGY, WWX, and JC) and possibly WN? I’m not too sure about their canon relationship but them having a nice uncle-nephew like relationship would be nice. JL, seeing his uncle’s past experiences in romance, immediately crosses out JC from the list of possible confidants. We all know what happened with JGY (though assuming this was before everything went down, I would say that JL isn’t as close to JGY, & asking romance advice from him wasn’t exactly an appealing solution). WWX & WN both have strong familial connections with LSZ, so it would definitely be awkward talking to them about JL’s feelings for him (and almost worse having to tell them he also liked LJY & OYZZ). Plus, he wasn’t very much interested from getting a shovel talk from LWJ, who would most certainly hear about it from WWX. His friends weren’t exactly an option either, unless he went to them talking about his feelings for their mutual friends. And the idea of that was so mortifying that JL almost puked from embarrassment. Almost.

Plus, even if he asked in a hypothetical context, his friends know that he wouldn’t have a crush on anyone outside his tiny group of close knit juniors. Well, Sizhui and Zizhen know that. Jingyi is too dense to realize that Jin Ling is 1. Gay and 2. Desperately in love with them. The other two assume that JL likes one of them, but for the life of them can’t figure it out. JL is just too tsundere-y around them.

He has several options on how to deal with his quickly progressing feelings.

A: He confesses to them, and hopes that they don’t end their friendship.

B: He could slowly distance himself from his current friends, and possibly make some other friends. Leave them before they can leave him.

C: (similar to B) He could throw himself into his sect leader duties and use it as an excuse to not spend as much time with his friends, and brush them off whenever they ask about him. Become a bratty JC.

D: He hides his feelings for all three of them. Lets the feelings build up inside him, push his friends away whenever they ask, and accidentally act extremely suspicious and moodier than usual towards them.

He obviously picks a combination of the last three. Also probably has vehemently denied having feelings for any of them whenever the mere mention of romance is brought up, which has led to many awkward silences.

At this point, Zizhen is sure that JL has a crush on one of them (he’s betting on Sizhui). Sizhui himself is still trying to figure out who it is that JL likes (but he’s a bit closer to the truth than Zizhen) and Jingyi... Jingyi is questioning the odd behavior that’s going on between his three besties.

Sizhui is the first to figure it out. The juniors excluding JL (who’s busy on so-called sect stuff) are hanging out. LJY & OYZZ are discussing a romance novel that OYZZ read, and LSZ is just listening in. The gist of the novel is that a warrior falls in love with a young maiden from his hometown and the prince of a neighboring kingdom, who they are soon going to war against. The warrior has to choose what’s best for his home, and ends up slaying his male lover. Though he goes back to the young maiden and his family, the warrior ends up drowning himself in despair and guilt at having to kill the prince.

(The next part was kinda written as a fic, cause I didn’t wanna do like a screenplay of what happened.)

The two chat about it, with Sizhui occasionally offering his opinion, before Jingyi interjects. “Why couldn’t the warrior have just been with them both?”

Zizhen asks what both Sizhui and he were wondering. “What do you mean?”

“Well, he clearly loved them both. There had to be some way for him to date both of them.”

(End short dialogue fic thingy.)

It got Sizhui thinking about their situation. It was clear that Jin Ling had feelings for at least one of them, if his defensive behavior and blushing were any clue. But he hadn’t really considered the idea of him liking more than one of them, or even all three of them. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. LSZ could never exactly pinpoint who JL likes because JL had always acted the same (tsundere-y, blushing, & defensive) around all three of them. The different behavior most likely meant that...

Jin Ling liked all three of them.

Discovering this had left Sizhui reeling. The fact that he was on a picnic with the other two people one of his closest friends had a crush on didn’t exactly help, so he quickly excused himself (though this suspicious behavior went noticed by Zizhen and Jingyi, and they vowed to figure out what was afflicting the usually calm member of their group).

For one thing, Sizhui wasn’t completely sure how he felt about his friends. He was certainly fond of all three of them, but in love with them? That was quite a revelation. But it made sense. He was already close to the other three juniors, and he certainly loved them. However, the question was whether or not it was platonic or romantic love. Most of the physical contact he had with people were with his friends (mostly Jingyi, since they live at the same place & are usually together). So it would make sense that he would seek more romantic touches from them, right? Sizhui wasn’t quite sure about this all. The first thing to do was to confront Jin Ling about his feelings. Maybe they would figure it out together, all four of them.

Turns out, Jin Ling doesn’t want to talk about his feelings (seriously Sizhui, what were you expecting? Emotional maturity?). Sizhui quite literally had to chase him around Lotus Pier. Eventually he catches him, and gets Jin Ling to sit down with him for tea. (Sizhui didn’t even have to restrain him! That went better than expected.)

Not one to beat around the bush, Sizhui is pretty blunt with his questions.

“Do you like a zhen, a yi, and I romantically?”

Jin Ling was only half expecting that and chokes on his tea.

At first he denies it, but Sizhui refuses to let him leave until he tells him the truth. Which means JL either has to go with option A, or wait until Sizhui let’s him leave.

They sit there for almost an hour before the owner kicks them out. After that, they just kinda... chill. Jin Ling won’t say anything, and Sizhui won’t leave until he gets an answer, so they’re stuck in a deadlock.

Meanwhile, Jingyi and Zizhen are looking all over the Cloud Reccesses for Sizhui, but he is nowhere to be found.

Eventually, Jin Ling breaks first (he really needed to get this off his chest) and tells Sizhui that he likes them. After that, he immediately kicks Sizhui out the door and goes to mope around somewhere. Preferably with Fairy.

Sizhui finally returns and Jingyi breaks both the the no running and making loud noises rule once he sees him. Zizhen has to go back home, because by now it was pretty late. Thankfully, they got back before curfew.

The next step in Sizhui’s plan to get Jin Ling, Zizhen, and Jingyi together (he still wasn’t sure how he felt about it all himself, but he could at least make his best friends happy, right?) was to talk to Jingyi and figure out if Jingyi liked the Young Mistress & Zizhen.

This was easier than expected, cause though Jingyi is oblivious, he isn’t oblivious to his own feelin- oh wait. Well, at least he won’t deny his own feelings after figuring out that he has them. He and Sizhui have a very long talk, and yup he has feelings. He also holds Sizhui’s hand a little because feelings.

Meanwhile Jin Ling is freaking out back at Lotus Pier because he just remembered that there is a night hunt that week (and everyone will be suspicious if he doesn’t attend).

(Jiang Cheng is moderately concerned so he follows Jin Ling on the night hunt decides to visit Xichen on the day of the night hunt. On business, of course.)

The night hunt happens as usual, though Jin Ling is suspiciously quiet. Sizhui and Jingyi are more attached by the hip than usual.

They kill a few fierce corpses. Woohoo. But then Zizhen gets attacked from behind and Jin Ling pushes him out of the way. The two Lans deal with the corpse and Zizhen smiles and thanks Jin Ling, which leads to an incredibly blushy Jin Ling. Which makes Zizhen think. Because blushing + close proximity = signs of a crush. And currently Jin Ling is almost on top of him from tackling him earlier. So...

“Oh my god, you have a crush on me?”

Which was not the response Jin Ling was looking for. It also almost gives Sizhui a heart attack because oop this isn’t gonna go well. At this point, Jingyi can’t be fazed by the disaster that is his friends. Until Zizhen straight up kisses Jin Ling on the mouth, which makes him do a double take cause really guys? Right in front of his salad chicken wings?

Jin Ling is confused, Jingyi is confused, Zizhen is kinda confused and a bit dazed cause kisses sometimes do that, so Sizhui has to deal with this clusterfuck of emotions.

He gets everyone to sit in a circle (crisscross apple sauce) which, looking back on it, probably wasn’t the best idea considering they were on a night hunt. Sizhui, now knowing that at most of them have feelings for each other (still isn’t sure about Zizhen), decides to go first.

“I like all of you romantically.”

Yay confession! Jingyi isn’t surprised since he knew from their talk, so he just kinda smiles. Jin Ling, having never figured this out, would have spit out his tea again had he had tea. Zizhen just accepts it, because yeah, it makes sense.

They sit in awkward silence as Jin Ling tries to not choke on the air, Jingyi moves a bit closer to Sizhui, and Zizhen & Jingyi eventually breaks it.

“I like you all, too.”

“Same here.”

Which leaves Jin Ling, who has been attempting to find an excuse to get out of here at. It’s one thing to have feelings and another to find out that they’re returned. This wasn’t one of the outcomes he had prepared for. So he sits there until he realizes that his friends are waiting for a response.

“What’re you all looking at me for?! You can’t expect me to say it after you guys already went.”

Jingyi silently threatens to tickle him, which is somehow worse than having to spill his feelings?

“Fine, fine. I like you guys too. Can I leave now?”

Sadly for Jin Ling, Jingyi forces him & the others into a hug, because feelings.

They all just kinda sit there for a while, before Jin Ling realizes that it’s time for them to get the heck out of there because he has to get home before his uncle yells at him.

Little did he know, Jiang Cheng had been watching him from the bushes and his new boyfriends would be getting the shovel talk very, very soon...

[luhanvirus]

The day that Wei Wuxian arrived late

"Don’t look at me like that, I’m not interested.”

“I don’t think so, I smell your arousal.”

“Please, shut up.”

N/A: Xicheng fantasy AU again, plus annoying demon!Huaisang. Incomplete because I had a long tired day. Going to think if I made a long fic about this ABO AU.

For the #CultivaTober2020, another story that no one asked me.

Day 24: Hand fan

.

“You know, actually I can smell your excitement.”

What a shame, thought Jiang Cheng.

He needs to chill right now, Nie Huaisang was too perceptive for his own sake.

Yet, his inner tiger was feeling tense and uneasy since a pungent sandalwood scent hit him early.

He looked around the market, letting his nose guide him to where the scent was wafting from. A smiley Alpha in white and blue robes, unfairly handsome and so hot that it hurt to see.

He stared, unconsciously.

“I saw the way you looked at him.” Huaisang chuckled. “You like him, don’t you?"

Jiang Cheng groans, he was just getting mixed signals from his animal spirit and body when Huaisang noticed how honest was his body.

“I don’t know what are you talking about, Huaisang.“

"I know what I saw!" He teased, fanning his face. "I clearly saw your apricot go go eyes."

Nie Huaisang sight at the trio in the other side of the avenue. He recognized his brother’s scent and Meng Yao alongside Lan Xichen’s overwhelming presence. Dragon shifters were really appealing. 

Mingjue noticed them and approached, Huaisang didn’t let Jiang Cheng notice it. 

“So you’re not going to do a move?”

Jiang Cheng shook his head, cheeks blushed as he look at the other way. “I don’t know what are you talking about.”

“Oh come on, don’t be shy. I can introduce you to him, he’s my brother’s childhood friend.”

"Don’t look at me like that, I’m not interested.”

“I don’t think so, I smell your arousal.” 

“Oh please, shut up.”

"Hell, Cheng Cheng. It’s natural for an Omega to fell in love at first sight and get aroused, you know."

Jiang Cheng raised and eyebrow at the nickname, he didn’t fell in love or something like that. He just stared a stunning Alpha. How that could be love? What the fuck?

Not like he’s wet or something like that.

Huaisang closed his hand fan, resigned to play slow. “Tiger shifters are weird."

“Demons are too lustful.” 

“We know what we want, at least who we want.”

“Gross.”

“You know, I don’t blame you for staring”, Nie Huaisang said calmly. "Xichen-ge is so hot. When I met him for first time I felt attacked too!”

“Who bastard made you felt attacked, Huaisang?” Greeted Mingjue, frowning.

Huaisang stop breathing before to run “Meng Yao, help me!”

Jiang Cheng crossed his arms with a snarky grin in his face, enjoying Huaisang’s scared face until he noticed Nie Mingjue’s company included that Alpha.

Shit.

“Da-ge, don’t be too hard on A-Sang” Lan Xichen smiled, looking at Huaisang hiding from his brother behind Meng Yao's back. 

“Easy to say for you, Xichen. Your brother is not an Omega.”

“Wangji might not be an Omega, but let me tell you that an Alpha little brother isn't easy to deal."

"Fuck, you got a point” Mingjue admits, thinking what pain in the ass would be if Huaisang was an Alpha too. He turned to his brother’s friend, the other little shit that he should protect from horny Alphas around. “Are you passing through Qinghe, Wanyin?

“Actually, I’m waiting my brother”, informs Jiang Cheng. 

“It’s getting late, stay at night in our house”, proposed Meng Yao. Worried that an unmated Omega was traveling alone in a place full of lewd demons like the Unclean Realm. 

“I will pay a room if it’s necessary” said Jian Cheng, not wanting to bother other people with his current problems. After all, it was Wei Wuxian fault be this late.

And then, Huaisang saw his chance.

“Xichen-ge, would you mind to escort my friend until his brother comes?” Asked Huaisang without worrying if the tiger shifter glares him to death, if they were lucky Wei Wuxian would arrive late or tomorrow. 

Lan Xichen looked at the other Omega, smirking pleased at the sight.

“Of course, if he let me.”

[words-writ-in-starlight]

I never stop being suprised at how well adjusted Jin Ling is, given his situation- being orphan and heir to one, potentially two great sects aside, he is incredibly normal given ones who raised him were Jiang '' I express concern by threatening to break your legs and its step up from how I was raised'' and Jin '' I will put up with all of your tantrums because i have 12342 different ways to orchestrate your death on backburner'' Guangyao. Like, how is this kid relatively normal given his 1/2

parental figures were walking mess of decades long traumas who trained him to be as deadly at night hunting as possible and schemer who sweetly smiled while being insulted for everything aand planning numerous atrocities who kept spoiling him with 400 nets and best pet in world? I blame it on Qin Su,.( 2/2)

HERE’S MY THING, Jin Ling is a wreck as a person.  I can think of several “well-adjusted” kids, some of them more shocking than others, but quite frankly Jin Ling is five traumas in a Jin crest, with a sword for a comfort item and a brand new expectation that he get his act together to run a sect.  I love him so much, but the vast majority of his influences have taught him to interact with the world on two axes labeled “Anger” and “Orders,” both of which are normally directed at him.  His only two responses to a crisis are to lash out at the person in charge or to break down into these agonized tears that he feels horrendously ashamed of.  Both of those reactionary schema can be traced pretty directly to the way Jin Guangyao and Jiang Cheng have raised this kid.

Anger: this is Jiang Cheng’s Brand.  It just is.  In fact, I’d put money that Jiang Cheng had a lot of the raising of Jin Ling, because they both handle emotion in exactly the same way--they don’t.  When Jin Ling doesn’t know what’s going on, or feels out of control, or isn’t entirely sure how to process his emotions, he picks a target and gets mean fast, because his uncle is an adult that he trusts to have his act together and that’s how his uncle behaves.  Unfortunately for both of them, it’s actually not that productive to just.  Yell at people and lash out.  It leads to things like brothers who don’t tell you about golden core transfers and potentially powerful allies who don’t trust you.

@ Jiang Cheng, bud, I understand that you have capital-T Trauma and that you’ve withstood years of people applauding you for the murder of the brother who you loved and felt massively betrayed by and kind of didn’t mean to kill but also kind of intended to kill but also kind of chickened out on killing and blamed for everything bad in your life, because that��s what your parents taught you to do.  I understand that.  Please give your nephew one (1) hug.  He would do anything for a hug from you.  I hope the whole Nie Mingjue debacle was informative to you both on this front.

Incidentally!  Jin Ling is especially unstable and prone to rash anger when this phenomenon intersects with feeling that he’s being manipulated or talked down to.  Hm.  Wonder where that could have come from.  Which brings me to...

Tears: Jin Guangyao hasn’t killed Jin Ling yet by the time of the main plot, which means two things.  First, he is sincerely emotionally attached to the kid.  On the upside, Jin Ling got a dog out of the deal.  On the downside, Jin Ling has probably been on the receiving end of a lot of Jin Guangyao’s “protective” instincts, which I think Qin Su can confirm are not necessarily the most fun instincts in the world.  They’re heavily predicated on Jin Guangyao being in control of things, which means that he relies incredibly heavily on emotional manipulation and enforcing the hierarchy he’s working within.  Examples include: Nie Mingjue, Qin Su, Jin Zixun.  Because Jin Guangyao is sect leader for most of Jin Ling’s life, that means that no matter how hard he pushes, his uncle will always have the strength of the hierarchy to back up his manipulation, which means that all the anger in the world is useless, which means that Jin Ling grew up desperately lacking in control.  And Jin Guangyao is doing it for his own good, so Jin Ling can’t be angry, of course, how could he be angry with his uncle for protecting him?  

Second, Jin Guangyao was...never planning to let Jin Ling inherit properly, right?  We’re all on the same page here?  He was anticipating, A, becoming immortal (the whole goal of cultivation) or, B, stepping down gracefully and puppeteering Jin Ling from behind the scenes, or very possibly C, both.  That means that Jin Ling needs to be manipulable, which--listen, you can say a lot of things about Jiang Cheng, but manipulable isn’t really one of them.  That suggests to me that Jin Guangyao probably went with a very basic method of trying to make Jin Ling into the heir he needed: guilt trip, reserve compliments unless certain conditions are met, make gifts and compliments backhanded when possible, reward “weak” behavior while also reprimanding it.  Basically?  If Jin Ling was being reprimanded by Jin Guangyao and started crying, he probably got called out for being weak but the reprimand stopped and any punishment was less intense than it might have been otherwise.  Hey presto, you have a kid who can’t really handle confrontation but doesn’t know how else to deal with a problem, and who understands that crying will get him out of trouble but also associates it with a complete lack of control over the situation.

Not really ideal for a sect leader, right?

Now, this is where it took kind of a turn for Jin Guangyao, because that plan would have been immaculate if not for the fact that Jiang Cheng is as direct a dealer as anyone in the cultivation world.  Yes, he’s angry all the time, can’t handle his own emotions (except by rage and tears! JGY and Madam Yu should get tea and chat about parenting), and hasn’t decided if he’s guilt-stricken or gleeful over the death of his brother.  But.  Jin Ling knows exactly what to expect from him at all times.  Pretty much the only time we see him actually confused is when Jiang Cheng says that, if Jin Ling doesn’t catch something on their night hunt, he can’t come back--and Jiang Cheng is outraged that Jin Ling took him seriously.  (I also kind of think Jin Ling is being a shit about that on purpose.  But that’s me.)

The rest of the time?  Jin Ling is offended that people take Jiang Cheng’s threats toward him seriously.  He’s pretty much completely prepared to throw himself on Jiang Cheng’s mercy when he needs help.  He postures and poses to mimic him, and breaks Wei Wuxian out against Jiang Cheng’s direct orders without fear of reprisal.  That’s not a kid who’s afraid of his uncle, except, of course, that he wants Jiang Cheng to be proud of him, and he knows that crying is a disappointment.

I’m not saying Jiang Cheng is uncle of the year, see above re: PLEASE hug your nephew, but the mere fact that he can be relied upon to react predictably, in Jin Ling’s experience, does a lot to counteract Jin Guangyao’s attempts to control him.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but Jiang Cheng is the product of a toxic childhood doing his best with the tools he has, and Jin Guangyao is the product of a toxic childhood experimenting with a fun kicky new kind of toxicity in the next generation.

And honestly?  I think that Jiang Cheng having gotten some of the weight off his chest about everything, Jin Guangyao’s manipulations being exposed, and having actual friends will do a lot to help Jin Ling get his feet under him.  Not to mention his brand new uncle who is even more forthright than Jiang Cheng and is more than prepared to tell Jin Ling outright when he’s being a spoiled brat without concern for rank, plus also being willing to Give That Boy A Hug And A Sincere Compliment.

I’m not saying that the Jin Ling fic I’m planning to write is going to heavily feature Wei Wuxian going “okay!!!!  You need to learn that positive reinforcement doesn’t always come laced with poison!!!!!”  But I’m not not saying that.

[redxblueihateloveyou]

Actually for me it's pretty weird that the most popular ship in Free! is Makoharu. I mean, they give me like zero romantic vibes, if not Rinharu I would've definitely shipped Sourin. It's the main reason I hated Sousuke when I watched 2nd season for the first time - I saw him as a threat for Rinharu (now I just don't like him that much, but I decided to let Rin has his best friend, lol). Maybe it's just me loving rivals to lovers :)

Well.. for me Free! was never that kind of anime where there are other ships, but honestly after several years of watching anime and lately discovering that people ship Wei Wuxian with Jiang Cheng I kinda lost my faith in people lol And yes, I also truly don’t get those ships, where there are zero romantic vibes, but I got used to seeing this already.

I think I’ve talked about Makoharu only once, I usually don’t do it cause as a ship it’s so illogical to me that I just don’t see the point of wasting time on this lol I feel like it’s gonna be long answer so I’ll split it and after “***” I’ll talk about my bro-rinharu-shipper Sousuke.

I’m not gonna throw a debate if it’s the most popular ship or not, but I just want to say that I don’t think that it's really called shipping Makoto and Haru, since firstly, let’s talk about Makoto as a character (which is the main problem in this whole thing tbh) cause from what I saw the Makoto the MH fandom created has nothing to do with the real Makoto. Like the dude is scared of dogs, ghosts, bees, water and I forgot what else; covers his eyes when he sees anyone even in swim trunks and gets embarrassed easier than a nun (apparently you can’t even unbutton the collar of your freaking jacket!!!!!!!!!!! oh lord!!!!!!); crumbles under everyone in this anime including Hiyori and can’t even talk back. 

And suddenly like half of this fandom thinks that Makoto is a dominant top apparently. We seriously laughed our asses off seeing that, I mean even my mom (who’s a teacher btw). I’m like... I have a sister who’s majored in psychology and I myself in literature (like I seriously promise we ain’t stupid) and we just seriously don’t understand.. In what Tarzan’s ass does he suit this description? Dude can’t even answer properly while being offended. Like maybe they like Makoto’s twin brother? Because real Makoto does not have any dangerous dark side, seriously, this ain’t “8 dogs of the east” lmao.

I appreciate their friendship at times, but I never was a fan of him, because I don’t really like people who treat everyone equally (friends and strangers) and think that some asshole deserves as much love as the closest friend. I just don’t understand this life position and don’t like those “world peace” guys anyway. I mean, that fish died moment in the books was when my brain died honestly. Like I get it, dude is sensitive, but... seriously?

And for me being kind is not really a personality. I mean, hell, sometimes it’s no good to be kind. There is a fine line between being kind and being a mop you know.

And sometimes his behavior is really cringy to me. Like during the funeral and during Haru passing out in the book and during many things that are very serious. I just don’t think he’s the person you can rely on at times. I mean at first I thought he’s a steady shoulder, but somehow in all serious situations he doesn’t do anything useful.

Like I might be in the minority here, but to me when you know very well that you panic in the ocean you don’t go there trying to save somebody, it’s not brave, it’s just plain stupid (like it’s not like the tent was far, it was fucking next to him, all he had to do is wake up a pro) so by the end we had to rescue two instead of one, just because he’s dumb af.

He also panics a lot which I really hate on people. I’m sorry but like panicking ppl are the only worst. It reminds me of one of my life situation when my sister was badly hurt and we needed to keep our heads cool to act quickly and do what was necessary asap. And I’ve seen ppl behave like Makoto in situations like this and man it’s seriously no fun, it’s annoying. Like when you need to help somebody and someone panics beside you it pisses you off. And he does it even in little things like when he yelled Haru in the ear while driving JUST BECAUSE A CAR IN FRONT OF THEM BRAKED I mean omfg I would seriously yell “shut the fuck up, you pussy!”

And it all honestly keeps getting worse and worse like the way he’s written, his behavior just buffles me so much. Makoto in s3 just murdered me tbh. Like he didn’t help with anything, he didn’t bring anything to the plot, you can just erase him, he only sat there anyways. And the way they pulled his “dream” out of his ass was just a second-hand embarrassment tbh. And he’s not even Haru’s emotional support anymore. He’s just... I don’t get it. There were literally scenes where he was third-wheeling or just forced into that looked laughable. 

Which brings me to the second point. From what I saw many of Makoharu fans are mostly Makoto fans, so they just want what’s good for him, and since he has no life goals whatsoever (like after he dropped his “I dream of making children like swimming” thingy like a hot potato and was like “training children.. but look at Rin and Haru” I really lost my last marbles watching him) they apparently don’t care for what Haru’s dream is and that he said openly that he wants a future with Rin.

Like I get that everyone has their tastes, but like what.. two people who are crazy about each other since twelve and blossomed a dream of having a future together and the thought of being with each other got them through and they finally have what they wanted.. this is not a trend anymore? Mutual romantic love is not a trend anymore? Like I even without novelization can see that (and I quote Rin word for word here) that “every time he sees Haru his heart beats so fast he can’t calm down” and quote “Haru sees Rin and he’s shaking, he closes his eyes desperately trying get rid of the image, but the pain in his chest doesn’t go away”.

I am personally very happy that Rinharu are finally together and will be doing what they wanted in their life by each other’s side, cause they’ve been dreaming about it for too long, they’ve been thinking about it for  years. So not wanting them to have that is very weird for me. And the argument that Makoto somehow better than Rin for Haru is so invalid, I always laugh. I guess it depends on what you want for yourself. But honestly like you guys better find someone who make you want to reach for the stars and make you heart skip a bit everytime you see him.

So I as a huge fan of Haru want my boy to fly and now I have all the canon proof for those who were blind that Rin is the only one (been said) who makes him feel that way. So all those anons who kept writing to me how relay with Sosuke, with Rei and what baffled me the most swimming with Ikuya was just as emotional for them can finally shut it (lmao I’m sorry).

***

Now... Sousuke, my bro, the first Rinharu shipper on the village who helped them to get together is a threat? Okay. Well, I actually like s2, there are some dumb episodes but s2 actually to me showed how rinharu relationships are different from anyone else. There are literally two whole episodes and several scenes of how the bROMANCE prevails over BROmance.

Sousuke and Rin have typical brothers relationship. From their secret handshakes “parent trap” style to the fact that they draw them exactly the same with his real brother. I mean I don’t know if anyone noticed, but in 3x11 they drew Sousuke doing the exact same teasing move with Rin, that his older brother did to him in 3x01, and it’s definitely not a coincidence. Which means he treats him like his little bro, and not just that. I have lots of proof.

You know, I had a friend back at university who had an older brother who she was very close with and she kept telling me about how he kept testing her boyfriends if they’re good enough... I mean Sousuke was doing it with Haru since Rin has told him that he has found his one and only. And it never ever looked like he was possessive of Rin and was like “he’s mine”, it was always like “he’s yours so make sure you make him happy you loser”, he even stalked Haru to see if he still swims alright which is really funny (like okay dad), so by the end of the season when Rin lovingly looks at Haru and says it was all worth it, Sousuke looks very content like he was sure that they’re all good now.

And that moment like in Yakusoku where Rin dropped Sousuke as soon as he saw Haru, I honestly don’t think it’s the kind of jealousy people think it is. It’s like if I asked my sister “do u want to see the new avengers movie” and she’d answer “sorry, I already promised to go with my boyfriend” (not that this would ever happen, but let’s imagine that she found herself her nanase) I would be fucking upset too, but I would kinda get it (if it’s a love of her life I mean). Or like literally imagine you lived with your best friend for years and suddenly she wants to move in with he boo. I mean it happens sometimes. But it’s not the jealousy really, he’s just sad because he knows that he needs to let Rin go and he won’t spend as much time with him as he did before. Sousuke knows how much Rin loves Haru, plus after he saw that Haru is as good as Rin told him, he started to like him himself so he was worried about both of them. 

And I love Sousuke, he’s our godmother. I’d rather have him on the international team than Ikuya but he sadly he doesn’t swim breaststroke or back and we only have one butterfly and one freestyle spot xD

I’m sincerely saying as a person with two siblings that I really don’t see it. It’s just there’s a huge difference between brothers and lovers. And you can’t call Harurin bros. It’s just laughable. Even if you haven’t read anything and just watched the anime.

I mean I think it’s easier to see if you try to imagine Haru in Sousuke’s place in any Sourin scene and see how it would’ve went then. Like do you remember when Sousuke asked for cola and Rin went to get one and there was only one can left so they rock-paper-scissored it and Rin won and drank it?

Now imagine if Haru was there in Sousuke’s place. I can tell you 100% that Rin would’ve just given him the can. And then he would’ve looked at him with that face he makes when he’s content just by watching Haru eat, you know.

I mean it just how I see it. And there are a lot of comparable scenes in s2 that bring me lots of evil joy, but I won’t tell lmao.

But as I said before to me there’s a huge difference between bromances and bromances. So I mostly don’t get most of these ships. I don’t understand anything in this world apparently lol but I only see Rinharu since the first time I’ve watched it, and then I’ve read everything and realized that I’m right, so I’m ok with all this xD 

[bloody-bee-tea]

Make me hot(ter)

This is a continuation of my fic “Mark me up” and it was inspired by this post by @antiquecompass and @ruensroad who is the worst most wonderful enabler.

Mo Xuanyu weighs his eyeliner in his hand. He knows Jiang Cheng would look gorgeous in one, and Mo Xuanyu is itching to prove it.

But he’s not sure he can ask.

So far, Jiang Cheng has been understanding of Mo Xuanyu’s make-up habits—has even been downright enthusiastic most of the times—but Mo Xuanyu  knows that being supportive of someone else wearing make-up and wearing make-up yourself are two very different things.

And he really, really doesn’t want to drive Jiang Cheng away.

“You’ve got your thinking face on,” Jiang Cheng suddenly says as he leans over Mo Xuanyu’s shoulder and presses a kiss to his cheek. “What’s going on?”

Mo Xuanyu turns around to him and drags Jiang Cheng in a lingering kiss before he even thinks about replying.

Mo Xuanyu can still sometimes barely believe that Jiang Cheng actually stayed after that first very hot night.

Mo Xuanyu had been half-convinced that that would be all he got—a lot of people think him pretty enough to spend the night with him after all—but then Jiang Cheng had asked for breakfast with him, and wanted to have his number and asked for dates and phone calls and Mo Xuanyu doesn’t even know how he got this lucky.

He must have been lost in his thoughts for too long, because Jiang Cheng pokes his head.

“What’s going on in there?” he asks again, now clearly more worried than he had been a few moments ago and Mo Xuanyu holds up his eyeliner instead of verbally answering his boyfriend.

“Is it new?” Jiang Cheng asks and Mo Xuanyu suddenly knows how he has to play this.

“Yes,” he agrees, even though it’s anything but, but he’s counting on the fact that Jiang Cheng won’t know that. “And I need to practice with it.”

“Okay?” Jiang Cheng slowly gives back and moves his thumb gently under Mo Xuanyu’s lined eyes. “Maybe you should take your make-up off for that first?”

“I usually practice on someone else first,” Mo Xuanyu tells Jiang Cheng and now that, at least, is not a lie.

Nie Huaisang is always very willing to sit still for Mo Xuanyu when he wants to try out some new brushes or colours or styles.

“Nie Huaisang,” Jiang Cheng says with a small nod. “He’s away with his brother, isn’t he?” Jiang Cheng then goes on and Mo Xuanyu nods.

“Yes,” he agrees. “And I am in desperate need of a model,” he tacks on with fluttering eyelashes and watches in fascination as Jiang Cheng blushes.

He does enjoy the effect he has on Jiang Cheng immensely.

“Well, I wonder if anyone would be willing,” Jiang Cheng mutters and thumbs over Mo Xuanyu’s lower lip, coated in a deep violet, before he reels him in for a scorching kiss.

Mo Xuanyu is more than happy to go along with it and get his lipstick smeared, especially because it means Jiang Cheng’s own lips are getting all messed up.

It truly is a sight to behold.

Lately, Mo Xuanyu might be choosing colours that would fit Jiang Cheng so very well, though he’s not admitting to anything.

Plus, Jiang Cheng’s willingness to get all messed up like this is something Mo Xuanyu will forever be amazed about, partly because his previous relationships were very clear on the fact that they enjoyed the make-up on Mo Xuanyu but that it should stay there.

And now there is Jiang Cheng who doesn’t seem to mind at all.

“You seem pretty willing to me,” Mo Xuanyu eventually says, taking up their previous conversation and Jiang Cheng smirks at him.

“So willing,” he agrees and sits down at Mo Xuanyu’s table, face turned up and clearly ready to let Mo Xuanyu do whatever he wants.

“Gods, how did I get so lucky,” Mo Xuanyu mutters under his breath as he steps closer, eyeliner already raised and ready.

It’s quick work, putting it on Jiang Cheng and when he’s done, Mo Xuanyu takes a step back to critically look Jiang Cheng over.

His lips are still purple and the eyeliner is such a look on Jiang Cheng, it takes Mo Xuanyu’s breath away. Mo Xuanyu has always loved Jiang Cheng’s eyes, but now they are almost other-worldly.

Mo Xuanyu is going to cry bitter tears when Jiang Cheng takes it off again, he already knows it.

“And?” Jiang Cheng asks when Mo Xuanyu has stared at him for long moments and Mo Xuanyu blurts out the first thing that comes to mind.

“You’re so fucking hot.”

Jiang Cheng blinks at him.

“Thanks, babe, but I was actually asking about the eyeliner,” Jiang Cheng says with a roll of his eyes and Mo Xuanyu dies a little bit inside, it looks so good.

“It’s a look on you,” Mo Xuanyu tells him breathlessly and Jiang Cheng stares at him like he’s stupid.

“I was asking about your ability to use your new eyeliner,” he says slowly, as if he thinks Mo Xuanyu is stupid, and Mo Xuanyu might as well be, because he forgot all about that lie.

“Oh, right,” he breathes out and gives Jiang Cheng his most winning smile. “I feel confident in my ability to use it.”

Jiang Cheng narrows his eyes at him, making Mo Xuanyu’s knees weak in the process, but he also knows that he’s in trouble.

“Xuanyu, if you wanted to try this out on me, specifically, you should have just said,” Jiang Cheng tells him then and Mo Xuanyu presses his lips together.

“Yeah, right,” Mo Xuanyu mutters, because he knows how that would have turned out, but before he can turn away, Jiang Cheng catches his hand in his.

“Hey, talk to me, I’m here,” Jiang Cheng gently urges him and Mo Xuanyu melts at that.

They have done this a few times already, were one of them were all caught up in their own head and bad memories and this sentence never fails to bring them out of it.

Mo Xuanyu would hate Jiang Cheng for seeing through him so easily if he didn’t love him so much.

“It’s just,” Mo Xuanyu starts with a sigh and then threads their fingers together. “My partners in the past haven’t been so understanding or accepting,” he admits and can see the flash of anger on Jiang Cheng’s face.

“Well, I am,” Jiang Cheng says, pressing a kiss to the back of Mo Xuanyu’s hand. “And you can always ask me.”

“Okay,” Mo Xuanyu agrees.

“And I’m never against wearing make-up. It’s just us here. Who is going to mind?”

“Clearly not you,” Mo Xuanyu gives back and Jiang Cheng gives him a huge grin.

“Exactly. Now let me see,” he then says and gets up to walk into the bathroom where he stops in front of the mirror.

He’s silent for a worrying long time.

“Jiang Cheng?” Mo Xuanyu carefully asks and clearly jolts Jiang Cheng out of his thoughts.

“Holy shit, it looks so good,” Jiang Cheng blurts out and leans closer to inspect himself better, clearly not caring that Mo Xuanyu’s jaw just hit the floor.

Not even Huaisang had that reaction yet.

“I told you,” Mo Xuanyu eventually manages and Jiang Cheng turns back towards him.

“And I should always trust you,” Jiang Cheng says seriously and Mo Xuanyu can’t help but to walk over and kiss him again, dragging him off to the bedroom.

He can’t wait to have those eyes stare up at him.

~*~*~

Jiang Cheng is busy in the bathroom, getting ready for his night out with Wei Wuxian when Mo Xuanyu suddenly hears a lot of cursing.

It’s not particularly uncommon—Jiang Cheng has quite the mouth on him—but it still makes Mo Xuanyu look over in concern.

“Goddamit,” he can hear Jiang Cheng grumble, before he calls out “Hey, A-Yu, come here for a second?”

“What’s wrong?” Mo Xuanyu asks, but he’s already on his way over.

“Can you do my eyeliner?” Jiang Cheng asks and Mo Xuanyu stops dead in the doorway.

“Your what now?” he asks, too surprised by the question and Jiang Cheng levels him with a look through the mirror, eyeliner still in his hand.

“I can’t get it right, I know I should have practiced before wanting to go out, but you made it look so easy.”

Jiang Cheng’s eyes are red rimmed, so he must have been trying several times, only to wipe it off again, and Mo Xuanyu is still staring at him.

“You want to go out in eyeliner,” he repeats and now Jiang Cheng turns around to him, arms crossed in front of his chest.

“Yes. You got a problem with that?” he asks, a clear challenge in his voice and Mo Xuanyu is quick to shake his head.

“You—liked it?” he carefully asks and Jiang Cheng scoffs at that.

“Please. I was fucking hot,” he says and then tilts his head. “Well, hotter than normally,” he adds with a wink and Mo Xuanyu loves this man so goddamn much, it’s ridiculous.

“Of course I’ll help you,” Mo Xuanyu says and steps closer to pluck the eyeliner out of Jiang Cheng’s hands. “Come here,” he softly says and when Jiang Cheng obediently tilts his head for him, kissing him seems much more important.

And it’s not like Jiang Cheng doesn’t indulge him. At least for a few wonderful moments.

“I’m going to be late, A-Yu,” Jiang Cheng gently reminds him after he moves his head away and Mo Xuanyu sighs.

“Fine. Guess I’ll have to wait to kiss you until you get back long after midnight.”

“If someone would wear my favourite lipstick and send me photographic proof of that, I could be back earlier,” Jiang Cheng cheekily suggests as Mo Xuanyu applies the eyeliner with a sure and steady hand, and Mo Xuanyu goes hot at the promise in his words.

“Someone might be tempted,” Mo Xuanyu gives back and gives Jiang Cheng one last kiss, before he ushers him out of the room. “Now go, so I can have you back earlier,” he instructs him and Jiang Cheng salutes at him before he grabs his bag and is out of the door.

Mo Xuanyu reaches for the violet lipstick and uncaps it, before he takes a picture of it. It can’t hurt to document the lipsticks’ way after all.

(Jiang Cheng is back barely two hours later. Wei Wuxian is the only one who complains.)

Next part