#you mentioned the wen siblings and i wanted to show them some love!

[sandushengshou]

for the @mxtxnet gift exchange, a gift for @sun-dari. happy holidays! <3

#theuntamededit #theuntameddaily #mxtxnet #cdrama #the untamed #mdzs #wen ning #wen qing #* #you mentioned the wen siblings and i wanted to show them some love! #their bond is lovely and the way wen qing smiles at her lil brother is T_T <3 #i hope you like it! #also surprise! you got me and i got you haha <3 #i hope your holidays were good and let's hope 2023 is kind to all of us

[whumpbby]

I really like the idea of JC with NMJ during the Sun shot campaign, the big belly is really doing it for me. But also, it's during (or soon after) Sunshot, so both WWX and JYL would be alive to see it, later on JL would have siblings and NHS would be an uncle. I wonder how it would change the plot, would anyone survive thanks to baby fever or would it somehow cause more deaths. Would NHS involve JC in his plotting now that he's family or can having family distract him from his grief enough to not plot. What if NMJ didn't die (unlikely but still). Also I can't use question marks for some reason.

Anyway back to the actual babies, of course they're big. Biggest babies you'll ever see with lungs that can scream your ears off. They will be given the most appropriate and lovely names possible of course. JYL will get to pick one.

I have so many ideas now about thisTT more or less sad/happy

How about just after Sunshot, when WWX is being dumb and staying with the Wens and JC is desperate to save him. Desperate enough to go to the one man that stood in his way - and the one that he had a chance of convincing, the one he had something to offer to...

He goes to NMJ and offers him an heir.

There's not a lot of gentry omegas left after the war. There was never many of them, but the Wen liked to target them to demoralise their families and so there's just a few left and they're all staunchly protected by their packs.

Jiang Cheng knows that the Nie are traditionalists, that their heirs are meant to be born from an alpha and an omega. He knows that the Nie don't have any omegas of an age and position appropriate for Nie Mingjue. He knows that for all his sect being a shadow of what it was, he's a perfect option for the alpha - he's an omega from a good bloodline, he has proven himself in the war, he's young and has a chance of carrying well, their characters are compatible. His pack is small, but dedicated to him and through his sister he has ties to the Jin sect.

Nie Mingjue will have problems finding a better carrier for his heir.

"Most importantly, do you even have the time to wait for another match, Nie-zonghzu?"

Nie Mingjue scoffs and wants to call Jiang Wanyin shameless, but the truth is... no, he doesn't. He knows he doesn't have as much time as he'd like to have - not only to sire a child, but to raise it, to see it grow, to prepare it for the role it will take in the future. He didn't think about it during his youth, because he was focused on raising Huaisang, and during the war there was simply no time.... but now, when they're all focused on rebuilding and repopulating their ranks, the idea of a child came back. His advisors mentioned a heir a time or two already and Nie Mingjue knows it will keep happening more and more as times goes by. He is expected to sire a child, and soon.

And yeah, maybe Jiang Wanyin is desperate enough to shamelessly sell his body for a group of Wen dogs and the shixiong that abandoned him, but Nie Mingjue is just as desperate to not leave his brother in the position he never wanted to be.

Can he weight his hatered for the Wen against his responsibility to his pack?

"I can't advise you on that, da-ge." Huisang's face didn't show a sign of sour, but his fingers were tellingly twisting the tassel of his fan. "Jiang Cheng is a good man, he sticks to his word. If you think he will be a good option, I will have nothing against it."

"It's shameless," Nie Mingjue said sourly. "For an omega to use their body in a trade."

"Certainly. A pitiful thing, to resort to such means," Huaisang looked at the wall as he spoke. "Alphas certainly don't need to lower themselves in such ways."

His little brother, so scathing in being of offhand.

"I'm certain your sworn brothers will have more insights into the situation than me, da-ge. I don't really know about politics," Huaisang noted with a sweet smile "You're lucky indeed to have their support."

Ah yes, quite cutting, his didi.

They didn't exclude Jiang Wanyin from their brotherjood on purpose - they just... didn't think of him at the time. The Jiang sect was non-existent and Jiang Wanyin was chasing shadows on the battlefield, searching for his shixiong, staying on the outside, tending to his hatchlig sect and costing up to Jin Guangshan...

"After all, I'm an omega myself, brother, I cannot be expected to keep up with all that, right?"

Not like Jiang Wanyin, who was raising his sect from the ground on his own shoulders, with little help from anyone. Was it a wonder he wanted his shixiong back, then? Even at the cost of his own body, was it a wonder he was desperate for the support from the last of his family left?

Mingjue burned to consult with Lan Xichen, who was always so balanced and objective when it came to inter-personal politics. But he didn't. Lan Xichen, raised in righteous and prohibitive sect, wouldn't understand. Romantic as he was, Zewu-jun wouldn't approve of the idea - whereas the Nie sect was fine with having their pups born out of wedlock, the Lan were conservative enough to demand marriage and mating before the offspring could even be discussed.

They could not marry, they could not mate - not two sect leaders. What Jiang Wanyin was offering him was a business transaction, borrowing his body for nine months in exchange for shutting up about a handful of Wen dregs.

He could carry on his vendetta against remnants and follow Jin Guangshan's lead, a case he had nothing to win in. Or he could have a strong heir born out of a strong omega of good blood. Jin Guangyao was his sworn brother, but Jin Guangshan was nothing more than a slimy, greedy, distasteful little man that needed someone to cut him at the knees from time to time. Jiang Wanyin was young and inexperienced, but Yunmeng had a strong trading history, with all the rivers going through it, and getting his hands into it ahead of time was just good politics. Once the Jiang sect recovered, good trade deals would put the Nie ahead of others in terms of recovery from the war.

Lan Xichen and Jin Guangyao were his sworn brothers, but his father taught him to never put all his eggs into one basket.

And Jiang Wanyin was in no way hard on the eyes either.

(Mingjue could only imagine the spark in his father's eyes as he smacked his shoulder in glee and approval. The same spark he saw the few times when his father looked at Jiang Furen during sect conferences she deemed to be present at, to argue for her sect when Jiang Fengmian was happy to settle for less.)

("A good omega." Mingjue remembers his father saying. And somehow it didn't sound the way everyone else used these words to diminish the gender, didn't sound pitying or off-hand. These were words of admiration, a rare thing from his father.)

In the end, he'd be a fool to decline the offer.

-------

It can go two ways ;) Either the happy ending when the pregnancy changes things: WWX sees how much JC is willing to sacrifice to help his case and comes to reason, NMJ gets himself roped into saving the Wen and that leads to Wen Qing helping with his health, so he doesn't die and so he can raise his child and slowly fall for the omega that birthed it.

Or it can go as canon goes: the seed takes, but WWX still looses his mind and kills JZX, and the siege happens, with a pregnant JC leading the charge and then birthing the pup in bitter resentment of its life making no difference... all he had sacrificed, and it still wasn't enough. The Nie get the pup, but NMJ still gets murked, and Huaisang makes a production out of not knowing how to take care for a pup, so he hands them over to JC to raise and so JC is a lonely omega of Lotus Pier, raising two heirs of sects that won't be his...

#headcanon #jiang cheng #nie mingjue #mingcheng #abo headcanon

[jianghushenanigans]

A sequel to the ‘most annoying guy TM in the Jianghu’ and ‘most annoying guy TM in the cdrama capital’ poll because I was specifically asked to include Ming Tai and honestly he deserves it

Propaganda of a sort under cut - also feel free to provide your own

Ming Tai: as a teenager (early 20s? unclear: Hu Ge is blatantly in his mid 30s but we're ignoring this because he's a good actor) and a baby brother raised by significantly older siblings, Ming Tai is the spoiled brat. He's also very good at being a competent spy when he needs to be, but that doesn't make him less annoying when he wants to be, which is always

Shang Xirui: of all the characters on here he's the only one I actually personally cannot stand, but that's partly because he sings opera and I have discovered through watching Winter Begonia that I do not like opera of any kind. But also he's insufferable and needs to get a grip on reality. Some things are more important than the show! Like FOOD! And the WAR!

Zhao Yunlan: SUCKING TOO HARD ON YOUR LOLLIPOP OH LOVE'S GONNA GET YA DOWN. Guardian was the first CDrama I saw and I actually don't remember what he did but I do remember that he liked to cause problems

Wen Kexing: Winner of the 'most annoying guy in the jianghu' poll, I don't think I really need to write propaganda about him but like. Has he considered a method of flirting that does not consist of stalking a random homeless man?

Wei Wuxian: 2nd in the jianghu poll. Everyone knows why he's annoying, I won't go into this any more than to say in the Cloud Recesses arc he distinctly reminds me of one of the most annoying people I have ever met in real life

Lin Chen: 3rd in the jianghu poll and my personal Favourite Guy. To paraphrase @nemainofthewater: 'if he was in it for any longer I wouldn't be able to stand him, but he's only there for long enough that it's actually charming'. Enjoys the fact that he's smarter than (almost) everyone else and likes to be obnoxious about it

Mei Changsu: came joint 1st in the 'most annoying guy in the cdrama capital' poll. Professional party ruiner, but he does try to only enjoy it when his political enemies are suffering. Gets to tag team with Lin Chen bc I don’t want them to split votes and also because between them they manage to annoy literally every character in the whole show

Fan Xian: joint 1st in the capital poll AND 4th in the jianghu poll because he is annoying all the time and everywhere. As a transmigrator he is (unfortunately) aware that he is the main character, causes problems on purpose

Zhao Yujin: 3rd the capital poll. I won't lie that this surprised me because I have seen one gifset total for this show on tumblr (the one that persuaded us to watch), but I guess for those who have seen it it is a legal requirement to vote for him because of literally everything he does ever. In his defence he fell in a pond as a child and then his overbearing mother babied him. That being said, he is an adult now

Huang Yaoshi: included because of @tavina-writes's extensive propaganda in the jianghu poll: my favourite part of it was "the OG torture flute soloist; his flute solo canonically sounds like sex, x-rated porn sounds"

Wu Xin: I missed him off the original jianghu poll, and also the whole point of the polls is for me to try and get people to watch my shows so there’s more fic and I’m not just here crying on my own. An overpowered gremlin boy. 'Would you like to get kidnapped?' 'no??' 'ok that's cool I'm kidnapping you anyway!'

#the disguiser #winter begonia #guardian #word of honor #the untamed #nirvana in fire #joy of life #oh my general #legend of condor heroes #the blood of youth #ming tai #shang xirui #zhao yunlan #wen kexing #wei wuxian #lin chen #mei changsu #fan xian #zhao yujin #huang yaoshi #wu xin #cdrama poll #poll

[fallzventus]

A Mirror of Siblings

I will start this by adding the disclaimer that this is more ramblings than an actual analysis essay. I will do my best to sound coherent. I will also warn that this will contain spoilers from Mo Dao Zushi and Heaven Official’s Blessing as well as mentions of suicide. If any of these are a red flag for you, I highly advise either coming back another time or not reading this at all. For those who have decided to read this random fan’s ramblings to the end, I thank you for your time.

Being fairly new to the world of MXTX danmei, I have begun to notice that each of the author’s work contains a small reflection of relationships in her other novels. Quan Yizhen and Yin Yu can be seen as a mirror of Luo Binghe and Shen Qingqiu — both pairs struggle with communication to get their feelings across as well as having a Master & Pupil relationship where the pupil values their master above all others. However, these are not exact reflections. Luo Binghe and Shen Qingqiu do not have any actual animosity towards each other — though they believe there is some animosity there due to their terrible communication. Their conflict is resolved once they finally communicate their actual intentions. Luo Binghe does not want the only person who showed him compassion and kindness to leave his side while Shen QingQiu just wants to keep all he loves and cares about safe — including Binghe. Yin Yu, on the other hand, does have actual animosity towards Quan Yizhen. Due to his disciple’s inability to read the room, Quan Yizhen has unintentionally and unknowingly caused Yin Yu trouble and grief. The former god of the west has every reason to not like Quan Yizhen, and those frustrations are fully revealed to the current god of the west when both are held captive by Jun Wu. Yizhen is frot with guilt and now only wants to work things out so that they can be close like before.  

These reflections of other relationships give an interesting perspective into how certain things could have been different if the characters made the slightest difference in their choices. I find this most evident when comparing two famous pairs of siblings in the MXTX novels. Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng and Shi Qingxuan and Shi Wudu have very complicated relationships, but they are a reflection as to how far a sibling is willing to go for their family member. Both have an older brother making a sacrifice to save the younger. Both sacrifices have a hefty price to go with it. Both sacrifices were kept from the younger sibling until the consequences of their actions caught up with them. Yet a question remains... Did both Wei Wuxian and Shi Wudu’s sacrifices succeed in what they set out to accomplish?  

Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng lost everything when the Wen Clan came to massacre everyone in Lotus Pier. Wei Wuxian feels at fault because his actions during the Night Hunt of the Xuanwu Slaughter were used as an excuse to invade Lotus Pier. It was important to him that, at the very least, Jiang Cheng survived this ordeal. Unfortunately, Jiang Cheng’s mental state had different plans. The young master of Lotus Pier had quickly discovered that he has lost his golden core — the very source of his cultivation. Even if he survived this ordeal, he had nothing to live for. Wei Wuxian saw this and made a choice. Give up his golden core to his younger brother so that he may continue to live. A sacrifice that takes away his cultivation and leaves him with no choice down the line but to turn to demonic cultivation. 

Shi Qingxuan and Shi Wudu are both children of a wealthy merchant and had privileged lives until the family fell into decline and they could only rely on each other. Shi Qingxuan was cursed with a terrible fate thanks to the Reverend of Empty Words. They escaped the curse for a while by having Shi Qingxuan disguise himself as a woman, but the Reverend eventually found him — causing both siblings to suffer from Shi Qingxuan’s cursed fate. Shi Wudu made a choice. After he ascended, he switched Shi Qingxuan’s fate with Scholar He Xuan’s — making it possible for the younger brother to ascend and become the Wind Master. This choice granted Shi Qingxuan a privileged fate and led to him becoming one of the more powerful and well liked gods in the heavenly capital. However, this also led to the creation of Black Water Submerging Boats — one of the Four Calamities. When the consequences of this first choice come to bite the siblings, Shi Wudu makes another choice and gives up his life for Shi Qingxuan.

Wei Wuxian and Shi Wudu have proven they would do anything for their younger sibling to live the life they thought they deserved to have. They both also completely neglected telling their younger siblings about their decisions. Wei Wuxian kept it secret knowing that Jiang Cheng’s pride would not allow it — that his younger brother would internalize this decision as a final “one up” on how much better Wei Wuxian is than him. Wei Wuxian’s sacrifice would hang over every single action and achievement Jiang Cheng performed as Sect Leader.  Shi Wudu kept it secret knowing his brother would not approve of the method to change his fate — that someone else would have to suffer to give Shi Qingxuan the life of luxury he has now. Both brothers ignored their younger sibling’s ability to consent to these decisions that impacted their entire lives, but unlike Shi Wudu, an argument can be made in Wei Wuxian’s defense. When Jiang Cheng revealed that he had lost his golden core to Wei Wuxian, he was borderline suicidal. He says to his brother “Wei Wuxian, why did you save me? What’s the point of

saving me? To let me live on uselessly while I watch the Wen dogs run rampant?” 

Though Jiang Cheng did let himself be captured to save Wei Wuxian, he also lost the will to live. He did not think there was a point if he did not have a golden core to get his revenge against the Wen Clan. It could very much be argued that Jiang Cheng was in no state of mind to give consent on something, in Wei Wuxian’s eyes, that could save his life. Shi Qingxuan, however, was not in a similar situation. In Heaven Official’s Blessing, it is not stated how old Shi Qingxuan was when Shi Wudu switched his fate with He Xuan’s. It is only known that it happened sometime after Shi Wudu ascended. The price for Shi Qingxuan’s change in fate was He Xuan’s entire family, good standing in his community, and life — something that Shi Qingxuan never would have wanted. When He Xuan is seeking his revenge, it was clear to him that the young god never made this choice to begin with. All of the blame lies on Shi Wudu. In the end, He Xuan offers up a choice. Have Shi Qingxuan switch his fate with one of the miserable people in his lair, or have the Wind Master kill his brother. Shi Qingxuan readily gives up his fate, but this choice is also ripped from him by his older brother. 

Shi Wudu angrily tells his Shi Qingxuan after the younger told him that he could not take the second option, “Don’t you know me? You think I can do it—lose everything and be forced to watch you become a filthy wretch?! You might as well infuriate me to death!”  He ignores the fact that Shi Qingxuan rather have a miserable fate and live than lose his brother. Even goes as far as to strangle Shi Qingxuan — rather to have his younger brother die than see him suffer. 

This moment is framed as Shi Wudu doing everything for his brother, so that his brother would never have to make such hard choices. That this is a choice made out of love for his brother’s survival, but Shi Wudu blatantly ignoring his brother’s pleas also frames his choices more selfishly. He cried out that he is the master of his fortune even if fate denies him, but in the process has harmed the lives of innocents and the one person he wanted to protect. 

Wei Wuxian and Shi Wudu love their younger brothers dearly; to the point of sacrificing everything for them. Wei Wuxian sacrifices his cultivation so that Jiang Cheng may live while Shi Wudu sacrifices someone else’s fate and his life so that Shi Qingxuan can continue to live the life he has. Jiang Cheng got his revenge against the Wens. He rebuilt Lotus Pier, and eventually reformed a tentative relationship with his brother in the end after learning the truth. Shi Qingxuan lost his brother and his spiritual power. He no longer is the god he once was. All he is left with is the guilt of the consequences of Shi Wudu’s actions. He also defied his brother in the end and became that “filthy wretch” Shi Wudu did not want him to be. Wei Wuxian succeeded because of his selfless actions. Shi Wudu reveals just how badly things could have possibly gone if Wei Wuxian acted more selfishly. 

And that’s it for my ramblings. I hope I was able to get my thoughts across ok and not just speak nonsense. I would love to hear other people’s arguments for or against this take as well. I’m also just happy to have this out of my brain. Thank you for taking the time to read. 

#analysis #tgcf #mdzs #wei wuxian #jiang cheng #shi qingxuan #shi wudu #ramblings #mxtx #tgcf spoilers #mdzs spoilers

[marudny-robot]

for the questions for fic writers ask game, 3, 17, and 49? \o/

\o/

3. What are some tropes or details that you think are very characteristic of your fics?

....Starting paragraphs with "So," >.> or with "Anyways," or something alike (I'm sorry, that's just how I talk and reading fics like that feels more natural, you know?)

Ok, but besides that.... Hmm... Banter? Sarcastic banter? Everyone has to snip at each other even if it's not the time? I know, that I try to not do that so often and keep the tone of the genre I intended (and not go straight to humor/parody).

Is there something else?..... Maybe ending fics on dialouge.

( Damn, that question is hard :< I'm not even sure if what I see are the same things readers see, and no one told me before what is characteristic of my writing so I have no idea )

17. What highly specific AU do you want to read or write even though you might be the only person to appreciate it?

Hmm.... at this point I'm not sure if there is an AU that only I might appreciate? I read so much weird and highly specific AUs that I'm of the opinion that there will be someone besides me reading this.

Currently I have one mdzs AU that I refuse to write right now bc I would have to think of so many OCs names (and - as I realized recently - this is something I don't like to do apparently). It's a take on ABO au, with each cultivation sect (and their regions) having more or less drastic different takes on what proper a/b/o should look and act like. So there's aspect of cultural differences running few main plots. Currently I'm just having fun with imagining how yunmeng jiang sect would work and cooperate with other magistrates or important places within their region. And, ok, mostly I focus on this sect, but including the sunshot campaign and how they were almost annihilated I think it's fun to imagine how they try to not get sucked into other sects after war/try to stay relevant and not lose their culture, traditions, etc.

I'm still on the fence if I want tropes: wwx is related to jiangs and wens by blood or not. And if I want madame yu and/or jiang fengmian alive after war or not.

I do want the yunmeng trio (wwx, jc and jyl) working together as siblings and communicating. So, I'm going to have specific take on jc's and jyl's characterization I guess.

*looks at the: smut, monsterfucking, yunmeng jiang buisness cooperation with resentful creatures since the start of their sect, bunch of halfling children, genetic modifications and other fun unethical practices I guess in the name of 'that's how we do things in this region', lwj ending up as the 4th husband (potentially) bc he's late (that's the idea from recent update at least), and other fun things marinating between jars with pickles* ...Yeah, so I don't think I have a very specific AU in mind.

49. What are you currently working on? Share a few lines if you’re up for it!

Theoretically (lol), as in "I planned to work on these first", I work on: a) finishing "the cold is only an excuse for us to get together" b) next chapters for "working towards our future, by leaving our past" c) mdzs au I mentioned earlier

As for few lines:

ad a): While Red Hood was getting a moment for himself, Red Robin is taking care of their hostages, letting them free.

“And what about our bags?” says magician and Sophie(?)

“What about them?”

“Where did you leave them, he there stole my bag!”

“Red Hood stole your bag? Interesting. Especially as all the cameras saw you running like a idiot after a raccoon. You sure it was Red Hood?? Besides you have your passports and your fake ids and some money for start. Surely, you don’t need more?”

ad b): (from chapter 6.) As he looked at work bench, he got surprised.

”Motherfucker!“

Steph turned to him, and Jason showed his Red Hood helmet opened and obviously worked on.

”What are you surprised at? My stuff is at Cass’s place and her things at mine. This just proves that you had a lovely boyfriend who fixed your things.“

ad c): (I only have notes for that one, so have another mdzs I just found I started writing - it's a parody, canon-verse and starts during CR lectures after spring book incident. working title is "lwj_the_RPF_fanfic_writer" in which lwj is dumb teenager and decides to write cutsleeve erotica staring wwx as the revenge for the prank. Writing bc he can't draw for shit.)

Lan Wangji was an avid reader, no matter the genre of the book. He read beautiful and crappy romances, few of them containing sexual scenes. Surely, writing an erotic novel, more focused on cut-sleeve pornography involving his fellow cultivator wouldn’t be hard?

Hard, as in terms of writing. Lan Zhan expected a lot of dicks to be hard, involved with this novel.

Still.

It can’t be that complicated? Right?

...

Turns out, it can.

See, Lan Zhan had a very good plan, a perfect plan he could say if boasting wasn’t against the rules (but saying lies was forbidden, and his plans were usually that good, it was just a fact). So, he had a plan for when and how many pages to write to finish the whole story and redistribute it secretly through guests disciples, so Wei Ying would read it and finally feel Lan Zhan’s embarrassment.

It was a perfectly made plan, ready to implement the next day at [check the name of times] just before going to bell.

The problem was writing the story.

---

Thanks for sending questions! It was fun! \o/

For others if they want to send questions or also play the game

#Maruda writes

[vrishchikawrites]

Just finished a fic on ao3 and I am now noticing a trend where Lan Xichen misses his poor Men Yao and Lan Wangji is helping him out of depression and Wei Wuxian the troublemaking gremblin is always messing with Lan Xichen, making things harder for him and Lan Xichen is always telling him that he doesn’t like him and that he hopes that he doesn’t breaks his brothers heart or else and Lan Wangji is on the sidelines and always nodding.

Don’t get me started on this other trend that always makes Lan Wangji the paragon of virtue and always and I mean always gets hurt because Wei Wuxian is arrogant and doesn’t ask for help. And always gets little A Yuan at the end and tells him when he’s growing up that Wei Wuxian made a lot of mistakes but to never stop loving him?

Like am I missing something?

People forget that the beauty of the characters are that they make mistakes and they grow since than and making Lan Wangji this angel is a disservice to his faults and his repentance.

What do you think?

You're not missing anything. And if you're feeling upset because of this, let me direct you to this absolute gem of a fic to heal your soul.

WWX is perfect here. LWJ is perfect. The writing is perfect. This author is perfect. Everything is gold.

Now, onto your ask-

Honestly, I partly blame the adaptions (outside of the audio drama) for this. And partially because I feel like a lot of this fandom just hasn't read the book. I mean, they have read a few chapters but not the entire book to truly understand the nuances.

I feel like MDZS requires a reread because you miss a lot in your first reading.

Like people say WWX never regreted GC tranfer and while he was sad, he didn't look back.

But in canon, he looses sleep over it, convinces himself it was the right thing to do, redirects his thoughts away from the loss and tries to make himself feel better.

And he ADMITS he is lying to himself. It is canon.

When you read the Guanyin Temple incident chapters, WWX's attitude towards LXC is distinctly protective. LXC as in Zewu-jun. He is cautions LXC a few times, chooses not to mention anything that would hurt or soften LXC's convictions. He UNDERSTANDS LXC and is compassionate towards him. Even in the donghua, you see WWX asking LXC to be careful and he says 'I understand, Wei-gongzi.'

WWX is very aware of LXC's vulnerable state and VERY concerned. Later, when LXC is in seclusion, WWX asks after him. Anyone who thinks WWX won't do his utmost to help LWJ's brother is a fool.

When WWX is making chaos, it is deliberate and serves a purpose. It doesn't do it to hurt others or on a whim.

As for asking for help, WWX does it constantly. With the Wen situation, he disclosed the entire affair in public, no one helped. He asked JC to honor their debt to the Wen siblings, he scoffed it away. He asked LWJ if there was any other alternative but to walk this road, LWJ walked away silently. WWX has always reached out. He spends his entire first life reaching out and being rejected. By JC, by LWJ, by the cultivation world leaders, by everyone. Just who is he supposed to ask for help?

Who has EVER indicated they would help? When LWJ was just being critical of his cultivation and demanding he come to Gusu without any explanation. And we like to soften it but he clearly states 'to hide him away'

How can WWX protect the people he wants to protect if he is hidden away in some corner of CR?

LWJ wouldn't have LSZ to raise and cherish if WWX hadn't saved that child first. LSZ exists today and is a cultivator to be proud of because WWX didn't falter in his convictions.

LWJ is fully aware of how fortunate he is and how much of a blessing WWX is. That's why he keeps coddling WWX and never takes his eyes off him ever again. LSZ and LGY both take to WWX quickly and even after his identity is revealed, they are concerned for him. That shows that LWJ never spoke an ill-word about WWX to them. It is likely he shared some of WWX's most honorable, heroic, and hilarious actions with LSZ, just to ensure LSZ knew about his savior and had some positive stories of him. This is hinted in the canon as well, like in the flower damsel bit.

Honestly, I am tired of shallow-ass takes and am very careful about what I read. I'm reaching a point where I simply do not want to read fics unless they are from authors I trust (which I can't do because pocketful but it has been a task for Ju and I to find fics without shitty things)

#reader asks #re: wwx #re: lwj #re: lxc #re: fanfics

[veliseraptor]

top five smiling moments in The Untamed

answering this made me realize how many good smiles there are in this series. there are a lot of good smiles. feel bad for some of the extremely good ones I’m leaving out (including every time Wen Qing smiles in particular, she has the cutest smile and it doesn’t show up all that much).

but anyway here’s a selection of five personal faves

1. End of series Wei Wuxian.

Did I almost learn to gif to answer this ask because screen stills did not fully capture the degree to which this smile is perfect? Maybe. I’m just a little too lazy to do that (yet). Anyway!! I have gone on record as saying that I really like the fact that CQL ends the way it does and a big part of that is this shot here because it really is just...transcendent. The slow turn! And then his smile that grows all the way until his eyes scrunch shut and it just warms up his whole face and - yeah, it’s extremely quality. I can only imagine I’m getting the same warm-fuzzy feelings that Lan Wangji probably is at this point.

2. Xiao Xingchen’s little head-shake smile at Xue Yang.

Look, you knew there’d be Yi City on this list, and this smile is just - augh! I mean, all Xiao Xingchen’s little smiles are so cute but I’m particularly fond of his “you’re too muuuuuch” smiles at Xue Yang (and a-Qing!). I love watching them come easier and more often over the course of the flashback, too. And this one in specific is another one where I wish I could’ve gotten the gif because it comes with this little hitch of a laugh, too. And I don’t think this one specifically gets the little “you’re too muuuuch” head shaking, but it’s definitely kin to the one(s) that do. The warmth! The fondness! The sense of the potential for unbridled joy in this daozhang! It’s perfect and he’s wonderful.

3. Lan Wangji’s startled little smile at the rabbit lantern.

I thiiiink this is the first time we see Lan Wangji smile? And (like all his smiles) it is so, so, striking.

(I mean that about all his smiles. I knew I was going to have to put a Lan Wangji smile on here and the only trouble was deciding which one I was going to use.)

But yes! Just - his sheer delight, his surprised pleasure at seeing this lantern - with a bunny! for him! - is so much. And then of course how quickly he panics about it. But yeah, the way it warms up and softens his whole face and how much younger it makes him look...

Lan Wangji smiles are treasures each and every one of them but this one does stick out for the fact that it is the first real glimpse of him we really see of a different personality, and a warmth, behind the icy exterior.

4. Jiang Cheng smile-crying at his siblings in episode 20.

This is another one where I was like “I know I’m going to have to include a Jiang Cheng smile, I just know it, but which one am I going to do” and I had to land on this one because the way Jiang Cheng looks at his siblings breaks my heart every time and just his...yeah, smile-crying! He’s so happy here, he’s so relieved, everything is fine now and Wei Wuxian is home and they’re together again! Everything will be okay! Or at least significantly more okay than it was!

This is just the face of a kid who loves his family and wants them together and is just overwhelmed with feelings he cannot really express, while no one is looking at him. He just loves them both! So much! And it kills me. Baby. I love you.

5. Xue Yang’s absolutely stupid besotted little smile(s) looking at Xiao Xingchen.

yes I know he is dead in the first one, what of it, he’s going to be fine any minute now.

Anyway though!!! I feel like I could just say “Xue Yang’s smiles, all of them, from these to the most unhinged ones” but I hard moded myself about picking one specific mood of one, and...yeah. Just. look at that face! look at him!!!! having a whole feeling and he’s not putting on a face, nobody can see him, nobody knows, but there’s just this absolute...augh. Adoration, is the best word for it, I think. This is Xue Yang’s ‘you are the only (other) person who matters in the whole world!!!’ face and it absolutely murders me.

I just want to grab his face and be like “THAT FEELING, HOLD ONTO THAT FEELING AND DON’T BLOW THIS FOR YOURSELF” but it’s too late, he kind of already did, and this is why I’m always crying about Xue Yang.

BONUS MENTIONS TO:

every time Wen Qing smiles (as mentioned above)

Lan Wangji’s staircase smile

Lan Wangji’s drunk “I like rabbits” smile

Lan Xichen’s various ‘fuck you’ smiles

Jin Guangyao’s nervous dimple smile.

#ameliarating #conversating #so many good smiles #the sad queer cultivators show #top five meme #xue yang #wei wuxian #lan wangji #xiao xingchen #jiang cheng #a post full of treasures i love very much

[bloody-bee-tea]

JC Love Month 2020 Day 2

Power and Pride

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Much to Jiang Cheng’s embarrassment.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“No. Tell us the truth.”

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

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

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

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

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

“Ah, fuck,” Jiang Cheng whispers.

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

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

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

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

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

Link to my ko-fi on the sidebar!

#bt writes #jclovemonth2020 #the untamed #mdzs #jiang cheng #wei wuxian #jin ling #post canon #fix it #fluff #admiration #family feels

[ibijau]

concubine nhs pt8 / on AO3

It’s always nice when Nie Mingjue comes to visit, and it’s always awful.

Most days, Nie Huaisang can pretend that he’s doing fine. Three years is a long time to get used to living like this, and he doesn’t miss the world outside the imperial palace, because there's nothing beyond those high walls. As long as he can believe that, he's fine. 

On the first year of his life as a concubine, the emperor took him along when he went to the summer palace for the hotter months of the year, but that went poorly. In the summer palace it was too hard to avoid imperial relatives, ministers, and all manners of people eager to get in the good graces of Nie Huaisang, hoping it would give them influence over the emperor. Nie Huaisang had to ask to return to the capital, to hide in his little house where nobody can use him for their own schemes. The year after, the emperor eventually gave up when Nie Huaisang refused to return to the summer palace. 

It's easier like this. 

There's nothing outside Nie Huaisang’s little house. 

There's nothing, until Nie Mingjue comes to visit and brings the world with him. 

In those last three years, Nie Mingjue has visited five times. It is always the most exquisite of tortures when they are alone together. Nie Mingjue won't put up with his brother's attempts to cut himself from everything that's outside the palace, and tells him about what life is like out there. 

He talks about the war, about home, about the people Nie Huaisang once counted as his friends. The Jiang siblings are doing well, he'll say, and Meng Yao, whom he stole from Nie Funyu, is the best personal servant he's ever had and will get promoted. The Wen have besieged Yunmeng for two month and nearly got in, until Wei Wuxian came up with another of his stratagems and saved the city. Last month, Nie Mingjue captured Wen Xu, who chose to kill himself with poison rather than be dragged in front of the emperor or used as a hostage. And just like Nie Huaisang suggested last time, they're sowing discord among the Wen's ranks, which might give them a chance to weaken them, and then perhaps they'll be able to get to the Nightless City before the end of the year. 

When Nie Mingjue arrives, Nie Huaisang is always subdued at first, and reluctant to hear about these things. It no longer concerns him, he's already doing his part, he can't get involved, concubines who do politics never end well, and… and Nie Mingjue doesn't care. He continues talking until Nie Huaisang, his curiosity awakened, finds himself asking questions because Nie Mingjue is the worst storyteller, always leaving things so vague, forgetting important details. 

Maybe he does it on purpose, so Nie Huaisang will become hungry for more, hungry enough to ask about this world he's become so good at forgetting, his question growing more and more precise as the afternoon passes. He needs to know what Wei Wuxian did exactly, how dangerous it was, whether it can be reproduced somewhere else. How was Wen Xu captured? What became of his wife and son? Are they really hoping to get Wen Zhuliu to their side? And what about that city they’d captured last year, do they still have it? Why not use it then?

Nie Mingjue smiles and answers everything, so Nie Huaisang continues asking more questions. Like every good caged bird, he knows more than one song to please those around him, because not everyone wants to hear the same tune.

There is only one topic that Nie Mingjue normally avoids, it might truly hurt his brother. At least, he usually avoids it. But not this time. This time, perhaps because the end of the war is finally on the horizon, Nie Mingjue asks his brother if he’s happy.

The question takes Nie Huaisang by surprise.

Of course he’s happy. He’s well fed, he has everything he can ask for, clothes and ink and books, he’s even going to have birds, his very own birds, all because he mentioned in passing his childhood love of them, and so the emperor decided to build him a whole aviary, all for himself, one where other people won’t be allowed to pester him.

Who wouldn’t be happy? Who wouldn’t be satisfied?

Nie Huaisang would have to be stupid to be unhappy.

But he can tell, also, that this isn’t what Nie Mingjue wants to hear. Nie Huaisang has become a little too used to reassuring people and being what they want him to be. The emperor likes to have a loving little songbird who worries about nothing. Nie Mingjue likes people to be clever and determined, to be independent.

It’s so easy to be what Nie Mingjue wants him to be. To say that no, he’s not quite happy, but willing to endure it all for the good of the empire. It’s not even a lie, Nie Huaisang is glad to be useful, and he’d do this even if he hated it, as long as it can help his brother.

“I’m going to take you back home someday,” Nie Mingjue, so fierce that it startles his brother. “The day Father dies, I’ll ask to have you back, I swear.”

Nie Huaisang hesitates. Home is an odd concept. Home is here, in his perfect little cage, living his perfect little life, happy in the arms of a perfect man who would give him the moon. This is home. It has always been home. It will always be home.

Home, he vaguely remembers, is also a great house where he was always busy. A place where people talked to him just because he was there, or because they had a task for him to do, and it was all they expected of him. He remembers laughing and sharing gossip, he remembers going fishing with some other boys. He recalls his aunts and uncles, working in his father’s home or in the nearby town, feeding him candies, asking after his studies, reminding him to be a good obedient son. And there were also evenings spent with Nie Mingjue when he was there, listening to his tales from the border, sharing jokes, being comforted by him when he missed his mother.

Home was all this, once, but now that feels like someone else’s dream.

Nie Huaisang scolds his brother for speaking like this, for not understanding that, much like wild birds kept too long, he’s not sure he could survive outside his cage anymore. He’s happy here. He’s home here.

Nie Huaisang knows he’s lucky, and he knows he must protect his brother, so he quickly changes the conversation to something safer, and waits for the emperor to return. Then Nie Mingjue will see that Nie Huaisang is, in fact, happy enough, that the emperor is good to him, that this little cage is a great place to live.

Everything always feels better when the emperor is there. 

It's odd that the emperor isn't there yet. 

Eventually, some servants arrive carrying a meal for Nie Huaisang and his guest, as well as an apology from the emperor who cannot join them. Something came up, as happens sometimes. Nie Huaisang is sad, as he always is when the emperor cannot join him, but Nie Mingjue's company makes up for it. They chat some more about the war, using weiqi stones on a map to imagine how things might go. Nie Huaisang, who plays the Wens in black, almost wins that little game. 

"You're really wasted as a concubine," Nie Mingjue says as they tidy everything. 

"Maybe, but the food here is better than in the army," Nie Huaisang laughs. 

-

Nie Mingjue doesn't come the next day, and neither does the emperor. The two facts are linked, since they and some other ministers are stuck in a council that lasts until nightfall. Nie Huaisang misses both of them, but knows it’s already lucky either of them has any time at all to waste with him.

-

Nie Mingjue does come the day after, but it's to say goodbye. He really only came to the capital to ask for more funds and more men. The war is going well, but if the Wens find out that he's gone they could try to take advantage of his absence, so he cannot linger. 

Again, the emperor cannot join them. Three days without a visit is unusual, but not unheard off. Nie Huaisang tries not to show that it depresses him, for Nie Mingjue's sake. His brother understands when this whole thing is about duty, but gets puzzled or angry whenever Nie Huaisang tries to explain that he truly enjoys the emperor’s company because it is also about love.

He thinks Nie Huaisang is lying. 

Nie Mingjue doesn’t like being lied to.

It's easier to just say the right things, to be what others expect him to be. It's the best way to ensure that people never stop loving him. 

There's no lying in that, Nie Huaisang figures. Not really. He really is the loving little bird who loves poetry and painting. He is also the dedicated little brother who studies the war and guesses at its outcome. 

He's never lying, and it's his own fault if he's too complicated to be loved as his entire self. 

-

The emperor doesn't come. 

Four days is a long time, unheard of. 

The emperor doesn't come. 

Five days now. 

The emperor doesn't come. 

But his brother does, on that sixth day, because the prince has never yet missed one of their weekly meetings. 

"Has anything happened recently?" Nie Huaisang asks him, trying to sound calm and collected. 

The prince likes the quiet. Usually Nie Huaisang respects that, copying the behaviour of his guest, silent and elegant, wanting the prince to like him. They rarely ever speak while having tea togethr. But today, Nie Huaisang is too worried to keep his mouth shut. 

The prince throws him a puzzled look. He puts down his glass of tea, slow and elegant and irritatingly perfect. 

"You don't know?" the prince asks in a voice devoid of emotion. 

"Know what?" Nie Huaisang asks, wishing for once that he'd made more connections . He doesn't even trust his servants with any confidences, worried they might turn against him given a chance, but maybe that was a mistake. He's relied too much on the emperor as his only source of information about the palace, and now… 

"I don't know either," the prince clarifies. "But he stopped visiting you. It has been noticed. A dispute?" 

Nie Huaisang shakes his head. The last time they saw each other, the emperor was in an excellent mood. He seemed so happy that Nie Mingjue was coming to the capital, so excited to see his old friend again. It had been a happy night, they had chatted and laughed, they had gone to sleep holding each other close… in a rare stroke of luck, Nie Huaisang had even briefly woken up early enough to see the emperor as he left the bed the morning after, begging for a kiss before going back to sleep.

“Did he have an argument with my brother?” Nie Huaisang wonders, before shaking his head again. “No, da-ge would have said… Could your uncle have been pushing him to get a wife again?”

“He would visit you more, not less,” the prince calmly argues, starting to look puzzled as well. “I hope it does not last.”

“I’m sorry for the inconvenience,” Nie Huaisang says with a polite bow. “When I find what I have done wrong, I will endeavour to improve myself so I do not disappoint again.”

The prince says nothing. He picks up his tea again, finishes it, puts down the empty glass again.

“It will not last,” the prince says. “Brother cares too much.”

That’s the end of their conversation. The prince has obligations, and cannot stay. Nie Huaisang, ever the polite host for his brother-in-law, thanks the prince for coming, apologizes for bothering him with private matters, and promises again to do better in the future and avoid worrying anyone.

He’s then left alone again, and feeling lonely in a way he hadn’t in a long while. The emperor isn’t visiting on purpose, then. The prince did not say it exactly like that, but if the emperor had merely been busy, he would have said so. Has Nie Huaisang done something? Did he fail to do something? But it’s so odd. They’ve never had an argument, not really. The closest they’ve been to that was disagreeing here and there on the value of a poet’s work, and even then they’d always made up again before the evening was over.

It makes no sense.

Still there is that hope, however frail, that the prince might talk to his brother. Maybe he will complain against being dragged into their private life, and demand that the emperor sort this out so he doesn’t have to deal with Nie Huaisang’s emotional outbursts again. Or perhaps he’ll be nicer than that. The prince did seem concerned, and apparently he likes Nie Huaisang, or at least gets as close to it as he can ever get, so perhaps he will put in a kind word to his brother about that poor neglected little bird, all alone in his pretty cage…

But the emperor doesn’t come that night, and Nie Huaisang, alone in a bed too cold, struggles to fall asleep.

-

Then, after a week, while Nie Huaisang is reading the commentary to a military treaty, there is a knock on the door.

When he opens that door, the emperor is there, severe and distant like a true son of heavens, showing no hint of the gentle and tender man Nie Huaisang is used to seeing inside his little house. He is terrifying and distant, almost reminding Nie Huaisang of his father. Reminding him, also, who this man he loves truly is, when he's not playing pretend with him in their little house.

“We must talk,” the emperor says in a cold voice that tolerates no defiance.

And just like that, Nie Huaisang knows that it’s over.

#xisang #nie huaisang #nie mingjue #lan xichen #mo dao zu shi #mdzs #jau writes #concubine au #well now we're all caught up to the first chapter yay #and all this just because I'm procrastinating on my time travel fic lol #but also yeah this au might go quiet again as I try to figure out where this all goes next

[crossdressingdeath]

I compare the Jiang siblings acts of sacrifice in a similar way. Both siblings made an attempt to save him from death in different ways, but both acts hurt him in impossibly huge ways. Neither plan was thought out properly, which was understandable given the circumstances the choices were made in, of course. But the major point I want to make is that I don't think either sibling expected or was willing to wholeheartedly accept the results of what would happen. JC after losing his core was devastated and beyond reason, unwilling to eat until WWX mentions a way to restore it. Maybe he would have eventually coped with his grief and made peace with his losses, especially since he lost so much at once, or maybe he wouldn't have. I personally don't see this happening especially with his speech about debts in the novel finale, but as you can probably tell, I'm not a Jiang enthusiast in any way haha. Additionally JYL's great sacrifice at Nightless City was in truth, extremely stupid of her. A new mother without much talent in cultivation running directly into the midst of a battlefield comprised entirely of cultivators was never going to end well. JYL was willing to risk her life for WWX, and as for potential regrets, we'll never know for obvious reasons. I'd like to believe that she had few regrets over choosing WWX, a brotherly figure, mainly because I'd rather not think too poorly of one of the few positive female roles in the novel. She could have been confident in WWX's ability to prevent his corpses from attacking her regardless of his current state of mind, but she most definitely should not have been there either way. Both sacrifices were well intentioned, but the following events show that they underestimated WWX's extreme loyalty and readiness to go above and beyond their own actions. For JC's core, he mutilated himself to offer his own core, and for JYL's death, he lost all reason to the seal. I correlate WWX's death loosely with JYL's because I think he knew that death was coming for him as soon as JZX fell, but the scraps of his sanity left when she died.

(I would first like to point out that we're actually at about 50/50 for major female characters being good or bad, and even then only if we're talking in terms of morals; ignoring JYL, we have WQ and MM as good and YZY and WLJ as bad. And they're all good characters, with understandable motives and characterization and such, it's just that some of them are awful awful people. Danmei is not the genre you should be going to for strong female role models, really, that is Not The Point.)

Anyway, that aside. I think one thing people talking about how clearly the Jiangs love WWX, look how much they sacrifice for him, miss is... the Jiangs only ever make sacrifices for WWX when they don't have time to think about the consequences. When they do have time to think, they never make sacrifices for him. It says something good about them that they do instinctively move to defend him even at great personal cost, clearly they do care about him on some level, but it says something else that they'll only move to defend him when they're not able to consider the potential consequences for them ahead of time (even in cases where the consequences for them were things like "minor inconveniences" while the consequences for WWX if they do nothing are closer to "agonizing death"). Like... JYL will take a sword for him, but she won't mention to anyone that the Wens are a bunch of starving civilians? JC will lead off a bunch of Wen cultivators for him, but won't... you know, not lead an army to murder him? Also, given JC screams about how WWX should've done more for him I don't think not realizing that WWX was super loyal was the problem. Basically the Jiangs' actions in WWX's favour can be summarized as stupid, impulsive acts with no consideration for the consequences that cause more problems than they solve. WWX would honestly have been better off if JC and JYL had just cut him out of their lives entirely and not done anything for or against him at all.

#mdzs #lotus sister #grapehate #asks #anon

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 09 second part

(Masterpost) (Other Canary Blather)

Warning: Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

Wen Chao’s Weird Bird, Redux

Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji walk away after killing the dire bird, and then Wen Chao, who was standing like 2 feet away, comes to collect its resentful little corpse. He totally heard Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji talking about him.  

Wen Memorial

Now we visit the Wen memorial, which Wei Wuxian 2.0 won’t remember when he sees it again. Everyone who isn’t a Wen is confused and awkward while the Wens have an impromptu family conference. Agenda: 1. weeping 2. apologizing to ancestors for involuntarily being turned into temporary zombies. 3. getting the fuck out of dodge before it happens again

This is a burial place, and the non-Wen cultivators are deferential and tentative where before they were bossy. Wei Wuxian’s affect is particularly different from his normal swagger and decisiveness. 

Look how gently he asks Wen Qing about this place, thinking carefully and making his expression conciliatory before he opens his mouth to speak. 

(more after the cut)

The others react to this revelation by becoming even more awkward and uncomfortable...

But Wei Wuxian responds with shock and sympathy, once again showing why he makes friends wherever he goes, and why he is so vulnerable despite his many strengths. There is no “not my problem” setting in Wei Wuxian’s heart.

It occurs to me, in watching his reaction, that Wei Wuxian doesn’t have a single living blood relation, as far as he or we know, and at this point he has never met a single member of his own clan. Yes yes, he has an adoptive family, and that’s lovely; I’m an adoptive parent myself. But genetic family is also super important, particularly in the ancestor-revering culture we see depicted in The Untamed. 

In any case, this moment of standing before the grave of Wen Qing’s people, with these few remaining members of her family--people who he will later get to know so well--seems to resonate with him.  

Baby Wen 

The scene at the shrine includes our first look at random cute kid massively important character Wen Yuan. 

Let’s pretend Wen Yuan is a different age from however old he will be at the end of the Sunshot campaign, since the actor did not magically change ages. Here the character is probably two years old. 

Rich Gege Lan Wangji in this scene is wearing the same gorgeous blue color he will be wearing years later when Wen Yuan grabs him and won’t let go. Maybe A-Yuan’s pre-fever memory was super good, and he remembered that Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian belonged together. 

Chicken Hunting

Wei Wuxian seems to be all in on this chicken hunt, making sure Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang join him, but then he circles back to talk privately with Wen Qing and Lan Wangji. This was a ruse to distract Jiang Cheng. 

Wei Wuxian is very good at manipulating Jiang Cheng and he does it frequently. He takes this ability way, way, way too far when he concocts the whole golden-core plan, which I’ll get into in the relevant episode. But this sibling dynamic is not great in either direction. 

Incidentally, nobody asks about the giant chain mark on Wei Wuxian’s throat after he and Lan Wangji come back from their time in the woods together. What kind of rep does he have, exactly?

Having cornered Wen Qing, Wei Wuxian starts to question her seriously, but can’t resist an opportunity to flirt with Lan Wangji like an embarrassing dumbass. 

Lan Wangji’s communication skills continue to improve, as he angrily tells Wei Wuxian "bì zuǐ! “ instead of storming off or shanking him with Bichen. [Chinese vocab OP has learned from watching CDramas: bì zuǐ (shut up),  duì bù qǐ (sorry), nú cái zuì gāi wàn sǐ  (your servant deserves to die for her offense)]

Wei Wuxian makes a visible effort to drag himself back over the line into propriety.

While Wei Wuxian apologizes to Lan Wangji with his eyes, Wen Qing wonders what she ever did to deserve being stuck in the middle of this crap.

Eventually the boys get the whole Wen backstory, and Wen Qing hits the road.  

In what will become a repeating motif, Jiang Cheng asks Wen Qing to forget her family, abandon her clan, and bail on her little brother. 

What the fuck, dude. You wouldn’t do that to Wei Wuxian and he’s your shige, not your didi. You are on this very road trip out of a sense of concern for him. As a female orphan who is the elder to her male sibling, Wen Qing’s obligation to Wen Ning is enormous even if she didn’t love him to bits. Not to mention she seems to be the clan leader for the Dafan Mountain Wens at this point. Jiang Cheng should understand her, but doesn’t.  

Club Ruohan

God I’m boring 

 At some point in the episode we stop by Club Ruohan. Yawn. WRH tells Wen Chao he’s a dumbass for targeting Wen Qing’s people, and to get back to his fucking project already. Wen Chao talks about wanting to get “Wei Wuxian” and his homies - he doesn’t namecheck Lan Wangji, the ringbearer Yin Iron having person. Just bird-killer Wei Wuxian. That doesn’t bode well for Lotus Pier.

Wen Ruohan is actually fairly reasonable, for a power-hungry megalomaniac who’s busily corrupting himself with dark energies. Most of the atrocities in the “fuck all of the other clans” campaign were Wen Chao’s idea. 

Downtown

The gang goes to Qiting and Lan Wangji gets ready to go doorknocking to find out where the next hunk of Iron is. Wei Wuxian stops him and says that his plan is stupid and it sucks. 

In a truly amazing display of his developing trust in Wei Wuxian, socially awkward Lan Wangji asks WWX for advice on how to proceed. 

Wei Wuxian’s answer is to go drinking. But...he’s not wrong. And he explains his reasoning to Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji before the grabbing and dragging part. Lan Wangji seems to be getting used to that part. 

In fact Lan Wangji has already become a lot more comfortable with Wei Wuxian’s extroversion and high spirits than Jiang Cheng is, even though Jiang Cheng isn’t nearly as introverted as Lan Wangji. That’s love for ya.

Tavern Talk

Wei Wuxian slaps a heap of coins down on the table and proceeds to extravagantly order...three jugs of wine. That seems pretty moderate, but they all react like he’s a big spender. 

Wei Wuxian: No worries, Rich Gege's got me covered 

Wangxian’s old-married-couple dynamic appears on the scene fully formed, as Wei Wuxian slowly undresses a bottle of wine and Lan Wangji tells him to stop dawdling. 

Chatting with the guy at the Inn works exactly as well as Wei Wuxian said it would, as he tells them about creepy doings at the old Chang place. 

Lan Wangji’s bag of holding, which was definitely not tucked into his perfectly smooth chest placket a second ago....

bursts forth like the xenomorph in Alien, startling everyone and causing Lan Wangji a lot of pain and brow furrowing.

Wei Wuxian leaps over and puts a steadying hand on his shoulder, and tells him to relax and concentrate, in a bit of a role reversal from earlier. Lan Wangji doesn’t shake him off. 

Once the Yin Iron settles down again, they dash off to investigate the creepy doings, leaving Nie Huaisang behind to meet up with Meng Yao. I’m sure everyone will be glad some day that they created an opportunity for Meng Yao to join them and the new enemy they are about to capture. 

Cheng Compound

At the Cheng compound, the door is shut and there are creepy noises. Time for a talisman! 

It’s sweet how when anything fucked-up and necromantic happens, these guys immediately look to Wei Wuxian for the right way to deal with it. 

The outfits here form a nice a nice contrast, with the two clan lineal descendants dressed in near-matching blue with silver crowns, while Wei Wuxian has changed out of his blue and red robes and into his future signature black. The leather hair band is as fancy as he gets - he wears his outsider status pretty proudly, even at this early age. 

The boys open the doors on a scene so grotesque, even gravity has become meaningless. 

Lan Wangji: This is horrifying, so extremely untidy

Jiang Cheng: Do I know any of these people? No? Ok, this is fine then

Wei Wuxian: I wonder if I could kill this many people all by myself. That would be epic.

#fytheuntamed #the untamed #chen qing ling #the untamed gifs #wangxian #the untamed spoilers #restless rewatch the untamed #canary3d-original #my gifs #weird stuff keeps happening with my keep-reading cuts #sorry if there doesnt seem to be a cut on this post #i swear it's there

[watch-grok-brainrot]

Wei Wuxian and Chinese Virtues of 忠孝仁义

There’s a lot of conversation about Wei Wuxian and how he struck out on his path without a concern for the Jiangs; about how he’s reckless and not giving a sh*t about his role within his society; about how he had a family and siblings and threw it all away for his sense of right and wrong. But the way I read his actions is within the context of the virtues of 忠孝仁义 (and how the virtues, especially 义, is ingrained in him via the Jiang sect motto). WWX’s major decisions can all be read as him acting in accordance with one or more of these virtues. Even when WWX is being his most irreverent self (and yes he’s rude and bring about a lot of second hand shame) he still remembers the we-self (to borrow from baoshan-sanren’s post) context as the head disciple of the Jiang Sect. Even when he seems to abandon everything, he didn’t abandon his understanding of these virtues. 

First of all, let’s talk about 忠. 忠 (zhōng) is loyalty, devotion, fidelity. I usually associate the concept with loyalty towards your country but it can be applied to other units too. In the case of CQL where we don’t see an Emperor or country, it would only make sense that this concept be applied to either a person (e.g. SuShe at JGY) or a sect. 

Tangent, feel free to skip: An (maybe THE) embodiment of this virtue is 岳飞 (Yue Fei), one of THE MOST famous Chinese generals. Yue Fei lived during the second half of the Song dynasty. He loved his country so much, he wrote poetry about drinking his enemy’s blood and eating their flesh (壮志饥餐胡虏肉，笑谈渴饮匈奴血) and taking back his country’s lands and saving the two previous emperors from being POWs. He is famous for the tattoo of the words “尽忠报国” (exhausting all loyalties to replay country aka i will be loyal and fight for my country until i die) on his back bestowed by his mother before he left home. When he was unjustly executed for treason, the executioners saw that on his back and the people knew a great man was wronged.  

(if anyone wants a translation of the poem and a rambly share about some of my favorite Yue Fei  related facts/stories, let me know. Otherwise, i’m gonna get back to our favorite necromancer)

So back to WWX. His loyalties are very much with the Jiang sect.  After JFM and YZY dies, within the structure of 忠, Jiang Cheng is effectively who he needs to be loyal to because Jiang Cheng is the sect leader and essentially the symbol of the sect. The act of giving up his core to JC, then, embodies the idea of loyalty within the context of 忠. (I’ve seen memes about how WWX gave consent, WQ gave consent, but JC didn’t. drwcn has a great post about consent. For this post, i’m not going to go into it because this is outside my defined scope.) Furthermore, 忠 compels WWX to protect the Jiangs. I’ve read meta that thinks WWX was trying to get himself killed based on the crossing of his hanfu and his mouthing off at Wen Chao. I’m inclined to believe that reading because if dying means JC would never find out, so be it. And as long as WWX is dead, there will be no evidence of the core transfer so JC would never lose face before other cultivators. It would mean the Jiang sect can be rebuilt to its old status without being tainted by WWX’s sacrifice. 

Ok, next is 孝. 孝 (xiào) is most often translated as filial piety. I don’t think there is a good sense of it in western culture. In chinese culture, it is the expected deference younger generations need to display to elders in their direct lineage. [Note: i use lineage because you can be 孝 towards your biological parents and grandparents, your kungfu master and their master, your adopted/honor bound parents, etc but not to everyone who is in a higher generation. It’s very family/lineage based.] 孝 is complicated because it’s ingrained into Chinese kids at a really young age. Go pour your grandparents tea. Go give your grandparents a back rub. Listen to your parents. When your parents get old, you’ll take care of them. Respect your elders. Even if your elders are wrong, don’t talk back. It’s a set of emotions that tie you to your ancestry. To turn your back on it feels like turning your back on your culture and identity. 

Tangent, feel free to skip: Ok, this is really cool and I had to share. In looking up 孝 in the online xinhua dictionary, it says about the etymology: “形声。从老省，从子。” This is so cool! We have two characters: 老 (old, as in Yiling Laozu) and 子 (child). You’ll notice 孝 is a character where to top part of 老 is taken and 子 essentially follows. This character is a style of character where the meaning comes from the structure of the character. So 孝 is where the children follow the old, often blindly and with disregard of their own needs. 

WWX, as an orphan, can only direct his 孝 towards Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan. 1) No matter how awful they were as parents, JFM and YZY raised WWX. 2) WWX is the head disciple. That means JFM is his shifu. [He calls JC his shidi and JYL his shijie for that reason.] That teacher-disciple relation is often described as “一日为师,终生为父” (a teacher for one day should be treated like a father for life). Both 1 and 2 bind WWX to the Jiangs regardless of his adoption status. So, when on the boat YZY and JFM tell WWX to take care of JC and JYL, it’s the order of an elder in his direct lineage. To not listen, to not defer to that order would not be 孝. Considering they perished at Lotus Pier, WWX was obligated to execute those orders to their fullest whatever the price (i.e. golden core). 

Along those same lines, out of 孝 (and human decency, tbh) WWX and JC had to retrieve JFM and YZY’s bodies. Wen Ning helping them out in that situation is a HUGE favor. Not to mention all the other things WN and Wen Qing does for them. I will get to the favors and their ramifications later. 

Ok, moving on to 仁. 仁 (rén) is most often translated as benevolence or humanity. (I want to say I find the translation of humanity very interesting from a bilingual child’s perspective because the chinese character for person/human is 人 which is also rén. I got the concept confused a LOT.) 仁 is found in the love and kindness shown towards fellow humans. Ctext often translates it as virtue, which is a bit too broad, IMO. I think this line from Confucian Analects explain the concept succinctly: 

樊遲問仁。子曰：”愛人”

Fan Chi asked about benevolence [仁]. Confucius said, "It is to love all men." 

WWX embodies this love better than everyone else in the story (except maybe LSZ but LSZ probably gets it from WWX). WWX meets stuttering WN and acknowledges him, offers to give advice, and truly sees the younger man. He treats WN with kindness and friendship (and yes, he takes advantage of WN’s willingness to push him around in a turnip wagon but that’s more shenanigans). WWX also sees the Wens at Phoenix Mountain as human and steps out of line to help them.  His blindfolded five arrow show stems out of his 仁. His saving Mianmian is also an expression of his 仁. So many of WWX’s actions stem from 仁. A lot of the fandom see it as his empathy and I agree! It is that! But it can also be viewed as his internalization of the virtue to love humanity. 

Finally, 义. 义 (義,yì) is actually the reason this ENTIRE post came to be. 义 is the same 义 as  Yi City. I offer the traditional version of the character above so you can see how it compares to the stone on the way to Yi City. You will recall when WWX says Yi City, LWJ asks, “Yi, which means chivalrous?” And WWX explains same character but for coffin/mortuary in this case. 

Actually, 义 is used in a lot of words: 

正义- correct/rigit + 义 =  righteousness

意义 - ideal + 义 = meaning

侠义 - knight -errant + 义 = chivalry

义气 - 义 + air = personal loyalty; code of brotherhood

名义- name + 义 = nominal

义父 - 义 + father = sworn father (this is a difficult to translate idea that sometimes i translate as godfather for simplification and cultural parallelism. it’s a parent figure that you acknowledge via vows. If the character for father is replaced with brother, then it’s the relationship that the 3zun have. And OMG i want to talk about the 3zun and romance of 3 kingdoms and how much of a awful un-义 person JGY is… but also holy out of scope batman)

In the case of virtues/morality, we’re looking at 义气 - the 义 that means loyalty to people and a code of brotherhood. The Jiang Sect ancestor is described as a 游侠 (yóu xiá, wandering hero). The ancestor’s identity as a 侠 (xiá), which indicates a highly skilled martial artist/fighter who will defends others (à la wuXIA and xianXIA), places him within the world of 江湖 (jiāng hú, sometimes translated as rivers and lakes or “pugilistic world” in some wuxia subtitles). In 江湖, 义 is the most important virtue. Based on 义, you help those in need. You stand out and do what is right. You are an outlaw that follows a strict moral code. 义 is the foundation of the Jiang Sect’s motto. Furthermore, the idea of 义气 can in some ways be viewed as currency. You do me a favor, I owe you one. You treat me with decency, I return the favor. You DO NOT return kindness with ill intent. It is taboo. 

WWX exemplifies 义. 义 is part of what makes him so lovable and reckless. For 义 , he sticks out his neck for LWJ during Wen Summer Camp. For 义, he follows LWJ to search for the Yin Iron. Under 义 , he is free to be the hero who lends a hand whenever it’s needed. Oftentimes, 仁 and 义  go hand in hand because to stand up and stand out for other requires love of others and seeing their humanity. 

So let’s get back to the Wen remnants: for 义, WWX must protect WN and WQ. As I mentioned before, WN and WQ had done WWX and JC (and thus the Jiang Sect as a whole) MULTIPLE HUGE FAVORS. 1) saving JC from Wen Chao at Lotus Pier. 2) retrieving JFM and YZY’s bodies. 3) transferring the golden core against WQ’s best judgement. All of these actions are so vital to the survival or the reputation of the Jiang Sect. WWX knows it. I’m positive JC knows it.  To turn their backs on WN and WQ would be 不仁不义 (neither 仁 nor 义). Really, the ONLY thing they should be doing from the perspective of 义 is helping the Wens to repay their kindness. But WWX knows, as the head disciple, that JC cannot afford to align the Jiang Sect in sympathy with the Wens because it’s political suicide. The Jiang Sect WILL NOT SURVIVE if Nie, Jin, and Lan all turn against them. Even if Lan stood neutral, Nie and Jin would still be able to wipe out barely rebuilt Jiang. 

So what does WWX do? He has already painted himself as a rebel, as rude, as ill bred. And from an outsider looking in, WWX is in alignment with his slippery descend into darkness. WWX knows if he steps just a little more out of line, he can accomplish everything else his morality dictates. (We could talk about WHY WWX feels like it’s ok for him to give up everything and analyze WWX’s self worth and what not. But that’s also outside the scope of this post and i’m pretty sure other people have done a better job of it than I could.) 

Save the Wens, run away to the Burial Mounds, and defecting are all aligned with WWX’s morals. Defecting protects JC and the Jiangs sect in an act of loyalty (忠). Defecting also protects JC and JYL, thus fulfilling the filial piety toward YZY and JFM’s instructions (孝).  Saving the Wens returns the debt of 义 that JC and WWX owe to WN and WQ. Saving the Wens also appeal to WWX’s sense of 仁 towards the non-cultivators. Lastly, protecting the Wens means JC does not end up 不仁不义. From WWX’s perspective his actions are the only option for him to really have no regrets when he asks his heart. 

#LONG post #meta #jiang cheng #wen qing #wen ning #my meta #character analysis #江氏家训 #江澄 #江晚吟 #魏婴 #魏无羡 #wei wuxian #yunmeng jiang sect motto #tw: blood #the untamed 陈情令 #陈情令 #cql #mdzs #魔道祖师 #i swore i tries to keep the scope narrow #i just want people to see what i see he's doing because it hurts so much #and i feel so bad for him #i am trying not to place judgement here #忠孝仁义 #温情 #温宁 #jiang fengmian #yu ziyuan

[gingersnapwolves]

Follow up fic-related post to my Untamed primer, for those who specifically read this whole thing in order to be able to read my fanfiction! Firstly, I’m flattered. Y’all are amazing. Secondly, here’s a handy dandy list of my fics that might help you get started. (There’s tons and tons of great fanfics in this fandom, though, so you should explore if you feel so inclined!)

First of all, um, I feel compelled to write a disclaimer about all my Xiyao fic lmao. Writing the last two sections of this I was like ‘ugh, Jin Guangyao is the worst’ but like ... he wasn’t always? It feels weird to say, but I ship Lan Xichen with Meng Yao but not Lan Xichen and Jin Guangyao. Meng Yao was genuinely treated very poorly all his life and had legitimate reasons to be bitter and resentful, but he didn’t turn into a monster until after his father got a hold of him. I know that not everybody will agree with that! But I just want to say, after writing those last two chunks I wanted to clarify, yes, I write a ton of Xiyao, but it is all based around the idea that although Meng Yao is morally ambiguous and can absolutely be ruthless when necessary, with actual love and support he wouldn’t end up being so terrible, and I love the idea of turning all that conniving cleverness for good instead of evil.

Anyway, moving on!

I’ve written two fanfics that are complete AU, fusions with other media. These might help you get used to reading in the fandom without worrying about all the plot nuances and politics and such.

Like a House on Fire – loose fusion with 9-1-1, characters as first responders, Wangxian and Xiyao

The Weight of the World – fusion with Pacific Rim, Wangxian and Xiyao

Here are the others, by canon divergence point. Worth pointing out, I have actually only written one fic that take place in the latter half of the show (in fact, it’s post canon). Although some of my fics have young Wen Yuan or Jin Ling in them, I don’t generally deal with the 16 year gap because it’s just too damn depressing for me. So sadly, I don’t really write about the juniors. The juniors are great! And I’m sure there are great fics about them! But I’m invested in fix-it fic, which means making sure that 16-year-gap doesn’t happen.

Also probably worth pointing out: the older the fics are, the more likely I was to make factual errors in them. Like in my first fic, I didn’t realize Meng Yao’s mother was dead, because it’s never explicitly mentioned, and in several of my earlier fics I got the pieces of yin iron confused all to hell and back lol. Be kind. XD

Canon diverges prior to or right at the beginning of the timeline:

An Atypical Courtship – Meng Yao becomes a prostitute after his mother dies. Additional bonus AU because Wen Ruohan isn’t evil and there’s no war because I didn’t feel like dealing with it. Mainly Xiyao, background Wangxian.

The Third Young Master of the Qishan Wen – Wei Wuxian is adopted by Wen Qing and Wen Ning’s family, instead of the Jiang sect. This might actually be a good one to start with as it covers almost the entire canon (pre-death canon) but just slightly to the left. Wangxian, Xiyao, Chengqing.

somewhere to belong (WIP!) – Meng Yao stays in Cloud Recesses for the lecture and makes friends. 3zun (the pairing name for Nie Mingjue/Lan Xichen/Meng Yao) and background Wangxian.

Canon diverges prior to the Sunshot Campaign:

hope dangling by a string – Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian end up psychically connected and it prevents a whole host of misunderstandings. Also covers a lot of canon but slightly to the left. Wangxian and Chengqing.

Canon diverges after the Sunshot Campaign:

No More Masks – Meng Yao isn’t legitimized and goes to live at Cloud Recesses after the war. If you want to know why I’m obsessed with Xiyao, this is the fic to read as it’s the one I wrote to specifically indulge. Mainly Xiyao, some Meng Yao/Xue Yang, background Wangxian.

Aftermath – Jiang Yanli kills Jin Guangshan in self defense when he tries to assault her. Without him around after the Sunshot Campaign, everything goes much better. Mostly focuses on the sibling relationships, but also has Xuanli, Wangxian, and a little light Xiyao and Chengqing.

The Lost Cause – Nie Huaisang and Jin Guangyao team up to murder Jin Guangshan. It’s more fun than it should be. Mainly gen, background Wangxian.

the cycle of regret – Lan Wangji gets stuck in a groundhog day loop of trying to save Wei Wuxian just before his death. Wangxian only.

 Canon diverges after Wei Wuxian’s death:

picking up the pieces (WIP!) – Jiang Cheng is killed at the massacre of Nightless City instead of Jiang Yanli. She then convinces Lan Wangji to come live with her at Lotus Pier and raise their kids together. Actually fairly gen, Wangxian later.

The Way it Wasn’t – Jiang Cheng wishes that Wei Wuxian had never existed, only to find out that without him, they lost the war. Wangxian, Xiyao, Chengqing hints.

where do we begin (the rubble or our sins) – Wei Wuxian survives falling off the cliff, resurrects Jiang Yanli, and ends up with amnesia. Wangxian only.

Post canon:

the hardest part of ending (is starting again) – Wen Ning and Lan Xichen comfort each other after going through hell. Mainly gen, hints at future Ningchen, background Wangxian.

again, if you have any questions, either while reading the summaries or while reading any of my fics, feel free to ask me! <3

#the untamed #fic stuff

[eigwayne]

Fic Time! It’s the first part of the ChengQing fic I keep mentioning.

A Little Spoiled

Rating: Explicit Fandom: 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV) Relationship: Jiāng Chéng | Jiāng Wǎnyín/Wēn Qíng Characters: Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin, Wen Qing (Módào Zǔshī) Language: English; Words: 4045; Chapters:1/4

Additional Tags: Inadvisable Hook-ups, paying for groceries as a form of affection, kinda sugar daddy jiang cheng, Emotional Constipation, First Time, Awkward First Times, vacillating wildly between annoyed and horny, as many of us are when jiang cheng is involved, Secrets, drama canon

Read chapter 1 on AO3 here.

Wen Qing knows this is a bad idea. He's short tempered, fought a war against her clan, and has responsibilities that dont- can't- include her. She returned his comb and is keeping a secret that could destroy him.

But he's paying for much-needed supplies and when he almost smiles she can pretend things are simpler, that he's just the shy young master who could have loved her. And sometimes even the most commanding people want to be a little spoiled.

(A vaguely drama-canon-compliant affair between Wen Qing and Jiang Cheng during the Burial Mound era, where secrets are kept, gifts are bought, and Wen Qing struggles between respect for herself and desire for Jiang Cheng before deciding she wants to attempt to have both. Fic concept notes at the end, if you’re into that.)

Wen Qing inspected the produce, turning over a potato as she checked for faults. Most were unsprouted but one never really knew. And she certainly didn’t want Wei Wuxian to think she was encouraging him. This was a treat, not a crop! Wen Ning stood behind her, patient as always and uncommenting on her vegetable selections, with his now-empty radish basket waiting to be filled.

“We’ll take some,” she said to the seller, “but you’re asking simply too much for…” A flash of purple caught her eye. Her heart jumped at the thought of him, although it wasn’t easy to tell if it was fear or not.

(Fear would be safer. Her family had made enemies of the Great Sects, Jiang Wanyin more than most, and she should be wary of him. But late at night, when she let herself dream… Well, that was a different story and she certainly wasn’t going to mull that over right there in the marketplace.)

Either way, he had as much right to cross Yiling as she did; Wei Wuxian hadn’t started a sect no matter what the rumors said and Yiling was no one’s territory. She pretended to be unaffected, hoped Wen Ning hadn’t noticed him, and turned back to the potato seller. “No, this price is too much. I am willing to spend…”

Later, potatoes successfully haggled to a reasonable price and more Wen Qing-approved vegetables joining them in Wen Ning’s basket, the Wen siblings walked together toward the exit of the market square. Wen Qing could almost pretend things were normal- that Wen Ning was alive and well, and she was simply restocking her dispensary. They would go home and everyone would have enough to eat and-

She cut that thought off before it could go further. It was too tempting, the fantasies and could-have-beens. Her mind supplied enough of those as she lay in the dark, in the moments after she laid her head on her pillow and before sleep claimed her. And her mind supplied more as she paused near a display of haircombs.

‘I should have at least asked him for some seeds and fertilizer when I gave it back,’ she thought as she remembered Jiang Wanyin’s gift. She thought of a million things she could have asked him for, after the comb had already been returned. But a rebuilding sect could spare none of it, really, and the unspoken offers were heavier than the spoken one. And all of it was foolish could-have-beens.

But she had a practical reason for looking at combs. The last good comb had broken tines and A-Yuan needed something gentle on his scalp. He cried every time he had his hair combed and that simply wouldn’t do.

“I have a few small things to get,” she said to Wen Ning. “I’ll be along shortly. Head back and help the others, okay?” He nodded and murmured his assent, and turned back to the main road. Her heart swelled with fondness. Such a good, obedient, caring boy, even now.

Wen Qing stood in front of the display, looking for something inexpensive but well-made, the tips blunt enough for A-Yuan.

At her level of cultivation, she easily felt him approach. He wasn’t even attempting to hide his presence, but she would know the feel of him even if she was drowning in the resentment of the Burial Mounds. There was his natural energy, a tumultuous pulse that she had spent so long rebuilding. There was the electric feel of his inherited spiritual weapon. And although it wasn’t something she could detect consciously, she imagined she could feel it, as the one who put it there- the blazing heat of Wei Wuxian’s golden core.

He was a storm made flesh, and he stood beside her in the marketplace of Yiling. And he said, his voice low and tight in her ear, “If you needed a comb, you should have kept the one I gave you.”

Anger flashed through her- how dare he get so close, use that voice! How dare he say something like that without even looking her in the eye! How dare he speak of it in public at all! But she swallowed it, never let it reach her face. It was a skill she learned serving a harsher master than he.

“Sect Leader Jiang,” she said with a slight curtsy. It was cute and feminine and she should have bowed, to remind him they were both cultivators and she was not without power, but she was standing straight again before it even occurred to her.

He bowed to her then, just the correct angle for politeness’s sake.

“I need a comb for a child,” she said calmly, in response to his words. “That comb should be given to a bride.”

He flinched, visibly, and she turned back to the display. The shopkeeper was surely drawing conclusions but if she wanted Wen Qing’s business, she’d keep her mouth shut.

She selected two combs, simple in design but tines sanded smooth and blunt with care. Jiang Wanyin stood beside her the whole time and she drew it out, letting him stew. He could say something if he wanted her attention that badly. He certainly had no qualms about getting close enough to be heard.

But drawing it out too long would be a waste of her time, too, so she eventually made her decision. As she reached for her too-thin money pouch, Jiang Wanyin stopped her. His hand was warm on her forearm but then, she was always cold. They were all a little cold, on the Burial Mounds.

“You don’t have to,” she hissed.

“I don’t,” he agreed, and handed the shopkeeper the silver.

The combs were wrapped in fabric- not patterned silk, just a soft linen Wen Qing would use for patching or handkerchiefs later- and she led Jiang Wanyin a few steps away.

“I do not intend to owe you anything,” she said, voice low as she dug the silver out of her pouch to repay him. She didn’t bother to hide her annoyance.

“It’s a gift. Keep your money.”

She looked at him, lips tight. There was still tension in his face (perhaps there always would be), but she saw the shadow of the boy he had been. The boy who looked at her with wonder and longing. It was just a tiny, dying ember but the fact that it was there at all, after everything, made her breath catch in her throat.

‘He is so soft when he hopes, like he could be gentle again someday. Is this what drove Wei Wuxian when he begged me to do the surgery?’

She turned away, too aware that she was staring. “I don’t want to discuss this in the middle of the market.”

“Shall we have tea, then? My treat,” he said, and pushed past her to head for the teahouse. She followed him, and cursed herself for a fool.

They got a private room, but tea was served and they savored the first sips before either of them spoke to the other. Wen Qing broke the silence first.

“Why are you in Yiling?”

“I was passing through,” he said.

“Passing through,” she scoffed. “With no disciples? Do you take me for a fool? Sect Leaders don’t travel by themselves.”

The look on his face was hard, angry, but embarrassed. “I sent them on ahead when I saw you,” he admitted.

She still wasn’t sure she believed the ‘passing through’ bit, but let it go. “You could have just left. I wouldn’t have blamed you for not wanting to speak with me.”

“A-jie would want to know how Wei Wuxian is doing. Who better to ask?”

Wen Qing would have been disappointed that he had not stopped for her, but Wei Wuxian had always been what brought them into each other’s orbits. “He’s managing,” she said. “Still bothering me about potatoes. Trying to branch out into even more fickle plants.” Nevermind that she was the one who enabled Wei Wuxian in the first place, buying those lotus seeds.

Jiang Wanyin huffed. “He never could do the practical thing.”

“It seems to be working. The lotuses are growing well, at least.” Wen Qing bit back a smile at how his eyes bulged. Good. Let him be surprised.

Jiang Wanyin looked down at his tea for a moment, digesting the fact that the man he cast out, the man he let exile himself, was growing the family emblem. Wen Qing waited a bit, then asked, “So what made you take out your wallet for my combs? We’re not beholden to you. Or was that also an excuse to ask after Wei Wuxian?” She wasn’t going to lie to herself about the combs any more than she would about his reason for stopping at all. Jiang Wanyin may still hold a tiny spark of his adolescent crush but he was no altruist.

“I felt like it, and Yunmeng Jiang is in a position where I can do things because I feel like doing it,” he said.

So he was showing off. She bit back the urge to slam her teacup back on the table. As it was, she still put it down with more force than strictly necessary.

“You don’t need to look down on us, Sect Leader Jiang,” she said with as much calm as she could muster. “It may be a simple life but we are managing.”

“Are you? Because I remember what you looked like before. Are you getting enough to eat? Is that boy getting enough?”

“You would dare-“

“I would dare! Wei Wuxian meddled in things he shouldn’t have, and now he can’t even take care of you! This is what playing hero does! You’re still suffering!”

“There are different types of suffering. I prefer this to the Jins.”

Her voice was level, the heat simmering below the surface of her cold tone. Jiang Wanyin had the grace to look embarrassed. They sat in silence again, and Wen Qing contemplated on whether she should leave now or later, after their food was brought in. Her pride said now. Her stomach said later.

“I’m not a hero like he is,” Jiang Wanyin said before she decided. He looked down at his teacup rather than meet her eyes. “I can only protect what’s mine. But I still wish to include you in that, sometimes.”

“So you bought my combs?”

He gave a curt nod. “I know I’m nothing compared to him, but-“ There was a soft knock at the door of their private dining room. They fell silent again as a waiter bustled in and their food was set down. The smell set Wen Qing’s stomach growling and she had to hold herself back, too conscious that eating quickly would make her sick, and prove Jiang Wanyin’s point about the insufficient dietary needs in the Burial Mounds (she also wondered how much she could stow away to bring home for A-Yuan without sacrificing too much of her dignity). And frankly, she had better manners than to bolt her food in front of a Sect Leader, no matter how much she wanted to. It kept her occupied, keeping up the pretense of being genteel, and she didn’t have to think about how this was possibly her longest conversation with Jiang Wanyin and how Wei Wuxian would be surprised at open he was with her. She wouldn’t think about how he looked healthy enough, no signs of weakness in his spiritual energy (although she’d have to check him properly to be sure, and oh, how her fingers twitched to grasp his wrist at that!), or how he looked charmingly uncertain when the silence went on. And she definitely wouldn’t think about how pink his lips were around his chopsticks.

She had just taken a bite of course, when he finally spoke again. “It’s been six months since A-jie got married. My third-in-command- well, second-in-command, now- he knows what to do to keep things running. Now that most of the boardwalks are rebuilt, it seems all I do is paperwork and oversee lessons. Buying those combs… I felt….”

He poked at his food with his chopsticks, clearly not comfortable with the thoughts he was forming. No one Wen Qing knew was comfortable with that much truth about themselves.

‘For all we aspire to the inner peace an immortal would have, we are ill-suited for it,’ she thought, about herself and Jiang Wanyin and every cultivator they knew (except perhaps her own little brother).

“You felt needed?” she suggested. “There would be nothing wrong with that, if we were any other people.”

“If we were any other people, I would buy you much more than a couple combs.” As soon as the words were past his lips, he looked up at her with wide, startled eyes. He clearly hadn’t meant to say that aloud.

She should ignore it, might have if they were adolescents still, but the fresh food with proper spices (and no radishes at all, because even she was sick of them by now) made her feel alive and bold.

“If we were other people, I would let you,” she said. As angry as he made her mere moments before, she liked this honesty in him. She was treated to the sight of hope in his expression again- a softening of tension, the creases between his brows smoothing just a bit- before he remembered his responsibilities.

“I can’t spend too much more- time or money. My disciples will worry if I don’t catch up with them soon. But-”

“It’s fine. I also have to get back before anyone starts to worry.”

“Let me walk you back,” Jiang Wanyin said in a rush.

Wen Qing wanted to say ‘yes’. Jiang Wanyin was pleasant to look at, after all, and had warm hands. If he was a bit awkward and kept putting his foot in his mouth, well, Wen Qing wasn’t the smoothest individual either and rather liked having someone she could get snippy with. Plus, Wei Wuxian still cared about him and would want to see him. But he was also the master of a Great Sect and her family, small as it was now, had been his sworn enemy.

“I’m not sure that would be wise,” she said. “We’ve already been seen together. Someone might recognize us.”

“Only because we’re known here. If we were somewhere else, I would do it. I would buy more than a couple combs for you."

Wen Qing stopped picking at her food and looked at him. There was that expression again, the hopeful puppy one she enjoyed but so often turned away from. She hated saying ‘no’ when he made that face.

So she said ‘yes’ for a change.

‘This is terribly selfish,’ she thought as they walked. Despite saying he shouldn’t spend more money earlier, he bought a rather large amount of baozi, and a couple hair ribbons in neutral tones (he must have noticed her frayed edges, damn him for being observant), ginger and dried peppercorns for her family and chili paste that was clearly for Wei Wuxian, and a very nice kitchen knife. He tested it on his thumb for her, like an idiot, and she used just a bit of her spiritual energy to heal the cut for him, ignoring the small gasp he let out when she took his hand.

(The contact wasn’t long enough, for all it seemed to burn them both. But he took her healing easily and she has no cause to worry about the golden core’s function, and no cause to keep holding on to him.)

He pressed all these items into her hands and she didn’t protest at all. She should, a token refusal for politeness’s sake or a real refusal because this was foolish of him and she couldn’t repay this kindness. But she thought of how well her family would eat tonight, between the fresh vegetables she sent with Wen Ning and these baozi. She didn’t dare take a chance that he would accept a refusal and take it all back.

She carried the baozi in a wooden box while Jiang Wanyin walked beside her, eyes straight ahead and hand on his sword like he was ignoring the people on the street and daring them to say something, all at once. Wen Qing had seen Wen Ruohan and his sons manage it but Jiang Wanyin was too self-conscious to pull it off quite yet. But then, their circumstances were different. Jiang Wanyin’s position was still precarious in many ways, and the Wens of her youth were unquestioned masters of Qishan.

Well. Things changed. Perhaps someday, Jiang Wanyin could walk down the street with a young lady and be confident about it. Wen Qing felt a pang that that young lady would not be her.

Lost in thought, she barely noticed when they reached the edge of town and kept going. Jiang Wanyin was still beside her and it seemed, perhaps not natural but certainly pleasant to feel his stormy presence and see the violet of his robes out of the corner of her eye.

“I shouldn’t go much further,” he finally said. They were at the foot of the Burial Mounds, within sight of the dark forest and the walls.

“You let me walk all this way without thanking you?” Wen Qing set the container of baozi down and bowed. “I want to repay you for this kindness, Jiang-zongzhu. I will find a way.”

“I told you I don’t want repayment,” he said, putting his hands under her elbows to stop her bow from sinking deeper. “We are even and this changes nothing.”

“This is money you weren’t planning to spend. Money that should go back to your sect.”

“My sect is fine and that money was my own!” He stepped closer, forcing her to straighten or hold her bow with her arms pressed against his chest. She chose to straighten her back. “You don’t owe me for this. I wanted to- to check on Wei Wuxian. For A-jie’s sake.”

“And yet you won’t come to see him?”

They stood for a moment, Jiang Wanyin’s hands still on her arms, almost as close as that day in the teahouse when they’d both been chasing Wei Wuxian. She glared up at him in challenge and started to pull her arms away, but he held her fast.

“I can’t. But… I’m not ready for you to go,” he said, and he pulled. She stumbled, two jerky steps, into the circle of his arms.

“Jiang-zongzhu,” she started, but her voice trailed off. He was warm and- well, not soft, but his muscles were invitingly firm under his robes. While she contemplated the feel of his chest and the silk of his robes (both very nice and she wanted to spend an hour or two running her hands over them), he wrapped his arms around her.

She was caught. She should have been angry, alarmed. He was the leader of a Great Sect, a danger to her family, and even a normal man could be dangerous to a woman alone. But she was hardly helpless and he had spent his money on them and he didn’t feel dangerous, not now.

‘It’s just a hug,’ she told herself. It was extremely inappropriate, with them being unrelated and unmarried, and even though she was still annoyed (he was infuriating! And infuriatingly inviting), she leaned into it anyway. There was something nice about being held close, secure in the cradle of his arms, hidden from the world by his expensive silks.

“A kiss,” he said, shattering the quiet of forest. She looked up at him. It wasn’t a good angle on him, mostly cheek and sideburn and nostril, but that didn’t calm her wild thoughts at all.

He didn’t look down at her or loosen his hold, and indeed he tightened his grip until she could feel Zidian digging into her shoulder. “What if I said a kiss would make us even?”

Her first response was a resounding ‘Yes!’ Their bodies were pressed together, his arms holding her tight, and she could see his lips, tempting and moist where he licked them in nervousness. A kiss seemed like a natural extension of their embrace.

But she had never traded affection for anything. Not goods, not money, not position, not even safety for her family. ‘I’m not that kind of woman,’ she wanted to say, needed him to know.

She could be, though, if it meant having Jiang Wanyin’s lips on her.

But she took too long thinking about it, and he loosened his hold and started to pull away. “Nevermind,” he snapped. “It was just a whim. I’m not so desperate that I can’t get a woman without bribing her with gifts!”

“I didn’t say anything,” Wen Qing said as she grabbed his sleeve. “And I’m not the sort of woman who can be bribed with gifts. Make no mistake about that! When I kiss you, it will be-.”

She was cut off by the crash of his lips against hers. One of his hands grabbed her arm. As if she would try to escape! She let him deepen the kiss, all her hesitation fleeing in her eagerness to have him. She put one arm about his shoulders, and he slipped his other arm around her waist, still holding tight with his other hand as he kissed her.

He tasted of the tea they’d had with their meal, and he held her too tightly and kissed like he was trying to devour her, all tooth and searching tongue. She should have shook him off, demanded he be more gentlemanly.

Instead, she said, “Don’t bite,” nearly breathless. She let him back her against a tree and press himself to her body, and the one harsh kiss softened and became many.

These kisses were not as frantic, but were still demanding, deep and wet. His breath was burning hot against her skin, his body firm under her hands. He had one thigh between her legs and she could feel everything. These kisses? These, she wanted more of.

Why shouldn’t she have this? What good was maintaining her virtue? Making a good marriage would never happen now, and she no longer needed to keep herself chaste as a bargaining chip for her family.

Ah, but he looked down on her family, didn’t he? Would she have any self-respect left if she let Jiang Wanyin touch her? She hoped so, hoped that his small kindness today meant that he wasn’t so bitter.

But did she have any right to touch him, knowing what she did about his golden core?

She flinched, and he loosened his hold on her.

“I’m sorry,” he said, looking away from her. “I shouldn’t have done that. I know you’re a respectable lady.”

“I… Even respectable ladies have wants,” she confessed. “I just… I have to get back soon. And this isn’t the sort of thing I want to do under a dead tree.”

Hope blossomed in his face, a smile on his kiss-dark lips, and he touched her cheek with more gentleness than he’d shown since before the war. “Agreed. And… I liked spending the afternoon with you, Wen-guniang. I don’t want this to be the last time I see you.” His tone suggested that had been a possibility, and she found she didn’t want that, either.

She returned to the settlement shortly after, with the box of baozi and an agreement to meet again in ten days. Wen Ning leapt to his feet with a happy “Jie!” when he saw her. Her family gathered around her all talking at once.

“Qing-guniang, what’s all this?”

“I got good deals on some things,” she started to explain, and because the truth was easier than another lie she admitted, “Wei Wuxian’s martial brother sent some, but be quiet about it if you’re in town. He still can’t be known to help us.”

Wei Wuxian’s head peeked over the others’ shoulders as he joined them, drawn out of his cave by the commotion. “Jiang Cheng? Really? What did you say to him to get him to send something over?!”

Wen Qing just smiled at him, and started distributing her acquisitions.

~Notes~

So yeah, at the beginning I mentioned this had a note on the fic concepts, so here it is. Be grateful it's at the end; it was at the beginning at one point.  

This has been kicking around my harddrive for a while in various drafts and levels of completion, and I decided to just wrap it up and start posting it. Right now, I estimate it at 4 chapters. Please do not expect the chapters to be a consistent length; they're looking to be very different.

The concept is to let Wen Qing be the one being taken care of for a change, and to let Jiang Cheng spoil someone he cares about (I believe my initial thought was something like "Jiang Cheng wants to be Wen Qing's sugar daddy but he is not daddy enough at this point").

And I love and firmly believe that Jiang Cheng would go down on a partner and enjoy it, I don't think he could have started out that way. He's in essence a spoiled rich kid with no experience with women, he's going to start off as a stumbling, selfish lover. He has to learn about possibilities, and that's going to involve some fumbling first. And I also love confident and commanding-in-the-bedroom Wen Qing but I don't think she would have much opportunity for that experience in canon. I also very much want Jiang Cheng to support Wei Wuxian in secret ('cause during my first Untamed watching, I thought he was sneaking Wei Wuxian supplies or money during the Burial Mounds exile), for Wen Qing to follow-up on her miraculous and devastating secret surgery (like seriously, she never tried to sense his qi or anything after, not once?! And then some posts floated by my Tumblr dash- iirc, winepresswrath is a ringleader but you can find them kicking around i’m sure- that I was not the only one who thought things like this and I knew I had to do it, at least a little), and for Jiang Cheng to dress Wen Qing up. So I mulled those thoughts for a bit and eventually a couple snippets came to me, and I attempted to make them into a story.

And then I was an idiot and challenged myself to 1) not use any scientific or 'vulgar' terminology in the sex scenes but also not use too much purple prose, no Jiang sect color puns intended at this time, and 2) end it so that the story is, in some way, canon compliant. This is a side moment, something Wei Wuxian knows nothing about and therefore canon theoretically continues uninterrupted. Of course, if you prefer a future where Wen Qing develops the sexual confidence we all know she has in her and rides Jiang Cheng to a different and possibly better fate, please think of that instead (and wish me luck on the idea I had for a canon-divergence sequel).

Next Chapter

#the untamed #chengqing #chen qing ling #jiang cheng/wen qing #My writing #this is only chapter one the smut comes later #also heed the 'awkward first times' and 'drama canon' tags #i tried to make it drama or novel canon compliant but i could not resist comb drama

[dulharpa]

(too many) resented sacrifices between you and i

💜 post-canon jiang cheng uses the sacrificial ritual to bring back jiang yanli

💜 (1/?) 

💜 eventual yunmeng shuangjie reconciliation (angst with a happy ending!)

💜 ao3 link!

From a young age, Jiang Cheng knew love was not for him. Before even his earliest memories, it was taken as indisputable truth: that love came with an endless list of rules and conditions and expectations; no matter how hard he tried, he would — he could never fill. It was bitter and harsh to digest but it wasn’t a lie, and he could not stand for self-imposed ignorance — no matter how sweetly given, not anymore. Throughout his childhood, it was a given that his mother was harsh but cared and his father was cold and seemingly uncaring, both as unaffectionate as the other.

Then, he came, Wei Wuxian, or at the time, Wei Ying.

It was no surprise that his father continued to be non-communicative with him but for Wei Ying? His father’s love and attention were almost fixated on him, showering him with easy affection whenever he pleased; being held, defending anyone who spoke against Wei Wuxian, indulging his every whim. At the same time, his father ignored Jiang Cheng. There were no head pats for him, no hugs, he barely even smiled in his direction. Everything he thought his father was came crashing down.

Logically, he understood Wei Ying had to be treated carefully, he had been orphaned and on the streets for years (everything Jiang Cheng had, Wei Ying didn’t) — but his chest twisted at the casual, nonchalant love shared and he didn’t know why. Was he resenting his father or Wei Ying? His stomach lurched at the idea of both: how could he? His duty was to be filial, always. And even now, with so many years past, how could Jiang Cheng even begin to resent him? Sixteen years, attempting time and time again to hate Wei Wuxian, the impossible. Hating himself for failing such an easy task and finally at that Yunping temple, finding out that all of his efforts were for nought, it ached.

But yes, his father’s love for Wei Wuxian, a child not his own (though there were constant rumours) made sense — it was understandable. Once you let yourself know Wei Wuxian, he was so easy to love. He drew people to him like moths to a flame. (Those who came too close were bound to be burned.)

Jiang Cheng was hard to love. His thorny exterior hid an even thornier interior. He could count on one hand the number of people who love him — no, who’s he trying to kid? On a single finger — Jin Ling, his A-Ling. His nephew. His beloved Jiejie’s son. The boy (almost a man) who Jiang Cheng loved so fiercely, with all his being, that he could barely form the words. His only forms of expressions were empty threats showing his love. (Jin Ling must, he must, he must know he is loved; that he is cherished. There could be no doubts.)

Though Jiang Cheng knows only one who continues to love him, with the last remaining cracked parts of his heart, he loves his sect unconditionally (if they didn’t love him back, it was of no great matter — he loves them regardless). He has done everything, sacrificed everything, so his sect would flourish and live, and if that weren’t love? What else could it be?

At the beginning of those sixteen years, Jin Ling and his sect were the only reasons he hadn’t swallowed a vial of poison to finally cease. (He’s always aware of exactly where he could find it.) But now, they were both able to survive, with no true need of him, and he could finally rest. Over the years, he has fulfilled his first promise as Jiang-zongzhu to never let Yunmeng Jiang collapse (and burn) again — with or without a Sect Leader.

His sacrifices for the Jiang sect were vast and plentiful and he can’t regret them. His reputation; his free time; his little hobbies; his relationships, that were half self-sabotaged anyway; and one of the worst sacrifice — Wei Wuxian and his love.

When Jiang Cheng was young and foolhardy, to his very bones (to his core) he knew Wei Wuxian loved him and in return, he loved him unreservedly. They gave up their golden cores for each other, and there, he thinks, you could pinpoint the time things shifted, things changed. When did Wei Wuxian stop loving him? Did transplanting his core into Jiang Cheng displace all Wei Wuxian’s love? He must have regretted it in the blink of an eye. When Wen Zhuliu had crushed his core, the fiery warmth from the torture had come seeping out, a cold void echoing through his meridians. Even then, Jiang Cheng hadn’t regretted it — with a harsh certainty, he was conscious that if Wei Wuxian were here, he would be dead already. But as everyone said, they were different, and in different circumstances. It would be natural to want it back especially after he realised how little Jiang Cheng was worth.

Maybe… maybe, Wei Wuxian hadn’t given up then. He was always so righteous, doing whatever he thought was right. When Jiang Cheng prioritised his (it was theirs, Wei Wuxian had promised—) fledgeling sect over the Wen remnants, it only emphasised how conditional love was, and yet Jiang Cheng couldn’t blame him. At the Siege of the Burial Mounds, he had ordered his disciples to capture only. In the end, practically just a handful remained. Too little and too late.

A small, tiny part of him still wanted to believe that Wei Wuxian still cared for him, still loved h— He refused to entertain the thought. He made it crystal clear. He remembered Wei Wuxian’s words at Lotus Pier, “Let’s be brothers in our next life.” He remembered Wei Wuxian’s words at the temple, “Really, let’s forget everything from that previous life. I’ve put it all behind me.” It was certain that Wei Wuxian wanted nothing to do with him, and Jiang Cheng couldn’t bring himself to try and only get rejected.

At the very least, Wei Wuxian looked after Jin Ling on night-hunts. He knew because Jin Ling would write to him every single time and ‘sneakily’ mention Wei Wuxian was also there. He’d also ‘offhandedly’ ask if Jiang Cheng wanted to know how Wei Wuxian was doing or if he’d like to come along the next time. Nice try, A-Ling. But, the thought of Wei Wuxian protecting Jin Ling soothed a small piece of him. Good, that’s Jin Ling sorted.

Looking back down, the documents spread out on the table, brought him back to himself. These pages, filled with handwriting he found more familiar than his own. He could pinpoint the moments where Wei Wuxian had switched hands to rest the other — one hand somewhat neater than the other — and a habit the calligraphy teachers had constantly berated him over. The shorthand Wei Wuxian had come up with during their childhood when their seats had been moved apart and communications had to be diminished to small notes flicked over heads. How could Wei Wuxian still be so embedded in his heart even now, still be constantly thought of? All this knowledge he should’ve forgotten still there, hiding, coming out at the most minimal of ideas. Years ago, he would felt anger: how dare Jiang Cheng remember his br— Wei Wuxian fondly when he betrayed them all? Can’t he renounce him in return? (Why can’t he hate him?)

He absently traced the almost illegible scrawls, Zidian sparking at his wrist. His anger (his grief) overshadowed by the knowledge of what he was about to do — the sheer hypocrisy of his actions.

How many years had he spent hunting demonic cultivators? He had thought, why would Wei Wuxian let go if he didn’t know he was going to survive? (Now, it was clear.) The demonic cultivators who had murdered entire families, who had sacrificed their children to increase their powers — those he killed easily, no need to test Zidian against them. Some demonic cultivators he’d found almost by chance, the ones who used demonic cultivation to protect a younger sibling or family — he had made them swear never to cultivate that way again, too conscious of how corrupting it was; offering to take them to Lotus Pier, where they could become a disciple, staff or stay at the orphanage. (In this, he wouldn’t force their choice.) Almost all returned to Lotus Pier with him.

(From a certain point of view, the rumour of demonic cultivators never leaving Lotus Pier was true)

When she wakes up, A-Jie will be a better Sect Leader than him. Besides, before him, she was the sect heir — if her golden core wasn’t under the constant strain of her sickly body, Jiang Cheng may not have became the heir. She’ll receive his body with his trained strength and his and Wei Wuxian’s nurtured core, and no one could come against her, nothing would be able to defeat her — her strength of will has always been so strong, cracking only with Jin Zixuan’s death.

He desperately hopes A-Jie will be happy with his body, she deserves the best — he’s not entirely sure that his body is the ‘best’ but he wouldn’t ask another to do this. A strong body is better than nothing, right? Hopefully (maybe even childishly so), she won’t be disgusted or horrified by his body. Jiang Cheng has always hated that scar — so large and so ugly. A sign of his devotion, and in the end, pointless.

He has already written orders to his second-in-command, the morning after he creates the ritual, he will receive it: it outlines his commands to follow A-Jie in what she asks, for example, if she doesn’t wish to become Sect Leader, she can abdicate — his heir has been picked out for years either way. His sect is loyal to Yunmeng Jiang and he knows it will be left in good hands. If he had a last request of his Jie, it would be to check-in for Jin Ling. Jiang Cheng knows that Jin Ling would appreciate knowing his mother; as a child, he was always hungry for stories — Jiang Cheng had managed a few stories through tear-filled eyes in the dead of night — and A-Ling would love his mother. He’d finally get his ‘maternal education’ if it wasn’t too late.

He’s still hesitant on the matter of Wei Wuxian. He wants him to react badly, messily — crying, yelling, anything to show he cared even a little about Jiang Cheng. But. Wei Wuxian no longer cares. His actions and words have all shown that he’s washed his hands clean of the Yunmeng Jiang sect; so far he’s kept to it: avoiding Lotus Pier, visiting a grand total of once after Yunping — and only because he passed out. Then he was off again, practically the second he woke up. He didn’t avoid Jin Ling though — which was good, Jiang Cheng approved. It showed that Wei Wuxian still loved A-Jie, and once again, good. So, Wei Wuxian will probably, hopefully, react happily to seeing A-Jie again. And that’s all he dares ask for.

He wanted his family to be happy and alive and if this is what it took, that was fine! He’d sacrificed himself before and it failed miserably, only elongating his bro— Wei Wuxian’s death by a mere few years. And at the expense of Wei Wuxian’s golden core. Knowing that this time, his meagre sacrifice would work; his family would be alive and safe and happy, he was determined.

“Zongzhu? It’s getting late…” The voice of his second-in-command called, knocking at the door. Jiang Cheng huffed automatically in response, rolling his eyes, Jiang Zhiyun always did this — the second he heard the third geng was struck, he would come and bother him to sleep. He wasn’t sure if it was out of some sense of duty or… he didn’t know. He had complained heavily at the beginning but now, he could admit to himself it was nice, being taken care of in this way.

“At least, I’m in my quarters. What about you?” Jiang Cheng responded, somewhat soothed by their routine.

“I’m going straight back to my own, zongzhu,” Jiang Zhiyun laughed softly, both fully aware of each other’s routines. “Good night.”

Jiang Cheng replied, softer than usual, “Goodbye, Zhiyun.”

Jiang Zhiyun was one of the many rogue cultivators who Jiang Cheng had personally recruited during the Sunshot Campaign. Surprisingly enough, after the war, he had stayed. Of all his people, he thinks this would be the one he feels the most guilty about leaving behind — Jin Ling would gain a mother; Wei Wuxian wouldn’t give a damn but Zhiyun? He may only become Sect Leader, depending on A-Jie’s decision. Jiang Cheng waved the rest of his worries away, Jiang Zhiyun was loyal to whoever sits on Lotus Pier’s throne — he would adapt easily enough. Much the same for the rest of Yunmeng, they would adjust to this new course, just as they had done so before.

  ---

  A-Ling,

I don't say this nearly enough but, I'm proud of you, A-Ling. You have done so well and I love you.

Sorry I wasn’t the parent you deserved.

Your Jiujiu

  ---

  Wei Wuxian,

You'd be welcomed in Lotus Pier if you wanted to. Don’t misunderstand, you’re still an asshole.

I .. Take care.

Jiang Cheng

(Look after our nephew)

  ---

  Wei Wuxian’s eyebrows knitted together, from a lot of experience, he could tell that the handwriting was unmistakably Jiang Cheng’s, but it didn’t show any signs of being an official letter, no Yunmeng Jiang seal or anything, just his own name. Perhaps it was a personal letter, written for no reasons Wei Wuxian could think of. It could be a simple letter saying ‘Stay away from Lotus Pier.’ Of course, he could deal with it if it was but it was different having a letter saying to stay away, rather than just yelling — if it were in person, he could almost trick himself into believing that Jiang Cheng didn’t mean it; the shake of his voice from anguish rather than rage. Letters were physical proof which couldn’t be written impulsively... He shook his head, trying to dislodge those thoughts. Why was he hesitating so much?

With ‘steady’ hands, he opened the letter, and almost dropped it in shock. What?

It was a short letter. Succinct, as expected. But the content was definitely not.

He was allowed back? He would be welcomed back? Wei Wuxian thought — he knew — Jiang Cheng hated him — when Wei Wuxian messed up and landed himself in the healing quarters, Jiang Cheng couldn’t even look at him. As an apology, he had run off the first chance he had.

‘If you wanted to.’ He scoffed audibly. If he wanted to? Being back at Yunmeng — who wouldn’t want to return? Like he’d said in that inn with Jiang Cheng, “Even in my dreams, I return to Lotus Pier,” Jiang Cheng hadn’t heard him but for Wei Wuxian, it still rang true. Compared to his nightmares, the easy, familial dreams of Lotus Pier ached so much worse, seeing Shijie, Jiang Cheng and him altogether, knowing it could never happen again — it made him cry so much harder too. The only benefit in this sense was waking up to Lan Zhan comforting him. Gusu was nice and Lan Zhan was truly amazing, but he sorely missed Lotus Pier and it wasn’t the same — the people, the atmosphere, the climate even! In the deepest recesses of his mind, he could admit that Yunmeng was his first home — no matter how it had changed from his memories. After his dreams, he squashed those feelings, vehemently. But with this letter… hope rose in him, unbidden.

Rereading it, eyes finely combing each word, sending it to memory. Wait. There’s something strange, a little off. The unsteadiness of Jiang Cheng’s handwriting. The frankly, out of the blue letter. And what exactly was said … he was too caught up in the first sentence to register the rest of the letter. The well-wishing and his command to look after Jin Ling — whilst calling him their nephew! How surprisingly sweet! But worry thrummed in his chest — what had sparked these words? Was he sick or merely worrying about Jin Ling?

Wei Wuxian pressed his lips together. He would have to question Jiang Cheng, directly to his face — he was welcomed to Lotus Pier after all. That was practically permission! His face returned to a small smirk, changing to a larger smile once he realised that Lan Zhan could drop him off at Yunmeng. He would see two of his favourite people in one day!

“Lan Zhan!” Wei Wuxian practically bound in from his to Lan Zhan’s study, slightly more subdued from his lingering worry.

“Wei Ying.” Lan Zhan greeted as he looked up from his Chief Cultivator work with a small smile that quickly faded, eyebrows creasing, “Wei Ying? Is there something wrong?”

How—! This man! How could he tell so quickly and easily? He truly was his zhiji. “Aiya, Lan Zhan! How could you tell? Ah— never mind! Let me just show you.”

He passed him the letter as he moved to climb into Lan Zhan’s lap. Ah, how comfy, like normal.

“I'm really worried, zhiji!” Wei Wuxian pointed to the unstable ‘Take care.’ “See how shaky Jiang Cheng’s handwriting is? And how sweet he’s being?” — he gestured incoherently, trying to make his point — “The ‘you're still an asshole’ seems so hastily written too! I'm not entirely sure he even means it.”

“Mn.” Lan Zhan sounded somewhat doubtful, sounding more approving as he said, “Jiang Wanyin seems to be trying.” — his voice turned tender, addressing Wei Wuxian — “Will you need me to bring you there?”

Wei Wuxian laughs, “You’ve read my mind! Aha, would you mind if we go quickly?” — He leaned backwards, resting lightly on Lan Zhan’s chest — “Not to be any trouble! I’m just worried.” He fidgeted with his hands slightly.

“Wei Ying.” Lan Zhan said softly, bringing Wei Ying’s focus towards him, “Wei Ying, you could never be any trouble for me.” He pressed a kiss to Wei Wuxian’s forehead, where a Lan ribbon would have sat.

Wei Wuxian’s face erupted into a blush, his face buried in his hands, “Lan Zhan! You can’t just say these things! Give me a warning at least! My heart can’t take it!”

Lan Zhan hummed, amused, “Warning: I” — prying Wei Wuxian’s hands away, he kissed his forehead again — “love” — another kiss— “you.” Another small kiss.

Wei Wuxian could already picture Lan Zhan’s self-satisfied expression.

“Lan Zhan!” Wei Wuxian cried out, giggling, a smile on his face, “I didn’t mean it that way!” Though his heart was full, anxiety still curled around it, waiting.

  ---

  She was floating, adrift; only tied to the physical world by the heady scent of copper — blood. No knowledge of who or where she was.

From the stench of blood, she would have assumed the air around would feel similar, thick with some sort of bloodlust. But no. This atmosphere… it was familiar to her. At this moment she knew nothing, but her instincts told her she was safe. They told her she was home.

“Jie. Jie.” The voice was insistent, almost demanding but strangely she knew it was worried, sad. “Jiejie, I’m so sorry. But. You can see A-Ling again! You’ll see how much he’s grown — I know you’ll love him and he’s… he’s a great kid. I love you, A-Jie, please take care.”

She remembered.

The heartache from A-Xuan’s death.

A-Ling’s constant crying that made her want to break down.

The visceral need to make sure that no more of her family would die.

In Nightless City: looking. Searching for both her brothers. Then. The adrenaline sharpened view. A boy, barely a man, brandishing a blood-covered sword, proclaiming a need for revenge. Pushing A-Xian away.

No one else in her family was allowed to die.

Red, red, red. So much. Only the sound of blood rushing in her ears. She could taste it, smell the blood hanging over the battlefield. The feeling of wetness: blood or tears — she couldn’t tell.

We are the closest three; nothing can separate us.

For leaving you — my little brothers, my son — I am sorry but I cannot regret.

In the lotus position the body was in, water splashed onto her — Jiang Yanli’s — clasped hands. Large; rough; achingly familiar, but wrong, wrong, wrong.

No no no. Why can I see A-Cheng’s hands like this? These can’t be his hands — these freckles, these light scars she recognised meant nothing. She can’t, she won’t allow it. Who was she if she could let this happen?

Her brother’s hands started trembling. She ached with the need to console, to help him. But she couldn’t. It wasn’t possible because these were her hands now — she flinched at the thought.

Trying to distract herself from his — hers — his hands, she looked to the ground and saw thick strokes of blood all around the body she inhabited. The blood was fresh and she tried not to think about the source though the answer was blindingly obvious — the blood under their fingernails had not been fully washed out.

Hand-drawn, an almost perfect circle surrounded her, not fully dry. Questions swirled in her head: was this how she came back? Through this array? Why wasn’t her didi stopped—

She remembered how even in her death-addled mind she recognised that the atmosphere seemed familiar. Of course, it did. It felt like him. Her brother. The circle seemed to be where most of the ‘feelings’ were emanating from. Hovering her — their hand over a stroke of blood she felt warmth, possibly from A-Cheng’s remaining spiritual energy. She registered that in the circle there were countless written incantations — all in her didi’s neat, careful script. A-Cheng’s calligraphy was always beautiful — quite the opposite to her other didi’s. She huffed, amused before feeling ice cold. A-Xian…

The thought struck her, shaking her from her mood, she knew how A-Cheng was (dead, seeing how she was in his body— ) but how was A-Xian? A-Ling? She'd left him with Muqin and as much as Yanli trusted those in Jinlin Tai — not much, in all honesty — she trusted her more; Jin-furen would look after her mother’s grandchild. She vaguely remembered the last remnants of Jiang Cheng telling her that A-Ling was alive so…

A-Xian… She wasn’t sure he was alive. The last moments she could remember didn’t bode well for his continued survival — if Yanli was going to survive this, she couldn’t allow herself to hope. Hah. So much for staying together, never parting. She buried her face into her hands, breathing shakily. She broke her promise — their promise — first, and now? Jiang Yanli was the only one remaining.

  ---

  Wei Wuxian was let into Lotus Pier.

No shouts. No complaints. Nothing he could’ve possibly expected before — he was welcomed back! If he wasn’t so tense, Wei Wuxian would be incandescently happy — his wildest and most wistful dreams of years finally being fulfilled.

It’s been so long, Wei Wuxian though, trailing his fingertips on the various carvings of Lotus Pier’s namesake; easily recognising the style of the carver. After the Sunshot Campaign and before everything truly went to shit, this was one of the few tasks he had managed — back then he hadn’t the heart to help with the martial arts — and one that he was proud of. What he had actually done in those days to help the sect was very little and his responsibilities were practically all shirked, the scent of sulphur and alcohol trailing him everywhere. These arts were easier to deal with. The artisan who had done these lotus carvings worked briefly with the Nie sect on the day of the massacre so, thankfully not everyone was lost. Most of this wing — the Sect Leader’s — had been lost to ashes, only the blackened stone foundation remaining.

He had been directed towards this wing by the Jiang disciples — newer or older disciples he couldn’t tell, and a part of him ached, once he had known all of them, now he wouldn’t be able to pick them out in a crowd even if he tried — and had waved off their worries; yes, he knew how to get there; no, he didn’t need any help; yes, I’m allowed — have you seen this letter saying so; no, blah, blah, blah; it’s all good, I’m fine.

Thinking about it, the lack of proper supervision was strange. It warmed him from the inside out, it really did — Jiang Cheng, in a way, still trusted him! — but, it was too good for Wei Wuxian to believe in, it was too lucky. He didn’t know how or what but something was bound to go wrong. He’d been overwrought with anxiety since that letter and he desperately, desperately hoped his anxieties wouldn’t come true.

Turning the corner, into the quarters, Wei Wuxian heard muffled gasps, short and bordering on sobs. Jiang Cheng? He thought, confused and instantly on guard, hurrying to the doors, only to see they were slightly ajar. Finally, he registered what that tinny, slightly sweet smell was: blood.

He roughly flung the doors open, instantly drawn to the unrecognisable blood-drawn ritual then to the body of his brother facing him, eyes wide and red-rimmed, face incomprehensibly soft.

“You’re not Jiang Cheng.” Wei Wuxian pronounces, eyes flicking to the array. This feels familiar, he thinks, detached. An array drawn in blood, a person different than the way they were yesterday, and mysterious circumstances.

Jiang Cheng’s body looked up, face still frozen in an expression that Jiang Cheng would never wear as Wei Wuxian continued, “You’re not much of an evil spirit are you? And what did Jiang Cheng even wish for you to do? Take revenge? That’s what everyone’s demands are.” — At this he scoffed harshly, blinking away traitorous tears — “Who would he take revenge on and why would he ask someone else to do it! He’s strong enough to fight his own battles— wait. This can’t be why he invited me here— revenge on me? It makes sense— no. He must’ve gotten the spell wrong! Jiang Cheng wouldn’t have sacrificed everything on a chance.” Wei Wuxian’s loud proclamations had devolved into frantic mutterings, pulling wildly at his hair and even the body-snatcher itself seemed to be getting mildly worried, the expression both natural and unnatural on Jiang Cheng’s face.

Wei Wuxian scrutinized the array again and could’ve almost laughed. The circle and incantations both perfectly painted — it really could be called beautiful! A true work of art! It was so well done it looked as if it would be impossible for Jiang Cheng to have made a mistake but then who — oh. The pieces all fit. Looking at the body he pictured another face with that exact same look. Her.

“Shijie?” He breathed, voice laden with horrified realisation.

  ---

  In a small orphanage in Yunmeng, a young girl startled awake, unexpectedly alive and breathing, “A-Jie, take care…”

#yunmeng shuangjie #yunmeng siblings #twin prides of yunmeng #yunmeng bros #yunmeng reconciliation #yunmeng shuangjie reconcilation #eventually hehehe #jiang cheng #wei wuxian #jiang yanli #jiang yanli lives #lan wangji #jin ling #wangxian #well.. background/minor wangxian? #modaozushi #mo dao zu shi #mdzs #chenqingling #cql #the untamed #fanfiction #fanfic #my fic #ao3 #suicide tw #he comes back but . yk #sacrificial ritual #well this is another sacrifice done by one of the yunmeng siblings #if you comment i will love you forever

[songofclarity]

Hi cat anon back again I absolutely loved your response to my ask though I doubt WRH sleeps 16 hours a day lol. On the contrary I think he's more likely a workaholic who rarely if ever gets a full night of sleep. even if he delegates a part of his workload, leading a sect as large as qishan wen is still a very hard and demanding job and there are things that just can't be delegated and there's also his cultivation that he must put a lot of work in to be that powerful I would be surprised if he ever gets time to rest. If I were to compare WRH as a leader to anyone it would be Miranda Priestley from "the devil wears Prada", all those working under him are terrified of him not because he's needlessly cruel but because he's extremely strict, demanding, and has very high expectations of everyone starting with himself and the higher you go in the hierarchy of the sect the higher his expectations of you will be and if you can't meet his expectations you will be kicked to the curb without mercy (srsly if you haven't watched that movie you absolutely should especially if you're looking for inspiration for WRH because Meryl Streep slays the role of the demanding and tyrannical leader in it).

Also I'm curious what kind of parent you think WRH is. We never get to meet WX in the novel so there's no way to know what he's really like but WC strikes me as a sort of spoiled kid who was used to getting all his demands met without question and was never disciplined for anything ever in his life but also there are WQ and WN whose upbringing WRH had more or less involvement in depending on the adaptation and who seem to be far better adjusted people than WC even if WN seems to suffer from near crippling social anxiety and stage fright. I personally think he has no idea how to parent because he was mostly raised by nannies and tutors and barely had any relation with his own parents if he had any so his idea of being a father is buying his children anything they ask for no matter how extravagant and having dinner with them once in a while.

Sorry for the rant but you're my favorite writer who writes WRH I just love the way you write him ❤️

Ahaha, 16 hours is indeed much too much, he needs to have time to work on his cultivation! I'm so happy you love the way I write him and I love hearing you talk about him, so thank you for sharing your thoughts with me!

I will confess I, too, have a soft spot for workaholic/insomniac Wen RuoHan. It’s a big sect and there is a lot to do! At the same time, I also have a soft spot for well-rested and idling Wen RuoHan who is purposefully kept oblivious to most things happening in his sect, either because other people are doing a good job taking care of it all, because they just don't want to look bad in front of the boss and so don't tell him, or both lol

To be honest, I don't see Wen RuoHan as someone who is that critical of people! I just don't see him dropping people simply because they make a mistake. The way he lightly jokes with Meng Yao after Meng Yao nearly gets himself killed is kind of something I can see Miranda Priestly doing though lol But she knows she's top brass and has the attitude for it. There is an arrogance about her that when she says something disparaging, it's really not a joke even if she might smile and laugh. By comparison, I don't think Wen RuoHan is nearly that arrogant or, if I may, that rude. I think politeness and proper manners are actually very important to him (and there is a whole essay in me about that lol). Wen RuoHan says "you good-for-nothing" only after Meng Yao was being self-deprecating, and then they laughed and carried on with Wen RuoHan going along with Meng Yao's ideas. Meng Yao's status doesn't falter in the slightest.

(So yes, The Devil Wears Prada is a great movie and I have definitely seen it!)

Instead of Wen RuoHan creating a toxic environment where he plays an active hand in making people fight for privileges and status, I can better see people around Wen RuoHan vying for his attention that it becomes a dog-eat-dog situation. It's like with the guest cultivator who threw Nie Dad under the bus. Wen RuoHan did not pose a question that needed to cause a sect-sect incident, but the guest cultivator made it into one. No one is quite sure why he would say such a thing, although one of the assumptions is that he said it simply to stand out and gain attention.

Although I may just have some rose-colored glasses on lol Wen RuoHan just kind of has that personality, to me, that draws people in. They see Wen RuoHan, recognize his power, and are like, "If I can have 5 minutes of his time, my whole life will change for the better." I do think Wen RuoHan thought he was making things better with his policies. The problem is that some bad people are taking advantage of this offer, and it in turn reflects badly on Wen RuoHan. I will say this though: I think there is some room to argue that Wen RuoHan does follow the teachings of Wen Mao.

For the record, I like to completely ignore what CQL did to the Wens, tbh LOL Wen RuoHan is Yikes, Wen Chao is more just evil asshole rather than pompous asshole, and Wen Qing and Wen Ning are like desolate orphans for some reason. I love the younger actors, acting, and the aesthetics (although white and red will always be Wen colors to me!) but the changes to their story line and their relationships with each other made a complete mess and I don't like to see it ;;

But man, I wish we knew, like, anything about Wen Xu! Wen Chao is absolutely spoiled though. Although one thing I like is how he's being given opportunities to practice leadership, management, and organization skills. He's the one arranging the Wen Sect team for the archery competition and he's put in charge of indoctrinating all the juniors when he himself is the same age as them. We see evidence that he's getting the right education and opportunities to maybe even become Sect Leader one day (Wen Xu, who are you!?), but we also know he's a rather rotten, arrogant person who seems to enjoy his power and privilege more than anything. Wen Chao is also the second son and we get a nice comparison with Nie HuaiSang, who also enjoys all the wealth and the pretty things of his station but doesn't want the responsibilities that come with it.

My headcanon is that Wen RuoHan adores children and is very good with them. I want to believe he was very good to Wen Xu, Wen Chao, Wen Qing, and Wen Ning. This is in part because every other parent in MDZS is awful so statistics says at least one of them needs to be good, so let's give it to Wen RuoHan LMAO

But for the actual teaching of said children, I can definitely see them being given tutors and Shifu and all that good stuff. Then when they have learned something, they show it off to Wen RuoHan, who I think is someone who likes seeing others learn and improve. I don't think utilizing nannies and tutors would make him a bad parent though! It might make him somewhat distant, however, which might explain why Wen Chao lies about killing the Tortoise of Slaughter. That would be a great way to get his father's attention! But it might not be because his father is distant. That lack of attention could also be because he's competing, as I mentioned before, with all the other people vying for Wen RuoHan's attention.

Considering Wen RuoHan gave Wen Chao his strongest bodyguard, a whole ton of disciples to lead, and opportunities to prove himself, I think Wen RuoHan is arguably a decent father. That Wen Chao was desperate to get back to him when it all went south shows that his father is someone he knows will protect him, which no other kid in the series (except Lan SiZhui who has the benefit of being from the next generation lol) ever displays. Considering how Wen RuoHan protected Meng Yao in the Sun Palace with Extreme Force, I like to think Wen RuoHan really doesn't mess around with the safety of his kids (with Meng Yao as honorary kid). Even Wen Qing and Wen Ning had ZERO fear running around as they did right after the massacre of Lotus Pier. No one and nothing is going to harm them--not with Wen RuoHan around.

(As a side note, Wen Qing said she wouldn’t be able to protect Wen Ning from Wen Chao if Wen Chao really wanted to kill him, but there is no mention of harm coming from Wen RuoHan. It really does sound like a sibling spat of “He’s going to fucking kill you when he finds out you ate his pudding and there is NOTHING I can do to stop him.”)

With all that said!! I really like your headcanon that Wen RuoHan wasn't close with his own parents and thus having no idea how to parent. It makes me sad, but in a good way lol So I'm definitely willing to run with you on it! Although I love the idea that Wen RuoHan is trying to be different than the generation before him. His parents weren't close to him, so he is close to his own children. He cultivated to a high level because no one was around to protect him, so he makes sure he's around to protect them. Wen ZhuLiu is an extension of Wen RuoHan and it shows when he protects Wen Chao, despite not liking the kid in the slightest.

So Wen Chao grows up spoiled and Wen Ning grows up fearless and Wen Qing grows up prideful because Wen RuoHan is just one letter away and no one wants to mess with Wen RuoHan.

#ty for waiting and for sharing wrh thoughts with me!! i love them! #asked from above #anon #wen ruohan #wen fam #mdzs thoughts #the problem with my headcanons and opinions is that #they change depending on what i want and where i am #especially for someone like wrh where we can tweak him depending on what we want out of him