#I simply think that from the day wwx met him he decided that he was jc keeper | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

truly-morgan · 8 months

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[Possessive & jealouse LXC, feat. Wen brothers]

XiCheng | Mo Dao Zu Shi Modern AU 29-08-2021

[#xicheng, modern cultivation, possessive and jealous lxc]

Set where Lan Xichen and Jiang Cheng have been turning around each other for a certain time now (believing they are discreet when everyone knows about it). It takes months before they finally start officially courting (of course two sect heir cannot just start dating like that without following traditions! Who do you think they are?)

things are going great, his courting goes smoothly and it is even close to an end! They can soon start an "official" relationship! But then jc is sent to one of the lectures given in qishan, where he will stay for at least three months. This makes lxc a bit sad because it will make it hard for them to meet, but jc does sound rather excited to go study over in qishan so he will support his choice to do so. ("The wens might have enormous egos and be arrogant, but they are still strong, plus they are not as bad as centuries ago," jc told him).

Plus! He will go with nhs, wwx and lwj, he knows he will be in good hands anyway. He is a bit nervous because it is the first time in months that they won't really be able to meet as often as they did (although they can still Facetime, call and text each other.) and well even if the wen are not as bad as they were in the past, jfm didn't have the best of relationship with wrh in the latest years. He simply hopes everything will go alright for his boyfriend.

The three months session starts, and everything goes well, jc let him know how everything is going and he is reassured. Then he notices nhs socmed post. He knows the young man is rather active on them (contrary to lwj and jc), so he isn't surprised to see him post about what happens (he is even happy to see jc happy with his friends.) but then he notices that wrh boys are often around in the latest updates. He is a bit surprised and curious because he knows wc can be a bit to handle sometimes.

"Wen heir showing us around Nightless City, this boy is not as bad as we first thought 😜 even my best friend agrees for once"

accompanied to the post is a picture of the group at a restaurant, nhs and wwx making peace signs to the camera, lwj drinking tea on the side while wx seems to be showing something on the menu to jc. They are rather close, even for the small booth they have, although he tries to let anything bad come from it.

"A-cheng is having a good time trying qishan specialities, it alright," he tells himself. after all, who's better to suggest good qishan dishes other than someone who grew up there?

He thought it would be a one-time thing, yet as the days go by, more and more posts made by nhs include either or both of wrh sons. and the more it goes, the closest they seem to be to jc too.

He tries not to care, not to let that possessiveness in him make him fly all the way to qishan so he can kidnap his boyfriend. "I think you need to stop stalking a-sang account" jgy suggest when he met up wth his best friends, "I doubt jc will suddenly decide to marry one of the wen".

"All I see is nhs not studying enough" nmj mentioned (although he takes note to ask his didi not to post as much maybe, it would be bad to have to deal with lxc if he loses it fully because of his post).

yet, after that dinner, nhs seems to post even more!?

"Training is nearly as strict as back home 😩😭 though chengcheng seems happy to train with wen xu"

added to this a video of jc and wx fighting "Finally the weekend, out with our new friend for good food and drinks😋🫕"

added to this is a group picture, jc sitting between wc and nhs while wc has an arm around jc.

(Also are they letting a-cheng drink?!?)

"poor wen, believing they had a chance against chengcheng in a swimming competition 🤭"

added is a video of them swimming showing jc win, joined soon after by wx and wc who mess around a bit with him in the water and it goes on and on like this, where he sees his boyfriend slowly getting closer and closer to wrh sons. Even when jc talks about his days it drives him crazy how much they seem to be around him so suddenly (obviously this is all internally, he couldn't force jc to stop hanging out with friends because of his own issue).

but the more it goes, the harder he can channel out this jealousy and possessiveness. things are going great with jc, but he wishes he could share all these more /with/ jc too. He doubts any of the wen would even try to get jc after the news of their courtship went around the cultivation world.

but the three months are coming to a close soon and lxc suggests being the one to go get lwj (lqr doesn't object as he assumed it will give him a small break from lxc acting weird all the time). So he goes to go get lwj, although the first person he goes looking for is jc. He finds him walking outside the wen residence with wx helping him carry his bags.

he doesn't hesitate when he walked quickly to him, calling out to him so jc will turn in his direction, hugging him and lifting him. he is happy that his arms quickly reciprocates the hug and to hear jc calling to him happily surprised. when he finally puts him back down he keeps an arm around his waist, keeping his boyfriend close to him (he missed that so much).

he doesn't miss the smirk on wx lips, as though the young man knows what he is doing.

lxc is quick to fully kidnap jc, helping him with his bags. he won't leave jc side for a good while for now. He catches up with jc, the man happily telling him how the last days went by (also lots of kissing, which jc is happy to give).

they do eventually join wwx and lwj, ready to take jc back home with him even after wwx protest (thankfully jc agrees to it so the head disciple cannot say anything 😌).

jc somewhat already know why lxc seems so needy suddenly and he will happily indulge in erasing all his jealousy and possessiveness by letting lxc do everything with him too as he stays a bit in cloud recess.

also, a 100% nhs was trying to tease lxc to see if the man would run back to his beloved after seeing all this (he is impressed by lxc self-control).

also, a 100% wx was in it and was a bit more touchy on camera than he would be normally, just to annoy the lan heir

I don't why, I just like the idea of the wen boys not being /that/ bad and friendly once you get past all the arrogance and ego they might have.

Original

#tweet archive #mdzs #mo dao zu shi #xicheng #lan xichen #jiang cheng #modern au #modern cultivation world #possessive lan xichen #friendship building

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trans-xianxian · 3 years

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since we are on the sibling insanity this morning.... here is some yunmeng bros bits and bobs I've been writing

#older siblings what are your thoughts on this...... I have baby brother disease not older sibling sickness I need your feedback #I simply think that from the day wwx met him he decided that he was jc keeper #and he will follow that decision from one life into the next until death and death again and even longer after that #ghost posts #image #wei wuxian #jiang cheng #yunmeng bros #cql #jc #wwx

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iamwestiec · 3 years

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June 17: Chengxian 💜🖤💕

childhood friends to lovers/QPPs, ace Jiang Cheng, bi & aro Wei Wuxian, modern AU

(A/N: If you're wondering about a certain other someone, he will have a wonderful, full life of his own in Suzhou in this AU but is not in this story. 💙 There are some brief mentions of offscreen ace-antagonism, not by anyone we know.)

Read on ao3

Jiang Cheng had been Wei Ying's best friend in the whole world for his entire life.

Okay. Well, not quite his entire life, but certainly since Wei Ying’s parents moved to California when he was little little, which was about as far back as Wei Ying could remember anyway. Wei Ying’s baba and Jiang Cheng’s baba had grown up in Wuhan together and been best friends when they were kids, so naturally, when Wei Ying’s family moved into the same neighborhood as the Jiangs, it made perfect sense for Wei Ying and Jiang Cheng to become best friends too.

It was Jiang Cheng who had taught Wei Ying that he didn't have to be afraid of dogs, by introducing him to Princess, Jasmine, and Lil' Love. Lil' Love lived up to her name, coming and quietly sitting in all her fluffy glory on Wei Ying’s lap every time he went over to play.

It was also Jiang Cheng who Wei Ying got drunk with for the first time. They snuck booze from the cabinet where Wei Ying’s parents kept it and laughed at the faces each other made with every shot until they stopped tasting the harsh burn, and then laughing more just because.

(Wei Ying’s mom had not laughed, not at the time, when the two teens had been sick as anything the next morning, but instead made them a gloriously greasy late breakfast and gave them lots of advice about proper hydration.

Then she told Jiang Cheng’s mom and let her scold them.)

It was Jiang Cheng who came out first, their first semester in college, when he told Wei Ying he didn't think he wanted to have sex with anyone, ever, and asked if Wei Ying thought that meant no one would ever want to date him. Wei Ying hugged him tight and told him he didn't know about everyone out there, but he knew Jiang Cheng was the best guy in the world and would be an awesome boyfriend, and he'd fight anyone who said differently.

Jiang Cheng found a group on campus for third culture LBGT kids, and Wei Ying went with him, as a supportive ally.

Which was how Wei Ying figured out that he was not just a supportive ally.

In listening to the others talk about orientation and identity and attraction and cultural expectations, Wei Ying realized that what he'd always assumed was normal—finding all kinds of people physically attractive, regardless of their gender—was actually his bisexuality. So that was kind of cool.

"So yeah, now we can be queer together!" Wei Ying said, when he excitedly shared his newfound realization with Jiang Cheng.

Jiang Cheng snorted. "Yeah, 'all' and 'nothing,'" he joked.

It was Jiang Cheng who'd helped him practice what to say to his parents when he wanted to change his major at the end of sophomore year, and Jiang Cheng who reminded him to eat and sleep and "take a fucking break, Wei Ying," those next couple semesters when he took way too many hours so he wouldn't have to rack up a whole extra year's worth of student loans to finish his new degree plan.

It was Jiang Cheng who graduated first, on a gorgeous blue-skyed sunny day in May, and Jiang Cheng who suggested Wei Ying keep living with him at his new apartment, so he wouldn't have to try to find a one-semester lease until he finished in December.

(They renewed the lease together every time.)

Jiang Cheng ribbed him playfully each time Wei Ying met someone new, but he was always there each times things fizzled out after a few months for reasons that never quite made sense to Wei Ying.

Jiang Cheng occasionally dated too, and Wei Ying was glad he never did have to fight anybody—though he did drive Jiang Cheng to the emergency room the time he came home with split knuckles from punching a guy who, "seemed to think I didn't know my own mind about certain things."

But dating sucked for everybody, right? It wasn't like Wei Ying or Jiang Cheng were in any hurry to settle down and do the whole spouse and kids thing or whatever. Wei Ying tried to imagine it and just... couldn't, though the image of Jiang Cheng with a baby was admittedly pretty cute.

It was not Jiang Cheng, but Jiang Yanli, a few months after she proposed to her girlfriend and they started planning their wedding, who Wei Ying finally asked, "Yanli-jie, how does a person decide someone else is their person?"

Jiang Yanli looked across the room to where Jiang Cheng was showing her soon-to-be-wife how to put side spin on a billiards ball and smiled. "I think you just know," she said. "You meet someone and you get to know them, spend time together, then one day you realize you love them and want to build the rest of your life with them."

Wei Ying wrinkled his nose. "I dunno if it works that way for me. Just some random person? I've never met anyone I can imagine wanting to live with all the time. Well, besides—huh..." he cut off suddenly and darted a look over at Jiang Yanli, who just calmly sipped her drink.

"Have you ever told him that?" she asked, after a moment where Wei Ying reassessed his entire life and dating history. "I think he might appreciate hearing it."

"I... huh. Yanli-jie, you're kinda blowing my mind here," he complained.

"I gathered," she said wryly, before fixing him with a smile that made all the hair on the back of his neck stand up. "Of course, I trust," she told him, "that I do not need to explain to you of all people how very dearly I hold my didi's happiness and well-being."

He swallowed and raised three fingers in the salute he'd used ever since the summer that—hah—he and Jiang Cheng had decided as kids that they would make their own oath of brotherhood like the heroes of their favorite show. "I, Wei Ying, swear to you that I would kick my own ass before I did anything to hurt him."

Jiang Yanli leaned over to knock her shoulder against his and nodded. "That's what I thought."

Turned out, dating Jiang Cheng didn't suck at all.

It felt easy in a way Wei Ying’s past dates never had, less like trying to keep up with a game whose rules everybody knew except him, more like... well, like spending time with his best friend in the whole world, but on purpose. There was also a tension in the back of Wei Ying’s mind that seemed to have lifted, though he couldn't quite pinpoint what it was that had gone.

It was Jiang Cheng who helped him figure it out.

"I think it's that now I'm able to count on this. On us," he said, when Wei Ying brought it up. "Before, whenever you went out with someone new, I wondered if this would be the time you'd find someone to fall in love with and leave me behind."

"Aww, Chengcheng! I would never!"

Jiang Cheng huffed and rolled his eyes, but his cheeks were pink. "Well, I know that now," he said, a pleased little smile breaking through his attempts at a scowl.

"As long as you're sure—" Wei Ying began, still getting used to thinking about himself with the word "aromantic." Still a so very sure that Jiang Cheng deserved to be fallen in love with.

"Hey!" Jiang Cheng cut him off. "None of that. I know you. And I know you don't see it this way, but I personally think it's pretty damn romantic that you choose to love me, on purpose."

"I simply have exquisite taste in life partners," Wei Ying sniffed, embarassed the way he always got when Jiang Cheng declared something he'd done "romantic."

"You do," Jiang Cheng agreed. "Someone told me a long time ago I was the best guy in the world and would make an awesome boyfriend, and that he would fight anyone who said differently."

Wei Ying laughed. "That's you and your sister I've promised to kick my own ass if I ever break your heart, then. Guess I'll just have to keep you forever."

"Damn right, you will," Jiang Cheng agreed, grinning smug and happy and breathtakingly beautiful. Wei Ying leaned across the couch to give him a sweet, closed-mouth kiss—the kind Jiang Cheng had shyly admitted he actually did like, a lot—and smiled too, at how lucky he'd gotten to be with his best friend in the whole world for his entire life.

🖤💜

Today's (extremely long!) thread was inspired by this WONDERFUL art of ace Jiang Cheng and bi & aro Wei Ying! Go give Midori some love on Twitter!

I spent a nonzero amount of time googling to double check when various terms and flags came into vogue, so if you're wondering, WWX & JC were in college in the early 2000s, before the ace and aro flags were designed. By the time they get themselves figured out, they can get their cute wristbands.

...which, yes, means these dingdongs spent about a solid decade living together before realizing that was what they wanted to do forever. 😉

This also means Jiang Yanli and her unnamed wife here are getting married between when California started recognizing same-sex marriages in 2008 and the Obergefell v. Hodges ruling in 2015! THIS SHIT'S RECENT!!!

Happy Pride, thank you for reading, check out more LGBTQIA+ sweetness on my #PrideMonthSnippets Masterpost!

#PrideMonthSnippets #chengxian #westie writes #mdzs #the untamed #asexual pride #aromantic pride #asexual jiang cheng #bisexual wei wuxian #aromantic wei wuxian #queerplatonic relationship #queer relationships #love has a lot of shapes

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vrishchikawrites · 3 years

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About YZY leaving YMJ/JFM with her kids Post-WWX Arrival

Dear Dee, feel free to delete or ignore this or post it, whatever floats your boat. This just stuck in my head after those posts and I had to blurt it all to someone. Thanks for taking the time to read my word vomit.

So I had to do this instead of an ask because it got long and I wasn't sure how many asks it'd need or how short I could cut it down without losing parts of the argument. And then other things came up as I was writing and, well. Well..... >_>;;;;

But you know, after that post/ask you had about YZY fics saying 'Fuck U' to YMJ/JFM & leaving both with her kids, I had a sarcastic 'yeah right' attitude about it. Mainly due to a lot of negation emotions to such an abusive (and delusional) bitch, partly due to how she wouldn't do that since it doesn't seem to be something her sort of character would consider either because she'd think of it as 'losing' (losing what, IDK, it's why I consider her type of person crazy) or she legit wouldn't think about such a viable action.

But then later, in the shower, I seriously went 'Wait, she can't fucking do that' and it wouldn't be about how MXTX uses her as a part of the narrative but entirely about the/their culture in the novel; the actions that have and would be taken in response; and her entire toxic personality as well.

1) We already know that the sects and the cultivation world in general is sexist, elitist and so Capital T 'Traditional' to the point that it's starting to petrify and any deviancy from this is an exception rather than the norm. YZY might be a madame of a great sect (for what that's worth considering how shit of a madame she's been and the titles she's chosen for herself) but she's still a woman even with her high rank and the things she's personally accomplished.

Even if she was in her rights to leave a 'bad' marriage, she'd be the one who'd get scolded more instead of JFM by her natal family, her former husband's family and by their entire society at large even if she had a few singular supporters. Because That's Not How Things Are Done in their society and I do believe that such a thing was rare even when it was accepted method by the upper echelons. Especially since it would have to be done by more than YZY simply deciding that She Wants Out and just- goes and Gets Out. With no serious allegations that would allow her to divorce or separate from YMJ/JFM without the input from her family, JFM's family and, I think, possibly some measure of compensation as well. And no, having or bringing in a 'bastard child' is not a serious enough offence for such a humongous decision. I think something more along the lines of treason or crimes against multiple, high-ranking parties would be more along the lines. Maybe.

And even if she does this, she'd be considered 'Used Goods' (such a terrible comment) and there'd be no other good/proper marriage prospects for a divorced woman with children let alone a woman like YZY with her entire abrasive personality and attitude put off even easy-going JFM.

(If she'd been widowed then it'd be more forgiven but I consider that a Real Bad End since, IMO, it would lead to the sudden and inevitable decline of YMJ either via mass exodus of disciples and/or residents of LP; being merged with another sect due to it's unstable leadership; or create an internal political war 'cause I bet you anything that the YMJ Elders/relatives (if they have any) Would Not Want YZY in charge of YMJ when she's already proven herself such a shit betrothed let alone madame.)

2) Speaking of families, while YMJ/JFM/LP as a whole might be glad to see YZY's back, I don't think her natal sect, MSY, will be glad to see her come storming back after all the effort they put into getting that particular marriage alliance with YMJ. And if she brings her children with her? Oh man, oh boy- mother or not, that could be considered as kidnapping or line theft (is that a thing?) especially if YZY is also seriously considering divorce proceedings and raising them as Yu and not Jiang. That could give leave to, for anyone more unforgiving and maybe JFM if he's pushed enough, disown both JYL and JWY from the Jiangs through no fault of their own (though I'm sure YZY would make it so as well as blame JFM for her own decisions and mistakes).

Therefore, any inheritance or benefits they might gain for being legitimised children of a great sect are forfeited. JYL will likely lose that betrothal with JZX because JGS will drop it like a hot potato and JWY won't be a sect heir because YZY literally decided to remove that by deciding to raise JWY as a Yu, no matter their blood relation to JFM. They leave him, they leave YMJ and everything attached with it. Which is if YMJ/JFM doesn't demand MSY to give back their heir/ess and to punish YZY for her actions. Or send all three of them back for the appropriate reactions/decisions.

Their society would demand no less in reaction because, to them, it would seem like YZY had gone mad and JFM would look weak (or weaker) and imply that YMJ is vulnerable and exploitable if JFM doesn't do something in response to her actions. That's not even getting into what the other smaller sects may try to do in an attempt to curry favour with YMJ or what LLJ or QSW would try in order to destroy or diminish YMJ. And whether JFM chooses to demand his children back or not, it may not change the fact that this may give him reason enough to choose a nephew or niece to be the new sect heir especially if, even after getting rid of YZY's poisonous influence, JWY grows up to be his mother's child more than his father's or even his own person.

Either way, such a thing would bring great backlash on YZY, and MSY as well as the collateral. No one would want to give face to her or her children because it would bring up some very uncomfortable questions and scenarios to the other sects- specifically, what would happen if the female members of their clans/sets decided to follow the footsteps of YZY and leave with their children and heirs. Especially if they use it as an excuse to leave for their own comfort and whims and not some legitimate wrongs and dangers. That would create some more restrictions on women thanks to YZY

3) And lastly, if any one of those idiot YZY stans think that she'd ever give up the status of being a madame of a great sect they'd be as crazy or crazier than her. YZY is all about status and power and face. Specifically, her status, power and face and how people in her reach reflect her or 'insult' her. She is a selfish, terrible, abusive and toxic person and can only see people in regards to how they would benefit her and the elevation of her and in no other way. Especially her family. They cannot be their own person, they can only be an extension of her and gods forbid they go against her.

We can see this in how she treats the people she supposedly loves. JFM? Arguments day in, day out along with accusations and slander of cheating, having one(1) supposed 'bastard' and being 'in love' with CSSR. Which all seems sus as hell. And that's when she's actually there and not out 'night hunting'. Even her 'training' seems to border on unhelpful rather then helpful if my vague recollections of juniors fainting from exhaustion can be relied upon (please call me out if they're not or find proof).

JYL? Berated by not being 'strong' but not helped at all to be 'strong'. It doesn't help that YZY seems to believe in the same standards strength in their society- that is, of martial masculine strength which does not and should not apply to JYL who has been said to be sickly. Which means h should have been learning a different way of cultivation/fighting anyway. If that was something she wanted and had been offered in the first place- which I doubt. That isn't even getting into her repeated generational trauma mess of a betrothal which was decided only by those 'sworn sisters', accepted by her as a way out of her terrible home life and puts her squarely within reach of JGS who we know to be a womaniser, rapist, predator and a possible ephebophile considering we don't know the exact age of his youngest 'conquest' or the age of MZY's mother when they met which could be anywhere from 14 to 21.

JWY? Gods, so much meta on him and his(non-) relationships with his parents that I don't think I can contribute more to it. It's been all said and done. Unless people want me to stir the pot by saying that, maybe, just maybe, YZY resents JWY as much as she 'loves' him.Either because he's her son and yet never manages to 'accomplish as much' as WWX or because he's a boy and therefore, more benefits and allowances than a girl/woman- more than anything that YZY ever got without either a fight or screaming at someone about. *shrug*

So, in conclusion to this sudden an unexpected essay that I wrote(I'm so sorry about that, I thought it would be shorter -.-;;;;), YZY leaving YMJ/JFM with her kids? Impossible. Not without some sort of personality transplant or a complete AU. She's too prideful, too bitter, too angry, too everything negative and little positive. She's a resentful product of the values and restraints of her society taken to the extreme negative with a willingness to inflict her pain on others to an abusive degree. But she's also too obsessed and reliant on those same values and restraints to keep up the image of her status. So her? Giving those up? You'd be more likely to see WRH as a doting grandfather than that.

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Dee - All of this is true and yes YZY leaving YMJ is highly unlikely. While there will be consequences if she decides to leave, she does canonically lives separately from her husband. They seem to be in a situation where they are married but living separately, which was a common way to end a marriage (at least in spirit) back then. She essentially had all the perks of being Madam Jiang but fulfilled none of the responsibilities.

Afaik, her training the Jiang disciples is a donghua thing? I may be wrong but I recall she spent most of her time nighthunting.

As for taking her children along with her- that's completely impossible. At that point, children were the property of the father. She could leave but she would've never been allowed to take JC.

#submission

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twolonesomestars · 4 years

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BJYX III

Japan Trip

This is a compilation post explaining the Japan trip and related theories (along with my own thoughts). Most of the theories in here are well-known. If you know the general gist of the Japan trip, you probably won’t see anything new.

Warning: This is all fake. Don’t take what I say to heart. These are just my random thoughts.

Extremely long post. Please beware.

All my explanations and thoughts will be bracketed and italicized: [like this]. If you would like to just read about the theories, ignore the bracketed and italicized bits.

I suggest reading all of the theories first and creating your own opinion on the trip before reading my commentary, especially if you’re a new fan. (AKA ignore the bracketed & italicized parts for now).

[One last thing before I start (and a test for those who want to read the theories first… ignore this for now): I believe this Japan trip changed their relationship… In that, I believe they began their romantic relationship after this trip. A quick timeline mention: truthfully, their relationship before and during CQL filming isn’t too important for this theory. However, I do believe that there was some sort of confession from WYB at the end of filming, which may have played a role in XZ’s decision to take the trip to Japan. I’ll provide my reasoning later in the post. All my explanations and thoughts are going to be based on these particular assumptions; although, I will try to include rebuttals & explanations based on countering arguments.]

OUTLINE

DATES

PRE-JAPAN TRIP

Character Bleed Changed Phone Number

MID-JAPAN TRIP

XZ’s 180911 Post + Story

POST-JAPAN TRIP

XZ’s 180913 Post & Story XZ’s 181119 Post WYB’s 181119 Post Time Gap WYB’s 190322 Post

FINAL THOUGHTS

Let’s get into it!

DATES:

180416 - 180823 Filming for CQL

180908 - 180912 XZ’s Japan trip

180913 - XZ posted his 521st Weibo post & 18th Weibo story

181005 - XZ’s Birthday

181119 @ 17:42 - XZ’s Japan trip post

181119 @ 18:47 - WYB’s response post

190322 - WYB’s Rome trip post

PRE-JAPAN TRIP:

Character Bleed

XZ’s reasoning behind his Japan trip in this interview @ 9:31

XZ explicitly says, “I told myself I had to walk out of it.” His reasoning being, “[I had to] leave him there. [I had to] return him to the one he loves.”

You can unpack a lot from that. I got two main things from it:

(“I had to walk out of it”): you can assume that XZ took everything from WWX and made it his own, including, and specifically, WWX’s love for LWJ. Essentially, by the end of filming, XZ himself was in love with LWJ.

(“return him to the one he loves”): XZ separates himself very clearly from WWX. He points out his reasoning to walk it off is him wanting to return WWX to the one he loves… the implication is that he figured out he doesn’t love the one WWX loves.

[The reason I think there was some sort of confession at the end of filming that pushed XZ to take this trip and figure himself out is because he already knew he loved LWJ. I think he may have attributed any romantic feelings he felt towards WYB to the fact that he plays the character he loves. So, if WYB confessed to wanting to pursue a romantic relationship with him, it makes sense that XZ would hesitate. I doubt he’d want to lead WYB on just to later realize all of his feelings were for LWJ and not him. I’m sure XZ would’ve walked off WWX eventually, but I think he did it as quickly as he could to give a certain person (and himself) answers.

Obviously, I don’t know how XZ goes about with his acting, so these are all just random assumptions.]

Changed Phone Number

I’ve gotten a few asks wanting me to clarify and give my opinion on the rumor about XZ changing his number and WYB asking around for it. I’ve heard two versions of this:

The first version has two variations:

XZ changed his number sometime after his DDU appearance in 2017 and before CQL began shooting, and WYB was asking the CQL crew for it.

XZ changed his number during CQL filming sometime, and WYB was asking the CQL crew for it.

The second version is that XZ changed his number before he left to Japan and WYB was asking around for it for months (who he was asking was undefined).

A related rumor I want to note: a fan who was at the airport when XZ was waiting for his flight to Japan supposedly saw him not answering his phone.

Let me clarify the relationship between WeChat & phone numbers:

In WeChat, every registered user gets a WeChat ID. There are three main ways people can add someone: (1) have the person’s WeChat ID (2) have the person’s phone number (3) have access to the person’s QR code. For (1) and (2), the other person must enable the option to be found via WeChat ID or phone number in order for you to find them. You can also choose to not show your phone number at all, so even if someone adds you via (1) or (3), they may still not have access to your number depending on your settings. To sum it up, you do NOT need to know another person’s phone number to message them on WeChat. Practically everyone in China uses WeChat as their main social messaging application… you can send messages (text & voice) and you can call (voice-only & video). People don’t use their actual given numbers to message or call too much (ex. iPhone messaging/ Facetime); phone numbers are typically used when making accounts on various social media apps, online payment, etc.

There’s a pretty well-backed up theory that WYB asked one of his DDU co-hosts (specifically DZW) if he could get XZ’s WeChat ID for him during/ after filming the episode with XNINE. If this theory is true, we can only be sure that he got XZ’s WeChat ID, not that he got his phone number.

If you do want to change your number or WeChat ID (prior to 2020, you could only change your WeChat ID once per account), you can simply go into the WeChat settings and update; this process won’t change your WeChat account and it won’t affect any of your contacts or chat history. If you want to stop receiving messages & calls from someone, you can either block or delete them from your contacts on the app.

I’m pointing all of this out because I’m pretty sure most of XZ’s & WYB’s communication takes place in WeChat. WYB has said in several interviews that he now prefers his phone and wifi access; he’s also said that he can’t go without WeChat now.

[I honestly don’t think this rumor is real. But, out of the two versions, I’d say the first version (either variation) makes more sense than the second version.

I have three reasons for thinking the second version is the most unlikely:

It’d be easier to block the other person for however long you need (and then unblock them or delete them depending on your choice later) rather than going through the hassle of changing your number. Remember when WYB’s phone number got leaked and he had to change it (August 2019)? He asked people to not use his number to log into accounts; he even mentioned that he would need to change all of them, which would be a large hassle. Sure, there could be circumstances where you’d want to change your phone number… but I don’t think this situation is that extreme, especially since it was supposedly at the airport before his trip and before he decided.

I don’t think XZ’s the type of person to leave someone hanging, no matter how much internal turmoil he may be dealing with, and especially not when that someone is close to him. I believe he’d at least inform others that he’ll be out of range and to not message or call him. Not to mention, if he told WYB to not contact him for the next couple of days, I’d like to believe WYB would respect that wish, whether he knew the reason or not. Since I do think that WYB confessed prior to the Japan trip, I believe he knew. But, even if he didn’t, he has integrity and self-respect. He’s going to respect others’ wishes, and even more so if he respects the other person… and he does respect XZ.

The theory specifically points out “months” … WYB literally celebrated XZ’s birthday with him about three weeks after this trip.

As for the first version:

Variation #1 implies that this happened at the start of filming/ bootcamp; it also implies that WYB got XZ’s number after he contacted him on WeChat. One assumption I have is: I don’t think celebrities/ people in the industry exchange phone numbers much, just their WeChat IDs. This is why I don’t think XZ & WYB exchanged numbers when they first met, only their WeChat IDs. As for WYB asking the crew for XZ’s number… if he already had XZ’s previous number, I kinda doubt he’d go around asking others when he could just ask XZ himself.

Variation #2 probably makes the most sense out of all three, and even then it’s a bit of a stretch. This variation implies that it’s a few months into filming, at which point XZ & WYB were extremely close. I doubt he’d be too nervous to ask XZ directly for his new number. The only rebuttal I could think of for this is that perhaps WYB asking around instead of asking XZ himself was him being coquettish.

In the end, this rumor doesn’t make too much sense to me. But take it as you will.]

MID-JAPAN TRIP:

XZ’s 180911 Post + Story

We know that he kept deleting his Weibo posts before the number could reach *520. (*520 & 521 are both kadian for “I love you” even though 520 is more widely used.)

XZ posted his 520th post on 180911 (right in the middle of his trip). It was an ad for AHC. AHC is the first brand both WYB & XZ shared and spoke for; I believe WYB stopped his spokesperson duties on 180829 & XZ began his on 180907.

XZ posted his 17th story, also on 180911, of him on a ferry during the trip.

[I burst out laughing when I realized he posted an ad for his 520th post. He kept deleting posts to make sure he stayed away from #520; he could’ve easily deleted another post to make the ad his 519th. A lot of solo fans were looking forward to his 520th post being dedicated to them (exhibit 1), and then he did that. Sly as per usual. And the 17th story... leading up to the 18th. I think XZ pretty much knew/ made his choice/ accepted his feelings by this point, which is why he posted like this.]

POST-JAPAN TRIP:

XZ’s 180913 Post & Story

XZ posted this video on Weibo on 180913. It was his *521th post & *18th story. (*52118 = “wo ai ni yi bo” A BXG posted about counting XZ’s posts to find these numbers.)

His caption was:

以为在拍照的找🤣... (夏天的风结束了，假期也结束了🌿🌿🎋)

which roughly translates to:

“I thought I was posing for a photo🤣... (The summer wind is over, the holiday is also over 🌿🌿🎋)”

There are several theories about the caption.

the emojis:

The bamboo emoji refers to WYB. In this behind the scenes footage, XZ compares WYB’s face to a bamboo stick.

the words:

XZ is referring to the season ending and the weather in the video where the wind is blowing across his face.

When XZ states that both the summer wind and his holiday are over, he is implying that he has left the character he became that summer (WWX) behind and moving forward.

XZ is referring to the song Summer Wind (夏天的风) by Liu Rui Qi (刘瑞琦). I’m not going to go too deep into this; the lyrics in question are:

夏天的风我永远记得清清楚楚地说你爱我我看见你酷酷的笑容也有腼腆的时候

roughly translates to

The summer wind, I will always remember [you] saying clearly that you love me. I saw your cool smile [yet] there are times when you are shy.

Interpretations are: (line 1) “summer wind” & “always remember” - XZ is reminiscing on the things that have happened that summer when CQL was filmed. (line 2) “saying clearly… you love me” - a confession from a certain someone… we know of one on camera: “zhan-ge didi ai ni.” (lines 3-4) “cool smile” & “shy” - these adjectives fit a person we know.

[I didn't find out about half of these caption theories until way later, and once I had already formed my opinion on this trip. A lot of it seems like a stretch, but all the theories make some sort of sense. Meh, there’s a lot you can do with a caption, so just take it all in.

Personally, I didn’t pay attention to the caption too much. I knew about the lyrics, but I purposely avoided them precisely because they were lyrics; you can do a lot with them. I finally explored it for this post, and I actually like it a lot; it’s very sweet. I’m still leaning towards the reference being unlikely; however, XZ is very sneaky, so I wouldn’t put it past him. I also knew about the bamboo reference, but I never gave it much thought. I didn’t think that one scene of them joking around was enough to say that he used the emoji to refer to WYB. Though, if it was actually a reference, there’s definitely more to it that we don’t know about. Ultimately, for this one, my decision was based on the basics: the kadian (and later reinforced by the whole AHC ad post).]

XZ’s 181119 Post @ 17:42

A major theory for this post comes from his caption:

“一些存货... 现代人即将拥有姓名 [’silent giggling’ emoji]... ”

roughly translates to

“some stock [photos]... modern man will soon be named...”

The main focus here is the “modern man.”

Once the behind the scenes footage and interviews began releasing, BXG started noticing how WYB got whenever XZ mentioned LWJ. His facial expressions always changed… immediate frowns. BXG speculated that WYB was trying to show himself as separate from his character, but XZ didn’t take notice. The character LWJ is figuratively and literally from the past; the actor on the other hand is from modern society. Thus, XZ mentioning modern man was taken to be a reference to XZ’s love for the actor alone, not the character.

[To those who have sent asks about the “modern man” quote, I hope this clears it up. My interpretation of it is the same. At the end of the day, XZ most definitely separated the two.]

Another theory for this one is that the horizontal middle row pictures spell out “王一博” going from left to right.

王 (“wáng”)

The lines on the building look like the character

He could’ve meant “look towards,” which is what he’s doing in the picture. It is a different character (“望”), and has a slightly different pronunciation (“wàng”)

He could’ve meant “going in one direction,” referring to the arrow on the sign, which is a different character (“往”), and has a slightly different pronunciation (“wǎng”)

一 (yī)

The image looks like the character

博 (bó)

Another meaning for “博” is “extensive” or “rich” which you can take the design on the outside of the to be

The building is a museum, whose word (“博物馆”) begins with “博”

[For the spelling, my interpretations were all of the #1s. (I’ll explain a little bit more when we get to WYB’s 190322 post.)]

One last theory about this post: BXG then witnessed XZ editing his post in real time to change the position of the first two pictures. There’s a theory that he saw this post (below) from the previous day and changed the positions to match.

OP talking about the switch here and below.

[I was so enamored by this theory until I actually went looking for it. The post of WYB’s pictures is from a fan, and while I don’t doubt that they saw more of fans’ posts back then, this one wasn’t tagged or anything. It could easily have been XZ’s artist side popping up. But, maybe XZ was lurking on his private account. Even though it’s one of the more iffy ones, it’s such a cute theory that I actually don’t mind believing it.]

This is a side note and not part of the actual theory: On my search for all things related to this trip, I noticed one of WYB’s posts where he did a similar thing.

This was in June 2018, so before XZ’s post. Mayhaps inspiration.

WYB’s 181119 Post @ 18:47

WYB posted exactly *1:05 hours after XZ posted. (*105 = 10/5, XZ’s birthday)

His caption was “冒个泡”

He was using internet slang; it can be vaguely translated to “I am here.” In context, he’s using the slang to refer to him not posting for a long time; he’s ‘showing his presence.’

Notable Things:

He posted the day prior on 181118; it wasn’t an ad, but it wasn’t exactly personal either.

He posted a picture of himself with his DDU brothers during a trip on 181104.

He had not posted a selfie since 181004. (Back then, he updated personal posts once or twice a week, whether it was a selfie or something about his life, such as what show he was watching. The month & a half time gap between personal posts would’ve been unusual.)

The caption & selfie work as a response to XZ’s “modern man will soon be named.”

Another thing fans were intrigued about was the time stamp on the photo, 180525.

WYB never really posts throwbacks, especially with selfies, yet he did one here to a date in the middle of CQL filming. He also usually never adds the date to his photos.

Isn’t it interesting that he captions the post with slang that tells people he’s back from a break, but uses an old photo instead of a new one? If someone’s announcing that they’re coming back from a break (especially a celebrity), wouldn’t it make more sense to post a recent photo rather than an old one (in this case, one from 6 months ago)? And, why even bother including the date in the first place?

[I can’t believe I barely noticed that WYB posted 1:05 hours after XZ. What in the world WYB? I’m losing my mind. It’s down to the damn minute, and their minutes weren’t a “0” or “5” multiple either. I usually try to pass off a lot of things regarding YiZhan (especially kadian) as coincidences, but what even is this? If it wasn’t intentional… What kind of connection do these two share?

Yes, I do think this was WYB’s response. The throwback picture was probably the most telling for me; him including the date he took the photo was like a flashing sign saying: ‘hey look at this date. it’s important.’ And when you add the caption into the mix, it’s taken to another level. I feel the combination of hints in and related to the post is too much and too telling to be coincidental.]

Time Gap

There’s an interesting time gap between the two XZ’s posts (180913 & 181119). There are a few theories about what could’ve happened in those two months. Some of the ones I’ve seen and heard are:

XZ & WYB could’ve been taking that time to tell their parents and settle things with their agencies

XZ & WYB could’ve begun dating exclusively after XZ’s return

Both of these theories imply that everything got settled or made official around 181119.

[I never really thought about the time gap between the posts… mostly because I kept forgetting there even was one. They’re both ridiculously romantic so I don’t doubt that 181119 is something of importance to them. I think it’s especially proving that both of them did a throwback to the same seemingly important time period.]

WYB’s 190322 Post

This post is pretty similar to XZ’s 181119 throwback post to the Japan trip. The theory for this one is that WYB spelled out “肖战” using the vertical middle row, going from top to bottom.

肖 - The tree looks like the top part of the “肖” character; the branches look like the bottom part of it.

战 - Since WYB placed an image of the entire Roman colosseum (where gladiator battles took place) in the last spot, he may have been alluding to how “战” means “battle” or “fight” (similar to how XZ may have been alluding to the meaning of “博” instead of getting a picture of the character).

WYB filmed the DDU episode on 3/22; I don’t believe there’s another significance to the date.

[WYB spelling out the “肖” using the first two pictures backs up my thinking that XZ spelled out the “��” and “一” characters in his first two pictures. This also leads me to think that both of them alluded to each other’s last character rather than spelling it out in their third pictures.]

FINAL THOUGHTS:

[The reason I like this overall theory a lot is because I think the happenings really fit with the things they’ve told us in interviews and suit their personalities. It makes sense to me that XZ would want to take some time to think about it; it makes sense to me that WYB was probably the one who took the first step.

As for the theories about the details… some of them are really out there, but all of them are fun to consider. As usual, take everything with a grain of salt.]

Some of these posts & events have several theories (i.e. XZ’s summer wind caption); they aren’t mutually exclusive… more than one can be true at the same time.

I tried to be as neutral as I could when explaining these theories. I tried to include counters and other possibilities, but I’m sure some bias came out. Just take it all in and take it for what it is.

My intention with this post was to put everything into perspective and give a good timeline. (As well as get everything in one place.) If you’re interested in my thoughts, feel free to go back and read the italicized & bracketed parts (if you hadn’t already).

The following is something I want to say about these theories and the BXG community in general:

Every theory has inconsistencies and exaggerations… that’s what makes it a theory. As long as we discuss things knowing this fact, that’s all that matters. We’re here to have fun, not to prove what’s right or wrong.

I love seeing the various theories everyone in this community puts out, no matter how different or similar they are to the ones I like/ believe in. It’s fun to look into these things with different perspectives. Don’t feel burdened if you believe in a less popular theory. Besides, we will never know anything for sure.

Be kind. And, have a good time.

Once again, this is all fake. I do not personally know XZ & WYB, and I will never know anything about them; this includes the intricacies of whatever relationship they share. So, CPN.

#don't ask me why it took so long lol #japan trip #yizhan #bjyx

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baoshan-sanren · 4 years

Text

Chapter 26

of the wwx emperor au I’m thinking of calling Lan QiRen’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week oh god it’s only gonna get worse

Wei Ying, courtesy name Wei WuXian, the direct descendent of the Immortal Empress, the Divine Ruler of the Shan Dynasty, the rightful Guardian of the Immortal Mountain, has been standing at the Peach Blossom Pavilion gate for entirely too long.

Arranging the short trip from the Jade Sword Palace to the Peach Blossom Pavilion had taken nearly an hour. Wei WuXian could have flown across the rooftops in a tenth of that time, and already accomplished his task five times over. But the Emperor requires an escort. The Emperor requires five layers of black and gold cloth, which is already proving unbearable in the midday heat. The Emperor requires a heavy gold hair piece, and a fan, and a parasol to protect him from the sun’s glare, servants who will carry the parasol and the excess material of his robe, ten Imperial Guards at the minimum, and four more servants to stand at attention, in the event that the Emperor finds himself in need of them.

Lan Zhan had asked him to use the door. Wei Ying is going to use the door. He is the Divine Ruler of the Shan Dynasty, not some rogue cultivator without a copper in his pocket, begging for favor. He has never been intimidated by Sect Leader Lan, and he is not intimidated today.

He should not care if Lan QiRen hates him. Wei Ying is very much aware that he is already hated by Jin GuangShan, Wen RuoHan, and another half dozen sect leaders. Between the memories of YanLing DaoRen’s tyranny, and his mother’s forbearance so often mistaken for weakness, the hatred of their direct descendent was always an inevitability. Years of unsuccessful assassination attempts have made the animosity pretty difficult to ignore.

But Lan Zhan loves his uncle. And Wei Ying cannot bear the idea of being hated by someone Lan Zhan loves.

“Your Majesty,” Nie MingJue says, “would you prefer to stay out here?”

“No,” Wei Ying says, “I just-- need a moment.”

Nie MingJue nods, and goes back to standing at attention.

There are times that Wei Ying hates being the Emperor.

The Lan Sect Leader has never shown the Emperor an ounce more deference than what is absolutely necessary. In the past six years, he had arrived at the Immortal Mountain City each time he was summoned. He never asked for a single favor, never spoke unless he was addressed, never attended a single outing, event, or a banquet, unless his presence was specifically required. Wei Ying was accustomed to the world in which sect leaders flattered him endlessly to his face, then tried to stab him the moment his back was turned.

He is not accustomed to men like Lan QiRen.

“Make the announcement,” he says.

His palms are sweaty and cold. How stupid, that his hands are freezing, while the rest of him is boiling under the bright, midday sun.

A-Sang’s plan is already in motion. The rumors of the Emperor’s agenda for the day have been carefully spreading through the Immortal Mountain City for the past two hours. They are false rumors, intentionally whispered into the wrong ear by one of A-Sang’s servants. Jiang Cheng will be taking Wei Ying’s place in the Imperial Gardens, pretending to participate in a clandestine meeting. Shijie has already extended a gracious invitation to the Jin Sect leader, Madam Jin, and Jin ZiXuan, an invitation that cannot be declined. Twenty trustworthy members of the Nie Sect have departed for YiLing on the pretense of participating in a night hunt.

All the pieces are falling in their place. All Wei Ying needs to do is speak to Lan QiRen.

The three Lan Sect members are in the courtyard to welcome him, their postures identical.

Wei Ying motions that they should rise. Lan Zhan is wearing a simple set of robes, utterly unadorned, the cloth light and appropriate for the heat of the day. His hair is free of ornaments; it is restrained by a plain, white piece of cloth, matching his robes. In the sunlight, the layers of his hair shift from black to amber, his eyes from brown to liquid gold. His face is soft and open. He looks as if he may smile.

The escort is ordered to remain in the courtyard. A-Sang had decided that their circle of trust cannot extend to the Imperial servants or the Imperial Guards. Even so, Wei Ying had forgotten how small the Peach Blossom Pavilion actually is; even five people in its receiving hall appears to be two too many.

In the past, Lan QiRen had never made use of the Imperial servants placed at his disposal. He is not the only Sect Leader to be wary of unfamiliar help, and Wei Ying had never given the man’s preferences much thought. However, he had assumed that this visit, requiring the presence of both Young Masters, would have incited the man to bring his own. Instead, Lan Zhan and Lan XiChen excuse themselves to perform the task of preparing tea, and any other refreshments that need to be served.

“This is an unexpected pleasure,” Lan QiRen says after all the courtesies have been observed, his voice unfailingly polite, “To what do we owe the honor of Your Majesty’s visit?”

“There is to be a small outing to YiLing this afternoon. I had hoped that the Young Masters would grant me the pleasure of their company.”

“I was not aware that the Emperor was planning on an Imperial Procession through YiLing during the festival,” Lan QiRen says.

“The Emperor is not planing to hold an Imperial Procession,” Wei Ying says, “in fact, the details of this outing must be kept secret. Our intention is to draw out the person responsible for the assassination attempts. Rumors intended to misdirect the assassin and their accomplices have already been spread throughout the court. A trap has been set in the Imperial Gardens. In the view of this, removing the targets of the assassination attempts from the Immortal Mountain seems the preferable course of action.”

Lan QiRen is silent for long moments, his face unreadable.

For the first time, it strikes Wei Ying that the Lan Sect Leader is not a young man. He had been born during YanLing DaoRen’s reign, into a world already rife with chaos. Lan QiRen’s grandfather, Lan XuYun, had been one of the first Sect Leaders to pledge his loyalty to the Immortal Empress.

Lan QiRen is not stupid. The man had understood how the Emperor’s attachment to the Wen in the Immortal City was adversely affecting the Lan Sect long before Wei Ying himself had come to the same conclusion. Lan QiRen had known, and he had said nothing. All these years of suffering resentment and humiliation, he had resolutely refused all assistance offered, without ever showing an ounce of bitterness or ill will towards the Wen Sect, or the Emperor. Instead, he had shouldered the ever-increasing burden with dignity, and then taught both of his nephews to do the same.

Wei Ying does not need this man to like him, but being hated by him no longer feels like an acceptable outcome.

“Sect Leader Nie,” Wei Ying says, “I would like to speak to Sect Leader Lan in private for a moment. Please see if the Young Masters require any assistance with their task.”

Wei Ying will need to make Nie MingJue’s title particularly grand, in order to compensate for sending him to the kitchens to watch tea being brewed. But he must speak to Lan QiRen of sensitive matters, and he must do so now, while he still feels brave enough to do so.

The moment he can be certain that they will not be overheard, Wei Ying takes a deep breath, and dives under, “Sect Leader, I understand that you do not like me, do not trust me, and disapprove of of my continued association with your nephew. I cannot be someone you approve of, and any attempt to meet your expectations will doubtlessly prove to be unproductive and frustrating for both of us. Let us simply acknowledge that you will never see me as being worthy of your nephew, and that in this, at least, we may find a common ground.”

Lan QiRen leans back slightly, his expression registering a hint of surprise.

“Regardless of your disapproval,” Wei Ying says firmly, “I intend to ask Lan WangJi to take his place by my side as the Emperor Consort. I will not list all the reasons why I personally prefer him to every person I have ever met, as I am sure that this conversation would become unbearably uncomfortable for both of us. However, I am very well aware that destiny saw fit to place me into a position of power regardless of my qualifications, and that I have often failed to meet the challenges this position presents. Therefore, you cannot begrudge me the wish to share that seat of power with someone who is infinitely superior in every way.”

“Your Majesty,” Lan QiRen says, his surprise shifting to cool politeness once again, “the Lan Sect is honored by your attention. We serve at the pleasure of the Emperor.”

Wei Ying cannot stand the man’s politeness right now. He would rather have Lan QiRen pull out his sword, and attempt to skewer him to the floor. At least in that, there would be some honesty.

“Sect Leader, we have a small window of time in which we may converse openly. If I must, I will order that you speak plainly, and without hesitation. But I believe no such order is necessary.”

Lan QiRen’s expression hardens, and Wei Ying braces himself for an attack.

“WangJi will never compete for Your Majesty’s attention,” he says coldly, “He is ill-suited to a life of frivolity and stagnation. He will surpass Your Majesty in cultivation, if he has not already done so, and he will never make himself less for Your Majesty’s sake. The petty rivalries and empty flattery of the court will make him wretched. And he is certainly incapable of providing an heir to the throne, which will serve as a continuous reminder that he can be easily replaced. In short, Your Majesty, I am finding it hard to believe that you have thought your decision through with care that it deserves.”

“Lan Zhan will never have to compete for my attention,” Wei Ying says, “It is more likely that the Empire will need to compete with him, and may often find itself on the losing side. I am certain that he has already surpassed me in cultivation; a fact that has only inspired admiration, not resentment. The petty rivalries and empty flattery of the court are inevitable, but he will have the power to deal with them in any way he sees fit. And the throne already has an heir.”

The last bit seems to take Lan QiRen off guard, and he is studies Wei Ying carefully for a few moments, as if unsure what to make of him.

“In the interest of full disclosure, I am not unwilling to share the name of the heir to the throne with the Lan Sect,” Wei Ying says, “However, I do believe that this information should be shared with Lan Zhan first, if he chooses to accept my proposal.”

“If he refuses?” Lan QiRen says.

Wei Ying meets Lan QiRen’s gaze with all the composure he possesses, “Lan Zhan is the best judge of his own happiness. If he refuses, I will respect his decision.”

The silence that follows is not long, but it is the most intolerable silence of Wei Ying’s life.

Just when he thinks he cannot bear it any longer, Lan QiRen nods.

His expression seems to reflect resignation rather than outright approval, but this is an acceptable outcome. Wei Ying wonders if he should offer to let the man stab him once. He is sure this would make Sect Leader Lan much more amenable. It is not an ideal solution, but Wei Ying has been stabbed before, by men a lot less worthy of his respect.

Luckily, the tea is finally ready, so that decision, at least, can be postponed until later.

#the untamed #cql #mdzs #wangxian #ficlet #m #wwx emperor au #poor lan qiren #i think we're finally closer to the end of this fic than the beginning #i would say another 10 chapters at most #ily guys #thanks for putting up with me

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bloody-bee-tea · 4 years

Text

A second chance

ScarletRuby19 over on Twitter commissioned me for a Chengxuan fic where JZX survives and comes to Lotus Pier where JC and JZX bond, first over JL and then JYL, before they fall in love. Cue some angst and doubt, over whether they are allowed this happiness before they decide that, yes. JYL would want them to be happy. Plus a little bonus at the end where WWX finds out and Madam Jin doting on JC. I hope you like it! It’s a little over 5k, so you can also read it here on AO3.

Jiang Cheng is standing in the ruins of his home and he doesn’t know where he should even start. Just yesterday he added a plate for his sister, setting it up next to their parents and just the thought makes Jiang Cheng want to curl up and die. Or maybe just sleep for a very, very long time.

Let someone else shoulder the responsibility for once.

But he doesn’t even get that, because a disciple comes running up to him. It’s always bad news when people run up to him.

“What?” Jiang Cheng snaps out before the disciple even comes to a stop, and when he does, he has to bend over to catch his breath first.

“Sect Leader, Jin Zixuan is here.”

Jiang Cheng blinks, once, twice and then a third time for good measure.

“He is what?” he finally gets out and the disciple points back to where he came from.

“He just landed, a baby strapped to his chest.”

Jin Ling, Jiang Cheng thinks, and it’s that thought that finally gets him to move.

He runs off, the disciple close behind him, and Jiang Cheng comes to a stop when his eyes fall on Jin Zixuan, like his disciple said, chalk white in his face, sweat on his brow, swaying on his feet and a baby strapped to his chest.

“You’re not dead,” is the first thing Jiang Cheng says to him and he’s met with a grimace at that.

“Wishing I were right about now,” Jin Zixuan gives back, panting heavily and when his knees give out on him, Jiang Cheng is there to catch him.

“I don’t understand,” Jiang Cheng admits, one hand under Jin Zixuan’s shoulder to support him, and one hand on Jin Ling’s head.

“Wen Ning killed you,” Jiang Cheng says once he safely guided Jin Zixuan to sit down right where he stood and Jin Zixuan lets out a snort that turns into a pained grunt.

“Wishing he did right about now,” Jin Zixuan says again with a grimace and then he sighs when Jin Ling starts to squirm in the harness. “Help me with this,” Jin Zixuan pants out, getting started on undoing the straps that hold Jin Ling and Jiang Cheng is quick to assist him.

He doesn’t mention how much Jin Zixuan’s hands shake.

What he does mention is the steadily growing patch of blood on his robe.

“What the fuck,” Jiang Cheng breathes out and then turns towards his disciple. “Get Jiang Sushan, right now.”

The disciple runs off without comment and Jiang Cheng turns back around to Jin Zixuan, just in time to have Jin Ling deposited in his arms.

“What is going on?” Jiang Cheng whispers and Jin Zixuan presses his lips together.

“I survived, if only barely. And I can’t stay at Koi Tower. I think—I think Jin Guangyao and Jin Zixun were working together. I can’t—I don’t trust him. I can’t stay there. Jin Ling shouldn’t be around him,” he pants out and Jiang Cheng looks down at the tiny baby in his arms. “My mother sent me away.”

“Why come here?” Jiang Cheng dumbly asks, but it’s all a bit too much right now.

“You’re her brother,” Jin Zixuan presses out. “You’re his uncle. Where else would I go?”

His answer takes Jiang Cheng aback, because it sounds like Jin Zixuan didn’t even consider going anywhere else, and it makes a ball of dread settle in Jiang Cheng’s stomach.

“I have nothing to offer you. Look around,” he says and points at the still slightly smoking ruins of Lotus Pier. “I have no resources, no stable home, nothing. Why come here?”

Jin Zixuan levels him with a look Jiang Cheng didn’t know he could make and repeats “You’re her sister, you’re his uncle. Where else would I go?”

Jiang Cheng opens his mouth to argue, but before he can find the words, Jin Ling lets out a discontented noise and Jiang Cheng’s attention is immediately redirected.

“I don’t know what to do,” Jin Zixuan whispers and he sounds as honest as Jiang Cheng has ever heard him. “She’s gone and I don’t know what to do.”

Jiang Cheng’s head snaps back up, just in time to watch Jin Zixuan slump back, his injury and the exhaustion clearly getting the better of him, but before Jiang Cheng has time to panic, he catches sight of Jiang Sushan rushing up to them.

“I don’t know, either,” Jiang Cheng whispers and then he makes place for the healer, Jin Ling cradled protectively to his chest.

He doesn’t have a goddamn clue what to do either.

~*~*~

Jiang Sushan forbids Jin Zixuan from standing up until the hole in his stomach has healed. The hole in his stomach. Jiang Cheng feels sick just thinking about it, and he tries very hard not to imagine how it happened.

But with Jin Zixuan forced into bedrest, Jiang Cheng spends more time in the infirmary than he ever cared to do before. But Jin Zixuan wants to see his son, and Jiang Cheng can barely stand the thought of giving the tiny baby out of his hands.

So it’s him who brings Jin Ling to Jin Zixuan on a daily basis.

“If you could just heal up already,” Jiang Cheng grumbles sometimes during the third week, because he has a home to rebuild and a Sect to establish and disciples to train, but instead he’s sitting at his late sister’s husband’s bedside, holding a baby on his knees so Jin Zixuan can reach out and let Jin Ling grab his finger. “I have better things to do than be here every goddamn day.”

“Then just leave,” Jin Zixuan snaps back, clearly as unhappy with his bedrest as Jiang Cheng is.

Plus, neither of them counted on seeing each other every goddamn day when Jin Zixuan married Jiang Yanli and for all that Jiang Yanli clearly loved him, Jiang Cheng still holds a grudge.

Jin Zixuan was an ass to his sister and he’s not sure he’ll ever forgive that.

“Fine,” Jiang Cheng presses out and makes to stand up, absolutely intending to take Jin Ling with him, but Jin Zixuan fists his hand in Jiang Cheng’s robe.

“You’ll leave him here,” he says, eyes narrowed and Jiang Cheng fights the urge to bare his teeth at him.

“Absolutely not. You’re not even allowed to hold him yet,” he gives back and he can see the fury flash over Jin Zixuan’s face.

“And whose fault is that?” he demands to know and if he’s being honest, Jiang Cheng has been itching for this fight ever since Jin Zixuan landed in Lotus Pier.

“Why don’t you tell me,” he says, voice scathing and Jin Zixuan doesn’t even hesitate for a second.

“Your fucking brother did this to me,” he hisses and now Jiang Cheng gives him a smile so sharp Jin Zixuan rears back.

“From what you told me it was your brother who did this, so if I were you, I wouldn’t go around throwing stones,” he gives back without missing a beat and Jin Zixuan goes red in the face. “Now if you would excuse me, I have to take care of your kid, because clearly you’re unable to.”

It’s a low blow, and Jiang Cheng knows it, but he can’t stop himself.

“I wasn’t supposed to do this alone,” Jin Zixuan says, and his voice sounds more watery than Jiang Cheng knows how to deal with. “Yanli was supposed to be here, too.”

“Yeah, well, she’s not, is she,” Jiang Cheng says, and even just the reminder that his sister is dead cuts him open all over again.

A very vindictive part of Jiang Cheng hopes that Jin Zixuan feels the same pain Jiang Cheng does.

“And whose fault is that?” Jin Zixuan yells suddenly at him, startling Jin Ling into crying, but neither of them care right now.

“Certainly not mine,” Jiang Cheng shoots back but Jin Zixuan doesn’t back down.

“No. It was just your brother who killed my wife. Who killed his mother,” Jin Zixuan says with a pointed look at Jin Ling and Jiang Cheng boils with rage.

“She was my sister, too,” he shouts, Jin Ling full on wailing in his arms now, and it’s only the arrival of Jiang Sushan who defuses the situation.

“What the hell,” she says and marches up to Jiang Cheng, to take Jin Ling out of his hands. “I allowed you to bring him because I thought it would help his recovery,” she snaps and rocks Jin Ling in her arms.

“Since clearly you’re both too stupid to appreciate my gift, I’ll have to ask you to leave now, Sect Leader Jiang.”

Jiang Cheng turns burning eyes on her, but Jiang Sushan is not one to back down and Jiang Cheng knows it.

“Can I—,” Jin Zixuan asks, arm outstretched for his son but Jiang Sushan gives him the same judgemental look she gave Jiang Cheng.

“Absolutely not,” she declares and then simply storms off, Jin Ling still in her arms.

Jiang Cheng’s fingers itch without Jin Ling’s by now so familiar weight and Jin Zixuan looks like he has half a mind running after her.

But thanks to the interruption all the rage left Jiang Cheng and so he scrubs a tired hand over his face.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. If you leave that bed, she’ll find a reason to send Jin Ling to Meishan or something,” Jiang Cheng whispers without looking at Jin Zixuan who freezes in his movement.

“She wouldn’t,” he gives back but he doesn’t sound as certain as he surely would like to be.

“She would,” Jiang Cheng corrects him and then straightens up. “Just stay in this goddamn bed and heal, would you? I’m tired of doing this alone,” he tells Jin Zixuan, his eyes still carefully avoided, but he still notices the jerky nod from the other man.

It’s only then that Jiang Cheng leaves the infirmary.

~*~*~

It takes Jin Zixuan another two weeks to heal enough for Jiang Sushan to allow him out of bed. He’s still not allowed to hold Jin Ling without help, but at least he can watch him. It doesn’t give Jiang Cheng enough time to deal with his Sect’s business, but it’s better than nothing.

“I can help, you know,” Jin Zixuan says one afternoon as he watches Jin Ling and he startles Jiang Cheng enough that he messes up his letter.

“Fuck,” Jiang Cheng curses, prompting Jin Ling to let out an unhappy noise and when Jin Zixuan shoots him an accusing glare, Jiang Cheng glares right back.

“He’s too young to pick up on this,” Jiang Cheng says as he checks if there’s a way to save the letter.

There is not. He’ll have to start over.

“One day he won’t be,” Jin Zixuan reasons and he reaches out as if he wants to pick Jin Ling up.

“Oh no, you don’t,” Jiang Cheng hisses under his breath and intercepts his movement, taking Jin Ling into his own arms.

“Jiang Wanyin!” Jin Zixuan snaps and Jiang Cheng glares at him over the top of Jin Ling’s very soft baby hair.

“If you pick him up, you’ll rip something and then we’re back at square one, so don’t even think about it.”

“He is my son,” Jin Zixuan presses out and Jiang Cheng shrugs.

“Then maybe hurry up with the healing, so you can hold him, too. It certainly would be a great help,” Jiang Cheng snarks and then clicks his tongue when his eyes fall on the ruined letter.

“I can help,” Jin Zixuan says again, following Jiang Cheng’s gaze and Jiang Cheng bristles.

“I am perfectly capable of writing my own letters, thank you very much.”

“You’re so—,” Jin Zixuan says and then clearly can’t find the right words because he closes his mouth with a click. “Fine. Put him back down again, so you can finish your damn letter.”

“Ah, language,” Jiang Cheng reminds him, rather smug, and he almost has to smile when Jin Zixuan shoots him a glare.

Almost.

~*~*~

When Jin Ling starts running around, Jiang Cheng and Jin Zixuan have long fallen into a routine. Jin Zixuan was right when he said he could help—he was trained as an heir, too, after all—and Jiang Cheng is loathe to admit that it removes a great weight from his shoulders to pass the less important matters off to Jin Zixuan.

They don’t talk a lot, even after all this time, since too many topics are off limits. They don’t talk about Wei Wuxian or Jin Guangyao at all, and mentions of Jiang Yanli still make both of them bitter and snappish, even though they are getting better at it.

It’s still safest to talk about Jin Ling, so they mostly spend their time doing that.

Even though Jiang Cheng finds himself wishing they could talk about Jiang Yanli more often.

Jin Zixuan is one of the last living people who held his sister dear, and Jiang Cheng itches with the need to find out what details Jin Zixuan remembers about her.

Jiang Cheng is afraid he’s forgetting too much lately, everything getting buried under work and more work.

“My sister told me I would hate this,” Jiang Cheng says apropos of nothing one day, when Jin Zixuan’s gaze follows Jin Ling down the pier.

They have secured this particular pier—erected a barrier so that Jin Ling couldn’t fall into the water even if they looked away for a second—and so Jin Zixuan doesn’t hesitate to snap his head around to him.

“What?” he asks, voice breathless and Jiang Cheng already regrets opening his mouth.

But the thought that maybe his memory of Jiang Yanli would be matched with one from Jin Zixuan gets him to talk again.

“She always said I’m a doer,” Jiang Cheng says, and keeps his eyes on the pile of letters on the table. “That I was meant to train the disciples and lead them on night-hunts. That I wasn’t made for the bureaucracy of leading a Sect.”

“She was right,” Jin Zixuan says with a scoff, though it’s not as sharp as it could be. “You’re doing a piss-poor job at this.”

“Language,” Jiang Cheng mildly reminds Jin Zixuan and he has to press his lips together when the predictable offended huff comes.

It was quite the surprise to realize that Jin Zixuan cursed almost as much as Jiang Cheng did, and by now Jin Ling starts to babble. One of them will slip up sooner or later, and Jiang Cheng is determined to have it be Jin Zixuan.

He thinks it would greatly amuse him, to see Jin Zixuan flush in outrage and embarrassment.

“You think you could do it better?” Jiang Cheng challenges him and Jin Zixuan sighs.

“I don’t—I don’t know,” he finally admits and Jiang Cheng’s gaze snaps towards him.

He didn’t expect Jin Zixuan to admit that he doesn’t know, that he isn’t sure of his capabilities.

“My father—he never let me do much. Shoved the minor matters off to me, but that was before Jin Guangyao came to Koi Tower. Afterwards, not so much. I guess between the two of us, you’re the only one with real experience.”

“Oh,” Jiang Cheng says, because sometimes he forgets that it wasn’t only his family that was fucked up.

“Oh,” Jin Ling parrots after Jiang Cheng and it’s enough warning for Jin Zixuan to brace for the impact of the toddler.

“You just make sure to repeat the harmless stuff,” Jin Zixuan tells his son as he hoists him into his lap, where Jin Ling settles quite contently.

An ugly spike of jealousy goes through Jiang Cheng, but he shoves it aside. Jin Ling is Jin Zixuan’s son. He’s just the uncle. Of course Jin Ling would be more comfortable with Jin Zixuan.

But then Jin Ling makes grabby hands at Jiang Cheng and Jin Zixuan shuffles closer with a roll of his eyes.

“I do not understand the fascination with your bell,” Jin Zixuan grumbles under his breath but he watches fondly as Jin Ling excitedly grabs for it.

“I do not understand the fascination with you,” Jiang Cheng shoots back, his eyes already back on his letter, but he still hears the outraged noise Jin Zixuan makes.

Instead of retaliating, like Jiang Cheng expected, Jin Zixuan falls silent and it’s a long time before he speaks again.

“Yanli always said that we needed to find a capable and trustworthy right hand for Jin Ling,” he finally whispers and Jiang Cheng stiffens. “I think she was preparing for the possibility that Jin Ling would turn out like you, too,” Jin Zixuan goes on, and normally Jiang Cheng would be offended at his choice of words, but Jin Zixuan’s voice is soft and Jiang Yanli never thought anything wrong with Jiang Cheng.

“I see,” Jiang Cheng whispers and then busies himself with the letter again.

He doesn’t move away when Jin Zixuan’s knee brushes his.

~*~*~

Jiang Cheng is contemplating drowning himself in the waters of Lotus Pier when Jin Ling runs up to him.

“Baba!” he yells excitedly and Jiang Cheng’s heart stumbles with that by now so familiar and dreaded mix of emotions.

They have tried to tell Jin Ling that he should address Jiang Cheng as ‘jiujiu’ and not ‘baba’ but it never seems to stick with Jin Ling and at least Jin Zixuan seems to have given up on it.

Jiang Cheng refuses to acknowledge how that makes him feel, but sometimes, it’s all he can do, drowning in how much he might want this.

It’s not right, and Jiang Cheng knows it.

“A-Ling,” he greets Jin Ling when he crashes into his legs and peers up at him, excitement shining out of his eyes. “What is it?”

“A-die said I could start training with the sword soon!” Jin Ling’s voice is still too loud, too excited, but Jiang Cheng smiles down at him.

“Oh, did he?” he asks, even though he already knows it.

For all that Jin Zixuan is Jin Ling’s father, they have fallen into the habit of making decisions together. It’s a dangerous territory, like Jiang Cheng’s heart likes to remind him.

“Yes, yes, yes,” Jin Ling babbles, and Jiang Cheng knows Jin Ling is getting too big for this now, but he still bows down to pick him up and settle him at his hip.

“But I’m not allowed to use Suihua yet,” Jin Ling then adds with a sad little tilt of his mouth and rests his head on Jiang Cheng’s shoulder. “A-die says I’m still too small for that.”

“And he’s right,” Jiang Cheng says and flicks Jin Ling’s nose. “Plus Suihua is too sharp for practice. You don’t want to cut yourself, do you?”

“No, baba,” Jin Ling agrees immediately, because for all that he tries to play tough—even at his tender age of five—Jin Ling cries easily.

Not to mention that neither Jin Zixuan nor Jiang Cheng like to see him hurt.

Jiang Cheng turns away from the water, thoughts of drowning himself and his stupid feelings forgotten, and when his eyes fall on Jin Zixuan he turns his head slightly away from Jin Ling on instinct.

It’s also a good reason not to focus on how his heart skips a beat.

“A-die!” Jin Ling predictably yells and throws himself out of Jiang Cheng’s arms, straight into Jin Zixuan’s, secure in the knowledge that neither will let him fall.

Jiang Cheng maintains his grip on Jin Ling until he’s sure that Jin Zixuan has him, but he sharply turns his head away when Jin Zixuan’s hands linger on his own longer than is strictly necessary.

Jiang Cheng’s mouth gives an unhappy twist when he reminds himself yet again that Jin Zixuan is his dead sister’s husband, but it does nothing to calm these feelings inside of him.

“Did you tell your baba already?” Jin Zixuan asks Jin Ling, but his eyes don’t leave Jiang Cheng and Jiang Cheng has to turn around when the look becomes too much.

“I did,” Jin Ling nods. “He says Suihua is too sharp for me, so I won’t use it yet,” he then tacks on and Jin Zixuan chuckles.

“Didn’t I tell you the same? Why do you only listen when it’s your baba saying that?” Jin Zixuan wants to know and Jiang Cheng can’t take it anymore.

“Zixuan!” he snaps and he only remembers himself when Jin Ling stares at him with watery eyes.

“A-Ling, why don’t you go to your room, I found you a training sword,” Jin Zixuan says as he puts Jin Ling down and Jin Ling runs off just as excitedly as he ran up to Jiang Cheng, Jiang Cheng’s outburst clearly already forgotten.

Jiang Cheng stares after him, not out of worry because he knows Jin Ling is safe in Lotus Pier, but to avoid Jin Zixuan’s look.

He can feel his eyes on him and Jiang Cheng doesn’t know if he’s strong enough to take it.

“Why are you still objecting to being called baba?” Jin Zixuan wants to know as he steps up to Jiang Cheng and Jiang Cheng tenses.

“I’m his jiujiu,” he gives back, even though there’s a sharp pain in his chest at the possibility of being addressed as such from Jin Ling.

“No, you’re not,” Jin Zixuan softly says and then turns Jiang Cheng around with a firm hand to his shoulder.

Jiang Cheng can’t meet his eyes, but when his gaze falls to Jin Zixuan’s lips instead he jerks his head away from that sight too.

He’s still trying to forget that night, the one where they both got drunk, the night where Jiang Cheng allowed Jin Zixuan to lean in and kiss him, and it’s so much harder than it should be. But Jin Zixuan isn’t his to touch or to kiss and Jiang Cheng hates himself a little bit for the fact that he wasn’t strong enough to push him away.

That he kissed him back instead.

“Wanyin,” Jin Zixuan whispers, and Jiang Cheng jerks with the familiarity in that name.

“Don’t,” he presses out and tries to take a step away from Jin Zixuan, but he follows him.

“Tell me why,” Jin Zixuan says, matching Jiang Cheng step for step, relentless in his movements, until Jiang Cheng is pressed against the railing of the pier.

“You’re my sister’s husband,” Jiang Cheng bites out, the words so ingrained in him already, because he has to remind himself of that several times a day.

“I’m a widower,” Jin Zixuan says, and he sounds exactly as pained by that as he should, before he shakes his head. “And the mourning period is over.”

“That doesn’t change anything,” Jiang Cheng gives back and startles when Jin Zixuan puts his hand on his arm.

Not really holding onto him, but seeking contact nonetheless and Jiang Cheng is helpless against it. He sways into the contact, a move Jin Zixuan clearly notices because a small smile grazes his lips.

Jiang Cheng itches to kiss it off.

“Doesn’t it?” Jin Zixuan asks and Jiang Cheng raises his head as he pushes his shoulders back.

“No,” he bites out but Jin Zixuan doesn’t let go of him.

“Do you really think Yanli would begrudge us this? Do you really think she wouldn’t want us to be happy?” he asks and Jiang Cheng jerks with his words.

“Who says you make me happy?” he shoots back and his stomach falls when pain flashes over Jin Zixuan’s face.

He hesitates for a moment, but when Jiang Cheng doesn’t move or say anything else, he slowly pulls back.

And Jiang Cheng, he can’t let that happen.

His hands shoot up on instinct, fisting in Jin Zixuan’s robes, which are more purple than gold at this point, and he stops Jin Zixuan in his movement.

Jiang Cheng can’t quite meet Jin Zixuan’s eyes, but he has wondered the same lately. If Jiang Yanli would really be mad at them for finding happiness again. For finding happiness with each other.

Jiang Cheng can’t be sure, but he likes to think that she would want this for them. That she would be happy. And if Jin Zixuan thinks the same—

Before Jiang Cheng can overthink this, he leans forward, pressing his lips to Jin Zixuan’s, who meets him without hesitation.

Jiang Cheng was drunk the last—only—time they did this, but he isn’t now. Now, he gets to enjoy this.

“You make me very happy, Wanyin,” Jin Zixuan mumbles against his lips when they finally part, and Jiang Cheng wonders when Jin Zixuan turned into the more brave, into the more suave of the two of them, but then he tilts his head again and all thoughts flee his head.

Jin Zixuan makes him very happy, too.

~*~*~

Jiang Cheng hasn’t even entered their rooms completely yet when Jin Zixuan slams a letter down on the table.

“My father died,” Jin Zixuan announces and the good mood leaves Jiang Cheng just as quickly as his stomach drops to the floor.

They didn’t even get two years, is all Jiang Cheng can think, as he sinks to the floor opposite of Jin Zixuan.

“I see,” Jiang Cheng whispers, and pushes the letter away from him.

He can guess what it says. Jin Zixuan is the heir after all.

He will leave, and he will take Jin Ling with him, and he might as well reach into Jiang Cheng’s chest and take his heart, too. It’s not like there will be much left of it, after all.

“You don’t,” Jin Zixuan says with a little shake of his head, and then leans over the table to drag Jiang Cheng into a biting kiss.

Jiang Cheng imagines this is what goodbye tastes like and he has to blink furiously so that the tears won’t cloud his gaze.

“I’m not going back,” Jin Zixuan says when they finally part and Jiang Cheng’s breath hitches at that, his hands coming up to frame Jin Zixuan’s face.

“Do not lie to me, only to leave in the end,” he demands, but Jin Zixuan shakes his head and then presses a kiss to Jiang Cheng’s palm for good measure too.

“I’m not,” he reassures him. “Did you forget that my mother likes you? Maybe even more than I do,” Jin Zixuan teases him, and it’s familiar enough to bring a small smile to Jiang Cheng’s face. “She’s going to be acting Sect Leader,” Jin Zixuan tells him as he leans close again to brush his nose against Jiang Cheng’s cheek. “And she wants us to marry.”

Jiang Cheng freezes in surprise at those words.

“She what?” he dumbly asks, because this is something Jiang Cheng never allowed himself to think of, to hope for.

Jin Zixuan wore red once already, and surely Jiang Cheng couldn’t get so lucky as to see him in it again.

“The date is set,” Jin Zixuan says with a shrug. “She doesn’t give us much choice. Really, it was more a statement of facts than her voicing a wish. You know she adores you, I wonder how you can still have doubts about that.”

“Zixuan,” Jiang Cheng says, because he doesn’t appreciate it if Jin Zixuan is just joking around right now.

“If you would have read the letter you knew,” Jin Zixuan says, his amusement clear in his voice and Jiang Cheng can’t help himself, he simply has to lean in and capture Jin Zixuan’s lips again.

His fiance’s lips, if Jin Zixuan is speaking the truth.

“Jin Ling is going to love this,” Jiang Cheng says when they part and Jin Zixuan makes an unhappy face at him.

“I would prefer it if you loved it,” he pouts and Jiang Cheng gives him a brilliant smile.

“Isn’t it enough that I love you?” he asks and when Jin Zixuan splutters like he always does when Jiang Cheng so freely expresses his affection, Jiang Cheng knows that they will be alright.

More than that even.

~*~*~

Wei Wuxian has to admit that he kind of enjoys showing the little brat just what his talismans can do. It’s fun to see him on the floor and struggling to get free.

“You just wait until my a-die and baba show up,” the brat says, once he exhausted himself and Wei Wuxian frowns at that.

“Your a-die and baba?” he parrots but before the brat can answer him, there’s a rustling in the underbrush next to them and Wei Wuxian takes a cautious step back.

“Jin Ling,” a new voice says and Wei Wuxian watches as the sour face on the brat’s face is overtaken with a smile.

Wait a minute, Jin Ling? Jin Rulan? Could it really be, Wei Wuxian wonders, but then Jin Zixuan is already stepping forwards and it’s really him.

Even though Wei Wuxian has to do a double take when he sees him dressed in all purple.

“Jin Zixuan?” Wei Wuxian blurts out, and then—because he can’t help himself—he adds, “Didn’t Wen Ning kill you?”

As soon as the words leave his mouth he slaps a hand over his mouth, but it’s already too late and the damage is done, Wei Wuxian can see that in the narrowing of Jin Zixuan’s eyes.

“Wei Wuxian?” he asks, suspicion clear in his voice and Wei Wuxian winces.

To think that he would blow his cover this soon.

“Haha, in the flesh,” he says with a sheepish smile, rubbing the back of his head, and he totally doesn’t squirm under Jin Zixuan’s searching gaze.

“Not quite in the flesh, huh,” Jin Zixuan mumbles and then destroys the talisman on Jin Ling’s back. “You know, I didn’t appreciate it when your Ghost General put a hole through my stomach,” Jin Zixuan then says conversationally and before Wei Wuxian can say anything to that, purple lightning fills the forest.

Wei Wuxian shivers, phantom pains already running down his back, and he takes a step back.

“You know, I didn’t appreciate it either when your Ghost General put a hole through my husband’s stomach,” a new voice says and when Jiang Cheng steps up next to Jin Zixuan Wei Wuxian’s mind goes blank.

He blinks in confusion several times, but the picture still doesn’t make any more sense than before.

“I think you broke him,” Jin Zixuan whispers to Jiang Cheng who gives Jin Zixuan a sweet smile—and that is something Wei Wuxian can’t even begin to process—and then he holds his hand out for Jin Ling.

“A-Ling, come here,” Jiang Cheng says and Jin Ling is up and next to Jiang Cheng in an instant.

“A-die and baba?” Wei Wuxian whispers, his mind still reeling with the new revelations, and he’s almost relieved when someone else interrupts the scene.

“Zixuan, are you angering my A-Cheng again?” a woman’s voice suddenly calls out and Wei Wuxian can do nothing but stare in helpless confusion as Jin Zixuan groans while Jin Ling snickers.

“A-niang, seriously, you could think Wanyin is your son,” Jin Zixuan complaints just as Madam Jin comes to a halt next to them.

“Thankfully he is now,” Madam Jin gives back with a smile as she pats Jiang Cheng’s cheek, and Wei Wuxian has to watch as his brother just lets it happen.

Without blushing even, which means this must be a regular occurrence.

“It’s not him who made me angry,” Jiang Cheng reassures her and Madam Jin’s eyes fall on Wei Wuxian.

“Oh?” she says and Wei Wuxian falls into a sloppy bow.

“Madam Jin,” he greets her only to startle when Zidian crackles again.

“That’s Sect Leader Jin to you,” Jiang Cheng snaps, just as Jin Ling chuckles.

“What. The fuck,” Wei Wuxian whispers and when three voices snap “Language” at him, he wonders just what the hell he stumbled into this time.

{Buy me a kofi}

#bt writes #the untamed #mdzs #commission #chengxuan #canon divergence #jyl dies like she does in canon #but jc and jzx find happiness again #hurt/comfort #fluff #angst

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chrisemrysfics · 3 years

Text

After my post on Wangxian and unconditional love, among other things, I realized I forgot all about a source of unconditional love for Wei Wuxian: the Wen siblings and remnants.

Here is the thing: first, Wei Wuxian had a few years with his parents, he barely has memories, yet he remember the sense of happiness, joy, and the love of his parents, both for each other, and for him.

Then, he lose them, and faces the streets. And then he’s picked by Jiang Fengmian, and brought “home”... and right away there’s an issue with Jiang Cheng and puppies. Yu Ziyuan also shows displeasure.

Jiang Yanli shows care for him, while Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian make peace, however, from here on, Wei Wuxian is under constant disapproval by Yu Ziyuan.

And I believe Wei Wuxian is not blind to Jiang Cheng being hurt by what his mother says, and the apparent not-care his father shows. But he says it and I believe he’s right: Jiang Fengmian is lenient toward Wei Wuxian because Wei Wuxian is not his son. What appears as indulgence, is simply that he doesn’t care all that much past what Wei Wuxian is bringing to the clan.

He doesn’t seek his safety: he could have chosen to make Wei Wuxian stay to Lotus Pier rather than let him go to Nightless City, but he didn’t. He even said “he can choose”, which make him wash his hands of responsibility and make Wei Wuxian own up to his own fate. And his last words to me nailed the confirmation: he doesn’t give any word of care, he only echo what Yu Ziyuan said: protect my children.

Wei Wuxian grew up knowing he’ll be scorned by Yu Ziyuan regardless of whether or not he’s truly at fault, and knowing Jiang Fengmian doesn’t really care, as long as he’s around, he let him do what we want, knowing Wei Wuxian is loyal to the Jiang and to his children. Jiang Cheng express it awkwardly, but his attempts at “taming” Wei Wuxian “hero complex” is that he recognizes no one else is trying to stop him from harming himself (including his father). However, because Jiang Cheng let himself be influenced, he doesn’t show unconditional love, Wei Wuxian knows he cares, but Wei Wuxian also recognize Jiang Cheng doesn’t understand him.

This leave only Jiang Yanli that he can be himself with. We understand he feels safe with her, to show his true self, that he know he’ll be love without condition, because it is to her, and only her, he asked such a thing as “why does someone like someone else”. And that’s why his hesitancy to tell her anything about the three months disappearance is so heart-breaking, and she can be seen being worried still: for the first time, he doesn’t tell her.

And this shows how he views himself. For the first time, he thinks there is finally something that might be the one think Jiang Yanli won’t accept. That he’s become something that finally is where she draws the line. No one else before her truly showed any unconditional love, and he’s terrified what will happen if he let her see who he has become.

And it explain why he push away Lan Wangji: he knows Lan Wangji values are righteous, to Wei Wuxian, if Lan Wangji disapprove of him, it means he’s something that cannot approved of. Which then reinforce the idea that he cannot show Jiang Yanli what he’s become.

In the end, he’s traumatized, and scared to be rejected by the two people he cared for the most. He knew he felt pulled to Lan Wangji, he cared for him, he knew in his heart he valued him, just like he values Jiang Yanli. If he allowed himself to be vulnerable, and he got rejected, it would break him. So he didn’t take the risk.

All of that to arrive to the Wen siblings.

And the important thing I realized is that it never was a question of owing each other anything.

Wei Wuxian met Wen Ning, and showed kindness to him, which is pretty clear Wen Ning rarely, if ever, received, outside of his sister and the branch of their family. Its enough for Wen Ning to want to come when he hears about Lotus Pier, and willing to help them.

When Wen Qing enters the scene, she knows the risks, but there is a vital factor that made her decide to let them stay hidden and recover: her brother. Yes, she is a healer, however, it was risky to allow this, except, this was someone who inspired loyalty in her brother, someone who treated her brother well. Someone with a brother that was hurt.

Then, Wei Wuxian asks her to do the surgery, and she refuses. She knows what this will mean, and the thing is, I do end up thinking he’s not blind to how he’s been treated. He had to develop his own moral compass because either he’s scorned no matter if he’s at fault or not, or he’s “indulged”, or he’s not understood. He cares, and he sees himself as owing everything to the Jiang, but I feel like he knows how it can sound like. Wen Qing refuses because she isn’t certain he truly realize what he is asking, or she questions how willing he is, past any conditioning. But he insists, and she sees something that let her know that he does know what he is asking for.

Ultimately, Wei Wuxian is still misunderstood when people think his choice is because he’s been conditioned: yes, of course, we can understand someone shouldn’t have to sacrifice himself, that they shouldn’t have to “pay back” in such a manner... except no one asked. No one forced him to do this. He looked at his brother, and decided he didn’t want to see him like this. Wen Qing refusing meant he had the occasion to rethink his choice. He still chose.

That’s why they also speak of not owing anything to each other: Wen Qing chose to help them, and Wei Wuxian chose to go through the transplant. They understand the risks they took for each other, they had each other life in the other hands (if WWX and JC are seen, its death for WQ, if WQ fails, its death for WWX).

And that’s why they don’t seek each other, they owe nothing to each other, understand where they stand in the war, and trust each other has continued to follow the path of their heart. Wen Qing didn’t betray her values as a healer, nor did Wei Wuxian betray his own values.

However, Wen Qing ended up desperate, and there was only one person she knew had values she could trust: Wei Wuxian. She knows what she is asking out of him, but just like she didn’t leave Wei Wuxian and his brother to their own fate, Wei Wuxian would not leave her and her brother to their own fate. Just like he chose for the transplant, she knew Wei Wuxian would choose what is true to his heart.

And so they end up in Burial Mounds, Wei Wuxian once more doing a sacrifice, yet it is done out of his own choice, the refusal to betray his own values (be it that it was the care for his brother back then, or the protection of innocent now). And here is the thing: Wen Qing knows about Wei Wuxian’s core.

And the Wen Remnants are well placed to fear him, distrust him, be unkind to him, but they don’t. More than that, they welcome him as family. He becomes family to them, and they become family to him. No one judges him, they all see him, and none of them disapprove of him, and they care for him.

To me, Wei Wuxian only ever had two things that were truly his: his demonic cultivation, and the Wen Remnants as family.

He says it himself: he owes spiritual cultivation to the Jiang. But demonic cultivation? He chose to not die, to resist, to survive, to return, to continue following his own values, and developed his own tools for it. He saw the scorn of others, but knew his heart, and stayed true to it. Everything “bad” about him was his trauma, not his cultivation (proven as to how he is, after his death and return).

And the Wen Remnants, they became his family. The Jiang siblings are his family of adoption, but the Wens were the family he, himself, adopted. They were to him what the Jiang Clan was to JC: the people he would protect, the one he placed first.

If JC and/or JYL had no one else to turn to, WWX would have protected them too. But JC had a whole sect, and JYL was part of it. More than that, the best protection was to distance himself, the Wens already had a tainted reputation, like his own, but not his siblings (and same for LWJ). He couldn’t take that risk.

And the strength of his heart and values show when everything goes extremely bad: he accidentally kills JZX, he doesn’t manage to protect/save the Wen Siblings, and still he doesn’t outright slaughter everyone, he attacks after being provoked. He also stop when JYL show up, but because someone else tried to kill him, he sees her protect him and die to protect him... just like the Wen Siblings.

And he just effectively lost the last, and first, sibling who has loved him unconditionally. The Wen Siblings knew all about his lost core, while JYL knew about him in many ways. Loosing all three of them, effectively meant he lost the three people who knew him best and loved him without condition.

Is it so surprising that his psyche broke there? He went mad with grief, the trauma catching up to him. Then he finds himself conscious again, away from Nightless City, not knowing there is still one person who loves him.

And what does he decide to do? Break the seal. Now, I realized a thing: he didn’t die from breaking the first half. The accounts are confusing on purpose, but he himself is seen thinking about how he broke half of it, but didn’t have time to break the second before the Siege happened.

This means he knows how to do it without dying... or he was already half dead.

Then he looses the Wen Remnants, he’s Sieged by the whole cultivation world, including his own brother. There’s no Lan Wangji in sight, leaving him uncertain whether he doesn’t deserve to die in Lan Wangji eyes, or if he’s not even worthy of Lan Wangji being present. Or if its a last kindness, to not be part of the people who attack him.

But Wei Wuxian has lost everything, everyone, his own brother is here with hate and grief in his eyes, Wei Wuxian knows there is greed behind the Siege, and so he finishes what he started: he destroys the seal.

And to this day, I am still convinced there was no backlash, but rather, a last command, either conscious, or one he didn’t realize he made but born of how he was feeling.

However, because he never returned as a vengeful ghost, this make me consider that, for all his death was violent, he died with a peaceful heart.

He knew his own heart and values, and he followed them to his last breath. He knew the greed and blindness of the cultivation world, but what would he do? Kill them all? Be what they claimed he was? No. And then, to him, he caused the deaths of people he never wanted to: JZX and JYL. To someone who gave his core because he considered he owed it to the Jiang, what will he give, if he consider he owed to repay the deaths he caused?

He chose, died with peace in his heart because he followed it to his last breath.

And I wonder if the corpses “eating him” weren’t eating the resentment within him. That’s a whole other headcanon to develop.

But yes, all of this to say: the Wen Remnants were WWX family, the Wen Siblings became his siblings, and WWX remained true to his heart up until the end.

That’s why he didn’t return as a vengeful ghost, and why he was calm and level-headed when he returned. It also strongly imply his temper and so-called “lack of control” were due to his trauma. Yet, this just goes to show how strong willed he is, to both survive the Burial Mounds, and never loose himself, and show that he is truly the Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, because he never lost himself through it, and still mastered it.

#wei wuxian #wen qing #wen ning #mdzs #mo dao su zhi

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satan-chillin · 3 years

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Hereafter (1/7)

Wei Wuxian is sent off of Cloud Recesses, bade by his fathers to "have fun and make friends" which, now that he thinks about it, sounds like a gross oversimplification of what the next six months away from home will entail.

If he happens to form unlikely connections, start a matchmaking, and gets unwittingly involved in the presently strained political state of the cultivation world, those are just par for the course.

Chasing after one of the famed Twin Jades of Lan, however, is an added bonus.

(Or, WWX was sent to Gusu by his fathers Wen Kexing & Zhou Zishu)

Part 2 of Spirited Away Series. Part 1 here.

Also available in Ao3

❆❆❆

Emperor's Smile was a good wine as advertised, and Wei Wuxian lamented that he was pouring it to accompany his sullen mood.

The departure of his shixiong brought an inexplicable feeling of gloom. He had never been this far from home—oh, there had been trips to Mirror Lake Sect and Longyuan Valley once or twice a year but always with the company of either the senior or junior disciples or sometimes his fathers—and never alone like this, in almost what seemed to be the other end of the map and a place where it might as well be a different world.

He thought of the half-finished letters he would be sending back with his shixiong. The long-overdue one was for his shijie Xiaolian who in their last correspondence told him that she was expecting; it was only natural that he would suggest she took a character from his birth name. The shortest missive was for the juniors left at the Four Seasons Manor who had him promise that he would tell them of the cultivation world; their minder, Shu Feng, would read his letter to the juniors—who were yet to learn how to read on their own—as if their usual bedtime stories.

The longest letters were for a-die and baba, separated only because he doubted he could fit in his sentiments for them in a single letter. He kept their reminders at heart despite his initial complaints of their nagging; from his baba, most of all, who had hardly let him out of his sight and had prepared his favorite meals during supper in the last few weeks leading to his departure. Even his a-die had doubled his training regimen a month prior, a lot stricter and meticulous in gauging his progress, though Wei Wuxian had suspected that it had been his way to ascertain his readiness—and to spend more time with him.

Simply put, he missed his home and family already, right off his first evening in the Cloud Recesses. And to think that he had long been waiting for this moment to come, brimming with excitement for years at the prospect of delving into a world that seemingly came from a myth. He had been a child filled with wonder when told that he was originally a part of it too, that once he was of the right age he would return where his birth parents had lived.

And so far, he was... reserving his judgment in that front, so to speak.

Wei Wuxian let out a sigh. He was aware of being uncharacteristically despondent under such a pleasant evening of bright moon and a delectable wine at hand. The right company wouldn’t be so bad, and if his shixiong was amenable they might as well spend the night before his leave.

“Trespassing is forbidden in Cloud Recesses.”

It was the colors Wei Wuxian first registered: the shade of white that was almost reminiscent of his baba’s snowy hair; the soft hue of blue that was barely distinct in the dark but not so much under the moonlight, the color of his favorite robes as a boy because it was the first that he had worn at home; the long dark hair billowing in the breeze in sharp contrast with the white ribbon; the golden eyes that hinted a brewing righteous anger the longer Wei Wuxian stared without any response.

He blinked slowly, almost afraid of the night carrying away the illusion, and threw caution in the wind as the words tumbled out of his mouth.

“Not even to catch a glimpse of you?”

Not a mirage, he decided, not with the deepening frown he got in response. Wei Wuxian smiled invitingly, raising a toast to the direction of the Lan Disciple.

“Alcohol is prohibited.”

He savored the lingering tang, not moving from his spot at the roof as the disciple approached in warning. Wei Wuxian took out an empty cup and poured one for this chosen company. He received a reproachful stare for his trouble, and he gambled with a pout that he knew only his fathers could resist. “Not even to share it with me?” He was, quite expectedly, met with silence that had him shaking his head ruefully. “I toast to the moon on high. That’s two of us; my shadow makes it three.”

Wei Wuxian was of the belief that it must be the first time that someone had an objection to the emphasis of their ethereal grandeur, though it could be because he fell short on words to properly describe this young master’s beauty. Not that he was given the chance to convey his intentions.

He sidestepped from the obvious assault to his precious alcohol, deftly keeping it away from the flash of silver. Wei Wuxian clicked his tongue reprovingly. “Young master, if the selection is not to your liking, this one will get another and share it with you.” Unable to resist, he asked, "Will you await my swift return?"

“Leave and do not come back,” came the clipped reply that betrayed none of his growing irritation.

“Aiya, there appears to be a misunderstanding.” Wei Wuxian showed the jade token and mustered a bow as formal as his occupied hands allowed. “This one is called Wei Ying, courtesy name Wei Wuxian, who came to Cloud Recesses to study under the Lan Sect’s prodigious tutelage.”

Prodigious was in the vein of how his parents had described the Lan Sect in general. His fathers had been the one to personally explain his situation to the Lan Masters, after all, something which Wei Wuxian had sulked and grumbled over during last year’s spring when he had not been allowed to come with them. A respectable sect rooted in tradition, a-die had said; ascetic and a stickler for discipline, had come from baba, if that isn’t obvious yet with their 3,000 rules.

A bunch of hard-asses, they meant to say. It was as if they had known Wei Wuxian would have gripes with the somewhat stifling ways of the Lan Sect and had softened the blow and at the same time had given him a warning. It helped, he supposed, and while he was usually called tactless, let it not be said that he did not have his moments. He wasn’t a child and student of Wen Kexing for nothing.

At the display of abrupt politeness, the Lan Disciple seemed to ease a little, keeping a respectful distance and returning the gesture with an acknowledging nod—still miffed, however—before stating, “Venturing out at night and bribing an officer are prohibited.”

Wei Wuxian sighed. Calling this disciple a hard-ass would sound unseemly, especially when he deemed his comeliness warranted poetics. He took it back; it was all an illusion, and this display of ridiculous uptightness was the disappointing reality.

“This one asks to be forgiven for not knowing the rules. He is but an outsider who is unlearned of the ways of the Lan.” Wei Wuxian inclined his head, cognizant of how it highlighted his profile and the imploring gaze under thick lashes. “Perhaps if the young master is willing to teach this one...”

Later, he would vehemently claim that he meant no offense (truly!) with his words, but he couldn’t determine whether something slipped in his tone or it was a complete misinterpretation on the Lan Disciple’s end that earned him, and his jar, another strike which was honestly uncalled for.

Wei Wuxian dodged a well-aimed swipe at the wine as if it personally offended the Lan Disciple (it probably did) and kept to his own left side once he figured out the disciple’s dominant hand. He was light on his feet, his footwork firm and steady on top of uneven ground, and it was a mark of a good foundation that he supposed he should have expected from a disciple of a major sect.

The fluidity of his steps and the grace of his swings were an admittedly admirable display of internal balance, and Wei Wuxian had to discern any chink he could press. He twisted, chest against the elbow of the disciple’s right arm that held his sword, a masterful creation that suited its owner. Wei Wuxian leaned, his finger following the curve of the clothed forearm and to the peek of a wrist where a single touch told him of harmonious meridians that resonated with a powerful golden core. Impressive.

He drifted to the hilt of the blade. “Nice sword.” He winked.

“You—”

The Lan disciple pivoted, and Wei Wuxian crouched low from the hit that definitely wasn’t just to incapacitate. He leapt backward, a little captivated at the positively incensed look present that replaced the previously stoic expression. He had a suspicion that this one wasn’t often riled up, and wasn’t that such a regret when he looked nice when impassioned?

Still, Wei Wuxian had to pull back almost reluctantly. It wouldn’t do to antagonize someone way before he could even establish acquaintance with his peers. The last thing he wanted to reach his fathers’ and shixiong’s ears was him causing trouble less than a day since he stepped on the grounds of Cloud Recesses.

“I propose a deal with the young master,” he said, “A duel. If you win, then this one will submit to his punishment.” He smirked. “Any kind of punishment that the young master thinks befit this transgressor.

“And if I win, then the young master will consider the matter settled and this one will leave for the night… with the promise from the young master to share a jar of good wine with me next time, of course.”

Golden eyes narrowed. “Fighting without permission is prohibited.”

“What exactly is not prohibited here?” he asked dryly. “Alright, no duel. Hmm.” His eyes landed at the silk band tied at the young master’s forehead. “Keep me from taking that, then.”

Whatever protest or recitation of another rule broken that was about to escape the Lan Disciple was promptly cut off the second Wei Wuxian darted forward, as quick as a snap of fingers. To the disciple’s credit, his stance barely faltered, already on the defense.

Unfortunately for him, Wei Wuxian grew up playing this game with his senior brothers and sisters, and his favorite distraction for his junior siblings. He could picture himself in the Lan Disciple’s perspective, watching him in slow motion as he snatched the silk ribbon with a wicked, triumphant smile.

A top quality of silk with a pattern of clouds, and it glided against his palm like a touch of feather and carried a faint scent of sandalwood and incense. Wei Wuxian glanced at the frozen young master whose face remained blank as if still processing the quick succession of events, and, in a stroke of inspiration, brought the forehead ribbon to his lips.

“Wei Wuxian will treasure his reward,” he announced earnestly—and immediately retreated in a manner that he hoped was graceful enough for a hasty exit before the young master could recover from his state. “Until next time!”

❆❆❆

Come midnight, his letters were finished, and the ones addressed to his fathers were marked with the recollection of the night’s encounter. A part of him dearly wished he could hear his baba’s chuckle and his a-die’s snort of amusement. No matter. He had half a year to gather anecdotes for them, and as far as he was concerned, it wouldn’t be the last time he would see of... of…

Huh.

Wei Wuxian frowned, thought hard, and scratched the back of his head.

Wait. What was his name again?

❆❆❆

“Four Seasons Sect, take your bow.”

There were not so subtle whispers and murmurs that ensued the declaration, though most that Wei Wuxian could hear was confusion as to who and which sect it was. He stood straighter, making sure his posture exuded his pride for representing the name of his sect, his home. He fell into step next to his shixiong who spoke in a clear and equable voice.

“On behalf of Four Seasons Sect, Zhang Chengling pays respect to Master Lan. I present our disciple who is sent to learn under your guidance, and may he serve as a bridge between the jianghu and the cultivation world.”

“Wei Ying, courtesy name Wei Wuxian of Four Seasons Sect greets Teacher,” Wei Wuxian said, raising his voice amidst the growing incertitude that followed his and his senior’s words as they bowed in perfect synchrony.

“Your mother Cangse Sanren and father Wei Changze are lauded rogue cultivators,” Lan Qiren said, effectively silencing the incredulous mutterings at the distance and doubts at jianghu producing cultivators. “It is good to find their son hale after several years.”

“This one is fortunate to be taken under the care of Four Seasons Sect, to grow and be a part of them. At their behest, we present gifts to symbolize our aspirations for a fortuitous relationship between Gusu Lan Sect and the Four Seasons Sect.

“A sapling of rowan as a symbol of connection, to provide protection against malevolent beings, and to guide home those who are lost. Blackthorn for discipline and control that are the known cores of Lan Sect’s teaching, and also to symbolize overcoming obstacles and hope in the middle of devastation. The last sapling is from a tree that bears a multitude of blooms in varying colors and is native to the Four Seasons Sect where flowers bloom all year round, hence the name after our sect. These are dear treasures from the home I know, hoping for them to grow on the soil that my birth parents lived on.”

The tall man standing beside Lan Qiren, Lan Xichen—the Lan Sect heir, if Wei Wuxian was correct—smiled serenely. “The Lan Sect is grateful for the gifts, and we look forward to them growing in a year’s time. We’ve had the pleasure to meet Master Zhou and Zhen, and it shows in their disciples their virtue and great esteem as sect leaders.”

The mention of his baba’s birth name of Zhen Yan instead of Wen Kexing startled him, though he was certain that there was a valid reason for it. Chengling sent him a small smile that told him he did well, and a knowing look that promised an explanation later.

The welcoming atmosphere was suddenly heckled by a commotion from men in red and black barging in unannounced, the man in the lead sneering how easy it was to get into Cloud Recesses. Lan Xichen addressed him as a Wen, and from what Wei Wuxian gathered, the presence of the Wen Sect was uncommon, not to mention unwanted.

Coming from a sect that outright insulted Cloud Recesses’ lectures, the Wens were keen to send two of their disciples, related to the main branch, no less. Wei Wuxian was unable to contain his snort at the dramatics of it all.

“And who’s this scoundrel?”

Wei Wuxian turned to him with a raised eyebrow. “Scoundrel is too big a title for me,” he quipped, a rakish grin forming when he crossed his arms. “Four Seasons Sect, Wei Wuxian.”

“This boy dares to interrupt me.” The Wen gave him a scrutinizing glare before letting out a sharp bark of a derisive laugh. “I wasn’t aware that Gusu Lan accepts runts from no-name sects.”

“After all that boast of Wen education, I wasn’t aware that disrespect is what they teach you, but here we are.”

“Fine. I’ll teach you how Qishan Wen deals with those who don’t listen well.”

“Master Wen,” called Chengling placatingly. “This is a simple disagreement. There’s no need to be aggressive.”

The attempt to pacify the situation merely grated at the idiot. “And why should I listen to vermins who don’t know their place?!” Seething, the witless Wen jerked and his armed retinue immediately surrounded them, blades drawn and pointing not only at Chengling and Wei Wuxian but also towards others who had been watching the exchange warily. Chengling moved in front of Wei Wuxian, his hand on the hilt of his own sword and keeping him partly hidden for his hand to clutch his fan on the ready.

After a tense minute that felt as if it lasted an hour, soothing notes that he recognized from a xiao resounded, deceptively lulling if not for its effect of disarming the parties involved, the Wen Sect’s weapons clattering down in warning.

“Today is Cloud Recesses’ ceremonial day for taking new students,” Lan Xichen said, his volume never rising but firm. “We ask that Second Young Master Wen conduct himself.”

A woman who called herself Wen Qing stepped in a flourish, ultimately keeping the brittle moment of stillness with her tact. “This is my and my brother Wen Ning’s first time in the Cloud Recesses, and we know not of some of the rules. We hope Teacher Lan and Young Master Lan are forgiving.”

She bowed apologetically to Lan Qiren, Lan Xichen, and even at Chengling. Wei Wuxian, begrudgingly impressed, was under the impression that within the Wen Sect it was either you had modesty in spades or did not understand it at all.

The rest of the Wen retreated, though not without the Wen moron committing Wei Wuxian’s face to memory. Not that he cared a lick after that outright disrespect to his senior—he was willing to give that sneering face a healthy dose of beating next time if necessary.

He was struck with an insight related earlier when his father’s name was brought up. The name of Wen Kexing was never given, and after the distasteful encounter with the Wen Sect, he had a suspicion as to why.

Gripping his shixiong’s arm reassuringly when asked if he was alright, Wei Wuxian cast an assessing sweep across the room, restlessness blanketing pretty much everyone else from the sects present. These were inner disciples of their respective sects, so it was safe to assume that they were no stranger to this kind of behavior from the Wens.

Lan, Nie, Jiang, Jin, and Wen were prominent names in cultivation, and out of all the five, the last was the most dominant in terms of manpower and territory. Knowing how terrifyingly efficient his a-die was when it came to gathering information, Wei Wuxian had an adequate background when it came to the major sects, though he wished he had listened more if only to come up with a better approach from here on out.

He was starting to think that the advice of ‘have fun and make friends’ from his parents was a jest in poor taste. Sighing, his eyes landed on the familiar-looking disciple quietly observing him before his attention snapped elsewhere.

Lips unconsciously twitching into a smile, Wei Wuxian wondered if he was imagining the light pink dusting those pale ears.

#fanfic #fanfiction #shl fic #shan he ling #cql #cheng qing ling #mdzs #untamed fic #crossover #wwx gets adopted by wenzhou #wenzhou #wen kexing #word of honor #zhou zishu #the untamed #wei wuxian #lan wangji #zhang chengling

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thatgirlonstage · 4 years

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@fluffyblue-multifandommess so I tried to save your ask in draft at one point while I was working on answering it (it uh.... got... long on me) and fortunately I didn’t actually lose it but it did fuck the formatting to hell and I couldn’t fix it, so I just copy-pasted into a new post entirely; sorry about that.

@fluffyblue-artnwriting asked: I'm thinking about possibilities for a wangxian Witcher!AU and I can't decide which one of them is the Witcher because on one hand WWX has a personality way closer to Jaskier but ALSO the whole Public View Of Witchers Is Shit thing parallels demonic cultivation nicely.... And THEN I thought, but what if LWJ is the witcher and WWX is... like Yennefer. Then who would take on the bard's role... IDK. Maybe NHS? I like the idea of LWJ&NHS friendship A Lot but their dynamic would be very different from Geralt and Jaskier’s obviously. However that all works out, one thing is obvious; A-Yuan is Ciri.

*rubs hands together* Okay hear me out: WWX as the Witcher and LWJ as the Bard, but paralleling a sort of Jaskier/Geralt roleswap AU. The one where Jaskier is a witcher and Geralt is a bard, albeit a much more subdued type of bard, the kind who sits in the corner of an inn and strums his songs and gains a reputation as this guy with a deep, husky (well, Geralt is husky, LWJ in this instance is more… warm and round) kind of voice who is maybe not the best for a jig but whenever he sings he has a way of just making everyone stop and listen. He tells stories with his songs, and he makes people want to hear them. And he doesn’t really like to stick around after he plays, he doesn’t want to be dragged into every piece of gossip and every scandal of every small town he visits, he prefers to meet people privately and gather his stories thoughtfully and carefully before he sets them to music. But one day after his set, just as he’s packing up, this has-no-fear witcher sprawls himself across the table nearest the bard and calls for a drink and a meal for the man who sings so beautifully, golden eyes glowing (like the sun, Lan Wangji thinks, like he wants to light the world around him, not hellfire and brimstone like he’s heard). So he takes the meal but turns down the drink and requests instead to follow him for a day and see if there’s a story waiting in the witcher’s company.

And there is, there’s dozens of stories, but more importantly there is Wei Ying with his golden eyes and bright smile and fierce whirling swords, and the way he laughs and waves it off when the innkeepers throw food in his face or people lie about what they agreed to pay him or even when he is literally stoned out of town. So Lan Wangji vows he will write songs about the witcher, about the children he saves and the long nights in the mud and the wilderness, about stitching his own wounds back together because not even a doctor will touch him. He will write songs so beautiful it will make grown men weep, he will write songs so popular that no one will be able to get them out of their heads, he will write songs for noble and common alike, he will make people stop looking at Wei Ying with fear and revulsion if he has to play until his fingers bleed.

(“Lan Zhan, why do you write so many songs about me?” Wei Ying laughs as he asks it, the question only half serious.

“I write songs that I want people to hear,” he answers, and Wei Ying’s mask slips slightly to the complicated face beneath the smile.)

(He writes one song that is not about him, but for him. One song that no one else will ever hear.)

(“Wangji, be careful with your songs,” his brother tells him, but it doesn’t stop him.)

(Oops it got long, more under the cut)

I am vaguely aware from fanfic that there was at some point, some kind of attack? On the witchers? A bunch of them were wiped out? This would be a lot easier if I knew more lore and history but I want to read the books now* so I’m not gonna spoil myself by looking at the wiki (I also imagine with the number of different canons that looking at the wiki is likely to confuse me more than anything). But anyway: the destruction of Lotus Pier.

Lan Wangji eventually meets Wei Ying’s family, Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli, two other witchers, three of very very few witchers left. Jiang Cheng fights monsters with a whip that crackles with purple lightning. Jiang Yanli uses potions that make her monstrously strong, and drips poison on her blade. Lan Wangji asks Wei Ying why his swords seem perfectly ordinary, if largely too heavy for the average man to swing about with ease, or why he doesn’t use the same potions and poisons Jiang Yanli does, the ones she warned Lan Wangji not to touch lest they burn his skin. He asks why the scars in his skin seem so much deeper, like they took far longer to heal. Wei Ying laughs it off and hastily changes the subject.

(Netflix told us fuck all about witcher lore so I am kinda flying by the seat of my pants here and also this is a more subtle version of losing his core. But the idea here is that WWX gave up some degree of witcher magic that would have allowed him to use magic weapons/the potions. He’s still unnaturally strong, he can see in the dark, he can smell out monsters, but he’s not quite what a full witcher should be.)

One time, when they meet in a roadside inn, Wei Ying seems fit to burst with excitement at seeing him. He pulls him up to his room before Lan Wangji can protest and takes a glossy black flute from his saddlebags. “Teach me to play it, Lan Zhan?” Golden eyes shine like the first glimmers of dawn. “I’ve always wanted to learn music but the witchers never allowed it, and now I’m never in one place long enough to learn.” He has a way of talking around things, Lan Wangji has learned, when it’s something that he fears will evoke pity. Lan Wangji knows that no community suffers a witcher to stay a day longer than necessary, and that even if he managed to earn his keep in a borderland city or somewhere like that, somewhere he could return every month or so, no one would take a witcher as a music student. “But we travel together all the time!” Wei Ying is saying. “So you can teach me!”

Lan Wangji takes the flute, examining it. “I do not play the flute,” he says. Wei Ying’s face falls.

“Oh,” he says. “Right. I thought about getting a guqin like yours, but it’s too bulky to carry with everything else, and I’d be too worried about breaking it when I get in fights…” He reaches for the flute, but Lan Wangji does not return it.

“My brother plays. I took some lessons with him when we were children. I remember the basics. I will teach you.” And Wei Ying lights up again, the sun coming out from behind a cloud.

He’s fumbling at first, his ear unused to the difference between flat and sharp, his fingers unaccustomed to the delicate pressure needed. But he’s a fast learner, and his hands have always been clever. Soon, the days that they travel, when they don’t end in monster hunts, they end in music, in quiet evenings around a campfire, improvised duets weaving through the smoke.

One time, when they meet out on the road, both chasing the same rumor of a cockatrice (well, Wei Ying chasing the rumor, Lan Wangji chasing Wei Ying), Lan Wangji takes out a newly purchased jian and says “Will you teach me?” He doesn’t expect the horror and sadness that spasms over Wei Ying’s face.

“Lan Zhan,” he says, more somber than Lan Wangji has ever seen him, “you don’t have to kill monsters to travel with me. You don’t have to kill anything.”

“Mn. I have no wish to kill. I only want to be able to defend myself, so that you do not have to risk yourself if I am in danger.” Wei Ying still looks hesitant, but he brightens considerably, and agrees to teach Lan Wangji the basics of swordplay. He is not starting from scratch — he learned a few things growing up the child of nobility — but it has been many years since he has been near anything more serious than a bar brawl or a mugging. He is also a fast learner, and so long as Wei Ying does not use his witcher strength, after enough practice Lan Wangji holds his own and even puts Wei Ying in the dirt from time to time.

As for Yen, I actually really like NHS as Yen? He grows up in a family where he was supposed to swing a sword he never wanted to pick up, and he hated it so much that one day he simply teleported away. By the time Nie Huaisang makes it back home, his brother has a plan. He has recently thrown out the Unclean Realm’s Brotherhood advisor, Meng Yao, for treason. If Nie Huaisang has the spark, then Nie Mingjue will send his defenseless little brother to become a powerful mage, and then he can be the Unclean Realm’s advisor. So much easier when things stay in the family. So Nie Mingjue writes to one of the rectors, Lan Qiren, and secures Nie Huaisang’s place in the school. Nie Huaisang goes, and he is a shuddering, tearful mess, and he seems to survive by the skin of his teeth, and not even his classmates notice how skillfully he learns to make the world dance with a crook of his finger.

Years later, Lan Wangji accidentally destroys an amphora containing a djinn. He, in a fit of anger, speaks carelessly for once in his life, at the worst possible moment he could have done so. He rides back into town as fast as Wei Ying’s horse can carry them. He hears of a mage who might be able to help. “No mages,” Wei Ying tries to say, but there’s barely enough air in his lungs to force it out as words. Lan Wangji drags him to the mage’s door and begs for help. Nie Huaisang does it out of curiosity more than anything. Never met a witcher who couldn’t guard their mind before. What happened to your magic?

Get out of my head, Wei Ying thinks, but he lets the mage heal him.

“Why no mages?” Lan Wangji finds the courage to ask, much later, months later, fingers trembling over his guqin with the paralyzing shame of his actions. Wei Ying looks away and tells him the story of two siblings — Wen Qing and Wen Ning — marked as cursed, tells him the head of the Brotherhood, Jin Guangshan, sent his nephew Jin Zixun to kill them for fear of what they could become. He walked into the middle of the conflict. Both Jin Zixun and the siblings asked him for his help. Wei Ying chose the Wens. He killed Jin Zixun. The mages declared him an enemy. When Jiang Cheng tried to protect him, they nearly killed him. To repay Wei Ying, Wen Qing saved Jiang Cheng’s life. But no magic comes without a price, and the price for this was Wei Ying’s witcher magic. Afterward, Wei Ying demanded the Jiang school of witchers disown him, and make peace with the Brotherhood, for everyone’s sake. To cement the peace, Jiang Yanli married a mage and Jin Zixun’s cousin, Jin Zixuan.

(Lan Wangji understands, now, why he’s only every met Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli in the wilderness, and then only rarely, why Wei Ying has pleaded with him not to write songs about them, why his brother tried to caution him away, why his uncle seems so exceptionally chilly on the rare occasions they see each other.)

(Nie Huaisang learned Wei Ying’s history while he was poking through his mind. He laughed when Wei Ying asked if he was going to kill him. “Your friend promised me gold and music if you live,” he said. “I would far rather have that than the dubious honor of giving your head to Jin Guangshan on a platter.”)

(It was Jin Guangshan, after all, who — with someone whispering in his ear, Nie Huaisang is certain — noticed how dangerous letting him go home to his brother would make the Unclean Realm, and instead contrived to send him to the ends of the earth, where Nie Huaisang elected to abandon his duties and the Brotherhood.)

Wen Ruohan rules Qishan with the defected Brotherhood mage Meng Yao by his side. He has found and welcomed back his distant relatives Wen Qing and Wen Ning, in the years since they met Wei Wuxian. Hearing their stories, he sends an invitation to the Black Wolf Witcher, to come visit his kingdom. Wei Wuxian pleads and cajoles Lan Wangji into going with him because really Lan Zhan, do I seem like I belong in rich halls among the nobility? I don’t even know what shirt to buy.

(Okay I am about to careen wildly into Simply Making Shit Up that only has a passing resemblance to either canon, bear with me.)

Wen Ruohan, in the midst of his entire court, demands Wei Wuxian choose a reward for saving Wen Qing and Wen Ning’s lives (Wen Qing saving Jiang Cheng’s life is not, cannot be public knowledge). Wei Wuxian tries to demur, but Wen Ruohan refuses to exist in anyone’s debt, let alone an outcast witcher’s. Somewhat desperate and on the spot, Wei Wuxian invokes the Law of Surprise. It can’t be seen as insultingly low or high in value, and he figures at most he’ll get a puppy from the next litter of Wen Ruohan’s hunting dogs, or something equally inane, and they can all call it even. Unfortunately for everyone, Wen Xu’s wife chooses this exact moment to become spectacularly ill, the first sign other than a late period that she is pregnant with Wen Ruohan’s first grandchild. Wei Wuxian flees. He spends a lot of the next few years fleeing.

(“Come to Gusu with me,” Lan Wangji pleads, some time later, on top of a mountain.

“No,” Wei Ying tells him, not because he doesn’t want to, not because he wouldn’t leave the path if he could, but because he can’t stop running, because there are too many maligned creatures who don’t deserve death and too many monsters preying on innocent people that do, because if he doesn’t help them who will, because how can he stop, because he’s terrified of stopping.

“I cannot watch you destroy yourself, Wei Wuxian.”

“Then leave, Lan Wangji.”)

It ends in fire, when Wen Ruohan grows too power hungry, and the Brotherhood turns on him with the Unclean Realm and Lan Wangji’s family on their side, and it turns out that Meng Yao’s defection from the Brotherhood was an act (some of the time? all of time?) and he’s been spying (for years? for months?). Nie Mingjue manages to pull his brother out of exile in return for his help against the Wens, although Nie Huaisang is doubtful about the merits of this.

Wei Wuxian is there when it happens, having been dragged reluctantly back by the strings of fate and the nebulous tie to a child he has never met but who is still a child and doesn’t deserve to die in the coming carnage. Wen Ruohan locks him away for trying to take his grandchild — and heir, after both Wen Xu and Wen Chao perish on the battlefield. He escapes while the city is sacked, but doesn’t manage to find Wen Yuan before he’s fled the city. Instead he finds Wen Qing and Wen Ning, and defends them from the mages when they come into the city. It would’ve been a futile effort, if not for Nie Huaisang and — surprisingly — Meng Yao, who had been at court with them for years at that point, and — even more surprisingly — Jin Zixuan, who has had years of cajoling from Jiang Yanli at this point, stepping to his side. It’s enough that they’re allowed to leave unscathed.

Wen Yuan, meanwhile, meets an elf boy called Jingyi, flees through the fields of refugees, and learns that he has the same kind of magic or curse he heard people whispering about his relatives Wen Qing and Wen Ning having.

Wei Wuxian, Wen Qing, and Wen Ning find A-Yuan in a destroyed field, lost but alone no more, and he runs into their arms.

Aaaaaaaaaand I have run out of Witcher canon, and this is also OBNOXIOUSLY long by now, so uh, pending part two, maybe, when s2 happens/when I read the books, whichever comes first

#answers #mdzs #wangxian #the witcher #wei wuxian #lan wangji #nie huaisang #witcher!wwx #*i WOULD also like to play the games but alas i have none of the technology i would need #so books and netflix it is #i write this entire thing knowing that xiao zhan singing a cover of her sweet kiss would kill me instantly #BUT i really enjoy the concept of witcher!wwx #i think witcher!lwj has some REALLY NEAT potential too #but this is the direction my head decided to go ¯\_(ツ)_/¯#i hope you didn't mind me taking off in this direction instead of the yen!wwx #also this is a mess lmao #me mercilessly cramming mdzs the witcher and my headcanons and aus for both into this all at once #wait what canon am i even taking this from anymore #how old is everyone and how the hell does time work in this au you ask?#shhhh they're all just inexplicably immortal shhhhhhh #well. unless we want to make 'wwx losing his witcher magic made him not/less immortal' A Thing #but that is perhaps for part 2 i have run out of steam here

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razberryyum · 5 years

Video

The Untamed/陈情令 Rewatch, Episode 4 (spoilers for everything)

(covers mainly MDZS chaps 13 and 14)

WangXian meter: 🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰

(a 🐰 is earned every time there is a WangXian scene or even when they’re just thinking of each other…more than one 🐰 can be given based on the level of WangXian-ness in a scene)

I loved and enjoyed all of Wei Ying’s “Notice me Wangji-senpai" moments in this episode, but my favorite has to be the one above: the way he tried to play off Lan Zhan totally ignoring him by blaming the other man’s hearing makes me laugh out loud every time I watch this episode. It’s just too adorable. Even though Lan Zhan is clearly still annoyed with him, I like how it’s also obvious that Wei Ying is slowly but surely burrowing his way into his psyche and taking hold there by either not leaving him alone or just being himself which is ample to constantly draw Lan Zhan’s attention to him. It‘s as if Lan Zhan’s life was a calm pond and Wei Ying was a beautiful, lively carp that suddenly decided to just jump into his waters without permission, taking liberties by swimming and splashing around, basically causing ruckus in every corner of his pool. Naturally, Wei Ying’s actions perturbs Lan Zhan to no end at first, but at the same time, he is also leaving an undeniable impression, so that eventually, when this carp leaves Lan Zhan’s pond, he can’t help but constantly think of Wei Ying and even miss his disruptive presence, thus naturally paving the way for the escalation of his affections that follow later on.

Whereas with Wei Ying, I think he simply enjoyed irritating this fuddy-duddy at first, but eventually, his light-hearted teasing probably became just a little more meaningful and he started looking forward to getting a reaction out of Lan Zhan because it provided him with genuine joy and satisfaction, until those feelings grew into just joy from being around the other man and interacting with him.

Ultimately that’s a big reason why I love their relationship: the development and progression of their feelings for each other makes a lot of sense to me. The phrase “opposites attract” has never been more applicable in terms of Wei Ying and Lan Zhan, but at the same time, they still share enough things in common—such as their moral code and belief system—that makes them absolutely just perfect for each other. I can imagine a future for them right from the start, whereas with other couples in stories, regardless of their sex, I’ve had difficulty believing they should be together other than because the plot requires them to be. I think the drama really succeeded in showing us why it’s completely logical that these two people would be drawn to each other, that they almost can’t help but be drawn together, by actually showing us all these little precious moments between them as they occurred, which the novel for the most part only described in an after-the-fact manner. While subtlety has its merits too, I do appreciate the more clearly illustrated path The Untamed decided to take for WangXian.

Along those lines, I also appreciated how CQL chose to show us the first time Lan Xichen and Jin Guangyao met and their instant connection. Honestly, when I first saw this moment…

I immediately thought they were going to be a couple too, like Wei Ying and Lan Zhan, and I was totally on board, until I found out from reading comments here and there that I shouldn’t be because this ship was bad news. I was disappointed of course and even tried to withstand its alluring call for a while, especially after reading the book and finding out exactly why this wasn’t a ship I wanted to board since it was on a one-way ticket to hell and heartbreak basically. But the drama just made it so damn hard to resist, and before I knew it, I was lowkey hooked. Much like with WangXian, I was surprised at how much the show was getting away with in terms of XiYao:

I mean, big bro Xichen totally stroked Meng Yao’s finger there, right? First time I saw that, I remember rewinding a few times just to check and and make sure and if it’s just an optical illusion, that’s a damn convincing trick. Amusingly enough I thought at first Wei Ying was seeing the same thing and was reacting in disbelief to that moment, until I realized from his angle, there’s no way he could have seen that small gesture and he was just responding to that (ugly) incense pot.

After finishing the series, I have to admit I’m pretty much a full-on XiYao-shipper now, which is really out of character for me because I usually prefer ships with happy endings. I have to blame, or rather, give credit to the two actors portraying LXC and JGY (Liu Haikuan and Zhu Zanjin, respectively) for conjuring up these feelings in me because they had so much chemistry together, which honestly at times rivaled that of Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo’s chemistry. I just love how LXC’s expression softens every time he interacts with JGY and even from their first meeting, it’s obvious there were genuine feelings of respect and gratitude behind Meng Yao’s reaction to LXC.

Take the moment above as an example: the extreme admiration emanating from JGY after seeing LXC exhibit his fluting powers had to be for real since there was no reason to react just for Nie Huaisang’s sake. I can totally imagine hearts fluttering all around him as he looked upon XiChen with those wide, innocent-seeming puppy eyes of his. And when he bade his farewell to big bro later on in the episode, I loved how the camera lingered on LXC’s hands as Meng Yao moved away after saluting him, just to reiterate the intimacy of their brief physical contact.

I also appreciated the small, seemingly trivial moments before and after he meets up with LXC in that scene, where Meng Yao is first ignored by the two male sect disciples walking by him and then later on by two female disciples. Contrast that with how LXC immediately praises Meng Yao and recognizes him as his peer from the get go, going so far as to refer to himself by his own name (“Xichen”) just to reinforce their equality, it’s no wonder JGY was instantly drawn to him. I would go so far as to say he probably fell for LXC right from the start; doesn’t even matter if it might be only in the platonic sense, man was smitten no matter how anyone chooses to categorize his feelings.

XianQing? No thank you

When I first watched this episode, I still had the stormy cloud of fear that Wen Qing would eventually be the love interest that comes in between Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji hanging over me due to some rumors I came across prior to even watching the show. As a result, every time Wen Qing and WWX would have a scene together, I would view it with trepidation as I was certain it was yet another building block to something undesirable, with the ultimate goal of mutating the relationship at the core of MDZS. If I’m going to be honest, I don’t think I was even able to rest easy until after Wen Qing’s passing and knowing for certain that the “danger period” was finally over, even though I had already grown to like her character. I still have complaints about how they altered her personality for the live action, but at least now, when I watch the scenes she shares with Wei Ying, instead of being filled with anxiety, I am actually more fascinated. I can still see the ghost of what Team CQL had initially intended with Wen Qing and WWX in a lot of their scenes together, before the fans’ uproar thankfully forced the producers to change their minds and stick with the source material. This scene wasn’t one of those moments, but with revisiting each episode, I actually look forward to picking out which scenes were feeding into their ship because of the way they were shot and how the two actors were directed to perform during the scene, especially Meng Ziyi. I’m glad I can actually sit back and have fun with all of this now.

XianNing? I can’t

I can see why some folks support this ship, and upon first viewing I thought this was a cute moment as well, but of course, I simply can’t go there since my heart already belongs to WangXian. And now, after having read the novel, all I could think about is how much I wish we got the archery contest at the Cultivation Conference. I’m glad we got to see it depicted in the donghua; it was as amazing as I hope it would be, but it’s a shame we didn’t get to see it in the drama. Since the producers had mentioned releasing specials of extra scenes that they couldn’t fit into the flow of the show, I hope the archery contest will be one of them. I don’t know where it would fit in in the timeline though…I guess it could happen while they were all held hostage at Nightless City, so the reason for the archery contest will have to be changed, but then maybe that’s the impetus for Wen Chao’s decision to force everyone on that dangerous quest to the Xuanwu cave: he’s so pissed off at losing at archery on his own turf that he decides to try to get all the sect kids killed. Either way, I hope we get to see the contest in live action form one day.

Wei Wuxian is so smart

I loved this scene. I love how WWX schooled everyone with his inventive fourth reason. He’s so awesome. That’s really all I wanted to say about it.

Random Bits of Randomness

I don’t think there’s anything wrong the color function on my tv, so please explain to me how that can be considered “purple” in any universe??

All I could think about in this scene is how disgusting that fish must have tasted cuz it looked awful, and I think Xiao Zhan even mentioned in an interview that it was gross. What probably made it taste worse was the fact that he kept on eating it from the stomach side, which can be really bitter. I think Wang Zhuocheng (Jiang Cheng) was eating it from the same side as well and I just can’t help grimacing every time I see this moment.

Odds and Ends:

I don’t really have any questions from this episode, but I did wonder if Wen Qing ever actually attended classes while she was at Cloud Recesses or did she just spend all of the time wandering the back hills, throwing her needles at barriers, cuz that’s not suspicious AT ALL. Unless I just happened to have missed her every single time in class, even though you would think it’s easy to spot her red in a sea of white…if that’s the case then I probably need to get my eyes checked.

Also, I wish we got to see Shijie draw her sword. She carried it around in the beginning, but I’m kinda bummed that we never saw her actually use it. I’m sure she is completely capable and would’ve looked just as badass as the boys.

And bless Uncle Lan for his brilliant idea of making Lan Zhan enforce the disciplinary action on Wei Ying, thereby allowing the boys to have valuable alone time in the library pavilion to further nurture their bond. In retrospect he probably regrets that decision, but as far as I’m concerned, that’s one of his best one he’s ever made.

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sleepymarmot · 4 years

Text

The Untamed liveblog, eps. 39-45

And now, today’s portion.

I thought I understood what was going on, but now I am confused again.

When is this flashback happening, when did Xiao Xinchen finally recognize Xue Yang? Song Lan's body is still fresh on the ground, but in the previous flashback they walked away, and he clearly didn't realize what happened immediately.

Also I don't understand the timeline. Xue Yang killed Chang Ping in revenge for Xiao Xinchen, did I get that right? So why did it happen 16 years ago, before Xue Yang met Xinchen in Yi City or could get his sword?

So what happens to Xinchen's (comatose, presumably?) body? Just lie forever in that coffin, untouched by time?

After the previous episode I assumed Xue Yang arranged WWX's resurrection and was the black-clad figure and the source of demonic infection in episode 1. Is that correct? This episode didn't elaborate.

Confused again. Whose body was in the coffin under magical suppression?

Hell yeah I think the Yuan reveal is about to happen

"Late night talks", huh? At least Xichen didn't play dumb and pretend he doesn't know who this is about, which is what I feared.

"He doesn't have any traces of having practiced this spell on his body." And you would know all about his body, wouldn't you. What a TMI thing to say in front of your little brother! This conversation keeps getting more and more scandalous.

Jokes aside, is the subtext intentional? "Late night talks" can't be simply a product of mistranslation or my dirty mind! It's not even that I particularly wanted this to happen, this relationship in the flashback looked to me like a simple mentor/protege with only a potential for something more. Oh, and it's worrying because only virgins survive in this show. Look at Yanli, she got laid and died only a year later!

Oh, don't tell me the series will end with Xichen nobly sacrificing his life for the Big Bad he believes to be good! (The only worse option: purposefully abandoning his morals for love.) On the other hand, the parallel with LWJ deciding to trust WWX despite what the entire world was telling him...

Oh good, Xichen didn't suddenly become an idiot and actually recognized WWX, I was starting to worry

Jesus, all of that was only one episode?!

WHY ARE YOU TWO TRYING TO HAVE A SECRET DATE RIGHT NEXT ROOM TO THE KIDS YOU'RE SUPERVISING

why do you keep asking how LWJ recognized you? You were dressed in your usual outfit and used your usual techniques? How could anyone who knew you even a bit not recognize you?!

oh I'm loving the Tension(tm) in the scenes with JC and JGY at the entrance

Glad WWX is not the most embarrassing person at this party!

God I don't think I ever realized that Ling knew the real Mo Xuanyu and he treated WWX as the person he already knew and disliked. Should I rewatch all their scenes together?!

Aww, helping his nephew to win a fight!

"My uncle always tells me to not fight, but you are encouraging me to do so." Oh lmao

"When you grow older, you'll find that the number of people you want to beat up will increase. At that time, you'll have no choice but to be on good terms with those people. So while you're still young, you should give those people you hate a good beating." Absolutely crying at this piece of wisdom

I love how the present-day show is a buddy comedy about paranormal investigators (who are in love)

What?? Am I hearing this right, is the affair actual canon?? They can acknowledge that homosexuality exists in this series??? Only if it's "disgusting to the point of vomiting", I guess...

Wait, what? Who's Ah Song? Did I completely misunderstand where the conversation was going?

"Ah Su, I really didn't have a second path to walk back then. Originally, I was going to hide this forever from you, not let you know about this matter. But this plan has been completely destroyed by the person who told you." Well I guess I misunderstood.

Yikes, an entire torture chamber?

Is Guangyao playing dumb or is he truly not familiar with the concept "people don't like it when someone is being a bloodthirsty, sadistic lil bitch"?

Oh, so WWX can't wield his sword normally, but can via the paper man?

"It uses a person’s full spiritual consciousness as the price to heal an extremely injured person." Oh my god is THIS how Jiang Cheng learns the truth lmao

Lovely detail: LWJ pauses playing an unfamiliar song to turn the page of the sheet music

I didn't realize WWX's reputation wounded him so much he doesn't even want to learn the truth anymore

How many times per episode can you play the main song? How are the characters in-universe not sick of it yet?

Oh really, the settlement in Yiling was one of the worst times in your life?

I can't believe they're still delaying the Yuan reveal. If this doesn't happen while he's literally in the same place WWX raised him...

Wow, I had nothing to say the entire episode! I must be getting tired. WWX doing a Poirot speech is always nice to see, I guess. Also shout out to JGY for trying to murder EVERYONE except his boyfriend, that was a pretty bold move.

Can't believe Wen Ning figured it out before WWX...

I don't understand why WWX and LWJ don't discuss their child? Is WWX really still out of the loop? Why is LWJ refusing to explain anything?

Oh shit! Are we finally about to see the Sanrens?

Well, if there's something I REALLY didn't expect from the show, then it's rape and necrophilia on screen. Oh cool, and incest too.

Welp. Am I just tired, or did the show become kinda boring after the revelations about JGY and the emotional scenes Xichen had about him? The plot slowed to a crawl, everyone stands around, discusses JGY's numerous crimes, and refuses to discuss Suzhui's parentage. Or WWX’s lack of spirit ability -- seriously, are you telling me neither his brother nor his soulmate have figured it out yet?!

Also I resent (though am not surprised at all) that sex is only brought up in the context of sex crimes to make a villain look more depraved. Well congratulations, you win, I like him less now!

At least I wasn't completely delusional -- that the letter WAS about sex. I just wasn’t thinking of the right taboo. My bad for assuming anything gay could be allowed to be canon, even as a villainous trait!

I keep waiting for some clever plot twist that isn’t likely to come and shake up the plot. I resent the writers for going with “it was a mistake to help someone visibly abused; he probably made it up for attention anyway; but even if he didn’t, he deserved it”, and a part of me keeps hoping this will be subverted, even if the rational part of my brain knows it’s not going to happen.

#the untamed #blah blah blah

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